09/30/14

* The Economic Miracle of Israel's Natural Gas Fields Thirty years ago I visited an oil rig at Atlit, a town on the Mediterranean shore just south of Haifa.

* Why is Adolf Hitler popular in India? Growing up in India, Rohee Dasgupta didn't realize the irony on display in bookstores across the country.

* Ya'alon rules out notion of West Bank withdrawal The 50-day offensive against Hamas in Gaza over the summer proved that a withdrawal from the West Bank would be both irrational and outdated, mortally threatening the Hashemite Kingdom and the Palestinian Authority, and placing Israel in even greater danger.

* Bleak Netanyahu warns of militant Islam's global ambition There were no gimmicks. Few excruciating one-liners. Just a single visual aid: a photograph of three children in Gaza at play right next to a rocket launcher.

* Islamic State crisis: Heavy fighting on Iraq-Syria border Heavy fighting is reported on both sides of a key border crossing between Iraq and Syria, where Kurdish forces are battling Islamic State militants.

* Pope calls Mideast envoys to Vatican as Islamic State advances Pope Francis, who has expressed alarm over the rise of Islamic State militants and the plight of Christians in the Middle East, has summoned his envoys in the region to a rare meeting to discuss a response to the crisis.

* Iraqi scholar: Jews persuaded Bush to invade Iraq in 2003 because of Torah prophecy A new book by an Iraqi scholar argues that the Jews persuaded US President George W. Bush to invade Iraq in 2003, as part of a global Jewish conspiracy rooted in the Torah and ancient history.

* Jewish settlers move into Palestinian homes in Old City's shadow Israeli police guarded Jewish settlers as they moved into seven homes in a Palestinian neighborhood of East Jerusalem on Tuesday while stunned and angry Palestinians looked on, aware that there was little they could do.

* ISIL threat at Mecca: Saudis complete exercise for upcoming pilgrimage Saudi Arabia has completed a major security exercise for upcoming pilgrimages to Mecca.

* Fatah official: Palestinians who sold homes to Jews in east Jerusalem should die Israeli police guarded Jewish settlers as they moved into seven homes in a Palestinian neighborhood of east Jerusalem on Tuesday.