Jerusalem – Syria is preparing for war with Israel this summer, the Syrian government newspaper Al-Thawra claims. An editorial in the paper claims that Israel is planning war against Syria, and it would be disgraceful were Syria not to prepare for it. Assurances from Israel saying that the military maneuvers on the Golan Heights are not meant to prepare for an attack on Syria, are not having the desired effect. “Israel is conducting military maneuvers on the Golan Heights and then saying that Syria is planning a war,” the newspaper wrote. “We believe that the war will be in the summer (after the release of the full Winograd Committee report) to improve Israel’s military image, which was damaged by the war in Lebanon.

“Israel always raises a cry when Syria carries out an arms deal. Even when we buy hunting rifles. At the same time, Israel has nuclear weapons and the most advanced and lethal military equipment in the world. When the U.S. pushes Israel to do the dirty work (of war), it would be extremely foolhardy not to expect Syria to prepare for an Israeli attack in the summer. After all, Israel, which suffered a humiliating military defeat last July, is now trying by means of a new war, to wash away its shame,” wrote the newspaper, which reflects the official Syrian line.

Saudi Citizens Lead

Al-Qaida Insurrection In Lebanon

The Middle East Newsline has broken the story that Saudi citizens have played a major role in the al-Qaida insurrection in Lebanon. Lebanese sources said scores of Saudis were participating in the Fatah Al Islam insurgency in and around the Naher el-Bared refugee camp in northern Lebanon. The sources said the Saudis served as commanders and financiers of the insurrection, which began some 45 days ago. “The Saudis have been making decisions regarding the war,” a Lebanese security source said. So far, at least 23 Saudi citizens were killed in the Fatah Al Islam insurrection. PLO Secretary-General Sultan Abul Al Einan said the Saudis were buried in a mass grave in Naher Al Bared.

Abu Al Einan, who also heads the Fatah movement in Lebanon, told the London-based A-Sharq Al Awsat daily that Fatah Al Islam contained 43 Saudi fighters. He said one of the Saudis surrendered to Fatah in Naher el-Bared and was transferred to the Lebanese Army. Fatah Al Islam has recruited operatives from such countries as Algeria, Chechnya, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Saudi Arabia. Many of the Saudis arrived in Lebanon on tourist visas and trained at the UNRWA Ein Hilwe refugee camp outside Sidon.

Some of the Saudi fighters in Lebanon have led IED cells for Fatah Al Islam. The Saudis were said to have been trained in Afghanistan and Iraq and included those on the Saudi Interior Ministry list of leading al-Qaida fugitives.

David Bedein can be reached at Media@actcom.co.il. His Web site is www.IsraelBehindTheNews.com

©The Bulletin 2007

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David Bedein
David Bedein
David Bedein is an MSW community organizer and an investigative journalist.   In 1987, Bedein established the Israel Resource News Agency at Beit Agron to accompany foreign journalists in their coverage of Israel, to balance the media lobbies established by the PLO and their allies.   Mr. Bedein has reported for news outlets such as CNN Radio, Makor Rishon, Philadelphia Inquirer, Los Angeles Times, BBC and The Jerusalem Post, For four years, Mr. Bedein acted as the Middle East correspondent for The Philadelphia Bulletin, writing 1,062 articles until the newspaper ceased operation in 2010. Bedein has covered breaking Middle East negotiations in Oslo, Ottawa, Shepherdstown, The Wye Plantation, Annapolis, Geneva, Nicosia, Washington, D.C., London, Bonn, and Vienna. Bedein has overseen investigative studies of the Palestinian Authority, the Expulsion Process from Gush Katif and Samaria, The Peres Center for Peace, Peace Now, The International Center for Economic Cooperation of Yossi Beilin, the ISM, Adalah, and the New Israel Fund.   Since 2005, Bedein has also served as Director of the Center for Near East Policy Research.   A focus of the center's investigations is The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). In that context, Bedein authored Roadblock to Peace: How the UN Perpetuates the Arab-Israeli Conflict - UNRWA Policies Reconsidered, which caps Bedein's 28 years of investigations of UNRWA. The Center for Near East Policy Research has been instrumental in reaching elected officials, decision makers and journalists, commissioning studies, reports, news stories and films. In 2009, the center began decided to produce short movies, in addition to monographs, to film every aspect of UNRWA education in a clear and cogent fashion.   The center has so far produced seven short documentary pieces n UNRWA which have received international acclaim and recognition, showing how which UNRWA promotes anti-Semitism and incitement to violence in their education'   In sum, Bedein has pioneered The UNRWA Reform Initiative, a strategy which calls for donor nations to insist on reasonable reforms of UNRWA. Bedein and his team of experts provide timely briefings to members to legislative bodies world wide, bringing the results of his investigations to donor nations, while demanding reforms based on transparency, refugee resettlement and the demand that terrorists be removed from the UNRWA schools and UNRWA payroll.   Bedein's work can be found at: www.IsraelBehindTheNews.com and www.cfnepr.com. A new site,unrwa-monitor.com, will be launched very soon.

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