Author: Orit ben Tzvi

Orit is Israel Rising's regional and threat analyst. She has a degree from IDC in Middle East Diplomacy and has served both intelligence related activities for the IDF as well as advised privately for firms doing business in the region.
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The UN Votes to Disconnect Jerusalem from the Jewish People…Again

Today the UN voted to disconnect the Jewish people from their ancient capital and hand it to a people that never existed.  This was not the whim of a thin majority of countries, but rather a vast overhwhelming number of UN member states voted for the resolution. Out of the UN’s 193 member states, 147 voted in favor, seven voted against and eight abstained. Those who voted against were Canada, USA, Israel, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Naura and Palu.  Those who abstained were Australia, Guatemala, Panama, Papa New Guiea, Paraguay and Vanuatu.

The resolution states the following: “Any actions taken by Israel, the occupying Power, to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration on the Holy City of Jerusalem are illegal and therefore null and void and have no validity whatsoever, and calls upon Israel to immediately cease all such illegal and unilateral measures.”  It then continues and pushes Israel to “respect for the historic status quo at the holy places of Jerusalem” and “urges all sides to work immediately and cooperatively to defuse tensions and halt all provocations, incitement and violence at the holy sites in the City.”

Daniel Luria, the Executive Director of Ateret Cohanim, an organization dedicated to returning property in Jerusalem stolen by Arabs back to Jewish hands dismissed the resolutions as anti-semitic. “Whoever doesn’t recognize such a clear, obvious and eternal connection and unbreakable bond between the Jewish people and Jerusalem, the Temple Mount and the ‘Kotels’  (Northern, Southern, Western and Eastern Walls of Temple Mount) is blinded by hate, a denier of both current day realities (a plethora of archeological finds) and Jewish history, and is an anti-semitic, arrogant fool. Such a person or body is destined the dung-heap of history and will be shunned or forgotten in due course.”

The UN General Assemply decision comes on the back the UNESCO vote, which disregarded the Jewish narritive to the Land of Israel.  While the UN vote is non-binding it still gives added energy to a potential UN Security Council collision course before Obama leaves office. If it gets to the security council all bets are off.  After all, if it was Jimmy Carter Palestine would have been a reality a long time ago.

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Erdogan Wants Jerusalem…and Syria Too

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, president of Turkey has decided he wants Jerusalem and while he’s at it Syria belongs to him also.  Erdogan seemed to throw rapprochement with Israel out the window today when he stated “it is the common duty of all Muslims to embrace the Palestinian cause and protect Jerusalem.” He made the comments at the first Inter-Parliamentary Jerusalem Platform Symposium in Istanbul.

In the same speech Erdogan spoke about Syria:

“In my estimation, nearly 1 million people have died in Syria. These deaths are still continuing without exception for children, women and men. Where is the United Nations? What is it doing? Is it in Iraq? No. We preached patience but could not endure in the end and had to enter Syria together with the Free Syrian Army [FSA].”

“Why did we enter? We do not have an eye on Syrian soil. The issue is to provide lands to their real owners. That is to say we are there for the establishment of justice. We entered there to end the rule of the tyrant al-Assad who terrorizes with state terror. [We didn’t enter] for any other reason,” Erdogan said.

Erdogan like any other supporter of radical Islam believes in divine mandate on each muslim to conquer lands previously held by the caliphate.  For Erdogan it isn’t the caliphate, but rather the sultanate that has the divine power to institute rulership.

What is Erdogan Doing?

Erdogan is laying the groundwork for the passage of a constitutional amendment that gives him power until 2029. In order to pass the amendment  he needs the street behind him.  By showing off his radical Islamic bonafides he makes sure the street stays with him.  Furthermore he is giving context to his brutal attacks on the Kurds, both in Syria and Iraq.

For Erdogan, his broad use of terrorism is often times used to attack Kurds. For example, RT reports: “in October Turkey’s air forces killed between 160 and 200 fighters of the Kurdish YPG militia group in 26 airstrikes conducted in just one night.”

Essentially, the chaos in Syria has come to help Turkey regain a regional role in the Middle East in a way that is far more direct than it used to have. It has gained leverage against the EU and earned the respect of major powers like China.

In just a few months after Russia had Erdogan cornered and a failed coup attempt, Turkey is stronger than every and aiming to control both Northern Iraq and the Levant.

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Fire Intifada Update: 37 Arsonists Arrested, Police Stretched

Security services have now arrested 37 arson terrorists.  18 of them are Israeli Arabs and the rest live in “Palestinian” Arab controlled area of Judea and Samaria. The arrests come on the backdrop of the realization that the Shin Bet (Israel’s Undercover Intelligence Agency) was completely caught off-guard by the Arab terrorists.  The success of the fire terrorism in crippling Israel is something of an embarrassment for an agency known for its undercover prowess.

Security services are currently investigating 233 cases of arson in connection with the fires that have raged across Israel for nearly a week. Given the severity and scope of damage of the fire, most observers believe a change of attitude and approach is necessary in order to prevent what will most likely be an ongoing threat.

Arsonist Caught in Gush Etzion

In relation to the ongoing manhunt for squads of arson terrorists, the police reported on one of their successful operations:

“As part of police operations searching and finding suspects who were involved in setting off fires and causing the blazes, this morning nature observers and Parks Authority personnel spotted a suspect setting fire to bushes intending to start a larger fire. Police units immediately responded and began a pursuit in order to arrest the suspect. The suspect began to flee and police tracked him down and the 44 year old resident of the village of Hussan was arrested. Police operations are continuing to find suspects and make arrests and at the same time prevent further fires and danger to communities. International coordination and operations with airplanes is continuing. The Israel Police is calling upon all Arab authorities both Israeli and the Palestinian Authority to show responsibility in these days, to strongly condemn any attack which can endanger human lives and endanger communities regardless of religion, race and nationality.”

Below is the video of the successful apprehension of the arsonist:

The real challenge is not whether or not security forces are capable of stopping arsonists, but rather stress such continued operations places on police and army units whose focus may be needed elsewhere.

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Fire Intifada Continues as Israel is Left Vulnerable

Fire Intifada Latest Updates:

What is fast becoming one large “weapon of mass destruction” Arab arsonists continue the onslaught against Israel by lighting new fires in the last 24 hours. The village of Neve Tsuf saw its 350 families evacuated as arsonists stared three different fires which eventually destroyed 15 houses, with 25 others damaged.

Beit Meir, west of Jerusalem was torched as residents fled.  The fire was started at the entrance in order to prevent people from fleeing the area.  18 homes in the village were entirely burned and 30 others were extremely damaged during the attack on Friday night. The arsonists threw Molotov cocktails at the outer row of houses. Dozens of private cars were also destroyed.

Meanwhile, the fire by Nataf outside Jerusalem has been pushed back. The video below shows the Global uTanker from the USA at work putting out fires between Jerusalem and Nataf.

Haifa, thought to be under control is still on fire as strong winds returned Friday, whipping up flames.  Over 600 homes have ben destroyed in Haifa since the beginning of the fire.

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Arsonists Prove Israel is Vulnerable

Although the fires have begun to be controlled, the surprise and immensity of the damage proves the weapon of fire to be one of the most effective against Israel.  Israel’s security services had been caught off guard by the terrorists’ ability to organize across the Land of Israel in a manner that could only have been orchestrated by foreign plotters. The Fire Intifada has done more to smash Israel’s percieved invincibility in respect to the Arab Street and terror leaders.

The following Tweet encapsulates the renewed energy within the Arab world:

Of course Haya and other pro-“Palestinian” activists cannot answer one simple question: If the Land really belongs to them, why are they burning it?

 

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Bibi Netanyahu: “This is Why People Are Coming to Israel”

Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke today at the Jerusalem Post Diplomatic Conference held in Jerusalem today.  He touched on the changing world and how Israel is leading in technology and innovation. He spoke about the changing relationships with the Arab world and the broader globe.

Watch the whole speech below:

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