Monday, June 29, 2020
David Singer: Jewish People Reclaiming Sovereignty in Biblical Heartland after 3000 Years
The United Nations is disgracefully trying to prevent a miracle happening 100 years after the world first gave its historic imprimatur to an impossible dream becoming a possible reality: The restoration of Jewish sovereignty in 1697km² [square kilometres] of the Jewish People’s biblical heartland in Judea and Samaria (West Bank).
The defeat of the 400 years-old Ottoman Empire in World War One revived the Jewish People’s 3000-years-old dream of regaining nationhood in their ancient homeland – which had extended across both banks of the River Jordan where the twelve tribes of Israel had finally settled 40 years after their exodus from Egypt.
The San Remo Resolution signed by Great Britain, France, Japan and Italy on 25 April 1920 promised the Jews real hope.
The Treaty of Sevres involving the international community quickly followed on 10 August 1920.
The British Empire, France, Italy and Japan (“Principal Allied Powers”) were joined by Armenia, Belgium, Greece, the Hedjaz, Poland Portugal, Roumania, the Serb-Croat Slovene State and Czecho-Slovakia (“Allied Powers”) in this peace treaty signed with Turkey.
Signatories for the British Empire were representatives of:
His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The Dominion of Canada
The Commonwealth of Australia
The Dominion of New Zealand
The Union of South Africa
India
Article 95 provided that Palestine – within such boundaries as might be determined by the Principal Allied Powers – be administered by a Mandatory to be selected by them. The Mandatory was to be responsible for putting into effect the Balfour Declaration made on 2 November 1917, by the British Government – and adopted by the Allied Powers – in favour of the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people – it being clearly understood that nothing would be done which might prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine – or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.
The League of Nations' 51 member states unanimously appointed Britain as Mandatory and approved the terms of the Mandate for Palestine on 24 July 1922.
UN: Any Israeli annexation plan is illegal, whether limited or unlimited
Any Israeli West Bank annexation plan is illegal irrespective of whether it includes all or only some of the settlements, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michele Bachelet clarified on Monday.'Arabs, not Jews, founded and built Jerusalem'
“Annexation is illegal. Period,” Bachelet said.
She spoke out amid reports that Israel weighed assuaging international and Palestinian objections to annexation by moving forward with a partial plan.
This would likely include the application of sovereignty over areas of high settler-population density, known as the blocs, rather than advancing an initiative that would annex the entire 30% of the West Bank as outlined under US President Donald Trump's peace plan.
Yamina MK and former justice minister Ayelet Shaked told Army Radio earlier in the day that the Jordan Valley would be excluded from Israel’s annexation plans.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “has given up on the Jordan Valley” because of the opposition from the Arab world, she said.
Shaked charged that the sovereignty map included in Trump’s peace plan had been drawn up by Netanyahu. “He worked for three years for this plan, and he can make changes to it, as long as his coalition agrees,” she said.
In Geneva, Bachelet said that the objection to annexation is not related to the size of the territory, but is an illegal act whether it includes “30% of the West Bank, or 5%."
“The precise consequences of annexation cannot be predicted,” Bachelet said, “but they are likely to be disastrous for the Palestinians, for Israel itself, and for the wider region."
A Jordanian institute presented a new spin on regional history over the weekend, claiming that it was the Arabs – not the Jews – who founded Jerusalem in biblical times.
According to Saudi daily Arab News, a position paper by the Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought, an Amman-based think tank, asserted that Arabs were the first inhabitants of Jerusalem and have lived there for at least 5,000 years.
Jerusalem is home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam's third holiest site after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia.
According to the report, the institute is an Islamic NGO headed by Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad, who has been serving as a special adviser to Jordan's King Abdullah since 2000.
The institute states in the paper that it "seeks to correct the misperception that Arabs are newcomers to Jerusalem" using unpublished documents, archaeological discoveries, and the Biblical record to assert its claims.
Among its many references, the paper sites the Amarna Correspondence, a series of diplomatic letters between Canaanite kings and Egyptian overlords dating back to the 14th century BCE, which mention Jerusalem.
"The Arabs founded and built it [Jerusalem] in the first place – and have been there ever since," the paper states, noting that Islam has been dominant in Jerusalem for 1,210 out of the last 1,388 years.
Moreover, the 108-page paper argues that the Old Testament itself "shows that the Arabs, Hamites, Canaanites, and Jebusites were the original inhabitants of the land of Palestine, including the area of Jerusalem," thus allegedly proving that "Jerusalem was always an Arab city."
"The Palestinian Arabs of today are largely the direct descendants of the indigenous Canaanite Arabs who were there over 5,000 years ago. Modern-day Arab Muslim and Christian Palestinian families are the oldest inhabitants of the land," the paper argued.
Netanyahu Mourns Brother Yoni, Hero of 1976 Entebbe Operation
On Sunday, the 6th of Tammuz, the Netanyahu family marked 44 years since Lt.-Col. Yonatan (Yoni) Netanyahu was killed while leading an elite IDF force in what was later dubbed Operation Yonatan, to free the hostages in Entebbe, Uganda, in 1976. The mission was successful, with 102 of the 106 hostages rescued. Netanyahu was the only IDF fatality during the operation.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “The pain over Yoni’s passing has only grown with the years and it is difficult to find comfort.”
The Netanyahu Family Marks 44 Years since Lt.-Col. Yonatan (Yoni) Netanyahu Fell at Entebbe / Haim Zach (GPO)
The eldest son of Israeli professor of history Benzion Netanyahu, Yonatan was born in New York City and spent much of his youth in the United States, where he attended high school. After serving in the IDF during the 1967 Six-Day War, he briefly attended Harvard University before transferring to Jerusalem’s Hebrew University in 1968; soon thereafter he left his studies and returned to the IDF. He joined special force Sayeret Matkal in the early 1970s and was awarded the Medal of Distinguished Service for his conduct in the 1973 Yom Kippur War – for rescuing Lieutenant Colonel Yossi Ben Hanan from Tel Shams, while Ben Hanan was lying wounded behind Syrian lines.
In a small ceremony, today, the Netanyahu family marked 44 years since Lt.-Col. Yonatan (Yoni) Netanyahu fell while leading the soldiers of the IDF General Staff Reconnaissance Unit during Operation Yonatan to free the hostages in Entebbe, Uganda. pic.twitter.com/gcTZGeLF5F
— PM of Israel (@IsraeliPM) June 28, 2020
One of the guys who went to prison here in the States for smuggling arms to the Haganah was Irish-American. Never told his kids why he got locked up. They found out at his funeral, when blue and white flowers were delivered from someone in Israel. 🇮🇪🇺🇸🇮🇱🙏 https://t.co/YHUZOGCVJ8
— Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) June 29, 2020
US-Israel Milestones (from liability to unique asset)
However, Israel was not always perceived as a value-producing, strategic ally, as documented by the following milestones:Netanyahu: Applying Israeli Law in Part of West Bank Will Advance Peace
*In 1947/48 the State Department, Pentagon and the CIA, along with the NY Times and Washington Post, opposed the establishment of the Jewish State, misperceiving it a burden on US interests. Secretaries George Marshall (State) and James Forrestal (Defense) and the “Wise Men” of Foggy Bottom contended that supporting the establishment of a Jewish State would mean “buying a pig in a poke.” They alleged that a Jewish State would be pro-USSR, overwhelmed militarily by the Arabs, undermine US-Arab relations and jeopardize US access to Persian Gulf oil. They dismissed presidential advisor, Clark Clifford, who asserted that a Jewish State would be a loyal and effective strategic ally of the US. In July 1950, following Israel’s victory in its War of Independence, the national security establishment rejected a recommendation by General Omar Bradley, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to consider Israel a favored strategic partner in the vein of Turkey and Iran: “The Israeli army would be the most effective force south of Turkey, which could be utilized for delaying action [in case of a Soviet invasion]….”
*The assessment of Israel as a strategically non-viable entity was accentuated in 1954-1956, when the US and Britain conceived the Operation Alpha Israel-Arab peace plan, which was based on land sacrifice by Israel, while extending inducements to the Arabs. Accordingly, President Eisenhower, Secretary of State Dulles and Special Presidential Envoy Robert Anderson proposed an Israeli withdrawal from parts of the Negev, creating a territorial link between Egypt and Jordan, a resettlement in Israel of 75,000 Arab refugees, evasive and illusory US security guarantees and trade benefits to Israel, and the establishment of non-belligerence between Israel and Arab countries. The plan was rejected by both Israel and the Arabs.
*The June 1967 War transformed Israel into a most effective power-projecting US beachhead in the Middle East and beyond, extending the strategic hand of the US with no need for additional US troops on the ground. The resounding Israeli victory obliterated the military posture of then radical, pro-Soviet Egypt, aborting an Egyptian drive to become the effective pan-Arab leader (e.g., 70,000 Egyptian soldiers in Yemen, aiming to topple the pro-US Saudi regime), while toppling all pro-US Arab regimes. In 1967, the US was heavily dependent upon the importation of Persian Gulf oil, and the Israeli victory spared the US an economic calamity, while denying the USSR a game-changing regional and global geo-strategic bonus. The battle-tested-laboratory feature of Israel was emphasized by a team of 25 US military experts, who spent three months in Israel, studying Israel’s battle tactics and scrutinizing Soviet military systems captured by Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Christians United for Israel (CUFI) in a video message on Sunday night that "applying Israeli law to areas of Judea and Samaria that will remain part of Israel in any future peace deal will not set back the cause of peace, it will advance peace."Netanyahu to evangelicals: We have no greater friends
"I encourage the Palestinians not to lose another opportunity, not to waste another century, trying to destroy Israel. They should sit down and negotiate in good faith. They should be prepared to negotiate a historic compromise that can bring peace to Israelis and Palestinians alike."
Netanyahu noted that the U.S. plan "doesn't uproot a single Jew or Arab" from their homes. He added that the plan "confronts a great lie head on - the lie that the Jewish people are foreign colonialists in our own ancestral homeland. It makes clear that the Jewish people have a valid, legal, historic and moral claim to Judea and Samaria. And it supports Israel's sovereignty over the Jewish communities there."
"After all, we're called Jews because we're the people of Judea. But these areas are also an integral part of Christian identity. They're a part of your heritage. They're a part of our common civilization. And under Israeli sovereignty, our common heritage will be forever protected. In a region where Christians are on the run and live in fear, Christians in Israel are on the rise and they live in freedom."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Christian supporters of Israel in the US on Sunday in a video message during an annual conference of Christians United for Israel, an evangelical organization with millions of members in the United States.The Green Line Through Jerusalem.
"When I say we have no greater friends than Christian supporters of Israel, I know you've always stood with us," Netanyahu told the participants in the conference.
"You stand with us because you stand with yourselves because we represent that common heritage of freedom that goes back thousands of years," he continued. "America has no better friend than Israel and Israel has no better friend than America, and Israel has no better friend in America than you."
Netanyahu repeated his call to the Palestinians to return to the negotiating table based on the Trump administration's peace plan, noting that "Israel is prepared for such negotiations."
The prime minister said President Donald Trump's plan should be implemented, vowing to move forward with the parts that allow Israel to extend its sovereignty to certain Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, mentioning some of the areas that would fall see the move applied to them.
"In the president's plan, Israel will have sovereignty over Beit El, where Jacob dreamed of the ladder going to the heavens; Israel will have sovereignty over Shiloh, where the Ark of the Covenant that housed the Ten Commandments stood for centuries.
"These places are an integral part of the historic Jewish homeland … but also an integral part of Christian identity. There are part of your heritage. Part of our common civilization and under Israel sovereignty our common heritage will be forever protected."
When the United Nations considered dividing Israel into an Arab State and a Jewish State in 1947, it sought to remove the contentious religious sites sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims into a distinct “corpus separatum” which would be under international control. The area of Greater Jerusalem and Greater Bethlehem was to become a “Holy Basin,” and a unique model from the nascent United Nations.Board President urges Starmer to reject 'divisive' Nandy proposal for West Bank goods ban
The Arabs rejected partition and five Arab armies invaded Israel. At wars end in 1949, armistice lines with Egypt, Syria and Jordan created new boundaries in the region. Jordan took control and soon annexed the area it seized, including three-quarters of the Holy Basin. The division for the Jordanian frontiers were marked in green and it became known as the “Green Line.”
The Israeli portion of the map was marked in blue and Israel applied sovereignty up to that line. The space between the blue and green lines was considered “no man’s land.”
The Jordanian side included the entirety of the Old City of Jerusalem. The line ran right along the western side of the city, including the Jaffa and New Gates up to the Damascus Gate. The Jordanians forbade Jews from living in, visiting or praying at their holy sites in the city.
The map above is from the United Nations and marks the city’s sacred locations. Note that even though the city is only considered the holiest for Jews, the Jewish locations are listed last. The holiest location, the Jewish Temple Mount, is not even marked as sacred to Jews. The Western Wall is marked as holy – to both Jews and Muslims.
The map lists the Christian holy places first and includes numerous locations including each station of the Cross. It lists but does not show the various sacred spots in Bethlehem.
Muslims have the fewest holy sites of the three monotheistic religions, but occupy the dominant platform of Jerusalem. Uniquely among the monotheistic faiths, Muslims have no sites subject to “the status quo” according to the map.
The only holy location on the Israeli side of the lines is the Tomb of David, curiously listed as the only site holy to all three religions.
Board of Deputies President Marie van der Zyl has urged Sir Keir Starmer to reject a proposal from his shadow foreign secretary calling for the UK to ban the import of goods from illegal settlements in the West Bank if the Israeli government presses ahead with annexation plans.Meretz chief accuses US ambassador of acting independently in pushing annexation
Labour’s Lisa Nandy had announced the plan, which is being backed the Labour leader, on Sunday arguing Britain cannot be “a silent witness” to Israel’s planned extension of sovereignty to some 30 percent of the West Bank.
But in a statement responding to the proposal Mrs van der Zyl said she would ‘’urge Sir Keir and the Labour Party not to go down this route.’’
She said:’’ The tactic of BDS is divisive and seeks to strike at the very legitimacy of the State of Israel, the Middle East’s only democracy and the world’s only Jewish State.”
Speaking to The Observer, Labour’s Ms Nandy said: "The government must be clear with the Israeli coalition government that concrete action will follow, including a ban on goods entering Britain from the illegal settlements in the West Bank.
"This is a major step, but such a blatant breach of international law must have consequences. It will take a level of courage that so far ministers have not been willing to show."
The head of the left-wing Meretz party on Monday issued strong criticism of US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, accusing him of acting on his own initiative in pushing Israel to annex parts of the West Bank.Former Israeli Ambassador to US Danny Ayalon on Annexation
“The prime minister has an obsession with annexation,” MK Nitzan Horowitz said at the start of a Meretz Knesset faction meeting. “Besides US Ambassador David Friedman… no one understands the obsession with annexation.”
The Trump administration peace proposal, unveiled in January, designates some 30 percent of the West Bank for Israeli annexation and the rest for a prospective Palestinian state. Under a coalition agreement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can begin to unilaterally advance annexation on July 1, which he has repeatedly pledged to do — although the move is likely to be delayed.
“There is no one, not in the US government, not among Israel’s friends around the world, state leaders, neighbors, Jordanians, Palestinians, Europeans, the IDF leadership — no one understands the obsession with annexation,” he said.
“I say this with full knowledge: Aside from Ambassador David Friedman, who in this issue represents only himself, no one wants this annexation, and I hope that in a couple of days a step will be averted that would have a very heavy price,” he continued.
Palestinian leaders struggle to mobilize street against annexation plans
With loudspeakers mounted, Palestinian flags unfurled and civil servants allowed off work, everything appeared set for a large protest in Ramallah against Israel’s annexation plans in the West Bank.
But only 200 people turned up for the June 8 demonstration, in a sign of the struggles the Palestinian Authority has faced generating outrage on the street against the prospective Israeli moves.
International condemnation of possible Israeli annexations has mounted ahead of July 1, when the Jewish state could take its first steps toward implementing part of a US-proposed Middle East peace plan.
US President Donald Trump’s proposals, rejected outright by the Palestinians, pave the way for annexing key parts of the West Bank, including settlements long considered illegal by the majority of the international community.
But on the Palestinian street, mobilization against looming Israeli actions has been muted.
“There is fatigue,” Palestinian analyst Nour Odeh told AFP.
“Fatigue from the usual — to stand in Ramallah and wait for the cameras to show how angry we are,” she added.
“You’re talking to yourself, and then what?”
Recall that under former PM @MrKRudd's leadership, #Australia's traditionally strong bipartisan support of #Israel took a hit. Reality is:
— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) June 29, 2020
1) No concrete plan for sovereignty extension has been proposed.
2) Lack of peace due to Palestinian intransigence.https://t.co/vOq08Z6sjp
PMW: PA calls to free murderers from prison
As part of its ongoing glorification of murderers of Israelis, the PA has launched a new series of fillers between programs on its station PA TV Live. Each filler is dedicated to an imprisoned terrorist murderer. Palestinian Media Watch already reported on one such filler, which honored murderer Jum’a Ibrahim Jum’a Adam who killed a mother and her 3 toddlers when he threw a Molotov cocktail at an Israeli bus.Hamas: Release of rearrested Shalit deal prisoners a precondition for new deal
Each filler starts with the text “Our prisoners” and ends with a call for “Freedom for our prisoners.” In between is the image of a terrorist murderer and a short bio. The PA does not mention the crimes these murderers have committed. Obviously.
This new series of tributes to murderers join two other recent PA broadcasts exposed by PMW, which honored dozens of terrorist murderers defining them as “the giants of Palestinian history.”
The following are some of the PA’s recent fillers honoring murderers of Israelis:
Text on middle screen: “Prisoner Karim Yusuf Fadl Younes. A member of the Fatah Central Committee, the most veteran of the Palestinian prisoners. He is considered the most veteran prisoner in the world (sic.). He was born in 1956 in the village of ‘Ara in the 1948 lands (i.e., term used by the PA to refer to Israel). He was arrested in 1983 and given a life sentence of 40 years (i.e., his life sentence was reduced to 40 years as a gesture of goodwill to the PA).”
[Official PA TV Live, June 16, 2020]
Mahmoud Abu Sorour - murdered 1 together with an accomplice
The Hamas terror group on Monday said that a precondition for any prisoner swap deal with Israel was the release of dozens of terror convicts cut loose in a 2011 exchange and rearrested six years ago.Palestinians 'Execute' Unarmed Civilian, Condemn Israel For Killing Terrorist
Reports several months ago said significant headway had been made in effort to secure a deal that would see Gaza rulers free two captive Israeli civilians and the bodies of two Israeli soldiers in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
“The release of the prisoners freed in the 2011 deal is a condition for starting talks on a new prisoner exchange,” said Hamas spokesperson Abdel Latif al-Qanua.
“The Palestinian resistance possesses strong leverage to secure the release of the prisoners in the occupation’s prisons, and is capable of forcing the occupation to submit to its demands,” Qanua boasted.
In a 2011 deal with Hamas, Israel released 1,027 Palestinian terror convicts in exchange for captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who had been kidnapped in 2006.
After the murder of three Israeli teenagers in June 2014, Israel rearrested over 50 of them as part of Operation Brother’s Keeper in the West Bank.
Qanua, who spoke at an event marking the sixth anniversary of the arrests in front of the Red Crescent Office in Gaza, said that Israel rearresting the freed prisoners constituted “a violation of the terms of the deal” and “Zionist fraud.”
The two fatal incidents -- the killing of the terrorist by the IDF and the killing of the unarmed, handcuffed civilian by the Palestinian security forces -- are a perfect demonstration of how the Palestinians twist truth until it is utterly unrecognizable to the international media while hiding their own crimes against their own people.
The same Palestinian officials who are accusing Israel of carrying out "extrajudicial executions" are facing the same charge by Palestinian human rights organizations. That, however, is an inconvenient truth that the leaders of the Palestinians are striving to conceal from the eyes of the world.
The real problem, however, lies far beyond the con artists Erekat and Ashrawi: it lies instead with the attitude of the international media and community towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Why are foreign media outlets who are reporting about the killing of a terrorist by Israeli troops ignoring the real "extrajudicial executions" -- the ones that are carried out by the Palestinians who are again trying to conceal their crime by diverting attention (and outrage) against Israel?
If Palestinian officials, so called human rights organizations and international reporters are worried about "extrajudicial killings,"... they should talk to the family of Al-Amouri, human rights organizations and eyewitnesses -- who can describe in detail how Palestinian security forces shot dead a handcuffed man in front of his elderly mother.
What a strangely worded tweet.
— Omri Ceren (@omriceren) June 28, 2020
"Downturn in relations with Israel." Whose relations with Israel?
"Surgery was postponed." Who postponed it? https://t.co/PxvmOhirWe
The editing is impressive for a group that hasn't published much over the last two years. It is similar to some Palestinian Islamic Jihad videos. The group made an effort to look professional considering how small they are compared to the likes of groups like Hamas or PIJ. https://t.co/z99UovYEST
— Joe Truzman (@Jtruzmah) June 29, 2020
Lebanon on edge as Israel considers natural gas near disputed waters
Lebanese President Michel Aoun warned that Israel's intent to begin explorations for natural gas and oil in waters known as Block 72 (formerly known as Alon D) is "extremely dangerous and will complicate the situation further," according to Lebanon's National News Agency.
Block 72 is located near Lebanon's Block 9 gas fields, where Lebanon plans to begin explorations for natural gas and oil within the next few months. Block 72 and Block 9 are located along the border of disputed waters between Lebanon and Israel.
Last Tuesday, Israel's Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz approved the beginning of the competitive process for granting a natural gas and oil exploration license for Block 72. Preliminary investigations in the area have found potential gas fields similar geologically to other fields in the area, such as the Tamar field.
The competitive process will continue from June until September. The license will require the selected company to carry out all necessary operations and surveys in order to begin drilling. After three years and after five years the license can be renewed for a maximum of seven years from the date of signing a contract.
Lebanese Minister of Interior General (Ret.) Mohammed Fahmi: I Killed Two People in 1981 and Michel Aoun Saved Me from Being Killed as Reprisal pic.twitter.com/ABaCLP9p37
— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) June 29, 2020
U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea: Hizbullah Is a Terrorist Organization That Has Siphoned off Billions of Government Funds; It Destabilizes Lebanon; The Interview Led to a Judicially Imposed Media Ban on Shea pic.twitter.com/4ihgyJEE6F
— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) June 29, 2020
Amb. Shea has only been in Lebanon a couple months & she's already gotten herself summoned by the Foreign Ministry and banned by courts - just for stating US policy on Hezbollah.
— Omri Ceren (@omriceren) June 28, 2020
Which prompts immediate question: uhhh... what has US embassy been saying all these years instead? https://t.co/KxPG6vRZj8
Was Israel behind Friday's mysterious blast near Tehran?
Satellite photos taken by Maxar Technologies and published on Sunday by NBC reporter Raf Sanchez indicate immense damage to a structure at the Parchin military site, east of Tehran, apparently the source of a mysterious explosion that rattled the Iranian capital on early Friday.Danon to UNSC: ‘extend the Iran arms embargo beyond October deadline’
The satellite images show a small structure, adjacent to a larger building, completely destroyed with charred ground around it.
Iranian Defense Ministry spokesman Davoud Abdi told state TV on Friday that the explosion took place at a gas storage facility in an area that "houses a sensitive military site" near Tehran.
He insisted the explosion took place in the "public area" of Parchin, as opposed to the military site in the city. He did not give any information about the cause of the blast.
The military site at Parchin has been used by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to test ballistic missiles. Western analysts believe the site consists of a vast underground tunnel complex for testing and producing missiles. The site has also been linked to Iran's nuclear project.
The gas storage area sits near what analysts describe as Iran's Khojir missile facility.
The Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies identified Khojir as the "site of numerous tunnels, some suspected of use for arms assembly." Large industrial buildings at the site visible from satellite photographs also suggest missile assembly being conducted there.
Satellite photos of the area on Saturday, located some 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) east of downtown Tehran, showed hundreds of yards of charred scrubland not seen in images of the area taken in the weeks ahead of the incident.
Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon warned the United Nations’ Security Council on Sunday that once the arms embargo on Iran would be lifted, the Islamic Republic could continue importing or exporting a variety of weapon systems, including tanks, artillery systems, warships, submarines, aircraft, missiles and other arms. The embargo is set to expire on October 18, and the US and Israel are working closely to extend it.Iran issues arrest warrant for Trump over Soleimani killing, seeks Interpol help
Danon urged the Security Council in his statement “to act swiftly and with great resolve to respond to the Iranian regime’s violations, by using all means necessary to extend the arms embargo on Iran beyond the current October deadline.”
He highlighted Iran’s violations, including transfers of “illicit arms to its proxies in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Yemen and recently even to Libya.” This weaponry, which is “freely transported throughout the Middle East and used by armed militias and terrorist groups, poses a strategic threat not only to Israel, but to the entire region,” his statement reads.
He also mentioned the terrorist activity of Hezbollah in Lebanon, and noted that the Islamic Republic transferred thousands of rockets to Hezbollah, “in violation of not only Security Council Resolution 2231, but also of UNSCRs 1701 and 1559.”
Iran has issued an arrest warrant and asked Interpol for help in detaining US President Donald Trump and dozens of others it believes carried out the drone strike that killed a top Iranian general in Baghdad, a local prosecutor reportedly said Monday.Soleimani's daughter marries Hezbollah leader Nasrallah's cousin - report
While Trump faces no danger of arrest, the charges underscore the heightened tensions between Iran and the United States since Trump unilaterally withdrew America from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers.
Tehran prosecutor Ali Alqasimehr said Trump and more than 30 others whom Iran accuses of involvement in the January 3 strike that killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad face “murder and terrorism charges,” the semiofficial ISNA news agency reported.
Alqasimehr did not identify anyone else sought other than Trump, but stressed that Iran would continue to pursue his prosecution even after his presidency ends.
Interpol, based in Lyon, France, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Zeinab Soleimani, the 28-year-old daughter of assassinated IRGC Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani, has reportedly married a close relative of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, N12 reported on Sunday.
Over the weekend, Zeinab Soleimani married Riza Safi al-Din, son of Nasrallah's cousin Hashim Safi al-Din.
Al-Din heads Hezbollah's Executive Council, and is considered the No. 2 in the organization. He is viewed by most as Nasrallah's future replacement.
Hezbollah had close ties to Qasem Soleimani until his assassination in January. The marriage between Zeinab and Riza might express an even tighter relationship being formed between the Lebanon-based terrorist organization and Iran.
Zeinab first appeared in the public eye when Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei visited the family's home to offer condolences after the assassination of Soleimani.
At her father's funeral, Zeinab called on Nasrallah, Yemeni Houthi rebel leader Abdalmalek Houthi and Syrian President Bashar Assad, whom she called her "uncles," to take revenge for the attack on her father. She was the first woman to address a prayer congregation led by Khamenei.
Zeinab tweeted a video of her meeting with Nasrallah along with the text "The spider nests of America and Zionists will collapse."
