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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BREAKING NEWS: Twin Blasts Rock Istanbul, Killing at Least 15

Istanbul was rocked Saturday night by twin explosions after a soccer match.  The Explosions killed at least 15 and wounded many others.

Video below shows the moment of the exlosions.

“It was like hell. The flames went all the way up to the sky. I was drinking tea at the cafe next to the mosque,” Omer Yilmiz, who was working at the Dolmabahce mosque near the stadium, told Reuters. “People ducked under the tables, women began crying. Soccer fans drinking tea at the cafe sought shelter, it was horrible.” 

Although it is too early to say who the terrorists are, Erdogan will use the attack to claim more centralized power while blaming shadowy Kurdish groups.  In this case the PKK could be behind it as the blasts seemed to intentionally target security forces after fans had left the soccer stadium two hours earlier.

As Erdogan goes after more and more power, Kurdish groups are under pressure to counteract as he has made clear his intention to clamp down on Turkey’s 10 million strong Kurdish populace. Erdogan is paranoid that the Kurds who are a majority in certain areas of Turkey have historical rights to much of today’s south-eastern areas of the country.

With the KRG (Kurdish Regional Government) in northern Iraq gaining state like qualities, Erdogan is hard pressed to stay strong against Kurdish groups in Turkey.

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Is Turkey Using Russia to Head off a Clash with Donald Trump?

With one little sentence declared by Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, there is now the potential to change many prime players and sides in the Syrian ongoing crisis/war.  While on his first visit to Russia, Yildrim was  quoted yesterday as saying both countries “understand each other better than before.”  Can the end of this arab bloodshed be on the horizon?  As we know, Turkey has been a staunch critic of Assad since the start of the uprising in Syria.

Turkey and Russia have also been backing opposing sides in the Syrian conflict for a long time.  Ankara has been combating ISIS and Syrian Kurdish forces while Russia has backed the Syrian regime dating back to even Assad’s father, well over 50 years ago. Turkey and Mother Russia have not exactly been the “best of friends” especially after the downing of a Russian Su – 24 bomber last year.  

So why is it that the two countries getting closer together? Could it be that Turkey wants to collaborate with Putin instead of Donald? More than likely, Turkey is vying for leverage with NATO and its own role in the coalition against ISIS and a post liberated Mosul.  By visiting Russia now before Donald Trump takes over, Turkey is hoping to gain bargaining power in the unfolding Middle East. This is especially important as it has become clear that it was Turkey’s hand behind the creation and growth of ISIS.  This is a fact that Donald Trump knows all too well.

As Trump gets ready to put strength behind Israel as its most trusted ally in the region, Islamist Erdogan and the Turkish government is struggling to find meaning in a reion soon to be carved up by the USA and Russia.

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UN Threatens Israel After Regulation Law Passed

The UN did not wait long to castigate Israel over its initial passage of the Regulation Law, which allows Israel to compensate Arabs in Judea and Samaria for land the State of Israel has been using for Jewish communities. In a nutshell this law legalizes thousands of houses across Judea and Samaria that had previously been in legal limbo while at the same time giving Arabs that no longer wanted to live there a legal way to collect money.

Nickolay Mladenov claimed the legislation “has the objective of protecting illegal settlements built on private Palestinian property in the West Bank,” according to comments quoted by AFP. “It is a very worrying initiative. I encourage Israeli legislators to reconsider such a move that would have far-reaching legal consequences across the occupied West Bank.” This is diplomatic parlance for a threat.  After all is Israel is the roadblock to peace then it is going against the international community. If one considers that just a few days ago a resolution Palestinian Statehood arose once again in the UNSC, the threats are becoming more and more real.

No Fear, Just Move Forward

The Regulation Law gives the Israeli government a clearer pathway on consolidating sovereignty in Judea and Samaria without overtly annexing the Land.  This is the genius behind the law as it ends Oslo without saying so. The world is changing and the UN’s threats and innuendos are quickly becoming passe.

 

 

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With 46 Days to Go Until Trump, Bibi Netanyahu Bests Obama

With a revamped Regulations Law set to be passed in the Knesset, Bibi Netanyahu will have officially ended the Oslo era. For the first time since Israel liberated its ancestral heartland, Israeli government and military powers will invoke the nation’s sovereignty in areas previously not allowed.

The Regulations Law gives power to the Knesset and government officials to decide what to with private Arab land whose owners fled generations ago. Caroline Glick sums it up:

“The settlement regulation bill empowers the military commander to seize privately owned land and compensate the owners. In other words, it provides a means for willing Palestinian sellers to sell their property to willing Jewish purchasers without risking the lives of the owners.”

The law does not make Israel the sovereign, but it gives the government and military the ability apply sovereignty in select cases where in the past it could never do. This alone alters the status of Judea and Samaria to a point where Oslo becomes null and void.

Obama Was Outplayed

Between Kerry’s attacks on Education Minister Naftali Bennett for being disturbing and the Obama administration attempting to play footsie at the UNSC by potentially abstaining during the vote on “Palestine” the common wisdom was that he government would not go ahead with the vote. Obama thought he had set up Bibi to fail, thus putting his government into free fall in time for Trump to be sworn in.

Bibi did the unthinkable, he and his coalition passed the settlement Regulation Bill and by doing so opened the avenu for a new approach to the Arab’s iving in Judea and Samaria. True, Amona will not be saved, but hundreds of other communities will.

For eight years Obama tried to get the best of Bibi Netanyahu.  At the end, it is Bibi who has out smarted Obama and given his government the ablity to chart a new course in relation to the “Palestinians.” Naftali Bennett is right to say this is a revolution. With one vote Israel has freed itself from answering to Washington in regards to Judea and Samaria and declared itself sovereign over its ancestral homeland.

 

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BREAKING NEWS: Israel Attacks Multiple Targets in Syria

Although the IDF has no official comment on the air force raids into Syrian territory. Arabic media is reporting Israeli airstrikes on multiple targets.

London-based Rai al-Youm stated the following on it’s website:

“The Israeli air force launched two raids by 4 missiles. The first targeted an ammunition dump inside the 38 Brigade of the Fourth Infantry Division, in the Syrian army and sources said the second targeted a number of cars near highway between Beirut – Damascus. The sources said the second raid was not targeting any security or political personnel, but rather a convoy of vehicles who are mostly likely affiliated with Hezbollah arms shipments.  According to local media the attack occurred in the early hours of Wednesday morning with Syrians waking to hear the sound of explosions west of the Syrian capital Damascus.”

The attack follows a similar attack against ISIS targets after they engaged with the IDF on Monday.  The Israeli government continues to follow a policy of neutrality in regards to the Syrian Civil War and will only attack when arm shipments are destined from Syria to Hezbollah in Lebanon or if ISIS directly confronts Israel, which happened for the first time earlier in the week.

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