Middle East Update for the last 10 days….

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Leading Iran General Killed in Syria
Iranian Revolutionary Guards General Hossein Hamdani, who oversaw the operations of the Quds Force in Syria, was killed Wednesday October 7  in the fighting against ISIS, the guards announced Friday.  Hamdani played a key role in the Iranian government’s suppression of the Green Movement protests that rocked Iran in 2009 and 2010.    He had been sanctioned by both the EU and the U.S. for “human rights violations.”

Palestinian Stabs Four People in Tel Aviv – Yaniv Kubovich
Tair Abu Gazala, 19, from the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Kafr Aqeb, stabbed four people in Tel Aviv near the Azrieli Mall on Thursday October  8.     The assailant stabbed a female soldier with a screwdriver, then stabbed a 60-year-old woman and a man and woman in their 40s, each one in the chest.   An Israel Defense Forces soldier chased after him and shot him. 

The Palestinian Victimhood Narrative as an Obstacle to Peace – Col. (res.) Dr. Eran Lerman
The speech delivered by PA leader Mahmoud Abbas at the UN General Assembly last week was proof, once again, that the Palestinian “narrative” of victimhood has become a threat to any practical prospect for peace. No mention can be made of the recent rise in Palestinian terror activities; no mention of the Palestinian decision to walk away from the framework advanced by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerr, no word on Hamas’ habitual shelling of Israeli civilian targets. There is also no mention of the collapse of all past peace y; efforts. In other words, all that the Palestinians have ever suffered is someone else’s fault.

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Susan Rice’s “Combative” Tone Damaged Relations with Israel, Ex-Aide Writes – Peter Baker
Dennis Ross, the former Middle East adviser to President Obama, faults Susan E. Rice, the president’s national security adviser, for exacerbating tensions with Israelduring the talks that led up to the recent nuclear accord with Iran.     Ross, who has worked on Middle East diplomacy for presidents of both parties, concludes that Ms. Rice’s “combative mind-set” worsened an already troubled relationship with Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who feared that negotiations would leave Iran a threshold nuclear state. (New York Times)

Russian Involvement in Syria: What has Changed, and the Significance for Israel – U Dekel  & Zvi Magen
Beyond saving Assad’s regime, the Russian move, executed under the guise of fighting the Islamic State, is intended to advance Russia’s effort for a senior role in the international arena , as well as slow down IS  move into the Russian orbit.   In spite of Russian promises that it is not Moscow’s intention to challenge Israel militarily, time will tell whether Russia will maintain the understanding to refrain from stationing weapons systems that undermine Israeli military superiority on Syrian soil, such as S-300 surface-to-air missiles.

At least 6 Palestinians die in clash with IDF along Gaza border At least six Palestinians from the Gaza Strip were killed and 19 hurt when IDF soldiers opened fire on a crowd of protesters from Hamas and Islamic Jihad as they approached the border fence with Israel on Friday October 9, Gaza medics said.     One of those killed was a 15-year-old boy, officials in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip said.  The incident began with some 200 Palestinians approaching the security fence in northern Gaza, closest to Kibbutz Nahal Oz.    “They began throwing stones and rolling burning tires at Israeli forces,” an Israeli army spokesperson said.     She told the Palestinian news agency Ma’an that IDF forces responded with live fire towards the “main instigators,” and confirmed five direct hits.     The troops, who remained on the Israeli side of the border, opened fire at the protesters, who were approximately 150 feet (50 meters) away, in order to break up the protest and push them from the fence, she said.

Saudi crush was deadliest hajj tragedy ever  At least 1,470 people were killed —  701 more than official Saudi tally  — in Mecca stampede last month, according to AP count

Rocket from Gaza hits southern Israel  Projectile causes no damage or injuries after sirens wail; alerts come after day of clashes on border with Gaza Strip

Border Guards reservists called up    DEBKAfile  Acting police commissioner Benzi Sau has ordered the mobilization of 13 Border Guards platoons numbering some 1300 men.

Rocket fired at south intercepted As tensions keep rising, and hours after Palestinians breach Gaza border fence, Iron Dome shoots down rocket for second night in a row.    The IDF said one rocket was shot down by the Iron Dome anti-missile defense system.   The rocket fire occurred hours after a few dozen Gazans managed to break through the border fence. While the group managed to enter Israeli territory, police emphasized that security forces were in control the entire time

IDF gears up for ‘Day of Rage’ after day of terror Friday October 16 was thought  to be a watershed moment in the current wave of unrest.    Hamas has been doing everything it can to bring the Palestinian public to conflict with Israel.    Hassan Yousef, a Hamas leader in the West Bank, warned that on Friday the entire West Bank and Gaza Strip would be ablaze with demonstrations.    This was a relatively unusual statement, as Hamas leaders in the West Bank have tried to keep a low profile, fearing arrest.

7 Palestinians killed in Gaza border riot Some 400 Palestinians riot near Gaza border fence; IDF troops open fire killing at least 7, wounding 60 (including 10 seriously), stirring fears of further conflict with Gaza.     Hamas previously declared that Friday would be a ‘day of rage’ after days of attacks in the West Bank and Jerusalem

Obama’s ex-pastor: Israel is apartheid state, ‘Jesus was a Palestinian’ Wright said that African-Americans, Native Americans and Palestinians have suffered under the “three-headed demon” of “racism, militarism and capitalism.”

‘ISIS is prime suspect in Turkey bombings that killed 97’ Turkish PM Davutoglu.. attack was an attempt to influence the outcome of a parliamentary election on Nov. 1.

Islamic State Advances near Aleppo as Russian Airstrikes Target Its Rivals – E Cunningham (Wash Post)
Islamic State militants captured villages in Aleppo province in northwestern Syria as part of a surprise offensive against rival insurgents on Friday October 9,  in its most significant gains in Syria in months, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights

U.S. Warns Governments, Bankers Iran Sanctions Still in Place – Ron Bousso and Timothy Gardner
The Obama administration has privately reminded foreign governments and U.S. bankers that sanctions against Iran remain in effect, cautioning against a rush by Western companies to invest in Iran until the country fully complies with the nuclear agreement. (Reuters)

Why Is the World Ignoring a Wave of Terror in Israel? – Arsen Ostrovsky
In the last week, Israel has come under an unprecedented wave of Palestinian terror.    Yet somehow the international community is silent in the face of this onslaught.     Imagine for a moment if people were being mown down with cars, guns or knives by Islamic terrorists on the streets of central London, Paris, Washington or Moscow.   How would leaders of those countries react?   Israelis, like all people, have the right to live in safety and security, free from terror. And our government and security forces have an obligation to take whatever action is necessary to ensure this.    Attacks like these do not occur in a vacuum.    They are the direct result of a pervasive Palestinian infrastructure indoctrinating hate, inciting violence, and instilling a worldview justifying such gruesome acts. (Telegraph-UK)

Jews of Yemen told to convert or leave Reports out of Yemen indicate that the last remaining Jews in the country are being threatened with extermination if they continue to refuse to convert to Islam.    Israel’s Regional Cooperation Minister Ayoub Kara, a Druse lawmaker who is in contact with Yemen’s Jewish community, a note was recently delivered to a leader of the community from the government saying that Jews in Yemen must either convert to Islam or leave the country.     A spokesman for the party of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh has denied the report, but the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels who still control large parts of Yemen have the words “Death to Israel” and “Damn the Jews” as part of their official logo.

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