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Monday, June 01, 2020

06/01 Links Pt1: Sovereignty over the Jordan Valley Is Key to Israel's Security; Iran Attempted to Raise Chlorine in Israel’s Water Supply to Dangerous Levels

From Ian:
Sovereignty over the Jordan Valley Is Key to Israel's Security
In order to thrive, and not just survive, Israel must have a minimally defensible eastern border, located in the Jordan Valley, and it must retain control of the eastern mountain ridge.

Yitzhak Rabin, architect of the Oslo Accords, included full Israeli security control over Jewish cities in Judea and Samaria/the West Bank, and full freedom of maneuver for Israelis along the main roads of the area, within those parameters.

The Trump peace plan, with its endorsement of Israeli sovereignty over the Jordan Valley, accurately reflects the Rabin parameters. It also calls for a two-state solution and a demilitarized Palestinian state, with Israeli security control over the entire area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.

The U.S. peace plan was coordinated with Sunni states and Israel. That coordination is the result of the Sunni view that an alliance with Israel is an existential imperative in their fight against Iran - something that is of far greater significance to them than the Palestinian-Arab cause.

Jordan, despite its rhetoric, is unlikely to cancel its peace treaty with Israel. It is Israel and the U.S. that stabilize Jordan, not the other way around. There is no Jordanian interest in having a Palestinian military presence on their western border.

The Palestinian public in Judea and Samaria, for its part, has demonstrated that it is primarily interested in its economic wellbeing. The Palestinian-Arab street has shown little appetite to return to the days of the Second Intifada.
David Singer: Trump Needs to Revise his Vision for Judea and Samaria
President Trump’s deal of the century envisioning the creation of a second Arab state in former Palestine – in addition to Jordan – is in tatters following its absolute rejection by the PLO – requiring its urgent revision by the president.

Trump has vainly struggled to keep the statehood possibility alive despite PLO President Mahmoud Abbas having consigned it to the dustbin of history on the day of its publication – 28 January 2020 -but the PLO has refused to play ball.

Being a beggar does not fit Trump’s persona. He is allowing Israel to apply sovereignty in 30% of Judea and Samaria in July – with allocation of the remaining 70% requiring another Arab interlocutor to negotiate with Israel.Trump’s vision was always a mirage – offering the PLO less than 100% of Judea and Samaria it had been demanding since 1967– supported by the international community since the 1980 Venice Declaration.

Trump had predicated his vision without even defining who comprised the “Palestinians”. In addition his plan had incorrectly asserted:
1. “Palestinians have aspirations that have not been realized, including self-determination”.

All West Bank Arabs became Jordanian nationals in 1954 until their nationality was revoked by Jordan in 1988.

2. “The State of Israel has also exchanged sizeable territories for the sake of peace, as it did when it withdrew from the Sinai Peninsula in exchange for peace with the Arab Republic of Egypt.”

Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from Gaza in 2005 didn’t rate a mention.

3.“One reason for the intractability of this problem is the conflation of two separate conflicts: a territorial, security and refugee dispute between Israel and the Palestinians and a religious dispute between Israel and the Muslim world regarding control over places of religious significance. ”

There is only one conflict – between Jews and Arabs - fuelled by the Arab League’s refusal to recognise the State of Israel since its establishment in 1948.

The religious dispute was resolved under the 1994 Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty granting Jordan control over places of Islamic religious significance in Jerusalem.

Jonathan Tobin: Whatever happened to the Emergency Committee for Israel?
Ten years ago, it came in with a bang, but this spring, it disbanded without even a whimper.

The Emergency Committee for Israel came into existence in 2010 in response to President Barack Obama's increasingly aggressive criticism of Israel and his attempt to pressure it to make concessions to the Palestinians. In the following years, as Obama's push for appeasement of Iran culminated in a disastrously weak nuclear deal, the ECI depicted the administration's policies as not just wrongheaded or counterproductive, but an "emergency" that decent Americans should mobilize to oppose.

Democrats blasted the group for what they claimed was an attempt to turn Israel into a partisan wedge issue. Yet by helping to frame the debate about Obama's push for more "daylight" between the United States and Israel, and a rapprochement with Iran, the ECI played a not insignificant role in generating dissent about such dangerous folly and electing members of the House and Senate who disagreed with the administration.

Once Obama got his way on the Iran nuclear deal, the ECI went silent. Earlier this spring, it formally disbanded. But it's prime mover, former Weekly Standard publisher William Kristol has moved on to a different cause, albeit one that puzzles many of those who agreed with him about Obama's attitude towards Israel.

After leading the effort to brand Obama a threat to Israel's existence, Kristol has, along with some other celebrity pundits like The Atlantic's David Frum and The Washington Post's Jennifer Rubin, who were cheerleaders for the ECI, become the voice of the #NeverTrump movement. He leads a new organization whose purpose is to convince Republicans to support presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. But unlike the ECI, which was often torched by the mainstream media, his new effort is gaining the same kind of sympathetic coverage in The New York Times that the left-wing lobby J Street – ECI's principal antagonist during its most active period – usually receives.



The Gulf Should Normalize Ties With Israeli-Arabs
With their coronavirus aid currently collecting dust, the Emiratis can take the first small steps of building bridges with Israeli-Arabs. Ignoring this community, which is larger than the native populations of many Gulf states, makes little sense in an era when the Gulf increasingly embraces Jewish Israel.

Moving forward, more substantial ways to build ties should also be considered. For example, the Israeli-Arab village of Abu Ghosh, seen as a model of coexistence between Arab localities and neighboring Jewish communities, can establish "sister city" ties with Dubai or Abu Dhabi. And while Israel is home to the best universities in the region, the Gulf states can begin offering scholarships to talented Israeli-Arabs who wish to be at the forefront of the emerging Israeli-Gulf relationship.

Cultural and educational ties will be pivotal, but economic ties will be key. This year, for example, Israel will participate in Dubai's Expo 2020, slated to be the largest trade fair in the world. While it's imperative that there be some Israeli-Arab representation at this key event, the Gulf should think bigger than a trade fair.

Numerous Israeli-Arab towns would welcome establishing free trade zones with the Gulf states, which could be incorporated into the Israeli government's current objectives for developing Arab communities. Likewise, the Gulf should consider recruiting Israeli-Arab-owned companies for their own free trade zones, particularly in the UAE, which has been a regional pioneer for this economic practice.

Traditional thinking often held that the Palestinians would serve as Israel's gateway to the Gulf and greater Arab world following a final status agreement, but with no bilateral solution to the Palestinian-Israeli confict in sight, it makes sense for Israel to pursue other avenues. Likewise, the Gulf is increasingly losing patience with the Palestinians, and the charade of rejecting the coronavirus aid has only reinforced this sentiment. Israeli-Arabs, not the Palestinians, should be considered the possible bridging community for establishing stronger regional ties.

Whether all Israeli-Arabs ultimately remain part of Israel, or some alternative arrangements are also considered as contemplated by President Trump's unveiled peace plan, they will regardless remain part of the Arab world. The Gulf should begin building ties.
JCPA: Mahmoud Abbas’ Strategy of Selective Compliance
On May 19, 2020, Mahmoud Abbas, head of the PLO and Chairman of the Palestinian Authority, announced that “He, the PLO, and the State of Palestine” are absolved of the agreements and the understandings with Israel and the United States, including on security matters.

Abbas’ latest threat illustrated the effectiveness of the PA leader’s media and diplomatic campaign against Israel. Major international news media outlets and Western diplomats did not see the move as a material breach of the Palestinian leadership’s legal obligations under the Oslo Accords.

Abbas’ public announcement abandoning signed agreements with Israel under the Oslo Accords is neither an unprecedented nor isolated event.

Abbas’ undiplomatic rhetoric and attacks on Israel and the United States disregarded accepted diplomatic practice. His statements, threats, and actions reflect a broader strategy of selective compliance to agreements since signing the first of the Oslo Accords with Israel in September 1993.

For its part, Israel erred in remaining silent over Palestinian violations for many of the 27 years of the Oslo agreements for fear of losing Palestinian partnership and international support. Israel has paid a high international price in its own state legitimacy over the past two decades for failing to expose and protest the violations of Oslo.
Kosher stores, synagogues, vandalized and looted in ongoing LA protests
A number of kosher stores and synagogues were vandalized and looted in the uptown Los Angeles neighborhood of Fairfax, between Saturday night and Sunday morning, by people protesting police brutality following the killing last week of George Floyd, an African-American man, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Some of the synagogues damaged as a result of vandalism, graffiti and looting by protesters include Congregation Kehilas Yaakov, also known as Rabbi Gershon Bess Shul, and Tiferes Tzvi (Rabbi Ganzweig Shul) on Beverly Boulevard in the Fairfax district of Los Angeles. Elder of Ziyon, a pro-Israel activist, recorded clips of some of the damage done to the synagogues in Fairfax.

It was also reported that Congregation Beth Israel, one of the oldest synagogues in Los Angeles and also on Beverly Boulevard, was defaced with antisemitic graffiti that read "F**k Israel" and "Free Palestine" scrawled along its walls.

Elan S. Carr, Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Antisemitism, condemned the graffiti placed on the building, saying on Twitter: "I just visited Congregation Beth Israel, the scene of last night’s appalling vandalism. This graffiti is yet more evidence that anti-#Zionism is #Antisemitism. Thank you to the many community volunteers whose kindness in the face of hatred restored the synagogue."

In addition to destruction and graffiti inflicted upon the synagogues, a number of kosher restaurants, bakeries and stores were ransacked by protesters, looting much of the merchandise and causing extensive property damage. Some of the stores impacted include Ariel Glatt Kosher Market, Mensch Bakery and Kitchen, and Syd's Pharmacy and Kosher Vitamins, all located in the Fairfax district.












Gantz ordered IDF to prepare for annexation scenarios
Defense Minister Benny Gantz instructed IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi to prepare for the possibility that Israel will apply its laws to parts of the West Bank.

Speaking to the Blue and White faction on Monday, Gantz said “President [Donald] Trump’s peace plan is an opportunity to set and promote permanent borders for the State of Israel.”

The defense minister said he instructed Kochavi to prepare “for any possibility of these processes influencing the region” and present him with various scenarios and plans of action.

Gantz added that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have been in touch with the US government to promote the peace plan’s implementation.
“Striving for peace while maintaining security is foundational for every Israel citizens and for Blue and White in a concrete way,” he stated.

At the same time, Gantz continued to emphasize the need to maintain Israel’s peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan, saying: “We are acting these days to promote [the peace plan] in parallel to protecting our strategic assets, the cooperation with states of the region, and of course we will be careful with the security of the citizens of Israel.”
French envoy: We’re not making threats, but annexation will have consequences
France does not mean to threaten Israel, but a move to unilaterally annex parts of the West Bank would be considered a “serious” violation of international law and would inevitably have negative consequences for bilateral relations, Paris’s ambassador in Tel Aviv said in an interview.

“There are violations of international law of different degrees of severity, and an annexation of the Jordan Valley and the settlements would be considered a serious one,” Eric Danon told The Times of Israel. “This qualification implies that there would be consequences, as it would not be considered ‘serious’ otherwise.”

In an hour-and-a-half long interview conducted via Zoom, Danon also explained why Paris is not currently considering blacklisting Hezbollah, and how he surprisingly became his country’s first Jewish ambassador to Israel, defying longstanding French diplomatic dogma that said that Jews should never represent Paris in the Jewish state due to dual loyalty concerns.

France, like most European countries, has been very outspoken in its opposition to an Israeli annexation. On April 23, French Ambassador to the United Nations Nicolas de Rivière told the Security Council that such a move would “constitute a blatant violation of international law,” could “not pass unchallenged and shall not be overlooked in our relationship with Israel.”

Many observers understood this wording to imply a stern warning, including of possible sanctions against Israel. But Danon said his colleague’s statement should not be read as a menace.

“Let me clarify the wording: There is no such thing as a ‘threat.’ There are reactions to statements issued by Israel, should [Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s] announcements [about his intentions to annex] be implemented,” he said.
Israeli annexation talk ‘must stop,’ senior UAE official says
A senior official from the United Arab Emirates on Monday urged Israel to desist from advancing its announced plan to unilaterally annex large parts of the West Bank, reiterating his country’s vehement opposition to the move.

“Continued Israeli talk of annexing Palestinian lands must stop,” Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash wrote in English on his Twitter account.

“Any unilateral Israeli move will be a serious setback for the peace process, undermine Palestinian self determination & constitute a rejection of the international & Arab consensus towards stability & peace,” he added.

Gargash, a member of the UAE’s federal cabinet, is known to be one of the Gulf officials most open to normalization with Israel. In March 2019, he publicly called for a “strategic shift” in Israel-Arab ties, saying the Arab world’s decades-old decision to boycott the Jewish state had been a mistake.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in recent weeks has repeatedly vowed to advance his plan to apply Israeli sovereignty to the Jordan Valley and all settlements across the West Bank in accordance with the US administration’s Middle East peace plan.

According to the coalition agreement between his Likud party and Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s Blue and White slate, the annexation plan can be brought to a vote as soon as July 1, though Likud minister Ze’ev Elkin said Sunday that a delay of several days or weeks is to be expected.

Like most of the international community, the UAE has been vocally opposed to annexation.

“This unilateral step is illegal, undermines chances for peace and contradicts all efforts made by the international community to reach a lasting political solution in accordance with relevant international resolutions,” UAE foreign minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said on May 10.

In the statement, carried by the state-owned Emirates News Agency, Al Nahyan explicitly dismissed Netanyahu’s often-made claim that the Arab world would ultimately accept annexation.


Jordan warns Washington, London of ‘unprecedented threat’ of annexation
Jordan’s foreign minister on Thursday night warned the top diplomats of the US and UK against the “unprecedented threat” Israel’s planned annexation of parts of the West Bank posed to the region, his office said.

Ayman Safadi spoke with British FM Dominic Raab, urging him to make efforts to “safeguard” peace and prevent Israel from moving forward with the annexation project, the Jordan Times reported.

In a conversation with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, he said, he expressed Jordan’s strong opposition to the move, which he warned would endanger prospects of peace.

Last week Amman threatened to review its relationship with Israel if the Jewish state goes ahead with the controversial plans.

“We will not accept unilateral Israeli moves to annex Palestinian lands and we would be forced to review all aspects of our relations with Israel,” Prime Minister Omar al-Razzaz told the official Petra news agency.

A coalition deal underlying Israel’s new unity government, sworn in last Sunday, allows it from July 1 to initiate moves to implement US President Donald Trump’s controversial peace plan for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The plan, rejected by the Palestinians, gives the green light from Washington for Israel to annex Jewish settlements and the Jordan Valley, a swath of land running along the border with Jordan.

Palestinians say the US plan ends prospects for a two-state solution to their decades-long conflict with Israel.

Washington on Thursday warned its citizens to take extra caution when traveling to the West Bank or the Gaza Strip, anticipating potential violence.


Israel, Saudi Arabia in secret talks to curb Turkish presence on Temple Mount
Israel and Saudi Arabia have been reportedly engaged in secret talks since last December, through American mediation, over including Saudi representatives in the Islamic Waqf Council at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. This development has been taking place against the backdrop of US President Donald Trump's deal of the century, and the plan to apply Israeli sovereignty in the Jordan Valley and the large settlement blocs in Judea and Samaria.

Senior Saudi diplomats familiar with the details confirmed to Israel Hayom that "these talks are sensitive and clandestine and have been conducted by small teams of diplomats and security officials from Israel, the US, and Saudi Arabia as part of the Trump administrations' Peace to Prosperity Middle East initiative."

According to one senior Saudi diplomat, up until a few months ago the Jordanians – who hold special and exclusive status in managing the Waqf – adamantly objected to any change in the Waqf Council. Amman however has since changed its position amid intense Turkish interference in east Jerusalem and particularly the Temple Mount.

Due to violent incidents at the Gate of Mercy at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on the Temple Mount and unrest following the decision by the Israeli Police to place metal detectors at the entrance to the Muslim holy site, the Jordanians decided, in contravention of the Oslo Accords, to include Palestinian representatives in the Waqf Council.

The Palestinian officials who joined the Waqf then opened the door for the Turkish government to establish a presence at the holy site by funding projects to the tune of tens of millions of dollars transferred to Islamist-Turkish non-profit organizations. The funds were approved by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
EU ambassador to Israel pays tribute to victims of 2001 terror attack
EU Ambassador to Israel Emanuele Giaufret visited the Dolphinarium memorial on Monday to pay tribute to the victims of the 2001 Dolphinarium discotheque massacre, alongside a survivor of the attack.
The massacre occurred exactly 19 years ago on June 1, 2001, when Saeed Hotari, a terrorist affiliated with Hamas, blew himself up in a suicide bombing outside the Tel Aviv nightclub. Twenty-one people were killed in the attack, including one soldier and 20 civilians, most of whom were teenage girls.

The attack took place as part of the Second Intifada.

Meeting at the memorial with Alona Shaportov, who was critically wounded in the attack, Giaufret noted how the EU has strengthened its policy to fight against all forms of terrorism.

“Our determination to fight terrorism has never been stronger and remains a key priority for EU, inside Europe and around the world,” Giaufret said.

“The terrorist groups involved in the Dolphinarium and other attacks during the Second Intifada, are on our sanctions list, and we have a no-contact policy with them. Our solidarity is with the victims and survivors of that horrific terrorist attack 19 years ago, and all the other victims since.”






Protesters Rally For The Return of Fallen IDF Soldiers
Protesters rally in Tel Aviv for the return of the remains of two IDF soldiers killed in Operation Protective Edge in 2014, St.-Sgt. Oron Shaul and Lt. Hadar Goldin — 'We have a unique opportunity now to bring our boys back,' former soldier Gal Schwartz shared with i24NEWS.

Lt. Hadar Goldin and St.-Sgt. Oron Shaul were killed during the Israel Defense Force's 2014 Operation Protective Edge and it is thought that Hamas holds their remains within the enclave.

Hamas is also reportedly holding Israeli citizens Avraham "Avera" Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed captive and have been since April 2015.

Mengistu reportedly suffers from mental health issues and according to his family had previously been admitted to a mental hospital and had recently stopped taking his prescribed medication before crossing into the Strip.


PMW: PA exploits tragic killing in US
The Palestinian Authority and Fatah were both quick to exploit the recent tragedy in the US to demonize Israel by comparing Israeli soldiers' actions, to the American policeman who killed an African American. The PA’s repeating libel is that Israel deliberately kills Palestinians and it uses every opportunity to disseminate the lie.

The cartoon above was published following the death of African American US citizen George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 25, 2020, when a white police officer named Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck for a few minutes while arresting him. Following his death, violent protests erupted across the US. Officer Chauvin has since been charged with third degree murder and manslaughter.

This tragedy was exploited by the PA and Fatah to again launch its libel that Israel intentionally executes Palestinians. The cartoon, drawn by the regular cartoonist of the official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Muhammad Saba'aneh, shows an Israeli soldier (left) kneeling on a Palestinian and a white American police officer – representing Derek Chauvin –kneeling on an African American – representing George Floyd. The cartoon uses many visuals to present its libel. Both officers are kneeling on the necks of their victims, the two officers are hugging each other, one holds a club and the other a gun, and they both have their country’s flags on their shoulders. The cartoon’s message: Israeli soldiers are the mirror image of Derek Chauvin.
Terrorist murderer is Palestinian girl’s reference when praising Ramallah governor
Girl to Ramallah Governor Laila Ghannam: “[Governor] Laila [Ghannam] has sacrificed herself for the security of the citizens and the homeland. O how great you are, Laila the Palestinian. O how great you are, sister of Dalal [Mughrabi] (i.e., terrorist murderer), when you fight the [Coronavirus] epidemic, and when you fight the Zionist enemy - daring and courageous like the brave lion.”
[Facebook page of Ramallah and El-Bireh District Governor Laila Ghannam, April 8, 2020]




White House Iran Policy Is Hitting Tehran's Terror Allies Hard. Now Let Us Try for Harder.
Since President Trump was elected, and the US administration took a tougher stance towards the mullahs, Iran's oil exports dropped to approximately 200,000 barrels per day -- a number that represents a decline of more than 90%.

Now it is incumbent on other governments -- specifically the European Union -- to join the US in pursuing its (almost) "maximum pressure" policy against the ruling mullahs.

The policy may not be really "maximum" -- everyone has carefully been tip-toeing around the words "regime change" -- which, bluntly, would be a boon to (almost) everyone -- but at least until then, sanctions are helping more than nothing, and definitely more than US pallets of cash.
Iran 'likely' to give Ukrainian airplane black box to France – report
Iran will "likely" send the black box from the Ukrainian airplane shot down by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to France, Al-Arabiya reported, citing Iran's semi-official ISNA news agency.

The plane, designated Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752, was shot down by the IRGC on January 8. All 176 passengers on board were killed in the crash.

The Islamic Republic initially denied responsibility for shooting down the plane and had insisted the crash was due to a technical failure. However, it eventually admitted responsibility a few days later, claiming that the plane was mistaken for a missile as the country was in high alert, having fired retaliatory strikes at US targets in response to a US strike that killed an Iranian general.

The incident provoked widespread backlash against the regime, both external and internal, with anti-regime protests flaring up in the country.
However, despite admitting responsibility, Iran has yet to turn over the black boxes to Ukraine for analysis.


Report: Iran Attempted to Raise Chlorine in Israel’s Water Supply to Dangerous Levels
Iranian hackers tried to trick Israeli computers into raising the chlorine content in the country’s water supply to dangerous levels, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.

The report refers to the April 24 cyber attack on an Israeli pumping station, widely attributed to the regime in Tehran.

According to the Financial Times, Israeli and foreign intelligence officials were alerted at the time to a piece of Iranian-written code that purposely passed through servers in the United States and Europe to keep its origin hidden, before reaching the Israeli water-pump system.

One western official quoted in the report called the cyber attack “more sophisticated than [Israel] initially thought,” adding that it had been “close to successful.”

Had it succeeded, the official said, either tens of thousands of Israelis would have been left without water, or hundreds would have fallen ill from the excess chlorine.

Tehran denies the allegations, but holds Jerusalem responsible for the May 9 cyber attack on Iran’s Shahid Rajaee Port, one of two major shipping terminals in the coastal city of Bandar Abbas in the Strait of Hormuz.
PreOccupiedTerritory: Iran Physics Teacher Improvises Gravity Lesson: Watch Gays Tossed From Roofs
Sanctions imposed on the Islamic republic have compounded an economic crunch in the country that already challenges the budgets of numerous public institutions such as schools, forcing educators to find creative ways to teach their specialties without access to didactic resources they enjoyed during better times; one such teacher has found a compelling new way to convey principles of Newtonian attraction without breaking the bank: have students watch homosexuals get thrown off the tops of buildings, and use those real-life observations to understand the concepts.

Amsush Affagh, 30, teaches physics at a high school here in the capital, and has hit upon a money-saving way to help his charges grasp gravity: conduct easy field trips to witness the execution of gays, whose sexual activity is a capital offense under Iran’s Islamic code of law, and who face execution by methods that include getting thrown from rooftops – though on occasion the authorities resort to hanging by construction crane, which offers a different angle on the science of the process.

“We have to adapt to the budgetary shortfall,” he explained. “The American-led sanctions effort is putting the squeeze on every part of our life, especially those of us who earn a living in the public sector. Well, I mean everyone who isn’t secret intelligence, military, paramilitary, or well-connected.”

Affagh came up with the ingenious idea after the older sibling of a student was convicted of homosexual activity and sentenced to death. “Most of my student’s friends were quiet about it, but I knew I had to do something – and what better way to respond to the situation than by making it a teachable moment? I enlisted the principal’s help in making a few phone calls, and both of my physics classes will be right there in the front row, where we can apply those theoretical equations to real-life events. I am so excited.”


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