Israeli military, Jenin area, West Bank, August 31, 2024. Photo: Israeli Army/Handout via REUTERS

JNS.org — Israel’s security forces recently thwarted an attempt by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to smuggle heavy weaponry to Palestinian terrorist cells in the West Bank city of Jenin, the Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) said on Wednesday.

Israeli intelligence believes that the arms were sent by Unit 4000 — the special operations division of the IRGC’s Intelligence Organization — and Unit 18840, the special operations unit of its Quds Force in Syria.

Among the weapons seized by Israel were 40 standard large Claymore mines, including detonators and wireless activation systems; 37 handguns; 33 improvised Claymore mines; 24 RPG-18 and RPG-22 rockets; 20 60mm mortar shells; seven Hunter sniper rifles; six RPG-7 launchers; six M16 rifles and 1 M4 rifle, along with ammunition; three 107mm rockets; and two 60mm mortar barrels, the joint statement said.

The majority of the weapons were buried in a location that was discovered by Israeli forces after the shipment was intercepted.

SEIZED: Iranian weapons used to arm terrorists in Judea and Samaria

The smuggling was orchestrated by Iran’s IRGC 4000th Division, led by Jawad Ghafari, and the Quds Force’s Unit 840 in Syria, commanded by Etsar Bakri.

The weapons seized included rockets, Claymore… pic.twitter.com/AlUn08pGye

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) November 27, 2024

The statement noted that Israeli security forces in recent months have “identified attempts by Iranian forces to resume smuggling advanced weapons into Israel, intended for the Judea and Samaria area [the West Bank].”

“This is part of an ongoing Iranian campaign to destabilize the region’s security by arming terrorist cells in Judea and Samaria, to carry out attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops,” it continued.

The IDF and Shin Bet vowed to “continue to monitor and thwart in advance any Iranian activity aimed at smuggling weapons into Israel and the Judea and Samaria area.”

In two separate operations in the past week, Israel Police officers foiled attempts by Israeli Arab citizens to smuggle large quantities of ammunition from northern Israel across the West Bank security barrier.

On Monday, a female resident of the Israeli Arab town of Kfar Qasim was pulled over by police officers near Yokneam. A search of her vehicle revealed several boxes containing more than 6,000 ammunition rounds.

On Friday, two men from Ma’ale Iron, a local council made up of five Arab towns near Megiddo, were caught attempting to transport a larger stockpile of over 20,000 bullets. The Arab suspects were pulled over at a junction a mere minutes’ drive away from the Samaria security barrier.

Earlier this month, Palestinian terrorists in western Samaria for the first time tried to fire a rocket with powerful explosives at Israel’s central region. The terrorist rocket, whose warhead contained high explosives with the potential to cause mass casualties, was discovered in bushes in the village of Budrus near Ramallah, about six miles from Ben-Gurion International Airport, Israel Hayom reported on Nov. 13.

The outlet noted that this marked the first time that a “high quality” (e.g., non-improvised) rocket warhead was found in the West Bank. It was also the first time a rocket was located in the area but outside northern Samaria.

In June, Palestinian Authority security officials told Israel’s Kan News public broadcaster that Iranian-backed terrorist groups might be able to fire advanced rockets at central Israel from the West Bank within a year.

The Islamic Republic continues to instigate terrorism in the West Bank by flooding the area with weapons, The New York Times reported in April, citing American, Israeli, and Iranian officials.

The majority of the weapons smuggled into the West Bank are small arms and assault rifles, analysts said. However, the US and Israeli officials said that the Islamic Republic is also smuggling in advanced weaponry, including anti-tank missiles and rocket-propelled grenades.

In the first six months of 2024, the West Bank saw more than 500 Arab terrorist attacks each month on average, according to data made public by Hatzalah Judea and Samaria (Rescuers Without Borders).

During that period, first responders recorded 3,272 acts of terrorism in the region, including 1,868 cases of rock-throwing, 456 attacks with Molotov cocktails, 299 explosive charges, and 109 shootings.

Terrorists murdered 14 people and wounded more than 155 others in the West Bank between January and July, the rescue group said.

The post Israel Intercepts Vast Iranian Arms Shipment Intended for West Bank first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

McGill University has canceled an on-campus event planned by Jewish students—and temporarily halted bookings for all extracurricular activities—following threats of violence along with a death threat, as outlined in a […]

The post McGill cancels talk with former Hamas insider turned Israel advocate, citing fears of violence appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.

US Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) at a press conference in Bergenfield, New Jersey, US on June 5, 2023. Photo: Kyle Mazza/NurPhoto via Reuters Connect

US Reps. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) on Tuesday introduced bipartisan legislation to cut off federal funding from universities that engage in boycotts of Israel.

The legislation, titled “The Protect Economic Freedom Act,” would render universities that participate in the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel ineligible for federal funding under Title IV of the Higher Education Act, prohibiting them from receiving federal student aid. The bill would also mandate that colleges and universities submit evidence that they are not participating in commercial boycotts against the Jewish state. 

“Enough is enough. Appeasing the antisemitic mobs on college campuses threatens the safety of Jewish students and faculty and it undermines the relationship between the US and one of our strongest allies. If an institution is going to capitulate to the BDS movement, there will be consequences — starting with the Protect Economic Freedom Act,” Foxx, chairwoman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, said in a statement. 

Gottheimer added that the legislation is necessary to thwart the surging tide of antisemitism on college campuses. Although the lawmaker noted that students are allowed to engage in free expression regarding the ongoing war in Gaza, he argued that blanket boycotts against Israel endanger the lives of Jewish students and community members. 

“The goal of the antisemitic BDS movement is to annihilate the democratic State of Israel, America’s critical ally in the global fight against terror. While students and faculty are free to speak their minds and disagree on policy issues, we cannot allow antisemitism to run rampant and risk the safety and security of Jewish students, staff, faculty, and guests on college campuses,” Gottheimer said in a statement. “The new bipartisan Protect Economic Freedom Act will give the Department of Education a critical new tool to combat the antisemitic BDS movement on college campuses. Now more than ever, we must take the necessary steps to protect our Jewish community.”

The legislation instructs the US Department of Education to keep a record of universities that refuse to confirm their non-participation in anti-Israel boycotts. The list of universities in non-compliance with the legislation would be made publicly available. 

In the year following the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s massacre acrosssouthern Israel, universities across the country have found themselves embroiled in controversies regarding campus antisemitism. In the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks in Israel, hordes of students and faculty orchestrated protests and demonstrations condemning the Jewish state. Student groups at elite universities such as Harvard and Columbia issued statements blaming Israel for the attacks and expressing support for Hamas. 

Several high-profile universities have also shown a significant level of tolerance for anti-Jewish sentiment festering on their campuses. Northwestern University, for example, capitulated to demands of anti-Israel activists to remove Sabra Hummus from campus dining halls because of its connections to Israel. At Stanford University, Jewish students have reported being forced to condemn Israel before being allowed to enter campus parties. Students at the University of Pennsylvania and Brown University launched unsuccessful attempts to convince the university to divest endowment funds from companies tied to Israel.

The post US Lawmakers Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Strip Funding From Universities That Boycott Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.