Today’s Top Stories
1. Amnesty International released a report (summary or full report) on Hamas torture and executions during last year’s Gaza war. According to the report Hamas used Operation Protective Edge as a cover to settle scores with rivals.
Many of these unlawful killings were publicly billed as attacks against people assisting Israel during the July and August 2014 conflict as part of an operation, codenamed “Strangling Necks”, to target “collaborators”. However, in reality, at least 16 of those executed had been in Hamas custody since before the conflict broke out. Many had been awaiting the outcome of their trials when they were taken away from prison and summarily executed.
Hamas forces also abducted, tortured or attacked members and supporters of Fatah, their main rival political organization within Gaza, including former members of the Palestinian Authority security forces.
Not a single person has been held accountable for the crimes committed by Hamas forces against Palestinians during the 2014 conflict, indicating that these crimes were either ordered or condoned by the authorities.
Quite a few news services picked up on this. Strongest coverage was from the Associated Press and Daily Mail. But I’m glad the BBC, New York Times, and The Guardian, among others, gave the story the attention it deserved.
2. The Israeli Air Force struck terror targets in Gaza after Palestinians fired a rocket at Israel, which landed in the Ashdod area last night. The Times of Israel reports that the rocket fire “was the result of an internal dispute inside the Islamic Jihad terror group, which has included kidnappings of people in northern Gaza.” Hamas told YNet the people responsible for the attack were arrested.
No Israelis were injured, though the Jerusalem Post reports a 15 year-old girl was hospitalized after suffering a panic attack. Classes were cancelled today at 14 Ashdod schools lacking fortified rooms. Other city schools had classes as usual.
Meanwhile, Time magazine’s headline fail is the latest example of the phenomenon we call “It All Started When Israel Fired Back.”
3. ISIS and Palestinian forces are fighting again as the jihadis try to retake positions in the Yarmouk refugee camp. Around 18,000 Palestinians remain in the camp, located in southern Damascus. AFP coverage.
4. Imprisoned Soldier or Free Speech Martyr? Why did the Daily Telegraph portray an IDF soldier imprisoned for breaking army regulations as a free speech martyr?
5. Some Straight Talk About the BDS: When it comes to the goals of BDS, the only people who are confused are the ones in denial.
Israel and the Palestinians
• Europe’s soccer body, UEFA, will reportedly oppose Palestinian bid to oust Israel from FIFA, reports Haaretz.
• YNet takes a closer look at how politics is leaving Israel’s Foreign Ministry stripped of powers. In most countries, diplomacy and P.R. is overseen by a foreign minister who delegates responsibility for various tasks and brings consistency to various efforts.
As an Israeli, I can’t help but be concerned about turf wars, budgeting mishaps, and issues falling through the cracks. YNet’s infographic will help you keep track of who’s doing what from which ministry.
Mideast Matters
• AP: Washington and Moscow are reportedly closing in on a formula for snapback sanctions that can quickly be reimposed if Iran violates a nuclear agreement.
• French diplomats quoted by Reuters say that an Iranian nuclear deal isn’t likely to be reached by the June 30 deadline. But Iranian envoys say the negotiating deadline could be extended.
• IAEA chief Yukiya Amano to AFP: Military site inspections must be part of Iran deal
• How an ayatollah’s daughter came to preach peace between Israel and Iran
• Rate of executions doubles in Saudi Arabia.
Around the World
• Fed up with anti-Semitism, Turkey’s Jews feel a pull to Spain. Why Spain?
Rafi is one of thousands of Sephardic Jews in Turkey who trace their ancestry to Spain and are now applying for Spanish citizenship in anticipation of a parliamentary bill expected to pass this month in Madrid that would grant nationality to the Jews who were expelled in 1492, during the Inquisition.
Most are seeking visa-free travel within Europe and an opportunity to escape what they see as rising anti-Semitism in Turkey. But many are taken with the idea of reversing the trek their ancestors took centuries ago as they escaped persecution in Spain and settled in the more tolerant environs of the Ottoman Empire.
• Israeli consul in Budapest called a ‘dirty Jew’
• A Dutch high school text book says Jewish militias murdered Arabs during Israel’s War of Independence.
Teenager Barak Gorani, who describes himself as an Israeli patriot, complained to his teacher about the book. The teacher agreed that the text was riddled with historical errors, but that she was required to teach it because the Education Ministry required it.
• The BBC spends £2,500 a week buying copies of The Guardian – that’s the equivalent of 900 licence fees a year. (Related reading: How Your Tax Money Funds Media Groupthink)
Commentary/Analysis
• UCLA’s Professor Saree Makdisi claims (in a Los Angeles Times op-ed) that Jewish efforts to define anti-Semitism are really aimed at stifling academic debate. Memo to Makdisi: Israel-haters using the tactics of intimidation go beyond academic debate.
• I’m also reading
– Giora Eiland: How to postpone the third Lebanon war
– Raphael Ahren: Can Dore Gold make Israeli diplomacy relevant again?
– Lyn Julius: The demons of the Farhud pogrom are with us still
Featured image: CC BY flickr/NASA Goddard Space Flight Center with additions by HonestReporting; money CC BY flickr/Images Money with additions by HonestReporting
For more, see yesterday’s Israel Daily News Stream and join the IDNS on Facebook.
