Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Friday launched a Twitter tirade against Israel, saying that “the Zionist regime will perish in the not-so-far future.” “Zionist Regime’s issue isn’t about diplomatic ties with other states, to be solved if a few spineless states in region established ties with it. It's about nations; it won't be solved by White House's efforts, moving its embassy. It's about the regime’s fundamental illegitimacy,” he said in a series of tweets. “The Zionist regime was founded based on falsehood. They have forcefully and by means of coercion, threat and armed forces, expelled a historical nation from their own country. Is it possible to eliminate Palestine from the historical-geographical memory of the world?!” continued the Iranian leader. “Like all free countries, people of Palestine--real Palestinians-- should be polled to determine the political system of Palestine; that governing body will decide on future of immigrants in Palestine. There's no other solution and this leads to elimination of the Zionist regime,” he wrote in yet another tweet. “The Zionist Regime will not last. All historical experiences imply that with absolute certainty. Undoubtedly the Zionist regime will perish in the not-so-far future,” concluded Khamenei. Khamenei earlier this month called Israel “a malignant cancerous tumor in the West Asian region that has to be removed and eradicated”. On Sunday, he attacked Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and branded him a “child killer”. Referring to Netanyahu’s visit to Europe last week in which he warned against Iran’s aggression in the region, Khamenei said, “Then that oppressor [and] wicked … child killer goes [to other countries and] plays the victim that Iran wants to do away with several millions of our population.” The Supreme Leader has several times in the past referred to the Jewish state as a “cancer” and threatened to "annihilate" the cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa. (Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)
Yuval Diskin, the new head of Israel’s clandestine domestic security agency, the Shin Bet (GSS), made his first appearance before the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee today (Tuesday). He assumed his post on Sunday, succeeding Avi Dichter. Diskin painted a bleak picture of what he expects to be Israel’s security situation after the explusion. He cited, for one thing, the possibility that terrorists would begin firing missiles into Israel from northern Samaria. He also noted the problems Israel would face combating Hamas, if that terror group becomes part of the official body governing the Palestinian Authority. “Northern Samaria without the IDF," Diskin told the committee, "means terror and the firing of missiles” at Israeli targets. It would leave the IDF without “an effective method of fighting terror in the region.” Diskin also pointed out the dangers of handing over the Philadelphi route on the Gaza-Egyptian border to the PA, in the event that IDF forces withdraw totally from the Gaza district. He took the line of his predecessor, Avi Dichter, who opposed the government’s plan to abandon the route to PA forces and rely on beefed-up Egyptian forces to secure the border from their side. Another serious problem facing Israel is the growing strength of terror organizations in Gaza, particularly Hamas. Diskin said that if Hamas becomes involved politically in governing the Palestinian Authority, Israel would have difficulty targeting its leaders as it has done in the past. He said it would be easier for Israel to deal with Hamas when it functions primarily as a terror group. Recent polls show Hamas scoring big gains in the upcoming PA elections scheduled for July 17. The elections are scheduled for one month before the government plans to forcibly evict 9,000 Jews from their homes in Gaza and northern Samaria. Hamas made significant inroads in last month’s municipal elections in the PA, even in areas considered to be outside its power base in Gaza. In Kalkilye, a PA-controlled city that lies in the heart of Israel’s heavily populated coastal plan, Hamas won all 15 seats on the city council. Diskin presented a pessimistic view of PA chief Mahmoud Abbas’ efforts to fight terror. “His leadership is weak. He wants to [fight terror] but can’t,” he said. According to Diskin’s assessment, Abbas will neither fight terror nor give up the Palestinians’ claim to the “right of return” which if implemented, would flood Israel with hundreds of thousands of Arab "refugees," and their descendants, from the 1948 and 1967 wars. Diskin warned that Israel might soon be faced with a new wave of Arab terror. He said his agency “must be ready for a new outbreak of terror, in order to defend the citizens of the State of Israel, and make it clear that terror does not pay.” The chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, MK Yuval Shteinitz (Likud), expressed concern over Diskin’s assessment. “We have heard a severe warning regarding what awaits us in the future. The terrorist organizations are preparing a new wave of bloodshed and the head of the Shin Bet has said this in the sharpest and clearest way,” Steinitz said.