Be safe over the holiday, and wear a mask!

Report: Egypt Signs Contract for 500 Russian T-90MS Tanks (Israel Defense)

Behind the Scenes: EU Clamps Down on Terror Funding (Human Rights & Hot Coffee Podcast) EU Backtracks on €1.7 Million to Radical Palestinian NGO. The terror group claimed it was enhancing the resilience of Palestinians.

Persecution of Baha'is in Iran Escalates as 77 Imprisoned over Religious Beliefs - Abbie Cheeseman (Telegraph-UK)

Is annexation just accepting the truth on the ground? What will the rights of Palestinians be in this area? Is Israel's plan to annex or declare sovereignty over Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley any different than the other 123 territorial disputes in the world today?  Is it like Russia and Ukraine? As Honest Reporting reported last week, is it legal and is it right are two different questions. After all these years with the PA promoting terror and declaring that anyone who supports "normalization" with Israel should be shot and that the entire area from the "river to the sea" is Palestinian, they've demonstrated that Israel has no one to negotiate their borders with. Note that although President Carter took the position that settlements are illegal, this was quickly reversed by the Reagan administration, which held that settlements are “not illegal.” Subsequent U.S. administrations either reiterated Reagan’s view or refrained from taking a position on legality. The Trump administration is stirring up the pot as annexation is part of their peace plan. 

Former MK Dov Lipman gives an update about "annexation" on i24 News (YouTube)

The legal basis for applying Israeli law to Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley - Maurice Hirsch, Adv. (PMW)

Annexation is already here - Jessica Montell (Times of Israel) The Seam Zone - the area beyond the Separation Barrier in the West Bank - is a testing ground for the treatment of Palestinians under annexation, and it's a lousy model

Annexation' is a misnomer: Israel wants a safe way to hand land to Palestinians in return for peace - Gregory Rose (The Sunday Morning Herald)

Abbas’s Fatah party, terror group Hamas unite to ‘topple’ Trump deal, annexation - Aaron Boxerman (Times of Israel)

Israeli Group Concerned over Fate of Jewish Archaeological Sites in West Bank under U.S. Peace Plan - Rinat Harash (Reuters)

Lebanese Judge Bans Media from Interviewing U.S. Ambassador after Anti-Hizbullah Comments - Sarah Dadouch (Washington Post)

Palestinians 'Execute' Unarmed Civilian, Condemn Israel For Killing Terrorist - Bassam Tawil (Gatestone Institute)

VIDEO: Terror Attack Or Car Accident? CNN Chooses Sides Against Israel - Gidon Ben-Zvi (Honest Reporting) When a Palestinian driver rammed his car into Israeli border police officers, it was the latest in a long string of deliberate attacks on Israeli soldiers and civilians.  But that's not how CNN presented the story...

PA promises terror, claims it's allowed under international law - Nan Jacques Zilberdik and Itamar Marcus (PMW)

PA Offers Direct Peace Talks With Israel (Honest Reporting) The two sides haven’t held direct peace talks since 2014. 

The Assad Regime Is Cracking under Pressure - Jonathan Spyer (Foreign Policy)  Despite talk of the war winding down, Assad and his allies still only control 60% of Syria. The Turks and their Sunni Islamist allies control 15%, while 25% is controlled by the U.S.-aligned, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. 

Generation Jihad Ep. 16 – Al Qaeda’s Never-ending Problems in Syria - Thomas Joscelyn & Bill Roggio (Long War Journal) 

Leave Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng and His Views on Israel Alone - Klaas Mokgomole and Mmamalema Molepo (Eyewitness News-South Africa) Somehow, when it comes to Israel and Palestine, we are suddenly told to have a moral high ground and pick sides. There has been no sanctioning or boycotting of Libya for the sale of human beings in the 21st century, or France's colonial tax on West and Central African countries. The strong campaigns for the freedom of the people of the Western Sahara and West Papua New Guinea are eerily silent and one can only wonder why.

Two videos of interest from The Center on National Security: 

Putting the Middle East in Historical and Geopolitical Context

The Caravan: Abdallah Azzam and the Rise of Global Jihad

Totally unrelated: Scotland voted 52-0 to stop exporting rubber bullets, tear gas, and riot shields to the US, and over 150 MPs are calling on the UK to do the same.

Germany
Pro-ISIS Salafists Are Robbing German Churches - Florian Flade and Kristian Frigelj (Die Welt/Worldcrunch)

Iran
On Kristallnacht Anniversary: Iran’s Ayatollah Releases Nine-Point Program for the Destruction of the Jewish State (Simon Wiesenthal)

Ireland
Burning Koran: Inflammatory Photo Adds Fuel to the Flames (Honest Reporting)

Kuwait

Life After Guantanamo: The Rehabilitation Program for Kuwait's Released Inmate - Katie Engelhart (VIce News)

Partners for Peace?

Fatah and Hamas Working in Lockstep to Incite Terror Attacks (CAMERA and PMW)

PA adopts Hamas' religious belief - prohibits peace with Israel - Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik (PMW)
Palestinians Store Firebombs in Al Aqsa Mosque - Elhanan Miller and Stuart Winer (Times of Israel)
Netanyahu to EU: To Recognize a Palestinian State without Demanding Equal Recognition of the Jewish State Is Irresponsible (Prime Minister's Office)
PLO Directive to Media: Do Not Use Term "Temple Mount" (CAMERA) For years now, Palestinians and Muslims have been attempting to erase the perception among the public of the profound Jewish ties to the Temple Mount and to Jerusalem. Their latest attempt involves a directive from the PLO National Affairs Department to journalists directing all international media to desist from using the term "Temple Mount" and replace it instead with the term "Al Aqsa Compound."
Why Abbas Will Not Condemn Terror Attacks - Khaled Abu Toameh (Gatestone Institute) What Kerry and other Western leaders do not want to understand is that Abbas is not authorized to make any concessions for peace with Israel, and has even repeatedly promised his people that he would not make any concessions. By refusing to denounce the attacks, and even praising the perpetrators as heroes and martyrs, Abbas is indicating his tacit approval of the violence, such as the stabbing murder of a 26-year-old woman or ramming a car into a three-month-old infant. Abbas knows very well that the people he has radicalized would turn against him if he dared to speak out against the killing of Jews.

Pakistan

Pakistan: Christian Couple Burned Alive on Blasphemy Charges – (Clarion Project) "Consistent failure by the government to tackle violence in the name of religion has effectively sent the message that anyone can commit outrageous abuses and excuse them as defense of religious sentiments.” According to police, the kiln's owners were among 44 arrested for the incident with cases filed against 468 others.

Syria

Syrian official: negotiations with US blocked by Saudi Arabia – Jean Azia (Al Monitor)“The situation in regime-controlled areas is almost normal. Any visitor to these areas can clearly see that. It is not an insignificant detail that the opening of the largest mall and hotel in Syria took place in the city of Latakia, for instance, two weeks ago.”

Turkey

Turks increasingly sympathetic to Islamic State -Pinar Tremblay (Al-Monitor)

U.S. Sailors Attacked in Istanbul by Turkish Mob - Dan Lamothe (Washington Post)

The West's Dangerous Enchantment with Islam: Muslim Women Thrown "Under the Bus" - Uzay Bulut (Gatestone Institute)

United States

Palestinian Woman Found Guilty of U.S. Citizenship Fraud - Niraj Warikoo (Detroit Free Press-USA Today) see also Rasmieh Odeh Guilty of Naturalization Fraud (IPT)
New York Times Headlines: A Study in Contrasts (CAMERA)

Canada

Islamist Wounds Two Canadian Soldiers in Quebec Terror Attack- Maxime Deland (Toronto Sun-National Post- Canada)

China

Anti-China Pakistan-Based Uyghur Jihadi Group East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) Issues Numerous Videos Online, Increases Attacks in Xinjiang And Other Chinese Regions - Tufail Ahmad (MEMRI)

Germany

Germany: Holy War Erupts in Hamburg - Soeren Kern (Gatestone Institute)

Iran

Islamic Jihad Chief Hails Iran Role in Gaza War (AFP)

Iraq

 ISIS Jihadists Boast of Enslaving Yazidi Women (AFP-Al-Arabiya) 

Partners for Peace?
Israelis and Palestinians join forces to combat Ebola (AFP)
Netanyahu: The Root Cause of the Gaza War? Hamas' Commitment to Kill Every Jew (Prime Minister's Office)
Ya'alon: Palestinians Want to Destroy the Jewish State - Shlomo Cesana (Israel Hayom) 

"I assert that victory is bringing the other side to agree to a cease-fire on your terms....And indeed, we brought Hamas to agree to a cease-fire in a way that ran contrary to their wishes. That is undoubtedly an achievement. There is victory on the ground because of the heavy price that Gaza had to pay. I expect that they will think twice before escalating violence again in the future."
    "Ever since the clashes began in 1936, Dr. Moshe Beilinson, who served as the deputy editor of the [now defunct] Davar newspaper, was asked 'when will it end?' and he would reply 'when the last of our enemies understands that we are here forever.' There are no shortcuts. Our efforts to create shortcuts over the last two decades - from Oslo until the present day - have all failed."

How the Donors Saved Hamas - Khaled Abu Toameh (Gatestone Institute) The promised funds absolve Hamas of any responsibility for the catastrophe it brought upon the Palestinians during the confrontation with Israel. Now the Palestinians in Gaza will no longer ask Hamas to compensate them for the loss of their houses and family members. They will now be referred to the PA. Hopes that the catastrophic results of the confrontation would increase pressure on Hamas or perhaps trigger a revolt against it have now faded.

Which Palestine Do Europeans Recognize? - Jonathan S. Tobin (Commentary)
Hamas lambastes UN chief for criticizing tunnels - Marissa Newman (Times of Israel)

Palestinian kids are taught to expect Israel's destruction - Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik (PMW)

Syria

The Broader Nature of the Conflict in Iraq and Syria - Jonathan Spyer(Fathom-BICOM)
The heartland of the Islamic State is in Raqqa city in Syria. If you want to destroy the Islamic State, you - or someone on your behalf - will have to go into Raqqa city and take on and defeat them. It is not clear who that candidate could possibly be.

Turkey

Turkey's Border War (Vice News)

Turkish MPs Criticize Turkish President Erdogan's Pro-ISIS Policy (MEMRI)

Opposition MP says ISIS is selling oil in Turkey (Al-Monitor)

United States

New York Artists' Niqab Hashtag Campaign Ignores Garment's Long History of Oppression – Phyllis Chesler (Breitbart) These artists and all who agree with them are treating what is mainly a forced choice in the Muslim world (and in Muslim communities in the West), as a potentially free choice. They are, in essence, donning the equivalent of “black face,” or slave chains, and saying that this feels good—in New York City, where they are only play-acting, and can remove their face veils without any negative consequence.

Yemen

Yemen Changes Hands. Will an Iranian Stronghold Emerge Near the Entrance to the Red Sea? - Col. (ret.) Dr. Jacques Neriah (ICA-Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) 
March of the Houthis - Editorial (Daily Star-Lebanon) Yemen's Houthis, a Shiite rebel group from the north of the country, took control of the capital Sanaa in late September, and is now marching south, having taken the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah. Once they take the Bab al-Mandeb port, the Houthis - and by extension the Iranians - will control a port through which passes 40% of the world's oil each day, as it controls the Strait of Hormuz. With such power at its disposal, Iran will have control over the global oil market.

    And yet the international community has been virtually silent on the apparently unstoppable approach of the Houthis, and American drones continue to focus on al-Qaeda elements elsewhere in the country. Events in Yemen could prove far more damaging to the region and the world than what is happening elsewhere.

While in London, much of the news focused on how to tackle home grown British jihadists (ostensibly responsible for the recent very public murder of an American). There was ridicule and support for the government plan for “ASBO for terrorists.” An ASBO is an Anti-Social Behavior Order, which restricts behavior as a punishment for minor offences instead of giving a jail sentence. Hardliners want to revoke British citizenship for those who have joined IS (ISIS) and are participating in armed conflict.  In London, there was plenty of self-blame; they’re looking at themselves and saying we’re doing something wrong if IS can connect with young people and young people cannot connect with western democratic society. See stories about Afzal Amin and Alyas Karmani for more details. It has been documented that “highly alienated” middleclass youths are drawn to join Islamists groups, but then you read that these supposed Islamic fundamentalists are really just criminal gangs in business to rake in big bucks. Is their funding primarily from American “allies” Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey or from kidnapping and crime? Some organizations report that ransom is the main way terrorist organizations fund their activities, and a New York Times report revealed that Al Qaeda (which has distanced themselves from ISIS) collected an estimated $125 million in ransom from European governments in the last five years. For more see these links to NBC,  Daily Mail, The Guardian.

UK Special Forces in Iraq Seek to Capture British Jihadis - Mark Nicol (Mail on Sunday-UK)

One in six French people say they support ISIS - Max Fisher (Vox)

Iran-Backed Group Implicated in Attack on Israel Embassy in Georgia- Bayram Kaya (Zaman-Turkey)

Islamic State Militants Execute 700 People from Syrian Tribe -    Oliver Holmes and Suleiman al-Khalidi (Reuters) The Islamic State militant group has executed 700 members of the al-Sheitaat tribe it has been battling in eastern Syria during the past two weeks, the majority of them civilians, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Saturday. Reliable sources reported beheadings were used to execute many of the tribe. An activist in Deir al-Zor said that 300 men were executed in one day in the town of Ghraneij.

Islamic State Fighters Kill 84 Yazidi Villagers - Liz Sly 

(Washington Post) Islamic State militants in Iraq on Friday killed 84 men and detained more than 300 women in the Yazidi village of Kocho, Yazidis and Kurdish officials said Saturday, following a week-long siege in which the IS demanded that residents convert to Islam or face death. 

Ceasefire holds; Israeli officials say Hamas dealt heavy blow - Lazar Berman and Yifa Yaakov (Times of Israel) Rock throwing by Palestinians across the West Bank is a serious hazard for drivers. One recent report in the Times of Israel included this positive note: A group of Palestinians from Beit Ummar who saw the crash rushed to the scene to help rescue the three Israelis.

Bringing Abbas Back to Gaza Is Not a Good Idea - Khaled Abu Toameh (Gatestone Institute)

Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades Returns to Armed Struggle and Terror- Lt. Col. (ret.) Jonathan D. Halevi (Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) 

Senior Fatah official justifies  shooting Israeli civilians: "There are no innocent Israelis"   Rejects joining International Criminal Court because PA could be put on trial  = Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik (PMW)

Hamas Arrests 250 of Its Own Members- Khaled Abu Toameh (Gatestone Institute)

Report: Qatar Threatened to Expel Mashaal If He Agreed to Egypt's Cease-Fire Deal - Yifa Yaakov (Times of Israel)

Daily targets Turkish Jews in headline (Today's Zaman)

  

Has New York Magazine Learned Its Lesson Not to Rely on Biased Reporters? (CAMERA) On July 25, New York Magazine published an article by Katie Zavadski casting doubt on Israeli assertions that Hamas was responsible for the kidnapping and murders of three Israeli teens, Gilad Shaar, Naftali Frenkel, and Eyal Yifrach, in June, 2014. Now that Hamas has publicly come out and admitted they did it, Zavadski has had to backtrack, repeating the statement issued by Hamas itself on Aug. 21, 2014.

Op-Ed: The President's True Colors Finally Revealed - Steve Emerson (IPT)

Lady al Qaeda: The World's Most Wanted Woman -  Shane Harris (Foreign Policy) Who is Aafia Siddiqui? Why do IS(IS), the Taliban, and al-Qaeda all want her released?