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Sundown: Bibi Predicts Hamas’s Defeat

Plus, Obama in a yarmulke

by
Marc Tracy
July 28, 2009

• Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu predicted in a speech to National Security Academy graduates, “If the Palestinians could, they would overthrow Hamas, and believe me, one day they will.” [ynet]
• Al Jazeera’s director general rebuffed the suggestion, reportedly made privately by President Obama himself, that the Arabic-language network frequently broadcasts a picture of Obama wearing a yarmulke at the Western Wall. [Foreign Policy]
• Several United Nations and aid group officials issued a statement urging Israel to lift its blockade of Gaza, or at least make exceptions for construction materials. The United States and European countries have lodged similar requests in the past. [Haaretz]
• The man identified in Sacha Baron Cohen’s movie Brüno as the head of the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade has come forward to say he is not affiliated with the Palestinian terrorist group and plans to sue. [ArtsBeat]
• And if you chanced to eat any whitefish from Haifa Smoked Fish Inc. in the past several months, then you may want to spit it out. [Food and Drug Administration]

Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.