News Digest — 12/16/24
IDF Downs Houthi Drone Launched From Yemen
An Israeli naval destroyer early on Monday morning (16th) intercepted a drone over the Red Sea that was launched by Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists in Yemen.
The UAV was downed prior to crossing into Israeli territory, according to the military.
On Thursday (12th), the Israel Defense Forces intercepted a Houthi drone headed for the city of Eilat. That UAV likewise did not cross into Israeli airspace.
Earlier this month, a Houthi drone hit a residential high-rise building in the central city of Yavne, northeast of Ashdod.
On Dec. 1, a ballistic missile launched from Yemen triggered sirens in the Judean foothills. The missile was intercepted before entering Israeli airspace, the IDF said. Four people were injured running to shelters according to Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency medical service.
The Iran-backed Houthi rebels have launched multiple missiles and drones at Israel in support of Hamas since the Gaza-based terror group’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of the north western Negev.
In July, a Houthi drone killed a civilian in central Tel Aviv. In response, Israel struck Yemen’s Hodeidah Port.
On Sept. 29, the Israel Air Force carried out dozens of strikes in the area of Hodeidah. Jerusalem said the targets included “power plants and a seaport, which were used by the Houthis to transfer Iranian weapons to the region, in addition to military supplies and oil.”
‘We’ll Act Against You Anytime, Anywhere:’ Netanyahu’s Warning To Iran, Hezbollah
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday (15th) warned Iran and Hezbollah that Israel will continue to act against them to achieve total victory and that he discussed this matter with US President-elect Donald Trump.
“I say to Iran and Hezbollah, to prevent you from harming us, we will continue to act against you as much as required, anytime, anywhere.” Netanyahu said in a speech posted to X.
Addressing Israel’s actions regarding recent developments in Syria, Netanyahu stressed,”Israel has no interest in confronting Syria. We will shape our policy based on the reality on the ground. For decades, Syria was an active enemy of the State of Israel.”
“In recent days, we have taken a series of intensive actions. Together with Defense Minister Katz, I directed the IDF to thwart potential threats from Syria and prevent terrorist elements from gaining a foothold near our border.”
Netanyahu stated that Israel’s actions in Syria have been justified through the effects they have had on Hezbollah’s capabilities.
Netanyahu said, quoting Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem from a televised speech on Saturday (14th), “Hezbollah has lost its supply route through Syria.”
While reiterating Israel’s preference to avoid conflict, Netanyahu affirmed the nation’s determination to curb Hezbollah’s rearmament. “This is an ongoing test for Israel. We must meet it – and we will meet it,” he said.
Netanyahu described his conversation with Trump as “very friendly, very warm,and very important.”
“We discussed the need to complete Israel’s victory and spoke extensively about the efforts we are making to bring our hostages home. We are working tirelessly to bring back our hostages, both the living and the fallen,” Netanyahu said. “I’ll add that the less we talk about this, the better our chances of success, and with God’s help, we will succeed,” his speech concluded.
Netanyahu Government Approves Plan To Expand Settlements In the Golan Heights
Israel’s government unanimously approved Prime Minister Netanyahu’s plan to encourage demographic growth in the Golan Heights, totaling over NIS 40 million.
Netanyahu’s desire to double the population of the Golan came after Israel’s north suffered over a year of devastation due to the war.
Currently, over 100,000 people have been displaced along the northern border, and the potential for a new conflict with Syria after Assad’s fall has made many concerned that their return home would be delayed.
However, the plan aims to assist the Golan Regional Council in absorbing new residents who will arrive on top of those who will be returning
Netanyahu argued that this decision would strengthen elements such as education and renewable energy across the Golan and Katzrin communities.
Strengthening the Golan is strengthening the State of Israel, and it is especially important at this time,” Netanyahu said. “We will continue to hold on to it, make it flourish and settle it.”
Days before this decision, Netanyahu and Defense Minister Katz traveled to the Golan to see the Syrian Hermon, which was recently taken by the IDF, marking the first Israeli presence in the land in over 50 years.
“An exciting historical moment,” he wrote in a post on X.
IDF Chief Responds To Syrian Rebel Leader’s Accusation Of Israeli ‘Aggression’
The IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, during a situational assessment with other officers, sent a message to Syrian rebels that Israel had “no intention of managing Syria.”
The Commanding Officer of the Northern Command, MG Ori Gordin, the Commanding Officer of the 210th Division, BG Yair Palai, and additional commanders from the General Staff Forum were also present at the assessment.
He said, “We are taking action to prevent these terrorist elements from establishing themselves – extremist terrorists will not be allowed to set up camp near the border. We are not involved in what is happening in Syria, and we have no intention of managing Syria.”
Halevi emphasized that the primary reason for the IDF’s actions in Syria was the protection of Israeli communities in the Golan Heights.
“We are here to defend the border in the Golan Heights, including the northern Golan Heights and Mount Hermon. There was once an enemy state in this area, its army has collapsed, and now there is a threat that terrorist elements could reach this region.”
Syrian rebel leader al-Julani said the IDF’s ground incursions into Syria “threaten unjustified escalation in the region.” He criticized “Israeli aggression” and claimed it violated the 1974 ceasefire agreement.
He also called for “firm and immediate measures” to get Israel out of Syria.
Halevi emphasized that Israel’s military operations were intended to protect border communities.
“We are firmly intervening in matters that affect the security of Israeli citizens here, in the communities of the Golan Heights behind us. We are doing so professionally, correctly, and with unwavering determination.”
Halevi continued, “In my view, the preparations along the border – from Mount Hermon to the tri-border area of Israel, Syria, and Jordan – are sound and well executed. These preparations are designed to bring about significant changes.”
Israel To Close Its Embassy In Dublin Due To Ireland’s Extreme Anti-Israel Policy
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced on Sunday (15th) that Israel will be shutting its embassy in Ireland, citing the “extreme anti-Israel policy in the Irish government.”
“The anti-Semitic actions and rhetoric that Ireland is taking against Israel are based on delegitimization and demonization of the Jewish state and on double standards,” said Sa’ar in a statement. “Ireland has crossed all red lines in its relationship with Israel.”
Ireland has been one of Israel’s most outspoken critics throughout the war in Gaza, which broke out on October 7, 2023, with Hamas’ unprecedented attack in which 3,000 terrorists murdered some 1,200 people and took 251 hostages, mostly civilians.
Israel recalled its ambassador in May after Ireland became one of three EU countries that said they would unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state. Ireland has not recalled its envoy to Israel. In November, the Irish parliament passed a nonbinding motion declaring that “genocide is being perpetrated before our eyes by Israel in Gaza.”
And last week, Ireland’s Cabinet voted to join the case accusing Israel of perpetrating “genocide” during its war with Hamas in Gaza, brought by South Africa at the International Criminal Court in The Hague last year.
Aside from the Irish government’s views and actions regarding the war, a report published last month by education monitoring group IMPACT-se exposed profound distortions of the Holocaust, Israel, Judaism and Jewish history in textbooks used in Irish public schools.
Meanwhile, Sa’ar also announced on Sunday (15th) that Israel would open an embassy in Moldova, which already has an embassy in Israel. The opening is expected to occur in the next year, and Israel is beginning the process of finding a site and appointing an ambassador.
“There are countries that are interested in strengthening their ties with Israel and do not yet have an Israeli embassy,” said Sa’ar. “We will adjust the Israeli diplomatic structure of our missions while giving weight, among other things, to the approach and actions of the various countries towards Israel in the political arena.”
Moldova’s ambassador in Israel Alex Roitman praised the announcement, writing on X that “it was a natural step to make long ago.”
“I’m convinced a full-fledged Israel diplomatic mission in Chisinau, together with a Moldovan mission in Tel Aviv, will contribute to the goals of widening the bilateral relation in the fields of political, economic, and the sectors of medicine, agriculture, military cyber, and more,” he wrote.”
What The Headlines Missed About Amnesty International’s Accusation That Israel Commits Genocide – Jonah Goldberg (Los Angeles Times)
• Reporting on Amnesty International’s new report about Israel’s war in Gaza, the New York Times headline read: “Amnesty International Accuses Israel of Genocide in Gaza.” The Los Angeles Times was similar: “Amnesty International Says Israel Is Committing Genocide In Gaza.
• Calling the report unfair would be a profound understatement. Here’s its first sentence: “On 7 October 2023, Israel embarked on a military offensive on the occupied Gaza Strip.” In other words, the story begins not with Hamas’ unprecedented terrorist attack on Israeli civilians that day. Rather, it begins with the Israeli response to the aggression of Hamas. This is a bit like reporting on America’s “genocide” in Japan by stating, “On April 18, 1942, the United States embarked on a military offensive on the Japanese nation” – leaving out that whole Pearl Harbor thing.
• The genocide Convention of 1948 is very clear about what constitutes actual or attempted genocide: “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.” But the Palestinian population has grown more than eightfold since Israel’s founding, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, and the population of Gaza has increased 600% since 1960.
• One of the most important words in the UN definition of genocide is “intent.” If Israel, which even its enemies characterize as supremely competent and lethal, intends genocide, it’s really, really, bad at it. Indeed, if genocide were the goal, you would think that Israel would stop warning civilians to evacuate areas it’s about to attack and sending Palestinians caravans of aid.
• On page 101 of Amnesty’s 296-page report, the authors essentially concede that Israel isn’t committing genocide under prevailing interpretations of international law, as they reject “an overly cramped interpretation of international jurisprudence… that would effectively preclude a finding of genocide in the context of an armed conflict.”
• As Commentary’s Seth Mandel writes, “So Amnesty International dissents from international law. That’s fine. Just be up-front about it: Amnesty is not accusing Israel of ‘genocide,’ it is accusing Israel of a different crime which Amnesty has named ‘genocide,’ just so it could use that word.” Amnesty didn’t want a discussion about the proper definition of genocide. It wanted headlines alleging that Israel committed the crime – and it got them.
