REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

Washington DC, June 5, 2011. The Reform Party of Syria has learned today, from intelligence sources close to the Assad regime in Lebanon, that Syrians storming through the Golan Height next to the Quneitra crossing are Syrian farmers who have migrated in recent years from the drought-stricken northeast Syria to the south. Estimates put the number at 250,000 impoverished migrants.

Information received cite the regime has paid hundreds of these farmers $1,000 each to show-up and $10,000 to their families should any of them succumb to Israeli fire. In Syria, an average salary is about $200 a month and to these impoverished farmers, such a one-time sum can keep them economically afloat for six months.

Such tactic was used in the past by another defunct Ba’ath Party in Iraq, under Saddam Hussein, to pay Intifada-driven Palestinians the sum of $25,000 to their next-of-kin should they die throwing stones. That measure had a worldwide impact and it seems the Assad regime is using the same play from a twin playbook.

It is obvious, with this action, Assad wants to divert the attention of the world away from his own massacres and brutality that resulted in some 70 deaths yesterday and about 30 today in Jisr al-Shoghour. RPS expects, on the basis of today’s success, for these operations of incursions to multiply in scope in the near future for two reasons: 1) Divert the attention away from Assad’s barbarism and savageries, and 2) Stand tall again in the eyes of the regime’s supporters whose morale has taken quite a beating the last 3 months because of the violence perpetrated by Assad against unarmed civilians.

On this day of Naksa, RPS strongly believes in ownership and title of its Golan Heights. But unlike a regime bred on the use of violence, the Syrian people, demonstrating how peaceful they are as they endure one massacre after another, believe in peaceful negotiations to repatriate our lands. If Assad really wanted the Golan Heights, he would walk the same peaceful path Anwar Sadat walked long before him. But then, if he does, how can he justify his own existence as the “Commandant de la Résistance”. For Assad, winning through peace means also losing the war against his own people.

Meanwhile, Syrian TV has claimed 14 dead and 225 injured. The IDF cannot confirm fatality numbers but it would seem some Syrians may be in line for a Darwin Award.

Two armed men were identified near the border fence in Kunetra, on the Syrian side of the border, the IDF Spokesman told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday afternoon.

There was no further official information about the identity of the gunmen, or their proximity to the border but a security official suggested that the men could be Syrian police or army forces

Prior to spotting the armed men, according to the IDF spokesperson, around 150 people managed to cross to the Syrian side of the fence, entering a mined zone between the two fences in the Majdal Shams area.

“We issued warnings for them to stop advancing. When they continued, we fired warning shots in the air,” an IDF spokeswoman told The Jerusalem Post.

When the demonstrators continued toward the Israeli fence, they said, shots were fired at their lower bodies. “We know of 12 injuries,” she added.

A second demonstration was observed on the Syrian border in Kunetra, where 200 to 300 demonstrators amassed. Four land mines exploded in the area after Syrian rioters threw Molotov cocktails at IDF forces. The cocktails exploded in a field, starting a fire which then set off the mines on the Syrian side of the border. The IDF was unaware of the number of casualties caused by the explosions. Channel 2 reported that the IDF arrested three Syrian infiltrators attempting to cross the border into Israel at Kunetra.

In secret negotiations with Iran, Argentina has offered to “forget” the bombings of the Israeli embassy and the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, in 1992 and 1994, respectively, in exchange for improved relations between the two countries.

According to the Argentine weekly Perfil, which broke the story yesterday, Foreign Minister Hector Timerman is personally involved in the talks. The Argentinean Foreign Ministry has so far declined comment.

For his report, the veteran investigative reporter Pepe Eliaschev relied on a classified document that indicated the Argentinean government “would be ready to freeze the investigations of terrorist bombings attributed to Iran in 1992 and 1994, in exchange for renewing and improving trade relations between the countries, which at their height reached $ 1.2 billion a year.”

According to the article, Timerman made the offer via Syrian President Bashar Asad and Foreign Minister, Walid Moallem, who were brought in as mediators.

The three met in Syria on January 23, and the details of the conversation were conveyed to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Timerman, Argentina’s first Jewish foreign minister, addressed the annual commemoration on March 17 of the embassy bombing.

“I stand here as a representative of the Argentinean government, determined to do justice in this matter,” Timerman told the crowd.

He also reminded his audience in her speech to the UN General Assembly in September, President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner called on Tehran to agree to allow Iranian citizens accused of involvement in the attack to be brought to justice in a third country.

In the 1992 embassy bombing, 29 people were killed and 242 were injured. In the bombing at the AMIA Jewish community center, two years later, 85 people were killed and more than 300 were injured.

Allowing in Nazi war criminals, and now this. Argentina just seems to be one of those countries constantly on the wrong side of history.

Syria’s president, who has resisted calls for political freedoms and jailed critics of his regime, said in an interview published Monday that his nation is immune from the kind of unrest roiling Tunisia and Egypt.

In a rare interview, Bashar Assad was quoted in the Wall Street Journal as acknowledging that the toppling of Tunisia’s longtime ruler and the protesters that have left Hosni Mubarak’s government teetering in Egypt signaled a “new era” in the Middle East.

But he said Syria, which has gradually shed its socialist past in favor of the free market in recent years, was insulated from the upheaval because he understood his people’s needs and has united them in common cause against Israel.

Tuesday:

Opposition movements in Syria are using social networking sites to mobilize for mass protests this weekend against the rule of President Bashar Al-Assad, taking inspiration from Egypt and Tunisia, in the latest sign of how dissent is spreading through the region.

Protest groups are organizing on social networking websites Facebook and Twitter, with several pages calling for “day of rage” protests in the capital Damascus, the northern city of Aleppo, and other regions on Friday and Saturday. It is unclear how many people will attend the protests but one of the groups–Syrian Revolution 2011–has gathered 8,958 members, although a significant amount are likely outside Syria.

Like Egypt and Tunisia, Syria suffers from unemployment, poverty and corruption, although the one-party political system and government-controlled media widely inherited by President Assad from his late father Hafez al-Assad in 1999 is seen by many as more rigid.

That has stoked speculation in Western capitals over whether Syria could also face unrest, with some diplomats and analysts considering it could serve as a barometer for the direction of the broader Middle East.

Meanwhile, if some of the photos at the Facebook group The Syrian Revolution 2011 express the sentiment of a significant number of Syrians, there are some rocky times ahead for the Dorktator.

Israelis have elected an extremist government that will not lead to peace, and it is not clear whether the society will change that reality. This, at least, is the view from Damascus articulated by Syrian President Bashar Assad in a recent interview with Kai Diekmann, editor-in-chief of the German daily Bild.

In the world according to Assad, the “social fabric” in the Arab world is “always peaceful,” and occupation, first the British, French and now Israeli — is why there is no peace in the region; Iran is “not seeking any nuclear weapons;” and it is misplaced for the West to worry about one woman sentence to death for adultery in Iran, while “you forget about half a million victims in Iraq.”

This coming from a man who just days ago met with Samir Kuntar, a man whose contribution to “peace” was murdering a father in front of his 4-year-daughter and then fatally smashing her skull with a rifle butt.

"Nice to see you again, old friend. Now let's discuss ways we can bring peace to the region, and live side-by-side with our Israeli neighbors!"

The IDF is preparing for the forceful interdiction of a Libyan sponsored ship allegedly headed for the Gaza Strip, despite lingering criticism over the handling of the interception of a Gaza-bound flotilla on May 31 in which nine people were killed, military sources told Haaretz yesterday.

An internal military probe into the incident released yesterday found only professional mistakes in planning and carrying out the operation against the Mavi Marmara.

The Libyan ship could come within range of the Gaza-shore tonight, but at this stage it is still unclear whether its captain will opt to head for the Sinai port of El Arish, where it will instead aim for Gaza. In its official log the ship has El Arish as its destination.

Here’s hoping it does not come to this, but if it does, we learn from our mistakes from last time.

Updates (Israel time; most recent at top)

11:42PM: Is it just me, or does Syrian dorktator Bashar Assad look dorkier than ever?

10:55PM: A majority of 34 members of the Knesset has voted in favor of revoking MK Hanin Zoabi’s privileges,  due to her participation in the Gaza aid flotilla in May, including invalidating her diplomatic passport and revoking her right to receive funding for legal expenses.

10:40PM: Google.com has the following logo to commemorate the birthday of Israeli songwriter Naomi Shemer, who passed away 6 years ago.

At least, this is what I see when I type in www.google.com. Do my overseas readers also see this?

8:28PM: The caption of the Libyan ship says he plans to sail to el-Arish, and not Gaza.

7:10PM: Despite earlier indicating they would sail to the Egyptian port of el-Arish and transfer aid by ground to Gaza if Israel would not allow it to sail directly there, the Libyan ship organizers are now refusing to alter their destination and will steam on for Gaza.

5:08PM: Very cool.

An Israeli company called Nanoflight is currently developing a special paint that makes drones, missiles, or war craft simply disappear. Or, to be more precise, they become very difficult to detect.

The critical stage in developing the paint, which was developed in a nanotechnology lab, has recently concluded, and a successful test run was conducted this week. For the test run, a thin layer of the material was painted on dummy missiles, and radar waves aimed at them had a difficult time registering them.

The paint particles don’t make the missile’s detection on the radar disappear completely, but make it exceedingly difficult to positively identify the object as a missile. In the future, this development will allow any missile or jet significantly decreased radar detection.

—-

How does it work? In order to locate objects, the radar transmitter sends out electromagnetic waves. When these waves hit an object, they are scattered in all directions, with some of them being bounced back to the radar itself. Regular signal reception indicates the existence of an object.

The nanotechnology developed envelopes the object, absorbs the radio waves emitted by the radar, and releases them as heat energy scattered in space. In doing so, the material disguises the object, making it difficult to identify by radar.

3:36PM: A person on the Libyan ship has claimed Israel sent a threat that it will dispatch Navy soldiers to intercept the ship if it does not change its route, and said the Navy will block its entry to Gaza and will allow it to dock in Ashdod.

3:24PM: According to the IDF Spokesperson, the Israeli Navy has begun the process of questioning the Libyan ship.

3:20PM: You can follow the progress of the Libyan ship here.

3:08PM: Israel has reportedly made radio contact with the Libya-sponsored Gaza ship.

12:28PM: Former Lebanese Minister Wiam Wahhab likes the Germans.

[evil laugh warning]

Great neighborhood we live in.

10:55AM: Can you guess the mystery object?

Is it:

(a) The world’s tastiest chocolate

(b) A clay fragment found in excavations outside Jerusalem’s Old City walls beneath a 10th Century BC tower and containing the oldest written document ever found in Jerusalem.

(c) Something extracted from the bowels of this man

And the answer is…

as if you didn’t already know.

10:25AM: The Israeli Foreign Ministry has advised the defense establishment to wait until the Libyan aid ship approaches or enters the Gaza’s strip’s territorial waters before making any attempt to stop it.

The ministry advised that unofficial statements by the ship’s crew indicating that they do intend to reach Gaza might not be legally sufficient to justify stopping the ship at sea.

“We recommend that any enforcement be carried out only if the blockade is actually breached or at least at maximum proximity to the closure zone, so as to create a clearly justified basis for the action. As will be recalled, we recommended [in the Turkish flotilla] that action be taken as close as possible to the blockade zone. It was explained that this was operationally impossible, however certainly in this case, when there is only one ship, this is possible.”

6:24AM: CNN reports on a training program in Israel that aims to minimize civilian casualties.

“I am very concerned at the escalation of violence and loss of life yesterday in the vicinity of the Gaza border,” Ban told a news conference on the sidelines of an Arab League summit in the Libyan town of Sirte.

“I reiterate my appeals made during my recent visit for maximum restraint and an end to all violence, in particular at this critical time when we are engaged in efforts to revive peace talks.”

His condemnation was not available for comment.

Updates (Israel time; most recent at top)

8:25PM: Jimmy Carter, still a jerk.

8:06PM: They might look like buffoons, but there’s nothing funny about Syrian Dorktator Bashar Assad and Libyan leader Moammar Ghaddafi’s pressuring the PA to abandon any pretense of peace talks and go for the terrorism option.

AP

Syria and Libya teamed up Sunday to pressure the Palestinian leader to quit peace talks with Israel and return to violence, delegates to an Arab leadership summit said.

—-

Syrian President Bashar Assad urged Abbas to withdraw from a US-supported peace plan and resume armed resistance to Israel, according to two delegates who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

They said Assad also urged Arab countries to halt any contacts with Israel, though only Egypt and Jordan have peace deals with the Jewish state.

“The price of resistance is not higher than the price of peace,” one delegate quoted Assad as telling Abbas.

Libyan leader and summit host Moammar Ghaddafi warned that his nation may withdraw support for an initiative launched at a 2002 Arab League summit in Beirut calling for an exchange of land for peace with Israel, the delegates said.

4:38PM: White House senior adviser David Axelrod has rejected claims that Obama snubbed Bibi.

US President Barack Obama did not give Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu  the cold shoulder when they met in the White House last week, a top Obama aid said on Sunday.

Obama met the Israeli leader in the White House on Tuesday but did not dine with his visitor and, by keeping the talks closed to the media, also denied Netanyahu the courtesy of a photo-opportunity with the president.

This raised questions in blogs and at White House news briefings that it was a deliberately calibrated gesture by the administration to communicate its displeasure with Netanyahu over Jewish housing construction in east Jerusalem, which have stalled peace negotiations with the Palestinians in the form of US-mediated indirect talks.

“This was a working meeting among friends. And so there was no snub intended,” White House senior adviser David Axelrod told CNN’s State of the Union news program.

Axelrod noted that the two leaders had met in private for two hours and had better things to do with their time than worry about protocol.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said prior to the leaders’ meeting that Israeli construction in east Jerusalem and the disputed West Bank undermines mutual trust.

Axelrod told CNN: “This was not about formalities. This was not about a ceremonial meeting. This was a working meeting. We have a deep, abiding interest in Israel’s security. And we believe the peace process is essential to that. And we are doing everything we can to move that process forward.”

Notice how the White House’s language mirrors Netanyahu’s (see 1:55PM update): it is all about working meetings/disagreements between friends. Question is: do both parties really believe this, or did they merely agree to portray it this way?

2:00PM: PA terrorist Suhil Koka has regrets over the killing of two IDF soldiers in 2005.

“If I regret anything, it is that I only killed two soldiers and not more.”

A military court found Suhil Koka guilty of murder last week and handed down two life sentences in prison plus another 30 years.

Peace!

1:55PM: Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has distanced himself from severe criticism leveled at US President Barack Obama.

Speaking at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu stressed that the remarks quoted in Yediot Aharonot saying that Obama was a “tragedy” for Israel, were “unacceptable” to him and to everyone working on his behalf.

“There are disagreements between us and the Americans, but these are disagreements between friends,” he said.

9:02AM: Either this J Street poll is dodgy, or the majority of American Jews are even schmeckier than I thought.

6:15AM: Take that, pirates!

Crew on board a ship belonging to Israeli shipping company ZIM foiled an attempted hijacking off Somalia on Saturday, Israel Radio reported.

The ship Africa Star was on route from Mombasa in Kenya to Djibouti when pirates attacked as it sailed close to the Somali coast.

Two boats approached the ship and opened fire but were driven off following a gun battle with Israel security guards.
Advertisement

This is the second time the Africa Star has been attacked in a week.

On Wednesday the ship was attacked close to the site of Saturday’s incident, but then too pirates were prevented from boarding the vessel.

Earlier this week pirates stormed a ship carrying Israeli cargo from the Ashdod to Thailand in the Indian Ocean.

No Israelis on board the MV Frigia, which was sailing under a Maltese flag.

The Turkish-owned vessel was carrying between 20,000 to 40,000 tons of potash for Israeli chemicals producer ICL – valued at some $11 million – when it was seized.

Piracy has become increasingly common in recent years off the coast of eastern Africa. Insurance costs for ships have multiplied 20 times because of this threat.

In recent weeks, NATO and EU naval forces have prevented 17 pirate attacks in the area off the coast of Somalia

Meanwhile, Egyptian security personnel have also repelled some Africans.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Updates (Israel time; most recent at top)

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

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

Hamas’ response is entirely predictable.

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

8:10PM: Dork of the day:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yeah, why not.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“We discussed today the ways to bring the peace process out of the deadlock that it has reached … because of the absence of a serious Israeli partner who aims to achieve peace,” he told a joint news conference with Erdogan.

“When Israel says it wants negotiations without conditions it means it wants negotiations with no foundation. This is like having a building with no foundation, then it’s very easy to be brought down and they want to bring down the peace process,” he said.

I’d venture to say that Assad himself is way more interested in constructing metaphors than achieving peace. He’s also rather clueless as to the meaning of the word “negotiation.”

Updates (Israel time; most recent at top)

10:46PM: Only last week, Israel removed a road block on the very road where Meir Hai was shot dead today.

10:28PM: Photo-caption combination of the day:

Abu Ubaida, spokesman for Hamas’s armed wing, the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, arrives for an interview in Gaza December 23, 2009. As an Israeli drone flew overhead, Ubaida said the Islamist group would not shirk from battle with Israel, which carried out a powerful Gaza offensive a year ago. Picture taken December 23, 2009. REUTERS/Ismail Zaydah

Tough words from a guy wearing a mask and hiding under the cover of trees.

No shirking from battle? Against woodpeckers, perhaps.

9:50PM: More on terror victim Meir Chai:

The spokesperson said that Chai, the father of seven children between the ages of eight months and 18 years, was a very well-liked and respected man who contributed a great deal to the community. He said that residents “are very shocked, hurt, and angry.”

Chai was known locally for helping teach torah studies to local students in Shavei Shomron and reportedly showed special kindness towards children.

8:12PM: The victim of today’s terror attack was Rabbi Meir Chai, who was either 30+, 40, or 45, depending on which news outlet you want to believe.

6:10PM: What or who are these palestinian policemen looking for?

Palestinian police officers perform a security check inside the Church of Nativity, traditionally believed by Christians to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, Thursday, Dec. 24, 2009. (AP Photo/ Nasser Shiyoukhi)

a) Arafat’s billions

b) Naqba dwarf

5:42PM: An group called the Imad Mughniya Group and proclaiming affiliation to Fatah’s Al-Aqsa Brigades (Fatah as in our “peace partners”) claimed responsibility for the shooting.

5:40PM: The victim was a 45-year-old father of seven.

Meanwhile, MK Michael Ben Ari said in response to the attack:

“The path of capitulation, the opening of arteries, the [settlement] freeze and the release of [Palestinian] prisoners that [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu has brought down upon us signals to terrorists that Jewish blood is negligible. The terrorist probably thinks that he will be released in the next exchange.”

5:32PM: BREAKING NEWS: An Israeli man has been shot dead in an apparent terror attack in the West Bank while driving along Route 57, between Shavei Shomron and Einav. The terrorists fled the scene.

5:00PM: Introducing our latest weapon: Zionist Death Pony.^TM

This was a pursuit for which no policeman was prepared: Two inspectors, riot police, a police patrol car and one civilian ? all of them participated on Wednesday in the hunt for a pony that galloped across the central city of Holon.

On Wednesday morning, municipal inspectors received a report that a pony was galloping along the central city’s Dov Hoz Boulevard.

Two inspectors rushed to the scene and saw the animal galloping against the traffic toward Sokolov street, at which point officers from the Israel Police Yassam special forces unit also gave chase, riding mopeds. A few minutes later, the ensemble was joined by a police patrol car, which had been waiting at the corner of Sokolov street and Shenkar street.

The pony, unimpressed by the massive chase, continued to gallop through the streets, until another inspector, equipped with a rope, joined the crowd and successfully roped the pony and subdued him.

The pony was taken to the city veterinary department.

Dr. Uri Bartman, the city veterinarian, said the animal in question was a “Jewish pony” ? circumcised and sterilized.

Of course, this is not the first time one of our weapons of horse destruction has gotten away and caused havoc.

4:46PM: Oil!!

4:35PM: Hamas say they are ready to fight us. If a battle is..ehhh..imposed on them.

“We do not wish for war. We wish for calm and peace for our people,” Abu Ubaida, Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades spokesman told Reuters.

“But if any battle is imposed on us, we are ready with all our manpower and equipment to confront any Zionist war, any crime and any attack regardless of scale,” he added.

Israel has said the brigades, which some observers estimate have 25,000 fighters, have been seeking with Syrian and Iranian help to upgrade their rocket capabilities and put the Israeli heartland and the commercial capital of Tel Aviv within range.

Yep. Those peaceloving Hamasniks don’t wish for war.

Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it” (The Martyr, Imam Hassan al-Banna, of blessed memory).

3:52PM: From the IDF:

Following explosions heard on road 443 on 17.12.09, IDF and border patrol forces searched the area of the village Bir Neballah, south of Ramallah. During the searches, the forces uncovered a roadside bomb, attached to the bomb was a note with instructions on how to use the device in order to cause maximum damage and a message attributing it to a Palestinian terrorist unit. Upon discovery, the device was detonated in a controlled manner by the bomb squad.

3:46PM: Israeli President Shimon Peres wishes “all of us” a happy and merry Christmas.

1:22PM: Two can play this game.

More than a dozen Israeli victims of Palestinian rocket attacks have petitioned a court in Belgium to bring Hamas leaders to trial for committing war crimes against them during last year’s war in the Gaza Strip.

The 15 Israelis, who also hold Belgian citizenship, were all either wounded, sustained damage to their homes, or lost a relative in an attack from Gaza during Operation Cast Lead.

In an unprecedented lawsuit submitted by a pro-Israel group in Europe, the plaintiffs have asked the court to open a judicial probe against 10 Hamas military and political leaders and issue arrest warrants if necessary.

“The request for arrest warrants was submitted after six months of legal preparation and is based on strict evidence which ties Hamas leaders to terror attacks in which Belgium citizens ware harmed,” the plaintiffs’ attorney, Roel Coveliers told AFP on Thursday.

The complaint cites reports from international human rights groups, as well as the Goldstone Commission’s damning report on the war, which accuses both Israel and Hamas of war crimes during the three-week conflict.

“The Goldstone report says, among other things, that the rocket attacks by Hamas constitute a violation of international humanitarian law, so as a member of the United Nations, I don’t believe Belgium will ignore the complaint,” Coveliers added.

Syria-based Hamas political leader Khaled Meshal, Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, strongman Mahmoud Zahar and the heads of the group’s armed wing Ahmed Jaabari and Mohammed Def have all been targeted in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit comes amid a slew of arrest warrants being issued in Europe against Israeli leaders. Most recently, opposition leader and Kadima Chairwoman Tzipi Livni canceled a trip to the United Kingdom after learning that a warrant had been issued against here there.

10:15AM: Honest Reporting has obtained Swedish blood libel “journalist” Donald Bostrom’s letter to Santa:

Dear Santa,

Please send me hard evidence that the IDF stole organs from Palestinian kids. I don’t have any, and Jewish bloggers are still breathing down my neck. Notwithstanding this Dishonest Reporting award, I still consider myself “nice.”

Sir, let me remind you of your ties to the 2001 Alder Hey scandal. It’s very curious that all the improperly harvested organs came from British kids on your “Designated Naughty Children” list.

It would be a real tragedy to see your image equated with the Israeli army amid calls for an international investigation, especially right before Christmas.

I look forward to your reply.

seasons greetings,

Donald Bostrom

6:08AM: I’m guessing the moonbats who took this next video and put it on YouTube were clueless as to what their “friends” were shouting out.

Jewlicious explains:

This was taken this past Friday in Sheikh Jarrah. Every Friday, protesters have been gathering there lately to protest the expulsion last August of two families from their apartments after the Israel Supreme Court ruled that the land upon which their homes were built belonged to the Sephardi Jewish community. The evacuated houses were built in the 1950s by the UNWRA in order to house Arab refugees who had fled from West Jerusalem during the 1948 war. In 1967, when Israel captured east Jerusalem from Jordan and reunited the city, the Palestinian families were permitted to stay on as tenants. Disputing the validity of the ownership of the land, they stopped paying rent. This led to the events that preceded the protests. As you can see, the bulk of the protesters are Jewish and Israeli. What really stood out though was at around 3:19 of the video. One of the middle aged Palestinian women started chanting what sounds like the following: “Falasteene Bladna, al-Yahud klabna” – that would translate into “Palestine is our country! The Jews are our dogs!” – which is kind of odd – I mean the people walking by her in handcuffs were the aforementioned “Jew Dogs” who had been arrested whilst protesting in favor of the Palestinians. Maybe that’s why she was shushed? I mean am I hearing this right?

Sheikh Jarrah is located on the road to Mount Scopus. In 1948, during the War of Independence, local Arabs butchered like dogs 78 doctors, nurses and others who were riding in a convoy on that road on their way to Hadassah hospital. Maybe old habits die hard?

Apparently, Jews are dogs, as well as sons of monkeys and pigs. It looks like we are not only taking over the banks, but also the animal kingdom (hat tip: Elder of Ziyon).

5:48AM: Some of the wives of palestinian terrorists that Israel insists be deported instead of returning to the West Bank have indicated to Ma’an News that deportation would be accepted.

“My husband’s position is that he wants to stay in the country,” Abla told Ma’an, “but under the worst circumstance he would accept deportation to Gaza.”

—-

Umm Ahmad, 48, is the wife of Nafeth Herrez, Gaza’s longest serving prisoner in Israel.

—-

“Even if he is deported if would be better than jail,” she said, adding that both Yasser Arafat and Ahmad Yasin were deported from their homelands before they returned.

Meanwhile, Ha’aretz reports that Hamas is expected to respond favorably to Israel’s offer, but will demand the number of expelled prisoners be reduced.

More than a dozen Israeli victims of Palestinian rocket attacks have petitioned a court in Belgium to bring Hamas leaders to trial for committing war crimes against them during last year’s war in the Gaza Strip.

The 15 Israelis, who also hold Belgian citizenship, were all either wounded, sustained damage to their homes, or lost a relative in an attack from Gaza during Operation Cast Lead.

In an unprecedented lawsuit submitted by a pro-Israel group in Europe, the plaintiffs have asked the court to open a judicial probe against 10 Hamas military and political leaders and issue arrest warrants if necessary.

	Advertisement

“The request for arrest warrants was submitted after six months of legal preparation and is based on strict evidence which ties Hamas leaders to terror attacks in which Belgium citizens ware harmed,” the plaintiffs’ attorney, Roel Coveliers told AFP on Thursday.

The complaint cites reports from international human rights groups, as well as the Goldstone Commission’s damning report on the war, which accuses both Israel and Hamas of war crimes during the three-week conflict.

“The Goldstone report says, among other things, that the rocket attacks by Hamas constitute a violation of international humanitarian law, so as a member of the United Nations, I don’t believe Belgium will ignore the complaint,” Coveliers added.

Syria-based Hamas political leader Khaled Meshal, Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, strongman Mahmoud Zahar and the heads of the group’s armed wing Ahmed Jaabari and Mohammed Def have all been targeted in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit comes amid a slew of arrest warrants being issued in Europe against Israeli leaders. Most recently, opposition leader and Kadima Chairwoman Tzipi Livni canceled a trip to the United Kingdom after learning that a warrant had been issued against here there.

The series of attacks on Israeli targets in Turkey planned by Hezbollah, as reported in the Turkish media, which was foiled by Turkish security forces two months ago, is likely to have caused the tension between Israel and Hezbollah along the Lebanon border this past summer and fall.

Yep. That would do it.

Meanwhile, Lebanese Prime Minister Sa’ad Hariri met with Syrian Dorktator Bashar Assad to improve the relations between their countries to better defend Lebanon against Israel, even though the Syrians almost certainly killed his father.

Damn. I was hoping he was going to reveal himself as Iron Man and exact vengeance upon the Dorktator’s sorry ass.

Updates (Israel time; most recent at top)

8:05PM: Sorry for the relative lack of blogging today but real life has a habit of getting in the way sometimes.

9:30AM: Majed El Shafie, founder and president of Canadian-based human rights group One Free World International, speaks about the Muslim palestinian persecution of Christians.