Defense Officials: Iran Is testing Israel
The Israeli defense establishment believes Iran was testing Prime Minister Netanyahu’s resolve when the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad terrorist organization fired four rockets into Israel’s northern region last week.
The Times of Israel quoted a senior Israeli security official saying Saeed Izadi, head of the Palestinian Division of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s al-Quds Force, planned last Thursday’s rocket attack.
The rockets themselves were fired by the Iranian-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Israel officials said. Two of the projectiles hit open areas on the Golan Heights while two others landed further inside Israel, striking open areas in the Upper Galilee region. All four rockets were fired from the Syrian sections of the Golan Heights, according to the IDF.
Even though the latest round of fighting was started by the Islamic Jihad and Iran’s Guard force, Hizbullah on Sunday increased its alert level to the highest, Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Rai reported Saturday, “for fear of attempts by Israel to drag Lebanon and Syria into an escalation of a state less than war but more than an operation.”
Hizbullah members were quoted by the newspaper claiming Netanyahu’s government believes that after the signing of the Iran nuclear deal, Israel’s “situation is critical and will soon be tested” with an Israeli escalation.
However, Israeli defense officials told KleinOnline it is Iran that is doing the testing, estimating the Iran-approved rocket firings were meant to see if Netanyahu’s government would mount offensive measures following the signing of the international nuclear deal.
The officials said the rocket launchings demonstrate Iran is particularly emboldened since it was willing to orchestrate a daring attack on Israel’s northern border just weeks after the nuclear deal was finalized.
Progressive Groups Aim To Thwart Sen. Schumer’s Leadership Bid
Progressive groups that participated in a conference call with President Obama to coordinate support for the Iran nuclear deal are now leading campaigns against U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer’s Democratic leadership bid in the Senate.
Schumer, who is eyeing the Senate Minority Leader position, declared three weeks ago that he will vote to oppose the international agreement with Iran, which posed a significant blow to Obama’s diplomatic efforts to garner support within his party for the deal.
In response, major progressive groups have mobilized to oppose Schumer. MoveOn.org, for example, announced a “donor strike in response to Schumer’s Iran position.” The George Soros-funded radical group threatened to “organize grassroots progressives across the country to withhold campaign contributions from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and from any Democratic candidate who succeeds in undermining the president’s diplomacy with Iran.”
“Our goal will be to secure commitments to withhold $10 million in contributions within 72 hours after this campaign launches,” stated the group, singling out Schumer.
The political action committee of Credo Mobile is also leading anti-Schumer activism, calling him “wrong on Iraq, wrong on Iran, wrong for Senate Democratic leadership.”
White House Spokesman Josh Earnest seemed to have expressed some approval of the Schumer campaign when he said he “would not be surprised” if Democrats consider Schumer’s stance on Iran when they vote for the next minority leader.
Last month, Obama led a conference call with progressive groups across the nation, including Credo and MoveOn.org. “You guys have to get more active and loud and involved and informed,” Obama told participants in the call arranged by the White House.
White House spokesman Earnest told reporters that “thousands of people representing a large number of groups” were invited to be in on the call, including “groups that have previously worked with the White House or would be inclined to work with the White House on this issue.”
Three weeks earlier, White House officials held a private strategy conference call with progressive organizations to discuss ways of convincing lawmakers to support a deal, with MoveOn.org and CREDO also participating. That call was coordinated by the anti-nuclear weapons advocacy group Ploughshares Fund.
John Bolton: Obama Is Threatening Lawmakers
The Obama administration is threatening Democratic lawmakers with political consequences if they vote against the international nuclear agreement with Iran, charged former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton in a radio interview Sunday.
“As people say, the White House is not playing hardball over this deal. They are playing ice hockey,” said Bolton.
“And I think they have threatened political consequences for Democrats who haven’t declared. And it’s unfortunately why I think that the White House will get enough votes from the Democrats in probably both the House and the Senate,” he said.
Bolton made these comments while speaking on “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio,” broadcast on New York’s AM 970 The Answer and Philadelphia’s NewsTalk 990 AM and online.
Bolton suggested every lawmaker should be asked whether they know what’s in the side deal between the UN’s nuclear watchdog and Iran. Last week, the Associated Press reported that the secret deal allows Tehran to use its own inspectors to investigate the Parchin nuclear site where Iran has been accused of developing nuclear arms at least a decade ago.
Bolton said he finds it “incomprehensible” that the IAEA didn’t first get the approval of the Obama administration on any separate deals.
“And I think Kerry signed off on it,” he said. “If he didn’t sign off on it, then he’s guilty of malfeasance, malpractice as secretary of state.”
Former PA Minister: Prisoner’s Death May Spark Uprising
If a Palestinian detainee who is engaging in a hunger strike dies under Israeli custody there could be an “uprising” and “revolution” on the Palestinian street, warned Ashraf Al Ajami, former Palestinian Authority minister for prisoner affairs.
“There is a lot of tension in the Palestinian street, and it may cause maybe a revolution or a hard reaction,” Ajami told this reporter in an interview.
“And for the prisoners [in Israeli jails] it will be some kind [of] rebellion or maybe something like that. And maybe also in the West Bank, the people, community maybe [there] will be some kind of reaction. Maybe an uprising,” Ajami said.
The former PA minister was offering his own personal analysis and was not himself intending to make threats. He pointed to a threat by the Islamic Jihad terror group to end its truce with Israel and re-start a rocket campaign if the detainee, Muhammad Allan, an Islamic Jihad operative, dies as a result of his hunger strike