Probe into Israeli war crimes aborted by ICC

The International Criminal Court prosecutor said Tuesday he would hold off on a probe into alleged Israeli war crimes in the Palestinian territories until the UN rules on Palestinian statehood.

“The office [of the prosecutor] has assessed that it is for the relevant bodies at the UN or the Assembly of State Parties to make a legal determination whether Palestine qualifies as a state for the purpose of acceding to the Rome Statute,” the court’s founding treaty, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement. (more…)

Israel kills 20 year old Palestinian over land grab protest

A 20-year-old man was killed and another 51 people injured by Israeli fire on Friday, as thousands rallied across the West Bank and Gaza to mark Land Day, medical sources said.

Mahmud Zakut, 20, was killed in Beit Hanun in an area near the border fence with Israel, emergency services spokesman Adham Abu Selmiya said. (more…)

Assad’s motive behind killing Syrians

By Khalid Amayreh
The state-controlled media in Syria, along with some Iranian and Lebanese outlets, would have us believe that Syria is facing an international conspiracy, led by the United States and some Gulf Arab states

Is the Axis of Resistance crumbling due to Syria?

By Scott Peterson
The Syria-Iran-Hezbollah-Hamas ‘axis of resistance’ has started to fray, with Hamas essentially pulling out, and the Syrians being challenged at home

Israelis and Palestinians agree to ceasefire mediated by Egypt

A ceasefire has been agreed between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza after four days of deadly clashes, an Egyptian official says. A Hamas official later confirmed that the truce had been agreed. At least 25 Palestinians have died in Israeli air strikes since Friday, reports say. (more…)

EU expresses concern over Israeli-Palestinian violence in Gaza

The European Union on Saturday expressed concern at the worst Israeli-Palestinian violence in three years which left 14 Palestinians dead, calling on both sides to restore calm. (more…)

Hezbollah’s Relentless Rage

By Michael J. Totten
The only reason Israel has been able to survive in the Middle East, and even to flourish there, is because its enemies’ armies are incompetent.

Israel kills Palestinian militants in Gaza air strike

An Israeli air strike on the Gaza Strip killed the head of the Popular Resistance Committees militant group Friday, the movement said.

The PRC said General Secretary Zohair al-Qaisi was one of two Palestinians killed in the strike, along with fellow-member Mahmud Halani, hours after Palestinians fired mortar rounds into Israel. (more…)

Israeli dogs and soldiers training underground to fight Hezbollah

Fearing a surge in tunnel and bunker construction by Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Palestinian militants, Israel is training its troops to hunt below ground with robot probes and sniffer dogs.

Such preparations reflect concerns that should Israel or the United States carry out attacks on Iran’s disputed nuclear program, Tehran may retaliate through its allies on the Jewish state’s borders. (more…)

Gingrich comments provoke strong Palestinian reaction

Palestinians reacted angrily Saturday to comments by Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich that the Palestinians were “an invented” people.

In the comments, aired Friday on the Jewish Channel cable network, Gingrich said, “I think we have had an invented Palestinian people who are in fact Arabs.” (more…)