Fdd's overnight brief

December 6, 2021

In The News

Iran

An explosion shook the area near Iran’s main nuclear-enrichment plant late on Saturday, prompting conflicting explanations from Iranian officials as Tehran engages in talks with world powers over its nuclear program. – Wall Street journal 

Western negotiators trying to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal said on Friday that the new, more hard-line government in Iran is proposing unacceptable changes to the existing draft agreement, even as it is proceeding apace with its nuclear program. – New York Times 

Iran and world powers — including Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China — met to discuss the future of the 2015 accord, which had curbed Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. […]But negotiations quickly adjourned amid an impasse Friday and now a major breakthrough seems more distant than ever. – Washington Post 

The United Arab Emirates’ top national security adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan will visit Iran on Monday to discuss expanding bilateral ties with the Islamic Republic, Iranian state media reported on Sunday. – Reuters 

President Ebrahim Raisi vowed to tackle Iran’s economic woes and said his government was working to lift sanctions, in a television interview Sunday marking his first 100 days in power. – Agence France-Presse 

The Biden administration is prepared to take action against Iran while pursuing indirect talks in Vienna over a mutual return to compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal, a senior State Department official said Saturday. – The Hill 

Syria’s Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad is due in Tehran on Sunday for a two-day visit, Iran’s semi-official ISNA news agency said. – Reuters 

Iranian air defenses fired a missile as part of an exercise on Saturday over the central town of Natanz, which houses nuclear installations, state TV reported, after local residents reported hearing a large blast. – Reuters 

A senior official in the US State Department on Saturday told reporters that “if Iran continues on its current path, we will need to increase pressure on it. We are preparing for a world in which there is no return to the nuclear agreement.” – Arutz Sheva 

Iran’s national currency stumbled to record-low levels after renewed efforts to revive the country’s beleaguered nuclear deal failed to make progress. – Bloomberg 

Claire Parker writes: In the wake of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, the American public has little appetite for military engagement. And a conflict with Iran would distract from the Biden administration’s priority of competition with China. – Washington Post 

Payam Ghalehdar writes: The Biden administration’s insistence on follow-on negotiations to reach a “longer and stronger” deal with Iran has been conspicuously absent from its statements in recent weeks, which might be another indicator that the Biden team had begun bracing itself for a breakdown of negotiations. […]No one can predict the outcome of this round of talks. If the Biden team settles for anything less than the original JCPOA, a possibility much feared by U.S. allies, we will know it has not played its cards right. Despite all the talk about growing Iranian leverage, it is the U.S. that remains in the driver’s seat. – The Hill 

Tom Rogan writes: Were the U.S. and European Union to lock Iran out of Western financial sectors and further restrict Iran’s export market, Khamenei would face the risk of resumed social disorder. In that scenario, the regime’s need to survive would exist in mutual exclusivity with its desire to extract a one-sided agreement. If they care about salvaging diplomacy, it’s time for Britain and France to play hardball. – Washington Examiner 

Michael Rubin writes: Just as Saddam’s invasion snatched defeat from the jaws of victory by allowing Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to consolidate his Islamic Republic at a time when it was teetering near collapse, so too would the promotion of Azeri or Arab nationalism in Iran be a gift to Ebrahim Raisi. Iranians may hate their regime, but they do not hate their country. Iran is resilient. There is a reason why no ethnic movement has succeeded. The unraveling now occurring in Ethiopia will not come to Iran, Iranian diversity notwithstanding. – National Interest 

Jason M. Brodsky and Omer Carmi write: In the end, Iran’s current approach to the nuclear negotiations is not all that new, despite the hype in the commentariat surrounding the transition from pragmatist Rouhani to hardliner Raisi. Washington and Europe must ensure that their interactions with Iran in the next few weeks will not give Tehran signals that its calculus is sustainable. – Middle East Institute 

Kourosh Ziabari writes: Unless Iran gives priority to pragmatism and decides it wants to be a constituent of the international community and cash in on the dividends, including sound trade and political links, of being a responsible player, the maxims of “neighbors first” and Asian integration will remain nothing but pipe dreams. – Foreign Policy  

Zvi Bar’el writes: Iran, which is negotiating with the Western powers over lifting the sanctions and returning to the original nuclear agreement, still isn’t willing to accept the revolution a removal of sanctions would unleash. The banking system is outdated, laws to encourage investment are still waiting for parliamentary approval, and most of all, the fight against corruption, the flagship issue of presidents Rohani and Raisi, is still nothing but a slogan. – Haaretz 

Yonah Jeremy Bob writes: Satellite footage made it impossible for Tehran to cover up the damage in both Natanz attacks, but strangely, satellite footage was slower in coming with Karaj, when Raisi had taken power and the Biden administration was seeking a return to talks. – Jerusalem Post 

Afghanistan

An estimated 22.8 million people — more than half the country’s population — are expected to face potentially life-threatening food insecurity this winter. Many are already on the brink of catastrophe. – New York Times 

The Taliban decreed on Friday that they were banning forced marriage of women in Afghanistan, a move apparently meant to address criteria the international community considers a precondition to recognizing the new government and restoring aid to the war-torn country. – Associated Press 

Afghanistan’s Taliban government on Sunday rejected condemnation by Western nations over dozens of alleged “summary killings” of former security force personnel documented by rights groups since the Islamists returned to power. – Agence France-Presse 

The governments of more than 20 nations and the European Union issued a joint statement on Saturday saying they were “deeply concerned” over alleged killings and “enforced disappearances” of former members of Afghan security forces. – The Hill 

Turkey

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday he hoped that volatile foreign-exchange and inflation rates would stabilize shortly and he again promised low interest rates, after a historic plunge in the lira currency to record lows. – Reuters 

An assassination attempt on the life of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was foiled by Turkish intelligence on Saturday evening, Turkish media reported. – Jerusalem Post 

Jared Malsin writes: If Mr. Erdogan desires a weaker lira to encourage exports, it would mark a shift from the government’s recent strategy, in which the central bank spent more than $165 billion in foreign reserves in less than two years to prop up the lira. […]Turkish banks so far have been able to withstand the currency crisis. But economists are concerned that a further collapse of the lira could trigger a bank run, or that Turkey could default on its foreign debts. – Wall Street Journal 

Zvi Bar’el writes: Erdogan can take comfort in the fact that there are currently no other political players of his stature. Granted, the six opposition parties are expected to form an alliance that will seek to return Turkey to a democratic parliamentary system of government and promote human rights. But they still need to prove that they are capable of crossing the world’s highest electoral threshold, which stands at 10 percent. – Haaretz 

Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Sunday urged world powers to take a hard line against Iran in negotiations aimed at reviving an international nuclear deal, as his top defense and intelligence officials headed to Washington to discuss the flailing talks. – Associated Press 

Defense Minister Benny Gantz ordered checkpoints across the West Bank to go on high alert on Monday following a ramming attack earlier in the morning in which a security guard was seriously wounded, his office said. – Times of Israel 

Deputy Defense Minister Alon Schuster on Sunday refrained from directly answering questions about a blast in the vicinity of an Iranian nuclear site a day earlier, only saying he “can’t say” what hit Natanz. When asked what Israel had to say about the explosion on Saturday near the Natanz site, Schuster said: “We don’t ask a man what he did at night, but we are currently trying to bring about a change in the motivations of the whole world through diplomatic means.” – Times of Israel 

Israel will act against Iran on its own should the international community fail to thwart Tehran’s nuclear ambitions through diplomatic means, President Isaac Herzog warned the United States on Sunday.- Jerusalem Post 

Ehud Barak writes: The real and immediate danger is in a nuclear race beginning in the region. After Iran achieves nuclear capability, Turkey will attempt to follow suit, as will Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Within one decade one third of world’s dictatorships will aspire to the same goal. That would see a nuclear device in the hands of terrorists and could endanger the world at large and not only Israel, and there must be preparation for that scenario as well. Bravado and empty rhetoric is not the way to proceed and will only make Israel weaker and minimize its ability to act in self-defense. We must all expect more from this “coalition of change”. – Ynet 

Alex Fishman writes: Israel, it seems, wholeheartedly believes Hamas’ leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, wants to better the lives of the people in Gaza and is therefore adamant on maintaining the agreement with Israel. […]For Sinwar, improving the lives of Gaza’s citizens is nothing but a bonus to help him maintain control over the enclave and its people. And for Hamas as a whole, the calm is nothing but a tool to stall until it’s ready for another round of fighting against Israel. – Ynet 

Alon Pinkas writes: Evidently, there is something of a communications issue between Washington and Jerusalem. It hasn’t reached distrust levels yet, but Israeli public statements aren’t helping much. That could and should have been avoided. – Haaretz 

Gulf States

French President Emmanuel Macron said Saudi Arabia’s crown prince had agreed to re-engage with Lebanon after Riyadh cut ties, in the first trip by a major Western leader to the kingdom since the 2018 killing of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi. – Wall Street Journal 

Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will start a tour of Gulf Arab states on Monday ahead of an annual Gulf summit this month that comes amid crucial talks aimed at salvaging a nuclear pact between Iran and the West. – Reuters 

The United Arab Emirates defence ministry said its purchase of French Rafale fighter jets would complement its planned deal to buy American F-35 warplanes, which has slowed due to Washington’s concerns over Abu Dhabi’s relationship with China. – Reuters 

Several companies in Israel and the United Arab Emirates have signed deals together in recent weeks, bolstering optimism about the corporate benefits stemming from last year’s normalisation of relations between the Jewish state and the Gulf monarchy. – Financial Times 

Middle East & North Africa

Tunisia’s powerful UGTT union called for early elections on Saturday, saying it was concerned for the country’s democratic gains because of the president’s reluctance to announce a roadmap for political reforms. – Reuters 

The U.S. military conducted a drone strike in Syria , and there are initial indications of possible civilian casualties, U.S. Central Command announced. The Friday kinetic strike, near Idlib, targeted a senior al Qaeda “leader and planner,” CENTCOM said. It was conducted using a precision strike method from an MQ-9 aircraft. – Washington Examiner 

On November 12, a group comprising Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan agreed to create the Organization of Turkic States. – Radio Free Europe 

Ali Al-Mikdam writes: According to Al-Rajeh, Al-Sadr is going to form a national majority government “as he described it,” which will not appeal to the political wings of the Shia militias, which are instead likely to demand a consensus government in which they participate, despite losing the elections. […]At a time when news indicates that the U.S. forces will remain in Iraq as advisors and provide intelligence services, this confirms that a confrontation is inevitable, especially in light of escalating Shia militia media discourse. – Washington Institute 

China

China has approved the creation of one of the world’s largest rare-earths companies to aim to maintain its dominance in the global supply chain of the strategic metals as tensions deepen with the U.S., according to people familiar with the matter. – Wall Street Journal 

With the U.S. tightening technology exports to China in 2018, President Xi Jinping defiantly pledged to make China the world’s future innovation and industrial center. Key to his plan was Elon Musk. – Wall Street Journal 

Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said on Saturday that the Biden administration would push both allies in the Pacific and U.S. businesses to step up efforts to counter the increasingly urgent threat of China, and that the Pentagon was prepared to help Ukraine better defend itself against Russia as tensions flare between the two countries. – New York Times 

The Biden administration is expected to announce this week that no US government officials will attend the 2022 Beijing Olympics, implementing a diplomatic boycott of the games, according to several sources. – CNN 

China’s influence in Asia receded in the second year of the pandemic as the country turned more inward, while the U.S. expanded its power in the region through better diplomacy, according to an Australian research group. – Bloomberg 

China’s Communist Party took American democracy to task on Saturday, sharply criticizing a global democracy summit being hosted by President Joe Biden next week and extolling the virtues of its governing system. – Associated Press 

Lloyd Austin, US defence secretary, warned that China’s air incursions by fighter jets, bombers and other warplanes near Taiwan appeared to be rehearsals for military operations against the country. – Financial Times 

The U.S. Space Force’s vice chief of operations warned on Sunday that China is on a rapid pace in space development, adding to mounting concerns that it could outpace the U.S. in space and gain military advantage. – Politico 

Editorial: The Uyghur genocide raises urgent questions about who must bear responsibility for potential crimes against humanity. The Xinjiang Papers show Mr. Xi and his cohorts ordered the destruction of language, culture, traditions, hopes and dreams of an entire people. – Washington Post 

Ruchir Sharma writes: China is still the leading trade partner for more nations than any other and the main global buyer of commodities. Should, for example, its campaign to reduce massive corporate debts, particularly in the property sector, end in a meltdown, the effects will be global and inescapable. But lesser tremors may no longer be so consequential. It may be that when China stumbles, the world no longer falls with it. – Financial Times 

Martin Sandbu writes: If the goal is to build a deeply EU-centric international economy, then saying so would be more honest and make the initiative better co-ordinated. […]An offer of a deeper tie-in than trade deals provide, yet less comprehensive than full single market membership, would be attractive enough for many countries to turn down infrastructure subsidies from Beijing. – Financial Times 

Clara Ferreira Marques writes: The tendency to see China’s engagement only through the prism of a resource grab is blinding the West to China’s widening and maturing relationships. It does a disservice to African governments, denying the agency they clearly have as well as the differences among them. Worst of all, it overlooks the West’s own failings in a region that, from climate to health to migration, will be central to every global problem in the coming century. – Bloomberg 

South Asia

Protests and clashes raged on Sunday in northeastern India after 14 civilians were killed by soldiers, one of the deadliest outbursts of violence in recent years in a region long torn by insurgency and ethnic divisions. – New York Times 

Up to 120 people have been arrested in Pakistan after a Sri Lankan factory manager was beaten to death and set ablaze by a mob who accused him of blasphemy, officials said on Saturday. – Agence France-Presse 

The United Nations has called for Myanmar to hold to account anyone using excessive force against unarmed civilians after security forces rammed a car into an anti-coup protesters killing five of them, according to media and witnesses. – Reuters 

The four-year prison sentence given to ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Monday on charges of incitement and failing to observe pandemic restrictions is one small shot in a legal offensive intended to deal her and her National League for Democracy party a crippling political blow. – Associated Press  

President Vladimir Putin will visit New Delhi on Monday as billions of dollars of Russian weaponry flow into India that would normally attract U.S. sanctions. Eager to draw India into its efforts to contain China, the U.S. may look away this time. – Bloomberg 

Asia

Myanmar’s ousted civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, was found guilty of incitement and breaching pandemic rules and sentenced to four years imprisonment, according to a person familiar with the matter, the first verdicts in a raft of criminal cases that the country’s military has brought against her since seizing power 10 months ago. – Wall Street Journal 

With attempts to restart nuclear negotiations with North Korea going nowhere, the president of South Korea is looking anywhere for help as his term heads into its final stretch. His long-shot hope: that Pope Francis can step in. – Washington Post 

Hong Kong’s government has warned the Wall Street Journal it may have broken the law by publishing an editorial that said casting blank ballots was one of the “last ways” for residents to voice dissent. – Agence Frence-Press 

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare on Monday survived a no confidence motion in parliament, after accusing the Pacific island nation’s most populous province of being “Taiwan’s agent”, and anti-government protesters of attempting a coup. – Reuters 

Rep. Nancy Mace wants the United States to take a stronger stance in defending Taiwan in its conflict with China. – Washington Examiner 

The U.S. Embassy in Tokyo issued a tweet on Sunday warning that foreigners were being stopped by Japanese police in “suspected racial profiling incidents.” – The Hill 

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said a move by China to invade Taiwan and take the island by force would have “terrible consequences.” Tensions have risen between the U.S. and China as the Asian country has increased military pressure on Taiwan, an island that claims its own independence, but that China sees as its territory. – The Hill 

Sui-Lee Wee and Richard C. Paddock write: What is clear, however, is that politics in Myanmar have been reshaped. The self-proclaimed government has reach throughout society. With the help of the protest movement, it operates underground schools, clinics and hospitals. When it announced last month that it would sell “bonds” to fund its revolution, it raised $6.3 million in one day. In September, it called for a “people’s war” against the junta, prompting thousands of protesters known as the People’s Defense Forces to prepare for armed conflict. – New York Times 

Raymond Kuo writes: A vague commitment mollifies Beijing and prompts greater effort from Taiwan. But this policy in fact drives Taiwan’s inefficient defense posture in a bid to increase American intervention. If that intervention is essential to Taiwan’s survival, then removing the question of American commitment allows Taipei and Washington to focus not on if they will fight together, but how they can best do so. – War on the Rocks 

Angela Stent writes: Of course, if the Kremlin does invade Ukraine, this model will no longer be relevant. The Euro-Atlantic region will instead be thrust into a new, dangerous period of confrontation. – Foreign Affairs 

Russia

As tensions mount between Washington and Moscow over a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine, U.S. intelligence has found the Kremlin is planning a multi-front offensive as soon as early next year involving up to 175,000 troops, according to U.S. officials and an intelligence document obtained by The Washington Post. – Washington Post 

As the Kremlin masses troops near Ukraine, it is signaling one core conviction: Russia cares more about the fate of its southwestern neighbor than the West ever will. – New York Times 

U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold a video call on Tuesday, with the two leaders set to discuss the tense situation in Ukraine. – Reuters 

When Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin meet virtually on Tuesday the two presidents will have to negotiate a history of mutual suspicion as they take up the urgent issue of a major Russian military buildup on the Ukraine border. – Agence France-Presse 

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday said the U.S. and European allies are determined to “stand resolutely against” increasing and coordinated Russian aggression in the region, during an interview with Reuters. – The Hill 

Russian President Vladimir Putin wants a deal to block the expansion of NATO, a demand brought forth amid widespread suspicions that Moscow is preparing a military offensive against Ukraine. – Washington Examiner 

Nataliya Bugayova and Frederick Kagan write: The United States giving in on NS2 to strengthen ties with Germany, even as part of an effort to pivot NATO to a China focus, is ineffective and counterproductive as it weakens commitments and trust within the alliance. US policy must strengthen the entire NATO commitment to defend itself, including all its members, against the continuing Russian threat. Stopping or delaying NS2 is a good place to start, even now. – Institute for the Study of War 

Europe

Pope Francis visited a refugee camp in Greece on the frontier of Europe’s migration routes and called on the continent to welcome people seeking asylum from war and other humanitarian disasters. – Wall Street Journal 

 Belarus on Friday condemned new economic sanctions from the United States and its allies, promising a “tough response” as the West increases pressure on President Alexander Lukashenko over his use of migrants in battles with the European Union and wider crackdowns on opposition to his regime. – Washington Post 

The Belarusian defence ministry said on Sunday it had summoned Ukraine’s military attaché to protest against what it called repeated violations of Belarus’ airspace by Ukrainian aircraft. – Reuters 

Immigration hardliner Karl Nehammer will be sworn in as Austrian chancellor on Monday, the presidency said, after being thrust into leadership by tumult among his conservative People’s Party following the resignation of fallen star Sebastian Kurz. – Reuters 

German international broadcaster Deutsche Welle said Sunday it is suspending cooperation with a Jordanian partner, Roya TV, because of concerns about anti-Israeli and antisemitic content and caricatures on its social media. – Associated Press 

UK prime minister Boris Johnson has ordered his team to de-escalate tensions with French president Emmanuel Macron, telling colleagues not to retaliate against what London regards as recent provocation from Paris. – Financial Times 

 The Belarusian Defense Ministry has summoned Ukraine’s military attaché to protest what the ministry said were “increasing violations” of Belarus’s airspace by Ukrainian aircraft. – Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty 

Africa

Classified American intelligence reports suggest China intends to establish its first permanent military presence on the Atlantic Ocean in the tiny Central African country of Equatorial Guinea, according to U.S. officials. – Wall Street Journal 

Uganda said on Friday that its troops sent this week into eastern Democratic Republic of Congo would stay as long as needed to defeat Islamist militants, with the progress of the mission to be evaluated after two months. – Reuters 

The International Monetary Fund and Zambia on Friday reached a staff level agreement on a $1.4 billion, three-year extended credit facility, which could bring the heavily indebted country one step closer to a comprehensive debt overhaul. – Reuters 

The United States has sanctions authorities at its disposal to use against those perpetuating the conflict in Ethiopia, which is increasing ethnic tensions and risks implosion of the country itself, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday. – Reuters 

Chinese private investment in Uganda is growing while Westerners are losing appetite to put money to work in the country, President Yoweri Museveni told Reuters, pledging to step up efforts to tackle corruption that have made slow progress. – Reuters 

Gambian President Adama Barrow has comfortably won re-election, the electoral commission said on Sunday, though he may face a legal challenge from opposition candidates who rejected the results because of unspecified irregularities. – Reuters 

Sudan’s military will exit politics after elections scheduled for 2023, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan told Reuters in an interview on Saturday, adding that the deposed former ruling party would have no role in the transition. – Reuters 

The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Friday to allow international naval forces to continue using all necessary means to fight piracy off the coast of Somalia — but only for the next three months because the Somali government says there has been no piracy incident for over four years and it’s time to end the operation. – Associated Press 

The Americas

The political movement the U.S. has backed in Venezuela to challenge the country’s authoritarian government is on the verge of breaking up after a major faction announced its withdrawal on Sunday. – Wall Street Journal 

Taiwanese diplomats are on a rollercoaster. While they revel in avowals of support from Japan and the west, they worry over Honduras’s allegiance — one of the few countries to maintain diplomatic ties with Taipei in defiance of China. – Financial Times 

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said the service urgently needs to retire outdated air frames so it can focus on developing modern aircraft to counter a rapidly modernizing Chinese military. – Defense News 

Editorial: Mr. Biden came to office promising to talk tough against Mr. Putin, unlike Mr. Trump, but his actions have been weaker. […]The world is entering a dangerous period. The hard men in Moscow, Tehran and Beijing are going to test Mr. Biden to expand their power and spheres of influence, and it isn’t at all clear if or how Mr. Biden will respond. – Wall Street Journal

Cybersecurity

Twitter said Friday that it had mistakenly suspended accounts under a new policy following a flood of “coordinated and malicious reports” targeting anti-extremism researchers and journalists first reported Thursday by The Washington Post. – Washington Post 

The iPhones of 11 U.S. Embassy employees working in Uganda were hacked using spyware developed by Israel’s NSO Group, the surveillance firm that the United States blacklisted a month ago because it said the technology had been used by foreign governments to repress dissent, several people familiar with the breach said on Friday. – New York Times 

The U.S. military has taken actions against ransomware groups as part of its surge against organizations launching attacks against American companies, the nation’s top cyberwarrior said on Saturday, the first public acknowledgment of offensive measures against such organizations. – New York Times 

The appointment of Parag Agrawal as the CEO of Twitter has alarmed conservatives because of his statements that he does not prioritize free speech and that his platform is not neutral when it comes to content. – Washington Examiner 

Ryan Hampton writes: Instead of broadly crushing free speech and pushing social media companies to eliminate our ability to share resources, the U.S. government should focus its efforts on things that work. […]The federal government must work together with online platforms to coordinate a more effective strategy to remove bad actors, and work with law enforcement to prosecute drug traffickers. – The Hill 

James C. Allen writes: We live in a society where openness is a national virtue, but cybersecurity is an ever-growing threat. What we have learned from the SolarWinds fiasco is that we cannot afford technological underinvestment by firms and agencies tasked with keeping America’s companies, investors, citizens and their data safe. – The Hill 

Long War

Five far-right extremists suspected of planning a terrorist bomb and gun attack have been remanded in custody in Finland, police said on Friday. – Agence France-Presse 

Militants killed at least 31 people in central Mali on Friday when they fired upon a bus ferrying people to a local market, local authorities said – the latest deadly attack in a region racked by violent insurgency. – Reuters 

Hamas has quietly established a Lebanon branch of its Gaza-based terror group in recent years in order to open up an additional front against Israel in future conflicts, according to an unsourced report Friday in the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper. – Jerusalem Post 

Hamas head Ismail Haniyeh has threatened that the four Israeli captives held by the Palestinian terror group will “not see the light of day,” N12 reported on Saturday. – Jerusalem Post