News Digest — 12/17/24
‘Israel Will Maintain Security Control Over Gaza,’ Defense Minister Katz Clarifies
Defense Minister Israel Katz clarified his position regarding Israel’s involvement in the Gaza Strip following the war, in a Tuesday (17th) post on X.
“In response to various reports – my position regarding Gaza is clear. After we defeat Hamas’ military and governing power in Gaza, Israel will maintain security control over Gaza with full freedom of action,” Katz noted, affirming this would be in a manner similar to the West Bank.
“We will not allow a return to the reality that existed before October 7,” he added.
Katz’s comments followed a Channel 12 report earlier in the day, which claimed that the defense minister had said before that Israel was not interested in controlling Gaza in the aftermath of the war.
Also Minister Katz reportedly asserted, with regard to the Palestinian Authority (PA), “Israel is protecting the Authority from Iran and Hamas – it must be shifted to the moderate side.”
Danon To Media: ‘Euphoria In Syria Could Turn To Fear’
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon spoke to Israel National News about the impact of the fall of the Assad regime in Syria internationally, the effort to replace UNRWA given its ties to the Hamas terror organization, and conversely, the UN’s attempts to strengthen UNRWA.
Addressing Israel’s efforts to secure its northern border and destroy Assad’s military assets, including his chemical weapons stockpiles, to ensure they do not fall into terrorist hands, Danon said, “We are preparing for a discussion at the Security Council. We have no doubt that the issue will be on the agenda.” Danon said that multiple countries, including Russia, France and Syria, have already complained about Israel’s actions in Syria. “They claim that we are invading, taking over and occupying. These are allegations that we reject.”
“Our position is clear, we have taken defensive measures to ensure that extremist Islamist forces do not take over positions on our border and we are waiting to see whether the government in Syria stabilizes and whether the borders are going to be quiet or not,” he said.
Could the UN or the international community force Israel to withdraw the IDF to the border? Danon believes it would not be easy to force such a move. “The world is looking at what is happening in Syria and it is not clear to it who is against whom there. We have taken actions there, such as neutralizing dangers and damaging infrastructure that have endangered not only Israel, but also other regional countries, including Turkey, so the world should thank Israel for the actions we have carried out in Syria.”
Preparations for the expected discussion at the UN Security Council include collecting materials, preliminary talks with various parties involved in the Syrian arena, and “presenting the truth and the dangers to the world. There was a sense of relief when Assad’s regime fell, but it must be made clear to the world that those who took over Syria are not Zionists and very quickly this euphoria can be replaced by a sense of danger. We say such things in a measured manner. We are a peace-loving nation, but if we are forced to defend our borders, we will do so with courage, determination and strength.”
Danon said that it is clear to him that “not everyone will accept this, but we have proven in the past year that we are determined, and in recent months I have been dealing with severe attacks here. This determination has led us to significant achievements. There are dozens of discussions that we are holding and we are dealing with the discussions that are made against us. You see where the Middle East was a year ago and where it is today, and all of this is thanks to the decisive and aggressive approach of the State of Israel.
Addressing the UN’s continued support for UNRWA despite the extent to which the organization has been compromised by Hamas, Danon said, “This organization should have passed from the world a long time ago. It has failed on the professional side, even before we talk about the moral side. Billions of dollars have been invested and have brought the Palestinians nowhere, neither education nor knowledge, and the level of services is very low. In the moral sense, when Hamas was allowed to take over the organization in Gaza and do whatever they wanted with it, they had no right to exist. We have made this very clear, but unfortunately there are senior officials in the UN, including the Secretary-General, who prefer to wage a political struggle instead of talking about replacements.”
The Ambassador noted that even UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini has admitted that replacements for UNRWA could be found, but UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is fighting keeping UNRWA in the picture, despite the fact that “the law passed by the Knesset is very clear. At the end of January, UNRWA will not be able to operate inside Israel in the way it has operated.”
“We work with other organizations effectively and professionally,” said Danon, referring to the possibility that there will be a demand for Israeli humanitarian management instead of UNRWA. “We are not saying no to humanitarian aid, but no to UNRWA, which is a tool used by Hamas. Last week, I read from the UN podium letters that we wrote twenty years ago about Hamas’ involvement in UNRWA, and they did nothing about it. Therefore the UN will be better served by activating other entities to provide a response.”
Israel, Jordan Hold Secret Talks Over Assad’s Chemical Weapons Stockpile
Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad became infamous in 2013 after he attacked his own people with chemical weapons in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta, killing hundreds of civilians and children.
Using chlorine gas and sarin nerve agents, Assad carried out similar attacks again in 2017 and 2018 in the Idlib province, killing hundreds more.
Assad’s escape from Syria last week following rebel advances has raised urgent concerns about his abandoned chemical weapons stockpiles potentially falling into terrorist hands.
Secret high-level talks between Israel and Jordan have emerged in response to this terrifying threat, according to three Israeli intelligence officials cited by Axios.
Jordan has positioned itself as a key mediator between Israel and Syria’s Hay’at Tahrir ash-Sham, (HTS) the Sunni Islamist opposition group that led the revolution against Assad.
Israel’s Shin Bet security agency and senior IDF officers secretly met Friday (13th) with Ahmad Hushni, the director of Jordanian general intelligence, and top Jordanian military commanders to help secure Assad’s chemical weapons stockpiles and open a dialogue of communications with HTS.
Intelligence officials also raised concerns about Iran exploiting Syria’s instability to smuggle weapons to terrorist factions in Judea and Samaria.
Meanwhile, Israel has taken matters into its own hands by conducting strikes on chemical weapons warehouses and seizing territory in the Golan Heights, including the Syrian military outpost on Mount Hermon.
On Sunday (15th), the IDF announced it has conducted nearly 500 airstrikes on Syrian military targets and destroyed most of Assad’s air force, navy, and air defense systems.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly told White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan that the IDF will “temporarily” maintain control of the border area in Syria, while senior Israeli officials indicated that the IDF will retain its presence in Syria’s buffer zone for “several months and maybe longer.”
In response, Syria’s ambassador to the UN, Koussay Aldahhak, sent a letter to the Security Council protesting Israel’s actions.
“At a time When the Syrian Arab Republic is witnessing a new phase in its history in which its people aspire to a state of freedom, equality, social justice, the rule of law, peace and stability, the Israeli occupation army has escalated its ongoing aggression on the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic,” Aldahhak said.
“Syria renews its call on the United Nations and the Security Council to assume their responsibilities and take firm measures to compel Israel to immediately cease its ongoing attacks on Syrian territory, ensure that they are not repeated, and withdraw immediately according to the areas agreed upon in the Disengagement Agreement.”
Israel Working With Russia To Find Eli Cohen’s Remains In Syria, Say Palestinian Sources
Two Palestinian officials told AFP on Monday (16th) that Israel, via Russian mediators, was seeking to locate, in Syria, the remains of the famous Israeli spy Eli Cohen and a missing soldier.
Israel for years has been trying to find and repatriate the body of Cohen, and in a 2021 war monitor said Russian forces had been searching the Yarmuk Palestinian refugee camp in southern Damascus for his remains, along with those of two Israeli soldiers.
A Palestinian official in Damascus on Monday (16th) said “contact was established with us via mediators in order for us to help find the remains of an Israeli soldier who has been missing since 1982,” without identifying the missing soldier.
“Contacts are also underway to determine the location where the remains of the Israeli agent known as Eli Cohen are buried,” the source added, requesting anonymity as the matter is sensitive.
A Palestinian official outside Syria, also requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said the mediation was being conducted by Russia with Palestinian officials based abroad.
Cohen was tried and hanged for espionage by the Syrians in 1965 after he infiltrated the top levels of the government.
The information Cohen obtained was seen as having played a key role in Israel’s conquest of the Golan heights from Syria in the 1967 Six Day War, and his story was the subject of 2019 Netflix series “The Spy” starring Sacha Baron Cohen.
In 2011, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was working to repatriate Cohen’s remains, three years after the country’s Mossad intelligence agency said it had retrieved a watch belonging to Cohen and brought it back to Israel.
Syria and Israel have long been bitter foes with no diplomatic relations, but Russia – which was close to ousted president Bashar al-Assad – has acted as an intermediary between the two.
In 2019, Israel released two Syrian prisoners in a “goodwill gesture” after the remains of soldier Zachary Baumel, missing since 1982, were returned.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the remains had been found by the Russian and Syrian armies, but a Syrian official denied Damascus had knowledge of the repatriation plans or details behind the discovery.
Israeli soldiers fought against Syrian forces in a battle in June 1982 In the Lebanese village of Sultan Yacoub, near the Syrian border.
Baumel and two other soldiers, Zvi Feldman and Yehuda Katz, had since been listed as missing and presumed killed. The latter two remain missing.
Written Using Phoenician Alphabet: Stone Fragment Mentioning ‘House Of David’ At NY Museum
(New York Jewish Week) – Last year, New York City’s Jewish Museum imported a new director from the Israel Museum. Now, it’s bringing the oldest archaeological evidence of the existence of King David from the Jerusalem museum, too.
The Tel Dan Stele, a stone fragment, long held exclusively by the Israel Museum, is on view at the Jewish Museum on the Upper East Side until January 5th.
A 12-by-13 inch chunk of basalt, the Tel Dan Stele is a 9th century BCE stone document acknowledging the military victories of a person whom scholars believe to be KIng Hazael of Aram, an area in contemporary Syria that includes what is today Damascus. One of those victories was over a descendant of David, the King of ancient Israel.
When it was discovered in northern Israel in 1993, the Tel Dan Stele became the earliest evidence beyond the Bible that King David was a real figure.
“There is no archaeological evidence surviving from the First Temple,” said James Snyder, who took the helm of the Jewish Museum a year ago. “There is from the Second Temple, and that’s at the Israel Museum. From the First Temple, what therefore becomes important are these references to this archaeological evidence of the time of the First Temple, and of evidence that reinforces biblical history.”
The Frist Temple, built by David’s son King Solomon in the 10th century BCE, was destroyed during the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in 586 BCE.
“What makes the Tel Dan Stele so important is that it’s the oldest archaeological evidence of the existence of the House of David, which is the sort of touchstone or fountainhead for the unfolding thereafter of Judaism and Christianity,” Snyder added.
In fact, it’s so old that the Aramaic used in the Stele was still being written in the Phoenician alphabet – a language that predates Aramaic.
The ancient inscription refers to the “House of Davie,” in translation saying, “[I killed Jeho]ram son of [Ahab] king of Israel, and [I} killed [Ahaz]iahu son of [Jehoram kin]g of the House of David.”
Before coming to the Jewish Museum, the stele was on display for nearly two months at a biblical archaeology museum in Oklahoma. It was previously displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, just blocks from the Jewish Museum, a decade ago. (A replica is also on display at the Museum of the Bible in Washington DC.
On View at the Jewish Museum, Snyder says the Stele is a treasure for the institution, which he said is increasingly aiming to draw connections between Jewish history and material culture and contemporary art.
Snyder said that the loan of the Stele had been in the works for a few years – beginning while he ran the Israel Museum – but added that it feels particularly timely to have it in the museum after the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
