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SWI NEWS: Saturday, May 15, 2010 2 Sivan, 5770. The Third Temple and the Third World War

Arab MK: Replace Israel with Islamic Caliphate

by Maayana Miskin
Israel should be integrated into an Islamic Caliphate, and Hamas and Hizbullah should be respected as legitimate political movements, according to Israeli-Arab MK Masoud Ganaim in an interview with the weekly paper Kul al-Arab, which is published in Israel. The interview was translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).

Ganaim explicitly said that he is opposed to Jewish statehood, stating that his Ra'am Ta'al party is "against the Zionist movement and its racist ideas." If Israel is absorbed into an Islamic Caliphate, he said, Jews will be allowed to remain in the region.

Ganaim (in left side of picture) is a member of the southern branch of the Islamic Movement, a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Regarding Jerusalem, which Ganaim referred to as "occupied," the MK said that Arabs must be prepared to fight. "Jerusalem and Al-Aksa are both in danger," he declared. He backed extremist Muslim leaders in saying that Israel is threatening the Al-Aksa Mosque and plans to rebuild the Temple.

When asked if the struggle for Al-Aksa should be peaceful, the MK said Muslims "must not relinquish any means."

Ganaim expressed support for Hamas and Hizbullah, which both strive to destroy Israel. "The Iran-Syria-Hizbullah axis represents the policy of resistance and non-capitulation, so naturally I am with this axis," he said when asked which side he would support in a battle between Iran and a handful of Arab nations.

Hizbullah is "a model for a political party that assigns a special place to religious discourse," he continued.

The world, Israeli included, should accept Hamas, Ganaim said. Hamas was voted into power in democratic elections, and Israel should "respect the will of the Palestinian people," he explained.

Ganaim's interview comes on the heels of a dispute involving six other MKs from Israeli-Arab parties. MKs Ahmed Tibi, Mohammed Barakei, Taleb a-Sana, Haneen Zoabi, Jamal Zahalka and Afo Agbaria visited Libya. Following the visit, members of the coalition suggested that the Knesset strip the six of their parliamentary immunity. (IsraelNationalNews.com)

Arab MK. ?is speaking from the heart!
Who is the blame for these kind of behaviour by muslims, you give them democracy, you allow them to be part of the Jewish kneset, now they want to take the Jewish state and convert it to islamist state? the blame is on the Jewish Governement who allow idiots such as this arab MK to even exist. when are the Jewish people learn, the only way to protect our state and sacred lands, is only by Jews for Jews, just like the muslim islamist states do. Soon enough america will become also islamist state of america, we should thank the islamist leader Obama will eventually transfer americas rights to the saudis, just give him second term and america will be saturated by islam.
Henry Stalone, Canada (05/13/10)

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Beduins arrested for terror plot
By YAAKOV LAPPIN
14/05/2010 12:57

Released for publication: Suspects threw Molotov cocktails at traffic.
Four Beduins were arrested in recent weeks by police and the Shin Bet on suspicion of plotting and attempting to carry out terrorist attacks against Israelis on southern highways and roads.

The suspects, two adults aged 22 and 24, and two minors aged 16 and 17, are suspected of carrying out at least one attack on Route 40 in the South on April 16, in which they allegedly threw Molotov cocktail at passing traffic. No one was injured in that incident.

"They are suspected of being members of a terrorist organization, and endangering lives on the roads," police said in a statement on Friday.

The details emerged after a blanket media ban on the investigation was partially lifted by a court on Friday.

Police stumbled on to the group after investigating the Molotov cocktail attack. After the identity of some of the culprits was established, detectives concluded that an organized group was behind the attack, and launched an undercover investigation.

Terrorism investigators from the southern district police have taken the lead in the investigation in recent days.

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Medvedev and Obama talk Iran, Mideast
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
14/05/2010 02:29

Leaders discuss the need for "non-standard" approaches to problems.

MOSCOW - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and US President Barack Obama on Thursday discussed Iran's suspect nuclear program and the need to look for "non-standard" approaches to resolving problems in the Middle East, the Kremlin said.

Their telephone conversation, which the Kremlin said lasted for an hour and a half, came as the United States tries to build support for new sanctions against Iran.

The Kremlin said Medvedev briefed Obama about his trip this week to Syria and Turkey, where he had made clear Moscow's willingness to play an active part in efforts to bring peace to the Middle East.

The United States opposes a joint Turkish-Brazilian effort that could help Iran avoid new United Nations sanctions. Medvedev, who met with Turkey's president on Wednesday in Ankara, plays host to Brazil's president in Moscow on Friday.

Obama and Medvedev "according to tradition exchanged opinions at great length on the Iranian nuclear problem," the Kremlin statement said. They agreed to intensify efforts to work out a common position within the framework of the six key powers, the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany, it said.

The two presidents, who plan to meet in the US in June, also agreed to work together more actively on the situation in the Middle East, "including studying non-standard approaches," the statement said.

The United States and its allies accuse Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons, and the UN has demanded Teheran halt uranium enrichment, a process that can be used to produce either nuclear fuel or a warhead.

Iran says its program is peaceful and that it has a right to pursue enrichment to power reactors to generate electricity. The UN has already imposed three rounds of financial sanctions over its refusal.

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Palestinians see Obama as their savior

Roadside signs and billboards put up as part of a new public relations campaign in the Palestinian Authority-controlled territories are hailing US President Barack Obama as the savior of the Palestinian Arabs.

The signs read: "Barack Obama, free us from slavery, occupation and the settlements."

The campaign, dubbed "Dear Barack," was started by a local Palestinian radio station and has quickly gained public and official support, according to the PA's Wafa news agency.

As part of the campaign, individual Palestinians have also been sending emails to Obama's personal address, urging him to become a true historical hero by freeing them from what they call Israeli oppression.

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PA Finds Bibi's Biblical Reference 'Distasteful'

by Maayana Miskin
Senior Palestinian Authority negotiator Saeb Erekat has criticized Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for mentioning the Jewish people's historic tie to Jerusalem as described in the Bible. He accused the prime minister of " religion to incite hatred and fear."

Netanyahu had made reference to numerous Biblical references to Jerusalem while addressing the Knesset in a session honoring Jerusalem Day - the anniversary of the day on which Israel's capital was reunited after 19 years during which Jordan held control of the eastern half of the city.

The Bible refers to Jerusalem and Zion 850 times, Netanyahu said.

At first he did not say how many times Jerusalem is mentioned in the holy writings of other faiths, but after he was challenged by an Israeli Arab MK, he said Jerusalem is not mentioned in the Koran at all, although a 12th century interpretation of the Koran does say one passage referred to the city. However, the prime minister clarified, "It is not my intention to detract from the bond other peoples have with Jerusalem... I am challenging the attempts to distract from, distort or erase our unique bond with Jerusalem."

Leaders in the PA, and Muslims leaders in Israel, have often portrayed the Jewish connection to Jerusalem, and to the Temple Mount in particular, as a threat to Islam. Israel has been accused of attempting to "Judaize" Jerusalem and to damage or destroy the Al-Aksa mosque.

The PA has claimed all of the neighborhoods formerly held by Jordan, including the Old City, the City of David and the Temple Mount, as the future capital of a PA state. Speaking Wednesday, Erekat warned, "East Jerusalem cannot continue to be occupied if there is to be peace."

Netanyahu, like previous prime ministers, states that Israel's capital will not be divided. (IsraelNationalNews.com)

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US zizags on Iran as Brazilian and Turkish leaders head for Tehran
DEBKAfile Special Report May 14, 2010, 9:02 PM (GMT+02:00)

Brazilian president in Moscow

Washington seems to be in two minds on key aspects of Iran's nuclear and missile programs, providing momentum for the Brazilian and Turkish leaders to promote their mediation bid in Tehran Sunday, May 16, debkafile reports from Washington and Tehran.
Tuesday, May 11, President Barack Obama's nuclear adviser Gary Samore told reporters that "setbacks in Iran's uranium enrichment program have significantly delayed its progress towards building a nuclear weapon." Three days later, on Friday, May 14, an official at the UN nuclear watchdog's Vienna headquarters contradicted him: "Iran has set up new equipment that will allow it to boost its efficiency in enriching uranium at higher levels," the anonymous source told reporters.

Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Turkish prime minister Tayyip Erdogan meanwhile plan to launch a diplomatic initiative to bridge the gaps between Iran and the bloc of five UN Security Council powers and Germany over its offer to process Iran's low-grade enriched uranium overseas to 19.5 percent, to prevent Iran making the short jump to weapons grade material.
Iran has meanwhile claimed it can produce its own high-grade (19.5 percent) uranium, without recourse to the six-power offer.
There are other gaps for the would-be brokers to address. And so the Brazilian president dropped in on Russian president Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow Friday and will meet Erdogan before they present their proposal to the Iranian leaders Sunday. Their offer to top up the uranium enrichment process outside Iran in Brazil, Turkey or Russia came up in Medvedev's talks with Syrian president Bashar Assad in Damascus Tuesday and with Erdogan in Ankara Wednesday.
Thursday, President Obama was on the phone to the Russian president, sounding amenable. He did not object to the new mediation bids, in which Moscow too has a stake, he said and if there is progress, he will take note.

But the day before, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton opted for the reverse tack.
She warned the Turkish and Brazilian foreign ministers that Iran is not serious about accepting international demands to prove its nuclear program peaceful. "Tehran must face fresh penalties unless it does a quick about-face and complies," she said, adding, "In our view, Iran's recent diplomacy was an attempt to stop Security Council action without actually taking steps to address international concerns about its nuclear program."
A third tack came from London Wednesday, when the International Institute for Strategic Studies, which has close ties with the US intelligence community, determinedly played down Iran's ballistic missile capabilities in "a net assessment."

Some Middle East sources inferred from this surprising report and the confusing signals from Washington of the last week that, rather than going all out to curb Iran's nuclear weapons program, Washington and London are intent on blocking the road to sanctions.

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Returning Israelis Granted 'Immigrant' Status

JERUSALEM, Israel - Israel's Immigrant and Absorption Ministry is offering new immigrant status to returning expatriates, it was announced on Wednesday.

Any Israeli who has lived outside the country for six years or more will be eligible for the same benefits package as a new citizen.

"This program is essential for bringing Israelis spread out across the world back to Israel," Immigrant Absorption Minister Sofa Landver told The Jerusalem Post.

"It is important for us to focus on getting these people back and assisting them in raising their children here in Israel," she said.

Tax benefits include exemption from sales tax, value added tax (VAT) and customs tax on home appliances for the first two-and-a-half years after their arrival.

New immigrants also receive a tax break on the purchase of a new vehicle.

"State support for absorption of returning residents will contribute to the strengthening of its economy," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier this week.

The worldwide economic downturn prompted an estimated 20,000 Israelis to return to the country in the past two years, many of whom were eligible for the benefits package under the "Returning Home on Israel's 60th" program.

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The Third Temple and the Third World War
Israeli Muslims know the Third Temple is coming, and insist war is coming with it | Aviel Schneider

TEMPLE OR MOSQUE? The Temple Mount embodies a conflict of religion, revelation and nationalismIsraeli Muslims seem to take the possible building of the Third Temple in Jerusalem much more seriously than the nation's Jews. This became a hot-button issue with the reconstruction of the Hurva Synagogue in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City, which Israeli Arabs and Palestinians saw as a sign that the Jews are planning to rebuild the Temple.

Muslim politicians and clerics issued dire warnings: "Save Jerusalem from the Jewish threat!" "Save the the Mosque of Al Aksa from destruction!" "Construction of the Third Temple is a Jewish conspiracy to control the world!" From their point of view, the Third Temple is a recipe for the Third World War.

The Temple Mount is the focal point of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As the site of the two biblical Temples it is the holiest place in Judaism, and Muslims claim it as the third holiest place in Islam. It represents the clash between two revelations, the Bible and the Koran, and between Jewish and Muslim nationalism.