ICEJ News Briefs

Reports emerged in the Lebanese media onTuesday that Saudi Arabia has recently taken steps towards a comprehensive peace deal with Israel that would cement the alliance against Iran while offering “compromises” to “end the Palestinian issue.” Analysts were quick to point out that the newspaper which initially published the report, Al-Akhbar, is affiliated with the Lebenese Shi’ite terror militia Hezbollah and has a history of reporting “fake news” stories which support Teheran’s regional agenda. Details of the conditions in the offer include: a demand that Israel must give up its alleged nuclear weapons arsenal, internationalize the city of Jerusalem, allow for the permanent re-settlement of Palestinian refugees in Arab countries, a major ratcheting up of pressure on Iran by Washington on all fronts, and “intensive intelligence cooperation in the fight against organized crime and drug trafficking supported by Iran and Hezbollah.”

However, Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad Maliki said on Tuesday that reports of Saudi Arabia pressuring the PA to accept a peace deal with Israel under conditions the PA found unfavorable were false. “Saudi Arabia told President Mahmoud Abbas that it will not normalize relations with Israel before a peace solution is reached for the Palestinian conflict,” he said, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA.

In related news, Israel and Saudi Arabia co-sponsored a resolution condemning the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad at the UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday. The historic event, which also saw co-sponsorship by the US, France and Germany, saw the resolution passing by a vote of 108-17 with 58 abstentions.

Anger Grows at Earthquake Response in Iran

Israel announced on Tuesday that it is offering assistance in earthquake recovery to Iran and Iraq through the good offices of the Red Cross. No response came from the regimes in Baghdad and Teheran, both of which have been the object of growing anger as survivors of Sunday’s 7.3 magnitude quake complain bitterly about their desperate situation and their governments’ inadequate response. Official estimates are that at least 15,500 homes were destroyed in the quake and nearly the same number damaged, leaving tens of thousands of residents sleeping in the open as the region’s harsh winter begins to arrive. Private efforts to bring relief to the area have vastly outpaced the response by the government.

Israeli Cabinet Minister Vows to Resist Creation of Palestinian State

Israel’s Science, Technology and Space Minister Ofir Akunis told reporters on Tuesday that he and others in the cabinet would fiercely resist pressure from the Trump Administration to move forward with plans for the establishment of a Palestinian State as part of a comprehensive peace agreement. “With all of my appreciation for the Trump administration, which I don’t hide,” Akunis said, “I can’t live with a document that talks about two states, and I will vote against it. I have a clear ideological stance… Many ministers agree. We want peace and are ready to negotiate, but not based on two states. I cannot accept a paper like that from the Americans.”

Beauty Pageant Scene of Non-traditional Diplomacy

Tuesday saw some non-traditional diplomacy at the Miss International Beauty Pageant in Japan, as Miss Israel’s Adar Gandelsman took a picture with Miss Iraq’s Sarah Idan, which they both posted to their official Instagram accounts. Gandelsman posted the caption “Get to know, this is Miss Iraq and she’s amazing,” while Idan’s caption read “Peace and love from Miss Iraq and Miss Israel.”  

Today’s video shows the address by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the recently held conference of Jewish Federations in Los Angelos

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