News Digest — 7/26/24
IDF Officer Injured In Central Israel Ramming Attack On July 14, Dies Of His Wounds
An Israeli military officer seriously wounded in a car-ramming attack outside a military base in central Israel earlier this month has succumbed to his wounds, the Israel Defense Forces said Thursday (25th).
Capt. Ariel Topaz, 24, from Pardes Hanna, was one of four off-duty soldiers wounded in the terror attack on July 14 at the NirTzvi junction.
Topaz served as an officer in the Military Intelligence Directorate’s Reserve Department.
According to police, the terrorist, identified as a Palestinian man from East Jerusalem, rammed his car into people waiting at a bus station at the Nir Tzvi junction.
The junction, outside the town of the same name, is adjacent to the IDF’s Tzrifin base.
Four victims were taken to the nearby Assaf Harofeh Hospital, which said at the time that it was treating a soldier and officer in serious condition, another soldier who was moderately hurt, and a cadet who was slightly hurt.
Police described the incident as a terror attack.
The suspected terrorist was shot dead at the scene by Border Police officers who were stationed in the area.
Tensions in Israel and the West Bank have soared since October 7, when terrorists burst through the Gaza border into Israel in a Hamas-led attack, killing over a thousand people and seizing 251 hostages.
Since then, 23 Israelis, including security personnel, have been killed in Palestinian terrorist attacks in Israel and the West Bank. Another five members of the security forces were killed in clashes with terror operatives in the West Bank.
Houthi Leader: Response To Israel’s Strike Is Inevitable
A Houthi response to Israeli airstrikes in Yemen’s Al Hudaydah port is coming, the Iran-backed group’s leader warned on Thursday (25th), according to Reuters.
Last week, the Houthi rebels fired a UAV towards Tel Aviv, which exploded near a residential building, killing one person and injuring ten.
Two days later, IAF fighter planes struck 12 Houthi military targets near Yemen’s Al Hudaydah Port.
“The response is inevitable,”Abdulmalik al-Houthi said on Thursday (25th), as quoted by Reuters.
“The group’s attacks on Israel in solidarity with Gaza will continue and not be deterred by the Israeli strikes,” he added.
“Everything that happens from the side of the Israeli enemy will be more incentive for revenge,” al-Houthi said.
The Iranian-backed Houthis have upped their attacks in the region since the start of the war in Gaza, having launched drones towards southern Israel and targeting commercial ships in the Red Sea region.
In the wake of the uptick in Houthi attacks, the US formed a coalition made up of more than 20 countries, aimed at safeguarding commercial traffic in the Red Sea from attacks by the Houthis.
In mid-January, with support from other countries, the US and Britain targeted just under 30 Houthi locations with 150 weapons. They have since carried out several rounds of strikes against Houthi targets.
The Houthis have been unfazed by the strikes, saying that the campaign against the “Zionist enemy” will continue and that the attacks against the American and British ships will not stop.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Alerts France To Potential Iranian Threat At Olympics
With the Olympic Games set to commence on Friday (26th), Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz reached out to his French counterpart on Thursday (25th) with a grave message: “We have intelligence indicating that Iranian operatives and other terrorist groups are planning to target members of the Israeli delegation and Israeli tourists.”
In a diplomatic note to French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne, Katz highlighted Israel’s growing concern over intelligence assessments suggesting that Iranian operatives and other terrorist organizations intend to launch attacks against Israeli Olympians and visitors during the games.
Katz conveyed his appreciation to President Macron and the French Foreign Minister for deploying unprecedented security measures to protect Israeli athletes and tourists. He also commended their efforts to counter hostile elements attempting to delegitimize Israel’s participation in the Olympic Games. Furthermore, Katz expressed gratitude for the offer to host the memorial ceremony for the 11 Munich Olympics victims at the French Foreign Ministry in Paris.
“Some are attempting to cast a shadow over this celebratory event,” Katz emphasized. “We continue to receive intelligence about the potential threat from Iranian operatives and other terror groups planning to target Israeli delegation members. This underscores the critical importance of our joint commitment to ensure the safety and security of all participants.”
“I want to convey my profound gratitude for the extraordinary security measures the French government has implemented to safeguard the Israeli delegation and Israeli tourists. This stands as a clear testament to President Macron and the French government’s resolve to confront those hostile elements seeking to undermine the legitimacy of Israel’s Olympic participation. Additionally, I deeply appreciate your and President Macron’s unequivocal condemnation of the recent inflammatory rhetoric against Israeli athletes in Paris.”
‘Iran Took Advantage Of Yemen Civil War’ Says Middle East Expert
Dr. Dina Lisnanski – a researcher on political Islam and Islam in the West and a core lecturer in the Middle Eastern Studies and Islam program at the Shalem Academic Center – participated in a” Maariv podcast on Thursday (25th). In the interview, Lisnanski analyzed the security challenges facing the world.
“The upcoming Paris Olympics face significant security challenges,” Dr. Lisnanski noted. “It’s an Olympics that is more secure than ever because there are also more warnings than ever before,” she stated, further highlighting specific threats from organizations like ISIS, which is regaining power in the West.
Lisnanski also discussed challenges related to the current geopolitical situation, emphasizing that since October 7, Israel has become a global focus: “These additional challenges are closely related to us, to Israelis and the State of Israel.” She also mentioned the potential threat from pro-Hamas groups in France.
Lisnanski explained the historical and political background behind the rise of the Houthis in Yemen. “The Houthis are not new in the region, they are just new to the Israeli ear.” She described the Cold War dynamics between Saudi Arabia and Iran, with Yemen becoming a battleground between them.
“Iran took advantage of the Yemeni Civil War and began supporting the Shiite side,” she explained. Lisnanski emphasized that recent Israeli attacks on Yemen are primarily “warning strikes… to show Iran that we can reach far distances.”
Dr. Lisnanski discussed political changes in Iran, including President Raisi’s death and the election of a new president. She noted, “The election of Iranian Masoud Pezeshkian as new President, with regional origins, signifies an attempt to include Iran’s minorities in governance.”
However, Lisnanski warned the chances of a revolution in Iran were low: “The protests we see, despite being highlighted, are still not at a scale needed to trigger a second revolution in Iran.”
Dr. Lisnanski highlighted the link between Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Iran’s advancing nuclear program: “Since Russia’s invasion, a rapid chain of events has unfolded. Russia needs Iran.”
She described close cooperation between the two countries, including joint training of Iranian Revolutionary Guards and Hezbollah with Russian soldiers near the Syrian-Israel border. “In exchange for Iranian aid, Russia significantly assists Iran, accelerating its path to nuclear weapons,” she warned.
Lisnanski highlighted the complexity of current global threats, noting how security challenges – from the Paris Olympics to Iran’s nuclear program – are intertwined and influenced by intricate international relations. She concluded, “Russia plays a dual game with excellent cooperation with Israel in Syria, yet its current interest aligns more with Iran.”
Her sights underscore the need for a nuanced, multi-dimensional approach to global security challenges. Understanding these interconnected relationships is crucial for developing effective strategies to address both present and future global threats.
Experts Unearth Huge Moat Which Protected Biblical Jerusalem
Archaeologists have discovered a huge trench in the Old City of Jerusalem that was carved from solid rock to protect Solomon’s Temple from attacks.
Researchers from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) and Tel Aviv University (TAU) say the trench, or moat, was designed to modify the natural topography of the area and demonstrate the power of Jerusalem’s rulers to those who entered its gates.
Discovered at the City of David in the Jerusalem Walls National Park, the trench is an estimated 70 meters long, at least nine meters deep and 30 meters wide. It was built from east to west as a sheer cliff, impassable to enemies, dividing the upper city, home to the Temple and royal palace, from the lower city.
“The moat separated the southern residential part of the city from the ruling acropolis in the north, the upper city where the palace and the Temple were located,” said Yuval Gadot, a professor from Tel Aviv University’s Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures.
“This is a dramatic discovery that opens up a renewed discussion about the terms from the Biblical literature that refer to the topography of Jerusalem.”
A section of the trench was uncovered back in the 1960s by British archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon, but she concluded it was part of a natural valley rather than a defensive moat; only now that the rest has been uncovered can archaeologists state with certainty that the trench they’ve identified was built to fend off attacks from the ancient city;s vulnerable northern border.
The researchers say that the discovery resolves questions dating back 150 years, when researchers first tried to trace the route of Jerusalem’s northern fortification.
At the same time, it presents new questions about the building methods used to construct it, and exactly when construction took place – though researchers have so far narrowed it down to sometime between 2,900 and 3,800 years ago.
Yiftah Shalev from the IAA elaborated on the questions and answers surrounding the discovery.
“It is not known when the moat was originally cut, but evidence suggests it was used during the centuries when Jerusalem was the capital of the Kingdom of Judah, almost 3,000 years ago, beginning with King Josiah,” she said.
The team says it’s now clear that throughout the days of the First Temple, the city was divided into at least two distinct parts, a separation that remained during the Persian and Hellenistic periods, around 530 BCE to 164 BCE.
Netanyahu Has Exposed The West’s Gross Moral Hypocrisy – Jake Wallis Simons
About 70 Democrats snubbed Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech to Congress on Wednesday (24th), up from 58 who boycotted his address to Congress in 2015. You’d have thought that the attack by Hamas would have resulted in a rise in support for the Middle East’s sole democracy as it fights for its life against an enemy that is coming for us next. Yet in the minds of those taking the Hamas side of the argument, their hatred of “Zionism” is simply a philosophical opposition to the principle of Jewish self-determination.
While beleaguered and controversial, Netanyahu’s speech was a resounding triumph. When it comes to making the case for Israel, he is by far the best orator the Jewish state has ever produced. Here, at long last, was a demonstration to the West of what moral clarity looks like, delivered at the very heart of the free world. “This is not a clash of civilizations. It’s a clash between barbarism and civilization,” he said. To prevail, “America and Israel must stand together. We will win.” This received perhaps the most rapturous applause.
But the greatest significance of Bibi’s tour de force was geopolitical. Israeli sources have suggested that Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar over-interpreted the campus protests in America wrongly divining that public opinion was swinging behind Hamas when 80% of the population continued to support Israel.
There can be no mistake after Bibi’s speech. The scenes of ranks of congressmen united in a standing ovation were more powerful than any images of idiots in keffiyehs being pepper-sprayed outside. The U.S and Israel stand shoulder-to-shoulder. Nor was this lost on the sophisticated leadership in Iran.
Netanyahu’s speech provided a clear vision of the threats facing the West. “Iran is virtually behind all the terrorism, all the turmoil, all the chaos, all the killing,” Netanyahu said, and the U.S. was the only power standing in the way of Tehran’s plans for global subjugation.
The writer is the editor of the Jewish Chronicle-UK. (Telegraph-UK)
Germany Bans Muslim Association For Pursuing Radical Islam
Germany has banned the Islamic Centre Hamburg (IZH) and its subsidiary organizations for pursuing radical Islamist goals, the Interior Ministry said on Wednesday (24th). It said the IZH had acted as a direct representative of Iran’s Shiite Muslim Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and sought to bring about an Islamic revolution in Germany to impose theocratic rule.
53 of the IZHs premises had been searched in eight German states. Subsidiaries in Frankfurt, Munich, and Berlin were also banned, with four Shiite Mosques to be closed. Evidence from an earlier search of 55 properties conducted in November provided the basis for Wednesday’s (24th) ban of the IZH.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said it had summoned the German ambassador in Tehran on Wednesday (24th) in protest at the ban, calling the move “an example of Islamophobia” and violation of “freedom of expression.” A 2020 report on Islamic life in Germany said there were 5.5 million Muslims in Germany. (Reuters)
