[All notes below by Tom Gross]

MAN CRUCIFIED IN YEMEN FOR BEING ALLEGED U.S. SPY

An Al-Qaeda-affiliated group in Yemen has crucified a man for allegedly directing U.S. drones targeting terrorists in Yemen, and posted a video of the crucifixion on YouTube, the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) reported today.

The man was crucified on an electric pylon in south Yemen’s Abyan province by Al-Qaeda-affiliated Ansar Al-Shari’a.

 

JORDANIAN TRIBE SLAMS NEW ISRAEL ENVOY

The Jordanian Obeidat tribe has condemned the appointment of tribe member Walid Khalid Obeidat as Jordan’s new ambassador to Israel.

The tribe said in a statement published on Monday by Jordan’s al-Dustour newspaper, that a tribe member who accepts such an appointment is “violating all prohibitions, crossing all red lines and offending the nation and the tribe.”

The tribe announced that it was cutting all ties to Walid Obeidat.

Walid Obeidat, a diplomat and consultant to the Hashemite kingdom’s foreign ministry, is scheduled to replace Ali al-Ayed, who was recalled by Amman in early 2009 in protest at Israel’s Operation Cast Lead, which helped to greatly reduce Hamas rocket fire against Israel.

Jordanian officials said yesterday that the decision to appoint a new ambassador to Israel was a result of Egypt’s decision last month to do the same.

 

EGYPTIAN PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER: ALL ISRAEL IS “OCCUPIED TERRITORY”

An adviser to Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi has declared the whole of Israel to be “Occupied Arab territory.” The advisor, Mohammed Saif Al-Dawla, added “this will remain true until the end of time.”

However, other advisors to Morsi have made conflicting statements and said that the new Muslim Brotherhood government in Egypt has no intention of altering the Camp David peace accords recognizing the Jewish state.

 

REUTERS: MUSLIM PROTESTERS TORCH BUDDHIST TEMPLES IN BANGLADESH

Here is a video released by Reuters on Monday, which you might not have seen reported elsewhere.

The accompanying Reuters caption reads:

“Fires rage at Buddhist temples in Bangladesh after hundreds of Muslim demonstrators set fires after they complained a Buddhist man insulted Islam in a Facebook posting.
“Members of the Buddhist minority in the southeast of the country said unidentified people were bent on upsetting peaceful relations between Muslims and Buddhists.
“At least four temples came under attack. Some 15 Buddhist homes were also damaged.
“Later, Buddhist demonstrators took to the streets, staging their own demonstration and calling for peace.”

 

AL-ARABIYA: “ASSAD EXECUTED TURKISH PILOTS SHOT DOWN IN JUNE”

A leading Arab news network, Al-Arabiya, reported on Saturday that it has seen leaked Syrian intelligence documents that indicate that the two Turkish air force pilots who were shot down on June 22, but survived the crash, were later executed upon the direct orders of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad.

Western sources say they do not know if the report is accurate.

In July, the (London) Sunday Times claimed that Russian technicians had played a role in shooting down the plane. Russia maintains a naval facility – the last Russian military facility outside the former Soviet Union – in the Syrian port city of Tartus, where it provides technical support and maintenance.

 

MORTAR SHELLS FROM SYRIA LANDED ON ISRAELI TERRITORY

Mortar shells from Syria last week landed in the Golan Heights and northern Israel, the first time that the 18-month conflict has spilled over into Israel. The mortars landed near Kibbutz El Rom. Nobody was injured in the attack, but Israel has filed a complaint with the United Nations forces operating in the area.

There have been concerns in Israel that the ongoing violence in Syria might spill over the border and that the long-dormant frontier with Syria could become a new Islamist front against Israel.

 

HIZBULLAH NOW PLAYING A KEY OPERATIONAL ROLE IN SYRIA

The Washington Post reports that the Iranian-controlled Lebanese militia Hizbullah has expanded its presence in the Syrian civil war to a key operational role.

The report says that Beirut-based officials have confirmed that Hizbullah has sent fighters from Lebanon to the Syrian front-line to help Iran’s close ally Assad repel the Sunni-led Syrian Free Army.

The Post also reported that funerals for Hizbullah fighters who died in Syria were held in Lebanese villages where families were warned not to discuss their losses.

Tom Gross adds: Yesterday, a large public funeral was held in Lebanon for a senior Hizbullah commander (Ali Hussein Nassif) who died fighting alongside the Assad regime’s forces in Syria.

 

U.S. CONGRESS CALLS ON EU TO ISOLATE HIZBULLAH

250 members of the U.S. House of Representatives have signed and sent a letter to European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton asking that the EU designate Hizbullah as a terrorist organization. The letter follows a similar one signed by 76 Senators.

Intelligence sources confirm that there is no doubt that Hizbullah was behind the deadly suicide attack at Burgas airport in Bulgaria. The attack was the mostly deadly inside the European Union for several years, but the EU has refused to take any action.

For more on that attack, please see here: Her final call: “I just found out I’m pregnant at last”.

The Netherlands criticized fellow EU members for not having yet designated Hizbullah as a terrorist organization, despite decades of carrying out terror attacks around the world, mainly against Jewish civilians, the most deadly of which was in Argentina, killing (among others) several elderly Holocaust survivors.

The Netherlands has unilaterally designated Hizbullah as a terrorist organization.

 

MAN DIES FROM INHALING FUMES FROM AMERICAN FLAG HE WAS BURNING

The (London) Daily Mail reports that a Pakistani man, named as Abdullah Ismail, died after inhaling smoke from American flags being burned at an anti-U.S. rally in Lahore. The rally was being held to protest the anti-Islam YouTube clip that has offended may Muslims in recent weeks.

 

PRO-AMERICA RALLY HELD IN FRONT OF U.S. EMBASSY IN TEL AVIV

Whereas many anti-America rallies have been held in recent weeks in places as far afield as Morocco and Australia, a pro-America rally was held yesterday in front of the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv. A number of Israeli Arabs also attended the rally in Tel Aviv.

Of course, had successive American presidents been true to their election campaign promises, that embassy would have been moved to Jerusalem by now.

 

PARIS MAYOR CRITICIZED FOR RESPECTING YOM KIPPUR

Left-wing politicians in Paris have strongly criticized the city’s mayor, Bertrand Delanoë, after he adjourned city council talks last week when Yom Kippur started.

Delanoë, who is not Jewish, said. “If we had scheduled a meeting for the evening of December 24, I would adjourn it too.”

Delanoë is a member of the Socialist Party, but was criticized by a number of fellow leftist politicians.

 

A demonstrator holds a Palestinian flag during the Euroleague basketball match between Regal FC Barcelona and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Barcelona on 5 February 2009

 

DEMONSTRATORS EXPECTED AS BARCELONA INVITES GILAD SHALIT TO REAL MADRID MATCH

Despite opposition from anti-Israel activists, Barcelona football club has confirmed it had invited freed Israeli kidnap victim Gilad Shalit, to attend a football match against Real Madrid at Barcelona’s home stadium Camp Nou on 7 October.

“This invitation does not indicate in any way that Barça takes a position in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” a club source told AFP. “In fact, remember that club vice president Villarubí received Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas in 2011 and showed him all the club’s facilities. We plan to invite other Palestinians in future.”

Anti-Israel activists are expected to picket the game.

[All notes above by Tom Gross]