U.S. Embroiled in Several Overlapping Middle East Dramas

Turkey released imprisoned American Pastor Andrew Craig Brunson on Friday following a fierce diplomatic battle between Ankara and Washington that touched on several other areas of bilateral relations. Brunson was brought to the White House shortly after returning to the US, where he thanked US President Donald Trump for securing his release and prayed for him in a nationally televised event. In related news, President Trump re-iterated over the weekend that he will not suspend arms sales to Saudi Arabia despite a scandal over a Saudi journalist who was allegedly murdered while visiting a Saudi consulate in Turkey.

In the latest blow to the movement to Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) Israel, Tel Aviv-based cancer diagnostic producer Micromedic Technologies recently landed a deal to sell its “CellDetect” bladder cancer detection system in China through a cooperative arrangement with the Shanghai Gensource Medical Appliances mega-corporation. Officials for both companies projected that the deal will be highly lucrative and possibly lead to other similar deals for other Israeli-produced medical products in China. However, BDS also logged an achievement over the weekend when an Israeli academic association sent a letter to European counterparts urging them to boycott Israeli universities in the West Bank.

Israel’s Knesset re-convened on Monday with the possibility of early elections hanging in the air, although one major issue which threatens to trigger them appeared to be closer to resolution. The Agudat Yisrael Council of Torah Sages held a meeting Sunday evening and signaled a willingness to compromise over the issue of enlistment for ultra-orthodox (haredi) yeshiva students into the IDF, in light of public sentiment indicating a risk that haredi political parties would lose significant support if they followed a different course.

Last Thursday evening, a Swedish-flagged ship, the “Elida” arrived at the coast of Israel near the city of Herzliya bearing 50 pro-Israel activists from the Scandanavian country whose government has been deeply hostile to the Jewish State for many years. “It’s great to be here at last,” said Capt. Stefan Abrahamson, a Christian business leader who initiated the cruise. “We will be here for 11 days, we came here because Sweden’s image in Israel is very bad and we are here to express our sorrow over this.”

Hamas is ramping up the demonstrations on the Gaza border in order to achieve the complete removal of Israel’s blockade. The organization plans to kidnap soldiers so that it will have a bargaining chip to use against Israel for speeding up the removal of the blockade. Friday, October 12, 2018, was particularly violent on the border of the Gaza Strip.

Iran’s intervention into the wars in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen transformed the strength and scope of the “axis of resistance,” the decades-long partnership between, Iran, Hezbollah, and the Syrian regime. Tehran’s motivations evolved during each conflict. The cauldron of war forged new military strength, political legitimacy, and a regional mindset amongst Iran’s partners.

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