Hamas delegation from Muslim brotherhood 'Den' Qatar returns to Cairo for more talks with Egypt.

Hamas delegation from Muslim brotherhood 'Den' Qatar returns to Cairo for more talks with Egypt. (AlAhram).

A Hamas delegation returned to Cairo from Doha on Sunday to resume discussions with Egyptian officials in the second leg of talks on the future of the Islamist movement's relationship with Egypt.

The visit to Cairo by officials from Hamas, which has ruled the Israeli-besieged Gaza Strip since 2006, comes less than two weeks after Hamas officials held similar talks with their Egyptian counterparts in Cairo.

Hamas is expected to respond on Sunday to Egyptian requests made in earlier talks.

Prior to the delegation's arrival in Cairo, a member of the Hamas politburo, Mahmoud Al-Zahar, said that the movement is going to treat the Egyptian demands "positively."

Egypt has stipulated several demands to improve its relations with Hamas, according to Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, including a pledge of non-interference by Hamas in Egyptian affairs; cooperation with Cairo on investigations over issues that affect Egyptian security; and stopping extremists and hostile parties from entering or leaving the Strip from Sinai.

The demands also include severing Hamas' ties with the banned Muslim Brotherhood and the prevention of cross-border smuggling activity.

Hamas will present its requests to the Egyptian side during the visit, including the opening of the Rafah border crossing, which has been closed most days of the year by Egyptian authorities since the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013; a halt of media campaigns against the movement, an end to the Egyptian flooding of cross-border tunnels; and the return of four Hamas members who "disappeared" last year in Sinai.

Hamas also wants more trade between the two sides; the resumption of Egyptian efforts in mediating the mutual observation of a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel; and the continuation of Cairo's role in mediating between Hamas, the Palestinian Authority and Israel.

The Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Sinai is the only way for 1.5 million Palestinians who live under Israeli siege in Gaza in and out of the Strip.

A Palestinian diplomatic source privy to recent developments in Hamas-Egypt relations told Ahram Online that the movement has recently changed its attitude towards Egypt.

The source said Hamas has taken action on the ground in Gaza on security issues of concern to Cairo, and has revised its relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood ahead of today's visit.

According to media reports, the Palestinian Islamist movement has removed posters and slogans of the Muslim Brotherhood and its leaders around Gaza streets following the first round of talks with Cairo in an act of reconciliation with Egypt.

Relations between Hamas and Egypt soured following Morsi's ouster, with Egyptian officials repeatedly linking Hamas to terror acts in Egypt.

Egypt has regularly accused Hamas of supporting Islamist militants who have been waging a 10-year-old insurgency against Egyptian security forces in North Sinai.

Earlier this month, Egypt's interior minister Magdy Abdel-Ghaffar accused Hamas members of conspiring with the Brotherhood to assassinate Egypt's prosecutor-general Hisham Barakat in June 2015.


The Palestinian group has repeatedly denied these accusations.

43 Jihadists Caught Pretending to be Refugees Fuel Alarm.

43 Jihadists Caught Pretending to be Refugees Fuel Alarm. (voanews).

The U.S.-based Terrorism Research & Analysis Consortium (TRAC) reported this week that 41 Islamic State-linked militants and two from rival Jabhat al-Nusra, al-Qaida's affiliate in Syria, were apprehended while posing as refugees. Some of them used false passports, TRAC said in a security update for commercial clients that it shared with VOA.

Nineteen of the 43 jihadists were caught in Turkey but the rest made it into the European Union before being identified, reported TRAC, a consultancy of academics and analysts.


The documented cases of jihadists trying to sneak into Europe is adding to the alarm of European intelligence services and politicians struggling to cope with hundreds of thousands of newcomers.

Some 36,000 people – including war refugees from the Mideast as well as mainly economic migrants from Africa – entered Europe just in the first three weeks of January, according to the International Rescue Committee, a humanitarian aid organization.

Last week, Europol, the EU's law enforcement agency, warned that IS had set up secret training camps across Europe to prepare fighters to carry out "special forces style" attacks.


In a statement, Europol said: "In selecting what to attack, where, when and how, IS shows its capacity to strike at will, at any time and at almost any chosen target.

The Paris attacks on 13 November 2015 indicate a shift [toward] a clear international dimension of Islamic State to carry out special forces style attacks in the international environment." Hmmm........And the EU better wake up to the threat child soldiers can pose. Read the full story here.

Iran says it strongly opposes Saudi Arabia’s effort to send ‘terrorists’ to Syria talks.

Iran says it strongly opposes Saudi Arabia’s effort to send ‘terrorists’ to Syria talks. (IranFrontpage).

Iran says it strongly opposes Saudi Arabia’s efforts to send “terrorists in a new mask” to talks between the Syrian government and the opposition.

The kingdom brought together a number of militant groups in Riyadh Wednesday to decide whether to attend UN peace talks due in Geneva on Friday. They failed to reach a final decision, postponing it until Thursday.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on Thursday Saudi Arabia is trying to raise its influence at the Geneva talks by including “terrorists” in the opposition lists.

“Terrorists with a new mask should not sit down at a negotiating table with the representatives of the Syrian authorities,” he told a news conference during a visit to Moscow.

“This is the most important condition,” Amir-Abdollahian said, calling on Saudi Arabia to stop stoking tension in the Middle East.

“We believe that Saudi Arabia’s insistence on including recognizable terrorists … in one list or another, is certainly not a constructive action on its part,” he added.

Amir-Abdollahian and his Russian counterpart Mikhail Bogdanov said after a meeting on Wednesday that the two countries shared a common view on the settlement of the regional crises.


“Moscow and Tehran have common position on the regulation of the Middle East problems; we also have the same position on Syria,” Amir-Abdollahian told reporters after the meeting.

Bogdanov serves as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy for the Middle East and Africa. Amir-Abdollahian arrived in Moscow on Wednesday for consultations with Russian officials on regional issues.

Quoting materials from Iran Front Page is permitted only if the source is mentioned by name.

Former Israeli FM Liberman warns against allowing Turkey a ‘foothold’ in Hamas-ruled Gaza.

Former Israeli FM Liberman warns against allowing Turkey a ‘foothold’ in Hamas-ruled Gaza. (TOI).

Liberman, a foreign minister in the previous Netanyahu government and now an opposition lawmaker, criticized the impending agreement.

“The agreement has yet to be finalized, but its diplomatic damage is already done,” he charged in a talk at Limmud FSU.

“Opportunism is not a substitute for wise, considered policy. Erdogan leads a radical Islamist regime. The Turks trade with Daesh [Islamic State], invaded Iraq against all international rules, and have tense relations with Russia.

We’ve invested in the relationship with Greece and Cyprus in recent years, and this move will hurt those relations. It will also hurt relations with Egypt, because I can’t see Erdogan giving up his demands on Gaza, and any foothold the Turks get in Gaza will be at Egypt’s expense.” Hmmmm.....At least not everyone has lost his mind in Israel. Read the full story here.

Video: Takeover of Turkish newspaper as 'trustee' sacks journalists on the spot

Hasan Ölçer, one of the trustees appointed on Monday to take over the management of the İpek Media Group following a controversial court decision, insulted several employees of the Bugün daily during a meeting on Thursday, and unlawfully dismissed those employees who refused to act in line with their orders. A number of employees from the Bugün daily, including Editor-in-Chief Erhan Başyurt, Publishing Coordinator Mehmet Yılmaz and Managing Editor Güngör Ergun, were fired on Thursday in a wave of dismissals decided by the newly appointed trustees.

Today's front page pic.twitter.com/offMshW35X

— Today's Zaman (@todayszamancom) October 30, 2015

VIDEO - Russia newest drone "Dozor 600" seen over Syria with bomb/missile?

The Larger ........ hmmm One Could Be An Extra Fuel tank for sale, It's The Smaller One That Could Be A Missile.

Update:

@MFS001 Given the odd shapes, more likely sensor pods.

— Need To Know Basis (@Render64) October 13, 2015

HT:

VIDEO BREAKING #Russia Newest Drone "Dozor 600" Seen Over #Syria With Bomb / Missile? Https://t.co/slFfgw8Pfc #Ukraine Pic.twitter.com/qFedqzdp1K

- Raging.me (@ Raging545) October 12, 2015

Syrian Bishop: U.S. Operations is just 'Window dressing, money & Oil the real reason for Syrian War'.

Syrian Bishop: U.S. Operations is just 'Window dressing, money & Oil the real reason for Syrian War'. (AN).

Syrian Bishop Msgr. Jacques Behnan Hindo: The US operations are "just window dressing, and really leave jihadists free to act", as confirmed by the kidnapping of Christians. Fears for the fate of the hostages after the execution of three Assyrians. Money is the real engine of the war in Syria.

The Islamic State have released a video (click here to see excerpts released by the Lebanese OTV television and relayed by Aina) showing the execution of three of the more than 200 Assyrian Christians still in the hands of the jihadist militants.

"They have executed three - said Msgr. Hindo - and they are preparing another three for an upcoming execution. At first they demanded a huge sum for the liberation, almost 120 thousand dollars for each of 203 people. They have rejected the proposal of a million for the release of all, there has now been made a new proposal and we are waiting for an answer. "

The prelate said that is difficult to deal with the kidnappers, the contacts "are very short" and "do not leave much room for maneuver." "I answer yes or no - he says - and then act accordingly. Now the Assyrian bishop, who was in Erbil [for the election of the new patriarch] has returned, to continue negotiations and follow the episode in first person.

"In recent days have released an elderly man of 89 was released to break the news of the execution and hand over the video that was shot around 23 September, the Islamic feast of the sacrifice. "By analyzing the video - said Msgr. Hindo - we see that the sun was still strong, while in the last 10 days it has dropped in intensity. This suggests plausible date of 23 as the time of execution even if there are no references to the celebrations. "

The story of Christians is also associated with the tragedy experienced by the people of Deir ez-Zor, the town of 250 thousand inhabitants in eastern Syria, long besieged by the militias of the Islamic state. "People are dying of hunger - says the bishop – they lack food and medicine. Just think that today 50 kg of sugar costs as much as a car or a house. People sell the car to buy it. The IS has imposed a real blockade, men, women, elderly and children are starving". For this reason the prelate appeals to the United States, Saudi Arabia, Qatar asking them to "really do something" to deal with the emergency and rescue a civilian population that is weary and tired.

Msgr. Hindo concludes with a charge against Western governments, who he says "are working for Israel's security and to divide Syria and Iraq, so as to put their hands on the riches of these countries. It's not just oil, because off our coasts a major natural gas field has recently been discovered. And yet - he adds - the pipelines that Saudi Arabia and Qatar expect to arrive in the West are at stake. Damascus did not accept the passage on its territory, and this is the result ".

It is a "very complex" issue, says Msgr. Hindo, behind which "there is the economic problem; but for the West it all boils down to religion, the Sunnis and Shiites, Christians and Muslims but in this war, the Daesh and other groups hide only economic interests and aim to divide the country "against the will of a people who for the most part are " united and want to remain united ". Hmmm.....John 8:32 "Veritas liberabit vos".

Syrian bishop: Russian raids have proved effective against ISIL. U.S. operations are "just window dressing".

Syrian bishop: Russian raids have proved effective against ISIL. U.S. operations are "just window dressing". (AN).

US air strikes in Syria are window-dressing, and have little real effect on the militias of the Islamic state (IS), who are left free to act on the ground. Instead the Russian attacks in recent days have been effective, forcing jihadists to fall back towards the Iraqi desert. This is according to Msgr. Jacques Behnan Hindo, referring to testimonies of people living in areas of conflict theater.



"Moscow’s intervention has been positive - said the prelate who leads the archieparchy Syrian Catholic Hassaké-Nisibis, - because they are really targeting Daesh [Arabic acronym for the IS, ed] and the militia are beginning to flee. They fled from the area in about 20 cars in a hurry in the direction of Iraq, leaving another 20 cars on site. A sign of a real retreat. "

The bishop of Hassaké-Nisibi lives under constant threat from IS: "I am less than three kilometers from the town - he says - a month ago their offensive was repelled and they folded around the city. In the past two weeks, thanks to the attacks of the Russians, they began to retreat. "

In contrast, Msgr. Hindo reserves rather harsh words for the United States, who are not bombing the positions of jihadi militias but the Syrian government.

"It's not about being for or against the government - he says - but people never believed in America’s attacks. Only the Kurds have really fought on the ground, but to hold their ground "and it is not plausible that they can, alone, solve the emergency. 

Besides the United States, France, Britain only speak of "attacking the Daesh, but do not speak of the Nusra Front and other Islamist militias linked to Al Qaeda. Indeed, there are extremist groups that have changed names to rebuild credibility, and these are not even mentioned. This is also a big problem. "

The prelate denounces Washington's "ambiguity" seen in the American’s attitude during the seizure of hundreds of Christians originating in the villages of the valley of the river Khabur.

"On the night of Feb. 23, when Daesh attacked, the American planes – he says - flew over the area for a long time without intervening. Then for three days we saw no more jets, leaving the field open to the militants. This makes us think that in some way have been helped by the Americans and their ambiguous attitude”.

PYD Political adviser: "Kurdish autonomy should be a model to end Syrian conflict."

PYD Political adviser: "Kurdish autonomy should be a model to end Syrian conflict." HT: Al_Ahram.

Russian airstrikes are a step forward in the war against terrorism, says Sihanouk Dibo, political advisor to the Democratic Union Party (PYD), a leading Syrian Kurdish opposition party and member of the Syrian opposition group in Cairo.


Dibo believes that negotiations with the Bashar Al-Assad regime are inevitable if a solution to the Syrian conflict is to be reached.

"We welcome any intervention that would help fighting terrorism," says Dibo, who refutes the claim that Russia has mostly attacked rebels fighting the Syrian government, not the Islamic State (IS) group.

"We know it because we are on the ground and our information is more accurate over here. Take the city of Al-Qamishli, for instance. I can assure you that IS is there and it suffered casualties, thanks to the Russian strikes."

Dibo also explains that many US backed rebels have surrendered to Al-Nusra Front. "And Al-Nusra Front is affiliated to Al-Qaeda, therefore it is a terrorist group."

The PYD supports the Russian intervention, the same way they back Western coalition operations in Syria. "We are in favour of any operation that would fight extremist groups," he says.

"Russian intervention does not contradict a negotiated solution to the Syrian conflict for the simple reason that there is no solution other than a political one. Russian airstrikes only help to get rid of terrorist groups. This should be done in parallel with the Cairo process," he said.

According to Dibo, one of the main obstacles to finding a solution is the division of the opposition. Instead of uniting, external and internal groups are divided.

"The biggest lie that was spread in the last years is the false claim that the Syrian National Coalition (SNC), based in Istanbul, is the legitimate opposition, representing all Syrians. This is far from the truth," he says.

The coalition holds very different opinions from the majority of the Syrian people it claims to represent, Dibo says.

"It considers Al-Nusra Front as a peaceful opposition group while in fact the latter had committed — like IS — major crimes against Syrian civilians."

He also argues the SNC fails to understand the concept of negotiations, imposing preconditions where in fact the whole purpose of negotiations is to fill the gap between two different views .

Another problem is that "they (the SNC) also want to exclude from future talks major regional actors, such as Iran, whose presence is a must for a long term solution. On the other hand, they blindly stand behind Turkey, which has recently imposed its own currency in certain areas of Syria and established security zones, which is a sort of occupation of Syrian territory. Turkey has also been supporting extremist groups such as the Sultan Murad Brigades," he argues.(On Friday 25 Oct.2013 the Sultan Murat brigades attacked the Wartan Monestary).

In his view, the military intervention of Turkey has been very harmful to prospects of ending the conflict. "Turkey is now part of the Western coalition. Except that out of 550 airstrikes it launched, 547 were directed against Turkish Kurds and only three against IS."

Syrian Kurds, like many other opposition groups involved in the Cairo process, believe that negotiations with the Assad regime are inevitable. "Syrians are in a very critical situation and cannot afford to impose their own conditions. There are no other options but negotiating with the Syrian regime. Who else should we negociate with?" Dibo asks.

One thing the opposition agrees on is that a future Syria will not include Bashar Al-Assad — a future that Syrian Kurds have already been preparing. "We should use our own experience to reach a solution to the conflict," he says. By "experience," he means Kurdish self-determination.

In the last few years, the Kurds have established in northern syria the "Renaissance project," as they call it, which is de facto autonomy on the administrative, defence and security levels.

Yet neighbouring countries, especially Turkey, which has a sizeable Kurdish minority, fear that this would lead to an independent Kurdish state in northern Syria that would eventually reach into Turkish territory, as the PYD is considered the Syrian branch of the PKK, the main Turkish opposition group that has been fighting Ankara for years.

But Dibo claims that those fears are not justified and that the PYD and PKK only share the same ideology, democratic principles and aspirations for "decentralised government."

Dibo also refutes Turkish accusations according to which the YPG (People's Protection Units) — the Kurdish militia — has committed war crimes against Arab civilians in the Syrian areas they control, to create an exclusively Kurdish region. "This is another lie spread by our opponents who reject the idea of self-determination," he says.

"We find within the YPG more than 25 percent of Arabs, five percent of Assyrians, who also are holding political and administrative positions. If we wanted independence, we wouldn't be taking part in the opposition group calling for political negotiations. In a future Syrian state, we intend to participate in the Syrian army." says Dibo.

"We just believe that the Kurdish autonomous experience should be used as a roadmap for a future political solution to a Syrian conflict. This might be the only way to reach longterm peace in the country." Hmmm.....There can only be peace when Erdo and his 'Admin' are no longer in Power and Qatar and the Saudi's are muzzled. Read the full story here.