WarSclerotic

U.S. Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt shot down on  Monday a Fox News report claiming that the administration’s peace plan was complete and got the endorsement of the president.

“Sorry @FoxNews & @TreyYingst your sources gave you bad info,” Greenblatt tweeted on Monday. “While the plan is close to complete, we aren’t there yet & we’ll continue to refine it until release. 175 pages is also inaccurate. It’s a very detailed political/economic plan but not that long.”

According to the Fox News report, which is based on two senior administration officials, “fewer than five people have access to the complete document.”

According to one of the officials, “The plan is done. … [President Donald Trump] is happy with the parameters of the deal.” The officials said the plan would likely stay under wraps at least until the Israeli election on April 9.  “We are not going to do anything that threatens Israel’s security,” a senior administration official said.

The report said that Trump was “briefed by U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, Senior Adviser Jared Kushner and special envoy for Mideast peace Jason Greenblatt multiple times on the specifics of the deal.”

Greenblatt and Kushner are expected to visit the region later this month to discuss their peace initiative. The administration has repeatedly dismissed various reports on the supposed provisions of the peace plan, describing them as false and misleading.

Two officers from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards were killed by tank fire attributed to Israel near the city Quneitra in southern Syria Monday evening, news outlets identified with Syrian rebel groups reported Tuesday.

The reports claimed that two Iranian military personnel had been killed and another six wounded. The reports said that the Revolutionary Guards had been preparing to fire at the Israeli Golan Heights.

News outlets identified with the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad, whom Iran backs, said that none of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards had been wounded in the incident and that it had only resulted in property damage.

On Monday night, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency reported that an Israeli drone had fired four missiles near a demolished hospital and an army observation post in Syria’s southern Quneitra province near the Israeli border.

An army source was quoted by SANA as saying that the “Israeli enemy” also hit several sites along border villages close to a 1974 demilitarized zone on the Golan Heights frontier, which with Russian support, the Syrian army regained control from rebels last year.

Asked about the reported Quneitra strikes, an IDF spokeswoman declined to comment.

State media earlier said the sites in Quneitra that were hit by Israel came from several tank artillery rounds. Social media reports at the time of the strike said that artillery fire had targeted

Residents familiar with the area said that the sites targeted fall within the strategic area known as the “Triangle of Death” connecting the southern Damascus countryside with Deraa and Quneitra provinces.

They say Shiite Hezbollah group has consolidated its new front in southern Syria and entrenched Iran’s influence since the defeat of Sunni rebels who were once backed by the U.S., Jordan and Gulf states.

Israel has mounted attacks in Syria as part of its effort to counter the influence carved out there by Iran, which has supported Assad in the war that erupted in 2011.

In January, IAF jets carried out a strike on an Iranian arms cache in Syria.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel would ramp up its fight against Iranian-aligned forces in Syria following the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria.

Once bastions of support for President Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela’s shanty towns have in recent weeks grown increasingly fond of opposition leader Juan Guaidó. In fact, he is now so popular in Venezuela’s slums that he asks me to meet him in one such barrio north of the country’s capital of Caracas. When Guaidó learns that I am Israeli, his face lights up.

Some 50 foreign countries, including Israel, have recognized Guaidó as Venezuela’s interim president.

I asked Guaidó whether he would act to re-establish diplomatic ties between Venezuela and Israel, which were cut off by the country’s former leader Hugo Chávez following 2008’s Operation Cast Lead.

“I am very happy to announce that the process of stabilizing relations with Israel is in full swing,” Guaidó said, noting, “It is very important for us.” “We will renew ties, later we will announce the appointment of an ambassador to Israel, and we really hope an ambassador from Israel will come to us.”

In the past, the friendly relations between Venezuela and Israel were such that Caracas was one of the few capitals to establish its embassy in Israel in Jerusalem.

When asked whether Venezuela’s new embassy would be situated in Jerusalem, Guaidó replies that “that is one of the subjects we are talking about. I will declare the resumption of ties and the site of the embassy at the proper time,” he said.

Ever since the socialists have taken power in the country, many of Venezuela’s Jews have fled the country as a result of increasing anti-Semitism, some of them have immigrated to Israel. Venezuelan Jews in Israel have been very active in efforts to enlist support for Guaidó, so I asked him whether he had a message for the Venezuelan Jews now residing in Israel.

“There are many Venezuelans in Israel and many Jews in Venezuela,” he said. “This [Jewish] community is very active and prosperous, one which has contributed greatly to our society. I assume they are happy we are renewing ties with Israel.”

And as for the local Jewish community’s fears/concerns about standing publicly by his side, Guaidó said, “I have no doubt that the Jews are afraid. Many in the military forces are also scared to express their opinions. The regime has no respect for the most basic right: the right to live. Many Western countries have already committed to sending humanitarian aid to Venezuela. I am confident that Israel will also help us.”

Some 50 foreign countries, including Israel, have recognized Guaidó as Venezuela’s interim president.

I asked Guaidó whether he would act to re-establish diplomatic ties between Venezuela and Israel, which were cut off by the country’s former leader Hugo Chávez following 2008’s Operation Cast Lead.

“I am very happy to announce that the process of stabilizing relations with Israel is in full swing,” Guaidó said, noting, “It is very important for us.” “We will renew ties, later we will announce the appointment of an ambassador to Israel, and we really hope an ambassador from Israel will come to us.”

In the past, the friendly relations between Venezuela and Israel were such that Caracas was one of the few capitals to establish its embassy in Israel in Jerusalem.

When asked whether Venezuela’s new embassy would be situated in Jerusalem, Guaidó replies that “that is one of the subjects we are talking about. I will declare the resumption of ties and the site of the embassy at the proper time,” he said.

Ever since the socialists have taken power in the country, many of Venezuela’s Jews have fled the country as a result of increasing anti-Semitism, some of them have immigrated to Israel. Venezuelan Jews in Israel have been very active in efforts to enlist support for Guaidó, so I asked him whether he had a message for the Venezuelan Jews now residing in Israel.

“There are many Venezuelans in Israel and many Jews in Venezuela,” he said. “This [Jewish] community is very active and prosperous, one which has contributed greatly to our society. I assume they are happy we are renewing ties with Israel.”

And as for the local Jewish community’s fears/concerns about standing publicly by his side, Guaidó said, “I have no doubt that the Jews are afraid. Many in the military forces are also scared to express their opinions. The regime has no respect for the most basic right: the right to live. Many Western countries have already committed to sending humanitarian aid to Venezuela. I am confident that Israel will also help us.”