The stop-go Lebanese Julia

Ominous clouds gathered over the Mediterranean Thursday, June 24 after Israel announced that ships bound for Gaza would be deemed "enemy vessels" and halted by its navy by whatever means were necessary. Hizballah shot back with a threat of violent retaliation, while Israel's northern commander warned that the IDF was prepared to deal with threats from Lebanon by "appropriate means."

With two ships, one Lebanese and one Iranian, already at sea, the Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri was reported by debkafile's intelligence sources as coupling his public support for the sea campaign to break Israel's blockade of Gaza with a quiet bid to stall it.

He privately asked Cypriot President Demetris Christofias, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou and the Maltese Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi to deny Lebanese ships bound for Gaza permission to drop anchor, refuel or load provisions at their ports, in order to prevent them from proceeding to Gaza.
Hariri explained that he feared the flotilla campaign to break the Israeli blockade would precipitate a new Middle East war.

Last week, the freighter "Julia," docked at the North Lebanese port of Tripoli was denied permission to head to Gaza Port. Refusing to be put off, the activists decided to sail first to Cyprus and then head for Gaza. Permission was granted by the Lebanese Transportation Minister Ghazi Aridi Wednesday, June 23.
On Thursday, June 24, Israel repeated its warning that ships trying to breach its blockade against the Gaza Strip would be deemed "enemy vessels." The Israeli Navy has been instructed to employ every available means to bar their access to Gaza's shore. Israel OC Northern Command Gen. Gadi Eizenkot said: "The Lebanese side is issuing threats against Israel and we are confident that the Israeli army is preparing to confront these threats in an appropriate manner."
He was referring to Hizballah's announcement: "We will not stand by idly if Israel attacks ships bound for Gaza. Detainees taken into Israeli custody (aboard those vessels) will be deemed prisoners of war who must be released.
As the climate over the Mediterranean heats up, two ships are either at sea or hours away from embarkation - the Julia from Lebanon and an Iranian ship, which is said to be making for the Suez Canal from the Persian Gulf port of Khorramshahr.
In his calls to the Greek, Turkish, Cypriot and Maltese leaders, the Lebanese prime minister admitted that the embarkation of the pro-Palestinian vessels from his ports violates US Resolution 1701 enforcing the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire which ended the 2006 war, but he was helpless to stop them because they were backed by powerful elements. Hariri did not say who they were, but they were understood to be Syria and Hizballah.
He stressed that more urgent issues confronted Beirut than the Gaza blockade, such as the Shaaba Farms on the Hermon slopes, which he said, "Hizballah only talks about liberating but has not fired a single shell." Hariri made it clear that by sponsoring the ships for Gaza, Hizballah is bringing Lebanon dangerously close to a clash with Israel.
Unlike the May 31 episode, when the activists who resisted Israel's raid of a Turkish ship to prevent if from reaching Gaza were unknown quantities, this time, on Thursday, Israeli intelligence sources released the identities of the ships' owners and the organizations mounting the expeditions.
The Lebanese "Julia" belongs to a Syrian shipping firm headed by a cousin of President Bashar Assad, who made it available to Hizballah for the challenge to Israel. The Lebanese flotilla effort is funded by a Palestinian by the name of Yasser Kashlak who, posing as a wealthy businessman, serves as Tehran's secret channel for remitting funds to Hizballah and Palestinian terrorist organizations, including Hamas.
Therefore, Israel's designation of these ships and those of Iran as enemy vessels meets the case.
From Washington, debkafile reports that when Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak met US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on June 22, he voiced extreme concern about the Lebanese Prime Minister's inability to rein in Hizballah. Because of this, the situation in the region could rapidly deteriorate, said Barak.

Right after the meeting, the US issued a statement about the "aid" flotillas saying, "Direct delivery by sea is neither appropriate nor responsible, and certainly not effective, under the circumstances. There is no need for unnecessary confrontations, and we, along with our partners in the Quartet, call on all parties to act responsibly in meeting the needs of the people of Gaza."

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Report: Israel, US preparing for war with Iran

A flurry of news reports over the past week indicate that Israel and the US are readying for an imminent military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.

On Wednesday, Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency reported that about a week ago a squad of Israeli military aircraft landed at a military airstrip in Saudi Arabia, of all places. It was reported earlier this month that Saudi Arabia had agreed to let Israel pass through its airspace in order to strike Iran.

The Israeli aircraft reportedly landed at the airport in Tabuk in northwest Saudi Arabia, which according to the report will act as the central base of operations for the Israeli air campaign against Iran.

Fars cited a local Saudi resident who said the Israeli presence and cooperation between the ruling local Saudi prince and the Jewish state was the talk of the town.

Saudi Arabia does not have formal relations with Israel, and publicly refers to the Jewish state as an enemy. But Riyadh is just as fearful of an Iranian nuclear bomb as Israel, and would likely resort to any means to avoid having its regional economic influence disturbed.

At the same time, Iran's Press TV reported that a very large contingent of US ground forces had massed in neighboring Azerbaijan. The independent Azerbaijani news website Trend confirmed the report.

Those reports came just days after the Pentagon confirmed that an unusually large fleet of US warships had indeed passed through Egypt's Suez Canal en route to the Persian Gulf. At least one Israeli warship reportedly joined the American armada.

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Landau: We will defend gas fields
By JPOST.COM STAFF
06/24/2010 15:48

Minister makes remarks in reaction to Lebanese claims on new finds.
Israel is ready to defend with force the recently discovered natural gas fields off its Mediterranean coast, said Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau (Israel Beiteinu) in an interview with Bloomberg News on Thursday.

"We will not hesitate to use our force and strength to protect not only the rule of law but the international maritime law," Landau was quoted as saying.

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Landau made his comments in reaction to the declaration of Lebanon's Speaker of Parliament, Nabih Berri, that the part of the gas field lies within Lebanon's territorial waters.

He continued, "Whatever we find, they will have something to say. That's because they're not challenging our findings and so-called occupation of the sea. Our very existence here is a matter of occupation for them. These areas are within the economic waters of Israel."

A consortium led by billionaire Yitzhak Tshuva announced June 3 that it had struck natural gas in a field called 'Leviathan' off the coast of Israel.

The field is estimated to contain 15 trillion cubic feet of gas and is the second large scale gas find in a month. In May, a field called 'Tamar' was also discovered that is thought to contain enough gas to supply Israel for the next twenty years.

Landau held a celebratory toast with leaders of the natural- gas industry in Tel Aviv following the announcement of the discovery of the Leviathan field. He declared at the event that the find had important political ramifications as part of Israel's drive to reduce dependence on energy imports.

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Obama's Popularity Dropping Below the Red Line

by Hana Levi Julian
More than half of the American people have lost faith in U.S. President Barack Obama, according to a new opinion poll.

The telephone survey, conducted June 17-21 by NBC News and the Wall Street Journal, showed that Obama's popularity is continuing to plummet, and his 50 percent approval rating of May has now dropped to 45 percent in June. Research has shown that such a drastic drop in popularity at the White House in an election year can affect the outcome of mid-term Congressional elections in November.

The economy, unemployment and the British Petroleum oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico were cited as the three top issues of concern to the American public.

The biggest worry was America's sluggish recovery on the financial front, with more than 80 percent of the 1,000 adult respondents saying they were dissatisfied with the economy.

The oil spill was almost as upsetting, with 70 percent of respondents saying they believe the spill will have a major impact on the nation's economy. Fully half of the respondents disapproved of the president's handling of the crisis, as opposed to 42 percent of those who supported his intervention.

On the employment front, more than half of respondents - 55 percent - said economic growth and creation of jobs were top priority for the federal government. An even higher percentage, 63 percent, said they thought it was important to hold down the budget deficit, even at the expense of slowing down the economy. Only 34 percent thought it was more important to push the economy at the expense of the budget deficit. The survey carried a 3.1 percentage-point margin of error. (IsraelNationalNews.com)

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87 Senators Tell Obama: Stand Behind Israel!

by Hillel Fende
An overwhelming majority of the United States Senate has signed a letter to President Obama encouraging him to stand strongly behind Israel in the face of "challenges" to its international standing.

The letter, written in the midst of a continuing international onslaught against Israel in the wake of the flotilla-Gaza blockade situation, emphasizes that it is in "our national interest to support Israel at a moment when Israel faces multiple threats from Hamas in Gaza, Hizbullah in Lebanon, and the current regime in Iran."

The missive has been signed by 87 senators, and was spearheaded by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nv) and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky).

"Israel's opponents have developed clever diplomatic and tactical ploys to challenge its international standing," the letter states, including "the effort to isolate Israel at the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference the recent effort to breach the naval blockade around Gaza… Israel's naval blockade, which is legal under international law, allows Israel to keep dangerous goods from entering Gaza by sea."

IHH Connections With Hamas
Describing Israel's response to the terror activists who attempted to break the blockade, the letter states that the Israeli forces who boarded the ship owned by the Turkish Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH), were "brutally attacked with iron rods, knives, and broken glass. They were forced to respond to that attack and we regret the loss of life that resulted. We are deeply concerned about the IHH's role in this incident and have additional questions about Turkey and any connections to Hamas. The IHH is a member of a group of Muslim charities, the Union of Good, which was designated by the US Treasury Department as a terrorist organization. The Union of Good was created by and strongly supports Hamas, which has been designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the US State Department. We recommend that your administration consider whether the IHH should be put on the list of foreign terrorist organizations…"

The Senators commend Obama on the prevention of an "unfair United Nations Security Council resolution" against Israel, and "deplore the actions of the United Nations Human Rights Council which, once again, singled out Israel… We ask you to stand firm in the future at the United Nations Security Council and to use your veto power, if necessary, to prevent any similar biased or one-sided resolutions from passing."

The letter concludes with the hope for the continuation of peace talks leading to a two-state solution.

Similar House Letter
The Senate letter comes four days after a similar letter in the House of Representatives, signed by 75% of the members. It was initiated by Rep. Ted Poe (R-Tx) and Rep. Gary Peters (D-Mi), and bears the signatures of more than 320 of their colleagues. The House letter to Obama details the true intentions of the IHH and the Gaza flotilla, and calls on the president to use his veto power in the U.N. Security Council to block one-sided, anti-Israel resolutions.

"We urge you to remain steadfast in the defense of Israel in the face of the international community's rush to unfairly judge and condemn Israel in international fora such as the UN Security Council," the House letter states. (IsraelNationalNews.com)

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Germany: Youths attack Jewish group
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
06/24/2010 15:59

Hannover police say many Muslims among dance troupe assailants.
BERLIN - A Jewish dance group was attacked with stones by a group of children and teenagers during a performance at a street festival in the Germany city of Hannover, police said Thursday. One dancer suffered a leg injury and the group then canceled their performance.

The teenagers also used a megaphone to shout anti-Semitic slurs during the Saturday afternoon attack, Hannover police spokesman Thorsten Schiewe said.

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Police said the incident is under investigation and that they do not have an exact number of attackers yet. Schiewe said there were several Muslim immigrant youths among the attackers.

Two suspects, a 14-year-old and a 19-year-old, were being questioned, he said.

Alla Volodarska, whose Progressive Jewish community of Hannover group held the performance, told The Associated Press in an interview that members were still in shock.

"What happened is just so awful," Volodarska said. "The teenagers started throwing stones the moment our dance group was announced, even before they started dancing."

Volodarska said she did not attend the event herself, but had talked to several members of the eight-person dance group since the incident. She said one dancer, a woman in her forties, was injured by several stones that hit her leg.

"There were many kids throwing stones, many of them, but we don't know the exact number," she said, adding that the community had performed Israeli group dances at many festivals in the past and never experienced this kind of hostility before.

Volodarska said that the festival took place in Sahlkamp, an immigrant neighborhood of Hannover.

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'Put pressure on Hamas, not Israel'
By JPOST.COM STAFF
06/24/2010 15:27

Peres tells Austrian chancellor: Terrorists now control the flotillas.

Austria should pressure Hamas to change its policy, rather than Israel, President Shimon Peres told his counterpart from Vienna on Thursday at Beit Hanassi.

"We left Gaza voluntarily and I do not understand the flotillas. In order to change the situation in Gaza, there is no need for flotillas or activists but a change in Hamas's terrorism policy," Peres told Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann.

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The president went on to tell Faymann that the flotillas aiming to break the blockade on the Gaza Strip had changed in their nature: "Terrorist organizations - Hizbullah, Hamas and the Iranians - have taken over the flotillas and are not interested in peace, they are looking for provocations and conflict."

Nonetheless, the president thanked Austria for its support of newly imposed sanctions on Iran.

In response, Faymann said that Austria would like to assist in advancing the peace process and that he believes that "strengthening Gaza and its economy would prevent the Palestinians living in Gaza from turning to support the extremist organizations and would lead to a significant increase in support for peace negotiations with Israel."

Regarding the peace process, Faymann called for a renewal of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

The Jerusalem meeting came the day after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyhau called on the world to intervene and prevent a boatful of women from Lebanon from sailing to Gaza, saying there was no reason for these boats and that Israel had lifted its restrictions on what was allowed into Gaza.

Speaking during a joint press appearance with Faymann, Netanyahu noted the irony that Iran, Hizbullah and Hamas - not exactly champions of women's rights - were sending a female flotilla to Gaza.

"Iran, Hizbullah and Hamas, which want to return the world to the middle ages; which don't let their women dress, work or express themselves freely; whose women live in subjugation, and sometimes without basic rights and subject to violence - precisely those regimes are the ones organizing a boat of women as propaganda against Israel," he said.

Herb Keinon contributed to this report