Police in Paris are investigating a Muslim man for the gruesome murder of his elderly Jewish neighbor, Israel National News reports.
The unnamed assailant reportedly stabbed Sarah Halimi while she slept, then shoved the 66-year-old woman from her three-story apartment window to her death. Her body was discovered outside her apartment on Monday.
Neighbors reported hearing the assailant yell "Allahu Akbar," or God is greatest, before killing Halimi. Police say they have not confirmed this and have yet to label the attack a hate crime. They sent the suspect for a psychiatric evaluation.
"This tragedy may have been the result of a random violent crime by a thug, or maybe there was a background of racial hatred here, or hateful ideology — at this point it's not known yet," Sammy Ghozlan, president of the National Bureau for Vigilance Against Anti-Semitism told the Jewish Telegraph Agency (JTA) Wednesday.
Ghozlan, a retired police commissioner, also revealed that a relative of the suspect previously harassed some of Halimi's relatives for being Jewish.
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By IPT News | April 6, 2017 at 2:29 pm | Permalink
An Iranian supported Shi'a militia, Al-Nujaba, says it formed the "Golan Liberation Army" to fight Israel, the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) reports.
"This army has been trained and has detailed plans. If the Syria regime asks us to, we are ready to act to liberate the Golan [from Israel] along with our allies," Al-Nujaba spokesman Hashem Al-Mousawi said in a March 8 interview with Iran's Tasnim news agency.
Al-Mousawi also admitted that the new militant group is "part of the PMU [Popular Mobilization Units]," an Iraqi-backed umbrella organization comprised of numerous Shi'a militias, including some with close ties to Iran. The Golan Liberation Army emerged from the Iranian led "resistance" axis and consists of "special forces who have received training and equipment," he said.
"Iran is the only country that has helped us," Al-Mousawi said, "and sent us its military advisors, led by Qassem Soleimani."
Soleimani, the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps' (IRGC) Quds Force, is tasked with advancing Iran's regional expansion and terrorist networks. Since September 2015, Iran increased its forces in Syria from hundreds to thousands to support Hizballah terrorists acting at Iran's behest in propping up the Bashar al-Assad regime.
Despite Iran's commitment to Syria, the Islamic Republic is establishing terrorist networks in the Golan Heights, using Hizballah, Druze, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) operatives to target Israel. The new Golan Liberation Army shows that Iran is now diverting Iraqi militia assets from fighting ISIS to confront the Jewish state.
Soleimani's Quds Force financed most of the Iraqi-Shi'ite militias and provided them with weapons specifically to target American soldiers. With Hizballah's assistance, the Quds Force supplied terrorists with powerful explosive devices that killed numerous American and coalition troops in Iraq.
Israel is very concerned with the establishment of Iranian-led terrorist bases in the Golan Heights. Hizballah openly seeks to consolidate its presence in the region and launch attacks against Israel from a new front in a future war.
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By IPT News | April 5, 2017 at 2:52 pm | Permalink
Hamas calls for the destruction of Israel through "armed resistance" in a new political document intended to re-brand the terrorist organization as a more moderate group.
"Resistance to the occupation, by all means and methods, is a legitimate right guaranteed by divine laws and international norms and laws, at the heart of which is armed resistance ... Hamas refuses to infringe upon Resistance and its weapons, and emphasizes the right of our people to develop the means of Resistance and its mechanisms," according to an Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) translation of the new document obtained by Al-Quds news.
Hamas reaffirms that its objective is "the liberation of Palestine and confronting the Zionist project" and that its "reference is Islam in its principles and lofty goals."
"Palestine," according to Hamas, refers to all of Israel and the territories: "from the Jordan River eastward to the Mediterranean Sea on the West..."
While the document states that Hamas accepts a temporary Palestinian state based on 1967 borders, the group clearly proclaims that there will be "no recognition of the legitimacy of the Zionist entity...no renunciation of any part of the land of Palestine whatever the reasons, circumstances and pressures, and no matter how long the Occuption [lasts]."
Hamas seeks to project a more peaceful stance to the international community by trying to differentiate its conflict with the "Zionist entity" as opposed to the Jewish people. Nevertheless, the terrorist group goes out of its way to deny any Jewish rights to the land.
"The city of Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine and has its religious, historical and civilizational status, Arab, Islamic and humane; and all its Islamic and Christian holy places, led by Holy al-Aqsa Mosque...," reads the section on Jerusalem.
More importantly, Hamas refuses to revoke its 1988 charter, which openly advocates for Israel's demise and "confronting the usurpation of Palestine by the Jews through jihad."
Earlier this month, Gaza's Hamas chief confirmed that his terrorist organization will continue its campaign to fight Israel until it secures "the liberation of all of Palestine." An in-depth analysis of Hamas' new manifesto suggests that it is symbolic sham aimed at deceiving Western governments into removing Hamas from terrorist designations.
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By IPT News | April 3, 2017 at 11:51 am | Permalink
Palestinian activist and Stanford University graduate Fadi Quran told the Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) conference Friday night that "guerilla disobedience" is needed against Israel. Quran, who was arrested by Israeli security forces in 2012, told his fellow participants that activism was not enough.
They must become "freedom fighters."
"We must realize that it's not enough to be organizations, to be civil society anymore. We must cross the threshold to become resistance movements. And we must realize that it's not enough to protest anymore. We must transform the equations of power," Quran said.
"Guerilla disobedience" means copying tactics used by American anarchists to shut down traffic, Quran said. In this case, Israeli army supply chains would be targeted along with the economy in order to make occupation costly for Israel.
Quran claimed these tactics would be needed to defend Palestinians from Israeli encroachment. He claimed that the Arab Bedouin town of Jabal al Baba, located east of Jerusalem, faced destruction. Israel claims the Bedouin tribe living there illegally settled on land belonging to the city of Ma'aleh Adumim.
Israel has offered the Bedouin tribe nearby land where they can legally live, but they are reluctant to move there due to pressure from the Palestinian Authority and others.
A new Nakba, or catastrophe, is underway for the Palestinians, Quran said. As a result, Palestinians need new tactics that go beyond those used in the past.
"We're going to occupy the occupation, we're gonna build barricades; we're gonna bring thousands of people there," Quran said. "And if we manage to liberate this land, if we manage to stop the plans for going forward there, we will stop them from going forward everywhere."
What is coming ahead will be difficult, but the BDS activists can overcome the obstacles, he said.
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By John Rossomando | April 2, 2017 at 6:14 pm | Permalink
Two al-Qaida linked Syrian militias have agreed to a nine-month cease-fire with Hizballah in a deal backed by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Qatar.
This accord affects the northwestern Syrian city of Idlib and several nearby towns, as well as in the towns of Babila and Beit Wamil, located south of Damascus.
The al-Qaida linked militias will release 1,500 detainees, half of whom the satellite channel Al-Jisr TV says are women, to the Assad regime. Civilians and fighters loyal to the Assad regime will be evacuated from two towns in the Idlib region.
In exchange, the Assad regime will release hundreds of detainees, and al-Qaida linked fighters will be allowed to leave the southwestern Syrian towns of Zabadani, Bloudan and Madaya.
Al-Jisr TV reports that Qatar will act as the guarantor of the cease-fire and will facilitate the release of the prisoners and the return of displaced persons to their homes.
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By John Rossomando | March 29, 2017 at 2:55 pm | Permalink
Bahrain security authorities arrested members of an Iranian-sponsored terrorist cell on Sunday, accusing them of planning assassinations of senior government officials. The cell is also believed to be behind a bus bombing that wounded several policemen in February.
Bahrain's state news agency – BNA – reported that Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) provided military training to six of the suspects, while five others received training from the Iraqi Hizballah terrorist organization. Three others were trained in Bahrain.
Two exiled Bahrainis living in Iran coordinate the terrorist cell, Bahrain's interior ministry announced, including a U.S. State Department designated global terrorist, Mortada Majid Al-Sanadi.
Bahrain authorities last year foiled a similar IRGC and Lebanese Hizballah plot to carry out terrorist attacks in the country.
In November 2015, Bahrain arrested 47 people accused of links to "terrorist elements in Iran," who reportedly planned to conduct imminent attacks in the country. A month later, Bahrain recalled its ambassador to Iran following a security forces raid on a bomb-making factory and arrests of individuals with suspected ties to the IRGC.
In Sunday's arrests, security forces reportedly seized domestically manufactured explosives and communications equipment from the suspects' homes. These developments suggest that Iranian sponsored proxies may be assisting local cells to build bombs.
According to the BNA report, Hizballah leader Hassan Nasrallah gave a main suspect, Ali Ahmed Fakhwari, $20,000 to assist the terrorist cell.
Iran has been accused of plotting terrorist attacks around the world in recent years – mainly through proxies like Hizballah and the al-Quds Force of the IRGC – in countries such as Egypt, Cyprus, Georgia, Thailand, India and others. In July 2012, a bus bomb widely attributed to Hizballah killed five Israeli tourists and a bus driver in Bulgaria.
In October 2011, the United Stated foiled an Iranian plot to assassinate the Saudi Arabian ambassador in Washington D.C. and bomb the Saudi and Israeli embassies in the U.S. capital.
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By IPT News | March 27, 2017 at 1:41 pm | Permalink
Gaza's Hamas chief Yayha Sinwar said Wednesday that his terrorist organization will continue its campaign to fight Israel until it secures "the liberation of all of Palestine," despite recent reports of Hamas seeking to moderate its outlook.
"Hamas will continue in the path of Yassin for the liberation of all of Palestine — we will not surrender even a morsel [of the land]", said Sinwar at an event commemorating the death anniversary of Hamas founder Ahmed Yassin.
Sinwar, considered extreme even by Hamas standards, openly supports violence against Israel and opposes any compromise in the terrorist group's policies.
His proclamation confirms that Hamas remains steadfast in its ultimate goal of destroying the Jewish state despite the terrorist group's recent efforts to project a more peaceful stance to the international community.
Hamas intends to release a new platform at the end of the month, following internal elections, which reportedly omits prior references to waging jihad against Jews and accept a temporary Palestinian state in the territories Israel acquired following the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Support for a temporary solution, however, does not mean that Hamas will suddenly give up its aims to destroy the Jewish state in the longer-run.
Despite these apparent overtures, Hamas refuses to revoke its 1988 charter, which openly advocates for Israel's demise and "confronting the usurpation of Palestine by the Jews through jihad."
"The [new] document carries a kind of superficial change, but in fact it upholds most of Hamas' principles," Gaza analyst Akram Atallah told the Associated Press.
Hamas does plan to rescind its status as a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood in an attempt to alleviate tensions with Egypt. Nevertheless, the Palestinian group refuses to severe ties with the Brotherhood.
For Hamas, there is no difference between pre-1967 Israel and the West Bank or Gaza Strip. The terrorist group considers the entirety of Israel and the Palestinian territories as "Palestine." Sinwar's statement suggests that the group's new manifesto is a symbolic sham aimed at deceiving Western governments into removing Hamas from terrorist designations.
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By IPT News | March 23, 2017 at 2:41 pm | Permalink
Hashd al-Shaabi, an Iranian-backed Iraqi Shiite militia coalition previously accused of war crimes, is trying to take advantage of global sympathy for ISIS victims in Mosul. Its Twitter account Wednesday invited donations through the California-based crowd funding site, YouCaring.com.
Using its English name, the "Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units," Hashd al-Shaabi solicited money for "the new campaign 'For Your Sake' to aid the displaced Iraqi citizens from Mosul and other cities and provinces of Iraq as the war against ISIS rages."
It called on Iraqis to help with Internally Displaced Person (IDP) camps housing ISIS victims and invites foreigners to donate to its effort. The site directs non-Iraqis to a Gmail account to help Hashd al-Shaabi's alleged relief effort in Iraq.
Iraq's government officially recognized Hashd al-Shaabi as an arm of its armed forces in November. This happened even though the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force – listed by the U.S. Treasury Department as a specially designated terrorist – closely coordinates Hashd al-Shaabi's activities. The U.S. State Department lists Kitaib Hizballah, a component of the coalition, as a foreign terrorist organization.
A Hashd al-Shaabi unit called the "Brigades of Imam Ali" burned a Sunni civilian alive, ISIS style, in a 2015 video. In January, Amnesty International accused Hasd al-Shaabi of using American weapons to commit war crimes.
Money raised on YouCaring could end up in Kitaib Hizballah's hands, worries University of Maryland researcher Phillip Smyth.
"Technically, and I'm not a lawyer, but given U.S. registered terrorist entities are part of al-Hashd al-Sha'abi, this could be a form of material support," Smyth said. "As for where the money may go, there's no way to track that either if you're just some random guy at home who wants to help refugees."
Hash al-Shaabi has used social media and television for recruiting purposes for some time, Smyth said.
YouCaring expressed alarm when contacted by the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT). It subsequently deleted Hashd al-Shaabi's account and adapted its algorithm to prevent it from creating new accounts. The account had collected $200.
"Our Trust and Safety team has been actively investigating this fundraiser since it launched yesterday. We have robust algorithms in place to check if a campaign is in violation of our policies. Each fundraiser is thoroughly investigated by our Trust and Safety team – this fundraiser was flagged for removal this morning as it was in violation of our policies. We take a hardline stance on fundraisers for militia groups. It was removed," YouCaring Online Marketing Director Jesse Boland told the IPT in an email.
"This organizer has been blocked from starting fundraisers in the future."
That might be true for Youcaring.com. But Hashd al-Shaabi resurrected its fundraising campaign on the Canadian crowdfunding site FundRazr using the same contact information and text it used earlier.
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By John Rossomando | March 15, 2017 at 5:41 pm | Permalink
Israeli security authorities arrested members of two different Palestinian terrorist cells in January, Israel's domestic intelligence agency announced on Wednesday.
Two of the suspects belonged to the al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade, the military wing of President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party. They are suspected of participating in several terrorist attacks, including pipe bomb and Molotov cocktail attacks.
One pipe bomb attack injured an IDF soldier in October. By arresting the cell members, Israeli authorities say they also foiled future plans to shoot Israeli security personnel.
Furthermore, Israeli authorities disrupted another cell in January and arrested two Hamas-affiliated operatives terrorists from al-Aroub refugee camp. Cell leader Ahmed al-Rahman was responsible for acquiring weapons to carry out terrorist attacks against "Israeli security forces and civilians." Al-Rahman also recruited Mahand Jabber Muhammed abu Sal to join the cell.
"The exposure of the cells and the operations they were planning shows the high level of motivation of terror operatives to carry out serious terrorist attacks and bears witness to the high threat level they pose," a Shin Bet statement said.
Shin Bet transferred its findings to Israeli military prosecutors for upcoming indictments.
These developments come after Israeli authorities foiled two other West Bank-based Hamas cells earlier this week. Similar to the cells busted in January, the operatives were responsible for coordinating terrorist attacks and planning shooting attacks against Israeli troops and civilians.
Meanwhile, a Palestinian carried out a car ramming attack on Wednesday, trying to drive over Israeli civilians and soldiers standing at the Gush Etzion Junction bus stop. The deadly attack was prevented after the terrorist was shot and wounded.
While most foiled cells in the West Bank are affiliated with Hamas, the recent arrests of Fatah terrorists reaffirms that Israel faces multi-faceted terrorist threats. Fatah is often referred to as the "moderate" Palestinian faction, but operatives with allegiance to Fatah's political party continue to plan and execute terrorist attacks targeting Israelis. Wednesday's attempted vehicular attack also shows that individual terrorist initiatives remain a major problem for Israeli authorities, augmenting the terrorist threat from coordinated cells representing factions from across the Palestinian political spectrum.
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By IPT News | March 15, 2017 at 4:00 pm | Permalink
Muslim Brotherhood and Palestinian factions are praising a Jordanian terrorist who shot and killed seven Israeli schoolgirls and injured six others in 1997, after his release from prison on Saturday.
"The Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas hails the Arab Hero Ahmed Daqamseh on his release and his gaining his freedom. As we greet his noble struggle, his historic steadfastness and his heroic positions on Jerusalem and Palestine and the Resistance of the Palestinian people," according to an Investigative Project (IPT) translation of a Hamas press statement released on Monday.
Following his release, Daqamseh labeled Israelis as "human garbage vomited into our midst by the world's nations" and called for the death of Israelis "whether by burning or by burying," in comments translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).
The Muslim Brotherhood's political wing in Jordan rejoiced at Daqamseh's freedom.
"The (Islamic Action) party greets people of Jordan and the family of the hero Ahmed Damaqseh on his release from prison after his sentence and welcomes his return to practice his national role alongside the free men of this nation in construction and achievement," according to the IPT's translation of an Islamic Action Party statement.
Even the so-called moderate Palestinian faction, Fatah, glorified the Jordanian terrorist, justifying the murder of Israeli schoolchildren.
"It may be noted that the soldier Daqamseh opened fire on the group of girls because they made fun of him during his prayers according to his testimony at the time," reads a Fatah statement.
Numerous supporters celebrated Daqasmeh's release, posting large signs glorifying the murderer in the streets of Ibdar city – located in Irbid Province north of Amman – which host's Daqasmeh's tribe.
"Praise be to God for your safety Oh Abou Sayf [Father of the Sword]
After a long absence of twenty years. Your village is filled with light Oh Lion of the Valley. Welcome," reads one sign, translated by IPT, featuring Daqamseh's face
Social media users also glorified the Jordanian soldier turned terrorist as a "hero" and a "model," while Daqamseh's name was trending on Twitter.
From the Muslim Brotherhood's factions in Jordan and the Palestinian territories, to Mahmoud Abbas' party Fatah and across social media, praise for the murderer of Israeli schoolgirls is gaining traction throughout the Arab world.
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By IPT News | March 13, 2017 at 12:27 pm | Permalink