News Digest — 7/18/24
Knesset Votes Overwhelmingly Against Establishment Of Palestinian State
The Knesset voted by a wide majority Wednesday night (17th), in favor of a resolution rejecting Palestinian statehood in any form.
Wednesday’s (17th) measure, proposed by coalition lawmakers MKs Simcha Rothman, Yuli Edelstein and Limor Son Har Melech – co-chairs of the Land of Israel caucus – comes just days ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned trip to Washington D.C. for an address before a special joint session of Congress on July 24.
Netanyahu is widely expected to meet with President Joe Biden during his visit to Washington.
The new resolution, which was passed by a majority of 68-9, includes a far broader rejection of Palestinian statehood than a previous resolution passed in February.
While the February 21st motion, which was passed by an even broader majority of 99-11, winning significant support from Opposition lawmakers, rejected only unilateral recognition of Palestinian statehood, Wednesday’s resolution expressed the Knesset’s opposition to any arrangement for Palestinian statehood.
“The Israeli Knesset opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state on any piece of land west of the Jordan River,” the resolution reads. “The existence of a Palestinian state in the heart of Israel will pose an existential threat to the State of Israel and its citizens, and will further extend the Israel-Palestinian Arab conflict and be a source of destabilization for the entire region.”
“It would only be a matter of time before Hamas takes over such a Palestinian state, turning it into a base for radical Islam terrorism in full alignment with the Iranian regime that aims to eradicate the State of Israel.”
“Supporting Palestinian statehood would reward terrorism and serve to encourage Hamas and its supporters. Israel’s enemies would interpret it as the victorious outcome of the massacre perpetrated on October 7th and it would be a precursor to the conquest of jihadist Islamism of the entire Middle East.”
Hamas Committed War Crimes In October 7th Assault On Israel, Human Rights Watch Says
A harrowing report titled ‘I Can’t Erase All The Blood From My Mind’ details crimes against humanity committed by Hamas and allied groups in raids on civilian residential communities, social events and Israeli military bases in southern Israel bordering the Gaza Strip.
Hamas’ military wing, the Qassam Brigades, and at least four other Palestinian armed groups committed numerous war crimes and crimes against humanity and against civilians during the October 7, 2023, assault on southern Israel, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report released on Thursday (18th).
The report urges governments with influence over the armed groups to press for the urgent release of civilian hostages, an ongoing war crime, and for those responsible to be brought to justice.
The 236-page report, titled “I Can’t Erase All The Blood From My Mind: Palestinian Armed Groups’ October 7 Assault On Israel,” details numerous serious violations of international humanitarian law by Palestinian armed groups at almost all civilian attack sites on October 7. These violations include war crimes and crimes against humanity, such as murder, hostage-taking, and other grave offenses. Human Rights Watch also investigated the roles of various armed groups and their coordination before and during the attacks.
Human Rights Watch research found that the Hamas-led assault on October 7 was designed to kill civilians and take as many people as possible hostage,” said Ida Sawyer, crisis and conflict director at Human Rights Watch. “The October 7 atrocities should spur a global call to action for an end to all abuses against civilians in Israel and Palestine.”
The report compiles interviews with dozens of people who witnessed the October 7 assault, as well as verified footage taken during the attack, which illustrate the magnitude of the crimes committed by Hamas-led Palestinian groups in their attacks on civilian residential communities, social events and Israeli military bases in southern Israel bordering the Gaza Strip.
According to the report, “Palestinian fighters fired directly at civilians, often at close range, as they tried to flee, and at people driving through the area. The attackers hurled grenades, shot into shelters, and fired rocket-propelled grenades at homes. They set houses on fire, burning and choking people, and forcing out others whom they shot or captured. They took dozens hostage and summarily killed others.
An AFP analysis determined that 815 of the 1,200 people killed on October 7 were civilians. The armed groups took 251 civilians and Israeli security personnel as hostages and took them to Gaza. As of July 1, 116 remained in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 42 who had been killed, according to AFP. Bodies of another 35 who were killed were returned to Israel.
Further investigation is needed into other potential crimes against humanity, Human Rights Watch said, including persecution against any identifiable group on racial, ethnic, or religious grounds, rape or other sexual violence of comparable gravity; and extermination if there was a mass killing calculated to bring about the “destruction” of part of a population. These would amount to crimes against humanity if the crimes were part of the attack against a civilian population, under an organizational policy to commit such an attack, the report notes.
Hamas authorities responded to questions from Human Rights Watch, stating that its forces were instructed not to target civilians and to abide by international human rights and humanitarian law. In many cases, Human Rights Watch investigations found evidence to the contrary.
Accounts from survivors along with verified photographs and videos show Palestinian fighters seeking out civilians and killing them across the attack sites from the moment the assault began, indicating that intentional killing and hostage-taking of civilians was planned and highly-coordinated..
Nasrallah: ‘If Israel Continues Targeted Strikes In Lebanon…Hezbollah will Hit Israeli Settlements Not Attacked Before’
Israel and Hezbollah have been trading fire since Hezbollah announced a “support front” with Palestinians shortly after its ally Hamas attacked southern Israeli border communities on October 7.
“Hezbollah will hit new targets in Israel if it keeps up its targeted attacks in Lebanon,” the groups’ leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Wednesday (17th), noting a spike in the number of non-combatants killed in Lebanon in recent days.
“Continuing to target civilians will push the resistance to launch missiles at settlements that were not previously targeted,” Nasrallah said, in comments made during a televised address to mark the Shiite holy day of Ashura.
Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed terror group, refers to all Israeli population centers as settlements and does not recognize Israel.
Iran-aligned groups in the region, including Shiite armed factions in Syria and Iraq and Yemen Houthis, have also been firing on Israel since shortly after Oct 7.
In Lebanon the fighting has killed more than 300 Hezbollah fighters, and led to levels of destruction in Lebanese border towns and villages not seen since the 2006 Israel-Lebanon War.
Iranian Vessel Carrying Weapons For Houthis Vanishes In Red Sea
An Iranian vessel carrying weapons and experts destined for Houthi rebels in Yemen has vanished in the Red Sea, according to Arab media reports. The ship, which was transporting missile assembly equipment, has been missing for four days after entering the Red Sea from the Horn of Africa. The disappearance has sparked worry among Houthi leadership in Sanaa, who fear the vessel may have fallen into American hands.
A vessel involved in smuggling foreign experts and military materials for missile production intended for the Houthis in Yemen has disappeared in the Red Sea, according to a report by the Emirati newspaper Al-Ain Al-Akhbariya. “Iranian experts and senior Houthi security leaders took part in a special meeting held in Sanaa to review and discuss a report on the large vessel lost at sea,” the Emirati newspaper wrote.
Security sources in Yemen revealed that the Houthi militias lost contact with the large transport vessel that was on a smuggling mission along a regular sea route from Horn of Africa countries before continuing into the Red Sea. It was further reported that Yemeni security sources confirmed the ship was expected to arrive in Yemen on Friday (12th) but vanished on Saturday (13th). The Houthis, lacking a robust navy, mobilized small boats and drones for the search, but their fishing boats lacked the necessary technology for such operations. No distress calls were identified.
For years, Iran has been accused of supplying the Houthis with weapons and expertise to develop long-range missiles and drones. The shipments, often disguised as commercial vessels, have occasionally been intercepted by the US Navy and other international forces. The Iranian media outlet Iran International speculated that the ship might have been targeted by a US-backed mission aimed at protecting Red Sea vessels from Houthi attacks amid the blockade the terrorist organization has launched since November. Another possibility raised suggests that Israel might be behind the operation that led to the vessel’s disappearance.
Javier Milei: AMIA Bombing ‘Exact Same Kind Of Brutality’ As Oct 7 Massacre
Argentina President Javier Milei pledged Wednesday (17th) at a World Jewish Congress (WJC) security forum in Buenos Aires to intensify his nation’s anti-terrorism efforts.
Speaking at the WJC commemoration event, Milei stressed, “We must be firm and relentless against terrorism. There are no nuances, There is only good and evil.”
The event marked the 30th anniversary of the deadly terrorist attack against Asociacion Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA), the Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires. In that attack, the worst in Argentina’s history, the Iranian-back Lebanese terror group Hezbollah killed 85 people and injured more than 300.
Milei stressed that the scourge of extreme terrorism goes beyond the bombing of the AMIA building, noting that the brutality Hamas committed October 7 against Israel is the “exact same kind” seen in Argentina 30 years ago. He also referenced Argentina’s recent designation of Hamas as a terrorist organization and spoke of changing policy to allow for the prosecution of people in absentia.
Milei was joined at the WJC event by Paraguayan President Santiago Pena and Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou, who expressed their abhorrence of hatred and violence before the audience of more than 400 Jewish, diplomatic and political leaders. Paraguay’s president indicated that his country would soon move its Israeli embassy to Jerusalem.
The WJC summit “Building a Safer Future: 30 Years After the AMIA Bombing,” was held July 16-17 and was co-sponsored by the Latin American Jewish Congress, in partnership with AMIA and Delegacion de Asociaciones Israelitas Argentinas (DAIA), the umbrella organization of Argentina’s Jewish community.
“The bombing of AMIA, the center of Jewish life in Buenos Aires, shocked Jews around the world,” said Amb. Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress. “Three decades later, the World Jewish Congress is proud to have convened top leaders to stand in solidarity with Argentinian Jewry and to counter global anti-Semitism and all other forms of hate.”
The WJC summit was the first of its kind since the October 7 attacks and recent conflict in Gaza and was intended to demonstrate an unwavering commitment to combating terrorism and anti-Semitism.
Hezbollah was also responsible for the 1992 bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires that resulted in 29 deaths and the wounding of more than 200.
“We stand with our brothers and sisters of the Argentinian Jewish community, to pay homage and to honor the victims and express our enduring and heartfelt support to their families and to the survivors of those bombings,” Robert Goot, Co-chair of the Word Jewish Congress Policy Council, said at the Wednesday (17th) event.
“They are the ones who … have grieved, have agonized over and suffered from not just the catastrophic events themselves, but also from the alleged mishandling, intrigue, incompetence and corruption that has marred the investigation into the bombings and has failed to bring anyone to justice.”
The official ceremony of the Argentinian Jewish community honoring the victims of the AMIA attack will take place Thursday, July 18.
Security and Interior ministers from 8 Latin American nations also met Wednesday (17th) as part of the WJC gathering during a session hosted by H.E. Patricia Bullrich, Minister of Security of Argentina.
