When Will World Leaders Realize That Israel Is NOT The Enemy Of Peace But The Proponent Of It?

UN Agency Accused of Turning Weapons Over to Hamas

By Ahuva Balofsky July 22, 2014 , 11:00 am

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“My soul is among lions, I do lie down among them that are aflame; even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.” (Psalm 57:5)

Islamic Jihad militants ride a truck during a rally marking the 26th anniversary of the movement’s foundation and marking the 18th anniversary of the death of the group’s leader Fathi Shikaki, in Rafah Refugee Camp, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013. (Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)

Last week, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, responsible for overseeing humanitarian efforts in Gaza, shocked the world by announcing it had uncovered a stockpile of rockets in a Gaza children’s school.  Now, the agency stands accused of handing over those rockets to Hamas via local authorities.

Israel has long claimed that Hamas uses UN installments and humanitarian sites as cover for its various terrorist operations.  Until last week, the UN generally, and UNRWA in particular, have denied the claim, saying they had no evidence such violations of their facilities were taking place.

On Wednesday, UNRWA reported that it had indeed found 20 rockets in a school not in use, and the agency turned the rockets over to local authorities.  According to Israeli officials, those officials report to Hamas, so such actions are tantamount to returning weapons to terrorists.

“The rockets were passed on to the government authorities in Gaza, which is Hamas. In other words, UNRWA handed to Hamas rockets that could well be shot at Israel,” a senior Israeli official told The Times of Israel.

The UNRWA decision also encourages Hamas to continue abusing the humanitarian aid it receives.  “It’s shocking to see UNRWA handing over weapons to forces that can and will use them to shoot at Israel and kill Israelis and perpetuate this conflict,” Josh Block, CEO of The Israel Project, told the Daily Beast. “It’s a betrayal of the U.N.’s mission, of the Palestinian people that UNRWA is intended to serve, and calls into question international support for such an entity.”

UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness rejected the accusation.  “According to longstanding UN practice in UN humanitarian operations worldwide, incidents involving unexploded ordnance that could endanger beneficiaries and staff are referred to the local authorities,” Gunness said in a statement.

“Immediately after the discovery of the rockets, UNRWA proactively informed the relevant parties and successfully took all necessary measures for the removal of the objects in order to preserve the safety and security of the school. Local authorities fall under the government of national consensus in Ramallah. They pledged to pass a message to all parties not to violate UNRWA neutrality,” he said.

Upon discovering the rockets, UNRWA said it would open an investigation into the matter, “which can commence as soon as hostilities in Gaza are over,” but would only determine which portions of its findings to release after it concluded.  The agency refuses to release photos of the rockets to Israel, as it claims it needs the photos as evidence in its investigation.

For what it is worth, UNRWA did issue a statement strongly condemning “the group or groups responsible for placing the weapons in one of its installations. This is a flagrant violation of the inviolability of its premises under international law.”

Although officially under the direction of the Palestinian Unity government based in Ramallah, Israel believes local law enforcement in Gaza answers to Hamas, which while no longer officially in power in the region, holds considerable control over it.  Hamas and Fatah agreed to form a unity government in April, and the new cabinet was sworn in June 2.  Despite Hamas being deemed a terrorist organization by the US, America has agreed to recognize the government.

Read more at http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/18705/un-agency-accused-turning-weapons-hamas/#Z3blwIZl7GdfBxh7.99

Un-Invited Kerry Arrives In Egypt To Broker Deal But First Criticizes Israel For Killing Too Many Palestinians. Huh, Who Started This Whole Mis-Adventure?

Kerry Arrives in Middle East in Attempt to Broker Cease-Fire

By Lea Speyer July 22, 2014 , 11:00 am

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“In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.” (Psalm 4:8)

(Photo: US Department of State)

US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Cairo Monday night in an attempt to broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.

The secretary’s trip, which his aides acknowledge does not have a high chance of succeeding, comes after US President Barack Obama strongly urged both sides to end the fighting, citing “serious concerns” about the increasing number of casualties in Gaza.

“It now has to be our focus and the focus of the international community to bring about a cease-fire that ends the fighting,” Obama said at the White House on Monday. “Obviously it will not be easy.”

According to the White House, Kerry is seeking “an immediate cessation of hostilities based on a return to the November 2012 cease-fire agreement” and the protection of civilians “in Gaza and in Israel.”

Kerry’s latest attempt to broker peace in the Middle East is preceded by a controversy sparked by the secretary when he was caught questioning Israel’s methods on an open mic. Prior to an interview with Fox News on Sunday, regarding Operation Protective Edge, Kerry stated, “It’s a hell of a pinpoint operation, it’s a hell of a pinpoint operation.”

John Kerry Caught on Fox News Hot Mic Criticizing Israeli Strike

Kerry appeared to be expressing his frustration over the increasing ground invasion into Gaza, which the IDF has said is focusing on eradicating Hamas’s terror tunnel and weapons infrastructure.

“We’ve got to get over there. Thank you John. I think John; we ought to go tonight. I think it’s crazy to be sitting around,” Kerry said.

In the interview later with Fox News, Kerry urged Hamas to be “reasonable and understand that if you accept the cease-fire, you save lives.” He told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Hamas’s indiscriminate attacks on Israel are “unacceptable by any standard anywhere in the world” and that Israel has every right to defend and protect its citizens.

“They’ve [Hamas] been offered a ceasefire, and they’ve refused to take the ceasefire. Even though Egypt and others have called for that ceasefire, they’ve just stubbornly invited further efforts to try to defuse the ability to be able to rocket Israel,” Kerry stated.

Kerry’s relationship with Israel has considerably cooled since his last peace-making efforts between Israel and the Palestinian Authority failed abysmally. Efforts collapsed completely when PA President Mahmoud Abbas announced that he would be joining forces with Hamas in a new Palestinian unity government.

Declassified photo: Gaza terrorists used a mosque located near Palestinian homes as a place to hide rockets and gather militants. Terrorist organizations systematically use mosques to conceal weapons and create underground tunnels within populated areas. (Photo: IDF)

Former Israeli ambassador to the US Michael Oren told Channel 2 on Monday that the secretary was “not invited” by Israel to broker any type of cease-fire.

Hamas officials have even expressed their skepticism towards a Kerry cease-fire that would be agreeable to the Gaza-based terror group.

“John Kerry wants to rescue the Israelis. Hopefully he will achieve something towards a cease-fire but it would only be for the Israeli interests, said Ehab Al Ghussain, a Hamas spokesman.

Prior to flying to the Middle East, Kerry announced that the US is pledging $47 million in humanitarian aid in Gaza, AFP reported. The US will provide $15 – $60 million in an emergency appeal fund from the UNRWA, the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency.

The UNRWA has come under fire recently by Israel when it supposedly handed back some 20 rockets hidden in one of its locations by Hamas to the terror group.

It is not clear yet whether Kerry will be traveling to Israel. Upon arrival in Egypt, Kerry met with UN Secretary General Ban ki-Moon. Moon said that while Hamas “should immediately stop firing rockets,” he criticized Israel for its military response.

“There is a proportionality and…most of the death toll has been Palestinian people,” Ban added. The Secretary General is set to arrive in Israel Tuesday afternoon and meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials.

Kerry is expected to meet with Egyptian President Sisi and the Secretary General of the Arab League.

Either The IRS Buys Inferior Computers Or...

IRS Reveals More Crashed Computers With At Least One Thing In Common: Lois Lerner

July 21, 2014 by Ben Bullard

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That fatal computer flu that did in Lois Lerner’s hard drive must have been nasty contagious.

The IRS told a Congressional panel last week that several more previously-undisclosed instances of “computer problems” had afflicted the devices of IRS employees who had regular interoffice communications with Lerner.

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee released a portion of the transcript from testimony it received last week from IRS Deputy Associate Chief Counsel Tom Kane, who told the panel that other IRS employees – “less than 20” in his words – had also experienced computer crashes.

That new group of unfortunates includes people like Lerner advisor David Fish, IRS Cincinnati field office employee Kimberly Kitchens, and IRS Exempt Organizations employee Andy Megosh. Lerner was the head of the IRS Exempt Organizations Unit until May of 2013, when she was placed on administrative leave after revealing that the agency had used bureaucratic stonewalling tactics to discriminate against conservative nonprofit groups during President Barack Obama’s reelection campaign.

The House of Representatives found Lerner in Contempt of Congress in May of this year over her refusal to testify about her alleged role in the scandal.

Kitchens, you may recall, was among many Obama donors/IRS employees who spent more than twice as much of their personal funds on Obama’s reelection campaign than on that of his Republican opponent in 2012, Mitt Romney.

Kane also told the Oversight Committee last week that it’s possible that backup tape drives housing some of the “lost” email data may, in fact, still be around somewhere – even though it’s agency policy to overwrite the backups after six months.

At any rate, these computer-death coincidences are becoming remarkable indeed. So take us out, Remy:

H/T: Reason TV

ISIS Has Simple Choices For Christians.

ISIS to Christians: Pay, Convert or Die

By Ahuva Balofsky July 21, 2014 , 11:39 am

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“Learn to do well; seek justice, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.” (Isaiah 1:17)

ISIS is continuing its persecution of Christians in Iraq. (Photo: Facebook)

Over the weekend, militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria set fire to a 1,800-year-old church in Mosul.  Hundreds of Christian families have also fled the city after being threatened if they did not convert or pay a tax.

The jihadist group issued a Saturday deadline for Christian residents of Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, to leave, pay, convert or die.  After noon on Saturday, the group announced over loudspeakers from the city’s mosques, “nothing but the sword” was offered.

“For the first time in the history of Iraq, Mosul is now empty of Christians,” said Chaldean patriarch Louis Sako, who heads Iraq’s largest Christian community to AFP.  Christian families are now on their way to Dohuk and Arbil, both in the autonomous Kurdish region of the country.

The Christian population of Iraq was estimated at 1 million prior to the 2003 American invasion.  Since then, they have been frequent targets of militant bombings and other attacks, prompting many to flee the country.  Now, Church officials estimate only 450,000 Christians remain.

ISIS “seems intent on wiping out all traces of minority groups from areas it now controls in Iraq,” Human Rights Watch said in a statement Saturday.

Leaving is not enough for ISIS, however, as many Christians found their property and belongings confiscated by the militants.  “Some families have had all their money and jewellery taken from them at an insurgent checkpoint as they fled the city,” Abu Rayan, a Christian who left Mosul with his family told AFP news agency on Saturday.

“Some of our homes have already been confiscated and I know families who have handed their keys to neighbors, asking them to look after their property with the hope they would return one day.” Rayan said.

Sites important to Christians have also suffered at the hands of ISIS.  In addition to the burning of the church Saturday, a YouTube video released July 9 shows the destruction of a tomb which government officials identify as the tomb of biblical Jonah.  It was attacked with a sledgehammer.  Earlier this month, it came to light that much of ISIS’s funding came from the illegal sale of artifacts.  What the group does not sell, it says it will destroy, as it considers the artifacts blasphemous.  Additionally, scholars are concerned that even artifacts left untouched by ISIS will be destroyed in the crossfire between insurgents and authorities.

Egyptian Comment On Hamas Being Destroyed By Israel. Good Read!

Too Little But Not Too Late

Reader comment on: Egyptians Hoping Israel Will Destroy Hamas

Submitted by Hamdy, Jul 13, 2014 08:27

"TOO little but not too late"

I am an Egyptian (not Jewish and not Israeli).

I describe the Egyptian stand towards Hamas and Egyptian media reaction to what is happening at the moment as " Too little- but not too late" !!

1) I hope it is not too late that my Egyptian people just woke up now to the horrible reality of Hamas and other terrorist organisations in the middle east which for decades have been causing havoc to their fellow Palestinians let alone to the other Arab countries. Blackmail, threats and violence are their theme and they do not hide that.

2) It is true no other country has supported Palestinians like Egypt has. However, it is also true that no other country has been hurt from terrorist Palestinian organisations, like Hamas, as much as Egypt has been.

3) Keeping silent or exposing Hamas on our Egyptian media or even condemning Hamas for launching rocket attacks on women and children in Israel is NOT enough. It is actually too little and too embarrassing. The Egyptian government should lodge a complaint in UN or security council asking for UN forces to help our neighbor Israel protect their citizens.

4) Thanking the Israeli Prim Mister , Mr Netanyahu, for neutralising Hamas and expressing our hope, as Egyptians, that the Israeli army will finish off Hamas is too little. Our Egyptian army should extend a helping hand to our neighbor Israel and co-operate at all levels. As a matter of fact, doing anything to get rid of Hamas will help Palestinians in Gaza before anyone else (Hamas not only hides behind civilians but even punishes their own Palestinians citizens who leave their houses after receiving warning from IDF just before Israeli air strikes). Remember, talk is cheap.

5) My country Egypt has been a forerunner in middle eastern Arabic politics. It has always been said that former president Saddat was well ahead of his era when he co-operated with Israel and established strong relations with the our neighboring state 35 years ago. So, why the hesitation now ? Why the fear now?
If Pakistan ( a Muslim country ) co-operated with USA in the fight against terrorism and if Saudi Arabia ( the symbol of Islamic world ) has such strong military ties with USA and UK, why not Egyptian people, government and army do more than supportive talking to Israel and more than praising to the IDF for fighting terrorism along our borders and at our footsteps.

My call to President Sisi, DO MORE and stay courageous . Show our Arabic world from the gulf to the Atlantic ocean that Egypt under your reign is a unique country.

President Sisi, it is not too late yet ! If you DO more to help Israel finish off Hamas, then you are saving not only Egypt but also many of our friendly Arabic countries from the terrible consequences of terrorism not only from this already banned organisation but also from similar ones and hidden cells which are still in their infancy awaiting time to overthrow authorities in most Arabic states.

Please, act now before it is too late

Illegal Immigrants Going To Be Met With Texas National Guard!

Texas Gov. Perry to Deploy 1,000 National Guard Troops to Border

Monday, 21 Jul 2014 03:57 PM

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Texas Gov. Rick Perry said on Monday he planned to send 1,000 Texas National Guard troops to the Mexican border to boost security during a surge in illegal immigration by children, a move that could increase pressure on President Barack Obama.Perry, seen as a possible Republican candidate in the 2016 presidential race, said the guard troops were needed because the flood of children crossing from Mexico had pushed federal border protection to its limits.
"The price of inaction is too high for Texas to pay," Perry told a news conference.
The governor's announcement came just days before Obama plans meet with the leaders of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador on Friday to discuss cooperation on the influx of child migrants from Central America.
Perry said the National Guard would help the state's surveillance and deploy some of its assets, such as aircraft, to monitor the border. He give no indication the Texas National Guard would work directly with U.S. Border Patrol.
During the nine months ending June 30, more than 57,000 children were detained at the U.S.-Mexico border, most of them from Central America, and double last year's count, according to U.S. government data.
Perry said federal resources had been diverted to take care of those children, creating a vacuum for criminal cartels to step up operations.
Perry previously called on Obama to send 1,000 National Guard troops to the Texas-Mexico border.
Before the news conference, White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters: "If this deployment does move forward, it is the kind of step that we would like to see be coordinated and integrated with the ongoing response there."
Tony Payan, director of the Mexico Center at Rice University's Baker Institute in Houston, said Perry's plan was more about politics than security because the state's guard troops would play supporting roles on the vast border and likely be deployed for a short period of time.
"The operational impact is limited. This forces one to think that this is a political move by Rick Perry," he said.
The White House and lawmakers have called the influx a humanitarian crisis, and the Obama administration has requested an additional $3.7 billion from Congress to address the situation.
Republicans, who say Obama's immigration policies have encouraged the flood of children, have so far balked at approving the money.
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