France, Italy, Denmark back European-led naval mission for Hormuz

(Worthy News) – France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Denmark support a European-led naval mission to ensure safe shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, three senior EU diplomats said on Tuesday after Britain proposed the idea following Iran’s seizure of a tanker.

Britain proposed the idea to senior EU diplomats at a meeting in Brussels, saying it would not involve the European Union, NATO or the United States directly, the diplomats said. [ Source: Jerusalem Post (Read More…) ]

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Israel: Iran smuggling dual-use items for Hezbollah arms by sea into Beirut port

(Worthy News) – Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations on Tuesday accused Iran of exploiting civilian companies and maritime channels to smuggle weapons manufacturing equipment to its Lebanese proxy group, Hezbollah.

In the quarterly meeting on the Middle East, Ambassador Danny Danon told the Security Council that Israeli intelligence has uncovered evidence showing Iran’s Quds Force has been using the port of Beirut to ship items to the terror group since last year.

“Iran and the Quds Force have begun to advance the exploitation of the civilian maritime channels, and specifically the Port of Beirut,” Danon said. “The Port of Beirut has become the Port of Hezbollah.” [ Source: Times of Israel (Read More…) ]

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Greenblatt: Palestinians have aspiration, not right, to East Jerusalem capital

(Worthy News) – The forthcoming US peace plan will not be based on “fictions of international consensus” or on international law, the Trump administration’s Middle East peace envoy Jason Greenblatt said Tuesday.

Greenblatt also said that while the Palestinians may aspire to a capital in Jerusalem, they do not have a right to one. “It is true that the PLO and the Palestinian Authority continue to assert that East Jerusalem must be a capital for the Palestinians,” Greenblatt said. “But let’s remember, an aspiration is not a right.”

Addressing the United Nations Security Council, Greenblatt flatly rejected the notion that international law must serve as the foundation of any future peace deal, arguing that the two sides differ in their interpretation of it. [ Source: Times of Israel (Read More…) ]

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House passes bill that calls to sanction Palestinian terror groups

(Worthy News) – The House of Representatives approved on Tuesday a bill that calls to sanction Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups.

House Resolution 1850, the Palestinian International Terrorism Support Prevention Act, sponsored by Rep. Brian Mast (R-Florida-18) is asking “to impose sanctions with respect to foreign support for Palestinian terrorism, and for other purposes.”

The bill directs the president to submit an annual report to Congress, identifying people or agencies that “knowingly assists in, sponsors, or provides significant financial or material support” for Hamas, Islamic Jihad and its affiliates.” [ Source: Jerusalem Post (Read More…) ]

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Trump to decide soon on when to release Mideast peace plan says envoy

(Worthy News) – U.S. President Donald Trump hopes to decide soon on when to release a plan for peace between Israel and the Palestinians that “will not be ambiguous,” his Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt told the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday.

Greenblatt and senior White House adviser Jared Kushner have spent two years developing the plan, made up of political as well as economic components, which they hope will provide a framework for renewed talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

“President Trump has not yet decided when we will release the political portion of the plan, and we hope to make that decision soon,” Greenblatt told the 15-member Security Council. [ Source: YNet News (Read More…) ]

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FBI director pegs China as the most ‘severe’ counterintelligence threat

(Worthy News) – FBI Director Christopher Wray said that China is the greatest counterintelligence threat facing the U.S. but warned that Russia is a close runner-up as Moscow remains focused on disrupting the upcoming presidential election.

Chairman Lindsey Graham of South Carolina asked Wray about China during his Tuesday testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Wray replied that “there is no country that poses a more severe counterintelligence threat to this country right now.” Wray added that the second greatest counterintelligence challenge was “probably Russia.”

Explaining the difference between his rankings, Wray said the distinction was that “China is fighting a generational fight here” and said that the Chinese government and the Chinese Communist Party were using their government officials, private sector entities, and “nontraditional collectors” in a coordinated effort to “steal their way up the economic ladder at our expense.” [ Source: Washington Examiner (Read More…) ]

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Trump sues to block New York from revealing his tax returns

(Worthy News) – President Trump asked a federal court Tuesday to take steps to block New York from sharing his tax returns with congressional Democrats, saying a new state law designed to make the information available to Capitol Hill is unconstitutional.

The Trust Act, New York’s new law, allows the state to turn over tax information to Congress if there’s a legitimate investigation. State officials created the law in response to Mr. Trump’s refusal to make his tax information public.

Mr. Trump, in the new lawsuit, says that makes the law an attempt to discriminate against him. [ Source: Washington Times (Read More…) ]

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