1) NGO Monitor explains how ‘Terror-linked and anti-Israel NGOs Exploit Children in Campaign to Blacklist the IDF’.
“The UN Secretary-General publishes a yearly report on “Children and Armed Conflict,” (CAAC) which surveys instances of alleged “grave violations” of children’s rights around the world. (The six “grave violations” are killing or maiming of children; recruitment or use of children by armed forces or armed groups; attacks on schools or hospitals; rape or other sexual violence against children; abduction of children; denial of humanitarian access.) The CAAC report includes an annex listing “parties to armed conflict” (i.e. armed groups) that perpetrate these “grave violations.” Listed parties are then placed under a UN sanctions framework known as a Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism.
As documented by NGO Monitor in several publications, Israel is the target of an on-going multi-year campaign, led by terror-linked and pro-BDS NGOs, that exploit children in advocating for the IDF’s inclusion on this blacklist. Many of these NGOs are funded by European governments.”
2) The FDD provides ‘Analysis of IAEA Iran Verification and Monitoring Report – May 2023’.
“Despite the increase during this reporting period in the amount of uranium enriched between two and five percent, Iran has not prioritized stockpiling this material over the past two years. In addition, it has not made planned progress on the Enriched Uranium Powder Plant, a key civil facility to convert less than five percent enriched uranium hexafluoride into a uranium oxide powder for use in nuclear power reactor fuel. These two choices are at odds with Iran’s contention that its primary goal is to accumulate 4-5 percent enriched uranium for use in nuclear power reactor fuel. Instead, Iran has used this stock extensively to produce near 20 percent and 60 percent enriched uranium, far beyond any of Iran’s civilian needs.”
3) At the MEF, Omer Dostri reports on ‘Hezbollah, a Worldwide Criminal Organization’.
“In recent decades, Hezbollah has established itself not only as one of the world’s leading terrorist groups and Lebanon’s effective master, but also as a prominent transnational crime syndicate. Hezbollah’s criminal activities range from drug trafficking in cocaine and heroin, to cigarette smuggling, document and identity card forgery, and money laundering through Iran’s and Lebanon’s banking systems. These criminal enterprises fill its coffers, facilitate its domination of Lebanon’s political system, and underpin the buildup of the organization’s global terrorist and intelligence infrastructure.”
4) Etana provides a study of ‘South Syria’s Drug Supply Chains’.
“The reach of Syria’s illicit smuggling networks has become a top concern in the region and western states. Seeking to curb the trade, the Arab League recently welcomed Assad back into the fold after a 12-year absence. The US, meanwhile, is preparing a new Syria policy aimed at tackling the Captagon trade. Much attention has been paid to the role of Captagon in the region, but the cheaply-produced amphetamine is not Syria’s sole illicit export that is destabilizing the region.”
