Justin Raimondo: Israel bombs Damascus – and the cat is out of the bag - It’s seems counterintuitive, to say the least. Indeed, it seems quite mad. And yet we now have all the evidence we need to point to a de facto Israeli alliance with Al Qaeda. The bombing of Damascus suburbs by Israeli jets – purportedly in order to prevent the Syrians from supplying Hezbollah with long range missiles – at precisely the moment when the Syrian “rebels” are demanding Western intervention on their behalf highlights one of the most bizarre alliances in history. Bizarre, yes, but inexplicable? Not at all.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast says Israel’s acts of aggression against Syria will not go unanswered and Tel Aviv will receive a “crushing response.” - Mehmanparast on Sunday called for vigilance against Israeli plots to create instability in the region, adding, however, that “oppression and crime in the region will not endure,” Fars News Agency reported. “The Zionist regime must realize that the atrocities it committed in Syria will not go unanswered and it must await a crushing response.” Referring to Israel’s recent military aggression and targeting of Syria’s scientific centers, the Iranian official said Tel Aviv is trying to weaken the country’s defense and undermine its progress.

PressTV: China blasts Israeli attacks on Syria amid Netanyahu visit
Russia Today: 'Israel's aggression opens door to all possibilities' - Syrian Information Minister
Fars News Agency: Senior Commander Rejects Israeli Claims about Targeting Iranian Missiles in Syria
Russia Today: ‘Israel used depleted uranium shells in air strike’ – Syrian source
RIA Novosti: Israel Closes Airspace to Civilian Air Traffic in North

The US feigns disassociation with Hitlerian act of Israeli aggression - as was planned since 2007. Unprovoked, Israel has attacked Syria numerous times over the past 2 days, including attacks on the Syrian capital of Damascus, in what appears to be a series of intentional provocations designed to drag the region into a wider conflict its US sponsors can then enter militarily. Neither attacked directly by Syria, nor able to cite credible evidence in regards to perceived threats Israel claims to be reacting to, the assault on Syria represents a Chapter VII breach of the United Nations Charter. What's more, is that while the US feigns disassociation with Israel's breach of international peace, after jointly fueling a genocidal sectarian conflict within Syria's borders for the past two years, it is documented fact that the US and Saudi Arabia planned to use Israel to conduct military attacks against Iran and Syria, they themselves could not justify politically, legally, or strategically.

Assad's army has started a process of decisive victories, and this is causing extreme angst amongst the usual, and some unusual, suspects. - The Likudnik Jews, both in Israel and the United States, are horrified that their machinations in destroying Syria might result in a recovered country with a kick-ass army, a stronger alliance with its friends in Iran and Lebanon and Russia and the arising new powerhouse countries around the word, and a distinct animus against the Jewish state and its slaves who have caused so much misery. Thus, the Jew-owned Congress-traitors stirring up shit about American involvement, the lies about Syrian army use of chemical weapons (lies directly fed from Israel), and the repeated illegal Israeli attacks on Syrian territory. Against this, and so far predominant, is the larger American plan to avoid new big Wars For The Jews, on the simple basis that another one would utterly destroy the United States (and any American involvement beyond arming 'al Qaeda' - as horrible as that has turned out - including 'no fly zones' - the longstanding trick to inevitably set Americans down the path to yet another gentile on gentile war - will inevitably end with American boots on the ground and another clusterfuck like Iraq or Afghanistan). The Jewish Billionaires who own Barry have clearly accepted this, as long as all other support for the Jews, including covert wars, sanction wars, drone wars, and parasitical Jewish draining of American wealth, is allowed to continue. [...] The only alternative to Assad - and there is no chance I am wrong about this - is decades of violent civil war and a population under a rule that will make Saudis look like humanitarians.

With the Iran nuclear issue still unresolved and Iranian elections imminent, we thought it appropriate to re-visit the video we made last year - only this time it's your guide on how to become an expert in less than 4 minutes!

Google.ps, which has been a thing for quite some time, has created a huge stir in Israel today when the logo for their English-language version was switched from “Google – Palestinian Territories” to simply “Google Palestine.” - Google officials say the change simply reflects the changes by ICANN and ISO, as well as the UN’s recognition of Palestine as a “non-member observer state.” The announcement was met as a “step in the right direction” by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The Palestinian Authority had apparently requested the change from Google as well. Israeli officials are nowhere near so keen on this, insisting that Google’s name “pre-judges” the outcome of any future peace talks on Palestinian statehood by assuming the Palestinians will ever actually get a state.

ABC News: Danes, Finns Upgrade Palestinian Diplomatic Status

Israeli officials kept silent Saturday about reports by US officials that their occupation forces had launched an airstrike from the Lebanese skies onto Syrian soil on Friday, in violation to 1701 UN resolution and international law.

Israeli warplaneA military spokeswoman declined to comment on reports by CNN, the Associated Press and others that Israel had hit a weapons warehouse in Syria. U.S. officials told several U.S. news media organizations that Israel was believed to have sent warplanes over Lebanon on Thursday or Friday and fired into Syria without entering its airspace. The U.S. officials were quoted as saying they did not believe the target was chemical weapons. An Israeli spokesman in Washington said that the Zionist entity would not comment specifically on the reports but said that “Israel is determined to prevent the transfer of chemical weapons or other game-changing weaponry by the Syrian regime to terrorists, especially to Hezbollah in Lebanon.” The Lebanese army released a statement on Friday saying Israeli warplanes had flown over Lebanese airspace for hours. Lebanese President Michel Suleiman denounced the flights and accused the entity of breaking international law.

The Daily Star: Israeli jet shot down over Damascus: Hezbollah TV
The Daily Star: 8 Israeli warplanes fly over Lebanon
The Daily Star: Israel strikes Syria, targeting missiles: security source
PressTV: Israel launches new strike on Syria
Stephen Lendman: America and Israel: Imperial Partners in Crime
Tony Cartalucci: Israeli Airstrikes Signal Western Desperation in Syria
Al Jazeera: Israel confirms airstrike inside Syria
Russia Today: Israel bombs missile shipment in Syria - reports
PressTV: Israeli officials confirm Syria strike
PressTV: Sixteen Israeli fighter jets violate Lebanese airspace

Claims 'Evidence' of Usage, But Stumped on Who, How, or When. - President Obama claims that the US now has “evidence” of chemical weapons use inside Syria, but is missing some very key pieces of the puzzle, such as when they were used, how they were used, and most importantly who even used them. Insisting that the Pentagon planners had given him an array of “options” militarily, Obama conceded that the US really can’t confirm that the Assad government actually used the chemical weapons and that they couldn’t really do anything until they figure that part out. Intelligence sources last month were saying that the largest such “attack” was almost certainly launched by the rebels, noting that it targeted Syrian troops and used a more primitive type of agent than the Syrian arsenal is believed to consist of.

Tony Cartalucci: West's WMD Lies Fray as Syrian Army Overruns Terrorist Proxies

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday said the root of the conflict with the Palestinians was not about territory but about their refusal to recognise Israel as the Jewish state.

"The root of the conflict is not territorial. It started a long time before 1967," Netanyahu told top foreign ministry officials. "The Palestinians' lack of will to recognise the state of Israel as the national state of the Jewish people is the root of the conflict."

Haaretz: Netanyahu says there's no solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - The problem is not the settlements; the root of the conflict is the fact that the Palestinians refuse to recognize the existence of the Jewish state. What the countries of the world have to do is expose the true face of the Palestinians and force them to recognize Israel not only as just any country, but as a Jewish state. “This is an insoluble conflict because it is not about territory,” he says. “It is not that you can give up a kilometer more and solve it. The root of the conflict is in an entirely different place. Until Abu Mazen recognizes Israel as a Jewish state, there will be no way to reach an agreement.”

Jason Ditz: Netanyahu Dismisses Land-Swap: Conflict Never Over Territory

A powerful bomb rocked central Damascus on Tuesday, killing 13 people according to Syrian TV, and sowing fear and chaos in a busy commercial district of the capital for the second consecutive day. - The Syrian prime minister narrowly escaped an assassination attempt Monday after a car bomb struck near his convoy, a few kilometers (miles) away from Tuesday's blast. The bombings appear to be part of an accelerated campaign by opposition forces seeking to topple President Bashar Assad to strike at his heavily protected seat of power. Syrian TV said Tuesday's explosion was caused by a "terrorist bombing" in the district of Marjeh, a commercial area in central Damascus. Assad's regime [correctly] refers to opposition fighters as "terrorists."

The Israeli regime has joined forces with the United States, Britain, and al-Qaeda terrorists in the plot to depose Syrian President Basher al-Assad. - Speaking at a conference in New York on Sunday, former Mossad director Meir Dagan said Tel Aviv must “do whatever it can to make sure that Syrian President Basher al-Assad is removed from power.” Dagan added that the ouster of Assad would be hugely beneficial for Israel from a strategic point of view and asserted that it would weaken Iran and the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah. And Tel Aviv should not be too worried about the possibility of hostile forces taking power in Syria, since Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf states will make every effort to install a “moderate” regime in Damascus, the former Israeli spy chief said.

Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich: What Israel is really after in Syria
Russia Today: Netanyahu orders Israeli ministers to ‘remain silent’ on Syria
PressTV: Russia warns against attempts to topple Syrian government
Al-Manar News: 13 Killed, Dozens Wounded in Damascus Terrorist Explosion

Syrian Prime Minister Wael Halqi survived an attempted bombing assassination in central Damascus on Monday. - The explosion struck near a school in a southwestern district of Damascus, and at least ten were killed in the attack. The attack was reported by Syrian state television. "The terrorist explosion in al-Mezze was an attempt to target the convoy of the prime minister. Doctor Wael al-Halqi is well and not hurt at all," the report said. At least 19 people, including one of Halqi’s bodyguards, were killed and 25 others were wounded in the attack, local correspondent Abdullah Mawazini told RT. Syrian media reported that up to 10 people may have been killed in the explosion. Halqi's driver and a second bodyguard were seriously wounded in the explosion, AFP said, quoting the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. An explosive device was placed under a black BMW vehicle that was parked along the route of Halqi’s convoy. The explosion took place near a kindergarten and a school. No children were killed in the attack, but two were injured, Mawazini said.

Al-Manar News: Syrian PM Survives Assasination Attempt, Bodyguard Killed
PressTV: Syrian prime minister survives assassination attempt
PressTV: Germany’s interior minister says Germans teamed up with Syria militants

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered his ministers to cease making public comments on the civil conflict in Syria, especially reports regarding the alleged use of chemical weapons by Syrian government forces, Israeli media said. - Netanyahu’s instruction follows comments made by deputy foreign minister Ze’ev Elkin on Army radio Friday, in which the official appeared to call on the international community to intervene in Syria in order to contain and neutralize the country’s chemical weapons stockpiles. “It is clear that if the United States wants to and the international community wants to, they could act militarily, among other things, to take control of the chemical weapons, and then all the fears … will not be relevant,” The Times of Israel cites Elkin as saying.

Israel risks a loss of credibility over both its "red line" for Iran's nuclear program and its threat of military action, and its room for unilateral maneuver is shrinking. - After years of veiled warnings that Israel might strike the Islamic Republic, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu laid out an ultimatum at the United Nations last September. Iran, he said, must not amass enough uranium at 20 percent fissile purity to fuel one bomb if enriched further. To ram the point home, he drew a red line across a cartoon bomb, guaranteeing him front page headlines around the world. However, a respected Israeli ex-spymaster says Iran has skillfully circumvented the challenge. Other influential voices say the time has passed when Israel can hit out at Iran alone, leaving it dependent on U.S. decision-makers. "If there was a good window of opportunity to attack, it was six months ago - not necessarily today," said Giora Eiland, a former Israeli national security adviser. Pressure from Washington, he said, had forced Israel to drop its strike plan. Amos Yadlin, a former military intelligence chief who runs a Tel Aviv think-tank, suggested last week that Israel had also got itself into a tangle, saying Iran had expanded its nuclear capacity beyond the Israeli limit, without triggering alarms.

Jason Ditz: Defying Netanyahu: Former Mossad Chief Defends Effort to Block Iran War

Declassified UK reports document build-up of conflict, Jewish public's endorsement of their leaders' pro-terrorist stance and declare armies of Arab states were Palestinians' 'only hope'. - The British government knew from the moment it planned to withdraw its forces from Palestine more than 60 years ago that partition of the territory and the founding of the state of Israel would lead to war and defeat for the Arabs, secret documents released make clear. The documents, which have a remarkable contemporary resonance, reveal how British officials looked on as Jewish settlers took over more and more Arab land. In the weeks leading up to the partition of Palestine in 1948, when Britain gave up its UN mandate, Jewish terrorist groups were mounting increasing attacks on UK forces and Arab fighters, the Colonial Office papers show. [...] The papers, released at the National Archives, show how in regular intelligence reports to London, British officials in Jerusalem described a steady build-up of tension as Britain, the US, the United Nations and Zionists moved towards the partition of Palestine. As early as October 1946, two years before partition, UK officials warned London that Jewish opinion would oppose partition "unless the Jewish share were so enlarged as to make the scheme wholly unacceptable to Arabs". British officials warned the colonial secretary, George Hall: "The Jewish public … endorsed the attitude of its leaders that terrorism is a natural consequence of the general policy of His Majesty's Government", including turning away ships carrying "illegal" Jewish immigrants.

A Norwegian resistance fighter who led a daring raid to sabotage Nazi Germany's atomic bomb program during World War II has been honoured at a London ceremony. - Joachim Rønneberg led a six-man team for Operation Gunnerside, an attack on the Norsk Hydro heavy water production plant in Vermok, Norway. The operation, in early 1943, destroyed the plant's supplies of heavy water, which the Nazis hoped to use to produce nuclear weapons. An earlier unsuccessful raid involving British paratroopers resulted in heavy casualties when the gliders carrying the men crashed and the survivors were captured, tortured and executed by the Gestapo. The Operation Gunnerside raid was dramatised in the Franco-Norwegian film Operation Swallow: The Battle for Heavy Water in 1948, and the later US movie The Heroes of Telemark, starring Kirk Douglas.

norway.org.uk: Hero From World War II Joachim Rønneberg in London
Ynet News: Norway document reveals Israel nuke secrets [12.07.2005]
Ynet News: Norway rejects Vanunu's asylum request [04.15.2005]
Today's Zaman: Heavy Water and Israel [11.08.2005]

An analyst says the Pentagon wants no part of an attack on Iran and that threats of war against Iran are because they can’t tolerate it’s independence and regional influence.

In response to Israel’s recent threats against Iran saying it is able to invade Iran on its own and the US remark from Chuck Hagel that they are willing to let Israel take control of that course of action, Iran has given Israel a harsh warning about possible preemptive war moves against Tehran saying its first mistake will be its last. Iran thinks Israel will not be so foolish as to act in line with their violent threats. Iran’s defense minister said the threats hold no value and reveal Israel’s false and aggressive nature. In regards to US officials that have threatened to attack Iran, the Iranian response is that the US should sort out its own problems and not make threatening remarks. Press TV has interviewed Stephen Lendman, writer and radio host, Chicago about this issue. The following is an approximate transcription of the interview.

Israeli forces have shot down a Hezbollah drone over Israeli skies, the Associated Press reports. - This is not the first time Israel shot down a Hezbollah drone, they had to target one over their skies on October 6 of last year. Most Hezbollah drones in Lebanon make their way in from Iran piece by piece, and are then assembled by local forces there. The Israeli military is largely dismissive of Iranian drone technology, finding them easy to track and then shoot down once they enter Israeli air space. "We view this incident of attempting to enter Israeli airspace very severely and we will consider our response later," said former Defence Minister Ehud Barak after last year's drone incident.

Al-Arabiya: Israel shoots down drone from Lebanon
CSM: Israel shoots down drone, Hezbollah denies it's theirs

Israel’s attorney general says security officials can continue to access emails of foreign tourists landing at Ben-Gurion Airport. If they refuse, they can be denied access to the country. - Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein defended the practice in a statement, saying that such searches “are performed only in exceptional instances, after other relevant incriminating indications are found.” He added that travelers were not required to give security officers their password, but instead open the accounts on their own. But Marc Grey, an attorney for the Association of Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), said the situation has little to do with passwords. "Passwords are not the issue, email accounts are about as private as it gets," he told Reuters. Although Weinstein added that the traveler is given every right to object the search, he made clear that doing so “will be one of the considerations taken into account when the authorities decide whether to allow his entry into Israel.”

News Forage: Israel airport guards may ask 'suspicious' tourists to open their email accounts

Kerry Pushes for More Rebel Aid Anyhow - In a world where “Israel said so” is often seen as the only proof needed, US officials are expressing an unusual level of doubt today, saying they are “not persuaded” by Israeli claims Syria has used chemical weapons. The claims came at a Tel Aviv conference, where Brig. Gen. Itai Brun claimed Syria had “repeatedly” used sarin nerve gas, and accused the US of ignoring its own “red line” on military intervention in Syria. As with all of these claims, which have been floating around off and on for months, there is no proof to be had, and Secretary of State John Kerry reportedly pressed Benjamin Netanyahu on the matter, who said he couldn’t confirm anything about the general’s claim. Still, Kerry is not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, and he cited the “chemical weapons threat” today in his latest exhortation for Western nations to throw more money at Syria’s rebels.

Stephen Lendman: Target Syria: Allegations of Chemical Weapons Use - New allegations claim Syrian chemical weapons use. We've heard similar ones before. Obama calls using them a "game changer." He also said their use crosses a "red line." Syrian officials are unequivocal. Weeks earlier, Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Miqdad spoke for others saying: "Syria stresses again, for the 10th, the 100th time, that if we had such weapons, they would not be used against our people. We would not commit suicide." Alleging Syrian chemical weapons use resembles bogus claims about Saddam's nonexistent WMDs. It's similar to false charges against all US enemies. Big Lies launch wars. They facilitate them. They perpetuate them.

Joseph Kishore: US ramps up plans for military intervention in Syria - Responding to unsubstantiated allegations by Israel that Syria has used chemical weapons, US Secretary of State John Kerry declared at a NATO council meeting in Brussels on Tuesday that it was necessary to “carefully and collectively consider how NATO is prepared to respond to protect its members from a Syrian threat, including any potential chemical weapons threat.” The Obama administration has previously declared chemical weapons use to be a “red line” that would spark an aggressive response. The chemical weapons claims from Israel are based on photographs supplied by opposition forces relating to a battle that took place near Aleppo on March 19. The Assad regime has claimed that it was the rebels, not government forces, who used the weapons.