From PressTV
Syrian army advances toward Dumayr
The strategic city is located about 40 kilometers (25 miles) northeast of the Syrian capital and gives access to the international road linking Damascus to the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.
The Saturday advance by the Syrian forces has raised hopes for breaking the siege on Dumayr.
Syrian forces, backed by Lebanon’s Hezbollah fighters, also made gains in the Damascus suburb of East Ghouta.
Over the past months, the Syrian army has made major gains in its battle against Takfiri groups across the country.
From PressTV
ISIL abducts 40 truck drivers, businessmen in Iraq
According to a local official in Anbar’s provincial capital, Ramadi, the kidnappings took place when the abductees were on their way to purchase supplies for their stores.
Members of the terror group ambushed their vehicles and summarily executed two of the victims while abducting the rest of them.
It is still unknown what has happened to the 40 civilians.
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From PressTV
Reconstruction of Gaza may take 20 years: Group
The reconstruction of the besieged Gaza Strip, which was massively demolished in a recent 50-day Israeli war, will take at least 20 years, a monitoring group says.
“Given the pace at which construction materials are currently entering Gaza, it will be at least 20 years” to rebuild the coastal enclave, Alaa Radwan, head of the Popular Committee for Monitoring the Reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, said on Saturday.
Based on a UN-proposed plan, some 40 truckloads of cement, iron and gravel have been approved to be sent to Gaza. The coastal territory, however, is estimated to need about 6,000 tons of cement a day.
International donors have pledged USD 5.4 billion for the rebuilding of Gaza. Palestinian experts, however, have said in a recent report that the reconstruction of Gaza would cost around USD 7.7 billion.
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From PressTV
Hamas calls for third Intifada against Israel
“In view of the settlements” and the attempt to Judaize al-Quds (Jerusalem), “there is no place for calm,” Hamas Political Bureau Chief Khaled Meshaal told the Qatari newspaper Al-Sharq.
Palestinians argue that al-Quds is the capital of a future Palestinian independent state.
“We will foil the scheme through resistance and by calling for an uprising against the occupation,” Meshaal added.
The senior Palestinian official has also said the responsibility of defending the al-Aqsa Mosque goes to all Muslim nations.
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From PressTV
Turkey, US plan to train 2,000 militants fighting Syria govt.
Turkey and the US have agreed to train some 2,000 militants fighting against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a report says.
According to a Saturday report by Turkey’s Hurriyet Daily News, under a plan between the two governments, militants from the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA) will be trained at the Kirsehir base, some 150 kilometers (90 miles) south of the capital, Ankara.
Both Turkish and American personnel are to undertake the training program which starts in late December 2014.
Washington will supply weapons for the militants and is also expected to pay for the training, the English-language daily said, adding that the deal was clinched after a third round of negotiations between Turkish and US military officials in Ankara.
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From PressTV
Three-day fighting in central Yemen kills 80
Fighting in a flashpoint town in central Yemen has left at least 80 people dead over the last three days, local officials and witnesses say.
The deadly clashes, which started on Thursday, have been raging between Houthi movement’s Ansarullah fighters and al-Qaeda-linked militants in the town of Khabza in the province of al-Bayda.
“The dead include civilians. Seven of them were children killed in the shelling of a local school used as a camp for refugees,” said Naser al-Sana, a Yemeni official in the city of Rada’ close to Khabza, on Saturday.
He added that heavy weapons are being used in the ongoing skirmishes.
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From PressTV
US was wrong to say Assad must go: Kissinger
Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger has admitted that Washington’s scenario to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been a mistake.
“It was wrong to say from the beginning that Assad must go — although it is a desirable ultimate goal,” Kissinger said in an interview with the German weekly Der Spiegel.
“I don’t agree that the Syrian crisis can be interpreted as a ruthless dictator against a helpless population and that the population will become democratic if you remove the dictator,” he pointed out.
The veteran American politician noted that from the outset of the Syrian crisis the US “should have had a dialogue with Russia and asked what outcome we want in Syria, and formulate a strategy together.”
Since late September, the US and some of its Arab allies — Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates — have been conducting airstrikes against ISIL inside Syria without any authorization from Damascus or a UN mandate.
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From the Jewish Daily Forward
Jon Stewart Slams Jews for ‘Sad’ Narrow-Mindedness
By Raffi Wineburg
(JTA) — Jon Stewart is no stranger to harsh criticism. Some Jews have called him a self-hater, while the Iranian media has painted him as a Mossad agent. But “The Daily Show” host wasn’t on the receiving end Tuesday when he dished out some tough love to his fellow Jews.
In an interview with Canada.com to promote his new movie, “Rosewater,” the Jewish comedian commented on a number of things he found “troubling” with Judaism and the Jewish state.
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From the Jewish Daily Forward
U.S. Anti-Semitism Chief Warns Future of Europe Jewry in Danger
Ira Forman Says Smaller Communities Could ‘Disappear’
By Nathan Guttman
America’s top government official dealing with anti-Semitism warned Jewish communities in Europe could be put in danger if current trends remain unchanged.
Ira Forman, speaking at the end of a conference for members of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe on countering anti-Semitism, told the Forward on Friday that the threat of rising anti-Semitism in Europe should not be taken lightly.
“It’s hard to empty half a million Jews out of France in any short period of time, but I do think the viability of communities is a concern,” Forman said in a phone interview from Berlin, where the conference had been held. “If current trends continue or get worse, I can see some of the smaller communities essentially disappearing.”
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From PressTV
Palestinian seriously wounded in clashes
Clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinians in East al-Quds (Jerusalem) have seriously wounded a Palestinian man.
The confrontation took place on Saturday during a demonstration.
“Demonstrators threw rocks and [fired] fireworks at police, who used anti-disturbance measures to disperse them,” said Luba Samri, a police spokeswoman.
Palestinian sources put the number of casualties at three, and said one of them was taken to the hospital in serious condition after being hit in the head.
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From PressTV
More Europe countries to recognizing Palestine: EU official
More countries in Europe are expected to follow in Sweden’s footsteps and recognize Palestine as an independent state.
Hugh Lovatt, the Israel/Palestine Project coordinator at European Council on Foreign Relations, made the comments in an interview with Israeli news website Ynet on Friday, noting that European nations are taking a more pro-Palestinian stand as they believe that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not interested in peace with the Palestinians.
“I think indeed that a lot of reasons that have led Sweden to recognize Palestine are part of a wider European phenomenon,” he said, adding, “There are two things found almost all over Europe: A growing frustration with Prime Minister Netanyahu’s policies towards the so-called peace process, combined with a swing within the public opinion towards a position that is more sympathetic to the Palestinians.”
Lovatt further said that it is “very likely” that other EU countries would decide to follow Sweden, which formally recognized the Palestinian state on October 30, if they come to the conclusion that the so-called peace process has failed.
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From PressTV
Israel terror state: Knesset member
As Tel Aviv continues its crackdown on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, a member of Knesset has called Israel a “terror state.”
“We are not afraid of Israel, the terror state,” Hanin Zoabi told reporters on Friday.
Meanwhile, another Israeli lawmaker, Jamal Zahalka warned that any attempt to damage the al-Aqsa Mosque could lead to “greater escalation.”
“Anyone who wants tensions to calm [there] should allow [Muslim] prayer there [to resume] and stop pyromaniacs and provocateurs of all sorts from ascending to it,” he said.
This is not the first time that Zahalka and Zoabi have openly made remarks against the Israeli regime.
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From the Jewish Daily Forward
Anti-Sheldon Adelson Vote Signals Bibi’s Mounting Woes
By Yael Even Or
Israeli lawmakers have voted for a bill intended to prevent the free distribution of Sheldon Adelson’s Israel Hayom newspaper — a media outlet that is considered to be a virtual mouthpiece of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Adelson, the controversial founder and owner of the newspaper, made headlines last week when he said: “Israel isn’t going to be a democratic state — so what?” That comment triggered a new round of criticism on Adelson’s involvement in Israeli politics, and his role as Netanyahu’s de facto media patron.
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