Today’s Top Stories
1. NOW Lebanon has my antennae twitching. Lebanese opposition leaders are courting Moscow in an effort to blunt Hezbollah and Iranian influence on the country. A new Russian role in Lebanon would add to Vladimir Putin’s weight in the Mideast. Hmmmmm.
2. Mahmoud Abbas suspended funds to the PFLP — not because the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine is designated as a terror organization by the United States and European Union (among others).
Abbas’s decision came in response to the PFLP’s recent criticism of his policies, especially with regard to security coordination with Israel, Palestinian sources in Ramallah said.
3. Jailed Palestinian terror leader Marwan Barghouti is reportedly making plans to succeed Mahmoud Abbas and force Israel out of the West Bank through a coordinated campaign of non-violent resistance. Palestinian faction leaders deny this Times of Israel report:
The steps of the plan, as agreed between the representatives of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Fatah, are no less dramatic and are expected to confound the Israeli security forces and government if they are implemented. That is because they relate not to “armed resistance,” the sources said, but to actions that are considered nonviolent . . .
Among other things, the participants in the talks agreed on having Palestinian civilians block all access roads to settlements, via an influx of Palestinians onto the main roads; damage to the infrastructure of the settlements, such as electricity, telephone and internet; and organized mass protests across Jerusalem (“led by the Palestinian president”).
Other steps laid out for the campaign are aimed at damaging Israel’s image in the world and its ability to continue ruling over the West Bank and even East Jerusalem.
Join the fight for Israel’s fair coverage in the news
4. HR Success With Financial Times: Following our complaint, the Financial Times has updated its headline, removing the word “Israel” from its headline, which now reads: “Netanyahu hails ‘strong’ security for fall in attacks.” While it does not specifically refer to Palestinian attacks, it is, nonetheless, a significant improvement.
5. How to Write Like an Action Hero: Want to get your letters to the editor published? Here are ten tips for making your voice heard.
Israel and the Palestinians
• Israel signals no opposition to Egypt transferring Straits of Tiran islands to Saudi Arabia.
• Hard to believe it’s been 18 months since the end of the 2014 Gaza war. The Times of Israel picked up on a UN report which found that “some 75,000 Gazans are still internally displaced, with almost one in four people (23%) living in the rubble of their damaged homes.”
• Israeli firm unveils ‘Drone Dome’ that defends against hostile UAVs.
• AP: As attacks subside, Jerusalem tries to return to normal.
• A senior Fatah official was killed in a car bombing near the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp, which is near the southern Lebanese city of Sidon.
• Google, Facebook, Amazon to pay tax in Israel
Around the World
• A US court is due today to hear the PA’s appeal against $656 million terror judgment. The Jerusalem Post looks at the arguments and what’s at stake for the American victims of terror who filed the lawsuit.
• Stanford student senator who defended debate of Jewish ‘power’ will not run for reelection.
• The Unitarian Universalist Association joined BDS, voting to divest from five companies that “directly profit from or support the occupation and its abuses of Palestinian human rights.”
• Kosovar President Hashim Thaci expresses desire for relations with Israel
In an interview with Ynet, Thaci expressed his hope to be the first President of the Republic of Kosovo to visit Israel. However, Israel has avoided recognizing Kosovo following its unilateral declaration of independence in February 2008, as it might be seen as embracing such a precedence, and have possible inconvenient implications for Israeli-Palestinian relations. Nevertheless, the two countries have warmed to each other over the past two years.
Commentary/Analysis
• Kuwaiti media personality Yousuf ‘Abd Al-Karim Al-Zinkawi called on Arab states to recognize Israel and end the “political charade” of indirect ties. See Memri‘s translation:
If the Palestinian state itself – by means of the PA, which is considered to be the legitimate representative of the Palestinians, whose lands have been stolen – consolidated its ties with Israel, why do some Arab and Muslim countries take a more proprietary approach [to Palestine] than the Palestinian owners [of the land themselves]?
• Here’s what else I’m reading today . . .
– Ariel Ben Solomon: ‘Saudi-Egypt agreement threatens long-term Israeli interests’
– Boaz Bismuth: Optimism between the straits
– Khaled Abu Toameh: Palestinians erasing Christian history
Featured image: CC BY-SA S. Carter via flickr with additions by HonestReporting; Kosovo CC BY-ND Kosovo Future Maker;
For more, see yesterday’s Israel Daily News Stream and join the IDNS on Facebook.
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