News Digest — 4/4/23
Terror In Central Israel: Two Soldiers Stabbed, One In Serious Condition
Two IDF soldiers were wounded, one seriously, in a stabbing attack on Tuesday morning (4th) at the Tzrifin military base near the city of Rishon Lezion, just south of Tel Aviv.
Magen David Adom (MDA) paramedics arrived at the scene after receiving a call at approximately 9:52 a.m. They treated the victims, both approximately 20 years old, before transferring them to the nearby Samir-Asaf HaRofeh Medical Center in Be’er Yaakov.
“There was a lot of commotion at the place. One of the wounded was lying on the sidewalk and the other wounded was sitting next to him. They were conscious and suffered from stab wounds to their bodies,” said MDA paramedic Moshe Gelbstein.
“We gave them initial medical treatment, including dressings and bandages to stop the bleeding. We quickly put them in the intensive care unit and evacuated them to the nearby hospital with one of them in serious condition and the other in mild condition. Security forces on the spot neutralized the terrorist.
United Hatzalah EMT Beni Meshulam said due to the nature of the incident, United Hatzalah’s Psychotrauma and Crisis Response Unit treated several people at the scene for emotional and Psychological shock.”
Report: Alleged Airstrike Hits Syria, 4th In Under A Week
An alleged Israeli airstrike targeted the Damascus area on Monday night (3rd) in the fourth such strike blamed on Israel in Syria over the past week, according to Syrian state media.
Initial reports indicated that casualties were caused after al-Kiswah, south of Damascus, was hit in the strikes. A site in Jebel Mania was also reportedly hit.
The strike comes a day after a suspected Iranian drone was downed by the IDF near the Hula Valley after it infiltrated into Israel from Syria.
The strikes also come two days after the Dabaa air base near al-Qusayr was targeted in an alleged Israeli airstrike, injuring five Syrian soldiers. Two days before that strike, on Thursday (30th), two Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) personnel were killed in an alleged Israeli airstrike in Damascus.
The two IRGC personnel were identified as Milad Heydari and Meqdad Meqdani. The IRGC threatened to respond to their killings.
Less than 24-hours before that strike, on Wednesday (29th), alleged Israeli airstrikes targeted the Damascus area as well, with Syrian state media reporting two Syrian soldiers injured in the strikes.
The Opposition Voice news site reported that the strikes on Wednesday night (29th) targeted an air defense base and a moving target on a highway south of Damascus believed to be the convoy of a “foreign figure” on its way to the Kafr Souseh neighborhood.
After the strikes, fires were reported in the al-Midan and Kafr Souseh neighborhoods. It is unclear if the fires were caused directly by the strikes or by shrapnel from Syrian air defense missiles, as Syrian air defense missiles occasionally fall short.
‘It Was Scary’: Unusual Terror Shooting In Northern Israel Targets Religious Kibbutz
Palestinian terrorists shot at homes in a religious kibbutz in northern Israel Monday evening (3rd), causing some damage but no injuries.
The terrorists apparently arrived in a vehicle from the Jenin area and fired across the separation fence at Kibbutz Maale Gilboa, according to the IDF.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that they had fired at the town of Merav, which is situated next to the kibbutz. They released a video of the shooting.
A resident of the kibbutz told N12: “It was very scary; miraculously it ended with no casualties. We are trying to digest the event, but from what I remember, we suddenly heard a loud shot towards the kibbutz. We all quickly entered our homes to take cover.”
The gunmen managed to flee.
“Terrorism in Samaria, Gush Etzion, Elad, and Tel Aviv is the same terrorism which threatens the entire State of Israel. Whoever draws an imaginary line [the so-called “green line”] and thinks the problems in Judea and Samaria only apply there, doesn’t understand that the terrorists seek to destroy all of Israel,” Gush Etzion Regional Council Chairman Shlomo Ne’eman said in a statement.
“The continued development of communities throughout Israel while halting the PA’s terror apparatus and hate education will bring back quiet to the area,” he added.
Demonstrations At Herzog’s Home: ‘We Will Continue The Reform’
Demonstrations of support for the further advancement of legal judicial reform continued on Monday (3rd) with a rally across from President Isaac Herzog’s residence in Jerusalem. Protesters are trying to make their voices heard and remind Herzog that the Right won a conclusive victory in last year’s Knesset elections well before renewed talks on the president’s revised outline for the proposed law.
Prior to the demonstration, organizers MK Avichai Boaron and Berale Crombie, said that: “The last time an outline was presented, the president clearly took sides, and we are afraid that this time, he will again use his public image and take advantage of the sincerity of the right-wing sector which continues pushing for dialogue and wants to avoid a civil war at any price. We are afraid he will propose another plan that caters to the Left.”
“Decisions in a democratic society cannot be made in the President’s House by a limited forum rather than in the Knesset. – the national House of Representatives. When the public gave the Right 64 seats just six months ago it clearly indicated it wanted a change in the judicial system. As long as the democratic system has not changed – decisions must be made by a majority coalition and not in collaboration with the opposition, with all due respect to it,” they pointed out.
“Besides the need for broad agreement to calm the atmosphere, we’d like to remind you that in a democratic society an elected government receives the mandate to make decisions and create policies. The method proposed by certain people, including the President – of siding with the opposition instead of listening to the voice of the people is a slap in the face to Israeli democracy,” said the two.
Demonstrators called on the public to demand that the President respect the people’s choices at the ballot box. “We voted to implement a policy. You just can’t throw away those votes as if they never existed and have the President make the final call on policy decisions which will determine the course this country takes in coming years.”
All the Right-wing organizations that have united in recent weeks for a joint protest movement voiced their support for Monday’s (3rd) demonstration.
Last month, Herzog presented a watered-down version of the proposed reform which matched the Left’s wishes much more than the Right’s.
While the appended proposal would prevent the Supreme Court from striking down ministerial appointments based on the ‘reasonableness standard’ the way the court struck down the appointment of Shas chairman Aryeh Deri in January, the Override Clause, which would allow the Knesset to re-pass legislation struck down by the Supreme Court was completely missing from Herzog’s plan.
Previous compromise proposals had suggested a version of the Override Clause which would require a supermajority of MKs instead of a bare majority of 61.
(isnn.com)
Netanyahu And Gallant Unity In Joint Base Appearance
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant made a show of putting aside their disagreements as they appeared together at a pre-Passover toast Monday (3rd) with soldiers at a military base and called for a unified Israeli stance.
“The most important thing is keeping politics outside military bases, and uniting together to defend Israel, that’s why we are here,” Netanyahu said, according to a statement from his office.
Gallant delivered a similar message of unity, in the face of a common enemy, to soldiers, the Defense Ministry said in a separate statement.
“The enemy’s bullets don’t discriminate between those who come from the city or from the mountains or valleys. We’re all the same on the battlefield so we need to show a unified front against the enemy,” the defense minister said.
“This is especially relevant now, when we see attempts to hurt us in new places – where we haven’t seen attacks in past years,” he added, without elaborating.
Netanyahu had announced he was firing Gallant last week for urging the government to pause its judicial overhaul blitz, but has yet to actually fire him.
Earlier Monday (3rd), the Prime Minister’s Office said the firing had been delayed by security concerns.
Iran Is Increasing Its Pressure On Israel – Yoav Limor
Iran has been increasing its pressure on Israel lately. This is demonstrated by its efforts to smuggle weapons into Syria and Lebanon; the attempt to harm Israelis and Jews in Athens; by direct and indirect aid to Palestinian terror organizations; and by increasing activity in the northern arena – with an emphasis on Hezbollah, which sent a terrorist from Lebanon to Israel to carry out an attack at Megiddo Junction recently.
Israeli security officials think this activity results from Iran’s assumption that Israel is preoccupied with internal problems in light of the crisis over judicial reform. However, this premise is incorrect: Israel’s security apparatus continues to operate as before to thwart terror activity, and an external crisis will actually unite Israeli society.
If Israel did not retaliate for the Megiddo attack, this would likely be interpreted as weakness, which would invite more attempted terror attacks. Therefore, Israel wants to make clear to Hezbollah and Iran that they are playing with fire. Alleged Israeli strikes on Syria targeting Iranian weapons, infrastructure and operatives will likely convey this message.
Iran hastened to threaten Israel that it would take revenge for the killing of its operatives. This does not need to upset us; Iran is always trying to kill Israelis and Jews in every corner of the world, and Israel’s latest attacks will not change anything in this regard.
Israeli Aid Group Sends Relief To Malawi Following Cyclone
Israeli aid organization IsraAID has launched an emergency response to Malawi, which is dealing with a double emergency brought on by a cyclone that threatens to compound an existing deadly cholera outbreak.
Early in February, the southeastern African country was hit by Cyclone Freddy which continued to ravage the area until mid-March. More than 700 people have been killed in the region, mostly in Malawi, and over 500 are missing.
The eight-person Israeli delegation arrived in Malawi on Monday (3rd) and includes personnel from IsraAID headquarters in Tel Aviv as well as from missions in other African countries. It is setting up cholera prevention points in the city of Blantyre, which was hardest hit by flash flooding and is now home to displacement camps.
Focusing on water sanitation and hygiene, the delegation brought two large water filtration systems, chlorine tablets and oral rehydration salts to provide access to drinking water and prevent the spread of cholera. The delegation also is assembling hygiene kits for families left homeless by the flooding.
IsraAID’s support was requested by the President of Malawi, based on its expertise in the region. IsraAID began working in neighboring Mozambique following Cyclone Idai in March 2019, and remains there with a long-term mission focused on humanitarian needs in the conflict-stricken Cabo Delgado province.
The initial delegation is set to remain in Malawi for two weeks and will be followed by another emergency response team.
In February, IsraAID sent an emergency response team to Turkey following the devastating earthquake that shook the country and neighboring Syria. It is also still operating in war-torn Ukraine and other locations across the world.
