Top PA official: Arafat always supported terrorism
Thursday, July 30, 2009 Israel Today Staff

Senior Palestinian Authority official Mohammed Dahlan told PA TV last week that deceased former leader Yasser Arafat had managed to fool the world with his public condemnations of anti-Israel terrorism.

Dahlan said the international community demanded that Arafat condemn terrorism against Israel in order to win land concessions from the Jewish state, so he did just that. But behind the scenes, Dahlan said Arafat continued backing the use of terrorist violence against Israelis, a fact that Western leaders only acknowledged toward the end of Arafat's life.

"Arafat would condemn [terror] operations by day while at night he would do honorable things," said Dahlan, who today serves as top advisor to Arafat's successor, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.

Dahlan said the Abbas regime should learn from Arafat and begin to again employ calculated and carefully-tiimed terrorism as an official tactic. He said the only part of today's terrorism he doesn't like is that so many groups are running around attacking Israel on their own. In Dahaln's view, all terrorism against Israel should be directed by the Palestinian Authority.

Palestinian Media Watch, which translated the Dahlan interview, noted that if he had his way, the forces that in the future would be managing the terror war against Israel would be the PA troops currently being trained by US envoy Lt.-Gen. Keith Dayton.

Israelis still see Gaza pullout as a mistake
Wednesday, July 29, 2009 Israel Today Staff

A telephone poll marking the 4th anniversary of the Gaza "disengagement" earlier this week found that most Israelis now view the evacuation and destruction of Gaza's former Jewish communities as a grave error in judgement.

A 48 percent plurality of respondent said they had supported the pullout at the time, having been duped by claims that cleansing Gaza of Jews would bring greater security to Israelis living in the vicinity and would be a catalyst for advancing the peace process.

Since then, Gaza has fallen to the Hamas terrorist organization, rocket attacks on southern Israel increased necessitating a costly invasion this past January, and Israel and the Palestinians are no closer to peace than they were before the withdrawal.

Of the Israelis who said they originally supported the pullout, 68 percent told pollsters they now regret that position.

Most Israelis said they are also disgusted by the way the government has handled the evacuees from Gaza, most of whom have still not been provided permanent housing. Respondents said they think the plight of Gaza's Jews should be taught in Israeli schools so that what they went through is not forgotten.

Meanwhile, 2,000 former Gaza residents demonstrated on the Israeli side of the Gaza security fence on Tuesday, insisting that they are ready at a moment's notice to go retake their homes.

Will God Judge the Nations?
Thursday, 16 July 2009 by John Hagee for Charisma Magazine, Standing with Israel

Joel 3:2 says: "I will also gather all nations, and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will enter into judgment with them there on account of My people, My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, they have also divided up My land."

The Washington Post recently published an editorial titled "Israel's New Government." The commentary emphasized what the Israeli's must give up if they want the continued support of the U.S.

What was lacking in the article was what Israel's neighbors must do to have the backing of Israel and the U.S. for a two-state solution. Pressure should not be put on Israel alone, as the editorial attempted to do.

For a two-state solution to become a reality, Palestinians in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip must recognize the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state. They must also renounce terrorism and understand that they cannot use terrorism as a negotiating tool to achieve their statehood.

The Palestinians must also agree to abide by all previous agreements signed by their leadership.

Peace will not come in the Middle East by pressuring Israel to make unilateral concessions in return for worthless promises on worthless pieces of paper.

Now is the time for people to stand up and speak up for the peace of Jerusalem.

Is Hamas helping to quell Iran riots?
Wednesday, June 17, 2009 Israel Today Staff

Several Iranians caught up in the post-presidential election rioting in Tehran told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday that armed Arab forces aligned with the Palestinian terror group Hamas are playing an active role in suppressing the supporters of Mir Mousavi, who is believed to have lost a rigged election to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Some 20 Iranians have been killed so far at protest rallies that have now spread to other major Iranian cities. People who say they witnessed some of the killings insist they were carried out by Palestinian gunmen.

"The most important thing that I believe people outside of Iran should be aware of is the participation of Palestinian forces in these riots," said one young man.

Another man said he hoped Israel would soon "come to its senses" and deal ruthlessly with "those Palestinian animals."

When asked by the Post if perhaps the Arab gunmen he had seen could have been Lebanese terrorists aligned with Hizballah, he replied that on the streets of Tehran it is no secret - Arab forces aligned with Hamas are operating in the city on behalf of the regime.

Hamas, for its part, has publicly welcomed Ahmadinejad's reelection. The group has long been known to receive arms and funding from Iran, and Hamas terrorists often receive training in the Islamic Republic before returning to the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Wednesday cautioned those in the international community against getting too gung-ho about backing Ahmadinejad's opponent. In an interview with Army Radio, Barak noted that Mir Mousavi is no less a fundamentalist Islamic demagogue than Ahmadinejad, and that his presidency would almost certainly not mark the end of Iran's nuclear program.

Barak's remarks echoed those of US President Barack Obama a day earlier, when he reminded reporters that Ahmadinejad and Mousavi share very similar views and policies, especially regarding Iran's quest for nuclear weapons.

Please pray for "Bibi" Netanyahu for strength and wisdom. Pray that he won't cave in. He is in desperate need for our prayers now more than ever before - the pressure on him is getting more and more unbearable.

Delegates asking for "two-state solution" not to be mentioned
German edition of Israel today, June 11, 2009, ih Redaktion

Premier Netanjahu met with delegates of his political party yesterday in his office and was pressured by them not to mention the word "two-state solution" in his upcoming talk. This talk is planned for coming Sunday at Bar-Ilan University near Tel Aviv. They also reminded him of his statements given at a meeting of the central committee of Likud in 2002, when he warned of the dangers caused by a Palestinian State, even if they were disarmed, and said he should never ever establish a Palestinian State there. With these statements of the delegates, Netanyahu is now also receiving pressure by his own side, additionally to the pressure made by the US to stop building new settlements. He refuses to share issues talked about at yesterday's meeting and is speaking in general terms only concerning this matter. He repudiated statements made by the Egyptian president who said that Netanyahu has already decided to accept the two-state solution. Yet he wants to address the dangers that come from Iran in order to meet the requirements made by US president Obama about further steps to be taken.

The Politics of Betrayal
By Malcolm Hedding, director of ICEJ, June 8, 2009

Study:
No Israeli war crimes in Gaza
Thursday, February 05, 2009 Israel Today Staff

A survey by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC has determined that Israel committed no war crimes in its recent offensive against Hamas in Gaza, and that all accusations of Israeli violations of international law are little more than propaganda.

The report noted that Israel "deliberately used decisive force to enhance regional deterrence and demonstrate that it had restored its military edge," which are legitimate military objectives in line with international law considering the attacks on Israel emanating from Gaza.

CSIS released the study in response to a flood of war crimes accusations against Israel and efforts by human rights organizations to bring charges against the Jewish state at the International Criminal Court.

In the study those accusations against Israel were dismissed as "political efforts to manipulate the rules of war and humanitarian considerations" for propaganda purposes in order to "gain political leverage in this type of conflict."

The chief way of doing that is "exaggerating charges and numbers that cannot be validated by reliable data or methodology."

The Palestinians' job in effectively wielding such propaganda as a weapon against Israel is often made easier by the international media's willingness to accept Palestinian claims at face value.

Non-governmental human rights organizations also play a key role in this effort.

A survey released this week by the Jerusalem-based watchdog group NGO Monitor analyzed 500 statements made by 50 human rights groups during the 3-week Gaza war, and found them to be "characterized by overwhelming condemnation of Israel."

At the same time, those statements gave "minimal attention to Israeli human rights and casualties."

Palestinians confirm Hamas war crimes, refute Gaza death toll
Thursday, January 22, 2009 Israel Today Staff

An Italian reporter who entered the Gaza Strip following the recent Israeli assault on Hamas there wrote in his newspaper on Thursday that the casualty figures announced by Hamas and so eagerly passed on by the UN, Red Cross and foreign media were grossly exaggerated.

At most, five or six hundred Palestinians died in Gaza over the past month, according to Lorenzo Cremonesi, a correspondent for Italy's Corriere della Sera. The foreign media has carried numerous sources citing Hamas and UN officials claiming in excess of 1,300 killed.

But Cremonesi explained, "It is sufficient to visit several hospitals [in the Gaza Strip] to understand that the numbers don't add up." He noted that in nearly all of Gaza's major hospitals, and especially those in major conflict zones, he found most beds empty.

On top of that, Cremonesi reported that a doctor at Gaza City's Shifa Hospital who asked to remain anonymous for fear of Hamas acknowledged that the death toll had been inflated. He also told the reporter that many of the dead were "youths between the ages of 17 to 23 who were recruited to the ranks of Hamas and then sent them to the slaughter."

Cremonesi also wrote that Gazans he interviewed confirmed Israeli accusations of Hamas war crimes, especially the deliberate use of the civilian population as human shields.

When local Gazans demanded that Hamas and its allies not take up positions near them, one interviewee said the terrorists responded:

"Traitors, collaborators with Israel, spies of Fatah, cowards! The soldiers of the holy war will punish you. And in any case you will all die, like us. Fighting the Zionist Jews we are all destined for paradise. Do you not wish to die with us?"

Others recounted how Hamas gunmen had disguised themselves as paramedics and commandeered ambulances to avoid being targeted by the Israelis, and how UN facilities were in fact used as launch pads for rockets and mortar shells.

This is how Israelis are: taking advantage of the cease fire to help the Palestinians!
Will the secular media also silence this down?

Love thy enemy: Israelis launch aid driver for Gazans
Monday, January 19, 2009 Israel Today

The residents of southern Israel have suffered thousands of rocket and mortar attacks from Gaza over the past five years, but that doesn't mean they wish any ill will toward their counterparts in the Hamas-ruled territory.

In fact, as Israel's offensive against the Gaza terrorist infrastructure draws to a close, The Jerusalem Post reports that hundreds of residents of southern Israel are starting an aid drive for Gazans.

One of the two activists who started the drive said, "There is no connection to politics... we just see an immediate need for blankets for people who have nothing to cover them at night and milk for infants who have nothing to eat."

She noted that even residents of southern Israel whose homes have sustained direct hits by Gaza rockets are taking part in the effort.

The group has set up collection points in Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jerusalem and the small town of Kfar Aza near the Gaza border.