Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

Kiev Retracts Permanent Ceasefire Statement After Moscow Differs
Sep 3rd, 2014
Daily NewsDebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Islamic State Terrorists in Russian Jets: 'Putin, You're Next'
Sep 3rd, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Islamic State supporters celebrate capture of Tabqa airbase, Syria

Reuters

Islamic State terrorists fresh from the conquest of the last Syrian military base in the north of the country sent a "special message" to Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, as well as his key ally, Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Tabqa airbase was taken after prolonged and intensive fighting which left hundreds of Islamic State and pro-regime forces dead. Its conquest meant that the Islamic State now controls all of Syria's northern Raqqa Province, as well as much of the northeast of the country.

After finally taking the base, the Islamic State released a video showing the mass execution of some 250 regime fighters, who were first ordered to march through the desert stripped to their underwear. Jihadis also circulated pictures of heavy weaponry and Russian-made MiG fighter jets they had seized.

In a video dated August 31, a group of Arab IS fighters address Assad directly from inside a hangar in the base.

Iraq: Protestors Storm Into the Parliament
Sep 3rd, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Over 100 relatives of soldiers captured by “Islamic State” (IS) terrorists this past June stormed into the Iraqi Parliament and began to destroy the building, eyewitnesses recounted.

No further information is available at this time.

Iran Foils Attempts to Recruit Nuke Experts As Spies
Sep 3rd, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

A senior Iranian official claimed on Tuesday that Tehran thwarted attempts by various intelligence agencies to recruit nuclear experts as spies.

According to the official, the agencies tried to recruit the experts during their visits to different countries.

Deputy Minister: We'll Continue to Build in Our Land
Sep 3rd, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

Ofir Akunis

Flash 90

Deputy Minister Ofir Akunis (Likud) sharply criticized the European Union (EU) and the U.S. State Department on Tuesday, after both issued condemnations of Israel’s plans  to declare 4,000 dunams of land in Judea, mostly in Gush Etzion, as state land.

"Israel will continue to work to promote settlement on its land - just as every other country in the world does," declared Akunis.

“It is strange at this time, when terrorist groups of Islamic extremists slaughter innocents, behad journalists in front of the cameras and continue their journey of madness targeting the free world, what concerns foreign ministries around the world is the decision to build and develop the Gush Etzion region, which was and will remain the homeland of the Jewish people,” he added.

In its statement earlier Tuesday, the EU said that “settlements are illegal under international law, constitute an obstacle to peace and threaten to render the two-state solution impossible.”

“The EU reiterates that it will not recognize any changes to the pre-1967 borders, including with regard to Jerusalem, other than those agreed by the parties,” the statement continued.

In Washington, meanwhile, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki condemned the decision as well and urged Israel to reverse it.

"We are deeply concerned about the declaration of a large area as 'state land' to be used for expanded settlement building," she said in a statement quoted by Reuters, echoing comments by an unnamed U.S. official on Sunday.

"We call on the Government of Israel to reverse this decision," she added.

Sunday’s decision by Israel, which opens the possibility of further construction in the region, is one of Israel's responses to the kidnapping and murder of Israeli teens Eyal Yifrah, Naftali Frenkel, and Gilad Sha'ar. The three were kidnapped in Gush Etzion and their bodies were found several weeks later in a field near Hevron.

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas issued a condemnation of Israel’s decision, with his spokesman Nabil Abu-Rudeineh saying that the decision would “bring about a further deterioration” in peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

On Monday, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned the decision as well, saying he is "alarmed" by it.

Congress Urges Administration to Present Policy on IS
Sep 3rd, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Terrorist jihadist

Thinkstock

U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday called for Secretary of State John Kerry to present administration policy for "rolling back" the Islamic State's (IS) gains, after the rampaging group claimed it beheaded a second American, AFP reports.

With members of the House and Senate warning that President Barack Obama has not done enough to combat the extremist group, House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Ed Royce said he was summoning Kerry to testify once Congress returns next week from its recess.

"Everyone agrees that the administration needs a strategy, that the president has to explain to the American people and explain to Congress how we are going to meet this threat," the Republican Royce told reporters on a phone call from Israel, where he was on a congressional mission.

He said he expected Kerry to present a plan for "rolling back ISIS," using the old name for the Islamic State which it used before it declared a caliphate in parts of Iraq and Syria it captured.

Obama last week came under fire when he said he had “no strategy” to deal with the IS threat.

Washington had to rush to defend Obama's comments the next day, clarifying at a press conference that its options are "still under review."

 “The president hasn't yet laid out a specific plan for military action in Syria,” said White House press secretary Josh Earnest. “And the reason for that is simply that the Pentagon is still developing that plan and he is still reviewing it.”

“The president was candid about the fact that the Pentagon is still reviewing options that may be available to him,” he added.

Republican lawmakers have already called for more aggressive U.S. action to defeat IS, accusing Obama of policies that have failed to thwart potential new threats on U.S. soil.

Aryeh King: Jerusalem's Borders Being Threatened
Sep 3rd, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

The Jerusalem Municipality's plans to build 2,200 new housing units in several neighborhoods in eastern Jerusalem has elicited a harsh response from Jerusalem City Council member, Aryeh King.

King attacked Mayor Nir Barkat's approval of 220 new units in the Arab al-Sawahrah neighborhood in the eastern part of the capital. "This plan comes out of the Arab leftist NGO's," King told Arutz Sheva reporters.

According to the councilman, the Municipality developed this program with the approval of the urban contiguity of the Arab villages that are in Area B of the capital, and thus "In the future there is concern that the Arab villages in Area B will provide the Palestinian Authority with the Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem and that afterwards it opens it up to become a region unto itself. This is placing Jerusalem's boundaries in serious danger," King stated.

America, Allies to Hold Military Exercise in the Ukraine
Sep 3rd, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Over 1,000 American and allied soldiers will take part in a joint military exercise near the border between the Ukraine and Poland.

The exercise, which is scheduled to take place in two weeks, was supposed t take place this past July, but was delayed due to the security situation in the Ukraine.

'Iran is Closer to Nuclear Capabilities Than Ever'
Sep 3rd, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Yuval Steinitz

Flash 90

An Israeli delegation is to travel to Washington DC next week to petition US officials to take stronger stance in renewed talks between major world powers and Iran, in which the sides will discuss the Islamic regime's nuclear program.

"I will travel to Washington next week at the head of an important delegation, in light of what could be the last round of negotiations between world powers and Iran before a November deadline for an agreement," Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz said Wednesday.

"If a bad agreement is reached, this will be unacceptable for us," added the minister, who presented the status of Iran's nuclear program before members of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

Steinitz noted "we are summarizing today 11 years of negotiations between Iran and world powers. And as of today, I am sorry to say that after a year of talks, Iran is closer than ever to achieving nuclear capabilities."

"What we see today is a very troubling picture. While Iran has agreed to several small concession, on all the issues touching the heart of the (nuclear) program, like uranium enrichment in the centrifuges, Iran hasn't agreed to budge even a millimeter," added the intelligence minister.

"We oppose not only the possibility that Iran will be a nuclear-armed military state, but also to the very possibility that Iran will be a nuclear-threshold state," continued Steinitz.

Speaking about the dedication of Iran to its nuclear program, Steinitz revealed "to our estimations until today, Iran has directly invested in its nuclear program around $50 billion dollars, and in addition the indirect damage it has absorbed as a result of sanctions placed on it totals an additional $150 billion dollars."

Steinitz concluded by emphasizing there is no meaningful difference between the world-view of Iran under former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and current President Hassan Rouhani, despite the West's perception of him as a "moderate."

Talks with the Islamic regime

The US and other world powers reached a controversial interim deal with Iran over its nuclear program last November, leading to the current negotiations over a comprehensive agreement. During the talks Iran agreed to limit some of its nuclear activities in order to receive sanctions relief.

However, Iran has been taking an increasingly aggressive line in demanding its "right" to enrich uranium, with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei recently saying Iran "needs" 19 times more nuclear centrifuges than the amount being offered by world powers.

Negotiations have been leading to a July 20 target date, but they were recently extended until November 24, giving Iran more time to slowly advance its nuclear program. Talks are to open in New York ahead of the UN General Assembly opening on September 16.

While Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Monday voiced optimism that an agreement can be reached by the November deadline, Zarif just the day before on Monday warned of “unpleasant” responses to new US sanctions against it.

It is worth noting that Khamenei back in January publicly revealed that the negotiations with the US about Iran's nuclear program are part of a tactic to stall international pressure and gain time to continue Iran's nuclear program.

Iran has also been active in attacking Israel, with a senior Iranian official revealing last month that the Islamic regime is arming terrorists in Judea and Samaria, and vowed it would continue supporting “the resistance” against Israel.

An IDF source revealed last month that in addition to supplying weapons, Iran also launched a cyber war on Israel during Operation Protective Edge.