Everything you need to know about today’s coverage of Israel and the Mideast. Join the Israel Daily News Stream on Facebook.
Today’s Top Stories
1. Israel exported military equipment to Arab countries? Say it ain’t so!
Israel has exported security equipment over the past five years to Pakistan and four Arab countries, according to a British government report. The report, which deals with British government permits for arms and security equipment exports, says that in addition to Pakistan, Israel has exported such equipment to Egypt, Algeria, the United Arab Emirates and Morocco. . .
From January 2008 to December 2012, British authorities processed hundreds of Israeli applications to purchase military items containing British components for use by the Israel Defense Forces, or to go into systems exported to third countries.
The British reports also list the countries to which Israel sought to export the items. Among Israel’s clients are Muslim countries with which it does not have diplomatic ties.
We’re talking about goodies like radar, navigation, electronic warfare, and jamming systems, and more.
2. Cairo views it’s new water dispute with Ethiopia existentially. If the buzzwords, rhetoric and war drums are deja vu, maybe it’s because the politicians and press have become pretty cliche about the Iranian nuclear threat too.
Egypt warns all options open for Ethiopia Nile dam
3. Iranians confirmed, then denied a “technical” generator malfunction at Bushehr reactor, which is (or isn’t) related to an earthquake two months ago. Who do you want to believe?
Israel and the Palestinians
• The Palestinians are back to politicizing the UN. The non-member observer state was pushing the “right” of return at a Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva. Jerusalem Post coverage.
• The Times of Israel looks at how Hamas’ weapons smuggling has changed since its falling out with Iran.
• Even the EU denounced UN rapporteur Richard Falk’s report on Israel.
• Hamas plans to execute more collaborators.
• Say what?
• For commentary/analysis, see Bernard Avishai.
Arab Spring Winter
• For the latest on the Syria situation, see the Wall St. Journal and NY Times.
• Worth reading: Michael Young (NOW Lebanon, via Michael Totten) lays out why Syria has become Hezbollah’s Vietnam. The Party of God essentially has no exit strategy.
Playing in the favor of Hezbollah’s enemies is that the party has little latitude to alter its strategy in Syria. It must go all the way, predisposing it to sink ever-deeper into the Syrian quagmire, or until the point where the Syrian regime and pro-regime militias can capture and control territory on their own. That is not easy in a guerrilla war in which rebels have often out-matched the army.
• Reuters: Gulf states now talking about slapping unspecified sanctions against Hezbollah members living in their countries.
• For more commentary/analysis, see Haaretz.
• The Toronto Star visited Jordan to find out how King Abdullah has managed to keep his throne. This snippet sums it up:
“This is not a bloody regime, it doesn’t kill people,” he says. It may not be a benchmark for a liberal democracy, but being decent and humane matters in a region where Syria’s Bashar Assad is firing Scud missiles at his people and the Saudis won’t allow women to drive.
• Istanbul clashes intensified as Turkish police enter Taksim Park.
Rest O’ the Roundup
• CNN‘s Elise Labott notes differing Israeli and Palestinian reactions to the NSA snooping scandal. Although “there’s no expectation of privacy here,” Israelis are nonchalant while Palestinians chafe at Israel’s own intelligence gathering. Draw your own conclusions.
• The Wall St. Journal examines the significance Google’s $1 billion acquisition of Waze for Israeli start-ups.
With tens of millions users downloading its mobile application in five years, Waze is the leading edge of a shift among Israeli technology companies to focus on Internet and media software catering to every day consumers – a target market that was once considered beyond the reach of Israel’s tech community.
• Bulgaria’s foreign minister to Israel: Our position on the Burgas investigation hasn’t changed, nor has it reconsidered its views on Hezbollah. Details at the Sofia Globe.
• Bad news for the BDS movement:
EU keen to tap into Israel’s gas supply via Trans Adriatic Pipeline
• Israel HaYom updates the latest on the labor dispute at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
For more, see yesterday’s Israel Daily News Stream.
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