A four-page memo detailing the Biden Administration’s prospective approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict calls for a “reset” in relations with Ramallah that will be geared towards achieving a two-state solution “based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed land swaps and agreements on security and refugees.”
Specifically, the administration’s plan, titled The US Palestinian Reset and the Path Forward, includes the goals of jumpstarting peace negotiations, providing the Palestinian Authority with $15 million in COVID-19 assistance and backtracking on several positions adopted by former president Donald Trump regarding Jewish communities located in the West Bank.
According to the memo, the US vision is “to advance freedom, security, and prosperity for both Israelis and Palestinians in the immediate term which is important in its own right, but also as means to advance the prospects of a negotiated two-state solution.”
It also addresses the upcoming Palestinian elections, expressing concern over potential gains by the the Hamas terrorist group that rules the Gaza Strip.
Following preliminary talks, Israeli and US officials reportedly have agreed to set up a joint team for sharing intelligence about Iran’s nuclear program. The latest meeting was headed by US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and his Israeli counterpart Meir Ben-Shabbat.
Sullivan reportedly pledged that Washington would be transparent about any decisions regarding Tehran and said he expects the same in return. According to senior Israeli officials, the US national security adviser was candid about the potential difficulties of reengaging diplomatically with the Islamic Republic.
The White House has indicated that it would like to rejoin the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), more commonly known as the Iran Deal. However, Tehran is insisting that it will only again begin complying with the the terms of the accord if the US first removes the economic sanctions re-imposed by former president Donald Trump after he withdrew Washington from the JCPOA in 2018.
Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have voiced opposition to the Biden Administration’s desire to reenter the deal, seemingly putting Jerusalem and Washington at odds on the issue. In this respect, some leading Israeli officials have in recent months gone so far as to warn of potential military action to halt Tehran’s nuclear activities.
Meanwhile, Iran has violated the JCPOA by enriching uranium past the accord’s limits and by barring UN inspectors from accessing some of the country’s suspected nuclear sites.
Another meeting between Israeli and US officials focusing on Iran’s regional interventionism and ballistic missile development will be held in the coming weeks.
ANTISEMITISM WATCH: The Simon Wiesenthal Center has documented an “explosion of hate and lurid conspiracies” on social media. The organization’s study harshly criticized online platforms for not doing enough to combat hate speech and digital terrorism.
The center’s Rabbi Abraham Cooper said that it is “worrisome to see us moving in the wrong direction at this juncture in history,” and called upon the “Big Five” – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and Google – to take action.
The study evaluated the policies that social media companies have in place to combat online hate and graded them. Not a single platform earned an “A” in this year’s report. The Big Five all received a “B-” score.
Telegram and Parler received a “D-” and a “D,” respectively. Twitch and Discord received a “C-,” while Steam was given a “C.” iFunny received a “D,” and Spotify earned a “C.”
The worst grades went to the networking sites AnonUp, Gab and 8Kun, as well as the video platform Brighteon, all of which received an “F.”
Israel has conducted in the northern city of Hadera the first stage of a two-year test that could result in the widescale use of “delivery drones.” In the live trial, five private firms involved in developing the project oversaw the demo from a control room in Haifa, located some 56 km (35 miles) away.
Staff ensured that the drones went up 20 at a time, stayed 120 meters above ground and kept a distance of 60 meters apart.
“For the first time, we are managing airspace as a single entity, synthesizing drone operators with established civil and military aviation,” said Hagit Lidor of the Israel Innovation Authority, one of several state agencies involved in the test.
If successful, Israel might someday utilize drones to ferry anything from pizzas to prescription drugs from businesses to consumers.
Lidor noted, though, that regulated commercial drone deliveries in Israel were unlikely before 2023, when testing is due to end.
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