Lebanon president hedges over eventual peace with Israel in interview

MSN – AFP, 16 Aug 2020

Lebanon president hedges over eventual peace with Israel in interview

Lebanese President Michel Aoun, ally of Israel's arch-foe Hezbollah, seemed to leave the door open to eventual peace with the Jewish state, in an interview with French news channel BFMTV.

Michel Aoun wearing a suit and tie: Lebanese President Michel Aoun, pictured here in a file photo, seemed to leave the door open to eventual peace with the Jewish state, in an interview with French news channel BFMTV© - Lebanese President Michel Aoun, pictured here in a file photo, seemed to leave the door open to eventual peace with the Jewish state, in an interview with French news channel BFMTV

Lebanon has technically been at war with neighbouring Israel for decades, with tensions sporadically flaring in the border area in Lebanon's south, stronghold of the Shiite Muslim Hezbollah movement.

Asked in an interview on BFMTV on Saturday whether Lebanon would be prepared to make peace with Israel, Aoun responded: "That depends. We have problems with Israel, we have to resolve them first."

His statement came in the wake of an announcement Thursday that Israel would normalise relations with the United Arab Emirates, only the third Arab state to establish full diplomatic ties with Israel since its creation in 1948.

"It's an independent country," Aoun said of the UAE.

Aoun's Christian Free Patriotic Movement has for years been politically allied with Hezbollah, enabling them to dominate parliament and the government, which resigned on Monday amid outrage over negligence that led to the deadly explosion at Beirut's port that devastated the capital.

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said on Friday of the Israel-UAE agreement that "it's a betrayal of Jerusalem and the Palestinian people. It's a knife in the back."

A key point of contention between Lebanon and Israel concerns oil and gas resources in the eastern Mediterranean, where both countries have sought bids for exploration in their exclusive economic zones.

The maritime border between the countries is disputed.

Aoun's interview was aired in the aftermath of the Beirut blast on August 4 that killed 177 people and wounded at least 6,500 more, with many blaming systemic corruption and negligence of the entrenched political class for the disaster.

Many Lebanese have demanded the ouster of the entire ruling class, dominated by ex-warlords from the country's 1975-1990 civil war, including of Aoun.

Asked by the BFMTV journalist if he had thought of stepping down, Aoun said, "it's impossible, there would be a vacuum".

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Israel loosens restrictions on Gaza fishermen

France24 – AFP, 1 April 2019

Israel says it is loosening restrictions on fishermen off the blockaded Gaza Strip AFP/File

Israel loosened restrictions on fishermen off the blockaded Gaza Strip on Monday by allowing them to travel up to 15 nautical miles into the Mediterranean, the largest distance in years.

The decision comes after Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules Gaza, said it had been engaged in Egyptian-brokered talks with Israel on easing parts of the blockade in return for calm.

Israel has not commented on the negotiations. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is widely seen as wanting to avoid a severe escalation in the Gaza Strip ahead of April 9 Israeli elections.

"The fishing zone in the Gaza Strip has been expanded to a maximum of 15 nautical miles (28 kilometres)," said COGAT, the Israeli defence ministry unit that oversees such regulations.

It did not say in which areas the zone would extend to 15 nautical miles. Israel has in the past extended the distance in certain areas but not others.

The distance is the largest allowed in years by Israel, which has fought three wars with Palestinian militants in the enclave and has blockaded it for more than a decade, said Miriam Marmur, spokeswoman for Gisha, an NGO that monitors restrictions on Gaza.

She however noted that it remains short of the 20 nautical miles agreed to under the Oslo accords of the 1990s.

The distance has fluctuated in recent years from between three nautical miles up to 12 in certain areas.

In late February, Israel extended part of the zone to 12 nautical miles while other areas remained at six.

On Sunday, Israel reopened its goods and people crossings with the Gaza Strip after having kept them closed for nearly a week following a rare long-distance rocket strike from the Palestinian enclave. Restrictions had also been placed on the fishing zone after the rocket.

The rocket fire wounded seven Israelis and led to Israeli retaliatory strikes across the Gaza Strip, another serious flare-up between the two sides.

The reopening of the crossings came after tens of thousands of Palestinians protested along the Gaza border with Israel on Saturday, marking the one-year anniversary since demonstrations and clashes erupted there.

Four Palestinians were killed on Saturday during protests and clashes, but unrest was limited and fears of mass bloodshed were averted after Egyptian-led negotiations.

Dead Sea's revival with Red Sea canal edges closer to reality

Yahoo – AFP, Marie WOLFROM, March 18, 2018

Evaporation ponds at the southern part of the Dead Sea where both sodium
chloride and potassium salts are produced (AFP Photo/MENAHEM KAHANA)

Ghor al-Haditha (Jordan) (AFP) - Israel and Jordan have long pursued a common goal to stop the Dead Sea from shrinking while slaking their shared thirst for drinking water with a pipeline from the Red Sea some 200 kilometres away.

Geopolitical tensions have stalled efforts to break ground on the ambitious project for years, but the end of the latest diplomatic spat has backers hoping a final accord may now be in sight.

The degradation of the Dead Sea, on the border of Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian West Bank, began in the 1960s when water began to be heavily diverted from the Jordan River.

"Before 1967, the water was just a 10-minute walk from my house," said Musa Salim al-Athem, a farmer who grows tomatoes on the banks on the Jordan side.

"Now it takes an hour," he said, standing amid the resulting lunar landscape of spectacular salt sculptures, gaping sinkholes and craters.

"Only the sea can fill up the sea."

"Since 1950, the amount flowing in the Jordan has dropped from 1.2 billion cubic metres per year (42 billion cubic feet) to less than 200 million," said Frederic Maurel, an engineering expert at the French development agency AFD.

Heavy production of potash, used for making fertiliser, has also accelerated evaporation that has seen the sea's surface area shrink by a third since 1960.

Experts say water levels are falling one metre (three feet) a year, and warn it could dry out completely within 30 years.

Palestinian refugees at the al-Baqa'a refugee camp near Amman. Jordan is
determined to press ahead with the project to cope with the needs of a rising population
which has been swelled by about one million refugees fleeing war in Syria (AFP Photo/
Khalil MAZRAAWI)

'Economic treasure'

Already 100 years ago, Theodor Herzl, the father of modern political Zionism, had envisaged filling the Dead Sea via a canal dug to the Mediterranean.

The sea's natural beauty and mineral-rich black mud have also provided a source of tourism revenue.

"The Dead Sea has historical, biblical, natural, touristic, medical and industrial values that make it an invaluable cultural, environmental and economic treasure," said Avner Adin, a specialist in water science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

After years of studies, the $1.1 billion Red Sea "Peace Conduit" deal was signed by Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian authorities in 2013.

The project, located entirely on Jordanian territory, includes a desalination plant near Aqaba.

After producing drinking water, the remaining highly saline liquid will be sent by pipeline to fill the Dead Sea, powering two hydroelectric plants along the way.

A subsequent 2015 deal would see Israel get 35 billion cubic metres of potable water from the desalination plant for its parched southern regions.

The mostly desert Jordan, for its part, would get up to 50 billion cubic metres of freshwater from the Sea of Galilee.

Israel also agreed to sell 32 billion cubic metres to the Palestinian authorities.

Jordan announced in November 2016 that it had chosen five international consortiums to build the first phase of the canal.

But talks on how to finance the deal, which calls for $400 million of public funding, and geopolitical flare-ups have kept the project from moving forward.

Experts say water levels are falling one metre a year, and warn it could dry out 

completely within thirty years (AFP Photo/MENAHEM KAHANA)

'Diplomatic hazards'

Some $120 million has already been pledged by donors including the US and Japan, while France's AFD agency has secured the backing of the EU and some member states for $140 million in preferential loans to Jordan.

Talks were frozen last year after an Israeli security guard shot and killed two Jordanians at the Israeli embassy in Amman, prompting a diplomatic standoff that ended only in January.

"We have never been so close to starting the project," Maurel said. "It only needs a final push by the Jordanian and Israeli authorities."

A diplomatic source in Amman said the project remained essential for the region given the environmental and economic stakes, "but it's still at the mercy of diplomatic hazards."

For Adin at the Hebrew University, "It seems to be that the situation is improving. The main obstacle in my mind could be financial."

Officials in Jordan say they are determined to press ahead with or without Israel to cope with the needs of a rising population which has been swelled by about one million refugees fleeing the war in neighbouring Syria.

"We are proceeding with the project because desalination eventually is the future of Jordan when it comes to water," said Iyad Dahiyat, secretary general of the country's water authority.

"Water is part of the stability of the kingdom itself," he added. "It's a national security issue."

Despite truce, Gaza fishermen under fire at sea

Yahoo – AFP, Adel Zaanoun and Yahya Hassouna, 25 Sep 2014

The Gaza Strip has long been known for its plentiful seafood and fish although

 the stocks have been depleted by pollution, frequent wars and the blockade (AFP

Photo/Mohammed Abed)

Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - Every time Gaza fisherman Rami goes to sea, the same thing happens: five nautical miles offshore, shots ring out and a voice over an Israeli loudspeaker demands he turn back.

Officially, Gaza's fishing fleet has the right to trawl the waters up to six nautical miles off the shore under the terms of Israel's eight-year blockade.

Although that outer limit has frequently been reduced, or even cancelled outright over the years, it was formally reinstated by virtue of an August 26 truce agreement which ended a deadly 50-day war between Israel and Hamas militants.

Palestinian fish traders sit around a 

sculpture of a boat propeller as they wait

 for fishermen to come back with their 

catch on August 18, 2014 at the harbour

in Gaza City (AFP Photo/Roberto Schmidt)

But nearly a month after the ceasefire took effect, even those six nautical miles -- which the fishermen say is not nearly enough -- are unattainable.

One afternoon, Rami Bakr and his 10-man crew put to sea for a 10-hour fishing expedition. With them was an AFP team.

Very quickly, warning shots skimmed the boat as an Israeli navy vessel approached. On board were around a dozen soldiers armed with machine guns, shouting through a loudspeaker for them to stop.

"These are the worst conditions we've ever known," said the 41-year-old fisherman, who has spent more than three decades of his life fishing the waters off Gaza.

"During the war, the Israelis bombed fishing huts on the beach and now they are preventing fishermen from earning their crust at sea," he said.

The Gaza Strip has long been known for its plentiful seafood and fish although the stocks have been depleted by pollution, frequent wars and the blockade.

Today, the coastal enclave counts some 4,000 fishermen, more than half of whom live below the poverty line, said Nizar Ayash, head of the Gaza fishermen's syndicate.

During the recent seven-week war, 80 of Gaza's fleet of around 1,500 fishing boats and dozens of fishing huts were destroyed in the Israeli bombardment, which also reduced nets and fishing equipment to ashes, he said.

'Too risky'

For Ayash, the problems experienced by Rami are widespread.

"Since the ceasefire, many Israeli attacks have been reported," he said, referring to repeated shooting at fishing vessels.

Israeli forces say the warning shots are necessary because Palestinian boats flout the six-mile limit.

With their tackle destroyed and the price of oil soaring, Gaza's fishermen are almost working at a loss.

Today, a single fishing expedition can cost up to about $500 (roughly 400 euros), said another fisherman called Mehdi Bakr, who lost his hand when an Israeli navy vessel fired at his boat in 1997.

Gaza counts some 4,000 fishermen, more than half of whom live

below the poverty line (AFP Photo/Mohammed Abed)

For every night on the water, they need 270 litres (59 gallons) of diesel and 250 litres of petrol, he explained.

And all this for a very small catch.

"September and October is sardine season and they are only found between six to nine nautical miles from the shore, so with a six-mile limit, we're bringing home hardly anything," explained Taha Bakr, a 24-year-old member of Rami's crew.

Because fishing is a trade passed on from father to son, and because he can no longer provide for his family and the job is so dangerous, the young man with green eyes and a neatly-trimmed beard has signed up to journalism school.

"It's so that I don't have to fish again, that job is just too risky," he told AFP.

Maria Jose Torres, deputy head of office in the Palestinian branch of the UN humanitarian agency (OCHA), said that the 1993 Oslo Accords established a fishing zone of up to 20 nautical miles.

"It is essential to increase the fishing zone beyond six nautical miles to allow the fishermen to earn their living," she said, indicating that the vast majority today are unable to support themselves.

"Some 84 percent of them are only able to survive thanks to help from the UN," she said.

Rami said he keeps putting out to sea so that he can feed his children.

"It has been a long time since we last heard the singing and laughter of fishermen at sea who returned with their nets full," he said.

But Mehdi fears for the future of this millennia-old profession in Gaza.

"We, the young generation, are not happy with this. If it carries on like this, there won't be any more fishing in Gaza at all," he said.

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Israel, Jordan, Palestinians to sign Red Sea-Dead Sea deal

Yahoo – AFP, 9 December 2013

Israeli soldiers patrol the coast at the Dead Sea on the Israeli side of the popular
 tourist site known for it's mineral-rich mud, on August 10, 2013.

Israeli soldiers patrol the coast at the Dead Sea on the Israeli side of the popular tourist site known for it's mineral-rich mud, on August 10, 2013 (AFP Photo/Hazem Bader)

Jerusalem (AFP) - Representatives of Israel, Jordan and the Palestinians will on Monday sign a "historic" agreement to link the Red Sea with the shrinking Dead Sea, an Israeli minister said.

Energy and Regional Development Minister Silvan Shalom told army radio that under the agreement to be signed at the World Bank in Washington, water will be drawn from the Gulf of Aqaba at the northern end of the Red Sea.

Some will be desalinated and distributed to Israel, Jordan and the Palestinians, while the rest will be transferred in four pipes to the parched Dead Sea, which would otherwise dry out by 2050.

Shalom noted the economic aspects of supplying cheap desalinated water to neighbouring states, the environmental angle of "saving the Dead Sea" and the "strategic-diplomatic" aspect of the deal, being signed at a time when peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians are floundering.

"This is a breakthrough after many years of efforts," he said. "It is nothing less than a historic move."

According to Yediot, the Palestinian Authority's minister in charge of water issues, Shaddad Attili, and Jordanian Water Minister Hazem Nasser will be signing the agreement with Shalom.

Shalom said that following the signing, "an international tender will be issued for the entire project -- building the desalination plant in Aqaba and laying the first of the four pipes."

According to Yediot Aharonot newspaper, which first broke the story, the idea dates back to the 1994 signing of a peace treaty between Israel and Jordan.

The World Bank in 2012 published a feasibility study report on the project.

But Friends of the Earth Middle East and other environmental groups warned that a large influx of Red Sea water could radically change the Dead Sea's fragile ecosystem, forming gypsum crystals and introducing red algae blooms.

Israeli Minister Shalom, the Jordanian Minister Hazem

and Palestinian Minister Attili (AFP)

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Israel must ease new Gaza restrictions: rights groups

The Daily Star, March 24, 2013

A Palestinian fisherman prepares his net at the seaport of Gaza City March 22,
2013. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

                             

JERUSALEM: Two Israeli rights groups demanded on Sunday that Israel lift fishing restrictions imposed on Gaza after militants fired two rockets across the border, slamming them as "collective punishment."

Israel on Thursday halved the area in which Palestinian fishermen are permitted to work, closed the Kerem Shalom goods terminal and imposed restrictions on people wanting to leave the territory after two rockets hit southern Israel, causing damage but no casualties.

The move, which saw the fishing zone cut from six nautical miles to three, was condemned by the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem as well as by Gisha, which campaigns for Palestinian freedom of movement.

"The decision to once again reduce the fishing range in response to missile fire by armed groups constitutes collective punishment imposed on fishermen for the actions of others," said a statement from B'Tselem.

It said Israel's duty to protect its citizens "cannot justify the harsh damage to fishermen who have done nothing wrong".

"B'Tselem calls on the military to rescind its latest decision and the restrictions imposed on fishermen in the Gaza Strip in the past years, and to permit fishing in the 20 (nautical) miles range, as was set under the Oslo agreements."

In a letter to Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon, Gisha director Sari Bashi said it was "the second time in less than a month" Israel had blocked civilian travel and goods transfer in response to rocket fire and urged him to lift the restrictions.

"In the last month, there appears to be a new policy toward the Gaza Strip, in which Israel is openly restricting civilian movement to and from Gaza, not because of a concrete security necessity, but rather as a punitive step taken against the civilian population in direct response to fire by combatants," she wrote.

The group condemned the rocket fire as "a blatant violation" of international law, but also noted Israel's obligation to avoid harming civilians, saying the recent steps were "entirely unacceptable."

Israel on Friday resumed full diplomatic ties with Turkey after apologising for a deadly 2010 raid on a Gaza aid flotilla which left nine Turkish activists dead.

As part of the deal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged "to work on improving the humanitarian situation" in the Palestinian territories in a phonecall with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan brokered by US President Barack Obama on a landmark visit.

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Fishermen from Gaza risk their lives at work

Our reporters experience first hand Israeli efforts to intimidate Gaza fishermen and keep their fishing trips ever closer to shore

guardian.co.uk, Harriet Sherwood and Mat Heywood, Sunday 24 July 2011

Israel said to ease restictions on Gaza fishing and farming

The Daily Star, Reuters, Nidal al-Mughrabi, November 24, 2012

A Palestinian school girl writes on the blackboard of a classroom, damaged
 during last week's Israeli offensive, at a school in Gaza City, on November 24,
2012,  three days after a truce was declared between Israel and Hamas.
AFP PHOTO/MOHAMMED ABED

                              

GAZA: Israel eased restrictions on Gaza fishermen on Saturday, further implementing a three-day-old truce brokered by Egypt after a week of fierce fighting, Palestinian officials said.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinian children headed back to school for the first time in 10 days, in another indication normal life was returning after cross-border violence in which 166 Palestinians and six Israelis were killed.

A statement from the office of Hamas Islamist Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said Egypt had notified them that "Israel has allowed Palestinian fishermen to fish in Gaza's waters at a distance of six miles (6.9 km), up from three miles (4.8 km)".

Israel had no immediate comment.

A text of the truce deal agreed on Wednesday calls on Israel to ease curbs on the coastal Gaza territory, which it has largely blockaded since Hamas, which rejects the Jewish state's right to exist, took power there in 2007.

The sides had disagreed on exactly when and how the restrictions would actually be lifted.

Israel had formally barred Gaza fishermen from heading more than three miles out into the Mediterranean Sea for about three years, its gunboats often enforcing the rule. It said its blockade was a measure to prevent weapons smuggling.

Murad Al-Issi, a member of a local fishermens' group, told Reuters his colleagues had already ventured out to the six-mile limit on Saturday, undisturbed by Israel.

"The Israeli army naval boat which used to fire and torch Palestinian boats that sailed beyond a three-mile distance watched without doing anything to prevent them," Issi said.

Palestinians say the Israeli restrictions had hampered the amount and variety of fish they could catch.

"This is a good step," Issi said, adding it would be best to be permitted double the distance.

In another apparent Israeli step to ease restrictions, Palestinian farmers tended land along the testy frontier with the Jewish state without incident, a day after Israeli troops killed a Palestinian man at a border fence.

Palestinians denounced the shooting as a violation of the ceasefire and Egypt intervened to restore calm.

On Saturday, a Reuters photographer saw farmers in the Khan Younis area working close to the Israeli frontier fence.

Hamas security officials were on patrol and Israeli soldiers looked on without interfering, but for a brief verbal exchange between one soldier and a Hamas guard, witnesses said.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment.

Israel had barred Palestinians from coming within 300 metres of the border since 2009, citing security concerns.

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Fishermen from Gaza risk their lives at work

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guardian.co.uk, Harriet Sherwood and Mat Heywood, Sunday 24 July 2011

Fishermen from Gaza risk their lives at work

Deutsche Welle, 6 October 2012

The fishermen from Gaza have a dangerous job. Israeli soldiers, often armed to the gills, obstruct their work. Last week, a 22-year-old fisherman was shot dead.

It's early morning in Gaza, and the fish market is buzzing with activity. The fishermen have put their catch on display along the coastal road on the Mediterranean beach. Small sardines are shimmering silver in blue plastic tubs. There are also a few shrimp in the tubs, but there are hardly any bigger fish on sale at the improvised marketplace.

The fish market in Gaza City early in the morning

Amid the haggling, Ahmed has brought 25 boxes of fish to the market today - he was only able to catch small sardines. And even for them he had to drive far to the south tip of the Gaza Strip. Here in the North off the coast of Gaza City, the sea is depleted. There are not even sardines here anymore. In order to catch anything Ahmed has his boat down in the harbour of Rafah, on the Egyptian border.

"At five in the afternoons I drive to Rafah," he said. "From there I go out to sea to fish. I come back the next morning around 5 and drive back to Gaza City."

The sea has been sealed off

But no matter whether Ahmed goes fishing in the North or in the South of the Gaza Strip, he is not allowed to go far because the Israeli navy patrols the sea. The navy ensures that no one goes beyond the three-nautical-mile (5.5-kilometer) restricted area that Israel has imposed on the Gaza Strip.

"In the past, before the Intifada, we were allowed far out onto the sea," Ahmed said. "They reduced that to 15 nautical miles, then nine, then eight and now it's only three."

The Oslo agreement between Israel and the PLO set the fishing zone limit at 20 nautical miles. But over the years, Israel has tightened the blockade of the Gaza Strip. Since 2009, fishermen have only been allowed to leave the coast for a maximum of about three nautical miles.

Israeli officials have said the three-nautical mile policy is in place because fishing boats have been used for smuggling arms and other security offenses.

Shrinking the fishing zone has had a major impact on catches. In 2011, 383 tons of sardine were caught. Back in 2008, when the fishermen were still allowed to fish six miles off the coast, they caught 1,963 tons. Some 3,600 fishermen, their families and the processing industries are affected - up to 70,000 people overall.

But limiting the fishermen to the three-nautical-mile-zone has also caused overfishing in the areas that are close to the coast. In the long run, this threatens the stocks. Many fishermen from the Gaza Strip have already given up their profession. Instead, they now buy fish from the Egyptian fish farms and import them to Gaza.

On the fish marekt in Gaza, the fishermen put their meagre catch on display

Danger on the sea

On Rafah beach, Muhammad and Khalil pulled their small boat, a so-called "hassake," out onto the sea and started the engine. The two cousins used to have two boats. But only one is left - the other one was made unseaworthy by the Israeli navy who shot at it a few months ago, the pair said.

"It happened on July 6th, at four in the morning," Muhammad said. "We went out about three miles, until the border of the permitted fishing zone, where we cast our nets."

An hour later, they said, an Israeli patrol boat came and told them to go out further still. But the two fishermen suspected a trap and instead hauled in the nets and tried to make their way back to the beach. But the Israeli gun boat chased the two fishermen and told them to stop.

The two cousins tried to flee. "Then they fired shots," said Muhammad. "They destroyed the engine of Khalil's boat and I had to tow him, but then they also fired shots at me." 

In the waters off the coast, only small
fish are left

The two men reached the border unscathed but with a destroyed engine. But not all fishermen manage to escape the Israeli soldiers successfully. One week ago, a young man was killed in an Israeli attack, and his brother was injured.

An Israeli army spokesman said their soldiers had fired on two Palestinians who had entered a restricted zone near the security barrier separating Israel and the Gaza Strip in the Beit Lahiha sector.

"The soldiers spotted these Palestinians, who continued to advance towards the barrier in a prohibited area despite warning shots. Then the soldiers opened fire on them," the spokesman said according to the AFP news agency. He denied that the Palestinians had approached from the sea.

Fishermen are arrested out on the open sea and are towed to the Israeli harbor of Ashdod. Muhammad said he had been arrested several times, his boat has been confiscated. On most occasions, Israeli soldiers have sent him back after a few days with a warning not to go out fishing any more. But Muhammad and his cousin can't stop fishing. About 40 family members depend on their work for their survival.

Support from foreign activists

The non-governmental organization Euro-Mid has committed itself to document human rights violations against Palestinians. Between January 2011 and April 2012, Euro-Mid counted 150 assaults against fishermen. Sixty fishermen were arrested, amongst them nine minors. Twelve men were injured by shots. Thirteen boats were confiscated, nets were destroyed or damaged and many of the men were threatened and humiliated. 

Rosa Schiano wants to protect the
fishermen

Activists from abroad support the fishermen of Gaza. They accompany the small fishing boats and try to keep the Israeli navy from launching attacks. Rosa Schiano of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) in Gaza regularly accompanies fishermen and documents the assaults by Israel's war vessels against the fishing boats from the Gaza Strip.

"Israeli war vessels tend to arrive at very high speed and cause big waves around the fishing boats," the Italian Schiano said. "The soldiers fire water canons or shoot with their rifles. They aim at the water, too, to scare away the fish. They tear the fishing nets apart and obstruct the fishermen's work."

Last July, the soldiers destroyed the Olivia, a boat used by international human rights activists. Since the incident, activists have joined the fishermen on the smaller boats. Schiano said she doesn't want to give up and plans to continue accompanying the fishermen on the sea.

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Israeli leaders meet Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in NYC

This video is banned for broadcast on News Networks in USA, Israel and Europe. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that Israel and US does not want you to see. Jewish leaders and prominent businessmen Greet Ahmadinejad with Inshallah and Bless him for long life. Jews have lived in Iran for thousands of years. Over 50,000 Jews live in Teheran. Israeli Jews Love Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Please also watch http://www.youtube.com/watch.....

"The End of History" – Nov 20, 2010 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll)

(Subjects: Abraham, Isaac, Ishmael, Muhammad, Jesus, God, Jews, Arabs, EU, US, Israel, Iran, Russia, Africa, South America, Global Unity,..... etc.) (Text version)

" ..... If an Arab and a Jew can look at one another and see the Akashic lineage and see the one family, there is hope. If they can see that their differences no longer require that they kill one another, then there is a beginning of a change in history. And that's what is happening now. All of humanity, no matter what the spiritual belief, has been guilty of falling into the historic trap of separating instead of unifying. Now it's starting to change. There's a shift happening. ....."

(Religions – Zionism - March 1, 2012 - Matthew Channelled by Suzanne Ward)

9. It can be no other way—simply, this is the physics that governs life in this universe. As Earth continues apace into successively higher planes, nothing with low vibrations in any form—physical bodies, subversive plans, theft, dishonesty, unjust laws and imprisonment, bigotry, cruel customs and deeds—can survive.

10. Moving on, no, it will not be quite like religions being “totally discarded and replaced by universal laws in the Golden Age.” When the truths come forth that science and spirit are one and the same and that religious dogmas were originated by early leaders of church and state to control the masses, people whose consciousness has risen beyond the constraints of third density will adhere to the spiritual aspects of their respective religions and the devised, controlling aspects will fall by the wayside.

11. One of the truths to come forth is that Zionism, which by dark intent has been made synonymous with Judaism, actually is a bellicose political movement within the Illuminati, and its aim for more than six decades has been to create conflict and instability in the entire Middle East. Zionists, who have wielded powerful influence within and behind major governments and their military forces, do NOT represent the Jewish peoples in Israel or anywhere else. And, like all other Illuminati factions, they have been committed to that cabal’s goal of global domination.

12. Although Semites are of diverse national origins and religions, the Zionists have been successful in convincing many that “anti-Semitic” is exclusively prejudice against the Jewish peoples and opposition to Israel’s right to defend itself from its “enemies.” By means of that blatant distortion, they obtained not only world sympathy, but also massive defense funding from Israel’s allies, most especially the United States, all of which served to increase the Illuminati’s vast profits from their industrial-military machine.

13. In addition to controlling the masses through dogmatic teachings, religions have served the dark purpose of divisiveness to such an extent that it resulted in centuries of trauma and bloodshed. Witness the Crusades, wars between Catholics and Protestants, pogroms against Jews, executions of “blasphemous” individuals who refused to “recant.”  (Read More …)

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