Iranian Foreign Minister Manchour Mottaki declared Monday that Israel was now weaker than ever before, adding that it was a “crazy country run by crazy people.”

Mottaki told the Al-Jazeera news agency that Israel was in no position to embark on another military conflict, due to its internal political crisis and its losses over recent years in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.

“Israel is a crazy nation run by crazy people,” Mottaki declares. “Therefore, we must prepare for the chance that Israel will do something crazy against everyone in the region ? the Syrians, the Lebanese and the Palestinians.”

Updates (Israel time; most recent at top)

6:28PM: According to the IDF, ISMers such as Bridget Chappell have been disrupting and interfering with IDF operations.

Approximately 50 foreign nationals are currently residing in the West Bank and working together with Palestinian groups to disrupt and interfere with IDF operations, military sources said on Monday.

The High Court of Justice on Monday released two women from Spain and Australia who had been arrested in Ramallah for involvement in the International Solidarity Movement (ISM). Troops raided their apartment on Sunday on the grounds that the women had overstayed their tourist visa and were involved in violent anti-Israel protests.

Overnight Monday, IDF troops raided the Ramallah offices of an organization called ‘Stop the Wall,’ which protests the construction of the West Bank security barrier. According to the organization, some 40 of its activists are currently being held by authorities. In January, another ISM activist from the Czech Republic was arrested in the West Bank and deported from Israel.

Defense officials confirmed that the IDF’s Central Command and Judea and Samaria Police, together with the Interior Ministry, have begun cracking down on foreigners engaged in violent anti-Israel activity in recent weeks.

“We do not have a problem with differences of opinions,” one officer said. “But we are forced to act when these activists and nationals participate in protests that are extremely violent and put peoples’ lives at risk.”

According to security officials, ISM has recently increased its activities against the construction of the security barrier and over the summer issued a call to its activists to come to Israel to participate in the protests.

According to the officials, the IDF has noted a growing presence of foreign nationals at the weekly demonstrations in Bil’in, Ni’lin and near the settlement of Neveh Tzuf (Halamish), where a top Palestinian government official was also spotted several weeks ago.

While the IDF is not concerned with the possibility of a third intifada “due to the tight grip it has on the Palestinian territory and the effective crackdown by PA security forces on Hamas infrastructure,” there is concern that the new wave of violence could flare up into a new conflict and undermine diplomatic efforts to restart negotiations.

These activities, plus others such as acting as human shields for terrorists, are the reason I refer to these numbskulls as terror enablers, rather than terror supporters.

4:48PM: Egypt’s soccer coach has indicated he may not be interested in coaching the Israeli soccer team.

At least I think that is what he is saying. He’s rather subtle.

Israel’s soccer world has been abuzz with rumors that Egypt’s coach would soon switch camps to train the national side – until Tuesday, that is, when Hassan Shehata put an end to speculation in the bluntest possible terms.

“I’d rather die of hunger than entertain the possibility of coaching Israel,” he told Egyptian daily al-Masry al-Youm.

Shehata came close to losing his post when Egypt failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

But the 60-year-old manager in January regained hero status among Egyptians when his side overcame Ghana to bring home the African Cup of Nations for a record third year running.

“I can understand Israel’s jealousy of the Egyptian team and its successes,” Shehata was quoted as saying. “But it would be impossible from my perspective to visit Israel or train its team – even if Israel were the only country in the world that wanted to hire me.”

He continued: “How can these Zionists think that I would take on the task of coaching a side that includes murderers of children and pensioners? How could I work to help a team that represents a nation of occupiers?”

The veteran trainer, known in Egypt’s press by his nickname “The Teacher”, now looks set to lead his side’s campaign to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

“From the moment I was born I have been hearing about the Israel that murders Arabs, that bombs, that levels towns and villages – but this is the first time I have heard that Israel plays soccer,” he said.

Wow. He’d rather die of hunger than entertain the possibility of coaching Israel.

Here’s hoping he gets what he wants.

3:38PM: Yet another example of a palestinian work accident which was really an accident at work…as opposed to an explodation of the premature kind.

A cleaner died on Monday in Qalqiliya after falling and hitting his head on the floor at work, his colleague said.

12:55PM: A group of anti-Israel British academics has asked Elton John to cancel his upcoming concert in Israel.

Dear Elton  John:

Like much of  the world, we think you’re a good bloke. You came out when it was difficult; you admitted your addictions were stronger than you were; you’ve poured money into AIDS research. Oh, and then there’s the music – not bad at all. But we’re struggling to understand why you’re playing in Israel on June 17. You may say you’re not a political person, but does an army dropping white phosphorus on a school building full of children demand a political response? Does walling a million and a half people up in a ghetto and then pounding that ghetto to rubble require a political response from us, or a human one? We think it needs a human response, and we think that by choosing to play in Tel Aviv you’re denying this. You’re behaving as if playing in Israel is morally neutral – but how can it be? How can the cruelties Israel practises against the Palestinians –  fundamentally because the Palestinians are there, on  Palestinian land, and Israel wants them to go – be morally neutral?

Okay, you turn up in Ramat Gan, and it gets to that ‘Candle in the Wind’ moment, and thousands of lighters flicker – but there won’t be any Palestinians from the Occupied Territories swaying along with the Israelis – the army won’t let them leave their ghettoes.

Please read what Judge Goldstone said about the onslaught on Gaza; what Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have been saying for decades  about the crimes committed against the Palestinians. Of course the Israeli state denies it has a case to answer, though it’s knee-deep in ethnic cleansing and land-theft and the endless daily suffocating of Palestinian lives and hopes. Political or not political, when you stand up on that stage in Tel Aviv, you line yourself up with a racist state. Do you want to give them the satisfaction?

Please don’t go.

Yours sincerely,

Professor Haim  Bresheeth
Mike Cushman
Professor Steven Rose
Professor Jonathan Rosenhead

London, February  2010

I simply do not have the time to give this letter the thorough fisking it deserves. Suffice to say that Elton may wish to consider his relative likelihood of survival in Israel and the palestinian “ghettoes,” as an openly gay man.

8:55AM: Here’s another photo of terror enabler Bridgette/Bridget Chappell, who I posted about yesterday.

Australian national Bridgette Chappell, right, and Ariadna Jove Marti from Spain, speak after their release from a prison in Ramle, central Israel, Monday, Feb. 8, 2010. The International Solidarity Movement says the two women have been released on bail and have been prohibited from entering the West Bank until their legal status is clarified.They were arrested by the Israeli military in the Palestinian-ruled West Bank town of Ramallah on Sunday for overstaying their visas, but also alleged involvement in violent protests in the West Bank, according to the Israeli military. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

I am not 100% sure, but that looks like the sketch of a gun on her shirt.

Australian national Bridgette Chappbell (other sources have it as ‘Bridgette Chappell’ or ‘Bridget Chappell’, so this is either a typo or Ms Chappell’s lying extends to the spelling of her name -ed.) , right is seen during an Israeli Supreme Court hearing in Jerusalem, Monday, Feb. 8, 2010. Chappbell and another woman were arrested by the Israeli military in the Palestinian-ruled West Bank town of Ramallah on Sunday. The two women are members of the International Solidarity Movement, which has been active in the Palestinian territories for several years. The Israeli military said the two women were arrested for overstaying their visas, but also alleged they were involved in violent protests in the West Bank. (AP Photo/Dan Balilty)

I am sure you can all tell from the photo that Ms Chappell is a real winner. You can be sure she’s full of bull, besides looking like one with that ring through her nostrils.

Here’s all you need to know about her: this article she wrote in which she empathizes with terrorists who murdered an innocent Israeli man and contains blatant falsehoods which are even more extreme than those published by the rabidly anti-Israel, palestinian Ma’an News.

For instance, compare this Ma’an account of the killing of one of the terrorists – based on “palestinian witnesses” – with the version published by Chappell.

Ma’an:

“Dozens of Israeli soldiers ransacked Anan’s home at 3am firing gunshots and grenades, causing a fire to break out in the next door warehouse for plastic chairs. The soldiers [entered the building] demanding Anan, and when we told them he was at work with the security forces the soldiers evacuated all nine families who live in the building. We were gathered at the nearby home of the Al-‘Amoudi family,” Anan’s brother Nidal told Ma’an.

Chappell:

Half an hour later, Israeli soldiers entered Nablus’ Ras al-Ain neighborhood. Quickly occupying several homes surrounding the house of Anan Subih, soldiers began firing anti-tank missiles at the upper levels of the building, blowing a giant cavity between the third and fourth stories. Farid Subih, brother of Anan, reported that soldiers entered the house on foot, firing live ammunition and destroying property as they forced family members out in to the street. Subih was found hiding in the rubble created by rocket blasts, where he was immediately executed.

Similarly, compare these two versions of the killing of another of the terrorists.

Ma’an:

Sakarji’s niece, 20-year-old Hind, said “Israeli forces ransacked Raed Sakarji’s home and shot him in front of his pregnant wife and two children. When his wife Tahani, 30, tried to defend him, she was hit in the feet with shrapnel.”

Chappell:

According to Tahani Jaara, the wife of Raed Sarakji, the Israeli military then forced their way in to their home in the Old City at 2:30am, where Sarakji was shot in the head immediately. The force of the close-range fire was so great that it caused his head to split in two. As his pregnant wife ran forward to catch his falling body she was shot in the foot. Only at this point did soldiers confirm the identity of the man just executed, ordering his wife to hand over both their IDs and mobile phones. Soldiers opened fire once again on his now lifeless body, then ordered his wife to summon their children to behold the grisly remains.

It’s a similar story with the versions of the killing of the third terrorist.

Ma’an:

A second man, Abu Sharkh, was removed from his home and shot outside, Hamdan said.

Chappell:

Ghassan Abu Sharkh’s brother Diyaa Abu Sharkh said Israeli military forces stormed their home in Nablus’ Old City at 12am. Sharkh’s wife and four children were forced outside and the entire family was handcuffed, whereupon Sharkh’s eldest son was kicked and beaten by soldiers with the butts of their guns. As Sharkh descended, unarmed, from the stairs inside in hopes of surrendering, soldiers immediately opened fire on him, riddling his body with bullet holes. Outside, Israeli soldiers continued to brutally beat Sharkh’s son while their counterparts prevented Red Crescent ambulances from entering the area.

Besides demonstrating the untrustworthiness of palestinian witnesses, the discrepancies should also raise alarm bells regarding Bridget Chappell’s agenda, if her membership in the ISM didn’t already.

Twenty-five Muslim countries showed only mediocre support for Israel’s archenemies Hamas and Hezbollah, according to a Pew Research Center survey. The Muslim organizations received more support in Israel’s neighboring countries, while only 37% of respondents in the Gaza Strip said they supported Hamas.

According to the survey, which was conducted between May 18 and June 16 of 2009, only 37% of Gaza residents, who are under direct control of Hamas, said they were in favor of the group, while 47% of West Bank residents vowed their support for the Fatah rival.

Across the border, support ratings for the Palestinian political faction varied greatly; 52% of Egyptian respondents said they backed the group, 56% expressed their support in Jordan, only 30% were in favor of Hamas in Lebanon and a mere 5% in Turkey.

Hezbollah, on the other hand received the support of 61% of Palestinians and 51% of Jordanians, while in Egypt only 43% backed the Shiite party – higher than what the Egyptian leadership was expecting following its recent public clash with Lebanese faction, after Egypt revealed a Hezbollah terror network in its territory.

An interesting finding revealed that within Lebanon only 35% supported Hezbollah – among them 98% were Shiite, while only 18% were Christians and 2% Sunni Muslims. The finding reaffirms the social cleavage between the Sunnis and the Shiites in the country.

The survey also analyzed support ratings for the regional leaders. Saudi King Abdullah ranked first with 92% support in Jordan, 83% in Egypt and 55% in Lebanon. However, despite his popularity in the Arab world, only 38% of Palestinians said they supported the Saudi Arabia Monarch.

Palestinians did however vocalize their support for Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, who received the nod of approval from 65% of residents in the Gaza Strip and 71% in the West Bank. Even in Jordan Nasrallah got a majority approval of 56%, while in Egypt the figure was slightly more modest at 34% — which still represented a substantial pool of proponents.

At home, Nasrallah faced a harsher reality – with only 37% of respondents who said they backed the Shiite leader – among them 97% were Shiite and only 2% were Sunni.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas showed a decline in popularity compared with a similar survey conducted in 2007; only 33% of Egyptian respondents expressed support for the Palestinian leader, compared with 67% in 2007.

Among Palestinians, the decline was not as sharp, with 52% support rating compared with 56% in 2007.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad might be the most hated and ridiculed figure in Israel and the West, but among Palestinians he retained his popularity, with 45% expressing their support.

Second on his list of fans was Indonesia – the largest Muslim country in the world, where 43% declared their fondness to the Persian leader. Other countries in the region were not as forgiving; only 32% of Lebanese and Jordanians said they supported the controversial president, while only 26% of Egyptians and 17% of Turkish said he had their back.

Leader of Al-Qaeda global terror group Osama bin Laden also showed declining popularity, while his strongest supporters could be found in Nigeria (54%) and among of Palestinians (51%), which according to the survey, identify with his worldview.

In the rest of the Muslim countries, Osama bin Laden is not as loved; only 28% support rating in Jordan, 23% in Egypt, 18% in Pakistan, 4% in Turkey and a mere 2% in Lebanon.

Updates (Israel time; most recent at top)

5:00PM: Photo of the day:

You can read more about this individual here.

1:22PM: This woman is worth listening to.

6:00AM: Last week, ex-Governor of Arkansas and former presidential contender Mike Huckabee was honored at a special Knesset event hosted by Deputy Speaker of the Knesset Danny Danon (Likud), after which Huckabee addressed the Knesset.

The sources did not provide the exact ultimate destination of the missile boats. However, Egyptian maritime sources quoted in the Arab media estimated that both ships were headed to the Persian Gulf and may reach it within four days. The veracity of these estimates is unclear.

According to the reports, one Israeli missile boat already passed through the Suez Canal in June and July of last year. In one case, the Israeli ship was said to have been accompanied by an Israeli submarine.

Last week, Egyptian newspaper al-Shuruq reported that the US has been holding extensive maneuvers in the Persian Gulf, including some across Iran’s shores. The report was based on information provided by senior Egyptian sources.

In addition, the newspaper reported that Israeli vessels have been mapping the Persian Gulf’s waters in the past six months in cooperation with American forces belonging to the Fifth Fleet. However, it appears the report regarding Israel was baseless, and that it was leaked in an attempt to gauge Jerusalem’s response.

Updates (Israel time; most recent at top)

8:20PM: Tree three hugging hippies.

FILE- In this File photo taken on July 15, 2005, foreign activists huddle together to prevent Israeli army soldiers from arresting them, during a protest against the construction of Israel’s separation barrier in the Palestinian village of Bilin near the West Bank city of Ramallah. The Israeli army says its forces entered the West Bank city of Ramallah on Sunday, Feb. 7, 2010, and arrested two pro-Palestinian activists from Australia and Spain. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser, File)

That priceless expression on their faces is either due to fear of the gun, or the realization that none of them had showered in a week.

8:15PM: Dirty Harry Dorktator to Israel: Go ahead, make my day.

Syrian President Bashar Assad on Sunday vowed to stand by Lebanon’s side against any Israeli “aggression,” in an escalating war of words between Damascus and Jerusalem.

Assad’s remarks to Lebanon Parliament Speaker Nabil Beri were the latest in a renewed round of threats and counter-threats that began last week.

6:00PM: The Jewish Ledger discusses the word “blockade” and its application to Gaza.

In the classic novel “1984,” author George Orwell gives this famous example of how language is manipulated:. “War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength.” What then would Orwell call “blockade”?

A generally accepted definition of a blockade might be “the isolating of a place…. preventing entrance or exit…” (Random House).

That would mean that there is no blockade on a border where:

724,925 tons of humanitarian aid travels from one side of the border to another. (January 19 2009 and January 16 2010.)

It would also not be a blockade if 29 millions gallons of diesel fuel is shipped from one side of a border to another to provide a generating station with the energy to produce electricity. (same dates)

It also isn’t a blockade if 18,500 people went from one side of a border to another to travel overseas.

Nor would there be a blockade in place if 1.3 million flowers were shipped over the border to European markets where they were sold along with 41 tons of strawberries and other commodities sent with them.

It also couldn’t be a place that was ‘blockaded’ if 10,346 residents from one place traveled to the other to receive hospital care not available to them on their side of the border.

Monetary payments would also likely not flow between a place blockaded and one doing the blockade. Yet $6.7 million passed from one place to the other on January 24th of this year in the same way other funds have been distributed before. In the main they were social security type payments and pensions.

All of this and more is happening on the border between Gaza and Israel. And all the while rockets from Gaza fly into Israel every single day, while the Israeli military works hard every day to prevent militant Gaza’s terrorists from penetrating into Israel to kill her people.

So what would Orwell call what is going on between Gaza and Israel today? We’re not sure, but “blockade” is not the right word for it. He would probably note again that when one controls the language, words can be made to say things that aren’t true.

Those who choose to demonize, delegitimize and eliminate Israel call this a “blockade.” There might not be a precise word for what Israel is doing on the borders surrounding Gaza while they contain the threat to their people from Hamas. But we do know that they try to do it as humanely as possible.

We note that 54 members of Congress, including Jim Himes from Greenwich, have chosen to ignore what is happening on the border between Israel and Gaza, and use the word “blockade” instead. Orwell would not be surprised.

5:38PM: Here is footage of Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon shaking hands with Saudi Prince Turki al-Faisal.

I think you’ll agree Ayalon seemed more pleased about it than al-Faisal, who wasted no time in moving away from Ayalon as the latter patted him on the back. In other words, al-Faisal looked about as comfortable as an entertainment reporter during a Mel Gibson interview.

He confirmed his lack of enthusiasm after the handshake when he said.

“This event should not be taken out of context or misunderstood.”

11:48AM: 70 palestinian were caught in the cooling container of a truck near Modiin yesterday.

(No, they were not female virgins waiting for their beloved martyrs, but rather illegal aliens).

6:15AM: Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon shook hands with Saudi Prince Turki al-Faisal during a security conference in Munich.

The Turkish ambassador to Israel was not available for comment.

The Hamas government in Gaza distanced itself on Saturday from an earlier statement in which it expressed regret for harming Israeli civilians in rocket attacks.

Hamas, in an unusual move, expressed regret for the deaths of Israeli civilians in Palestinian rocket attacks during fighting in Gaza a year ago.

That apology was part of the Hamas government’s response to a United Nations report that alleged both Hamas and Israel committed war crimes during Israel’s Gaza offensive last winter. The UN report, authored by South African jurist Richard Goldstone, accused Hamas of firing rockets indiscriminately at Israeli civilians.

On Saturday, the Gaza government said the report it submitted does not include any apologies in this regard.

In the report by a committee set up by Hamas to examine the UN war crimes allegations, the authors said “we regret any harm that may have befallen any Israeli civilian.”

“We hope the Israeli civilians understand that their government’s continued attacks on us were the key issue and the cause,” added the report, of which Reuters obtained a copy.

Mohammed-Faraj al-Ghoul, justice minister in the Hamas government and the chairman of the committee which drafted the report, said on Saturday “some words or phrases were taken out of context. The report held the [Israeli] occupation fully responsible and it did not include apologies.”

Israel, where Hamas suicide bombers have killed hundreds of civilians over two decades, had already dismissed any apology for the three non-combatants hit by rockets from Gaza in the war as insincere.

In response to the report, delivered to the UN this week, Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said Friday that “for years Hamas has boasted about deliberately targeting civilians, either through suicide bombings, by gunfire or by rockets. Who are they trying to fool now?”

Meanwhile, our Fatah “peace partners” are upset that Hamas expressed regret over Israeli deaths to begin with.

Fatah spokesman Ahmad Assaf expressed astonishment at Hamas’ regret for the deaths of Israeli civilians by rocket fire
“while they [Hamas] don’t regret killing and injuring hundreds of Palestinians during the bloody coup they staged [in 2007] …” he said in a statement on Saturday.

“President Abbas and the Palestinian leadership have always warned of these useless rockets,” he added, in reference to Hamas’ investigation into the Goldstone report submitted late on Wednesday, which stated that the Islamist movement’s intentions were to fire solely at military targets, but the rudimentary nature of the projectiles led to the unintended death of Israeli civilians, Hamas said.

“While Hamas avoids speaking of reconciliation, refuses to sign the Egyptian document and restore Palestinian national unity, they are now humiliating themselves in front of Israel and the international community in order to get recognition from both at the very expense of the Palestinian people and its just cause,” Assaf said.

Notice how Abbas was said to have warned Hamas about the rockets – not because their firing was immoral, but that they were “useless.” Which I presume means they were not killing enough people.

Yet more proof that Fatah are terrorists just like Hamas. The only difference is they choose to wear Armani suits instead of table cloths on their head.

Taken from here.

Despite having served for years as a distinguished Pakistani diplomat, Akbar Zeb reportedly cannot receive accreditation as Pakistan’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia. The reason, apparently, has nothing to do with his credentials, and everything to do with his name — which, in Arabic, translates to “biggest dick”:

In Saudi Arabia, size does count.

A high level Pakistani diplomat has been rejected as Ambassador of Saudi Arabia because his name, Akbar Zib, equates to “Biggest Dick” in Arabic. Saudi officials, apparently overwhelmed by the idea of the name, put their foot down and gave the idea of his being posted there, the kibosh.

According to this Arabic-language article in the Arab Times, Pakistan had previously floated Zeb’s name as ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, only to have him rejected for the same reason. One can only assume that submitting Zeb’s name to a number of Arabic-speaking countries is some unique form of punishment designed by the Pakistani Foreign Ministry — or the result of a particularly egregious cockup.

No pun intended.

Update: Sorry, I can’t resist.

For previous profiles, see here.

Mr Smiley

Mahmoud Awni Taha

He participated with his friends in resisting the Zionist Forces. He set a permanent smile on his lips, he was calm, polite & he is accepted at all people, no one hate or malice him, if he went anywhere, everyone loves him.

Ok, maybe not so “permanent”

Israel is pushing the Middle East toward a new war, Syrian President Bashar Assad said on Wednesday.

“Israel is not serious about achieving peace since all facts point out that Israel is pushing the region towards war, not peace,” the official Syrian news agency SANA quoted Assad as saying during a meeting with Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos.

Earlier Wednesday, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem warned Israel that if war were to break out between Syria and Israel, it would be fought “inside your cities.”

“Israel must stop being the neighborhood bully. Don’t test our determination,” Moallem said during a press conference in Damascus where Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos was also present. “One day you threaten Gaza, the next day you threaten Lebanon, then Iran and now Syria.”

Moallem warned that if a war between Syria and Israel breaks out, it would be “total and take place inside your cities.”

His words were a reaction to a statement by Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who said at the Herzliya Conference on Tuesday that if an agreement with Syria was not reached, the two countries might be dragged into a “forceful confrontation that may deteriorate into all-out war.”

“In the reality of the Middle East, we will conclude such a war and then sit and negotiate, talking about the exact issues we have been debating with the Syrians for the past 15 years,” said Barak.

Moallem said Syria “assesses that such a war will break out, we must not rule out such a possibility. I would say it would be a total and expansive war, whether it begins in South Lebanon or in Syria.”

Meanwhile, I may have to bring out the flying pig, because the leftist Ha’aretz has reported the Syrian statements as a threat and Barak’s statements as they were – a call for renewed peace talks.

The defense establishment is pushing for a peace deal with Syria, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is cool to the idea – and Syrian leaders responded Wednesday to Defense Minister Ehud Barak’s call for renewed peace talks by threatening total war.

Two days ago, addressing a group of senior Israeli officers, Barak said it was vital to resume peace talks with Syria because otherwise war was likely to break out. Then, “immediately after such a war, we’ll sit down to negotiate and discuss exactly the same things we’ve been discussing with the Syrians for 15 years already.”

Barak’s statement was not meant to threaten Syria, but to persuade Israelis of the urgency of resuming peace talks. However, based on their response, it is not clear that Syrian leaders interpreted it that way.

Updates (Israel time; most recent at top)

11:18PM: Jon Stewart takes on Hamas’ anti-Semitic cartoons (hat tip: Michael)

11:05PM: An explosive device was detonated near a Red Cross convoy in the Gaza Strip earlier today.

Hamas’ response is entirely predictable.

A spokesman for the Hamas group which runs the Gaza Strip suggested the blast was caused by an unexploded Israeli shell.

8:10PM: Dork of the day:

8:06PM: Dubai has threatened to issue a warrant for the arrest of the Israeli Prime Minister if it turns out that the Mossad bumped off terrorist Mahmoud al-Mabhouh.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, will be the first to be wanted for justice as he would have been the one who signed the decision to assassinate [Mahmoud] al Mabhouh in Dubai. We will issue an arrest warrant against him,” Halfan told the U.A.E. site The Natioanl.

The Dubai police chief also said that the method used to kill al Mabhouh, was a ?Mossad method,? but did not elaborate further.

On Wednesday, Dubai’s police chief warned international intelligence agencies from working “behind our back,” saying anyone who did so “should be wary of his own back.

Halfan added that that threat was also applicable “to any intelligence organization around the world, whether Mossad, Hamas or any other agency.”

Meanwhile, it looks like Ha’aretz borrowed someone from the Jerusalem Post to edit this report.

5:56PM: Ice hockey on the Israeli-Lebanon border?

Yeah, why not.

1:12PM: The war of words has continued with Syria, with Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman entering the fray.

(Syrian President Bashar) Assad must realize that if he “provokes” Israel  his regime will collapse, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman  said Thursday.

Speaking during a business conference at Bar-Ilan University, Lieberman said, “Whoever thinks (Israeli) territorial concessions will separate Syria from the axis of evil is mistaken. Syria must be made to understand that it has to relinquish its demand (that Israel cede) the Golan Heights.”

On Wednesday Assad accused Israel of “pushing the region towards war”. During a meeting with Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos in Damascus, Assad said that the Jewish state “is not serious about achieving peace”.

Assad spoke just hours after his foreign minister, Walid Moallem, said that “Israel knows that if it declares war on Syria, such a war will reach its cities as well.”

The Syrian minister was responding to remarks made by Defense Minister Ehud Barak earlier this week. Speaking at a forum of senior IDF commanders, Barak said a full-blown war with Syria was possible in case a peace agreement is not reached.

Lieberman said Moallem’s remarks constitute a “blatant threat against Israel,” adding, “(Syria) has crossed a red line; and we cannot ignore this.”

6:05AM: Israeli President Shimon Peres watches Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi embrace Israeli singer Rita.

Peres: I can’t wait to show him how it’s done.

[language warning]