Three al-Qaida recruits nabbed for planning terror in Israel

With security issues dominating the peace talks with the Palestinians and the on going institutionlised incitement within the Palestinian authority, what justification is there for complaints against the security barrier?

See rerport below of latest attempts at terror attacks within Israel

Jerusalem Post By YAAKOV LAPPIN 01/23/2014

Shin Bet arrests men recruited by Gaza operative working for al-Qaida chief; ‘They planned to bring foreign terrorists,’ says security official.

The Shin Bet announced Wednesday that it had arrested three Palestinians from east Jerusalem who were recruited online by an al-Qaida operative in Gaza. It said the three were in the midst of preparations to carry out a string of large-scale bombing and shooting attacks on multiple targets in Israel.

The intended targets included the Jerusalem International Convention Center, a bus traveling between the capital and Ma’aleh Adumim, the US Embassy in Tel Aviv, and emergency responders who would have arrived at the scenes of attacks.

The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) said an al-Qaida operative in Gaza, named as Ariv al-Sham, recruited the men separately as three independent terrorist cells. Senior Shin Bet sources said they believed Sham received his orders directly from the head of al-Qaida, Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Using Skype and Facebook, Sham was able to recruit Iyad Khalil Abu-Sara, 23, of Ras Hamis of east Jerusalem, who has an Israeli ID card. During questioning, Abu-Sara, who was arrested on December 25, admitted to volunteering to carry out a “sacrifice attack” on an Israeli bus traveling between Jerusalem and Ma’aleh Adumim. In the planned attack, terrorists would shoot out the bus’s tires, causing it to overturn, before gunning down passengers at close range and firing on emergency responders.

According to the Shin Bet’s investigation, Abu-Sara also volunteered to help orchestrate a simultaneous double suicide-bombing, involving the dispatching of two suicide bombers to the Jerusalem International Convention Center and the US Embassy in Tel Aviv. Subsequently, Abu- Sara planned to detonate a suicide truck bomb in the vicinity of emergency responders arriving at the convention center.

To that end, Sham and Abu- Sara plotted to bring a group of foreign terrorists to Israel using fake Russian passports and posing as tourists. Abu- Sara was meant to receive the terrorists and prepare their suicide bomb vests and a truck bomb. Abu-Sara was also supposed to travel to Syria for training in combat and explosives manufacturing. He had purchased a flight ticket to Turkey, a gateway to Syria.

Abu-Sara received computer files containing virtual training courses on bomb manufacturing from Sham in Gaza, the Shin Bet added.

Security forces monitored communications between Abu-Sara and Sham, observing how the latter asked his recruit which targets he had access to. After Abu-Sara suggested various targets, Sham would direct the conversation toward the operational aspects of attacks.

A second suspect, Rubin Abu-Nagma, confessed to plotting to kidnap a soldier from the Jerusalem Central Bus Station, as well as bombing a residential building housing Israeli Jews in the Abu Tor neighborhood of Jerusalem. During questioning, he described how he learned to manufacture bombs online.

Al-Anam, a third suspect, from Jenin, also confessed to being in Internet communication with Sham, and plotting to set up a Salafi-jihadi cell in Samaria for the purpose of carrying out terrorist attacks.

Security sources noted with concern the swift process of recruitment and preparations that took place online in the space of a few months. They added that Abu-Sara’s father was opposed to his son’s activities and warned him repeatedly after seeing his son surfing radical Islamist websites.

“Abu-Sara and al-Sham coordinated a trip to Syria and money transfers. This all happened very quickly,” said a source. “All three terrorist channels formed at a fast rate,” he added.

The investigation underlines the fact that the Internet remains the main means of expansion for global jihadi elements, the source said. Terrorist operatives use the Internet to create operational cells, appoint local commanders, and transfer bomb-making know-how.

The relationship between recruits and their handlers online is similar to relations between a cow and a calf, the source said. “The calf wants to suckle, and the cow wants to give it milk,” he added.

The plots were disrupted at a relatively early stage, the source stated. They are evidence of the fact that the Gaza Strip is a terrorism base for al-Qaida-affiliated elements, in addition to Hamas and Islamic Jihad, he said.

Hundreds of Salafi-jihadis in Gaza have access to rockets and arms, and travel to Sinai to attack both Egypt and Israel, the source explained.

Hamas has reached an understanding with these elements, according to which they must not directly harm Hamas by provoking an Israeli response against the Islamist rulers of the Strip, but are otherwise free to act as they please. There have been no recent arrests by Hamas of Salafi jihadis in Gaza. Rather, Hamas engages with these groups by deploying its own forces to rocket-launching grounds to prevent attacks on Israel, and through dialogue with al-Qaida-affiliated elements.

Outside of Gaza, Hamas supports global jihadi activities in Syria and in the Sinai Peninsula, the source continued.

Hamas would prefer to avoid a confrontation with smaller terror groups in Gaza, while also avoiding a head-on clash with Egypt and Israel.

The episode also underlines the risk posed by al-Qaida’s attempt to recruit east Jerusalem Palestinians, Israeli Arabs, and Palestinians in the West Bank, the source said.

In November, three Salafi-jihadi terrorists who were in the middle of planning a terrorist attack were killed in a counter-terrorism mission in the Palestinian village of Yatta, near Hebron.

The suspects were in a car that contained explosives and firearms, when they were intercepted by the Israel Police’s Counter-terrorism Unit.

The unit opened fire at the car’s tires and the suspects fired back. Following an exchange of fire, the two suspects were killed. A little over an hour after the firefight, security forces engaged a third armed suspect, killing him as well.

Meanwhile, a US State Department official acknowledged Wednesday reports of an al-Qaida plot targeting the American Embassy in Tel Aviv, telling The Jerusalem Post that the US is “closely following the situation” and has been in touch with the Israeli government concerning the matter.

“The US Embassy routinely employs a range of measures to safeguard US citizens and all of our employees and their dependents,” the State Department official said. “We have a high degree of confidence in our own security staff and in the Israeli security forces.”

The official implied that the plot had been a matter of discussion between US and Israeli for some time.

“The US embassy was not just the target, but obviously other targets were involved as well in the threat,” State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said on Wednesday.

Harf said that the US has no plans to evacuate the embassy.

“We obviously don’t discuss all of our security measures,” Harf added.

UK parliament launches inquiry into funding for UNRWA.

AND ABOUT TIME  TOO!!! When is the world going to wake up?

By YUVAL PAIS, THE POST

The British parliament has formed a committee of inquiry to probe the flow of funds used by the international refugee agency UNRWA to support the Palestinians, according to an exclusive report first revealed on Saturday by The Jerusalem Post's Hebrew-language sister publication, The Post.

According to the report, the British government contributes 90 million pounds annually in aid to the Palestinians. A third of that sum is earmarked for UNRWA – the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees.

The parliamentary committee was formed in response to heavy lobbying by pro-Israel organizations and with the encouragement of former Israeli Labor MK Einat Wilf. The committee is due to submit its recommendations to parliament soon.

"UNRWA is perpetuating the notion that the descendants of refugees are themselves refugees, and it is based on this principle that the Palestinians are demanding the right of return, something that will not happen in any future agreement," Wilf said.

"The main point is that UNRWA is entirely supported by Western countries whose official policy is to aim for a two-state solution," Wilf said. "This is completely in contradiction to the idea of a right of return for 5 million refugees and their descendants to Israel."

Dozens of Palestinian youths blocked several main roads and torched tires in the West Bank city of Ramallah last week demonstrating against a month-long strike by UNRWA, Palestinian news agency Ma'an reported.

The protest against a lack of public services normally provided by the agency came as the Palestinian economy falters and while aid agencies struggle to cope with deepening refugee crises related to the civil war in Syria.

On Thursday, scores of Palestinian youths blocked a main road outside the Jalazoun refugee camp north of Ramallah, as well as roads linking other camps inside the city, to vent their anger over the repercussions of the UNWRA strike.

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Israeli youth send winter equipment to Syrian refugees

 ADELIE PONTAY, Jerusalem Post 09/01/2014 

An Israeli NGO is helping Syrian refugees survive by collecting winter clothing, but has to remove all traces of its origin before sending it to the war-torn country.

Operation Human Warmth was organized in response to the snowstorm last month during which 27 Syrian children died. Israeli Flying Aid launched the campaign in cooperation with two youth movements, DrorIsrael and Hano’ar Ha’oved Vehalomed.

Israeli Flying Aid supplies humanitarian aid to people around the world, including in countries that have no diplomatic relations with the Jewish state. The organization does not usually publicize such actions so as not to be prevented from carrying out its missions. This time it is speaking out, in an effort to raise awareness of the refugees’ plight and to attract financial donations.

Gal Lusky, founder of Israeli Flying Aid, told The Jerusalem Post that because of the Jewish people’s past, there was a “moral obligation to be the voice of the voiceless.”

The aid effort is meant to “help Israeli children understand that Syrians are in desperate need of help, and that humanitarian reasons require one to put politics aside for a while.

“It is a great moment for democracy,” she added, “as these children might one day fight against each other, to educate Israeli youth,” and to act to help the children of their “worst enemy.”

Members of the public can bring sweaters, blankets, sleeping bags and other garments to 15 Hano’ar Ha’oved Vehalomed youth centers across the country through January 10. Members of the two youth groups are also going out and collecting the needed items.

The donations will be checked to ensure the safety of the refugees who will receive them. Thus, clothing with Israeli brand names or Hebrew writing will not be accepted, and all Hebrew-language tags will be removed.

Israeli Flying Aid will transfer them to Syrians in need. The NGO declined to say the supplies would be sent to Syria.

Some 100,000 members of the youth groups between the ages of 12 to 18 will participate in the operation.

Israeli Flying Aid plans to start another operation later this month with the Scout movement to collect dry foods and other goods to send to Syrian refugees and internally displaced persons. 

Dog Day in Tel Aviv

Canines and their owners trot to a finish in the first ever "Doggie Run" in Tel Aviv

A Tel Aviv dog daddy and his beloved pet, Shrek, won the 3k run in the city's first-ever Doggie Run. "It was a short race for her," explains Anatoli, Shrek's owner. "Usually she runs about 10 kilometers a day."

Tel Aviv is a city of dog lovers, making it a natural spot for a canine marathon of sorts. See the variety of pets and owners who turned out for the run - including a group of vision-impaired men and women with their newly trained guide puppies, and a police dog named Ochi with his handler. 

BEDOUIN MYTH #2 – ARE THE BEDOUIN VILLAGES HISTORICAL?

WRITTEN BY REGAVIM ON DECEMBER 16, 2013. POSTED IN BEDOUIN MYTHS, NEGEV, NEWS, NEWSLETTER

In the past few years, the Bedouin of the Negev and extreme left Non-Government organizations (NGO’s) have repeatedly claimed that most of the Bedouin villages are “historical” and that Bedouin have inhabited these villages since before the creation of the State of Israel. Take, for example, the Joint Position Paper: Bill on Arrangement of Bedouin Settlement in the Negev, of May 2013, sent by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) and Bimkom, to the Ministerial Committee for Legislation regarding the proposed Law for the Arrangement of Bedouin Settlement in the Negev, 5773-2013. 

“About half of the Bedouin population in the Negev, around 90,000 people, live in close to 46 Bedouin villages, the majority of which (around 35 villages) the State of Israel refuses to recognize and arrange for their planning and/or municipalities. The majority of these villages existed before the birth of the State of Israel, and a number of them were established in the 1950’s, a time when the agencies of the State moved the Bedouin population from their ancestral territory under their ownership and/or control, to a smaller area in the northeastern Negev, termed a restricted area. In contradiction to the impression widespread among the Israeli public, the Bedouin are not intruders, but are rather the original inhabitants of the Negev, and they have the rights of ownership to the lands that they have worked and occupied. Among them are people who continue to live on their lands where they have lived for a long time before the creation of the state, and similarly are the internally displaced, who have been transferred from their historical lands to the restricted area by the State, as was stated. It may be emphasized that the Ottoman Empire as well as the British Mandate recognized the ownership rights of the Bedouin and the traditional methods by which they transferred ownership.  Commensurate with this and based on this method of acquisition, lands were bought, and Jewish settlements were created in the Negev, such as Be’er Sheva, established on lands that were bought from the Bedouin in official transactions.  (Emphasis added) 

The Bedouin’s claim of "historical villages" is proven to be a myth by the use of historical aerial photographs. Tens of aerial photographs of these so-called “historical” villages have been examined. Below are examples of aerial photos used to examine this “historical” claim for 5 Bedouin villages.⁴

No one is denying that there were nomadic tribes living in the Negev prior to 1948, however due to the nature of these tribes, no permanent residences were established. There are signs of cultivation in the aerial photography that was examined but the form of farming used was seasonal, not long term, in order to supply feed for their herds as they moved from place to place.

4 The aerial photographs taken prior to the establishment of the State of Israel were done by the British Authorities, and then transferred to the Government Center for the Mapping of Israel, which is the source for all aerial photographs contained herein.

The Village of Al Araqib

The illegal village of Al-Araqib is situated on state lands managed by the Israel Land Authority (ILA), about ten kilometers north of Be’er Sheva. This village has been mentioned in numerous headlines, when Bedouin families who claim ownership of the land, repeatedly trespassed into the area from which they had been evicted tens of times by the authorities. According to Bedouin from the A-Turi tribe, they have lived in the area since the Ottoman period, and were evicted from the area after the War of Independence by the Israeli Army, with a promise that the eviction was only temporary. As evidence of the villages’ long history they point to a cemetery that they claim is “ancient”.  The series of aerial photographs below, dating from 1945 to 2010, indicates that the reality is completely different. From a photograph taken in 1965, it is indeed possible to see the cemetery in its first stages, yet there is neither a village nor anything that looks like a village visible. In a photograph from 1956, the cemetery does not exist at all. So too the imagery from 1945, 3 years before the establishment of the State of Israel.

Al-Araqib 2010 – Cemetery and village.	Al-Araqib 1989 – Cemetery, no village.
Al-Araqib 1965 – No cemetery, no village	Al-Araqib 1956 – No Cemetery, No village
The area where Al-Araqib is today, in 1945 no village or cemetery whatsoever.

Conclusion: The “historic” village Al Araqib, which the Bedouin claim was established during the Ottoman period, was built in the end of the 1990’s and thereafter.  The aerial photos from 1956 & 1945 has disproved the claim of the A-Turi clan that this location was a village prior to 1965.

The Beersheba district court accepted Prof. Ruth Kark’s analysis to this end during the trial of Al Araqib.

Some other examples of so-called” historic” Bedouin villages.

The village of Al Sira in 2003	In 1945 – no village of Al Sira
Bir Al-Meshash 2012	Bir Al-Meshash 1945

Conclusion:

The above aerial photos speak for themselves, without the need for further explanations. It is fairly easy to identify the land described in the photographs when set side by side, in order to understand simply that the claim voiced day and night that "our villages were here even before the founding of the state”, is an ongoing falsity. 

Haifa to be Invaded by Chinese?

Haifa is about to be "invaded" – by Chinese tourists, writes David Lev  http://tinyurl.com/ote6rgw . Workers from Shanghai, Sanjin, and Chengdu will be offered low-cost vacation packages to the city, after Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav signed an agreement with officials from the tourism department of the three cities.

Considering the fact that there are about 200,000 workers in the unions – and those visiting are expected to come with their families – the city is preparing itself for an inundation of Chinese visitors.

After a ceremony this week, Chengdu joined the other two cities as Haifa's Sister Cities. The agreement include working together on municipal improvement projects, developing technology together – and a mutual tourism agreement. Haifa will do its share to encourage residents to visit China, while the Chinese cities will put the word out about Haifa-oriented vacations. But considering the potential pool of visitors from either side, it's likely that Haifa will be much more impacted than its Chinese partners.

“Haifa is expanding its arc of connections with municipalities around the world,” Yahav said. “We have extensive contacts in China, and now we are making a critical move to enhance tourism from that country by making this deal with some of China's largest cities. We place a great deal of importance on these ties, which will give businesses, developers, and entrepreneurs a wonderful opportunity to enhance their connections with China.”

A Haifa municipality spokesperson said that they expected the visitors to make a “significant contribution” to Haifa's economy. To prepare for the visitors, Yahav has spoken to developers, and hopes to increase the number of hotel rooms in the city from the current 1,700 to about 2,300.

“Hopefully,” the official added, “they won't all come at the same time.”

BEDOUIN MYTH #1 – INDIGENOUS?

WRITTEN BY REGAVIM ON OCTOBER 9, 2013. 

Around twenty-five years ago, a global discussion began surrounding the term “indigenous peoples” as it relates to ethnic minorities around the world.  International law however began to address the issue of indigenous peoples as far back as the 17^th century, and by and large the matter was left to the discretion of the particular state. With the passing of the years, the law began to recognize an independent status of indigenous ethnic groups (such as the Indians and the Aborigines) in a way that was bound together with previous legal agreements regarding preservation of culture, holy sites, and more.

The International Labor Organization (ILO) associated with the United Nations tried to advance two international treaties pertinent to the rights of populations that define themselves as indigenous populations, yet were unsuccessful in formulating a statement due to each country’s differing views on sovereignty and indigenous populations.

In the past few years, key figures in the Bedouin sector in Israel began to apply this term to themselves as characteristic of their independent status, together with a demand for recognition of their historic ownership of lands across the Negev.

Despite the lack of an international agreement as to the definition of “indigenous”, the general recognition of indigenous peoples tends to use various parameters, focusing on the following:

·        Original Inhabitants – the indigenous peoples are descendents of the first peoples to inhabit a particular territory.

·        Extended Period of Time – the indigenous peoples live in a territory “from time immemorial” over a period of thousands of years.

·        Pre-Colonial Sovereignty – the indigenous groups had territorial sovereignty before the arrival of a developed nation that took possession of the region.

·        Group Connection to the Land – they have a spiritual connection to the land on which they live. 

·        External Validation – other external groups affirm that these people are in fact indigenous.

 Professor Ruth Kark of the Geography Department of the Hebrew University, considered an expert on conceptions of land ownership in traditional and pre-modern cultures, in an article that appeared in the “Middle East Quarterly,”[1]enumerated the generally accepted parameters of the term “indigenous,” and explains why the Bedouins cannot be included in this category. Here is the synopsis of her conclusions.

·        Indigenous Peoples – Many groups preceded the Bedouins in Palestine in general and in the Negev in particular, including Jewish inhabitants who maintained an uninterrupted presence in the land since the days of the Bible. Therefore the Bedouins cannot claim that they were the original inhabitants of the land.

·        The Dimension of Time – the variable called, “from time immemorial” requires a long-standing presence on the territory. The Bedouin tribes currently living in the Negev have been there for around two hundred years.[2] As such, they cannot claim that their presence predates the arrival of a foreign power, such as the Ottoman Empire, which preceded the current Bedouins tribes present by hundreds of years. In opposition to this, the Jewish presence in Palestine completely fulfills the requirements of “time immemorial.”

·        Sovereignty – in the case of the Bedouins of the Negev, they never had sovereignty over the region. When they arrived, the Negev was already under Ottoman control, followed by British and Israeli control.

·        A Unique Spiritual Connection to the Territory – nomadic life precludes any specific fixed connection to the land.  There is no long-standing proof in the Bedouin tradition establishing a spiritual connection between them and the Negev, a logical situation owing to their relatively brief presence there and to their nomadic lifestyle. Indeed they claim the Arabian Peninsula to be their historic homeland. Today, the Bedouins are not claiming collective rights to the land, but are rather demanding fulfillment of the rights of individuals to sell the lands and transfer them to a third party. Such private demands are contrary to the spiritual dimension, and point to the fact that the main aspiration of the Bedouins is financial gain with no collective character that would be relevant to their campaign to be recognized as indigenous. 

·        The Group Defines Itself, and is Regarded by Others, as Indigenous Inhabitants of the Territory – The claim of the Bedouins as indigenous is quite recent, and was first mentioned only a number of years ago.[3]Previous studies did not find that the Bedouins regarded themselves in this way, and no researchers made the claim that they were indigenous. The fact that no other Bedouin tribe in the Middle East ever made the claim of being indigenous raises questions as to the motives and authenticity of such a claim. Since the Bedouins of the Negev in a number of cases are a part of the same tribe that dwells in neighboring countries, it is thus illogical to say that only the Bedouins who live on the Israeli side of the border are considered indigenous. 

Conclusion: The narrative according to the Bedouin claim that they are “indigenous” does not fulfill the world’s accepted criteria for being considered indigenous. Such claims were first made only some ten years ago.

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[1] Are the Negev Bedouin an Indigenous People? Fabricating Palestinian History. Havazelet Yahel,  Dr. Seth Fratzman & Prof. Ruth Kark. Middle East Quarterly. Summer 2012, pp. 3-14 

[2] Ottoman tax records from the years 1596-97 specify the names of forty three Bedouin tribes in what was to become the Palestinian Mandate, including three in the Negev, yet the names of the tribes living today in the Negev do not appear in this list. 

[3] The first articles to relate to this claim appeared about ten years ago in the platforms of organizations identified with the radical left in Israel such as “Adalah,” “the Negev Co-existence Forum,” and the “Human Rights Watch.”