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Tuesday, February 08, 2022

02/08 Links Pt1: Amnesty hops on the UN Antisemitism bandwagon; Tlaib has paid out $170,000 to firm of anti-Israel activist; Biden’s BDS Activist’s Nomination ‘in Limbo,’

From Ian:

David Singer: Amnesty hops on the UN Antisemitism bandwagon
Only one statement in the Report makes any reference to the League of Nations Mandate for Palestine (1920-1948) that governed Palestine for the first 28 years of that conflict:

“… subsequent to 1967, Israel has exercised effective control over the whole territory of British mandate Palestine.”

Totally false.

Jordan – in fact - exercises effective control over 78% of the territory of British mandate Palestine. The Arab residents of former Palestine attained their right to self-determination there when Britain granted it independence in 1946. Not one Jew lives there. Selling land to Jews is punishable by death.

The Jews were left to exercise their right of self-determination in the remaining 22% of the territory of British mandate Palestine.

Since 1967 the PLO has demanded an additional area from this Jewish-reserved 22% - known as Judea and Samaria (West Bank), East Jerusalem and Gaza - to create a second Arab state in former Palestine - in addition to Jordan.

Every Jew living in these areas had been expelled in 1947 after Jordan and Egypt conquered and occupied these territories.

Arabs living in Judea and Samaria 'West Bank') and East Jerusalem were Jordanian citizens between 1950 and 1988.

The UN has falsely alleged that Jews have no right to live in Judea and Samaria ('West Bank'), East Jerusalem and Gaza and where so doing now - are acting illegally in flagrant violation of international law and are the major obstacle to peace

Articles 6 and 25 of the Mandate encourages close Jewish settlement in these areas and rebuts such claims. This internationally- sanctioned right of Jewish settlement still exists today by virtue of Article 80 of the UN Charter.

Amnesty International has acted with deliberate malice and put at extreme risk the lives and well being of Jews – and innocent bystanders - worldwide.

The UN-Amnesty International bandwagon is on a journey to hell as a result of their dishonest machinations against the Jewish People.
Jewish Groups Urge UN Not to Use ‘False Claims’ of Amnesty Report Against Israel
The blowback over a biased report by Amnesty International on Israel continues nearly a week after its release as 469 organizations and more than 4,000 individuals signed a strongly-worded letter on Monday urging UN Secretary-General António Guterres to make sure the report is not used to attack Israel within the United Nations.

Besides the 4,000 individual signees, the letter was signed by 172 Jewish federations and Jewish Community Relations Councils.

“The Amnesty report traffics in false claims against the sole Jewish state, distorts international law, questions the very existence of Israel, and ignores the violence and terrorist assaults on Israeli civilians—Jewish, Muslim and Christian,” the letter stated.

Released on Feb. 1, the report called Israel an “apartheid state” and even questioned the founding of Israel. It also urged the UN Security Council to impose a military embargo on Israel.

An overarching concern of the organizations was that the report would be used by the UN Human Rights Council’s Commission of Inquiry (COI) into Israel, which the organizations vehemently oppose. That could lead to yet another review of Israel—a “democratic country in which multiple faith communities live under the rule of law, participate in civic life, contribute to the economy and serve in the highest levels of government”—by the International Criminal Court.

The groups further urged Guterres and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, who was also sent the letter, to terminate the COI.


Learn the facts: Countering the sham Amnesty Report with truth
In fewer pages than Amnesty International took to smear Israel in a “report” they rooted in distortion and omission, Robert Spencer had preemptively set the record straight in The Palestinian Delusion: The Catastrophic History of the Middle East Peace Process.

Spencer takes readers through an easy to digest, academic journey that stretches from before the reestablishment of the modern state of Israel, through today. The Palestinian Delusion shines light on the aggressive forces, and the appeasers of such aggressive forces, that have tried to inhibit Israel's success and devastate its people.

Amnesty International has joined in on an already established off-tune chorus in which slandering the Israeli state has become an increasing trend. They released their hit job months after Human Rights Watch released theirs. Neither report mentions that Islamic terrorists regularly target Jewish citizens with violent attacks that have killed more than a thousand people and injured thousands more in just the past couple of decades, or that Israelis have been prompted to tighten security to discourage such attacks.

Spencer provides the context that these sham human rights groups take pains to conceal. He details the harsh reality inflicted on the people of the only democracy of the Middle East and how the single-minded goal to destroy them, also harms Palestinian Arabs. “Mahmoud Abbas and his two sons control a business empire worth four hundred million dollars . . . the leader of Hamas’s political wing, Khaled Mashaal, is also a billionaire.”

Mashaal isn’t the only Hamas terrorist with a fortune, largely skimmed from United States and European aid money, funds that were meant to help improve the lives of the people, but instead, have gone into harming them. In addition to hoarding money to indulge in a lavish lifestyle that they deny their people, Hamas (acronym for their Arabic name, The Islamic Resistance Movement) leaders pay Palestinian Arabs to deliberately get in harm’s way.

Spencer details the Hamas injury reward system they implemented during the 2018 riots, riots that were erroneously reported as simply, protests. Hamas’s goal was to boost global anger toward Israel when the terror group tried to breach Israel’s border: $500 to any Palestinian who would get shot and $3000 to the family of a Palestinian who would get killed. Said “human rights organizations” didn’t condemn that, nor mention it in their “reports.” Spencer also included several stories in which Hamas got unharmed Palestinian Arabs to act injured or to get family members to lie about causes of death to direct erroneous blame at Israel.

Fabrications used to smear Israel have long been enough to turn public opinion against Israel. Spencer eloquently articulates that legend far outruns facts.


We Need Justice International to Investigate Amnesty International
The outrage against this latest international assault on Israel has been widespread. Elliot Abrams called it “a shockingly dishonest document whose biases against the Jewish state leap off each of its 280 pages.” The ADL called the report “an effort to demonize Israel and undermine its legitimacy as a Jewish and democratic state. In an environment of rising anti-Jewish hate, this type of report is not only inaccurate but also irresponsible and likely will lead to intensified antisemitism around the world.”

We’ve gotten so used to these brazen and discriminatory attacks against Israel it just feels like Groundhog Day. But we can’t allow ourselves to slip into outrage fatigue. We should instead increase the level of our response.

Condemnations are no longer enough. The world needs an organization, call it “Justice International,” to investigate so-called human rights groups that consistently single out and discriminate against the world’s only Jewish state.

We must investigate the investigators.

I assure you they will be very busy, not only with this latest insult from Amnesty International but with the recent insult from the UN Human Rights Council, which made Israel the first-ever country to be under permanent investigation.

The best way to defend is to go on the offense. These vicious attacks poison Israel, fuel antisemitism around the world and endanger the lives of Jews everywhere.

These international groups that have a pathological obsession with Israel have knowingly treated the Jewish state a lot worse than they’ve treated the world’s greatest human rights violators. That is pure antisemitism. The only way they’ll stop is if they know there is a price to pay for such blatant discrimination.

If this means Amnesty International will spend more time going after the world’s most evil regimes, then Justice International will mean justice for Jews and justice for the world.


Tlaib has paid out $170,000 to firm of anti-Israel activist who supports defunding the police
The campaign of "Squad" Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., has paid out $170,000 to an anti-Israel activist who has called Israel an "apartheid state" and has called for defunding the police multiple times.

Tlaib's campaign has paid $147,000 to Unbought Power LLC, a political consulting and advocacy firm run by Rasha Mubarak, since March 2020. Tlaib's leadership PAC, Rooted in Community Leadership, which lists Mubarak as a "treasurer," has paid Unbought Power another $23,000 since October 2020, according to Federal Elections Commission (FEC) filings reviewed by Fox News Digital.

Mubarak, a "Palestinian Muslim American community activist," has a history of making anti-Israel statements online and calling Israel an "apartheid state."

"These aren’t clashes— it’s an ongoing occupation. These aren’t evictions— they are forced expulsions," Mubarak tweeted in May of last year. "This isn’t a conflict— it’s settler colonialism, it’s ethnic cleansing, it’s oppression, it’s apartheid."

"Say it loud. Say it clear. Palestine will be FREE," she continued with the hashtag "#SaveSheikhJarrah."

Mubarak also attacked Democratic Rep. Ted Deutch of Florida, who is Jewish, in September of last year over his remarks pushing back against Tlaib labeling Israel an apartheid state.

"Oh look it's [Deutch] throwing another tantrum," the "activist" tweeted. "He used his time to attack [Tlaib] for underscoring facts also made by Human Rights Watch [and B’Tselem] -- Israel is indeed an apartheid state."
Biden, Dem lawmakers take cash from convicted terrorist financier
A convicted felon accused by the US government of supporting “the cause of violent jihad” — and promoting 9/11 mastermind Osama Bin Laden — donated to Joe Biden’s presidential campaign and a host of progressive Democrats following his release from prison, records show.

Emadeddin Muntasser, 57, and two of his associates were convicted in January 2008 on counts of conspiring to defraud the United States government, lying to the FBI and engaging in a scheme to conceal evidence. The charges stemmed from their operation of an Islamic charity that acted as a front to finance Islamic jihad abroad and lying about the organization in order to obtain tax-exemption status.

“Today’s verdict is a milestone in our efforts against those who conceal their support for extremist causes behind the veil of humanitarianism. For years, these defendants used an allegedly charitable organization as a front for the collection of donations that they used to support violent jihadists,” Kenneth L. Wainstein, Assistant Attorney General for National Security said at the time.

During years-long criminal proceedings that followed the convictions were briefly tossed — only to be later reinstated in 2011. Muntasser ended up serving five months in a Rhode Island prison and another five months of home confinement, six months of supervised release and paid a $10,000 fine.

In 2018 Muntasser became a Democratic donor, cutting a $1,000 check for Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey, according to Federal Election Commission records.

New Jersey Rep. Tom Malinowski — one of the most endangered members of the House heading into the midterms — has taken $2,250 from Muntasser since 2018.

Muntasser also backed progressives in primary challenges. Last April he offered a max $2,900 donation to Rana Abdelhamid, an aspiring “Squad” member who is running against longtime Upper East Side Rep. Carolyn Maloney.

Muntasser has also donated $2,900 to Muad Hrezi, a Connecticut progressive looking to oust Democratic Rep. John Larson.

Muntasser gave $250 to Biden during his presidential campaign last year.
Biden’s BDS Activist’s Nomination ‘in Limbo,’ Blocked by Idaho Republican
President Joe Biden’s nominee for the State Department’s top human rights envoy has reached an impasse in the Senate confirmation process, and the post of running one of the president’s biggest foreign-policy priorities has been stuck in limbo for months, Foreign Policy reported on Monday (Biden’s Pick for Top Human Rights Post Stuck in Nomination Limbo).

The nominee, Sarah Margon, slated to become assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights, and labor (DRL), is mistrusted by the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Idaho Sen. James Risch, because of her anti-Israel tweets. In one of those tweets, dated Nov. 19, 2018, Margon wrote: “Airbnb to remove listings in Israeli settlements of occupied West Bank. Thanks, Airbnb, for showing some good leadership here. Other companies should follow suit.”

And after the NY Times ran Peter Beinart’s revolting op-ed, “I No Longer Believe in a Jewish State,” op-ed, Margon shared an excerpt that urged the destruction of Israel as we now know it, with the caption: “Peter Beinart on fire.”

But wait, there’s more: in December 2019, after President Trump signed an executive order on combating antisemitism, Margon tweeted: “POTUS’ new exec order ostensibly addresses antisemitism. But in reality, it’s a bogus initiative geared to stifle free speech & go after those who might criticize Israel. So today I’m feeling ‘othered,’ which is not a good thing.”

During Margon’s nomination hearing last September, she denied charges that she supports the Boycott, Sanctions, and Divestment movement against Israel, declaring: “I firmly oppose the BDS movement.”

But Senator Risch confronted her with the tweet cheering the AirBnB boycott of Israeli settlements and said he found it hard to see how it wasn’t a statement of support for BDS.


New York Democrats Sued for ‘Brazen’ Effort To Split Jewish Vote
A group of Republican voters in New York says Democrats illegally split up conservative Jewish voters in freshly drawn congressional maps as part of a scheme to help Democratic candidates in November.

Election laws require states to strive to place communities with cultural and social ties—known as "communities of interest"—in the same congressional districts. But 14 Republican voters say the New York map shifts Orthodox Jewish and Russian Jewish votes from the state's 11th district, held by Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R.), to Democratic strongholds in the 8th, 9th and 10th districts. The result is a map that dilutes Brooklyn Jews' voting power and creates "a partisan advantage" for Democrats.

"The new map divides closely knit, concentrated Orthodox Jewish and Russian communities with strong social and cultural ties, resulting in conservative Republican-leaning voters spread or ‘cracked' across multiple districts," the lawsuit reads.

Malliotakis's district includes Staten Island and portions of south Brooklyn. Though the updated map includes Staten Island, it replaces conservative Jewish communities with Brooklyn's more liberal enclaves.

"Anyone looking at the maps can see that they are changing the boundaries to tilt the scale and give their candidates an advantage," said Malliotakis, who narrowly defeated Democratic incumbent Max Rose in 2020.

The suit targets Gov. Kathy Hochul (D.) and other state leaders for approving one of the most aggressively gerrymandered House district maps in the country. The move would raise Democrats' advantage over Republicans from 11 seats to 18. Political observers say the map, should it survive legal challenges, could single-handedly help Democrats maintain control of the House in the midterm elections.

"These redrawn Brooklyn districts are blatant gerrymanders, with bizarre, roving boundaries crossing multiple bodies of water and snaking between each other for no discernible reason besides partisan advantage," the Republicans say.
A congressman who wants Israel to be narrower than his district
A Michigan congressman is complaining that he is being subjected to “ad hominem attacks” because his pro-Palestinian positions have been criticized. But there’s nothing ad hominem about pointing out that this congressman wants to reduce Israel to a size that will be barely one-third the width of his own congressional district.

The congressman in question is Democrat Andy Levin of Michigan, who is closely associated with J Street and advocates forcing Israel back to the nine-miles-wide pre-1967 armistice lines.

In fact, Levin is so deeply devoted to making Israel just nine miles wide, that he is the lead sponsor on a bill called the “Two-State Solution Act.” The bill demands the creation of a Palestinian Arab state next to Israel, in what he calls “the occupied Palestinian Territories.”

Sec.5 (a) of the Levin bill defines those territories as “the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza.”

Those are the areas that Israel captured in the 1967 war. Which means that if the state of “Palestine” is established, Israel will return to being nine miles wide at a point a few miles above Tel Aviv, as it was prior to 1967.

By way of comparison, Rep. Levin’s district, the 9th Congressional District of Michigan, is about 25 miles wide. His district is in a suburb of Detroit, which is about 45 miles wide.

So, Congressman Levin wants Israel to be reduced to one-third the width of his district, and one fifth the width of Detroit.

It’s not hard to understand why Israelis are less than eager for that kind of “solution.” Recall that on the eve of the Six Day War, Israeli mothers living along the heavily-populated coastal region refused to let their children go to school, for fear that an Arab tank column would cut Israel in two, possibly leaving their children on the Arab side. That’s how precarious those borders were—and would be again.
Israel is taking Turkey ties slowly, says Bennett
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Monday said he is treading cautiously regarding Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s renewed interest in strengthening ties with Israel.

“Things are happening very slowly and gradually,” he said in a press briefing.

On Sunday, Erdogan spoke with President Isaac Herzog, whose office made its first public statement that it is planning a trip to Ankara, after Erdogan said more than once that Herzog would be visiting. Bennett said the trip is being fully coordinated with him.

Bennett praised Herzog’s role in Israel’s foreign relations.

“In my eyes, the president is doing an excellent job,” he said. “He is an extraordinary diplomatic asset for solving problems.”

“We have total trust,” he added. “I don’t know when there was last a relationship like this” between a president and a prime minister.

Bennett and the government are proceeding very cautiously with Turkey, a senior diplomatic source said, adding that “we don’t have to force ourselves to be purists in a way that will prevent us from creating alliances.”

“In today’s Middle East, we have to be playing on the entire court, because there is no regional police officer,” the source said, referring to American attention being focused elsewhere. “There’s a great expectation from Israel to enter this vacuum.”

The United Arab Emirates is talking to Turkey again after years of tensions, and Turkey and Iran “are not good friends, to say the least,” the source said.
Turkey Says It Will Not Abandon Palestinian Support for Closer Ties to Israel
Turkey will not turn its back on its commitment to a Palestinian state in order to broker closer ties with Israel, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday, ahead of an expected visit by Israeli President Isaac Herzog next month.

The two countries expelled their ambassadors in 2018 after a bitter falling-out and relations have remained tense but Ankara has taken steps to mend strained regional ties, including with Israel.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said Herzog would visit Turkey in mid-March, the first such trip in years, adding the two countries could discuss energy cooperation. Herzog has yet to confirm the visit.

Ankara has condemned Israel’s policies towards Palestinians, while Israel has called on Turkey to drop support for the militant Palestinian group Hamas which runs Gaza.

“Any step we take with Israel regarding our relations, any normalization, will not be at the expense of the Palestinian cause, like some other countries,” Cavusoglu told reporters in Ankara, referring to the rapprochement between Israel and some Gulf countries that has angered Turkey.

“Our position there is always clear,” he added. “These ties normalizing a bit more may increase Turkey’s role regarding a two-state solution as well, as a country that will be in touch with both countries, but we will never turn back on our core principles.”


16 alleged Mossad spies go on trial in Turkey — reports
Sixteen people went on trial in Istanbul on Tuesday, charged with “political and military” espionage on behalf of Israel, Turkish media reports said.

The defendants, including Palestinians and Syrians, were arrested in October in an operation by Turkey’s national intelligence agency, MIT, according to the pro-government Sabah newspaper and other Turkish media. They face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

The suspects allegedly spied on Palestinian and Turkish students and other people on behalf of Israel, operating in five separate groups, Sabah newspaper reported. Some of the suspects allegedly met with Israeli officials in Switzerland, Croatia, Romania and Kenya.

Turkish intelligence officers reportedly monitored the group for a year before they were arrested.

Turkish officials have not commented on the arrests.
Soldiers kill 3 Palestinian terror suspects in West Bank operation
Israeli security forces operating in the West Bank city of Nablus on Tuesday killed three Palestinian gunmen allegedly responsible for recent shooting attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians, Israeli defense officials announced.

“A terrorist cell from the Nablus area was eliminated. The cell is responsible for a series of shooting attacks in the area against the Israel Defense Forces and Israeli civilians in recent weeks,” the Shin Bet security service, the military and the Border Police said in a joint statement.

Israeli troops rarely conduct such operations in broad daylight inside major Palestinian cities. Even more unusually, the dead gunmen belonged to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a coalition of armed groups associated with the Palestinian Authority’s ruling Fatah party.

In a statement widely circulated in Palestinian media, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades vowed revenge for its members’ deaths. The Times of Israel could not independently confirm the statement’s authenticity.

“The blood of [our] martyrs will not be wasted, and the response will come, God willing, and blood will be met with blood,” the terror group said in a statement.
Bennett vows ‘no safe harbor for terrorists’ following West Bank raid
Israeli leaders on Tuesday hailed security forces after a rare daytime operation in the West Bank during which three Palestinian terror suspects were killed.

“Our forces proved today, again, that there is no immunity for terrorists,” Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said in a statement. “Whoever hurts us will be hurt.”

The three gunman were allegedly behind recent shooting attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians. They were apparently members of Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, a coalition of armed groups associated with the Palestinian Authority’s ruling Fatah party.

According to police, the suspects were shot dead while readying to shoot at officers from the Yamam police counterterrorism unit who ambushed them in Nablus. Police said officers recovered two M-16 rifles.

Defense Minister Benny Gantz also praised the operation, which he called “a preventive action.”

“I recently ordered that preventive actions against shooting attacks and troop presence in central arteries and areas of the [West Bank] be stepped up,” he wrote on Twitter. “We’ll continue with proactive operations, prevent [attacks] and capture anyone who tries to hurt people.”
IDF Forces Take Out 3 Palestinian Terrorists in the West Bank



Khaled Abu Toameh: Palestinians: The Human Rights Violations No One Talks About
In August alone, the PA security forces committed 287 violations against Palestinians, including arbitrary arrests of a physicist, activists, lawyers and others. Ten detainees went on hunger strike in PA prison and the health condition of two others deteriorated as a result of torture.

The report analyzed 250 arrest cases between January 2018 and June 2021, and noted: "Not a single case went without one or more instances of violation of procedures related to arrest, detention and fair trial guaranteed by the Palestinian Criminal Procedures Law and the Palestinian Basic Law of 2003." — Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism, 2021.

Under the current circumstances, the Biden administration is stating that it wants to facilitate Abbas' creation of another Arab dictatorship that suppresses public freedoms and sanctions torture and intimidation.

The ICSPR and ARIJ reports show that the Palestinian dictatorship entity already exists and is actively arresting, torturing, and killing its critics. What else do Blinken and the rest of the international community need to hear before they stop trying to empower such abusive governance and instead heed the voices of these Palestinians?


PMW: The PA’s responsibility for terror
One of the main reasons to hold the Palestinian Authority responsible for all Palestinian terror is the fact that the PA refers to all terrorists, irrespective of their terror group affiliations, as its “soldiers” who acted upon its “orders.” The messaging of the PA is so clear on the subject, that even the terrorists themselves and their families see the terrorists as “soldiers.” PA leaders and terrorists also often invoke different provisions of the Third Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, which applies only to soldiers and lawful combatants, as the basis for the rights and privileges of the terrorist prisoners.

A recent expression of this clear feeling of “agency” - the legal term that refers to a relationship between a principal (the PA) and that person's agent (the terrorists) - came from Munir Zgheir, the father of terrorist Ashraf Zgheir, who clarified that Palestinians see the terrorists as “soldiers” who have the “right to fight” according to the Geneva Convention:
“We were surprised that he was a fighter and that he was one of the soldiers ending the occupation. [This is what] we call all our prisoners, and they are considered soldiers ending the occupation. They have a right to fight against the occupation in their land according to Article 81 of the Geneva Convention, which gives them authority to fight in their land. Therefore, they are actually soldiers… I say to the entire world: Our guys in prison, our prisoners, including my sons, are the best people in the land. They are a school for virtues, a school for giving, a school for altruism.”

[Official PA TV, Jerusalem Prisoners, Dec. 27, 2021]

The terrorist “soldier” who earned the adulation of his father, Ashraf Zgheir, is a Palestinian terrorist and Hamas member who drove suicide bomber Iyad Raddad to Tel Aviv’s Allenby Street on Sept. 19, 2002, where Raddad boarded a bus and detonated a bomb, murdering 6 people and wounding 84 others. Zgheir used his Israeli residency status to be able to move around freely and select targets. On Oct. 11, 2002, Zgheir attempted to facilitate another bombing, driving suicide bomber Rafat Mouqadi to the Tel Aviv promenade where he instructed him to detonate a bomb at a restaurant. Israeli security guards thwarted the attack and arrested Mouqadi. Two days later, Zgheir received instructions from Hamas to carry out another bombing, but he was arrested before he could do so. Zgheir is serving 6 life sentences.

As Palestinian Media Watch has already shown, the Palestinian terrorists are not lawful combatants and the Third Geneva Convention does not apply to them in any way. Even the ex-PA Minister of Prisoners’ Affairs, Ashraf Abu Ajrami, has conceded that the Palestinian terrorists couldn’t be considered as “Prisoners of War.”

The PA acceptance of all the terrorists as their soldiers is expressed in numerous ways.


Fatah Central Committee Decisions Accelerate the Decline of PA Legitimacy
If the appointments are approved unchanged by the PLO Central Council, they will be interpreted as Abu Mazen giving up on public legitimacy and nullifying it as a source of authority for his camp. The decisions will also be interpreted as tying his fate and the fate of his rule to Israel and the international community – or some part thereof, with which they would come to terms – and with Arab countries that for a while now are eager for quiet from the direction of the Palestinians. This would in effect be opening a broad new front vis-à-vis the Palestinian public, which is disillusioned and yearns for change, and with respect to the Palestinian factions that are part of the opposition. These could be joined by the factions of Mohammed Dahlan, Marwan Barghouti, and other disheartened Fatah figures, who are harmed by the decisions, which in effect leave them without a political home. Barghouti created a separate list before the elections that were planned for May 2021, but was not removed from Fatah like Nasser al-Qudwa, because of his electoral strength, and he has maintained his place as a member of the Central Committee.

In such a reality, the pressure exerted on the West Bank by Hamas from the Gaza Strip and from within the West Bank itself could increase, with the aim of stirring up the population and increasing the protests against the Palestinian Authority and Israel. If many disillusioned figures and factions join this effort, it could arouse a large portion of the public, full of antagonism toward the PA and its security apparatuses. This would test and gradually erode the loyalty that these forces currently display toward the Palestinian Authority, as they would be accused of collaborating with Israel.

In this case much pressure would fall on Israel’s shoulders, not only as the ruler of the West Bank but also the patron of the Palestinian Authority. The use of attacks and terrorism could increase and the security of the Israeli settlements in the West Bank would require reinforcements and control of territories for the purpose of security and defense. Such a development could return Israel to the places that it left before the Oslo process and in certain areas even to go back to ruling over Palestinian populations.

Meetings that Israeli ministers held recently with Abu Mazen and other senior officials in the Palestinian Authority indicate the PA’s increased dependence on Israel. But in order to try to prevent these occurrences, which could bring Israel back to increased control over the West Bank, Israel should renounce the status of patron, which could develop in the relations between it and the Palestinian Authority; emphasize its independence of the Palestinian Authority and its aspirations to advance political and economic independence; and create as many opportunities as possible for young, disenchanted Palestinians in fields of advancement-oriented, well-paying, and professional employment.


Thousands of Palestinians demonstrate in Hebron against chaos, high prices
Holding signs reading: “We want to live, no to high prices,” thousands of angry Palestinians demonstrated in the southern West Bank city of Hebron on Sunday and Monday against high prices and the security chaos. In addition, dozens of truck owners and drivers organized a convoy protest in the center of Hebron demanding the Palestinian Authority government reduce prices and taxes, and provide security to end the recent uptick in lawlessness and the state of chaos in the city.

The mayor of Hebron, Tayseer Abu Sneina, told The Media Line that he holds the Palestinian Authority responsible for the current situation in his city.

"What is happening in the governorate, including the high cost of living and the absence of security and safety, is the PA's fault, and they are responsible for fixing it," the mayor said.

Other areas of the West Bank witnessed similar protests, called for by labor unions

"Where is the tax money that is paid from the pocket of the people?" said Abu Sneina, adding that "the people suffer as they live in a state of fear and anxiety worrying about their future."

Protesters chanted slogans calling for "the fall of the government and the governor of Hebron."

Since the beginning of the month, prices in the West Bank increased significantly, affecting dozens of food products, essential commodities, electricity and fuel.


US Republican Senators Vow to Thwart Any Iran Deal if Biden Skips Congressional Review
A group of 33 Republican senators warned US President Joe Biden on Monday that they would work to thwart implementation of any new Iran nuclear agreement if his government did not allow Congress to review and vote on its terms.

Led by Senator Ted Cruz, a long-time opponent of the 2015 nuclear deal, the senators told Biden in a letter dated Monday that they would use “the full range of options and leverage available” to ensure that his government adhered to US laws governing any new accord with Iran.

Indirect talks in Vienna between Iran and the United States on reviving the 2015 agreement are due to resume on Tuesday. Talk of a possible agreement has driven oil prices lower, with markets anticipating that the possible removal of sanctions on Iranian oil sales could boost global supplies.

The Biden administration has been trying to revive the deal, which lifted sanctions against Tehran in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear activities, a deal from which former President Donald Trump withdrew the United States in 2018.

Iran later breached many of the deal’s nuclear restrictions and kept pushing well beyond them.

Cruz and other senior Republican senators told Biden that implementation of any new deal would be “severely, if not terminally hampered” if he did not meet statutory obligations aimed at ensuring congressional oversight over revisions or changes to the 2015 Iran nuclear accord.

They provided no details about their plans, but Republicans have used various tactics to slow down other legislation or put holds on Biden’s nominees, including many for ambassador posts.


Biden’s Iran Envoy To Give Classified Briefing to Congress After GOP Pressure
Biden administration Iran envoy Robert Malley is scheduled to brief House lawmakers for the first time in a classified setting on Tuesday following a pressure campaign from Republican foreign policy leaders, according to a copy of the hearing invitation obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

This will be the first time Malley has appeared before Congress since he took office and started diplomatic talks with Iran aimed at securing a revamped version of the 2015 nuclear deal. Malley's appearance before Congress signals that the administration is on the cusp of reentering the contested deal and providing Tehran with billions of dollars in sanctions relief.

The notification on the hearing, which the invitation describes as a "members-only classified briefing on Iranian nuclear negotiations," comes just days after the Biden administration unwound nuclear sanctions on Tehran that will permit countries such as Russia and China to build out portions of Iran's nuclear infrastructure. The decision to grant these sanctions waivers drew fierce criticism from Iran hawks on Capitol Hill and is likely to take center stage during the closed-door briefing. Malley will testify over a "secure video" link from Vienna, where negotiations have been taking place, according to the notification.

Republicans have been pressuring Malley to testify on the nuclear talks for more than a year—overtures that were repeatedly rebuffed until this week. The latest request came on Friday, when Rep. Claudia Tenney (R., N.Y.) led eight other lawmakers in a letter to the State Department that demanded Malley appear before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, as the Free Beacon first reported.

While lawmakers such as Tenney say they appreciate the upcoming opportunity to grill Malley, the classified nature of the briefing is already drawing pushback. The information presented to lawmakers will be kept from the public, leaving questions about what the Biden administration is offering Iran as a firm deal begins to materialize. Malley is also scheduled on Wednesday to conduct a classified briefing with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

"Rob Malley has yet to appear before the full Foreign Affairs Committee, either publicly or in private, to answer our questions and explain to the American people why sanctions are not being fully enforced on Iran," Tenney told the Free Beacon on Monday. "A classified briefing is a start, but it's not enough. Rob Malley works for the American people, and he should answer to them as well. That's why I’m going to continue pressing for public hearings. Secretary [of State Antony] Blinken committed to having an open and transparent relationship with Congress and it's vitally important that he upholds that commitment."
Waived Iran sanctions allow redesign of Fordo plant, cooperation with Russia, China
The US decision to ease sanctions on Iran on Friday includes six clauses that now allow foreign countries and companies from Russia, China, and Europe to cooperate with non-military parts of Iran’s nuclear program, according to several reports.

According to a State Department notice cited by Reuters and the Haaretz daily, the clauses included permitting the modification of Iran’s Fordo facility to become a research center for the production of stable radioactive isotopes — used for medical purposes — with Russia.

Reports said Britain and China can now help Iran redesign its Arak heavy-water reactor to a light-water reactor. A light water reactor, like the one Iran has at Bushehr, is used to generate electricity.

As originally designed, the reactor at Arak could have produced substantial amounts of plutonium, material that can be used as the fissile core of a nuclear weapon.

The waiver also allows the Russian supply of nuclear fuel to the Tehran research reactor and Bushehr nuclear power plant, as well as the export of excess heavy water if Iran exceeds the 130 metric tons limit under the 2015 agreement.

Heavy water contains high concentrations of the hydrogen isotope deuterium and is used to produce plutonium, an alternative to uranium for manufacturing atomic weapons.

Lastly, the reports said the sanctions relief allows Iran to receive yellowcake from Russia, a precursor to enriched uranium. Yellowcake is produced by mining uranium ore from rocks and separating the uranium from the rocks by bathing them in acid. The yellowcake can then be converted, enriched to raise its purity, and then used for weapons or energy production.


Hacker group leaks footage, files from Iranian prisons
The group which claimed to have hacked the security cameras of Iran’s Evin Prison has now claimed to have done the same to the cameras of Iran’s Ghezel Hesar Prison.

Video posted to an Instagram account which claims to be the official account of the “Edalat Ali” hacker group showed footage allegedly from a control room in the prison, with text and the icon of the group featured on television screens seen in the room. The video was later removed.

Ghezel Hesar Prison is one of the largest in the Middle East, according to a 2014 report by Human Rights Watch. Most of the prisoners are believed to have been convicted on drug trafficking charges, according to the report.

A report by the International Society for Human Rights called the prison a “horror jail,” writing that it is “infamous - even in (sic) within Iranian comparisons - for catastrophic prison conditions.”

Edalat Ali also provided BBC Persian and Radio Farda with files related to the 2019-2020 Iranian protests, also known as Bloody November, showing the charges and sentences of some of the detainees from the protests. BBC Persian was unable to independently confirm the authenticity of the documents.

The details of nearly 2,000 detainees are featured in the documents, including the general charge, an explanation of the charge and the court verdict. The charges included gathering and colluding with the intention of committing a crime against the security of the country, propaganda activity against the Islamic Republic, disruption of public order and rebellion and insult to agents, among other charges.

The punishments ranged from three months to 10 years in prison, floggings, fines and community service. One person was sentenced to a year in prison and 74 lashes because he “frequently appeared at the rally site on Piroozi Street and texted his relatives,” according to Radio Farda. Another person received a year in prison and 20 lashes for “parking a car diagonally across the area.”







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