ILTV

T. Belman. Assad has been welcomed into the Arab League. The US vows to continue isolating Syria. Abed just tweeted “Assad’s days are numbered.” Walid Phares tweeted “Reports about US re-engineering of opposition forces in the north, east & south of Syria.” US just announced a $920 million grant for Humanitarian aid to Syria. What will that be used for?  Look for a renewed effort by the US to turn the tables on Russia and Iran in Syria.

Covert plan to kill Americans is seen as part of a larger Russian-backed strategy to oust the United States from Syria

By Joby Warrick  and Evan Hill, WaPo 1.6.23

Iran is arming militants in Syria for a new phase of lethal attacks against U.S. troops in the country, while also working with Russia on a broader strategy to drive Americans from the region, intelligence officials and leaked classified documents say.

Iran and its allies are building and training forces to use more powerful armor-piercing roadside bombs intended specifically to target U.S. military vehicles and kill U.S. personnel, according to classified intelligence reports obtained by The Washington Post. Such attacks would constitute an escalation of Iran’s long-running campaign of using proxy militias to launch rocket and drone strikes on U.S. forces in Syria.

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By Steve McCann, AM THINKER

A Rasmussen poll taken in October of 2021 found that 56% of all likely voters believed that cheating affected the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.  Another Rasmussen poll dated April of 2023 revealed that 60% of all likely voters believed that cheating affected the outcomes of many 2022 midterm elections.  Unsurprisingly in a Rasmussen poll published on June 14, 2023, 54% of all likely voters believe that cheating will determine the outcome of the 2024 presidential election.

For a majority of the American electorate, and for a much higher percentage of Republicans, the issue of whether there was rampant cheating in the past two election cycles is no longer in question and their concern about the outcome of the 2024 election is fully justified.
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by Drieu Godefridi, GATESTONE  June 20, 2023 at 5:00 am

• Beyond Growth is the annual ideological gathering of European environmentalists, and their countless relays in the world of government-funded, supposedly “non-governmental” organizations (NGOs).
• What do most people remember when they look at the Beyond Growth report? The European Parliament. The link between Beyond Growth’s radical proposals and the European Parliament is presented as perfectly natural: If the European Parliament wants radical environmentalism, how could you, a small local voter, oppose it?
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Far-right minister says president ‘100% aligned with the left’; Gantz: Herzog working day and night to prevent ‘destruction of democracy’

By TOI STAFF and CARRIE KELLER-LYNN       Today, 11:16 am

(L) Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich at the Knesset in Jerusalem, May 1, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90) (R) President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem, June 14, 2023 (Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90)

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich branded President Isaac Herzog a “leftist” on Tuesday, charging that the president was therefore unable to act as an unbiased mediator in talks for a potential compromise on judicial reform.

“I remind you that the president published his outline [for judicial reform] unilaterally. He is 100 percent aligned with the left. The president is a leftist, and unfortunately he is failing to be a fair mediator,” the far-right Smotrich told ultra-Orthodox radio station Kol BaRama, referring to Herzog’s quickly rejected proposal made in March, ahead of the start of the compromise talks overseen by the president.

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T. Belman.  It is a must read. It is predicated on the belief that the Palestinians can be domesticated i.e., made peaceful. Is it more realistic that believing that compensated emigration will solve the problem.

Please share your thoughts with us after reading it.

What is the use of the “differential” solutions that already exist on the ground (such as checkpoints, cameras, military presence, Shin Bet, etc) if there is no overarching political “integrated” move to deal with the root of the problem? 

By Yakov Nedlin, INN 19.6.23

It’s no secret that the Israeli economy benefits from the Palestinian Arab workforce, especially in the real estate domain. Broad consensus supports this arrangement, with only a few extreme parties on either side opposing it.

Tens of thousands of Palestinian Arab workers cross what I call the “Israel-Israel” border every day to earn a living or visit their lucky relatives in Israeli Arab villages. This reality often invites security problems. However, the Israeli leadership is adept at lowering the level of concern to swiftly return to the routine of these workers.

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Netanyahu reportedly informs coalition heads Levin-Rothman legislation to restructure Judicial Selection Committee won’t be enacted, other parts of package will be advanced instead

By TOI STAFF   Mon 6:43 am  

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly told ministers over the weekend that the coalition’s current legislation aimed at securing control over the Judicial Selection Committee, which was suspended in late March just prior to being enacted, will not be revived.

The legislation — which would give the coalition near-complete control over the appointment of all Israel’s judges — is one of the central planks of the judicial overhaul, crafted by the package’s architects Justice Minister Yariv Levin and Constitution Law and Justice Committee chairman Simcha Rothman.

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T. Belman. This is one more example of judicial overreach necessitating Judicial Reform.

The injunction issued by Israel’s High Court means that the court found the petitioners’ arguments against the amendment, which states that the National Security Minister will direct police policy, persuasive, and the burden of convincing the court not to repeal it now falls on the respondents

By Chen Maanit, HAARETZ

Israel’s High Court of Justice has issued an injunction ordering the government, the Knesset, and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to explain within 90 days why the amendment to the Police Order, which grants Ben-Gvir the power to determine police policy, including in investigations, should not be repealed.

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Tweet by Abedalelah Amaala

King Abdullah II arrived in Washington on a dangerous private and political visit. He is racing against time in two directions, namely his severe neurological and spinal cord illness. He is similar to the condition of his late father, King Hussein, when he died at the age of 63,…

— Abedalelah Almaala (@AbedAlmaala) June 7, 2023

My interview with @InfoWars_tv
Jordan is APARTHEID KINGDOM
-Answering the question”How is life like for a Palestinian in Jordan?”:
Jordan under the kinglet is hell to all Jordanians but the bottom of hell is reserved for the majority of Palestinian heritage pic.twitter.com/8C02ObDPbe

— Mudar Adnan Zahran ???????? ????? (@Mudar_Zahran) June 16, 2023

A broad overview of the trends in Israel’s trade with China in goods and services, in the last decade

Tomer Fadlon, INSS 18.6.23

This paper surveys the trends in trade between Israel and China, in both goods and services, over the past decade (2013–2022). Especially noticeable is the significant and consistent rise in trade with Israel during those years, based mostly on the import of goods from China, which totaled $17.62 billion in 2022. The imports from China are diverse and include machinery for infrastructure and construction projects, consumer products ordered from Chinese websites, which to some degree has mitigated the rise in the cost of living in Israel, and for the past two years, the import of cars from China. 

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By MARTIN SHERMAN

When the official reasons given for the Oct. 2022 gas deal with Lebanon unravel, who can be blamed for allowing “heretical” alternative explanations to creep into one’s mind

 We will divide up the region. Israel will return most of the West Bank, and the Palestinian flag will fly on public buildings in East Jerusalem – Yair Lapid,Der Spiegel, May 8, 2008.  

 Jerusalem is not a place; it is the constitutive concept of Israeli identity and our most fundamental ethos…We will not divide Jerusalem. No matter what happens. If that eventually means that there will be no resolution [of the conflict] then there will be no resolution – Yair Lapid, Walla, December 27, 2014.

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By David Israel, JEWISH PRESS   

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and Budgets Commissioner Yogev Gerdos on Sunday informed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Economy Minister Nir Barkat that the lengthy negotiations between the global Intel company and the budget division of the finance ministry had concluded successfully, and agreements in principle were reached regarding Intel’s plan to invest approximately $25 billion in a new plant in Kiryat Gat.

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???? ???? ???????? ??????? ???????? ?? ???? ???? ????? ??????? ???? ??????? ??????? ??????? ?? ??? ???????? ???????? ??? ?????? ??? ???????? ???????? ?? ???? ????? ???? ?????? ???????? ?????????? ???? ?? ??? ????? ?????? ??????? .. ????
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— ???? ????? Mohd Btaibet (@btaibet) June 13, 2023

The office of the Jordanian Coalition for the Opposition in London received an official invitation, on a specific date, in the near future, by the US Congress, where the Jordanian opposition delegation will meet with a special, diverse subcommittee in Congress that was formed to look into the Jordanian issue..

T. Belman. The government is quite right to propose this extension to the Minister of National Security. This differs from the detention  applied to the Jan 6 detainees  in that they were subject to trumped up charges whereas in Israel the detentions would be soundly based.

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara warns that the bill could create ‘a slippery slope’ for Israel’s Arab citizens, and ‘violate basic principles of Israeli law’

By Chen Maanit and Noa Shpigel, HAARETZ 17.6.23

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir at the weekly cabinet meeting in the prime minister’s office in Jerusalem, in May.Credit: Abir Sultan/Pool via Reuters

Israel’s Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara is expected to oppose the bill aimed at giving National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir authority to approve administrative detention orders.

The Justice Ministry has yet to formulate a final position on the bill, which is due to be on Sunday’s agenda of the Ministerial Committee for Legislation. According to Justice Ministry sources, however, expanding the use of administrative detention, as Ben-Gvir is seeking, is unnecessary and could infringe upon human rights.

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The decision by the Netanyahu-led government comes as Barbara Leaf, the top ranking American diplomat for the Middle East, is set to visit the region. Earlier this year, Israel issued a commitment to the Biden administration, promising not to expand West Bank settlements for four months

By Hagar Shezaf and Jonathan Lis, HAARETZ 18.6.23 12:24 PM

The Israeli cabinet is set to approve a resolution on Sunday that would shorten the process of approving construction in West Bank Jewish settlements and give Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich – who also serves as a minister in the Defense Ministry – the authority to approve one of the stages. The decision would change a system that has been in effect for the last 27 years.

In a related development, next week the Supreme Planning Council of the Israeli Civil Administration in the West Bank will consider the advancement of plans for thousands of housing units in West Bank settlements.

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By Michael Ordman, , VGNI

In the 18th Jun 23 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:

• An Israeli startup can train the brain to filter out chronic pain.
• Children with psychological problems receive therapy from Israeli dolphins.
• 3 Israeli startups have independently developed solutions to cure insomnia.
• It’s official – another major Israeli natural gas discovery.
• Israel beat Korea to come 3rd in the Under 20 Soccer World Cup.
• An Israeli kidney donor ran a marathon alongside the transplant recipient.

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by Guy Millière, GATESTONE  •  June 18, 2023 at 5:00 am

Pictured: Bois-d’Aulne College in Conflans-Saint-Honorine, where Paty was murdered. (Photo by Bertrand Guay/AFP via Getty Images)

• Samuel Paty, a high school teacher [was] savagely beheaded on October 16, 2020 in… the suburbs of Paris where he taught…
• The list of 14 people [indicted] does not include the murderer, Abdullakh Anzorov: he was shot dead by police.
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by Bilahari Kausikan, JSTRIBUNE     June 2023

China’s President Xi Jinping and Arab leaders during the China-Arab summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, December 2022. Photo credit: Saudi Press Agency/Handout via REUTERS

I once asked a Vietnamese friend what an impending leadership change in Hanoi meant for his country’s relations with China. “Every Vietnamese leader,” he replied, “must get along with China; every Vietnamese leader must stand up to China; and if you cannot do both at the same time, you don’t deserve to be the leader.” His answer succinctly describes Southeast Asia’s general approach not only to China but also to other major powers and major power competition.

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