[THIS SMELLS TO HIGH HEAVEN. NETANYAHU DOES NOT LOOK GOOD HERE. TED BELMAN]

Congress, White House angry at Israel for decision to back out of trial against Bank of China for involvement in laundering of money for Hamas, Islamic Jihad. The reason: China conditioned Netanyahu’s state visit on Israeli promise not to testify in trial. Now, US threatening to subpoena Ambassador Oren

Shimon Shiffer, YNET

Israeli Ambassador to the US Michael Oren was called back to Israel to take part in an emergency meeting convened this weekend by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu so that Oren could pass on messages sent by the US administration and Congress in the wake of tensions between the two countries.

The tensions and lightening visit stem from the US’s outrage at Israel’s decision to back out of their commitment to a terror prosecution involving a Chinese bank allegedly laundering monies for Hamas so that Netanyahu and his family could embark on their State visit to the country last May. Read more…

Op-ed: Pentagon officials selling Israeli secrets know they are jeopardizing clear Israeli interests

Alex Fishman, YNET

Something is not right in the relationship of trust between Israel and the United States. It’s illogical and unforgivable that in such an intimate relationship – as it is known to us, at least – between two defense establishments, the secrets of one side will be given away by the other side’s mouth.

Those sources in the Pentagon who are selling the Israeli secrets for cheap to the American media know that they are jeopardizing clear Israeli interests in the region and putting the lives of Israel’s citizens in danger, as bad as it may sound.
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The Obama administration is signifying its strong disapproval of Israel and Egypt taking matters in their own hands in the last two weeks, DEBKAfile’s military and Washington sources report: Israel was accused of independent military action against Syria, and the Egyptian army of persecuting the Muslim Brotherhood after deposing President Mohamed Morsi.

Washington is also highly displeased with the campaign the Egyptian army launched after the coup, with Israel’s active support, to root out the Islamist terror blighting the Sinai Peninsula. US warships and marines are now parked off Egypt’s Red sea coast as a deterrent to the generals in Cairo.

For whipping Israeli into line, the administration used another method, i.e., Pentagon leaks naming Israeli air strikes as responsible for the explosions at the Syrian weapons depot outside the port town of Latakia on July 5, which demolished a fresh stock of Russian Yakhont (NATO codenamed SS-N-26) shore-to-ship missiles along with their advanced radar.
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The below article is from Ha’aretz Newspaper 9th July 2013 – Regavim have added comments where necessary to explain or clear up a possible misunderstaning of the text 🙂

The West Bank Land Registry has been marked classified for more than four decades; the dramatic June 26 decision is likely to ease settlement expansion.

By Chaim Levinson, Jul.09, 2013

Forty-six years after the West Bank Land Registry was marked classified and closed off to the public, the Jerusalem District Court has ordered the state to give settlers information on the identities of Palestinians who own land near settlements. The dramatic June 26 decision will likely ease settlement expansion. [Under Jordanian Law it was also classified]

Inside the Green Line, one can learn the identity of owners of housing units or land for a NIS 10 fee. But in the West Bank, outside the Green Line, this information has been secret and classified. Only a person with a “link to the land” could make a request from the Civil Administration in Beit El, and obtain the needed information from the Land Registry. Those without such a “link” had to get the information from people in the Palestinian villages or sources in the Civil Administration. [“Link to the land” is a racially prejudicial term which led to racially prejudicial laws and was/is a euphemism for Arab]
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Ted Belman

JPOST in an editorial on the appointment of Ron Dermer as Israel’s ambassidor to the US, which they titled, “The Right Stuff” said,

“As Israel’s main diplomat in the US, he will be well aware that the majority of Israelis – like their government – remain in favor of and committed to a two-state solution.”

I am not so sure our government is committed to it, though Netanyahu probably is.

Six months ago, JPOST reported on a poll commissioned by Blue and White Future which found,
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Middle East: Back to the old regional equilibrium?

By ZVI MAZEL, JPOST

Will the ouster of president Mohamed Morsi restore the regional equilibrium of the Mubarak era? Though the Muslim Brothers are not ready to give up and the crisis is far from over, relations between Egypt and Saudi Arabia are warming up and the same thing is happening with the Gulf states with the exception of Qatar.

These countries have already pledged $12 billion to help save Egypt’s economy – or more realistically to show their support for the new regime in its fight against the Brotherhood.

The old pragmatic alliance against Iran is shaping up again while Qatar, sticking to its decades-old support for the Brothers, finds itself isolated.
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There is no way this plan can go forward without Israel’s agreement. There is no doubt it will involve the development of parts of Area C, again with Israel’s agreement. Finally, I believe it will go forward with or without negotiations. Ted Belman

Concrete details of scheme to boost stagnant Palestinian economy, drafted by team of international experts, being kept under wraps until peace talks with Israelis resume

YNET

Behind the scenes, a team of international experts have for months been working on a plan to boost the stagnant Palestinian economy, set to be launched if peace talks with the Israelis resume.

US Secretary of State John Kerry unveiled the broad contours of the scheme to attract some $4 billion in private-sector investment over the next three years at a World Economic Forum in Jordan in late May.
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Sunday Times says July 5 strike on arms depot in port city of Latakia conducted by Dolphin class submarine which fired cruise missile from sea; attack targeted Russian-made Yakhont missiles, according to report

Ynet

Intelligence sources in the Middle East claim the recent attack on an arms depot in the Syrian port city of Latakia, which was attributed to the Israeli Air Force, was actually carried out by an Israeli Dolphin class submarine which fired a cruise missile from the sea, the Sunday Times reported. 

If the report is correct, the attack marked Israel’s first naval intervention in Syria since the civil war in the Arab country erupted in March 2011.

According to the British newspaper, the target was a consignment of 50 Russian-made Yakhont P-800 anti-ship missiles delivered to President Bashar Assad’s armed forces this year.  Read more…

Egyptian military bombards militant towns in Sinai.

By AYA BATRAWY, TOI, July 13, 2013, 3:33 pm

CAIRO (AP) — Military attack helicopters rattle over the impoverished desert towns of northern Sinai and the sound of gunfire erupts nightly, raising fears among residents of a looming confrontation between Egypt’s military and Islamic militants who have intensified attacks since the ouster of president Mohammed Morsi.

Militant groups have grown bolder, striking security forces almost daily and also turning on local Christians. Some are now openly vowing to drive the military out of the peninsula on the borders with Israel and Gaza and establish an “Islamic emirate.” Further fueling the turmoil is the longtime resentment among many in the Bedouin population over decades of neglect and harsh security crackdowns by the state.

The military and security forces have widened their presence, and military intelligence officials told The Associated Press an offensive is being planned, but no further details were given.
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By Dovid Efune, ALGEMEINER

Prime Minister Netanyahu’s announcement this week that his trusted aide Ron Dermer will replace Michael Oren as the Jewish State’s ambassador to Washington is the latest statement of Israeli independence from American designs in the region.

In 2008 when President Obama was first elected, following a campaign in which he was sharply criticized by some members of the Jewish community for his believed hostility to Israeli positions, two major Jewish organizations made olive branch appointments.

AIPAC, the goliath pro-Israel lobby appointed Chicago entrepreneur Lee “Rosy” Rosenberg as president. According to the Washington Post Rosenberg was one of Obama’s “staunchest Jewish allies during his 2008 presidential campaign.”
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By Martin Sherman, JPOST

The Palestinian people are an integral part of the Arab nation. The Palestinian Arab people believe in Arab unity… However, they must, at the present stage of their struggle, safeguard their Palestinian identity. Claims of historical or religious ties of Jews with Palestine are incompatible with the facts of history.

The partition of Palestine in 1947, and the establishment of the state of Israel are entirely illegal, regardless of the passage of time.
– Palestine National Charter, currently posted on the official United Nations website

The prime minister may believe his offer of Palestinian sovereignty in the West Bank is a “win-win” for Israel, but he is gravely mistaken…. An agreement with Abbas won’t be the end of the conflict… there will be additional demands made on Israel and there will be rockets falling on Israel – but the heart of the Land of Israel, Judea and Samaria, will have been abandoned by Israel. 
– Moshe Arens, “Where is Benjamin Netanyahu taking us?’Haaretz, July 9.
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(Reuters) – The assassination of a top Free Syrian Army commander by militants linked to al Qaeda is tantamount to a declaration of war, FSA rebels on Friday, opening a new front between Western-backed forces and Islamists in Syria’s civil war.

The announcement is the latest sign of disarray in the armed opposition to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who has regained the upper hand more than two years into an insurgency that grew out of Arab Spring-inspired pro-democracy protests.

It follows growing rivalries between the FSA and the Islamists, who have sometimes joined forces on the battlefield, and coincides with attempts by the Western and Arab-backed FSA to allay fears any U.S.-supplied arms might reach al Qaeda.
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By Ted Belman

Francisco Gil-White unmasks the Jewish leadership in How the mainstream Jewish leadership failed the Jewish people in World War II. This chapter deals with the failure of such leaders as Reform Rabbi Stephen Wise as opposed to the valiant efforts of Peter Bergson among others to avert or lessen the holocaust.

As a specific example of this failure, he posted the entire book called Perfidy by Ben Hecht. Hecht, according to Wikipedia was a very prolific and prominent screenwriter in the first half of the 20th Century. In addition,

He became an active Zionist shortly before the Holocaust began in Germany, and as a result wrote articles and plays about the plight of European Jews, such as, We Will Never Die in 1943 and A Flag is Born in 1946

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Let Latma Win! – appeal to keep Latma running
By Boaz Haetzni

Latma

Okay, the moment has arrived.

Latma will be closing at the end of July, and the bad guys are already
celebrating. Gloating, joyful statuses have already begun to appear here and
there, alongside slanderous and angry statuses about the (imaginary, for
now) possibility that we might begin airing on Channel 1.

We also read on the internet about our contract with Channel 1. In reality,
there is nothing. We are being turned away, time and again, back and forth,
for two years now, each time with a different excuse, and it seems that
there is no end in sight. What is in sight is the end of July, when Latma’s
budget runs out, and Latma will disappear.
Read more…

By Barry Rubin

There are some subtle issues coming out of the Syrian civil war for Israel. It is clear that Israel is neutral on the war, that it isn’t going to get dragged into it, and that the longer the war goes on it doesn’t damage Israeli national security.

It should be equally clear, however, that in the end Israel wants the rebels to win. Syria’s regime is supported by Hizballah, Iran, and the Assad government. These are the greater of the two evils. The coup against Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood regime greatly reduced the threat of Sunni Islamism.compared to that of Iran.
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By Prof Steven Plaut

1.  You know things are REALLY going well when Haaretz and the radical Left in Israel are hysterical.  And hysterical they are this week.  It seems there is a new Knesset initiative to regulate and restrict the funding from foreign sources of the legions of picayune anti-Israel leftist NGOs and “organizations” in Israel.  Basically these groups all have the same Israeli members, who migrate from group to Potemkin  group to make it look like there are oodles of such organizations.  These “organizations” could not exist at all were it not for the funding they get from hostile foreign organizations and governments.   It is a bit like pro-Nazi organizations being allowed to operate in the UK and the US in 1942 where they are funded by the Third Reich and by “organizations” operating in Germany. Read more…