United States and Israel vs Russia, Iran, Palestinians, Germany and the UN -- Who Do You Think Will Prevail?

AN UNUSUALLY DISHEARTENING TERRORIST ATTACK IN THE WEST BANK. While Israel is sadly used to terrorist attacks and attempted attacks, most coming from Gaza, last Sunday's attack was even worse than than usual because it hit at the heart of the Israeli effort to live in cooperation with Palestinians. • • • IDF ARRESTS SEVERAL PALESTINIANS AS MANHUNT FOR BARKAN TERRORIST CONTINUES. The Jewish Press reported on Monday a statement from the IDF : "Israeli security forces arrested several Palestinians in the West Bank village of Shuweika near Tulkarm in a massive manhunt for the terrorist suspected of shooting dead two Israelis and wounding a third in the Barkan industrial area on Sunday. Following the terror shooting that took place yesterday in the Barkan Industrial Park, in which Kim Levengrond-Yehezkel and Ziv Hajbi -- may their memories be blessed -- were killed and another female civilian was injured, last night IDF troops working with the Shin Bet [Israel Security Agency] and Border Police, operated in the village of Shuweika, where the terrorist was from. As part of those activities, a number of arrests were made in the village. IDF soldiers and security forces will continue their search for the terrorist until he is caught.” • The Jewish Press said that on Sunday morning, 23 year-old Ashraf Walid Suleiman Na’alwa reportedly shot dead Kim Levengrond-Yehezkel, 29...and Ziv Hajbi, 35....He also is suspected of shooting a third woman, seriously injuring her, before fleeing the scene with the Carlo Gustav weapon he used. According to Palestinian media, security forces detained the shooter’s sister overnight in Nablus, and clashes broke out in the area of Yatta in the southern Hebron hills while IDF troops were conducting searches. Na’alwa had a permit to work at the Barkan park where he had been employed as an electrician for the past seven months at a factory run by the Alon Group. Israel is searching for him with the help of Palestinian security forces. A Palestinian security source told Ynet News : “There is full coordination between the security forces when it comes to the manhunt for the terrorist who carried out the Barkan attack. The information collected at this stage is supposed to assist in tracing the terrorist’s movements from the moment of the incident to his current whereabouts.” • Following the attack, according to the Jewish Press, IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Gadi Eisenkot met with the head of Central Command, Major-General Nadav Padan, and they decided : "to send additional troops to the area from the Central Command and Samaria Brigade. Checkpoints in the Samaria region were closed as part of the manhunt. The Border Police’s counter-terrorism Yamam unit, troops from the IDF’s elite Duvdevan, Lotar and Oketz units, and Shin Bet forces are participating in the manhunt for Na’alwa, and entered his village Sunday afternoon. Clashes broke out in Shuweika on Sunday night as troops arrived at Na’alwa’s home. Palestinians threw Molotov cocktails and rocks at troops. No injuries were reported. Troops from the Menashe regional brigade mapped the building ahead of a possible demolition order. The terrorist’s brother was reportedly among the suspects arrested and interrogated. Detainees were transferred to the Shin Bet to determine if they knew of Na’alwa’s plans or helped him escape from the scene." • The suspect has not yet been captured, and is considered armed and dangerous. Kim Levengrond-Yehezkel was the a mother of a two-year-old toddler. Jewish Press said that Shomron Council Chief Yossi Dagan posted on his Facebook page that the terrorist tied up Kim Levengrond Yehezkel before shooting her dead. The third woman who was shot is 54. She was wounded in the upper body and was found under a table by rescue teams, who took her to a hospital. According to an eyewitness, the terrorist tried to shoot a fourth person, but his gun jammed. That worker managed to fire a shot towards the terrorist, but missed, at which point the terrorist ran. • Israel Hayom pointed out the harm the Barkan Industrial Park terrorist attack could do by threatening the delicate economic collaboration between Israel and Palestinians. Israel Hayom described Barkan Industrial Park in Samaria as "a prominent example of successful Israeli-Palestinian economic cooperation...The owner of the company where the attack took place 'feels betrayed'...Economy minister said the attack 'won't deter us from expanding the industrial zone.'....the deadly shooting attack that struck the Barkan Industrial Park on Sunday "was brutal in more ways than one, as it dealt a massive blow to one of the most successful symbols of Israeli-Palestinian collaborations in Judea and Samaria....Barkan Industrial Park is home to 164 factories that employ some 4,200 Palestinians and 3,000 Israelis. The waiting list to set up facilities in the park, one of the most sought-after industrial zones in Israel, currently includes 60 companies." Israel Hayom stated that : "Diplomats – ambassadors, parliamentarians, congressmen and others -- visit Barkan weekly to get a first-hand impression of successful Israeli-Palestinian coexistence. Barkan CEO Ronny Houri told Israel Hayom Sunday that the industrial park is free of the tensions that characterize Israeli-Palestinian relations. Rafael Alon, owner of the Alon Group facility where the shooting took place, echoed the sentiment, saying he was stunned by the fact terrorism had hit what he and his employees have come to see as their home away from home : 'I want to believe that this bastard [the terrorist] was a bad seed sent here by evil, cruel people....Until now I believed this [economic cooperation] was the way to make peace. Today, I feel 'betrayed.'....Eran Hermon, CEO of Fresh Orange Ltd., whose facility is located just moments from Alon Group, spoke of the harmony that characterizes Barkan : 'We're like one big family here. Jews and Arabs work together in harmony here, we even celebrate holidays and family events together,' said Hermon, whose company employees 60 Palestinians and 20 Jews. Moshe Levron, the export manager of neighboring plastic accessories manufacturer Twitoplast, echoed the sentiment : 'We employ 120 people, half are Palestinians and half are Israelis. There's no friction here, not over wages -- all of our employees get equal pay -- and not over anything else. If we have three or four more industrial parks like Barkan, peace will come. There are factories here that employ 4,000 Palestinians who ?are happy to come to work in the morning. These people are like my brothers, like my family. We trust them to run things.' Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan said, 'For the past seven years, we have been bringing diplomats and public opinion leaders from all over to the world to witness the coexistence at the Barkan Industrial Park. Unfortunately, after 35 years of cooperation, it has suffered its first terrorist attack. We, like everyone else in Israel, are stunned by this, but it will not break our spirit.' " • The Palestinian workers at Barkan, and especially those employed by the Alon Group, expressed concern of what the future may bring in the wake of Sunday's shooting. Many said they fear the attack would prompt stricter screening ahead of receiving work permits in Israel, while some said they fear losing their work permits, should Israeli authorities decide to deny them at this time. Where's Abu Mazen [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas]? Why doesn't he denounce this attack. At the end of the day, it's the factories in Barkan that help provide for thousands of Palestinian families, which is more than he and the PA are doing. At the end of the day, we'll be the ones to pay the price." • However, on Sunday, Economy and Industry Minister Eli Cohen announced that his office will pursue the expansion of the Barkan Industrial Park : "This terrorist attack will not deter us. We will keep developing the economy in Judea and Samaria. We won't let anyone undermine true coexistence." • The Jewish Press reported on Sunday that Israel President Reuven Rivlin issued the following statement in response to the terrorist attack at the Barkan industrial area which killed two Israelis and injured one : “I am shocked and saddened by this morning’s terrible terrorist attack at the Barkan industrial area. Our hearts are with the families of those who were killed, and our prayers are with those who are injured. This was not only an attack on innocent people going about their daily lives, it was also an attack on the possibility of Israelis and Palestinians co-existing peacefully. I call on the Palestinian leadership to condemn this murderous attack and to use the forces at their disposal to capture the terrorist and those who aided him. Our thanks to the medics who gave quick and live-saving assistance, and to the IDF and security forces who are ensuring the perpetrators are apprehended. We will not rest until every one of them is brought to justice.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting : “I will open with this morning’s event in the Barkan Industrial Zone. This was a most severe terrorist attack in which two Israelis were brutally murdered and another citizen was wounded. The security forces are in pursuit of the reprehensible murderer. I am certain that they will apprehend him and I am also certain that we will deal with him to the fullest extent of the law, and quickly. On behalf of myself and all government ministers, I would like to send condolences to the families of the two people who were murdered and our hopes and prayers for a swift recovery for the woman who was wounded.” • BUT, said the Jewish Press, the Palestinian Authority headed by Mahmoud Abbas issued a statement through its PA official news agency WAFA merely stating that “Israeli occupation forces Sunday embarked on closing many roads to Palestinian traffic in Salfit district, in the central West Bank, shortly following a shooting incident outside illegal Birkan (sic) settlement in which two Israeli settlers were killed and a third one critically injured.” THAT WAS IT. The PA has yet to comment on the murders, except to accuse “settlers” of closing many roads in the area “in retaliation for the deadly shooting.” • • • ABBAS, THE PA, AND VIOLENCE AGAINST GAZA AND ISRAEL. Israel Hayom wrote on Monday that : "Determined to prevent any Hamas success, PA President Abbas recently blocked a Qatari-funded fuel shipment from reaching energy-starved Gaza, sources say...Egypt warns that a clash between Israel and Hamas would be likely if Egypt ends mediation efforts." Israel Hayom reported that : "Egyptian and Palestinian officials on Sunday accused Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas of actively escalating the crisis in the Gaza Strip in hopes that it will force rival Palestinian faction Hamas to hand over control of the coastal enclave. Hamas, designated as a terrorist group by the EU, US, Israel and several other countries, ousted Abbas' Fatah-led government from Gaza in a military coup in 2007, effectively splitting the Palestinian Authority into two political entities. All efforts made over the past decade to promote a reconciliation between the rival Palestinian factions -- the latest brokered by Egypt in late 2017 -- have failed. • Egyptian intelligence officials said over the weekend that, given Abbas' efforts to derail Cairo's attempts to broker a long-term cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, compounded by the escalating Gaza border tensions, Egypt was considering ceasing its efforts to mediate an inter-Palestinian reconciliation. Egyptian and Palestinian officials confirmed to Israel Hayom that most recently, Abbas has foiled an attempt to ship Qatari-funded fuel from Israel to Gaza via the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. According to a senior Ramallah official, Abbas rebuked UN Middle East envoy Nikolay Mladenov over the attempt and accused him of trying to circumvent the Palestinian leadership by helping Hamas. Abbas' office further warned UNRWA officials in Gaza, who were set to receive the Qatari tankers, that it will suspend their wages if they go ahead with the delivery. Last year, Abbas suspended the PA's payments for the power Gaza receives from Israel, plunging the Strip into a severe energy crisis and leaving Gazans with four to six hours of electricity per day. This, combined with a series of financial sanctions, dilapidated infrastructure and soaring unemployment that has recently crossed 50%, has seen the civil unrest in Gaza grow and with it, security tensions with Israel. 'It looks like he [Abbas] is doing everything in his power to escalate the crisis in Gaza and prevent Hamas from marking any diplomatic achievement,' an Egyptian source said. A senior Egyptian defense official told Israel Hayom on Sunday that Abbas' actions have painted Hamas into a corner. 'If Cairo pulls out of the [cease-fire] talks, there is very high chance of another conflict in Gaza,' he warned, adding that Egyptian officials involved in the indirect negotiations were constantly briefing their Israeli counterparts on every development." • Israel Today reported on Monday that : "Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a stark warning to the Palestinian Authority and to the international community during Sunday's cabinet meeting in Jerusalem. The gist of his remarks was that Israel will not hesitate to launch a full-scale military operation against the Gaza Strip if the situation along the coastal enclave's border continues to deteriorate. Over the past couple weeks, Gaza's Hamas rulers have encouraged an intensification of violent disturbances along the Strip's security fence. Unlike similar demonstrations earlier in the year, those taking part are now hurling grenades and firebombs at Israeli soldiers and openly trying to breach the border. Netanyahu expects that the violence will only increase with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas threatening to cut all funding to the terrorist-ruled territory. Hamas and other Palestinian groups typically deflect criticism of their own shortcomings by instigating violence against Israel." Netanyahu said : "If the reality of civil distress in Gaza is diminished, that is desirable, but that is not certain to happen, and so we are preparing militarily -- that is not an empty statement." • • • THE UN BACKS ABBAS -- AND ALSO IRAN. The Jewish Press reported last week that : "The United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency has ignored a call last week by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to inspect a nuclear facility in the heart of Teheran. In a statement issued Tuesday, the agency basically told Israel, 'Thanks, but we don’t need your help.' " The IAEA chief Yukia Amano issued a statement saying : “The agency sends inspectors to sites and locations only when needed. The agency uses all safeguards relevant to information available to it but it does not take any information at face value....All information obtained, including from third parties, is subject to rigorous review and assessed together with other available information to arrive at an independent assessment based on the agency’s own expertise. In order to maintain credibility, the agency’s independence in relation to the implementation of verification activities is of paramount importance.” • In his address to the 73rd Session of the UN General Assembly, Netanyahu urged Amano after presenting the irrefutable evidence of the second atomic warehouse last week to “go inspect” the site “before the Iranians clear it out.” Netanyahu warned the diplomats : “The IAEA still has not taken any action. It has not posed a single question of Iran. It has not demanded to inspect a single new site discovered in that secret archive,” -- the one exposed by Israel earlier this year. Netanyahu produced photos and even coordinates for the location of the second site, from which Iranian officials had already removed 15 kilograms of radioactive material, in an attempt to hide the evidence, he said -- “spreading it around Teheran like Nutella.” The Iranians are doing their best to deny Israel’s charges, with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif later calling Netanyahu’s presentation in a tweet an "arts & craft show." • Prime Minister Netanyahu lambasted the IAEAgency hours after it issued Amano' statement on the Israeli-revealed secret nuclear installation in Iran. Netanyahu said the IAEA, which has been tasked by the United Nations with verifying Iran's nuclear compliance, "must inspect the site immediately....The IAEA relates to inspections that it has carried out in various places in Iran but it does not relate to the specific site in Turouzabad which Prime Minister Netanyahu referred to in his U.N. speech," Netanyahu's office said in a statement on Tuesday. "There is no reason to wait. The IAEA must inspect the site and immediately dispatch monitors with Geiger counters and the prime minister's words will be seen as verifiably true." • • • RUSSIA COMPLETES DELIVERY OF S-300 MISSILE SYSTEM TO SYRIA. The Jerusalem Post reported last week that : "The Russian Defense Ministry published video Tuesday night of the delivery of the delivery of the S-300 missile system to Syria. Aired by TV channel Rossiya 23, it showed the launcher, radar and command and control vehicle of the advanced air-to-surface missile system launcher being unloaded from a military transport plane. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was quoted by Russia’s TASS News Agency : “We have completed the delivery of S-300 systems. It included 49 pieces of equipment, including radars, control vehicles and four launchers. In conformity with the presidential decision, we have begun to carry out a number of measures to reinforce Syria’s air defense systems in order to ensure better protection for our servicemen. We have finished personnel recruitment and have begun to train them,” said Shoigu, adding that it would take the Syrian army at least three months to learn how to use the system. • Fifteen Russian servicemen were killed when an IL-20 was hit by a Syrian anti-aircraft missile off the coastal city of Latakia in September. Moscow has placed the blame for the incident solely on Israel and has accused the IDF of having endangered the lives of personnel in Syria during other military operations. The JPost says : "The incident has led to one of the lowest points in the relationship between Jerusalem and Moscow in years.... According to foreign reports, Israeli pilots have already trained to defeat the system, training in Greece and Cyprus where the system has been operating since the late 1990s. The Israel Air Force also has the F-35i Adir stealth fighter jets, which are able to operate undetected deep inside enemy territory, as well as evade advanced missile defense systems like the advanced Russian-made S-300 and S-400 missile defense systems. • The Jerusalem Press reported that Moscow hopes that Tel Aviv will exercise "good judgment in the region," quoting Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin, who talked to propaganda website Sputnik on Thursday. • Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman on Wednesday told Kan, Israel’s Public Broadcasting Corporation, that Israel won’t give up its operations inside Syria, despite the S-300 systems : “I cannot say that we are happy about the presence of S-300, but at the same time this is a situation where we have no way out, where we have no opportunity to make other decisions. In any case, we are not looking for adventures. We merely protect our vital interests. Regrettably, we are in a situation where we cannot afford any compromises concerning our security interests.” Vershinin noted that in 2013, Russia heeded Israel’s wishes and suspended deliveries of the S-300 to Syria, but now the situation has changed, “and not through the fault of Russia.” Israel received the same concession regarding selling the S-300 to Iran. • The problem with the S-300 Israeli military experts described back in 2013 was not the systems’ capacity to repel attacks of Israeli warplanes -- the IDF has developed methods to deal with anti-aircraft defense systems, and would likely crack this one, too. The problem has to do with the Russian system’s ability to switch to an attack mode and attack civilian aviation in Israel, in and around Ben Gurion International Airport.” • The former head of the Israel Air Force intelligence corps, Brigadier General (res.) Ram Shmueli, told Israeli radio station 103 FM regarding Russia’s transfer of the advanced S-300 anti-aircraft system to the Syrian army that the IDF could continue to attack targets in Syria and destroy the missile system’s batteries if they tried to attack its warplanes : “From the point of view of the air force, the manner of carrying out missions and hitting Iranian targets will not change at the military level. The Air Force is capable of carrying out its missions with the new system present. Throughout my life, new missiles have entered the scene and we found a solution....The moment the battery wants to attack us, we will destroy it. I assume that the Russians will not want to create excessive friction, but we must not be confused. We have an enemy -- and it is not Russia. We will remain determined and the Air Force will continue to carry out its missions and eliminate any arriving arms shipments. It is important to remember that Israel is not a superpower but rather rests on the shoulders of the United States, and it is clear to me that Russia’s step [deploying the S-300] in Syria is a direct message to the United States. There is a bigger game here, and the IDF’s sphere of operation is not about to change. There is no way that we would receive an order to destroy targets and would not destroy them. Once there is a mission we will implement it, that’s what we have an Air Force for. You don’t have to worry too much because it’s a strategic game.” • The "strategic game" grew on Sunday when Israel Today reported that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo later called the move “a serious escalation” and said the deployment of the shield “presents greater risk to all of those in the affected areas and to stability in the Middle East.” General Joseph Votel, the chairman of the Chiefs of Staff of the US Army, also reacted to the delivery of the S-300 batteries to the Syrian military, calling it a “needless escalation.” He added that the deployment “appears to be an effort to cover for Iranian and Syrian regimes' nefarious activities in Syria.“ • Tzachi Hanegbi, Israel’s minister for regional cooperation and a member of Israel's security cabinet, said on Thursday that the IAF will be able to beat the S-300 : “You know that we have stealth fighters, the best planes in the world. These batteries (S-300) are not even able to detect them.” Hanegbi was speaking to the Israeli paper Haaretz, and was referring to the eight US-manufactured F-35I stealth warplanes currently in the possession of the IAF, and which are considered the best fighter jets in the world today. Israel Today stated : "The F-35I stealth warplanes are equipped with the AESA radar system, which suppresses signals from advanced missile shields such as the S-300. Israel has purchased 50 of the F-35I Joint Strike Fighters (which operate under the name 'Adir' in Israel) at a cost of $125 million each. The Jewish state was scheduled to receive the last of those planes no later than 2021. That has changed now, according to Israeli media. US President Donald Trump has reportedly ordered the immediate supply of additional F-35I jets after his meeting with Netanyahu on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly gathering last week. These F-35I planes will be drawn from active US Air Force squadrons and will arrive in Israel soon. At the same time, the US Air Force will deploy an additional squadron of its own F-35 stealth jets in the Middle East. Until now, the American air force only had a squadron of F-35B warplanes aboard the aircraft carrier USS Essex, which is stationed in the Western Pacific and carries out combat missions in Afghanistan and the Middle East. The Trump Administration this week decided to deploy an additional squadron of F-35 fighter jets at the Al Dhafra air base south of Abu Dhabi. Together, the Israeli and American F-35 stealth warplanes will be able to neutralize the threat posed by the S-300 anti-aircraft missile shield, and, as General Votel put it, continue their mission 'in this environment.' ” • • • MERKEL VISITS ISRAEL. German Chancellor Angela Merkle visited Israel last week, her first visit since 2006. The Jerusalem Post wrote that the contrast between Merkel’s first visit to Israel and the current one is significant : "This is true in regard to the strength of the government she represents, her status in Germany and the attitude toward Germany’s past and present." The JPost pointed out that in January 2006 Merkel was the head of a powerful new coalition government supported by a solid majority of the German electorate. The September 2017 elections returned Merkel's coalition with the the poorest result since the first German elections after World War II, and recent polls indicate further declines in voter support. If new elections were held Merkel's coalition parties would not win enough voters to form a majority government. Speculations about how long Merkel can stay on as Chancellor are rife in the German media. The JPost added that although substantial immigration from the Soviet Union raised the combined membership of the German Jewish communities to 100,000 people and this significant Jewish presence was an indicator of 'normalcy' in a country which seemed to understand its past, much of that 'normalcy' has since been undone : "Like other Western European countries, Germany accepted large numbers of immigrants from Moslem countries. The percentage of antisemites among them is substantially higher than among the native German population. Official statistics list all antisemitic incidents in which the perpetrators are unidentified as being caused by the extreme right. This is a convenient distortion of the truth. The situation deteriorated further when in September 2015 the German government began to pursue a welcome policy for Middle Eastern and North African refugees. That brought in at least 1.5 million refugees, mainly Moslems from countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. One result of this policy was the rise of a new anti-Islam party, AfD. In the 2017 elections it entered the German parliament for the first time and became the third largest party with 12.9% of the vote. In most recent polls its support has further increased. By the end of 2017, the taboo on the important role of Moslem immigrants and their descendants in antisemitic incidents could no longer be maintained. Key politicians started to mention the sizable role of Moslems in attacks on Jews. Left-wing antisemitism is prominent as well and focuses on Israel. Special problems exist in some schools where Jewish children are harassed and cannot defend themselves. On the average there are four antisemitic incidents registered in Germany every day. Probably a significant additional number are not reported. Many Jewish youngsters ask themselves whether they have a future in their country of birth. The welcome policy has greatly increased the doubts about a “normal’ future for Jews in Germany. A national Antisemitism Commissioner was appointed a few months ago. Various federal states have also recently named such a functionary. These developments will help understand better the nature of the problems involved and will also clarify how huge the task of fighting antisemitism is....The need for such official appointments also indicates that Germany has failed in its battle to stamp out antisemitism. During Merkel’s earlier visits to Israel, collaboration between the two countries was the major topic. This time, Prime Minister Netanyahu and his colleagues would fail German Jewry if they did not give the country’s antisemitism problems also a significant place on the meeting’s agenda." • • • DEAR READERS, The Jerusalem Post article was written the day before Chancellor Merkel's visit to Israel. The day following her departure, Israel Today wrote differently about Merkel and Germany, focusing of the Palestinian question. Israel Today said : "There are two disturbing aspects of Germany's policy vis-a-vis the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. One is Germany's decision to fill the financial gap left by America's decision to stop supporting UNRWA, the UN's Palestinian refugee relief fund. The second is Germany's financial support for the illegal Bedouin village of Khan al-Akmar, located just east of Jerusalem, which Israel's Supreme Court ruled must be evacuated. Both these things stem from a German moral position, which makes them all the more irritating." Israel Today noted that back in 1981, then-Prime Minister Menahem Begin rebuked German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt for giving moral support to the Palestinian cause. Begin said : "From a moral point of view, Schmidt's statements certainly rank as the most callous ever heard...it seems that the Holocaust had conveniently slipped his memory. The German debt to the Jewish people can never end, not in this generation and not in any other." Israel Today said that : "One could easily find the similarities between the positions taken by Schmidt and Merkel, who now challenges Israel's sense of morality, while at the same time seeking lucrative business deals with Iran. To fully appreciate how problematic Merkel's sense of morality is, one needs to understand UNRWA and Khan al-Ahmar. UNRWA is the only UN refugee relief organization devoted to a single group of people, the Palestinians. Furthermore, under the auspices of this organization, the number of Palestinian refugees has grown from less than half-a-million in 1948 to more than five million today (so much for Palestinian 'genocide'). UNRWA is the institution that invented the notion of hereditary refugee status. No other group of refugees (and there were more than 100 million refugees in the 20th century) was ever granted this counterproductive benefit, which we must conclude has but one goal : to destroy Israel. Likewise, no other group of refugees has benefited from UN aid for such a long period of time. All other refugee crises were solved within a decade or two. But UNRWA continues to nourishing the Palestinian refugee problem for more than 70 years, without showing any signs of fatigue. In this light, Merkel's support of UNRWA is anything but moral." Then, Israel Today turned to the illegal Khan al-Ahmar settlement -- avvusing Germany of "actively intervening in Israel's internal affairs by speaking out on behalf of the illegal settlement....Since the early 1990s, the Israel Supreme Court has three times ruled against the Bedouin settlement, which was represented by radical left-wing Israeli NGOs bankrolled by European nations, Germany included." The Israel Today writer said : "As someone who once lived in the town of Ma'aleh Adumim, I followed closely how the few tents of the Jahalin tribe situated just half a mile from my house slowly became a village of shacks that now nearly surrounds Ma'aleh Adumim. The Jahalin faction now living in the West Bank broke away the part of their tribe that resides in 'Israel proper' over some sort of internal feud shortly after the 1948 War of Independence. It wasn't until the 1990s that the Jahalin in the West Bank began to identify themselves as Palestinians, and they did so only because it was economically expedient to do so. The repeated appeals to the Supreme Court, and Israel's sluggish implementation of the court's rulings, has turned Europe's attention to this shabby village. It was quickly became a case study for Israel's alleged immorality and Europe's commitment to the supposedly moral causes of all peoples who hate Israel with a passion. This, according to Merkel, is a sound moral position." • The Israel Today conclusion is that : "It would have been one thing to criticize Israel if it was truly an incarnation of apartheid South Africa. It is an entirely different thing when, Germany of all countries, accuses Israel of lacking morality, while at the same time supporting the immoral agendas of both the Palestinians and Iran. This is what's so irritating about what amounts to condescending preaching coming from a country that lost any right to chastise Israel. As Israeli journalist Shimon Riklin rightly said, when it comes to criticizing Israel, Germany should keep its mouth shut for the next 2,000 years." • And, to close the circle on this blog, it would also be salutary for the Palestinians, PA leader Mahmoud Abbas, Russia, and the United Nations to do the same. It is not Israel that needs a lesson in morality -- it is these international meddlers and terrorists, and their financiers, who, through their actions and words, signal that Israel has no right to exist. This is what immorality looks like.