[NYP] President Biden, or whoever is running the White House, has grotesquely abused the pardon power, yet again.
Biden commuted the sentences of 37 out of 40 of the prisoners on federal death row in response to the lobbying of opponents of the death penalty, keeping intact his nearly unbroken record of bending to left-wing pressure groups while in office.
Biden, or whoever is running the White House, put out a statement averring that the president has long been committed to "ensuring a fair and effective justice system."
Even if true, this is a non-sequitur, since there’s nothing to suggest the handling of these cases was unfair.
Biden decided a few years ago that he opposed the death penalty after long being an unsparing supporter (when he said in the 1990s that his crime bill did "everything but hang people for jaywalking," he meant it as a compliment).
That’s fine. Anyone with such a long (and undistinguished) career is going to shift on issues over time.
[Jpost] Weapons are flowing to the West Bank and enabling the growing terrorist threat, the building blocks of a kind of “Gazafication” are now in place.
Israel and the Palestinian Authority are facing growing terror threats in the northern West Bank. While this has been the case for the last two years, several recent incidents point to a disturbing trend.
The PA has attempted to carry out an operation to clear the Jenin camp of terrorists. Israeli forces have clashed with Palestinians in Nur Shams Camp in Tulkarm. Taken as a whole, the operations in the northern West Bank illustrate how the terror threat is growing and shifting.
First of all, the threat requires Israel to use more drones to carry out strikes in the West Bank. This has also become a new phenomenon in the last two years.
Overall, it means that the threat on the ground is growing so much that it is preferable to use drones and airstrikes, rather than send troops into areas. It also speaks to a decision to rely on air assets and surveillance functions they bring, in order to neutralize threats.
While this can work, history has shown that precision air strikes and drones don’t usually win conflicts. What drones can do is reduce some friction or keep enemies in check, however, they are not a substitute for boots on the ground.
A report at Maariv overnight noted that, according to the IDF, “an Air Force aircraft recently attacked a terrorist cell in Tamun, in the Jordan Valley, who had planted explosives against the forces operating in the area.”
Tamun is a Palestinian village 16 km. (10 miles) northeast of Nablus in the Tubas governorate of the West Bank. It is near the top of Wadi al-Faria, a large valley that flows down to the Jordan river.
Terrorists have tried to infiltrate this area over the last year, resulting in clashes in the summer with the IDF in this area and in Tubas. In addition, there have been clashes in Fara camp, which is not far from here.
This area should be seen as a belt of villages that are now being used by terrorists, from Balata in Nablus north via Fara to Tubas, Tamun, and other villages on the line of hills overlooking the Jordan valley.
CONCERNING DEVELOPMENTS
More concerning is a report from the IDF overnight that “during an IDF counterterrorism operation in the area of Tukaram, a David APC was hit by an explosive device. Commanding Officer of the Judea and Samaria Division Brig.-Gen. Yaki Dolf and Commander of the Menashe Regional Brigade Col. Ayub Kayouf were in the vehicle.
The report goes on to note that “the commander of the Menashe Regional Brigade was moderately wounded and was evacuated to receive medical treatment. His family has been notified.”
The battles in Tulkarm included airstrikes on terrorist cells and the discovery of explosives. Ynet reported that six terrorists were eliminated. Al-Quds Palestinian media claims eight people were killed in Tulkarm. However, the fact that a vehicle was hit with an improvised explosive device (IED) is concerning.
It is a reminder that three IDF soldiers were killed in Beit Hanoun in Gaza by an IED this week as well. It appears the terrorists are shifting tactics. This has also been a slow process, going back two years in the northern West Bank. The enemy appears to be maturing in its capabilities.
The overall picture emerging in the West Bank is concerning.
Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) are seeking to inflame local populist sentiment against the PA. They may hope that the recent victory by the opposition in Syria could pave the way to a new kind of Arab Spring. In essence, they want populist rage to grow against the PA.
It appears that Doha-linked media such as Al-Jazeera may also be fanning the flames. In addition, UNRWA in Jenin has not helped the matter by waiting days before mentioning that terrorists took over a medical facility and refusing to condemn or name the “armed groups” responsible for the growing chaos.
In Gaza UNWRA was working hand in glove with Hamas. The question is whether they’re Hamas agents in the West Bank, too, or if they’ll happily work with any group that wants to erase the Jewish state.
The building blocks of a kind of “Gazafication” are now in place in Jenin and other areas in the northern West Bank.
Hamas is likely biding its time in Gaza, refusing to make a hostage deal, hoping that it can utilize the West Bank clashes for its benefit.
These are concerning signs. The IDF raid in Tulkarm, the use of IEDs by terrorists, and the attempt by Hamas and PIJ to exploit the PA raid in Jenin are all part of a growing trend that should be seen as more than the sum of its parts.
In addition, the frequent images of young men, including teens, with M-4 and M-16 type rifles is also a major concern. Many of the rifles have modern sights and accessories, indicating that they have been recently smuggled in.
The weapons are flowing to the West Bank and enabling the growing terrorist threat.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
