Today’s Top Stories
1. Mahmoud Abbas may threaten to end security cooperation with Israel, but can the Palestinian Authority survive without the IDF?
Whether the Israeli withdrawal be quick or slow, Amidror asserted that without Israeli boots on the ground, Abbas had no realistic way of overcoming a Palestinian Islamic movement bent on his destruction.
“Abu Mazen and his people will have to deal with more extreme Islamic elements. They have no real intelligence and security capabilities to withstand these elements,” he claimed.
Today, more than 90 percent of the arrests of Hamas operatives in the West Bank are carried out by Israel, not the PA, Amidror noted. Palestinian security forces are primarily tasked with maintaining law and order.
2. Media reports suggest the the US will allow Iran more centrifuges while Israeli officials raise warning flags. On a related note, the International Atomic Energy Agency chief says Iran still hasn’t carried out a number of nuclear transparency measures it agreed to implement by the end of August. More on that at Reuters.
3. While protestors demonstrated outside the Metropolitan Opera, theater goers inside gave a standing ovation to “The Death of Klinghoffer.” Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani penned an op-ed in The Daily Beast explaining why he was against the show. And the show itself? A Times of Israel review described it as a lackluster snoozer.
4. American Studies Association: Bibi Welcome to Conference, Just Not as Prime Minister: Upcoming academic conference is another assault on Israel’s legitimacy.
Israel and the Palestinians
• The men in the Muqata aren’t going to like AP‘s look at Mahmoud Abbas’s lack of vision.
• Palestinian migrants who survived a Mediterranean shipwreck told their story to the New York Times. Around 300 Gazans making their way to Europe were killed when their boat was intentionally rammed by smugglers.
“Life in Gaza is like having no life,” said Mamoun Doghmosh, explaining why he and others took the risks to try to reach Europe. “Everything is destroyed.”
• JTA: A group of Dutch Christians are boycotting a church in over photo exhibit they say encourages anti-Semitism. Utrecht’s Domkerk Church is taking criticism for
The exhibition, which ended Sunday, featured pictures of adult models portraying Palestinian children who are suffering in Israeli detention facilities.
• Words failed me after reading Mudar Zahran‘s tweet. All I could do was dumbly stare at the computer.
Commentary/Analysis
• Philip Mendes: Why the BDS movement is a major step backwards for Palestinians.
Progressive intellectuals on both sides have an obligation to meet and talk and debate until they find common ground that will provide a pathway to peace and reconciliation. Instead, the BDS movement proposes a ban on any dialogue that doesn’t explicitly contribute to the end of Israel’s existence. They eschew contact with those Israeli academics and intellectuals who are mostly likely to recognize Palestinian rights, and progress two states. And they do nothing to confront Palestinian reactionaries and religious fundamentalists such as Hamas.
Their activities will only lead to an ongoing nightmare for Palestinians and Israelis alike.
• All the Mideast players are advancing their own ISIS linkage theories. Professor Eytan Gilboa says they’re all unfounded.
• For more commentary/analysis, Adi Schwartz (Time to address the Palestinian refugee question), Boaz Bismuth (Obama hell-bent on a bad Iranian deal), Gwynne Dyer (Recognizing Palestine), and Mike Ross (Europe’s growing anti-Semitism).
Image: CC BY-NC-SA flickr/JJ Merlin
For more, see yesterday’s Israel Daily News Stream and join the IDNS on Facebook.
