Free Republic

As parliaments in more and more European nations vote to recognize “Palestine,” European politicians insist they are doing so to promote the objective of an independent Palestinian state living in peace beside a secure Israel. But both the declared aims of Palestinian leaders and the pattern of European policy vis-a-vis Israel and the Palestinians give the lie to European averments of benign intent. Neither party of the divided Palestinian leadership has, to say the least, demonstrated an interest in peace with Israel. Hamas, now controlling Gaza and enjoying extensive popularity in the West Bank, openly trumpets its objective not only...

Western intelligence sources say son of late Hezbollah leader Mughniyeh was planning attacks on Israel, received direct Iranian sponsorship. Following reports of an IAF helicopter strike on Sunday that targeted a convoy of Hezbollah operatives and killed 10, Hezbollah-run television in Lebanon indicated the incident could prompt a "costly" surge in tensions in the region. On Sunday evening, the al-Manar news channel said the attack suggested that "the enemy has gone crazy because of Hezbollah's growing capabilities and it could lead to a costly adventure that will put the Middle East at stake." Western intelligence sources reported Sunday that Jihad...

Israel’s Shin Bet security service says it arrested the first known Islamic State cell operating inside the country. The intelligence agency said Sunday that the seven cell members belong to the country’s Arab minority. It said they were caught just before executing an attack and were practicing on animals how to behead people. …

As a consequence of the Eurozone crisis, racism is on the rise, in the same way that the 1929 crisis inspired anti-Semitism. But this time the scapegoats are Muslims, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu told a Brussels audience on Thursday (15 January). […] One important message was that the EU, and the West in general, had missed the opportunity provided by the Arab revolutions. The West didn’t mobilize, as it did for Eastern Europe, after the end of the Cold War, Davutoğlu argued. More concretely, he blamed the West for not having supported the “moderate young generation” in Syria, the...

British-Lebanese human rights lawyer urges Egyptian president to expedite release of Canadian-Egyptian reporter.British-Lebanese human rights lawyer Amal Clooney has called on Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi to release and pardon an imprisoned Egyptian-Canadian journalist for Al Jazeera, whom she represents. The attorney - who recently wed Hollywood star George Clooney - released a statement Friday, expressing disappointment over the lack of "concrete" progress toward the release of Mohamed Fahmy following a meeting with Egyptian and Canadian diplomats, Egypt's Al-Masry Al-Youm reported. Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird expressed cautious optimism for Fahmy's release after talks with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shukri...

(IraqiNews.com) On Thursday, a local source in Nineveh province said, that the ‘Wild Boar’ aircraft which belongs to the U.S. Air Force has carried out four air strikes that killed and wounded dozens of ISIS elements, adding that the aircraft sparked panic in the ranks of ISIS. The source said in an interview for IraqiNews.com, “The U.S. aircraft A-10 Warthog (Wild Boar) carried out, at dawn today, four air strikes on gatherings of ISIS elements in the village of Sultan Abdullah in Makhmour district, southeast Mosul,” adding that, “The raids resulted in the death and injury of dozens of ISIS...

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi continues to be the antithesis of longstanding mainstream media portrayals of him. First there was his historic speech where he, leader of the largest Arab nation, and a Muslim, accused Islamic thinking of being the scourge of humanity—in words that no Western leader would dare utter Next, Sisi went to the St. Mark Coptic Cathedral during Christmas Eve Mass to offer Egypt's Christian minority his congratulations and well wishing. Here again he made history as the first Egyptian president to enter a church during Christmas mass—a thing vehemently criticized by the nation's Islamists, including the...

The Islamic State (Isis) have crucified 17 young men in 48 hours in retaliation for a wave of assassinations targeting their fighters. The executions carried out by the jihadist group, which controls vast swathes of land straddling Syria and Iraq, took place in the eastern and northern Syrian cities of Deir Ezzor (or Deir al-Zor) and Raqqa "to send a message to all their opponents after recent assassinations of 12 Syrian, Iraqi and Algerian jihadists," said London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The men, who were shot dead and then crucified for three days, were accused of fighting against Islamic...

Muslim Brotherhood Violence

Istanbul (AFP)- A teenager from Russia's Muslim region of Dagestan, suspected of a suicide bombing in Istanbul, was said Friday to have been an Islamic State jihadist and the wqidow of an Norwegian extremist...

The International Criminal Court has begun considering whether to investigate alleged war crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories. The Hague-based ICC said on Friday it had "opened a preliminary examination into the situation in Palestine". It is an automatic step taken by the court upon a referral. The Palestinians have asked the ICC to investigate Israeli "crimes" since June 2014. Israel and the US have strongly criticised the Palestinians' move. After the Palestinians applied to join the ICC, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said they had chosen "a path of confrontation" and that Israel would "not sit idly by". Israel...

A Lebanese newspaper reported that Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas told Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi that the Palestinian Authority would not file a case against Israel in the International Criminal Court if negotiations between Israel and the PA resumed “in the coming weeks.” According to the report in the Al-Ahabar newspaper, Abbas made the comments to Sisi during their meeting in Cairo Wednesday. The PA several weeks ago formally requested membership in the ICC. Approval of the PA's membership is expected within two months. Last week, the PA recognized the ICC's jurisdiction to investigate what it said were Israeli war...

The subsidized wheat distribution system turned Egypt into the world's biggest importer of wheat, draining the government's foreign currency reserves: Cairo spends $3 billion a year on imports for it. The successful roll-out so far of a new "smart card" system to distribute subsidized bread has been a major achievement for Egypt's government, saving money while earning praise from families who no longer have to wake early to fight for loaves.

The joke’s on them. Don’t the Saudis know that massive border fences do nothing to enhance domestic security and are, in fact, counterproductive? Well, I guess they’ll find out soon enough. According to reports, the Saudi Kingdom is fed up with defending against ISIS raiding parties that routinely cross over the Iraqi border. In order to stave off these assaults, the Saudis are going to build a massive, 600-mile long border fence across the length of the country’s border with Iraq. But that’s not all. The fence will be double layered with a concertina wire barrier in no man’s...

With the Islamic State terrorist group in control of large swathes of Iraq, Saudi Arabia has decided to build a “Great Wall” that spans 600 miles. Construction of the security apparatus began in September and will include five layers of fencing, watch towers and night-vision and radar cameras

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have agreed to hold joint military exercises between the armed forces of the two countries. The decision was taken during talks between visiting Saudi Assistant Minister for Defence Prince Khalid bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz and Defence Minister Rao Sikandar Iqbal here on Monday. The defence ministry in a statement said the Saudi delegation was informed that Al-Khalid tanks, manufactured by Pakistan, would be handed over to Saudi Arabia for trials next summer. Pakistan also offered to undertake a joint venture for production of arms and ammunition, armoured fighting vehicles, Anza missiles and Al-Khalid tanks....

2003 Pakistani-Saudi Pact Bears Fruit Trainer Jets Delivered By RIAD KAHWAJI, DUBAI Pakistan has delivered the first of 20 training jets to Saudi Arabia, the first fruit of a 2003 defense cooperation pact between the Islamic nations.Signed early last year, the accord paved the way for the Royal Saudi Air Force’s purchase of 20 Super Mushhak aircraft, built by Pakistani Aeronautical Complex and slated for delivery by year’s end, a Pakistan official said. The pact also covers a major land forces modernization package, defense industrial technology, troop training and possibly naval vessels, an industry source said. Next year, Pakistan will...

With the ISIS militant forces inching closer to Baghdad, Saudi Arabia has urged allies Pakistan and Egypt to send in troops to secure its border near Iraq. Saudi Arabia shares a 500 mile-long border with Iraq and Syria. “The kingdom is calling in favors from Egypt and Pakistan,” an adviser to the Saudi government told The Times. “No one is certain what ISIS has planned, but it’s clear a group like this will target Mecca if it can. We expect them to run out of steam, but no one is taking any chances.” The ISIS has a strong control on...

Tyler Durden 07/03/2014 While up until now the virtual war between Saudi Arabia, openly calling for the ouster of Iraq's Maliki (whose words in retaliation were just as harsh) was primarily of words, things appear to be escalating on that front too following an overnight report that Saudi Arabia has deployed 30,000 soldiers to its border with Iraq after Iraqi soldiers withdrew from the area, Saudi-owned al-Arabiya television reported Thursday. The world's top oil exporter shares an 500-mile border with Iraq, where Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) insurgents and other Sunni Muslim militant groups seized towns and cities...

Siege of Mecca, Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and Syria: US and Gulf Destabilization PoliciesMurad Makhmudov and Lee Jay WalkerModern Tokyo Times In the 1980s the United States, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, the United Kingdom and some other nations began to fund Sunni Islamic terrorism in Afghanistan. This meddling came hot on the heels of the Siege of Mecca in Saudi Arabia in 1979. Therefore, funding radical Sunni Islamism in Afghanistan came at a very opportunistic time for the rulers based in Saudi Arabia. Pakistan became the central base in training international jihadists and spreading Islamism in Afghanistan. Irrespective of the motives in...