ARAB PRESS STOP THE ZIONIST ATTACK AGAINST JERUSALEM Al Doustour editorial, February 16 When Israel announces new settlements or demolishes Palestinian houses, we know that Judaization plans are continuing and the Zionist attack on Jerusalem and the Aksa Mosque has become a daily occurrence. The multiple conferences held about Jerusalem and Al Aksa failed, as they didn’t lead to practical measures to prevent Israel from expelling Palestinians from Jerusalem. The Arab countries also did not pay the pledges they committed to during the Arab Summits. We believe that fortunate Palestinians should remember their responsibility to their homeland and we want to remind them what Zionists do in that regard. Zionist millionaire Irving Moskowitz funds Jewish building in Jerusalem.
Rothschild was the first Jewish millionaire who funded the first community in Palestine in the end of 19th century, called Petah Tikva, which translates as “The Gate of Hope.” We remind rich Arabs as well, and there are plenty of them, that saving Jerusalem should be at the top of the Muslims’ agenda.
Silence or empty statements are not acceptable anymore – we need the Arab countries to commit to their pledges and help Jerusalemites stay steadfast in the city, build their homes and pay their medical bills.
THE SCANDAL OF PRISONER X
Al Nahar, Beirut, February 16
Israel is feeling the heat of the scandal of Australian-born Mossad agent Ben Zygier, who committed suicide two years ago in an Israeli jail. The scandal has different sides but it clearly reflects the secret world of the Israeli intelligence. Just like other intelligence services around the world, the Mossad doesn’t hesitate to use the dirtiest ways to hide its secret activities. The Prisoner X scandal also exposes the power of intelligence forces over Israeli public life. The Mossad hides behind law and justice to achieve its goals. It also uses press censorship to hijack freedom of speech, putting the Israeli media in a sensitive position and proving once more that Israel’s claims of being the democracy in the region are false. The Israeli embarrassment about the incident and the questions it raised eventually allowed publication after the story was revealed to the whole world.
Before the Internet and the information revolution, Israel was able to keep the Mossad’s work a secret, but not anymore.
FRAGMENTATION OF THE ARAB LEVANT
Al Masry Al Youm, February 17 Re-examining a 1982 study by former Israeli diplomat Oded Yinon, entitled “A Strategy for Israel in the 1980s,” expresses what is going on in Israeli minds. The Zionist plans aim at breaking up the Arab states and redrawing borders to achieve a geographical expansion. Yinon believes that there is no difference between the 1948 and 1967 borders because Israel seeks secure borders regardless of where they are on the map. Yinon says secure borders means a refusal to grant Palestinians autonomy and negates their existence in the “Land of Israel.” Yinon believes that Palestinians have the right to exist but on the East Bank (i.e. Jordan). This is why Israel is willing to endanger the only moderate regime in the Arab world, Jordan, for the sake of solving the problem through Palestinian population transfer to Jordan.
ISRAEL WANTS TO GO REGIONAL
Al Hayat, London, February 17
In the wake of the Israeli raid on a suburb of Damascus, Israel is interested in reshaping the region. The intensive flights by the Israeli air force over Lebanon, the accusations of Hezbollah’s involvement in the attack in Bulgaria and the European attempts to list Hezbollah as a terrorist organization are all preparations for war. The head of the Nahal Israeli army unit talked about the need for a third war to destroy Hezbollah’s power and missile infrastructure. A new study by the former head of military intelligence in the Israeli army, General Amos Yadlin, studies possible scenarios for an Israeli attack on an advanced weapon Hezbollah is believed to have.
Yadlin says that in the last attack on Syria, Israeli intelligence acquired precise information about the site of the attack.
Yadlin didn’t rule out the possibility of attacks against Israelis around the world.
TOURISTS ESCAPE EGYPT TO ISRAEL
Al Arabiya net, Dubai February 19 Workers in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm Al-Sheikh said that the state of political instability has led tourists, especially Russians and Germans, to visit Israel instead of Egypt. The tempting price offers of the hotels and resorts in the city failed to attract customers who used to flock to the city. Some five-star hotels offered a week’s vacation including air fares for $1,000 to Russian tourist agencies, but only a few tourists were attracted. A gift-shop owner who used to make $1,000 daily says that the tourism has declined by 80 percent compared to what it was before the revolution in Egypt. He said shop owners are not able to pay their rent, which is usually between $3,000 and $4,000 a month. A tourist agency owner told Al Arabiya that around 80% of the customers have changed their destination to Israel, especially since the Israeli hotels and companies have developed marketing campaigns in Europe and managed to draw tourists.
Around 10 million tourists came to Egypt in 2012, which is a 2.2% increase from the number of tourists in 2011.