Wednesday, April 05, 2023

04/05 Links Pt1: Over 350 Arrests in Temple Mount After Clashes with Israel Police; Hackers attack Israeli media sites including Jerusalem Post; Netanyahu: ‘Iran responsible for 95% of security threats against us’

From Ian:

Shin Bet chief: Over 200 ‘significant’ terror attacks foiled so far this year
Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar on Tuesday said that security forces have foiled more than 200 terror attacks since the start of 2023.

Speaking at a pre-Passover toast alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Bar said that “only three months have passed, and this year more than 200 significant attacks have been thwarted, including about 150 shooting attacks, 20 bomb attacks, rammings, kidnappings and others.”

According to Bar, an elite unit that he described as “the last answer” to preventing impending attacks has been called up 14 times so far in 2023.

Bar also said that Israel is facing “a challenging time, both at home and abroad,” in a possible reference to the highly contentious debate surrounding the judicial overhaul.

Netanyahu vowed that “eventually we will get to every terrorist” and said “Iran is responsible for 95% of the security threats against us.”

“Those who come to harm us should know they will have their blood on their own head,” the premier said.

Tensions have spiked in the region over the past year as Israeli forces have ratcheted up arrest raids and other counterterror efforts in the West Bank following a series of terror attacks.

Palestinian terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank in recent months have left 15 Israelis dead and several more seriously hurt.
Over 350 Arrests in Temple Mount After Clashes with Israel Police
The Israel Police said on Wednesday that it had arrested more than 350 individuals who “violently barricaded” themselves in Jerusalem’s Temple Mount compound overnight.

Those detained that had locked themselves inside the Al-Aqsa mosque included “masked individuals, stone and firework throwers, and individuals suspected of desecrating the mosque,” the police spokesperson said. The clashes come nearly halfway through the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and as Jews prepare to celebrate Passover starting Wednesday evening.

“Overnight, many dozens of law-breaking and masked juveniles smuggled fireworks, clubs and stones into the mosque and violently barricaded themselves inside of it using iron rods, closets and other objects from the mosque, which they vandalized, aiming to disrupt the order while desecrating the mosque,” the police statement said.

In addition, they began to “chant incitement and riot inside the mosque, and locked its doors from the inside with obstacles and fortifications, blocking the doorways.” After repeated attempts to convince the rioters to leave the mosque failed, police “were forced to enter the compound in order to remove the individuals, allow the Fajr prayer to take place as planned and prevent a violent riot.”

The rioters attacked police forces with stones and fireworks, which led to two policemen receiving leg wounds. The rioters also caused damage to the mosque and desecrated it.

“In recent hours, all of the barricading individuals arrested tonight were transferred for questioning at the Jerusalem Precinct Operational investigation center. Following the removal of the violent rioters, Israel Police forces left the Temple Mount, and the mosque was cleaned after the rioters vandalized, defiled, and desecrated it,” the police spokesperson specified.

Following the arrests, the Fajr prayer was held at the Temple Mount as planned and a significant number of Muslim worshippers were able to attend it. However, more disturbances occurred after the prayer.
IDF Soldier Wounded by Gunfire in Beit Ummar Attack
An Israel Defense Forces soldier was wounded by gunfire early on Wednesday morning during an operation in Beit Ummar, located near Hebron in Judea.

According to the military, the soldier received medical treatment on the scene and was evacuated to the hospital.

Forces were searching the area for suspects, said the IDF.

During the mission, a violent disturbance erupted in which Palestinian burned tires and threw rocks and explosives at troops. At one point, terrorists opened fire on the soldiers, who returned fire, according to the military.

The incident comes after three Israeli soldiers were injured after being run over by terrorists on Saturday night near Beit Ummar.

On Tuesday morning, two Israeli soldiers were wounded in a terrorist stabbing near Rishon LeZion in central Israel.

Civilians on the scene subdued the Palestinian attacker from Hebron, who has since been transferred to authorities for questioning, according to police.


"Netanyahu’s Statement on the Overnight Temple Mount Riot"
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded on Wednesday to the overnight incidents on the Temple Mount:

“Israel is acting to maintain the status quo and calm the situation on the Temple Mount.

Muslim worshippers in the Al Aqsa Mosque are asserting that the Islamic extremists who barricaded themselves inside the Mosque locked them in and prevented other Muslims from going to the Mosque to pray.

They barricaded themselves with weaponry, rocks and fireworks.

After the authorities’ attempts at dialogue failed, and the extremists were refusing to allow Muslim worshippers to enter the Mosque, and even threatened the holding of afternoon prayers today, the security forces were compelled to act in order to restore order.

Israel is committed to maintaining freedom of worship, free access for all faiths and the status quo on the Temple Mount, and will not allow violent extremists to change this.”


Arab League to meet on Al-Aqsa clashes; Netanyahu: We’re committed to calming tension
The Arab League was set to meet for an emergency session Wednesday after Israeli forces entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque overnight and clashed with Palestinians inside.

Jordan, in partnership with the Palestinian Authority and Egypt, had earlier called for the body to hold an emergency session.

A statement published by Jordan’s Foreign Ministry said Amman sought the meeting after Israeli forces “stormed” the flashpoint Al-Aqsa.

“The Israeli aggression is unacceptable and its goal is to change the historical and legal status of Jerusalem. We take all steps and measures to stop the dangerous Israeli escalation that threatens the entire region,” the statement said.

Police said they entered the mosque after masked youths barricaded themselves inside the mosque atop the Temple Mount with fireworks, clubs and rocks and refused to come out peacefully. Cops apparently believed the group intended to assault Jews visiting the mount on Passover Eve.


Gaza terrorists fire 16 rockets at Israel; Israeli hits Hamas targets
Sirens went off in Israel on Tuesday night—the night before Passover—as terrorists based in the Gaza Strip launched a total of 16 rockets towards Israel.

Ten rockets were launched overnight and six in two separate barrages in the early morning hours on Wednesday.

One of the rockets hit a factory in the Sderot industrial area, causing damage. No casualties were reported. Seven rockets fell in open areas while eight more were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome air-defense system.

Videos on social media showed Israel’s Iron Dome shooting them down.

Israel’s security establishment estimates that Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) is responsible for the attack. Since the beginning of the year, about 60 rockets have been launched from Gaza towards Israel.

In response to the attack, the IDF struck a weapon manufacturing site and an additional weapon manufacturing and storage site belonging to the terror group Hamas in the center of the Gaza Strip, the IDF reported.

“The IDF holds the Hamas terrorist organization responsible for all terror activity emanating from the Gaza Strip and it will face the consequences of the security violations against Israel,” the army said in a statement.
Israel strikes Hamas weapons sites after rockets were fired overnight

Gaza fires rockets at Israel ahead of Passover



Cyberattack crashes websites of several Israeli universities
A coordinated cyberattack took down the websites of major Israeli universities on Tuesday.

A hacker group calling itself “Anonymous Sudan” claimed responsibility for the attack on its Telegram account, stating that the “Israel education sector has been dropped because of what they did in Palestine.”

Institutions impacted by the attack include Tel Aviv University, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beersheva, the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, the Open University of Israel and Reichman University in Herzliya. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Courtesy.

“These are service-disrupting attacks—those that only bring down websites and do not steal information—and can be recovered from relatively easily. However, it can be assumed that these groups are trying to produce more significant attacks, including ransom attacks and data theft,” Check Point, an Israeli cyber-security firm, said in a statement.

On its Telegram account, the hacker group has claimed previous cyberattacks on Israeli government ministries and hospitals, and attacks on Denmark and Australia “because of the burning of the Quran again.”

The hacker group also warned that on April 7, it “will attack Israel with big power,” saying that would be the main attack day. Following Tuesday’s attack on the educational sector, the group thanked “all the Arabs who support us.”
Hackers attack Israeli media sites including Jerusalem Post
The Anonymous Sudan hacker group attacked a series of Israeli media sites on Wednesday morning including The Jerusalem Post's website.

The Jerusalem Post website was down for more than an hour before coming back up, but the app was still functional.

Other Israeli media websites that were attacked were Kan, i24 and Channel 2.

These attacks are part of a wider operation
The attack comes a day after a cyber attack targeted Tel Aviv University, the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Haifa University, Weizmann Institute of Science, Open University of Israel and Reichman University (IDC).

Also on Wednesday, Anonymous Sudan succeeded in hacking into Israeli cyber security company Checkpoint and United Hatzalah.
FDD: Jordan’s King Incites Anti-Israel Sentiment
Expert Analysis
“Once again, the Jordanian monarch is engaging in rhetoric that might be popular among certain swaths of Jordanian society but could ultimately undermine the vital ties with Israel that keep Jordan safe and stable. Should the Palestinians interpret his statement as a green light to engage in violence against Israel, Jordan may not be immune from the fallout. Jordan’s own Palestinian population could become radicalized. Meanwhile, the patience of the Israeli government is wearing thin. The king must find ways to deescalate for the good of his kingdom and the entire region.” — Jonathan Schanzer, FDD Senior Vice President for Research

Unequal Rights
The Temple Mount, known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary), is the third holiest site in Islam. It is also the holiest site in Judaism, where the first and second temples once stood. Jordan took control of the compound during Israel’s 1948 War of Independence, but Israel reclaimed the site during the Six-Day War in 1967. Pursuant to the peace agreement between Jordan and Israel in 1994, the Israeli government allowed the Jordanian Jerusalem Islamic Waqf to continue exercising authority over the compound. Under the arrangement, Jews and non-Muslims may visit the Temple Mount during certain hours but are not allowed to pray there.

Warm Peace Growing Cold
Amman has pulled away from Israel in recent years, driven by domestic political considerations, unrealistic expectations, and both legitimate and illegitimate grievances. Its official rhetoric about Israel has grown increasingly negative, if not vitriolic. The same can be observed in Jordan’s government-censored media. And despite ongoing cooperation on a range of challenges, diplomatic ties are often tense.

Jordan effectively sided with Hamas during the May 2021 conflict with Israel by echoing the terrorist group’s talking points that wrongly blamed Israeli security forces on the Temple Mount for sparking the conflict. And during his 2022 speech to the United Nations General Assembly, King Abdullah falsely accused Israelis of threatening Christian holy sites in Jerusalem.

Diplomatic Rejectionism
Jordan has made no attempt to hide its rejection of the new regional order marked by Israeli normalization agreements with surrounding Arab states. Shockingly, despite its peace agreement with Israel and its warm relations with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, Jordan refused to send diplomatic representatives to the White House ceremony marking the Abraham Accords in 2020.


MEMRI: Member Of The International Union Of Muslim Scholars: Muslims Must Liberate Al-Aqsa By Any Means; It Is The Blood Of The Jihad Fighters That Lights The Flame Of Al-Aqsa; The Day Of Judgement Will Come When The Muslims Fight And Kill The Jews
In a recent article, Muhammad Khair Moussa, a member of the Qatar-supported International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS), discusses the messages and lessons of dhikra Al-Isra Wal-Mi'raj, the anniversary of the Prophet's Night Journey and Ascent to Heaven, [1] which this year fell on February 17. Posted on the website of Qatar's Al-Jazeera channel and on the IUMS website, the article includes antisemitic motifs and urges the Muslims to wage jihad against Israel and the Jews.

In the article Khair Moussa writes that one of the messages of this festival is that there is a tight connection between the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Holy Mosque in Mecca, which means that, as long as the Zionists control Al-Aqsa, the Holy Mosque in Mecca is also in danger. "The Zionist Jews," he says, "have never concealed their ambitions regarding the mosque in Mecca and the soil of the Arabian Peninsula." He stressed that the Muslims have a duty to liberate Al-Aqsa by any means, including by means of jihad.

Khair Moussa also quotes an antisemitic hadith (Prophetic tradition) that states that the Day of Judgement will come when the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them. The Jews will hide behind rocks and trees, but the rocks and trees will call out to the Muslims to come and kill them, all except for the gharqad tree, which is "the tree of the Jews."

The following are translated excerpts from his article:[2]
"The anniversary of Al-Isra Wal-Mi'raj is associated with [both] pain and hope, and this helps us to draw a lesson that illuminates our path… The first message [of this festival] is a shot of hope in times of despair. Every trial also involves a boon, every hardship is followed by relief, every trouble is followed by reprieve and every dark night ends with a true dawn that eliminates all darkness. For example, the Quraysh, [the tribe of the Prophet Muhammad], prevented da'wa in Mecca, [namely] the spreading of Islam, and successfully besieged the da'wa, and those who practiced it, from every direction. The Prophet was in danger after the death of his uncle Abu Talib and his wife [Khadija, known as] the Mother of the Believers. He went to the city of Taif [near Mecca], where people turned their backs on him, attacked him, pelted him with stones and incited fools and children [to pester] him. Amid this atmosphere of despair and frustration, after all the doors had been closed to him and the earth, for all its vastness, closed in on him,[3] the Prophet declared his unwavering faith in his Lord with complete certainty. When the Prophet decided to return to Mecca after his experiences in Taif, [and his servant] Zayd [Bin Harithah] said to him, 'How will you enter [Mecca again] after they expelled you?', the Prophet's sincere and genuine reply was: 'O Zayd, Allah will transform [the hardships] you see into relief and deliverance, for Allah protects His religion and exalts His Messenger.'
Canada: Man arrested after throat slashing on B.C. bus faces multiple terrorism charges
A man arrested after a bus passenger was seriously injured in a knife attack in Surrey on Saturday now faces four terrorism charges.

The charges of “committing an offence for the benefit of a terrorist organization” — specifically the Islamic State — were sworn against Abdul Aziz Kawam on Monday. He also made an appearance in Surrey provincial court.

Kawam, born in 1995, was already facing four other charges, laid Saturday after a man had his throat slashed while on a bus travelling on Fraser Highway at 156th Street at about 9:30 a.m. Another person had a knife held to his throat at a bus stop about four blocks away.

The weekend charges include one of attempted murder, two of assault with a weapon and one of possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose.

Const. Amanda Steed of Metro Vancouver Transit Police said Monday that investigators reached out to the RCMP-led Integrated National Security Enforcement Team because of disturbing comments made by Kawam.

“During the course of our investigation, it was determined that the suspect made quite a few concerning statements, which is why we notified the RCMP INSET,” Steed said. “So they have taken on an investigation as well. And we’re working with them. But from here on, they will be in charge of the investigation and they have forwarded their own charges along with ours.”


Washington experts debate on possible ‘freeze-for-freeze’ Iran deal
The news about a possible “freeze-for-freeze” understanding between Washington and Tehran, first reported by Axios on Monday, immediately sparked a debate between experts who are closely following the discussions about the possibility of reviving the 2015 nuclear agreement.

Dennis Ross, a distinguished fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said that with the Iranian nuclear program advancing in a very dangerous direction, “one can see the appeal of stopping the advance.”

“The problem is, we would be freezing the program with 16 cascades enriching to 60%,” said Ross. “It is as if this becomes a new baseline. Of course, it is better to freeze and then reverse. Is that possible, it seems as long as the Iranians have no fear we would ever act militarily against their program, they will continue to feel that they have all the leverage.”

Can we judge an Iran deal without knowing any details?
John Hannah, the Randi & Charles Wax senior fellow at JINSA’s Gemunder Center for Defense and Strategy, noted that there haven’t been any real details released about what the contours of any interim deal would be, “so it’s hard to judge.”

“How much sanctions relief are we talking about? And in exchange for pausing which elements of Iran’s program? And for how long?” Hannah asked. “At first blush, however, the idea of giving Iran billions of dollars in funds that we’ll never get back in return for a temporary freeze in 60% enrichment that Iran could reverse at a moment’s notice, looks like a bad – even a desperate – deal made from a position of US weakness.

“It looks like the administration is reviving an idea out of the old Obama playbook because it’s not willing to do what’s necessary to stop Iran’s program by restoring deterrence through coercive diplomacy, and scared to death that if Iran keeps advancing, either the United States or Israel will be forced to make good on their promise to stop Iran militarily, resulting in another war in the Middle East,” said Hannah.
Netanyahu: ‘Iran responsible for 95% of security threats against us’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Iran was behind nearly all of the security threats to the Jewish state, and warned that the country’s internal debate over judicial reform would not prevent it from defending itself.

Speaking at the traditional Passover toasts with the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and Israel Defense Forces General Staff Forum, Netanyahu said, “Iran is responsible for 95% of the security threats against us, including those that you deal with both directly and indirectly.”

Addressing the General Staff Forum, he said, “Tomorrow we will sit around the Seder table and we will read: ‘In every generation, there are those who rise up to destroy us.'”

This remains true today despite the rise of Zionism and the restoration of Jewish sovereignty, he said.

“But from here, I want to reiterate to the enemies of Israel that they should not err. No debate will prevent us from wielding the sword and shield to defend ourselves and repel any aggression by them in order to ensure the continuity of the Zionist enterprise,” he added.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, referring to Israel’s internal divisions over legal reform, told a group of his country’s officials on Tuesday, “We said a few years ago [2015] that the Zionist regime would not see 25 years from then. They themselves are in a rush and want to leave sooner.”

Israel has reportedly carried out four airstrikes on Iranian targets in Syria in recent days, and on Monday, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed that an unmanned aerial object brought down the previous day after it crossed into Israeli airspace from Syria was most probably of Iranian origin.
Netanyahu to Mossad agents: ‘Ultimate mission’ is preventing a nuclear Iran
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday reiterated the importance of stopping Iran from getting nuclear weapons, telling members of the Mossad intelligence agency that it is “our ultimate mission.”

“If we do not prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, we will be in a different reality where the entire world will be held hostage by a party bent on destroying us, and that is why this is our ultimate mission,” said Netanyahu.

“I want to tell our enemies that they should not mistake us: No internal debate will prevent us from doing what needs to be done together to protect our country and prevent them from fulfilling their desire for destruction,” the premier continued.

He spoke at a ceremony honoring Mossad operatives for the years 2021-22.

The honorees were presented with the Prime Minister’s Award, which is handed out every two years for “ground-breaking and inspiring operations” that advance the security of the State of Israel.

“Your operations were approved out of the same faith I have in your abilities, in your initiative, in your creativity, in daring and also in success. Not all of them succeeded but the vast majority succeeded, and sometimes succeeded above the expected,” said the prime minister.

Mossad chief David Barnea said that the honorees were the “spearhead” of important security actions that are conducted “far from the spotlight.”

“By combining forces and minds, with patience and tolerance, and with endless dedication in the face of enemies who do not cease for a moment to act to harm our people, in the face of enemies who may pose an existential threat to our country, in the face of them, you are the ones who turned a vision into reality,” said Barnea.




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