07/17 Links Pt1: Jewish Voice for Peace Justifies Jerusalem Terrorist Attack; Erdogan's Obsession to Take Jerusalem ~ EoZ

From Ian:

NGO Monitor: Why Is Human Rights Watch Posting Articles from a Palestinian Propagandist?

Yesterday (July 16), Human Rights Watch (HRW) posted a “Dispatch” about an Israeli military trial against Issa Amro and Farid al-Atrash for unlawful activity, including violence. The piece echoed the standard NGO themes about the trial, that prosecutors have no case (even though the evidence has not yet been made public) and that military courts “fall well short of any standards of justice.” As noted previously by NGO Monitor, the Amro and al-Atrash case has become a pretext for legal attacks against Israel.
The article was written by a “consultant” named Khulood Badawi, the only article on HRW’s website attributed to this individual.
Who is Khulood Badawi?
She used to work for UN-OCHA – until February 2013, when she was fired for “a bogus post on Twitter alleging that a pictured Palestinian girl had been killed by the IDF during the 2012 shelling of Gaza.” (Honest Reporting noticed that the photo, tweeted under the handle “Long live Palestine,” was from 2006.)
Continuing her Palestinian propaganda role, Badawi moved to the PLO’s Negotiations Support Unit / Negotiations Affairs Department. There, she prepared materials for “Israeli target audiences.”

Khaled Abu Toameh: Abbas: Shut Up or I will Arrest You!

Critics say the Palestinian Authority's (PA) Cyber Crime Law, which permits the imprisonment of Palestinians for "liking" or sharing published material on the internet, paves the way for the emergence of a "police state" in PA-controlled territories in the West Bank. They also argue that the law aims to silence criticism of Abbas and the PA leadership.
"What is laughable is that this law carries penalties that are tougher than those imposed on thieves and sex offenders... the law, in its present form, is designed to limit the freedom of the media and punish people for simple matters." — Journalist in Ramallah.
This latest dictatorial move in the PA-controlled territories might also serve to remind the international community about the current readiness of the Palestinian leadership for statehood, and what such statehood would look like. In its current incarnation, that state would fit in just fine with its brutal Arab neighbors.

PMW: PMW exposes Abbas' latest deception: PA salaries to terrorists are not social welfare

Contents: Click to view as PDF
Introduction:
- Facts and figures about PA payments to terrorists and their families
- PA claim: Salaries are social welfare
- The PA vows to continue paying salaries to terrorists
Part 1: 12 facts that refute the PA's claim that its payments to terrorists are social welfare
1. PA law defines the payments to prisoners as salaries
2. PA officials and prisoners' representatives deny that salaries are social welfare
3. Prisoners, and not their families, have complete control over the transfer of the salaries
4. Salaries rise based on years spent in prison and not based on financial need
5. Social welfare considerations add only small payments to the base salary
6. Salaries to prisoners are treated with the same status as salaries to civil servants.
7. Prisoners pay income tax on their salaries, like all government employees
8. Prisoners' salaries are higher than salaries of PA civil servants
9. Payments to families of terrorist "Martyrs" are higher than social welfare for those in need
10. Released prisoners continue to receive monthly salaries
11. PA officials openly declare that prisoners receive salaries because they are "heroes"
12. Released prisoner demanded undiminished salary because: "I personally killed Jews"
Part 2: The PA vows to continue paying salaries to terrorists
Summary
Introduction
Facts and figures about PA payments to terrorists and their families
The Palestinian Authority's "Law of the Prisoners" (2004) and subsequent PA regulations grant monthly salaries, from the day of arrest until the day of release, to all Palestinians arrested for security and terror offenses - acts defined in PA law as "struggle against the occupation." The salaries increase according to the amount of time the terrorist remains in prison, ranging from 1,400 shekels ($388) to 12,000 shekels ($3,324) per month. In 2016, the PA budgeted 488 million shekels ($135 million) for salaries to terrorist prisoners (numbering 6,300, July 2017)

Ben-Dror Yemini: Incitement leads to action

Incitement in the first act leads, almost always, to a terror attack in the third act. The first act fully belongs to Raed Salah, the leader of the Islamic Movement’s northern branch, which has been outlawed. This branch is affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood movement in general, and with Hamas in particular.
Mufti Haj Amin al-Husseini turned Al-Aqsa into the main focus of his incitement against Jews. Salah is following in the mufti’s footsteps when it comes to Al-Aqsa. These two specialized in incitement. The younger people are getting down to business. We received another example on Friday.
The focus is on the “Al-Aqsa is in danger” libel. According to the libel, which was spread by the mufti in the 1920s, the Jews are planning to take over the Temple Mount mosques and build the Third Temple on their ruins. Since then, the Al-Aqsa libel has been one of the main causes of the waves of terror. Salah himself has called on his followers to sacrifice their lives “to defend Al-Aqsa.” Whoever thinks brainwashing doesn’t work is wrong.
The state commission of inquiry into the September 2000 clashes between Israeli Arabs and the security forces, which was led by Justice Theodor Or, reached controversial conclusions. But even then, it pointed an accusing finger at Salah, stating that “he worked against an alleged plan of the Israeli government to replace the Al-Aqsa mosques with a Jewish temple—a plan which had nothing to do with reality.”

The Waqf's double talk

There is no need to look for logic or reason in the wild behavior of the heads of the Muslim Waqf on the Temple Mount on Sunday. One can, however, look for and identify a pattern of duplicitous behavior.
The Waqf has a dual relationship with Israel. As a religious body and the arm of the Jordanian Ministry of Awqaf Islamic Affairs and Holy Places, it presides over religious autonomy on the mount. Its guards are stationed alongside police officers at the gates to the Temple Mount, and its leaders take part in the Israeli-Jordanian dialogue on issues at the site.
But the Waqf must also demonstrate its leadership presence within the framework of the "struggle for Al-Aqsa."
On Sunday, in order to avoid the appearance of being a "collaborator," the Waqf chose to make its presence felt in the "struggle" and come out against the use of metal detectors as a violation of the status quo.

Our Druse neighbors

NATURALLY, I was incensed. What about the 20% of our citizens who would have a difficult time doing so because well, they aren’t Jewish? How can we forget the other 20%? It happens so easily. Barriers of language, culture, religion, dress, schooling, villages, neighborhoods, and suddenly you forget how diverse and complex and beautiful this “Jewish state” really is.
As we turned off the highway toward the village, we saw two young men hitchhiking. They were easy to understand: huge kippot, long earlocks, big backpacks. God forgive me, but I thought to myself “these guys look like the church-burning type.” Obviously we weren’t going to pick them up. It was clear that they were on their way to the isolated Jewish community near the village, with its military yeshiva. We were headed somewhere different entirely. That wasn’t our Israel.
The funeral itself was packed, and stoic. My husband and I certainly stood out, both as “not Druse” and as religious Jews. But as the casket passed, we felt that it was a huge honor to be able to accompany this brave young man’s body a little ways toward its final resting place.
And, to be perfectly honest, I admit that I was feeling pretty good about myself for doing the right thing.
After walking with the funeral procession a short way toward the cemetery, we made our way back through the village to our car. The heat was fierce, and I turned to accept a cup of water from one of the residents. And as I turned back around I was shocked to see that there stood the two hitchhikers we hadn’t even considered picking up, with a simple question on their lips: “Where is the funeral”?
Haiel Stawi reminds us, in life and in death, that this country is a place more diverse, more complex and more beautiful than even I knew. This is all of our Israel. May his memory be a blessing.

Jews Pray on Temple Mount for Slain Policemen, Muslims Protest Security

Jewish visitors were granted permission to ascend the Temple Mount Monday, three days after a deadly terror attack near the flashpoint holy site.
Amid bolstered security at the Temple Mount, a small group of Jewish visitors recited the Kaddish mourner’s prayer for the two Israeli Druze police officers killed by Arab terrorists in last Friday’s terror attack.
Jews are not officially allowed to pray at the Temple Mount, in accordance with the status quo at the sensitive holy site, which forbids non-Muslim prayer. Three Jewish visitors were arrested in April for openly praying at the Temple Mount. The Jordanian-run Islamic Waqf tightly controls access to the Temple Mount for Jews and non-Muslims, under an arrangement reached after the 1967 Six-Day War, when Israel gained control of the Temple Mount.

Mosques in slain policeman’s village targeted again

Two mosques were targeted with a stun grenade and gunshots early Monday in the northern town of Maghar, the home of a policeman killed in a Jerusalem terror attack last week.
It was the second time mosques were attacked in the mixed Druze-Muslim town since the deadly shooting and stabbing at an entrance to the Temple Mount compound in the Old City of Jerusalem that claimed the lives of police officers Master Sgt. Haiel Sitawe, 30 and Master Sgt. Kamil Shnaan, 22, on Friday.
Sitawe was from Maghar and was buried there later in the day. The second victim of the attack, Shnaan, was laid to rest in the Druze village of Hurfeish, also in northern Israel.
It’s not known if the mosque attacks were linked. Police say they are investigating all avenues of inquiry.
Sometime after midnight Monday morning a stun grenade was thrown at the northern mosque in Maghar, police said in a statement. There were no injuries or damage caused.
Later, at around 3:30 a.m. shots were fired at the eastern mosque of the town. Again, there were no injuries but one of the windows was damaged.
A police spokesperson told The Times of Israel that it was not known if the incidents were hate crimes and that “all options are being checked.”

Muslim officials’ dangerous theatrics at the most incendiary spot in the Middle East

It is not clear why some officials of the Waqf — whose members are Jordanian officials for all intents and purposes — have chosen this confrontational course. It may be that they have been inspired by Jordan’s conduct — marked by its unreasonable demand on Friday for the compound to be immediately reopened, even as Israel searched for weaponry.
On Saturday, there was an anti-Israel/defend Al-Aqsa march in Amman. On Sunday, the speaker of the Jordanian parliament read out a eulogy for the “martyrs of Palestine and the Jabarin family,” from which the killers hailed. He termed their attack a heroic act. All this, even as King Abdullah and Netanyahu had spoken by phone and agreed to reopen the Mount.
The question now is who will blink first. Will someone from the Hashemite kingdom intervene to impose some order? Will someone in the Israeli government back down? The latter seems particularly unlikely: Netanyahu told reporters on Sunday that the metal detectors are here to stay, and that they constitute an an all too evidently necessary security measure, not a change to the status quo.
As darkness fell on Sunday, there were scuffles at the Gate of the Tribes between protesters and Israeli police. More are in prospect, at what is now the best lousy show in the Middle East.

Jewish Voice for Peace Justifies Fatal Jerusalem Terrorist Attack

In the United States, Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) — which claims to want safe and secure states for both Israelis and Palestinians — reacted to the terrorist attack by sharing a Facebook post with a video about the electricity crisis in the Gaza Strip. “The news today of armed Palestinians killed by Israeli occupying police near Al Aqsa mosque is grim, sad and frightening but won’t include the backdrop of Gaza in the dark — its undrinkable water, children suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder… each day becoming more unlivable,” JVP wrote.
This apparent rationalization of a terrorist attack on the holy site of the Temple Mount is not a surprising move by Jewish Voice for Peace.
For example, a Palestinian activist at a JVP conference earlier this year urged the audience to become “freedom fighters” by utilizing “guerrilla disobedience,” because mere activism against the occupation was not enough.
At another panel on Zionism, JVP officials argued that Israel is an apartheid state — ignoring the equal rights and opportunities enjoyed by Israeli Arabs, while seemingly decrying the very notion of Zionism itself.

AFP Amends Captions: Temple Mount Closures Follow Deadly Attacks

Following CAMERA's communication with AFP concerning the misleading captions which noted the new security measures and closures, while ignoring the deadly attacks which precipitated those measures, the news agency commendably amended all of the captions. All of the relevant captions now refer to the deadly attacks, and no longer note the less essential information regarding the anger from Muslims and Jordan, or that parts of the Old City remained under lockdown the day before.
Muslim worshippers, who refuse to enter due to new security measures including metal detectors and cameras, pray as Israeli border policemen stand outside the Lion's Gate, a main entrance to Al-Aqsa mosque compound, in Jerusalem's Old City, on July 16, 2017, after security forces reopened the ultra-sensitive site. Israel reopened an ultra-sensitive holy site closed after an attack by Arab Israeli men that killed two Israeli policemen, but Muslim worshippers were refusing to enter due to new security measures including metal detectors and cameras.
Palestinian women chant slogans outside the Lion's Gate, a main entrance to Al-Aqsa mosque compound, due to new security measures including metal detector and cameras, in Jerusalem's Old City, on July 16, 2017, after security forces reopened the ultra-sensitive site. Israel reopened an ultra-sensitive holy site closed after an attack by Arab Israeli men that killed two policemen, but Muslim worshippers were refusing to enter due to new security measures including metal detectors and cameras.

Temple Mount reopens to Jews as Waqf members boycott

For the first time in years, Jews went up onto the Temple Mount on Monday without the accompaniment of Muslim religious authority officials, as police allowed non-Muslim visitors back onto the powder-keg holy site for the first time since a Friday terror attack in the Old City of Jerusalem.
Many members of the Waqf — the Islamic trust that administers the site — have objected to the metal detectors Israel installed at entrances to the holy site and have refused to ascend to the compound, urging other Muslims to stay away as well in protest.
Waqf officials normally keep a close eye on non-Muslim visitors to the site, where a delicate status quo allowing only Muslim prayer is in place.
The Temple Mount was closed Friday after three Arab Israeli terrorists emerged from the compound and opened fire at a group of police officers just outside, killing two of them, using guns that had apparently been stashed earlier on the site.
On Sunday, the site was opened to Muslims only, and on Monday, it was opened to non-Muslim visitors as well.
Israel Radio reported that 10 people were injured and three were arrested for throwing stones in overnight scuffles with security forces close to the Old City’s Lion’s Gate, near one of the Temple Mount’s nine entrances.

For 2nd day, Muslims refuse to enter Temple Mount over Israeli measures

For the second consecutive day, Muslim worshipers continued their protest against the newly installed metal detectors at entrances to the Temple Mount and avoided entering the compound. As part of the protests, the worshipers conducted prayers outside the gates on Monday and called on the police and the Israeli government to reverse the measures.
On Monday morning, police opened three gates for Muslim worshipers, the Gate of the Tribes (Bab al-Asbat), the Gate of the Council (Bab al-Majlis), and the Chain Gate (Bab al-Silsala). Police also eased restrictions on entering the gates of the Old City, and opened the adjacent streets for traffic.
This comes one day after the Temple Mount was reopened to the public following Friday’s deadly attack in which two Israeli policemen were killed.

Umm el-Fahm residents link attack to fear that 'al-Aksa is in danger'

Umm el-Fahm Vice Mayor Bilal Daher Mahajne took time from his hectic schedule Sunday when a reporter from The Jerusalem Post appeared unannounced at his office because he wants to get the word out that Umm el-Fahm should not be held collectively guilty for Friday’s Temple Mount attack carried out by three of its sons.
“We have 60,000 residents here,” he said in his well-ordered office after an aide served the customary coffee to his visitor. “This was done by three individuals. It’s not representative. You can’t say Umm el-Fahm is guilty. Umm el-Fahm is shocked by this attack. We still don’t understand the reasons.”
Two policemen were killed in the attack on the Mount, the site of the Aksa Mosque, by three members of the same extended family: Muhammad Ahmed Muhammad Jabareen, 29, Muhammad Hamed Abdul Latif Jabareen, 19, and Muhammad Ahmed Mafdal Jabareen, 19. All were shot dead by police.

Fatah Facebook rebroadcasts Abbas' call to prevent Jews "in any way" from “defiling our holy places”

Netanyahu: Israel Opposes Syria Ceasefire Agreement Reached by US, Russia

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel opposes the ceasefire in southern Syria that came into effect July 9.
After initially cautiously welcoming the ceasefire, Netanyahu told reporters during his visit to France Sunday that the Syria deal brokered by the US and Russia perpetuates the presence of Iranian forces near Israel—a concern the prime minister has repeatedly voiced in recent months.
President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin recently agreed to implement the ceasefire on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Germany. The US and Russia had previously conducted backchannel talks with Israel on the issue of creating safe zones in southern Syria to shield the Jewish state from an Iranian-led Shi’a coalition developing on its northern border.
In recent weeks, there have been nearly 20 instances of errant fire from the Syrian Civil War hitting Israel’s Golan Heights.
The US and Russia will ensure Israel’s interests are taken into account during future talks on safe zones in southern Syria, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday.

PM: We won't allow Iranian foothold on Israel-Syria border

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and French President Emmanuel Macron held a work meeting in Paris on Sunday and discussed recent developments in the Middle East and the Iranian threat.
Diplomatic sources confirmed Sunday that Israel is aware of Iran's expansionist intentions in Syria, and that Iran will not suffice with sending advisers to the war-torn country but aims to send armed forces and set up naval and air bases there.
Netanyahu made it clear to Macron that Israel would not tolerate an Iranian military presence on its northern border.
He told reporters that he opposes a deal reached between the United States and Russia recently that would allow Iranian forces up to 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) from the Israel-Syrian border.
Netanyahu warned that the deal "perpetuates the Iranian presence in Syria," which Israel strongly opposes.
He also cautioned against recent attempts by Hamas to create a base of operations in Lebanon.

'Israel may need to take out Iranian bases in Syria'

Israel may need to take military action to prevent Iran or Hezbollah from setting up permanent bases in Syria, former National Security Council head Yaakov Amidror said on Monday.
Amidror’s comments come a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told journalists in Paris that Israel was opposed to the Syrian cease-fire brokered recently by the US and Syria because it perpetuates Iran’s military presence in the the country.
f Israel's interests are not taken into account by those determining what the future arrangements will be in Syria – the Americans, Russians or others – “that might lead the IDF to intervene and destroy every attempt to build [permanent Iranian] infrastructure in Syria,” he said.
Amidror, a fellow at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies who has remained in contact with Netanyahu, made his comments during a press conference with journalists organized by The Israel Project.

Turkey: Erdogan's Obsession to Take Jerusalem

Turkish money flowing into the hands of men who are committed to the annihilation of Israel is part of ideology, not humanitarian aid.
Trying to brand itself as the international savior of the Islamist cause, Turkey has, since 2004, invested millions of dollars into 63 different projects designed to "defend and strengthen the Muslim heritage and character of Jerusalem." The money is often channeled through a government agency, the Turkish Cooperation and Development Agency (TIKA).
In these efforts to "defend and strengthen Jerusalem's Muslim heritage and character" Turkey also partnered with Sheikh Raed Salah, leader of the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel, and with Sheikh Akram Sabri, a former mufti of Jerusalem. Both men oppose to Israel's right to exist.
As an American friend delicately asked: "Isn't Turkey supposed to be investing millions to help rebuild Gaza?"
Not, it seems, when Islamist ideology is involved.

UN Watch: Remove Saudi Arabia, China, Venezuela, Cuba from the U.N. Human Rights Council

Libyan imams fear Jews might return

Imams in Libya's eastern province of Cyrenaica were called upon to lambast in their Friday sermons the recent conference held in Rhodes between Libyan Jews and Arabs.
The imams were particularly alarmed by talk at the conference of a Jewish 'right of return' to Libya. In their appeal, the Council of Imams in Cyrenaica referred to Jews as criminals and grandchildren of monkeys and pigs who had insulted the Prophet Muhammad. "These Jews want to come back to Libya and get money; traitor Libyan secularists were helping them because the Jews gave them money to do so," the Council declared.
Raphael Luzon, president of the Union of Jews from Libya, wrote on his Facebook page:"It is strange that someone should pay a lot of money to organise a Convention that speaks ONLY about Peace and Dialogue and Reconciliation for the sake of Libya only to be greeted with threats. And just to be precise...Those who have stolen money (a lot of money), lands and properties, killing civilians are the Libyans (1945 - 1948 - 1967) - from their Jews!!"
Luzon escaped murderous riots in his native Benghazi in 1967 and lost several members of his own family when a Libyan army officer went on a killing spree.
Luzon reassured the imams, adding: "Don't worry. Not even one Jew want to come back to resettle and live in Libya! Many would like to come to visit, to spend summer holidays, maybe to do business and to invest money. That's it!"

Hebron shooter to be released to house arrest until judges rule on appeal

An IDF soldier convicted of manslaughter for shooting dead a wounded Palestinian assailant will be released to full house arrest later this week until a decision is made regarding his appeal, as his mandatory army service ends on Thursday, a military court ruled on Monday.
Under the court decision, Elor Azaria will not be able to leave his family’s house in the central city of Ramle at all, save for trips to his synagogue on Friday night and Saturday — the Jewish Shabbat — so long as he is accompanied by a family member.
On January 4, a military court found Azaria guilty of manslaughter for killing an incapacitated Palestinian stabber who had minutes earlier attacked two soldiers on March 24, 2016. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison and a demotion to private.
Azaria has spent the bulk of the past year and three months on a closed military base from the time of his arrest through the trial and during the appeal process, in a form of military house arrest.

'Counter-terrorism bootcamp' draws tourists to West Bank settlement

Taking in the scene of a simulated fruit market in an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, a group of tourists ponders whether a poster-size figure of an Arab man holding a cellphone is a threat and should be shot.
The aim of the mock scenario is to teach rapt foreign visitors how to deal with an attack on a market. It is part of a counter-terrorism "boot camp" organized by Caliber 3, a company set up by a colonel in the Israeli army reserves.
Entrance to the gated compound in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc costs $115 for adults and $85 for children.
Admission includes watching former Israeli commandos take down an "attacker" and other means to thwart assaults, including the use of an attack dog. Adults can shoot live rounds at a firing range.
While most of those signing up are American visitors, there have also been tourists from China, Japan, India and South America, keen to experience Israeli-style security training in an attraction condemned by the Palestinian mayor of the nearby town and an anti-settlement group.
The facility opened in 2003, running courses for security guards during a Palestinian uprising that included suicide bombings and shooting attacks and which was met by Israeli military operations across the West Bank. After the intifada subsided, tourist visits began in 2009.

PreOccupiedTerritory: But If I Take A Truly Moral Position I Betray My Constituency! by MK Ahmad Tibi(satire)

It is dishonest of those on the political right to demand that we Arab Members of Knesset denounce the murder of two policemen this past Friday. Our voters elected us for a reason, and showing sympathy for Jews and those who protect them is not that reason. Condemning murder might be the truly moral position, but to take that truly moral position would be to betray the democratic values according to which we must give expression to their will.
A truly moral position would not draw distinctions among different types of people, be they Muslim, Christian, Jewish, or Druze. An unequivocal denunciation of those who kill in the name of Islam, or in the name of Palestine, without the wishy-washy invocation of “all violence against innocents” that waters down any such condemnation to meaninglessness, would go a long way toward shoring up the credibility of Arab legislators and public figures to make pronouncements on the subject of violence. But that is not why were were elected.
If you think about it, you will conclude that the principal reason to vote for any of the Joint List parties, other than the hardcore Communist elements, involves Arab identity. If an Arab voter places a higher priority on ethnic identity than on such trivialities as integration, economic prosperity, containment of radical Islamism, national security, or education, he or she will not vote for a Joint List party, but for one of the parties with a proven record on those issues. Once ethnic pride overrides those other considerations, it is a small step to have the same ethnic sensibilities trump so-called morality, as well.
Do you make the same demands of Haredi MKs when their constituents commit viole- OK, you do. Bad example. Forget I said that. Do you demand that the Religious Zionist leadership denounce the Hilltop Youth who- OK, fine, another bad example. In fact you can just skip this whole paragraph and pretend I never said it.

Border Authority foils smuggling of rare coins from Egypt

Security officers from the Defense Ministry's Border Authority thwarted the smuggling of archaeological artifacts from Egypt into the Gaza Strip on Sunday, the ministry said Monday.
Officers at the Erez border crossing in southern Israel were conducting a routine inspection of the belongings of a Palestinian merchant waiting to cross into Israel when they discovered four rare coins, believed to be from the time of Alexander the Great.
The coins, apparently smuggled out of Egypt, were to be sold in Israel.
The suspect was held for questioning.
Representatives from the Israel Antiquities Authority were brought in to assess the precious items.
Alexander III of Macedon lived from 356 to 323 BCE. He was crowned king of Macedon at the age of 20, and by the age of 30, he had created one of the largest empires of the ancient world, spanning from Greece to India. He founded the Egyptian city of Alexandria in 331 BCE.

Abbas wants Hamas on its knees

The Palestinian leader has decided to take off the gloves, but as usual he is trying to avoid a direct clash. Instead he is gradually increasing the pressure on the people of Gaza, more than once through Israel, in the hope that it will compel Hamas' leadership to throw in the towel and perhaps even hand over influence and control in Gaza to the PA, even if only partially.
Israel, for its part, is being dragged against its best interests into a conflict that Abbas is forcing on Hamas, and it has to strike a balance between its desire to strengthen Abbas and weaken Hamas, and its obligation to preserve the peace and quiet along the border with Gaza.
In the meantime, the Gaza Strip is becoming hell for the people who live there. According to the United Nations, the coastal enclave will soon be considered uninhabitable. Abbas doesn't want to disengage from Gaza, but the opposite: He wants to bring it back under his control.
However, he must consider the possibility that Hamas will choose subjugation not to him but to Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi. In doing so, Hamas would effectively accept Abbas' bitter rival, Mohammed Dahlan, as a ruling partner in Gaza, if only just to loosen the noose from around its neck by virtue of Dahlan's good relationship with Jerusalem and Cairo.

After getting boot from Qatar, Hamas looks to Algeria – report

The Palestinian terror movement Hamas, which has been trying to relocate senior officials who were asked to leave Qatar, has asked Algerian authorities for permission to open an office there, the Arabic daily Asharq Al-Awsat reported Monday.
Palestinian sources said that Hamas made a formal request several months ago to open an office in the African country’s capital, Algiers, but has yet to receive a response.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri is currently in Algeria and confirmed that his movement has asked to establish a bureau in the country. Zuhri plans to set up a presence in Algiers and then later bring other Hamas officials to join him, according to the sources.
The request was apparently made before the recent crisis between moderate Sunni states in the Persian Gulf and Qatar broke out in June. Saudi Arabia and its allies have cut off ties with Qatar, one of the few foreign backers of Hamas, after accusing the gas-rich state of supporting extremism across the region.
Days before the conflict erupted, Qatar had asked several top Hamas officials to leave for Lebanon, Turkey and Malaysia. Qatari officials reportedly told Hamas at the time that it was under pressure to expel its members.

John Bolton: Trump must withdraw from Iran nuclear deal — now

We must also urgently reassess the available intelligence on issues like joint Iranian-North Korea nuclear and ballistic-missile programs, free from the Obama administration’s political biases. Cooperation between Tehran and Pyongyang is deep and long-standing. North Korea’s July 4 ICBM launch should cause greater interest in the implications for Iran.
Much of the current JCPOA debate would be strategically irrelevant if, as seems virtually certain, the ayatollahs can send a wire transfer to Kim Jung-un to purchase whatever capability North Korea develops.
In years past, appreciation for the Iranian and North Korean threats has invariably been enhanced by greater public awareness of what was at stake. One useful suggestion to that end was made here last week by the Wisconsin Project’s Valerie Lincy. She advocated declassifying the fourth semi-annual report (also required by INARA) specifying incidents of Iranian non-compliance, the first from the Trump administration.
With appropriate protections for intelligence sources and methods, making this report public would undoubtedly help increase public awareness of Iran’s continuing progress, and thereby inform the broader policy debate.
In the last six months, Iran has made six more months of progress toward posing a mortal threat to America and its allies, and now totals two years since the JCPOA was agreed. This U.S. approach is both dangerous and unnecessary. Care to bet how close Tehran — and North Korea — now are? Consider the costs of betting wrong.

Iran's FM: ISIS 'Has Nothing To Do With Islam'

Zakaria did not challenge Zarif's claims. He neglected to note the Iranian government's material and political support for Islamic terrorism across the Middle East, North Africa and beyond; no mention was made of Hezbollah (who Zakaria was previously extolled), Hamas, or governments in failed Muslim-majority states such as Syria.
CNN's chyrons were sterile, a departure from the network's approach to President Donald Trump and his administration:
Zakaria presents himself as a politically objective and non-partisan news media figure. CNN likewise markets itself as politically objective and non-partisan in its conduct, billing itself as “The Most Trusted Name In News.”

PreOccupiedTerritory: 500,000 Killed In Party Mishap As Iran Unwraps Gift Of Entire Mideast From Obama (satire)

Half a million people were killed across the region this decade after Iran’s unwrapping a present from the administration of Barack Obama, consisting of almost the entire Middle East, unleashed a wave of violence, displacement, and terror.
The Obama administration had arranged the gift through Russian intermediaries, as part of a longer series of gestures from the White House and State Department beginning in 2009 and officially ending earlier this year, though some residual elements of the gift package have continued to accrue to Iran from administration holdovers the State Department and punditariat. The unwrapping, however, has so far taken the lives of hundreds of thousands of bystanders in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Gaza Strip, Israel, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Afghanistan, Jordan, and elsewhere, with deadly repercussions reaching beyond the region into Europe and North America.
Precise casualty figures on the giftwrap-related disaster are hard to come by, but estimates range from just under 300,000 dead to more than 500,000, with millions more rendered homeless, internally displaced, or refugees. According to witnesses, the first wave of fatalities resulting from the unwrapping of Obama’s gift to Iran occurred in 2009, as the administration presented the Islamic Republic with carte blanche in repressing a democratic uprising and cementing the rule of the Ayatollahs.

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