Israel in Secret Talks With Syrian Rebels?
January 1, 2013 14:12 by Pesach Benson
Everything you need to know about today’s coverage of Israel and the Mideast. Join the Israel Daily News Stream on Facebook.
Today’s Top Stories
1. According to Arab media reports, cited by the Jerusalem Post, Israel’s in secret talks with Syrian rebels to secure the Golan Heights and find the remains of Eli Cohen.
Cohen was an Israeli spy who gained the trust of Damascus elites and offered advice to Syria’s defense ministry. He was caught and executed in 1965.
2. AP: Egypt detained a 24 year-old Israeli national who wanted to enter Gaza via the Sinai and fight with the Palestinians. Andre Pshenichnikov’s mother told YNet that Israeli authorities in Eilat had barred him from crossing into Egypt:
She claimed he was an “activist for peace between Israelis and Palestinians, which is very dangerous. He’s been arrested before . . .
Pshenichnikov was in the news a few months ago when he sought to renounce his Israeli citizenship and move into a Palestinian refugee camp:
”I hate Zionism . . . I want to be part of the Palestinian resistance,” Pshenichnikov told The Associated Press. “I call for other Israelis who support the existence of a state of Palestine to do the same, to come live in the West Bank or Gaza as Palestinians.”
Egypt also reportedly arrested Ahmed Meligy, who blogs Egypt’s Missing Peace for the Jerusalem Post.
Meligy had recently informed Post Blog editor Lidar Grave that he would have to take a short hiatus from blogging because he was receiving threats.
In early November, Meligy opened a blog post critical of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi with the words, “I hope that I don’t get arrested for this one.” He went on to say “the Muslim Brotherhood is creating a dictatorship that will set back my Egypt for years to come.”
3. Australia’s top Muslim cleric, Grand Mufti Ibrahim Abu Mohamed, met with Hamas leaders in Gaza. According to the Melboure Herald-Sun,
Dr Mohamed, who has been styled as a moderate since taking the top Australian Muslim post, last week expressed his happiness at being in Gaza, describing it as the land of pride and martyrdom.
“I am pleased to stand on the land of jihad to learn from its sons and I have the honour to be among the people of Gaza where the weakness always becomes strength, the few becomes many and the humiliation turns into pride,” he told local news agencies.
Israel and the Palestinians
• A Palestinian man living in a Nablus refugee camp tried to set himself on fire. Not Israel’s fault; according to Maan News, the self-immolation was “in protest against recently announced measures that will no longer exempt refugees from paying electricity costs.”
• As a French court prepares to put the Mohammed Dura video and Philippe Karsenty back in the spotlight, Professor Richard Landes weighs in on the matter. Proceedings begin January 16.
• Karl Vick of Time says 2012 for Israel and the Palestinians was The Year of the Settlment. I would’ve referred to 2012 as the year of the rocket.




Anthony Garland
2:57 pm
Jan 01, 2013
When will the world at large realise that not a single Muslim leader, secular or religious is a moderate? For instance, the UK government thinks it is talking to “moderate” Muslim leaders but in fact they are serious fundamentalists bent on forcing Islam on the UK! .Anyone who thinks otherwise is seriously deluded!
Well-loved. Agree or Disagree:
79
0
Dany
4:45 pm
Jan 01, 2013
Moderate Islam is a recipe that only deluded people can digest.
Well-loved. Agree or Disagree:
46
0
emes
7:34 pm
Jan 01, 2013
The very mention of Rabbi Meir Kahane fills many, mainly Jews, with dread sadly he is no longer with us but if he were the whole complextion of recent attrocities from muslims would be jaded.I feel sure his feedback on this situation would be a homeopathic one by “treating like with like” – we do not have a strong character to lead us out of this world-wide fundamentalist, Jew-hating predicament we need untity! enough of these milk-sop self-hating Jews – there was no preferential treatment of Jews in line at the gas chambers – noone offering a hand to lead us back to our own country, we had to do this on our own and you know what? people respected us then & we felt proud where is pride now.
Well-loved. Agree or Disagree:
26
2
Sandy
11:34 pm
Jan 01, 2013
Kol Hakavod (well done) to Emes. The trouble with us Jews is that we’re frightened of our own shadows!
Well-loved. Agree or Disagree:
12
2
Israel in Secret Talks With Syrian Rebels? | Blogs about Israel aggregation
10:22 pm
Jan 01, 2013
[...] Continued on Page 2 [...]
Agree or Disagree:
0
0
brian
4:20 am
Jan 02, 2013
not happy with israel talking with the rebels if true – they are killing christians by the thousand. in a latest instance they hung one and cut another up and threw the remains in a river.
when will israel learn that the only friends they have in the world today are the christians – myself included.
http://www.ea.org.au/Ethos/Engage-Mail/Kidnapping-and-Killing-of-Christians-in-Syria.aspx
Well-loved. Agree or Disagree:
5
1
emes
10:55 am
Jan 02, 2013
Thank you Brian, there truly are many Christians who have assisted Jews through history, it is affirmed in the Avenue of the Righteous in Israel – in turn Jews have always offered a hand to whomever but it is numbers we need to abate the onslaught of hatred in this world, which is on line for despotic overthrow. Jews have turned the other cheek so much that it almost feels like a massage from the amount of slaps in the face received. Yes, it seems Christians too are on the decline and are also on the receiving end of the islamic inhumane and incomprehensible hatred, so a combined force would be preferable to the cock-eyed look we always seem to attain.
Well-loved. Agree or Disagree:
6
0
emes
11:14 am
Jan 02, 2013
Feel sorry for Andre Psheniknikov’s mother – mind you, from the name it might be that he is a derivative from a pogrom – there seems a desire on his part to self destruct – or in this case, water finds its level – If he wishes to be a party to the other side, then the muslims will soon remind him who he is and he will return, either in bits or in even more bits!
Well-loved. Agree or Disagree:
6
0