06/28 Links Pt1: Will Biden Visit Palestinian Sites Honoring Killer of his Friend’s Niece?; NC Democratic party adopts series of anti-Israel resolutions ~ EoZ

From Ian:

US deplores settler violence, slams Israel at UNSC ahead of Biden's visit

The US condemned Israel for its treatment of the Palestinians, as it issued a harsh critique of the Jewish state's actions at the United Nations Security Council, warning that tensions on the ground were “palpable and it is dangerous.”

US Deputy Ambassador Richard Mills highlighted in particular the stabbing death of Ali Hassan Harb, 27, during a violent incident between Israelis and Palestinians near the West Bank city of Ariel, that happened after settlers trespassed onto the Harb family’s property.

Police have arrested two Israelis, due to their possible involvement in the incident.

The US “deplores the escalation of settler violence against Palestinians, including the death of Ali Hassan Harb, a Palestinian in the West Bank who was killed on his family’s agricultural land,” Mills told the UNSC in New York during its monthly debate on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“We take note of the May 2022 OCHA report that found over 1,000 Palestinians were injured by live ammunition fired by Israeli forces in 2021, seven times the amount of those injured by live ammunition the prior year,” Mills said.

He referenced US President Joe Biden’s planned trip to Israel on July 13, in which he said the American leader would “meet with Israeli and Palestinian leaders to urge calm and explore ways to promote equal measures of security, freedom, and opportunity for both Israelis and Palestinians.

“The current US administration continues to affirm its strong support for a two-state solution, which remains the best way to ensure Israel’s future as a democratic and Jewish state alongside a sovereign, viable Palestinian state,” Mills said.

Will Biden Visit Palestinian Sites Honoring Killer of his Friend’s Niece?

Joe Biden’s first eight years in the U.S. Senate (1973-1981) overlapped with the final years of his colleague Sen. Abraham Ribicoff of Connecticut, a fellow Democrat. Biden and Ribicoff were friends and political allies, and the newcomer benefited from the wise counsel of the elder statesman.

So I wonder what the late Sen. Ribicoff would think about now-President Joe Biden visiting a foreign region where there are numerous public sites named after the terrorist who murdered Ribicoff’s niece.

Next month, Biden will become the first sitting U.S. president to visit the territories governed by the Palestinian Authority. The problem for the aides who are planning the president’s itinerary is that, if they are not extremely careful, Biden could find himself at one of the many public squares, schools or other sites named in honor of Dalal Mughrabi.

On March 9, 1978, Mughrabi led a squad of Fatah terrorists who landed in several small boats on the Israeli coast. Another young woman was on the beachfront that morning—Ribicoff’s niece Gail Rubin, an American Jewish nature photographer. She was taking photos of rare birds near the water. Rubin’s work had been exhibited at the Jewish Museum in New York City and other major venues.

One of the terrorists, Hussain Fayadh, later described what followed to Lebanese television station Al-Manar: “Sister Dalal al-Mughrabi had a conversation with the American journalist. Before killing her, Dalal asked: ‘How did you enter Palestine?’ [Rubin] answered: ‘They gave me a visa.’ Dalal said: ‘Did you get your visa from me or from Israel? I have the right to this land. Why didn’t you come to me?’ Then Dalal opened fire on her.”

As Rubin lay dying on the beach, Mughrabi and her fellow terrorists walked to the nearby Coastal Road. An Israeli bus approached. They hijacked it. During the ensuing mayhem, they murdered 36 passengers, 12 of them children. Mughrabi was later killed by Israeli troops. Fayadh survived. He was sentenced to life in jail but released in a prisoner exchange. He was later hired as a senior adviser to P.A. leader Mahmoud Abbas.

In the 44 years since the Coastal Road Massacre, the P.A. has never missed an opportunity to glorify Mughrabi and hold her up as a role model for Palestinian girls. Every year on both Mughrabi’s birthday and the anniversary of the slaughter, P.A. leaders and the P.A.-controlled media celebrate the life and deeds of their heroine.

North Carolina Democratic party adopts series of anti-Israel resolutions

The North Carolina Jewish Clergy Association issued a statement last week criticizing the three resolutions.

"Of the seven resolutions devoted to foreign affairs, three are focused on criticism of Israel. While some of our clergy are sympathetic to some of the claims embedded in the statements, on the main, these resolutions are not thoughtful nor balanced," the NCJCA said.

The statement also claimed that "such party stances often lead to the demonization of Jews and Israelis, ignore Israel's genuine security concerns, play upon age-old anti-Jewish stereotypes, and include language which implies that Israel should cease to exist as a sovereign state.

"Furthermore, given the troubling rise in direct acts of antisemitism against many North Carolina synagogues, we consider these resolutions to be potentially dangerous," the organization added.

The pro-Israel organization the North Carolina Coalition for Israel joined the NCJCA in condemning the NC Democrats' resolutions, saying the documents "accuse Jews and Israel of crimes that have not been committed."

"Similar to antisemitic conspiracy theories leveled against Jews in 20th century Europe, these resolutions falsely depict both Jewish communities and Israel as conniving to harm non-Jewish populations," the organization said. "By adopting this platform, the North Carolina Democratic party is signing on to racist hatred of our state's Jewish community."

The coalition called on Democratic party leaders and elected officials to "condemn and rescind these resolutions."

North Carolina Democratic party Chairwoman Dr. Bobbie Richardson confirmed that the resolutions were adopted at the state convention, saying that they were "voted by majority" and the fact that they were adopted "doesn't mean we are anti-Jewish."

"We have a political process and by a political process they were adopted," Richardson told JNS on Friday. "Doesn't mean we are anti-anyone. We follow the democratic process."

"The blatantly antisemitic planks recently adopted by the NC Democrat Party are shameful and deserving of the strongest condemnation. Sadly, such an embrace of antisemitism is indicative of just how radical this Democrat Party has become," the North Carolina Republican Party said Thursday in response to the resolutions.

"The fact that neither [North Carolina senatorial candidate] Cheri Beasley nor any other Democratic candidate has denounced these measures shows a complete adherence to the most radical platform that any political party has ever put forward in North Carolina," NCGOP Chairman Michael Whatley said.

JPost Editorial: Abraham Accords success continues in Bahrain Negev Forum meeting

The Manama meeting
When the meeting was announced in May, a diplomat from one of the participating countries told The Jerusalem Post that participants would try to “put meat on the bone” of the Negev Summit. Joseph said other countries are interested in participating in future multilateral initiatives, including Germany and other European states.

The meeting in Manama comes after EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell announced that indirect talks to revive the 2015 deal to curb Ian’s nuclear program would resume in Vienna, a prospect that deeply concerns Israel and other countries in the region, including Saudi Arabia.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that top military officials from the US, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt and Jordan had secretly met in Sharm e-Sheikh in March “to explore how they could coordinate against Iran’s growing missile and drone capabilities.”

The paper said this marked the first time that such a range of ranking Israeli and Arab officers had met under US military auspices to discuss how to defend against a common threat, noting that Qatar and Saudi Arabia do not have diplomatic ties with Israel.

US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf hinted last week that more Arab nations are seeking to improve relations with Israel.

“We are working, in the space that is not in the public domain, with a couple of other countries,” Leaf told a congressional subcommittee. “And I think you’ll see some interesting things around the time of the president’s visit.”

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden would attend a summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council plus Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan (known as the GCC+3), and meet counterparts from across the region “to advance US security, economic and diplomatic interests.”

When Shimon Peres outlined his vision for the new Middle East in 1995, he was considered an unrealistic optimist. But two years after the Abraham Accords ushered in a new era in the region, Peres’s vision appears to be materializing.

The meeting in Manama is just the latest example.

Abraham Accords Can Ease Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Such tendentious claims – which presuppose that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict stands at the center of Middle East politics and that unless Palestinians’ maximal demands are met, the region must stand still –reflect the all-or-nothing stance that has for decades impeded Palestinian progress. Contrary to Hassan and Muasher’s assertion that Israel embraced the Abraham Accords to disguise its reign over Judea and Samaria, it was the Iran threat and commercial opportunities that impelled Bahrain and the UAE to break with the past and establish official diplomatic ties with Israel.

The Carnegie colleagues’ assertion that the Trump peace plan was designed to secure Israel’s control over the West Bank, moreover, flies in the face of the plan’s explicit call for a Palestinian state in 70% of Judea and Samaria as well as in portions of the Negev that Israel would transfer to the PA. And Hassan and Muasher ignore that many restrictions that Israel imposes on West Bank Palestinian movement and access stem from security threats that PA President Mahmoud Abbas – now serving the 18th year of the four-year term to which he was elected in 2005 – has been ineffective in handling when he hasn’t been complicit in fomenting.

Notwithstanding Palestinian intransigence, signatories to the Abraham Accords should take steps to, in the words of Israeli commentator Micah Goodman, “shrink the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” They could start with building roads, bridges, and tunnels to directly connect the many noncontiguous parts of the West Bank largely under PA control – the areas designated A and B by the Oslo Accords. This enhanced transportation network, which would become part of the PA, would improve Palestinian mobility by reducing the need for Israeli checkpoints while maintaining Israeli security.

Other measures to shrink the conflict include providing more West Bank land for Palestinian building to accommodate population growth, enhancing the Allenby Bridge border crossing on the Jordan river to make it easier for Palestinians to reach Amman’s international airport and travel abroad, promoting economic development throughout the West Bank, and enabling Palestinians to transport goods for international trade more efficiently to Israeli ports in Haifa and Ashdod.

The signatories to the Abraham Accords have a variety of roles to play. Israel must oversee construction teams, consult with security experts, overcome bureaucratic red tape and short-term political jockeying, and coordinate a variety of government offices. The Gulf countries must invest. And the United States must practice effective diplomacy. The more PA involvement the better, but little is required. The overarching goal is to improve the quality of ordinary Palestinians’ day-to-day lives without diminishing Israeli security and prejudicing the final status determination of Judea and Samaria.

Because it would benefit Israelis, Palestinians, and the region, taking advantage of the Abraham Accords to shrink the conflict should be a priority for whatever governing coalition emerges from Israel’s current political turmoil.

Israeli radars to be used in UAE to detect Iran missiles, drones - report

Israeli radars will be deployed in the United Arab Emirates in order to detect Iranian missiles and drones, N12 reported Tuesday, citing foreign reports.

According to these reports, Israeli radars, possibly along with other aircraft detection systems, will be part of the regional defense network Israel is attempting to establish with the US and its Gulf allies against Iran.

Israel has already been holding talks with its regional allies of the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Egypt regarding a mutual alliance. This was first seen at the historic Negev Summit in Sde Boker and again with the foreign ministers of each country, referred to as the Negev Summit Steering Committee, meeting again in the Bahraini capital of Manama.

Israeli has also allegedly been holding secret talks with military officials from non-allied Arab nations of Saudi Arabia and Qatar regarding regional threats posed by Iran, according to foreign reports.

Report: Flights Between Israel and Saudi Arabia on the Table

Talks are ongoing that would allow Israeli Arabs to fly directly to Saudi Arabia for the annual hajj religious pilgrimage, sources told the Financial Times in a report published Monday.

This is one of several ideas being discussed leading up to US President Joe Biden’s upcoming trip to Israel and Saudi Arabia next month.

Washington is also mediating for an agreement to allow flights departing Israel to overfly Saudi Arabia.

The sources said the deal for the islands is further along than that for the direct flights.

Around 6,000 Israeli Arabs make the hajj to Saudi Arabia each year and fly through Amman, Jordan.

Israel Offers Jordan Aid Following Toxic Gas Blast at Port of Aqaba

Israel is offering Jordan assistance following Monday’s toxic gas blast at the Port of Aqaba as the death toll rose to 13.

“As we’ve told our friends in Jordan, the Israeli defense establishment is ready to assist with any effort, by any means necessary,” Defense Minister Benny Gantz said in a statement.

Footage of the docked tanker showed a large cylinder dropping from a crane and releasing a large plume of yellow gas as workers scrambled to get away from the scene. The force of the blast sent a truck rolling down the harborside.

Haj Hassan, deputy chief of the Aqaba Region Ports Authority, said that “iron rope carrying a container containing a toxic substance broke, resulting in the fall and escape of the poisonous substance.”

There was a time when the world feared Arab-Israeli hostilities would draw in the US & the Soviet Union and ignite a global nuclear war. That is why I will never take it for granted when Bahrain hosts Israel, Egypt, Morocco, United Arab Emirates & US to deepen Arab-Israeli peace. https://t.co/PgXoZkImGN
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) June 27, 2022

Pro-Israel, Jewish Groups United in Opposition to Biden’s Anti-Semitic Ambassador Nom

Bagley’s future is uncertain after the Senate Foreign Relations Committee did not advance her nomination, primarily due to opposition over her comments claiming the "Jewish lobby" exerts undue influence over politics. Bagley’s confirmation by the full Senate will require her to clear additional parliamentary hurdles and votes, though it seems increasingly likely Republicans will not support these moves.

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the nation’s most prominent pro-Israel lobbying group, also condemned Bagley’s comments in a rare rebuke. While AIPAC, which values its bipartisan credentials, typically shuns political fights, a spokesman for the group said that Bagley’s "bigoted comments must be rejected."

In her 1998 comments, Bagley appeared to be referring to AIPAC and other similar groups when she claimed, "The Democrats always tend to go with the Jewish constituency on Israel and say stupid things, like moving the capital to Jerusalem always comes up." Support for Israel-related issues, Bagley added, are mainly due to "the Jewish factor, it's money."

The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) also pressed the White House to pull Bagley’s nomination and urged the Senate to reject her if it does not.

"Ms. Bagley’s disgraceful, anti-Semitic comments are absolutely disqualifying; her outrageous slurs include suggesting the ‘Jewish lobby’ influences elected officials with ‘major money'—an age-old, anti-Semitic stereotype," Matt Brooks, RJC executive director, said in a statement.

Stop Anti-Semitism, an advocacy group that combats Jew hatred, described the Senate committee’s party-line vote on Bagley as "disappointing at best."

"The revelation of not one but a few anti-Semitic tropes that Bagley expressed in a previous interview should not be trivialized and dismissed in effort to move this ill-fated nomination forward," Liora Rez, the organization’s executive director, told the Free Beacon. "If discriminatory comments had been made about any other minority, Bagley’s nomination would not have seen sunlight. Anti-Semitism has no place in America, especially not among politically appointed leaders."

The Simon Wiesenthal Center, a watchdog group that combats anti-Semitism, demanded the nomination be killed, saying, Bagley "must remove herself from consideration to represent the American people in Brazil. If she doesn't, the president or secretary of state should."

Rep. Lee Zeldin (R., N.Y.), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and one of two Jewish Republicans in Congress, said Bagley's comments should disqualify her from even a low-level job "pushing papers at the State Department." "Slamming ‘Jewish money’ in politics is one of the oldest, most dishonest and blatantly antisemitic tools of far-left activists and politicians, such as Ilhan Omar, to shame and undermine U.S. support for Israel," said Zeldin. "Ms. Bagley’s dismissive and flagrantly anti-Semitic and anti-Israel comments should disqualify her from pushing papers at the State Department, much less being the face of a U.S. diplomatic mission."

New York ?? primary June 28th - who NOT to vote for!

Anyone who antisemite Linda Sarsour endorses is a NO. pic.twitter.com/XAuMQrEQKM
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) June 27, 2022

Margaret Hodge: Labour hasn't won back Jews' trust yet, but we're working on it

Speaking about her long working relationship with Corbyn, Hodge said while she never agreed with his politics, she genuinely didn't believe he was antisemitic until he became leader.

She said: "Journalists in the early days would say to me ‘Jeremy Corbyn's antisemitic’ and I'd say, ‘no, no, I don't think he is’."

But, after Corbyn's handling of several now-infamous incidents including being pictured at a wreath-laying at the graves of Black September terrorists and supporting the artist behind an antisemitic mural, Hodge said she ended up having no choice but to condemn him.

When asked if it was fair that she called Corbyn an antisemite to his face, Hodge simply replied, "yes."

She added: "I think that the way he dealt with that sort of antisemitism was just awful. He refused to accept the definition that every other public institution accepted of what antisemitism was. He refused to take seriously the horrible, horrible, horrible abuse that I and others were receiving. I mean, if I just told you in a 2-month period from when the report of the Equal Human Rights Commission on Antisemitism in the Labour Party, when that was published, and Jeremy was going in and out of the Labour Party. In that 2-month period, I got 90,000 social media messages, most of which were abusive"

“So, it's horrible, and for him to say we were making it up or we were ‘weaponising antisemitism’.”

In recent weeks, Labour has faced questions over its vetting of candidates after a raft of councillors were suspended for alleged extremist remarks.

The @UNRWA organization remains the single greatest impediment to peace. It only facilities incitement, Jew hatred and perpetual Palestinian victimhood. https://t.co/NE6cj293WQ
— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) June 27, 2022

“Jewish supremacy.” Is telling how those on the extreme far left use similar language to those on the neo-Nazi far right. Same Jew hatred runs through the veins. No different. https://t.co/QIIiJuK1d6
— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) June 28, 2022

Hamas releases footage of Israeli captive Hisham al-Sayed

Hamas's al-Qassam Brigades released footage of Israeli Arab Hisham al-Sayed who has been held captive by the terrorist group in the Gaza Strip since 2015 on Tuesday, showing al-Sayed in bed with an oxygen mask.

The video also shows al-Sayed's ID card and an Al-Jazeera broadcast in the background.

The Prime Minister's Office responded to the announcement on Tuesday afternoon, saying "Hamas holds two mentally ill, sick and suffering civilians, in violation of all international laws and regulations."

"Distributing a video of a sick person is a heinous and desperate act," added the PMO, stressing that Israel holds Hamas responsible for the health of its captive citizens.

"Hisham al-Sayed is not a soldier, but a mentally ill Israeli citizen who crossed the border into the Gaza Strip several times before," said the PMO. "Hamas is delaying any chance of a deal. Hamas' actions are proof that this is a cynical and criminal terrorist organization."

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said that “Israel considers Hamas directly responsible for the plight of its citizens held in violation of international law.”

A-Sayed and Mengisto suffer from mental illness and as such “holding them captive for years is an act of inconceivable cruelty.”

He added that Hamas's holding onto the bodies of Goldin and Oron Shaul was “trampling on all boundaries of morality and international law.”

The video appears to be genuine. In 2009, Israel released 20 Palestinian women from its jails for a video of Gilad Shalit. With Sayed, it appears no concessions were made for the video. Thus signaling Hamas' efforts to revitalize the negotiations without concessions from Israel.
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) June 28, 2022

This weekend a young Palestinian boy was hit and seriously injured by a car. Why haven’t you heard about it? Or seen it on @bellahadid’s feed? Well, the driver of the car is Palestinian and Israeli soldiers in the area immediately treated the boy—saving his life. Not newsworthy? pic.twitter.com/SDvwHsOjEm
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) June 28, 2022

The Israel Guys Daily: Palestinian Child SAVED By Israeli Soldiers

PMW: Terror loving PA/Fatah use all means of communication to promote terror and end of Israel

The PA and Fatah use every means of communication at their disposal to promote and endorse violence and terror. From songs broadcasted on social media, poems published in the official PA daily and images on TV to statements by PA and Fatah officials at public events – they never miss an opportunity to glorify terrorists and encourage continued “struggle” for “Palestine from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River.”

The following are recent examples of the PA’s use of these different means of communication to stress their ideologies:

On social media: Fatah threatens more murderous terror:
Fatah threatens more terror like attacks in which 15 Israelis were murdered

On one of its official Facebook pages, Fatah posted a statement by a TV host threatening more terror like the recent attacks in Be’er Sheva, Bnei Brak, Tel Aviv, and Elad in which 15 people were murdered:
Host: “The firm truth is one: Palestine belongs to the Palestinians only, armed struggle is their method, the Martyrs are their beacons, Jenin is their bride, and every attack on it is a declaration of a war in which no one will win other than Jenin’s sons… If you pounce on him [Mahmoud Debiy] (i.e., wanted terrorist), we will pay you back with interest: one portion in Be’er Sheva, one in Bnei Brak, in Tel Aviv, and in Elad (i.e., places of terror attacks, 15 murdered).

[Facebook page of the Fatah Commission of Information and Culture, May 13, 2022]

Fact Check, Associated Press: PA Chief Mahmoud Abbas Isn’t ‘Opposed to Armed Struggle’

Meanwhile, Abbas used his office to incessantly inflame tensions, with the Palestinian leader calling convicted terrorists “symbols of steadfastness, symbols of our homeland” and “our nation’s heroes” in the first years of his rule.

The AP nevertheless maintained that “while the number of attacks has fallen sharply, other factors may be at play.” It then went on to cite Abbas’ ostensible commitment to nonviolence, writing: “The [Second] [I]ntifada began winding down in 2005, after Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat died and was replaced by President Mahmoud Abbas, who is opposed to armed struggle.”

Here are some facts the AP would seemingly prefer to ignore:
- Just weeks ago, Abbas vowed to maintain the so-called “Pay-for-Slay” policy that doles out “salaries” to Palestinian terrorists and their families. Speaking on the eve of Nakba Day, the Arab term for “catastrophe” that they characterize as the birth of the Jewish state, Abbas reportedly told the families of “martyrs” that he would continue the fund. He furthermore reaffirmed his commitment to the “right of return,” which would see millions of Palestinian refugees and their descendants settle in Israel, ending its existence as a Jewish, democratic state.
- On March 29, 2022, five people were killed as a Palestinian terrorist from the West Bank opened fire on the streets of Bnei Brak, a city near Tel Aviv. Attacker Diya Hamarsheh was believed to be affiliated with the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, the “military wing” of Abbas’ Fatah faction. Footage from May 18, discovered by Palestinian Media Watch, includes a clip of the Fatah Jenin Branch Secretary hailing Hamarsheh as a “pure and heroic martyr.”
- Barely 72 hours before last year’s widely-reported “peace meeting” between Abbas and two Israeli ministers, his second in command, PA Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, hinted at destroying Israel. An Arabic-language outlet reported that Shtayyeh said that “there is no solution to the Palestinian issue on the horizon” and that this would entail the replacement of Israel with a Palestinian state extending “from the [Jordan] River to the [Mediterranean] Sea.”
- Abbas’ incitement over “filthy” Jewish feet that were allegedly “desecrating” the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem sparked, at least partially, the 2015 “Stabbing Intifada.”

And the list goes on.

The difference between Abbas’ views and the views of Hamas, the US-designated terrorist organization dedicated to the Jewish state’s destruction, is rather more of style than substance. Indeed, Abbas has repeatedly attempted to reconcile with Gaza’s iron-fisted rulers and often makes common cause with them.

But this is a story that the AP won’t report.

At Fatah Rally in Jenin, Young Men and Children Brandishing Rifles Pledge: Jihad Is Our Path! #Palestinians #Fatah pic.twitter.com/br7UNVKCxS
— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) June 28, 2022

A 43-year-old man from the Gaza Strip has been sentenced to death by hanging for "collaboration" with Israel. A Hamas military court ruled that the man, whose identity was not released, started working for Israel in 2007.
— Khaled Abu Toameh (@KhaledAbuToameh) June 28, 2022

Fmr. Lebanese MP Wiam Wahhab: I Was Slapped with Sanctions When That “Son of a Bitch,” U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon “Gestapo” Feltman Accused Me of Supporting Suicide Operations in Israel #Lebanon @StateDept @wiamwahhab pic.twitter.com/qou7V8IGAL
— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) June 28, 2022

Khaled Abu Toameh: Iran's Plan to Foil Israeli-Arab Normalization and to Keep Expanding the Revolution

When Hamas and Hezbollah talk about "develop[ing] the program and axis of resistance," they are referring to terrorist attacks against Israel. The two terrorist groups have tens of thousands of rockets and missiles that are ready to be fired towards Israel at any moment from the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.

Haniyeh's visit to Beirut has outraged many Lebanese and Arabs, who expressed concern that the Hamas-Hezbollah alliance would further destabilize Lebanon and bring it closer to a military confrontation with Israel.

It is clear that Haniyeh and Nasrallah are seeking to use Lebanon as a launching pad not only to attack Israel, but also as a base for intimidating Saudi Arabia and other Arabs into avoiding alliances with Israel against Iran.

"When will the Biden admin learn that Hezbollah, Hamas, Al-Qaeda, ISIS, and Iran's regime are all the same?" — Lisa Daftari, Iranian-American investigative journalist, Twitter, June 16, 2022.

"Iran occupied Lebanon through its powerful arm, Hezbollah, which took control of Lebanon by the force of Iranian weapons. This occupation was justified by the absurd claim that these weapons aim to impose a balance of terror with the Israeli enemy and prevent its attacks, when in fact its use was purely internal to terrorize and kill." — Huda al-Husseini, Lebanese political analyst, Asharq al-Awsat, June 23, 2022.

"Iran penetrated Syria after the outbreak of the revolution against the regime in 2011 and Bashar Assad resorted to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards to defend what remained of his regime. Tehran gave orders to Hezbollah to get involved, commit the most horrific massacres, terrorize opponents, and restore the [Syrian] army's control. This made the Syrian regime in the grip of Tehran. Iran completed its expansion plans through its weapons to Hamas in Gaza and the Houthis in Yemen." — Huda al-Husseini, Asharq al-Awsat, June 23, 2022.

The meeting between Hamas and Hezbollah leaders in Lebanon should set off alarm bells in Washington: the meeting shows that Iran is taking advantage of the perceived weakness of the Biden administration in failing to confront the mullahs' covetous schemes in the region.

It only remains to be seen whether the Biden administration's policy of appeasement toward the mullahs enables the Iranians and their proxies to redouble their efforts to spread their expansion, terrorism and bloodshed throughout the Middle East.