ISRAEL MAKES MAJOR SECURITY CONCESSIONS

Rice Wins Concessions from Israel - Matthew Lee
Secretary of State Rice, visiting the region for the second time this month, announced a series of concrete steps by Israel aimed at improving the Palestinian economy. The agreement includes: removing 50 travel barriers in and around Jenin, Tulkarem, Kalkilya and Ramallah; dismantling one permanent roadblock; deploying 700 Jordanian-trained Palestinian police in Jenin and allowing them to take delivery of armored vehicles; raising the number of Palestinian businessmen allowed into Israel; increasing the number of work permits for Palestinian laborers; building new housing for Palestinians in 25 villages; connecting Palestinian villages to the Israeli power grid; and Israeli support for large-scale economic development programs and encouragement of foreign investment. (AP/Washington Post)

THE U.S. WAS "VERY SURPRISED" AT THE EXTENT OF ISRAELI CONCESSIONS.  INDEED, ISRAEL SEEMS TO HAVE AGREED TO SERIOUSLY COMPROMISE ITS SECURITY.  BUT CONDI DIDN'T GET EVERYTHING....

LUCKILY, A CIVILIAN SAVED HIMSELF FROM BEING THE FIRST VICTIM OF ISRAEL'S CONCESSIONS.

U.S.: P.A. FAILS IN FIGHT AGAINST TERROR

U.S.: PA Fails in Fight Against Terror - Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff and Yuval Azoulay
The American officers responsible for monitoring Israeli and Palestinian compliance with the road map peace plan, headed by Gen. William Fraser, say the PA security services occasionally arrest members of Islamic terror organizations, but they do not follow up with the other steps in the "chain of prevention": interrogations, arrests of additional operatives, indictments and trials. Trials generally take place only if the PA is under external pressure. (Ha'aretz)

NO VIRGINS FOR THESE WOULD-BE TERRORISTS

Work accident!

(Elder of Ziyon) YNet reports: Palestinian security officials reported Thursday of an explosion at a beachfront facility of the militant Hamas organization. According to an initial report, two people were killed in the incident and one was injured. Palestinians claimed that the facility was attacked by the IDF, but the Israeli army denied striking in the area. Palestine Today (Arabic) describes it as a "mysterious explosion" which, ironically, leaves no doubt as to its source. Ma'an Arabic, which used to be a reasonable source of accurate news, continued its slide towards Hamas propaganda by claiming it was an Israeli airstrike and declaring the dead terrorists "martyrs." Palestine Press Agency reported it more accurately. The known 2008 PalArab self-death count is now at 40. UPDATE: Tunnel collapse! A young Palestinian man was killed on Thursday when a tunnel collapsed on top of him in the As-Salam neighborhood of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestinian medical sources said. According to the sources, 23-year-old Ashraf Ataya was dead on arrival at Abu Yousif An-Najjar Hospital in Rafah. Medical checks revealed the man suffocated under the debris when the tunnel collapsed. 41.

ABBAS AID CAUGHT SMUGGLING 2,000 CELL PHONES

Israel Seizes 2,000 Cell Phones from Palestinian Official (AFP/Khaleej Times-Dubai)

Israeli authorities on Tuesday seized 2,000 cell phones found in the car of senior Palestinian official and Abbas aide Rawhi Fattuh - who enjoys VIP status - as he was returning from Jordan, IDF military spokesman Peter Lerner said on Wednesday.

Jihad Watch points out that there are "[a]ll kinds of things you can do with cell phones -- including setting up a bomb to be set off from afar. Of course, maybe he just wanted to call 2,000 Western officials to beg for more money and aid."

RABBI STABBED IN JERUSALEM'S OLD CITY

Rabbi Stabbed in Jerusalem's Old City - Meital Yasur-Beit Or
A rabbi at the Ateret Kohanim yeshiva was stabbed by an Arab in the Old City of Jerusalem on Tuesday. Paramedic Ilan Klein said: "We found a 50-year-old man bleeding from the neck after being stabbed, but fully conscious. He said he was stabbed from behind." (Ynet News)

OFFICIAL P.A. DAILY: KILLER OF 8 IS HOLY MARTYR

Official PA Daily: Killer of Eight Young Men Is Holy Martyr - Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook
Mahmoud Abbas' official PA daily newspaper has honored the killer of the eight students gunned down this week with the status ofShahid - Holy Islamic Martyr. Al Hayat Al Jadida prominently placed a picture of the killer on the front page, with the caption, "The Shahid Alaa Abu D'heim." In a page one story, his act is defined as a "Shahada-achieving" action. This honoring of terror and terrorists by the PA has significant financial ramifications. In response to earlier PMW reports on the widespread Palestinian honoring of terror, Congress made it illegal for the U.S. to give money to entities that "advocate" terror. (Palestinian Media Watch)

HAMAS CLAIMS "CREDIT" FOR JERUSALEM MASSACRE

Hamas claims deadliest attack in Israel in 2 years (Reuters)
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Hamas claimed responsibility on Friday for shooting eight students at a Jewish seminary in Jerusalem, the most lethal Palestinian attack on Israelis in two years and a blow to international efforts to revive peace talks.

DETAILS ON MASSACRE GUNMAN

Palestinian Attacker, from Eastern Jerusalem, Was Driver at School; Family Flies Hamas Flag (AP/USA Today)
Israeli defense officials said the gunman who attacked the school came from eastern Jerusalem, whose Palestinian residents have Israeli ID cards that give them freedom of movement in Israel, unlike Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.

Several residents of the neighborhood of Jabel Mukaber gave his name as Alaa Abu Dhein, 20, and said he had worked as a driver at the school.  His family set up a mourning tent Friday and hung green Hamas flags outside their home.    Abu Dhein was arrested by Israeli authorities four months ago and then released two months later, they said.

See also Terrorist Confirmed His Kills- Amnon Meranda (Ynet News)  

Ariel Dela Rosa, 28, who was lightly injured in the attack, said the terrorist confirmed his kills.    "He yelled 'Allahu Akbar.' I think he confirmed some of the kills. When I left the room I saw that the bodies had been shot in the head."

MASSACRE IN JERUSALEM

Mercaz Harav hit by capital's worst terror attack since April '06 (JPost)
A Palestinian terrorist opened fire at a central Jerusalem yeshiva late Thursday night, killing eight students and wounding 11 others, police and rescue officials said.

The 8:45 p.m. shooting at Mercaz Harav Yeshiva in the Kiryat Moshe neighborhood broke a two-year lull in terror in the capital and sent students scurrying for cover from a hail of gunfire - a reported 500-600 bullets - that lasted for several minutes.

"There were horrendous screams of 'Help us! Help us!'" recounted Avrahami Sheinberger of the ZAKA emergency rescue service, one of the first to respond to the scene. "There were bodies strewn all over the floor, at the entrance to the yeshiva, in various rooms and in the library."

As security forces raced to the scene, the gunman fired round after round of ammunition into the library at the seminary, religious Zionism's flagship institution. About 80 students had gathered in the library to celebrate the Hebrew month of Adar II, which begins on Friday evening.

It was not immediately clear, late Thursday night, whether there was a security guard at the entrance to the yeshiva.

Channel 2 reported that the terrorist carried a blue Israeli identity card and came from east Jerusalem.

Initial reports of a second terrorist on the loose proved unfounded, police said.

"We heard shooting and knew that something had happened," recounted Yitzhak Dadon, 40, who studies at the yeshiva. Dadon said he cocked his handgun and went up to the roof of the yeshiva, where he saw the terrorist spraying gunfire indiscriminately at the crowd inside. Dadon said he fired two bullets at the terrorist, who began to stumble.

At the same time, police arrived at the scene and an intense gunfight erupted with the terrorist lasting several minutes, witnesses said. The scent of gunpowder wafted in the air as undercover police stormed the building.

Jerusalem police chief Cmdr. Aharon Franco said the terrorist was killed by an IDF officer who lives near the yeshiva and raced to the scene.

Rescue workers recounted a grisly picture of students hiding under desks and locking themselves in classrooms to avoid being caught in the hail of bullets.

Yerach Toker, a paramedic for United Hatzola of Israel, said he saw several dead yeshiva students on the library's floor. "Some of them were still holding sacred Jewish books smeared with blood from which they were learning before they were murdered," he said.

Hamas hails 'heroic' Jerusalem attack (AFP)
The Palestinian Hamas movement hailed a deadly attack on a Jewish religious school in Jerusalem on Thursday night as "heroic," without claiming responsibility for the strike that killed eight.

"This heroic attack in Jerusalem is a normal response to the crimes of the occupier and its murder of civilians," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said.

Another spokesman, Taher al-Nunu, blamed the attack on Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defence Minister Ehud Barak and the Israeli government.

"We have warned before about the responsibility of the escalation in Gaza and warned of Palestinian anger," Nunu said.

Hundreds of Palestinians poured into the streets of Gaza City as news of the attack at a west Jerusalem yeshiva spread, firing automatic rifles into the air in celebration.

Several more hundred people likewise celebrated in the northern town of Jabaliya, which has borne the brunt of deadly Israeli military strikes over the past eight days that have killed more than 130 Palestinians in Gaza amid a sharp escalation of violence in and around the impoverished territory.

SEE ALSO: Palestinians Celebrating Mass Murder (LGF)

UNSC fails to condemn J'lem shooting (JPost)
The UN Security Council failed to reach an agreement overnight Thursday on issuing an official condemnation over the deadly shooting attack in Jerusalem's Mercaz Harav Yeshiva because of Libyan opposition.

"Most members (of the council) wanted to condemn (the attack) but Libya blocked it," Israel's ambassador to the UN, Dan Gillerman, told reporters.

US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said US efforts to issue a statement condemning the attack "in the strongest terms" failed because Libya sought to link it to its own resolution urging condemnation of Israel over the IDF operation in the Gaza Strip last week.

ABBAS THREATENS TO "RESUME" TERROR

Report: Abbas Does Not Rule Out Resuming Armed Conflict with Israel - Roee Nahmias (Ynet News)
Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday that he does not completely rule out the possibility of resuming the armed conflict with Israel.  In an interview with the Jordanian newspaper al-Dustur, Abbas said he is against an armed conflict at this time, but things may differ in the future.

Abbas also said he objects to Israel's definition as a Jewish state: "We negated the concept in the Annapolis peace conference and it almost ended because of it...they wanted us to state we recognize Israel as a Jewish state in the closing statements, but we wouldn't hear of it."

UN: PALI TERRORISM JUSTIFIED, INEVITABLE

UN: Palestinian Terrorism “Inevitable”

ABE GREENWALD - (Contentions)

According to the Associated Press, a new UN report deems Palestinian terrorism the “inevitable consequence” of Israeli occupation. One has to ask: was terrorism the “inevitable” result of handing over Gaza to the Palestinians, as well? Because after more than two years Kassam rockets continue to land somewhat inevitably in Israel after being launched somewhat inevitably from non-occupied Palestinian territory. Here’s the report’s author, John Dugard:

[C]ommon sense . . . dictates that a distinction must be drawn between acts of mindless terror, such as acts committed by al-Qaida, and acts committed in the course of a war of national liberation against colonialism, apartheid or military occupation.

What about deadly acts carried out against a state that wants nothing more than to exchange land for peace? Dugard writes about this as if unaware that al-Qaida justifies the use of, say, the mentally deficient as bombs (something the Palestinians beat them to, by the way) with claims of national liberation and war against occupation.

Palestinian terrorism is in fact identical to the al-Qaida variety with respect to methodology, ideology, and public relations. Both groups target innocents as a matter of course, both are sworn to the complete annihilation of another group of people, both invoke Qur’anic principles when defending human slaughter, and both make lofty claims about liberation to certain credulous western audiences. The only thing inevitable about Islamist terror is the litany of justifications and apologies furnished by dangerous characters such as John Dugard.

SEE ALSO: John Dugard, racist (ELDER OF ZIYON)

Targeted Killings On Target

(BACKSPIN)

Ever dream of reading a snippet like this? AP and Palestinian witnesses take note of Israel's refined targeted killings.

Qurmot, a leader of the Popular Resistance Committees, was hit along with two comrades, who were wounded. The deadly strike on a clear Monday afternoon, left nothing more than a small hole in the ground, and civilians nearby were unharmed, witnesses said.

Palestinian witnesses have reported that missiles flew into buildings, killing their target while barely damaging the structures. In December, four militants standing near each other were killed by four separate missiles, witnesses said.

Related reading: In Israel, a Divisive Struggle Over Targeted Killing

7 "ISLAMIC EXTREMISTS" CHARGED WITH ATTACK ON ISRAELI EMBASSY IN MAURITANIA

Seven Islamic Extremists Charged in Attack on Israeli Embassy in Mauritania (AP/International Herald Tribune)
Seven men believed to be Islamic extremists have been charged in the attack earlier this month on the Israeli Embassy in Mauritania. Judge Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Talhata said Sunday that five Mauritanians and two Tunisians have been charged with "participating in an organization whose aim is to carry out terrorist acts." The judge described the men as "Salafistjihadists," a reference to an extremist Islamic movement based in Algeria.

MOROCCO NABS TERROR CELL TARGETING JEWS

Morocco nabs terror cell targeting Jews (JPost)
Morocco said Thursday it has dismantled a terrorist network that raised funds through holdups and jewelry thefts in Europe and was plotting to assassinate Cabinet ministers, army officers and Jews in the North African kingdom.

Thirty-two suspected terrorists were arrested in the operation, including Muhammad Mirwani, who heads the unauthorized "Umma Party", and Hizbullah's Al-Manar satellite TV correspondent in Morocco, 'Abd Al-Hafid Sriti.

LOS ANGELES JCC ATTACKED

Los Angeles JCC attacked with Molotov cocktail (JTA)
A Molotov cocktail was placed or thrown at a Jewish community center in suburban Los Angeles.

No one was injured in Monday's incident at the Bernard Milken Jewish Community Campus in West Hills, Calif., the Los Angeles Daily News reported.

The incident occurred in the back of the building at about 2 A.M. Monday, according to Paul Goldenberg, the national director of the Secure Community Network, a non-profit organization that works as a security adviser for hundreds of Jewish institutions. The network has been in contact with law enforcement agencies regarding the attack.

It is unclear who was behind the attack, but the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and local police are investigating surveillance tapes, Goldenberg said. The FBI also is investigating the incident.

John Fishel, president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, which is a primary funder of the JCC, told the Daily News the federation agency is very concerned about the attack.

"We take this type of thing very seriously," Fishel said. "Our major concern is for the safety and the security of those who work and frequent the center."

MUGHINIYA KILLED IN "WORK ACCIDENT?"

Kuwaiti Paper: Mughniya Was Killed In "Work Accident" (MEMRI)
The Kuwaiti daily Awan reported, from a knowledgeable Arab source, that Imad Mughinyua was killed as he was preparing a car bomb. The source said that Mughniya had prepared several car bombs for sending to Lebanon in order to prevent the March 14 Forces from holding a rally to mark the third anniversary of the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Al-Hariri.

Hizbullah mastermind's true legacy By Caroline B. Glick
While it is a great thing that he is dead, it must be understood that
his death is insufficient

Saudis Let Go Terrorist Mughniyeh in 1996 Despite U.S. President's Pleas - Brian Ross (ABC News)
Former White House counterterrorism chief Richard Clarke says that in 1996 the CIA learned that Hizbullah terrorist Imad Mughniyeh had boarded a commercial flight in Khartoum that was scheduled to stop in Riyadh.

"We appealed to the Saudis to grab him when the plane landed, and they refused," Clarke said in an interview broadcast Wednesday.

"We raised the level of appeals all the way through Bill Clinton who was on the phone at three in the morning appealing to the highest level in Saudi Arabia to grab him," Clarke said.
"Instead, the Saudis refused to let the plane land and it continued on to Damascus."

Imad Who? - Martin Kramer
At Hizbullah's official funeral of Imad Mughniyeh Thursday, where Hizbullah's leader eulogized him over a coffin decked in Hizbullah's flag, it is useful to recall the party's denial of his very existence over all these many years. Mention of his name to Hizbullah officials would draw a blank stare or blanket denial. Nasrallah's eulogy has placed Mughniyeh officially in the pantheon of Hizbullah's greatest martyrs. That his relationship to Hizbullah was ever a question is a testament to the discipline of Hizbullah in sticking to lies that serve its interests.

Hiding its clandestine branch makes it easier for Hizbullah to sell the movement to useful idiots in the West who insist that the movement hasn't done any terror in years, and maybe never did any at all. The truth is that Hizbullah has always included within it a clandestine terrorist branch, and it probably always will. Indeed, Nasrallah's threat in his eulogy - to commence an "open war" with Israel outside the Israel-Lebanon theater - alludes to the "global reach" that Mughniyeh helped to build. Hizbullah's official send-off to a most-wanted terrorist has exposed the core of Hizbullah that lies deep beneath the schools, the hospitals, and all the other gimmicks the party uses to get support. (Middle East Strategy at Harvard)

JEWS WORLDWIDE SHOULD BE ALERT FOR HEZBOLLAH "RETALIATION"

Jews worldwide urged to be on their guard after assassination (JPost)
More than 50 Hizbullah terror cells believed to be spread across the globe could be activated and used to strike at Israeli or Jewish targets in retaliation for Tuesday's assassination of Hizbullah arch-terrorist and operations officer Imad Mughniyeh in Syria, a senior defense official said Thursday.

As Hassan Nasrallah vowed "open war" to avenge Mughniyeh's death, the Israeli Counterterrorism Bureau issued a travel advisory on Thursday that made plain the seriousness with which it is taking the Hizbullah leader's threats. But Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said "Israel is a strong country" and that there was no need to panic.

FBI anti-terror units raised their alerts for fear of attacks on synagogues and other Jewish targets.

Sources in the US administration reiterated that there were no specific warnings of a terrorist attack; nonetheless, an FBI source said that the raised alertness of the Anti-Terrorism Unit, which operates in about 100 cities around the US, is not a routine step.

U.S. MIGHT HELP PALIS IN U.S. COURTS OVER TERROR DAMAGES

Palestinians Ask U.S. to Intervene in Suits Over Terrorist Attacks - Glenn Kessler (Washington Post)
The State Department is considering supporting the Palestinian Authority in its quest to avoid paying hundreds of millions of dollars in judgments won by American victims of Palestinian terrorist attacks in Israel. Palestinian officials have argued that it makes no sense for the U.S. to be providing millions of dollars in aid to the PA while U.S. courts are threatening to bankrupt it. Secretary of State Rice wrote 13 months ago that "the United States is not party to these enforcement proceedings." But in December, a U.S. federal judge asked the government whether it would get involved, creating the current dilemma for the administration.

Victims said that a U.S. intervention with the courts would make a mockery of the administration's fight against terrorism. "If the State Department tips the scales of justice against the victims in order to support adjudicated terrorists, the war on terrorism will be seen throughout the world as a farce," said David J. Strachman, a Rhode Island lawyer who has spearheaded many of the lawsuits.

ISRAELI EMBASSY ATTACKED IN MAURITANIA

6 gunmen open fire on Israeli Embassy in Mauritania (Canadian Press)

NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania - Six gunmen opened fire on the Israeli Embassy in Mauritania’s capital early Friday morning, trading fire with guards before fleeing screaming “Allah Akbar,” witnesses said.

The six men arrived by car and regrouped in front of a discotheque in the capital of the nortwestern African country that is just beside the embassy, said Hamza Ould Bilal, a taxi driver who was parked outside the club, called the VIP.

He saw them pull out automatic weapons and scream “God is Great!” in Arabic, before assailing the embassy, he said.

Gunmen Attack Israeli Embassy in Mauritania, 3 Hurt - Daniel Flynn
Gunmen opened fire on the Israeli embassy in Mauritania early on Friday, wounding at least three people, although no embassy staff were hurt in the shooting, said the Israeli ambassador in Nouakchott, Boaz Bismuth. Witnesses said the attackers, who numbered at least three, shouted "Allahu Akbar" (God is Greatest) as they exchanged fire with guards at the fortified embassy. The attack followed recent public calls by political parties in Mauritania, an Islamic republic, for the government to sever diplomatic ties with Israel. (Reuters)

IDF FOILS SUICIDE ATTACK ON GAZA BORDER

IDF Foils Suicide Attack on Gaza Border - Hanan Greenberg
An IDF force shot and killed an armed terrorist near the border fence north of Kerem Shalom in Gaza early Thursday morning. A bullet-proof vest and a Kalashnikov rifle were found on the man's body. "This is another attempt by the terrorist organizations to carry out an attack against IDF forces patrolling the fence," said an army official. According to a Palestinian source, the incident was an attempt by an al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades cell to infiltrate Israel. Four gunmen tried to reach an IDF outpost, and after a gunfight erupted, three of the Palestinians managed to withdraw, while the fourth was killed. The sources said that the cell planned to carry out a suicide bombing at the army post. (Ynet News)