A widely predicted crisis between Israel and the United States upon Benjamin Netanyahu taking office as prime minister finally erupted this weekend.

U.S. President Barack Obama did not hold back in condemning the humiliation caused to Joe Biden with the Israeli announcement of 1,600 new housing units in East Jerusalem during what was supposed to be the vice president’s friendly visit to Israel.

Instead of accepting Netanyahu’s partial apology and letting bygones be bygones, Obama issued a stern warning to the Israeli prime minister and is now demanding that he take “specific actions” to show he is “committed” to the U.S.-Israel relationship and to the peace process itself.

Washington did not reveal the contents of the ultimatum or the list of demands reportedly presented to Netanyahu.

This follows Israel’s Ambassador in Washington Michael Oren being summoned and reprimanded by the US State Department, and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton calling Israel’s conduct “insulting.”

Updates (Israel time; most recent at top)

9:36PM: I’ve always said that the only difference between Fatah and Hamas is the suits. But now it seems as though this may no longer be the case, if this photo of captured Hamashole Maher Odeh is anything to go by.

The mother of Maher Uda, a top Hamas commander arrested by Israel in the West Bank overnight, shows journalists a framed picture of her 47-year-old son in formal dress at the family's home in the village of Ein Yabrud near Ramallah on March 14, 2010. Uda, a senior commander in Hamas's armed wing in the occupied territory, has been arrested by the Israeli security services after more than a decade on the run, an Israeli military spokesman announced. Palestinian security official in the West Bank said his forces did not know of Uda's whereabouts because he had gone underground several years ago and said they had yet to determine where exactly he was arrested. AFP PHOTO/ABBAS MOMANI (Photo credit should read ABBAS MOMANI/AFP/Getty Images)

9:22PM: Sorry for the lack of updates today, but work and a lovely dinner with some pro-Israel Canadian bloggers got in the way of my blogging.

1:32PM: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem is displaying for the first time Albert Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity.

1:16PM: A joint force of IDF, Shin Beit and police officers last night arrested Hamashole Maher Odeh, who headed a cell responsible for a number of deadly terror attacks including the Café Hillel bombing in Jerusalem and the suicide attack at the Zerifin junction hitchhikers’ station in 2003.

It should be noted he was arrested by the PA in 1998, but released shortly after.

Odeh has been wanted by Israel since the 1990s, and is considered one of the commanders of Hamas’ military wing in Ramallah – an organization that killed 70 Israelis during the second intifada.

The 47-year-old father of four, who was born in Ein-Yabrud, northeast of Ramallah, is one of the founders of the Hamas movement in the West Bank city. He began operating in the early 1990s, when he formed the Hamas cell in his village, which was responsible for kidnapping and interrogating Palestinians suspected of collaborating with Israel, and seeking weapons to use in terror attacks.

In 1998, he was questioned by the Palestinians security forces and spent several months in a Palestinian prison. After his release he became one of the organization’s most wanted men.

6:00AM: Further fallout from the Israeli announcement to build more houses in our own land: EU foreign policy chief said the EU might use its trade ties with Israel as leverage to pressure it into renewing peace talks with the palestinians (I purposely blogged this as an update, since I am not comfortable using That’s What Friends Are For when it comes to the Europeans).

Meanwhile, the Swedish Foreign Minister is still being a meatball head.

Swedish Foreign Minister, Carl Bildt, said that Israel’s announcement on building in east Jerusalem during United States Vice President Joe Biden’s visit last week was intentional and not coincidental.

A senior source in Netanyahu’s entourage said the Israeli leader urged Medvedev not to legitimize Hamas. “We are not pleased with your relations with Hamas,” he quoted Netanyahu as telling Medvedev. “But since they exist, we can relay messages on humanitarian issues. Tell Hamas they won’t get a better offer from us on the [Shalit] deal.”

Meanwhile, Medvedev reportedly promised that Russia will hold off on delivering the advanced S-300 air defense system to Iran. For now.

Updates (Israel time; most recent at top)

6:35PM: Ma’an News reports:

A Palestinian company is planning to bring women-only taxis – a phenomenon already popular in Beirut and elsewhere – to the conservative West Bank city of Hebron.

Hazem At-Takrawi, the director of the Ishraqat training and development firm, said on Monday that his company is already training women to drive the female-only cabs. As in Beirut, the cars would be pink, he told anchor Adel Eghraieb on the television show “On the Table.”

Asked whether Hebron and Palestinians in general would accept the idea, At-Takrawi said the company already commissioned a survey that found that 95% of Palestinians would accept the new cabs.

In addition, he said the program will create jobs, claiming that more than 100 women, mainly university graduates, already applied for positions as cabbies. At-Takrawi said that if the idea succeeds in Hebron, he will expand the business to other West Bank cities.

Women-only taxis are already on the streets in Beirut, Dubai, Cairo, and Tehran.

Whatever you say about the idea, at least the women are allowed to drive.

Meanwhile, the report prompted this telling comment from a Ma’an reader.

3 ) Aurora / Italy
16/02/2010 12:46
I think it’s a good idea women drive and use taxis without men. think about the bad smell of the man and their bad behaviour, or think about women’s security: everybody knows that inside are there only women (also low control at check point?).

11:50AM: According to The Daily Telegraph, British government sources said the three Irish passport-holders accused of taking part in Mahmoud al-Mabhouh’s assassination were most likely Mossad agents carrying false documentation.

6:18AM: Here’s more on the killing of Hamas arch terrorist Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai by a squad carrying European passports.

Meanwhile, Ynet’s security affairs analyst Ron Ben-Yishai has written this analysis.

6:10AM: According to a local Fatah source cited by Al-Jazeera, there has recently been an increase in the number of former Fatah members who have joined Al-Qaeda-linked terrorist groups in Gaza, in order to get revenge on Hamas.

No word yet on any increase in the number of former Fatah members who have joined groups supporting Israeli-palestinian coexistence.

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.

Top Hamas operative Mahmoud al-Mabhouh was identified and killed following an interview he gave to Al-Jazeera on instructions from the movement’s leadership in Syria, according to a Fatah-affiliated news agency.

The interview with Mabhouh was conducted against his will and against the advice of his colleagues in the armed wing of Hamas, Izzadin Kassam, the agency said.

The Palpress news agency said it did not rule out the possibility that the killing was an “inside job.”

“Did he know too many secrets and that’s why they decided to get rid of him?” the agency asked. “Perhaps he knew about the weapons convoy [to Hamas] that was destroyed by Israel about a year ago?”

Although the Hamas operative appeared masked in the interview and was only identified by his nom de guerre, Abu Abed, Israeli security authorities were able to identify him and later track him down, according to the report.

The interview was part of a documentary that was recently aired by the popular Arab network. The film focused on Izzadin Kassam and its past operations, particularly the abduction and killing of IDF soldiers.

Palpress suggested that senior Hamas officials Musa Abu Marzouk and Izat al-Risheq were the ones who exerted heavy pressure on the slain Hamas operative to appear on television.

Following the interview, Hamas said it would not authorize its broadcast because Mabhouh’s features and identity had not been completely concealed.

The news agency reported that the original tape, which revealed Mabhouh’s identity, was kept in Hamas’s archives, while the TV station was told to conduct another interview.

It said that when Mabhouh learned that he was supposed to give a second interview, he responded with fury and asked about the fate of the original tape and whether it had been copied.

But he was finally persuaded to give another interview under pressure from senior Hamas leaders in Damascus, the agency claimed.

I’m enjoying read all of these versions of his death.

Because in all of them, the ending is the same.

Updates (Israel time; most recent at top)

11:15PM: Quote of the day:

“It was like being punched in the stomach,”

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi after visiting the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem

11:05PM: Two barrels of explosives were today discovered on Israeli beaches – one washing ashore in Ashkelon this morning and another in Ashdod this evening. Islamic Jihad, Popular Resistance Committees and (Fatah’s) Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility.

According to Ha’aretz:

Police believe that the barrels arrived at the beach via the sea from the Gaza Strip and are checking the possibility that it was intended to explode next to a ship or amongst beachgoers.

The explosive charges were neutralized by sappers.

A person who was walking on the Hofit beach in Ashkelon discovered the explosive at 11:30 a.m. and called the police. Security personnel form the northern beaches of Ashkelon arrived at the scene, checked the device and then neutralized it.

Area residents were asked to stay in their homes due to an “unusual security incident”.

Think about it for a second. These terrorists deliberately sent explosives to Israeli beaches. They aimed to kill non-combatants.

Keep that thought next time you hear anyone whining about Israel restricting supplies of goods to Gaza.

8:58PM: Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi today said his “greatest desire” is to to see Israel join the EU.

Which is a big deal, considering he is a man with many desires.

6:54PM: PA President Mahmoud Abbas recently promised there was no more incitement in mosques during Friday prayers.

Liar, liar (via PMW).

You can see why I am not exactly keen on the idea of putting our faith in Abbas and the PA.

5:04PM: Can you guess this terrorist’s age?

a) 20-30

b) 30-40

c) 40-50

The answer is…..(a. He’s actually only 24.

I don’t know about you, but I thought he looks closer to 44.

Meanwhile, here’s more on why he is in the news.

The Shin Bet arrested two east Jerusalem residents suspected of being recruited by Hamas  during their time in Jordan and Saudi Arabia, and gathering information on potential terror targets in Israel, it was cleared for publication.

An indictment was filed against the pair with the Jerusalem District Court on Monday. The two were charged with espionage, membership in a terror organization, contact with a foreign agent and aiding the enemy during wartime.

The two are suspected to have collected the videos, photographs, charts and information on a USB flash drive which they transferred to their handlers in Saudi Arabia. They were then meant to receive explosives. They also prepared a cave near Sataf, in the Judean Hills, and expanded it to use as a hiding place for weapons.

Murad Kamal, 24, from Wadi Joz in Jerusalem, and Murad Nimer, 24 from Tzur Baher, also in the capital, both carry Israeli IDs. They were arrested on January 3 at the central bus station in Beersheba. A third person was arrested with them, but suspicion that he was aware of their activity was refuted.

According to the Shin Bet, at the request of their Hamas handlers, Nimer and Kamal began collecting information which included photographs and sketches of potential terror targets, including the central bus station and Malcha Mall in Jerusalem, the central bus station in Beersheba, the hotel area on the Tel Aviv coast, bus stops in Jerusalem and Mevasseret, and the area surrounding the Tel Hashomer military base, where many soldiers are concentrated.

Nimer studied engineering in Jordan between 2003 and 2007, and was recruited to Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing, during a trip to Saudi Arabia at an unknown date.

In 2007, Nimer recruited Kamal, who was studying pharmacy in Jordan at the time. According to the indictment, the two knew each other from high school.

In 2008 Nimer moved to Dubai where he worked as a engineer and continued to meet with Hamas elements in a number of places, including Turkey.

The two returned to Israel in 2009, and upon their return, began work on their mission – to collect information on locations in Israel. The two traveled the country seeking crowded sites. They filmed videos, took photographs, and prepared maps and sketches of malls (at the central bust station and Malcha Mall in Jerusalem).

Since neither of them had a driver’s license, they used Nimer’s cousin, Ma’amun Nimer, who was unaware of their plans, to drive them around. They told Ma’amun that they had to take pictures of different locations around the country as part of an academic assignment.

The three drove around the country every weekend of July to document Israel’s highways and main roads. Nimer and Kamal occasionally received funds from Hamas elements to cover the expenses of their activity.

The two photographed the sings along the roads and Nimer transferred the images to his laptop, along with a description of each route, including its length, the signs on the road, and more.

The suspects also examined how many Jews and soldiers could be found at each site, and took note of the security measures in the various locations. The information collected was saved on a USB flash drive. Last August Nimer visited Saudi Arabia with the processed information, and transferred it to Hamas operatives whose identities are unknown.

According to the Shin Bet, the cell’s members used their rights as holders of Israeli IDs to collect the information and seek out weaknesses in security in Israel’s crowded sites.

The Shin Bet said this affair points to yet another case of the terror organizations’ efforts – Hamas in particular – to recruit students, with emphasis on those that specialize in chemistry and engineering, for military activity.

4:50PM: While genocidal maniac seems to be a common profession in Iran, fact-checker does not seem to be.

Iran’s official media outlets published a fabricated item on Sunday claiming that Israeli Olympic medalist Yael Arad decided to give her silver medal to the wife of opposition reformist Mir Hossein Mousavi in order to show her appreciation of her struggle against the regime.

A Ynet investigation revealed that the source of the item was an Iranian blogger who decided to joke around a bit by inventing an interview that Arad, who was called Hava Amit in the story, supposedly gave to Haaretz newspaper.

In the fictitious interview, the Israeli athlete said that she decided to give the silver medal she won in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona to Mousavi’s wife, Zahra Rahnavard, “out of respect for her fight for freedom.”

“Hava Amit” explained that “Rahnavard’s interview to the BBC in Persian following the elections increased my desire to support the freedom movement in Iran.” A picture of Arad and a picture of Rahnavard figured prominently alongside the story laid out in the blog.

The news item subsequently picked up and published by Iran’s official news agency, IRNA, gained momentum and was then launched on a number of other pro-regime websites. The title of the article was “Presenting the Israeli runner’s silver medal to Zahra Rahnavard.”

—-

The Iranian opposition believes that the regime’s effort to paint the opposition as an agent of Israel and the US led Iran’s official media to forget to check the source of the article and its authenticity.

6:10AM: PA President Mahmoud Abbas has told the Guardian that there “will be no return to armed struggle.”

This despite the fact he has little control over his own people, and that terrorists from the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, affiliated with his own Fatah party, recently murdered an Israeli man.

Abbas stressed that “There will be no return to armed struggle,” saying such a struggle would “destroy our territories and our country.” Hamas itself, he claimed, “is not resisting” – a reference to the organization’s effective ceasefire since January last year – “and now they are talking about peace and a truce with Israel”.

You can also add the continued palestinian incitement and new Fatah charter (see 5:55AM update) into the mix, and it’s clear the man talks with forked tongue.

6:00AM: Interesting video on one of our Zionist Weapons of Death.^TM

5:55AM: My friend Barry Rubin looks at the new charter to emerge from the August 2009 Fatah congress, and argues it is not “moderate” as some have suggested.

Yet up until now nobody has noticed that such a charter emerged from the August 2009 Fatah General Congress. The document was translated by the U.S. government and has just been leaked by Secrecy News. You are now reading the first analysis of this charter.

Secrecy News remarks: “The document is not particularly conciliatory in tone or content. It is a call to revolution, confrontation with the enemy, and the liberation of Palestine, ‘free and Arab.’” But then the newsletter continues:

“But what is perhaps most significant is what is not in the document. The original Fatah charter (or constitution) from the 1960s embraced `the world-wide struggle against Zionism,’ denied Jewish historical or religious ties to the land, and called for the `eradication of Zionist economic, political, military and cultural existence.’ None of that language is carried over into the new charter, which manages not to mention Israel, Zionism, or Jews at all.”

Now here’s an important lesson for you. When a radical group is portrayed as moderate based on some position it supposedly has taken or some statement made there has to be a catch somewhere. Here’s the tip-off in this case, a single sentence in the new charter:

“This internal charter has been adopted within the framework of adherence to the provisions of the Basic Charter.”

In other words, every detail of the original charter still holds; nothing is repealed, no error admitted, no explicit change of course accepted.

—-

Following my article on the new Fatah Charter, I was sent a JTA story about how the new charter is very moderate since it “drops” calls for Israel’s destruction, etc. As I pointed out, the charter says that the old charter is still in force and nothing in the new one contradicts it. So nothing has changed in fact.

The Palestinian Authority over the weekend expressed concern over Hamas’s growing attempts to gain recognition from the international community and warned EU representatives against engaging in dialogue with the extreme Islamist movement.

A senior PA official in Ramallah condemned initiatives by some EU citizens and officials to talk to Hamas, accusing them of “ignoring the fact that Hamas had staged a coup in the Gaza Strip.”

The official warned that meetings between Hamas and Westerners was “playing into the hands” of the movement and undermining efforts to achieve reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah.

“Those who are trying to legitimize Hamas are harming the Palestinian Authority and any chance of achieving peace with Israel,” he said.

Hamas officials, meanwhile, said that their group accepts the two-state solution but only as a temporary one.

The warning came following a meeting in Hebron last week between Palestinian Legislative Council Speaker Abdel Aziz Dwaik and British businessman David Martin Abrahams, who said that he was on a mission to “facilitate dialogue between Hamas and the international community.”

During the meeting, Dwaik announced that Hamas accepted Israel’s existence and was even prepared to consider the possibility of “nullifying” its charter.

Dwaik stated that Hamas has agreed to the establishment of a Palestinian state within the pre-1967 lines and noted that Ismail Haniyeh and Khaled Mashaal had already accepted the idea.

Dwaik’s remarks, which were first published in The Jerusalem Post, sparked controversy among the movement’s top brass. Hamas leaders and spokesmen made every possible effort to explain what Dwaik really meant when he talked about accepting Israel and “nullifying” the charter.

Dwaik himself appeared to be confused and under pressure in light of the storm created by his controversial remarks. He initially claimed that some of the statements attributed to him were “inaccurate” and that Hamas had never recognized Israel’s right to exist.

Dwaik said that he and other Hamas representatives made it clear during the meeting with Abrahams that Hamas “accepts the de facto existence of Israel but does not recognize the legitimacy of its occupation of Palestinian territories.”

On the possibility that Hamas would consider canceling its charter, Dwaik said he reminded Abrahams that the PLO, which had canceled its charter under Israeli and American pressure, did not achieve anything in the interest of the Palestinians. He also said that Hamas was planning to continue its discussions with Abrahams and other Westerners.

Mahmoud Ramahi, another top Hamas operative in the West Bank, said in response to Dwaik’s comments that his movement was indeed willing to accept an independent Palestinian state within the pre-1967 lines, but only on a temporary basis and without recognizing Israel’s right to exist.

Ghazi Hamad, a senior Hamas representative in the Gaza Strip, confirmed that his movement was considering the possibility of changing its charter. In an interview with the Saudi daily Okaz, Hamad said that the Hamas charter, like any other document, may be subject for changes and discussions.

But Hamad also stressed that “accepting” Israel did not mean that Hamas would “recognize” the Jewish state.

Salah Bardaweel, a Hamas legislator and spokesman from the Gaza Strip, said in response to the Post story that his movement was not seeking the destruction of Israel.

“There is a huge difference between our demand to restore the Palestinian people’s rights and the annihilation of Israel,” he told a Hamas-affiliated Web site. “We haven’t said that [we want] to destroy Israel, but we are striving to restore our people’s rights and refugees’ right to return to their dwellings and land from which they were deported.”

Bardaweel also confirmed Dwaik’s remarks that Hamas was seeking to launch a dialogue with the international community.

Hamas’s efforts to explain its position came after Fatah spokesmen, responding to last week’s Post story, accused the group of double-talk.

“The true face of Hamas has finally been exposed by Dwaik’s remarks to the British millionaire,” said Ahmad Assaf, a spokesman for Fatah in the West Bank.

“Hamas is seeking recognition of the international community at the expense of the Palestinians’ interests and national rights.” Hamas is talking in two voices and has two policies, Assaf charged. “In one voice directed toward our people and Arabs and Muslims, Hamas is saying that it’s a resistance movement,” he said. “In another voice directed toward the international community, Hamas is talking about its readiness to recognize Israel and accept a long-term hudna [temporary truce].”

The Fatah spokesman described Dwaik’s attempts to clarify his remarks as “an attempt to deceive public opinion by playing with words.” Assaf added that Dwaik’s clarifications actually confirmed his position as published in the Post. 

And Fatah should know, since has exactly been their strategy since Oslo. In fact, Fatah could teach Hamas a thing or two about the art of duplicity, and stringing along Western audiences.

Not to mention where to buy their Armani suits.

Nevertheless, Ayalon has apologized.

Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon issued a special statement of apology Tuesday night for his treatment of Turkish ambassador to Israel Ahmet Oguz Celikkol on Monday. Ayalon had delivered a rebuke to Celikkol regarding an anti-Israeli television show in Turkey.

“My protest of the attacks against Israel in Turkey still stands,” Ayalon said. “However, it is not my way to insult foreign ambassadors and in the future I will clarify my position by more acceptable diplomatic means.”

At the beginning of the conversation with the Turkish envoy on Monday, Ayalon told cameramen in Hebrew: “Pay attention that he is sitting in a lower chair … that there is only an Israeli flag on the table and that we are not smiling.”

The Turkish ambassador and the Turkish government were furious at the humiliation of the envoy. In a sharply worded ultimatum to Israel earlier Tuesday, Ankara demanded an apology for what it described as Ayalon’s demeaning treatment of its ambassador on Monday.

—-

Earlier Tuesday, Ayalon had not expressed any regret for his behavior. “I do not think I went too far,” he said. “Others will respect us only when we protect our honor.”

Yeah, how’s that going?

Updates (Israel time; most recent at top)

11:15PM: From the Palestine Media website:

Nothing anti-Semitic here. Move along.

11:00PM: Ok, so now he’s really apologized.

7:46PM: Islamic Jihad and a clan affiliated with Fatah have been fighting over the Furqan Mosque.

No, that is not a spelling error.

7:38PM: According to the Turkish media, Ankara has recalled its ambassador to Israel after Jerusalem said it would not issue a second, formal apology for Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon’s treatment of the Turkish envoy.

6:15PM: Here is more on the IDF Search and Rescue Unit being sent to help with the rescue efforts in Haiti.

The IDF National Search and Rescue Unit, under the Home Front Command, is a highly skilled force trained to execute special search and rescue missions, both in Israel and abroad. The unit was founded in 1983, and its’ expertise is in rescuing people trapped under ruins.

The unit is comprised primarily of reservists who are always on call, with prepared kits to enable immediate departure, and a small core of soldiers in mandatory service. In addition to the rescue teams, the unit employs doctors, engineers, mechanical engineering equipment operators and rescue dog handlers.

In November 2003 the first Search and Rescue Company, the Shavit Company, was founded in response to the need for a large operational S&R force that would be available at all times. Subsequently, two additional companies, Hetz and Rotem, were established. The soldiers are all graduates of the Search and Rescue course, and are trained in first aid, Krav Maga, infantry, ABC (atomic, biological, chemical) warfare, and more.

The unit is on-call 24 hours a day and are deployed whenever there is a disaster – earthquakes, tsunamis, conventional or unconventional terrorist attacks. The S&R companies also assist IDF infantry forces during routine operations.

For photos on previous IDF Search and Rescue efforts in India and Kenya, see here.

5:55PM: Former supermodel Kathy Ireland, recently here in Israel, proves she is also beautiful on the inside.

You can hear more on Kathy’s views on Israel in the below video (from 4:00 onwards)

And then there’s, of course, her Twitter stream, containing comments like this:

…honoring brave warriors here in Israel.

5:35PM: Shower time just got that much more dangerous for Sheikh Raed Salah.

A Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court judge sentenced Northern Branch Islamic Movement leader Sheikh Raed Salah on Wednesday to nine months in prison and six months on parole on condition that he does not repeat the offense.

Salah was convicted of assaulting a police officer with intention to disrupt him from doing his job and for unlawful rioting. He will begin his prison term in February.

“Stay away, Bubbaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

5:15PM: Ma’an reports:

One Palestinian was killed following an ice cream factory explosion in the Al-Amal neighborhood of Khan Younis, southern Gaza, medical sources said on Tuesday.

Let me guess..Neapolitan Dynamite?

4:32PM: You may recall a news item I posted on here a few weeks ago, regarding possible Israeli plans to withdraw from the northern part of the village of Ghajar on the border with Lebanon.

Well, not everyone is happy with such plans, especially the residents of Ghajar.

A number of Ghajar residents met Tuesday with Foreign Ministry director-general Yossi Gal and expressed fierce opposition to Israel pulling back from the northern part of Ghajar.

The residents said that such a move would make life insufferable, and they would have to go through security checks every time they needed to work their fields, go to the store or the supermarket. They also warned of violence from Hizbullah if Israel pulled back from the northern part of the town.

Gal is leading the Israeli team negotiating with UNIFIL over a possible withdrawal from the town, which straddles the Lebanese border. Gal presented UNIFIL commander Maj.-Gen Claudio Graziano on Thursday with Israel’s vision of arrangements in and around the town following a possible IDF pullback.

One ministry official said Tuesday’s meeting in Ghajar with the residents should not be interpreted as an indication that a withdrawal from the northern part of the Alawite town was imminent. Discussions with UNIFIL have centered on how UNIFIL forces would be deployed in and around Ghajar to prevent Hizbullah from smuggling men or arms into Israel through it.

The government has reportedly approved a plan to turn over control of the northern half of the village to UNIFIL. No physical barrier would be built between the northern and southern parts of the village, but rather UNIFIL would patrol both the northern half and the perimeter.

The details, however, are still being worked out between Israel and UNIFIL. All the residents of the town are Israeli citizens, and no one is remarking publicly about what their legal status would be, were the northern part of the village turned over to UNIFIL control.

Ghajar has about 2,000 residents, with around 70 percent living in its northern half. When the IDF pulled out of Lebanon in 2000, the UN determined that the international border between Israel and Lebanon ran through the middle.

Since that time Israel has placed a checkpoint at the southern part of the town, and the residents told Gal this prevented people from entering and leaving freely. This situation, they said, would only be exacerbated if the IDF were to leave the area.

The residents Tuesday presented Gal, who was accompanied by officials from the IDF and the foreign, defense and justice ministries, with maps they said proved that the town was never split in half by the international border.

Since the Second Lebanon War in 2006, Israel has maintained a military presence in the northern part of the town and built a security fence around it.

2:28PM: An Al Qaeda affiliated palestinian terror group has claimed responsibility for firing a Qassam into Israel earlier today.

2:12PM: Make that three Israelis feared missing in Haiti.

Meanwhile, we’ve already dispatched a rescue team, with Prime Minister Netanyahu ordering the Defense Ministry, Foreign Ministry and Public Security Ministry to act quickly to render humanitarian assistance.

11:33AM: In the wake of the earthquake that hit Haiti, it is a no-brainer that Israel is doing what it can to assist.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry announced on Wednesday that an initial inspection team of eight experts was sent to Haiti. The team includes Foreign Ministry and Central Command experts.

The team will examine whether there is a need to send larger rescue teams or aid crews to the Caribbean nation.

Chief Medical Officer Brigadier-General Dr. Nachman Esh said the medical corps was preparing to send medical aid to Haiti. “We have yet to receive a request from the Foreign Ministry, but we are making internal arrangements in order to be able to leave as quickly as possible,” he said.

“I believe that within 24 hours from being contacted, we will be able to send teams and medical equipment,” he added.

In 2003 the IDF sent a filed hospital to aid the victims of an earthquake in India.

Meanwhile, at least one Israeli in Haiti is feared missing: Sharona Elsaieh, daughter of the late peace activists Abie Nathan.

9:20AM: Assassinated Iranian nuclear physicist Massoud Mohammadi was reportedly acquainted with Israeli scientists.

Professor Massoud Mohammadi, 50, the Iranian physicist who was murdered in a mysterious assassination in Tehran, participated in an unique project alongside Israeli scientists, among others, the Washington Post reported Tuesday.

SESAME, a project on synchrotron-light for sxperimental science and applications in the Middle East, joins together researchers from many Middle Eastern nations including Iran, Pakistan,Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

The project is based in Jordan and in 2002 it launched a synchrotron – a form of an advanced particle accelerator. The project enables scientists to learn about the structure and behavior of molecules, atoms and crystals for studies in protein research, drug development as well as bio-technology.

SESAME operates under United Nations auspices and is in the forefront of world scientific research.

Mohammadi, who is considered an expert on particle and theoretical physics became acquainted with the Israeli delegation as part of SESAME conferences, however the extent of the contacts between the parties is unclear.

The Iranian and Israeli participation in the project is unusual because the two countries have had no ties since the 1979 Islamic revolution. The last SESAME conference was held in Jordan last November.

The Israeli representative Eliezer Rabinovich, director of the Institute for Advanced Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem told the Washington Post that he had spoken to the Iranian physicist during an informal meeting.

“We did not discuss politics or nuclear issues, as our project is not connected to nuclear physics,” Rabinovich said. He asked Mohammadi whether Iran was interested in building its own particle accelerator but received no clear answer.

Rabinovich noted he barely knew Mohammadi and has “no idea whatsoever” why he was killed.

Moshe Paz-Pasternak, a scientist from the Tel Aviv University who also attended the Joran conference described the Iranian professor as a friendly and humorous person.

Meanwhile, the plot thickens once more.

Iranian authorities have placed the blame for the murder on Israel and the US and described Mohammadi as “a firm believer in the Islamic system,” while local opposition elements claimed that Mohammadi was a reformist and was taken out by the government, which had discovered he intended to seek asylum in Sweden.

6:15AM: Gaza smuggling tunnels, you’ve been fatwa’d!

At the request of the Palestinian Authority, an Islamic scholar published a fatwa on Tuesday banning Muslims from digging or working in tunnels under the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.

The fatwa is the first of its kind and is seen in the context of the PA’s efforts to undermine Hamas’s rule in the Gaza Strip. It’s seen by Palestinians as yet another sign of mounting tensions between the PA and Hamas despite attempts by Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Qatar to resolve the power struggle between the two parties.

The fatwa also comes in response to the death of dozens of Palestinian smugglers involved in the tunnel industry over the past three years.

Sheikh Muhammad bin Salman Abu Jamea, the scholar who issued the fatwa, cited a number of reasons for his decision.

He said that the main reason was that about 300 Palestinians have been killed while working in the tunnels.

“The owners of the tunnels exploit the poor workers and employ them as slaves under the worst conditions,” he said.

Abu Jamea condemned another fatwa issued by a Muslim scholar in the Gaza Strip that permitted tunnel owners to employ laborers under harsh conditions. That fatwa ruled that tunnel owners would pay only $9,000 in compensation to each family whose unmarried son is killed while digging or smuggling, while the family of a married laborer would receive $11,000.

Abu Jamea condemned the tunnel owners as “merchants and princes of war who have no value or respect for the blood of Muslims.”

Addressing the tunnel owners and the scholar who okayed their business, the new fatwa asked: “Have you forgotten how many homes have been destroyed because of the death of their sons? Do you know how many mothers have lost their beloved ones and how many wives have been widowed and children orphaned?”

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He also pointed out that the tunnels were being used to smuggle into Gaza alcohol and drugs and other merchandise that was being exploited by manipulative merchants to make illegal profits.

Sounds like the Sheik has somewhat of a moral compass. But what about the fact the tunnels are used to smuggle weapons which are ultimately used to kill innocent Jews, which is also something to which our “peace partners” in the PA should be opposed?

Abu Jamea also cited the smuggling of weapons as a reason behind his decision to ban work in the tunnels.

“Don’t the arms dealers know that trading in weapons during the period of civil strife [between Hamas and Fatah] is haram [religiously forbidden]?” he asked, adding that the weapons were being used by “rebels” to continue “sowing dissension among Palestinians.”

In other words, weapons to be used against fellow palestinians = bad; weapons to be used against Jews = good.

By the way, I can think of at least one other reason the Sheik may have wanted to ban the tunnels.

6:00AM: Still on the subject of the whole Ayalon-Turkish Ambassador brouhaha, a Turkish source has said Celikkol had no idea what was going on at the time, including why he was given a lower sofa

“He thought he was sitting on the more comfortable chair,” the source said.

‘Wow, this is comfortable. Is it IKEA?”

Palestinian girls are seen during an event marking the 45th anniversary of the foundation of the Fatah movement, in Balata refugee camp, in the West Bank city of Nablus, Saturday, Jan. 2, 2010. (AP Photo/Nasser Ishtayeh)

Homework assignment: Please answer the following questions:

1. If the so-called Israeli occupation of the disputed territories began in 1967, how come Fatah (largest faction of the PLO) was formed 45 years ago?
2. If Fatah are Israel’s peace partners, how come the girls are holding guns?
3. If you know the answer to 1 and 2, yet still support the palestinians, what is it exactly that you hate about Jews?

#10 (0 votes):  Michael Jackson’s dermatologist, Dr. Arnie Klein, and Roseanne’s ex-husband/actor Tom Arnold (first posted July 8th)

#9 (3 votes): Singer Ronan Tynan and comedian Matt Lucas (first posted October 18th)

#8 (5 votes): Some palestinian policeman and Frank Costanza (first posted March 17th)

#7 (7 votes): Some Fatah terrorist and actor John Amos (first posted November 19th)

#6 (8 votes): Mel Gibson’s baby momma Oksana Grigorieva and Octomum (first posted April 29th)

#5 (9 votes): Some Syrian soap superstar and Australian Hollywood actor Geoffrey Rush (first posted November 23rd)

#4 (12 votes): Reformist Iranian presidential candidate, Mahdi Karroubi, and a bat (first posted May 25th)

#3 (15 votes): Music Producer/convicted murder Phil Spector, and Star Wars villain Greedo (first posted April 14th)

#2 (25 votes): Abdel Latif Moussa and something out of Planet of the Apes (first posted August 16th)

Drum roll, please..

#1 (45 votes): Crazed Free Gaza tool Cynthia McKinney and crazed cartoon character Sideshow Bob (first posted July 1st)

Related Posts:

Best of 2008: Top 10 Separated at Births

Best of 2007: Top 10 Separated at Births

Best of 2006: Top 10 Separated at Births

What is the best Israellycool Separated at Birth for 2009?

Like I did last year, I’ll let you all decide on the final composition and order of the Top 10. All you have to do is vote in the poll underneath the following entries.

I’ll publish the final list based on your votes the first thing next year.

Music Producer/convicted murder Phil Spector, and Star Wars villain Greedo (first posted April 14th)

Crazed Free Gaza tool Cynthia McKinney and crazed cartoon character Sideshow Bob (first posted July 1st)

Mel Gibson’s baby momma Oksana Grigorieva and Octomum (first posted April 29th)

Reformist Iranian presidential candidate, Mahdi Karroubi, and a bat (first posted May 25th)

Some Syrian soap superstar and Australian Hollywood actor Geoffrey Rush (first posted November 23rd)

Michael Jackson’s dermatologist, Dr. Arnie Klein, and Roseanne’s ex-husband/actor Tom Arnold (first posted July 8th)

Abdel Latif Moussa and something out of Planet of the Apes (first posted August 16th)

Some Fatah terrorist and actor John Amos (first posted November 19th)

Singer Ronan Tynan and comedian Matt Lucas (first posted October 18th)

Some palestinian policeman and Frank Costanza (first posted March 17th)

[poll id="4"]

Related Posts:

Best of 2008: Top 10 Separated at Births

Best of 2007: Top 10 Separated at Births

Best of 2006: Top 10 Separated at Births