Prepared for the Conference of Presidents | |
DAILY ALERT |
Thursday, December 13, 2018 |
News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged the UN Security Council on Wednesday to prohibit Iran from conducting ballistic missile tests. "Iran has exploited the goodwill of nations and defied multiple Security Council resolutions in its quest for a robust ballistic missile force," he said. He called on nations to "establish inspection and interdiction measures" aimed at countering Iran's efforts to circumvent existing arms restrictions. "We risk the security of our people if Iran continues stocking up on ballistic missiles. We risk escalation of conflict in the region if we fail to restore deterrence. And we convey to all other malign actors that they too can defy the Security Council with impunity if we do nothing." (CNN) See also Text: Secretary of State Pompeo at the UN Security Council (U.S. State Department) State Department Deputy Spokesperson Robert Palladino said Tuesday: "A year ago...we recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and that is a recognition of reality....We were the first nation to recognize the State of Israel. And ever since, Jerusalem has remained the seat of the modern government. It's home of Israel's parliament, supreme court, other bodies of government, president, prime minister. And for decades, the United States put off recognizing this basic reality, and yet we came no closer to achieving a new peace agreement between the Palestinians and Israelis." "Trying the same old methods have failed for decades, and to continue to do the same thing over and over again would be folly. Old challenges require new approaches." (U.S. State Department) Tuesday's attack on a Christmas market in Strasbourg was an act of terrorism, French prosecutors said, citing witnesses who heard the attacker shout, "Allahu Akbar." The man was identified as Cherif Chekatt, 29, who was born in Strasbourg and has been on France's security watch list since 2015. (CBC News-Canada) See also Who Is the Strasbourg Shooting Suspect? - Kim Willsher Cherif Chekatt was born into a family with Moroccan roots. His move into Islamic extremism was reportedly sparked during a spell in prison between 2013 and 2015. (Guardian-UK) Turkish President Erdogan said Wednesday, "We will start our operation in a few days to liberate areas east of the Euphrates River from terrorist organizations" - meaning a military intervention in northeastern Syria to combat U.S.-backed Kurdish rebels. Pentagon spokesman Navy Cmdr. Sean Robertson responded, "Unilateral military action into northeast Syria by any party, particularly as U.S. personnel may be present or in the vicinity, is of grave concern. We would find any such actions unacceptable." He also asserted that the Kurdish units are a "committed partner against [Islamic State]." The U.S. has established observation posts it says are intended to prevent any Kurdish attack on Turkey. However, Erdogan said, "[U.S.] radars and observation posts are not placed to protect Turkey from terrorists, but terrorists from Turkey." (Wall Street Journal) China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) has suspended investment in Iran's South Pars natural gas project in response to U.S. pressure and to minimize tensions amid trade talks between China and the U.S. (Reuters) The Illinois Investment Policy Board voted Wednesday to notify the online lodging website Airbnb that it is violating state laws barring the economic boycott of Israel. Airbnb has 90 days to respond before it is blacklisted in Illinois. (Washington Free Beacon) News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
Two Israelis were killed and two more seriously wounded Thursday in a drive-by shooting attack south of Ofra near Giv'at Asaf in the West Bank. (Ynet News) The baby who was delivered Sunday after his mother was seriously wounded in a drive-by shooting attack at a bus stop near Ofra in the West Bank died on Wednesday. The baby, named Amiad Israel, was laid to rest in the Mount of Olives cemetery in Jerusalem. The baby's parents, Shira and Amichai Ish-Ran, were both recovering from gunshot wounds. (Ha'aretz) See also Israel Kills Palestinian Shooter Responsible for Attack at West Bank Bus Stop, Hamas Claims Responsibility - Adam Rasgon Palestinian Salih Omar Barghouti, 29, who shot a pregnant Israeli woman and five others at a bus stop near Ofra in the West Bank on Sunday, was killed Wednesday after he tried to attack troops while escaping arrest. Four others involved in the attack were arrested. Hamas claimed credit for the shooting attack on Thursday, saying, "Hamas announces with great pride the death of its martyr Salih Omar Barghouti, the perpetrator of the heroic Ofra operation." (Times of Israel) Israel's police counterterrorism unit killed Palestinian terrorist Ashraf Na'alwa in Nablus Thursday, two months after he murdered Kim Levengrond Yehezkel, 28, and Ziv Hagbi, 35, in a shooting attack at the Barkan industrial park in the West Bank. Na'alwa was armed when the forces arrived at his hiding place and he was killed after a short exchange of fire. Interrogation of suspects who aided Na'alwa found that he was planning to carry out another attack. (Ynet News) A Palestinian terrorist tried to stab a Jewish man in Jerusalem's Old City on Thursday. After he failed to do so, he attacked two Border Police officers. One of them shot and killed the terrorist, a 26-year-old resident of the West Bank. (Ynet News) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday: "For the moment Israel's military is the only military in the world that is directly engaging the Iranian forces. We're doing that in Syria and pulling them back. Because what they want to do is bring their army right here, 1,500 kilometers from Iran to our border....Bring in 80,000 Shiite militias with the express purpose of destroying us....So we meet Iran head on in Syria and if we need to we'll do whatever else we need to do to protect ourselves." (Prime Minister's Office) Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis:
In November 2018, 151 members of the UN General Assembly told Israel to withdraw from the Golan Heights, with only Israel and the U.S. voting "no." The "yes" voters communicated not only callous disregard for Israel's security, but cold contempt for the suffering of millions of Syrians at the hands of a rapacious regime. They called to reward the premier war criminal of the 21st century with a gift of real estate and let Israeli citizens reap the consequences of his homicidal campaign spilling over into their homes. Yet there is literally no one with whom to negotiate in Syria. This writer does not expect to see Syrian-Israeli peace in his lifetime. Assad's betrayal of Syria is so profound and far-reaching as to defer indefinitely for Syrians and Israelis alike the promise of real peace and genuine partnership. The writer, former ambassador and special adviser for transition in Syria, is a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East. (Atlantic Council) The status of Arab women in Israel is improving significantly. Hadas Fuchs, a researcher at the Taub Institute, published a study in 2018 on the integration of Arab women in the labor market in Israel. The most striking detail of her research relates to a revolution in the education of Arab women: 15% of students in higher education are Arab women, even though the proportion of Arab women among the general population is only 10%. In fact, the number of female Arab students in higher education has doubled since the beginning of 2000. As a result, women in Arab society are much more educated than men. Female students at Arab high schools comprise 52% of students studying computer programming and sciences, 55% in electronics, 59% in mathematics, and 70% in chemistry. The employment rate of Arab women jumped from 35% to 40% in the past year alone. (The Marker-Hebrew, 6 Dec 2018) The UK Pink Floyd Experience, a Pink Floyd tribute band, recently announced that it will not perform three scheduled shows in Israel after BDS-poster boy Roger Waters, former front man for the original band, urged them not to play in Israel. Waters announced on Facebook he is "glad to welcome them into the BDS fold." Yet David Power, front man of the UK tribute band, replied, "Roger, as I pointed out to you, my concern was for my colleagues and the abuse and threats they were receiving as a result of your initial post." So it was fear, brought on by a frontal assault of abuse and threats ordered by Roger Waters, which prompted this cancelation. The writer is a senior program coordinator and researcher at the Jerusalem Center, specializing in battling the cultural boycott of Israel. (Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Observations: Reduce UN Peacekeepers on Iran's Western Front - Brig.-Gen. (res.) Assaf Orion (The Hill)
The writer is a former head of the IDF Strategic Planning Division. |