Netanyahu agrees to expel Jews from their homes

(CARL) warned you all five years ago. Who listened?
Prime Minister Netanyahu announced this evening that the Netanyahu-Barak-Lieberman government is going to expel 30 Jewish families from their homes in Beit El (which means House of God) in Samaria. Netanyahu tried to throw a sop to the revenants saying that for every home that the Supreme Court asks him to destroy, the Netanyahu-Barak-Livni Lieberman government will build ten more, but apparently he's no better at Math than he is at telling it straight. He's destroying 30 homes and will build 50 new ones instead (maybe, eventually, if there's money and if he gets around to it and if Ehud Barak agrees and if the homes cannot be rebuilt elsewhere).

As part of Netanyahu's decision, the government will reimburse and relocate the settlers. The homes themselves will not be demolished, according the the Channel 2 report, but will rather be detached from their infrastructure and physically moved to a nearby settlement. In addition, Netanyahu will allow 50 homes to be built in Beit El - 10 times the number of homes being evacuated in Ulpana, Channel 2 reported.
"The settlement enterprise will be advanced through building," Channel 2 quoted Netanyahu as saying. "For every home we are forced to evacuate, we will build 10 in its place."
The prime minister came out against MKs calling for legislation that would legalize the settlements, calling the solution unhelpful and saying that it would harm Israel's standing within the international community.

And moving the homes elsewhere in Samaria (assuming they get there intact) will help our standing in the international community? And building 50 more homes (assuming Ehud Barak ever approves them - fat chance - will improve our standing in the international community? You've got to be kidding. Here's the Supreme Court's Knesset member.

Meretz leader Zehava Gal-On congratulated the prime minister on his decision, stating that she hoped his intentions would be carried out. Gal-On, however, criticized Netanyahu's alleged desire to build 50 new structures in the Beit El settlement in place of those being evacuated in Ulpana.
"Netanyahu's promise to increase building in Beit El grants a reward to law-breaking settlers in the territories and encourages committing more crimes. The prime minister is applying a death blow to the peace process, leading to the establishment of one state, and exposing the unity government for what it really is," Gal-On stated.

Just like the Arabs, she takes any concession she's given and then reopens the point asking for more.
YNet adds:

MK Arieh Eldad (National Union) slammed the decision. "Netanyahu's behavior is befitting the 'liar' label that was given to him by his partner, (Minister Shaul) Mofaz," Eldad said. "Only legislation can prevent destruction.
"He is displacing Migron and Ulpana," he added. "All that's left for Netanyahu to do in order to achieve world peace is to shift Jerusalem to New York."
...
Peace Now Director General Yariv Oppenheimer [Googleheimer. CiJ] voiced similiar sentiments. Oppenheimer expressed contentment with the decision, but asserted that the decision to expand settlement construction is detrimental to Israel's interests.
"Netanyahu's decision to implement the High Court's ruling is in line with the founding principles of democracy, and should be obvious," he said. "His decision to apply a price tag and expand the settlements will hurt the State of Israel first and foremost, and will reward law-breaking settlers."

And the Times of Israel reports that the commitment to build ten new homes for each one destroyed will only go into effect if the homes being destroyed cannot be rebuilt. And if Attorney General Weinstein agrees. I guess Netanyahu is taking lessons from Hussein Obama in leading from behind.

Netanyahu said that if everything went according to plan, Ulpana’s five contested buildings — home to some 30 families, and built on what the state accepts is privately owned Palestinian land — would be transplanted several hundred meters away. However, in the event that the houses would have to be demolished rather than transplanted, 10 more would be built in Judea and Samaria, pending the approval of Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein.
“The settlement enterprise will be strengthened by construction; in place of every house we are forced to evacuate, we will build 10,” said the prime minister.

And Israel Radio reports (11:00 pm) that the government is only 'investigating the possibility' of moving the homes someplace within Beit El.
But the biggest consequence is the one raised by MK Zevulun Orlev (National Religious Party) as reported by Israel Radio: There will be dozens more claims brought to the Supreme Court (and under Israel's bizarre system they can be brought directly to the Supreme Court) that hundreds of houses are built on 'private Palestinian land.' What could go wrong?

Hamas Terrorist Sneaks Across Border Kills Israeli Soldier

The aunt of Palestinian gunman Ahmed Nassir holds his picture at his family’s house in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip June 1, 2012. A Palestinian gunman broke into Israel on Friday and killed a soldier before being shot dead himself in a rare cross-border attack that Israel blamed on the Islamist group Hamas.
Excerpted from REUTERS: A Palestinian gunman broke into Israel on Friday and killed a soldier before being shot dead himself in a rare cross-border attack that Israel blamed on the Islamist group Hamas.
Israel hit back, with a missile-strike killing one militant and wounding two others in the southern Gaza Strip. Militants also fired rockets out of the Palestinian enclave, but they did not cause any damage, the Israeli army said.
Sources in Gaza said the gunman killed in the cross-border attack was affiliated with the Islamic Jihad. However, the faction, which operates independently of Hamas, denied responsibility, suggesting the infiltrator might have been acting alone.
Hamas, which governs Gaza, had no immediate comment.

via patdollard.com

notice the link in Reuters doesn't mention who started the violence.

World-Class Pianist Charged with 'Insulting Islam'

(h/t vinienco)
A Turkish court on Friday formally charged an internationally known pianist and composer with insulting Islamic religious values, in comments he made on Twitter.
The court in Istanbul voted to approve an indictment against Fazil Say (pictured), who has played piano with the New York Philharmonic, Berlin Symphony Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic, National Orchestra of France and Tokyo Symphony.
The 42-year-old Say faces charges of inciting hatred and public enmity, and insulting “religious values.” He allegedly mocked Islamic beliefs about paradise in April.
Say’s lawyer, Meltem Akyol, told AP the pianist has denied the charges. The trial will be held on Oct. 18, she said.
“We certainly do not accept the charges,” Akyol said. “He has stated in his initial testimony during the probe that he had no intention to humiliate any religion. He was basically criticizing those who are exploiting religion for profit.”
Akyol said Say’s tweets and retweets on social media cannot be considered as public remarks because only people who follow him can see them.
In one tweet cited in the indictment, Say said, “What if there is raki (traditional anisette drink) in paradise but not in hell, while there is Chivas Regal (scotch) in hell and not in paradise? What will happen then? This is the most important question!!”
Islam forbids alcohol and many Islamists might consider such remarks unacceptable. In one of Say’s retweets, one excerpt questioned whether paradise was a “brothel?” according to the indictment.
Akyol claimed that line belonged to the wine-loving 11th century Persian poet Omar Khayyam, adding that Say “was merely expressing his ideas within free speech.”
She confirmed that Say closed his Twitter account before the court decision Friday, because he was annoyed with messages.
“He has lately incurred the wrath of some people,” Akyol told AP. “He has even been receiving death threats.”
Say could face a maximum 1 1/2 years in prison if he is convicted, according to the AP report.
Previously, the report noted, Turkey’s Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk was prosecuted for his comments about the mass killings of Armenians, under a law that made it a crime to insult the Turkish identity. The government eased that law in an amendment in 2008.
In another incident in 2007, ethnic Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, who received death threats because of his comments about the killings of Armenians by Turks in 1915, was shot dead outside his office in Istanbul.
–

Will Obama stand up for musicians against his pal Erdogan? No... how is that for Hope and Change?

Anti-America disillusioned with MSNBC?: No Time for Obama's Kill List?

(fair.org) The New York Times' lengthy report (5/29/12) on Barack Obama's drone "kill list" should provoke serious questions: Is such a program legal? How does it square with Obama's criticism of the Bush administration's "war on terror" policies? What does it tell us about how the administration identifies "militants" who are targeted for assassination?
But those questions have been raised only in fits and starts–and are basically absent from the liberal cable news channel MSNBC. In fact, a far more interesting discussion of these questions can be heard on Fox News Channel.
It's not all good (LOL) on Fox, naturally. Host Bill O'Reilly and guest Dennis Miller (5/29/12) joked about  whether they were on the kill lists . Geraldo Rivera defended the program on Fox & Friends (6/1/12). Fox "liberal" Bob Beckel did the same on Fox's The Five (5/29/12):

To even suggest that somehow there is something wrong with a kill list, for you to suggest that shows you how rabidly anti-Obama you are.

Part of that discussion focused on what the reaction would be if we were reading about George W. Bush's drone kill list–a contrast that was raised on other Fox shows, and a legitimate one.
That wasn't just that angle that Fox covered, though. On Special Report (5/30/12), James Rosen looked at the White House's "fuzzy math" at counting civilian deaths from drone strikes. A Special Report panel (5/29/12) used a soundbite from the ACLU to illustrate criticism from the left.
But what about the channel that would seem the natural place for some of that left-leaning analysis? MSNBC has been mostly quiet. A search of the Nexis news database turns up nothing on Obama's kill list. The program Morning Joe had one discussion (5/29/12) where the panelists mostly supported the program, though host Joe Scarborough expressed some reservations.
What was more newsworthy? MSNBC's prime time shows seemed to have plenty of coverage of "birther" Donald Trump.
And it is worth noting one left-leaning TV host who did present a critical take on the Obama drone program was Current host Cenk Uygur (5/29/12). Some might remember that he briefly hosted a show on MSNBC but left amidst disputes over whether management wanted him to tone it down. Draw your own conclusions.
*Also: Kevin Gosztola has a good piece about drones and media coverage at FireDogLake (6/1/12). And it should be noted that ABC correspondent Jake Tapper (5/29/12) asked some strong questions to White House press secretary Jay Carney, particularly about civilian deaths and how the administration was defining "militants." As best I can tell, Tapper's exchange with Carney was not included in any ABC broadcasts, but can be viewed at the link above (starting around the 13:00 mark) hilarious... click the link to (fair.org) and read the comments. There people who used to masquerade as liberals were just America and Israel bashers. Coming out of the closet now a bit because of Obama

Dismal job market pushes Dow into 275-point plunge

(syracuse)The stock market suffered its worst day of the year Friday after a surprisingly weak report about hiring and employment cast a pall of gloom over the U.S. economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 275 points(MORE)

Are the Negev Bedouin an Indigenous People?

(crethiplethi) That no other Bedouin tribe in the entire Middle East has raised a claim to indigenousness raises questions regarding the motivations and authenticity of such an argument. Since the Bedouin in the Negev in some cases are from the same tribe as those found in neighboring countries, it is not logical that they can only be indigenous when they are on the Israeli side of the border.

Egypt's Mubarak sentenced to life in prison

(Reuters) Total silence fell over the courtroom in the moments before Refaat announced his verdict. The crowd outside then erupted in joy. Anti-Mubarak demonstrators and a smaller crowd of his supporters threw stones at each other and at police.

The judge also sentenced Mubarak's former interior minister, Habib al-Adli, to life in prison. He sentenced Mubarak's two sons Alaa and Gamal to time already served after convicting them on some corruption charges and acquitting them on others. Six security officials were acquitted. (MORE)