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In-Depth Issues:
Sharp Rise in Drone Attacks on Israel by Iranian Proxies - Emanuel Fabian ( Times of Israel)
There has been a sharp rise in drone attacks on Israel by Iran-backed groups in recent months.
Some 60 drones have been launched at Israel from Lebanon and Iraq since the beginning of November, the IDF said. 90% of the drones were intercepted.
Since the beginning of the war, 1,300 drones have been launched at Israel from Lebanon, Gaza, Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Iran.
Israeli Assessment: Counterattack on Iran Devastated Missile Production - Lilach Shoval ( Israel Hayom)
Israel's counterattack on Iran on Oct. 26 reduced Iran's missile production capacity to 10% of its pre-strike level, according to assessments in Israel.
While estimates indicate that Iran still holds several hundred long-range missiles that it could launch at Israel, it is unlikely to do so all at once.
Moreover, Iran is aware that Israel's strike on its air defense systems has left the country exposed to another Israeli attack.
It is likely that the Iranian regime understands Israel still has an extensive target bank within Iran, including oil reserves and nuclear sites.
Iran-Based Academic: When Palestine Is Liberated, I Support Finishing Off the Israelis Once and For All ( MEMRI-TV)
On Nov. 8, 2024, Iran-based Lebanese academic Hadi Dalloul was asked on the Lebanon On (YouTube) platform about the fate of Israelis following the potential "liberation" of Palestine.
Dalloul speculated that they could be killed or deported to Europe, where they would establish refugee camps and later attempt to return to Israel.
Dalloul concluded that it would be best to resolve the issue once and for all.
Druze in Lebanon Block Hizbullah Weapons Movement ( L'Orient Today-Lebanon)
Residents of the Druze village of Dahr al-Ahmar, in the Bekaa district of Rashaya, stopped a van carrying weapons on Wednesday.
The army intervened and requisitioned the weapons found in the vehicle.
A video circulating on social networks shows angry residents filming missile-like objects in the back of a white van containing numerous bags.
A journalist wrote on X: "After the liquidation of party cadres and the appointment of new ones, it's clear that Hizbullah's new leaders don't have enough experience in arms smuggling."
"The residents of Rashaya easily discovered the Hizbullah vehicles carrying weapons and missiles and banned these vehicles from hiding in their area."
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Hamas Support Waning in Gaza - Gianluca Pacchiani ( Times of Israel)
Israel's Channel 12 on Sunday offered a peek into the mindset of displaced women and children from Jabalia in northern Gaza. Some residents cursed Hamas for the devastation it wreaked on their lives.
"I swear I was happy when you killed [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar, who caused destruction and killed our children," one woman shouted. "God willing you'll destroy them."
Mark, a European aid worker, reported that when Hamas fires rockets, a rare occurrence these days, only teenagers seem to cheer on the street.
"Adults then invariably tell them there is nothing to cheer about. Every rocket that is fired causes trouble. It will elicit an Israeli reaction and bombings for the following week."
"People have come to see Hamas as a problem. I have yet to come across any adult who openly supports Hamas or claims it can bring a solution."
Rashid, an anti-Hamas activist from Deir al-Balah, said, "Most people in Gaza are against Hamas; they want a future without it."
"One good thing about the war is that they can now curse it openly on the streets without fear of retaliation."
Those Who Promised "Never Again" Have Forgotten Their Vows - Dr. Fiamma Nirenstein ( JNS)
Europe cannot keep its post-Holocaust promise of "never again" after hundreds of Israeli tourists were filmed fleeing from a large crowd of antisemites in Amsterdam.
The pogrom and its aftermath laid bare how only Israel - with its courageous and solitary fight against totalitarian, extremist Islam and its allies - remains deployed as the shield to the values that were promised to the whole world in 1945 after the defeat of evil.
The writer, a fellow at the Jerusalem Center for Foreign Affairs, served as vice president of the Committee on Foreign Affairs in the Italian Chamber of Deputies.
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News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
- U.S. Will Not Limit Israel Arms Transfers after Improvements in Aid to Gaza - Julia Frankel
The Biden administration said Tuesday that Israel has made progress in increasing the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza and will not limit arms transfers to Israel as it had threatened to do a month ago. State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said, "We, at this time, have not made an assessment that the Israelis are in violation of U.S. law."
The Biden administration last month set a deadline expiring Tuesday for Israel to "surge" more food and other emergency aid into Gaza or risk scaled-back military support. Israel opened a new crossing in central Gaza for aid to enter, announced an expansion of the coastal "humanitarian zone," and connected electricity for a desalination plant. Israel's new foreign minister, Gideon Saar, said Monday he was confident "the issue would be solved."
COGAT, the Israeli military body in charge of humanitarian aid to Gaza, said Tuesday that 900 truckloads of aid are sitting uncollected on the Gaza side of the Kerem Shalom crossing in the south. "Before the [international aid] organizations give out grades, they should focus on distributing the aid that awaits them," COGAT said.
(AP)
- Houthis Attack Two U.S. Destroyers with Drones and Missiles - Heather Mongilio
Houthi forces attacked two American destroyers with drones and missiles as the ships transited the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Monday, the Pentagon said Tuesday. The Houthis launched at least eight attack drones, five anti-ship ballistic missiles and three anti-ship cruise missiles at the USS Spruance and USS Stockdale, which engaged all the threats. There were no injuries or damage to the two destroyers.
(U.S. Naval Institute)
- Police Foil "Jew Hunt" in Belgium amid Fears of Copycat Attacks - Bruno Waterfield
Six suspects were arrested near Antwerp's Jewish quarter for planning a similar attack to the one on Israelis in Amsterdam last week, police said. There were calls on social media for a "Jew hunt," using the same language as the attackers who coordinated violence in Holland using messaging apps. Snapchat accounts were used to call for "actions against Jews in Antwerp," De Morgen reported.
Paul van Tigchelt, the Belgian justice minister, assured people that the Belgian security services were taking the threat seriously. "Can this happen in Belgium? The honest answer is: why wouldn't it happen here? We have to be realistic about that." (The Times-UK)
See also Jewish Youth Soccer Team Attacked by Knife-Wielding, Pro-Palestinian Mob in Berlin - Jorg Luyken
A Jewish youth football team was attacked by a pro-Palestinian mob armed with sticks and knives during a match in Berlin. Teenagers from Maccabi Berlin's youth side say they were "hunted down" by a gang of Arab youths after a game last week in Neukolln, a neighborhood known for its large Arab and Turkish population.
German authorities have said that Jewish life in the country is under threat to an extent that has never been in the country's post-Nazi history.
(Telegraph-UK)
News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
- Six Israeli Soldiers Killed in Southern Lebanon Combat - Yaniv Kubovich
Six Israeli soldiers from the Golani Brigade were killed in combat in southern Lebanon, the IDF announced on Wednesday. The soldiers were killed during an exchange of gunfire with Hizbullah terrorists inside a building. 792 IDF soldiers have been killed since Oct. 7, 2023, including 373 since ground operations began.
(Ha'aretz)
- Two Men Killed in Nahariya by Rocket from Lebanon - Emanuel Fabian
Ziv Belfer, 52, and Shimon Najm, 54, were killed when a Hizbullah rocket exploded in the warehouse where they were working in Nahariya on Tuesday. Najm was a member of the South Lebanon Army (SLA), which fought against Hizbullah before Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000, and has lived in Israel since then. In Kibbutz Kabri, another two men in their 30s were hurt by shrapnel. (Times of Israel)
- IDF Airstrikes Destroyed 140 Hizbullah Rocket Launchers
The IDF said that in the past week airstrikes have destroyed more than 140 Hizbullah rocket launchers including those used to fire barrages at northern and central Israel.
Moreover, some 200 Hizbullah operatives were killed during the fighting in southern Lebanon over the past week. (Times of Israel)
See also IDF Destroys Hizbullah Weapons Sites in Beirut - Yonah Jeremy Bob
The IDF announced Tuesday it has destroyed most of Hizbullah's weapons manufacturing and storage facilities, hidden under civilian locations in the Dahiyeh neighborhood of Beirut. IDF intelligence had been tracking these underground facilities for years. There were numerous cases where an IDF strike led to secondary explosions of munitions. Before the strikes, the IDF warned civilians to evacuate the area.
(Jerusalem Post)
- Fighting Continues in Hamas's Gaza Stronghold - Yoav Zitun
Fighting in Jabalia, a core Hamas stronghold in northern Gaza, has entered its second month. IDF forces are discovering weapons caches daily, engaging with terrorists regularly, and destroying rocket launchers aimed at Israeli communities. Hamas has rigged more than 200 buildings with IEDs. 24 IDF soldiers have been killed since the operation began six weeks ago.
The IDF has managed to evacuate tens of thousands of residents over the past month, while a few thousand civilians remain.
The IDF estimates this operation could last several more weeks.
(Ynet News)
Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis:
U.S.-Israel Relations
- What an "America First" Policy Means for Israel - Dr. Raphael BenLevi
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's approach to the world is embodied by the phrase "America First." Due to the historical baggage of this phrase, many have interpreted it as identifying him with the isolationist trend in U.S. foreign policy that seeks to turn its back on allies around the world.
However, a leading institute in developing a platform for the second Trump administration called the "America First Policy Institute" emphasizes that their approach is not a call for the U.S. to withdraw from its role as the leader of the free world. Rather, "America First" means building a powerful military while being highly selective regarding its use, in order to keep U.S. troops out of unnecessary and unending wars.
It is also a call to work with allies hand-in-hand, while requiring them to carry their full weight of their own security needs. A prominent voice on grand strategy in Trump's circle, Elbridge Colby, emphasized this week that the U.S. is interested in strong allies who stand on their own two feet and do not expect the U.S. to risk its soldiers to protect them.
Applying this thinking to the Middle East, Vice President-elect J.D. Vance has made it clear that the America First approach sees a strong Israel acting alongside strong Gulf states as a counterweight to Iran.
The writer is a fellow at the Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy. (Makor Rishon-Israel Hayom)
- Weakness Does Not Deter Enemies - David M. Weinberg
Most important of all for the rebuilding of America's strategic heft in international affairs and for Israel's national security is the return of fear to the U.S. toolbox. Enemies need to fear America, not hear U.S. leaders constantly beg for "immediate ceasefires" and express alarm at the possibility of any "escalation." The U.S. must be prepared to arm Israel appropriately for dealing with the danger from Iran's nuclear weapons program.
Iran, Hamas, Hizbullah, and the Houthis ignored U.S. exhortations to de-escalate. They did not fear America, and by association they feared Israel less than necessary. Weakness does not deter enemies.
The writer, a fellow at the Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy, is Israel office director of Canada's Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA). (Israel Hayom)
Iran
- Ayatollah Khamenei Committed a Major Strategic Blunder - Neville Teller
It is Iran that seeks to destroy Israel, not the other way around.
For 45 years, since the Islamic Republic of Iran's founding in 1979, the Iranian regime had pursued its self-imposed mission of the destruction of Israel and its people through funding, arming, and supporting groups and militias prepared to attack the Jewish state.
On April 13, 2024, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
decided that the time had arrived to change tactics and launched Iran's first direct onslaught on Israel - an aerial assault that involved hundreds of drones, and cruise and ballistic missiles.
Khamenei committed a major strategic blunder. His anticipated military and propaganda triumph turned into a humiliation. His failure was to underestimate the effectiveness of Israel's security and armed forces. Within a week, Israel had responded with airstrikes on Iranian military sites in Syria and Iran. Israel also pursued its hunt for Hamas and Hizbullah leaders.
Khamenei then opted for a second, bigger, and more focused attempt, using 200 advanced Fattah-1 and Kheibar Shekan missiles, targeting military and intelligence locations. This second Iranian attack, on Oct. 1, was only marginally more damaging than the first. Most missiles were intercepted by Israeli and U.S. defense systems. Israel responded on Oct. 25 in a manner that respected President Biden's wishes, with heavy air strikes on Iranian military targets.
Khamenei has affirmed repeatedly that the very purpose of his revolution was to destroy Western-style democracy and its way of life and to impose Shi'ite Islam on the whole world. He identified the U.S. and Israel as his prime targets.
Whether the West wishes to acknowledge it or not, in combating Iran, Israel is fighting for the free world as a whole.
The writer is the Middle East correspondent for Eurasia Review. (Jerusalem Post)
Palestinian Authority
- The EU Attempts to Promote Gender Equality in the Palestinian Authority - Lt.-Col. (res.) Maurice Hirsch
Since 2007, the EU has donated over 1.8 billion euros to the Palestinians to promote "Gender Equality." More EU funds were donated to achieving this goal than any other goal. Despite the substantial support, the Palestinian Authority has failed to adopt the legislative steps to implement this goal. While it had full jurisdiction to pass new legislation, for over 30 years the laws regarding personal status and criminal offenses implemented by the PA are still British Mandate law, Egyptian law (in Gaza), and Jordanian law (in Judea and Samaria).
While the PA has been willing to take the substantial EU donations, Palestinian society, which is deeply rooted in Islamic Sharia law, rejects "Gender Equality." In order to ensure that the EU aid to the Palestinians is used to reach the goals for which it was donated, the EU must set clear, non-negotiable, benchmarks that the PA must comply with before any additional funding is provided.
The writer, Director of the Palestinian Authority Accountability Initiative at the Jerusalem Center, was director of the Military Prosecution in Judea and Samaria. (Jerusalem Center for Foreign Affairs)
UNRWA
- UNRWA's "Palestine Refugee" Hoax - Tirza Shorr
Israeli intelligence estimates about 1,200 UNRWA workers are Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives. Around 6,000, nearly half of the UNRWA workforce in Gaza, have immediate family that are members of these terrorist groups.
Perpetuating a unique and inherited "refugee" status, handed down from one Palestinian generation to the next, the number of Palestinian refugees has increased from about half a million in 1948 to about 6 million today.
As the numbers of refugees in Lebanon unequivocally prove, UNRWA has been presenting false figures to the world for decades. According to the UN, 97,000 "Palestine refugees" reportedly fled to Lebanon in 1947-1949. By 2017, the Lebanese Central Bureau of Statistics, in partnership with the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, reported the number of "Palestine refugees" in Lebanon as 174,422.
In that same year, UNRWA reported "469,555 Palestine refugees in Lebanon...registered with the Agency."
The writer is a senior researcher and program coordinator at the Jerusalem Center. (Jerusalem Center for Foreign Affairs)
Observations:
- During my tenure as Israel's Ambassador to the U.S. and UN, I witnessed firsthand how the differing approaches between the Trump and Biden administrations affected Israel's national security. President Biden deserves gratitude and appreciation for military aid and defending Israel at the UN.
- However, the Biden administration's pressure on Israel and frequent public criticism complicated achieving war objectives, gave hope to our enemies, and delayed the end of fighting, the return of hostages, and prospects for regional peace.
- Regrettably, the Biden administration's strong desire to return to the nuclear deal with Iran and its insistence on old paradigms regarding the Palestinian issue led to opposite results. Palestinians entrenched in their refusal and continued inciting and funding terror. Hamas and Hizbullah hoped American pressure to end the war would cause Israel to abandon its objectives.
- Ending the war in Gaza and Lebanon requires defeating Hamas and Hizbullah and restoring Israeli deterrence. Otherwise, we'll be condemned to recurring wars in our region. Only Israel's clear victory will bring long-term stability and quiet.
- Israel's enemies understood that, given the difficulty of defeating us on the battlefield, they could exploit the UN's distorted structure to block Israel and embarrass the U.S. The UN and its organizations - including the Human Rights Council, The Hague court, UNRWA and others - have become weapons in terrorist organizations' hands.
- The U.S., as the UN's largest funder, should completely cease transferring funds to an organization that has lost its way and values until necessary reforms are implemented.
The writer, a former Israeli ambassador to the UN, heads the Center for Diplomacy and International Cooperation at the Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy in Jerusalem.
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