FATAH TO ISRAEL: DO WHAT WE WANT, OR FACE INTIFADA
by David Lev (Arutz Sheva News)

If Israel does not agree to terms laid out by the PA, Fatah recommends a new intifada to for Israel to give the PA what it wants

If Israel does not surrender all the lands liberated in the Six Day War of 1967, set up an Arab state with Jerusalem as its capital, and make significant concessions in accepting as citizens descendants of Arabs who fled Israel in 1948, a third intifada should, and must, be conducted. The call for a new “uprising of the people” against Israel was part of the summation statement issued at the end of the two day Palestinian Revolutionary Council (PRC) general meeting held this week. The meeting was led by Palestinian Authority chief and Fatah party head Mahmoud Abbas.

The statement declares its support for Abbas’ ongoing refusal to back down from positions that have proven unacceptable to Israel in the past, including demands that Israel agree in principle to accept as citizens descendants of Arabs who fled their homes in 1948. Abbas has also declared that he will refuse to discuss anything with Israel until all settlement activity is ended. That precondition has also been unacceptable to Israel, but in its statement, the PRC said that it supported Abbas on that as well.

The PA will also make another attempt to be recognized as a state by the United Nations this year. Last year, the PA statehood bid was thwarted after many months of intense diplomatic activity by Israel, but analysts said that the PA was less likely to back down this time, and would insist that the matter be brought before the Security Council.

The statement also expresses ongoing support for attempts to reunite Fatah and Hamas in the PA government. It also praised the election of Mohammed Morsi as President of Egypt, saying that it “indicates that Egypt is on the way to resume its major role in the Arab world.”

SYRIA DEATH TOLL SPIRALS: 170 KILLED IN ONE DAY
By REUTERS

Activists say more than 50 of those killed died in Douma in one of the deadliest days in Syria’s 16-month uprising.

BEIRUT – Syrians in the besieged city of Douma wrapped mangled and bloodied corpses in white burial shrouds early on Friday, according to video posted online, after 190 people were killed in one of the deadliest days of Syria’s 16-month-old uprising.

Activists said more than 50 of those killed on Thursday died in Douma, about 15 km (9 miles) outside the capital Damascus.

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Video published on YouTube showed rows of shrouded bodies lining what activists said was a street in Douma. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 41 people had died in the city, while other activists placed the toll at 59 or higher.

“Douma, the morning of June 29, 2012. This is the massacre committed against the people of Douma. God is our savior. Two whole families are here (among the dead) … God help us,” said the man filming the scene.

One man held up the limp body of a girl, her pink blouse drenched in blood.

“This is another massacre of the massacres by Assad and his secret police,” he said. “This is another massacre of the massacres by the international community, of all the great nations that have conspired against our people.”

Douma has been under siege for weeks by security forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Activists say rockets have been raining down on the city for days amid heavy fighting between rebels and government forces. Video showed homes whose roofs had caved in and clouds of dust rising from crumbling buildings.

An activist called Mohammed Doumany told Reuters by Skype that 22 people from a single family had been killed.

“Dozens of the victims are still waiting to be buried, as cities continue to be under fire,” said a statement from activists posted online. Many of the injured were in critical condition.

Syria’s revolt has grown bloodier in recent weeks.

Rebels, apparently getting access to heavier weapons that can be used against tanks, have inflicted higher losses on Assad’s forces.

The army has also intensified its onslaught, using helicopter gunships to attack rebels and laying siege to rebellious towns.

Opposition activists accuse the international community of inaction. Diplomacy has failed to produce an agreement between Western powers, who favor the opposition, and Russia, which has used its veto power at the United Nations Security Council to block Western and Sunni Arab moves to drive Assad from power.

HAMAS REVELATION SHOWS WHY PALESTINIAN STATE IS A BAD IDEA by Ryan Jones (Israel Today News)

Hamas this week published an interview with one of their operatives recently released from an Israeli prison that once again demonstrates why allowing the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state is a bad idea.

Ahmed Akram Salmi told the official Hamas website that prior to being arrested, he had been part of a cell that was producing rockets and missiles in Samaria (the so-called “West Bank”). The cell established a manufacturing facility near the de facto Palestinian capital of Ramallah,and intended to launch attacks on high-profile Israeli targets.

“The most obvious rocket targets were the Knesset building, the Ben Gurion Airport and other cities, the most prominent of which was Tel Aviv,” said Salmi. The “West Bank” surrounds most of Jerusalem and its western edge sits on the hills overlooking Greater Tel Aviv, putting all of these areas within range of even the least sophisticated terrorist rockets.

Salmi said the rocket program was only thwarted because incessant suicide bombings had resulted in Israel launching a major 2002 military offensive known as Operation Defense Shield.

If Salmi’s former aspirations seem far-fetched from a geopolitical point of view, the example of the Gaza Strip proves they remain very realistic, and provide good reason for Israel to view the establishment of a Palestinian state with grave concern.

The thinking of most of Israel’s leaders and international power-brokers is that the Palestinian Authority would behave pragmatically and never allow Hamas to carry out such attacks, despite its own distaste for Israel.

But that assessment fails to take two important factors into account:
1.
In anything resembling a democratic setting, the “Arab street” will elect to power the movement that appears strongest and most capable of inflicting damage on perceived enemies. That is why Hamas stunned the world by winning the last Palestinian election so handily. It would likely do so again in a newly-established Palestinian state.

2.
Were Hamas denied the right to exercise its democratically-won powers in a new Palestinian state, it would simply seize control by force of arms, as it did in Gaza, barring, of course, major military intervention by Israel or Western powers, which would be unlikely.

Some will try to counter the above by insisting that being made the head of a real state would force Hamas to behave in a more diplomatic and pragmatic manner. The same failed argument was made when Hamas won its coup in Gaza.

Rather than use the opportunity to demonstrate its state-running capabilities, Hamas transformed Gaza into a major terrorist haven from which an unprecedented number of attacks were launched against Israel. When Hamas itself didn’t want bad press, it simply allowed smaller allied terror groups to carry out the attacks.

All the evidence of the past decade suggests that an independent Palestinian state would quickly be either taken over or handed over by the voters to radical Islamic elements that do not accept Israel’s existence. Those elements would either carry out or facilitate attacks on Israel that would at best perpetuate the current situation, and at worst escalate hostilities to unprecedented levels.

Given the above, it is hard to see how an independent Palestinian state would benefit anyone outside of those seeking death and destruction.

BODYGUARDS SEPARATE LIEBERMAN AND “TERRORIST” MK
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu (Arutz Sheva News)

Bodyguards stepped between Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Arab MK Talab Al-Sana, who Lieberman called a “terrorist” during a tour of an illegal Bedouin village in the Negev on Wednesday.

During a visit to the “unrecognized” Bedouin village of Al-Zarnog near Be’er Sheva, MK Al-Sana appeared and accused the Foreign Minister of acting like the head of “a gang” instead of a government official. He charged that Lieberman’s objective is to take the spotlight off 12-year-long criminal investigations against him that have not produced an indictment.

“You already have caused worldwide damage to Israel, and now you have come here to inflame the land from within?” he asked the Foreign Minister.

Lieberman replied sharply with a thinly veiled threat. “I will take care of you. You are a terrorist,” he asserted.

MK El-Sana retorted, “What do you mean you ‘will take care of me’? By using the methods of the mafia?”

At that point, security forces and bodyguards took over and separated the two before the verbal confrontation escalated further.

Unlike a couple of dozen settlements in Judea and Samaria that are determined to be illegal, the official term for hundreds of Bedouin villages is “unrecognized.” The government also has authorized a regional council of “unrecognized” Bedouin outposts that have unilaterally taken over vast regions of the Negev, claiming ancestral rights.

The nationalist Regavim organization, which argues in the courts for Jewish land rights and for equal application of the law against illegal Arab and Bedouin homes, hosted Lieberman’s visit.

“The Al-Zarnog village is an illegal village that was built on private Jewish land, but the Bedouin residents refuse to leave even though the government has offered them to relocate elsewhere,” Regavim explained.

Regavim appealed to the courts two weeks ago to order their expulsion based on the precedent that High Court established against the residents of the Jewish community of Migron in Samaria.

Foreign Minister Lieberman agreed that “it is not reasonable to destroy houses in the Ulpana neighborhood of Beit El in Samaria and ignore 100,000 illegal residential structures in the Arab and Bedouin sectors in the Galilee in the north and in the Negev.”

Hundreds of Bedouin protestors demonstrated against Lieberman at the village and waved Hamas flags.

PUTIN: “RUSSIA ALREADY RECOGNIZES PALESTINE”
by Ryan Jones (Israel Today News)

Russia reinserted itself into the Israeli-Palestinian “peace” process in a major way this week with a highly publicized visit by President Vladimir Putin.

While meeting with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday, Putin said that Russia had no problem recognizing an independnet Palestinian state, noting that Moscow had already done so during the days of the Soviet Union.

“We recognized Palestine 25 years ago, and our position has not changed,” said Putin.

Putin thanked Abbas for his “responsible” leadership, either ignoring or rejecting the fact that even the Obama Administration now views Abbas’ intansigence and insistence on pre-conditions as the main obstacle to restarting peace talks.

“Palestinian leadership, and the President personally, have been behaving responsibly to achieve peace based on the two-state solution,” said Putin.

Putin also threw his weight behind Abbas’ efforts to reconcile with Hamas and forge a national unity government with the terror groups, despite the fact that Hamas remains openly dedicated to the destruction of Israel.

The Palestinians hailed Putin’s visit as “historic” and named a street in Bethlehem after the Russian leader, which was something of a faux pas considering Europeans typically only name streets after deceased persons.

Abbas’ office said he is keen to hold the next Middle East peace summit in Moscow, where the Palestinians feel their position will be more favored than in Washington or other Western capitals.

Putin met earlier in the week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres, but those talks were reportedly focused far more on Iran and Syria, rather than on the conflict with the Palestinians.

Putin warned Israel against a preemptive strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities, insisting that such an endeavor would “backfire.” He also urged the West, presumably including Israel, to keep its nose out of Syria’s affairs. Russia is cautiously backing the regime of Bashar Assad against a Western-supported insurgency

PUTIN WARNS ISRAEL THAT ATTACK ON IRAN WILL BACKFIRE
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu (Arutz Sheva News)

Visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin warned President Shimon Peres Monday that attacking Iran could backfire. He also advised the world to keep its nose out of affairs in Syria, where Russia has a vested interest.

“Look at what happened to the Americans in Afghanistan and in Iraq. I told Obama the same thing,” Putin stated concerning Iran. “There is no need to do things too quickly; one should not act without thinking first.”

Recalling the American objective to end the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein in Iraq and eliminate the terrorist infrastructure in the country, Putin noted, “Iraq has a pro-Iranian regime after everything that has happened there. These things should be thought out ahead of time before doing something one will regret later.”

Putin and his Israeli hosts made their disagreements on Iran obvious although Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said in a separate meetng that he and Putin were able to agree “that Iran’s continued pursuit of nuclear weapons is a grave threat first and foremost to Israel, but also to the region and to the world. ”They clearly were at odds on how to stop that pursuit.

Russia has been a constant opponent to American-led efforts to pressure Iran to allow United Nations supervision of its nuclear development program, which Tehran insists is for peaceful purposes and not for the objective of building a nuclear weapon.

President Peres told his guest, “The Iranian people are not our enemy. Israel does threaten their existence. It is Iran’s current regime that indentifies itself as an enemy of Israel and a threat to its existence.”

Prime Minister Netanyahu was blunter. He said, “I believe that we should be doing two things now: Boosting the sanctions and also boosting the demands.

“Israel believes that the international community should have three clear demands of Iran: Stop enriching uranium inside Iran; remove all the enriched uranium from Iran; and dismantle the underground nuclear facility near Qom.”

Similarly, Putin and Netanyahu were at odds on Syria, where Russia has supplied President Bashar Assad with massive military weapons, and perhaps chemical weapons, which have been used to bomb and kill 15,000 opponents of the regime during the 16-month-old uprising.

Besides expressing wishes for peace and warning against outside interference, Putin avoided Syria.

Prime Minister Netanyahu told Putin, “Regarding our neighbor to the north, a way to end the killing and the terrible suffering of the citizens of Syria must be found.”

He and Putin also released blatantly different statements on the declaration that Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi won the Presidential elections in Egypt.

Putin “congratulated” Morsi on his victory, according to Russian media, and the Russian President noted “he hopes for constructive cooperation with Egypt’s new leadership in the aim of developing Russian-Egyptian relations and ensuring peace and stability in the Middle East.”

Prime Minister Netanyahu simply noted that Israel “appreciates the democratic process in Egypt and respects its outcome.”

He called for “continued cooperation with the Egyptian administration on the basis of the peace accord between the two countries, which is in the interest of the two peoples and contributes to regional stability”.

MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR GENERAL SHIMON EREM

On Thursday evening, June 28, at 7:30 PM, there will be a Shloshim 30th day Memorial eveng honoring the life and achievements of General Shimon Erem who passed away on May 27, 2012 (Shavuot) at the age of 90 years.

The memorial event will be held at Congregation Beth Jacob – located at 9030 W. Olympic Blvd. in Beverly Hills, CA. If you plan to attend, it would help if you notify Patricia Johnson, longtime assistant to General Erem – e-mail at info@icnexus.org or call – (818) 503-0300.

Shalom!

ISRAEL ON THE DOORSTEP OF A NEW ISLAMIC REPUBLIC
by Ryan Jones (Israel Today News)

It’s official: the Muslim Brotherhood has taken control of Egypt, or will do so in the very near future.

To the consternation of many throughout the region, Egypt’s election commission on Sunday announced that Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi would be the next President of the largest and most powerful Arab state.

That victory comes just months after the Brotherhood and an allied Islamist group won a strong majority in the Egyptian parliament. Egypt’s current rulers in the Supreme Military Council had those election results nullified, but a similar outcome is expected when new parliamentary elections are held.

Morsi scored a narrow 51.7 percent victory in Egypt’s run-off presidential election against secular candidate Ahmed Shafiq, who was plagued by his ties to former dictator Hosni Mubarak.

Egypt’s evolution from secular, Western-aligned dictatorship to an Islamist-controlled regime advocating Sharia Law so closely mirrors what happened to Iran in the late 1970s that Israel is understandably concerned.

Iranians chafed under the repressive rule of their former shah, just as Egyptians did under Mubarak. Eager for change, many Iranians were quickly taken in by the promising message of the Ayatollah Khomenei, and propelled his movement to power through newfound democratic freedoms. The very same holds true for the Muslim Brotherhood and its growing support base in Egypt.

Only after attaining overall control of the country did Khomeini show his true face and plunge Iran into darkness and repression on a scale never imagined under the shah. Already, Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood leadership are hinting at going down a similar path.

Despite claims to the contrary for the sake of Western consumption (the Western media has inexplicably, but predictably swallowed those lies), Morsi said Sharia will be a central component of his presidency.

During an election rally at Cairo University last month, Morsi told young Egyptians, “The Koran is our constitution, the Prophet is our leader, jihad is our path and death in the name of Allah is our goal. Today we can establish Sharia law because our nation will acquire well-being only with Islam and Sharia.”

But like in Iran, it’s not the President everyone should truly be worried about. Rather, Western concerns are more properly directed at the religious forces using the Presidency as a puppet. In Egypt’s case, that puppeteer is Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohammed al-Badi.

It was Badi, and the rest of the Brotherhood leadership, that advanced Morsi as a candidate for President, confident that he would promote the movement’s core tenants.

And just what are those tenants? The imposing of Sharia in place of true democratic freedom, for one.

In 2007, former Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohammed Mahdi Akef very bluntly explained that the movement would, given the opportunity, use democracy to gain power, and then replace it with Sharia law, which he sees as the “true democracy.”

“The final, absolute message from heaven contains all the values which the secular world claims to have invented….Islam and its values antedated the West by founding true democracy,” Akef told the Egyptian newspaper Al-Karama.

Current Supreme Guide Badi suggested that does not bode well for the minorities in Egypt or anywhere else the Brotherhood intends to rule.

“Allah’s word will reign supreme and the infidels’ word will be inferior,” Badi said in a televised sermon in 2010.

What about foreign relations, in particular relations with Israel?

Morsi has publicly promised to honor all international treaties and agreements, including the Camp David Accords. But, again, it is reasonable to view that with suspicion as a sound bite intended for Western consumption.

During the run-off Presidential election, Shafiq strongly cautioned that were it to gain power, the Muslim Brotherhood would provoke armed conflict with Israel by making “Palestine” the core issue for all Egyptians.

Shortly after, Morsi appeared at an election rally where a Muslim cleric with ties to the Brotherhood declared that a Morsi Presidency would result in the return of Jerusalem to Islamic sovereignty.

Again, the man everyone should really be looking at when it comes to these matters is Badi, and according to a 2010 speech he made, the Muslim Brotherhood seeks jihad against both Israel and the US. “Waging jihad against both of these infidels is a commandment of Allah that cannot be disregarded,” declared Badi.

None of this means the Muslim Brotherhood will declare war tomorrow. Indeed, it can’t at this stage, with Egypt’s Supreme Military Council wary of relinquishing full control of the state to the new President and his superiors. But the Muslim Brotherhood is nothing if not patient, and it is gaining some surprising allies in the West.

The Obama Administration seems to not share Israel’s deep concerns over the Muslim Brotherhood rise to power, and that has more than a few Israelis scratching their heads in wonderment. In fact, Obama is leading the international call for Egypt’s army to step aside and let the newly elected Islamists assume full control.

Another similarity with the Iranian Revolution is the American response. Like Mubarak, the former shah of Iran was an ally of the US, but found little or no support from Washington as he was toppled from power. And, like Obama with Egypt, as it became clear that radical Islamists would rule Iran in the shah’s stead, the Carter Administration, rather than raise doubt and take action against further regional destabilization, expressed sympathy for and confidence in the Ayatollah.

ISRAEL SOCIAL JUSTICE PROTESTS TURN VIOLENT
by Ryan Jones (Israel Today News)

Israeli “social justice” demonstrators on Saturday renewed last summer’s movement against Israel’s high cost of living with a Tel Aviv rally that quickly turned into a violent riot.

Last year, weekly social justice demonstrations in Tel Aviv and elsewhere repeatedly attracted hundreds of thousands of participants. Those gatherings were almost entirely peaceful. But the leaders of the movement apparently felt last year’s approach had failed to sufficiently achieve their goals.

When several thousand protesters came together in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening, their intentions were anything but peaceful. While violently clashing with police, a number of the protesters smashed the windows of three banks. Later in the night, several hundred demonstrators blocked Israel’s large coastal highway, causing major traffic jams.

Protest leaders denounced the more violent incidents, but then turned around and suggested that the confrontation had been a sort of revenge for alleged police brutality when social justice activists demonstrated without a permit on Friday.

Police officials insisted there had been no brutality, but that some demonstrators had to be restrained and removed with force.

Saturday night’s clashes ended with the arrest of 85 protesters, 20 of whom police said would face criminal charges.

“We have to enforce the law. Protests are legitimate and we will allow them as long as they are held within the law. If we didn’t initiate arrests we would have seen looting as well,” a police official told Israel’s Ynet news service. “The rioters crossed every possible red line. I couldn’t believe this could happen in Israel. We were very close to seeing the harsh sights we see in violent rallies overseas, here.”

Israel’s social justice movement was largely modeled after last year’s “Occupy Wall Street” demonstrations in America.

MOFAZ THANKS OBAMA DURING SURPRISE MEETING
by Elad Benari (Arutz Sheva News)

Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz had an unscheduled meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday.

The President unexpectedly joined a meeting between Mofaz and National Security Advisor, Tom Donilon, at the White House.

During the meeting, which lasted for over half an hour, Mofaz briefed the President on the challenges facing Israel and the region. He pointed to the newly formed coalition in the Knesset as a window of opportunity to restart talks with the Palestinian Authority.

When discussing the Iranian nuclear threat, Mofaz emphasized the importance imposing harsher sanctions on Tehran while continuing to prepare other options which would prevent the Iranians from obtaining nuclear weapons.

He also emphasized to the President that maintaining the peace treaty with Egypt is of paramount importance to Israel. Finally, Mofaz thanked Obama for his steadfast support of Israel.

On Wednesday, Mofaz met with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. During this meeting as well he said that it was imperative that Iran’s nuclear program be stopped, and that no option should be taken off the table.

“After the failure at the third round of talks with the Iranians in Moscow, it is time for the United States and the Western powers to impose more severe sanctions in the oil embargo and financial sectors in order to stop Iran’s nuclear development program,” Mofaz said at the meeting. He added that in addition to these measures there is a need “to continue to prepare all of the other options.”

On Wednesday, Clinton also met with Palestinian Authority negotiator Saeb Erekat. The meeting was part of the Obama Administration’s diplomatic efforts to get Israel and the PA to return to peace talks.

U.S. officials said the goal of the efforts is to improve the atmosphere for direct talks that broke down three years ago.

Mofaz has publicly called on Abbas to take advantage of the large coalition and begin peace negotiations.

Speaking at a meeting of the Kadima council, Mofaz addressed Abbas, saying, “Forget the letters, forget the preconditions – Let’s talk peace now. The coalition today is the widest ever, and this allows for a political breakthrough.”