In first, key European body calls on Palestinians to stop financing terror - Dov Lieber (Times of Israel)

France Says Iran Not Respecting UN Text on Ballistic Missiles (Reuters-Jerusalem Post)France's foreign minister accused Iran on Monday of not respecting part of a UN resolution that calls on Tehran to refrain from work on ballistic missiles designed to carry nuclear warheads.     Speaking on arrival at a EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels, Jean-Yves Le Drian also said the 28 ministers would reiterate their concerns over Iran's activities in Yemen, Lebanon and Syria, which he described as destabilizing.     The German government appealed to Tehran to join European powers and the U.S. in discussions, citing concerns about its missile program and regional activities. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Adebahr said German, French, and EU officials would launch high-level talks about their concerns. "There's a lot to discuss," she said. 

Iraqi Jews, Al Jazeera and Theft - Lyn Julius (Honest Reporting)

Palestinians: Silencing and Intimidating Journalists- Bassam Tawil (Gatestone Institute)

Uighur Group in Syria Creates Palestinian Sub-Unit - Caleb Weiss (Long War Journal)

Turkey to US: End Support for Syrian Kurdish YPG or Risk Confrontation  (Reuters)

Turkish Attacks on Kurds in Syria Could Reinvigorate Islamic State - Shelly Kittleson (Al-Monitor)

Israel Unveils Plans for 40-Mile Underground Wall around Gaza - Raf Sanchez  (Telegraph-UK)

What's the Matter with Norway - Orde Kittrie (Wall Street Journal)

Report: Hamas Tunnel Was Built to Blow Up Main Humanitarian Crossing to Gaza (Times of Israel)

Gaza family kills own son for 'aiding Israel' (Times of Israel)

Report: U.S. Peace Plan Triggered Abbas Speech - Gil Hoffman   (Jerusalem Post)  Caspit quoted senior officials close to Abbas saying last week, "We understood that Trump's declaration [on Jerusalem] did not really matter and had no impact on what is happening on the ground. We just used the declaration as a preemptive strike to torpedo the negotiations before the Americans finished drafting their peace plan, so we wouldn't have to reject it publicly later on."

30 Foreign Military Bases in Syria (MEMRI)   Russian, Iranian, American, French, British, German, Turkish and Hizbullah bases are described.

Erdogan threatens to 'strangle' new US-backed Syria force (France24)

Turkish troops shell Afrin to oust US-backed Kurdish militia (Al Arabiya)

Persecution of Alevis in Turkey: Threats, Arbitrary Arrests - Uzay Bulut (Gatestone Institute)

Africa: Sudan Deploys Troops to Eritrea Border Amid Tension With Egypt (All Africa)

Media Whitewashes Abbas' Revisionism and Rejectionism (Honest Reporting)

It seems the US press has a history of minimizing hate speech. If you too are upset by The Washington Post (report ), Reuters, CNN, BBC, and others sanitizing Sunday's speech by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas,some calling it “combative” and “brimming with colorful insults,” but omitting much of his actual language, as well as minimizing the PA’s openly stated policy of paying terrorists, please contact your news source and complain.

Bethlehem Fiction in National Geographic - Tamar Sternthal (CAMERA)

Vienna police charge 3 men for waving Israeli flag at rally  - Benjamin Weinthal (Jerusalem Post) After a Vienna demonstration against Trump’s Jerusalem declaration where protesters shouted “Jews, remember Khaybar, the army of Muhammad is returning” and “death to Israel,” Austrian police are now pursuing charges against three Israel activists who waved an Israeli flag.

Iran Spends $16 Billion Annually to Support Terrorists and Rogue Regimes - David Adesnik (Foundation for Defense of Democracies) Supporting the Assad regime in Syria is estimated to cost $15 billion per year, including the costs of deploying thousands of Revolutionary Guards and 20,000 Shiite militiamen.  Bankrolling Iraqi security forces, including pro-Iranian militias, may have cost $1 billion per year.  Support for Lebanese Hizbullah is believed to be $800 million, while Iran spends a combined $100 million per year supporting Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza.

Israel: Iranian Intelligence Operating in West Bank - Yotam Berger (Ha'aretz) 

Palestinian Textbooks are increasingly more radical. A study by the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-se), found that Palestinian textbooks “groom young Palestinians to sacrifice themselves to martyrdom,” promote the idea of a mass “return” to Israel and “feature a radical Islamist, and occasionally, a Salafi worldview.” The study noted that—as with previous Palestinian textbooks—the newer ones include maps that erase Israel, depicting all of the land as “Palestinian.”

Fatah celebrates "a killed settler," glorifies drive-by murder yesterday of Israeli father of 6  - Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik (PMW)

Palestinians Destroy Archaeological Sites in West Bank - Judith Abramson (Jerusalemonline.com)  Palestinian tractors and bulldozers arrived at an archaeological site where the ancient city of Archelaus once stood. The Palestinians  completely leveled the compound in order to locate hidden archaeological treasures to sell in the antiquities market. "Just as ISIS destroyed sites in Iran and Syria that were thousands of years old, the same situation is occurring here" 

Thousands in Gaza Protest Against Palestinian Leadership - Dov Lieber  (Times of Israel) Thousands of Palestinians protested Thursday against both the Palestinian Authority and Hamas over deteriorating humanitarian and economic conditions in Gaza, local media reported. 

Saudi-Led Coalition Turns the Tide in Yemen Conflict - Alexandra Gutowski (Long War Journal)   The Saudi-led coalition is finally making progress on the ground against Yemen's Houthi rebels.

Dancing to Russia’s Tune in Syria - Colum Lynch (Foreign Policy) As the United States stands back, the Saudis and even the U.N. special envoy are now open to a greater Russian diplomatic role in shaping the future of Syria.

Syria Violates U.S.-Russia Buffer Zone Deal in Golan Heights - Prof. Eyal Zisser (Israel Hayom)

 

Turkey Building Walls on Iranian, Syrian Borders - Orhan Coskun and Tuvan Gumrukcu (Reuters)

Turkish Base in Sudan a Problem for Saudi Arabia, Egypt - Sami Moubayed (Gulf News-Dubai) Iran presently controls the strategic Al Hodeida port of Yemen, via its proxy Al Houthi militia, posing a direct threat to Saudi Arabia.

    Last October, Turkey established a military base in Somalia, months after deploying nearly 5,000 troops in Qatar - which is being used by Iran to pressure Saudi Arabia.
    Last week, Ankara was given full rights to rehabilitate the port island/town of Suakin in northeastern Sudan, with a naval dock for both civilian and military vessels on the Red Sea.
    The former Ottoman port served as a transit point for pilgrims crossing the Red Sea to Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
    The Saudis are concerned that the Iranians will use the new Turkish base in Sudan to send more arms and equipment to the Houthis, while the Egyptians see it as a base for further Turkish meddling in the affairs of Egypt through the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, which remains firmly allied to Ankara.
    See also Why Is Sudan's Suakin Island Important for Turkey? - Ali Topchi (TRT World-Turkey)

U.S. Justice Department Announces Hizbullah Financing and Narcoterrorism Team (U.S. Department of Justice)