So you can imagine my surprise when I just discovered this obviously satirical post being used as a serious source within a terrorist database.

Validity of information unknown?

If I didn’t know any better, I’d say Richard Silverstein was doing the fact-checking.

They’ll be too busy raising their families…..to be terrorists.

The spokesman for Fatah’s military wing on Sunday responded to comments from Knesset member Aryeh Eldad, who said the prisoner release had encouraged a new wave of terrorism.

Abu Uday of the Al-Aqsa Brigades told Ma’an that no faction would ask prisoners to return to the resistance struggle, adding that the priority for released detainees would be to raise their families.

The struggle will be handed to the next generation, Uday said, adding that it is the right of detainees to return back to their families after having spent so long in incarceration.

And still on the topic of Mahmoud and the released terrorists:

It is no secret that Hamas was strengthened by the conclusion of its ransom deal with Israel in which over one thousand Palestinian terrorists were freed in exchange for the safe return of Gilad Shalit. But its Fatah rivals are not taking this triumph lying down. In the wake of the announcement that Hamas will be paying each of the released killers, almost all of whom are either directly or indirectly responsible for the murders of Jews, a bonus of $2,000, the Palestinian Authority has also decreed that it will be paying every one of the murderers a separate honorarium though the amount was not specified.  

Today, they deny they ever made such a statement, invoking the Manuel defence.

"I know nothing."

The spokesman of Fatah’s military wing on Tuesday denied issuing a statement marking Osama bin Laden’s death.

Abu Uday of the Al-Aqsa Brigades said the group did not and had no plans to comment because bin Laden’s death was unrelated to Palestine.

He said a statement received by Ma’an’s Gaza City office must have been forged as the armed group “doesn’t know anything about it.”

The only thing they seem to have forged is their resolve to lie.

I’m guessing Mahmoud Abbas or one of the more Western-friendly Fatah representatives suggested they tone things down a bit.

At least until they get their state.

A Palestinian carries a picture of al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden as him and others march during a rally in Gaza City, Tuesday, May 3, 2011. News of Osamabin Laden's death stirred strong emotions Monday, from a profound sense of relief across much of the globe to outrage among sympathizers who vowed to avenge the al-Qaida leader. Text on poster reads: 'Osama bin Laden, May God protect you, We are your soldiers, oh, Osama.' (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)

For those who think…the PA and Fatah are the good guys:

The Fatah-affiliated Al-Aqsa Brigades mourned Tuesday the death of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, following his assassination Sunday by American troops in Pakistan.

His death, a statement said, “won’t stop our Jihad mission against injustice and occupation,” adding doubt over the veracity of claims that the fundamentalist had indeed been killed.

In a statement received by Ma’an the brigades said: “The Islamic nation was shocked with the news that bin Laden had been killed by the non-believers.”

He left a generation who follows the education he gave in Jihad, the statement continued.

“The fighters in Palestine and around the world who have lost their leaders did not stop their mission and will continue in the tutelage of their masters.”

Concluding, the statement said “we tell the Israeli and the American occupiers that we have leaders who have changed history with their Jihad and their steadfastness. We are ready to sacrifice our lives to bring back peace.”

(True, the PA issued a statement welcoming the death, but Abbas himself has not said anything, and the Al-Aqsa Brigades are still affiliated with Fatah)

For those who think…the Arabs of east Jerusalem – who enjoy the benefits of citizenship – are thankful for it:

Arab support for terror chief: Dozens of Arab residents held a rally in support of assassinated al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in east Jerusalem’s Silwan neighborhood Monday evening.

Some of the participants at the site hurled stones at Israel Police forces deployed in the area. Police officers responded with crowd dispersal means.

No reports of injuries or detainees were received following the rally.

Flashback:

Update: The Al-Aqsa Brigades quoted by Ma’an above was actually sanitized!

A few hours ago, Palestinian Media Watch released the statement by the military wing of Fatah, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, in reaction to the killing of Osama bin Laden, as reported by the Palestinian news agency Ma’an. Ma’an later released an English version that hides the Fatah military wing’s concluding message about seeking Islamic dominance, and replaces it with a message of  “peace.”

The Arabic statement that Ma’an removed said that the Islamic nation is “capable of supplying an abundance of new blood into the arteries of the resistance, and is capable of restoring the glory of Islam and the flag of Allah’s oneness.” Ma’an translated that into English: “We are ready to sacrifice our lives to bring back peace.” In the actual statement in Arabic, the word “peace” did not appear.

The following is the statement as it appears in Ma’an’s Arabic and English websites. The bold sections indicate the part that Ma’an misrepresented:

Ma’an in Arabic on the concluding statement of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades:
“We say to the American and Israeli occupier: The [Islamic] nation which produced leaders who changed the course of history through their Jihad and their endurance is a nation that is capable of supplying an abundance of new blood into the arteries of the resistance and is capable of restoring the glory of Islam and the flag of Allah’s oneness, Allah willing.’”
[Ma'an Arabic, May 3, 2011]

Ma’an in English on the concluding statement of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades:
“We tell the Israeli and the American occupiers that we have leaders who have changed history with their Jihad and their steadfastness. We are ready to sacrifice our lives to bring back peace.”
[Ma'an English, May 3, 2011]

The army is considering revoking a ban on Jews entering West Bank cities that are under Palestinian Authority control, in view of significant improvement in security and in Israel’s coordination with Palestinian security services.

The Palestinian Authority is interested in having Israelis visit Palestinian-controlled West Bank cities and their environs, designated as Area A, because it could signal the resumption of trade and tourism, which would boost the Palestinian economy.

Israel and the PA are cooperating more closely on security matters now than they have been since the Oslo Accords were signed in 1994, an Israeli defense source familiar with Israeli-Palestinian ties over the past 15 years said last night.

“For the first time, the parties are operating on an equal basis – not as leader and follower, as it had been over the years,” the source said. “The main reason is that both sides have a shared enemy. The PA is concerned about Hamas no less than us, and is interested in improving its control on the ground to prevent Hamas from threatening its rule and the calm that has been achieved.”

Fatah-affiliated Al Aqsa Martyr’s Brigades terrorists must be licking their chops at the thought of being gifted opportunities to kidnap Israelis.

Updates (Israel time; most recent at top)

6:32PM: Australian opposition leader Tony Abbott – about whom I blogged about here – continues to display his staunch support for Israel.

Tony Abbott yesterday accused Labor of weakening the bipartisanship on Israel.

The Opposition Leader voewd a government led by him would never “overreact” to international incidents and said the Coalition’s support for Israel was “unshakeable”.

“Of course, the Israeli government from time to time makes mistakes — what government doesn’t from time to time make mistakes? — but Australians should appreciate that a diminished Israel diminishes the West; it diminishes us,” Mr Abbott said.

“I have to say it’s a little disappointing, given the deep affinity between the Australian people and the Israeli people, that the current Australian government has somewhat weakened our long-standing bipartisanship on Israel.”

Mr Abbott appeared to be referring to Labor’s expulsion of the Mossad station chief in retaliation for the Israeli intelligence agency’s use of counterfeit Australian passports in the Dubai assassination of Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in January.

He said a Coalition government would never support a one-sided UN resolution against Israel.

6:15PM: It has been released for publication that the IDF and Shin Bet  have arrested a cell of Hamasholes behind a shooting attack last month which killed policeman Shuki Sofer.

But we obviously had it coming.

One of the cell’s heads said in his interrogation that just two weeks before he embarked on the attack, his six-year-old daughter was hospitalized in Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem, where she had a tumor removed from her eye. The operation was funded by an Israeli organization. (YNET)

Walla reports that some of the terrorists in the cell were released from Israeli prisons just weeks before the terror attack.

They were clearly driven to despair by all of our goodwill gestures.

3:50PM: This next video brings forward many points I have raised on this blog before.

9:56AM: Yet another report that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has one foot in the grave, and one on a banana skin.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is terminally ill, according to US and other Western intelligence agencies, The Washington Times reported on Monday.

Most Western intelligence agencies were said to have estimated that the Egyptian president is dying from terminal cancer in his stomach and pancreas. Earlier this month, Mubarak was reportedly treated in a hospital in France, and in March his gallbladder was operated on in Germany.

A Central European intelligence officer told The Washington Times that Mubarak will probably die within a year, before Egyptian presidential elections in September 2011.

“When I was in Cairo in May, it was interesting. People were mellow about the prospect of him being ill. Everyone understood the end was near; the estimates were 12 to 18 months,” Steven Cook, an Egyptian-affairs specialist at the Council on Foreign Relations, said to The Washington Times.

A senior US intelligence officer said: “We have access to, for lack of a better word, his court. We know he is dying, but we don’t know when he will die. You can be dying for a long time, by the way. Look at [former Cuban President Fidel] Castro.”

Sources told The Washington Times that the National Intelligence Council and the US Central Command are reportedly analyzing possible situations and power transitions after Mubarak’s death.

However, State Department spokesman, P.J. Crowley said in a briefing that “no one is looking past Mubarak. He is still the president of Egypt, and we rely on him and his government for the critical role they play in security and stability in the Middle East.”

The announcement from the Prime Minister’s Office noted that the committee would be headed by former Supreme Court Justice Yaakov Tirkel. The committee will be comprised of professor of international law and Israel Prize laureate Shabtai Rosen, and Brigadier General (res.) Amos Horev, former president of Haifa’s Technion.

Two foreign observers will also be appointed: Lord William David Trimble, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and Ken Watkin, international lawyer and former judge advocate general for Canada. The observers will also take part in discussions and consultations.

According to the Prime Minister’s Office, the committee will:

1. Examine the security aspects of the naval blockade on Gaza and adjusting it in accordance with international law.
2. Examine Israel’s actions to enforce the naval blockade and prevent the international flotilla from reaching Gaza on May 31, 2010 with respect to international law.
3. Examine the actions of the organizers of the (Gaza) flotilla and identifying its participants.
4. Examine whether Israel’s process of looking into complaints of Israeli violations of the Laws of War – as was implemented during the said incident – corresponds with the country’s obligations vis-à-vis international law.

The PM said he was guided by two main principles in deciding on a public commission of inquiry into the Gaza sail events: “First of all, to maintain IDF soldiers’ free hand and protect the independence and credibility of the army’s operational probing body.

“Secondly, to provide a credible and independent response for questions raised by countries in the international community regarding the naval event and its compliance with international law norms,” he said.

Updates (Israel time; most recent at top)

11:00PM: Help save Mosab Yousef. Details here.

10:58PM: PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has condemned today’s terror attack, characterizing it as a “disgraceful act.”

Because it harms palestinians interests.

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad denounced the shooting attack which took place south of Mt. Hebron Monday, calling it a “disgraceful act” and saying that the Palestinian Authority will continue to do all it can to prevent such incidents from taking place.

—-

Fayyad warned against deteriorating violence: “Past experience has proven that (violence) only hurts Palestinian interests and serves in favor of the Israeli settlement movement.”

The shooting, he added, contradicted the PA’s efforts to maintain Palestinian interests while living up to its obligations. “The Palestinian people is united in non-violent, pacifistic resistance against settlements, the occupation and the terrorist behavior of settlers.”

Terrorist behavior of “settlers”? Wow, talk about projection.

Meanwhile, the terror attack was perpetrated by Al Aqsa Martyr’s Brigades, affiliated with our Fatah “peace partners.”

9:22PM: Head Hamashole Ismail Haniyeh is apparently a real romantic.

Gaza government Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh has reiterated his vow to find a Gaza wife for the Iraq journalist who threw a shoe at former US President George Bush, the Arabic language news site Elaph reported.

The Monday report said Haniyeh’s comments followed complaints from the journalist, Muntadhar Al-Zaidi, that the prime minister’s promise was “false propaganda,” and that he had yet to be hosted for his Gaza wedding.

In response, Haniyeh said “tell him [Al-Zaidi] that I am ready to host him in Gaza and take care of all his marriage expenses,” the news site quoted him as saying.

Al-Zaidi rose to prominence in 2008 after throwing his foot ware at Bush during his final news conference after a tour of Iraq and calling him a “dog.”

8:08PM: Real Hamas public advertisement warning people they will be killed if they look at porn, do drugs, or collaborate with Israel.

6:15PM: Last week, Iara Lee, a Brazilian-American filmmaker, posted one hour of unedited video online that shows the early stages of the Israeli commando raid on the Mavi Marmara.

While she seems to think it furthers the cause of those disputing Israel’s claims as to what transpired, it does nothing of the kind.

For a start, there is this bit of important information.

Since the camera was on a lower deck of the ship, it also shows but does not give a clear view of the violent confrontation and shootings that took place on the top deck of the ship, after Israeli commandos boarded from a helicopter and met with resistance from passengers on board. But the video, and accompanying audio, will help give a better sense of the timeline of the raid.

But more than that; as CIF Watch argues, it actually corroborates Israel’s version.

5:55PM: Quote of the day:

“Dark forces from the Middle Ages are raging against us. I have received calls from concerned officials in the Balkans and Eastern Europe who are very worried about these developments.”

“This committee strengthens our ability to fight in the international political arena. If we had done nothing, I assume we would have had worse problems in the world. There is a certain price we are paying, but under the present circumstances it is our best move.”

“The flotilla to Gaza was not a one-time thing. We find ourselves in the midst of a difficult and continuous battle against the State of Israel. The flood of hate is being led by Israel’s enemies all over the world.”

- Israel Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu after announcing the establishment of the inquiry committee to probe the IDF’s flotilla raid.

5:38PM: More on Command Sergeant Major Yehoshua (Shuki) Sofer, the policeman killed by terrorists, including the fact he was to be married in 3 months time.

4:56PM: Separated at birth?

12:32PM: One of the policemen shot in the terror attack this morning has died of his wounds.

12:22PM: More than 1000 people have gathered in Sydney to show their support for Israel and the country’s “fight against terrorism.”

Photo credit: Martin

9:42AM: TERROR ATTACK: Terrorists have shot at a police vehicle outside of Hebron, wounding 4 officers, in what looks like a planned ambush.

Two of the policemen were shot in the chest, another was lightly injured from gunshots, and the fourth policeman was hurt by shrapnel. They have been evacuated by helicopter to Hadassa hospital in Jerusalem, with the most seriously injured in critical condition.

Police and IDF forces are combing the area for the terrorists.

5:48AM: Steven Colbert takes on the Gaza flotilla incident and talks to Israel’s ambassador to the US, Michael Oren.

******************************************************************************************

Want to learn how to shoot with top Israeli anti-terror experts? Click here for more details.

******************************************************************************************

AP

“We are witness today to the new-old fire of hate, hatred of Jews inflamed by organizations and regimes of extremist Islam, most of all Iran  and its satellites. Iran’s leaders are scurrying to develop nuclear weapons and freely announce their desire to destroy Israel, but before these repeated declarations to wipe the Jewish state from the face of the earth, at best we hear faint protest, and even this is fading.

“We don’t hear the forceful protest that is required, we don’t hear the strong denouncement, nor the angry voice. But as usual, there are those who direct their criticism against us, against Israel… The world accepts Iran’s declarations of annihilation and we still don’t see the international determination required to prevent Iran arming… I call on the enlightened nations to rise and denounce this intention to destroy, and to act with real determination to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.”

Updates (Israel time; most recent at top)

8:45PM: Anat Kam, the former soldier indicted for espionage for copying thousands of classified military documents without authorization and giving them to Haaretz journalist Uri Blau, was motivated by ideology.

Classified documents reveal that the Israel Defense Forces had committed war crimes in the West Bank, Anat Kam, the former soldier indicted for espionage over an alleged theft of top secret material, told the court earlier in the year, according to police documents released allowed for publication Monday at the request of Haaretz.

In the newly released material documenting court hearings surrounding Kam’s arrest, the journalist and former IDF soldier said that the motivation behind her removal of sensitive military material was to expose “certain aspects of the IDF’s conduct in the West Bank that I thought were of interest to the public.”

Kam added that her thinking behind taking the top secret papers was to ensure that “if and when the war crime the IDF was and is committing in the West Bank would be investigated, then I would have evidence to present.”

Kam said that she didn?t think that transferring the documents would endanger the country, as she did not think “the journalist would focus on the details of the military actions, but rather on the principles and the policies that were behind the the top officers’ decisions.”

Kam also explained that she turned to Israeli journalists because she assumed that “the censorship would not allow the publication of information classified as top secret or that is dangerous for publication.”

Referring to the possibility that she would be penalized for the theft, Kam said that when she “burned the material [onto a CD] I thought that in the test of history, people who warned of war crimes were forgiven.”

“I didn’t have the chance to change some of the things that I found it important to change during my military service, and I thought that by exposing these [materials] I would make a change,” the former soldier said, adding that it was for those reasons that “it was important for me to bring the IDF’s policy to public knowledge.”

Meanwhile, you can file this under Everybody Panic:

The Tel Aviv District Court allowed several new details in the Anat Kam affair to be released Monday, among which is the disconcerting discovery that one of the CD’s burnt by the indicted journalist has gone missing.

She has put all of us in danger. I don’t care how gentle, kind and well-intended others are trying to portray her. She deserves to be punished to the full extent of the law.

4:40PM: Photo of the day:

A Palestinian woman shields herself from sunlight during a weekly protest calling for the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails, at the International Red Cross building in Gaza City, Monday, April 12, 2010. (AP Photo/ Hatem Moussa)

As if she was getting any sunlight.

4:32PM: Not news: Palestinian terrorist organizations not getting along so well.

News: Islamic Jihad being pissed at Hamas for actually preventing them from killing Jews.

The Hamas  government’s internal security force in the Gaza Strip released a cell of gunmen Monday who had planned to open fire on an IDF force operating near the border fence.

Sources from the Islamic Jihad reported to Ynet that members of the cell – made up of members of Islamic Jihad’s military wing, the al-Quds Brigades, and the Nabil Massoud cell, which is one of the armed groups of the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades – were released after they committed in writing not to continue these types of activities.

A source in the al-Quds Martyrs’ Brigades reported that members of the cell were arrested as they planned to carry out “a quality jihad mission against a special Zionist force operating within Palestinian territory.”

The source expressed his amazement over the detainment, which last four hours: “Members of the cell were detained in the security headquarters that Gaza security officers evacuate every night out of fears of IDF attack, which made the mujahidin vulnerable to attack as their guards remained in a safe place. Treatment of our mujahidin was not as it is supposed to be, and they were not granted proper respect. They treated them like they were criminal inmates.”

The source reported that members of the Hamas government in Gaza asked the detainees to sign a written commitment not to carry out any military action against Israel, claiming that there is an undeclared truce in place that must be respected.

“We do not recognize any truce between the resistance and the enemy, who continues to invade our land,” claimed the al-Quds Martyrs’ Brigades source.

Which raises the following questions:

• Assuming this is true (a big assumption in itself), what is Hamas up to?
• What is a “quality” jihad mission? One where they use expensive explosives?
• Are Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades also pissed at the al-Quds Martyrs’ Brigades, who have seemingly ripped off their name?
• If so, why can’t they battle each other to the death?

12:10PM: What it looks like on the roads when the nation comes to a standstill during the Holocaust Remembrance Day/Yom Hashoa siren.

10:25AM: A 2-minute siren sounded 25 minutes ago, and we stood in silence to pay our respects to those killed in the Holocaust.

Aside: I wonder if Arab-Israeli Knesset members like Ahmed Tibi stood in silence.

******************************************************************************************

Want to learn how to shoot with top Israeli anti-terror experts? Click here for more details.

******************************************************************************************

Updates (Israel time; most recent at top)

10:08PM: Yet more media bias?

A Palestinian Hamas militant carrying a fake rocket takes part in a rally in the streets of the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza Strip, 2009. A foreign worker has been killed after a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip hit a kibbutz in southern Israel, the Israeli army said. (AFP/File/Mohammed Abed)

Which begs the question: how does the AFP stringer know that this is a fake rocket? After all, the guy carrying it is a real Hamas “militant” (i.e. terrorist). It would be easier for him to carry the real deal, instead of go to the effort of creating a fake one.

Furthermore, it sure looks real to me.

8:16PM: The Elder of Moron opens his pie hole.

Former President Jimmy Carter on Thursday called US plans to mediate the dispute between the Israelis and Palestinians by shuttling back and forth between the two parties a “feeble effort” toward bringing lasting peace to the Middle East.

He also encouraged President Barack Obama’s White House to take a more balanced position in its relations with Israel.

“There’s no doubt that in general the United States government has been much more attuned to the sensitivities of the Israelis and has yielded excessively to the circumstances in the Holy Land as Israel has confiscated several lands within Palestine,” Carter said at the opening of a two-day conference on US-Arab relations.

Jimmy, peace off.

7:45PM: More media bias: It’s as if the caption writer here thought “Screw it, I am not going to even pretend.”

Palestinian children watch a Mickey Mouse look-alike who urges children to support armed resistance against Israel, at Al-Aqsa TV in Gaza May 13, 2007. . REUTERS/Suhaib Salem

Armed resistance?

7:30PM: Those twits over at CNN have allowed antisemitic tweets to air to the public (hat tip: Marty Roberts).

5:44PM: Introducing Joe Biden: US Vice President and aspiring comedian.

“I just got back from five days in the Middle East,” Biden said. “I love to travel, but it’s great to be back to a place where a boom in housing construction is actually a good thing,” he said.

That’s really funny, especially to those who have lost their homes and may stand to lose their homes in future thanks to the US pressure on Israel.

You can see Biden’s entire “routine” here:

4:48PM: Ma’an News reports that sonic booms were heard over Gaza following today’s fatal rocket attack.

Sonic blasts over Gaza after projectile kills Thai worker

No strikes or injuries were reported after Gaza residents reported hearing what sounded like a dozen explosions across the Strip on Thursday, hours after the death of a Thai worker hit by projectile fire.

Notice the headline, which implies the projectile is responsible for the man’s death, instead of those who fired it.

Meanwhile, according to the same report, Fatah’s own Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack, and not an Al Qaeda affiliated group as was reported by other media outlets.

4:38PM: Israel has promised a strong response after the rocket attack earlier today.

Smuggling tunnels, watch out.

1:18PM: BREAKING NEWS:Palestinian terrorists have killed a 30-year-old man after firing a Qassam rocket at Moshav Netiv Ha’asara in the Ashkelon Coast Regional Council.

The man was a Thai foreign worker, and this was the third rocket to be fired into Israel in the last 24 hours.

The al-Qaeda affiliated Ansar al-Suna Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.

1:00PM: Media bias: It is clear from the plethora of “palestinian rage day” photos that the foreign press photographers are making a concerted effort to point out the young age of the protesters by referring to them as “youth” – such as here, here, and here (and even when their age may not be clear like here).

Here’s the latest example of this:

Young Palestinian stone-throwers run for cover as Israeli troops fire tear gas to disperse protesters in Hebron in the occupied West Bank. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Russia Thursday for crucial talks on clinching a new nuclear disarmament treaty between the Cold War foes and smoothing tensions in the Middle East. (AFP/Hazem Bader)

It seems clear to me they are mentioning this to reinforce the “David vs Goliath” narrative. After all, the Israeli troops could also be described as “young,” given they are usually 18-20 years of age. Besides, the foreign press has a history of doing this even when it’s a real stretch.

Another point: the caption writer describes them as “Young Palestinian stone-throwers,” even though the flames in the photo itself, as well as events shown in other photos, indicates their projectiles of choice extend beyond the earthen variety.

9:20AM: Jeffrey Goldberg argues that Obama is not trying to destroy the US-Israel relationship.

So what is the goal? The goal is force a rupture in the governing coalition that will make it necessary for Netanyahu to take into his government Livni’s centrist Kadima Party (he has already tried to do this, but too much on his terms) and form a broad, 68-seat majority in Knesset that does not have to rely on gangsters, messianists and medievalists for votes. It’s up to Livni, of course, to recognize that it is in Israel’s best interests to join a government with Netanyahu and Barak, and I, for one, hope she puts the interests of Israel ahead of her own ambitions.

Obama knows that this sort of stable, centrist coalition is the key to success. He would rather, I understand, not have to deal with Netanyahu at all — people near the President say that, for one thing, Obama doesn’t think that Netanyahu is very bright, and there is no chemistry at all between the two men — but he’d rather have a Netanyahu who is being pressured from his left than a Netanyahu who is being pressured from the right.

Now compare this to Obama’s approach to last year’s violence against Iranian protesters.

“It is not productive, given the history of US and Iranian relations to be seen as meddling in Iranian elections,” he said.

But when it comes to Israel, it’s meddle away!

By the way, Obama is dead wrong if he thinks Netanyahu is not bright.

6:05AM: Hamas has threatened a religious war.

Ismail Haniyeh, prime minister of the Gaza-based government, threatened Tuesday that a religious war will enflame Israel, calling for an Arab-Palestinian campaign to stand with Jerusalem.

Speaking at a conference organized by his government in Gaza City, Haniyeh said that “what is happening now exposes the reality of Jerusalem’s future and the Jews’ plans.”

Notice how once again, a Hamashole leader has referred to “Jews”, not “Zionists.”

Meanwhile, if you are surprised by any of this, read the Hamas Charter. It’s all there.

5:56AM: Any fears of a similar crisis in Israel-Australia relations following passportgate (doesn’t that seem like a lifetime ago given all the current focus on the new crisis?) can be put to rest. Or at least be put to the side for now.

Via the Australian Jewish News:

FEARS of a diplomatic fallout over the forged passport affair don’t seem to have hampered trade between Israel and Australia.

Israeli company Elbit Systems, which supplies the Israel Defence Forces, was this week granted the $349 million contract to supply command, control and communications systems to the Australian Army.

Australian Minister for Defence Personnel Greg Combet said the deal is a big step forward for the Australian Defence Forces (ADF).

“The introduction of this new capability will increase the ADF’s battle space awareness, automate combat messaging and assist in the successful conduct of operations,” Combet said.

Not only is the relationship a trade one, but some of the contract will be completed in Australia.

“Systems integration testing will be performed in Melbourne, while vehicle integration into over 1000 army vehicles will occur in Brisbane,” Combet said.

The new system will provide new technology in battle to more than 1500 Australian soldiers and it will also be rolled out in the Royal Australian Air Force.

Elbit CEO Joseph Ackerman said the order would be completed over the next three years.

“Australia is a very important market for Elbit Systems, and we are extremely proud to be selected by the Department of Defence for this major program,” Ackerman said.

5:50AM: Yossi Klein Halevi looks at the crisis. Or as President Obama prefers to call it, a “disagreement” between friends.

Excerpt:

Why, then, the outbreak of violence now? Why Hamas’s “day of rage” over Jerusalem and the Palestinian Authority’s call to gather on the Temple Mount to “save” the Dome of the Rock from non-existent plans to build the Third Temple? Why the sudden outrage over rebuilding a synagogue, destroyed by the Jordanians in 1948, in the Old City’s Jewish Quarter, when dozens of synagogues and yeshivas have been built in the quarter without incident?

The answer lies not in Jerusalem but in Washington. By placing the issue of building in Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem at the center of the peace process, President Obama has inadvertently challenged the Palestinians to do no less.

Astonishingly, Obama is repeating the key tactical mistake of his failed efforts to restart Middle East peace talks over the last year. Though Obama’s insistence on a settlement freeze to help restart negotiations was legitimate, he went a step too far by including building in East Jerusalem. Every Israeli government over the last four decades has built in the Jewish neighborhoods of East Jerusalem; no government, let alone one headed by the Likud, could possibly agree to a freeze there. Obama made resumption of negotiations hostage to a demand that could not be met. The result was that Palestinian leaders were forced to adjust their demands accordingly.

Obama is directly responsible for one of the most absurd turns in the history of Middle East negotiations. Though Palestinian leaders negotiated with Israeli governments that built extensively in the West Bank, they now refused to sit down with the first Israeli government to actually agree to a suspension of building. Obama’s demand for a building freeze in Jerusalem led to a freeze in negotiations.

Finally, after intensive efforts, the administration produced the pathetic achievement of “proximity talks”—setting Palestinian-Israeli negotiations back a generation, to the time when Palestinian leaders refused to sit at the same table with Israelis.

******************************************************************************************

Want to learn how to shoot with top Israeli anti-terror experts? Click here for more details.

******************************************************************************************

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.

And guess what? They included one who had recently been released from an Israeli prison and one who agreed to lay down his arms in exchange for Israel’s promise not to hunt him down.

Deal over, scumbags.

Israeli soldiers shot and killed three Palestinians of President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah movement on Saturday in the West Bank city of Nablus, medical officials and sources with the group said.

The shootings came two days after Meir Avshalom Hai was killed in a roadside ambush in the West Bank, land Israel captured in a 1967 war that Palestinians seek for a state.

The army said the three gunmen had carried out the attack on Hai.

Central Command chief Maj.-Gen. Avi Mizrahi said, “The IDF and the Shin Bet will act with resolve against all those looking to harm the State of Israel’s citizens and security forces. We will not rest until we settle the score with those involved in last week’s deadly attack.”

The al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades of Fatah was one of two Palestinian militant groups that claimed responsibility for what was the first fatal shooting of an Israeli in an attack by militants in the territory in eight months.

Medics said soldiers entered the casbah of Nablus as well as the Ras al-Ayin region at around 4 am on Saturday. Then soldiers surrounded the homes of the Palestinians before shooting and killing them.

The Al-Aqsa Brigades gunmen who were killed were identified as Raghsan Abu Sharah (40), Anan Sabah (36), and Raed a-Sarkaji (40), who was recently released from an Israeli prison after seven years. Sources said a-Sucharji’s wife had been injured during the shootings.

The three gunmen were well-known Tanzim figures. Sabah was included in the amnesty agreement with Israel, in which Fatah gunmen agreed to lay down their arms in exchange for Israel’s promise not to hunt them down.

What great timing; a stark reminder as to why Israel should not be releasing terrorists. In fact, Israel should not be capturing them alive if you ask me.

Meanwhile, Mahmoud Abbas issued a condemnation.

Clue: Not of the terrorists who carried out the murder and who are affiliated with his Fatah party.

An aide to Palestinian President Abbas condemned Israel’s killing of six Palestinians (the three terrorists, plus three other palestinians trying to infiltrate into Israel – ed) on Saturday, accusing the Jewish state of escalating the violence.

Nabil Abu Rdainah said, “This grave Israeli escalation shows Israel is not interested in peace and is trying to explode the situation.”

“Israel is torpedoing international and American efforts to restart peace talks,” which stalled a year ago, Rdainah said.

And let’s not forget to mention that the PA were represented at the funeral.

The funeral procession, attended by Palestinian Authority officials, was accompanied by many calls for retaliation for the IDF operation and promises to avenge the deaths.

Meanwhile, the Associated Press have run the story with their usual aversion to the word “terrorist.”

Heck, they couldn’t even use “militant.”

Palestinians take the body of Anan Subeh, a Fatah activist to an ambulance who was killed during an Israeli army operation in the West Bank city of Nablus, Palestine, Saturday, Dec. 26, 2009. Palestinian officials say Israeli troops have killed three activists of the Fatah movement of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Saturday’s operation in Nablus’ old city came two days after Palestinian gunmen killed an Israeli in a West Bank ambush. (AP Photo/Nasser Ishtayeh)

As if he was killed while handing out fliers.

Update: A number of “fails”:

FAIL #1: Despite the facts 1) the terrorists were affiliated with the PA 2) The PA condemned Israel for killing them and 3) PA representatives attended the funerals, sources in the IDF lauded the Palestinian security establishment for its conduct following the terror attack, calling it “determined and impressive.”

The sources further noted that some 120 suspects have been detained by the Palestinian security establishment since the attack on Thursday, in an attempt to apprehend the responsible terrorist cell. The fourth suspect reportedly turned himself in to the authorities prior to the Saturday military operation.

“They acted with determination, but alongside that we have the responsibility to act against whoever executed the attack and settle the score with them,” said a senior officer with the Central Command.

FAIL #2: “Human rights” group B’Tselem has accused the IDF of executing the terrorists while they were unarmed.

According to B’Tselem, in two of the three cases the troops behaved as if they were preparing for an execution, not an arrest. Relatives and eyewitnesses told B’Tselem that the two were unarmed and did not attempt to flee, and that the soldiers weren’t trying to stop them, but rather shot them from close range once their identity was revealed. There were no witnesses to the shooting of the third man.

FAIL #3: One of the terrorists used his wife as a human shield.

The two refused to leave their houses, and continued hiding inside even after IDF forces used different methods including shots in the air in order to make the two surrender. Abu Sharah sent his wife out to face the soldiers, but did not agree to step out himself.