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Kosovo intends to establish diplomatic ties with Israel and will, in addition to Serbia, open an embassy in Jerusalem. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the historic development, which was made public by US President Donald Trump during a meeting at the White House that also focused on the establishment of official economic relations between Pristina and Belgrade.
“Kosovo will be the first Muslim-majority country to open an embassy in Jerusalem. As I said during the last days, the circle of peace and recognition of Israel is expanding with more countries expected to join,” Netanyahu asserted.
For his part, Kosovan President Hashim Thaci tweeted:
I welcome the announcement of Israeli PM @netanyahu about the genuine intention to recognize #Kosovo and establish diplomatic relations. Kosovo will keep its promise to place its diplomatic mission in #Jerusalem ??????
— Hashim Thaçi (@HashimThaciRKS) September 4, 2020
To date, only the US and Guatemala have relocated from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem their primary missions in Israel. The Trump Administration recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in December 2017 and moved the US embassy to the holy city the following May.
Meanwhile, Malawi’s new leader, President Lazarus Chakwera, on Saturday also revealed plans to open a diplomatic office in Jerusalem. Chakwera has long been supportive of the Jewish state, which he visited last year. If he follows through on his promise, Malawi would become the first African country to establish an embassy in Jerusalem.
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The normalization agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates will reportedly be defined as an official “peace treaty” and be given the same status as the Jewish state’s agreements with Egypt and Jordan. Jerusalem and Abu Dhabi are currently hashing out the details of the accord, which is expected to be signed at a White House ceremony in the next few weeks.
Arab diplomats from countries that do not have formal ties with Israel are expected to attend the ceremony. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Morocco and Sudan have all reportedly expressed a willingness, albeit under certain conditions, to forge bilateral relations with Israel.
In this respect, a sermon delivered on Friday by the imam of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Abdul Rahman al-Sudais, is being interpreted by many Arabs and Muslims as a trial balloon for an official rapprochement between Riyadh and Jerusalem. In his speech, Sudais said that Islam requires Muslims to respect non-Muslims and treat them well. The imam had previously called for peaceful inter-faith dialogue and preached Islam’s opposition to “explosions and terrorism.”
On a lighter note, various luxury hotels in the UAE will start accommodating Jewish guests by offering them kosher food.
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Authorities on Saturday evening announced that Israel had become the 49th country in the world to surpass the grim threshold of 1,000 deaths caused by the novel coronavirus. With Israel struggling to contain the spread of the contagion, lockdowns are set to begin on Monday in up to 30 locals; this, as part of coronavirus czar Ronni Gamzu’s plan to curb of the outbreak in “red” areas with high per capita rates of infection.
It comes as the full Israeli Cabinet will, somewhat unbelievably, on Tuesday convene for the first time in five weeks. Ministers will be asked to approve over $3 billion in emergency funding to partially offset the damage the pandemic has caused to the economy. The meeting will foremost address deep divides between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz over the passing of a state budget.
The Israeli parliament recently voted to extend by 100 days the initial August 24 deadline to provide more time for all sides to arrive at an agreement. Otherwise, the Knesset would have been disbanded and Israelis would have been forced back to the polls for the fourth time in under two years.
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The Palestinian Authority has reportedly expressed interest in gradually renewing security coordination with Israel after having abruptly cut off defense ties in response to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s vow to apply sovereignty to parts of the West Bank in accordance with the US peace plan. Last month, Israel agreed to postpone the prospective move as part of its normalization deal with the United Arab Emirates.
Israeli defense officials have warned that the breakdown in security relations with the PA could lead to a surge in violence in the Wets Bank.
The report comes on the backdrop of a virtual meeting held between all Palestinian factions, including leaders of the Gaza Strip-based Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist groups. The event was precipitated by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ call to press ahead with a “new strategy for resistance and liberation.”
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Antisemitism Watch: A new documentary film featuring elderly Nazis describing the evil perpetrated during the Holocaust will premiere later this month at the 2020 Venice Film Festival. The 90-minute film took 12 years to make and includes some 1,000 hours of recorded video from about 300 interviewees old enough to remember life in Nazi Germany.
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Apple TV+ has debuted the official trailer for Tehran, an eight-episode spy thriller co-created by Israeli writer Moshe Zonder, of Fauda fame. The first three episodes will premiere globally on the streaming platform on September 25. A new episode will thereafter be released weekly.
The program’s main protagonist is Tamar, an Israeli Mossad agent, who goes undercover in the Iranian capital in order to help destroy a nuclear reactor.
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