News Digest — 4/29/26
2 IDF Soldiers Wounded In West Bank Overnight Operations
Two IDF soldiers were wounded in the West Bank village of Silwad during overnight military operations, the military announced on Wednesday morning (29th).
According to Israeli media the two attackers stabbed the soldiers, although the exact method of attack was not confirmed by the IDF.
The soldiers responded by opening fire, killing one attacker and disabling the other, who was arrested, according to the IDF statement.
The two wounded IDF soldiers were evacuated to a hospital where they were treated. The IDF did not specify the gravity of their conditions.
IDF Border Police have been investigating dozens of east Jerusalem terror suspects and confiscating weapons recently.
On Tuesday (28th), the IDF and Border Police conducted a large-scale operation in east Jerusalem, searching some 100 buildings and investigating over 40 individuals suspected of terrorist activity across the towns of A-Ram, Kfar Akab, and Kalandiya, the military confirmed.
Security forces arrested six suspects accused of involvement in terrorist activity, incitement,and possession of illegal weapons. They were subsequently transferred to the police in the West Bank for further questioning.
During the operations, Israeli forces confiscated pistols, Carlo submachine guns, a hunting rifle, an M$ rifle, and an M15 rifle. They also confiscated improvised pipe bombs, parts of weapons, munitions, and other military equipment, the military said.
Amer Hujirat Defense Ministry Civilian Contractor Killed In Hezbollah Drone Attack In Lebanon
Amer Hujirat, a civilian working for the IDF in southern Lebanon, was killed on Tuesday (28th), according to Israeli media citing a statement from Ziv Medical Center.
Hujirat, a 44-year-old resident of Shfaram was killed in a Hezbollah drone strike, which also lightly wounded his 19-year-old-son, who was working for him. Hujirat’s son was evacuated to Ziv Medical Center for treatment, according to N12. He was subsequently discharged after receiving medical care and mental health support.
The IDF announced earlier on Tuesday evening (28th) that an employee working for an engineering company carrying out projects on behalf of the Defense Ministry was killed, adding that his family had been notified by the Israel Police who extended its condolences to them.
The event comes as the IDF is facing new threats from Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, as the group employs fiber optic “wire” drones, which are impossible to jam as they are controlled via wire rather than radio waves or satellite navigation.
On Sunday (26th), the IDF announced one soldier was killed, and several others were wounded in one of the drone attacks.
In addition, one Hezbollah official on Monday (27th) threatened to start using suicide bombers against the IDF – a tactic it used against both the Israeli and American militaries in the 1980s, when the terror group had less sophisticated weaponry.
Lebanese President Slams Hezbollah For Dragging Lebanon Into Foreign Wars; Calls It Treason
Against the backdrop of preparations for negotiations with Israel, Lebanese newspaper Nidaa al-Watan reported that Saudi Arabia was working to coordinate positions among Lebanon’s three top leaders: President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.
According to the report, the intention is to hold a trilateral meeting between them Wednesday (29th) and issue a joint statement on the latest developments.
A Lebanese source stressed that Saudi efforts on Lebanon’s behalf would not be affected by positions supporting escalation, particularly the one expressed by Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem in his statement Monday (27th).
According to the source, Saudi Arabia is working to establish a unified position among the Lebanese leadership in negotiations with Israel, as formulated by Aoun.
This position includes an immediate ceasefire, an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, the release of Hezbollah detainees, the return of residents to southern Lebanon and a reconstruction process. These points are also cited by Hezbollah.
On Monday (27th), Qassem attacked the Lebanese government’s conduct in a written statement. He declared that the terrorist organization opposed direct negotiations with Israel and that the Lebanese authorities had rushed to make concessions for nothing in return. He said the negotiations had no meaning and that Hezbollah would continue acting against Israel. He also again rejected the demand that the organization disarm.
In response, the Lebanese President issued a statement against Hezbollah, without naming the organization, and accused it of treason.
“There are those who criticize us for deciding to enter negotiations, claiming there is no national consensus,” Aoun said. “And I ask: When you went to war, did you have a national consensus?”
“Before the start of negotiations, there were those who criticized and accused us of treason,claiming we were heading into negotiations of surrender,” Aoun said. “We say to them: Let the negotiations begin, and then judge the results.”
He added: “How long will the people of southern Lebanon continue to pay the price for others’ wars on our soil? The latest of these were the war in support of Gaza and the war in support of Iran. If the war had been for Lebanon we would have supported it, but when the purpose of the war is to achieve the interests of others, I reject it completely.”
“What we are doing is not treason,” Aoun said. “Treason is committed by those who take their country to war in order to achieve foreign interests. My goal is to bring the state of war with Israel to and end, in the form of a hudna agreement, an armistice or temporary ceasefire. Is a hudna agreement humiliation? I will not accept reaching a humiliating.agreement.”
War Of Redemption Likely To Continue Through 2026, IDF Chief Says
The seven-front War of Redemption against Iran and its regional proxies is expected to continue throughout 2026, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff LTG Eyal Zamir said on Monday (27th).
“Since the October 7th massacre, the IDF has ben engaged in combat in an on-going multi-front war. We continued to remain prepared and vigilant for any scenario in all sectors,” Zamir told senior commanders at a military conference held at the Israeli Air Force Ramat David Base.
“We are still in a multi-front operation,” the military chief stressed, adding that 2026 “may continue to be a year of multi-front combat.”
As part of a new security doctrine developed in the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct.7th massacre, the IDF has established buffer zones on the front lines, adjacent to border communities in the north and south, he noted.
“We must be prepared to remain in these areas as long as sustained security for our communities has not yet been ensured,” Zamir said.
Ongoing diplomatic negotiations with Iran, Lebanon and Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip “are grounded in the achievements in the air, at sea and on land,” he continued.
Regarding the Islamic Republic, the Chief of Staff praised “Operation Roaring Lion,” in which he said the IDF “achieved unprecedented accomplishments and removed emerging existential threats.”
“We operated in a joint operation, together with the United States military, in extraordinary synchronization. We fulfilled every mission assigned to us and exceeded expectations,” he said, adding: “We must now ensure these achievements are translated into long-term strategic gain.”
The two and a half year old War of Redemption began when Hamas and other Iranian-backed Palestinian terrorist groups and Gazan ”civilians” invaded the north western Negev from Gaza on October 7, 2023, massacring some 1,200 people, wounding thousands and taking 251 hostages back to the Strip.
Oslo’s Collapse – And The Cost Israel Kept Paying – Lt.-Col. (res.) Maurice Hirsch
As part of the Oslo Accords, Israel agreed to pursue peace and coexistence with the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). The PLO promised to end terrorism and “armed struggle” against Israel, prevent incitement to violence, actively combat terrorism, and avoid unilateral actions. The core concept was mutual commitment: The PLO-PA would deliver peace and coexistence, while Israel would provide financial support.
The PLO and the PA never fulfilled their commitments. The PLO, dominated by Fatah, the party of Yasser Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas, never truly abandoned terror. Fatah leaders have repeatedly stressed this. The PA education system has been consistently criticized for radicalization, antisemitism, and the promotion of violence against Israel and Israelis. Instead of combating terror, the Palestinian leadership refers to the genocidal terrorists of Hamas, who planned and executed the October 7, 2023, massacre, as legitimate “Palestinian factions.”
Incitement to violence, terror, and murder, as well as the glorification of terrorist murderers, led by the PA, remain commonplace. The PLO-PA also developed and implemented a multi-million dollar “Pay-for-Slay” terror reward policy. In the international arena, the PLO-PA repeatedly acted unilaterally, requesting that the UN recognize the “State of Palestine.”
While the PLO-PA did not fulfill most Oslo commitments, Israel continued to collect and transfer taxes which accounted for 65-70% of the PA’s total budget. By continuing to transfer these funds to the PA, Israel was bankrolling its own potential demise. In June 2025, Israel ceased transferring the taxes to the PLO-PA.
Since the PLO-PA has fundamentally breached every provision of the Oslo Accords, Israel is fully within its rights to refuse to continue transferring the funds. If the PLO-PA does not fulfill its commitments, there is no reason whatsoever why Israel should be expected to continue funding Palestinian terror, whether the physical murder of Jews or the diplomatic terror in international forums.
The writer, former director of the Military Prosecution in Judea and Samaria, is director of the Palestinian Authority Accountability Initiative in the Jerusalem Center
(hcfa.org)
Israel’s Legitimacy Isn’t Debatable Under International Law – Roy K Altman
Relatively speaking, the modern State of Israel is a rather old country. When the UN accepted it as a member state on May 11, 1949, Israel became the 59th country in the world. Today, the UN counts 193 member states, which means that Israel is older than two-thirds (134 of 193) of the world’s countries. Even so, Israel is the only country whose existence is constantly being questioned and debated. The claim that Israel is “an illegitimate state” is one of the most widely accepted assertions I’ve heard since Hamas’Oct.7 invasion of Israel.
A nation doesn’t become a state simply by declaring its statehood. Anthropologists and linguists have identified 7,000 different ethnic groups around the world today. But there are only 193 nation-states represented at the UN, which means that 98% of the world’s ethnic groups don’t have their own state.
To become a state under international law (according to the Montevideo Convention of 1933), a nation must show it has a permanent population, a defined territory, an effective government, and the capacity to conduct foreign relations. Israel meets all four of these factors today, as it did in 1948 when the Jewish state was founded.
On November 29, 1947, the UN General Assembly voted 33-13 to recognize the Land of Israel as the ancestral home of the Jewish people and to ratify their ancient claim to the land. This was once seen as uncontroversial, as both the U.S. and the Soviet Union voted to recognize Israel’s foundation. Israel was unquestionably a legitimate state when it came into being in 1948.
Yet the so-called “State of Palestine,” which has been recognized by more than 140 countries, fails the Montevideo test. It has no defined borders. According to every poll conducted on the issue, the Palestinian people would roundly reject any proposed border that allows for the existence of a Jewish state. It also has no single effective government.
The writer serves as a U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Florida. (RealClear Books&Culture)
