What's New

Resources updated between Monday, December 7, 2015 and Sunday, December 13, 2015

December 13, 2015

Israeli army troops operating in Gaza during Operation Protective Edge (IDF Spokesperson Unit)

Defense Experts Back IDF's 2014 Gaza Campaign, Claim Critics are Invoking Wrong Set of Laws Article

December 11, 2015

The UN Human Rights Council (file photo)

A Human Rights Council Worthy of the Name Article

December 10, 2015

Scene of vehicular terror attack near Beit Arieh in the West Bank

Four people were wounded Thursday in a vehicular terror attack near Kfar Luban, on the main road leading to the Israeli settlement of Beit Arieh in the West Bank, according to the IDF.

A black Isuzu vehicle escaped from the scene. Police later found the car abandoned with an M16 rifle and a stun grenade inside. The attacker remained at large.

In the attack, paramedics said that a 19-year-old man was seriously-to-moderately wounded. Three other people were lightly wounded. They were taken to Rabin Medical Center's Beilinson Campus near Petah Tikva for treatment.

On Wednesday, two terror attacks took place in the West Bank after several days without an attack.

First, a Palestinian terrorist wounded an IDF soldier and a civilian in a stabbing attack near Beit Hadassah, a building that houses Jewish families in the West Bank city of Hebron. One of the victims was moderately wounded and the other was suffering from light injuries. The incident occurred during a security check at the entrance to Beit Hadassah.

Hours later, an Israeli couple was wounded in a drive-by shooting near Tulkarm in the northern West Bank. The wounded man, Shaul Nir, had been a convicted member of a Jewish terrorist group that perpetrated lethal attacks against Palestinians in the 1980s. He and his wife, Rachel, sustained gunshot wounds in the attack when a Palestinian showered their vehicle with bullets as they drove near the Palestinian village.

4 Wounded In Vehicular Terror Attack In West Bank Near Beit Arieh Document

A woman in Iran [Illustrative]

A criminal court in Iran's northern province of Gilan sentenced a woman to be executed by stoning for alleged complicity in the murder of her husband Arash Babaieepour Tabrizinejad.

The stoning penalty of the woman, who was only identified by the initials "A.Kh," was first reported on the Persian-language Iranian website LAHIG on Saturday.

According to the LAHIG report, the court imposed the stoning penalty on the woman along with lashings and a 25-year prison sentence. The criminal court in the city of Rasht in Gilan issued the sentence.

Maryam Nayeb Yazdi, a leading Canadian-Iranian human rights activist based in Toronto who tweeted about the stoning on Wednesday, told The Jerusalem Post, "The rate of executions in Iran has not decreased in the last few years, it has increased. Although stoning has become more rare in Iran, such sentences are still being issued by Iranian judges. The probability of a stoning sentence to be carried out is slim due to the international sensitivity of the issue, there is a great chance her sentence may be 'converted' to death by hanging."

Nayeb Yazdi, who runs the translation blog Persian2English and works with the international NGO Iran Human Rights, added "We need to note that an official Iranian website released the stoning sentence news, and we should question the regime's motives for doing so. The stoning sentence is an indication of the Iranian regime's continued war against women in Iran. Arbitrary executions in Iran must be on top of the agenda in any dialogue between Iran and the West."

Julie Lenarz, Executive Director of the Human Security Center in the United Kingdom, told the Post, "Whether or not one supports the nuclear deal with Iran, it is astonishing that the West cultivates an ever-closer alliance with a theocratic regime widely known for its abysmal human rights record and aggressive behavior in the region. They hang men for the 'crime' of writing poems; or engaging in peaceful protest; or loving someone of the same sex."

She noted, "Women are stoned for being raped and Iranian law even allows for juvenile executions. Iran is averaging three hangings per day at the moment and remains a pariah state with no regard for human life. In a despicable form of moral myopia, the gold rush for business, as the international sanctions regime begins to unravel, has made Western governments blind to the suffering of ordinary Iranians at the hands of the Ayatollahs."

Separately, The Islamic Republic News Agency reported Tuesday on a communications technology meeting between Finland and Iran.

"ICT cooperation between Iran and Finland will increase in the areas of software as well as research and development,"Mahmoud Vaezi, Iran's minister for Information and Communications Technology, said following his meeting with Finland's Foreign Trade Minister Lenita Toivakka.

According to the IRNA report, "He welcomed Finland's achievements in the field of ICT including the Nokia company and expressed the hope that Iran can use the experiences to develop its ICT sector."

In 2008, the Post reported that the then joint Finnish-German company Nokia-Siemens sold surveillance technology to Iran's government. The technology was used a year later to stifle internet, Twitter and mobile communications among demonstrators during widespread protests against a reportedly fraudulent presidential election.

The Wall Street Journal reported in 2009 the Nokia-Siemens technology was used to track communications among the Iranian democrats protesting the regime's repression and election irregularities.

A Nokia-Siemens representative said at the time" we do not provide any web or internet monitoring or filtering. We do provide the capability for millions of Iranians to communicate via mobile networks, and as part of this provide voice call lawful intercept capability."

Iranian consumers called for a boycott of Nokia-Siemens in 2009.

The Finish Foreign Ministry website for wrote "Toivakka will make a Team Finland visit to Iran on 7–10 December 2015. She will be accompanied by a delegation of 70 representatives of Finnish companies. The members of the delegation represent companies in the fields of bioeconomy, environmentally clean technologies, ICT and construction."

"The visit offers an excellent opportunity for us to present leading-edge Finnish expertise in several sectors on the emerging Iranian markets," Toivakka said.

The ministry listed the Nokia Corporation as part of the delegation in Iran.

Vaezi added, "'It was decided that private sectors of the two countries will meet during the on-going visit of the 100-member delegation from Finland."

Iran Sentences Woman To Death By Stoning Document

Scene of shooting attack in West Bank

A drive-by shooting wounded an Israeli couple near Tulkarm on Wednesday night, hours after a soldier and a civilian were injured in a stabbing attack in Hebron.

The wounded man, Shaul Nir, had been a convicted member of a Jewish terrorist group that perpetrated lethal attacks against Palestinians in the 1980s. He and his wife, Rachel, sustained gunshot wounds when a Palestinian showered their vehicle with bullets as they drove near Tulkarm in the northern West Bank.

Magen David Adom paramedics and soldiers evacuated the couple to Beilinson Medical Center in Petah Tikva.

Doctors listed Shaul Nir as being in serious condition with a head injury, possibly from the car crash that followed the shooting, in addition to gunshot wounds to his limbs. He was expected to undergo surgery. His wife sustained gunshot injuries in her limbs, and was listed in satisfactory condition with light injuries, MDA said.

Soldiers were searching for the terrorists, and roads in the area were shut to traffic.

Nir was a convicted leading member of the so-called Jewish Underground that carried out a series of attacks including a deadly grenade assault and attempted assassinations of West Bank mayors that maimed several people. He served part of a life sentence that was later commuted.

The Nirs live in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City. A statement released by the Avnei Hefetz settlement, near the site of Wednesday's shooting, said a terrorist had ambushed the Nirs near Tulkarm.

Yossi Dagan, head of the Samaria Regional Council, demanded the IDF shut the road where the shooting occurred to Palestinian traffic "for the sake of the residents' security."

Earlier on Wednesday, a Palestinian stabbed a soldier and a civilian near Beit Hadassah, in Hebron's Jewish Quarter. A civilian security coordinator at the scene fatally shot the terrorist.

The soldier was wounded lightly, as was a youth identified as the son of former Bayit Yehudi MK Orit Struck, who was injured while trying to tackle the assailant.

The attack occurred during a security check at the entrance to Beit Hadassah.

MDA paramedic Zaki Yahav said that "when we arrived on the scene, we saw near Beit Hadassah two approximately 20-year-old youths laying down, fully conscious and suffering from stab wounds.

"One of the youths sustained a number of stab wounds to his upper body and the second was stabbed in the leg."

Paramedics took the victims to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem.

On Monday, a Palestinian terrorist stabbed and critically wounded an Israeli civilian near Hebron's Cave of the Patriarchs, before being shot dead in the act by Border Police officers.

Husband and Wife Injured In Samaria Drive-By Terror Shooting Document

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. (Moti Milrod)

Israel Drops Opposition to Renewal of U.S. Funding to UNESCO at Kerry's Behest Article

Operation "Magic Carpet" (1949-1950) - the entire community of Yemenite Jews (about 49,000) immigrated to Israel (file photo)

Artificial Wound of Palestinian Refugees has Festered Too Long Article

The International Criminal Court (file photo)

Defunding the International Criminal Court Article

December 9, 2015

A Palestinian terrorist wounded an IDF soldier and a civilian Wednesday in a stabbing attack near Beit Hadassah, a building that houses Jewish families in the West Bank city of Hebron.

One of the victims was moderately wounded and the other was suffering from light injuries.

One of the youths injured in the attack is the son of former Bayit Yehudi MK Orit Struck. He was injured while tackling the terrorist and attempting to rescue the soldier.

The incident occurred during a security check at the entrance to Beit Hadassah.

A civilian security coordinator who was on the scene fired on and killed the terrorist.

MDA paramedic Zaki Yahav described the scene of the attack. "When we arrived on the scene, we saw near Beit Hadassah two approximately 20-year-old youths laying down, fully conscious and suffering from stab wounds."

Yahav said that "one of the youths was suffering from a number of stab wounds to his upper body and the second was stabbed in the leg." Paramedics transported the victims to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem.

The Hebron area has been a hotbed of terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and security forces during the terror wave that has plagued Israel over the past two-and-a-half months.

On Monday, a Palestinian knife-wielding terrorist stabbed and critically injured an Israeli civilian near Hebron's Cave of the Patriarchs, before being shot dead in the act by Border Police officers on the scene.

IDF Soldier And Israeli Civilian Wounded In Stabbing Attack In Hebron Area Document

December 8, 2015

A masked ISIS fighter lifts his sword above the head of a blindfolded man accused of being a sorcerer

Masked ISIS terrorists have beheaded two men they accused of being sorcerers in front of a baying crowd in Libya.

In its latest barbaric video, the accused - both blindfolded, bound and wearing orange jumpsuits - are led in the centre of a crowd to be executed in Tripoli.

The footage was reportedly shot in Libya, where there is estimated to be some 2,000 jihadis and they have begun to impose sharia law and horrific punishments.

The video shows men being flogged in public before the two men accused of practicing magic, one of whom is elderly, are dragged in front of the crowd.

Men and children, some standing on vehicles to get a better view, watch as the accused are knelt on the ground and beheaded.

As the 'sorcerers' die, the crowd shouts Allahu Akbar (God is great). The video ends with the headless bodies being loaded into an ambulance.

Western officials say both the UK and US have secretly sent in commandos to undertake surveillance and gather intelligence in central Libya amid fears that ISIS may even move its main base there.

The officials told the New York Times last month that, as ISIS loses ground in Syria and Iraq, the terror group increasingly sees war-torn Libya as crucial to continuing its jihad if forced out of its heartland.

Concern has focused on the port city of Sirte, the hometown of Muammar Gaddafi, which is just 400 miles southeast of Sicily.

ISIS has already won complete control of a 150-mile stretch of coastline near the city, forcing back local militias that had vowed to force out the largely foreign jihadi fighters.

The group has started to impose a harsh interpretation of Islamic law on the people of Sirte, banning music, forcing women to wear veils and crucifying people.

Their next target is believed to be Adjabiya, a city to the east of Sirte, which would give ISIS control of a key crossroads as well as important oil fields and terminals to the south.

The country remains split between two rival governments which have been urged by the international community to accept a proposed peace deal.

The resulting chaos has been exploited by ISIS, which has seen its early success in Syria and Libya reversed by opposing forces backed by Western air power.

Senior ISIS leaders have been quietly arriving in Libya in recent months.

ISIS Beheads Two For Practicing 'Magic Document

December 7, 2015

The knife used in the attack. (MAGEN DAVID ADOM)

Two Wounded after Stabbing Attack in Jerusalem Document

Syed Farook, left, and his wife Tashfeen Malik, killed 14 people in a shooting attack at a center for the disabled in San Bernardino, California on December 2, 2015. (California Department of Motor Vehicles and FBI via AP)

San Bernardino Shooter's Dad: He was 'Obsessed' with Israel Article