04/17 Links Pt1: Michelle Goldberg’s Free Speech Martyr, Pity the poor terrorist promoter; Jordan in Denial over Trump Plan for Israel in Judea and Samaria ~ EoZ

From Ian:

Noah Pollak: Michelle Goldberg’s Free Speech Martyr

In 2007, Barghouti founded, and runs to this day, a Ramallah-based umbrella group called the BDS National Committee that serves as the leading group organizing and promoting BDS outside the United States. The reason Barghouti was barred from entering the U.S. is not because he advocates BDS or Israel’s destruction. There is no speech issue here at all.

The reason he was barred is because the group Barghouti runs includes five U.S.-designated terrorist organizations in its membership: Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the PFLP, and the Popular Front – General Command.

Not only does Barghouti run a group whose membership includes U.S.-designated terrorists, he himself promotes terrorism. You wouldn’t know this reading Goldberg, who claims in her piece that “The BDS movement doesn’t engage in or promote violence.”

Here is a video of Barghouti in 2011 stating, “The media only focuses on one form of resistance, which we’re proud of, we’re not ashamed to have armed resistance [terrorism] as well as peaceful resistance.” This wasn’t a one-off. Barghouti has stated his support for terrorism dozens of times, plainly, openly, publicly, proudly, without euphemism. Click the link and read his quotes endorsing terrorism.

The only good part of the BDS movement is how it is exposing so many progressives as wishful, gullible, or dishonest in their need to paint the anti-Israel cause as respectable.

Omar Barghouti: Israel enlisted Trump to ban me from America

Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions founder Omar Barghouti has expressed dismay and confusion over his entry into the United States being refused.

In an op-ed to the UK newspaper The Guardian, Barghouti claimed that "Israel appears to have once again enlisted the Trump administration to do its bidding."

He claimed in the piece that with his "denial of entry, Israel appears to have once again enlisted the Trump administration to do its bidding, this time to repress Palestinian, Israeli and international human rights defenders," he wrote. "They wish to deny lawmakers, journalists and ordinary Americans their right to listen first-hand to a Palestinian human rights advocate calling for ending US complicity in Israel’s crimes against our people."

As a co-founder of the BDS movement "for Palestinian rights," Barghouti said he has "been smeared by the Israeli government and banned from travel repeatedly, including in 2018 when I was prevented from going to Jordan to accompany my late mother during cancer surgery."

"Israel’s intelligence minister threatened me with 'targeted civil elimination,' drawing condemnation from Amnesty International," he wrote. "Their de facto and 'arbitrary travel ban' against me was recently lifted for three months after Amnesty International’s pressure."

Jerusalem court upholds deportation of Human Rights Watch official

The Jerusalem District Court on Tuesday upheld a deportation order against Human Rights Watch’s local director and gave him two weeks to leave the country.

The court rejected an appeal by Omar Shakir to remain in the country. The New York-based watchdog has cast his case as a bid to suppress global criticism of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.

Israel enacted a law in 2017 barring entry to any foreigner who “knowingly issues a public call for boycotting Israel.” Tuesday’s ruling was the first time the law was applied to someone already residing in the country.

Shakir, a U.S. citizen, has worked as the New York-based group’s Israel and Palestine director since October 2016.

Israel’s interior minister ordered Shakir’s deportation in May 2018, calling him a “boycott activist.”

The court said that Shakir “continues his actions publicly to advance a boycott against Israel, but it’s not on the stages at conferences or in university panels, rather through disseminating his calls to advance boycott primarily through his Twitter account and by other means.”

“The appellant continues to call publicly for a boycott of Israel, or parts of it, while at the same time asking [Israel] to open its doors to him,” said the ruling distributed by the Justice Ministry.

David Singer: Jordan in Denial over Trump Plan for Israel in Judea and Samaria

In a closed-door meeting with members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee King Abdullah of Jordan reportedly said the White House had given him
“zero visibility into the most fraught part of their peace plan: how it proposes to divide Israeli and Palestinian territory.”

His Majesty – in complete denial – could not bring himself to call that territory “Judea Samaria and Gaza”

Abdullah has seen Trump ditch the Palestine Liberation Organisation financially and diplomatically over its continuing refusal to negotiate with Israel on any Trump proposal to divide sovereignty in Judea and Samaria between Jews and Arabs.

Presidential candidate Ronald Reagan laid out Jordan’s pivotal role in negotiating any such division in 1980:
“Israel and Jordan are the two Palestinian states envisioned and authorized by the United Nations. Jordan is now recognized in some 80% of the old territory of Palestine. Israel and Jordan are the parties primarily authorized to settle the future of the unallocated territories in accordance with the principles of the mandate and the provisions of Resolutions 242 and 338”

In 1982 duly-elected President Reagan made it clear that peace could not be achieved by the formation of an independent Palestinian state and the United States would not support the establishment of such a state.

PMW: PA Ministry of Education teaches children that arch-terrorist who planned murder of 125 is a hero

The Palestinian Authority emphasized to children last month that arch-terrorist Abu Jihad - who the PA itself has credited with planning the murder of at least 125 Israelis - is indeed a hero to be honored and remembered.

At a school named after the terrorist murderer - the Martyr Abu Jihad School for Boys - in the village of Al-Yamun, west of Jenin, the PA Ministry of Education inaugurated a wall painting of Abu Jihad, as seen in the photo above.

The text on the painting glorifies Abu Jihad for his terror and violence:
"The First Bullet and the First Stone Leader symbol Abu Jihad"
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, March 29, 2019]

The terrorist's wife, Intisar Al-Wazir, unveiled the painting in the presence of several PA officials, including a representative of the PA Ministry of Education; Director of the Jenin Education Directorate Tareq Alawneh, as well as Deputy District Governor of Jenin Kamal Abu Al-Rub, Al-Yamun Mayor Naif Khamaiseh, and Fatah branch Secretary Ata Abu Armila.

The official PA daily reported that "those who spoke, emphasized the adherence to the path of struggle of Martyr Khalil Al-Wazir [Abu Jihad], who died as a Martyr for the freedom of Palestine" and that they "enumerated the virtues of Martyr Abu Jihad."

In exile, Somali official fired for pro-Israel views demands an apology

Amid fears for his safety, Abdullahi Dool, a senior Somali diplomat who was fired last month for publicly advocating the establishment of formal relations with Israel, was forced to flee his country.

He longs to return to Somalia, but undeterred by the end of his career and ongoing online abuse from pro-Palestinian forces back at home, he continues to call for stronger ties between Jerusalem and Mogadishu — and demands an apology for his dismissal.

“I am a staunch supporter of my country establishing diplomatic ties with Israel. I know many people who are in favor of this move. Like myself they wonder why it has taken this long,” the 59-year-old former diplomat told The Times of Israel in an exclusive interview this week. The conversation was conducted via Whatsapp and email; Dool did not wish to specify his current whereabouts.

Israel has “immense influence in the region and throughout the world,” added Dool, who until late March served as the director of the Somali foreign minister’s office.

“I am convinced that forging ties with Israel will be in our mutual interest. One of the reasons we need to establish ties with Israel sooner rather than later is to bring an end to the war of the extremists that is being waged against our people on a daily basis. The bloodletting of our people must end sooner rather than later and we will need all the help we can get to achieve this goal.”

MEMRI: Jihadis Celebrate Notre Dame Cathedral Fire, Dub It A Punishment And Good Omen

Jihadis celebrated the destruction of large parts of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris in a devastating fire on April 15, 2019. Reactions by jihadis on social media refer to the cathedral as a symbol of Christianity and a major point of origin for the Crusades. Several describe the fire as punishment for various crimes attributed to France or to Christians in general, such as France's military intervention in Muslim countries or the mosque massacres in New Zealand. Some jihadis, including leading figures, view the incident as a good omen heralding calamities for the West and the global order.

The following is a selection of such reactions to the fire:
Muntasir Media, a pro-ISIS media outlet, published a poster showing the burning cathedral, with the caption: "A good day! Notre Dame cathedral. Its construction began in 1163 and finished in 1345. It's time to say goodbye to your pulpit of polytheism. 'A fitting reward' [Quran 78:26]."

A French-speaking jihad supporter on Facebook writes: "800 years of history of pedophilia, worship of Satan and other diabolical rituals, all up in smoke in a few minutes...it's thrilling [...] not mentioning the Crusades and the various wars led by the Church against the Muslims."[1]

Another jihadi supporter on Facebook describes the fire as punishment for the recent expulsion of the Islamic State from its stronghold of Baghouz: "Paris is burning in flames. Woe to it from the fire of tomorrow [hellfire], for that is the [divine] promise. Oh Paris, the air of your ashes is like snow falling on cheeks strained by exhaustion. Oh Paris, how long will you wander in the sea of haughtiness, do you not long for the army of monotheism in order to pay it the jizyah which is long overdue and provide it with full breasted female slaves? Oh Paris, why the disobedience? You are a sinner, and what is the fire if not an army that came from Baghouz[2] to take a right which was plundered."[3]

A Facebook post by Muhammad Nasr Abu Bakr which appears to express wishful thinking about ISIS involvement reads: "The burning of the Notre Dame church in Paris is an answer to the mosque incident in New Zealand. Allah bless your virtue, oh ISIS, oh pride of terrorists! Who wants to bemoan it [the fire] so we can stick our shoe in his mouth?"[4]

MEMRI: Arab Writers: The Arabs And Palestinians Must Stop Rejecting Every Proposed Settlement With Israel; Sadat Was Right In Making Peace

Against the backdrop of U.S. President Trump's March 25, 2019 recognition of Israel's sovereignty over the Golan, and the 40th anniversary of the peace accords between Israel and Egypt, the Arab press, and especially the Egyptian press, published articles criticizing the Arabs' and Palestinians' handling of the conflict with Israel. The writers argued that the "all or nothing" attitude to the conflict, which has led the Arabs and Palestinians to reject every proposed solution, has caused a steady erosion in the proposals presented to them, while allowing Israel to consolidate its control of the occupied territories. They added that the U.S. recognition of Israel's sovereignty over the Golan proved the wisdom of Egyptian president Anwar Sadat's decision to make peace with Israel and thereby regain Sinai, as opposed to the folly of the peace rejectionists, whose obstinacy has left the Golan and Jerusalem in Israeli hands.

The following are excerpts from the articles:
In A Bid To Get Everything, We Rejected Good Proposals; We Must Reassess Our Approach

Ahmad Al-Tawwab, a columnist for the Egyptian government daily Al-Ahram, criticized the Arabs and Palestinians for rejecting every proposed solution to the conflict with Israel out of a misguided belief that, by digging in, they will eventually get the best possible deal. He wrote: "We must reassess the bizarre belief that has prevailed for many years among many Arab politicians and intellectuals, especially Palestinian ones. [I refer to the belief] that time necessarily works in our favor; that, despite Israel's power and the success of the Zionist enterprise, the natural course of events will eventually lead to the fulfilment of all of the Palestinians' national demands, and that Israel's demise is a forgone conclusion because it is an alien corn [in the region], etc. This outlook is one of the reasons that the Palestinians have repeatedly missed opportunities [to resolve the conflict], on the grounds that [the proposed solutions] did not meet their aspirations, and based on the belief that the future would bring better opportunities or even eliminate the problem altogether.

"But although opportunities were missed and better alternatives failed to materialize, and although each subsequent solution offered was worse than the one before – and the contrast between the recent proposals and those offered in the late 1940s is sufficient [proof of this] – most [Arabs] continued and still continue to count on the future, while attacking anyone who thinks differently and calling him names ranging from 'idiot' to 'traitor.' This [attitude] silenced all those who warned, decades ago, that history [indicates] that rights alone to not guarantee justice for the oppressed...

"It intellectuals have a duty to undertake an in-depth reassessment of this entire issue, especially after the two hard blows recently delivered by [U.S. President Donald] Trump: the moving of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem and the recognition of Israel's annexation of the Golan, which has been occupied since 1967. Moreover, we can expect additional blows, some of them beyond all imagining."[1]

Was the Arab World Relieved by Israel’s Election?

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, among the very few in the Arab world to respond to the election results in Israel, was quick to warn of tough times ahead for his organization and his partners in the “axis of evil” — Iran and Syria: “We are facing a new stage of unprecedented cooperation between America and Israel under the leadership of Netanyahu and Trump.”

For Nasrallah and his friends, the election results indicate the continuation and perhaps even intensification of Israel’s aggressive and determined policy to prevent Iran from establishing a presence in Syria. Various reports in the months leading up to the election, whereby Tehran sought to influence the results by sparking a conflagration in Gaza and perhaps on other fronts, hinted at the mood of Nasrallah and his Iranian masters. This Iranian gambit, however, if indeed there was one, failed. Israel, together with its Arab partners, didn’t fall for the Iranian trap, and so Tehran and Beirut have no choice but to look toward the future with concern.

This concern on the part of Nasrallah and his patrons in Iran is especially noteworthy considering the fact that the Israeli election barely roused any interest in the Arab world, which is mired in its own problems. In recent weeks, the “Arab Spring” has erupted anew in several Muslim countries, leading to the downfall of Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika after two decades of rule and Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir after three decades in power. Alongside these two countries, which until recently were perceived as symbols of stability after being spared nearly a decade ago by the initial Arab Spring, a bloody civil war continues to rage in Yemen. Even in Syria, civil unrest continues to fester, despite appearances that it has been subdued by the Assad regime.

In this reality of a fractured Arab world crumbling under the weight of its own problems, Israel is viewed as a stable, credible, and powerful force; hence, numerous regional leaders are choosing to lean on the Jewish state in an effort to ensure calm and stability.

US starts scouting site for permanent Jerusalem embassy

The US administration has started to scout sites for a new “permanent” embassy in Jerusalem, a spokesperson for the embassy said Wednesday.

According to a Channel 12 report, American diplomats are looking at an empty plot of land adjacent to two busy thoroughfares in the city’s Arnona neighborhood, which had been designated as the home of the US embassy years before President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in 2017.

Due to its storied history, the site is not uncontroversial.

Citing anonymous sources, Channel 12 on Tuesday evening reported that Trump intends to move the US embassy into a new, permanent building during his second term, provided he wins the 2020 presidential race. He may even travel to Jerusalem for the laying of the cornerstone during the election campaign, according to the report.

To that end, the embassy in Jerusalem submitted a request to the relevant Israeli authorities to “begin preparing the site,” and even to append additional plots to enlarge the total area required for an embassy compound.

In addition, embassy staff are exploring the possibility of establishing a “diplomatic neighborhood” in Jerusalem for diplomats from US and possibly other countries, according to the report.

U.S. Publishes Map Showing Golan as Part of Israel

The US has for the first time published a map showing the Golan Heights as Israeli territory, three weeks after President Donald Trump recognized Israeli sovereignty over the strategic plateau.

US Mideast envoy Jason Greenblatt tweeted a picture of the map on Tuesday, saying: “Welcome to the newest addition of our international maps system.”

The map shows the 1974 ceasefire line between Israel and Syria as a permanent border, whereas the border with Lebanon continues to be demarcated as the 1949 armistice line.

The map also notes that the West Bank is Israeli-occupied, with its final status to be determined in peace talks.

And it notes that while the US recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in 2017, it does not take a position on the boundaries of the holy city, which is also claimed by the Palestinians as the capital of a future state.

Coalition of Pro-Israel Organizations Asks Trump to Let Israel Decide on Sovereignty

A coalition of 20 pro-Israel organizations sent a joint letter on Tuesday to US President Donald Trump, asking him to let Israel decide on sovereignty.

This was in response to nine Jewish groups calling on the president on Friday to stop Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was re-elected to a record fifth term last week, from carrying out his campaign promise to annex parts of the West Bank.

Additionally, the Trump administration held a meeting at the White House on Tuesday, consisting of Jewish and pro-Israel leaders.

In reiterating Netanyahu’s pledge, Tuesday’s letter to Trump stated, “Throughout your presidency, you have done everything possible to keep your own campaign promises — with the move of the US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, pledged by every President since Bill Clinton, being a prime example.”

“It is unfair and unreasonable to hold these Jewish communities hostage to the continuing intransigence of the Palestinian Authority,” added the letter. “And it is outrageous to suggest setting policy to kowtow to the antisemitic, terrorist-financed effort to boycott the world’s only Jewish state.”

Signatories on the new letter included the Endowment for Middle East Truth, the Rabbinical Alliance of America, the Republican Jewish Coalition, the Zionist Organization of America and Turning Point USA.

My take on ⁦@AOC⁩’s suggestion to cut military aid to Israel ⁦⁦@J_Insider:⁩ https://t.co/1oBNftmqGL pic.twitter.com/YxuYeUT0ws
— Eugene Kontorovich (@EVKontorovich) April 16, 2019

Netanyahu again on Time's list of world's 100 most influential people

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last Tuesday won a fifth term as Israel’s prime minister, and on Wednesday he was rewarded by Time magazine with inclusion for the fourth time in a decade on its list of the world’s 100 most influential people.

“Israel is Bibi’s nation,” Time columnist David French wrote in a short piece explaining the choice and noting Netanyahu’s recent reelection to a fifth term.

“The reasons for his enduring appeal are clear,” French wrote. “The Second Intifada undermined Israel’s political Left, with fresh memories of suicide bombers rebuking the idea that there exists a partner for peace. Ongoing rocket attacks launched by Hamas show that present dangers are real. And Iran’s power and ambition signal that even two generations after the Yom Kippur War, Israel can face existential threats.”

French wrote that in spite of the dangers, Israel is growing more prosperous and powerful, with the elections showing that sufficient numbers of Israelis believe that Netanyahu is not only partly responsible for that success, “but that he’s the nation’s indispensable man.”

“And so he won again, in spite of facing serious allegations of corruption. Bibi certainly deserves his share of credit for Israel’s strength, but persuading Israelis that he alone could achieve it is his true political accomplishment,” French wrote.

I wrote Bibi Netanyahu's entry in this year's #TIME100 issue -- I had very little space, or I would have added that his unique appeal to conservative Americans (the most consequential foreign leader in the U.S.) only magnifies his influence: https://t.co/reV4eKBOgn
— David French (@DavidAFrench) April 17, 2019

Guardian stumbles upon the truth

The Guardian’s Jonathan Freedland writes the following in his April 10th column on the Israeli election results:

…what will allow [Netanyahu] to remain prime minister is the overall success of the broader right, which will form his coalition. It dominates in Israel because the left has been truly trounced, its one-time core message – that Israel should offer land in return for peace with the Palestinians – thoroughly discredited in the eyes of Israelis, ever since the failure of peace talks at Camp David in 2000 and the intifada that followed, as well as the 2005 withdrawal from Gaza that brought not peace but conflict and the rise of Hamas.

We have made variations of this point time and time again – that you can not understand Israeli politics without a basic understanding of the trauma of the 2nd Intifada, as well as the impact of the Gaza withdrawal and rebuffed Israeli peace offers. Israelis haven’t radically changed their core political ideals. They merely started questioning the fundamental assumptions of Oslo – that ceding land will necessarily reduce violence and bring about peace. This shift occurred as the result of harsh reality, not ideology. Israelis still long for peace. They’re just not as sure as they used to be how to achieve it.

Yet, the Guardian – except for this one column – continually gets this wrong, misinterpreting Israel’s increasing political consensus over most security matters as some sort of dangerous lurch towards the far right, rather than what it is: a sober realization – informed by the experience of withdrawals and wars over two decades – that the myriad of security threats they face don’t have easy solutions.

.@AP article blames the lack of progress on a two-state solution entirely on Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. Not a word about Palestinian rejectionism.

It's not just what is said, but what isn't said that can be a problem in journalism. This is a prime example. pic.twitter.com/l7JqCrUujC
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) April 17, 2019

60,000 sign petition, call on S. Africa to reinstate ambassador to Israel

More than 60,000 people have signed a petition calling for South Africa's ambassador to Israel to be reinstated and for the country's embassy in Tel Aviv not to be downgraded.

Earlier this month, International Relations Minister Lindiwe Sisulu’s announced that South Africa’s embassy in Tel Aviv had been downgraded and that the ambassador to Israel would not be replaced after he was pulled last year following violence on the Israel-Gaza border during the March of Return.

“We are in the process of following the downgrade resolution of the ruling party and stage one has been completed,” Sisulu said during a speech to the South African Institute of International Affairs. “The office will remain at the level of a liaison and that is how it will operate.”

“Our ambassador is back in South Africa and we will not be replacing him,” Sisulu said. “Our liaison office in Tel Aviv will have no political mandate, no trade mandate and no development cooperation mandate. It will not be responsible for trade and commercial activities. The focus of the liaison office would be on consular [services] and the facilitate people-to-people relations."

In December 2017, the country's ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), took a decision at its national conference to downgrade the embassy to a liaison office.

Report: Israel used special missile in Syria attack

For the first time Israel fired advanced Rampage stand-off air-to-surface missiles against Syria in a recent attack in order to over the advanced Russian-made S-300 interceptor, foreign media reported on Wednesday.

Israel reportedly attacked Iranian assets in a Syrian base near Hama on Saturday morning, destroying several military installations. Israel did not assume responsibility for the attack, by satellite imagery indicated an attack took place.

According to the foreign media reports from Wednesday, Israel used the supersonic missile Rampage, developed by the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), and it effectively hit its intended targets, essentially neutralizing the S-300, which has been recently transferred to the Syrian military.

Israel has repeatedly stressed that it would do everything it could to prevent Iran from establishing a foothold in Syria, even if that means military attacks. This has often led to friction with Russia.

Video warns of attack on Eurovision unless Israel eases Gaza conditions

A video circulating on Palestinian social media is warning Israel that the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv could be targeted unless humanitarian conditions are eased for residents of the Gaza Strip.

“You are invited to the big event,” the video says, in Hebrew and Arabic, over images of Eurovision festivities.

“But… there will be no celebrations or dancing while two million Gazans suffer. If you want to celebrate, remove the blockade and don’t stray from the agreement. Implement the understandings, so that you can celebrate,” it says, apparently referring to an emerging ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

The video ends with the coordinates of the sites where the Eurovision will be held in the coastal city beginning on May 12. The buildings are then covered with a bullseye and overlaid with bolts of lightning and the sound of an air raid siren.

It was unclear who was behind the clip.

ברשתות החברתיות הפלסטיניות מופץ בשעה האחרונה סרטון שמאיים על ישראל כי לא תוכל לקיים את האירוויזיון אם לא תיישם את ההבנות שהיא הבטיחה ברצועת עזה. לא ברור מי עומד מאחורי הסרטון@nurityohanan @kaisos1987 @HaimOmri pic.twitter.com/uOqm0E1YW5
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) April 15, 2019

IDF troops raze West Bank home of accused Ofra attack terrorist

Israeli troops on Wednesday razed the home of a Palestinian accused of carrying out a West Bank terror attack in December, the military said.

In a predawn operation, Israeli security forces entered the West Bank town of Kobar, near Ramallah, and demolished the apartment of Salih Barghouti.

Barghouti was killed by Israeli troops during his attempted arrest on December 12.

Seven people were injured in the Ofra attack, including a seven-months-pregnant woman who was seriously wounded and whose baby died several days later, after doctors were forced to deliver it prematurely due to her injuries.
Asem (L) and Salih (R) Barghouti at a rally in Kobar after the former was released from Israeli prison in April 2018 (screenshot: Twitter)

A day after Barghouti was killed, his brother Asem, who had assisted him in the attack, carried out a second shooting attack at a bus stop near the outpost of Givat Assaf.

Two soldiers, Sgt. Yosef Cohen and Staff Sgt. Yovel Mor Yosef, were killed in the Givat Assaf attack.

Another soldier, Israeli-American Netanel Felber, was seriously injured and Shira Sabag, a civilian woman, was also hurt in the shooting.

Asem Barghouti was arrested in January following a nearly month-long manhunt.

In Dec 2018, Salih Barghouti carried out a shooting attack in Ofra Junction, killing a baby and injuring 7 others.
This morning, we demolished his residence.

We will continue to fight terror. pic.twitter.com/6Ev9oaWDPL
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) April 17, 2019

Welcome to the absurd. A piece attributed to Ahed Tamimi has been published in the @Independent, claiming she was unfairly imprisoned.

Nowhere in the article does she describe the incident itself, in which she approached Israeli soldiers and slapped them. pic.twitter.com/YzZlJ1xctg
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) April 17, 2019

Khaled Abu Toameh: Hamas's Honesty and the Deal of the Century

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar's threats serve as a reminder that Hamas and other Palestinian terror group consider Israel one big settlement that needs to be annihilated. Above all, Hamas has never accepted the "two-state solution" or changed its charter, which explicitly states: "When our enemies usurp some Islamic lands, Jihad [holy war] becomes a duty binding on all Muslims.... We must spread the spirit of Jihad among the [Islamic] Umma, clash with the enemies and join the ranks of the Jihad fighters."

Hamas cannot reach any political deal with Israel because it does not agree to Israel's right to exist. This is the message that Sinwar and leaders of all Palestinian terror groups want the world to hear. For the terrorist leaders, the only peace they will accept is one that results in the elimination of Israel and the evacuation of all Jews from their homes.

The Hamas Charter is a straightforward, unambiguous message that says: "[Peace] initiatives, the so-called peaceful solutions, and the international conferences to resolve the Palestinian problem are all contrary to the beliefs of the Islamic Resistance Movement [Hamas]....There is no solution to the Palestinian problem expect by Jihad."

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has undoubtedly read the Hamas charter. He knows that if he accepts any peace plan that does not include the expulsion of all Jews from their homes, he will be denounced by his rivals in Hamas as a traitor. Abbas is also aware of Hamas's threats to shower Israel with rockets. He knows that at the same time as Hamas attacks Israel, it will seek to flatten him for "betraying" Arabs and Muslims in "allowing" Jews to continue living in "their" state. This is the Palestinian reality that the "Deal of the Century" is about to be dealt.

MEMRI: Columnist For Mouthpiece Of Muslim Brotherhood In Jordan Calls For Armed Intifada To Thwart President Trump's 'Deal Of The Century,' Bring Down Palestinian Authority

In his March 14, 2019 column in Al-Sabeel, the mouthpiece of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) in Jordan, Jamal Al-Shawahin urged the Palestinians to launch a new, armed intifada in order to remove the feeble, conciliatory rule of the Palestinian Authority (PA), to thwart U.S. President Donald Trump's Deal of the Century, and to prevent the Jews from actualizing their plot to Judaize Jerusalem. He added that "the discourse on declaring a new intifada is now stronger than ever among all the Palestinians, because it is known that the Jews understand only the language of resistance and intifada, and the language of stones and burning tires."

It should be noted that Al-Shawahin has written numerous antisemitic articles, in which he also denied that the Holocaust took place, and stated that Hitler was much more merciful than Israel's leaders.[1]

The following are translated excerpts from Al-Shawahin's Al-Sabeel column:
"Long-distance races... and everything [connected to the Palestinian cause], are marathons. No one has yet reached the finish line... The rivalry between two sides is now [still] underway. One side [i.e. the Palestinians] is completely weakened, and the other [i.e. Israel] is in a better situation than ever, and is running hard to finalize the situation as soon as possible. Perhaps it will be able to, if the [Palestinian situation] continues to deteriorate.

"The Jewish plot in Jerusalem is now nearly complete. Al-Aqsa has become a place of continuous [Israeli] violations [of the status quo]. It has reached the point where [Muslim] worshippers are expelled from it and it is closed [to them], and the Israeli courts are examining the issue of Bab Al-Rahma[2] in order to list it as a synagogue.

"The expulsion of [Palestinian] Jerusalemites from their homes also continues, and the entire city is now being threatened with the complete erasure of its Islamic and Arab character. The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem is preparing the ground for stepping up the Jewish effort to reach the finish line, now under the title of Trump's 'Deal of the Century,' [which] aims to finally eliminate the Palestinian cause.

Senior PA official said to warn Hamas plotting coup against Abbas in West Bank

A senior Palestinian Authority official reportedly warned that Hamas means to exploit the economic situation in the West Bank and pay off PA officers and security forces to take control of the territory.

The effort will resemble Hamas’s takeover of Gaza in 2007, the official said, according to a Tuesday report in Channel 12 news. Hamas ousted Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah faction from Gaza to take control of the territory two years after Israel withdrew unilaterally, and the terror group has ruled the Strip ever since.

“We fear that Hamas will exploit the deteriorating economic situation of our officers and members of the security forces, and pay money to buy them off,” the official reportedly said at a closed meeting this week.

“That’s how Hamas took control of Gaza in the coup in 2007, with bribes paid under the table,” he said.

The Palestinian finance minister in February announced salary cuts for civil servants, days after Israel said it would withhold tens of millions of dollars in tax transfers to the PA.

Huge Hezbollah radio antenna broadcasts Hamas propaganda deep into Israel

The Hezbollah terror group has put up a giant antenna in Lebanon broadcasting a Hamas-run radio station south into Israel, urging Arab citizens to carry out terror attacks, Israeli authorities said this week.

Israel in February said that that Hamas, the Palestinian terror group that rules the Gaza Strip, was using its Al Aqsa TV channel to coordinate attacks in the West Bank with on-air cues, after the IDF bombed the network’s Gaza headquarters in December.

But some two months ago, Hezbollah built the antenna at a Lebanese army base in the southern Lebanese village of Marwahin to broadcast the network’s radio hundreds of kilometers into Israel and as far as the Tel Aviv area, Channel 12 reported Tuesday night.

The antenna is so close to the Israeli border that the TV network was able to publish footage of armed soldiers guarding the antenna.

The radio is being blasted into Israel at the frequency 101.6FM, very close to that of an Israeli radio station that broadcasts on 101.5FM. The latter station has many Arab Israeli listeners and has received several complaints lately about the disruptions to its broadcasts.

Al-Aqsa TV’s reporters have frequently extolled violence against Israelis and rocket attacks on the Jewish state.

U.S.: Iranian Revolutionary Guards' Terror Designation Meant to "Make It Radioactive"

U.S. Coordinator for Counterterrorism Nathan Sales said Sunday during a visit to Israel that the goal of the U.S. designation of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist group was to "make it radioactive."

"Now Iran stands accused of directly engaging in terrorism. This removes its plausible deniability - it cannot hide behind Hizbullah or Palestinian Islamic Jihad anymore."

The designation "enables material support [criminal] prosecutions" of "anyone knowingly providing support" to any entities linked to the IRGC, which can lead to an up to 20-year prison sentence. This crime is defined broadly under U.S. law and has led to over 150 convictions relating to other terrorist groups.

Sales said that the designation would empower the U.S. to deny entry to persons with links to IRGC entities, including those raising funds for the group.

He added that the fact that Hizbullah has been on a public fund-raising campaign in recent months signals that U.S. sanctions on Iran are having an impact - even forcing it to reduce its funding of its top proxy Hizbullah.

German Government: Anti-Israel, Pro-Iran

Supporting one-sided resolutions against Israel is not Germany's only unfriendly act against the Jewish state. Chancellor Angela Merkel has put pressure on other European Union states so that they do not transfer their embassies to Israel's capital. Stopping the murder of Israelis is also not on the German government's agenda.

Last year the Palestinian Authority (PA) allocated $330 million to pay terrorists, and Germany paid $100 million to the PA. So it is fair to say that Germany pays the PA to reward the murder of Jews.

While Chancellor Angela Merkel talks about "Germany's special historical responsibility for Israel's security", her government channels German taxpayer money to murderers of Jews, and President Steinmeier sends congratulatory telegrams to those who plan the annihilation of the Jewish state.

"We must no longer let Israel down at the UN. It is madness that we are constantly on the side of countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran or Yemen against Israel" — Frank Müller-Rosentritt, member of the German parliament's committee on foreign relations for the opposition Free Democratic Party (FDP).

In meetings in Turkey, Iran vows to get around U.S. sanctions

Iran is seeking to shore up its relations with Turkey, after it has conducted high level meetings with Iraq and Syria in recent weeks. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif journeyed to Ankara where he met with Turkey’s foreign minister in a joint press conference. Turkey criticized US sanctions against Iran, even as other Turkish officials are in Washington trying to end a crisis with the US.

Zarif said that the US wants to control relations with other countries, hinting that Turkey must not be influenced by US views. “We will not allow the US to question our business with other countries.” Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that US sanctions against Iran were “wrong.” Turkey has expressed this view before. Turkish Finance Minister Berat Albayrak is in Washington and the Defense Minister of Turkey also recently met his US counterpart.

This is part of the policy Turkey is seeking to conduct, trying to be allies with the US and Russia and also reach out to Iran. After years in which Turkey had many difficulties with its neighbors, including shooting down a Russian plane on the Syrian border and opposing Iran’s role in the Syrian civil war, Ankara is trying to maneuver to be essential to each country so that they need Turkey more than Turkey needs them. Iran wants to play into this puzzle because it needs Turkey as an outlet for its economy and because Turkey is a strong economy, unlike Iraq and other neighbors, which have many more problems.

Sermons in Iran following U.S. Designation of IRGC as Terrorist Organization

This clip is a compilation of Friday sermons that aired on various Iranian TV channels on April 12, 2019 following the United States’ designation of the IRGC as a terrorist organization. Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Movahedi-Kermani, a member of the Assembly of Experts and the Expediency Council, said in a sermon in Tehran that aired on Channel 1 TV that “stupid Trump’s” declaration runs contrary to every international principle and that it is proof that America is the “mother of all terrorism.” He said that all Iranians are guardians of the Revolution and added: “Do not play with the lion’s tail. The IRGC Can turn Tel Aviv to rubble with its missiles.” Mohammad Mokhtari said in a Birjand sermon that aired on Khorasan Jonoobi TV that President Trump is acting like he still manages a real estate agency and that the IRGC will fight arrogance “more decisively” than in the past, adding that the American military and its “mercenary terrorists” will no longer be able to find safety anywhere. Abolghasem Yaghoubi said in a Bojnurd sermon that aired on Khorasan Shomali TV that all Iranians are “members” of the IRGC, and the audience chanted: “What does America think? Iran is full of IRGC members.” Yaghoubi said: “Are we all terrorists? Very well, we are… Come and fight, and we’ll see who’s the hero.” He said that Iran wants America to cease to exist.

Blood Libel by Kuwaiti Researcher: The Jews Use Blood of Christian Children for Holiday Pastries

Kuwaiti researcher Muhanna Hamad Al-Muhanna repeated the antisemitic blood libel that Jews use human blood, preferably of Christian children, in the making of holiday pastries. He further said that the Jews would destroy the moral values and economy of any country they entered, that they monopolized the slave trade, and that Hitler had decided to get rid of the Jews because they were behind movements fighting the social order and behind pornography. Al-Muhanna warned that anyone who normalizes relations with them is "a Jew like them." Muhanna posted the video on his Youtube channel, which has over 13,000 subscribers, on February 26, 2019. The 47-minute long video was viewed close to 25,000 times.

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