Wednesday, August 04, 2021

08/04 Links Pt1: Poll: With only 40% support, Israelis still think 2 states best option; Saudi FM praises Abraham Accords, puts Palestinian statehood first; Resolving the Khan al-Ahmar Issue

From Ian:

With only 40% support, Israelis still think 2 states best option - poll
Only 40% of Israelis support a two-state resolution to the conflict with the Palestinians, even though it remains the most popular choice, according to a poll conducted by the Israel Democracy Institute.

Past IDI polls on this question have shown that Israeli support for two states has fluctuated widely over the past 28 years since the signing of the 1993 Oslo I Accord in Washington.

Past polls on this topic by IDI show that support for a two-state resolution peaked at 70% in 2007 during the Annapolis peace process brokered by former president George W. Bush between former prime minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

It was at its lowest point in 1995 with only 36.9% support, based on IDI data.

From July 27 to 29, the IDI polled 750 Israelis over the age of 18 by phone and over the Internet, including 151 Arabic-speakers. The margin of error is 3.59% for the poll on a wide array of topics, including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Participants were asked if they would back a “two-state solution with the establishment of an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.”

Israeli-Arabs were much more likely to support a two-state resolution than their Jewish peers.
Saudi FM praises Abraham Accords, puts Palestinian statehood first
The Abraham Accords have been good for the Middle East but its momentum should be used to help the Palestinians achieve statehood, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said at a virtual conference of the Aspen Security Forum on Tuesday.

“We think, overall, the Abrahamic Accords have worked positively to spur engagement in the region, so in that sense, the decision by those countries can be viewed positively,” he said.

The Saudi Foreign Minister added that the best way to build on the normalizations between Israel and Arab states in the past year would be “to find a path to solving the issue of the Palestinians and finding a path to a Palestinian state because that will deliver complete normalization for Israel in the region.”

Peace, he said, “is a strategic choice of the Arabs” that must be used to reach a comprehensive solution for the Palestinians.

Asked if that’s a precondition for Saudi-Israel normalization, in light of the divisions among Palestinian factions making Israel-Palestinian peace unlikely in the short term, Prince Faisal did not address the first part of the question.

Rather, he said that the PLO and Palestinian Authority are the legal representatives of the Palestinians.

“That engagement is the key engagement in order to progress towards a peaceful solution,” he stated. “I think without solving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in a sustainable, long-term way not, we’re not going to have real, sustainable security in the region. We need to try everything we can to make that happen.”

Prince Faisal pointed to the new government in Israel, saying “perhaps it can deliver some progress. Let’s wait and see.”

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister also said that he sees an emboldened Iran acting in a negative manner around the Middle East, endangering shipping, arming Yemen's Houthis and contributing to political deadlock in Lebanon.


The only Jewish village in Jordan
In the Israeli War of Independence in 1948, Jews were expelled from East Jerusalem and Gush Etzion in the West Bank. Not well known is that a few Jews were also expelled from the east bank of the Jordan. According to the Jewish Virtual Library, Tel Or was the only Jewish village, built to house the employees of a power station.

During the Israeli War of Independence in 1948, Tel Or was the only Jewish village in Transjordan at the time. Tel Or was designated for residence of the permanent employees of the power plant and their families, aiming to create an agricultural village at the Eastern border of the Land of Israel. Employees of the power station also farmed thousands of dunams of land and sold some of the produce at a company workers’ supermarket in Haifa. Due to its relative isolation and despite the limited number of resident families, the village included a clinic, a kindergarten and even a school, established by Yosef Hanani for the children of employees.

An Iraqi brigade invaded at Naharayim area on May 15, 1948, in an unsuccessful attempt to take the Gesher kibbutz and fort. The power plant was occupied and looted by the Iraqi forces. After the Tel Or village and the power plant were overran by the Arab forces they were destroyed. To prevent Iraqi tanks from attacking Jewish villages in the Jordan Valley, the sluice gates of the Degania dam were opened. The rush of water, which deepened the river at this spot, was instrumental in blocking the Iraqi-Jordanian incursion.

Today the power plant and the destroyed village of Tel Or are located on the Jordanian side of the Israel-Jordan border. The remains of the power station are part of the Jordan River Peace Park on the Island of Peace on the Israel-Jordan border.

After the expulsion of the residents of Tel Or, combined with the expulsion of the Jewish residents of the Jewish quarter of Jerusalem, an Arab commander remarked,
“For the first time in 1,000 years not a single Jew remains in the Jewish Quarter. Not a single building remains intact. This makes the Jews’ return here impossible.”


Erdan, Cotler Decry Upcoming UN Durban Commemoration
Ahead of the United Nations commemoration next month of the 20th anniversary of the Durban Declaration, the Combat Anti-Semitism Movement (CAM) held a webinar on Tuesday to decry the participation of members states at the event, particularly in light of the surge in global Jew-hatred and and anti-Zionism.

“Over 30 countries have adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism, but only 10 countries announced they wouldn’t participate” in the commemoration, said Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan. “It is time for these countries to put their money where their mouth is and refuse to participate in the appalling commemoration event.”

The meeting, slated for Sept. 22 at the UN General Assembly, will mark the anniversary of 2001 “World Conference Against Racism” in South Africa.

Erdan, along with Irwin Cotler, Canada’s special envoy on preserving Holocaust remembrance and combating antisemitism, was a keynote speaker at the webinar, titled “A Festival of Hate: How to Defeat the Durban Strategy—A Primary Vector of 21st Century Antisemitism.”

Cotler, Canada’s former justice Minister, called the 2001 conference “truly Orwellian.”

“A conference to combat racism turned into a conference of racism against Israel and the Jewish people, only. A conference that was supposed to herald the promotion and protection of human rights in the 21st century singled out one member state, one member people—Israel and the Jewish people for selective opprobrium and indictment. A conference that was supposed to remember the dismantling of South African apartheid became a conference about dismantling Israel as an apartheid state,” he said.
Does the new US foreign spending bill condition aid to Israel? - analysis
For the first time, the foreign operations spending bill requires generally (without specifying Israel) that the secretary of state must report to Congress that assistance to other counties is spent “consistent with United States national security policy.”

“The secretary of state shall promptly inform the appropriate congressional committees of any instance in which the secretary of state has credible information that such assistance was used in a manner contrary to such agreement,” the bill reads.

AIPAC and J Street had opposite takes on the small addition and made them known in news releases. The former argues that in light of the growing trend among progressives to push for conditioning aid to Israel, the bill’s robust funding and language is a significant rebuke of that.

“This critical funding, with no added political conditions, reflects the strong bipartisan support for Israel’s security in Congress and the Biden Administration,” the AIPAC release reads.

J Street says the language is a new stipulation, ever so slightly turning up the heat on Israel to not use money that would inhibit the outcome of a Palestinian state as part of a two-state solution.

“Full funding of the $3.3 billion in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) for Israel pledged in the US-Israel Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on security assistance, with new provisions in the bill and its accompanying report that are an important first step toward ensuring that equipment purchased with FMF is used in a manner consistent with US law and national security policies, including specifying that items supplied pursuant to the MOU may not be used in any way that undermines the prospects of a negotiated two-state solution,” the J Street release reads.

During Israel’s conflict with Gaza in May, an unprecedented number of Democrats sought to shut down some military assistance to Israel. But most of the overall Democratic caucus was opposed, as were all Republicans, so the initiative went nowhere — but threatening a withdrawal of assistance as penance for its wartime actions is now part of the conversation.

The new oversight provision in the bill is actually embedded elsewhere in US law — Congress repeats itself, a lot — and the existing oversight has never triggered any questions about defense assistance to Israel.
Resolving the Khan al-Ahmar Issue
In those years, negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority dealt with the definition of Israeli "Settlements Blocs" in the West Bank, which would remain under Israeli control under a permanent agreement. In return, Israel would compensate the Palestinian state with land elsewhere. Israel proposed a border line in which the bloc of settlements that included the Israeli city of Ma'ale Adumim and the surrounding settlements—such as Klar Adumim—to be on the Israeli side. However, the Palestinian Authority refused to consider Gush Adumim as part of the land swap, claiming that such a land swap would divide the northern and southern West Bank, preventing a contiguous Palestinian state.

During this period—and encouraged by then Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad’s plan to exercise control over of Area C—dozens of tin structures, tents, barracks and sheepfolds were erected on state lands allocated to Israeli settlement and along the strategic traffic routes, without permits from the authorities and in violation of the Military Administration law. The Bedouin settlement expanded and new roads were laid. New structures included additional tents (although not all were inhabited) and an ecological school.

The Civil Administration issued demolition orders in 2010 for the illegal structures, but these orders were not implemented due to political pressure from left-wing Israeli and European organizations. However, nearby Israeli communities subsequently petitioned the Supreme Court over the issue. In 2018, after years of deliberations it issued an order allowing the Civil Administration to evacuate the Bedouins from Kfar Adumim lands but obliging the administration to offer the Bedouin an adequate alternative housing solution.

Proposals submitted by the Civil Administration to the Bedouin to relocate onto building plots—which would include public infrastructure and compensation—were rejected on various grounds, often due to the political pressure of the Palestinian Authority and backed and assisted by European organizations. As such, Khan al-Ahmar has become a symbol in the struggle for Area C. Likewise in violation of Israeli law and the lawsuit, EU representatives erected light buildings for the Bedouin on these state lands. Under pressure from various factors in the EU, the site has even won the protection of German Prime Minister Angela Merkel.

The Civil Administration's law enforcement agencies froze construction on the site and prevented any development or strengthening of dilapidated buildings in the area, preserving the inhumane conditions of the Bedouins. However, a large group of settlers from Kfar Adumim came to the aid of their Bedouin neighbors for humanitarian assistance.
MEMRI: Tunisian Blogger Barnat: Tunisian President Kais Saied Is Immersed In 'Now Obsolete' Pan-Arabism; The Next President Should Be Anti-Islamist Abir Moussi
Tunisian blogger Rachid Barnat wrote in a post on his Facebook page that in Tunisia there are increased calls for Abir Moussi, president of the anti-Islamist Free Destourian Party and Tunisian MP, to head the Tunisian government,[1] after Tunisian President Kais Saied's firing of Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi and suspension of parliamentary activity late last month.[2] However, he said, Moussi and Saied are too ideologically divergent – Moussi is a Destourian, is a follower of the legacy of the secular Tunisian prime minister and president Habib Bourguiba (1956-87), while Saied is a follower of pan-Arabism, which Barnat calls "now obsolete."

According to Barnat, Moussi should wait for the next elections and then run for president. He added that Moussi is more useful in the parliament supporting laws that are now vital to extricate the country from the impasse caused by Rachid Ghannouchi, chairman of the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Ennahda Party.

Below is Barnat's post:
'Kais Saied Has Repeatedly Shown His Disdain For Abir Moussi'
"It's tempting to give in to this aspiration, but a lot of things separate Abir Moussi from Kais Saied, starting with the ideologies that motivate them.
"First, [Abir Moussi] is a Destourian, a pure product of Bourguibism, and the other [Saied] has been immersing himself in pan-Arabism, which is now obsolete, since the failure of pan-Arabism in [countries] that experienced it, such as Egypt, Iraq, Syria...
Two Rockets From Lebanon Strike Israel, Drawing Israeli Retaliation
Two rockets launched from Lebanon on Wednesday struck Israel, which responded with several rounds of artillery fire amid heightened regional tensions over an alleged Iranian attack on an oil tanker in the Gulf last week.

"I see, here and there, calls for [Free Destourian Party president and Tunisian MP] Abir Moussi to be the [new] head [of the Tunisian] government, to replace [former prime minister] Hichem Mechichi, who has just been dismissed by [Tunisian President] Kais Saied!

Israel’s Magen David Adom national ambulance service said there were no casualties on the Israeli side of the hilly frontier, where the rockets ignited a brush fire.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the rocket strike, launched from an area of south Lebanon under the sway of Iranian-backed Hezbollah guerrillas.

Sirens warning of a rocket attack sounded in several Israeli communities, including the northern town of Kiryat Shmona, near the Lebanese border.

In a statement, Israel’s military said three rockets were launched from Lebanon, with one falling short of the Israeli border and the others striking inside Israel. Witnesses in Lebanon also reported that several rockets were fired at Israel.

“In response, (Israeli) artillery forces attacked Lebanese territory,” the military said. Some two hours after the initial shelling, the military said its artillery had fired again at targets, which it did not identify, along the frontier.

The border has been mostly quiet since Israel fought a 2006 war against Hezbollah, which has advanced rockets.

But small Palestinian factions in Lebanon have fired sporadically on Israel in the past, and two rockets were launched at Israel on July 20, causing no damage or injuries. Israel responded to that incident with artillery fire.
IDF ramps up pressure on Lebanon following rocket fire on Israel
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Defense Minister Benny Gantz, and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi were briefed on the incident and have called in top officials for a security consultation.

The IDF issued a statement on Twitter saying that "the government of Lebanon bears full responsibility for any rocket fire from its territory toward Israel. There is a lack of governance in Lebanon over terrorist elements, and Israel will not tolerate any rocket fire against it under any circumstance."

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said its Head of Mission and Force Commander, Major General Stefano Del Col, was in contact with both parties.

"He urged them to cease fire and to exercise maximum restraint to avoid further escalation, especially on this solemn anniversary," UNIFIL said in a statement.


Politics Surrounding Sheikh Jarrah Case Could Put Off Legal Ruling for Years, Argue Experts
Kontorovich explained that historically, the properties of the kind at issue were owned by several different Jews and Jewish organizations before they were taken over by the Jordanians, in 1948, when they occupied east Jerusalem, expelled Jews and seized their property. In many instances Jordan transferred the title of Jewish-owned properties to Palestinians, he said, until Israel captured the territory following the Six-Day War in 1967 and returned ownership of the Sheikh Jarrah homes to the Jewish trusts.

“For all those properties that Jordan gave to local Palestinians, Israel respects those transfers, and no longer considers them as belonging to a previous Jewish owner,” Kontorovich said. “But these properties being battled in court now were actually not given to the people living there or their predecessors. They were not handed over to anyone and can be reclaimed by their owners, and there is no question that these people are still legally the owners. Even the plaintiffs admit that Jordan did not transfer the title to them, but they claim that they were about to.”

Critics of the possible expulsion of the Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah contend that even if their homes originally belonged to Jews before 1948, the parties campaigning to regain control of them do not represent the original owners — and that moreover, Palestinians lack equivalent legal recourse to pursue such property rights in Israel.

According to both Baker and Kontorovich, the Supreme Court’s compromise is very unlikely to be accepted by the plaintiffs due to the heightened political pressure. Back in May, the Biden administration said it was “deeply concerned about the potential eviction of Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhoods of Jerusalem, many of whom have lived in their homes for generations.”

“There is no reason to think that the defendants are going to accept the compromise, because as soon as they see that this court is scared of US pressure, Hamas rocket fire that is going to lead to more pressure, so now they just have to wait to get a better compromise suggested by the court,” Kontorovich contended.

Should there no compromise agreement, Kontorovich believes that the Israeli court will try to drag a final ruling on the case out for many years to delay the enforcement of controversial evictions.

“I think it’s important that the Israeli government takes the position that any diplomatic headaches are our problem, not the courts problem, and the court should enforce the law and leave the diplomacy to the government,” he concluded.
Anti-Zionist Former MK Haneen Zoabi Indicted on Fraud Charges
The State Attorney’s Office on Wednesday morning filed indictments against former MK Haneen Zoabi and 12 other defendants, some of whom are former senior officials in the Balad party, for fraud and forgery with intent to obtain a benefit.

Balad (Hebrew acronym for Democratic National Alliance) is a vehemently anti-Zionist party, currently a faction in the Joint Arab List. Its stated purpose is the “struggle to transform the state of Israel into a democracy for all its citizens, irrespective of national or ethnic identity,” It opposes the idea of Israel as a Jewish state, and supports the creation of a new “binational” state.

In March 2009, Zoabi said that she was not concerned about Iran’s acquiring nuclear weapons, because the Middle East needed a counterweight to Israel’s nuclear weapons.

In May 2010, Zoabi participated in the Gaza flotilla and was on board the MV Mavi Marmara when violence broke out against Israeli commandos who boarded the ship.

In June 2014, five days after the Hamas kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers who were later murdered, Zoabi commented, “Is it strange that people living under occupation and living impossible lives, in a situation where Israel kidnaps new prisoners every day, is it strange that they kidnap? They are not terrorists. Even if I do not agree with them, they are people who do not see any way to change their reality, and they are compelled to use means like these.”
PMW: PA leaders continue to deny existence of Jewish Temples
Tisha B’Av is a Jewish day of mourning commemorating the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem (586 BCE and 70 CE) and the forced exile of most of the Jewish people from the land of Israel.

On and around Tisha B’Av this year, (July 18), PA leaders and officials were busy yet again denying that those temples ever existed, despite countless of written sources, archaeological finds, and historical evidence documenting their existence. The Arch of Titus in Rome, for example, depicts Judean slaves carrying away the candelabra and other artifacts of the Temple after it was destroyed by Titus in 70 CE, and this Second Temple period coin from approximately 40 BCE also depicts the Temple’s candelabra.

Palestinian Media Watch has documented that the PA routinely denies the existence of any Jewish history in Israel in general and of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem in particular, consistently referring to it as “the alleged Temple.” In addition, the PA falsely claims that the Al-Aqsa Mosque is in danger of destruction by Israel as Israel seeks to “Judaize” Jerusalem and rebuild the “alleged” Temple.

When a massive public building built by Jews in 20 CE near the Western Wall of the Temple Mount was recently discovered, the PA used its official TV station to deny its relation to Jewish history, claiming it part of Israel's “false narrative,” which is “full of legends and fantasies.” PA TV further used the opportunity to repeat the PA’s denial of the existence of the temples:
Israelis think that if they can’t expel the non-Jews, they can kill them, claims PA TV “expert”
“Israeli affairs expert” Dr. Rula Hardal: “[The Jewish settlers] are certain that this land is theirs, and that all the non-Jews must be expelled. They call them ‘‘goys,’’ the foreigners in this land. If they can't be expelled, they can be killed. [Official PA TV, Israel in the News, July 28, 2021]

Dr. Rula Hardal is Assistant Professor of Political Science, head of the Social Work Department, at the Al-Quds University




The Biden administration has a Raisi problem
The new president's first challenge will be the nuclear talks with the West. On the eve of his inauguration, Raisi has promised to work to immediately lift the "tyrannical sanctions" imposed by the American administration, but the West is afraid that to prove his strength, contrary to his predecessor, Raisi will order his foreign minister (who has yet to be appointed) to return to Vienna (not before September) with an order to ignore the current "defeatist" drafts of the nuclear deal, which Rouhani almost signed, and reset negotiations to their starting point.

Another concern is that the Iranians will continue insisting on returning to the original 2015 deal, will reject extending its expiration date, add will refuse any new clauses pertaining to their ballistic missile program or regional subversion activities. It's possible they will also ask the Americans to remove all sanctions before a deal is signed. In this scenario, the chances of a deal coming to fruition become slimmer, which will allow Iran to continue its mad dash toward a nuclear bomb.

Senior American officials on Tuesday warned Tehran that time was not on their side. It's entirely uncertain that Raisi and his boss, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, view things the same way. Every day that passes helps Iran enrich more uranium to a higher purity grade, spin its advanced centrifuges ever faster and conceal information from UN monitors. This state of affairs will present the Biden administration with just two options, neither of which he likes: Renew and intensify the sanctions imposed on the previous regime, which was proven largely ineffective or threaten Iran with military force.

One thing is absolutely certain. The United States' restraint in the face of Iranian red-line violations, such as increasing its stockpile of uranium enriched to 60%, which is enough to make a bomb, and its cessation of cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, has emboldened the Iranians to expand their terrorist activities and gave them the confidence to launch the suicide drone at the oil tanker. If the Americans don't respond appropriately this time, the IRGC's appetite for violence will only grow.

On the domestic front, Raisi is aware of the epic battle ahead of him to save the country from its dire financial straits, soaring unemployment, and double-digit inflation, which is what he promised in his election campaign. If he fails in this regard, he won't have anyone to blame other than himself and his boss. The Iranian people, who are largely indifferent to the nuclear issue and mostly non-hostile toward Israel, deserve far better than this president of evil and abasement.
Gantz Issues Stark Warning, ‘Iran Only 10 Weeks Away From Nuclear Breakout’
Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz told diplomats from countries on the United Nations Security Council Wednesday that Iran is as few as “10 weeks away from acquiring weapons-grade materials necessary for a nuclear weapon.”

Gantz insisted that the Islamic republic was increasingly emboldened in its actions across the region, including the recent attacks on maritime vessels in the Gulf of Oman, a sentiment that Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, who was also at the meeting, reiterated, labeling the UAV strikes as a “matter for the international community.”

“Now is the time for deeds — words are not enough. It is time for diplomatic, economic, and even military deeds — otherwise the attacks will continue,” Gantz maintained.

Warming to his task, Gantz declared that Iran was in breach of the guidelines set in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the so-called Iran nuclear deal signed with former president Barack Obama in 2015.

The senior Israeli cabinet members wished to draw the ambassadors’ attention to the precise nature of the Iranian threat and not only from the perspective of the existential challenge that a nuclear Iran would pose to the Jewish state.
Israeli officials meet with US deputy Sec. of State, discuss Iran
Israeli National Security Advisor-designate Dr. Eyal Hulata and Foreign Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister Shimrit Meir met on Tuesday with Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, as part of a series of meetings that the two are holding in Washington, DC.

According to a State Department press release, the three discussed regional issues, including Iran. “They also discussed concerns regarding the attack on the Mercer Street vessel,” the statement read.

According to the State Department, Sherman “emphasized the strong partnership between the United States and Israel, US support for the normalization agreements between Israel and countries in the Arab and Muslim world, as well as the US government’s unwavering support for Israel’s security.” They also discussed “the need to take steps related to the Palestinian people that are critical to advancing freedom, security and prosperity for all.”

Earlier on Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki addressed a question about an incident in which Iranian-backed forces were believed to have seized an oil tanker in the Gulf off the coast of the United Arab Emirates.

“We're monitoring this developing situation, and we are in close touch with London and other partners around the world who are also monitoring,” she said. “The first reports are deeply concerning. We are fully engaged, and will be, as the situation is developing.

"Every single challenge and threat we face from Iran would be made more pronounced and dangerous by an unconstrained nuclear program that continues,” she said.


Joe Truzman: Analysis: Iran escalates maritime conflict against Israel
On Thursday evening, Iran reportedly carried out a drone attack off the coast of Oman against the MTT Mercer Street, an Israeli-operated oil vessel, resulting in the deaths of one Romanian and one British citizen.

“Two of the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters, said the attack appeared to have been carried out by several unmanned Iranian drones that crashed into living quarters underneath the ship’s command center, or bridge,” a New York Times report stated.

The attack came less than a month after the targeting of the CSAV Tyndall by Iran, according to Israeli officials. Although in that case, the partial owner of the Tyndall – an Israeli businessman – sold his share of the company months before the attack occurred.

Iran’s previous attacks against Israeli-owned commercial vessels have been limited to disabling the ship’s operation. However, Friday’s attack was reportedly a deliberate attempt to cause casualties and escalate the tit-for-tat maritime conflict between the two countries.

Despite a denial by Iran, Israel, the United States and Britain have publicly blamed Iran for the attack.

Iran’s New Strategy
An Iranian news site, citing unidentified ‘well informed sources,’ claimed Iran’s attack was in response to an IDF airstrike near a military airport in Syria that resulted in the deaths of a Hezbollah and a Fatemiyoun commander on July 22. The al-Alam report has also been cited in numerous news articles as the reason for the attack, however, that is unlikely to be the case.

It’s improbable Iran would respond in this manner to the killing of members of militias they support in Syria and Lebanon. Hezbollah has the capability to respond to Israeli military action without assistance from Iran and has demonstrated its ability to do so numerous times in the past. Additionally, it’s highly unlikely Iran would attack an Israeli target over the death of a Fatemiyoun commander.

The drone strike against the MTT Mercer Street was more likely a response to Israel’s repeated attacks against Iran’s nuclear program, including the killing of its top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.
Israel’s UN Envoy Demands Security Council Sanction Iran for Maritime Attack
Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan called on Tuesday for the UN Security Council to “condemn and sanction” Iran over an attack on an Israeli-managed oil tanker in the Arabian Sea on July 29.

“Iran’s repeated brazen and murderous actions … serve not only to threaten the safety of international shipping and navigation … but further destabilize a highly volatile region. The Security Council should not sit idly by in the face of such violations by Iran or by the terrorist organizations throughout the region that serve as its proxies,” Erdan wrote in a letter to incoming UNSC President T. S. Tirumurti.

The July 29 attack on the Mercer Street killed two crewmen, one British and one Romanian. Israel, the United States, the United Kingdom and Romania have all said that the evidence points to an armed drone attack carried out by Iran. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday there would be a “joint response” to the incident, which he called a “direct threat to freedom of navigation and commerce.”

Erdan wrote, “it is imperative to underline the pivotal role the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps has played in sowing violence and destruction in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world. The IRGC is the main sponsor of terrorist groups and militias throughout the region.”

Referring to attacks against Israeli-owned ships, including the Helios Ray and Hyperion Ray, earlier this year, Erdan said the Security Council must address the “string of attacks” with “great urgency” and “take all necessary measures to hold the Iranian regime fully accountable for its repeated and unrestrained gross violations of international law.”
Britain says UN Security Council ‘must respond to Iran’s destabilizing actions’
UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said Wednesday that Britain had written to the head of the UN Security Council, along with Romania and Liberia, to insist that action be taken against Iran over a deadly attack on an Israel-linked tanker last week.

“The UK has written to UN Security Council President T S Tirumurti alongside Romania and Liberia to raise Iran’s attack on MV Mercer Street,” Raab tweeted.

“The Council must respond to Iran’s destabilizing actions and lack of respect for international law.”

Hebrew media reported Tuesday that Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid were set to hold a briefing for UN Security Council representatives during which they will present them with intelligence information showing Iran’s responsibility for the attack.

A British security guard and a Romanian crew member were killed in the drone attack on the Liberian-flagged ship last week. Analysts said it bore all the hallmarks of the “shadow war” between Iran and Israel, which has included attacks on shipping in waters around the Gulf.

The US, UK and Israel have blamed Iran for the attack on the ship, managed by a company owned by prominent Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer, as it sailed off Oman.
Gantz, Lapid name Iranian commander responsible for tanker attack
Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid highlighted Iran's aggression in the region in a special meeting with ambassadors to Israel, revealing the perpetrators of recent maritime incidents.

Speaking before ambassadors of countries that sit on the UN Security Council, they named the Iranian commanders responsible for the recent drone attacks on civilian ships, including last week's attack on the Israeli-operated vessel Mercer Street off the coast of Oman, which killed two crewmembers.

"Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force, Amir Ali Hajizadeh is behind dozens of terror attacks in the region employing UAVs and missiles," Gantz said.

He added that "the person directly responsible for the launch of explosive UAVs is Saeed Ara Jani … the head of the IRGC's UAV Command, which conducted the attack on [tanker] Mercer Street. He is the one who provides the equipment, the training, and the plans to conduct terror attacks in the region."

Gantz and Lapid explained to the ambassadors that the Iranian threat was not a local problem, but a threat to world order that warranted an immediate response.
Hijacking Ends in Arabian Sea, Says UKMTO, as Oman Identifies Tanker Involved
Oman on Wednesday identified the Panama-flagged Asphalt Princess as the tanker involved in a hijacking which Britain’s maritime trade agency earlier said was over.

The statement by Oman’s Maritime Security Centre was the first official confirmation of Tuesday’s incident in the Arabian Sea which maritime security sources had told Reuters involved suspected Iranian-backed forces. Iran denied any involvement.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said in a warning notice based on a third-party source on Wednesday that people who had boarded a tanker involved in a “potential hijack” had since left and that the vessel, which it did not identify, was safe.

The AIS tracking status of the asphalt/bitumen tanker Asphalt Princess was “Underway Using Engine” early on Wednesday, according to Refinitiv ship tracking data.

The Oman Maritime Security Centre said in a statement it had received information about the Asphalt Princess being subjected “to a hijacking incident in international waters in the Gulf of Oman,” but gave no further details.

“The Royal Air Force of Oman is carrying out‮ ‬sorties near the area, and the Royal Navy of Oman deployed several ships to help secure international waters in the region,” it added.

The boarding took place in an area in the Arabian Sea leading to the Strait of Hormuz, the conduit for about a fifth of the world’s sea-borne oil exports.
Audio of Crew on Hijacked British Tanker to Coast Guard: ‘Five or Six Armed Iranians’ on Board
The crew of a British tanker briefly hijacked in the Gulf of Oman told the UAE coast guard that the perpetrators were armed Iranians, it was reported Wednesday.

Israeli public broadcaster Kan shared a video on Twitter in which a crew member tells the coast guard that there were people on board with “ammunition.”

The coast guard asks how many “Iranian people” are onboard, and the crew member replies that there are five or six.

A total of four tankers lost control of their steering and navigation systems Tuesday in the Gulf region, including the one that was boarded.

The British Foreign Office said it was investigating the incident, and sources said it was a hijacking carried out by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, which conducts Iran’s terrorist operations overseas.

Israeli security organs investigated the incident as well in order to ascertain whether the ship was connected in some way to Israel. No such connection has been found.
British Navy: Hijackers Left Vessel Off UAE Coast
Incident comes just days after Israeli-managed oil tanker attacked in drone strike that killed two crew

The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations on Tuesday warned of a "potential hijacking" of a ship off the coast of the United Arab Emirates in the Gulf of Oman.

Earlier, four oil tankers off the coast of the emirate of Fujairah broadcast warnings that they had lost control of their steering under unclear circumstances.

The vessels reported that their Automatic Identification System trackers were “not under command," according to MarineTraffic.com, usually meaning that a vessel has lost power and can no longer steer.











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