A veiled Palestinian girl uses a catapult to throw stones at Israeli soldiers during a weekly demonstration against the construction and expansion of Israeli settlements on village lands in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh, near Ramallah, on January 6, 2012. ABBAS MOMANI/AFP/Getty Images

[Source]

While the palestinians have tried all kinds of weapons, I don’t think catapults are part of their arsenal.

Update: Apparently, it is me asleep at the wheel, since some do refer to a slingshot as a catapult.

Not to fear! A certain AFP caption writer has found a way to deal with this inconvenient fact.

A Palestinian school girl is stands near a camel at the only small amusement park of the Gaza strip, in Gaza City, on March 29, 2011. THOMAS COEX/AFP/Getty Images

Ahhh. The poor Gazans only have one amusement park, and it is a small one at that.

So small, in fact, that a young girl is forced to stand right near a smelly camel.

To the AFP caption writer: I am still not aware of any prisons or concentration camps with even one amusement park. But even if there was only one amusement park, I could think of a reason why someone hasn’t opened up another one.

a) An Israeli soldier stares at the smoke in the distance, following a battle between IDF soldiers and palestinian terrorists

b) An Israeli soldier stares at the smoke in the distance, following a battle between IDF soldiers and palestinian militants

c) At least 1,400 Palestinians were killed in Israel’s deadly three-week assault on the Gaza Strip in 2009

Answer is here.

Palestinians pass through a security checkpoint at the Bethlehem checkpoint in the West Bank (AFP/File/Musa al-Shaer)

Needless to say, it is not at the feet of aliens.

A Star of David and the name of the Israeli settlement of Shilo written in Hebrew are seen on a Palestinian farmer field vandalized by Israel settlers on January 12, 2011in the northern West Bank village of Qariot, near Nablus. ASHTIYEH/AFP/Getty Images

The truth of the matter is they were carved by a “settler.”

The problem is, the field is about as palestinian as a Disney-ripoff that doesn’t espouse killing Jews.

Well, I happen to know something of this incident.  In fact, I blogged about the background which was a legal dispute with illegal intervention, leading to Arab violence against Jews perceived to be desirable due to the presence of Rabbi Arik Ascherman of Rabbis for Human Rights. ..They lost the court case but Ascherman never reported that.

The judge decided that the land in the map below was legally the property of Moshe Moskowitz of Shiloh and he could plough it and farm it  at will.   

—-

It was done at night as a celebration of their legal victory.

Nice work, AFP.

A photographer take photos of Palestinian youth using a slingshot during minor clashes which erupt in the East Jerusalem's Silwan neighborhood on December 26, 2010, as Israeli police increased security in the area to avoid clashes following a municipality order to evict a Palestinian family from their house. AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP/Getty Images

Why are my spidey senses telling me that by “minor” clash, the AFP caption writer does not mean “a clash initiated by minors”? Perhaps because he already let us know the clash just happened to “erupt”?

I’m guessing that in the AFP dictionary, a clash is defined as “minor” if it is triggered by palestinians.

Either way, the presence of the photographer should clue you in to where they stand – right alongside the palestinians.

Update: Even the palestinian Ma’an News agency calls the clashes “fierce.”

Israeli settlers express their anger in front of Israeli policemen after a settlers car was ambushed by Palestinian gunmen next to Kiryat Arba settlement in the southern West Bank. Four Israelis, including a pregnant woman, were gunned down in the West Bank in what Israel called a "terrorist attack" on Tuesday. (AFP)

Besides the use of the word “settlers” to dehumanize the people pictured – not to mention the murder victims – notice how the AFP caption writer suggests this was only a “terrorist attack” in the eyes of Israel.

Update: At least here, AFP refers to the victims as Israelis and is honest about Hamas’ reaction to the attack.

Gaza protest : Palestinian women attend a protest inside the Red Cross Offices in Gaza City calling for the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. (AFP/Mohammed Abed)

Note where exactly the photo was taken.

End the Red Cross blockade of Gaza!

"Like my angel wings?" (AP photo)

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon convened a panel investigating the IDF raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla Tuesday for the first time since the members were appointed.

UN spokesman Martin Nesirky did not rule out that the panel might seek to talk to IDF soldiers or officials from either side to seek information or clarification, though Israel has said it would not cooperate with any probe against its soldiers.

Ban met former prime minister of New Zealand, Geoffrey Palmer, outgoing Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, Israeli representative Joseph Ciechanover, and Turkish delegate Özdem Sanberk at the UN Headquarters in New York.

In a statement to the press, Ban said the panel was “not designed to determine individual criminal responsibility, but to examine and identify the facts, circumstances and the context of the incident, as well as to recommend ways of avoiding future incidents”.

On Tuesday evening the four panel members are set to hold their first work meeting. Ban stressed that as part of their task, they should “seek the fullest cooperation of the national authorities”.

On Monday Ban denied having made any agreement with Israel stipulating that the panel would refrain from questioning military commanders.

Israel responded firmly to the secretary-general’s denial, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterating that “Israel would not participate in any panel which wants to question IDF soldiers.”

As for me, I am not sure why you need a panel to recommend ways of avoiding future incidents. I would have thought it obvious that refraining from sending a boat full of terrorists past Israel’s navy would be a good place to start.

Updates (Israel time; most recent at top)

6:14PM: Headline of the day: Courtesy of Ynet.

Here’s the accompanying report:

Lebanon’s defense minister on Wednesday lashed out at a US decision to halt aid to his country’s army in the wake of a deadly border clash with Israel, protesting that aid was being made conditional.

“Whoever sets as a condition that the aid should not be used to protect Lebanon’s land, people and borders from the (Israeli) enemy can keep their money,” Defense Minister Elias Murr told a news conference. “Let them keep their money or give it to Israel. We will confront (Israel) with the capabilities we own.”

“We welcome any unconditional offer of aid to the Lebanese army, and if anyone announces they have decided to halt that aid, they are free to make that choice,” he said.

Murr’s bitter comments were in reaction to a US decision to freeze military aid to Lebanon following last week’s clash between Israeli and Lebanese troops that left four dead.

It also came after Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, Ghazanfar Roknabadi, said Tehran was ready to help the Lebanese army in a meeting with army chief Jean Kahwaji, according to Iran’s official IRNA agency.

‘We’re counting on our friends’

An advisor to Lebanese President Michel Sleiman has also criticized the US decision but said that support for the army was central to upholding Lebanon’s sovereignty.

“It is time the Lebanese army be adequately armed, and we are counting on the friends of Lebanon to help the army,” Nazem Khoury told AFP.

US Congressman Howard Berman, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said on Monday he had placed on hold $100 million in aid to Lebanon’s military.

Berman, in a statement, said he could not be sure the Lebanese armed forces were not working with Hezbollah, which Washington lists as a terrorist organization.

5:55PM: Israeli Arab Knesset member Haneen Zoabi – who was on board the infamous Mavi Marmara flotilla ship – claimed that she was not aware that the “activists” were armed.

Israeli Arab Knesset member Haneen Zoabi is a big fat liar.

Video footage proving that MK Haneen Zoabi (Balad) knew that IHH activsts aboard the Mavi Marmara were armed with metal pipes was released by Army Radio on Wednesday.

Zoabi, who was aboard the Gaza-bound ship which was part of a flotilla that aimed to break Israel’s blockade of the coastal territory, had previously claimed that she was not aware that the activists were armed. The members of the Turkish organization subsequently clashed violently with IDF naval commandos.

Zoabi can be seen in one of the video clips standing side by side with IHH members armed with metal pipes while IDF soldiers attempt to take command of the ship’s lower deck. She can later be heard arguing with IDF commanders in an attempt to prevent them from evacuating a seriously injured man. She had previously stated that she helped IDF forces evacuate injured from the ship.

Despite the footage, Zoabi insisted in an interview with Army Radio on Wednesday that she was unaware that the IHH activists were armed. She claimed that she believed the metal pipes the men possessed were standard ship equipment and not weapons to be used against soldiers.

After the release of the new video footage, MK Orit Zuaretz (Kadima) called on Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein on Wednesday to open an in-depth investigation into MK Zoabi’s involvement in the violence perpetrated against IDF naval commandos aboard the Mavi Marmara.

Last month the Knesset  plenum voted 34 to 16 to strip Zoabi of some of her parliamentary privileges, following her participation in the Gaza flotilla.

Zoabi reacted to the ruling by stating that the Knesset was acting undemocratically.

“[The Knesset] has no idea of what democracy is. I represent my views, my party’s views, and the views of all the Arab members of the Knesset.”

The Knesset, she complained, “was supposed to defend my right to express my opinions,” and “protect me from racism which targeted me for my views.” Her views, she said, represent a “global consensus” regarding Israel.

2:15PM: The Israel Prison Service is reportedly buying a new “Dazer Laser” system aimed at controlling disturbances with non-violent weapons.

The supplier, Laser Energetics, hopes the pilot program will be a prelude to widespread use of the lasers in the Israeli police and military.

The non-lethal laser gun can temporarily blind people from a distance as far as a mile and a half. The company’s lasers can also be mounted on revolvers or shotguns and be shot continuously, without reloading, until the target is hit.

The international media’s focus on Israel has exposed the Jewish State to criticism for using stun grenades, rubber bullets, tear gas and sometimes live fire to quell riots and subdue terrorists and criminals. The lethal weapons often wound bystanders, who would be immobilized only temporarily if lasers are used. One side effect of the laser gun is that the targets may feel sick for several hours.
“We are very confident that when they complete their pilot program, the results will speak for themselves, and we’ll be able to roll out the Dazer Laser throughout the entire Israeli military, law enforcement, and corrections establishment,” said Robert D. Battis, founder and chief executive officer of Laser Energetics.

The laser weapons already are in use in several police departments in the United States. One police official in suburban Seattle, Washington said that an advantage of the laser gun is that it requires minimal training and is easy to aim.

Terrorists and criminals will not be able to obtain the laser gun very easily. It is sold only to certified customers, and cannot be used without activating a security code. As an extra precaution, the laser system can be programmed to turn itself off if it ends up in the wrong hands.

Here is the Dazer Laser in action.

[Warning: Contains amateur sales pitch from guy who talks too slow, and graphic scenes of overacting]

12:55PM: IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi has appeared before the Turkel Committee, taking responsibility for the raid but defending the IDF’s actions.

Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi on Wednesday morning testified before an internal probe into Israel’s deadly raid on Gaza-bound aid convoy, defending the military from politicians’ accusations it botched the operation.

“The commandos exhibited calm, bravery and morality,” Ashkenazi told the inquiry panel, headed by former chief justice Jacob Turkel. Their actions were “proportionate and correct”, he said.

IDF Chief Gabi Ashkenazi testifies before the Turkel Committee probing Israel’s Gaza flotilla raid, August

Ashkenazi said the outcome of the May 31 raid, which left nine pro-Palestinian activists dead, was impossible to predict.

“From the moment the operation began, it was clear that the circumstances were unprecedented,” he said, adding that as commander he took full responsibility for the troops’ actions.

The IDF chief, who is set to step down in February at the end of a four-year term that has seen him increasingly at odds with Defense Minister Ehud Barak, repeated the army’s version of the raid, saying commandos used live ammunition only after they were attacked.

In testimony on Tuesday, Barak heaped blame on the IDF, telling the inquiry that the failure of the operation did not stem from the decision to carry it out but from its planning and implementation by the military.

On Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also implied that the IDF, and not politicians, had been responsible for the controversial interception, which drew international condemnation and prompted the United Nations to set up its own inquiry.

In cross-examining Ashkenazi, Turkel asked how it was possible that Israeli intelligence organizations had failed to gain advanced warning of the presence of violent activists from the Turkish Islamist group IHH aboard the ships.

“It seems a little strange, given previous successes in preventing boats reaching Gaza,” Turkel said. “In these situations there were apparently intelligences sources and means of attaining extremely accurate information.”

Askenazi responded: “It’s true, I have already said that we didn’t know enough about the [IHH] organization, and we didn’t investigate it. It was not on our list of priorities like other groups.”

He added: “Turkey is not an enemy state and I hope it never will be. We have military contacts, even despite the current crisis,” referring to the near-collapse of Israel’s diplomatic ties with Ankara following the raid.

10:54AM: Insight into the mind of a “Free Palestine” nut:

But he’s not antisemitic, just anti-Israel.

Meanwhile, here’s our friend’s ruminations on antisemitism and “bankers” ruling the world.

9:52AM: Could anyone please enlighten me as to why this photo is appearing on the wires?

BETHLEHEM - APRIL 18: A peace activist protesting the Israeli army's military operations in the West Bank marches past Israeli soldiers in the West Bank town of Bethlehem 18 April 2002. Two Palestinians were shot and wounded by Israeli soldiers inside the Church of the Nativity compound witnesses said, as talks were set to begin to try to end the two-week siege. Witnesses near the church said a man was shot as he moved from one courtyard to another inside the compound. The man, who has not been identified, was believed to be seriously wounded. (Photo by Musa AL-SHAER/AFP/Getty Images)

I mean, don’t get me wrong. It definitely will appeal to the AFP’s target audience of Israel haters, those more than willing to believe in any demonization of the Jewish state and those who don’t know any better. I’d just have thought that it was slightly – you know – out of date. I guess in the relative absence of current opportunities for demonization, bring up old news.

Also interesting about this photo is the identify of the woman identified as a “peace activist.” It is none other than ISM founder and Free Gaza chair Huwaida Arraf who is a terrorist supporter, not a peace activist.

Regarding the content of her protest sign, read this.

6:56AM: As has been the case in previous years, IDF soldiers have been asked to respect Ramadan.

IDF soldiers in the West Bank have been asked to refrain from eating, drinking and smoking in public, particularly at the security crossings, during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which begins Wednesday.

Soldiers have been asked to “demonstrate a high level of respect and understanding,” the IDF said, in a statement it released Tuesday.

In advance of the holy month, “Civil Administration representatives met with Palestinian religious authorities and discussed prayer times and upcoming religious events, in addition to informing the population of the accommodations being made,” the IDF said.

West Bank security forces were also updated on Ramadan timetables and traditions.

For Ramadan and the holiday of Id el-Fitr that follows, the IDF extended until midnight the operating hours of both the Jalama and Rehan crossings to Jenin, the Beit Mishpat crossing to Ramallah and the Rachel crossing to Bethlehem.

Palestinian families can visit relatives in Israel during the month and Israeli Arabs can enter Area A.

Some 200 permits were given to visitors from Arab countries to enter Judea and Samaria for humanitarian reasons.

In Jerusalem, Palestinian men over the age of 50 and women over the age of 45 will be able to freely enter the Temple Mount for prayer. Married men between the ages of 45-50 and married women between the ages of 30-45 may also enter the compound.

The Samaria Citizens’ Committee criticized the IDF preparations for Ramadan, saying it regretted that Israel’s army was paying more consideration to Islam than to Judaism.

These measures come as the IDF and the Border Police are arresting rabbis, destroying synagogues and issuing demolition orders against West Bank yeshivot, the committee said in a statement.

“Is the defense minister’s name, Ehud Barak or Ahmed Barak?” it asked.

6:52AM: I likely posted this advertisement for Israeli satellite TV provider Yes earlier in the year, but since I don’t remember, it’s a good excuse to post it now.

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But he thinks he knows who was.

Sami "Forni" Khater

The militant Palestinian group Hamas is alleging that Israel fired the barrage of rockets that hit the Red Sea port resorts of Israel and Jordan earlier this week, killing one Jordanian civilian, as a means to justify another assault on the Gaza Strip.

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Sami Khater from Hamas’ Damascus-based political bureau said on Saturday the group had “no interest” in firing the rockets and even ruled out that they had come from Egyptian territory.

Khater explained that Israel may have fired the rockets in order to blame Hamas and consequently gain a pretext to launch fresh attacks on Palestinians.

If they weren’t so adept at murdering and maiming innocent people, I’d find them rather comical.

Updates (Israel time; most recent at top)

10:50PM: The latest in my A Taste of “Concentration Camp” Gaza series: Al Azhar University

8:18PM: The inspirational Sherri and Seth Mandell.

8:06PM: To quote Avram from the Frisco Kid: “Would somebody please show this poor asshole the way out of town.”

3:50PM: Britain’s Chief Rabbi has laid into British PM David Cameron over the latter’s infamous “Gaza is a prison camp” comments.

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, chief rabbi of the British Commonwealth, said the Jewish community felt “dismay” over comments made by Prime Minister David Cameron in which he described  Gaza as a “prison camp”, the Telegraph newspaper reported Sunday.

During a sermon at St John’s Wood synagogue last Saturday, Sacks urged Cameron to show more “balance” when discussing the Middle East.

The rabbi’s spokeswoman said, “In a wide ranging sermon, the Chief Rabbi made a passing reference to the dismay many in the Jewish community and far beyond feel about the prime minister’s comments on Gaza.

“The Chief Rabbi emphasized the importance that previous prime ministers have always placed on displaying balance, even when being forthright.”

During an official visit to Turkey in July, Cameron called on Israel to allow the free flow of humanitarian goods and people in and out of Gaza. He also called the storming of a Gaza-bound flotilla in late May “completely unacceptable”.

“The situation in Gaza has to change. Humanitarian goods and people must flow in both directions,” said the British PM. “Gaza cannot and must not be allowed to remain a prison camp.”

In other news, does anyone else feel that “St John’s Wood synagogue” just sounds so wrong?

1:05PM: Chief Hizbullah terrorist Hassan Nasrallah is to reveal evidence allegedly implicating Israel in the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah will reveal “thunderous news” Monday revealing that Israel was behind the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, a party official said Saturday.

Hezbollah spokesman Ibrahim Mousawi told Ma’an that the evidence would be “comprehensive, revealing conclusive information” implicating Israel in the car bombing that killed Hariri in 2005.

A UN special tribunal set up to investigate the assassination will reportedly blame Hezbollah. Reports suggest that the tribunal will announce its findings before the end of 2010.

Speaking to reporters last Tuesday, Nasrallah said a Hezbollah team spent months compiling information on what he described as Israeli efforts to implicate the Shiite movement.

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and Saudi Arabian King Abdullah met in July with Lebanon’s President Michel Suleiman in an effort to diffuse the mounting political tension over possible indictments over the assassination.

In an Israellycool exclusive, I can reveal that part of their evidence is this photo, taken from near where the assassination took place.

11:18AM: Israellycool correspondent Brian of London describes his experience at – and after – the recent Diana Krall concert in Israel.

9:14AM: The lie: Iran’s Press TV claims Gaza’s power plant shut down as a result of Israel not fulfilling its obligations.

The truth: The power plant did shut down, but due to the PA reducing fuel shipments since Gaza’s Hamas government is behind on payments.

Power plant officials said a fuel shortage caused the shut-down, and blamed what it described as the PA’s refusal to ship sufficient fuel into the coastal enclave for the latest crisis.

The third time since January that the plant has been forced to close due to fuel shortage, earlier blackouts were blamed on a rocky transfer of responsibility for fuel supply to Gaza from the EU to the PA.

The Gaza Power Authority said in a statement that it held Ramallah’s finance ministry accountable, because “the government in Ramallah has not paid for industrial diesel, as agreed with the delegation of independent figures who visited Gaza recently.”

Fuel for the plant has been an ongoing issue between the governments, with Ramallah officials insisting that the plant collect a larger portion of its bills from Gaza residents, and transfer the cash to the PA to support fuel payments.

Ok, so we can expect this from Iran’s Press TV. Unfortunately, the mainstream media are serving up headlines which may give people who don’t read the entire reports the impression that Israel is to blame. Examples:

AP: Gaza power plant shuts down citing lack of fuel

AFP: Gaza power plant shuts down for lack of fuel

At least Reuters does the right thing in this case:

Fuel payments dispute forces Gaza power cuts

8:55AM: PA President Mahmoud Abbas wants everyone to know he’s ok with Jewish NATO soldiers deployed along the borders of a future palestinian state.

Because G-d forbid we’d think he hated Jews.

Mahmoud Abbas is not opposed to including Jewish soldiers in an international NATO force to be deployed along the borders of a future Palestinian state under a potential permanent peace agreement, the Palestinian president’s political adviser said Saturday.

Nimar Hamad told the Palestinian news agency Wafa that “Abbas is open to an international force along Palestinian borders of any religion or origin.”

Hamad was responding to earlier reports that Abbas opposed the deployment of Jewish soldiers along the future borders.

Hamad told Wafa that the American media had quoted Abbas as having said that he would refuse to allow Jewish soldiers on the border between Israel and the Palestinian state. “The remarks attributed to the president are baseless,” Hamad said. “The president said in his meetings with AIPAC and with Israeli journalists and world leaders that he welcomes the deployment of an international force regardless of the troops’ religion.”

It’s just Jews living inside such a state he’d have a problem with.

Meanwhile, in order to make his point, Abbas’ adviser has had to admit that Israel is not such an apartheid state after all.

Hamad added that Abbas refuses outright to have Israeli soldiers deployed along the borders, regardless of their religion, as “it is common knowledge that there are many non-Jewish soldiers serving in the Israeli army.”

6:05AM: In the wake of the Lebanese army soldiers attack on IDF troops last week and suggestions they were trained and armed by the Pentagon, US Congressman Ron Klein is demanding an investigation.

A Florida congressman is seeking an investigation into whether American equipment was used by Lebanese forces who fired on Israel last week or if the soldiers had received US-funded training.

Democrat Rep. Ron Klein, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, requested the investigation in a letter sent to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday.

“I would like to formally and respectfully request an investigation into the incident on the Lebanese-Israeli border,” Klein wrote, referring to Israel’s brush-clearing activity on Tuesday that triggered an attack from Lebanese soldiers on the IDF, killing one officer and seriously wounding another.

Israel returned fire and killed three Lebanese troops and a journalist.

“In addition, if the Lebanese government had authorized this attack, I would be very concerned about continuing to provide military support to Lebanon,” Klein wrote.

The US has provided $600 million in aid to the Lebanese military, largely for education and training, as well as some US-made equipment, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters on Thursday.

Asked about Klein’s concerns, which had appeared in The Jerusalem Post before his letter was sent, Crowley responded, “We provide support to Lebanon because it is in our interest to do so.

We do so in close cooperation with the international community for the express purpose of improving the government of Lebanon’s security capability, protecting its sovereignty, and contributing to broad security across the region.”

Despite media reports that American guns might have been used by the Lebanese soldiers who fired at the IDF force, Crowley stressed, “We have no indication that US equipment played any role in this incident earlier this week.”

He also said, “In any US-origin equipment that’s been provided to Lebanon, we have very strong end-use monitoring to make sure it is used appropriately.”

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