1) At the Long War Journal Joe Truzman documents recent incidents involving Hizballah.
“Over recent years Israel has been operating militarily in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq against Iran’s precision guided missile project. The project aims to upgrade Hezbollah’s missile accuracy by transferring Iranian-made components to Lebanon, allowing Hezbollah to strike targets accurately.
The recent events have demonstrated that the COVID-19 pandemic has not deterred either side from attempting to accomplish their military objectives. Iran will likely continue the transfer of precision guided components to Hezbollah as Israel attempts to thwart the shipments as it has previously done in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq.”
2) The ITIC reports on the Palestinian Authority’s handing of the Coronavirus pandemic.
“About 30,000 Palestinians still work in Israel, to whom the illegal workers can be added. About half of the workers come from the districts of Hebron and Bethlehem. The PA claims that about one third of verified COVID-19 cases in its territory are workers who returned from Israel and infected their nuclear families (despite the PA’s order for them to self-isolate upon their return). Infection by returning workers who were in Israel, legally or illegally, has been exploited by senior PA figures for a smear campaign against Israel, which has accompanied the PA’s fight against the virus from the beginning. The objective of the campaign, which is being waged at the same time as the PA cooperates with Israel in fighting the virus, is to establish the false narrative that Israel is deliberately spreading the disease and undermining the PA’s fight against it.”
3) At the Fathom Journal Cary Nelson discusses ‘A Pandemic of Anti-Zionist Signification: Exploiting Gaza for Ideological Gain’.
“In their 26 March letter in the The Lancet, titled ‘Structural violence in the era of a new pandemic: the case of the Gaza Strip,’ David Mills and three coauthors join a small but counterproductive effort to weaponise the serious concern that Gaza could succumb to the COVID-19 pandemic by using it to comprehensively delegitimise the Jewish state. Following the pattern modelled for years in the international BDS (boycott, divestment, and sanctions) movement, they make no realistic suggestions about how to improve Gaza’s fragile, decaying infrastructure and instead concentrate on demonising Israel. Nor do they hold Hamas leaders responsible for their indifference to the general health and welfare of Gazans, the iron and cement smuggled from Egypt used for attack tunnels not building hospitals.”
4) NGO Monitor has documented examples of NGOs which have exploited the Coronavirus pandemic to campaign against Israel.
“The COVID-19 global pandemic has become another opportunity for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to demonize Israel over its Gaza policy. Since the 2007 Hamas takeover of Gaza, if not before, NGOs have promoted the myth that Israel is legally responsible for healthcare and other humanitarian needs in Gaza. The campaigns have a consistent histrionic dimension, such as the ubiquitous “open air prison” canard, and cynically erase the use of aid by Hamas to build terror infrastructure.
Highlighting reflexive and exploitative agendas, the NGOs’ statements on corona and Gaza began before there were any reported cases, and continue despite the relatively low level of infection there. They blame Israel, exclusively, for Gaza’s lack of medical infrastructure, as well as for the future spread of the virus in Gaza. NGO posts and press releases echo statements made by Hamas officials, who seek to deflect their own central roles in failing to build a functioning society. NGOs also repeat the “open air prison” slogan, ignoring the irony that corona arrived in Gaza via students returning from Pakistan, and that at a time of global lockdown, open borders and erasure of movement restrictions will greatly exacerbate the health crisis.”
