• Saudi Arabia Blockades Yemen after Rocket Attack on Riyadh - Taryn Tarrent-Cornish
  A Saudi Arabian-led coalition has closed all ground, air and sea access to Yemen following a rocket attack on Riyadh on Saturday. The missile launched by Shiite Houthi fighters in Yemen was manufactured by Iran, Saudi Arabia claimed. It said the attack was a "clear act of aggression" by Iran and "could rise to be considered an act of war." The Saudis said the closures would be temporary and take into account the work of humanitarian organizations. (Daily Express-UK)
      See also U.S. Praises Saudi Arabia for Exposing Iran's Role in Yemen
  The U.S. on Monday praised Saudi Arabia for "exposing" Iran's role in Yemen and Tehran's provision of missile systems to Houthi militia fighting there. "We continue to maintain strong defense ties with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and work together on common security priorities to include combat operations against violent extremist organizations, and neutralizing Iran's destabilizing influence in the Middle East region," said Pentagon spokesman Marine Major Adrian Rankine-Galloway. (Reuters-New York Times)
• Nikki Haley: Unless UN Rights Council Reforms, U.S. Is Out - Ron Kampeas
  The U.S. is ready to pull out of the UN Human Rights Council unless it institutes reforms, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley told the Israeli American Council in Washington on Saturday. Haley said the proposed reforms include removing "Item 7," which requires a report on Israeli actions in the West Bank each time the panel convenes. The U.S. also wanted structural changes that would keep major human rights abusers from joining the council. (JTA)
      See also below Observations - Israel: UNESCO Is the "Titanic of International Organizations" - Amb. Carmel Shama-Hacohen (UNESCO)

• The IDF's Achievement Against Attack Tunnels - Maj. Gen. (ret.) Yaakov Amidror
  Terrorist elements in Gaza have invested their best people as well as endless money and effort in developing tunnels. The IDF's success in locating and blowing up an attack tunnel leading into Israel is of the greatest importance. When Israel increases its abilities to execute precision strikes and destroy terrorist infrastructure while the other side loses its ability to cause harm, the balance between the two sides changes, and those in Gaza will think twice whether it is worth their while to renew the fighting.
      Obviously, it makes no sense to return the bodies of the terrorists killed in the tunnel strike without Hamas giving Israel something in exchange. Any other decision goes against common sense. (Israel Hayom)
• With Hariri's Resignation, Israel Has More Leeway in Next War with Lebanon - Anna Ahronheim
  With Saad Hariri's resignation as prime minister of Lebanon on Saturday, Israel will have more leeway should a war with Hizbullah break out. On Sunday, Maj.-Gen. (ret.) Yoav Gallant, a member of Israel's security cabinet, said, "Iran actually controls Lebanon, Iraq, and is working very hard to take over Syria....Hariri understands very well that after the massacre that is taking place in Syria, he might be next in line, as happened to his father Rafik al-Hariri."
      Hariri's resignation has given Israel more legitimacy for a full-scale and uncompromising campaign against Iran and Lebanon, not only Hizbullah, should a war in the north break out. Israel "will bring Lebanon back to the stone age," Gallant said. (Jerusalem Post)
• Israeli Official: Hamas a "Slave" to Iran, Selling Out Palestinians - Dov Lieber
  IDF Maj.-Gen. Yoav Mordechai, Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), on Monday criticized Saturday's visit to Iran by a high-profile Hamas delegation on his popular Arabic-language Facebook page. Calling Hamas a "slave" to Iran, he wrote that "Hamas is selling the Sunni residents of Gaza in exchange for Persian money." Iran is Shiite, while Palestinians are almost exclusively Sunni.
      Mordechai said, "The terrorist Hamas does not hide the fact that it has become a duplicate of Hizbullah in Gaza, but instead is proud of it," and that the Hamas delegation was in Iran to "take orders" from the Iranian government. (Times of Israel)
• Palestinian Arrested with Knife near Jewish Community in West Bank
  Israeli soldiers on Sunday arrested a Palestinian man who was approaching the Jewish community of Mevo Dotan with a knife in his hand. (Times of Israel)

• "Game of Thrones" Comes to Saudi Arabia - Elliott Abrams
  Over the weekend, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia announced the arrests of 11 of his princely cousins, among them some of the kingdom's most prominent businessmen. Over the past two years Mohammed bin Salman, 32, one of King Salman's sons, has taken over most of the key economic and security posts and has clearly emerged as the most important operator in the government. The crown prince is also deputy prime minister and minister of defense.
      I asked a Saudi friend why Salman chose Crown Prince Mohammed as his successor, given that he is not his oldest son. The answer: "The King thinks Mohammed is the toughest. He'll pull the trigger when he needs to." The writer, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, was a deputy national security adviser under President George W. Bush. (New York Times)
• How Can the EU Fight Palestinian Incitement? - Daniel Schwammenthal
  Each year the Palestinian Authority pays $140 million to terrorists who are or have been in Israeli prisons, and $175 million to families of terrorists killed in action, such as suicide bombers. The salaries are indexed to the length of the prison sentence. The more gruesome the crime, the more money the terrorist gets. In total, the always-so-cash-strapped PA is dedicating 7% of its budget to ensure that killing Israelis remains a lucrative and sought-after business.
      The EU could consider deducting from their aid the 7% of the budget the PA pays to terrorists. Or the EU could announce it is willing to spend that money on NGOs dedicated to fighting incitement in Palestinian society. The writer is director of the AJC Transatlantic Institute. (Newsweek)
• The "Palestinian Narrative" Is Based on a Falsified Version of History - Moshe Arens
  The refusal of the Palestinian leadership to recognize the historical connection between the Jewish people and Palestine is at the root of their unwillingness to make peace with Israel. It is part of the "Palestinian narrative" that sees the Jews as colonizers who should return to their countries of origin, like the Crusaders in the Middle Ages.
      Those who grant the "Palestinian narrative" equal validity to that of the "Jewish narrative" have their historical facts mixed up. While presumably promoting the peace process, they are actually putting obstacles in its path by granting validity to a falsified version of history which denies historic legitimacy to the Jewish presence in Palestine. The writer served as Israel's Minister of Defense three times and once as Minister of Foreign Affairs. (Ha'aretz)

Israel: UNESCO Is the "Titanic of International Organizations" - Amb. Carmel Shama-Hacohen (UNESCO)

Israel's ambassador to UNESCO Carmel Shama-Hacohen told the agency's 39th General Conference in Paris on Friday:

• I would like to thank U.S. President Trump and our American allies for their courageous and just decision to leave UNESCO and for their continuous support of Israel.
• UNESCO is the Titanic of international organizations, which was hijacked and led by the Arab Group into crashing into the iceberg of politicization, and which has been sinking ever since.
• Sadly, UNESCO has been hijacked and abused as a tool for the persecution of Israel and the Jewish people, while concocting fake facts and fake history, meant to erase our history in Jerusalem and re-write global history.
• Undeniably, the lowest points were the attempts to erase the connection between the Jewish people to the Temple Mount and the Western Wall, our holiest of places, and continued with the resolutions against our sovereignty in Jerusalem and the declaration of the Tomb of the Patriarchs as a Palestinian heritage site.
• Our historic right and connection to Jerusalem and the holy places are thousands of years old and need no affirmation from UNESCO. In the Bible, Jerusalem is mentioned 667 times. There's no mention of Jerusalem in the Quran. What more do you need?
• No matter how many resolutions are passed here, and even if you do it around the clock, and no matter how much effort Tehran will put into their hallucinations of our disappearance: the truth shall stand strong and Israel is here to stay.