Prophecy and End Time Series. - Israel

[Shammu]

Qassam missile found near major Israeli cities
Latest indication Palestinians planning rocket war against Jewish state
Posted: February 22, 2006
9:50 a.m. Eastern

By Aaron Klein
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com

JERUSALEM – In the latest indication Palestinian terror groups are seeking to launch missiles at major Jewish cities, the Israeli army today discovered a Qassam rocket in the West Bank, which borders Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

Today's find follows a planned mortar attack against Jerusalem that was thwarted earlier this week and a WorldNetDaily exclusive interview in which the leader of the halted attack threatened to start a rocket war, warning his group will fire missiles at Israel's international airport and "bring hell" to Israelis.

The Qassam missile was discovered today in the West Bank town of Kabatiya, south of Jenin, during a military operation in the area. It appeared as though the rocket recently was launched from Jenin, which borders several Jewish towns, military sources told WND.

Qassams are improvised steel rockets, about four feet in length, filled with explosives and fuel. They can travel between one and four miles depending on the sophistication of the particular rocket. Qassams lack a guidance system and are launched by terrorists who reportedly use the rocket's trajectory and known travel distance to aim at a particular Jewish community.

More than 500 rockets have been launched at Jewish communities in and near the Gaza Strip the past five years, killing several Israelis. After Israel's withdrawal from Gaza this past August, the terror groups' warned they transferred their rockets to the West Bank, which borders most of Israel's major cities.

So far, no rocket or mortar has landed at any Jewish community in or near the West Bank. Israel says at least two rockets have been launched from the Jenin area in northern Samaria. Senior terrorists from the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an offshoot of the long-ruling Fatah party, told WND seven rockets have been fired from the West Bank the past eight weeks.

Mortar attack against Jerusalem thwarted

Marking what many here are calling a major escalation in Palestinian terrorism, security officials announced earlier this week they captured a rocket launcher and eight mortar shells in Bethlehem intended for attack against a neighboring Jerusalem suburb. The thwarted attack was planned by the Popular Resistance Committees, an umbrella organization consisting of several Palestinian terror groups.

"As far as we know, this is the first time a projectile weapon aimed at targeting Jerusalem was found," said Yuval Diskin, chief of Israel's Shin Bet Security Services.

Abu Abir, spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees, told WND his group takes credit for the failed mortar attack against Jerusalem. In an interview to be released in full tomorrow, he threatened more rocket attacks.

"We call on (Shin Bet chief) Diskin and tell him not to be so happy and proud about stopping our attack because there is much more to come. The lives of Israeli citizens will turn to hell very soon," Abu Abir said.

Terror leader: We'll launch rocket war against Israel

Abu Abir warned his group has stockpiles of rockets in the West Bank ready to launch at Jewish cities.

"I am not going to give details (about which cities we will attack), but we are planning to be present all around the West Bank," he said. "Every Israeli target is a legitimate target. Wherever there is an Israeli soldier or settler they will find our rockets.

"Jerusalem, Ben Gurion International Airport, Tel Aviv and every Israeli point can be part of our goals," he continued. "Whenever it is needed, rockets will be fired against every Israeli settlement, city or neighborhood. ...We know that Israeli central cities are more sensitive targets and they contain more sensitive targets, but we will not hesitate to fire rockets everywhere against the Zionist enemy."

The Popular Resistance leader warned of a massive new wave of violence he said will soon be launched against Israel:

"The bases for rockets networks and technology are already installed in the West Bank, but their operational capacities should be ready in the next few months. Israelis should wait for a revolution very soon," he said.

'Third intifada on its way'

Abu Abir is one of many terror leaders to speak of major planned violence against the Jewish state. In a widely circulated article, WorldNetDaily reported last week recent events here are leading terror leaders to launch what they called a third intifada against Israel consisting of suicide bombings, rocket attacks against Jewish communities and "a few new surprises in our arsenal."

The Palestinians launched their first intifada in 1987, which developed into a well-organized violent rebellion orchestrated by Yasser Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organization from its headquarters in Tunis. The so-called second intifada was initiated in 2000 after Arafat rejected at Camp David an Israeli offer of a Palestinian state on most of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and sections of eastern Jerusalem. Some 993 Israelis and 3,781 Palestinians have been killed so far. Many say the second intifada is still being waged.

Some terrorist leaders, particularly from the Al Aqsa Brigades, whose associated Fatah Party scored poorly against Hamas in last month's parliamentary elections, say they are planning massive violence against Israeli civilians mostly to revolt against the new Hamas-controlled Palestinian government.

Abu Nasser, an Al Aqsa leader in the West Bank, told WND, "When we were in power, we were obliged to be more sensitive and more obedient to the instructions and policies of our leadership. Now that we lost the elections, why should we obey the leaders and just who do we obey? The Hamas?"

Abu Nasser said the Brigades will not respect any cease-fire agreed upon by Hamas and will not halt attacks at Hamas' request.

Other terror leaders told WND now that acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced his administration will seek an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank, terrorism against Israel must be stepped up "to prove we are chasing out the Israelis like we did in Gaza."

WorldNetDaily caught up with Abu Oudai, the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades leader responsible for coordinating the organization's rocket network in the West Bank. He warned his organization is preparing a massive rocket onslaught against Israel:

"We have launched [several] times and with the help of Allah we will launch these rockets regularly," he said. "There will be no calm, no cease-fire until the occupation leaves our land. I don't need to tell you that the aerial distance from Jenin to Netanya, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and other cities is not big without telling you what are all our plans concerning other parts of the West Bank."

Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine leader Abu Hani told WND his terror group used a cease-fire signed with Israel last year "for a rest in order to rehabilitate forces. The Palestinian people preserves its right to fight against Israel ... which is forcing us to launch a new intifada."

Islamic Jihad's northern West Bank leader, Abu Khalil, said his terror group is planning a new terror war to chase Israel from the West Bank and eventually from Jerusalem.

Asked by WND which weapons will be emphasized during Islamic Jihad's next wave of terror attacks, Abu Khalil replied, "I should not answer this question for operational reasons. But we proved that we use everything Allah enables us to achieve and to use – suicide attacks, rockets and more surprises. The Israelis should wait for interesting surprises."

[Shammu]

Rocket hell to rain on Israel
Terror leader also demands Israel be relocated to U.S.
Posted: February 23, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern

By Aaron Klein
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com

Following is an exclusive interview with Abu Abir, spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees, an umbrella organization consisting of several Palestinian terror groups. The Committees is responsible for firing over 500 rockets at Jewish towns in and near the Gaza Strip the past five years.

Earlier this week, Israel thwarted a mortar attack against a Jerusalem neighborhood planned by the Committees. The terror group has warned it transferred missiles from Gaza to the West Bank – which borders Israel's major cities – and is preparing a rocket war against the Jewish state.

Arabic-English translation by Ali Waked.

WND: Israel this week revealed your terror group transferred rocket launchers and mortar shells to Bethlehem, which borders Jerusalem, and that your plan was to fire the mortars into the Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo. Jerusalem has previously been the scene of suicide bombings and shooting attacks, but Palestinian rockets have never been fired at the city. Any projectile fired against Jerusalem would be a massive escalation in Palestinian terrorism and likely would have far-reaching economic consequences for the Jewish state. The Committees is known to have an extensive rocket network in certain West Bank villages. Is your group planning more rocket attacks against Jerusalem or other major Israeli cities bordering the West Bank?

ABU ABIR: I am not going to give you these details, but we are planning to be present all around the West Bank. Every Israeli target is a legitimate target. Wherever there is an Israeli soldier or settler they will find our rockets. Jerusalem, Ben Gurion International Airport, Tel Aviv and every Israeli point can be part of our goals. Whenever it is needed, rockets will be fired against every Israeli settlement, city or neighborhood. We know that Israeli central cities are more sensitive targets and they contain more sensitive targets, but we will not hesitate to fire rockets everywhere against the Zionist enemy.

WND: Israel has warned after its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip the Committees transferred its rockets to the West Bank. What stage is your group currently in with regard to its rocket transfer to the area? Do you have a network there capable of regularly firing at nearby Jewish neighborhoods?

[Shammu]

Hamas helping militant groups carry out Qassam attacks
By Ze'ev Schiff, Haaretz Correspondent

Hamas activists may not be actively launching Qassam rockets at Israel from the Gaza Strip, but they are providing assistance to militants from other groups who are carrying out such attacks.

Most of the rocket fire is being carried out by Islamic Jihad activists, activists from Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, and members of local factions such as the Popular Resistance Committees.

For all intents and purposes, Hamas has been in control of the northern branch of the PRC over the past few months. Since the Palestinian elections, the movement has not been involved in the Qassam rocket fire, but has provided direct assistance to the PRC.

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Prior to the elections and despite an agreement on the "period of calm," Hamas played an active role in the rocket attacks, with military officials estimating that the movement was responsible for nearly 20 percent of all Qassams fired at Israel last year.

Despite recent concerted efforts by the Israel Defense Forces to curtail rocket fire from the Strip, Qassam attacks have significantly increased recently. At least 130 Qassam rockets fired from the Gaza Strip fell in Israeli territory in January - more than double the 64 that landed in Israel in December 2005.

Senior IDF and political officials have reiterated warnings to the Palestinians that Israel will be forced to adopt harsh military measures if the rocket fire continues. Options being considered include the possibility of cutting off the power supply to the Strip, and using heavier artillery fire that will be directed not only at open areas.

Officials also have discussed the option of sending armored corps forces into the northern part of the Strip to push the rocket firers back. There also has been talk of adopting measures to cause residents of the northern Strip to flee their homes.

As part of its efforts to combat the rocket attacks, Israel Air Force planes have dropped warning leaflets over the area - apparently to no avail. Artillery fire and other IAF operations also have proved ineffective in dealing with the rocket attacks.

The current Qassam rockets have a range of just over 11 kilometers, but militants are working to increase this. For some time, Hamas has been trying to smuggle in Russian Grad rockets, which have a 24-kilometer range. Such rockets would be able to reach the Ashkelon power station and other strategic targets within Israel.

Hamas helping militant groups carry out Qassam attacks

[Shammu]

14:47 24/02/2006            
Iranian advisor: We'll strike Dimona in response to U.S. attack
By Yossi Melman, Haaretz Correspondent

If the United States launches an attack on Iran, the Islamic republic will retaliate with a military strike on Israel's main nuclear facility.

Dr. Abasi, an advisor to Iran's Revolutionary Guard, said Tehran would respond to an American attack with strikes on the Dimona nuclear reactor and other strategic Israeli sites such as the port city of Haifa and the Zakhariya area.

Haifa is also home to a large concentration of chemical factories and oil refineries.

Zakhariya, located in the Jerusalem hills is - according to foreign reports - home to Israel's Jericho missile base. Both Israeli and international media have published commercial satellite images of the Zakhariya and Dimona sites.

Abasi, a senior lecturer at Tehran University, was quoted in the Roz internet news site, identified with reform circles in Iran.

Iranian affairs experts believe Abasi's statements are part of propaganda battle being wages by all sides - including Israel and Iran - in the lead up to next months United Nations Security Council debate on Iran?s nuclear program.

At this stage, the possibility that sanctions will be leveled at Iran are extremely small.

Iranian advisor: We'll strike Dimona in response to U.S. attack

[Shammu]

Hamas' Moscow Trip Angers Israel

By RAMIT PLUSHNICK-MASTI, Associated Press Writer Fri Feb 24, 7:31 AM ET

JERUSALEM - A top-level Hamas delegation will travel to Moscow next week for meetings with Russian officials, a Hamas official said Friday, part of the militant group's efforts to gain international legitimacy after sweeping a Palestinian parliamentary election.

Russia's invitation to Hamas angered Israel, which is seeking to isolate the militant group after its victory in the Jan. 25 election. Israel also condemned Turkey after Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul met in Ankara with Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal.

Hamas, responsible for dozens of suicide bombings in Israel, is sworn to the destruction of the Jewish state. Israel, the United States and the European Union list Hamas as a terrorist organization.

Israel has said it will have no ties with the new Hamas-led Palestinian government unless the militant group denounces violence, recognizes Israel's right to exist and accepts past peace deals.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that the Moscow talks with Hamas leaders would be used to pull them into the Mideast peace process. Lavrov said Russian officials would negotiate according to the agreed position of the so-called quartet of Mideast peace mediators: Russia, the United States, the United Nations and the European Union.

The Hamas delegation to Moscow, to be headed by Mashaal, is to arrive in Moscow on March 3, according to an announcement posted on the group's Web site. Sami Abu Zohri, a Hamas spokesman, said the delegation would be in Moscow during the "first few days of March," but would not confirm the exact date.

The Russian Foreign Ministry declined to comment on whether a date had been set for the meetings.

Israel's Cabinet last Sunday approved an immediate freeze on the transfer of hundreds of millions of dollars in tax money to the Palestinians. Israel held off on adopting even more drastic measures recommended by security officials, mindful of possible international reaction, but has said it could push ahead with those steps later.

Meanwhile, the army killed seven Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in a new round of violence on Thursday and Friday. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and incoming Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh condemned the army's five-day sweep in the Balata refugee camp near Nablus.

Early Friday, the army killed two Palestinians it said were planting bombs along the border fence separating Israel and the coastal area. One of the Palestinians killed is the son of Hamas lawmaker Abdel Fattah Dukhan.

The army also launched an airstrike early Friday at a group of Gaza militants who it said were firing rockets at Israeli targets. Two Palestinians were lightly wounded in the attack.

In Nablus, thousands of Palestinians, including dozens of armed militants firing in the air, joined a funeral procession for four of the five Palestinians killed Thursday in Balata. One of those killed was Mohammed Shtawi, a leader of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a militant group linked to Abbas' Fatah Party.

Militants chanted "revenge! revenge! revenge!" on loudspeakers. Rabiya Abu Liel, an al-Aqsa Brigades leader, vowed: "What they did to us we will do to them. They killed our leader so we will kill their leaders."

On Wednesday, Shtawi told an AP reporter that soldiers had surrounded his hideout for five hours that day, but he and several friends slipped away. "They will never catch me," he said at the time.

By early Friday, troops had left Balata. Eight Palestinians were killed in the Balata operation since Sunday. More than 50 Palestinians had been injured by live rounds and rubber-coated steel pellets, Palestinian hospital officials said. The military said 15 fugitives had been arrested.

Abbas warned the operation would endanger a cease-fire that has been in effect for a year, according to the Palestinian WAFA news agency.

In Gaza City on Thursday evening, Hamas backers marched toward the Palestinian parliament building to protest Israel's operation in Nablus. Addressing the rally, Haniyeh denounced the "aggression committed against our people." He said Hamas has a two-pronged program for the people: "One hand resists and the other hand builds."

Also Friday, a Hamas militant was killed in Gaza while improperly handling explosives. Hamas identified the man as Abed Moati Abu Daf, 28, "the most prominent trainer" of militants in Gaza, and said he died on a "training mission."

Hamas' Moscow Trip Angers Israel

[Shammu]

 Mofaz: PA Under Hamas Puts Iran Just Outside Tel Aviv
17:23 Feb 26, '06 / 28 Shevat 5766
By Scott Shiloh


      Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz told U.S. envoy David Welch on Sunday that the Hamas and its sponsor in Iran were attempting to create “an axis of evil, here,” on Israel’s doorstep.


Mofaz said, “The latest contacts between the Hamas and Iran, and Khaled Mashal’s trip to Teheran to obtain Iranian support and to create an alliance, brings the axis of evil of Iran, Syria, Hizbullah, and Hamas, right here.”

Mofaz told Welch that the Hamas had specific plans to intensify its relationship with Iran and Hizbullah. “We know about their intentions,” said Mofaz, “and Israel cannot agree to that.”

Despite veiled hints that Hamas might accept Israel de facto within its pre-1967 borders, Mofaz said Israel would not be amenable to any negotiations with the terror group which won a landslide victory against the Fatah in Palestinian Authority elections last month. He called the Hamas approach, “sweet talk.”

“We saw this in interviews in the American press over the weekend, but the facts are simple. That the Hamas has not accepted any conditions, exposes their true intentions. The Hamas plan is to take control of the PA in stages, setting up the government, taking control of the security forces, and following that, control of the entire PA, an act that will turn the PA into Hamastan,” the Defense Minister explained.

Under the Oslo accords, the PA controls territories in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza. Some of those territories are located only a few miles from the heavily populated Tel Aviv area, Israel’s commercial and industrial center.

Regarding the transfer of funds to the PA, Mofaz echoed the new State Department line that Israel would not totally cut off funds to the PA, but rather will examine projects on a case-by-case basis. “The right mechanism is to check its project separately and transfer money after each one is carefully examined,” he said.

Welch met yesterday with Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, telling him the United States was committed to continue providing humanitarian assistance to the PA. Abbas, who won the post of PA president in an earlier election, is the head of the Fatah party.

It is uncertain whether Abbas will continue in his post after the Hamas forms a new government. Hamas’ leader abroad Khaled Mashal said from Damascus, "There is a real chance for dealing with Abu Mazen, and there is no need for such threats to quit.”

Abbas, on the other hand, told Britain’s ITV on Sunday that once the Hamas forms a government, “we could reach a point where I cannot perform my duty."

Mofaz: PA Under Hamas Puts Iran Just Outside Tel Aviv

[Shammu]

Hamas denies suggesting it may recognize Israel
Sun Feb 26, 2006 9:18 AM ET171

 By Nidal al-Mughrabi

GAZA (Reuters) - Hamas's prime minister-designate Ismail Haniyeh on Sunday denied he had suggested the Palestinian Islamist group might one day recognize Israel, saying there was only a possibility of achieving a long-term truce.

Hamas chose Haniyeh, a 43-year-old Gazan viewed by many Palestinians as a pragmatist, as the new prime minister after its election victory on January 25. The militant Islamist group hopes to form a Palestinian government within two weeks.

The Washington Post newspaper, on its Web site, quoted Haniyeh as saying in an interview: "If Israel declares that it will give the Palestinian people a state and give them back all their rights, then we are ready to recognize them."

But Haniyeh told reporters in Gaza that he "did not tackle the issue of recognizing (Israel) in my interview with the Washington Post".

Reiterating a long-standing position by Hamas, Haniyeh said the group would never recognize Israel but could agree to a long-term truce if Israel withdrew from lands captured in the 1967 war, freed prisoners and allowed the return of refugees.

Hamas is caught between U.S.-led demands to recognize Israel or face a cutoff of foreign aid to the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority, and sticking to its ideology of calling for Israel's destruction.

Israel had rejected Haniyeh's published remarks to the Washington Post as falling short of its demands that Hamas recognize Israel's right to exist, renounce violence and accept peace accords as a condition for any contacts with the group.

Israel has sought to isolate any Hamas-led government and decided to freeze transfers of tax revenues worth $50-$55 million per month to the Palestinian Authority.

The United States, while backing Israel's boycott, has pledged to continue providing humanitarian assistance to ease the plight of ordinary Palestinians.

ISRAEL SCEPTICAL

Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz told U.S. Assistant Secretary of State David Welch in a meeting about the Palestinian aid crisis that Haniyeh's published remarks were "sweet talk" and "show their intentions are not real".

Meir Sheetrit, another cabinet minister, had earlier said Haniyeh's quoted comments were a possible indication that "they (Hamas) may be starting to speak another language".

In the newspaper interview, Haniyeh was quoted as saying: "If Israel withdraws to the 1967 borders, then we will establish a peace in stages." He told reporters on Sunday the comments referred to "the nature of the truce".

"We do not have any feelings of animosity toward Jews. We do not wish to throw them into the sea. All we seek is to be given our land back, not to harm anybody," he told the Washington Post.

Hamas, which seeks to replace Israel with an Islamic state, has carried out nearly 60 suicide bombings since a Palestinian uprising began in 2000. But it has largely abided by a cease-fire forged a year ago.

Hamas officials have said in the past the group would offer Israel a 10- to 15-year truce in return for a withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza Strip before pursuing its long-term goals.

"Hamas will never recognize the legitimacy of the Zionist entity on any part of our land of Palestine," senior Hamas leader Khalil Abu Laila said, enunciating Hamas policy.

"We can give a long truce in which peace can prevail in the region for the duration of the truce," he added.

Hamas's election victory over President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction paved the way for the group to form a new cabinet and knocked hopes that Middle East peacemaking might be revived.

Abbas said in an interview to be broadcast on Sunday with Britain's ITV1 that he would resign if he was no longer in a position to pursue his peacemaking agenda when the new Hamas government takes over.

Hamas denies suggesting it may recognize Israel

[Shammu]

 Islamic Leaders Blame Israel For Bombed Shi'ite Mosque
16:58 Feb 26, '06 / 28 Shevat 5766
By Ezra HaLevi

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, Islamic leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini and Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah all blamed Israel for the bombing of a Shi'ite mosque in Iraq last week.

Though the mosque attacks have been attributed to Al-Qaeda, Moslem leader have blamed Israel and the United States.

"These heinous acts are committed by a group of Zionists and occupiers that have failed. They have failed in the face of Islam's logic and justice," Ahmadinejad said in a speech broadcast live on Iranian state-controlled TV. "But be sure, you will not be saved from the wrath and power of the justice-seeking nations by resorting to such acts." He was answered by cries of "Death to Israel" and "Death to America" from the crowd.

Khameini urged Shi'ite Muslims not to take revenge on Sunnis but instead to focus their anger upon the West. "There are definitely some plots to force Shi'ites to attack the mosques and other properties respected by the Sunnis," he said. "Any measure to contribute to that direction is helping the enemies of Islam and is forbidden by Sharia [Islamic law]." The Islamic leader declared a week of mourning in Iran due to the bombing.

"I tell the Americans, the Zionists and the criminals who committed yesterday's crime in Samarra that all your aims will fail," Hizbullah terror chief Hassan Nasrallah said at a rally of Lebanese Shi'ites south of Beirut Friday. "I tell them that the Muslim nation will not be torn apart - it will not fall for the tricks of the occupier."

In Pakistan, an Islamic leader blamed the attacks on India, in addition to the U.S. and Israel. Maulana Hafiz Hussain Ahmad, the head of a Pakistani Islamic group, said he was "praying fervently for another Hitler who should affect another and more powerful Holocaust against the nefarious, plotting and scheming Jews.

Islamic Leaders Blame Israel For Bombed Shi'ite Mosque

My note; Just like Gog to blame someone else. Who knows, Iran may have set off the explosion.

[Shammu]

Last update - 21:20 28/02/2006            
Syria accuses Israel of dumping nuclear waste on Golan Heights
By The Associated Press

GENEVA - Syria accused Israel on Tuesday of using the Golan Heights as a dumping ground for nuclear waste - a charge Israel's ambassador to the world's disarmament body flatly rejected.

Syrian Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari told the 65-nation Conference on Disarmament that all Arab states were committed to creating a zone in the Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction.

"However, Israel, which has unambiguous support from major nuclear weapon states, continues to reject the will of the international community and dumps its nuclear waste in the Syrian Golan Heights," said Ja'afari, the first speaker in Tuesday's session.

Itzhak Levanon, the Israeli ambassador, retorted in Arabic that Ja'afari's speech was full of "repetitive, inaccurate information," but did not take up the question of nuclear waste dumping in the Golan Heights.

Later, Levanon told The Associated Press: "This issue was raised by the Syrians during the Commission on Human Rights and I refuted it completely, and I am refuting it now."

He said Syrians were trying to use the Geneva-based disarmament body, the world's main forum for global arms control treaties, to promote misinformation over political issues that do not deal with arms control.

Israel has controlled the Golan Heights since the 1967 Middle East War.

Ja'afari, in response to Levanon, said: "It was the arsenal of international resolutions" condemning Israel for its position on weapons of mass destruction, not Syria, laying the blame.

Israel, he noted, was the only Middle East country not to have signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, the 1968 global convention to control the spread of nuclear weapons. He said Israel was refusing to engage in nuclear disarmament.

"Israel's first condition is that the nuclear weapon must remain in its hand," Ja'afari said.

Experts say Israel has the world's sixth-largest stockpile of nuclear weapons, but Israel neither acknowledges nor denies having such a program.

Without mentioning Iran by name, Ja'afari said Israel's position on disarmament was unfair when "other states in the region cannot achieve the means of using nuclear powers for peaceful purposes."

Iran says its nuclear program is designed solely to generate electricity, but the United States and Israel claim the program is a cover for producing an atomic bomb.

Ja'afari also accused other countries, which he didn't identify, of helping Israel defy "the priority of saving peace and security in the world."

"At the same time, major nuclear weapon states continue to provide Israel with the latest nuclear technology," he said.

But Levanon said these were all old allegations.

"We have joined every year the consensus calling for the establishment of a free zone in the Middle East, free of weapons of mass destruction," he told The AP. "But we set up also the circumstances for when this could be possible."

"He repeated all the time the same claims, so I stopped him because they were unfounded," Levanon said.

Earlier this month, Uzi Arad, director of Israel's Institute of Policy and Strategy, said that with Mideast peace prospects unlikely, pressure on Israel to eliminate nuclear arms is not on the international agenda.

Syria accuses Israel of dumping nuclear waste on Golan Heights

My note; Most people don't know but theres always been, a ratioactive background in the Golan Heights

[Shammu]

Israel to rethink ties with Russia as Hamas heads for Moscow
By Aluf Benn and Arnon Regular

Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will convene a special meeting today on Israel's bilateral relations with Russia.

The discussion comes in the wake of Russian President Vladimir Putin's invitation to Hamas to visit Moscow that was extended earlier this month to senior officials, as well as Russia's compromise proposal regarding the international crisis surrounding Iran's nuclear program.

A Hamas delegation led by the head of the movement's political bureau, Khaled Meshal, will travel to the Russian capital on Friday to meet with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and other ministry officials. The Hamas delegation will not be meeting with Putin.

Initially, Hamas refused to send a delegation headed by Meshal if Putin wasn't going to meet with it, but the Islamic organization eventually agreed to the Russians' terms.

Putin's invitation to the senior Hamas officials was yet another expression of the independent stance Russia has adopted recently vis-a-vis the Middle East, and it aroused much criticism in Jerusalem.

Participating in today's talk with Olmert will be Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz and senior intelligence community and Foreign Ministry officials.

The head of the National Security Council, Giora Eiland, who maintains an ongoing dialogue with his counterparts in Moscow, will brief the participants on the Israel-Russia relations.

Political sources in Jerusalem said that today's discussion had been scheduled a long time ago, and was a regular annual event. Nevertheless, they added, it now has added significance in light of Russia's increased involvement in the region.

Dialogue with no preconditions

Meanwhile, Hamas' political chief Meshal said yesterday that the movement was willing to hold talks with Western countries, including the United States and European states, but was not prepared to accept any preconditions for such a dialogue.

"Aside from with the Zionist enemy, Hamas is ready for a dialogue with any international party, including the United States and Europe, without any preconditions," Meshal said in an interview with the London-based Al-Hayat Arabic daily.

"We will carry the principles and expectations of our people to such a dialogue, and we will defend them with our lives in keeping with the popular mandate we received," Meshal added.

The Hamas official also said that the terms the West had imposed on Hamas - the abandonment of the armed struggle, the recognition of Israel, and the upholding of existing agreements - were "unjust conditions that other Palestinian elements had accepted and failed to get anything in return. There was no change to the Israeli position or the position of the international community as a result of the acceptance of these conditions in the past," he said.

Meshal added that Hamas would be compensated for the loss of the West's support by assistance from official Arab sources and "popular elements." Iran would be the principal contributor to this compensation, he said.

Israel to rethink ties with Russia as Hamas heads for Moscow

[Shammu]

Iran wants to turn Hamas into Hizbullah
Herb Keinon, THE JERUSALEM POST    Feb. 26, 2006

Iran wants the same control over Hamas it has over Hizbullah, an organization that is nothing less than a "delivery system" for Iranian weapons, Henry A. Crumpton, the State Department's counterterrorism coordinator, told the Jerusalem Post.

Crumpton, who last week held a joint counter-terror dialogue with Israel, said that while most pundits think in terms of missiles when talking about Iranian delivery systems, Hizbullah - which he said is "just an extension of the Iranian government" - must be thought of in these terms as well. (The full text of the interview will appear in Tuesday's Jerusalem Post.)

"You combine the Iranian nuclear weapons program with Hizbullah, and that is a pretty nasty mixture," he said.

Crumpton said that while Iran does not yet have that kind of control over Hamas, "it is clearly an objective. The Iranians would love to have another proxy like that."

Asked what will keep Hamas from gaining such control, Crumpton said, "I hope the Palestinian people; and I hope the leadership of Hamas, if they are going to be responsible or courageous enough."

Crumtpon, a 20-year CIA veteran and highly respected former spy master, has been credited with coming up with the US strategy after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks to use elite intelligence and military officers together with elements of Afghani society to oust the Taliban.

Faint echoes of a partnership strategy can be heard when he talks about the how the international community and US should be acting vis- -vis Hamas.

While the two situations are markedly different - primarily because while the Taliban was foisted on the Afghans, the Palestinians voted for Hamas themselves - Crumpton said the similarity is that "Israel and the US cannot impose our will, force our will on the Palestinian people, they have to be a part of this."

The soft spoken Crumpton "starred" in the US's National Commission report on 9/11 as the person known simply as "Henry" who pressed the CIA to do more in Afghanistan to hunt down Osama bin Laden before the attacks in the US, but who had two of his key proposals rejected.

He also figured prominently in Bob Woodward's book on the war in Afghanistan, Bush at War, this time as the CIA operative "Hank" who - among other things - understood the importance of money and aid in gaining the support of Afghan warlords.

"This is not about us versus them," Crumpton said about Hamas and the PA. "It is about the Palestinian people working with foreign partners -the US, Europe and Israel - to persuade the new Hamas government to be responsible, or if not, then eventually get a new government in there."

While he did not say that the goal was to economically destabilize the PA so that the population would turn on Hamas, he did say the US was not interested in giving Hamas a "free ride."

"This is not about destabilizing the PA, it is about providing humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people while not supporting Hamas, and giving the Hamas the political opportunity to step forward and become responsible leaders," Crumpton said.

He was not, however, starry eyed about the prospects of Hamas rising to the occasion by recognizing Israel, accepting previous agreement with it, and renouncing terrorism.

"I think it will be tough," he said. "I think that they will have to make some bold decisions, and fundamentally change the way they look at Israel and the world. It won't be easy for them; I'm not kidding myself about this. To a large degree violence is part of their identity, it defines who they are. But change is not impossible."

Things are not being made any easier, he said, by the fact that countries such as Russia and Turkey are relating to Hamas as a legitimate actor, "when they are clearly not. It is a problem. We have communicated this. We have told the Russia and others that this is not helpful."

Iran wants to turn Hamas into Hizbullah

[Shammu]

Sub fleet chief: We can hit targets overseas

In exclusive interview with Ynet, commander of army's most advanced, secret war machine fleet says submarines may be used in missions abroad; there's no room for women in unit, he states
Hanan Greenberg

Submarines may be used for hitting strategic targets outside Israel's territory, chief commander of the IDF's submarine fleet, Colonel Yoni, stated. "The submarine task force is preparing for any scenario the State of Israel has defined as plausible for the army," he added.

In an interview with Ynet, Colonel Yoni revealed some of the capabilities of the Israeli army's most hi-tech and secret war machine, and hinted to the possible role of subs in future military disputes.

According to him, "hitting strategic targets is not always a task the Air Force or the infantry can carry out… a submarine can perform the mission, and it can also be used only for collecting intelligence and securing the forces about to carry out such a mission."

Dozens of security operations, maybe even more, were made possible due to the IDF's sub fleet. However, these offensive and defensive missions will remain in the shadow for years to come, in order to enable the force to carry out similar actions in the future.

Nuclear capabilities?

While Colonel Yoni's statements are shrouded in mystery, publications in the foreign press have already hinted Israel's Dolphin submarines have the ability to carry and launch nuclear weapons, a capability that will be put to use should the country's nuclear ground bases are hit in a surprise attack.

The fleet commander naturally refused to comment on the subject, but said such publications abroad in themselves contribute to Israel's deterrence capacity.

"The fact that foreign reports refer to the submarines as a deterring factor says something. In matters having to do with existential threats we must remain vague," he said, adding the IDF has recently avoided holding joint drills with foreign armies, in a bid to maintain the secrecy of its weapons.

Colonel Yoni, who is personally involved in selecting each and every soldier in his unit, speaks of the people under his command with admiration and appreciation. Nevertheless, when it comes to the service of women on submarines, he is not a bearer of news.

"The submarine was not built to accommodate both men and women. We are unable to allocate a special zone on the vessel for women dormitories. Why should we venture into something that has failed in a large part of the fleets in the world, where there is even more lenience on these issues?" he asked.

 
"Is it worth breaking the fabric created between combatants on the submarine? They are under a lot of pressure as it is," he concluded.

Sub fleet chief: We can hit targets overseas

[Shammu]

Israeli Acting PM Believes Russia Would Never Harm Israel .. (Anyone want to bet on this? .. DW)

Created: 02.03.2006 17:11 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 17:12 MSK, 17 hours 58 minutes ago

MosNews

Israeli leader Ehud Olmert said he had been assured by President Vladimir Putin that Russia would “never do anything to harm Israel” despite his invitation to Hamas for talks in Moscow, AFP reported.

“President Putin told me that he had previously given a commitment to (the coma-stricken Israeli Prime Minister) Ariel Sharon that Russia would never do anything to harm the state of Israel and that that commitment applies to me as it did to Ariel Sharon,” Olmert, the acting prime minister, told public radio.

“The Russian president also sent a clear and unequivocal message, about which there can be no mistake, that he supports the three principles.”

Olmert was referring to demands by the international community that Hamas must recognize Israel’s right to exist, commit itself to non-violence and adhere to previously signed international agreements.

Russia’s invitation to a delegation from Hamas — a movement considered as a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States and European Union — was fiercely denounced by members of Olmert’s government last month.

Kremlin officials, however, have said that they will use the talks on Friday to pressure Hamas to alter its platform.

Israeli Acting PM Believes Russia Would Never Harm Israel

[Soldier4Christ]

Terrorist: Israel behind world's violence
Warns his group will launch 'third intifada' against Jewish state


Israel is behind all the violence in the world and is using its secret service agencies to fuel the insurgency in Iraq to direct international attention away from the Palestinian conflict, claims a senior leader of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terror organization.

"The Israeli secret services are behind everything in the world, not only in Palestine or in Iraq. So one of the objectives would be to direct the attention of the world to Iraq instead of what is happening in [Israel]," Abu Nasser, Al Aqsa's leader in the Balata refugee camp in the West Bank said during an exclusive interview with WND's Aaron Klein and ABC Radio's John Batchelor broadcast on Batchelor's national program for which Klein serves as a co-host.

The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades is the declared military wing of the long-ruling Fatah party.

Abu Nasser was responding to a question about whether he agrees with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's remarks last week that the United States and Israel carried out recent attacks against Shia shrines in Iraq.

Abu Nasser, who this week took responsibility for coordinating several West Bank shooting attacks against Israeli civilians, went on to warn that his group soon will launch a "third intifada" against the Jewish state.

Israeli security officials this week noted a large increase in the number of shootings, stabbings, stone and Molotov cocktail attacks against Israelis the past few weeks. They said they fear the violent trend might indicate a plan by Palestinian terror groups to launch a new intifada, or "uprising," against the Jewish state, focused mostly against Jews in the West Bank.

The warning followed a widely circulated article in which leaders of all the major Palestinian terrorist organizations told WorldNetDaily recent events here are leading their groups to initiate suicide bombings, rocket attacks against Jewish communities and "a few new surprises in our arsenal."

The Palestinians started their first intifada in 1987, which developed into a well-organized violent rebellion orchestrated by Yasser Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organization from its headquarters in Tunis. It began with "lower-level" attacks similar to those seen the past few weeks.

The so-called second intifada was initiated in 2000 after Arafat rejected at Camp David an Israeli offer of a Palestinian state on most of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and sections of eastern Jerusalem. The violence began with rock throwing, shootings and stabbings and morphed into suicide bombings and rocket attacks. Some 993 Israelis and 3,781 Palestinians have been killed so far. Many say the second intifada is still being waged.

Security officials told WND they would expect any so-called third intifada to be concentrated mostly against Jewish communities in the West Bank.

"The Palestinian terror groups took responsibility for Israel's withdrawal from Gaza with their increased attacks there," said a senior security official. "Now it seems they are looking to do the same in the West Bank. This will be the scene of the next terror war."

[Soldier4Christ]

Old shack will give Madonna front-row seat for arrival of her Messiah
From Ian MacKinnon, in Jerusalem
MADONNA is trying to buy a house overlooking the Sea of Galilee at the place where followers of her Kabbalist faith expect the Messiah to reappear to herald world peace.

Representatives of the 47-year-old US singer have been cold calling home-owners in the picturesque mountain retreat of Rosh Pina and offering to pay any price to secure a property on her behalf.

The star — who was raised an Italian Catholic but adopted the Hebrew name Esther several years ago — wants the house to turn it into a Kabbalah study centre where followers can pore over the mystical texts.

When she made a highly publicised trip to Israel 18 months ago she visited many sites important to Kabbalah.

Kabbalists believe that the Messiah will appear at Safed and walk to Tiberias on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, travelling along the ravine that cuts through Rosh Pina.

The fabled gorge, or wadi, cuts through the rambling back garden of Shiri Havkin’s ramshackle home. The 100-year-old stone house was owned by her mother, Drora, a famed Israeli singer who passed on the property. Ten days ago Mrs Havkin, 41, herself a singer and actress, got a telephone call out of the blue from someone claiming to represent an “international celebrity” and asking if she wished to sell the house.

Her response was that she had no desire to sell. But, during the short conversation, the caller told Mrs Havkin, whose three children were born in the house, that he represented Madonna and that the price was not an issue. “I was wondering why my house?” she told The Times. “It’s old. It’s not fancy and it only has five rooms. But for me it has great sentimental value. Anyway, I thought the whole call was just a hoax.”

Some days later when a television company asked if she could confirm a rumour about Madonna’s interest, Mrs Havkin questioned her neighbours. She found that they, too, had been approached.

“The house is worth a little more than $500,000 (£294,000), but I would sell it to Madonna for a million dollars and buy another property for me and my family in the area,” she said.

Avi Ben-Porat, a Rosh Pina estate agent, also had a visit from people wishing to buy a property for a Kaballah centre and has arranged viewings.

Madonna turned to Kabbalah in 1997 through Rabbi Philip Berg’s Kabbalah Centre in Los Angeles, which offers a path to spiritual enlightenment through a mix of Orthodox Jewish tradition, visualisation and positive thinking.

MYSTIC SECT
# Dates from 13th century. Based on the Zohar, an interpretation of the Torah

# In 1969 an ex-salesman, Rabbi Philip Berg, set up the Kabbalah Centre International, which now has 3.5 million followers

# It claims kabbalah can end disease, depression and achieve immortality

# Kabbalists believe that God has masculine and feminine characteristics

# Believers wear red string to ward off the evil eye

_________________________

More signs of the times.