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Today’s Top Stories
1. The UN Human Rights Council had a busy weekend of Israel-bashing. Not only did the council pass five resolutions slamming Israel, it also nominated a Christine Chinkin — a professor with her own ignoble history — for a key human rights monitoring position. See below for more on this train wreck.
2. So what’s doing with the on-again, off-again prisoner release? According to the Times of Israel:
Israel has offered to release a new group of 400 Palestinian security prisoners, in addition to the fourth and final group of longtime terrorism convicts who were set to go free this weekend, if the Palestinian Authority agrees to extend peace talks for another six months, The Times of Israel learned from Palestinian sources on Saturday night. The US, anxious to arrange for the continuation of the talks, backed the offer.
Later today, the Palestinians responded that it wanted 1,000 prisoner released, a settlement freeze, and portions of the West Bank’s area C transferred to PA jurisdiction. Talks would then continue till the end of 2014.
3. Hamas is introducing a new Islamist legal code to Gaza that’s sure to set back national unity efforts. The Gulf News writes:
The law stipulates a minimum of 20 lashes for a minor offense, with the number of lashes increasing with the seriousness of the offense. A minimum of 80 lashes is to be imposed in criminal cases. The law also widens the use of the death penalty as per Sharia. Articles No 289, and 290 of the proposed law stipulate the cutting off of the hand of a thief and a minimum of seven years in jail in case the criminal repeats his crime.
4. Liberal Zionists Emerging as Toughest BDS Fighters: Supporters of the two-state solution are best poised to see that BDS does not aim for two states living side by side.
UN Human Frights Council vs. Israel
• Israel endured a storm of smears and censure at the UN Human Rights Council on Friday. The Geneva-based body passed five resolutions slamming Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians. Details at UN Watch and the Jerusalem Post.
One of the four resolutions encouraged the boycott of West Bank settlements and the Jewish neighborhoods of eastern Jerusalem.
• Those five resolutions weren’t the only reasons the UNHRC was in the news. It also nominated Christine Chinkin to replace Richard Falk as a special rapporteur on Palestinian human rights. Chinkin’s best known for co-authoring the Goldstone Report, an investigation into the 2009 Gaza war that was so flawed against Israel, the inquiry’s chairman, Judge Richard Goldstone, eventually wrote a mea culpa.
The UNHRC will vote to confirm Chinkin and other human rights monitors next month. Hillel Neuer weighs in on the Chinkin choice.
• I wish this were true:
UN’s human rights monitor is a Mossad spy, Iran alleges
- For one freed Palestinian prisoner, murder proved very lucrative.
- Al Jazeera: IDF treats civilians better than Hezbollah or Syria.
- Why are Iranians taunting Rouhani that Israel knows how to look after its soldiers?
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