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Be Alert! The Nations at Ease Have Furthered the Disaster
Published by Moriel Ministries
March 7, 2008
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Shalom in Christ Jesus,
Gaza & Israel's Right to Defend Herself
Call President Bush and Complain
to The White House Public Opinion Line
202-456-1111 or e-mail: president@whitehouse.gov
Condoleezza Rice, who like her boss is a political
agent of the oil industry that is aligned with Saudi
Arabia which funds Wahhabist intolerance and
Islamic radicalism while milking western consumers
at the gasoline pump, is blaming Israel for Mahmoud
Abbas canceling "peace talks" aimed at creating a
Palestinian Moslem state with an Islamic constitution
(Rice and Bush helped create another Islamic state
aligned with terror last week in Kosovo).
Israel withdrew from Gaza unilaterally and the Moslem
s immediately used the territory evacuated by Israel to
fire Iranian supplied rockets killing Israeli civilians and
using their own civilians as human shields.
We have a president who placed a Koran which
says "God has no Son' in the White House and has
celebrated Ramadan every year since September
11th, 2001 in order to honor the religion of terror that
attacked New York and Washington. A bible cannot be
brought into Saudi Arabia.
Now Rice attacks Israel for defending her citizens. If
America was being rocketed and its citizens murdered
daily, would Condoleezza Rice also condemn America
for defending itself? A terrible woman like this just
might. But we urge that Rice, a pawn of the Saudi
Moslem oil sheiks that persecute Christians and fund
radicalism (to whom Rice is delighted to provide visas
enter the USA) cease her hypocritical pandering to
Islamic aggression and stop interfering in Israel's
rights to defend its citizens from the Moslem terror of
Hamas.
The Saudi appeasing anti Israel bias of Rice is an
outrage. Any nation under attack from Moslem terror
has a right to shoot back and protect its citizens. Our
prayer is that The God of Israel will raise His hand
against Rice lest she and her boss bring God's
judgment on America (Genesis 12:1-3).
We urge prayer for our nation's corrupt leaders, and
urge that our readers contact the White House to
complain about these injustices perpetrated by
Condoleezza Rice.
MORIEL
Zechariah 1:12-17
Then the angel of the LORD said, "O LORD of hosts,
how long will You have no compassion for Jerusalem
and the cities of Judah, with which You have been
indignant these seventy years?"
The LORD answered the angel who was speaking
with me with gracious words, comforting words.
So the angel who was speaking with me said to
me, "Proclaim, saying, `Thus says the LORD of
hosts, "I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and
Zion. "But I am very angry with the nations who are at
ease; for while I was only a little angry, they furthered
the disaster." `Therefore thus says the LORD, "I will
return to Jerusalem with compassion; My house will
be built in it," declares the LORD of hosts, "and a
measuring line will be stretched over
Jerusalem."' "Again, proclaim, saying, `Thus says the
LORD of hosts, "My cities will again overflow with
prosperity, and the LORD will again comfort Zion and
again choose Jerusalem.""'
Nahum 1:7
The LORD is good,
A stronghold in the day of trouble,
And He knows those who take refuge in Him.
1 Corinthians 16:13-14
Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be
strong. Let all that you do be done in love.
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1) Israeli City Shocked As Rockets Hit
ASSOCIATED PRESS - By Aron Heller - March 2, 2008
ASHKELON, Israel - Residents of this beachside city
are still coming to terms with being on the front lines
of Israel's battle against Hamas militants.
A dozen long-range rockets slammed into Ashkelon
over the weekend, marking a significant turning point
in the conflict and compelling Israel to strike back
hard.
"Until yesterday, I never would have believed that I
would see the things I saw," said Rachel Shimoni, 66,
as she stood amid shards of glass, blown out of the
front window of her clothing store. "All of a sudden, the
reality has changed."
Palestinian militants fire rockets nearly daily at Sderot
and other Israeli border towns near Gaza. But by
reaching Ashkelon, a city of 120,000 people about 11
miles north of Gaza, Hamas raised the stakes
considerably. It is one of the largest cities in southern
Israel, home to Mediterranean beaches, a college and
strategic installations like an electric plant and a water
purification plant.
Gaza militants have managed to hit the outskirts of
Ashkelon in rare instances in the past, but the latest
fighting was the first time they've been able to do it on
a regular basis.
Since the first rocket hit Ashkelon on Wednesday in
retaliation for an Israeli strike that killed five militants,
Israel's military has killed more than 100 Palestinians,
according to Palestinian medical officials and militant
groups. Three Israelis have also died in the
violence.
A military official, speaking on condition of anonymity
because of the need not to divulge internal strategy,
said the harsh Israeli reaction was intended as a
clear signal to Hamas that hitting Ashkelon will not be
tolerated. The official said Israel was willing to go all
the way to stress its point - including a large-scale
ground invasion into Gaza and the assassination of
Hamas' political leadership.
Six people were wounded in Ashkelon on Saturday
after one rocket landed next to City Hall and another in
the marina area. Another rocket struck Ashkelon on
Sunday, slightly wounding one person, medics
said.
Ashkelon's mayor said he would not accept the
rockets becoming a normal reality.
"This is a state of war, I know no other definition for it,"
said Roni Mahatzri, from his makeshift office in an
underground bunker. "If it lasts a week or two, we can
handle that, but we have no intention of allowing this
to become part of our daily routine." - - - -
Related Reports
Fresh Palestinian missile onslaught on heels of
Rice's departure
DEBKAFILE - March 5, 2008
DEBKAfile's military sources report three Katyusha
rockets fired from Gaza exploded south of Ashkelon
Wed. March 5 afternoon; three aimed as Sderot and
the Eshkol farming region. In the morning, two rockets
landed south of Ashkelon and a missile was aimed at
Sdot Hanegev - so far 5 rockets and 7 missiles. - - - -
Read Full Report
Kassam Attacks Continue, IAF Destroys Kassam
Rocket Terror Cells
ARUTZ SHEVA (Israeli National News) - By Hana Levi
Julian - March 4, 2008
Rocket and mortar attacks launched from northern
Gaza at Israel continued throughout the day Tuesday,
albeit with less intensity than has been seen in the
past several days. - - - -
Read Full Report
Israeli troops abruptly withdraw from Gaza.
Palestinian missile blitz continues
DEBKAFILE - March 3, 2008
Shortly after Israel's withdrawal, Monday, March 3, the
Palestinians stepped up their missile and rocket
attacks. One of three Katyusha rockets fired from Gaza
at Ashkelon hit a seven-story building, sending a
dozen people into shock and sowing wide panic in the
city of 120,000. Eight missiles exploded in Sderot, 2 in
Shear Hanegev and 4 in the Eshkol farmland area
south of Sderot. - - - -
Read Full Report
Also: Must See Photo Reports
On the Temple Mount God is speaking
THE
GOLDEN REPORT
Photo Essay: Southern Israel Under Fire
ARUTZ SHEVA
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3) Iranian rockets slam Israel
Sources: Tehran armed Palestinian terrorists, may
escalate regional violence
WORLDNETDAILY - By Aaron Klein - March 2, 2008
JAFFA - Long-range rockets fired from the Gaza Strip
into Israeli cities the past few days were manufactured
in and imported from Iran, according to Israeli security
officials speaking to WND.
In a major escalation, Hamas the past few days has
been firing long range Grad rockets at the strategic
Israeli port city of Ashkelon, home to some 125,000
Israelis about 11 miles from Gaza. Ashkelon houses
a major electrical plant that powers most of the Gaza
Strip.
Grad rockets are longer-range projectiles similar to
the Katyusha rocket, which the Lebanese Hezbollah
terror group successfully used in 2006 to barrage
northern Israel, killing 42 Israeli civilians and
reportedly wounding over 4,000. The Grad travels up
to 12 miles and delivers a larger payload than the
Qassam rocket, which can travel about four to five
miles and is the usual rocket of choice for
Palestinians.
At least three Grad rockets landed in Ashkelon today,
wounding a woman who had used her body to protect
her two children. A least a dozen Grads slammed into
Ashkelon since Friday, causing injuries to civilians
and massive damage to houses and
buildings.
At least 140 rockets, mostly Qassams, targeted the
Israeli city of Sderot the past four days, bombarding
the working-class city of about 25,000 people located
nearly three miles from the Gaza border. One man
was killed and dozens injured last week. Thousands
of rockets have been regularly launched at Sderot
since Israel retreated from the Gaza Strip in
2005.
In response to the rocket attacks, the Israel Air Force
and Israel Defense Forces have been targeting
Hamas positions in Gaza.
According to Israeli security officials, the Grad rockets
fired at Israel in recent days were made in Iran and
were smuggled in parts into the Gaza Strip, where
they were assembled. It is thought a large number of
rockets were brought into Gaza in January, when
Hamas breached the border between the Gaza Strip
and Egypt, the sources said.
According to a senior source in Hamas'-so-called
military wing speaking to WND, the terror group has
more than 300 Grad rockets in addition to what the
source claimed were "hundreds" more Grads
possessed by other Gaza-based terror organizations,
including the Hamas-allied Popular Resistance
Committees.
In a statement carried widely in the Middle East,
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei yesterday
called in Muslims and their leaders worldwide to "rise
up" against Israel and the United States in response
to Israel's anti-rocket operations in Gaza. - - - -
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4) Special Report: Gaza - Israel Responds to Hamas's Escalation
A look at the context behind Israel's military ops in
Gaza
HONEST REPORTING - Media Critqiues
Communique - March 2, 2008
Loss of human life in a conflict is invariably an ugly
situation and one that creates intense media interest.
Such is the case of Israel's military operations in Gaza
that are currently making international headline news.
However, the focus on Palestinian casualties ignores
the context behind Israel's actions and only tells a part
of the real story.
HAMAS FIRES KATYUSHAS AT ASHKELON
Sderot and the western Negev region have been
under constant attack from Qassam missiles and
mortars. Palestinian terrorists have deliberately set
out to kill and maim innocent Israeli civilians making
life unbearable for those within missile
range.
Since Hamas took over the Gaza Strip in mid-June
2007, over 800 rockets and over 900 mortar bombs
have been fired. Since Thursday 28 February alone,
over 100 rockets have been launched at southern
Israel. At the time of writing, rockets continue to be
fired at such a rate as to make it impossible to give
completely up-to-date statistics. While many media
have downplayed the effects of the Qassams,
referring to them as "homemade", no such language
can be employed to describe the latest Hamas
escalation.
The situation has escalated in the past few days, as
over 15 heavy rockets were fired from Hamas-
controlled Gaza against Israel's southern port city of
Ashkelon. The 122 mm GRAD rockets
are a type of
standard military artillery weapon produced in the
former Soviet bloc and by other states deploying non-
Western arms. It is manufactured to military
standards, by a conventional arms industry, and is
equipped with a weapons-grade high explosive
fragmentation warhead.
- GRADS are also known as Katyushas - the same
type of weapon fired at northern Israel by Hezbollah
during the 2006 Lebanon War, possessing the same
lethal capabilities.
Despite repeated Israeli warnings of an arms buildup
in Gaza, the GRAD rockets were apparently smuggled
into the Strip from Iran via Egypt through tunnels and
the breached Rafah border fence.
The range of the rockets fired against Ashkelon is over
20 km, an upgraded capability which places about a
quarter of a million Israeli civilians in constant danger
of Hamas attack.
- The primary responsibility of any government is to
protect its citizens. Israel disengaged from Gaza in
2005 with no intention of ever returning. In the face of
these missile barrages, Israel is left with little choice
but to take action against those who target its towns
and cities.
- Israel is acting in self-defense.
TERRORISTS OPERATING FROM WITHIN
RESIDENTIAL AREAS
Civilian casualties on any side of a conflict are tragic.
Many headlines have concentrated on the high death
toll of Palestinians during the fighting, which, sadly,
has included a number of civilians. However, casualty
statistics only tell part of the story:
- Israel never intentionally targets civilians whereas
Palestinian terrorists deliberately set out to kill
innocents, celebrating hits against schools and
kindergartens.
- The vast majority of Palestinians killed during
Israeli military operations were armed terrorists or
those directly involved in firing missiles into Israeli
towns and cities.
- Hamas has exposed the Palestinian civilian
population to risk by operating within and firing
missiles from built-up areas, effectively using civilians
as human shields.
NO 'HOLOCAUST' IN GAZA
Media analyst Tom
Gross notes a Reuters
mistranslation of remarks made by Israeli Deputy
Defense Minister Matan Vilnai on February 29 which
led to dramatic headlines such as The
Guardian's "Israeli minister warns
of Palestinian 'holocaust'."
As Gross points out: "In fact Vilnai said this morning in
off-the-cuff remarks made on Israel Radio that: "The
more the Qassam rocket fire [on Israeli civilians]
intensifies and increases its range, the Palestinians
are bringing upon themselves a bigger disaster
because we will use all our might to defend
ourselves."
Vilnai used the word "shoah" (meaning disaster),
which Reuters mistranslated as "Holocaust," which
is "HaShoah" in Hebrew. It is like confusing a "white
house" with "The White House."
Irrespective of whether or not Vilnai's choice of words
were ill-thought out or whether the media is to blame
for the resulting furore, one fact is undeniable -
- Israel is not carrying out a 'holocaust' or genocide
in Gaza.
Anti-Israel propagandists have jumped on this
bandwagon to repeat the false and disgusting
analogy that compares Israel to the Nazis or seeks to
deny the scale of the Holocaust. Unfortunately not only
Hamas but also Palestinian President Mahmoud
Abbas has described Israel's
actions as "worse than
the Holocaust". Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal called
Israel's military operations "the real Holocaust" and
accused Israel of "exaggerating the Holocaust and
using it to blackmail the world."
The European Union's
Working Definition of Anti-Semitism includes:
- Accusing the Jews as a people, or Israel as a
state, of inventing or exaggerating the Holocaust; and
- Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli
policy to that of the Nazis.
Please be on the lookout for these false comparisons
in op-eds and media articles and respond
appropriately. - - - -
See Also
One Year Analysis: Reuters 2007 "Pictures of the
Month" Here
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6) The prince of the kingdom of Persia
Israel "would not dare attack Iran":
Ahmadinejad
REUTERS [Thomson-Reuters] - Editing by Jon Boyle -
January 17, 2008
DUBAI - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
said on Thursday that Israel "would not dare attack
Iran", after Israel said it tested a missile and warned
against Tehran's nuclear program.
"The Zionist regime --- would not dare attack Iran,"
Ahmadinejad told Al Jazeera television in remarks
translated into Arabic, referring to Israel. "The Iranian
response would make them regret it, and they know
this."
"It knows that any attack on Iranian territories would
prompt a fierce response," he added. - - -
Ahmadinejad said Israel was a "criminal regime"
which would not gain legitimacy through threats. "It
has lost its philosophical reason to exist," he said,
adding that regional countries rejected Israel for
occupying Palestinian territories. - - - -
Read Full Report
Israel worried as Russia sends nuclear fuel
to Iran
REUTERS [Thomson-Reuters] - January 17, 2008
MOSCOW - Israel said on Thursday that Russian
deliveries of nuclear fuel to Iran might help Tehran
develop nuclear weapons.
Russia last month delivered the first shipment of
nuclear fuel to Iran's first nuclear power plant in
Bushehr, a step which both Moscow and Washington
said should convince Tehran to stop its own uranium
enrichment programme.
But Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said during a
visit to Russia that the fuel might help Iran develop its
nuclear weapons programme.
"Now Russia has started delivering nuclear fuel to
Bushehr, (Iran's) uranium enrichment may serve
military goals," Russian news agencies quoted Livni
as saying. - - - -
Read Full
Report
U.S. sells Syria dual-use tech that could be
used
by Iran
WORLD TRIBUNE [East West Services] - January 31,
2008
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration has
approved the sale of advanced dual-use computers to
Syria.
"It's a major piece of equipment and is being given to
an ally that could use it for military purposes as well
as share it with Iran," an official said.
The export, disclosed by the U.S. television network
Fox, was approved despite U.S. sanctions on
Damascus of military and advanced dual-use
systems. Syria, deemed a terrorist sponsor, has been
in the same category as Iran and North Korea.
Read Full Report
Iran will have nuclear weapon in three years:
Mossad
AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE - February 5, 2008
Israel's Mossad spy agency estimates Iran will
develop a nuclear weapon within three years and
continue to provide rockets to regional armed groups,
a newspaper reported on Tuesday.
Mossad director Meir Dagan, in an intelligence
assessment presented to Israel's powerful foreign
affairs and defence committee on Monday, said the
Jewish state would face increased threats on all
fronts, Maariv daily said.
Dagan's estimate of Iran's nuclear ambitions differs
sharply from an assessment by the US intelligence
community late last year that said Iran had mothballed
its nuclear weapons programme in 2003. - - -
In Monday's report, Dagan also predicted that Tehran
would continue to supply more and better rockets and
training to Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza
Strip.
Dagan added that Iran's allies Syria and the
Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah were also working
to develop an increased rocket ability. - - - -
Read
Full Report
Iran: Cancerous Israel to be destroyed by
radiation
YEDIOTH AHRONOTH [Yedioth Ahronoth Group -
Private] - By Dudi Cohen - February 18, 2008
General Mohammad Ali Jaafari, commander of the
Iranian Revolutionary Guards, has sent a letter of
condolence to Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan
Nasrallah following the assassination of the
organization's senior commander Imad Mugniyah,
saying he believed "the cancerous bacterium called
Israel" would vanish soon, the Iranian news agency
Fars reported Monday.
According to Jaafari, "I am convinced that with every
day that passes Hizbullah's power increases, and in
the near future we will bear witness to the
disappearance of this cancerous bacterium, Israel, by
the radiation of Hizbullah's fighters."
In the letter comforting Nasrallah over the death of
the "shahid" (martyr) Mugniyah, Jaafari wrote, "There
is no doubt that the death of this loyal fighter will
strengthen the determination of all the revolutionary
and warrior Muslims in their battle against the Zionist
regime, and particularly the determination of those
fighting alongside this shahid."
Mugniyah was considered close to the Revolutionary
Guards, and particularly to the Quds Force, which was
recently designated by the United States as a
supporter of terror. Together they trained Hizbullah
fighters in Lebanon and Iran and planned terror
attacks worldwide.
Upon hearing of Mugniyah's death, the Iranian
leaders, headed by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,
sent cards and letters of condolence to Nasrallah. - - -
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Read Full Report
Israel a 'filthy black germ,' claims Iran's
Ahmadinejad
WORLDNETDAILY - February 26, 2008
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who
says "scholars" have every right to question the
existence of the Holocaust, now has described Israel
as a "filthy black germ" that was set loose on the
Middle East by those who wanted to "use it as a
pretext" to have their way.
And he warned those who oppose Iran's pursuit of
nuclear power he no longer will "joke" about the
issue. "We consider the [nuclear] issue a done deal,"
he said.
The comments were captured on video and translated
by the Middle East Media Research Institute, an
independent, non-profit organization that monitors and
reports on developments in the Middle East. - - - -
Read Full Report
Ahmadinejad in Baghdad's Green Zone
DEBKAFILE - March 4, 2008
During his 2-day visit to Baghdad, March 2-3,
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Iraqi hosts did a
good job of ignoring the ubiquitous US military
presence in Iraq - except for the Iranian president's
ritual anti-American blast. His welcome by Iraqi
president, the Kurdish Jalal Talabani, and Shiite
prime minister Nouri al-Maliki was played up as a
bilateral event. Contact between the visitors' retinue
and the US military was nil.
Yet in Tehran, DEBKAfile's Iranian sources report, the
president's excursion into US-occupied territory was
counted as a step forward in its seven-month old
secret Saudi-mediated dialogue with Washington. - - -
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Read Full Report
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7) Exposed: Hamas used human shields
International community blasted Jewish state
for 'aggression' against civilians
WORLDNETDAILY - By Aaron Klein - March 5, 2008
JERUSALEM - As the Israeli government today
decided to press ahead with its war against
Palestinian rocket-fire from Gaza, new details
emerged revealing the Hamas terror group's use of
human shields while fighting Israeli forces in
Gaza.
Israel last week launched a mid-scale ground and air
assault on Hamas positions in Gaza following
massive rocket bombardments of Jewish cities by
Palestinian terrorists.
In a major escalation last week, Hamas fired long-
range Grad rockets at the strategic port city of
Ashkelon, home to about 125,000 Israelis. Ashkelon
houses a major electrical plant that powers most of
the Gaza Strip.
During the fighting, focused largely on the minor
Hamas infrastructure in the city of Jabaliya about one
mile into the Gaza Strip, an Israeli commander
speaking to WND from inside Gaza said Hamas has
been drawing Israeli forces into populated civilian
areas, shooting at Jewish fighters from occupied
civilian homes while women and children were
inside.
Now, new details have emerged following Israel
Defense Forces military debriefings yesterday with
senior personnel from the two brigades that fought in
Gaza last weekend.
The commanders described how fighting took place
in very densely populated areas and how in many
cases Hamas gunmen drew Israeli troops into firing
at civilian homes. - - - -
Also
Hamas firing from civilian homes
WORLDNETDAILY - By Aaron Klein - March 2,
2008
JAFFA - Amid Israel's ongoing ground operation in the
Gaza Strip, the Hamas terrorist group has been
drawing Israeli forces into populated civilian areas,
shooting at Jewish fighters from occupied civilian
homes while women and children were inside, an
Israel Defense Forces commander fighting in Gaza
told WND.
"Hamas terror operatives shooting at us took up
positions inside civilian homes while the civilians
were still inside," said the commander, who was
speaking from the outskirts of an IDF operation in
Jabaliya in the northern Gaza Strip.
"The aim is to draw us into killing civilians to bring
about international pressure to end our operation," the
commander said, speaking on condition his name be
withheld due to Israeli military restrictions on media
interviews by fighting forces.
The commander said in one case today, four Hamas
snipers shot at Israeli forces about from the open
window of a home where women can be clearly seen
in the background. - - - -
Read Full Report
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11) Egyptian ambulances help Hamas smuggle fighters and weapons into Gaza
DEBKAFILE - March 3, 2008
Sunday, March 2, Egypt re-opened Gaza's Rafah
crossing for the first time since Hamas blew up the
border wall on Jan. 23 for ambulances to collect some
150 wounded Palestinians.
DEBKAfile's military sources disclose that 27
ambulances also brought in 15-20 Hamas
commando fighters, part of the of the 120-strong
group rounded up in Sinai and detained on their return
from advanced courses in Iran and Syria. They were
permitted to cross back into Gaza with a quantity of
weapons and ammunition.
Israel military sources are watching to see if the
incoming ambulances are also carrying shoulder-
borne anti-air missiles for shooting down Israeli
helicopters and drones, which Hamas has been
pressing Egypt to allow them to bring in. So far Cairo
has resisted this demand but may have now relented.
These sources describe the returning Hamas fighters
as highly trained for guerilla warfare against
conventional armies and therefore a valuable
increment for Hamas' war against Israel.
Our sources also confirm that the incoming group of
trained fighters is not the first Cairo waved through the
Rafah terminal. Last week, as fighting flared between
Israel and Hamas, 17 were admitted to reinforce
embattled Hamas. Israel officials imposed a blackout
on this incident, reluctant to show the public the two-
faced nature of Cairo's policy of lenience for Hamas
behind the mask of cooperation with Israel's war on
terror. The Olmert government also feared the
exposure of the real state of affairs on the Gaza-
Egyptian frontier notwithstanding its under-the-counter
tacit acceptance of the buildup of Egyptian frontier
troops to 1,500 in breach of the 1982 peace
treaty.
Prime minister Olmert prefers to avoid any
disclosures that might embarrass Cairo ahead of
Condoleezza Rice's visits to Israel, Ramallah and
Egypt, starting Tuesday, March 4. - - - -
Also
Chemicals for explosives concealed in
Palestinian food containers transiting open Israel-
Gaza border crossings
DEBKAFILE - March 5, 2008
Israel reopened the border crossings Tuesday, March
3, for food and other essential supplies to reach the
Gaza population. Wednesday, a load of cans
marked "edible oil" was found to contain a chemical
substance resembling glue for the manufacture of
explosives used in Palestinian missiles fired against
Israel. The trucks, like the 100 which crossed into
Gaza Tuesday, originated in the West Bank.
Read Full
Report
Egypt building Gaza wall to thwart further
breaches
AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE - March 6, 2008
EL-ARISH, Egypt - Egypt has started building a
concrete wall along its border with Gaza, a security
official said Thursday, even as it speaks to Hamas
about improving the dire situation in the increasingly
isolated enclave.
"Egypt has started work on a three-metre (ten foot)-
high wall along the border with Gaza," the official said,
adding that a three-kilometre (two mile) section of the
wall had already been built.
"It is a preventative measure. There is no threat of
another border breach at the moment," the official
said. - - - -
Read Full Report
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12) Ashdod Prepares to be Next Target of Gaza Missiles
ARUTZ SHEVA (Israeli National News) - By Ezra
Halevi - March 5, 2008
The city of Ashdod, several kilometers north of
Ashkelon on the Mediterranean and home to over
200,000 residents, is preparing to be the next city to
come within range of rockets from Gaza.
The Ashdod Municipality says it does not intend to wait
for the rockets to fall and is making preparations to
protect its residents already, together with the IDF's
Home Front Command. In the security establishment,
it is already acknowledged that Iran may have already
supplied Hamas with missiles capable of reaching
double the distance the Grad-type Katyushas landing
in Ashkelon can reach.
The fifth largest city in Israel, Ashdod's port is Israel's
largest, accounting for sixty percent of the country's
imported goods. The city isis mentioned thirteen
times in the Bible.
Hamas has recently been making vocal threats of the
type heard from Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah
prior to that terrorist group's firing of rockets at Haifa
and Hadera, from the north, during the Second
Lebanon War. "We will strike beyond Ashkelon,"
several Hamas leaders have declared at rallies and
Arabic press conferences, according to Maariv. Many
have mentioned Ashdod by name.
The Ashdod municipality emphasizes that the steps
being taken now are merely precautions and do not
indicate an intelligence assessment that places the
town under threat in the near future. Local officials,
however, have been spending much of their time in
Ashkelon, learning from up close how a major city
deals with alerting and protecting its citizenry from
airborne bombs fired from Hamas-controlled
Gaza.
If Ashdod becomes a target, that means the cities of
Kiryat Gat and Ofakim would be within range as well.
IDF intelligence believes that Hamas may be waiting
for a large-scale ground operation or the killing of one
of its top terrorists to use the longer-range missiles.
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15) Sources: Fatah activist planned Jerusalem massacre
Israel on high alert as thousands gather for funerals
of slain students
WORLDNETDAILY - By Aaron Klein - March 7, 2008
JERUSALEM - The Jerusalem shooting massacre
that left eight Jewish seminary students dead
yesterday was planned on behalf of the Hezbollah
terrorist group by an activist from Palestinian Authority
President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah organization,
according to senior Israeli and Palestinian security
officials speaking to WND.
Israel, coordinating with Palestinian intelligence
services, has specific information the bloody
massacre was financed by Hezbollah and was
planned in the West Bank city of Bethlehem by
Muhammad Jihadi, a Fatah activist who ran as a
Fatah candidate but lost in the 2006 Palestinian
elections.
The attack reportedly was carried out by an Arab who
worked as a driver at the rabbinical seminary and lived
in the Jerusalem village of Jable al-Mujabre.
WND reported exclusively yesterday an Arab ID from
Jable al-Mujabre was found amid the carnage and
dead bodies in the yeshiva.
Fatah activist Jihadi received financing from Hezbollah
to plan the attack, according to senior security sources
speaking to WND.
Jihadi's Bethlehem house was raided and
demolished this morning by Israeli forces. The Fatah
activist, who was not inside his home, is still at
large.
According to Palestinian security officials familiar with
Jihadi, after losing the 2006 election as a Fatah
leader, Jihadi worked for about six months for the
Islamic Jihad terror group but then switched back to
Fatah.
"He would go wherever the money was," said a
Palestinian security official. "He thought he could get
more money from Islamic Jihad, so he worked for
them for a few months but then switched back to
Fatah because he didn't like his Islamic Jihad
salary."
According to Israeli security sources, Jihadi previously
assisted in terrorist attacks carried out from the
Bethlehem area by the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades,
Fatah's declared military wing. - - - -
See Also
Leads to Hamas-Damascus, Hizballah - or both -
in Jerusalem students' murders
DEBKAFILE - March 7, 2008
DEBKAfile reports that the line of investigation
developing the day after a Palestinian terrorist
murdered 8 Israeli yeshiva students in Jerusalem is
that the Hamas command in Damascus, or Hizballah
in Beirut activated the killer, Ala Abu Dhaim 25, a
Palestinian with Israeli citizenship from Jebal Mukaber
in S. Jerusalem.
Hamas-Gaza first took responsibility for the
massacre, then backtracked. - - -
DEBKAfile's political sources report that an explicit
Hamas admission would present the Israeli
government with a dilemma. It has already drawn up a
detailed plan of action to fight Hamas in Gaza over its
rocket blitz against Israeli civilians. Trying to play down
the issue of responsibility, the police commissioner
Dudi Cohen said the attack may have been an
isolated incident. At the same time, the security
preparedness across the country was extended to the
whole of next week and the West Bank sealed.
Our counter-terror sources point to the Hizballah
television broadcast from Beirut after the attack
naming a group called "Phalange of free Men of
Galilee - Groups of the Martyr Imad Mughniyeh and
Martyrs of Gaza."
The Phalange of Free Men of Galilee, established by
the Lebanese Hizballah, has been responsible for a
number of murders and shooting attacks on Israeli
soldiers and policemen in the northern Israel region
of Galilee during the last five years. The Beirut
statement suggests collaboration between Hamas
and Hizballah, both backed by Iran, in planning the
Jerusalem outrage. Investigators, working under
blackout, are also considering the Hizb al Tahrir, a
fanatical Islamic organization with a substantial
presence in Jerusalem, as a possible collaborator in
setting up the attack or as a connecting link between
Hizballah and Hamas.
Hizb al Tahrir has lately spread its wings among
Jerusalem Arabs and is attracting some of Hamas'
cells in the city to its ranks. This group was behind the
violent riots staged in the streets of Jerusalem this
week in solidarity with Hamas in Gaza.
Read Full Report
Attack will be seen in Messianic
terms
THE JERUSALEM
POST
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16) 'Peace partner' websites call Jerusalem attack 'heroic'
Thousands of Palestinians dancing in street,
distributing sweets
WORLDNETDAILY - By Aaron Klein - March 6, 2008
JERUSALEM - While Palestinian Authority President
Mahmoud Abbas was quick to condemn today's
deadly shooting massacre in Jerusalem, news
websites affiliated with Abbas' Fatah organization
labeled the attack "heroic."
"In a heroic act of martyrdom, at least one hero
infiltrated a Zionist school in occupied Jerusalem,"
stated the beginning of a news dispatch on Fatah's
Firas Press website translated by WND.
Another Fatah-affiliated news site, PalPress, also
used the term "heroic" to label today's attack, in which
at least eight Jews were killed and another dozen
were wounded, some seriously.
"President Mahmoud Abbas condemns the attack in
Jerusalem that claimed the lives of many Israelis, and
he reiterated his condemnation of all attacks that
target civilians, whether they are Palestinians or
Israelis," chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told
reporters today.
Meanwhile, the Fatah-affiliated news websites were
brimming with congratulatory nods to Fatah's Al Aqsa
Martyrs Brigades for today's attack, even though the
Brigades did not claim responsibility for the mass
shooting. An Israeli-Arab group did. - - - -
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17) Global Anti-Semitism Rising
THE DETROIT FREE PRESS [Knight Ridder] - By Gina
Damron - March 7, 2008
OAKLAND COUNTY: For the second time in the past
several months, there have been a string of assaults
on members of the Orthodox Jewish community in
southern Oakland County, prompting residents to
once again meet with city officials to formulate a plan
to stop the attacks. - - -
In each case -- including the attacks during the
summer and an incident in Oak Park in early
February -- people were assaulted as they walked in
neighborhoods or parks during the Jewish Sabbath,
on Fridays and Saturdays. Traditional Jewish law
forbids driving on the Sabbath, which is why Orthodox
residents walk to and from synagogue. - - -
Police said they believe teens committed the
assaults, but no one has been arrested in either
community. The incidents have prompted police in
both cities to increase patrols in neighborhoods with
heavy Orthodox populations. - - - -
Read Full Report
French Anti-Semitic Gang Lock Up, Torture
Jewish Teen
ARUTZ SHEVA (Israeli National News) - March 5,
2008
The French Jewish community and local government
officials are outraged after it was disclosed that anti-
Semitic thugs locked up, brutally attacked and
tormented a Jewish youth in the same Paris suburb
where Ilan Hamili was tortured to death two years ago.
The gang members are aged 17-25 and have been
charged with locking up a 19-year-old boy, beating
and sexually tormenting him.
The gang had falsely accused the youth of stealing
from them and lured him into an apartment of one of
the attackers. They scrawled "dirty Jew" on the face of
the victim, who was subjected to a nine and a half
hour ordeal.
The attack occurred in the Paris suburb of Bagneux,
whose municipal officials said, "We are shocked and
outraged. We condemn such acts in the strongest
term. Our city has values of tolerance, respect of
differences, fight against racism, anti-Semitism and
xenophobia," according to the European Jewish
Press.
Read Full Report
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22) First Temple seal found in Jerusalem
First Temple Seal bearing name 'Temech' -
Nehemiah 7-55 - found wk of Jan 19, 2008
THE JERUSALEM POST [Mirkaei Tikshoret/CanWest] -
By Etgar Lefkovits - January 17, 2008
A stone seal bearing the name of one of the families
who acted as servants in the First Temple and then
returned to Jerusalem after being exiled to Babylonia
has been uncovered in an archeological excavation in
Jerusalem's City of David, a prominent Israeli
archeologist said Wednesday.
The 2,500-year-old black stone seal, which has the
name "Temech" engraved on it, was found earlier this
week amid stratified debris in the excavation under
way just outside the Old City walls near the Dung
Gate, said archeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar, who is leading
the dig.
According to the Book of Nehemiah, the Temech
family were servants of the First Temple and were
sent into exile to Babylon following its destruction by
the Babylonians in 586 BCE.
The family was among those who later returned to
Jerusalem, the Bible recounts.
The seal, which was bought in Babylon and dates to
538-445 BCE, portrays a common and popular cultic
scene, Mazar said.
The 2.1 x 1.8-cm. elliptical seal is engraved with two
bearded priests standing on either side of an incense
altar with their hands raised forward in a position of
worship.
A crescent moon, the symbol of the chief Babylonian
god Sin, appears on the top of the altar.
Under this scene are three Hebrew letters spelling
Temech, Mazar said.
The Bible refers to the Temech family: "These are the
children of the province, that went up out of the
captivity, of those that had been carried away, whom
Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried
away, and came again to Jerusalem and to Judah,
every one unto his city." [Nehemiah 7:6]... "The
Nethinim [7:46]"... The children of Temech." [7:55].
The fact that this cultic scene relates to the Babylonian
chief god seemed not to have disturbed the Jews who
used it on their own seal, she added.
The seal of one of the members of the Temech family
was discovered just dozens of meters away from the
Opel area, where the servants of the Temple,
or "Nethinim," lived in the time of Nehemiah, Mazar
said.
"The seal of the Temech family gives us a direct
connection between archeology and the biblical
sources and serves as actual evidence of a family
mentioned in the Bible," she said. "One cannot help
being astonished by the credibility of the biblical
source as seen by the archaeological find."
The find will be announced by Mazar at the 8th annual
Herzliya Conference on Sunday.
The archeologist, who rose to international
prominence for her recent excavation that may have
uncovered King David's palace, most recently
uncovered the remnants of a wall from Nehemiah.
The dig is being sponsored by the Shalem Center, a
Jerusalem research institute where Mazar serves as a
senior fellow, and the City of David Foundation, which
promotes Jewish settlement throughout east
Jerusalem.
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23) New Tunnel Expands Jewish Quarter of Old City
ARUTZ SHEVA (Israeli National News) - By Ezra
HaLevi - March 6, 2008
Israel is opening a 25-meter long tunnel that will
connect the Western Wall Tunnels with an ancient
restored synagogue in the so-called Muslim Quarter,
uniting the Old City. - - -
The tunnel will lead from the Western Wall plaza to the
Ohel Yitzchak synagogue, which is being
reconstructed and rehabilitated by the Moskowitz
Foundation, headed by Land of Israel philanthropist
Irving Moskowitz.
The foundation explains on its web site the
significance of the structure: "An important building
which was originally constructed as a Jewish
religious center in the Old City of Jerusalem in the mid-
19th century, the building is one of three large and
elegant synagogues constructed in the old city during
the 19th century, and following the Six-Day War in
1967 was returned to Israel's control. The Foundation
is sponsoring the reconstruction and restoration of the
synagogue due to its historical, archaeological, urban
and architectural importance. The synagogue, when
completed, will be used for regular services and will
be open to general access as well."
The synagogue was first abandoned during the Arab
riots in 1936, and was later blown up by the Jordanian
army during its conquest of the Jewish Quarter in the
1948 War of Independence.
Muslim preachers and propagandists insist that the
new tunnel is part of a plot to tunnel beneath the
Temple Mount and destroy the mosques there. In fact,
however, the tunnel does not go past the Western
Wall, though it is presumed that the security
establishment has held off on opening the tunnels
due to fear of Muslim rioting. - - - -
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24) Biblical hero Joseph 'was really a Muslim'
Palestinians make astonishing claim, deny they'll help
restore burned tomb
WORLDNETDAILY - By Aaron Klein - February 14,
2008
In the wake of an attempt by Palestinians to burn
down Joseph's Tomb - Judaism's third holiest site -
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas'
Fatah faction issued a statement denying it will help
restore the shrine, referring to both the shrine and the
biblical patriarch as "Muslim."
"Pay no attention to the rumors that we will work with
Israel to restore the burial site of the holy Muslim
Joseph," said the statement, issued from Nablus, the
biblical city of Shechem. "We are going to guard this
holy Muslim site."
Joseph's Tomb is the believed burial place of the son
of Jacob who was sold by his brothers into slavery
and later became viceroy of Egypt.
Palestinian security officials in Nablus said Monday
they were called to the tomb to find 16 burning tires
inside the sacred structure. A Palestinian police
official who inspected the site told WND there was
some fire damage to the tomb. - - -
Under the 1993 Oslo Accords, which granted nearby
strategic territory to the Palestinians, Joseph's Tomb
was supposed to be accessible to Jews and
Christians. But following repeated attacks against
Jewish worshippers at the holy site by gunmen
associated with then-Palestinian Liberation
Organization leader Yasser Arafat's militias, then-
Prime Minister Ehud Barak in October 2000 ordered
an Israeli unilateral retreat from the area.
Within less than an hour of the Israeli retreat,
Palestinian rioters overtook Joseph's Tomb and
reportedly began to ransack the site. Palestinian
mobs reportedly tore apart books, destroying prayer
stands and grinding out stone carvings in the Tomb's
interior. A Muslim flag was hoisted over the tomb. - - - -
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25) Holocaust-themed Rio Carnival float causes strain
REUTERS [Thomson-Reuters] - By Pedro Fonseca -
January 29, 2008
RIO DE JANEIRO - A Carnival float with a pile of model
dead bodies commemorating the Holocaust is
causing unease before the lavish parades in Rio de
Janeiro this weekend.
The Viradouro samba organization, or school, plans to
feature the grim display when it marches in the
Sambadrome parade strip on Sunday, despite
objections from a local Jewish group.
"Really, it makes no sense addressing this theme
with drums and dancing girls," said Sergio Niskier,
president of the Israelite Federation in Rio de Janeiro
state, referring to the slaughter of Jews by Nazi
Germany in World War Two.
"There are still survivors of that horror who have the
marks of that tragedy on their skin," he said.
Rio's Carnival is famed for the parades by samba
schools with glitzy floats and costumes and street
parties where costumed revelers drink and dance all
night.
The elaborately decorated floats are a key part of each
samba school's presentation, along with thousands
of dancers and drummers led by near naked Carnival
queens.
Viradouro insisted its Holocaust float is not meant to
offend anyone. - - -
Barrossaid the Holocaust float would be the only one
without dancers on top.
"If we had people dancing on top of dead bodies that
would indeed be disrespectful," he told Reuters. - - - -
(Reporting by Pedro Fonseca and Andrei Khalip,
Editing by Kieran Murray)
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Contact Information
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ARUTZ SHEVA (Israeli National News) - By Nissan
Ratzlav-Katz and Hillel Fendel - March 6, 2008