Today’s Top Stories
1. Israel launched overnight air strikes on Hamas positions in Gaza in retaliation for continued terror kites and balloons. Palestinians fired three rockets back. No casualties were reported from the air strikes or rocket fire. Take your pick of Jerusalem Post, Haaretz, Ynet and Times of Israel coverage. Meanwhile, the Washington Post took a closer look at the terror kite threat.
Be sure to share our related infographic.
2. Iranian ex-pats and exiles are seeking a FIFA ban on Mehdi Tarem, a forward on Iran’s national team at the World Cup, reports Ynet. A year ago, Taremi reposted a tweet by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei asserting that Israel wouldn’t exist in 25 years. As word of its surfacing spread, Tarem deleted the tweet — but not before Israeli and Iranian activists made screengrabs. Ynet adds that that the hashtag, #BanTaremi, went viral.
3. Israel busted a Hamas terror cell near Nablus planning bombings in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. It was an unusually large terror cell — 20 people were arrested. The Times of Israel explains:
“During the suspects’ interrogations by the Shin Bet, it was determined that the cell planned to carry out terrorist bombings in central cities in Israel and the northern West Bank, including a bombing in Tel Aviv, a suicide bombing and an explosive attack in Jerusalem, a bombing in the Itamar settlement and shooting attacks in the Samaria region,” the security service said, referring to the biblical name of the northern West Bank.
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Israel and the Palestinians
• Over at the opening session of the UN Human Rights Council, Britain condemned the organization’s ‘anti-Israel bias’. UN Watch’s Hillel Neuer summed up the rest of the Geneva proceedings in 277 characters.
Palestinian rep just gave speech @UN_HRC on "right to participate in peaceful protests" days after their riot police crushed huge protest in Ramallah, beating dozens of protesters including young women, arresting wounded from the hospital, smashing phones & journalist cameras. pic.twitter.com/lEK2evgi0x
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) June 18, 2018
• Officials from Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab ?Emirates and within the Palestinian Authority are pressuring Mahmoud Abbas to end his boycott of the Trump administration, Israel HaYom reports.
• One Palestinian was killed and three others were injured trying to breach the Gaza border. The IDF said they were “caught in an explosion” while trying to blow up security equipment and denied Palestinian claims that the four had been shot by soldiers.
• Worth watching: Islamic Jihad took CNN‘s Ian Lee into one of its terror tunnels and training camps. After asking the Islamic Jihad commander why rockets are fired at Israeli civilians, Lee summed up the answer this way:
“He admits to me mistakes are made, and yet time and time again, they fire rockets indiscriminately.”
• Colombia’s new president, Ivan Duque, says he’s open to moving his country’s embassy to Jerusalem.
• US Ambassador David Friedman rapped Israeli lawmakers who recently called for the US to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan, according to Israeli media reports.
The report quoted him as saying that Israelis do not understand that the US has global interests unrelated to the Jewish state, while Israeli politicians have only a domestic agenda.
In private conversations, Friedman allegedly told the politicians that, instead of being grateful after the US recognized Jerusalem and made the momentous move of its embassy to the city, the Israelis immediately asked for more, displaying what he termed “ingratitude.”
• French police blocked Gaza-bound boats from docking in Paris.
Window into Israel
• The Knesset’s moving to roll back the prime minister and defense minister’s authority to declare war on their own without consulting the security cabinet.
A law granting the premier and defense minister the authority to go to war was passed by the Knesset in May as an addendum to another law, drawing criticism over the concentration of power in the hands of just two elected officials.
Under the fresh proposed regulations, approved by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation, the security cabinet will be empowered to declare war.
• Would a British ban on Hezbollah have a domino effect in Europe?
• Israel could get hurt in Trump’s trade war with China.
• For commentary on the domestic scene, Yariv Oppenheimer weighs in on the Hilltop Youth clash with police.
Commentary
• Here’s what else I’m reading today . . .
– Avi Issacharoff: In lieu of dialogue, Hamas is playing with fire
– Noah Phillips: The metaphoric kite
– Nadav Eyal: Instead of preparing for post-Abbas era, Israel is kicking PA’s weakening body
– Amb. Alan Baker: The many ways Palestinians violate international law
– Melanie Phillips: Prince William: An FCO hostage in a minefield
– Jerusalem Post (staff-ed): The royal visit
Featured image: CC BY Pedro Ribeiro Simoes; LIberman and Netanyahu via YouTube/IsraeliPM;
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