RT @TotalPolicing: #ONN hear 3000 prisoners on #HungerStrike but news is STILL hardly getting out #PalHunger
‘#Israeli airstrike intended to stop #Syrian scientific military research’
Though Israel has not yet claimed responsibility for an airstrike targeting a military site near Damascus, experts believe that Tel Aviv aimed to further destabilize Syria and undermine its military capabilities.
Initial reports suggested that Israel conducted an airstrike on a convoy carrying sophisticated weaponry that was preparing to cross the Syria-Lebanon border. Israeli officials said the vehicles may have contained chemical weapons and Russian-made anti-aircraft missiles intended for Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“This episode boils down to a warning by Israel to Syria and Hezbollah not to engage in the transfer of sensitive weapons,” a regional security source told Reuters.
But the latest reports from Syria suggest that the airstrike hit the Jamraya research center in the suburbs of Damascus, far from the Lebanese border. An anonymous diplomatic source told Reuters that chemical weapons may be stored at the center, and that the vehicles in Hezbollah convoy were unlikely to be carrying such arms.
Israeli officials have not commented on the airstrike, but the assault may have revealed Tel Aviv’s plans, experts believe. After months of sustained rebel assaults on Syrian air defense systems and bases, the Israeli airstrike follows a pattern of other recent attempts to undermine Syria’s military capabilities.
Israeli officials have frequently expressed fears that Syrian President Bashar Assad will lose control of the country’s chemical weapons stockpiles. But Dr. Ali Mohamad, editor-in-chief of the Syria Tribune news website, believes the fears of chemical weapons was a pretext to destroy Syria’s military research centers and ensure that Damascus is unable to produce arms for its military or regional allies.
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See video on ‘Israeli airstrike intended to stop Syrian scientific military research’ — RT
#Syria files #UN complaint over #Israeli airstrike, #Iran warns of ‘serious consequences’
Syria has filed an official complaint to the United Nations over an Israeli airstrike on a military research center near Damascus. The move followed a threat from Iran that Israel would face “serious consequences” for the attack.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said Tel Aviv would face repercussions for the Israeli airstrike against a military research center in Jamraya, rural Damascus, the semi-official Fars news quotes him as saying.
Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi condemned what he characterized as “brutal aggression” against Syria.
“There is no doubt that this aggression is part of a Western and Zionist strategy to push aside the success of the Syrian people and government to return to stability and security,” Hurriyet Daily News cites him as saying.
Salehi said the strike highlights the “alignment of terrorist groups with the Zionists’ objectives.”
However, full-scale military action on the part of Iran regarding the incident is unlikely, Iranian political analyst Seyed Mohammad Marandi told RT.
“If the Iranians say Israel is going to face ‘serious consequences,’ they will have many means to hurt and punish the Israelis. It doesn’t mean they have to be involved directly. They could support countries or bodies that make life for Israelis more difficult.”
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Syria files UN complaint over Israeli airstrike, Iran warns of ‘serious consequences’ — RT
(via dom72)
#gaza #palestine #freegaza #freepalestine #solidarity #israel #stoptheviolence #genocide #occupy #ows #photooftheday #activist #gazaunderattack #iphonesia #teampalestine #cnn #picoftheday #bbc #egypt #iphoneonly #middleeast #USA #syria #webstagram #truth #opsyria #nofilter #anonymous
Source is @tamayza who linked it back to http://maannews.net/arb/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=547430 (see https://www.facebook.com/activists.palestine/posts/506423762721332 in english)
The Pentagon has approved a deal to supply 6,900 precision bomb kits to replenish Israel’s weapons stockpiles, diminished by the recent war against Hamas in Gaza. The contract is valued at $647 million.
“The United States is committed to the security of Israel, and it is vital to U.S. national interests to assist Israel to develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability,” the Pentagon said in a statement.
(via cultureofresistance)
Israel suspected over Iran nuclear programme inquiry leaks | Guardian
“Israel is suspected of carrying out a series of leaks implicating Iran in nuclear weapons experiments in an attempt to raise international pressure on Tehran and halt its programme.
Western diplomats believe the leaks may have backfired, compromising a UN-sanctioned investigation into Iran’s past nuclear activities and current aspirations.
The latest leak, published by the Associated Press (AP), purported to be an Iranian diagram showing the physics of a nuclear blast, but scientists quickly pointed out an elementary mistake that cast doubt on its significance and authenticity. An article in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists declared: “This diagram does nothing more than indicate either slipshod analysis or an amateurish hoax.”
The leaked diagram raised questions about an investigation being carried out by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors after it emerged that it formed part of a file of intelligence on alleged Iranian nuclear weapons work held by the agency.
The IAEA’s publication of a summary of the file in November 2011 helped trigger a new round of punitive EU and US sanctions.
Western officials say they have reasons to suspect Israel of being behind the most recent leak and a series of previous disclosures from the IAEA investigation, pointing to Israel’s impatience at what it sees as international complacency over Iranian nuclear activity.”
It’s a game changer. All settlements are obstacles for a future agreement but this is the obstacle for the future, the one that can be the last nail in the coffin for a two-state solution. This is understood by not just the Palestinians and the international community but by the Israeli government as well. By indicating the intent to build in E1, they are saying “no” to the two-state solution.
The E1 area divides the West Bank into two cantons. It doesn’t allow the necessary contiguity for a Palestinian state. Secondly, it cuts off Jerusalem from the West Bank by mass Israeli settlement. If [East] Jerusalem is cut off from the West Bank, it can never serve as the capital for a Palestinian state.
(via cultureofresistance)
