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Prepared for the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs | ||||
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Tuesday, February 2, 2010 | ||
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In-Depth Issues:
Hamas: Dubai Assassins Were Likely Arabs, Not Israelis - Avi Issacharoff (Ha'aretz)
Myths About Iran - Bret Stephens (Wall Street Journal)
Jordan Criticized for Stripping Palestinian Rights - Dale Gavlak (AP/Washington Post)
PA TV Sermon: "Jews Are Enemies of Allah and Humanity - Kill Them" - Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik (Palestinian Media Watch)
The Jihadist Next Door - Andrea Elliott (New York Times Magazine)
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News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
A U.S. attempt to shoot down a ballistic missile mimicking an attack from Iran failed after a radar malfunction in a test over the Pacific Ocean on Sunday, the Defense Department said. "The Sea-Based X-band radar did not perform as expected," the agency said. The SBX radar is a major component of U.S. defenses against long-range missiles that could be tipped with chemical, biological or nuclear warheads. It was the first time the U.S. had tested its long-range defense against a simulated Iranian attack. The test coincided with a Pentagon report that Iran had expanded its ballistic missile capabilities and posed a "significant" threat to U.S. and allied forces in the Middle East. The Pentagon's Ballistic Missile Defense Review released on Monday said Tehran had developed and acquired ballistic missiles capable of striking targets from the Middle East to Eastern Europe and had fielded increasing numbers of mobile regional ballistic missiles. The report also singled out Syria's short-range missiles as a "regional threat," saying Damascus may have chemical warheads available for some of its missiles. (Reuters) See also Ballistic Missile Defense Review (U.S. Defense Department) Three months ago, the UN General Assembly told both Hamas and Israel that unless they launch their own investigations of war crimes allegations relating to Gaza, it would call for the International Criminal Court (ICC) to do the job instead. But the chances of the ICC being ordered into action are slight. The UN General Assembly is unable to order a war crimes investigation by the ICC. Only the Security Council can do that, and that is almost certainly not going to happen. The U.S. fears that an investigation by the ICC will derail any chances of starting a new Middle East peace process. Certainly, it is hard to see how meaningful negotiations could start among statesmen under threat of war crimes indictment. The result is that the U.S. will veto any vote on the ICC that comes before the Security Council - and it will not be alone. At least three of the permanent members, Britain, France and Russia, are likely to take the same line, and for the same reasons, blocking any move in the Security Council. (Scotsman-UK) World leaders might have to go to war to stop Iran developing its weapons program, Tony Blair suggested Friday. The former prime minister, who is now a Middle East peace envoy, said that Tehran's actions had made him more afraid today that a rogue state could supply weapons of mass destruction to terrorists than he was when he took Britain to war with Iraq in 2003. "My judgment...is we don't take any risks with this issue," he said. (Times-UK) News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
Explosive devices hidden in barrels that originated in Gaza were discovered Monday on beaches in Ashkelon and Ashdod in what was considered a failed terror attack. A senior Palestinian source said the attacks were planned as a joint operation of Islamic Jihad's al-Quds Brigades, the Popular Resistance Committees' Salah a-Din Brigades and the Nabil Masud group, which is affiliated with Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades. (Ynet News) See also Terror Attack Shows Palestinian Effort to Develop New Capabilities - Ron Ben-Yishai The attempted attack got underway on Friday. Israeli Navy vessels spotted two explosions at sea, about 2 km. from Israel's shores. Two days later, the two explosive devices were washed ashore. The devices had no engine and lacked any navigation or homing means. The most reasonable possibility is that the attack masterminds wanted to check whether the water current can be used to direct bombs to Israel's shores or towards Israeli Navy vessels patrolling the area. (Ynet News) The IDF immediately began investigating itself upon the completion of the Gaza operation with no relation to the Goldstone commission. Within the framework of the independent IDF investigation, it was found that the Commander of the Gaza Division, Brig. Gen. Eyal Eisenberg, and the past commander of the Givati Brigade, Col. Ilan Malka, had deviated from their authority during an incident which took place two days before the end of the operation on Jan. 15. The two officers had authorized the firing of artillery shells in violation of the orders concerning the use of weaponry near residential areas. The shells were fired near the UNRWA headquarters in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza City. Following an IDF investigation eight months ago, the officers were disciplined by the Commander of the Southern Command, Maj.-Gen. Yoav Galant, even though there were no known casualties from this incident. (Israel Defense Forces) See also Officers Authorized Artillery Fire to Help Rescue Trapped Platoon - Amos Harel The incident for which Eisenberg and Malka were reprimanded involved the use of live ammunition to help rescue members of a Givati Brigade platoon, some of whom were wounded, from a situation in which they were under anti-tank missile fire from Hamas - even though the orders allowed firing only smoke shells. The investigation found that Malka exceeded his authority, but his orders did not cause the death of any innocent civilians. Division commander Eisenberg, who was not directly involved in the decision, requested to be tried too, so as not to abandon his brigade commander. (Ha'aretz) See also Gaza Incident Did Not Involve White Phosphorus Shells - Anshel Pfeffer The IDF Spokesman's Office said Monday that contrary to reports that the officers were disciplined for using smoke shells containing white phosphorus, they were disciplined not for using phosphorus shells but for authorizing regular artillery shells. (Ha'aretz) Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):
Unlike many of its neighbors, Israel has a strong domestic desire to hold itself to account. In addition, condemnatory megaphone diplomacy does not work. For an example of such ineffective megaphone diplomacy, consider Judge Richard Goldstone's report on the Gaza conflict for the UN, released last September. Both dangerously and unreasonably, Judge Goldstone implied an equivalence between the indiscriminate rocket fire with which Hamas bombarded Israel and the steps that Israel subsequently took to defend itself. Faced with the Goldstone report’s provocative bias, a country might be expected to slam down the shutters and turn away. Instead, the Middle East’s only functioning democracy quietly continued to conduct its own investigation into the conflict, which it has now submitted to the UN. Those who cry "war crime" and seek to paint Israel as a pariah do diplomacy itself a disservice. Israel is not a rogue state. It is an accountable, democratic, transparent nation, and fighting to remain one amid challenges that few other nations ever have to face. (Times-UK) Funding from the British government and the European Commission is helping to fund hate education and promote violence in the Palestinian territories. It is doing this by funding the Palestinian education system. The Palestinian authorities have produced textbooks that promote martyrdom, support the execution of apostates and support insurgents fighting British troops in Iraq. The very best of treaties will not be able to guarantee peace in the medium to long term if a generation of Palestinians is growing up indoctrinated to hate Israel and the non-Muslim world. (Taxpayers Alliance-UK/Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs) See also EU Aid Funds PA Incitement - Ben Hartman (Jerusalem Post) Observations: Israel: Resume Negotiations without PA Preconditions - Herb Keinon (Jerusalem Post)
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