News Digest — 6/13/23
Report: Israel To Approve Thousands Of New Settlement Homes This Month
The Israeli government has informed the Biden administration of its intentions to approve 4,000 new housing units in Judea and Samaria this month, Axios correspondent Barak Ravid reported.
According to the report, the units are to be built in pre-existing communities, and a formal announcement will be made before the end of June.
Three American and Israeli officials confirmed that the Israelis had informed their American counterparts so as not to blindside the administration with the formal announcement.
The Biden administration opposes all construction in Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.
In March 2010, when Joe Biden was Vice President, he was embarrassed when an announcement was made that the construction of 1600 new apartment units would move forward in Ramat Shlomo, a Jewish neighborhood of Jerusalem which the international community at the time considered a settlement. The situation resulted in a diplomatic spat between the U.S. and Israel.
The Israeli government has received criticism from its right-wing base after a meeting of the Civil Administration’s Planning Commission concerning the approval of construction in the Adumim Region, also known as ‘E1,’ which had been planned for Monday (12th), was postponed indefinitely following pressure from the U.S. and European countries.
Aliyah Minister Commends Outstanding IDF Lone Soldiers
Aliyah and integration Minister Ofir Sofer hosted on Monday (12th) IDF soldiers who made Aliyah and received the Presidential Medal of Honor of Excellence on Israel’s 75th Independence Day.
The outstanding soldiers hosted in the ministry are “Olim Chadashim” who enlisted in the Israeli Defense Forces as lone soldiers and were previously recognized for their excellence and received a badge of honor for their contribution to the State of Israel in a festive ceremony at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem.
Minister Sofer, along with Lieutenant Colonel Oded Nahari – Commander of the Ceremonies and Events Unit in the IDF, presented the soldiers with framed certificates of appreciation and a special gift as an expression of acknowledgment for their impactful military service and successful integration into the IDF and Israeli society.
“I was very excited to meet the outstanding soldiers and hear their stories,” said Sofer. “Each soldier has a unique and moving story that led him to this point, and behind all of them are parents who supported and encouraged their Aliyah and meaningful service in the Israeli Defense Forces.
“It is a great honor to present them with certificates recognizing their accomplishments. I want to thank Lieutenant Colonel Oded Nahari and the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration for putting together this event and I wish our soldiers success in their future endeavors.”
Hamas: We Will Bring Israeli Arabs Into The Next Fight
Ihsan Ataya, a member of the political bureau of the Islamic Jihad and the organization’s representative in Lebanon, denies the reports that the Islamic Jihad has received a proposal for a long-term ceasefire with Israel.
In an interview with the Al-Rid news outlet, Ataya said that in recent talks held by senior officials of the organization in Egypt, Israeli “aggression” in the Gaza Strip, the assassinations, the need to respond to any Israeli aggression, the Israel blockade of the Gaza Strip and other issues related to the Palestinian problem were discussed.
“We are in an open war with the Israeli occupation. There is no cease-fire as some claim,” Ataya said, adding that “the occupation only understands the language of force.”
“The way of negotiations has failed, and we are a movement of struggle and will continue to struggle against the Israeli occupation, and everything that happens in the West Bank is the best proof of the continuation of the struggle.”
According to him, the last campaign with Israel was but one round in the rounds of confrontation with the occupation. “We follow the path of struggle until the liberation of Palestine.”
And in the meantime, Ayman Nofal, a member of the General Military Council of the al-Qassam Brigades (Hamas) and commander of the military liaison unit, says that the future confrontation with Israel will take place after a joint decision is made and at the discretion of the operational command group common to all Palestinian organizations.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Nofal said that Israel must not be allowed to act unilaterally in one of the conflict areas in Gaza, the West Bank or in the “occupied areas” and on this basis the Palestinian organizations should take the initiative in order to thwart Israeli policy.
According to Nofal, the leadership of the joint operations room understands the importance of creating multiple fronts of conflict against Israel, and in particular in Jerusalem, the “West Bank” and Arab majority communities in Israel.
(isnn.com)
Abbas Arrives In China As Beijing Looks To Expand Influence In Mideast
BEIJING, China – Palestinian Authority Leader Mahmoud Abbas arrived in Beijing on Tuesday (13th), state media reported, with China expressing readiness to help facilitate Israeli-Palestinian talks.
Abbas will stay until Friday (16th), Beijing said, on his fifth official visit to the world’s second-largest economy.
Official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that Abbas will meet with President Xi Jinping during his trip.
The two are expected to “exchange opinions…on the latest developments in the Palestinian arena as well as on regional and international issues of mutual concern,” Wafa reported.
Abbas will meet with Premier Li Qiang, the news agency added.
The longtime Palestinian leader is an “old and good friend of the Chinese people,” foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said last week.
“China has always firmly supported the just cause of the Palestinian people to restore their legislative national rights,” he added.
Beijing has sought to boost its ties to the Middle East, challenging long-standing U.S. influence there, efforts that have sparked unease in Washington.
President Xi last December visited Saudi Arabia on an Arab outreach trip that also saw him meet with Abbas and pledge to “work for an early, just and durable solution to the Palestinian issue.”
And during a trip to Riyadh last week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Saudi Arabia was not being forced to choose between Washington and Beijing, striking a conciliatory tone following tensions with the long-time ally.
In an interview with Chinese state news agency Xinhua published this week, Palestinian official Abbas Zaki said China and the Palestinians were “friends closer than brothers.”
“I am very pleased to see that China has been more involved in Middle East affairs after the Chinese-Arab States Summit last year,” he added.
‘We’re Approaching Palestine,’ RyanAir Announced On Tel Aviv-Bound Flight
Passengers on a RyanAir flight from Italy to Tel-Aviv were shocked after a flight attendant repeatedly described their final destination as Palestine.
Israelis present on the flight told Channel 14 News that a flight attendant had said they were bound for Palestine multiple times in both Italian and English.
About half an hour before the plane was slated to touch down at Ben Gurion Airport in central Israel, the flight attendant announced over the intercom that the plane was “approaching Palestine.”
Some of the passengers on the flight spoke up about the announcement, they told Channel 14, and asked the attendant to either correct herself or apologize.
“We didn’t buy tickets on the airline to deal with anti-Zionist opinions from flight staff,” a passenger said. “All we wanted was an announcement that Tel Aviv is in Israel.”
Their requests were refused, and instead the cabin crew accused the passengers of creating a disturbance that endangered the safety of the flight, they recounted to the outlet.
An Italian-speaking passenger was surprised that the flight attendants doubled down on their views during a conversation, insisting that Tel Aviv is located not in the State of Israel, but in Palestine.
The flight attendant who made the announcement was not wearing a name tag, making it impossible to identify, to file a complaint at a later time.
RyanAir refused to respond to multiple requests for comment from Channel 14 regarding the incident.
Channel 14 commentator Danny Newman noted that “RyanAir is an Irish company, and the Irish don’t exactly love Israel.”
Newman called on Israelis to avoid using the airline in the future, should RyanAir refuse to apologize for the episode.
UN Report Targets 35 U.S. States Over Laws Banning Anti-Israel Bias – Benjamin Weinthal
The UN Commission of Inquiry (COI) on Thursday (8th) issued a new report that attacked the rights of U.S. states to pass legislation banning discrimination against Israel via boycotts, and whitewashed the anti-semitism of Palestinian political organizations, said Israel’s UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan.
“Yet again, the biased COI has released another sham report about Israel. This illegitimate committee, composed of three anti-semites, is incapable of writing an impartial report on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The proof is in their inability to include any references to Palestinian anti-semitism in their latest attack on the Jewish State despite the Palestinian Authority which continually incites Jew-hatred and Hamas which seeks the destruction of Israel.”
In what critics see as UN interference in domestic U.S. politics, the COI singled out states that bar anti-Israel boycott measures, including Florida, New York, New Jersey, Illinois and Texas.
The Academy of Hate – Ben-Dror Yemini
Graduates at the city University of New York (CUNY) School of Law chose Fatima Mohammed to deliver the commencement speech because of her beliefs. Above all else, she hates the United States, which granted her asylum. She wrote, “I pray for the death of the USA.” She added, “May every Zionist burn in the hottest pit of hell,” and “I wish for the death of Israel.”
Radical Islam is taking over parts of the intellectual elite in the U.S. Last year’s speaker at the same college, at the same ceremony, was Nerdeen Kiswani, Mohammed’s ideological twin, who called to “globalize the Intifada.”
Is there a chance that at a graduation ceremony, a student, perhaps Muslim, will speak out against the heinous crimes against humanity committed by radical Islam, when most victims are Muslims? Or about the calls and incitement of Hamas to destroy Jews? Or perhaps about the Taliban’s ban on women’s education? Or the ban imposed by a Hamas court on women leaving the house without the approval of a male guardian? Or, in general, about the oppression of women under Islamic rule?
