Israel News for 10-26-2022
News Update
Yesterday, Israeli special forces conducted a raid in the Nablus old city market and destroyed an apartment owned by a wanted terrorist that was being used as a laboratory to make explosives. Israeli forces exchanged fire with terror suspects inside the apartment and with members of the Palestinian Authority security services, ultimately causing the bombs to explode and resulting in the death of the terror group’s leader and five others, including a member of the Palestinian Authority security forces. Twenty-two Palestinians were also wounded in the shootout. Residents were called over mosque loudspeakers to come out and join the fight against the Israeli force.
In another incident, Palestinian terrorists opened fire on an IDF post near Jenin. Soldiers returned fire and reportedly wounded at least two terrorists.
A 55 year old Israeli man was stabbed in the stomach as he was shopping in the Palestinian village of al-Funduq in the West Bank yesterday. The terrorist fled the scene. The IDF launched a manhunt. The victim was evacuated to hospital in serious condition.
Prime Minister Yair Lapid traveled to Nazareth, Israel’s largest Arab-majority city, where he met with Mayor Ali Salem and other Arab municipal leaders and called on Israeli Arab citizens to go out and vote in next week’s general elections. Former Prime Minister Netanyahu is also trying to woo Arab voters. Even ultra right wing Religious Zionist party candidate Itamar Ben Gvir is appealing to Arab voters, promising to restore order in the crime ridden Arab communities.
National Unity party leader and Defense Minister Benny Gantz said that he does not rule out backing Prime Minister Yair Lapid to head a new government after the elections. He also said that would NOT join a Netanyahu led government. [Without Gantz’s support, it is highly unlikely that Netanyahu will have a path to forming a government.] Gantz also reiterated that Israel would not supply weapons to Ukraine.
President Herzog began a two-day visit to Washington on Tuesday, meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, among other U.S. officials. He is scheduled to meet with President Joe Biden today, where he will reportedly reveal evidence of the use of Iranian UAVs in the war in Ukraine. Herzog was invited to address a joint meeting of Congress by Pelosi and Senate leader Chuck Schumer.
Israel has granted Energean permission to start production at the offshore Karish gas field, ahead of signing a maritime agreement with Lebanon on Thursday.
Israel’s Supreme Court reversed rulings by the highest rabbinical court to deprive an adulterous wife of some of the couple’s joint assets during their divorce proceedings. In a unanimous ruling, the justices said the decision, by the rabbinical court, to prevent an equal division of assets accumulated during 27 years of marriage was against the law, regardless of the woman’s infidelity.
