The Israeli soccer team practices ahead of a game.
Kosovan police announced yesterday that they had foiled a plot by the Islamic State to attack the Israeli soccer team in Kosovo. The Israeli team had gone to Kosovo for a World Cup qualifying match with the Albanian team.
Eighteen of the suspects arrested for the planned terrorist attack were citizens of the Republic of Kosovo, and one was a Macedonian. The suspects were found with two different types of explosives, a drone, multiple guns, and religious literature with an ‘extremist ideology’.
You can read the full press release from the Kosovo police here.
Bombs fall on Gaza Strip, in the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict.
Israel’s current ruling party, the Likud Party, is known for its inflammatory rhetoric and hard-line positions. Unlike previous parties, which have tried to strike a balance between politeness and looking out for Israel’s interests, the Likud Party seems to not even give a toss about appearing genial – something that has made Israel look much worse in the eyes of international media. So when it comes to illegal settlements, the bombing of the Gaza Strip, or whatever Israel is doing that day, the government seems unrepentant and uncaring.
That’s not to say Israel doesn’t face problems with terrorism and other issues, but it does mean that whenever they do something bad, the Likud Party exacerbates the situation with its attitude.
So the Defense Minister of Israel‘s recent comments, though he is not technically part of the Likud alliance, are certainly representative of the party’s tendency to say rash things that are sure to be misconstrued – because out of context, they tend to sound horrendous.
The interview was conducted by Al-Quds, an Arabic newspaper, with Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman.
“I would like to clarify that we have no intention of starting a new war against our neighbours in the Gaza Strip or the West Bank, Lebanon or Syria.” Lieberman said.
The line itself is fine, but it makes anyone reading worry about what bombshell he’s going to follow this up with.
“In Gaza, like the Iranians, [Hamas] intends to eliminate the state of Israel,”
True. The founding charter of Hamas also states that ‘Jewish Zionists’ were behind both WWI and WWII.
“If [Hamas] imposes the next war on Israel, it will be their last. I would like to emphasize again, it will be their last confrontation because we will completely destroy them.”
And this is the statement that is sure to be taken out of context and used against the Israeli government. This is just political stupidity. Why is this even necessary to answer? Does anyone really think that if a fourth war breaks out between Hamas and Israel, Hamas will win? When this quote is taken out of context, it’s definitely going to be used to suggest that Israel is planning to destroy Hamas. Lesson one of politics, guys: don’t hand your enemies bullets.
Maybe the Likud party will learn that eventually, but for now, we’re destined for dumpster-fire political discourse, where both sides just hurl offensive things the other side has said at each other.
U.S. President Barack Obama, right, meets with Benjamin Netanyahu, prime minister of Israel, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Monday, March 5, 2012. Photo courtesy of Bloomberg.
Obama is well aware that a lot of his legacy rests on what happens just before he leaves office, especially with both presidential candidates being incredibly unpopular, so he’s looking to try one last time to wrap up a lot of the problems and diplomatic conflicts that still divide the world.
Netanyahu and Obama have had differences of opinion on multiple issues, including the Iran nuclear deal, so tensions have been strained between the two leaders at times. But the recent passage of a $38 billion package in aid for Israel is meant to show that despite past clashes in opinion, the US will continue to support Israel.
So we’ll see what Obama has up his sleeve for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict soon, but it’s almost certainly not going to be enough. This dispute has been going on for over 50 years at this point.
As one of the US’s top allies in the Middle East, Israel is often included in lucrative military deals to ensure their cooperation, as well as to solidify the friendship between the two countries. And, needless to say, this new deal is an extension of this policy. The deal entitles Israel to spend $3.8 billion per year for ten years, but will have to spend more and more of the money on American military industries as each year passes.
As for the reasons for the deal, there are many. Some think that the reason why the new military deal involves such a large amount of money is to make up in a way for the Iran deal, which Israel PM Netanyahu and other Israelis have decried. The new aide package is also one of the largest ever in the amount of money for use in Israel’s military; and also one of the largest given to any country, ever.
The provision allocates $500 million per year for missile defense of Israel, which many think is necessary, given Iran’s aggression, and the popular talking point that Iran’s nuclear power facilities will allow Iran to more easily create nuclear bombs and threaten Israel and the US’s allies.
Another reason is because of the amount of instability in regions nearby Israel. The Atlantic’s Emma Green describes it thusly: “war-torn Syria to the northeast, Hezbollah-influenced Lebanon to the north, and an Islamist insurgency in Egypt’s Sinai to the south.”
So now that we know the political reasons for the deal, it’s time to talk whether this deal is worth it. I realize that the US wants to make amends for its actions on the deal, but the US’s constant rewards to Israel makes it seem as though we don’t really care what Israel does with Palestine, especially given the Gaza Strip bombings that happened only recently this year, killing over 2000 people, who were mostly civilians. Bombings in general aren’t precise enough to be able to do the targeted strikes to kill terrorists, but it’s not like the Israeli Defense Force is not capable of doing a targeted strike on terrorists and not killing a lot of innocent civilians.
So I think in a way, we’re rewarding bad behavior. If we don’t hold Israel accountable for its actions, it could lead to much worse results, especially given the current party in control of Israel, the Likud party, are continuing Israel’s controversial settlement policy, which directly stands in the way of helping to solve the Israel-Palestine conflict, and in my opinion is too inflammatory to be politically palatable.
Well, that’s just my two cents. If anyone disagrees with me, feel free to post what you think in the comments.
Man-made islands made to represent the world. Dubai, UAE
I was showed an interesting article a few days ago, about how Israel and the Gulf states are beginning to show signs of reconciliation, despite the Israel-Palestine conflict still continuing to drag on. You can find it here.
To tell the truth, I’ve never really thought about what it would be like if Gulf states did ally/buddy up with Israel, because I thought it was ridiculously unlikely. But I think the main thing causing the shift in attitudes is a more pragmatic approach. Israel is one of the wealthiest states in the Middle East, and better relations would benefit both countries in terms of trade, as well as bolster Israel’s case in the Israel-Palestine debate.
The main thing holding them back from being friends with Israel, is of course the Israeli-Palestine conflict. But Israel is a key US ally, and upwards-moving countries like Qatar and the UAE are beginning to place a lot more emphasis on becoming more influential than Arab unity.
Where this will lead, it’s hard to predict, but the increasing friendliness between the countries is something that may begin to become more obvious later on.
The Middle East Scroll 