1. Merkel and bibi meet
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Berlin with top ministers Monday to hold a historic joint cabinet meeting on German soil, an AFP reporter said. The gathering of the two governments, the second ever after a similar meeting in Israel two years ago, will address urgent security issues such as Iran and underline the strong bond forged in the wake of the Holocaust.
Netanyahu and German Chancellor Angela Merkel were also to hold bilateral talks focused on efforts to revive Middle East peace talks and face “threats to regional security”, the prime minister’s spokesman Mark Regev said. The trip is “designed to strengthen and expand the cooperation between Israel and Germany. There is a very special relationship between Berlin and Jerusalem,” Regev told AFP. Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman were among members of Israel’s centre-right cabinet joining the premier.
2. mm hmm, now it was Hezbollah what killed the Iranian scientist. yup. they got a picture.
An Iranian nuclear scientist killed last week by a blast from a remote-controlled bomb strapped to a parked motorcycle may have been the victim of an Arab hit man belonging to Hizbullah, opposition groups told Britain’s Sunday Times. The Tehran regime has accused “mercenaries” financed by Israel and Washington of involvement in the killing of Massoud Ali Mohammadi, 50, a supporter of Mir Hossein Mousavi, the opposition leader.
However, opposition groups who monitor Hizbullah, claim that a member of the group, known by his pseudonym “Abu Nasser,” was photographed at the scene of the explosion in Tehran’s affluent Gheytarih suburb, according to The Sunday Times. It said that a German-based opposition group released a photograph of a man of similar appearance who, it alleges, was one of the pro-regime demonstrators who stormed Mousavi’s office in Tehran after the disputed presidential polls last June.
3. Merkel backs more sanctions against Iran
German Chancellor Angela Merkel says her country will back tougher sanctions against Iran if the country doesn’t change its tune on its nuclear programme. Ms. Merkel said after meeting Israel’s prime minister on Monday that “if Iran’s reactions don’t change, we will help work on comprehensive sanctions.”
4. pro-Palestinian hackers target website of top British jewish newspaper — but don’t worry, they didn’t damage anything they just did it to make asses of themselves. yeah, phew.
Britain’s flagship Jewish newspaper, the Jewish Chronicle, was taken over on Monday morning by pro-Palestinian hackers. The homepage of the Web site, which was rendered unavailable in the wake of the hack, was replaced with a Palestinian flag and a message reading “Hacked by Palestinian Mujaheeds.” Apparently angered by the newspaper’s support for Israel, the message also says: “Arent [sic] you ashamed of giving tolerance to Jewish who is the main actor of wars with being of children killers? Arent [sic] you ashamed of giving support to vampire who doesn’t care any human life?”
Jewish Chronicle Editor Stephen Pollard confirmed the paper’s Web site had been replaced by anti-Semitic messages for several hours.
“Somebody hacked into the site and had a message up for a couple of hours,” Pollard told AP. “It did no damage, as far as we can tell.” Pollard said the attack could be related to the diplomatic feud that erupted between Israel and Turkey last week, but added: “I don’t want to
speculate.” The Turkish government was outraged when Israel’s deputy foreign minister denied their ambassador a handshake and forced him to sit on a low sofa as the cameras rolled. Israel has since apologized. The Chronicle, founded in 1841, is Britain’s oldest Jewish newspaper.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1143396.html
5. israel had to go grovel in Turkey — looks like there’s some split between barak and lieberman / bibi
Israel’s defense minister held fence-mending talks in Turkey on Sunday, securing a commitment to military cooperation but failing to cajole Ankara into curbing its criticism of Israeli policies, officials said. Ehud Barak traveled to Turkey in the wake of a severe diplomatic row that had threatened to plunge the already estranged allies into a serious crisis. …Barak met also with Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, but Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a central figure in bilateral tensions, and President Abdullah Gul, were not available to meet him, citing programs outside Ankara.
It was the highest-level bilateral visit since Israel’s offensive on the Gaza Strip last year prompted an unprecedented barrage of criticism from Erdogan’s Islamist-rooted government, marking a sharp downturn in relations. Barak, whose Labor Party is in favor of keeping close ties with Turkey, insisted on the visit amid a row that brought Ankara to the verge of recalling its ambassador from Tel Aviv. “Turkey is a very important country… a pillar in the region, and dialogue and cooperation with it are very important,” Barak said.
Gonul voiced hope that cooperation in arms projects, which has been at the heart of the once-flourishing ties, would continue. The long-delayed delivery of 10 unmanned aircraft manufactured in Israel for the Turkish army is expected to be completed by June, he said.
...Turkey’s blooming ties with Syria and close contacts with Iran have made its snubs even harder for Israel to swallow and raised questions on whether a key Muslim-majority NATO member is sliding away from the West. Turkey became Israel’s main regional ally when the two signed a military cooperation accord in 1996. The pact eased Israel’s isolation in a hostile Arab neighborhood, while Turkey gained an ally against Syria, then an arch-foe for sheltering Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan, and access to Israel’s advanced military technology.(AFP)
