More on the Israeli strike on Syria

I have reported on this issue a few times and here is some further information from the Counterterrorism blog on why Israel felt that it was necessary to strike the nuclear facility inside the Syrian border:

Interestingly, while North Korea has been mentioned many times, the role of Iran has not been scrutinized.
I just wrote a piece for the Middle East Times on that topic.
Here is an excerpt:
Israel has been providing intelligence and satellite images to the U.S. about a secret Syrian nuclear program for several months, according to media reports. Discussions between Israel and the United States took place last summer regarding a possible strike. But when Israel found the matter so pressing that when they realized the U.S. was not ready to act, on September 6 they attacked a Syrian nuclear site. Hence the question: what is Syria really up to or more to the point what is Iran up to?

First, let's start with an underreported explosion that occurred in a Syrian military base outside Aleppo on July 26. Jane's Defense Weekly reported, citing Syrian defense sources, as saying the explosion took place during a test to fit a "Scud C" missile with a mustard-gas warhead. It quoted the sources as saying the explosion occurred when fuel caught fire in the missile production laboratory.

But there might be another explanation. Kuwait's Al Seyassah newspaper recently reported that a Shiite Lebanese religious cleric claimed the Iranians were allegedly supervising a chemical weapons manufacturing program and that tens of Iranian experts and engineers died as a result of that explosion. He also said Israelis attacked the base. He added that Western officials told him they received proof from Israel on the Syrian chemical weapons program. Even if Israel's involvement is not proven, what remains sure is that it must be very happy that a chemical weapons facility in Syria has been partly destroyed.

You can read the story here

Israel responds to constant mortar attacks from inside of Gaza

 

An Israeli air strike on Wednesday has successfully hit an Hamas controlled post where rockets are being constantly fired into Israeli territory.

Despite the bleating about the alleged "oppression" of Palestinians, there is in fact very little evidence to prove the complaints. Instead, the Hamas controlled Palestinians have been constantly firing their rockets at the town of Sderot, and threaten the lives of at least 300,000 citizens at intervals of every 3 hours.

If Hamas refuses to be a part of the present peace process, then there is little chance of any resolution to the conflicts, because the aims of Hamas happen to be that they should be the ones who control the whole region. As a result Israel's existence remains threatened, first by the existence of Hamas, and secondly by the backers of Hamas, Syria and Iran.

GAZA CITY (CNN) -- An Israeli airstrike Wednesday hit a Hamas post in southern Gaza, killing two Hamas security men in Khan Yunis, according to Hamas sources.

Hamas members in Gaza City watch TV coverage of the Mideast summit on Tuesday.

The Israeli army said the airstrike -- the third in Gaza this week -- was in response to the firing of mortars into Israel.

According to the Israeli military, 11 mortars and Qassam rockets were fired into Israel on Wednesday.

Reacting to incessant rocket attacks from Gaza, Israel's government labeled the Hamas-controlled region a "hostile territory" in September, setting in motion a wide-ranging crackdown that includes military operations and limiting Gaza's power supply.

Gaza militants fire rockets into Israel every three hours, on average, according to the Israeli military.

Speaking at the Mideast peace summit in Annapolis, Maryland, on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said "the continued shooting of Qassam rockets against tens of thousands of residents in the south of Israel, particularly in the city of Sderot, serves as a warning sign -- one which cannot be overlooked."

He said the ongoing attacks are a hurdle to achieving peace with the Palestinians and are the result of "the absence of governmental institutes and effective law enforcement mechanisms" in Hamas-ruled Gaza.

Can Israel exist if Lebanon falls to Hezbollah?

The situation in Lebanon has begun to reach melting point whilst the UN and everyone else just looks on and smiles, going about their business, as if Hezbollah has a legitimate right to rule.

Israel's situation is all the more precarious because of the way in which Syria has been working in the background. It is a known fact that the Shia led Hezbollah has backing and funding from both Syria and Iran. It is also well known that there have been a number of political assassinations of leaders who are opposed to Syria, and that these assassinations have caused a real problem for the slim majority of the outgoing President.

In other words, by assassinating these particular politicians, Syria was hoping to give Hezbollah the foothold it needs to wrest control of Lebanon.

If Syria gains control over Lebanon again, then the situation for Israel is even more precarious.  Israel has been out of favour because of the invasion of Lebanon last year, even though this invasion was the end result of the provocation from actions by Hezbollah and allies against Israel.

The left wing leaders in Europe have turned their backs on Israel, and instead of doing everything possible to bring about a just settlement to the crisis, countries such as Finland, and Sweden have been backing the terrorists!! The U.N. is also guilty of not taking a neutral stance and its agencies are guilty of issuing biased reports that are based upon a warped interpretation of events (including the faked bombing of the Red Cross Ambulances and the Qana incident that was not properly investigated.)

(As an aside, it should be remembered that Antiochus, was a king of Syria and he was responsible for the persecution of the Jews during the period of the Maccabees)

This is one very ugly bride and terror suspect

In Baghdad, soldiers at a checkpoint stopped what looked like a wedding convoy. The soldiers became suspicious because all of the convoy except the "bride" were male. The suspicions were confirmed when it was discovered that the bride was not a woman but a man dressed up as the bride.

You have to agree with me, but that is just one very ugly "bride"!!

Both "bride" and groom were wanted by the authorities in relation to terrorist activities.

Hamas will most likely not honour any peace settlement that is brokered by George Bush

The BBC reports that the Islamist movement HAMAS has reportedly stated that Palestinians will not be bound by any decisions taken at this weeks US-backed Middle East Peace talks. Ismail Haniya, the leader of HAMAS in Gaza, who is not attending the talks, has described the discussions as "fruitless".

 

Several of the Hamas leaders met at the Palestinian Parliament in Gaza city to sign a document stating that Mr Abbas had no right to make concessions in any peace deal.

"The people believe that this conference is fruitless and that any recommendations or commitments made in the conference that harm our rights will not be binding for our people," Mr Haniya said as he entered the building.

"It will be binding only for those who sign it."

Mr Haniya was dismissed by Abbas from his position of prime minister of a national unity government in June, shortly after Hamas seized control of the Gaza strip from the president's Fatah movement.

Hamas is designated a terrorist organization by the USA and Israel and is not represented at Annapolis.

It seems that Hamas is only interested in perpetuating the myth that Israel is occupying Palestinian land, but this is clearly not true. Historically, the Palestinians did not exist until around the 1920s. Gaza was won in the 6 day war, and Israel was entitled to occupy that territory. The same goes for East Jerusalem. It does not belong to the Palestinians. Therefore, we should take heed of the following (threatening) words of Mahmoud Zahhar:

Another senior Hamas leader in Gaza, Mahmoud Zahhar, told the BBC that even if the group had been invited, it would be pointless participating because Israel was not prepared to end the occupation of Palestinian land.

"We are very proud that we are not involved in this conference which will bring for us nothing," he told the BBC World Service.

"We don't believe that this is a real peace process, because without fulfilling our basic demand it will be just as previous agreements reached and unable to be practised practically on the ground," he added.

"Abu Mazen [Mahmoud Abbas] is not representing the majority of the Palestinian people."

Palestinian officials say, however, that as chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), Mr Abbas is entitled to negotiate on behalf of Palestinians. Agreements are signed between Israel and the PLO.

Evidence of fresh Syrian plot in Lebanon

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Hariri: 'Evidence of fresh plot'

They continue to protest their innocence, but it is becoming increasingly clear that the Syrian army and intelligence are behind the plot to murder anti-Syrian Lebanese government members. Already this year the toll has been heavy as several members have been murdered.

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Photo evidence that Syria had a nuclear reactor

Photo suggests quick cleanup of suspected Syrian nuclear site - CNN.com

There are new commercial images that show a suspected Syrian nuclear reactor site has been wiped clean since it was bombed September 6 by Israeli aircraft. The analysts say that the cleanup will hinder a proposed investigation by international inspectors and suggests Syria is trying to conceal the evidence.

"It took down this facility so quickly it looks like they are trying to hide something," said David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security, which analyzed the images. An image taken Wednesday by a DigitalGlobe commercial satellite shows tractors or bulldozers and scrape marks on the ground where the building stood in photos taken prior to the September Israeli attack."

Had the building not been razed, inspectors would have been able to tell from its construction whether it was meant to house a North Korean-style nuclear reactor, Albright said. He said the fact that the structure got a roof so early in its construction also suggests that it was a reactor.

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Officials: Lebanese troops fired on IAF jets - Israel News, Ynetnews

Officials: Lebanese troops fired on IAF jets - Israel News, Ynetnews I bet the MSM will remain quiet over the fact that Lebanese troops, (probably ones not loyal to the government but to Nasrallah) fired upon Israeli aircraft doing routine reconnaisance. This might be a situation that needs to be watched more carefully because it could signal another "war", and yes Syria and her master Iran want that war to take place.

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The evil of Syria and Iran go hand in hand

This is old news, and yes, Israel did make a raid inside of Syria. It seems that the target was a munitions factory. There is very little information that has become available about what really happened and why the raid took place. What we have learned though, is that Syria has been attempting to manufacture nuclear weapons with the aid of North Korea:

 

Signs Show That Syria Is Ramping Up For a Major Conflict

Syria said that it fired on Israeli planes today.
The Syrian government reported that Israeli aircraft dropped "munitions" inside Syria overnight- AP.
Reuters misreported the incident (with an anti-Israeli slant):

Syria accused Israel of bombing its territory on Thursday and said it could respond to the Jewish state's 'aggression and treachery'. (Graphic/Reuters)
Israellycool noted that the Syrian government reported that the munitions were "dropped" -Not that Syria was "bombed!"
(Via Instapundit)
After the news that Syria had fired on Israeli planes,
Daniel Diker from the Jerusalem Center For Public Affairs authored this analysis of the current situation by Yaakov Amidror the former Head of Intelligence Assessment of the Israel Defense Forces:

Anatomy of Syrian Israel Tensions.
Major General (Res)Yaakov Amidror
The recent aerial incident involving reported Israeli airforce activity over Northeastern Syria along the Turkish Syrian border comes in the context of disturbing trends in Syrian military behavior. It is important to recall that Syria has served as a primary conduit to building up Iranian backed Hizbullah prior to the outbreak of the second Lebanon war in July 2006. Damascus supplied the majority of the heavy payload rockets Hizbullah fired at Israel including Grad-type 122mm Katyushas "220mm rocket,"(probably Syrian-manufactured Russian "Ouragan" Multiple Launch Rocket System [MLRS]) and "B302" 302mm rockets. Syrian supplied rocket warheads usually contained anti-personnel munitions, of a mixture of lethal explosives and steel balls or fragments.
It should also be noted that Syria has increased the tempo of its military exercises and has removed road blocks that existed for years between Damascus and the city of Kunetra that is adjacent to its front line with Israel.
Historically, The Syrian Israeli military balance has been characterized by a gross asymmetry in Syria’s favor in the standing active service formations along the Syrian Israeli border. While Syria maintained its army in battle ready status, the bulk of the Israeli army was and continues to be organized around its army reserve forces that are only mobilized in the event of an imminent attack. For example, in October, 1973, Israel was forced to repel a massive Syrian ground assault with only 177 tanks against a total Syrian force of 1400 tanks that stretched back from the Golan Heights to Damascus providing an advantage of more than eight to one in Syrian armor.
At present, Syria’s behavior is a function of the following factors:
1. The Syrian perception that it has a realistic military option against Israel based on their view of Hizbullah’s successes in last summer’s war.
2. Syria’s continued sponsorship of radical Palestinian Islamic terror groups including Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hamas, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine PFLP, and other Jihadi organizations.
3. A massive Syrian military build-up focusing primarily on scud (B,C,D) heavy rockets and chemical warheads with a massive commensurate increase in military spending over past ten years.. The primary Syrian armament build of the past few years includes a major investment in chemical weaponry in which Syria has become a regional superpower. It is important to stress that Damascus’ strategic decision to build up its military arsenal preceded the US decision to provide advanced military weaponry to Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Israel.
Syria’s recent military build up is all the more destabilizing in view of the decision by Russia to upgrade its influence in the region by providing state of the art Russian weaponry and military technologies and to reopen a Russian Naval base on the Syrian Coast. Additionally, Iran’s huge petro-dollar driven financing capabilities has played a major role in Syrian weapons procurement.
Current Syrian Israeli tensions are also punctuated by the additional Syrian strategic need to free itself of international pressure in the context of its continuing involvement in destabilizing Lebanon as well as Damascus’ interest in shaking off ongoing international pressure stemming from Syria’s suspected main role in the murder of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Syrian concerns over its deepening international isolation is also a function of its key role as a primary line of supply of weaponry and volunteers that continue stream unfettered over the Syrian Iraqi border to the Iraqi insurgency against US coalition forces as has been confirmed By General George W. Casey Jr, former US Commander in Iraq.
Yaakov Amidror was former Head of Intelligence Assessment of the Israel Defense Forces.

Hezbollah planning takeover in Lebanon

Monday, October 15, 2007

Hezbollah Prepares 50,000-Strong Army To Take Lebanon

Hezbollah is preparing its army to take control of Lebanon.
Ya Libnan reported:

Beirut - Hezbollah has formed a 50,000-strong militia to "fight an internal dispute" if the ongoing political crisis in Lebanon was not settled, the Kuwaiti newspaper as-Siyassah reported.
It also said Hezbollah has constructed 500 kilometers of roads linking its power bases in east, central and south Lebanon in preparation for such a confrontation with the March 14 forces and to enable the party confront an Israeli attack.
Hezbollah has constantly sought shelter under the "resistance" umbrella that will "never" draw a drop of Lebanese blood - this latest move appears in direct contradiction of their alleged allegiance to Lebanon.
The Hezbollah-led opposition have been practically occupying downtown Beirut since December 1, 2006 - with the declared objective of toppling the Lebanese government. Immediately after the start of the sit in, Hezbollah supporters threatened to storm the government compound, fenced in bared wire and protected by tanks and three army and police battalions, and remove Siniora by force.
What started with “Death to Israel" and “Death to America”, turned into “Death to Siniora”. While the heads of the pro-Syrian opposition, Nasrallah, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, and "presidency at any cost" Michel Aoun, have not once attempted to preach to their followers otherwise.

It will be interesting to see how the US and the West reacts when Hezbollah makes their move.
But, maybe Hezbollah will wait until a democrat sits in the White House. They know they'll be safe to attack then.

Ahmadinejad vows to abolish Israel

Ahmadinejad vows to abolish Israel | NEWS.com.au Every year Iran holds what is known as Al Quds day. The day itself is dedicated to anti-Israel propaganda. This year has seen a marked increase in the anti-Israel rhetoric from Ahmanutjob, the current president of Iran.

IRANIAN President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad launched a new tirade against Israel today amid growing tensions with the West, vowing to work to abolish the Jewish state and questioning the scale of the Holocaust.

Mr Ahmadinejad said Iran would strive to liberate “all of Palestine” from Israeli hands, in a speech to mark the Quds day, where Iran holds its annual mass protest marches in solidarity with the Palestinians.

Tens of thousands of Iranians turned out for the march in central Tehran, carrying anti-Zionist banners, chanting “Death to Israel” and burning Israeli and American flags.

“The Palestinian people are standing firm. The Iranian people and other peoples will not stop until all of Palestinian territory is liberated,” Mr Ahmadinejad told the faithful at Tehran University.

“They (world powers) should not think that the Iranian nation and other nations in the region will take off their hands off the throat of the Zionists and their supporters.”

Mr Ahmadinejad provoked an international outcry shortly after his election in 2005 when he called for Israel to be “wiped from the map” and also described the Holocaust as a “myth”.

He has since toned down his rhetoric but in this speech he reaffirmed his deeply controversial questioning of the mass slaughter of Jews in World War II and his suggestion that Israel could be moved to arctic North America.

“The Iranian nation hates killing and considers Hitler and the executioners of the World War II as black and dark figures,” he said.

“But the Iranian nation has a question and as long as there is no clear and reasonable response to this question, it will remain.

“They have made the Holocaust sacred and do not allow anyone to ask questions. Under the pretext of the Holocaust they are allowed to commit whatever crime they like.

“Europeans cannot tolerate the Zionists in their region and country, but they want to impose them on the people of the region ...

“Give these vast lands of Canada and Alaska to them to create a country for themselves.”

His graphic verbal assault on the Jewish state came amid growing tensions over the Iranian nuclear program.

Israel, widely believed to be the only nuclear armed power in the Middle East, has expressed alarm over Iran's nuclear drive, which the Jewish state and its main ally the US believe is aimed at making an atomic bomb.

The US and Israel have never ruled out the option of military strikes and some European states, led by France, want to impose their own economic sanctions against Tehran.

Iran however insists that its nuclear program is solely aimed at generating electricity for a growing population whose massive oil and gas reserves will eventually run out.

Israel was an ally of the imperial regime of last Iranian shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, developing close military and economic ties, but all this changed when he was ousted by the Islamic revolution in 1979.

Iran is also home to 25,000 Iranian Jews, the largest Jewish community in the Middle East outside Israel, and officials say this shows its stance is anti-Zionist but in no way anti-Semitic.

State television showed pictures of tens of thousands of people streaming through the streets in other demonstrations held in every major city up and down the country, repeatedly chanting the mantra of “Death to Israel”.

Despite the heavily politicised nature of the Tehran demonstration, there was a festive mood with the numerous children present having their faces painted as cats and rabbits in entertainment laid on by the municipality.

“I come every year because the Palestinians are helpless and they cannot defend themselves. I come here to attract the world's attention to their plight,” said Somayeh Salim, 27.

She was carrying an Israeli flag in her rucksack: “I am going to burn it,” she said.

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Israel admits air strike on Syria

Israel has confirmed that it carried out a strike on a Syrian military installation last month.

On Monday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad told the BBC that a Syrian military construction site was hit in the Israeli air strike on 6 September.

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State: Al-Dura Death Video was Staged - News Briefs - Arutz Sheva

State: Al-Dura Death Video was Staged - News Briefs - Arutz Sheva It is about time that the State of Israel made this statement and pointed out that the alleged Al-Dura death video was staged and that it is blood libel. This is very serious and it is about time that the world took notice that the Palestinians committed the act of blood libel and that they alone are responsible for their current situation. Israel does not oppress the Palestinians.

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Nukes in Syria?

1938 Alert. "U.S. Confirms Israeli Strikes Hit Syrian Target Last Week," by Mark Mazzetti and Helene Cooper for the New York Times (thanks to all who sent this in):

WASHINGTON, Sept. 11 — After days of silence from the Israeli government, American officials confirmed Tuesday that Israeli warplanes launched airstrikes inside Syria last week, the first such attack since 2003.

A Defense Department official said Israeli jets had struck at least one target in northeastern Syria last Thursday, but the official said it was still unclear exactly what the jets hit and the extent of the bombing damage.

Syria has lodged a protest at the United Nations in response to the airstrike, accusing Israel of “flagrant violation” of its airspace. But Israel’s government has repeatedly declined to comment on the matter.

Officials in Washington said that the most likely targets of the raid were weapons caches that Israel’s government believes Iran has been sending the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah through Syria. Iran and Syria are Hezbollah’s primary benefactors, and American intelligence officials say a steady flow of munitions from Iran runs through Syria and into Lebanon....

One Bush administration official said Israel had recently carried out reconnaissance flights over Syria, taking pictures of possible nuclear installations that Israeli officials believed might have been supplied with material from North Korea. The administration official said Israeli officials believed that North Korea might be unloading some of its nuclear material on Syria....

Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, has said that if Israel is not willing to resume negotiations for the return of the Golan Heights, which Israel captured in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, the alternative would be to try to regain the territory by force....

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Muslim countries urge non-Muslim West to de-link Islam from terrorism

They have condemned terrorism, you see, but "a matching response had not been forthcoming." Instead, there is a growing "religious intolerance and xenophobia in the west" -- not like in the Islamic world! And what are they doing to help Muslims de-link Islam from terrorism? On that point they are silent.

And here we're told that the OIC condemned "forced religious conversions by majority religious groups, attacks of places of worship, restriction on the display of religious symbols and erosion of rights of parents to ensure moral education for their children." Great -- that, condemnations of violence and terror, and a buck will get you a cup of coffee. Have they condemned Islamic supremacism? The imperative to subjugate unbelievers by violent or peaceful means? What do you think?

"OIC urges de-linking Islam from terrorism," from KUNA (thanks to Twostellas):

GENEVA, Sept 13 (KUNA) -- The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), told the Human Rights Council (HRC) Thursday that the report of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief called for stronger denunciation of violence by Muslim leaders in order to "de-link" Islam from terrorism. Representing the OIC, Pakistani diplomat Marghoob Saleem Butt said that there had been many such denunciations and a matching response had not been forthcoming. "The ever-growing incidents of religious intolerance and xenophobia in the west were taking the world far from its aim of religious and cultural harmony. The OIC condemned forced religious conversions by majority religious groups, attacks of places of worship, restriction on the display of religious symbols and erosion of rights of parents to ensure moral education for their children, " the diplomat added.

Meanwhile, what the OIC really wants is restriction of Western freedom of expression:

The representative of the OIC stressed that the Islamic countries deplored States that linked freedom of belief with freedom of expression and opinion in order to shrug off responsibility. "Unrestricted and disrespectful enjoyment of freedom of expression was contrary to the spirit of peaceful dialogue. Equating religions with extremist terrorism was dangerous and it was essential to de-link terrorist acts from the right to peacefully follow one's faith," the diplomat added. The representative of the OIC said efforts were needed to eliminate intolerance and discrimination, including through education and interfaith dialogue.

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US: Syria on nuclear watch list; North Koreans were in Syria

1938 Alert, and an update on this story from the Associated Press:

North Koreans were in Syria and Damascus may have had contacts with "secret suppliers" to obtain nuclear equipment, a senior US nuclear official said Friday.

Andrew Semmel, acting deputy assistant secretary of state for nuclear nonproliferation policy, did not name the suppliers, but said there were North Koreans in Syria and that he could not exclude that the network run by disgraced Pakistan nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan may have been involved.

Semmel was responding to questions about an Israeli air strike in northern Syria last week.

Neither side has explained what exactly happened, but a US government official confirmed that Israeli warplanes were targeting weapons from Iran and destined for Hizbullah in Lebanon.

The Washington Post reported Thursday that Israel had gathered satellite imagery showing possible North Korean cooperation with Syria on a nuclear facility.

Semmel, who is in Italy for a meeting Saturday on the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, said that Syria was certainly on the US nuclear "watch list."

"There are indicators that they do have something going on there," he said. "We do know that there are a number of foreign technicians that have been in Syria. We do know that there may have been contact between Syria and some secret suppliers for nuclear equipment. Whether anything transpired remains to be seen."

"So good foreign policy, good national security policy, would suggest that we pay very close attention to that," he said. "We're watching very closely. Obviously, the Israelis were watching very closely."

Asked if the suppliers could have been North Koreans, he said: "There are North Korean people there. There's no question about that. Just as there are a lot of North Koreans in Iraq and Iran."

Asked if the so-called Khan network, which supplied nuclear technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea, could have been involved, he said he "wouldn't exclude" it.

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Is Syria trying to expedite a war with Israel?

Over the weekend Syria fired upon two Israeli aircraft with the pretext that they Israel had acted aggressively. However, is this necessarily the truth? It is a stated aim of Syria to cause a war with Israel. Is this action meant to spark that war? Only time will tell.

Update on the Denmark Terrorism plot

The man behind the foiled Denmark terrorism plot had targeted the British and United States embassies in Denmark.  The planned attacks were set to mark the 6th anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Centre.

The eight suspects who have been rounded up range in ages from 19 to 29 and they come from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Turkey.  They are believed to be a part of the Al Qaeda network. It is believed that the group had received instructions from British based cyber terrorists who had been shut down earlier this year:

The British group's activities were stopped by an MI5 investigation earlier this year when three men were jailed for encouraging suicide missions using online forums and websites.

Their websites were also used as a secure communications centre by several senior Al Qaeda operatives, including two Bosnian-based terror chiefs known as "Maximus" and "Danish Turk".

The pair were jailed over a plot to mount a suicide attack against a Western embassy in Sarajevo.

And The Mail on Sunday understands that two of those arrested in Copenhagen had been in regular telephone contact with them and under longterm surveillance by Danish intelligence.

The arrest earlier in the year of the British group helped authorities to keep these terrorists under surveillance. It is work well done, but have they captured all concerned?

Suicide bombing in Eliat

A murder-suicide bomber, the apple of his mother's eye because he has caused death and carnage, has struck in a bakery in Eliat. The bomber had deliberately set out to commit murder in Israel, and with the collaboration of others, he left home, crossed the border and it was in Israel that he was supplied with the bomb makings. The bombing is somehow related to excavations at the Temple Mount, which is claimed by the Mohammedans as the Al-Asqa mosque. They have no true prior claim to this area and it really is time that they were told to get out of the region. The victims of this murderer were innocents who had no connection to the Israeli army, and the mission itself cannot be described as some form of self-defense. In fact such claims are a total croc as far as I am concerned.