Thursday, June 09, 2022

06/09 Links Pt1: Feeding Palestinian delusions; Fatal blow to JCPOA if Iran doesn’t restore access within 3-4 weeks - IAEA; U.S. Aid to Israel Is a Boon to American Taxpayers

From Ian:

Feeding Palestinian delusions
If the administration were consistent about its claim to be concerned with human rights, it would refuse to provide a nickel to the Palestinians until they ended their abuses, which include paying salaries to terrorists who have murdered Americans, continuing to incite violence, denying their people civil and political rights, and being so corrupt and inept that the overwhelming majority want Abbas to resign.

Then again, Biden is also going to grovel when he arrives in Saudi Arabia as part of a scheduled trip next month. After making a point of criticizing the Saudis’ human-rights violations and shunning Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for his role in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, the president now believes, like his predecessors, that it is more important to be solicitous of the Saudis. He needs Saudi goodwill to increase the flow of oil to lower gas prices and perhaps save his presidency.

The difference is the United States does not need anything from the Palestinians and has no reason to care about their feelings.

Sadly, the Europeans, the United Nations, and the Palestinians’ cheerleaders in America and elsewhere continue to feed Palestinian fantasies that they can achieve their goals through petulance and claims of victimhood.

Instead of returning to the old, failed policy of making unilateral concessions, the administration should be putting the screws on Abbas. Alas, as we’ve seen in the administration’s negotiations with Iran, appeasement seems to be Biden’s modus operandi.

Other than the progressives sabotaging his domestic agenda and impeding his foreign policy, and the Arabist hacks he brought back into the government, what constituency does Biden think he is serving with his policy towards the Palestinians? His policies towards both the Palestinians and Iran are entirely out of step with the views of our regional allies.

On this one occasion, Biden should channel Donald Trump and read the riot act to Abbas. Instead of showering him with gifts and promises of pressuring Israel and opening a Jerusalem consulate, the president should lay down the law that the Palestinians won’t get economic or diplomatic support until they fall in line with American values and interests; stop the corruption and human-rights abuses; halt payments to terrorists; end incitement; and accept the reality that Israel is here to stay.

Oh, and I believe the words you’re looking for Mr. Abbas, are “Thank you.”
Why Biden Needs to Fight, Not Appease, the Enemies of Peace
While Hamas and the Houthis target Israel, the Palestinian Authority (PA) leadership, in addition to that, continues to act against the interests of its own people. PA President Mahmoud Abbas appears to be encouraged by the unconditional support he is receiving from the Biden administration, to the point where he feels free to continue denying his people good governance and judicial due process.

All signs now indicate that most people in the region are fed up with the anti-peace camp in the Arab and Muslim world, especially with Iran's proxies Hamas, the Houthis and Hizbollah, all of which have offered the region, including the Palestinians, nothing but violence and bloodshed.

Whenever Abbas feels encouraged by the US, he sees that support as a green light, this time from the Biden administration, to impose more suppression on his people and to whip up violence in the region.

Does the Biden administration really want as its legacy that it backed, encouraged and funded unscrupulous, violent regimes – the Taliban in Afghanistan, the Chinese Communist Party, the state sponsor of terrorism Iran, the illegitimate rule of Venezuela's Maduro – and the corrupt government of Mahmoud Abbas?

Meanwhile, Iran's proxy, Hamas -- whose charter calls not only for the elimination of peace but also of all Jews -- continues to urge Arabs and Muslims not to normalize their ties with Israel.

Iran, among other atrocities, imprisons attorneys for defending human rights, executes minors, and criminalizes human rights activism. If that is how Iran's regime treats its own people, what makes anyone think it will treat other countries -- in the region or in Europe -- any better?

And in a rare occurrence, according to the veteran Iranian journalist Amir Taheri, demonstrators in Iran have recently been publicly calling for regime change.

The Pakistani minister, however, is mistaken if she thinks that firing a journalist will support the rights of the Palestinians. Such myopic measures only support and embolden the enemies of peace, stability and human rights in the Middle East: Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Houthis, the Muslim Brotherhood, Turkey and Iran.
Stop worrying about international opinion
It's a lesson Israelis should have learned long ago. Still, the experience of the last 12 months should have reminded them of it again. Those who bash Israel as an oppressor or embrace the big lie that it is an "apartheid state" aren't interested in what it does. They hate it because of what it is: a Jewish state.

That's once again relevant because of the end of an experiment that should have conclusively proved that the calumnies about apartheid and oppression are absurd. The presence of Mansour Abbas's Ra'am Party – an Arab faction that is, in principle, opposed to Israel's existence and believes in the institution of an Islamist regime in its place – in the government of Israel should have put an end to discussions about apartheid. It was a decisive piece of evidence (though hardly the only one) that showed that the Jewish state is a lively democracy based on equality under the law for all its citizens, both Jewish and non-Jewish.

Yet throughout the last year, the vituperation against Israel not only failed to be quieted. It actually increased with the BDS movement in the United States continuing to promote hate while retaining support from influential leaders of the intersectional element that dominates the left-wing of the Democratic Party.

Nor did the nest of Israel-haters and anti-Semites of the UN Human Rights Council stand down from its obsession with attacking the Jewish state. Its open-ended "Commission of Inquiry" is still pushing the apartheid lie as part of a campaign to delegitimize Israel and isolate Israel as a pariah state.

Instead, the likely fall of the government in which Abbas and Ra'am have served as a destabilizing factor will be seized upon as fodder for more "criticism" of Israel than is merely thinly veiled anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism.

After the events of the last few days, it appears more than likely that Israel's experiment in a multi-party coalition that spanned the ideological spectrum is about to come to an end. Defections from the government led by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid have created a situation in which it cannot pass vital legislation. While it is still fighting for life and engaging in desperate maneuvering to hold onto power, few observers believe that it can survive much longer.


The Caroline Glick show: Iran crosses nuclear threshold as Israel, US fight amongst themselves | Mideast News Hour
In this week’s episode of “Mideast News Hour,” Caroline Glick is joined by Dr. David Wurmser, a senior Middle East policy advisor in both the Bush and Trump administrations. They discuss: - Why the International Atomic Energy Agency’s announcement that Iran has crossed the nuclear threshold has gone virtually unremarked by Israeli and American media? - How both the US and Israel are now governed by post-nationalist governments. - American domestic struggles, as parents are not able to feed their children. - The unheralded world-changing legacy of the First Lebanon War.


JPoest Editorial: UN continues to show bias against Israel
Israel slammed the report and said it was “nothing more than a waste of money and effort of the United Nations’ systems” and “part and parcel of the witch hunt being carried out by the Human Rights Council against Israel.”

UN Watch executive director Hillel Neuer also criticized the document, highlighting how it turns a blind eye to Palestinian terrorism.

“The report turns a blind eye to Palestinian terrorism and embraces the Hamas narrative that Israel is the root cause of all conflict,” he said. “This is exactly what we expected from Navi Pillay, who actively lobbies governments to ‘sanction apartheid Israel’ and to condemn Israel for the very conflict that she is meant to investigate.”

As an example, Neuer counted the number of times Israel and Hamas appeared in the report. Israel was mentioned 157 times, Hamas just three and Islamic Jihad and Iran not even once.

What the United Nations fails to realize is that reports like these do not help solve the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. They encourage it. The Palestinians – and specifically terrorist groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad – receive a feeling from reports like these that their crimes can go unpunishable and that there is no reason for them to stop attacking innocent civilians.

The US State Department recognized this, calling the report out and saying the “Commission of Inquiry in its current form is a continuation of a longstanding pattern of unfairly singling out Israel.”

“As we have stated repeatedly, we firmly oppose the open-ended and vaguely defined nature of the UN Human Rights Council’s Commission of Inquiry on the situation in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza, which represents a one-sided, biased approach that does nothing to advance the prospects for peace,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said.

The hypocrisy of the Human Rights Council never ceases to amaze. Mauritania, Pakistan, Somalia and Qatar all have laws to kill homosexuals and all have seats on the UN Human Rights Council. China, not exactly a country known for its upstanding record on human rights, also sits on the council.
Why the U.N.'s Navi Pillay Commission Lacks Any Credibility
Navi Pillay must recuse herself from the U.N. inquiry on Israel because she fails to meet the minimum impartiality requirements under the U.N.'s own code of conduct. Pillay lobbies countries to “sanction apartheid Israel,” and condemned Israel as guilty in the very war she is meant to examine. She must resign immediately, or be removed. Sign the petition


Israel: Commission of Inquiry Report Reflects Human Rights Council's Extreme Anti-Israel Bias
The report published Tuesday by the Human Rights Council's Commission of Inquiry is part and parcel of the witch hunt being carried out by the Human Rights Council against Israel. It is a biased and one-sided report, tainted with hatred for the State of Israel and based on a long series of previous one-sided and biased reports.

The report disregards years of murderous terrorism by Palestinian terrorist organizations against Israeli citizens, as well as the Palestinians' long-standing obstinacy and the vicious and anti-Semitic incitement carried out by the Palestinian Authority and its networks. The Commission ignored the real reasons that led Israel to defend its citizens against the murderous terrorist organizations that are committing a double war crime: firing at Israeli civilians from within civilian areas in Gaza.

The Commission of Inquiry and the biased report it published are the result of the Council's extreme anti-Israel bias. The Commission members were only appointed to their roles because of their public and well-known anti-Israel stances, in direct opposition to the rules set out by the United Nations.

The State of Israel will continue to protect its citizens in accordance with the highest international values and standards.
Critics Blast New UN Report Condemning Israel for 11-Day War With Hamas
The United Nations is out with another report on Israel that is being condemned by critics as biased and one-sided. This one, released by the Human Rights Council, looks into the war between Israel and Hamas in May 2021.

After last year’s 11-day war, the UN Human Rights Council established a commission to investigate the conflict although its mandate went much broader.

“It’s unprecedented in terms of scope, in terms of geographic location and most significant in terms of timing. It’s meant to look at the root causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict stemming from the war last May but is something that can go back to before 1948 when Israel was established and in perpetuity into the future as well,” said Arsen Ostrovsky, a human rights lawyer and CEO of the International Legal Forum.

The 18-page report delves into the overall Israeli-Palestinian conflict and concludes by placing the blame on Israel.

It states that “the findings and recommendations relevant to the underlying root causes were overwhelming directed towards Israel and the report, therefore, reflects this.”

It cites Israel’s “occupation” as a major cause, specifically finding that “the Israeli policy and practices of establishing settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, including east Jerusalem, have no legal validity, and constitute a ‘flagrant violation’ under international law and a major obstacle to peace.”

Even though Hamas and other terror groups fired more than 4,000 rockets into Israel, the report cites Hamas only three times and Israel 157. There is also no mention of Iran, which funded and armed Hamas during the war.

At the Geneva UN headquarters, Israeli Attorney Nitsana Darshan-Leitner led a demonstration against the report and to “expose the real face of the Human Rights Council of the UN.”

Dashan-Leitner compares the council “to none other than terrorists.”

“In the end of the day, both the UN Council and the terrorists have the same goal – to destroy the state of Israel. The UN uses diplomatic means, fake reports, blood libels, and the terrorist organizations using military means, terror attacks and missiles against Israel,” she told CBN News.
U.S. Jewish Leaders Condemn Anti-Israel UNHRC Report
The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations said Wednesday: "We strongly condemn the blatantly biased report by the UN Human Rights Council's Commission of Inquiry....The report ignores the actions of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other terrorist entities while placing disproportionate blame on Israel for supposedly perpetuating the conflict."

"The COI, headed by commissioners whose anti-Israel bias has been firmly established by years of quotes and writings, has opportunistically applied its inappropriate mandate and disproportionate budget to condemn Israel's defensive military action to protect its civilian population from existential threats."

"We strongly support Israel's right to defend itself in accordance with international law and call on the nations of the world to join us in labeling this document and its commission as the anti-Israel farce that it is."
Israeli reservists protest new UNHRC report dubbed ‘Goldstone 2.0’
Pro-Israel observers say the findings of the first report issued by the U.N. Human Rights Council’s Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory were a foregone conclusion given the proven anti-Israel bias of the commission’s three-judge panel.

The report, issued on Tuesday and due to be presented to the HRC on June 13, states that Israeli “occupation” is the root cause of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

“This is Goldstone 2.0,” said Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, founder of Shurat HaDin Israel Law Center, referring to the 2009 U.N. report by the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, popularly known as the Goldstone Commission, which accused Israel of committing war crimes during its 2008 operation against terrorists in Gaza.

Noting that it was the Goldstone Commission that spurred widespread accusations of war crimes against Israel that continue until the present, Darshan-Leitner said the stakes are high as the new commission, which was created in the wake of the May 2021 conflict between Israel and Hamas, will paint Israel as an apartheid state.

“That immediately raises the conflict to the next level. What do you do to an apartheid state? You do to it what you did to South Africa. You start to sanction it. You start boycotts to pressure it to consent to whatever conditions you want it to meet. This is the danger,” she said.

Darshan-Leitner expects the commission’s reports to be used as ammunition against Israel at the International Criminal Court in the Hague, which could lead to Israeli soldiers finding themselves under arrest at international airports.

“The Human Rights Council of the United Nations is the most anti-Semitic body in the world. You can’t play by their rules,” she said. Speaking from Geneva, where the HRC is headquartered, she said, “Their game is we have to accept the judgment of their court, which is biased against Israel. We need to be creative in how we fight it.”


PM Bennett lands in Abu Dhabi
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett landed in the United Arab Emirates on Thursday afternoon.

According to the Prime Minister's Office, the primary reason for the one-day visit to Abu Dhabi was Bennett's desire to personally convey his condolences to President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan over the death of his brother Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, last month.

President Isaac Herzog embarked on an official condolence visit to the UAE – Israel's partner in the Abraham Accords alongside Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan – soon after Sheikh Khalifa's death was announced.

Arriving at the UAE, Bennett was received by UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed. He is expected to meet with the Emirati ruler later in the day in his private palace.

The PMO said the two leaders will discuss "a host of regional issues," including the Iranian threat.

Ahead of his departure, Bennett said, "I am about to travel to the UAE to express to the royal family my and the Israeli public's condolences on the death of President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, who helped pave the way for a partnership between Israel and the Emirates.

"I will meet with President Mohamed bin Zayed – a visionary and a brave leader. Together, we will build another tier in the special relationship forged between our peoples, for the sake of their security and prosperity."

This is Bennett's third meeting with the UAE leader and his second visit to Abu Dhabi. The first took place in December and was the inaugural visit by an Israeli leader to the Gulf kingdom. He met with bin Zayed in March, in Egypt.


US Embassy's Palestinian unit renamed, to report directly to State Department
The Biden administration is restoring a line of communication for the Palestinians that had been canceled by former President Donald Trump.

The move, announced Thursday ahead of a possible visit by President Joe Biden to Israel and the West Bank, means Palestinians will deal directly with the State Department in Washington rather than go through the US Embassy in Israel first. Reflecting the change, the former Palestinian Affairs Unit changed its name Thursday to the Office of Palestinian Affairs (OPA)

The decision falls short of the Palestinian demand that the United States reopen its Jerusalem consulate, which for years functioned as a de facto embassy to the Palestinians. The Trump administration shuttered the consulate, in one of a series of controversial moves that favored Israel over the Palestinians.

Under Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledged to reopen it, a move that Israel said would challenge its sovereignty over the city. It was thought that such a reopening could help mend US ties with the Palestinians, ruptured under Trump. The US has so far failed to reopen the consulate, apparently in fear of upsetting ties with Israel or destabilizing its fragile coalition government.
Republicans Want To Slash Aid to Iraq, Lebanon, and the United Nations
Congressional Republicans want to slash funding to the United Nations, Lebanon, and Iraq, and cut off funds that allow the Biden administration to implement a new nuclear deal with Iran.

The Republican Study Committee, Congress’s largest conservative caucus, unveiled on Thursday its fiscal year 2023 budget proposal, a portion of which was exclusively obtained by the Washington Free Beacon. The Republican budget proposal’s national security section includes landmark provisions that would significantly reshape U.S. foreign policy by nixing millions of dollars in spending in the region.

In addition to cutting foreign aid projects that Republican lawmakers say benefit Iranian-controlled militants such as Hezbollah, the RSC is moving to codify legislation that would bar the Biden administration from spending taxpayer dollars to implement a new nuclear deal with Tehran—effectively killing the deal the moment it is signed. At the same time, the budget would increase U.S. funding to Israel so that it can counter Iran and its regional terrorist proxies.

While Democrats are likely to oppose a majority of the proposals, the budget is meant to send a message to the White House that if they take a majority after the November elections, Republicans will work to undermine the administration’s foreign policy agenda.

"After two years of Joe Biden, the world is more chaotic and dangerous than ever before," said Rep. Jim Banks (R., Ind.), RSC chair and a member of the House Armed Services Committee. "But one thing hasn’t changed since Trump was in the White House: a strong America will always make the world safer. RSC’s budget provides a blueprint for taking on Iran’s terrorist regime, Putin’s aggression, and the new threat of jihadist terrorists in Afghanistan."

The RSC wants to slash U.S. aid to "Iranian puppet regimes in the Middle East," particularly Lebanon, which is controlled by Iran’s terror proxy, Hezbollah. The United States has long propped-up the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), despite overwhelming evidence they are loyal to Hezbollah.
Sen. Gillibrand requests additional funding to combat antisemitism, strengthen US-Israel ties
United States Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) is leading bipartisan colleagues to urge the Senate to increase funding to combat antisemitism and strengthen the US-Israel relationship, her office announced on Wednesday.

Earlier this month, Gillibrand requested Senate appropriators provide $500 million to fully fund US-Israel missile defense cooperation. She also joined senators Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND) in requesting that Senate appropriators support the US Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Holocaust Education programming as authorized under her bipartisan legislation, the Never Again Education Act, which was signed into law in 2020.

Now the New York Democrat is requesting an additional $2 million for the US-Israel Homeland Security Program and $6 million for the US-Israel cybersecurity cooperation grant program created through the US-Israel Cybersecurity Cooperation Enhancement Act via the FY2022 National Defense Authorization Act.

“Our Jewish neighbors and community members should not feel threatened by antisemitism; such prejudice has no place in this country,” said Gillibrand. “It is important for all of us to commit to combating antisemitism here at home and across the globe, whether it’s condemning hateful rhetoric at the local level or working with our international counterparts on cybersecurity cooperation.

"Every single person deserves the right to live free from the threat of hate, and until that is reality, I will always stand with, and fight for, the Jewish community.”
U.S. Aid to Israel Is a Boon to American Taxpayers
The U.S. does not give foreign aid to Israel. The U.S. makes an annual investment in Israel that provides the American taxpayer a return of several hundred percent. Israel serves as a battle-tested, cost-effective laboratory for the U.S. defense and aerospace industries, as well as for the U.S. military itself, which enhances U.S. performance on the battlefield.

For example, the Israeli Air Force flies the U.S. F-16 and F-35 combat aircraft, providing both Lockheed-Martin and the U.S. Air Force with invaluable information on operations, maintenance and repairs that is then used to manufacture a multitude of upgrades for next-generation aircraft. The F-16 has been improved by several hundred Israeli-driven upgrades, including to the cockpit, fire control, wings and fuel tanks. This has spared 10-20 years of research and development which would have cost billions of dollars. Similar advantages are enjoyed by Boeing, the manufacturer of the F-15.

Furthermore, Israel shares its battle tactics with the U.S. Many U.S. battle tactics have been formulated based on Israeli combat experience. For example, U.S. special operations units and urban warfare specialists are trained by Israeli experts in neutralizing car bombs, improvised explosive devices and suicide bombers. U.S. combat pilots benefit greatly from joint maneuvers with highly-experienced Israeli combat pilots.

According to a former head of U.S. Air Force Intelligence, Gen. George Keegan, the U.S. would have to establish five CIAs in order to procure the intelligence provided by Israel. According to former U.S. Secretary of State Alexander Haig and Adm. Elmo Zumwalt: "Israel is the largest U.S. aircraft carrier, which does not require American soldiers on board, cannot be sunk and is deployed in a most critical region, sparing the U.S. the need to manufacture, deploy and maintain a few more real aircraft carriers and additional ground divisions, which would cost the U.S. taxpayer some $15 billion annually."
Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinians
Jordan has sustained a stable regime in contrast to the political chaos afflicting the Arab world in recent years. Amman did not face a popular uprising.

Jordan serves as a buffer state to hamper a possible Arab military onslaught from the east. This establishes a tacit alliance between the two countries: Jordan guards the eastern approaches to Israel, and Israel serves as a guarantor for Jordan's existence. Any potential aggressor from the east would encounter Israel's military intervention to thwart or preempt ground forces traversing Jordan and advancing toward Israel. An Arab incursion into Jordan or proximate military advances toward the Jordanian border would ignite a trip-wire Israeli response to secure Jordan and Israel in one stroke.

Jordan and Israel concluded a peace treaty in 1994, but their public relationship does not convey public trust and political calm. It is a "cold peace" and Amman sabotaged normalization from the start. No people-to-people peace, harassment of Israeli tourists, and few official Jordanian visits to Israel. Israel gives/sells water and gas to Jordan, while Jordan publicly humiliated Israel by terminating the leasing of agricultural lands at Tzofar in 2020.

In the wake of Palestinian riots on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem in April 2022, Jordanian Prime Minister Bisher al-Khasawneh "saluted every Palestinian...who throws rocks at the Zionists who pollute the Al-Aqsa Mosque." The Jordan Bar Association called on the government to sever diplomatic ties with Israel.

For the Palestinians west of the Jordan River, the incompatibilities with Israel are too formidable, the power differential too great, the level of mistrust too high, and the shortcomings of Palestinian nationhood too debilitating to enable the Palestinians to overwhelm Zionism and destroy Jewish statehood. Israel, entrenched and resolute, will not capitulate even in the face of widespread terrorism and/or global pressure.
Dubai International Chamber of Commerce to Open Office in Tel Aviv
The Dubai International Chamber of Commerce (Dubai International Chamber) plans to open an office in Tel Aviv, Israel’s Economy and Industry Ministry announced on Wednesday.

The office will help Israeli companies leverage their operations in the United Arab Emirates to expand their reach in markets across the Arabian Gulf, Africa and Asia, the ministry said in a statement.

“Last week, on behalf of the Government of Israel, I signed a free-trade agreement and a comprehensive economic partnership between Israel and the United Arab Emirates,” said Israeli Economy and Industry Minister Orna Barbivai. “In a meeting I held with the President and CEO of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce, Hamad Buamim, he announced our mutual goals to bring about rapid promotion of economic cooperation and to create new business opportunities.”

The chamber’s move, Barbivai continued, “reflects the strong commitment that the two countries attach to strengthening economic ties and creating new business opportunities.”

Buamim said in a statement that Israel was a “strategically important” market for Dubai, and was expected to become one of Dubai’s top 10 trading partners “within a few years.”

“Expanding our presence in Israel will allow us to achieve the goals of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement signed by the United Arab Emirates and Israel, build new bridges between the two business communities, and increase non-oil trade to $10 billion a year over the next five years,” said Buamim.
FBI Seizes ‘Incriminating’ Pro-Qatar Data Belonging to General Who Pushed for Full Palestinian Sovereignty
Remember General John Allen, a four-star US general whose vision for Judea and Samaria included a Palestinian state with full sovereignty inside the 1967 borders, with its capital in east Jerusalem, and with minor modifications for the settlement bloc?

If you were wondering why would a US four-star general be so remarkably hostile to Israel, inviting it, essentially, to commit national suicide, the answer was at least partially provided by the FBI this week: he is suspected of making false statements and withholding “incriminating” documents about his role in an illegal foreign lobbying campaign on behalf of Qatar.

According to Politico, FBI agent Babak Adib suggested in a search warrant application regarding Allen’s data, that the general is suspected of violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act: “There is substantial evidence that these FARA violations were willful.”

The FBI suspects that while lobbying U.S. officials, Allen failed to disclose “that he was simultaneously pursuing multimillion-dollar business deals with the government of Qatar.”

After five years, we finally understand why Gen. Allen was so sinister in his ignoring the fundamental truths of Israel’s relations with the PLO government in Ramallah, and why his plan was based on the complete acceptance of Palestinian demands for full sovereignty from the Jordan river to the 1949 armistice line, which meant no IDF soldiers anywhere in their state.

By the way, Gen. Allen’s response to Israel’s demand for defensible borders, which required an IDF presence in the Jordan Valley was to propose posting a US military contingency to replace the IDF in the Jordan Valley. He even suggested that an American force would provide Israel with “a degree of security equal or greater to that provided today by Israel’s deployment into the West Bank …” A promise whose realism was illustrated well during the final days of the US contingency in Afghanistan.
Israelis will be able to enter Qatar for FIFA World Cup
Israelis will be able to enter Qatar during the International Federation of Association Football's (FIFA) 2022 World Cup event in November, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, Defense Minister Benny Gantz, and Sports Minister Chili Tropper said in a joint announcement on Thursday.

This will be the first time that Israelis are accepted into Qatar without using a foreign passport.

"We are bringing today another political achievement that fills the hearts of fans," said Lapid. "The love of soccer and sport connects people [and] between states and the World Cup in November opens for us a gate to new warm relations. I congratulate all the partners and await the beginning of the competition."

A major achievement
The political achievement comes after several months of negotiations with FIFA.
Liberia to open official office in Jerusalem
Liberia announced on Wednesday it will open an official office in Jerusalem that will serve as a precursor to a full-fledged embassy in the future.

This makes the West African nation the fifth country to open a mission in the Israeli capital after the U.S, Guatemala, Kosovo, and Honduras.

Despite its relatively humble population size of around 5 million people, Jerusalem considers Monrovia an important actor on the multilateral stage that has been consistently standing alongside Israel in recent years, both at the United Nations and the African Union.

An official delegation from Liberia featuring cabinet ministers met with Deputy Foreign Minister Idan Roll and President Isaac Herzog, to whom they submitted a formal letter announcing their intention to open an official trade office in the city. During their meeting with Roll, the Liberians were very concrete about opening their office in Jerusalem and received a detailed explanation of the procedure.

They said they will finalize a request for a location in Jerusalem within a few weeks and that they wish to advance the move at full speed. Liberia also requested aid from Israel in agriculture, water management, and tourism.

After the meeting, Roll said that "Liberia is a true friend of the State of Israel and opening an official Liberian office in Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, is good news for the relations between the two countries."
Egypt's Gas Imports from Israel Hit All-Time High
In March, Egypt imported a record 720 million cubic feet of gas per day from Israel.

Egypt accounted for 26.5% of Israel's gas output during the first quarter of 2022.

The significant increase is primarily the result of the coming into play of the Arab Gas Pipeline (AGP), which connects Egypt with Jordan at the Red Sea and then extends to Syria and Lebanon.

Israel has access to this infrastructure through a pipeline that connects its own national transmission system to the AGP in northern Jordan.
Palestinian said killed by Israeli forces near Hebron during clashes
A 27-year-old Palestinian man was shot and killed by Israeli troops during clashes on Thursday afternoon in Halhul, near Hebron in the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority Health Ministry said.

According to the Israeli military, fighting broke out while troops were carrying out a raid on a Halhul business suspected of financing the Hamas terror group. Some NIS 1.1 million ($330,000) was confiscated during the operation and the business’s doors were welded shut, the army said.

“A riot broke out in which dozens of Palestinians threw stones, explosive devices, and Molotov cocktails at Israeli troops, who used riot control means and gunfire. Hits were identified,” the Israeli army said.

The PA Health Ministry identified the dead Palestinian man as Mahmoud Fayez Abu Ayhor. Hamas hailed Abu Ayhor as a “heroic martyr,” but did not claim him as a member of the terror group.

Palestinian health officials say three other Palestinians were rushed to Al-Ahli Hospital in Hebron after being struck by live fire. Another two were wounded with rubber bullets, according to the PA Health Ministry.
The Israel Guys: It’s About to Become the Wild West (Bank)
Due to its incredible instability at the moment, the Knesset failed to pass a law renewing civilian law in Judea and Samaria. This essentially leaves Israel’s heartland without any laws after the policy’s expiration at the end of June. Things could be about to get wild.

The question is, why does Israel need an emergency regulation to be able to apply sovereign law to Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria? This has been going on for 55 years, but the time has come to apply sovereignty to Israel’s biblical heartland. #sovereigntynow!


Arms Smuggling from Ukraine a New Concern for Israel
The flow of international military aid to Ukraine, combined with a lack of control by Western and Ukrainian authorities, is supplying advanced weaponry for black markets around the world.

There is multiple evidence of Western weapons crossing the Ukrainian border to where anyone with an interest and enough money can buy them.

A video of a Syrian fighter bragging about getting advanced Western weapons from Ukraine has circulated online.

The smuggler mentions that the weapons are reasonably priced and easily purchased. He then shows some anti-tank missiles and assault rifles.
It’s Final: Ateret Cohanim’s Purchase of Jerusalem Old City Properties is Legal
The High Court of Justice dismissed the Greek Patriarchate’s demand to overturn a ruling ordering the transfer of buildings it owned in the Old City of Jerusalem, to the Israeli Ateret Cohanim organization, a final judgment putting an end to the sprawling saga.

The judges rejected the Greek Patriarchate’s appeal of the district’s decision not to hold a retrial on the sale of the property at the Jaffa Gate (Sha’ar Yafo).

After an 18-year-long battle, the court on Thursday ruled again that the Greek Orthodox Church must honor a 99-year lease of three church properties it signed with the Ateret Cohanim organization in 2004.

This ruling is considered by all sides to be another victory for organizations working to boost the Jewish presence in the Old City of Jerusalem.

The Patriarchate rejected the ruling as “unfair, and not following any legal or logical basis.”

The ruling will allow Ateret Cohanim to resume its efforts to evacuate the Arab tenants from two of the large hotel buildings it purchased. The Hotel Imperial, Old City of Jerusalem. Photo: Elron Zabatany/TPS

Ateret Cohanim purchased the buildings near the Jaffa Gate for a 99-year lease which is renewable for an additional 99 years, through three front companies.

The Church claimed that former Church finance director Nikolas Papadimos was unauthorized to make the sale and was bribed by the Israelis.
PMW: Shocking farewell-will left by Palestinian teen seeking death as a Martyr
Yet another Palestinian teen has actively sought Martyrdom-death and achieved his goal in a confrontation with Israel.

Palestinian Media Watch has documented the PA and Fatah’s massive propaganda efforts promoting death as a “Martyr” for “Palestine” and Allah – even for Palestinian children.

Before Ghaith Rafiq Yamin, aged 16, went to throw a Molotov cocktail at Israeli soldiers, he left a will for family and friends to read on his social media accounts. Planning to put himself in a situation that would lead to his death, he explained in the will how he would like to be buried – “among children like himself” – a clear reference to other child and teen Martyrs. Yamin also requested they don’t put him in a refrigerator in a morgue because “he cannot stand cold” and encouraged friends and relatives “to always visit him and sit next to his grave”:
“Young Ghaith Rafiq Yamin (i.e., terrorist, threw a Molotov cocktail at Israeli soldiers), who was shot by the occupation and ascended to Heaven in Nablus in the early morning hours yesterday [May 25, 2022], knew in his heart for certain that after 16 springs, life was already over. He began to deal with the details of his death and how it would be in the period of an occupation that spreads death with every Talmudic (i.e., Jewish) prayer of settlers who have invaded the site, and who have dispersed their evil and their bullets into [the young Palestinians].

Ghaith left behind his last will on social media and with his friends. He let them know that he cannot stand cold, and instructed them that when the time came, they were not to put the body in a [morgue] refrigerator. The Martyr of dawn expressed hope that those participating in the funeral would choose the gravesite, and that he would be [buried] among children like himself. He knew for a certainty that they would be together, ‘alive with their Lord, receiving provision’ [Quran 3:169, Sahih International translation].

Ghaith cannot stand being alone. He invited his friends and his relatives to always visit him and sit next to his grave.”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, May 26, 2022]


Alleged Israeli Strike at Damascus Airport Said to Prevent Iran from Landing Cargo Planes
An unusual surface-to-surface missile attack targeting Damascus International Airport that took place two weeks ago and was attributed to Israel was successful in damaging some runways, preventing large cargo planes from landing at the airport.

As a result, Iran has been unable to land the Boeing 747 cargo planes it uses to deliver systems equipped with guidance technology for upgrading existing missiles into precision-guided missiles, Channel 12 news reported Tuesday.

Citing satellite imagery of the Syrian airport following the alleged attack, the report noted that runways at the site were bombed on both ends, shortening them significantly and preventing large planes from landing.

According to the report, the strategic strike achieved its purpose and helped address an issue of great concern for Israel — Iranian weapons and missile-improving systems shipped from Iran to its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah through Syria.

Israel has admitted to carrying out hundreds of sorties over Syria in the last decade, mostly to stymie attempts by the Islamic Republic to transfer weapons or establish a foothold in a country that borders Israel.

The attack that hit the Damascus International Airport on May 20, however, was unusual in that it used surface-to-surface missiles launched from the Golan Heights, the Syrian state-run broadcaster SANA reported.
Fatal blow to JCPOA if Iran doesn’t restore access within 3-4 weeks - IAEA
Iran has told the International Atomic Energy Agency it plans to disconnect 27 IAEA surveillance cameras and other monitoring equipment, the IAEA Director-General Rafael Rafael Grossi told its board on Thursday, according to diplomats at the meeting.

Grossi on Thursday warned that if Iran does not reverse its closing off of points of access to its inspectors within three to four weeks, it would be a “fatal blow” to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

He explained that the IAEA would no longer be able to estimate the status of the nuclear program.

Grossi went so far as saying that even if the US and world powers reached a new deal with Iran sometime beyond four weeks from now that his agency would be unable to competently advise them how much Tehran would need to reduce its nuclear program to prevent it from crossing the nuclear threshold.

The IAEA chief said that around 40 cameras would continue to operate.

Overall though, his sense was that within three to four weeks, the IAEA would lose its “point of continuity” at which it could estimate Iran’s nuclear status even based on a aprtial picture of data.

Iran's move appeared to be further retaliation for a resolution from the 35-nation IAEA Board of Governors criticizing Tehran for failing to explain uranium particles at undeclared sites, which was passed on Wednesday evening.

Tehran had already said on Wednesday it had begun further expanding its underground uranium enrichment and would switch off two of the UN nuclear watchdog's cameras.
Joint Statement by U.S., France, Germany, and UK on IAEA Resolution on Iran
The text of the following statement was released by the Governments of the United States, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

Begin text:
We, the Governments of France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States, welcome the IAEA Board of Governors’ adoption of a resolution responding to Iran’s insufficient cooperation with the IAEA on serious and outstanding safeguards issues relating to Iran’s obligations under its NPT-required safeguards agreement. The overwhelming majority vote at the IAEA Board of Governors today sends an unambiguous message to Iran that it must meet its safeguards obligations and provide technically credible clarifications on outstanding safeguards issues. Today’s resolution affirms the Board’s support for the independent, professional and impartial efforts of the IAEA to uphold the international safeguards system, which is essential to all of our security.

We urge Iran to heed the call of the international community to fulfill its legal obligations and cooperate with the IAEA to fully clarify and resolve issues without further delay. If Iran does this and the Director General is able to report that the unresolved safeguards issues are no longer outstanding, we would see no need for further Board consideration and action on these issues.
IAEA: Iran installing advanced IR-6 centrifuges at underground Natanz plant
Iran has begun installing advanced IR-6 centrifuges in a cluster at an underground enrichment plant in line with a longstanding plan and now intends to add two more such clusters, or cascades, the UN nuclear watchdog told its member states on Wednesday.

The moves are described in a confidential International Atomic Energy Agency report sent to member states shortly before the IAEA's 35-nation Board of Governors passed a resolution criticizing Iran for failing to explain uranium traces found at undeclared sites. Iran had warned of retaliation.

The IAEA report was seen by Reuters and confirmed by the agency.

Iran's commercial-scale fuel enrichment plant at Natanz is its biggest and was built underground, apparently to protect it from potential aerial bombardment.

A 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers only lets Iran use first-generation, IR-1 machines there but as the deal unraveled in the wake of Washington's withdrawal in 2018 under then-US President Donald Trump, Iran installed cascades of more efficient advanced centrifuges, like the IR-2m and IR-4.

For months, however, Tehran had held off on following through on its plan to install a cascade of IR-6 machines.
Enough of the ‘tenuous’ Iran nuclear deal — it’s time for Plan B
Though the credibility of a Biden Doctrine needs to be bolstered by updated U.S. contingency planning, joint exercises and enhanced force posture, America also must boost the military capabilities of its willing Middle Eastern partners on the frontlines and work to integrate their efforts more coherently into a regional defense network.

Foremost, this means supporting Israel’s freedom of action, which has borne the heaviest burdens of holding the line against Tehran. The United States should swiftly transfer key weaponry for which Israel already is arranging procurement, including KC-46A refueling tankers, additional F-35 aircraft, precision-guided munitions, and missile defenses.

Building on strategic opportunities created by the Abraham Accords, the Biden administration should find ways to incorporate Israel’s highly capable forces into U.S.-led joint military exercises, operations and maritime security task forces with its Arab partners. Additionally, serious efforts are urgently needed to build an effective region-wide air defense and shared early warning system to counter Iran’s alarming advances in missiles and armed drones. The United States should also explore ways to facilitate the transfer of Israel’s world-class air defense systems to the Gulf.

A potential Middle East summit next month, when the president visits Israel, offers the perfect opportunity to formally announce this strengthened U.S. approach that bears his name and to mend diplomatic fences with Riyadh and Abu Dhabi. Both of these vital partners have been deeply alarmed by the persistence of Plan A and have begun hedging toward some combination of China, Russia and Iran.

The administration also must enforce sanctions. Stringent penalties on violators of U.S. prohibitions against Iran’s oil exports — for instance, China — would choke off key revenue streams for the Iranian regime. Working with its European allies, the Biden team also should move to censure Tehran for its systematic stonewalling of international atomic inspectors and pursue “snapback” of legally binding United Nations sanctions in response to Iran moving to the brink of nuclear weapons capability.

The White House has said consistently it will move to Plan B if diplomacy fails to secure a JCPOA return. Iran has made clear that will not happen on anything remotely like acceptable terms; the United States must move on as well.
Israel Can Now Fly Its F-35 Jets to Iran without Midair Refueling
The Israeli Air Force has developed a new capability to be able to fly its F-35 stealth fighter jets from Israel to Iran without needing mid-air refueling.

In addition, the IAF recently integrated a new one-ton bomb into its F-35s that can be carried inside the plane without jeopardizing its stealth radar signature.

The IAF has held four large-scale drills simulating attacks against Iran over the last month.

The drills included confronting Iranian radar and detection systems, simulating long-range combat flights, and defensive measures against cyber weapons and electronic warfare systems.
German intel report shows Iran stepped up illegal attempts to aid nuke program
Iran has significantly intensified its efforts to obtain technology for its illegal nuclear program, Germany’s domestic intelligence agency said in a report released on Tuesday.

Fox News Digital reviewed the key passages in the 368-page document outlining security threats to Germany.

"The German domestic intelligence agencies were able to identify a significant increase in the indications of proliferation-related procurement attempts by Iran for its nuclear program," the report by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) reads.

The report covers the Iranian regime’s efforts during 2021, at a time when the U.S. and other world powers offered enormous concessions to Tehran in an effort to convince it to stop its work on its atomic weapons program.

A German intelligence agency cited Iran 59 times in a report showing that there "was suspicion of possible violations" of the Iran nuclear deal.

According to the German intelligence document, "If there was a suspicion of possible violations of the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the 2015 Iran nuclear deal], the BfV passed on the relevant information to the responsible authorities." Iran’s clerical regime is cited 59 times in the report.

The report refrained, with one exception, from detailing the nature of Iran’s nuclear proliferation activity and whether there were violations of the JCPOA, which is supposed to restrict Tehran’s efforts to expand its nuclear program.

The German Customs Investigation Bureau (ZKA) opened an investigation against a German citizen of Iranian origin in Norderstedt, near Hamburg, on "suspicion of having violated the Foreign Trade Law in three commercial cases. He is said to have been involved in procuring laboratory equipment and spectrometers for Iran’s nuclear and missile programs."


How Amazon Engages in Sanctioned Trade With Iran
Retail giant Amazon is reportedly busting U.S. sanctions on Iran by facilitating the sale of computer hardware to a foreign subsidiary controlled by the Iranian government and tied to the country’s terrorism enterprise, according to documents posted this week by WikiIran.

Amazon allowed a Turkish subsidiary of Iran’s Petrochemical Commercial Company, which is sanctioned by the United States, to purchase materials from an American supplier, according to leaked Iranian government documents. The United States has since 2010 sanctioned that company, which provides services to Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), the country’s paramilitary fighting force, a designated foreign terrorist organization.

This is not the first time Amazon has been caught violating U.S. sanctions on Iran. The online retail giant paid the U.S. government $134,523 in 2020 as part of a settlement for violating sanctions on Iran, Syria, and Crimea. Amazon said in government filings it may be civilly liable "for apparent violations of multiple [U.S.] sanctions programs" administered by the Treasury Department. This included providing "goods and services" to sanctioned Iranian entities. The sanctions violations were of particular interest to the U.S. foreign policy community due to Amazon’s standing as a government contractor that performs work worth tens of billions of dollars.

The latest information on Amazon’s potential sanctions violations was posted by WikiIran, a web portal that leaks internal Iranian government documents. The "original confidential documents" published by the site purport to show "how major Iranian petrochemical companies circumvent sanctions in order to fund Iran's Ministry of Defense [and the] IRGC's Quds Force."

The government documents center on Iran’s Petrochemical Commercial Company and an alleged network of shell firms that help it evade U.S. and international sanctions. The trade facilitated by Amazon is disclosed in one of the documents obtained by the site. The Washington Free Beacon could not independently verify the authenticity of the government documents.


Israelis have a gas after claims Iran killed Mossad agent named 'Fart'
While Iranian media often claims that attacks in Iraq are targeting "Mossad headquarters," their latest claim squeaked out a series of memes on Thursday after they reported that a Mossad commander named "Asa Flots" (which would mean "made a fart" in Hebrew) had been killed in a drone attack in Erbil.

Breaking (wind) news
The stink seems to have been first raised by the IntelSky Twitter account, which focuses largely on air traffic tracking.

The account tweeted "(Ilak Ron) Asa Flots, commander of the Mossad assassination unit, assisinated [sic] during an attack with kamikaze drone in Erbil, northern Iraq." The tweet has since been deleted.

Israeli social media users were quick to point out that the name "Asa Flots" would translate to "made a fart," ridiculing the latest Iranian claim of Mossad activity in Iraq.

"We would like to give our heartfelt condolences to the family of Asa Flotz. Like a waft in the wind, you were gone too soon. We toot our horns in your honour. Let's all remember his him by saying 'smell you later,'" wrote the Mossad Twitter account (not officially affiliated with the actual espionage agency).




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