Friday, June 05, 2020
Menachem Begin vs. Benjamin Netanyahu: A window of opportunity
Then in January came the unveiling of the so-called “Deal of the Century,” which took Israel from an administration that had wanted it to withdraw to pre-1967 borders to one that was now allowing the Jewish state to hold on to all of its settlements in the West Bank. Not a single one would need to be evacuated.Danny Ayalon: Israel should seize the opportunities Trump's peace plan offers
As pro-Israel as this plan might be, it is still a vision being laid out for Israel by another country. This is not Netanyahu outlining his plan but him entering into a process with a plan presented by a third party – the United States.
I asked Naor what he made of the contrast between Begin, who implemented his plan without coordination, and Netanyahu, who is following a plan someone else put on the table.
“Are we a state or a banana republic?” Naor asked. “This is an issue at the core of our existence. We can say that the land is ours, and we can say that if we do it [annexation], we will endanger Israel due to demographic results. What does it all mean?”
The point is that ultimately Israel has to be the one to decide what it wants and how it wants to do it. If that is so, then why doesn’t Netanyahu do something like Begin did in 1981? Why not decide on a course of action with recognition that there may be a price? Of course, it is helpful to have an ally like the US on your side from the outset, but ultimately, the decision rests in Israel’s hands.
That might work when politics are not a consideration, but when they are – as seems to be the case now – everything is different.
Netanyahu, for example, needed the January rollout of the plan to shore up his base’s support ahead of his third election within a year. He needed to continue talking about annexation after the March election to retain his right-wing bloc, and alongside coronavirus, to corral Blue and White into a unity government. Now he needs to keep talking about annexation – even at the risk of upsetting the Jordanians, the Saudis and US Democrats – because of his trial that renews on July 19, around the same time he plans to bring an annexation vote to the cabinet.
There is no question that Israel faces a unique opening similar to the window of opportunity that Begin identified while confined to a wheelchair in the winter of 1981. Trump’s reelection is in November. If annexation is going to happen, it is better for Israel that it take place when there is an administration that can provide the support and defense it will need after the move, whether in the United Nations or to rebuff sanctions from the European Union.
But most important, it is for Israel to decide what it wants and what it plans to do in the future. We don’t need a country – no matter how friendly – to plan our destiny. We can do it on our own.
What is most disappointing to me is that there are a few members of the Israeli Right who are opposing this plan, mainly several influential municipal leaders in Judea and Samaria.It's time to wean ourselves off American aid
In recent days, these officials have launched an unfortunate campaign to delegitimize the plan and mislead the Israeli people as to the facts and details of the plan.
In doing so, they claim that the plan seeks to establish a terror state in the heart of Israel.
False.
The plan specifically says that the Palestinian Authority will be given four years to change its behavior. If it chooses to do so, it would have to renounce terror and violence, end its incitement and glorification of murderers, as well as its gross pay-for-slay program.
Additionally, it would be forced to reform its education system to include recognition of the Jewish state. If the Palestinians become like Canada, it would hardly be a “terror state.”
These officials also claim that, according to the plan, this plan would come “at the expense of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.”
False.
Under this plan, no Jew or Arab would be forced to leave his or her home. While previous proposals have suggested that hundreds of thousands of people evacuate their residences, which the Gaza Disengagement proved to be catastrophic, this plan will keep all existing communities intact.
They also claim a better opportunity could arise in the future.
Don’t be too sure.
If Israel rejects the Trump plan, a future American administration could take advantage of that rejection and offer us much less. If Israel accepts and implements the Trump plan, it would be nearly impossible for a future US President who is less sympathetic to Israel to change the facts on the ground. And if indeed a future president wishes to build on the Trump plan and offer us more, they will not have to start from scratch.
There is a Talmudic saying:
“Tafasta Meruba, Lo Tafasta.”
“If you grasp it all, you lose it all.”
Israel cannot grasp all of Judea and Samaria at once. We cannot even grasp all of Area C at once. If we demand this, we lose it all. Let’s not be like the ones who never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. Let’s take what’s offered to us and make the best of it. It’s simply the best offer ever made to us.
It started in 1949, a few months after the state was founded. American aid, millions of dollars' worth, was earmarked to help Israel cope with mass immigration. At first, it was a loan, but most of the money was never returned after various US administrations let it go. Starting in 1958, we started to receive American defense aid – bit by bit, in the form of grants – which became permanent after the 1967 Six-Day War, when France cut off its special defense relations with us. Aid peaked after Israel signed the peace treaty with Egypt.
Prior to the initiation of the big economic plan of July 1985, then-Prime Minister Shimon Peres struck a deal with Ronald Reagan's secretary of state, George Shultz, for the US to give Israel a regular yearly grant of $3 billion, mostly for security purposes (particularly the acquisition of US military equipment), with a little for civilian use. Apart from that amount, Israel also receives help in the form of special projects (Iron Dome, Arrow 1, Arrow 2, David's Sling). We are also helped by the fact that the grant is transferred in its entirety at the start of each year, rather than in installments.
Of course, we owe the Americans a thank you for the generous aid. But it's also clear that assistance creates dependence, just as it is clear that the moment it is conditional upon it being spent on American products, we are not free to buy the equipment optimal for our needs at better prices, thereby weakening Israeli industry.
American presidential candidates frequently refer to this assistance as something that should be reconsidered, and President Trump goes to the trouble of reminding us from time to time that we need to "pay" for American defense aid.
The money from the US does not account for more than one percent of Israel's GDP. At one time, it was critical, but now, it's a habit. At age 72, we can manage without our parents' help. The establishment of a national unity government might be an opportunity for Israel to make a bold decision about weaning ourselves off of it. A plan to gradually reduce it or even end it by 2028 would be a gesture to the Americans in a time of coronavirus, and a declaration of independence for us.
Outrage Greets Pro-BDS Petition to University of California Blaming Israel for Teaching Methods That Killed George Floyd
Outrage erupted on Thursday as a ferociously anti-Israel petition to the University of California blaming Israel for police brutality and the murder of people of color in the US circulated online.Facebook Removes Viral Fake Post of IDF Soldier with Knee on Bloodied Suspect’s Neck
The petition, signed by hundred of campus organizations and individuals, included a long and rambling list of demands, such as abolishing the police and returning “all Indigenous lands” to Native Americans.
The petition also tied Israel to US police brutality and racism and, specifically, the killing in Minneapolis last month of George Floyd by police officer Derek Chauvin.
“This complicity goes beyond domestic policing,” the petition read. “We also call on the UC to divest from companies that profit off of Israel’s illegal military occupation of Palestine, investments that uphold a system of anti-Black racism in the US.”
“We know the Minneapolis police were also trained by Israeli counter-terrorism officers,” it continued. “The knee-to-neck choke-hold that Chauvin used to murder George Floyd has been used and perfected to torture Palestinians by Israeli occupation forces through 72 years of ethnic cleansing and dispossession. Police departments view Israeli Defense Force tactics as models for responding to ‘public health and safety crises.’”
The second of the petition’s three primary demands was “Divest from companies that profit off Israel’s colonial occupation of Palestine.”
In response to an inquiry from The Algemeiner regarding Israeli training for the Minneapolis police force, a spokesperson from the Consulate General of Israel to the Midwest said, “Any attempt to create any link between what took place in Minnesota with Israel is baseless and misguided.”
Professor Miriam Elman — executive director of the independent pro-Israel group Academic Engagement Network — told The Algemeiner, “Like past efforts to blame Israel for US policing problems and police violence, the petition has absolutely no basis in fact. It defies belief to suggest that Israel was responsible for the killing of George Floyd because, according to the signatories, back in 2012 some Minneapolis police officers attended an FBI-hosted counter-terror seminar where a few Israeli law enforcement officials were invited to speak. The notion that this training program, or similar police exchanges sponsored by the Anti-Defamation League and other American Jewish organizations, cause or contribute to police shootings by American cops on the beat is ludicrous. It smacks of antisemitic tropes and canards related to Jewish power, money, and influence that have sustained anti-Jewish hatred across the millenia.”
“This petition basically states that if you care about Black Lives Matter, racial and social justice, and the need for police reform, then you must also revile Israel and detest its supporters, who stand accused of complicity in the suffering of blacks, Latinos, Native Americans and other minority communities,” she continued. “Scapegoating American Jews for societal ills is one of the hallmarks of antisemtic discourse. University of California campus leaders must not hesitate to speak out forcefully and unequivocally against it.”
Facebook on Friday removed a viral photo that falsely accused an “IDF soldier” of killing a “Palestinian” boy.Is Israel even ready for sovereignty?
The photo, which was shared more than 25,000 times on Facebook before it was removed, depicted a Chilean police officer crushing a bloodied boy, alongside the caption: “An Israeli soldier kills a Palestinian child.”
According to the profile of Nabil Ben H, the Facebook user who uploaded the photo, he is an employee of the Tunisian Education Ministry.
The fake post was first exposed by popular Israeli-Arab social activist Yoseph Haddad and was soon picked up by the Arab Desk of watchdog Im Tirtzu, which urged its tens of thousands of followers to report the fake post.
Tom Nisani, head of Im Tirtzu’s Arab Desk, said he was glad the post was removed and praised Yoseph Haddad for exposing it, saying, “We are proud of Yoseph Haddad for the amazing work he does on behalf of Israel. He is an important voice in the Arab sector who encourages integration and peace.”
At a certain point, Yariv Levin, usually a calm man, lost his patience. Working secretly with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he spent months on the Trump administration's peace plan, and in a historic turnaround they included Israeli sovereignty in the plan. In other words, an expansion of Israeli territory rather than the concessions demanded by all other plans. While all this was going on, the two ran in three Knesset elections, with Levin as Netanyahu's closest confidant, deputized to handle political negotiations with the other parties.Pelosi: Israeli ‘Annexation’ of West Bank ‘Undermines US National Security Interests’
Demonstrating political steadfastness and ability to maneuver, the two orchestrated the breakdown of Blue and White. Later, even though the government was an emergency one established to handle the coronavirus crisis, they got Blue and White leader Benny Gantz to agree to Israel declaring sovereignty on July 1. Levin himself, who was tourism minister and saw the sector for which he was responsible collapse, then took on the weighty role of Knesset speaker and continued to play a part in meetings of the Israeli-American Mapping Committee. And now, when a right-wing prime minister – who is also on trial, accused of bribery – arranges the biggest diplomatic moves the Right has ever secured, representatives of Israel's settlements stand up and say, "No thanks, toss the plan."
On Tuesday, it was chairman of the Council of Jewish Communities in Judea and Samaria (Yesha) David Elhayani who said just that in a meeting with Netanyahu and Levin. The new Knesset speaker, usually calm, was furious. Without quoting him verbatim, his response was along the lines of "We have done dramatic things on your behalf and you're throwing it all away? Remember where we were four years ago, under Obama. Think about where we might be after Trump."
Netanyahu has said similar things to the settlers. He warned them that their pressure campaign against the plan could "bring everything down, because we are facing a historic opportunity to apply sovereignty to Judea and Samaria." Netanyahu also hinted to the settler that the American administration's patience was running out: "The Americans aren't in the same place they were five months ago," he said.
It was a tough meeting. After it was over, all sides might have agreed to dial it down, but they did not convince each other. Netanyahu did not mention many of the questions he was asked. As far as the settlers are concerned, the picture remains as unclear as it was before the lengthy conversation with him. They don't know how what the map of sovereignty will look like; are not agreeing to any construction freeze, even a partial one; and are not willing to see 15 settlements left as isolated outcroppings. They are also demanding that Netanyahu take back his agreement to a future Palestinian state, a term that appears 48 times in the Trump plan. Netanyahu has no intention of doing that.
US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) warned on Thursday that if Israel were to apply sovereignty to parts of Judea and Samaria, that it would undermine US national security and upend bipartisan support for the Jewish state.EU diplomats predict low-key 'punishment' for Israeli sovereignty
During a virtual event with the Jewish Democratic Council of America, Pelosi said that “unilateral annexation puts [the] future at risk and undermines US national security interests … and decades of bipartisan policy.”
Pelosi cited a US House of Representatives resolution that passed mostly along party lines in December—with most Democrats voting for it, and most Republicans voting against it—reaffirming support for the two-state solution to the seven-decade-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The resolution emphasized the US-Israel relationship on issues from national security to shared values such as “democracy, human rights and the rule of law.”
At the same time, it also stated, “Whereas the United States has long sought a just and stable future for Palestinians, and an end to the occupation, including opposing settlement activity and moves toward unilateral annexation in Palestinian territory.”
Pelosi also accused President Donald Trump of “acquiescence” amid the rise in antisemitism in the United States and abroad.
“He has created a climate in which this has become more accept[able],” she said, citing Trump’s responses in the aftermath of the 2017 protests in Charlottesville, Va., where he stated that there were “fine people on both sides.” Those protests led to the death of 32-year-old Heather Heyer after a 20-year-old Ohio man affiliated with Neo-Nazis rammed a crowd of people with his car.
If Israel proceeds with its plan to apply Israeli law to the Jordan Valley and settlements in Judea and Samaria, the European Union will take punitive measures of relatively little economic significance, European diplomats have been saying in recent talks ahead of the target date for Israeli sovereignty – July 1.Can Israel’s friends save it from the EU’s wrath?
The diplomats preferred not to be quoted by name due to the sensitivity of the issue.
According to the European envoys, the internal working guidelines of EU institutions; the historical relationship between Israel and Germany, as well as other EU member nations; and Europe's interest in maintaining good relations with Israel will ultimately prevent the EU from responding harshly to the application of Israeli sovereignty.
The officials said that EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell Fontelles was leading a line very critical of Israel. AT a meeting of EU foreign ministers some three weeks ago, Borrell tried to publish a joint statement warning Israel not to extend sovereignty to the Jordan Valley and settlements in Judea and Samaria, but Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Austria blocked the move. Borrell was forced to put out the statement in his own name only.
Moreover, Borell's independent action drew criticism from EU member states and even President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, as it violated EU work rules, which require consensus for such steps.
Diplomats expect that the EU nations friendly to Israel will also block initiatives from Sweden, Ireland, Luxembourg, and other countries to place Israel under economic sanctions.
"Every major decision about European foreign policy requires consensus of all 27 member nations," one diplomat observed.
"Because of the serious disagreements, European diplomats in Israel cannot even agree on what is happening here. If they can't agree on the facts, there will not be any agreement about sanctions," he continued.
The officials also noted that Germany – the strongest EU member, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency – will not lend its hand to serious action against Israel.
MOVING FORWARD, if Israel wants to strengthen its position in the EU and not just be dependent on one, two or three countries, one European diplomat recommended that Israel work harder to foster closer ties with other pro-American EU member states.British Jewish leaders express 'concern' over Israel's annexation plan
The eastern Baltic states are particularly vulnerable to Russian intervention and have been victims of repeated cyberattacks, and thus tend to be more aligned with the US, and could use Israel’s cybersecurity expertises.
Poland is one of the most pro-American and pro-Trump countries in Europe. A Pew poll from earlier this year showed that Israel was the country in which Trump had the highest approval rate for his foreign policy, with Poland in second place.
A diplomat suggested Israel work to repair the ties between Israel and Poland that have been frayed since Warsaw outlawed blaming the Polish people for any part of the Holocaust. The subsequent war of words between officials included former foreign minister Israel Katz, who on his first day on the job quoted prime minister Yitzhak Shamir’s claim that Poles get antisemitism in their mothers’ milk. A positive conversation between Ashkenazi and his Polish counterpart this week seems to be a step toward bringing ties back to what they were.
Regardless of whether those ideas pan out, Israel has some reliable friends in the EU that can block major sanctions. But it’s worth keeping in mind that they’re in the minority and can’t promise Israel and Europe’s material ties will remain unscathed.
Forty-two leaders in the British Jewish community signed an open letter to the Israeli government noting their "concern" surrounding Israel's decision to unilaterally annex portions of the West Bank within the context of US President Donald Trump's peace plan, as indicated in the coalition agreement for the 23rd Knesset.Annexation will mean apartheid, warns Mandela ally who always fought comparison
The plan would allow Israel to apply sovereignty to 30% percent of the West Bank, within Area C. All West Bank settlements would be included in that sovereignty plan.
The letter, published in Haaretz on Thursday, was addressed personally to the Israeli Ambassador to the United Kingdom Mark Regev, who will be leaving his position at the end of August. Among the signatories included current and former Jewish diplomats, MPs, senior rabbis, journalists, artists and historians.
"Despite the decades we have invested in strengthening the relationships between Israel, the UK and British Jews and despite the leadership roles many of us have held or still hold, we are writing in a personal capacity," the letter stated. "Our concerns are, however, shared by large numbers of the British Jewish community, including many in its current leadership, even if they choose not to express them. As such, we would ask you to convey frankly our unprecedented level of concern to the Government of Israel."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under pressure from the Israeli Right to apply sovereignty over portions of the West Bank in Area C immediately or certainly by his announced July 1 date. Under the new coalition agreement, newly appointed Defense Minister and alternate prime minister Benny Gantz will also be backing the annexation move.
Whether they do so within the context of the Trump peace plan or not, it’s presumed that such an annexation plan would include all the West Bank settlements located in Area C of the West Bank, which are currently under Israeli military rule.
“The time has come to apply Israeli law over [West Bank settlements] and to write a new, glorious chapter in the annals of Zionism,” Netanyahu said just before the swearing in of his government.
However, the British leaders dismissed that notion, saying that annexation "would pose an existential threat to the traditions of Zionism in Britain, and to Israel as we know it."
"We are yet to see an argument that convinces us, committed Zionists and passionately outspoken friends of Israel, that the proposed annexation is a constructive step," the signatories said. "Instead, it would in our view be a pyrrhic victory intensifying Israel’s political, diplomatic and economic challenges without yielding any tangible benefit."
An early ally of Nelson Mandela, journalist and author Benjamin Pogrund was among the first Jews to fight the South African apartheid regime. After he moved to Israel in the 1990s, he fought the accusation that Israel is an apartheid state.Tony Blair: Israel's Relationship with Gulf Arab States Is Reason for Hope
But if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu goes ahead with his plan to unilaterally annex large parts of the West Bank, apparently without offering Israeli citizenship to the Palestinians who live in these areas, Israel will indeed turn into an apartheid state, Pogrund warned.
“I have argued, uphill and down dale, and lectured about it in a dozen countries and books and articles, that this is not apartheid. There is discrimination against the Arab minority and there’s an occupation in the West Bank — but it’s not apartheid,” he said in an interview Thursday.
“Come July 1, if we annex the Jordan Valley and the settlement areas, we are apartheid. Full stop. There’s no question about it.”
Vision for Peace Conceptual Map published by the Trump Administration on January 28, 2020.
According to the coalition agreement between Netanyahu’s Likud party and Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s Blue and White list, the annexation of some 30 percent of the West Bank can be brought to vote in the cabinet or the Knesset as early as July 1. However, Likud officials have in recent days indicated that the process may be delayed by a few days or even weeks, presumably due to opposition from the White House.
A political dove, Pogrund, 87, has long opposed the expansion of settlements and the entrenchment of Israeli control over the West Bank. “But at least it has been a military occupation. Now we are going to put other people under our control and not give them citizenship. That is apartheid. That is an exact mirror of what apartheid was [in South Africa],” he said.
It is unclear exactly how many Palestinians currently reside on territory that Israel would annex, as no precise maps have been released yet. Estimates range from several thousands to more than 100,000. Netanyahu said in a newspaper interview last week that these Palestinians “will remain Palestinian subjects” living in “enclaves” and would not receive Israeli citizenship.
Tony Blair has described Israel's relationship with the Gulf states as the ''single biggest game changer for the Middle East'' - while also accepting that the ''Palestinian question is very difficult right now.''
The former Labour leader said the current state of affairs was ''almost an inversion'' of the situation he faced when, as Prime Minster, he worked alongside his friend Lord Levy to try to secure a peaceful settlement to the Middle East conflict.
Speaking to Rabbi Yitzchak Schochet, the Senior Rabbi of Mill Hill, in an online interview organised in partnership with the United Synagogue, Mr Blair said: ''The biggest reason for hope in the Middle East as a whole is the emerging relationship between Israel and the Arab States."
With offices both in Israel and in the Gulf, Mr Blair said he had spent the last few years working on forging this relationship, which he said was not purely a ''security relationship.''
He added: "Yes it's true they both have security interests in common. They are both worried about Iran."
"The other thing is that there is a new and emerging leadership in the Middle East that really wants to modernise their countries to make sure that religion isn't abused and turned into a political ideology.
"That is the single biggest game-changer for the Middle East."
Former Lebanese Miniser Sejaan Azzi: We Have Fought Israel Enough; Why Should We Fight While Others Are Negotiating? pic.twitter.com/XGJuAQ7VY2
— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) June 5, 2020
Suspect arrested over assault on former Likud MK in East Jerusalem
Police arrested a suspect allegedly involved in the assault Thursday of a former Likud lawmaker who was visiting the East Jerusalem family of an autistic Palestinian man shot dead by police.9 killed in alleged Israeli airstrikes in Syria - report
The suspect, who police said Friday was a resident of East Jerusalem’s Wadi al-Joz neighborhood in his 20s, was allegedly part of a group that attacked Yehuda Glick, a longtime activist for Jewish prayer rights on the Temple Mount.
He was taken in for questioning but the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court later ordered his release to house arrest, rejecting a police request to extend his remand.
Maher Hanna, the suspect’s lawyer, said his client denied any involvement in the attack and had provided an alibi.
“The court accepted his arguments and ordered the young man’s release to house arrest,” Hanna said in a statement to Hebrew media.
Police were continuing to search for additional suspects in connection to the assault, according to Channel 12 news.
At least nine people were killed in alleged Israeli airstrikes targeted Syrian defense factories near the city of Masyaf in northwest Syria on Thursday night, according to Syrian reports.IDF denies report troops entered Syria unauthorized, sparked deadly firefight
Four of the dead were Syrian nationals, but it is unclear if they were Syrian soldiers or working for the Iranian forces, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). The death toll is expected to rise due to the presence and condition of people wounded in the attacks, as well as reports of additional deaths.
Air defense systems were activated in Masyaf, west of Hama and loud explosions were heard in the region during the airstrikes. The official Syrian news agency SANA reported that a number of the incoming missiles were dropped.
The airstrikes were conducted by IDF aircraft from over Lebanese airspace, a Syrian military source told SANA.
The Israel Defense Forces on Thursday denied key details in an investigative report in the Haaretz daily about a cross-border raid into Syria last year in which at least one Syrian national was killed.Palestinians in Turkey: What Erdogan Says vs. What Erdogan Does
The exposé focused on the commander of the troops who conducted the operation — Lt. Guy Eliyahu — whom the newspaper claimed had a history of ignoring or violating orders and covering up his actions while his superiors looked the other way.
The article focused on a case in which Eliyahu’s unit — a team in the Golani Brigade’s famed reconnaissance battalion — engaged in a firefight in southern Syria in the predawn hours of January 24, 2019.
According to an unidentified source, Eliyahu’s team was patrolling along the Syrian frontier when “they decided that they wanted to go to a house on the other side of the border.” The source said that they then indeed entered Syrian territory without seeking or receiving approval from higher-ranking officers, which would be a highly irregular — and punishable — action by a lieutenant, as it could lead to soldiers being captured on foreign soil.
The lieutenant then reportedly knocked on the door of the house west of the Syrian border town of Jubata al-Khashab and called out in Arabic for those inside to open the door. At that point, the people inside — whom Haaretz said were not part of a terrorist group but were Syrian civilians — opened fire at the intruders, apparently thinking the IDF soldiers were pro-Iranian militiamen, prompting Eliyahu’s troops to return fire before they rushed back into Israeli territory. Only once they were back in Israel, did Eliyahu report to his commanders what had happened, according to the article.
While Erdogan is paying lip service to the Palestinian cause and praising Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist group by the US, EU, Canada and Australia, Palestinian refugees who fled to Turkey from Syria are complaining of discrimination and mistreatment by the Turkish authorities.Turkey’s Selective Amnesia With the Palestinians
According to Palestinian sources, there are about 10,000 Palestinian refugees in Turkey who are suffering from discrimination and living in dire conditions.
The suffering of the Palestinian refugees fleeing Syria begins the moment they arrive at the border with Turkey, Thuri Tamim, a Palestinian refugee, told the Palestinian Refugees Portal, an independent website covering news related to Palestinian refugees.
If Erdogan really wants to help the Palestinians, he can start by ordering his government to stop arresting and harassing Palestinian refugees. If he really wants to help the Palestinians, he can stop playing host and cash cow to Hamas, a terrorist group that has brought nothing but misery to Palestinians and Israelis alike.
The collective Turkish memory has clear perceptions of which nations are friends and which are foes. In Turkey, the average length of schooling is only 6.5 years, and most Turks have a minimal knowledge of history. The views of individual Turks very often align with those of family and friends. They are not avid readers by any means but love to debate, often hotly, at the neighborhood coffee shop about which foreign nations are friendly and which are not. An interest-based, transactional diplomatic calculus does not exist in the Turkish psyche.PMW: PA death worship: A mother is proud of her child’s death for Allah
Broadly speaking, there are six interpretations of historical events engraved in the Turkish collective memory that are employed to this day to justify hatred for specific foreign nations:
Imperialist Europe caused the collapse of an otherwise perfect empire and then invaded what would become modern Turkey.
Ungrateful Arabs stabbed us in the back and allied with Western powers against our Ottoman ancestors.
The Greeks invaded Anatolia and committed horrendous war crimes during their military campaign.
The Russians, or the “reds in the north,” have always had an eye on Turkish soil with a view to establishing a presence in the Mediterranean.
The Armenians, after having been loyal servants of the Ottoman Empire for centuries, revolted under Russian provocation for the sake of an independent homeland and slandered the noble nation in the eyes of the world with the “genocide” hoax.
The Kurds, despite being fellow Muslims, launched the most violent terror campaign in Turkish history, with a death toll reaching over 40,000, including civilians.
There are inconsistencies in Turkish thinking; for example, the country has spent half a century trying to get into the European Union while remaining convinced that Europeans are bloodthirsty, Islamophobic imperialists and racists — but they can be explained by a cultural pragmatism that overrides even deeply held historical stereotypes. This phenomenon was illustrated by a survey conducted by Istanbul’s Kadir Has University in 2016. The biggest group in the survey — 18.8% of respondents — identified NATO/the United States as the answer to the question “With which bloc should Turkey align its foreign policy?” But in the same survey, 44.1% of Turks cited the United States as a threat to their country, classifying it as more dangerous than Russia.
The PA encourages its children to go into areas of confrontation and participate in fighting with Israeli soldiers, and when the children are killed, the PA presents them as heroic Martyrs. In fact, their deaths are presented by the PA as an “achievement.” Often, the parents of the dead children also present their children’s deaths positively.PMW: Fatah links top professional freerunner Lynn Jung to its terror promotion; Jung’s signature appeared with picture of murderer Dalal Mughrabi on imaginary PA currency
One particularly shocking response of a mother of such a child “Martyr” was recently posted by Abbas’ Fatah Movement. On May 13, 2020, when Israeli special forces were in a PA town to arrest a suspected terrorist, a Palestinian teenager joined the confrontations and was killed. The mother was called on the phone by PA Chairman Abbas and by the way she spoke to him about her son’s death, you would think she had won the lottery:
“My son is a sacrifice for the sake of the homeland. A sacrifice for the sake of the entire people… I’m proud, proud of the entire people – I’m proud of it, and of the sons of Palestine, the young people of Palestine... I’m prepared to sacrifice even more. I’m prepared to give more Martyrs for the homeland… It’s not a waste. My son’s blood is not a waste for the homeland.”
[Official Fatah Facebook page, May 17, 2020]
Both Abbas and the Fatah official who sat with the mother expressed support for the mother’s praise of her son’s Martyrdom for Allah. Abbas reiterated that all children are for Allah: “He is our son… Our children – all are for the sake of Allah.” When the mother said: “I’m prepared to give more Martyrs,” Fatah’s secretary of the Southern Hebron Branch, Iyad Rayyan, added “May Allah grant you more.”
This mother’s statements are a clear example of how decades of PA glorification of terrorists and terrorists who die as “Martyrs” while fighting Israel translates into teens endangering themselves, and parents applauding their untimely deaths.
As part of its continuous terror promotion, Abbas’ Fatah Movement is now linking the famous professional freerunner Lynn Jung with one of the most notorious Palestinian terrorist murderers.Why do Russia’s patrols in Syria keep running into trouble?
On its official Facebook page, Fatah asked in English, “What if we had a Palestinian coin (sic), what would it look like?” and posted a series of imaginary Palestinian bills. Jung’s signature and name appear as “Minister of Treasury” in the center of all the bills beneath the logo of the Palestinian Authority. The imaginary 20 pound bill carries the picture of Palestinian terrorist and child-murderer Dalal Mughrabi who led a bus hijacking and murder of 12 Israeli children and 25 adults in 1978.
Lynn Jung has nothing to do with Palestinian terror. As her website states: “Lynn Jung is a professional freerunner and parkour athlete based out of London UK and Luxembourg. Often referred to as one of the parkour scene’s leading female athletes, Lynn has travelled the world to train and compete in some of the most renowned competitions within parkour.” [https://www.lynnjung.net/]
Jung’s signature appears at the top of her website. It is that signature that has been embedded in the center of the imaginary bill honoring the terrorist posted by Abbas' Fatah Movement.
Palestinian Media Watch assumes that Lynn Jung is unaware of this misuse of her name, and that she has not endorsed any of these imaginary bills, least of all the one honoring a terrorist who led the murder of 37 civilians.
Russian patrols in Syria, jointly done with Turkey or sometimes with just Russian vehicles, keep running into controversy. A bomb allegedly targeted one patrol near Idlib, and others in eastern Syria have run into angry locals and have been interdicted by the US. It shows how Syria is a competition for the superpowers and how no one knows what may come next.Iran, Russia Smuggling Weapons to Libyan Terror Factions
According to reports, there were tensions on June 2 when a Russian patrol wanted to enter some areas near Derik in eastern Syria. The Russians have been in eastern Syria since the US withdrew and Turkey began attacking Kurdish minorities. Turkish-backed extremists executed people and caused 200,000 to flee.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which are backed by the US, enabled a deal to protect the Kurds from further Turkish shelling while the Russians and Syrian regime would establish a ceasefire. The SDF still nominally controls much of eastern Syria. But an uneasy and bizarre peace reigns: Russia and Turkey do joint patrols in one area, while the US, supposedly a Turkish ally, patrols in another area. Turkey claims the SDF are terrorists, even though the SDF defeated ISIS.
Russia also ended up doing patrols in Idlib because the Russian-backed Syrian regime launched an offensive in February that clashed with Turkish troops in Idlib. Russia stepped in to enforce a ceasefire. Russia is a sort of referee in Syria. But like all referees, it can’t be all things to everyone. Kurds are disappointed Russia didn’t do more to support them, and Syrian rebels despise Russia for aiding the Assad regime.
The US doesn’t like the Russians. Only Turkey and Russia seem to get along well.
Iran and Russia were caught shipping heavy weaponry into Libya, providing new evidence of an illicit arms smuggling operation that has equipped anti-government terror groups with, among other things, anti-tank missiles, according to American and Libyan officials who spoke to the Washington Free Beacon.Iran Foreign Minister Challenges Trump to Return to Nuclear Deal
A weapons cache was recently flown into Libya by Cham Wings, a Syrian-operated commercial airline tied to Bashar al-Assad and subject to U.S. sanctions. The shipment included Russian-made weapons and, for the first time, Iranian arms, according to information obtained by Libya's Government of National Accord (GNA), the country's U.S.-backed interim ruling council.
The weapons were delivered to Libyan military commander Khalifa Haftar, who is in charge of multiple terrorist factions waging war against the GNA and its Western backers. Russia and Iran are supporting Haftar's forces, which have been accused of carrying out war crimes.
Iran's new involvement marks a significant escalation in Libya's years-long civil war, according to American, Israeli, and Libyan officials. By fomenting chaos in the country, Iran hopes to increase its regional footprint and undermine democratic reformers backed by the United States and other Western governments. Haftar's militias used this weaponry to battle GNA forces in and around Tripoli, a central battleground in the civil war.
"The Iranian twist is something that's new," Mohammed Ali Abdallah, a senior adviser to the GNA and its representative to the United States, told the Free Beacon. "Their involvement has not been as visible in this crisis."
Seizing on Donald Trump’s conciliatory tone after Tehran released an American Navy veteran, Iran’s foreign minister challenged the US president on Friday to return to the nuclear deal that Washington abandoned two years ago.Iran's Shifting Posture in Syria
Iran freed Michael White on Thursday as part of a deal in which the United States allowed Iranian-American physician Majid Taheri to visit Iran.
Trump tweeted on Thursday of White’s release: “Thank you to Iran, it shows a deal is possible!”
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, addressing Trump, said on Twitter, “We achieved humanitarian swap despite your subordinates’ efforts.”
“We had a deal when you entered office. … Your advisors–most fired by now–made a dumb bet. Up to you to decide when you want to fix it.”
Trump pulled out in 2018 of the nuclear deal with major powers, under which Tehran curbed its nuclear work in return for the lifting of many international sanctions on Iran. Since quitting the agreement, Washington has reimposed sanctions to throttle Iran’s oil exports as part of a policy of “maximum pressure.”
Thursday’s prisoner swap was a rare instance of US-Iranian cooperation. Also on Friday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi confirmed that Zarif met Bill Richardson, a former US envoy to the United Nations, “months ago” over prisoner releases.
Since intervening in 2012 to help the Assad regime battle against a nationwide armed uprising, Iran has deployed several thousand Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) officers and units of its regular military to advise and support Assad's ground forces. Iran also facilitated the deployment to Syria of tens of thousands of fighters from Lebanese Hizbullah, fighters from several Iraqi Shia militia groups, and Afghan and Pakistani Shia militiamen.UN atomic watchdog says Iran now violating all restrictions of nuclear deal
Iran has used its intervention in Syria to secure its supply routes to Hizbullah and to develop military production facilities to help Hizbullah upgrade the precision of its more than 100,000 Iran-supplied rockets and short-range ballistic missiles aimed at Israel. Israel has responded with regular bombardment of Iran-controlled installations in Syria.
Iran's apparent drawdown of its military presence in Syria likely reflects Tehran's calculation that the Assad regime is secure.
Iran's drawdown from Syria is likely also a function of pressure from Russia and the Assad regime itself. Russia sees Iran as an obstacle to efforts to compel Assad to reach a political settlement with the opposition and to attracting reconstruction funds - all vital to Russia's ability to wind down its own involvement in Syria.
Several potential donors - particularly the Persian Gulf states - are reluctant to invest in Syria's rebuilding if Iran remains present there.
Iran has continued to increase its stockpiles of enriched uranium and remains in violation of its deal with world powers, the United Nations’ atomic watchdog said Friday.Did Iran’s IRGC commander Ghaani go to Baghdad to oust US forces?
The International Atomic Energy Agency reported the finding in a confidential document distributed to member countries and seen by news agencies.
The agency said that as of May 20, Iran’s total stockpile of low-enriched uranium amounted to 1,571.6 kilograms (1.73 tons), up from 1,020.9 kilograms (1.1 tons) on Feb. 19 and more than eight times the legal limit.
Iran signed the nuclear deal in 2015 with the United States, Germany, France, Britain, China and Russia. Known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, it allows Iran only to keep a stockpile of 202.8 kilograms (447 pounds).
The US pulled out of the deal unilaterally in 2018.
The IAEA reported that Iran has also been continuing to enrich uranium to a purity of 4.5%, higher than the 3.67% allowed under the JCPOA. It is also above the pact’s limitations on heavy water.
Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Esmail Ghaani was in Iraq this week as part of Iran’s coordinated efforts to oust US forces from the region, according to reports. Al-Arabiya and other media suggested his visit was timed to coincide with a visit by Iran’s energy minister to seal a deal with Iraq to continue supplying energy to Baghdad.MEMRI: UAE Daily Reports On Iran’s Military Headquarters In Damascus, Including A Control Room Monitoring Iran’s Drones, Among Them Drones Watching U.S. Base
Ghaani, an expert on Afghanistan and Pakistan who took the place of Qasem Soleimani after the latter was eviscerated by a US missile in January, has struggled to show leadership in his role with the IRGC. He went to Iraq in April and his visit was not well received.
Iraq has a new prime minister who is struggling to rein in security forces and also deal with ISIS insurgents.
Ghaani is not well liked by the Arabic-speaking members of some factions of the Hashd al-Shaabi, the powerful pro-Iranian militias in Iraq. Yet he wants to unify these factions with the help of a member of Hezbollah named Sheikh Mohamed Kawtharani and Abu Fadak, a key leader of the Hashd.
Not everything is known about what has happened in Iraq over the last six months a the country lurches from crisis to crisis and as Iran and the US appeal for hearts and minds. The country is poor, divided and full of protesters and a new ISIS insurgency. Its divided security forces mean no one has clear control.
A report in the English-language UAE daily The National provides information about the Glass House, a building near the Damascus international airport that serves as the command and control headquarters of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) in Syria. This is the hub from which the IRGC's Quds Force has orchestrated Iran's military efforts in the country.
According to the report, the building houses the commands of the various pro-Iranian militias in Syria (Iranian, Afghan, Iraqi, Lebanese, Palestinian and Pakistani), and is the venue for meetings between their top brass. It also contains a well-equipped hospital which treats militiamen wounded in action, extensive intelligence departments, and a control room monitoring live feed from Iran's fleet of drones in Syria, including drones deployed above a U.S. airbase in the northeast of the country.
The report notes that, in November 2019, an Israeli airstrike damaged the top two floors of the Glass House, but did not destroy the building completely. Israel's restraint, it speculates, may stem from understandings it has with Syria and Hizbullah, as part of which it refrains from causing extensive casualties in Syria. The report adds, however, that Iran nevertheless seems to be downsizing its activity in the Glass House, in favor of alternative centers in the Palmyra and Aleppo areas.
The following are excerpts from the report:[1]
"Thousands of cars pass a towering glass building along Damascus' airport road every day with little idea of its crucial role in the country's brutal nine-year civil war. Just a few hundred meters from the country’s main passenger terminal – one of the few routes to the outside world for those in isolated Syria able to afford it – the building’s imposing glass facade casts a shadow across the traffic on the highway. Inside is one of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp’s most critical nodes in Syria - an intelligence headquarters vital to Iran’s efforts in the war-torn country. To the rank and file militiamen, commanders, and IRGC officials that frequently pass through, it’s known as Beit Al Zajaja, or The Glass House in English.
"For militia commanders stationed out in the dust lands of Deir Ezzor, or on the frontlines of Idlib, being summoned to The Glass House is the equivalent of being called to The White House. Extensive interviews reveal, for the first time, the site's role as a central node in the IRGC Quds Force's Syria campaign.
Senior Iranian Human Rights Official Ali Bagheri: While Iran Has Great Achievements in Science, Nuclear and Missile Technology, Saudi Arabia Wins Camel Races pic.twitter.com/gjeKvrhT3h
— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) June 5, 2020
