Author: Gavriel Dan

Gavriel Dan spent a number of years covering social movements in Israel, the wider middle east and Europe. He is considered an expert in embedding himself with various groups and causes in order to get accurate and rich information.
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ISIS Strikes Jerusalem

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_btn title=”FOR $5/MONTH YOU CAN SUPPORT GAVRIEL’S WRITING” color=”primary” size=”lg” align=”center” button_block=”true” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.paypal.com%2Fcgi-bin%2Fwebscr%3Fcmd%3D_s-xclick%26hosted_button_id%3DPBTQ2JVPQ3WJ2|||”][vc_column_text]For the first time ISIS pulled off a coordinated attack in Israel.  Border policewoman Hadas Malka, age 23, was stabbed to death near Damascus Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem.  The attack was one of two in the area.

The Jerusalem Division chief said, “One attack was carried out at Zedekiah’s Cave. Two terrorists, one with a knife and one with an automatic weapon, attempted to harm police officers.”

“The officers responded by firing their weapons and killing the terrorists on the spot.

“About 100 meters from there, a third terrorist stabbed a policewoman, critically wounding her. The terrorist was shot on the spot by other policemen in the area.

“The injured policewoman fought for a few seconds with the terrorist who stabbed her, and tried to draw her weapon. The other officers realized what was happened and shot the terrorist, who later died.”

 

The Islamic State claimed three “Lions of the caliphate” committed the attack and promised, “more to come.” Hamas praised the attackers, bu did not claim it.

Although there have been Palestinian Arab attacks in and around Damascus Gate before, this would be the first official ISIS attack.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Will America Move CENTCOM from Qatar?

As the Qatar crisis heads into its second week another shoe is evidently about to drop.  The AP reported that the U.A.E.’s ambassador in Washington, Yousef Al Otaiba, urged the Trump administration to consider moving its air base out of Qatar.

“Maybe someone in Congress should have a hearing and just say, you know, ‘Should we consider moving it?’” the ambassador said in Washington on Tuesday. “And maybe not moving the entire base. Maybe just distribute to various countries so you don’t have all your eggs in one basket.”

The airbase is home to CENTCOM the hub for the US military in the region.  If the US would move the enormaous base Qatar would lose the last piece of leverage it has with the West.

Although behind the scenes the US has been supporting the Saudi led maneuvers against Qatar, it was not until recently that President Trump iterated his support for the Saudi blockade.

“One of the big things that we did, and you are seeing it now in Qatar and all of the things that are actually going on in a very positive fashion, we are stopping the funding of terrorism,” Trump said. “We are going to stop the funding of terrorism. It’s not an easy fight but that is a fight that we are going to win. We are going to starve the beast.”

Although moving CENTCOM is highly unlikely at this point, nothing should be ruled out. With Saudi Arabia moving fast agianst radical Jihad, the time for action is clearly now. If the US does indeed move CENTCOM, it may be the trigger that will start the next round of war in the region.

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Are Post ISIS Alliances Already Taking Shape?

As the Raqqa operation gets underway, with the SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) ploughing forward into the “capital” of ISIS, the terror group’s leaders and fighters are said to have already travelled to safe havens along the middle Euphrates.  With the American backed SDF bogged down in strett to street fighting, Iranian paramilitary units are pouring in from where they helped fight to free Mosul to Eastern Syria to destroy the heads of ISIS.

This struggle for land as ISIS collapses is forming the beginnings of regional boundaries that in essence brand new lines between ethnic units as well as defined frontiers of regional alliances.

Rising up from the rubble of ISIS are two clearly definied groupings.

The first consists of Russia, Iran, Syria (Assad), Turkey, and Qatar.  None of these countries trust eachother, but work together under a common interest in battling back America as well as seeking a piece of what they see as a rising Middle Eastern hegemony.

The second group is made up of the United States, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE, Jordan, Egypt, Kurds and Israel.  This grouping sees the first group as an existential threat and has been conjoled to work together by the Trump administration.

With the fall of ISIS a matter of weeks, the real battle will come after. Iran has used the chaos to reach to the Israeli border.  They have shown the ability to capitalize on the weaknesses of their enemies. Besides Iran, Hezbollah can now turn its sites on Israel.

The Middle Eastern alliances now taking shape even before the last of the caliphate are buried not only put Iran im the drivers seat, but increase the likelihood of war sooner rather than later.  The Syckes-Picot agreement, the document based colonialist and neo-colonialist pinciples set in motion by France and Germany is becoming irrelevant as a new set of states and mini states take shape.

As the chaos spreads throughout the region and beyond, the Saudis backed by Israeli tehnology will attempt to push back on the Shiite gains in order to create a buffer between the Kingdom and its enemies. The Kurds backed covertly by Israel and overtly by America will be encouraged to push forward in order to stabilize Northern Syria and Iraq and break the link between a power hungry Turkey and their allies in Qatar.

Be prepared the Great Game of the Middle East is about to begin. It could very well be far more destructive than the havoc ISIS has caused.

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New Law: Businesses to be Fined for Refusing Service to IDF Soldiers

A new law passed on Monday by the Knesset will subject businesses to a fine of up to 50,000 NIS for discriminating against uniformed IDF soldiers.

The legislation, submitted by Yisrael Beitenu Party Chairman, MK Robert Ilatov, was first drafted in the previous Knesset following an incident in 2010 where reservists were refused service at the Azad restaurant in Haifa.

The restaurant was filmed by the Zionist organization Im Tirtzu refusing service to uniformed IDF soldiers, and was forced by the Haifa Magistrate’s Court to pay a fine of 5,000 NIS. According to Im Tirtzu, there have since been a number of additional cases of discrimination against uniformed IDF soldiers, including in Jerusalem.

Yisrael Beitenu Party Chairman, MK Robert Ilatov, noted how until now there has been no explicit legislation prohibiting such acts of discrimination.

“In light of numerous cases of discrimination against uniformed soldiers, I decided that there needed to be legislation prohibiting this from occurring in public places, including restaurants, entertainment venues and educational institutions,” said Ilatov.

“Our uniformed men and women are not only deserving not to suffer from discrimination, but to be honored for their public service to the State of Israel.”

Matan Peleg, CEO of Im Tirtzu which was among the initiators of the law, said: “It is inconceivable that in the State of Israel, there are those who would discriminate against IDF soldiers. This is fueled by an anti-Zionist ideology that seeks to uproot the values of the state from within.”

“For generations upon generations, Jews have dreamed of having a Jewish army in the Land of Israel,” added Peleg. “Im Tirtzu, as the largest Zionist movement in Israel, is committed to continue safeguarding this dream.”