THREAT MATRIX 2011 #1

TN Crew

[MestaMachine]

Report: Palestinians set Joseph's Tomb on fire

Nablus agitated after shooting of Israelis; masses gather near holy site, several youths try to set compound ablaze. 'Sight was reminiscent of Second Indifada,' witness says

Unrest rattled the West Bank city of Nablus Sunday following the shooting of Breslov Hassidim visiting the Palestinian-controlled Joseph's Tomb in the city.

Twenty-four year old Ben-Yosef Livnat, a father of four from Jerusalem – and Minister Limor Livnat's nephew – was killed, and five others were wounded.

Palestinian sources reported local Palestinian youths gathered around the Tomb's compound shortly after the incident and set it on fire.

Video: Shomron Regional Council at link

A group of Palestinian youngsters rolled burning tires into the Tomb's plaza, which was renovated only a few months ago.

A Palestinian source said black smoke towered over the gravesite, adding the sight was "reminiscent of the days of the Second Indifada."

Palestinian fire fighters and police forces were called to the scene. No substantial damage was caused to the compound.

Palestinian security forces are now heavily deployed in the area to maintain order.

[MestaMachine]

Syrian forces raid homes, Assad opposition mounts

Bigger pro-democracy protests met with more force, YouTube video shows attack on unarmed protesters

Secret police raided homes near Damascus overnight, rights campaigners said on Sunday, as popular opposition to authoritarian President Bashar al-Assad mounted following the bloodiest attacks on pro-democracy protesters.

Security forces and gunmen loyal to Assad killed at least 112 people in the last two days when they fired at protests demanding political freedoms and an end to corruption on Friday and on mass funerals for victims a day later.

The attacks were the bloodiest, and the demonstrations were the biggest, since protests erupted in the southern city of Deraa in the strategic Hauran plain near the border with Jordan over five weeks ago.

"Bashar al-Assad, you traitor! You coward. Take your soldiers to the Golan," protesters chanted on Saturday, chiding Assad for turning his forces on his own people instead of liberating the Golan Heights, where the frontier with Israel has been quiet since a 1974 ceasefire.

Security operatives in plain clothes wielding assault rifles broke into homes in the suburb of Harasta just after midnight on Sunday, arresting activists in the area, known as the Ghouta, or the old garden district of the capital.

Assad lifted an emergency law this week, in place since his Baath Party seized power 48 years ago, in a bid to appease protesters and ease international criticism of the use of deadly force against civilians.

Opponents say the crackdown on demonstrators and the arrests that followed show the move was hollow.

Grisly video

Assad has ejected most foreign media from the country during his crackdown on protesters, so independent reports of the violence are difficult to verify.

Demonstrators have been using the Internet to get out pictures of the violence, many of which have been explicit.

One video posted on Internet site YouTube showed a crowd marching on Friday near Abbasside square in Damascus, purportedly on Friday, chanting "the people want the overthrow of the regime," before the sound of gunfire was heard.

Demonstrators raised their hands to show that they were unarmed. The fire intensified. One youth fell, with blood spurting from his head and back. His comrades lifted him but dropped his body when the sound of bullets resumed.

The weekend protests stretched from the port city of Latakia to Homs, Hama, Damascus, its suburbs and southern towns. The death toll rose to around 350, with scores of missing, since the demonstrations broke out on March 18, rights campaigners said.

[MestaMachine]

7 wounded in bombing outside Baghdad church

Excerpt:
BAGHDAD – An Iraqi police official says seven people have been wounded by a roadside bomb outside the entrance of a Baghdad church.

The official says the blast took place Sunday just yards (meters) from the Sacred Heart Church in Baghdad's Karradah neighborhood. Shrapnel from the bomb struck the outside of the building.

The officer said no parishioners were inside and services had not been held in the building.

Four policemen and three civilian bystanders were wounded.

Iraqi security forces are on high alert for any violence targeting Iraq's beleaguered Christian community this Easter. Iraqi Christians have faced a recent wave of violence, including an attack last year against a Baghdad church that killed 68 people.

[MestaMachine]

Clashes erupt for third day on Thai-Cambodian border

Excerpt:
BAN NONGKANA, Thailand (Reuters) – Thai and Cambodian troops clashed for a third straight day on Sunday over their disputed border, with gunfire and explosions echoing through mountainous jungle for several hours despite a call for a ceasefire by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The fighting near two disputed 12th-century Hindu temples killed at least 10 people on Friday and Saturday, and follows a four-day confrontation in February that claimed 11 lives, making this year's standoff the bloodiest in nearly two decades and raising questions over what's behind it.

Cambodia's Defense Ministry accused Thailand of shelling civilian villages, a day after saying Thai soldiers fired cluster munitions - anti-personnel weapons banned by many countries - along with shells "loaded with poisonous gas."

The Thai government said the allegations were "groundless."

No one was reported killed on Sunday, though each side said at least one soldier was wounded. The official toll since Friday is four Thai soldiers killed and 25 wounded, and six Cambodians killed and 17 wounded.

"The situation is still under control at the moment. We can handle it," said Thai Army Lieutenant-General Thawatchai Samutsakorn, adding that he believed Cambodia's casualties outnumbered those in Thailand.

[MestaMachine]

Royal wedding invite angers Bahrain activists

Excerpt:
The crown prince of Bahrain is on the guest list for the wedding of the UK's Prince William and Catherine Middleton in London next week, as criticism of the violent suppression of opposition protesters continues.

Salman bin Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, the Crown Prince of Bahrain, was one of more than 40 foreign royals invited to attend the British royals' wedding in Westminster Abbey on Friday.

Human rights advocates were quick to condemn the decision to invite al-Khalifa to the ceremony.

Najib Rajab, president of Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, told Al Jazeera that protesters were expecting the British to take a "tough stance," rather than invite those accused of grievous human rights abuses to the high-profile celebrations.

"Calling our crown prince at a time when people are being killed … for demanding their political rights and peacefully protesting, is extremely disappointing," he said in a phone interview.

"They're losing the hearts and minds of the people in this region."

Like similar protests movements across the Middle East and North Africa, Bahraini demonstrators have been demanding democracy, human rights and freedom of speech since mid-February.

Al-Khalifa's regime has responded to the calls for constitutional monarchy by deploying massive numbers of troops.

Hundreds of doctors, nurses, teachers, unionists have been beaten, sacked or forcibly disappeared in recent days, Rajab said.

"Unfortunately I'm banned from travelling otherwise I'd be travelling there [to London] to protest outside the wedding," Rajab said.

In Bahrain, where a Sunni minority monopolises the political power, the government has cast the popular revolt in a sectarian light, arguing that the Shia majority is being supported by Iran and Hezbollah.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have sent security forces to Bahrain to help crush the uprising.

Royal invitees from elsewhere in the Arab world include heads of state from Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Kuwait.

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I included this because LOOK who is invited when mo and o are NOT. Priceless

[MestaMachine]

[caww]

You know Mesta the more I see distruction of any place or thing which has to do with history of the Jews and that of Chrisitianity the easier to see that it is ‘the enemy of God’ working with ‘willing subjects of his own’, who are more than happy to accomodate him....and full of hate why they do so.

[bgill]

Can you imagine the wedding present the Emperor of the US would send? A flash light and a bag of gummy bears?

But, I do have to agree that many invitees (rulers and celebs) have questionable backgrounds and I wouldn’t want them on British soil, much less at my wedding.

[caww]

The crown prince of Bahrain is on the guest list for the wedding of the UK's Prince William and Catherine Middleton in London

And Bo and Mo are definately not! I thought of that also...but I doubt very much if it even fazes them they weren't invited.

[bgill]

They set the temple on fire a few years ago. What’s with these monsters. They’ll never reach civilized human status.

[Hardraade]

We talked about this yesterday. Still no resolution as to what, so here's the ad:

[caww]

What’s with these monsters. They’ll never reach civilized human status.

Nope, but then who is the standard to measure 'civilized human status' in this world today? The Western world is still killing the unborn....Washington is as crooked as they come....our prisons are full of people deserving of the death penalty, let go so they can kill again. Homosexuals now parade their frontages thru the mainstreets of our communities..... Not to mention our banking system now only loans to the business elite. So "what nation" can be the standard ? There is none anymore.

[bgill]

who is the standard to measure 'civilized human status' in this world today

FR minus a few trolls.

[caww]

Oh yea! LOL

[rodguy911]

Thanks for the ping MM! Lots of great stuff here as usual.

[MestaMachine]

Yesha Council: Nablus shooting 'cannot pass silently'

Joseph's Tomb should be under Israeli rule to prevent attacks, group says; Ben-Ari blames those who funded, trained PA

The Council of Jewish Communities of Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip on Sunday denounced the shooting attack in Nablus and said that it "cannot pass silently."

One Israeli worshiper was killed and four were wounded in Nablus early Sunday morning after their vehicle was shot at by a Palestinian Authority policeman as the group was exiting the city from prayer services held at Joseph's Tomb. Magen David Adom said one person was in serious condition, one in moderate condition and two others in light condition. According to Nablus Governor Jabril al Bahri, the shooting attack was a "security incident" and not a terror attack.

Lately, the Council of Jewish Communities of Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip said, Jews have been killed as a result of the Palestinian Authority's incitement against them, now a murder as been carried out by the PA itself. The site of the tomb, it said, must be under Israeli control to prevent any further attacks.

MK Michael Ben-Ari (National Union) said that those who had funded and trained Palestinian security forces were directly responsible for the murder that happened by Joseph’s tomb. He called on the IDF to collect all the weapons in the hands of the Palestinian security forces. In addition he asked the government to allow the yeshiva that was once located by the tomb, Od Yosef Chai, to return to the area.

The Samaria Citizen’s Committee said that the Joseph’s Tomb attack underscores the potential threat of a Palestinian security force — that every policeman is a potential terrorist.

Right-wing activist Baruch Marzel called on the IDF to allow the entry of massive amounts of worshipers to the tomb in the coming days.

The Knesset Lobby for the Land of Israel said the attack only proves, what has been learned from blood that was spilled in the past, that the IDF must have the freedom to act in all of Judea and Samaria.

[MestaMachine]

Netanyahu to PA: Take harsh steps against Nablus shooter

PM condemns killing of Ben Yosef Livnat by PA policeman; Barak says lack of security coordination cannot justify shooting at innocent people; settler leader: Palestinian police knew they were targeting worshipers.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Sunday condemned the killing of Ben Yosef Livnat earlier in the day at Joseph's Tomb in Nablus, and demanded that the Palestinian Authority "take serious steps against the terrorists who committed this criminal act against Jewish worshipers on their way to pray."

Netanyahu spoke with Ben Yosef's aunt, Minister of Sports and Culture Limor Livnat and held the hands of the Livnat family during the victim's funeral in Jerusalem.

Thousands of people attended Ben Yosef's funeral, including settlement leaders from the West Bank, right-wing activists, rabbis and public figures.

During the funeral, the sports and culture minister commented on her nephew's murder, saying "I woke up this morning, Ben Yosef's mom called me and told me he was murdered by a terrorist disguised as a Palestinian policeman. This is cold-blooded murder. Ben Yosef went to pray with other Jews, and he was murdered simply because he was Jewish. It is hard to grasp these things. My own nephew, a personal sacrifice, may he be the last victim."

Earlier Sunday, Defense Minister Ehud Barak strongly condemned the murder of Ben Yosef and the injury of four others in the Nablus shooting attack and said that no lack of security coordination can justify the opening of fire at innocent people.

Barak ordered the IDF to investigate the incident and demanded that the Palestinian Authority investigate the shooting swiftly and take all the necessary steps against the shooter.

Ben Yosef was killed, and three others were injured, after their vehicle was shot at by a Palestinian Authority policeman as the group was exiting the city from prayer services held at Joseph's Tomb. Magen David Adom said one person was in serious condition, one in moderate condition and two others in light condition.

Dani Dayan, who heads the Council of Jewish Communities of Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip said that Palestinian police knew they were targeting worshipers who had come to pray at Joseph’s Tomb in a pre-dawn trip.

“This is a terrorist attack from every point of view. There was no provocation here. The Palestinian police knew exactly whom they were shooting at. They knew perfectly well that they [the worshipers] were unarmed. They might have even known the person,” Dayan told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday.

He dismissed all claims that the Palestinians felt threatened or did not know who their victims were. Breslev worshipers often go to the tomb without prior coordination with the IDF, he said.

Meanwhile, MK Danny Danon (Likud) called on the US to reconsider its funding of the Palestinian security forces, as well as the training exercises that it does with them. He passed this request on to Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee.

"As a true friend of Israel, we expect that the objective of this training would be to ensure Israeli security and not to kill its citizens," he said.

[MestaMachine]

Trying to keep up with the increasing advance of a bad moon rising in the ME. There is internal and external strife going on between the salafists, sunni and shia. Full scale war seems likely as iran keeps pushing the envelope. Khameini now fears ahmadinejad. He has the loyalty of the revolutionary guard, the basij, and the military. Will he dare move on the mullahs?
And Israel is being forced between a rock and a hard place from all sides including the obama administration.
Everything I have been posting here is a step by step slow dance toards war. It keeps me up at night.
Thailand, Cambodia, and China fall under the catagory of wars and rumors of wars. NONE of it is good.
And now we have signs tht something major is in the planning by the N Caucasus islamic groups. Could be the Royal Wedding...but it also might me a major attack on Russia since they just killed a major leader.. It never stops.
The NAAQ is planning hits on Israeli interests all over the world to avenge imad mugniyah, the bloody bastard.
Need eyes in the back of my head.

[MestaMachine]

Two of the competing groups in the Caucasus have signed and announced a “formal” merger. Along with it, they have sent a message to the wives and mothers of young men expected to do jihad. They have also issued a call to all of islam to come and do jihad together. This is getting totally out of control.

[MestaMachine]

Not to mention they are inching us closer and closer to shariah banking. It is coming to the point where we will have no hoice.