Globe Trot: White House fight with Netanyahu not over yet

ISRAEL: Did State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf without irony really call Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rhetoric “confused” today? Apparently she did (transcript not yet posted), as the Obama administration—somehow lacking in global conflicts—continues to pick a fight with Israel. Jewish leaders would like the president to knock it off:

“The prime minister has quickly made significant steps to repair the tensions that developed in the heat of Israel’s election,” said William Gershon, president of the Rabbinical Assembly. “The time is due, if not overdue, for the U.S. administration to do the same.”

Three top Israeli ministers, by name, today denied Israel spied on closed-door negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program. Yesterday’s story in The Wall Street Journal about the spying was based solely on anonymous sources, mainly current White House officials, it appears. “Stories based on anonymous sources pop up, and their purpose seems to be to undermine the alliance between the two countries,” said former Israeli Ambassador to the UN Dore Gold.

YEMEN: The fall of Yemen is a massive blow to U.S. counterterrorism efforts.

EGYPT: Coptic expert Samuel Tadros has a compelling account of the Egyptian Christians beheaded by ISIS in Libya last month.

INDIA: Incidents against Christians have risen 55 percent since Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist government took office—ranging from forcible conversions to attacks on churches.

HOMELAND SECURITY: A group calling itself the Islamic State Hacking Division has posted the names, photos and addresses of about 100 U.S. troops online, calling for attacks against them. And the Secret Service’s botched detail at the White House sounds worse than previously thought: At a raucous House hearing today, testimony revealed two drunk agents in the president’s detail followed the wrong car of a woman suspected of leaving a parcel at the White House gate.