Debka Newsletter, July 28th 2017

Debka Newsletter, July 28th 2017

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A Digest of DEBKAfile Exclusives in Week Ending December 23, 2016
March 7, 2014

Briefs
This is a war for sovereign control of Temple Mt

The brutal stabbing attack at Halamish, which left a grandfather of 70, his son and daughter dead while still in their 40s and a grandmother of 78 badly injured – when the family was gathered for the Sabbath Eve meal on Friday, July 21 – was no random act of terror. It followed directly and consistently on the murder of two Israeli police guards on Temple Mount exactly one week earlier. The planners of the first outrage, perpetrated by three Israeli Arabs, knew exactly that such action would ignite flames which would claim many Israeli and Palestinian lives. The Palestinians are consistent in their tactics: First shed Israeli blood, then tell the world they are victims and as martyrs are justified in seeking revenge – especially against „the sons of apes and pigs who defile Al Aqsa.” This was how the Halamish killer Omar al-Abed, 19, a Hamas sympathizer, described the Jews in the „will” he posted on Facebook three hours before the murders. Except that instead of dying with a martyr’s halo, he survived. The whole week, it was dinned into Palestinian and Israeli Muslims by their leaders, including elected members of the Israeli parliament, that the Al Aqsa compound, an artificial mountaintop platform built as the site of the Jewish Temple more than 2,000 years ago, is exclusive Muslim property and no Jew has the right to set foot in the „Noble Sanctuary.” This claim also applies to Jerusalem, known in Arabic as Al Quds. The most notorious metal detectors in Middle East history became emblems that objectified their rage over Israeli sovereignty in Temple Mount and the holy city. This has exposed the dispute as being a national rather than a religious dispute. It is obvious that even if the metal detectors installed at Temple Mount gates are removed or replaced, the violence unleashed at Temple Mount on July 14 was just an opener, followed a week later by the Halamish murders.

A Palestinian rioter killed outside Jerusalem

A 23-year old Palestinian was killed Saturday night while taking part in a disturbance at Azariya east of Jerusalem.

The names released of the three Halamish victims of Palestinian terror

Friday night, a family was gathered at home in the small community of Halamish, when a 19-year old Palestinian burst in, stabbed three of them to death and injured a fourth. The three fatalities were identified Saturday night as the grandfather, Yosef Salomon, 70, his daughter Haya Salomon, 46, a teacher, and his son, Elad Salomon, 36, a computer expert. Their grandmother Tova Salomon, 68, is recovering in hospital from knife wounds. Elad’s wife grabbed their five children and hid them in another room.

PM Netanyahu laments three Israelis murdered at Halamish

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu Saturday voiced deepest condolences for the three members of an Israeli family murdered during a celebration at their home in Halamish Friday night. „This was an act of terrorism committed by a beast consumed with wild hatred,” he said in a statement. „Our security forces are doing their utmost to provide us with security and will continue to pursue every possible measure to this end,” he vowed.

More Palestinians-Israeli police clashes in and outside Jerusalem

Scores of Palestinians hurled rocks and bottles at police at the Lion’s Gate entrance to Temple Mount Saturday night, where eight days ago, three terrorists gunned down two Israeli police officers. Outbreaks of this kind were repeated on a smaller scale by protesters against the metal detectors in the Jerusalem neighborhoods of Issawiyeh, A-Tur, Shuafat, Mount of Olives, Ras el-Amud and the road to Maaleh Adummim. Police broke up the mobs with water cannon, tear gas and outside Temple Mount mounted on horses. An IDF officer was injured by a rock thrown by Palestinian rioters at Kfar Qaddum in Samaria.

The IDF set for long period of unrest, also attack from Gaza

The IDF spokesman said Saturday that the armed forces are getting set for the current Palestinian unrest to continue for some weeks – if not more – and a possible terrorist attack from the Gaza Strip. In a briefing to reporters following the terrorist murder of three members of a Halamish family, the spokesman said: Religious elements new to us have raised their heads.” He did not elaborate on this. “We are making a great effort, operationally and by covert means, to curtail the escalating of the violence. But we face a surge of negativity with religious extremist overtones that spreads from one day to the next and could generate more terrorism.” The spokesman revealed that the terrorist hiked the 2.5km from his village to Halamish Friday night, carrying a bag containing a Koran, a bottle of water and a knife. It took him 15 minutes to stab to death a grandfather and son and daughter and injure a grandmother, before a soldier on leave who heard the screaming from a nearby apartment shot him through a window.

Palestinian murderer of three Israelis questioned after discharge from hospital

The Palestinian who murdered three members of a family in Halamish Friday night and was shot, was released from hospital Saturday to face initial Shin Bet interrogation. He claimed he had acted on his own and his decision to kill Jews was taken recently following events at Temple Mount.

Joint Syrian-Hizballah operation to clear Islamists from Syrian-Lebanese border

For the first time in the Syrian civil war, Assad’s army, Hizballah and the Lebanese army have joined forces in a combined cross-border operation for cleansing the Syrian-Lebanese border regions of jihadist strongholds. It focuses on the town of Arsal north of the Lebanese Beqaa Valley and the Syrian town of Fleita in the Qalamoun Mountains of western Syria. Large concentrations of Syrian refugees sheltering outside the two towns have been deeply penetrated either by Al Qaeda’s Nusra Front or the Islamic State. Hizballah is spearheading the offensive with tanks and artillery fire under Syrian air force support. The Lebanese army is charged with keeping armed Islamists from escaping across the border. Hizballah claimed substantial battle gains in its first statement Saturday. Lebanese sources say that Hizballah has sustained at least 12 fatalities in the battle.

Supreme Committee of Israeli Arabs embraces Palestinian terror

At a meeting Saturday in Nazareth, the Supreme Committee of Israeli Arabs squarely laid the blame for the blood spilled in the violence swirling around Temple Mount on the „occupation government.” This was the first time that a representative Israeli Arab body has adopted the term used by the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and terrorist organizations in lieu of the „government of Israel” and marks affinity with their goals and tactics.

Gen. Eisenkott orders massive military reinforcements

The IDF Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Gady Eisenkott, early Saturday ordered massive reinforcements of troops for Judea and Samaria, in the wake of the triple terrorist murder at Halamish. The murderer’s Facebook page was taken down after tens of thousands of responses flooded in praising his action.

IDF raids Halamish killer’s home, arrests his brother

Israeli troops raided the home of Omar Al-Abed in the village of Kubar near Ramallah, after he stabbed to death three members of an Israeli family at Halamish and injured a fourth Friday night. They arrested his brother and began preparing the house for demolition.

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February 28, 2014

Briefs
Israel installs new security cameras at Temple Mt

While examining alternatives to metal detectors for safeguarding worshippers and visitors at Temple Mount, Israel installed new security cameras, and immediately ran into strong objections from Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. He declared Sunday that no one but the Palestinians has the right to determine security measures at the shrine. At the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said: „The only thing we want is to ensure no one can again take weapons in and carry out another attack. We’re willing to examine alternatives to the metal detectors, so long as the alternative ensures the prevention of the next attack.” In an angry comment on the brutal deaths of three members of the Salomon family in Halamish, at the hands of a Palestinian terrorist, Netanyahu vowed the killer’s home would be demolished swiftly in retribution and „those who incited and glorified his act would be dealt with.”

​Palestinians: We reject any alternative Temple Mt security devices

The Israeli government and security cabinet meeting Sunday will scrutinize the effectiveness of the metal detectors and possible alternative measures for securing the Temple Mount shrines – in light of a wave of violent Palestinian demonstrations and the boycott on prayer at Al Aqsa called by the Waqf in protest. However, a Palestinian spokesman in Ramallah rejected any alternative security devices whatsoever. This position, he said, was „non-negotiable.” And a Waqf official commented that the metal detectors were not the issue.

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February 28, 2014

Briefs
Israel-Jordan crisis over, diplomats leave embassy

The diplomatic crisis between Jordan and Israel lasted a day and-a-half before it was resolved. By late Monday, July 24, the Israeli embassy staff was free to leave Amman and drove through the Allenby Bridge crossing on their way home. Among them was the security guard, who Sunday shot dead two Jordanians in a struggle after he was stabbed with a screwdriver. The Jordanian authorities demanded his handover for their investigation and subjected the embassy to a lockdown for most of the day to prevent their departure. Israel rejected this demands on the grounds that the guard had diplomatic immunity. During the day, Shin Bet Director Nadav Argamon and Donald Trump’s special envoy Jason Greenblatt travelled to Amman to clear up the crisis with senior Jordanian officials. Jordan’s King Abdullah and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu were kept continuously in the picture. When the two leaders spoke directly Monday evening, the end of the crisis was clearly at hand. DEBKAfile adds: The resolution of the diplomatic crisis between Jerusalem and Amman over this incident did not settle the Israeli-Palestinian impasse over Temple Mount. An Israeli-Jordanian deal was almost certainly struck to ease the crisis over the security measures Israeli installed at the shrine after two of its police officers were shot dead there by terrorists. But any such deal will depend on Palestinian approval, and that remains to be ironed out in further negotiations.

Netanyahu and Jordan’s King Abdullah talk as crisis eases

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu talked on the phone Monday evening to Jordan’s King Abdullah who is visiting the United States, after a high-ranking Israeli emissary, since revealed as Shin Bet Director Nadav Argaman, returned from a mission in Amman. There, he sat down with a senior Jordanian security official to iron out an agreed formula for solving the crisis that erupted Sunday after an Israeli embassy guard shot dead two Jordanians while fighting off a stabbing attack. Argaman also sought permission to release the embassy staff for its return home. During the day, Jordanian forces held the embassy in lockdown as Amman demanded the guard’s handover, which Israel rejected.

A high-ranking Israeli emissary is en route to Jordan

Israeli security sources reported Monday noon that a senior Israeli security official is on his way to Amman to try and sort out the standoff with the Jordanian government over its demand to hand over an Israeli embassy guard, who shot two Jordanians when he was stabbed with a screwdriver. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu reported continuous contacts with Jordanian security and government officials at several levels, with a view to bringing the incident to a speedy resolution. The foreign ministry in Jerusalem invited the Jordanian ambassador to come and help resolve the impasse. Netanyahu said he had spoken to Israel’s ambassador Anat Schlein and the security guard and assured them he was doing everything in his power to bring them home. The embassy staff remains locked in by a Jordanian blockade.

Jordan threatens to ramp up diplomatic steps against Israel

The crisis between Amman and Jerusalem took a turn for the worse Monday when Jordanian officials threatened Israel with negative diplomatic steps unless the embassy guard, who shot dead two Jordanians in self-defense Sunday, is handed over for questioning and trial. Jordan’s Interior Minister Ghaleb Al-Zuabi issued a warrant prohibiting the Israeli guard from leaving the kingdom. Jordanian forces continue to blockade the Israeli embassy in Amman while the two governments discuss the impasse.

Palestinian stabs man in Petach Tikva downtown

An Israeli Arab is in serious condition after he was repeatedly stabbed by a locally-employed Palestinian from Qalqilya Monday. The injured man is in hospital and the attacker in police custody.

Jordanian forces prevent evacuation of Israeli embassy

The Israeli embassy staff was locked in by Jordanian forces early Monday until they surrender the high-ranking Israeli security officer who was stabbed by a Jordanian man and shot him and another Jordanian dead. Amman wants to interrogate the guard over the incident. Israeli refuses to hand him over on the grounds that he has diplomatic immunity and will be probed by the Israeli police. Jordanian sources report that one of the dead Jordanians was a carpenter and the other a „physician at the scene” according to one source, „the landlord”, according to another. The Israeli guard’s medical condition is described by Jordanian sources as „unstable.”


March 7, 2014

Briefs
Combat BDS – 4 pro-Israel videos you have to see!

Thousands of splinter organizations dedicate their every waking moment to posting falsified narratives, videos and pictures on the web with the aim to mislead students and try and draw them into joining what is known as the BDS movement. Whilst the raging wars of yesterday were once on the ground, today they are most certainly fought in cyber space. This month, Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan announced the launch of 4IL, an online initiative aimed at stemming the flow of misinformation coming from anti-Israel groups. Movements like Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) disguise themselves as seeking relief for Palestinians, when in fact they advocate for the destruction of Israel.

Russia posts troops 8km from the Israeli Golan

Russia has quietly moved troops to a point in southern Syria that is 8km from Israel’s Golan border, in the face of Israeli objections, DEBKAfile reports exclusively. Moscow used the uproar over the Temple Mount standoff and the diplomatic crisis between Israel and Jordan to cover its creeping troop deployment almost up to Syria’s borders with Israel and Jordan. Tuesday, July 15, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gady Eisenkott visited Bashan Division headquarters on the Golan for a rundown on the Russian deployment just opposite. DEBKAfile’s military sources report that some 800 Russian troops face Israel and another 400 are positioned on the border with Jordan. They have set up a roadblock east of Quneitra 8km from Israeli positions on the Golan. They have also strung an additional four to six lookout posts, some of them 13km from Israeli military positions, along the 64km Syrian-Israeli border – from Mount Hermon in the north, up to a point south of Qunetra in the south. Israel has repeatedly objected to the proximity of this Russian military presence, and asked the Trump administration to prevent it. But the protests from Jerusalem went unheeded in Washington and Moscow. President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary James Mattis regard the creation of US-Russian sponsored ceasefire zones in southwestern Syria as an essential component of their military cooperation in Syria and the war on ISIS. DEBKAfile recalls that the Russians brought into embattled Daraa earlier this month to monitor the first ceasefire zone did not require Hizballah to withdraw. Iran’s Lebanese proxy is still there. Israel fears that Hizballah will repeat this exercise in the second ceasefire zone and establish a presence opposite the Golan without the Russians raising a finger to keep them out.

Palestinians up pressure on Israel re Temple Mount

After Israel removed the metal detectors and security cameras from Temple Mount, Palestinian Authority Chairman, Mahmoud Abbas announced Tuesday that the freeze on ties with Israel will continue until all the security devices Israel installed after the murder of two police officers are dismantled. Until the former situation is restored, he said, Muslims will continue to stay out of Al Aqsa and hold prayers in the street. Waqf leaders have taken the same tough position.

Netanyahu speaks of new threats after touring Hermon and Golan

„The situation here is changing rapidly, ISIS is retreating and Iran is trying to fill the void,” Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said after touring the Hermon and Golan Tuesday. „Iran and Hezbollah have formed a northern deployment armed with precise weaponry. We are dealing with new threats. We are aware of the entire gamut of threats against Israel,” Netanyahu said. He complimented „the sharpness and alertness of the officers, the forces [of the Bashan Division] and the important work they are doing.”

US Navy ship fires warning shots at Iranian patrol boat

A US Navy ship fired warning shots at an Iranian Revolutionary Guards boat at the northern end of the Persian Gulf when it came to within 150 meters and failed to respond to warnings, including radio calls, flares and short whistle blasts. The warning shots prevented a collision but the Iranian boat after withdrawing stayed in the area for some hours. The incident occurred Tuesday. DEBKAfile: The Rev Guards operate fast boats in Gulf waters armed with torpedoes and some packed with explosives. Their crews are training for confrontation with American warships.

Israeli leaders on Golan to inspect new Russian deployment

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gady Eisenkott visited Bashan Division headquarters on the Golan Tuesday, for a rundown on the new Russian deployment just opposite. They received a rundown on the new Russian deployment 8km from Israel’s Golan border from the division commander, Brig .Gen. Yaniv Asor.

Israel removes metal detectors from Temple Mount entrances

Israel Tuesday began dismantling the metal detectors that were placed at the entrances to Temple Mount after two police officers were murdered by terrorists in the Jerusalem compound. For the past week, Muslim worshippers have boycotted Al Aqsa Mosque in protest over the scanners. Later on Tuesday, police also began removing the CCTVs from the sites. They are to be replaced with alternative security measures, including „smart” cameras which identity faces and „see though” clothing for weapons. Until they are in place, the police will exercise intensified security as needed for the safety of worshippers and visitors to the shrine and the compound.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet voted to remove the metal detectors at its second meeting Monday, which took place shortly after the Israeli embassy staff in Amman had returned home and a conversation he held with Jorda’s King Abdullah for ending the diplomatic crisis between Jerusalem and Amman.


March 7, 2014

Briefs
Hizballah’s Nasrallah praises „new resistance tactic” in Jerusalem

As Russian troops began moving into the Quneitra ceasefire sector opposite Israel’s Golan border on Wednesday, July 19, they found they were in hot competition with Israel over…humanitarian aid for the sector’s rebel-held villages. After watching the Russian troops hand out packages to the people of Quneitra, the Israeli government and military chiefs decided to challenge the Russian belated propaganda move. Up until now, Israel has supplied regular humanitarian aid to some 200,000 Syrian villagers living in 80 non-ISIS rebel-controlled villages 15km deep inside the Syrian Golan. Last year alone, Israel sent over half a million liters of heavy fuel, 360 tonnes of foodstuffs, 77 tonnes of clothing and shoes, tens of generators and water system, as well as providing them with medical treatment, including hospital care for sick and injured Syrians and a field hospital on the border. Wednesday, Israel formalized its assistance program under the title „The Good Neighbor” and disclosed it had been administered since 2016 by a special unit of the Bashan Division which is in charge of the Golan sector. The IDF released footage of trucks ferrying across the border supplies of medical equipment, medicines, foodstuffs and fuel, as well as pictures documenting IDF medics lifting Injured Syrians off the battlefield for treatment in Israeli hospitals. According to IDF statistics, at least 3,000 Syrians crossed the border in the past four years for medical treatment. And Israel sent over as needed incubators, respirators and ambulances. In the same period, the IDF conducted 150 assistance operations on Syrian soil.

Fatah proclaims anti-Israel showdown Friday. Jordan’s king talks to Abbas

The Tanzim branch of Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah Wednesday declared next Friday a day of major Palestinian confrontation with Israel’s security forces, dedicated to victory for „Blessed Al Aqsa.” Fatah leaders confirmed this decision. DEBKAfile: Tanzim, the Fatah movement’s militia, has tens of thousands of members, some of whom bear arms. It has a history of leading Palestinian uprisings against Israel, alongside the fundamentalist Islamic Hamas. Its belligerent declaration Wednesday coincided with Jordan’s King Abdullah’s telephone conversation with Abbas. The king tried to de-escalate the Temple Mount crisis, after Israel made the gesture of dismantling the metal detectors and cameras installed there. The king and Palestinian leader also agreed to work together to restore what they called Al Aqsa’s „historic and legal status quo.”

Trump promises action on Iran; Haley calls for UN crackdown on Hizballah

During a speech in Ohio on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump vowed Iran will face major consequences if it does not comply with its nuclear agreement with Western powers. „If that deal doesn’t conform to what it’s supposed to conform to, it’s going to be big, big problems for them,” the president said. Rather than being appreciative, Iran has „become emboldened. That won’t take place much longer,” he said. Meanwhile, US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley called on the Security Council to enforce UN resolutions regularly violated by Hizballah, saying the dangers from the Iranian proxy „are getting larger, not smaller”. She urged the council to recognize that Hizballah is „a destructive terrorist force” that is „dedicated to the destruction of Israel”.

Taliban assault on Afghan military base leaves 26 dead

A Taliban attack on an Afghan military base in Kandahar province early Wednesday morning left 26 soldiers dead, Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry said. Thirteen troops were said to be wounded. According to a ministry spokesman, 80 Taliban fighters were killed during the predawn assault on Karzyalay base.

As resignation rumors swirl, State Dept says Tillerson taking time off

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson may resign before the end of 2017 due to a rift with President Donald Trump and the administration over a number of policy differences, according to reports in the American media. However, a State Department spokesperson said Tuesday that Tillerson intends to stay at the department and is merely „taking a little time off” this week following an overseas trip. The top diplomat is also said to be at odds with Trump over the president’s comment last week that he regrets selecting Jeff Sessions as attorney general.

EU high court: Hamas is a terrorist organization

The European Union Court of Justice reconfirmed on Wednesday that Hamas is a terrorist organization and thus will not be removed from the EU’s list of terrorist organizations. Under the designation, the EU has imposed sanctions, frozen Hamas bank accounts and barred Hamas members from EU territory. The decision came after a lower court ruled against the EU’s 2001 designation of Hamas as a terrorist group.

Five boycott supporters barred from entering Israel

The Israeli government on Wednesday blocked five foreign activists, who support the boycotting of Israel, from entering the country. The five were prevented from boarding their Lufthansa flight at their point of departure in the US after the Israeli government informed the airline that the activists should not be allowed to board without entry visas. Israel’s Interior Ministry took the step at the recommendation of the Ministry of Strategic Affairs. The three Jews, one Muslim and one Christian were headed to Israel as part of a delegation organized by three US groups that support the boycott: American Muslims for Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace and the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship.

Boko Haram abducts 10 members of Nigerian oil exploration team

Violent Palestinian protests against new Israeli security procedures at the gates of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount continued late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning in the area of Lion’s Gate. Two policemen sustained minor injuries from stones thrown at them. Meanwhile, in the neighborhood of Silwan, rioters threw stones and firebombs and shot fireworks at the security forces before being dispersed. Molotov cocktails were also thrown at security forces in the neighborhood of Isawiya. Israel set up security checks including metal detectors at the gates of the Temple Mount after Friday’s terrorist attack in which two members of the border police were murdered while guarding the Lion’s Gate entrance.

Boko Haram abducts 10 members of Nigerian oil exploration team

Violent Palestinian protests against new Israeli security procedures at the gates of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount continued late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning in the area of Lion’s Gate. Two policemen sustained minor injuries from stones thrown at them. Meanwhile, in the neighborhood of Silwan, rioters threw stones and firebombs and shot fireworks at the security forces before being dispersed. Molotov cocktails were also thrown at security forces in the neighborhood of Isawiya. Israel set up security checks including metal detectors at the gates of the Temple Mount after Friday’s terrorist attack in which two members of the border police were murdered while guarding the Lion’s Gate entrance.

IDF restricts access to building occupied by settlers in Hebron

After about 100 Israeli settlers moved into a building across from the Cave of the Patriarchs complex in Hebron on Tuesday, claiming that they had purchased Beit Hamachpela legally, the commander of the IDF’s Judea Brigade, Col. Itzik Cohen, issued an order designating the structure as a closed military area. The IDF took the step in order to prevent more settlers from entering the building.

US lauds Israel’s dismantlement of Temple Mount metal detectors

The White House on Tuesday praised Israel’s removal of metal detectors that were set up at the entrances to Jerusalem’s Temple Mount following a terrorist attack earlier this month. „The United States applauds the efforts of Israel to maintain security while reducing tensions in the region.” the statement issued by spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders said. It noted that Israel took the step „despite the demonstrated need to enhance security” following the July 14 attack in which two border policemen were killed.

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March 7, 2014

Briefs
Israel capitulates to Palestinian escalation

The Netanyahu government has caved in to combined Palestinian and Israeli Arab pressure on its positions regarding Temple Mount and its responses to acts of terror. By Thursday morning, July 27, all the security measures, metal detectors, cameras and fences, had been removed from Temple Mount, and the bodies of the three Israeli Arabs who murdered two Israeli police officers handed over to their families in their home town of Umm al Fahm in the Israeli Arab Triangle. Even after Israel gave in to their demands, for the sake of calming the loaded crisis, the Palestinians’ clerical leaders and the Waqf did not order Muslim worshippers to end their boycott of Al Aqsa. Instead, their prayer gatherings in the streets outside are constantly swelling as a symbol of their confrontation with Israel. The Palestinian Authority, the Tanzim militia and Hamas have called for an escalated showdown with Israel on Friday. As DEBKAfile noted Wednesday, the Israeli government, by surrendering to Palestinian and Israeli Arab nationalist and religious extremists, has set its feet on a dangerously slippery slope. The insatiable demands for more capitulation will not stop at this point. At this juncture, the Israeli government has no choice but to brake hard on concessions – even as street violence escalates – and draw a red line against caving in any further. The Palestinians and their clerics should be firmly informed that if they choose to continue to boycott Al Aqsa and hold prayers in the street outside the shrine, so be it. Israel will not budge any further on its responsibility to secure Temple Mount against more violence. And their dream of a victory parade on the holy compound to celebrate their humiliation of the Jewish State will never come true.

Arab League: Israeli escalation threatens to engulf region

At the end of an emergency session in Cairo, the Arab League foreign ministers Thursday issued a statement placing the entire blame on Israel for the violent Palestinian eruption on and over Temple Mount and related acts of terrorism. „Israel’s escalation will have dangerous repercussions for the future of peace and threatens to engulf the entire region in a religious confrontation” said the statement. The Arab League further warned that without a solution for the root causes of the crisis, the situation may blow up at any moment.

Palestinians riot on Temple Mount, stone Jews praying at Western Wall

Clashes broke out Thursday afternoon between Israel Police forces and thousands of Muslims who came to worship on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. Dozens of Palestinians, including some who climbed onto the roofs of the mosques, waved PLO flags. Rioters also started throwing rocks over the Western Wall at Jewish worshippers below. Police used stun grenades to disperse the rioters. The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that about 100 Palestinians were wounded.

Iran launches rocket in latest step toward putting military satellites in orbit

Iran announced Thursday that the country had successfully launched into space one of its „Simorgh” rockets capable of putting 250-kg satellites into orbit. No other details were given. DEBKAfile: The Simorgh, also called the Safir-2, is a ballistic missile that the Iranians have been developing for years with an aim of launching satellites and developing their technology for mounting small nuclear warheads on missiles and launching them. Many previous tests of the missile failed. If the launch was indeed successful, it might indicate a big step forward in Iran’s development of those technologies and in its attempts to place military satellites in space.

IDF deploys six more battalions to deal with possible unrest in Judea, Samaria

Following consultations including the chief of staff, Lieut. Gen. Gady Eisenkott, the IDF decided Thursday to deploy six more battalions in Judea and Samaria ahead of the Muslim prayers on Friday. Meanwhile, the commander of the Jerusalem District of the Israel Police, Deputy Commissioner Yoram Levy, said there could be casualties if the Palestinians do not keep the peace during Friday prayers. He predicted that an especially large number of worshippers will attend. „Don’t test us”, he warned, saying the police know how to respond in a strong and determined manner.

Jordan: Israeli embassy won’t reopen unless security guard is put on trial

Jordan announced Thursday that it will not allow Israeli ambassador Einat Shlein and her staff to return to their posts in Amman until there are guarantees that the embassy security guard who shot dead two Jordanians while fighting off a stabbing attack on Sunday will be put on trial. The Jordanian authorities allowed the embassy staff to leave the country late Monday after surrounding the diplomatic facility for most of the day.

Abbas, mufti of Jerusalem announce resumption of Temple Mount prayers

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and the senior Muslim cleric of Jerusalem, Mohammad Hussein, announced Thursday that Muslim worshippers will return to the Temple Mount following Israel’s removal of all the security measures it put in place at the entrances to the holy site earlier this month. The first prayers are to be held at 4pm. However, Abbas claimed that „the story is not over”, saying the Palestinians will wait and see how Israel deals with the issue at UN institutions during the next year.

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March 7, 2014

Briefs
Arab League: Israeli escalation threatens to engulf region

At the end of an emergency session in Cairo, the Arab League foreign ministers Thursday issued a statement placing the entire blame on Israel for the violent Palestinian eruption on and over Temple Mount and related acts of terrorism. „Israel’s escalation will have dangerous repercussions for the future of peace and threatens to engulf the entire region in a religious confrontation” said the statement. The Arab League further warned that without a solution for the root causes of the crisis, the situation may blow up at any moment.

Temple Mt. crisis resurrects two untenable ideas by Prime Minister

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for the first time advocated the death sentence for terrorist killers. He spoke during a condolence visit to Halamish where a Palestinian terrorist stabbed to death three members of the Salomon family. While on Israel’s law books, this sentence has never been executed or ruled by an Israeli court. On another occasion, Netanyahu was quoted this week as having proposed handing over the Israeli Arab region of Wadi Ara near Haifa to the Palestinian Authority in a land swap for the annexation of a West Bank settlement. The proposal came up in talks some weeks ago with Trump administration emissaries Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt. Possible land swaps have often come up in the context of a permanent peace settlement. But Netanyahu’s naming of a specific region for the first time was leaked after the three killers of two Israeli policemen on Temple Mount two weeks ago were hailed as „martyrs to occupied Umm al Fahm” at their funeral. Umm al Fah is located in Wadi Ara. The region’s wholesale transfer to Palestinian rule would be fiercely resisted by the population.

Access to Al Aqsa restricted to men of 50+ after mob riots

The Israeli police, on high state of preparedness for the Friday Prayers at Al Aqsa Mosque restricted access to men over the age 50, with no restrictions on women. Mob violence erupted on Temple Mount Thursday after Israel’s security measures were dismantled, including rocks hurled down at Western Wall Jewish worshippers. Police breakup of the riots left more than 100 Palestinians and 10 police officers injured. To avert more outbreaks of mob violence by young Palestinian demonstrators, police set in place roadblocks on the highways to Jerusalem, the urban roads leading to the Old City and at sensitive spots within the ancient walls.