Today’s Top Stories
1. According to a document seen by the Associated Press, “key restrictions” imposed on Iran’s nuclear program by last year’s accord “will start to ease years before the 15-year accord expires, advancing Tehran’s ability to build a bomb even before the end of the pact.”
Israeli officials told the Times of Israel that this add-on document would allow Tehran to “produce fuel for many bombs in a very short time.”
It says that as of January 2027 — 11 years after the deal was implemented — Iran will start replacing its mainstay centrifuges with thousands of advanced machines.
Centrifuges churn out uranium to levels that can range from use as reactor fuel and for medical and research purposes to much higher levels for the core of a nuclear warhead. From year 11 to 13, says the document, Iran will install centrifuges up to five times as efficient as the 5,060 machines it is now restricted to using.
Those new models will number less than those being used now, ranging between 2,500 and 3,500, depending on their efficiency, according to the document. But because they are more effective, they will allow Iran to enrich at more than twice the rate it is doing now.
The US State Dept. denied the existence of any secret add-on documents while Tehran defended the provision as “a matter of pride.” Who to believe?
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2. Moving forward with offshore gas exploration, Lebanon is issuing exploration permits, including one in waters contested by Israel. According to Globes:
The disputed area totals some 850 square kilometers and is triangular, with its vertex in Rosh Hanikrah and its base along the line shared by Israel, Cyprus and Lebanon’s EEZ. An agreement signed between Israel and Cyprus in December 2010 supports the Israeli claim while a similar agreement signed between Cyprus and Lebanon has not been authorized by the Lebanese Parliament. As stated above, Lebanon intends to publish the bloc anyway.
Wouldn’t ya know, there’s plenty of Lebanese in-fighting over the permits as well.
Back to spats over #Lebanon oil and gas exploration https://t.co/yShHii8cho
— Beirut Business (@Beirut_Speaks) July 19, 2016
3. Defense News reports that Jerusalem has all but conceded that the new US military aid package will cancel the 26% “manufactured in Israel” allowance. With the Obama administration not wavering on “Buy America,” Israel’s military industry is “bracing for lost funding and layoffs.”
In interviews, those sources say Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pretty much resigned himself to a new paradigm whereby all of Israel’s grant aid — with the exception of funds appropriated for missile defense and pre-agreed upon programs — will eventually be spent in the United States.
Israel and the Palestinians
• An internal reported drafted by the European Union blames the wave of Palestinian stabbing, car-ramming and shooting attacks on Israel, saying that the “occupation” is the “root cause” of the violence. The EU Observer saw the document, which was drafted in December.
It is not meant to be published, but is designed to act as a reference document for meetings of EU foreign ministers in Brussels and for proposals put forth by the EU foreign service.
• European envoys accused the IDF of violating international law by confiscating European Union-funded shelters for Bedouins — then leaked their letter to The Guardian‘s Peter Beaumont.
Unfortunately, there’s no indication that Beaumont sought out an Israeli response. Nor did his dispatch acknowledge(as the Daily Mail noted earlier this year) the EU’s abuse of diplomatic immunity to build structures and roads on disputed West Bank land is meddling — in violation of international agreements.
• Looks like the Times of London is competing with low-brow tabloids with snarky headlines like this.
• A Gaza tunnel collapsed, killing a Islamic Jihad terror operative and injuring two others near Khan Yunis last night.
It was the second deadly tunnel collapse for the group this month and the 14th such incident reported since the beginning of the year.
• A Hamas military court in Gaza sentenced to death three Palestinians accused of “collaborating” with Israel. Two other Palestinians were given lengthy prison terms.
Around the World
• Nice article about the Israeli view of the French terror situation. The New York Times even used the t-word in its headline.
• Reuters reports that the EU is already eyeing Israeli technology for spotting potential lone wolf terrorists online.
“Nine out of 10 times, the terrorist has contacts with others who provide support or inspiration, so meta data still applies,” said Haim Tomer, a former Mossad intelligence division chief turned security consultant.
• In Nice, a reporter from Israel’s Channel 2 had a fascinating exchange with a woman warning him that it’s dangerous for him as an Israeli.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWobNs9OLZY
• The Jerusalem Post takes a look back at the AMIA bombing. It was 22 years ago when a suicide bomber driving an explosive-laden car into the Argentine Jewish communal headquarters in Buenos Aires, killing 85. A second dispatch captures the Jewish community’s anger and frustration over the lack of justice.
• Mexico, Israel target tripling annual trade to $2.1 billion
• A day after Palestinian officials sought to reassure Lebanese authorities that they wouldn’t allow jihadist groups to seize control of refugee camps inside Lebanon, a Palestinian man was killed by unknown gunmen in the Ain el-Hilweh refugee camp, near Sidon.
By long-standing convention, the Lebanese army does not enter the Palestinian camps in the country, leaving the Palestinian factions themselves to handle security.
That has created lawless areas in many camps, and Ain el-Hilweh has gained notoriety as a refuge for extremists and fugitives.
• Worth reading: To learn more about how the US might boost airport security, the Los Angeles Times compares security measures at Ben Gurion Airport with Los Angeles International Airport. Volume of traffic, baggage screening, passenger profiling, bureaucracy, public attitudes, costs and more are all touched on here.
Commentary/Analysis
• The Wall St. Journal (click via Google News) gave former ambassador Ron Prosor a soapbox to discuss Israeli counterterrorism lessons for Europe
No longer do these people need training camps, bomb-making expertise or even an order. All they need is an internet connection, incitement and the desire to kill.
In this digital age, terror cannot be met with an analog response. We need to keep up, and Israel has experience and expertise to share.
• Here’s what else I’m reading today . . .
– Adam Rasgon: A series of diplomatic setbacks for the PA
– Felice Friedson: Prepare for a life with terror
Featured image: CC BY Dustin Smous with additions by HonestReporting; atom CC0 Pixabay; EU flag CC BY-SA Irinawave; airport CC BY Glenn Beltz;
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