Russia to open embassy branch in Jerusalem as part of land deal with Israel

Author: Published: June 17, 2023

New complex will mostly provide consular services, in agreement that provides solution to longstanding dispute over plot

By TOI STAFF16 June 2023, 4:54 pm  

A parking lot in central Jerusalem that will become a new Russian diplomatic complex. (Google Street View)

A parking lot in central Jerusalem that will become a new Russian diplomatic complex. (Google Street View)

Russia will open an office in Jerusalem that will serve as a branch of its embassy to the country and will provide consular services, while settling a land dispute at the same time, the two countries said Friday.

The land on which the new complex will be built was acquired by the Russian Empire in 1885 but has long been the subject of dispute between Moscow and the Jerusalem Municipality over its exact area, taxes and other bureaucratic matters.

The plot currently hosts a parking lot, and the municipality had for some time sought to expropriate some of the area for the purposes of a new light rail line that will be built on King George Street.

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According to the Israel Hayom newspaper, Israel agreed to release its claim on the plot and forego taxation — apparently seeing diplomatic benefit in another country increasing its diplomatic presence in the capital.

Most countries do not recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and maintain their embassies in Tel Aviv, viewing the city as a disputed matter that must be settled as part of a peace deal with Palestinians. The only countries with embassies in Jerusalem are the US (opened under Donald Trump), Guatemala, Honduras and Kosovo. However, multiple countries do operate consular offices in Jerusalem.

According to a statement from Israel’s Foreign Ministry, the Russian complex will host consular offices, an event hall and lodging for diplomats.

“The agreement is in line with the Foreign Ministry’s efforts to increase the number of diplomatic missions in Israel’s capital Jerusalem,” the ministry said.

According to Haaretz, Israel does not expect much blowback from its Western allies over the deal with Russia, despite its war on Ukraine, due to the matter being largely a real estate issue. But the paper, citing an unidentified government official, did note that Israel is aware that Kyiv may react negatively.

Lazar Berman contributed to this report.

Iran’s Khamenei hosts Palestinian Islamic Jihad leaders in Tehran

Author: Published: June 17, 2023

Iranian leader says political unrest in Israel is sign of its nearing collapse, hails terror group’s performance in conflict last month

By TOI STAFFToday, 12:55 pm  

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a ceremony commemorating the death anniversary of the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini at his mausoleum just outside Tehran, Iran, June 4, 2023. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a ceremony commemorating the death anniversary of the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini at his mausoleum just outside Tehran, Iran, June 4, 2023. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, hosted leaders of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad on Wednesday in Tehran to “congratulate” them on their conduct during last month’s conflict with Israel.

“The Palestinian Islamic Jihad did well in the test of the recent battle of Gaza, and now the conditions for the Zionist regime have changed compared to 70 years ago, and the Zionist leaders have the right to worry about not seeing the regime’s 80th year,” Khamenei told Ziad al-Nakhaleh, the Syria-based Secretary General of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, according to Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency which also carried a photograph of the meeting.

Tehran routinely predicts Israel’s demise.

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“The strength and credibility of the Palestinian resistance groups and Islamic Jihad is increasing day by day, and the Zionist regime’s recent defeat in the five-day war confirms this,” Khamenei said.

On May 9, in response to a wave of over 100 rockets fired at Israel, the IDF launched a surprise attack on the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza, killing three of the organization’s top leaders and 10 civilians. The army dubbed the campaign Operation Shield and Arrow.

By the operation’s end four days later, 34 Palestinians had been killed, including several more top leaders and 15 civilians, although some were killed by Islamic Jihad rockets falling short inside Gaza.

During the conflict, Islamic Jihad fired hundreds of rockets with most being intercepted by Iron Dome or falling in empty areas. One woman was killed in a direct hit on her home in Rehovot.

During the talks, the Iranian leader also cited the political instability in Israel and the protest movement against the judicial overhaul as signs of unprecedented Israeli weakness.

“The Zionist regime has political instability and has changed four prime ministers in four years; party coalitions collapse before forming; there is an extreme bipolarity throughout the fake regime, which is highlighted by the demonstrations of hundreds of thousands of people in some cities. It is not possible for them to try to make up for these weaknesses by firing a few rockets,” he said.

Iran is a major backer of Islamic Jihad and other terror groups in the region. Israel has accused Tehran of supplying the terror group with millions of dollars and military technology and know-how.

Khamenei Meets with Palestinian Islamic Jihad Leader in Tehran

Author: Published: June 16, 2023
By

TPS / Tazpit News Agency

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Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei hosted Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Ziyad al-Nakhalah in Tehran on Wednesday.

The meeting came as Iran tightens its coordination of proxy terror groups, including the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), Hamas and Hezbollah. Known as the “Jerusalem Axis,” this alliance of terror groups is Iran’s counterweight to the Abraham accords.

During the meeting, Khamenei said that Israel had become “passive” and its leaders “have reason to worry about not seeing the country’s 80th anniversary,” according to Iranian state media.

Israel recently marked its 75th birthday.

Israel on May 9 launched “Operation Shield and Arrow” with the targeted killing of three senior PIJ members in Gaza, in response to rocket fire from the Strip.

During the five-day conflict, PIJ launched some 1,500 rockets at Israeli civilian centers, to which the Israel Defense Forces responded by striking some 400 terror targets in Gaza.

“I congratulate Islamic Jihad’s victory in Gaza’s recent battle. The Zionist regime’s current condition is very different from 70 years ago, and this enemy is in a passive position,” said Khamenei.

“Palestine’s resistance movements have correctly identified the path and are proceeding wisely on it,” he added.

The Iranian leader said that the “growing power” of “Palestinian” groups was “the key to bringing the Zionist enemy to its knees.”

PIJ is an Iranian proxy whose terrorist activities also span Judea and Samaria, particularly in Jenin and Nablus.

Nakhalah, who has led PIJ since 2018, is said to be living in either Lebanon or Syria.

Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) chief Ronen Bar last month revealed that Israel had recently broken up a terror cell near Jenin that was in the process of producing rockets intended to be fired at Israeli targets from Samaria.

A recent video broadcast by PA media showed the firing of a Qassam-type rocket in the Jenin area, apparently an experiment by the same squad. Security sources in Israel say that PIJ operatives in Jenin and Nablus are also trying to weaponize civilian drones, with the backing of Iran.

To advance these efforts, al-Nakhalah traveled to Tehran in August 2022, where he met with Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, to receive funding and coordinate the smuggling of weapons into Judea and Samaria through Jordan.

The establishment of rocket cells in Judea and Samaria is another step toward implementing former IRGC Quds Force chief Qassem Soleimani’s strategy of surrounding Israel with hundreds of thousands of rockets, missiles and drones.

The Jenin rocket squad was directed by senior PIJ leader Tarek az-Aldin, who was killed by an IDF strike on May 9.

A senior Israeli political source recently said that Iran was disappointed by PIJ’s performance during “Operation Shield and Arrow” and was therefore plotting to strike at Israelis overseas.

 

 

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