Israel army drop leaflets inciting against Palestinian resistance in Gaza

The Israeli army on Saturday dropped new leaflets on different residential areas in the Gaza Strip, threatening the Palestinian residents that it will target their homes and farms under the pretext that they allow the Palestinian resistance to use them to launch rockets on Israel.

The Israeli leaflets threatened residents and their properties and incited them against the Palestinian resistance and the Hamas leadership in particular.

Apart from the leaflets, the army dispatched voice messages and SMS messages to the enclave’s residents.

Since the beginning of its aggression on the Gaza Strip in July, the Israeli army have used this tactic aimed at destabilizing the Palestinian internal front and spread fear and panic among the citizens

Belgium Diplomat, Jean-Marie Pire, Arrested For Ripping Qatari Princess’ Face Veil Off

A senior Belgium diplomat has been arrested for taking off the full-face veil of a Qatari princess after she asked him for directions, in a case that has highlighted difficulties in imposing the so-called “burka ban” in the country.

Jean-Marie Pire, who apparently specialises in protocol, went about removing the woman’s niqab, a black full-face veil, when approached by her on the street in the Belgian capital, Brussels

The 60-year-old diplomat, who did not know the identity of the wealthy royal, took offence to her clothing when she approached him with two other women last week, asking for directions.

“I said I don’t talk to anyone if I can’t see their face,” Pire said, according to The Times. “With this reply, I wanted to make it clear that the veil is banned in Belgium,” he added.

Local officials have reportedly already given the unnamed woman a fine of around £115 for breaching the ban on face-coverings. She also faces up to seven days in prison for wearing the garment in public.

The woman, who has not been named, has made an official complaint to Brussels prosecutors, who may now charge Pire with assault.

She said she suffered cuts and bruises after her earrings were violently dislodged, along with her veil.

When Belgium first imposed the ban back in 2011 Britain’s key Muslim civil society organisation said chances of a similar initiative implemented here in the UK are slim.

According to the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) – a national umbrella organisation that aims to promote cooperation and consensus on Muslim affairs in the UK – it boils down to the tolerance woven throughout UK society.

“Implementing the burqa ban will not happen because the UK is a more open and inclusive society than the rest of Europe … Multiculturism is a British institution and the whole nation wants to preserve it,” the MCB told The Huffington Post.

But, last month British Muslims launched a Downing Street petition to ban the veil in a call for the House of Commons to consider following the French example of forbidding women to cover their faces in public.

The petition was launched by Taj Hargey, an imam at the Muslim Educational Centre of Oxford, who called the face veil an “ugly tribal contraption” and “alien cultural monstrosity”.

The cleric who is crusading against the drug mafia

By: Muhammad Wajahatuddin – TNN

Residents of Dongri area were amazed last week when they saw a group of spirited activists, many of them holding torches and sticks, roaming their streets at night. The march was part of the ‘Drug-Free Mumbai Campaign’ being led by Maulana Syed Moinuddin Ashraf, popularly known as Moin Mian, head of Jamia Qadriya Ashrafia madrassa in Grant Road.

Clad in a white flowing robe and a cap, the senior cleric has declared a jihad against drug peddlers with a nexus with police. Moin Mian, accompanied by fellow protestors including MLA Amin Patel and ex-MLA Yusuf Abrahni, invariably invites local cops to the marches through narrow streets. “We have identified 19 localities including, Dongri, Nagpada, JJ, Pydhonie, and Agripada that are dens of drug peddlers. We have forced the anti-narcotics cell of the Mumbai police to crack down on the drug mafia,” says Moin Mian, who adds that ever since he launched the campaign, along with NGO Social Educational Welfare Association (SEWA) on August 15 at Islam Gymkhana, results have been encouraging. “Earlier people were too scared to speak out against the peddlers who don’t hesitate to attack anyone. Now people join the protests and direct police teams to the dens,” says the spiritual leader. “It is an encouraging campaign. We have given our cell numbers to the volunteers to inform us. We are committed to act against the offenders,” says DCP (Anti-Narcotics Cell) Namdeo Chavan.

But why did a spiritual leader who is mostly surrounded by disciples at his Agripada-based home undertake a cause, which may invite the enmity of powerful drug mafia? He says a couple of years ago one Aslam Abdur Rahman narrated to him a traumatic story. Rahman said that his son Qadeer was doing well till he became a drug addict. “He said the boy had sold out two of the three shops he owned and would often become violent when told to quit drug use. The man started sobbing. It moved me and I decided to launch a campaign against it,” recalls Moin Mian. Is he not scared? And is it not enough that like most other religious and spiritual leaders, he should confine his reforms through preaching? “I am not scared of anyone except God. And preaching has its benefits but the time has come when religious leaders should launch mass movements against social evils,” he says. Ex-MLA and SEWA’s president Yusuf Abrahni says: “I am amazed by his determination to fight the powerful drug mafia. For him there could not have been a better cause than this to lead and we will support it.”

Senior psychiatrist and former head of Bombay Psychiatric Society Dr Y A Matcheswalla says the battle against drug addiction can be won through two methods: lowering demand and reducing supply. “Supply reduction can be done by the Narcotics Control Bureau and Anti-Narcotics Cell of the police while demand can be lowered by creating awareness. It is here that spiritual leaders like Moin Mian have a role to play. “He has galvanised the masses,” says Dr Matcheswalla who adds that Mumbai is “the drug capital of India”. “Many of us wrongly think that it is the job of only police and psychiatrists to fight drug menace and addiction.”

Open letter to President Obama: Your legacy

From Alan Hart, author of Zionism: The Real Enemy of the Jews

Dear Mr President,

This open letter was inspired by a friend of mine who suggested that you should be urged to resign rather than remain a prisoner of the majority in Congress who take their orders from the Zionist lobby and its so-called Christian evangelical allies and who by doing so are betraying America’s own best interests and could be called traitors not mere stooges. My friend made this suggestion after he had reflected upon what I had said to him – that because you allow Israel to act in defiance of international law with impunity, you are complicit by default in Israel’s war crimes.

Of course, I know that you won’t resign but I have a suggestion about what you could do after the upcoming mid-term elections if you are to have a legacy worth having.

Empty shell of democracy

The essence of what I am going to suggest is that you could and should set in motion the process needed to give America some real democracy. In this letter I am going to offer you my thoughts on the why and ho

For democracy to exist the citizens of nations, the voters, must be informed enough about critical issues to be able to call and hold their leaders and governments to account, and not only at election time but between elections, all the time. This is most certainly not the case in America. What passes for democracy in your country is for sale to the highest lobby bidders (not only the Zionist lobby). You have the framework for democracy but not the substance.

Before I go further I want you to know that this gentile Englishman (me) is not in any way, shape or form anti-American. I have been visiting your country on and off for nearly half a century and, as I wrote in my book Zionism: The Real Enemy of the Jews and have said on public platforms coast-to-coast across it, I have a love-hate relationship with America. What do I mean?

On one level and generally speaking, I think Americans are the most uninformed, misinformed and therefore gullible people on the face of Planet Earth. That’s the bad news.

The good news is that deep down Americans are, I truly believe, the most idealistic people in the world. It follows that if they were aware of the truth of history as it relates to the making and sustaining of the conflict in and over Palestine that became Israel, and if as consequence of that awareness they understood who must do what and why for justice and peace, they would support a president using the leverage he has to try to oblige Israel’s leaders to end their defiance of international law and be serious about peace on terms the Palestinians could accept.

A question arising is this. What is the essence of the truth of history all Americans need to know about what used to be called the Arab-Israeli conflict if they are to be empowered to play their necessary part in making democracy work?

I’m now going to summarise very, very briefly the essence of seven truths all Americans need to know. (The detailed and documented evidence that supports them is in my book, three volumes in its American edition published by Clarity Press).

Seven truths all Americans need to know

1. Very few Israeli or other Jews have any biological/ancestral connection to the ancient Hebrews. The notion that there are two peoples with an equal claim to the land of Palestine is Zionist propaganda nonsense.

2. Israel is a Zionist not a Jewish state (how could it be a Jewish state when a quarter of its citizens are Arabs and mainly Muslims?) And Zionism and modern Judaism are not one and the same as Zionism asserts they are in order to label criticism of Israel as anti-Semitism. Zionism and Judaism are, in fact, total opposites. Like Christianity and Islam, Judaism has at its core a set of moral values and ethical principles. Zionism’s policies and actions demonstrate complete contempt for these moral values and ethical principles. (Do you know, Mr President, that in a recent article on the Israeli army’s delivery of death and destruction to the Gaza Strip American Rabbi Michael Lerner, the editor of Tikkun, said he was “mourning for a Judaism being murdered by Israel”?)

3. Israel was created, mainly, by Zionist terrorism and ethnic cleansing; and without the obscenity of the Nazi holocaust Zionism almost certainly would not have been able to mobilise and command enough Jewish support – financial, political and other – to establish itself in Palestine in state form. (Prior to the Nazi holocaust a majority of the Jews of the world were opposed to Zionism’s enterprise. They believed it to be morally wrong. They believed it would lead to unending conflict. And they feared that if Zionism was allowed by the major powers to have its way in Palestine it would one day provoke anti-Semitism. Which is what it is doing today.)

4. Israel’s existence has never, ever, been in danger from any combination of Arab force. Despite some stupid rhetoric to the contrary, the Arab regimes never, ever, had any intention of fighting Israel to liberate Palestine. (When Israel closed the Palestine file with its victory on the battlefield in 1948 and the Armistice Agreements that followed, the Arab regimes shared behind closed doors the same hope as Zionism and the major powers – that the Palestine file would remain closed. The Palestinians were supposed to accept their lot as the sacrificial lamb on the altar of political expediency. Their “crime” was and is their refusal to do so).

5. By the end of 1979, nearly 35 years ago, the pragmatic [Palestinian leader Yasser] Arafat, on the advice of President [Jamal Abd-al-]Nasser more than a decade earlier, had prepared the ground on his side for peace on terms any rational government in Israel would have accepted with relief. He did it by persuading the Palestine National Council, more or less a Palestinian parliament-in-exile and then the highest decision making body on the Palestinian side, to endorse by 296 votes to four his policy of politics and compromise with Israel – compromise which until then had been unthinkable to all Palestinians because it required them to make peace with Israel in return for only 22 per cent of the land they rightfully claimed as their own.

Arafat also informed Israel’s leaders through secret channels that he and his leadership colleagues understood and reluctantly accepted that in order for a Palestinian mini-state on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to be acceptable to most Israeli Jews, the Palestinian right of return would have to be restricted to the territory of the Palestinian state. That meant, as Arafat told me, only about 100,000 Palestinians would be able to return. But he was not renouncing the principle of the right of return for others. His hope was that one or two generations of a two-state peace would lead by mutual consent to one state with equal rights for all and therefore the space and trust needed to allow many more Palestinians to return. His priority in 1979 was to get “something concrete” for the Palestinians instead of nothing.

6. Since 27 March 2002 there has been on the table an Arab Peace Initiative (API) which was presented at the Beirut Summit of the Arab League by then Crown Prince and today King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. In return for an end to Israel’s occupation of all Arab land grabbed in the 1967 war (actually a war of Israeli aggression, not self-defence) and Israel’s acceptance of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the API offers an end to the conflict and with the signing of a comprehensive peace agreement the establishment of normal relations between Israel and the entire Arab world.

If Israel’s leaders had been willing to explore what was on offer in the API, they would have discovered two things. One was that a comprehensive peace agreement could contain a clause limiting the Palestinian right of return to territory of the Palestinian state with compensation for the rest. The other was Arab flexibility on Jerusalem. The API has East Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian state, but in negotiations for a full and final comprehensive peace the Arabs would accept that the whole of Jerusalem should be an undivided, open city and the capital of two states.

7. For some years Hamas’s top leaders have been on the public record with the statement that while they will never recognise Israel’s “right” to exist, they are prepared to accept the actual existence of an Israel inside its borders as they were on 4 June 1967, and live in peace with it, if that is the wish of a majority of Palestinians as expressed in a referendum.

Two related conclusions are demanded by the truth of history.

One is that it’s not Israel that has lacked and lacks a Palestinian partner for peace. It is the Palestinians who have lacked and lack an Israeli partner for peace. (There’s a case for saying that Israeli Prime Minister [Yitzhak] Rabin might have been one but he was assassinated by a Zionist fanatic who knew exactly what he was doing – killing the peace process Arafat’s pragmatism in motion.)

The other conclusion is that Israel’s leaders are not remotely interested in peace on terms that would provide the Palestinians with an acceptable amount of justice.

As I think you know, Mr President, but dare not say, the game plan of Israel’s leaders is to make life hell for the occupied and oppressed Palestinians in the hope that they will either abandon their struggle and surrender to Zionism’s will by accepting crumbs from its table – a few Bantustans here and there which they could call a state if they wished, or, preferably, pack up and leave their homeland to make a new life elsewhere.

A question arising is what will Israel’s leaders do when they come to the conclusion that they cannot break the spirit of Palestinian resistance with bombs and bullets and humiliations of all kinds? My fear is that they will create the pretext for a final ethnic cleansing of Palestine. (They could do it by getting half a dozen of their agents to dress as Palestinians and kill 30 or 40 or more Israeli Jews. That done the Israeli army would be ordered to drive the Palestinians off the West Bank and into Jordan, Syria, Lebanon or wherever. Those who didn’t flee would be slaughtered. And while the Israeli army was doing the slaughtering Israel’s leaders would say to the world, “Surely you understand why we had to do this.”)

What a courageous US president must do

In the American system, and given that for various reasons the mainstream media prefer Zionist propaganda to the truth of history, there is only one person who can reach the people with the truth – the president. The how is very simple. He takes to what is called on your side of the pond the “bully pulpit”, which means that he goes over the heads of Congress with a prime time TV and radio address to his fellow Americans.

In 1957 President [Dwight] Eisenhower, a leader with principles and balls, did just that to prevent the Zionist lobby and its traitor agents in Congress blocking him from demanding an unconditional Israeli withdrawal from occupied Egyptian territory. (You’ll recall, Mr President, that in 1956, in secret collusion with Britain and France, Israel invaded Egypt to trigger war with the intended purpose of overthrowing President Nasser and grabbing back control of the Suez Canal which he had nationalised). In his address from the bully pulpit Eisenhower explained why he was insisting that Israel should with without conditions

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Starve or surrender: Cut off all food and water to Gaza, says Israeli general

By Ali Abunimah For Electronic Intifada

Israeli Major-General Giora Eiland has urged that all food and water be cut off to Gaza’s nearly 1.8 million Palestinian residents – a major war crime and precisely the “starve or surrender” policy which the United States has condemned when used in Syria.

Eiland, the Israeli government’s former national security advisor, argues that Gaza should be considered an enemy “state.”

“Since Gaza is in fact a state in a military confrontation with us, the proper way to put pressure on them is to bring to a full stop the supplies from Israel to Gaza, not only of electricity and fuel, but also of food and water,” he wrote in a Hebrew-language op-ed on Mako, a website affiliated with Israel’s Channel 2 television.

“A state cannot simultaneously attack and feed the enemy, while he is shooting at you, because this gives the other country a breathing space – and again I am referring to Gaza as a country, because the regime there is supported by its people,” Eiland adds.

Israel legally obliged to supply Gaza population

Eiland appears to believe that the fiction that Gaza is a sovereign “state” would somehow lessen culpability for what would amount to massive war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Under Article 55 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, “the Occupying Power has the duty of ensuring the food and medical supplies of the population; it should, in particular, bring in the necessary foodstuffs, medical stores and other articles if the resources of the occupied territory are inadequate.”

Under international law, Israel’s 2005 “disengagement” from Gaza has not ended its military occupation of the territory because Gaza remains under the “effective control” of Israel.

Yet Israel has long violated its obligation by deliberately restricting the basic needs of Gaza’s population and deliberately destroying their food sources including agricultural land, poultry and dairy farms.

While Eiland’s proposal calls to cut all food and water, strictly regulating the food intake of Palestinians in Gaza to achieve political ends, has long been the Israeli occupation’s actual policy.

Israel’s deliberate attacks on Gaza’s civilian infrastructure has created a “water disaster,” already depriving every single person of access to a safe and secure supply of water.

Israel’s brutal siege is precisely what the Palestinian resistance in Gaza is currently fighting to end.

Possible genocidal intent

Eiland recently argued in Yedioth Ahronoth, Israel’s largest newspaper, that because they elected Hamas, the people of Gaza as a whole “are to blame for this situation just like Germany’s residents were to blame for electing Hitler as their leader and paid a heavy price for that, and rightfully so.”

General Eiland’s call – which may amount to incitement to genocide – as well as to war crimes and crimes against humanity – is only the latest exterminationist proposal from an Israeli leader.

Moshe Feiglin, deputy speaker of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, for instance, recently called for the population of Gaza to be moved to concentration camps and then expelled so that Gaza could be resettled with Jews.

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Israel strikes kill 10 in Gaza

Israel pounded Gaza on Saturday with scores of airstrikes, killing 10 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and bringing down a 12-story apartment building as Egypt called for new truce talks.

Since a previous round of frantic Egyptian diplomacy collapsed last Tuesday, shattering nine days of calm, 86 Palestinians and a four-year-old Israeli boy have been killed in the violence.

Israel on Saturday sent text messages, voicemails and leaflets warning Palestinians that “every house from which militant activity is carried out, will be targeted” and to stay away from “terrorists.”

Israel has vowed no let-up until it can guarantee the safety of its civilians, while Hamas insists that Israel must end its eight-year blockade of the territory as part of any truce.

At least 2,103 Palestinians and 68 people on the Israeli side, all but four of them soldiers, have been killed since July 8. The UN says 70 percent of the Palestinians who have died were civilians

Dundalk given a massive €18k fine after Palestinian flag is flown at Oriel Park

The Premier Division leaders now must decide whether to appeal the UEFA judgement.

Dundalk face paying a fine of €18,000 after a Palestinian flag was flown at Oriel Park during the side’s Europa League qualifier against Hajduk Split.

The club received notice of the fine from UEFA and will decide whether or not to appeal once they receive the full judgement.

The UEFA match delegate during the game on July 24th asked for the flag to be removed prior to kick-off, or risk the match being delayed.

According to reports, the flag then reappeared during the game in breach of UEFA rules

Muzaffarnagar tense again on 2013 riots anniversary

A year after communal clashes shattered peace in Muzaffarnagar, the troubled western Uttar Pradesh district is on the boil again as the death anniversary of two cousins and another person approaches

The cousins were lynched by a mob in Kawal village on August 28 when they were allegedly trying to escape after killing a man who had harassed their sister. The cousins and the suspected harasser were from different communities.

The clansmen of the cousins have declared they want to conduct a ‘homage programme’ at their hamlet in Malikpura in Kawal. The minority community, meanwhile, intends to carry out a concrete construction the same day at the grave of the person killed by the cousins.

The killing of three persons last year had led to a series of panchayats and rallies in the district, barely 125 km northeast of Delhi.

Clashes erupted on September 7 when people returning from a panchayat of Nangla Mandaud village were ambushed and attacked at different locations.

The riots claimed the lives of 61 persons and rendered more than 50,000 homeless. The displaced were moved to several relief camps.

A year on, tension is brewing as members of the minority community have objected to movement for the ‘homage programme’ through Kawal and advised officials to provide them an alternate route to Malikpura.

“They are demanding it to avoid possible clash between the two communities during heavy movement of visitors,” said septuagenarian Gulam Mohammad Jaula who was a trusted colleague of Bharatiya Kisan Union chief Mahendra Singh Tikait for more than 30 years.

Both had actively participated in several movements to strengthen Hindu–Muslim unity.

Jaula described the proposed ‘homage programme’ as an attempt by a few persons to draw political mileage. He said officials should not permit any such any public programme. “It should be a family programme and only relatives should be allowed to participate in it,” he added.

Alok Sharma, inspector general of police (Meerut zone), claimed the situation was peaceful in the district. He accused the media of raking up the issue.

“We should work together to keep the confidence and trust of both communities intact for each other instead of flaring up a non-existent issue.”

Officials, however, are keeping a close watch on the district.

Western UP has been witnessing intermittent communal flare-ups for more than a year now; the Muzaffarnagar riots were the worst.

Yemeni government ‘offers to resign’

Yemen’s government has offered to resign within a month and to review an unpopular decision to cut fuel subsidies, in an attempt to end protests by the Shia Houthi movement, Reuters news agency has reported quoting a government source.

The source, who is from Yemen’s presidential committee, on Saturday said officials had handed to the Houthis a draft proposal that includes an offer to form a new government within a month and to set up an economic committee to review the fuel subsidy issue.

“This proposal will take effect in exchange for the Houthis removing their camps from Sanaa, they can either respond or leave the capital if negotiations fail,” said the source.

Tens of thousands of Yemenis had massed in the capital Sanaa a day earlier in a protest called by the Houthis to demand the government’s resignation and a reversal of the subsidy cuts.

The rally came at the end of a week of demonstrations that have piled pressure on President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who has struggled to keep order in the US-allied country which borders major oil exporter Saudi Arabia.

Houthi response

There was no immediate response to the offer from the Houthis, who have been fighting for years for more power for their Zaydi Shia Muslim sect in north Yemen.

However another source from the presidential committee told Reuters that they had received a positive response from the Houthis and would hold a final meeting with them.

Public anger over the subsidy cuts has helped bring people onto the streets, demanding participation in a future government as the majority Sunni country moves towards a federal system that devolves more power to regions.

On Friday, the Houthi movement set up tents near the interior, telecommunications and electricity ministries in a side street that leads to Sanaa’s airport, saying they would stay until their demands were met.

Yemenis are unhappy about the government’s decision in late July to cut energy subsidies to reduce its budget deficit, a move which led to a rise in fuel prices.

The government spent about $3 billion on subsidies last year, nearly a third of state revenues.

Wedding of the week for Helen Carling and Gavin Smith

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Nicola Helen Photography Helen Jane

Gallery: Weddin of the week Helen Carling and Gavin Smith

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Bride and groom: Helen Carling and Gavin Smith, both 37, and both of Stockton.

Married at: Preston Hall Museum, Music Room, Stockton.

When? April 16, 2014 at 1.30pm.

Where did you meet? They met at work, Xentrall Shared Services. It was after a works Christmas party in December 2010, Gavin sent Helen a message via Facebook and the rest as they say is history.

The proposal: Gavin got down on one knee when they moved into their first home, in September 2012, in the living room. He made the mistake of doing it in the morning, so Helen was too busy ringing everyone to tell them the good news to help with the unpacking!

The wedding ring: Bride an 18ct white gold thin plain band, and groom a palladium band.

What did the bride wear? A Sottero-Midgley ivory gown, head-to-toe lace, to the floor with a small trail and a decorative band around the waist. Dress was bought from Bridal Factory Outlet, Northallerton. Helen bought the dress exactly a year before the big day!

Bridesmaids/flower girls: Joele Rowley, 36, Ellie Smith,13, and Heidi Smith, six.

Best man etc: Martin Smith, 34, and Jack Smith, 15, bride’s son, gave Helen away. He managed to have most of the wedding guest in tears before the service began. He was really proud to give Helen away.

The reception: Wynyard Hall Mirror Room for 20 guests on the day and an evening reception in the conservatory for 130 guests.

The honeymoon: With three children, the couple had a ‘mini moon’ in the Lakes for four days, which was nice and relaxing.

Pictures by Nicola Helen Photography

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Israel launches new airstrikes on Gaza Strip

Israel has conducted fresh airstrikes in the Gaza Strip as the Tel Aviv regime’s aggression against residents in the blockaded Palestinians coastal enclave continues unabated, Press TV reports.

Early on Sunday, an Israeli aerial attack struck a four-story shopping center in the city of Rafah, situated 30 kilometers (around 19 miles) south of Gaza City.

According to Palestinian sources, the assault left scores of people injured and completely destroyed the building.

Hours earlier, Israeli fighter jets bombed a 12-story residential building in the center of the beleaguered Gaza Strip, leaving several wounded.

Two missiles also hit the Zafer Tower, located in Tel al-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza City.

The strikes, which shook the neighboring high-rises in the area, brought down the entire tower with 44 apartments, leaving two people dead and 16 others injured.

The Israeli military said it targeted a room belonging to Palestinian resistance movement Hamas in the building.

On Saturday, five Palestinian children also lost their lives in bombings across Gaza.

Israel has been carrying out military strikes against Gaza since early July, inflicting heavy losses on the Palestinian land.

Some 2,100 people, mostly civilians, have lost their lives and over 10,200 have been injured in the Israeli war.

The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, has been launching retaliatory attacks against Israel.

MP/HJL

And the winner is ... World Parmo Championship winner is crowned at Stockton Summer Show

Cooking skills were put to the ultimate test as the creator of the best parmo in the world was crowned.

Preston Park played host to the World Parmo Championships as part of Stockton Council’s Annual Summer Show.

Stockton restaurant Borges bounced back this year and walked away with the Best Restaurant 2014 title - with just half a mark to spare.

Winning head chef Craig Wilson said the four hour prep work to get his dish perfect had paid off.

He said: “We were up first thing this morning making sure everything was how it should be. We take this competition seriously.”

He also praised runner-up winners over at The George pub, in Stockton, saying scores proved that everyone served “the perfect parmo.”

“There was nothing in the scores, which just shows how proud we all are to be the home of such a fantastic dish.

“The parmo is Teesside’s most famous food, and I’m pleased to be back. I won’t be letting go of the crown this time.”

The two leading parmo giants along with Central Park on Linthorpe Road, Middlesbrough, who finished third, went head to head in a live cook-off.

The three finalists had been put there with the most nominations by members of the public which were narrowed down from more than 3,000 entries.

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The World Parmo Championships

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They had to recreate Teesside’s signature dish in a bid to wow a judging panel of the Mayor of Stockton Barbara Inman and parmo experts Craig Dobson and Stephen Bliss from Parmo Hunters.

Also putting their parmo skills to the test on the day were Linthorpe’s newly opened Union Jacks, who won for Best Takeaway.

While winning was always going to be the icing on the cake - or the cheese on the parmo - both restaurant chefs were delighted to make it to the final.

Runner-up Craig Harker said: “It was a honour to be voted the second best parmo, it’s amazing to think what we have achieved in our first year of business. We will continue to use the best ingredients to create our signature dish. Congratulations to Borges too.”

Chefs Toni Cook and Nicki Rawlings, of Union Jacks on Eastbourne Road, Linthorpe, were thrilled to be winners. Avtar’s Golden Fry took second place, with G’s Golden Chippy and Pizzeria came third.

Judge Stephen Bliss said they were looking for tenderness of meat and the quality of the sauce among other factors, which all entries achieved.

Residents frightened as Redcar streets are terrorised by bin arsonists

Frightened residents say they are being terrorised by arsonists setting fire to bins which are “going up like bombs”.

Cleveland Police has issued a strong warning to the arsonists after a fifth fire in recent weeks was sparked on Saturday on Hanson Court, in Redcar.

Officers say someone could be seriously hurt or killed by a fire - and are asking residents to remain vigilant while investigations continue.

Locals told The Gazette that there have been many more than the five reported incidents in their area over the past three weeks.

A group of residents have even taken to staying up during the night in an attempt to catch the culprits.

One man who lives near by, but did not want to be named for fear of being targeted, said: “There must have been 20-30 small fires. It is youths, we have seen people running away but there are so many alleyways and different routes away from here that it’s difficult to catch people.

“Hanson Court is also right next to the railway bridge so these people could be coming from any direction.

“What they are doing is putting accelerant in the bins and setting them on fire and they’re going up like bombs.”

Another resident, who lives in a top floor flat, said: “I’ve not seen anything, apart from the mess afterwards and the fire brigade coming out.

“But if I needed to get out and there was a fire at the front door, I would be completely stuck. It’s terrifying.”

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Redcar streets targeted by arsonists

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Cleveland Police and fire officers are urging people to report any suspicious activity.

At around 11.40pm on Saturday, police were notified that the fire brigade had been called to a fire on Hanson Court, which is between Hanson Street and Soppett Street off Thrush Road in Redcar.

A rubbish bag had been placed at the front of a property and set alight - but the damage was minimal and nobody one was injured.

Police have been called to five incidents since August 5 in similar circumstances, where wheelie bins or rubbish have been pushed against properties or alleyways in Hanson Court and Soppett Street and set on fire.

Sergeant Andy Micklewright said: “I want to reassure local residents that we are doing all we can to find those responsible and that they can help us by calling and reporting anything which may be suspicious.

“My message to these arsonists is to stop what you are doing before someone is seriously injured or killed. We are determined to find you and bring you to justice and it’s only a matter of time before we do.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact Cleveland Police on the non-emergency number 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Crowds gather to brave Stockton River Rat Race

Brave crowds gathered in Stockton to get wet and wild at the fifth annual river rat race.

Over one thousand participants signed up to the 10K unique course which was organised by Stockton Council and Rat Race Adventure Sports.

The eager ‘River Rats’ faced many challenges on Sunday which linked together various water and shore based activities.

Participants were required to kayak down the River Tees, battle through assualt courses and have a splash in the Tees Barrage International White Water Course, before diving back into the River Tees after walking the plank off the replica of Captain Cook’s HM Bark Endeavour.

Competitors were advised that all they would need would be a good pair of trainers and a sense of adventure.

Gordon Sanderson, 52, from Redcar, is a keen runner and knew what the course involved. However, he admitted that the rat race was a whole new challenge for him.

He said: “I have taken part in a lot of running events before but this is the first time I have taken part in an event like this.”

Gordon took part in the rat race in aid of Teesside’s autism charity, Daisy Chain.

He said: “I enjoy running but I don’t like getting wet so I’m not looking forward to the swimming.

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2014 Stockton River Rat Race

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Also running in aid of Daisy Chain were engineers, Jamie Bate and Charlie Bushby, from Hartlepool. Despite both being competitive, the pair decided that this year they’d do it for the fun.

Running in fancy dress, Jamie, 39 said: “Each year we chose a charity to support.

“Usually we are competitive but this year it is going to be a bit of a rest.”

Participants came from far and wide to take part in the popular event.

Laura and Ben Richards, from Richmond in North Yorkshire were taking part in the event for the first time.

Laura, 33 said: “We’re looking forward to it but we are expecting to get very wet.”

Ben, 39, who is training for the Marathon des Sables 2015, the toughest foot race on Earth said: “Doing the rat race is part of my training although it’s probably going to be a bit colder here today.”

Laura added: “We’re both looking forward to jumping off the ship and getting to the finish.”

Janette Crapper, 48, from Eaglescliffe, was their with family to cheer on her two sons, John and James McCurley.

Janette, who had made a banner in support of her sons, said: “I am very proud of them and I am very excited to be here.

“This is the first time they have competed together. They enjoy challenges and are just heading for the finish line together.”

Councillor Ken Dixon, Stockton Council’s Cabinet Member for Arts, Leisure and Culture said: “The River Tees is at the heart of Stockton and this type of event is a great way to showcase the region and find out all that Stockton’s Riverside has to offer.”

Egypt invites Gaza foes to resume long-term truce talks

Egypt is to invite Israeli and Palestinian delegations to return to Cairo to resume talks on a long-term truce for Gaza, President Mahmoud Abbas announced Saturday.



“Egypt is going to invite delegates to return to the negotiating table to consider a long-term truce,” Abbas said after talks with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

Egypt’s foreign ministry, meanwhile, issued a statement calling for “concerned parties to accept a ceasefire of unlimited duration and to resume indirect negotiations in Cairo.”

A previous round of truce talks collapsed on Tuesday, shattering nine days of calm, as the deadly six-week conflict between Israel and Hamas resumed.

Since then, 84 Palestinians and a four-year-old Israeli boy have died as a result of the violence.

“As soon as a ceasefire goes into effect, the two sides can sit down and discuss their demands,” Abbas said, adding that the Palestinian delegation would include Hamas as in past rounds.

Abbas’s meeting with Sisi came after he held two rounds of talks in Qatar on Thursday and Friday with exiled Hamas leader Khalid Mashaal, whose Islamist movement is the de facto ruler of Gaza.

Grant Leadbitter takes no consolation from top scorer tag at Boro

A second half spot-kick double was no consolation for simmering Grant Leadbitter after a painful defeat to Sheffield Wednesday.

Hot on the heels of another penalty at Bolton the Mackem midfielder is now top scorer but he dismissed that feat out of hand.

“Two penalties? It doesn’t matter. Nothing matters if you lose a football match,” said the simmering skipper.

“I take no consolation in scoring if we’ve lost. None whatsoever.

“We were poor as a team and there’s no getting away from that.

“Collectively we were poor all over the park.

“But we have to move on. It’s a long season. We’ve won two, lost two, maybe we a bit unlucky at Leeds but in that game we were poor and as players we have to take the blame for that.

“We showed a bit of spirit in the second half, we made a few changes and obviously it paid off because we “won” the second half but still, we let everyone down.

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Picture gallery: Boro 2 Sheffield Wednesday 3

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“There’s expectation in the building now, we know we have to win matches for a great club and great fans.

“In the next two home games we have to put it right. We know that.”

Boro get a chance to bounce back tomorrow as League One Preston visit in the Capital One Cup second round.

“Fans will expect us to beat Preston but it won’t be easy and we’ll have to be at our best.

“They are going well and will be coming here looking for a scalp. It’s a big game for them, they’ll be up for it and we will have to match them all over the park.”

Desperate man in debt who dealt cannabis as a 'sideline' given a last chance by Teesside judge

A debt-ridden working man who became a drug dealer on the side was caught with cannabis and a baseball bat in his car.

Mark Francis McKenna, 29, was stopped driving alone in a VW Bora on Bridge Street, Stockton on suspicion of a seatbelt offence.

When the officer leaned into the car he smelled cannabis and saw a small baseball bat at 2.50pm on May 4.

Police searched the vehicle and found a rucksack containing cannabis bush, said prosecutor Jenny Haigh yesterday.

She said dealer’s lists and digital scales were also found. McKenna had £440 cash in his trouser pocket.

Officers seized a total of 128g cannabis, as well as a cannabis grinder and sandwich bags for dividing the drugs into smaller amounts.

McKenna made a full confession after his arrest, saying he’d been dealing for about two months and was very sorry.

He said the baseball bat was to deter anyone who might “tax” him and try to take his drugs or money.

He admitted possession of a Class B drug with intent to supply, possession of an offensive weapon and possession of criminal property.

He had no previous drugs offences, had been out of trouble for six years and had never been to prison before.

Duncan McReddie, defending, said: “He’s a man in full-time employment. He was struggling with some debts.

“He foolishly decided to develop this as a small sideline to try to raise extra cash to deal with those debts.”

He said McKenna’s debts were now “the least of his problems” as he faced a bill of almost £6,000 in legal fees for the court case.

“He supports a family of three, his partner and two children,” added Mr McReddie.

“He’s a hard-working man. He made a particularly stupid decision to engage in this matter.

“He tried to support a family, got into difficulties and completely did the wrong thing in trying to alleviate the financial difficulties.”

Judge Peter Armstrong told McKenna: “Those who get involved in drug trafficking or dealing in drugs can only expect a custodial sentence.

“This was an extremely foolish decision of yours.

“I take the view it was a matter which arose out of some desperation and was out of character.

“I’m going to give you a last chance to put this behind you.”

McKenna, of Oaks Lane, Ilford, Essex, was given an eight-month prison sentence suspended for two years with 200 hours’ unpaid work and a year’s supervision.

Scores killed in Iraq bombings

Bombings in Baghdad and the northern city of Kirkuk have killed at least 42 people in Iraq as the government investigated a deadly attack on a Sunni mosque the day before that has heightened sectarian tensions amid a fragile political transition.

In oil-rich Kirkuk, three bombs went off in a crowded commercial district, killing 31 people and wounding dozens, Kirkuk deputy police chief Tarhan Abdel-Rahman said on Saturday.

One witness said he heard “an explosion between the cars, and then we started carrying out the dead bodies from there while people were burning inside the shops and cars”. The witness asked not to be named for fear of retribution.

In Baghdad, a suicide bomber had earlier driven an explosives-laden car into the gate of the intelligence headquarters in Karrada district, killing six civilians and five security personnel, a police officer said. He said 24 other people were wounded

A medical official confirmed causality figures. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to brief the media.

The attacks came after parliament speaker Salim al-Jabouri said that a committee of security officials and lawmakers were probing Friday’s attack against a village mosque in Diyala province, northeast of the capital, which killed at least 73 people. The results of the investigation are expected in two days’ time.

It remained unclear whether the attack in the village of Imam Wais was carried out by Shia militiamen or fighters from the Islamic State group who have been advancing into mixed Sunni-Shia areas in Diyala and have been known to kill fellow Sunni Muslims who refuse to submit to their harsh interpretation of Islamic law.

Since early this year, Iraq has faced an onslaught by the Islamic State group and allied Sunni fighters, who have seized large areas in the country’s west and north. The group took over Iraq’s second-largest city Mosul in June, and has since declared an Islamic state, or caliphate, in territory under its control in both Iraq and neighbouring Syria.

Local security officials in Diyala said Friday’s attack began with a suicide bombing near the mosque entrance. Gunmen then stormed the building and opened fire on worshippers.

Government formation

The attack led two major Sunni parliamentary blocs to pull out of talks on forming a new government. The move creates a major hurdle for Shia prime minister-designate Haider al-Abadi as he struggles to reach out to Sunnis to form a government by September 10 that can confront the Islamic State fighters.

In a press conference, al-Jabouri did not say who might have been behind the attack, saying only that such violence was “carried out by the same hands (of those) who want to derail the process of building the government.”

Al-Jabouri heads one of the blocs that suspended talks, but he declined to comment on the move at the press conference, saying he was there in his capacity as parliament speaker. Al-Abadi issued a statement late on Saturday calling upon all political blocs to submit their nominations for ministerial positions in the new government.

Iraqi President Fouad Massoum, a Kurd, condemned Friday’s attack and appealed “to all for self-restraint and to act wisely.” He promised the incident would be “properly investigated and its perpetrators held to account.”

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was “deeply concerned about the impact such acts of sectarian violence will have on the already grave security situation and on the political process”. The European Union said the “heinous crime” should not stand in the way of government formation and urged Iraqis to unite against violence.

Also Saturday, an explosion in the Kurdish capital, Erbil, injured three people, according to military officials who declined to be named because they are not authorised to speak with journalists. It remains unclear what caused the explosion, however one military official said it may have involved a sticky bomb.

Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr, reporting from Erbil, said the explosion went off on a road near the office of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), a group which has recently engaged in fighting against the Islamic State group.

Source: Al Jazeera

Hamas signs Palestinian application for ICC membership

Hamas has signed a proposal for the Palestinians to apply to join the International Criminal Court at which legal action could be taken against Israel, a senior official of the movement said Saturday.



“Hamas signed the document which (Palestinian) president (Mahmoud Abbas) put forth as a condition that all factions approve, before he goes to sign the Rome Statute, which paves the way for Palestine’s membership in the International Criminal Court (ICC),” Hamas deputy leader Mussa Abu Marzouq wrote on his Facebook page.

The Palestinian declaration came after two days of talks in Qatar between Abbas and Hamas supremo Khaled Meshaal, whose movement is the de facto ruler of the Gaza Strip.

Senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat told AFP that the Islamic Jihad, the second most powerful force in Gaza, “is currently the only Palestinian faction that has not signed” the document.

“They are studying the possibility of signing,” he added.

According to Erakat, “the document calls on president Abbas to sign the Rome Statute to join the ICC, and indicates all the signatories assume responsibility for this membership.”

Israel has signed but not ratified the Rome Statute.

Based in The Hague, the ICC opened its doors in 2003 and is the world’s first independent court set up to try the worst crimes, including genocide and war crimes.

Since the July 8 outbreak of the latest war in and around Gaza, Israel and Hamas have accused each other of war crimes amid a massive Israeli assault that has killed more than 2,100 Palestinians and left more than 100,000 homeless.

68 Israelis have also died, all but four of whom were soldiers.

Joining the ICC would also expose Palestinian factions to possible prosecution.

The Palestinians had in 2009 asked the ICC’s prosecutor’s office to investigate alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Israeli military in Gaza.

There has so far been no probe as Palestine is not an ICC member state and its status as a state is uncertain in some international institutions.

However, the Palestinians in late November 2012 obtained the status of observer state at the United Nations, opening the door for an ICC investigation.

Ma’an staff contributed to this report

UN: 700,000 displaced Iraqis in Kurdistan

The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) announced on Friday that Iraq’s Kurdistan region has received 700,000 displaced Iraqis who were forced to leave their homes to escape the advance of ISIS fighters.

According to the spokesperson of UNHCR, Adrian Edwards, most of the displaced arrived in Kurdistan since the beginning of June.

The UNHCR said its humanitarian operations are ongoing to help the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who fled the advance of extremist fighters.

In the next ten days, the UNHCR is hoping to distribute 2400 tons of aid, a statement said.

“Barring delays, the stepped up air, road and sea operation will start with a four-day airlift using Boeing 747s from Aqaba in Jordan to Erbil, followed by road convoys from Turkey and Jordan, and sea and land shipments from Dubai via Iran over the next 10 days. Included in the initial aid shipments are 3,300 tents, 20,000 plastic sheets, 18,500 kitchen sets, and 16,500 jerry cans,” a statement by the UNHCR said.

According to the UN agency, at least 1.2 million Iraqis have been displaced in the recent unrest.

UNRWA criticizes false Israeli claim that shelter used to fire mortar

The UN’s Palestine refugee agency UNRWA on Saturday criticized the Israeli military for publishing allegations — that have since been retracted — that Hamas militants fired a rocket from one of their schools in Gaza the day before.

In a statement, the organization called upon “Israeli military spokespersons and other official sources to ensure the accuracy of their facts before going public,” highlighting that the organization maintained the “highest standards of neutrality.”

The Israeli military said in a statement late Friday that a mortar that killed a four-year-old child in southern Israel was launched from an UNRWA school being used to shelter displaced Gazan families.

It added that it had “conveyed a severe message” to UNRWA and the Palestinian Authority regarding Hamas’ supposed “exploitation of civilian and UN facilities as a human shield.”

Less than two hours later, however, the military retracted the claim, saying that in fact the mortar had been launched from a school under the administration of Hamas authorities, without offering evidence.

The UNRWA statement criticized the “false” reports spread throughout the Israeli media, adding: “The same media outlets that rushed to report the incident without seeking confirmation from UNRWA are required and called upon to also report the Israeli army retraction.”

Israeli forces have bombed UNRWA schools being used as shelters at least seven times in the last six weeks, killing dozens of Palestinians.

The international community has blasted Israel for the attacks, and the agency has repeatedly stressed that it has given the coordinates of all of its shelters — currently holding around 485,000 displaced people — to Israeli military authorities.

Israel regularly criticizes Hamas for using Palestinians as “human shields” when launching rockets, and Israel has killed hundreds of civilians in attacks targeting Hamas officials or fighters

Police appeal for information to trace missing Teesside teenager

Police are appealing for information to trace missing 14-year-old Nelly Muhigirwa.

Nelly was last seen at around 7am on Saturday morning in the Middlesbrough area.

Officers say it is out-of-character for her to go missing.

She has links to the Brixton area of London and she may have tried to travel south today.

Nelly is described as black, around 5ft tall, with a slim build and long hair.

Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to contact Cleveland Police on the non-emergency number 101.

Who is behind ISIS?: Yvonne Ridley

have no idea where the Islamic State/ISIS/ISIL or whatever name it uses came from, and I’m just as baffled by the roots of its violent ideology. While I never pretend to speak for the diverse community of Muslims living in Britain today, I reckon my views on this will be echoed by the majority who have watched with growing concern the unprecedented rise of this group.

However, just as unprecedented is the childish invective being spewed out by Islamophobes, racists and so-called terrorism experts encouraged by some sections of the British media. They have not helped at all.

While I’ve blocked most of the jack-booted trolls who patrol Twitterland demanding that anyone who is or even looks like a Muslim should launch an immediate protest march against ISIS, I’m amazed that similar rhetoric is being pushed by elements of the media.

There are many reasons why I’ve not spoken out against ISIS. For a start, I’m not sure who it is, where it came from or how it is funded. I’ve not seen such a militarily- and strategically-savvy fighting force emerge in the Middle East before, other than the highly disciplined and much feared Hezbollah. I, like many others, want to know a little bit more about ISIS before making public comments.

Secondly, why should I organise a march against ISIS? I am not responsible for its actions, just as my Jewish friends are not responsible – and nor should they be – for the actions of that other group of violent psychos in the Middle East, the Israeli military. While ISIS enforcers wield head- and limb-chopping knives, Israel drops bombs called Daisy Cutters which also decapitate and maim anyone caught in the fallout.

Thirdly, my silence over ISIS does not mean that I support the group even if some fools take my silence as a sign that I do. Only when I ask some male tweeters to apologise on behalf of rapists, on the grounds that every rapist is a man so they must all be somehow culpable, does the penny drop; occasionally I’ll get a muffled apology.

And finally, even if I jumped up and down and declared that “ISIS is the scum of the earth”, exactly what would that achieve anyway? I hardly think its leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi is going to lose any sleep over Yvonne Ridley’s views.

There are few certainties in the chaos that is now the Middle East. However, what I can say with authority is that the world would never have heard of ISIS had widow-makers George W Bush and Tony Blair not launched their illegal war in Iraq in 2003. The world would also never have seen ISIS develop into the full blown monster that it is if the West had, at the very least, introduced a no-fly zone in Syria after the chemical weapons were unleashed on civilians by Bashar Al-Assad’s forces exactly a year ago this week.

The question to ask is this: Who really benefits from the unfolding ISIS spectacle? The big winners are sitting within the Assad regime. It is that regime which was, by the way, suspected of capturing US journalist James Foley who went missing in north-west Syria on 12 November 2012. How on earth did he slip out of the Syrian government’s hands into those of the murderous head-chopping maniacs of ISIS?

The former head of the British Army says that the West should sit down and negotiate with Assad to get rid of ISIS, but what if ISIS was created by Assad and his ally Iran, which has members of the elite Republican Guard in parts of Syria?

As crazy as it sounds, that would explain why Nouri Al-Maliki’s Iraqi army fell away so easily in the face of ISIS leaving behind a massive arsenal of weapons for the militia to use. It is virtually inconceivable for a trained fighting force to leave all of its kit behind before doing a runner, just as it’s virtually inconceivable that a crack fighting force like ISIS could emerge from a rag tag bunch of ill-disciplined rebel fighters buoyed-up by disaffected youngsters from Europe and beyond.

Make no mistake, ISIS’s domination of Iraq is nothing short of breath-taking; it has achieved in a matter of weeks what the US and its allies failed to do in 10 years of occupation. This hasn’t happened by accident; military victories on this scale take strategic planning and inside help. So who, exactly, is behind ISIS?

US-led strikes leave 17 dead across Afghanistan

At least 17 people have been killed after US-led foreign forces in Afghanistan carried out separate airstrikes across the war-ravaged country during the past 24 hours, Press TV reports.

Local officials said US unmanned aerial vehicles launched two airborne attacks in Charkh district of the eastern province of Logar, situated some 70 kilometers (43 miles) south of the capital, Kabul, early on Saturday, leaving eight people dead.

Police said six other people lost their lives in a similar airstrike in Afghanistan’s northeastern province of Kunar.

Earlier on Friday, three civilians died when US-led forces conducted an airstrike in Logar Province. Two other people also sustained injuries in the incident.

The US-led forces have recently increased their air raids against civilian areas of Afghanistan.

On August 19, a drone attack in the eastern province of Ghazni left at least eleven people dead and seven others injured.

According to local officials, the airborne assault targeted the Taliban and those killed in the raid were members of the militant group.

Civilian casualties have long been a source of friction between the Afghan government and US-led forces, and have dramatically increased anti-US sentiments in the country.

The United States and its allies invaded Afghanistan in October 2001 as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror. The offensive removed the Taliban from power, but insecurity continues to rise across the country, despite the presence of thousands of US-led troops.

MP/AB/SS

Israeli agents in Gaza surrender

The Palestinian resistance said that a number of agents collaborating with the Israeli occupation handed themselves over after execution sentences were carried out against 18 suspected collaborators on Friday.

In a statement distributed on mass media, the resistance said: “After the execution sentences issued by the revolutionary courts against a number of agents, and carrying out the execution openly, a group of agents handed themselves over and announced their repentance.”

According to the statement the Palestinian resistance activated a system of detention for agents who do not surrender, in order to bring them before revolutionary courts for conviction. “Every sentence will be proportionate to the crimes,” the statement said.

The statement also said that the door for agents who would like to repent is still open. The agents only have to disclose their identities to the resistance.

“The resistance will be merciful to any agent who repents. We pledge to protect him and the reputation of his family,” the statement said. “Anyone who surrenders will not be punished.”

The Palestinian resistance executed on Friday 18 Israeli agents. All of them were convicted of giving information about fighters that led to their death

12 Storey Gaza tower collapses after Israel strike, several injured

The Tel Aviv regime has bombed a 12-story residential building in the center of the beleaguered Gaza Strip, leaving several wounded.

The Zafer Tower, located in Tel al-Hawa neighborhood in southern Gaza City, was toppled by Israel’s warplanes on Saturday.

Two missiles hit the tower within seconds causing a massive fireball, which was followed by smoke billowing into the sky.

The strikes, which shook the neighboring high-rises in the area, brought down entire tower with 44 apartments.

“People started shouting Allahu Akbar, and women and kids were screaming,” said, a resident, adding, “This is crazy. The state of Israel has resorted to madness. In less than a minute, 44 families have become displaced … They lost everything, their house, their money, their memories and their security.”

According to some reports, 22 people were wounded, including 11 children and five women.

The Israeli military said it targeted a room belonging to Palestinian resistance movement Hamas in the building.

Press TV’s correspondent in Gaza said the collateral damage was immense, adding, the residents of two nearby buildings had also been warned to evacuate for impending airstrikes.

Israeli warplanes and tanks have been pounding the blockaded enclave since early July, inflicting heavy losses on the Palestinian land.

Some 2,100 people, mostly civilians, have lost their lives and over 10,200 have been injured despite pressure from the international community on the Tel Aviv regime to end aggression against Palestinians.

Nearly 400,000 Palestinian children are in immediate need of psychological help due to “catastrophic and tragic impact” of the Israeli war, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, has been launching retaliatory attacks against Israel.

NT/NN/AS