Category: Frontlines

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Which is worse – UNESCO or Bibi?

The Israeli Government is all up in arms over the decision by UNESCO today to recognize the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hevron as an “endangered palestinian heritage site”. Condemnations are flowing in from various Government officials.

Here’s the problem: These are the exact same Israeli Government officials who have refused to allowed Jews to move into houses they have legally purchased in Hevron. Refused to allow building by Jews on Jewish-owned properties for decades. Refused to renovate the Jewish prayer section of the very same Tomb of the Patriarchs so that Jews can pray without fear of weather elements and wildlife.

All of this has NOT been done for fear of offending the very same terrorists who brought this motion to the UN.

Quite frankly: its time for Bibi and his cheerleaders to put up or shut up.

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Turkey’s Erdogan Warns Syrian Kurdistan: “We Are Preparing For War”

The Kurdish held area of Afrin in North West Syria is under imminent threat of Turkish invasion as the Turkish armed forces are amassing on the border.  With the Russian army pulling back from the area, many see this as a tacit approval for Turkey’s invasion.

Rudow reported if Turkey attacks Afrin, “Turkey will be plunged into a swamp, politically and militarily – there will be an historical resistance against Turkish occupation in Afrin and Shahba regions,” Mehmud Berxwedan, commander of Kurdish YPG forces in Afrin, told Voice of America’s Kurdish radio service on Friday.

Syrian Kurdistan is comprised of three autonomous cantons along the Turkish border. The further strengthening of these areas is a development that Ankara fears may lead to the emergence of an autonomous or independent Kurdish entity along its border and spark a legitimate secession movement for its own nearly 20 million Kurds.

While Kurds are the traditional indigenous people of the area, spanning across Turkey, North Syria, Northern Iraq, and Western Iran, Turkey’s President Erdogan called them terrorists.

Turkey’s deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus told Reuters on Wednesday that Turkish military preparations in northwest Syria are “legitimate measures against a threat from Kurdish forces in the Afrin region, and Turkey will retaliate against any hostile move.” He added in an interview that “This is not a declaration of war. We are making preparations against potential threats” adding that “It’s … a legitimate measure so that we can protect our independence. We cannot remain silent against those sending missiles from Afrin.”

An attack on Afrin wil seemingly destablize the entire region and would threaten to draw the wider American back SDF and Iraqi KRG into the conflict.  Will Afrin start a wider regional war?  That is up to Erdogan and Turkey’s ability to reign in their appetite for expansion. If Erdogan does go in, the Trump administration will have to decide to openly turn against another NATO member on behalf of the Kurds or back stab the Kurdish people like previous administrations.

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BIBI NETANYAHU TO MODI: “I welcome you here to our home in Jerusalem. Welcome friend.”

PM Netanyahu: We face common challenges, the first of which is to defeat the forces of terror that rampage through the world and threaten both our countries. We must stand together in this battle, much as we work together to perfect the future.

Below is the full statement (Communicated by the Prime Minister’s Media Adviser) given by Prime Minister Netanyahu to Prime Minister Modi of India who is visiting Israel in a historical visit as both countries cement their global partnership.

“Thank you. Welcome to Jerusalem, my friend, Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi. You know, you have only been here a few hours and you have already visited Yad Vashem, you paid your respects at the tomb of the founder of our national movement, Theodor Herzl and you’ve seen some of Israel’s cutting edge technology. We went to a greenhouse on a warm day, believe me it was a warm reception.

So, you’ve had a glimpse of our painful past but also of our promising future. And we’re very excited to host you here. We have a great admiration for the people of India. I told you about my late uncle, Professor Elisha Netanyahu, he was a mathematician at the Israel Institute of Technology and he told me many times about his admiration for the great Indian mathematician Ramanujan. He said he was the greatest mathematician of the 20th century but he said he was perhaps the greatest mathematician in many many centuries. And this symbolizes the talents of the people of India. As we know, we have the talents of the people of Israel. And we believe in this partnership of talent.

We both seek a better future for our peoples. Doing so requires a lot of work. It won’t happen overnight but Prime Minister Modi and I have the same trait – we both want it to happen overnight. We are tireless reformers and I want to congratulate you, Prime Minister, on the reforms that you’re doing to change India’s economy and we both believe that we can do together great things for the betterment of the future of our peoples.

I have to confess to you that I’ve been inspired by Prime Minister Modi’s enthusiasm for yoga to begin. He said to me: you can start at a low level, choose your level. So I’m starting at a low level and here’s what we’re going to do. When I do a relaxing Tadasana pose, in the morning I’ll turn my head to the right, India is the first democracy that I’ll see. And when Prime Minister Modi does a relaxing pose of Vasisthasana and he turns his head to the left, Israel is the first democracy that you can see. So, in fact we have India and Israel are two sister democracies. In fact, together we account for about 20% of the world’s population. But although we are unequal in size, we’re equal in spirit. We believe we can accomplish great things. We have accomplished great things and we have many many more opportunities to seize together in the future.

But I have to say that we also face common challenges and the first of it is to defeat the forces of terror that rampage through the world and threaten both our countries. So we must stand together in this battle, much as we work together to perfect the future.

Prime Minister, we share a bond of democracy and creativity, a deep respect for the past, a boundless optimism for the future and it’s in this spirit, my friend Narendra, of close cooperation and deepest friendship that I welcome you here to our home in Jerusalem. Welcome friend.”

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From Kurdistan to South Sudan: Israel’s Covert Operations Push Independence

It is no secret that Israel’s foreign policy has shifted in the last decade to aiding developing countries and regions that share a concurrent enemy in regards to radical Islam.  Most of the time Israel extends its hands in the form of technology and aid, but two nascent states have received far more.

Kurdistan, A Silent Partner Against Radical Islam

Kurdistan has been an independence project long in the making.  Nestled in Northern Iraq, Syria, Southeastern Turkey, and Western Iran, the Kurds are largest indigenous people without a state. Israelis covert cooperation has been primarily focused on ties to the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq (KRG). The ties in the past included weapons training, arms, and other intelligence support.  It cannot be confirmed whether or not there is still a military aspect to the relationship, but it is said Israel enjoys Kurdish oil and helps it transfer the oil to Europe and beyond.  Most analysts believe Israel has been instrumental in helping the Kurds build the Peshmerga into a serious fighting force in which their future independence relies.

An independent Kurdistan plays well in the Israeli strategy of working with non-radical indigenous actors that will in the future work overtly with the Jewish state when the geopolitical arena warms to Israel’s existence.

South Sudan, Forward Ally Against Iran in Africa

The history between South Sudan and Israel goes back to the late 1960’s, long before talk of South Sudan had entered the minds of the global power brokers. Representatives of the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army made contact with Israel in hopes of striking a partnership.  Over the years, Israel has given more than just aid, it has trained and delivered arms to those fighting for South Sudan’s independence. It has been so apparent to all observers the role Israel played in prying South Sudan from the jaws of the Northern Radical Islamist regime in Sudan that the South Sudan president Salva Kiir said the following in his visit to Israel in August 2011:

“Without you, we would not have arisen. You struggled alongside us in order to allow the establishment of South Sudan and we are interested in learning from your experience.”

South Sudan’s independence is a roll back on Iran and its proxies’ drive South into the Sub Sahara.  It also proves how long term relationships in Africa that are built on economy and security can be very effective in the face of radical threats.

Is Biafra Next?

Following a similar pattern and necessity in terms of Israel’s geopolitical needs, Biafra is a strong candidate to secure covert aid.  Nigeria was supposed to be Israel’s new Africa ally, but the ascendancy of Islamist Buhari to the Presidency has forced Israel’s government to rethink its strategy.  This is why Biafra, if positioned correctly, could play a vital role in securing the Jewish state’s first long term ally on the Gold Coast.  There is just one challenge, Biafra is no South Sudan.  Last time it tried for independence 3 million innocent Biafrans lost their lives.  Israel will have to weigh whether or not it can be successful in helping Biafra secure freedom.  If so it may be the first time the Jewish state would be able to legitimately plant its flag in West Africa as a partner with the continent’s first Hebraic Nation.

 

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BREAKING: American backed Northern Alliance Kills the Head of ISIS Quneitra Branch on the Golan Border

The Arabic-language Sky News network is reporting the bombing of an unidentified aircraft apparently belonging to the Northern Alliance, which was  in northern Jordan killed the commander of Daesh (ISIS) Quneitra.

The head of Daesh Quneitra had not even been its leader for a month before he was killed by the bombing this evening.

His predecessor, Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi was killed along with a large number of senior local commanders.

The name of today’s commander is sort of a mystery. Some people say it was Abu Hashem al-Rifai Abu Hashem al-Rifai.  Others say it was Abu Hashim al-Askari al-Darawi. Either way, Daesh Quneitra has suffered another setback.

Impact on Israel

There had been a lot of rumors once Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi was killed that it was the Israeli airforce that carried out the hit in the beginning of Ramadan. In truth, Israel has been very involved for a while, on one hand supporting the FSA rebels against Assad and on the other hand trying to remove ISIS.

Weakening ISIS along its border is a top priority for the Israeli government, yet they can’t do it alone as they need to focus on holding Syria and Iran back. The dangerous balance between destroying ISIS and supporting anti-regime forces is key in trying to secure the Golan border.

The Northern Alliance aircraft was most likely American.  This would indicate a division of labor between the US and Israel. With the Americans focusing on ISIS in the South, Israel can better position itself to help the FSA break the supply route between Damascus and Daraa.