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Monday, November 22, 2021

11/22 Links Pt1: Eli Kay - Passionate Zionist whose heart was always open to his friends; Hamas Supporters Are Terrorist Sympathizers. The UK Is Right to Punish Them

From Ian:

Jpost Editoiral: There is only one face to the terror group Hamas
Hamas used the terrorist two-step for years, pretending it had an “armed” wing and a “political” wing. Many terrorist groups used this privileged stance in the 20th century, which enabled governments often to host the “political wing” while pretending not to work with the “armed wing.”

The illogic behind this policy is that it gave terrorist groups more privileges than countries or mafias. While a country can’t pretend that its “armed wing” commits crimes against humanity while its government has no connection to it, and a mafia can’t pretend its boss is not connected to the “criminal wing,” when it came to terrorist groups, they could always use this pretense.

Often this pretense of legality was used solely regarding Israel. That means terrorist groups that targeted the West, such as al-Qaeda or ISIS, didn’t have a fictional division under the law between the “armed wing” and the “political wing.” Only with groups that killed Jews and Israelis was this the case. Many of these groups, including Iranian-backed terrorists, have targeted Jews and Jewish institutions in Europe, the Middle East, Turkey and South America.

Thanks to the British efforts, the fiction behind Hamas’s “political” and “military” wings has been revealed, and the curtain pulled back. The United States, Canada, the European Union and Israel have similarly designated Hamas in its entirety as a terrorist organization. Australia and New Zealand have applied the terrorist label only to Hamas’s “military wing.”

According to Jonathan Schanzer, senior vice president of research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, the move could also prompt Australia to similarly outlaw Hamas’s “political wing.”

The British decision will likely help cut off funding sources for Hamas.

The effects may not be felt immediately, around the world or on the ground in Jerusalem. But the more countries that recognize the true stripes of Hamas, the safer we all will be.
Ian Austin: Hamas Supporters Are Terrorist Sympathizers. The UK Is Right to Punish Them
Home Secretary Priti Patel's decision to ban Hamas in its entirety should be welcomed by all those who oppose terrorism. Hamas is not - as some of its sympathizers intimate - a legitimate campaign for Palestinian rights. It is an armed group of genocidal terrorists that wants to wipe Israel off the map and murder both the Jews and Arabs who live there. It has subjected the poor people of Gaza to a brutal dictatorship ever since it seized power in a bloody coup 15 years ago.

The group is opposed not just to the idea of any sort of peace process with Israel but rejects the very existence of the Jewish state in the first place. In fact, its founding charter contains disgusting racist language calling for the death of all Jews worldwide. Funded by Iran, it presents an existential threat to the Middle East's only democracy.

Earlier this year, Hamas provoked a conflict with Israel by firing thousands of rockets indiscriminately at Israeli civilians. Had it not been for the country's Iron Dome missile defense system, thousands would have been slaughtered. Several of their missiles misfired and killed Palestinians.

The UK decision will mean that showing support for Hamas could result in imprisonment under the Terrorism Act. That will prevent the group raising funds here. Moreover, it will deal with some of the disgusting anti-Semitic racism we have seen on British streets during the recent conflict, like pro-Palestinian demonstrators wearing the Hamas-style headband traditionally worn by its suicide bombers. The decision is showing that the supporters of anti-Semitic terror will not be tolerated on the streets of Britain.


The Palestinian Jihad against Jews
If Palestinian leaders believe that Jews are not entitled to their holiest site, the Temple Mount, and that Jerusalem belongs only to Muslims and Christians, how can they talk about establishing a Palestinian state that would exist in peace and security next to Israel?

Western donors seem not to understand that the refusal by Palestinian leaders to recognize Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people remains a major obstacle to peace and the "two-state solution."

"We categorically reject the Jewish state," Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has stated on more than one occasion. "We will not backtrack on this matter."

On the eve of the meeting of the donor countries, PA Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh reminded Palestinians that there is no such thing as Jewish history in Jerusalem.... "Jerusalem has Canaanite, Roman, Islamic, and Christian antiquities, and no one else has any traces in it."

This is the same Shtayyeh who days earlier told foreign journalists in Ramallah that the Palestinians have no problem with Jews.

Perhaps Shtayyeh thought that his remarks in Arabic during the PA cabinet meeting would not be translated or noticed by non-Arabic speakers.

On the same day the Western donors were meeting in Norway, the PA Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement saying that the Palestinians oppose visits to the Temple Mount by Jewish students.

The Norwegian foreign minister and the donor countries should have taken note of what Palestinian leaders are telling their people and the rest of the Arabs and Muslims about Israel and Jewish history. Had they paid attention to the words of the Palestinian leaders, they would have realized why it is impossible to achieve peace between the Palestinians and Israel at a time when the PA is openly saying that Jews have no right to live in their own homeland.

Western donors might wish to consider this Judenrein type of Palestinian anti-Semitism and incitement against Israel and Jews the next time they open their wallets to the PA.


Eli Kay - Passionate Zionist whose heart was always open to his friends
An ardent Zionist dedicated to the Jewish people and the Land of Israel, and a close and devoted friend, is how Eli Kay, who was shot dead by a Hamas terrorist on Sunday, was remembered by his friends.

Several of Eli’s friends and comrades from the IDF, as well as his commanding officer, spoke of his warm and friendly nature and of his deep sense of mission in contributing to the Jewish state.

Eli made aliyah from South Africa in 2016 by himself, studied at a Chabad yeshiva in Kiryat Gat and then enlisted in the army.

The IDF initially refused to allow him to serve in a combat unit because of certain medical issues but Eli was insistent and was eventually allowed to join the Paratroopers Brigade in the “Arrow” company for ultra-Orthodox soldiers. He served for part of his stint along the Gaza border.

Michaya Beasley, who was Eli’s deputy company commander, described him as totally reliable, uncomplaining, and the hardest-working member of the unit, who would motivate not only his fellow soldiers but his officers, too.

“He would tell me ‘we need to do this, there are people depending on us,’ he forced people to be better,” said Beasley.

On Friday nights, when the company was on duty on the Gaza border, Eli would tell his comrades to look behind them at the Israeli communities and homes in the area and say “that’s why we’re here, that’s who we’re doing this for.”


‘Best of the best’: Thousands of mourners attend funeral for terror victim Eli Kay
Thousands of people participated Monday in the funeral for Eli Kay, 26, who was shot dead the day before in a Jerusalem terror attack and was eulogized for his energetic will to contribute to Israel.

Kay, a recent immigrant from South Africa who was employed at the Western Wall as a tour guide, was shot by a Hamas gunman in Jerusalem’s Old City.

Diaspora Affairs Minister Nachman Shai, Culture Minister Chili Tropper, and Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau attended the funeral at the Har Hamenuchot Cemetery in the capital.

Shai vowed the government would do everything to bring those responsible to justice and relentlessly fight terrorism.

“Eli’s story is the story of Israel at its best,” said Shai of the South African immigrant and former IDF paratrooper, calling him “the best of the best.”

“Israel thanks you today,” Shai said, adding that “Israel promises to fight terror every day, every hour.”

“We promise to grow… to flourish, so that this place will always be a home for the people of Israel,” Shai said.

Eli Kay’s brother Kasriel Kay said he wouldn’t eulogize his brother, per his Chabad Hasidic tradition. Instead, he urged the crowd of mourners to change their lives for the better in his memory.


Survivor of Old City Terror Attack Speaks: ‘I Received My Life as a Gift’
One of the four people wounded in a terrorist shooting in Jerusalem’s Old City on Sunday described the incident to Israeli media.

Rabbi Zeev Katzenelnbogen was moderately wounded when Fadi Abu Shkhaydam, a Hamas-connected terrorist, opened fire in a street near the Chain Gate, which leads to the Temple Mount. Abu Shkhaydam was shot and killed at the scene by police.

“I was returning from the shacharit prayer,” Katzenelnbogen said. “Just when I turned to the street that leads to my home, I heard shots and understood something had happened.”

“In a split second, I felt a strong pain in the arm, where the tefillin are placed,” he continued. “I turned back and entered a building.”

“I received my life as a gift,” said Katzenelnbogen, a 46-year old a father of eight.

“We haven’t felt tension lately in the Old City,” he observed. “Whoever does insane things like this needs to play the full price.”

The Israeli killed in the attack was identified as Eliyahu David Kay, a new immigrant from South Africa who served in the IDF paratroopers and was working as a guide at the Western Wall.


PMW: A tale of 2 realities: Active terrorist shooter or innocent civilian? The terror attack yesterday in Jerusalem’s Old City is a prime example of the alternative reality the Palestinian Authority attempts to create, with the goal of demonizing Israel and whitewashing terror
The terror attack yesterday in Jerusalem’s Old City is a prime example of the alternative reality the Palestinian Authority attempts to create, with the goal of demonizing Israel and whitewashing terror.

In the real world, yesterday morning, an Arab resident of Jerusalem, who worked in a school funded by the Jerusalem municipality, decided to act upon incitement by the Palestinian Authority and his homicidal Hamas ideology to attack Israelis with an automatic weapon. The attacker murdered civilian Eliyahu Kay and injured four others. Israeli police officers shot the active terrorist shooter before he could murder any more innocent people.

In the world of the PA, a Palestinian was “shot by the occupation,” and “died as a Martyr,” after he allegedly – according to the “occupation police,” – killed a “policeman” or a “settler.”

Shortly after the attack, the first version of the PA’s narrative was released by the official PA news agency, WAFA:
“Israeli occupation forces today opened gunfire and killed a Palestinian man near the Chain Gate in the Old City of occupied Jerusalem, according to witnesses.

The man was identified as Fadi Abu Shukhedem, a 42-year-old teacher of Islamic Education who comes from Shuafat refugee camp in occupied Jerusalem.”

[Official PA news agency, WAFA, (In English), Nov. 21, 2021]

The article ended by saying “The Israeli Police claimed that Abu Shukhedem opened gunfire on police officers killing one of them and injuring another three.”

The PA further developed the narrative today in its official daily newspaper, claiming that “A civilian was shot by the occupation and died as a Martyr, a settler was killed and three others were wounded in Jerusalem.”
Ra'am Appears to Condemn Terror Attack – But Only in Hebrew
The Islamist Ra’am party, a member of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s coalition, issued a statement following the terror attack in Jerusalem’s Old City, appearing to condemn the incident. However, Ra’am did not publish the statement in Arabic, as it usually does with its statements.

On Sunday, Hamas terrorist Fadi Abu-Shkadem fired at Israelis on their way to the Kotel, killing Eli Kay and wounding four others.

After being challenged on the issue by the Likud party, Ra’am appeared to issue a condemnation of the attack when it stated that “for decades,” it has “opposed and condemned and acted to prevent harm to innocent people on both sides, and will continue to do so, especially when it comes to innocent civilians.”

Ra’am “has always called for the sanctity of life, to avoid any form of violence, and to strive to live together in peace, security, partnership and tolerance, as set out in Ra’am vision,” the party stated.

After the ambiguous statement on the fatal attack, Ra’am attacked the Likud and said it “cannot preach morality to Ra’am and [its party head] MK Mansour Abbas, period.”

“The Likud led the government for many years, and failed to achieve peace and security and internal stability, so its time was up and replaced. The Likud must come to terms with the fact that there is another government today, and in order to change a functioning government,” is stated, apparently utilizing the tragic attacks for political gains.
A terrorist shatters all the stereotypes about terrorists
The self-appointed experts say the “profile” of an Arab terrorist is an unemployed, single young man. But Sunday’s killer, Fadi Abu Shkhaydem, was none of those things.

The sociologists and think tank fellows who claim to know everything tell us that terrorists strike because “they have nothing to lose.” They supposedly have “personal problems” or “financial hardships.” They don’t have to worry about leaving behind widows or orphans. Well, this terrorist had everything to lose—but that didn’t stop him.

Shkhaydem was 42, not 22. He wasn’t an unstable, misguided youngster. He was a family man. He had a wife. He had five children. He simply didn’t care about making his wife a widow or leaving his children without a father. Murdering Jews was more important to him than the lives of his own loved ones.

In addition to the submachine gun, Shkhaydem was carrying a knife. Presumably, he wanted to be able to kill more Jews after his ammunition ran out.

Shkhaydem and his family lived in the northeastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Shuafat. Classified as a “refugee camp,” Shuafat is adjacent to two Jewish neighborhoods, Pisgat Ze’ev and French Hill. Its residents take the same light rail line as the residents of those cities. In other words, the Shkhaydems had plenty of opportunities for peaceful interaction with Israeli Jews.

The international news media often tell us that terrorists are merely “responding” to some “expansion” by Jewish settlers. They can’t trot out that excuse in this case. The Shkhaydems were living in Jerusalem. They were not being harmed in any way by Jewish “settlers.” Nobody was taking their land or threatening their livelihood.

The Shkhaydems hold Israeli identity cards and have the status of permanent residents of Jerusalem. They enjoy the same rights as Jewish Jerusalemites, including medical care and voting in municipal elections. (The only thing they can’t do is vote in general elections, since they are not Israeli citizens.) Nobody is oppressing them.
Report: Old City Terrorist Fadi Abu Shahidam Was on Jerusalem Municipality’s Payroll
One cannot fail to see the correlation of the defeatist attitude of the Israeli education system in eastern Jerusalem in the past 45 years and the fact that a state-run and funded school in eastern Jerusalem employed a known Hamas member – and who knows how many more.

Hamas issued a statement on Sunday, saying: “The perpetrator of the attack is Fadi Abu Shahidam, one of the leaders of Hamas in Shuafat in East Jerusalem. Our martyr in Jerusalem passed his life preaching for jihad, and all the parts of the city and the sides of the al-Aqsa mosque attest to it. Now here he is, rising today after the heroic battle he fought against the occupation forces, inflicting death and injuries.”

The cowardly attack outside the Temple Mount lasted 32 seconds and left one civilian dead, two civilians seriously and moderately injured, and two Border Police officers wounded in light condition.

Deputy Jerusalem Mayor Aryeh King said on Sunday: “As deputy mayor, I am not surprised by the fact that the terrorist, may his memory be erased, worked as a teacher at a school funded by the Ministry of Education and the municipality. For years, I have been calling on mayors and education ministers to monitor the content taught in the schools that are funded by the government and the municipality. Unfortunately, despite being deputy mayor, time and time again, Council Member Yonatan Yosef and I find ourselves in the minority on this issue. It is our duty to monitor the content that’s being taught to the city’s students because the supervision of the Ministry of Education cannot be trusted.”


HonestReporting: Palestinian Incitement Laid Bare: Hamas Murders Israeli, Child Calls on Allah To 'Burn' Jews
Eliyahu David Kay, 26, was shot dead on Sunday by a Palestinian terrorist in the Old City of Jerusalem. Several others were wounded when Hamas member Fadi Abu Shkhaydam opened fire near the Chain Gate leading to the Temple Mount. Israeli officials said that Abu Shkhaydam used a Beretta M12 submachine gun to perpetrate the attack. He was shot and killed by security forces.

The facts were clear from the onset, with Hamas having praised the "heroic operation" an hour later. Yet, multiple news outlets blurred the lines between the assailant and his victims. On BBC Newshour, former Palestinian Authority spokesperson Nour Odeh blamed the terror attack on Israel, thus ignoring the long history of Palestinian incitement and backing of terrorism.

Following the attack, hundreds of Palestinians in eastern Jerusalem participated in a pro-Hamas march to honor the terrorist. Meanwhile in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, "activists" distributed sweets in celebration of murder.

In a televised eulogy of Fadi Abu Shkhaydam, one of his students laid bare the results of Hamas' antisemitic incitement.




Hundreds of Palestinians March in Support of Jerusalem Terrorist
Hundreds of Palestinians marched through the Shuafat refugee camp in East Jerusalem on Sunday in support of a Hamas gunman who shot and killed one Israeli and wounded four others in the capital's Old City.

The rally was initiated by the terrorist organization in an area that is under full Israeli control.

Demonstrators marched through the camp's main street towards the home of the attacker — a 42-year-old schoolteacher named Fadi Abu Shkhaydam, who died in a firefight with security forces in the attack.

The crowd set tires on fire and threw rocks at Border Police forces that arrived at the scene while chanting "the martyrs are going to Jerusalem in the millions" praising Hamas' military wing. Residents also called for a general strike in the neighborhood on Monday.

Israeli security forces knew that Abu Shkhaydam was a member of Hamas, but was never arrested by the Shin Bet domestic security agency.

He worked as a teacher and frequented the Al Aqsa Mosque, where he urged parishioners to not allow Israeli troops onto the mount and to resist them by force.

Abu Shkhaydam’s wife and several of their children fled Jerusalem three days before the attack.

His son Aboud posted on social media a picture of his father with a weapon after the attack, writing that he is proud to be the son of a "martyr."

Hamas praised Abu Shkhaydam in an official statement, saying that "the Holy City continues to fight against the foreign occupier, and will not surrender to the occupation."


Honest Reporting: Media Headlines Obscure Facts of Lethal Palestinian Terror Attack
The reports should have been clear: A Palestinian gunman opened fire in the Old City of Jerusalem on Sunday morning, killing one Israeli man and injuring several others.

Instead, multiple news outlets around the world managed to mangle their headlines and reports to such an extent that the story ended up packaged as a “Jerusalem attack” with it unclear as to who was attacking, and who was attacked.

One of the first leading media organizations to document the shooting was CNN.

An early version of its headline read thus: “One dead, four injured, in suspected shooting attack in Jerusalem.”

In a tweet, HonestReporting swiftly drew attention to the fact that the headline lacked crucial information like the words “Israeli” and “Palestinian”.

About an hour and a half later, CNN updated the article, but with nothing that made clear who the perpetrators were and who were their victims.

Instead, it added the detail that the “assailant” (still no identity mentioned) was “also killed.”
BBC News continues to perpetuate the myth of terror group ‘wings’
On November 19th a report headlined “Hamas to be declared a terrorist group by UK” was published on the BBC News website’s ‘UK’ and ‘Middle East’ pages.

In its opening lines the report perpetuates the myth of separate ‘wings’ to the Hamas terrorist organisation, just as the BBC has done in the past with Hizballah.

“Home Secretary Priti Patel has announced she is seeking to declare the whole of Palestinian militant group Hamas a terrorist organisation.

The military wing of the group which controls Gaza is already proscribed a terrorist organisation by the UK.

However, the change will also cover the Islamist movement’s political wing.”

Readers find a curious description of counter-terrorism measures employed in order to prevent Hamas from importing dual-use goods and weapons to the Gaza Strip, together with uncritical promotion of claims from unidentified “human rights groups”.

“Hamas has carried out hundreds of deadly attacks against Israel and fired thousands of rockets at it during years of hostilities between the two sides. Israel, along with Egypt, has hemmed in the Gaza Strip since Hamas took over in 2006 and waged a series of wars against it. Human rights groups have accused both sides of committing war crimes.”

The euphemistic claim that Hamas “took over” the Gaza Strip (an event which actually occurred in 2007) clearly does not contribute to audience understanding of the fact that the terrorist organisation staged a violent coup against its political rivals. A later description of the same event is little better:
“But after 2005, when Israel withdrew its troops and settlers from Gaza, Hamas has also engaged in the Palestinian political process. It won the legislative elections in 2006, before reinforcing its power in Gaza the following year by ousting the rival Fatah movement of President Mahmoud Abbas.”


Israel Signals Confidence in Its Relationship with Biden
Israeli officials are feeling confident about where they stand in Washington nearly one year into the Biden administration. Biden has largely sought consensus with Israel, firmly supporting Israel during its war with Hamas in May, and backing off demands related to the Palestinians, despite vocal opposition among progressives in his party.

"We respect the president, we respect the administration," Israeli Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked said in an interview with The Hill in Washington this week. "There are specific issues in which we don't think the same, but in general, we are working together." Overall, the U.S.-Israel relationship is one of the strongest - if not the strongest - partnerships among American allies.

Israel's current government is outspoken in its opposition to the nuclear deal with Iran but has worked more closely with Biden to project a united front, an effort to increase pressure on Iran to rein in its nuclear ambitions. The administration has "coordinated with the Israelis every step of the way," said Aaron David Miller, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace who has served as a Middle East negotiator. According to Miller, "Biden learned from Obama, you do not confront the Israelis on the Iranian and the Palestinian issue at the same time. Obama did and it turned out to be a disaster. So you don't do that."
Israel, Jordan sign UAE-brokered deal to swap solar energy and water
Israel and Jordan on Monday signed their largest-ever cooperation agreement, which will see the construction of a major solar power plant in the Hashemite Kingdom to generate electricity for the Jewish state while a desalination plant established in Israel will send water to Jordan.

The agreement was brokered by the United Arab Emirates, which hosted a signing ceremony at the Dubai Expo. Present at the ceremony were UAE Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Zayed and US Climate Envoy John Kerry, who was involved in getting the agreement over the finish line.

The agreement will see Israel purchase solar power from the Jordan-based facility, which will be constructed by an Emirati firm, and Jordan purchase water from the Israeli site to be constructed along the Mediterranean coast.

The deal represented the latest byproduct of the Abraham Accords normalization agreement Israel signed with the UAE last year under the auspices of the Trump administration. The Biden administration has also pledged to build on those agreements while remaining adamant that they are not a replacement for Israeli-Palestinian peace.

The deal was reportedly first raised in a September meeting between Energy Minister Karine Elharrar and UAE Ambassador to Israel Mohamed Al Khaja, during discussions on how the UAE can help broker future regional deals in the wake of the Abraham Accords.

Elharrar met with Jordan Water and Irrigation Minister Mohammed Al-Najjar last month for the signing of a separate agreement doubling the amount of water Israel supplies to perennially parched Jordan.


Shin Bet Arrests Over 50 Hamas Operatives in Terror Cell
Israel’s Shin Bet security agency announced on Monday that over 50 Hamas operatives suspected of planning terror attacks were arrested in the West Bank and Jerusalem.

The effort to uncover the cell was ongoing for several months, with the first round of initial arrest raids in September, according to the Times of Israel.

“You thwarted a large infrastructure, some of which you know was ready to go with explosive belts or more, also grenades and other explosives,” IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi told the military commanders whose units took part in the raids, Times of Israel reported.

According to Shin Bet, the cell was led by Saleh al-Arouri, a senior leader of the terror group in the West Bank who lives in Turkey. He worked abroad with additional Hamas members.

Al-Arouri invested hundreds of thousands of shekels into the cell’s activities and offered a prize of $1 million if the cell carried out a kidnapping successfully.

“This was a major preventative effort that thwarted dangerous terrorist infrastructure, which was planning serious attacks. The goal of the terrorist activities, which were undertaken by Hamas operatives abroad and in Gaza with operatives in the territory of the West Bank, was to destabilize the region, while exacting a heavy price from local residents,” a senior Shin Bet officer said, according to the Times of Israel.
Israeli Drones Have Downed Hundreds of Arson Balloons from Gaza
During 2018, Israeli communities adjacent to Gaza came under a relentless assault of hundreds of explosive and incendiary kites and balloons.

In response, the Israel Defense Forces called up for reserve duty 15 of the most experienced drone operators to intercept the balloons.

Over several months, the experts downed hundreds of kites and balloons, controlling the drones intuitively with virtual-reality goggles that provide the operator with the drone's point of view.

A new drone operating system enables soldiers with very little training to fly drones. "We eliminated the concept of control by means of sticks," said Rubi Liani.

"We reduce two years of training into five minutes. Soldiers arrive, and within 10 minutes of training they start downing balloons in Gaza," Aviv Shapira added. Takeoff and landing are performed automatically.
Palestinians seek to turn China against Israel
Palestinian activists seem to believe they can maneuver China to sever ties with Israel.

On October 30, at the first “China and the Palestinian Question” conference in Istanbul, deputy chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau, Moussa Abu Marzouk, was among those who submitted an appeal. After first stating, “we do not interfere in the internal affairs of any country or the way it runs its foreign relations,” Abu Marzouk began to plant the seeds of interference. “We would like China to stay away from the Zionist entity,” he said, adding that Israel stands in “stark contrast to everything China symbolizes and aspires to.”

The conference, organized by the Asia and the Middle East Forum and the Middle East Studies Center of the Chinese Foreign Affairs University (CFAU), was rife with carefully crafted narratives that leveraged existing tensions between China and the West to advance their anti-Israel agenda.

Abu Marzouk proclaimed that China’s relations with Israel “will definitely become a source of conflict and a threat to China’s medium- and long-term interests because the [Zionist] entity is racially and existentially attached to the colonial powers that are hostile to the Chinese awakening.”

Sami Al-Arian, a professor at Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University, told the conference that “the US is forming military alliances to besiege China.” He added that “Australia wanted to remain neutral but was forced to choose between security and trade,” referring to the recent AUKUS military pact among the US, UK and Australia.
Hamas says Turkey playing critical role in upholding Palestinian cause
Hamas said Turkey is playing a critical role in upholding the cause of Palestinians.

The group welcomes Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s continued backing of the Palestinian issue, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh told a Hamas-affiliated television station, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency reported on Sunday.

Turkey’s close relationship with Hamas, the Islamist militant group governing the blockaded Palestinian territory of Gaza, is one of a string of issues that are contributing to ongoing tensions in Turkey-Israel relations.

The group which is designated as a terrorist organisation by Israel, the United States and several European countries, maintains an Istanbul office. Israel has said a thaw in relations with Turkey would only be possible if it shut down the facility.

Haniyeh reiterated a call for Israel to end the blockade of the Gaza Strip, saying Hamas could no longer remain silent and would support any step to break the blockade, Anadolu said.

Turkey has been accused by Israeli officials of providing funds and citizenship to top Hamas officials. Despite Israel’s persistent complaints to Turkey to stop hosting them, it has refused to do so. Erdoğan also met with two Hamas leaders in Istanbul last year, a meeting that sparked condemnation from the United States.


US warns Israel attacks on Iran nuclear facilities 'counterproductive'
Israeli officials dismiss warning that attacks are encouraging Tehran to speed up nuclear program

US officials have warned Israel that attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities are "counterproductive" and are encouraging Tehran to speed up its nuclear program, The New York Times reported on Sunday.

Citing officials familiar with the private talks between Washington and Jerusalem, the report said that Israeli officials dismissed the warning and said that they have no intention of changing the strategy.

The report was published ahead of the resumption of talks between Iran and world powers on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal that former US president Donald Trump withdrew from in 2018. The negotiations are scheduled to take place in Vienna starting on November 29.

Talks stalled in June following the election to president of hardliner Ebrahim Raisi.

According to the report, the US cautioned that Israel's attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities may be "tactically satisfying," but that Iran has been able to resume enrichment, often installing newer machines that can enrich uranium faster.

The US cited four explosions at Iranian nuclear facilities attributed to Israel and the killing of top Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh by Mossad (national intelligence agency) operatives.
US warns Israel attacks on Iran unproductive
Interview and analysis by Meir Javedanfar, Iran lecturer at Reichman University

Israeli officials dismiss warning that attacks are encouraging Tehran to speed up nuclear program

US officials have warned Israel that attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities are "counterproductive" and are encouraging Tehran to speed up its nuclear program, The New York Times reported on Sunday.

Citing officials familiar with the private talks between Washington and Jerusalem, the report said that Israeli officials dismissed the warning and said that they have no intention of changing the strategy.


Republican state AGs strategize around potential reentry to Iran nuclear deal
A group of Republican attorneys general and staffers from 11 states met in Washington, D.C., in early November to discuss strategies for keeping pressure on Iran, if the Biden administration reenters in the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or eases sanctions against the Islamic regime.

A panel of experts — Richard Goldberg, a senior advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (who also co-hosts Jewish Insider’s “Limited Liability Podcast”); Jonathan Missner, a partner at the law firm of Stein Mitchell Beato & Missner and board chair of Pro-Israel America; and Avi Jorisch, a senior fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council — addressed a group organized by the Republican Attorneys General Association with suggestions for steps that the state officials can take to counter Iran. The gathering took place on the sidelines of a Federalist Society conference.

Goldberg emphasized to JI that the 2015 negotiations around the deal, which Iranian negotiators insisted include language requiring the president to mitigate state laws on sanctions, showed that Iran is aware of the influence that individual states can have in this arena.

“The Iranians know that the states do have the ability to influence private sector decisions. We’ve seen that happen in the [Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions] arena, quite often,” Goldberg said. “They have the potential to really create a lot of market deterrence.”

Goldberg said he laid out a number of ways that states and state AGs can deter in-state businesses from doing business with Iran in his speech. He proposed modernizing state pension laws to block investment in any business with ties to a number of Iranian financial, energy and construction sectors, in line with current U.S. sanctions. Current state pension laws addressing Iran are largely outdated, he explained.
MEMRI: IRGC Aerospace Force Commander: We Do Not Need to Build Missiles That Can Reach U.S. Soil
IRGC Aerospace Force commander General Amir-Ali Hajizadeh met with members of the Student Basij at Sharif University at the IRGC Aerospace Exhibition, and footage of the meeting was aired on Emtedad Online (Iran) on November 15, 2021. General Hajizadeh said to the Basij members that it is unnecessary for Iran to strike targets on American soil because there is a significant enough American presence in the region surrounding Iran. Claiming that the majority of American forces are present in the Middle East, General Hajizadeh said that Iranian pressure on American forces in the region is in response to America’s 2020 killing of IRGC Qods Force commander General Qasem Soleimani.

In addition, he said that Iranian security forces should have prevented the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh and the recent cyberattack on the Natanz nuclear facility, and he blamed this failure in part on former Iranian President Rouhani’s “pro-Western” government. General Hajizadeh also said say that strikes against Israeli ships, fires in Israel, and an explosion in an Israeli factory are all retaliation against Israel for the killing of Fakhrizadeh. Later in the meeting, General Hajizadeh added that Iranian forces are present “from the Red sea to the Mediterranean Sea” and are no longer restricted to Iran’s borders. General Hajizadeh then turned to the students and said that since they are young, they will see the day when the “Zionist regime” is annihilated.


‘We Will Never Allow Iran to Go Nuclear,’ Israel’s Security Adviser Tells Bahrain Summit
Israeli national security advisor Eyal Hulata described Iran as the “most destabilizing force in the region” in remarks Sunday, warning of “unprecedented threats” facing the world if Iran succeeds in developing nuclear weapons.

“The region is at a critical time regarding Iran. This is our time to deliver a strong and unified message — we will never allow Iran to go nuclear,” Hulata told the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Manama Dialogue security forum in Bahrain on Sunday. “Iran has made great strides in its UAV development and usage, but its nuclear development program is at the top of the threat list.”

The former Mossad officer warned that should Iran achieve its nuclear ambitions, “the region as we know it is no longer; the free world will face extreme threats it hasn’t faced before.”

“Iran will not make any concessions just because we ask them nicely. The Iranian issue is not just our problem, it’s a global problem,” Hulata remarked. “We support a unified global determination action. But at the same time Israel will be ready to defend itself if it needs to. We will make the preparations to do so.”

The comments come as stalled nuclear talks with Iran are scheduled to resume later this month in Vienna.

Hulata said that although the US and Israel may not agree on everything, “we share the goals of preventing Iran from ever being able to break out nuclear weapons and to limit the regional domination.”
Bahrain Says It Foiled Planned Attack, Confiscated Iranian Weapons and Explosives
Bahrain security forces arrested a number of suspected militants ahead of a planned attack and confiscated weapons and explosives that had come from Iran, the interior ministry said on its official Twitter on Monday.

The ministry did not say how many people were arrested or specify their nationalities. It described them as “linked with terrorist groups in Iran” and said they were “plotting terrorist operations against security and civil peace.”

Bahrain, host to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet and other international naval operations, has often accused Shi’ite Muslim Iran of seeking to subvert the Sunni-ruled kingdom, which has a Shi’ite majority. Iran has denied such charges.

The island state was the only Gulf Arab state to witness a sizable pro-democracy uprising in the 2011 “Arab Spring,” from a largely Shi’ite opposition movement, which it quashed with help from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.







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