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Iran is trying to strike Israeli targets around the world in a bid to stop the assassinations of its nuclear scientists, the head of the Shin Bet security service, Yoram Cohen, said Thursday.

Lecturing at a closed forum in Tel Aviv, Cohen said that Iran believes Israel is behind the attacks on its nuclear experts, which have killed four scientists since November 2010. "It doesn't matter if it's true or not that Israel took out the nuclear scientists," Cohen said. "A major, serious country like Iran cannot let this go on. They want to deter Israel and extract a price so that decision makers in Israel think twice before they order an attack on an Iranian scientist."

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Under new proposal from Likud MK Danny Danon, illegal outpost of Migron will be relocated while current structures remain intact to serve as farmhouses • Compromise complies with High Court ruling to evacuate outpost, but it may not be legal.

Settler leaders on Monday agreed to a compromise regarding the evacuation of the illegal outpost of Migron. The High Court of Justice ruled over the summer that the outpost, home to some 50 families, was built on privately owned Palestinian land and ordered its evacuation by the end of March.

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If there's anything that can produce more anxiety than watching the Republicans pick a presidential candidate, it's watching the process from Israel.

Yes, I know that the Republican candidates--well, except for Ron Paul--all love Israel. Newt Gingrich is still in the race because of the cash his super PAC got from casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, whose other political investments include financing an Israeli newspaper that exists to promote Benjamin Netanyahu. Rick Santorum has just been endorsed by the high council of theocons, who are sure they understand Israel's importance better than the Jews do.

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The Netanyahu government isn't serious about stopping settler violence.

This is the only possible conclusion. While Netanyahu and his cohorts denounce Jewish extremists and promise to get tough, actions speak louder than words. And their action this week on outposts sent an unmistakable message to the settlers: not only won't you pay a price for terrorism, but you'll be rewarded.

The State of Israel is changing before our eyes dramatically, and the prime minister must decide whether he wants to stop the deterioration or remain a partner to it.

The State of the Anarchists 

By Yariv Oppenheimer

Maariv, 28 December, 2011

(Tanslation courtesy of Israel News Today)

In the past weeks, when the "price tag" riots peaked, right wing MKs hurried to disassociate themselves from the extremist minority and to protest against the generalizations aimed at the settler public, most of which is law-abiding. In his public response to the incidents in the Ephraim Brigade, the prime minister called the rioters "anarchists," an extremist handful that does not represent the general population in the territories.

If you felt that somebody has been stealing your country in the past few weeks, it's apparently true. If you thought that you are trapped in a nightmare and will soon wake up and forget about it in the morning, it won't happen. This nightmare is reality. This is our life.

....Let's make no mistake about it: What we saw was not a one-time event or a fleeting episode; an incident that one can look away from and forget about. This is a rolling process. These young people are fuelling each other and stretching the boundaries to see how far they can go.
Israel's release of 550 prisoners on Sunday concluded a controversial two-stage swap that freed Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in exchange for 1,027 Palestinians....As the prisoner release was being carried out, Israel's Housing Ministry said it would construct another 1,028 housing units in the West Bank and Jerusalem area. The expansion includes 500 units in Har Homa, 348 in Beitar Ilit and 180 in Givat Zeev. "Some countries around the world may not be happy about this, but they shouldn't be surprised," Housing Minister Ariel Atia told the Israeli news site Ynet. He said the move would lower home prices and increase supply, assisting young Israeli couples looking for affordable housing.
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Recent attacks on the IDF have led to an abrupt awakening in Israel and abroad. Suddenly people are realizing the danger posed to Israel by a generation of settlers who respect neither Israeli law, nor Israel's army, nor the Israeli state, and who are prepared to use violence against not only Palestinians (which has long been the case) but also against fellow Jews.

Abe_Foxman.jpgFoxman is the National Director of the Anti-Defamation League



There are many reasons why the recent spate of domestic legislation in Israel -- regarding non-governmental organizations, the media, Israel as a Jewish State, the Supreme Court -- is disturbing.

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Lara Friedman
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Ori Nir
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David Pine
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