News Digest — 2/10/22
Iran Unveils New Missile Named For Jewish Oasis Overrun By Muslims
Iran unveiled a new domestically-made missile with a range of 879 miles on Wednesday (9th), state TV reported, a day after Tehran and Washington resumed indirect talks to salvage a 2015 nuclear deal.
Iran, which has one of the biggest missile programs in the Middle East, says its ballistic missiles have a range of up to 1,200 miles and are capable of reaching its arch-foe Israel and US bases in the region.
State TV displayed the new surface-to-surface “Khaybar Shekan” (Khaybar buster) missile which refers to an ancient Jewish oasis called Khaybar in the Arabian Peninsula’s Hijaz region that was overrun by Muslim warriors in the 7th century.
“This long-range missile is domestically manufactured by the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC)… It has high accuracy and is propelled by solid fuel and is capable of penetrating missile shields,” Iranian state media reported.
Tehran regards its missile program as an important deterrent against the United States, Israel and other adversaries. It has rejected Western demands to halt its ballistic missile work.
“Iran will continue advancing its ballistic missile program,” Iran’s armed forces chief of staff Maj.-Gen. Mohammad Bagheri told a ceremony at an IRGC base where the new missile was displayed, Iranian media reported.
Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia, a regional rival of Shiite-led Iran, has repeatedly called on major powers to address Gulf Arabs concerns about Tehran’s missiles.
Israel, which the Islamic Republic does not recognize, has long threatened military action against Iran if the talks in Vienna fail to curb Tehran’s nuclear work. Iran says its nuclear ambitions are peaceful.
In 2018, then-US President Donald Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal – designed to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon – and imposed sanctions in a bid to force Tehran into talks on a broader agreement that would have also addressed its ballistic missile program and support for proxies in the Middle East.
Iran responded a year later by gradually breaching the pact’s nuclear limits, rebuilding stockpiles of enriched uranium, and refining it to higher fissile purity, including installing advanced centrifuges to speed up output.
Indirect talks between Tehran and Washington to revive the deal started after Joe Biden replaced Trump in the White House, but despite eight rounds since April, differences remain between Iran and world powers.
Tehran and Washington have blamed each other for the lack of progress.
“Voices from the US government show there is no coherence in that country to make political decisions in the direction of advancing the Vienna talks,” Iran’s top security official Ali Shamkhani tweeted on Wednesday (9th).
Unofficial Move: PLO Council Votes To End Security Coordination With Israel
The Palestine Liberation Organization’s Central Council on Wednesday night (9th) decided to suspend security coordination with Israel according to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.
The move comes the day after three suspected terrorists were killed by Israeli forces in the city of Nablus in northern Judea and Samaria, A fourth suspect is still on the loose.
The four gunmen were accused of perpetrating several shooting attacks in the West Bank against Israeli soldiers and civilians in recent weeks.
The Palestinian Central Council in a statement at the conclusion of a three-day conference also said that it was suspending recognition of Israel until a Palestinian state is recognized within the 1967 borders with east Jerusalem as its capital and settlement activity is stopped.
The Central Council also rejected “economic peace and the ‘conflict reduction and trust’ projects that Israel offers as an alternative to a just peace based on [the establishment of a Palestinian state].”
The body passed a similar resolution four years ago that went unimplemented.
The PLO’s executive committee, chaired by Palestinian Authority Leader Mahmoud Abbas, must still approve the resolutions for them to be enacted.
The executive committee is the highest-level Palestinian political body.
Russia Castigates Israel Over Retaliatory Strike On Syria
Russia strongly condemned a retaliatory strike by Israeli forces against Syria on Wednesday (9th), after a missile was fired from Syrian territory into Israel overnight.
Alexander Yefimov, Russia’s ambassador to Syria, told Novosti Wednesday afternoon (9th) that his country views the Israeli retaliatory strike as “illegal.”
“Russia strongly condemns the Israeli raids on Syria, and calls for an end to them,” Yefimov said. “We inform West Jerusalem of this position constantly and at various levels.”
“Israel’s strikes on Syria,” he added, “are absolutely illegal in terms of international law, and leave damage and casualties, violate Syria’s sovereignty, pose a threat to international civil aviation, and in general increase tension in the already escalating military-political position.”
Yefimov’s comments mark a shift in Russian policy vis-a-vis Israel’s long-running conflict with Syria and pro-Iranian forces in Syria, with Moscow largely declining to comment on Israeli air strikes.
Overnight, an anti-aircraft missile fired from Syria exploded mid-air over the Wadi Ara region of northern Israel, near northern Samaria.
Later Wednesday (9th), missile fragments were found in the Jenin area.
In response to the missile, the IDF attacked targets in Syria, among them a Syrian radar, and anti-aircraft batteries that fired missiles at Israel Air Force aircraft.
“The IDF will continue to protect the skies of the State of Israel,” the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said.
Syrian television reported that a soldier was killed and five were wounded in the Israeli attack. It was further reported that property was damaged as a result of the strike.
Last week, Syrian media reported that Israel had carried out an air strike in the Damascus area.
(isnn.com; reuters.com)
Palestinians Torch Construction Vehicle Near Gaza Strip Border
Three Palestinians sneaked up to an Israeli construction vehicle near the Gaza Security Fence and set it ablaze on Wednesday (9th), the Israeli military said. No one was hurt in the incident.
The men crossed a barbed wire fence inside Gaza but did not advance past the main security barrier along the frontier, the IDF said, adding that the three “returned to the Gaza Strip” after starting the fire.
The heavily-guarded frontier has been mostly quiet since the 11-day flare-up last May between Israel and the Hamas militant group that controls the coastal territory.
In December, Israel announced the completion of a 40-mile barrier, including radar systems, maritime sensors and underground sensors to detect militant tunnels. Existing fencing was replaced with a 19.5 foot high “smart fence,” with sensors and cameras.
Israel and Hamas have fought four wars and dozens of skirmishes since terrorist group Hamas seized power in Gaza from rival Palestinian forces in 2007. During the 2014 war Palestinian militants tunneled into Israel and clashed with Israeli troops.
Jewish Organization Putting Up Florida Billboards Calling Out Anti-Semitism
A Jewish advocacy organization is putting up billboards in Florida calling out anti-Semitism in the wake of recent anti-Semitic incidents in the state and across the US.
JewBelong – an online resource that helps Jews “find the joy, meaning, relevance and connection that Judaism has to offer” – placed the billboards in Miami-Dade and Broward counties on Friday (4th) as they announced their #EndJewHate campaign.
With the trauma from the Colleyville synagogue hostage attack still fresh in the minds of American Jews, the campaign seeks to “stem bad things from happening” to the Jewish community through a multi-faceted approach, the co-founder of JewBelong Archie Gottesman told CNN.
“We need to talk about it and we need to be uncomfortable for a minute,” Gottesman said.
She added that raising awareness of anti-Semitism gives rise to “important conversations.”
Explaining that the ending of anti-Semitic acts against the Jewish community is a long-term undertaking, Gottesman said: “There’s a lot of ways to stem bad things from happening – there’s education, podcasts, articles and books – and they’re all important. To fight hate, we need a lot of tools in our tool belt and our awareness campaign is one really important tool.”
Gottesman’s organization’s aim is to expand its campaign across the US.
One of their billboards, which is bright pink and white, says: “We’re just 75 years since the gas chambers. So no, a billboard calling out Jew hate isn’t an overreaction.” A second one asks “Does your church need armed guards? Because our synagogue does.”
(isnn.com)
