04/07 Links Pt1: Russia suspended from UN Human Rights Council over war, Israel backs measure; 'The Guns Of August' In The Middle East?; Keir Starmer: Israel is not an apartheid state ~ EoZ

From Ian:

Russia suspended from UN Human Rights Council over war, Israel backs measure

The United Nations General Assembly on Thursday suspended Russia from the UN Human Rights Council over reports of "gross and systematic violations and abuses of human rights" by invading Russian troops in Ukraine.

The US-led push garnered 93 votes in favor, while 24 countries voted no and 58 countries abstained. A two-thirds majority of voting members – abstentions do not count – was needed to suspend Russia from the 47-member council.

The resolution adopted by the 193-member General Assembly draft expresses "grave concern at the ongoing human rights and humanitarian crisis in Ukraine," particularly at reports of rights abuses by Russia. Israel voted in favor of the resolution.

Suspensions are rare. Libya was suspended in 2011 because of violence against protesters by forces loyal to then-leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Russia had warned countries that a yes vote or abstention will be viewed as an "unfriendly gesture" with consequences for bilateral ties, according to a note seen by Reuters.

Russia was in its second year of a three-year term on the Geneva-based council, which cannot make legally binding decisions. Its decisions send important political messages, however, and it can authorize investigations.

Moscow is one of the most vocal members on the council and its suspension bars it from speaking and voting, officials say, although its diplomats could still attend debates. "They would probably still try to influence the council through proxies," said a Geneva-based diplomat.

Last month the council opened an investigation into allegations of rights violations, including possible war crimes, in Ukraine since Russia's attack.

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine began on Feb. 24, the General Assembly has adopted two resolutions denouncing Russia with 141 and 140 votes in favor. Moscow says it is carrying out a "special operation" to demilitarize Ukraine.

The United States announced it would seek Russia's suspension after Ukraine accused Russian troops of killing hundreds of civilians in the town of Bucha. Read full story

BREAKING: U.N. expels Russia from Human Rights Council. Vote was overwhelming and exactly as we predicted: 93 Yes to 24 No. We only needed double No votes to Yes votes for required 2/3 majority. The 58 abstentions don't count. Backstory of our campaign: https://t.co/ubbex260oz https://t.co/v9jGJyganC pic.twitter.com/8C9522K7B7
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) April 7, 2022

Jonathan Tobin: Expulsion from UNHRC won't stop Russia in Ukraine

Removing Russia while letting China and other equally egregious human-rights offenders remain will not make them care about those who live in other countries where freedom is merely a dream. On the contrary, they will act as if they have proved how much they care about the subject when that is nowhere near the truth.

The UNHRC will not be deterred from devoting most of its efforts to demonizing and delegitimizing democratic Israel, which remains the subject of a disproportionate amount of the council's time and condemnations. As I recently wrote, antisemitic invective and the targeting of the sole Jewish state on the planet remain business as usual there. America's complaints about this have repeatedly proved ineffective.

Worse, Biden's return to the UNHRC sent a signal to it and other prejudiced UN offices that America was not really serious about forcing them to change. The only thing that could possibly get its attention and force it to give up its addiction to targeting and besmirching Israel would be the withdrawal of US funding.

The problem is that the US foreign-policy establishment and the State Department bureaucracy remain wedded to the discredited idea that the United Nations is still capable of realizing the idealistic goals that were behind its founding. With the United Nations preparing a permanent star-chamber investigation of Israel that is intended to smear it and help make it a pariah, every gesture that reinforces the legitimacy of an institution that lost any shred of credibility long ago is not merely wrongheaded. It helps strengthen one of the principal engines of international antisemitism.

Yet somehow, even those who are Israel's friends in this country have yet to learn this basic truth.

That was illustrated by the recent letter to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken signed by 68 US senators from both major parties, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-SD), that urged the Biden administration to use its presence on the council to "address major human-rights problems around the world. An important step in this regard would be to redirect the wasteful use of funds and personnel on excessive devotion to disparaging Israel to allow the UN Human Rights Council to fairly promote human rights around the world." The letter goes on to say that the United States should move to halt "discriminatory and unwarranted treatment of Israel" on the UNHRC.

The letter accurately diagnosed what was wrong with the UNHRC but not the remedy. Its language criticizing the institution was both noble and correct. However, by acquiescing to the American return to the council and the idea that changing it is remotely possible, the letter, which reportedly was circulated by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, actually does more harm than good.

Far more insightful was a different letter signed by four Republican senators – Tom Cotton, Ted Cruz, Bill Hagerty, and James Lankford – urging Blinken to withdraw from the UNHRC.

As that letter eloquently stated:
"Remaining on the council does not just legitimize vilification against Israel; it damages America's international moral standing by allowing countries like Russia and China, which are actively perpetrating crimes against humanity and genocide at this very moment, to serve in international human rights bodies. Furthermore, it downplays atrocities perpetrated by Cuba, Venezuela, Libya, and Eritrea by suggesting their leaders can provide human-rights leadership on the council."

It is long past time that even those who understand that the United Nations is a toxic waste dump of Jew-hatred and rationalizations of tyranny stop attempting to correct an institution that is incapable of reform. It is structurally set up to enable these injustices rather than to stop them. Engaging with it and paying for it – 22% of its funds are provided by the United States – is an ongoing disaster that does much harm and no good.

The UNHRC is an example of how bad the United Nations has become. Removing one bad apple like Russia from it won't repair what's broken, but it will allow UN apologists to pretend that it is heading in the right direction. That even many supporters of Israel think that acquiescing to this state of affairs or supporting further American participation in these travesties is justified is an appalling mistake that only makes the situation worse.

'The Guns Of August' In The Middle East?

There is, over the region as a whole, more than a whiff of August 1914 when much of Europe was tied up into interlocking alliances causing a confrontation in the Balkans to become a full-fledged continental war. As Arab states and Israel seek to lock in alliances and smooth over past tensions, so has Iran sought to strengthen the offensive power of its allies on the frontlines in Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, and Iraq. The hope now is that, perhaps because of the Ukraine War and Iranian greediness, a new version of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) will not actually happen. For an American Administration now obsessed with bringing down Russia, the fact that a new Iranian agreement will reward the Putin regime is, at least publicly, deeply embarrassing given the war hysteria sweeping American elites. Putin's aggression in Ukraine may have inadvertently prevented Iran from gaining an economic windfall. It has certainly delayed an agreement.

But the sense in the region is that, JCPOA-2 or not, the confrontation with an already emboldened Iran is almost inevitable – a more direct confrontation than previously seen in past proxy wars – and America is not to be fully counted as being on the Israeli/Arab side. The result could be something we have not seen in the region before, a sort of "regional world war" involving not just attacks on or by proxies but between various states and players at the same time.

Everyone is hedging their bets, positioning themselves for a conflict whose full parameters they cannot yet fully comprehend. Turkey moves closer to the Sunni Arab states, even burying the Khashoggi case in hopes of a better relationship with Riyadh. Meanwhile, newly minted American "major non-NATO ally" Qatar, ever the contrarian, moves closer to Iran, hosting the head of the IRGC Navy in a move that the Biden State Department called "deeply disappointing." Other Arab states have had their own disappointments after the United States refused to reconsider returning the Yemeni Houthis to an American terrorism list in the wake of Houthi attacks on civilian targets in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. By these actions, Iran showed its ability to wage destabilizing economic warfare on both those states – both of whom are seeking to remake and expand their economies – through the attacks of its proxies. Both Arab states and Israel have expressed concerns about the U.S. lifting sanctions on the IRGC, but this is only one small part of the many possible concessions to Iran envisioned in the nuclear talks in Vienna.

The contending blocs are relatively set. On one side Iran, Hezbollah-ruled Lebanon, Gaza, and Iranian proxy forces in Iraq, Yemen, and Syria. The Assad regime is also in this camp but may be too weak to be more than a safe haven for Iranian-led forces. Qatar clearly leans toward this camp but will likely baulk at any actual fighting should the confrontation reach that stage.

Against them are a bloc including Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, and Yemeni forces opposed to the Houthis. Possibly Sudan. Turkey is also a possibility but may wait it out to maximize its position (unless its ally Azerbaijan is dragged into a war with Iran). The American role is ambiguous, unlikely to get involved unless directly attacked, with Iran possibly playing the role of forcing the Americans into a war they want to avoid as happened with Japan and Germany in 1941. That would be the supreme irony given that it is in Iran's interest for the Americans to be bystanders.

The plans are laid by both sides. Still an eerie calm reigns so far over Ramadan, the month of great Islamic battles, with Passover and Easter on the horizon. Will open war come sometime this summer after a Ukrainian ceasefire, after an Iranian nuclear agreement, or in lieu of one? This is uncharted territory.

Two Holocaust memorials smeared with antisemitic, pro-Russian slurs

Lithuania’s major Holocaust memorial at Ponary, where the mass murder of up to 100,000 people took place, was smeared with antisemitic graffiti on April 1 and April 3, the Simon Wiesenthal Center said on Thursday. The graffiti ostensibly expressed support for the Russian military campaign in Ukraine and is cause for grave concern, it said.

Linking the local Jewish community with the Russian invasion of Ukraine is a completely false and very dangerous accusation that can only inspire the spread of antisemitism and encourage attacks on Jews and Jewish institutions, said Dr. Efraim Zuroff, the center’s director for Eastern European affairs and a Holocaust historian.

“These incidents are reminiscent of the false accusations of Judeo-Bolshevism, which fueled the collaboration of tens of thousands of local Nazi collaborators in Eastern Europe during World War II and their active participation in the mass murder of hundreds of thousands of Jews,” he said. “We urge the local authorities to apprehend and punish the perpetrators of these ugly incidents as quickly as possible.”

There was a new attack on the Ponar memorial, the Lithuanian 15min news site reported on Monday, and the Lithuanian Jewish community appealed to the government. In both attacks, the letters “V” and “Z” had been inscribed on some of the memorials.

This is the second such attack, the first of which was recorded last Friday.

“The Lithuanian Jewish community is shocked by the repeated attacks on the holy site of the Ponar massacre and has appealed to the government,” the report said.

“To our knowledge, this is a new case, a second one since Friday,” Rūta Ribinskaitė, a representative of the Jewish community, was quoted as saying by the BNS news site. “Representatives of our community took part in getting the memorial back to normal, and all those terrible symbols were cleaned up.”

On Sunday evening, the Lithuanian Jewish community received a message on Facebook with photos of people walking in the memorial on the previous day who had drawn “V” and “Z” symbols, Ribinskaitė said.

German intel said to intercept Russian communications confirming Bucha killings

German intelligence services have intercepted radio traffic of Russian soldiers discussing the killings of civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, Der Spiegel reported Thursday, in what would be new evidence linking Moscow troops to the murders.

Some of the audio material collected appears to relate to victims found dead along a main street in Bucha, the magazine said, citing a closed-door parliamentary briefing given by Germany’s foreign intelligence service BND.

Among the intercepts was a soldier’s description of how he and his platoon mates shot a person on a bicycle.

AFP journalists on the ground in Bucha saw three bodies tangled up in bicycles among the 20 corpses found along the tree-lined street, after Russian troops withdrew.

The Kremlin has, however, denied the accusations of mass killings, claiming instead that the images emerging from Bucha were “fakes” or that the deaths occurred after Russian soldiers pulled out.

Der Spiegel said the audio files intercepted by the BND also provide evidence of the Wagner mercenary group’s role in the atrocities. A dead body lies on the ground in a street in Bucha, northwest of Kyiv, on April 2, 2022. (Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP)

The killings were also apparently not random acts. Rather, the soldiers were discussing the killings “as though they were simply discussing their everyday lives,” said the magazine.

The German government had said on Wednesday that satellite images from last month provided strong counterevidence against Russia’s denials of the atrocities.

The Caroline Glick show Ep47 – Russia’s war plan in Ukraine and Biden’s Virtue Signaling

In the wake of the massacre in Bucha, Caroline was joined by David Goldman from Asia Times to discuss Russia’s war plan in Ukraine and Biden’s imbecilic and dangerous response to Russia’s actions. They then pivoted to India and on to the Middle East to consider what Russia’s remorseless pursuit of Ukraine’s destruction means for Israel, with Russia in control of Syria and the direct avenues of approach to Iran.

Is the West Revealing Double Standards When It Backs Ukraine But Not the Palestinians?

A recent poll found that 57% of Palestinians believe the U.S. and its European allies are guilty of a double standard in how they've responded to the war in Ukraine and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. While the West has quickly embraced the use of boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Russia, there is far less support for the BDS movement against Israel, and there are even efforts to ban it or penalize its proponents. Yet the claim of a double standard rests on a false equivalence.

First, the war in Ukraine is the result of an unprovoked act of aggression by Russia against its neighbor, which posed no real threat to Russia. Israel, by contrast, conquered the West Bank and Gaza during a war it fought against three neighboring Arab states that did pose a serious threat to Israel.

Second, Russia's invasion of Ukraine - an independent state, whose sovereignty is universally recognized by the international community - is a clear violation of the most basic international norms and a clear danger to the international rules-based order. Israel's military presence in the West Bank does not violate the cardinal principle of state sovereignty nor does it threaten to upend the international order. Israel's actions towards the Palestinians no longer have major regional, let alone global, repercussions.

Third, boycotting, divesting from and sanctioning Russia is intended to pressure Putin to stop this war of aggression, not change the regime in Russia or the nature of the Russian state. The BDS movement, by contrast, doesn't just want to pressure Israel over the West Bank. It seeks to change the very nature of the Israeli state. It's the objectives of the BDS movement that people, and governments, take issue with, especially its rejection of Israel's continued existence as a Jewish state (a rejection that some see as anti-Semitic).

Finally, Ukrainian armed resistance is solely directed against the Russian military. Russian civilians haven't been targeted. Palestinian armed action, by contrast, is also directed against Israeli civilians. There have been scores of terrorist attacks by Palestinians against Israelis and indiscriminate rocket fire by Palestinian militant groups towards Israeli population centers.

Seth Frantzman: Will political uncertainty in Israel lead to Iran conflict?

The dilemmas raised through political chaos or new elections in Israel could also relate to a potential new Iran deal. How will Israel handle pressure regarding any kind of Iran deal or Iranian nuclear enrichment provocations?

Furthermore, there are questions about relations with Russia in Syria, and how Russia is handling Syria now that it is pulling back from attacking Kyiv. While the current leadership is more critical of Moscow, Netanyahu’s allies tend to be quiet regarding the Ukraine war.

Netanyahu recently congratulated Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on his reelection. Orban is also praised by Russian President Vladimir Putin, but he has become more controversial in Europe. Bennett also recently had to postpone a trip to India because of contracting corona. Netanyahu has enjoyed close relations with India’s Narendra Modi.

All of this matters. Iran could see chaos in Israel as an opportunity to make moves in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. It could transfer new drones to Yemen and begin more actions at sea.

Iran generally thrived as a regime when Netanyahu was in power, but not because Netanyahu was weak on Iran. It thrives also when it is put under pressure. Iran thrived under the US’s “maximum pressure” sanctions under Donald Trump as it boosted its role in Iraq and Syria. That means that even though the US and Israel have increasingly coordinated on Iran issues, and Israel has new friends in the Gulf, Iran has also grown in strength.

Iran has used missiles to strike at Erbil and has empowered the Houthis to attack the Gulf, and these moves prove the breadth and daring of Iran’s power and impunity. Russia’s war has also opened a Pandora’s box of impunity for new wars. It is possible Iran will want to test Israel during Ramadan, and now that a political crisis is afoot, Iran could see this as a green light.

Israel is not an apartheid state, says Keir Starmer as he apologises for the Corbyn years

Would Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer be, as they say, “good for the Jews”? Since the Corbyn years, this has become an inevitable question. And it is possible to argue that he would.

Sir Keir and his Jewish wife, Victoria, are members of St John’s Wood Liberal Synagogue and are bringing their children up with a sense of Jewish identity. He has repeatedly vowed to tear out antisemitism “by the roots”. When we met on Monday in a comically cramped cloakroom in a nursery in Harrow, he made a point of mentioning that he had extended family in Israel.

Yet for much of the community, the jury remains firmly out on the former head of the Crown Prosecution Service. A recent poll has suggested that 65 per cent of Jews still find Labour unwelcoming, as the shadow of Corbynism continues to darken local branches. It darkens parts of the Opposition benches in Parliament as well.

It’s hard to forget that Sir Keir was one of Jeremy Corbyn’s longest-serving shadow cabinet members, clocking up 1,559 days under his leadership. In July 2019, he said he had “full confidence” in Mr Corbyn as — believe it or not — the right man to root out Jew-hatred in the party.

Sixteen months later, however, once Sir Keir had been elected leader, he stripped Mr Corbyn of the whip for saying that antisemitism was “dramatically overstated for political reasons”.

Former Irish Justice Minister: Apartheid Claims over Palestinians a "Big Lie"

Former Irish Minister for Justice Alan Shatter has branded Amnesty International's use of the term "apartheid" to describe Israel's treatment of Palestinians as a "headline-catching big lie" at a meeting of the Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs on Tuesday. He said the Amnesty report misrepresents a territorial and political conflict relating to Israeli and Palestinian nationhood and identity as a racial conflict.

Shatter said the committee - which has been holding meetings on the report - is "on the wrong side of history." He argued that the committee has had nothing positive to say on recent peace deals between Israel and some Arab countries and "nothing also is ever said about Palestinian political parties, terrorist and civil groups celebrating in Gaza, Jerusalem and the West Bank murderous terrorist atrocities." He said the obstacle to peace was "the incapacity of people on the Palestinian side to constructively engage."

Yousef Haddad, an Arab-Israeli citizen, told the committee, "It is true that Israel is a Jewish state but it is also a democratic state. While Israel is imperfect and racism exists, it is not systematic but individual. Every day, Arabs and Jews are standing side-by-side working to resolve the problems in our society. You know what doesn't help our society? White Europeans and Amnesty International telling our sovereign nation of Arabs and Jews how to run our country."

there is of course a significant difference btw people who are provoked by the mere presence of the "other" and people who are provoked by young men throwing stones and molotov cocktails.

but that level of distinction probably escapes the polemical mind.
— Richard Landes (@richard_landes) April 6, 2022

British Somalian Ali Harbi Ali told the court the killing of conservative politician Sir David Amess in an Essex church was lawful under Islam and that he killed “for Islam.” He stated he has no remorse & considered killing others as well.https://t.co/H2IoxkkThj pic.twitter.com/2A8Eumvy6j
— Andy Ngô ?????? (@MrAndyNgo) April 7, 2022

Turkish court halts Khashoggi trial, transfers it to Saudi Arabia

A Turkish court on Thursday halted the trial of Saudi suspects over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and transferred it to Saudi Arabia, a ruling that drew condemnation from rights groups and comes as Ankara mends ties with Riyadh.

The decision was expected after the prosecutor called last week for the trial in absentia of 26 Saudi suspects to be transferred from Istanbul to Riyadh. The justice minister later endorsed the request, which was initially sought by Riyadh.

Khashoggi's killing at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul four years ago raised a global outcry and put pressure on Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Turkish officials said they believe Khashoggi, a prominent critic of the crown prince, was killed and his body dismembered in an operation that President Tayyip Erdogan said had been ordered at the "highest levels" of the Saudi government.

Khaled Abu Toameh: Arabs Express Disappointment and Frustration with U.S. Middle East Policy

Many Arabs are continuing to express disappointment and frustration with the U.S. administration, particularly its perceived appeasement of Iran's mullahs, failure to classify the Iran-backed Houthi militia as a terrorist organization, and turning its back on America's allies and friends in the Arab world.

Arab commentators are saying that the U.S. is losing its Arab allies and friends; that one year after Biden came to power, the Middle East is less secure and stable because of the threats and attacks by Iran and its proxies; that the Arabs feel betrayed and abandoned by the U.S., which is losing its credibility and prestige in the Middle East; and that a new nuclear deal with Iran would pose a real threat not only to Arabs, but to Israel and the U.S. as well.

Although many in the Arab world diplomatically refer to Biden's action as "mistakes," they appear to recognize that they are deliberate, and lacking in any consideration for the well-being of people who will have to continue living in the region - while the Americans making these decisions for them will not. If the human rights record of Saudi Arabia seems a problem, Arabs ask themselves why the human rights record of Iran is considered any better.

Egypt, Israel Expand Economic Ties

Egypt and Israel held talks on March 31 to discuss ways of expanding their economic and trade relations, in the latest sign of warming ties between Cairo and Jerusalem. In 2021, bilateral trade between Egypt and Israel reached $330 million a year, an increase of 63% from 2020. Israel's Minister of Economy and Industry Orna Barbivai said new measures will help double bilateral trade to $700 million within three years.

The Qualified Industrial Zone (QIZ) program established by the U.S., which came into force in 2005, allows products jointly manufactured by Egypt and Israel duty-free entry into the U.S., provided that Israeli components represent 11.7% of these products. There are 1,124 companies registered under the QIZ protocol as of February 2022, the vast majority of which produce textiles (80%). Exports under the QIZ protocol hit $1.2 billion in 2021 and made up 37% of Egypt's total exports to the U.S.

Tarek Fahmi, a professor of political science at Cairo University, thinks the current momentum in Egyptian-Israeli relations was triggered by the recent U.S.-sponsored normalization deals. "Egypt and Israel seek to deliver a message through this cooperation that their relations are solid and are expanding." However, while many Egyptians are not averse to trade with Israel, the Egyptian public is wary of deepening ties with the Jewish state.

Israel Concerned over Iranian Takeover of Syrian Golan

The IDF has identified a new threat resulting from the significant increase of the Shiite and Alawite Muslim populations in Syria.

In 2011, Syria was home to 21.3 million residents - 59% Sunni Muslims, 11% Alawites, and 4% Shiites.

The territory currently under Assad's control is home to 10 million people, with Shiites making up 10% and Alawites 30%.

Many of the Shiites live in the Syrian Golan Heights on the border with Israel, where poverty is rife. Past experience has taught us that terrorist instigators are able to take advantage of civilian distress through charity organizations.

Iran's terrorist operations have a fertile recruiting ground in the Syrian Shiite population and a few hundred have already been recruited by Hizbullah or Iran and its satellites.

PMW: What the PA expected the Biden Administration to do, and why those expectations have only been partially realized

Restore aid to the PA
While it is erroneously claimed that former President Trump halted the US aid to the PA, in reality it was then PA Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah who wrote to the US Secretary of State saying that “In light of these developments, the Government of Palestine respectfully informs the United States Government that, as of January 31st, 2019, it fully disclaims and no longer wishes to accept any form of assistance referenced in ATCA [Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act]”

Since then, ATCA was replaced with alternative legislation and the PA is now again graciously willing to accept US aid.

For the most part, US bilateral aid to the Palestinians is divided into three categories: Aid provided for International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement (INCLE); aid provided for Nonproliferation, Anti-terrorism, Demining and Related Programs (NADR); and Economic Support Fund (ESF) aid, which accounts for the vast majority of the aid.

However, two pieces of US legislation directly impact the ESF aid.

Passed in January 2014, under the administration of then President Obama, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014 blocked ESF aid to the PA if the Palestinians “initiate an International Criminal Court (ICC) judicially authorized investigation, or actively support such an investigation, that subjects Israeli nationals to an investigation for alleged crimes against Palestinians.” The same provision has been adopted every year since, most recently as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022, which became law on March 15, 2022.

In 2018, the PA petitioned the ICC to open an investigation against Israel. In March 2021, the ICC prosecutor opened a “judicially authorized investigation”. As Palestinian Media Watch has shown, the PA is “actively support[ing]” that investigation.

In parallel to the ESF limitations incurred by the PA’s ICC investigation, the Taylor Force Act (TFA) also blocks ESF aid for the direct benefit of the PA.

Every year, the PA spends hundreds of millions of shekels/dollars paying rewards for terror. The payments are divided between salary payments to imprisoned and released terrorists and payments to wounded terrorists and the families of dead terrorists – so-called “Martyrs”.

TFA conditions the ESF aid on the PA abolishing its terror reward payments.

While the PA has adopted numerous measures to conceal the payments, PMW has conclusively shown that the PA continues to defy TFA, and it is estimated that in 2021, the PA spent no less than 841 million shekels ($270.75 million) on its terror reward payments.

These two circumstances prevent the PA from receiving US aid. In order to receive the ESF aid allocated by the US administration, all the PA would have to do is request that the ICC close its investigation against Israel and stop rewarding terrorists.

Palestinian Authority: Anyone who breaks his/her fast publicly during the days of Ramadan will be punished with imprisonment for a month or a fine of 15 (Jordanian) dinars.
— Khaled Abu Toameh (@KhaledAbuToameh) April 7, 2022

Israeli security forces arrest Hussein Abu Kwaik, a senior Hamas official in the Ramallah area. pic.twitter.com/0Dxzh9riMM
— Khaled Abu Toameh (@KhaledAbuToameh) April 7, 2022

An interesting admission by Palestinian Islamic Jihad official Khaled al-Batsh. In an interview he hints West Bank and Gaza militant groups are working together against Israel. At @LongWarJournal we've tracked an uptick in West Bank militant activity over the last ten months. pic.twitter.com/92QKIjX8vS
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) April 7, 2022

PreOccupiedTerritory: Hamas: Our Rockets Identify As Female; Iron Dome Perpetrates Misogyny (satire)

A spokesman for the Islamist militant group that governs this blockaded Mediterranean territory accused Israel of abusive, violent, sexist behavior in using its missile defense batteries to destroy the organization’s airborne missiles, since those weapons see themselves as wymxn.

Jaswan Bangmi, a representative of the Hamas movement, issued the latest charge against “the Zionist Enemy” in a series of announcements to the population of the Gaza Strip, which struggles under an Israeli anti-armaments blockade and can only import and export non-military goods without restriction. Bangmi disclosed that more than nine tenths of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s rocket arsenal, which they aim at Israeli communities and playgrounds, is female. Thus, he concluded, Israeli interceptions of those projectiles and long-range mortar shells through the Iron Dome defense system constitute acts of misogyny.

“We must admit no surprise at this,” Bangmi declared. “The Zionist usurper of our lands has always shown particular cruelty to the defenseless. The rape by such thugs of our pure virgin missiles, all the more egregious through the phallic interceptor units of the Iron Dome – a mocking reference to female anatomy – further demonstrates the evil we have faced for a hundred years. The Zionists rape the land, and the Palestinian people, especially when their occupation soldiers refuse to rape our actual women – that’s how racist they are.”

Blinken not overly optimistic with the prospects of Iran nuclear deal

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that he is not “overly optimistic” at the prospects of bringing the nuclear agreement with Iran to a conclusion. In an interview with MSNBC he said, “Despite all the efforts we put into it, we’re not there and time is getting extremely short, but this is something that we will be talking to our European partners about this afternoon and on the next day.”

He added, “I continue to believe that it would be in the best interest of our country if we can back into compliance with the deal if Iran would do the same – we are not there.” Asked whether the IRGC is a terrorist organization, Blinken said, “They are.”

Earlier on Wednesday, a group of five House Democrats held a press conference to express concerns over the prospects of reviving the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-New Jersey) noted that while five members attended the press conference, some 15 House Democrats shared concerns over the deal. The group is expected to release a joint statement later.

Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Virginia) said, “While the recent negotiations have not concluded, we feel that we can’t stay quiet.” She went on to say that Iran is “dangerously close” to obtaining nuclear weapons capability, and that the Islamic Republic showed “no end in sight to the pursuit of a nuclear weapon.”

“I believe that it’s just clear evidence that the JCPOA did not work and that any new deal that does not wholly prevent Iran from ever acquiring a nuclear weapon is unacceptable,” Luria continued. “I have serious concerns about reports that negotiators in Vienna are discussing lifting of sanctions designed not just to address Iran’s nuclear activities, but even those addressing [the IRGC’s] sponsorship of terrorism.”

She added that it is “completely unacceptable” that this would be considered as part of this negotiation. Luria said the leadership of the Iranian regime “has perpetuated terrorist attacks around the world, targets its own people and has sought to destabilize the Middle East. The JCPOA that’s currently being negotiated will provide Iran with more resources to do exactly these things.”

Gottheimer said the US needs “a longer and stronger deal, not one that is shorter and weaker.”

Robert Malley: Appeaser Extraordinaire

At a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing in 2010, Malley called for the U.S. “to unveil a set of parameters” that included the creation of a Palestinian state along the “1967 borders,” which would have been a suicidal move for Israel. He also advocated the deployment of third-party armed forces in Judea-Samaria, and the forced relocation of hundreds of thousands of Jews from their homes in that region. And he said that Israel should relinquish control of the Golan Heights to Syria, on the premise that Syria was “unlikely to sponsor militant groups … [or] destabilize the region … once an agreement has been reached.”

After President Obama’s 2012 reelection, he appointed Malley to serve as his Senior Director for the Gulf Region and Syria. Obama pledged, however, that Malley would have no involvement in issues related to Israel and the Palestinians.

In February 2014, it was announced that Malley would become the next senior director of the National Security Council (NSC), where he would be in charge of managing relations between the United States and its allies in the Persian Gulf. In March 2015, Obama appointed Malley to direct the NSC’s policy in relation to the entire Middle East, including Israel. In November 2015, Malley was named as President Obama’s senior advisor for America’s counter-ISIL campaign in Iraq and Syria.

After President Obama left office in 2017, Malley returned to the International Crisis Group, serving as its Vice President for Policy. He subsequently became the organization’s President and CEO, positions he held until January 2021.

According to a report in The Washington Examiner, Malley in July 2019 met secretly with Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in an effort to: (a) undermine and sabotage the Trump Administration’s efforts to defuse tensions between the U.S. and Iran, and (b) lay the groundwork for a future relationship between Tehran and a Democratic American President. That Malley-Zarif meeting likely contributed to the failure, two months later, of a Trump attempt to open a back channel of communication with leading Iranian officials during the U.N. General Assembly meeting in New York City. Says the Examiner:
“The attempt at counter-diplomacy offers a window into the deep relationships Mr. Zarif forged with influential U.S. liberals over the past decade. These relationships blossomed into what high-level national security and intelligence sources say allowed the Iranian regime to bypass Mr. Trump and work directly with Obama administration veterans that Tehran hoped would soon return to power in Washington.”

In January 2020, Malley condemned the Trump Administration’s targeted killing of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) terrorist leader Qassem Soleimani, who was actively planning additional attacks against U.S. interests in the Middle East. Malley claimed that the killing of Soleimani made it “more likely” that global tensions would eventually “drag the country into another Middle East war.” He was wrong.

In November 2020, Malley condemned the Trump Administration’s targeted killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a designated Iranian terrorist and a leading IRGC nuclear scientist, on grounds that his assassination would “make it all the more difficult for [President Trump’s] successor to resume diplomacy with Iran.”

Surely the Iranian government today is deliriously happy to be dealing, in its negotiations with the United States, with America’s appeaser extraordinaire, Robert Malley.

Israeli Defense Minister Calls for ‘Plan B’ If Iran Nuclear Deal Not Signed

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said on Wednesday that if a new nuclear deal is not signed with Iran, then other measures must be taken.

“If needed, we can move forward with economic pressure, intel, diplomatic pressure, power projection and regional counterterrorism efforts,” said Gantz, according to a defense ministry spokesperson.

Gantz made the remarks during a policy and security briefing for the 80 foreign ambassadors stationed in Israel, together with Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid.

He also presented the diplomats with information on the rapid advance of Iran’s nuclear program.

“Since August 2021, Iran has raced forward. Iran has increased its enriched uranium stockpile to 50 kilograms at [at an enrichment level of] 60 percent. We are running against [the clock]. The international community must insist on a solid agreement,” he said.

Regarding the recent wave of terrorist attacks in the country, Gantz said that Israel was taking all necessary measures, including preemptive operations, to prevent further attacks.

Gantz concluded his remarks by presenting confidence-building measures undertaken with the Palestinian Authority since “Operation Guardian of the Walls” last May. He also called on the international community to invest in the PA.

Reminder that there were no provisions in the JCPOA or UNSCR to stop Iran from producing and amassing weapon-grade uranium: https://t.co/0OQe6VCXzl pic.twitter.com/T6M9WMFTP6
— FDD's Iran Program (@FDD_Iran) April 5, 2022

US general says he does not support delisting IRGC

The top US general said on Thursday that he does not support removing Iran's Quds Force, an arm of its Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), from a list of foreign terrorist organizations.

"I believe the IRGC Quds Force to be a terrorist organization and I do not support them being delisted," Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The United States has been considering removing the IRGC from its foreign terrorist organization blacklist in return for Iranian assurances about reining in the elite force. The guards' Quds Froce is tasked with exporting Iran's ideology in the region. Its former commander, Qassem Soleimani, was assassinated in 2019 in response to attacks on US forces.

In March, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett urged the United States to heed calls against any removal of the IRGC from the State Department blacklist after reports emerged that the Biden administration was likely to do so in exchange for an Iranian pledge to avoid aggressive actions in the region.

"We're concerned about the intention to delist the IRGC," Bennett told visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken when he visited Israel. "I hope the United States will hear the concerned voices from the region, Israel's and others, on this very important issue."

Manchin says he’s ‘very leery’ of Iran talks

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) told Jewish Insider in a brief interview on Wednesday that he is likely to oppose any new nuclear deal the Biden administration reaches with Iran.

“I’m very leery of [the talks],” Manchin said. “I wasn’t for it before and I can’t see myself changing my position.”

Manchin was one of four Senate Democrats — along with Sens. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) — who voted against the original nuclear agreement in 2015.

Menendez and Cardin have indicated opposition to the deal as it has been outlined publicly, while Schumer has said he’s open to the talks, but said he’s communicated with the administration about the problems in the Obama-era deal.

Opponents of the potential deal are unlikely to be able to rally the 10 Senate Democratic votes needed to block its implementation, much less the two-thirds of the Senate needed to override a presidential veto of such a measure.

Iran, Russia Hold Trade Conference as They Ramp Up Efforts To Evade US Sanctions

Iran and Russia held a joint trade conference in Moscow on Wednesday as the two countries ramp up efforts to bust U.S. sanctions.

At least 70 Iranian companies and 250 "big holding and influential Russian business people" attended the conference, according to a report in Iran's state-controlled media that signals an increase in ties between Tehran and Moscow. Both countries are suffering under the weight of U.S. sanctions and have moved closer to each other as part of a bid to establish a black-market hub that can evade these measures.

Iran's ambassador to Moscow said that more than 300 Russian businesses attended the conference in person and that many others followed virtually. The Iranian diplomat said the event signals that "the two countries of Iran and Russia will witness a leap in their bilateral relations."

Increased trade relations between the rogue nations come as the Biden administration moves to unwind sanctions on Iran as part of a new nuclear deal, which will enable Moscow to use Tehran as a vehicle for its own bid to skirt international pressure. Opponents of the deal on Capitol Hill are increasingly concerned by carveouts in the accord that will enable Russia to cash in on a multibillion-dollar contract to build out portions of Iran's nuclear program. It also is likely the new deal will effectively create a "sanctions evasion hub" in Iran for Russian president Vladimir Putin as international sanctions on Moscow increase as a result of Putin's unprovoked war in Ukraine, according to a policy analysis circulating on Capitol Hill. Additionally, Iran announced on Wednesday that it will soon unveil "nine new nuclear achievements."

With Russia serving as the primary interlocutor in talks, along with China, it has pushed for all U.S. sanctions on Iran to be lifted. Russian negotiators see Tehran as a lucrative marketplace and seek to increase Moscow's foothold in the country via concessions in the new accord.

The Biden administration has reportedly provided Russia with assurances that Moscow will not be targeted with sanctions if it begins construction on new Iranian nuclear sites. Russia announced this week that it had received a letter from the State Department assuring it "that the Ukraine-related sanctions wouldn't affect Russia's nuclear cooperation with Iran," according to a report in Iran's state-controlled press.

Obama is telling a bald-faced lie here -- he did virtually nothing against Russia because he wanted Putin's help w/ the Iran deal -- and of course @jeffreygoldberg, who functioned as his court stenographer for eight years, just nods along https://t.co/km55jdfSe6
— Noah Pollak (@NoahPollak) April 7, 2022