MIDEAST UPDATE: 9.24.22 - Amid wave of Palestinian terror

Amid wave of Palestinian terror, leading US diplomat reaffirms commitment to two-state solution (September 15, 2022 / JNS) United States Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf on Wednesday reaffirmed President Joe Biden’s support for the two-state solution despite rising Palestinianviolence in Judea and Samaria. Leaf, speaking at a press conference regarding her recent trip to the Middle East and North Africa, stressed the administration’s commitment to the creation of a Palestinian state side-by-side with Israel “so that Israelis and Palestinians can live safelyand securely and enjoy equal measures of freedom, security and prosperity.” She added that Washington is encouraging security cooperation between the two sides “to the greatest degree possible.” The administration is focused on bettering economic conditions in the Palestinian-controlled territories, Leaf noted, saying this “can help and sustain improvement in security conditions.” She listed a number of administration projects designed to boost “economic growth and greater opportunities for Palestinians,” including $100 million promised by Biden during his visit in July to an eastern Jerusalem hospital network, the extension of 4Gcellular service to Judea and Samaria and the Gaza Strip, and expanding operational hours and capacity at the Allenby Bridge crossing between Jordan and Israel. Leaf also addressed the ongoing U.S.-mediated indirect talks between Israel and Lebanon regarding a maritime border dispute concerning offshore natural gas finds. “On the issue of the maritime discussions, they are progressing. Both parties are showing a good, constructive engagement. Our envoy Amos Hochstein and I talk regularly and he is very committed to bringing this to conclusion if the spirit is willing on bothsides. And so far, so good. So those differences are narrowing,” she said. During her tour, which began in Tunisia on August 29, Leaf also visited Jordan and Iraq, with the goal of reinforcing Biden’s “affirmative framework” for U.S. engagement in the region, including a focus on reducing conflicts, enhancing regional securitypartnerships and promoting regional integration. In Amman, she met with Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ayman Safadi to discuss “shared efforts to promote regional stability and security.” She said the U.S. will sign a seven-year bilateral Memorandum of Understanding withthe kingdom on Friday, describing it as the “longest and largest ever agreed to with Jordan.” Biden announced the prospective MOU during his meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah II at the Arab summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in July. Under it, Washington will provide “no less than $1.45 billion per year in U.S. bilateral foreign assistance to Jordan,beginning in FY 2023 and ending in FY 2029,” according to a White House statement. Leaf said the assistance will help put Jordan on a more stable economic footing as it pursues economic reforms and copes with an acute water shortage. On the last stop of her tour in Iraq, in which she visited Baghdad and Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdistan region, Leaf focused on the country’s government crisis, where violence erupted late last month with the Aug. 29 announcement by Shi’iteleader Muqtada al-Sadr that he was resigning from politics. “In Baghdad, I delivered a straightforward message to a range of senior governmental leaders … that there is an urgent need for Iraq’s political leaders to come together … to make important compromises that will chart a way out of Iraq’s current crisis overgovernment formation,” she said. “We regard Iraq as a vital partner of the United States on so many levels, a partner with which we want to accomplish much, much more on global issues, including regional issues, including water security, climate change, and increasing trade and investmentopportunities,” Leaf continued. “The grinding impasse over government formation which flared into violence 10 days ago, unfortunately, only underlined the degree to which such opportunities are being squandered.” Referring to Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court ruling last February that an oil and gas law in Kurdistan is unconstitutional and demanding that the region hand over its crude supplies, Leaf warned that attempting to enforce the decision risks widening the politicalcrisis into an economic one. She suggested Baghdad and Erbil resolve the matter through third-party negotiations. --------------------- Police to boost Jerusalem presence amid terror alerts....... Police said Sunday that they were preparing to boost security in Jerusalem to keep Israelis and tourists safe as tens of thousands of people were expected to visit the capital during the upcoming Jewish High Holidays. Jerusalem District Commander Doron Turgeman said that police had received intelligence alerts of potential terror attacks in the city during the holidays, and that 2,000 officers would be deployed to protect major events during the period, while the numberof cops on motorbikes will be doubled to decrease police response time to any potential incidents. Police will focus operations on events in Jerusalem’s Old City and the Western Wall, including the traditional prayers of supplication, or selichot, in the lead-up to the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah) and Yom Kippur, in addition to the priestly blessingsduring the week of Sukkot and the large crowds expected for Simhat Torah. Several roads in the vicinity of the Old City will be closed during the selichot and Rosh Hashanah events as necessary, and vehicles will be forbidden from entering the Old City during those times. Religious festivities tend to be a tense time in Jerusalem, as throngs of people descend on the city and its holy sites, increasing the likelihood of clashes between followers of different faiths. During the Muslim holy month of Ramadan earlier in the year,tensions flared on the Temple Mount, with police entering the compound to disperse Palestinian rioters on several occasions. Get The Times of Israel's Daily Editionby email and never miss our top stories The site is the holiest place in Judaism and the third-holiest place in Islam, as well as a frequent flashpoint for violence. Non-Muslims are allowed to visit the site at certain hours, but are officially barred from praying there (though quiet prayers haveincreasingly been allowed, to the chagrin of Muslims). Illustrative: Foreign Minister Yair Lapid (center), Israel Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai and Jerusalem District Commander Doron Turgeman at the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City, April 3, 2022. (Arie Leib Abrams/ Flash90) Images of Israeli troops and Jewish visitors entering the site tend to provoke outrage among Palestinians and Israel’s Arab neighbors, as well as threats of violence from terror groups such as Hamas. In worst-case scenarios, clashes at the site are followedby terror attacks. “Regular practices in place at the mount for years will be maintained. The dates of visits will not be changed. Anyone who breaks the rules will be removed from the mount,” Turgeman said. He stressed that there was no reason to alter plans to visit the city and that police would provide adequate protection to all visitors. Turgeman said he had signed a number of restraining orders against both potential Jewish and Muslim agitators to stay away from the Temple Mount, for fear that they would cause disturbances. He said potential troublemakers were also being detained in some cases. He noted that on Saturday, a girl from the West Bank city of Ramallah was arrested after posting on social media that she was about to become famous in the news, sparking concerns thatshe had been planning an attack. Turgeman said that 47 potential terror attacks have been thwarted by Jerusalem police since the beginning of the year. Police said they were also working with the Waqf — the Jordan-funded trust that administers the site — to prevent escalation. This year’s High Holidays arrive during heightened tensions in the West Bank, which so far have not spilled over into Jerusalem. Police walk through the Western Wall plaza in Jerusalem’s Old City on September 18, 2022. (Israel Police) Israeli forces have ratcheted up arrest raids and other counterterror efforts that Palestinians say inflame anger, as troops have come under increasing gunfire during the nightly operations. The military launched extensive arrest operations after a series of deadly attacks that killed 19 people between mid-March and the beginning of May. ---------------------