Former Israeli Statesman and General Ariel Sharon Passes Away at Age 85

Former Israeli Prime Minister and IDF commander Ariel Sharon passed away this weekend after being in a coma since January 2006. Sharon was instrumental in the formation of the Likud party and was Israel's 11th prime minister, serving between 2001 and 2006. After his distinguished career in the Israeli Defense Forces Sharon also served as Israel's Foreign Affairs Minister, Minister of Energy and Water Resources and Minister of Trade and Labour in late 1980s through the 1990s.

Born Ariel Scheinermann in 1928 on a farm in what was then British Mandate of Palestine, Sharon joined the Haganah- a predecessor of the IDF- as a teenager. During Israel's 1948 War for Independence, Sharon led a small unit in hit and run attacks against the advancing combined Arab armies and was quickly promoted through the ranks. Sharon was wounded multiple time by Jordanian forces and his battalion suffered numerous losses in the battle of Laturn, including survivors of the Holocaust recently arrived from Europe.

During the 1956 Suez Canal War, Sharon commanded a paratrooper brigade and an Armored Division during the 1967 Six Days War. Officially retiring at the rank of Major General in August 1973, Sharon returned to service less than two months later during the Yom Kippur War, leading a reserve armored division over the Suez canal and encircling the city of Suez, cutting off the Egyptian Thrid Army and effectively ending the war.

As Defense Minister, Sharon launched a 1982 offensive against entrenched Palestinian terrorists in Lebanon after repeated cross-border attacks from the north and the attempted assassination of Israel's ambassador to the UK in London. The PLO and other international terrorist groups had taken advantage of the relative lawlessness in Lebanon after a civil war broke out in 1975. Although PLO fighters and their Syrian allies were forced into a retreat, a Phalangist militia massacred hundreds of Palestinian civilians in a refugee camp in Israeli held territory- a war crime where Sharon and the IDF was accused of complicity.

After the 2001 collapse of Ehud Barak's government, Sharon was elected to the office of Prime Minister by a 44 point margin. In 2003, he became the first Israeli PM to visit the state of India. More significantly, Sharon oversaw Israel's unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza strip, which caused a significant schism within the Likud party. By late 2005, Sharon formally resigned as head of the Likud party to form a new, centrist party called Kadima before suffering his debilitating stroke.

Earlier this week, a state funeral was held for Sharon after laying in state in Israel's parliament.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Guns- Female IDF Soldiers Facing Discipline After Posting Racy Images Of Themselves Online

Conduct unbecoming- or best recruitment tool EVAH! [even tho' Israel has mandatory conscription-NANESB!]??

A group of new female recruits to the Israeli Army are in trouble with their superiors after pictures of the women posing in their underwear and topless with their service rifles began circulating on the internet.

The statement did not identify the soldiers or give any details about the punishments. Military officials said the base conducted educational lectures to keep soldiers from repeating the offense.

In a statement, the military said the young women, who are reportedly new recruits stationed on a base in southern Israel, had acted in a manner that showed "unbecoming behavior" for Israeli soldiers. "The commanding officers disciplined the soldiers as they saw fitting," it said.

One picture showed the soldiers removing their fatigue uniforms to expose their underwear and back sides. In another, five women posed in what appeared to be a barracks room, dressed only in helmets and a small amount of combat equipment. The faces of the soldiers were blurred in the photos.

Well...MOST of the photos...

But just in case you thought that was the end of it, a little over a week later a video of female IDF soldiers who appeared to be practicing pole-dancing around a rifle in the barracks began circulating online.



In fact, during the 30 second clip, a voice can be heard off-camera telling the women that the video is going to be posted to Facebook [probably would've been hotter if they were using a Galil or Tavor instead on M-4, but that's just me- NANESB!].

While these incidents involving amateur Israeli pin-ups and aspiring pole-dancers in uniform (sort of) appear to be relatively harmless [except, perhaps, to the girls in question, who were likely given the IDF equivalent of an Article 15- NANESB], the conduct has raised concerns about sensitive or compromising data being transmitted to enemies via social media.

The Israeli military began drafting stricter guidelines for using social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. Under the new guidelines, troops assigned to classified units wouldn't be allowed to have social networking accounts while pilots and intelligence officers wouldn't be allowed to upload pictures of themselves in uniform or mention they're soldiers on social networking sites.

Every adult in Israel is required to serve once they reach age 18- although exceptions are made for Israeli arabs and ultra-orthodox jews. For an IDF conscript, the required service time is typically three years, although a number of Israelis stay on and make a career out of serving in the Israeli military.

Israel Launches Airstrikes Deep Within Syrian Territory

Syrian military facilities under the control of forces loyal to Syrian president Bashr Al Assad were struck by the Israeli air force in multiple raids over the weekend.

The first airstrike reportedly targeted Damascus International Airport where long-range missiles from Iran and reportedly destined for Hezbollah in Lebanon were targeted.

The second strike was considerably more dramatic.



On Sunday, Israeli warplanes struck Syria's Jamraya Military research center- where Western observers believe Assad's military develops unconventional weapons. The facility is also home to a Presidential Guard brigade said to be commanded by Bashr al-Assad's brother, Maher al-Assad.

Damascus was shaken by repeated explosions coming from the north-western suburbs.

Amateur video footage and eye witness testimony suggested rocket attacks had hit weapons dumps, triggering dramatic orange-flamed blasts.

The area houses numerous military facilities, including the Jamraya research centre, designated by Syria as a scientific research centre "in charge of raising our level of resistance and self-defence".

A state TV bulletin said: "The new Israeli attack is an attempt to raise the morale of the terrorist groups, which have been reeling from strikes by our noble army."

Damascus-based journalist Alaa Ebrahim told the BBC it was "the biggest explosion" the city had seen since the conflict began two years ago.

He said residents living near Jamraya reported feeling a "mild earthquake" just before the blast, indicating that the rockets may have hit an underground facility.

In addition to being located on the outskirts of Damascus, the Jamraya facility is located close to the Lebanese border, which makes facilitating the transfer of weapons to Hezbollah fairly easy.

While Israel has seemed reluctant to involve itself in Syria's ongoing civil war, this weekend's strikes were meant to send a message to Bashr al-Assad and Hezbollah's main benefactor, Iran. The missiles that were reportedly destined for Hezbollah were Iranian-made Fateh 110 ground to ground missiles, which have a range of 200 miles.

Although the Assad regime and Syria's state-run media have claimed that Israel is acting in concert with the Free Syrian Army and other rebel groups, Israel actually stands to gain very little from the uncontrolled collapse of the Assad regime on their doorstep.

IDF Preparing For Ground Assault on Gaza Strip After Hamas Fires Rockets

Explosion and smoke seen during an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City. Reuters/Suhaib Salem photo

Air raid sirens sounded across Israel over the weekend as Hamas launched hundreds of rockets from the Gaza strip and the IDF retaliated with airstrikes targeted assassinations of Hamas leadership.

After the southern towns of Ashkelon and Beersheeba came under fire from rockets launched in the Gaza strip, the IDF killed senior Hamas leader Ahmed Jabari in an airstrike as Jabari and his aides were travelling by car on Wednesday. Hamas officials claim that additional Israeli airstrikes have killed 11 civilians in the Gaza strip. However, Hamas officials had been caught attempting to pass photos of Syrians killed in that nation's ongoing civil insurrection as Gazans victimised by Israeli violence earlier this week, casting doubt on the credibility of their claims.

Israeli officials said that most of the rockets- including the long-range, Iranian-made Fajr-5 capable of reaching Tel Aviv- were launched from civilian areas in the Gaza strip. Senior IDF officers say that the majority of the incoming rockets has been intercepted by the newly-deployed 'Iron Dome' interceptor system.

Israeli troops and armor have been massing along the Gaza border over the last few days as IDF commanders weigh an ground assault against Hamas targets in Gaza City. The Israeli army has also begun calling up thousands of reservists and erecting roadblicks in the southern portion of the country as both Hamas and the IDF took to social media to try and gain support worldwide.

While Israeli and Egyptian diplomats were meeting to discuss a ceasefire in Gaza, although Hamas has reportedly rejected any talk of a ceasefire.

Happy Hanukkah From Not Another New England Sports Blog

This is one of those fortuitous years where Christmas and Hanaukkah overlap one another, so you have occasional menorahs and illuminated Stars of David thrown in with the various displays of Christmas lights amoid everything else.

As a semi-practicing Christian, my only encounter with the Jewish Festival of lights was while visiting a sibling in college whose housemates were practicing Jews. As guest, I was invited to light the menorah as they prayed in Hebrew. I'm pleased to say it went smoothly- no structure fires or anything.


Currently, the closest thing I have to a tradition for the Jewish holidays is to post some Rule 5-tastic images of women in uniform (tight, snug uniforms no less) of the Israeli defense forces persuasion.

So I figure I might as well keep a good thing going. Remember, Israel has near-universal consription for Jews over the age of 18, so its not unusual to see men and women from all walks of life serving the IDF in some capacity- even triplets.

Thrice As Nice- A Rosh Hoshanah Tale From Not Another New England Sports Blog!

Because I'm not the most ambitious person in the world to start off with- plus I'll be even further out in the boonies than usual over the next couple of days- I started out thinking I'd do something similar to my blog entry last year for the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hoshanah. Basically some generic wishes peppered with some olive drab clad Rule 5-bait of the Israeli persuasion.

But while doing a search for some IDF eye candy (and lets face it, they are to women in uniform what Brazilians are to female soccer fans), I came across the tale of the very lovely and unique Orbaum Triplets, pictured above.

"The concept of 'one for all and all for one' can get pretty absurd," the late Jerusalem Post staffer and columnist Sam Orbaum wrote about his identical triplet daughters 14 years ago.

Orbaum, who passed away in 2002 at the age of 46, went on in the column, entitled "The threeness of it all," to describe life as a father of identical triplets.

Not only did he sometimes mix them up, Orbaum wrote in his well-known wry, comic style, but he was also constantly impressed by their tight bond - when for example they stood up for one another in fights in the school sandbox.

The three blond 19-year-old sisters are still sticking up for one another, although this time not on the playground but in the IAF, in which they all enlisted a few months ago, making history.

While all three are in khaki-colored air force uniforms, they don't serve together. Odelia, the oldest (born a minute before her two sisters), serves as a control officer in the IAF's underground command-and-control center in the Kirya in Tel Aviv; Nomi is an air traffic control officer at the IAF's Palmahim Base; and Donna is currently in training for a different IAF position near Herzliya.

"Even though we are, in a sense, still together since we are all in the IAF, it was still difficult to split up to different positions and offices," said Odelia.

The sisters say that they think of themselves as one person, which might not make sense - until one sees how they complete one another's sentences or give the same answers during the interview.

Since elementary school the three have been together, going on to the same high school in Jerusalem's Ramot neighborhood and then to the same premilitary academy in the Jordan Valley.

It was there that the triplets decided to enlist in the IDF and not do national service like most of their female classmates.

"As religious girls we were confused about what to do," said Nomi. "But [we] decided to enlist into the IDF since national service, like working in an old age home, is something we can always do after our military service, but military service is right now. [It's] the only time we can do it and is what characterizes the state."

Once they made their decision, all they had left was to find fulfilling jobs in the IDF. Donna said she thought about trying out for the pilot's course; Nomi thought at one point about joining the Ground Forces Command and becoming an infantry instructor.

In the end, they all made their way to the air force, albeit on different bases.

"We didn't all decide to joint the IAF," explained Odelia. "That is just how it worked out."

Nomi, the self-declared "controlling" sister, said that becoming an air traffic controller fit in very well with her personality.

"I usually make the decisions so becoming an air traffic controller was natural," she said.

While the three are not currently together, they all plan on becoming officers and hope to be in the same course at the Bahad 1 Officer Training School near Mitzpe Ramon in a few months.

If that doesn't work out, there's always the post-IDF trip overseas, which they have no doubt they will make together.

The girls also don't doubt that their father would have supported their decision to join the army. When Sam came to Israel he tried to enlist, they said, but he was exempted on medical grounds.

"He supported us in everything we did until he passed away when we were 12," Donna said. "This is the seventh year since he passed away and I think about him all the time and see his smile and know that he would have been proud of us."

The story is from late 2009, so Odelia, Kirya and Nomi are probably 21 and could very well be junior officers by now if they followed through on attending the Officer Training School together.

President Obama calls for Palestinian State Along pre-1967 Borders

In a display that clearly indicated there was no American ally he wouldn't be willing to stab in the back, President Obama has endorsed long-standing Palestinian demands that a Palestinian state be set up along pre 1967 borders in a wide ranging speech regarding Middle East policy earlier today.

He also warned Palestinians that “efforts to delegitimize Israel will end in failure” and that they would “never realize their independence by denying the right of Israel to exist.”

He also chastised both sides for taking steps that don’t help the peace process.

“Israeli settlement activity continues. Palestinians have walked away from talks,” he said. “The world looks at a conflict that has grinded on and on and on, and sees nothing but stalemate.”

[Umm....earth to Barry, the Palestinians have done MUCH worse than walking away from peace talks (or even building new apartments) in the past few weeks- NANESB!]

Should Israel go back to their pre-1967 borders, that would leave the Jewish state only 8 miles wide in some places, bordered by a belligerent Palestinian government seeking to unify with terrorist group Hamas (the same Hamas which condemned the killing of the islamic 'Holy Warrior' Osama Bin Laden) and replete with terrorists acquiring longer-range weapons with the Israelis holding less territory.

The only reason I'm not saying President Obama is throwing Israel under the bus is because the Palestinians have this tendency to blow up buses.

Not surprisingly, Israeli leaders are lukewarm on the President's suggestion. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu rejected Obama's proposal, saying that the boundaries would make Israel 'militarily indefensable'.

Israel has attempted 'Land for Peace' before, unilaterally withdrawing from the Gaza strip in 2005, only to be rewarded with a near-constant bombardment of southern Israeli border towns by Katusha rockets fired from the Gaza strip since then.

Exit question- What on God's green earth would make anybody who has been paying attention for the last 6 decades think that Israel should expect any semblance of peace from the Palestinians after giving up even MORE land?

Happy 63rd Birthday, Israel!

This week marks the 63rd anniversary of Israel's independence. What can I say about Israel that far more swift, competent and knowledgeable bloggers haven't already said about the Holy Land?

Israel being surrounded by hostile nations and the sea has meant that she has had to be on guard for constantly changing and evolving threats throughout her existence.

But even with the proverbial sword of Damocles hanging over it's head, Israel has managed to develop a robust economy centering for the most part around the defense technology, pharmaceutical, telecommunications and tourism sectors.

The discovery of considerable natural gas deposits in the offshore Leviathan and Tamar basins earlier this year also is poised to put Israel at an advantage as far as energy is concerned, possibly making her a net exporter of energy for the first time in its history.

But there is so much more to Israel than thousands of years of history and a robust military industrial complex, there's also attractive young women in peak physical condition in snug olive-drab uniforms.

The Israeli military, known as the IDF, is the 11th largest in the world according to some sources. While some of the women depicted above would be ideal for IDF recruiting posters, it would actually be a wasted effort as the IDF has near-universal conscription for both men and women.

Yet the camera seems to love them nonetheless, and from the looks of it this is a relationship that so many of us can enjoy the fringe benefits from.

New Israeli Missile Defense System Combat Tested; Anti-Tank Weapon Fired at School Bus; Western Activist Kidnapped, Killed

Israel's new 'Iron Dome' short-range missile defense system enjoyed some early success last week after a battery in Ashkelon intercepted a Grad rocket that fired from the Gaza strip.

The system has three main components - a tracking radar to detect the incoming projectile, a battle management and control system, and the missile launchers themselves. The manufacturers (Israel-based Rafael Advanced Defense Systems) claim to be able to hit anything from a missile to a 155mm artillery shell in any weather condition. The system underwent comprehensive testing in late 2010 and was deemed operational by Defense Minister Ehud Barak last month.

Southern Israel has been bombarded by rockets and short range missiles from the Hamas controlled Gaza strip for the better part of the last decade, with the accuracy and payloads gradually increasing.
ELSEWHERE IN SOUTHERN ISRAEL: Shortly after the Iron Dome system's early success an anti-tank rocket was fired at an Israeli school bus in the Negev region along the Gaza border, wounding the driver and a 16 year old student on board. Hamas has claimed responsibility for the attack and the Israeli Defence Forces responded with artillery and helicopter gunships firing on targets inside the Gaza strip. The missile is thought to be a Russian-made Koronet- manufacture of the Koronet reportedly is only permitted inside Russia. The missile was reportedly sold to Syria and likely smuggled to the Gaza strip from there.

GAZA: The body of an Italian pro-Palestinian activist was found hanging in a Gaza apartment a few hours after he was abducted on Thursday. An al-Qaeda inspired Islamic group calling itself Monotheism and Holy War abducted 38 year old Vittori Arrigoni. He then appeared blindfolded and with cuts on his face in a video circulated online in which the group demanded Hamas released one of their jailed leaders hours before the International Solidarity Movement's activist body was found in the otherwise vacant apartment. Hamas claims it arrested two of the suspected kidnappers not far from where the body was found and were reportedly seeking a 3rd suspect.

One Killed, 35 Injured in Downtown Jerusalem Bus Stop Bombing

A 60 year old Israeli woman was killed and at least 35 commuters were wounded when a bomb ripped through a downtown Jerusalem bus stop on Wednesday.

Israeli investigators say that the bomb likely was left inside an unattended bag at a phone booth near the bus stop and consider the bombing an act of terrorism.

The Jerusalem bombing comes a few days after mortar attacks on an Israeli border town from the Hamas-held Gaza Strip. The IDF had retaliated with tank fire and air strikes.

Happy Rosh Hashanah, From Not Another New England Sports Blog!

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of my regular Jewish and Israeli visitors [Do I have any? If not, I'll just wish it to Jewish passers-by then- NENESB!].

Since Bar Refaeli is apparently a draft dodger (not an easy feat coming from a nation that has mandatory conscription) I thought the High Holiday observing the New Year could be kicked off with some Israeli eye-candy that's actually wearing the IDF uniform.


Of course, some could argue that there's a sensationalist and exploitative element to pointing out the fact that there's attractive women living in Israel.

But for a more straightforward, slice of life look at contemporary Israeli women serving in the IDF, photographer Rachel Papo has an interesting photo essay called Serial No. 3817131.
It was my observation that if a woman could look good in BDUs (i.e. Battle Dress Uniform- the day-to-day camouflage uniform of the US Army), she could look good in pretty much anything. I think the same analysis could hold true for the IDF olive-drab uniform, although that hasn't hindered the IDF glee club any.

But on this Rosh Hashanah, I will let you, good NANESB! readers, be the judge of that.

IDF = Israeli Dancing Forces

Workin' it in Hebron:



Damn.....they never taught us moves like that at Ft. Benning. I fear that the US Army is falling too far behind in the choreography gap.

The irreverent IDF soldiers on the video seems to have caused a furor both among the Israeli Defence Forces brass and the usual humorless suspects who apparently are still in mourning.

As for the IDF Brass, I wonder what punitive measures they could take? Boot the soldiers out of an Army with universal conscription?

[hat tip: Design Czar over at Correspondence Committee]

White House Pledges $400 Million in Aid to Hamas-Controlled Gaza

You know, just the other day I was lamenting the lack of American dollars flowing into hostile territories controlled by Islamic terrorist groups.

As it turns out, President Obama's got that covered.

The White House announced Wednesday an additional $400 million in assistance for housing, clean drinking water, school construction and business development in Gaza and the West Bank. [snip]
Obama called the funding a "down payment on the United States' commitment to Palestinians in Gaza, who deserve a better life and expanded opportunities and the chance to take part in building a viable, independent state of Palestine, together with those who live in the West Bank."

For those of you who don't already know, the terrorist group Hamas is in control of the Gaza strip. They won some local elections fair and square a few years ago, but once in power decided that the democratic process wasn't all it was cracked up to be and postponed all future elections. Of course, ex-president Jimmy Carter wanted to do something about that- namely urging the Obama Administration to remove Hamas from the list of terrorist organizations. Wonder how much TATP and Katusha rockets you can get with $400 million. If you think that money is going towards schools and clean water, I have this lovely bridge that goes to Brooklyn that can be yours for a negotiable fee.

Good thing there's no double-digit unemployment or skyrocketing national debt in this country, otherwise I'd think that sending hundreds of millions of dollars no questions asked to a belligerent terrorist entity might not be money well spent.

Helen Thomas 'Retires'- No Word On Who Will Get Custody of Flying Monkeys

Disclaimer:

Dear NANESB! readers-

Please allow me to apologize in advance to have transitioned from Josephine Baker, Marylin Monroe and pixie-ish ice road trucker Lisa Kelly to this:

The mask slipped a little and what was underneath was even uglier.

Normally, I'm not one to take cheap shots at a 91 year old but this is Helen freakin' Thomas we're talking about. Rabbi David Nesenoff filmed this exchange with long-time White House correspondent Helen Thomas using a flip phone on May 27th during the White House's Jewish Heritage Celebration.

For the record, I think her telling the Israelis to "go back to Poland and Germany" was a fairly roundabout and indirect way of telling them to kindly get back in the ovens. The correspondent that's old enough to have her high-school yearbook signed by the Pharaoh somehow magically can't remember any Jews in the middle east prior to 1948?

Good riddance. Hell- this almost vindicates Ann Coulter's 2005 remarks dismissing Thomas as 'an old Arab' and asking 'What is it with Arabs and suicide?' when Thomas made a statement that she'd kill herself if then-VP Dick Cheney ran for president. I kinda attributed Helen's remarks to being an ornery old cuss as opposed to her ethnicity, but the snivelling, self-righteous indignation from hacks like Media Matters and others was fun to watch.

I think the only apparent downside of Thomas' departure is that present and future Jew-haters with press passes will be more cautious and try to preserve their perceived objectivity. Already, many activists use the figleaf phrase-that-pays of 'anti-Zionism'...almost as though The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion were an established fact. It's reared it's head with the ship of tools fools that tried running the Israeli navy blockade last week, and it shows up in incidents like photoshopping more smoke over the skies of Beirut during the 2006 Israeli-Hezbollah conflict or Reuters cropping knives out of the hands of jihadis activists in images of shipboard fighting between Israeli commandos and peaceful lovey-dovey activists who spontaneously fought back with knives and clubs.

And remember....the media is supposed to be controlled by the Jews Zionists, according to their narrative.

Nine Killed as Israeli Commandos Board Gaza-Bound Ships

A few days after a violent clash between Israeli commandos and Gaza-bound foreign activists in the Mediterranean killed nine and left dozens injured, some interesting facts are starting to see the light of day that seemingly derail the narrative that some well-intentioned do-gooders bringing food and clothes to the Gazans were arbitrarily attacked and roughed up by the Israeli military.

After announcing well in advance their intention to try and run the Israeli Naval blockade of the Gaza strip a few weeks ago, things came to a head over the weekend when 'activists' on the MV Mavi Marmara attacked Israeli Naval commandos boarding the vessel (other vessels in the six ship flotilla were boarded without incident). With members of the boarding party outnumbered and being beaten, stabbed or thrown overboard, the Israelis responded with deadly force, with 9 activists dead, an estimated 60 wounded and 10 of the commandos wounded when the dust cleared.

The ships and their cargo were eventually diverted to the Israeli port of Ashdod. From the onset, the goal of the 'activists' was likely more about scoring propaganda points against Israel than it was helping the Gazans. If you stop and think about it from that perspective, the two most likely scenarios put the flotilla organizers out ahead- either they'd succeed in running the Israeli blockade and show the world that they could come and go at will, or they could instigate a confrontation and garner sympathy and outrage from the ensuing bloodshed.

While there apparently weren't any firearms on board the ships, the IDF displayed pictures of bulletproof vests, Kevlar helmets, night vision optics and a rifle scope they claimed to have recovered from the MV Mari Marmara. Granted the IDF may not be considered impartial on the matter, but some more news came out earlier today that supports the notion that the 'Flotilla for Gaza' was more about propaganda than aid.

Now the flaw in the argument that da Jooooooos the Israelis were out for blood is the fact that they boarded the ship with paintball guns as their primary weapons (they did have pistols holstered and eventually ended up using them). If they were intent on massacring the 'activists', I suspect they would've boarded with something more potent than an Airsoft slung over their sholders.

A former high-ranking anti terror magistrate in France said that the Turkish aid group that organized the flotilla had ties to terror groups, including a plot to set off bombs in the Paris Metro and attack targets in the French town of Roubaix by an Algerian cell. Another member of the same cell was apprehended in December 1999 in Washington state with explosives in the trunk of his rented vehicle after crossing over from Canada via ferry. After Ahmed Ressam was arrested, he said the explosives were destined for Los Angeles International airport and to be detonated in the passenger terminal.

In an AP Interview, the French magistrate Jean-Louis Bruguiere, said that he was present when French and Turkish police raided the Istanbul headquarters of the Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms (Known by its Turkish acronym- IHH) in 1998. There, they found weapons and fake documents and it was determined that the IHH was a front for moving weapons, money and fighters to Bosnia and Afghanistan.

"It's hard to prove, but all elements of the investigation showed that part of the NGO served to hide jihad-type activities [snip] ...I'm convinced this was a clear strategy, known by IHH."

French investigators found in the 1990s that "several members of Fateh Kamel's network worked at the IHH as a cover," Bruguiere said. "It was too systematic and too widespread for the NGO (non-governmental organization) not to know" their real goal, he said

A US State Department spokesman said on Wednesday that they were aware of IHH representatives meeting with senior-level Hamas officials in Syria, Turkey and the Gaza strip since 2006 and that it was "obviously of great concern to us".


Spin, Strangeness and Charm has more on this, including the almost Pavlovian international condemnation of Israel just hours after the MV Mari Marmara incident and video shot at the scene.