Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

Ukrainian Army Plane Shot Down With 49 Aboard
Jun 14th, 2014
Daily NewsDebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

No survivors were initially reported among the 49 passengers aboard the Ukrainian Ilyushin-76 military transport plane shot down Friday night while coming into the land in the restive eastern city of Luhansk.

Pentagon Orders Aircraft Carrier to Gulf in Case Iraq Military Option Needed
Jun 14th, 2014
Daily NewsThe Jerusalem Post
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

WASHINGTON - US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered an aircraft carrier moved into the Gulf on Saturday, readying it in case Washington decides to pursue a military option after insurgents overwhelmed a string of Iraqi cities this week and threatened Baghdad.

"The order will provide the Commander-in-Chief additional flexibility should military options be required to protect American lives, citizens and interests in Iraq," the Pentagon said in a statement.

The carrier USS George HW Bush, moving from the North Arabian Sea, will be accompanied by the guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea and the guided-missile destroyer USS Truxtun, the statement said. It added the ships were expected to complete their transit into the Gulf later on Saturday.

Obama Rules Out Sending Troops to Iraq
Jun 14th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday ruled out sending U.S. troops "back into combat" in Iraq despite the threat from a surging army of Islamic terrorists, ABC News reports.

Speaking as several cities in Iraq continued to fall under the flags of the Al-Qaeda-inspired Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), Obama told reporters his National Security Council was still considering options.

“I'll be reviewing those options in the days ahead,” Obama said on the White House’s south lawn, according to ABC News. “I do want to be clear, though. This is not solely, or even primarily, a military challenge."

The president seemed to suggest that the Iraqis had squandered the "extraordinary sacrifices" made by Americans to stabilize the country.

“Unfortunately, Iraqi leaders have been unable to overcome, too often, the mistrust and sectarian differences that have long been simmering there. And that's created vulnerabilities within the Iraqi government, as well as their security forces,” he said.

Obama said, however, that besides the danger ISIS poses to Iraq "given the nature of these terrorists, it could pose a threat eventually to American interests as well."

ISIS has begun turning southward towards Baghdad, after conquering the second-largest Iraqi city of Mosul and several other northern cities this week in a lightning offensive.

On Thursday, Obama declared that short-term military actions will have to be taken in Iraq and said he is looking at "all options", but his spokesman later clarified the president did not intend to send ground troops to Iraq.

Obama reiterated this on Friday, saying he has asked his National Security Council for a "range of options," but adding, "We will not be sending us troops back into combat in Iraq."

"Any action that we may take to provide assistance to Iraqi security forces has to be joined by a serious and sincere effort by Iraq's leaders to set aside sectarian differences," Obama said.

Iraq: Senior Shiite Cleric Calls on Citizens to Fight ISIS
Jun 14th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

ISIS in Mosul, Iraq

Reuters

Iraq's most senior Shiite cleric has issued a call to arms after Sunni-led insurgents seized more towns, the BBC reported on Friday.

The call by a representative of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani came as the Islamists from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) widened their grip in the north and east, and threatened to march south, towards Baghdad.

In his sermon at Friday prayers in Karbala, Sheik Abdulmehdi al-Karbalai said, "Citizens who are able to bear arms and fight terrorists, defending their country and their people and their holy places, should volunteer and join the security forces to achieve this holy purpose."

There are reports that thousands have already joined Shiite militias which could play a crucial role in the defense of Baghdad, according to the BBC.

Meanwhile Iraq's Ministry of Communications has started blocking social media sites in the capital, according to the privately-owned Iraqi news agency Al-Mada.

The call by the Shiite cleric came a day after reports indicated that Iran has deployed Revolutionary Guards units to Iraq in order to fight the Islamists who have taken over cities there.

Iran is not a stranger to doing this, as it is already involved in Syria’s civil war, where it has provided President Bashar Al-Assad with military support during his fight against the rebels.

Iran, which is a majority Shiite Muslim country, shares a border with Iraq and has a direct line to Iraq's Shiite Muslim Prime Minister, Nouri Maliki, noted the BBC, adding that the Iranians could direct their proxies, and even their own special forces units, at ISIS.

Officials in Tehran have denied, however, that their forces are actively operating inside Iraq, noted the report.

Iran Confirms Revolutionary Guards Units Deployed in Iraq
Jun 14th, 2014
Daily NewsDebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

To stem the rapid Al Qaeda advances,Tehran has deployed Revolutionary Guards units to Iraq, Iranian security officials said Friday. At least three battalions of the Qods Forces, the overseas branch of the Guards, were dispatched. The crossing of Iranian troops into Iraq was first reported by DEBKAfile Thursday along with the arrival of Al Qods chief Gen. Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad.

Gaza: Palestinians Celebrate Kidnapping By Handing Out Candy
Jun 14th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

IDF troops search for missing boys

Flash 90

Palestinians in Gaza have celebrated the kidnapping of three Israeli students by handing out sweets to passersby.

The "celebrations" - pictures of which can be seen here - were apparently led by the families of terrorists currently serving sentences in Israeli prisons.

The former head of Israel's Shabak internal security agency has linked the kidnappings to previous prisoner releases, saying that far from ensuring the security of Israeli citizens, such moves only make further kidnappings more likely.

"We should stop releasing terrorists for kidnapped soldiers, or releasingterrorists instead of implementing a construction freeze [in Judea and Samaria - ed.] during peace talks with the Palestinians - it encourages more kidnappings," Diskin wrote on Facebook. 

The claim that Israel released terrorists "in exchange" for building in Judea and Samaria has not been proven, although politicians on the Left have long alleged it.

Meanwhile Israeli and Jewish activists have begun a Twitter campaign in solidarity with the missing boys. #bringbackourboys has already gained significant traction, in large part after the IDF Spokesperson's Unit adopted it.

But anti-Israel activists have attempted to hijack the viral campaign, using it to express support for terrorists and joyfully speculating that the students could be used in a "prisoner swap" to gain their release.

Cabinet Meeting Moved to Tel Aviv Due to Kidnapping Crisis
Jun 14th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Netanyahu meets with Defense Minister Yaalon (L) over search for abducted teens

Flash 90

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has moved Sunday morning's cabinet meeting from its normal Jerusalem location to his Tel Aviv office, as he continues to regularly liaise with the IDF - whose head offices are in Tel Aviv - on the ongoing search for the three kidnapped yeshiva students.

The boys - students at the Makor Chaim yeshiva high school in Kibbutz Kfar Etzion - were apparently waiting for a ride outside the nearby town of Alon Shvut in Gush Etzion, south of Jerusalem, when they were abducted by terrorists.

Security services have kept a tight lid on the ongoing operation to locate and free the students, and little is known about the circumstances of the kidnapping or who may be behind it.

Islamist terrorist group Hamas has celebrated the kidnapping, and on Friday a Hamas official called on Palestinian Arabs in Hevron to attempt to disrupt the IDF search - but the group has not claimed responsibility for it.

On Saturday evening, the Prime Minister confirmed that the missing trio: Eyal Yifrah (19), Naftali Frenkel (16) and Gilad Sha'ar (16) were indeed abducted by terrorists, saying that authorities were "in the midst of a wide-ranging operation to locate and return the three missing youths," and confirming their identities.

The following is a full transcript of the Prime Minister's speech:

"We are in the midst of a wide-ranging operation to locate and return the three missing youths. The three missing students are Eyal Yifrach, Gilad Shaar and Naftali Frankel."

"I spoke with their parents before the onset of Shabbat. I told them that we are doing everything that the State of Israel can do, and even more, in order to bring their children – who are our children – back home," the Prime Minister told reporters. "I must say that these parents showed admirable restraint and strength of spirit. In these difficult hours the heart of the entire nation is with the teens and their families.

"The IDF, ISA [Israeli Security Services] and all the security services are currently engaged in intensive operations in order to locate the missing youths. I thank them for this activity; they are working 'round the clock. Naturally, I cannot share everything we know, not at this time; however, I can say this: Our young people have been abducted by a terrorist organization. This is absolutely clear; there is no doubt about this. They were abducted by a terrorist organization.

"In consultations with Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch, IDF Chief-of-Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz and ISA Director Yoram Cohen, I issued the following instructions:

"First, to use all means at our disposal in order to locate the abductees; Second, to prevent the possibility of their being moved to the Gaza Strip or any other place; Third, to prepare all forces for any scenario; and Fourth, to demand that the Palestinian Authority and its leader, Abu Mazen [Mahmoud Abbas], from whose territory the kidnappers came, to do whatever is necessary to assist in bring the abductees back home."

Netanyahu rejected claims by Palestinian Authority officials that they could not be held accountable for the kidnapping, given that it took place in "Area C" of Judea and Samaria, which is under Israeli control.

The claim is a rather weak one, given that all Palestinian terrorist attacks take place in areas under Israeli control.

"This is the responsibility of the Palestinian Authority. We hold Abu Mazen and the Palestinian Authority responsible for all attacks against Israel that originate from their territory, whether this is Judea and Samaria or the Gaza Strip," declared the Prime Minister.

"The claim that the Palestinian Authority is not responsible because the event occurred in an area under Israeli control is baseless," he continued. "When terrorist attacks were perpetrated, and you all remember this, in the center of the country, it was the authority that controlled the area from which the attackers originated that was responsible. This is exactly the case here. The attackers came from Palestinian Authority areas and the Authority is responsible."

Turning to the Hamas-Fatah unity pact, Netanyahu said it had served to embolden terrorists to carry out further attacks against Israel.

"To my regret, this event underscores what we have been saying – myself, the Defense Minister and the Government of Israel – for many months: The pact with Hamas has led to very harsh results, results which are the exact opposite of advancing peace between us and the Palestinians," he said.

"All of the terrorist organizations – Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the other terrorist organizations – are committed to the destruction of Israel and they draw encouragement from this pact. Their personnel are constantly trying to murder, attack and abduct Israeli citizens simply because they are Israeli citizens – women, youths and children. They shrink at nothing and need no excuse, reason or pretext to do so, and they are indeed trying to do so. Over the decades they have tried to perpetrate abductions and, to our regret, they occasionally succeed. Dozens of such attempts were foiled last year alone.

"My friends, we have all seen the terrorist base that was created in the Gaza Strip when Hamas and the terrorist organizations seized control there. Now, Abu Mazen's pact with Hamas has opened the door to a possible Hamas takeover of the Palestinian Authority areas in Judea and Samaria.

"I have said this before and I reiterate it tonight: There is no possibility of talking peace with Israel while, at the same time, establishing a unity government with Hamas, a terrorist organization that aspires to destroy Israel. Those same elements in the international community that said that the Palestinian agreement with Hamas would advance peace now see the true results of this union."

"Citizens of Israel, in our region, states are collapsing and coming apart under the murderous assaults of extremist Islam and the terrorist organizations operating under its auspices. Only a strong and united stand by the entire nation is preventing – and continuing to prevent – their victory here. Again and again we have discovered that we can rely only on ourselves – on the IDF, the ISA, the security services and on your strength of spirit – soldiers and citizens of Israel."