Olmert Investigation Ended

Israel's former PM probe into corruption has been ended by Israel's State Prosecutor's Office(1)

Took a long time. Corruption while disgusting isn't very serious, say compared to war crimes, in my opinion.

Note:
(1) http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/probe-of-olmert-s-alleged-political-appointments-closed.premium-1.459821

Missouri mosque destroyed in second fire in a month

A mosque in Joplin, Missouri, was burned to the ground early Monday, just over a month after an attempted arson at the Islamic centre, officials said.

Authorities are investigating the cause of the latest fire. The mosque's

security cameras were destroyed in the blaze, according to Sharon Rhine of the Jasper County Sheriff's Office.

"This incident should not stop us from worshiping our God," one member of the Islamic Society of Joplin told CNN affiliate KYTV. "We are going to find a place probably to continue our service to God."

Kimberly Kester, another member, said the blaze was so intense that the building's bricks were still sizzling hours after the fire.

Carl Junction Fire Chief Bill Dunn called it a "complete loss."

Though investigators haven't determined the cause, Kester suspects it to be another incident of arson.

"I think this act of hate will bring us together," she told CNN iReport.

The FBI is already investigating a fire that scorched the roof of the building on July 4 and has offered a $15,000 reward in conjunction with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The bureau has released surveillance video and a photograph of a man caught on surveillance cameras throwing some sort of incendiary device onto the building in that incident.(1)

 

Weird. Hopefully not done out of some kind of stupid hate crime, but it's possible.

 

Note:

(1)  source

Israel hand Hebron market stores over to Israeli settlers

It's disgusting, but it's happened. Once more the Israeli government hands over a Hebron market to illegal Israeli settlers in that city.(1)

Note:
(1) http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/defying-ag-ministers-decide-to-hand-hebron-market-stores-over-to-israeli-settlers.premium-1.458512?localLinksEnabled=false

Olmert refused 2007 peace offer

During his term as prime minister, Ehud Olmert rejected an invitation by former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and other Arab leaders to address an Arab League convention and set in motion a regional process based on the Saudi peace initiative.

Haaretz has learned that the initiative first took place in a conference hosted by the Spanish Foreign Ministry in Madrid in 2007, marking 15 years to the original Madrid conference, where talks between Israel, the Palestinians, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria were initiated. The 2007 convention was attended by senior officials from Syria, Jordan and Lebanon, as well as Palestinians and Israelis.

The Israeli delegation included Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor (who did not hold an official position at the time), former ministers Moshe Shahal and Shlomo Ben Ami, Member of Knesset Yisrael Hasson (Kadima) and former MKs Dalia Rabin, Ophir Pines and Colette Avital.

The Palestinian Authority was represented by Fatah leaders Jibril Rajoub and Nabil Shaath. Several European foreign ministers also attended the assembly, along with the European Union's foreign policy chief Javier Solana.

In a speech delivered in Arabic, Shahal called on the Arab League to invite officials of the "Peace Circle," which he headed at the time, to present their response to the Arab peace initiative, as well as the Saudi Peace initiative from 2002. Such invitation, Shahal suggested, would helpful in exploring the possibility to advance toward a comprehensive solution based on the Arab initiative, which offered Israel peace and the normalization of relationship with all Arab League nations in return for an Israeli withdrawal from the territories captured in 1967, and an agreed-upon solution of the refugee problem based on UN resolution 194.

In a meeting with Osama El-Baz, Mubarak's advisor at the time, Shahal was asked if there was a possibility of mobilizing the Olmert government to support the Arab initiative. Shahal expressed willingness to offer Olmert to declare that, in principle, Israel was ready to hold talks with all Arab states concerning a regional agreement, based on the frameworks of the initiative, on condition that Olmert be invited to present the declaration in a special Arab League assembly, as former Egyptian president Anwar Sadat was invited to address the Knesset in Jerusalem in 1977(1)

Very predictable if you accept Olmert was never really in favour of a fair peace. By backing down from this offer he may have blown the prospects for a fair peace. 

Footnote:
(1) http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/olmert-refused-2007-invite-to-address-arab-league-support-saudi-peace-offer.premium-1.457133

Republican dissidents join forces to form a new IRA

Three of the four main dissident republican terror groups in Northern Ireland are to merge and reclaim the banner of the IRA, in an escalation of attempts to de-stabilise power sharing.

The Real IRA has been joined by Republican Action Against Drugs, which has been running a violent vigilante campaign in Derry, and a coalition of independent armed republican groups – leaving only the Continuity IRA outside the new group.

In a statement released to the Guardian, the new organisation claimed it had formed a "unified structure, under a single leadership". It said the organisation would be "subservient to the constitution of the Irish Republican Army".

This is the first time since the 1998 Good Friday Agreement that a majority of the forces of dissident republicanism has coalesced.

Republican sources told the Guardian that the new paramilitary force included several hundred armed dissidents, including some former members of the now disbanded Provisional IRA who have been conducting a campaign of shooting and forcible exile of men in Derry City whom they accuse of drug dealing.

It also includes what the statement calls "non-conformist republicans", or smaller independent groups from Belfast and rural parts of Northern Ireland.

Republican Action Against Drugs and the Real IRA will cease to exist, one source close to the dissidents said.

The new organisation is planning to intensify terror attacks on the security forces and other targets related to what it regards as symbols of the British presence, according to the source.

Such targets could include police stations, regional headquarters of Ulster Bank, and the UK City of Culture 2013 celebration in Derry – which the dissidents have dubbed "normalising British rule".

In its statement the new group said: "In recent years the establishment of a free and independent Ireland has suffered setbacks due to the failure among the leadership of Irish nationalism and fractures within republicanism." This is a reference to the split between hardline republicans opposed to the peace settlement and Sinn Féin, which has followed a political strategy. Martin McGuinness of Sinn Féin, Northern Ireland's deputy first minister, was a leading figure in the Provisional IRA.

In a clear dig at Sinn Féin's participation in the power-sharing executive with unionists, the dissidents' statement said: "The Irish people have been sold a phoney peace, rubber-stamped by a token legislature in Stormont."

It said that the "necessity of armed struggle in pursuit of Irish freedom" against what it described as "the forces of the British crown", would only be avoided by the removal of the British military presence in Northern Ireland. It demanded "an internationally observed timescale that details the dismantling of British political interference in our country".(1) 

It's dissapointing, but not wholly surprising. The 1998 Good Friday Agreement wasn't wholesale. Therefore by leaving out people opens the way for more alienation and violent outbreaks.

Note: 

(1) http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jul/26/ira-northern-ireland-dissident-republican-groups

Israeli man sets himself on fire during Tel Aviv social protest

 

Moshe Silman, a 57-year-old Haifa resident,  set himself on fire Saturday during a Tel Aviv demonstration marking the anniversary of last summer's social protests.

As thousands marched down Kaplan Street to mark a year since the start of social protests, Silman poured gasoline on his body and set himself on fire.

Silman was evacuated to Ichilov Hospital shortly afterward.

"The state of Israel stole from me and robbed me. It left me helpless,"  wrote Silman in a letter he left at the scene.

"Two Housing and Construction Ministry committees rejected me, even though I had a stroke," wrote Silman in the letter, adding that the facts could be checked with a public housing company in Haifa.

In the letter, Silman wrote that he blames the state of Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz, "for the humiliation that weakened citizens go through every day, taking from the poor and giving to the rich.(1)

Wow. The Israeli government ought to change policies if it doesn't want to disintegrate the economy. I'm not optimistic though

Note:
(1) http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/israeli-man-sets-himself-on-fire-during-tel-aviv-social-protest-1.451041

Settlers say bought outpost land, one year after Palestinian owner's death

New appeal by 17 residents of the West Bank settlement of Migron, due to be demolished next month, cite 2012 acquisition papers; Palestinian owner died in 2011.

 

Residents of the condemned West Bank outpost of Migron have appealed the High Court to stay the demolition of the settlement's illegal structures on Tuesday, claiming that they had recently purchased the land on which the homes were built.

However, a preliminary inspection of the purported sale reveals that the Palestinian whom the settlers claim sold them the land passed away in 2011, one year before the alleged transaction.

Citing what they said was their desire to keep the identity of the seller unknown, the 17 appellants, represented by Zeev Scharf, asked the High Court to submit the sale's documentation in a sealed envelope.

According to the appeal, the acquisition was conducted by the al-Watan development firm, which is owned by the Mateh Binyamin Development Company, who, in return, is owned by the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council in the West Bank.

Al-Watan officials have claimed to have bought Miron's lands in the past. However, a police investigation at the time revealed that the purchase was false, interrogating the firm's heads. The case was closed due to a lack of evidence.(1)

Lol, just goes to show you what pathetic, lying jerks the Israeli illegal settlers are. They have the gall to lie to their own country's highest court to steal land.

Note:
(1) http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/settlers-say-bought-outpost-land-one-year-after-palestinian-owner-s-death-1.448533