News Digest — 9/16/24
Netanyahu: The Houthis Should Know There Is A Heavy Price For Attacking Us
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the ballistic missile launched by the Houthi terrorist organization toward central Israel, Sunday morning (15th).
At the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting Netanyahu said, “We are in a multi-front campaign against Iran’s axis of evil, which is striving for our destruction. This morning the Houthis launched a surface-to-surface missile from Yemen at our territory. They should know that we exact a high price for any attempt to attack us. Whoever needs a reminder of this, is invited to visit the port of Hodeidah.”
“Whoever attacks us will not evade our strike. Hamas is already learning this through our determined action, which will bring about its destruction and the release of all our hostages,” he stated.
Turning to the repeated attacks on northern Israel, Netanyahu said, “I have visited the north. I am attentive to the residents of the north. I speak with them and with the heads of local authorities in the north, I see their distress. I hear their anguish.”
He vowed, “The current situation will not continue. This requires a change in the balance of forces on our northern border. We will do whatever is necessary to return our residents securely to their homes. I am committed to this. The government is committed to this and we will not suffice with less than this.”
“We will do this thanks to the heroism of our fighters and the unity among us, as a united people rising up against our enemies in order to ensure our future,” Netanyahu said.
The IDF stated following the Houthi attack: “At 06:21 Sunday morning (15th) a surface-to-surface missile was fired from Yemen toward Israeli territory. An initial inquiry indicates the missile most likely fragmented in mid-air.”
“During the incident, several interception attempts were made by the Arrow and Iron Dome Defense Systems, and their results are under review. Sirens were sounded in accordance with protocol. The entire incident is under review.”
Fallen fragments of the interceptors were identified in open areas and at the Paatei Modiin Railway Station. A fire erupted in an area adjacent to Kfar Daniel. Israel Fire and Rescue Services operated at the scene to extinguish the fire,” the IDF stated.
IDF Strikes Hezbollah Launchers After Drone, Rocket Attacks on North
The IDF said on Sunday (15th) that it was conducting strikes on Hezbollah rocket launchers in southern Lebanon after the Iran-backed terror group launched attack drones on the Galilee and Golan Heights.
Hezbollah also fired rockets at Israel’s north activating the Iron Dome missile defense system that intercepted one of the rockets while the other landed in an open field.
Residents of the Golan were urged by the local councils to remain in shelters as drones were approaching. The military closed roads to prevent movement of civilians.
Earlier on Sunday (15th) the military said its fighter jets targeted launchers, some of which were armed and ready for use. The military said it observed secondary explosions after its strikes, indicating rockets were loaded on the launchers.
Tens of thousands of residents of the Galilee were evacuated at the start of the war on Oct 8 and have not been able to return to their homes. Others who were not told to leave the area, have been living under rocket and drone fire for the past 11 months.
Border Police Officer Hurt In Stabbing Attack At Jerusalem’s Damascus Gate
A Border Police officer was lightly wounded Sunday evening (15th) in a stabbing attack at the Damascus Gate, entrance to Jerusalem’s Old City.
The assailant attacked the officer with a sharp object, before attempting to flee into the Old City, police said.
Border Police officers then shot the assailant, killing him.
Hebrew media identified the assailant as Ziad Abu Subeih, 33, from Ar-ara Bandgev, a Bedouin town near the southern city of Beersheba.
Magen David Adom paramedics told Hebrew media they arrived at the scene and provided immediate medical care to the stabbed officer, in his 20s, who was fully conscious.
I saw a police officer arguing with an unidentified person – after a few seconds, the officer shouted, “terrorist!” said the officer who shot the assailant, according to Hebrew media outlets.
The stabbing came days after an Israeli soldier was run over and killed at a West Bank bus stop in another attack, and one week after a Jordanian truck driver shot and killed three Israelis at the Allenby crossing, connecting the West Bank and Jordan.
Amid the spate of attacks, the Israeli military is conducting a major counterterrorism operation in the northern West Bank.
The stabbing on Sunday (15th) also came amid heightened tensions over the nearby Temple Mount, a site in Jerusalem’s Old City that is considered the holiest place in Judaism and the third holiest in Islam.
The Hamas terror group praised the stabbing on Sunday (15th), calling it “a natural response to crimes against our people in Gaza and the West Bank, and to violations against the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.”
The statement, reported by Hebrew media, did not appear to include a claim of responsibility for the stabbing.
Israel has been at war with Hamas since October 7 of last year, when the terror group attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage.
Since the October 7 onslaught, Israeli forces have also arrested some 5,000 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank, including more than 2,000 affiliated with Hamas.
Helping Jordan Fend Off its Own Threats Is Vital To Israel’s Interests And Safety – Editorial
The center of the country was woken up early on Sunday (15th) to the sound of sirens and the boom of a ballistic missile courtesy of Yemen’s Houthis.
Attacks like this are commonplace in the North, emanating from Hezbollah in Lebanon; and until the IDF weakened Hamas’ capabilities in Gaza since the war began on October 7, the South was also rife with rockets. Despite those efforts, rockets were still fired at Ashkelon over the weekend.
The Houthi attack is certainly worrisome and raises the possibility of a new front for Israel, but as immediate as it is, it’s unfortunately not the only potential point of contention that our security honchos must keep an eye on.
Israel’s ties with Jordan have always been fraught with a chilly veneer, and the war in Gaza has only exacerbated the relationship. Most recently, last week’s deadly terror attack at Allenby Crossing that left three Israeli murdered underscored the continued spector of hate directed at Israel from across the eastern border.
As the Jerusalem Post’s Seth Frantzman pointed out last week that in the last two years, smuggling of weapons, and materials used in explosives has greatly increased. Iran is behind some of the activities aimed at destabilizing the Kingdom as it moves weapons and threats closer to Israel.
But while terror attacks against Israel by Jordanians have been sporadic since the peace agreement with the Hashemite Kingdom was forged in 1994, and the anti-Israel rhetoric emanating from Ammon surrounding the Palestinian issue and Jerusalem, especially the Temple Mount, has been ceaseless, there has been relative calm between the two countries.
Undoubtedly, security cooperation between Israel and Jordan goes far deeper than what we know, with reports of Israel often providing the royal palace with information about possible insurgency within Jordan.
Our neighbor to the east has long faced challenges with intense threats. With a majority Palestinian population, the country has faced off against Palestinian terrorist groups that sought an overthrow in the 1960s and 70s.
Jordan, under the late King Hussein, gave up its claim over the West Bank in 1988 as part of the process that led to the Oslo peace agreement, and the creation of the Palestinian Authority. Even so, it still sees itself as the custodian of the Muslim and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem.
With Hussein’s son, Abdullah II, in power, Jordan seeks to placate the Palestinian population by publicly criticizing Israel and allowing incitement against the Jewish state even as it seeks to be a regional island of stability.
But stable, it apparently isn’t. Chalking it up as a referendum against Israel in the Gaza war, Jordan’s Islamist opposition made significant gains in last week’s parliamentary election.
The Islamic Action Front, the political party representing the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan, won 31 out of the 138 seats in the country’s House of Representatives – with over 500,000 votes. This is a striking achievement for Islamists, who view themselves as an opposition party. They gained 10 seats in 2020 and decided in past elections to boycott the political process altogether.
On national TV, Jordanian analysts lauded the election process and outcomes as proof that Jordan’s people stand with ‘Palestine,’ and especially with Hamas in Gaza.
Morad Al-Adilah, a senior member of the Muslim Brotherhood, said the election was a referendum on the Gaza war. He cited comments by Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir about building a synagogue on the Temple Mount as a reason the voters turned out in greater numbers for the election.
On Sunday (15th), the situation grew even more precarious when Jordan’s Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh reportedly submitted his resignation.
According to analysts, the more vocal Islamic-led opposition could challenge IMF-led free-market reforms and foreign policy that Khasawneh touted.
The recent news from Jordan should be a red alert sign to Israel, just as it surely is to Ammon. Until now, Israel’s cooperation with the Hashemite Kingdom has helped keep it safe from internal threats.
The results of last week’s election magnify how serious a threat Israel could face from the east if the radical Islamists gain more power and threaten Abdullah’s reign.
As Israel faces continued threats from Hezbollah, Hamas, and now the Houthis, helping Jordan to fend off its own threats is vital to Jerusalem’s interests.
Israel And The Coming Long War– Brig.-Gen. (ret.) Assaf Orion
From the outset, “the Gaza war” was a misnomer. In some ways, this wider regional war is already at hand. Ever since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, Israel has faced not one but numerous antagonists in what is already one of the longest wars since its founding. The day after Hamas’ assault from Gaza, Hezbollah began attacking Israel from Lebanon. Shortly thereafter, the Houthis in Yemen also joined in.
Meanwhile, Iran-backed Shiite militias in Iraq, and sometimes Syria, have also menaced Israel with drones and rockets. And in mid-April, Iran launched 350 ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones at Israel, creating a new precedent for direct and open combat between the two countries. At the same time, Iran has been flooding the West Bank with funds and weapons to encourage terrorist attacks against Israel.
Just as it took several wars and many decades for Israel to vanquish the threat of Arab coalitions, victory over the Iranian axis will require a prolonged struggle. The current war must be seen in relation to Iran’s larger, long-term project to bleed out and destroy Israel.
Sooner or later, Israel will have to address the Hezbollah threat in Lebanon. Optimally, it would do this by means of a carefully planned, preventive attack at a time of choosing. If it becomes clear that Hezbollah is preparing for a major attack on Israel, it would be wise for Israel to consider another preemptive strike, but this time with much stronger signaling, including lethal force against a broader range of targets.
To truly end the threat posed by the Houthis to international interests will require a collective approach that addresses the supply chain that is funneling Iranian support and weapons technology to the Houthis and by weakening the Houthis’ power in Yemen by reinforcing their competitors.
The writer, a former head of the IDF Strategic Planning Division, is an international fellow with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (Foreign Affairs)
NYC Doctor Aiding Oct.7 Victims Hit With Death Threats over Israel Support
New York City plastic surgeon Dr. Ira Savetsky told the New York Post last week that as a consequence of his advocacy and philanthropy for Israel, particularly in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre, he and his practice have been flooded with violent threats.
In addition to being outspoken on Israel-related issues, Savetsky has been performing pro-bono work treating victims of Hamas’ October 7 massacre over the last year.
In February, he told the New York Jewish Week that doing such work has “been very fulfilling and …helps give me purpose and meaning,” adding that as the IDF fights a war with Hamas terrorists in Gaza, those standing with Israel abroad often find themselves in “a different version of the same war.”
Recently, speaking to the New York Post, Savetsky said he was in regular contact with local law enforcement, the FBI, and the mayor’s office due to the increased threats he and his family were receiving.
“I would say there was an initial wave of threats following Oct 7, which continued, with a huge uptick after January, until now” Dr. Savetsky told the Post.
All the threatening messages have reportedly been sent to the relevant authorities. So far no arrests have been made.
Dr. Savetsky said that although he has “great respect for law enforcement” and knows that they have been taking the threats seriously and are working to protect him and his family, “I wish there was more decisive action taken against those who have threatened us.”
