PA Statement Equates IS with the 'Occupation'-In condemning IS over its terrorism, the PA's foreign ministry says that "occupation and settlements" are other names for terrorism.By Elad Benari-First Publish: 9/16/2014, 1:16 AM-ISRAELNATIONALNEWS
The Palestinian Authority on Monday condemned the “Islamic State” (IS) group over its terrorism, but also took advantage of the situation to take a jab at Israel.A statement from the PA’s foreign ministry quoted by the Ma’an news agency hinted that Israel’s actions should also be treated as terrorism.According to the statement, the ministry condemned the Islamic State's "ugly terrorism."It said the PA condemns all forms of terror whether committed by groups or countries, and condemned IS in particular for targeting journalists and innocents.“The terrorism centered in Syria and Iraq is shading the whole region and the world and is known by different names: ISIS, the Al-Nusra Front and others,” the statement said, according to Ma’an.Then, however, the statement went on to say that there are other names for terrorism including “occupation, settlements, extremist settlers acts; such as those who burned teen Mohammed Khdeir to death.”The statement made no mention of Hamas’s terror acts against Israelis, even though a leading member of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party recently compared Hamas's methods of executing and brutalizing its political opponents in Gaza to the gruesome executions carried out by IS.In an interview with the Palestinian Authority's official TV station, Fatah Central Committee member Tawfiq Tirawi expressed his anger over a string of executions and shootings of Fatah members in Gaza during Operation Protective Edge, and said the "unity deal" between Hamas and the Fatah-run Palestinian Authority was "a mistake."
Likud Decides Without PM to Topple Hamas in Next Operation-Danon calls for Netanyahu to face his own party, as members call for prime minister to step down and 'find a different party.'By Hezki Ezra, Ari Yashar-First Publish: 9/15/2014, 9:45 PM-ISRAELNATIONALNEWS
Hundreds of Likud members took part in a meeting of the party's Central Committee in Ashkelon on Monday, where they passed a party proposal obligating the toppling the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza in the next counter-terror operation."We must rehabilitate our deterrence, and in the next round destroy Hamas - there must be a clear decisive (blow)," said Likud Central Committee Chairman MK Danny Danon at the event.The statement refers to the perceived lack of decisive military action in Operation Protective Edge, the third such operation in Gaza, which ended with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu sealing a ceasefire with Hamas that coincided with a nose-dive in his approval ratings.Netanyahu himself was absent at the meeting Monday, instead taking part in a meeting of Likud activists in Petah Tikva that he arranged to conflict with the Central Committee meeting so as not to be present."Netanyahu needed to be here tonight - it would have been a demonstration of democracy for the unity of the Likud, the party and the movement," said Danon.Before the event, Danon told Arutz Sheva that Netanyahu should be present at the meeting, noting "that's how (former Prime Minister Menachem) Begin acted after uprooting from Sinai. He came, sat in the front row, listened to the members and responded. You can't ignore the party."
"Netanyahu must step down"
Danon has been at odds with Netanyahu over the operation, saying last month that the prime minister's policies of "quiet will met by quiet" and limited responses brought "humiliation" on Israel.Tensions between the two came to a head in July when Netanyahu fired Danon from his role as Deputy Defense Minister, after Danon criticized Netanyahu's decision to accept a ceasefire with the Hamas terror group.Speaking at the committee meeting on Monday, Likud Central Committee member Aryeh Elbaz said Netanyahu should step down after firing Danon."The prime minister needs to find himself a different party," charged Elbaz. "Specifically the person who needs to be leading the party created division."It was claimed that Netanyahu's ceasefire early in the operation was a ploy to gain global support after Hamas breached it, which it did - although global support was not exactly forthcoming. However, Danon noted that his criticism was vindicated after Hamas's terror tunnel system was lethally unveiled just after the ceasefire, meaning it would have been left in place by the ceasefire.Netanyahu was acting as a "contractor of the left," accused Danon, remarking that the ceasefire Netanyahu accepted would have left the tunnel system intact to potentially be used in massacring Israelis.
Hezbollah: We Won't Leave Syria-Hezbollah official says the threat from the Islamic State means there "is a great need for Hezbollah to remain in Syria".By Ben Ariel-First Publish: 9/16/2014, 3:13 AM--ISRAELNATIONALNEWS
A senior official with Hezbollah declared on Monday that the group will not leave Syria, citing the threat of the “Islamic State” (IS) and other radical groups, reports the Lebanese-based Daily Star.Speaking at a ceremony in the southern village of Aita Shaab, Nabil Qaouk, the deputy head of Hezbollah’s executive council, said, “There could never be a war of words between ISIS and us, but there is the field where we will defeat them. We will not engage in a war of statements or political disputes.”“Day after day, it is becoming clear to Lebanon and the Arab, Muslim and international communities that there is a great need for Hezbollah to remain in Syria,” he declared.“The current situation today imposes the need for Hezbollah to stay in Syria more than any other time,” added Qaouk, according to the Daily Star.Referring to last month’s clashes between the Lebanese Army and fighters from IS and the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Nusra Front, he said a battle with radical groups had been imposed on Lebanon, which was now in the eye of the storm. Hezbollah has made no secret of the fact that it is heavily involved in the Syrian civil war, sending fighters to battle rebels alongside Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s troops.The group has also expressed concerns over IS. Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah recently warned that the group is an “existential threat” menacing Lebanon and the whole region.“The Lebanese need to be aware of this existential threat and the need to confront it,” Nasrallah said, adding, “We must find true, realistic and serious means to counter this threat.”
Israelis Warned of Heightened Terror Threat Abroad-Western Europe highlighted as region of concern, along with Africa, amid warnings of jihadi fighters returning from abroad.By Ari Soffer-First Publish: 9/15/2014, 1:29 PM-ISRAELNATIONALNEWS
The Israeli National Security Council's Counter-Terrorism Bureau has warned of the increased likelihood of terror attacks targeting Israeli and Jewish targets in the run up to the High Holy Days, highlighting western Europe as an area of particular concern.In a report issued Monday assessing global terror threats, the Bureau noted the significant danger of western nationals currently fighting abroad for global jihadi groups, including Al Qaeda and the "Islamic State" (ISIS), returning to their home countries to commit terrorist attacks. It cited the example of Mehdi Nemmouche, the French-Algerian former ISIS fighter and torturer, who returned to Europe and is believed to have carried out a deadly shooting at the Brussels Jewish Museum, which killed four people including two Israelis.Nemmouche is said to have planned a much larger terror attack to take place in Paris, but was apprehended before he could carry it out.Some 2,000 of ISIS's fighters are thought to hail from western states, and many have indeed returned home already. According to British authorities for example, of the 500 or so UK nationals who traveled to fight for the Islamic State, roughly half have already returned home - 40 of whom have been arrested.The Bureau added that from the eve of Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) until the end of the festival of Sukkot the threat of attacks against Jewish and Israeli targets will increase, and also cited the recent war with Gazan terrorists as a factor behind the increased motivation of Islamist terrorists to attack Israelis at this time. Extremists in Europe used Operation Protective Edge as a pretext to unleash a wave of anti-Semitism unprecedented in recent memory, but the terror alert illustrates how that phenomenon may be but the tip of the iceberg.Apart from Sunni jihadi groups, the Bureau also warned of the threat posed by Iranian-backed terror networks, which are still looking for "soft" Israeli targets, such as tourist hotspots, Chabad centers and other Jewish centers and institutions. Iranian and Hezbollah terrorists have repeatedly attempted to attack Israeli tourists in the far-east, most notably in Thailand.In addition to western Europe, the report also issued a severe warning against traveling to the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. The Sinai is a popular region for Israeli tourists, but it is also the site of an increasingly aggressive and brutal Islamist insurgency whose main instigators, Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, is believed to be aligned with the Islamic State.The report also added that there were credible terror threats against Israeli tourism and business interests in Africa, specifically Kenya and and Nigeria, where Al Qaeda-aligned groups such as Boko Haram are particularly active.Other regions Israelis are advised to avoid traveling to include southern Thailand, Algeria, Burkina-Faso, Djibouti, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritania, Pakistan, Togo and Tunisia. The gulf states, Jordan and Turkey are also on the list, as is eastern Senegal.
Al Qaeda Flags Continue to Fly Near Temple Mount-Black flags of jihad still flying atop the Kotel Hakatan - and neither the police nor the city are doing anything about it.By Moshe Cohen-First Publish: 9/15/2014, 4:45 PM-ISRAELNATIONALNEWS
Flags of the Al Qaeda terror group are flying atop the Kotel Hakatan (“Small Kotel”), a remnant of the retaining wall of the Temple Mount that is a continuation of the Western Wall, located in the Muslim Quarter. The Kotel Hakatan is adjacent to one of the entrances to the Temple Mount.Meanwhile, said Avichail Weizmann, a resident of the Old City and a student at Hakotel Yeshiva in the Jewish Quarter, municipal signs and other symbols of Israeli sovereignty are torn down or destroyed on a regular basis, and that includes signs in the area of the Kotel Hakatan, which he visits frequently. Speaking to Arutz Sheva, Weizmann said that he had contacted city officials numerous times about the issue, but so far to no avail.Two weeks ago, Weizmann said that he noticed several flags with Arabic writing flying over the Kotel Hakatan – a flag which turned out to be the symbol of Al Qaeda. He filed a complaint with police, which sent out an investigator – who concluded that the flags were actually signs of a “religious nature” and as such none of the police department's business. According to Weizmann, the flags are stil there.In a recent interview, Mati Dan, chairman of the Ateret Cohanim organization, said that the Religious Affairs Ministry was taking responsibility for the Kotel Hakatan. According to Dan, the decision was made on Monday, the eve of the Fast of the 9th of Av. “After a year of discussions on who will take responsibility for this site, the Knesset Interior Committee, chaired by MK Miri Regev, managed to get the government to take charge,” said Dan. “This is in line with the laws regarding the administration of holy places, which is the Ministry's responsibility.”In another recent move, the Justice Ministry said that anyone who wave the flags or display other symbols associated with ISIS, Hamas, Hezbollah, or other terror organizations – like Al Qaeda - will be subject to arrest and prosecution. “When such flags and symbols are displayed police must judge if there is a possibility of public disorder or disturbance, or of danger to the public,” Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein said in a letter. “If there is, police should take steps to remove the flags. In appropriate cases, charges may be made against perpetrators,” the letter added.However, the Al Qaeda flags flying at the Kotel Hakatan seem to have fallen through the cracks, said Weizmann. When he first complained in the summer, Weizmann said, the municipality told him that they would deal with it only after the Muslim month of Ramadan, in order not to inflate tensions. Then, he said, the city's excuse was not to raise tensions during Operation Protective Edge. Now that the operation is over, the city has run out of excuses – but still refuses to act.Seeing those flags, he added, lends a very unholy atmosphere to the site - “even though it is the most accessible site closest to the Holy of Holies, the most important part of the Holy Temple,” he added.
The Palestinian Authority on Monday condemned the “Islamic State” (IS) group over its terrorism, but also took advantage of the situation to take a jab at Israel.A statement from the PA’s foreign ministry quoted by the Ma’an news agency hinted that Israel’s actions should also be treated as terrorism.According to the statement, the ministry condemned the Islamic State's "ugly terrorism."It said the PA condemns all forms of terror whether committed by groups or countries, and condemned IS in particular for targeting journalists and innocents.“The terrorism centered in Syria and Iraq is shading the whole region and the world and is known by different names: ISIS, the Al-Nusra Front and others,” the statement said, according to Ma’an.Then, however, the statement went on to say that there are other names for terrorism including “occupation, settlements, extremist settlers acts; such as those who burned teen Mohammed Khdeir to death.”The statement made no mention of Hamas’s terror acts against Israelis, even though a leading member of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party recently compared Hamas's methods of executing and brutalizing its political opponents in Gaza to the gruesome executions carried out by IS.In an interview with the Palestinian Authority's official TV station, Fatah Central Committee member Tawfiq Tirawi expressed his anger over a string of executions and shootings of Fatah members in Gaza during Operation Protective Edge, and said the "unity deal" between Hamas and the Fatah-run Palestinian Authority was "a mistake."
Likud Decides Without PM to Topple Hamas in Next Operation-Danon calls for Netanyahu to face his own party, as members call for prime minister to step down and 'find a different party.'By Hezki Ezra, Ari Yashar-First Publish: 9/15/2014, 9:45 PM-ISRAELNATIONALNEWS
Hundreds of Likud members took part in a meeting of the party's Central Committee in Ashkelon on Monday, where they passed a party proposal obligating the toppling the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza in the next counter-terror operation."We must rehabilitate our deterrence, and in the next round destroy Hamas - there must be a clear decisive (blow)," said Likud Central Committee Chairman MK Danny Danon at the event.The statement refers to the perceived lack of decisive military action in Operation Protective Edge, the third such operation in Gaza, which ended with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu sealing a ceasefire with Hamas that coincided with a nose-dive in his approval ratings.Netanyahu himself was absent at the meeting Monday, instead taking part in a meeting of Likud activists in Petah Tikva that he arranged to conflict with the Central Committee meeting so as not to be present."Netanyahu needed to be here tonight - it would have been a demonstration of democracy for the unity of the Likud, the party and the movement," said Danon.Before the event, Danon told Arutz Sheva that Netanyahu should be present at the meeting, noting "that's how (former Prime Minister Menachem) Begin acted after uprooting from Sinai. He came, sat in the front row, listened to the members and responded. You can't ignore the party."
"Netanyahu must step down"
Danon has been at odds with Netanyahu over the operation, saying last month that the prime minister's policies of "quiet will met by quiet" and limited responses brought "humiliation" on Israel.Tensions between the two came to a head in July when Netanyahu fired Danon from his role as Deputy Defense Minister, after Danon criticized Netanyahu's decision to accept a ceasefire with the Hamas terror group.Speaking at the committee meeting on Monday, Likud Central Committee member Aryeh Elbaz said Netanyahu should step down after firing Danon."The prime minister needs to find himself a different party," charged Elbaz. "Specifically the person who needs to be leading the party created division."It was claimed that Netanyahu's ceasefire early in the operation was a ploy to gain global support after Hamas breached it, which it did - although global support was not exactly forthcoming. However, Danon noted that his criticism was vindicated after Hamas's terror tunnel system was lethally unveiled just after the ceasefire, meaning it would have been left in place by the ceasefire.Netanyahu was acting as a "contractor of the left," accused Danon, remarking that the ceasefire Netanyahu accepted would have left the tunnel system intact to potentially be used in massacring Israelis.
Hezbollah: We Won't Leave Syria-Hezbollah official says the threat from the Islamic State means there "is a great need for Hezbollah to remain in Syria".By Ben Ariel-First Publish: 9/16/2014, 3:13 AM--ISRAELNATIONALNEWS
A senior official with Hezbollah declared on Monday that the group will not leave Syria, citing the threat of the “Islamic State” (IS) and other radical groups, reports the Lebanese-based Daily Star.Speaking at a ceremony in the southern village of Aita Shaab, Nabil Qaouk, the deputy head of Hezbollah’s executive council, said, “There could never be a war of words between ISIS and us, but there is the field where we will defeat them. We will not engage in a war of statements or political disputes.”“Day after day, it is becoming clear to Lebanon and the Arab, Muslim and international communities that there is a great need for Hezbollah to remain in Syria,” he declared.“The current situation today imposes the need for Hezbollah to stay in Syria more than any other time,” added Qaouk, according to the Daily Star.Referring to last month’s clashes between the Lebanese Army and fighters from IS and the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Nusra Front, he said a battle with radical groups had been imposed on Lebanon, which was now in the eye of the storm. Hezbollah has made no secret of the fact that it is heavily involved in the Syrian civil war, sending fighters to battle rebels alongside Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s troops.The group has also expressed concerns over IS. Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah recently warned that the group is an “existential threat” menacing Lebanon and the whole region.“The Lebanese need to be aware of this existential threat and the need to confront it,” Nasrallah said, adding, “We must find true, realistic and serious means to counter this threat.”
Israelis Warned of Heightened Terror Threat Abroad-Western Europe highlighted as region of concern, along with Africa, amid warnings of jihadi fighters returning from abroad.By Ari Soffer-First Publish: 9/15/2014, 1:29 PM-ISRAELNATIONALNEWS
The Israeli National Security Council's Counter-Terrorism Bureau has warned of the increased likelihood of terror attacks targeting Israeli and Jewish targets in the run up to the High Holy Days, highlighting western Europe as an area of particular concern.In a report issued Monday assessing global terror threats, the Bureau noted the significant danger of western nationals currently fighting abroad for global jihadi groups, including Al Qaeda and the "Islamic State" (ISIS), returning to their home countries to commit terrorist attacks. It cited the example of Mehdi Nemmouche, the French-Algerian former ISIS fighter and torturer, who returned to Europe and is believed to have carried out a deadly shooting at the Brussels Jewish Museum, which killed four people including two Israelis.Nemmouche is said to have planned a much larger terror attack to take place in Paris, but was apprehended before he could carry it out.Some 2,000 of ISIS's fighters are thought to hail from western states, and many have indeed returned home already. According to British authorities for example, of the 500 or so UK nationals who traveled to fight for the Islamic State, roughly half have already returned home - 40 of whom have been arrested.The Bureau added that from the eve of Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) until the end of the festival of Sukkot the threat of attacks against Jewish and Israeli targets will increase, and also cited the recent war with Gazan terrorists as a factor behind the increased motivation of Islamist terrorists to attack Israelis at this time. Extremists in Europe used Operation Protective Edge as a pretext to unleash a wave of anti-Semitism unprecedented in recent memory, but the terror alert illustrates how that phenomenon may be but the tip of the iceberg.Apart from Sunni jihadi groups, the Bureau also warned of the threat posed by Iranian-backed terror networks, which are still looking for "soft" Israeli targets, such as tourist hotspots, Chabad centers and other Jewish centers and institutions. Iranian and Hezbollah terrorists have repeatedly attempted to attack Israeli tourists in the far-east, most notably in Thailand.In addition to western Europe, the report also issued a severe warning against traveling to the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. The Sinai is a popular region for Israeli tourists, but it is also the site of an increasingly aggressive and brutal Islamist insurgency whose main instigators, Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, is believed to be aligned with the Islamic State.The report also added that there were credible terror threats against Israeli tourism and business interests in Africa, specifically Kenya and and Nigeria, where Al Qaeda-aligned groups such as Boko Haram are particularly active.Other regions Israelis are advised to avoid traveling to include southern Thailand, Algeria, Burkina-Faso, Djibouti, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritania, Pakistan, Togo and Tunisia. The gulf states, Jordan and Turkey are also on the list, as is eastern Senegal.
Al Qaeda Flags Continue to Fly Near Temple Mount-Black flags of jihad still flying atop the Kotel Hakatan - and neither the police nor the city are doing anything about it.By Moshe Cohen-First Publish: 9/15/2014, 4:45 PM-ISRAELNATIONALNEWS
Flags of the Al Qaeda terror group are flying atop the Kotel Hakatan (“Small Kotel”), a remnant of the retaining wall of the Temple Mount that is a continuation of the Western Wall, located in the Muslim Quarter. The Kotel Hakatan is adjacent to one of the entrances to the Temple Mount.Meanwhile, said Avichail Weizmann, a resident of the Old City and a student at Hakotel Yeshiva in the Jewish Quarter, municipal signs and other symbols of Israeli sovereignty are torn down or destroyed on a regular basis, and that includes signs in the area of the Kotel Hakatan, which he visits frequently. Speaking to Arutz Sheva, Weizmann said that he had contacted city officials numerous times about the issue, but so far to no avail.Two weeks ago, Weizmann said that he noticed several flags with Arabic writing flying over the Kotel Hakatan – a flag which turned out to be the symbol of Al Qaeda. He filed a complaint with police, which sent out an investigator – who concluded that the flags were actually signs of a “religious nature” and as such none of the police department's business. According to Weizmann, the flags are stil there.In a recent interview, Mati Dan, chairman of the Ateret Cohanim organization, said that the Religious Affairs Ministry was taking responsibility for the Kotel Hakatan. According to Dan, the decision was made on Monday, the eve of the Fast of the 9th of Av. “After a year of discussions on who will take responsibility for this site, the Knesset Interior Committee, chaired by MK Miri Regev, managed to get the government to take charge,” said Dan. “This is in line with the laws regarding the administration of holy places, which is the Ministry's responsibility.”In another recent move, the Justice Ministry said that anyone who wave the flags or display other symbols associated with ISIS, Hamas, Hezbollah, or other terror organizations – like Al Qaeda - will be subject to arrest and prosecution. “When such flags and symbols are displayed police must judge if there is a possibility of public disorder or disturbance, or of danger to the public,” Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein said in a letter. “If there is, police should take steps to remove the flags. In appropriate cases, charges may be made against perpetrators,” the letter added.However, the Al Qaeda flags flying at the Kotel Hakatan seem to have fallen through the cracks, said Weizmann. When he first complained in the summer, Weizmann said, the municipality told him that they would deal with it only after the Muslim month of Ramadan, in order not to inflate tensions. Then, he said, the city's excuse was not to raise tensions during Operation Protective Edge. Now that the operation is over, the city has run out of excuses – but still refuses to act.Seeing those flags, he added, lends a very unholy atmosphere to the site - “even though it is the most accessible site closest to the Holy of Holies, the most important part of the Holy Temple,” he added.
