TIP (The Israel Project) theisraelproject.org/ • White House says Iran must take concrete steps to gain sanctions relief, as Congress and allies voice worries over premature concessions • Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood merges anti-government and anti-Israel protests, promises to pave way to Jerusalem • Hamas terror cell planned to launch explosives-laden drones at Israel • Hezbollah lashes out against Saudi Arabia over Syria war criticism What we’re watching today: • Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said Thursday that Washington would not offer sanctions relief to Iran in the absence of concrete steps to address international concerns over its nuclear program, which roughly half a dozen United Nations Security Council resolutions have called for dismantling. U.S. lawmakers have emphasized that meeting those obligations would require Iran to among other things halt its uranium enrichment program, cease plutonium-related work at its Arak facility, export its existing stockpile of enriched material, and open up its suspected nuclear weaponization facilities for inspection. A report released this week by the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) described multiple scenarios under which a partial deal - one that left Iran with its existing nuclear stockpile and with enrichment capabilities - would allow the Islamic republic to follow the North Korean playbook and sneak across the nuclear finish line without Western detection. The Hill today noted that Congressional Democrats are growing increasingly worried regarding reports that the administration may accept a deal that falls short of those conditions. The Washington Post today documented similar concerns being raised by the U.S.s Arab and Israeli allies. • Islamist supporters of Egypts former Muslim Brotherhood-linked president Mohammed Morsi are promising to hold rallies explicitly criticizing and threatening Israel, after weeks of reports that participation was falling at Brotherhood-driven demonstrations after weeks of reports that participation was falling at Brotherhood-driven demonstrations. The upcoming week of protests has been dubbed by organizers as Suez resilience, our way to Jerusalem, a rhetorical move designed to highlight Islamic claims to all of Jerusalem after a recent speech by interim President Adly Mansour mentioning East Jerusalem. The Associated Press reported that there was a large protest inside Cairo and scattered ones across the rest of the country. Meanwhile there are signs that the army-backed government is expanding its efforts to uproot the Brotherhoods presence inside Egyptian institutions, now targeting Brotherhood members inside Egypts security forces. If confirmed, the efforts will be read as part of a broader decapitation campaign being conducted by the military against the Brotherhood. The degree to which such a campaign can succeed or is succeeding has been a contentious topic of debate in foreign policy circles. Washington Institute fellow Eric Trager recently outlined three different endgame scenarios describing three different responses from rank-and-file Brotherhood members. Critically, Trager said all three scenarios would have the Brotherhood collapsing as a coherent organization operating inside Egypt’s borders. • A Hamas terror cell was in the advanced stages of a plot to launch explosives-laden unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at Israel before Palestinian Authority (PA) officials uncovered and broke up the cell, according to PA officials who spoke to the Times of Israel. A subsequent investigation revealed that embers of the cell had already conducted several test flights of the drone that they intended to use. The news comes amid concerns that Hamas is making concentrated efforts to rebuild its terror infrastructure in the West Bank. Observers had already outlined how the Palestinian terror group - stymied by Israeli counterterrorism efforts along the Gaza Strip and prohibited by Egypt from operating inside the Sinai Peninsula - may try to use the West Bank as a staging ground for conducting a spectacular terror attack against Israel. Recent weeks have seen a general upsurge in violence in the West Bank, with three Israelis killed and a young girl shot outside her parents home. Early Friday a makeshift grenade was thrown at an Israeli school bus in the northern West Bank. • Syrias almost three-year war has become a regional conflict in which Hezbollah is providing the elite fighters that the Bashar al-Assad regime requires to battle in Syrias most violent areas, according to statements made yesterday by IDF Northern Corps commander Maj.-Gen. Noam Tibon. The Iran-backed Lebanese terror group has brushed aside repeated calls from inside and outside Lebanon to disentangle itself from the conflict, and has recently taken to explicitly lashing out against critics of its involvement. Hezbollah official Mohammed Fneish this week slammed Saudi Arabias former spy chief Prince Turki al-Faisal, after al-Faisal criticized the group for deepening Lebanese sectarian tensions and bringing the country to the brink of civil war. Fneish called al-Faisals statements, which reflect broadly held conventional wisdom, very dangerous and a threat against Hezbollah.
Posted on: Sun, 27 Oct 2013 14:04:47 +0000
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