Is the Netanyahu Era Drawing to a Close?……
14 December 2019
Under siege at every hand, it is hard to see how Binyamin Netanyahu, 70, Israel’s longest-running prime minister, can pull off a win for his Likud party in the March 2, 2020 election and lead another government.
He failed to pull together a coalition government after two previous rounds of election in April and September and there are no signs that comparable figures among the parties in March will be more favourable.
Indeed, the last opinion polls predicted that Likud will slip marginally against the aspiring Kahol Lavan (Blue-White) led by Benny Gantz.
Ranged against the prime minister are the indictments for bribery, breach of faith and fraud, brought against him in late November by Attorney General Avihai Mendelblitt, which Netanyahu castigated as a coup conspiracy by the legal authorities.
Netanyahu later withdrew the charge, asserting he had every faith in the judicial process and was confident that a court would clear him of all charges.
The March poll, like its two predecessors, is not being fought over ideas, economic, security or other lapses - ideologically Likud and Kahol Lavan are very much alike – but purely over personality, Binyamin Netanyahu’s.
United by their implacable resolve to displace him are Benny Gantz, a former IDF chief of staff with no political resume, two other former chiefs of staff, one of whom served as defence minister in a Netanyahu government, and a fringe politician.
This foursome feels they are riding high after holding the prime minister to siege in two former ballots and raring to press their advantage for a final kill in March.
Although Netanyahu’s Bloc of 55 – his own Likud at the head of a right-wing, religious camp – has held firm throughout these battles, this week, he faced his first challenge on home ground.
An old rival, MK Gideon Saar, [pictured above] pushed through a Likud leadership primary to take place on December 26.
Although the prime minister is sure to beat him in the vote, critical eyes will be watching the size of his majority. Any figure below 80% will further weaken his hand for leading the Likud campaign to victory.
While the walls close in around Netanyahu, his leading opponent Benny Gantz has squandered some of the positive vibes greeting a fresh new face last April.
Two ballots failed to catapult him to the premiership. The results of Likud and Kahol Lavan were almost too close to call. Neither commanded the 61 seat-majority needed for a coalition government.
Netanyahu on Thursday said he will resign from all ministerial positions by January 1, 2020, but stressed he has no intention of stepping down as premier.
Netanyahu currently holds the health, welfare, agriculture, and Diaspora affairs portfolios. He is expected to appoint ministers for these posts until the March 2, 2020 elections conclude and a new government is sworn in.
He will remain in his role as prime minister.
US-Israel Thrust Wired up to Oust Iran from the Syrian-Iraqi Border………
14 December 2019
“We must switch from preventive to offensive action as the only way to drive Iranian aggression out of Syria,” said Israel’s new defence minister Naftali Bennett on Sunday, December 8.
“We say to them (Iranians), Syria will become your Vietnam. You will bleed until you remove your forces from Syria,” he said.
This rush of exuberance came the day after the fourth assault in a week on the military complex set up by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Al Qods Brigades and their tame Iraqi Shiite militias in the Abu Kamal region of the Syrian-Iraqi border.
Israeli F-35 stealth bombers systematically flattened the main buildings of this complex with a view to obliterating it as a centre of operations.
The aircraft flew over Jordan, the American Al Tanf base and north along the Syrian-Iraqi border to reach their target to the north-east.
This operation broke new ground in that it was the first time that a US-made stealth aircraft had been used to destroy the military infrastructure of another country, i.e., Iran.
For Israel, it was a unique opportunity to strike Iranian targets directly and so practice bombing IRGC targets.
While Israel aircraft focused on Iran’s military facilities around Abu Kamal, US bombers went after their military structures further north in the Deir ez-Zour region, reliable military sources disclose.
The Israeli air force’s area of attack against Iranian sites stretched west from Abu Kamal up to Palmyra, while American warplanes turned southwest to Deir ez-Zour.
This concerted assault was launched at a time of crippling Iranian setbacks in Iraq, due to the fall of the pro-Tehran prime minister Adel Abdul Mahdi in Baghdad and the swelling popular Iraqi Shiite resistance verging on civil war to Iran’s domination of their country.
Al Qods chief General Qassem Soleimani, who initially took charge of cracking down on the angry outbreaks in Iraq, no longer dares show his face in Baghdad or anywhere in the country.
The US and Israel sensed that they had a free hand to conclusively crush the military/logistic complex Soleimani had set up near Abu Kamal so long as the IRGC and its Iraqi Shiite proxies had their backs to the wall in neighbouring Iraq.
This operation was rated highly enough in Washington for the USS Harry Truman air carrier strike group to be deployed this week to the eastern Mediterranean opposite the Syria coast.
This mighty flotilla, consisting of a missile cruiser, several destroyers and a Tomahawk cruise missile nuclear submarine from the US Sixth Fleet, was placed in position as back-up for the US and Israeli air strikes in eastern Syria.
The Iranians were not idle.
This week, too, an IRGC party visited Druze Mount in southern Syria to explore the chances of setting up two small air bases for drones to gather intelligence and strike targets in Israel and Jordan.
At an urgent request from Jordan’s King Abdullah, [pictured above] the US Central Command sent swift reinforcements to its Al Tanf Base, which is situated athwart the Jordanian, Syrian and Iraqi borders.
Otherwise, aside from isolated rocket attacks on some US bases in Iraq by Iraqi Shiite militias, Tehran has not so far reacted directly to the new front the US and Israel have opened up against its armed presence in Syria.
Meanwhile intelligence sources report that Iran’s leaders have reached two decisions:
1. To rebuild and develop the Abu Kamal complex, dubbed the Imam Ali Compound,[pictured above] in the face of its systematic destruction.
2. To allocate several million dollars for winning the cooperation of the chiefs of the native Sunni Arab tribes which roam the Western Iraqi provinces of Anbar and virtually control the Iraqi-Syrian border region. Iranian agents have offered them monthly allowances and arms in return for their cooperation.
Tehran hopes to win these indigenous tribes around to acting in Iran’s interests in this flashpoint region, so that if the Americans and Israelis manage to burn the Imam Ali Compound down to the ground, local tribal smuggling routes will be available as an alternative.
Aware of this ploy, Washington assigned CIA agents operating in Iraq to call on those same tribal chiefs and top Tehran’s proposition. Their choice of paymaster has yet to be disclosed.
Turkish Leader and UAE Emir face off over the Palestinian Succession Race….
December 14, 2019
By offering a 10 million Lira (US$1.7) reward for the capture of exiled Palestinian politician Mohammad Dahlan, [pictured above - R] Turkish President Recep Erdogan stepped into the race rumbling through Ramallah for the successor to Mahmoud Abbas, 83, Chairman of the Palestinian Authority.
On Friday, Dec. 13, Dahlan, a long-time rival of Abbas (Abu Mazen), was added to Turkey’s “red list” of most wanted terrorists.
Abu Mazen is showing no sign of stepping down.
Still, the contenders for his crown are constantly manoeuvring for position to jump in when it’s time.
Erdogan, who has visions of resurrecting an Islamic empire in the Arab world, has deployed his army in three countries, Syria, Libya and Qatar.
He sees a promising opening in Ramallah for sinking his hooks in the Palestinian leadership front as well as a chance to get at Israel.
Why now?
Intelligence sources report the catalyst as being intervention in the Palestinian contest by the UAE leader Sheikh Muhammed bin Ziyad (MbZ).
While the Qatari funds streaming month by month to Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip are common knowledge, UAE has quietly begun oiling wheels in the Palestinian seat of government in Ramallah.
Dahlan is his bagman, which is why Erdogan has targeted him.
Dahlan, 58, has played many roles for different masters. He served Yasser Arafat as Gaza Strip strongman during more than one campaign of terror against Israel, while at the same time developing Israeli and American contacts by foiling some of his master’s terrorist operations.
He then served Arafat’s successor, Mahmoud Abbas – first in 2003 as PA interior minister in charge of security and then, in 2005, as minister in charge of coordinating Palestinian steps during Israel’s disengagement from the Gaza Strip.
But then, in 2010, he had a major falling out with Abbas, who accused him of conspiring to undermine him. In 2012, he was exiled from Ramallah to Jordan, followed by a Palestinian court’s warrant for his arrest on charges of stealing PA funds.
Thereafter, he divided his address and business operations between Abu Dhabi, Vienna and Montenegro, moving on to Belgrade.
Dahlan’s immediate objective is believed to be to curtail the drive for control of the PA’s power centres by the front runners to succeed Abu Mazen – Mahmoud Al-Aloul, Tewfiq Tirawi, and Jibril Rajoub – before the job becomes available, and in case a Palestinian election takes place for the first time in 12 years.
Erdogan and the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Ben Hamad Al-Thani, have come to a deal that serves both their objectives.
The Turkish president’s wants a strong hand in the Palestinian political leadership race, while the Qatari emir seeks to frustrate the plans of his rival the UAE in Ramallah.
So while Qatar takes care of the Gaza Strip, Ankara has undertaken to thwart Dahlan’s designs in Ramallah.
Erdogan's influence and power n the boiling cauldron that is the Middle East continues to grow under cover of his acceptance in both Moscow and Washington [see following article]
Watch this man! He is pure evil.
Erdogan’s Double Game with Russia Makes Him Acceptable to Trump…..
14 December 2019
Although Turkish President Recep Erdogan walks a wavy, duplicitous line between Washington and Moscow, he somehow manages to stay in President Donald Trump’s good graces.
He was, for instance, the first NATO member to shop for Russian S-400 anti-cruise missile air defence, for which the US stealth F-35 program was suspended, and when he visits Moscow every few months he and President Vladimir Putin behave like old cronies.
Yet, on another level, which rarely reaches public attention, Turkey is waging two wars against Russian interests in the two cynosures of Putin’s strategic and economic aspirations, Libya [Put] and Syria.
In Syria, he cherishes the major foothold won in a key Middle East nation, while in Libya, he is reaching out for control of Libya’s oil fields and exports, to become a lead player on the world’s energy markets.
The paradox of Erogan’s double game with Moscow is the key to Trump’s embrace of the surly Turkish leader, an enigma that has puzzled many in the West.
This is how it works, say reliable military and intelligence sources: The Turkish military challenges Russia in Libya and is challenged in turn by the Russians in Syria, thereby enabling the Trump administration to play out its strategic goals in both places, without resorting to US military intervention in either.
A 3,000-strong Turkish expeditionary force is fighting to defend the Tripoli government against an onslaught by a roughly equivalent Russian-cum- LNA army.
This parity goes far to account for the long stalemate in the ongoing battle.
Our sources report that Turkish cargo planes land daily at Tripoli airport laden with reinforcements, drones, ordnance, different types of rockets, light and heavy artillery and armoured vehicles.
On the return flight, the planes carry the Turkish and Libyan wounded to hospital. The expense of this operation is partly put up by Qatar.
Moscow’s anti-Turkish operation in Libya is partnered by the UAE leader, Sheikh Muhammed Bin Ziyad (MbZ) [pictured below] and Egyptian President Abdel-Fatteh El-Sisi, who seeks a measure of stability across his country’s Libyan border.
The players in northern Syria follow a different rulebook.
Whereas in Libya, the Russian and Turkish forces are fairly evenly matched and neither prevails, in Syria, the Russian army controls the field and stamps down on Turkish military movements to prevent their incursion into lands belonging to the Syrian Democratic Forces and the Kurdish UPG militias.
Reliable sources disclose that the commanders of the Russian forces in Syria are under strict orders to ensure that the Kurds stay in control of their regions.
This is their reward for granting Moscow military bases on their lands, especially a 49-year lease on the Qamishli airport for conversion into a Russian air base.
The Russians and Kurds negotiated these contracts bilaterally without involving either the Assad regime in Damascus or Ankara.
These arrangements in Libya and Syria suit the White House in Washington perfectly.
Moscow is holding Turkish troops back from seizing Libyan oil, on the one hand, while pinning the Turks to the ground in northern Syria.
By acting as defenders of the Kurds, Moscow paradoxically serves a critical American interest.
This rationale cuts no ice with US lawmakers. Not satisfied with suspending Turkey from the F-35 program, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday advanced bipartisan legislation to punish Turkey for buying Russian anti-air S-400 systems and crimes against the Kurds.
Turkey could finalise terms for delivery of a second consignment of S-400 advanced missile defences [pictured above] from Russia by April when the first batch will be ready to operate, Ankara's defence industry chief said on Friday.
Turkey has already agreed to buy two consignments of S-400s, triggering a crisis with the United States and possible U.S. sanctions, but Ankara is discussing technology transfer and joint production with Moscow for the second batch, he said.
The United States says the S-400s are incompatible with Western defences and has suspended NATO ally Turkey from an F35 stealth fighter jet program because it fears Russia would gain information about the jets through deployment of the systems.
Developing…..
Taliban and Iran Discuss the Day after the U.S. Leaves Afghanistan…..
14 December 2019
Iran and the Taliban of Afghanistan are historically at daggers drawn.
Since 1990, the Islamic regime has considered this Sunni movement a major threat to its eastern borders, while Taliban has seen the Shiites of Tehran as an enemy with its eye on predominantly Shiite regions of their country.
At the very least, the Taliban suspected Tehran of stirring up those regions ready to boil over into riots to jeopardise their rule in Kabul after the American army has left.
The three Taliban delegations who visited Tehran in recent months had plenty to discuss about the day after the final US exit.
For the first time in decades of strife, bloodshed and mutual suspicion, they share a common interest: both Iran and Taliban want to see the backs of US troops with all possible speed.
There are other wheels revolving around Afghanistan’s post-war future and its interaction with Tehran. Economic considerations are also at play.
While Taliban has invested in relations with India, Tehran is involved in the construction and development of India’s strategic Port of Chabahar, which is destined to offer the new state of landlocked Afghanistan its only outlet to the open sea, as well as providing Iran with a major hub for its international trade.
Given this web of intertwined interests, the Taliban-Iran talks should have achieved a lot more than they have to date.
The US-Taliban peace talks that were resumed last weekend in Doha, Qatar, are going forward at a faster pace, even though US-Afghan and Taliban forces exchanged fire at Bagram Airfield early Wednesday after a suicide attack on a hospital.
A Taliban leader in Qatar and his colleagues in Afghanistan said their group would accept a complete ceasefire with the US, if Washington agreed to eventually withdraw all its roughly 12,000 troops from the country.
This wish will be granted. If any goal can be said to be integral to Trump’s political thinking, it is to never again allow the US army to sink into a foreign quagmire.
2019 was banner year for credible UFO sightings…...
December 14, 2019
It’s been a helluva year for Unidentified Flying Objects.
Once thought to be fictional works used to sell tabloids, 2019 has been awash with news of UFOs, aliens and strange phenomenon — including reports (complete with video) from verifiably sane sources.
In May, the Pentagon admitted it investigates UFOs soon after Navy pilots claimed to not only have seen but recorded UFOs during training exercises in 2004 and 2015.
In November, another report in Popular Mechanics confirmed that after the 2004 incident, two “unknown individuals” took the data tapes away and wiped the memory from the Navy hard drive.
Meanwhile, just around the time the Popular Mechanics report was released, unidentified flying objects were captured on video off North Carolina’s Outer Banks and the Army announced a partnership with Blink-182 frontman Tom DeLonge’s [pictured below]To the Stars Academy to research alien technology.
But while astronomers say humans finding aliens may take a long time — 2019 was a particularly active year for UFOs visiting Earth.
If you’re worried about your home state, a handy UFO HotSpot Infographic was created by SatelliteInternet.com, which shows the states with the most alien activity.
According to the infographic, aliens apparently prefer colder climes as “UFO hotspots include Washington State (the home of the National UFO Reporting Center), Montana and Vermont. Alaska and Maine are also popular states for alien encounters.”
The states with the least alien activity are Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, Mississippi and Alabama — despite former President Jimmy Carter logging an official report with the International UFO Bureau in 1969, claiming he had seen a self-illuminated, multi-coloured UFO before giving a speech at the Lions Club in Leary, Georgia.
The Nephilim, they are baaaack!
Israel Report
Editor; Mike Claydon
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