Today’s Top Stories
1. According to unconfirmed media reports, a high-level Hamas treasurer was arrested in Saudi Arabia.
The report stated that Maher Salah had been apprehended in the gulf state several months ago on suspicion that he laundered money and illegally smuggled funds across the Saudi Arabian border, according to Israel Radio.
2. Der Spiegel got itself a heckuva scoop, obtaining papers showing how ISIS developed from the meticulous planning of Samir Abd Muhammad al-Khlifawi (a.k.a. Haji Bakr), a former colonel in Saddam Hussein’s army.
But when the architect of the Islamic State died, he left something behind that he had intended to keep strictly confidential: the blueprint for this state. It is a folder full of handwritten organizational charts, lists and schedules, which describe how a country can be gradually subjugated. SPIEGEL has gained exclusive access to the 31 pages, some consisting of several pages pasted together. They reveal a multilayered composition and directives for action, some already tested and others newly devised for the anarchical situation in Syria’s rebel-held territories. In a sense, the documents are the source code of the most successful terrorist army in recent history.
3. Yarmouk’s not the only problematic Palestinian refugee camp. The woes of Lebanon’s Ain al-Hilweh camp are flying below everyone’s radar. However, the issues of armed factions and jihadists (with shifting alliances) controlling parts of the camp are deja vu.
Both Hezbollah and the Lebanese army have warned that Ain al-Hilweh could be the next Yarmouk, but the 2007 battle of Nahr al-Bared may be a better comparison.
4. Can You Capture Your Home? Readers are misled when the media omits important context.
Israel and the Palestinians
• Soccer executives are preparing to fight a Palestinian effort to suspend the Israeli Football Association from two key soccer organizations. A Palestinian proposal is on the agendas of upcoming meetings of the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). Reuters coverage.
• A Ramallah court dismissed corruption charges against Mohammed Dahlan. A rival to Mahmoud Abbas and former Gaza strongman, Dahlan has been living in exile and many view him as a possible successor to Abbas.
• Netanyahu to Putin: We’ll hit Russian arms going to Hezbollah
Mideast Matters
• Scott Pelley of 60 Minutes took a very gripping and eye-opening look at the Syrian army’s use of sarin gas against civilians. It’s a powerful story that needs to be told, but it’s also graphic and disturbing. So while I do urge you to watch, I’m not embedding it. Click to watch, but be prepared.
See also Pelley’s separate video explaining why network felt that showing the footage was the right thing to do. Meanwhile, Dr. Mohammed Tennari shared his account of a chemical weapons attack with Foreign Policy.
If you’re interested in learning more about the journalistic guidelines behind the use of graphic footage, check out the Poynter Institute. 
Commentary/Analysis
• Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammed Javad Zarif, got op-ed space in the New York Times. Bottom line: We’ve made a lot of progress, but more political courage is needed to seal the deal, while the conflicts in Syria and Yemen require “regional dialogue.”
• Could Israeli F-35s turn the tables on Iranian S-300 missiles?
Purchase of the costly jets has provoked years of controversy. But with Russia now to deliver its air-defense system to Iran, the IAF’s chief acquisition officer stands firmly behind much-maligned aircraft.
• For more commentary/analysis see
– Noah Horwitz: BDS motives go beyond justice for Palestinians
– Yaakov Amidror: The US could halt Iran’s nuclear program, but chooses not to
– Sharif Nashashibi: How the jihadist seizure of Yarmouk benefits Assad
– Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (staff-ed): US should withdraw UNRWA funding
– Wall St. Journal: Whatever the Ayatollah wants (staff-ed)
Featured image: CC BY-NC-SA Peter Alexanderson via flickr with additions by HonestReporting; ISIS via YouTube/CBS Evening News
For more, see yesterday’s Israel Daily News Stream and join the IDNS on Facebook.
