More links: Syrians hack Haifa water?, interview with Lebanese Israeli, pro-settler piece in The Guardian

Syrian hackers claim to have hacked Haifa's water system:

A Syrian hackers' group paraded the secret information it has allegedly obtained from Israeli
websites by means of a cyber attack, transferring it to Israel's regional foe Iran.

Two weeks after Yitzhak Ben-Yisrael, chairman of the National Council for Research and Development, said Syrian Electronic Army’s hackers attempted two weeks ago to launch a cyber attack against Haifa's water system, failing, the semi-official Iranian news agency FARS published the documents, complete with writings in Hebrew, allegedly obtained in the course of the attack against the websites of Haifa's municipal services.

Interview with Jonathan El Khoury: Lebanese citizen of Israel defending Medinat Israel



Palestinian Arabs lay foundations for state in Area C

Six cities, two airports, a high-tech complex, a university and a system of highways to connect all of the above are included in the new Palestinian construction plan aimed at setting facts on the ground and creating a territorial continuity in the West Bank.

Dozens of sites in the West Bank are part of the new trend of construction, as the authorities refuse to wait for the revival of peace talks and are laying down the foundations and infrastructure for an independent state.

Yedioth Ahronoth obtained a document detailing the planned construction projects that are part of the "Fayyad Plan," a template for a de facto Palestinian statehood.

The majority of the projects are in the Israel-controlled Area C, and many of them have already begun. Some are awaiting the approval of the Civil Administration, the Israeli governing body that operates in the West Bank.

The Palestinians hope to push the projects that the Civil Administration will reject through negotiations as "confidence-building steps." In view of US Secretary of State John Kerry's frequent visits to the region, the plan looks grounded in reality.

The Blaze picked up my story about the Paris "art" exhibition glorifying Arab terrorists.

Middle East Monitor honors an Arab "expert" on Judaism. I looked at his website; it looks like his "expertise" is in translating Encyclopedia Judaic entries into Arabic. Plus some of the usual rumors ("Thousands of Jews joined the Nazi army!" "Most Zionist archaelology is fake!")

Anti-Hezbollah protester killed in Lebanon. Ho-hum.

I mentioned this in passing this morning, but this NGO Monitor report is important:

The European Commission transfers hundreds of millions of Euros annually to political advocacy organizations globally through frameworks such as EIDHR, PfP, AIDCO, the Anna Lindh Foundation, and others. In many cases, particularly in the Middle East, this European Union funding is allocated in non-transparent processes to organizations whose activities are entirely inconsistent with the stated objectives.

This report examines one case in detail – EIDHR and PfP grants (total €602,798 for 2011-2014) to the Coalition of Women for Peace (CWP) and partners. CWP is a leader in the campaigns to demonize Israel, including boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) via the “Who Profits” website, and sponsoring “Nakba Day” activities that repeat Palestinian narratives. EC policy opposes BDS and other forms of demonization as counter-productive to peace efforts. In 2011, due to CWP’s radical activities, the US-based New Israel Fund (NIF) ended funding of CWP.

A surprising venue for Dani Dayan, an Israeli supporter of Jews living in Judea and Samaria - The Guardian!

This week marks 46 years since the agonising days of June 1967, when the Arab world physically tried to annihilate Israel. We defeated them and liberated the strategic hills that overlook 70% of Israel's population. If partition of this contested land was ever the just solution to the conflict, it ceased the moment one side refused. It was not a mere rejection: they launched repeated assaults to take it all by force. Returning Israel to its indefensible nine-mile waistline would once again place us in mortal danger, while rewarding the aggressor.

Our communities stand on solid moral ground. Built on vacant land, no settlement stands on the ruins of any Arab village. Naturally, there are civil disputes over land ownership. Some are real, others mere provocations. All should be resolved by courts of law. Last year in Migron and Ulpana, we had serious doubts about the judge's verdict, but still we abided by the court decision. In Judea and Samaria there is ample room for many Jews, many Palestinians and peaceful coexistence.

Our communities stand on solid moral ground because the right of Jews to live in Shiloh, Hebron or Beth El is inalienable. These sites are the cradles of Jewish civilisation, the birthplace of Hebraic culture. Negating the right of Jews to live in these historic parts of the Jewish homeland would be morally wrong.

Our communities stand on solid moral ground, because they are not – and never were – an impediment to peace. Statements such as Baroness Ashton's are misinformed, erroneous and the real obstruction. Ashton and her colleagues are most welcome to visit our communities to see for themselves how distant reality is from their perception.

Finally, this is a pretty interesting MEMRI video:



(h/t Yoel, Israel Muse, Y Medad))