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Thursday, February 17, 2022

02/17 Links Pt1: Why do Iran, 'progressives,' fear Israel, the Abraham Accords?; The Palestinian Leaders' Five-Star Jihad; Why is no one talking about Iran digging a new unbombable nuke facility?

From Ian:

Why do Iran, 'progressives,' fear Israel, the Abraham Accords?
IN CONTRADICTION to the sour and rejectionist remarks of the American “progressive” groups mentioned above, the Abraham Accords are not a Trump-tainted gimmick or a Netanyahu-stained end-run around the Palestinians. Rather, they are an authentic breakthrough for both peace and security in the Middle East; a transformation that evinces staying power and deepens by the day.

To assert that only Trumpian razzle-dazzle and arms deals were the basis for the Abraham Accords, as do the partisan grouches mentioned above, is a complete misread of Emirati, Bahraini and Moroccan purposes in pursuit of peace with Israel. The leaders of the countries want to redefine the self-identity and global image of Arab Muslims by blending tradition with enlightenment, anchored in an admirable discourse of religious moderation and broad-mindedness.

Affiliating with Israel fits perfectly into this agenda because this is exactly how they view Israel too – as a nation that successfully synthesizes strong ethnic and religious identity with modernity. Therefore, the Abraham Accords are deeply rooted in genuine ideological intentions (as well as urgent security realties) and are locked-in for the long term.

Alas, for the hard-left and anti-Israel mob it is hard to exult in the Abraham Accords. It means swallowing the fact Israel is demonstrably a force for good, knowledge, prosperity, and stability in the Middle East. After all, that is the reason the Gulf states and Morocco are jumping on the bandwagon with Israel!

It is even harder for these extremists to accept that, de facto, the Abraham Accords are a blunt refutation of the ongoing Palestinian campaign to deny and criminalize the Jewish People’s historic rights in Israel.

By referencing the Abrahamic common heritage of Muslims and Jews in the foundational document of the Abraham Accords, and repeatedly playing “Hatikvah” in their royal palaces, Arab countries implicitly are acknowledging that Jews are a Biblical people indigenous to the Land of Israel. This is a joyous revolution that overturns generations of Arab and Islamic ideological delegitimization of Israel.

It is truly tragic that the intransigent Palestinians and their backward backers in America are unable to appreciate the gargantuan opportunities made possible by the Abraham Accords.
Col Kemp: This is the EU's darkest hour
As Russian forces continued to build along the Ukrainian border last month, Netflix released one of its most popular movies to date – Munich: The Edge of War. The film is set in 1938 as German troops prepare to attack the Sudetenland while Chamberlain and other European leaders negotiate away Czechoslovakia’s sovereignty. Today, it’s almost as if President Macron is reading from Chamberlain’s script. Since his meeting last week with Putin, he’s been pressing Ukraine to implement the Minsk accords, brokered by France and Germany in 2015 as Russian forces and their proxies fought in eastern Ukraine.

The imposition of the Minsk accords would see an end to Kyiv’s sovereignty. They would give Russia a say in running the country and its foreign policy and hand seats in parliament to Moscow’s proxies. A few days ago Putin made clear exactly what he wants, telling Ukraine, with undertones of rape: ‘Like it or not, you’ll have to tolerate it, my beauty.’

It is extraordinary that Macron, whose country now holds the EU Council presidency, should entertain such gunpoint bartering of a democratic nation’s integrity. He has a track record of failed conciliations with Russia and has recently suggested there is ‘legitimacy’ in the Kremlin’s concerns over a putative threat from Nato. It must be obvious to him that Putin will not be mollified by such appeasement and that even if President Zelenskiy were to accede to Minsk it would not end there. But Macron has elections in April and perhaps believes that a Chamberlain style proclamation of peace for our time might secure victory for him.

Germany too has looked happy to go along with this ‘grand bargain’. That is no surprise from a government that has blocked another Nato member from supplying defensive arms to Kyiv and is desperate to placate Putin, having allowed an increasing dependence on Russian energy supplies. The Nordstream 2 gas pipeline is designed to bypass Ukraine, removing the only bargaining chip against Russia in Kyiv’s hands. While some have proposed the pipeline’s termination if Russia invades, Chancellor Scholz has been reluctant to express such a warning, falling back on the unsustainable excuse that it is a ‘privately managed commercial project’.
Russia Continues Military Buildup, Expels US Diplomat
Russia has added another 7,000 troops to the more than 150,000 forces already in place along the border with Ukraine.

The move comes in direct contradiction to claims by Russia’s President Vladimir Putin that forces were being withdrawn in the wake of a military drill with Belarus.

Russia Expels US Diplomat, Ukraine Reprimands Israeli Envoy

Russia on Thursday expelled deputy US Ambassador Bartle Gorman from the country, the RIA news agency reported, quoting the US Embassy in Moscow. Washington will “respond” to the move, the embassy said.

No reason was given for the expulsion.

Shortly after the announcement of Gorman’s expulsion, and the same day Russia submitted its response to Western security proposals, Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs website became “unavailable,” Reuters reported.

In a separate move, Ukraine has rebuked Israel’s Ambassdor Michael Brodsky in Kiev.

The reprimand came after following a request to Moscow from Israel’s Foreign Ministry director-general Alon Ushpiz asking for Russian assistance in the evacuation of Israelis from the war zone in the event of an invasion of Ukraine.
Khaled Abu Toameh: The Palestinian Leaders' Five-Star Jihad
Hamas leaders are not sitting among their people in the Gaza Strip or the West Bank. It is easier and safer for them to call on the Palestinians to send their children to carry out terrorist attacks against Israel while they are relaxing in the comfort of their hotel rooms, villas and gyms in the Qatari capital of Doha. The Hamas leaders are not going to send their own sons and daughters to engage in the jihad against Israel.

The Iranian-backed Hamas and PIJ are the two largest groups in the Gaza Strip. Instead of investing their resources and efforts in improving the living conditions of their people, the Hamas and PIJ leaders have brought on them one disaster after the other. They have brought war and destruction on the people of the Gaza Strip by firing thousands of rockets towards Israel, forcing Israel to fire back to defend itself.

Instead of building schools and hospitals, the Hamas and PIJ leaders have chosen to invest tens of millions of dollars in a network of tunnels along Gaza's border with Israel, to attack and kill Jews.

The leaders of Hamas and PIJ left scorched earth behind them and chose to lead luxurious lives in Doha, Istanbul and Beirut. Strangely, however, instead of hiding their faces in shame, they are calling from their gyms, jets, and jacuzzis for the Palestinians to pursue the fight against Israel.

Some Palestinians, it seems, refuse to be duped by the deception of the Hamas and PIJ leaders. These Palestinians have finally realized that their leaders care only about their personal interest and the well-being of their families and are enjoying the good life in Doha and Istanbul.

Above all, the Palestinians need to boot out the thieves who masquerade as their leaders, the butchers responsible for the deaths of the young men and women in the Hamas-incited jihad against Israel. The Palestinians will never move forward with their lives as long as their leaders are relaxing in hot tubs in Qatar and Turkey while sending them orders to bathe themselves in yet more Jewish blood.


Australia to list entirety of Hamas as terrorist organization
Australia announced its intention to designate the entirety of the Hamas movement as a terrorist organization, Australian media reported on Thursday. The designation will come into effect in the coming weeks, Army Radio noted.

Australia had previously designated Hamas’s Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades as a terror group, but the revised labeling will include all other parts of the Palestinian faction that controls the Gaza Strip.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and his Australian counterpart, Scott Morrison, discussed the designation at the COP26 2021 UN Climate Change Conference last year. With this move, Australia is following in the footsteps of the United Kingdom, which applied the same designation in November.

“Thank you to my friend @ScottMorrisonMP for following through on our dialogue on this important matter,” Bennett tweeted. “This is another important step in the global fight against terrorism.”

In Gaza, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem condemned the Australian decision as biased in favor of Israel.

“The occupation (Israel), which deliberately targets Palestinians everywhere, and violates international and humanitarian laws, is the party that must be classified as a terrorist entity,” he said.

A person found guilty of a terrorist offense in Australia may face up to 25 years in prison, according to the Australian Attorney-General’s Department, and an offense might include being a member of, training, recruiting or directing activities of a terrorist organization. Other offenses include receiving and/or acquiring funds from or for a terror organization.

“The views of Hamas and the violent extremist groups listed today are deeply disturbing, and there is no place in Australia for such views,” said Australian Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews. “It is vital that our laws target not only terrorist acts and terrorists, but also the organizations that plan, finance and carry out these acts,” according to The Australian.

Andrews has also stated that she will add Syrian jihadist groups Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham and Hurras al-Din, as well as neo-Nazi group National Socialist Order to Australia’s list of banned terror organizations.

Australia designated Hezbollah as a terrorist organization in November, along with white supremacist neo-Nazi organization The Base.
Israel commends Australia for ‘important step’ in declaring Hamas a terror group
Israeli ministers praised Australia’s announcement on Thursday that it will designate the entire Hamas organization as a terror group, saying it was an important step against global terrorism.

The cheers were led by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who welcomed the development and thanked his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison “for following through on our dialogue on this important matter.”

“This is another important step in the global fight against terrorism,” Bennett tweeted.

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said he had spoken personally with the Australian envoy to Israel, Ambassador Paul Griffiths, to thank him for the move.

“With this declaration, Australia joins the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and others in recognizing the entirety of Hamas as a terrorist organization,” Lapid tweeted. “The Foreign Ministry is leading, together with additional partners, an international effort targeting terrorist organizations, and Australia’s declaration is an important step in that effort.”

Defense Minister Benny Gantz tweeted his gratitude to Australia for “designating the entirety of Hamas as a terrorist organization — including its political wing, which plans, finances and conducts terror activities. Hamas targets civilians, threatens the State of Israel, and holds Gaza residents hostage.”

Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked also praised the move as a follow-up to Australia last year labeling the Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah group as a terror organization, tweeting that: “Australia again chose the right side of history.”


Turkey to Expel Members of Hamas’ Military Wing
The Australian government announced Wednesday that it has defined the Hamas organization, including its political arm, as a terrorist organization. The Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing, was already proscribed in Australia, and now the organization in its entirety will be defined as a terror organization.

However, the real severe blow now hitting Hamas is Turkey’s intention to expel Hamas military operatives from its territory, according to a report by the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet. Turkey has informed Hamas that its military operatives must leave the country and the military assistance to Hamas from Turkey will be stopped, but it will allow Hamas’ political activity.

The newspaper also reported that for the past year and a half, Turkey has been examining with other countries in the region the possibility that Hamas will transfer the location of its military headquarters to another country.

The article in the Turkish newspaper comes against the background of what appears to be a thawing in the relations between Israel and Turkey and a rapprochement between the two countries. Next month, President Isaac Herzog is expected to visit Turkey and meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. At the same time, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said that the normalization of relations with Israel would not come at the expense of the Palestinians and that Turkey would not change its policy or turn its back on them.


Israel's Rewarding Road to Normalization
Israel's normalization with three Arab countries through the Abraham Accords has provided Israel with an enhanced regional standing. "Apart from Syria and Lebanon, there is no other Arab country we're not engaging with and which is not engaging with us," said Eliav Benjamin, the Israel Foreign Ministry's Middle East Department director.

Normalization has created a new world of opportunities for Israel to finally taste being part of the region in people-to-people terms. A Holocaust memorial exhibition has opened in Dubai, academic exchanges are underway with Morocco, and Israel's Sheba Medical Center is providing health care in Bahrain. The siege of Arab enmity appears to be retreating. Israeli companies are even cooperating with Saudi counterparts "in different ways, shapes, and forms," Benjamin said.

"Countries that were shying away are interested to hear what we have to say. In a tough neighborhood, we've met the challenges. Israel punches way over its weight, but rightly so," Benjamin said. Moroccan social scientist Mohamed Chtatou, who teaches at the International University of Rabat, said, "People are happy [the relationship] is coming out of the closet. Relations are going to grow."
'Saudi Arabia can't award Israel a gift for free,' says Saudi journalist on normalization

UN Human Rights Council Defends Selection of Outspoken Israel Critic to Head Israel Inquiry
The selection of Pillay to head the three-person inquiry, critics say, removes further any veneer of impartiality.

Pillay, a South African jurist, served as the U.N. high commissioner for human rights from 2008-2014.

Both during her U.N. tenure and over the years since, she has regularly taken stances strongly critical towards Israel. In its legal brief submitted to the HRC on Monday, U.N. Watch detailed these positions, and requested that Pillay recuse herself.

U.N. Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer voiced regret Wednesday at the response from Villegas, saying in an email that it “fails to address the compelling evidence in UN Watch’s complaint of how Navi Pillay has been actively campaigning against Israel, signing letters to President Biden urging him to end Israeli ‘oppression,’ and signing boycott appeals that call to ‘Sanction Apartheid Israel!’”

“Anyone who takes a moment to see what Navi Pillay has said and endorsed in her lobbying campaigns against Israel, and then reads what her U.N. panel is charged to investigate, will see immediately that Pillay’s continued membership on the commission of inquiry is a mockery of the principles of impartiality, and a travesty of justice,” he said.

The examples laid out in the brief are numerous, and include Pillay’s depictions of Israel as an “apartheid state” – including in public comments, interviews, and lectures, and her signing of a 2020 petition to “Sanction Apartheid Israel,” in protest against the Trump Mideast peace initiative.
US State Department official addresses return to UN Human Rights Council
Ambassador Michele Sison, assistant secretary of state for international organization affairs, testified in Congress on Tuesday on the Biden administration’s decision to return to the UN Human Rights Council, as well as the council’s anti-Israel bias.

“We need the UN at its best,” she said at the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Development, International Organizations and Global Corporate Social Impact. “That means a UN dedicated to its founding ideals, and committed to transparency, accountability, and a culture of reform, a UN that rejects anti-Israel bias, antisemitism and racism in all its forms – a UN that promotes the universality of human rights, humanitarian principles, sustainable development and cooperation among nations.”

In October, the UN General Assembly elected the US to the Geneva-based Human Rights Council (UNHRC), more than three years after the Trump administration quit the 47-member body over its chronic bias against Israel and a lack of reform.

Sison said that the first session since the US rejoined the council starts February 28, “with much ahead for us to accomplish, including renewing special rapporteurs on Iran, Burma and North Korea, and the Commission of Inquiry on Syria.”

She also highlighted the need to support resolutions reinforcing the freedom of religion or belief, the human rights of members of minority groups and persons with disabilities, and highlighting other country-specific human rights crises, including in Belarus, South Sudan and Nicaragua.
Israel Drops ‘Green Passes’ as Omicron Infections Wane
Israel on Thursday dropped a “Green Pass” policy requiring proof of vaccination, recovery from COVID-19 or a negative test to enter some public venues, further rolling back restrictions as a wave of infections recedes.

The highly contagious Omicron variant of the coronavirus peaked in Israel towards the end of January with daily cases reaching record highs of some 85,000, but numbers have steadily declined since to around 21,000 by Wednesday.

“The wave has broken,” Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said at the start of a discussion with health officials on the state of the pandemic where he said Green Passes were being completely scrapped.

The Green Pass rules had already been cut back on Feb 4. Since then, the digital document had to be shown to gain entry to venues like nightclubs and celebration halls.

During its previous coronavirus wave, Israel adopted a “Living with COVID” policy. This has kept the economy and schools largely open, though some sectors suffered and classes were heavily disrupted by employees, customers pupils and teachers falling ill or isolating.

Bennett said parents would still be obliged to test their children for the virus twice a week with negative tests still required in visit care homes for the elderly.
Israel Will Not Object If Exported Gas Reaches Lebanon, Israel's Energy Minister Says
Israel's Energy Minister Karine Elharrar said on Tuesday it would not be a problem if Israeli natural gas that is exported to Egypt makes its way to Lebanon. Egypt imports gas from Israel's Leviathan offshore field. "Nobody can go and inspect the molecules and check whether they originally came from Israel or Egypt," she told Israel's Army Radio. If gas exports that reach Lebanon "bring calm to the region, I can't object to it."

Amit Mor, CEO of the Israeli consulting firm Eco Energy, said the more likely route for gas supplies, given the current network of pipelines, would be from Leviathan to a pipeline across Israel into Jordan, bypassing Egypt. From there, it would go north through Syria and into Lebanon via the Arab Gas Pipeline. He estimated that the Leviathan partners would stand to earn an extra $100 million each year with such an arrangement.
Israeli Strike Said to Target Syrian Military Base Used by Iranian Militias
Israel launched a missile strike on targets in the Damascus area on Wednesday night, Syrian state media reported.

The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said early on Thursday morning that Israel launched the strike from the Golan Heights at around 11:35 pm on Wednesday. Syria’s air defense system was not activated and there were no immediate reports of casualties.

However, the agency said that Israel “hit several targets around the town of Zakiyah, south of Damascus,” causing property damage.

Israel’s Channel 12 news quoted a local journalist who said that the strikes targeted a Syrian military camp used by Iranian militias.

This is the second attack attributed to Israel against Syria this month.
Defendant Pleads Guilty in Cyprus Terror Plot Against Israelis
An unnamed medical student, 21, pleaded guilty on Monday in Nicosia to two charges in a terrorism plot in which Israelis were to be assassinated in Cyprus as part of an Iranian plot. Six foreign nationals were arrested in connection with the case.

Daily Politis reported that Orhan Asadov, 38, an Azeri found at a checkpoint with a pistol with a suppressor and ammunition, said he was paid 40,000 euros by a person of Arab origin to identify Israeli targets.

Muzzafar Abbas, 27, a Pakistani, said he was recruited by a Syrian and led police to a second pistol buried near his residence. Another weapon was found in October hidden behind an air-conditioning unit at a hotel where Asadov had stayed.
IDF West Bank Commander Warns of Possible Violence During Ramadan: ‘It Lacks Only a Match’
The Israeli government and security forces are increasingly concerned that a major outbreak of violence could take place in the West Bank and Jerusalem during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported.

In a document sent to Israeli commanders and revealed by Kan on Tuesday, Brig. Gen. Avi Bluth, head of the military’s West Bank division, warned, “The combustible material already exists, it lacks only a match.”

The “match,” he said, could be a targeted assassination of terrorists, riots in the Jerusalem flashpoint neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah and the Temple Mount, or the death of Palestinians during public disturbances.

The most likely time for such disturbances is the upcoming month of Ramadan, which begins in April and is often a time of increased tension and violence.

An anonymous government source told Kan that there is particular concern regarding the situation in eastern Jerusalem, where “provocations” by Jewish and Palestinian nationalists are taking place almost daily in Sheikh Jarrah.

Frequent clashes have broken out in that neighborhood in recent days, as Palestinian residents resort to violence in order to prevent Jews from moving in.
Police arrest additional suspects over Sheikh Jarrah firebombing
Two suspects were arrested in connection with the apparent firebombing of a Jewish home in the contested East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah last week, police said Thursday.

The suspects join two others arrested earlier this week over the alleged arson attack, which touched off a fresh round of violence in the neighborhood that Israeli leaders have warned could snowball into a larger regional conflagration.

“Following a covert operation, two additional suspects believed to be involved in the serious incident were arrested last night in East Jerusalem,” police said in a statement.

The suspects, both in their 20s, were being questioned by the Shin Bet following their arrest. Authorities did not say where they were from.

Police are expected to ask the court to deny bail until the investigation is complete.

Two other suspects were arrested earlier this week, with officers finding eight Molotov cocktails, gloves and a knit cap while searching the home of one of the suspects.
Special Israeli Unit Fights Money Laundering, Terror Funding
Shlomit Wagman is director-general of the Israel Money Laundering and Terror Financing Prohibition Authority (IMPA). She says, "Our methodology is follow the money." By the time law enforcement is showing up at a suspect's house to arrest them, her authority has already "mapped all of the relevant assets, often already freezing a substantial part of them."

"If you look at the list of top organized [crime] groups in Israel from a decade ago...we broke them...in the past five years; all of them are not functioning anymore....Now we are doing the second level - smaller gangs." She added, "There is never a vacuum."

Some Arab gangs had taken advantage of other larger Jewish gangs being taken apart. "Their enhanced power was very dramatic. It reached a climax in the last two years." We started to focus on the special characteristics of Arab criminal organizations. "After a couple of months, we had mapped a huge amount of offenses, assets, illicit assets, property related to crimes, and we started to work in a very methodical manner."

"Police chief [Insp.-Gen.] Kobi Shabtai said to me, his experience shows that adding more police on the streets or conducting operations to collect weapons are not as helpful and effective to combat organized crime as using financial enforcement measures, which have an immediate impact and tremendous deterrence. Some major [Arab gangs] were brought down, some left Israel. In the coming months...the police will seize [assets from] dozens of organized crime [groups], based on the financial intelligence produced by my team."
MEMRI: Palestinian Official Dr. Nasser Al-Qaram Extols Martyrdom In Friday Sermon Following IDF Killing Of 3 Fatah Terrorists: Israelis Are The Enemies Of Allah; They Terrorize, Commit Crimes Against Our People
In a Friday, February 11, 2022 sermon at the Surda Mosque in the West Bank, Dr. Nasser Al-Qaram, the head of the Shari’a Court of Appeals in Nablus, extolled martyrdom and described rewards granted by Allah to martyrs. Dr. Al-Qaram delivered his sermon on the backdrop of Israeli forces having killed three Fatah terrorists in Nablus earlier that week. Dr. Al-Qaram criticized Arab countries for normalizing relations with the "enemies of Allah," and he said that the State of Israel was built on a foundation of "terrorism, racism, and extremism." In addition, Dr. Al-Qaram quoted several verses from the Quran in which Jews are referred to as evil corrupters. The sermon was aired on Palestine TV.

"Instead Of Standing With Us, The Arabs And The Muslims Are Normalizing Their Treacherous, Humiliating, and Disgraceful Relations With The Enemies Of Allah"

Nasser Al-Qaram: "Instead of standing with us, the Arabs and the Muslims are normalizing their treacherous, humiliating, and disgraceful relations with the enemies of Allah. What does the [Islamic] nation do about what is happening to the thousands of prisoners and detainees in the bastilles of this Nazi occupation?

"This [February 8 killing of three Fatah terrorists is] a massacre has been added to the criminal record of this criminal state, which is based upon terrorism, racism, and extremism, because when they began occupying Palestine in 1948, they committed numerous massacres against our people, at the hands of the Nazi criminal gangs - the Stern, Haganah, and Palmach gangs.

"All these gangs, which founded this [Israeli] state, are responsible for all the wars, the corruption, and the spreading of corruption throughout the land. As Allah says: 'Every time the [Jews] kindled the fire of war, Allah extinguished it. They sow corruption throughout the land, and Allah does not like corrupters.'

"Allah says about the way they treat us: 'If they gain dominance over you, they would be to you as enemies, and extend against you their hands and their tongues with evil, and they wish you would disbelieve.' This is their custom, and this is how they act - corrupting, terrorizing, and committing crimes against our people.

"Martyrs Are Spared The Torments Of The Grave, And They Are Safe From The Great Horror On Judgement Day... They Will Be Married To Black-Eyed Virgins, And They Will Plead On Behalf Of 70 Of Their Relatives"


PMW: “Behind every Martyr there’s a mighty mother!” – The PA’s twisted ideal mother
Motherhood in general is imbued with all kinds of expectations – both from the mother herself and her surroundings. She should be loving, kind, and understanding, and yet establish rules, set boundaries, and remain firm when needed. And much more.

But who is the ideal mother for the PA and what is expected of her?

A recent incident exemplified a twisted aspect of the ideal mother that the PA has encouraged and cultivated for decades.

When three young terrorists who had carried out several shooting attacks against Israelis and were planning an imminent additional attack were recently killed and “ascended to Heaven” as “Martyrs” in PA terminology, it was a welcome opportunity for the PA to remind Palestinians what an ideal Palestinian mother looks like. Reporting from the funerals of the three terrorist “Martyrs,” the official PA daily explained what is “fitting for the mothers of the Martyrs.” The following model behaviors were listed under the headline “Behind every Martyr there is a mighty mother!”:
“Standing upright like [Mount] Gerizim and [Mount] Ebal, they confront death in a manner that amazed everyone, and despite the pain and the tears, gusts of joy burst forth, as if they were laughter rising from the rubble. With roses, with fragrant herbs, with sounds of joy – this is how the mothers accompanied their sons and sons of the Fatah Movement Adham [Mabrouka], Muhammad [Al-Dakhil], and Ashraf [Mubaslat] to Heaven...”

“As is fitting for the mothers of the Martyrs, the mother of Martyr Adham Mabrouka accompanied her son who is called Al-Shishani to the wedding (i.e., Martyr's funeral is considered wedding to the 72 Virgins in Paradise in Islam). She shed two rose tears and did not seclude herself in clothes of mourning. She marched at the front of the participants in the funeral and called out loudly: ‘With spirit, with blood, we will redeem you Martyr.’…”

“She made sounds of joy while making the sign of victory. With determination and resolution she raised his rifle and shot a bullet of joy and pride, while saying: ‘Today is the wedding day of my beloved, give me blessings and well-wishes.’”

“She consoled everyone instead of them consoling her, and she did not cry at all but rather caused everyone to cry…”

“She drew attention with her composure, her firm willpower, and her control over her sorrow, while bidding farewell to the flesh of her flesh with sounds of joy…”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Feb. 15, 2022]
Dead terrorists “are our heroes… who illuminate the path for our people,” says Fatah official

PA TV host radically distorts Israeli broadcast to demonize Jews as “cursing Prophet Muhammad”

Three killed terrorist “heroes” will be “a curse” for Israel, says Fatah spokesman

PA TV preacher: Palestinian narrative is “the true unblemished and undisputed historical narrative”

“Armed struggle is permitted,” says PLO official



Hezbollah Can Turn Rockets Into Precision Missiles, Make Drones: Nasrallah
The leader of Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group said for the first time on Wednesday that it has the ability within Lebanon to convert thousands of rockets into precision missiles and to produce drones.

“We have been producing drones in Lebanon for a long time, and whoever wants to buy them, submit an order,” Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech to followers.

He said Hezbollah was able to transform standard rockets into precision missiles with the cooperation of “experts from the Islamic Republic of Iran.” Such production had been spurred by arch-foe Israel’s increased use of drone technology, he said.

Hezbollah and Israel fought a month-long war in 2006 and have at times in the years since traded fire across Lebanon’s southern border.

There was no immediate Israeli response to Nasrallah’s statements. While the Israeli military outguns Hezbollah guerrillas, Israel worries that in a future war they could use precision-guided missiles to knock out parts of its national infrastructure like ports or power stations.

Israel has said in the past that it has brought down several Hezbollah drones that had crossed into Israeli air space. Hezbollah says its increased anti-drone capabilities have led to a decline in Israeli drone overflights.


IDF shoots down Hezbollah drone
The IDF shot down a Hezbollah drone that crossed the border with Lebanon on Thursday, the IDF Spokesperson Unit reported.

The drone was under the surveillance of the air control unit throughout the incident.

The IDF Spokesperson Unit said that they would continue to thwart any breach of the Israeli government.

Kan reported on Wednesday that the defense system was preparing for a possible drone attack from Iran after US forces shot down two Iranian drones in Iraq. There was a concern that the drones were meant to reach Israel and explode.

Another Hezbollah drone shot down at the beginning of January revealed the faces of the Hezbollah operatives and images of their vehicles.


Sen. Lindsey Graham: Stopping a Nuclear Iran Is the World's Most Pressing Issue
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Monday in Jerusalem that the Iranians breaking out and acquiring nuclear capability "is the game-changer of all game-changers." "Iran is a theocracy motivated by religion that compels them to purify their faith and have the world submit. The Nazis wanted a master race, and the Iranians want a master religion. People like that cannot be ignored."

Graham pushed back against those arguing it is possible to live with a nuclear Iran. "I guarantee you the Jewish people can't live that way. One Holocaust was enough. There will be war. Why can't Iran have nuclear weapons? Because Israelis say, 'Never again.'" He called Israel the country with "the best knowledge and the most skin in the game" when it comes to Iran. "Without some intervention, some course change, [the world is] putting Israel in a very bad spot."

He said the terms of the new Iran deal being negotiated in Vienna, on which he has been briefed, are "very unnerving." "Why you would allow the largest state sponsor of terror in the world to have a robust enrichment program, I don't know."
Iran Nuclear Deal Draft Puts Prisoners, Enrichment, Cash First, Oil Comes Later: Diplomats
A US-Iranian deal taking shape to revive Iran’s 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers lays out phases of mutual steps to bring both sides back into full compliance, and the first does not include waivers on oil sanctions, diplomats say.

Envoys from Iran, Russia, China, Britain, France, Germany, the European Union and United States are still negotiating details of the draft accord amid Western warnings that time is running out before the original deal becomes obsolete. Delegates say much of the text is settled but some thorny issues remain.

The broad objective is to return to the original bargain of lifting sanctions against Iran, including ones that have slashed its crucial oil sales, in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear activities that extend the time it would need to produce enough enriched uranium for an atomic bomb if it chose to.

Iran has breached many of those restrictions and pushed well beyond them in response to the US withdrawal from the deal in 2018 and its reimposition of sanctions under then-President Donald Trump. While the 2015 deal capped uranium enrichment at 3.67% fissile purity, Iran is now enriching to up to 60%, close to weapons grade.

Iran insists its aims are wholly peaceful and that it wants to master nuclear technology for civil uses. But Western powers say no other state has enriched to such a high level without developing nuclear weapons and Iran’s advances since the US walkout mean the 2015 deal will soon be totally hollowed out.

The draft text of the agreement, which is more than 20 pages long, stipulates a sequence of steps to be implemented once it has been approved by the remaining parties to the deal, starting with a phase including Iran suspending enrichment above 5% purity, three diplomats familiar with negotiations said.

The text also alludes to other measures that diplomats say include unfreezing about $7 billion in Iranian funds stuck in South Korean banks under US sanctions, as well as the release of Western prisoners held in Iran, which US lead negotiator Robert Malley has suggested is a requirement for a deal.
Why is no one talking about Iran digging a new unbombable nuke facility? - analysis
Iran is developing a new nuclear threat that could be a game-changer – and which will continue to proceed regardless of whether there is a nuclear deal or not.

It is a problem that almost no one is talking about, in an area called Natanz where the Mossad allegedly blew up two different nuclear facilities in July 2020 and April 2021 respectively.

The new enormous nuclear threat is a new underground facility Iran is digging and building in the Natanz area which goes so deep under a mountain so large that it will leave the Fordow facility in the dust in terms of how difficult it would be for the IDF to strike it.

In a report, Institute for Science and International Security president David Albright wrote, “Fordow is already viewed as so deeply buried that it would be difficult to destroy via aerial attack. The new Natanz site may be even harder to destroy.”

Why no one is talking about it – other than Albright – is probably a mix of it being an issue that may not fully mature until 2023 and that there are few good options for addressing.

The main mountain harboring the new Natanz tunnel complex is called Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La and has a height of 1608 meters above sea level, he said.

In comparison, the mountain harboring the Fordow centrifuge enrichment plant, called Kūh-e Dāgh Ghū’ī, is about 960 meters tall.

The report said that this makes the Natanz mountain about 650 meters or well over 50% taller, potentially providing even greater protection to any facility built underneath it.
Iran's Hollow Victory: The High Price of Regional Dominance
Since 1979, Iran has sought to expel the U.S. from the Middle East, replace Israel with Palestine, and remake the region in its image. Tehran has not achieved any of its lofty ambitions, but it has made progress toward them - and it is feeling emboldened by its successes. Over the last two decades, Iran has established primacy in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen, four failed or failing states, by successfully cultivating regional militias and by exploiting the power vacuums left by the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the Arab uprisings of 2010-11.

However, Iran's external vigor conceals incurable internal maladies. As Iran has invested its limited capabilities in its aspiration to upend the U.S.-led world order, it has neglected the well-being of its people and made itself poorer and less secure. As Iran continues to bleed national resources to subsidize regional militias and external conflicts, the public's economic, political, and social frustration deepens, necessitating ever-greater repression. Washington will not be able to reach a peaceful accommodation with an Iranian regime whose identity is premised on opposing the U.S. and whose leader believes that softening this opposition could cost him everything.

For all of Iran's success in cultivating militant groups, there are tangible signs that it has overreached. Opinion polls show that nearly 2/3 of young Arabs view Iran as an adversary, a sizable majority of Arabs of all ages want Iran to withdraw from regional conflicts, and more than half of Arab Shiites hold an "unfavorable" view of Iran. Ascendant Iranian power in the Middle East will likely prove ephemeral. Arabs who chafed under centuries of Turkish and Western hegemony will not countenance Iranian influence easily.




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