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| In-Depth Issues: At Least 20 Islamists Infiltrated German Army (Reuters) Germany's military counter-espionage service (MAD) has identified 20 Islamists in the country's armed forces, the German media group Funke reported on Saturday. A spokesman for the agency added that 60 additional cases were under investigation. Recruiting offices had received a number of queries from people who wanted to join the military for only a few months and expressed a keen interest in intensive weapons training, the MAD spokesman said. Russians Secretly Dying for the Kremlin in Syria - Maria Tsvetkova and Anton Zverev (Reuters) An army of Russian private contractors is playing a substantial role in ground combat in Syria. They fly to Syria on board Russian military aircraft which land at Russian bases. When injured, they are treated in hospitals reserved for the Russian military and get state medals. According to "Kapa," a former Russian officer and volunteer in the Ukraine conflict, Russian veterans of the Ukraine fighting were recruited for ground combat in Syria when it became clear that Syrians would not be able to hold ground without help, despite Russian air support. "The Arabs are not warriors by nature, but are thrown together and told to storm high ground. They don't know how to storm it, let alone conquer their instincts and move towards the bullets....That's why our guys reinforced their units." IDF Reins in Palestinian Celebratory Gunfire - Yoav Zitun (Ynet News) Israeli forces sealed a Palestinian event hall Monday in Azaria near Jerusalem following gunfire during a wedding Sunday night. In the West Bank, gunfire from guests is a frequent occurrence during celebrations. IDF officials explained that over the last year, dozens of cases of stray bullets fired during Palestinian weddings have damaged homes and vehicles in Ma'ale Adumim and other villages. Israeli Drones Operated by German and French Peacekeepers in Mali - (Jerusalem Post) As part of its UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, Germany has begun to operate Israeli-made Heron drones. The French Air Force has been flying a variant of the Heron since the beginning of the UN mission in January 2013. According to foreign media reports, Israel has also sold UAVs to Australia, South Korea, Chile, Colombia, India, Mexico and Singapore. Moroccan Journalists Visit Israel - Roi Kais and Itamar Eichner (Ynet News) Seven leading Moroccan journalists are currently being hosted in Israel by the foreign ministry. RSS Feed Key Links Media Contacts Archives Portal Fair Use/Privacy | News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia: Assad: West Growing Weaker in Syria President Bashar al-Assad claimed Western powers are "becoming much weaker" in Syria, in an interview published in The Sunday Times. "ISIS was smuggling oil and using Iraqi oilfields under American satellites and drones to make money, and the West was not saying anything. Whereas here [in Syria] the Russians interfered and ISIS started to shrink in every sense of the word....We were fighting an unlimited reserve of terrorists coming to Syria and we struggled, so Russian firepower and Iranian support has compensated." (AFP) Jerusalem Mayor Links Israeli and Palestinian Building Violations Reacting to a ruling by Israel's Supreme Court ordering the evacuation and demolition of the Amona outpost, where 40 families are living on private Palestinian-owned land, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said the demolition "could have implications for similar cases in Jerusalem, where Arabs have illegally built on private or municipal land." (AFP-Daily Mail-UK) See also Jerusalem Mayor: We Cannot Have One Law for Arabs and Another for Jews - Dov Benovadia Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat wrote to State Attorney Avichai Mandelblit this week: "It has come to my attention that the legal department has determined that there are similar instances in Jerusalem, especially in Arab neighborhoods in the eastern part of the city, where homes were illegally built on Jewish-owned land. According to the law that would apply to Amona, the city would be obligated to evict thousands of Arab families and demolish their homes." The Jerusalem municipality said that "Mayor Barkat has asked State Attorney Mandelblit to assess the implications of the Amona decision on the city. There are many cases in Jerusalem that are identical to the situation in Amona, where Arabs have built homes on privately owned or municipal land and have lived there for decades. Obviously we cannot have a situation where there is one law for Arabs and another for Jews." (Hamodia)News Resources - Israel and the Mideast: Israel Opposes French Initiative, Won't Attend International Conference in Paris - Barak Ravid Israeli officials told French envoy Pierre Vimont on Monday that Israel remains opposed to a French initiative to hold an international peace conference in Paris and would not attend such an event. "Israel's position [is] that genuine advancement of the peace process and reaching an agreement will only come through direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians," the Prime Minister's Office stated. "All other initiatives only distance peace in the region." The French initiative "would allow Abbas and the Palestinian Authority to continue evading direct negotiations with Israel without preconditions." (Ha'aretz) Interpol Rejects Palestinian Membership Bid The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) rejected a bid by the Palestinian government to join the body on Tuesday after Israel lobbied against the move. The Palestinians' application was opposed by 62 countries. The vote reflects a change in Israel's international status, the Israel Foreign Ministry said. (i24news) See also Allowing the Palestinians to Join Interpol Would Be a Serious Mistake - Ted R. Bromund The General Assembly of Interpol is meeting in Bali, Indones ia, where the Palestinian Authority is seeking admission to the worldwide federation of law enforcement agencies. Interpol's job is to administer databases of wanted notices from police agencies around the world. But letting the Palestinians in would be a serious mistake. The Palestinians aren't seeking admission to Interpol because they want to support it. They want to join because it is a cheap way to win a legitimacy they do not deserve on their merits. And if they can use Interpol to persecute a few supporters of Israel, that would be a bonus. Giving the Palestinians rewards they do not deserve only incentivizes them to keep on governing badly. We should stand on our principles, and vote against giving the Authority the opportunity to join the parade of dictatorships that already abuse Interpol. The writer is a senior research fellow at The Heritage Foundation. (NewsdayAN>)Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel): Setting the Record Straight on Israel - Lee Smith interviews Martin Kramer Americans tend to assume that everyone wants democracy, and that more democracy is the solution for dysfunctional parts of the world. But parts of the Middle East resist because democracy and its freedoms undercut the entire political, social, and moral order. So if you bring down a dictator, you unshackled all the genies that the dictator locked up, such as Islamism and sectarianism. Americans sometimes forget that Israel really is a vibrant democracy. Israel's top leaders are sometimes faulted in America for not making "tough decisions" or taking "risks for peace." But they're politicians in a democracy, they answer to voters. In almost every household, there are soldi ers and reservists who know the realities surrounding Israel through first-hand experience. Israel doesn't face a dire threat from any of its Arab neighbors. But the looming challenge is Iran's almost limitless regional ambitions. Blunting the thrust of Iran is a multi-decade project. The nuclear deal has postponed the reckoning, but the challenge still looms. Martin Kramer is the founding president of Shalem College in Jerusalem, where he chairs the department of Middle Eastern and Islamic studies. (Weekly Standard) Iran and Turkey Jostling for Power in Iraq - Jonathan Spyer The eventual outcome of the battle for Mosul in Iraq cannot be in doubt. There are 5,000 Islamic State fighters inside the city, facing a combined force of 100,000. The attackers have complete control of the skies and vastly superior weaponry. Shi'a militiamen of the Popular Mobilization Units are moving into position to prevent Islamic State fighters from escaping westward toward the Syrian border. The PMU consists of around 40 Shi'a militias, the most significant of which are directly supported by the government of Iran. The Shi'a militias of the PMU are thus a classic Iranian production - combining political, military and paramilitary/intimidatory roles for the maximization of power and Ira nian influence. Meanwhile, the Turks established a military base at Bashiqa, east of Mosul, in December 2015, where Turkish officers are training a Sunni militia. The Iranians and their allies are already engaged against Turkish-supported militias in northern Syria. Even as the fight for Mosul has not yet reached its completion, the various players are already competing for supremacy in the aftermath. The writer is Director of the Rubin Center, IDC Herzliya, and a fellow at the Middle East Forum. (Jerusalem Post)Observations: Advice for the Next President: Reward Your Friends and Punish Your Enemies - Michael J. Totten (The Tower) Unsubscribe from Daily Alert. | ||
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