Challah Hu Akbar

Lebanese Courts Sentence 6 To Death For Spying For Israel

noreply@blogger.com (Challah Hu Akbar) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 20:46:00 +0000

In January it was reported that an ex-employee for the Lebanese company Ogero was charged with spying for Israel. If convicted, the employee would likely face a death sentence.

Naharnet is reporting that a Lebanese military court has now issued three new death sentences today.

Three Lebanese were sentenced to death by the Military Court on Friday for spying for Israel, a judicial source said.

The tribunal "condemned to death Moussa Ali Moussa, who was found guilty of having contacted the Israeli enemy and passing on information," the source said.

The court found that Moussa had passed on to the Jewish state between 2000 and 2010 "information on officials from Hizbullah."

The court also condemned to death in absentia Ali Sweid and Ahmed Hussein Abdullah on charges of spying for Israel.

Last Friday, Naharnet reported that three other individuals had been sentence to death for spying for Israel.

The Permanent Military Tribunal headed by Brig. Gen. Nizar Khalil on Friday sentenced to death Haitham al-Sahmarani, a retired Internal Security Forces first sergeant, on charges of collaboration with Israel.

Upon his arrest in 2009 Sahmarani confessed to collaborating, along with his wife, with the Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency.

With the help of his sister who had fled to Israel in 2000, Sahmarani began his relation with the Israelis in 2004.

The sister, Sahera al-Sahmarani, and her husband Mohammed Amin Khazaal were sentenced to death in absentia on Friday.

Don’t expect any condemnation from those “human rights” organizations.

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Hamas' Haniyeh: "We Will Never Recognize Israel" - Supporters: "Down With Israel"

noreply@blogger.com (Challah Hu Akbar) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 14:24:00 +0000

On Friday, Hamas’ Ismail Haniyeh gave a speech at the Al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo during a protest against Israel and Syria’s Assad.

During the speech Haniyeh said that "We will never recognize Israel.” In addition, Haniyeh stressed that “resistance” against Israel will continue. During the speech, attendees chanted “Down With Israel.”

Haniyeh was accompanied by Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri and Mahmoud Zahar as well as Kamal Helbawy, a former spokesman of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Update: I have come across a report on Haniyeh's speech at Palestine Today, which reports that Haniyeh also said that through "faith and unity" Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque will be liberated from the "unjust enemy." Haniyeh also praised those "stationed in the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque standing up" to Israeli security forces with "bare chests."

Update: Egypt Independent has reported on the event:

Around 3,000 worshipers at Al-Azhar Mosque broke out into chants supporting the liberation of Jerusalem from Israeli control, as Hamas' leader in the Gaza Strip took to the podium to speak after Friday prayers.

The protesters could be heard chanting, “We sacrifice our blood and souls for Al-Aqsa [Mosque in Jerusalem].”

ElderofZiyon has a write up on the speech as well based on reporting from Masrawy.

Haniyeh continued, saying,"Our hope is not only the independence of Palestine, but the independence of the Islamic nation [where we will] put an end to the current situation of political wilderness, cultural and foreign interference and encroachment of the Zionists."

He said that there was a Zionist plot for the Judaization of Jerusalem which wrested it from the Arab and Muslim world it belongs to, calling on Muslims to support Al-Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem.

Hundreds of congregants chanted in response, saying, 'Khaybar Khaybar oh Jews, the army of Mohammed will return," and "We, sons of Hassan al-Banna .. Islam! Islam!" (Hassan al-Banna was the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood.)

Here is video of Haniyeh’s speech, sorry no subtitles.

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Activists Push To Expose Corruption Among Top Palestinian Officials

noreply@blogger.com (Challah Hu Akbar) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 00:15:00 +0000

Over the past month I have detailed the authoritarian rule of Mahmoud Abbas. It now appears that a number of activists have had enough of the corruption within Abbas’ Palestinian Authority.

InLightPress, which has been hacked a number of times by the Palestinian Authority, is reporting that a number of Jordanian and Palestinian activists are planning to meet with members of Jordan’s Parliament to inform them about corruption related to Palestinian Authority officials who are either Jordanian citizens, or have the right to permanent residence in the country.

According to the activists, the officials implicated in the corruption are members of the PLO Executive Committee and Fatah’s Central Committee. Some of those reportedly implicated are Mahmoud Abbas and his two sons, Tareq and Yasser.

The activists say the goal is restore the funds that they say have been stolen from the Palestinian people and used for personal use by the officials. Additionally, the activists say that the revelations may lead to widespread protests.

Hamas spokesman Ismail Radwan has welcomed the initiative and said that the corrupt leaders must be held accountable.

Similarly, the head of the Independent Commission for Human Rights, formerly known as the Palestinian Independent Commission for Citizens’ Rights, has said that the move is a step in the right direction in the fight against financial and administrative corruption.

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Fatah Official Does Not Rule Out Armed Resistance, Abbas Threatens Violence

noreply@blogger.com (Challah Hu Akbar) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 18:55:00 +0000

The other day I reported that Abbas Zaki, a Fatah official, said that Fatah had not given up the military option at an event at the PLO Embassy in Beirut.

Today, Egypt Independent (formerly known as Al Masry Al Youm) has an interview with Azzam al- Ahmed, a top Fatah official and the head of the Fatah delegation in Palestinian reconciliation talks, which have unsurprisingly been delayed.

In the interview al-Ahmed is asked whether Fatah will return to armed resistance. In response, al-Ahmed says that currently Fatah has a truce with Israel, but that it is committed to popular resistance.

The interviewer then pressed al-Ahmed and asked if Fatah will support other Palestinian factions if they wage violence against Israel in response to the failure of peace talks. In response, al-Ahmed said that if America and Israel continue to ignore the situation, the floodgates may open and the cycle of violence may return. Al-Ahmed says that Israel will be the cause and that the Palestinians will have the “right to defend ourselves.”

In related news, Palestine Today reports that Mahmoud Abbas and the Secretary-General of Islamic Jihad were scheduled to meet today in Cairo. Two weeks ago I reported that Ramadan Shallah, Islamic Jihad’s Secretary-General, called on Palestinians to “rise up and a launch a third Intifada.”

Additionally, as ElderofZiyon notes, Abbas' spokesman recently threatened violence due to Jews visiting the Temple Mount.

The President condemned intrusions ongoing Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rdainah said in a press statement on Thursday, "This is a serious escalation and provocation, and completes a series of attacks by extremists on the sanctuaries of the mosques and churches, and will have serious and ominous consequences."

Abu Rdainah said Israelis are responsible for this escalation, and demanded that the international community intervene to force the Israeli authorities to stop such provocative actions that affect the freedom of worship.

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Under-Reported News - Abbas Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Challah Hu Akbar) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 14:33:00 +0000

CHALLAH @ SoccerDad aka David G

Introduction

In the mid 90's I started a weekly news sheet that carried the unwieldy title "News and comment from Israel that you probably didn't read elsewhere." In the early days of the internet it wasn't difficult to find news stories that weren't covered by the major media about Israel. Each sheet carried about four stories a week from sources such as Arutz-7, IMRA, Shomron News Service and Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. There was news that wasn't getting covered in the mainstream media and I wanted others to know about it.

Now more than fifteen years later, it still sometimes seems that news gathering resources are limited when it comes to certain stories.

Under-Reported News - Abbas Edition

This past summer the Knesset passed a bill opening up those who promote boycotts of Israel to litigation. Joel Greenberg of the Washington Post reported:

Hagai El-Ad, executive director of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, which is leading the planned court challenge, called it “a clear-cut freedom-of-speech case.” El-Ad said Israelis have used boycotts as a legitimate protest tool on a variety of issues, most recently to force a lowering of the price of cottage cheese. “Why should it be legal to boycott cottage cheese, but illegal to boycott the occupation?” he said.
Isabel Kershner of the New York Times reported:

Critics and civil rights groups denounced the new law as antidemocratic and a flagrant assault on the freedom of expression and protest. The law’s defenders said it was a necessary tool in Israel’s fight against what they called its global delegitimization.
One can argue that this law is counterproductive, but it was hardly an assault on Israel democracy as portrayed by its critics. There are similar laws in other countries and this law, like all others passed by the Knesset, is subject to review.

There is a real assault on liberty going on in the Middle East that hasn't been reported by either the New York Times or Washington Post. That is Mahmoud Abbas's continuing efforts to consolidate his power that has been followed by Challah Hu Akbar (both at Israelly Cool and his own blog).

At the end of January, Challah Hu Akbar noted the efforts Abbas was making life for his opponents difficult. This has continued as Abbas has cracked down on journalists who are critical of him too. Abbas's efforts are continuing but are entirely ignored by the mainstream media.

Again why is a law passed by the Knesset portrayed as an assault on democracy, but a very real assault on democracy, but carried out by Mahmoud Abbas, ignored?

Conclusion

In the mid 1990's there was perhaps an excuse not to be cognizant of alternative news sources. Now no such excuse exists. If a reporter is unaware of a story it is often because he or she chooses to be. Often, bias against Israel in the media is seen in how news is reported. In these cases the bias is demonstrated by what is not reported.

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Report: Israel Arrests Another Terrorist Released in Shalit Deal

noreply@blogger.com (Challah Hu Akbar) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 02:50:00 +0000

Over the past few weeks, Israel has arrested a number of terrorists released in the Shalit deal. A number of Palestinian news sources are reporting that Israel arrested another terrorist released in the Shalit deal on Wednesday.

The arrested terrorist is reportedly Majdi Atiya Suleman Ajuli.

Ma’an News Agency says that Ajuli’s wife and daughter were also arrested. Ajuli was born in 1961 and arrested in 1989. He was serving 1 life sentence for murder before his release on October 18, 2011. He had been released to the West Bank under a security arrangement.

The IDF has yet to confirm the arrest.

The other day a Hamas official said that the rearrest of those released in the Shalit deal was “a declaration of war on the Palestinian people.”

Update: I emailed the IDF for comment on the arrest and they told me "we did not arrest him."

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Report: Palestinian Authority Offered To Aid United States In Pakistan, Somalia, Iraq & Afghanistan

noreply@blogger.com (Challah Hu Akbar) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 23:30:00 +0000

Al Jazeera’s Arabic website is reporting that it has obtained documents (See Update), which shows that the Palestinian Authority offered to help the United States in countries experiencing security tensions, such as Pakistan, Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq.

In addition, the documents discuss Palestinian efforts to help media outlets tied to the Iranian opposition.

InLightPress asked Saeb Erekat, the Palestinian official referenced in the documents, whether the allegations are true. According to Erekat, they are a “fabrication and incorrect and funny at the same time.” According to Erekat, the report was aimed at derailing reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah.

A Hamas official in Gaza said that it is against intervening in foreign states, but that it would not be surprised if the Palestinian Authority did such a thing as it is already assisting Israel in some security areas.

Update: The Al-Jazeera piece is over a year old, however, the InLightPress piece was published today. In fact, it appears that the Al-Jazeera piece was part of the Palestine Papers as I have found the related documents.

Here are excerpts from a meeting on May 31, 2009.

Attendance: Dr. Saeb Erekat (SE); NSU.

SE: We are working hard on one thing: the Regional Road Map (RRM). I have shared it with Russia (Lavrov), Javier Solana, Spain (Moratinos), UK (Miliband), French, Germans. The Jordanians made comments; they want to identify their role in Jerusalem. Egypt wanted to change “Rafah” to “all crossings” and wants to change the term “terrorism.” We are still waiting on comments from Syria, we should get them by the 14th. They have said they will have stylistic, not substantive changes. The Saudis said the RRM is excellent but want to add Morocco. Solana also said it is excellent. This time we are involving the Chinese and Japanese. Mitchell heard about it and said he needs a copy before Obama receives it so I gave him a copy.

[SE handed us a copy of the RRM with Saudi Arabia’s and Egypt’s comments integrated, as well as copies of Jordan’s and Spain’s comments

We are breaking the Arab behavior of going to America and telling him what we need. Instead we are telling Obama that we can help. We can help in Pakistan, Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq, etc. And Syria, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan all need to tell Obama how they can help him. I went to Kurdistan. If other countries think they can use Hamas as a card we will do the same with them. We are not running a charity. Iran is playing games; they are using Hamas as a card.

Abu Mazen is forming a new government soon. It will be headed by Salam Fayyad and will have new additions, hopefully young faces. The new government will continue to build institutions and work towards early elections.

Hamas is a tool for Netanyahu, he is counting on them to stay the course. And Hamas is counting on Netanyahu to stay the course. Netanyahu’s only card is Palestinian division, and also Ahmadinejad. Everyone can see how Israel is using Ahmadinejad’s comments. Ahamadinjed should be saying we want to add Palestine to the map, not removing Israel from the map. He doesn’t serve our cause with his holocaust denials.

On October 21, 2009, Erekat told George Mitchell:

SE: It’s a moment of truth in the Middle East. Ahmadinejad is in Gaza and Lebanon. Pakistan is going failed. And you have Sudan and Somalia. The Arab states are doing nothing. You know AM had to convince a businessman to pay for Moussawi to have a radio station.

On the same day, Erekat told James Jones:

Ten days ago, we had to convince a Palestinian businessman to pay $50 million for Mussawi to have a radio station

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Mahmoud Abbas Continues To Target Political Opponents

noreply@blogger.com (Challah Hu Akbar) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 18:30:00 +0000

Over the past month I have been following the authoritarian rule of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. One case that was particularly interesting was the expulsion of Samir Mashharawi from Fatah. This decision elicited a strong response from Mohammad Dahlan who was expelled from Fatah at the behest of Abbas in the summer of 2011.

It appears that Abbas is now going after another political opponent. This time it is Fatah’s former media spokesperson in Gaza, Tawfiq Abu Khoussa, an ally of Dahlan.

According to Al Quds Al Arabi, Abu Khoussa has been referred to a trial with the Attorney General. Palestine Press says that Abu Khoussa is accused of distributing material both in Ramallah and on the internet that has attacked Fatah and its leadership.

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Did You Know Hamas' Ismail Haniyeh Could Sing?

noreply@blogger.com (Challah Hu Akbar) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:30:00 +0000

Here is video of Haniyeh singing in Kuwait during his recent trip.

Here is video from October 2011 of Haniyeh singing in Gaza.

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Fatah Official: We Have Not Given Up The Military Option

noreply@blogger.com (Challah Hu Akbar) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 01:09:00 +0000

At a news conference at the PLO Embassy in Beirut on Tuesday, Fatah Central Committee member Abbas Zaki said that the group had not given up the “military option” to free Palestine.

On Tuesday, Zaki also met with a leader of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party who said that “It is important for all parties that believe in the choice of resistance against Israel to unite.”

In September 2011, Zaki said that:

"The agreement is based on the borders of June 4. While the agreement is on the borders of June 4, the President [Mahmoud Abbas] understands, we understand, and everyone knows that it is impossible to realize the inspiring idea, or the great goal in one stroke. If Israel withdraws from Jerusalem, if Israel uproots the settlements, 650,000 settlers, if Israel removes the (security) fence - what will be with Israel? Israel will come to an end. If I say that I want to remove it from existence, this will be great, great, [but] it is hard. This is not a [stated] policy. You can't say it to the world. You can say it to yourself."

He also referred to Obama and Netanyahu as “scumbags.”

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Annihilation of Israel Was The "Ultimate Goal" of Iranian Scientist

noreply@blogger.com (Challah Hu Akbar) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 20:45:00 +0000

CHALLAH @ Fars News

The wife of Martyr Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan Behdast, who was assassinated by Mossad agents in Tehran in January, reiterated on Tuesday that her husband sought the annihilation of the Zionist regime wholeheartedly.

"Mostafa's ultimate goal was the annihilation of Israel," Fatemeh Bolouri Kashani told FNA on Tuesday.

Bolouri Kashani also underlined that her spouse loved any resistance figure in his life who was willing to fight the Zionist regime and supported the rights of the oppressed Palestinian nation.

This reminds me of the epitaph ("Here lies the man who wanted to destroy Israel.") that IRGC Commander Hassan Moqaddam wanted on his tombstone. Moqaddam was killed in an explosion at an IRGC missile base.

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Members of Iran Linked Terrorist Group Arrested in Azerbaijan

noreply@blogger.com (Challah Hu Akbar) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:48:00 +0000

In late January, an Iranian linked terror cell was exposed in Azerbaijan. The group was reportedly targeting Jews and Israelis.

Now, Azerbaijan's state TV is reporting the neutralization of another Iranian linked terrorist group.

Individuals, acting in an organized group, aimed at committing terrorist acts against foreign nationals have been arrested in Azerbaijan, state television AzTV reported with reference to Ministry of National Security of Azerbaijan.

According to the information they gathered intelligence data, bought a lot of firearms, ammunition, explosives and devices, and made other preparations in order to commit terrorist acts on the Iranian special service "Sepah" assignments.

The duties were divided between the members of an organized group, created by employee of Iranian "Sepah" Hamid and the head of the wing of the armed operations of a terrorist organization "Hezbollah" called "Mugavimat" Haji Abbas in order to commit terrorist act on the territory of Azerbaijan.

Note: Sepah (Sepāh-e Pāsdārān-e Enqelāb-e Eslāmi) is short for IRGC.

Update: APA adds more details.

The group members gathered material reconnaissance materials. The illegally acquired many weapons, ammunitions, explosives and explosive devices and began preparations to commit a terror act.

A group of persons were detained in Azerbaijan over the last several days. Member of Nardaran Sanhedrin Karbalai Natig Karimov told APA that the majority of detained as a result of operative measures taken by the National Security Ministry and law-enforcement bodes were the residents of Baku villages, especially Nardaran. They are accused of establishing armed unit, illegal keeping of weapon, betrayal of motherland and drug trafficking.

Karimov said that they knew the names of 20 detainees: “Most of these persons are our relatives and familiars”.

Karimov said that his brother Niyazi Karimov, Chairman of Public Union “National and Moral Values” Mehdi Mammadov, Abulfaz Bunyadov, Anar Bayramli, who is presented as a correspondent of “Fars” news agency and Iran’s “Sahar” TV channel in Azerbaijan, “Sahar” TV channel’s driver Ramil Dadashov, nephew of Balagardash Dadashov, who was accused of preparing terror act in Azerbaijan and declared wanted, Ali Mammadov.

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Report: Israel Arrests Two More Terrorists Released in Shalit Deal

noreply@blogger.com (Challah Hu Akbar) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:14:00 +0000

CHALLAH @ Ynet

Palestinian sources said that two Palestinian released as part of Shalit deal were arrested by IDF troops operating in West Bank city of Qalqilya overnight.

PalTimes names the arrested as Youssef Al-Rahman Ahmad Shatiwi and Mahmud Salim Adnan Mahmud.

Mahmud Salim Adnan Mahmud, born in December 1991, was arrested in 2009, and sentenced to a 5 year and 4 month sentence. He was charged with shooting at people, rock and fire bomb throwing.

Youssef Al-Rahman Ahmad Shatiwi, born in 1983, was arrested in 2008, and sentenced to a 9 year sentence. He was charged with shooting at people, rock throwing, and association in an “unknown” organization.

These arrests have yet to be confirmed by the IDF.

Last Thursday, the IDF arrested one of the woman released in the Shalit deal. On January 31, Israel arrested Iman (Ayman) Alshrona (Sharona) Ismael Salama also known as Mahmud Abdallah Abd al-Rahman Abu Sariya. On February 13, Israel reportedly arrested another terrorist released in the Shalit deal.

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Will Porn Be Banned in Egypt?

noreply@blogger.com (Challah Hu Akbar) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 01:17:00 +0000

CHALLAH @ Bikya Masr

Egypt’s ultra-conservative al-Nour religious party said on its Facebook page on Monday that the party’s MP Younis Makhioun has put forward a request for an “urgent briefing” to ban pornography websites from the Internet in Egypt.

The request is expected to be discussed shortly in Egypt’s lower house.

The news saw praise and condemnation alike from Egyptians as many commentators showed support and urged for the ban to be passed, while others objected on the loss of personal freedoms.

Others feared that it would not stop at pornography sites, but would go on to crackdown on other websites conservatives believe go against their creed.

In 2011, Egypt landed in the number five spot globally in searching for “sex” online, joined by Algeria and Morocco also in the top 10, according to Google trends. Arabic language is used second only to English as the language of search choice for adult content online.

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Open Thread….Way Too Busy

noreply@blogger.com (Challah Hu Akbar) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 14:08:00 +0000

Apologies for being off line for the past few days, I have been quiet busy and will be so through Wednesday.

In the meantime, the Institute of National Security Studies has released a new issue of Strategic Assessment.

Here are the articles.

The Strait of Hormuz: Assessing and Neutralizing the Threat / Amos Yadlin and Yoel Guzansky

A Mixed Blessing: Hamas, Israel, and the Recent Prisoner Exchange / Yoram Schweitzer

Something New Under the Sun: Public Opinion and Decision Making in Israel / Tamar Hermann

Barack Obama and the Middle East Three Years On / Mark A. Heller

Israel and the Palestinian Authority: When Parallel Lines Might Converge / Anat Kurz

To Iraq and Back: The Withdrawal of the US Forces / Ephraim Kam

Beyond the "Divine Victory": New Challenges Facing Hizbollah / Benedetta Berti

Extended Deterrence in the Middle East: A Fuzzy Concept that Might Work? / Carlo Masala

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Mahmoud Abbas Is An Authoritarian!

noreply@blogger.com (Challah Hu Akbar) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 16:20:00 +0000

In a recent op-ed Daoud Kuttab wrote:

Unlike his predecessor, Yasser Arafat, the current Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, is not known for hoarding power or being authoritarian.

This is a shocking sentence.

Here are THIRTEEN posts that I have written in the past month alone related to the authoritarian rule of Mahmoud Abbas.

By the way, in 2003, Yasser Abbas, Mahmoud Abbas’ son, said that "My hope is that we will be able to have such a democratic and clean and transparent country and government.” (Paul Adams, “Partner For Peace,” The Globe and Mail (Canada), March 22, 2003.)

It looks like his father did not listen.

On Wednesday evening, I sent tweets to George Hale of Ma’an News Agency and the aforementioned Daoud Kuttab asking “Is there any reason you have not covered the hacking of InLightPress by the Palestinian Authority?”

As of now, Kuttab has not responded. While Kuttab has not responded, Hale has. He said that he was unaware of the hacking and unaware of InLightPress altogether. This is fair, as the hacking has gotten little, if any, coverage, and the site itself was created very recently. In addition, Hale said that he will look into the issue.

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Hamas Court Upholds Another Death Sentence

noreply@blogger.com (Challah Hu Akbar) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 21:33:00 +0000

Yesterday I reported that a Hamas court upheld a death sentence (death by firing squad) for a Fatah member (Jamil Zakaria Jaber Juha) found guilty in the kidnapping and murder of Mohammad Adel Rafati in 2007.

Today, Palestine Today reports that Gaza’s highest court has upheld another death sentence of a man who killed his cousin. The sentence was first issued in May 2010 then went to an appeals court in July 2011. Chief Justice Abdul-Raouf Halaby today said that the death sentence has become final.

As I wrote yesterday:

One week ago…a 58 year old taxi driver charged with "collaboration with hostile parties" (i.e Israel) had been sentenced by a Hamas court in Gaza to death by hanging. Six days before…a Hamas court in Gaza had upheld a 2011 death sentence for a 27-year-old Palestinian, who was found guilty of treason and conspiracy to murder. In January, two Palestinians were issued death sentences.

Update: PCHR names the man who face the "death by hanging" as Mohammed Ahmed Baraka, 49.

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Israel Re-Arrests 3rd Terrorist Released In Shalit Deal

noreply@blogger.com (Challah Hu Akbar) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:26:00 +0000

Earlier today reports indicated that Israel had arrested a woman released in the Shalit deal. The IDF has now confirmed the arrest.

An IDF official confirmed that earlier Thursday soldiers arrested an Islamic Jihad activist who was previously released as part of the Gilad Shalit swap deal in October 2011.

The Palestinian woman was arrested after intelligence information indicated she was involved in activities which may jeopardize Israel's security.

According to Al-Ahram, the arrested prisoner is Haneh Shalabi. According to the Israel Prison Services (IPS) English list of those released in the first stage of the Shalit deal, her name is Shalbi Hana. According to IPS, she was held under administrative detention for “national security” reasons.

On January 31, Israel arrested Iman (Ayman) Alshrona (Sharona) Ismael Salama also known as Mahmud Abdallah Abd al-Rahman Abu Sariya. On Monday, Israel reportedly arrested another terrorist released in the Shalit deal.

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Palestinian Authority Mufti: Save Al-Aqsa Before It Is Ruined By The Jews

noreply@blogger.com (Challah Hu Akbar) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 20:22:00 +0000

A few weeks ago the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Muhammad Ahmad Hussein, who was appointed by Mahmoud Abbas in 2006, said:

“Forty-seven years ago the revolution started. Which revolution? The modern revolution of the Palestinian people’s history. In fact, Palestine in its entirety is a revolution, since [Caliph] Umar came [to conquer Jerusalem in 637 C.E.], and continuing today, and until the End of Days. The reliable Hadith, in the two reliable collections, Bukhari and Muslim, says: 'The Hour [of Resurrection] will not come until you fight the Jews. The Jew will hide behind stones or trees. Then the stones or trees will call: ‘O Muslim, servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.’ Except the Gharqad tree [which will keep silent].' Therefore it is no wonder that you see Gharqad [trees] surrounding the [Israeli] settlements and colonies."

Earlier today I reported that “Sheikh Kamal Khatib, deputy head of the northern Islamic movement, said that Israel is using chemicals to corrode the foundation of the Al Aqsa Mosque and build more tunnels. The chemicals are supposedly maximizing the speed at which Israel can drill. According to Khatib, Israel is destroying the foundation to prepare for the mosque’s demolition and the building of the Temple.”

In that report I noted that the aforementioned Hussein has said that Jews “claim that the Al-Aqsa Mosque was built over the ruins of the alleged Temple. The construction of these buildings [by Israel], and the synagogues with the large, wide domes [in Jerusalem]–all of this is meant to erase the remains of the Islamic culture and to replace them with [their] alleged culture, through the power of occupation.”

Palestine Today is now reporting that Hussein has said that Arabs and Muslims must protect Al-Aqsa before it is ruined by the Jews. According to Hussein, Israel is trying to destroy Al-Aqsa in a variety of ways and that all the violations “cannot be summed up in words.” As he has done in the past, Hussein accused Israel of attempting to eliminate the Islamic history and culture of Jerusalem.

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Hamas Court Upholds Death Sentence of Fatah Member

noreply@blogger.com (Challah Hu Akbar) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 18:35:00 +0000

One week ago I reported that a 58 year old taxi driver charged with "collaboration with hostile parties" (i.e Israel) had been sentenced by a Hamas court in Gaza to death by hanging. Six days before that I reported that a Hamas court in Gaza had upheld a 2011 death sentence for a 27-year-old Palestinian, who was found guilty of treason and conspiracy to murder. In January, two Palestinians were issued death sentences.

PalTimes and Palestine Today are both reporting that a Hamas court in Gaza has upheld yet another death sentence. This time "death by firing squad."

The man, J.Z.J., was found guilty of kidnapping and murdering Mohammad Adel Rafati. According to Btselem, three people were convicted in December 2010 for the kidnapping and murder of Mohammad Adel Rafati - Jihad Jihad Muhammad Mansur, Ayman 'Awad Hussein Mansur, and Jamil Zakaria Jaber Juha. I believe the person whose death sentence was upheld is Jamil Zakaria Jaber Juha, who is a former member of Fatah's Force 17.

According to Btselem, Mohammad Adel Rafati (Muhammad 'Adel Muhammad a-Rafati) was 42 when he was killed on June 10, 2007, during "an exchange of gunfire between Hamas and Fatah" in Gaza City. The PCHR has some conflicting information as they say that a Mohammad al-Rafati was 36 when he was killed. Despite the age differences from the two sources, I am certain this is the same person.

At approximately 17:30, a number of militants besieged the house of ‘Aadel Mohammed al-Rafati, 84, near the Blood Bank in Gaza City. They kidnapped al-Rafati's son, 36-year-old Mohammed, the Imam of al-'Abbas Mosque in the city. They took him to a place near Ansar security compound in the west of Gaza City, where they shot him dead with several gunshots to the chest, the abdomen and the limbs.

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Libel: Israel Using Chemicals To Destroy Al-Aqsa Mosque & Build Temple

noreply@blogger.com (Challah Hu Akbar) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 11:46:00 +0000

Palestine Today reports that Sheikh Kamal Khatib, deputy head of the northern Islamic movement, said that Israel is using chemicals to corrode the foundation of the Al Aqsa Mosque and build more tunnels. The chemicals are supposedly maximizing the speed at which Israel can drill. According to Khatib, Israel is destroying the foundation to prepare for the mosque’s demolition and the building of the Temple.

PalTimes provides photos to "support" Khatib's claims.

This libel, and Temple Denial as a whole, is not new. In fact, Temple Denial has become “internalized within Palestinian academic, religious, and political circles.”

Below is a video of the Former Chief Justice of the Religious Court of Palestine and Chairman of the Islamic-Christian Council for Jerusalem and the Holy Places Shaykh Taysir al-Tamimi making a similar statement to Sheikh Kamal Khatib.

“The [Israeli] excavations' purpose is to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque. In fact, its foundations have been removed. Chemical acids were injected into the rocks to dissolve them. The soil and the pillars [were moved] so the mosque is hanging in midair. There is an Israeli plan to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque and to build the Temple."

In another instance al-Tamimi said that “I know of Muslim and Christian holy sites in [Jerusalem]. I don’t know of any Jewish holy sites in it… Israel has been excavating since 1967 in search of remains of their Temple or their fictitious Jewish history.”

The current Mufti of Jerusalem, Shaykh Muhammad Hussein has said that Jews “claim that the Al-Aqsa Mosque was built over the ruins of the alleged Temple. The construction of these buildings [by Israel], and the synagogues with the large, wide domes [in Jerusalem]–all of this is meant to erase the remains of the Islamic culture and to replace them with [their] alleged culture, through the power of occupation.”

Hussein has also said that "The Al-Aqsa Mosque is threatened by the plans of the enemies of Allah (the Jews), who have violated all faith and religious laws and even deviated from their humanity."

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Hamas Breaks Up Another Anti-Assad Rally in Gaza

noreply@blogger.com (Challah Hu Akbar) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 19:55:00 +0000

CHALLAH @ Los Angeles Times

Hamas police on Sunday prevented dozens of activists from demonstrating in solidarity with Syrian people in the Gaza Strip, witnesses said.

The policemen peacefully stopped the protest shortly after it started in front of the Hamas-dominated Palestinian Legislative Council in Gaza City. The demonstrators, numbering about 30, waved Palestinian and Syrian flags, with banners supporting the Syrian antigovernment protesters.

Interestingly, the Ma’an News’ report on the protest reported:

Demonstration organizer Hamza Abu Shanab told Ma'an the group gathered for an hour and a half, and denied media reports that the protest was dispersed by security forces. "The protest ended peacefully, without security forces' intervention," he said.

An attack by Hamas forces against an anti-Assad rally would not be new for Hamas. In late January, I reported that Hamas forces attacked an anti-Assad rally organized by Salafists. In addition to the attack, Hamas arrested a Salafi Sheikh, Sheikh Yasser Abu Houli.

Following this attack, Walla and Asharq Al-Awsat commented that Hamas secretly supports the Syrian revolution, however, the public nature of the demonstration forced them to disperse it. Despite supporting the Syrian revolution, Hamas wants to appear as neutral as possible as the headquarters of their political bureau is still based in Damascus.

h/t ElderofZiyon

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Palestinian Authority Admits Hacking Websites Critical of Mahmoud Abbas

noreply@blogger.com (Challah Hu Akbar) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:54:00 +0000

On January 28, InLightPress, a website that has a run a number of articles critical of Mahmoud Abbas’ rule and general corruption within the Palestinian Authority, was hacked. At the time I wrote that “I am certain that the “political destination” referred to by InLightPress is the office of Mahmoud Abbas.”

After a few days of being offline the site returned and unleashed a scathing press release. InLightPress said that the attack on its website was “treacherous barbarism,” and that they believe that “the attack came from the Palestinian Authority with the approval of President Abbas.” According to InLightPress, Mahmoud Abbas set up a “crisis cell” headed by Sabri Saidam, former head of the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology, to carry out the attack.

Just a couple of days after returning InLightPress was hacked again and I once again said that “The order to bring down this site was ordered by Mahmoud Abbas himself.”

On February 6, InLightPress returned, and released a new statement regarding the hacking of their website, in which they said that “we now know who they are, and why they did it, and they know that we will not stop.” Hours after this statement was released, InLightPress was under attack again.

On February 9, InLightPress reported that users in Palestinian territory, unclear if it included Gaza, could not access their website as Mahmoud Abbas had ordered the Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology to block access to the site. On February 12, Amad also reported that access to its website from Palestinian territory had been denied. In response to the incident Victor Shikhman asked Hussein Ibish of the American Task Force of Palestine to comment.

@VictorShikhman I don't approve of that or several other free speech violations under the PA in recent years.
— Hussein Ibish (@Ibishblog) February 12, 2012

Now, InLightPress is running what they call an “exclusive” interview with an official from the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology. According to the official, InLightPress, and other sites “broadcast sedition and lies to break up the structure of Palestinian society.” As a result, the official said that “It is our right to defend ourselves against this malicious and suspicious campaign.” The official also said that the attacks against Mahmoud Abbas are coming at a bad time because the Palestinians are seeking to wage a diplomatic campaign against Israel.

When asked whether the Palestinian Authority was concerned about possible lawsuits, the official responded by saying that there is “no law in Palestine criminalizing this work.”

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Hamas Official: Israel Sends Drugs To Gaza To Trick Gazans Into Becoming Collaborators

noreply@blogger.com (Challah Hu Akbar) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 02:00:00 +0000

In March 2009, it was reported that Hamas planned “to introduce the death penalty for gangs getting rich off smuggled narcotics.” In 2010, Hamas carried out a series of public burnings of illegal drugs, including marijuana.

On Monday, a Hamas official said that Israel was sending drugs into Gaza “in order to blackmail youths and trick them into becoming collaborators with Israeli intelligence."

This is not the first time such a claim has been made. In July 2009, Hamas officials claimed that Israel was attempting to "destroy" Gaza’s youth by distributing libido increasing gum. The sex gum conspiracy has been around since at least the mid 1990’s. Rapheal Israeli summed the 1997 conspiracy up nicely.

In 1997 the Palestinians exposed yet another Israeli "plot to suppress Arab population growth." They claimed to have tested packets of strawberry-flavored bubble gum which were found to be spiked with sex hormones and sold at low prices near schoolhouses in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. It was claimed that the gum aroused irresistible sexual appetites in women, then it sterilized them. According to Palestinian Supply Minister Abdel Aziz Shaheen, it was capable of "completely destroying the genetic system of young boys," as well.

In this case, Palestinians allege, Israel came with chewing gum laced with progesterone, one of the two hormones of femaleness. The hormone, they say inaccurately, drives women wild with desire and serves as a contraceptive, too -- corrupting Arab women while ensuring they cannot reproduce. The story was reminiscent of a furor over Israeli chewing gum a year earlier in Egypt. The story grew with the retelling. Shaheen contended that the gum was sold "only at the gates of primary schools or kindergartens," because Israelis "want to destroy our genetic system" by giving sex hormones to children before their bodies can cope with them. By the time the story reached Hebron in the West Bank, local health official Mahmoud Batarna claimed to have captured 200 tons of gum.

The Washington Post commissioned a test of allegedly contaminated chewing gum provided by Palestinian health officials. Dan Gibson, professor of pharmaceutical chemistry at Hebrew University and a member of the left-wing lobby group Peace Now, said that, using a mass spectrometer capable of detecting as little as a microgram of progesterone, he found none in the gum.

Raphael Israeli references the 1996 incident in Egypt. Like the 1997 case, the gum was tested.

A laboratory analysis by Egypt's Ministry of Health found nothing in the brands of so-called Israeli gum, said to have been traced to smugglers in Gaza, that could stimulate sexual arousal, the Health Minister, Ismail Sallam, said in a news conference last week.

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Challah Hu Akbar Is Back Home!

noreply@blogger.com (Challah Hu Akbar) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 23:20:00 +0000

For those of you who did not read at Israellycool, I have decided to return to my own site.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Israellycool and appreciate all the support. I’d like to thank Aussie Dave for getting me back into blogging, despite the fact that he says that he “won’t take credit for that. I knew you couldn't quit the habit!”

I will not be doing tons and tons of posts as I did before I “retired.” I will only be doing a couple posts, if that, a day; but, they will be good, I promise!

Below are all the posts I did at Israellycool, I recommend that you check them out. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter and Like me on Facebook.