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Thursday, June 02, 2022

06/02 Links Pt1: Israel, Saudi Arabia agree: Security arrangements in Straits of Tiran for flyover rights; How Can the Mere Presence of a Jew "Defile" the Al Aqsa Mosque?

From Ian:

Israel, Saudi Arabia agree: Security arrangements in Straits of Tiran for flyover rights
Israel is set to agree to new security arrangements allowing Egypt to transfer control of two islands in the Straits of Tiran to Saudi Arabia, which US President Joe Biden is expected to announce on his trip to the region at the end of the month.

There is currently a multinational force on the islands of Tiran and Sanafir, which Saudi Arabia does not want present once they control the islands.

Under a soon-to-be-announced deal, Israel will agree to have the forces stationed on what will remain Egyptian soil, several kilometers away.

In return, Saudi Arabia will allow Israeli airlines to fly over its airspace. Currently, only Israeli flights to the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain can fly over Saudi Arabia, as well as Air India flights to and from Israel.

Background
The multinational force has patrolled the islands, strategically located at the opening of the Red Sea and the only shipping route to Eilat, since Israel and Egypt signed a peace treaty in 1979. That condition came about because former Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser blocked the Straits of Tiran in the lead-up to the 1967 Six Day War.

Saudi Arabia had originally given Egypt control of the islands in the 1950s, and Egypt agreed to return them in recent years. Israel also agreed, in principle, in 2016, but alternate security arrangements were not finalized.

The Biden administration has been working to bring about an agreement between the sides, as first reported in Axios last month.

No public meeting between Israel and Saudi officials is planned to announce the agreement, but Biden will present it as his administration’s achievement during his trip to the region, in which he is expected to visit Jerusalem and Riyadh, at the end of the month.

While not denying the negotiations, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan made that diplomatic relations with Israel are not on the immediate horizon.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, bin Farhan said: “We have always seen normalization as the end result for a path [to peace],” with the Palestinians.

Similarly, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid told the Magazine, in an interview to be published Friday, that norm




JPost Editorial: Israel UAE trade agreement is a big deal
It’s a big deal for several reasons. First and foremost, it will boost economic ties between the two regional powerhouses, with trade already at an estimated $2.5 billion since ties were normalized. Marri, who forecasts that bilateral trade will hit more than $1 trillion over the next decade, declared that the deal “will create a new paradigm in the region.”

The agreement also serves as a model accord for future FTAs between Israel and Arab countries. Barbivay was spot-on when she hailed the historic importance of the “groundbreaking move,” saying it will serve as an “inspiration for the region” and “generate unlimited opportunities for business, for entrepreneurs from both countries.”

“Together we will remove barriers and promote comprehensive trade and new technologies, which will form a solid base for our joint path, will benefit citizens, and make it easier to do business,” she said, adding that it “can prove to nations and governments around the world that collaboration and dialogue are the best ways to turn challenges into opportunities.”

The Israel-UAE free trade agreement covers everything from regulation and customs to e-commerce and intellectual property rights. Some 96% of products traded between the countries – from food and agriculture to cosmetics and medication – will be exempt from customs duty, many immediately and others gradually.

In a significant step toward sealing the deal in January, Israel’s cabinet approved a joint Israel-UAE R&D fund to support tech projects involving Israeli and Emirati companies. Emirati Minister of State for Foreign Trade Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, who flew to Jerusalem last month to finalize the terms of the agreement and forecast that bilateral trade could double to $5b. by 2024, said it constituted “a new chapter in the history of the Middle East.”

“Our agreement will accelerate growth, create jobs and lead to a new era of peace, stability and prosperity across the region,” he tweeted. “Throughout the last 18 months, we have proven what can be achieved when disputes and differences are set aside.”

Israel’s Economy and Industry Ministry said bilateral trade with the UAE reached almost $900 million in 2021 – including products ranging from diamonds and minerals to electrical equipment and transportation materials.
Seth Frantzman: Israel and India Pledge to Strengthen Defense Cooperation
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz began his official visit to India on Thursday by paying tribute to fallen soldiers at the National War Memorial in New Delhi.

Gantz was then greeted by his Indian counterpart, Shri Rajnath Singh, as the two countries mark the 30th anniversary of their formal diplomatic relations and defense cooperation.

The ministers discussed global strategic challenges, military cooperation, defense industrial cooperation and joint R&D.

They also discussed a cooperation agreement signed between the Indian DRDO (Defense Research and Development Organization) and Israel’s Defense R&D Directorate, which will allow the expansion of technological collaboration between the countries by putting the focus on drones and defensive capabilities.

During the bilateral discussion, the ministers declared their intention to exploit Israel’s technological advancement and operational experience, as well as India’s extraordinary development and production capabilities.


Caroline Glick: The Dying Citizen – Conversation with Victor Davis Hanson
On May 26, I spoke with historian Victor Davis Hanson at the Tikvah Fund in Israel’s annual conservatism conference. Our conversation focused on his most recent book The Dying Citizen, and the way that Western elites are betraying their nations and ways of life, drawing parallels between the situation in the United States and Israel.


PodCast: The Pinsker Centre Ep. 23: Biden’s Blunders - An Overview of US Foreign Policy
In this episode of People Talk… Politics policy fellows Marina, Michelle and Jordan discuss various dimensions of US foreign policy.

Including, the withdrawal of Afghanistan. They ask how this has fed the notion of western weakness under the Biden, and potentially impacted Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine.

The episode also covers US-Israel relations, specifically how these have been affected by the war in Ukraine.
The UN Commission of Inquiry What You Need to Know
On June 13, the United Nation’s new Commission of Inquiry (“COI”) against Israel is scheduled to deliver its first report. Created after the conflict in May 2021, the COI is just the latest addition to the UN’s overflowing arsenal of weaponry against the Jewish state.

The COI is set to emulate the disgraced and widely ridiculed Goldstone Report – which accused Israel of committing crimes during Operation Cast Lead in 2008-2009 – that even its chairman, Richard Goldstone, ended up disavowing.

That’s not all, however. In many ways, the new COI makes the Goldstone Commission look tame by comparison. The new COI is widely expected to try to fuel the recent wave of “apartheid” libels being made against the Jewish state. With a mandate so broad as to allow the commissioners to question Israel’s very legitimacy, the COI represents the most obscene attack on the Jewish state since the infamous “Zionism as a form of racism” resolution.

Here is some basic background information that everyone, including both journalists and their audiences, needs to know about the COI. The Commissioners

The United Nations is not known for demonstrating objectivity or fairness, particularly when it comes to the Jewish state. Nonetheless, it attempts to portray itself as having some semblance of rules and professionalism.

Thus, when the UN creates commissions of inquiry, the criteria for “selecting and appointing” such commissioners include: (a) expertise; (b) experience in the field of the mandate; (c) independence; (d) impartiality; (e) personal integrity; and (f) objectivity.

As demonstrated below, all three of the COI members fall far short of these criteria.


How Can the Mere Presence of a Jew "Defile" the Al Aqsa Mosque?
There are large and powerful masses of people who passionately hate Jews and Israelis just because of our existence. The greater problem is those in the West who accept without question the claim that the mere presence of a Jew on the Temple Mount is a defilement. Acceptance of this claim is fueling anti-Semitism around the globe.

When Jews visit the site, they are said to provoke Muslim worshipers to commit violent acts. The violence, it is said, is completely understandable; the Jews brought it upon themselves. The Jews are told it's their fault, their responsibility, and that they deserve it. Simply because we are Jewish, our presence can be problematic. We can be Jewish if we insist, but we had better be quiet about it.

I am free to visit churches, pagodas, ancient temples, and even the Vatican in my global travels. However, my presence in Jerusalem, the capital of my country, is considered a problem that justifies violence. If human beings are allowed to access a certain site, it should be totally unacceptable to restrict access to some based on their religion.

Imagine security guards standing at the entrance to the Western Wall, inquiring about a person's faith and denying entry to any non-Jew. It would be considered outrageous!
The Israel Guys Daily: The Truth About the Jerusalem Day Riots
Were there riots in Jerusalem during the Jerusalem Day celebrations this past week? According to CNN and Reuters there was chaos in the streets of Jerusalem throughout the holiday. . . On today’s show Luke and Joshua bust the leftwing media’s news headlines with their accurate eyewitness accounts of what actually happened in Jerusalem. Plus they even give you their live footage of the celebrations!


Israel Guilty of ‘Indirect Chemical Warfare,’ Says Forensic Architecture and Terror-Linked Palestinian NGO
In the report, Forensic Architecture cites a “fluid dynamics expert” who claims there is a “high risk of ‘irreversible damage’ to human health” from the spread of hazardous chemicals from the warehouse — an accusation that is suggestive of the centuries-old antisemitic “poisoning the well” conspiracy.

The fact is, there is no evidence that the IDF deliberately targeted a chemical store. Rather, there is plenty of evidence that shows strikes on Gaza were aimed at taking out the vast network of tunnels being used by terrorists to store weapons and launch attacks.

Curiously, Forensic Architecture does not reveal the events that preceded Israel’s defensive actions in Gaza last year — Gaza’s terrorist rulers choosing to wage war by firing a salvo of rockets at Jerusalem on May 10.

As with Forensic Architecture’s last anti-Israel hit piece, which examined the supposed archeological crimes the Jewish state is perpetrating in Gaza, Hamas is not mentioned once in the entirety of the report.

For an investigation that is supposedly revealing the “ongoing environmental disaster imposed on Palestinians living in Gaza,” there is a total disregard for the actual ecological crimes that have been perpetrated by Hamas and continue to wreak havoc on the environment.

In 2018, Gazans assembled thousands of tires that were then burned at violent protests near the Strip’s boundary with Israel. Indeed, so damaging was the impact of the blazes that Jerusalem pleaded with the World Health Organization to step in to prevent “ecological catastrophe.”

“This is a serious environmental issue that will harm the health of the residents and will cause unprecedented air pollution,” wrote Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, the then-head of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom, adding: “I call upon you, as the head of an international organization whose goal is to promote health and protect natural and environmental resources, to do everything in your power to publicly warn against this ecological catastrophe and to protest Hamas’ irresponsible behavior.”

As HonestReporting has previously detailed, the burning of just one passenger car tire produces over two gallons (7.6 liters) of toxic oil runoff, inevitably contaminating soil and groundwater.
What stopped Hamas from attacking Israel on Jerusalem Day?
If Hamas wants, it can

This is a sign that Hamas is able to enforce its will on other terrorist groups if it so chooses.

“In light of the consensus within the resistance factions and their military wings to refrain from escalation at this stage, Palestinian Islamic Jihad decided to adhere to the consensus and not to provide the occupation with an excuse [to attack the Gaza Strip],” one of the sources said.

The sources denied that the terrorist groups refrained from attacking Israel out of fear of Israeli reprisal.

A Palestinian source in the Gaza Strip said Israel had threatened to resume targeted assassinations of Hamas and PIJ leaders if the two groups started firing rockets toward it. The threat was relayed to their leaders through Egyptian and Qatari mediators, according to the source.

The fear of a fresh wave of assassinations is also believed to be one of the reasons why Hamas and PIJ leaders chose not to engage in a violent confrontation with the Jewish state.

In an implicit reference to those ridiculing Hamas for its “empty threats,” the group’s leader, Ismail Haniyeh, said in a statement that “all options remain on the table, and we are ready for all scenarios.” So what is Hamas's excuse?

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem attempted to justify his group’s failure to carry out its threats by saying that despite their efforts, the mediators had failed to obtain a promise from Hamas not to escalate matters in the future.

“The contacts with Hamas were intense in light of the violations against Islamic and Christian sanctities,” he said. “Hamas informed the mediators that our people will not tolerate any aggression against their sanctities. The mediators tried to obtain a pledge from Hamas not to escalate matters, and this is unacceptable. We will continue our struggle, jihad [holy war] and fight until the liberation of our land.”
Palestinian shot dead by Israeli troops in West Bank after army says firebomb thrown
Israeli troops shot and killed a 17-year-old Palestinian near the security barrier in the central West Bank on Thursday afternoon, the Palestinian Authority Health Ministry said.

In a statement, the Israeli army said “three Palestinians hurled a Molotov cocktail at Israel Defense Force soldiers.” The soldiers responded by shooting at them.

“A hit was identified. There were no injuries to our soldiers,” the Israeli military said in a statement.

The Israeli army did not immediately respond to a request for comment as to whether Sadaqa had been the one to throw the firebomb.

Palestinian media identified the dead teenager as Odeh Mohammad Sadaqa. Palestinian health officials said Sadaqa had been shot in the chest before being rushed to Ramallah in critical condition.

“Doctors sought to save his life, but he passed away,” the PA Health Ministry said in a statement.
Israeli Forces Destroy Home of Bnei Brak Terrorist, Two Palestinians Killed in Violent Clashes
Violent clashes between hundreds of Palestinians and IDF soldiers broke out in the northern West Bank, as the army demolished the home of the terrorist who killed five Israelis in a March 30 shooting attack in the city of Bnei Brak.

The Israeli military said that during the overnight demolition in the village of Yabad in Jenin, Palestinian rioters hurled rocks and Molotov cocktails toward IDF soldiers and burned tires.

“Palestinian gunmen also shot at the soldiers,” the IDF said in a statement. “The soldiers responded with riot dispersal means, and live fire toward the gunmen.”

“Hits were identified,” the army said, adding that no injuries to IDF troops were reported.

Palestinian militant Bilal Kabha was killed during the clashes with IDF troops in Yabad, according to Palestinian officials. Palestinian media reports hailed Kabha as a martyr affiliated with the Hamas terror organization, and a member of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.

The Israeli army also arrested the father of the perpetrator in the Bnei Brak attack, Diaa Hamarsheh, for further questioning. Hamarsheh, a 27-year-old from the village of Yabad, carried out the gun attack in Bnei Brak, a city on the outskirts of Tel Aviv, and was also reportedly linked to the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade.

The IDF said forces destroyed Hamarsheh’s home after the family was notified on April 17 about the planned demolition, and after a petition from the family was rejected by Israel’s Supreme Court.


The Necessary Campaign to Destroy the Jenin Terrorist Hub
The Jenin area has recently emerged as a breeding ground of terrorism and a relatively easy theater of action for Islamic Jihad, the largest and strongest active organization there. Cooperation is developing with other organizations, especially Hamas, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades of Fatah.

Despite economic prosperity, relatively high employment rates, and the close connection with Arabs from Israel and the Israeli economy, Jenin has remained an active breeding ground for terrorism.

The feeling of achievement of Islamic Jihad and the atmosphere of incitement, in addition to the activity of Iran in the area and its major ongoing support for Islamic Jihad, are increasing the motivation and determination of the young generation to enlist in the terrorist campaign against Israel.

While special IDF operations aimed at arresting wanted terrorists seek to foil imminent terrorist attacks, armed Palestinians in the area are able to organize relatively easily.

The absence of a large-scale campaign designed to strike a major blow against all terrorist infrastructure is perceived as Israeli weakness, leading the terrorist groups in Jenin to show audacity by initiating clashes and the Hamas leadership to show arrogance and euphoria. Furthermore, this concern also affects Hizbullah and Iran, thereby eroding Israeli deterrence.

For this reason, the current policy in the Jenin area should be reconsidered, and the possible strategic value of a far more extensive campaign should be assessed to reshape the rules of the game in the Palestinian theater and counteract the impression that Israel is afraid to use force.


Yemen's Houthis criminalize ties with Israel
The Houthi rebels' government in Yemen on Wednesday passed legislation banning any normalization process with Israel, and criminalizing any contact with the Jewish state or its citizens.

The move follows a law passed in Iraq last week, which banned any normalization with Israel, including business ties, making them punishable by life imprisonment or death.

A statement by Houthi Prime Minister Abdulaziz bin Habtoor said that the move was driven by the fact that "Palestine is the foremost and principal issue of the Muslim world.

"We stand by the side of the Palestinian nation and its struggle in the face of Israeli threats to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and the occupied al-Quds city," Habtoor said, using Jerusalem's Arab name.

According to reports in Arab media, he further noted that "blatant Israeli provocations and violations" the Al-Aqsa – the third holiest site is Islam after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia – are "part of the Israeli regime's attempts to put itself in a victorious position" in the wave of the 2020 Abraham Accords.

On Sunday, a senior member of Iranian-backed Ansar Allah, the Houthis' so-called umbrella organization, urged the Arab world to boycott products made in countries that maintain any ties with Israel.
Iranian dissident group says it hacked 5,000 surveillance cameras in Tehran
Government-run surveillance cameras around Iran’s capital reportedly were “disrupted” Thursday, while an exile group claimed it hacked into over 5,000 cameras around Tehran ahead of commemoration events honoring the founder of the Islamic Republic.

The Young Journalists Club, an affiliate of Iranian state television, acknowledged the disruption on Twitter after the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq claimed it penetrated the cameras, including around the mausoleum of the late Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. The website for Tehran’s municipality also went down, as well as “communication systems” used by the city, the report said.

The semiofficial ISNA news agency later quoted Tehran’s municipality as acknowledging the hack.

The Mujahedeen-e-Khalq released a video clip it claimed showed the municipality website and others defaced with a graphic that criticized the “anti-human Khomeini.” It also included an image of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei with a red “X” over his face, as well as images of MEK leaders Massoud Rajavi and his wife, Maryam Rajavi, while calling for an “uprising until overthrow.”

“Down with Khamenei, Raisi, curses on Khomeini,” the graphic read.

Massoud Rajavi hasn’t been seen publicly in nearly two decades and is presumed to have died. Maryam Rajavi now runs the MEK. Khomeini, who led Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, died June 3, 1989.




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