Today’s Top Stories
1. Britain disclosed to the UN that Iran has an illicit nuclear procurement network linked to a pair of blacklisted firms. That’s according to documents seen by Reuters.
The existence of such a network could add to Western concerns over whether Tehran can be trusted to adhere to a nuclear deal due by June 30 in which it would agree to restrict sensitive nuclear work in exchange for sanctions relief.
2. A US-Israel anti-tunnel project got initial approval by Congress. According to Globes:
The joint R&D financing project will be on the same lines as the US-Israeli project for the development of anti-missile systems.
3. Hezbollah mourns child soldier: Mashhur Fahd Shamseddine, reported to be 15 years-old, may have been killed in an Israeli air strike a few days ago, but Arabic reports cited by NOW Lebanon paint conflicting pictures. How many other junior jihadists have died for Hezbollah?
Israel and the Palestinians
• Jimmy Carter cancelled plans to visit Hamas leaders in Gaza today, then visit Mahmoud Abbas. The ex-president’s visit was on behalf The Elders, a group of former world leaders working for peace and human rights. No reason for the cancellation was given. Associated Press coverage.
• Reuters picked up on Hamas police breaking up a Gaza youth rally calling for national unity and reconstruction.
• The University of California-Riverside is giving chick peas a chance: The Los Angeles Times reports that after initially caving in to demands by Students for Justice in Palestine to remove an Israeli brand of hummus from campus, UCR officials reversed their decision and are bringing it back.
That would be deja vu for Wesleyan University and SJP.
• Shira Klein, who was injured by a Palestinian who deliberately plowed his car into a Jerusalem bus stop, was released from the hospital. YNet says the 24-year-old said she plans to spend time resting and rehabbing before returning to her studies for a Master’s degree in psychology. Shalom Yochai Sharki was killed in that attack.
Around the World
• In Nepal, the death toll climbed to 5,500. On its first day of activity, the IDF field hospital in Kathmandu treated 100 people and delivered a baby. The search continued for Or Asraf, the only Israeli unaccounted for in Nepal. Asraf’s father and army buddies flew to Nepal to look for the 22-year-old Or. More on the search for Asraf at the Times of Israel and YNet.
• It’s not just Palestinian supporters hijacking the Baltimore riots for their own purposes. MEMRI found that ISIS supporters on Twitter are using the #BaltimoreRiots hashtag to urge attacks against policemen and put their own spin on race issues. Here’s one tweet MEMRI screengrabbed before it was removed.
• Assad’s army is utterly crumbling. According to the New York Times, its due to pro-regime families refusing to send their sons to fight, dwindling foreign currency reserves, and tensions between local soldiers and Hezbollah imports.
• Can you imagine what would hit the fan if this reaction to the Baltimore riots came from the mayor of Jerusalem instead of the mayor of Ankara? Hurriyet explains:
“Come on blonde, answer now,” Ankara Mayor Melih Gökçek said in a tweet early April 29. The tweet also included an image from the recent riots in Baltimore, as well as the photo of Marie Harf and a caption that reads: “Where are you stupid blonde, who accused Turkish police of using disproportionate force?”
Commentary/Analysis
• Yakub Halabi urges Israel to establish a security zone in southwestern Syria, to protect Druze and other minorities trapped between the Assad regime and ISIS. It’s a moral duty,
This security zone should be founded on the same model as the “Security Belt” that Israel established in southern Lebanon up until the year 2000. Based on this model, Israel would occupy the area and establish an army composed of local citizens who would protect it. This zone should mainly constitute a refuge for Syrians who are fleeing the fighting, but are blocked from either entering neighboring countries or seeking shelter in Europe . . .
Israel’s humanitarian intervention is not purely humanitarian, however. The potential liquidation of these minorities means that Israel would lose its best sub-state allies in the Middle East. These minorities have always been the gatekeepers of secularism and modernity in the Arab/Muslim world.
Featured image: CC BY-NC flickr/Einstraus with additions CC BY Lauren Michell Rabaino and HonestReporting
For more, see yesterday’s Israel Daily News Stream and join the IDNS on Facebook.
