Free Republic

A leading Israeli NGO has slammed the European Union over its alleged role in financing illegal Arab settlements in Judea and Samaria, saying its direct attempts to “subvert” Israeli internal affairs amounted to a form of “colonialism.” The remarks, made by the grassroots Im Tirzu organization, came in response to an article in the UK’s Daily Mail, which cited figures showing how the EU has channeled European taxpayers’ money into building some 400 homes and other buildings illegally in Area C of Judea and Samaria. Under the 1993 Oslo Accords—signed not only by Israel and the Palestinian Authority, but by...

Everyone knows that Jewish settlements are illegal under international law. This is one of the endlessly repeated mantras that reinforce the denigration of Israel as a loathsome pariah state. Imagine: since the Six-Day War the State of Israel has displayed the temerity to authorize the construction of settlements for Jews in the biblical homeland of the Jewish people. To be sure, that defines Zionism, the return of Jews to their ancient cities (Jerusalem and Hebron), hills and valleys (Judea and Samaria). To Israel’s legions of enemies and critics, however, settlement is the illicit conquest and colonization of someone else’s land....

'Advocacy group Cage is no longer being funded by two UK charities, according to the Charity Commission. Cage has been criticised for suggesting MI5 may have helped cause the radicalisation of Mohammed Emwazi. The commission says it has been talking to the Roddick Foundation and the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust since 2013 about their links with Cage. It has now received assurances from the charities that they have ceased funding the group and will not do so in future.'

'Banning radical Islamists from working unsupervised with children could be one measure included in a new government anti-extremism strategy, reports say. The Telegraph says a leaked Home Office document also suggests Sharia courts and councils are areas of concern. Job centre staff may also be told to identify vulnerable claimants who could become targets for radicalisation. Education Secretary Nicky Morgan said she was "concerned about what might be taught in some of our schools". The BBC understands the document has yet to be signed off by the coalition.'

Mohammed Emwazi has apologised to his parents for bringing shame to the family after being unmasked as ISIS butcher 'Jihadi John'. But the 26-year-old executioner, who has murdered a number of western hostages, including two British aid workers, has not expressed any remorse for the barbaric killings. Emwazi's family have been forced into hiding since his identity was revealed. The Sunday Times reports that Emwazi had sent an apology via a third party for the 'problems and trouble the revelation of his identity has caused'. In the Islamic faith it is believed that those who disobey or disrespect their parents...

The corporate media have swiftly moved on from Peter Oborne's resignation as chief political commentator at the Telegraph and his revelations that the paper had committed 'a form of fraud' on its readers over its coverage of HSBC tax evasion. But investigative journalist Nafeez Ahmed has delved deeper into the HSBC scandal, reporting the testimony of a whistleblower that reveals a 'conspiracy of silence' encompassing the media, regulators and law-enforcement agencies. Not least, Ahmed's work exposes the vanity of the Guardian's boast to be the world's 'leading liberal voice'. Last month, the corporate media, with one notable exception, devoted extensive...

Around 320 "dangerous" jihadists have come back to Britain, the newspaper said. The new counter-extremism plan involves targeting Muslim Sharia courts, a ban on radicals working unsupervised with children, and a requirement that job centres identify welfare claimants who may become radicalisation targets, the report said. There would also be welfare penalties to encourage people to learn English, in order to improve integration, and tighter rules on granting citizenship to ensure newcomers embrace "British values", the broadsheet said.

Despite the European accord last month to extend a financial lifeline to Greece, Athens is rapidly running out of cash. So it is scrambling to find new, even radical ways to fill the shortfall — including a proposal to recruit citizens and tourists to spy on suspected tax evaders. Greece’s coffers may be empty before the end of this month, as tax receipts shrink and the economy shows signs of lapsing back into recession. Athens officials have hinted they may have trouble repaying or refinancing a total of about 7 billion euros, or $7.7 billion, owed in March to the...

The British government says it is committed to regulations issued by UN and EU on freezing potential assets of the deposed Yemeni president and two Houthi leaders The British authorities refused to comment on whether they have frozen any assets owned by former Yemeni president Ali Abdallah Saleh and two leaders of the Houthi rebels. On 18 December, the EU Council decided to impose financial sanctions, including asset freezes, on Saleh, the president of Yemen’s General People’s Congress Party Abd Al-Khaliq Al-Houthi, and the Houthi group's second-in-command Yahya Abdullah Al-Hakim. The council blacklisted Saleh for obstructing peace in Yemen, notably...

So far about 650 people have travelled from Germany to the war zones in Iraq and Syria to fight for Isis, Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière said on Thursday evening. Speaking on the Maybrit Illner TV talk show, de Maizière said that the trend in Germany – of ever more people travelling to the Levant to fight for the radical Islamist fighters there - was similar to those in France and Belgium. ... In mid-January, de Maizière told the Bundestag (German parliament) that 600 people had travelled to the region to join Isis. The Interior Minister was responding to comments...

The BBC’s Middle East Editor, Jeremy Bowen, has rejected allegations that he is anti-Semitic after he tweeted an offensive message against Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu during his speech to Congress last week. As Netanyahu was speaking, Bowen noted that he had mentioned Elie Wiesel, a survivor of Nazi concentration camps, and added, “Once again Netanyahu plays the holocaust [sic] card”. Bowen immediately faced attacks on Twitter over his comment and, on the Jewish Chronicle website, Alan Johnson wrote that Bowen’s comments were a “bloody disgrace”. …

Rodents To Be Given Human Rights Under Green Party Plans By Matthew Holehouse 07 Mar 2015 Animals would be protected under human rights laws and new taxes imposed on nappies under plans to be considered by the Green Party. The insurgent environmentalist party, which hopes to hold the balance of power after the General Election by winning up to ten seats, will also propose creating a fleet of hospital ships to serve the developing world, cutting the size of National Lottery prizes and banning the Grand National. The policies, set to become official policy during a series of debates on...

A mother has helped her 24-year-old son become a father by carrying his child as a surrogate. In the procedure, the first of its kind, Anne-Marie Casson, 46, became pregnant using a donor egg fertilised by her son Kyle’s sperm. Kyle, gay and single, had wanted to be a father “for some considerable time”. After surrogacy clinics across the country turned him away, and a female relative who had volunteered to be the carrier developed medical difficulties, Mrs Casson and her husband, Alan, decided she should step in and be the surrogate mother. A family court judge ruled the situation...

Birmingham City Council has made the astonishing decision to recruit the former director of safeguarding children and families from scandal hit Rotherham council, where he was linked to the closure of a group rescuing sexually exploited young girls. Howard Woolfenden works for the authority as an £85,000 a year assistant director and leads the council’s work to protect young people from grooming gangs, the Birmingham Mail exposed. His job, many times the average salary of Birmingham council tax payers, is despite his inclusion in the Rotherham Council management team which were heavily criticised for failing victims of CSE and for...

The leader of the Muslim group who defended ISIS executioner Mohammed Emwazi has sparked further outrage after he refused to condemn the stoning women. Asim Qureshi, the director of Cage, was last night quizzed about extremist positions advocated by Muslim scholars - including female genital mutilation, domestic violence and stoning as a punishment for adultery. But Mr Qureshi, appearing on the BBC's This Week programme, failed to speak out against the practices - while also defending the right of Muslims to wage jihad. It comes after he defended the London-raised fanatic Emwazi - unmasked as the infamous fanatic 'Jihadi John'...

A UKIP parliamentary candidate who said "Jihadi John" should have killed himself is not facing a probe. Richard Hilton tweeted: "Jihadi John 'contemplated suicide.' It's a shame he didn't. Don't understand media attempts to blame MI5 for his evil". A UKIP spokesman told the BBC on Sunday he had been reported to the party's national executive committee. But the party has said no action had been taken against Mr. Hilton and most people agreed with him... as soon as Mr. Hilton realized his tweet might be misconstrued he took it down..... Mr. Hilton, prospective parliamentary candidate for Mitcham and Morden,...

A British parliamentary committee is urging the British government to be more outspoken in support of democracy in Hong Kong. In a report Friday, the Foreign Affairs Committee said British officials have failed to clearly state their position on democratic developments in the Chinese territory, and warned that it could damage Britain’s reputation there. They stressed that Britain “can and should take a position” on democracy in the Chinese territory. …

To most of us, it seems like an eternity ago that David Cameron stood outside Downing Street the morning after the Scottish electorate rejected independence, and declared: ‘The people of Scotland have spoken. It is a clear result. Now it is time for the United Kingdom to come together and move forward.’ Today, however, six months on, the latest opinion poll suggests that the General Election in May could give Labour and the Tories equal representation in the Commons, with the Nationalists sweeping Scotland to hold 56 out of 59 seats, and the balance of power at Westminster.

ISLAMIC State terrorists have set their sights on kidnapping Victoria Cross-winning paratrooper Joshua Leakey. Army chiefs have thrown a ring of steel around the brave lance corporal and his family to combat the snatch threat. Brit-born jihadis see the 27-year-old war hero as the “ultimate prize” in their bid to strike a high-profi le blow against the West. Top brass have warned the soldier that he and his family are at risk. And security was stepped up before last week’s announcement he had won the top bravery gong. He is the first living serviceman to receive it for action in...

New Zealand is conducting mass surveillance over its Pacific neighbours, reports citing documents leaked by US whistleblower Edward Snowden say. Calls, emails and social media messages were being collected from Pacific nations, the New Zealand Herald said. The data was shared with other members of the "Five Eyes" network - the US, Australia, Britain and Canada.