Today’s Top Stories
1. Hezbollah’s now using US weapons supplied to the Lebanese Armed Forces, according to an IDF officer quoted by Haaretz. And how did Hezbollah get its hands on the “Made in the USA” arms and vehicles?
The senior officer added that while it is not clear under which circumstances Hezbollah obtained the American APC’s from the Lebanese Armed Forces, he believed that it was part of “a deal” and that Hezbollah has recently “strengthened its grip on the main national institutions in Lebanon,” including its army.
Lebanon is currently the fifth-highest recipient of U.S. military aid in the form of light and medium weapons and armored vehicles, supplied by the Obama administration in order to help the Lebanese fight Islamist terror organizations. This includes M-113 APC’s and M-60 tanks. The latest shipment in August was worth an estimated $50 million and included 50 new APCs and 40 artillery pieces.
2. The Knesset removed parliamentary immunity from Israeli-Arab MK Basel Ghattas, who is accused of smuggling cell phones and information to Palestinian security prisoners. The Knesset also approved a ban on lawmakers visiting security prisoners.
3. In the wake of Berlin’s terror attack, Israel concluded security preparations in Jerusalem and Bethlehem as Christian tourists arrive for Christmas. Reuters reports hotel bookings in Bethlehem are up from last year while the Associated Press reports that the biggest threat to Palestinian businesses in Bethlehem isn’t Israeli checkpoints but cheap souvenirs imported from China.
A small number of souvenir shops are now trying to fight the trend, stocking their shelves almost exclusively with locally made products. Shopkeepers say that while their wares may be more expensive, the quality is much better and they give an important boost to the struggling economy.
Join the fight for Israel’s fair coverage in the news
4. UPDATE: Will BDS “Journalist” Antony Loewenstein Be Forced to Leave Israel? HonestReporting’s expose of BDS activist Antony Loewenstein creates a storm as Israel’s Government Press Office considers making him leave the country.
5. The 2016 Dishonest Reporting Awards: Our annual review of the year’s worst cases of media bias.
Israel and the Palestinians
• A Trump transition official boycotted Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely over her refusal to meet with a far-right Member of European Parliament.
Becky Norton Dunlop, deputy to the senior adviser on Trump’s transition team for policy and personnel, is in Israel as part of the three-day Jerusalem Leaders Summit, a gathering of conservative parliamentarians from the US and Europe . . .
Just hours before the briefing, the group was informed that Kristina Winberg, a member of the European Parliament for the Sweden Democrats, would not be allowed to join . . .
A spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry said the decision to exclude Winberg was made due to her party’s far-right and ultra-nationalist positions.
• Worth reading: The National Catholic Reporter takes a closer look at Bethlehem’s declining Christian community. The town has a higher unemployment rate than the Gaza Strip, and Muslims are more likely than Christians to get opportunities:
“Officially, the laws are the same for Christians and Muslims but there is still some racism,” said Qumsieh, who noted that most of the prejudice is connected to land ownership, and that people generally try to sell land to others from the same religion.
• Not everyone in the HonestReporting office liked The Economist‘s double entendre, but I think the caption’s pretty funny. You have permission to laugh.
Commentary/Analysis
• A day after publishing one, two and three commentaries against Donald Trump’s appointment for ambassador to Israel, the Washington Post published another denunciation by Israeli peace activist Gershom Gorenberg. But weighing in for Friedman’s defense is Jeff Jacoby.
• A Wall St. Journal staff-ed (click via Google News) had an interesting take on relocating the US embassy to Jerusalem:
If the location of an embassy is enough to block peace talks, then there must not be much of an underlying basis for peace. Mr. Trump says he still wants to revive talks, and if moving the U.S. Embassy reassures Israelis of U.S. support, so much the better.
Also commenting on the possible embassy move:
– David Horovitz: There’s more than one way to move a US embassy
– Eli Lake: Israel needs its Arab friends more than US embassy move
– Jonathan Tobin: Two states and the embassy
• Here’s what else I’m reading today . . .
– Amb. Danny Danon: Israel is ready for a reset at the UN
– Ruthie Blum: Ban Ki-moon’s last hypocritical hurrah
– Fred Maroun: Rachel Avraham exposes Hamas’ willing collaborators
– Isi Leibler: European meltdown threatens Jews
– Ronen Bergman: If it wanted to, Israel could have stopped the massacre in Syria
Featured image: CC BY Jon S with additions by HonestReporting; flags
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