There is no disputing the illegality of the Bedouin outpost of Khan al-Ahmar on the eastern outskirts of Jerusalem.

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Its residents unlawfully built a housing complex on Israeli state-owned land without a permit and in full knowledge of their violation. They engaged in this prohibited activity with the illegal funding and backing of the European Union, various European countries and international organizations. This subversive involvement of international entities in Israel's domestic affairs is outrageous and demands immediate explanation. These international actors are engaging in the violation of Israeli state law, Israeli sovereignty and international law.

This was made explicit in an EU document leaked at the end of 2022 titled, "European Joint Development Programme for Area C." This paper illustrated how far the EU was willing to go to aid and abet illegal construction in a foreign country. The paper affirmed that, despite the illegality of such construction, the EU would "protect the rights" of Palestinians living in Israeli-controlled Area C, provide legal aid and ultimately assist in the creation of a Palestinian Authority-ruled territory.

Aside from the illegal construction and violations of both Israeli and international law, the building of illegal outposts like Khan al-Ahmar damages local heritage sites, ravages the natural landscape and devastates nature. In addition, it is part of an ulterior agenda that seeks to delegitimize Israel's historical claim to its own land.

Despite the Supreme Court's most recent ruling on the case in 2018, the demolition of the illegal Khan al-Ahmar outpost has been delayed year after year for over a decade. As such, the squatters on this land have had over 10 years to take their case to court, yet each time it has been ruled that their illegal constructions should be removed. With the encouragement of illicit international partners and in response to PA pressure, they have rejected every offer of resettlement and housing.

Just as there is speedy demolition of illegal Jewish outposts, such as the recent evacuation of Or Haim, which occurred mere hours after the order was issued, the same action must be taken regarding illegal Arab sites such as Khan al-Ahmar. We must respect the authority and decision of the Supreme Court. There should be no selective law enforcement. The law is the law and must be applied to all citizens and communities, Jews and Arabs alike.

On Feb. 1, 2023, the state must give its response to the Supreme Court detailing its plans to demolish the illegal structures. The time has come to act and we must act now without delay. Unlawful behavior should not be appeased. We must move swiftly to carry out the evacuation and demolition of Khan al-Ahmar.

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The 77th session of the UN General Assembly opens this week. It is expected that the Palestinian Authority's President Mahmoud Abbas will once again force the Palestinian question to the forefront of the international agenda.

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There has been a decline in interest in the Palestinian issue in recent years, perhaps due to the success of the Abraham Accords. The accords changed the decades-old paradigm where it was considered impossible for Israel to make peace with any additional Arab countries before the Palestinian issue was resolved. Instead, the Abraham Accords showed that notwithstanding the ongoing conflict, a strong and welcome peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors is possible.

After a failed attempt 11 years ago, it seems that Abbas feels the time is ripe to revive the bid to become a full member state of the UN.

On such occasions, Abbas's track record of support for terror is either ignored or forgotten. The man who is due to speak at the United Nations in front of the world has supported terror attacks on innocent Israeli civilians.

Even more abhorrent is that at a press conference in Germany last month, Abbas refused to denounce the 1972 Munich massacre where 11 Israeli athletes and coaches were murdered. Disgracefully, he accepted no responsibility for the attack and instead diverted the discourse to the "50 holocausts" that Israel is supposed to have committed – a false, slanderous and disgraceful assertion. The German chancellor condemned Abbas's comments unequivocally and said he was "disgusted by the outrageous remarks."

This is the man with whom we are dealing. Abbas continues to be welcomed into the world's capital cities while simultaneously leading a body that pays the salaries of convicted murderers who carry out terror attacks on innocent Israeli civilians. This pay-to-slay policy promotes and rewards violence; a murderer is paid around five times more than the average salary, and the more Jews murdered the greater the remuneration.

What's even more galling is that the murderers are celebrated as heroes, with sweets being handed out at street parades, while PA institutions including schools, streets and youth camps are named after these terrorists-turned-heroes. Abbas has never been held accountable by the international community for incentivizing this sickening culture of terrorism.

This is the man who will stand before the world on the United Nations podium.

To succeed in his bid for statehood, Abbas needs to be able to generate the support of a majority of the members of the General Assembly, followed by the backing of nine out of 15 members of the Security Council. Even if he gets this far it is near certain that the US will veto the proposal.

In the very likely scenario that Abbas does fail, he will, unfortunately, still have succeeded in other respects. He will have triumphed in the promotion of a fraudulent cause, in once more bringing Israel's reputation into disrepute, and he may even be able to extract compensation from the US as a "sweetener" should Washington decide to veto his demand.

This form of compensation usually demands concessions from Israel that ultimately harm its security. When President Joe Biden visited Israel in May, for instance, many such unfavorable concessions were made by Israel's interim government, for example, legalizing Palestinian building on Israeli-owned land in Judea and Samaria and enabling 4G communication networks considered problematic from a security standpoint.

Likewise, in 2012, after Abbas's initial failed attempt at statehood, he was granted such a sweetener by the UN itself, and the PA became a non-member observer state. Although symbolic in nature, this act has in fact had damaging consequences for Israel as the PA consistently seeks to tarnish Israel's name in diplomatic and public forums, despite its pledge in 2012 not to do so.

My time at the United Nations as Israel's ambassador taught me many lessons. One of the most significant is that despite the seemingly innocent nature of "symbolic" gestures or debates, they can be exceptionally dangerous. This particular symbolic gesture led to the PA joining scores of conventions and treaties that it would not otherwise have been able to take part in. What's worse is that instead of promoting its own interests, the PA uses the UN as a platform to further thwart Israel's foreign relations by consistently demonizing us with false and misleading propaganda.

The PA representative to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, claims that PA access to UN membership will "help Israel by waking up its leaders to hold negotiations." However, by going via the United Nations, the PA is in fact trying to circumvent the direct negotiations with Israel it claims to seek and get what it wants through the international arena. Riyad Mansour needs to be made aware there are no shortcuts, and that direct talks with Israel are the only way to move forward.

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What's more, I would recommend that Mr. Mansour read the history books and remind himself that it is the PA that has time and again rejected peace in favor of war, and friendship in favor of terror.

He may also wish to explore the success of the Abraham Accords, which demonstrate that Israel is clearly a viable peace partner. Israel is able to attain peace with countries that actively seek it and which aspire to true collaboration. Peace first with Egypt and Jordan, and most recently under the accords with the UAE, Morocco, Bahrain and Sudan. Mr. Mansour might consider that perhaps it is the PA that is not a realistic peace partner and which is without a peace-aspiring leader at its helm.

There cannot be any sort of resolution or diplomatic solution with an organization that seeks the destruction of a sovereign nation, which pays terrorists to commit murder and which is headed by a dictator who glorifies and celebrates acts of terror and encourages people to do the same.

No sane state would approve of such a partnership. It is time for the international community to end its appeasement of the PA regime and its support of terror. Appeasement will never bring about a solution. It will only create an ongoing spiral of problems as we continue to give the PA, through Abbas, the power to pursue its barbarous path. It is to the peril of the international community that it turns a blind eye to this evil.

 Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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This week, the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) published an 18-page report on the May 2021 conflict between Hamas and Israel. From the outset, Israel knew the report's conclusion was predetermined and rightly refused to cooperate with a biased investigation, labeling it "a moral stain on the international community and the UN" This assessment has proved correct.

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The inquiry that led to the report – the first such inquiry to be open-ended – is led by Navi Pillay, a former UNHRC high commissioner who has spearheaded more investigations of Israel than of any other country in the world. She has a long history of anti-Israel statements. Miloon Kothari of India and Chris Sidoti, an Australian expert on international human rights law, were also involved in the inquiry. Both of these individuals have documented records of anti-Israel bias.

No information has been provided as to how these three commissioners were appointed or who else was involved in drafting their report. It is clear, however, that somehow these three individuals – none of whom set foot inside Israel over the course of their investigation – managed to draw firm conclusions about the conflict based solely on visits to Jordan and Geneva. One wonders what the motives of these unelected officials might be. Given their history and clear hatred of Israel, it's not hard to understand why their report is filled with lies.

The bias and absurdity of the report are made clear by a simple scan of the contents and the observation that throughout 18 pages of Israel-bashing only a handful of paragraphs are allocated to the atrocities committed by Arab terror organizations such as Hamas, which publicly declares that one of its goals is the complete destruction of the State of Israel. Given that the council has been outed time and again for its anti-Israel bias, it is unsurprising that the UNHRC report perpetuates and even intensifies this hostility towards the Jewish state.

For example, the report completely disregards the more than 4,000 rockets fired at Israel over the course of the 11-day conflict last May. Not only does it ignore this crucial issue, but it goes further. It undermines and criticizes a democratic country whose only "crime" is to defend itself against this barrage of rockets launched at an innocent civilian population.

Instead of rallying to Israel's defense against a brutal attack by bloodthirsty radicals, the UNHRC report sides with the aggressive Arab terrorists who injured not only Jewish citizens but Arabs in Israel and the Gaza Strip. Instead of aligning itself with a democracy that had no alternative but to defend itself and its citizens, the report collaborates with terrorists.

This does nothing to promote peace. In fact, it does precisely the opposite. It nurtures terror and simultaneously attempts to penalize a sovereign state for exercising its right to fight terror. No one gains from this. Not the innocent Israeli Jewish or Arab civilians who were killed, wounded or suffered stress and trauma as a result of rocket attacks. Certainly not the Palestinian Arabs whose lives were harmed during Hamas's senseless assault. The only victors are the terrorists and radicals whose goal is destruction and devastation no matter the human cost.

The UNHRC inquiry and its report are flagrant diplomatic terrorism against Israel. The investigators responsible for it should themselves be investigated for aiding and abetting acts of terrorism and violence against innocent civilians.

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"Promise me, Danny, that you will always believe more in the threats of our enemies than in the promises of our allies." Those were the words of the late Nobel Prize laureate Elie Wiesel as he held my hands tightly at one of my final meetings with him in my role as Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations.

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The very tragic situation in which Ukraine finds itself must be a lesson to all of us, and for Israel, above all. I took on board Elie's comment then, and I believe him more than ever now. Assurances from the international community that can be ignored with no consequences are not assurances at all. Resolutions mean nothing if they are not followed up with action.

Israel has sadly had no choice but to learn such lessons from its own history. When Arab armies attacked Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War to destroy the Jewish state, the United Nations – the apparent guarantors of the peace – fled its peacekeeping role in the Sinai Desert and enabled the Egyptian army to advance.

In the 1973 Yom Kippur War, when Egyptian and Syrian armies attacked Israel, the United States withheld weapons from Israel for many excruciating days, holding out for diplomacy that would never come. It thus prevented Israel from defending itself effectively, resulting in a devastating loss of life. And just last May, when Hamas in the Gaza Strip launched more than 4,000 rockets into Israeli population centers, the United States and the international community called for a diplomatic solution and berated Israel for defending itself.

Yet Israel's short history has seen isolated cases of precisely the opposite. These bold and decisive actions have served Israelis well. In June 1981, at the behest of then-Prime Minister Menachem Begin, Israel conducted "Operation Opera" in Osirak, Iraq, and destroyed the country's unfinished nuclear reactor.

This reactor had caused great concern for Israel when it was initially purchased in 1976 under the guise of research. Israel did not buy that particular shpiel and believed that it was designed to be used in order to escalate the Arab-Israel conflict. With less than a month before it was reportedly said to go active, Israel bombed the reactor as an act of pre-emptive self-defense.

At the time, immediate and unanimous condemnation came from the world over – in the halls of the United Nations, from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and from the United States, which under the Reagan government temporarily suspended delivery of aircraft to Israel. An excerpt from former President Ronald Reagan's diary questioned why Israel had not approached him first.

The response from Begin would, I believe, have been immediate and clear; a diplomatic solution would have been proposed, not the required action, and by then, it may have been too late for Israel. A decade later, in 1991, the Gulf War began, and soon afterwards, Iraq attacked Israel with Scud missiles. At this point, almost the entire Israeli Knesset – 100 out of 120 members – signed a letter of appreciation thanking Begin for his foresight in ordering the attack on Osirak and recognizing the momentous decision for which he was viciously attacked at the time.

Decades later, in 2007, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert ordered a similar attack on a Syrian nuclear reactor. This time, in contrast, to Begin, Olmert took the steps to apprise President George W. Bush of Israel's concern over the site and requested advance American support and assistance.

Predictably, the United States decided upon a diplomatic course and confirmed that no action would be taken. Instead, they proposed a joint press conference with Olmert and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to highlight the dangers of the reactor to the world. Olmert promptly declined the offer; on the very same day, Israel bombed the reactor. Three hours later, Olmert reported back to the United States on the mission. Bush took it upon himself to thank Olmert for averting what may have become a catastrophic situation had Syria attained nuclear capabilities.

Fast-forward to 2022, as the international community (with indirect US participation) continues to push diplomacy with Iran. Talks in Vienna on rejoining the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which the Trump administration withdrew from in 2018, are still absurdly going on with the involved parties seemingly desperate to reach an illogical deal, no matter the cost or potential consequences.

In fact, in recent months, the United States took the steps of appeasing Iran by lifting some sanctions, in addition to $29 million in frozen assets. This is for a country that burns American and Israeli flags; preaches hatred towards the West; and even refuses to meet or negotiate with the United States. Such appeasement not only indicates weakness to Iranian ayatollahs; it emboldens them.

The JCPOA was a bad deal from the outset. It never addressed Iran's export of terror throughout the Middle East, nor did it tackle Iran's research and development of long-range ballistic missiles. Moreover, it gave Iran a 30-day period of grace before inspectors were allowed in the country to examine facilities.

The deal in the making is even more atrocious. In addition to the now-limited time frame – many of the deal's clauses expire in just three years – the proposed plan will not allow IAEA inspectors to investigate recently revealed undeclared nuclear sites in Iran. The world's biggest state sponsor of terror is essentially being given a green light to do what it wants and is not expected to give anything back in return.

Many of the solutions put forward to Israel by the international community in relation to Iran are made up of similar pledges that have been made to other countries – namely, that Israel's security will be assured. Should Israel believe such promises? How should Israel respond given the wary international response we have seen in relation to Ukraine?

The answer is clear. With a country like Iran, which has stated time and again that its goal is to destroy the one Jewish state on the planet, Israel cannot stand back and wait to see if it follows through with its threats. For Israel, the diplomatic "wait and see" approach in relation to Iran is tantamount to extinction. Israel must therefore act preemptively.

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Israel needs to learn, once and for all, that its national policies must never be at the expense of national security. The country must always be able to defend itself with its own forces. It must strengthen its security systems and emphasize quality over quantity.

We need to do all we can to protect ourselves because no one will come to our rescue in a time of crisis. We will stand alone and we will fight alone. This is our reality and we should take heed.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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According to a recent Amnesty International report, Israel is apparently "committing the crime of apartheid."

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The use of the false term "apartheid" has prompted denunciations far and wide from such figures as US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides, who called the allegations "absurd;" State Department spokesman Ned Price, who said that he "rejects the view … of apartheid;" and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who decried the "one-sided focusing of criticism of Israel."

Anyone who has ever visited, worked or lived in Israel knows that the claims are and have never been true. Apartheid, "a policy or system of segregation or discrimination on grounds of race," was a system formerly in force in South Africa, where the black population was entirely separated from the white population based on skin color alone. This was actualized in everyday life by denying blacks equal opportunities, treatment and protection under law.

In contrast, all one has to do is open a newspaper or review an online news site to see for himself the diverse and tolerant nature of Israeli society. The extent to which the report is a complete fabrication is illustrated by the following examples, though many others abound.

The Israeli parliament's ruling coalition, for instance, contains an Arab party named Ra'am, headed by Knesset Member Mansour Abbas. The Judicial Selection Committee recently appointed Israel's first female Muslim District Court judge, Osaila Abu Assa. Israel's Supreme Court has an Arab judge, George Kara, who is not the first Arab Israeli to serve in this prestigious position.

Arab citizens also serve and hold senior positions in the Israel Defense Forces. In 2020, in fact, more Muslim Arabs than ever before were drafted into the IDF. The same goes for the Israel Police, in which many Arabs serve and where an Arab officer was promoted to the role of deputy commissioner.

Some of Israel's best doctors are Arabs who work hand in hand with their Jewish counterparts treating patients of all religions and ethnicities. Indeed, Israelis work and live alongside their Arab neighbors on a daily basis and without a second thought.

To apply the term "apartheid" to Israel in 2022, or ever, is literally to distort reality to fit a false narrative and stigmatize the Jewish state for a crime that it is not committing and has never committed throughout its history. One doesn't even need to rely on third-party sources to discover this. All those who wish to come to Israel and see the reality for themselves can do so.

Or perhaps they could listen to the truth from Bassam Eid, who said in response to the Amnesty International report: "As a Palestinian peace activist and founder of the Jerusalem-based Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group, I am here to set the record straight. The international community is yet again lying about Israel. While it is not a perfect country, Israel is definitely not an apartheid state."

At the same time as Amnesty International falsely accuses Israel of crimes of which it is innocent, its report also entirely fails to mention that the situation of the residents of Gaza is entirely different from that of Israel's Arab citizens because the Gazan population is living under terrorist rule. The same applies to the Arabs who live under the rule of the Palestinian Authority in Judea and Samaria.

The situations of both are dire – due to their own leadership, not because of Israel. It is their leaders who subject them to poverty, unemployment and a lack of education. It is their leaders who flood their education systems with hate and incitement.

It is their leaders who disgracefully pay and glorify murderers when they mutilate, bomb and assassinate innocent Israeli citizens. It is their own leaders who keep them in a state of victimhood. I suggest that Amnesty International turn its attention to these crimes perpetrated by Hamas and the P.A.

Amnesty International, an organization that claims to campaign "for a world where human rights are enjoyed by all," has drafted a report that is nothing more than a publicity stunt designed to generate headlines through highly charged, erroneous language.

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The only thing this report does is stir up hate and antisemitism and attempt to encourage the isolation of the innocent party, Israel. It does nothing to further progress or dialogue in the region.

By blaming Israel for crimes of which it is innocent, Amnesty International should be held responsible for enabling the real crimes to continue. The so-called "human rights" organization should thus be ashamed of itself.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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The UN General Assembly's meeting of world leaders commenced this week. For the first time since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, leaders will attend the assembly in person. The delegations are smaller than usual and not all countries chose to send their heads of state to the annual gathering. The global response to the pandemic is expected to be the central issue on the docket. The focus on the handling of the pandemic is important, and it's natural for most world leaders to address something that has changed the world.

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The challenge from the perspective of Israel and other countries in the region is to ensure the Iranian nuclear issue receives the appropriate amount of attention. Foreseeing this in advance, the Iranians announced their intention to renew nuclear talks in the coming weeks. The Iranians mustn't be allowed to continue deceiving the nations of the world. In the five years I served in the UN, I witnessed the Iranian deception apparatus in action. In one instance, when former Iranian president Hassan Rouhani visited, it so happened I was seated next to his table at one of the UN's various events. I saw up close the Iranian leader sweet talk and convince world leaders of his "pure" intentions. Since that event, the Iranian nuclear program has taken massive strides while the Iranian charade continues unabated.

For the first time in his life, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett will speak on one of the world's biggest stages, the UN General Assembly. It is his responsibility to maintain former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's approach and shine the spotlight on the Iranian nuclear threat, which threatens regional and global stability. Israel's primary message must be strong and clear. Handling the coronavirus pandemic is important, but an equally significant threat exists that could undermine the fragile stability of the Middle East, and that is the Iranian nuclear program.

The delicate balance in the Middle East will be disrupted, and not just Israel, but other countries in the region as well will find themselves in danger if Iran acquires the nuclear capabilities to which it aspires. The nuclear deal Iran seeks will not stop its nuclear project; rather only grant international legitimacy to its pursuits.

In diplomacy, it is customary to be polite, but that doesn't mean conceding your positions. Israel must expose the truth, and say in a clear voice that signing a flawed nuclear deal with Iran while simultaneously vowing to never allow it to acquire a nuclear weapon are two irreconcilable things. From my experience in the diplomatic arena, I learned that many leaders talk about the importance of Israel's security while making decisions that in actuality weaken our security. Therefore, we must take our enemies' threats more seriously than the promises of our allies.

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The nuclear talks in Vienna feel like a flashback. The US administration is yet again eager to join the dangerous Iranian nuclear deal and Israel is left to wage a rear-guard battle alone.

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It seems that Washington will rejoin the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, in its original form, without any changes or additions to the way it was worded in 2015 during the Obama administration.

Iran is playing a sophisticated game and is winning. Since the 2015 nuclear deal, not only has the Islamist regime enriched uranium to a boggling 60%, but it is also threatening to go up to 90% unless the US returns to the agreement as is.

The US is taking this approach instead of preventing the Islamist regime from creating a nuclear bomb in the upcoming decades, instead of setting up proper supervision of nuclear sites and forcing Tehran to cease its support of terrorism in the Middle East.

There is no doubt that resolving the Iranian issue through diplomatic ways is a legitimate approach. However, such negotiations must come from a position of strength.

The Trump administration increased pressure on Tehran and applied sanctions on its economy. In a case like this, the weak side in the negotiations is flexible and conforms to the strong side. The United States is the great superpower of the world. It should be the dominant side.

Israel is in contact with Washington, trying to make a case against the US reentry into the nuclear deal. However, it seems that Americans are intent on rejoining it. That is my impression after talking to diplomats in the US and Europe.

Meanwhile, Israel is using different means in preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons. It is something Israel does continually and will continue to do so as long as the Iranian nuclear threat persists.

If the US does rejoin the nuclear deal, we cannot let it deter us. When the world embraced Iran in 2015, Israel stood its ground and warned the intentional arena of the impending danger and that the Tehran government was a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Just like we did then, we must also now assume the duty of standing up for the truth. We shall not hesitate to tell the world that the Iranian nuclear agreement is a threat not only to Israel but to the entire world. The Jewish state, in turn, will do what is needed to protect its citizens.

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On Israel's Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terrorism Remembrance Day we will unite, as we do every year, in the memory of our heroes who sacrificed their lives for the independence and security of Israel. On this day we put all of our differences aside; there will be no right and no left – only a sense of unity and shared destiny.

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On Memorial Day, my personal grief meshes together with the national grief felt by all Israelis. As fate happened, my own father, Yosef Danon, became one of those 23,928 fallen, dying around Memorial Day. Every year, when I accompany my mother to the military cemetery in Kiryat Shaul to mark the anniversary of his death, we feel the entire country bowing its head in commemoration of our personal hero. Indeed, this is the power of every Memorial Day in Israel, where for one day, personal pain and grief are felt by the whole nation.

My father, one of the best reconnaissance navigators the IDF has known, was mortally wounded during one of his stints of reserve duty in the Jordan Valley when he sustained a severe head injury in a battle with terrorists who had infiltrated Israel. He struggled with his injuries for many painful years, until they eventually led to his death on the eve of Memorial Day, a day he revered and honored his comrades who never returned from the field of battle.

For the bereaved families, remembrance is a lifeline. Every picture, film, or story brings back to life our fallen loved ones. Because the majority of the fallen died young, the reservoir of memories is relatively limited. I carry the memory of my father with me every day, but I've carried his memory for far longer than the years I was able to be with him. Most bereaved families are in a similar situation, having had short periods of time with their loved ones to build memories and decades of coping with bereavement and clinging to those memories.

Despite the acute pain, life goes on; we create new experiences, get married and start families, all without our missing loved ones. With each significant event and milestone of our lives, we feel the significance of their loss anew and imagine how different it would be if our fathers, husbands, brothers, or sisters were there with us. In these special moments, we create memories in our heads that never occurred. What would my father have told me on my wedding day, what kind of relationship would he have had with my eldest son, who is named after him, and with the rest of his grandchildren who he never got to meet? Every meaningful event is a virtual encounter that produces virtual memories.

Throughout the many years that my father has been gone from my life, I've created dozens of memories that never happened in reality, for moments of joy and sadness, crisis and success, when swearing my oath as a member of Knesset and before giving important speeches at the United Nations. The imagined memories become intertwined with the brief memories of the past to create a unique mosaic of our fallen loved ones. On Israel's Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terrorism Remembrance Day, when all Israelis unite for one venerated day of mourning, we will cherish every memory of our loved ones, both real and imagined.

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The United Nations, the setting for my five-year service as Israel's 17th Permanent Representative, has traditionally been an unwelcome and problematic arena for the State of Israel. Year after year, Israel has withstood many unjust accusations, declarations and resolutions.

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At the same time, the UN is a place full of diplomatic opportunities. It's a place that brings the countries of the world together like no other forum. It's a place where Israel can speak in confidence with representatives from all countries, including its Arab neighbors, and exchange real views.

For many years, these covert conversations were conducted in great secrecy. I myself visited the United Arab Emirates and Morocco in the past, and conducted many such meetings, with every engagement requiring complex coordination from all sides.

At the close of each encounter, a classified cable was traditionally sent to each party's capital city to report on the dialogue. These demanding events highlighted how far countries would go to conceal any relationship with Israel because for many nations, Israel was a friend only in private. Publicly, Israel was an enemy and the script was entirely different.

This trend has been entirely reversed with the Abraham Accords. Today, there is no need for secrecy. Israel is now able to outwardly meet in public with the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan, among many others.

Flights to and from each country are becoming the norm. The countries' diplomats and citizens even post photos on social media and wish each other success and goodwill.

This is nothing short of a miracle. This version of reality could have been plucked out of a science fiction movie many years ago. No one would have believed it to be true. Today, it is the region's reality.

One affliction still remains that plagues the region, however – one main obstacle to peace, denying the Middle East's future generations their rightful inheritance of prosperity and stability: Iran. Iran is the world's largest exporter of terror and fear. Iran is the principal barrier to a region free from fundamentalism and oppression.

In 2020, Iran spent an estimated $7 billion on exporting its fundamentalist terrorist revolution. Iran has also continued its ballistic-missile-testing program, while secretly – and then flagrantly – enriching uranium up to 20%, which is mere steps away from nuclear weaponry.

Iran's tentacles are all the more menacing because they stretch far beyond its own borders. In Yemen, Iran is deeply entrenched with the radical Houthi militia. It regularly supplies the terrorist group with weapons, from explosive drones to missiles, which are used to strike regional targets and cause havoc in the region.

Iran has built powerful military strongholds in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon, and most recently, Iran's fingerprints were found in India, where the Israeli embassy was attacked by a terrorist organization affiliated with Tehran. Lately, it was revealed that Israeli, American and Emirati embassies were scouted by Iranian agents, in an attempt to attack and cause damage and devastation. This plot was thwarted, and mercifully, the terrorists were captured and arrested with no damage caused.

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Iran is the destabilizing and disruptive force that has served to align both Israel and the moderate Arab countries in the region. The region's eyes are now wide open as to Iranian intentions when it comes to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the 2015 nuclear deal.

No longer can we disregard Iran's deceptions and ongoing violations. The Iranian regime breached the JCPOA from the very beginning, as was noted by the deal's signatories and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The administration of US President Joe Biden is striking the right chord with its signal that it will engage with US allies prior to speaking to Iran. However, Iran must be made to cease uranium enrichment, end its ballistic missile tests and stop supporting terrorism on a global scale as part of any deal.

We must continue to impose economic sanctions on Iran, to give the regime no way out other than to change its fanatical behavior, which harms its own citizens, the wider Middle East and the international arena.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken noted that Iran is getting perilously close to a nuclear bomb.

"The time that it would take Iran to produce enough fissile material for a nuclear weapon is down to … a few months," he said. "It's a problem that could get more acute because if Iran continues to lift some of these restraints imposed by the agreement, that could get down to a matter of weeks."

We are speeding towards a critical intersection very early in the game, and decisions will need to be taken at a faster pace than anticipated. The voices from Washington will be closely deciphered by Iran's ayatollahs. These voices must confirm that the United States will stand by its allies and not tolerate Iranian misconduct.

Iran has repeatedly demonstrated that it will not change its behavior. It will continue to advance extremism, hatred and hostility. This reinforces that we cannot rely on it.

We must instead ensure that we take the right approach, by leveraging the huge paradigm shift that Israel and its Arab partners have accomplished, and by strengthening all those who, through dialogue and cooperation, will promote peace and stability in the region. We must do the right thing by the world, by the region and, most importantly, by the Iranian citizens, who should not be held hostage by their extremist regime.

When dealing with a duplicitous Iran, there is no room for error.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org

The post Iran remains the plague of the Middle East appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.

One of the most crucial issues on the table for the Middle East is Iran. It is very likely that this will be one of the first briefings President-elect Joe Biden receives when he enters the White House.

Biden has previously stated that he plans to rejoin the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action – the Iran nuclear deal – and "strengthen and extend it." He says that he is going to continue on the path of a nuclear-free Iran and that he will "make an unshakeable commitment to preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon."

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What remains to be seen is which approach he will take on this issue. Will he forge his own new, independent path and stop the Iranian nuclear race? Or will he enable a dangerous situation to continue and worsen?

The Biden team seems to suggest that more moderate, diplomatic efforts, coupled with a revival of the deal, will halt the danger of Iran's imminent access to nuclear weapons. They present a case that indicates their leadership will not give Iran a free ride. However, the overriding fear is that the moment sanctions are lifted, the Iranians will have all the nuclear access they need.

One cannot ignore that according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran was breaking the agreement from its inception – violations that the deal's signatories pushed under the radar. It seems highly unlikely that Iran will, a second time round, simply agree to US demands. Even if it does, it is questionable, at best, that they will not covertly disregard them, given their blatant disregard for the original agreement and subsequent remorseless breaches.

Nor can one ignore that Iran was actually made better off by the deal. Its nuclear infrastructure was kept intact, and it proceeded to advance nuclear research. Simultaneously, Iran was due to benefit from the "sunset clause," which stipulated that by 2025, only a bit more than four years away, the restrictions will start to disappear, providing Iran with unfettered access to nuclear weaponry.

This must not be allowed to happen. Appeasement of one of the most dangerous countries in the Middle East – one that routinely calls for the destruction of Israel and America – can only lead to disaster.

The new reality is that the structure of the Middle East now rotates around the region's approach to halting the progression of a nuclear Iran that was triggered by the JCPOA. It resulted in widespread concern among the region's states, including the United Arab Emirates and Saudia Arabia. The single advantage that emerged is that it brought together Israel and the Middle East's moderate Arab countries, and led to the recent US brokering of the Abraham Accords between Israel and the UAE and Bahrain, shortly to be followed by Sudan, all of which envisages a new Middle East and new opportunities.

It is critical to mark these lessons of recent history. We can quickly grasp from Iran's reactions to the initial JCPOA, breaching it on numerous occasions despite its very advantageous terms, that its extremist government is not moved by "nice" words. Strong and decisive action is what has proven to be effective and necessary.

We have seen that the "maximum pressure" sanctions made it far more challenging for Iran to fund international terrorism and acquire its dream of a nuclear weapon. Tough measures have also gone a very long way to debilitating the terrorist groups operating from Iran due to a severe lack of funds. This, in turn, has weakened the hold that the dictatorial regime has on its own people. If we continue on the current path of harsh restrictions, Iran will have no option but to end its hostile activities.

President-Elect Biden's intentions are upstanding. He believes that he can correct and contain Iran's violations through diplomacy. It is paramount for him, however, to take note of the highly unusual unified voice emanating from the region, from Israel and from the Middle East's moderate Arab nations, all of which are in the line of fire.

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Biden's relationship with Israel extends as far back as 1973 when he met then-Prime Minister Golda Meir. He called it "one of the most consequential meetings I've ever had in my life." Biden witnessed Israel fighting for its survival and understands the challenges it and the wider region face.

He is to be congratulated on his electoral victory in the earnest hope that, as America's new president, he will demonstrate his innate understanding of Israel and the Middle East, and recognize the beneficial outcomes and far-reaching vision of recent regional developments. There is room for optimism that he will construct his own path of strength and principle.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

The post Biden must heed history when managing Iran appeared first on www.israelhayom.com.