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In-Depth Issues:
British MPs Vote to Ban Public Bodies from Boycotting Israel and Other Countries
- Kiran Stacey ( The Guardian)
MPs have voted to ban public bodies from boycotting Israel and other countries, despite scores of Conservative MPs not backing the bill, some of whom said the ban was illiberal and others that it would hamper action against China. The bill will ban public bodies such as local councils from imposing economic sanctions on countries that are not sanctioned by the Westminster government, singling out Israel as particularly worthy of protection. Michael Gove, the communities secretary, said during the Commons debate on Monday: "[The bill] affirms the important principle that UK foreign policy is a matter for the UK government." Gove has long been a critic of the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement.
The Terrorists' Arsenal the IDF Found in Jenin - Video
( i24News, Twitter)
Guns, bullets, magazines, weapons components, IEDs, money, Israeli license plates, and more. A sample of the weapon cache found and confiscated by the Israeli army in Jenin. Video.
See also French Journalist Arrested Smuggling Grenades out of Jenin ( i24News)
A French journalist was arrested on Wednesday as he was attempting to enter Israel from the northern West Bank city of Jenin with three grenades in his car. The journalist had an official press card. The incident came shortly after Israeli forces withdrew from the Jenin refugee camp at the end of a major IDF operation,
Hadassah Surgeons Reattach Boy's Head to his Neck after Internal Decapitation
- Renee Ghert-Zand ( Times of Israel)
In an extremely rare and complex operation, Hadassah Medical Center surgeons have reattached a 12-year-old boy's head to his neck after a serious accident in which he was hit by a car while riding his bicycle, the Jerusalem hospital announced on Wednesday. Suleiman Hassan, a Palestinian from the West Bank, was airlifted to Hadassah Hospital's trauma unit in Ein Kerem, where it was determined that the ligaments holding the posterior base of his skull were severely damaged, leaving it detached from the top vertebrae of his spine. The condition, bilateral atlanto occipital joint dislocation, is commonly known as internal or orthopedic decapitation. "We fought for the boy's life," said Dr. Ohad Einav, the orthopedic specialist who operated on the patient together with Dr. Ziv Asa and a large operating room and intensive care team. The surgery was carried out in early June.
UAE's Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone Signs Cooperation Deal with Israel
( The New Arab)
The UAE and Israel will look to expand mutual investment and manufacturing under a deal signed on Wednesday between the Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone (RAKEZ) and the Israeli Manufacturers Association (IMA), the UAE's WAM state news agency reported. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) calls for the two sides to collaborate to create investment opportunities and expand the operations of industrial companies, WAM reported. The IMA includes firms in sectors such as advanced technology, textiles, fashion, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, environment, food, metals, electricity, infrastructure, and consumer products.
The Saudis' Big Oil Cut Begins. How Long Will It Last?
- Gabrielle Debinski ( Gzeromedia)
The Saudis' controversial plan to slash oil production by 1 million barrels per day officially kicked off on July 1. The kingdom hopes that these voluntary cuts will help raise oil prices, which have remained sluggish for the better part of 2023. This comes as the global benchmark for crude oil has dropped around 13% in value so far this year.
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News Resources - North America and Europe:
- Jenin Operation Achieved Most of its Goals, but the IDF Will Be Back
- Yaakov Lappin
A day after the Israel Defense Forces completed its extensive security operation, it appears the goal of squashing Jenin's image as a terrorist safe haven has been accomplished, with some caveats.
The IDF, backed by Shin Bet intelligence and Border Police officers, seized more than a thousand pieces of armament in Jenin camp and surrounding areas, including bombs, ammunition, and guns.
Fourteen command posts and hideouts used to coordinate terrorist activity were demolished, and six bomb-making facilities were dismantled, where security forces found over 300 bombs, bomb-making chemicals, and other weapons. Hundreds of thousands of shekels in terror funds were confiscated, and six underground shafts and two weapon pits were also found, including in a mosque.
The army killed 12 Palestinian combatants and expected to engage many more, but Jenin's terrorists lost their motivation when they saw the IDF's elite forces, backed by selective drone air power, approach them from multiple directions, and fled. (JNS)
- "Israeli Forces Are Happy to Kill Children," BBC Anchor Tells ex-PM Bennett
- Sam Halpern
A BBC anchor told former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett that "Israeli forces are happy to kill children" in an interview where Bennett responded to criticism of the Israeli operation in Jenin. The BBC interview was conducted by host Anjana Gadgil and was posted to Bennett's YouTube channel on Wednesday. Bennet replied. "Actually, all people dead there are militants. The fact that there are young terrorists who decide to hold arms is their responsibility. "All the Palestinians that were killed were terrorists in this case." (Jerusalem Post)
- BBC Apologized to the Board of Deputies of British Jews
According to Marie van der Zyl, President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, "I am pleased that the BBC apologised for the clearly unacceptable language which was used in their interview with Naftali Bennett. Having written to the Director General on this matter today, I appreciate the Corporation's speedy response." (Twitter)
- Israel's Raid Left the Jenin Camp in Ruins. Palestinians Blame their Leaders
- Steve Hendrix, Shira Rubin
Israel on Wednesday ended a two-day operation in the Jenin refugee camp that left 12 Palestinians and one Israeli soldier dead, forced thousands from their homes, and sparked new tensions between locals and the Palestinian Authority meant to be governing them.
Residents threw rocks at the security headquarters of the Palestinian Authority in the city, furious that its security forces had allowed Israeli troops to operate freely in the camp. Palestinian security personnel fired tear gas at the protesters.
Anger at the Palestinian Authority is soaring in Jenin. Many scoffed at Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' declaration that he will cut all security coordination with Israel in response to the raid. They pointed to the scars throughout the camp left by the two-day operation: churned asphalt and mangled cars, windows, and doors smashed in by military bulldozers. Bullet casings and burned tires littered the streets; water and power supplies were cut.
Israel has claimed that all 12 of the Palestinian men killed were combatants. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant pointed to the lack of civilian casualties as one of the mission's successes. (Washington Post)
News Resources - Israel, the Mideast, and Asia:
- Two Rockets Fired towards Israel from Lebanon but Fall Short - Sources in Lebanon
Two rockets were fired from southern Lebanon towards Israel on Thursday, one of them landing in Lebanese territory and the second near a disputed area at the border, three security sources in Lebanon said.
Israel's military spokesperson said on Twitter that its army had "found no incident within Israeli territory" but that an explosion had taken place "beyond the border fence."
The sources in Lebanon said one rocket landed near the Lebanese border village of Wazzani and the second near the disputed village of Ghajar, which straddles the Israel-Lebanon border. (Reuters)
- IDF Strikes Gaza after Sderot Rocket Fire following Jenin Operation
- Tzvi Joffre
The IDF struck the Gaza Strip early Wednesday morning after five rockets were fired from the Strip toward the Sderot area in southern Israel on Tuesday night, just hours after the IDF withdrew its forces from Jenin. All five rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome. The IDF stated that it struck an underground facility used by Hamas' chemical division to manufacture weapons, as well as a Hamas site for the manufacture of raw materials for rockets. (Jerusalem Post)
- Iran: "Resistance" Hails Palestinians' Operation against Israel in Jenin
Palestinian Resistance groups in the Gaza Strip have hailed the Palestinian people's successful operation against Israeli invaders in the city of Jenin that forced the latter to withdraw from the northern West Bank city.
Speaking on Tuesday, Hamas' Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh congratulated Palestinians on their inflicting a "humiliating defeat" on Israel during the resistance operation. "We say this to the Zionist enemy that the days when it would perpetrate crimes against the Palestinian nation without paying the price are over," he said.
Also on Tuesday, a car ramming and stabbing attack in the coastal city of Tel Aviv in the occupied territories wounded seven people. Haniyeh described the Tel Aviv operation as "heroic." (Mehr News Agency - Iran)
- IDF Soldier Killed in Jenin Is Laid to Rest in Jerusalem
IDF soldier St.-Sgt. David Yehuda Yitzhak was killed by gunfire during clashes in the Jenin refugee camp. The IDF is investigating if he was killed by friendly fire. (Jerusalem Post)
- Iran-backed Shi'ite Militia Holds Israeli Citizen Hostage in Iraq
Elizabeth Tsurkov, a doctoral candidate at Princeton University, has been missing for four months. The Iran-backed Shi'ite militia Kata'ib Hizbullah, which the U.S. State Department designates as a Foreign Terror Organization, is holding a dual Israeli-Russian citizen hostage in Iraq, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office revealed on Wednesday. Tsurkov was visiting Iraq using her Russian passport to conduct academic research for her doctorate. (JNS)
- White House "In Touch" with Israel on Jenin Raid, Says Civilians Must Be Protected
- Tovah Lazaroff
The Biden administration is in touch with Israeli officials over the IDF's military campaign in Jenin, the White House said Wednesday, while urging its ally to protect civilians and restore utilities in that West Bank city. "We are monitoring things very closely," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters. "Israel is a close ally and partner, and we are in touch with the national security and, certainly, the defense officials," she said.
"We support, certainly, Israel's security and right to defend its people against Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and other terrorist groups," Jean-Pierre said. She underscored, however, that "It is imperative" for Israel to "take all possible steps to protect civilians from harm, and measures need to be taken to improve the humanitarian situation on the ground and restore critical services like electricity and water to the civilian population." (Jerusalem Post)
Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):
- Abraham Accord Arab States Seen Sticking with Israel despite Jenin Raid
Public fury is growing in the Arab world over one of Israel's biggest military operations in the occupied West Bank in years, yet Arab states which normalized ties with Israel are unlikely to turn their condemnation of the Israeli assault into action. The military operation is diplomatically awkward for the four Arab states that have signed peace pacts - known as the Abraham Accords - with Israel, and it makes the already distant prospect of including Saudi Arabia in the U.S.-backed push for normalized ties even more remote. But analysts said economic and trade interests were likely to trump any moral outrage felt in the Abraham Accord states - Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Sudan and Morocco. Palestinian officials say they feel betrayed by their Arab brethren for reaching deals with Israel without first demanding progress toward the creation of a Palestinian state. (Middle East Online)
- Jenin Residents Blame Abbas, Hamas for IDF Raid
- Baruch Yedid
Residents of the Jenin refugee camp are blaming the Palestinian Authority and Hamas for this week's two-day Israeli military incursion, laying bare divisions within the Palestinian terrorist groups. Significant numbers of Hamas operatives feel betrayed by their leaders in Gaza and have quit in anger. The aftermath also exposes a widening rift in the Strip between Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
After Israeli forces withdrew from the camp, hundreds of residents came out and shouted slogans condemning Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas as a "traitor." Residents accused the PA of not preventing the raid and even cooperating with Israel. A PA police station near Jenin was set on fire. Anger was also directed at Hamas for not coming to the camp's aid. (Jewish News Syndicate)
- Haniyeh and Al-Nakhalah Praise the Steadfastness of Jenin Camp and Its Valiant Resistance
Ismail Haniyeh, head of Hamas' political bureau, spoke on Tuesday afternoon with Ziad al-Nakhaleh, secretary-general of Islamic Jihad, about the course and developments of the ongoing confrontation in the Jenin refugee camp, the barbaric aggression carried out by the occupation forces, and the goals they seek to achieve. During a call between them, they praised the steadfastness and resistance of our people and the field unity that was manifested between the various forces and factions. (Shehab News)
- Iran Bolsters Regional Resistance Strategy with Support for Jenin
In recent weeks, Iran has been enhancing a campaign to emphasize the importance of the West Bank and Jenin, in particular, in the ongoing armed struggle against Israel.
Meanwhile, Iran persistently presents the ongoing protests against judicial reform as evidence of Israel's vulnerability, weakness, and imminent downfall. This topic receives daily coverage in state-run and social media outlets.
According to the Iranian Mission to the UN, "From Iran's viewpoint, Palestinians can't reclaim their usurped rights from the Israeli government through diplomacy, given that the Israeli government only capitulates to force. Therefore, Iran supports any request for assistance from the Palestinian resistance."
Ismail Qaani, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force (IRGC-QF), asserted, "The children of Palestine have never exhibited such strength and power as they do today, while in contrast, Israelis have never been as (weak) as they are today." Qaani hailed the "Palestinian youth that hit the Israeli forces in Jenin on the mouth" and the growing number of attacks in the West Bank. (IranDossier)
- Rabbi Leo Dee: Ordinary Palestinians Silently thank Allah for the Jenin Operation
- Rabbi Leo Dee
When Lucy, Maia, and Rina were suddenly and brutally taken from this world during Pesach, I cried in pain. Not against every Arab, not against every Muslim, but against every terrorist.
I have Palestinian friends and acquaintances. That is the norm when you live in Efrat. Indeed it is the norm when you live in any location in Judea and Samaria (unaffectionately known as the "West Bank"). Our local supermarket is located in Area C, and I select my tomatoes and cucumbers standing next to Palestinian men and women who live in Bethlehem and Hebron. Unsurprisingly, most of these people are just like you and me.
And then there are terrorists. They are not like you and me. They were mostly brought up in UNRWA-run "refugee" towns and trained in terrorist skills during summer camps and fed hatred through Palestinian Authority textbooks that glorify past murderers of innocent civilians. That UNRWA even considers them refugees after 75 years is a direct result of United Nations antisemitism.
What most people are unaware of is how the "good" Palestinians hate the terrorists. They despise them. However, they live in fear, in a terror state, the Palestinian Authority (PA). They unanimously describe the murderers of my family as "inhuman" and "not believing in Allah" when they see me.
Jenin has become a center for terror and the IDF is wise and brave to enter and eliminate it. The "good" Palestinians silently thank Allah for the operation, but they have little hope as the international funding of this terror state goes on and on. (Jewish Chronicle - UK)
- The U.S. Failure behind Israel's Jenin Raid
- Sean Durns
America's close ally, Israel, launched the largest military excursion in the West Bank in nearly two decades. And a decades-long, bipartisan United States policy failure is partially to blame.
The operation in Jenin really highlights the failure of the Palestinian Authority, the U.S.-backed entity that was created as part of the 1990s Oslo Peace Process. The PA is tasked with preventing terrorism, and its security forces are trained and armed by the United States, among others, to do just that. Instead of preventing terrorism, however, the PA pays tax-deductible salaries to those who carry out terrorist attacks. The PA has also incentivized terrorism in other ways.
PA Chairman Abbas' iron fist masks a brittle hand. The authority's control of key towns has been slipping. Iranian-backed rivals of Fatah, like Hamas and PIJ, have seen growing support in the West Bank. Iran covets the West Bank, hoping to turn it into another front to launch attacks into Israel.
The U.S. has failed to stave off the PA's growing unpopularity and weakness, declining to pressure the authority to uphold the rule of law. Fixated on a "two-state solution" that Palestinian leaders like Abbas have repeatedly rejected, U.S. policymakers have infantilized Fatah's leadership, failing to push for healthy institutions and a stop to the authority's policy of rewarding terrorism.
The writer is a senior research analyst for the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis. (Washington Examiner)
Observations:
Breaking the Media's Unhealthy Reliance on Breaking The Silence
- Rachel O'Donoghue ( The Algemeiner) - Rarely a day goes by that the name "Breaking the Silence" does not appear in the media in some capacity. Breaking the Silence was founded in 2004 by former IDF soldiers who are highly critical of Israel.
- Breaking the Silence's latest big media blitz came in the form of a contribution to an "investigation' by CNN about the February 26, 2023, settler attack on the Palestinian village of Huwara, in which a number of properties and vehicles were set alight.
- Featured prominently in CNN's largely fact-free piece is the conjecture of an anonymous soldier - provided by Breaking the Silence - who alleges that the police did nothing to intervene during the rampage through Huwara, and that the IDF is unsure of how to deal with what he terms "settler terrorism."
- As is par for the course with Breaking the Silence, there is no way of probing the veracity of the unidentified soldier's account, nor are there any corroborating testimonies from any of the multiple other soldiers who were on the scene.
- CNN's reliance on Breaking the Silence to support its misleading investigation into the events in Huwara is reflective of how the organization has managed to present itself as an unimpeachable source of information about daily life "under occupation" in the West Bank. In publications like The New York Times and The Washington Post, Breaking the Silence is regularly featured in articles that pertain to Israel and Gaza, without any mention of the group's ideological leanings and profoundly anti-Israel agenda.
- However, this carefully constructed image of integrity is belied by the group's long history of presenting unverifiable "testimonies" as the unvarnished truth and even allegedly falsifying first-hand accounts.
- The author is a contributor to HonestReporting.
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