Some 1,500 ultra-Orthodox Jews had gathered at the Jewish holy site, in coordination with the IDF.

Both the IDF and Palestinian Authority security forces protect the site, the traditional burial place of the biblical patriarch Jacob’s son Joseph, whose remains were brought out of Egypt during the Exodus. The PA has 10 police officers permanently stationed at the tomb.

Because the site remains a flashpoint for violence, the IDF authorizes entry to the tomb once a month in the pre-dawn hours, in coordination with the PA. Settler organizations have called on the government to place the tomb under Israeli sovereignty and allow regular day-time access.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas denies charges of corruption. (Flash90)

JERUSALEM (JWN and agencies)—Muhammad Rashid, a former economic adviser to Yasser Arafat, told the Saudi Al-Arabiya TV network on Thursday that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas embezzled millions of dollars from the PA under the pretext of funding Arab parties in Israel’s elections.

His charges, which Abbas has denied, were made in London, where Rashid is avoiding an arrest warrant issued against him by the PA’s Anti-Corruption Commission on charges of embezzlement and fraud. Rashid has denied the charges, which relate to his five years of service as Arafat’s leading financial consultant.

In the Saudi TV interview he counterattacked by demanding an investigation into the source of Abbas’s wealth. Rashid, a native of Iraq, said he is willing to submit to interrogation only by an independent commission of inquiry, not one controlled by Abbas, because the PA Anti-Corruption Commission is itself corrupt.

He noted that two members of PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad’s new cabinet have been accused of corruption without the commission taking any action against them. Rashid told the interviewer that corruption is rampant in the Palestinian Authority.

 “When Mahmoud Abbas returned to the Palestinian territories [after the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993], I gave him $25,000 at the request of the late president Yasser Arafat,” Rashid claimed.

“Today, he and his sons have palaces and property estimated at 15 million Jordanian dinars [approximately $21m.] in Palestine, Jordan, Tunisia, and other places.”

Rashid said the timing of the arrest warrant against him was linked to a series of interviews he gave to Al-Arabiya, which has aroused the PA’s fear that he would expose its widespread corruption.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu smile for the cameras in Prague on Thursday. (GPO)

PRAGUE (JWN and agencies)—Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu concluded a two-day visit to Prague on Friday by puncturing a recent balloon of optimism in some countries that Iran is preparing to stop developing nuclear weapons.

“I have seen no evidence whatsoever that Iran is serious about stopping its nuclear weapons program,” Netanyahu told a press conference at the end of talks with Czech Republic President Vaclav Klaus.

Netanyahu cast doubt that any progress would be achieved in the upcoming talks with Iran by the US, Russia, China, France, Germany, and Great Britain in Baghdad on May 23. This is the second round of talks after an unproductive meeting in Istanbul in April.

“It looks as though they [Iran] see these talks as another opportunity to deceive and delay, just like North Korean did for years,” Netanyahu said. “They may try to go from meeting to meeting with empty promises. They may agree to something in principle but not implement it. They may even agree to implement something that does not materially derail their nuclear weapons program,” he said.

“Iran is good at playing this chess game. They know that sometimes you have to sacrifice a pawn to save the king,” Netanyahu said.

“The goal of these negotiations should be very clear. Freeze all enrichment inside Iran. Remove all enriched material and dismantle [the uranium enrichment facility near the city of] Qom,” he said.

“When this goal is achieved I will be the first to applaud. Until then count me among the skeptics,” he said.

Netanyahu’s Prague visit was characterized by exceptional warmth. It was a reciprocal visit by seven cabinet ministers, including Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman, following a visit to Jerusalem last November by the Czech leadership.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas expressed “a special feeling” for Israel as he greeted the Israeli delegation on Thursday, saying its situation is reminiscent of Czechoslovakia’s in the 1930s. “We’ve got a special feeling for Israel’s situation–that of a small nation surrounded by enemies.”

He said the Czech Republic would like to continue to be a strong supporter of Israel within the European Union. “We are concerned about the Iranian missile and nuclear programs,” he said.

The Israeli and Czech delegations signed a joint declaration expressing “concern at Iran’s efforts to enrich uranium for military purposes, even as it threatens to destroy Israel.”

At a joint press conference with Netanyahu, Necas said his government “fundamentally rejects delegitimization and any boycott of the State of Israel. We clearly support Israel’s right to defense against terrorist attacks.”

Netanyahu said Israel “deeply appreciated” Prague’s friendship. “Nowhere else in Europe is Israel so well understood,” he said.

Necas expressed Czech opposition to a unilateral Palestinian declaration of statehood. “The long-term Israeli-Palestinian conflict can be solved only through direct negotiations of the two parties,” he said. “The Czech Republic does not support unilateral steps that cannot contribute to the peace process in the Middle East.” Last year, Prague voted against the Palestinian Authority’s statehood bid at the United Nations.

The Czech Republic has a long history of support for Israel, dating from the then Czechoslovakia’s critical deliveries of arms during Israel’s War of Independence. Defying the European Union’s growing criticism of Israel in 2009, the country came out in support of Israel’s Operation Cast Lead, saying the Jewish state has the right to defend itself from attacks from Gaza.

“A plane belonging to Israel, the model of which could not be identified, violated KKTC (Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus) airspace (above its territorial waters) five times,” the Turkish General Staff announced on its website.

“In response to this situation, our 2XF-16 plane based at Incirlik was scrambled and our planes carried out patrol flights in KKTC airspace, preventing the said plane from continuing to violate KKTC airspace,” said the statement.

The self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is located on the northeastern part of the island of Cyprus and is recognized by no other country than Turkey. The international community regards the KKTC as occupied territory belonging to the Republic of Cyprus.

The IDF is on constant alert for terrorists who plant roadside bombs along the Gaza border. (Flash90)

JERUSALEM (JWN and agencies)—Israeli troops opened fire on a group of suspected terrorists near the Karni border crossing with the Gaza Strip on Thursday morning. Palestinian sources said eight civilians were wounded, two of them seriously.

According to Army Radio, the soldiers opened fire at the group of armed Palestinians when they continued to approach the border crossing, despite repeated warnings to stop. Acting on previous experience, the soldiers suspected the group of attempting to lay explosive devices at the crossing.

The IDF Spokesman said the force opened fire with automatic weapons and the Palestinians retreated into a nearby populated area. The soldiers did not report anyone being hit by their fire.

Sources in the IDF told Israel Radio that the soldiers had fired a number of warning shots in the air.

Army Radio reported that the soldiers identified two terrorists among the group of Palestinians, who tried to approach the border twice in what the IDF believes was an attempt to lay roadside bombs.

Israel has declared areas near the Gaza border to be off-limits, due to frequent attempts by terrorists to plant explosives.

Settlers contemplate another demolition at the Migron outpost. (Kobi Gideon/Flash90)

JERUSALEM (JWN and agencies)—In the new unity government’s first test in the territories, security forces demolished two illegal structures in the settlement outposts of Migron and Oz Zion. Six settlers were arrested for disturbing the peace and violating a closed military zone during the action, which took place Thursday morning before dawn.

Police said that the structures were built without the necessary permits. Illegal buildings in Migron have been destroyed by the authorities several times before, but were later rebuilt by the settlers.

The action came just as the Israel Police finished setting up a special task force to deal with West Bank demolitions. It was decided to establish the force in anticipation of the large number of illegal outpost and settlement demolitions expected to take place by the end of 2012.

The task force will coordinate the demolitions, deployment of forces, means of action, and crowd control, among other things. It will include police SWAT teams, Border Police units, and civilian demolition contractors.

Last week, the High Court of Justice gave the government until July 1 to demolish five buildings built on Palestinian-owned land in the Ulpana outpost of the Beit El settlement near Ramallah in the West Bank.

By August 1, the rest of Migron is also set to be demolished. Although Migron residents have agreed to relocate to a nearby settlement following negotiations with the government conducted by Likud MK Benny Begin, the IDF is not taking any chances. It is preparing for an evacuation by force if necessary, as well as for protests by settlement sympathizers around the country.

The situation regarding other settlement outposts is unclear. The state is required to demolish the Givat Assaf outpost by July 1 and the Amona outpost by the end of the year, but there have been no negotiations with the residents. The July 1 deadline for the demolitions at Ulpana and Givat Assaf are likely to put the government before its next difficult test.

The task force is headed by Commander Yoram Ohayon, the head of the Israel Police’s Yarkon District. He was responsible for handling the social protests that swept the country last summer, during which his officers were noted for employing force against protesters in Tel Aviv. He is not expected to tolerate any opposition by settlers to enforcing the court’s demolition orders.

Ultimately, however, the Israel Police serves to assist in the evacuation and demolition of settlements and outposts, but is under the authority of the IDF.

Israel’s Yediot Aharonot daily reported the story on Tuesday from the Turkish media, which have been giving it wide play. The story appears to be another indication of how bad Turkish-Israeli relations have become, especially since the Turks are taking it seriously.

The spy-bird saga began when a Turkish farmer found the dead Merops Apiaster, or European bee-eater, on his land and alerted authorities after noticing a band inscribed with the word “Israel” on one of its legs. Despite such a band being a common tracking device used by ornithologists to determine migratory patterns, the Israel label was seen as evidence of espionage.

The Turkish media reported ominously that one of the dead bird’s nostrils was larger than the other, leading to the conclusion that tiny Mossad surveillance equipment was implanted in its beak. Ankara’s security services are still investigating.

Daniel Wultz (Daniel Cantor Wultz Foundation)

JERUSALEM (JWN and agencies)—The Washington, DC, District Court on Tuesday awarded $332 million in damages to the Wultz family of Florida, whose 16-year-old son, Daniel, was murdered by a suicide bomber in Tel Aviv in 2006. The court found both Iran and Syria guilty of supporting the Palestinian terrorist group that perpetrated the attack and ordered both countries to pay damages.

“It’s a great feeling. Justice was done for the terror victims,” said attorney Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, whose Shurat Hadin-Israel Law Center, helped the Wurtz family pursue the suit. The decision marks the first time Syria has been held responsible by a court for paying damages for terrorism.

According to press reports of the incident, on April 17, 2006, Daniel Wultz and his parents, of Weston, Florida, were having lunch at a restaurant near Tel Aviv’s old central bus station when terrorist Sami Salim Muhammad Hammad of Jenin detonated a bomb containing five-kilos of explosives, packed with nails and ball bearings.

Daniel was mortally wounded, while 10 others were killed outright and more than 60 people were wounded, including Wultz’s Israeli-born father, Yekutiel. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the bombing.

The court learned that Daniel had been conscious after the bombing and until his death, and had suffered extreme physical and emotional pain, knowing he would die. His wounds included severe bleeding from shrapnel, a perforated bowel, and multiple infections, including gangrene, from the deliberately infested bomb materials.

Surgeons at Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Hospital fought to save him by removing several of his organs and amputating two fingers and part of his right leg, but Daniel died on May 14, 2006.

His father, who had been sitting beside him at the time of the bombing, continues to suffer pain and post-traumatic stress disorder, including terrifying nightmares and daily flashbacks of the attack.

Wultz’s mother, Sheryl, and other family members filed a suit against the Syrian and Iranian governments three years ago in the United States District Court for Washington, DC. They argued that the Syrians were liable “for their provision of material support and resources” to the Palestinian terrorist group Islamic Jihad, which claimed responsibility for the attack.

“When a state chooses to use terror as a policy tool—as Iran and Syria continue to do—that state forfeits its sovereign immunity and deserves unadorned condemnation,” District Court Judge Royce Lamberth ruled, the Associated Press reported.

Evidence presented to the court showed that at the time of the 2006 bombing, Islamic Jihad was headquartered in Damascus with the Syrian regime’s approval and consent, and that the Syrian government would escort potential terrorists and suicide bombers to training camps on Syrian territory.

Expert witnesses who testified in the trial said Islamic Jihad received “substantial logistical, financial, and technical support from both the Iranian and Syrian defendants.”

Samir Khan, author of the English-language jihad manual, poses for the camera somewhere in Yemen before his timely death. (Al-Malahem Media)

JERUSALEM (JWN and agencies)—Al-Qaeda on Wednesday published an online English manual of practical jihad, full of day-by-day instructions on how to wage holy war. While other countries are mentioned, the main thrust of the document, entitled “Expectations Full,” is aimed at encouraging Western Muslims to carry out attacks in their home countries—particularly the United States.

The manual is the work of the terrorist organization’s media affiliate, Al-Malahem Media. Ironically, the document was written by Samir Khan, a British-born Pakistani who was killed in a US drone strike on Al-Qaeda operatives in Yemen on September 30, 2011.

Khan wrote in his guide that “all the brothers and sisters coming from the West to consider attacking America in its own backyard. The effect is much greater, it always embarrasses the enemy, and these type [sic] of individual decision-making attacks are nearly impossible for them to contain.”

Khan was killed in the same attack that eliminated Anwar al-Awlaki, an American-Yemeni imam and al-Qaeda recruiter known as the “Bin Laden of the Internet.” As native English speakers, both were regular writers for al-Qaeda’s English-language magazine, Inspire.

The manual skips instructions on specific practical terrorist skills such as bomb making, but is a more general guide to good jihadist behavior, not unlike a satanic Boy Scout manual. The text is illustrated with photos of training exercises and other daily tasks.

Kahn writes that the manual is designed to inform the jihadist of “everything you should expect when on jihad.” These include important pointers on personal hygiene, moving from one base to another, camping out, first aid, and the always helpful surviving aerial attack.

Kahn’s manual includes a section on white and black magic, covering how to recognize the difference between good jinns (genies) and bad, such as the evil jinn of the “Apostates of Yemen” (the Yemeni government), which employs bad magic against al-Qaeda. The manual asserts that there are also good jinn that protect the warriors of jihad.

Evidently Khan’s genie wasn’t on duty when he and Awlaki were summoned to paradise, enabling the first posthumous edition of his English jihad manual.

Market analysts say the veterans are ready to duke it out with the two newcomers, HOT Mobile and Golan Telecom, and offer deals that are just as attractive. Analysts predict the competition will drive down prices to around NIS 100 per month for all inclusive plans.

On Monday, Pelephone announced an all-included plan at NIS 119 per month. The price war is also expected to force a wave of cutbacks, with the veterans expected to fire hundreds of workers.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu came out in favor of the consumer in a message posted on his Facebook page on Tuesday. “The mobile market revolution has already made it possible for every one of you to pay a lot less than you used to pay. Grab the opportunity to pay less,” he wrote.