Middle East Roundup: February 27, 2017

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Report: US considers withdrawing from UN human rights body, citing anti-Israel bias

(JNS.org) The U.S. is reportedly considering withdrawing from the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), a body that has been accused of harboring deep anti-Israel bias and favoring countries with authoritarian governments.

A former State Department official said the UNHRC’s anti-Israel bias is likely one of the reasons why the Trump administration may pull out.

“There’s been a series of requests coming from the secretary of state’s office that suggests that he is questioning the value of the U.S. belonging to the Human Rights Council,” the former official told Politico.

The White House and Haley’s office did not comment on the report, and the U.S. is expected to participate in the UNHRC session that begins this week.

When the UNHRC was established in 2006, former President George W. Bush refused a seat on the council. But when President Barack Obama took office in 2009, his administration decided to join the body and try change its behavior from within. Nevertheless, the UNHRC has continued to repeatedly target Israel, passing more resolutions condemning the Jewish state than any other country in the world, including human rights abusers such as Iran, Syria and North Korea.

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Following rocket attack, Israeli Air Force hits Hamas positions in Gaza

(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Israeli aircraft attacked targets in the Gaza Strip Monday afternoon in retaliation for a rocket attack early that morning. Palestinian media reported that the aircraft hit Hamas terror group positions in northern Gaza.

The rocket fired from Gaza early Monday hit an open field in the northwestern Negev region. Israel’s Iron Dome defense system determined that the rocket did not pose a threat to residential areas. There were no injuries or property damage from the rocket, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.

Last week, two rockets fired from Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula hit southern Israel, also exploding in open areas. Sinai Province, Islamic State’s proxy in the area, claimed responsibility for the attack.

The latest rocket fire followed reports by the Islamic State-affiliated Amaq news agency that four of the jihadi group’s operatives were killed Saturday night in an Israeli drone strike in the northern Sinai, near the Egyptian town of Rafah along the border with Israel. The report said the strike targeted a terror cell preparing to fire rockets at Israel, and that rockets and launchers were also destroyed in the strike.

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flee Islamic State

(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) The Egyptian military said it has discovered and destroyed weapons-smuggling tunnels in the northern Sinai Peninsula next to Egypt’s border with the Gaza Strip, which is ruled by the Palestinian terror group Hamas.

A military spokesperson told Egyptian media that one tunnel, dug some 20 meters (66 feet) underground, branched out into three different tunnels. Oxygen tanks and communication technology cables were found in the tunnels.

Meanwhile, the Coptic Church in Egypt said that dozens of Christian families living in the northern Sinai had been forced to flee their homes due to Salafi radicals’ violence against Christians.

The Islamic State terror group announced that it would murder “Christian crusaders” in Egypt. According to Egyptian media reports, seven Coptic Christians were recently murdered in the city of El-Arish in attacks carried out by terrorists who identify with Islamic State.

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Israel closes Hamas-operated school in eastern Jerusalem over incitement

(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) The Israeli Education Ministry, Jerusalem District Police and Shin Bet security agency Thursday shut down a Hamas-operated school in eastern Jerusalem for incitement.

The Education Ministry said it had not licensed the Sur Baher neighborhood school for the current school year, after a review of its curriculum indicated that it “included content that undermines Israel’s sovereignty. The curriculum’s objectives were found to be compatible with Hamas ideology.”

According to Israel’s Channel 10, the school’s principal was questioned by police on suspicion of operating a school without a license. He was released under restrictive conditions.

“East Jerusalem schools that choose to follow [the ministry’s] curriculum receive all the necessary tools for success. Schools that teach incitement will be closed,” Education Minister Naftali Bennett said.

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Impeachment proceedings underway for Arab Knesset member

(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Israeli Environmental Protection Minister Ze’ev Elkin filed a petition with Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein to begin impeachment proceedings against Arab lawmaker Member of Knesset Basel Ghattas, following Ghattas’s indictment for allegedly smuggling cell phones and other materials to Palestinian security prisoners.

Seventy-one MKs signed the petition, 61 of them from Israel’s governing coalition and 10 from the opposition party Yesh Atid, enough to begin impeachment proceedings. Israel’s Impeachment Law requires the signatures of 70 lawmakers, including 10 from the opposition, to begin the process.

“We are convinced that in [carrying out] these grave acts, MK Ghattas committed the crime of expressing support for the armed struggle of a terrorist organization against Israel,” wrote Elkin, who solicited the signatures.

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New Iron Dome interceptor successfully tested, Israels defense ministry says

(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) A new missile interceptor developed for the Iron Dome defense system was recently successfully tested, the Defense Ministry said last week. The routine tests are part of the anti-rocket system’s ongoing developments and upgrade, the ministry said.

The tests were held by the Defense Ministry’s Homa Directorate, which oversees the development of Israel’s missile defense systems, and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, which develops the interceptor.

The new interceptor, named Tamir, includes components developed as part of a manufacturing deal signed between Israel and the U.S. in 2014. The U.S. Missile Defense Agency and American defense contractor Raytheon are involved in the development of Iron Dome’s components.

Iron Dome, designed to intercept and destroy short-range rockets and artillery shells, is part of Israel’s four-tiered air defense apparatus, including the David’s Sling system, which counters medium-to-long-range rockets and missiles; the Arrow 2 short- and medium-range ballistic missile interceptor; and the Arrow 3 long-range missile interceptor.

“We’ve successfully completed a series of complex tests….Together with David’s Sling, this significantly enhances Israel’s air defenses against short- and mid-range missiles,” Homa Directorate Director Moshe Patel said.

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Israel names four new conservative justices to Supreme Court

(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Israel’s Judicial Nomination Committee named four new justices to the country’s 15-member Supreme Court.

The four justices named last week are Jerusalem District Court Judge David Mintz, Haifa District Court President Yosef Elron, Haifa District Court Judge Yael Willner and Tel Aviv District Court Deputy President George Karra. They will assume office throughout the next six months, and will replace retiring Justices Elyakim Rubinstein, Salim Joubran and Zvi Zylbertal, as well as Chief Justice Miriam Naor.

The incoming justices represent the more conservative tone that Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked has sought to introduce to the country’s judiciary.

“These judicial nominations reflect the human and legal diversity that is vital to us as a society, and which was sorely lacking at this level of the judiciary,” Shaked said, adding, “Our judicial flagship has now changed its course.”

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UN envoy Haley mets with family of slain IDF soldier kidnapped by Hamas

(JNS.org) U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley met with the family of Lt. Hadar Goldin, an Israeli soldier who was killed during the 2014 Gaza war and whose remains are held by the Hamas terror group.

Goldin’s parents, Leah and Simha, requested that Haley assist their efforts to bring about the return of the bodies of their son and Sgt. Oron Shaul, who also died in the Gaza war, for burial in Israel.

“We appreciate Ambassador Haley’s willingness to assist us in the return of our sons and we hope that these efforts bear fruit as soon as possible,” the Goldins said in a statement.

Since 2014, the Goldins have waged a public campaign to have their son’s body returned to Israel. Given that their son was killed and captured during a U.N.-brokered cease-fire, the family has appealed to the world body to help secure the return of his remains.

Netanyahu speaks of rising anti-Semitism in address to Australian Jews

(JNS.org) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke of rising anti-Semitism across the world in an address to Australia’s Jewish community Feb. 22.

“We have a battle against those who seek to demonize our people and the resurgent anti-Semitism that we see in many parts of the world. It is something that we need to fight together,” Netanyahu said.

“This is important in Europe. It’s important in America. It’s very important that President Trump took a strong stand against anti-Semitism,” he noted. “It’s important that we all continue to do so in the years ahead.”

Netanyahu’s speech at the Sydney Central Synagogue was attended by Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and hundreds of members of the Jewish community.

“I want to salute this Jewish community, which is unusually committed to the state of Israel, to the Jewish people. You’ve shown it time and time again,” Netanyahu said.

 

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Arab media report Israeli strikes on Hezbollah targets near Damascus

(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Arab media claimed Feb. 22 that the Israeli Air Force struck Hezbollah targets in Al-Qutayfah, northeast of Damascus, Syria. The report has not been corroborated by any official Israeli source.

The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency quoted a Syrian military official as confirming the strike, but he offered no other details.

According to reports, several Israeli fighter jets breached Lebanese and Syrian airspace, en route to the Qalamun Mountains. The Lebanese news channel Al-Jadeed reported that the strike took place at 3 a.m. and targeted a Syrian weapons shipment to Hezbollah making its way to Al-Qutayfah. The report quoted local residents who reported hearing explosions, as well as eyewitnesses who claimed they saw Israeli jets flying at low altitude over the town of Baalbek.

Other media reports said a Syrian military post was also destroyed in the strike. The post was reportedly used by the Syrian army’s 155th Battalion, whose troops often oversee the regime’s weapons shipments to the Shi’a terrorist group.

Syrian troops were reportedly using side roads to transport the weapons to Hezbollah, to avoid an Israeli strike.

 

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First Christian Arab earns spot in elite Israeli Air Force pilots course

(JNS.org) An Israeli Christian Arab was among the cadets who began the Israeli Air Force’s (IAF) 179th pilots course three months ago, Israel Hayom reported. The young man, whose name cannot be revealed, is the first Christian Arab to make it into the prestigious course.

The cadet is currently in the initial flight stage of the course, after which the IAF makes a round of cuts. There is no guarantee the cadet will become a pilot. Only about 10 percent of the cadets who begin the course complete it and earn their pilot wings in a ceremony held at the Hatzorim Air Force Base.

Just a small percentage of military recruits are accepted to the hallowed pilots course, and they undergo extensive medical testing as well as drills that test their physical and mental abilities.

There have been Druze cadets who completed the pilots course and served as pilots, but this cadet is the first Christian Arab to start the rigorous training. Israeli Arabs, Christian or Muslim, are not required by law to enlist in the military. All those who serve do so voluntarily.

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