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| DAILY ALERT |
Thursday, April 18, 2024 |
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News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
The representatives of 48 countries issued a joint statement on Wednesday condemning Iran's attack on Israel. "We unequivocally condemn the April 13 attacks by the Islamic Republic of Iran and its militant partners on the State of Israel, which involved launching several hundred ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and attack drones against multiple targets, and note this large-scale attack could have caused significant damage and loss of life." "The weapons launched at Israel violated the airspace of several regional states, putting at risk the lives of innocent people in those countries, and appeared to traverse airspace near holy sites in Jerusalem....Iran's escalatory attack is the latest in a pattern of dangerous and destabilizing actions by Iran and its militant partners that pose a grave threat to international peace and security." The joint statement was issued by the U.S., Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Poland, Portugal, the Republic of Korea, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, and the UK. (U.S. Mission to the UN) Iran is bracing for a retaliatory Israeli attack on its territory or proxies, after Tehran's weekend missile and drone assault. The IRGC and Hizbullah have reduced the presence of their senior officers in Syria, Syrian security officials said. At the same time, Syrian security officials said Wednesday that Hizbullah has increased the number of its fighters on the Syrian border with Israel in recent days to collect intelligence. Israeli officials assured Gulf states and other Arab countries on Monday that its response to Iran's attack wouldn't endanger their security and would likely be limited in scope. (Wall Street Journal) The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday adopted by 377-44 a resolution condemning as antisemitic the phrase "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" - a Palestinian rallying cry. Israel's supporters say the language calls for the elimination of Israel. Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said, "If you consider the geographic area of the Jordan River and Mediterranean Sea to be exclusively Palestine, you are taking the Jewish state of Israel off the map." The American Jewish Committee has labeled the chant as antisemitic, describing it as "a rallying cry for terrorist groups and their sympathizers, from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine to Hamas." (The Hill) House lawmakers passed multiple pieces of legislation focused on penalizing Iran following its attack on Israel last weekend. They include the Holding Iranian Leaders Accountable Act, which would require a report on the financial holdings of senior Iranian officials; the Iran Sanctions Accountability Act, aimed at preventing the evasion of sanctions against Iran; and the Solidify Iran Sanctions Act, which would make permanent certain sanctions on Iran. (Politico) The number of antisemitic incidents in the U.S. more than doubled last year, shooting up particularly following Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel, the Anti-Defamation League reported Tuesday. There were 8,873 incidents in 2023, 5,204 of which occurred after Oct. 7. By contrast, there were 3,697 incidents in 2022, which at the time was a 40-year high. "Jewish Americans are being targeted for who they are at school, at work, on the street, in Jewish institutions and even at home. This crisis demands immediate action," said ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt. California had the most recorded incidents, with 1,266, followed by New York, with 1,218, and New Jersey, with 830. (JTA) See also Unprecedented Rise in Antisemitic Attacks in the UK since Hamas' Oct. 7 Pogrom - Suzan Quitaz (Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Google fired 28 employees on Wednesday who were involved in sit-in protests at Google offices in Sunnyvale, Calif., and New York City against a contract with the Israeli government. A Google spokesperson said the workers were fired for "physically impeding other employees' work and preventing them from accessing our facilities," which is "completely unacceptable behavior." (Washington Post) News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
14 IDF reserve soldiers were wounded on Wednesday, six seriously, by two Hizbullah drones and two anti-tank missiles at and near a community center in Arab al-Aramshe, a Bedouin village in northern Galilee, less than 3 km. from the Lebanese border. Four civilians were also wounded in the attack. (Jerusalem Post) IDF Spokesperson Daniel Hagari said Tuesday: "On Saturday, Iran attacked the State of Israel with 350 different launches. This was stopped, and Iran failed in its attack. It was stopped thanks to capabilities built up in the State of Israel over years in the defense industries. It was stopped thanks to a historic air defense battle that will be studied extensively around the world - a defense battle in which Israeli Air Force pilots downed swarms of aircraft." "Additionally, something very big happened: a regional coalition led by the U.S., Britain, and France came together perfectly - in the air, on land, and at sea - and together intercepted 99% of the threat before it entered Israel....It is impossible not to respond to such an attack. We will act at the time and place of our choosing." (Israel Hayom) As the U.S. and other countries pressure Israel to increase food aid to Gaza, Israeli officials say Gaza has been overwhelmed by food aid. "There is no food shortage in Gaza, and there never was," says an Israeli official. "The stores are full, the markets are bursting with goods, fruits, vegetables, shawarma, pitas - there is everything. Do you know why they no longer loot convoys? Because there is no shortage. The quantities entering are not normal." "There is no need to open a passage in northern Gaza, no need to open the port of Ashdod, and also no need for an air corridor in Gaza - because there is no lack of food. The air corridor is a crazy operation, the airdrops are unnecessary - they are expensive and the quantities are small, but they photograph well. The UN cannot distribute what enters, so why would more be needed?" an Israeli official said. In Israel, they believe that the way senior U.S. administration officials express themselves echoes the false claims of Hamas supporters as if genocide is taking place in Gaza. (Israel Hayom) Turkish President Erdogan told the Parliament in Ankara on Wednesday that Israel had repeatedly attempted to topple the Turkish government. "Don't forget the military coup on September 12, 1980, which happened right after the massive demonstration for Jerusalem in Konya. Don't forget the coup on February 28, 1997, which took place right after the Jerusalem Night event in Ankara. Don't forget that the failed coup attempt in 2016 was carried out by Zionist operators," Erdogan said. Erdogan noted there was no difference between Hamas and Turkish guerrillas that operated during the Turkish War of Independence under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. A propaganda film was screened showing Turkey's actions in support of the Palestinians, leading to the audience chanting "Death to Israel." (Ynet News) Israel Air Force Captain B., a Christian Arab, lives in an Arab community that is not Israel's greatest fan, so she never goes home in uniform. Three weeks ago, she became the first Arab female airborne mechanic in the IDF after she completed the training course with distinction. She said in an interview that if her helicopter is shot down in Gaza, "I'll take off my [air force] overalls and pretend I'm an Arab woman." (Ynet News) Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis:
Iran Iran says it gave its Arab neighbors prior notice of the attack and even specified the time it would take place. These claims must be viewed with great skepticism. "I find it hard to believe that they gave prior notice," says Maj.-Gen. (res.) Nimrod Sheffer, a former air force deputy commander and former head of the IDF Planning Directorate. "Considering the scale of the Iranian attack, they clearly intended to cause major damage. They carried out a combined attack with a variety of weaponry - an attack that was calculated and synchronized in terms of the times the weapons would hit their targets. So, they clearly aimed to inflict vast damage on Israel and this was not just for show." Iran fired 110 ballistic missiles with a 500-kg. warhead that can cause enormous damage if they strike their target. The Iranian drones that carry warheads ranging from 40 to 100 kg. can also cause serious damage if they score a direct hit on buildings or runways. (Ha'aretz) Iran launched more than 300 cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, and explosive-laden drones toward Israel, the country they have repeatedly vowed to destroy. If Israel's defensive shield had failed, thousands of Israelis could have been killed. Even before Iran builds a nuclear weapon, it could use nuclear material inside a conventional weapon. Shooting it down would bring radioactive material to the ground. This is a challenge for the entire world. The notion that one day Iran would launch a direct attack against Israel may have seemed like a distant possibility. The same was true of Hamas in Gaza. Oct. 7 and April 14 are reminders that the unimaginable can and does happen. (CNN) Iran's first direct attack on Israel on Saturday night demonstrated the country's military might and the advances of its domestic weapons program, analysts said, while also revealing the limitations of its arsenal. With more than 300 drones and missiles launched in a layered onslaught, it was Iran's largest-ever conventional show of force. "Iran basically threw everything it had that could reach Israel's territory," said John Krzyzaniak, who studies Iran's missile programs at the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control. Tehran "used some of every system they have." The firing of over 100 ballistic missiles in the space of a few minutes suggests Iran has at least 100 launchers, he added. "This shows that Iran has really faced no limitation in domestically producing missiles and launchers." Iran's most significant previous use of ballistic missiles was in 2020, after a U.S. drone attack killed Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani. Iran launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles at two U.S. military bases in Iraq. There were no fatalities, but dozens of U.S. service members suffered traumatic brain injuries. Iran also used ballistic missiles in strikes this year on Pakistan, Syria and Iraq. (Washington Post) For two decades, Iran stayed in the shadows and relied on militias that it funded in its deadly fight with Israel. Its direct attack on Israel last weekend marked a strategic shift, and a major gamble. Iran's massive drone and missile strike on Israel marked a dramatic illustration of Tehran's shift away from accommodation with the West and toward open confrontation with the U.S. and its allies. Iranian hard-liners has been calling for tougher action against Israel, as it inflicted heavy damage on Tehran's network of militias. "We have decided to create a new equation," said Maj.-Gen. Hossein Salami, the head of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. "From now on if the Zionist regime attacks our interests, assets, figures and citizens anywhere, we will reciprocally attack it from the origin of Iran," he told state television Sunday. The shift bears enormous risks for Tehran, handing Israel an opportunity to change the conversation away from the war in Gaza and presenting a test for Iran's military capabilities that it may not be up for. (Wall Street Journal) Jordan's part in intercepting drones Iran launched at Israel marked a point where Amman was working in its own interest, which overlapped with Jerusalem's, rather than Jordan jumping to Israel's rescue, experts said. Iran has long worked to gain a foothold in Jordan and undermine the stability of its monarchy. Israel's 300 km.-border with Jordan is its longest frontier, and a stronger Iranian or Iran-backed presence in the country would pose a serious threat to Israel. Hussain Abdul-Hussain, a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said, "Iran would like to replace [Jordan's monarchy] with any of their proxies or create a proxy inside Jordan." A week before the attack on Israel, Iranian media reported that Hizbullah is ready to arm 12,000 "Islamist resistance" fighters in Jordan to overthrow the monarchy. "This is about Jordan itself before it's about Israel. The sovereignty of Jordan is at stake....This means any kind of infringement on their sovereignty, big or small, will be fought." (Jewish Insider) Israel learned the hard way on Oct. 7 that defenses don't relieve you of the duty to subdue a determined attacker. Hamas' intent to slaughter Israelis was hardly a secret, but Israel allowed it to survive and grow stronger because its rockets could be intercepted. Israel agreed to "take the win" against Hamas - all the way to catastrophe. It's the same story with Hizbullah, whose expanding arsenal and occasional rocket fire became facts of life in northern Israel. Hizbullah has fired on Israel more than 3,000 times since Oct. 7, depopulating the country's north. The miracle of Iron Dome air defenses for years led Israel to tolerate what no other nation would. Worse, other nations demanded that Israel tolerate it, because Israel suffered little damage. (Wall Street Journal) The Iranian drone and ballistic missile attack on Israel on April 13 was intended to deter Israel from punishing not only Iranian proxies for violent attacks on Israel, but also going after their Iranian masters. For four decades, the mullahs have gathered, trained and armed proxy Islamist militias and used them as tools to advance Tehran's interests. As a result, Iran now effectively controls the entire land space between the Iraq-Iran border and the Mediterranean Sea. It has the capacity to paralyze shipping in the Red Sea/Gulf of Aden, on one of the world's key maritime trade routes. The killing of Gen. Mohammad Reza Zahedi and six other Revolutionary Guard commanders in Damascus on April 1 was an indication that Israel, since Oct. 7, had begun to act to truly challenge the Iranian strategy. The polite practice of response against proxies alone was being dispensed with. Action against the patron was beginning. Air defense, even of the most effective kind, cannot substitute for a forward strategy to counter a project of aggression. Passivity and reaction will not suffice against the Iranian project for regional domination, and for the destruction of Israel. (Jewish Chronicle-UK) Iran has been disseminating false information regarding the outcome of its military strike on Israel on April 13, 2024, portraying it as a significant "victory." In reality, it was a significant military achievement for Israel. In essence, Iran seeks to leverage its military strike to establish a new deterrence policy against Israel. Israel cannot afford to accept Iran's new approach, which aims to curtail its freedom of military action in the Middle East, essential for safeguarding its vital security interests. (Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Biden told Netanyahu to be satisfied with the Iranian attack being fended off and count it as a victory. Dodging a bullet is a highly desirable outcome when being shot at but it is not a victory, not if you aren't allowed to disarm the gunman. The Americans and the British want to avert an Israeli retaliation because they fear it could destabilize the region. Yet much of the instability in the region can be traced back to Iran. For Israel, as for any country threatened on multiple fronts, the only way to win is to win. Yet its allies don't want it to hit Iran and they object to how it goes about hitting Hamas. (Spectator-UK) Iran's direct attack on Israel over the weekend was not "designed to fail" or an elaborately telegraphed de-escalatory overture. It was a radical and audacious assault on Israel, and its aim was to kill as many Israelis as possible. Over 300 munitions were expended in a coordinated assault on Israel by both the Islamic Republic and the constellation of terrorist groups it controls. It was an unprecedented event. It was intended to overwhelm Israeli air defenses and culminate in mass casualties. There can be no doubt that Iran's intent was the worst-case scenario. By any rational interpretation of the laws of armed conflict, a state of war today exists between Israel and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Israel is obliged to respond to this attack in more than equal measure. Israel cannot afford to allow periodic direct Iranian attacks on its territory to become the background soundtrack to daily life. It certainly cannot establish a precedent whereby its allies have a veto over its ability to defend itself. The notion that Israel can simply absorb this attack so we can de-escalate and be done is fanciful to the point of delusion. While the vast majority of the ordnance Iran launched at Israel didn't make it into Israeli airspace, ballistic missiles most certainly did. If any of those missiles were armed with nuclear warheads, Israel would face a genuinely existential disaster. From Jerusalem's perspective, there can be no living with an undeterred millenarian outfit like the Islamic Republic. (National Review) Palestinian Arabs The new Palestinian Authority government, headed by Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa, has appealed to some Arab countries, including Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Algeria, to support its effort to assume control of Gaza. There are increased signs that the PA's General Intelligence Service (GIS) is trying to establish a security presence in some parts of Gaza. Recently, Hamas announced that its men arrested several GIS members who "infiltrated" into northern Gaza. Two GIS agents were reportedly shot dead by Hamas terrorists. The PA said the men were part of a security detail accompanying humanitarian convoys entering Gaza through Egypt. Prior to Hamas' violent takeover of Gaza in 2007, the PA had thousands of security officers and civil servants in Gaza. Most of them continued to receive salaries from the PA after the Hamas "coup" that toppled the PA. The writer, a veteran Israeli journalist, is a senior fellow at the Jerusalem Center. (Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) The sight of thousands of Palestinians dancing on the rooftops, drunk with hatred, as missiles and UAVs whizzed over their heads towards Israel, is a reflection of Palestinian society. Contrary to the impression the Americans are trying to make, at their core and essence, the Palestinians in the West Bank - like those in Gaza - are not truly part of the moderate axis opposing the Iranian offensive. The Iranians know this too, and they are counting on them, just as they are counting on the Palestinian majority in Jordan, which they are now trying to destabilize from within. The firing toward Jerusalem, which was intercepted over the Temple Mount ("Al-Aqsa"), is not an Iranian mistake. Quite the opposite. Just a few years ago, Iran's Revolutionary Guards participated in a drill simulating the capture of the sacred compound in Jerusalem. The current administration in Washington continues to be under the illusion of a renewed Palestinian Authority, while the residents of that very authority cheered the missile attacks on Israel. (Israel Hayom) Other Issues For years, we ignored the weakness of the government in Egypt, the corruption of the country's military elite, and the refusal to see how that enabled the arming of Hamas. In my decades of service in the Mossad and Military Intelligence, I visited Cairo hundreds of times for meetings at General Intelligence Service headquarters. We warned dozens of times about arms being brought into Gaza and that it will eventually lead to a war that will harm Israel and also endanger Egypt. Since the beginning of the current war, countless antitank missiles have been fired at our forces, causing considerable casualties. These missiles came from Egypt. The government in Cairo is chiefly responsible for building up Hamas' military power. Egypt is not in control of Sinai. There are Egyptian policemen but their wages are low and they are bought with bribes. For $100, or less, they'll turn a blind eye to anything. The heads of the Egyptian military also benefit personally from the bribery. Sinai is ruled by Bedouin gangs that transport weapons to Gaza by land and from the sea, at El-Arish. Egyptian intelligence officials knew about the arms smuggling and about the Hamas members who left Gaza to train abroad, but they thought that if they did not confront Hamas, they would buy peace cheaply. Big mistake. If we want to solve the problem of Gaza, we must demand that the Egyptian government seal the tunnels under the border at Rafah and deal with the smuggling routes. Israel withdrew from Sinai on condition that it not become a territory that would threaten the existence of the state. That is the basis of the peace treaty. Egypt is not meeting this condition. Its inaction allowed Hamas to ready its attack against Israel. (Ha'aretz) Progressive activists met Saturday in Chicago to discuss their plans to march on the Democratic National Convention in August. While they were meeting, Hatem Abudayyeh, national chairman for the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, announced that Iran had just launched its attack on Israel. The crowd cheered. So much for the idea that the protests taking place across America are antiwar. These people cheer drones and missiles directed at Israel, chant "Death to America," and never blame Tehran or Hamas for anything. They don't even try to appeal to the hearts and minds of their fellow Americans. Instead, they choose the most obnoxious way to push their message: menacing Jewish students on college campuses, interrupting congressional hearings, targeting a Christmas tree lighting. Since Oct. 7, Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), a true-blue progressive, has emerged as one of Israel's most stalwart and forceful defenders. He told CNN on Sunday that Mr. Biden shouldn't "capitulate to the fringe." (Wall Street Journal) The American Jewish community is facing the most threatening environment in our nation's history. The enemies of Israel and of America have seen recent events as an opportunity to push their agenda of hate and violence. Iran and other foreign terrorist organizations have now made it clear that the U.S. and its Jewish community are prime targets for future attacks. As we head into Passover, we must draw from our ancestors' strength and refuse to let our enemies dictate our lives. Protecting ourselves against these threats requires a collective effort. Every facility must be prepared, and every member of the community must be engaged. We have a choice: to let fear win by putting our heads in the sand and hiding our identity or to confront those who would wish for us to fall away. We need to make clear that we are not going anywhere. The writer is national director and CEO of the Secure Community Network, the safety and security organization for the Jewish community in North America. (Jerusalem Post) Observations: How Israel Can Win in Gaza - and Deter Iran - Elliott Abrams (Foreign Affairs)
The writer, a senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, served as deputy national security advisor, where he supervised U.S. policy in the Middle East for the White House. |
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