Excerpts: Lebanese-Canadian rejailed for Paris synagogue attack. British and
US intelligence officers identify ISIS hostage murderer. B'Tselem gives up
on army complaint system. Israel nationalist party to join govt. King
Abdullah Independence Day message May 25, 2016
++SOURCE:Naharnet(Lebanon)5/25/’16: “Lebanese-Canadian Suspect in 1980 Paris
Synagogue Attack Ordered back to Jail
SUBJECT: Lebanese-Canadian rejailed for Paris synagogue attack
FULL TEXT:A French court on Tuesday[5/24] ordered the chief suspect in a
deadly attack on a Paris synagogue in 1980 to be sent back to jail, ten days
after he was released on bail.
Hassan Diab, a Lebanese-Canadian sociology professor who had been detained
for 18 months, is accused of being part of the Special Operations branch of
the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
The PFLP was blamed for the bombing on October 3, 1980 that left four dead
and around 40 injured.
Targeting the synagogue in rue Copernic, western Paris, it was the first
major attack on a Jewish site in France since World War II.
Diab, 62, was extradited from Canada in November 2014 and charged with the
attack. He maintains his innocence and denies he was a member of the PFLP.
On May 12, a judge authorized his release on bail after ruling there was
doubt over the "fundamental question" of whether he was in France on the day
of the attack.
His ex-wife had told investigators that he was in Beirut on September 28,
1980, despite stamps in his passport indicating that he was already in
Europe.
Federal prosecutors appealed the May 12 decision, leading an appeals court
Tuesday[5/24] to order him sent back to jail.
"It's a very unfair decision," Diab's lawyer William Bourdon said.
Bernard Cahen, lawyer for one of the civil parties to the case, said that
"on the merits of the case, we are absolutely convinced of his guilt".
"The defense will struggle to destroy this case," he added.
Diab has been charged with murder, attempted murder and destruction of
property as part of a terrorist enterprise.
+++SOURCE:Al Arabiya News 5/25/’16:”Final ISIS ‘Beatles’gang member
identified’,By Agence France Presse
SUBJECT: British and US intelligence officials identify ISIS hostage
murderer
QUOTE:”(mother) said her once ‘perfect’ son went to Syria in2012 when he was
radicalized after hearing hardline sermons at west London mosques
FULL TEXT:The fourth member of a group of ISIS jailors who murdered hostages
and were dubbed the "Beatles" by former captives has been identified by The
Washington Post and BuzzFeed News.
According to stories in the two outlets on Monday[5/23], British and US
intelligence officials have identified El Shafee Elsheikh, 27, as the final
member of the group of jail guards.
British and US intelligence officials have identified El Shafee Elsheikh,
27, as the final member of the group of jail guards. (Facebook/ El Shafee
Elsheikh)
The men gained notoriety when one member, Mohammed Emwazi, nicknamed "Jihadi
John," used a knife to kill hostages in a string of videotaped beheadings,
including of US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff.
He was killed in a drone strike in Syria last year.
BuzzFeed said Elsheikh grew up in White City in west London, having moved to
Britain at age 5 after fleeing the Sudanese civil war with his parents.
He later studied mechanical engineering, became a fairground mechanic and
supported local soccer team Queen's Park Rangers.
The news site interviewed his mother, Maha Elgizouli, who said her once
"perfect" son went to Syria in 2012 when he was radicalized after hearing
hardline sermons at west London mosques.
The other two "Beatles" members are Alexanda Kotey, whose whereabouts are
unknown, and Aine Davis, who is being held in Turkey.
Elsheikh's mother told BuzzFeed and the Post that her son is living in Syria
and stays in contact with some friends and family, but not her.
"That boy now is not my son. That is not the son I raised," she said.
According to BuzzFeed, the four ISIS jailers beheaded seven American,
British and Japanese hostages, as well as 18 members of the Syrian army.
+++SOURCE:Naharnet(Lebanon) 5/25/’16:”Israeli Rights Group Gives up on Army
Complaint System”,by Agence France Presse
SUBJECT: B’Tselem gives up on army complaint system
[IMRA: It is more accurate to describe B'Tselem as a group that uses
criticism of the IDF as way to oppose Israel's presence in the West Bank]
FULL TEXT:A leading Israeli human rights group announced Wednesday[5/25] it
was giving up taking complaints over soldiers' conduct to the military,
after years of going through official channels brought few prosecutions.
B'Tselem, which campaigns against Israel's occupation of the West Bank, said
it had been providing information to the Military Advocate General Corps
about alleged abuses for 25 years, but had concluded it was increasingly a
"whitewash mechanism."
As such, "continuing to file complaints to the military law enforcement
system does more harm than good," it said in a new report entitled: "The
Occupation's Fig Leaf".
The army denied the claims.
The Military Advocate General supervises the rule of law in the army,
including internal disciplinary procedures.
The army defines MAG's role as to "instill the general principles of law and
the values of justice in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF)."
But B'Tselem said army investigations were slow, inefficient and rarely led
to convictions.
Its 80-page report cited eight recent cases, including four in which
Palestinians were killed, that it said showed sub-standard military
investigations.
In the past five years, just three percent of criminal investigations
launched by the military police into alleged offenses by Israeli soldiers
against Palestinians led to indictments, according to another
anti-occupation organization Yesh Din.
"The way in which the military law enforcement system functions precludes it
from the very outset from achieving justice for the victims," B'Tselem said.
"There is no longer any point in pursuing justice and defending human rights
by working with a system whose real function is measured by its ability to
continue to successfully cover up unlawful acts and protect perpetrators."
The Israeli military rejected the "picture depicted" in B'Tselem's statement
as "biased" and not reflecting the "reality" on the ground.
"The IDF thoroughly checks and investigates any and all claims of misconduct
including those from B'Tselem and many other organizations, and will
continue to act transparently in order to arrive at the truth," it said in a
statement.
+++SOURCE:Naharet(Lebanon)5/25/’16: “Israel PM Reaches Deal for
Ultra-Nationalist Party to Join Govt.”,by Agence France Presse
SUBJECT: Israel nationalist party to join govt.
FULL TEXT: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reached a deal with
a hardline nationalist party to join his government, negotiators said
Wednesday, forming what is being called the most right-wing government in
the nation's history.
Under the agreement, Avigdor Lieberman and his Yisrael Beitenu party will
join Netanyahu's coalition, adding five lawmakers to his previously
wafer-thin parliamentary majority.
Lieberman, who has spoken of harsh measures against Palestinian
"terrorists", is to take over the key role of defense minister.
Tourism Minister Yariv Levin, a negotiator for Netanyahu's Likud party, told
public radio the deal had been reached, while Lieberman's spokesman
confirmed it to AFP.
A spokesman for Lieberman, a longtime politician who has previously served
as foreign minister and lives in a settlement in the occupied West Bank,
said the deal would be signed in parliament at 0800 GMT.
The move to hand the defense ministry to the 57-year-old hardliner has
sparked deep concern among Israeli centrist and leftwing politicians, as
well as among some of Netanyahu's Likud colleagues.
Religious nationalists from the Jewish Home party already hold key cabinet
positions in Netanyahu's government.
Moshe Yaalon, a Likud member who resigned as defense minister on
Friday[5/20] and who has also served as armed forces chief, warned of a
rising tide of extremism in his party and the country as a whole.
Former Labor prime minister and defense minister Ehud Barak went even
further, saying Israel's government "has been infected by the shoots of
fascism."
But others say that Lieberman is above all a pragmatic politician who
aspires to be prime minister one day, noting also that he will face
opposition from the security establishment if he seeks to carry out some of
his most controversial ideas.
An example of his provocative style was recently on display in comments
directed at Ismail Haniya, Islamist movement Hamas's leader in the Gaza
Strip.
Lieberman said he would give Haniya 48 hours to hand over two detained
Israeli civilians and the bodies of soldiers killed in a 2014 war "or you're
dead".
In 2001, the former nightclub bouncer advocated bombing the Aswan Dam in
Egypt, accusing Israel's Arab neighbor of supporting a Palestinian uprising.
- Death penalty, pensions -
The deal brings to a stunning conclusion weeks of speculation over
Netanyahu's efforts to expand his government, which has held only 61 of the
120 seats in parliament since elections in March 2015.
Netanyahu had earlier engaged in negotiations with Labor party leader Isaac
Herzog to join the government before turning to Lieberman instead.
Besides Lieberman becoming defense minister and another member of his party
becoming immigrant absorption minister, the government agreed to allocate
approximately 1.4 billion shekels ($363 million, 325 million euros) to
pensions of elderly Israelis.
Lieberman, born in the ex-Soviet republic of Moldova, sought the arrangement
to benefit immigrants from the former Soviet Union, his main electoral
support base.
"These are the two major issues that are important to our constituency, and
significant achievements," Lieberman's spokesman told AFP.
He had also pushed for the government to institute the death penalty for
Palestinian "terrorists," but Lieberman backed away from the demand in the
talks.
A watered-down version is thought to have been agreed upon that analysts say
is unlikely to significantly change current policy. There have been no
executions in Israel since 1962.
Netanyahu has sought to ease fears over Lieberman's expected appointment,
saying he will continue to seek peace with the Palestinians and oversee the
defense ministry's policies, which include control over most of the occupied
West Bank.
Negotiations with the Palestinians have been at a complete standstill since
a U.S.-led initiative collapsed in April 2014.
+++SOURCE:JordanTimes 5z/25/’16:” ‘KingNo difference between citizens,
except by what they do for country’ ,by JT
SUBJECT: King Abdullah Independence Day message
QUOTE:”His Majesty stressed that this country …is founded on
justice,equality,citizenship and the rule of law”
FULL TEXT:AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Tuesday[5/24] addressed the
nation on the occasion of the 70th Independence Day, calling on Jordanians
to cherish a nation “built on unity and a unifying national identity that
embraces all”.
He said resilient Jordan is moving forward despite difficult times, while
other nations have fallen apart.
His Majesty stressed that this country, the heir to the banner of the Great
Arab Revolt, is founded on justice, equality, citizenship and the rule of
law.
“There is no difference between Jordanians, except by what they do for this
country,” the King said in his televised speech.
He paid tribute to the vision of Sharif Hussein, who launched the Great Arab
Revolt 100 years ago, and call for unity, freedom, pluralism and diversity.
“It was he who said, ‘The Arabs were Arabs before they were Muslims or
Christians’,” the King highlighted.
“This nation was built on unity and a unifying national identity that
embraces all those, who, with dignity and pride in being Jordanian, believe
in this country, cherish and defend it,” he said.
The King underlined that all citizens are partners in the process of
building this country, and all share rights and duties.
Following is the official translation of the speech:
“Jordan is celebrating its 70th Independence Day, along with the centennial
of the Great Arab Revolt and Arab Renaissance. These historical occasions
have planted and nourished the seeds of our homeland, with sacrifice,
bravery and a deep sense of belonging. They are the source of our values,
principles and the foundations of our policies. We stand together to
commemorate the events that shaped our history and to honour the leaders,
and the men and women, who set the course that lit our path towards the
future.
These principles embraced by the generations of the Arab Revolt are the
beacon that led the way to independence and the Jordan of the future. The
Independence Proclamation was signed 70 years ago by our Founding
Grandfather [His Majesty the late King Abdullah I], here at Raghadan Palace,
rendering this place a witness to the sacrifices and values that steered the
building of Jordan.
Even now, the first bullet fired in the Great Arab Revolt still echoes in
the skies of our nation. Every Jordanian carries inside something of that
day and these principles lie at the centre of his or her identity.
Our generation should realise that the Great Arab Revolt was not an isolated
event in history. Rather, it was the beginning of a nation established on
clear principles that reflect the true nature of Jordanians, as a people
with an exceptional ability to survive the tests of time, laying the
foundations for our continuing development.
Jordan, the heir to the banner of the Great Arab Revolt and the renaissance
it ignited, is founded on justice, equality, citizenship and the rule of
law. There is no difference between Jordanians, except by what they do for
their country.
I am inspired by the clear vision of Sharif Hussein and his call for unity,
freedom and pluralism as well as his advocacy of religious harmony. It was
he who said, “The Arabs were Arabs before they were Muslims or Christians.”
This nation was built on unity and a unifying national identity that
embraces all those, who, with dignity and pride in being Jordanian, believe
in this country, cherish and defend it. Every citizen is a full partner in
the process of building, hard work and giving, and they share rights and
duties.
With the principles it embodies, our country stands strong, proud and
dignified. Resilient, it moves forward despite difficult times, while other
nations have fallen apart.
Our country’s pride in its religion and Arab identity is a national
constant. Jordan was founded on the religious legitimacy of the Hashemites,
who advocate Islam in a way that presents to the world the true image of
this religion as a faith of tolerance that rejects all forms of extremism
and violence.
Jordan, with its unifying identity, welcomes and supports its Arab brethren.
Despite its size and meagre resources, it stands out in the world as a
bright example of compassion, generosity and a nation that aids those in
need.
And despite all the challenges, Jordan’s solid national unity, social
coherence and peaceful nature give it strength.
Our country believes that political solutions are the only way to ensure
international cooperation and justice in a global community.
The cause that the Great Arab Revolt defended, and the one that is our
foremost priority, is the Arab identity of Palestine.
Our great grandfather [Sharif Hussein] was sent into exile and sacrificed
his throne while defending the Arab identity of Palestine. He spent
everything he owned to renovate Al Aqsa Mosque; hence, he was called the
‘Friend of Al Aqsa’ in his life and the ‘Neighbour of Al Aqsa’ in his death.
And the Hashemites still fulfil their responsibilities and duties towards
the holy sites of Jerusalem.
Jordan is built on sacrifice and its people never hesitate to serve and
defend their homeland. Jordanians are the descendants of the men who carried
the banner of the Revolt and those who offered themselves in the name of the
nation.
Brothers and sisters,
With the help of God, and the determination and awareness of its people,
Jordan has emerged as a country with a message: the message of freedom,
peace, harmony and development, relying on our principles and proud of our
identity and achievements.
Peace, God’s mercy and blessings be upon you.”
=================
Sue Lerner - Associate. IMRA
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