By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK, NYT

BAGHDAD — The United States has conducted an escalating campaign of deadly airstrikes against the extremists of the Islamic State for more than a month. But that appears to have done little to tamp down the conspiracy theories still circulating from the streets of Baghdad to the highest levels of Iraqi government that the C.I.A. is secretly behind the same extremists that it is now attacking.

“We know about who made Daesh,” said Bahaa al-Araji, a deputy prime minister, using an Arabic shorthand for the Islamic State on Saturday at a demonstration called by the Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr to warn against the possible deployment of American ground troops. Mr. Sadr publicly blamed the C.I.A. for creating the Islamic State in a speech last week, and interviews suggested that most of the few thousand people at the demonstration, including dozens of members of Parliament, subscribed to the same theory. (Mr. Sadr is considered close to Iran, and the theory is popular there as well.)
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Hamas has agreed to the establishment of a Palestinian state within the ’67 borders, Fatah negotiator says.
By Jack Khoury and Reuters, HAARETZ | Sep. 25, 2014

Fatah and Hamas negotiators Azzam al-Ahmad and Musa Abu Marzouk, September 24, 2014.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Azzam al-Ahmad (C-L) of the mainstream Fatah movement shakes hands with Hamas deputy leader Musa Abu Marzouk, September 24, 2014. Photo by AFP

Hassin Alsheikh, a negotiator on the Fatah team, told Haaretz that the Palestinian Authority will take responsibility for the reconstruction of the Strip as well as for manning the Gaza crossings “effective immediately.”

He added that Hamas also agreed to support Palestinian President Abbas’ plan for establishing a state within the ’67 borders.
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By Benjamin Weinthal, FoxNews.com

The U.S. effort to stem Islamic State’s reign of terror in Syria and Iraq has America and one of its most bitter enemies – Iran – in the same camp, which some experts warn could be a recipe for disaster.

By some estimates, Iran and its proxies are responsible for the killing of as many as 1,000 Americans since 2003, but both nations are seeking to stop the spread of the Sunni-dominated Islamic State, which has killed U.S. citizens and threatened attacks on America and has angered Iran by attacking Shia shrines and mosques. With the Obama administration seeking help from Iran’s regime, Middle East experts are raising alarms.

“Iran is at war with us,” Robert Caruso, a former Department of Defense official and an expert on Tehran’s military operations, told FoxNews.com. “Iran is actively subverting American leadership throughout the world.”
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America is at a crossroads we can choose the path of the Founding Fathers and keep a strong constitutional government that thrives on our bipartisan spirit, or opt for President Barack Obama’s dream: a nation ruled by one political party with a far left agenda.

That’s the dire warning from best-selling author and political insider Dick Morris and his co-author Eileen McGann in their compelling new book Power Grab.

The authors make a convincing case that Obama has an overarching strategy in pushing his liberal agenda, one that grabs power from our traditional and bipartisan institutions in favor of a single party: his Democratic Party.

According to Morris and McGann, Obama has promulgated his plan by:
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Shavit starts off by affirming that in the 1st day after the end of the Six Day’s War, the Left “understood that the occupation would corrupt us and the settlements were pointless.” Such affirmation needs to be challenged. With that mentality the Temple Mount was given to the Wakf. Big mistake. One could write a full article on why they were wrong then but I’ll leave that to you the readers.

Shavit excoriates the left for not seeing today’s reality and coming up with a third way like Clinton did. But he has no suggestions as to what the third way might be other than to say that “our most important national enterprise is dividing the land.” Really? Given today’s reality how is that possible or advisable? Ted Belman

Peace is dead, long live peace
Just as Clinton revived the Democratic Party in the 1990s, the Zionist left must revive itself and offer a third way.

By Ari Shavit, HAARETZ

An Israeli left wing activist holds olive branches, during a demonstration against Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Israel. July 19, 2014. Photo by AP

The tale of the Israeli left is a sad one. In the summer of 1967, the Zionist left was correct. On the seventh day of the Six-Day War, it already understood that the occupation would corrupt us and the settlements were pointless. It fought bravely against the rejectionism of Prime Minister Golda Meir and the messianism of the Gush Emunim settlement movement, as well as the general hawkishness of Likud. But the left’s great mistake was that it conjured a magical faith in the possibility of ending the occupation via the metaphysical promise of peace now.

This serious (almost religious) faith in an immediate and comprehensive peace was shaky even at the end of the 20th century, but it has become utterly groundless in the 21st century. But the left refused to recognize this clear and bitter fact.
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Fireworks and rocks wound police as Jews enter holiest site in Judaism mere hours before Rosh Hashana; one Jew arrested.

The irony of it. The US started out creating a coalition centered on the Muslim Brotherhood to bring down Assad. Then there were problems of how to distinguish between the moderate opposition and the radical opposition. Obama declared the MB was part of the former. Now ISIS has become strong enough to bring down Assad and Obama decided to try to create a coalition to do so. The coalition is in name only. No meaningful help is coming from anyone. Obviously his present intention is to bring down ISIS rather that Assad. Not only that he notified Iran and Syria that he will not attack them while doing so. In other words, he is now protecting their regime. Furthermore he now has the support of the US government to arm the moderate opposition to Assad and the problem of who they are is no longer of concern. What an about face. Ted Belman

Nasrallah: Hezbollah opposes U.S.-led air strikes in Syria; Syria’s Assad expresses support for anti-ISIS coalition; Five Arab states participate in air strikes.

HAARETZ

00:14 P.M. The U.S. informed Iran in advance of its intention to strike Islamic State militants in Syria and told Tehran that it would not target the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad, a senior Iranian official told Reuters.

“This issue was first discussed in Geneva and then was discussed thoroughly in New York where Iran was assured that Assad and his government will not be targeted in case of any military action against Daesh (Islamic State) in Syria,” the official said on condition of anonymity. He added that Iran was informed separately in advance of the airstrike.
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Councilman Arieh King exposes ‘de facto division’ of the capital, with all the figures behind his prediction of an Arab majority by 2030.

By Ari Yashar and Tamar Yonah

Jerusalem Councilman Arieh King spoke to Arutz Sheva on Sunday, revealing the governmental policies from the highest echelons down to the grittiest building and population figures that lead him to reach one shocking conclusion: by 2030, Jerusalem will be an Arab capital.

King began by discussing the Sunday morning rock attack on a bus filled with 65 children making their way to school from Ma’aleh Hazeitim, a Jewish neighborhood on the Mount of Olives where King lives. He revealed that the attack by Arab terrorists is in fact a routine for Jews in the neighborhood, happening three times last week and dozens of times last month at the same exact spot. “The question is: where are the Israeli police?” asked King rhetorically. The councilman answered his own question, noting there is “no doubt that the problem is from the top, from the government.”
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It is extremely important that the Knesset pass legislation that allows it to override decisions of the Court. The court is fixated on human rights and not on Zionist rights. By that I mean that sometimes human rights need to take a back seat to things like security and Zionism. The latter has to do with keeping Israel as a Jewish state first and foremost. Ted Belman

Residents of southern Tel Aviv set up a “mourning tent” in reaction to the High Court’s decision to strike down the Infiltrators Law.

The IDF say aircraft did not fall in Israeli territory but did enter Israel’s airspace before interception.

Ahiya Raved, YNET
Published: 09.23.14, 10:02 / Israel News

The IDF confirmed Tuesday morning that a Syrian fighter jet was shot down by an Israeli patriot missile over the Golan Heights.

“A jet was successfully intercepted by our aerial defense system along the Syrian border,” the IDF said in a statement.

A senior military source added that “the discovery, identification and interception was quickly and professionally executed and the IAF stood its guard. The interception was done with a surface to air Patriot missile.”

A patriot missile was fired in the Golan Tuesday morning, shooting down a suspicious aircraft that infiltrated Israel’s airspace from Syria. It was initially unclear if the aircraft was an UAV. The IDF said the aircraft did not fall in Israeli territory but did enter Israel’s airspace.
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Despite Chancellor Merkel’s recent high-profile call to fight rising anti-Semitism, the German tax payer remains one of the leading sponsors of hate groups targeting Israel and the Jewish people. It’s got to stop
THE COMMENTATOR

A week after Chancellor Angela Merkel reaffirmed her government’s commitment to fight anti-Semitism at a landmark rally in Berlin, a lot needs to be done on the ground to stop the rising tide of anti-Semitism.

At home, German Law enforcement authorities have not only shown apathy and inaction, as in the case of the Muslim Imam in Berlin who called for the extermination of Jews, or against demonstrators in many German cities blaring anti-Semitic slogans. Police have sometimes seemed to go out of their way, allowing demonstrators to use police-megaphones and vehicles to spread the hate – as in Frankfurt and Hagen recently.

Internationally, the German tax payer remains a leading sponsor of NGOs and groups that target Israel and the Jewish people.
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JPOST

The Saudi Peace Initiative of 2002 is no longer relevant in the much-altered Middle East of 2014, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu indicated this week, in a Rosh Hashana interview with The Jerusalem Post that will appear in full in Wednesday’s paper.

“The question is not the Saudi peace initiative,” Netanyahu said, asked if he would accept the proposal now.

“If you read it carefully, you’ll see it was set up in another period, before the rise of Hamas; before Hamas took over Gaza; before ISIS [Islamic State] took over chunks of Syria and Iraq, effectively dismantling those countries; before Iran’s accelerated nuclear program,” he said.
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By Shalom Bear, JEWISH PRESS

It has been released for publication that the two Hamas terrorists, Marwan Kawasme (29) and Amar Abu Aisha (32) have been killed in a complex intelligence operation by the Shabak, IDF and SWAT teams in an operation overnight. The two were the terrorists who had had kidnapped and murdered the three Israeli teenagers, Gilad Shaar (16), Naftali Frankel (16), and Eyal Yifrach (19).

The three were kidnapped in Gush Etzion on June 12, 2014, near a hitchhiking post.

The IDF had attempted to arrest the two terrorists, when the terrorists began to shoot back. The terrorists were killed in the exchange of fire.

In addition, Bashar Kawasme, Muhammad Kawasme and Taar Kawasme, the sons of Arafart Kawasme were arrested. Arafat Kawasme was arrested on July 14, charged with helping the killers after they murdered the boys.

You will have to excuse me for posting an article by Amira Haas but I thought it was good reporting rather than propaganda. It is clear from this report that all the organizations involved are angling to remove the blockade entirely and liberate Area C for Arab development. Ted Belman

The Strip now has two governments, one run by Hamas and the other by the Palestinian Authority.

By Amira Haas, HAARETZ

[..] Four main reports were sent to participants in advance of Monday’s (donor’s) meeting, one each from the PA, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process. While they differ in wording and emphasis, all contain two predictable conclusions: Massive international aid will be needed to rebuild the Gaza Strip, and the effort must be carried out by PA institutions only, in coordination with international organizations and private contractors. In their reports, the IMF and the World Bank stress that donor states must continue to contribute to the PA’s budget.

All the reports say Gaza cannot be rebuilt without ending the blockade on the territory, or at least (in the IMF report) easing restrictions on movement. The UN, PA and World Bank reports all say that rehabilitating the Palestinian economy will require Israel to remove its restrictions on development in Area C, the part of the West Bank under full Israeli control. They also deem the continuation of the Palestinian unity government an essential precondition for reconstruction.
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By Uri Savir, AL MONITOR

“US President Barack Obama shakes hands before speaking after a military briefing at US Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, Sept. 17, 2014. (photo by REUTERS/Larry Downing)

Between beheadings, they’ll help train the “moderate” Syrian rebels.

Posted by: Brian of London in Brian of London September 22, 2014

After WWII people were transferred and borders redrawn so that the new states would be homogenous. Separation was in vogue. Then in the seventies unification was in vogue and the EU was born. The same push and pull has been going on in the ME including Israel. The separatists are now on the rise again because integration doesn’t work especially when groups have so many extreme differences in culture and religion.

See: Two-state solution moving further from reality.

People in the right and in the left are trying to force one big Jewish-Arab state on us. If it’s not working in the united continent, it definitely won’t work in the split Middle East.

By Ben DrOr Yemini, YNET

Europe is not falling apart, and neither is the European Union. But something is happening there.

A majority of 55% in Scotland voted against splitting from Great Britain. The kingdom will remain united. But the growing national feelings, after hundreds of years of unity, point to the direction the continent is heading in.

Since World War II, and as a result of the lessons of that war, there have been two contradicting trends in Europe. On the one hand, a huge wave of population exchange, for the purpose of creating nation states that would be as homogenous as possible.

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