Israeli ministers denounce Kerry remarks on conflict

Two senior Israeli government ministers lashed out at US Secretary of State John Kerry on Oct. 17 over remarks he made linking the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with the growth of Islamic extremism.
     
"I respect John Kerry and his efforts but he keeps breaking new records in lack of understanding of our region and the essence of our disputes," Communications Minister Gilad Erdan said in an interview with Israeli public radio.
     
"I think that this time it is really a new record," he said.
     
Kerry, just back from a visit to Egypt for a multilateral conference on the reconstruction of Gaza, said on Thursday that in conversations he had heard that the unresolved Israel-Palestinian conflict was fuelling recruitment for the Islamic State jihadist group.
     
"There wasn't a leader I met with in the region who didn't raise with me spontaneously the need to try to get peace between Israel and the Palestinians, because it was a cause of recruitment and of street anger and agitation," Kerry said.
     
"People need to understand the connection of that. And it has something to do with humiliation and denial and absence of dignity," he added.
     
Erdan, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party who holds a seat on the prestigious security cabinet, mocked the idea that building in West Bank settlements, such as Maaleh Adumim, near Jerusalem, was fanning the flames of jihad.
     
"'Absence of dignity', is that what's causing the rise of Islamic State?" he asked.
     
"Two hundred thousand people murdered in Syria, British and Americans whose heads are being cut off ... is all this because of settlement in Maaleh Adumim?"      

Economy Minister Naftali Bennett, who leads the far-right Jewish Home party and also is in the security cabinet, said that the world sought to make Israel a scapegoat for its troubles.
     
"Even when a British Muslim beheads a British Christian there will always be someone who blames the Jews," he wrote on Twitter, alluding to the killings of two British aid workers -- recorded in videos posted online -- by a jihadist with an English accent.
     
Kerry has taken flak from Israel before, most recently in July during the military campaign in Gaza when anonymous officials hit out at Kerry's truce proposal, calling it "a strategic terrorist attack".
     
The US State Department called the allegations "offensive and absurd."  
[hurriyetdailynews.com]
17/10/14

US to strike ISIL 'sanctuaries' in Syria

US plans to carry out air strikes against Islamic State and the Levant (ISIL) fighters in Syria and will target the group's sanctuaries, command centres and logistic networks, Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel has told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

"This plan includes targeted actions against ISIL safe havens in Syria, including its command and control, logistics capabilities, and infrastructure," Hagel told the Committee on Tuesday.
But the US military's top-ranking officer, General Martin Dempsey, told the same hearing that the bombing would not resemble the large-scale raids that accompanied the start of the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq.


Commanders at the time dubbed the campaign a bid to provoke "shock and awe" among ex-president Saddam Hussein's troops.
"This will not look like 'shock and awe' because that is not how ISIL is organised, but it will be persistent and sustainable," Dempsey said.
Military leaders warned of a further escalation in their battle against ISIL just as two branches of the rival al-Qaeda group called for a united front against the war coalition Washington is building.

• US warplanes have been targeting the group's fighters in northern Iraq since August 8, and in recent days hit its fighters southwest of Baghdad for the first time, in a significant expansion of the campaign.

• The US strikes against ISIL fighters in the Sadr al-Yusufiyah area, 25km from Baghdad, was the first in support of Iraqi forces near the capital.

They bring the number of US air strikes across Iraq to 162. The CIA estimates that the ISIL may be able to field as many as 31,500 fighters - many of them foreign volunteers.
Obama has vowed to expand American efforts and US diplomats are scrambling to put together an international coalition for a "relentless" campaign against ISIL.
The slow coming together of this alliance drew a fierce reaction from al-Qaeda's branches in Yemen and in North Africa, who said jihadist forces must also unite against the common threat.
In a joint statement, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) urged their "brothers" in Iraq and Syria to "stop killing each other and unite against the American campaign and its evil coalition that threatens us all."
 http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/09/us-strike-isil-sanctuaries-syria-2014916155412432503.html
16/9/14
- 

Pope backs action to protect Iraq minorities if U.N. OKs

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Francis on Monday endorsed the use of force to stop Islamist militants from attacking religious minorities in Iraq but said the international community — and not just one country — should decide how to intervene.

Francis also said he and his advisers were considering whether he might go to northern Iraq himself to show solidarity with persecuted Christians. But he said he was holding off for now on a decision.
In other comments to journalists returning from South Korea, Francis confirmed he hoped to travel to the United States in September 2015 for a possible three-city tour: to attend a family rally in Philadelphia and to address Congress in Washington and the United Nations in New York. He said a Mexico stop on that trip was possible but not decided yet. He also said he might make one-day visit to Spain next year.

On Iraq, Francis was asked if he approved of the unilateral U.S. airstrikes on militants of the Islamic State who have captured swaths of northern and western Iraq and northeastern Syria and have forced minority Christians and others to either convert to Islam or flee their homes.

"In these cases, where there is an unjust aggression, I can only say that it is licit to stop the unjust aggressor," Francis said. "I underscore the verb 'stop.' I'm not saying 'bomb' or 'make war,' just 'stop.' And the means that can be used to stop them must be evaluated."

But, he said, in history, such "excuses" to stop an unjust aggression have been used by world powers to justify a "war of conquest" in which an entire people have been taken over.

"One nation alone cannot judge how you stop this, how you stop an unjust aggressor," he said, apparently referring to the United States. "After World War II, the idea of the United Nations came about: It's there that you must discuss 'Is there an unjust aggression? It seems so. How should we stop it?' Just this. Nothing more."

His comments were significant because the Vatican has vehemently opposed any military intervention in recent years, with St. John Paul II actively trying to head off the Iraq war and Francis himself staging a global prayer and fast for peace when the U.S. was threatening airstrikes on Syria last year.

But the Vatican has been increasingly showing support for military intervention in Iraq, given that Christians are being directly targeted because of their faith and that Christian communities which have existed for 2,000 years have been emptied as a result of the extremists' onslaught.

The U.S. began launching airstrikes against Islamic State fighters on Aug. 8, allowing Kurdish forces to fend off an advance on their regional capital of Irbil and to help tens of thousands of religious minorities escape.

Church teaching allows for "just wars," when military force can be justified under certain circumstances. And in recent days, a few Vatican officials have edged increasingly toward acknowledging the Iraq situation fits the bill.

When the Vatican's ambassador to Iraq, Monsignor Giorgio Lingua, was asked about the U.S. airstrikes, he told Vatican Radio that it was unfortunate that the situation had gotten to this point "but it's good when you're able to at the very least remove weapons from these people who have no scruples."

• The Vatican's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, went further, saying "Maybe military action is necessary at this moment."

Francis sent a personal envoy, Cardinal Fernando Filoni, to northern Iraq last week with an undisclosed amount of money to help people in flight and show the pope's solidarity with those forced to flee their homes..............................http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/08/18/pope-oks-protecting-iraq-minorities-wants-un-ok/14241193/18/8/14

Obama warns Iraq operation could take time

U.S. President Barack Obama said on Saturday U.S. airstrikes have destroyed arms and equipment that Islamic State insurgents could have used to attack Erbil, the Iraqi Kurdish capital, but warned the current operation in Iraq could take some time.

“I don’t think we’re going to solve this problem in weeks. This is going to take some time,” Obama told reporters.
“This is going to be a long-term project,” he said during a brief news conference before leaving Washington for a two-week vacation in Massachusetts.

Obama said the United States would continue to provide military assistance and advice to the Baghdad government and Kurdish forces, but stressed repeatedly the importance of Iraq forming its own inclusive government.
“I think this a wake-up call for a lot of Iraqis inside of Baghdad recognizing that we’re going to have to rethink how we do business if we’re going to hold our country together,” Obama said.
Obama on Thursday authorized the U.S. military to make airdrops of humanitarian assistance to prevent what he called a potential “genocide” of the ancient Yazidi religious sect in Iraq and conduct targeted strikes on Islamic State fighters in northern Iraq, a limited operation to protect American officials working in the country.
In Saturday’s remarks, Obama described next steps, including creating a safe corridor for the Yazidis to leave the mountain. He also said longer-term operations must include counter-terrorism.

Last Update: Saturday, 9 August 2014 KSA 19:08 - GMT 16:08 

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/08/09/Obama-says-won-t-let-ISIS-create-caliphate-.html

 

Pétrole: Téhéran prêt à compenser la baisse de la production en Irak

Téhéran est prêt à compenser la baisse de la production pétrolière en Irak due à l'aggravation de la situation dans ce pays, rapporte samedi l'agence IRNA, citant le ministre iranien du pétrole Bijan Namdar-Zangheneh.

D'après le ministre, suite aux opérations armées lancées par le groupe djihadiste Etat islamique en Irak et au Levant (EIIL), les prix du pétrole ont augmenté de 5%. Selon des informations publiées la semaine dernière, les islamistes ont attaqué une grande raffinerie de pétrole dans la ville de Baïdji (nord de l'Irak). Ils ont pénétré sur le territoire de l'entreprise et détruit plusieurs réservoirs de pétrole. 

Evoquant les sanctions décrétées par Washington contre l'industrie pétrolière iranienne, M. Namdar-Zangheneh a souligné que Téhéran "cherchait à maintenir le niveau stable de production de pétrole".

Le ministre a également espéré que malgré les sanctions américaines, les compagnies pétrolières étrangères reviendraient en Iran et que des projets portant sur le gaz seraient également relancés. 

Appuyé par des sunnites irakiens et par d'anciens militaires de l'armée de Saddam Hussein, le groupe EIIL s'est emparé en une semaine d'une région irakienne englobant la province de Ninawa, dont Mossoul, deuxième ville du pays, ainsi que d'une partie de la province de Salah ad-Din. Les islamistes menacent d'attaquer Bagdad, ce qui pousse les étrangers à quitter massivement la capitale irakienne.

Dans les régions occupées, les djihadistes pratiquent des exécutions sommaires, contraignant des milliers d'habitants à fuir leurs foyers.
[RIA Novosti]21/6/14 
--

Pétrole: Téhéran prêt à compenser la baisse de la production en Irak

Téhéran est prêt à compenser la baisse de la production pétrolière en Irak due à l'aggravation de la situation dans ce pays, rapporte samedi l'agence IRNA, citant le ministre iranien du pétrole Bijan Namdar-Zangheneh.

D'après le ministre, suite aux opérations armées lancées par le groupe djihadiste Etat islamique en Irak et au Levant (EIIL), les prix du pétrole ont augmenté de 5%. Selon des informations publiées la semaine dernière, les islamistes ont attaqué une grande raffinerie de pétrole dans la ville de Baïdji (nord de l'Irak). Ils ont pénétré sur le territoire de l'entreprise et détruit plusieurs réservoirs de pétrole. 

Evoquant les sanctions décrétées par Washington contre l'industrie pétrolière iranienne, M. Namdar-Zangheneh a souligné que Téhéran "cherchait à maintenir le niveau stable de production de pétrole".

Le ministre a également espéré que malgré les sanctions américaines, les compagnies pétrolières étrangères reviendraient en Iran et que des projets portant sur le gaz seraient également relancés. 

Appuyé par des sunnites irakiens et par d'anciens militaires de l'armée de Saddam Hussein, le groupe EIIL s'est emparé en une semaine d'une région irakienne englobant la province de Ninawa, dont Mossoul, deuxième ville du pays, ainsi que d'une partie de la province de Salah ad-Din. Les islamistes menacent d'attaquer Bagdad, ce qui pousse les étrangers à quitter massivement la capitale irakienne.

Dans les régions occupées, les djihadistes pratiquent des exécutions sommaires, contraignant des milliers d'habitants à fuir leurs foyers.
[RIA Novosti]
21/6/14

Italian Catholic community warns Christians at risk in Iraq. - 400,000 Christians live in the Niniveh province

An Italian Catholic community warned Wednesday of violence against Christians in Iraq, where a jihadist takeover in Mosul has seen as many as half a million people flee their homes.

"From the sketchy information coming out of Mosul it appears Christians are once more the victims of terrorism and bloodshed," the Sant'Egidio community, which promotes dialogue between religions, said in a statement.

"An explosion of extremist violence is putting at risk a project of religious integration and social development, based on coexistence and collaboration between Christians and Muslims," it said.

Militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and their allies on Tuesday seized Mosul and surrounding Nineveh province, and militants have since then captured a large swathe of northern and north-central Iraq.

As many as half a million Iraqis fled their homes in Mosul as ISIL vowed on its Twitter account "not to stop this series of blessed offensives."

Sant'Egidio, which said around half of Iraq's 400,000 Christians live in the Niniveh province, described reports of "numerous victims" and attacks on "sacred buildings, churches and convents, which have been set alight."

Sant'Egidio called on the international community and the Iraqi government "to do everything possible to interrupt the spiral of violence."

• Known for its ruthless tactics and suicide bombers, ISIL is arguably the most capable force fighting President Bashar al-Assad inside Syria as well as the most powerful militant group in Iraq.

• ISIL is led by the shadowy Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and backed by thousands of Islamist fighters in Syria and Iraq, many of them Westerners.

It appears to be surpassing Al-Qaeda as the world's most dangerous jihadist group.
AFP
[dailystar.com.lb]
11/6/14

Mass 'executions' in Syria could be war crime: UN

GENEVA: Extremist Islamic groups in Syria are committing a "soaring" number of killings in the country's north that could amount to war crimes, the UN human rights office said on Thursday.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay says that over the past two weeks her office has received reports of "a succession of mass executions of civilians and fighters who were no longer participating in hostilities in Aleppo, Idlib and Raqqa by hardline armed opposition groups in Syria, in particular by the" al-Qaida linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

She warned that such killings violate international humanitarian law, and the numbers of such violations are thought to be alarmingly high.

"While exact numbers are difficult to verify, reliable eyewitness testimony that we have gathered suggests that many civilians and fighters in the custody of extremist armed opposition groups have been executed since the beginning of this year," Pillay said in a statement.

Fighting between the al-Qaida-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and other Islamic groups in northern and eastern Syria has killed hundreds of people over the past two weeks. The infighting is the most serious among opponents of President Bashar Assad since the Syrian conflict began in March 2011.

Pilay's office reported that in the first week of January a number of people were killed in Idlib by armed opposition groups. It said that on Jan. 6 in Aleppo three people reportedly held by the al-Qaida linked group at its base in Makhfar al-Saleheen were found dead, handcuffed, with bullet wounds in their heads.

Two days later, also in Aleppo, "numerous bodies, again mostly handcuffed and blindfolded, were found in a Children's Hospital" once used as a base by the group, the UN office said, and that at least four local media activists were among the dead, as well as captured fighters from armed opposition groups.

Pillay says there also are "deeply disturbing reports emerging of mass executions" by the al-Qaida linked group, both when it withdrew from Raqqa and after it regained control earlier this week.

"These reports are particularly alarming, given the large numbers of people, including civilians, that armed opposition groups in Syria are believed to be holding in custody," Pillay said. "The taking of hostages is prohibited under international humanitarian law and may also constitute a war crime." 
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Mass-executions-in-Syria-could-be-war-crime-UN/articleshow/28896783.cms
16/1/14