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Jerusalem Center for Security
and Foreign Affairs
DAILY ALERT
Tuesday,
May 13, 2025
In-Depth Issues:

Poll: 81 Percent of Israelis Oppose Leaving Hamas in Power in Gaza (Jerusalem Post)
    A majority of Jewish Israelis oppose a potential hostage deal that would allow Hamas to remain in power in Gaza, a survey conducted on May 5-6 by Lazar Research for the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs found.
    78% of Jewish Israelis oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state; 81% fear a repeat of the Oct. 7 attack originating from the West Bank.
    85% oppose Hamas maintaining a military force in Gaza, while 81% said they oppose Hamas playing any civilian governance role.


Hizbullah Evacuates Iranian Officers from Lebanon - Shachar Kleiman (Israel Hayom)
    Senior Hizbullah figures asked the Iranian leadership to remove IRGC officers currently stationed in Lebanon, amid growing concerns that Israel may attempt to assassinate them, Arab media reported Monday.


Israel's Red Lines with Trump Are Vital for Survival - Nadav Shragai (Israel Hayom)
    Disagreements with the Trump administration regarding Gaza, the Houthis, Iran, and Saudi Arabia represent positive developments for Israel.
    The absence of such differences would be cause for deep concern.
    It would be deeply troubling if Israel simply acquiesced and failed to defend matters essential to its security and existence.
    Should Israel accept a potentially flawed nuclear agreement with Iran?
    When Saudi Arabia is poised to receive American approval for a civilian nuclear reactor without normalizing relations with Israel, should Israel submit meekly?
    When moments after Ben-Gurion Airport experienced the shock wave from a Houthi missile, the U.S. announces it will cease bombing the Houthis, should Israel simply disregard this?
    While relations with the U.S. are indeed extremely important, matters affecting the security of every Israeli citizen are even more crucial.
    Israel must remain steadfast and navigate skillfully through disagreement, even with a supportive administration that demonstrates affection for Israel.


The Ideological Infrastructure of the Palestinian Public Is Perpetual Struggle - Col. (res.) Prof. Gabi Siboni and Brig.-Gen. (res.) Erez Winner (Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security)
    Hamas is a symptom of a deeper and broader problem in Gaza: the psychological and ideological infrastructure of the Palestinian public is one of perpetual struggle aimed at the destruction of the State of Israel.
    It is reasonable to assume that even if an alternative governing authority is established in Gaza after Hamas's total defeat, these underlying currents will persist, and it will only be a matter of time before a new threat to Israel emerges from the Strip.
    Therefore, the central requirement for achieving the war's goal - that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel in the long-term - is the establishment of complete security control over Gaza through a physical presence on the ground.
    However, to secure sustained calm over the long term, from a strategic viewpoint, Israel will need either an effective and swift de-radicalization program (which has slim chances of success) or to implement Trump's vision: the voluntary emigration of Gaza's population.
    Gabi Siboni was director of the military and strategic affairs program, and the cyber research program, of the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) from 2006-2020. Erez Winner is an expert in military affairs and doctrine at the JISS.


Israeli Pilots Describe Yemen Airstrikes - Gal Ganot (Ynet News)
    After a missile fired by the Houthis exploded on the grounds of Ben-Gurion International Airport on May 4, Israeli Air Force F-15, F-16 and F-35 jets repeatedly struck targets in Yemen, 1,200 miles from Israel.
    Lt. A., an intelligence officer who led the planning for the Yemen strikes, described the strategic aim behind the attacks.
    "We wanted to return fire for fire. If they hit Ben-Gurion, then they won't have an airport in Sanaa," she said.


Canadians Overwhelmingly Defeat "Vote Palestine" Candidates at the Ballot Box - Mike Fegelman (Honest Reporting-Canada)
    A new initiative by anti-Israel activists called Vote Palestine supported candidates for Parliament during the 2025 federal election.
    Their website lists 362 candidates who signed the platform, including 216 NDP candidates, 116 from the Green Party, 28 from the Liberal Party, and 2 from the Bloc Quebecois.
    Of the 216 NDP signatories, 210 lost their bid for election. A number of vocally anti-Israel, high-profile NDP MPs lost their seats.
    Of the 116 Green Party signatories, just one won her seat. Overall, only 25 won, while 337 lost.
    These results show that despite the loud antics of anti-Israel activists over the last 18 months, these efforts have remained marginal.


The Memorial Stickers of the IDF's Fallen - Michal Ophir (Times of Israel)
    Stickers with the faces, names, and quotes of Israeli soldiers who fell in the Gaza War have become ubiquitous across Israel's landscape.
    On electricity poles, bus stops, and car bumpers, their messages call out to us: "Be good," "Live for me," "Don't forget to smile when you wake up" - voices asking us to continue their journey.
    Carefully chosen by grieving families, these words immortalize their loved ones by keeping their values alive, urging us to transform memory into meaningful action.
    See also the new Hebrew digital platform "Drishat Shalom" (Regards)


Video: Rescuer's Desperate Search for Survivors at Nova Festival - "Is Anyone Alive?" (Ynet News)
    Footage from the body camera of an IDF soldier at the Nova music festival on Oct. 7 reveals the horror that awaited first responders as he calls out into the silence.
    "Police, IDF," he calls repeatedly. "Are there any wounded? Anyone?"
    As he advances, he says, "I have fatalities here. One, two, three, four, five dead. A female police officer is dead. Oh God. Everyone at the stage is dead."
    He pleads: "Is anyone alive? Anyone who can give a sign of life? Anyone, please?"


Palace of Israelite Kings Excavated in Samaria - Hanan Greenwood (Israel Hayom)
    Archaeological excavations began Monday at Samaria National Park (Sebastia), the only surviving remnant of the ancient Kingdom of Israel and the location of the kings' palace.
    Archaeological work at the site more than a century ago uncovered the western wing of the fortress of the kings of Israel from the era of Omri and Jehu.
    A subsequent excavation in 1931 uncovered one of the largest theaters in the region, constructed by Herod during the Second Temple period.
    Yossi Dagan, head of the Samaria Regional Council, said, "No people has a connection to their homeland stronger than the people of Israel to the Land of Israel. When digging in ancient Samaria, you are touching the Bible with your hands."

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News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
  • UN Says Found 225 Hizbullah Arms Caches since Truce
    UNIFIL, the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, said Monday that since the Nov. 27, 2024, truce between Israel and Hizbullah it had uncovered more than 225 Hizbullah weapons caches in the south. (AFP)
  • Attacks on Syrian Druze by Islamist Gunmen Is Pushing Some to Consider Israeli Protection - Louisa Loveluck
    Clashes with pro-government fighters have killed dozens of Druze in Syria's Sweida province over the past few weeks, provoking such fear that some Druze say they are now looking for help from Israel. Recently, Israel has cast itself as the protector of Syria's Druze, opening the border for the first time in decades for religious pilgrimages, publicizing a plan to grant permits to them to work temporarily in northern Israel, and touting an Israeli "security umbrella" for them.
        One of the country's most influential sheikhs, Hikmat al-Hijiri, told the Washington Post that Israel was "not the enemy." "In Syria, we should only care about the Syrian cause," he said, a reference to the previous regime's insistence that it was a champion of Palestinian rights and thus opposed to Israel. In Harran, local Druze fighter Rabiya Murshed, 30, said Israel was helping the Druze "for their own benefit. But to be honest, we don't mind their help against this government. We have no other choice. Those people want to eliminate us by force."
        The latest bloodshed was sparked by an audio recording purporting - erroneously - to reveal a leading Druze cleric insulting the prophet Muhammad. Sunni Muslim militants initially attacked two areas of the capital with large Druze populations before advancing on Sweida. Misleading social media posts exaggerating the size of the death toll fueled panic in the wider Druze community.
        Syrian government officials and Druze leaders have negotiated an agreement that leaves much of Sweida province's security in the hands of Druze militiamen. On Wednesday, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said that Syria and Israel were engaged in indirect talks to prevent the situation from getting "out of control."  (Washington Post)
        See also IDF Sets Up Medical Facility for Wounded Druze in Southern Syria - Emanuel Fabian
    The Israel Defense Forces said Thursday it had set up a medical facility next to the Druze village of Hader in southern Syria to treat those wounded during recent sectarian violence by Islamist supporters of the country's new regime. More than 30 wounded Syrian Druze have been evacuated to hospitals in Israel in recent weeks. "The facility is part of a number of efforts that the IDF is carrying out to support the Syrian Druze population, and to maintain their security," the military said. (Times of Israel)
  • Israeli Intelligence to Help Ecuador in War on Cartels
    Ecuadoran President Daniel Noboa said on May 8 that Israel and the UAE had agreed to provide intelligence "to help" fight cocaine traffickers that are terrorizing his country. (AFP-Le Monde-France)
News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
  • Hamas Releases American-Israeli IDF Soldier Edan Alexander after 584 Days in Captivity
    IDF soldier Edan Alexander, who spent 584 days in Hamas captivity in Gaza, was released on Monday. Israel's Channel 11 reported that he was subjected to severe torture during lengthy interrogations and was held alongside other hostages in southern Gaza, confined to a tunnel with no daylight. For a prolonged period, he was locked in a cage, with his hands and feet shackled. He suffered from extreme food deprivation, and only in recent months did his captors begin providing more food.
        Alexander was the last known living hostage with American citizenship. The remains of four American citizens are still held by Hamas: Capt. Omer Neutra, Staff Sgt. Itay Chen, and the couple Gadi Haggai and Judi Weinstein-Haggai. The U.S. is actively engaged in efforts to recover their remains, the White House said Sunday. (Ynet News)
        See also Released Hostage Edan Alexander Speaks with Trump, Meets with Witkoff (Jerusalem Post)
  • Israel: Trump Not Preventing Israel from Launching Gaza Assault - Amichai Stein
    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee in Jerusalem on Monday, together with a phone call between Netanyahu and President Donald Trump. In their phone call, Netanyahu thanked Trump for his assistance in securing the release of IDF soldier Edan Alexander.
        Following the meeting, an Israeli source told the Jerusalem Post: "The deadline for Hamas to accept the Witkoff framework, which includes the release of 10 hostages in exchange for several weeks of a ceasefire, remains valid until the end of Trump's visit to the region. The Americans see eye-to-eye with us. They understand that Hamas must be destroyed."
        Huckabee tweeted after the meeting: "Forget rumors. We're all on the same page."  (Jerusalem Post)
  • U.S. Middle East Envoy Witkoff Says Media Exaggerating Tensions with Israeli Leaders - Nava Freiberg
    U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff told the Breitbart news site in an interview published Sunday: "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli people are a staunch ally of the United States, and it goes back the other way. I've been at multiple meetings with the president and the prime minister - they're friendly." This does not mean they see eye-to-eye "on absolutely everything," but the media "hears about a small disagreement...then conflates that into some large article about massive issues that they have."
        "Israel is a great partner for the United States, strategically, economically. We think very much alike, we have very similar objectives. They don't want to see a weaponized nuclear state in Iran. And so, I don't think there's much daylight between how they think and how we think from a foreign policy perspective."
        Former U.S. ambassador to Israel David Friedman said on X on Sunday: "There is NO RIFT between President Trump and PM Netanyahu. There are those in both the U.S. and Israel who would like to see such a rift, and they are feeding false accounts to the media to achieve just that. But it's all fake."  (Times of Israel)
Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis:

    The Gaza War

  • A U.S. Hostage Walks Free from Hamas - Editorial
    Edan Alexander of Tenafly, N.J., left Hamas captivity on Monday through the mediation of U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and the threat of an impending Israeli offensive. Alexander was 19 when Hamas took him. He's now 21. His release is a U.S. victory. Hamas still holds the corpses of four U.S. citizens for ransom. (Wall Street Journal)
  • How Some Americans Betrayed Edan Alexander - Brendan O'Neill
    When a U.S. citizen, just 19, was taken captive by a fascist militia, some Americans wrapped their faces in the keffiyeh in gleeful mimicry of the militants who seized their compatriot. They cheered the jailers of their fellow citizen. "Glory to our martyrs," some cried, meaning the radical Islamists who had dragged their teenage countryman into a hellish lair and kept him there for 583 days.
        Even as we share in the joy of the Alexander family, we must never forget how others in the U.S. betrayed this young American. Some even became unpaid propagandists for his captors. For 18 months, America's self-styled "anti-fascists" didn't so much as mention the words "Edan Alexander." They saved their warm words for his persecutors. That American radicals expressed more sympathy for Hamas than for its victims, even the American ones, is surely one of the greatest betrayals of decency of our time. (Spectator-UK)
  • Media Lies about Fake Martyrs and Famines Fuel Antisemitism - Jonathan S. Tobin
    Many in the mainstream press have been acting as Hamas's stenographers since Oct. 7 - accepting flagrantly false statistics about civilian casualties as truthful, downplaying or denying the Islamist group's genocidal goals, and falsely alleging that the Israel Defense Forces have been committing war crimes when, in fact, they take greater care to avoid civilian loses than any other modern army.
        Currently, the main anti-Israel media talking point is an effort to revive the myth that there is a famine going on in Gaza. With Hamas refusing to release the remaining Israeli hostages it still holds, and also showing itself unwilling to lay down its arms and give up control of the Strip, Israel has stopped the flow of aid into areas the terror group controls. It also plans on taking control of the distribution of food and fuel to prevent Hamas from continuing to steal most of it.
        Palestinians in Gaza are suffering from Hamas's continuation of the war it began on Oct. 7, but there remains no evidence of famine or anything close to it. The responsibility for this situation belongs to the terrorists, not the nation they attacked. Claims of a humanitarian catastrophe are largely part of an effort to allow the Islamist group to retain control, something that will ensure that the Jewish state will suffer more barbaric atrocities. (JNS)
  • Hamas's Human Shield Strategy - Maj. (ret.) Andrew Fox
    For 18 months, the global media, the UN, and the NGO industry have covered the war in Gaza with a grotesque, almost deliberate omission: Hamas, the terror group that started it, is treated as if it doesn't exist. Every day, the headlines howl about Israeli airstrikes, civilian casualties, and the destruction of Gaza.
        At the same time, Hamas, the group that has spent 20 years building its army under Gaza's hospitals, schools, and apartment blocks, vanishes from the narrative. Hamas, the group firing rockets from playgrounds and bedrooms, filming itself fighting the IDF in civilian clothes, and boasting about using human shields, is somehow never blamed for the carnage it has engineered.
        My new Henry Jackson Society report is a forensic demolition of the comfortable lie that Gaza's destruction is merely the outcome of Israeli aggression. It illustrates, in brutal detail, how Hamas intentionally transformed Gaza into a death trap: rigging civilian infrastructure with weapons, tunnels, explosives, and fighters, fully aware that every dead civilian would constitute a propaganda victory.
        This was always the plan. Hamas leaders have proudly declared that they "desire death" and that civilian blood is a "necessary sacrifice" to advance their cause. They have openly admitted to using hospitals and UN schools as bases, booby-trapping children's bedrooms, and preventing civilians from fleeing combat zones.
        Hamas, not Israel, bears primary responsibility for much of Gaza's suffering. Civilian casualties are not solely a tragic outcome of Israel's actions, but a deliberate result of Hamas's grotesque military doctrine: to hide behind its own people and dare Israel to respond. This report is the missing chapter in every UN report, every NGO indictment, every dishonest editorial. It shows that Hamas's entire battlefield is Gaza's civilian population, and it exposes the cowardice of those who refuse to acknowledge it.
        The writer, who served in the British Army in 2005-21, is a research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society and a lecturer at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.  (Substack)
        Read the report Hamas's Human Shield Strategy in Gaza - Andrew Fox and Salo Aizenberg (Henry Jackson Society)


    • Iran

  • How to Solve the Iranian Problem - Dr. Harold Rhode
    If the U.S. and its allies are serious about preventing a nuclear-armed Iran, then one reality must be faced head-on: Dismantling the Islamic Republic's nuclear program is not enough. To secure a lasting peace and prevent Tehran from rearming, the regime itself must be removed. Only then can the threat be permanently neutralized.
        Steeped in regional strategies of endurance and deception, the Islamic regime would simply wait for the political tides to shift in Washington. Then it would restart its nuclear-weapons program. That's why removing the regime is not a supplementary option but a prerequisite.
        All available signs indicate that the Iranian people want to reintegrate into the international community; redirect resources from terrorism and repression to domestic development; and normalize relations with the U.S. and Israel. These signals are unmistakable to those who understand Iranian culture.
        The writer, a fellow of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, served as an adviser on the Islamic world for the U.S. Department of Defense for 28 years.  (JNS)
  • If Iran Won't Accept Trump's Deal, It's Time for Plan B - Marc A. Thiessen
    President Trump says he will accept nothing less than "total dismantlement" of Iran's nuclear program. Fortunately, we have an example of what that looks like. In 2003, Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi invited outside officials to come in and dismantle his nuclear, chemical weapons and ballistic missile programs.
        The Libyan nuclear program - including its uranium hexafluoride, centrifuges and designs to build bombs - was crated up and loaded onto U.S. military aircraft, which flew to a secure storage facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Libya's enriched uranium was also removed, its chemical munitions destroyed and its ballistic missiles dismantled. Trump understands that anything short of this in Iran would be unacceptable.
        The Israel Defense Forces has severely damaged Iran's air defenses and ballistic missile capabilities. Iran is currently strategically naked - unable to effectively defend itself against a U.S. or Israeli military strike, or respond decisively either directly or by proxy.
        This means Trump now has a window of opportunity to end the Iranian nuclear program - one the U.S. has never had before - and that window will eventually close. Iran should be given a simple choice: Allow us to eliminate your nuclear program peacefully or watch it destroyed by military force. (Washington Post)
  • An Iran Deal Americans Can Live With - Editorial
    Sen. Lindsey Graham has a message for Iran's regime: "You claim all you want is a peaceful nuclear-power program. You can have it. But you cannot enrich and you must dismantle." A policy that combines dismantling Iran's nuclear-enrichment capability and allowing a civilian nuclear program has won broad support for its ability to call Iran's bluff.
        23 countries have peaceful nuclear-power capabilities without the ability to enrich uranium or reprocess spent fuel at home. They safely import what they need instead. Though Iran pretends the import option would be a national affront, imports from Russia already fuel Iran's nuclear power plant at Bushehr. (Wall Street Journal)


    • 80th Anniversary of Victory over Nazi Germany

  • Remembering Jewish Heroes from World War II - Ran Puni
    May 9, 80 years ago, was Victory Day over Nazi Germany. Dr. Tamar Katko serves as curator of the Jewish Fighter in World War II Museum in Latrun, which she helped found. One and a half million Jews fought in World War II. She tells some of their stories.
        Cpl. Sam Schwartz immigrated with his family from Hungary to the U.S. in 1939. When World War II broke out, friends from the neighborhood suggested he enlist with them. He served as a paratrooper and commander who carried out operations in enemy territory. He participated in battles in North Africa, the Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes, and in Germany. With his unit comrades, he rescued several Holocaust survivors at Dachau camp and brought them to the U.S. for treatment after the war. For his actions, he received dozens of medals for bravery, and he is buried with his wife in Jerusalem.
        Polina Gelman was accepted to a flight and navigation course and recruited to the women's regiment in the Soviet Red Army Air Force. In 1942, she began missions bombing German targets. She bombed force concentrations, fuel depots, anti-aircraft batteries, searchlights, bridges, vehicles, and caused significant damage to the Germans. She completed 857 missions, logged 1,300 flight hours, and dropped 113 tons of bombs, earning her the Hero of the Soviet Union award.
        At the outbreak of World War II, Lt.-Col. Mordechai Frizis commanded a Greek battalion against the Italian attack in northern Greece, on the Albanian front. On Dec. 4, 1940, in the Kalama sector, he managed to break the Italian attack and force the Italian troops to retreat, leaving behind hundreds of dead and about 700 prisoners. Some saw this as the first victory for the Allies in World War II. The next day, his unit was attacked by Italian aircraft and he was killed. He became one of Greece's national heroes, with his statue erected in the main square of his hometown. 25 streets in cities across Greece bear his name.
        The first 12 generals in the IDF were from the Jewish Brigade of the British army. Three IDF Chiefs of Staff came from the British Army, along with two presidents - Ezer Weizman and Chaim Herzog. Most of the commanders who shaped the IDF were World War II veterans.
        In World War II, 1,700 Jewish soldiers from mandatory Palestine who enlisted in the British Army were prisoners in Greece, in German captivity, where they were tortured and starved. Among them was Shimon Peres' father, Yitzhak Perski.
        The Jewish fighters in World War II "had an urge to prove that 'we are not like you think we are.'...This means that Jews showed they don't avoid danger, don't avoid responsibility, they're the first to charge, to take responsibility....Jews proved they would fulfill any mission as army soldiers."  (Israel Hayom)
  • The Jewish Refugees Who Became British Commandos to Fight the Nazis - Leah Garrett
    On the 80th anniversary of VE Day, it is crucial to remember the central role that Jewish soldiers played in the defeat of the Nazis. In June 1942, Winston Churchill and his chief of combined operations, Lord Mountbatten, created a commando unit of German speakers that was almost entirely composed of Jewish refugees. Most had arrived in the UK as teenagers on transit visas or Kindertransport from Germany and Austria.
        The X Troopers were placed in a range of existing units in leadership roles, taking on the most dangerous missions. Of the 87 men in X Troop, more than half were killed, wounded or disappeared without a trace. Ian Harris (Hans Ludwig Hajos) single-handedly captured an entire German garrison with nothing but a Tommy gun.
        Fred Gray (Manfred Gans) was at the forefront of the D-Day landings, killing and interrogating countless Nazis. In the waning days of the war, he commandeered a Jeep and drove to Theresienstadt concentration camp, where he rescued his own parents.
        The writer is Director of Jewish Studies at Hunter College, CUNY, and author of X-Troop: The Secret Jewish Commandos of World War Two. (Jewish Chronicle-UK)
Observations:

How Hamas Exploits Psychology to Harm Israel from Within and Abroad - Dr. Irwin J. Mansdorf (Jerusalem Post)
  • People are wired to respond to immediate rewards even if those carry long-term consequences. If the reward feels good enough and the threat seems distant enough, we take the risk. This is a weapon that Hamas has used masterfully in its psychological war against Israel and the West over the past 18 months.
  • Hamas has turned hostage diplomacy into a psychological trap. The emotional appeal of bringing hostages home - a deeply human desire - has become the bait. The cost? A stronger, bolder, more dangerous Hamas, just as ideologically committed to Israel's destruction as ever.
  • Public discourse is dominated by the plight of the hostages. Families appear on TV daily. Emotional appeals grip the nation and Hamas knows this. That's why, every few weeks, another hostage video surfaces, precisely timed to stoke hope, pain, and division.
  • All the while, Hamas plays the victim: children under rubble, hospitals without power, shelters destroyed. The images are tragic - but they also serve a purpose, suggesting that the responsibility lies not with Hamas but with Israel. Headlines rarely acknowledge Hamas's role in initiating the conflict or continuing to hold innocent Israelis captive. The moral burden shifts to Israel, while the terrorists evade accountability.
  • The moral imperative to rescue living hostages is real - but so is the government's duty to protect its citizens from future atrocities. We must recognize that Hamas is playing us. It continues to manipulate public opinion, both in Israel and in the West.
  • In the West, those who value freedom, justice, and moral clarity must understand that the same tactics Hamas uses against Israel can - and will - be used against them too. Psychological warfare is still warfare. If we want to win, we must start by understanding the battlefield we're actually on.

    The writer is a clinical psychologist and a fellow at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs specializing in political psychology.
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