Today’s Top Stories
1. As the Syrian army along with an Iranian-backed militia make gains in the southwestern province of Daraa, the Jerusalem Post examines what it means for Israel.
The offensive, backed by Russian planes, is now within 10 km. of Israeli forces on the Golan border and risks opening a new front between Islamic State and the Syrian army . . .
As the regime closes in on the rebels the potential fighting with ISIS could threaten the relative stability near the border.
This is because the ISIS affiliate controls an area very close to al-Rafeed where thousands of Syrian internally displaced persons are clustered. It is also because ISIS could threaten any Israeli humanitarian aid crossing the border or seek to provoke Israel into a clash with the Syrian regime. In addition the Russian air force has consistently said its main role in southern Syria is to strike at ISIS and other extremist groups, which could draw the Russian activity closer to the border. Israel has so far had a working de-confliction arrangement with Moscow.
In addition, if the regime cuts the road from Nawa south the rebels and the civilians in the area near the Golan will be cut off from any aid they had been receiving from near Jordan. This will make them increasingly reliant on Israel for humanitarian aid, increasing chances of a crisis. The Syrian regime and its Russian allies likely know this and they are waging the current battle accordingly.
2. The IDF confirmed that Arab non-governmental organizations from countries that don’t have relations with Israel are using Israel to deliver humanitarian aid to displaced Syrians, Haaretz reported. “Lt. Col. E. refused to specify the Arab countries involved, ‘so as not to complicate things for them.'”
3. Trying to expand its influence in Jerusalem, Turkey is renovating the Old City’s Muslim Quarter, Israel HaYom reports.
Recently, the Palestinian Authority, Jordan and the Saudis warned Israel of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s meddling in Jerusalem. (His efforts to Turkify the city interferes with their own efforts to Arabize it. They both agree that the latest nefarious move to Judaize Jerusalem is a beyond the pale.
See related commentary by Nadav Shragai.
Join the fight for Israel’s fair coverage in the news
Israel and the Palestinians
• Western nations held a de facto boycott of the UN Human Rights Council on Monday, the day the organization its controversial Agenda 7 debate on Israel. The Jerusalem Post explains:
The silence marked a slim sign of continued success for the Israeli and US campaign to abolish the UNRHC mandate that requires a debate on Israeli actions against the Palestinians at every council session under Agenda Item 7.
All other alleged human rights abuses around the globe are dealt with under Agenda Item 4, save for Israel, which is the only country with a permanent dedicated agenda item.
• When the family of Naftali Frenkel sued Iran and Syria for their connections to his 2014 kidnap and murder, Federal Judge Rosemary Mayers Collyer awarded the family a surprisingly low compensation, “arguing that the family had taken its chances when it chose to live in the West Bank.” But Ynet reports that sanity prevailed after the Frenkel’s appealed the ruling:
About a month ago, the [appellate] court accepted most of the family’s claims and handed the case back to Judge Collyer, clarifying that no guilt should be ascribed to the victim and that the damages should be increased. Collyer is expected to make a decision on the matter soon.
The principle (and possible precedent) matters more than the money as neither Iran nor Syria responded to the lawsuit. Frenkel, a dual Israeli-US citizen along with Eyal Yifrach and Gil’ad Sher, were abducted by Hamas terrorists from a hitchhiking spot at the entrance to Alon Shvut, near Bethlehem.
• Israel passed a law cutting funding to PA over its payments to imprisoned terrorists and the families of “martyrs.” The PA called the Knesset vote “a declaration of war.”
The US froze aid to the PA pending review, and Australia ended direct aid to PA over the issue. More at Reuters.
Mideast Matters
• Latest reports put the number of displaced Syrians at 270,000, of which an estimated 11,000 are now encamped along the Israeli border. They’re fleeing a Syrian-Russian offensive against rebels which has so far killed 293 people, including rebels, civilians and children.
• The Times of Israel picked up on Arab reports of a powerful explosion at a weapons depot used by Iranian-backed militias in southwestern Syria today.
• Worth reading: Haaretz visited the northern border to gauge the new Syrian realities facing Israel.
• An Iranian general accused Israel of stealing clouds and snow, and manipulating weather. If Brigadier General Gholam Reza Jalali isn’t careful, the Mossad may just steal Iran’s sunshine and bluebirds too.
• The Shin Bet is reportedly concerned that Iran may target former prime minister Ehud Barak and other Israelis abroad, per Israeli media reports. Far-fetched? Reuters reports, “An Iranian diplomat has been arrested along with two people suspected of plotting a bomb attack on a meeting of an exiled Iranian opposition group in France attended by Donald Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani, Belgian authorities said on Monday.”
Window into Israel
• Orthodox lawmakers are threatening to topple the government after a contentious bill to draft yeshiva students passed its first Knesset vote.
• For commentary on the domestic scene, Uri Regev and Yossi Verter weigh in on the yeshiva conscription bill and its implications.
Around the World
• Members of Ireland’s leading opposition party, Fianna Fail, are throwing their weight behind a bill to boycott products from Israeli settlements. More at the Times of London.
• Does a UK High Court ruling spell the end of BDS motions in local governments?
Speaking at the Holocaust Education Trust’s annual conference in Westminster, London, she described how “softcore Holocaust denial” can also crop up in connection with Israel, where people go beyond criticism of policies and strategy and begin to draw comparisons with Nazi Germany.
“To talk about a genocide, or to talk about the Nazi-like tactics of the Israeli army is ludicrous,” she said. “Every army makes mistakes, every army does things wrong. There are things the Israeli army does wrong, but to compare it to Nazis is softcore denial.”
• UK court forces apology from Israeli-born antisemitic activist Gilad Atzmon for libeling a Jewish campaigner.
Commentary
• Here’s what else I’m reading today:
– MK Elazar Stern: Ending Palestinian ‘pay to slay’ payments for the sake of peace
– Zvi Bar’el: Syria’s Assad has become Israel’s ally
– Bassam Tawil: Palestinians beat female journalists; world ‘sees no evil’
– Charles Dunst: Does cozying up to authoritarians make Israel safer?
– Herb Keinon: Will golden age of Israel-Mexico ties continue under new president?
Featured image: CC BY Shironeko Euro; gavel CC BY-ND bloomsberries; clouds CC BY-NC david reid; Lipstadt via YouTube/Nederlands Auschwitz Comité;
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