Israel’s News Blog Magazine: Daily Stories Video and Photos

This was last night on the news. It started when a young man (17) approached another in a mall and told him he dropped some money. The young man for some reason got offended by the young man and stabbed him in the chest, killing him. This was unheard of until recent years when stabbings and violence among youngsters has escalated to unprecedented levels.

Back to this story. Last night in the news what we saw the result of the sentencing. The prosecutors in the case, went after a killing charge and won, the offender was sentenced to 20 years. In Israel until now, young offenders were normally treated gently and long sentences were unheard of. This sentence was an upset given.

But, what followed the sentencing was unbelievable. The attackers family attacked the victim’s family. TV cameras outside the courtroom filmed as mayhem broke out when the mother tried to attack the victim’s mother. Four relatives of the attacker were detained by police. I guess it runs in the family.

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad brother in-law’s assets in the U.S. were frozen by the treasury department, Assef Shawkat Syria’s military intelligence chief is accused by Washington of contributing to violence in Lebanon and Iraq. He is also accused of playing a direct and major role in Syria’s support for terrorism, including the insurgency in Iraq.

Here is an interesting little story about him:

Assef Shawkat, the mysterious figure who has recently emerged as one of Bashar’s top security chiefs, was born in the coastal city of Tartous in 1950 and grew up in modest comfort. In 1968, he moved to Damascus to pursue his higher education in the field of law. He graduated in 1972, and finding himself attracted to the arts, enrolled at the University of Damascus in history. His dissertation was on the Great Syrian Revolt of 1925 and the rural chieftains who led it. For unknown reasons, he lost interest in the subject and instead, hired an expert to write it for him. His professors found out and failed him. Having no choice, he stayed on in graduate school, rewrote his dissertation, and obtained his degree in 1976.

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By Denis Schulz

(Written, directed, produced, authorized, authenticated, evaluated, comprised, inspected and denied by maxflackreport)

Less than a week after the election of George W. Bush in 2000 AD, the Elders of Hollyweird met at an undisclosed location to discuss what they considered to be a political catastrophe. They had met before-when Ronnie Reagan was elected and when the notorious Mr. Milhous had seized the Presidency in 1968. Those had been stirring times-calling for extreme measures-but now the cause of humanity was in jeopardy as never before. Capitalism was running amok; the religious right was threatening to tear down the wall between Jerry Falwell and the people’s government; the neocons were acting so much like liberals that Nancy Pelosi and Howard Dean were looking and sounding more like George Wallace standing in the door of the schoolhouse than FDR; and the Iraq War was stripping them of what little was left of their progressive pretensions. Something had to be done.

So they met in the back lot of one of Roger Corman’s old sets - Droid Gunner or Marquis de Sade; or it could have been in John D. Barrymore’s mausoleum. One undisclosed location is as good as another. A cemetery would have been the ideal spot-that’s where Elders are supposed to meet, but Susan Sarandon is afraid of ghosts. They cursed Elia Kazan and the House Committee on Un-American Activities and they praised Lionel Stander, the American Communist Party and the Screen Writers Guild and then got down to business.
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Now this is not for the queasy among you. Shilshul or Diarrhea is a familiar experience for anyone who has eaten that local fare that has been sitting all day at some select food vendors. In the army you are often forced to eat on the road or at some low cost dubious culinary purveyor.

Click the dishes on the left, hear the name of the dish in Hebrew and then what it sounds like coming out

Do not play after lunch and don’t forget to flush !!
Click Here to Play.
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The bombings yesterday in the Iranian oil city of Ahvaz in the southern region near the Iraqi border, and a previous similar explosions in that
city are blamed by Iran on the British soldiers stationed in Basra. Followed a few days earlier by British blunt hints that Iran is supplying
the Iraqi insurgents with military technology that claimed the lives of several British soldiers last October.

The recent explosions and the one yesterday occurred near an Iranian Government building in Ahvaz on the same day of a planned visit of the Iranian president, rumors are that the president’s visit was cancelled following intelligence information of some planned action during the visit.

This time the Iranian foreign minister hinted that the people involved “have taken pictures with British officials in London, while enjoying
the intelligence facilities and support of the British military commander in Basra” his words. The British denied any involvement whatsoever,
and called the accusations ludicrous.

Iran became increasingly edgy recently as the American and the European countries seek to bring the Iranian nuclear program to the UN Security Council, after months of negotiations between Iran and the I.A.E.A and Iran’s recent restart of its nuclear “research”. Adding to Iran’s nervousness is the recent Israeli clear hints that Israel will not tolerate a situation in which Iran will possess nuclear capability, and is prepared to take military action to stop it.

Recently the Iranian negotiators changed their tactics and said they view the Russian compromise “positively” after rejecting it previously, but more time is needed to discuss the plan of enriching uranium in Russia. The British however see the Iranian move as an attempt to play for time and avoid the security council anticipated debate.

The Iranian nuclear program would have been dealt with long ago if not for the Russians who built the Iranian nuclear project, earning billions of dollars, and the Chinese thirst for Iranian oil at almost any cost, both preventing any serious action to stop Iran.

In light of the development in the PA we got some selected excerpts written by Ray Hanania before the elections. The article is published on Ynet News where Ray has a syndicated column.

Ray Hanania writes an award-winning syndicated column analyzing Middle East events, is an author of several books, and is a humorist, satirist and professional stand-up comedian who launched his public comedy performances after September 11th to help break through the growing hatred and animosity. You can find out about him, his stand-up shows and his books.

“Hamas is a terrorist organization that is driven by religious fanaticism and the superiority of Islam over Judaism and Christianity. Its power and popularity has come not from the purity of Islam but from the secular political stumbling blocs that have consistently prevented Palestinians and Israelis from achieving peace.”

“More importantly, religious faith always remains uncompromising in the face of secular reason and Islamic militants like Hamas continue to insert their religious beliefs as the alternative to the so-far failed secular solutions.”

“Hamas rings a bell that sounds of reason to the increasingly despondent Muslim Palestinians, especially the growing numbers who see conflict as the only way to achieve their goals. Violence satisfies the human nature for vengeance, a stark contrast to the non-violent peace process that has offered little real satisfaction of any form.”

“On one hand, the critics are too harsh, denouncing everything, while the defenders are too broad in defending everything. There is a middle ground and Hamas is not in it.”

“Hamas was a great distance from being anything like al-Qaeda when it was founded in the despair of the Gaza Strip ghettos in the late 1970s. It was nurtured into existence by the assistance of some Israeli political leaders who hoped to nurture a religious alternative to the secular Palestine Liberation Organization, not knowing their actions would result in the murderous organization’s rise.”

“Instead of stopping Hamas, Israel has continued a policy of punishing not only the Hamas terrorists for acts of violence against Israel, but all of Palestinian society and especially the secular alternative to Hamas, the Palestinian Authority.”

“Israelis have taught Palestinians to not see the difference between Hamas and the secular Palestinian leadership when it comes to achieving their independence.”

“Some Hamas leaders have hinted… that they might renounce terrorism and recognize Israel’s right to exist.
Their goal is transparent, to help ease Israeli pressures that might hold down their numbers in the election Jan. 25, and undermine the already dysfunctional PA government, which is wrapped in a knot of string so tight that the only answer is to cut it completely rather than try to unravel it. It’s not about disavowing violence.”

“An Islamic Palestine will not be an independent state at all, but become another oppressive regime that misuses the reality of life and the peaceful premises of Islam to impose tyranny and fundamentalist dictatorship.”

Photograph: Saif Dahlah/Getty
It seems like there is an upset and that Hamas has won the elections. The media is reporting that Hamas received 75 seats in the Palestinian Parliament and Fatah only 30. Israeli media has some interesting articles and questions asked. Projections have Salem Fiad the current minister of finance. He seems to be accepted and supported by all factions of Hamas. The Hamas is suggesting the formation of a broad unity government with the Fatah, but Fatah is rumored to reject the offer feeling it will become a puppet in a majority Hamas government. Sources in Fatah claim that the decision to take part in a unity government will be a subject of great debate within the organization. Abu Mazan accepted the resignation of the Abu Alla government a little while ago.

Some possible scenarios that are being proposed:

Secenario 1: Hamas allows Abu Mazan to continue with the state and political negotiations with the Israelis. This means Hamas will moderate its stance and allow some flexibility in negotiations, keeping its belief in a Palestine that spreads from “the sea to the Jordan” on the back burner and focusing attention on developing the “Islamic State of Palestine”. This would mean an operating democracy with the ususal back and forth in parliament between the coalition and opposition.

Scenario 2: Hamas clamps down on Abu Mazan and his agenda, complicating things with the US and Israel that pressure for the dismantling of the Palestinian Parliament, with hopes of bringing about new elections with different results. This scenario promises a wave of unprecedented violence from Hamas and for now seems the least probable.

Scenario 3: Abu Mazan quite all together (as he promised prior to the elections in interviews). This is a nightmare scenario for the US and the Europeans. In the void left behind violent gangs, in fighting and an escalation of attacks on Israel begins.

Much of what happens now will be determined by the Hamas and how it will approach the existing Fatah power base that for example still controls the Interior Ministry that houses thousands of security personal loyal to Fatah.

Other stories out there. The Intelligence services in Israel are a little confused and embarrassed about their lack of ability to foretell these results. The Israeli Chief of Staff was cautious when asked recently and left room for the possibility that Hamas will win, but the generals in the field for the most part did not foresee this victory.
These results according to security forces don’t necessarily mean an escalation of hostilities or an increased threat to Israel. Regardless, the Hamas is viewed as a terror organization and the armed forces sees it as such. As long as Hamas doesn’t recognize Israel and does not re brand itself as a non terrorist organization, something not likely to occur, there will be no dialog with Hamas.

The Hamas appealed apparently to a large part of the Palestinian population. A large part of it is the attention to the social and economical agenda in the territories. People had enough of the corruption and exploitation of the Fatah, the abuse of power and perhaps this is a determining factor.

For the most part once Hamas comes into power as the ruling body, the responsibility for the people is significantly magnified. Fundamental Islamic organizations in the Arab world have won popularity because of their special social programs, providing financial support, health care and social services to the masses and appealing to the man on the street. In this case it seems that these activities contributed to their democratic move to lead the people in the Palestinian Authority.
With this move however they become the power holders. They become responsible for everything and they need to accommodate more then the social and economical conditions.

The democratic process should be applauded and barring any disasters in the transfer of power these elections are an important step in the history of the Palestinian Authority. It’s a new beginning and a time for change. Change can be a good thing….

See the picture posted by the mother from Gaza on “Raising Yosuf” ,here and the pre elections jitters here.

Television channels are reporting a 60% voter turnout so far in the Palestinian elections. Out of the 1.3 million eligible to vote that’s a great rate. Only a third so far turned out to vote in East Jerusalem. First polls show a narrow victory to the Fatah over the Hamas. This was true earlier today.

The news through the day mentioned the record turnout. People enjoyed these first elections and the democratic process. With the charged atmosphere that surrounds the Palestinian and Israeli question one tends to forget that this is a major step, regardless of the results. With over a million votes in, the Fatah seems to have 42% of the votes and the Hamas approximately 39%. These are approximate numbers and still not final.

Ehud Olmert in a speech yesterday went over the conditions of the road map for relations with the Palestinians and the importance of these elections. No doubt the Israeli side would prefer if the Hamas was not the ruling party after these elections. On the other hand, the Fatah has its own problems and internal disputes.

As soon as the Hamas sensed the loss in recent hours, the word on the street is that the organization is now willing to discuss a cease fire with Israel. They call it a Hudna Agreement.

Hamas could be part of the a new coalition and end up a part of the new government. The percentages are close and the final results will be tallied tonight.

In any case, congratulations on what seems to have been a smooth election process.
Another first in the Middle East.

“My kind of Mid East Peace” paints a great picture of the Middle East. Check out these two models (nude too ) one representing the Palestinian nation and one the Israeli. A breath of fresh air and a welcome change. Well done.

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