News Digest — 5/29/25
Historic Decision: Israel Approves 22 New Communities In Judea And Samaria
It was announced on Thursday morning (29th) that in a landmark decision led by Defense Minister Israel Katz and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also serves as a minister in the Defense Ministry, Israel’s Diplomatic Security Cabinet approved a historic decision to establish 22 new Jewish communities throughout Judea and Samaria.
The move is expected to change the face of the land and shape the future of the settlements for decades to come.
Among the most significant aspects of the decision is the historic return to Homesh and Sa-Nur effectively implementing the repeal of the Disengagement Law in northern Samaria. This clears the path for the reestablishment of Jewish communities in these locations – a move which corrects a historical injustice and reaffirms the Jewish people’s rights to their land.
The plan also includes the establishment of four new communities along the eastern border with Jordan, reinforcing Israel’s strategic presence and national security along its frontier.
The new communities are founded as part of a long-term strategic vision aimed at bolstering Israeli control on the ground, blocking the creation of a Palestinian state, and ensuring the continued growth of the settlements in the decades to come.
Defense Minister Israel Katz declared: “This historic decision to establish 22 new communities in Judea and Samaria strengthens our hold on the land, anchors our historic right to The Land of Israel, and delivers a crushing answer to Palestinian terrorism aimed at harming the settlements and weakening them.”
He added: “Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria serves as a vital security barrier for Israel’s major population centers. We must do everything in our power to expand and reinforce this protective shield. The decision we made today is not just about strengthening the settlements on the State’s eastern border – it’s also a strategic move to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger Israel, and it serves as a buffer zone against our enemies. This is a Zionist, security, and national response – and a clear decision about the future of the Land.”
Minister Bezalel Smotrich stated: “This is a great day for the settlements and an important day for the State of Israel. Through determined leadership and intense work, we have succeeded, with God’s help, in achieving a deep strategic shift, returning the State of Israel to a path of building, Zionism, and vision. Settlement in our ancestral homeland is Israel’s shield wall; today we took a giant step toward strengthening it. The next step — sovereignty!”
Smotrich concluded with a biblical declaration: “We did not take a foreign land, but the inheritance of our forefathers.”
Israel Strikes Houthi-Held Sanaa Airport After Repeated Missile Attacks By Yemeni Group
Israeli fighter jets bombed the Houthi-controlled Sanaa International Airport in Yemen on Wednesday (28th), in response to the Iran-backed group’s near-daily ballistic missile attacks on Israel
Since the Israel Defense Force’s last strike on Yemen, on May 16, the Houthis launched at least seven missiles and several drones at Israel, the latest of them on Tuesday morning (27th).
Israeli Air Force fighter jets, refuelers, and spy planes participated in Wednesday’s operation (28th).
In a statement, the IDF said the strikes hit the airport and an aircraft used by the Houthis “to transport terrorists who advanced terror attacks on Israel.”
Defense Minister Israel Katz said the aircraft was the last remaining plane in use by the Houthis. The other planes were destroyed in an Israeli strike on the airport on May 6, also in response to frequent Houthi attacks.
The Israeli strike earlier this month destroyed the airport’s terminal and six planes, and left craters on its runway, according to Yemeni authorities. The airfields reopened for a flight 11 days later.
Also this month, the IAF struck the Houthi-controlled Hodeida and Salif ports in Yemen in response to the Iran-backed group’s repeated attacks on Israel.
The Houthis vowed to respond and have since continued their missile attacks on Israel.
Similar to the ports of Hodeida and Salif that were struck last week, the main airport in Sanaa is routinely operated by the Houthi regime and serves its terror purposes. This is another example of the cruel use made by the Houthi terror organization of civilian infrastructure for terror activities.
Katz said the strike was “a clear message and a direct continuation of the policy we established: ’Any one who fires at the State of Israel will pay a heavy price.’”
“The ports in Yemen will continue to be struck heavily, and the airport in Sanaa will be destroyed again and again, as will other strategic infrastructure in the area used by the Houthi terror organization and its supporters,” Katz continued.
“The Houthi terror organization will be under naval and aerial blockade, as we pledged and warned. Anyone who harms us will be harmed sevenfold,” he said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a statement, similarly said, “We operate by a simple principle: Anyone who harms us – we will harm them.”
“The Houthis are just a symptom. The main power behind them is Iran, which is responsible for the aggression emanating from Yemen,” he said.
The Houthis—whose slogan calls for “Death to America, Death to Israel, and a Curse on the Jews” began attacking Israel and general maritime traffic in November 2023, a month after the October 7 Hamas massacre.
They held their fire when a ceasefire was reached between Israel and Hamas in January 2025.
By that point, they had fired over 40 ballistic missiles and dozens of attack drones and cruise missiles at Israel, including one that killed a civilian and wounded several others in Tel Aviv in July, prompting Israel’s first strike in Yemen.
Since March 18, when the IDF resumed its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis in Yemen have launched 41 ballistic missiles and at least 10 drones at Israel, with several missiles falling short.
IDF Reduces Wartime Forces On Lebanese Border After Months Of Quiet
The IDF on Wednesday (28th) said that it is removing some of its wartime forces from the Lebanese border, moving Division 146 further inland for other missions while leaving Division 91 on the border.
In addition, Division 210 retains responsibility for the Syrian border and Mount Dov.
This decision comes after a full six months of quiet on the border with Lebanon in which Hezbollah has essentially presented no threat. Not only that, but the IDF has been killing Hezbollah members who either try to move into southern Lebanon or are involved in weapons smuggling almost daily, leading to a total of 190 killed over the last six months.
Furthermore, the military retains its five outposts in southern Lebanese territory, which include around 500-1,000 soldiers.
Given these accomplishments, Northern Command head MG Ori Gordin congratulated IDF Division 146 chief BG Yiftah Norkin and his troops on the major successes against Hezbollah over the last approximately 20 months.
Despite those accomplishments, the IDF said that Hezbollah remains a threat with as many as hundreds of medium-to-long range rockets, as many as 10,000 thousand shorter-range rockets, and including several hundred drones. These numbers can vary as Hezbollah is constantly trying to locally produce, as well as smuggle in from Iran other additional weapons.
While Israeli attacks have substantially harmed Hezbollah’s ability to rearm itself, and the new Sunni regime of President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Syria has blocked many of their smuggling efforts, Hezbollah does not completely lack the ability to rearm.
The IDF said its intelligence collection apparatuses, both mobile and stationary, have been heavily improved since before the war, as are its many new defensive capabilities for tracking and shooting down potential Hezbollah aerial threats.
During the war, Hezbollah effectively used drones to outfox existing Israeli air defenses, such as the Iron Dome, but Israel has worked on a variety of new defenses, as well as modifying the Iron Dome, to be more prepared for such future attacks.
Additionally, the military believes that the Lebanese Armed Forces have made some real progress in ousting Hezbollah from large parts of southern Lebanon while also giving space to the IDF to operate at its five forward outposts.
Regarding Syria, the IDF said it has deconfliction mechanisms in place to avoid striking forces it wishes to avoid harming while focusing its attacks on targets it views as a threat.
IDF’s Iron Beam Laser Shot Down Dozens Of Drones, Aerial Threats During War, Military Reveals
In a historic breakthrough, the IDF on Wednesday (28th) announced that its Iron Beam laser defense system had shot down dozens of aerial threats during the war.
Already in fall 2024, The Jerusalem Post had learned that the Iron Beam laser, produced by Rafael, had been used in operational situations, but was barred from reporting on that at the time.
According to the Defense Ministry, the Iron Beam is the most advanced and operational laser in the world, though England, the US and others also have relatively advanced laser platforms.
Sources have told the Post that what makes Iron Beam the most advanced is its reliability in different kinds of weather, its variable range, adaptability to different kinds of aerial threats, and the ability to place it in different contexts.
In October 2024, Rafael announced that it was showcasing its latest defense capabilities at the defense AUSA exhibition October 14-16 in Washington DC, including a new Lite Beam laser-based interception system integrated into the Trophy multitasking defense platform.
While not as much of a watershed moment as the Iron Beam laser defense system, the Lite Beam is still a powerful example of Israel succeeding in using layers at least for short range defense.
Defense sources told the Post that the Lite Beam’s operational capabilities have been proven, though they declined to disclose exactly when and how the IDF has used such capabilities in the field in Gaza or Lebanon.
The implication was that the Lite Beam would be effective against drones and possibly against mortars, but would not shoot down most rockets or long range missiles which Israel eventually hopes the Iron Beam will do.
In general, laser defense technologies are viewed as a major part of future air defense because they would end the arms cost race in which Israel and other wealthy countries constantly waste huge amounts of money to protect themselves from weaker adversaries using low attack cheap forms of threats.
The sources added that the Lite Beam has hard-kill neutralization capabilities which can be integrated on any vehicular platform and operational capabilities, and that it also can be a component of the drone dome which utilizes both soft-kill and jamming.
Rafael said that Lite Beam “offers advantages such as engagement at the speed of light, an unlimited magazine, and negligible cost per interception.”
In February 2023, senior Defense Ministry official BG (res.) Danny Gold said Israel’s air defense lasers, when fully deployed in the future, could shoot down the drones Iran has been sending against Ukraine.
On Wednesday (28th), Gold said, “Our vision for deploying laser weapons was realized during the war with tremendous technological and operational success. IDF combat units displayed boldness in integrating and carrying out the first successful operational deployments of the systems, and the lessons learned will be applied as we deploy more operational laser systems. Laser interception systems will provide an additional layer within Israel’s multi-tiered air defense array, which has been meticulously developed through the tireless efforts of the defense industries and Israel’s exceptional human capital. We will continue to advance this technology and deliver world-leading systems and capabilities to the IDF, turning vision into security in air, sea, land, and across every dimension.”
Head of the Defense MInistry’s Directorate of Research and Development BG Yehuda Elmakayes stated, “During the war we deployed several high-power laser system prototypes, resulting in significant achievements, culminating in the world’s first successful high-power laser interceptions on the battlefield. Through this period, we gained substantial experience in optimizing and operating laser technologies in the field. We are currently integrating these insights into the systems under development, while expanding the range of laser-based systems to protect Israeli civilians and IDF forces.”
Repeated top Israeli official statements have predicted that by the end of 2025, the Iron Beam will be more widely and publicly deployed.
When Words Become Weapons – David Harris
What does “Free, free Palestine” mean? It sure isn’t a cry for peace or coexistence. Rather, it is a call for the annihilation or expulsion of nearly 10 million Israelis, who live in a land associated with the Jewish people since time immemorial. Hamas, arguably the most regressive social movement on the planet, has been repackaged as a “progressive” cause. That has led to bizarre images of politicians, and all different kinds of groups, embracing a cause that opposes everything they purportedly stand for.
Unless decisive action is taken, more innocent people may meet the same fate of political violence in America as Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky. Free speech is a hallowed tradition. But when free speech becomes violent speech, when it seeks to incite, when it says some people, like Israelis and Zionists, have no right to live, it has crossed a line that can’t be ignored or intellectualized away.
When instigators march around with their faces covered to hide their identity, this must be stopped. In fact, it should have ended long ago. Would anyone today allow the Ku Klux Klan to get away with this at Columbia?
Anti-Semitism has a long and lethal history. It must never be minimized, rationalized, or lumped together with every other “ism” or “phobia” under the sun to diminish its significance and specificity.
Appeasing the mob isn’t a strategy, it’s an act of abject cowardice. Unless things change, and rapidly, in taking on the elaborate ecosystem in which Sarah and Yaron’s assassin was incubated, more lives will be lost.
The writer is executive vice chair of the Institute for the Study of Global Anti-Semitism and Policy (ISGAP) (New York Post)
