The hell of Israel is better than the paradise of Arafat

In the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) elections that took place in January 2005, a significant percentage of Arab Jerusalemites stayed away from the polls out of concern that voting in them might jeopardize their status as residents of Israel. For example, the Associated Press quoted one Rabi Mimi, a 28-year-old truck driver, who expressed strong support for Mahmoud Abbas but said he had no plans to vote: “I can’t vote. I’m afraid I’ll get into trouble. I don’t want to take any chances.” Asked if he would vote, a taxi driver responded with indignation, “Are you kidding? To bring a corrupt [Palestinian] Authority here. This is just what we are missing.”

Filed under: Think Tank, Arab, Arab Media, Barack Obama, E.U, Egypt, European Union, France, Gaza, Gaza raids, Gaza strip, Hamas, IAF, IDF, International, Iran, Iraq, Islam, Israel, Israel Air Force, Jordan, Lebanon, Middle East, MidEast, Muslim, Operation Cast Lead, Palestine, Palestinian Authority, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Terror, Terrorism, The Terror Journal, Turkey, U.N, U.S.A, UK, War, West Bank, World, Yaser Arafat

Bombing of tunnels not a solution to Gaza arms smuggling

Israel Air Force Commander Major General Ido Nehushtan said Wednesday that he doubted the long-term efficacy of Israel’s bombing of the tunnels on the Philadelphi Route in southern Gaza. In the first remarks on the outcome of Operation Cast Lead by a member of the Israel Defense Forces General Staff, Nehushtan said he recommended focusing on all means of weapons smuggling into the Gaza Strip.

Filed under: MidEast, Foreign affairs, Hamas, IAF, IDF, International, Israel, Israel Air Force, Middle East, MidEast, Operation Cast Lead, Palestine, Palestinian Authority, Syria, Terror, Terrorism, The Terror Journal, World

U.S. professors call for academic and cultural boycott of Israel

In the wake of Operation Cast Lead, a group of American university professors has for the first time launched a national campaign calling for an academic and cultural boycott of Israel.

While Israeli academics have grown used to such news from Great Britain, where anti-Israel groups several times attempted to establish academic boycotts, the formation of the United States movement marks the first time that a national academic boycott movement has come out of America.

Filed under: Voice, Arab, Arab Media, Barack Obama, E.U, Egypt, European Union, France, Gaza, Gaza raids, Gaza strip, Hamas, IAF, IDF, International, Iran, Iraq, Islam, Israel, Israel Air Force, Jordan, Lebanon, Middle East, MidEast, Muslim, Operation Cast Lead, Palestine, Palestinian Authority, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Terror, Terrorism, The Terror Journal, Turkey, U.N, U.S.A, UK, War, West Bank, World

Mumbai attack ‘not planned in Pakistan’

A top Pakistani diplomat has said its investigations into the attacks on Mumbai show they were not planned in either Pakistan or the UK.

Pakistan’s high commissioner in Britain, Wajid Shamsul Hasan, told Indian media Islamabad’s own report on the attacks would be released soon.

More than 170 people were killed when 10 gunmen attacked India’s financial capital in November.

Filed under: Asia, Delhi, India, International, ISI, Mumbai, Mumbai 26/11, Mumbai Terror Attacks, Pakistan, Republic Day, Terror, Terrorism, Terrorists, The Terror Journal, War

Sri Lanka vows safe passage for civilians

Sri Lanka’s president has promised safe passage for 250,000 civilians trapped by fighting in the north-east.

Mahinda Rajapaksa urged the Tamil Tiger rebels to ensure the free movement of civilians from the region, but the government has ruled out a ceasefire.

The rebels have not commented but in the past have insisted the people want to stay to be protected by them.

Filed under: Asia, Chennai, Colombo, Elephant Pass, Guerrilla Group, Guerrilla war, India, Jafna, LTTE, Madras, Mahindra Rajapaksa, Mullaitivu, Sri Lanka, Tamil, Tamil Nadu, Terror, Terrorism, The Terror Journal, Velupillai Prabhakaran, War

Did Hamas win in Gaza war

One way to approach this question is to ask whether Hamas has achieved the objectives for which it escalated the crisis, by its refusal to extend the cease-fire. Musa Abu Marzuq, number two in the Damascus office, explained the primary Hamas objective in a very straightforward way: “The tahdiyeh had become ‘a ceasefire [in exchange for another] ceasefire,’ with no connection either to the crossings and [the goods] transported through them, or to the siege.

Filed under: Analysis, Foreign affairs, Hamas, IAF, IDF, International, Israel, Israel Air Force, Middle East, MidEast, Operation Cast Lead, Palestine, Palestinian Authority, Syria, Terror, Terrorism, The Terror Journal, World

Turkish PM hero of Muslim world

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan received a hero’s welcome on his return to Istanbul on Friday after he stormed out of a heated debate on Israel’s Gaza offensive at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Thousands of people gathered at Istanbul’s Ataturk airport to greet Erdogan when he returned, waving Turkish and Palestinian flags and chanting “Turkey is proud of you”.

After a fiery exchange with Israeli President Shimon Peres on Thursday in which he said: “When it comes to killing, you know very well how to kill,” Erdogan said he might never return to the annual gathering of the rich and powerful in the Swiss resort.

Filed under: MidEast, Arab, Arab Media, Barack Obama, E.U, Egypt, European Union, France, Gaza, Gaza raids, Gaza strip, Hamas, IAF, IDF, International, Iran, Iraq, Islam, Israel, Israel Air Force, Jordan, Lebanon, Middle East, MidEast, Muslim, Operation Cast Lead, Palestine, Palestinian Authority, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Terror, Terrorism, The Terror Journal, Turkey, U.N, U.S.A, UK, War, West Bank, World

Democratic accountability in Gaza

Nearly two years after Hamas won a large majority in the new Palestinian parliament, and in return started a new round of terror that triggered an IDF military operation in Gaza, a fragile cease-fire has set the last word of another chapter in this tragic conflict. The airwaves are still filled with footage of war and carnage, with crying women and children and with debates about body counts. Yes, there is a tragic story to be told. War, even when justified, brings much injustice with it. But there is also an important lesson to be learned, and a hope that this time it will not be completely missed by the rioting Arab street.

Filed under: Analysis, Arab, Arab Media, Gaza, Gaza raids, Gaza strip, Hamas, IAF, IDF, International, Israel, Middle East, MidEast, Operation Cast Lead, Palestine, Palestinian Authority, Terror, Terrorism, The Terror Journal, War, World