Matthew 24:6 War, and rumor of war.

[Shammu]

'Hezbollah agents operating in Israel'

Terrorist says spies passing information on rocket targets, military installations
Posted: August 7, 2006
1:01 p.m. Eastern

By Aaron Klein
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com


Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah
HAIFA, Israel – Hezbollah has an advanced spy network operating inside Israel consisting of "tens" of agents, mostly Arab-Israelis who provide the Lebanon-based terror group with strategic information such as rocket targets and locations of military installations, a senior terror leader told WorldNetDaily in an interview.

"Hezbollah agents have penetrated Palestine," said Abu Oudai, a chief rocket coordinator for the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in the West Bank. "[Hezbollah] receives extremely high-quality information from their agents inside Palestine. We are talking about detailed maps of neighborhoods, locations of military bases and regular information every day from many sources to help the heroes (Hezbollah) fire rockets more accurately into [northern Israel].

The Al Aqsa Brigades, the declared "military wing" of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party, is responsible for scores of shooting attacks, rocket launchings and, together with Islamic Jihad, every suicide bombing inside Israel the past two years.

Israel says senior Brigades leaders, particularly the group's cell in Nablus in the northern West Bank, coordinate their attacks with Hezbollah and receive funding from Iran and Syria funneled through Hezbollah channels. Several Brigades leaders have spoken openly to WorldNetDaily about their group's affiliation with Hezbollah.

Since Israel started its military campaign in Lebanon last month following a Hezbollah attack, the Lebanese militia has fired more than 2,000 rockets into northern Israeli cities, including into Haifa, the country's third largest. About one-third of the Israeli population is under rocket threat.

While Hezbollah rockets lack guidance systems, the projectiles are launched from specific areas in Lebanon using a rocket's known trajectory and travel distance to score hits on particular Israeli towns.

Israeli security officials say they have been surprised by the accuracy of Hezbollah's rocket attacks. Several Katyushas have scored direct hits on Israeli military installations and other strategic sites.

Yesterday, 12 Israeli soldiers were killed and another 12 were wounded by a Hezbollah rocket attack on a military post at Kfar Giladi in the Upper Galilee.

Abu Oudai, who heads Al Aqsa's rocket infrastructure, told WorldNetDaily "tens" of Hezbollah agents inside Israel provide Hezbollah with targeting information. He said after rocket attacks, Hezbollah agents send the terror group information on hits and misses.

Asked if the regular Israeli and international television footage of the aftermath of rocket strikes help Hezbollah with their targeting, Abu Oudai replied, "Hezbollah doesn't need help. The information they get from their agents is excellent."

Israeli intelligence officials tell WND they are "very aware" of a possible Hezbollah spy network inside Israel and have been working to crack it.

At least 12 suspected Hezbollah agents have been arrested in Israel the past year, including Jasaan Athamleh, leader of an Arab-Israeli political coalition. Athamleh was arrested seven months ago along with his brother and is thought to be a senior Hezbollah agent. It recently was revealed a Canadian professor accused of spying for Hezbollah was arrested here just before fighting broke out July 12.

Security sources say they suspect most Hezbollah agents operating here are Arab-Israeli. They say Hezbollah's most successful recruiting ground is Mecca, where Arab-Israelis travel for the pilgrimage there required by Islam. While Saudi Arabia does not admit Israelis, Arab-Israelis can travel to Jordan where they turn in their passports temporarily for a Jordanian passport voucher they can use to enter Saudi Arabia.

The sources said Israeli Hezbollah agents receive advanced training by Hezbollah and Iranian Revolutionary Guard members, including in the use of intelligence gathering and secured communications.

"Hezbollah, with the help of Iran, works like the army of a sovereign country," said a security official. "This includes the recruitment and development of spy networks."

Hezbollah many times has boasted of infiltrating Israel.

Saturday, Hezbollah's al-Manar television network aired what appeared to be home video footage of a building in Haifa collapsing last week after a rocket strike. News coverage here only had captured the aftermath of the building collapse and not footage of the structure falling. Al-Manar claimed the video was recorded by a Hezbollah agent operating inside Israel and boasted the group has many agents in the Jewish state. Israel says it is investigating the claim.

[Shammu]

Hizbollah fighter tells Israel he trained in Iran
Mon Aug 7, 2006 02:35 PM ET

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A Hizbollah fighter captured by Israel has told interrogators he received training in Iran and arrived there on a flight from Syria, a tape of the interrogation released by the Israeli army showed on Monday.

During questioning the man also confessed to taking part in the cross-border raid on July 12 in which two Israeli soldiers were captured, the incident which sparked the current conflict.

"We trained in Iran," the man, who gave his name as Mahmoud Ali Suleiman, told the interrogator. "We went from Beirut in civilian cars... to the airport in Damascus."

Suleiman, who gave his age as 22, said between 40 and 50 people went with him for the training, which involved instruction in the use of anti-tank weapons. He didn't say when the training took place or how long it lasted.

The man, speaking in Arabic, said he joined Hizbollah in 2000 and had carried out two operations with the Lebanese guerrilla group, the first in December 2005 when they had tried to take on an Israeli tank entering southern Lebanon.

The second operation was the one in July, when the two Israeli soldiers were seized and eight were killed in subsequent mortar fire and clashes.

As well as the brief stint in Iran, Suleiman said he had done extensive training at a Hizbollah camp in Baalbek, in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa valley.

Hizbollah fighter tells Israel he trained in Iran

[Shammu]

Israel ready for full-scale assault
If agreement isn’t in place soon, military official says the gloves are off

By Martin Fletcher
Correspondent
NBC News
Updated: 24 minutes ago

HAIFA, Israel - Hezbollah has pounded Israeli cities with more than 3,000 rockets in a month, the worst bombing Israel has faced in its history.

And Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, touring the front, said:  "Enough." If there is no international agreement to stop the fighting within a day or two, he said, the gloves are off.

"We are going to win this war," Olmert said. "As I said from Day One, it is not going to be easy."
Story continues below ↓ advertisement

After weeks of resisting a full ground invasion of south Lebanon, Olmert gave the army the green light Monday to push at least 18 miles from the Israeli border to the Litani River. He said there is no limit.

The aim is to push Hezbollah out of Katyusha rocket range of Israel. After close to four weeks of bitter fighting, Israel is still nowhere near succeeding.

"Let me tell you something. Crushing Hezbollah is not like ordering a pizza. It takes time," says Israeli Army Gen. Yossi Kupperwasser.

Even in the villages Israel occupies in southern Lebanon, Hezbollah is still fighting back, killing three Israeli soldiers in combat in Bint Jbail and firing more than 160 Katyusha rockets Monday.

Monday night, there is one good sign. The Lebanese government announced it would call up 15,000 reserves, to take over when Israeli troops leave Lebanon. That is one of Israel's conditions to stop the fighting.

Israel ready for full-scale assault

[Shammu]

Syria Transfers Deadly Russian Weapons to Hezbollah

Created: 07.08.2006 11:22 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 11:31 MSK, 21 hours 38 minutes ago
MosNews

The majority of the Israeli Defense Force’s ground-troop casualties, both infantry and armored, were the result of Russian-made anti-tank units of Hezbollah, according to intelligence sources quoted by Haaretz daily.

The same sources note that these units have not retreated from southern Lebanon following the deployment of large Israeli ground forces in the area.

The Hezbollah anti-tank teams use a new and particularly potent version of the Russian-made RPG, the RPG-29 that was sold by Moscow to the Syrians and then transferred to the Shi’ite organization.

The RPG-29’s penetrating power comes from its tandem warhead, and on a number of occasions has managed to get through the massive armor of the Merkava tanks.

At first Israeli inquiries that Russia was transferring modern anti-tank weapons to Syria and on to Hezbollah were received with anger. The Russians demanded proof that this had been done.

Contrary to common practice, Israel transferred to Russia the tail-end of a rocket for analysis. The Russian response was that in the absence of a serial number it was difficult to identify it as part of a load delivered to Syria.

Israel believes Hezbollah also has an advanced anti-aircraft missile, the SA-18, from Iran, the paper adds. It is particularly lethal against helicopters, and even though none of the missiles have been fired against Israeli Air Force aircraft, the flights over Lebanon are taking the necessary precautions.

Syria Transfers Deadly Russian Weapons to Hezbollah

[Shammu]

U.S. PREPARES TO TARGET MAHDI ARMY

BAGHDAD [MENL] -- The U.S. military was said to be preparing for a major operation against an Iranian-sponsored militia in Iraq.

Iraqi government sources said the U.S. military, in cooperation with the Iraq Army and security forces, was planning to target the Mahdi Army. Mahdi, believed to contain about 10,000 fighters, has been based in Baghdad's Sadr City and regarded as the leading threat to security in Iraq's capital.

"The assessment is that Iran has ordered Mahdi to increase tension in Baghdad and other parts of central and southern Iraq," a source said.

On Monday, U.S. and Iraqi forces raided a suspected Mahdi torture facility in Sadr City. At least two people were killed and 18 were injured in the battle with Shi'ite forces.

U.S. PREPARES TO TARGET MAHDI ARMY

[Shammu]

August 9, 2006    No.1237

    Iranian Guardian Council Secretary Ayatollah Jannati In Tehran Friday Sermon: Islamic History is Repeating Itself Today With the Battle Between the Descendents of Ali and the Jews

The following are excerpts from a Friday sermon in Tehran by Iranian Guardian Council Secretary Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati. The sermon aired on Iranian Channel 1 on August 4, 2006.

Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati: "God is using one of Ali's descendents [Nasrallah] to confront the spiritual and physical descendents of Marhab of Khaybar [the Jews]. God is reviving the memories of early Islam - the memories of the conflict between Ali and the Jews of [the battles] of Khaybar and Khandaq. On one side stood Ali with a small number of Muslims, and on the other side stood the strong, rich, vain, and arrogant Jews. Ultimately, the sword of Ali did what had to be done, and he humiliated the people of Khaybar and the vain and arrogant Jews. Today, this descendent of Ali stands in the same position, and so do the descendents of Marhab of Khaybar, the Jews of Khaybar and Khandaq."

[...]

"All the oppressed victims of Lebanon break our hearts, but the most heart-breaking of all are the children, who are being killed everywhere, especially in the village of Qana. Israel gave the blood of these children to the impure and evil Rice, and to Bush, who is more impure than impure, in order to quench their thirst for blood."

[...]

"I wish the Islamic regimes had some compassion, mercy, and honor. I do not know what good they could do. A non-Islamic country [Venezuela] recalls its ambassador, and tells him there is no reason for him to remain in Israel, but the neighboring Islamic countries, and even the non-Islamic countries, do not even do this. They do not even close the gates of their embassies. They really are raising the level of shame to the maximum, but they should know that they will bear this mark of shame, and one day, the hand of divine vengeance will take revenge upon those who kept silent in the face of oppression."

[...]

"The [U.N.] Security Council is so weak, so impotent, and so susceptible to pressure that it is incapable of passing any resolution. But when it comes to Iran, and to the trampling of its right to nuclear technology underfoot, it immediately passes a resolution, with an absolute majority. At that moment, death takes over the Security Council. Indeed, the gates of the U.N. and the Security Council should be closed. What kind of Security Council is this?"

Crowd: "Allah Akbar.

"Allah Akbar.

"Allah Akbar.

"Khamenei is the leader.

"Death to those who oppose the rule of the jurisprudent.

"Death to America.

"Death to England.

"Death to the hypocrites [Mojahedin-e Khalq] and Saddam.

"Death to Israel."

[...]

"What Hizbullah does shows that all the humiliation endured by us and the Islamic world stems from our own impotence. If [the Muslims] were men enough to enter the arena, their spit and threats would be enough to put the others in their place. As [the Muslims] continue to keep silent, [America and Israel] became so insolent, to the point that this wretched woman comes and talks about a New Middle East. This means a Middle East that is subservient to America, [and] follows its orders unconditionally. This is the Middle East they desire, but, Allah willing, they will take this desire to the grave."

Iranian Guardian Council Secretary Ayatollah Jannati In Tehran Friday Sermon: Islamic History is Repeating Itself Today With the Battle Between the Descendents of Ali and the Jews

[Shammu]

August 9, 2006    No.1238

    Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani: Our Response To Sanctions Will Be Painful To the West And Will Make it Shiver With Cold

The following are excerpts from a press conference with Iranian Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani, which aired on Iranian News Channel (IRINN) on August 6, 2006.

Ali Larijani: "Iran's nuclear technology is for peaceful purposes. We accept the inspection of the IAEA, and we are NPT members. We are committed to the NPT regulations. We are a country that acts responsibly within the world order. Therefore, we respect IAEA inspection, in accordance with the safeguard agreements. Therefore, we will develop our nuclear activity where necessary. We will develop all aspects of Iran's nuclear technology, including the chains [of centrifuges]."

[...]

"The root of most conflicts between countries in the region, or between Shiites and Sunnis, lies in America's behavior. They are the ones who make provocations. We have information that the U.S. Ambassador in Iraq held a meeting with several terrorist groups in Iraq, and told them three things. He told them, first of all, to stop aiming their rifles at America. Second, he told them to direct their struggle towards Iran, and third, to direct it towards the Shiites in Iraq."

[...]

"We continue on our path with perseverance. I promise you that such [Security Council] resolutions will not affect Iran's nuclear conduct in any way. We will develop Iran's nuclear activity. Therefore, they will have to decide if their behavior will not, in fact, further reduce IAEA inspection. We do not want this to happen. So you don't do anything that would force Iran to do it."

[...]

Reporter: "Dr. Larijani, let me quote [former German foreign minister] Mr. Joschka Fischer. You will probably say you never heard this..."

Ali Larijani: "This thing with Mr. Fischer is very peculiar..."

Reporter: "Yes, he came quietly to Iran, and left quietly. While he was in Iran, he emphasized that Europe has a united position regarding Iran's nuclear program, and said: 'We are willing to shiver with cold for two or three winters...'"

Ali Larijani: "What?"

Reporter: "He said: 'We are willing to shiver with cold for two or three winters if the price of oil reaches 200 dollars or even more.' To what extent, in your opinion, can Iran's oil play a role in the nuclear talks? Will Europe come to terms with it?"

Ali Larijani: "Those who want to shiver with cold - let them shiver. What can we do? We cannot advise them what to do. In any case, it depends on the decisions they make. This issue has many aspects. In some respects, they will have to shiver. We don't want anyone in the world to shiver. We want everybody to have a good life. We don't want to use the weapon of oil, but they are the ones who are forcing certain issues.

"Naturally, and in light of their behavior, Iran must be allowed to defend its rights. As I have said before, the Iranian nuclear issue is not a complicated matter, and it can be resolved through negotiations. Those who want to use force complicate the issue even further. The region does not have the capacity for additional complex phenomena. We will not be the first in this matter, but if they behave this way, they will have to bear the consequences."

[...]

"It will be interesting for you to know that during the previous talks, some experts from various countries, as well as some people in Iran, said: 'Why are you increasing the costs, since, after all, the products of the UCF in Esfahan are defective? Why are you increasing the country's costs?' We operated the UCF in Esfahan, and injected its product [UF6] into the centrifuges. It was very satisfactory. It was clear that they were conducting psychological warfare. The same happened with regard to the centrifuges.

"When we exerted pressure, saying Iran should have nuclear knowledge, one of the [European] parties to the negotiations said to us: 'We don't want you to have nuclear knowledge.' We said: 'It's none of your business. It's up to the Iranian people. You can say we must not turn to nuclear weapons, but you cannot say we must not have nuclear knowledge.' Interestingly, within Iran itself, some people said that our centrifuges are defective and do not meet the requirements. As you've seen, we operated the chain [of centrifuges], and got the product. This too was psychological warfare."

[...]

"What you said about sanctions - this is not an immediate issue. If you recall, they wanted to use this leverage two years ago, saying that if Iran did not suspend [its nuclear activity], there would be resolutions and sanctions. This is not a simple matter. This will have many ramifications in the international arena. They will be harmed more than us. We control all aspects of this issue. They must not think we will not respond if they hurt us. They must not force us to make them shiver with cold, and make them face more problems. We don't want to take this path, but if they do, they will have to bear the consequences. This is not immediate, but if they do so, we will respond in a manner that will be sufficiently painful to them."

Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani: Our Response To Sanctions Will Be Painful To the West And Will Make it Shiver With Cold

[Shammu]

Hundreds Die in Sri Lanka, as UN Focuses on Lebanon
By Patrick Goodenough
CNSNews.com International Editor
August 09, 2006

(CNSNews.com) - While the world's attention is riveted on the Middle East, a raging conflict in Sri Lanka is drawing relatively little attention from the United Nations, despite the fact that almost 600 lives have been lost over the same period as the Israeli-Hizballah fighting.

The latest flare-up in a long and brutal civil war began two weeks ago, when the Sri Lankan army launched an air and ground offensive against the LTTE "Tamil Tigers" after the terrorist group cut off a water channel in territory it controls, reportedly leaving 60,000 people without water.

The water blockade was lifted Tuesday, but not before hundreds of people had been killed, and more than 20,000 people had fled from the conflict zone, leaving a four year-old ceasefire in tatters.

Among the dead were 17 Sri Lankan staffers of a French humanitarian non-governmental organization (NGO) involved in tsunami relief work. They were found lying face-down, each having been shot in the head, execution-style. The army and LTTE accused each other of the killing, and the Action Against Hunger NGO called for a full investigation.

Violence continued Tuesday, when a powerful bomb exploded in the capital, Colombo. Three people were killed in the blast, and among those injured was a veteran political opponent of the LTTE, the terrorists' apparent target.

Most aid agencies withdrew from the area, and after threats from the LTTE, a European Union ceasefire-monitoring mission said it was pulling its members out of the country.

The two-decade conflict between the Buddhist Sinhalese majority and predominantly Hindu Tamil minority has cost more than 64,000 lives.

Over the past month alone -- as the current Mideast crisis intensified -- at least 593 people have been killed, including more than 200 civilians, 65 security force personnel and some 300 Tamil Tigers, according to the India-based Institute for Conflict Management's South Asia Terrorism Portal.

During the current escalation, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has issued one two-paragraph statement -- on August 3 -- expressing concern about the violence and its consequences, and urging the parties to resume peace talks.

By contrast, Annan's website lists five statements on the situation in Lebanon, including one delivered in Jerusalem and one in Rome.

The Security Council has held 11 meetings since August 12 on the situation in the Middle East, and none on Sri Lanka.

All eyes on Israel

Various U.N. human rights bodies have also given considerable attention to the situation in Lebanon, while Sri Lanka has not received a mention.

The new Human Rights Council (HRC) is preparing to hold its second ever special session shortly, after Arab states supported by China, Cuba and others requested a meeting "to consider and take action on the gross human rights violations by Israel in Lebanon."

Last month, the HRC held its first special session -- on Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip.

One month earlier, the HRC held its inaugural annual session, and considered just two country-specific situations -- Israel/Gaza and Sudan/Darfur. The session ended with the passage of a single country-specific resolution, condemning Israel.

The HRC was established because of concerns that its now-defunct predecessor, the U.N. Commission on Human Rights, had been tainted by politicization and the presence of rights violating nations. A major complaint was its disproportionate focus on Israel.

Other U.N. bodies have also weighed in in recent weeks:

-- On July 21, six U.N. human rights experts issued a joint statement, calling for an end to the fighting. Apart from a single sentence noting that large numbers of Israelis had been forced into bomb shelters, were fleeing the north, and had their water supplies affected, the statement dwelt entirely on the problems faced by the Lebanese.

The experts are people who deal with the rights of internally-displaced persons, the right to housing, the right to food, the right to freedom of expression, the right to health, and the right to education.

-- U.N. high commissioner for human rights Louise Arbour issued two statements condemning the targeting of Lebanese and Israeli civilians, one of them calling for "accountability for any breaches of international law."

-- The U.N.'s Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination suspended its usual session last week to debate the conflict, despite protests from American and Danish experts on the panel that the situation did not fall within the committee's mandate. Some members attributed Israel's campaign against Hizballah to anti-Arab racism.

-- The U.N. subcommission on human rights opened its three-week session Monday by debating and adopting a statement "expressing its deep grief and outrage at the massive denial and violation of human rights in Lebanon."

At least one member of the 26-person body of legal experts, a Briton, pointed out that it specifically had been instructed not to pass country-specific resolutions.

In a statement Tuesday, Hillel Neuer of U.N. Watch, a Geneva-based NGO, said the greatest losers in the U.N.'s lopsided focus on Israel were the victims of human rights abuses around the world.

"Don't other world crises -- mass rape in Darfur, four million killed in Democratic Republic of Congo, repression and strife in Burma, East Timor, Colombia, Somalia -- deserve special sessions?"

[Shammu]

Sunnis Urged to Put Anti-Israel Campaign Above Rift With Shi'ites
By Patrick Goodenough
CNSNews.com International Editor
August 09, 2006

(CNSNews.com) - Sunni Muslims around the world are being pressed to take sides in a dispute among scholars over whether a united Islamic front against Israel should take precedence over historical differences with Shi'ites.

The debate is raging in newspaper columns and on Internet sites, with proponents of both positions citing religious edicts (fatwas), scholars' appeals, and Koranic injunctions to bolster their arguments.

Rancor between Sunnis and Shi'ites, whose schism stems from differences over the rightful successor to Mohammed, has existed for centuries and continues to cause bloodshed in Iraq.

Most Arab countries have Sunni majorities - exceptions include Iraq and Bahrain -- but among Lebanon's collection of minorities, Shi'ites are thought to be the biggest. The Hizballah terrorist organization now at war with Israel is a Shi'ite organization, sponsored by predominantly Shi'ite Iran, as well as by Syria, whose ruling elite are Allawites, an offshoot of Shi'a Islam.

In Saudi Arabia, some top Islamist clerics have ruled that Sunnis should not back Hizballah. Most prominent of these in recent days has been Sheikh Safar al-Hawali, who posted a fatwa online saying that Hizballah (the name means Party of Allah) is in fact the party of "the devil" and imploring Sunnis: "Don’t pray for Hizballah."

Hawali, a scholar formerly at Umm Al-Qura University, was a signatory of a Nov. 2004 communique by 26 Saudi clerics calling for jihad against U.S. forces in Iraq.

Another fatwa circulating on the Internet rejects support for Hizballah. Issued several years ago by another Saudi Islamist cleric, Abdullah bin Jibreen, it declares that Sunnis should not support Hizballah or pray for its victory.

(Bin Jibreen used the derogatory term "rafidi," a word based on the Arabic root for "to reject" or "to abandon," and used by Sunnis who regard Shi'a Islam as heresy.)

Jibreen, who at the time was a member of the Saudi government-appointed Council of Senior Scholars, also issued a decree in 1991 ruling that Shi'ites are "idolaters deserving to be killed."

These calls for Muslims not to support Hizballah have upset many other Sunni religious figures, who believe the jihad against Israel is more important than splits among Muslims.

Sheikh Rashid al-Ghanoushi, the exiled leader of a banned Islamist movement in Tunisia, said those issuing the anti-Hizballah fatwas should be ashamed of themselves for doing so "while the nation is under attack and both Palestinian and Lebanese people are facing genocide."

Influential Egyptian cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi urged all Muslims to support Hizballah against "the enemy," telling the al-Jazeera television network that sectarianism "hurt the resistance."

The publishers of Islam Online, a website affiliated with Qaradawi, said this was a time for solidarity and unity among Muslims.

"Unfortunately, some Muslims do not share this spirit. 'Why should we help Hizballah when they are not Sunni Muslims?' they wonder. Some prohibit any form of cooperation or support to the Lebanese resistance; they even prohibit du'aa [prayer].

"This is a serious issue indeed. The last things we need in this critical situation are disruption and disunity," said Islam Online.

"True, differences do exist between Sunnis and Shi'ites, but these differences do not exclude the Shi'ites from the fold of Islam, nor do they excuse forsaking them in their struggle against the Israeli aggression."
'Close ranks'

The biggest response to the anti-Hizballah fatwas came from a group of 169 Sunni scholars from Muslim nations stretching from Bosnia to Indonesia, including 28 Saudis, who issued a statement at the weekend trying to undo what they saw as damage to Islamic unity.

Published by Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood on Monday and punctuated with verses from the Koran, the statement called on all Arabs and Muslims to "offer all material and moral support" to the Lebanese and Palestinians, "giving this duty the top priority over all religious duties."

In a clear reference to the Sunni-Shi'ite division, the signatories urged "all of the [Islamic] nation's sects to close ranks in confrontation of its enemy who seeks to eliminate us."

It should not allow the sectarian violence in Iraq to spill over into other places, they said.

"When the nation is at war, we must be fully aware that sectarian feuds can exhaust our strength which opens the door wide for the enemy to impose its hegemony on us."

The scholars also called on Arab and Muslim governments to abandon delusions of peace with Israel.

"We must abide by the fatwa issued by the Muslim scholars who prohibit the recognition of the Zionist state, normalization of relations with it or giving up any inch of the Palestinian land. We should believe in the fact that this criminal enemy does not recognize the rights of others except under the pressures of jihad and resistance."

The scholars also said all Arab and Muslim government should base their relations with other nations, especially the United States, on those countries' stances towards "our issues, topped by Palestine."

'Not terrorism'

In the early days of the latest Israeli-Hizballah conflict, the governments of Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia cautiously criticized the Lebanese group for its "adventurism" which triggered the fighting.

The comments were widely reported, and have frequently been cited as significant by the U.S. State Department and allied governments.

Many Mideast analysts argued that the stance taken by the Sunni trio was driven largely by their concerns about Iran and the emergence of a "Shi'ite crescent" from Iran to Lebanon. Since those early days, the three governments' public criticism of Hizballah has largely been dropped.

The Saudis' weekly cabinet meeting Monday agreed to stand with the Lebanese and Palestinian people and called for a strong and united Arab stance against "Israeli aggression."

In Egypt, the government-appointed mufti, Ali Gomaa, has voiced strong backing for Hizballah.

"Hizballah is defending its country and what it is doing is not terrorism," the state news agency MENA quoted him as saying on Friday.

Asked in a Time magazine interview for his opinion of Hizballah, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said "nobody should be allowed to establish a state within a state" but softened his criticism by saying the organization was "part and parcel of the Lebanese people's fabric." He also did not censure Hizballah for triggering the crisis, but condemned Israel for a "disproportionate response."

Iraq has seen the worst violence between Sunnis and Shi'ites. The minority Sunni Ba'athists dominated and oppressed the Shi'ite majority until U.S.-led forces toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.

The sectarian carnage there has been largely attributed to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq who was killed last June.

Zarqawi labeled Iraqi Shi'ites "rafidi" and described them in one published letter as "a sect of treachery and betrayal throughout history and throughout the ages."

The targeting of Shi'ites prompted al-Qaeda second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri to send a letter to Zarqawi last October questioning the strategy.

Although "anyone with a knowledge of history" knew that Shi'ites were heretics and had a background of "cooperating with the enemies of Islam," al-Swahili said, many ordinary Muslims may not understand.

"Is the opening of another front now in addition to the front against the Americans and the government a wise decision?" he asked.

Last week, al-Zawahiri issued a videotape message urging all Muslims everywhere to join the jihad against Israel in Lebanon and Gaza.

Sunnis Urged to Put Anti-Israel Campaign Above Rift With Shi'ites

[Shammu]

Syria checks bomb shelters

Winds of war blow through Syria as country checks bomb shelters for first time since 1973 war
Roee Nahmias

The winds of war blowing through the region are also being felt in Syria, as the country begins checks of its public bomb shelters for the first time since 1973.

Syrian media outlets reported Wednesday that while residents of towns on the border with Israel are independently looking after themselves and shelters, the 'civil guard' began checking the state of bomb shelters in Damascus.
 
A senior member or the civil guard in Damascus said the body was "working to make sure the shelters were in good shape as a step to prepare for any future development. This is especially true for shelters who have over the years turned into stores, clubs, and even homes."

"Imagine if God forbid a war broke out and they tried to enter here, they would probably prevent it," said Abu Majdi, a senior civil guard member, while pointing at a home in Damascus built in a former shelter.

'We'd be kicked out'

"They would say this was private property and kick us out of here. The law would back up the owners, and indeed this is their house," he said.

"This was a public bomb shelter in a building in which we lived," said Mona, a resident of the Bab Shraki neighborhood in Damascus.

"In the days of the October War (The Yom Kippur War – R.N) all of the people would go down here to protect themselves," she said.

This shelter has also been renovated and Mona does not know where to go in case of an emergency. "This shelter has been sold and bought and we don't even know by who. Once it was open a store for cellular phone equipment, afterwards as a warehouse, and later as a home, before finally becoming a barber shop. The problem is that if it is private property we have no right to enter it in any situation."

The Syrian regime has set up a committee to look into the state of bomb shelters in various areas in Damascus and to prepare them "for any eventually."

Despite the situation on the ground, the head of Damascus' governor's bureau said the public bomb shelters in Damascus were ready and would be used during a time of war.

Syria checks bomb shelters

[Shammu]

Lieberman: Hamas Plans Southern War on Hizbullah Military Model
20:57 Aug 09, '06 / 15 Av 5766
by Hana Levi Julian and Nissan Ratzlav-Katz

Yisrael Beitenu party Chairman and MK Avigdor Lieberman said Wednesday that Hamas is planning to change the way it is waging war on Israel’s southern front – based on the Hizbullah model.


Hamas opened the Re-engagement War with a terror attack on an IDF outpost on June 25th at the Kerem Shalom border crossing with Gaza and Egypt. IDF Corporal Gilad Shalit was taken hostage by Hamas terrorists during the battle in which two soldiers were killed and four others injured.

Hamas is now the majority party that leads the Palestinian Authority, and is also involved in internal fighting with the Fatah faction which controlled the PA prior to elections in January 2006.

Lieberman said the PA is preparing to wage a war on southern Israel modeled on the Hizbullah military strategy against communities in northern Israel. He also expressed criticism of the media for ignoring the ongoing PA Kassam rocket attacks on the cities of the Negev.

Lieberman said that PA terrorists are "smuggling Katyushas and Grad missiles into the Gaza Strip. The southern Lebanon script must be prevented in southern Israel."

Lieberman further criticized the government for failing to keep the Knesset apprised of Hamas war preparations, charging that better information can be found on the Internet than in parliamentary committee sessions.

He added that the government must not close its eyes to the fact that Hamas intentions are to destroy Israel, a goal the terror group does not hide.

The group’s party platform focused on its refusal to formally recognize the State of Israel, disarm or renounce terrorism. Foreign funding to the PA by most western nations was frozen when the terrorist organization took over the government.

Lieberman was interviewed on Arutz-7 Radio during a tour of the south with the Yisrael Beitenu MKs.

Lieberman: Hamas Plans Southern War on Hizbullah Military Model

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Israel attacks Palestinian base in Lebanon
Follows flow of weapons to Hezbollah, calls by Abbas' party to join fighting
Posted: August 9, 2006
10:27 a.m. Eastern

By Aaron Klein
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com

HAIFA, Israel – For the first since the Jewish state began its military campaign against Hezbollah last month, Israeli gunboats last night shelled the headquarters of a Palestinian militia in south Lebanon.

Military officials here said the target of the attack was Fatah, which maintains a military camp in the Ein el-Hilweh village, the largest so-called Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, located on the outskirts of the southern port city of Sidon.

The Israeli attack follows a WND article last week in which a senior Lebanese political source said Palestinian militias operating out of Lebanon have passed large quantities of heavy weaponry, including rockets, to Hezbollah for use against Israel.

The move also comes amid calls by Palestinian groups in Judea, Samaria and Gaza to prepare for an "escalation" against Israel and follows statements by members of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party that their "fighters" in Lebanon are set to enter combat along with Hezbollah.

Palestinian groups, including Fatah and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, maintain armed bases in Lebanon, mostly in the al-Naemeh province just south of Beirut and in the Bekaa Valley near Lebanon's border with Syria. The groups also have offices in Syria.

Israeli and Lebanese officials say the Palestinian groups have been provided over the years with rifles, ammunition, several kinds of long-range rockets and anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles by Iran and Syria. Israel previously has bombed Popular Front bases following rocket attacks against the Jewish state it says were launched from the Palestinian group's military camps in Lebanon.

The Palestinian groups in Lebanon earlier this year clashed with the Lebanese Army. A United Nations resolution demands Lebanon disarm "all militias," including armed Palestinian groups.

Lebanese officials tell WND the Palestinian groups in recent days passed heavy weaponry to Hezbollah. They said some of the weapons belonged to Hezbollah but were stored in Palestinian bases.

The officials also said they had information Palestinian camps in Lebanon were being used for Hezbollah training and that some Hezbollah members are still operating out of the camps.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert claimed Israel has destroyed most of Hezbollah's bases, targeted much of the terrorist group's weapons arsenal and destroyed nearly two-thirds of the its longer-range rockets.

Hezbollah is still thought to possess up to 10,000 more Katyusha rockets capable of hitting northern Israeli cities and hundreds of Zalzel and other kinds of longer-range rockets that can target central Israel, including Tel Aviv. In addition, security officials here say rockets continue to be smuggled into Lebanon from the country's border with Syria.

During its current military campaign against Hezbollah, Israel until now has refrained from hitting Palestinian bases in Lebanon.

Last month, Sultan Abu al-Aynain, leader of Fatah in Lebanon, announced Palestinian gunmen in the country are set to join the fighting against Israel. He said Fatah has thousands of fighters in Lebanon who are prepared to participate. It was unclear whether his comments were coordinated with Abbas.

WND reported last week Bani al-Hassan, a senior Abbas official, sent a letter to hundreds of Fatah members asking them to prepare for an "escalated battle" against Israel while the Jewish state continues its military campaign in Lebanon. The letter also was sent to members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terrorist group, the declared "military wing" of Fatah.

"You the fighters are the new generation that will bring us victory over Israel," Hassan wrote in the letter, obtained by WND from a Fatah official.

Hassan compelled Fatah members to "be prepared" for an escalation against the Jewish state but did not mention particulars or give specific instructions.

Later yesterday, Hassan led a rally in Ramallah in which he reportedly informed participants he placed Fatah fighters on high alert "ahead of the possibility of escalation of the conflict in Lebanon, which could manifest itself in an escalation of Israeli actions (here)."

"I know what I'm talking about, and I know what I'm referring to," Hassan reportedly told the crowd.

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Khaibar: a missile's name signals Iran's genocidal intentions
By Micah D. Halpern   August 8, 2006


In the West, especially in the United States, we do not pay enough attention to symbols and to the cultural importance of symbols. We pay attention to status symbols, but we totally ignore cultural symbols.

We live in the world of the bottom line. We have little time and even less patience for nuance. The value of terms and the symbolic value of actions are almost totally lost on our culture. Maybe symbolism is a lost art. Maybe it is a study relegated to university seminars. Maybe, just maybe, it is a major oversight on our parts, a major gap in our knowledge bank, another example of the way in which we think of ourselves -- as the most powerful and important people in the world.

Not so in the Middle East.

In Arabic a metaphor is more than a collection of words. It can be a prophecy or a blessing. It can be a curse. In Arab cultures a symbol speaks volumes, only wordlessly. Symbols are ideas, they dictate behaviors, they tell stories. They are lore. They carry religious resonance.

I am a student of history. Imagine my shock when I learned the name of the new and improved Iranian missile that Hezbollah is shooting at Israel, a missile that goes further and causes more damage than any missile that has come before it, a super missile. The Khaibar.

Why has the Hezbollah chosen to name a missile Khaibar? Because Khaibar is not merely a name, Khaibar delivers a message. When the Arab and Muslim worlds hear the word Khaibar a story of mythical proportions is conjured up before them. Israel is familiar with the story.

Khaibar was the name of an ancient town. As the story unfolds in the Koran, it was a town predominantly inhabited by Jews. Mohammed the prophet targeted Jews. He tried to convert them in order to show off the success of his new theophany, his new revelation -- that there is but one God and he, Mohammed, is his prophet.

Mohammed gave the Jews of Khaibar the option to leave the town taking with them all their belongings. The Jews declined to leave. Mohammed gave the Jews of Khaibar the option to just leave. Again, the Jews declined. Mohammed massacred the Jews of Khaibar. All of them. The story of Khaibar is the story of Sodom and Gemmorah, only Mohammed style.

The name Khaibar resonates with hatred and the mass murder of Jews.

Every Arab and every Muslim who has read the Koran realizes the true meaning behind this choice of name. Naming a missile Khaibar is a metaphor for the struggle between the Arab world and Israel. It is a metaphor suggesting the ultimate end to this struggle. The Arab world is telling us, the West, that this battle is not about Southern Lebanon, it is about the very destruction of Israel.

We must not miss the symbolic value of this message. The dream of seeing Israel destroyed resonates up and down the streets and alleys and hallways of the Arab and Muslim worlds today.

When does the Arab world band together? Never to offer praise and rejoice because of the good that has happened to them, only to rejoice because bad has happened to someone else. The Arab world gathers together in hatred. They gather because of the United States and because of Israel. The Muslim world is galvanized because of the story line in a movie, the lyrics of a song, because of caricatures in a newspaper. They are moved to action because of perceived insult and evil, principally insults and evils interpreted to be hurled at them by the West.

It is this destructive side of a once great tradition that will be the cause and the downfall of the Muslim world. Rather than rejoicing at the wondrous advances of the modern world, rather than incorporating the scientific and technical wonders available to us today, the Muslim world opts to deprive itself by shutting out all glimpses of modernity. That is not true ancient Muslim tradition. During the Golden Age when Islam was a significant world cultural force Muslims lent and even borrowed ideas in order to enhance their own society.

Today the majority of the Arab world suffers from abject poverty and illiteracy. The energy spent on propagandizing about how evil the West is, how devilish the United States is and how dangerous Israel is would be well spent instead teaching children how to read and write giving the future of the Arab world the chance to one day become scientists and researchers and economists. Today, the greatest brain-drain in the world is out of the Arab world.

Historically, the desire to destroy has been a simple tool used in order to galvanize a society against a common enemy. But history marches on. Societies can make transitions, they can be resuscitated, societies and even religions can make the move forward. Russia did it and while the Russians are still puzzling out their future, it is clear that the new Russia will not be a society of destruction.

Signs and symbols pointing to a future for the Muslim and Arab worlds are negative. I, for one, am not hopeful.

Khaibar: a missile's name signals Iran's genocidal intentions
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I hope y'all noticed the writers first name.

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 Thousands in Somalia rally for holy war
Organizer: 'We must sympathize with our brothers in Lebanon'

Friday, August 11, 2006; Posted: 9:13 a.m. EDT (13:13 GMT)

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) -- More than 2,000 people gathered after Friday prayers for a pro-Lebanon rally organized by Mogadishu's new fundamentalist rulers, calling for holy war and chanting "Down with the enemies of Islam, wherever they are!"

Yusuf Ali Siad, one of the organizers, said the protest was sparked by the monthlong conflict between Israel and Lebanon that has killed more than 800 people, mostly in Lebanon.

"We must sympathize with our brothers in Lebanon," Siad told The Associated Press. "It is compulsory to join the holy war."

The demonstrators also shouted slogans against the United States and neighboring Ethiopia, which is Somalia's longtime enemy.

A similar protest was held in neighboring Kenya, drawing about 300 people to Nairobi's main mosque. The protesters, most of them young men, carried signs saying "Israel Stop Killing Our Brothers and Sisters" and "End America's Terrorism of Army Invasion in Iraq."

Somalia has not had an effective central government since warlords toppled longtime dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991 and then turned on each other, plunging the country into anarchy.

As Islamic militants seized the capital and much of southern Somalia in recent months, the country's virtually powerless official government could only watch helplessly.

The Islamists have been imposing strict religious courts, raising fears of an emerging Taliban-style regime. The United States accuses the group of harboring al Qaeda leaders responsible for deadly bombings at the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.

The conflict in Somalia has sent an average of 100 Somali refugees streaming into Kenyan refugee camps every day, according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.

"If the current rate of arrival continues, we can expect another 12,000 refugees by the end of the year," the UNHCR said in a statement. The Dadaab camps in northeast Kenya already have some 134,000 refugees, mostly Somalis.

Somalia's government was formed two years ago with the support of the U.N., but it has failed to assert power outside its base in Baidoa, 255 kilometers (150 miles) from Mogadishu.

Thousands in Somalia rally for holy war

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UN force to evacuate Lebanese troops
Associated Press, THE JERUSALEM POST    Aug. 11, 2006

UN peacekeepers were dispatched Friday to evacuate about 350 Lebanese soldiers and police detained by IDF forces in Marjayoun a day after the IDF swept into the southern Lebanese town, security officials said.

Two armored vehicles from the UN Interim Force in Lebanon, a 2,000-member peacekeeping force deployed in southern Lebanon, headed to Marjayoun, taken by IDF forces on Thursday.

They will escort the Lebanese troops out of their Marjayoun barracks in a convoy that will take them into government-controlled territory further north, the Lebanese security officials said.

On Thursday, Interior Minister Ahmed Fatfat said Israeli troops entered the garrison in Marjayoun in the afternoon "and asked to share it with Lebanese troops there."

He said the troops refused and wanted to leave, but the Israelis did not let them.

"We consider them captives," Fatfat said, adding that the government was trying to win their release.

Lebanese and Arab media reports said that France and the United States intervened to arrange for the evacuation of the Lebanese troops.

There are more than 1,000 Lebanese troops in southern Lebanon conducting security duties. But Hizbullah guerrillas actually control the south.

The government has pledged to send 15,000 troops to the border with Israel as part of a peace package to end one month of brutal fighting and bombardment between Israel and Hizbullah. Israel has insisted on staying in southern Lebanon until a robust international force is deployed, which could take weeks or months.

UN force to evacuate Lebanese troops