11/16 Links Pt1: Iran rejects Israeli aid offer; Breaking the Silence spokesman lied ~ EoZ

From Ian:

Benjamin Netanyahu: Regime cares more about hating us than helping Iranian people

Israel cares more for the Iranian people than its own government does, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday in a video message he issued from Jerusalem.

In the short message he repeated an offer that was initially made on Tuesday night to provide relief and technical assistance to regions in Iran and Iraq impacted by a magnitude 7.3 earthquake that struck Sunday evening.

The most severe such quake in a decade, it left at least 445 people dead and injured more than 7,000.

“I saw mothers and fathers searching for their children, children buried under the rubble from this horrible earthquake. As a father, as an Israeli, as a Jew I wanted to help,” he continued.

“That is why yesterday I instructed that Israel offer medical aid via the Red Cross to victims of this disaster. Israel has no quarrel with the people of Iran. We never have. Our only quarrel is with the cruel Iranian regime, a regime that holds its people hostage, a regime that threatens our people with annihilation,” the premier clarified.

Why did Israel offer medical aid to victims of the earthquake on the Iran-Iraq border? For one reason... http://pic.twitter.com/f12LGJfeMR
— PM of Israel (@IsraeliPM) November 15, 2017

Case closed: Breaking the Silence spokesman lied

The Deputy State Prosecutor decided in coordination with the State Attorney to close the investigation against Breaking the Silence spokesman Dean Issacharof.

The investigation was opened after Issacharoff said in a video that he had beaten an Arab during his military service in Hevron. The comments had been made to highlight alleged human rights abused by the IDF Breaking the Silence claims take place in Judea and Samaria.

However, the investigation revealed that the events described by Issacharoff "did not happen at all."

The State Attorney's office said in its decision: "During the interrogation, the suspect was questioned, messages were taken from the suspect's company commander during the relevant period, and various investigation materials were collected. From all the evidence, it appears that the incident described by the suspect is suitable for only one incident, in which a Palestinian named Hassan Giulani was arrested in February 2014.

During his interrogation, Issacharoff did not deny the statements made by him, adding details about the date and circumstances of the incident in question. The suspect even noted that "I had to use force to stop him" and that it was not possible to handcuff the Arab without the use of force.

In his statement, Giulani confirmed that he was arrested after throwing stones at the soldiers, as the suspect described. However, Giulani denied that his arrest was accompanied by any kind of violence on the part of the soldiers, except for the use of force to handcuff him, which was required in view of his resistance to the handcuffing. Giulani claimed he was not beaten, not bruised, did not bleed, did not feel dizzy and did not pass out.

The investigation further revealed that Giulani had filed no complaint over excessive force during his arrest, and that there were no indications of any wounds or injuries to Giulani's body. In addition, Giulani's testimony matched that of Issachoroff's commanding officer, and not that of Issachoroff.

MESSAGE TO THE UNITED NATIONS: STOP THE ISRAEL BASHING

PMW: Fatah official Abbas Zaki promises continued violence:

The US, Israel, and others have demanded that Hamas denounce violence and disarm in order for them to accept the unity deal that Hamas and Abbas' Fatah party signed in October.

Responding to this demand, several Fatah leaders have spoken against disarmament and reiterated Fatah's position not to lay down arms, but rather to continue the "resistance" - a Palestinian euphemism for violence and terror.

Fatah Central Committee member Abbas Zaki stated that Fatah will "resume arming" its "brigades" in the Gaza Strip, and emphasized that Fatah adheres to violent "resistance" against Israel with weapons that are "pure." Zaki specified that the loyalty and allegiance of any Palestinian who suggests laying down "the weapons of the resistance" is cast into doubt, and such a person is perceived as a "traitor":

"The weapons of the resistance are pure, and must be kept. We are increasing our training daily and strengthening our capabilities for the appropriate day, because we are not like sheep going to the slaughter. Whoever harms the weapons of the resistance is not a patriot, and we must look at him in a different light, because these weapons are being used under occupation in a manner that is in accordance with the national decision. They can be beneficial if they are used, and they have a great effect on the other side, Israel. If there was peace and Israeli withdrawal, then perhaps this [issue] could be raised, and we would not treat one who raises it as a traitor... We suspect whoever talks about disarmament... It is forbidden to talk about the topic of the weapons at all..."
[Alam, local Hebron radio station, Nov. 9, 2017]

Zaki alluded to the future use of violence against Israel, mentioning that Fatah is preparing the weapons for "the appropriate day," and for "the coming day of battle." Furthermore, he emphasized that the decision on the usage and timing of violence is a "national decision":

"In the Fatah Central Committee we forbid raising the topic [of disarmament]. Let these weapons multiply and become more sophisticated. But their usage is subject to the authority of the highest institutions and the national decision. All talk of disarmament is consistent with [the interests of] Israel, while the talk of controlling [the weapons] is preparation for the coming day of battle."

Fatah official: “The weapons of the resistance are pure"

Fatah official: Israel has a “fascist governmental plan, a government that is typical of Nazism”

PMW: The PA libel lives on: "Israel poisoned Arafat" - and the US helped

Maintaining its long-lived tradition, the Palestinian Authority continued this year to spread the libel that Israel murdered Yasser Arafat with poison. On the occasion of the 13th anniversary of Arafat's death, a PA TV host stated:
Official PA TV host: "All the signs show that Israel is the one that assassinated and murdered [PA] President Yasser Arafat in some way, when it reached him and poisoned him."
[Official PA TV, Palestine This Morning, Nov. 11, 2017]

The official PA daily also repeated the libel:
"The most prominent [Israeli assassination] was the assassination of Yasser Arafat with poison after laying siege to his headquarters in Ramallah."
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Sept. 28, 2017]

PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' advisor on Foreign Affairs and International Relations Nabil Shaath stated earlier this year that he knows for a fact - without "a millionth of a doubt" - that the Israelis killed Arafat "with poison":
Al-Arabiya TV host: "Did [Yasser Arafat] die due to the consequences of the [Israeli] siege, or was he killed by poison during the siege?"
PA Chairman Abbas' advisor Nabil Shaath: "No, the Israelis killed him with poison. I have no doubt of that, not even a millionth of a doubt!"
TV host: "Why are you so certain? Do you have information?" ...
Nabil Shaath: "...All food came through the Israelis. They besieged him from outside. Every cup of water came through the Israelis. Every pill of medicine... You can check the water before you give it to him... You can check the food, but the medicines?" [Al-Arabiya TV, Political Memoirs, Aug. 25, 2017]

PA TV repeats libel: Israel poisoned Arafat and should stand trial

Abbas’ advisor repeats libel Arafat was murdered with poison by Israelis

France: Muslims In, Jews Out

Suburbs ("banlieues") -- distant from the affluent boulevards and bistros of Paris -- form the "other France". They are the "peripheral France", ("La France Périphérique") as the geographer Christophe Guilluy calls them in an important book. They are where "living together" between communities has really been tested.

In the last 20 years, these French suburbs have not only become "concentrations of poverty and social isolation", but have gone from being some of France's most densely-populated Jewish areas to "lost territories of the Republic", according to the great historian Georges Bensoussan, in his book, Les territoires perdus de la République.

These suburbs have become transformed into one of the most visible signs of the Islamization of France.

Anti-Semitism has returned as one of Europe's worst diseases. France hosts Europe's largest Jewish community, and Jews have been fleeing the suburbs to either emigrate or move to gentrified districts of the cities, where they feel more protected. What happens to the Jews will have a seismic impact on the entire continent.

In the Parisian suburb of Bagneux, someone recently vandalized the memorial plaque for Ilan Halimi, a young Jew who was kidnapped, tortured and murdered by a "barbarian gang" in 2006, just for being a Jew. At the time, it was France's first case of murderous anti-Semitism in many years. After it, Islamists murdered Jews at a school in Toulouse and a kosher supermarket in Paris.

As Le Monde reported in a chilling new inquiry, anti-Semitism now knocks daily at the doors of the French Jews. It has been creating a serious migratory trend: French Jews have become "internal refugees".

France: Escalating Muslim Anti-Semitism

In France, any public mention of Muslim anti-Semitism can lead you to court. In February 2017, the scholar Georges Bensoussan was sued for "incitement to racial hatred" because he mentioned in a radio debate how vastly widespread anti-Semitism is among French Muslim families.

Now, however, two types of Muslim anti-Semitism are being highlighted by the media. These two types could be called "hard anti-Semitism" and "soft anti-Semitism".

Hard Muslim anti-Semitism is the anti-Semitism of murderers. Soft Muslim anti-Semitism is anti-Semitism of "anti-Zionists" and harrassers of various stripes.

The recently concluded trial of terrorist Abdelkader Merah is a clear and pathetic illustration of hard Muslim anti-Semitism. Abdelkader Merah is the brother of Mohamed Merah, a French Muslim extremist who murdered seven people, including three Jewish children and their teacher at a Jewish school, in Toulouse. Mohamed Merah was killed in a shoot-out with police on March 22, 2012. Abdelkader Merah, Mohamed's brother, was on trial during the past few weeks. He was accused of being a member of a terrorist organization and to have closely monitored his brother during his murder spree. Abdelkader's trial ended on November 2, 2017; he was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

The criminal Merah brothers: How France failed its citizens

Earlier this month, Abdelkader Merah was sentenced to 20 years in jail by a French court. He was found guilty of criminal terrorist conspiracy. Abdelkader had had much influence on his murderous brother, Mohammed Merah. Analyzing the background of the Merah family provides major insights into the problems of uncontrolled immigration of Muslims into Europe as well as other issues that go far beyond the crimes of the Merah brothers.

First the facts. In March 2012, Mohammed Merah, a French-born Muslim of Algerian parents, killed a Jewish teacher and three children in front of the Jewish school Otzar HaTorah in Toulouse. Several days earlier he had murdered three French soldiers. A few days after the murders at the school, Merah was killed in a shootout with French police. It was found that he had been a visitor to an al-Qaida stronghold in Pakistan.

Mohammed Merah claimed that he was motivated to murder Jews out of solidarity with Palestinian children. Thereafter then Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad distanced himself from Merah. He stated that Palestinian children should not be used to legitimize terrorism. Fayyad failed to mention that the Palestinians routinely glorify their own terrorist murderers of Israeli civilians in many ways.

According to the French daily Le Monde, the father of the Merahs said that to defend the Palestinians he was willing to become a suicide bomber. Souad Merah, the eldest sister of Mohammed, was quoted as saying that she wanted to turn into a suicide bomber together with her children, “It is not innocents which one is killing, but unbelievers.” Upon learning about the murders Mohammed committed, Merah’s mother Zoulikha said, “My son has brought France to its knees.” The current whereabouts of Souad Merah are unknown.

Not releasing 1980 Paris synagogue bombing suspect 'absurd,' supporters say

Lawyers and supporters of the chief suspect in a deadly attack on a Paris synagogue in 1980 expressed disappointment at his being denied release for an eighth time on Tuesday.

Hassan Diab, 63, had been ordered released pending the conclusion of the investigation into the case, but the decision was overturned on appeal.

The Lebanese-Canadian sociology professor is accused of being part of a Palestinian group blamed for the bombing on October 3, 1980 that left four dead and around 40 injured.

Diab has been detained in France since being extradited from Canada in 2014.

While the 37-year-old case has been investigated by French authorities, he has maintained his innocence and denied being a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

Roger Clark, a former director of Amnesty International and member of a Diab support group, told AFP that his continued detention is “extremely disappointing.”

“The decision to deny his release reflects the ridiculous nature of what’s going on in his case. It’s grotesquely absurd,” he said.

My Right Word: Judea and Samaria Before The Ethnic-Cleansing

I have just read Dothan Goren's "U'Va L'Tzion Goel" which details land purchases by Jews at the end of the Ottoman period of occupation of the Land of Israel specifically motivated by religious goals in and around Jerusalem. Last week I referenced it to detail land purchases north of Jerusalem in close proximity to the Tomb of Samuel the Prophet.

Now I will list the most outstanding instances of land purchases up until 1914 or so in and around Jerusalem.

And let's recall: the Jewish people are the only people that were required to buy back their stolen and occupied homeland.

Starting in the early 19th century, building and courtyards were purchased adjacent to the Kotel alleyway in the Mugrhabi Quarter by Moses Montiefiore 1828, Shmarya Luria 1833-35, the Sefardi Community Trust 1845. During his 1888 visit, Edmond Rothschild attempted to arrange for a transfer of ownership of the whole quarter as it was Waqf category. In 1908, the Odessa Geula Society tried as did David Tzvi Schneerson in 1911. In 1915 even Pasha Djemal suggested the houses near the alleyway be bought up by the Jews. Immediately after the city's conquest by England, attempts were renewed.

Taylor Force Act, Two Other Anti-Terror Measures Pass Key House Committee

The Taylor Force Act and two other anti-terror measures passed the influential House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday.

All three measures will move to the full chamber, where they will be voted on by all members of the House, The Times of Israel reported.

The Taylor Force Act is named for the United States army veteran who was stabbed to death in March 2016 by a Palestinian terrorist while visiting Israel. The terrorist who killed Force was later killed, but he was described as “heroic” by Fatah, the main Palestinian political faction, and his family receives a stipend from the Palestinian Authority (PA). The Taylor Force Act, which passed unanimously on Wednesday, would condition U.S. aid to the Palestinians on the PA’s ending the practice of paying stipends to terrorists and their families.

A study published this past summer estimated that payments to terrorists and their families amounted to roughly half of the foreign budgetary aid the PA receives from the U.S., EU and Israel each year.

The Congressional version of the Taylor Force Act exempts three payments from a potential cutoff: money for childhood vaccinations, water, and for PA hospitals.

“Since 2003, it has been Palestinian law to reward Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails with a monthly paycheck. Palestinian leadership also pays the families of Palestinian prisoners and suicide bombers. These policies incentivize terrorism,” Rep. Ed Royce (R – Calif.), chairman of the committee said. “With this legislation, we are forcing the PA to choose between U.S. assistance and these morally reprehensible policies, and I am pleased to see this measure move forward in both chambers with so much support.”

UN Approves Expansion of Israeli Project Bolstering Security of Peacekeeping Force in Central African Republic

The United Nations approved earlier this week the extension of an Israeli technology project designed to bolster the security of the global intergovernmental body’s Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission (MINUSCA) in the Central African Republic.

“Since 2015, Israel has contributed both static and mobile observation systems to MINUSCA,” the UN said. “These capacities have proven highly successful in increasing situational awareness and preventing outbreaks of violence, including during the visit of Pope Francis, the election process in Bangui and many other events associated with potential security threats.”

The Israeli project will now be expanded to “include measures to fully integrate technological solutions into the mission’s day to day operations,” according to the UN.

The UN went on to thank the Israeli government for its “continued support” of peacekeeping operations.

Israel Co-Sponsors Saudi Resolution Against Syria at UN

In an unprecedented move, Israel on Tuesday co-sponsored a draft resolution against Syria that was submitted by Saudi Arabia at the United Nations Human Rights Council.

The resolution, which was also backed by the US, France and Germany, passed with an overwhelming majority of 108 countries voting in favor, 17 voting against and 58 abstaining.

Although Israel has previously supported resolutions submitted by Saudi Arabia at the UN, it has never signed on as a co-sponsor.

In a statement delivered prior to the vote, Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the UN Abdallah Al-Mouallimi slammed the “the grave deterioration in the state of human rights in Syria.”

When the list of the resolution’s co-sponsors was read aloud, Syria’s UN envoy, Bashar al-Jaafari, mockingly congratulated Riyadh for Israel’s direct involvement, stating that it served as evidence of a secret Israeli-Saudi alliance. The Syrian ambassador also accused all of the resolution’s co-sponsors of supporting terrorism.

In first-ever Saudi interview, IDF head says ready to share intel on Iran

In an unprecedented interview to a Saudi news outlet, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot said Thursday that the Jewish state is prepared to share intelligence with the Gulf kingdom in their joint efforts to curb Iranian influence in the region.

Israel and Saudi Arabia do not have official diplomatic relations.

Speaking with the London-based, Saudi-owned news site Elaph, Eisenkot, in his first-ever interview with Arabic media, laid out what he thinks are Iran’s ambitions in the Middle East, and made clear that Israel isn’t interested in a war now with the Iranian-backed Lebanese terror group Hezbollah, despite Iranian attempts to bring about an escalation.

“With [US] President Donald Trump there is an opportunity for a new international coalition in the region. There should be a major regional plan to stop the Iranian threat,” said Eisenkot.

“We are ready to exchange experiences with moderate Arab countries and to exchange intelligence to confront Iran,” he added.

Asked whether Israel has shared “information” with the Saudis recently, Eisenkot responded, “We are prepared to share information if it is necessary. There are many mutual interests.”

Greek Orthodox Arabs call for patriarch's ouster over land deals

Dozens of Christian Arabs protested against the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of the Holy Land on Thursday, demanding the resignation of Patriarch Theophilus III for selling church land to Israelis.

Some 50 demonstrators rallied outside the Church of St. George in Lod, in central Israel, where Theophilus had arrived to pray.

Some waved banners calling him “not trustworthy.” Others scuffled with the patriarch’s supporters.

The church is one of the largest real estate owners in the Holy Land. It is dominated by Greek clergy while the flock is overwhelmingly Palestinian.

The protest was one of several held recently in Israel and the West Bank that have called for the ouster of the patriarch and the replacement of Greek clergy with Palestinian ones.

Activists are furious over a list of real estate sales conducted by the patriarchate with private companies registered in offshore companies whose investors are unknown.

Ynetnews Opinion - Is Gaza tunnel era coming to an end?

Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot’s main work directive to the IDF for 2018, the last year of his term, is to destroy all border-crossing tunnels—both those Israel is aware of and those it isn’t aware of yet—which have been dug or are being dug from the Gaza Strip into Israel.

Eisenkot was able to issue such an order due to the fact that three years after Operation Protective Edge, the army has obtained the technology and the means to allow an effective detection and destruction of tunnels in general and of border-crossing tunnels in particular.

The current tensions along the Gaza border, therefore, are not just the result of Islamic Jihad’s threats to avenge the demolition of its tunnel on October 30. Both Israel and the Palestinian factions in Gaza are flexing their muscles and growling in preparation for the day after the next border-crossing tunnel is destroyed.

The chief of staff’s order is clear: If a tunnel is uncovered, it will be destroyed. A tunnel will face the same fate as weapons smuggled from Syria to Hezbollah. And another tunnel will surely be uncovered. According to IDF assessments, since the destruction of 15 border-crossing tunnels during Operation Protective Edge, Hamas and Islamic Jihad have kept digging tunnels into Israeli territory. If there are diggings, and if there are effective detection means, there will be demolitions too. It’s just a matter of time.

Islamic Jihad is talking about revenge but is actually trying to create deterrence against Israel: To claim a sufficiently high price that would make Israel think twice before deciding to destroy the next tunnel.

Abbas: We won't relinquish the 'right of return'

Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas vowed to the Palestinian people that the free and independent state of Palestine within the June 4, 1967 borders, with eastern Jerusalem as its capital, would be established with absolute certainty.

In remarks on the the 29th anniversary of the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, Abbas said that Yasser Arafat, the founder of Fatah, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the PA, wanted the 1988 Declaration of Independence to send a message of peace to the world.

Abbas said the world is more aware than ever of the rights of the Palestinian people, especially their right to self-determination, freedom and independence, and that the Palestinian state is recognized and can no longer be ignored.

He added that Israeli recognition of “Palestine” is now required as part of a solution of two states that coexist in peace and security.

Hamas spokesman: We will never recognize Israel

A spokesman for the Hamas terrorist group stressed on Wednesday that the group will never recognize Israel.

The spokesman, Sami Abu Zuhri, said Hamas would remain faithful to its principles and will act to implement the national reconciliation and unite the Palestinian people behind the Palestinian problem, Jerusalem, the resistance and the prisoners until the last grain of the land is liberated.

He spoke at the opening session of the 26th International Conference of the Association of Islamic Organizations (ESAM) taking place in Istanbul.

"Hamas has succeeded in turning the resistance from a limited one into a people's culture which is a source of pride,” declared Abu Zuhri.

"Therefore, those who say they want to stop the resistance and dismantle the arms of the resistance [organizations] are delusional, because these dreams will not come true as the resistance is strong and capable,” he added.

Hamas officially blames Mossad for death of Tunisian drone maker

The Hamas terror group on Thursday officially accused Israeli spy agency Mossad of carrying out last year’s assassination of Mohammed al-Zoari, a Tunisian aviation scientist and engineer who developed the terror group’s unmanned drones.

In a press conference in Beirut, Hamas official Mohamed Nazzal said, “We are absolutely certain that the Mossad is responsible for the assassination of Zoari.”

He added that the Mossad had received help from other security services, but he did not elaborate on who they were.

Nazzal said the accusation was the result of Hamas’s own investigation in the scientist’s death. However, the Hamas official’s narrative of the alleged assassination was built almost entirely off of details released by Tunisian officials following the incident in December 2016, including that the killers had posed as two foreign journalists.

In the Hamas version, the two journalists, who used their alleged work as a way to get close to Zoari and scope out his neighborhood, claimed to have Bosnian citizenship. The two assassins were using Bosnian passports, Nazzal said.

Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon declined comment.

Watch: Jordanian MP supports suicide bombings in Israel

A Jordanian parliamentarian has openly declared his support for suicide bombings in Israel.

The lawmaker, Yahya Al-Saud, serves as chairman of the Palestine Committee of the Jordanian Parliament. He made his comments in an interview with a Palestinian Arab website as he visiting Ramallah as part of a delegation of Jordanian parliamentarians.

The interview was posted on the Donia Al-Watan website on November 9, and was translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).

Al-Saud acknowledged in the interview that Fatah is the sole representative of the Palestinian people but added, “I do support the option of resistance. The resistance must continue to be a strategic option for all the Arabs.”

Asked whether he was referring to armed resistance or to peaceful resistance, he stated, “Both armed and peaceful.” The interviewer then asked, “Do you support martyrdom bombing operations in Israel?”

“If the purpose of these martyrdom operations in Israel is to defend Palestine and its people, then yes, I support these operations,” Al-Saud replied.

Al-Saud is already infamous for the incident in which he invited MK Oren Hazan (Likud) to a fight at the Allenby Border Crossing between Israel and Jordan.

Lebanese PM Hariri accepts invitation to come to France

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri has accepted an invitation to visit France after his surprise resignation from Saudi Arabia nearly two weeks ago that rattled the region, the French president's office said Thursday.

Hariri is expected in France in the coming days, according to an official in President Emmanuel Macron's office, speaking on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to talk publicly to the media.

Lebanon President Michel Aoun said Hariri and his family will arrive Saturday in France, "where he will rest for few days" before returning to Beirut to make "a decision regarding the resignation." Aoun's statement was carried by the state-run National News Agency.

Aoun had welcomed Hariri's decision to accept the French invitation, saying he hoped it "opened the door for a resolution" of the political crisis in Lebanon.

"I wait for the return of President (of the council of ministers) Hariri to decide the next move regarding the government," Aoun told journalists. The comments were published on his official Twitter account.

PreOccupiedTerritory: Saudi Arabia In Transition From Banning Women Drivers To Stereotyping Them (satire)

Following a change to the law last month that saw the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia make it legal for women to drive motor vehicles, the society has begun to shift toward the norm in countries where female drivers are commonplace: generalizations about the supposedly erratic, incompetent driving of women drivers.

Observers of culture and media in the conservative kingdom have noted the shift, and welcome it as a sign that the Saudi society, as traditional as it has always been, shows the capacity to adapt quickly to such changes.

“It’s encouraging to see so much stereotyping going on, out in the open, so soon after the law changed,” gushed Bihanda Weel, a columnist for The Times of Arabia. “Some of us expected there to be a difficult transition period in which the Saudi people would struggle to adopt the active use of these stereotypes on the road, but they have made such a smooth switch to the new reality. I’m proud to be Saudi.”

“We still have some catching up to do,” cautioned TV commentator Daatan Qalla. “That might just be a function of numbers, there being so few women driving at the moment, but we can’t make a serious claim to having matured as a society until we’re hearing about everyday encounters with women failing to parallel park because of a supposed inability to perceive depth, or rotate objects in their heads. It will take more than simply grafting our traditional disdain for women’s cognitive abilities onto this new medium.”

Iran Sues U.S. for $60 Billion

Iran is claiming that it has sued the United States for $60 billion in response to efforts by the American government to seize the Islamic Republic's assets as a result of terror attacks that have killed Americans and others.

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, a chief negotiator of the landmark nuclear agreement, claimed on Wednesday that the Iranian judiciary has issued rulings for the United States to pay the country at least $60 billion over the dispute.

Similar legal complaints by Iran against the United States have been filed with the International Criminal Court, which has longstanding jurisdiction to adjudicate several pending cases between the United States and Iran.

The Obama administration, late in President Obama's second term, reached a multi-million dollar settlement with Iran to avoid resolving at the ICC long-standing disputes over past arms deal that went awry following the Islamic Republic's 1979 revolution that brought in the country's hardline government.

"So far court verdicts have been issued in the U.S. against Iran to pay a sum of $60bln and similar rulings have been issued in Iran against the US to pay a similar sum," Zarif was quoted as saying in Iran's state-controlled press.

The U.S. Supreme Court has issued judgments in the past permitting the United States to seize Iranian assets as a result of its past terror attacks and other activities against America.

UK may pay $600m debt to Iran as it seeks to free jailed citizen

Britain is reportedly looking to pay approximately $600 million to Iran, settling a decades-old debt, as it attempts to secure the release of an Iranian-British woman being held in the Islamic Republic on espionage charges.

But Iranian and British officials denied that the two matters were tied.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is hoping to improve relations with Iran while he works to free Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe by paying for a 1970s arms deal interrupted by the Islamic revolution, British media reported on Thursday.

The former shah of Iran paid the British government £650 million ($855 million) for 1,750 tanks, but only 185 were delivered before his regime was brought down in 1979 and the remainder of the order was canceled.

In 2009, the International Chamber of Commerce ordered Britain to repay Iran £450 million ($592 million) for the tanks that were never delivered, but UN and EU sanctions levied against Iran prevented the repayment.

PreOccupiedTerritory: Kerry Assures 1930’s Jews There’s A Fatwa Against Genocide (satire)

Former Secretary of State John Kerry has continued his efforts to spread calm in a world troubled by the possibility of escalated sectarian conflict, reassuring Europe’s pre-WWII Jewish population that a religious ruling exists against attempts to annihilate any specific ethnic, religious, or racial group.

The Secretary spoke at an event to buttress the Iran nuclear deal, at which he repeated his claim that the deal made the world safer and implied that those who opposed the deal sought to spark war.

“My friends in the European establishment assure me there is a fatwa the specifically prohibits genocide,” he asserted. “It is not in the political or spiritual interest of the powers in Europe to pursue any such policy, and it undermines good faith dealings with them to constantly harp on this point.”

Kerry declined to specify what religious authority informed him of such a fatwa, or what spiritual authority issued it. “You have to trust people sometimes,” he explained. “That’s how deals are made, relationships develop.”

European leaders greeted Kerry’s words with warmth. “We are glad Mr. Kerry made this pronouncement,” read a statement by German Minister of Foreign Affairs Joachim von Ribbentrop. “Too much militant rhetoric has been poisoning the air of late, and it is important for a voice of reason, of calm, to prevail.”

“Yes, yes, what Kerry said, whatever it takes to get people to calm down about this,” concurred Mufti of Jerusalem Haj Amin al-Husseini, in the Balkans for a visit with like-minded Muslims in the area. “When Al-Aqsa is threatened by Jews, it is important to say these things.”

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