RUTHFULLY YOURS

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*Notwithstanding Saudi philo-Palestinian talk, Riyadh considers the Palestinian issue a low priority.  It ranks significantly lower than the clear and present lethal threat posed by Iran’s Ayatollahs; the potential tectonic eruption in Iraq; the lethal threat from volcanic Yemen; and the domestic powder keg in the oil-rich and Shia-dominated Qatif and al-Hasa areas. It is much lower than the imminent threats of ISIS and the Muslim Brotherhood; the potential threat of Turkey’s Erdogan; the regional implications of the domestic upheaval in Syria and Lebanon; the vulnerability of all pro-US Arab regimes (e.g., Bahrain, Jordan and Egypt), etc.

*The House of Saud does not forget, nor forgive, the Palestinian track record of intra-Arab terrorism and treachery, most notably the 1990 Palestinian collaboration with Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait, which was the most generous Arab host of Palestinians.

*Riyadh is convinced that the Palestinian track record would yield a Palestinian state, which would constitute another rogue anti-Saudi regime. They consider the Palestinians (the Palestinian Authority and Hamas) a role model of subversion and treachery, and active and potential allies of Turkey’s Erdogan, Iran’s Ayatollahs, Hezbollah and the Moslem Brotherhood, as well as rogue elements in Syria, Iraq, Algeria, Libya and Yemen, which aim to topple the House of Saud.

*At the same time, Saudi ties with Israel (as has been the case with all pro-US Arab countries) have expanded substantially – militarily, commercially, technologically, medically and agriculturally – despite the lack of progress on the Palestinian issue, and in the face of mutual threats and challenges.  

*Irrespective of the warm pro-Palestinian Saudi talk, which welcomes every Western dignitary to Saudi Arabia, the Saudi walk has always been cold.

*Saudi Arabia has never flexed its military muscle on behalf of the Palestinians (nor has any other Arab country), while flexing very limited diplomatic muscle.

https://www.algemeiner.com/2020/05/17/idf-troops-thwart-terrorist-attack-in-eastern-jerusalem/

Three Palestinians were wounded on Friday evening during an attempted attack on an Israeli military post in eastern Jerusalem, according to the Israel Defense Forces. The suspects are being treated by the Red Crescent.

According to the military, troops stationed at an outpost at the “Governor’s House” compound in Abu Dis spotted the three suspects preparing to throw lit firebombs at the post and opened fire, thwarting the attack. No Israeli soldiers were wounded in the incident, according to the IDF.

This was the latest in a series of violent attacks perpetrated by Palestinians against Israeli soldiers in recent weeks.

Last Tuesday, IDF Staff Sgt. Amit Ben-Yigal, 21, a member of the Golani Reconnaissance Battalion, was killed by a rock to the head during a raid in a village in Judea and Samaria.

On Thursday, IDF soldier Shadi Ibrahim, 20, was wounded in a vehicular assault near Negohot, southwest of Hebron. As a result of his injuries, Ibrahim’s leg was amputated, and he remains in serious, but stable, condition, according to Ynet.

https://www.algemeiner.com/2020/05/17/colluding-with-terror-affiliated-ngos-icc-becomes-tool-of-war-against-israel/

International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda is in the hot seat. In response to reports that her office is collaborating with anti-Israel NGOs affiliated with terror groups such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, she tweeted, “Misinformation and smear campaigns do not change facts about the conduct of my Office’s work concerning the situation in Palestine.”

As she is currently focused on bringing false charges of war crimes against Israel, Bensouda believes that the ICC should be able to adjudicate the case, calling the accusation that she is collaborating with terror-affiliated NGOs as “misled and unfounded.” However, a recent report published by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA), argues that the ICC is another tool being used by the Palestine Liberation Organization and Palestinian Authority to delegitimize Israel.

According to Dan Diker, one of the authors of the JCPA report titled, “Legal Assault: How the ICC Has Been Weaponized Against the US and Israel,” the case against Israel at the ICC “is a successful continuation of the PLO-PA strategy of assaulting Israel in the international community.”

“What we decided to do here [in the report] is to expose the criminal terrorist-affiliated illegitimacy not only of the court but also of the complainants,” he told JNS. “It is one thing to fight against the court’s lack of credibility, but it is another thing to fight against a court that is cooperating with terror affiliates.”