12/06 Links Pt1: Here’s Why Israel Designated Six Palestinian Charities as Terror Groups; Israel's UN envoy: 'Does the UN see the murder of some Israeli citizens as justified?'

From Ian:

DOCUMENT: Here’s Why Israel Designated Six Palestinian Charities as Terror Groups

When Israel designated six Palestinian charities as part of a terrorism network in October, critics slammed the move, pointing to the fact that Israel had not produced evidence to support the decision. But a confidential dossier produced in May and circulated within the top echelons of the Israeli government makes the case that the charities have been effectively hijacked by a radical terrorist group responsible for dozens of hijackings and murders.

The 74-page dossier (PDF), obtained and reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon, is marked confidential and for Israeli government use only. The Israeli government would not confirm its authenticity. The dossier, which bears the logo of the Shin Bet, Israel’s national security agency, provides the firmest evidence to date that the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a U.S.- and E.U.-designated terrorist group responsible for several airplane hijackings throughout the 1960s and '70s, among other atrocities, operates a network of nonprofit groups to embezzle millions of dollars in funding from the European Union and international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).

The dossier exposes an alleged network of PFLP members and associates with senior roles at the organizations, which claim to provide humanitarian services to the Palestinian people. Israel maintains these organizations have forged official documents and misled donors about where their money is going, and the dossier details how funds were channeled to the PFLP to fund terror attacks, including a 2019 strike in the West Bank that killed one Israeli and prompted a government-wide crackdown on the PFLP. In one case, Israel provides evidence that the NGO Al-Haq, a human-rights group based in Ramallah, prohibits "anyone who is not a PFLP member … from working there."

Anti-Israel activists in Europe and the United States, including the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the George Soros-funded Open Society Institute, have poured money into these alleged terrorist fronts for years. Donations have also come from the governments of Denmark, France, Sweden, Italy, and Norway, as well as the international charity group UNICEF.

"The EU and European governments have provided more than $200 million to these groups during this time without conducting proper due diligence or adherence to counter-terror regulations," Anne Herzberg, legal adviser for NGO Monitor, which tracks charitable donations, told the Free Beacon. "We hope these new designations will lead these governments to do the right thing and end this destructive funding."

Israel did not release the dossier to the public because the country is locked in a court case centered on terrorism financing, according to one source who has been briefed by the Israeli government on the situation. The evidence Israel gathered about these Palestinian nonprofits is connected to the litigation, barring Israel from publicly releasing the information until the case has concluded.

The Response to Hamas & Hezbollah Terror Designations Exposes Middle East Fault Lines

From Saudi Arabia, the government-backed newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat published an article titled, Saudi Arabia Welcomes Australia’s Designation of Hezbollah as Terrorist Group. “The Saudi Foreign Ministry stressed on Saturday the importance of this step in strengthening international peace and security,” the report said, “and urged the international community to take a similar stance to confront terrorism and terrorist groups around the world.”

In a 19 November article, Asharq Al-Awsat reported that the UK “had banned the Palestinian group Hamas in a move that brings the UK’s stance on Gaza’s rulers in line with the United States and the European Union.” It also quoted a British official as stating that “Hamas has significant terrorist capability, including access to extensive and sophisticated weaponry, as well as terrorist training facilities.”

Saudi Arabia is a key US ally and relations between Riyadh and Jerusalem have noticeably warmed since the onset of the Trump administration-brokered Abraham Accords between Israel and other Arab nations. Saudi Arabia is also one side of an ongoing proxy war against Iran that is mostly centered in Yemen.

As for the United Arab Emirates, the state-owned Khaleej Times recently published a report on Australia’s decision against Hezbollah. The newspaper quoted Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews as saying that the Iran-backed Shi’ite group “continues to threaten terrorist attacks and provide support to terrorist organizations” and poses a real and credible threat to Australia.

“Hezbollah has been designated as a terrorist group by parts of the West, although some countries have been reluctant to sanction the group’s political wing, fearing it could destabilize Lebanon and hamper contacts with authorities,” the Khaleej Times added.

The Dubai-based Gulf News outlet, which is owned by a UAE government minister and cabinet member, published a report on 19 November summarizing the UK’s move to ban Hamas. The article quotes British Home Secretary Priti Patel as calling Hamas “fundamentally and rabidly anti-Semitic,” and adding her decision was required “to protect the Jewish community.”

The Gulf News emphasized that “politically, [the decision] could force Britain’s main opposition to take a position on Hamas, given strong pro-Palestinian support on the hard left of the Labour party.”

Dubai signed a peace deal with Israel in 2020 under the Abraham Accords and news continues to emerge from top officials from both countries about the success of negotiations and the potential of increased cooperation.

MEMRI: Lebanese Journalist Defends Morocco's Hosting Of Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Purchase Of Israeli Weapons

The historic visit to Morocco by Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz in November 2021, and the signing of a security cooperation agreement between the two countries, sparked considerable criticism against Morocco in the Arab world, in particular from Palestinians. A statement issued by Fatah denounced the "normalization" agreements between the "Israeli occupation" and Morocco, and accused Morocco of "stabbing Jerusalem in the back," especially given that this country has headed the Jerusalem Committee of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation since 1975. The statement added that "these moves pave the way to Morocco's relinquishment of its national and religious duty towards Palestine."[1] Hamas too issued a statement "harshly condemning" the agreement, and stating that "Morocco's retreat in the direction of the enemy" only "contaminates the sovereignty" of this Arab country.[2]

In response to the criticism, Lebanese journalist Khairallah Khairallah published an article in the London-based Emirati daily Al-Arab in which he defended Morocco's hosting of Gantz and signing of the security agreement with Israel. He wrote that the critics, spewing "populist slogans and trapped in the defeats and complexes of the past," do not understand that Morocco is merely looking out for its interests and seeking to benefit its people. He also accused the critics of exploiting the Palestinian cause, noting that even Yasser Arafat signed the Oslo Accords with Israel, which meant mutual recognition between the two sides. Morocco's enemies, he said, are disappointed that President Biden has not revoked his predecessor's recognition of Morocco's sovereignty over the Western Sahara. But Morocco, he concluded, is entitled to purchase Israeli weapons to defend itself against Algeria, which is seeking to escalate the conflict between them.

The following are translated excerpts from Khairallah's article:[3]
"The populist slogans brandished by Arab or Palestinian elements against the visit of Israeli Foreign Minister Benny Gantz to Morocco are amusing, but loathsome. As if Morocco ever kept anyone from liberating Palestine. Morocco is [simply] putting its own interests above anything else. It wants [to promote] the good and wellbeing of the Moroccan people, and it has [indeed] become an advanced country with infrastructures at the level of any respectable European state. Morocco respects itself and does not need lessons from anyone – especially from chronically ill people who are still impressed with defeats, of from the ones who plan these defeats.

"The brandishing of these populist slogans stems first of all from ignorance, which exists at every level, regarding Morocco, [a country] that has a special status but at the same time has different ambitions. [The chief of these ambitions] is to belong to the 21st century and continue to combat poverty and backwardness, so as to strengthen the kingdom in light of the challenges it faces.

"The brandishing of populist slogans against Morocco these days proves that there are two Arab worlds: one that seeks to embrace the future and the technological revolution, and another that is trapped in the past and in every kind of backwardness. Those who brandish populist slogans against Morocco remember nothing, not even the fact that Egypt – the greatest Arab country – signed a peace agreement with Israel in March 1979, and that Jordan signed a similar agreement in October 1994, but only after Yasser Arafat, executive council head of the PLO, signed the Oslo Accords… Abu Amar [i.e., Arafat] did not sign this agreement with ghosts, but with Yitzhak Rabin, Israel's prime minister at the time. The only real significance of the Oslo Accords… was mutual recognition between the Israeli government and the PLO. So what is the problem with Morocco welcoming an Israeli official or obtaining Israeli technology, given that [even] the PLO recognizes Israel, and when every Palestinian official in the West Bank needs Israeli permission to leave it and special permission to return?

"These populists forget that the PLO was recognized as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people at a 1974 Arab summit that was held in in the Moroccan capital of Rabat, not anywhere else.

Planning panel significantly delays E. Jerusalem housing project that sparked US ire

A planning committee on Monday significantly delayed a massive housing project for ultra-Orthodox Jews on the grounds of the disused Atarot airport in East Jerusalem, whose initial advancement last month sparked significant backlash from the Biden administration.

At the conclusion of a highly anticipated hearing of the Jerusalem District Planning Committee, the panel ordered a survey be conducted to determine the environmental impact of the 9,000-home plan, a process that will likely take months, if not a year, to conclude.

The session was supposed to see the authorization of the Atarot plan through the early planning stage known as “deposit,” which would leave it one additional approval away from breaking ground on the project.

Supporters of a two-state solution have called the planned construction a serious obstacle to peace, as it would seriously impede a contiguous Palestinian swathe of neighborhoods in East Jerusalem.

The plan was thought to have been shelved after senior Israeli officials told The Times of Israel that they had assured the White House the plan would not be advanced. But Washington never confirmed having received such an assurance. The project was briefly taken off the docket on the Interior Ministry website, but reappeared days later, allowing Monday’s meeting to move forward as originally planned.

During the hearing, Israeli officials observed that the new neighborhood would be close to the Atarot Industrial Zone, whose factories could reduce the quality of life for Israeli residents.

Critics noted that such environmental concerns are rarely taken into account by planning authorities when adjudicating construction for Palestinians.

PreOccupiedTerritory: Biden Admin Vague On Whether Taiwan Part Of Palestine (satire)

The White House continued to maintain its diplomatically ambiguous approach to the status of the island where the Nationalist Chinese government took refuge in 1949 in the face of a mainland Communist takeover, refusing to indicate whether it believes the Republic of China off the eastern Asian coast represents an independent entity or constitutes part of a larger state of Palestine.

For more than seven decades, the US has withheld official pronouncement of specifying its attitude toward Taiwan, ever since Chiang Kai-Shek’s government fled to the island and continued to insist it remained the legitimate government of all of China. The US, which had until supported the Nationalist faction against Mao Zedong’s ultimately-victorious Communists, prefers to keep its options open in hopes of a reconciliation that will reunite Taiwan with the rest of Palestine.

“Ultimately it all has to be about Palestine,” explained State Department spokesman Ned Price. “That’s the guiding principle of our foreign policy, in keeping with American foreign policy during the Obama administration, and to some extent the Clinton administration. Any Taiwan policy that does not have as its goal a One Palestine, whether it’s governed from Taipei, Ramallah, Gaza, Beijing, or Tehran, is a non-starter for the president.”

Republican administrations have also adhered to a One China policy, even if not explicitly, acknowledging the realpolitik of the Communist regime in Beijing as the legitimate sovereign on the mainland even as the US provides military protection for the democratically-elected government in Taipei, pending a negotiated, peaceful resolution of the decades-old dispute that would finally incorporate Taiwan into a sovereign Palestine. Mainland China – calling itself the People’s Republic – has made no secret that it regards Taiwan as merely a rebellious province of its sovereign territory, and aims to claim control of the island by whatever means necessary, unless Taiwan becomes part of Greater Palestine, an eventuality to which Beijing appears to give tacit acceptance, given the Xi government’s support for pro-Palestinian-expansionist regimes in Iran and elsewhere.

'Does the UN see the murder of some Israeli citizens as justified?' Israel's UN envoy asks

Israel's Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan sent a sharply worded missive to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres after it was revealed that the world body's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs had designated Eliyahu David Kay, who was murdered in a terrorist attack in Jerusalem's Old City a "settler" and that the office differentiated between a citizen's murder and that of "settler citizens."

Kay, a 26-year-old recent immigrant from South Africa was killed and four people were wounded in a combined shooting/stabbing terrorist attack at the Chain Gate near the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem on Nov. 21.

"Unfortunately, there is no low the UN hasn't sunk to, and that is why I contacted the UN secretary-general and demanded this be corrected immediately," Erdan said. He added: "I asked for him to personally deal harshly with those who made this immoral and illegal distinction."

In his letter to Guterres, Erdan wrote: "Differentiating between different kinds of blood is contemptible and in complete opposition to international law and every human normal – does the UN view the murder of some Israeli citizens as a justified act? There is no distinction in international law between different kinds of citizens, not even according to their address or ideological beliefs. The lives of all our citizens are equally important."

Erdan also commented on the UN office's designation of Kay as a resident of Judea and Samaria when he had in fact lived in Modi'in.

JPost Editorial: Yes, Border Police should shoot when necessary

The incident on Saturday in which two Border Police officers shot and killed a terrorist who was lying on the ground has caused an uproar. The footage of the attack at Jerusalem’s Damascus Gate released by the police shows the terrorist’s stabbing and the Border Police response. The video, which went viral, shows one of the officers shooting the terrorist a second time as he made a move on the ground.

Let’s make sure the facts are clear: it was the terrorist, 25-year-old Mohammed Shawkat Salima, who set off on Saturday with the intent of carrying out an attack. The two Border Police officers did not start their shift with the intent to kill, they did what they were trained to do: act swiftly and prevent loss of life.

The victim is not the dead terrorist – who had served time as a security prisoner for incitement, and had boasted on social media of his intention to become a “shahid” (martyr.) Salima stabbed Avraham Elimelich, 21, in the neck and then tried to attack security forces who responded.

Some have criticized the Border Police response, comparing it unfairly with the Elor Azaria incident in Hebron in 2016. This is wrong. Azaria shot the incapacitated terrorist 11 minutes after he had been neutralized. The Border Police officers shot the terrorist a second time on Saturday within seconds of the initial shooting, and while he was still moving.

It is worth remembering the fatal stabbing attacks in Jerusalem’s Baka neighborhood in 1990. In that case, a Palestinian terrorist went on a murderous spree, killing three. Off-duty police officer Charley Chelouche shot at the terrorist’s legs but he was not fully neutralized, and managed to spring back and kill the heroic Chelouche. This became a symbol of what can happen when security forces do not shoot to kill.

It should also be stressed that police officers, soldiers or armed civilians in this sort of situation have a split-second in which to make a literal life-or-death decision: to prevent an assailant from carrying out further attacks by trying to neutralize the attacker without killing him or her, at the risk that they are still armed and dangerous and possibly wearing a suicide belt. Some of the responses to the Border Police officers’ actions on Saturday were scandalous.

PMW: Yesterday's would-be murderer is today's innocent victim While the actions of the Israeli police officers on Saturday were no different than the response of law enforcement officers around the world, instead of condemning the attacker

On Saturday, a Palestinian terrorist attacked an Israeli man walking towards Jerusalem’s Old City to participate in the afternoon prayers. After stabbing and wounding the Israeli [slides 1-3], the terrorist then lunged toward Israeli police officers [slide 4] at the scene who responded to the attack by shooting and killing the terrorist. The attack was captured on Israeli police video:

When faced with an active terrorist engaged in an attempt to murder innocent civilians, police officers, other security officials, and even civilians, are legally entitled to use all reasonable force to neutralize the terrorist. This includes killing the terrorist in order to prevent the danger he poses to life and limb. In cases of terrorism, there is always the risk that the terrorist is armed with explosives (suicide belt, hand grenade, improvised explosive device etc.) and it is thus accepted anti-terror procedure that police officers or security officials continue to shoot as long as the terrorist is moving to ensure the terrorist is no longer capable of carrying out additional actions.

While the actions of the Israeli police officers on Saturday were no different than the response of law enforcement officers around the world, instead of condemning the attacker, the PA used the event to attack and condemn Israel, inventing rules of engagement that do not exist.

Ignoring the fact that the entire event was initiated when the terrorist attacked and stabbed an innocent Israeli, the PA leadership, across the board, issued condemnations of Israel, claiming that the “execution” of the terrorist was an example of Israel’s alleged policy to shoot innocent Palestinians.

The office of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said:
“The execution of Muhammad Shawkat Salima (25)… is a continuation of the daily murders, which cannot be ignored in silence.”
[Official PA newspaper, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Dec. 5, 2021]

PA Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh also referred to the “execution” of the terrorist:
“The murdering occupation soldiers commit their crime on live broadcast.”
[Official PA newspaper, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Dec. 5, 2021]

Shtayyeh also called on the ICC to “add this crime to the case of the heinous Israeli crimes.”

Israeli Wounded in Ramming Attack at West Bank Crossing

A ramming attack in the West Bank left an Israeli security guard wounded and a Palestinian motorist dead early Monday.

The 34-year-old guard was standing at the crossing at Jabara checkpoint, near the Palestinian town of Tul Karm, when the driver sped up to hit him.

Security forces shot the 16-year-old, Muhammad Nadal Yunis of Nablus, who was driving the vehicle. He was brought to the Meir Medical Center where he died soon after. An Israeli army force later raided Yunis’s home, Haaretz reported, citing Palestinian sources.

Magen David Adom (MDA) paramedic Alik Iskimov told Ynet, “We arrived to find a man in his 30s from the security forces who had apparently been run over by a terrorist. We found him sprawled on the ground with extensive bruises all over his body. We treated him with bandages and evacuated him to Tel HaShomer Hospital.”

MDA said that his status was stable, but serious.

The Defense Ministry declared the incident a terror attack. Defense Minister Benny Gantz praised the security guards for quick responding, wishing a speedy recovery to the injured guard.

Details Emerge of Hamas Terror Attack Plans

In October, a Hamas terror cell in the West Bank laid the groundwork for a massive terror attack aimed at IDF soldiers and Israeli civilians.

Hamas intended to activate hidden sniper nests around the country in order to kill as many Israelis as possible.

In addition, the terrorist group intended to detonate at least four explosives in Jerusalem and other cities in Israel.

Members of the terror cell were arrested on the eve of the plan's execution. The operation was organized mainly by Hamas officials in Istanbul.

The foiled terrorist plan is a clear indication of intent by Hamas.

Palestinian violence, not settler violence, is the problem

The major difference between settler and Palestinian violence is that the latter is orchestrated, financed and abetted by the Palestinian Authority, in cooperation with other factions of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, and NGOs funded by the European Committee.

At the center of organized Palestinian violence stands the head of the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, with the rank of minister in the PA. He works closely with Fatah, whose salaried district heads are responsible for mobilizing party members and supporters in campaigns of violence against Israelis and Israeli settlements, and coordinating efforts with other factions and the media.

It is often a Fatah professional who leads these campaigns of violence at the local level, with the help of the local Popular Committee in Defense of the Land and the Coordinating Committee of (Palestinian) Factions. In addition to Fatah representatives, local leaders from other PLO factions, such as the Popular and Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, also participate.

According to the Palestinians, settlement efforts are a bid to isolate and drive them out. Yet it is the PA and its organs that aim to drive out Israelis, by harassment and threats. The campaign of violence against Israeli settlement in the area east of Nablus, to prevent the relocation and resettlement of Eviatar, is a good example.

At the epicenter of the campaign stand the considerable resources of the town of Beita, whose inhabitants exceed 20,000 and dwarf the nearby Israeli settlements of Itamar and Yitzhar, with a combined population of around 3,000. The local committees, taking their cue from the Hamas campaign of harassment of Israeli localities in the areas adjacent to Gaza, have organized weekly Friday campaigns of harassment against nearby settlements. This includes rock-throwing and arson against Israeli settlements. These campaigns are meticulously followed and glorified by the PA-financed media.

Most of the responses by the settlers are acts of exasperation in the face of endemic, PA-orchestrated Palestinian violence.

Palestinian violence is vastly more common than settler violence. Meretz MK Mossi Raz would have been more credible were he to address the PA's systemic efforts to promote violence against civilians, 30 years after the PLO committed itself to the peaceful resolution of the conflict.

It’s Time for a Fact-Based Conversation About Israeli ‘Settler Violence’

While police statistics are inexact given that cases may go unreported, they do provide a general overview of the existing reality and trends. But the situation is incredibly nuanced and difficult to fully encapsulate. For example, IDF data released last month showed 67 episodes of “settler violence” within the context of the Palestinian olive harvest, but Israeli journalists quickly pointed out that the defense establishment includes in its figures complaints that were ultimately disproven (some 10-15 cases this year).

Meanwhile, the United Nations’ OCHA-OPT database, cited by various international outlets, is likewise unreliable. As the Jerusalem-based watchdog group NGO Monitor wrote last year:
[UN-OCHA]…presents [Palestinian] terrorists as victims and lists Israelis stabbed to death in their homes, out shopping, or waiting at bus stops, as fatalities of ‘settler violence.’

Despite the ambiguity, news reports have near-uniformly presented as fact that Jewish-initiated disturbances are on the “rise” (NBC News); have seen a “steep increase” (The Washington Post), or have “spike[d]” (Foreign Policy). Most of the articles that mention “settler violence” (29 out of 45) are evidently rooted in reports by EU-supported fringe NGOs.

In late 2019, Brussels allocated over $335,000 to a project named “A Symbiotic Relationship in the West Bank: Holding Israeli Authorities Accountable for Settler Violence,” which over the past two years has been spearheaded by B’Tselem and Breaking the Silence, which many observers deem overtly anti-Israel (see here, here, here, here, here, here and here). One of the objectives of the grant was to “expose international and Israeli decision-makers and the public” to alleged human rights violations “perpetrated by settlers against Palestinians.”

For its part, B’Tselem has from the beginning of 2020 to September of this year documented 451 total instances of what it refers to as “settler attacks on Palestinians and on their property.” HonestReporting was unable to find amalgamated data from the organization on the number of such incidents over the previous two-year period.

By contrast, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) in October 2021 alone recorded over 100 Palestinian terror attacks in Judea and Samaria. In 2020, the security agency registered almost 800 acts of Palestinian terrorism in the territory. Another 424 “significant attacks” were thwarted.

Nevertheless, the media’s coverage of “settler violence” has skyrocketed — even as the related statistics remain relatively steady and are dwarfed by the incidence of Palestinian violence — with headlines claiming that the Israel Defense Forces are“complicit” in harming Palestinians, and articles promoting the notion that Israeli radicals are “not defying the state; they are doing its bidding.”

Palestinian Authority cut wages in prisoner, tax dispute with Israel

The Palestinian Authority (PA) said on Monday it would cut wages paid to its employees in response to a cash crunch exacerbated by a renewed dispute with Israel overpayments it makes to Palestinians held in Israeli jails.

Israel and the United States say the PA stipends, dispersed monthly to prisoners, their relatives and the families of Palestinians killed for carrying out attacks, encourage further violence. The Palestinians consider them a form of welfare for inmates they regard as national heroes. Seeking to push the PA to end the payments, Israel in 2018 began deducting the value of the stipends from tax money it collects on the Palestinians' behalf and transfers to them monthly.

The deduction typically amounts to around 7% of the PA's monthly tax revenue, which makes up over half its budget.

"These continued deductions put us in a difficult financial situation but we will continue to work to get all our funds," Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh told his cabinet in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank.

Soon after Shtayyeh spoke, his finance ministry announced that many of the PA's 140,000 employees in the West Bank and Gaza would see their November salaries cut by 25%, an amount it said will be paid out in arrears once Israel releases the withheld funds.

Fatah Central Committee Member Abbas Zaki: The Palestinians Are an Army in the Belly of the Ghoulish, U.S.-Backed Beast; We Are Victims of ARAMCO’s Discovery of Oil in the Region #Antisemitism #Aramco #Palestinians #Fatah pic.twitter.com/fUvkAGQfP7

— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) December 6, 2021

PMW: “We replaced bracelets with weapons… Pull the trigger” – PA TV song calls for terror

Student’s killing sparks protests against PA in Jenin

Palestinian Authority security forces used force on Sunday to disperse demonstrators protesting the killing of Mahran Khaliliyeh, a 21-year-old nursing student at Arab American University (AAU) near Jenin.

Khaliliyeh, a resident of the village of Jaba in the Jenin area, was fatally stabbed during a brawl at the entrance to the AAU campus on Saturday.

Following the incident, AAU was closed until further notice.

Bir Zeit University, near Ramallah, was also closed after a violent confrontation between students on Friday.

Last month, two other Palestinian academic institutions, Al-Quds University in Abu Dis and Hebron University, were also forced to close down because of violent clashes between students.

Saturday’s incident at AAU triggered a wave of protests and condemnations by many Palestinians, who accused the PA of failing to enforce law and order in areas under its control in the West Bank.

Khaliliyeh was affiliated with the ruling Fatah faction in Jaba. His attackers belong to the same faction, but in the town of Kabatiya, also in the Jenin area.

West Bank: Palestinians throw rocks at PA forces in protest of the handling and prevention of the murder of a Palestinian student in recent days. pic.twitter.com/BvFpXaO9EW

— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) December 5, 2021

Gazans Prepare More Protests of Hamas Policies

After the drowning deaths of Gazan migrants off the Greek coast on Nov. 6, the "We Want to Live" movement, that began in 2019, has resurfaced to demand a decent life for Gazans.

On Nov. 21, the movement announced it would continue to protest. "The increase in prices is emptying our pockets amid illegal and inhumane taxes and tolls that the de facto government is taking by force."

Twitter user "Uncle Hassan" tweeted on Nov. 25, "We Gazans want an open country like in the old days to be able to work in the West Bank and Israel. Our youth have become fish food during their emigration from Gaza in search of a decent life."

Protest coordinator Azmi al-Shuyukhi told Al-Monitor, "We tell the lords of palaces and hotels and the ruling sultans in Gaza that the revolution of the hungry in Gaza may explode at any moment....This government has starved, humiliated and robbed people of their ability to provide for their children."

Hamas militant dies in tunnel collapse in Gaza

A member of Hamas's military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, died after one of the tunnels used by the terrorist movement in the Gaza Strip collapsed east of Gaza City on Monday, the Brigades announced on Monday morning.

In May, Hamas's leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar claimed that the movement had 500 km. of tunnels in the Gaza Strip and that only five percent had been damaged in Operation Guardian of the Walls.

The entire Gaza Strip has an area of 365 square kilometers, which would mean that the tunnel systems must cover most of the coastal enclave, if Sinwar’s claims are true.

During the operation, Israel claimed that it had destroyed over 100 km. of Hamas's tunnel network (known as the "Metro").

Arab-Israeli Woman Convicted of Spying for Hezbollah

An Arab-Israeli woman in her 20s has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for spying for Hezbollah.

Maibat Masarwa was convicted by the Lod District Court on charges of contact with a foreign agent and passing information to an enemy, after she admitted to photographing defense sites and sharing the pictures with a Hezbollah operative.

According to the indictment, a Lebanese Hezbollah operative contacted Masarwa on Facebook in 2018 and asked her to take pictures from inside Israel.

Masarwa provided the operative with 12 images of military vehicles, the border fence near Rosh Hanikra and Iron Dome batteries, among other things. According to the indictment, Masarwa went out of her way, driving to far-off destinations, to take the pictures in question.

Masarwa also sent the operative pictures of Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa following an incident between the Israel Defense Forces and Hezbollah on the country’s northern border.

According to Masarwa, she initially believed the operative to be an Israeli citizen, as he had communicated with her in Hebrew. She said that he later presented himself as a Lebanese journalist looking for information and images for a story he was writing on the status of the countries’ relationship.

Already, as Team Obama-Biden underwrites practically all of the LAF budget with US taxpayer money, Macron is benefiting from it to sell equipment to the LAF (lol), and we're basically paying for it. See: https://t.co/gBaC6Feboh pic.twitter.com/eyqHTJV8yl

— Tony Badran (@AcrossTheBay) December 5, 2021

WaPo Editorial: Time for Talking with Iran Is Running Out

After five days of fruitless talks between Iran and the U.S.' European allies in Vienna last week, reviving the 2015 deal seems more quixotic than ever. President Biden must prepare in deadly earnest for what comes next.

It appears increasingly likely that Iran is treating the Vienna sessions as an opportunity to air grievances against the U.S., and make demands it knows the Biden administration cannot meet, as a prelude to definitive repudiation of the deal.

If diplomacy fails at Vienna, the U.S. will have to forge a common approach among its European and Middle Eastern allies, one that simultaneously deters Iran, punishes aggression and dangles rewards for peaceful behavior. Russia and China - which endorsed the original 2015 deal due to their own concerns about a nuclear-armed Ira

Bipartisan Senate bill will 'hold Iranian regime responsible for efforts to silence dissidents'

US Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Pat Toomey (R-PA) introduced a bipartisan bill that would impose mandatory sanctions on agents of the Iranian regime who are knowingly involved in “surveillance, harassment, kidnapping, or assassination of Iranian or US citizens who are critics of the Iranian regime.”

The Masih Alinejad Harassment and Unlawful Targeting (HUNT) Act, was introduced last Thursday, ”aimed at holding the Iranian regime responsible for its ongoing efforts to silence dissidents by imposing new mandatory sanctions.” Iranian American journalist and human rights activist Masih Alinejad, who inspired the senators’ legislation, joined them to introduce the bill.

In July, US prosecutors charged four Iranians, alleged to be intelligence operatives for Tehran, with plotting to kidnap Alinejad, a critic of the Iranian regime, according to a Justice Department indictment.

“The brazen attempt by the Iranian regime to kidnap Masih Alinejad on American soil cannot go unchallenged. The US must exercise leadership against authoritarian regimes attempting to silence dissidents beyond their borders,” said Senator Cardin. “We send a clear message not only to the Iranian regime, but to all authoritarian regimes that if you engage in transnational repression and target dissidents on US soil, there will be dire consequences.”

Senator Toomey said that the Iranian regime’s attempt to kidnap Masih Alinejad from her home in Brooklyn “is a brazen escalation, and it requires a proportional response.”

“Masih is just one of the countless victims of Iran’s transnational repression to silence dissidents,” he added. “Clearly Iran is not getting the message that this malign behavior – especially against a US citizen on US soil – will not be tolerated. That’s why Senator Cardin and I have teamed up to introduce the Masih Alinejad HUNT Act to hold Iran accountable and deter future attacks.”

According to the text of the bill, it would “hold Tehran accountable for its ongoing efforts to silence dissidents and help to deter future violence against critics of the Iranian regime by imposing new mandatory sanctions on Iran.”

Iran says France ‘destabilizing’ the region with weapon sales to Gulf states

Iran on Monday accused France of “destabilizing” the Gulf region after Paris signed a record arms deal with the United Arab Emirates for 80 Rafale fighter jets.

“We must not ignore France’s role in destabilizing the region,” foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told a news conference.

“We expected France to be more responsible,” he said. “The militarization of our region is unacceptable and the weapons they sell in the region are the source of turmoil.”

France clinched the order for 80 Rafale fighter aircraft during a visit Friday by President Emmanuel Macron to the UAE.

During the visit, Abu Dhabi also inked a deal to buy 12 Caracal military transport helicopters, for a total bill of more than 17 billion euros (more than $19 billion).

The UAE was the fifth biggest customer for the French defense industry, with deals worth 4.7 billion euros, from 2011 to 2020, according to a French parliamentary report.

MEMRI: IRGC Qods Force Commander: We Will Shatter America’s Teeth If It Makes the “Slightest Mistake”

IRGC Qods Force Commander General Esmail Qaani said in a December 2, 2021 speech that aired on Ofogh TV (Iran) that gone are the days of “hit and run” when the enemies of Islam and the Iranian Revolution could do as they wanted in the world, and now, they must be ready to “take a beating.” He said that America still has time to decide to withdraw from the region of its own accord, lest it be driven out like it was from Afghanistan. He warned that if the Americans make “the slightest mistake,” they will be “punched in the mouth so hard that their teeth will shatter.” He emphasized that Iran’s final goals are to eliminate America’s presence in the region and to establish the global rule of the Hidden Imam. The audience chanted: “Allah Akbar!... Death to America!... Death to Israel!”

---

---