Today’s Top Stories
1. With the Trump peace plan nearly finished, White House officials are now worried about how to roll out the initiative without it being declared dead on arrival, reports the New York Times. The Palestinians insist they won’t accept the US as a mediator and the increasing likelihood of early Israeli elections further complicates US peace efforts.
2. JTA: Trump administration is backing the PLO in a terror lawsuit. Solicitor-General Noel Francisco’s argument has both baffled and angered Jewish groups:
The PLO is entitled to due process, the solicitor general argues, because it qualifies as a “person” under U.S. law. The filing also argues that the presence of two PLO offices in the United States does not meet the test of establishing the PLO as a legitimate U.S. target for litigation. It also argues that the terrorists would not have necessarily known that some of the casualties were American, which mitigates another application of U.S. law, that allows lawsuits against entities that deliberately target U.S. interests.
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3. Hezbollah forces participating in Ghouta massacre.
Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah has been hiding the fighters’ participation in the Ghouta massacre from their families to avoid strong opposition and criticism over the decision to send Hezbollah fighters on a dangerous mission beyond Lebanon’s borders.
4. HR CEO’s Week With the Jewish National Fund: HonestReporting’s work increasingly finds partnership in communities around the world.
Israel and the Palestinians
• According to Israeli media reports, Honduras, Paraguay and the Czech Republic are the countries now viewed as most likely to move their embassies to Jerusalem. The US is scheduled to open its embassy in Jerusalem in May to coincide with Israel’s 70 anniversary. Guatemala plans to move its embassy to Jerusalem two days afterwards.
• An Islamic Jihad terrorist accidentally blew himself up in Gaza on Saturday night while “manufacturing weapons and ammunitions.” Does the 27-year-old Ibrahim Frahat qualify for 72 virgins?
• UN Palestinian refugee aid agency called out for hypocrisy of women’s rights tweet.
• The Times of London takes a closer look at what’s known about Iranian military bases operating in Syria.
Israeli military intelligence and satellite technology have identified at least ten Iranian military bases in Syria as the threat of war between the two rises.
The bases are home to tens of thousands of troops from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, which conducts overseas operations, as well as missiles and transfer facilities for supporting Hezbollah, the Lebanon-based Shia militia . . .
Analysts say that at present many of the bases are little more than barracks. Israeli intelligence assesses that the Revolutionary Guard wants to build an air base, a military dock on Syria’s Mediterranean shore and sites to make missiles for the Syrian Army and Hezbollah.
Window into Israel
• Early elections are looking increasingly likely as efforts to resolve a coalition crisis over Orthodox army conscription still haven’t turned a corner. A Knesset committee approved a draft bill supported by Orthodox lawmakers and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but not by the secular Israel Beiteinu party.
The United Torah Judaism party refuses to support the 2019 state budget if revisions to enlistment laws aren’t made. The secular Kulanu and the Israel Home parties oppose the draft deferments sought by UTJ; Kulanu leader Moshe Kahlon has threatened to withdraw Kulanu from the coalition if a budget isn’t passed before the Knesset’s Passover recess. Should the Israel Beiteinu party, led by Avigdor Liberman, quit the the government, Netanyahu would be left with a razor-thin 61-seat coalition, a situation the PM wants to avoid.
More on the latest developments at the Jerusalem Post, Haaretz and Times of Israel.
• Kulanu’s exit from the coalition would trigger new elections. So would the failure of a budget to pass the Knesset, though the budget can be voted on anytime this year. So why the fuss now?
• Some politicians suspect the Prime Minister seeks new elections in order to survive several ongoing corruption probes.
• “Only the evidence can decide.” State prosecutor says early elections won’t affect decision on whether or not to indict Netanyahu.
• For commentary on the domestic scene, see Ben-Dror Yemini, Lahav Harkov and Gideon Allon.
Around the World
• An Argentinian TV quiz show confused about Israel’s capital. “La Tribuna de Guido” was forced to take an unscheduled break from live broadcast while it ruled on which city is Israel’s capital after asking contestants “Which country has Tel Aviv as its capital?”
One contestant, Rocío, didn’t know the answer, suggesting it was perhaps Iran. The other contestant, Lucas, wrote down “Israel” as his answer, but questioned whether it was in fact correct, given that there has been much discussion about whether Jerusalem is in fact the capital of Israel.
The host was forced to take an unscheduled break while staff considered the issue. Eventually it was decided to invalidate the question . . .
Eventually the host said that the correct answer to the Tel Aviv question should have been “none,” as Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.
The Spanish-language clip was uploaded to YouTube.
• US court allows expanded lawsuit against American Studies Association and lead faculty activists over Israel boycott.
Commentary
• Here’s what else I’m reading today . . .
– James Glassman: Why did this administration back the Palestine Liberation Organization in terrorism case?
– Elliott Abrams: At long last, “the crown” will visit Israel
– Ben Sales: Jews agree that Farrakhan is anti-Semitic. After that, it gets complicated.
– Ruadhan Mac Cormaic: Anti-Semitism is on the march across Europe
Featured image: CC0 Pixabay; White House CC BY-NC Helena Peixoto; Iran via YouTube/Arachnid Graphics; Liberman via YouTube/David L. Rothschild; game show via YouTube/El Trece;
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