02/04 Links Pt1: Iran FM Denies He is Opposed to a 2nd Holocaust; Syria’s Israeli Guardian Angel

From Ian:

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Iran Foreign Minister Denies He is Opposed to Second Holocaust

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif vehemently denied on Monday reports that he is opposed to a second Holocaust of Jewish people, according to Iranian media reports.
Some media outlets reported over the weekend that Zarif had stated, the “Holocaust should not happen again” and that “the extermination of Jews by the Nazi regime was tragically cruel and should not happen again.”
However, Zarif maintains that this is not the case, according to top Iranian lawmakers who have spoken to the foreign minister about his remarks.

Caroline Glick: Kerry's Israeli supporters

Once again, on Saturday, US Secretary of State John Kerry tried to extort Israeli concessions to the PLO by threatening us with a Western economic boycott.
Kerry is obsessed with Israel’s economic success. Last May he told us that we’re too rich to surrender our land.
Now he’s saying we’ll be poor if we don’t do so.
The anti-Semitic undertones of Kerry’s constant chatter about Jews having too much money are obvious. But beyond their inherent bigotry, Kerry’s statements serve to legitimize the radical Left’s economic war against the Jewish state. Administration supporters and fundraisers from Code Pink and other pressure groups, as well as the EU understand that if they escalate their economic and political persecution of the Jewish state, their actions will be met with quiet understanding, and even support from the Obama administration.

PM: Without recognition, there will be no peace deal

Netanyahu said it would be "absurd" to expect Israel to recognize a nation state for the Palestinian people without reciprocal recognition of Israel as the nation state for the Jewish people.
"Let's see if the same international actors who until now have put pressure on Israel will make clear to the Palestinian Authority what exactly will be the consequences for the Palestinians if there is no agreement," Netanyahu said. "Because, unless the Palestinians understand that they will pay a price if the talks fail, they will prefer to not continue the talks."
"No pressure will cause me to abandon the vital interests of the State of Israel, first and foremost the security of the citizens of Israel," Netanyahu said.

Kerry Says No Deaths From West Bank Terror in 2013, Just Days After Shin Bet Lists Fatalities

“Last year, not one Israeli was killed by a Palestinian from the West Bank,” U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told guests at a Munich conference on Saturday, according to a U.S. State Department transcript. His comments however, came just days after Israel’s Shin Bet security service listed Israeli deaths from terror originating in the territory in 2013. (h/t Bob Knot)

Israeli Minister of Communications: ‘Kerry Inciting Economic Blackmail Against Israel’

The Minister also called into question U.S. motives in backing peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. “You would expect an honest and objective broker to turn to the Palestinian side and assert that there will be a price to pay for continuing to deny the Jewish people’s right to their own state, for continuing its policy of rejectionism and for continuing to use official [Palestinian Authority] media outlets and the education system to incite against Israel,” he said.
“We see the United States applying pressure only on Israel’s Prime Minister and his cabinet,” Erdan concluded.

Abbas’s NATO Gambit Is a Nonstarter

It would be quite an irony if the Obama administration, which has already withdrawn all U.S. troops from Iraq and may yet withdraw all of them from Afghanistan, while refusing to become heavily engaged in Syria or Libya, were to cap its tenure by dispatching U.S. troops to guard a new Palestinian state in the West Bank. It would also be pretty unlikely. It would be downright miraculous if troops from other NATO nations were to join U.S. troops on the front lines of what amounts to a fight against Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and myriad other radical groups. (h/t Norman F)

Khaled Abu Toameh: Jordan Says No to Kerry "Conspiracy"

Jordan's government officials and ordinary citizens have come out against U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's proposals for reaching a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.
The Jordanians fear that such an agreement would be concluded at their expense and undermine King Abdullah's rule.
The Jordanians' biggest fear is that Kerry is seeking to "resettle" Palestinian refugees in their country, effectively turning the kingdom into a Palestinian state. Palestinians constitute more than half of Jordan's population.
More than 2,000 Jordanians from various political groups gathered in Amman on February 2 to condemn Kerry's "malicious conspiracy."

Fearful of becoming ‘Palestine,’ Jordan chimes in on peace talks

Since relinquishing its claim over the West Bank in 1988, the Jordanian government has stealthily revoked the citizenship of thousands of Palestinians who originated from the area through a series of sophisticated bureaucratic measures. (Some additional 200,000 refugees originating from Gaza never received Jordanian citizenship.) Ever-mindful of a demographic takeover, Jordan has recently begun blocking the entry of Palestinian refugees fleeing the civil war in Syria.
Now, official Jordan is concerned that defining Israel as a Jewish state may eventually lead to the forced deportation of Palestinians eastward across the Jordan river. As early as 2003, King Abdullah II conveyed to then-president George W. Bush his fears that Ariel Sharon may take advantage of the turmoil in Iraq as an opportunity to deport hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to Jordan.

US National Security Advisor Rice: Attacks on Kerry in Israel are unfounded, unacceptable

Following Kerry's remarks Bayit Yehudi leader Naftali Bennett said: “We expect our friends in the world to stand by our side against anti-Semitic boycott efforts against Israel, and not be their trumpet.”
Rice, who was the US envoy to the UN before her current post, tweeted "Personal attacks in Israel directed at Sec[retary] Kerry [are] totally unfounded and unacceptable. The US government has been clear and consistent that we reject efforts to boycott or delegitimize Israel."

ADL raps Kerry, says talk of boycott invites anti-Israel backlash if peace talks fail

In a letter to Kerry, ADL chief Abe Foxman said that while he appreciated Kerry's efforts to move the peace process forward, the remarks about Israel's likely ostracism in the event that no deal is reached will only spur the pro-boycott elements and the Palestinians to become further entrenched in their positions while being less likely to compromise.
"In speaking about the price Israel will pay if the peace talks break down and Israel is blamed, you may have thought you were merely describing reality," Foxman said. "But as the key player in the process, the impact of your comments was to create a reality of its own."

'Boycotting Israel will Only Hurt the Palestinian Arabs'

"The boycotts will hang over our heads, but would really threaten the Palestinian Arabs working in Judea and Samaria," Res. Colonel and former MK Moshe Peled stated to Arutz Sheva Tuesday. "This is true coexistence with the thousands of Palestinian Arabs who work with us. Go check with the SodaStream factory in Mishor Adumim; what would the Palestinian Arab workers there do if they had to return to Jericho without a job?"
He added that US Secretary of State John Kerry, who made the boycott threats Saturday, has proved once again that he in incapable of being an intermediary in negotiations. "It is unthinkable that he has strengthened the Palestinian Authority (PA), that he has chosen the anti-Israel side," Peled stated.

MK Attacks US's Use of Jewish Refugees to Gain Land Concessions

MK Nissim Ze'ev slammed what he said was an attempt by the US to encourage Israel to "sell out" Judea and Samaria by agreeing to include a clause by agreeing to include a clause compensating Jewish refugees from Arab lands into an agreement with the Palestinian Authority (PA).
Ze'ev himself has been a longtime advocate for the rights of Jews who fled or were forcibly expelled from Arab lands in a concerted campaign of ethnic-cleansing by Arab states following the establishment of the State of Israel.
However, he noted that the clause does not make the framework deal, which calls for massive territorial concessions by Israel, any more palatable for the Jewish State.

Islamic Jihad threatens to torpedo peace talks

In a statement from his base in Gaza on Monday, Medlal said a peace agreement would legitimize Israeli control of the territory it currently holds — including all of pre-1967 Israel, Israel Radio reported.
He added that his organization was capable of reaching all of Israel, a reference to the group’s recent attempts to carry out terror operations in Israeli cities and civilian centers and its efforts at launching rockets at Israeli towns from the Gaza Strip.

IDF officer slain by friendly fire in Gaza

The slain officer was identified as Capt. Tal Nachman, 21, from Nes Ziona.
Based on initial reports, the incident occurred when a force from the Givati Brigade was providing security to a vehicle from the Combat Intelligence Collection Corps just inside the border fence opposite Kibbutz Be’eri, according to Israel Radio.

IEC Head: We Intend to Collect PA's Electricity Debt

Israel Electric Company chairman Yiftach Ron-Tal said Monday that the Palestinian Authority owes the IEC NIS 1.2 billion ($375 million).
The PA is the recipient of hundreds of millions of dollars of international assistance, but somehow has been unable to come up with the money to pay its electricity bill. Once in awhile, the PA pays down some of its debts, but the IEC has been trying for years to get the Authority to pay the full amount – to no avail.
“We are doing our best to collect the debt,” Ron-Tal said. “I would sorely love to shut off their electricity, as I would for any customer who refuses to pay his bills.” (h/t Bob Knot)

UN "Expert" Richard Falk Glorifies Ayatollah Khomeini as a "True Revolutionary"

Richard Falk is a UN "expert," antisemite, Boston-marathon apologist, and 9/11 conspiracy advocate. Now added to that list, Falk writes of his fond memories of meeting Ayatollah Khomeini, the glorious Islamic revolution, and his own time in Iran. What does Falk remember about Iran? The revolution was a time of "the largest mass display of joy that I have ever witnessed." Mass murderer and genocide advocate Khomeini, has "shining eyes." He was a religious man who would just "resume the religious life" upon his return to Iran from Paris. The place of Jews in Iran? The familiar antisemitic trope: pay to get out. "Minorities felt uncomfortable living in an Islamic theocracy, and if they possessed the resources, mainly emigrated to friendlier national habitats." Falk's offers the ultimate excuse of a bigot to bigotry: it's the victim's fault, in particular, the fault of the United States. "...[I]t seemed rather obvious why the regime resorted to rough justice. Many of those who had shaped the revolutionary process had studied in Europe or America, and were recipients of economic assistance from Western governments and maybe performed political roles." That Richard Falk has been a UN "human rights expert" for six years, is a testament to the sickness of the UN "human rights" system. That he has been the "expert" on Israel, is a testament to the overt antisemitism behind the UN's war on the Jewish state.

Nuclear Talks Set for February 18 as Analysts Double Down on Minimal Requirements Tehran Must Meet

An analysis published this month by the U.S.-based Institute of Science and International Security (ISIS) calculated that – in order to put its nuclear program verifiably beyond use for weaponization – Iran would minimally have to remove 15,000 centrifuges, shut down its uranium enriching underground military bunker at Fordow, downgrade the reactor at its plutonium-production facility at Arak, and agree to a 20-year inspection regime. The Wall Street Journal noted that the “prescriptions aren’t viewed as particularly harsh or hard-line,” and quoted ISIS head David Albright describing how the study had been developed partly in light of “extensive discussions in recent months with Obama administration officials working on the Iran file.”

New U.S. Intel Report Fuels Demands Iran Nuclear Deal Include Limits on Iran-North Korea Cooperation

The Daily Beast on Friday conveyed analysis from a new U.S. intelligence report warning that North Korea may resume its export of nuclear technology and material, noting further that “the comprehensive nuclear deal Iran is negotiating with the West could be undermined by increased Iranian cooperation with North Korea.” Citing diplomatic and intelligence sources, the Daily Beast outlined a scenario under which Iran would continue to bolster its ballistic missile program – which it is not only doing, but is allowed to do under the current interim agreement – while forgoing the production of highly enriched uranium. Tehran would under this scenario construct a missile-deliverable nuclear weapon with ballistic missile technology it built and nuclear material that it bought off the shelf from North Korea.

Kerry admits administration has fumbled Syrian conflict, senators say

A pair of Republican senators told reporters that Secretary of State John Kerry admitted to them he lacks confidence in the administration’s Syria policy, the peace talks have produced no viable results and the Obama administration’s foreign policy initiatives, to the extent which they exist, are failing in the country.
Republican Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham told The Daily Beast, The Washington Post and Bloomberg News, that the secretary of state acknowledged as much Sunday in a private, off-the-record meeting with 15 members of Congress.
“[Kerry] acknowledged that the chemical weapons [plan] is being slow-rolled, the Russians continue to supply arms, we are at a point now where we are going to have to change our strategy,” Graham said. (h/t Yenta Press)

Up to 350 UK recruits among 2,000 Westerners now fighting in Syria

Calling the issue of foreign fighters “a global problem shared by the West, Israel and the Arab-Muslim world,” the authors wrote that international agencies have so far not developed effective methods to monitor, prevent and punish the volunteers.
“The returning foreign fighters are a ticking time bomb,” they wrote, “which can only be defused by international cooperation and joint systems to neutralize their terrorist-subversive potential.”

Syria’s Israeli Guardian Angel

Asked if she’s ever been tempted to tell anyone who she really is, Anat says yes. Once. After handing out packages in a refugee camp, someone in the crowd asked her if she was Italian. For some reason she decided to tell the truth. The reaction, she said, was mixed. An elderly woman gave her a hug and told her, “It doesn’t matter, God bless you and anyone willing to help.” But more than a few people walked away in protest.
“I don’t take it personally,” she said. “All their lives, they’ve been taught that Israel is the devil. Finding out there are Israelis willing to risk their lives to help them goes against everything they’ve come to believe about us. It’s a lot to take in.”