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William Schabas, the Canadian professor who was appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council to head a commission of inquiry into Israel’s military operations in Gaza, on Wednesday insisted that he is not anti-Israel, despite the many remarks he has made in the past proving the contrary. Speaking to the Arab-language newspaper Asharq al-Awsat, Schabas claimed that “even if Spiderman was heading the probe, they would’ve attacked him.” “I do not hate Israel,” he declared, but also said, “I will put my prior positions aside.” “This is an investigation that is necessary,” Schabas said. “I will not resign.” …

MANILA, Philippines — The Indian commander of the United Nations' (UN) peacekeeping force broke his silence on the Philippine military's accusations that he misguidedly ordered besieged Filipino troops to surrender their arms to rebels in Golan Heights over the weekend. In an interview with a Noida-based newspaper, UN Disengagement Observer Force Commander Lt. Gen. Iqbal Singh Singha criticized the defiance of the 40 trapped Filipino peacekeepers as "non-professional." Singha, meanwhile, called what the Armed Forces of the Philippines dubbed the "greatest escape" of 40 troops from Position 68 nothing but an "act of cowardice." "The higher UN echelon as well...

The United Nations (UN) and Palestinian Authority (PA) on Tuesday called for international donors to supply $550 million to the Hamas terror enclave of Gaza, despite the fact that Hamas has already restarted construction on its terror tunnels to attack Israel. The appeal seeks to repair damage caused in the 50-day Operation Protective Edge, which started in July after Hamas launched a rocket war on the Jewish state. "The scope of damage and devastation is unprecedented in the Gaza Strip," said UN Humanitarian Coordinator James Rawley in a statement, reports AFP. "The crisis is far from over." Rawley and PA...

Special to Israel News Agency from Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs Jerusalem, Israel --- September 9, 2014 ... Instead of investigating Hamas’ deliberate attacks on Israeli civilians and the use of Palestinian civilians as human shields, the UN decided to “investigate” Israel, a democracy exercising its legitimate right of self-defense. Throughout the recent conflict Israel has done its utmost to comply with the strictest standards of international humanitarian law, despite significant operational costs. On July 23, while Hamas rocket fire on Israel continued daily, the United Nations Human Rights Council decided to appoint a “commission of inquiry” the purpose of...

Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere reached a record high in 2013 as increasing levels of man-made pollution transform the planet, the U.N. weather agency said Tuesday. In an annual report, the World Meteorological Organization said that carbon dioxide, the heat-trapping gas blamed for the largest share of global warming, rose to global concentrations of 396 parts per million last year, the biggest year-to-year change in three decades. That’s an increase of 2.9 ppm from the previous year—and is 42 percent higher than before the Industrial Age, when levels were about 280 parts per million. The 2012 level was itself...

In its efforts to minimize collateral damage in its campaign against Hamas terrorists who were launching rocket attacks against Israeli civilians, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) asked UN “peace keepers” in Gaza to help Palestinian civilians evacuate the combat zone. The UN refused this request. UN spokesperson Penelope Ironside explained that “the idea that civilians should be removed from the battle zone conflicted with the explicit strategy of one of the contending sides. For us to have assisted in their removal would have compromised the UN’s position as a neutral party.” “The conflict between Israel and Hamas is asymmetrical,” Ironside...

The United Nations has been quick to launch a special inquiry into Israel for defending itself this summer against Hamas terrorist attacks out of Gaza. But will anyone be investigating the role in this conflict of the U.N. itself? This latest bout of war has underscored alarming questions about the U.N.’s chief agency in Gaza, the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, better known as UNRWA. Officially, UNRWA advertises itself as a strictly neutral party providing humanitarian and relief services — including schooling, health care, construction, loans, and emergency response — to Palestinian refugees...

The UN Security Council on Wednesday demanded the release of 45 Fijian peacekeepers held in the Golan Heights by Syrian Al-Nusra Front terrorists, according to AFP. The 15 members of the council unanimously approved a declaration condemning "in the strongest terms" the detention of the Fijians. They were captured almost a week ago, when the rebels stormed a Golan Heights crossing. The council "reiterated their call for the peacekeepers' immediate and unconditional release," adding in its statement that "there can never be any justification for attacks on or the detention of UN peacekeepers." The government of Fiji also has called...

It’s difficult to read Amnesty International’s report on ethnic cleansing in Iraq without imagining that you’re reading the script of a movie. Over and over, the report, issued today, relates accounts of men being taken out of their villages in pickup trucks, lined up in a deserted area, and shot. Often they were shot in the backs, many times at the edge of a “wadi” or a large hole in the ground, into which the bodies would tumble. Some were not gravely injured and feigned death so that they could escape—and tell the story. Enough Iraqis—Christians, Shia Muslims, Yazidis...

Don’t wait for any politician or news media talking head to save you and your family from any barbarians who would make good on their threats With a thousand and one predicted disasters calling the attention of the average citizen, we live in confusing, turbulent times. If Ebola, terrorists or living in a country without borders doesn’t get you, something else will. It’s as if the leaders of some countries want the countries they were elected to serve wiped off the map, leaving the world’s largest bureaucracy called the United Nations to get on with their convenient One World Government....

Good for them. Surrendering to people who practice beheading religiously is ill advised. This whole mess is yet another of the innumerable reminders that international forces placed around Israel to absolutely nothing and surrender or run away at the first sign of trouble. That’s why the touted EU initiative to put international forces between Israel and Hamas is a stupid and destructive venture.The Philippine military said Monday that a UN peacekeeping commander in the Golan Heights should be investigated for allegedly asking Filipino troops to surrender to Syrian rebels who had attacked and surrounded their campGen. Gregorio Pio Catapang...

Not too long ago I posted a video produced in the mid-nineties concerning a U.S. Army soldier, SPC Michael New, who refused to wear the UN insignia and uniform, or accept orders from a foreign commander under the auspices of the United Nations. New’s reasoning was simple: he pledged an oath to defend the United States and the U.S. Constitution, not the United Nations and its Charter. The Michael New case received very little press coverage at the time. New was threatened with court-martial, but he decided to fight the charges. Unfortunately, Michael New lost the case and eventually received...

United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Monday condemned Israel’s decision to declare 4,000 dunams (988 acres) of land in Judea as state land, AFP reports. Ban’s spokesman said that the UN chief is "alarmed" by the Israeli plans and feared they could lead to more “settlement activity”. "The Secretary General is alarmed by yesterday's announcement by Israeli authorities to declare as so-called 'state land' nearly 1,000 acres of land in the Bethlehem area of the West Bank," the spokesman said, according to AFP. "The seizure of such a large swath of land risks paving the way for further...

President Obama is working to create a new international climate change accord that would get other nations to reduce their carbon emissions, but in a way that would not require the deal to be ratified by the Senate.

Manila says it ordered its troops to fight back and escape, instead of surrendering to the Syrian Islamists as the UN wished money line from Filipino commander: “I told them not to follow the order because that is a violation of our regulation, that we do not surrender our firearms,

Under cover of darkness, 40 Filipino peacekeepers made a daring escape after being surrounded and under fire for seven hours by Syrian rebels in the Golan Heights, Philippine officials said Sunday, leaving 44 Fijian troops still in the hands of the al-Qaida-linked insurgents. "We may call it the greatest escape," Philippine military chief Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang said. The peacekeepers became trapped after Syrian rebels entered the U.N.-patrolled buffer zone between Syria and Israel this week, seizing 44 Fijian soldiers and demanding that their Filipino colleagues surrender with their weapons. The Filipinos in two U.N. encampments refused and clashed with...

On Monday September 8th, 2014, at 1:15 p.m., the UN Permanent Mission of Palau, and the Engr Aja Eze Foundation are sponsoring a conference on “Global Anti-Semitism: A Threat to International Peace and Security” at the United Nations Headquarters facility in New York City. The counter-anti-Semitism conference will feature speakers who will explain how the rising tide of anti-Semitism will have a catastrophic effect on the safety and security of the world. The opening statements will be made by H.E. Dr. Caleb Otto, Amb. UN Perm. Mission of Palau, and H.E. Mr. Ron Prosser, Amb. UN Perm. Mission of Israel....

Killer robots programmed to open fire without human control are just a “small step” from the battlefield and military powers should agree to outlaw them, a top United Nations official has said. Angela Kane, the UN’s high representative for disarmament, said governments should be more open about programmes to develop the technology and she favoured a pre-emptive ban before it was too late. She said: “Any weapon of war is terrible, and if you can launch this without human intervention, I think it’s even worse. It compounds the problem and dehumanises it in a way. “It becomes a faceless war...

Syrian rebels have reportedly taken UN personnel prisoner after they took over the area near the Quneitra border crossing on the Golan Heights. The UN personnel were stationed on the Syrian side of the border. No confirmation of the story has been issued, and the number of those taken prisoner is also unclear, with some reports saying that “dozens” of personnel have been captured. The reports identified the kidnappers as being members of a group close to Al Qaeda that is fighting soldiers of the regime of Bashar al-Assad.

The New York Times has a splashy front page article today that’s sure to warm the hearts of global warming fanatic. It likely will cause opponents of so-called climate change to burn with the rage of a thousand suns. In fact, we should not get excited at all. President Obama is working on a non-binding international agreement on climate change. It would “name and shame” countries that don’t comply with its strict standards. Those pushing this agreement believe it has “legal and political magic.” In reality, it won’t be worth the paper it’s written on. Obama cannot get a climate...