Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Video: jihadist demo in front of Tunisian synagogue



The synagogue in the video is the Great Synagogue of Tunis. The facebook page from which the video is taken says that the demonstrators belong to Hizb ut-Tahrir. I don't know if this is related to the disputed attack on the El Hamma synagogue near Gabes.

(HT Atlas Shrugs)

Monday, February 14, 2011

Is this the new Egypt?

After the Egyptian army's statment that "The Arab Republic of Egypt is committed to all regional and international obligations and treaties" did not mention "peace" and "Israel" and after Obama declined to mention peace in comments on the resignation of Mubarak there are even more disturbing statements and actions coming from Egypt. A retired Egyptian General called Mahmoud Khalaf said on February 3rd that





[...]

The armed forces of the people are considered to be the tenth most powerful military power in the world. I ask the Arabs: Against who was it built? It is no secret that the combat doctrine of the Egyptian military forces considers the enemy to be to the north-east of Africa. That is, and will remain, the main enemy. As Israel knows full well, it will continue to be Egypt's main enemy, until it withdraws from all the Arab lands.

[...]

The Egyptian armed forces operate quietly, under the assumption that the war with Israel might take place tomorrow. I swear by Allah that they are quietly working under this assumption. We will respect the peace treaty as long as the other side does, but in our hearts, we consider it to be no more than a piece of paper.

[...]
Mohamed El-Baradei in an interview with Der Spiegel on February 6th said that

At the moment, they [the Israelis] have a peace treaty with Mubarak, but not one with the Egyptian people
IDF Radio reported yesterday that the Israeli flags on the Israeli embassy in Cairo and on the embassador's house were removed for "security reasons".

Yesterday Ayman Nour of the liberal and democratic El-Ghad Party said that





Much can be said about the Camp David accords. We believe that we should abide by our international commitments, but we should also make the others abide by our rights and by their own international commitments.

With regard to the Camp David accords in particular, the situation is complicated. In practice, the Camp David accords have come to an end. More than 30 years have passed since this agreement was signed, and many things on the ground require amendments. These amendments must be conducted in keeping with the interests and decisions of the Egyptian people. We will not impose anything on the Egyptian people, but I personally believe that if it were up to me, I would ask to conduct a referendum among the people with regard to this agreement, and we would abide by the decision of the people.

[...]

We want true participation of the people, and to gauge the people's position on all the significant issues, one of the most important of which is the Camp David accords. Some people believe that this agreement is a thing of the past, and that it must be developed in a correct manner. They believe that some of the terms are humiliating to the Egyptian side. I belong to this group of people.

Other people believe that the Camp David accords give Egypt certain guarantees on the ground, and that these must not be jeopardized at present.

I don't maintain this position, but at the end of the day, my opinion is not the only one that counts. We should hold a referendum.
If even Egyptian liberals and military men (and not the Muslim Brotherhood) who, we are told time and again, are supposed to uphold the peace treaty see it nothing more than a piece of paper (those are Mubarak's words BTW) the future of Israeli-Egyptian relations is very bleak indeed.

For more on this subject go here.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

An Israeli naval commando was injured during a secret operation

From INN:

An IDF soldier has been critically wounded in a top-secret mission abroad, according to Channel 10 news. The soldier is a member of the elite Shayetet 13 naval commando unit.

Commanders who reported the incident did not give information regarding the mission, or the incident in which the soldier was wounded.

“These missions are very complex,” one commander explained. “They are planned with precision, and often include preparation in Israel.”

“What must be understood is that these are among the finest soldiers in Israel,” he continued. “These are brave fighters who know that they are going into the heart of danger, often far from the borders of Israel.”
May he recover quickly. I wonder what mission he was on and where. I guess we'll never know. Anyway, here's a video showing a bit of how the Shayetet 13 train and footage from one of the soldier's helmet cam during the Marmara raid:

Is the Mossad operating in Gambia?

According to reports in the predominant Muslim west African country the answer is yes. This report claims that the Mossad and the CIA are training Gambia's National Intelligence Agency (NIA). An ex-NIA agent called Serg PMJ Banjul said that


After this order [to arrest and murder Omar Bah, former news editor of the pro-government Daily Observer] by [Gambian president Yahya] Jammeh on May 29, I also swear that if it happens, then all the trainings I received from the Mossad and CIA did not benefit me at all and I was going to resign all my commission and retire from the service. Now this is it- an order from a monstrous bloodthirsty dictator.
This report claims that


an Israeli Jew called Danny Shinn has become very active in the operations of the NDEA [National Drug Enforcement Agency]. "Danny" as he is popularly known is widely rumored in the intelligence community to be the Israeli spy agency Mossad's representative in The Gambia. Danny has penetrated The Gambia's security establishment by providing allowances to security officials who have been fired. For example, both Benedict, Kunji, and even Lang Tombong all received allowances something totaling 30,000 dalasi per month whilst they were unemployed.

Danny was actually detained at the NDEA last December as he was suspected to be the source of the leak to the CIA that resulted in the Iranian arms being intercepted in Lagos. Danny has however turned the situation around to the point that he now is providing some of our intelligence officers such as Yusupha Jatta and others written questions that are to be used in interrogations. He is also providing them tips he learnt from torture of Palestinians to be applied to Gambian detainees. He is in regular contact, from his mobile (xxxxxx withheld) with his assets such as Benedict, Kunji, and Yusupha.

The level of corruption and abuse of power at the NDEA is the worst our country has ever seen. Even previously honest Benedict has been so corrupted that one has to now believe the adage "power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely". Benedict for example, has installed one of his mistresses in a villa at the Taf Estate that was seized illegally from a drug suspect. Additionally, he awarded Danny a contract to supply CCTV to the new NDEA offices without any bid or adherence to GPPA [Gambia Public Procurement Authority] regulations. It is unclear to me whether Danny is here as part of a secret agreement with the Israeli government or if it is just because of Ben.

Danny's cover is that he owns a company that supplies military hardware and surveillance equipment in The Gambia.

Editors note: The Freedom Newspaper was able to reach Mr. Danny Shinn on the cellular phone number provided to us by our source. The Israel born native first demanded to know who the caller was, and our Editor identified himself to him. Mr. Danny then enquired how we managed to get his cell number, and we told him that as journalists, we had access to multiple sources—thus allaying his curiosity.

We demanded his reaction to the report mentioned above: his ties with the NDEA, him training NDEA officers, his alleged affiliation with the Israel Mossad Intelligence outfit, the CCTV contract he reached with the NDEA, and the alleged monies given to former sacked security officers, such as Lang Tombong Tamba, Ben Jammeh, and Kunji, Mr. Shinn rejected the report—saying don’t make me laugh. He demanded to know what media organization our Editor worked for, and he was told the Freedom Newspaper. It took him few seconds to figure out the Freedom newspaper as a new organization. But he finally affirmed with an exclamation—remarking “ oh Freedom, Freedom.”

“What newspaper are you representing? Or the Freedom, yes, yes, Okay…” signaling that he is aware of a newspaper called the Freedom Newspaper. Mr. Shinn would also not discuss his alleged detention by the NDEA back in December of 2009, following the interception of the Iranian arms destined for President Jammeh’s Kanilai Farm. He will also not explain what he was doing in The Gambia. He merely said that he was a freeman, otherwise he wouldn’t be talking to us on the phone. But was told that the alleged detention took place in December of 2009, but Danny wouldn’t elaborate on the matter.

When asked about the CCTV contract deal he allegedly signed with the NDEA, and the supplying of military hardware to the Government of The Gambia, Mr. Shinn hung up the phone. This particular query never went down well with him. He hung up the phone without notifying us. That ends our phone conversation with Mr. Shinn.
And this report claims that

The Mossad's Station Chief for Gambia, Danny Shinn, fled the country on Thursday. This follows the story on Freedom Newspaper that blew his cover. His departure from The Gambia was a big blow to the Mossad according to Western Embassy sources. Danny was not only Station Chief for Gambia, but was responsible for managing Mossad espionage activities in the whole Anglophone West Africa. According to these sources, the Freedom exposure made it impossible for Danny to meet his agents in The Gambia anymore.

Danny's tenure in The Gambia was a very storied one. He was easily considered as running the best intelligence operation in The Gambia. Taking advantage of the insane hire and fire policies of Jammeh, he recruited agents who had been fired from government service in the hopes that they would be rehired. He provided them allowances whilst they were unemployed and in dire need of money. Once these agents were rehired into the government security service, they would forever be beholden to him. This for example, was how he got his most valuable asset, Benedict Jammeh.

After Benedict was fired as IGP [Inspector-General of Police], he started providing him an allowance of 30 thousand a month. Once Ben got rehired as DG [Director General] of NDEA, he provided Danny with first class intelligence. Danny also relied on the fact that most of the security agents live beyond their means. For example, another important agent, Yusupha Jatta of the NDEA has 3 wives and 15 children. His meager salary is not able to sustain such a big and expensive family. So, Danny would once again provide the allowance.

Because of his good network, Danny was able to get bugs implanted in the State House in Banjul and record sensitive conversations. Practically all of Ben's briefings with the president were also recorded. This is how the information about the Iranian arms were discovered and passed to the xxx. This is also how the drugs cache in Bonto was discovered and passed on to the MI-6.

At some point, Danny was suspected by Jammeh of being a spy and he ordered Ben to have the NDEA to arrest him and investigate. Ben investigating Danny was like the proverbial fox guarding the hen house. Despite the fact that Danny was detained for over 3 weeks, he had an ace up his sleeve.

Danny, the clever Jew, learnt that Ben was going to seize a drug suspect's house at the Taf estates and give it to his mistress, a prominent television personality. Before she could move in, he arranged to install a surveillance camera in the master bedroom. He captured a lot of compromising videos of Ben.

Jammeh even ordered that Danny be deported. But Danny made sure Ben knew that any negative actions by Ben would result in his total exposure. So, Ben just played games and left Danny alone until the Freedom article surfaced and exposed his game. Danny on the other hand had nothing but contempt for what he termed "the Jola Boys". He thought that they were the most stupid tribe in Gambia and nicknamed Jammeh as "Baboon". He felt that Jammeh was only after his own personal interest and was not interested in developing his country.

Danny continued supporting Ben including giving him the money to pay for his mistresses debt when she was sued in court for failing to pay for an air ticket. At the end though, the Freedom article was just too powerful and he had to leave the country.

Editor’s note: Mr. Danny could not be reached by phone for immediate comments. His cellular phone is apparently turned off. Per, the State House insider, he has left The Gambia. Mr. Danny would be accorded the opportunity to respond to the allegations linking him to spying if he so desired. Thanks for your attention.
Mmmm. These reports seem to have some grain of truth in them (the highlighted portions) with a lot of smear, disinformation and a bit of racism. It seems Gambia was about to get arms from the Iranians and the Mossad succeeded in preventing this and this is what is behind the smear campaign against the Mossad.

An Israeli Arab speaks the truth about Israel





And here's another pro-Israel Arab, this time an American:

Thursday, February 10, 2011

The Saudis threatened Obama

Fron The Times:
 

Saudi Arabia has threatened to prop up President Mubarak if the White House tries to force a swift change of regime in Egypt.

In a testy personal telephone call on January 29, King Abdullah told President Obama not to humiliate Mr Mubarak and warned that he would step in to bankroll Egypt if the US withdrew its aid programme, worth $1.5 billion annually.

America's closest ally in the Gulf made clear that the Egyptian President must be allowed to stay on to oversee the transition towards peaceful democracy and then leave with dignity.

"Mubarak and King Abdullah are not just allies, they are close friends, and the King is not about to see his friend cast aside and humiliated," a senior source in the Saudi capital told The Times.

Two sources confirmed details of the King's call, made four days after the people of Egypt took to the streets. The revelation of Saudi concerns sheds new light on America's apparent diplomatic paralysis and lays bare the biggest rift between the nations since the oil price shock of 1973.

The tough line from Riyadh is driven by concern that Western governments were too eager to shove aside Mr Mubarak when the uprising began, without proper consideration of what should follow him.

"With Egypt in chaos, the kingdom is Washington's only major ally left in the Arab world and the Saudis want the Americans to remember that," said a source in Riyadh.

Egypt is the fourth-highest recipient of American aid after Afghanistan, Pakistan and Israel, with most of the money going to the Armed Forces. Slashing this was seen as a key weapon in Washington's armoury should it wish to force Mr Mubarak from office, but Riyadh's intervention seriously undermines America's leverage.

The White House declined to comment yesterday, saying that the Administration did not divulge what other leaders said to Mr Obama. The King is in Morocco, recuperating from surgery on his back late last year in New York. Behind the scenes, however, the octogenarian monarch has been sticking his neck out for his longstanding friend in Cairo -- the pair are believed to be speaking daily.

Immediately after his phone call with Mr Obama, the King issued a statement of support for Mr Mubarak, blaming "intruders" for meddling in Egypt's security "in the name of freedom of expression, exploiting it to inject their destructive hatred".

Riyadh is feeling increasingly hemmed in by Iran and its proxies Hamas and Hezbollah. The expulsion of the Mubarak regime would not only remove a key Saudi and American ally in the region but a major bulwark against Iranian expansionism."[The uprising] is a very dangerous phenomenon. If we encourage it, anything could happen. Iran or al-Qaeda might take advantage," said a Saudi official.

The inconsistent messages from American politicians since the crisis in Egypt began have also irritated the kingdom. "There is certainly quite strong disagreement with the Americans on the messaging. They can understand why Western countries have taken the positions they have, but they are not convinced it's been thought through. They see the Americans as abandoning long-term allies," said a Western analyst in Riyadh.

Behind the scenes, the Saudi leadership has been urging Mr Mubarak for some time to begin the process of reform and was dismayed that last year's parliamentary elections were so blatantly rigged. Many Saudi citizens express private admiration for the courage of the protesters in Tahrir Square. In the interests of stability, however, the kingdom has insisted that Washington should deal with Omar Suleiman, the Egyptian Vice-President, and not undermine him. The signs are that Washington has heeded the appeals for caution from Riyadh and elsewhere. The Administration, which appeared ready last week to sever America's 30-year alliance with Mr Mubarak, is now placing greater emphasis on stability in its public statements, while keeping up pressure on Mr Suleiman to push ahead with reforms.

The White House expressed frustration last night with the "lack of steps" Cairo has taken to meet protesters' demands. "It is clear that what the Government has thus far put forward has yet to meet a minimum threshold for the people of Egypt," said Robert Gibbs, President Obama's spokesman.

Ahmed Aboul Gheit, the Egyptian Foreign Minister, accused the US of "imposing on a great country like Egypt", and brushing aside American calls for more freedom as "unhelpful".


Tuesday, February 1, 2011

MB leader: prepare for war with Israel (UPDATED)

From the JPost:

Muhammad Ghannem reportedly told Al- Alam that the Suez Canal should be closed immediately, and that the flow of gas from Egypt to Israel should cease “in order to bring about the downfall of the Mubarak regime.” He added that “the people should be prepared for war against Israel,” saying the world should understand that “the Egyptian people are prepared for anything to get rid of this regime.”

Ghannem praised Egyptian soldiers deployed by President Hosni Mubarak to Egyptian cities, saying they “would not kill their brothers.” He added that Washington was forced to abandon plans to help Mubarak stay in power after “seeing millions head for the streets.”
Ghanem also said that the Egyptian police and army won’t be able to stop the Muslim Brotherhood movement. The original Arabic article is here, the Google translation is here.

UPDATE: Here's the clip of MB leader which has info not icluded in the above reports:



And here's the transcript:

Following are excerpts from an interview with Muhammad Ghanem, Muslim Brotherhood representative in London, which aired on Al-Alam TV on January 30, 2011:

Muhammad Ghanem: Hosni Mubarak and his regime are over, but he does not know it. In the beginning, we said that we wanted Hosni Mubarak to go. Now, we say that Hosni Mubarak, his VP, and prime minister must go. Now there are three of them.

In addition, the commanders of the army are still going back and forth to America. The American position has changed, and we hope that the position of the military will change as well, but reality proves that Hosni Mubarak will not leave unless he is forced to, that Omar Suleiman is more dangerous than Hosni Mubarak, and that the appointed prime minister... They all come from the military, and they share the same interests. Like we say in Egyptian Arabic: They will not bite one another.

I don't want to speak ill of anyone, but Hosni Mubarak will not hesitate to kill the entire Egyptian people in order to remain in power. This is a maneuver of which we must beware. Hosni Mubarak is trying to stabilize his position. He is in Sharm Al-Sheik, protected by the Zionists, by the state of Israel. There is a helicopter ready to fly him to Israel.

We do not take the situation lightly. The situation is difficult. The Egyptian people will not allow anyone to rob them of their revolution. This blessed revolution will not subside. As the Egyptians are chanting: "We will not go away. This is our country. Mubarak should go."

[...]

As for the possible return of the security forces – this is inconceivable. If the people see members of the security forces, they will kill them all. These security forces are not part of the Egyptian people. Their allegiance lies with Hosni Mubarak.

[...]

I am absolutely certain that this revolution will not die, and that the next step must be one of civil disobedience. This civil disobedience will generate strife among the Egyptians. This disobedience must include halting passage through the Suez Canal, stopping the supply of petroleum and natural gas to Israel, and preparing for war with Israel.

[...]

News briefs

Synagogue in Tunisa set on fire

Hamas fires rockets at Israel

Israeli embassy in Cairo attacked by mob on Sunday

Security around Egyptian embassy in Tel-Aviv boosted

Egyptian army, MB plot Mubarak removal


UPDATES:

The king of Jordan sacked his government amid street protests

The MB admit Baradei is just for show

Was a UFO hovering over Temple Mount?

Israel slowly becoming focus of protests

"ISRAEL TO HEAD FOR DEATH"















From YNet's print edit:

Yediot Ahronot, 31 January 2011, pp. 2-3

"Traitor, go to Israel"

Eldad Beck

The moment of truth of the Egyptian "rage revolution" is near. The winds blowing in Cairo's streets are getting ever more extreme and Israel, who was out of the picture until now, is slowly being inserted into the political storm that is shaking Egypt and the entire Middle East. To the dozens of hate graffiti against Mubarak and his family sprayed on the ruling party's burnt building in the heart of Cairo a new slogan was added: "This is the end of all the Jews". On one of Cairo's main bridges the following was written: "Mubarak, you traitor, go to Israel".

Also the multitude of protesters that continue to flock to Tahrir Square are arguing about Israel's involvement in the dramatic events. For many Israel is behind the gangs of looters that broke into shopping malls, stores, private homes and even the national museum, stealing everything they laid hands on and sowing destruction. Al-Jazeera [...] is trickling inciteful propaganda against the Zionist state. "Experts" such as former MK Azmi Bishara talk about the US "Zionist lobby"'s role in preserving Mubarak's regime. The opposition continues to argue vehemently that Mubarak and his new vice, Omar Soliman, are agents of Israel and the US, and on the front page of one of the opposition papers the headline reads: "International Zionism is behind the civil war in Egypt".

In the stormy Tahrir Square I sit next to Muhammad, a 37 year old doctor [...] who doesn't hide his support for the Muslim Brotherhood (MB). The more time goes by and the protests don't wane the more the MB show their presence. [...] Also the slogans at the demostrations are becoming more and more religious. [...] "We want a national rescue government which will draft a new constitution and the MB should be a part of it" [says Muhammad].

"Who says the MB should be in the government", she [Yasmin, a 29 year old] cries out. "There will be democratic elections and the people will decide who they want" [...].

"And how will this affect the relations with the US and the peace with Israel?" I ask. "The relations with America will be according to Egypt's interests", states Muhammad avoiding mentioning Israel. [...] "We don't know if Obama is with the people or with Mubarak", says Yasmin. "If other states will support the Egyptian people and help us build Egypt we'll welcome them". Yasmin doesn't blame Israel. "We're used to of saying that Israel is behind all our problems. But that's nonsense. We are responsible for what happens to us", she declares. "The Israelis are so succesful and what do we have? Nothing".
From the JPost:

The protests have lacked a clear leader to unite them and provide an alternative to Mubarak, and demonstrators are beginning to focus their wrath not just on Mubarak and the country’s widespread corruption, but also on the United States and, to a lesser extent, Israel. They blame Israel and the US for supporting a government because it is convenient for them, not because it is good for the Egyptian people.

“The USA does not support democracy; they’re supporting Israel, which is like their baby,” said Ahmed, a 26-year-old Cairo resident. “They think Egypt is functional because it’s in favor of their considerations.”

I don’t care if we have peace [with Israel] or not,” Ahmed continued, echoing the indifference of many demonstrators who don’t have a clear agenda for what they want a future Egypt to look like, as long as it does not include Mubarak. “But will Israel allow us to have a real president? For example, Turkey elected an Islamic government, but it was their choice. Will Israel give us the freedom to make the same choice?” he asked.