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Daniel
Greenfield, a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the Freedom Center, is a
New York writer focusing on radical Islam. He is completing a book on
the international challenges America faces in the 21st century.
Robert Serry, the United Nations Special Coordinator for
the Middle East Peace Process tried to find a way to transfer $20
million dollars from Qatar to Hamas.
According to diplomatic sources, Serry asked Israel and the
Palestinian Authority to allow the transfer of the funds, but was met
with refusals from both sides. He did not give up, however, and
continued to push the idea through the UN institutions.
According to the sources, he wanted the money to be transferred to UN
agencies, which would then transfer it to Hamas inside Gaza.
The sources said that Serry was trying to find an alternative avenue
to getting funds to Hamas, since the Egyptians have closed the smuggling
tunnels through which the money used to pass.
Serry is claiming that he would have only made the transfer if Israel had agreed to it, which it did not. Obviously.
The Qatar angle is interesting as it has its fingers in a lot of
pies, including Hamas, Al Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood in general.
Daniel Greenfield, a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the Freedom
Center, is a New York writer focusing on radical Islam. He is completing
a book on the international challenges America faces in the 21st
century.
The Israel Air Force launched attacks on nine Syrian military
positions in the Golan Heights late Sunday night in response to a
missile attack earlier in the day that killed a 13-year-old boy on the
Israeli side of the border.
The IDF said the targets belonged to President Bashar Assad's Syrian
army, and included command posts and firing positions. The military
confirmed direct hits on the targets. High-precision ground-to-ground
Spike (Tamuz) missiles were also used in the attack.
Residents of northern Israel reported hearing explosions from across the border with Syria.
The strikes were launched shortly after midnight, when IAF jets fired
missiles on Syrian army positions on the Syrian-controlled Golan
Heights.
Syrian opposition sources claimed that there were 3 attacks on Syrian
army positions. They said the headquarters of Syria's 90th Division,
which is stationed in Quneitra, was also attacked.
The IDF Spokesperson's Unit said Sunday's cross-border missile attack
on Israeli vehicles was a "continuation of a number of attacks in
recent months against IDF forces near the border in general and this
area specifically. The IDF will act with determination at any time and
in any way it sees fit to protest the citizens of the State of Israel."
Earlier in the day, the IDF responded to the killing of Israeli teen
Mohammed Karaka by firing artillery rounds into outposts on Syrian
territory, but later discussions raised the possibility of attacking
other targets on the Syrian Golan.
Investigations conducted Sunday night in GOC Northern Command raised
the possibility that the advanced Kornet anti-tank missile was fired
from an area contested by the Syrian army and rebel forces.
The
IDF believes the attack on the Syrian border had no connection to
recent developments in the Gaza Strip or the West Bank. The full
investigation will also examine why IDF outposts in the area failed to
spot the terror cell.
On June 19, militants from
the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria attacked Iranian border guards near
Iran’s border city of Qasre Shirin, according to Iranian social media.
A
photograph showed the bodies of at least two Iranian officers
apparently killed in the skirmish. Iran’s state-controlled media didn’t
initially report the clash at Qasre Shirin, as Tehran routinely censors
violent border incidents.
But
Iranian officials took an unusual step and eventually talked about this
particular incident. The first official to react was Fath Allah
Hosseini, Qasre Shirin’s representative in the Iranian parliament.
Hosseini insisted that residents were not afraid of ISIS, which has captured much of northwestern Iraq in recent weeks.
Then
on June 21, Brig. Gen. Ahmad Reza Pourdastan—the Iranian army’s senior
ground force commander—confirmed to the state-run YJC news agency that
the incident took place. But Pourdastan said that the attackers were
from the Kurdish militant group Party for Free Life of Kurdistan, also
known by its Kurdish acronym PEJAK.
But this an odd claim given the intensity of the attack and the location.
Iranian officers killed during June 19 clashes. Photo via Iranian social media
For
one, Kurdish troops are battling ISIS forces 12 miles to the south near
the Iraqi city of Khanaqin. Kurdish militia groups are scrambling to
fortify their territory against further attacks. It seems unlikely they
would open a second front by hitting Iran.
It’s
possible that by mentioning PEJAK, Pourdastan is attempting to ease
fears of an ISIS attack inside Iran. Pourdastan did not confirm Iranian
casualties—a standard practice for Iranian officials.
He
added that Iranian military units along Iran’s western borders are on
full alert, including Iranian army aviation units equipped with AH-1
Cobra and Bell-214 Isfahan helicopters. Last week, Iranian state media
also reported that the Iranian air force is on alert and ready to carry
out expeditionary missions into Iraq.
Iran
has previously benefited from ISIS—at least when the terror group
stayed put in Syria. In 2013, when ISIS forces began attacking other
rebel positions south of Aleppo, Iranian-backed forces
took the opportunity to capture the city of Al Safirah, which commanded
a critical supply route for Syrian dictator Bashar Al Assad’s troops.
But
tensions between Tehran and ISIS have been building in recent months.
Previously, ISIS announced it wouldn’t attack Iranians, in order to
maintain its supply routes through Iran. But in May, amid the ongoing
fighting with Al Qaeda-linked rebel groups such as Jabhat Al Nusrah and
Islamic Front, ISIS retracted the assurance.
After
the announcement, ISIS launched a wave of suicide attacks targeting
Iranian nationals in Iraq. Last week, ISIS also began publicizing battle
reports in Farsi.
As
Iranian regular forces brace for a confrontation with ISIS, Iran’s
special operations expeditionary unit—the Quds Force—could arm, organize
and command Shia militias in Iraq.
With the attack on Qasre Shirin, it appears ISIS is striking back.
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