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1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)
THE HURRICANE SEASON STARTS JUNE 1,16
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2016/05/the-hurricane-season-starts-june.html
THE HURRICANE SEASON STARTS JUNE 1,16
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2016/05/the-hurricane-season-starts-june.html
Fiji pulls some peacekeepers from Sinai amid security fears-Several dozen troops withdrawn from restive peninsula in Egypt; US and Colombia also said planning to reduce numbers-By AP May 29, 2016, 2:09 pm-the times of israel
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Fiji said Sunday it’s bringing home about 65 of the 300-plus peacekeepers it has stationed in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula and has closed remote bases there as the security situation deteriorates.Commander Humphery Tawake, who heads the South Pacific nation’s foreign peacekeeping force, said Fiji was asked to scale down its presence by the leaders of the international peacekeeping operation in Egypt.Tawake said the US and Colombia were also planning to reduce troop numbers as peacekeepers in the northern Sinai found themselves increasingly caught in the middle of fighting between Egypt’s armed forces and militants affiliated with the Islamic State group.“It’s not only affecting us, it’s affecting the whole mission,” Tawake said. “The threat and the danger that has pre-existed since 2013 has spilled over. Some of our locations were hit by indirect fire and mortars last week.”He said that five of Fiji’s remote outposts in the Sinai have been closed recently, leaving just two or three operating. He said only about 10 to 15 troops operate the small outposts, making them more vulnerable to attack than larger bases.Tawake said the decisions about troop numbers were coming from the headquarters of the Multinational Force and Observers group, and exact numbers for Fiji’s drawdown had yet to be finalized. He said Fiji had stationed peacekeepers in Egypt since 1982, with the latest group of a little over 300 beginning a planned one-year rotation in February.The Multinational Force and Observers group has continually monitored compliance with the 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. Twelve nations currently contribute a total of about 1,700 troops to the force, with Fiji authorized to contribute up to 338 troops.The US is authorized to contribute up to 707 troops. The Associated Press reported last year that the Obama administration was quietly reviewing the future of America’s role in the Sinai, with options ranging from beefing up protection for US troops to pulling them out altogether.In 2014, 45 Fijian peacekeepers were held captive in Syria for two weeks by the al-Qaeda linked Nusra Front before being released unharmed.
Bennett steps up threats to quit coalition, topple government-Jewish Home leader says he’ll protect soldiers ‘from within coalition or outside it’; Knesset speaker urges parties to reach deal to avoid ‘unnecessary elections’-By Marissa Newman and Times of Israel staff May 29, 2016, 1:35 pm-the times of israel
Jewish Home leader Naftali Bennett on Sunday threatened to quit the coalition over his demands for greater intelligence-sharing in the high-level security cabinet, as Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein urged the Likud and Jewish Home parties to cut a deal quickly to avoid new elections.Bennett is demanding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appoint a military attaché for each member of the sensitive 10-member cabinet committee to provide ministers with real-time security updates, coordinate additional fact-finding visits to IDF bases and other military zones, and facilitate easier access to classified information.Bennett has threatened that his party will vote against incoming defense minister Avigdor Liberman’s appointment, scuttling the coalition deal signed Wednesday with the Yisrael Beytenu party. The 61-seat coalition needs Jewish Home’s eight votes to pass the appointment in the 120-member Knesset.“We are not demanding jobs and not demanding money. We are asking to save people’s lives. Human life is more important that government portfolios. I will continue to fight to protect IDF soldiers and the residents of the Gaza periphery from everywhere, from within the government or outside it,” Bennett said.Edelstein on Sunday called on Netanyahu and Bennett to bridge the “small gaps” and avert “unnecessary” elections.“I know the gaps are small and both sides have good intentions,” said Edelstein. “We must not forget that the larger goal is to serve the citizens, and not lead them to unnecessary elections every year.”Earlier Sunday, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked insisted new elections were “a possibility” if the government did not accede to the party’s demands.“There don’t need to be elections, but if they want to downgrade the situation to that — it’s certainly a possibility,” Shaked told Army Radio on Sunday.Meanwhile, Kulanu party leader Moshe Kahlon on Sunday said he had no intention of bringing down the ruling coalition, days after a minister appointed by his party resigned to protest the “extremist” government he said is leading Israel to destruction.“The government will last,” Kahlon, who serves as finance minister, told Israel Radio on Sunday.“We have large, important challenges, and you can’t bring down a government every month, you can’t go to elections every year. The government needs to function,” he added from Rome, where he is visiting.The standoff between Bennett and Netanyahu over the reform threatens to topple the government, according to Netanyahu confidant Likud MK Tzachi Hanegbi. But a source close to the prime minister told Israel Radio the issue was expected to be resolved on Sunday.Likud has warned that a vote against Liberman’s appointment would mean the immediate firing of Jewish Home’s three cabinet ministers — Education Minister Bennett, Justice Minister Shaked and Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel — and likely the collapse of the coalition.Even with the five-seat Yisrael Beytenu on board, a coalition without Jewish Home would shrink to 58 seats, losing its parliamentary minority and possibly triggering new elections.“We are on the brink of a political crisis, which may get worse on Monday if Bennett votes against the government and as a result the Jewish Home is no longer in the coalition,” Hanegbi told Channel 2 on Saturday.Hanegbi, who heads the powerful Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said there was justification for the call to improve how the security cabinet operates. “But this improvement cannot, in my opinion, come through an ultimatum,” he said, but rather through coordination.Netanyahu on Friday offered to establish a committee headed by former National Security Council head Yaakov Amidror that would examine ways to reform the security cabinet. Jewish Home rejected the idea out of hand, accusing the prime minister of stalling.Netanyahu canceled Sunday’s regularly scheduled cabinet meeting amid the crisis. The security cabinet meeting will go ahead as planned late morning or afternoon, where the two will reportedly try to work out some compromise.Liberman’s appointment must be approved by the cabinet, and then by the Knesset. Netanyahu is believed to have a majority among government ministers even without Jewish Home, but will need the party’s votes for the Knesset vote. Both votes are currently scheduled for Monday.Hanegbi said that Bennett’s ultimatum was essentially “political suicide,” especially if the threat is carried out and Jewish Home votes against the government to torpedo the coalition deal.If this right-wing government falls, or, alternatively, if a left-wing party joins the coalition instead of Jewish Home, the party will pay a heavy political price with its own constituents, Hanegbi cautioned.Bennett’s demands are only the latest crisis for Netanyahu to result from his appointment of Liberman. The move led the sitting defense minister, Likud’s Moshe Ya’alon, to resign and issue a bitter critique of the government, warning that “extremist and dangerous forces have taken over Israel and the Likud movement.”
Playing coalition chicken-Papers seem to agree that the government won’t be toppled, at least not quite yet; plus one writer opines that killing is okay, so long as someone else tells you to do it-By Joshua Davidovich May 29, 2016, 3:50 pm-the times of israel
Like a riddle wrapped in an enigma wrapped in the puzzle that is Israeli politics, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bid to stabilize his government looks like it could lead to its fall, in the latest twist of a slow-burn coalition crisis bubbling for weeks.That fear/hope dominates the news agenda Sunday morning, after a minister quit over the expected appointment of Avigdor Liberman as defense minister and senior coalition partner Jewish Home is saying loudly that it will block the appointment if Netanyahu doesn’t reform his top-level security cabinet.Jumping on any chance to oppose Netanyahu, Yedioth Ahronoth seems to forcefully take Jewish Home leader Naftali Bennett’s side in the fight, running as a headline a quote from a Bennett talking point: “I’m not ready for soldiers to die because of somebody’s ego,” reflecting his belief that his demand for greater ministerial oversight over security matters will somehow save lives.The paper reports that Bennett and Netanyahu will meet later Sunday to try to put the crisis behind them.“If they don’t, it’s likely Jewish Home will torpedo the Knesset vote on expanding the government,” the paper reports, though it notes that two Jewish Home MKs have not come out and said they support Bennett’s position.Analyst Yoaz Hendel, seemingly speaking as Bennett’s mouthpiece, writes that Netanyahu will fold.“In a few hours – or a few days in a worst-case scenario – the crisis will end with the signing of an agreement. This will happen just after Netanyahu accepts Bennett’s demands. That’s the way of the world, that’s the way of Netanyahu. Pressure works,” he writes. “Representatives of the prime minister and education minister know well the starting point of educators in the Jewish nation: What a person learns at the start of his journey he can never forget. This is true in politics as well. Bennett learned the significance of a power play, and he’ll use it in concert with his worldview.”Left-leaning Haaretz, which would be loath to back Bennett even if he is the enemy of enemy No. 1 Netanyahu, instead leads off with the resignation of Environmental Protection Minister Avi Gabbay, describing his protest of the coalition deal as “sharp.”Yet what the paper really wants to get across to readers is its own take on the coalition bedlam, which it puts on the front page instead of any actual news coverage. Thus instead of reading about Gabbay or Bennett, readers are treated to analyst Yossi Verter predicting that even if this crisis doesn’t bring down the government, bad blood will remain.“The moment the coalition of 66 MKs is approved in the Knesset, which is likely early in the week, the dust will settle and events will move on. But the residue has accumulated and the expectations will fulfill themselves in the end,” he writes. “It could happen over some foolish thing, something unexpected that develops under the radar.”Israel Hayom is the only paper not to lead with the story, and editor Haim Shine is uncharacteristically forgiving in taking aim at Gabbay for daring to compare the appointment of Liberman and the death of the coalition as he knew it to the loss of the Third Temple – yes that Temple – in an homage to Moshe Dayan’s mournful quote during the darkest moments of the Yom Kippur War.“One can sharply criticize the government’s actions, including the appointment of a minister. It’s allowed and important to call on Israeli society to fix itself, but from there to the prophesies of doom on the destruction of the Third Temple is quite distant,” he writes. “The job of the leadership is to give hope, to raise spirits and to look upon the great awakening of Jerusalem. Anyone not ready to raise the nation’s spirits does not have a place in the leadership.”Any balance Shine may have given the paper is immediately thrown out of the window, though, with a column that stretches the bounds of humanity beyond its breaking point, essentially justifying the killing of a wounded Palestinian assailant and attacking the military leadership for daring to say such a thing is immoral.“Our soldiers got a little confused,” reads a headline that the paper felt so good about it also put it on the front page, and gave Amos Regev two pages to spew his ideas.And what ideas they are. Regev argues that the army “went out on a limb” by claiming to be moral in the wake of the Hebron incident, writing that the soldier who shot the assailant dead should be prosecuted not for killing but solely for disobeying orders.“The Hebron terrorist that was shot with his friend who was killed beforehand didn’t go out for a walk with a chihuahua. He came to kill Jewish soldiers, our forces. The soldier shot him, and he has his own version, which a judge didn’t automatically discount at a remand hearing, and now he can present his case to the bench. The case has just begun,” he writes. “The correct thing would have been if the soldier didn’t shoot in this case, after the incident occurred, unless he was given an order. He wasn’t given an order. He damaged the military echelon. For that he should stand trial, not for murder, not for manslaughter. Whoever claims otherwise should take a glance at history. War is hell. Things happen. We had Kafr Kassem in 1956, the American had Mai-Lai in Vietnam. Hebron is neither. How about some proportionality?”The other story dominating the news agenda is about another dead person – the suspected killer of two people in Rishon Lezion last week and the subject of a massive manhunt — though with little hemming and hawing over the cop that shot him dead.Seeing an opportunity for some hard-boiled storytelling, Yedioth’s news coverage tries to put readers inside the suspect’s head.“Jan Gabrieloff understood, it seems, that the cops has closed in on him. After three days of hiding, the suspected killer of Anastasia Rostov and Eliezer Kandinov found himself in the heart of a residential area of Lod, surrounded on all sides. When an unmarked car rammed against his car from behind he drew his weapon,” the story reads. “But Gabrieloff wasn’t fast enough. Even before the killer could pull out his weapon and shoot it at cops, district commander Motti Cohen shot and killed him.”All that’s missing from the cliched scene is Gabrieloff growling “you won’t take me alive.” While he might have had a death wish, he also might have gotten an early whiff of a front page story in Haaretz reporting that conditions in prison aren’t quite at “Orange is the New Black” standards, and may not be getting any better.For years, a panel has issued reports pointing to prison overcrowding, unsanitary or inhumane conditions and other problems in the lockup, and the wardens heard just about enough, the paper notes.“Some of the external bodies’ reports have been submitted to Israel Prison Service Commissioner Ofra Klinger, who has told justice and public security ministry officials privately that the number of external overseers visiting prison facilities should be reduced. Instead, Klinger would like to see internal oversight by medical personnel, social workers and other officials. However, some insiders say Klinger is still angered by the external bodies’ reports, which she considers too harsh and are released to the media in a prejudicial manner,” the paper reports. “The prison service does have its own oversight department, but it doesn’t extend such oversight to senior officers and is yet to publish reports that are transparent enough to show a serious approach when it comes to self-criticism.”
If Islamic State loses Fallujah and Raqqa, the ‘caliphate’ will be over-Attacked on numerous fronts, the brutal jihadist group is no longer certain to survive; it may ultimately become ‘just’ another evil terrorist organization-By Avi Issacharoff May 28, 2016, 5:31 am-the times of israel
It may be too soon to write off Islamic State, the fundamentalist Sunni terror organization controlling large swathes of land in Syria and Iraq, but there are hints that the terror group is beginning to crumble under the pressure of attacks from multiple fronts.In a series of deadly attacks in the Alawite region of Syria just this week, Islamic State bombs killed some 150 people; in Fallujah, Iraq, only an hour’s drive from Baghdad, at least 35 Iraqi soldiers and Shiite militia forces were killed when they were trying to liberate the city from IS control; and earlier this month, a series of deadly terror attacks ripped through the city of Baghdad, killing hundreds.But despite the death and destruction Islamic State is leaving in its wake, an examination of recent developments on both the Iraqi and Syrian fronts demonstrates how dire the organization’s state has become, as an Iraqi-Iranian alliance is closing in on it from the east while Kurdish and American forces are advancing from the north.-Outnumbered to the east-In the east, war is raging on the outskirts of Fallujah, where IS is attempting to reap as many casualties as it can by employing its tried and true fighting techniques – those that helped it capture the city in the first place – namely the use of suicide attackers driving cars rigged with explosives into Iraqi army posts.Fallujah is extremely important to IS; it was the first city to be seized by the organization and the base from which it began its violent escapades into the region. As a result, fighting at Fallujah may drag on for months to come.It’s fair to assume that IS will do almost anything to defend the city and to prove it can survive. But IS fighters’ famously fearsome reputation and high motivation – the elements that often gave them the upper hand even when outnumbered – may not be enough to help them out of their current plight. The city of Ramadi, a symbol of resistance against American forces just a decade ago, was recaptured from IS in a mere month.The Iranians, perhaps out of concern for the Iraqi and militia forces fighting IS, sent Qassem Sulaimani, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, to oversee fighting at Fallujah. His forces, alongside militia fighters and Iraqi soldiers, comprise some 20,000 men facing only around 1,000 IS fighters barricaded inside the city.In light of the Iraqi offensive that began again this week, IS may try to demonstrate its ongoing capacity to wreak havoc by targeting locations across Europe and the West. Whatever horrors it can unleash, however, the fall of Fallujah would constitute a crushing blow to IS sovereignty in the east.-Trouble from the north-Fighting on the northern front will take longer to be resolved. Although Syrian opposition forces have already begun carpet bombing villages in the Raqqa district, the fighting there is still some 60 kilometers (37 miles) away from the heart of the IS stronghold in the city of Raqqa itself.Operations carried out against IS in the Raqqa district are being overseen and aided by American forces. The American contribution to the offensive against IS was underlined by a recent visit to the front by the commander of the United States Central Command, Josef Votel, where he met with representatives of Syrian and Kurdish forces fighting IS, such as the Syrian Democratic Forces and the YPG, which is the armed wing of the Democratic Union Party in Rojava, the Kurdish region of Syria.The joint Kurdish-Syrian offensive on Raqqa may take some time, but even the mere announcement of its commencement is reason for IS to worry.-Is this the end?-It may be that the fighting around Fallujah and Raqqa is only just beginning, but we can cautiously say at this point that the survival of IS is no longer a given. If the IS strongholds in Raqqa and Fallujah fall, all the organization will have left is control over the small area of Mosul, which is bound to be captured by the Iraqi army or by pro-Iranian militia forces.Overpowered on its home turf, IS would shift from the bureaucratic enterprise of running a sharia state to become one of the pedestrian variety of terror groups — the kind that “only” conduct terror and guerrilla attacks.
Hamas cell accused of bombing Jerusalem bus nabbed-Shin Bet says group of 6 Palestinians from Bethlehem planned suicide blast, as well as future attacks in capital-By Judah Ari Gross May 29, 2016, 1:13 pm-the times of israel
Israeli security forces arrested six alleged members of a Hamas terror cell accused of planning and carrying out a suicide bombing in Jerusalem last month, the Shin Bet security service announced Sunday.On April 18, Abed al-Hamid Abu Srour boarded the number 12 public bus in the capital and detonated an explosive device, injuring 19 people and killing himself, in the first suicide bus bombing in Israel since 2004.The Shin Bet, Israel Defense Forces and Police launched an investigation to track down Abu Srour’s accomplices. Details of the case were placed under a court-approved gag order, which was removed Sunday morning.The alleged Hamas terror cell was made up of six Palestinian men, all from the Bethlehem area, the Shin Bet said.The security agency would not reveal the precise dates of the arrests, only that they’d happened “in recent weeks.”In addition to the April bus bombing, the Shin Bet found the cell had planned additional attacks, mostly car bombings and shootings, and had been creating improvised explosive devices based off “educational videos from the internet,” the security service said.Muhammad Sami Abd Alhamid al-A’zza, a 28-year-old resident of Beit Sahour near Bethlehem, admitted to investigators that he’d crafted the explosive device used by Abu Srour in the Jerusalem bus bombing, the Shin Bet said.“Once the creation of the device was completed, they worked together to enlist a suicide bomber and then prepare the attack, specifically planning how to infiltrate Jerusalem,” the Shin Bet said al-A’zza revealed during his interrogation.“At the same time, they worked to plan additional attacks and tried to obtain additional weapons and explosive material,” the security service said.In addition to the plans for future acts, the Shin Bet found that al-A’zza and another suspect, 28-year-old Muhammad Issa Mahmoud al-Barbari, had carried out a shooting attack near the Jewish settlement of Tekoa in 2015, albeit one that resulted in no casualties.Al-A’zza had previously served a prison sentence from 2004 to 2007 for planning terror attacks with Hamas.According to investigators, Muhammad Majdi Mustafa al-A’zza, 21, worked alongside al-A’zza in creating the explosive device used in the attack and also recruited members of the cell, including Abu Srour.Ahmad Muhammad Mahmoud al-Mashaiekh, a 19-year-old from the al-Ayda refugee camp, has been accused of driving the suicide bomber to the Jerusalem for the attack, though the security service did not reveal how exactly they sneaked into the capital.Israeli forces also picked up Ali Ahmad Muhammad al-A’rouj and Sai’d Usama Issa Hermes, who were found to be involved, though to a lesser extent in the attack, according to the Shin Bet.Al-A’rouj, who was also imprisoned from 2004 to 2007 for planning an IED attack, helped raised money for the group, assisted in the production of the bomb used in the April attack and filmed Abu Srour’s testimonial video before he carried out the attack, the security service said.Hermes, meanwhile, helped Abu Srour write the testimony and helped al-A’rouj film it, the Shin Bet said.The agency also found that after al-A’zza and al-Barbari’s 2015 shooting, Hermes offered his home as a hiding place for the homemade gun used in the attack.The Shin Bet’s findings have been handed over to a military court and in the coming days the members of the alleged terror cell will be indicted.
As citizens set to miss hajj, Iran says Saudi Arabia ‘blocking path to Allah’-In latest spat between regional rivals, Tehran claiming Riyadh ignored ‘the security and respect’ of its pilgrims to Mecca-By Siavosh GHAZI May 29, 2016, 4:54 pm-the times of israel
TEHRAN (AFP) — Iran said Sunday its pilgrims will miss the pilgrimage this year because Saudi Arabia, custodian of Islam’s holiest sites, was raising obstacles and “blocking the path to Allah” for its faithful.The Iranian Hajj Organization said: “Saudi Arabia is opposing the absolute right of Iranians to go on the hajj and is blocking the path leading to Allah.”The Saudi side had failed to respond to Iranian demands over “the security and respect” of its pilgrims to Mecca, of whom 60,000 took part in last year’s hajj, the organization said.In the latest dispute between regional rivals Tehran and Riyadh, “after two series of negotiations without any results because of obstacles raised by the Saudis, Iranian pilgrims will unfortunately not be able to take part in the hajj” in September, Iran’s Culture Minister Ali Jannati said.Saudi officials have said an Iranian delegation wrapped up a visit to the kingdom on Friday without reaching a final agreement on arrangements for pilgrims from the Islamic republic.The Saudi hajj ministry said it had offered “many solutions” to meet a string of demands made by the Iranians in two days of talks.Agreement had been reached in some areas, including to use electronic visas which could be printed out by Iranian pilgrims, as Saudi diplomatic missions remain shut in Iran, it said.It would be the first hajj in almost 30 years to take place without the participation of pilgrims from Iran.Riyadh-Tehran ties were severed for four years after more than 400 people were killed in Mecca during clashes between Iranian pilgrims and Saudi security forces in 1987.In January, relations were severed again after Iranian demonstrators torched Saudi Arabia’s embassy and a consulate following the kingdom’s execution of a prominent Shiite cleric.Shiite Iran and predominantly Sunni Saudi Arabia are at odds over a raft of regional issues, notably the conflicts in Syria and Yemen in which they support opposing sides.-Hajj ‘sabotage’-Earlier this month, Iran had accused its regional rival of seeking to “sabotage” the hajj, a pillar of Islam that devout Muslims must perform at least once during their lifetime if they are able.Tehran said Riyadh had insisted that visas for Iranians be issued in a third country and would not allow pilgrims to be flown aboard Iranian aircraft.But the Saudi hajj ministry said on Friday that Riyadh had agreed to allow Iranians to obtain visas through the Swiss embassy in Tehran, which has looked after Saudi interests since ties were severed in January.Riyadh also agreed to allow some Iranian carriers to fly pilgrims to the kingdom despite a ban imposed on Iranian airlines following the diplomatic row between the two countries, the ministry said.Last week’s talks were the second attempt by the two countries to reach a deal on organizing this year’s pilgrimage for Iranians after an unsuccessful first round held in April in Saudi Arabia.The Saudi ministry said at the time that the Iranian Hajj Organization would be held responsible “in front of God and the people for the inability of its pilgrims to perform hajj this year.”Another contentious issue has been security, after a stampede at last September’s hajj killed about 2,300 foreign pilgrims, including 464 Iranians.
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Fiji said Sunday it’s bringing home about 65 of the 300-plus peacekeepers it has stationed in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula and has closed remote bases there as the security situation deteriorates.Commander Humphery Tawake, who heads the South Pacific nation’s foreign peacekeeping force, said Fiji was asked to scale down its presence by the leaders of the international peacekeeping operation in Egypt.Tawake said the US and Colombia were also planning to reduce troop numbers as peacekeepers in the northern Sinai found themselves increasingly caught in the middle of fighting between Egypt’s armed forces and militants affiliated with the Islamic State group.“It’s not only affecting us, it’s affecting the whole mission,” Tawake said. “The threat and the danger that has pre-existed since 2013 has spilled over. Some of our locations were hit by indirect fire and mortars last week.”He said that five of Fiji’s remote outposts in the Sinai have been closed recently, leaving just two or three operating. He said only about 10 to 15 troops operate the small outposts, making them more vulnerable to attack than larger bases.Tawake said the decisions about troop numbers were coming from the headquarters of the Multinational Force and Observers group, and exact numbers for Fiji’s drawdown had yet to be finalized. He said Fiji had stationed peacekeepers in Egypt since 1982, with the latest group of a little over 300 beginning a planned one-year rotation in February.The Multinational Force and Observers group has continually monitored compliance with the 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. Twelve nations currently contribute a total of about 1,700 troops to the force, with Fiji authorized to contribute up to 338 troops.The US is authorized to contribute up to 707 troops. The Associated Press reported last year that the Obama administration was quietly reviewing the future of America’s role in the Sinai, with options ranging from beefing up protection for US troops to pulling them out altogether.In 2014, 45 Fijian peacekeepers were held captive in Syria for two weeks by the al-Qaeda linked Nusra Front before being released unharmed.
Bennett steps up threats to quit coalition, topple government-Jewish Home leader says he’ll protect soldiers ‘from within coalition or outside it’; Knesset speaker urges parties to reach deal to avoid ‘unnecessary elections’-By Marissa Newman and Times of Israel staff May 29, 2016, 1:35 pm-the times of israel
Jewish Home leader Naftali Bennett on Sunday threatened to quit the coalition over his demands for greater intelligence-sharing in the high-level security cabinet, as Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein urged the Likud and Jewish Home parties to cut a deal quickly to avoid new elections.Bennett is demanding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appoint a military attaché for each member of the sensitive 10-member cabinet committee to provide ministers with real-time security updates, coordinate additional fact-finding visits to IDF bases and other military zones, and facilitate easier access to classified information.Bennett has threatened that his party will vote against incoming defense minister Avigdor Liberman’s appointment, scuttling the coalition deal signed Wednesday with the Yisrael Beytenu party. The 61-seat coalition needs Jewish Home’s eight votes to pass the appointment in the 120-member Knesset.“We are not demanding jobs and not demanding money. We are asking to save people’s lives. Human life is more important that government portfolios. I will continue to fight to protect IDF soldiers and the residents of the Gaza periphery from everywhere, from within the government or outside it,” Bennett said.Edelstein on Sunday called on Netanyahu and Bennett to bridge the “small gaps” and avert “unnecessary” elections.“I know the gaps are small and both sides have good intentions,” said Edelstein. “We must not forget that the larger goal is to serve the citizens, and not lead them to unnecessary elections every year.”Earlier Sunday, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked insisted new elections were “a possibility” if the government did not accede to the party’s demands.“There don’t need to be elections, but if they want to downgrade the situation to that — it’s certainly a possibility,” Shaked told Army Radio on Sunday.Meanwhile, Kulanu party leader Moshe Kahlon on Sunday said he had no intention of bringing down the ruling coalition, days after a minister appointed by his party resigned to protest the “extremist” government he said is leading Israel to destruction.“The government will last,” Kahlon, who serves as finance minister, told Israel Radio on Sunday.“We have large, important challenges, and you can’t bring down a government every month, you can’t go to elections every year. The government needs to function,” he added from Rome, where he is visiting.The standoff between Bennett and Netanyahu over the reform threatens to topple the government, according to Netanyahu confidant Likud MK Tzachi Hanegbi. But a source close to the prime minister told Israel Radio the issue was expected to be resolved on Sunday.Likud has warned that a vote against Liberman’s appointment would mean the immediate firing of Jewish Home’s three cabinet ministers — Education Minister Bennett, Justice Minister Shaked and Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel — and likely the collapse of the coalition.Even with the five-seat Yisrael Beytenu on board, a coalition without Jewish Home would shrink to 58 seats, losing its parliamentary minority and possibly triggering new elections.“We are on the brink of a political crisis, which may get worse on Monday if Bennett votes against the government and as a result the Jewish Home is no longer in the coalition,” Hanegbi told Channel 2 on Saturday.Hanegbi, who heads the powerful Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said there was justification for the call to improve how the security cabinet operates. “But this improvement cannot, in my opinion, come through an ultimatum,” he said, but rather through coordination.Netanyahu on Friday offered to establish a committee headed by former National Security Council head Yaakov Amidror that would examine ways to reform the security cabinet. Jewish Home rejected the idea out of hand, accusing the prime minister of stalling.Netanyahu canceled Sunday’s regularly scheduled cabinet meeting amid the crisis. The security cabinet meeting will go ahead as planned late morning or afternoon, where the two will reportedly try to work out some compromise.Liberman’s appointment must be approved by the cabinet, and then by the Knesset. Netanyahu is believed to have a majority among government ministers even without Jewish Home, but will need the party’s votes for the Knesset vote. Both votes are currently scheduled for Monday.Hanegbi said that Bennett’s ultimatum was essentially “political suicide,” especially if the threat is carried out and Jewish Home votes against the government to torpedo the coalition deal.If this right-wing government falls, or, alternatively, if a left-wing party joins the coalition instead of Jewish Home, the party will pay a heavy political price with its own constituents, Hanegbi cautioned.Bennett’s demands are only the latest crisis for Netanyahu to result from his appointment of Liberman. The move led the sitting defense minister, Likud’s Moshe Ya’alon, to resign and issue a bitter critique of the government, warning that “extremist and dangerous forces have taken over Israel and the Likud movement.”
Playing coalition chicken-Papers seem to agree that the government won’t be toppled, at least not quite yet; plus one writer opines that killing is okay, so long as someone else tells you to do it-By Joshua Davidovich May 29, 2016, 3:50 pm-the times of israel
Like a riddle wrapped in an enigma wrapped in the puzzle that is Israeli politics, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bid to stabilize his government looks like it could lead to its fall, in the latest twist of a slow-burn coalition crisis bubbling for weeks.That fear/hope dominates the news agenda Sunday morning, after a minister quit over the expected appointment of Avigdor Liberman as defense minister and senior coalition partner Jewish Home is saying loudly that it will block the appointment if Netanyahu doesn’t reform his top-level security cabinet.Jumping on any chance to oppose Netanyahu, Yedioth Ahronoth seems to forcefully take Jewish Home leader Naftali Bennett’s side in the fight, running as a headline a quote from a Bennett talking point: “I’m not ready for soldiers to die because of somebody’s ego,” reflecting his belief that his demand for greater ministerial oversight over security matters will somehow save lives.The paper reports that Bennett and Netanyahu will meet later Sunday to try to put the crisis behind them.“If they don’t, it’s likely Jewish Home will torpedo the Knesset vote on expanding the government,” the paper reports, though it notes that two Jewish Home MKs have not come out and said they support Bennett’s position.Analyst Yoaz Hendel, seemingly speaking as Bennett’s mouthpiece, writes that Netanyahu will fold.“In a few hours – or a few days in a worst-case scenario – the crisis will end with the signing of an agreement. This will happen just after Netanyahu accepts Bennett’s demands. That’s the way of the world, that’s the way of Netanyahu. Pressure works,” he writes. “Representatives of the prime minister and education minister know well the starting point of educators in the Jewish nation: What a person learns at the start of his journey he can never forget. This is true in politics as well. Bennett learned the significance of a power play, and he’ll use it in concert with his worldview.”Left-leaning Haaretz, which would be loath to back Bennett even if he is the enemy of enemy No. 1 Netanyahu, instead leads off with the resignation of Environmental Protection Minister Avi Gabbay, describing his protest of the coalition deal as “sharp.”Yet what the paper really wants to get across to readers is its own take on the coalition bedlam, which it puts on the front page instead of any actual news coverage. Thus instead of reading about Gabbay or Bennett, readers are treated to analyst Yossi Verter predicting that even if this crisis doesn’t bring down the government, bad blood will remain.“The moment the coalition of 66 MKs is approved in the Knesset, which is likely early in the week, the dust will settle and events will move on. But the residue has accumulated and the expectations will fulfill themselves in the end,” he writes. “It could happen over some foolish thing, something unexpected that develops under the radar.”Israel Hayom is the only paper not to lead with the story, and editor Haim Shine is uncharacteristically forgiving in taking aim at Gabbay for daring to compare the appointment of Liberman and the death of the coalition as he knew it to the loss of the Third Temple – yes that Temple – in an homage to Moshe Dayan’s mournful quote during the darkest moments of the Yom Kippur War.“One can sharply criticize the government’s actions, including the appointment of a minister. It’s allowed and important to call on Israeli society to fix itself, but from there to the prophesies of doom on the destruction of the Third Temple is quite distant,” he writes. “The job of the leadership is to give hope, to raise spirits and to look upon the great awakening of Jerusalem. Anyone not ready to raise the nation’s spirits does not have a place in the leadership.”Any balance Shine may have given the paper is immediately thrown out of the window, though, with a column that stretches the bounds of humanity beyond its breaking point, essentially justifying the killing of a wounded Palestinian assailant and attacking the military leadership for daring to say such a thing is immoral.“Our soldiers got a little confused,” reads a headline that the paper felt so good about it also put it on the front page, and gave Amos Regev two pages to spew his ideas.And what ideas they are. Regev argues that the army “went out on a limb” by claiming to be moral in the wake of the Hebron incident, writing that the soldier who shot the assailant dead should be prosecuted not for killing but solely for disobeying orders.“The Hebron terrorist that was shot with his friend who was killed beforehand didn’t go out for a walk with a chihuahua. He came to kill Jewish soldiers, our forces. The soldier shot him, and he has his own version, which a judge didn’t automatically discount at a remand hearing, and now he can present his case to the bench. The case has just begun,” he writes. “The correct thing would have been if the soldier didn’t shoot in this case, after the incident occurred, unless he was given an order. He wasn’t given an order. He damaged the military echelon. For that he should stand trial, not for murder, not for manslaughter. Whoever claims otherwise should take a glance at history. War is hell. Things happen. We had Kafr Kassem in 1956, the American had Mai-Lai in Vietnam. Hebron is neither. How about some proportionality?”The other story dominating the news agenda is about another dead person – the suspected killer of two people in Rishon Lezion last week and the subject of a massive manhunt — though with little hemming and hawing over the cop that shot him dead.Seeing an opportunity for some hard-boiled storytelling, Yedioth’s news coverage tries to put readers inside the suspect’s head.“Jan Gabrieloff understood, it seems, that the cops has closed in on him. After three days of hiding, the suspected killer of Anastasia Rostov and Eliezer Kandinov found himself in the heart of a residential area of Lod, surrounded on all sides. When an unmarked car rammed against his car from behind he drew his weapon,” the story reads. “But Gabrieloff wasn’t fast enough. Even before the killer could pull out his weapon and shoot it at cops, district commander Motti Cohen shot and killed him.”All that’s missing from the cliched scene is Gabrieloff growling “you won’t take me alive.” While he might have had a death wish, he also might have gotten an early whiff of a front page story in Haaretz reporting that conditions in prison aren’t quite at “Orange is the New Black” standards, and may not be getting any better.For years, a panel has issued reports pointing to prison overcrowding, unsanitary or inhumane conditions and other problems in the lockup, and the wardens heard just about enough, the paper notes.“Some of the external bodies’ reports have been submitted to Israel Prison Service Commissioner Ofra Klinger, who has told justice and public security ministry officials privately that the number of external overseers visiting prison facilities should be reduced. Instead, Klinger would like to see internal oversight by medical personnel, social workers and other officials. However, some insiders say Klinger is still angered by the external bodies’ reports, which she considers too harsh and are released to the media in a prejudicial manner,” the paper reports. “The prison service does have its own oversight department, but it doesn’t extend such oversight to senior officers and is yet to publish reports that are transparent enough to show a serious approach when it comes to self-criticism.”
If Islamic State loses Fallujah and Raqqa, the ‘caliphate’ will be over-Attacked on numerous fronts, the brutal jihadist group is no longer certain to survive; it may ultimately become ‘just’ another evil terrorist organization-By Avi Issacharoff May 28, 2016, 5:31 am-the times of israel
It may be too soon to write off Islamic State, the fundamentalist Sunni terror organization controlling large swathes of land in Syria and Iraq, but there are hints that the terror group is beginning to crumble under the pressure of attacks from multiple fronts.In a series of deadly attacks in the Alawite region of Syria just this week, Islamic State bombs killed some 150 people; in Fallujah, Iraq, only an hour’s drive from Baghdad, at least 35 Iraqi soldiers and Shiite militia forces were killed when they were trying to liberate the city from IS control; and earlier this month, a series of deadly terror attacks ripped through the city of Baghdad, killing hundreds.But despite the death and destruction Islamic State is leaving in its wake, an examination of recent developments on both the Iraqi and Syrian fronts demonstrates how dire the organization’s state has become, as an Iraqi-Iranian alliance is closing in on it from the east while Kurdish and American forces are advancing from the north.-Outnumbered to the east-In the east, war is raging on the outskirts of Fallujah, where IS is attempting to reap as many casualties as it can by employing its tried and true fighting techniques – those that helped it capture the city in the first place – namely the use of suicide attackers driving cars rigged with explosives into Iraqi army posts.Fallujah is extremely important to IS; it was the first city to be seized by the organization and the base from which it began its violent escapades into the region. As a result, fighting at Fallujah may drag on for months to come.It’s fair to assume that IS will do almost anything to defend the city and to prove it can survive. But IS fighters’ famously fearsome reputation and high motivation – the elements that often gave them the upper hand even when outnumbered – may not be enough to help them out of their current plight. The city of Ramadi, a symbol of resistance against American forces just a decade ago, was recaptured from IS in a mere month.The Iranians, perhaps out of concern for the Iraqi and militia forces fighting IS, sent Qassem Sulaimani, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, to oversee fighting at Fallujah. His forces, alongside militia fighters and Iraqi soldiers, comprise some 20,000 men facing only around 1,000 IS fighters barricaded inside the city.In light of the Iraqi offensive that began again this week, IS may try to demonstrate its ongoing capacity to wreak havoc by targeting locations across Europe and the West. Whatever horrors it can unleash, however, the fall of Fallujah would constitute a crushing blow to IS sovereignty in the east.-Trouble from the north-Fighting on the northern front will take longer to be resolved. Although Syrian opposition forces have already begun carpet bombing villages in the Raqqa district, the fighting there is still some 60 kilometers (37 miles) away from the heart of the IS stronghold in the city of Raqqa itself.Operations carried out against IS in the Raqqa district are being overseen and aided by American forces. The American contribution to the offensive against IS was underlined by a recent visit to the front by the commander of the United States Central Command, Josef Votel, where he met with representatives of Syrian and Kurdish forces fighting IS, such as the Syrian Democratic Forces and the YPG, which is the armed wing of the Democratic Union Party in Rojava, the Kurdish region of Syria.The joint Kurdish-Syrian offensive on Raqqa may take some time, but even the mere announcement of its commencement is reason for IS to worry.-Is this the end?-It may be that the fighting around Fallujah and Raqqa is only just beginning, but we can cautiously say at this point that the survival of IS is no longer a given. If the IS strongholds in Raqqa and Fallujah fall, all the organization will have left is control over the small area of Mosul, which is bound to be captured by the Iraqi army or by pro-Iranian militia forces.Overpowered on its home turf, IS would shift from the bureaucratic enterprise of running a sharia state to become one of the pedestrian variety of terror groups — the kind that “only” conduct terror and guerrilla attacks.
Hamas cell accused of bombing Jerusalem bus nabbed-Shin Bet says group of 6 Palestinians from Bethlehem planned suicide blast, as well as future attacks in capital-By Judah Ari Gross May 29, 2016, 1:13 pm-the times of israel
Israeli security forces arrested six alleged members of a Hamas terror cell accused of planning and carrying out a suicide bombing in Jerusalem last month, the Shin Bet security service announced Sunday.On April 18, Abed al-Hamid Abu Srour boarded the number 12 public bus in the capital and detonated an explosive device, injuring 19 people and killing himself, in the first suicide bus bombing in Israel since 2004.The Shin Bet, Israel Defense Forces and Police launched an investigation to track down Abu Srour’s accomplices. Details of the case were placed under a court-approved gag order, which was removed Sunday morning.The alleged Hamas terror cell was made up of six Palestinian men, all from the Bethlehem area, the Shin Bet said.The security agency would not reveal the precise dates of the arrests, only that they’d happened “in recent weeks.”In addition to the April bus bombing, the Shin Bet found the cell had planned additional attacks, mostly car bombings and shootings, and had been creating improvised explosive devices based off “educational videos from the internet,” the security service said.Muhammad Sami Abd Alhamid al-A’zza, a 28-year-old resident of Beit Sahour near Bethlehem, admitted to investigators that he’d crafted the explosive device used by Abu Srour in the Jerusalem bus bombing, the Shin Bet said.“Once the creation of the device was completed, they worked together to enlist a suicide bomber and then prepare the attack, specifically planning how to infiltrate Jerusalem,” the Shin Bet said al-A’zza revealed during his interrogation.“At the same time, they worked to plan additional attacks and tried to obtain additional weapons and explosive material,” the security service said.In addition to the plans for future acts, the Shin Bet found that al-A’zza and another suspect, 28-year-old Muhammad Issa Mahmoud al-Barbari, had carried out a shooting attack near the Jewish settlement of Tekoa in 2015, albeit one that resulted in no casualties.Al-A’zza had previously served a prison sentence from 2004 to 2007 for planning terror attacks with Hamas.According to investigators, Muhammad Majdi Mustafa al-A’zza, 21, worked alongside al-A’zza in creating the explosive device used in the attack and also recruited members of the cell, including Abu Srour.Ahmad Muhammad Mahmoud al-Mashaiekh, a 19-year-old from the al-Ayda refugee camp, has been accused of driving the suicide bomber to the Jerusalem for the attack, though the security service did not reveal how exactly they sneaked into the capital.Israeli forces also picked up Ali Ahmad Muhammad al-A’rouj and Sai’d Usama Issa Hermes, who were found to be involved, though to a lesser extent in the attack, according to the Shin Bet.Al-A’rouj, who was also imprisoned from 2004 to 2007 for planning an IED attack, helped raised money for the group, assisted in the production of the bomb used in the April attack and filmed Abu Srour’s testimonial video before he carried out the attack, the security service said.Hermes, meanwhile, helped Abu Srour write the testimony and helped al-A’rouj film it, the Shin Bet said.The agency also found that after al-A’zza and al-Barbari’s 2015 shooting, Hermes offered his home as a hiding place for the homemade gun used in the attack.The Shin Bet’s findings have been handed over to a military court and in the coming days the members of the alleged terror cell will be indicted.
As citizens set to miss hajj, Iran says Saudi Arabia ‘blocking path to Allah’-In latest spat between regional rivals, Tehran claiming Riyadh ignored ‘the security and respect’ of its pilgrims to Mecca-By Siavosh GHAZI May 29, 2016, 4:54 pm-the times of israel
TEHRAN (AFP) — Iran said Sunday its pilgrims will miss the pilgrimage this year because Saudi Arabia, custodian of Islam’s holiest sites, was raising obstacles and “blocking the path to Allah” for its faithful.The Iranian Hajj Organization said: “Saudi Arabia is opposing the absolute right of Iranians to go on the hajj and is blocking the path leading to Allah.”The Saudi side had failed to respond to Iranian demands over “the security and respect” of its pilgrims to Mecca, of whom 60,000 took part in last year’s hajj, the organization said.In the latest dispute between regional rivals Tehran and Riyadh, “after two series of negotiations without any results because of obstacles raised by the Saudis, Iranian pilgrims will unfortunately not be able to take part in the hajj” in September, Iran’s Culture Minister Ali Jannati said.Saudi officials have said an Iranian delegation wrapped up a visit to the kingdom on Friday without reaching a final agreement on arrangements for pilgrims from the Islamic republic.The Saudi hajj ministry said it had offered “many solutions” to meet a string of demands made by the Iranians in two days of talks.Agreement had been reached in some areas, including to use electronic visas which could be printed out by Iranian pilgrims, as Saudi diplomatic missions remain shut in Iran, it said.It would be the first hajj in almost 30 years to take place without the participation of pilgrims from Iran.Riyadh-Tehran ties were severed for four years after more than 400 people were killed in Mecca during clashes between Iranian pilgrims and Saudi security forces in 1987.In January, relations were severed again after Iranian demonstrators torched Saudi Arabia’s embassy and a consulate following the kingdom’s execution of a prominent Shiite cleric.Shiite Iran and predominantly Sunni Saudi Arabia are at odds over a raft of regional issues, notably the conflicts in Syria and Yemen in which they support opposing sides.-Hajj ‘sabotage’-Earlier this month, Iran had accused its regional rival of seeking to “sabotage” the hajj, a pillar of Islam that devout Muslims must perform at least once during their lifetime if they are able.Tehran said Riyadh had insisted that visas for Iranians be issued in a third country and would not allow pilgrims to be flown aboard Iranian aircraft.But the Saudi hajj ministry said on Friday that Riyadh had agreed to allow Iranians to obtain visas through the Swiss embassy in Tehran, which has looked after Saudi interests since ties were severed in January.Riyadh also agreed to allow some Iranian carriers to fly pilgrims to the kingdom despite a ban imposed on Iranian airlines following the diplomatic row between the two countries, the ministry said.Last week’s talks were the second attempt by the two countries to reach a deal on organizing this year’s pilgrimage for Iranians after an unsuccessful first round held in April in Saudi Arabia.The Saudi ministry said at the time that the Iranian Hajj Organization would be held responsible “in front of God and the people for the inability of its pilgrims to perform hajj this year.”Another contentious issue has been security, after a stampede at last September’s hajj killed about 2,300 foreign pilgrims, including 464 Iranians.
