Monday, May 08, 2023

05/08 Links Pt1: Mother Of Hamas Terrorist Who Murdered British-Israeli Mother And Her Daughters: The Jews Are Our Enemies, We Should Fight Them, Devour Them With Our Teeth

From Ian:

Setting the Record Straight on Israel-Palestinian Negotiations
From 1937 onward, Palestinian leaders have repeatedly rejected offers, brought to them by the British, the U.S., and Israel itself, to share the territory west of the Jordan River. Yet claims routinely surface suggesting that responsibility for the failures to reach a compromise lies elsewhere. Ben-Dror Yemini examines the evidence, and puts paid to such attempts at distortion:

For decades, many people, for good and bad, have been spreading the narrative that if only Israel would be a little more generous, and if only the Americans brokered a serious peace agreement, peace was within reach. For the bad, this stems from the desire to blame Israel for all world crimes. For the good, this is due to a sincere and genuine desire for peace, mixed with a lack of knowledge, or reluctance to know, or self-deception of those who struggle to reconcile the gap between beliefs and desires on the one hand and facts on the other.

There are . . . official announcements, materials exposed [by Al Jazeera’s publication of thousands of leaked documents in 2011], and always denials trying, unsuccessfully, to create the impression that the Palestinians wanted peace. In 2012, I was invited to attend a meeting with [the former Palestinian chief negotiator] Nabil Shaath. A welcome initiative. It was a wonderful meeting—up to that moment when I presented to Shaath what he himself said on July 3, 2011: “We will never accept the ‘two states for two peoples’ formula to resolve the conflict.” I asked him if he had changed his mind. He was evasive. I was no longer invited to the next meeting. . . .

Why should anyone bother the enthusiasts of illusion? As long as the Israeli and global left wing insist on ignoring facts, they are not promoting peace. Doing so serves Palestinian rejectionism. It’s bad for the Palestinians and it’s bad for Israel.
MEMRI: Ahead Of 75th Anniversary Of The Nakba, Palestinian Leadership Stresses It Will Never Relinquish Refugees' Right To Return To Their Homes
On May 15, 2023, the UN General Assembly will for the first time hold an event to commemorate the Palestinian Nakba. The event, marking the 75th anniversary of the Nakba, will be attended by Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud 'Abbas, who is expected to use this platform to underscore the issue of the Palestinian people's right of return. The decision to hold event was one of the outcomes of a Palestinian diplomatic campaign that calls, inter alia, for recognizing the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes inside the state of Israel.

In the past year, PA, PLO and Fatah leaders have continued to stress their uncompromising insistence on the right of the Palestinian refugees and their descendants to return to their homes, a right they contend is guaranteed by UN Resolution 194.[1] This demand has in fact been part of the official Palestinian position for years. The meaning of this demand is that the refugees would be allowed to return to the territory of Israel on the 1948 borders, which contravenes the call for a two-state solution and is aimed at eliminating Israel in its current, Zionist, form.[2]

Statements by Palestinian officials on the right of return were especially conspicuous lately, amid the Palestinian preparations for the UN event marking the 75th anniversary of the Nakba, and also at the celebrations marking the 58th anniversary of Fatah's founding.

The issue of the right of return also came up in the context of a bill recently introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, which calls to set conditions for U.S. contributions to UNRWA and to restrict the definition of Palestinian refugee. The bill drew furious responses from Palestinian officials, who reiterated that the refugees' right of return to their homes is sacred, non-negotiable and permanent, and that they will never relinquish it. A Palestinian columnist even called to sue the U.S. lawmakers who promoted the bill in international courts.

It should be noted that, on the 75th anniversary of the Nakba, a memorial to the Nakba will be unveiled in Ramallah. The memorial, whose construction was initiated by President 'Abbas, highlights the values of the Palestinian "dispersion, struggle and hope."
Lebanon terror groups directed bus bombing attempt in Israel - Shin Bet
Six members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) have been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the attempted Beitar Illit bus bombing on March 9, and for allegedly planning a series of future explosive attacks, Israel's Shin Bet announced on Monday morning.

According to the security agency, much of the terrorist cell was centered around the Bethlehem area, with members from the Dheisha Refugee Camp, Batir village and Beit Jaala. The cell and its members were uncovered and investigated over the past month.

Those arrested included: Bassam Avina, Ahmad Abu Naama, Mazen Abdullah, Muhammad al-Barak, Rami al-Ahmar and Nur Mahmoud.

The members of the cell planned the Beitar Illit attack, recruited the attacker, and rented safe houses for the attack process. They are also suspected of assembling explosives and purchasing an escape vehicle.

Some of those arrested also were also planning to carry out other terror attacks.

In addition, the Shin Bet arrested an Israeli who is suspected of helping smuggle some of the terror suspects into Israel and transporting them around the country.

According to the statement, the Israeli's interrogation showed that she did not realize they were terrorists, so she has been indicted for the lighter crime of merely assisting persons with illegal border crossing and traveling within Israel.

The IDF Prosecution will file indictments in the near future against various terror cell members for attempted murder, assembling explosives, participation in a terror group and other charges.


Message From an Israeli Soldier: The IDF Values and Protects Human Life; Terrorists Don’t
On May 2, Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) fired a barrage of rockets into Israel, injuring three civilians in Sderot. Hamas claims that these attacks are in response to convicted Islamic Jihad leader Khader Adnan dying of a self-imposed hunger strike. Adnan refused Israeli medical treatment on numerous occasions, and, in effect, killed himself rather than face justice for the crimes he committed against Israeli civilians.

The most recent rocket attacks are a stark reminder of Israel’s precarious security situation. From the murder of a mother and her two daughters, to terror attacks in major cities, and incessant rocket fire and bombings, it is evident that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) face many challenges in protecting the citizens of Israel.

Aside from PIJ, the State of Israel faces threats from several United States-designated terrorist organizations, including Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). These groups operate in Gaza, Lebanon, Judea, and Samaria, and elsewhere. This means that Israel is fighting an almost all-front war from the North, East, and South. Hamas has even attempted to infiltrate Israeli communities from the West via the Mediterranean Sea.

Despite these immense challenges, the IDF holds onto its high standards of operation, trying to minimize collateral damage whenever possible and ensuring routine peace is upheld in one of the world’s most volatile regions. And I know this personally.

Through my nearly three years of serving in Sayeret Givati, a special forces unit of the IDF, I witnessed and participated in numerous counter-terror operations to protect Israeli civilians — Jewish and Jewish and non-Jewish — against terrorism.

I witnessed the professional standards that the IDF maintains, and the lengths it will go to in order to prevent civilian casualties. After my time in the IDF, I returned to America to join another ongoing battle for the truth — this time on America’s college campuses.


MEMRI: Mother Of Hamas Terrorist Who Murdered British-Israeli Mother And Her Daughters: The Jews Are Our Enemies, We Should Fight Them, Devour Them With Our Teeth
On May 7, 2023, the Quds News Agency (Palestine) aired an interview with the mother of Hassan Qatanani, the Hamas terrorist who murdered a British-Israeli woman named Lucy Dee and her two daughters in a shooting attack in April 2023. Qatanani's mother said: "He loved martyrdom. He would say to me, day and night, 'Mom, I want to be martyred.' He would kiss my hand and say: 'Pray to Allah that I will be martyred'... Praise be to Allah for granting him what he wanted... [We] cannot accept what the Jews did to us. We should fight them with our children, with our money, with our families, with our fingernails. We should devour the Jews with our teeth... The Jews are our enemy from beginning to end."

Hassan Qatanani Longed To Be Martyred; Praise Allah For Granting Him What He Wanted

Mother of Hassan Qatanani: "He loved martyrdom. He would say to me, day and night, 'Mom, I want to be martyred.' He would kiss my hand and say: 'Pray to Allah that I will be martyred.' I would say: 'May Allah give you what you want, inshallah.' Praise be to Allah for granting him what he wanted.

"We Should Fight [The Jews] With Our Children, With Our Money, With Our Families, With Our Fingernails... The Jews Are Our Enemy From Beginning To End"

"Anyone with courage in his heart cannot accept what the Jews did to us. We should fight them with our children, with our money, with our families, with our fingernails. We should devour the Jews with our teeth, because they banished us, banished our fathers and mothers. They banished us from our country. They dispersed us. They didn't leave anyone of us healthy. They dispersed us. The Jews are our enemy from beginning to end."


Israel awaiting Saudi approval for direct flights to Hajj
Israel is hopeful that Saudi Arabia will allow direct flights for its Muslim citizens who will soon undertake the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.

Saudi consent for the direct flights—which is still under consideration—would be another step forward in normalization between the nations.

Israel has made a request for the flights and is awaiting Riyadh’s response.

“This issue is under discussion. I cannot tell you if there is any progress,” Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said in an interview with Army Radio last week. “But with that, I am optimistic that we can advance peace with Saudi Arabia.”

Israeli officials noted that the permission could come at the eleventh hour, just before the June 26-July 1 pilgrimage begins. Saudi Arabia has allowed Israeli airlines to overfly its territory since July 2022.

Currently, Arab Israelis who undertake the pilgrimage have to travel through third countries such as Jordan to get to Saudi Arabia, incurring additional expenses on both the outbound and return journeys. Around 6,000 Israelis make the Hajj each year.
EU nixes diplomatic event over Ben Gvir attendance to avoid ‘offering him platform’
A day before it was to take place, the European Union said Monday that it was canceling a Europe Day diplomatic reception over National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s plans to attend the event and deliver an address.

“The EU Delegation to Israel is looking forward to celebrating Europe Day on May 9, as it does every year,” said the EU in a statement. “Regrettably, this year we have decided to cancel the diplomatic reception, as we do not want to offer a platform to someone whose views contradict the values the European Union stands for.”

The cultural event in Tel Aviv for the general public will still take place.

The decision came after EU ambassadors met Monday morning at the Delegation offices to decide on a way forward.

The decision was almost unanimous, a diplomat from an EU member state told The Times of Israel. Only Poland and Hungary, two conservative pro-Israel countries, dissented, according to the diplomat.

Ben Gvir, leader of the ultranationalist Otzma Yehudit party, was determined to appear at the celebratory event, despite the European bloc reportedly asking that someone else represent the Israeli government instead due to his far-right views. The European Union flag flies outside of EU headquarters in Brussels, file photo (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

Ben Gvir lashed the EU diplomats for the decision shortly after it was announced.

“It is a shame that the European Union, which claims to represent the values of democracy and multiculturalism, is undiplomatically shutting mouths,” he said.

“It is an honor and a privilege for me to represent the Israeli government, the heroic IDF soldiers, and the people of Israel in every forum,” said Ben Gvir. “Friends know how to voice criticism and true friends also know how to take it.”

“The State of Israel alone will determine who its representatives are, who speaks on its behalf. The Europeans need to understand, we respect them, but we stand for our own fate,” Ben Gvir said in a second statement. “We will be the ones who manage the government of Israel. Not any other authority.”


Poll reveals Israelis’ surprising attitude about living in Judea and Samaria
Surprising data on the public’s perception of Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria has emerged from a survey commissioned by the Israel Defense and Security Forum (IDSF), published on the occasion of the Israel Security Conference, to be held on Tuesday, May 9, in Jerusalem, as a joint venture of Israel Hayom and the IDSF.

The survey, conducted among a representative sample of 1,191 citizens, revealed that 70% of the Jewish public feel a historical connection to Judea and Samaria, 63% an emotional connection and 48% a religious connection. In contrast, only 37% of Israeli Arabs feel a historical connection to the West Bank, while 33% and 32%, respectively, feel a historical and religious affinity to it. At the same time, 90% of right-wing voters feel a historical affinity towards Judea and Samaria, and 46% of center-party voters answered the same. Among the supporters of the left-wing parties, 27% of those sampled agreed that they have a historical affiliation with the disputed region.

The security conference will be held on Tuesday in the presence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Police Commissioner Yaakov Shabtai, along with other ministers and members of Knesset. The conference will host about 300 senior members of the IDSF, leading government officials and politicians, senior figures from the defense establishment as well as heads of various organizations, and will also be open to the general public. Conference participants are expected to discuss the Iranian issue, the Abraham Accords, relations with the Palestinians, challenges to governance, personal security and other issues.

It’s clear from the study that many Israelis tend to shy away from visiting Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, either for security reasons or due to technical considerations. Eighty percent of the Israelis surveyed said that travel in Judea and Samaria is dangerous. However, only 9% admitted to visiting there on a weekly basis over the course of the last three years. Twenty percent of respondents had not even paid one visit to Judea and Samaria in the last three years.

It appears that a person’s family circle is a key factor influencing whether or not that individual visits this area. Forty-eight percent of right-wing respondents visit Judea and Samaria to meet family, compared with only 20% of those identified with the left. The most popular reasons for visiting the region were found to be family (42%), historical sites (36%), hiking (31%), work and business (28%) and both military and security-related service (27%).
Here’s the Truth About Israel’s Lawful Treatment of Hunger-Striking Terrorist
The PA/PLO’s representative in the UK, Husam Zomlot, tweeted a picture of terrorist Adnan holding two children and falsely claimed that he had “never been charged” and that he suffered “prolonged medical neglect”:

Shamefully, despite lacking any factual or legal basis, some international functionaries and organizations swallowed the PA lies and joined the baseless attack on Israel.

The UN Human Rights Council Special Procedures — a group of so-called “human rights experts independent from any government or organization, serving in their individual capacity,” tweeted a caricature of terrorist Adnan refusing food from Israel (depicted by a Star of David) and demanded “accountability” for the death of the terrorist:

The “Israel and Palestine Director” of Human Rights Watch (HRW), Omar Shakir, who Israel expelled for his support for the antisemitic BDS movement, went even further. Before launching into a diatribe of praise for the dead terrorist, Shakir ignored the real facts, tweeting: “Make no mistake: Israel killed Khader Adnan.”

Were the UN experts and Shakir ignorant of the facts? Most probably, since they often positively choose to ignore the real facts that don’t support their anti-Israel agenda.

Were they not aware of the decision in the case of Horoz? Most likely not. But in this case, similar to many other situations, they rely on their perceived credibility, assuming that the wider public will not question their biased approach.

Clearly, however, both the UN and HRW have no compunction about openly expressing their anti-Israel hostility by demanding that Israel be held to a standard separate and different from that of the rest of the world, a standard unique for the world’s only Jewish country.
PFLP threatens escalation after leader put in solitary confinement in Israeli prison
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) threatened an escalation in violence Monday after the terror group’s leader was sent to solitary confinement in an Israeli prison.

In a press conference in Gaza, the organization warned that it would hold Israel “fully responsible” if anything happened to secretary-general Ahmad Saadat after he was moved from general quarters at the Ramon Prison.

“Our response will be painful,” PFLP member Awad al-Sultan said.

There was no immediate comment from the Israel Prison Service.

The terror group didn’t state a specific reason for why it believes the prison authorities moved Saadat, who is serving a 30-year sentence for his role in the 2001 assassination of Israeli tourism minister Rehavam Ze’evi, but appeared to link it to Israeli military operations in the West Bank amid a series of deadly Palestinian terror attacks.

“You will not undermine our determination and will,” al-Sultan added.

The PFLP said that two of its other members had been transferred from their cells: Ahed Abu Ghoulmeh, who was also convicted over Ze’evi’s killing, and Walid Muhammad Hanatsheh, who is accused of orchestrating a bombing attack outside a West Bank settlement in 2019 that killed Israeli teenager Rina Shnerb.

The move came the same day the Shin Bet announced it arrested six members of a PFLP terror cell accused of attempting to carry out a bombing attack on a bus in March and planning further attacks in the West Bank. According to the Shin Bet, the attempted attack revealed a widespread PFLP terror network in the West Bank that is directed by PFLP officials, including members jailed in Israel.
‘With Blood We Shall Redeem You, Oh Martyr,’ Chant Mourners at Funeral of Arab ‘Road Rage’ Victim
Thousands of people attended the funeral on Sunday of Diyar Omri, a 19-year-old Arab Israeli who was killed the day before in an alleged road rage brawl with a Jewish Israeli. The crowd at the funeral chanted slogans such as “through spirit and blood we will redeem you, oh martyr” and “your blood will not be in vain.”

Mourners flew both the Palestinian flag and the flag of Hamas, an antisemitic terrorist group committed to the destruction of Israel.

The funeral took place in the northern village of Sandala, whose residents called a one-day general strike to protest Omri’s killing.

The incident further raised Israeli-Palestinian tensions and drew threats from Palestinian terror groups including Hamas.

Also Sunday, Israeli police named 32-year-old Denis Mukin as the suspected killer. Tests showed he was inebriated during the incident where he fired at Omri several times. He was remanded for a week pending further investigation.

Mokin pleaded self-defense, saying he “felt his life was under threat.”
Terrorists fire at hometown of Jewish man accused of killing Arab Israeli
Palestinian terrorists on Sunday fired in the direction of the northern Israeli town of Gan Ner following a roadside dispute the previous day in which a Jewish resident of the town shot and killed an Arab Israeli.

The Jenin wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack, releasing a video purportedly showing the town from a distance before gunshots are heard as ominous music is played in the background.

No casualties or damage were reported.

PIJ has condemned the killing of 19-year-old Diar Umari, from the Arab village of Sandala, near Gan Ner, as a “heinous crime.” The suspect, Dennis Mokin, 32, is accused of shooting and killing Umari during a fight on the side of a road in the north of the country.

Hamas also expressed outrage at the killing of Umari, saying that Palestinians would “escalate their resistance” and that the murder would not pass “without a response.”


Jerusalem serial rioter who opened Snapchat group for riots indicted
Serial rioters were indicted on Monday for taking part in violent events throughout Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount Ramadan riots.

Jerusalem resident Mahmoud Shahshir had organized participation in riots with a group on the Snapchat application. He often coordinated with Imran Bukhari.

Shahshir and Bukhari brought Hamas flags and Lions' Den headbands and a bag with a dozen fireworks to al-Aqsa Mosque on April 5. The accused and hundreds of other rioters had barricaded themselves in the holy site with the goal of creating a disruption and attacking security forces. Other rioters also assembled a stockpile of fireworks, as well as stone, planks and other objects to use as weapons.

The men threw stones and shot fireworks at police from a close distance. The indictment noted that several police were injured during the riot, including one officer who suffered burns and damage to his hearing.

Previous actions of the serial rioters
Earlier in the year, Sharshir had taken part in a January riot in Beit Hanina. Rioters threw trash cans, rocks, fireworks and even threw Molotov cocktails at security personnel. The suspect gave fireworks to other rioters.

In October 2022, Sharshir and others joined riots in which they pelted a bus traveling from Neve Yaakov past Beit Hanina with rocks. Later, when identifying another car with occupants that were visibly Jewish, they pelted a private car with rocks.

Later that night, Sharshir joined riots in Isawiya in which he threw more rocks and fireworks at police officers.
Palestinian teens jailed for raping Polish tourist in front of partner
The IDF military court in the West Bank sentenced two 19-year-olds to 14 years and six and a half years in prison respectively and fined them for raping a Polish tourist near Bethlehem three years ago.

Another defendant's involvement is still pending trial and another suspect has yet to be arrested.

The tourist and her partner drove towards Beit Jala, near Bethlehem, in February 2020.

The two defendants, who were both around 17 at the time, were hitchhiking through the same area along with two others.

The two recognized the couple and blocked their car to make them stop, while one of them introduced himself claiming to be a Palestinian police officer.

The four people then "arrested" the tourist and her partner, tying up the latter who begged them to let them go before grabbing the victim and taking turns raping her.

The defendants recorded some of the incident and forced the victim to look at the camera, while one of them held a knife and the other made sure her partner didn't escape. When they finished, they stole the woman's cash and jewelry before puncturing their car's tires and leaving the scene.
Palestinians: More Human Rights Violations No One Talks About
The failure [to report the deaths of two men in Hamas custody] underscores what appears their total lack of concern for the human rights of Palestinians living under the rule of Hamas....

The media seem more worried about the human rights of Palestinian terrorists than the rights of victims of Palestinian terrorists.

Adnan [the leader of the Iranian-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad] was neither tortured nor mistreated in Israeli prison.

The stories of the two Palestinian men who died in Hamas custody are vastly different from that of Adnan. Al-Sufi's family insist he died of torture while in Hamas custody.

Foreign journalists did not visit, or even try to contact, the families of the two men held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The UN and human rights organizations -- who expressed so much concern over the death of the hunger striker in an Israeli prison -- have yet to comment on the suspicious deaths of the two Palestinians in Hamas detention in the Gaza Strip, which could constitute crimes against humanity.

No one cares about the two men who died in Hamas custody, apparently because Israel is not associated with their deaths. Had Al-Sufi and Al-Louh died in an Israeli prison, they would have made headlines in The New York Times, the BBC and CNN.

The newspapers and media organizations turning a blind eye to human rights violations committed by Hamas against Palestinians are implying, through their failure to cover these suspicious deaths, that there is nothing newsworthy about Palestinians reportedly being tortured to death in Palestinian prisons.
PA fears Hamas planning West Bank ‘coup’
Hamas may be planning to “stage a coup” against the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, a Palestinian official in Ramallah warned on Monday.

The warning came amid an increase in Hamas terror activities in the West Bank and ongoing incitement by the Islamist group against the PA and its security forces.

In recent weeks, Hamas claimed responsibility for a number of terror attacks, especially the shooting attacks in the Jordan Valley, where Lucy Dee and her two daughters, Maya and Rina, were killed.

Last week, an Israeli man was lightly injured in a shooting attack at the Avnei Hefetz junction on the western edge of the West Bank.

The two attacks were carried out by members of Hamas’ military wing, Izzaddin al-Qassam, the group announced in separate statements.

The four members of the Hamas cells who carried out the attacks were killed last week by Israeli security forces during separate raids in Nablus and Tulkarem.

The official told The Jerusalem Post that “there is a feeling that Hamas has raised its head again in the West Bank.”
The PA Allows Terrorist Havens to Operate Freely
In Jamma'in, near Nablus, Israeli security forces arrested a fugitive Palestinian Arab terrorist last week. In Jelazoun and El-Bireh, they captured four more. Four terrorists were apprehended in Dura, Khursa and Fawwar, and another in Ein as-Sultan. Many weapons were also seized, the Israeli Army spokesman said.

These towns are all ruled by the Palestinian Authority and they are teeming with terrorists and weapons.

The Oslo Accords gave the Palestinian Authority control over the areas where 98% of the Palestinian Arabs live and turned over the fight against terrorism to the PA.

The Accords required the PA to ensure an end to terrorism against Israel - to "apprehend, investigate and prosecute perpetrators and all other persons directly or indirectly involved in acts of terrorism, violence and incitement."

To carry out these actions, Israel authorized the PA to create a 12,000-man security force, trained and armed by the U.S., which has since grown into a de-facto army numbering 30,000 men.

The PA has governed the towns mentioned above for 28 years, yet they are still filled with terrorists, forcing Israel to send its soldiers in to capture them. The PA ignores its Oslo obligations to arrest them and the international community chooses to look away.


Alleged Jordanian airstrikes kill Syrian drug kingpin, his wife and six children
Airstrikes over southern Syria early Monday killed one of the country’s most well-known drug dealers, an opposition war monitor and a pro-government radio station reported.

The strikes come a day after Arab governments reinstated Syria to the Arab League following the country’s suspension for its crackdown on protests. As Arab governments gradually rekindle ties with Damascus, one of the key topics of discussion has been Syria’s illicit drug industry, which has flourished during the ongoing conflict — especially illegal amphetamine captagon.

Western governments estimate that captagon has generated billions of dollars in revenue for President Bashar Assad, his Syrian associates, and allies. Damascus has denied the accusations.

The first strike hit a home in the Syrian village of Shuab in Sweida province near the Jordanian border, killing Merhi Ramthan, his wife and six children, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The opposition war monitor and Sham FM reported another strike in the southern province of Daraa that hit a building. The Observatory said the building housed a drug factory.
MEMRI TV Videos: Former Lebanese Minister: Foreign Countries Are Inciting Syrian Refugees to Cause Anarchy in Lebanon
Former Lebanese Interior Minister Brigadier-General (ret.) Marwan Charbel lamented the foreign intervention in Lebanon’s affairs regarding politics and the refugees in two TV appearances on April 26, 2023. On an Al-Manar TV (Hizbullah-Lebanon) show, he asked what kind of country needs foreign intervention in order to elect a president, form a government, or choose a prime minister. On a show that aired on TeleLiban (Lebanon), he accused European and other foreign countries of inciting the Syrian refugees in Lebanon and indeed paying them “under the table” in order to create “anarchy” in the country. Charbel said that the Syrian refugees in Lebanon constitute a demographic threat to the country, because of their high birthrate and that foreign countries want there to be more Sunnis than Shiites in Lebanon.


Israel’s deepening Iran dilemma
The Islamic Republic of Iran has long represented the most significant strategic challenge facing Israel. Today, despite years of persistent focus, as well as a range of covert initiatives to erode Iranian military and technological capabilities, that threat has grown significantly more acute. As a result, the Jewish state is fast approaching a critical juncture in its Iran policy.

As I heard on a recent fact-finding trip to the country, two things are drawing this fateful moment closer.

The first is Iran’s own accelerating nuclear advances. The country was recently discovered to have enriched uranium to 84% purity, just shy of the “red line” of 90% that has been drawn by successive Israeli leaders. That development demonstrates serious, sustained nuclear progress on the part of the Islamic Republic — progress that has taken place notwithstanding the massive economic and political pressure leveled against Iran by the West in recent years.

The second is the bankruptcy of the current U.S. approach to the threat from Iran. The Biden administration took office promising to scupper the “maximum pressure” policy of its predecessor and reengage diplomatically with Iran as a way of curtaining its regional menace. More than a year on, the White House remains committed to resuscitating the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and the West — even though, Israeli experts say, it is abundantly clear that for the Iranian side, this is now a “dead issue.”

As a result, they assert, the United States doesn’t have much of a Plan B for preventing Iranian nuclearization. This sobering realization has led even those Israelis who previously backed the 2015 deal to become convinced that Israel will need to act unilaterally to dismantle (or at least delay) the Iranian nuclear effort.

Whether it can actually do so, however, is the subject of considerable debate in the country. An often-heard refrain is that Iran’s nuclear program is too mature, too distributed and too resilient to be eliminated outright by any conceivable Israeli military action — and that therefore the result of any Israeli strike would be temporary at best, buying the country (and the international community) just a short reprieve in terms of Iranian nuclear development.
Iran blames the West for lack of nuclear deal
An Iranian official said on Monday that it was still possible to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal, blaming stalled negotiations on the West, and particularly, the United States.

A deal was “possible both in terms of the technical and political aspects,” said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani, five years to the day after then-U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew Washington from the agreement.

Kanani pointed the finger at “the other sides, especially the U.S.,” and accused them of “hav[ing] procrastinated.”

International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi visited Tehran for two days of high-level meetings in March, after the agency confirmed in a report that its inspectors had found traces of uranium enriched to 83.7%, or military grade, at Iran’s underground nuclear site in Fordow.

A copy of the confidential IAEA quarterly report stated that “particles” of the substance had been detected.

Iran has been enriching uranium to up to 60% since April 2021. About six months ago, it began enriching to 60% at a second site at Fordow.

The new IAEA 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%.
Iran Hid Weapons among Earthquake Aid to Target U.S. Troops, Leak Says
Iran and its proxies are enabling attacks on U.S. troops in Syria through clandestine weapons shipments hidden within post-earthquake humanitarian aid, according to classified U.S. intelligence and an Israeli military official. A top-secret document circulated on the Discord messaging platform, which has not been previously disclosed, was obtained by the Washington Post. It amplifies earlier reports of Iran's efforts to conceal military equipment within aid deliveries to Syria after the February disaster.

In the earthquake's immediate aftermath, Iran and its affiliates moved quickly. A militia group in Iraq "orchestrated the transfer of rifles, ammunition and 30 UAVs hidden in aid convoys to support future attacks on U.S. forces in Syria," the leaked document contends. It notes that an Iranian Quds Force officer maintained a list of "hundreds" of vehicles and goods that entered Syria from Iraq after the earthquake.
Ukraine says it shot down 35 Iranian-made drones over Kyiv as attacks kill 4
Ukraine air defenses shot down 35 Iranian-made drones over Kyiv in Russia’s latest nighttime assault, as attacks across Ukraine by the Kremlin’s forces killed four civilians, officials said Monday.

The bombardments came as Moscow enforced tight security on the eve of traditional Red Square commemorations marking the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.

Russian media counted at least 21 Russian cities that canceled military parades — the staple of Victory Day celebrations across Russia — on May 9 for the first time in years. Regional officials cited “security concerns” or vaguely referred to “the current situation.”

Parades will go ahead in Russia’s largest cities, Moscow and St. Petersburg. But the use of drones has been banned in both cities ahead of Victory Day. In St. Petersburg, which is often referred to as “northern Venice” for its network of rivers and canals, using jet skis in certain parts of the city has also been prohibited until May 10. In the Russian capital, car-sharing services have been temporarily barred from the city center — drivers will not be able to start or finish rides there.

Five people in the Ukrainian capital were injured by falling drone debris, according to Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration. Air raid alarms sounded for more than three hours during the night.

Drone wreckage struck a two-story apartment building in Kyiv’s western Svyatoshynskyi district, while other debris struck a car parked nearby, setting it on fire, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a Telegram post.


Iran charges 2 more actresses for appearing without a veil
Iran has indicted two more actresses for violating the country’s dress code for women, the latest in a series of similar indictments against celebrities in the Islamic Republic, local media reported Monday.

Separate legal cases against Baran Kosari, 37, and Shaghayegh Dehghan, 44 — both known for roles in Iranian cinema — were filed after they appeared in public without headscarves in recent days, according to media reports.

If prosecuted, the actresses could face fines or prison terms.

Kosari’s case was “sent to the judiciary” after she attended the funeral of actor Hesam Mahmoudi without a headscarf on Friday, Tasnim news agency said.

“Her photos were immediately published on the internet and some media,” the news agency added.

Dehghan was similarly charged for “not wearing a hijab in a cafe,” Mehr news agency reported Monday.

“Earlier legal cases had been filed against actresses Katayoun Riahi, Pantea Bahram, Afsaneh Baygan and Fatemeh Motamed-Aria for removing their headscarves,” the agency added.


MEMRI TV Videos: Friday Sermon in Yasuj, Iran: If You Can Afford to Go on Hajj but Don’t, You Might Die as a Jew
In an April 28, 2023 Friday sermon delivered in Yasuj, Iran, Nassir Hosseini, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei’s representative in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province discussed the importance of Hajj. He said that according to a hadith, the Prophet Muhammad said that if a person is well-off and healthy enough to afford to go on the Hajj pilgrimage but chooses not to go, “he might die as a Jew.” The sermon was aired on Dena TV (Iran) April 28, 2023.

The MEMRI Lantos Project exposes anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial in the Middle East region and Middle Eastern communities in the West with the aim of supporting legislation and educating media and the general public.




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