Obama puts Israel on terrorist nation list--takes Korea off!

In an incredible case of mistaking the angel for the devil, the Obama administration’s State Department has quietly placed Israel on a list of countries that “promote, produce, or protect terrorists”. Yet North Korea has been taken off the terrorism list! What's wrong with this picture?

Israeli terrorism expert, political analyst, and former Israel Mayor David Rubin, responding from Samaria (in the West Bank), is blasting the Obama administration for “A bizarre manifestation of the psychological defense mechanism of projection in order to hide its failure to call Islamic terrorism by its proper name. From the moment this President entered office, he has been pandering to the Islamic world, pretending that Al Qaeda is the only terrorist organization. In reality, despite internal ethnic rivalries, all Islamic terrorist organizations are in cahoots in fighting what they call ‘The Big Satan’ (The U.S.) and ‘The Little Satan’ (Israel). The sad reality is that Israel has been waging the fight against Islamic terrorism against all odds for many years now and often all alone. With this latest stab in the back, Obama is continuing a worrying pattern of calling America’s enemies friends and America’s friends enemies.”

In an incredible case of mistaking the angel for the devil, the Obama administration’s State Department has quietly placed Israel on a list of countries that “promote, produce, or protect terrorists”. Yet North Korea has been taken off the terrorism list! What's wrong with this picture?

Country Designation Date

Cuba March 1, 1982

Iran January 19, 1984

Sudan August 12, 1993

Syria December 29, 1979

Chapter 2. Country Reports: Middle East and North Africa Overview

Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism

Country Reports on Terrorism 2008

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Israel, West Bank, and Gaza

Twenty-seven Israeli civilians were killed in at least 10 separate terrorist attacks during the year, up from six attacks in 2007. Israel continued to experience terrorist threats emanating from the West Bank and Gaza. Rocket and even more accurate mortar fire emanating from the Gaza Strip were Palestinian terrorist organizations' preferred form of attack, while incidents of Palestinian suicide bombings continued to decline relative to previous years.

Israel responded to the terrorist threat as it has in recent years, with operations targeted at terrorist leaders, terrorist infrastructure, and active terrorist activities such as rocket launching groups. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israel Security Services (ISA) incursions into the West Bank continued to conduct roundups and other military operations designed to increase pressure on Palestinian terrorist organizations and their supporters. The Israeli security services also imposed strict and widespread closures and curfews in Palestinian areas. By some reports, Israeli military operations in 2008 killed an estimated 782 Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, including at least 315 by year's end as a result of Israeli Air Force (IAF) airstrikes.

Radical groups used Gaza casualties for propaganda purposes. Due to budgetary constraints, construction on an extensive security barrier in the West Bank and Jerusalem was sporadic in 2008. Israeli officials believed the separation barrier played an important role in making terrorist attacks more difficult to undertake.

Terrorist attacks in Israel and the West Bank included the following:

•On February 4, a Palestinian suicide bomber struck a shopping mall in the southern town of Dimona, killing one person and injuring nine others. Israeli police killed a second attacker before he was able to detonate his bomb belt. Two terrorist groups, the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade (AAMB) and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), claimed joint responsibility for the attack.
•On March 6, a Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem shot and killed eight students and wounded 11 others at the prominent Mercaz Harav Kook Yeshiva (Jewish religious school) in West Jerusalem. An off-duty soldier entered the yeshiva and killed the assailant.
•On April 25, a terrorist operating on behalf of HAMAS and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) infiltrated Israel from the West Bank and shot to death two civilian security guards at an industrial park near the village of Qalansuwa.
•On June 1 and 20, Israeli settlers fired three rockets toward the Palestinian town of Burin. In late July, settlers threw a Molotov cocktail into a home in Burin as well. No injuries were reported from either attack.
•On July 2, a Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem killed three people and wounded at least 18 others with a bulldozer in West Jerusalem before being shot and killed by an off-duty soldier. The government defined the incident as a terrorist attack, but police were unable to determine a clear motive.
•On July 22, a Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem wounded at least 16 people with a bulldozer on a busy West Jerusalem street before being killed by police. The attack was widely viewed as a copycat of the July 2 attack.
•On September 25, a prominent Hebrew University professor and critic of Jewish settlements in the West Bank was wounded when a pipe bomb, allegedly planted by radical members of the settlement movement, exploded as he opened the door of his home in West Jerusalem. After the attack, police found flyers near the academic’s home calling for the establishment of a new state in the West Bank based on Jewish religious law. The flyers, signed by a Jewish extremist group called the Army of the State Liberators, also offered USD 314,000 to anyone who killed a member of the non-governmental organization, Peace Now. Israeli Security Services continued to investigate the attack.
•During the year, rocket, mortar, and sniper fire from the Gaza Strip killed eight Israeli civilians and one Ecuadorian kibbutz volunteer.
Throughout the year, Israel's security services were able to keep terrorist planners and operators off balance, reporting multiple foiled attempts:

•On January 16, IDF, Civil Administration, and police forces intercepted a truck containing 800 kg of potassium/nitrate at the Eliyahu border crossing south of Qalqiliya, West Bank. Potassium nitrate is a banned substance in Gaza and the West Bank due to its use in the manufacturing of explosive devices and Qassam rockets.
•On November 4, IDF and security forces discovered a tunnel situated 250 meters from the Gaza security fence that they believed would be used for the abduction of IDF soldiers. Israeli forces killed several militants during an ensuing firefight.
•On November 12, IDF forces killed four armed militants in Gaza that were attempting to place an explosive device near the Gaza security fence.
•On November 28, IDF forces identified another attempt by militants to lay an explosive device at the Gaza security fence near Khan Yunis. In an ensuing firefight, IDF forces killed one terrorist and wounded four others.
The smuggling of commodities, arms, explosives, and funds in support of terrorist groups such as HAMAS through tunnels along the Philadelphi Route between the Gaza Strip and Egypt remained problematic. On January 23, HAMAS terrorists blew up several sections of the border fence separating the Gaza Strip from the Egyptian town of Rafah. According to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), HAMAS used this opportunity to smuggle explosives, anti-tank, and anti-aircraft weapons into the Gaza Strip.

Despite the fact that the IDF thwarted the above-mentioned attacks, terrorist groups conducted mortar attacks against the Israeli-manned crossings between Gaza and Israel, and Qassam rocket launches from Gaza that terrorized Israeli communities abutting Gaza. Palestinian terrorists routinely fired rockets and mortars at Israeli civilians from the Gaza Strip despite an Egyptian-negotiated truce or cease fire between Israel and HAMAS that began on June 19. According to the Israeli MFA, Palestinian terrorist groups fired approximately 1,750 rockets and 1,528 mortars into Israel in 2008, up from 896 rockets and 749 mortars in 2007. Rocket and mortar attacks began to escalate toward the end of the year; the MFA estimated that Palestinian terrorist groups fired 213 rockets and 126 mortars at Israel from November 4 to December 18 in the lead up to the end of the ceasefire. On December 17, the press reported that terrorist groups in Gaza fired 25 Qassam rockets at Israel. On December 18, HAMAS leadership announced the end of the ceasefire. In total, 361 rockets were launched on Israel from Gaza during the month of December. Targeted Israeli towns included Sderot and Ashkelon, as well as a number of nearby agricultural collectives (kibbutzim) and IDF bases. Palestinian terrorist groups increasingly used 122 mm Grad missiles, which landed in or near Ashkelon. While there were no fatalities resulting from rocket and mortar attacks between the June 19 ceasefire and December 18, these attacks resulted in numerous cases of shock and property damage, and disrupted daily life.

The reliance on rockets reflected technological advancements that allowed groups to manufacture the rockets cheaply, stockpile them, and launch them greater distances. As the rockets' ranges continued to increase, Israeli authorities in the port city of Ashdod initiated emergency response training in anticipation of eventual rocket attacks in their city. Mortars were used mainly against Israeli targets within or on the edge of the Gaza Strip, to include crossings, which had the effect of closing the crossings to the detriment of Gaza's residents.

From February 29 to March 1, the IDF conducted Operation Warm Winter against terrorist targets in Gaza. Following the November 4 tunnel discovery along the Gaza security fence, Israel undertook small-scale military operations and airstrikes against suspected launch teams and sites in Gaza. The Israeli Air Force increasingly launched airstrikes against launch teams in November and December following escalations in rocket and mortar attacks. Israel launched Operation Cast Lead in Gaza on December 27 in response to these rocket attacks. In the first few days of the operation, the Israeli air force and navy conducted a heavy bombardment of HAMAS targets in the Gaza Strip, including bases, training camps, and suspected weapons caches. These actions caused civilian casualties and some international observers alleged that the Israeli response was disproportionate.

Israel's security establishment remained concerned about the terrorist threat posed to Israel in the north by Hizballah and its Iranian and Syrian sponsors. Israeli security officials said Hizballah continued to provide support to select Palestinian groups to augment their capacity to conduct attacks against Israel. Throughout the year, Israeli officials claimed publicly that Hizballah had completely replenished its ranks, possessed more short and medium-range rockets than it had before the 2006 war, had moved arms back to southern Lebanon, and was providing training to HAMAS operatives from Gaza. While Israel's northern border remained comparatively quiet, the IDF continued a strong exercise schedule and military presence in the Golan Heights.

HAMAS and Hizballah continued to finance their terrorist activities against Israel mostly through state sponsors of terrorism Iran and Syria, and through various fundraising networks in Europe, the United States, the Middle East, and to a lesser extent, elsewhere. The funds channeled to these organizations frequently passed through major international financial capitals, such as Dubai, Bahrain, Hong Kong, Zurich, London, or New York. Unlawful funding bound for terrorists that may pass through Israel's financial sector, however, was well monitored and often blocked. Israel has adopted strong measures to prevent terrorist financing through its financial sector or through the smuggling of financial instruments. Regulation and enforcement of its domestic financial industry was equivalent in scope and effect to other highly industrialized and developed nations. Israel's Counterterrorist Finance regime is administered as part of its Anti-Money Laundering program (AML/CFT).

The Israeli National Police (INP), with the advice of the security services, is charged with enforcement of counterterrorist finance laws. Regulation of and intelligence on financial crimes is coordinated by the Israel Money Laundering and Terror Financing Prohibition Authority (IMPA), in coordination with the National Security Council. The INP reported no indication of an overall increase in financial crime relative to previous years. The IMPA received approximately 17,152 suspicious transaction reports, disseminated 529 intelligence reports to law enforcement agencies and to foreign Financial Intelligence Units, and reported that approximately USD two million was frozen or forfeited in AML/CTF-related actions.

On the law enforcement front, the ISA and INP continued to cooperate with U.S. law enforcement agencies on cases involving U.S. citizens killed in terrorist attacks. On October 29, the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, voted to continue work on a biometrics bill by sending it to the Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee for further work. The bill proposed that Israel switch to "smart" identification methods such as fingerprints and digital photographs on identification cards and passports.

The Israeli government released convicted Lebanese terrorist Samir Kuntar and four Hizballah militants on July 16 in exchange for the remains of two Israeli soldiers whose capture by Hizballah sparked the 2006 War with Lebanon.

The Israeli Counterterrorism Bureau issued a warning in October in advance of the Jewish holiday season that terrorist groups may attempt to kidnap Israeli tourists in the Sinai. Terrorists held hostage and later killed four Israeli citizens at the Chabad House as part of the November 26 attacks on Mumbai, India.

SamCogar wrote:We will hafta wait until Aaron tells us.

Aaron wrote:What, the almight Sam Co-GAR doesn't have an answer???

I'm not suprised.

My problem is that I when I googled what Keli has on this thread nothing but FAR right wing sites came up, the kind that will lie in a heartbeat or twist any fact to promote their agenda. Sort of like the one Keli cited which is ironic given the name of the site.

I didn't read the report. What page is keli misrepresenting?

He's misrepresenting the entire thing.

You reckon that will satisify your boy Sammy or do you think he's going to continue his crying jag about Israel?

The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General published the list of "specially designated countries" as an appendix to an unclassified May 11 report--"Supervision of Aliens Commensurate With Risk"--that was publicly posted on the Internet. (The appendix is on page 18 of the document.)

As a matter of policy, according to the inspector general’s report, citizens of Israel and other “specially designated countries” are subjected to a special security screening called a “Third Agency Check” (TAC) when they are actually detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the division of the Department of Homeland Security responsible for enforcing the immigration laws.

The 35 countries plus the West Bank and Gaza that were on the proposed list discussed in the ICE memo uncovered by McClatchey in March 2008 almost exactly matches the “specially designated countries” on the list published by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General on May 11, 2011.

There are only two differences:

North Korea was on the list proposed in 2008;
it is not on the May 2011 list.

Israel was not on the list proposed in 2008;
it is on the May 2011 list.

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/us-designates-israel-country-tends-promo