Iran Guards Suspected of Keeping Secret Funds in Asia (Kyodo News-Japan)
Palestinian Reconciliation and the Rising Power of Hamas and Islamic Jihad: An Iranian Windfall - Lt. Col. (ret.) Jonathan D. Halevi (Institute for Contemporary Affairs-Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) By repeatedly defying the United States, and being prepared to integrate Islamic Jihad as well into the PLO, and possibly also other Islamic terror organizations, Abbas is signaling that he is no longer in the American camp. Instead he is adopting positions of the rejectionist camp and seeking closer ties with Iran, ally of Hamas and patron of Islamic Jihad.
Palestinian Magical Thinking - Jonathan Spyer (PJ Media) Palestinian nationalism in both its Fatah and Hamas variants rejects the possibility of accepting the permanence of Jewish statehood in any part of the area west of the Jordan River. For the Palestinian Authority, the nine-month period of negotiations came as an unwelcome interruption to a very different strategy to which it will now return: attempting to isolate and delegitimize Israel at international forums to induce it to make concessions in return for nothing.
Despite Economist Claim, the 'Fanatical Settlement' of Kochav Ya'ir is Neither 'Fanatical' Nor a 'Settlement' (CIF Watch) While the UK media often employ euphemisms to avoid passing 'value judgments' on Palestinian terror groups, there are typically no such restraints in news stories and commentaries about Israeli 'settlers'. A good illustration of this dynamic can be found in a May 3rd article in The Economist titled 'Making of a martyr'.
Stones Thrown at Christianity’s Living Stones (CAMERA) Just how serious is the Palestinian Authority in protecting Christians in and around Bethlehem? That’s the question Palestinians – and pilgrims to the city – need to be asking in light of the ugly and violent confrontation that took place at St. George’s Church in Khadar, just outside of Beit Jala on May 6, 2014. In addition to stone throwing, there was a stabbing.
