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Thursday, June 11, 2020

06/11 Links Pt1: Col. Kemp: A British mandate to recognize Israeli sovereignty; Do Arab States Support a Palestinian State? Don’t Bet on It; Trump okays sanctions against ICC employees investigating US troops

From Ian:
What Bibi wants to do in the West Bank is not annexation
Fifty-three years ago today, Israel was fighting for its survival. In a larger sense, that doesn’t make it all that different from any day in the preceding 19 years or the 53 that have followed. The Six-Day War was different, however, because it not only saw the tiny nation’s improbable victory over three Arab powers bent on its destruction, it returned vast swathes of the Land of Israel to Jewish custodianship. Two thousand years of history had been overturned in less than a week.

The legacy of this war is still debated today, because, in the words of Yossi Klein Halevi, victory ‘turned Israel into… history’s most improbable occupier’. Now we are told Israel is becoming an apartheid state — we’ve been told this for decades — because Benjamin Netanyahu is preparing to ‘annex the West Bank’. The UK’s Middle East Minister James Cleverly has denounced ‘annexation which we have consistently said we oppose — and which could be detrimental to a two-state solution’. Prominent British Jews have expressed ‘concern and alarm at the policy proposal to unilaterally annex areas of the West Bank’.

One problem: Israel isn’t preparing to annex the West Bank. I don’t mean in the sense that Haaretz’s Anshel Pfeffer has been warning: that Bibi has no intention of fulfilling his election promise. Bibi may well opt to keep the relative peace seen in the territories in recent years, but that’s not the issue. I’m not even pettifogging about the fact that the correct terminology is not ‘West Bank’ but Judea and Samaria. Though it is.

What Netanyahu has pledged to do is change the legal status of Israeli settlements as well as the Jordan Valley, a topographical buffer zone between Israel and Jordan. All in all, 30 per cent of Judea and Samaria would be governed in the same manner as the rest of Israel, leaving the remainder under a mixture of Israeli military administration and Palestinian civilian control.

This is not annexation. Under international law, annexation describes ‘the forcible acquisition of territory by one state at the expense of another’, and a) there is only one state involved in this dispute, b) since Israel already exercises a form of sovereignty over the territory in question, there would be no fresh acquisition, and c) the proposed changes would see the settlements and the Jordan Valley transfer from military to civilian law, the very opposite of the belligerence implicit in ‘forcible’.
Amb. Alan Baker: The U.S. Peace Plan, Political Wisdom and Double Standards
The Palestinian leadership's refusal to even consider the U.S. peace plan, despite the considerable political, economic and financial benefits that it offered them, threatens to undermine any possible return to genuine negotiations.

Their refusal undermines the commitment by PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat in the name of the Palestinian people, in his September 9, 1993, letter to Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, according to which: "The PLO commits itself to the Middle East peace process, and to a peaceful resolution of the conflict between the two sides, and declares that all outstanding issues relating to permanent status will be resolved through negotiations."

The Palestinian refusal should logically have generated considerable international condemnation of the Palestinian leadership. Yet the UN, the EU, international leaders and the international media have refrained from criticizing or condemning the Palestinian refusal to cooperate in a plan intended to restore peace negotiations. To the contrary, they encouraged the Palestinian leadership in its determination to undermine the plan.

The international community and specifically the European states, after having turned a blind eye to the Palestinian boycott of the peace plan, are not really in the position to criticize and condemn Israel for considering ways to realize those components of the plan that are ultimately intended to apply to Israel.

The Palestinian leadership cannot exercise an indefinite right of veto over peace negotiations. Had they used political wisdom from the start and welcomed the plan as a basis for negotiation, then the issue of the unilateral application of sovereignty by Israel over parts of the West Bank would most likely not have arisen.
Do Arab States Support a Palestinian State? Don’t Bet on It
Why is the red carpet that welcomes Palestinian leaders to Western capitals exchanged for a shabby rug when they land in most Arab capitals?

In 2020, the widely-disseminated Arabic hashtag “Palestine is not my cause” reflects a growing Arab disdain toward Palestinian activism. It is consistent with the policy of key Arab leaders, which facilitated the successful conclusion of the 1979 Israel-Egypt peace negotiations by avoiding the myth of Palestinian centrality.

For example, Morocco’s King Hassan, who provided an essential tailwind to the initial stage of the peace negotiations, proclaimed: “The PLO is a cancer in the Arab body.” It is also compatible with a statement made by Egypt’s former President Anwar Sadat, a co-signer of the peace treaty: “Why would I want a Palestinian state? A Palestinian state would enhance the Soviet standing in the region and would join the radical Arab camp.”

This position was echoed by Hosni Mubarak, Sadat’s deputy, who succeeded him as president: “Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are not concerned about the Palestinians, and Jordan does not want a Palestinian state either … nor does Israel” (No More War, E. Ben Elissar, 1995, pp 106, 209, 207).

The tangible Arab walk — rather than the placating Arab talk — on the Palestinian issue reflects Arab contempt for the Palestinian track record, as well as the peripheral role played by the Palestinian issue in shaping the Middle East reality.

In 2020, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and all other pro-US Arab regimes are preoccupied with domestic and regional epicenters of subversion, terrorism, and conventional, ballistic, and nuclear threats, which significantly transcend the Palestinian issue.



Richard Kemp, Hugh Kitson and Simon Isaacs: A British mandate to recognize Israeli sovereignty
The legal right of the Jewish people to reconstitute their historic homeland was recognized at the San Remo Conference of 1920 and by virtue of the Mandate for Palestine that resulted from it. This was unanimously endorsed by all 51 nations that were in the League of Nations, which then constituted the entire international community.

International lawyer Cynthia D. Wallace writes: “The Mandate system had been set up under Article 22 of the Covenant of the newly formed League of Nations that had arisen out of the Paris peace process to deal with such post-war emerging territories. At San Remo, the Mandate for Palestine was entrusted to Great Britain as a ‘sacred trust of civilization,’ and the language of the Balfour Declaration was enshrined in both the San Remo Resolution and the League Mandate, which stand on their own as valid international legal instruments with the full force of treaty law.”

Wallace is by no means the only international lawyer who recognizes that the right of the Jewish people to reconstitute their national home in their historic homeland was enshrined in international law at San Remo. At the heart of the historic Jewish homeland was the Old City of Jerusalem and the territory today known as “the West Bank.”

Territorially the legal right of the Arabs to self-determination was accorded to them by the Mandates for Syria and Lebanon (under the French), and Mesopotamia—now Iraq—(under the British), and later in Transjordan, which was originally part of the Mandate for Palestine.

The legal obligations of the mandate for Palestine
The Mandate document legally obligated Britain, as the Mandatory Power, to work with the Jewish Agency to create suitable conditions for the Jewish National Home and to encourage Jewish immigration and close settlement of the land—i.e. any and all parts of the land west of the Jordan River—with the view to ultimate self-government (i.e. statehood). While the civil and religious rights of the existing non-Jewish population were to be protected, the political rights of self-determination were reserved for the Jewish people. In fact the Arabs are not specifically mentioned in the Mandate for Palestine document at all.
David Collier: An annexation that isn’t – British Jewry loses the plot
Israel is a democracy with a large Jewish majority. Since 1967, and the three ‘Nos’ at the Arab Summit in Khartoum, Israel has been trying to navigate a geo-political nightmare. On the one hand, it would very much like to build bridges with all its neighbours, on the other it faces a hostile Arab population that is unable to come to terms with Israel’s existence. Several of Israel’s leaders have tried, and failed, to find a peaceful solution. Every time there appeared to be a serious opportunity, violence erupted from the Arab side to close the imaginary window.

The truth remains that the population in Gaza and Ramallah are only a united people in the context of an anti-Zionist conflict. Outside of this paradigm, they are warring factions with little connecting them beyond a fable of a once prosperous nation, a picture of Yasser Arafat, a national history that is little more than a web of lies and conspiracy, and finally, a roll call of heroes who were nothing but terrorists. This should not be misunderstood. It is not to say that underneath the mess that those calling themselves Palestinians have become, there aren’t human beings who have gone through tragedy, but simply to highlight that the choices that Arab nations and local leaders have made for them, the education that they have been given, has rendered them incapable of providing a unified coherent argument for anything but a conflict with Zionism.

It can be deceptive. Walk through the streets of Ramallah and you will meet the friendliest, most hospitable people you would ever hope to meet. Lend them your ear, and you will hear little but a rendition of the web of lies and conspiracy. Hold their hand and they will lead you through the carefully selected hotspots such as a tiny corner of Hebron, pointing out as they go, why it shows that their version of events is true. They will talk of justice, suggesting that if they can receive it, then everyone will live in peace. This tale, coming as it does from the underdog, spins a story that is swallowed wholesale throughout the west.
Truths, lies and demographics

It is this disparity, that creates two incompatible narratives. The true tale – of an Israel that cannot find a partner for peace because one does not exist, and the falsehood – that if Israel were just nicer, then peace would come. Inside this stalemate, Israel has struggled to come to terms with the geo-political consequences. How can Israel finalise its borders without anyone to finalise those borders with?

Complicating this further is the changing demographic in the west. Once upon a time only the Arab states had to worry about popular uprising if Israel made a unilateral move. This is no longer the case. Throughout Europe, politicians become nervous whenever Israel takes any action, however justified. European leaders are scared of their own streets. It does not even matter if they understand Israel’s position, they want Israel to refrain from doing anything that will unsettle their own European Muslim and Arab populations.
Netanyahu Tells German FM Israel Must Retain West Bank Security Control in Any Future Peace Deal
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told visiting German Foreign Minister Heiko Mass on Wednesday that the Jewish state must retain security control over the West Bank in any peace deal with the Palestinians.

A statement from Netanyahu’s office published after the meeting in Jerusalem said the Israeli leader had “insisted that Israel’s vital interests — such as the need for complete security control west of the Jordan River — be upheld in a future agreement.”

It also noted that Netanyahu had said that “any realistic plan must recognize the reality of Israeli settlement on the ground and not foster the illusion of uprooting people from their homes.”

The two were also said to have discussed “halting financing for NGOs that are active against Israel.”

Defense Minister Benny Gantz met separately with Maas. Gantz called the Trump administration’s Israeli-Palestinian peace proposal “a historic opportunity.”

“It must be advanced with responsible vision and maximum dialogue with the various parties in the region and as part of a wide international dialogue,” Gantz stated.

Maas arrived in Israel Wednesday morning and first met with his Israeli counterpart Gabi Ashkenazi.

The top German diplomat’s visit was widely viewed as an attempt to “sound out” Israeli leaders in regard to possible annexation of parts of the West Bank, which Germany and the broader EU strongly oppose.

“I repeated here today the German position as well as our serious concerns as a special friend of Israel of the possible consequences of such a step,” Maas said at a press conference with Ashkenazi.
Turkey warns Israeli sovereignty bid 'crosses red line'
The Palestinians on Wednesday escalated their rhetoric against Israel's plan to apply sovereignty to large parts of Judea and Samaria and the Jordan Valley, while receiving backing from Turkey at an Organization of Islamic Cooperation meeting.

Turkish news agency Anadolu qouted Ankara's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu as saying, "If the occupying power [Israel] crosses the red line, we [Muslim countries] must show that this will have consequences."

The OIC is an international organization consisting of 57 member-states spread over four continents, with 53 countries being Muslim-majority countries.

According to Channel 12 News, Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riad Malki told OIC members that "the Israeli annexation of Palestinian land must not be completed, it must be prevented."

Malki urged the OIC to use its influence to prevent the annexation, which "would cause the vanishing of the two-state solution," Channel 12 News said.

He further warned that "the conflict would turn from political to religious. The stability in the region would be undermined."
Some nations said gearing up to recognize Palestine if annexation goes ahead
Palestinian and European officials have indicated some countries could retaliate for unilateral Israeli annexation of sections of the West Bank by recognizing a Palestinian state and sanctioning Israel, Hebrew media outlets reported Wednesday.

Quoting unnamed Palestinian officials, Kan TV news reported that several European countries, among them Ireland, have said they will recognize a Palestinian state if Israel extends sovereignty over areas designated for it under US President Donald Trump’s peace plan.

The report said the Palestinian Authority was also querying the positions of France, Spain, Luxembourg, Portugal and Belgium. A committee in the latter’s lower house of parliament passed a resolution Wednesday calling on the government to recognize a Palestinian state. That resolution is slated to be debated in the full chamber in the next 15 days.

Meanwhile, during meetings with Israeli leaders Wednesday, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas was said to issue similar warnings.

According to reports in Haaretz and Walla news, Maas warned that while Germany was unlikely to take punitive measures against Israel if it moves forward with annexation, other countries could impose sanctions or recognize a Palestinian state.
Former US ambassador: Annexation 'driving Zionist project off a cliff'
Former US ambassador to Israel, Martin Indyk, said that "annexation is the opposite of separation," and that "it is driving the Zionist project off a cliff," in an interview with Army Radio Thursday morning.

When asked whether or not he thinks Netanyahu is serious about his plan of annexation, Indyk stated that he believes so, as he has the support of an American president but added that "Netanyahu is supported by a president who won't be here soon" and raised concerns regarding the future of the State of Israel if annexation does go through as planned.

"The damage to Israel's reputation and its relationship with Arab countries will be irreplaceable," Indyk said.

When he was asked about the deal from the Palestinian point of view, he added that the "plan is completely unacceptable to Palestinians," and that they can't negotiate on this, it's a fantasy," to which the interviewer responded by reminding Indyk that most Israelis have come to view the two-state solution as a fantasy that won't take place in their own lifetime.

Indyk replied: "Israelis will decide their own fate," calling upon the public to decide "whether going down the road towards annexation of the territories is a wise thing to do. As Rabin said, we have to separate from the Palestinians. Separate out of anger or respect, but it still has to happen."
AIPAC reportedly gives US lawmakers green light to criticize sovereignty bid
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the leading pro-Israel lobby in the US, has indicated to lawmakers on Capitol Hill that they can voice criticism of Israel's bid to apply sovereignty on Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria so long as they don't take concrete steps to sabotage it, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported on Wednesday.

Such a stance is rare for AIPAC, which staunchly defends Israel in Washington. It has yet to make an official statement on the sovereignty move.

"Two sources – a congressional aide and a donor – say AIPAC is delivering that guidance in Zoom meetings and phone calls with lawmakers. The message is unusual because the group assiduously discourages public criticism of Israel," JTA reported.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said that he would likely go ahead with the move as part of his government's expected embrace of the Trump administration's peace plan.

The plan allows Israel to apply its laws to settlements and the Jordan Valley, so long as it does not infringe on areas that are designated for a future Palestinian state. That state will only be established if the Palestinians meet a strict set of criteria and no longer pose a threat to Israel – and only after four years of proving themselves – but settler leaders have voiced concern that it would become a terrorist hotbed.


At time of racial strife, US Jewish groups call to expel ZOA from umbrella org
As many Jewish organizations across the United States sent out statements decrying racism over the past week, the head of the Zionist Organization of America took a different approach.

Black Lives Matter “is a Jew hating, White hating, Israel hating, conservative Black hating, violence promoting, dangerous Soros funded extremist group of haters,” ZOA President Mort Klein tweeted on Saturday.

That tweet, vilifying Black Lives Matters as others sought to show solidarity with nationwide protests calling for racial justice, could be a turning point for the ZOA’s membership in a national coalition of Jewish organizations. Just weeks ago, another group in the coalition lodged a formal complaint that could result in the ZOA’s expulsion. Klein’s tweet now appears to be galvanizing liberal support for such a move.

The conflict comes at a particularly fraught time within the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, one of the last remaining spaces in the Jewish world where groups with disparate political agendas work together on behalf of American Jewry. While member organizations have fought over Israel policy for decades, tensions over US President Donald Trump and his domestic policies have ramped up tensions in recent years — at times instigated by Klein and his often inflammatory comments.

Rabbi Rick Jacobs, the president of the Union for Reform Judaism, one of the largest constituents of the Presidents Conference, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that silence was no longer an option in dealing with Klein and the ZOA.
Trump okays sanctions against ICC employees investigating US troops
US President Donald Trump lobbed a broadside attack Thursday against the International Criminal Court by authorizing economic sanctions and travel restrictions against court workers directly involved in investigating American troops and intelligence officials for possible war crimes in Afghanistan.

The executive order signed by the president marks his administration’s latest attack against international organizations, treaties and agreements that don’t hew to its policies. Since taking office, Trump has withdrawn from the Paris climate accord, the Iran nuclear deal and two arms control treaties with Russia. He has pulled the US out of the UN Human Rights Council and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, threatened to leave the International Postal Union and announced an end to cooperation with the World Health Organization.

“The International Criminal Court’s actions are an attack on the rights of the American people and threaten to infringe upon our national sovereignty,” White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said in a statement. “The ICC was established to provide accountability for war crimes, but in practice it has been an unaccountable and ineffective international bureaucracy that targets and threatens United States personnel as well as personnel of our allies and partners.”

The executive order authorized the secretary of state, in consultation with the treasury secretary, to block financial assets within US jurisdiction of court personnel who directly engage in investigating, harassing or detaining US personnel. The order authorizes the secretary of state to block court officials and their family members involved in the investigations from entering the United States. The ICC-related travel restrictions go beyond what the State Department issued last year.

McEnany said that, despite repeated calls by the United States and its allies, the ICC has not embraced reform. She alleged the court continues to pursue politically motivated investigations against the US and its partners, including Israel.
High Court nixing of settlement law keeps Israel out of ICC
About a month ago 11 Justices unanimously voted to let Benjamin Netanyahu lead the government, despite the grave criminal charges against him.

They also approved the entire coalition deal between him and Benny Gantz, including a provision that states, "the prime minister will be able to bring for approval to the government/Knesset an agreement reached with the U.S. over the application of sovereignty in the West Bank."

On Tuesday, eight members of a nine justice-panel voted down the law to legalize thousands of homes in West Bank settlements. The High Court decided that the legislation was not constitutional and erased it from the law books.

Thirty years after "Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty" was legislated, and after it was constantly beaten down by politicians, the court dusted off clause 8 and used it to make their final decision:
"There shall be no violation of rights under this Basic Law except by a law befitting the values of the State of Israel, enacted for proper purpose, and to an extent no greater than is required."

So simple, so balanced, so correct.

The law to retroactively recognize settlements built on private Palestinian land was legislated on February 2017, passed by a majority of 60 MKs to 52.

The petitions filed against it led to the legislation being delayed pending a court decision, which was delivered on Tuesday.
What Does the Israeli Supreme Court's Decision Mean for Annexation Aspirations?


Israel’s coronavirus death toll hits 300, as new infections spike overnight
Israel’s coronavirus death toll hit 300 on Thursday, as infections continued to spike with more than 100 cases confirmed overnight, the Health Ministry said.

There were no immediate details on the new fatality.

The ministry’s website updated the country’s total cases to 18,461, an increase of 106 since Wednesday night and a surge of about 1,700 in two weeks, after fewer than 1,200 cases were identified throughout the entire month of May.

The number of active cases, which dipped below 2,000 last month, stood at 2,947.

They included 31 in serious condition, of them 24 on ventilators. Another 44 were in moderate condition, and the rest were showing mild or no symptoms.

Health officials have attributed much of the recent rise in new cases to schools, which reopened in May after a two-month closure.

The government last week decided against closing all schools, but said it could use targeted closures anywhere a coronavirus case is found.
Coronavirus: Closures to be imposed on 'red' areas in Tel Aviv, Negev
Some restrictions will be reimposed on areas with a high-level of infection, the coronavirus cabinet decided on Thursday. In addition enforcement of Health Ministry regulations will be increased.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the coronavirus cabinet met at the Prime Minister’s Tel Aviv headquarters to discuss how to handle the recent spike in covid-19 cases.

The National Security Council released numbers on Thursday morning, about 12 hours from the last update by the Health Ministry. According to the report, there were 106 Israelis diagnosed with coronavirus overnight. Currently, there are 2,947 active cases (up 78 from the night before), included 29 who are ventilated (up seven from the night before).

Another person died, as well, bringing the death toll to 300. The mortality rate in Israel is 1.6%, which means that one in 61 coronavirus patients in the country has died.
Network of White Supremacists Spreads Anti-Semitic Conspiracy Theories About Coronavirus
A network of white supremacists and far-right provocateurs have spent the last several months disseminating anti-Semitic conspiracy theories alleging Jews are behind the coronavirus pandemic, further endangering an already vulnerable global Jewish community, according to a new watchdog report obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

A loose-knit community of 26 far-right anti-Semites are responsible for "a large proportion of online coronavirus anti-Semitism," according to an investigation conducted by Canary Mission, a watchdog group that monitors the dissemination of anti-Semitism online. As the virus spread across the globe, these individuals mobilized online to spread fear about Jews and accuse them of manufacturing the virus as part of a plot for world domination. While many of the conspiracy theories invoke age-old canards about Jews, the coronavirus provided a prime opportunity for these individuals to further stoke the flames of anti-Semitism, the report concludes.

Anti-Semitism has skyrocketed across the world in the past several years, including in the United States, where crimes targeting Jews have been on the rise. The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated this trend, as frightened populations seek a scapegoat for their fear, according to the report.

All the individuals profiled in the report "have a long history of anti-Semitism and share a common hatred of Jews," according to Canary Mission. "Coronavirus is just the latest opportunity to attack the Jewish community. Bigoted posts, videos, memes and podcasts feed their cultures and subcultures of hate—and this can lead to tragic consequences."

The report breaks online anti-Semitism surrounding the coronavirus into several categories. These include blaming Jews for creating the virus, claims that Israel and American Jews are using the pandemic to their advantage, and allegations that Jewish people have intentionally spread the illness.


Ari Fuld’s Wife Demands Maximum Penalty for his Convicted Murderer
As sentencing approaches in the case of Ari Fuld’s murderer, Khalil Yusef Ali Jabarin, Ari’s wife Miriam has demanded that the Judea military court issue the maximum penalty.

Ari Fuld was murdered on September 16, 2018, just days before Yom Kippur, at age 45. The murder took place outside the Rami Levy supermarket in Gush Etzion, south of Jerusalem. The terrorist came up behind him and stabbed him in the back.

Despite his fatal wounds, Ari managed to chase down the terrorist, and then shot and wounded him before he could harm anyone else. After stopping the terrorist, Ari succumbed to his injuries.

During the court sessions it was revealed that Jabarin first went to the Ziv Junction, then the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, and then to a spot then near Bethlehem, in search of Jewish victims. He finally headed over to the Gush Etzion junction, where he found Ari who was shopping for the coming holiday.

The family is being represented in court by Maurice Hirsch, who strongly believes that the terrorist should receive multiple life sentences. Hirsch expressed his hope that the court would also rule that the salary the terrorist would be receiving from the Palestinian Authority should be confiscated and transferred to the Fuld family.


IDF readies to raze home of Palestinian suspected of killing soldier with brick
The Israel Defense Forces on Thursday began preparing to demolish the home of a Palestinian man suspected of killing an Israeli soldier with a brick last month during a West Bank arrest raid.

In the predawn hours of Thursday morning, IDF troops entered the suspect’s village of Yabed in the northern West Bank, where Sgt. First Class Amit Ben-Ygal was killed, and measured his house — the first step in its eventual demolition.

“The mapping was performed in order to assess the possibility of razing the home,” the IDF said in a statement.

The military takes a variety of measurements of the structure of a house prior to demolition to determine the most effective and safest ways to raze it.

In the predawn hours of May 12, the Golani Reconnaissance Battalion carried out a series of arrests in Yabed.

According to the IDF’s initial investigation, as the Golani Reconnaissance Battalion was making its way out of the town at roughly 4:30 a.m., Ben-Ygal apparently heard a sound coming from one of the rooftops on the outskirts of the village and looked up.
MEMRI: Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh: We Are Reconsidering Our 1993 Recognition Of Israel; We Will Continue To Pay Salaries To Families Of Prisoners And 'Martyrs'
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said in a June 8, 2020 interview on Palestine TV that because the Palestinian Authority remained steadfast when it came to paying salaries to the families of Palestinians prisoners and "martyrs" despite Israeli pressure, the Israelis have backtracked on their demands to stop the payments. He emphasized the PA's commitment to paying these salaries and he added that recognition of Israel by the PLO is currently being discussed by the PLO's judicial committees. He explained that the PLO views this as a potential way to pressure Israel through the United Nations or diplomatic avenues.

"We Continued To Pay The Prisoners And The [Families Of] The Martyrs... We Will Remain Committed To This Until Judgement Day..."

Mohammad Shtayyeh: "[The Israelis] said that they want to deduct everything that we paid to the prisoners [from the tax revenues Israel collects for us], but we remained steadfast. We did not accept this deduction, and we continued to pay the prisoners and the [families of] the martyrs in full. We will remain committed to this until Judgement Day, until we are victorious, until the bloodbath stops, and until the prisons are closed. This is one issue to which we remained committed. The Israelis said: 'You have to close 40,000 bank accounts that belong to prisoners.' Some banks were afraid and all that, but we said to these banks: 'That is a political decision. It is forbidden for Israel to expand its military rule to the Palestinian lands. Stay steadfast on this issue!' The Israelis backtracked. Just as they backtracked on this, on that, and on other things when were steadfast and we persevered, I believe that on July 1 we will be in a different position.
[...]
Rescinding The PLO's 1993 Recognition Of Israel "Is Being Discussed Now By The Judicial Committees"

Interviewer: "You mentioned that [rescinding the PLO's] recognition of Israel is up for discussion. What does that mean? Where can things go from here, if Israel continues with these measures and its plans to annex parts of the West Bank?"

Shtayyeh: "This is being discussed now by the judicial committees that are studying ways in which we can use this bargaining chip to pressure Israel - whether via the United Nations, or by exchanging new mutual letters [to replace the 1993 letters of recognition]."


Palestinians Reject Second Delivery of COVID-19 Aid From UAE
The Palestinian Authority (PA) has rejected a delivery of medical supplies and other aid that arrived in Tel Aviv on Tuesday on a flight from Abu Dhabi. It was the second time in three weeks that the PA turned its back on such assistance from the United Arab Emirates.

The first was transported on May 21 in an unmarked Etihad Airways plane. This week’s delivery of ventilators and other equipment to help deal with the COVID-19 crisis arrived on a plane with the airline’s logo.

“We refuse to receive it because it was coordinated directly between Israel and [the UAE],” PA Civil Affairs Minister Hussein al-Sheikh told AFP.

During a briefing with foreign media in Ramallah on Tuesday, PA Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said, “If any country, whether Arab or European or international country, wants to help us, we welcome that. We don’t say no, as long as it is not conditional, and as long as it is fully coordinated with us.”

Israeli Foreign Ministry Director General Yuval Rotem tweeted in response: “Proud of the Foreign Ministry’s role in facilitating the arrival of the Etihad cargo plane which landed in Israel after flying from Abu Dhabi, carrying humanitarian aid to the Palestinians. We hope that future ETIHAD flights landing here will be carrying UAE tourists.”
PMW: Is PA TV using former Palestinian UN Youth Ambassador to glorify murderers?
Music video on PA TV Live includes photos of terrorists, among them Dalal Mughrabi who led murder of 37 Israelis, among them 12 children
Since Muhammad Assaf won the song contest Arab Idol in 2013, he has become a Palestinian and Arab pop star celebrity, especially for youth. So much so, that the UN appointed him UNRWA Regional Youth Ambassador from 2013 - 2017.

In 2016, Muhammad Assaf produced a music video of the song “My Blood is Palestinian,” which blends footage of him performing it live with footage of Palestinian cultural activities such as dancing, along with scenes of riots and rock throwing.

Now PA TV Live has broadcast the same music video, but with additional images blended in that include terrorists like Dalal Mughrabi, who together with others murdered 37 Israeli civilians, among them 12 children, in a bus hijacking; Salah Khalaf, head of the terror organization Black September, who planned the massacre of 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics; and the organization’s commander of operations Abu Yusuf Al-Najjar:
“I’ve remained as I was.
I’ve remained loyal to my religion.
On my land you will find me.
I will sacrifice myself for my family.
My blood is Palestinian, Palestinian.
…
[I’m] a Palestinian and the son of free people.
My head is in the heavens and proud.
In my oath of loyalty to the home,
My head has never bowed.”

[Official PA TV Live, June 1, 6, 9 (twice), 2020]

Palestinian Media Watch has reported that the former UNRWA Youth Ambassador has performed a number of anti-Israel songs, including one that denies Israel's legitimacy and presents all of Israel as “Palestine.”


Khaled Abu Toameh: Nablus mayor resigns over governor’s ‘meddling’ in municipal affairs
In an unprecedented move, the mayor of Nablus, the largest Palestinian city in the West Bank, on Wednesday announced his resignation after accusing the Palestinian Authority governor of the city of meddling in municipal affairs.

The resignation underlines tensions that have long existed between Palestinian mayors and governors over municipal, civil and security authorities.

The mayor, Samih Tabila, said he decided to resign after Nablus Governor Ibrahim Ramadan granted permission to a construction company to pour concrete on a roof of a building constructed without a license from the municipality.

Two members of the Nablus municipal council, Saher Dweikat and Samah al-Kharouf, also submitted their resignations in protest of the governor’s action.

The mayor and the municipal council members accused the governor of infringement of the municipality’s authority.

Tabila, a former PA Minister of Transportation and Communication, said in a statement that he was quitting one year after assuming office as mayor on behalf of the ruling Fatah faction. He said that the municipality had determined that the building in the Rafidia neighborhood of Nablus had been constructed without a proper license.


Iranian spy exposed within Hamas ranks - report
An espionage scandal between Iran and Hamas was recently exposed after the Gaza-based group discovered that Tehran activated agents who followed every movement and recorded phone calls made by senior Hamas member Mousa Mohammed Abu Marzook, N12 reported.

One of Marzook's staff members was recently exposed as an Iranian intelligence officer who was recruited by Tehran with Hezbollah mediation.
The agent reported every movement made by Marzook during his official trips.

Marzook is a central figure regarding Hamas's foreign affairs array, and previously served as the head of its political branch.

Following the discovery, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh talked to Hezbollah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah about the subject.




MEMRI: Article In Syrian Government Daily: The Coronavirus Is An American-Zionist Plot Aimed At Saving The U.S. Economy And Restoring The Rothschilds' Global Control
In a May 18, 2020 article in the Syrian government daily Al-Thawra, Dr. 'Abd Al-Rahman Dashti, an attorney and former member of the Kuwaiti parliament who is known to be a supporter of the resistance axis, set out an antisemitism-tinged conspiracy theory. He stated that the coronavirus, which is artificial, was deliberately developed by the U.S. in order to save its economy from collapse, in light of the booming Chinese economy. He added that the U.S.'s development and spread of the virus – its "great, barbaric manipulation against humanity" – was according to a plan by "the Zionist Freemasons, the Rothschilds, and the Rockefellers" who control the American empire and seek to prevent its fall and to renew their global control. After attributing the coronavirus's severe blow to Italy to U.S. vengeance against it for its increased trade with China and its refusal to allow U.S. missiles to be deployed on its soil, he concluded by stating that a new world war is inevitable.[1]

Dashti served in the Kuwaiti armed forces from 1974 to 1982, first as a pilot and then in other air force positions. He later was an MP, but in 2016 his parliamentary immunity was rescinded after he tweeted messages against the Kuwaiti and Saudi regimes. He fled to an unknown location and was sentenced in absentia in Kuwait to 20 years in prison, and over the years his sentence has been extended to 55 years.

The following are translated excerpts of Dashti's article in Al-Thawra: [2]
"While COVID-19 has taken the lives of thousands of people worldwide, and continues its wild slaughter, the campaign of [mutual] accusations between the U.S./Europe and China/Russia about who is responsible for spreading the deadly virus and what their motives are in doing so is [likewise] escalating. This means that these countries have skipped over the possibility that it is a natural occurrence that emerged following the consumption of bats or because of some mistake in a laboratory, and have recognized that it is an artificial virus planned and created premeditatively as a preventative solution to the [imminent] mighty explosion in all areas of human and animal life on the planet. This [explosion would be] the result of the expected economic collapses and the massive growth in the [world] population, two-thirds of which would become a burden to some Western countries.

"Who is benefiting from this?

"In the past decade, the world has been following America's covert threats against China aimed at slowing the pace of its scientific and economic development, after it became a global power that the array of the Freemasons and the Jewish tycoons do not control. But China did not give in to these threats – on the contrary, it revived the operation of the natural gas pipeline and inaugurated it, starting the flow of gas from the Russian [gas] fields directly to Chinese factories. As a result, China's industrial output doubled within a few months, and [its products] are strong competitors to American products – bringing the American economy to the brink of collapse. The U.S. is expending some $2 million every day, transferring funds from third-world countries to Switzerland, Luxembourg, and the Virgin Islands to cover its budget deficit. That is, most of the U.S.'s money has evaporated into thin air and what remains is [now] on the way to evaporating...

"The only solution for the American economic collapse caused by the spread of China's [global economy] was this virus, by means of which the U.S. began its great, barbaric manipulation against humanity, according to a plan prepared by experts from the Zionist Freemasons, the Rothschilds, and the Rockefellers. They will never allow their American empire to fall, and if this happens then [as far as they are concerned] the whole world can go down together with them – they already have secret safe shelters.
Unanswered Israeli Air Strikes Against Syria Raise S-400 Questions
Israeli air strikes against targets in Syria may be one of the main reasons for the growing crisis between Russia and Turkey since they’re highlighting the Russian-made S-400 air defense systems may not be as effective as Turkey believed.

The first signs of dissatisfaction with the Russian air defense systems came on May 1 when the Syria Direct website ran a story quoting what was described as a Syrian military source who criticized the S-300 air defense systems supplied by Russia. The source pointed to the repeated failures of the Russian-made systems to protect sites in Syria from the Israeli strikes. The comments by the apparent Syrian military official was the first clear sign of a big dispute between Moscow and Ankara related to the operational efficiency of the air defense systems.

Turkey has signed a deal with Russia to purchase S-400 systems in a deal worth more than $1 billion. The first systems have already been supplied to Turkey but they are not operational yet.

Last year, the Israeli air force hit more than 200 targets in Syria connected to the Iranian effort to upgrade Hezbollah’s rockets. Some of those attacks have been reported to involve Israeli F-35s. The attacks continue apace this year with Syrian air defense forces having launched more than 1,000 surface-air missiles to try and foil the repeated Israeli attacks. They’ve had little effect so far.

The latest attack was Thursday. According to the Syrian Center for Human Rights, at least nine people were killed, four of them Syrians and five of whom are unknown at this time. Reportedly, the number may go up. The Lebanese Al-Miyadin channel, which is close to Hezbollah, reported that Israeli planes attacked four targets and returned to Israel. Israeli aircraft attacked Syrian regime security factories and destroyed weapons depots, according to the Syrian Center for Human Rights.

Washington ejected Turkey from the F-35 program because of President Erdogan’s decision to go ahead with the S-400 deal. While it accepted delivery of at least one, Turkey has delayed ordering additional S-400 batteries.
Iran's New Anti-Israel Legislation
Iran's Majlis recently passed a law that seeks to criminalize all interaction with the "Zionist enemy."

The ban covers all commercial, academic, and cultural activities, and criminalizes all indirect forms of interaction as well.

Included in the ban are hardware and software developed in Israel or by companies that have production branches in Israel.

This provision will be daunting to implement, since many IT giants, including IBM, Apple, and Google, have research facilities in Israel.

Check Point, Mobileye, and numerous other platforms that were developed in Israel are used in many software products.

Should Iran actually apply this clause of the law, it will end up in the digital equivalent of the Stone Age.

Organizers of anti-Israel events at which Israeli flags are routinely burned complained that because the bill outlaws the manufacture of Israeli flags, they will now be forced to import these items.

Ofira Seliktar is professor emerita at Gratz College in Pennsylvania.




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