Today’s Top Stories
1. The credibility of the Iranian nuclear deal is taking another hit. AP reports that in the side deal cut between Tehran and the International Atomic Energy Agency, inspections of the disputed Parchin military site will be carried out by Iranians.
The Parchin agreement was worked out between the IAEA and Iran. The United States and the five other world powers were not party to it but were briefed by the IAEA and endorsed it as part of the larger package . . .
Olli Heinonen, who was in charge of the Iran probe as deputy IAEA director general from 2005 to 2010, said he could think of no similar concession with any other country.
Following up, the IAEA said the access it will receive to Parchin is satisfactory, and the White House said it’s “comfortable” with Iranian self-inspections.
2. Israel’s High Court suspended the administrative detention of hunger-striking prisoner Mohammed Allaan. The ruling said that if brain damage suffered from the strike proves to be irreversible, Allaan should be immediately released. As a precaution, the IDF deployed an Iron Dome battery in Ashdod, in case Islamic Jihad uses a deterioration in Allaan’s health as a pretext to fire rockets.
3. Israel accuses a UN official of “modern day anti-Semitism” and has asked the world body to investigate Rima Khalaf, the head of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia. AP coverage.
Prosor gave a series of examples including her support for the June 29 “illegal and provocative attempt” to break Israel’s naval blockade of the Gaza Strip, a July 7 reference which he said equated “terrorism with a fight for ‘justice’,” and what he called “a hate fueled report” on Arab integration in March 2014 “that once again promotes anti-Israel incitement by blaming Israel for shortcomings in the Arab world.”
4. BDS Valencia Doubles Down on Matisyahu Hypocrisy: Instead of backing down in a dignified manner, the BDS Pais Valencia group dug in its heels with a perplexing statement full of finger-pointing and facile justifications.
Israel and the Palestinians
• Poll finds half of Jerusalem Arabs want Israeli citizenship.
• Iran’s considering appointing an ambassador to the state of Palestine. See Jerusalem Post and Maan News coverage.
• An Israeli soldier was injured when an explosive device was thrown at him outside Jerusalem. The Times of Israel notes a number of other rock-throwing attacks yesterday.
• Hunger striking Palestinians just can’t get the media’s attention when they’re in a Palestinian Authority prison.
• Palestinian “paint bomb” attacks seek to blind Israeli drivers, cause crashes.
• YNet: The IDF believes Hamas naval commandos will pose a major threat in a future conflict.
• Egypt and Hamas confirmed that four Palestinians were abducted in the Sinai. The Jerusalem Post reports that unidentified gunmen stopped a bus traveling from Rafah to the Cairo International Airport.
Around the World
• The Daily Telegraph updates the latest on the controversial anti-Semites who Labor Party front-runner Jeremy Corbyn forgot he knew until photos appeared online.
• McClatchy News wonders if Israel’s alleged nuclear weapons stockpile would be sufficient to deter Iran’s alleged atomic arms ambitions.
• As if Spain and Jews already had enough headaches from the Matisyahu-BDS affair, a Spanish public broadcaster accuses Jews of promoting Satanism. According to the JTA:
The assertion was the focus of a radio program titled “From the Inferno — The Jewish People: Propagator of the Satan Cult” aired last month by the state-owned RTVE broadcaster as part of its weekend “A la Carta” program . . .
The broadcast about Jewish Satanism – an ancient trope and element of Christian anti-Semitic blood libels – is part of a series on Satanism in general. On Thursday, “A La Carta” aired another broadcast about Satanism by Vatican societies.
Commentary/Analysis
• A staff-ed in the Wall-St. Journal (click via Google News) blasts Iran’s self-inspections at Parchin.
Why not cut out the IAEA middle man and simply let Qasem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s Quds Force, sign a personal affidavit? . . .
The news raises further doubts about a nuclear pact that is already leaking credibility. Unfettered access to Parchin is crucial to understanding Iran’s past nuclear work, which is essential to understanding how close Iran has come to getting the bomb. Without that knowledge it’s impossible to know if Iran really is a year or more away from having the bomb, which is the time period that Mr. Kerry says is built into the accord and makes it so worth doing.
• The IDF dismissed New York Times columnist Tom Friedman‘s comparison drawn between the Israeli and Syrian army tactics.
• To fight Islamic State, US risks empowering Hezbollah
• Here’s what else I’m reading today . . .
– Armin Rosen: Why the Iran secret side deal is so important
– Jonathan Tobin: Matisyahu and the BDS anti-Semitism connection
– El Pais: Unacceptable discrimination (staff-ed)
– Benny Avni: A Spanish inquisition exposes BDS bigotry
Featured image: CC BY flickr/Max Talbot-Minkin with additions by HonestReporting
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