Weekend long read

1) The ITIC reports on a Palestinian killed during armed clashes with the IDF at Joseph’s Tomb who was passed off as a ‘footballer’ by the Palestinian Authority and a BBC presenter.

“Daraghmeh was a Hamas operative who went to Nablus from Tubas, apparently with the express purpose of clashing with IDF soldiers. Hamas issued a mourning notice for him, claiming him as belonging to its ranks. His body was wrapped in a Hamas flag for burial. The Palestinian Authority (PA), on the other hand, noted only that he was a soccer player. Senior PA figures rushed to condemn Israel for killing him, another “victim of the Israel’s premeditated, targeted killings of journalists, athletes or any other Palestinian who dares to standup to it.” Senior figures in the PA called on the international community, including FIFA, to condemn and punish Israel. Needless to say, no one in the PA mentioned that he was a Hamas operative who deliberately went to Nablus to clash with Israeli security forces.”

2) At the Jerusalem Post, Seth Frantzman looks at why ‘Hezbollah wants spotlight off Lebanon after Irish UN peacekeeper killing’.

“Hezbollah understands that the focus is on the terror group. It has thus facilitated handing over a suspect. According to reports, the Lebanese army detained the man in a deal coordinated with Hezbollah. This shows the degree to which Hezbollah controls Lebanon. It functions as a powerful terror entity that is more powerful than the state itself.”

3) At the INSS, Raz Zimmt analyses ‘Three Months of Protest in Iran’.

“The protest in Iran, entering its fourth month, has apparently thus far not succeeded in posing a significant and immediate threat to the regime. The scope of the violent demonstrations has narrowed, significant social sectors have not joined the protest, and there is no evidence of rifts among the political elite or the security and repression forces, led by the Revolutionary Guards. However, this does not mean that the regime has succeeded in suppressing the protest and that the situation will revert to what it was.”

4) PMW reports on ‘The Campbell-Bannerman conspiracy’.

“To support their historical revision, PA leaders and officials often claim there was a secret plan formulated by British Prime Minister Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, to plant “a foreign body in the middle of the people of the Arab nation in order to fragment its solidarity, steal its resources, and prevent its revival.” This according to the PA historical revision is the sole reason for the establishment of the state of Israel. Similar to many other parts of the PA narrative, the claim regarding the Campbell-Bannerman conspiracy is a complete lie lacking any factual or evidentiary basis.”