Argentine Prosecutor: Iran Set Up Terrorist Networks in Latin America - Guido Nejamkis (Reuters)  In a 500-page document, Argentine state prosecutor Alberto Nisman cited evidence of Iran's "intelligence and terrorist network" in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, Colombia, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname - among others. In the case of the AMIA bombing, Argentina has secured Interpol arrest warrants for eight Iranians including Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi and Mohsen Rezaie, a former head of the Revolutionary Guards who is running for president. 

 

Egypt's Water War - Michael Bassin (Times of Israel) Arab commentators are directly accusing Israel of responsibility for the Egyptian-Ethiopian crisis, despite the absence of any official reports of Israeli involvement. Major General Mohammed Ali Bilal, the deputy chief of staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces, says that Egypt is worried a direct military hit on the dam would jeopardize its relations with many countries, including China and Israel, two countries with many citizens working on the project.  Egypt is not in a position now to confront all these countries, Bilal says. There is an international consensus that Ethiopia has the right to build the dam. He alleges that the dam has American financial backing and enjoys Israeli technical support. The only solution lies in the US intervening to convince Ethiopia to alleviate the impact of the dam on Egypt.

Salafist Adviser to Morsi: "We Have No Problem with the Peace with Israel" - Elhanan Miller (Times of Israel) Emad Abdel Ghafour, head of the Salafist Al-Watan party and adviser to Egyptian President Morsi, said Sunday that he "had no problem" with the Camp David Peace Accords between Israel and Egypt, but added that the number of Egyptian soldiers allowed to enter the Sinai Peninsula under the agreement must be increased. 

Terrorist who killed 38 Israelis appointed PA adviser - Khaled Abu Toameh (Jerusalem Post) 

Palestinians reject Kerry’s new focus on boosting their economy - Michal Shmulovich and Raphael Ahren (Times of Israel) Day after secretary unveils $4-billion investment plan, Abbas adviser says PA won’t make political compromises for financial benefits.

Did the Nakba Begin in 1948 - or 1920? - Daniel Pinner  (Jerusalem Post) After the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923, suddenly the Arabs of southern Syria found themselves with a new and unwanted foreign identity imposed on them by Europeans. They had become Palestinians. As a local Arab leader, Auni Bey Abdul-Hadi, testified to the British Peel Commission in 1937: "There is no such country as 'Palestine'; 'Palestine' is a term the Zionists invented!...Our country was for centuries part of Syria." As late as May 31, 1956, Ahmed Shukeiri, the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the UN, told the Security Council: "It is common knowledge that Palestine is nothing but Southern Syria." 

Chemical warfare in Syria - Jean-Philippe Remy (Le Monde)

Hizbullah Member Arrested in Texas - Guillermo Contreras (San Antonio Express-News) Did his wife know?

Palestinian politicians continue to reject the notion of Israel's legitimacy. Yet the "peace process" marches on, with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in the region this week to give it another try. 

Egypt

Sinai Kidnappers Release Egypt Security Force Hostages (Deutsche Welle-Germany)
Egypt Sinai Campaign Coordinated with Israel - Avi Issacharoff  (The Tower-Israel Project) Egypt's official MENA news agency declared that the groups responsible for the kidnapping were trained in Gaza and received weapons from Hamas and other terrorist groups there.

Israel
Israel's Critical Security Requirements for Defensible Borders: The Foundation for a Viable Peace (Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) A group of senior Israeli generals outlines the basic principles of a defense policy, rooted in a consensus spanning past and present Israeli governments, which is focused on Israel maintaining defensible borders. 

Palestinians - Palestinian Authority (PA), Fatah, Hamas, etc.

PA continues to deny Israel's existence  verbally and visually - Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik (PMW) 
Official PA daily: "Palestinians [are] Jesus' descendants"  - Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik (PMW) Having no ancient Palestinian history, the Palestinian Authority has tried for many years to convince its people that they have a history going back many thousands of years, that there was an ancient Palestinian nation, and that one of the great figures of history, Jesus, was their "forefather" and they are "Jesus' descendants."   The fact that in Christian tradition Jesus is a Jew from the nation of Judea and that the historical record has no record of a Palestinian Arab people, is not taught by the PA. The PA also ignores the fact that Rome only changed the name of Judea to "Palestine" after the Judean Bar Kochba Rebellion in the year 136, long after the death of Jesus. Furthermore, according to Christian tradition, Jesus did not marry, had no children, and therefore Palestinians could not be "Jesus' descendants."
11 Palestinians Died in PA, Hamas Detention in 2012 - Khaled Abu Toameh (Jerusalem Post) 11 Palestinians died in Palestinian Authority and Hamas detention centers during 2012 - 2 in the PA and 9 in Gaza, according to a report released Tuesday by the Palestinian Independent Commission for Human Rights. 

Palestinians Threw 200 Firebombs at Rachel's Tomb in Past Three Months - Gideon Allon (Israel Hayom)

Hamas Textbooks to Teach "Plans to Liberate Palestine" - Khaled Abu Toameh (Jerusalem Post)

Saudi Arabia

Saudi to "Protest Strongly" Against Iranian Spying - Mohammed Fahad al-Harthi (Al-Arabiya) Last week, Saudi Arabia announced the arrest of ten more individuals in connection with an Iranian espionage case. The new group included eight Saudis, a Lebanese and a Turk. 

Sweden

Have you been reading about the riots in Sweden? In Husby, more than 80% of the 12,000 or so inhabitants are from an immigrant background, and most are from Turkey, the Middle East and Somalia. Yet it's hard to find any articles that will identify who the vandals are.

A Fourth Night of Riots Shakes Stockholm - DAGENS NYHETER (Sweden), SVENSKA DAGBLADET (Sweden), THE LOCAL (Sweden), THE FINANCIAL TIMES (US) Worldcrunch

Syria

Syrian Rebels in Trouble: German Intelligence Sees Assad Regaining Hold - Matthias Gebauer (Der Speigel-Germany)

United Arab Emirates

The UAE's 5-Star Syrian Refugee Camp in Jordan - Neri Zilber (Foreign Policy) 

United States of America

Due Diligence and Accountability? The Negative Impact of U.S. Government Funding for Mideast Political NGOs (NGO Monitor)

Misguided SodaStream Protestors at American University - Rachel Wolf (In Forcus/CAMERA)

Robert Mackey Cherry-Picks James Fallows on Al Dura (CAMERA) New York Times blogger Robert Mackey has, yet again, engaged in dishonest journalism. 

State Department Notes Continued Rise in Anti-Semitism (U.S. State Department) "Of great concern were expressions of anti-Semitism by government officials, by religious leaders, and by the media, particularly in Venezuela, Egypt, and Iran."  

"Jihad in America, The Grand Deception," a documentary by Steve Emerson.

UNbelievable:

UNRWA representative poses with map  that presents all of Israel as "Palestine" at event in Lebanon   - Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik (PMW)

Iran to Chair UN Conference on Disarmament, U.S. Won't Attend  (AP-Washington Post)

Afghanistan

Hizb-i-Islami suicide bomber in Kabul kills 6 Americans, 9 Afghans - Lisa Lundquist (The Long War Journal) The Taliban's spring offensive promised a renewed focus on suicide attacks targeting ISAF forces. Today's suicide bombing in a residential area also injured 39 Afghan civilians   

Bangledesh

Blasphemy Laws Coming to Bangladesh?  - Mohshin Habib (Gatestone Institute) There are currently about 125 terrorist groups operating throughout Bangladesh, most under the control of Bangladesh's largest Islamic party, the Jamaat-e-Islami.

Egypt

7 Egyptian Security Officers Kidnapped in Sinai (Reuters-Al Arabiya)

Egyptian TV presenter, Jihan Mansour, fined for insulting Muslim Brotherhood official, El Arian (Ahram Online)

France

How A Mix Of Qatari Cash And French Resentment Sparked A Paris Soccer Riot - Renaud Dely (NOUVEL OBSERVATEUR/Worldcrunch)

Iran

Report: Iran Revolutionary Guard Commander to Lead Fight Against Israel from Syria - Nimdor Sabal (Ynet News)

Israel

Israel Plans 1,140 Palestinian Homes near Jericho - Tovah Lazaroff (Jerusalem Post)

Conference boycotted by Hawking has hosted Palestinian speakers every year - Aaron Kalmon (Times of Israel) 

Palestinians

Fatah Threatens Palestinian Teens Who Played Soccer with Israelis - Khaled Abu Toameh (Jerusalem Post)

Sheikh Qaradawi's Visit to Gaza - Lt. Col. (ret.) Jonathan D. Halevi (Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) In the West, Qaradawi (the world's leading Islamic scholar of the Muslim Brotherhood) has been portrayed as representing moderate, political Islam. Yet his approach is similar to that of al-Qaeda, differing only in terms of the phases of implementation. 

International Red Cross plants trees to honor Palestinian terrorists  - Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik (PMW)

KFC delivery takes up to 4 hours, but Gaza customers don’t mind (Al Arabiya) Delivery, via underground tunnels from neighboring Egypt, takes around four hours.  There are no branches of KFC in the Palestinian territory (so meals are smuggled in from Egypt). The article mentions "Israel's blockade of Gaza, imposed in 2006," but what does that have to do with goods coming from Egypt?

Russia

Russia Wary of Attacks by Rebels Returning from Syria - Olga Dzyubenko (Reuters)

Syria

The Imminent Hizbullah-Nusra War - Hanin Ghaddar  (Now-Lebanon)
The Syrian Salafist group Jabhat Al-Nusra declared in Jordan that it has taken a decision to fight Hizbullah militants, who have become "our Jihadists' main target" across Syria. This came after Hizbullah's secretary general Hassan Nasrallah declared that Hizbullah will stand by Syria. For the Syrian rebels, al-Nusra and others, this is a declaration of war against them. If the Syrian rebels want to prevail, they need to target Hizbullah.

United States

Palestinian Smuggling Ring in U.S. May Have Supported Hamas and Hizbullah (Long Island Exchange)

CAIR Testimony Reinforces Fringe Ideology  (IPT News)

Keeping Our Heads in the Sand After Boston  (IPT News) The Obama administration's policy banning references to "Islamic extremism" and "jihad" in discussions about terrorism drew criticism 

Australia

Report: Hizbullah Has Sleeper Cells in Australia - John Lyons (The Australian)

Egypt

Egypt busts hundreds of smuggling tunnels, and a spy - Elhanan Miller (The Times of Israel)

Iraq

Iraqi Shiite Leader Urges Syria to Strike Back at Israel - Ilan Ben Zion (Times of Israel)  Iraqi Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr's political party, the Sadr Movement, holds 40 seats in Iraq's 325-seat parliament and is widely regarded as an Iranian client.  Professor Moshe Maoz of Hebrew University noted that "The Sunni world is rejoicing that Israel struck Syria." 

Israel

Test Yourself: How Much Do You Know about Jerusalem? (Jerusalem Center)

Palestinians

Top PA official: Israel ‘is our main enemy, resistance is still our agenda’- Elhanan Miller (The Times of Israel) Arab states should put their money where their mouth is to ‘liberate’ Jerusalem, says Jibril Rajoub, a signatory to the Geneva Initiative who had pledged he was Israel’s peace ‘partner’

Two senior Palestinian Authority officials praised the use of violence against Israel last week -  Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik (PMW)

Gaza Public Schools Are Once Again Teaching Hebrew - Christa Case Bryant (Christian Science Monitor) 

British Archives: Palestinians Are Responsible for Their Refugee Problem - Barry Rubin (PJMedia)

British Officials Predicted War - and Arab Defeat - in Palestine in 1948 - Richard Norton-Taylor (Guardian-UK) 

Qatar

Qatar's Duplicitous Game  - Paul Alster (IPT News)

Saudi Arabia

With Increase Of Sunni-Shi'ite Tension In Lebanon, Saudi Arabia Renews Involvement In Country  - E. B. Picali (MEMRI)

Syria

Palestinians in Syria Killed, Injured, Displaced - Media Yawn- Khaled Abu Toameh (Gatestone Institute) 

United States of America

For American Foreign Policy, No Good Options -  Robert D. Kaplan (Stratfor)

Stephen Hawking Reaffirms Support of Israel Boycott - Jonny Paul (Jerusalem Post) Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, director of Shurat HaDin-Israel Law Center, noted, "His whole computer-based communication system runs on a chip designed by Israel's Intel team." 

Phyllis Chesler "The New Anti-Semitisim: Reflections After a Decade on the Front Lines " - a video that goes to the heart of the BDS movement and is especially relevant based on Stephen Hawking's latest affirmation. For more from Dr. Chesler, click here.