We never know what the future will bring; I just hope 2017 is less surreal than 2016.

Wishing you a happy and healthy New Year, une bonne et heureuse année, and un feliz Año Nuevo!

Regarding UN Resolution 2334

*It is now illegal for Jews to pray at the Western Wall or live in certain Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem. These actions require Israelis to enter areas that were captured from Jordan during Israel's defensive war of 1967. According to the Security Council resolution that the U.S. did not veto, any area that was not part of Israel before June of 1967 is now illegally occupied. Alan M. Dershowitz (New York Daily News)

 

*The resolution fails to distinguish between construction in the so-called blocs - that is, settlements west of Israel's security barrier in which about 80% of settlers live - and construction east of the barrier. Building in the major blocs is relatively uncontroversial in Israel and rarely the subject of Palestinian protests. President George W. Bush sought to move peace talks forward in 2004 by asserting that there could be no return to the 1967 lines in light of the blocs' existence, and that any negotiated border would have to reflect this reality. Obama refused to confirm Bush's position. Elliott Abrams and Michael Singh (Washington Post)

*The Palestinian Authority under Mahmoud Abbas proved unwilling to negotiate seriously even during a settlement freeze for 10 months in 2009 and 2010 at Mr. Obama's behest, and it refused to accept a framework for negotiations painstakingly drawn up by Secretary of State John F. Kerry in 2014. Whatever the motivation for the U.S. abstention, Mr. Obama's gesture is likely to do more harm than good. (Washington Post)

*The ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), said on Friday, "This resolution is one-sided and unfairly calls out Israel without assigning any blame for the Palestinian role in the current impasse." Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) warned on Thursday that the "resolution would undermine, if not undo, the chances for productive discussions between the two sides." Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) called the resolution "unconstructive." Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) stressed on Friday that "any lasting peace must be negotiated between Israelis and Palestinians, not imposed by the international community." "Today's passage of an ill-conceived resolution on Israeli settlements marks another shameful chapter in the bizarre anti-Israel history of the United Nations," Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Friday. "The abstention of the United States has made us complicit in this outrageous attack, and marks a troubling departure from our nation's long, bipartisan history of defending our ally Israel in the United Nations." (The Tower)

 

*According to officials in Israel,  Ukrainian Prime Minister Groysman is thought of as one of Israel's main supporters. However, Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko decided to vote in favor of the resolution following a telephone conversation with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, demonstrating the extent to which President Obama was behind Ukraine's decision. (Ynet News)

Partners for Peace?

Greek Orthodox Patriarch under Fire from PLO for Praising Israel's Freedom of Religion (Times of Israel)

Hamas Condemns Muslims and Jews Dancing at Hanukkah Celebration in Bahrain - Gabriel Samuels (Independent-UK)

Fatah Official Abbas Zaki Participates in a Hamas Rally (MEMRI)

Wishing you happy holidays! Hope you enjoy: An Argentinean Rabbi & Bishop Just Recorded a Chrismukkah Hit ( Kveller)

Christmas Day Terror Plot Foiled in Australia (AFP)

  

Europe: Christmas Shoppers Jihadist Crosshairs - George Igler (Gatestone Institute)

Months of Prior Warnings Regarding Terror Attacks Using Trucks (MEMRI)

Iran Replaces Old IR1 Centrifuges with Advanced IR8 Centrifuges (Tasnim-Iran)

Iranian Commander Says After Aleppo It Is Bahrain and Yemen's Turn (Rudaw-Kurdistan)

Iran Is Changing Syria's Demographics - Martin Chulov (Observer-UK)

Iran Naval Bases in Syria and Yemen? - Ephraim Kam (Institute for National Security Studies)

Erbil hospitals overwhelmed by Mosul casualties, KRG urges Baghdad to step in (Rudaw)

Partners for Peace?

Video: Splitting Jerusalem (Video Activism) For the past decades, there have been many moves to split Jerusalem. But is this really best for all the Arabs, Jews and Christians living there today?

Nazareth municipality has school children honor murderer of 3 Israelis - Itamar Marcus (PMW) Ironically, the Palestinian daily Al-Quds described the chain of readers as an attempt to "acquire knowledge in a city that every day tries to stand firm against the violence, intolerance, and sectarianism." 

For the Second Time, ABC Corrects: US Does Not View Settlements as 'Illegal' (CAMERA)

U.S. Intended to Allow Passage of UN Resolution Critical of Israel - Michelle Nichols and Lesley Wroughton (Reuters) Resolution started/stopped by Egypt!

 

Afghanistan

US Military: 250 al Qaeda Operatives Killed or Captured in Afghanistan This Year – Thomas Joscelyn and Bill Roggio (Long War Journal) Officials finally conceded just this year that the number of al Qaeda operatives in Afghanistan exceeds the US government’s longstanding claim.

Lebanon

Women in Blood-stained Wedding Dresses Demonstrate Against Lebanese Law Exonerating Rapists Who Marry Their Victims (MEMRI)

Morocco

Don’t Teach Women to Hide the Abuse They Experience, Teach Men Not to Abuse – Kayleigh Bolingbroke (fbomb)

Moroccan Jihadist Group Merges with Local Syrian Faction – Caleb Weiss (Long War Journal)

Iran

Iran Breaks Nuclear Deal and UN Resolutions – Majid Rafizadeh (Gatestone Institute)

Iraq

Yanar Mohammed: Freeing Mosul Could be Death Sentence for Iraqi Women – Elspeth Dehnert (News Deeply) What does it mean for the woman who is pregnant due to an ISIS husband, the woman whose relatives might look at it as an honor issue and kill her because of it? The liberation of Mosul might mean a death sentence for a big number of women.

Pakistan

Taliban Demands for Cash Stir Fears of Swat Valley Comeback- Asad Hashim (Asia Times)

Partners for Peace?

Hamas: Ties with Iran Getting Better Every Day (ISNA-Iran)

Hamas Arrests Hundreds of Extremists in Gaza - Kifah Ziboun (Asharq Al-Awsat-UK)

Half of the Residents of Shuafat Refugee Camp Aren't Refugees (Elder of Ziyon) It has become a popular place of residence for non-refugee Palestinians who might not otherwise be able to afford the high cost of living in Jerusalem…. they would have to pay rent instead of getting free housing from UNRWA.

Palestinian Poll: 2/3 Demand Abbas' Resignation - Dr. Khalil Shikaki (Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research)  53% support a return to an armed intifada.  62% support abandoning the Oslo agreement. 73% believe that Abbas should reject the Israeli Prime Minister's invitation to speak in front of the Israeli Knesset. 50% think it was a wrong decision to send fire fighting vehicles and men to combat recent fires in Israel.

Fatah TV broadcasts terror promoting song 72 times – Itamar Marcus (PMW)

Syria

Israel Has Wary Eye on Iran after Syrian Rebels Lose Aleppo - Luke Baker  (Reuters)

The Lesson of Aleppo - Seth J. Frantzman . (Jerusalem Post) What Aleppo has proven is that in the 21st century a regime like Assad's can get away with any human rights abuse, even the scorched earth of most of its own country, while the world watches on YouTube and Twitter and does little.

United States of America

Video: Anti-Israel ActivistsManipulate U.S. Third-Graders into Hating Israel - William A. Jacobson (Legal Insurrection)

White House 'Champion' Blasts Muslims Who Work with Jews - Steven Emerson (Algemeiner)

AFP Journalist Takes Active Role in Fatah Politics (CAMERA) In a gross conflict of interest and egregious breach of journalistic ethics, Agence France Presse (AFP) reporter Nasser Abu Baker of the West Bank last week campaigned for a seat on the Fatah Revolutionary Council. The Revolutionary Council is one of two main governing bodies for Fatah, the leading Palestinian party. Abu Baker, the chairman of the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate, also leads a campaign to boycott Israeli journalists. AFP’s ongoing employment of Abu Baker as a reporter on Palestinian affairs while he also plays an active role in Palestinian politics is a gross violation of the wire service’s declared commitment to “rigorous neutrality” and independence from “economic or political interests.” In an egregious breach of ethical journalistic practice, Abu Baker both attended the Fatah congress as a delegate, and covered it for AFP.

4 Palestinians found dead after Egypt floods Gaza tunnel (IMRA/Maan News)

Iran Opens Amusement Park to Teach Kids to Fight Israel, USA (MEMRI)

Iran Is Stepping Up Cyberattacks - Tim Johnson (McClatchy)

Iranians Detained on Terrorism Charges after Filming Israeli Embassy in Kenya - Natalie Johnson (Washington Free Beacon)

The Portrayal of Palestinian Terrorists (in Ireland) - Zahava Raymond (Honest Reporting)

"Slice open the enemy's chest - slice it!" - Fatah song on PA TV - Itamar Marcus (PMW)

The Aleppo Betrayal - Hassan Mneimneh (Washington Institute for Near East Policy)

Let's Not Pretend Scenes of Horror in Eastern Aleppo are Unexpected - Elise Baker (Syria Deeply)

Why the LA Times Defends Threats, Intimidation and Anti-Semitism - Daniel Pomerantz (Honest Reporting) 

Britain, U.S. Monitor Israeli Diplomats, Defense Firms - Snowden Docs Reveal  (RT-Russia)

New York State Places Dutch Firms on Blacklist for Israel Boycott (Dutch News-Netherlands)

U.S. Wants to Send Guantanamo Detainee to Israel for Trial - But There's a Snag - Carol Rosenberg (Miami Herald)

Taliban seizes cache of weapons after overrunning district in Kandahar - Bill Roggio (Long War Journal)

Growing Egypt-Syria Rapprochement - N. Mozes (MEMRI)

France Urges Labelling Goods from Israeli Settlements - Philippe Sotto  (AP)

France's Politician Dhimmis - Yves Mamou (Gatestone Institute) There are over 200 territorial disputes worldwide. The EU labeling guidelines discriminate only against Israel.

Reservations on Iran Missing Iridium-192 Leading to a Dirty Bomb - Fahd Al-Zayabi (Asharq Al-Awsat) ...highly radioactive material stolen from Iran...

Iraq's Parliament Legalizes Shiite Militias as a Government Force - Hamza Hendawi and Qassim Abdul-Zahra (AP-Washington Post)

 

As Israel burned, US firefighters ‘dropped everything’ to help battle flames - Andrew Tobin (Times of Israel)

Many Countries Sent Firefighting Aircraft to Israel - Itay Blumental (Ynet News)

Report: Russia and Hizbullah "Officially" Working Together in Syria - Dov Lieber (Times of Israel)