Wishing you all happy Easter and Passover!

As I'm typing this the BBC is reporting about the 1000's of Palestinians gathering at the Gaza border. Let's hope it's a peaceful protest and doesn't escalate.

With Cynthia Nixon going for governor of New York, this clip from Honest Reporting feels more relevant than ever:  The IDF shelled Hamas positions on Wednesday after Palestinians started a fire near the Gaza border. The army is gearing up for massive Hamas-organized protests along the border on Friday connected to “Land Day.” AP previews what’s in store. According to Arab media reports picked up by Israel HaYom, “Israeli, Palestinian, Jordanian and Egyptian security officials have been secretly cooperating with the aim of preventing a Hamas-orchestrated march planned for Friday from the Gaza Strip from becoming violent.”

WTF France? 

Holocaust survivor’s body found burnt, stabbed in Paris apartment (JTA) Police have a suspect in custody in connection with her death. As is typical of Europe, no description of the suspect was provided.

Three Dead after Jihadist Goes on Shooting Rampage in Southern France(AFP-The Local-France)

Dublin Students Vote to Support Anti-Israel BDS Campaign - Ciaran Molloy (University Times-Ireland)

Iran Builds Facilities in Syria Close to Russian Bases to Avoid Being Attacked (Asharq Al-Awsat-UK)

Israel May Be Facing a Five-Front War - Sean Durns (Washington Examiner)

Unpacking Israel’s African Migrant Dilemma - Sara Cowen and Daniel Pomerantz (Honest Reporting)

American Forces Kill Senior Al-Qaeda Leader in Libya - Bill Roggio and Alexandra Gutowski (Long War Journal) 

Dozens Burned to Death in Syria Attacks on East Ghouta - Arwa Ibrahim (Al Jazeera) Syrian government forces bombed an underground shelter with napalm in Eastern Ghouta

In Syria, the Worst Humanitarian Crisis in the Middle East - David Kenner  (Foreign Policy)

Sectarianism in Syria’s Civil War - Fabrice Balance (Washington Institute) The whole project is a good read, but please don't miss the concluding chapter beginning at 114/156, especially the maps of Russian and Iranian routes. See related: How Sectarianism Can Help Explain the Syrian War (Syria Deeply)

Report: Turkey Mobilizing China's Muslims - Abdullah Bozkurt (Turkish Minute)

The UN Hates Israel - Editorial  (Wall Street Journal) Syria bombs civilians with chlorine gas, China tortures dissidents, Venezuela restricts access to food and Burma is engaged in ethnic cleaning of a Muslim minority. So naturally the UN Human Rights Council trains the bulk of its outrage on...Israel.

Checkout this site http://www.impact-se.org/ to learn more about education programs in the region. Horrifying how the Palestinians are defining female empowerment. 

HR Book Review: Yoni’s Last Battle: (Honest Reporting) With the new film “7 Days in Entebbe” apparently working to humanize Palestinian terrorists, this seemed the right time for a book review of “Yoni’s Last Battle.”
In film review: Los Angeles Times Dubs Convicted Terrorists 'Political Prisoners' (CAMERA)

Israel to Deploy Tear Gas Drones Against Gaza Border Protests- Stuart Winer (Times of Israel)

Two French Consulate Employees Arrested for Smuggling Hamas Weapons from Gaza to West Bank - Yoav Zitun and Itamar Eichner (Ynet News)

Iranian Drones a Growing Threat to U.S. Persian Gulf Fleet - Megan Eckstein  (U.S. Naval Institute News) Rear Adm. Steve Koehler said the carrier strike group encounters large Iranian drones nearly every day. "Even if they're unarmed, it's a safety of flight problem." But Iran arming them would be a "whole new game....They're obviously looking at us...and they have the ability to track us." 

Jordan Jails Jihadists for Plotting Attacks on Israel, Russia and Iran Embassies (AFP-Arab News-Saudi Arabia)

A Lebanese Shiite cleric, Muhammad Ali Al-Husseini, is calling on Beirut to revoke Hezbollah chief Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah’s citizenship over his “clear collaboration” and allegiance to Iran. (MEMRI)

Abbas May Impose New Sanctions on Gaza - Yoni Ben Menachem (Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs)

Israel-Bound Plane Flies over Saudi Arabia for First Time - Oliver Holmes (Guardian-UK) Saudi Arabia has opened its airspace for the first time to an Israel-bound Air India passenger plane, breaking a 70-year ban on flying over the Arab kingdom.  

Turkey Threatens to Attack Syrian Town Held by U.S. Troops - Richard Sisk (Military.com) 

Erdogan Claims 'Manbij is Next' After Afrin (Hurriyet Daily News)

IPT Exclusive: Government-Tied Turkish Organizations Support Global Jihadists and Islamists - Abha Shankar (IPT)

Zambia to Boost Bilateral Relations with Israel (Lusaka Times-Zambia)

German Troops to Remain in Iraq for Stabilization Effort Post-ISIS (German Federal Government)

 

Iran Accused of Killing Senior Iranian Kurdish Leader(Kurdistan 24)

 

Jordan’s King Abdullah II Torn Between His Government, His People & Israel - Dima Abumaria (The Media Line)

 

U.S. Monitoring Possible North Korean Military Base in Syria - Adam Kredo (Washington Free Beacon)

 

"Women can die in a more spectacular way than men die" - Fatah celebrates terrorist murderer Dalal Mughrabi - Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik (PMW)

Pro-Palestinian Campaigner Admits Their Activist Initiated 2010 Violence aboard Mavi Marmara - Robert Philpot (Times of Israel)

The Palestinian Leadership Does Not Want to Return to Negotiations with Israel - Brig. Gen. (ret.) Michael Herzog (World Affairs Journal)
 

NBC Joins the Tamimi Propaganda Campaign (CAMERA) NBC is the latest media outlet to fall for the Tamimi family's propaganda, downplaying Ahed's calls to violence and whitewashing the "Palestinian struggle" that the family advocates as one that is merely "against the occupation"--when in reality, it is against the existence of Israel as a Jewish state with any borders.

How ‘The Washington Post’ distorts the Arab-Israeli conflict - Sean Durns (JNS) The Washington Post continually omits Palestinian rejection of U.S. and Israeli peace offers, while simultaneously ignoring Palestinian leaders who embrace terror.

Washington Post Defends PA Martyrs Fund - Daniel Pomerantz (Honest Reporting)

 

‘What Are You Doing While Ghouta Burns?’ - Laurie Lee (Syria Deeply)

 

United Nations

*As per The Jerusalem Post:UN report labels settlement activity a war crime. It is one of six reports on Israel that will be presented to the council on March 19. 

*Recent headlines from UNWatch.org

-U.N. elects Syria to top post fighting “subjugation of peoples”

-U.N. elects Turkey to oversee human rights activists, VP of Committee on NGOs

-Top 10 Most Insane U.N. Anti-Israel Actions of 2017

     9. The U.N. women’s rights commission condemned Israel as the world’s only violator of women’s rights.

     6. The UN’s World Health Organization singled out Israel as the only violator in the world of “mental, physical and environmental health, ” and, under pressure from Syria’s Assad regime, deleted parts of a report on Israeli actions in the Golan Heights—because they were positive to Israel. 

     5. Dubravka Simonovic, the U.N. expert on violence against women, visited Israel and the territories and concluded: When Palestinian men beat their wives, it’s Israel’s fault.

U.S. Demands Assad, Russia, Iran Be Held to Account for Syrian Atrocities - Jeff Seldin  (VOA News)

U.S.-Iranian Man Gets 25 Years in Prison for Trying to Buy Missiles for Iran - Brendan Pierson (Reuters)

From BBC Watch: A secret Facebook group called 'Palestine Live' provides a place for the sharing of content that includes Holocaust denial, anti-Israel conspiracy theories, and antisemitism. Various group members have appeared on BBC programs. But particularly disturbing is the membership of Yolande Knell, a correspondent for the BBC's Jerusalem bureau. Based on the biased reporting, I cannot see that this membership is just for news gathering purposes. As the report states, what is very obvious is that Knell’s position as an ‘impartial’ BBC correspondent reporting from the corporation’s Jerusalem bureau is severely compromised. 

Bahrain Seizes Armed Network Set Up by Iran's Revolutionary Guard (Reuters)

Iran Enhancing Espionage, Cyber Attacks on America - Daniel R. Coats   (Director of National Intelligence)

Report: Hizbullah "Stopped Hamas from Building Military Base in Lebanon" (Al-Araby Al-Jadeed-UK)

Pentagon: Operations Against ISIS in Syria "Paused" as Kurdish Troops Shift to Fight Turkish Forces - Robert Burns (AP-Military Times)

The Carnage in Syria Shows that the International Community Cannot Be Trusted to Protect Anyone's Security - Prof. Eyal Zisser  (Israel Hayom)

Video: Hamas Siphoning Off Electric Power in Gaza - Yoav Zitun (Ynet News) "This power was intended for hospitals and schools, but Hamas is uninterested in the populace and even exploits it. Watch the daylight robbery."     "Only a week ago it was published that Hamas is stealing fuel brought into the strip for the Palestinian public, and selling it on the private market to the highest bidder." 

Fatah claims 2-year-old victims were soldiers to hide that it murdered children - Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik (PMW)

   

Erdogan's Rising Islamist Militarism in Turkey - Eric S. Edelman and Merve Tahiroglu (Weekly Standard)   Erdogan has promised to deliver an "Ottoman slap" to the U.S. and "bury" U.S. special forces soldiers operating in Syria.

Today's New York Times showcases Turkey's women's march, while the Wall Street Journal has: Turkey Flexes Muscles as Its Soft Power Melts Away. It concludes, "This is the way the new Turkey acts:very transactional and very belligerent. It's using all its tools and a 'crazyman' approach to get more concessions from its ostensible allies." 

Simon Wiesenthal Digital Terrorism and Hate Interactive Site

I've gotten many questions about the US embassy move to Jerusalem on May 14. I agree with Sam Goodman: Whether or not you agree with the embassy move, it’s a legitimate decision a sovereign nation can make. The embassy move is entirely legal and will be relocated to an undisputed part of West Jerusalem.

Israel Concerned with U.S. Inaction on Iran Entrenchment in Syria - Michael Bachner (Times of Israel) 

Why Is Israel Scattering Millions of Flies around Gaza? - Lidar Grave-Lazi (Jerusalem Post)  Every week, 33 million flies are scattered from airplanes onto orchards and agricultural farmland surrounding Gaza by Israel's Agriculture Ministry in order to combat the Mediterranean fruit fly. The sterile male flies mate with female flies infesting the crops, thus preventing the creation of the next generation of fruit flies. The technique is an environmentally friendly and chemical-free pest control method.

Lebanese Law Allows Hizbullah to Circumvent U.S. Sanctions - Nazeer Rida (Asharq Al-Awsat-UK)

Coming Soon - a Nuclear Middle East - Ran Porat (AIJAC-Australia) Dozens of nuclear reactors are in various stages of planning in the UAE, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Algeria, Tunisia and Sudan, according to a report

Youth who sought Martyrdom and Virgins was "murdered" claims the PA - 

Itamar Marcus (PMW)

Russia deploys advanced stealth jets in Syria with warning aimed at Israel 

 (Times of Israel)

Why Turkey Wants to Invade the Greek Islands - Uzay Bulut (Gatestone Institute)

Lockheed-Raytheon to sell Javelin anti-tank systems to Turkey (Ahval)

Proposed Anti-Tank Missile Sale to Turkey, Qatar Raises Concern - John Rossomando (IPT) Erdogan's government has a track record of arming jihadists in Syria. Turkey and Qatar provided arms to Libyan rebels, much of which ended up in the hands of the "more antidemocratic, more hard-line" groups.