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Syrian Opposition Charges Al-Asad Using Unknown Gas Against Civilians
Syrian opposition sources are alleging that President Bashar Al-Asad’s forces have been using an unknown gas that causes victims to suffocate against civilians in the towns of Hama, Adlib and Daraa. An Israeli news source, citing Al-Jazeera, said the gas is delivered in bombs dropped by the Syrian Air Force. Conventional bombing is continuing as well, with the death toll continuing to rise. A special session of the United Nations Security Council devoted to the crisis in Syria is scheduled for Friday. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday accused Al-Asad’s forces of firing at UN observers when they tried to reach the scene of the most recent massacre in Hama province. The US weighed-in with a scathing new criticism of Syrian actions, but apparently is still not contemplating military assistance to Syrian opposition forces. A new poll by the Rasmussen organization reveals no more than 20% of Americans in favor of becoming involved in Syria despite the death toll in excess of 11,000 and the continuing new revelations of brutality and inhumanity. In Beirut, a military prosecutor judge charged members of the Syrian army with killing a Lebanese television cameraman on April 9. Ali Shaaban died when his jeep came under fire from Syrian troops although he was on the Lebanese side of the border.
Israeli IAEA Delegate Warns of Nuclear Deceit in Tehran
Addressing the meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna this week, Israel’s delegate admonished member nations not to be fooled by Tehran’s insistence that it seeks only peaceful uses of nuclear power. Rather, Ehud Azoulay warned, the Iranian goal is to build nuclear weapons and the work to do so is being clandestinely, carried out under the noses of the international community. Iran’s delegate reiterated the official Iranian position without mentioning the Jewish state. Ali Asghar Soltanieh told the assemblage that suggestions Iran seeks anything other than nuclear energy for peaceful purposes are “baseless.” Keeping speculation about Israeli plans to launch a military strike on Iranian nuclear facilities alive, Azoulay warned that the window of opportunity to demolish Iran’s nuclear weapon capabilities is closing. Iranian nuclear officials will meet with representatives of the “six powers” in Moscow later this month. On Thursday, Russian President Putin told his host, Iranian President Ahmadinejad, that he supports Iran’s “peaceful use of nuclear power.”
Palestinians Acquitted by Military Court Citing Prosecutors’ Negligence
In an action called “unprecedented” by the defendants’ attorney, two Palestinian men charged with throwing Molotov cocktails and stones were acquitted by a military judge who based his decision on what he called the prosecutors’ negligence. According to the judge, the prosecutors failed to document their investigation or interrogations, and failed to check defendants’ alibis against military records. Palestinians arrested by Israeli forces in post-1967 areas – areas that Israel acquired control of in the 1967 war – are tried by military courts.
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