The Palestinians have escalated their violence on the Temple Mount, and the Israeli “government of change” continues their capitulation.
As of Saturday, Passover was over. From now on through the end of Ramadan, Jews will be forbidden to participate in their previously allowed visits onto the holy site. So, rather than shutting down the perpetrators, the government is punishing the victims. Brilliant!
This is all part of a well-coordinated plan. The Palestinian issue has dropped off the world’s radar, particularly with the onset of the Abraham Accords. The misplaced sympathy that used to rest with them is now gone. So, they are seeking to put themselves back at the top of the world’s agenda. One way they are doing it is by trying to turn their grievances from a political issue to a religious one. For more about this situation and other stories, check out my special Breaking News from Monday.
Someone else who is seeking to use the Temple Mount conflict to his advantage is Jordan’s King Abdullah II. He is demanding that the Muslim waqf guard be increased upon the mount, and his country, along with some other Arab allies, is insisting that the Temple Mount become a place where only Muslim worship is allowed. By making this demand, he is currying favor with the Palestinians who make up 70% of his population and seeking to demonstrate his strong commitment to Islam.
Jordan, which has oversight of the Temple Mount, will soon meet with Israel to discuss how they can keep tensions from flaring up even more. Interestingly, Jordan is finding opposition from a most unusual source. Sheikh Muhammad bin Zayed, crown prince of Abu Dhabi and de facto leader of the UAE, demands that the Temple Mount remain open to worship by all religions as stipulated in the normalization agreement between the UAE and Israel. The Abraham Accords have certainly complicated the Middle East in a very intriguing way.
Early yesterday morning, Israel launched surface-to-surface missiles from the north of the country into Syria. The attack was aimed at a shipment of weapons that was going to Hezbollah. The missiles destroyed two warehouses near the airport in Damascus and another facility that was used by Iranian forces. Four Syrian soldiers were killed in the strike, and three others were wounded.
On Sunday night, two Russian-made BM-21 “Grad” rockets were fired by Palestinian operatives into Israel from southern Lebanon near Tyre. The Russian name “Grad” means “hail”, and these rockets are designed pour down on an area like a fiery, explosive hailstorm. Sadly for the Palestinians, it was more of a light shower as the rockets fell into an open field and caused no damage. One concerning element to this story is that there was no alert of their approach. Israel is trying to determine why these rockets were able to get through with no detection or countermeasures. The IDF retaliated by firing artillery shells into southern Lebanon, destroying an unspecified infrastructure target.
According to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, Iran is only weeks away from a nuclear weapon. Unsurprisingly, she blamed the previous administration’s pullout from the Iran nuclear deal for the acceleration. However, that is like saying that we would be in a better position if only we had believed Iran’s lies instead of not believing them.
U.S. military helicopters stopped a convoy of cars in northern Iraq’s Diyala province on Tuesday. Lo and behold, amongst the passengers they found two Iranian military advisers and a high-ranking commander of the terrorist militia Kata’ib Hezbollah. After some Iraqi pressure, the Iranians were released. However, the militia commander, Yassir Muhsin, remains detained.
Russia continues its quest for its three primary goals: 1) Secure Crimea for themselves once and for all, 2) Keep Ukraine from becoming part of NATO, and 3) Establish an independent Donbas which will serve as a buffer between the Kremlin and the West. The first two goals appear to be well in hand. They are now focused on the third.
Moldova is quickly trying to tighten its connection to the EU as Russia eyes the breakaway state of Transnistria. Many in this mostly unrecognized state are of Russian heritage, which gives the Kremlin an excuse to come in and fight for their “independence”. The bigger picture is that to get to Transnistria, Russia must pass through Odessa, a major Ukrainian port city. Not only would the capture of Odessa aid Russia, which is woefully lacking in warm water seaports. But it brings Putin that much closer to cutting off Ukraine’s access to the Black Sea, essentially making the country landlocked.
Russia has suspended its gas flow into Poland and Bulgaria after the countries refused a demand to be paid in rubles. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen condemned the action as “yet another attempt by Russia to use gas as an instrument of blackmail.”
The geopolitical temperature continues to be unseasonably warm in the Straits of Taiwan. Tuesday saw the USS Sampson, a guided-missile-destroyer, pass through the waterway between China and Taiwan. The Chinese government quickly condemned the move as provocative
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