Coercion, Violence Threaten Middle East, Asian, and African Christians - Abigail R. Esman (IPT)

Taliban Want 'Islamic System' of Government as Focal Point of Afghan Talks - Ayaz Gul (Voice of America) Meanwhile, battlefield hostilities between Afghan forces and Taliban insurgents continued to inflict heavy casualties on both sides and deepen a mutual trust deficit at the negotiating table.

European Governments Fund Gaza NGO Pushing International Criminal Court to Investigate Israel (NGO Monitor) 

How Denmark, Sweden, the UN, and the EU Got Suckered into Funding a Terror Organization - Brig.-Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser (Tablet)

Europe On Iran: Why The Appeasement? Elahe Boghrat (Kayhan/WorldCrunch)

India arrests nine al Qaeda militants planning 'terrorist attacks' (Reuters)

Israel's Vulnerable New Friends - Martin Kramer (martinkramer.org) The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain are vulnerable and dangerously close to Iran. 

Israeli Rapid Covid-19 Test to Be Used in European Airports - Marcy Oster (JTA) Why doesn't the US have this? United in Hawaii seems to be starting something similar!

U.S. Accuses Hizbullah of Storing Explosive Chemicals in Europe (AP)

PA unites with Hamas and other terror organizations to renew terror strategy - Nan Jacques Zilberdik (PMW)

Gaza Peace Activists Face Prison for Holding Video Call With Israelis - Adam Rasgon (New York Times)

Qatari Political Cartoons Attack Emirati, Bahraini Peace Agreements With Israel (MEMRI)

U.S. Department Of Justice Orders AJ+ To Register As Foreign Agent For Its 'Political Activities' On Behalf Of Qatar's Government (MEMRI) On August 12, MEMRI Released In-Depth Study By Amb. Alberto M. Fernandez, 'Al-Jazeera Unmasked: Political Islam As A Media Arm Of The Qatari State,' Based On Over 700 Al-Jazeera Clips On MEMRI TV

Saudi nuclear ambitions - Andrea Stricker (The World/PRI)

The South Syria Deal: Two Years Later - Ibrahim Hamidi (Center for Global Policy)  Two years later, Jordan is still unable to relocate refugees in large numbers, and Iran's continued presence is prompting Israeli airstrikes. The U.S.-Russian agreement failed to completely keep Iranian forces away from the Jordanian or Israeli borders. Iran may have withdrawn its non-Syrian militias, but it is consolidating its presence by enlisting Syrian militias to keep the pressure on Israel.     

The UK government is attempting to bend the rules on torture - Nicholas Mercer (The Guardian)

U.N. rebukes only Israel for violating women's rights - (UN Watch) The Islamic Republic of Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Belarus were among members of the UN’s 54-nation Economic and Social Council, a principal organ of the world body, who voted on September 14th to single out Israel as the only country in the world to be rebuked by the council this year for allegedly violating women’s rights.

UN Points Finger at Turkey over Rights Abuses in Syria - Amberin Zaman (Al-Monitor) Some of the worst offenses were recorded in Afrin, the Kurdish majority enclave that was invaded by Turkish forces in January 2018.

Paths to Destruction A Group Portrait of America's Jihadists — Comparing Jihadist Travelers with Domestic Plotters  -  Brian Michael Jenkins (Rand) 

The Washington Post: Peace Agreements are Bad and Sponsors of Terrorism are Good - Sean Durns (CAMERA)

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.

Lebanon
Israel Military Searches for Hizbullah Tunnels along Border with Lebanon - Jack Moore (International Business Times-UK)
Lebanese Forces Chief Geagea Backs Anti-IS Coalition, Slams Hizbullah for Criticizing it (Naharnet)

Iran
Pentagon: Iran Fielding Anti-Ship Ballistic Missiles - Jeremy Binnie, London and Daniel Wasserbly (IHS Jane's Defence Weekly)

Libya
Sudan and Qatar deny accusations of supporting Libya Dawn (Libya Herald)

Palestinians
The UN: Clueless or Complicit in Gaza? - Claudia Rosett (National Review)
Palestinian: Donors Wary of Funding Hamas-Run Gaza - Mohammed Daraghmeh (AP)
Gazans Rush to Enjoy Life after Ruinous War - Hamza Hendawi (AP)
Gaza Landlords Refusing to Rent to Hamas - Khaled Abu Toameh (Jerusalem Post)
Fatah Song Promotes Terror -Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdek (PMW) Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party continues to call for launching rockets at Israel. 
Hamas Leader: Gazans Most Affected by Fighting Were Most Committed to Resistance - Asmaa al-Ghoul (Al-Monitor)... an essential part of the capabilities of the resistance was from Iranian aid in the recent war and the war that preceded it.

Saudi Arabia
The "Al-Aqsa Is in Danger" Libel - Nadav Shragai (Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) 
Saudi Arabia to Host Training Camps for Moderate Syrian Rebels (Reuters)

South Asia to the Far East
Growing Support For The Islamic State (IS) From South Asia To The Far East; Four New Jihadist Groups Planning Islamic Caliphate Comprising Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, And Southern Philippines - Tufail Ahmad (MEMRI)
Responses to Terrorism: Europe v. India - Vijeta Uniyal (Gatestone Institute)

Syria
I included this because I read the Journal and somehow missed this article. Maybe you did too.
 ISIS's Cruelty Toward Women Gets Scant Attention - Haleh Esfandiari (Wall Street Journal)  ISIS fighters are "rewarded" by being allowed to have their way with captured women. To the men of ISIS, women are an inferior race, to be enjoyed for sex and be discarded, or to be sold off as slaves. From ISIS-captured territory in Syria, we saw a photograph of a line of women, covered from head to toe and tied to one another by a rope, as they were being led to a makeshift slave market. Little girls were married off to men many times their age. Although Islam requires that marriages be based on consent, consent does not appear to exist in the lexicon of ISIS fighters. Why are there are no demonstrations in Western and Muslim societies against this barbaric onslaught on women and girls?
See also: Islamic State of Rape (Foreign Policy)
End of an Era: UN Peacekeepers Stop Pretending to Keep Peace - Seth Mandel(Commentary)
Israeli Troops Saved Irish Peacekeepers on Syria Border - Jim Cusack and John Drennan (Sunday Independent-Ireland)
Al-Qaeda's Syrian Cell Bigger Threat to U.S. than ISIS? - Ken Dilanian and Eileen Sullivan (AP)
New Reality for Israelis on Golan Heights: Islamists Now Control the Other Side - Joel Greenberg (McClatchy)
'Moderate' Syrian Revolutionaries Front continues to support al Qaeda – Lisa Lundquist (Long War Journal)

Turkey
Turkey Sends Back 830 European Jihadists - Fevzi Kizilkoyun (Hurriyet-Turkey)
Turkey ‘welcomes’ Egypt Muslim Brotherhood figures who leave Qatar (Al Arabiya News)

United States
On Thursday, September 11, President Obama finally announced that the U.S. has a strategy. I urge you to read Justin Logan's commentary in USA Today. In it, he makes the case that “we can't fix other countries' political pathologies at an acceptable cost.” (Look at Iraq and Libya). The U.S. “response to the Foley and Sotloff killings should be simple: punishment.” What do you think?
Fact Sheet: Strategy to Counter the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) (White House)
Report: U.S.-Israeli Misunderstanding Led to Breakdown of Gaza Truce(Jerusalem Post) According to the report, the Americans mistakenly led Israel to believe that Hamas accepted an unconditional 72-hour cease-fire when in fact the Palestinian Islamist group never gave its consent to refrain from attacking Israeli troops on the ground in Gaza.
Sotloff, failed by US, was sold for $25k-$50k, family says – Spencer Ho (Times of Israel) Spokesman claims location of Israeli-US journalist was given by ‘moderate’ rebels at Turkey-Syria border to IS; accuses Obama administration of using hostages as ‘pawns’
Islamic State Attracts Female Jihadis from U.S. - Alistair Bell (Reuters)  In addition, law enforcement officials say they learned of 15-20 men with connections to the Minnesota Somali community fighting for extremist groups in Syria.

Yemen
Pro-Iranian Houthis Advancing in Yemen - Arafat Madabish (Asharq Al-Awsat-UK)