Tuesday Links Part 1

From Ian:

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Palestinians reject Kerry’s new focus on boosting their economy

A day after US Secretary of State set out a vague but hugely ambitious $4 billion economic plan designed to drastically boost the Palestinian economy and help galvanize diplomatic efforts, the Palestinian Authority on Monday summarily rejected the idea of gaining economic benefits in exchange for political concessions.
Slapping down the notion that the PA might be appeased by Kerry’s focus on economic improvements, President Mahmoud Abbas’s economic adviser, Mohammad Mustafa, said ”The Palestinian leadership will not offer political concessions in exchange for economic benefits.” He added, in a statement reported by the Palestinian Ma’an news agency: “We will not accept that the economy is the primary and sole component.”

Kerry Huffs and Puffs and Abbas Blows Him Down

No one believes in Kerry more than Kerry. He blew into town a self-proclaimed “peace for money” program” bolder than Oslo.” Abbas has rejected land for peace. Now he rejects money for peace.

Palestinians: Kerry Trying to Bribe Us to "Sell Out" by Khaled Abu Toameh

In wake of the Palestinian reactions to Kerry's "bribes," it is hard to see how Palestinian Authority leader will be able to return to the negotiating table with Israel. If Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas accepts Kerry's economic plan and resumes peace talks with Israel, he will be accused of "selling out" to Israel and the U.S. in return for money.
Kerry's talk about boosting the Palestinian economy has only complicated his mission of seeking to bring Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table. It would be better if the Americans and Europeans started listening to what the Palestinians are telling them out loud and in public.

David Singer: Palestine? Beware the Snake Oil Salesman
Paul Larudee of ISM has manipulated language in his mendacious denial of any anti-Semitism in the Palestine Arab Liberation movement.

Larudee pleads to remove anti- Semitism from the discussion of Palestinian rights.
He should be encouraging Hamas and the PLO to remove their overt declarations of unabashed Jew hatred from their respective Charters as an essential first step.

The voices of BDS
Op-ed: Pro-Palestinian groups hijacked narrative of peace and justice, yet in reality they yearn for Israel’s destruction

The so-called “Palestinian global crisis” is only in the minds of those who propagate BDS rather than facts. For likeminded Jewish individuals such as Peter Beinart, Noam Chomsky, and many of JStreet and its followers, it boils down to them feeling uncomfortable with the measures Israel has taken in order to ensure its survival. The failure among such "open minded" Jews to understand the damage they do to the historical Zionist narrative by adopting the Palestinian one will only prolong the "occupation" they claim to stand up to rather than end it. Supporting any aspect of the BDS movement only makes the situation worse.

Australia: Libs to cut funding for anti-Israel activists

A Coalition (conservative) government would block all federal funds to individuals and institutions who speak out in favour of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign against Israel.

Barry Rubin: Obama's Seven Premises About Islamist Terrorism and Revolution

Here is how a Saudi writer analyzes the situation:
"Al-Qaida's former attacks were high-quality and were carried out be elite squads of fighters, [but these fighters] did not represent broad sectors of Arab society. The wars currently being waged in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq, on the other hand, are frightening because they rely on [entire] social [sectors] that support [the fighters] and shelter them." That same point applies equally to the West in that individuals or small spontaneous groups are more dangerous than small groups of elite squads.

Steinitz savages Russia’s ‘totally wrong’ sale of missiles to Syria

Steinitz rebutted the claim that the S-300 missiles are purely defensive, saying that, for Israel, they are also “offensive.”
“Why? Because with range of up to 200 or 300 kilometers, you can attack all places, also the Ben Gurion Airport.” Jerusalem also worries about the missiles falling into the hands of Hezbollah or Iran, he said.

Average Palestinian Attacker Just 12-14 Years Old, IDF Colonel Says

IDF Colonel Yaniv Alaluf said that the average Palestinian attacker behind recent rock and firebomb attacks on Israeli drivers is only “12-14 years old,” Israel National News reported.

Arab 'Invasion' of Binyamin Town Thwarted

Arabs attempted to break into the town of Kochav Yaakov in the Binyamin region on Monday, and set fire to olive orchards owned by Jews that are outside the town. They also blocked the highway outside the town, preventing residents from entering or leaving.

Watch This Hezbollah Militant Hand an AK-47 to a Cute Litte Girl…Who Fires Several Rounds!

The man, who Business Insider calls one of several “Hezbollah militants,” leads the girl to the street corner reportedly in Lebanon, helps her hold the weapon, and the girl appears to fire off several rounds. (At what, if anything, is not known.)

Jordan Crushed by Debt while Helping Fleeing Syrian Refugees

Ensour outlined how Jordan, with a population of six million—most of them Palestininas—is having great difficulty dealing with about one million refugees. “You can imagine the burden,” he said. “The impact of the presence of so many refugees who have nothing in their hands and who need shelter, need food, need medicine: they represent pressure on our resources.”

Distorting NIAC’s Court Defeat

Lastly, Rosenberg claims that Mr. Daioleslam’s victory failed “to substantiate the accusation that NIAC was lobbying for the Iranian regime.” Yet the Washington Times reported in 2009 that law enforcement “experts” believed the emails between Parsi and the Iranian Ambassador to the UN, which were made public as a result of the discovery of the trial, offered “evidence that the group has operated as an undeclared lobby and may be guilty of violating tax laws, the Foreign Agents Registration Act and lobbying disclosure laws.”

US Lawmakers Demand Iran Removal from UN Disarmament Leadership

“By allowing Iran to chair this Conference, the United Nations is legitimizing a tyrannical regime committed to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction while delegitimizing the United Nations as a force to contain nuclear weapons,” the letter said, according to The Hill. “Indeed, a conference seeking nuclear transparency and disarmament will be led by a country operating a dangerous and covert nuclear program that threatens global nuclear instability.”