BREAKING NEWS: Final Decision Pending on Removing Arab Squatters from Susiya

Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman is set to make a final decision in knocking down multiple makeshift structures erected by Arabs on the ancient Jewish village of Susiya.

These Arabs claim to be the real land owners and have caused multiple problems with local Jews and the State of Israel.  The problem for their case is even a usually sympathetic Supreme Court has ruled that the State must knock the structures down as no clear proof can be shown for there ever being an Arab village there.

“Surveys of villages and populations conducted by the British Mandatory powers in 1945, which mention all of the villages in the area and even some of the inhabitants, prove there is no hint of the existence of an Arab village named Susiya,” says Josh Hasten, spokesman for Regavim an Israeli NGO dedicated to ensuring Israeli land laws are followed especially in the Arab sector. “More recently aerial photos obtained by Regavim from 1999 show nothing resembling a village in that area. An identical photo from 2013 shows how squatters have infiltrated the locale.”

So will Lieberman knock the buildings and tents down? Not if Obama has anything to do it. The State Department has already issued a warning that “there will be severe consequences” if he goes through with it.

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Why Does Obama Care About Susiya?

If there was ever an archeological site that destroys the myth making of the Palestinian Arab population it is Susiya. The village was inhabited continuously by Jews up until the early 8th Century. It was clearly a large commercial hub for the Southern Hebron Hills, showing that it was in fact the Jews that remained the majority population up until the Muslim conquest.

This narrative supports Israel’s solid claim to being the sole indigenous culture in Israel, only being superseded by the conquest of Islam over the Holy land.

Iran Wins, Israel Loses

Swiss arbiters ruled in favor of the national Iranian oil company in a long-standing dispute with Israel controlled Trans-Asiatic Oil Company.  The  sum to be paid is $1.2 billion. Thanks to the Obama administration’s “landmark” nuclear deal with Iran, its national oil company has been removed from the sanctions list.

The case is interesting in that it recalls a time before radical Islam swept into power in Tehran when Iran and Israel had a budding alliance. Of course in 1979 that all changed along with Iran’s refusal to complete their end of the deal, which called for Iran to deliver oil to Israel until 2017.  Despite this, the Swiss Supreme Court in Lausanne saw things differently, giving into Iran’s accusation that it is owed compensation for the 50 shipments of oil it had already sent to Israel before the Shah’s fall.

The hypocrisy of Iran winning a case whose existence only happened, because the same Iranian regime wanted to cut business ties with Israel to begin with is glaring. What is even more wild is the Swiss arbiters. The logic of their decision lacks foresight. Obviously, the Israeli company would have been glad to continue shipping oil, but the Iranians refused to work with them.

So now Israel must pay a regime money most likely to be used in terrorism against Israelis and Jews worldwide.

 

 

Black Lives Matter Supports the Slave Trade?

Black Lives Matter Israel

The Black Lives Matter movement has decided to take their struggle to the streets of Israel on behalf of the Palestinian Arabs.  What the correlation is between the two movement isn’t exactly clear. The Black Lives Matter activists claim to see many correlations between the African-American struggle against police brutality and systemic racism in America and the security apparatus that exists in Judea and Samaria.

“Going through checkpoints, seeing rubber bullets, reminds us what our comrades and some of us experienced in Ferguson, IDF soldiers totally remind me of the cops that brutalized me,” said Ash-lee Henderson, a Black Lives Matter movement member. Henderson was left severely injured by an altercation at a rally with a cop.

The Black Lives Matter movement supports BDS and is 100% behind the Palestinian National movement.  Yet, given the Arab history of being behind the African slave trade and continuing to trade in slaves until today, one wonders why BLM wants to associate itself with the very people who have been and in many ways still responsible for oppressing Africans.

Some estimates puts the numbers of slaves taken from Africa by Arab slave traders as 20 million.  Often times these slaves were taken as young boys who were castrated in order to prevent reproduction. In many Arab countries one can still find slaves.  In fact Mauritania only recently criminalized slavery.

The alliance between the Black Lives Matter movement, BDS, and various pro-Palestinian groups have not been lost on pro-Israel African-Americans and there is a growing concern that BLM and its many offshoots are being drawn into completely non-connected cause.  Chloe Valdary, a Black Zionist spoke out against this very phenomenon on widely watched video.

“You want to exploit my people’s history?” Valdary said. “You want to exploit Jewish people’s history and twist and turn it to use towards your political gains? Don’t act like you have solidarity with my people,” Valdery said, adding: “You need to stay in your lane.”

Will Black Lives Matter stop themselves before they become to too attached to a movement that has little to do with theirs and in fact contributes greatly systemic racism in the Arab world? One can only hope.

Chinese Pay $4.4 Billion for Israeli Company Playtika

A consortium of Chinese companies has announced that it is paying $4.4 billion for Playtika, the Israeli social games developer, which was owned by Caesars Interactive Entertainment. The group, led by an affiliate of Shanghai Giant Network Technology, one of China’s largest online games companies, said it has entered into a definitive agreement with Caesars to acquire the Herzliya-based Playtika in an all-cash deal.

According to reports, Caesars announced it would sell off the Slotomania developer in order to pay down debt. South Korea’s Netmarble reportedly made an offer for the Israeli gaming company but was outbid by the Chinese consortium.

The consortium includes Giant Investment (HK); Yunfeng Capital, a private equity firm founded by Alibaba Group Holding founder Jack Ma; China Oceanwide Holdings Group; China Minsheng Trust; CDH China HF Holdings Company; and Hony Capital Fund.

“This transaction is a testament to Playtika’s unique culture and the innovative spirit of our employees who for the past six years have consistently designed, produced and operated some of the most compelling, immersive and creative social games in the world,” said Robert Antokol, Co-Founder and CEO of Playtika.

“We are incredibly excited by the commercial opportunities the Consortium will make available to us, particularly in its ability to provide us access to large and rapidly growing emerging markets. This is an amazing milestone for all Playtikans and we truly value how unique this opportunity is to continue executing our vision with such a strong partner.”

Playtika is credited as the pioneer of free-to-play games on social networks and mobile platforms. It is the creator of Slotomania, House of Fun and Bingo Blitz, which consistently rank among the top-grossing games on Apple’s App Store, Google Play and Facebook. Playtika’s games are played daily by more than six million people in 190 countries, in 12 languages and on more than 10 platforms.

“It has been a particularly rewarding experience growing Playtika from a 10-person start-up, when CIE acquired them in 2011, into a global leader,” said Caesars Interactive Entertainment Chairman and CEO, Mitch Garber.  “Playtika today is a highly profitable growth company with more than 1,300 employees, multiple top grossing titles and millions of daily users.  Robert is a true visionary and Israeli business leader who has created not only a great business, but also the most unique corporate culture I have seen in my career.”

Following the transaction Playtika, which was founded in 2010, will continue to run independently at its headquarters in Herzliya with its existing management team continuing to run day-to-day operations.

Playtika has additional studios and offices in Argentina, Australia, Belarus, Canada, Japan, Romania, Ukraine and the United States.

“Playtika’s growth has been exceptional, and highlights its outstanding team, excellent corporate culture, cutting-edge big data analytics, and its unique ability to transform and grow games,” said a representative of the consortium, Giant’s founder and Chairman Shi Yuzhu.  “We are looking forward to Playtika continuing to innovate and excel.”

The final transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and other closing conditions, and is expected to close in the third or fourth calendar quarter of 2016.

(Article source: Israel21c.org)

Huma Abedin: Yes, Hamas Would Honor Accord on Peace with Israel

The 30 thousand plus Hillary Clinton emails found o WikiLeaks are treasure trove of information.  In 2010 according to one email with the subject: (Reuters) Hamas would honor referendum on peace with Israel, Huma Abedin, Hillary Clinton’s trusted aid and Saudi national answers a back and forth on a reuters article dealing with a Hamas acceptance of an Israeli-Arab peace accord, with just one word: Yes.

One can infer that Huma was giving  credance to naive State Department officials who truly believed and probably still do that Hamas is just a political/social group who at the end of the day will bend.

It is clear if Huma Abedin has changed her mind. This is even after two wars since the email, where Hamas rained rockets down on Israeli populaton centers, but one must assume and believe the US officials think differently now. The question one must ask in assessing whether or not a canidate is particularly pro-Israel or at least supportive of Israeli positions, is if they are surrounded by people who reflect that.

For Hillary to take advice from her Saudi aid on geopolitical manners concerning a country that until recently her country would rather see drown in the Meditereanean seems at the least naive and at the most down right incompetant if not worse.

What will this sort of approach mean for Hillary getting into the White House?  Not much, but if Assange is telling us the truth and there are emails in the next batch that confirm Hillary gaive permisson to fund ISIS then, this email and others provide a perfect background to understanding approach that Hillary ad her staff take with regards to foreign affairs.

 

The Great Game: Turkey-Israel Detente, Russian-Iranian Cooperation, and the Kurdish Question

The old adage “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” has been an increasingly confirmative rule in middle eastern governing circles.  With the collapse of American hegemony in the region that has caused a resurgent Russia and Iran to take charge of areas that stretch from Iraq to Levant, countries normally at odds with one another have found the strange inclination to actually form alliances to offset the bear and the ayatollahs.

The Turkish-Israeli rapprochement took many people by surprise, but in the current geopolitical realities, the détente makes perfect sense.  Keep in mind Turkey, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt all have the same enemy in Iran and fellow Shiite travellers.  Throw Putin’s Russia into the mix and the Sunni states were very quick to find the only other middle eastern nation they could bring in.  The danger of Iran and Russia is so great for these forces, Palestinian issue, which has long been used as a foil to placate the Arab street has been move to the back of the Sunni’s list of priorities.

Israel as the Anchor

Israel is actively seeking a cornerstone role in the wide-ranging alliance forming in the western part of the middle east. One can already see this in the gas deals being built between Egypt, Greece, Cyprus, and Israel.  With Turkey being brought on board, Israel’s role in bringing old foes to the same table is not being missed, especially by Russia, who thought it had Erdogan cornered.

Israel’s game is to offset Russia’s power play to its north by giving a lifeline to Turkey, Russia’s age-old adversary.  For now it seems to be working, although it is clear Russia is remains unnerved by the “Great Game” and is willing to pressure Israel by backing up Iranian, Syrian, and Hezbollah forces on the Golan border.

What About the Kurds?

Kurdistan as it is known by all Kurdish people across the middle east is spread across northern Syria, Iraq, southern Turkey, and western Iran. Turkey’s main challenge is to dissuade the Kurds from working directly with Russia. If they are not able to, then Russia will have  a fifth column of 10 million strong disenfranchised Kurds inside Turkey to use as leverage if needed.

Right now, barring a severe flare up in Israel’s northern border the “Great Game” of the middle east is in its early phases.  Geo-political maneuvering is still fresh and fluid.  Russia may opt to play neutral in the burgeoning alliance system and let Iran and Syria go it alone.  Russia may also be able to convince Israel to remain neutral as well in exchange for security promises.  No matter the outcome, this “Great Game” will not take 100 years like the last one as America’s pull back has shuffled the deck and wrought chaos on what was already considered a chaotic region.

EU Envoy Lars Faaborg-Andersen: Israel is in Breach of International Law

“In the first 6 months of 2016 alone 91 EU structures in Area C have been demolished. This is more than all of 2015. Since 2009, approximately 170 EU humanitarian structures have been demolished.” -EU Envoy to Israel Lars Faaborg-Andersen

As the West suffers from a relentless terror campaign, they have decided to band together and focus on the one country that has stood up to the forces of radical Islam. The UN decided to criticise Israel’s housing demolitions focused on destroying the incessant illegal building in the Arab Palestinian sector rampant even in Area C.

The UN and the USA often times ridicules Israeli communities built over the green line as being illegal in international law, but in reality it is the USA, UN, and EU that continuously flaunts internationally agreed upon accords by building withou permit in Area C. These buildings are built with the express purpose to help redefine Area C in favor of the Arab Palestinians.

So with tremendous hipocracy the EU’s Envoy to Israel Lars Faaborg-Andersen stated: “Some 70% of Area C has been taken for exclusive Israeli use. Near all of the remain 30% is private Palestinian property, but is effectively off limits for Palestinian development.” Lars Faaborg-Andersen, “In the first 6 months of 2016 alone 91 EU structures in Area C have been demolished. This is more than all of 2015. Since 2009, approximately 170 EU humanitarian structures have been demolished.”

So the EU builds illegal buildings in Area C, which is under Israeli control as declared in the Oslo Accords that the EU in fact signed onto and then complains that Israel is breaking international law by destroying the very buildings the EU built illegally.  With logic like that  we now know why Europe can’t seem to find a solution to the increasing amount of terror attacks, migrants, and systemic economic stagnation  throughout a good part of the Euro Zone.

Erdogan Holds Europe Hostage as he Accuses the EU of Not Honoring Refugee Deal

Syrian Refugees

As was reported previously, the real fun is about to begin for Europe.  As the refugee crisis continues to turn worse in Western Europe, Erdogan has begun to use it to extract more and more money from European coffers. If the EU does not do what Erdogan says, he will unleash the hordes of Syrian refugees and migrants looking for a way into Europe that are now in Turkey.

“Ask them [the EU]. Did you pay? But Turkey still hosts 3 million people. What would Europe do if we let these people go to Europe?” Erdogan asked, according to EU Observer.

Essentially, Erdogan is confirming, that unless the EU pays 3 billion Euros that was promised in the deal, he will allow these Syrian refugees to overrun Europe.

The EU agreement with Turkey was meant to hault refugees from reaching Turkey’s neighbor Greece thus entering the EU’s Schengen zone. The Schengen zone is where free cross-border travel is permitted.  Part of the agreement was the EU’s agreement to accelerate Turkey’s EU accession process.

The amount given so far to Turkey is one percent of the total that the EU pledged to give to Turkey in exchange for greater help in blocking the westward flow of refugees, mostly Syrians, from entering the heart of Europe.

Essentially Erdogan’s whole goal is to extract from Europe more and  more money, by holding the catastrophic threat of millions of refugees inside Europe over their heads.  With the recent attacks in Germany and France, most EU members will opt to cave.  If they do, don’t expect Erdogan to kep quiet for long. Afterall, the goal is to create the same sort of chaos in Europe as Erdogan and Turkey has in Syria and Iraq.  Their assumption is that they not only will be able to take advantage of it, but control the chaos.  The problem is they believed the same thing in supporting ISIS, but now their creation has grown a mind of its own.

Who is Anwar Eshki and Why is he Leading a Saudi Delegation to Israel?

Dore Gold, the Foreign Ministry Director General met with a Saudi delegation headed by ex-general Anwar Eshki. Never mind the fact that Saudis were so openly visiting with Israelis in Israel, the fact that such a high-profile and high ranking Saudi was heading the delegation has given buzz to a variety of internet rumors.

Both the Saudis and Israel have not tried to hide their once covert operation against Iran.  What has confused observers is the extent of the cooperation.  The Saudis and other Gulf States know that Israel will never be a danger to their regimes.  Up until now Israel had been an interesting foil for the autocratic leaders throughout the Sunni world, but now that Iran, emboldened by Russia, China, and the Obama administration looms like a menace over the Arabian peninsula, Israel is far more helpful against their mutual threat.

Besides the nuclear threat, Iranian subterfuge and active support for Shiite separatist movements and uprising in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states have unnerved Riyadh and its allies. All of this is backdrop on Anwar Eshki’s visit to Jerusalem and burgeoning alliance between Israel and the Sunni states.

As of last year Eshki and Gold spoke together at a CFR sponsored event. Both outlined why it is ultimately necessary to work together against Iranian expansionism.  There were obvious differences, but the two painted a picture of tremendous mutual cooperation.

Anwar Eshki has been the main proponent of reaching out to Israel and seeking their cooperation against the Iranian regime.

“The main project between me and Dore Gold is to bring peace between Arab countries and Israel,” Anwar Eshki said in Wall Street Journal interview published last August. “This is personal, but my government knows about the project. My government isn’t against it, because we need peace. For that reason, I found Dore Gold. He likes his country. I like my country. We need to profit from each other.”

“We didn’t talk much about Iran at first,” he continued, “but I found that our idea and their idea was close together against Iran. We don’t like Iran to destabilize the area. We don’t like for Iran to attack Israel and destroy Israel. And we also don’t like for Israel to attack Iran and destroy Iran. This is my idea. He has another idea. But we are together.”

The meeting between Gold and Eshki come at a time of increasing chaos in the region.  Many observers believe that the Arab world has moved beyond the Palestinian issue as is evidenced in cooperation between Israel and Abu Dubai, Oman, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia on issues beyond security.  The Gulf States have realized that they need to learn how Israel has built an innovation power house in order to diversify their economies.

Israel and Arab Peace A Long Way Off, but Progress is at Hand

The Arab Initiative as a peace plan still exists.  It is floated every once in a while, but it is clear both sides have decided to let their differing contours for peace remain on the sidelines and instead focus on solutions and progress in the security and development spheres.

General Anwar Eshki’s visit is visible proof that peace is not necessary for cooperation, especially when the enemy is at your collective doors.

Can Israel Broker a Peace Deal Between Cyprus and Turkey?

Nicos Anastasiades

Prime Minister Netanyahu met with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades on Sunday and discussed cooperation on terrorism and energy exploration.  The two countries have always been on good terms, but have grown closer in recent years over joint gas exploration.

It was reported earlier in the year that a consortium was formed between Greece, Cyprus, and Israel to create an East Mediterranean alliance.  One of the theories behind the rapprochement between Israel and Turkey was Israel’s desire for Turkey to join up, at least as far as energy goes.

“In the context of the exploration and development of energy resource in the eastern Mediterranean, both leaders concluded that there is no question that resolving the outstanding issues between Cyprus and Turkey would greatly facilitate the pace of the development of future projects, which will proceed according to international law, as well as greatly enhance stability in the region. Therefore, Israel has a strong interest in the resolution of this issue,” said a statement from the meeting.

Given Erdogan’s consolidation of power and movement towards an Islamic Fascist Sultanate, it would seem improbable that peace between Cyprus and Turkey is around the corner.  Yet, in a sea of chaos that the world is increasingly moving towards, anything is possible, especially when energy is involved.