RSS
IDF West Bank Op Needed to ‘Remove Immediate Terror Threats’
Illustrative: Palestinians run during clashes with Israeli forces amid an Israeli military operation in Jenin, in the West Bank July 3, 2023. REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta
JNS.org – The Israel Defense Forces is engaged in significant counterterrorism operations in northern Samaria, targeting terrorist activities in areas like Jenin and Tulkarm. According to IDF International Spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, these operations are part of a broader effort to address the ongoing and escalating terror threats in Judea and Samaria.
Speaking to journalists via video call on Wednesday, Shoshani emphasized the persistent nature of the threat, noting that “terror in Judea and Samaria is not something new, it is not a new threat.” He explained that even before Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre, terror attacks had claimed the lives of over 30 Israelis in 2023 alone. The terror threat has only intensified since Oct. 7, with numerous deadly attacks being carried out against Israeli civilians and security forces.
Shoshani highlighted two recent attacks as examples of the violence emanating from Judea and Samaria. One involved the murder of Gideon Peri, a 35-year-old Israeli civilian who was killed on Aug. 18 by a Palestinian worker in an industrial park that was supposed to foster Israeli-Palestinian cooperation, said Shoshani. The second attack saw the murder of 23-year-old Israeli civilian Yonatan Deutsch on Aug. 11 in a drive-by shooting in the Jordan Valley. These incidents are part of a broader pattern of Palestinian violence in recent months, he said.
The IDF has identified a systematic strategy by Iran to arm and support terrorist groups in seven fronts across the Middle East, including in Judea and Samaria, Shoshani stated. He pointed out that Iran has been actively smuggling weapons and explosives into the region to be used in terror attacks against Israeli civilians. This strategy, he said, is part of Iran’s broader goal to destabilize the region and support terrorist activities against Israel.
In response to these threats, the IDF has been conducting targeted operations to remove immediate terror threats in real time. Shoshani noted that these operations are not new and have been ongoing for the past 11 months as part of Israel’s effort to ensure the stability of the area.
“We need to operate to remove terror threats, immediate terror threats in real time all across our arenas, to make sure that attacks against civilians that can kill our civilians do not happen,” he said.
Shoshani provided detailed information on the operations currently underway in Jenin and Tulkarm. In these areas, the IDF has observed a significant rise in terrorist activity over the past year, with over 150 shooting and explosive attacks originating there, he said. He emphasized that these operations are being conducted in a precise and targeted manner, with the goal of eliminating terrorist infrastructure while minimizing harm to civilians.
The IDF’s operations in Tulkarem have already resulted in the elimination of three armed terrorists who posed an immediate threat to security forces. In Jenin, two additional armed terrorists were eliminated, and five wanted suspects were apprehended. The IDF also confiscated weapons, including M16 rifles and ammunition, and dismantled explosives that had been planted under roads in the area.
Shoshani also highlighted the broader strategy employed by terrorists in Judea and Samaria, which includes the planting of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) under roads and in civilian areas. These IEDs pose a severe threat to both Israeli forces and Palestinian civilians, as they cause extensive damage to infrastructure and disrupt daily life in these areas. The IDF has been working to expose and dismantle these explosives to prevent further casualties.
In addition to the operations in Jenin and Tulkarem, the IDF’s regional brigades conducted a smaller counterterrorism operation in the Far’a area of the Jordan Valley. During this operation, an aircraft struck and eliminated four armed terrorists who posed a threat to Israeli forces. Weapons were confiscated, and explosives were dismantled in this area as well.
Shoshani stressed the importance of these operations in preventing future terror attacks. “We will continue operating in a focused, targeted counterterrorism operations to stop the threat of terror against our civilians in all arenas,” he said.
The operations in Judea and Samaria are part of Israel’s broader strategy to address the multi-front war it faces. Shoshani noted that the IDF’s approach has been shaped by the lessons learned from the Oct. 7 massacre, emphasizing the need for real-time action to prevent terror attacks.
Fire exchanges between IDF forces and terrorist groups in Jenin and Tulkarem have occurred in recent days, he noted.
Joe Truzman, a Senior Research Analyst at the Washington D.C. Foundation for Defense of Democracy’s Long War Journal, stated on Wednesday that, “Iran-backed terrorist groups have gained a significant foothold in the West Bank over the last three years.” He explained that with Iran’s support, “weapons have flooded the West Bank, including some arms that are considered advanced.”
Truzman noted that “around 2020, Iran eyed an opportunity in the West Bank to foment chaos.” The combination of a weak Palestinian Authority and deteriorating relations with Israel created a vacuum that Iran exploited to bolster terror groups in the region, he argued.
“There are more than two dozen branches established by Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades in the West Bank,” Truzman added, pointing out that these groups operate extensively, particularly in the northern areas of Judea and Samaria.
The post IDF West Bank Op Needed to ‘Remove Immediate Terror Threats’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Israel to Issue 54,000 Call-Up Notices to Ultra-Orthodox Students
Haredi Jewish men look at the scene of an explosion at a bus stop in Jerusalem, Israel, on Nov. 23, 2022. Photo: Reuters/Ammar Awad
Israel’s military said it would issue 54,000 call-up notices to ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students following a Supreme Court ruling mandating their conscription and amid growing pressure from reservists stretched by extended deployments.
The Supreme Court ruling last year overturned a decades-old exemption for ultra-Orthodox students, a policy established when the community comprised a far smaller segment of the population than the 13 percent it represents today.
Military service is compulsory for most Israeli Jews from the age of 18, lasting 24-32 months, with additional reserve duty in subsequent years. Members of Israel’s 21 percent Arab population are mostly exempt, though some do serve.
A statement by the military spokesperson confirmed the orders on Sunday just as local media reported legislative efforts by two ultra-Orthodox parties in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition to craft a compromise.
The exemption issue has grown more contentious as Israel’s armed forces in recent years have faced strains from simultaneous engagements with Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Houthis in Yemen, and Iran.
Ultra-Orthodox leaders in Netanyahu’s brittle coalition have voiced concerns that integrating seminary students into military units alongside secular Israelis, including women, could jeopardize their religious identity.
The military statement promised to ensure conditions that respect the ultra-Orthodox way of life and to develop additional programs to support their integration into the military. It said the notices would go out this month.
The post Israel to Issue 54,000 Call-Up Notices to Ultra-Orthodox Students first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Influential Far-Right Minister Lashes out at Netanyahu Over Gaza War Policy
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends an inauguration event for Israel’s new light rail line for the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, in Petah Tikva, Israel, Aug. 17, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich sharply criticized on Sunday a cabinet decision to allow some aid into Gaza as a “grave mistake” that he said would benefit the terrorist group Hamas.
Smotrich also accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of failing to ensure that Israel’s military is following government directives in prosecuting the war against Hamas in Gaza. He said he was considering his “next steps” but stopped short of explicitly threatening to quit the coalition.
Smotrich’s comments come a day before Netanyahu is due to hold talks in Washington with President Donald Trump on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day Gaza ceasefire.
“… the cabinet and the Prime Minister made a grave mistake yesterday in approving the entry of aid through a route that also benefits Hamas,” Smotrich said on X, arguing that the aid would ultimately reach the Islamist group and serve as “logistical support for the enemy during wartime”.
The Israeli government has not announced any changes to its aid policy in Gaza. Israeli media reported that the government had voted to allow additional aid to enter northern Gaza.
The prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The military declined to comment.
Israel accuses Hamas of stealing aid for its own fighters or to sell to finance its operations, an accusation Hamas denies. Gaza is in the grip of a humanitarian catastrophe, with conditions threatening to push nearly a half a million people into famine within months, according to U.N. estimates.
Israel in May partially lifted a nearly three-month blockade on aid. Two Israeli officials said on June 27 the government had temporarily stopped aid from entering north Gaza.
PRESSURE
Public pressure in Israel is mounting on Netanyahu to secure a permanent ceasefire, a move opposed by some hardline members of his right-wing coalition. An Israeli team left for Qatar on Sunday for talks on a possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal.
Smotrich, who in January threatened to withdraw his Religious Zionism party from the government if Israel agreed to a complete end to the war before having achieved its objectives, did not mention the ceasefire in his criticism of Netanyahu.
The right-wing coalition holds a slim parliamentary majority, although some opposition lawmakers have offered to support the government from collapsing if a ceasefire is agreed.
The post Influential Far-Right Minister Lashes out at Netanyahu Over Gaza War Policy first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Australia Police Charge Man Over Alleged Arson on Melbourne Synagogue
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks to the media during a press conference with New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon at the Australian Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, Aug. 16, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Tracey Nearmy
Australian police have charged a man in connection with an alleged arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue with worshippers in the building, the latest in a series of incidents targeting the nation’s Jewish community.
There were no injuries to the 20 people inside the East Melbourne Synagogue, who fled from the fire on Friday night. Firefighters extinguished the blaze in the capital of Victoria state.
Australia has experienced several antisemitic incidents since the start of the Israel-Gaza war in October 2023.
Counter-terrorism detectives late on Saturday arrested the 34-year-old resident of Sydney, capital of neighboring New South Wales, charging him with offenses including criminal damage by fire, police said.
“The man allegedly poured a flammable liquid on the front door of the building and set it on fire before fleeing the scene,” police said in a statement.
The suspect, whom the authorities declined to identify, was remanded in custody after his case was heard at Melbourne Magistrates Court on Sunday and no application was made for bail, the Australian Broadcasting Corp reported.
Authorities are investigating whether the synagogue fire was linked to a disturbance on Friday night at an Israeli restaurant in Melbourne, in which one person was arrested for hindering police.
The restaurant was extensively damaged, according to the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, an umbrella group for Australia’s Jews.
It said the fire at the synagogue, one of Melbourne’s oldest, was set as those inside sat down to Sabbath dinner.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog went on X to “condemn outright the vile arson attack targeting Jews in Melbourne’s historic and oldest synagogue on the Sabbath, and on an Israeli restaurant where people had come to enjoy a meal together”.
“This is not the first such attack in Australia in recent months. But it must be the last,” Herzog said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the incidents as “severe hate crimes” that he viewed “with utmost gravity.” “The State of Israel will continue to stand alongside the Australian Jewish community,” Netanyahu said on X.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese late on Saturday described the alleged arson, which comes seven months after another synagogue in Melbourne was targeted by arsonists, as shocking and said those responsible should face the law’s full force.
“My Government will provide all necessary support toward this effort,” Albanese posted on X.
Homes, schools, synagogues and vehicles in Australia have been targeted by antisemitic vandalism and arson. The incidents included a fake plan by organized crime to attack a Sydney synagogue using a caravan of explosives in order to divert police resources, police said in March.
The post Australia Police Charge Man Over Alleged Arson on Melbourne Synagogue first appeared on Algemeiner.com.