RSS
Israel’s Demining Near Golan Signals Wider Front Against Hezbollah, Sources Say
Israeli tanks are being moved, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, in the Golan Heights, Sept. 22, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Jim Urquhart
In a sign Israel may expand its ground operations against Hezbollah while bolstering its own defenses, its troops have cleared landmines and established new barriers on the frontier between the Golan Heights and a demilitarized strip bordering Syria, security sources and analysts said.
The move suggests Israel may seek to strike the Iran-backed terrorist organization Lebanese Hezbollah for the first time from further east along Lebanon’s border, at the same time creating a secure area from which it can freely reconnoiter the armed group and prevent infiltration, the sources said.
While demining activity has been reported, sources who spoke to Reuters — including a Syrian soldier stationed in south Syria, a Lebanese security official, and a UN peacekeeping official — revealed additional unreported details that showed Israel was moving the fence separating the DMZ towards the Syrian side and digging more fortifications in the area.
Military action involving raids from the Golan — a strategic region on Israel’s northern border previously controlled by Syria — and possibly from the demilitarized zone that separates it from Syrian territory could widen the conflict pitting Israel against Hezbollah and its ally Hamas that has already drawn in Iran and risks sucking in the US.
Israel has been trading fire with Tehran-backed Hezbollah since the group began launching missiles across Lebanon’s border in support of Hamas after its deadly attack on southern Israel triggered Israel‘s military campaign on Gaza.
Now, in addition to Israeli aerial strikes that have caused Hezbollah significant damage in the past month, the group is under Israeli ground assault from the south and faces Israeli naval shelling from the Mediterranean to the west.
By extending its front in the east, Israel could tighten its squeeze on Hezbollah’s arms supply routes, some of which cut across Syria, Lebanon’s eastern neighbor and an ally of Iran.
Navvar Saban, a conflict analyst at the Istanbul-based Harmoon Center, said the operations in the Golan, a hilly, 1,200 square km (460 square mile) plateau that also overlooks Lebanon and borders Jordan, appeared to be an attempt to “prepare the groundwork” for a broader offensive in Lebanon.
“Everything happening in Syria is to serve Israel‘s strategy in Lebanon _ hitting supply routes, hitting warehouses, hitting people linked to the supply lines to Hezbollah,” he said.
Israel‘s mine removal and engineering works have accelerated in recent weeks, according to a Syrian intelligence officer, a Syrian soldier positioned in southern Syria, and three senior Lebanese security sources who spoke to Reuters for this story.
FORTIFICATIONS
The sources said the demining had intensified as Israel began ground incursions on Oct. 1 to fight Hezbollah along the mountainous terrain separating northern Israel from southern Lebanon around 20 km (12 miles) to the west.
In the same period, Israel has ramped up strikes on Syria, including its capital and the border with Lebanon, and Russian military units — stationed in Syria’s south in support of Syrian troops there — have withdrawn from at least one observation post overlooking the demilitarized area, the two Syrian sources and one of the Lebanese sources said.
All of the sources spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss their monitoring of Israel‘s military operations in the Golan, most of which was seized by Israel from Syria in 1967.
The Syrian soldier stationed in the south said Israel was pushing the fence separating the Golan and the demilitarized zone (DMZ) further out and erecting their own fortifications near Syria “so there would not be any infiltration in the event this front flares up.”
The soldier said Israel appeared to be creating “a buffer zone” in the DMZ. A second senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Israeli troops had dug a new trench near the DMZ in October.
One senior Lebanese security source said the demining operations could allow Israeli troops to “encircle” Hezbollah from the east.
The DMZ has been home for the last five decades to the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), mandated to oversee disengagement of Israeli and Syrian forces after a 1973 war.
A UN peacekeeping official in New York said that UNDOF had “recently observed some construction activity being carried out by Israeli military forces in the vicinity of the area of separation,” but did not have further details.
RUSSIA LEAVES OVERLOOK POINT
Asked about the demining, the Israeli military said it “does not comment on operational plans” and it “is currently fighting against the terrorist organization Hezbollah in order to allow for the safe return of northern residents to their homes.”
UNDOF, Russia, and Syria did not respond to requests for comment by Reuters.
A report to the UN Security Council on the activities of UNDOF, dated Sept. 24 and seen by Reuters on Oct. 4, cited violations on both sides of the demilitarized zone.
Russian troops, meanwhile, have left the Tal Hara outpost, the highest point in Syria’s southern Daraa governorate and a strategic overlook point, according to the two Syrian sources and one of the Lebanese sources.
The Russians had left because of understandings with the Israelis to prevent a clash, a Syrian military officer said.
Syrian authorities, whose country is part of Iran’s ‘Axis of Resistance,’ have sought to remain out of the fray since regional tensions soared after Hamas’s Oct. 7 assault last year.
Reuters reported in January that Assad had been discouraged from taking any action in support of Hamas after he received threats from Israel. Hezbollah too had “steered away” from building up any forces in the Syrian-held Golan.
Syria’s army has not made additional deployments, the Syrian military intelligence officer told Reuters.
The post Israel’s Demining Near Golan Signals Wider Front Against Hezbollah, Sources Say first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself. Really?
JNS.org – If I asked you to name the most famous line in the Bible, what would you answer? While Shema Yisrael (“Hear O’Israel”) might get many votes, I imagine that the winning line would be “love thy neighbor as thyself” (Leviticus 19:18). Some religions refer to it as the Golden Rule, but all would agree that it is fundamental to any moral lifestyle. And it appears this week in our Torah reading, Kedoshim.
This is quite a tall order. Can we be expected to love other people as much as we love ourselves? Surely, this is an idealistic expectation. And yet, the Creator knows us better than we know ourselves. How can His Torah be so unrealistic?
The biblical commentaries offer a variety of explanations. Some, like Rambam (Maimonides), say that the focus should be on our behavior, rather than our feelings. We are expected to try our best or to treat others “as if” we genuinely love them.
Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, in his classic text called the Tanya, argues that the actual feelings of love are, in fact, achievable provided that we focus on a person’s spirituality rather than how they present themselves physically. If we can put the soul over the body, we can do it.
Allow me to share the interpretation of the Ramban (Nachmanides), a 13th-century Torah scholar from Spain. His interpretation of the verses preceding love thy neighbor is classic and powerful, yet simple and straightforward.
“Do not hate your brother in your heart. You shall rebuke him, but do not bear a sin because of him” by embarrassing him in public. “Do not take revenge, and do not bear a grudge against your people. You shall love your fellow as yourself, I am God” (Leviticus 19:17-18).
What is the connection between these verses? Why is revenge and grudge-bearing in the same paragraph as love your fellow as yourself?
A careful reading shows that within these two verses are no less than six biblical commandments. But what is their sequence all about, and what is the connection between them?
The Ramban explains it beautifully, showing how the sequence of verses is deliberate and highlighting the Torah’s profound yet practical advice on how to maintain healthy relationships.
Someone wronged you? Don’t hate him in your heart. Speak to him. Don’t let it fester until it bursts, and makes you bitter and sick.
Instead, talk it out. Confront the person. Of course, do it respectfully. Don’t embarrass anyone in public, so that you don’t bear a sin because of them. But don’t let your hurt eat you up. Communicate!
If you approach the person who wronged you—not with hate in your heart but with respectful reproof—one of two things will happen. Either he or she will apologize and explain their perspective on the matter. Or that it was a misunderstanding and will get sorted out between you. Either way, you will feel happier and healthier.
Then you will not feel the need to take revenge or even to bear a grudge.
Here, says the Ramban, is the connection between these two verses. And if you follow this advice, only then will you be able to observe the commandment to Love Thy Neighbor. If you never tell him why you are upset, another may be completely unaware of his or her wrongdoing, and it will remain as a wound inside you and may never go away.
To sum up: Honest communication is the key to loving people.
Now, tell me the truth. Did you know that not taking revenge is a biblical commandment? In some cultures in Africa, revenge is a mitzvah! I’ve heard radio talk-show hosts invite listeners to share how they took “sweet revenge” on someone, as if it’s some kind of accomplishment.
Furthermore, did you know that bearing a grudge is forbidden by biblical law?
Here in South Africa, people refer to a grudge by its Yiddish name, a faribel. In other countries, people call it a broiges. Whatever the terminology, the Torah states explicitly: “Thou shalt not bear a grudge!” Do not keep a faribel, a broiges or resentment of any kind toward someone you believe wronged you. Talk to that person. Share your feelings honestly. If you do it respectfully and do not demean the other’s dignity, then it can be resolved. Only then will you be able to love your fellow as yourself.
May all our grudges and feelings of resentment toward others be dealt with honestly and respectfully. May all our grudges be resolved as soon as possible. Then we will all be in a much better position to love our neighbors as ourselves.
The post Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself. Really? first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
‘Nonsense’: Huckabee Shoots Down Report Trump to Endorse Palestinian Statehood
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee looks on during the day he visits the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem’s Old City, April 18, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Saturday dismissed as nonsensical the report that President Donald Trump would endorse Palestinian statehood during his tour to the Persian Gulf this week.
“This report is nonsense,” Huckabee harrumphed on his X account, blasting the Jerusalem Post as needing better sourced reporting. “Israel doesn’t have a better friend than the president of the United States.”
Trump is set to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. The leader’s first trip overseas since he took office comes as Trump seeks the Gulf countries’ support in regional conflicts, including the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and curbing Iran’s advancing nuclear program.
However, reports citing administration insiders claimed that Trump has also set his sights on the ambitious goal of expanding the Abraham Accords. These agreements, initially signed in 2020, normalized relations between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan. The accords are widely held to be among the most important achievements of the first Trump administration.
The post ‘Nonsense’: Huckabee Shoots Down Report Trump to Endorse Palestinian Statehood first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
US to Put Military Option Back on Table If No Immediate Progress in Iran Talks
US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy-designate Steve Witkoff gives a speech at the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena on the inauguration day of Trump’s second presidential term, in Washington, DC, Jan. 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
i24 News – Unless significant progress is registered in Sunday’s round of nuclear talks with Iran, the US will consider putting the military option back on the table, sources close to US envoy Steve Witkoff told i24NEWS.
American and Iranian representatives voiced optimism after the previous talks that took place in Oman and Rome, saying there was a friendly atmosphere despite the two countries’ decades of enmity.
However the two sides are not believed to have thrashed out the all-important technical details, and basic questions remain.
The source has also underscored the significance of the administration’s choice of Michael Anton, the State Department’s policy planning director, as the lead representative in the nuclear talks’ technical phases.
Anton is “an Iran expert and someone who knows how to cut a deal with Iran,” the source said, saying that the choice reflected Trump’s desire to secure the deal.
The post US to Put Military Option Back on Table If No Immediate Progress in Iran Talks first appeared on Algemeiner.com.