Archive for month: June, 2022

News Update

IDF troops returning from a raid in Jenin were attacked with explosive devices. Troops fired at the attackers, killing one Palestinian Islamic Jihad member. Thirteen terror suspects were arrested in the raid. No troops were injured.

The bill dissolving the Knesset passed its first reading today. The current government led by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is set to end at midnight tonight, and Yair Lapid will take over an interim government as Prime Minister. Lapid will retain his foreign minister title while serving as Israel’s 14th premier.

Israel has declined a Hamas offer to trade Israeli citizen Hisham al-Sayed, who was shown in a video lying in a bed with an oxygen mask on his face, for an undisclosed number of sick Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli prisons. Al-Sayed crossed into Gaza on his own volition in 2015. His family claimed he was mentally ill. Israel is demanding that any prisoner exchange include Avera Mengsitu, who has been held in Gaza since 2014, as well as the bodies of soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin, who were killed in Operation Protective Edge.

U.S. Ambassador Tom Nides appealed to the Likud party to allow legislation to pass in the Knesset before it is dissolved, in order not to cause unnecessary delay in Israel’s inclusion in the Visa Waiver Program. The Likud had said that they would allow legislation to proceed only if the coalition would agree to hold elections on October 25th and not one week later. Israelis currently need a visa to visit the US. For more, click here.

Ukraine’s ambassador to Israel again criticized Israel for not accepting more refugees. For more, click here.

Yehuda Meshi-Zahav, the founder of volunteer paramedic organization ZAKA, has died at the age of 62. Meshi-Zahav was hospitalized last year after attempting suicide as accusers stepped forward alleging years of sexual abuse after he was awarded the Israel Prize for Lifetime Achievement, the country’s highest civilian honor.

News Update

The Knesset today voted to dissolve, in a preliminary reading of a bill expected to be finalized next week. Once the bill is passed, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid will take over as Prime Minister of the interim government from Naftali Bennett, as per their coalition agreement, until new elections are held or unless the Likud can manage to form a new government before the Knesset takes a final vote to dissolve. The Likud is reportedly in negotiations with Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked and Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar to convince them to join a Netanyahu led government.

Prime Minister Bennett said that he will not support a proposed bill to block opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu from running in the next elections. The bill has very little hope of passing and, even if it does, could be struck down by the Supreme Court.

Israel will begin bringing in workers from Morocco to work in construction and nursing, based on an agreement signed by Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked and Morocco’s Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita in Rabat today. During her meeting with the foreign minister, Shaked publicly gave, for the first time, Israel’s support for Moroccan sovereignty in Western Sahara.

The Defense Ministry’s Department of Engineering and Construction and the IDF Central Command on Tuesday began the construction of a 45 kilometer-long security barrier in the Northern Samaria area. The security barrier will be about 45 kilometers long and 9 meters tall, beginning in Northern Samaria and ending in the Bat Hefer area. The barrier will replace the security fence that was built about 20 years ago.

The IDF has been training for urban warfare in a mock Palestinian village, with 500 structures, at an undisclosed army base. To read more, click here.

News Update

IDF forces on a raid in Jenin this morning came under attack. The troops responded, killing 3 attackers and wounding 8. No troops were injured.

Russia’s foreign ministry summoned Israel’s Ambassador to Russia Alexander Ben Zvi this week, regarding a missile strike against the Damascus International Airport that was attributed to Israel. The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov expressed Moscow’s deep concern regarding the attack, which the Russians said damaged the airport’s runway, navigation systems, buildings, and caused damage to international air traffic. Bogdanov told Ben-Zvi that the explanations Jerusalem provided so far did not satisfy the Kremlin and that Moscow would not allow Syria to become a “battlefield” for other countries as it helps in fighting terrorism across the region.

The Damascus International Airport has two runways, one of which serves the military. Both runways were damaged. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Syrian opposition group based in the United Kingdom, reported that the damaged building was a terminal used by senior military personnel from Iran and Hezbollah traveling to Syria. According to a Wall Street Journal report, “many of Israel’s missions have been reviewed for approval by senior officials at U.S. Central Command and the Pentagon.”

Al Jazeera has displayed the bullet that allegedly killed one of its reporters in the West Bank last month. The bullet is marked in green, which Al Jazeera says indicates that it is IDF issued. However, Palestinian gunmen use the same bullets, many of which were stolen from IDF bases. The Palestinians have denied Israel the opportunity to take part in the investigation of the incident or to analyze the evidence.

Ukraine has asked Israel for a $500 million loan. Israel has yet to respond.

The IDF has appointed the first female to command an IDF combat brigade.  Colonel Reut Retig-Weis will take command of an artillery brigade.

The Jewish Agency has selected retired IDF general Doron Almog as its next chairman.

News Update

Security forces arrested 12 terror suspects in raids in several Palestinian towns and villages across the West Bank last night. Troops were fired at in some of the raids. No troops were injured.

Hundreds of police and Border Police officers conducted nationwide raids and searches as part of a year long covert operation to stop illegal gun sales. Forces have thus far arrested over 30 suspects, including organized crime figures in Jaffa, Lod, Ramla, Haifa, Kafr Qasim, Barta’a, and Sajur. In a ceremony at Tel Aviv District Police headquarters, Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai commended the forces for their impressive work. He said, “After over a year of supreme police efforts we can say clearly – crime organizations in the Arab community took a hit they haven’t experienced in years, and it will take them years to recover, if at all. We declared a war on the illegal weapon trend. We declared a war on the shooting trend. We declared a war on the flow of undeclared capital. We declared a war on the criminals who hurt Israeli civilians. In this war I can promise you all – we will win.”

Israeli and Turkish intelligence services recently foiled an Iranian plot to attack Israeli targets on Turkish soil. To read more, click here.

On Saturday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas hosted a US delegation led by Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf, ahead of an expected visit of President Joe Biden next month. Abbas asked the US to reopen the US consulate in east Jerusalem and the PLO office in Washington. He also requested that the US remove the PLO from its list of terrorist entities.

Israel’s cabinet, yesterday, unanimously approved joining the European Union’s Creative Europe program, which offers creators financial assistance for their endeavors, despite the fact that the program does not extend to Israelis living in settlements in Judea and Samaria, in east Jerusalem and in the Golan. Creative Europe is one of the EU’s flagship programs, and Israel’s entry is a significant step forward in promoting cooperation with the continent, opening up new opportunities for Israeli artists and creators who will receive support to promote their work at the local and international level.

The Defense Ministry announced it would begin testing a new robotic unmanned combat vehicle it is developing with several Israeli arms firms. For more, click here.

News Update

Security forces are in pursuit of a Palestinian who grabbed an M-16 from a soldier near Hebron today. The man was stopped by police at a road block and after taking the weapon, escaped into the city of Hebron. The officer was not wounded in the incident and police believe the motive was not terrorism.

An IDF drone crashed in northern Gaza late on Tuesday. According to the IDF spokesperson, the reason for the crash was being investigated and that there was no fear of information being leaked.

Russian and Syrian military aircraft conducted a joint drill over Syria yesterday. The Russian Defense Ministry said two Russian SU-35 fighter jets and six Syrian MiG-23 and MiG-29 aircraft simulated facing “hostile” warplanes and drones. Syrian pilots dealt with them with cover and support from the Russian warplanes.

PM Bennett told the Knesset foreign affairs and defense committee that Israel has changed its strategy in dealing with Iran. He said, “Israel is operating against the many tentacles of Iranian terror, not only as it has done in past decades. The days of Iran having immunity when it strikes against Israel and spreads its terrorism via proxies, are gone. We are operating everywhere and all the time, and will continue to do so.” He also made clear that Israel would do whatever it felt necessary to stop Iran from becoming a nuclear power.

Syrian state media quoted an unnamed military official as saying that Israeli jets fired several missiles while flying over Syrian airspace. It added that air defense systems were activated in the capital against “hostile targets” and most of the Israeli missiles were shot down.

U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein will visit Lebanon early next week to mediate a dispute over an oilfield off the coast of Haifa that is currently being developed by Israel but that Lebanon claims is within its maritime border.

On Monday, the government coalition failed to garner enough votes to pass the extension to a bill that would extend Israeli law to Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria. The government will apply pressure on the members who voted against it to resign from the Knesset. For more, click here.