Israel’s security cabinet is expected to convene on Wednesday to discuss the Iranian issue. This comes amid growing concerns in Jerusalem that the Biden Administration will seek to rejoin the 2015 multilateral nuclear deal, despite the Jewish state’s strong objections.
Tensions between Israel and Iran have been on the rise since Tehran vowed to avenge the Mossad-attributed targeted killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the mastermind behind the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.
Israeli TV reported that several Iranian agents who had scouted out the Israeli, American and Emirati Embassies in an unnamed East African country in preparation for a potential attack were arrested. Concurrently, US State Secretary Antony Blinken remarked that Tehran could enrich enough uranium to produce a nuclear bomb in a “matter of weeks” if it continued to breach the terms of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), from which former president Donald Trump withdrew Washington in May 2018.
Meanwhile, Iran has rejected the possibility of any new negotiations or making changes to the nuclear deal; this, after French President Emmanuel Macron said new talks should include Saudi Arabia.
The Biden Administration has said it would rejoin the JCPOA, but only after Tehran comes back into full compliance.
Israel has started transferring coronavirus vaccines to the Palestinian Authority, with the first shipment comprising 2,000 doses. The rest of the expected 5,000 inoculations will reportedly be transferred in three additional stages.
According to local media, Israel intends to provide the PA with a total of at least 20,000 doses.
Additionally, PA Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh announced that Ramallah expects to receive 50,000 vaccinations from a number of different sources, mainly from the COVAX facility whose operations are being overseen by the World Health Organization.
Despite repeated claims that Israel has denied coronavirus vaccines to the Palestinians, the Jewish state has facilitated the delivery of medical supplies to the West Bank since the onset of the pandemic.
Israel and Kosovo formally established ties on Monday. Pristina vowed to open an embassy in Jerusalem, which would make it the first European or Muslim-majority nation to do so.
In exchange, Israel became the 117th country to recognize Kosovo’s independence, joining much of the Western world. The country unilaterally broke off from Serbia in 2008, following years of war and unrest.
According to Israeli officials, Kosovo has already picked a location for its new mission in central Jerusalem. The embassy is expected to open its doors within the next two to three months.
A Palestinian official spoke with an American counterpart by phone to discuss the bilateral relationship, in what is being touted as the first formal contact between Ramallah and Washington since the inauguration of President Joe Biden and since the Palestinian Authority cut off ties to the Trump administration following the latter’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in December 2017.
In addition, former president Donald Trump shuttered the Palestine Liberation Organization’s mission in Washington and substantially cut aid to the PA. For their part, Palestinian leaders harshly criticized the peace plan advanced by Trump, as well as the normalization accords between Israel and Arab states.
Palestinian Authority Civil Affairs Commission chairman Hussein al-Sheikh said in a statement that he had spoken to US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Israeli and Palestinian Affairs Hady Amr.
An upgraded version of Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system has successfully completed a trial run. The Defense Ministry released a video of the test that simulated threats by land and sea.
The footage was released amid growing Israeli concerns that Iran may try to attack the Jewish state by using unarmed drones.
The advanced model of the Iron Dome is slated to be installed on the Israeli Navy’s new Sa’ar-6 warships, which are tasked with guarding the natural gas platforms off Israel’s coast, as well as shipping lanes.
- A Return to the Nuclear Deal: Washington and Tehran Sharpen Positions (Sima Shine, Eldad Shavit, Institute for National Security Studies)
- NATO 2030 and Israel (George Tzogopoulos, Israel Hayom)
- Surprise: Antisemites Resent the IHRA Definition of Antisemitism (James Sinkinson, Jewish News Syndicate)
- Cloud Seeding Halted as Kinneret Rises (Simon Griver, Globes)
- Who Was Mike Nichols When He Wasn’t Playing Mike Nichols? (Louis Menand, The New Yorker)
