Thursday, June 08, 2023

06/08 Links Pt1: State Dept. courting Palestinians, as Ramallah insults US; Iran’s ‘suicide drones’ are being developed at British universities

From Ian:

State Dept. courting Palestinians, as Ramallah insults US
In a recording that leaked last year, Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas told a group of Palestinian Americans that he called U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken a “little boy.” In October 2022, Abbas told Russian President Vladimir Putin, “We don’t trust America,” and he and other Palestinian leaders often attack the Biden administration for what they claim is a failure to live up to promises.

Despite Palestinian leaders frequently trashing the Biden administration and the United States, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Israeli-Palestinian Affairs Andrew Miller told JNS on June 5 that Washington has demonstrated that it wants to build a relationship with Ramallah.

“Since the beginning of the Biden administration, we’ve been clear that we wanted to rebuild the relationship with both the Palestinian leadership and with the Palestinian people,” Miller said. “I think we’ve demonstrated that not just in word but in deed.”

Since assuming office, the Biden administration has provided nearly $1 billion in assistance to Palestinians, including making vaccines available during the pandemic, as well as providing food and educational opportunities for this population, according to Miller.

“Things that are clearly in the best interest of the Palestinian people writ large,” he said.

Miller assumed his current role last November, replacing Hady Amr, who was promoted to a new position: Washington-based special representative for Palestinian affairs. The new role was intended, in part, to show Ramallah that the Biden administration was serious about addressing its concerns.

Asked if it has done anything to improve ties with the P.A., Miller talked instead about Amr, who with his team in Jerusalem is “engaging with a broad swath of Palestinian society.”

“We think that the creation of this position is a crucial tool in our efforts to strengthen our relationship with the Palestinians, both in terms of extending the conversations that we have but also enabling us to have broader outreach to a wider spectrum of Palestinian society than was the case previously,” Miller said.
Iran’s ‘suicide drones’ are being developed at British universities
Scientists at British universities helped the Iranian regime develop technology that can be used in its drone programme and fighter jets, a JC investigation has revealed.

Senior MPs and peers expressed deep concern over the findings, with a government spokesperson saying Britain would “not accept collaborations which compromise our national security”.

At least 11 British universities, including Cambridge and Imperial College London, are involved, with staff producing at least 16 studies with potential Iranian military applications.

The UK bans the export of military and “dual-use” technology to Iran and recently imposed fresh sanctions against Iranian individuals and organisations supplying Russia with kamikaze drones being used in Ukraine.

Iran’s drone and missile arsenal is controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The government is under increasing pressure to proscribe it as a terrorist organisation.

Yet the JC can reveal that in one project researchers in Britain worked to improve drone engines, boosting their altitude, speed and range. It was funded by Tehran.

Another British university worked with Iranian counterparts to test sophisticated new control systems for jet engines, aimed at increasing their “manoeuvrability and response time” in “military applications”.

Other UK-based scientists have worked with Iran to research the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as mobile base stations to extend the range of communications systems, on special alloys for military aircraft and coatings to upgrade armour plating.

MPs have demanded to know how the research was carried out under the nose of the government’s supposedly tough sanctions regime.
Syrian refugee wounds 5, mostly children, in suspected stabbing attack in France
A man armed with a knife attacked a group of preschool children playing by a lake in the French Alps Thursday, wounding four as well as an adult and sending shockwaves through the country.

The suspect is a Syrian in his early 30s who was granted refugee status in Sweden in April, a police source told AFP.

Witnesses described the suspected knifeman running around in a frenzy, apparently attacking people at random before he was shot by police near the banks of Lake Annecy.

“He wanted to attack everyone. I moved away and he lunged at an old man and woman and stabbed the old man,” former professional footballer Anthony Le Tallec, who was running in the park, told the local Dauphine Libere newspaper.

Another witness, named Malo, told the BFM television channel that the culprit attacked the children before the old man and was “shouting, but it wasn’t really comprehensible.”

Two of the children — believed to be aged around three — and an adult victim were in critical condition and fighting for their lives in a hospital, a security source told AFP.


NGO Monitor: UN Human Rights Council COI Report: Defamation and Disinformation
On June 8, 2023, the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC)’s permanent “Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in Israel” (COI) published a report purporting to investigate “attacks, restrictions and harassment of civil-society actors.”

Like in previous publications, the COI parrots terror-linked NGOs, grossly distorts Israeli policy and practice, and contravenes fact-finding best practices including UN standards.

The COI document contains little original research. Rather, it copies-and-pastes from previous UN attacks on Israel – themselves largely based on distorted NGO claims; NGO publications account for nearly 40% of all material cited in the report. Notably, the COI cites to Israeli-designated terrorist entities – including Addameer, Al-Haq, and Bisan – and other terror-linked organizations such as the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) and the Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR). Additionally, the COI sources to NGOs that consistently advance an anti-Israel “apartheid” narrative, rejecting Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state and advocating for BDS: Human Rights Watch (HRW), Amnesty International, International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH), and B’Tselem.

The COI engages in tokenism, claiming that it “heard from both Israeli and Palestinian civil-society actors,” masking the fact that such organizations are ideologically aligned – and aligned with the COI’s political agenda. The COI refused to meet with key witnesses, or with any stakeholders who did not promote anti-Israel or anti-Zionist viewpoints.

In addition, the COI continues its efforts to advance prosecutions against Israelis at the International Criminal Court (ICC), recommending “that the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court prioritize the investigation into the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including the identification of direct perpetrators, those exercising command responsibility and individuals who aid or abet the commission of crimes under the Court’s jurisdiction.”


The "No Israel, No Problem" Approach to Peacemaking
"We will not back off from the annihilation of Israel, even one millimeter," Brig.-Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi, spokesman for the Iranian regime's armed forces, has vowed. Hizbullah, Islamic Jihad, and Hamas have the same goal. Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority (PA) that governs the West Bank, doesn't call for Israeli Jews to be killed, but he does provide financial rewards to Palestinian terrorists and their families.

Why don't self-proclaimed champions of the "Palestinian cause" pressure Hamas and the Palestinian Authority to grant more rights and freedoms to Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank? Why do they ignore the fact that if missile and terrorist attacks from Gaza and the West Bank ceased, counterattacks from Israel also would end? Why do they never criticize Palestinian leaders for rejecting offers of two-state solutions in 1937, 1947, 2000, 2001, and 2008?
Kentucky Jewish Group Condemns Anti-Semitic Activists Working To Reelect Dem Governor
A leading Kentucky Jewish group has "extreme concerns" about liberal activists Linda Sarsour and Tamika Mallory's plans to influence the state's upcoming gubernatorial race, citing the controversial pair's "extreme anti-Semitic legacy."


After Sarsour and Mallory on Monday launched a campaign to stop Republican Daniel Cameron from becoming Kentucky's first black governor, the Kentucky Jewish Council blasted the activists over their "lengthy records of anti-Semitism." Sarsour and Mallory were ousted from the anti-Trump group they helped lead, the Women's March, over anti-Semitic comments, and both have ties to anti-Semitic Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who has denounced Jews as "termites" and praised Adolf Hitler as a "very great man."

"Linda Sarsour and Tamika Mallory have repeatedly demonstrated their bias against the Jewish community through public statements, social media posts, and associations with individuals who propagate anti-Semitic views," the group, which is the "leading statewide voice and advocate for the Kentucky Jewish community," said in a statement. "Platforming influential figures like Sarsour and Mallory, with lengthy records of anti-Semitism, not only creates division but can potentially incite further hatred, discrimination, and violence against our community."

The fiery statement puts pressure on Kentucky Democratic governor Andy Beshear to similarly condemn Sarsour and Mallory as he navigates a difficult reelection bid. In addition to Sarsour and Mallory's "lengthy records of anti-Semitism," the pair's social justice organization, Until Freedom, is led by far-left activists who have advocated for a "world without prisons."

Beshear's campaign did not return a request for comment.
Miss Iraq who took photo with Miss Israel announces Congressional run
Sarah Idan, the former Miss Universe Iraq contestant who snapped a selfie with Miss Israel during a competition in 2017, has announced that she is running for Congress in 2024, the Algemeiner reported on Wednesday night.

Idan, who was born in Iraq in 1990 but now lives in Los Angeles, will be running to represent California's 30th District in the US House of Representatives in November 2024.

On her campaign website, Idan writes about her childhood as a refugee amid the conflicts in Iraq and her work as a translator for the US forces operating in the region. Idan additionally mentions the story of how she took a selfie with then-Miss Israel Adar Gandelsman in 2017 and how she and her family received death threats afterward. Idan's family fled Iraq in light of the threats.

In 2018, Idan visited Israel, meeting up again with Gandelsman and touring the country. “I don’t think Iraq and Israel are enemies, I think maybe the governments are enemies with each other,” Idan said in an interview with Channel 2 News at the time. “With the people – there’s a lot of Iraqi people that don’t have a problem with Israelis, with the Jewish people.”

Idan lost her Iraqi citizenship after delivering a speech at a United Nations event in 2019 marking the expulsion of Jews from North Africa and the Middle East following the establishment of the State of Israel.

“I don’t think there’s a better candidate to represent minority groups than me being an immigrant, Muslim woman and coming from Iraq, a country directly affected by US [foreign] policies,” Idan told the Algemeiner. “My voice is definitely the voice of the minority and in Congress, I feel like we need an Iraqi voice.”
European lawmakers: EU labeling policy is antisemitic
A delegation of parliamentarians from 10 European countries on Wednesday denounced the E.U. policy of exclusively labeling goods made in Israeli territory, calling it a violation of the universally recognized definition of antisemitism.

The hot-button declaration by the pro-Israel legislators relates to a 2015 E.U. directive which states that any goods made in areas that Israel won in the 1967 Six-Day War, including eastern Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, cannot be labeled as “made in Israel.”

“Labeling products exclusively from the one and only Jewish state violates the internationally accepted IHRA definition of antisemitism,” read the lawmakers’ declaration.

The one-sentence declaration was signed at an event at the Czech Parliament in Prague attended by legislators from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain and the United Kingdom.

The parliamentarians, members of their respective countries’ parliamentary European Israeli Allies Caucuses, pledged to continue working within their own parliaments against the directive.

“The E.U. should withdraw the directive where goods from Jerusalem, Golan Heights, Judea and Samaria are requested to be separately labeled to highlight that the products come from those areas,” said chairman of the European Parliament Israel Allies Caucus Bert Jan Ruissen of the Netherlands. “This [directive] is discriminative and based on anti-Zionist assumptions,” he said.

The European Union’s position is that the lands in question are not part of the internationally recognized borders of Israel and as such, goods from there cannot carry the generic “Made in Israel” tag and should be labeled as coming from “settlements.” The E.U.’s top court, the European Court of Justice, subsequently endorsed the decision.
Arab States Take Part in EU Event for Israel's 75th Anniversary
Brussels hosted a reception marking the 75th anniversary of the creation of the State of Israel, attended by more than 700 people. "The celebration was organized by the Israeli embassy in Belgium and the EU institutions, in the presence of dozens of ambassadors and senior officials of the EU, more than 40 members of the European Parliament, heads of the Jewish community in Belgium, representatives of foreign countries, and, for the first time, Arab representatives from five countries: Egypt, Jordan, the UAE, Morocco and Bahrain," wrote Itamar Eichner in Yediot Ahronot. The Arab delegates' attendance was marked and applauded by those present.


IDF Expands Its Electronic Warfare Capabilities
In a recent operation, the IDF's adversaries were about to aim and fire a precise weapon at IDF forces in the field when suddenly the IDF could hear the enemy asking, "Why aren't we shooting?"

The IDF's electromagnetic spectrum warfare center had disabled the enemy forces' ability to function.

The unit carries out a variety of activities that include direct jamming and confounding an enemy's communications.

A senior IDF official from the unit said, "The purpose of the unit is to enable total control over the electromagnetic spectrum, which allows much freer action by the IDF's various forces in the field."

"Now when the air force attacks, it can be assumed that the electromagnetic warriors are involved in some way, the same with the navy and the same on land with operations by tanks and armored personnel vehicles."

The unit's capabilities were used during the May 2021 conflict in Gaza. In a variety of situations, Hamas or Islamic Jihad operatives in the field unexplainably lost touch with their commanders.
Israeli-built aerial warning system set to be deployed in Ukraine by September
The civilian aerial warning system Israel is building for Ukraine is on track to be deployed in September, a Ukrainian official told The Times of Israel Wednesday.

That timeline is weeks beyond the initial expectations of deployment over the summer, and Ukrainian diplomats and security officials are working to speed up the process.

Ukrainian and Israeli officials are set to meet this week in Poland to work on the system, as they have in recent months. The system will initially cover much of Kyiv, the official said, then will hopefully be copied in other cities.

Since the beginning of the war last year, Russia has battered Ukrainian cities with missile and suicide drone strikes.

Unlike in Israel, the system set for deployment in Ukraine will feature alerts only, without interception capabilities.

Ukraine has long sought missile interceptor capabilities, but Israel has so far refused, seeking to avoid overly antagonizing Russia. This hesitance is mainly seen as linked to Israel’s strategic need to maintain freedom of operations in Syria, where Russian forces largely control the airspace. Israel is one of the few countries that maintains relatively good relations with both Ukraine, a fellow Western democracy, and Russia.

The system in Ukraine is set for wider coverage and will trigger alerts in a general area where an incoming Russian missile is expected to hit; the system in Israel works with more precision.
Israeli army conducts drills with US forces in Morocco and at home

How Israel Can Solve Its Gaza Problem
Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) are Palestinian terror organizations committed to annihilating Israel, controlling Gaza, and threatening to launch attacks at times of their choosing if Jerusalem does not act as they demand. They use Gaza's civilian population as human shields to prevent the Israelis from hitting their military infrastructure.

Jerusalem wants Hamas sufficiently weak to be deterred from initiating armed conflict yet strong enough to force its will over any potential competitor, such as PIJ or Salafist groups. The Israelis also seek to keep Egypt on their side.

Yet this approach grants Hamas the ability to develop its offensive capabilities, increase its political power, and condemns Israelis to persistent threats from Hamas. Israel's goal should be to remove Hamas' threat by disarming it, prohibiting its rearmament, and demonstrating conclusively that threatening Israel is indisputably against its interests. With proper preparation, this goal may be feasible at the appropriate time.

Israel must reassess its strategy and embark on a campaign to permanently end Hamas' threats. It will have to take the initiative and deny Hamas the ability to produce and develop new weapons even absent Hamas' provocations.
The Israel Guys: ANOTHER Shooting Attack In Huwarrah | Israeli Vehicle SHOT 10 Times
A Jewish man was driving in between Huwara and Tapuach junction, when a terrorist in a passing vehicle shot more than ten rounds into his car.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken made some very hypocritical statements during his speech at Aipac.

And Iran just unveiled its first hypersonic missile.


Israeli forces demolish Ramallah home of Jerusalem bomber
The Israel Defense Forces on Thursday demolished the home in Ramallah of the terrorist responsible for deadly twin bombings in Jerusalem in November, according to the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit.

During the raid in the Palestinian Authority’s de facto administrative capital, Israeli forces came under attack, with area residents throwing stones, firebombs and explosives. The IDF responded with riot dispersal measures and live fire. No casualties were reported, with the military saying only that “hits were detected.”

According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, at least six people were injured and in stable condition—three by live ammunition and the others from rubber bullets or tear gas.

Two Israeli civilians—Tedsha Tashuma, a 50-year-old father of six from Pisgat Ze’ev, and Aryeh Shechopek, 16, a Canadian-Israeli from the Har Nof neighborhood of Jerusalem—were killed in the Nov. 23 bus-stop bombings, and more than 20 people were wounded.

Eslam Froukh, 26, was arrested in connection with the attacks on Nov. 29 following an “extensive” investigation.

While Froukh identifies with the Islamic State terrorist group and adheres to a Salafist-jihadist ideology, he planned the attacks on his own, over an extended period, according to Israeli authorities.


Palestinian journalists seriously injured in IDF clashes
Palestinian sources said two journalists were injured early Thursday during clashes between IDF soldiers and Palestinians in Ramallah.

The two, according to the sources, were injured by rubber bullets fired by the soldiers when dozens of Palestinians hurled rocks and petrol bombs at the troops.

Photojournalist Mu’men Samareen was reportedly shot in the head as security forces were dismantling the home of Islam Faroukh, the terrorist behind the November Jerusalem bus stop bombings.

The IDF Spokesperson's unit put out a statement on Thursday morning saying:

"During the activity in the city of Ramallah, violent outbreaks developed in several locations, during which suspects threw stones, Molotov cocktails and [other] explosives at IDF soldiers. Security forces responded with dispersal measures and live fire...injuries were seen.

Israeli forces entered Ramallah on June 7, 2023 and demolished the home of the terrorist behind the November Jerusalem bus stop bombings. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)Israeli forces entered Ramallah on June 7, 2023 and demolished the home of the terrorist behind the November Jerusalem bus stop bombings. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

Based on a preliminary investigation, it appears that a Palestinian photojournalist who was in the area of the violent disturbance was injured...by a rubber bullet. The circumstances of the incident are under review. The IDF makes every effort not to harm those not involved and is very strict about freedom of movement and the press."

The photographer was taken to the hospital in serious condition.

Another journalist, Rabi’ al-Munayyer, was also reportedly injured from a bullet wound to the abdomen in Ramallah on Wednesday night.
IDF confirms Palestinian journalist wounded in Ramallah clashes



Egypt Bans Public Funeral for Soldier Who Killed Three Israeli Soldiers
Egyptian authorities on Tuesday imposed a ban on activists and family members holding a public funeral for Mohamed Salah, the policeman who killed three Israeli soldiers at the Egyptian border on Saturday.

Authorities feared he could be treated as a "martyr."

Egyptian security forces cordoned off roads leading to the deceased's home northeast of Cairo, and policemen were deployed around the house. Pro-Palestinian activists and members of opposition groups who had attempted to reach the house were hunted down by security forces and forced to back off.
MEMRI: Qatar-Affiliated Journalists, Clerics: The Egyptian Border Guard Who Murdered Three Israeli Soldiers Is 'A Real Hero,' 'A Martyr' And 'The Pride Of The Arabs'
The Qatari press and presenters on Qatar's Al-Jazeera network, as well as clerics identified with the Qatari regime, lavished praise on Muhammad Salah, the Egyptian border guard who crossed into Israeli territory on June 3, 2023 and murdered three Israeli soldiers.

The Al-Jazeera presenters, and members of the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS), which is based in Doha and is supported by the Qatari authorities, took to Twitter to describe Salah as "a hero," "the pride of the Arabs" and "a martyr who fulfilled his duty towards his religion, his homeland… and the honor of his Arab and Islamic nation." Many of their tweets appeared under hashtags praising Salah and his action that had been launched on social media, such as "Egyptian_soldier," "the heroic martyr Muhammad Salah" and "pride of the Arabs." One Al-Jazeera presenter and several clerics drew a connection between the attack and the anniversary of the start of the 1967 war, known in the Arab world as Naksa Day,[1] which occurred on June 5, two days after the attack. They wrote that the shooting perpetrated by Salah sweetened the bitter taste of the Arab defeat in 1967, even after so many years. Some of the writers likened Muhammad Salah to Suleiman Khater, an Egyptian soldier who opened fire on a group of Israeli tourists in Sinai in October, 1985, killing seven people, including four children. Articles and cartoons in the Qatari press likewise lauded Salah.
Cartoon in Qatari daily: The Egyptian eagle emerges from the Egyptian peace dove (Al-Sharq, Qatar, June 6, 2023)

This report reviews some of these responses to the attack.

Qatari Daily: The Situation In Palestine Prompted The Egyptian Border Guard To Sacrifice His Life
The June 5, 2023 editorial of the London-based Qatari daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi recounted the Egyptian and the Israeli versions of the incident, and concluded: "The operation [i.e., the attack] shows that the border guard… planned every detail of the attack and was well-acquainted with the terrain, including the area of the observation post where he killed the two [Israeli] soldiers. The operation proves that, although many years have passes since 1979, the year the peace agreement between Israel and Cairo was signed, and despite the overall ruination of the Arabs, the civil wars and the oppression of tyrannical [Arab] regimes, the events in Palestine – what Israel and its racist government are doing to the Palestinian people – continues to be an active and influential factor that can arouse the Arab national sentiment. [In fact, it is so influential] that a man like the Egyptian attacker decided to sacrifice his life as an act of protest against the Israeli crimes and against the 'security cooperation,' the false peace and the normalization agreements."[2]

The daily also published a number of cartoons praising Salah and his action:


Egypt wants return of PA to Gaza border crossing, Palestinians say
The Egyptians are seeking to broker a deal that would allow the Palestinian Authority to resume control of the Rafah crossing between the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip and Egypt, a Palestinian official in Ramallah said Wednesday.

The terminal, the only crossing point between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, has been under Hamas’s control since its violent takeover of the Gaza Strip in 2007.

After the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005, the border crossing was jointly controlled by Egypt and the PA.

The proposed deal was discussed during separate meetings Egyptian officials recently held in Cairo with a PA delegation headed by Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh and leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the official said.

Shtayyeh reportedly urged the Egyptians to ease restrictions imposed on travelers and goods at the Rafah terminal.

In 2017, the PA resumed control of the Rafah terminal in accordance with an Egyptian-brokered “reconciliation” agreement between the PA’s ruling Fatah faction, headed by PA President Mahmoud Abbas, and Hamas.

Two years later, however, the PA instructed its employees to leave the terminal after accusing Hamas of harassing and arresting some of them.

Hamas unlikely to relinquish control of border crossing, official says
The official said he was not optimistic regarding the possibility that Hamas would cede control of the border crossing in the near future.

The latest proposal is part of a series of measures the Egyptians are planning to improve the economic and humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.
What did Fatah stress in its student union election campaign?
During its recent student union election campaign at Birzeit University, which was won by Hamas, Fatah’s Shabiba Student Movement published a video showing a military procession held by the movement at the university. Participating in the procession are masked men in military garb carrying posters of terrorists (See below for more information on the terrorists and their attacks):
Lyrics: “Sort me [into Sai’qa], teach me to follow the path of the Sa’iqa (i.e., Palestinian Ba’athist faction controlled by Syria and an inactive member of the PLO)
Enlist me and train me in the Shabiba camp”
Text on sign on man’s military vest: “The Lion’s Den (i.e., independent Palestinian terror cell)
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades (i.e., Fatah’s terror wing)”
Text on poster: “Martyr Zafer Al-Rimawi” (i.e., terrorist, participated in violent confrontations with Israeli forces)
Text on poster: “Dalal Mughrabi (i.e., terrorist who led murder of 37, including 12 children) – the legend that does not die”
Text on poster: “Heroic Martyr Jawad Al-Rimawi (i.e., terrorist, participated in participating in violent confrontations with Israeli forces)”
Masked men are holding posters of Hamas founder Ahmed Yassin )left) and former PLO and PA chairman Yasser Arafat )right).
Text on poster: “[Fathi] ‘Abu Ra’ad’ Hazem (i.e., terrorist, murdered 3)”
A masked man with “Military publicity” written on his headband is carrying a child on his shoulders. The child is in military uniform and wearing a yellow headband of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, Fatah’s military wing, while carrying a toy gun.
A masked man is holding a poster of arch-terrorist Khalil Al-Wazir “Abu Jihad,” who was responsible for the murder of 125. Text on man’s headband: “The Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades” [Fatah’s terror wing]
A man is carrying a poster featuring a masked and uniformed man holding an assault rifle. In the upper right corner of the poster is the logo of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, and to the left of it is the logo of the Al-Quds Brigades, Islamic Jihad’s military wing. Under the logos is written: “The Night Harassment Unit.” On the left is written: “Brothers in blood and arms”
Text on man’s headband: “Al-Quds Brigades”
Posted text on the Telegram channel: “‘Enlist me and train me in the [Fatah] Shabiba [Student Movement] camp
#Martyr_Yasser_Arafat_Faction
#Birzeit_University
#Volunteering_giving_sacrifice_redemption”


[Martyr Yasser Arafat Faction, the Fatah Shabiba Student Movement
at Birzeit University, Telegram channel, May 7, 2023]

Leading up to the elections, a debate was held between the Fatah Shabiba Student Movement and the Islamic Cell, which is affiliated with Hamas. Abbas’ Fatah published a part of the debate in which a Fatah student is heard bragging about 2 terrorists who murdered 8 people in the Tel Aviv area, a third terrorist who was responsible for numerous shooting attacks, and a fourth who shot at Israeli soldiers. Among other things, the Fatah student “blesses the weapons that brought blood” and vows that “we will strike them” in Tel Aviv:
Fatah Shabiba Student Movement representative: “Blessings to the rifles that passed through the homeland’s territories, starting with [Ibrahim] Al-Nabulsi (i.e., terrorist) and “the [Lion’s] Den” and until the brigades that set out in Jericho, Tulkarem, and Jenin and turned the occupier and its settlers into corpses… [We love to encounter] the Israeli forces with rifles and bullets, to encounter them in Tal Al-Rabia (i.e., Tel Aviv) with the rifle of Ra’ad [Hazem] and the bullets of Diya [Hamarsheh] (i.e., terrorist murderers), [and] to encounter them in Jenin with the rifle of Abdallah Abu Al-Tin (i.e., terrorist).”

[Fatah Commission of Information and Culture, Facebook page, May 23, 2023]

During the election campaign, Fatah also posted another video that glorified terror, of the wanted fugitive Fathi Hazem – the father of terrorist Ra’ad Hazem, who murdered 3 – speaking on stage at an event. Fathi Hazem expressed support for the Islamic faction affiliated with the Hamas terror organization and for Fatah, saying that should Fatah win, his murderer son would “come back to life!”:
“Blessings to the rifles that turned the settlers into corpses” - Fatah member brags about murderers

Terrorist murderers glorified by Fatah student movement in Birzeit University

PA TV: Murderer of 8 is “an idea, a symbol,” mother is “proud of what he did”
The official PA TV program visits the house of terrorist prisoner Nader Sadaqa, former head of the PFLP terror organization’s armed wing who was responsible for the murder of 8.

Official PA TV host: “Nader [Sadaqa] is an idea, [he is] giving, a symbol of Palestinian giving forever and ever.” …

Mother of terrorist Nader Sadaqa: “I’m very proud of what he did. Yes, I lost him, but Allah be praised.” [Official PA TV, Giants of Endurance, June 1, 2023]

Nader Sadaqa – terrorist and former head of the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terror organization. Sadaqa was responsible for numerous attacks, including the following attacks in which 8 Israelis were murdered: a shooting attack in which 2 Israeli soldiers - Amir Ben-Aryeh and Idan Suzin - were murdered at a military post near Nablus on Feb. 5, 2003; a shooting attack in which 2 Israeli soldiers - Yigal Lifshitz and Ofer Sharabi - were murdered at the Beka’ot military base on April 10, 2003; and a suicide bombing in which 4 Israelis - Rotem Weinberger, Angelina Shcherov, Noam Leibowitz, and Adva Fisher - were murdered at the Geha Interchange on Dec. 25, 2003. Sadaqa is serving 6 life sentences.


PA Member of Parliament praises woman for marrying terrorist prisoner serving 8 life sentences
PA Parliament Member Issa Karake: “Osama [Al-Ashqar]… was sentenced to 8 life sentences and 50 years… We salute precious Palestinian woman [Manar Khalawi] who tied her fate to the fighter bearing 8 life sentences (i.e., she married Al-Ashqar while he was imprisoned), but she is the one who drew out life, love, and hope from deep within him.” [Official PA TV, Giants of Endurance, May 18, 2023]

Manar Khalawi got engaged to imprisoned terrorist murderer Osama Al-Ashqar in 2019 and married him in 2020. The terrorist murderer is still in prison.

Osama Al-Ashqar - Palestinian terrorist and member of the Tanzim (Fatah terror faction) who sent terrorists to carry out the attack in Hermesh on Oct. 29, 2002, in which 3 Israelis were murdered, and the attack in Kibbutz Metzer on Nov. 11, 2002, in which 5 Israelis were murdered. He was also convicted of being responsible for dozens of shooting attacks in the Tulkarem area. Al-Ashqar is serving 8 life sentences and an additional 50 years.

Issa Karake is a former Director of PLO Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs and former PA Minister of Prisoners’ Affairs.




PreOccupiedTerritory: Palestinians To Test West’s Credulousness With Dry-Season Claims Of Israel Flooding Gaza (satire)
Representatives of NGOs and media outlets that parrot annual wintertime accusations of Israel opening dams next to this coastal territory to inundate it and immiserate its residents plan to see just how absurd they can make their allegations and still have American and European progressives greet those allegations with no skepticism, activist groups disclosed today, referring in particular to accusations of Israel opening those nonexistent dams during the current summer dry season, when even real-time footage of actual flooding born of inadequate rain drainage infrastructure remains unavailable.

The activists voiced their curiosity to reporters regarding whether any limit exists to the credulousness of Western media who, after all, continue to publish or broadcast the annual open-dams charge despite repeated debunking and no actual evidence of such actions on Israel’s part.

“The first couple of times, I understand, they didn’t think to question it,” explained Palestinian Human Rights Committee field worker Ful Miwanz. “They saw the images of the flooding, and their natural bias caused them to accept that it was Israel’s fault. What isn’t, you know? But the complete absence of dams in the area should have given them pause, and it didn’t. So we want to see whether they’ll believe us if we just recycle the flooding images from last year as we level the accusations anew. Will the reporters believe what they see in the dry streets, or their need to amplify our cause?”
Hillel Neuer: UN rewards for Tehran regime insult its victims
Irony died at the United Nations a long time ago, but now the Islamic Republic of Iran is dancing on its grave. See the recent news that Tehran — which is escalating its nuclear weapons programme while fomenting terrorism across the Middle East and worldwide — was elected by acclamation to the UN General Assembly’s Committee on Disarmament and International Security.

The stated purpose of this UN body is to promote disarmament, deal with threats to international peace, and work towards a safer world. Yet Ayatollah Khamanei’s fanatical regime perpetuates the very problems the committee aims to address.

The Shiite Iranian theocracy and its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps play a destabilising role in the Middle East and worldwide, arming mass murderers and terrorists such as the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, Kata’ib Hezbollah in Iraq, and Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza.

Iran is also a key player behind Russia’s war against Ukraine, supplying at least 400 armed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to Russia — in violation of UN Security Council resolution 2231 — that are used to target critical infrastructure like water and electric utilities, and to murder civilians.

Iran’s illicit nuclear programme, including ballistic missile tests and proliferation activities, amount to ever further violations of that Security Council resolution.

Diplomats need to understand that putting Tehran in a leadership position at a committee charged with disarmament and security only undermines the legitimacy of its work, and casts a shadow upon the UN as a whole. It’s like asking the fox to guard the chickens.

Worryingly, the mullahs keep notching up one propaganda victory after another at the UN. In the past month alone, the regime was appointed Chair of the UN Human Rights Council’s Social Forum, which convenes in November, and elected a vice-president of the UN General Assembly.
Can Israel stop a new Iran deal?
WOULD NETANYAHU do the same today? Unlikely. The reason is twofold. On the one hand, while Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy said during his visit to Israel last month that he would invite Netanyahu to Washington DC if President Joe Biden did not, Netanyahu understands that a fight with the administration will not succeed in stopping a new interim deal and will become highly politicized as the 2024 presidential election race heats up.

The second reason is because deep down, Israel wants a diplomatic resolution to the Iran nuclear challenge. It knows that a military option – while viable – will only delay Iran’s pursuit of a bomb and pave the way for the mullahs to gain the legitimacy they need to plow ahead under the claim that a bomb is needed to protect the republic.

While there are some in the Knesset and the defense establishment who are enamored by the military option and cite the success of the destruction of the Iraqi reactor in 1981 and the Syrian reactor in 2007, they would do well to remember that in both cases the reactors were built by external actors – France in Iraq and North Korea in Syria. That is not the case in Iran where the nuclear technical know-how is domestic and knowledge, as is known, is not something that can easily be destroyed.

Which is why Israel has always wanted a diplomatic resolution to the threat but one that took Israel’s concerns into consideration and dealt with the fundamental issues – not only Tehran’s nuclear program, but also its development of long-range ballistic missiles as well as the regime’s support of terrorist proxies throughout the region.

The talks that the Americans are engaged in now with Iran are unlikely to meet any of those criteria. From the little details that have leaked about the pending deal, Iran will be able keep its enriched uranium while committing to suspending all high-level enrichment.

In other words, it gets to keep all the uranium it has already enriched, all of its nuclear infrastructure and technical knowledge. What this means is that in the best-case scenario, Iran will only suspend its high-grade enrichment but will not abandon its desire to one day get the bomb. In exchange for this enrichment freeze it will see significant economic benefits.

Can Israel realistically stop this deal or at the very least sweeten it? That remains to be seen and is currently the Israeli objective. Like in 2015, Jerusalem understands that it is unlikely that it will succeed in stopping a new deal.

On the other hand, Netanyahu knows that he has sway in Washington, especially within Republican circles where Israel is looked to as a stamp of approval when it comes to US moves on Iran. Biden might want an interim deal, but he also does not want to do something that will simply give his republican opponents ammo to use against him on the campaign trail.

Can Israel maneuver through this complicated terrain? Can it, on the one hand, improve the framework of the deal but, on the other hand, receive some other benefit from the US, like security assurances, new weapons systems or maybe even some form of rapprochement with Saudi Arabia?

That remains to be seen. In the meantime, Israel would be negligent not to escalate its own talk against Iran right now. It might not be as glamorous as a speech before Congress or an invitation to the White House, but everything does need to be done to stop Iran.
Israel Plays Down Iranian Claim of New Hypersonic Weapon
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Tuesday played down Iran's announcement it has developed a new hypersonic ballistic weapon. "I hear our enemies boasting about their development of various weapons. However, we have a better response to every such threat, whether in the air, sea, or land, for both defensive and offensive efforts," he said.

Iran claimed that the new weapon could overcome Israel's Iron Dome air defense system. But Iron Dome was not designed to intercept long-range missiles. Israel has tools in its air defense arsenal to counter long-range missiles, in the David's Sling and Arrow defense systems.
Israel Received Critical Iran Intelligence from IDF Soldier's 15-Year Side Project
An Iranian Israeli immigrant who was fluent in Farsi and Arabic, known as SWO (res.) E., was assigned to monitor broadcasts from Arab nations for the IDF.

While not part of his job, he also began listening in on the Iranian military, filling numerous notebooks over 15 years with intelligence on senior Iranian forces.

After the Shah was overthrown in 1979, E.'s side project became his full-time job, as he built a team to help monitor Iranian communications.

E. also compiled the first Hebrew-Farsi military dictionary which is still in use today.
MEMRI: Syrian Opposition Website: Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Russian Generals Met In Deir Al-Zour To Coordinate Attacks On U.S. Forces
On June 6, 2023, "The Eye of Euphrates" a Syrian opposition website reported that military leadership of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Syria met recently with Russian high-ranking officers in Deir Al-Zour.

The report explained that the Russian officers were originally stationed in Khmeimim airbase near the Syrian coast.[1]

"Yesterday, Tuesday, a Russian military delegation, including Russian generals, arrived in the city of Deir Al-Zour, coming from Khmeimim" airbase southeast of the city of Latakia.

The report cited "exclusive" sources as saying the Russian delegation held several meetings over the course of two days with commanders of Russian forces in Deir Al-Zour, in addition to meetings with IRGC commanders at the headquarters of the Russian forces and the "Hajj Fadhil" tribal hostel.

Planning Attacks On U.S. Forces
The meetings, said the report, focused on enhancing coordination between Iran-backed militias and Russia-backed militias in Syria.

The outlet added that the two sides also discussed coordinating efforts in support of Russia's plan to "launch attacks against U.S. interests in east Euphrates."

It further noted that the Russian side asked that its role in launching attacks against the U.S. forces in Syria remain confidential.

Video Shows Russian Vehicle
The report also featured a YouTube video documenting the arrival of Russian generals at Deir Al-Zour. The video shows an armored vehicle with a Russian flag, accompanied by two civilian vehicles, arriving at a building where the meeting supposedly took place.




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