Today’s Top Stories
1. Nepal hit by massive earthquake and aftershocks; as this roundup went to press, the death toll passed 2,200. Israel dispatched a team of experts to assess the situation and is preparing to deploy a field hospital, search and rescue personnel, and a Magen David Adom team.
According to Israeli press reports, 170 Israelis were camped out in tents in the Israeli embassy’s garden while more have sought refuge in Kathmandu’s Chabad House. Another 250 Israeli citizens are currently unaccounted for, but one embassy staffer noted,
The inability to contact trekkers on long hikes, unfortunately, is normal and, therefore, makes missing persons estimates irrelevant, he added.
2. Israeli jets reportedly hit Syrian army and Hezbollah targets in Syria. The Times of Israel quoted Arab sources saying the targets were missile depots.
With the proverbial “rules of the game” along Israel’s northern border in flux, Amos Harel, Ron Ben-Yishai and Yoav Livnor wonder if, when and how Hezbollah will respond.
3. Jerusalem’s heating up. A Palestinian was arrested overnight for plowing his car into three border policemen in eastern Jerusalem. Ambulances responding to the attack were attacked by rock-throwers. The Israelis are not reported to be in life-threatening danger. More at the Jerusalem Post and YNet.
4. Lancet Under Pressure to Retract Anti-Israel Letter: Threatening a boycott, 500 doctors, including several Nobel laureates, demand The Lancet remove an anti-Israel letter.
5. . . . After Attacking Officers With Knives . . .: The New York Times serves up today’s headline fail.
Israel and the Palestinians
• Palestinians fired a rocket at Sderot over Independence Day; the IDF retaliated with an airstrike on unspecified “terrorist infrastructure.” Nobody injuries were reported. The rocket launch was the first in four months.
• In separate incidents, Palestinians trying to stab Israeli soldiers in Jerusalem and Hebron were shot and killed. If you only skimmed the headlines of the New York Times, you’d have a different impression of what happened:
• After years of Israeli objections, Palestinian police patrol Jerusalem suburbs.
• Saeb Erekat to reporters: The PLO’s executive committee will meet on Wednesday to redefine relations with Israel. I really feel sorry for the reporters who have to cover his press briefings.
• Times of Israel: Hamas won a decisive victory in Bir Zeit University’s student council elections, taking 26 of 51 seats. The Fatah bloc only won 19 seats. Khaled Abu Toameh explains the significance:
The Hamas victory at Bir Zeit University shows why it is not a good idea, at this stage, to hold parliamentary or presidential elections in the Palestinian territories. Abbas himself has long been aware that a free and democratic election would result in another Hamas victory. That is why he has been in no rush to call on Palestinians to head to the ballot boxes.
But Abbas is not the only one who should be worried about the Hamas electoral victory. This is also bad news for efforts to revive the stalled peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. In wake of the Hamas victory, it is hard to see how Abbas or any other Palestinian leader would sign any peace agreement with Israel.
For comparison, see AFP‘s way-too-rosy Bir Zeit coverage.
• The Senate Finance Committee unanimously voted against the BDS movement. The committee was specifically targeting boycott efforts in the European Union.
The amendment, which was tacked onto a larger piece of trade legislation that establishes Congressional trade objectives, is intended to apply specifically to an emerging free trade agreement between the U.S. and Europe.
While the language of the amendment does not directly specify punitive action toward countries that boycott Israel, the implication is that U.S.-E.U. free trade relations are conditional upon European countries abstaining from the BDS movement.
The senate committee’s amendment specifically targets an E.U. decision to cut economic support for Israeli settlements.
Iranian Atomic Urgency
• Russian foreign ministry official: Don’t hold your breath waiting for Moscow to transfer the S-300 air defense system to Iran. Read the tea leaves at Reuters:
• Israel’s Iranian Jews worry about the nuclear deal
• China put the State Department on the defensive. See the Wall St. Journal (click via Google News) and AFP.
Mideast Matters
• An Iranian general advising Syrian forces was killed and his body captured by rebels over the weekend. This Daily Star snippet made my antennae twitch:
Many observers have recently spoken of large numbers of non-Syrian fighters among the ranks of the regime’s southern-based forces, with hardly a role for Syrian personnel.
• In case you’re wondering about Yemen’s death toll, the UN reports more than 1,000 people died in the past month.
• Warren Weinstein, a Jewish American hostage held by Al-Qaida was accidentally killed in a US drone strike in Pakistan in January, US officials revealed. The 73-year-old aid worker from Rockville, Maryland, was abducted in Lahore in 2011. CNN had good background info and links; George Packer and Elliott Abrams paid tribute.
Around the World
• Unnerved by the death of Alberto Nisman and fearing for his own life, Argentina’s spy chief flees country.
• Washington Post: NBC News finds Brian Williams embellished at least 11 times. Among them are the anchor’s tall tales from the Israel-Hezbollah front.
• In the wake of anti-Semitic attacks, increasing numbers of French Jews see Canada as a haven, reports the National Post reports.
• Imagine the outrage if Israel did this?
India takes Al-Jazeera off the air in Kashmir map row
Commentary/Analysis
• Israel would do well to pay closer attention to two sets of ticking time bombs — a growing Hezbollah presence in Gaza, and Palestinians increasingly entangled in the Syrian civil war. Yaron Friedman looks at how they unfolded, and their ramifications for Israel.
• According to Aaron David Miller, the cold war between Netanyahu and Obama isn’t really over, just paused. So buckle up.
The final 20 months of the Obama administration won’t be easy. The U.S.-Israeli relationship is too big to fail, particularly as the Arab world melts down and Washington needs friends. But neither does there seem to be much hope for a marked improvement at the top. Enjoy the time out between rounds–because sooner or later Mr. Obama and Mr. Netanyahu will be back in the ring.
• For more commentary/analysis see:
– Charles Krauthammer: Obama’s Nixon doctrine: anointing Iran
– Mort Zuckerman: The President daydreams on Iran (via Google News)
– Dore Gold: Why does the West apologize to Iran?
– Jeff Jacoby: Believe the mullahs
– Wall St. Journal staff-ed: China’s nuclear warning (via Google News)
– Shahrzad Elghanayan: Jews have good reason to be wary of Tehran’s rhetoric
– Thomas Friedman: Deal or no deal?
Featured image: CC BY flickr/Pedro Ribeiro Simo?es with additions by HonestReporting; US Capitol CC BY-NC flickr//Steve; Weinstein via Facebook/BringWarrenHome;
For more, see yesterday’s Israel Daily News Stream and join the IDNS on Facebook.
