News Digest — 11/6/24
Netanyahu Dismisses Gallant, Appoints Katz As Defense Minister
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed Defense Minister Yoav Gallant Tuesday evening (5th), citing a breakdown in trust during the country’s ongoing war.
In a statement, Netanyahu said that while there had been productive cooperation in the early months of the war, significant differences in strategy had emerged between him and Gallant in recent months.
“At a time of war, full trust between the prime minister and the defense minister is critical,” Netanyahu said. “Unfortunately, this trust has eroded, and attempts to bridge the gaps have failed.” He noted that the differences were not only made public in an “unacceptable manner” but had also reached Israel’s enemies, who had “derived great benefit” from the situation.
The prime minister emphasized that while open debate is part of his decision-making process, the public nature of the trust issue had made it impossible to continue the current working relationship. “This crisis has become public knowledge and prevents the proper management of the war effort,” Netanyahu said. He added that most members of the government and the Security Cabinet shared the same sentiment.
Netanyahu announced that Israel Katz, the Foreign Minister and a veteran politician who previously served as finance and intelligence minister, would replace Gallant as defense minister. Describing Katz as a “bulldozer” with a combination of “responsibility and quiet determination,” Netanyahu praised his extensive experience and leadership, saying Katz was well-equipped to lead the defense effort during this critical period.
Additionally, Netanyahu revealed that he had invited former Justice Minister Gideon Saar to join the coalition as foreign minister. Saar, a longtime member of Israel’s security cabinet, is seen as bringing valuable experience in policy and defense matters. Netanyahu expressed confidence that Saar’s inclusion would strengthen the government and coalition stability, which he described as essential during wartime.
“I am convinced these steps will reinforce the government and the cabinet, ensuring they work together in harmony for the security of Israel and the victory of the nation,” Netanyahu concluded.
‘Wake Up, Iran Wants To Destroy Us’– Arab Israeli Activist
A large banner that hung in Tehran depicting a nuclear attack on Tel Aviv sparked an impassioned response from a prominent pro-Israel Arab activist, who urged Israel to wake up to the existential threat posed by the Islamic state.
“The Iranian regime hung this sign in the heart of Tehran. In Farsi, it reads, ‘Teloshima’ – a play on words of Tel Aviv and Hiroshima. Along with the image of a nuclear explosion, everyone can understand the threat – a nuclear missile striking Tel Aviv,” wrote Yosef Haddad on his Instagram account.
Haddad, an Arab-Christian citizen of Israel who publicly advocates on behalf of the Jewish state, stressed that Iran’s nuclear development program poses a real threat to Israel’s existence.
“In this case, you don’t need good intelligence, you don’t need Unit 8200 or the Mossad,” he continued.
“The writing on the wall, or in this case on a billboard in the heart of Iran, is clear. They are threatening in a direct personal way… making it clear that their goal is to destroy us, and we must not be apathetic or complacent for a moment,” Haddad added.
“You cannot rely on the world or anyone else to do the work for our security, only us, only the IDF. This sign, together with their recent threats to attack us again, give us a good reason to strike their nuclear sites… it’s time to chop off the snake’s head.”
Iran launched two unprecedented ballistic missile attacks against Israel in a six months span, causing damage to military sites throughout the country.
Under intense pressure from the Biden administration, Israel launched a retaliatory strike against Iran, but avoided attacking the Islamic Republic’s nuclear sites or oil assets.
Iran is threatening to once again strike Israel with previously unused weaponry, triggering warnings from Israel that should Iran attack a third time, Israel will “not hold back” with its response.
Over 60 PFLP Operatives Arrested In West Bank And Lebanon – IDF, Shin Bet Say
Over 60 operatives from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terror group organization have been arrested in counterterror operations in the West Bank and Lebanon, the IDF and Shin bet announced in a joint statement on Tuesday (5th).
Among those arrested in the West Bank was the head of the Women’s Committees Association of the PFLP, Abla Sa’adat, the wife of PFLP head Ahmad Sa’adat who has been jailed in Israel since 2006 In addition, Tahir Badran Gaber, an activist from Ramallah was also detained, officials said.
The Women’s Committees Association of the PFLP has been declared to be a terror organization by Israel.
The IDF and Shin Bet said key figures who served as the heads of the PFLP in the West Bank were among those arrested, in addition to terrorists who operated in the field for the organization.
The statement added that students at West Bank Universities who were active members of PFLP cells at the educational institutions were also detained.
The statement also said that the military has been acting against the terror group in Lebanon since the killing of the PFLP commander at the end of September. According to the military and Shin Bet, Nidal Abd al-Aal was involved in planning and advancing terror attacks in the West Bank.
Meanwhile, at least seven people were killed during an Israel Defense Forces raid and airstrikes in the West Bank on Tuesday (5th), as the military targeted an armed terror cell in the Qabatiya area near Jenin.
An initial IDF statement announcing the airstrike in the Qabatiya area did not give further details.
Since October 7, troops have arrested some 5,250 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank, including more than 2,050 affiliated with Hamas.
According to the Palestinian Authority’s health ministry, more than 716 West Bank Palestinians have been killed in that time. The IDF says that they were gunmen killed in exchanges of fire, rioters who clashed with troops, or terrorists carrying out attacks.
During the same period, 41 people, including Israeli security personnel, have been killed in terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank. Another six members of the security forces were killed in clashes with terror operatives in the West Bank.
The IDF has carried out more than 70 airstrikes in the West Bank since October 7, using drones, attack helicopters, and fighter jets.
Gaza terrorists Trained In Iran To Learn How To Manufacture Weapons – Report
Gaza terrorists trained in Iran to learn how to manufacture weapons in the Gaza Strip, according to a Bloomberg Tuesday (5th) report, based on notes belonging to a Gaza terrorist who reportedly partook in the courses.
The notes written in Arabic and found in an undisclosed location, included some 14 pages, with drawings of drones and sections of rockets.
The inscriptions detail instructions for the creation of molds for the “Talash” and “Kian” drones of Iranian design, the report noted.
According to Bloomberg, the notes also include the location in which explosives must be positioned in short-range rockets and how to hide explosive devices, among other things.
According to an Israeli official cited in the report, the weapons detailed in the documents were in line with those used by Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).
Bloomberg noted that such courses, overseen by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), last three to five months and have been operating since 2016.
The report also stated that dozens of Hamas and PIJ terrorists attended the IRGC courses in Iran and were selected based on their knowledge of scientific subjects.
A CIA official reportedly told Bloomberg that Iran offered similar courses to the Houthis, Iraq’s Islamic Resistance, and Syrian militias.
Israelis Are No Longer Prepared To Tolerate People Parading As Humanitarian Relief Workers Who Are Trying To Kill Them – Melanie Phillips
Despite all the evidence of UNRWA’s terrorist ties, there has been hysterical outrage over Israel’s parliamentary ban. There have been claims that it will deepen the humanitarian crisis with Gazans now on the brink of starvation, a claim that’s been made repeatedly during the war but has always proved untrue. In reality, hundreds of aid trucks enter Gaza every week.
Hamas continues to steal the aid and sell it on the black market at hugely inflated prices. Hamas has seized an estimated $500 million in foreign aid since the war began.
Moreover, why should Israel be held responsible for providing Gaza with humanitarian assistance? Israel has been under bombardment from Gaza for two decades. Gaza’s population elected Hamas to rule them. Opinion polling consistently reveals that even among those who now hate Hamas, the vast majority support the killing of Israelis.
Thousands of those civilians took part in the Oct. 7 atrocities in Israel and grossly abused the Israeli captives when they were dragged into Gaza. The IDF subsequently found evidence of ties to Hamas in virtually every house. In what conceivable moral universe is a country (targeted by such a remorseless and genocidal attack) expected to look after the welfare of its murderous attackers?
The pretense that UNRWA exists to provide for the suffering was finally ripped apart by the part its employees played in the Oct. 7 atrocities and in the war that has followed. Israelis are no longer prepared to tolerate people who are trying to kill them and destroy their country while parading as humanitarian relief workers.
The writer is a columnist for The Times – UK
(jns.org)
Nova Survivor Who Lost Wife On Oct.7 Goes Home After Almost 400 Days In Hospital
A father of three from Bat Yam who was seriously wounded when Hamas terrorists stormed the Nova music festival near Kibbutz Re’im on October 7, 2023, was released from the hospital on Monday (4th) after over a year of medical treatment.
Hospital staff at Tel Aviv’s Ichilov lined the halls cheering and ringing bells to bid farewell to Nati Ganon, 40, as he was discharged, though the celebration was bittersweet – his wife Shiran was murdered during the onslaught at the outdoor rave.
“The hospital staff is all heart,” Ganon was quoted as saying by the Ynet news site. “What I’ve been through isn’t normal… It’s something that the brain can’t process.”
He said that he had two psychological breakdowns during his rehabilitation period, during which he “didn’t get up for treatments, stayed with my blanket up to my neck, and didn’t want to talk to anyone,” Ynet reported.
“My journey doesn’t end here,” he was quoted as saying. “My greatest victory is first to return home to raise my children, and my dream is to return to the profession that I love – hairdressing.”
In the weeks after the brutal massacre, Ganon told the Kan public broadcaster that he and Shiran had tried to flee the festival in their car, which got stuck, and they jumped into another vehicle, which came under gunfire. Nati was shot in the leg, and so was Shiran, he recalled.
They tried to jump out of the car, but Nati was unable to run and told Shiran to keep going. That was the last time he saw her.
“I was shot and lay in a field for five hours bleeding,” Ynet quoted him as saying. “I knew it wasn’t good, but it was only after I arrived at the hospital that I realized I was injured in the back – the bullet had missed my spine by millimeters.
Ganon was eventually rescued, evacuated and hospitalized.
Shiran was considered missing for close to a week until her body was found and brought for burial in Holon on October 15. She is survived by Nati and their three children, Ilay, 15, Ori, 11, and Mai, 8, as well as her father, Betzalel, and her siblings.
Over 360 were murdered and 40 kidnapped at the Nova party on October 7,2023, when some 3,000 Hamas-led terrorists burst across the border from Gaza by land, air and sea, killing a total of some 1,200 people in southern Israel and seizing 251 hostages amid acts of brutality and sexual assault.
It is believed that 97 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the IDF.
