Is "Israel" behind the Assassination in Damascus?
Walla!News - Yossi Malmen
In Syria's current state, almost anyone could have carried out the assassination of Thursday, which killed a Hamas member in Damascus, Kamal Hosni Ghanaja.It could be one of the rebel organizations in Syria, that are not satisfied by the continued presence of remnants of the Hamas leadership in Damascus; It could be an act of opponents of Ghanaja within the organization itself; it could be simply a criminal event ; and it definitely could have been another assassination operation of the "Israeli" Mossad.
This assassination's reference to "Israel" can be explained by past precedents, which often appeared in various claims in foreign media. According to these media, Syria - and especially its capital, Damascus - is not a "terra incognita" for Mossad operations and "IDF" special units.
International media attributed to "Israel" in the eight years (the time of Mossad chief Meir Dagan), several actions in the Syrian capital. One memorable operation was the assassination of senior Hamas official Izz al - Din Sheikh Khalil in 2004, but the highlight of the achievements attributed to Mossad in Damascus took place in February 2008 - the assassination of "Defense Minister" "of Hizbullah, Imad Mughniyeh .
Did Ghanaja join this list? First, the question is whether he was indeed worthy to be listed. We can assume that "Israel" continues its policy today of pursuing and settling accounts with the operational and field personnel of Hamas, senior and intermediate officials, because the damage they caused "Israel" is immense, and their elimination will leave a void operational functioning in the organization until they find a replacement. The question is whether Ghanaja indeed meets this definition. It was reported that he had once served as the assistant of Mahmoud al - Mabhouh , who is in charge of the logistics of Hamas and in charge of Iranian arms smuggling into Gaza, who was assassinated in Dubai two years and a half ago.
It I not entirely clear, at least for now, what did Ghanja do since then, although it can be assumed that he took the "chores" of Mabhouh. In this case, he is surely considered a "valuable target", or even more.
And how Hamas would react?
However, if Ghanaja did not inherit his former "boss" , would the Mossad still risk assassinating someone who is considered only of an interim importance for Hamas, and his damage potential is not so high? Maybe, but this depends largely on the circumstances and the degree of operational availability. Apparently, the operational availability is relatively easy at the mean time: in light of the ongoing civil war in Syria, its borders today are being hacked, and the regime's attention is mainly to threats from within.
On the other hand, precisely the circumstances of the action, at least according to reports so far, have not been "clean" in particular, thus decreasing the likelihood of this possibility. For example, the fact that after the attempted assassination - at least as claimed by Syrian opposition elements - to set fire to the apartment, does not match the pattern of action that can be analyzed according to the same actions attributed to the Mossad by the international media.
In any case, whether the action is indeed carried out by "Israeli" soldiers or not, one wonders whether we envisage the possibility that Hamas will blame "Israel", and will try to avenge the assassination. One possibility in this context, is that even if Hamas continues to keep its weapons in the Gaza Strip, it may encourage even more operations on the Sinai border, such as the attack that occurred ten days ago , and justify that the cease-fire, and understandings between the organization and "Israel", is only valid in the strip but not outside of its borders. For Hamas, it would serve as "if "Israel" is allowed to operate outside the battlefield, we are also allowed to."
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"Israel" Fears Golan Heights turning into Sinai
Ma'ariv
The "Israeli" army fears that the borders with Syria will turn soon to the starting point for terrorist operations against "Israel", because of the inability of the Syrian regime to impose its control in the region, just as is the case now in the Sinai.
According to the newspaper Ma'ariv, the "Israeli" army eyes are fixed today towards the north-eastern border. Last year, the security establishment in "Israel" started to prepare for a situation in which al- Assad regime loses the ability to ensure a quiet border, in the wake of unrest taking place in Syria.
Recently, the "Israeli" army decided not only strengthen the northern section of the border in the Golan, but also the borders of the southern part of the Golan Heights, as this region lies only 12 km far from an air route from the Syrian city of Dara, which is one of the troubled places in Syria.
The region that is relatively easy could make it easier for terrorists to infiltrate, and so the "Israeli" army began recently to put new obstacles in the southern area of the Heights, strengthen the control points and the collection of information, and deploy forces in the old sites which are being renovated.
Ma'ariv said that one example of the "Israeli" concerns is the loss of control of the Syrian regime in the region, like what happened recently when a number of Syrians infiltrated the UN post near the "Israeli" border to commit a theft. Sources in the army said that this step indicates that the Syrians who are close to the border are no longer afraid of the central authority. However, the "Israeli" army emphasizes that the fear of infiltration of terrorist elements is not caused by the presence of specific intelligence, but by operational and professional estimates."
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Givati drill stimulates a northern war with Hizbullah
Walla!News - Amir Bohbot
Under the intense heat of the Jordan Valley, an exercise began last Saturday of Givati Brigade and is expected to end on Thursday. The brigade soldiers dealt with a very detailed exercise that stimulated a fight for an entire week. Today, chief of staff, Lt. - Gen. Benny Gantz, came to observe the drill, and was impressed by the officers and soldiers from the brigade and said that "during this period, training the troops form a necessary base to maintain the ability of decisiveness in combat situations that are unpredictable and variable. I am glad to see the leaders exerting efforts to increase readiness and competence of our soldiers in different areas. "
Brigade commander, Col. Ofer Levy, said that "The maneuver is very difficult and physically challenging and it is being implemented in a tough neighborhood. It is of complex scenarios and poses a significant challenge in terms of physical and intellectual abilities." According to his words, the maneuver summarizes weeks of trainings at the level of brigades and battalions, where they fight in built and open areas. Troops were also trained on cooperating with the forces of armor, artillery and engineering.
The maneuver included different scenarios, including scenarios of northern war against Hizbullah and Syria.
The "Israeli" army was considering canceling the participation Rimon unit after the tension on the Egyptian border, but in the end they were given a part of the maneuver.
During the week, Colonel Levi and his soldiers received urgent changes in the fighting, and exercised, inter alia, crossing the river in the north, in cooperation with the Engineering Corps, which is usually not among the practices of a brigade drill. Givati Brigade will be soon returning to the south, the region that it knows most. "We haven't been in gaza for a long time, in addition to preparing for war, we also prepared ourselves to return to Gaza's borders," the brigade's commander stated.
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Lieberman: Iran gaining legitimacy from the World
Ma'ariv
Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, Avigdor Lieberman said this morning, that the fact that the UN envoy and representatives of European countries are still involved in the meetings organized in Tehran where abusive anti-Semitism speeches are being delivered, gives legitimacy to Ayatollah Iranian regime that poses a real threat to world peace as a whole.
Lieberman's statement came after a speech that included anti-Semitic statements
delivered by the Vice President of Iran, Mohammad Reza Rahimi, at an international meeting that took place in Tehran.
For his part, the Foreign Minister stressed that the Iranian regime is not composed of crazy people, but of anti-Semite extremist people with an organized and global plan, of a very essential part, as they say quite frankly and openly, that is the destruction of the State of "Israel".
Lieberman said, "The international community did not feel up to now the great danger of this system to world peace", adding " Hitler as well said these demented words and succeeded in implementing his plan. Today, the situation is different and sovereign State of "Israel" will not allow any attack on any Jew, but as long as the international community will not get back to his senses and will not erase the regime of Ayatollah off the world, then the threat to world peace is continue to exist. "
Find me one Zionist drug dealer
In his disturbing speech, the Vice President of Iran, Rahimi, accused the sacred Jewish Talmud of being the main source for spreading illegal drugs in the world. According to his belief, the Talmud recommends "destroying anyone who disobeys Judaism" and added that the "Zionists control the drugs field in the international trade as he called to investigate the credibility of his claims."
Rahimi claimed, "the Islamic Republic in Tehran would pay money for anyone who reveals that there is one Zionist drug dealer", and added:" They do not exist. It is evidence for their involvement in world drug trafficking. "
In his speech he also accused the Jews of the October Russian Revolution of 1917. Rahimi also claimed that Talmud teaches the Jews that they are of a pure race. "They believe that God created the world for them and to be served by other nations," he said.
European diplomats also expressed their surprise at the meeting regarding the offensive speech. Turning to the speech, one diplomatic said, "These are the most egregious speeches I have ever heard in my life. I asked myself: Why are we cooperating with these people?"
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Jews bought most of the Migron Lands from Palestinians
Channel 7
"Israel" Hayom reported that recently, Migron representatives have bought up 80% of PA Arab-owned land the town rests on, hoping to make irrelevant the High Court August 1 evacuation order. A source involved in the purchase says the deal, involving more than one seller is completely legal, but Migron residents would give no further details.
According to the report, the "Israeli" purchasers have kept the identity of the American Jewish Millionaire who donated hundreds of thousands of US Dollars for buying the lands, anonymous. The deal was conducted at utmost secrecy that even the settlers of Migron did not know about it until the media published the story.
The managers of the deal confirm that it is not a process designed to challenge the government but to provide creative and acceptable means to all parties. "It is a situation in which all are winners. Population continues to live in peace, and Palestinians received money in exchange of the land, and the issue of the government is solved. The paper added that the "only fear now is for the lives of the Palestinians who sold their lands to the settlers, as they will likely be considered to be traitors to their people". Police spokesperson of Migron settlement, confirmed the purchase and said that "Israeli" Education Minister is aware of the deal.
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Cost of Recruiting 1288 ultra-Orthodox in 2011: 90 million shekels
Walla!News - Pinchas Wolf
A week before the Committee for the Advancement of an Equal Burden submits its recommendations; the Knesset Research Center presented a report on the ultra-orthodox Jews. The institutions presented different numbers regarding the numbers of ultra-Orthodox recruits.
Very expensive ultra-orthodox recruitment: the cost of recruiting 1,288 Haredi in 2011 was 90 million shekels, around 70 thousand shekels per soldier, 40% of them were receiving family payments - according to a report of the Knesset's Research and Information Center the was released on Tuesday, at the request of MK Avi Dichter (Kadima). The report was published a week before the Committee for the Advancement of an Equal Burden, headed by MK Yohanan Plesner, submits its recommendations about the recruitment Law of ulta-orthodox Jews and Arabs in military and civilian service.
The report explained that the reason for the high costs of recruiting ultra-Orthodox is because of the organizational alignment needed for their mobilization, which includes providing them with a very accurate decorum and vocational trainings. Moreover, most of ultra-orthodox recruits support their families, so that requires from the army to give them much higher payments than those of the single soldiers.
According to the criteria of the "IDF", the soldier receives a payment for his wife. If they do not have children, the payments is NIS 3,218 per month (compared to other soldiers who receive a salary of less than one thousand shekels), a soldier's student wife will receive between 2,000 and 3,000 shekels, and if there is a child, the payment will jump to more than 4,000 shekels a month (close to minimum wage).
In addition, the "IDF" participates in the housing payments that amount to hundreds of shekels for a single soldier. In the past, ""IDF"" informed the State Comptroller that it will recognize the ultra-Orthodox educational institutions in order to receive family payments.
However, not all the money comes from the army: the Treasury pays the army a monthly amount of NIS 2,500 for every ultra-Orthodox soldier. Of course, that is due to the high fees paid for the families, but there are also single Haredi soldiers who are getting paid by the army as well. The Ministry of Finance said in response to Research and Information center's report that the "IDF" files the total number of Haredi recruits without detailing their family situation, although often the treasury have an impact on the money it needs to finance the army with.
Various institutions represented different numbers of ultra-orthodox recruits. While the team of the former PMO Eyal Gabai, states that Haredi recruits, in addition to those expected to be exempted on the basis of "his belief, his career", is about 5,500 recruits, Plesner's team at the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, spoke of 7,000 recruits. In the "IDF" Manpower Branch submitted a different number (6800 recruits), the State Comptroller (6970 recruits) and of the Council of Economics in the Prime Minister, Prof. Yogi Chen Kendall (6000 recruits).
While the Research and Information center report showed a higher number than that of Plesner's team - at least 7,300 18-year old Hardis are expected to recruit.
However, this is only about one generation. It is estimated that the amount of ultra-Orthodox of all ages is no less than 54,000 that were recruited in 2011, only 1,282 in the military and 1739 in the civilian service. From the Arabs, by the way, 2187 young people have volunteered to civil service. Haredim can volunteer in one of -373 accredited institutions, but these do not include the educational ones, that is to prevent religious youths from being preoccupied with volunteerism , and thus indirectly keep him inside the system of "his faith his career" and prevent him from serving in the vital domains.
In the Haredi sector there is an 'ideological and cultural" opposition for police service, and for Magen David Adom - there are political reasons for the struggle between MDA and the Haredi rescue organizations and the' party of modesty." So, instead of MDA service, ultra-Orthodox Haredi volunteer in rescue organizations like "Union Rescue ", and the diagnosis of disaster victim association.
Employees of Fire Department against Recruiting Volunteers
However, there are also non-civil service problems that have nothing to do with ultra-Orthodox recruits. Even the police do not really try to be flexible, and refuse to allow voluntary service in the Division of the Civil Guard Community, because these are voluntary organizations, while married ultra-Orthodox are getting paid. No less problematic is the situation with the fire departments. Despite the importance of volunteering in the fire department, the Research and Information center's report reveals that the workers' committee at the fire department objects recruiting volunteers. However, except for the fact that the volunteer hours there are less convenient, due to the night shifts on Saturday (it saves lives, and therefore the rabbis might allow service on Saturday), and high costs of training courses.
Due to the fact that the payments given to married recruits are much less than those prevailing in the "IDF" (married with a child receives a salary of 2232 - slightly more than half the wage of a soldier with a similar status), they are allowed to work after the volunteering hours, and yet they are still eligible for a grant release and deposit personal unit Discharged Soldiers. Although they are still worthy to obtain the gift of demobilization and a personal deposit from the unit as demobilized soldiers.
The fire brigade responded that "the brigade encourages voluntary fire services, whether through volunteering or through normal civil service - as directed by the Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch. Today, there are 13 Hardi members serving at the firefighting services." The employees' spokesman of the Fire Service didn't comment on what was mentioned in the report - that they opposed volunteering.
Change does not always satisfy everyone
Meanwhile, Kadima's head, Minister Shaul Mofaz, visited in the afternoon "the naïve camp" in Tel Aviv. "I oppose this orientation of addressing people directly, for it is trying to transform the just conflict of an equal service into a civil war," Mofaz told the members of organizations.
It's not an opposition law; it serves the service, and the State of "Israel". It should be applied at the end and let other groups to enter the circle of service and work."
"Mofaz" referred to the upcoming conclusions of Plesner's committee by saying, "Change does not always satisfy everyone. He will face a strong opposition from the ultra-Orthodox sector and those who want to benefit at the expense of ultra-Orthodox sector." He also stressed that "what guides me is what is right and proper for the State of "Israel"." Furthermore, MK "Avi Dichter" (Kadima) noted that more than half of the exemptions from the "Israeli" army are given to young Haredim.
"This is an increase of more than double compared with 2005. Any other exemption to be granted to young Jewish is given to a Haridi. We must go back and grow from an "army of half the people" toward the "people's army" without any discrimination between those of the same blood."
Source: Hebrew papers, Translated and Edited by moqawama.org
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