May 18, 2018
Paraguay To Open Jerusalem Embassy Next Tuesday
Paraguay’s government says President Horacio Cartes will open the country’s new embassy in Israel on Tuesday (22nd) in Jerusalem, following similar steps by the United States and Guatemala.
Government spokesman Mariano Mercado says Cartes will leave for Israel on Saturday (19th)
(worldisraelnews.com; ap.com)
U.S., Gulf States Slap Hizbullah With Sanctions
The U.S. and several Gulf countries have placed new anti-terror sanctions on the Iranian-backed Hizbullah terror organization, adding pressure to fight the group’s global financial network.
The U.S. Treasury Department stated Wednesday (16th) that Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and other Gulf nations are slapping sanctions on Hizbullah’s senior leadership. The sanctions are being coordinated by a US-Gulf partnership called the Terrorist Financing and Targeting Center (TFTC), which was formed last May.
(ap.com)
Palestinian Caught At Fence Said Hamas Plans Riots So ‘People Won’t Revolt’
The Israeli military on Wednesday (16th) released footage from the interrogation of a Palestinian man who was arrested as he infiltrated into Israel from the Gaza Strip on Tuesday (15th), in which he claims that Hamas is leading the recent border riots in order to stave off an uprising.
“Hamas organizes these riots so the people won’t revolt,” said the Palestinian suspect, whose face was blurred in the video.
“They’re the ones controlling the Strip, ruling it. Everything that happens goes through them,” he said.
(timesofisrael.com)
Gas, Fuel Supply to Gaza Resumed After Palestinians Sabotaged Crossing
After repairs were made to the Kerem Shalom border crossing, which Palestinian rioters set ablaze on three different occasions in a two week period, partial supplies of cooking gas and diesel fuel were sent to Gaza, Thursday (17th).
The Kerem Shalom crossing is the only one for the transfer of goods from Israel to Gaza. Twelve tanks of diesel fuel and one tank of gas were transferred on Thursday, with more to be sent on Monday (21st).
(ynetnews.com)
Who’s To Blame For The Gaza Violence? – Editorial
According to the New York Times, “loudspeakers on minarets urged Palestinians to rush the fence bordering Israel, where they were met by army snipers.” The Washington Post reports that “organizers urged demonstrators to burst through the fence, telling them Israeli soldiers were fleeing their positions, even as they were reinforcing them.”
This suggests that Hamas incited protesters to dash toward Israeli military positions, likely knowing that many would be killed. If Palestinian leaders want to know who is responsible for the deaths in Gaza Monday (14th), they should glance in the mirror.
Leaders of the Palestinians have a choice: They can keep sending their young people to their deaths. Or they can turn from violent confrontation to constructive negotiation. The reality on the ground is that nothing will change until Palestinian leaders stop inciting violence and start telling their people the truth: Palestinians can have a state. But not until they accept that the Israel they loathe is in the neighborhood to stay.
(chicagotribune.com)
Gaza’s Miseries Have Palestinian Authors – Bret Stephens
For the third time in two weeks, Palestinians in Gaza have set fire to the Kerem Shalom border crossing, through which they get medicine, fuel and other humanitarian essentials from Israel. There’s a pattern here – harm yourself, blame the other – and it deserves to be highlighted amid the torrent of morally blind, historically illiterate criticism to which Israelis are subjected every time they defend themselves against violent Palestinian attack.
Why is nothing expected of Palestinians, and everything forgiven, while everything is expected of Israelis, and nothing forgiven? No decent Palestinian society can emerge from the culture of victimhood, violence and fatalism symbolized by the Gaza protests.
(nyt.com)
Iranian Professor Slams Rulers For Attacking Israel, Targeted By Regime
An Iranian professor from Tehran University is making the conservative rulers of the Islamic Republic and their media mouthpieces very angry again, according to the Jerusalem Post on Thursday (17th)
Sadegh Zibakalam, a prominent political science professor, sent out a tweet on Thursday (17th) saying: “If, God forbid, there is a war between us and Israel, we will have to tell the future generations why we fought a war with a country 200 kilometers away that never threatened us or had any other dispute with us.”
He continued, “Who gave us the responsibility for destroying Israel? Have the Iranian people held a referendum and asked the government to do this?”
An Iranian court actually sentenced the professor in March to 18 months in prison for spreading “false information” and “propaganda against Iran.”
After these latest tweets, he is under threat from the Iranian regime again.
(worldisraelnews.com)
Iran’s Khamenei: Palestine Will Be Liberated From The Enemies
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Thursday (17th) that “Palestine will be liberated from the enemies and Jerusalem will be its capital.”
Speaking ahead of the Islamic Summit in Istanbul and in honor of the start of Ramadan, he added “The United States is a partner to the Israeli entity in its crimes against the Palestinians.”
(reuters.com; jpost.com)
Syria’s Assad Flies To Russia For Talks With Putin
MOSCOW – Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad flew to Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s summer residence on the Black Sea for talks on Thursday (17th) about the Syrian conflict, the Kremlin said, a visit that underscored Moscow’s status as Assad’s chief backer.
Since fighting broke out in his country in 2011, Assad has traveled rarely, but has made three visits to Russia for meetings with Putin.
(reuters.com)
Rafael Sells ‘Iron Dome’ To Romania
Rafael Advanced Defense Systems signed Wednesday (16th) an agreement for local production of domestic air defense systems and ground systems with the Romanian company ROMAERO.
As part of the deal, ROMAERO will acquire the know-how and license for the production of air defense systems, including the Iron Dome.
Rafael is estimated to gain hundreds of millions of dollars from the deal.
(ynetnews.com)
