Saturday, 1 June 2019

Weekly report on israel’s terrorism on Palestinians (23 May – 29 May 2019)



Israeli forces continued with systematic crimes, in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), for the week of 23 – 29 May, 2019.
Israeli forces continued to use excessive force against peaceful protestors in the Gaza Strip. 11 Palestinian civilians, including 3 children, a paramedic, and a journalist, were injured. A Palestinian child was wounded in the West Bank.
Shooting:

  • In the Gaza Strip, the Israeli forces continued to use lethal force against the participants in the peaceful protests organized along the Gaza Strip borders, which witnessed the peaceful protests for the 59th week along the eastern and northern border area of the Gaza Strip. They also continued to use force as well during the incursions into the West Bank. In the Gaza Strip, Israeli forces wounded 11 civilians, including 3 children, a paramedic, and a journalist, while participating in the Return March. Moreover, 2 Palestinian civilians were wounded after being targeted in the border area of the Gaza Strip. In the West Bank, Israeli forces wounded a Palestinian child.

  • In the Gaza Strip, Israeli forces wounded 11 civilians, including 3 children, a paramedic and a journalist, while participating in the 59th Friday of the Return March.

  • As part of targeting the border areas, on 26 May 2019, Israeli forces opened fire and fired an artillery shell at 2 Palestinian civilians, who were about 250 meters into the east of Um al-Mahd area, east of ‘Abasan al-Jadidah village, east of Khan Younis. As a result, they sustained shrapnel wounds. The injured civilians stayed in the area for an hour after which a number of farmers arrived and transferred them to Gaza European Hospital.

  • In the West Bank, Israeli forces wounded a Palestinian child during the reported period.

Incursions:

During the reporting period, Israeli forces conducted at least 54 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank and 7 other incursions into Jerusalem and its suburbs. During those incursions, Israeli forces arrested at least 47 Palestinians, including 4 children, from the West Bank, while 25 other civilians, including 8 children and a woman, were arrested from Jerusalem and its suburbs.

Israeli authorities continued to create a Jewish majority in occupied East Jerusalem.

Despite their claims to provide facilities for Palestinian civilians in Ramadan and allow them to perform prayers in al-Aqsa Mosque yards in occupied Jerusalem’s Old City, Israeli forces continued to impose restrictions on them, including the city residents. During this week, and for the second consecutive week, large forces of Israeli soldiers raided al-Aqsa Mosque after al-‘Isha and al-Taraweeh prayers and forcibly ordered al-Mo’takefeen, who are staying in the al-Aqsa Mosque for a certain number of days to perform prayers, to leave the mosque.

Israeli Forces continued their settlement activities, and the settlers continued their attacks against Palestinian civilians and their property

  • As part of the Israeli house demolitions and notices, on 23 May 2019, Israeli bulldozers demolished an under-construction house in Khalyil al-Louz area near al-‘Abayyat village, east of Bethlehem, under the pretext of non-licensing. The house, which is comprised of 40 square meters belongs to a person from Surbaher village in occupied East Jerusalem.

  • On 27 May 2019, Israeli forces destroyed an agricultural facility in Shoshahla village near al- Khadir village, south of Bethlehem, under the pretext of non-licensing. The 40-sqaure-meter agricultural room belongs to Mohamed Ahmed Salah.
  • Settlement activities and attacks by settlers against Palestinian civilians and property

Israeli forces’ attacks:

  • On Thursday, 23 May 2019, Israeli bulldozers demolished an under-construction house in Khalyil al-Louz area near al-‘Abayyat village, east of Bethlehem, under the pretext of non-licensing. Hasan Barijiyah, Head of the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission in Bethlehem, said that the Israeli bulldozers moved into Khalyil al-Louz area and demolished an under-construction house, which was comprised of 2 story. The house belongs to a person from Surbaher village in occupied East Jerusalem.

  • On Monday, 27 May 2019, Israeli forces destroyed an agricultural facility in Shoshahla village near al- Khadir village, south of Bethlehem, under the pretext of non-licensing. Eyewitnesses said that at approximately 11:00, the Israeli forces accompanied with a bulldozer moved into Shoshahla village. The bulldozer demolished a 40-sqaure-meter agricultural room without a prior warning. The room belongs to Mohamed Ahmed Salah.

  • Recommendations to the International Community

PCHR warns of the escalating settlement construction in the West Bank, the attempts to legitimize settlement outposts established on Palestinian lands in the West Bank and the continued summary executions of Palestinian civilians under the pretext that they pose a security threat to the Israeli forces. PCHR reminds the international community that thousands of Palestinian civilians have been rendered homeless and lived in caravans under tragic circumstances due to the latest Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip that has been under a tight closure for almost 11 years. PCHR welcomes the UN Security Council’s Resolution No. 2334, which states that settlements are a blatant violation of the Geneva Conventions and calls upon Israel to stop them and not to recognize any demographic change in the oPt since 1967.  PCHR hopes this resolution will pave the way for eliminating the settlement crime and bring to justice those responsible for it. PCHR further reiterates that the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, are still under Israeli occupation in spite of Israel’s unilateral disengagement plan of 2005.  PCHR emphasizes that there is international recognition of Israel’s obligation to respect international human rights instruments and international humanitarian law.  Israel is bound to apply international human rights law and the law of war, sometimes reciprocally and other times in parallel, in a way that achieves the best protection for civilians and remedy for the victims.
  1. PCHR calls upon the international community to respect the Security Council’s Resolution No. 2334 and to ensure that Israel respects it as well, in particular point 5 which obliges Israel not to deal with settlements as if they were part of Israel.
  2. PCHR calls upon the ICC this year to open an investigation into Israeli crimes committed in the oPt, particularly the settlement crimes and the 2014 offensive on the Gaza Strip.
  3. PCHR Calls upon the European Union (EU) and all international bodies to boycott settlements and ban working and investing in them in application of their obligations according to international human rights law and international humanitarian law considering settlements as a war crime.
  4. PCHR calls upon the international community to use all available means to allow the Palestinian people to enjoy their right to self-determination through the establishment of the Palestinian State, which was recognized by the UN General Assembly with a vast majority, using all international legal mechanisms, including sanctions to end the occupation of the State of Palestine.
  5. PCHR calls upon the international community and United Nations to take all necessary measures to stop Israeli policies aimed at creating a Jewish demographic majority in Jerusalem and at voiding Palestine from its original inhabitants through deportations and house demolitions as a collective punishment, which violates international humanitarian law, amounting to a crime against humanity.
  6. PCHR calls upon the international community to condemn summary executions carried out by Israeli forces against Palestinians and to pressurize Israel to stop them.
  7. PCHR calls upon the States Parties to the Rome Statute of the ICC to work hard to hold Israeli war criminals accountable.
  8. PCHR calls upon the High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions to fulfill their obligations under article (1) of the Convention to ensure respect for the Conventions under all circumstances, and under articles (146) and (147) to search for and prosecute those responsible for committing grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions to ensure justice and remedy for Palestinian victims, especially in light of the almost complete denial of justice for them before the Israeli judiciary.
  9. PCHR calls upon the international community to speed up the reconstruction process necessary because of the destruction inflicted by the Israeli offensive on Gaza.
  10. PCHR calls for a prompt intervention to compel the Israeli authorities to lift the closure that obstructs the freedom of movement of goods and 1.8 million civilians that experience unprecedented economic, social, political and cultural hardships due to collective punishment policies and retaliatory action against civilians.
  11. PCHR calls upon the European Union to apply human rights standards embedded in the EU-Israel Association Agreement and to respect its obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights when dealing with Israel.
  12. PCHR calls upon the international community, especially states that import Israeli weapons and military services, to meet their moral and legal responsibility not to allow Israel to use the offensive in Gaza to test new weapons and not accept training services based on the field experience in Gaza in order to avoid turning Palestinian civilians in Gaza into testing objects for Israeli weapons and military tactics.
  13. PCHR calls upon the parties to international human rights instruments, especially the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), to pressurize Israel to comply with its provisions in the oPt and to compel it to incorporate the human rights situation in the oPt in its reports submitted to the relevant committees.
  14. PCHR calls upon the EU and international human rights bodies to pressurize the Israeli forces to stop their attacks against Palestinian fishermen and farmers, mainly in the border area.

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«الفلسطينيون باتوا يعرفون أصدقاءهم جيداً وأعداءهم جيداً.. والقدس هي البوصلة».



السنوار في يوم القدس: العرب تخلوا عنا وإيران دعمتنا 

مايو 31, 2019


قال رئيس حركة حماس في قطاع غزة، يحيى السنوار، إن «إيران زوّدت المقاومة بالصواريخ وتفاجأ العالم حين استهدفت المقاومة مدينة بئر السبع بها»، مشيراً إلى أنه في العام 2012 و2014 ضربت المقاومة الفلسطينية تل أبيب بصواريخ فجر بدعم من إيران أيضاً.

وأكد في كلمة له في احتفالية بمناسبة يوم القدس العالمي أن المقاومة طوّرت وستظل تحاول تطوير قدراتها وأدواتها لقتال العدو حتى تحقيق زوال الاحتلال، لافتاً إلى أنه إذا كرر العدو اعتداءه فإن المقاومة ستدك «تل أبيب» وغيرها من المدن بأضعاف مضاعفة من الصواريخ بدعم إيراني.

وشدد السنوار على أنه لولا دعم إيران للمقاومة في فلسطين لما تمكنت من امتلاك هذه القدرات بعد أن تخلى عنا العرب، منوهاً إلى أن «هناك محاولات لتغيير وعي الأمة لكن الفلسطينيين باتوا يعرفون أصدقاءهم جيداً وأعداءهم جيداً، والقدس هي البوصلة».

وأشار إلى أن مَن يفرّط بالقدس هو في صف الأعداء ومن يقف مع تحرير القدس هو في صف الأصدقاء والحلفاء، مؤكداً أن «من يراهن على بيع القدس للحفاظ على عرشه فهو في صف الأعداء».

وتوجه رئيس حركة حماس في قطاع غزة بالكلام للقادة المجتمعين في مكة المكرمة قائلاً: «إذا أردتم أن تثبتوا عروشكم والعزة، فالعزة في تبني خيار حماية القدس»، وأضاف «إما أن تُسجل أسماؤكم في التاريخ ويرفع ذكركم أو تسجل في التاريخ وتلعنكم الأمم».

وحذرهم من الانجرار وراء مسارات الرئيس الأميركي دونالد ترامب، لافتاً إلى أن عليهم الانحياز للثوابت بتحرير القدس.

وأكد السنوار أن الشعب البحريني هو مع المقاومة الفلسطينية وضد التطبيع ولا يمثلهم مؤتمر البحرين، مشيراً إلى استعداد المقاومة الفلسطينية أن تكون وقوداً لإسقاط «صفقة القرن».

وقال إن المعركة الحقيقية في المرحلة المقبلة هي في الضفة لمواجهة أطماع الاحتلال، داعياً حركات المقاومة الفلسطينية للاتحاد لمواجهة صفقة القرن.

شمخاني

وفي الاحتفالية ذاتها، قال رئيس المجلس الأعلى للأمن القومي الإيراني علي شمخاني إنّ «صفقة القرن» تهدف إلى تدمير القضية الفلسطينية بالكامل.

وأضاف شمخاني، في كلمته عبر الإنترنت من طهران، أنّ الولايات المتحدة تسعى إلى القضاء على قضية عودة اللاجئين وقيام دولة فلسطينية مستقلة، مشيراً إلى أنّ «المساعي المبذولة لعقد مؤتمر المنامة ومحاولات البعض للتطبيع مع «إسرائيل» تأتي في إطار مؤامرة صفقة القرن».

النخالة

من جهته، الأمين العام لحركة الجهاد الإسلامي زياد النخالة، اعتبر من جهته أنّ «الإجماع الفلسطيني على رفض صفقة القرن يحتاج إلى خطوات عملية لإفشالها».

النخالة اعتبر في كلمته خلال الاحتفالية أنّ «هذه فرصة لمنظمة التحرير وقيادتها للعودة إلى خيار الشعب الفلسطيني والانسحاب من التزاماتها مع العدو»، داعياً إلى لقاء وطني يجمع القوى كافةَ لـ «العودة إلى مشروع منظمة التحرير وميثاقها الوطني الداعي إلى التحرير والعودة».

الأمين العام لحركة الجهاد رأى أنّ إعلان صفقة القرن «يعكس فشل مشاريع التسوية السياسية التي لم تحقق أدنى حق للشعب الفلسطيني»، مبرزاً أنّ «أميركا خرجت بمشروع الصفقة بعد أن أرهقت المنطقة بالأزمات ونجحت في استتباع النظام العربي لسياساتها ومفاهيمها».

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Imam Khamenei Labels Negotiation with US as ‘Total Loss’


Leader of the Islamic Revolution His Eminence Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei ruled out the possibility of talks between Tehran and Washington, saying such negotiations will be “fruitless”, “harmful”, and “a total loss”.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran will absolutely not sit for talks with America … because first, it bears no fruit and second, it is harmful,” Imam Khamenei said in a meeting with a number of university professors, elites and researchers in Tehran on Wednesday.
Imam Khamenei referred to negotiation as a tactic used by Americans to complement their strategy of pressure. “This is actually not negotiation; it’s rather a means for picking the fruits of pressure.”
The only way to counter this trick, His Eminence said, is to utilize the means of pressure available for use against Americans. “If they are used properly, the Americans will either stop or decrease pressures.”
However, Imam Khamenei further warned against being deceived by the US plot, saying that the Islamic Republic must use the leverage at its disposal to counter the US’ pressures; otherwise, being deceived into negotiation would be a “total loss”.
Imam Khamenei said Iran’s leverage is not military unlike what the anti-Iran propaganda says, even though that option is not off the table in case of necessity.
His Eminence referred to the recent decision by the Supreme National Security Council to reduce some of Iran’s commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal with the world, and described it as one of the means that Iran can use against the US’ pressures.
“The leverage Iran has used for now is the recent SNSC decision, but we won’t remain at this level forever, and in the next phase, if necessary, we’ll use other means of pressure,” Imam Khamenei warned.
Back on May 8, 2019, on the anniversary of the US’ withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran said that it will halt implementing some terms of the nuclear deal until parties to the deal other than US take action to mitigate the negative impacts of US decision in May 2018 to withdraw from the agreement.
The Islamic Republic considers that other parties to the JCPOA, particularly the E3 – France, Britain, and Germany – have failed so far to compensate for the US withdrawal and help Iran reap the economic dividends of the 2015 nuclear deal.
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Sayyed Nasrallah Warns US: War on Iran to Burn Region, Ready to Open Precise Missiles Manufacturing Factories



Zeinab Essa- Al-Ahed  
Hezbollah Secretary General His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah delivered on Friday a speech in which he tackled various regional topics, on top of which is US administration’s “Deal of century.”
Addressing thousands of Resistance supporters who gathered to commemorate Al-Quds Day, Sayyed Nasrallah recalled that “today, 40 years have passed since late Imam Khomeini announced Al-Quds International Day.”
“The enemies have bet that people forget Al-Quds, but people’s sympathy is growing,” he added, noting that “attempts to disrupt Al-Quds Day and turn it to a sectarian issue have failed.”
On the event,  His Eminence stopped at and the mass million marches in Iran. “The Iranian people are demonstrating in solidarity with Al-Quds, not as [US President Donald] Trump says against the Iranian regime.”
Stressing that “Al-Quds Day rallies in Iran form a message to Washington and all the governments in the region,” he went on to highlight that it’s the nation’s to topple the deal of the century [the deal of shame] because it is a deal of falsehood, loss of Palestinian as well as the Arab and Islamic rights.”
In this context, Sayyed Nasrallah assured that we can thwart the deal of the century . “The axis of resistance stands to prevent the success of this deal and scheme,” he mentioned.
“We have strong hope as peoples in the region that we can prevent the crime of the deal of the century,” His Eminence added, pointing out that “in 2011, there was an American attempt to end the Palestinian cause and to only give the Palestinians some demands.”
He further warned that “as the American administration, the Zionist entity and some Arab regimes are working to implement the deal of the century.”
According to Sayyed Nasrallah: “Trump’s deal of the century  is unjust and it is our duty to oppose it.”
“In return there is a strong axis standing to prevent the implementation of this deal,” His Eminence stated, noting that “The goal of the deal of century is to end any talk about Al-Quds, the Gaza Strip and the refugees.”
Hailing the heroic Yemeni people that poured into streets despite the aggression and siege to commemorate Al-Quds Day, Sayyed Nasrallah underscored that “Al-Quds Day rallies in Bahrain confirm that the Bahraini people and scholars are innocent of the Deal of the Century’s workshop [to be hosted by Al-Khalifa regime.”
On the same level , the Resistance Leader highlighted that Washington has been able to absorb the Arab popular revolutions, divert it from its course towards the wrong direction.”
“ There is a supposed strategic environment that Trump and [“Israe;I PM] Netanyahu are to impose the deal of the century and end the Palestine,” he emphasized.
Sayyed Nasrallah went on to accuse “all those who interfered in the Arab Spring
from seeking to take from it a rotten fruit [that is the deal of the century.
According to His Eminence, “the American bet on the tiresome of the peoples in region to impose the deal of the  century is a wrong diagnosis.”
Sayyed Nasrallah once again reiterated that “The resistance axis today is stronger than ever before.”
Elsewhere in his speech, Sayyed Nasrallah clarified that The Palestinian resistance today is stronger than ever and is approaching the equation of bombing “Tel Aviv” in response to attacking Gaza.”
He further revealed that “The resistance in Gaza is capable of controlling large areas of occupied Palestine in any future war.”
Regarding Syria, His Eminence explained that “Syria today has overcome the scheme against it and will regain its strength and ability.”
In addition, he said: “Iraq today returned to its regional role and has a capable, struggling and influential people.”
““Israel” fears the resistance in Lebanon and  “Israeli” officials continue to talk about the state of deterrence and the resistance capabilities,” he added pointing out that ““Israel” fears missiles from Lebanon, Gaza, Syria and claims the existence of rockets in Iraq.”
Commenting on the recent summits held in Saudi Arabia, Hezbollah Secretary General viewed that “the Arab summits that are taking place today reflect the Saudi distress from the inability and failure in face of the Yemeni people.”
Sayyed Nasrallah also elaborated that “Trump could not protect Saudi Arabia.”
“The Saudi funds and weapons did not benefit it in its war on Yemen and its king appealed to Arab, Islamic and Gulf summits to protect him,” he explained.
However, His Eminence vowed that “All the summits will not be able to protect Saudi Arabia in its war against the oppressed people in Yemen because they are the people of faith, wisdom and sacrifice.”
“The Lebanese delegation’s stance at Mecca’s Arab Summit is rejected and condemned and it does not conform to the government’s policy statement,” he said.
On the regional scene, the Resistance Leader listed a serious of factual developments.
“Iran is the greatest regional power in our region and a real force with its power,” he added, pointing out that “ in 2019,“Israel” is weaker than ever.
Sayyed Nasrallah further stressed that ““Israel’s” prestige is demising and the strength of its ground army has retreated as it moved to the defensive position.”
“The “Israeli” internal front is exposed in face of the resistance rockets,” the Resistance Leader declared.
As he cautioned that “some American tools in the region are unable to protect itself and some regimes are concerned of implementing the deal of the century.”
Sayyed Nasrallah highlighted that “The US is no longer the same as before 20 years after it sent its troops to the region and came out defeated.”
According to His Eminence, “The current US administration is anxious to go to new wars.”
Sayyed Nasrallah further assured that “Today the axis of resistance and the rejectionist front to the Deal of the century  are strong and capable of confronting this deal.”
He underscored that “the pressure on Iran today is because all the resistance forces resorted to it to save Palestine.”
On another level, Sayyed Nasrallah quoted the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, His Eminence Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei who ruled out a possible war with the US.
“One reason that there’s no war is that Iran is strong, otherwise the war could have been launched,” he added, lamenting the fact that “Bolton, Netanyahu and others from the Gulf are inciting war against Iran.”
“The other reason that there is no war is that the CIA knows that a war on Iran will set the region on fire and won’t stop behind its borders,” His Eminence vowed , noting that “ The war against Iran did not happen because Iran is strong and has a great leadership despite all this incitement.”
In addition, Sayyed Nasrallah stated that “Trump knows that when the region is on fire, a barrel of oil will be $200 or $300.”
“The US knows well that any war on Iran will not remain confined to Iran’s borders. The entire region will burn, leading to all US forces and interests in the region being annihilated,” he threatened.
On another level, Hezbollah Secretary General urged US defenders to go and study America’s internal front. “On the socioeconomic levels; according to a USDA report, 40 million Americans are food-insecure. This is the America that wants to take over the world.”
Moreover, His Eminence vowed that “Any “Israeli” attack on any target linked to the resistance in Lebanon, we Hezbollah, will respond to it quickly, directly and strongly. “Israel” is afraid of us and keeps talking about our rocket capabilities. We will be able to take over large areas in the next war.”
“Missiles are in fact made manufactured in Yemen and in Lebanon, they have the technology, but the Saudi mind can’t absorb the idea that a Muslim country can make its own missiles,” he added, stating that “It’s none of the US business whether we have precision rockets and facilities to produce them or not.”
Unveiling that “We [Hezbollah] have in Lebanon accurate missiles that reach all the targets in “Israel” and  are capable of changing the face of the region,” Sayyed Nasrallah sent  the Americans a sounding message:
“If the Americans continue to incite on us over manufacturing missiles, we shall establish facilities and factories for manufacturing precision rockets,” he stated, warning that “the US is taking advantage of border demarcation to benefit “Israel”, target Hezbollah’s precision missiles arsenal.”
In conclusion, Sayyed Nasrallah said: “ Our axis is strong and our front is strong. We made sacrifices. We came out stronger and more present. We are able to topple the deal of the century.”
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Friday, 31 May 2019

AL-QUDS BRIGADES REVEAL FIRST EVER VIDEO SHOWING DRONE ATTACK ON ISRAELI TANK, APC


30.05.2019
For the first time ever, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement, the al-Quds Brigades, released a video showing its fighters targeting Israeli military vehicles around the Palestinian Gaza Strip with an armed drone.
The video, which was first broadcasted by the Lebanese al-Mayadeen TV in the noon of May 30, shows an armed drone targeting a Merkava IV main battle tank and an Achzarit armored personnel carrier (APC) of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). The attack occurred during the recent Gaza–Israel clashes.
“Your fortresses don’t stand before us,” a message in Arabic and Hebrew in the video reads.
The drone used in the attack appears to be a small-size quadcopter, similar to the famous DJI Phantom. The drone dropped small projectiles, similar to submunitions usually used in cluster rockets and bombs.
Al-Quds Brigades Reveal First Ever Video Showing Drone Attack On Israeli Tank, APC
Click to see full-size image
ISIS was the first to arm commercially bought drones and use them in combat. The battle of Mosul in Iraq witnessed an extensive use of such drones with the Iraqi military losing several vehicles to drone attacks.
While the terrorist group was the first to use armed drones, Hezbollah was the first to arm them with submunitions. In late 2016, the Lebanese armed group attacked several militants’ positions near the city of Aleppo with drones armed with Chinese-made MZD2 submunitions.
Al-Quds Brigades Reveal First Ever Video Showing Drone Attack On Israeli Tank, APCClick to see full-size image
The accuracy of the armed drone used by the al-Quds Brigades appears to be poor. However, the acquisition of such weapon remains a threat to the Israeli military, especially that it can be improved.
More on the topic:
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Off-duty Israeli Soldier Caught on Video Torching Palestinian Farms



A video released by the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem shows a group of Israeli settlers attacking Palestinian villagers and setting their farms on fire on May 17th – and today, the group managed to identify one of the arsonists in the video as an off-duty Israeli soldier.
According to B’Tselem, on Friday, 17 May 2019, Israeli paramilitary settlers torched Palestinian farmers’ fields in Burin and ‘Asirah al-Qibliyah. In both villages, the settlers threw stones at the residents’ homes.
In ‘Asirah al-Qibliyah, where the area is controlled by military watchtowers, a settler even fired shots in the air. Soldiers nearby did not arrest the attackers and prevented the Palestinians from approaching their burning land.
The Israeli military followed the attack with a public statement containing the absurd and easily disproved claim that *Palestinians* had started the fires – a version of events that was then unquestioningly repeated by the Israeli and US media.
The attack took place about a kilometer away from the Giv’at Ronen settlement point, and the Israeli paramilitary settlers involved in the attack apparently came from the settlement of Yitzhar.
The fire-setting by the Israeli soldier is especially disturbing given that it took place in the midst of an extremely dry season in Israel and Palestine, with wildfires having burned hundreds of acres in Israel over the past several weeks, and burn bans in place across the country to try to prevent the spread of any more fires. Setting fires intentionally during such a climate and atmosphere could have a devastating impact and would normally have severe consequences.
Given the Israeli military’s record of failing to prosecute Israeli soldiers who commit crimes against Palestinians – even when those crimes are documented clearly on video – Palestinians impacted by the crime on May 17th say that they have little faith that the perpetrators in this case will be prosecuted.
According to the Israeli paper Ha’aretz, two separate Israeli security services verified to their reporters that the arsonist was an off-duty soldier. However, the Israeli military claimed that the incident would be handled by the Israeli police, and the Israeli police claimed that it would be handled by the military. Neither the army nor the police have arrested the perpetrator, although he was clearly identified and both forces confirmed his identity.

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Israel’s Role In 9/11

Philip Giraldi – The Unz Review May 28, 2019

The tale of 9/11 will just not go away, largely because it is clear to anyone who reads the lengthy 9/11 Commission Report that many issues that should have been subject to inquiry were ignored for what would appear to be political reasons. The George W. Bush Administration quite obviously did not want to assume any blame for what had happened and that bias also extended to providing cover for U.S. “allies,” most particularly Saudi Arabia and Israel. Those who have sought the truth about 9/11 have been persistent in their attempts to find out information that was suppressed but they have been blocked repeatedly in spite of numerous FOIA requests.

Now, eighteen years after the event, there has been something like a breakthrough, penetrating the wall of silence erected by the government. FBI reports on the possible Israeli role in 9/11 were released on May 7th and they serve to support speculation by myself and other former intelligence officers that Israel, at a minimum, had detailed prior knowledge of what was to take place. More than that, Israeli intelligence officers working in the United States might well have enabled certain aspects of the conspiracy.

To recount some of what is already known and suspected, one should first examine the 2016 release of a heavily edited and redacted 28 pages long annex to the 9/11 Commission Report that explored the Saudi Arabian role in the terrorist attack . The section concluded that the Saudi government may have played a direct role in 9/11 by assisting two of the hijackers, including a dry run exercise intended to learn how to get into a plane’s cockpit. There was also considerable evidence suggesting that wealthy Saudis and even members of the Royal Family had been supporting and funding al-Qaeda.

But far exceeding the Saudi role is the involvement of the Israeli intelligence service Mossad, which was not subject to any serious inquiry or investigation by U.S. intelligence or police agencies. Israel, in spite of obvious involvement in 9/11, was not included in the 9/11 Commission Report despite the existence of an enormous Israeli intelligence operation freely working in the United States that was known to the FBI. Some of those Mossad officers were notably filmed celebrating as the Twin Towers were burning and collapsing.

In the year 2001 Israel was running a massive spying operation through a number of cover companies in New Jersey, Florida and also on the west coast that served as spying mechanisms for Mossad officers. The effort was supported by the Mossad Station in Washington D.C. and included a large number of volunteers, the so-called “art students” who traveled around the U.S. selling various products at malls and outdoor markets. The FBI was aware of the numerous Israeli students who were routinely overstaying their visas and some in the Bureau certainly believed that they were assisting their country’s intelligence service in some way, but it proved difficult to actually link the students to undercover operations, so they were regarded as a minor nuisance and were normally left to the tender mercies of the inspectors at the Bureau of Customs and Immigration.

American law enforcement was also painfully aware that the Israelis were running more sophisticated intelligence operations inside the United States, many of which were focused on Washington’s military capabilities and intentions. Some specialized intelligence units concentrated on obtaining military and dual use technology. It was also known that Israeli spies had penetrated the phone systems of the U.S. government, to include those at the White House.

In its annual classified counterespionage review, the FBI invariably places Israel at the top for “friendly” countries that spy on the U.S. In fact, the pre-9/11 Bureau did its best to stay on top of the problem, but it rarely received any political support from the Justice Department and White House if an espionage case involved Israelis. By one estimate, more than 100 such cases were not prosecuted for political reasons. Any Israeli caught in flagrante would most often be quietly deported and most Americans who were helping Israel were let off with a slap on the wrist.

But the hands-off attitude towards Israel shifted dramatically when, on September 11, 2001, a New Jersey housewife saw something from the window of her apartment building, which overlooked the World Trade Center. She watched as the buildings burned and crumbled but also noted something strange. Three young men were kneeling on the roof of a white transit van parked by the water’s edge, making a movie in which they featured themselves high fiving and laughing in front of the catastrophic scene unfolding behind them. The woman wrote down the license plate number of the van and called the police, who responded quickly and soon both the local force and the FBI began looking for the vehicle, which was subsequently seen by other witnesses in various locations along the New Jersey waterfront, its occupants “celebrating and filming.”

The license plate number revealed that the van belonged to a New Jersey registered company called Urban Moving Systems. At 4 p.m. the vehicle was spotted and pulled over. Five men between the ages of 22 and 27 years old emerged and were detained at gunpoint and handcuffed. They were all Israelis. One of them had $4,700 in cash hidden in his sock and another had two foreign passports. Bomb sniffing dogs reacted to the smell of explosives in the van, which had very little actual moving equipment inside.

According to the initial police report, the driver identified as Sivan Kurzberg, stated “We are Israeli. We are not your problem. Your problems are our problems. The Palestinians are the problem.” The four other passengers were Sivan’s brother Paul, Yaron Shmuel, Oded Ellner and Omer Marmari. The men were detained at the Bergen County jail in New Jersey before being transferred the FBI’s Foreign Counterintelligence Section, which handles allegations of spying.

After the arrest, the FBI obtained a warrant to search Urban Moving System’s Weehawken, N.J., offices. Papers and computers were seized. The company owner Dominick Suter, also an Israeli, answered FBI questions but when a follow-up interview was set up a few days later it was learned that he had fled the country for Israel, putting both his business and home up for sale. The office space and warehouse were abandoned. It was later learned that Suter has been associated with at least fourteen businesses in the United States, mostly in New Jersey and New York but also in Florida. Suter and his wife Omit Levinson Suter were the owners of 1 Stop Cleaner located in Wellington Florida and Dominick was also associated with Basia McDonnell, described as a Polish “holocaust survivor,” as a business partner in yet another business called Value Ad. Florida was a main focus for the Israeli intelligence operation in the U.S. that was directed against Arabs.

The five Israelis were among 140 Israelis arrested after 9/11, most of whom had military backgrounds, including some who were trained in “intelligence.” The five were held in Brooklyn, initially on charges relating to visa fraud. FBI interrogators questioned them for more than two months. Several were held in solitary confinement so they could not communicate with each other and two of them were given repeated polygraph exams, which they failed when claiming that they were nothing more than students working summer jobs. The two men that the FBI focused on most intensively were believed to be Mossad staff officers and the other three were volunteers helping with surveillance.

The Israelis were not exactly cooperative, but the FBI concluded from documents obtained at their office in Weehawken that they were targeting Arabs in New York and New Jersey, most particularly in the Paterson N.J. area, which has the second largest Muslim population in the U.S. They were particularly interested in local groups possibly linked to Hamas and Hezbollah as well as in charities that might be used for fund raising. The FBI also concluded that the Israelis had actually monitored the activities of at least two of the 9/11 hijackers.

To be sure, working on an intelligence operation does not necessarily imply participation in either the planning or execution of something like 9/11, but there are Israeli fingerprints all over the place, with cover companies and intelligence personnel often intersecting with locations frequented by the hijackers.

Apart from the interrogations of the five men from Weehawken, the U.S. government has apparently never sought to find out what else the Israelis might have known or were up to in September 2011. There are a lot of dots that might well have been connected once upon a time, but the trail has grown cold. Police records in New Jersey and New York where the men were held have disappeared and FBI interrogation reports have been inaccessible. Media coverage of the case also died, though the five were referred to in the press as the “dancing Israelis” and by some, more disparagingly, as the “dancing Shlomos.”

Inevitably, the George W. Bush White House intervened. After 71 days in detention, the five Israelis were released from prison by Attorney General John Ashcroft, put on a plane, and deported. Two of the men later spoke about their unpleasant experience in America on an Israeli talk show, one explaining that their filming the fall of the Twin Towers was to “document the event.” In 2004 the five men sued the United States government for damages, alleging “that their detention was illegal and that their civil rights were violated, suffering racial slurs, physical violence, religious discrimination, rough interrogations, deprivation of sleep, and many other offenses.” They were represented by Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, who in the previous year had founded the Shurat HaDin Israel Law Center which seeks to bankrupt groups that Israel considers to be “terrorists.” Shurat HaDin is closely tied to the Israeli government.

Now it is just possible that the Urban Moving Israelis were indeed uninvolved in 9/11 but nevertheless working for Mossad, which the Israeli government even subsequently admitted, but the new evidence suggests that the Israelis almost certainly had considerable prior knowledge and were likely involved in what developed. The new information reveals that minutes after the first plane struck the World Trade Center, five Israelis had taken up position in the parking lot of the Doric Apartment Complex in Union City, New Jersey, where they took pictures and filmed the attacks while also celebrating the fall of the towers and “high fiving.” One eyewitness interviewed by the Bureau had seen the Israelis’ van circling the building parking at 8:00 a.m. that day, more than 40 minutes prior to the attack, indicating prior knowledge of what was about to happen.

The eyewitness testimony is supported by copies of photos taken by the men that the FBI seized. The photo reproductions were obtained via a FOIA request made by a private citizen and are of poor quality, deliberately made so by the FBI to conceal faces and other details. They constitute only 14 of over seventy photos taken by the Israelis. Nevertheless, they clearly demonstrate that a celebration was going on. One photo, intriguingly, shows Sivan Kurzberg holding a lit lighter in front of the Manhattan Skyline on September 10th, one day before 9/11. It was apparently taken at the Doric Complex on a reconnoitering visit made on that day and suggests that Kurzberg was simulating the attack on the towers on the following day.

Why would the Israelis do it? Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described 9/11 initially as “a good thing.” He was later quoted as saying somewhat more expansively “We are benefiting from one thing, and that is the attack on the Twin Towers and Pentagon, and the American struggle in Iraq.” To be sure, 9/11 was a gift to Israel and it is a gift that keeps on giving. America is at war in a number of Muslim countries and its troops blanket the Middle East, to include a base in Israel dedicated to the defense of that country. It is all a result of the Global War on Terror and the GWOT started with 9/11. And just maybe it was a fire that was ignited by Israel.

Philip M. Giraldi, Ph.D., is Executive Director of the Council for the National Interest, a 501(c)3 tax deductible educational foundation (Federal ID Number #52-1739023) that seeks a more interests-based U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. Website is councilforthenationalinterest.org, address is P.O. Box 2157, Purcellville VA 20134 and its email is inform@cnionline.org


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Trump Tells ’Dumb Lies’ To Attack FBI Campaign Investigation, Comey Says




Former FBI Director James Comey said in an op-ed for The Washington Post that US President Donald Trump tells “dumb lies” to attack the FBI and investigations of his 2016 campaign.
Comey’s comments in the piece, published Tuesday, followed Attorney General William Barr’s review of the beginning of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.
Trump has ordered intelligence agencies to assist Barr in the effort and has given the attorney general declassification authority.
“Go ahead, investigate the investigators, if you must,” Comey wrote.
“When those investigations are over, they will find the work was done appropriately and focused only on discerning the truth of very serious allegations. There was no corruption. There was no treason. There was no attempted coup. Those are lies, and dumb lies at that. There were just good people trying to figure out what was true, under unprecedented circumstances.”
Comey’s statement evoked many of Trump’s repeated critiques of the origin of the Russia investigation, including accusations of treason and abuse of surveillance authority.
Barr has defended the review and said it could prompt rule changes at the FBI.
Relatively, Comey’s op-ed marked his latest public remarks against Trump and top administration officials since his firing in May 2017. He previously wrote that he felt top officials had their souls “eaten” through their work in service to Trump.
Former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, for his part, responded earlier this month to some of Comey’s comments by saying the former FBI director “seems to be acting as a partisan pundit.”

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