Friday, February 18, 2022
David Singer: End the jaw-jaw – redraw the Israel-Jordan border
The UN Security Council needs to urgently activate the following Plan B:
Call on Israel and the PLO to negotiate on the basis of Trump’s Plan – and in default of their agreeing to do so
Call on Israel and Jordan to redraw their current agreed international boundary - designated in the 1994 Jordan-Israel peace Treaty - by dividing sovereignty in Judea and Samaria ('West Bank') and Gaza between their two States - based on Trump’s Plan
About 70% of these territories will in either scenario be returned to Arab sovereignty after an absence of 55 years. No Arab or Jew will have to leave his current home.
The UN is charged under Article 1 of its own Charter:
“To maintain international peace and security, and to that end: to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace”
Time for the UN to end the jaw-jaw and facilitate redrawing the Israel-Jordan border using Trump’s Plan.
Melanie Phillips: The lethal miscalculations over Vladimir Putin
Others in the West have fallen into the same trap of believing that a deal with Putin was in their own country’s interests. Thus Germany agreed to Nord Stream, the gas pipeline across the Baltic Sea, which was in turn green-lighted by U.S. President Joe Biden—until Russian aggression revealed even to Biden that the pipeline enabled Putin to weaponize gas supplies against the West.Caroline Glick: Biden's 'victory' against Putin
Russia was also viewed as a bulwark against China. But Putin has made a strategic alliance with China’s president Xi Jinping, both of them having decided that culturally riven America under its wobbly president is now a busted flush unprepared to do what it takes to resist their aggression.
In other words, my enemy’s enemy may not be my friend but may still be my enemy. But those desperate to believe that swords can be turned into plowshares fall into the trap of wishful thinking.
That’s why the West is regularly played for a sucker by regimes that are inherently far weaker from economic mismanagement and corruption, such as Russia or Iran.
Their power lies in two things: that while they perceive Western states are no longer prepared to fight and die for their country and its culture, Russia and Iran—driven by nationalism or religious fanaticism—very much are.
So, too, is Israel, which knows what it stands for, recognizes its enemies and behaves as if war is just round the corner—which, alas, it so often is.
But even hard-boiled Israel has wobbled, with lethal consequences. During the Oslo process, it allowed itself to believe that the Palestinian Arab leader Yasser Arafat had abandoned terrorism for peace, embraced the “two-state solution” and was bringing the long nightmare of never-ending war to an end.
This lethal miscalculation not only led to the Second Intifada and the murder of more than 1,300 Israelis. It also meant that Israel seemed to sign up to the Palestinian Arab falsehood that this was a dispute over land boundaries rather than a war against its very existence.
Ever since, while the West has believed this falsehood, Israel—trapped by its terrible Oslo error—has been unable to convince the world that it has always been defending itself against the threat of extermination.
Because of this threat, Israel has always been forced to ally itself with unpleasant governments whose support is crucial to Israel’s defense. It has held its nose and done those deals because it is driven above all by the need to survive.
By contrast, the West can no longer agree within itself what exactly it is worth surviving for. That’s why Putin won’t be the last to run rings around it as it feebly flaps its hands.
Biden's dismissal of a US-Russian war as a possible outcome of a Russian invasion is not a function of any anti-war predisposition on his part. It is a function of four considerations, which are not subject to change.The Caroline Glick Show Ep39 - What Game is Biden playing with Ukraine and Iran? | Guest: David Wurmser
First, the US public is unprepared and unwilling to go to war against Russia. With 53% of Americans opposing US involvement in the Ukraine crisis, a presidential decision to go to war is unthinkable.
Second, the US has no formal commitment to defend Ukraine's independence. For nearly 20 years, successive administrations have worked behind the scenes to block any possibility of Ukrainian membership in NATO because they don't want to be formally committed to protecting Ukraine from Russia.
This then brings us to the third reason the US will not take up arms to defend Ukraine. While the US national interest is advanced by an independent Ukraine willing to stand up to Russia and welcomes the US and the EU as allies, that interest cannot compete with the US interest in avoiding war with Russia. And as a result, it is against the US's national interest to wage war for Ukraine.
Finally, the US has a limited military capacity to fight a ground war in Ukraine against Russia. Russia has 150,000 troops deployed along its border with Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin can manage their logistical supply lines because they are in Russia.
The US has neither the forces nor the will to send tens of thousands of soldiers to Ukraine to fight the Russian army. It cannot compete.
So far from rebuilding US credibility on the world stage after his Afghanistan debacle, Biden's empty threats of world war have exposed America's weakness and the hollowness of the US's commitment to its allies.
Biden hasn't only been bluffing about the prospect of world war. He is also bluffing about sanctions. Biden said Tuesday that if Russia invades Ukraine, the US will impose sanctions on "key industries" in Russia. But just as his talk of World War III was entirely empty, so his threats of sanctions have no foundation in reality.
In this week’s show, Caroline was joined by David Wurmser in Washington, DC to discuss the ramifications of Joe Biden’s brinksmanship with Russia on Ukraine for America’s continued superpower status and for NATO. They then moved from Ukraine to Iran and the implications of the administration’s abandonment of all red lines in favor of a deal at all costs. They spoke in detail as well about former Iranian Foreign Minister Jawad Zarif’s recent claim that Rob Malley’s underling laundered Iran’s draft nuclear deal, presented it as his own work and then had Malley get the Obama administration to adopt it as the basis for negotiations.
Caroline Glick: 'Biden’s Foreign Policy is Juvenile'
Editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin discusses the Ukraine crisis and the decline of American influence as well as the connection to appeasement of Iran.
He’s then joined by journalist Caroline Glick who discusses the failures of the Biden administration and the current Israeli government and the way she believes they are endangering the West and the Jewish state.
JPost Editorial: Australia's move against Hamas is very welcome
Australia is following in the footsteps of the United Kingdom, which made a similar designation in November 2021. It is still not considered a terrorist organization by a number of countries, including China, Egypt, Iran, Qatar, Syria, Turkey, Russia, Brazil and Norway. In December 2018, the UN General Assembly notably rejected a US resolution condemning Hamas as a terrorist organization.Pelosi Praises Israel’s Iron Dome Just Months After Cutting It Out of Spending Bill
Australia’s bold move is the latest in a worldwide trend to recognize Hamas for what it really is, despite its claims of political legitimacy since become the de facto governing authority of the Gaza Strip following its victory in the 2006 Palestinian elections and the 2007 Battle of Gaza.
Hamas, it should be recalled, was founded in 1987 just after the First Intifada began, as an offshoot of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. Hamas was founded to liberate all of Palestine, including modern-day Israel, in order to establish an Islamic state in the area that is now Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Hamas has engaged in several devastating wars against Israel in the past 35 years and launched countless terrorist assaults, from suicide bombings to rocket and incendiary balloon attacks. It is still holding two Israelis – Avera Mangistu and Hisham al-Sayed – who crossed separately from Israel into the Gaza Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of IDF soldiers, Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin, whom it captured during the 2014 Gaza war.
For Hamas to become an international pariah, the civilized world must now pressure Qatar, where Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh and Khaled Mashaal are based, to recognize that it is harboring and bankrolling a terrorist organization. Rather than distributing the millions of dollars it is given by Qatar to help pull people out of poverty in Gaza, the organization’s corrupt leaders channel the money for their own benefit and to build up their terrorist arsenal.
Qatar and the other countries who continue to aid and abet Hamas might learn a lesson from the moral stand taken this week by Australia.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) on Wednesday celebrated Israel's Iron Dome, just months after she backed down to pressure from the anti-Israel flank of her caucus and cut funding from the missile defense program from a major government spending bill.Abbas told Pelosi Israel must halt Palestinian evictions in east Jerusalem
Pelosi, who traveled to Israel this week to meet with leaders of the Jewish state, posed for a photo in front of an Iron Dome missile-interception launcher that she posted to Twitter. The speaker praised the system for saving "thousands of lives," and touted House legislation that funded the Iron Dome.
Unmentioned by Pelosi is that last September, as the House voted on a funding bill to avert a government shutdown, Democratic leadership cut $1 billion in Iron Dome funding from the bill after anti-Israel progressives threatened to derail it over its support for Israel's defense. "Squad" member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) reportedly persuaded Pelosi to remove the funding.
Days after Democratic leadership cut Iron Dome spending from the funding bill, the House overwhelmingly passed a stand-alone bill to fund the Israeli self-defense system, but its removal from the larger spending bill was a major victory for anti-Israel members of Congress. The progressive "Squad" members, including Reps. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (R., Mich.), either voted "present" or against the funding.
Israel must end its evictions of Palestinian families in east Jerusalem, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas told US House of Representative Speaker Nancy Pelosi when the two met in Ramallah.
They met as tension have flared in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, in which at least 28 Palestinian families face eviction.
Abbas spoke with Pelosi on Thursday about "finally putting an end to Israel’s expulsion of Palestinians in occupied Jerusalem," according to the Palestine News Agency Wafa.
He similar called for Israel to respect the "status quo" on Jerusalem's Temple Mount and for it put an end to settlement activity and settler violence.
Abbas also called for an Israeli withdrawal to the pre-1967 lines.
A CONFRONTATION takes place between Palestinian protesters and police in Sheikh Jarrah on Monday. (credit: YOSSI ZAMIR/FLASH90) A CONFRONTATION takes place between Palestinian protesters and police in Sheikh Jarrah on Monday. (credit: YOSSI ZAMIR/FLASH90)
The PA President "Stressed the need to stop unilateral Israeli practices that undermine the two-state solution, in order to start a real political process in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions," Wafa stated.
Pelosi visited Israel and the Palestinian territories as the head of Pelosi Congressional Democratic delegation that included House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA), Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), Rep. Bill Keating (D-MA), Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ).
In Ramallah, they met with Abbas and PA officials such as Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, Health Minister Dr. Mai Al-Kaila, civic society leaders and students.
There was a time when the world feared Arab-Israeli hostilities would draw in the United States and the Soviet Union and ignite a nuclear war.
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) February 18, 2022
That is why I will never take it for granted when the King of Bahrain warmly welcomes Israel's Prime Minister and Arab-Israeli peace. https://t.co/gTtqghi6DH
???? Russia is threatening war in Europe with 100 battalions ready to invade Ukraine, backed by hundreds of fighter jets, attack helicopters, artillery, rockets & warships.
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) February 17, 2022
I just saw the agenda of the upcoming UNHRC session. Their first item is ???? Israel, to be condemned 4 times.
Israel snubs 'shameful' UN inquiry into alleged war crimes
Israel will not cooperate with the UN Human Rights Council’s Commission of Inquiry (COI) into alleged Israeli war crimes, Ambassador to International Institutions in Geneva Meirav Eilon Shahar wrote on Thursday.
“There is simply no reason to believe that Israel will receive reasonable, equitable and non-discriminatory treatment from the Council or from this [COI] that you were appointed to lead,” Eilon Shahar wrote to Navi Pillay, its commissioner.
The COI was established in the aftermath of the 11-day Gaza war and internecine rioting in May. It is unprecedented in its open-ended mandate – it can look into any alleged Israeli human rights violations in sovereign Israel, the West Bank and Gaza – and time frame, which could make it permanent. The UN General Assembly approved a budget of $4.1 million annually for the commission.
It is led by Pillay, the former UN high commissioner for human rights who appointed four fact-finding missions targeting Israel, more than any country, including the Goldstone Report, and convened the anti-Israel Durban II conference, which platformed then-president of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s Holocaust denial, among other anti-Israel moves. She has called Israel an apartheid state and has advocated for the BDS movement.
“Israel engages on a frequent and regular basis with a wide range of international human rights bodies as part of its commitment to the rule of law and the advancement of human rights,” Eilon Shahar wrote. “At the same time, we expect such bodies to act in good faith, without bias and not in the service of a pre-determined political agenda. Regrettably, none of this can be expected from the COI.”
Eilon Shahar said the COI is clearly “designed to serve as a political tool, rather than an impartial investigative body,” and “is sure to be yet another sorry chapter in the efforts to demonize the State of Israel, distorting the factual and legal record, and hijacking the values, language and mechanisms of human rights in order to advance a partisan campaign,” the letter reads.
Israel will be treated by Navi Pillay and her UNHRC commission of inquiry as fairly and impartially as defendants were treated by Stalin's state prosecutor Andrey Vyshinsky, to whom is attributed the quote, “Give me a man and I will find the crime.” pic.twitter.com/4QddnsuHkV
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) February 18, 2022
Economy minister to sign trade deal during Morocco visit next week
Economy Minister Orna Barbivai will travel to Morocco next week to sign an economics and trade deal, as the countries look to broaden cooperation since they normalized ties in late 2020.Istanbul International Airport now offering kosher food
Barbivai will start her visit on Sunday and meet ministers, government officials and business leaders in Rabat, Casablanca and Marrakeh, the Economy Ministry said on Thursday.
On Monday, she is slated to meet her Moroccan counterpart to sign the cooperation agreement that the ministry said would lay the economic infrastructure for expanding trade between the countries.
"Morocco is an important country for Israel – politically, economically and culturally," said Barbivai, whose Moroccan-born husband is also making his first trip since leaving the country in 1957 at the age of 2.
"Despite the existing trade ties and the Israeli industry that exists in Morocco, the scope of economic cooperation is limited in relation to the potential, which if realized will significantly contribute to the economic welfare and growth of both countries," she said in a statement.
Istanbul International Airport (IST) now has kosher food: sandwiches, cakes and pastries sold in vending machines and even hot meals served at the business lounges.NY Rep. Bowman withdraws support for bill to promote Abraham Accords
More than a million people fly Turkish Airlines from Israel every year, and naturally, many kosher-keeping Jews pass through the Istanbul airport.
The Jewish community in Turkey together with OK Kashrut company and Rabbi Mendy Chitrik of the Ashkenazic Jewish community in Istanbul started providing kosher food to thousands of travelers in the airport.
"La Casa Catering company was established by Turkey's Jewish community, and it creates more than 600,000 meals per year," says Rabbi Chitrik told The Jerusalem Post on Friday. He adds that "all the proceeds of the catering company go to needy families of Turkey's Jewish community."
"There are a lot of people who have a few hours of layover at the airport, sometimes people are stuck there for many hours without any Kosher food. Many times Jewish tourists that are stuck in the airport call me and if I can bring them Kosher food.
US Rep. Jamaal Bowman, the New York Democrat who has been less critical of Israel than other members of the progressive “Squad,” is dropping his support for a bill that would help Israel expand normalization agreements with Arab countries.
In a letter to constituents, Bowman said he has been persuaded that the normalization agreements, launched in 2020 as the Abraham Accords, serve to isolate the Palestinians, and do not advance a just outcome. The letter was first reported Tuesday by Jewish Currents.
He also expressed concern that some of the incentives for the accords are at odds with his values. The United Arab Emirates has scored the sale of advanced fighter jets and Morocco earned US recognition of its claim to the disputed Western Sahara.
Critics of the accords say they remove from the Palestinians one of the few leverages they have over Israel: full acceptance in the Middle East.
The bill has overwhelming bipartisan support and Bowman’s change of mind won’t stop it from passing. Under the accords, brokered by the Trump administration, Israel normalized relations with the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco. The bill would help facilitate normalization with other countries.
— Omri Ceren (@omriceren) February 18, 2022
The Israel Guys: Why Jews Can’t Buy Land in the West Bank
Today’s show covers the impossible reality that Jews cannot buy land in Judea and Samaria. The supreme court of Israel is calling the Defense Minister of Israel to task for an absurd law that is still in effect from the Jordanian occupation of Judea and Samaria. This law makes it illegal for Jews to purchase land inside of the West Bank.
Tune in to today’s show to get a comprehensive overview of legal issues Jews face in Judea and Samaria.
Hezbollah drone shot down after crossing over northern border — IDF
Israeli forces on Thursday downed a drone that Lebanon’s Hezbollah terror group flew over the border, the military said.Drone from Lebanon triggers sirens across north, evades Iron Dome
The incident occurred a day after Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said his group has been manufacturing military drones in Lebanon and has the technology to turn thousands of missiles in its possession into precision-guided munitions.
A statement from the Israel Defense Forces said air control units tracked the unmanned aircraft “throughout the incident” before shooting it down.
It did not specify how the drone was brought down as it entered Israeli airspace.
“The IDF will continue to operate in order to prevent any attempt to violate Israeli sovereignty,” the statement said.
In an image posted on Twitter by Avichay Adraee, the military’s Arabic-language spokesperson, the drone appeared to be a commercially available quadcopter manufactured by Chinese company DJI.
Without citing a source, Army Radio claimed the drone likely belonged to the terror group’s elite Radwan Unit.
A security source said last month that at least some of the drones Hezbollah apparently uses for surveillance purposes were commercially available devices.
The Israel Defense Forces fired an Iron Dome interceptor missile at a small unmanned aircraft that entered the country from Lebanon Friday, but missed it, the military said.IAF flies over Beirut after drone enters Israel; Hezbollah takes responsibility
The infiltration and failed interception attempts triggered air raid sirens across wide swaths of Israel’s north.
The IDF said it also scrambled fighter jets and attack helicopters to deal with the aircraft, which entered Israel a day after the army shot down two other drones that entered its airspace, one of them from Lebanon.
“A drone was spotted flying from Lebanese territory toward Israel. The drone crossed into our territory and its flight path was tracked by detection systems. Helicopters and fighter jets were activated, an Iron Dome interceptor was fired without a successful intercepting it, and sirens were activated on the home front,” the military said.
“After a few minutes, the drone returned to Lebanon,” the IDF said.
The military said the unmanned aircraft was a “glider” variety, but did not immediately comment further on the exact model of drone. It was not immediately clear if it had been armed.
The Hezbollah terror group on Friday claimed responsibility for launching a drone into Israel that evaded Israeli air defenses before returning to Lebanon.Gazan used medical entry permit to scout for Hamas recruits in Israel — Shin Bet
The Israel Defense Forces said it fired an Iron Dome interceptor missile at the small unmanned aircraft but missed, and also scrambled fighter jets and attack aircraft. The drone infiltration and subsequent Iron Dome launch set off warning sirens across wide swaths of northern Israel.
In a statement, Hezbollah said the “Hassan” model drone was on a reconnaissance mission that reached 70 kilometers (43 miles) inside Israeli territory.
“The Islamic resistance launched the Hassan drone into occupied Palestinian territory and it surveyed the area for forty minutes,” the statement said.
Hezbollah said the drone “returned safely” to Lebanon, while noting the failed interception attempts.
The IDF earlier said the drone returned to Lebanon “after a few minutes” and that the aircraft was a “glider” variety, but did not specify the exact model. The military also did not accuse Hezbollah of launching the drone in an initial statement on the incident.
A Gazan man with a permit to enter Israel for medical treatment used his access to scout for potential recruits for the Hamas terror group, the Shin Bet security service said Thursday.‘Fauda’ Season 4 Filming Moved From Ukraine to Hungary Amid ‘Uncertainty’ Over Russia Tensions
Hamas member Ahmad Abu al-Nour, 27, was arrested on January 24, and has since provided interrogators with vast intelligence about the terror group, the Shin Bet said.
According to Israeli authorities, al-Nour entered Israel for medical treatment last year but never returned home, instead staying in Israel illegally “for a number of months.” The Shin Bet refused to give his exact date of entrance into Israel.
In Israel, al-Nour attempted to find people who may be interested in joining or assisting Hamas, sending back the names of potential recruits to his handlers in Gaza, the Shin Bet said.
The security service noted that his efforts to recruit assets “did not succeed.”
Unlike in many cases in which Hamas has taken advantage of vulnerable Palestinians with medical permits to advance its aims, in this case, al-Nour was a long-time, willing member of the organization, according to the Shin Bet.
The security service said he joined Hamas in 2009, training to operate anti-tank guided missiles, and “took part in military activities against the State of Israel and even operated under the organization’s secret service.”
Production for the fourth season of the hit Israeli television series “Fauda” was relocated to Hungary due to ongoing “tensions” in Ukraine, where filming was initially set to take place, Yes Studios managing director Danna Stern told The Algemeiner on Thursday.
A spokesperson for the Tel Aviv-based production and distribution company added, “Due to the current uncertainty in Ukraine and our tight schedule, production felt it was best to choose a new filming location abroad.” The eastern European country is facing the threat of an imminent invasion from neighboring Russia, according to Washington.
Filming in Israel for the 10-episode fourth season concluded recently and was set to continue in Ukraine but will now instead take place in “multiple set locations” across Budapest, the spokesperson said. Filming in Hungary has not began yet but will “start on schedule around mid-March.” The new season is still scheduled to air on Israel’s yes TV mid-2022 and will afterwards stream on Netflix.
A trailer and cast photos for the fourth season of “Fauda” were released in December. In the new season, the Israeli undercover unit will try to take down the Hezbollah terrorist group in Lebanon and Palestinian militants in the West Bank.
Al-Jazeera Network Report on “Night Disturbance Unit” in Jenin Refugee Camp: We Prepare Explosive Devices and Hurl Them at Israeli Soldiers #Palestinians #Fatah #Terrorism pic.twitter.com/01SF6cdUjb
— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) February 18, 2022
Qatar: Palestinian terrorism's financial sugar daddy - opinion
In one year, Qatar will be the center of the universe. By hook and by crook, the tiny oil-rich nation won the rights to hold the 2022 World Cup. Billions have been spent to turn the desert sands into a plush grass green; futuristic stadiums have been built, as have extravagant infrastructure projects that will transport, house and feed the hundreds of thousands of spectators who are expected to fly into the country. Some of the sport’s greatest names will showcase their amazing foot skills in Doha playing for their national teams while a billion fans watch the games live via satellite.
Daniel Turgeman, from southern Israel, would most certainly have been glued to the TV to root for his hero, Argentina’s Lionel Messi. Daniel wore the soccer icon’s jersey whenever he could, but he won’t be watching his favorite player dazzle on the soccer pitch next December. Daniel was only four-and-a-half years old when he was killed by a Hamas rocket in 2014 – the warhead that snuffed out the life of this rambunctious soccer-loving child was paid for by Qatar.
Young Daniel Turgeman isn’t the only victim whose life was lost because of Qatar’s financial investment in the fundamentalist Palestinian terror groups. I know. I represent over 65 plaintiffs – all American citizens – who had family members murdered or who were themselves wounded in terror attacks perpetrated by Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad which could never have taken place without the billions of dollars that Qatar, Qatari banks, and Qatari charities, have sent to the Gaza Strip.
Qatari cash pays for weapons and explosives used in terror attacks against Israeli citizens; Qatari money has financed the construction of an extensively elaborate underground network of terror tunnels that rival some of the most efficient subway systems in the world; money that was supposed to be used for concrete and steel which should have been earmarked for homes and hospitals was diverted to build a subterranean city to move terrorists and store weapons.
Hamas: We are a national liberation movement that was elected in a democratic election. We urge Australia to retract its decision.
— Khaled Abu Toameh (@KhaledAbuToameh) February 18, 2022
Misery and chaos in #Lebanon all because of #iran and #hezbollah. A gut wrenching video in which a Lebanese man tries to abandon his infant child because he can’t afford to feed her anymore.
— Emily Schrader - ????? ?????? (@emilykschrader) February 17, 2022
This is Lebanon under Iran
?? pic.twitter.com/EngUIhH8Mr
West is on verge of signing 'surrender pact' with Iran
Everyone involved in the Iran nuclear talks in Vienna is "releasing promos" ahead of an impending formal declaration, which will apparently entail a return to a watered-down, worse version of the original 2015 agreement despite it being clear to all that turning back the clock to the old deal isn't even possible.MEMRI: Iranian Majlis Member Ahmad Hossein Falahi: 'One Of The Main Goals Of The Islamic Revolution Has Always Been The Annihilation Of The Zionist Regime; Today, All Those Who Believe In The Islamic Revolution And In The Arrival Of The Mahdi Are Certainly Thinking' Of It
Despite all the warnings, it appears the American delegation headed by Robert Malley – following the resignation of three of his senior colleagues, chief among them Richard Nephew, over the extent of US concessions to the Iranians' demands – has swayed global powers to consent to an exceedingly problematic deal that will pave a certain path for Iran to acquire a nuclear bomb in the coming years.
Within the framework of the emerging deal, which will partially be based on the 2015 agreement, several fundamental problems, which Israel has highlighted on multiple occasions, have not been resolved. It lacks any mechanisms that will force the Iranians to engage in additional negotiations over a "longer-term, stronger" deal before the new deal expires, as US President Joe Biden promised would be inserted. A short-term deal in which all restrictions imposed on Iran's nuclear program will soon expire as per the original deal's outline, which was solely predicated on reciprocity, and without any clear stipulation agreed upon by all sides about what will happen if a new deal isn't reached, isn't worth the paper on which it is written.
The deal does not block all the avenues that can lead to a nuclear weapon, doesn't address the holes that were identified in the previous agreement, and doesn't even give global powers any actual ability to activate the snapback mechanism that allowed them at the time to reimpose sanctions (according to the original deal, this mechanism is set to expire in 2025).
The last point of contention that seemingly may or may not be addressed in the new deal is the future of the International Atomic Agency's ongoing investigations. Some of these investigations were made possible by the original deal's invasive oversight mechanisms, and some pertain to the open questions from the investigation into the possible military dimensions of Iran's nuclear program, which was mistakenly closed in the past and exposed by Israel's revelation of Iran's nuclear archives. Deficient attention to this important issue will diminish the IAEA's already lowly status even further and put into question the very need for its existence. It appears the sides are on the verge of closing the uranium investigation and perhaps will also formulate a clever conclusion to the other matters, or simply just concede altogether on those as well.
On February 9, 2022, on the eve of the 43rd anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Ahmad Hossein Falahi, chairman of the Iranian Majlis Faction Supporting The Resistance Axis And The Liberation Of Jerusalem spoke at a media event on "The Islamic Revolution and Solidifying a New Regional Order." The event was held by the Association to Defend the Palestinian Nation.How Biden Officials Broke Pledges To Enforce Iran Sanctions
In his speech, Falahi emphasized that the regime of Islamic Revolution in Iran is a universally applicable government model. In the 43 years of its existence, he added, the revolution and its tenets have spread and taken root in the region. He explained the vision of the Islamic Revolution: the annihilation of the State of Israel – a precondition for the arrival of the Mahdi, the Shi'ite Messiah, and for the establishment of universal Islamic rule.
Falahi emphasized that Iran and its revolutionary ideals are the guiding light for the liberation of the Palestinians, dismissing the struggle against Israel waged by the Palestinian nationalist movement in the 1960s and 70s, and saying that the Iranian revolution plays "an important role in the development of resistance groups and the spirit of jihad in the region."
The following are the main points of his speech:
"The Islamic Revolution is global in nature, and is not limited to one country [Iran]. The Islamic Revolution and its philosophy have flooded [past] its borders, and other nations have accepted that they can live with dignity with the Islamic Revolution and its freedom-seeking thought. Exporting the Islamic Revolution means that the philosophy of the Islamic Revolution is spreading to different arenas and different countries, and that the identity of other nations [in the region] are based on the ideas of the Islamic Revolution.
"One place [for which Iran's] Islamic Revolution was the inspiration was the Palestinian people – a nation occupied by the Zionist regime for many years. The liberation movement of the Palestinian people was formed in the years following the [1979] victory of the Islamic Revolution, and was inspired by its concepts and ideals. In fact, the Islamic Revolution played an important role in the development of resistance groups and the spirit of jihad in the region. Even in the earliest days of the Islamic Revolution, Iran shut down the embassy of the Zionist regime in Tehran, replacing it with a Palestinian Embassy. Several other countries were inspired by the Islamic Revolution movement, and implemented it. Today, many nations and even governments oppose the Zionist regime.
Senior Biden administration officials pledged in sworn testimony to Congress they would robustly enforce sanctions on Iran. More than one year after these promises, Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) says there is mounting evidence the officials lied to Congress.
Nicholas Burns, U.S. ambassador to China, and Ramin Toloui, assistant secretary of state for economic and business affairs, were both pressed during their Senate confirmation hearings late last year on Iran sanctions enforcement. In sworn written testimony to Cruz, copies of which were obtained by the Washington Free Beacon, Burns and Toloui vowed to uphold sanctions on Iran’s illicit oil trade and pressure China on the matter.
Since their confirmation last year, however, Iranian oil sales to China and other countries have skyrocketed, jumping 40 percent and sparking accusations that the Biden administration is turning a blind eye to sanctions enforcement as it works to ink a revamped version of the 2015 nuclear deal. With Republicans in Congress overwhelmingly united in opposition to a new deal, the promises by Burns and Toloui are under renewed scrutiny. Cruz and his colleagues suspect these officials never intended to uphold sanctions and misled Congress in order to win their confirmation.
"The new agreement President Biden hopes to finalize with the Ayatollah would open up vast new weapons markets to Putin and more energy for Xi’s expansion, all while injecting billions of dollars for terrorism around the Middle East and beyond," Cruz told the Washington Free Beacon. "President Biden and Biden-Harris officials are feverishly appeasing Russia, China, and Iran—and those countries are then allying together to collectively undermine American interests."
One senior congressional Republican aide, speaking only on background about the matter, said, "It's increasingly clear that Biden officials will say and do anything to get confirmed, but then they all implement Biden's fringe anti-American, pro-China, pro-Iran agenda. No wonder the administration has zero credibility with Congress or anyone else."
The Iran deal was a mistake and any new deal with Iran that Biden makes would be a disaster.
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) February 17, 2022
So proud of @RepGallagher and the 150+ House Republicans standing against Biden's deal that would only empower Iran and bring more danger to the world. https://t.co/6ipecINlkX
Iran Escalates Confiscation of Private Property Owned by Religious Minority Group
The Iranian government is quietly ramping up the confiscation of private property owned by the country's Baha'i faith community amid a "rising trend" of Iranian state-sanctioned land grabs and media propaganda campaigns targeting the religious minority, the Baha'i representative body warned on Wednesday.New Evidence Reveals Extent of Iranian Support for Houthi Terrorists
Baha'i advocates said the Iranian government has been using court orders to seize the land in a "piecemeal fashion" in an attempt to "evade the notice of the international community."
The Execution of Imam Khomeini's Order (EIKO), a state-affiliated group controlled by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, seized six Baha'i properties in the province of Semnan, according to the Baha'i International Community (BIC). The move follows similar seizures in recent months and comes as the Iranian government has demanded that the Biden administration drop all U.S. economic sanctions, including those related to human rights abuses, in exchange for Iran reentering a nuclear deal.
"The seizure by the Execution of Imam Khomeini's Order of Baha'i properties is a novel and very worrying development for Iranian Baha'is," said Diane Ala'i, representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations in Geneva, in a statement. "This development demonstrates that the highest levels of Iran's leadership are orchestrating the persecution of the Baha'is in Iran."
EIKO has seized thousands of properties since the Iranian revolution, based on government claims that the ownership is illegitimate. During Khamenei's leadership, EIKO's holdings of confiscated properties has topped $90 billion, according to a 2013 Reuters investigation.
The seizure of a mix of residential and commercial properties in Semnan was approved by an Iranian Revolutionary Court on Jan. 30, the Baha'i International Community told the Washington Free Beacon. Iranian authorities "are attempting to justify confiscation on the basis that these are properties owned by Baha'i institutions," which were outlawed in Iran in 1983, said BIC spokesman Saleem Vaillancourt.
According to Western security officials, the high level meetings between senior members of the Houthi terrorist organisation and Iran illustrate the close coordination that is taking place between Iran and the Houthis over the rebel group's terrorist operations.
"There has been mounting evidence of deepening cooperation between Iran and the Houthis, especially in terms of Iran supplying the Houthis with sophisticated weapons, such as missiles and drones," a senior Western security official told the author. "The meetings that took place in January prior to the attacks on the UAE suggest the cooperation between Iran and the Houthis has increased dramatically."
At the very least, the Biden administration needs to concentrate its energies on both confronting the Houthis' terrorist network, as well as providing its Gulf allies with the protection they need to defend themselves against further attacks by the Iranian-backed rebels.
Following last month's attacks, senior UAE officials renewed calls for the Biden administration to reimpose Washington's terrorist designation against the Houthis, which was lifted soon after US President Joe Biden took office last year as a goodwill gesture to Iran.
Since then there has been a marked increase in Houthi-inspired terrorist activity.....
