by Michael Peck, The National Interest

Israel’s purchase of eight KC-46A Pegasus aerial tankers (pictured above) will vastly improve its aerial refueling capability.  If Israel does decide to bomb Iran, the U.S. government has made it a little easier.

The U.S. State Department has approved an Israeli request to buy eight KC-46A Pegasus aerial tankers. Including support equipment, spare parts and training, the deal is valued at $2.4 billion, with the first aircraft arriving in 2023.

The sale “supports the foreign policy and national security of the United States by allowing Israel to provide a redundant capability to U.S. assets within the region, potentially freeing U.S. assets for use elsewhere during times of war,” said the State Department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency. “Aerial refueling and strategic airlift are consistently cited as significant shortfalls for our allies. In addition, the sale improves Israel’s national security posture as a key U.S. ally.”
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T. Belman.  The left in Israel has taken  a page from the Democratic Party’s playbook.

Movement for Quality Government says PM unfit for task, despite election results, because of his soon-to-start corruption trial

By TOI STAFF

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses supporters at Likud party headquarters in Tel Aviv, on March 3, 2020. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

The Movement for Quality Government in Israel filed a petition with the High Court of Justice Tuesday arguing that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should not be allowed to form the next government as he faces trial on criminal charges.

“A person accused of criminal charges, in particular serious charges such as bribery, fraud and breach of trust, cannot be seen as fit to take upon himself the role of forming a government,” the group said in a statement.

It accused the prime minister of having spent the past few years “launching direct and harmful attacks against the components of Israeli democracy” and engaging “in a methodical and premeditated process of delegitimization of law enforcement authorities and their executive bodies — from the police, through to the State Attorney’s Office, the attorney general, the Knesset legal adviser, the courts and judges.” Read more…

“Human Rights Watch accepted a sizable donation from a Saudi billionaire shortly after its researchers documented labor abuses at one of the man’s companies.”

By BENJAMIN WEINTHAL, JPOST

LGBTQ flag

The Executive Director of Human Rights Watch (HRW), Ken Roth, accepted a major donation from a Saudi real estate tycoon by promising not to support advocacy of the LGBT community in the Middle East and North Africa.

The Intercept first reported Monday on the quid pro quo between Roth, who has gained a reputation for strident attacks against Israel, and Saudi billionaire Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber.

“Human Rights Watch accepted a sizable donation from a Saudi billionaire shortly after its researchers documented labor abuses at one of the man’s companies, a potential violation of the rights group’s own fundraising guidance,” wrote The Intercept’s Alex Emmons. Read more…

Israel has come a long way from being seen only as a struggling, beleagured country – its success allows for complaining about traffic jams and crowded classrooms.

By Giulio Meotti,,INN

“The plague of Tel Aviv? It’s traffic”, the Israelis seem to say, paraphrasing the verse in a famous Italian movie “Johnny Stecchino”, in which his “uncle” drives in the streets of Palermo, the Italian southern town famous for its mafia, pointing at the traffic.

The Jewish State just returned to the voting booths for the third time in a year and Benjamin Netanyahu has won. The country that everyone in the region once wanted to eliminate (and many still do), the country without a capital recognized unanimously, the country with porous borders and under special supervision by the media, the courts and Western public opinion, has become so normal that its more serious problems today seem to derive from its extraordinary success (its economy grows at an annual rate of 3.3 percent).

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Only a few seats will decide whether Netanyahu is able to form a coalition after Israel’s election or if Gantz can stop him from getting another term

By Chaim Levinson, HAARETZ

Election slips at Likud headquarters on March 2, 2020.Tomer Appelbaum

After the tweets and the victory celebrations subsided, the Israeli political world entered another round of arm wrestling on Tuesday. After two election campaigns we have learned that the winner is not declared on election night, but rather at the President’s Residence, in the photo of the government’s swearing-in.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has improved his poker hand significantly, but the 59 seats that the exit polls predicted for the right on Monday night are not the 61 he was aiming for in the campaign, and apparently are out of his reach. The final count of almost all the votes is expected to be published only on Tuesday afternoon, and on Thursday the counting of the additional ballots (for those voting outside regular polling stations, such as soldiers, prisoners, foreign diplomats, and others) will be completed.
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Trump’s peace plan calls attention to Palestinian division and the collapse of the Arab political order.

By Jonathan Spyer, WSJ

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu celebrates with his wife, Sara, in Tel Aviv, March. 2.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared victory in Monday’s Israeli election, the third since April, following two inconclusive results. Although Mr. Netanyahu may be frustrated in his attempt to form a government, his Likud Party won 35 seats, a strong showing. During the campaign, Likud candidates stressed their support for President Trump’s “Peace to Prosperity” plan, unveiled in January. The plan won’t bring peace between Israelis and Palestinians, but it may expose deeper processes of change under way in the Middle East. It could even advance those changes—and Israel stands to benefit.

Both the Palestinian cause and the broader Arab political bloc that long championed it are in disarray. The Palestinians are divided geographically, each group locked in with divergent interests and strategies.
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Transportation Minister predicts Netanyahu will leave out Jewish Home, National Union and bring Gantz into the coalition.

Arutz Sheva Staff,

Yamina meeting

Transportation Minister Bezalel Smotrich claimed Tuesday evening that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu intends to establish a demilitarized Palestinian Arab state.

“After the joy of taking the left-wing Arab minority government option off the table (which was a major danger to the Zionist idea), here is my analysis and assessment of the next coalition. Caution – not optimistic,” Smotrich said.

He said that the poor performance of MK Benny Gantz in yesterday’s elections could mean the “disintegration of the Blue and White party” and could force Gantz to join a coalition led by Prime Minister Netanyahu.

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Yisrael Beytenu leader, who twice refused to join right-wing Netanyahu government, says party will ‘make a decision one way or the other’

By TOI STAFF

Yisrael Beytenu party leader Avigdor Liberman speaks at the party headquarters in Modi’in, on elections night, March 2, 2020. (Sraya Diamant/ Flash90)

Yisrael Beytenu party leader Avigdor Liberman vowed Tuesday to do “everything” to prevent fourth elections, as emerging results indicated his party could again be in the kingmaker position with seven seats.

Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu appeared poised for an electoral victory, with about 90 percent of votes counted, but still short of a 61-seat majority in the 120-member Knesset, meaning he would require the support of another party or defectors from opposition parties to form a coalition.

“As we promised voters, we will do everything to prevent fourth elections,” Liberman told reporters outside his home in the settlement of Nokdim. “We intend to make a decision one way or the other.” Read more…

Candace points out that while the left demonizes the right for all sorts of crimes including imperialism, segregation and slavery which it used to impose on black and brown people, the truth is that black and brown people historically committed such crimes and still do today, long after the whiteman outlawed the same. It is a tactic of the left to villify the whiteman and absolve the black and brown men of such crimes.

By William R. Hawkins, AMERICAN THINKER

The outbreak of direct combat between Turkey and the Syrian regime of Basher al-Assad has shown the wisdom of President Donald Trump’s strategy in the area. He took considerable flak for pulling American troops out of northern Syria last October. It was argued that the withdrawal in the face of a Turkish advance would threaten the Kurds, a longtime U.S. ally, and could even revive ISIS! In response, President Trump tweeted “As I have stated strongly before, and just to reiterate, if Turkey does anything that I… consider to be off limits, I will totally destroy and obliterate the Economy of Turkey.” U.S. troops redeployed to protect oil fields in Syria to keep them out of the hands of the regime and to protect the Kurds in the area, but a military confrontation with Turkey was avoided. The White House understood the strategic benefits from stronger Turkish-Sunni forces being brought into territory liberated from Assad; a calculation made on a level beyond what critics could grasp.
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by Tabitha Korol

The defensive wars won by Israel against four invading countries negate the accusation of occupation, but writers on Academia.edu are not required to support their indictments and inaccuracies. 

Academia.edu, based in Los Angeles, despite its authoritative name, can publish anything regardless of accuracy.  Amid the genuine material, there is to be found pseudo-scientific nonsense, opinion-based articles, and everything else in between.  The papers generally project a scholarly impression, and this is the danger, for there is much that is fabricated and unsupported by reliable documentation.

I had often considered refuting some of those formidable essays, particularly those that were also propagandist in nature, each time overwhelmed by the sheer extent of the distortion.  But one need not repudiate a writer’s entire concoction to verify that s(he) has engaged in broadcasting a personal opinion as proven fact.     Read more…

Matti Tuchfield writes about such a scenario:

“A Likud government with defectors from the left-wing bloc:  If Netanyahu wins 60 seats or less for the right-wing bloc, he will seek to enlist as many MKs as possible from Blue and White and Yisrael Beytenu before surrendering his mandate from the president to form a government.

“During the May 2019 election, Netanyahu made a last-ditch effort to enlist Labor, which was headed at the time by Avi Gabbay, into his coalition. Gabbay, however, decided at the last minute not to join and the Knesset was dispersed. Netanyahu will try it again this time around, in the case of another deadlock. With that, the law makes it hard to resign from a party and such a move entails sanctions on defecting MKs, such as revoking their ability to later run for Knesset on an existing party ticket. This could easily deter MKs from leaving Blue and White or Yisrael Beytenu for the coalition.”

The agreement does not require the terrorist group to recognize Afghanistan’s legitimately elected government.

By Eli Lake, BLOOMBERG
February 29, 2020, 11:39 PM

The Taliban are celebrating, too.

On the eve of today’s ceremony to sign an agreement with the U.S. to begin peace negotiations, the Taliban declared it had already won. “This is a day of victory,” said Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, a Taliban negotiator. “Victory has come with the help of God.”

In one sense, this crowing seems premature. While it’s true that the U.S. intends to reduce its troop presence from more than 12,000 to 8,600, further withdrawals are conditioned on the Taliban adhering to its commitments to reduce violence and sever ties with al Qaeda. As Defense Secretary Mark Esper said in Kabul on Saturday, the U.S. “would not hesitate to nullify the agreement” if the Taliban reneges on its commitments.

Another condition for the Taliban will be to enter negotiations for a final peace settlement among Afghan groups themselves. That has always been a red line for the Taliban, which has never recognized the legitimacy of the elected government in Kabul. So why has it agreed to these talks now?
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The Palestinian Authority took control of a biblical era Jewish heritage site and started demolishing archaeological findings.

By Aryeh Savir, TPS

The Palestinian Authority (PA) has recently seized a Hasmonean-era fortress in Samaria and has converted it into “a Palestinian tourist site” as part of its campaign to seize Jewish heritage sites and transform them into “Palestinian sites” while systematically demolishing archaeological findings.

The Shomrim Al Hanetzach? (Guarding Eternity) organization discovered Sunday that the PA has installed a new massive flag mast and lighting at the fortress of Arama, an ancient Hasmonean archeological site which dominates the ancient road from Shechem (Nablus) to the Jordan Valley.

Tel Aruma, which is mentioned in the Bible as the city of Avimelech, was the northernmost fortress of the Jewish state during the Hasmonean period.
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PA seeks to place its hand on findings that preceded the beginning of Zionism to hide evidence of the existence of a political Jewish entity prior to modern Israel.

By Baruch Yedid, TPS

Ancient synagogue from 1500 years ago (Flash90/Gershon Elinson)<

A Palestinian Authority (PA) court in Hebron convened on Tuesday to discuss a claim filed by a resident demanding that the PA return to his possession a rare collection of coins, banknotes, stamps, research literature and various archaeological finds it had confiscated from him.The rare collection was confiscated by the PA’s intelligence about a year ago from Anwar Zre’ir, 80, who has devoted his life to research and has accumulated thousands of rare items over the course of 50 years.

Zre’ir, known as Abu Noor, fears that the PA will sell his collection and severely harm his research while concealing the rare historical evidence.

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By J.B. Shurk, AMERICAN THINKER

Charlie Hurt over at the Washington Times likes to say Donald Trump has the best enemies.  Before Hillary and Comey, he had Rosie and Cher.  Before Nancy Pelosi and Fake News CNN, he had Russell Brand and Mark Cuban.  Before “Fat Jerry” Nadler was creating fake impeachment charges in Congress against President Trump, an even fatter Assemblyman Nadler was preventing 1980s Donald Trump from turning an abandoned rail yard on the West Side into Trump City.  There has never been a moment in the public spotlight when Donald Trump was not brawling with somebody, and almost all of his enemies, like deer in the headlights, seem paralyzed with surprise when they find themselves on the receiving end of one of his acerbic barbs.  Like Qassem Soleimani, they just never see it coming.

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February death toll in Syria the highest in nearly 2 years as Erdogan all but declares war on Assad’s forces.

By Yochanan Visser, INN

Tulsi Gabbard, one the Democratic Party’s hopefuls in the race for the Presidency of the United States called him “one of the most dangerous dictators in the world”.

Gabbard was talking about Turkey’s autocratic leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan who’s just declared war on the regime of Syrian tyrant Bashar al-Assad after the latter’s forces killed 34 Turkish soldiers in the northern Syrian Province Idlib.

US President Donald J. Trump “needs to make it clear to NATO and Erdogan that the United States will not be dragged into a war with Russia by the aggressive, Islamist, expansionist dictator of Turkey, a so-called “NATO” ally,” Gabbard wrote on her Twitter account.
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T. Belman. This is what is wrong with Gantz and his party. He wants to consult the international community and the Democrats on the Trump plan. Rather than embrace the plan, he empowers its detractors. No good can come of that.

Let’s face it. Israel has become a partisan issue. The Republicans are our friends and want the best for us. Not so for the Democrats and the international community. They undermine us and are trying to prevent us from winning.

Under my leadership, Israel will never become a partisan issue,” Gantz said in English. “I will work effectively on both sides of the aisle.”

By LAHAV HARKOV, JPOST

Benny Gantz, leader of Blue and White party, speaks during an election campaign rally in Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv, Israel, February 25, 2020.
(photo credit: REUTERS/CORINNA KERN)

WASHINGTON – Blue and White leader Benny Gantz on Sunday vowed to work with Democrats and Republicans if he becomes prime minister.

“Under my leadership, Israel will never become a partisan issue,” he told the AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington via video link. “I will work effectively on both sides of the aisle.”

The key issue on which Gantz said he plans to work with AIPAC and American politicians who support Israel is preventing Iran from attaining nuclear weapons.

“I will prevent a nuclear Iran,” he said. “I am ready to do whatever it takes with this issue.”
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A report has surfaced about Gantz’s use of army funds for building ‘palace’ at Northern Command HQ.

By Eitan Divinsky, INN 01/03/20 19:30

Gantz on day 8 of Operation Protective Edge, July 15, 2014

0404 News reported on a story they claimed has been covered up by the media to avoid hurting MK Benny Gantz’s reputation.

The incident reportedly took place when Gantz assumed the post of head of the Northern Command. According to the report, Gantz was to set up his command post at a location called the “Tzfat Command Barracks” but decided that an army general should be allotted lodgings proportionate with his “lofty status.”

The IDF lacked the funds for this and no general prior to Gantz had even considered having the bureau renovated. In those days, if extra money was found for the Northern Command, it would most likely go towards renovating the Golan Heights command center. Gantz had other plans which he began implementing instantaneously.

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T. Belman.  How does a bigger Arab turnout reduce the right wing block?

A euphoric PM thought the US deal would help ensure election victory. But a clause suggesting Arab towns could be placed in a future Palestine has galvanized some key opponents

By DAVID HOROVITZ, TOI

In its final pre-election poll on Friday night, Israel’s Channel 2 predicted 35 seats for Likud, maintaining a gradual rise in recent days for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s party, and up from the 32 seats Likud won in the September elections. The poll gave the rival Blue and White party 33 seats, down from 35 seats in the same survey a month ago, and the same number as it won in September.

Assessing the poll, the station’s political analyst Amit Segal reflected the widespread assessment that momentum ahead of Monday’s elections is with Netanyahu, and that Blue and White’s Benny Gantz has been placed emphatically on the defensive in the campaign’s final weeks.

In its opening survey of the current campaign, back in December, Segal recalled, the Gantz-headed semi-alliance of centrist, left and Arab parties was polling at 58 seats, to the Netanyahu-led right-Orthodox bloc’s 54. (It’s a “semi-alliance” because while the largely Arab Joint List bitterly opposes Netanyahu, it is not really in Gantz’s corner either.) In Friday’s poll, by contrast, the Gantz-led bloc had slipped to 56 seats, and Netanyahu’s camp was up to 58, just three seats away from a Knesset majority.

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