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Wednesday, July 13, 2022

07/13 Links Pt1: Israel, US to declare ‘strategic partnership’ during Biden visit; Biden in Israel: You don't need to be a Jew to be a Zionist; Does Iran Have Biological Weapons?

From Ian:

Israel, US to declare ‘strategic partnership’ during Biden visit
The Jerusalem Declaration of the US-Israel Strategic Partnership will be a centerpiece of US President Joe Biden’s visit to Israel on Wednesday through Friday.

The agreement includes a joint stance against Iran’s nuclear program and regional aggression, with both countries saying they will use “all elements of national power” to ensure Iran never attains a nuclear weapon.

In addition, President Biden will reaffirm his commitment to Israel’s security, including its qualitative military edge and ability to defend itself by itself.

Helping Israel defend itself
The declaration states the US plans to follow up on the 10-year $38 billion Memorandum of Understanding on military aid signed with Israel, addressing emerging threats and new developments in the region.

Iran is at the top of Israel’s agenda for bilateral meetings with the Americans at all levels, including Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s meeting with Biden, a senior Israeli official said.

“Iran is continuing to violate its obligations and continues to deceive the international community,” the official said.

“Things published in recent weeks – and even just yesterday – statements by our American counterparts, reflected that,” referring to a remark by US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan that Iran plans to provide Russia with hundreds of drones.

When it comes to indirect negotiations between Iran and the US on the latter’s nuclear program, “Iran is playing for time,” the official added. “As long as Iran believes time is on its side, it will not give in or make any concessions. Time has run out [on the 2015 Iran deal], and it is crucial to exert pressure on Iran.”

Collaboration with the Biden administration on the Iran front is “very strong,” and Israel is grateful for it, the official stated, expressing hope that work on a joint strategy will be taken “to the next level” during Biden’s visit.
What Does Iran Think About Biden’s Visit? – Analysis
An Arab NATO?
Iran is also gambling on the fact that previous plans for a regional alliance, what some have called an “Arab NATO,” have never emerged. That means Iran believes Egypt and Jordan do not want to be part of any grouping that is perceived as anti-Iran.

The goal of using Zangeneh to discuss the visit is that if Iran is wrong, then the regime can simply move on, while the media used someone else to communicate the regime’s concerns. The article notes that the US cannot implement a regional partnership linking Israel and the Arab states because the US does not recognize how complex the region is.

“There are many obstacles in this field. America does not have the previous authority it once held to exercise its authority or to do this through military force. Of course, in the field of arms sales, America sells its military equipment and Saudi Arabia also buys it, but all these goals are lofty goals that cannot be achieved.”

The writer goes on to note that while normalization will continue, the US president will likely be in office for only another two years. That means, Iran believes, Riyadh might not gamble on any assurances from Biden.

In short, Iran is counting on regional complexity, Saudi caution, and Jordanian and Egyptian foreign policy to prevent the emergence of an alliance in the region that would exclude Iran. Iran is obviously concerned but it is waiting to see what will happen. It also appears to be concerned that it must tread carefully and not provoke a crisis while Biden is here.

That means Iran might be weighing whether it wants to use drones and missiles to attack or threaten Israel, Saudi Arabia or US troops in Iraq and Syria. Iran has used its proxies to carry out some 29 attacks since last October against US forces in Iraq and Syria. Of course, the lack of Iranian messaging does not mean that such attacks will not happen. However, Iran appears concerned about driving Israel and the Arab states into any kind of alliance.


Biden in Israel: You don't need to be a Jew to be a Zionist
US President Joe Biden reaffirmed his Zionism and the strong ties between the US and Israel in his remarks upon landing in Israel on Wednesday.

“You need not be a Jew to be Zionist,” Biden said, repeating past comments to which Lapid referred in his remarks at Ben-Gurion Airport.

The two-day visit to Israel is Biden’s tenth, but his first as president. Remarking on his first trip to Israel, in 1973, during which he met then-prime minister Golda Meir and Yitzhak Rabin, who later became prime minister, the president said he had “the great honor of living part of the history of this great place.”

“Every chance to return to this great country, where the ancient roots of the Jewish people date back to biblical times is a blessing,” he said. “The connection between the Israeli people and the American people is bone deep, and generation after generation that connection grows as we invest in each other and dream together.”

Biden spoke of US and Israel partnering on “the most cutting-edge defense systems in the world,” shortly before he went to a presentation by the Defense Ministry that included an Iron Dome battery and the laser-based Iron Beam missile defense system.

“We will continue to advance Israel’s integration in the region and expand emerging forms and engagements like new I2U2 summit,” of Israel, the US, India and the UAE whose leaders are set to convene via video link on Thursday, “to deepen the economic cooperation between the Middle East and Indo-Pacific,” the president said.

Biden said he will also discuss his “continued support – even though I know it’s not in the near term – for a two-state solution, which remains the best way for equal measures of security, freedom, opportunity and dignity for Israelis and Palestinians.”

The president spoke of his strong connection to Israel and the Jewish people going back to his childhood, when his father, a “righteous Christian” told him and his siblings about the Holocaust and “imbued in us a sense of obligation.”

Biden planned to visit Yad Vashem after departing from Ben-Gurion Airport, where he said he will “honor the six million Jewish lives stolen in the genocide and continue what we must do every day, to bear witness…and honor those we lost so that we never forget that lesson.”


JPost Editorial: Biden's visit to Israel should be smooth, successful and peaceful
Israel is rolling out the red carpet to greet US President Joe Biden on Wednesday afternoon, amid hopes that the visit – his first as president and 10th since 1973 – will be smooth, successful and peaceful.

Biden, a close friend and strong ally of Israel and the Jewish people, will be warmly welcomed at Ben-Gurion Airport by Prime Minister Yair Lapid and President Isaac Herzog. During his stay, he will also hold talks with a range of political figures, from Alternate Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Defense Minister Benny Gantz to opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu.

Although cabinet ministers, MKs and other dignitaries have been invited to the airport ceremony, they were informed that due to scheduling pressures, the COVID-19 pandemic and the warm weather, the American president will not shake hands with invited guests, and there will be no opportunity for personal photographs.

The Defense Ministry announced yesterday that it had completed the preparations for Biden’s arrival, including the construction of a secure compound to accommodate the hundreds of participants at the ceremony. The designated area includes a red carpet, some 150 seats, stages for journalists, photographers and a stage for speeches.

The Israel Missile Defense Organization (IMDO) has planned to put on a display for the president of multiple Israeli defense systems, including the Arrow, David’s Sling, Iron Dome and Iron Beam. This is significant because Israel has asked the US to grant it an additional $500 million in funding for Iron Dome replacement batteries after last year’s Gaza war.
Why Biden’s 10th visit to Israel must be his most productive
US President Joe Biden has been to Israel nine times before. As he recalled on his arrival here Wednesday afternoon, he has met with every Israeli prime minister since Golda Meir. He’s a Zionist. He “gets” Israel — recognizes its challenges, appreciates its achievements. By extension, in the summations of several Israeli commentators and analysts in the run-up to the president’s visit, the Israel leg of Biden’s Middle East trip is almost pro forma — a nicely intentioned “stopover,” to quote one such commentator, Dr. Yoel Guzansky, speaking on Army Radio on Tuesday evening.

“By the way, it’s not a visit to Israel,” said Guzansky, a senior research fellow at Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies and a former member of Israel’s National Security Council. Here, Biden will “meet old acquaintances… and stress the unbreakable bond.” But the real purpose of the Middle East trip “is to get to Saudi Arabia.”

There, in these assessments, the US president will be grappling with issues truly at the heart of the American interest, and especially the imperative to persuade the Saudis to boost oil production — undermining the Russian and Iranian economies and, most importantly for a president with his party’s November elections to worry about, bringing down gas prices for Americans.

I hope and believe the president and his team see things a little differently. I hope and believe they regard the Israeli and Saudi legs of this trip as intimately related and as critical — to the interests of the United States, its allies in the region, and especially its sole democratic partner in these parts. Because time is running out to stop Iran from attaining nuclear weapons capability. And the Biden administration, having tried and thus far failed to drag Iran back into the deeply problematic Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, urgently needs to finalize a Plan B.

Without breaching the flawed provisions of that 2015 accord, Iran has accelerated its missile development and improved its uranium enrichment centrifuges. Moreover, since US president Donald Trump’s withdrawal from it, Iran has openly violated its terms — installing and operating more advanced centrifuges, enriching uranium to higher levels and stockpiling increasing quantities. Most recently Iran removed the International Atomic Energy Agency’s surveillance cameras from key nuclear sites, including the Natanz enrichment facility.

This latest derisive Iranian step prompted the head of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi, to warn that in three to four weeks, without those cameras, his watchdog organization would be unable to maintain a “continuity of knowledge” about Iran’s program and it would then be “anybody’s guess” as to what was going on. Grossi issued that three-to-four-week warning on June 9, about five weeks ago. As regards Iran’s weaponization progress, its ability to mount a nuclear warhead on a missile and “successfully” deliver and detonate it — well, that’s already largely “anybody’s guess.”
Don't expect Biden's visit to Israel to 'make progress' - opinion
Don’t expect much from United States President Joe Biden’s Middle East visit. I’m speaking to Israelis, Palestinians, Saudis and, in fact, to the entire Middle East. I’m especially speaking to the citizens of the US.

What can be expected are those special Biden moments. His humor is accompanied by faux pas. And we will almost certainly be treated to at least a few malaprops or spoonerisms.

If you are looking for progress, policy changes or profundity into the dynamics of the region, lower your expectations now to avoid disappointment later.

This is Biden’s tenth trip to Israel, his first as president. And there seems to be a subtle purpose lurking behind this trip. Of course, The president will visit the obvious places all leaders do, including Yad Vashem, the national Holocaust museum.

He will be escorted to military bases. He will inspect the Iron Dome and the new laser beam anti-missile defense system, called the Iron Beam Laser Rocket Project. The two projects were designed together.

Biden will reacquaint himself with Israel’s caretaker, Prime Minister Yair Lapid. They met only once before, in 2013. The objective here will be to solidify the relationship and keep the US-Israel bonds strong. It will be a polite, albeit perfunctory, meeting.

Given that Israeli elections are scheduled for November 1, the caretaker prime minister does not have the ability to change Israeli policy. Biden will also meet with former prime minister Naftali Bennett. They met twice during the past year, but that will have no bearing on what happens from here on.

Former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, is on the list and this promises to be a very interesting meeting. The president needs to meet with the head of the opposition so as not to appear to be taking sides in the upcoming elections. They’ve known one another for decades and their relationship has weathered some really rough patches.
Arsen Ostrovsky: Biden must seize opportunities from Middle East trip
In 2018, Congress, supported by the Trump administration, took the principled step to enact the Taylor Force Act and cut funding to the Palestinian Authority, as long as the PA continued to use those funds for their nefarious “Pay to Slay” program, of paying salaries of Palestinian terrorists who murder Israelis. As PA President Mahmoud Abbas vowed to continue making these payments “even if it costs PA its last penny,” the Trump administration responded to cut some $200 million in direct aid.

In a Washington Post op-ed ahead of his visit to Israel and the region, Mr. Biden just proudly declared that his administration has restored approximately $500 million in support to the Palestinians.

However, Mr. President, money is fungible and in the absence of reform by the Palestinian Authority and a tangible commitment to peace, only frees up the capacity for the PA to continue making “Pay to Slay” terror payments with U.S. taxpayer dollars. It cannot be such that your administration, however well-intentioned in seeking to rebuild ties with the Palestinians, is helping to channel money to terrorists, thereby underwriting the murderer of Israelis, as well as American citizens.

No doubt during the visit, the Palestinians will also turn the death of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, into a focal point. As tragic as her death was, it has been made even more so by the Palestinian Authority’s exploitation of this case, by deliberately obfuscating and refusing to cooperate with Israel. Mr. Biden should simply offer his condolences and then reiterate the findings of the U.S. Security Coordinator, which “prevented a clear conclusion,” given the delay in investigating the alleged bullet and the extent of damage to it.

Lastly, in his meeting with Mr. Abbas, Mr. Biden ought to also make explicitly clear to the Palestinian people that Israel is not some temporary implant, and that ultimately, any real advancement of peace will be predicated on the Palestinian acceptance of Israel’s existence as a Jewish state, with millennia-old connection to this land. Simply put, we are not going anywhere and must find a way to live together!

With Iran on the precipice of a nuclear bomb and the Middle East at a critical juncture in time, it is imperative that Mr. Biden uses his first visit to the region as president to seize the opportunities presented before him while avoiding the pitfalls of the past.
Ruthie Blum: A return to the 'old' Middle East?
Returning to the topic of the mullah-led Islamic Republic, he wrote: "With respect to Iran, we reunited with allies and partners in Europe and around the world to reverse our isolation; now it is Iran that is isolated until it returns to the nuclear deal my predecessor abandoned with no plan for what might replace it."

He went on, "Last month, more than 30 countries joined us to condemn Iran's lack of cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency on its past nuclear activities. My administration will continue to increase diplomatic and economic pressure until Iran is ready to return to compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal, as I remain prepared to do."

That Tehran never complied with the JCPOA didn't register. Nor did he explain what kind of "isolation" the West faced after Trump ripped up the deal, or in what way the tables have turned.

By far the biggest lie in the article was about Israel, whose interim government has been preparing for days on end to be graced with Biden's presence.

"We helped end a war in Gaza – which could easily have lasted months – in just 11 days," he alleged, in reference to "Operation Guardian of the Walls" in May 2021. "We've worked with Israel, Egypt, Qatar and Jordan to maintain the peace without permitting terrorists to rearm."

He conveniently omitted mention of the more than 4,000 Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad rockets and missiles fired on Israeli population centers, along with admonitions from abroad to refrain from "escalation on both sides." Oh, and where he got the idea that the terrorists haven't been rearming with a vengeance is anybody's guess.

He proceeded to brag about having "rebuilt US ties with the Palestinians … restor[ing] approximately $500 million in support … while also passing the largest support package for Israel – over $4 billion – in history. And this week, an Israeli prime minister spoke with the president of the Palestinian Authority for the first time in five years."

The PA isn't satisfied with the cash, which in any case it spends on its "pay for slay" practice to reward the slaughter of Jews with hefty monthly stipends. Officials in Ramallah are already voicing their skepticism about Biden's commitment to fulfill all their demands.

They seem to fear that Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid was not mistaking Biden for Trump when he called the incumbent US president "one of the closest friends that Israel has ever had in American politics."

No worries there – at least not for the Palestinians. Heaven help the rest of us.
Mr. President, no achievement will make up for Iranian bomb
Mr. President, the lessons of the war in Europe demand that world leaders look farther ahead than two, five, or even 10 years when addressing current dilemmas. It would be wrong to mortgage the future and put it in such serious peril merely out of a desire to be free of the burden of the decisions that must be made in the present.

The Ukraine war illustrates the limits of the western world's deterrence when faced with radical acts of force by a nuclear nation: the world tiptoes around conflicts in which nuclear states are involved. The term "nuclear umbrella" is taking on a painful meaning before our very eyes. One does not need a vivid imagination to guess what Iran would allow itself and the forces it operates to perpetrate if, heaven forbid, it had nuclear weapons.

Under your leadership, the US can prevent that scenario.

We believe that the American superpower is capable of doing that in a way that will not lead to a war at present and will reduce the chances of a war in the future. This demands the full, forceful application of crippling sanctions alongside a credible military option. The goal must be to lead Iran to a deal that will absolutely eradicate for all time its ability to develop or procure nuclear weapons, while also exacting from it a price that will cast doubt on the feasibility of the aggressive approach it has adopted, including involvement in various forms of terrorism. The US must not compromise on anything less. Dealing with the Iranian challenge is an opportunity for the US to strengthen its leadership when it comes to the challenges of our time and prove that it is capable of bringing the order and stability whose absence is felt everywhere to the world order. Checking Iran's aggression and nuclear aspirations is a condition for quiet and stability, and a base on which the pragmatic nations in the region – together with Israel – can make additional progress toward a new era for the Middle East.
Judea and Samaria Leaders Weigh In on Biden’s Israel Visit
Ahead of this week’s visit by U.S. President Joe Biden, the Israeli government has taken steps to pacify Washington by refraining from unilateral moves in Judea and Samaria.

As reported by JNS, a scheduled July 18 discussion by the Civil Administration’s higher planning council towards the approval of the construction of nearly 3,500 units in the E1 corridor was postponed until September.

No one knows for sure what Biden has up his sleeve in terms of restarting peace talks, but there is concern in Israel that he may demand concessions from Israel during his visit.

Nadia Matar, co-chair of the Sovereignty Movement along with Yehudit Katsover, called upon Israel’s leadership not to give in to any demands or make concessions that will harm the state.

“It is worrisome that simultaneously we have a weak Israeli leadership in transition, together with a progressive American administration. Nevertheless, we must stand strong,” said Matar.

The key, she said, was sovereignty.

Israel’s upcoming elections are an opportunity “to once and for all demand sovereignty [in Judea and Samaria]. The only reason the Land of Israel is put on the negotiating table is because there is no sovereignty,” she stated.

What really matters is what policy Israel’s leaders choose, she concluded, quoting Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, who said: “What matters is not what the Gentiles will say, but what the Jews will do.”

In line with this, the Sovereignty Movement, along with Regavim, Ad Kan, Israel’s Defense and Security Forum (Habithonistim), Im Tirzu and the Zionist Organization of America have launched a campaign calling on Israeli Prime Minister Lapid not to make concessions during Biden’s visit.
Tom Gross on Turkish TV on Joe Biden’s trip to Israel & Saudi Arabia
US President Joe Biden arrives in Israel today, where he will find a changed Middle East compared to his last trip six years ago. The Israeli-Palestinian dispute is no longer the centre of attention, says Tom Gross.

Instead Israel’s fast-growing ties with Arab countries and an emerging Arab-Israeli military partnership to combat threats from Iran, is now the focus.

And a visit to Israel also gives Biden an excuse to then travel on to Saudi Arabia. Biden wants to bring the oil-rich kingdom “in from the cold” having previously said he will shun it over its human rights record.

As a result of the growing global energy crisis sparked by the war in Ukraine and the sanctions on Russia, Biden will ask the Saudis to increase oil production in the hope of reducing high gas prices and stemming runaway inflation in America, which today reached a 40-year high.


Biden's impact on Middle East during visit to Israel, Saudi Arabia
Camelia Entekhabifard, David Wiener and Yariv Oppenheimer join Ellie to discuss and debate the issues ahead of Joe Biden's visit to the Middle East.


Saudi political analyst discusses expectations for Biden visit
From oil, to human rights, to normalization with Israel, Saudi political analyst Ahmed al Ibrahim discusses the range of issues that President Biden is expected to address when he visits Saudi Arabia


Caroline Glick: Biden's Visit to Israel/Saudi Arabia is Yet Another Hostile Act
In his Washington Post op-ed, Biden laid out a position that is hostile and contemptuous of both states and their security concerns.

To understand Biden’s modus operandi and the proper way for Israel and Saudi Arabia to handle Biden’s visit and his pro-Iran policies, Caroline Glick hosted Tony Badran from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington, DC on the Mideast News Hour this week.

The team dissects Biden’s op-ed and then analyzes the Biden administration mediated talks between Israel and Lebanon.




Family of terror victim asks to meet with Biden over extraditing Palestinian from Jordan
Arnold Roth, father of terror victim Malka Chana Roth, talks to Benita Levin about his family's efforts to bring the Jordanian national and terrorist Ahlam Tamimi to justice.

"It's one thing to lose a child. It's another to see a murderer conducting herself as a hero which indeed she is. She is an icon and celebrity of terror in Jordan, phenomenally successful and phenomenally influential throughout the Arab world," he said to i24NEWS.




White House walks back Sullivan’s claim US seeking consulate in East Jerusalem
White House spokesperson John Kirby on Wednesday walked back remarks made by US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, who said earlier that Washington wants the Palestinians to have a consulate in East Jerusalem.

Kirby clarified that there has been no change in US policy regarding the consulate, Reuters reported.

The US is interested in reopening its consulate for Palestinians in West Jerusalem, which was closed by former US president Donald Trump in 2019.

Sullivan made the remarks to reporters on Air Force One as it flew US President Joe Biden to Israel for the start of his Middle East visit.

Asked about the potential of reopening the Jerusalem consulate that served Palestinians, Sullivan said that it is the US’s position “that we would like a consulate in East Jerusalem, obviously that requires engagement with the Israeli government, that requires engagement with the Palestinian leadership as well, and we will continue that engagement on this trip.”

Sullivan also told reporters aboard Air Force One that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke recently on the phone with the family of slain Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.

Blinken invited the family to come to Washington to meet directly with administration officials in order to further discuss her killing, Sullivan said, after relatives of Abu Akleh last week addressed a letter to Biden, slamming his administration’s response to her death and asking to meet Biden during his visit to Israel and the West Bank.

The family expressed “grief, outrage and [a] sense of betrayal,” accusing the US of trying to erase Israel’s responsibility for her death.
Israeli NGO to Biden: Mr. President, this is apartheid
“Mr. President this is apartheid,” stated the Israeli left-wing NGO B’Tselem in a signage campaign it launched hours before US President Joe Biden’s anticipated arrival in Israel.

It has placed the large signs off buildings in the two Palestinian cities of Bethlehem and Ramallah.

Biden is a strong proponent of a two-state resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and plans to meet separately with Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas during his three-day trip.

Apartheid claims
B’Tselem last year, however, issued a report which charged that in reality, there is only one Israeli “apartheid regime” that controls the entire area from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.

Two international NGOs, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International issued similar reports.

Israel and the United States have rejected all such claims, with US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides calling it “absurd.”
As Biden Preps for Meeting With PA Chief Abbas, AP Tars Israel While Whitewashing Palestinian Authority Crimes Against Children
This, after UN Secretary-General António Guterres released his annual report on children and armed conflict, which furthermore stated that “the highest numbers of grave violations were verified in Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory [sic], Somalia, the Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen.”

The 45-page UN study falsely charged Israel with using “excessive force” against Palestinian children and referenced Israel almost 50 times, while only mentioning “Palestinian parties” and Hamas by name seven times.

HonestReporting has frequently called out baseless claims that Israel targets Palestinian children. In reality, most youths tragically killed during hostilities had been cynically used both as soldiers and human shields.

However, Guterres’ accusations didn’t go far enough for the Associated Press and Edith Lederer, who go out of their way to cite anti-Israel NGOs Human Rights Watch and the Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict to slander the Jewish state even further:
Both organizations also strongly criticized the U.N. chief for omitting Israel from the ‘list of shame’ for the deaths of 78 Palestinian children and injuries to 982 in 2021. Becker called the failure to list Israel ‘another missed opportunity for accountability,’ saying ‘other armed forces or groups have been listed for far fewer violations.’ […]

Lapar said ‘year after year Israeli government forces have gotten away with committing serious crimes against children, with virtual impunity’ and ‘the secretary-general needs to hold the Israeli government to the same standard as any other warring party.'”

The AP conveniently omits that even Secretary-General Guterres commended Israel for “engaging with my Special Representative and the United Nations to prevent any more violations against children and adopt clear and time-bound commitments.”

Meanwhile, the same UN report expressed concerns about “the increase in the killing and maiming of children by Palestinian armed groups and by recurrent incidents of recruitment and use of children.”

Indeed, thousands of Palestinian youths have over the past years been sent to “summer camps” where they receive military training by members of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other Gaza-based, US-designated terror groups. Some of the participants are as young as ten years old.

But rather than draw attention to Hamas’ transformation of children into soldiers, journalists have ignored the war crime and some, inexplicably, have tried to place the blame on Israel.


MEMRI: Former Kuwaiti Information Minister Writing In Saudi Daily: Responsibility For The Palestinians’ Suffering Rests Largely With Their Own Leadership
In an article he published recently in the Saudi daily Independent Arabia, titled “If a Palestinian State Had Been Established,” Sa’ad Bin Tefla Al-‘Ajmi, Kuwait’s former information minister, wrote that the Palestinian leadership bears no little responsibility for the ongoing suffering of the Palestinian people and for the fact that no solution to their problem is in sight. He listed several reasons for this, including the endless schism and division within the leadership, and the corrupt and tyrannical character of the Palestinian authorities, both the PA authorities in the West Bank and the Hamas authorities in Gaza. He wondered what an independent Palestinian state would be like, given that the Palestinians’ models for emulation are apparently Iraq and Iran, whose rulers are responsible for widespread bloodshed and destruction. The fact that, since the establishment of the PA, not a single Israeli Arab has given up his Israeli citizenship in favor of a Palestinian one, and the fact that so many Palestinians are eager to obtain a work permit in Israel and are even willing to work in the Israeli settlements in the West Bank, he said, reflects their dire situation under the rule of the PA and Hamas.

The following are translated excerpts from his article:[1]
“I don’t believe that anyone who claims to be an advocate of justice can refrain from supporting the right of the disaster-struck Palestinian people to self-determination. The supporters of this Palestinian right fall into [three categories]: the militant ones who want to liberate all the Palestinian lands from the [Jordan] river to the [Mediterranean] sea; those who believe that [the Palestinians] should become part of a single state along with the Jews so as to [eventually] overcome them thanks to their demographic advantage and cultural superiority; and the majority, which supports the two-state solution, [namely] a Palestinian state alongside Israel, as a practical way to actualize the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination.

“The current U.S. administration, headed by the Democratic president Joe Biden, renewed the call for [actualizing] the two-state solution, thereby putting an end to the ‘Deal of the Century’ advocated by [Biden’s] predecessor, president Donald Trump. Biden is scheduled to visit Israel and the Palestinian territories this month and meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud ‘Abbas in Ramallah. Some hope that this visit will yield a new plan that will revive the two-state solution, but many do not see this solution in sight on the near or distant horizon. The reasons for this do not have to do only with the others. They mainly have to do with the Palestinians themselves, because the Palestinian decision[-makers] are divided between Ramallah and Gaza and the Palestinian arena is dominated by schism. And this is despite the endless series of agreements and understandings calling for Palestinian unity and the establishment of a united Palestinian government that would speak with one voice and demand the legitimate Palestinian rights.

“In light of this schism and this all-out intra-Palestinian war, how does an observer envision the hypothetical Palestinian state? And what Arab model can the Palestinians present for the state they wish to establish?

“The official Gaza [authorities] currently praise Iran and erect mourning-tents for its martyrs, from [Iranian general] Qassem Soleimani to Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, [the deputy-commander of the Iran-backed militias in Iraq]. And in the West Bank they erected a monument in honor of Saddam Hussein and named major streets after him. In other words, [for the Palestinians,] the models of heroism in the region, whom they wish to emulate, are people like Saddam Hussein and Qassem Soleimani. The former occupied Kuwait, calling this a step towards liberating Palestine, and the latter claimed that his country had taken over Iraq, Syria and Lebanon as a step towards liberating Jerusalem. We are all familiar with the destruction inflicted by Saddam Hussein on the entire [Arab] nation, but mainly with the harm he did to the Palestinian cause and its [perception as] a just cause. As for Iran, innocent blood continues to flow in the countries it has taken over in the name of resistance and liberating Jerusalem. It is difficult to reconcile the contradictions in the Palestinian public’s logic, when [this public] admires the destructive ‘heroism’ of Saddam Hussein, who fought against their other role model, Iran, for eight years.
PMW: PA to Israelis: “You must leave, because you have no history in our Jerusalem, and it is not your homeland”
Abbas and the PA are getting ready to meet US President Biden. Abbas will probably say to him what PA leaders and officials always say to foreign leaders: That they only want a Palestinian state in the 1967 borders, or 22% of the so-called “historical Palestine." Abbas will stress that they want their capital to be in East Jerusalem and to live side by side in peace with Israel.

But that is not what Abbas and other PA/Fatah officials say in Arabic to Palestinians.

Despite the abundant archaeological evidence that proves Jewish history in Jerusalem in particular and in the entire area in general, the PA adamantly denies any Jewish historical bond to either. This falsification of history becomes the basis of the PA’s rejection of Israel’s right to exist in any borders.

A filler broadcast between programs by official PA TV since 2017 and continuing in July 2022 stresses this denial of Jewish history while it invents an imaginary Palestinian history prior to the modern period:
Official PA TV narrator: “Our memories in this land are too long to be counted in years, and the occupier in our land has no memories. We remain here.”

[Official PA TV, broadcast several times a week since Nov. 24, 2017
- May 6, June 25, July 2, 2022]

To further underscore the message that Jews and Israelis have no right to be anywhere in the land because they “have no history,” the PA and Fatah – both headed by Mahmoud Abbas – have recently broadcast and published another video that denies Jewish history in the land:
Father of dead terrorist: “I’m proud of his Martyrdom-death… Since age 11 my son has been a fighter”

PreOccupiedTerritory: I Like That We Palestinians Treat Sacrificing Our Children To Expiate Our Ancestors’ Shame As Totally Normal by Fadi al-Masri, Local Hamas Committee Director (satire)
I love many things about our culture: the dance, the food, the Islamic art, the Gaza-specific maritime vibe, the desert that suffuses the Bedouin element of our identity. Most of all, however, I confess that above even those I place our dedication to undoing the disgrace of the Nakba, a dedication so strong that we will destroy our descendants’ chances of ever leading healthy, productive, secure lives to accomplish that reversal.

Anthropologists have discussed at length the differences between shame cultures and guilt cultures. In guilt cultures, the negative associations of an action attach to the action, meaning that the person can atone for the act of he or she puts in the work. In a shame culture, the shame attaches to the person, and cannot be expunged without expunging anything and everything that calls the shame to mind. Thus the Nakba: the failure of our ancestors to destroy the nascent Jewish state and push the Jews into the sea, as promised by our leaders, and which instead led to dispossession and decades of limbo for millions, cannot be permitted to fade unless and until we eliminate the entity that brought about that shame. Our failure to overcome Jews whom we outnumbered, outgunned, and whose food supply we cut off, must motivate us to accomplish the genocide we were promised, regardless of the cost. Honor is everything! Our children’s lives pale in comparison.


"Syrian Website: Hezbollah Moves Anti-Aircraft Missiles to Syria in ‘UN’-Labeled Trucks"
The Syrian opposition website Thiqa News Agency posted a two-minute video on Tuesday appearing to show a Hezbollah shipment of shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles from Lebanon to Syria, according to a report exclusively shared with JNS by MEMRI’s Iran Threat Monitor Project.

According to the report, the missiles were transported in three Hyundai intercooler trucks covered in canvas emblazoned with a U.N. symbol and in crates labeled humanitarian aid to prevent them from being attacked by the Israeli Air Force en route.

The post states that this is the first Hezbollah shipment of such weapons to be transported across the border.

The site also writes that the terror group entrenched in Lebanon brought Iranian-manufactured shoulder-launched missiles to the Al-Qalamoun area near the Lebanon-Syria border and deployed 15 of them in the rural area of the Homs Governorate.

It further states that in mid-July, Hezbollah is expected to begin to train its members in the operation of these weapons “to repel any attack by the Israeli or American air forces.”
Lebanese kids’ band: “We have loaded the cannon, O Palestine… we are returning”

France Says Only a Few Weeks Left to Save Iran Nuclear Deal
France’s new foreign minister said on Tuesday there were only a few weeks before the window of opportunity to revive Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers would close.

Speaking to lawmakers, Catherine Colonna said the situation was no longer tenable and accused Iran of using delaying tactics and going back on previously agreed positions during talks in Doha earlier this month, while forging ahead with its uranium enrichment program.

“There is still a window of opportunity … for Iran to finally decide to accept an accord which it worked to build, but time is passing,” Colonna said, warning that if Iran kept on its current trajectory it would be a threshold nuclear arms state.

“Time is passing. Tehran must realize this,” she said, adding that the US mid-term elections would make it even harder to seal a deal.

“The window of opportunity will close in a few weeks. There will not be a better accord to the one which is on the table.”

Last week, the US envoy for the talks to reinstate the deal said Iran had added demands unrelated to discussions on its nuclear program during the latest talks and had made alarming progress on enriching uranium.


Does Iran Have Biological Weapons?
Due to secrecy and lack of sources, the true extent of Iran’s weapons of mass destruction (WMD) portfolio has remained uncertain for decades. While the Islamic Republic inches closer to its suspected nuclear breakout time, industry experts and U.S. officials should consider the rogue state’s alternative methods of acquiring materials designed to harm large numbers of people.

While evidence of its raw materials build-up and non-compliance asserts that Iran is indeed moving toward the status of a nuclear-capable state, less is known about the regime’s biological and chemical programs. However, available information on Iran’s biological weapons development indicates the country has participated in this effort in the past and perhaps in the present.

Iran Denies and Hides its Efforts in Secrecy
Similar to Iran’s denial of pursuing nuclear capabilities for malfeasant purposes, the regime has not admitted to ever possessing biological or chemical weapons. Unlike nuclear programs, biological weapons can be easily concealed due to many of the components having dual-use purposes as well as limited necessary equipment. As deduced by a report published by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, any country equipped with even the most basic means of operating biopharmaceutical industrial capabilities has the necessary components to produce biological agents.

However, weaponizing biological agents in terms of a WMD program is a significantly more complex enterprise. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), biological agents pose a significant risk to national security since they can be easily disseminated, highly lethal, have the potential to overwhelm public health systems, and can lead to a general state of panic. The intentional dissemination of biological agents has been utilized in warfare for centuries.

Iran’s reported pursuit of chemical and biological agents dates back to the 1980s when the eight-year-long Iran-Iraq war commenced. In addition to the martyrdom missions and brutal asymmetric warfare tactics that were employed in this prolonged conventional battle, the incorporation of chemical weapons made it even more devastating.
Israeli drones flying in Bahrain skies to counter Iran - report
In a move reflecting Israel’s increased presence in the Gulf, Jerusalem has sold unmanned aerial vehicles and anti-drone systems to Bahrain, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The Mossad and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) have also begun to train Bahraini intelligence officers, the report said.

The report comes as US President Joe Biden begins his visit to Israel and Saudi Arabia in an attempt to further a military alliance to counter Iranian hostility, known as the Middle East Air Defense (MEAD).

It was unclear what types of UAVs were sold to the Gulf kingdom. Israel, however, is a leading exporter of drones.

Drone systems and UAVs made up 9% of all exports in 2021, while intelligence, information and cyber systems made up 4%, according to the military exports unit of the Defense Ministry (SIBAT).

Israel's defense deals with Arab allies
Israeli defense officials have held some 150 meetings with their counterparts in the region since the signing of the Abraham Accords in August 2020. The meetings were aimed at increasing military-to-military ties and signing defense deals. Since the signing of the accords, more than $3 billion worth of deals have been arranged, Defense Minister Benny Gantz said last week.

As rocket and drone attacks by Iran against Israel and the Gulf states have increased, talks have focused on understanding how to counter the threats countries in the region are facing.




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