Monday, May 16, 2022

05/16 Links Pt1: The Three D’s and The Killing of Shireen Abu Akleh; UN Relents, Will Allow Exhibit to Call Jerusalem the Eternal Capital of the Jewish People

From Ian:

The Three D’s and The Killing of Shireen Abu Akleh
All this translates to the average news consumer only knowing about the response (the effect) and not the cause. This means that for the average news consumer, all they are reading about or seeing is the firemen taking an ax to a door – they have no idea that the firemen are responding to a fire.

This leads demonization leads to delegitimization. After all, if Israeli soldiers, without any context or apparent cause are going into places like Jenin “gun blazing,” then why not accuse them of “murder” without any evidence – as Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and many international media outlets did within minutes of Abu Akleh’s death, and before there was even a hint of an investigation (let alone an impartial one using actual forensics). And if you believe Israel is just attacking people without reason, because you never read about bombs being blown up on Israeli buses, the thousands of rockets fired at Israel from Gaza, or the string of mass-murder attacks directed by terrorist groups in Jenin, then you may be quick to conclude those Jews and their Jewish state are just too evil to exist anymore.

Lastly, we have the infamous double standard, which as Sharansky has pointed out, gets all too often applied to Israel. Regarding the death of Abu Akleh that double standard is also made evident by some simple Google searches.

In the past 5 years about 400 journalists have been killed covering conflict zones. None have generated a fraction of the media and social media attention that Abu Akleh’s death has generated in barely 2 days.

Recently many reporters have been tragically killed covering the war in Ukraine. When one types in a Google search of the names of the French, American or Ukrainian journalists killed covering the war in Ukraine, the average search yields 226,000 results. But, when one types in the name of “Shireen Abu Akleh,” that search yields 18,200,000 results.

Was the death of Abu Akleh really 80 times more important and newsworthy than that of the reporters killed in Ukraine?

Certainly, for those who wish to demonize Israel, by applying to it standards of conduct and scrutiny that are applied to no other country, it must be. After all, jumping on the anti-Israel bandwagon this week was Susan Sarandon, who within hours of Abu Akleh’s death, and with no evidence whatsoever, tweeted that “Israeli snipers” had “executed” her. Meanwhile, over the past year, as 70 journalists were killed, Ms. Sarandon apparently only tweeted about one, Abu Akleh. And over the past 3 years, as over 150 journalists were killed, Ms. Sarandon apparently only tweeted about one, Abu Akleh.

As many Jews, all too use to the Three D’s, and how they are regularly applied to our indigenous homeland, Israel, often say: “No Jews, No News.” While this may be cynical, it is also sadly painfully true.

It is also painfully clear to anyone paying attention, how much of the mainstream media, social media, and those who wish to destroy Israel, like the Qatari owners of Al Jazeera, are using the death of Abu Akleh – an unfortunate and very likely accidental tragedy to attack Israel. By using the new antisemitism, which is almost as old as the Arab-Israeli conflict itself, to demonize and delegitimize Israel and apply to it standards of conduct that are applied to no other country.


No Diplomatic Crisis Seen after Al Jazeera Reporter's Death
Immediately after the reports of Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh's death, a quick and clear response from Israel was imperative. Unlike the Palestinians, who took the liberty of unequivocally determining that Israel was responsible without providing any factual evidence, Israel is an orderly country. To get caught in a lie down the road would be worse than claiming things right now that sound beneficial.

One hour after her death, the IDF Spokesperson issued a statement whereby, apparently, the Palestinians themselves murdered her in the midst of a gunfight. His words had been translated to Arabic and English and sent to international news outlets and foreign reporters. At the same time, a video was released to support the Israeli claim. The quick release of an Israeli version upended the Palestinians' exclusivity and established Israel's position.

Israel's efforts bore fruit. Within four hours, most of the major news outlets in the world had already highlighted the Israeli position. It wasn't the headline, but Israel's doubts regarding the Palestinian version of events were at least given expression.

In the diplomatic arena, no serious country came out in condemnation of Israel. The US, UK, EU and UN simply asked for an investigation - which is precisely Israel's position. Israel's Foreign Ministry received no reprimands. An Israeli official summarized: "There is no crisis."
Muslim World Largely Refrains from Blaming Israel for Al Jazeera Journalist's Killing
Israel’s Gulf partners also refrained from casting direct blame.

Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it “strongly condemns the killing of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, which took place near the Jenin refugee camp in the Palestinian territories while she was on duty, as it is a violation of the rules and principles of the international humanitarian law.”

The island kingdom also demanded an “immediate, comprehensive investigation of the crime and to bring perpetrators to justice.”

The UAE, which along with Bahrain and Morocco signed the Abraham Accords with Israel in September 2020, declined to comment. Saudi Arabia, which does not recognize Israel but has extensive security and intelligence ties with Jerusalem, also refrained from issuing a statement. United Arab Emirates’ Abdullah bin Zayed al Nahyan gives a statement at Sde Boker at the Negev Summit, March 28, 2022 (Screen grab)

Israel’s Foreign Ministry declined to comment on the response from neighboring states.

Press coverage of the killing in these countries was also restrained.

“The media coverage is relatively calm,” said Moshe Albo, modern Middle East historian at the Institute for Policy and Strategy at Reichman University in Herzliya. “It’s not over the top. Same in Egypt.”

The UAE press did not quote Emirati officials about Abu Akleh’s death, said Moran Zaga, an expert on the Gulf region at Mitvim – The Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies.

“All of them, with the exception of the Khaleej Times, the most ‘right-wing,’ avoid direct accusation,” Zaga pointed out.

Saudi coverage has been similarly muted, said Albo.

Jordan condemned Abu Akleh’s killing, which it called “a horrific crime.” But Amman also chose not to specifically blame Israel.


NGO Monitor: NGOs Exploit the Death of Al-Jazeera Reporter
On May 11, 2022, Al-Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh was killed during clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinian gunmen in the West Bank. As of May 15, there is no definitive information as to whether she was killed by an Israeli or Palestinian, and whether she was targeted or her death was accidental. The report of the Palestinian pathologist who examined Abu Akleh’s body (May 11) and a preliminary IDF review of the incident (May 13) were both inconclusive.

Predictably, the same chorus of NGOs that claim any Israeli use of force is a war crime, immediately accused Israel of killing the journalist, amplifying the PA’s position that the incident demanded an ICC investigation, while calling for more BDS measures.

Many NGOs ignored the uncertainty surrounding the episode and immediately alleged that Israeli forces were responsible, committed war crimes, and even unlawfully targeted her because she was a journalist. It should be noted: even if the evidence shows that an Israeli soldier fired the fatal shot, that does not mean the soldier acted unlawfully. Similarly to other NGO pronouncements on war crimes, NGOs lack the credible research methodology necessary to draw credible conclusions about the incident. They cannot know what soldiers and officers were thinking during the firefight (i.e. the question of mens res). Instead, several NGOs parroted claims from unreliable “eyewitnesses” and unidentified sources.

The rush to accuse Israel, absent facts and evidence, is entirely divorced from standards of fact-finding and human rights reporting. Against the backdrop of the ongoing NGO “apartheid” and BDS campaigns and Palestinian calls for ICC intervention, these groups seek to portray Israel as criminal, and will utilize any opportunity and tragedy – to do so.
Toronto Star Op-Ed by Tony Burman Blames Israel for Al Jazeera Journalist’s Killing
In his recent opinion article, “The killing of Shireen Abu Akleh in the West Bank spotlights danger faced by both journalists and Palestinians,” Tony Burman brazenly uses the recent tragic and accidental death of 51-year-old Shireen Abu Akleh, an Al Jazeera journalist, to disseminate anti-Israel misinformation.

Abu Akleh was killed on May 11 in the Palestinian town of Jenin, covering Israeli military activities meant to arrest suspects in a recent string of Palestinian terrorist attacks in Israel.

As Abu Akleh was killed amidst violent exchanges between Israeli troops and Palestinian terrorists, the exact circumstances of her death are not clear.

Israel made entreaties to the Palestinian Authority (PA), which was in possession of Abu Akleh’s body, to allow for a joint investigation, autopsy, and ballistic analysis, which was roundly rejected by the Palestinian regime.

This highly suspicious refusal on the part of the Palestinian Authority is ignored by Burman, who instead insists that Israel is culpable for her death and that it is the “fervent hope of the Israeli government that Abu Akleh’s death will soon be forgotten by a distracted world.”

There is no substance to Burman’s allegation.
Contextless Headlines on Funeral Clashes Highlight Anti-Israel Tilt
Numerous international news headlines covering violence at Shireen Abu Akleh’s funeral Friday withhold key information, thereby revealing more about their own agenda than the day’s tumultuous events.

“Israeli police beat mourners at funeral of slain Palestinian journalist,” is the Reuters headline.

“Israeli police beat pallbearers at journalist’s funeral,” says AP.

“Outcry after Israel police beat mourners at journalist funeral,” echoes Agence France Presse.

“Israeli police attack funeral of slain Palestinian journalist,” says The New York Times.

“Shireen Abu Akleh: Israeli security forces attack mourners at Al Jazeera journalist’s funeral causing them to almost drop coffin,” Sky News’ headline similarly reads.

“Israeli forces attack mourners carrying casket of dead Al Jazeera journalist,” is the unexceptional Independent headline.

Casual readers who glance beyond the headlines would easily understand that unprovoked Israeli police attacked peaceful Palestinian mourners at a funeral procession.

But that’s not the story, as video documentation demonstrates that some of the Palestinians gathered outside the hospital where Shireen Abu Akleh’s body was held prior to the procession initiated violence, attacking Israeli police.

The following video, shared by Liran Tamari, a police affairs and legal reporter for Ynet, shows Palestinians in the crowd outside the hospital throwing rocks, glass bottles and other items at the police. In Tamari’s video, the sound of shattering glass is heard.
AP Amends Captions Which Blamed Israel for Journalist’s Death
CAMERA’s Israel office yesterday prompted correction of Associated Press captions which stated as fact the unverified claim that Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh “was shot dead by Israeli forces.” There is no substantiation of this allegation, with the Palestinian side having blocked the necessary ballistic analysis to match the fired bullet to the weapons used by the Israeli troops.

The problematic captions as they originally appeared follow:
Smoke rises from a home during an Israeli military operation in the West Bank town of Jenin, Friday, May 13, 2022. Israeli troops pushed into Jenin early Friday following the death of veteran Al Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh on Wednesday when she was shot dead by Israeli forces while covering a military operation in the occupied West Bank. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

Palestinian gunmen take aim during an Israeli military operation in the West Bank town of Jenin, Friday, May 13, 2022. Israeli troops pushed into Jenin early Friday following the death of veteran Al Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh on Wednesday when she was shot dead by Israeli forces while covering a military operation in the occupied West Bank. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

Smoke rises from a home during an Israeli military operation in the West Bank town of Jenin, Friday, May 13, 2022. Israeli troops pushed into Jenin early Friday following the death of veteran Al Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh on Wednesday when she was shot dead by Israeli forces while covering a military operation in the occupied West Bank. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

In response to communication from CAMERA, AP yesterday commendably corrected these captions, which now accurately state that “Shireen Abu Akleh was killed while covering a military operation in the occupied West Bank.” In addition, the photographs carry a prominent heading stating: “Correction Israel Palestinians” and the captions begin with the label “CORRECTS CIRCUMSTANCES.”


The Israel Guys Daily: Who is REALLY To Blame for the DEATH of the Al Jazeera Journalist?
The world is outraged over the death of Shireen Abu Akleh, an Al Jazeera journalist who was killed in the line of fire in Jenin, Northern Samaria, Israel. The media has unequivocally condemned Israel for her death, declaring that the IDF deliberately targets Palestinian civilians and journalists.

All of the headlines however, are false. Watch this special program to find out why.


The Desecration of Joseph’s Tomb: What Lessons Can Be Drawn?
On April 9, 2022, Palestinian rioters, enraged over yet another imaginary transgression, stormed Kever Yosef and caused severe damage. The tombstone was shattered, electrical fixtures were ripped out and prayer books were burned. The action was carried out in full view of Palestinian “policemen” who did nothing to stop the hooliganism and may have even encouraged it. Israeli repair crews, under the protection of the Israeli Defense Forces, repaired the damage a few days later.

This is the Palestinian modus operandi, a deleterious pattern that demonstrates an utter contempt for antiquity and religious sites. On October 12, 2000, Palestinian rioters in Jericho stormed an ancient Byzantine-era synagogue known as the “Shalom Al Israel Synagogue,” with the intent to destroy its well-preserved central medallion bearing the inscription “Shalom al Israel.” They failed to destroy the precious mosaic floor but that does not negate the nefarious intent. When the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem fell to Jordanian/Palestinian forces in 1948, all Jewish institutions – including the impressive Hurva Synagogue – were either dynamited or converted to garbage dumps or animal pens.

In this regard, the Palestinians have shown themselves to be no different than the Taliban and ISIS. in 2001, the Taliban destroyed the one-of-a-kind Bamiyan Buddha statues in the name of religion. Then in 2015, ISIS destroyed the ancient & irreplaceable antiquities at Palmyra, also in the name of religion. Palestinian vandalism at Joseph’s Tomb, and their efforts to destroy other culturally and religiously important sites, also in the name of Islam, reveals their true colors.

Palestinian apologists predictably remained mute in the face of the latest Palestinian outrage at Joseph’s Tomb. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, organizations all too willing to spread antisemitic blood libels against the Jewish State, did not utter a single word of condemnation.

Joseph's Tomb, Rachel’s Tomb, the Hurva and Jericho Synagogues were not symbols of the so-called occupation. They were symbols of Judaism and that was enough to rouse the ire of those bent on genocide and ethnic cleansing. A society that maintains a near-maniacal intolerance and hatred for other religions or cultures, and acts upon that hatred in a violent and destructive manner, is undeserving of statehood.
Behind the Uptick in Terror Attacks in Israel
A smarter U.S. approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would look at the topography of the Palestinian people rather than falling back on the two-state solution as the answer to everything. According to Palestinian pollster Khalil Shikaki, almost half of Palestinians believe "armed struggle" is the solution to their problems.

Fully 58% oppose a two-state solution; 70% oppose "unconditional return to negotiations with Israel"; almost as many oppose dialogue with the U.S. Most troubling of all, "73% believe the Quran contains a prophecy about the demise of the State of Israel and 32% think the year for this demise is 2022."

Polling by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy found increased commitment to the return of all "historically Palestinian" lands, and diminished support for a two-state solution. While support for a new mass uprising was also low (for a variety of reasons, including lack of confidence in Palestinian leadership), there remained an overall commitment to violent means. There is violence because there is incitement to violence. There is unending political encouragement and glorification of killing.

The better choice is to re-engage on the basis of reality, and seek to loosen the grip of crooks, killers and extremists, look to discredit their failed rule, search and support a new and better generation of leaders and help the Palestinian people find a better path.
Jerusalem Arab hospital is victim of bigotry
U.S. officials say that President Joe Biden is planning to visit a major Palestinian Arab hospital in Jerusalem during his upcoming trip to Israel. Good. Maybe it will galvanize the president to rethink the racist attitudes that are inherent in the administration’s treatment of the Palestinian Arabs.

Yes, racist.

Al Makassed, the hospital which Biden is reportedly planning to visit, is the largest of six Palestinian Arab hospitals in Jerusalem. It is in the midst of a financial crisis caused by the Palestinian Authority.

The problem is that the P.A. regularly refers patients to Al Makassed from the hospitals in P.A. territory but then fails to pay the bills for their treatment. The Arab news service Middle East Monitor reported last month that the P.A. currently owes $47 million to Al Makassed. That was three weeks ago; by now, the debt is probably even larger.

As a result, Al Makassed has been unable to pay its staff or pay for the equipment that it needs. The situation is so bad that recently the hospital was forced to close its doors except for emergency patients.

But fear not! The Biden administration appears to be ready to come to the P.A.’s rescue. The Jerusalem Post reports that a Biden visit “could mean renewed funding after the Trump administration cut $25 million to the East Jerusalem Hospitals Network, of which Al Makassed is a member.”

It seems obvious that if Biden goes to Al Makassed, it will involve writing them a check. He’s not going to visit a bunch of bed-ridden cancer patients and then tell reporters, “Sorry, we don’t have any money for them.” If he wasn’t preparing to give them a sizable donation, he would pick some other site to visit.
UN Relents, Will Allow Exhibit to Call Jerusalem the Eternal Capital of the Jewish People
According to a diplomatic source, the UN has relented and will allow Israel to display an exhibit on Israel's parliament, the Knesset, at UN headquarters in New York.

The world body had conditioned its permission on Israel agreeing to the removal of some content, including references to Jerusalem as the country's capital.

Israeli UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan fought back, and an agreement was reached whereby all content will remain, and Israel will add a disclaimer noting the objections.

Erdan had written to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, saying, "The impertinent demand of the UN to censor the exhibit and remove pictures that reflect our national history is, in fact, a request to rewrite Israel's history and we will not agree to that in any way."
JPost Editorial: Identity of IDF officer's identity reminds us of Druze-Israeli bond - editorial
In The Jerusalem Post’s Independence Day supplement earlier this month, military reporter Anna Ahronheim interviewed Lt.-Col. A., the first Druze to complete the IAF flight school, and who now serves as commander of the Southern Command’s Fire Center, another example of a proud member of the Druze community who is giving his all to protect the country.

The examples of members of the Druze community risking their lives alongside Jewish (and some other non-Jewish) citizens are inspiring. The ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak, for example, has decided to name a street after Amir Khoury, a Christian Arab, who died of the wounds he sustained when shooting dead the terrorist carrying out the deadly attack in there in March.

For this reason, it was particularly jarring when Arab Joint List head MK Ayman Odeh, in a Ramadan statement filmed at the Damascus Gate, clearly aimed at Israeli Arabs and Druze, last month urged all those serving in Israel’s security forces to “throw your guns in their faces and tell them our place is not with you.”

The publication of Din’s name is also an opportunity to remember that those who tie their fate with that of the state deserve full and equal rights not just in theory but in practice. The infrastructure of their towns and villages must be brought up to standard and quality employment opportunities, particularly for demobilized members of the security forces, must be available. Druze reservations concerning the Nation State Law must be heard and legislative amendments made to make it clear that Israel considers them full and equal citizens.

The Druze – along with the Circassians, some Christians, some Bedouin and other minorities who serve in the military – are part of the fabric of Israel. The bonds should not depend only on the blood of those who fell protecting the country and its citizens but also by shared dreams for a better future in the one place we can all call home.
U.S. State Department Set to Delist Mujahideen Shura Council of Jerusalem
The U.S. State Department is expected to remove the Gaza-based Mujahideen Shura Council of Jerusalem (MSC) and several other groups from its Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) list, according to an Associated Press report.

The groups are believed to be inactive and unlikely to pose further threats to warrant their continued listing as FTOs.

“Based on a review of the Administrative Record assembled in this matter and in consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary of the Treasury, I determine that the circumstances that were the basis for the designation… have changed in such a manner to warrant revocation of the designation,” the AP reported, citing a statement by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

The groups named in the AP report are the Japanese doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo, the Spanish separatist organization Basque Homeland and Liberty, a Jewish ultra nationalist group called Kahane Chai, the Egyptian Sunni Islamist movement Gama’a al-Islamiyya, and the MSC.

In the context of the MSC, the Salafi-jihadist organization was established in 2012 in an effort to resurrect the Islamic caliphate and wage violent jihad against Israel.

The State Department designated the organization in 2014 due to numerous rocket attacks against Israel, a cross-border attack targeting an Israeli construction site that killed one civilian and the group’s declaration of support to the Islamic State.

As noted in the State Department’s FTO listing, MSC is responsible for several attacks against Israel, notably in 2012 when two of its members detonated an IED and attacked vehicles carrying construction workers at the security fence Israel was constructing at the Egyptian border.
Israel Police Apprehend Palestinian Suspected of Planning Terror Attack Using Axe
Israeli police said Monday a Palestinian man armed with an axe was arrested as he planned to carry out a terror attack in the West Bank.

The 22-year-old Palestinian suspect, a resident of the town of Al-Bireh, was detained for questioning at the Tapuah Junction in the northern West Bank after police forces stopped his car for inspection.

An axe was seized during a search of the vehicle, as well as a suicide letter, in which the suspect wrote that he was on his way to carry out an attack to avenge the death of friends. The man drove around the area for about an hour looking to target Israelis standing alone along the road or at bus stops, according to a preliminary investigation by police forces.

The Israeli police said the terror plot was foiled during operations to “maintain public order.”

The incident comes amid a wave of deadly terror attacks in recent weeks by Arab Israeli and Palestinian perpetrators in central Israel, which have taken 19 lives since mid-March.

Earlier this month, two Palestinian terrorists were arrested after they murdered three Israeli civilians using axes and knives as weapons in the central city of Elad. Hamas’ Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar has drawn scrutiny for urging Palestinians to carry out terror attacks, including a call to “ready your cleaver or an axe, or a knife.”


IDF to guard new Hebron building, settlers leave until permit approved
The IDF has agreed to guard a new Jewish building in Hebron – called Beit Tekuma – until the Civil Administration signs off on the purchase agreement between the settlers and the former Palestinian owners.

In exchange for this agreement, 15 families that had moved into the building on Friday agreed to leave.

“This is what the building looks like when it’s free of Jews,” MK Orit Struck wrote on Twitter, where she posted a photograph of the three-story apartment building, whose name means “House of Rebirth.”

An Israeli flag still waved from the top of the structure and a blue and white sign with the words “Beit Tekuma” hung from its wall.

The Jewish group Harchevi – whose name is based on the Biblical verse in Isaiah, “enlarge the place of your tent” – claims to have purchased the building from its Palestinian owners but has yet to receive a purchase and entry agreement from the Civil Administration.

Beit Tekuma is located on the main Hebron road between the back gate of the Kiryat Arba settlement and the Beit HaShalom apartment building.

The purchase became public on Friday when 15 settler families moved into the building, but members of Hebron’s Jewish community had already been accessing the structure for over a month.
Peace Now Losing It, Organizing Mob to Take Down Samaria Jewish Outpost on Shabbat
On May 25, according to a new Peace Now campaign, a mob of peace-loving Israelis are coming to the Homesh outpost, where on December 16, 2021, a 20-year-old yeshiva student was ambushed and shot in the neck by an Arab terrorist. Since that bloody day, the Lapid-Bennett government has been pushing the Jews of Homesh off the land, where the small community centers around the local yeshiva. Thousands have marched in support of the Homesh outpost over the past half-year or so, and security forces, who were not so good at preventing the murder, have proven themselves quite adept at demolishing the Homesh structures and evicting its people, time and again.

Well, like I said, the peace-loving people of Israel, under the leadership of the group with the most impatient name––Peace Now!––have had enough. On Sunday, they tweeted a picture of a bulldozer taking apart something, adorned by the message: “28.5 (that’s May 28 to you and me) – We’re coming to take apart the Homesh outpost!”

And the accompanying text, quite warlike for this peace-seeking group, declares:
And this time with a bulldozer.
The talk is over. Gone are the days when a violent gang of Israel haters tramples on the rule of law and drags Israel into an endless bloody conflict.
We move on to action.
On May 28, at 1:00 PM, we will march together, masses of Israelis, to dismantle the criminals’ hill in Homesh!
Transportation is available from all over the country: (a link provided here).

And, as you can see above, the Peace Now tweet was immediately mimicked by a mirror tweet, except this one was calling––using an almost identical text––for the dismantling of Khan al Ahmar, a Palestinian Authority-constructed illegal Bedouin shantytown whose demolishing the Israeli supreme court has approved back in 2010.
Education Ministry, Shin Bet said cooperating to identify terror-backing teachers
The Education Ministry has begun working with the Shin Bet security service to identify teachers who support or are involved in terrorism, the Kan public broadcaster reported Monday.

In an effort to root out those who back terror from the education system, the Shin Bet has reportedly agreed to pass on to the ministry information it has obtained on possible suspects.

The new procedure was introduced after two recent terror attacks were carried out by Arab education staff, as well as other incidents of comments made by Arab teachers on social media networks, according to the report.

The terrorist who carried out a deadly stabbing and ramming attack in Beersheba in March was identified as Arab Israeli Mohammad Ghaleb Abu al-Qi’an from the southern Bedouin town of Hura, a former schoolteacher and Islamic State supporter, who had served time in prison on terror charges.

And in November last year, Hamas member Fadi Abu Shkhaydam, who was a Palestinian high school teacher in Jerusalem, shot dead Eli Kay and injured several others in an attack in the capital’s Old City. Abu Shkhaydam worked at an Islamic boys’ high school, the Rashidiya school, just outside the Old City and was on the Jerusalem Municipality payroll.

According to the report, Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton in March ordered her director-general, Dalit Stauber, to summon for a hearing an educator who was suspected of praising on her Facebook page Diaa Hamarsheh, the Palestinian terrorist who carried out a March terror attack in Bnei Brak that killed five people, including a police officer.
Satellite images show complete destruction of Syrian site hit by Israel
Images published by Israeli intelligence firm ImageSat International (ISI) of a site allegedly struck by Israel on Friday show its complete destruction.

According to ISI, the structures that were hit served as an entrance to underground tunnels and were completely destroyed by the airstrikes. The same structures were hit on September 2018 in another strike blamed on Israel and were rebuilt.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the Syrian civil war, said that at least eight missiles were fired toward weapons depots and sites belonging to Iranian militias.

A five-man crew of a Pantsir missile-defense system was killed after firing toward Israel Air Force jets. Another seven civilians were injured.

According to SOHR, it was the 12th Israeli attack on Syrian territory since the beginning of the year. The report by ISI said that the strikes came after the IAF struck Syria’s Scientific Studies and Research Center (SSRC) east, north and west on April 9.

“ISI assesses that this underground facility is related to the SSRC facility in Masyaf,” the report said.There have been numerous airstrikes in the Masyaf area, which is thought to be used by Iran as a base for their militia forces. The area is also where the SSRC - known also by its French name Centre D’Etudes et de Recherches Scientifiques - is located.

Israeli officials have repeatedly voiced concerns over Iran’s entrenchment in Syria and the smuggling of sophisticated weaponry to Hezbollah from Tehran to Lebanon via Syria, stressing that both are red lines for the Jewish state.


PA reform plan fails to address anti-Israel incitement
The "Reforms document" submitted by the Palestinian Authority to the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee representing donor countries does not include a plan to reduce incitement against Israel, according to a copy of the document obtained by Israel Hayom.

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, who attended the AHLC's biannual session last week in Brussels, didn't come empty-handed. The 40-page "Reforms Proposal" he presented to the AHLC consists of a comprehensive reform plan for the PA to implement in various fields.

Founded in 1993, the 15-member AHLC, a UN body, serves as the principal policy-level coordination mechanism for development assistance to the Palestinian people. Its primary mission is "to promote dialogue between donors, the Palestinian Authority, and the Government of Israel."

AHLC members are categorized into seven groups: the Arab nations, the European Union, the United States, Japan, international institutions, European countries, and other nations. Current members include the US, EU, United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, Russia, Norway, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Canada, the PA, Israel, Jordan, Egypt, and Tunisia. US and Europe are applying pressure

The Palestinians were forced to draft the document. PA President Mahmoud Abbas was put under considerable pressure to implement institutional, legal, and societal reforms, which also include measures to curb public corruption. The Europeans pushed the Palestinians to formulate a comprehensive plan, and the Americans, too, applied additional pressure once the Biden administration entered the White House.

The Palestinian need to produce such a document intensified after financial aid from Europe was delayed. Some European Union countries, spearheaded by the Hungarian representative, demanded last year that the Palestinians erase anti-Israeli content from their school textbooks, making it a precondition for the transfer of money to the PA.

The postponed aid transfer, along with declining external donor funds to PA coffers, exacerbated the economic situation in the areas under the PA's control in Judea and Samaria. In Ramallah, PA officials concluded that they can no longer evade the international community's demands as easily as before, and must present steps to donor countries that show a willingness to implement the aforementioned reforms.

However, as stated, the PA's reform plan presented by Shtayyeh, which was drafted at the behest of Abbas, does not indicate a willingness to implement fundamental changes as they pertain to reducing incitement against Israel – but rather the opposite. The document includes a call to safeguard Palestinian culture and the Palestinian national narrative against attempts by the "Israeli occupation authorities to distort information and steal the Palestinians' folklore and heritage."
Israeli PM is 'a Nazi, like Goebbels,' senior Fatah official charges
Senior Fatah official Jibril Rajoub last week called Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett a "Nazi, like Goebbels," accusing him of "giving the order" to kill Al-Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh, according to the Middle East Media Research Institute.

"[Israeli] prime minister - that Goebbels, that Nazi, that fascist - said yesterday: 'Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) wants to tarnish our image, and I stand behind my soldiers.' He gave the order (to kill journalist Shireen Abu Akleh). He bears the responsibility," Rajoub, the secretary of the Fatah Central Committee, told Al-Jazeera.

Additionally, he compared the war in Ukraine to the death of the reporter by indirectly referring to Russia's claims of fighting neo-Nazis in Ukraine.

"What is happening in Ukraine – you see how they [Russia] deal with it, while here, we have neo-Nazis who do those things," he said.

It is not the first time that Jibril Rajoub compared the Israeli government's actions with the Holocaust.
Senior Fatah Official Jibril Rajoub: Israeli PM Bennett Is A Fascist Nazi Like Goebbels

MEMRI: Palestinian Catholic Priest Living In West Bank Incites Terror Against Israel: 'The Gun Of The Resistance Fighter Will Light Our Way'; Hamas Is The Sole Legitimate Representative Of The Palestinians
Manuel Musallam, a Palestinian Catholic priest who is presently living in the town of Bir Zeit in the West Bank, but who until 2009 served as pastor at the Holy Family Church in Gaza,[1] is known for his support for Hamas and frequently calls for armed struggle and terrorism against Israel. Musallam's inciting rhetoric has been especially intense in the last few weeks, against the backdrop of the terrorist attacks in Israel and the violence in Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa compound, which Hamas is encouraging. On his Facebook page, Musallam posts messages on a daily basis urging the Palestinians to shift from defense to offense, to take up arms in order to liberate "all of Palestine, from the river to the sea," and to die as martyrs for this cause. Recently, Musallam praised the April 7, 2022 deadly shooting in Tel Aviv in which three Israelis were murdered, and justified that axe murder of three other Israelis in the town of Elad.

The following are examples of Facebook messages posted by Musallam in the recent weeks encouraging and praising terror and martyrdom, as well as details on his ties to Hamas.

Musallam Encourages Armed Resistance And Martyrdom: "We Are All Potential Resistance Fighters And Martyrs"
As mentioned, Manuel Musallam frequently posts Facebook messages[2] echoing Hamas' terrorist incitement and propaganda,[3] and encourages the Palestinian "resistance fighters" to carry out attacks against Israelis. On May 9, 2022, he wrote: "Oh Palestinian, courageous resistance fighter! Stand fast in Jerusalem, in Al-Aqsa and in our Church of the Sepulcher, for they are all yours… The security coordination [with Israel] is not sacred.[4] What is sacred is the coordination between the resistance [forces] and the resistance fighters. What is sacred is confrontation, not negotiations. The resistance has fully realized that it is time to shift from resistance and self-defense to a new phase that will take it towards offence and towards the stage of liberation."

On May 5, 2022 Musallam wrote in a similar vein: "Neither the Oslo [Accords] nor normalization will show us the way to Jerusalem. Only the gun of the resistance fighter will light our way. The feet of the barbarians have defiled the soil of Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa, [the Churches of] the Sepulcher and of the Nativity, and the Sanctuary of Abraham [i.e., the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron]. Only you, the resistance fighter, can cleanse them with the bullets from your gun…"

On May 4, Musallam wrote in praise of the willingness to die as a martyr: "…We are all potential martyrs and resistance fighters for Jerusalem. If [Jerusalem] endures, so will we, and if it is lost, l we will be lost as well. Resistance is the honor of Jerusalem and Palestine." In an April 25 post he stated: "Israel is nothing but a snowstorm that has blown over our land, [but] it will encounter the sun and the flames of the resistance, and melt away… It is the resistance fighters and their blood that will rid us of Israel… If Israel does not lay down its weapons today, [our] weapons will eliminate it…" A post from April 13 conveyed a similar message: "…Let us all die honorable, strong and proud for the sake of Al-Aqsa and [the Church of] the Sepulcher, rather than hand over their keys to the Zionists. The most important lesson we are learning from the steadfastness of Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa is that power is [in the hands of] the people… If the Zionists realize their aim of praying at the Al-Aqsa compound and their talk about making Passover sacrifices there, this will mean [the success of] their deceitful [plan] to take over [Al-Aqsa] or demolish it in order to build their false temple in its place. If we keep silent over their insolence, we forfeit our right to oppose them in the future…"


Father of TA attacker joins Jenin march held after terrorist Zubeidi's death
Palestinians marched in honor of terrorist Daoud Zubeidi in Jenin on Sunday. Daoud, the brother of former Al-Aqsa Brigades Commander Zakaria Zubeidi, died of wounds sustained in clashes with Israeli security forces in Jenin at the Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa last week.

Among those who joined the march was Fathi Hazem, who threatened Israel in remarks to the crowd. The father of Ra'ad Hazem, who killed three Israelis in a terrorist shooting at a Tel Aviv bar last month, Fathi has refused to turn himself in unless Israel hands over his son's body.

Meanwhile, Otzma Yehudit party leader Itamar Ben-Gvir has faced threat threats over his protest of the Israeli decision to provide Zubeidi with medical treatment at the entrance to his hospital room.

Zubeidi was seriously wounded in the Jenin clashes and was transferred to Israel for medical treatment at the Palestinians' request.


Elections in Lebanon: Hezbollah set to lose majority in parliament
The Lebanese Forces party has won at least 20 seats in Lebanon's parliamentary election, the head of its press office said early on Monday, in a significant win for the Christian faction that is vehemently opposed to Shi'ite movement Hezbollah.

Hezbollah and its allies are likely to lose their majority in the Lebanese parliament, three sources allied to the group said, a result that would mark a major blow to the heavily armed faction and reflect anger with ruling parties.

While results from Sunday's election have yet to be finalized, the senior sources said it was improbable Hezbollah and its allies would secure more than 64 of parliament's 128 seats, citing preliminary results. An official at Hezbollah's media office could not immediately be reached for comment.

Supporters of Hezbollah and the Christian Lebanese Forces clashed and polling monitors were threatened as Lebanese citizens voted in the first parliamentary elections since the economic crisis in the country began.

As of 6:30 p.m., shortly before polls closed, 37.5% of eligible voters had voted throughout Lebanon.


Mufti of Mount Lebanon: Hizbullah Deals with Drugs, Is Obstacle to Democracy and Freedom in Lebanon
Sunni Mufti of Mount Lebanon Sheikh Muhammad Ali Al-Jozo said in a May 7, 2022 interview on Al-Arabiya Network (Saudi Arabia) that Hizbullah is an obstacle to democracy and freedom in Lebanon. He elaborated that Hizbullah wants to implement an Iranian enterprise in the region, and that this would bring the entire region to a sectarian religious conflict. He also said that the decay, weakness, bankruptcy, poverty, and hunger in Lebanon are because of Hizbullah.




The Emir of Qatar Went to Iran to Salvage the Nuclear Deal
Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifah Al Thani, conducted a daylong visit to Iran on May 12. The Emir’s previous visit was in January 2020 amid the Iranian-U.S. tensions over the assassination of Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani. Saeed Khatibzadeh, spokesman of the Iranian Foreign Ministry, said the visit was a follow-up to President Ebrahim Raisi’s visit to Qatar, and that the president will soon visit another Gulf State. Al Thani was the second leader of a regional state to visit Tehran, just a few days after the surprising May 8 visit by Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The Qatari Emir’s visit almost coincided with a visit by Enrique Mora, EU deputy secretary-general for foreign policy and coordinator of the Joint Commission for the nuclear agreement, who arrived in Iran a day earlier in a “last attempt” to salvage the Vienna nuclear talks. It seems that the main purpose of the Emir’s visit was to harness Qatar’s special regional and international posture—“a non-NATO ally of the United States”—and its improving relations with both the United States and Iran in a bid, likewise, to salvage the nuclear deal.

The Emir is then slated to visit France, Germany, and Britain. On the agenda will be the supply of gas to Europe—as well as the issue of the sanctions on Iran, amid the efforts to bring the United States back to the nuclear deal and the difficulties posed by Iran’s insistence on removing the Revolutionary Guards from the U.S. State Department’s list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) as the administration keeps vacillating on the issue.1

In Mora’s recent visit to Washington, he was told that the United States will not accede to Iran’s demand to drop the Revolutionary Guards from the list, to which it was added in the Trump years as part of the “maximal pressure” policy. During the Tehran visit, Mora was expected to present a compromise formula that is acceptable to Tehran, which, for its part, is signaling that it is prepared to continue the talks, subject to its conditions, and perhaps also to discuss the Revolutionary Guards issue separately. In any case, in the absence of an agreement, Iran is continuing to advance its nuclear program. EU Foreign Minister Joseph Borrell recently confirmed that Europe is seeking an interim formula that could unfreeze the talks and that Mora’s visit is the “last push” on the issue.
Iran to consider postponing death sentence of academic convicted of aiding Israel
Iran could postpone the death sentence expected later this month against Iranian-Swedish academic Ahmedreza Djalali, the foreign ministry spokesman said on Monday.

ISNA news agency had reported earlier this month that Djalali would be executed by May 21, after he was sentenced to death in 2017 over espionage for Israel.

“Mr. Djalali’s sentence is definite, as the judiciary had announced,” foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told reporters.

Asked if Djalali and his lawyers had requested a review of the sentence, Khatibzadeh said: “They have requested that the execution be done at another time.”

“It is being considered… the judiciary will naturally follow up on the case,” he said.

UN envoy Enrique Mora has called for the release on “humanitarian grounds” of Djalali, during a visit last week to Iran to help revive the 2015 nuclear pact with Western powers.

“I want to underline that in Tehran I raised the need to stop execution of #AhmadrezaDjalali and asked for his release on humanitarian grounds,” Mora tweeted after the two-day visit which ended Friday.

Djalali, who was based in Stockholm and worked at Karolinska Medical Institute, was arrested during a visit to Iran in April 2016.
Iranian Oberlin professor urged murder of author Salman Rushdie
The Islamic Republic of Iran’s former ambassador to the UN Mohammad Jafar Mahallati advocated the fatwa to execute the US and British writer Salman Rushdie in 1989 for the author’s novel showing the Muslim prophet Muhammad irreverently.

Oberlin College’s embattled professor of Islamic studies, Mahallati, is now confronted with an additional allegation about his role in a plot to assassinate one of the world’s most distinguished and famous writers.

In an extensive 2018 report, Amnesty International said Mahallati was complicit in “crimes against humanity” for his reported cover-up of the massacre of at least 5,000 political dissidents in 1988.

According to a 1989 Reuters report, when Mahallati was asked about the then-supreme leader Ruhollah Khomeini’s fatwa and the “right to put a bounty on someone's head,” Mahallati replied: "I think all Islamic countries agree with Iran. All Islamic nations and countries agree with Iran that any blasphemous statement against sacred Islamic figures should be condemned."

Mahallati said "I think that if Western countries really believe and respect freedom of speech, therefore they should also respect our freedom of speech. We certainly use that right in order express ourselves, our religious beliefs, in the case of any blasphemous statement against sacred Islamic figures. “

After Khomeini issued his fatwa because of Rushdie’s book The Satanic Verses, the author was forced to go into hiding. Iran’s regime increased the bounty on Rushdie’s life. The clerical regime refused to sign an agreement that would bar the assassination of Rushdie on European soil.

Khomeini’s successor Ali Khamenei continued to enforce the fatwa to kill Rushdie.




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