News Digest — 12/3/25
UNGA Calls On Israel To Withdraw From Golan Heights, Israel Says It Won’t Retreat
“The United Nations General Assembly approved a resolution calling on Israel to withdraw from the Golan Heights in a Tuesday (2nd) vote.
Some 123 countries voted in favor of the resolution, seven voted against it, and 41 abstained.
Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon later called the vote a farce in a post on X.
“The UN General Assembly once again proves how disconnected it is from reality, instead of addressing the crimes of the Iranian axis and the dangerous activities of militias in Syria, it demands that Israel withdraw from the Golan Heights – a vital defense line that protects our citizens,” he wrote.
“Israel will not return to the 1967 lines and will not abandon the Golan. Not now, not ever.”
The Syrian Foreign Ministry added that the resolution “also reflects the genuine diplomatic efforts calling for Israel’s withdrawal from the entirety of the occupied Syrian Golan to the June 4, 1967 line, and confirms once again that acquiring land by force is illegitimate and violates international law, particularly the Israeli annexation measures in the occupied Syrian Golan.”
Syria noted that several countries’ positions on the Golan Heights had shifted in recent years, and specifically thanked them in the statement.
According to the Syrian statement, France, Ireland, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia, and Herzegovina, Burkina Faso, Denmark, Finland, Gabon, Germany, Grenada, Guatemala, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Nepal, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Peru, Portugal, Moldova, San Marino, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Timor-Leste, Ukraine, Hungary, Uruguay, and Vanuatu, all moved from abstaining to supporting the measure.
Three Soldiers Injured In West Bank Stabbing, Ramming Attacks, Assailants Killed
Two soldiers were lightly injured Tuesday morning (2nd) in a stabbing attack near the northern West Bank settlement of Ateret, the Israel Defense Forces said. The assailant was shot dead.
The attack came hours after another soldier was lightly hurt in a car-ramming near the city of Hebron. The attacker was killed during a subsequent attempt to arrest him.
Tuesday’s stabbing occurred after troops were dispatched to question a suspicious individual seen near Ateret, north of Ramallah. Soldiers stopped the man and began inspecting him when he pulled out a knife and stabbed two of them before being shot and killed, the army said.
The Palestinian Authority Health Ministry identified the assailant as Mohammed Asmar, 18, from the nearby village of Beit Rima.
Hours earlier, on Monday night (1st), near Hebron, an assailant accelerated his vehicle into troops stationed at the Yehuda Junction, injuring one service woman. The car fled the scene as troops fired at it. The injured soldier was taken to a hospital for treatment.
The army then set up roadblocks in the area and conducted extensive searches. Eventually the attacker was spotted in Hebron in the car used in the attack. During an arrest attempt the suspect “tried to escape, endangering forces, who reacted with gunfire and he was eliminated,” according to the army.
He was identified by the PA Health Ministry as 17-year-old Mohamad-Zughayar.
Violence in the West Bank has surged since Hamas’ attack on Israel in October 2023. According to the Palestinian Authority, over 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since then. The IDF said that most of those killed were gunmen, rioters clashing with troops or terrorists carrying out attacks.
During the same period, 63 civilians and Israeli security personnel have been killed in terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank. Another eight members of the security forces were killed in clashes during raids in Palestinian cities in the West Bank.
‘Hezbollah Disarms Or Israel Acts’: Netanyahu, Ortagus Meet As Israel-Lebanon Tensions Flare
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday (2nd) met with US President Donald Trump’s envoy for Lebanon affairs, Morgan Ortagus, in Israel as border tensions with Lebanon intensify, according to Israeli officials.
Defense Minister Israel Katz and IDF Intelligence Chief MG Shlomi Binder joined the meeting. The talks come one year after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, which Israeli officials say is eroding.
“If there is no dramatic change by the end of the agreement period, another round of fighting in the north is almost inevitable,” a security official told The Jerusalem Post.
Senior Israeli officials say Lebanon’s government and army are not taking sufficient steps to disarm Hezbollah, warning that the group has grown its ranks and replenished missiles and rockets smuggled from Syria.
Another security official said Israel has plans for every scenario. “There is already a prepared plan for every type of operation,” the official said. In both Jerusalem and Washington, December 31 is being discussed as a deadline after which Israel and the United States will reassess options.
Representatives of the countries overseeing the ceasefire’s implementation are due to meet on Wednesday (3rd) in Naquora. Ortagus is expected to attend the session, then travel to Beirut to convey a message from senior Israeli officials. The message, according to officials, is direct: “Either Hezbollah disarms or Israel will be forced to act.”
Israeli and Western frustration over Hezbollah’s disarmament pace has grown in recent weeks, alongside reports of increased activity along the frontier and debate over UNIFIL’s role. The ceasefire’s first anniversary has sharpened scrutiny of whether Beirut is enforcing commitments to keep Hezbollah’s weapons away from the border.
IDF Reveals: Hezbollah Assassinated Lebanese Officials To Hide Role In Beirut Blast
The IDF has exposed that Hezbollah’s Unit 121 assassinated four Lebanese public figures who posed a threat to the terror organization by attempting to reveal that the August 2020 Beirut Port explosion was caused by ammonium nitrate stored for Hezbollah’s use.
The individuals killed were senior customs officials and journalists who pointed to Hezbollah’s connection to the blast.
Joseph Skaff, who served as head of the Beirut Port Customs Department, was thrown from a great height to his death by members of the unit in 2017, after he demanded the removal of Hezbollah’s ammonium nitrate from the port – the material that later caused the devastating explosion.
Waneer Abu Rajili, head of the anti-smuggling Unit in the Customs Authority, was stabbed to death by unit operatives in December 2020, after providing information linking Hezbollah to the port explosion.
Joe Bejjani, a photographer who was among the first to document the scene of the explosion and assisted investigators, was shot dead in his car in December 2020 by unit operatives, who also stole his phone before fleeing the scene.
Lokman Slim, a political activist and journalist known for his outspoken criticism of Hezbollah was also shot dead in his vehicle in February 2021 by the same unit, shortly after stating in an interview that Hezbollah and the Assad regime were responsible for the explosion.
IDF Arabic-language Spokesperson Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee stated: “In all four cases, Hezbollah denied any involvement in the murders, and the investigations were never completed.”
White Rose Society Awards Presented To US Ambassador Huckabee, Pastor O.S. Hawkins
US Ambassador Mike Huckabee and American Evangelical pastor O. S. Hawkins were both awarded the White Rose legacy prize on Tuesday (2nd).
The prize is given in memory of Christians who resisted fascism and fought against Nazi oppression during the Second World War.
Hawkins is the senior advisor and ambassador at large for the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is the former pastor of the historic First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas. Huckabee is also an Evangelical pastor, though he does not currently lead a congregation.
The presentation ceremony took place at President Isaac Herzog’s residence in Jerusalem. It was the first time that the ceremony had been held in Israel.
Founded by Jewish community leaders and philanthropists in the US, the White Rose Society is a grassroots movement that recognizes non-Jewish individuals who exemplify moral courage and a steadfast commitment to justice by standing with the Jewish people and standing up for them and the State of Israel.
The society honors the memories of a Munich University Professor and a small group of university students, who in 1942, under the code name of White Rose, opposed the Nazi regime. Their courage and moral integrity cost them their lives.
There were also rabbis present at the interfaith event. One of them, Rabbi Yitzhak Aharon Korff spoke about the Jewish philosophy of “respect but suspect,” which concerns honor.
“When Christians began to stand up on behalf of the Jewish people publicly, Jews were suspicious of their motives, but have come to know that they have sincere friends among Christians,” he said.
Wendy Selig, a senior member of the White Rose Society praised the two honorees for showing up and standing up, adding that Huckabee has been a friend in moments of crisis and moments of calm, and that Hawkins has shown “extraordinary courage and devotion” in standing up for the Jewish people during a period of acute anti-Semitism.
“The Evangelical world stands with you,” said Hawkins. “For Zion’s sake and for Jerusalem’s sake, we will not be silent.”
Huckabee was appreciative not only for being selected as a White Rose honoree but also for the friendship he and his wife Janet Huckabee, have maintained with Herzog and his wife, Michal Herzog.
He was happy to share “an extraordinary moment” with Hawkins, a longtime friend.
As a devout Christian, he stated he saw nothing special about standing with the Jewish people and the State of Israel.
“To stand with the Jewish people and the State of Israel is to obey God, he said. It’s not always comfortable, but it is necessary. I can’t be a Christian without the foundation of Judaism,” he concluded.
Why Qatar Should Have No Role In Gaza – Khaled Abu Toameh
Delegations from Qatar, Egypt and Turkey met in Cairo on Nov. 25 to discuss implementation of the second phase of President Trump’s plan for ending the war in Gaza. The meeting underscores Qatar’s apparent eagerness to play a central role in poat-war Gaza. As a long-time supporter and funder of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Qatari regime’s main goal seems to be ensuring that Hamas remains in power in Gaza.
Qatar is the only Arab country that hosts the entire leadership of Hamas. It has been providing political and financial aid to the terror group since 2007. Qatari, along with Iranian support, has enabled Hamas to stay in power for 18 years and launch its Oct.7, 2023 massacre.
The assumption that Qatar could play a role in maintaining peace or launch a process of deep deradicalization in Gaza is delusional. Qatar continues to be affiliated with the extremist ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. This ideology considers non-Muslims (and Israel) as enemy No. 1.
In an Oct. 19 column in the Qatari government daily al-Sharq, Ahmad Muhammadi, an imam and preacher in Qatar’s Waqf Ministry, explained that the enmity between Muslims and the Jews and Christians is existential and deeply rooted. He presented Islam as the truth and Christianity and Judaism as falsehood and heresy. He clarified that this enmity would continue “as long as the communities of unbelief persist in their deviation.” He called on Muslims to beware of slogans of tolerance and asserted that Islam is “a religion that neither compromises nor reconciles.”
Since Oct. 7, Qatari media have constantly expressed unreserved support for Hamas and for terrorism and armed violence against Israel. Bringing Qatar into Gaza is effectively placing the fox inside the chicken coop.
The writer, a veteran Israeli journalist, is a senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute and the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs.
Why Does No One Object To Eight Officially Islamic States But Cannot Tolerate One Small Jewish State? Nils A. Haug
Israel is the rightful and eternal ancestral homeland of the Jewish people. Much of the world nevertheless seems eager to believe lies about Israelis being colonialists – despite the inconvenient fact that the Jews fought colonialism, administered by the British. Jews have been rooted to Israel (Zion) for nearly 4,000 years, backed by a promise in Genesis 15:18 that God made to the ancient father of all Jews: Abraham. Muslims have been around only since the exploits of Mohammed – who died in 632 CE.
It would be considered laughable for the natives of any other country to be asked to defend their right to exist; why are Jews expected, after almost 4,000 years on the land, to explain their rights to Israel being their homeland? Does anyone ask if Germany has a right to exist? Or Kazakhstan?
In today’s uncomfortable reality, jihadists do not seem even slightly interested in giving up murdering Jews. A strong and secure Israel will come only through a dynamic policy of self-defense that will be able to meet those striving for the country’s elimination with determination. The world is not just getting less safe for Jews. It is also rapidly becoming less safe for Christians, Hindus and Muslims deemed by other Muslims to be not Muslim enough.
No one seems to mind having eight officially Islamic states (Afghanistan, Brunei, Iran, Mauritania, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen) and 18 states where Islam is the State religion, and one officially Anglican state, England, but they apparently cannot tolerate one small Jewish state. As the leaders in the West increasingly lose their moral compass and kneel to appease the radical Jew-haters in their midst, the Jews hold the moral high ground; their critics and enemies do not. (Gatestone Institute)
