Today’s Top Stories
1. Hamas is considering replacing civilian rule in Gaza with military rule. Ynet explains that Hamas would first relinquish its “civilian control,” then create a power vacuum paving the way for the terror group to establish direct military rule over the Strip.
The proposal is perceived as a threat to Abbas, as it pushes to create a military regime in Gaza without civilian rule, a reality that could easily devolve into unbridled violence. Hamas is apparently also aiming to have Arab countries pressure Abbas to lift sanctions off the Gaza Strip, in an effort to prevent a possible military escalation against Israel.
2. Jewish journalists Ron Kampeas and Nathan Guttman covered the Charlottesville violence. Tweet of the day goes to Jeff Jacoby.
My father, a Holocaust survivor, turned 92 today. He saw images like these as a young man in Europe … and now as an old man in America. pic.twitter.com/cmuWYMJbzB
— Jeff Jacoby (@Jeff_Jacoby) August 13, 2017
3. During the height of the Temple Mount tensions, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on Muslims around the world to flood the holy site with visits. Now, Hurriyet News reports that Turkish Airlines is offering serious discounts for round trip tickets.
The move came after citizens launched a social media campaign demanding a discount for flights to Jerusalem using the hashtag “#ThyKudüse?ndirimYap” (Turkish Airlines make a discount to Jerusalem).
Join the fight for Israel’s fair coverage in the news
4. Cherry Picking: Conscientiously Objectionable: The Daily Telegraph rehashes a non-story about an Israeli conscientious objector — minus the nuances of the original report.
Israel and the Palestinians
• The Media Line examines UNIFIL’s mandate — stuck between Israel and Hezbollah. The US wants to expand peacekeepers’ work to include monitoring Hezbollah violations. But with Hezbollah already possessing thousands of missiles, is UNIFIL even relevant anymore?
To reverse the tide, [former Israeli ambassador Ron Prosor] contended that “the US should seek a UN Security Council resolution amending 1701 and providing UNIFIL with explicit powers to disarm Hizbullah and demilitarize south Lebanon under Chapter 7 of the UN charter, the section that deals with peace enforcement.” He also highlights the fact that American taxpayers are on the hook for 43% of UNIFIL’s $488 million budget in 2017, and suggested that “Congress make that funding conditional on performance.”
• Greek Orthodox church aims to block controversial property sale in Israeli court.
• A Palestinian woman stabbed and lightly wounded an Israeli man in Jerusalem on Saturday. On Thursday, Israeli security arrested five Palestinians en route to carry out a large terrorist attack. According to Israel HaYom, the five “left suicide notes expressing their plans to commit a terrorist attack in Israel.”
• Jared Kushner’s heading back to the Mideast. The New York Times examines what he hopes to accomplish.
Around the World
• Thousands of Iranians are venting their anger and frustration on social media after Tehran banned two soccer stars for playing in a match against Israel. FIFA, the governing body of world soccer, confirmed to Reuters that it is investigating.
If a country’s [Football Association] is suspended, it means both the national team and its clubs are barred from international competition.
Iran have already qualified for next year’s World Cup, making it an especially delicate matter for FIFA.
Iranians leave thousands of comments on @FIFAcom's #Instagram page in support of their banned national soccer players #NoBan4OurPlayers pic.twitter.com/lxy99Ra7cL
— Omid Memarian (@Omid_M) August 10, 2017
• Jews flee Venezuela amid growing political violence:
While Venezuela once had one of the largest Jewish communities in the region, numbering some 25,000 in 1999, only about 9,000 Jews are believed to remain in the country . . .
“Because there is the image of Jews as wealthy people — that they have money — they are a target, to kidnap them and demand a ransom for them,” he told Channel 2. “It is not because they are Jews, it is because they have money.”
• Frankfurt’s deputy mayor wants to ban the “deeply anti-Semitic” BDS. The Jerusalem Post reports that Uwe Becker, submitted a bill “that would ban municipal funds and space being used for activities that aim to boycott Israel” and “also urge private companies to refrain from commerce with BDS groups.”
• Just satire:
Palestinian Authority Grants Honorary License To Charlottesville Driver
Commentary/Analysis
• Here’s what else I’m reading today . . .
– Bassam Tawil: Palestinians escalate war on journalists
– Yonah Jeremy Bob: Will Israel feel the heat of Trump’s ‘fire and fury’ rhetoric?
– Peter Wertheim: Recognizing a Palestinian state before a peace agreement with Israel undermines international law
– Elizabeth Redden: Does bill against Israel boycott pose threat to academic freedom?
– Ephraim Kam and Zaki Shalom: US policy on regime change in Iran
– Giulio Meotti: In France, a curious fact emerges: Only the insane murder Jews
– Dr. Ronen Yitzhak: Abdullah’s friendly reminder to Abbas
– Boaz Bismuth: The Palestinians’ biggest problem is the Palestinians
Featured image: CC BY-NC-SA Rob; UNIFIL CC BY Irish Defence Forces; Frankfurt CC BY Carsten Frenzl;
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