| DAILY ALERT |
Tuesday, November 26, 2024 |
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News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
Israel's Security Cabinet will vote Tuesday on a ceasefire agreement with Hizbullah, Israeli and U.S. officials said. The deal includes a 60-day implementation period to allow the Israeli military to withdraw and for the Lebanese armed forces to secure the border area and prevent Hizbullah from re-establishing a presence there, according to Lebanese officials. Israel has demanded that it preserve the ability to strike should Hizbullah pose new threats in Lebanon even after the signing of a deal. Hizbullah began firing rockets at Israel shortly after the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel. Hizbullah has quietly signaled it was willing to delink its rocket fire to stopping the war in Gaza. (Wall Street Journal) See also below Commentary: Reasons behind Israel's Agreement to a Ceasefire with Hizbullah - Lior Ben Ari (Ynet News) Israel conducted heavy airstrikes on Sunday on the southern outskirts of Beirut where Hizbullah holds sway, following a series of evacuation warnings by the Israeli military. The IDF said it had struck 12 "command centers" in the Dahiya area that belonged to Hizbullah. (New York Times) See also Hizbullah Fires 250 Rockets at Israel on Sunday - Yonah Jeremy Bob Hizbullah fired 250 rockets at Israel on Sunday in one of the largest attacks in months. The IDF shot down most of the rockets, but there were some direct hits. Several people were wounded in Petah Tikva, Haifa, and Kfar Blum. (Jerusalem Post) Four UN peacekeepers from Italy were wounded by Hizbullah rockets in Lebanon on Friday, Italian officials said. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the soldiers were "wounded following the launch of two rockets by Hizbullah." "Attacks against UNIFIL are a grave and unacceptable violation of international law and must stop," he said. (AFP) Colleges and universities have tightened rules around protests, locked campus gates, and handed down stricter punishments after the disruptions of pro-Palestinian demonstrations and encampments last spring. The efforts seem to be working. Universities have seen 950 protest events this semester so far, compared to 3,000 last semester. About 50 people have been arrested so far this school year on campuses, compared to over 3,000 last semester. The changes follow federal civil rights complaints, lawsuits and withering congressional scrutiny accusing universities of tolerating antisemitism, after some protesters praised Hamas and called for violence against Israelis. Jewish students who felt targeted by protesters have praised the new rules - and the speed at which universities are enforcing them - for helping to restore order and safety. (New York Times) News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
IDF troops carried out operations in the area of the Litani River in Lebanon, the military said on Tuesday, marking the first time in over two decades that IDF soldiers have reached the area. Soldiers engaged in close-quarters combat and demolished dozens of launchers and rockets, destroying weapons storage facilities hidden within the mountainside. (Jerusalem Post) The Israeli military confirmed Monday it has been operating against Hizbullah's weapons smuggling unit in Syria to prevent Iranian arms from reaching Lebanon. A series of strikes have targeted Hizbullah's Unit 4400, eliminating the head of the unit, Muhammad Ja'far Qassir, in Beirut in October, and his replacement, Ali Hassan Gharib, in Damascus, several weeks later, alongside other top commanders. One strike in October destroyed a 3.5-km.-long tunnel that crossed between Lebanon and Syria, used by Hizbullah to smuggle and store Iranian weapons. Israeli jets also bombed Unit 4400 command centers in Beirut on Monday. (Times of Israel) Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis:
Hizbullah A senior Israeli official outlined the rationale behind advancing the ceasefire agreement. "First, we aim to prevent, as much as possible, a UN Security Council resolution addressing both Hizbullah and Hamas. We're in a transitional period for the U.S. administration and we understand the complexity and sensitivity involved, so we want to avoid that. Once a resolution is passed, it becomes irreversible. Therefore, we're doing everything to prevent it." Secondly, "reserve soldiers have been engaged in over a year of fighting, moving from Lebanon to Gaza and back. We want to allow them to regroup and regain strength." The third reason was severing the connection between Gaza and Lebanon. "We're disrupting that, disconnecting the fronts, leaving Hamas isolated in the war....We hope that the strategic and diplomatic measures, combined with ongoing military pressure, will lead to a deal for releasing hostages." The official added, "We remain committed to acting against Hizbullah and any threat. What's critical is our enforcement capability and we have it....What's most important is securing a side letter from the U.S. granting us the right to act when necessary - whether against terror infrastructure, missile shipments or other threats. If we identify such activities, we have the right to unleash firepower and retaliate against Hizbullah and Lebanon, including via operations beyond the Litani River. Attempts to deliver weapons from Syria to Lebanon will also warrant action." (Ynet News) As a Lebanon ceasefire nears, the problem with UN Resolution 1701, adopted by the Security Council at the end of the 2006 Lebanon War, was that none of the parties responsible for enforcing it on the ground actually did so. Hizbullah outmaneuvered everyone. Israel's natural right to self-defense does not require codification in any agreement. Israel's leadership needs the resolve to stop tolerating Hizbullah violations of Res. 1701 and to respond firmly. Under the emerging agreement, if Hizbullah "assists" Shiite villagers in rebuilding their destroyed homes by installing weapons depots, observation posts and firing positions beneath and within the structures, Israel would need to file a complaint with an international committee, led by a U.S. general and his peers from Britain, France, and an Arab state. The committee would demand evidence, forcing Israel to disclose its intelligence-gathering methods. Lacking its own enforcement mechanism, the committee would then turn to the Lebanese Armed Forces - many of whose soldiers and commanders are Shiites - and UNIFIL, asking them to compel Hizbullah to dismantle the violations identified by Israel. Only proactive Israeli military operations, with or without committee approval, can transform this deal into an effective arrangement. (Ynet News) With the Israeli Security Cabinet set to approve a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hizbullah on Tuesday, Galilee residents are wondering whether the IDF will be allowed to enforce its terms. A 60-day cessation of military activities was negotiated by President Biden's envoy, Amos Hochstein, after he received a green light from Beirut's parliament speaker, Nabih Beri, a Hizbullah ally. Hizbullah now "will try to return to the border, the IDF will try to prevent it," said Sarit Zehavi, founder of the northern Israel-based Alma think tank. One good part of the agreement, she says, is a reported tacit American commitment to allow the IDF to act forcefully if Hizbullah returns to the Lebanese-Israeli border or attempts to rearm. Now, America and France are guaranteeing implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 from the 2006 Hizbullah war on Israel. Additionally, Netanyahu was enticed by Washington's vow to end a slowdown in arms deliveries to Israel. Supporters of the ceasefire agreement are under no illusion that Hizbullah, Iran's most potent regional ally, will disappear for good. Hizbullah has been weakened significantly. Yet the threat to Israel from Lebanon "will not end until we deal with Iran," Zehavi said. (New York Sun) The Gaza War A different kind of conflict has emerged within Gaza in recent weeks. Hamas is now fighting crime families and mobs who dare to interfere with Gaza's primary source of power and revenue - international humanitarian aid. Hamas has a special unit called Saham (arrow in Arabic) to eliminate its opponents, and in recent weeks it has reportedly killed dozens of gang members. On Monday, two unit members were killed during a raid on a Jargoun area gang compound in Khan Yunis, where the gang was trading in smuggled cigarettes. Five gang members were killed in the raid, with footage of the confrontation spreading across social media. Saham operatives move in civilian clothes to avoid IDF detection, wearing masks. Unit members have been documented executing civilians, beating them with iron rods, and even firing RPG rockets at smugglers' vehicles. The attention given to the Saham unit underscores the struggle for control over Gaza. (Israel Hayom) The International Criminal Court Two weeks after the hunt for Israelis in the streets of Amsterdam, the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague decided to issue arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant - a decision unprecedented in the history of the Free World. Everything is permitted in order to judge the Jewish state and its people. They dare to issue arrest warrants against the leaders of a democratic country, against a state where justice is implacable, and against a representative of a people who offered humanity the Ten Commandments. How can we put the leaders of a country that has been the victim of genocide and terrorist attacks on an equal footing with notorious criminals and barbarians who have sworn to continue to murder, rape, and take citizens hostage until Israel is completely wiped off the map? How can we trust international law and its institutions? Worse still, according to the ICC decision, every Israeli minister, officer, or soldier is now at risk of being detained and taken hostage by numerous courts around the world. Unfortunately, the decision of The Hague judges encourages Islamist leaders to continue terrorist acts. It gives the green light to all pro-Palestinians and critics to boycott the Jewish state and to demonstrate their hatred towards all Israelis. International reactions prove that antisemitism is omnipresent, injustice triumphs, and deception gains points. All political parties in Israel have united against the ICC decision. The Israeli people as a whole continue to defend their state against all universal injustices. The writer, a former Foreign Ministry senior adviser who served in Paris and Brussels and was Israel's first Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a fellow at the Jerusalem Center for Foreign Affairs. (Israel Hayom) There is no factual or legal basis for the ICC warrants against top Israeli officials. The warrants are clearly driven by politics and the same anti-Israel animus that has long dominated the UN and other international organizations. These filings should be treated as lawfare, a political vendetta masquerading as a legal proceeding. The ICC has not issued arrest warrants for the Islamic Republic of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei or Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The ICC has only concocted a specious jurisdiction claim for Israel, in an outrageous abuse of power. Since the ICC's founding in 2002, every U.S. administration, of both parties, has refused to join the court, fearing the ICC's politicization and misuse. Both the Biden and Trump administrations and over 330 Members of Congress from both parties have rejected ICC investigations of the U.S. and Israel in the past. NSC Spokesperson John Kirby said on April 30, "We don't believe the ICC has any jurisdiction here." The ICC warrants for Israeli leaders threaten U.S. national security. The warrants set a dangerous precedent for U.S. officials and troops. The ICC has an open investigation of alleged U.S. war crimes relating to Afghanistan. That Afghanistan investigation could lead to the arrest, prosecution, and detention of American military personnel and veterans in foreign countries. The ICC is largely funded by key American allies whose security depends on U.S. troops. By funding the ICC's legally and factually baseless attack on Israel, these allies weaken American security and put at risk the very U.S. troops that defend those key allies. Congress should urge those key allies to use their leverage to halt these outrageous warrants. 2/3 of the ICC budget is provided by Japan, Germany, France, UK, Italy, and South Korea. The writer, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, is a law professor at Arizona State University. (X) The ICC arrest warrants for Israeli leaders stem from the lawfare and diplomatic campaigns the Palestinians have been waging against Israel for the past two decades, and from the ICC's clear-cut anti-Israel bias. In light of the ongoing bias in the ICC's activity - which rejected all the Israeli claims before it, made a shocking parallel between Israel's leaders and the Hamas terrorist leaders, and after their assassination, did not see fit to indict any of their heirs - there is no room to cooperate with the Court, or to appeal the warrants before ICC's higher chamber. Israel should mount a worldwide, aggressive, delegitimization campaign against the ICC and its flawed practices, as it did in the struggle against the 1975 UN resolution that equated Zionism with racism. Israel should first produce a legal document that will refute every claim the prosecutor made, and the dubious and false "evidence" on which he relied. Based on this document, Israel should persuade states to suspend their membership in the Rome Statute that established the ICC, thereby exempting them from the obligation to detain Israelis; or alternatively, to announce, as Hungary did, that they had no intention of enforcing the orders. The writer is Professor Emeritus of Political Science and International Communication at Bar-Ilan University. (Jerusalem Post) The ICC accuses Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose nation is embroiled in a multi-front war against enemies sworn to its destruction, of using "starvation as a method of warfare," "murder, persecution and other inhumane acts," and "intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population." Not only is there no evidence that Israel is denying the Palestinians food as a military tactic, there is copious evidence to the contrary: 1.1 million tons of humanitarian aid, 79% of it food, has been transferred into Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, under Israeli supervision. It is an act of wicked cruelty and sadism to invert the truth as the ICC does and accuse Israel of murder, persecution and inhumane acts, the very crimes to which its citizens were subjected by Palestinian invaders on Oct. 7. The accusation that Israel intentionally targets civilians is simply a lie: the Israel Defense Forces routinely warn civilians in advance of military operations to allow them to vacate the area. Recognizing that targeting Israel sets a precedent for a future onslaught against the U.S., Mike Waltz, the incoming administration's nominee for national security adviser, told the court to "expect a strong response" come January. That response should sanction the ICC out of existence. It should freeze its bank accounts, limit travel by its staff, and tell allies to choose between their relationship with Washington and their fealty to a failed and broken institution. When the ICC opened an investigation into the Americans' prosecution of the Afghanistan war in 2020, President Trump objected on the grounds that the U.S. had not ratified the Rome Statute and was not a party to the court or its jurisdiction. He signed an executive order blocking the assets of all persons involved in the court and its Afghanistan investigation, or those providing "material assistance" to that endeavor, as well as barring entry to the U.S. by ICC staff and their immediate family. Trump later imposed additional sanctions on the court's prosecutor and other senior staff. The Afghanistan probe has gone nowhere. (Spectator-UK) Israel has always stood as a beacon of democracy and freedom, a nation committed to upholding the highest moral standards. But in a world where terror thrives and global institutions falter, adhering to morality does not guarantee justice. The International Criminal Court targets not the true perpetrators of war crimes, but those who dare to defend their people and values. Let us be clear: Israel fights for its survival and for the values that underpin the Free World - freedom, democracy and human dignity. These are the values that Hamas and its backers, including Iran, seek to destroy. The ICC and other international bodies have chosen to attack those who fight to preserve the very freedoms they claim to cherish. Throughout history, Israel and the Jewish people have often stood alone against overwhelming odds. But they prevailed. The ICC can issue as many baseless indictments as it pleases, but Israel will not be swayed. It will continue to fight terror, protect its citizens, and uphold the values that the Free World so desperately needs. Because without Israel standing firm, the Free World stands no chance. The writer is a member of Israel's Knesset. (New York Post) We've reached an astonishing new low when an international court, which claims to uphold international law and human rights, has found common cause with a terrorist organization that just over a year ago perpetrated its gratuitous rampage of murder, torture, kidnapping and rape. The ICC has lost all legitimacy for its existence and activity. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has described the ICC decision as a "great victory" for Hamas and Hizbullah. The ICC has been unmasked as a political tool, working in service of terrorist entities, whose goals are the undermining of peace, security and stability in our region. The prosecutor's investigation has been based on Hamas and UN sources from bodies whose employees are directly affiliated with Hamas. There seems to be one process for Israel and another process for the rest of the world. The writer is the Israeli ambassador to the UK. (Telegraph-UK) Palestinian Arabs Palestinian leaders have a long history of cracking down on their political rivals and opponents. For the past three decades, leaders of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Hamas have systematically targeted political activists, journalists, social media users, students, professors and human rights activists as part of an ongoing campaign to silence critics and deter others from speaking out against the lack of democracy and freedom of speech. This abuse has transformed the PA-controlled areas in the West Bank and Hamas-run Gaza into Palestinian dictatorships similar to those that have long existed in most Arab countries. It has also resulted in the suppression of the emergence of new leaders capable of leading the Palestinians towards security, stability and prosperity. That is the main reason the Palestinians' only choice today continues to be the current Palestinian Authority and Hamas leaders. Those who are hoping that a new (and pragmatic) Palestinian leadership will take over one day are in for a disappointment. Even after 89-year-old PA President Mahmoud Abbas is gone, his cronies and inner circle will continue to run the show. In Gaza, no Palestinian will agree to play any administrative role as long as Hamas and its friends are still around. That is why it is necessary to eliminate Hamas completely. (Gatestone Institute) Other Issues The UN's assault on Israel is hitting a new low. On Wednesday, the UN will refuse to renew the contract of Alice Wairimu Nderitu, the Kenyan who is the Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide. She is being dismissed because she has stood firm in her belief that Israel's war with Hamas isn't genocide. In 2022 her office issued a guidance paper on "when to refer to a situation as 'genocide'" due to "its frequent misuse." The paper explains that the term describes massacres of entire ethnic groups with the intention of eliminating them. That definition includes the Holocaust, the Hutus' genocide of the Tutsis in Rwanda, and the Serbian slaughter of Bosnian Muslims. Establishing a pattern of violence as a genocide requires demonstrating intent. Israel's campaign of self-defense doesn't qualify. In its war against Hamas, Israel's strategy is intended to dismantle a terrorist regime, not eliminate an ethnic group. Israel has gone to great lengths to minimize Palestinian civilian casualties, even as Hamas uses civilians as shields so their deaths can be used as propaganda. Ms. Nderitu's refusal to endorse a lie in service of a political agenda has been a profile in courage. (Wall Street Journal) Pro-Palestinian protests targeting Christmas celebrations across Western cities are a calculated assault on Christian tradition, wielded as a weapon in a broader campaign of cultural warfare. In Melbourne on Nov. 10, protesters forced the cancellation of the opening of Myer's iconic Christmas window display, a beloved tradition since 1956. A similar spectacle unfolded in London on Dec. 23, 2023, as pro-Palestinian protesters descended on Oxford Street, turning one of the busiest shopping weekends into a scene of disruption as the festive atmosphere was replaced by confrontation and chaos. Christmas is co-opted into the narrative of grievance, as the activists aim to dominate and replace one narrative with another. Pro-Palestinian activists frame their struggle as a zero-sum game, where Western traditions must be dismantled to make room for their agenda. They do not seek coexistence or dialogue. It is a demand for submission. These protests are not about raising awareness; they are about coercion. They are an attack on principles like tolerance, mutual respect, and the freedom to celebrate one's own traditions without interference. Advocacy for the Palestinian cause becomes a battering ram against Western identity, with little regard for the broader consequences. (Daily Express-UK) As Israel defeats its enemies on the battlefields in Gaza and Lebanon, the intifada has gone global. The fronts of the war against the Jewish state encompass America's cities, the UN, the U.S. Senate, and the International Criminal Court. Marches, resolutions, embargoes, arrest warrants - these are the tactics by which Hamas sympathizers worldwide intend to isolate Israel diplomatically, undermine Israel's war against terrorism, and intimidate the Jewish people. America must provide Israel with the cover and support it needs to cripple Hamas and Hizbullah and restore deterrence to the Middle East. Oct. 7 inaugurated an era of unchecked anti-Israel and anti-Semitic conduct on the part of governments, NGOs, and multilateral institutions. Hamas breaks a ceasefire with Israel, Hamas murders, rapes, wounds, scars, abducts, and uses human shields, yet Israel takes the brunt of the response. Hamas and Hizbullah and the Houthis and the militias and Iran fire rockets, drones, and missiles indiscriminately into Israel, yet Israel is the party to the conflict that international institutions and some U.S. senators want to disarm. The writer is a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. (Washington Free Beacon) The Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency services National Dispatch Center is its central nervous system. The center sees the big picture of what's happening across the country for all the events that MDA and the State of Israel must deal with. On Oct. 7, MDA call centers around the country received 21,000 emergency calls, compared to 4,000 on a regular Shabbat. Before 7:00 a.m., while heavy barrages of rockets were being launched at Israel, MDA staff were already sent out to treat people who had been injured at sites where rockets had fallen. Soon, reports started flowing in on the infiltration of terrorists into towns, villages, and military bases. Michael Dor was shift manager at the National Dispatch Center that morning. He said, "We received a call regarding two combat soldiers who had been shot at Yad Mordechai Junction, and at exactly the same time, the Home Front Command operations room called us from the Urim base, which is right next to the Gaza border. We have an open emergency line between us. Every day, we check that the emergency phone line to them works....When we received that phone call from them, I assumed it was the regular checkup call. I answered and asked if we could do this later." "The soldier on the other end of the line said, 'I have a soldier who's been shot in the stomach; our base has been breached.'" Michael spoke with the soldier and guided her on what to do. Throughout the morning, Michael received several more calls from the same soldier and spoke with two others. He later found out that two of the three soldiers with whom he spoke were killed during the terrorist attack on the base. "I received information from the dispatch operators: a call we received about six soldiers who had been shot at Zikim military base, a call about soldiers in Yad Mordechai, soldiers who had been injured at Re'im military base, more than 15 wounded people who were being treated at the Sderot MDA station." "We quickly realized we were dealing with dozens of infiltrations into military bases, towns, and villages. The country was burning, and I could see it happening in front of my eyes. The MDA command and control center started receiving photos and videos that were sent to us by wounded people and others who had called in. I saw them all." (Jerusalem Post) Observations: ICC Arrest Warrants: Iran's Hidden Hand in Targeting Israel - Aviram Bellaishe (Jerusalem Post)
The writer, vice president for strategy, security, and communications at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, has served in senior government positions for over 25 years. |
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