TRUMP RELEASES ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN "DEAL OF THE CENTURY", TENSIONS ESCALATE IN PALESTINIAN AREAS
President Donald Trump shakes hands with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a joint news conference to announce a new Middle East peace plan proposal in the East Room of the White House in Washington, on January 28, 2020. (Credit: Joshua Roberts, Reuters)
US President Donald Trump held a joint press conference at the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today to announce the president’s “Deal of the Century” Israeli-Palestinian peace proposal. Touting his previous pro-Israel initiatives, Trump promised that the latest proposal is the best, and perhaps the last good chance that Palestinians have to achieve statehood, saying that the plan is the “most detailed ever put forward by far. Our proposal provides precise technical solutions to make Israelis, Palestinians and the region safer.” Trump and Netanyahu both outlined key components of the plan, including:
annexation of existing Jewish settlements in the West Bank into Israel
Israel will retain security control of the Jordan Valley on the western border of Jordan, providing a defensible barrier
Jerusalem will remain the undivided capital of Israel, while a Palestinian capital will be recognized in East Jerusalem
Proposed Palestinian state land in the West Bank will remain undeveloped for four years, giving the Palestinian Authority time to implement the agreement
50 billion US dollars of investment into the new Palestinian state, which Trump claimed will add 1 million jobs over 10 years, cut Palestinian poverty in half and raise GDP by 200-300%
The Palestinians must recognize the right of Israel to exist. Hamas must be disarmed and the Gaza Strip demilitarized
A tunnel will connect the West Bank to Gaza
Issue of Palestinian refugee resettlement will have to be resolved outside of Israel
Retain status quo at religious sites, including Temple Mount
Leaders in the Palestinian Authority publicly rejected the new plan even before its announcement, choosing instead to hold joint meetings with other Palestinian factions, including terrorist groups such as Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The latter groups are responsible for constant rocket fire and other forms of attack against Israeli civilians. Street protests broke out in the West Bank within minutes after the conference, and IDF units in the area were placed on high alert in expectation of a violent backlash. Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas declared called Trump “a dog and the son of a dog,” and left no room for negotiating with his administration, stating “It's either dying like martyrs or flying the Palestinian flag on the walls of Jerusalem.” The Islamist government in Turkey also condemned the peace proposal in a released statement, claiming that it is “an attempt to kill the two-state solution, a plan aiming to annex Palestinian territory…Jerusalem is our red line. We won’t allow steps to legitimize Israel’s occupation, oppression.”
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President Trump struck an accord with other Arab leaders in the Middle East, citing the cooperation of Oman, Bahrain and the UAE in the negotiations. Envoys of the Oman and Bahrain governments were in attendance at the press conference. The Saudi Arabian foreign ministry released an unprecedented public statement in which it endorsed the peace plan, stating that the Kingdom "appreciates the efforts of President Trump's Administration to develop a comprehensive peace plan between the Palestinian and the Israeli sides, and encourages the start of direct peace negotiations under the auspices of the United States..."
President Trump also also cited the recent The president also cited the recent death of Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Solemani and his driving vision to “liberate” Jerusalem from Israel by means of war. Trump exhorted Muslim nations around the world to reject this, stating that “In truth, Jerusalem is [already] liberated…It is time for the Muslim world to fix the mistake it made in 1948 when it attacked instead of recognized the State of Israel…America is prepared to work with all parties on our vision.”
Bibi Netanyahu hailed the president’s plan as different from its predecessors, citing that previous plans had failed due to lack of balance between Israeli security concerns in the West Bank and Palestinian aspirations for statehood. Recognizing Israel’s rightful heritage in the Biblical Jewish heartland of Judea and Samaria as a “permanent part of the Jewish state” was a critical step for Israelis, the Prime Minister claimed, stating that he has “agreed to negotiate peace with Palestinians on basis of [the] peace plan. It's a great plan." After listing Trump’s previous pro-Israel initiatives, including the movement of the US embassy to Jerusalem, withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear deal and recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, Netanyahu called Trump the “greatest friend of Israel ever in the White House…it’s not even close.”
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Sources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyWovtG_YaA&feature=youtu.be
https://www.timesofisrael.com/islamic-state-announces-new-phase-of-attacks-mainly-targeting-israel/
https://www.timesofisrael.com/iranian-general-warns-of-retaliation-against-israel-if-us-threats-continue/
https://www.timesofisrael.com/hamas-to-join-palestinian-leadership-meeting-against-trump-plan-officials/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
https://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Abbas-Trump-is-a-dog-and-son-of-a-dog-I-wont-become-a-traitor-615572?fbclid=IwAR1piMU-LBAyK8rilNak5LTftyHT4SWGIs4HSFbgqfvutplZA_3pDBI7bcU
https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Peace-to-Prosperity-0120.pdf
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/01/trump-unveil-israeli-plan-latest-updates-200128132737854.html
https://twitter.com/IsraelGazaICN/status/1222122845565702144
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1222223636779741184
https://twitter.com/eha_news/status/1222219697430634496
https://twitter.com/HillelNeuer/status/1222290395238764544
https://twitter.com/sfrantzman/status/1222213656982761473
CASUALTIES IN ROCKET ATTACK ON US BASE IN IRAQ AFTER IDF CHIEF WARNS THAT CONFRONTATION WITH IRAN IS COMING
A vehicle-mounted Katyusha rocket battery, similar to the one which was likely used to attack the US base in Kirkuk, Iraq on Dec 27, 2019. (via DefenseTalk.com)
As many as 36 Katyusha rockets struck a base in Kirkuk, Iraq which houses American troops yesterday, causing the death of an American defense contractor and wounding several US soldiers. An announcement of responsibility is pending investigation, as both the remnants of ISIS and Iran-linked Shi'a militias are active in the area. However, ISIS has not had the capacity to conduct such a strike for a year, and the attack is just the latest in a string of 12 over the last three months which have been traced to the conglomerate of Iraqi militias known as Popular Mobilization Units, or PMU’s.
The PMU's are integrated into Iraqi security forces, but many of their brigades ultimately take orders from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Iranian military leaders have repeatedly threatened US bases in the region with Iranian rockets. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Iran just two weeks ago that any attacks on American troops resulting in American casualties will trigger a US military response.
The deadly attack comes at a precipitous time, after IDF Chief-of-Staff Lt.Gen. Aviv Kochavi warned that a limited but "intense" confrontation with Iran is coming, reiterating Israel's commitment to prevent Iranian entrenchment in Iraq and Syria. There have been hundreds of mostly unclaimed airstrikes against Iranian or Iranian-allied targets in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq over the past six years, and recent intelligence suggests that Iran is using the IRGC and it's PMU proxies to transport and store Iranian missiles in Iraq.
Sources:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/rocket-attack-in-iraq-kills-u-s-contractor-wounds-four-u-s-troops-11577492632
https://www.debka.com/an-american-killed-4-injured-in-heavy-iraqi-shiite-rocket-strike-on-us-k-1-base-near-kirkuk/
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-iraq-missiles-exclusive/exclusive-iran-moves-missiles-to-iraq-in-warning-to-enemies-idUSKCN1LG0WB
https://www.jpost.com/American-Politics/Trump-in-a-corner-after-rockets-kill-US-contractor-wound-forces-612346?fbclid=IwAR1u8NiJ51Ut_p_4TR__WjQbG82FmTqfcypjyXasXFdlpYQTbVrSDJHS_og
https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-chief-israel-alone-in-the-fight-against-iran-in-syria-iraq/
https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/diplomacy-defense/1577266477-israel-s-army-chief-concerned-over-iranian-activity-in-protest-ridden-iraq
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/pompeo-warns-iran-about-trigger-for-us-military-action-as-some-in-administration-question-aggressive-policy/2019/06/18/48bd3be0-9116-11e9-b570-6416efdc0803_story.html
https://www.wsj.com/articles/pompeo-warns-iran-over-rocket-attacks-at-iraqi-bases-11576277357
IRANIAN BACKED MILITIA IN SYRIA THREATENS ISRAELI GOLAN HEIGHTS
A screenshot of the Liwa Fatemiyoun video showing their view of the Israeli Golan Heights from inside Syria (via: @Jtruzmah. Twitter)
Liwa Fatemiyoun, an Afghani Shi’a milita fighting in Syria and sponsored by Iran, published a video on Twitter yesterday which shows the group positioned just a few kilometers from the Israeli Golan Border inside southwest Syria. The video, as translated by reporter Joe Truzman on Twitter, boasts that the group’s combat experience in the Syrian Civil War was just “preparations for confronting Zionism” and that the Israeli Golan Heights are the groups “Final Target.”
Liwa Fatemiyoun’s threats echo those of their benefactor, Iran, whose military and religious leadership have repeatedly threatened to destroy the Jewish State. The head of Iran’s army even claimed that Tehran has a strategy to cause the collapse of Israel within the next quarter-century.
Sources:
https://twitter.com/Jtruzmah/status/1209378917041049600
https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Irans-Afghan-mercenaries-threaten-Israel-from-Golan-611967?fbclid=IwAR19jSPJk-bbIhk4YTIzDI-Ah2QNHNLnoqapcXUoMy3Xy4iNxEBQbJSqhtY
https://www.timesofisrael.com/top-iranian-general-threatens-to-destroy-israel-us/
https://www.timesofisrael.com/as-iran-threatens-to-annihilate-israel-hezbollah-boast-of-reach-of-rockets/
MOSSAD PLAYS KEY ROLE IN THWARTING TERROR IN EU, GERMAN PARTIES SUPPORT HEZBOLLAH BAN
US FORCES IN IRAQ AND ISRAELI FORCES FACE A COMMON THREAT: IRANIAN ROCKETS
Shi'ite fighters fire a rocket toward Islamic State militants in Baiji, north of Baghdad, 2015 (Credit: Thaier Haier al-Sudani, Reuters)
Officials inside the US State Department and the Pentagon have become increasingly vocal about the growing trend of rocket attacks on US bases in Iraq. The locations of the attacks and the weapons used indicate that Iranian-sponsored militias, and not ISIS, are responsible. This means that US forces in the region now find themselves in the same predicament as the Israeli military, which also has to defend against ongoing, intermittent rocket fire from Iranian-sponsored militias in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon and Syria. The connection is not lost on the Americans, who have recently considered the Israeli Iron Dome missile defense system as a means of protecting US troops in Iraq.
So far, no casualties have been reported as a result of the rocket fire in Iraq. Whereas the Israelis have often taken a course of direct (albeit undeclared) action against Iran and its proxies, the US has instead sought to use the regular Iraqi security forces as intermediaries with the Iranian-linked militias in Iraq - known collectively as Popular Mobilization Units (PMU's) or "Hashd al-Shabi" - in an attempt to "deconflict." But as Iranian threats on US bases in the region increase, and as the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) takes a more direct role in the Iraqi government in order to quell ongoing street protests, it seems unlikely that deconfliction will occur as long as both US forces and Iranian actors are present in Iraq.
https://www.jpost.com/…/US-suspects-Iran-behind-rocket-atta…
https://www.militarytimes.com/…/rockets-land-near-baghdad-…/
https://sethfrantzman.com/…/us-breaks-silence-on-rocket-a…/…
BREAKING: TERRORIST ATTACKS IN EUROPE AS ROCKETS ARE FIRED FROM GAZA INTO SOUTHERN ISRAEL
Police wrestle with the London Bridge terrorist suspect moments before opening fire. (Credit: YouTube video, via Guardian News)
In the last 4 hours
A stabbing rampage on London Bridge kills two Britons before the self-proclaimed jihadist was shot and killed by police.
Another stabbing attack in The Hague, Netherlands injures several, the attacker is still at large
An explosive device is found in an abandoned bag in Paris.
Rockets are fired from Gaza into Southern Israel, triggering warning sirens for the 4th time this week and prompting retaliation from the Israeli military.
Israel and Europe are right now facing the same threat of radical jihad. Hamas, al-Qaeda and ISIS are all children and grandchildren of the Muslim Brotherhood, a movement founded in 1923 to reestablish the Islamic Caliphate after its abolition at the end of the Ottoman Empire.
Sources:
https://twitter.com/ConflictsW/status/1200503067248136201
https://twitter.com/BreakingNAle…/status/1200506519684599813
https://www.theguardian.com/…/london-bridge-incident-police…
https://www.jpost.com/…/Dutch-police-Several-wounded-in-sta…
BREAKING: ISRAELI MISSILES STRIKE MULTIPLE IRANIAN, SYRIAN TARGETS INSIDE SYRIA AFTER GOLAN ATTACK
Israeli missile fire over Damascus, Syria, 2019 (via BBC).
Israeli jets and surface-to-air batteries struck multiple targets belonging to the Iranian Quds Force near Damascus, Syria on Wednesday morning, as well as Syrian missile batteries that fired in response. The round of strikes came just hours after several missles were fired at Israeli military installations in the Golan Heights. There are no official reports of damage or casualties at the time.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immeidately discolsed Israel's role in the strikes in a public statement: "I made it clear that whoever harms us - we will harm them. That is what we did tonight in Syria against Iranian Quds Force targets and Syrian military targets, after rockets were fired from its territory towards Israel. We will continue to aggressively guard the security of Israel."
The volley of strikes comes a week after Israel targeted a top Palestinian Islamic Jihad political leader near Damascus in an airstrike last week, which is considered to be the impetus for the rocket attack in the Golan on Tuesday evening. The Iranian Quds Force is a leading patron of the PIJ, providing millions of dollars worth of weapons, training and materiel to the terrorist group in their ongoing war against Isarel from inside the Gaza Strip.
Photo: Israeli missile fire over Damascus, Syria, 2019 (via BBC).
Sources:
https://twitter.com/ELINTNews/status/1196965953076154368/…/1
https://twitter.com/IDF/status/1196973332689833985
https://twitter.com/Syria_Protec…/status/1196935906072170497
https://twitter.com/LTCJonathan/status/1196968651724935168
https://twitter.com/Jtruzmah/status/1196936774297079809
http://live.jpost.com/…/Syrian-air-defenses-intercept-missi…