Caroline Glick: The Biden Administration's Sinister Turn Against Israel
On Tuesday, the State Department summoned Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Herzog to demand an explanation for the Knesset's abrogation of the 2005 law banning Jews from living in four communities in northern Samaria. That law was passed in the framework of Israel's failed plan to disengage from the Gaza Strip and northern Samaria.Caroline Glick: America, Israel and the era of false messiahs
In August 2005, Israel expelled 10,000 Jewish citizens from Gaza and northern Samaria in the hopes that the Palestinians would take the areas and build a mini-Singapore. Instead, they built a mini-Afghanistan.
The Knesset's decision to abrogate the law was a rare example of a democracy acting to correct its prior mistake. But that's not how the Biden administration saw it.
Around the same time Ambassador Herzog was summoned, the White House said the law was a breach of Israel's 2004 agreement with the Bush administration. That agreement, which was given expression in an April 2004 letter then-President George W. Bush sent to then-Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, essentially said that in exchange for Israel's forcible uprooting of the Jewish communities in Gaza and northern Samaria, the Bush administration would accept the permanence of major Jewish communities in the rest of Judea and Samaria.
What is notable about the Biden administration's accusation is that not only did the Obama administration breach the 2004 deal—it denied the deal existed, in the first place. In June 2009, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said, "in looking at the history of the Bush administration, there were no informal or...enforceable agreements."
Merely denying documented history would be bad enough. But the broader policy framework that informed the Biden administration's outburst is much worse than a dispute about whether northern Samaria should be Judenrein or not.
On March 13, the Office of Palestinian Affairs in the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem posted on Twitter photos of its director, George Noll, visiting the Tomb of Lazarus north of Jerusalem. The post referred to the tomb as "an important religious site...maintained by the Palestinian Authority's (PA's) Ministry of Tourism." It praised the PA's "work preserving beautiful historical and religious sites like this throughout the West Bank."
Many Israelis were shocked by the post because far from "preserving beautiful historical and religious sites" throughout Judea and Samaria, the PA is deliberately destroying them.
On the eve of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq 20 years ago this month, the anticipated war was accompanied by a sense of idealistic triumphalism. It was fueled by a still-righteous rage following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and empowered by the U.S.’s recent early victories over the Taliban in Afghanistan.Report: Israel offered PA full security duties over city as pilot, Ramallah refused
The overriding sense of U.S. troops as they gathered in force across the border in the Kuwaiti desert was that they were the great liberators who would free the Iraqi people from Saddam Hussein just as their grandfathers liberated Paris from the Nazis.
As an embedded reporter with the U.S. Army’s 3rd Infantry Division at the time, I can attest that the enthusiasm was infectious and, frankly, inspiring.
But there was a bug in the system that, over time, devoured the system itself. That bug was reality. Americans had told themselves a story about Iraq and Iraqis that had nothing to do with Iraq or Iraqis.
Then-President George W. Bush and his top advisors were guided by an ideology of American messianism. By their lights, all men were latent Americans. Everyone aspired to the same freedoms that Americans enjoyed. Release the people of Iraq from the bondage of Saddam’s tyranny, so the thinking went, and freedom would reign from Nasiriya to Baghdad, Tikrit to Kirkuk, as Shi’ites, Sunnis, Kurds, Christians, Yazidis—Iraqis all—would join together and build a new American-style free Iraq.
After the initial exhilaration of being welcomed with smiles by Shiites at the sides of the highways, the brutal reality of the real Iraq and the non-universality of American ideals became ever clearer with each passing day. In the end, that reality consumed the American war effort.
Israel and Jordan recently offered the Palestinian Authority a pilot program that would leave security responsibility over a single West Bank city entirely in the hands of the PA, in an attempt to reduce tensions caused by recent deadly Israeli raids, according to a Thursday report.
According to an unsourced Channel 12 news report, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Jordan’s King Abdullah II secretly discussed the proposal in their meeting in January. The plan would reportedly see Palestinian security forces given sole responsibility for conducting arrests of suspected terror operatives and maintaining law and order in either the city of Tulkarem or Qalqilya, thereby avoiding violent, often deadly clashes between locals and Israeli troops.
If the pilot were successful, it could then be expanded to other cities, the report said.
According to Channel 12, the PA was uninterested in the offer, believing that it would weaken its already-dire status in the eyes of many Palestinians, as they would be seen as fully cooperating with Jerusalem on arrests.
Although Tulkarem and Qalqilya are part of Area A — West Bank land under PA civilian and security control — the IDF regularly enters the territory to conduct arrests.
Such incursions have increased significantly over the past year as Israel has sought to combat an ongoing terror wave stemming largely from the northern West Bank, where the PA has lost significant control.
On Thursday, a wanted Palestinian gunman behind a series of shooting attacks in the West Bank was shot dead during a raid by Israeli forces near Tulkarem.
The purported pilot program was not included in a communiqué released after a summit between Israel and the PA at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt on Sunday. However, the document highlighted the “legal right” of the PA to exercise its security responsibility over Area A of the West Bank.
That territory with predominantly Palestinian contiguity makes up roughly 20 percent of the West Bank and was placed under PA security and civilian control in the 1995 Oslo II Agreement.
UN commission resumes ‘kangaroo court’ hearings on Israeli-Palestinian conflict
A controversial United Nations commission that is purportedly investigating the entire Israeli-Palestinian conflict is holding hearings this week in what the Israeli mission in Geneva called a “kangaroo court.”
From the moment the U.N. Human Rights Council created the group—officially the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem and Israel—it has come under fire by Israel, the United States and a host of other U.N. member states.
They have blasted the commission for several reasons. Among them: The commission has an unprecedented and never-expiring mandate. It has unlimited scope. It covers the entirety of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It has an oversized budget and amount of staffing. And, critics note, all three of the commission’s members have been credibly accused of antisemitism and rabid anti-Israel bias.
“The hearings held by the commission of inquiry are yet another kangaroo court, where witnesses are preselected to fit a predetermined narrative against Israel,” Nathan Chicheportiche, a spokesman for the Israeli mission to the United Nations in Geneva, wrote in a statement to JNS.
Last November, the commission held a set of public hearings on the killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh during an Israeli counter-terror operation and on Israel’s decision to label six Palestinian non-governmental organizations as terror organizations.
The Israeli government was not invited to speak at either set of hearings. This time, the commission did not even seek evidence from Israel, and it provided Israel with neither the agenda nor a list of topics and speakers for the week, said Chicheportiche.
“There is no transparency at all,” he said.
Yesterday at the @UN, @giladerdan1 called out the PA's pay-for-slay program — funded by international aid — and Palestinian leadership's track record of incitement to terror. He also called out the Security Council for refusing to address the issue.#EndPayForSlay pic.twitter.com/JpB7pEF1Zw
— Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) March 23, 2023
Proof that 1920-1939 the land that is now Israel, Gaza and the West Bank was desolate bar the Jews that had settled back in the land, the nomadic Bedouin coming through and the Arabs that had come from Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Syria AFTER ZIONISTS had cleaned out the swampland pic.twitter.com/MnFx6xLrxQ
— Natalie Zion #EndJewHatred (@natalie_Zion_) March 23, 2023
Demography Is on Israel’s Side
Yasir Arafat was often quoted as saying that his “strongest weapon is the womb of an Arab woman.” That is, he believed the high birthrates of both Palestinians and Arab Israelis ensured that Jews would eventually be a minority in the Land of Israel, at which point Arabs could call for a binational state and get an Arab one. Using similar logic, both Israelis and their self-styled sympathizers have made the case for territorial concessions to prevent such an eventuality. Yet, Yoram Ettinger argues, the statistics have year after year told a different story:Sunak stresses ‘democratic values’ to Netanyahu, as hundreds outside protest overhaul
Contrary to the projections of the demographic establishment at the end of the 19th century and during the 1940s, Israel’s Jewish fertility rate is higher than those of all Muslim countries other than Iraq and the sub-Saharan Muslim countries. Based on the latest data, the Jewish fertility rate of 3.13 births per woman is higher than the 2.85 Arab rate (since 2016) and the 3.01 Arab-Muslim fertility rate (since 2020).
The Westernization of Arab demography is a product of ongoing urbanization and modernization, with an increase in the number of women enrolling in higher education and increased use of contraceptives. Far from facing a “demographic time bomb” in Judea and Samaria, the Jewish state enjoys a robust demographic tailwind, aided by immigration.
However, the demographic and policy-making establishment persists in echoing official Palestinian figures without auditing them, ignoring a 100-percent artificial inflation of those population numbers. This inflation is accomplished via the inclusion of overseas residents, double-counting Jerusalem Arabs and Israeli Arabs married to Arabs living in Judea and Samaria, an inflated birth rate, and deflated death rate.
The U.S. should derive much satisfaction from Israel’s demographic viability and therefore, Israel’s enhanced posture of deterrence, which is America’s top force- and dollar-multiplier in the Middle East and beyond.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stressed the importance of Israel “upholding democratic values” in his low-profile meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in London on Friday, in a visit that was largely overshadowed by the Israeli leader’s domestic problems.Thousands of protesters greet embattled Netanyahu at Downing Street
While the Israeli readout of the meeting did not mention anything about the judicial overhaul that is dominating headlines about Israel around the world, the British readout noted that Sunak stressed to Netanyahu “the importance of upholding the democratic values that underpin our relationship, including in the proposed judicial reforms in Israel.”
The statement from 10 Downing Street also stressed “international concern at growing tensions in the West Bank,” and encouraged “all efforts to de-escalate, particularly ahead of the upcoming religious holidays.”
Netanyahu’s convoy was greeted Friday morning in London by several hundred Israeli and Jewish protesters chanting against the prime minister and his government’s controversial judicial overhaul.
He greeted and shook hands with Sunak outside 10 Downing Street before the pair quickly entered the UK prime minister’s residence.
Thousands of Israeli and UK Jewish protestors gathered in Whitehall opposite the entrance of Downing St to greet Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s arrival on Friday to meet his opposite number Rishi Sunak with drumbeats and rhythmic chants of “busha, busha” – Hebrew for “shame”.
Their posters and banners proclaimed they were there to save Israeli democracy from what they called the “coup” represented by Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition’s attempt to weaken the powers of the Israeli Supreme Court.
Some carried placards morphing Netanyahu’s face with images of the late Colombian cocaine baron Pablo Escobar and the North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. Others called him a “dictator”.
The protesters, many of whom were also waving Israeli flags, numbered in the thousands when the demonstration reached its peak when Netanyahu arrived at about 9.30.
He had delayed his departure from Israel until 4am because of the sudden political crisis triggered on Thursday by defence Minister Yoav Galant, who had been expected to make a statement saying he could no longer back the judicial reform package unless Netanyahu reached a compromise deal with the Opposition – until Netanyahu talked him out of it early that evening.
Sunak and Netanyahu are said to have discussed Israel and Britain’s mutual security interests, such as the need to curb the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran, and reaffirmed their commitment to the “roadmap” for future Anglo-Israeli relations announced by their foreign ministers, James Cleverly and Eli Cohen, earlier this week.
In a statement, Downing Street said the Prime Minister also "expressed his solidarity with Israel in the face of terrorist attacks in recent months" but warned of the risk of escalating tensions in the West Bank as well as stressing the importance of upholding the democratic values that "underpin our relationship" especially in relation to the proposed judicial reforms in Israel.
Then some screaming at the Jews and Israelis about the "Resistance in Nablus" "Resistance in Jenin" etc to which the crowd answer "power to you"
— Harry's Place (@hurryupharry) March 24, 2023
The fight for Israeli democracy rages now
Palestinian "resistance" consists of fascists and jihadis. There is no Palestinian democracy pic.twitter.com/m10nkGdgID
This is a hate crime outside Downing Street today during PM @netanyahu’s visit. Branding Jews as terrorists. Don’t do business with Jews. Could have been Kristallnacht Berlin 1938. @metpoliceuk should arrest. @SuellaBraverman pic.twitter.com/nzF9YvdbRn
— R?????? K??? ? (@COLRICHARDKEMP) March 24, 2023
Yet another display of explicit support for terrorism befouls London.
— habibi (@habibi_uk) March 24, 2023
When will trade unions stop backing these haters? https://t.co/qOmWjK3zA8 pic.twitter.com/99PHyuCrJA
Rupa Huq MP ‘completely disassociates’ herself from meeting with a pro-Palestine activist
A Labour MP has "fully disassociated" herself from a now-deleted social media post made this week in which she posed with a notorious anti-Zionist and claimed the next Labour government will "recognise the state of Palestine."
In a post to Twitter on Wednesday, Rupa Huq, who is the MP for Ealing Central, posed with a group of pro-Palestine activists with the caption: “Thanks to constituents for coming into Parliament today to lobby me on Palestinian issues. Official government policy has long been a two-state solution but progress has sadly stalled. The next Labour government will recognise the state of Palestine.”
Among those present in the photo was activist and former editor of Palestine News Hilary Wise who has in the past asserted that the allegations of antisemitism made against Jeremy Corbyn was an “orchestrated smear”.
In a statement shared with the JC, Rupa Huq said: "MPs are regularly "green carded" by constituents who arrive at parliament without an appointment who may request to see their MP. This individual was part of such a group. Having been made aware of this individual’s previous comments, I wish to fully disassociate myself from these opinions and make an unreserved apology for any offence caused. I have also deleted the tweet."
Huq’s remark makes no mention of her assertion that the next Labour government would recognise Palestinian statehood.
During Labour’s annual conference in 2018, Wise also urged delegates to watch the Al Jazeera-produced documentary The Lobby to “see what we are up against”.
A Libyan Muslim gleefully tells me (a Jew) how two Jews were butchered in his country.
— Israel Advocacy Movement (@israel_advocacy) March 23, 2023
He ended his story with a call to wipe us out. pic.twitter.com/qHsvYJ6i1k
MEMRI: Senior Hamas Official On Hamas Delegation Russia Visit: Russia Is 'One Of The Most Important Supporters' Of Palestinian Rights; The U.S. Seeks Calm In The Middle East So It Can Turn Its Attention To Its Disputes With China And Russia
On March 16, 2023, the Hamas website reported that a Hamas delegation headed by senior officials Moussa Abu Marzouq and 'Izzat Al-Rishq had arrived in Moscow for a visit, and that it had met with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, who is also Special Representative of the President of Russia for the Middle East and Africa. The meeting took place at Russian Foreign Ministry headquarters.Russian Foreign Ministry Slams Israel Over Attack Inside Church in Jerusalem
Russia does not consider Hamas to be a terrorist organization, and its Foreign Ministry officials, such as Deputy Foreign Minister Bogdanov, are in regular contact with the organization. The Hamas delegation's Moscow visit was preceded by many similar Russia visits by Hamas officials in the past few years. These included a senior delegation headed by Hamas political bureau head Isma'il Haniya in September 2022 and his earlier, in March 2020, during which he met with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
As in previous visits, Hamas stressed its "right" to carry out terror operations against Israel – aka "resistance to the Israeli occupation by all means" – and expressed support for the policies of the Russian regime.[1]
The following are highlights from media reports about the Hamas delegation's Russia visit:
According to the announcement on the Hamas website, the meeting discussed developments in the Palestinian issue against the backdrop of "escalation of the crimes of the extreme right-wing Zionist government." The Hamas delegation emphasized its right "to resist the Israeli occupation by all means."[2] The announcement on the Russian Foreign Ministry website stated that during the meeting, Bogdanov had stressed to the delegation members Russia's support for "a just resolution of the Palestinian problem based on the relevant U.S. and Security Council resolutions," and Russia's willingness to help broker an intra-Palestinian reconciliation and a merging of the Palestinian factions "based on the PLO [political] plan."[3]
A source told the Russian news agency Islamnews.ru that as part of their visit to Russia, members of the Hamas delegation will also meet with members of parliament, and that talks will focus on Russia's growing involvement in the Middle East and its efforts to stop the U.S. from maintaining its monopoly on "resolving the Middle East [conflict]" – i.e. the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.[4]
Russia’s foreign ministry on Friday seized the opportunity to hold the Israeli authorities to account for an attack that took place last Sunday at the Church of Gethsemane in eastern Jerusalem that was perpetrated by as yet unnamed Israeli individuals.
“We are convinced that there is no justification, and that there can never be any justification, for such criminal acts, and hope that the Israeli authorities will provide an unequivocal assessment of what happened and to take comprehensive measures to bring perpetrators to justice and prevent the recurrence of such attacks in the future,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Friday in an official statement reported by the Palestinian Wafa news agency.
Zakharova stressed Moscow’s “profound concern” about the status of Christians in Jerusalem. Without citing any specific cases, she claimed that “the number of anti-Christian incidents has grown at an alarming pace recently, as churches, cemeteries of various Christian denominations, clergy, and monks, have become targets for these attacks.”
While several Christian news outlets reported that two men identified as “Israeli radicals” carried out Sunday’s attack, amateur video of the incident at the church showed only one assailant, who threw sacred objects to the floor and assaulted a priest during a religious service before being subdued by other worshipers, who pinned him to the ground. The video showed Israeli police arriving at the church and taking the man into custody.
The Church of Gethsemane — also known as the Church of All Nations — is located adjacent to the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. According to Christian tradition, Jesus prayed there prior to his arrest by the Roman authorities, while his mother, Mary Magdalene, is said to be buried at a site nearby.
While the Russian Orthodox Church retains a strong presence in Jerusalem, the Church of Gethsemane is a Catholic institution managed by an order of Franciscan friars. However, the Church is used by a variety of Christian denominations, including the Eastern Orthodox churches and the Lutheran Church.
Rally for Palestinian “Right to Resist and Mobilize” at UN Headquarters: We Stand in Solidarity with Jenin, Nablus, and Huwarra! There Is Only One Solution – Intifada, Revolution! pic.twitter.com/ogKeeqRhNT
— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) March 24, 2023
Shot: Chaser: pic.twitter.com/v4ukXumAaf
— Max????????? (@lilbuddymax) March 23, 2023
How much is a PhD from Princeton worth? Judging by this thread, not much. A tip for aspiring "scholars" - your "anti-colonialist" nostalgia for the good old days when Jews were second class citizens under Ottoman rule is actually colonialist. Not to mention racist. https://t.co/S7mhtvklGG
— Michael Dickson (@michaeldickson) March 24, 2023
?? He was the head of a terrorist cell responsible for multiple attacks against civilians.
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) March 23, 2023
Hope this helps ?? https://t.co/mhdjhAebkc pic.twitter.com/rjS7iD5MvD
The terrorist, which Arab media claim is just a young innocent guy pic.twitter.com/nVTxVcwxNK
— Documenting Israel (@israelmuse) March 23, 2023
85 of the 90 were claimed as members by militant groups like Lions Den, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hamas, Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, as well as independents committing attacks funded by the Palestinian Authority Pay for Slay fund. While 15 Israelis were killed, 14 were civilians https://t.co/Eq6idU464c pic.twitter.com/k7MilxBhQW
— Max????????? (@lilbuddymax) March 23, 2023
Jerusalem security forces on alert as tens of thousands at 1st Friday Ramadan prayers
Security forces were on high alert in Jerusalem for the first Friday of Ramadan, as mass afternoon prayers held at the Temple Mount passed peacefully.
The Muslim holy month, which began Thursday and will end April 21, often sees elevated Israeli-Palestinian tensions, with frictions already high this year in Jerusalem and across the West Bank following months of deadly violence.
According to official estimates, some 83,000 people took part in afternoon prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, located atop the Temple Mount.
“This is a sensitive and complex period,” Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai said after an assessment with commanders at the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City. “The unique social fabric in East Jerusalem, the Old City and Temple Mount needs to be preserved.”
“We will do everything in our capabilities to ensure freedom of religion for all worshipers while maintaining security and order,” he added.
Shortly after prayers ended, police detained one man suspected of incitement for hanging the banner of a terrorist organization at the complex.
First Friday of Ramadan: over 100k Muslims worship at #AlAqsa. Tell me again how Al Aqsa is “in danger?” ?? pic.twitter.com/44fimgSdDF
— Emily Schrader - ????? ?????? ????? ????? (@emilykschrader) March 24, 2023
Islamofascist Nazism today, right at the heartland of the Jewish people; before you is, yet another, Nazi rally
— Adam Albilya - ??? ??????? (@AdamAlbilya) March 24, 2023
After Friday prayers on the Temple Mount, a rally took place in solidarity w/ genocidal Jew-killing terrorists
Endless genocidal incitements were chanted; pathetic. pic.twitter.com/VnsbQpLRgO
The flags were taken down by Israeli police. pic.twitter.com/n7M581g8Ze
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) March 24, 2023
Gaza Islamic Scholar Mustafa Qeshawi Describes the Divine Rewards Martyrs Receive, Adds: Everyone in Palestine Either Is a Martyr or Will Become a Martyr #Palestinians pic.twitter.com/fib99ZP2LF
— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) March 24, 2023
Nephew of the terrorist Mutasem Sabbagh: "We will burn Tel Aviv..." #Palestinians #PalestinianChildren #PalestinianYouth #PYM pic.twitter.com/DUw6aXor7I
— RealPalestina(?"?)???? (@LollllllaJR) March 24, 2023
Palestinians calling on Hamas and Islamic Jihad to carry out attacks against Israel during the first Friday prayer of Ramadan at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. https://t.co/P5EcZvI9PT
— Khaled Abu Toameh (@KhaledAbuToameh) March 24, 2023
The U.S. Is Running Out of Time to Prevent an Iran Disaster
On March 4, international monitors confirmed reports that they had discovered 84-percent-enriched uranium near one of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear sites, in violation of previous agreements. Jonathan Schachter comments:Israel threatens military strike if Iran enriches uranium above 60 percent
Most reports have noted that this is just shy of the 90-percent level generally considered to be “weapons grade.” Others correctly point out that uranium enriched to around 80 percent fueled the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. Almost no one mentions that Iran has no civilian need to enrich uranium in the first place. . . .
The Biden administration’s policy toward Iran reflects a clear and consistent preference for diplomacy over the use of force, and understandably so. But the White House treats the two as contradictory, rather than complementary. For over two years, the administration has demonstrated its reticence to use, or even credibly threaten to use, force against Iran. Manifestly undeterred, Iran has continued and accelerated its drive toward the nuclear threshold.
In other words, America’s soft-handed approach and global events are making a diplomatic solution less likely. If Washington continues on its current path, the world almost certainly will face a nuclear-armed Iran, a war to prevent that eventuality, or both.
It is not too late to act, [however]: the president, his administration, and Congress can make clear that the United States and its allies can and will use force to prevent Iran from violating its nuclear obligations. The United States would not be moving its red lines, but rather enforcing them. Doing so would send a powerful message to Iranian leaders that they have already crossed America’s red lines and need to back down.
Jerusalem has warned the United States and several European countries that Iranian enrichment of uranium beyond 60 percent could trigger an Israeli military strike, Axios reported on Wednesday.American forces suffered 78 Iranian attacks since 2021: US general
The International Atomic Energy Agency last month confirmed in a report that its inspectors had found “particles” of enriched uranium to 83.7 percent at Iran’s underground nuclear site in Fordow. The report pegged Iran’s uranium stockpile as of Feb. 12 at some 3,760 kilograms (8,289 pounds)—an increase of 87.1 kilograms (192 pounds) since its last quarterly report, in November. Of that, 87.5 kilograms (192 pounds) is enriched up to 60%, just a short technical step away from 90%, or weapons-grade.
However, Axios quotes an unnamed Israeli official as saying that Jerusalem doesn’t consider the small amounts of uranium enriched at 84% purity as a trigger “because Tehran didn’t amass any of the material at that level.”
The official told Axios that Jerusalem was not setting as a “red line” Iranian enrichment to 90%, because Tehran might then begin stockpiling enriched uranium to levels just below that.
Accordingly, the Israeli government has told Western allies that any Iranian progress above the 60% threshold could prompt military strikes against Tehran’s nuclear facilities, according to the report.
Israeli officials believe that this message has been transmitted to their Iranian counterparts.
Axios reported that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant asked U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during his recent visit to Israel to expedite the delivery of the four KC-46 tankers that Jerusalem purchased from Washington last year. Israel reportedly needs the aerial refueling tankers, set for delivery at the end of 2024, for a possible military strike in Iran.
Austin reportedly told Netanyahu and Gallant that the U.S. would try to deliver the planes earlier but stressed this would be difficult due to American military needs.
The top US military general for the Middle East revealed Thursday that his forces had come under Iranian attack 78 times since January 2021.US retaliates after contractor killed by suspected Iranian drone strike
Speaking to the House Armed Services Committee, Gen. Erik Kurilla said the US Central Command’s [CENTCOM] priorities were to deter Iran, counter violent extremist groups and compete strategically with China and Russia.
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He added that Iran remained the primary destabilizing element in the region and warned that the Iran of 2023 “is not the Iran of 1983.”
CENTCOM was formed 40 years ago to counter the influence of the Iranian regime after it seized power in Tehran and to compete strategically with what was then the Soviet Union.
Gen. Kurilla also cautioned lawmakers that Iran had become “exponentially” more militarily capable than it was five years ago. He pointed to Iran as having the largest and most diverse missile arsenal in the Middle East, with thousands of ballistic and cruise missiles.
According to the US general, Tehran also has the region’s largest and most capable drone force.
A US contractor was killed and five US service members and one other US contractor were wounded when a suspected Iranian drone struck a facility on a coalition base in northeast Syria on Thursday, the Pentagon said.Biden Admin Greenlights Sanctions Waiver That Allows Iraq To Pay Iran Millions for Electricity
In a statement released late Thursday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said US Central Command forces retaliated with "precision airstrikes" against facilities in eastern Syria used by groups affiliated with Iran's Revolutionary Guard. The Defense Department said the intelligence community had determined the unmanned aerial vehicle was of Iranian origin.
"The airstrikes were conducted in response to today's attack as well as a series of recent attacks against Coalition forces in Syria" by groups affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard, Austin said.
Overnight, videos on social media purported to show explosions in Syria's Deir Ez-Zor, a strategic province that borders Iraq and contains oil fields. Iran-backed militia groups and Syrian forces control the area, which also has seen suspected airstrikes by Israel in recent months allegedly targeting Iranian supply routes.
Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which answers only to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been suspected of carrying out attacks with bomb-carrying drones across the wider Middle East. In recent months, Russia has begun using Iranian drones in its attacks on sites across Ukraine as part of its war on Kyiv. Iran has denied being responsible for these attacks, though Western nations and experts have tied components in the drones back to Tehran.
The Biden administration last week greenlit a sanctions waiver that will allow Iraq to make cash payments for electricity to Iran, whose cash-strapped regime says it is set to receive a $500 million payment from Iraq thanks to the waiver.
A non-public sanctions waiver issued by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and transmitted to Congress earlier this week authorizes Iraq to pay Iran for multimillion-dollar electricity debts, according to a copy of the notice obtained on Wednesday by the Washington Free Beacon. The waiver was issued a day after Biden administration officials denied Iran's claims that the United States had paved the way for Tehran to receive the $500 million, which was first reported by the Free Beacon.
The latest sanctions waiver, however, permits "the Trade Bank of Iraq to engage in financial transactions … with the Central Bank of Iran in connection with the purchase of electricity."
It is unclear how Iran arrived at the $500 million figure, or if it is related to this most recent sanctions waiver, which does not detail specific amounts of money. Iranian officials claim they are owed around $18 billion from Iraq in back payments for electricity. Blinken signed the waiver on March 17, one day after the Free Beacon reported on Iran's claims, which elicited a denial from the Treasury Department. The Biden administration's decision to authorize new Iraqi payments to Iran has generated anger on Capitol Hill among Republican hawks who accuse the administration of helping Tehran access cash at a time when the regime is funneling weapons to Russia for its war in Ukraine.
"Of course the Biden administration lied that they wouldn't waive sanctions on Iran just days before they did so," said Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas). "They know that by allowing money to pour into Iran, they are not only endangering the safety and security of Americans but also undermining everything they claim to believe about defeating Putin. They say that Iran is a terror sponsor and Russia's top military backer, but appeasing Iran and getting back into a nuclear deal with the Ayatollah is more important to them. They are funding both sides of the Ukraine war."
In response to the Free Beacon's initial report on the matter, a Treasury Department spokesman said, "The United States did not provide a waiver for the payment of any blocked or restricted funds to Iran." The State Department would not confirm or deny the report.
Iran’s oil exports are the highest they’ve been since 2018. The money allows them to aid Russia in the war in Ukraine. Russia is even using some Iranian tankers for its own oil.
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) March 24, 2023
The Biden administration cares more about boosting Iran than they do about defeating Russia. pic.twitter.com/ngXdnH1O7P
Give them their due: they have a sense of humor. https://t.co/ajnQKMAVPS
— Mike (@Doranimated) March 24, 2023
I took the floor just now at the United Nations to hold the murderous mollahs to account before the world and give a voice to voiceless victims like Jamshid Sharmahd. pic.twitter.com/OVQAcRB17O
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) March 24, 2023
Four years ago #IranianRevolution pic.twitter.com/0APzDwpnAi
— Eye On Antisemitism (@AntisemitismEye) March 23, 2023
Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon! Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424. Read all about it here! |
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