Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

WH Chief of Staff Denis Mcdonough: We are At War With ISIL
Sep 15th, 2014
Daily NewsNewsMax
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

UN Security Council Holds Emergency Meeting on Ebola Crisis
Sep 15th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Ebola epidemic (illustration)

Thinkstock

The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on the Ebola crisis Thursday to find ways to scale up the global response to the epidemic that started in March, the US ambassador announced.

"It is crucial that council members discuss the status of the epidemic, confer on a coordinated international response and begin the process of marshalling our collective resources to stop the spread of the disease," US Ambassador Samantha Power said Monday.

The worst-ever outbreak of the deadly virus has killed more than 2,400 people in West Africa, with Liberia the region's hardest-hit country.

The UN is appealing for $600 million for supplies as part of a massive surge of aid, with countries asked to send doctors, nurses, beds, trucks, equipment and other vehicles to the affected nations.

The world body has set a goal of stopping the spread of Ebola within six to nine months, but aid agencies are complaining that help is slow in reaching those in need.

"Our collective response to date has not been sufficient," said Power, whose country holds the presidency of the 15-member council this month. "The situation on the ground is dire and is growing worse by the day."

The US envoy did not specify what action the council was planning, but diplomats said a resolution was being prepared that could call for specific measures.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon is planning a "high-level event" on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly that opens next week to draw attention to the crisis and the need for action.

Liberian Defense Minister Brownie Samukai told the council last week that the outbreak posed "a serious threat" to his country's existence and that it was "spreading like wildfire, devouring everything in its path."

The tropical virus can fell its victims within days, causing severe fever and muscle pain, weakness, vomiting and diarrhea - in some cases shutting down organs and causing unstoppable bleeding. The mortality rate from the disease is 51%.

No widely available vaccine or treatment exists but health experts are looking at fast-tracking two potential vaccines and eight treatments, including the drug ZMapp.

There were two ebola scares in Israel this month, one in Jerusalem and the other in the Tel Aviv suburb of Kfar Saba, but both were ruled out as being false alarms.

U.S. to Train 5,000 Syrian Rebels to Fight Militants
Sep 15th, 2014
Daily NewsThe Washington Times
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Pentagon press secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby arrives for a briefing at the Pentagon, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2014.

U.S. Scientists Say Ebola Epidemic will Rage for Another 12 to 18 Months
Sep 15th, 2014
Daily NewsMail Online
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

• U.S. scientists say the Ebola crisis is worsening
• They predict the virus will rage for another 12 to 18 months 
• As of September 7, there had been 4,366 Ebola cases including 2,218 deaths, more than half of them in Liberia
• The most recent figures from Liberia reported 400 new cases as of September 7 - almost double the number reported the previous week

The Ebola epidemic affecting West Africa is predicted to last a further 12 to 18 months, according to U.S. scientists.

Epidemiologists have been creating computer models of the Ebola epidemic for the National Institutes of Health and the Defense Department.

The model they have created is a far less optimistic estimate than that of the World Health Organization (WHO), which last month said it hoped to contain the outbreak within nine months and 20,000 total cases.

The New York Times reports that various researchers have said the virus could grow at a rate that could be closer to 20,000 per month.

The WHO is sticking to its estimates, a spokesman said Friday.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is doing its own projections which it plans to make public as soon as possible.

The director of the CDC, Dr Thomas R Frieden, has said that the situation is worsening and earlier this month said it's 'spiraling out of control.'

Unlike previous outbreaks which have been kept at bay due to their confinement to rural areas, the current Ebola crisis is spreading rapidly in densely populated cities such as Monrovia, Liberia's impoverished capital.

The spread is rapidly gaining traction, with the most recent report from Liberia of 400 cases, double the number from the week before, reports The New York Times.

As of September 7, there had been 4,366 Ebola cases in Libera, Sierra Leone and Guinea, including 2,218 deaths, more than half of them in Liberia.

The WHO has also admitted that there is likely to be 'substantial underreporting of cases and deaths.'

With the death toll from Ebola in West Africa rising sharply in the last week, the WHO said on Friday at least 500 foreign experts were needed.

Medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has also called on wealthy nations to send military medical teams to West Africa to boost healthcare systems that have been completely swamped by the disease.

Cuba on Friday announced that it would deploy 165 medical personnel to Sierra Leone next month, the largest contingent of foreign doctors and nurses committed so far.

The U.S. military said this week it will build a 25-bed, $22 million field hospital in Liberia to care for health workers infected with the virus. A Pentagon spokesman said it would be built by the U.S. military and handed over to Liberians to run.

France has also said it would deploy 20 specialists in biological disasters to its former colony Guinea. Britain will also build and operate a 62-bed hospital in Sierra Leone.

MSF has said, however, the pledges by Western government represent just a fraction of the beds required to cope with the disease. It estimates that hundreds of additional beds are needed in Monrovia alone, where Ebola patients have been turned away from overflowing clinics.

Senate Majority Leader: Hamas is Just As Bad As Islamic State
Sep 15th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

Reuters

In a recent speech, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) condemned Hamas and noted that it was no better than the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) group.

Reid’s speech to the Senate was made last Thursday but excerpts were published Sunday by JNS.

According to the report, Reid affirmed U.S. support for Israel, calling the failure to condemn Hamas as one would condemn the Islamic State group "stunning hypocrisy."

"Hamas and IS are both vicious, corrupt, hateful, evil groups. And both are extreme. Yet, for some reason, Hamas' brutality doesn’t elicit the same horror from the international community as ISIS. How can that be?" Reid wondered as he addressed the Senate.

He added that one of the few differences between Islamic State and Hamas is the latter's narrow focus on one single objective -- the destruction of Israel.

"Consider its actions over the past several months: Hamas raided its own limited supplies for housing and general infrastructure, intended to repair the destruction that occurred during the last conflict they initiated. But Hamas instead used the stolen materials to build tunnels to hide and infiltrate Israel -- infiltrating to kill, maim, kidnap and murder the innocent. These depraved agitators launched thousands of rockets into Israel, hoping to inflict death and destruction. Their rockets had no aiming capabilities -- they fired indiscriminately, not caring whether they hit a child, a family or anyone," he said.

Reid is not the first one to have compared IS to Hamas. In fact, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu did so recently during a meeting with visiting U.S. Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA).

At the time, Netanyahu said Israel was fighting the same war against Islamist terrorism as the US and other countries current working to combat the spread of the brutal Islamic State.

"We face the same Islamist network and we have to fight it together," Netanyahu stated. "Hamas is ISIS, ISIS is Hamas."

"You saw the gruesome beheading of James Foley. We see the gruesome murder and execution of three teenagers which Hamas has just admitted that they did. These are both branches of the same poisonous tree. The free world, the democracies have to stand together against this terrorism. That's the only way we'll roll them back. Ultimately that's the only way we'll defeat them.”

Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal later rejected Netanyahu’s comparison and said it was false, claiming Hamas is "not a violent religious group."

"This is a lie and a clear attempt to try to tie the issue with the U.S. war on terrorism," he said of Netanyahu's comments. "The truth is that the Palestinians are not terrorists - they're the victims of terrorism. Hamas aren't the terrorists but the Israelis are."

"We are not a religious violent group, we are fighting aggression in our land," Mashaal continued. "We are against the killing of innocent civilians and journalists."

Similar comments comparing Hamas and IS were recently made by none other than a leading Fatah party member, whose faction formed a unity government with Hamas.

In an interview with the Palestinian Authority's official TV station, Fatah Central Committee member Tawfiq Tirawi compared Hamas's methods of executing and brutalizing its political opponents in Gaza to the gruesome executions carried out by IS.

Seismologists Predict Another Icelandic Volcano is About to Blow
Sep 15th, 2014
Daily NewsThe Age
Categories: ;Contemporary Issues

It's not just the magma that could be a problem if Iceland's rumbling Bardarbunga erupts; the volcano also sits on the country's largest glacier.

The red-hot fountains of molten lava, glowing like wildfire, are nothing short of spectacular. Yet they could be ominous portents of things to come. 

For the second time in four nail-biting years, seismologists in the land of fire and ice, Iceland, are bracing for a monumental volcanic eruption that, once again, threatens to disrupt European air traffic.

Back in 2010, the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which melted through 200 metres of glacier, sent more than 200 million cubic metres of fine ash billowing almost 10 kilometres into the sky. As a result, several European countries were forced to ground or re-route thousands of flights for several days.

Graphic: Jamie Brown

This time the threat of an eruption – potentially even more powerful than the one in 2010 – is posed by Bardarbunga, the biggest of Iceland's 30 or so volcanic systems. Located roughly at the country's centre, the volcano's 10-kilometre caldera lies several hundred metres beneath Vatnajokull, Europe's largest glacier by volume.

Scientists are taking the latest rumblings seriously: roughly 8000 years ago, after all, the volcanic leviathan let rip with the largest eruption of the past 10,000 years.

"It is very difficult to predict exactly what will happen with an eruption," says Monash University vulcanologist Professor Ray Cas, who is president of the International Association for Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth. 

Lava flows from Bardarbunga volcano

"Some just fizzle out after relatively minor activity, while others develop into major eruptions," Cas says.

To gauge the likelihood and extent of an eruption, scientists gather all manner of information, including earthquake patterns, ground movements and the complex chemistry of gases. 

"In this case, the eruption could just stop, or if the molten magma migrates under the glacial ice cap, a sub-glacial eruption could begin – with the potential to become very explosive," he says. "This is because of the super-heating melt-water at the base of the glacier."

Lively: Smoke plumes from the Grimsvotn volcano, under the Vatnajokull glacier. But the next threat is posed by Bardarbunga lying several hundred metres beneath Vatnajokull.

Radiating from Bardarbunga's crater is a fracture in the crust that trends towards the north-east, says another Monash earth scientist, Dr Patrick Hayman.

Initially, he says, magma moved from a depth of up to 15 kilometres below the crater, to the tip of this fracture – then pushed and shoved its way further north-eastwards.

"Many of the earthquakes recorded in recent weeks have been related to this movement of magma," Hayman notes. "The first eruption, last month, occurred about 5 kilometres north-east of the glacier's edge, forming what is known as a fissure eruption – a long, narrow crack from which magma erupts."

Because of the connection between the fracture and the volcano, the concern has been that magma will rise beneath the glacier between the fissure and the volcanic crater. "So there is a real possibility of a showdown between the magma and ice," Hayman warns.

Flood danger

A recent inspection flight over the glacier found two depressions up to 35 metres deep, caused by the melting and collapse of removed ice. 

"Of course, one of the concerns is melting of large volumes of ice and the rapid release of this melt-water forming a flood," says Hayman.

There is often the potential for explosive eruptions when magma and water interact. "The hot magma, when it comes in contact with water, can instantly chill, contract and fracture into small particles of volcanic glass that we call ash – our term for a particle of less than two millimetres," Hayman says. "However, these interactions don't always lead to explosive activity; often they only produce steam."

Geoscientists have monitored magma in two ways. First, the volume of erupted magma has been calculated and, second, high-precision GPS monitors tracked the extent to which the ground had been deformed.

"They found that changes in ground deformation – in other words, how much volume has been lost – correlate closely with the quantity of magma erupted on the surface," Hayman says. "So far, there doesn't seem to be any build-up of magma at depth." 

Seismic puzzle

All volcanoes are the surface expression of magma "plumbing" systems that sit deep in the crust. In the case of Eyjafjallajökull, and now Bardarbunga, magma originating from the Earth's mantle gets stored in chambers within the crust. 

Pressure builds as more magma enters the system, resulting in earthquakes and fracturing of the crust. Eventually, the pressure becomes too great and magma is erupted.

Most volcanoes are confined to zones along boundaries between crustal plates and are closely associated with earthquakes. Earthquakes, meanwhile, often occur at around the same time – even thousands of kilometres apart.

This is one of the puzzles of seismology. Overturning a once widely held belief among seismologists that earthquakes in different areas are independent, studies in the US and Kazakhstan have shown increases in tectonic activity hundreds of kilometres from epicentres of large earthquakes. Geophysicists believe this is due to changes in parts of the crust resulting from earthquakes.

Earthquakes and volcanoes are not periodic – they occur in irregular cycles. What's more, they do not relate to tides or seasons – or anything else for that matter. And yet large earthquakes often come in clusters lasting for days or weeks.

In recent weeks, thousands of earthquakes – some greater than five on the Richter scale – have occurred in the vicinity of Iceland's Bardarbunga. These earthquake swarms, as they are known, tell vulcanologists about the way magma is moving in the crust. 

Earthquakes that are relatively close to one another may be related, Hayman says: "In fact, large earthquakes can trigger other quakes. This has been well documented with the earthquake associated with the Boxing Day tsunamis."

All of the earth's huge crustal plates are linked, adds Cas, and stress that builds in one can sometimes be transmitted to an adjacent plate. 

Predictive power

Some Russian and Chinese seismologists believe they can predict the occurrence of some earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. 

The Chinese, in fact, claim to have predicted almost half of all earthquakes of seven or more on the Richter scale since 1978. Using the level of water in wells to make their predictions, they realised that levels rise or fall according to whether water is being absorbed by, or streaming out, of aquifers.

This, in turn, depends on motions within the earth. In keeping with the eastern notion of cyclicity and the interplay between opposites, the Chinese have found periodic changes in seismic activity in western China. One area might be active for, say, 150 years or so while another is dormant; the dormant area then becomes active for the next 150 years, and so on.

Russian seismologists, meanwhile, have searched to identify seismic patterns that might help them predict the time, area and size of a quake. Their computer models, based on statistical analyses, occasionally raise false alarms, while some earthquakes go unpredicted.

Western experts remain largely sceptical of these efforts. "I'm not aware of any technique that allows the exact timing and location of major earthquakes to be predicted," Professor Cas says. Once earthquakes become frequent in a particular region, it may be that they are followed by a major event, he suggests.

"With volcanoes, precursor signals such as increased volcanic earthquakes, ground displacements and changes in the rates of gas release or gas composition can be used to indicate that an eruption is possible," he says. 

Precise forecasting, Cas notes, is rarely possible more than a few hours in advance: "But sometimes eruptions begin with little or no warning."

On relatively short timescales of days or hours, scientists rely on a raft of techniques to predict volcanic activity. "For the current Icelandic eruption, for example, the magma about 10 kilometres down was tracked as it moved north-east over a number of days and came closer to the surface," Hayman says. "By this point we knew an eruption was very likely."

Quakes: how they work

The immensely powerful earth-moving forces that shape the continents are as active today as they were 4.5 billion years ago, when our planet was in the throes of being formed.

Beneath the Earth's relatively thin, rigid crust lies a mantle of solid crystalline rock. At a depth of more than 100 kilometres or so, the rock is so hot that it's malleable and squishy and can flow like plasticine.

Over aeons, the covering crust fragmented into colossal brittle sections called plates. There are seven main ones and several smaller chips off the old blocks, all moving and shoving against each other as they slide across the hot, soft mantle – not unlike boats being heaved across a sandy beach.

The plates are continuously colliding and being forced under one another, a process called subduction. Occasionally, they fracture, causing earthquakes and volcanoes. 

Their effects can be felt soon afterwards from hundreds of kilometres away, because the elastic waves produced by an earthquake travel at between four and 10 kilometres a second.

Volcanoes come in three varieties: active (likely to explode again), dormant (no activity for many years) and extinct (no sign of activity for ages).

Something like 1900 of the Earth's volcanoes are currently active. So which are the major ones to watch?

There's evidence, experts say, for the accumulation of vast quantities of magma beneath Yellowstone National Park and Mount St Helens in the US, for example. 

Eruptions on the scale envisaged would have potentially devastating consequences, based on the effects of the last super-volcanic eruption of Toba in Indonesia, about 73,000 years ago.

Some geoscientists say a truly monstrous volcano might bring about the end of life, as we know it.

Saudi Anti - Christian Sweep Prompts Calls for U.S. Involvement
Sep 15th, 2014
Daily NewsFox News
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

FILE - In this Friday, June 27, 2014 file photo, Saudi King Abdullah speaks before a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at his private residence in the Red Sea city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (AP Photo/Brendan Smialowski, Pool, File)

Dozens of Christians arrested at a prayer meeting in Saudi Arabia need America's help, according to a key lawmaker who is pressing the State Department on their behalf.

Some 28 people were rounded up Friday by hard-line Islamists from the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in the home of an Indian national in the eastern Saudi city of Khafji, and their current situation is unknown, according to human rights advocates. 

"Saudi Arabia is continuing the religious cleansing that has always been its official policy," Nina Shea, director of the Washington-based Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom, told FoxNews.com. "It is the only nation state in the world with the official policy of banning all churches. This is enforced even though there are over 2 million Christian foreign workers in that country. Those victimized are typically poor, from Asian and African countries with weak governments."

In Friday's crackdown, several Bibles were confiscated, according to reports from the Kingdom.

Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va, told FoxNews.com he will press the U.S. ambassador in Riyadh and the State Department to assist the arrested Christians.

“I hope our government will speak up,” said Wolf, adding that the anti-Christian raid was not surprising given that the Saudi regime “did not want our soldiers to wear crosses during the Desert Storm” operation in 1991 to stop Iraqi jingoism.

A spokeswoman for Saudi Arabia’s embassy press officer, Nail Al-Jubeir, in Washington, told FoxNews.com that “Mr. Jubeir has nothing on that [arrests of Christians].” She suggested calling the Saudi Gazette newspaper.

The English-language paper Saudi Gazette, along with Saudi Arabic-language news outlets, published a news item about the mass arrests.

An article posted on the Arabic-language news website Akhbar 24 said the arrests came after the Kingdom's religious police got a tip about a home-based church. The report further noted that “distorted writings of the Bible were found and musical instruments, noting their referral to the jurisdictional institutions.”

The Saudi media reported different compositions of the arrested Christians. Some reports said the Christians were men and women, while the Saudi Gazette wrote that children, as well as men and women, were detained. It was unclear if a court date has been set in the notoriously opaque fundamentalist court system.

Saudi Arabia has gone to great lengths over the years to re-brand its image as a tolerant advocate of multi-religious dialogue. The arch-conservative monarchy funded the Vienna-based King Abdullah International Center for Interfaith and Intercultural Dialogue. Nevertheless, critics argue, Saudi Arabia’s Islamist religious police continue to expunge any trace of Christianity within its territory.

Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah appears to be tied up in knots because of his conflicting messages to the international community about religious diversity.

"Such actions are especially dangerous in the current situation, where the world is seeing the rise of extreme Islamist groups in Iraq, Syria, Nigeria, Somalia and elsewhere," Shea said. "The West should demand that its strategic ally, Saudi Arabia, release the Christians at once and allow them to pray according to their own faith traditions. Otherwise, Riyadh will appear to be validating the practices of the Islamic State in northern Iraq and Syria.”

Secretary of State John Kerry is slated to visit Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to marshal support to combat the radical Islamic State terror organization. It was unclear if Kerry plans to raise the arrests of the Christians. On Tuesday, State Department spokeswoman Jen Pskai said she was not aware of the arrests, but pledged to look into the reports.

Report: Israel Cans Ukraine Arms Shipment to Placate Russia
Sep 15th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

Defense Minister Ya'alon, Foreign Minister Liberman

Flash 90

A proposed sale of Israeli weapons including drones to Ukraine has been blocked for fear of antagonizing Russia, according to Israeli news reports on Monday.

A Ukrainian delegation had visited Israel with a view to acquiring military hardware including drones to use against pro-Russian separatists, said the report on Channel Two television.

It was not reported when the visit took place, or when the decision to turn down the request was taken.

According to the report, the Defense Ministry had given the green light for the sale of pilotless aircraft produced by the company Aeronautics to Ukraine, but the foreign ministry then vetoed the sale.

The ministry apparently concluded that the sale risked causing anger in Russia and could provoke Moscow to sell more arms to Syria and Iran, both of which pose a direct security threat to Israel.

A Defense Ministry spokesperson refused to comment on the report.

Ukraine has continued to see violence, after a shaky truce signed on September 5 between the government and pro-Russian separatists faltered further on Monday, with both sides blaming the other for the bloodiest day since the ceasefire went into effect.

The ceasefire was the first such agreement backed by both Kiev and Moscow since fighting erupted in April.

The recent reports of Israeli consideration for defense relations with Russian come at a time when Israeli relations with America have been tense, with US President Barack Obama's administration being largely critical during Operation Protective Edge.

During the operation, Obama canceled a routine shipment of Hellfire missiles to Israel and order greater scrutiny on future weapons transfers.

Meanwhile Israel has been advancing vastly growing ties with China, Japan and India.

Report: Abbas Will Ask France to Recognize 'Palestine'
Sep 15th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas

Flash 90

According to Bethlehem-based news agency Ma'an, Palestinian Authority (PA) chief Mahmoud Abbas will ask French president Francois Hollande to recognize the “state of Palestine” when Abbas meets Hollande in France Friday. According to the report, Abbas will then ask additional European countries to recognize “Palestine” even before he heads for the annual United Nations General Assembly.

PA foreign minister Riad Al Maliki told Ma'an that “the international situation now is much better than in the past, and there is a better chance that the Palestinian people's demands will be met.” Maliki added that “the world is now conviced, more than in the past, that Israel undermines international efforts for peace by constructing settlements.”

"Because of the diplomatic stalemate, we will say at the Security Council that this is the time to take a clear stand that will lead to the end of the occupation,” he explained. According to Maliki, European countries are gradually becoming convinced that Abbas is following the right path.

Abbas is set to meet Hollande in Paris, where he will stay for two days before flying to the UN on September 24 and try to win support for the PA's new diplomatic initiative to set a date for forcing Israel out of Judea and Samaria.

Abbas recently obtained backing from the Arab League for his plan, which aims to secure an end to the Jewish presence in Judea-Samaria within three years and the establishment of a Palestinian Arab state in the region.

Earlier this month, a senior Palestinian official said the leadership was going to seek a UN Security Council vote on a resolution setting a three-year deadline for ending Israel's presence in Judea and Samaria, despite knowing any such text would be vetoed by Washington.

"We will be seeking a Security Council resolution on ending the occupation on a specific date," said Hanan Ashrawi, who is a member of the governing body of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO).

"We should know that the occupation will end within three years."

She also raised the possibility of seeking passage of a similar but non-binding resolution by the UN General Assembly.

If, as expected, the Security Council bid fails, the PA has said they will consider fast-tracking an application to become party to the International Criminal Court.

Qaradawi Opposes U.S. Action Against IS
Sep 15th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Egyptian cleric Yusus Al Qaradawi

Reuters

Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, chairman of the International Union of Muslim Scholars and considered the leading decisor on Sunni Muslim religious law, opposes an American military operation against the Islamic State (IS).

Qaradawi tweeted: “I oppose ISIS (the Islamic State) in its ideological path and its methods of action, but I will never agree that the country to fight it be the United States, which is not motivated by the values of Islam, but by its own interests, even if blood is spilled as a result.”

Earlier, Qaradawi ruled that IS is an illegal entity according to Islam, and therefore, it is forbidden to swear allegiance to Caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Within IS, Qaradawi is being mocked, and his statements are said to reflect his waning popularity in the Sunni Muslim world and the growing popularity of IS.

Qaradawi is seen as the spiritual guide of Hamas. Regarding armed struggle against Israel, his position is clear – as he has written on Twitter:

"Throughout my life I have declared the duty of jihad in Palestine against Israel, the occupier from 1948 until today. If I could, I would go to Palestine and fight. I have called, and still call, for jihad in Palestine. The issue of Palestine is the most important one, and continues to be so.”

PM Netanyahu: We will Increase Defense Budget By Billions
Sep 15th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu today (Monday) attended an event together with those who work in The Office of the Prime Minister in order to welcome in the upcoming new year.

"We constantly have to be on guard for our securityand there is no responsible leader who faces the challenges and dangers we face who would not see the the need to increase the budget for security and defense," the Prime Minister said. "It is only realistic to perceive that in order to maintain our security and defense, we will have to look at increasing the budget by several billion," he stated.

PA Statement Equates IS With the 'Occupation'
Sep 15th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

A fighter of the Islamic State (ISIS)

Reuters

The Palestinian Authority on Monday condemned the “Islamic State” (IS) group over its terrorism, but also took advantage of the situation to take a jab at Israel.

A statement from the PA’s foreign ministry quoted by the Ma’an news agency hinted that Israel’s actions should also be treated as terrorism.

According to the statement, the ministry condemned the Islamic State's "ugly terrorism."

It said the PA condemns all forms of terror whether committed by groups or countries, and condemned IS in particular for targeting journalists and innocents.

“The terrorism centered in Syria and Iraq is shading the whole region and the world and is known by different names: ISIS, the Al-Nusra Front and others,” the statement said, according to Ma’an.

Then, however, the statement went on to say that there are other names for terrorism including “occupation, settlements, extremist settlers acts; such as those who burned teen Mohammed Khdeir to death.”

The statement made no mention of Hamas’s terror acts against Israelis, even though a leading member of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party recently compared Hamas's methods of executing and brutalizing its political opponents in Gaza to the gruesome executions carried out by IS.

In an interview with the Palestinian Authority's official TV station, Fatah Central Committee member Tawfiq Tirawi expressed his anger over a string of executions and shootings of Fatah members in Gaza during Operation Protective Edge, and said the "unity deal" between Hamas and the Fatah-run Palestinian Authority was "a mistake."

Netanyahu: Israel Threatened By Irans Ability to Jump Quickly to Nuke
Sep 15th, 2014
Daily NewsDebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

Israeli Prime Minster said Sunday night that Iran’s capacity to reach a nuclear weapon capacity in a short time is one of the top threats facing Israel today. Addressing the international cyber conference at Tel Aviv University, he repeated that ISIS, Hamas, Al Qaeda, Alu Nusra, Boko Haram and Hizballah supported by Iran were “branches of the same poisonous tree.” But Iran, he said, was behind cyber attacks against Israel, including during the Gaza conflict. “The cyber field is increasingly becoming a battlefield,” he said. “But Israel has an Iron Dome of cyber security that parallels the Iron Dome against rockets.”

Likud Decides Without PM to Topple Hamas in Next Operation
Sep 15th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

Danny Danon at Likud meeting (file)

Flash 90

Hundreds of Likud members took part in a meeting of the party's Central Committee in Ashkelon on Monday, where they passed a party proposal obligating the toppling the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza in the next counter-terror operation.

"We must rehabilitate our deterrence, and in the next round destroy Hamas - there must be a clear decisive (blow)," said Likud Central Committee Chairman MK Danny Danon at the event.

The statement refers to the perceived lack of decisive military action in Operation Protective Edge, the third such operation in Gaza, which ended with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu sealing a ceasefire with Hamas that coincided with a nose-dive in his approval ratings.

Netanyahu himself was absent at the meeting Monday, instead taking part in a meeting of Likud activists in Petah Tikva that he arranged to conflict with the Central Committee meeting so as not to be present.

"Netanyahu needed to be here tonight - it would have been a demonstration of democracy for the unity of the Likud, the party and the movement," said Danon.

Before the event, Danon told Arutz Sheva that Netanyahu should be present at the meeting, noting "that's how (former Prime Minister Menachem) Begin acted after uprooting from Sinai. He came, sat in the front row, listened to the members and responded. You can't ignore the party."

"Netanyahu must step down"

Danon has been at odds with Netanyahu over the operation, saying last month that the prime minister's policies of "quiet will met by quiet" and limited responses brought "humiliation" on Israel.

Tensions between the two came to a head in July when Netanyahu fired Danon from his role as Deputy Defense Minister, after Danon criticized Netanyahu's decision to accept a ceasefire with the Hamas terror group.

Speaking at the committee meeting on Monday, Likud Central Committee member Aryeh Elbaz said Netanyahu should step down after firing Danon.

"The prime minister needs to find himself a different party," charged Elbaz. "Specifically the person who needs to be leading the party created division."

It was claimed that Netanyahu's ceasefire early in the operation was a ploy to gain global support after Hamas breached it, which it did - although global support was not exactly forthcoming. However, Danon noted that his criticism was vindicated after Hamas's terror tunnel system was lethally unveiled just after the ceasefire, meaning it would have been left in place by the ceasefire.

Netanyahu was acting as a "contractor of the left," accused Danon, remarking that the ceasefire Netanyahu accepted would have left the tunnel system intact to potentially be used in massacring Israelis.

Let the Headlines Speak
Sep 15th, 2014
Daily NewsFrom the internet
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Mexican states hit by hurricane and earthquake
Government mobilizes army and navy to cope with refugees. Two states in north-western Mexico have been hit by a hurricane and an earthquake, prompting local authorities to mobilize the army and set up hundreds of medical units.

U.S. scientists say Ebola epiodemic will rage for another 12 to 18 months
Epidemiologists have been creating computer models of the Ebola epidemic for the National Institutes of Health and the Defense Department. The model they have created is a far less optimistic estimate than that of the World Health Organization (WHO), which last month said it hoped to contain the outbreak within nine months and 20,000 total cases.

Ebola: 'In decades of humanitarian work, I've never seen such suffering'
I wake up each morning – if I have managed to sleep – wondering if this is really happening, or if it is a horror movie. In decades of humanitarian work I have never witnessed such relentless suffering of fellow human beings or felt so completely paralysed and utterly overwhelmed at our inability to provide anything but the most basic, and sometimes less than adequate, care.  

Senate Majority Leader: Hamas is Just as Bad as Islamic State
In a recent speech, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) condemned Hamas and noted that it was no better than the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) group.  

Germany Bans Islamic State
Coinciding with the launch of a broad U.S. campaign against the Sunni terrorists, which could include air strikes in Syria as well as Iraq, Germany introduced an immediate ban making all IS propaganda, symbols and activities illegal.  

Israelis Warned of Heightened Terror Threat Abroad
The Israeli National Security Council's Counter-Terrorism Bureau has warned of the increased likelihood of terror attacks targeting Israeli and Jewish targets in the run up to the High Holy Days, highlighting western Europe as an area of particular concern.  

GLOBAL COOLING Antarctic sea ice hits all-time record high
Satellite imagery reveals an area of about 20 million square kilometres covered by sea ice around the Antarctic continent.  

Mystery streak of light across U.S. West
“I am used to seeing planes early in the morning with lights, but this was different,” one witness told Claycord.com. “This had something coming out of it, it wasn’t just the light. I could see it spraying something.”  

Seismologists predict another Icelandic volcano is about to blow
For the second time in four nail-biting years, seismologists in the land of fire and ice, Iceland, are bracing for a monumental volcanic eruption that, once again, threatens to disrupt European air traffic.  

Beheaded do-gooder thought his work for Muslim charity would save him from ISIS
The Briton threatened with execution next by militants from Islamic State in Iraq and Al-Sham is a Manchester taxi driver who drove a van full of aid to Syria to help children in the war-torn country.  

Bardarbunga volcano update: Holuhraun eruption and subsidence of Bardarbunga caldera continue
Earthquake activity has been stable compared to recent days. Approx. 140 events were detected since midnight (until 18:50 local time). The quakes concentrate in the northernmost part of the dyke intrusion, from the eruption site to about 6 km into Dyngjujökull glacier.  

Sulfur Dioxide Pollution Spreads to Northeast Iceland
Sulfur dioxide (SO2) pollution from the eruption in Holuhraun spread to Northeast Iceland yesterday. The pollution measured 1,250 micrograms per cubic meter in Reykjahlíð near Lake Mývatn at 11 pm last night, which was much higher than the levels recorded during the day, ruv.is reports. The maximum safety limit for sulfur dioxide is 600 micrograms per cubic meter.  

World waits for white smoke from U.S. Fed
The U.S. Federal Reserve may give clearer hints on when it will hike the cost of borrowing in the United States in the coming week, as struggling Europe braces for a tight vote in Scotland on whether to leave the United Kingdom. As the U.S. economy picks up pace, its central bank is inching closer to raising interest rates, a move that will send ripples across the globe.  

France begins reconnaissance flights over Iraq as conference opens in Paris
French military planes are carrying out their first reconnaissance flights to identify Isil targets in Iraq...foreign ministers from some 20 countries meet in Paris to discuss the shape of a US-led international coalition. ...The beheadings of the British aid worker...and two American journalists, have lent new urgency to calls for a concerted global strategy against the brutal, well-organised terrorist group...  

Uganda police seize 'explosives from al-Shabab cell'
Police in Uganda say they have seized large amounts of explosives during raids on suspected al-Shabab militants. Authorities said the terrorist cell was planning to carry out imminent attacks in the capital Kampala. Nineteen people have been arrested and are being interrogated about their intentions, a police spokesman said.  

Nato starts exercise in west Ukraine, weapons deliveries
Nato countries have started an annual military exercise in west Ukraine, with Kiev saying some Nato states have also begun to ship weapons. ...“Rapid Trident” began on Monday (15 September) in Yavoriv, near the Polish-Ukrainian border...the 11-day drill will practice “peacekeeping and stability operations”, including “countering improvised explosive devices, convoy operations, and patrolling”.  

ISIS may target Israelis, Jews abroad, Counter-Terrorism Bureau warns
The National Security Council's Counter-Terrorism Bureau released a biannual travel advisory on Monday, ahead of the High Holy Days, warning that Western Europe may become the scene of Islamic State terror attacks on Jewish and Israeli targets. "During this period, the potential threat has grown," the Counter-Terrorism Bureau warned.  

Social Security: The Shocking Way the Government's Taking Benefits Away
For the tens of millions of retirees who depend on Social Security for a major part of their financial well-being, even the smallest increase in their monthly benefits can make a big different in their ability to support themselves in retirement. But alarmingly, an increasing number of Social Security recipients face a threat that has taken away some of those hard-fought benefits -- and that threat is coming directly from the federal government in the form of garnishments due to student loans.  

Hundreds Evacuate From 2 California Wildfires
Two out-of-control wildfires in California forced hundreds of residents to flee from their homes on Sunday, including one near a lakeside resort town that has burned 21 structures, authorities said.  

Typhoon Kalmaegi Blows out of Philippines
A fast-moving typhoon blew out of the northern Philippines Monday after causing flash floods and landslides. Three people died when big waves and strong winds sank a stalled ferry over the weekend.  

Queen Elizabeth says Scotland should 'think very carefully' ahead of independence vote
Queen Elizabeth II has made her first comments about this week's Scottish independence vote, urging Scots to "think very carefully about the future." But the popular British monarch didn't indicate a preference on how Scots should vote, carefully maintaining the neutrality that is her constitutional obligation.  

Hurricane Odile makes landfall on Mexico's Baja
The powerful and sprawling Hurricane Odile has made landfall on the southern end of Mexico's Baja California peninsula.  

Extent of Antarctic sea ice reaches record levels, scientists say
Scientists say the extent of Antarctic sea ice cover is at its highest level since records began. Satellite imagery reveals an area of about 20 million square kilometres covered by sea ice around the Antarctic continent.  

Islamic State 101: Why are Arab countries so reluctant to help?
The past few days have offered compelling evidence for why President Obama has been so loath to militarily insert America into the fight against the brutal Islamic State.  

Kerry Slams Ayatollah: We're not Coordinating With Iran on ISIS
Sep 15th, 2014
Daily NewsNewsmax
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry refused be drawn into a "back and forth" with Iran on Monday following Tehran's assertion that it had rebuffed a U.S. request to coordinate a response to the Islamic State jihadist group.

"I'm not going to get into a back and forth. I don't want to do that. I don't think that is constructive, frankly," Kerry told reporters at the U.S. ambassador's residence in Paris after an international conference on Iraq attended by 26 countries.

Earlier, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Tehran had vetoed a U.S. invitation to cooperate in fighting Islamic State. "The American ambassador in Iraq asked our ambassador (in Iraq) for a session to discuss coordinating a fight against Daesh (Islamic State)," said Khamenei, in quotes carried on state news agency IRNA.

Asked if that news was false, Kerry replied, "I have no idea of what interpretation they drew from any discussion that may or may not have taken place. We are not coordinating with Iran. Period."

He said he hoped Tehran and Washington could find common ground in the next round of nuclear peace talks, which begin this week.

"I don't express levels of optimism on it. I'm hopeful that it will be possible to find a way to reach an agreement that is important to the world but there is some very difficult issues," he said.

Foreign ministry officials from six world powers - the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China - will hold their first full negotiating round with Iran since July on Thursday in New York, seeking to narrow gaps over the future size of Iran's uranium enrichment infrastructure and other issues.

Depending on how those talks progress, they could move to the level of foreign ministers on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly session the week of Sept. 22, U.N. diplomats say.

Iran denies Western allegations it is refining uranium to develop the capability to assemble nuclear weapons, saying it is doing it to help generate electricity. The United States and its allies have in recent years imposed ever tighter financial and others sanctions on Iran, a major oil producer, to make it scale back its nuclear program.

Diplomats say the main stumbling block is disagreement on how many centrifuges Iran should be allowed to keep to refine uranium, with Tehran rejecting demands to significantly reduce the number below the more than 19,000 it has now installed, of which roughly half are operating.

Earlier on Monday, world powers backed military measures on Monday to help defeat Islamic State fighters in Iraq, boosting Washington's efforts to set up a coalition, but made no mention of the tougher diplomatic challenge next door in Syria.

Kerry 'Won't Rule Out' Military Cooperation With Iran
Sep 15th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry

Reuters

US Secretary of State John Kerry has waffled on his position from last Friday, when he ruled out Iran's participation in a global coalition against Islamic State (ISIS) - on Monday, he said in an interview that he would be open to military cooperation with Iran.

Asked in a Yahoo interview whether the US would cooperate militarily with Iran, Kerry did not rule out the option, saying "let’s see what Iran might or might not be willing to do before we start making any pronouncements."

Kerry elaborated saying "I think we are open to any constructive process here that could minimize the violence, hold Iraq together - the integrity of the country - and eliminate the presence of outside terrorist forces that are ripping it apart. I wouldn’t rule out anything that would be constructive to providing real stability.

The Yahoo interview can be seen here:

The comments come as Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei said Monday that he had rejected a US proposal to cooperate against ISIS.

"The American ambassador in Iraq asked our ambassador (in Iraq) for a session to discuss coordinating a fight against Islamic State,” Khamenei said according to the state news agency IRNA.

Responding to Khamenei, Kerry said Monday "I'm not going to get into a back and forth. I don't want to do that. I don't think that is constructive, frankly."

Asked whether Khamenei's claim that he was invited to join the US in military action, Kerry said "I have no idea of what interpretation they drew from any discussion that may or may not have taken place. We are not coordinating with Iran. Period."

Two weeks ago it was reported that Khamenei had authorized his army to coordinate joint military operations with the US against ISIS in Iraq. The State Department later clarified it has "no plans" for any military coordination with Iran in the fight against Islamic State.

Iran is currently engaged in a likely final round of negotiations with world powers over its nuclear program ahead of a November 24 deadline.

Israel has reported that the Islamic regime is continuing its nuclear program despite ongoing talks, warning it is "closer than ever" to obtaining a nuclear weapon. It has also warned against a rapprochement between the US and Iran over the Islamic State threat.

Israelis Warned of Heightened Terror Threat Abroad
Sep 15th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Church

Israeli tourists warned of heightened threat

Flash 90

The Israeli National Security Council's Counter-Terrorism Bureau has warned of the increased likelihood of terror attacks targeting Israeli and Jewish targets in the run up to the High Holy Days, highlighting western Europe as an area of particular concern.

In a report issued Monday assessing global terror threats, the Bureau noted the significant danger of western nationals currently fighting abroad for global jihadi groups, including Al Qaeda and the "Islamic State" (ISIS), returning to their home countries to commit terrorist attacks. It cited the example of Mehdi Nemmouche, the French-Algerian former ISIS fighter and torturer, who returned to Europe and is believed to have carried out a deadly shooting at the Brussels Jewish Museum, which killed four people including two Israelis.

Nemmouche is said to have planned a much larger terror attack to take place in Paris, but was apprehended before he could carry it out.

Some 2,000 of ISIS's fighters are thought to hail from western states, and many have indeed returned home already. According to British authorities for example, of the 500 or so UK nationals who traveled to fight for the Islamic State, roughly half have already returned home - 40 of whom have been arrested.

The Bureau added that from the eve of Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) until the end of the festival of Sukkot the threat of attacks against Jewish and Israeli targets will increase, and also cited the recent war with Gazan terrorists as a factor behind the increased motivation of Islamist terrorists to attack Israelis at this time. Extremists in Europe used Operation Protective Edge as a pretext to unleash a wave of anti-Semitism unprecedented in recent memory, but the terror alert illustrates how that phenomenon may be but the tip of the iceberg.

Apart from Sunni jihadi groups, the Bureau also warned of the threat posed by Iranian-backed terror networks, which are still looking for "soft" Israeli targets, such as tourist hotspots, Chabad centers and other Jewish centers and institutions. Iranian and Hezbollah terrorists have repeatedly attempted to attack Israeli tourists in the far-east, most notably in Thailand.

In addition to western Europe, the report also issued a severe warning against traveling to the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. The Sinai is a popular region for Israeli tourists, but it is also the site of an increasingly aggressive and brutal Islamist insurgency whose main instigators, Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, is believed to be aligned with the Islamic State.

The report also added that there were credible terror threats against Israeli tourism and business interests in Africa, specifically Kenya and and Nigeria, where Al Qaeda-aligned groups such as Boko Haram are particularly active.

Other regions Israelis are advised to avoid traveling to include southern Thailand, Algeria, Burkina-Faso, Djibouti, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritania, Pakistan, Togo and Tunisia. The gulf states, Jordan and Turkey are also on the list, as is eastern Senegal.

Israeli Air Force Chief: We May Have to Send Planes to Iran Tomorrow
Sep 15th, 2014
Daily NewsThe Times of Israel
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

Stressing the need for additional defense spending, Maj.-Gen. Amir Eshel gives an insight into his preoccupations

IAF Commander Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel (photo credit: Yossi Zeliger/Flash90)

Israel’s air force commander gave an apparently unintended insight into his priorities and preoccupations, when he remarked during comments about the defense budget that Israel might need to send its attack planes to Tehran at very short notice.

Speaking about the imperative for the government to allocate additional funding to the armed forces, Israel Air Force chief Major-General Amir Eshel declared that “there’s no one in this room who’d be prepared to ride in a car as old as our planes. I’m telling you, no-one. Yesterday these planes were in Gaza, and tomorrow we may send them to Tehran.” The remarks were not delivered in the tone of a threat, but rather as a statement about a possible mission that would require up-to-date equipment.

Eshel’s comments, broadcast Sunday on the local Channel 2 News, came as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Yair Lapid sparred over the national budget, with Netanyahu earlier Sunday asserting that, in the wake of the summer’s 50-day Israel-Hamas conflict, “We need a significant increase of several billion in the defense budget.”

Netanyahu has repeatedly vowed that Israel will prevent Iran from attaining a nuclear weapons capability, acting alone if necessary. In a major address last week in which he highlighted Israel’s role in confronting worldwide jihadist terrorism, and expressed Jerusalem’s full support for the American-led offensive against the Islamic State organization, the prime minister took pains to stress that the struggle against Sunni radicalism should not lead the world to neglect the threat of Shiite extremism, championed by Iran.

Prime Minister Netanyahu speaks at a conference organized by the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism in Herzliya, September 11, 2014 (photo credit: GPO)

The greatest threat to world peace, Netanyahu said, would be a nuclear-equipped Iran. “You would see things you never imagined could be possible,” he said, describing a scenario in which the regime in Tehran succeeded in obtaining nuclear weapons. “Horrors you couldn’t even contemplate come to fruition. The ultimate terror. A terrorist regime with the weapons of the greatest terror of them all. We must not let that happen.”

In an address to the UN General Assembly last October, Netanyahu said Israel would act on its own if necessary to stop Iran attaining nuclear weapons. There should be no confusion over this, Netanyahu said, warning that “Israel will never acquiesce to nuclear arms in the hands of a rogue regime that repeatedly promises to wipe us out… If Israel is forced to stand alone” against that threat, “Israel will stand alone,” he said, though it would know that it was also defending others.

Iranian Official: West Seeks to Sabotage Our Nuclear Industry
Sep 15th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Ali-Akbar Salehi, head of the Iranian Nuclear Energy Organization, recently claimed that the West, including “the Zionist regime” sought to sabotage Iran’s nuclear industry.

The comments came in a speech that aired on August 25, on the Iranian news channel IRINN. The speech was translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).

“The [nuclear] equipment was produced in Europe, and from there it was sent to the Sandia Labs in New Mexico, America. There they would sabotage the equipment according to their needs, and introduce this defective equipment into the market so that it would reach us. This created a great scientific challenge for a vis-à-vis the West,” he claimed.

“Unfortunately, the Western European countries and their well-known industries, which have a special status in [nuclear] industry, cooperated with America and the Zionist regime in the sabotaging of equipment,” added Salehi.

“I really think that we should be grateful to the West, because if it wasn't for their acts of sabotage, we may not have been so aware of the industrial issues, and we would have gone about our business as usual. But today, due to their acts [of sabotage], the level of awareness, experience, and understand of our engineers, when it comes to mechanics, electricity, and various processes, has greatly increased. This is because we are suspicious of everything we purchase. We need to check at least once everything that pertains to certain processes, electronics, and mechanics. This is the reason that our engineers are today at a completely different level,” he continued.

Iran has in the past accused Israel, the U.S. and other countries of trying to sabotage its nuclear program.

In 2010, a U.S. cyber-attack, reportedly carried out in collaboration with Israel, hit Iran's nuclear facilities. The Stuxnet virus was tailored specifically to target uranium enrichment facilities.

Several Iranian nuclear engineers have also been killed in what Tehran says were assassinations by foreign intelligence services.

Hezbollah: We Won't Leave Syria
Sep 15th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Hezbollah military parade

Reuters

A senior official with Hezbollah declared on Monday that the group will not leave Syria, citing the threat of the “Islamic State” (IS) and other radical groups, reports the Lebanese-based Daily Star.

Speaking at a ceremony in the southern village of Aita Shaab, Nabil Qaouk, the deputy head of Hezbollah’s executive council, said, “There could never be a war of words between ISIS and us, but there is the field where we will defeat them. We will not engage in a war of statements or political disputes.”

“Day after day, it is becoming clear to Lebanon and the Arab, Muslim and international communities that there is a great need for Hezbollah to remain in Syria,” he declared.

“The current situation today imposes the need for Hezbollah to stay in Syria more than any other time,” added Qaouk, according to the Daily Star.

Referring to last month’s clashes between the Lebanese Army and fighters from IS and the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Nusra Front, he said a battle with radical groups had been imposed on Lebanon, which was now in the eye of the storm.

Hezbollah has made no secret of the fact that it is heavily involved in the Syrian civil war, sending fighters to battle rebels alongside Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s troops.

The group has also expressed concerns over IS. Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah recently warned that the group is an “existential threat” menacing Lebanon and the whole region.

“The Lebanese need to be aware of this existential threat and the need to confront it,” Nasrallah said, adding, “We must find true, realistic and serious means to counter this threat.”

Hezbollah Planning 'Large Raids' Into Galilee, Senior Army Source Says
Sep 15th, 2014
Daily NewsThe Jerusaalem Post
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

Although war is unlikely now, small incidents can quickly escalate, officer warns; IDF will defeat Hezbollah, but conflict could drag out for as long as four months, he says.

Although a war is unlikely at this time, the IDF is preparing to fight Hezbollah, which has developed new offensive cross-border capabilities alongside its massive arsenal of rockets and missiles, a senior military source said on Sunday.Hezbollah plans to send dozens and perhaps hundreds of terrorists into Israel in any war, while targeting the home front with many projectiles, in a conflict that could last as long as four months, according to the officer.The Shi’ite group’s focus will be to rain rockets and missiles down on Israel, but it also plans raids based on lessons it has learned from its intervention in the Syrian civil war. A preemptive Israeli ground offensive could prevent such raids, he said.“Hezbollah’s confidence is growing, along with its combat experience in Syria,” the officer said. “The battlegrounds of Syria have enabled Hezbollah to upgrade its capabilities. Hezbollah plans to send many combatants into Israeli territory near the border and seize it.” This has prompted Israel to make “dramatic changes” to its border-defense plans, he added.“We understood that Hezbollah is thinking offensively.It is gaining experience in Syria where it is initiating assaults in built-up areas, and attacking cities. It is learning about subterranean warfare from the perspective of the attacker...and [its officers are] learning more about themselves as the defenders in Lebanon... They are learning about controlling hundreds of fighters, coordinating intelligence, firepower, and command and control. This is a serious development that requires us to prepare accordingly,” the officer said.In the event that Hezbollah tries to surprise the IDF by occupying part of Israel near the border, the military will retake control of the area within a few hours, the officer said. “Operationally, this is not a difficult story to deal with.”The officer did not doubt that Hezbollah is “dealing” with tunnel digging, but added that there are no known tunnels leading into Israel from Lebanon.Hezbollah has built an extensive network of tunnels and underground bunkers in southern Lebanon and, together with Iran, instructed Hamas on how to do so in the Gaza Strip.Combat with Hezbollah will be very bloody and Lebanon would sustain heavy damage in any war, the officer warned. “They [Hamas fighters] are in all of the [south Lebanese] villages.“It could be very long. Part of this depends on how quickly we launch a ground offensive. The faster we launch an aggressive ground offensive, the more dramatic the effect it will have,” he said.A full-scale Israeli war effort would result in the defeat of Hezbollah, he added.Within hours, the IDF can mobilize brigades to staging areas and begin sending them into Lebanon.“There is no problem with massing the forces and heading out on a speedy ground maneuver. We can do this very quickly,” he said. “The damage would be enormous in Lebanon.Wars cannot be waged in a ‘clean’ manner anymore. Hezbollah is operating from the midst of civilians.Wherever armored and infantry units pass through, there will be noncombatant deaths, as well,” he added.“There will be many dead. Hezbollah understands this,” the officer said.Hezbollah is continuing to build its offensive capabilities against Israel even though Israel is not its principal concern at present. Fighting Sunni jihadist groups in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon is Hezbollah’s focus. The movement has created special forces, and the army believes it likely has a naval commando unit for coastal raids.Despite the threats, the officer said it was important to “keep things in proportion.The level of firepower used by Syria on the Golan Heights in the 1973 Yom Kippur War was far bigger... There is no challenge in Lebanon that the IDF cannot overcome. There is no village in Lebanon in which the IDF can’t overwhelm Hezbollah.”The IDF needs to significantly increase the time it spends training, according to the officer, referring to the effects of budget cuts. Without satisfactory levels of training, ground forces will end up paying a “high learning fee” in the first few days of a war – a price in blood that can be reduced if money is invested in training ahead of time.“The situation on the Israeli-Lebanese border is currently quiet. Tourists arrive in the area. We do not see ourselves as facing an imminent war. On the other hand, there are many developments and instability,” he said.“But, if [Hamas chief Hassan] Nasrallah feels he must respond to some incident and carries out a deadly terrorist attack on the border, this might prompt an Israeli response, which could lead to a Hezbollah response, which could lead to an escalation,” he said.Possible triggers for conflict include an overseas terrorist attack by Hezbollah targeting Israelis, which could lead to direct Israeli retaliation against Hezbollah.Alternatively, an Israeli air strike on a weapons smuggling convoy could prompt retaliation by the Lebanese group.“Hezbollah is not in distress and it’s not right to believe that it won’t do a thing. In the current ‘war between wars’ phase that we are in, when we have to take risks, we should expect that this can lead to a deterioration and not be surprised,” the officer said, hinting at the consequences of Israeli air strikes on arms-smuggling convoys.Hezbollah is constantly importing arms from Iran and Hezbollah. It can propose new rocket types and have them mass-produced in Iran or Syria before receiving them in Lebanon, the officer said.“There is nothing that cannot be brought into Lebanon,” he added.“We must handle things responsibly and carefully. The military must be very prepared.”According to Israeli intelligence assessments, Hezbollah has total control of southern Lebanon (the area is dubbed “Hezbolland”), where nothing happens without the Shi’ite organization’s approval. Its yellow flags once again are flying on the border with Israel, and armed, uniformed Hezbollah men have been spotted near the border, a sign of a new boldness following a period of eight years since the Second Lebanon War during which Hezbollah kept a low profile.

Akunis: 'Two - State Solution' will Bring Terror Tunnels to Center
Sep 15th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

Deputy Minister Ofir Akunis

Flash 90

Deputy Minister Ofir Akunis (Likud) warned on Monday that a “two-state solution” will endanger the security of Israeli residents and will bring rockets and missiles to the heart of the country.

Akunis’s comments came in a meeting with Likud members in the Sharon region city of Kfar Saba.

"This year, we learned what we had already known - that withdrawals do not promote peace but rather advance war," he said, referring to the recent Operation Protective Edge in Gaza.

"Many understand today what we said long ago: the establishment of a Palestinian state will come at the expense of the security of Israeli citizens,” said Akunis.

"If we make the mistake of withdrawing from Judea and Samaria, tunnels will be dug towards Kfar Saba and mortars will be intercepted over the Ben Gurion Airport. Wise people learn from past mistakes and do not repeat them,” he concluded.

Akunis’s comments came as hundreds of Likud members took part in a meeting of the party's Central Committee in Ashkelon, where they passed a party proposal obligating the toppling the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza in the next counter-terror operation.

The statement refers to the perceived lack of decisive military action in Operation Protective Edge, the third such operation in Gaza, which ended with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu sealing a ceasefire with Hamas that coincided with a nose-dive in his approval ratings.

Netanyahu himself was absent at the meeting Monday, instead taking part in a meeting of Likud activists in Petah Tikva that he arranged to conflict with the Central Committee meeting so as not to be present.

7 - Year Biblical Cycle 'Affecting Everything'
Sep 15th, 2014
Daily NewsWND
Categories: Today's Headlines;Commentary