Saudi Arabia has stepped up its weapon supplies to three different rebel groups in Syria following Russian airstrikes, a government official told the BBC. It comes after Moscow launched its Air Force anti-terror operation at the request of Assad's government.

Rebel groups fighting the Syrian Army will receive an increase in modern, high-powered weaponry, including guided anti-tank weapons, a "well-placed" Saudi official told the BBC on condition of anonymity.

He said the recipients include Jaish al-Fatah (Army of Conquest), the Free Syrian Army (FSA), and the Southern Front. The official stressed that Islamic State (formerly ISIS/ISIL) and the al-Nusra Front would not be receiving any weapons.

If you've ever stumbled across genuine Islamic State propaganda videos or photos and their loose resemblance to car commercials — albeit with a notably dystopic terror-cult tinge — you probably quizzically crinkled your brow. But after time spent perusing more oddly indistinguishable ISIS propaganda than you'd care to remember, that crinkled brow surely crystallized into veritable folklore:

Where did ISIS get all those new Toyota trucks?!

Now, at long last, U.S. counterterrorism officials have commenced an ostensibly earnest attempt to answer that open question — by asking Toyota how, exactly, ISIS came to possess such an impressive array of its late-model pick-ups and SUVs.

According to Reuters, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry had a 30-minute telephone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on October 8. U.S. mouthpiece John Kirby reportedly said: "The Secretary repeated our concerns about the preponderance of targets that are being struck by Russian military forces that are not ISIL-related."

What could that possibly mean? Presumably any groups who are not ISIL are "not related to Islamic State". So, who exactly are the "non-ISIL" groups fighting in Syria? In broad terms there is Jabhat al-Nusra (Al-Qaeda-affiliated), Ahrar al-Sham (Al-Nusra-affiliated), the Islamic Front (includes Ahrar al-Sham), the Free Syrian Army (Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated), and more.

As Gordon Hahn writes, practically all other "opposition" groups (for all intents and purposes, ISIS is just as much an opposition group as any of the other militants fighting Assad's citizens and military) are jihadis. And the non-ISIL jihadis often fight together with the so-called FSA. What Hahn doesn't mention is that the FSA even fights with ISIL.

A number of videos emerged online on Friday, showing Israeli police shooting a Palestinian woman at a bus station in Afula in the north of Israel.


In one video shot through what looks like a glass window of a truck or a bus, a woman in white clothes with a black bag is seen amid shouting armed men, allegedly Israeli police officers. While the person in white seems to be holding her hands up, gunfire follows and the person falls to the ground.

Belal Dabour from Gaza, who describes himself as "a Palestinian doctor living in Gaza" has posted videos on Twitter, and said it was not filmed by him, but "paradoxically it was posted first by Israelis." "She posed no threat," Dabour said. He added that the woman was "reported dead."

Another video, taken from a different angle, shows the same scene. Published by Israeli Kikar websource, it was reported that the Arab woman seen in the clip tried to stab a female IDF soldier in Afula central bus station. "The security forces who were present there were able to shoot her before she could carry out the attack," the Israeli source said, adding that the alleged attacker was wounded.

The woman was a "female terrorist," the Jerusalem Post reported. The bus terminal was closed off by Israeli law enforcement following the incident, and the woman was taken to hospital as she was "moderately wounded."


While Twitter users were asking for the details, Dabour said, "There's no context there," adding that "even IF (a big IF) she was carrying a knife, 10 guards can easily disarm her if they choose to."

ABC interviews a group of Libyans tied with former jihadist Belhadj, who have traveled to Syria to "evaluate" the means of support for the insurgency

Brahim, the militiaman, is concerned. "There is an army checkpoint at the entrance of the road," says the farmer, meaning that Jabal Zawiya exit routes are cut. We feared something like this, so the few foreign reporters have decided to leave Syria, considering the risk of being trapped there. But it seems that we arrived late. Finally, when it is dark, Brahim finds a solution. He mobilizes three cars that, driven in the dark, try to find an alternative route. After hours of waiting, they manage to make us cross enemy lines through another point. Brahim laughs, happy "The Free Syrian Army has found a way out," he says.

Vladimir Putin has chosen the right timing for his military operation in Syria. His clever move gave him a chance to return Russia its status as world power, DWN wrote.

Russia's activities in Syria contributed to the rise in oil prices and gave Russia a strong advantage. Vladimir Putin knows that those who control the "oil tap" also have the last word in geopolitical issues, the newspaper reported.

Unlike the US, Russia has made not only military, but also clever geopolitical moves. Russia has long been a partner of Syria which is an important bridgehead to the Middle East, particularly regarding the transport routes for raw materials. The US wanted to cut Russians off and expand its influence in the region, but Russia's military operation in Syria caught the Americans off guard, the newspaper wrote.

The new shock in oil prices would be extremely dangerous for Russia. Energy is the foundation of its economy, its government and political system. Russian President Vladimir Putin has often stressed the importance of mineral resources for the preservation of Russia's economic growth and industrial development to catch up with more developed economies. The US sanctions against Russia have also increased the pressure.

The start of the military operation in Syria contributed to an increase in oil prices and gave Russia a chance to restore its position as a global power. According to DWN, Putin's alliances with Iraq, Iran and especially with China are evidence of a certain foresight. Having these states as partners, Russia can play a leading role in the Middle East.

Israeli soldiers shot and killed, on Monday afternoon, a Palestinian child, only twelve years of age, near the main entrance of 'Aida refugee camp, north of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank. The child, Abdul-Rahman Shadi Khalil Obeidallah, was shot with a live round in the chest, and died of his serious wounds shortly after being moved to hospital. The slain child was walking back home from school when the fatal Israeli round struck him. Medical sources said the child was shot directly in the heart, by a sniper Israeli army fire.

The sources said the soldiers also shot and injured two Palestinians with live rounds, during clashes that took place near 'Aida's eastern entrance. They were moved to hospital for treatment suffering moderate wounds.

In related news, thousands of Palestinians marched, at noon Monday, in the funeral procession of Hotheifa Othman Suleiman, 18, who was shot dead last night by Israeli army fire, west of the northern West Bank city of Tulkarem. Governor Essam Abu Bakr said the Suleiman's killing is another Israeli crime that proves Israel is ongoing with its escalation, and its total disregard of Palestinian lives, and their right to liberation and independence.

Israeli Authorities have agreed to hand the body of Fadi 'Alloun, 19, to his family for burial ceremonies in the graveyard of Shu'fat town, in occupied Jerusalem. Israel placed a precondition that only 50-70 persons would be allowed to participate, and ordered the family to place a 20.000 bail to "guarantee the implementation of this condition."

Senior U.S. lawmakers have begun probing possible intelligence lapses over Moscow's intervention in Syria, concerned that American spy agencies were slow to grasp the scope and intention of Russia's dramatic military offensive there, U.S. congressional sources and other officials told Reuters.

A week after Russia plunged directly into Syria's civil war by launching a campaign of air strikes, the intelligence committees of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives want to examine the extent to which the spy community overlooked or misjudged critical warning signs, the sources said.

Findings of major blind spots would mark the latest of several U.S. intelligence misses in recent years, including Moscow's surprise takeover of Ukraine's Crimea region last year and China's rapid expansion of island-building activities in the South China Sea.

Though spy agencies have sought to ramp up intelligence gathering on Russia since the crisis over Ukraine, they continue to struggle with inadequate resources because of the emphasis on counter-terrorism in the Middle East and the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, according to current and former U.S. officials.

Below I discuss briefly why I think Israel is intent on ethnic cleansing in the occupied territories, the recent upheaval here and the killing of children, who is Benyamin Mileikowsky (aka Netanyahu) behind the spate of recent war crimes including murdering a 13 year old child (pictures below), ask whether a 14th Intifada on the way and its global ramifications, and progress in building something positive in Bethlehem.

There has been a significant escalation of violence in the apartheid country in the past few days. If this is a new uprising it is expected as we have one on average every 10 years (we had nearly 14 in the past 140 years of Zionist onslaught). When we analyze the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back for this particular wave of unrest, we see the arson attack 31 July 2015 on the Dawabshe family (father, mother and child murdered) and the calls for revenge. Since then some 30 Palestinians and 4 Israelis were killed.The past week saw further escalation that started with storming Al-Aqsa mosque area with extremist settlers who call for destroying the mosque to build a Jewish temple.

A Jewish settler husband and wife were killed by a cell from Hamas (probably acting without direct orders from hierarchy). They were residents of an illegal Israeli colony built on Palestinian land and the husband was a high level Israeli officer (the wife also served in the Israeli military). Whether one supports such actions or not, the action predictably unleashed a torrent of settler revenge attacks supported by the Israeli military. Netanyahu came back from his US tour after receiving a green light from Washington for ethnic cleansing in Jerusalem and for killing Palestinians. He told his commanders to shoot any Palestinian throwing stones and if they arrest such youth to give them mandatory minimum sentences of 4 years.

A Reuters camera operator captured on film a group of Israeli undercover agents dressed as Palestinian youth during a demonstration in Beit El on Tuesday. The soldiers are seen throwing stones alongside demonstrators, then turning around, drawing their guns and shouting orders at the crowd. Around 20 seconds into the video, the Israeli infiltrators turn on the rest of the demonstrators and threaten to shoot them.

Another incident on Wednesday afternoon was described on the website 'Mondoweiss.net' as follows: "Videos of the incident ...reveal eight Israeli security forces dressed as protesters with their faces covered, and one with a Hamas flag. After participating in the protest confronting uniformed soldiers and throwing stones, the undercover forces suddenly drew their weapons against the Palestinian demonstrators. The Israeli forces began backing up towards the Beit El checkpoint and a cluster of army Jeeps. Palestinians sprinted in the opposite direction.