Escalation Between Turkey and Israel

It is becoming obvious that control over the gas and oil finds in the Mediterranean will lead to trouble:

Report: IAF Jets Circling Turkish Ships

Aerial incident above the Mediterranean?

A crew onboard a Turkish exploration ship searching for gas reservoirs near Cyprus claimed that two Israeli aircraft and a helicopter circled above them on Thursday night,

According to a report published Friday in the Turkish newspaper Watan Daily, two F-15 jets passed through Cyprus' Greek and Turkish airspace and approached the Turkish coastline, while ignoring air controllers' warnings in north Cyprus, which is considered a Turkish territory.

The report, which was featured on the paper's front page, also claimed that the jets retreated only after Turkey dispatched two F-16 planes.

Earlier this week, Turkey unveiled its first domestically developed and produced battleship.

Last week, Erdogan Addressed the Greek Cypriot administration's exploratory drilling in the eastern Mediterranean and said that what Israel and southern Cyprus embarked upon was insanity.

Israel scrambles IAF warplanes toward Turkish ship

The report added that the warplanes approached the Turkish ship despite incessant warnings by forces in Turkish Cyprus, according to which the planes had breached the territory's airspace.

Ultimately, the report indicated, Turkey launched two F-16 fighters to track the Israeli planes, at which point the IAF fighter jets returned to Israeli airspace.

In addition, the report claimed that an IAF helicopter hovered over the ship, Piri Reis, while the ship was in the Aphrodite gas field off Cyprus' southern coast and near to the larger Leviathan natural gas field.

This action represents a significant increase in tensions in the region.

Also in the news:

Palestinians press Security Council members to back UN statehood bid

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is due to leave for Colombia next week, in an attempt to convince officials in the South American nation to support a bid for Palestinian statehood at the United Nations Security Council.

A Palestinian official speaking with Haaretz on Friday, said that "within the Security Council there are nine nations who had already recognized a Palestinian state, so the Palestinians expect those countries to support the [UN] proposal too."

Haaretz has also learned that the Arab states have been pressuring Bosnia by threatening not to support a recognition of Kosovo's independence if Bosnia failed to back the Palestinian bid at the UNSC.

Bosnia and Colombia are both temporary members of the UNSC, making them crucial in the Palestinian bid to gain full recognition as an independent state in the Security Council.

Islam's History of Forced Conversions

Consider the issue of forced conversion in Islam, a phenomenon that has a long history with ample precedents. Indeed, from its inception, most of those who embraced Islam did so under duress, beginning with the Ridda wars and during the age of conquests, and to escape dhimmi status. This is a simple fact.

Yet, when one examines today’s cases of forced conversions with those from centuries past, identical patterns emerge, demonstrating great continuity. Consider:

Days ago in Pakistan, two Christian men were severely beaten with iron rods and left for dead by a group of Muslims, simply because they refused to convert to Islam.

According to Compass Direct News, they were returning from a church service when they were accosted by six Muslims. After they discovered they were Christian, the Muslims:

then started questioning them about their faith and later tried to force them to recite the Kalma [Islamic conversion creed, “There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger”] and become Muslims, telling them that this was the only way they could live peacefully in the city.

They also offered monetary incentives and “protection” to Ishfaq and Naeem [the Christians], but the two refused to renounce Christianity.

“After cajoling the two Christians for some time,” the Muslims pretended to go away, only to ram their car into the Christians:

“The Muslims [then] got out of the car armed with iron rods and attacked Ishfaq and Naeem, shouting that they should either recite the Kalma or be prepared to die…severely beating[ing] the two Christians, fracturing Ishfaq Munawar’s jaw and breaking five teeth, and seriously injuring Masih…. [T]he two Christians fell unconscious, and the young Muslim men left assuming they had killed them.”

After citing similar stories from the past and noting the similarities, we see this:

Now, consider the near identical patterns in the two accounts, separated by half a millennium:

- The Muslims first begin by talking to the Christians about their religion, suggesting they convert to Islam.

- Failing to persuade the Christians, the Muslims proceed to “cajole” and offer “monetary incentives and protection” (in the modern case) and “flatter” and offer “many honors and much glory” (in the historic case). All that the Christians need do is speak some words, the Kalma, and become Muslim.

- When the Christians still refuse, the Muslims fly into a savage rage, beating and torturing their victims to death (in the modern case, the Muslims assumed they had killed their victims).

How about some (sarcasm based) humor to end this news update today?

The Ongoing Occupation of America