Kota Unik : Al-Qarafa,Kota Khusus Untuk Kuburan

Al-Qarafa,Kota Khusus Untuk Kuburan

Al- Qarafa - Kota Khusus Untuk Kuburan di Mesir. Kota kematian Sebuah komplek makam yang besar membentang di tenggara Kairo, Mesir. Tidak hanya orang mati, komplek ini juga dihuni oleh manusia yang masih hidup. Tantanglah diri Anda untuk bermalam di City of the Dead!

                                                    

City of the Dead atau Al-Qarafa adalah area pemakaman besar di Bukit Mokattam di tenggara Kairo, Mesir yang menjadi objek wisata unik di kota tersebut. Area sepanjang 6,4 kilometer ini diisi dengan beratus bahkan beribu makam. Ada makam sederhana, ada juga makam dengan bangunan yang mewah.

Yang tidak biasa dari komplek pemakaman ini adalah adanya orang-orang yang juga bermukim di sini. Tidak hanya tinggal, mereka juga bekerja di sini. Jika tertantang, Anda bisa coba untuk homestay di sini.

Banyaknya makam tentu tidak sebanding dengan jumlah penduduk yang hanya segelintir yang hidup di area ini. Bangunan makam yang besar dan menyerupai bangunan biasa akan mengecoh para pengunjung. Bangunan tersebut tersebar di seluruh area.

Meski merupakan komplek makam, area ini benar-benar tertata rapi. Jalanan di sini kecil namun bersih dan juga rapi. Bangunan di sini juga terawat dengan baik dan tidak terlihat menyeramkan. Biasanya, keluarga besar sudah menyiapkan area sendiri untuk memakamkan anggota keluarga agar berada di satu komplek yang sama.

Awalnya, rumah-rumah makam ini dibuat untuk membakar mayat dan tinggal di sana pada saat berkabung. Selama beberapa waktu, keluarga yang sedang berduka tinggal di rumah makam dan berkabung. Namun lama-kelamaan, beberapa keluarga memutuskan untuk tinggal di sana dan menjalani hidup seperti biasa.

Tidak semata untuk mencari tempat tinggal, orang-orang yang tinggal di sini juga mencari keberkahan. Area ini juga dekat dengan perguruan tinggi aliran sufi dan dekat dengan madrasah. Oleh karena itulah, beberapa orang memilih tinggal di area ini karena dekat dengan tempat-tempat tersebut.

Pada tahun 1992, Kairo mengalami gempa bumi yang cukup besar. Karena kerusakan yang lumayan berat, banyak penduduk Kairo yang dipaksa tinggal di rumah makam keluarga mereka. Mulai dari situ, jumlah penduduk yang tinggal di City of the Dead semakin meningkat. Meski meningkat, jumlah manusia hidup di sana tetap tidak lebih banyak dari mereka yang sudah meninggal.

Anda pun bisa coba bermalam di sana. Rasakan tinggal di rumah yang menyatu dengan makam. Anda pun bisa menikmati kota yang hampir 90 persen bangunannya adalah makam. Tantang diri Anda sendiri.

Persecution Update:

As we know, persecution is a sign of our times and the article below gives an update of various extreme forms of persecution from around the world:

Persecution Of Christians: June 2012

U.S.-backed rebels are committing Christian genocide in Syria, where they are sacking churches and issuing threats that all Christians will be cleansed from rebel-held territory. A mass exodus of thousands of Christians is taking place, even as mainstream Western reporters like Robert Fisk demonize those same Christians for being supportive of the secular regime.

The bloody jihad waged against Nigeria’s Christians, which has seen hundreds killed this year alone, now includes plans to kill Christians with poisoned food, as part of the Islamic organization Boko Haram’s stated goal of purging Nigeria of all Christian presence.

During Egypt’s presidential elections, Al Ahram reported that "theMuslim Brotherhood blockaded entire streets, prevented Copts from voting at gunpoint, and threatened Christian families not to let their children go out and vote” for the secular candidate.

Categorized by theme, June’s assemblage of Muslim persecution of Christians around the world includes (but is not limited to) the following accounts, listed in alphabetical order by country, not severity.

Church Attacks

Egypt: Because many visitors were in attendance, Muslims surrounded a Coptic church during Divine Liturgy "demanding that the visiting Copts leave the church before the completion of prayers, andthreatening to burn down the church if their demand was not met.” The priest contacted police asking for aid only to be told to comply with their demands, "and do not let buses with visitors to come to the church anymore.” Christian worshippers exited halfway through liturgy to jeers outside. As they drove away, Muslims hurled stones at their buses. Also, repairs to a Coptic church that was torched and gutted a year ago by rioting Muslims were woefully inadequate, leaving the congregation with a staggering debt from further necessary repairs.

Indonesia: A Muslim mob of 300 wrecked a store that was being used for a Sunday church service on the pretext that it had not obtained "permission to hold Mass.” The mob wrecked the first floor of the store, breaking windows and damaging furniture. Police stopped them before reaching the third floor, where some 60 Christians had congregated. None of the Muslims were arrested, although 12 Christians were taken into custody for questioning. Separately, in compliance to calls by Islamic clerics, authoritiesordered 20 churches to be torn down, following the closure of 16 smaller Christian places of worship in the same district last month. The congregations continue to hold services inside their sealed-off buildings as other members stand guard outside.

Iran: Authorities ordered the closure of yet another church in the capital, Tehran, "amid a government campaign to crack down on the few recognized churches offering Farsi-speaking services,” according to a human rights group. The church originally served Assyrian background Christian members; however, "due to an increasing number of Farsi-speaking believers—mostly MBBs [Muslim Background Believers]—it [the church] has become a cause of concern for the authorities and they now ordered it to shut down.”

Kashmir: A 119-year-old church was torched by Muslims. The local bishop "said that the Muslim fundamentalists want Christians to leave the state… He said that the church had filed a case with the police but had been advised not to ‘play up’ such incidents.” Christian minorities "are coming under growing threat from Kashmir’s Muslim majority. A Christian human rights group in India said that over 400 Christians have been displaced as a result.”

Kazakhstan: Land use regulations are being exploited "as a means to prevent religious communities and their members exercising freedom of religion or belief.” Most recently, authorities "forced a Methodist church to ‘voluntarily’ close and fined the wife of the Church’s Pastor, who further paid for an announcement in newspapers saying the church was ‘liquidating itself,’” simply because "We do not want more punishment from the authorities.”

Nigeria: Islamic militants attacked several churches during every Sunday of the month with bombs and guns killing dozens of Christian worshippers, and critically wounding hundreds, including many children. Growing numbers of Christians "dare not” attend church services anymore, even as reports suggest that some police are intentionally abandoning their watch prior to such attacks.

Sudan: Authorities bulldozed two church buildings to the ground and confiscated three Catholic schools, as a response to the secession of South Sudan in July 2011, saying that such buildings are associated with now unwelcome, largely Christian South Sudanese in the Islamic-ruled country. Another church building belonging to the Full Gospel Church was destroyed in the same area two months ago, also on the claim that it belonged to South Sudanese.

Turkmenistan: An Evangelical church in the Muslim-majority nation was raided by authorities: "All adult believers at the meeting were questioned about their faith and all of their Christian literature was confiscated.” Their literature was returned two weeks later.

Apostasy, Blasphemy, Proselytism

Egypt: A Christian student handing out Christian literature in Assuit University "raised the ire of Muslim students,” resulting in clashes on campus, "amid shouts of sectarian chants,” leading to many injuries. Likewise, a Salafi leader declared on Egyptian TV that Muslims have no right "to convert to Christianity.”

Iran: Five months after five Christian converts were arrested, their condition and fate remain unknown. They are accused of "attending house church services, promoting Christianity, propagating against the regime and disturbing national security.” Being imprisoned for 130 days without word "is an obvious example of physical and mental abuse of the detainees…. one of the prison guards openly told one of these Christian detainees that all these pressures and uncertainties are intended to make them flee the country after they are released.” Also, a young Iranian woman, who recently converted to Christianity and was an outspoken activist against the Islamic regime, was found dead, slumped over her car’s steering wheel, with a single gunshot wound to her head.

Daily Headlines: Monday

Civil Unrest Coming To America?

The conditions are certainly ripe for civil unrest in this country. A multitude of recent polls and surveys have shown that Americans are angrier and more frustrated than ever. Sadly, we are taking a lot of that anger and frustration out on each other. America is more divided today than at any other time since the Civil War era. The left absolutely hatesMitt Romney the Republicans, and the right absolutely hatesBarack Obama and the Democrats. If you doubt this, just surf political blogs for a few hours and read the comments that people leave. This country is a boiling cauldron of hatred and anger and all it is going to take is just the right "spark" to cause all of this hatred and anger to absolutely explode. This upcoming election season is likely to be one of the most heated and divisive election seasons in U.S. history, and if there is not a clear winner on election night there is the potential that chaos could be unleashed that would be far, far worse than anything we saw during the Bush/Gore debacle of 2000.

One thing that set off alarm bells for me is when various news stories starting discussing the "legion of lawyers" that Barack Obama was recruiting for this election. The following is from a recent article in the Huffington Post....

President Barack Obama's campaign has recruited a legion of lawyers to be on standby for this year's election as legal disputes surrounding the voting process escalate. Thousands of attorneys and support staffers have agreed to aid in the effort, providing a mass of legal support that appears to be unrivaled by Republicans or precedent.

Obama's "unprecedented" legion of lawyers is definitely getting prepared for something.

There is also the possibility that Barack Obama could use his executive powers to influence the outcome of the election.

This year, Obama has issued a whole series of very strange executive orders.

Many have been wondering what the true purpose of these executive orders really is.

For example, EO 13603 enables Barack Obama to take total control over all food, all energy, all health resources and all transportation resources with the stroke of a pen.

The following is from an article about this executive order by Jim Garrison in the Huffington Post....

President Obama's National Defense Resources Preparedness Executive Order of March 16 does to the country as a whole what the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act did to the Constitution in particular -- completely eviscerates any due process or judicial oversight for any action by the Government deemed in the interest of "national security." Like the NDAA, the new Executive Order puts the government completely above the law, which, in a democracy, is never supposed to happen.

• The Secretary of Defense has power over all water resources;
• The Secretary of Commerce has power over all material services and facilities, including construction materials;
• The Secretary of Transportation has power over all forms of civilian transportation;
• The Secretary of Agriculture has power over food resources and facilities, livestock plant health resources, and the domestic distribution of farm equipment;
• The Secretary of Health and Human Services has power over all health resources;
• The Secretary of Energy has power over all forms of energy.

According to this executive order, a "national emergency" is not even required to activate these powers. If Barack Obama decides that there is a threat to "national security" (or to his job security) he could activate these powers at any time.

Another executive order, EO 13618, would potentially give Obama power over all communication resources in the United States.

In addition, it appears that the Department of Homeland Security is gearing up for something.

An article posted on RT the other day entitled "DHS gears up for civil unrest prior to presidential elections" detailed some of the purchases that the Department of Homeland Security is looking to make

The conditions are definitely right for America to be absolutely torn apart if the "perfect controversy" comes rolling along.

DHS Gears Up For Civil Unrest Prior To Presidential Elections

Thousands Of Christians Run For Their Lives

Some military analysts and human rights groups say that the Syrian civil war may soon be over – but that reassurance isn’t enough to prevent the country’s Christians from fleeing from the violence.

Dutch journalist and human rights analyst Martin Janssen reports from Jordan that Christians are fleeing Syria in record numbers. Janssen says the Christian refugees first fled because of an ultimatum.

“An exodus of Christians is taking place in Western Syria,” Janssen said. “The Christian population has fled the city of Qusayr, near Homs, following an ultimatum issued by the military chief of the armed opposition, Abdel Salam Harba.

Janssen says the city’s mosques have reissued the ultimatum for the Christians to leave.

“Some of the city’s mosques have issued the message again, announcing from the minarets: ‘Christians must leave Qusayr within six days, ending Friday,’” Janssen said. “The ultimatum therefore expired on June 8 and spread fear among the Christian population.

“Who is going to welcome the Syrian Christians?” Dykstra asked. “One Syrian source says that the churches in Syria know very well what happened to the Iraqi Christians.

"Moral Vigilantism" Reportedly On The Rise In Egypt: Islamist President Appoints Cabinet

Sharia Law is coming to Egypt, you can bet on it:

An alliance of pro-democracy advocates criticized Egypt’s newly-elected Islamist president over the weekend for unilaterally choosing a prime minister with no track record, while leading without transparency and alienating political groups with liberal leanings.

The National Front alliance — an umbrella group of democracy advocates, secularists and moderate Islamists behind the uprising that drove longtime authoritarian ruler Hosni Mubarak from power last year — said Mohammed Morsi has reneged on campaign promises to form a national unity government.

The Los Angeles Times has more on the “moral vigilantism” that is reportedly on the rise:

An engineering student [was] killed for walking with his fiancee by men reportedly linked to a group called the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. Women are harassed for not wearing veils, owners of liquor stores say they’re being threatened, and fundamentalists are calling for sex segregation on buses and in workplaces.

The L.A. Times adds that the “crucial” upcoming battle in Egypt will now be how deeply shariah law influences the constitution.

This new atmosphere has elevated piety — and public expressions of it — to an important social barometer. Egyptian men have been distinguished by the callused brown spots on their foreheads that come from years of prostrating themselves. Police officers and Egypt Air flight attendants are now demanding the right to grow beards, which was forbidden under Mubarak.

Iran Begins Stockpiling 3 Month Food Supply

An Iranian news agency is reporting the country has begun to stockpile a three-month supply of foodstuffs for its population.

The Friday report by semi-official Mehr quotes deputy industry minister Hasan Radmard as saying the country has been buying wheat, cooking oil, sugar and rice for the food reserve.

Radmard said the decision came based on a decree by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in recent weeks. Part of the purchased foodstuffs has already been imported, he added.

Iran Bolsters Retaliation Capability In Persian Gulf, Experts say

Iran is rapidly gaining new capabilities to strike at U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf, amassing an arsenal of sophisticated anti-ship missiles while expanding its fleet of fast-attack boats and submarines, U.S. and Middle Eastern analysts say.

The new systems, many of them developed with foreign assistance, are giving Iran’s commanders new confidence that they could quickly damage or destroy U.S. ships if hostilities erupt, the officials say.

Russia Will Not Let EU Search Its Ships For Syria Arms

Russia warned on Saturday that it would not cooperate with European Union sanctions requiring EU governments to search vessels suspected of carrying weapons into Syria, a defiant stance that is likely to spark anger in the West.

Russia, which has blocked efforts to threaten the government with U.N. Security Council sanctions and has criticised Western embargoes, said it does "not intend to take any part in the measures to implement the EU decisions aimed against Syria."

"We ... will not consider appeals and give consent to searches of vessels sailing under the Russian flag, nor to the application of other restrictive measures to them," Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said in a statement.

Russia has faced sharp Western criticism over arms deliveries to the Syrian government. President Vladimir Putin said last month that Moscow was not supplying any weapons that could be used in a civil conflict.

Syria Has Expanded Chemical Weapons Supply With Iran's Help, Documents Show

Syria has expanded its chemical weapons arsenal in recent years with help from Iran and by using front organizations to buy sophisticated equipment it claimed was for civilian programs, according to documents and interviews.

The buildup has taken place despite attempts by the United States and other Western countries to block the sale of precursor chemicals and so-called dual-use technology to Damascus, according to the documents.

Concerns about Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal took on new significance this week when a top Syrian official warned that the regime of President Bashar al-Assad would use them “in the event of external aggression.”

The portrait of Syria’s efforts to develop a larger chemical weapons program emerged from E.U. documents, a handful of little-noticed State Department cables released by WikiLeaks and interviews with outside experts.

Arms experts say Syria has pursued a two-pronged strategy to build and grow its chemical weapons stockpile: overt assistance and procurement of chemical precursors and expertise from Iran, coupled with the acquisition of equipment and chemicals from seemingly unwitting businesses in other countries, in many cases through a network of front organizations.

Keindahan Oasis In the Middle of Nowhere

Keindahan Oasis In the Middle of Nowhere

Percaya nggak sih kalo ada Oasis yang sangat indah di tengah-tengah hamparan gurun pasir, dimana kamu bisa liburan kesana?!,Lokasinya berada di Ica Province- southwestern Peru. Oasis bernama Huacachina ini dikenal sebagai ‘oasis of America’, dimana wisatawan bisa sandsurfing di bukit pasirnya, jalan-jalan di gurun pasir, buggy trip pure adrenaline (wear your seatbelt, karena mobilnya bakal ngebut), nikmatin sunset dari atas bukit pasir sampai sunbathing di hotel.

Yang bikin unik, di tengah-tengah Huacachina ada sebuah danau. Nah, di sekeliling danau inilah berdiri penginapan dan hotel. Jadi kebayang kan ada kehidupan di oasis mungil di tengah gurun pasir.Selain para turis mendapatkan sensasi yang nggak terlupakan di gurun pasir, nah di hotel pun para turis masih dapet pengalaman yang nggak kalah menabjubkan. Jadi di Huacachina juga ada the best hotel loh yaitu, Hotel Mossone. Hotel Mossone is a beautiful hotel on the lake, yang dibangun dengan gaya old colonial. Dari kamar udah terhampar pemandangan indah gurun pasir yang mengelilingi Huacachina. Udah gitu breakfast pun disediainnya di beranda kamar. Yang mana selagi sarapan kita bisa liat pemandangan danau dan gurun pasir. 

Mengintip Keindahan Benteng Chittorgarh Fort (India)

Mengintip Keindahan Benteng Chittorgarh Fort (India)

Chittorgarh Fort dianggap sebagai benteng terbesar di India dan yang terbaik di negara bagian Rajasthan. Benteng ini dibangun di atas perbukitan seluas 2,8 km2 (1.1 mil²) pada abad ke-7 Masehi. Raja yang membangun adalah Iwan Fals Rawal dengan tujuan sebagai maskawin bagi putri Solanki.

Catatan sejarah menunjukkan bahwa benteng Chittorgarh adalah ibukota Mewar selama 834 tahun. Dinasti ini didirikan pada tahun 734 M oleh Iwan Fals Rawal, seorang pendiri dan penguasa dalam hierarki Sisodia Mewar.

 

Elevasi tertinggi di benteng ini adalah 1.075 m (3,526.9 ft). Bangunan benteng terletak di tepi kiri sungai Berach (sebuah anak sungai dari Sungai Banas). Bangunan benteng ini terkait dengan kota baru Chittorgarh (dikenal sebagai ‘Kota Bawah’) yang dikembangkan di dataran setelah tahun 1568 M sejak benteng itu kosong berikut Udai Singh II yang melarikan diri ke Udaipur setelah Sultan Akbar menyerang dan menjarah benteng ini.

Sebuah jalan bukit yang berkelok-kelok lebih dari 1 km (0.6 mil) dari kota baru mengarah ke ujung barat gerbang utama, yang disebut Ram Pol. Dari dalam benteng, jalan melingkar menyediakan akses ke semua pintu gerbang dan monumen yang terletak di dalam dinding benteng.

Dulu di dalam benteng ini terdapat sekitar 84 tempat penampungan air.  Bentuknya terdiri dari kolam dan sumur. Namun kini hanya tersisa 22 saja yang masih berfungsi. Tempat-tempat air ini menampung air dari mata air sekitar dan curah hujan. Dari semua tempat air yang ada maka mereka memiliki daya tampung sebanyak 4 miliar liter air, sehingga dapat memenuhi kebutuhan air untuk 50.000 orang pasukan. Bahkan pada masanya dapat menyediakan air secara percuma selama kurun waktu empat tahun lebih.

Gambar 2. Foto: Menara kemenangan

Gambar 3. menara Kirti Stambha (kanan)

Benteng ini juga memiliki tujuh pintu gerbang (dalam bahasa lokal, gerbang disebut “Pol”), yaitu Padan Pol, Bhairon Pol, Pol Hanuman, Ganesha Pol, Pol Jodla, Laxman Pol dan gerbang masuk utama yaitu Ram Pol (gerbang raja Rama). Sebuah jalan melingkar di dalam benteng menghubungkan semua gerbang dan menyediakan akses ke berbagai monumen (istana dan 130 kuil) di dalam benteng.

Selain itu, pintu gerbang dengan bentuk lengkungan dirancang dengan sangat kuat untuk bisa menangkis serangan para gajah dan tembakan meriam. Bagian atas gerbang juga telah dirancang untuk mempermudah para pemanah dalam menembakkan anak panahnya kearah tentara musuh. Dan satu lagi yang sangat unik di dalam benteng ini adalah karena terdapat dua buah menara yang sangat indah sebagaimana gambar diatas. Ini adalah bukti tentang kemajuan dari arsitektur mereka tempo dulu.

Evening Update: Middle East

The drumbeat for foreign intervention continues, despite Assad's warnings:

Syria Rebels Say World Must Intervene To Stop Aleppo

Syrian human rights activists called on Sunday for the international community to intervene in order to prevent a massacre in the Syrian city of Aleppo, following two days of battles between rebels and regime forces.

The head of the main Syrian opposition group, the Syrian National Council, called for international help in arming the rebels to face the Assad regime's heavy weaponry, particularly tanks.

"If the international community cannot act, they should support the opposition with anti-tanks missiles and anti-aircraft rockets," Abdel Basset Sida told the Gulf News during a stopover in Abu Dhabi. "We seek international supporters to arm our uprising against the regime."

The violence has sent refugees flooding into countries bordering Syria including Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Lebanon. Jordan said it had opened its first tent camp for Syrians, saying a surge of refugees forced it to do so.

Some 200,000 people have fed Aleppo in the last two days of battles, according to United Nations estimates.

Arab League Chief Says Syria Violence Constitutes "War Crimes"

The Arab League chief described the situation in Syria as amounting to war crimes and said those responsible will be held accountable internationally, Egypt's state news agency said on Sunday.

Gulf sources told Reuters on Friday that Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar had established a centre in Adana, southeastern Turkey, to help the rebel Free Syrian Army with communications and weaponry as it battles in major cities against forces loyal to Assad.

"The very well-known position of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia is to extend to the Syrian people financial and humanitarian assistance, as well as calling upon the international community to enable them to protect themselves at the very least if the international community is not able to do so," a foreign ministry spokesman said by text message on Saturday, answering a Reuters query about the base.

Panetta Heads To Middle East As Iran Dominates Israel Talks

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta heads today to the Middle East where tensions are rising over the democratic transition in Egypt, turmoil in Syria and Iran’s suspected advances toward nuclear weapons.

His trip to Tunisia, Egypt, Israel and Jordan has a security agenda, including new concerns about Syrian chemical weapons, along with election-season political stakes. Panetta is scheduled to arrive in Israel on the heels of a visit by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who has appealed to Jewish voters by attacking President Barack Obama as lacking sufficient commitment to Israel’s security.

One public source of tension between the Obama administration and Israeli leaders involves the urgency of military strikes against Iran’s nuclear sites. While the U.S. and Israel both say they suspect Iran is covertly seeking nuclear-weapons capabilities through uranium enrichment and other activities, the two allies have disagreed openly about how much time to give economic sanctions and negotiations to persuade Iran to give up much its nuclear program.

The Bottom Line?

In February, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned that the Jewish state would need to act militarily within months, before Iran reaches a “zone of immunity” where its underground enrichment facilities would be invulnerable to Israeli air strikes. Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful, for generating electricity and medical purposes.

One of Panetta’s goals in Israel may be seeking to ensure that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doesn’t mount a military strike before the U.S. presidential election, Makovsky said. Israelis believe “if they don’t hit before November they would lose the window” for their capabilities, leaving any decision about military action after that point entirely in U.S. hands, he said in an interview.

Romney: U.S. Must Lead Effort Against Iran

Panetta: Aleppo Strikes Nail In Assad's Own Coffin

Netanyahu, Romney Stress Danger Of A Nuclear Iran In Jerusalem Meeting

More Honesty About Temple Mount Destruction

Israel Today: U.S. Sees Israeli Strike On Iran In October

This article bolsters what we were reading last week:

Report: U.S. Sees Israeli Strike On Iran In October

A senior and widely respected analyst with Israel's Channel 2 News said in Friday's pre-Shabbat newscast that top American officials have become convinced that Israel will launch a military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities in October, just one month before the US presidential election.

Ehud Yaari had just returned from a trip to Washington, where he told viewers that he had met with "the people one needs to talk with about this matter," and that "my impression is that the Americans are convinced that there is very high chance that Israel will decide to attack in Iran before the elections in the US."

According to Yaari, American officials see an Israeli strike on Iran as almost a foregone conclusion, and are focusing on their response to the possible outcomes of such an action.

Israel's Ha'aretz daily newspaper reported on Sunday that the Obama Administration had recently briefed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on its own back-up plan to bomb Iran should ongoing international diplomatic efforts fail.

An unnamed American official cited by the newspaper suggested that the Obama White House was increasingly seeing the futility of the diplomatic tug-of-war between Iran and the international community, and was working feverishly to put together a viable attack plan.

That source said that Netanyahu had received a detailed overview of the developing American attack plan and the weapons that would be brought to bear on Iran's nuclear facilities should it be enacted.

Last week, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak stated that as much as both Israel and the US may want to avoid striking Iran, attacking its nuclear program now would be far less costly and deadly than dealing with a nuclear-armed Iran in the future.

"It is perfectly clear to me that dealing with this challenge when it matures, if it matures, will be inestimably more complex, inestimably more dangerous and inestimably more costly in human life and resources," Barak said during a ceremony for the graduating class of Israel's National Defense College.