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Sunday, July 28, 2024

07/28 Links: Michael Oren: Hezbollah a ‘strategic threat,’ Hamas a ‘tactical’ one; U.S.-Based Entities Can’t Be Allowed to Aid Hamas; Hamas sends torture videos to Ben-Gvir

From Ian:

Michael Oren: Hezbollah a ‘strategic threat,’ Hamas a ‘tactical’ one
Some 80,000 Israelis have been displaced from northern Israel since Oct. 7, their towns and villages declared as military no-go zones under constant threat from Hezbollah.

JNS recently caught up with Michael Oren, Israel’s former ambassador to the United States, who took a detailed security tour of the north earlier this month and has spoken extensively with displaced families about how to re-establish an Israeli civilian presence along the Lebanese border. (JNS spoke with the former envoy prior to Hezbollah’s deadly rocket attack on Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights on Saturday, that killed 12 children and wounded over 30 people.)

“The army’s estimate,” Oren told JNS, “was that as many as 40% of the population will not come back even if there is a ceasefire.”

That estimate was anecdotally affirmed when JNS spoke with seven Israelis displaced from the north that Oren brought to Washington in June.

Among the group, only one said she would definitely go back to her home if the threat of Hezbollah was not decisively resolved.

“I would, but I don’t have children and I believe in fate,” said Judith Javor, 77, from Metula.

Javor’s husband George died of a stroke in December. She buried him in the dark, under rocket fire. The frequency of attacks in the north has prevented her from erecting a proper headstone for the grave.

Karmelle Yang, a single mother of three children, said that the Oct. 7 attacks, which included the mass abduction of women and children, made her question how she had previously lived within range of the Lebanese terrorist organization.

“I look back, like, wow, I would just get out of the house, go into the car and go on with my day or go for a walk right by the border,” she said. “What was I doing? I personally cannot go back.”

With Hezbollah guerillas operating just hundreds of feet from abandoned Israeli towns, the open question is what military response Israel could take against the terrorist group that would allow these people to safely return to their homes.

“It would mean basically laying waste to southern Lebanon,” said Oren.

‘The U.S. believes there’s actually a place called Lebanon’
U.S.-Based Entities Can’t Be Allowed to Aid Hamas
Alarmingly, the terrorist connection at People Media Project goes far beyond Aljamal. Indeed, the second defendant in Jan’s lawsuit, Ramzy Baroud, who serves as editor in chief of the Palestine Chronicle, has worked with an organization led by an individual convicted of terrorism-related crimes; this same organization hosted a conference sponsored by Hamas and Muslim Brotherhood–affiliated groups. The third defendant, John Harvey, listed as People Media Project’s secretary and treasurer, organized a campaign to make the Hamas stronghold of Rafah a sister city of Olympia, Wash., according to the Washington Free Beacon.

At least six Palestine Chronicle writers and contributors have been linked to Iranian propaganda outlets, the Free Beacon reports. Iran, the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, backs Hamas and similar groups globally. At least one Palestine Chronicle writer posted to social media instruction videos about how to most effectively stab Jews with a knife. Earlier this month, the U.S. director of national intelligence revealed that “actors tied to Iran’s government” have co-opted and funded some anti-Israel protests in the U.S.

It is illegal for a U.S. nonprofit to provide support for terrorism. In fact, there is clear precedent under international law and the U.S. tax code for revoking the tax-exempt status of organizations supporting terrorism. According to House Ways and Means Committee chairman Jason Smith (R., Mo.), the Internal Revenue Service has previously revoked tax-exempt status for other organizations after public reporting suggested they provided material support to a terrorist organization. On July 10, Smith and two other House committee chairmen, James Comer (R., Ky.) and Virginia Foxx (R., N.C.), sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland calling for a criminal investigation of the Palestine Chronicle.

The United States has long recognized Hamas as a terrorist organization. The group’s track record of violent attacks against civilians and its explicit goal of annihilating Israel and targeting Jews worldwide leave no room for doubt. Since its founding, Hamas has committed “countless acts of violence against both military and civilian targets,” including bombings, shootings, stabbings, kidnappings, and rocket attacks. On October 7, Hamas terrorists murdered more than 1,200 Israelis and people of other nationalities, injured more than 6,900 people, and took more than 200 hostages.

We now know that three of those hostages were held by a Hamas operative supported by People Media Project and subsidized by American taxpayer money. (The fourth hostage rescued on June 8, Noa Argamani, was held in another home in the same neighborhood.) Today, some 80 hostages believed to be alive remain in captivity, including the two Bibas children and their parents.

People Media Project cannot be allowed to continue operating with impunity and with American taxpayer dollars. To allow it to do so is tantamount to supporting terrorism, the October 7 atrocities, and the immense human suffering of the hostages — among them five Americans believed to be alive.

The U.S. must not turn a blind eye to People Media Project’s blatant abuse of nonprofit status and complicity in crimes against humanity. May Almog Meir Jan get the justice he deserves, for himself and for so many others still in captivity.
Aviva Klompas: How disinformation became the greatest threat to global order
Sometimes, the problems originate with the platforms themselves. TikTok promotes itself as an open forum that fosters personal connections among its billion users. But the dark truth is that the Chinese-owned company appears to suppress topics critical of the Chinese government.

A report from the Network Contagion Research Institute found that TikTok squashed conversations about China’s treatment of the Uyghurs and protests in Hong Kong while amplifying conversations that undermine America and its allies.

When The Wall Street Journal created accounts registered as 13-year-old users, it took just a few hours before they were shown highly polarized content, including pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel content.

The disinformation about Israel spreads well beyond TikTok.

A day after the October 7 attacks on southern Israel, more than 40,000 fake social media accounts that had been inactive for over a year suddenly began posting pro-Hamas messages hundreds of times a day, according to Cyabra, an Israel-based social threat intelligence company. They used hashtags like #IStandWithIsrael to reach audiences and peddle pro-Hamas propaganda.

As videos circulated online showing Israeli women and children taken captive by Hamas, these fake profiles declared that no harm would come to them because Hamas was known for its “humanity and compassion.” We see these false narratives persisting today even as former hostages have revealed the barbaric conditions in Hamas captivity.

Across Facebook, X, Instagram, and TikTok, Cyabra found that 26% of the profiles — one in four — participating in conversations about the Hamas-Israel war were fake. Frighteningly, the tactics seem to work. While 79% of Americans support Israel in its war against Hamas, 43% of 18-24 year-olds back Hamas. Not surprising for a demographic that disproportionately receives news through social media.

As the Director of National Intelligence recently warned, Iran is covertly encouraging protests against Israel on social media platforms, “seeking to stoke discord and undermine confidence in our democratic institutions.”

“Americans who are being targeted by this Iranian campaign,” she said, “may not be aware that they are interacting with or receiving support from a foreign government,”

It’s time for government agencies and social media platforms to take more proactive steps to fight these disinformation campaigns. The rest of us also have a part to play. We must educate ourselves to identify disinformation, verify what we see online, seek out trustworthy sources, and — most crucially — apply critical thinking skills before hitting the share button.


Hamas sends videos of torturing Israeli hostages to Ben-Gvir - report
Hamas has allegedly filmed the torture of Israeli hostages, including videos directly addressing National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, The Telegraph wrote on Sunday in an unconfirmed report.

The Telegraph cited two Israeli officials, who said the videos show hostages being tortured in an attempt to force Israel to ease conditions for Palestinian prisoners.

These reports follow allegations that Palestinians are being held at the Sde Teiman base in southern Israel and the conditions that prisoners are held in. Ben-Gvir is against a hostage deal that would see the end of the Israel-Hamas war and the exchange of Palestinian prisoners.

The Telegraph noted that the video has intensified the rift between the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) over Palestinian prisoners, with Ben-Gvir doubling down on his decisions after allegedly viewing the videos.

How did Ben-Gvir respond to the allegations?
Ben-Gvir told The Telegraph that he was "not aware" of the allegations.

In a post to X, Ben-Gvir wrote, "Hamas did not send me any video, and I refuse to cooperate with Hamas propaganda: One should only talk to Hamas through action."

"The terrorist organization Hamas did not look for any excuse on October 7 to murder, rape, kidnap, and abuse living citizens and even corpses, and even murdered hostages in captivity."

"Hamas must be defeated and not submit to what it dictates, that demand surrender: the territory of the Gaza Strip must be occupied permanently, humanitarian aid must be stopped, and it must be defeated."

"The conditions of the terrorists in the prisons have indeed worsened, and the 'summer camps' have stopped, and I am proud of that - I have no intention of submitting to the dictates of Hamas."

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum responded to the developments, stating, "There is no need for additional videos to know the obvious: For 296 days, the hostages have been subjected to physical and mental torture, starved, and held in inhumane conditions."

"The National Security Minister, as well as the Prime Minister and cabinet members, have only one responsibility: To approve a deal now! A deal that will allow the release of all 115 hostages and stop the torture they and their families are forced to go through," the statement concluded.
Ex-hostage says Gazan doctors purposely caused her pain, poured chlorine into gunshot wound
Former hostage Maya Regev, who was released in November along with her brother in a deal after weeks in Hamas captivity, sheds light on the cruelty of Gazan doctors who treated her after she was shot in the leg on October 7.

“They would really hurt me,” she tells Channel 12 news. “When changing bandages, when they wanted to see the wounds, they would purposely cause pain. [The doctor] would take chlorine, alcohol, and sometimes even something like apple cider vinegar, and would pour it in [the wound] and apply pressure.”

She says that one day, he took a small knife and started cutting into her exposed flesh in the wound, ignoring her pleas to stop. “I wanted to kick him in the face, but he had a pistol and I had nothing, so I shut up,” she says, adding that she had feared at one point that the physicians were going to amputate her leg.

On one occasion, she got the captors to bring in her brother Itay — who was released together with her — and fellow hostage Omer Shem-Tov, who remains in captivity, to be with her for the bandage-changing. She describes how Shem-Tov cared for her, calmed her down and blocked her mouth so she wouldn’t scream, which she was forbidden from doing.

Sitting alongside Shem-Tov’s mother Shelly, Regev says that was the last time she saw Omer. Shelly says: “Omer is alive, and he must return home.”

Regev says she returned from Gaza with many infections, a fungus growing inside her bone, and other signs of medical negligence. Even eight months after her release, her road to recovery is still long.


Francesca Albanese is Surrounded by Like-Minded People at the U.N.
Oops, she did it again: Francesca Albanese has once compared Israel to National Socialism. On Thursday, the »UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Territories of Palestine«, used X (formerly Twitter) to comment on a collage of images in which Adolf Hitler and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are cropped together. Her comment: »That’s exactly what I was thinking today.«

The fact that Albanese thinks this way - and not just »today«, but presumably every day - has actually been known for quite a while. The Italian human rights lawyer repeatedly equates the actions of the Israeli military and government with those of the Nazis. She puts the »Nakba«, the flight and expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the course of a war started by Arab states, on the same level as the Shoah, the genocide of six million Jews.

Hostile to Israel
For Albanese, of course, this is not antisemitism. She vehemently rejects accusations of this kind and likes to defend Hamas against them as well. According to her, October 7th, the biggest massacre on Jews since the Shoah, was in no way motivated by antisemitism. It was solely a »reaction to the oppression by Israel«, the U.N. rapporteur wrote on X in February.

Only once, even she was forced to engage in backpadeling: In an open letter in 2014, she had written that the USA was »subjugated by the Jewish lobby«. This had been »an unfortunate choice of words«, she later admitted. »Israel lobby« was a better term.

So far, neither Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock nor her ministry have issued an up-to-date statement on Albanese.
3 Palestinian terror suspects caught after crossing border illegally as overwhelmed agents warn: ‘I probably let terrorists in’
Border agents detained three Palestinian migrants who illegally crossed the southern border after they were found to have possible ties to terrorist organizations earlier this month, according to sources.

One of the migrants had “salacious photos” on their phone — including a picture of a masked man holding an AK-47 rifle, federal law enforcement sources said.

In addition to the three Palestinians, federal authorities caught one migrant from Turkey who was also suspected of having ties to terror groups.

The migrants were among groups of dozens of migrants who turned themselves into border agents at the San Diego sector, said sources.

An investigation into the migrants is ongoing, sources said. The group was transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force is investigating their cases.

It’s the latest example of potential security threats entering the US via the southern border — especially at San Diego.

Overwhelmed Border Patrol agents tell The Post that they do not have the tools to fully vet the migrants who are coming in from all over the world — particularly into the San Diego area.

Mostly, they are only able to use US terror watchlists and other American resources to help determine which migrants could be a terror threat. Border agents do not have access to terror or criminal databases from other countries.

“Knowing who these guys are, we have, like, no access to anything international. Like, we really don’t and it kind of sucks,” said one border agent, who spoke anonymous because they were not authorized to give public statements.
Avi Issacharoff: Hizbullah's Miscalculation in Majdal Shams
The rocket fired by Hizbullah that hit a soccer field in Majdal Shams was a severe operational miscalculation by the Shiite terrorist organization.

Majdal Shams is a Druze village, many of whose residents hold Syrian citizenship and consider themselves Syrians rather than Israeli citizens.

Many Majdal Shams residents have relatives in Syria and Lebanon and Arab social networks, including Palestinian ones, have severely criticized Hizbullah, explicitly noting that the town isn't Jewish.

The hit on the soccer field will likely intensify criticism in Lebanon and the Middle East against Hizbullah, which already faces considerable criticism at home that it serves Iranian interests rather than Lebanese ones.
Three pings on the Hezbollah attack in the Golan Heights
Ping Three: The real problem of leadership in Washington
It helps to not be confused about this. We needn’t take up all the competing theories out there and discuss them; to keep this treatment tight, I will just state my assessment.

Joe Biden was never making the decisions for his administration, and there will be no situation in which Kamala Harris is actually making decisions either.

That emphatically does not mean no one is making decisions. It means someone is making decisions, but you don’t know who it is. (Many of you are certain that you do know, and you may be right.)

If you do understand that decisions are being made, coherently and with intent by the same entity or individuals from one decision to the next, you know what you need to, to keep things straight. All you have to do is remember that. It’s reasonably accurate to call it a shadow presidency.

What we’re seeing from the Oval Office is not incompetence or a leadership void. It’s a consistent pattern of decisions that oppose Israel’s policies and interests, made unaccountably by anonymous actors, while claiming to support Israel in the generic. Joe Biden’s prior reputation vis-à-vis Israel has no bearing on the quality or trend of the decisions, though his prior reputation has been used in media rhetoric to obfuscate the trend. VP Harris’s reputation on Israeli matters is probably a better guide to what decisions will look like between now and January, but her individual posture isn’t material either.

This is the context in which to understand the signal the U.S. government sent this week, via Harris’s summary of her meeting with PM Netanyahu. The chief points she made are that the U.S. government’s priority is a ceasefire, regardless of any other impact from that (e.g., that a ceasefire is the main thing that would keep Hamas alive), and that the U.S. administration has no intention of delivering the delayed interdiction weapons that Israel needs to face a war with Hezbollah.

That signal is devastating. And at this point, there’s a finality to it that there wasn’t before, when the U.S. leadership situation at least had the semblance of normality. It’s clear the U.S. administration has now moved overtly beyond “normal.” And the very first thing it did beyond normal was make a declaration of U.S. priorities against Israel’s interests.
How should Israel respond to Hezbollah’s rocket atrocity?
In light of Hezbollah’s escalation, “Our actions should convey that we are not deterred by the possibility of further escalation. This could involve striking Hezbollah’s military infrastructure, its strategic capabilities, and national [Lebanese] infrastructure that serves Hezbollah’s military capabilities,” said the former intelligence official. He emphasized however that “Israel will not target civilians, in contrast to Hezbollah’s methods.”

Professor Uzi Rabi, senior researcher and the head of the program for Regional Cooperation at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies Studies at Tel Aviv University, argued for a shift in Israel’s approach to countering Hezbollah.

“Israel needs to adopt an out-of-the-box strategy similar to used in Yemen,” said Rabi, referring to the July 20 IAF strike on the Houthi fuel port at Al-Hodeida, which came in response to a deadly Houthi suicide drone strike on Tel Aviv.

Rabi suggested targeting Lebanon’s civilian infrastructure to disrupt daily life, thereby pressuring the population to turn against Hezbollah. “Hezbollah presents itself as Lebanon’s protector, but a significant disruption could lead to internal dissent and international condemnation of Hezbollah’s actions,” he added.

“What should guide Israel’s actions is to do what it has not yet done, for the simple reason that what it has done so far has not been effective. I do not trivialize the issue of targeted killings or what the IDF has done to Hezbollah, but we must admit that the bottom line is that it did not work,” he said.

“Israel must shift to another mode—I call it the Al-Hodeida mode. To do what was done in Yemen—target the civilian infrastructure in the host country,” he added. This, he argued, would cause the population to experience disruption to its daily routine in every manner—electricity, water and other vital services, and could, in turn, cause the population to turn on Hezbollah.

“Let’s remember that Hezbollah defines itself as Lebanon’s protector,” he said.

“It does this when we know exactly who Hezbollah’s patron is and how it functions,” said Rabi. Targeting civilian infrastructure, he said, would make it clear to both the Lebanese population and the world that an atrocity was committed against children in northern Israel, and that civilians in Lebanon will experience severe disruption as a result.

“Their outcry will need to reach the whole world, and the world can then find the guilty party, and turn its gaze to Hezbollah,” he added.

Beirut, said Rabi, is of paramount importance as it is the heart of both Lebanon and Hezbollah.

Since the start of the war on Oct. 7, 24 civilians have been murdered in Israel by Hezbollah (including 12 on Saturday evening in Majdal Shams), and 22 IDF soldiers and officers have been killed (five in operational accidents). Hezbollah has fired over 340 unmanned aerial vehicles and over 6,400 projectiles at Israel.
Seth Frantzman: Reporter's Notebook: Majdal Shams on the frontline
The towns in the area have been thriving recently
THE TOWNS of Majdal Shams, Bukata, and Masada have been thriving recently. This is despite a decade of difficulties. During the Syrian civil war, the war in Syria could be easily heard from here. The Druze here were often concerned for their coreligionists on the other side of the line.

In June 2015 this concern spilled over. At the time, Israel had been providing medical assistance to some Syrians. The Druze in the Golan believed these Syrians were Syrian rebels responsible for attacks on Khadr, a Druze town in Syria that is just across the border from Majdal Shams. In June 2015, two Syrians being transported in an ambulance were pulled out and attacked by an angry mob at night. Several people were indicted in Majdal Shams for the incident.

After the Syrian civil war mostly ended near the Golan in 2018, other issues affected these towns. COVID-19 harmed tourism. Then, in June 2023, the people burst into protest over wind turbines that were being installed along the Golan. Several locals were hurt in clashes with Israeli police. The 2015 and 2023 incidents illustrate that the Golan Druze will assert themselves when they feel their rights are being eroded.

When the October 7 attacks took place along the South Gaza Envelop border towns, it led Hezbollah to join the war on Israel. This has harmed the tourism economy in the Golan. Tourists no longer come. The hotels were empty over the winter. There was no ski season on the Hermon.

Despite a lot of investment in the tourism industry in these towns, people have lost out. The cherry-picking season, for instance, is largely over this year because tourists don’t come and pay to pick cherries. Nevertheless, a new development is clear. There is a new mall in Majdal Shams. There is a new hotel in Bukata. New signs declare “I love Bukata” and “I love Majdal Shams” at the entrances to the towns. There is a lot of sense of pride here.

All eyes on Majdal Shams
After the rocket fell on the soccer field here, Majdal Shams became a center of attention and sadness across Israel. The Chief of Staff of the IDF came to visit Druze leaders in the field. At night, when I arrived, hundreds of young men, dressed in black shirts, were coming to help set up chairs for a ceremony on July 28. They continued working throughout the night. By morning, the men were gone, but some women, also dressed in black, stood on the streets, holding back tears. The town’s bakeries, usually open early, were closed. The whole of the Golan felt in mourning. It had been draped in black, just like after October 7 across Israel.


Thousands gather for funeral of children killed by Hezbollah rocket as Israel warns of ‘all-out war’
Thousands have lined the streets of Majdal Shams for the funerals of ten of the 12 children killed by a Hezbollah rocket attack on Saturday.

Small, white coffins were processed through the Druze town in the Golan Heights as young people carried flower wreaths and photos of their friends and relatives.

It came as Israel’s foreign minister, Israel Katz, warned of “all-out war” in an interview with Channel 12. “There is no doubt that Hezbollah has crossed all the red lines here and the response will reflect that,” he said.

"We are nearing the moment in which we face an all-our war.”

Eleven of the victims will be buried in Majdal Shams, and the 12th victim will be laid to rest in Ein Qinya. Forty-two people are still hospitalised from the deadly attack.

Eleven of the 12 victims have been publicly identified, with the youngest just ten years old and the oldest 16: Ameer Rabeea Abu Saleh, 16; Hazem Akram Abu Saleh, 15; Alma Ayman Fakher Eldin, 11; Milar Muadad Sha'ar, 10; Vinees Adham Al-Safadi, 11; Naji Taher Halabi, 11; Johnny Wadeea Ibrahim, 13; Yazan Nayeif Abu Saleh, 12; Iseel Nasha'at Ayoub, 12; Fajer Laith Abu Saleh, 16; and Nathem Fakher Saeb.

Twenty people wounded in the deadly incident are hospitalised at Ziv Medical Centre in Safed, including 17 in moderate to severe condition. Three children, aged 11, 12, 14, at Ziv Medical Centre, are in serious condition in the paediatric intensive care unit, sedated and intubated, all with abdominal injuries, chest injuries and limb fractures.

Five of the wounded were moved to Haifa's Rambam Health Care Campus while four were taken to Tiberias' Poriya Hospital.

Israeli channel Ynet reported that a number of relatives of the victims have been taken for medical treatment after they were overwhelmed by emotion during the funeral.

Eyewitnesses to the strike said that the carnage on the football field was reminiscent of October 7.

Druze leader Sheikh Muafak Tarif told Channel 12 news that the community, which numbers close to 12,000 people, was in shock following the “terrible massacre”.

The Iran-backed Hezbollah strike was a “cruel and murderous terror attack that targeted innocent children who were playing soccer,” he said.

“This is the ongoing reality of the last nine months up north. This evening, all possible red and black lines were crossed,” he added.


Netanyahu convenes Security Cabinet after landing in Israel
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened the Security Cabinet shortly after touching down in Tel Aviv on Sunday afternoon.

The premier arrived at the Israel Defense Forces’ military headquarters in central Tel Aviv for a security assessment, after which he assembled the Security Cabinet, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office announced.

Netanyahu moved up his return flight from the United States, where he met with U.S. President Joe Biden and addressed the U.S. Congress, in the wake of a deadly Hezbollah rocket attack on the Golan Heights on Saturday.

Twelve children were killed and more than 40 people wounded on Saturday in the single deadliest Hezbollah attack since the Lebanese terrorist group joined the war in support of Hamas on Oct. 8, firing drones, missiles and rockets across the border on a near daily basis.

“Citizens of Israel, like you, I was shocked to see the horrific photos in the wake of Hezbollah’s murderous attack in Majdal Shams,” Netanyahu said in a statement following a security assessment on Saturday night.

“I have been holding continuous security consultations, and I have directed that our return to Israel be brought forward. As soon as I arrive, I will immediately convene the Security Cabinet,” added Netanyahu.

“I can say that the State of Israel will not let this pass in silence. We will not overlook this,” he said.
Netanyahu: Israel will not let Hezbollah attack pass in silence
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday night vowed to respond to Hezbollah’s deadly rocket strike on the northern Golan Heights earlier in the day, saying the “horrific” attack would not “pass in silence.”

“Citizens of Israel, like you, I was shocked to see the horrific photos in the wake of Hezbollah’s murderous attack in Majdal Shams. Among those who were murdered are young children who were playing soccer, and others,” said Netanyahu.

“All of our hearts are broken over these sights. We embrace the families and the entire Druze community in its difficult hour, which is also our difficult hour,” he added.

“I can say that the State of Israel will not let this pass in silence,” said the premier.

Twelve children and youths were killed, and dozens more were wounded, when a Hezbollah heavy rocket hit near a soccer field in the Israeli Druze town on Saturday evening.

More than 30 wounded were evacuated to hospital by Magen David Adom first responders and military helicopters.


Gallant: ‘Hezbollah is responsible and will pay the price’
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant called Saturday’s deadly Hezbollah rocket attack on Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights a “terrible tragedy,” pledging that Iran’s Lebanese terror proxy “will pay the price.”

The minister spoke on Sunday morning while touring the scene of the strike in the Druze town. Twelve children were killed and more than 40 people wounded in the single deadliest Hezbollah attack since the Lebanese terror army joined the war in support of Hamas on Oct. 8, firing drones, missiles and rockets across the border on a near daily basis.

The aftermath of a Hezbollah rocket attack in the Druze town of Majdal Shams, July 27, 2024. Photo by Michael Giladi/Flash90.

He was accompanied by Majdal Shams Mayor Dolan Abu Saleh and Brig. Gen. Yair Peli, commander of the IDF’s 210th “Bashan” Division, responsible for the front with Syria.

IDF chief: Increasing readiness for ‘next stage of fighting in north’
Speaking during a solidarity visit to Majdal Shams on Saturday night, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said that the military is increasing its readiness for “the next stage of fighting in the north.”

Halevi accused Hezbollah of deliberately targeting children.

“This is a Hezbollah rocket. And whoever launches such a rocket into a built-up area wants to kill civilians, wants to kill children,” the IDF chief said. He noted that the army knows the exact location in Lebanon where the rocket, a Falaq 1 with a 53-kilogram (117-pound) warhead, was launched.


IDF on deadly Golan attack: Terrain, trajectory to blame for lack of interception
The Hezbollah missile that killed 12 and wounded more than 30 in the northern Golan Heights on Saturday was not intercepted due to the local terrain and the missile’s low-altitude trajectory, according to the Israeli military’s initial investigation into the incident.

The probe also found that contrary to claims in the Israeli media, air-raid sirens sounded for 20 seconds prior to the impact and the alert system did not malfunction.

The missile, an Iranian-made Falaq-type with a 53 kilogram (117 pound) warhead, was launched from an area north of the village of Shebaa in Southern Lebanon, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

While Israeli leaders have vowed a harsh response to the attack, the Lebanese government has asked the United States to urge restraint from Israel.


Hezbollah on high alert after deadly Majdal Shams attack as US urges de-escalation
Hezbollah on Sunday was preparing for an expected Israeli retaliation after the Lebanese terror group fired a rocket that killed 12 children in the Druze town of Majdal Shams, as the US called for both sides to de-escalate the conflict.

Two security sources told Reuters that Hezbollah had preemptively cleared out some key sites in both Lebanon’s south and the eastern Bekaa Valley in preparation for a possible attack by Israel.

The Lebanese government has asked the United States to urge restraint from Israel following the deadly strike, Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib told Reuters.

Bou Habib said the US had asked the Lebanese government to pass on a message to Hezbollah to show restraint as well.

Israeli leaders from across the political spectrum called for a swift and harsh response against Hezbollah after an Iranian-made Falaq-1 rocket struck a soccer field Saturday in the Druze town of Speaking at a press conference in Tokyo alongside US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there is “every indication” that the rocket that hit a soccer field in Majdal Shams was fired by Hezbollah, while the terror group denied responsibility.

“We stand by Israel’s right to defend its citizens from terrorist attacks,” Blinken said.

The secretary stressed that a ceasefire in Gaza was the best way to end the fighting in the north.

“One of the reasons that we’re continuing to work so hard for a ceasefire in Gaza is not just for Gaza,” he said, “but also so that we can [advance] an opportunity to bring calm, lasting calm, across the blue line between Israel and Lebanon. We’re determined to bring the Gaza conflict to a close. It’s gone on for far too long. It’s cost far too many lives.”

“It’s so important that we help defuse that conflict,” said Blinken, “not only prevent it from escalating, prevent it from spreading, but to defuse it because you so many people in both countries, in both Israel and Lebanon, who’ve been displaced from their homes.”


US intel indicates Hezbollah behind deadly rocket attack
U.S. intelligence indicates that Lebanon’s Hezbollah fired the missile that killed 12 children and youths in Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights on Saturday evening, according to the Associated Press.

“The Hezbollah terrorist organization is behind the rocket launch at a soccer field in Majdal Shams which caused multiple civilian casualties, including children, earlier this evening,” the IDF said on Saturday night.

IDF Spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told reporters at a briefing, “Hezbollah has been lying and denying responsibility for the incident. Our intelligence is clear: Hezbollah is responsible for the murder of innocent children.”

On Sunday, Hagari said that forensic evidence showed the Majdal Shams rocket was an Iranian-made Falaq-1, with a 100-pound warhead, which in Lebanon is used exclusively by Hezbollah.


Lebanese FM: Hezbollah ready to withdraw to behind Litani River if Israel stops attacks
Commenting on a possible escalation between Israel and Hezbollah following yesterday’s deadly rocket attack on Majdal Shams, Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Abdallah Bouhabib says that Hezbollah is ready to withdraw beyond the Litani River — which runs some 29 kilometers (18 miles) north of the Israel-Lebanon border — if Israel halts its “violations.”

In an interview with the Saudi-owned Al Hadath news channel, Beirut’s top diplomat adds that Israel must “think carefully” before striking Lebanon, and that an escalation will affect Israel and the whole region.

Hezbollah is barred by UN Security Council Resolution 1701 from maintaining a military presence south of the Litani. The Shiite terror group has blatantly violated that resolution and regularly launches attacks on Israel from near the border.

In a separate interview, Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt tells Al Jazeera that he had a conversation with US Special Envoy Amos Hochstein and told him that Hochstein’s task is “not to relay Israeli threats, but to seek mediation.” The remark appears to refer to earlier reports that quoted diplomatic sources in Beirut and Washington saying that an Israeli attack on Lebanon is “inevitable.”

Jumblatt, a prominent figure in Lebanese politics, absolves Hezbollah of any responsibility in the Majdal Shams attack, and adds that “we are counting on the efforts of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to reach a serious ceasefire with the American envoy [Hochstein] in southern Lebanon.”


Druze in Israel outraged at Hezbollah massacre of children
Leaders and members of the Druze community in Israel on Sunday demanded that the government carry out a swift and fierce military response against Hezbollah after it killed 12 children and wounded around 40 others as they played soccer.

Saturday evening’s rocket attack on the Druze town of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights was the deadliest assault on northern Israel since the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist organization began raining down thousands of missiles, rockets and drones on Israel the day after the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre to the south.

“In our view, what happens to the northern Israeli communities is the same thing that should happen to Beirut and the parliament in Beirut,” Yasser Ghadban, chairman of the Forum of Druze Localities, told JNS on Sunday.

“It is high time that the international community unite with Israel against the terrorism the Iranian regime is spreading throughout the Middle East and beyond,” Ghadban said.

Former Communications Minister Ayoob Kara, who is Druze and a member of the Likud Party, said, “This is a golden opportunity which must be seized for Israel to get rid of the menace of Hezbollah terrorism from our northern border.”

He noted that Hezbollah denied responsibility for the rocket strike since it did not kill Jews but rather Druze, and as such does not want this to be trigger for a major Israeli response. “If we don’t do it now when Hezbollah is cornered it will be a lament for generations to come,” Kara said.

Spotlight on the Druze
A religious sect that began about a thousand years ago in Egypt as an offshoot of Shi’ite Islam, the Druze, who number about one million worldwide, primarily live in Syria, Lebanon and Israel, as well as in smaller communities in Western cities around the globe.

The insular and close-knit Druze faith was influenced by the Quran, Christianity and Judaism, as well Greek philosophy and Eastern mysticism, according to the American Druze Foundation.

More than 150,000 Druze live in Israel, representing about 1.6% of the population, according to figures from the Central Bureau of Statistics.

Druze are notably loyal to the country in which they live. Along with members of the smaller Circassian community, Druze Israeli men perform mandatory service in the IDF, where they excel and have long been known for their high rate of enlistment in combat units and careers in the military.

Hezbollah’s miscalculation
While the Druze who live in the Galilee are strongly pro-Israel, some residents of the four Druze villages in the Golan Heights have in the past expressed support for Syrian President Bashar Assad, leading Israeli intelligence to conclude that Hezbollah would not have deliberately targeted Majdal Shams, Kara said.

“Hezbollah made a big mistake,” he added, noting the condolences that poured in from Druze leaders around the region. “They are afraid that Druze in their countries will turn against them.”


UN chief condemns deadly attack on Golan, without mentioning Hezbollah
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemns rocket fire from Lebanon that killed 12 children in the Golan Heights, without mentioning terror group Hezbollah.

Calling on all parties to “exercise maximum restraint,” Guterres sends his “deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives,” adding that “civilians, and children in particular, should not continue to bear the burden of the horrific violence plaguing the region,” according to a statement by the office of his spokesperson.


Anger as Hezbollah-affiliated network is allowed to broadcast from Majdal Shams
A reporter for Hezbollah-aligned Lebanese outlet Al Mayadeen broadcast today from Majdal Shams, a day after a rocket fired by the terror group on a soccer field in the Druze town in the Golan Heights killed 12 children.

The channel’s Hanaa Mahameed broadcasts from the town, with an onscreen strip saying it is in “the occupied Syrian Golan.” Israel seized the territory from Syria in 1967, after the latter attacked Israel, and Jerusalem annexed it in 1981. Most of the international community does not recognize the annexation.

The reporter falsely claims the kids were hit by an Israeli strike.

The incident draws criticism and scrutiny of the fact that, while Al Mayadeen’s broadcasts in the country were temporarily banned in November, this measure expired in January.

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi says: “The military is invited to take [Mahameed] and throw her across the border. Letting a Hezbollah reporter broadcast from the scene of the massacre Hezbollah committed is absurd on every level.”

He adds that shutting down Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera was prioritized earlier this year, but that further barring Al Mayadeen from operating in Israel is still in process.


Outrage over BBC reporting of Hezbollah attack which killed 12 children and teens
The BBC has been condemned for its reporting of Saturday’s deadly Hezbollah rocket attack on Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights.

The BBC’s article about the attack was headlined: “Ten dead in rocket attack on Israeli-occupied Golan.”

The headline, which was altered after a few hours, did not refer to Hezbollah, the Druze community, or that the rocket struck children playing football, while it appeared to imply a political justification for the killings.

The strike – which killed 12 young people aged 10-20 years old playing football in the Druze village – marks the deadliest day in Israel since October 7. The IDF has since identified the rocket fired from Lebanon as an Iranian-made weapon.

People were swift to slam the BBC coverage of the tragedy.

On Twitter/X, Simon Sebag Montefiore wrote: “It’s weird culture can’t name Iran-terror-sect Hezbollah as perpetrators. Balance never perfect but we need neutral coverage of complex region. Bias has degraded this institution.”

Israel’s official N12 news channel echoed these concerns, querying whether the victims “died or were killed”.

Investigative journalist and antisemitism campaigner David Collier also took to Twitter/X to criticise the article, writing: “There are Druze in Majdal Shams with Israeli citizenship. Can you the BBC ever write an article about Israel without skewing it politically against Israel [or] making factual errors as they do so.”
'Disgusting': Sacha Baron-Cohen endorses backlash to BBC headline on Majdal Shams disaster
British Jewish actor and comedian Sacha Baron-Cohen expressed outrage at the headline of the British television network BBC surrounding the disaster in Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights, where 12 children were murdered by a rocket fired by Hezbollah. He shared on his Instagram story a post on X by the former speechwriter Aviva Klompas in which she wrote "disgusting" in response to the BBC headline.

The original headline read, "Eleven dead in rocket attack on Israeli-occupied Golan." Sacha Baron Cohen shared the correction of the headline, which read "murdered by Hezbollah" instead of "died." In addition, the words "occupied Golan" were deleted, and "children playing soccer" was written in its place so that Klompas's amended sentence - and Baron-Cohen who shared it - is now "12 murdered by Hezbollah rocket attack on Israeli children playing soccer."

The victims of the Saturday evening attack were between the ages of 10 and 16. Crowds, including elected officials, accompanied the victims of the disaster to rest at their funerals.



Since war outbreak, 860 civilians killed in Israel, including 53 children - National Insurance Institute
The National Insurance Institute (NII) held a situational assessment Sunday morning to prepare to support the bereaved families of the 12 children killed by Hezbollah's attack on Majdal Shams on Saturday, the institute said.

The NII is charged with caring for civilians harmed in terrorist attacks and accompanying them from the moment of the event, it added.

Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, some 860 civilians have been killed, 53 of them children, the NII reported Sunday.

The Welfare and Social Affairs Ministry fortified the social worker department in Majdal Shams to enable it to better care for the families of the children, the ministry said Sunday.

Social workers provide support in Majdal Shams
Following Saturday evening, the ministry has been in touch with welfare officials in Majdal Shams and Ein Qiniyye, they added.

After finding out about the attack, “we have helped them make order in the chaos that was created,” said Shlomo Cohen, the director of the northern region at the Welfare Ministry. “At first, there were a number of missing people. The social workers helped connect the existing information and helped the families locate their loved ones in hospitals. On Saturday, the Education Ministry in the North opened a situation room to assess the events and to accompany the authorities, families, and school personnel.
Months after direct Iranian attack, Bedouin girl victim leaves hospital
Amina Alhasoni, the 7-year-old girl who was critically wounded by Iran’s April 13 missile attack on the Jewish state, has been released from Soroka Medical Center in Beersheva.

Alhasoni sustained a severe head wound when shrapnel from a ballistic missile hit her family’s home in a Bedouin town near the Negev city of Arad, and was hospitalized for more than three months.

The girl was rushed to Soroka with a severe head injury. A multidisciplinary team worked to stabilize her condition, and she subsequently underwent a series of neurosurgeries in collaboration with other hospital departments.

“Amina’s head injury was severe, complex and devastating,” said Dr. Miki Gideon, head of pediatric neurosurgery, who operated on the girl during her protracted hospitalization. “To see Amina today—fully conscious, communicating, smiling and ready for the next step in her rehabilitation—fills our hearts with hope and strengthens our hands.”

Dr. Tzachi Lazar, head of the pediatric intensive care unit at the hospital, said: “When Amina was admitted to the unit that Saturday night, it was hard to believe that the small and fragile girl survived her severe injury.”

The doctor added, “All of us in the pediatric intensive care unit wish her and her family members good health and success in the future.”

As part of the April attack, Iran fired more than 300 missiles and UAVs directly at Israel, the vast majority of which were intercepted by the air defense systems and jets of Israel, the United States and other friendly militaries.

Alhasoni was the only casualty in the April 13 attack on the Jewish state.


IDF soldier killed in Gaza, bringing military death toll to 689
An Israel Defense Forces soldier died over the weekend of wounds sustained battling Hamas terrorists in the southern Gazan city of Rafah on July 20, the military announced on Sunday.

The soldier was identified as Sgt. Yonatan Aharon Greenblatt, 21, of the Givati Brigade’s Shaked Battalion, from Beit Shemesh.

On Friday, the IDF announced the death of Cpl. (res.) Moti Rave, 37, who was killed fighting in Rafah the previous day.

Rave, from the community of Shani, served as an engineering vehicle operator in the Givati Infantry Brigade.

The death toll among Israeli troops since the start of the Gaza ground incursion on Oct. 27 now stands at 329, and at 689 on all fronts since the Hamas-led Oct. 7 massacre, according to official military data.

Additionally, Ch. Insp. Arnon Zamora, a member of the Border Police’s Yamam National Counter-Terrorism Unit, was fatally wounded last month during a mission to rescue four hostages, and civilian defense contractor Liron Yitzhak was mortally wounded in May.


NGO Monitor: Gerald Steinberg: NGO-Monitor: NGOs abuse their Power against Israel
Gerald Steinberg's interview with @mena-watch(Germany) on the moral corruption and hypocrisy of the powerful human rights NGO industry.

Topics include:
1) Europe's massive and accountable funding for tens of political NGO subcontractors under the facade of civil society (Europe-based Israeli, and Palestinian)
2) The network of NGOs linked to terror organizations (ie, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - PFLP) funded by European governments
3) The central role of the NGO industry - ie Human Rights Watch & Amnesty International in weaponizing human rights against Israel and Jews
4) The absence of independent oversight, checks and balances, and due diligence in the funding and operation of the NGO industry.
5) The role of NGO Monitor is providing independent research on the activities of these organizations.


"This is going to be a long war"-- Historian Gadi Taub
Gadi Taub is an Israeli historian, author, and commentator known for his work in political and cultural criticism. He holds a Ph.D. in American Studies from Rutgers University and is a faculty member at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he teaches in the School of Public Policy and the Department of Communications and Journalism.

He has written several books, both fiction and non-fiction, exploring themes of Israeli identity, politics, and culture. Notable titles include "The Settlers and the Struggle over the Meaning of Zionism" and "The Valley of the Cross," a novel.

Taub is a prominent voice in Israeli media, known for his critical views on various aspects of Israeli society and politics. He has written extensively on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the role of religion in Israeli politics, and the country's democratic challenges. Besides his academic work, Taub is a frequent contributor to newspapers, magazines, and television programs in Israel, providing analysis and commentary on current events and political developments.

He is known for his outspoken and sometimes controversial opinions. He has been critical of the Israeli left, the settlement movement, and certain aspects of liberalism, often sparking debate and discussion within Israeli society and beyond.


Israel Needs to Take More Land-- Historian Gadi Taub
Gadi Taub is an Israeli historian, author, and commentator known for his work in political and cultural criticism. He holds a Ph.D. in American Studies from Rutgers University and is a faculty member at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he teaches in the School of Public Policy and the Department of Communications and Journalism.

He has written several books, both fiction and non-fiction, exploring themes of Israeli identity, politics, and culture. Notable titles include "The Settlers and the Struggle over the Meaning of Zionism" and "The Valley of the Cross," a novel.

Taub is a prominent voice in Israeli media, known for his critical views on various aspects of Israeli society and politics. He has written extensively on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the role of religion in Israeli politics, and the country's democratic challenges. Besides his academic work, Taub is a frequent contributor to newspapers, magazines, and television programs in Israel, providing analysis and commentary on current events and political developments.

He is known for his outspoken and sometimes controversial opinions. He has been critical of the Israeli left, the settlement movement, and certain aspects of liberalism, often sparking debate and discussion within Israeli society and beyond.


‘The escalation everyone feared’: Children killed after rocket strike on Israel
Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Alex Ryvchin has condemned Hezbollah after a deadly rocket attack which killed at least 12 children in Israel.

Mr Ryvchin said much of the anger by people in Israel’s north is directed at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government for allowing the “status quo” of rocket attacks to develop.

“This is the escalation everyone feared for so long,” Mr Ryvchin told Sky News Australia.




travelingisrael: Geo History is 55% WRONG about the Arab-Israeli Conflict
Geo History is 45% right about the Arab-Israeli conflict.




Turkey’s Erdogan issues open threat to invade Israel
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatens to invade Israel in support of the Palestinians.

“We must be very strong so that Israel can’t do these things to Palestine,” says Erdogan, one of the most bitter critics of Israel on the international stage, referring to the war against Hamas in Gaza.

“Just as we entered [Nagorno-]Karabakh, just as we entered Libya, we might do the same to them. There is nothing we can’t do. We must only be strong.”

Turkey is a member of NATO, which includes the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, and other close Israeli allies.
Erdoğan demands apology after Abbas skips Turkish parliament event
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Sunday launched a scathing attack on the Palestinian Authority chief for his refusal to speak before the parliament in Ankara.

“Mahmoud Abbas, who didn’t show up despite our invitation to address the parliament, owes us an apology. Let’s see if he’ll agree to come now,” the Turkish leader said during a charitable event.

Erdoğan’s remarks expose the growing rift between Ramallah and Ankara following Turkey’s unified stance with the Hamas terrorist organization, the P.A.’s political rival.

Erdoğan has also repeatedly hosted senior Hamas officials since Oct. 7. Turkey has hosted a Hamas headquarters since 2012.

In the same speech, he condemned the United States for allowing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress.

“We all witnessed the shameful spectacle in the House of Representatives. Frankly, we are embarrassed for humanity in light of what we saw there. They rolled out the red carpet for someone like Netanyahu and applauded him until their hands were sore,” said Erdoğan.

He reiterated his unfounded claim that Israel is “destroying” the Gaza Strip, and that afterwards the Jewish state would “turn its gaze to Turkey.”


Hate crimes against Jews in Canada increase 71% from prior
Canadian police have released information about last year’s hate crimes, revealing a surge against Jews, now accounting for the most frequent of any group.

Statistics Canada released data on July 25 from 2023 showing that antisemitic incidents account for 19% of hate crimes, now higher than those against LGBTQ persons (18%) and black people (16%). This is the first time that Jews have topped the list.

“Jewish Canadians are now the most frequently targeted group for hate crimes—notoriety to which we never aspired but knew was only a matter of time until we regained,” said Shimon Koffler Fogel, president and CEO at the Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs.

Police reported 900 hate crimes against Jews last year, equating to a 71% increase from 2022 and a 172% increase since 2020. Jews also accounted for 70% of religiously motivated hate crimes, with four times as many compared to those targeting Muslims.

Fogel said that “despite constituting less than 1 percent of the Canadian population, Jewish Canadians were the targets of one-fifth of all hate crimes, revealing exactly how problematic Jew hate has become in Canada and exposing the disproportionate impact the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel is having on our community.”
European Union adds antisemitic neo-Nazi group ‘The Base’ to EU Terrorist List
The European Union announced on Friday that it was adding the neo-Nazi group 'The Base' to the EU Terrorist List.

The group, founded in 2018 by Rinaldo Nazzaro, has been responsible for multiple terrorist attacks, the EU stated in a release on the matter.

Nazzaro is an American who is now based in Russia.

Through designating the group, the EU is now able to freeze its funds and other financial assets or economic resources in EU member states. The group is also now unable to acquire funds in those countries.

The group is already designated as a terrorist organization in Canada.

Belief systems of the group
The neo-Nazi group believes themselves to be vigilante soldiers defending the “European race” against a broken “system” that has been infected by Jewish values, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

The Base believes that a race war is coming and reportedly engages in “Hitlerian ideology.”

Violence is both accepted and encouraged in the group to overthrow the current status quo. “Members of The Base consider themselves survivalists focused on self-defense and preparing for imminent chaos,” the ADL noted in 2019.

In 2018, a high-ranking member of the group post on X, then Twitter, that the “Majority of White Americans are mentally )ewish [Jewish] so even if all genetic & spiritual )ews [sic] expelled USA would still have a )ewish [sic] problem—unfixable in time available.”

A number of antisemitic posts have since followed. However, the group has now been suspended from the platform.

Attacks orchestrated by ‘The Base’
Nathan Weeden, a 24-year-old member of the group from Michigan, was found guilty of defacing the Jacob Synagogue with Swastikas and symbols associated with his white supremacist group in June.

Weeden was convicted on one count of conspiring to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any person in the exercise of their rights and one count of intentionally defacing, damaging, or destroying religious property because of the race or ethnic characteristics of individuals associated with that property.

Weeden, along with two fellow The Base members, in September of 2019, sent encrypted messages about targeting the synagogue in an operation dubbed “Operation Kristallnacht” (Night of Broken Glass.) The operation's name is in reference to attacks on Jewish synagogues and businesses in Nazi Germany.
French police arrest teenager for threatening Herzog
French authorities arrested a 15-year-old on suspicion of threatening Israeli President Isaac Herzog online.

The suspect—identified as a resident of the Ivry-sur-Seine on Paris’s southern outskirts who lived with his parents—had anonymously called for a terrorist attack on the Israeli head of state, Le Parisien reported on Sunday.

The teenager was apprehended by police officers on Saturday while on a family vacation in the Alpine region of Isère, the newspaper reported.

In light of his clean criminal record, the suspect will be ordered to undergo a mandatory “citizenship course,” prosecutors said.

This course, which can last up to one month, aims to remind attendees of the “Republican values of tolerance and respect for the dignity of the human being and to make them aware of their criminal and civil liability, together with the duties that stem from life in society.”

Herzog traveled to France on Wednesday alongside Israeli Minister of Culture and Sports Miki Zohar to attend the 2024 Olympic Games.

Herzog was unable to immediately deplane at Paris’s Charles de Gaulle Airport on Wednesday due to an unspecified “security concern,” a spokesperson for the head of state confirmed to JNS last week.

“They were held up for 40 minutes due to a security concern. The president and his delegation have now disembarked and resumed the schedule as planned,” the spokesperson said.

The incident reportedly involved a suspicious individual who was spotted on a nearby rooftop as Herzog’s airplane touched down.
Israeli Judoka to skip his first bout after Algerian rival disqualifies himself
Israeli judoka Tohar Butbul will advance automatically tomorrow to the round of 16 in the men’s under-73kg weight class after his opponent in the initial round, Algeria’s Messaoud Redouane Dris, disqualifies himself from the competition.

Dris, who reportedly was always planning to pull out of the competition rather than face the Israeli, shows up for his weigh-in tonight at 73.4kg, over the limit for the weight class, and is therefore disqualified. Dris can be punished by the International Judo Federation if he intentionally backed out of the match for political reasons.

In a statement, the Olympic Committee of Israel says, “The Israeli delegation will continue to compete with the Olympic values in mind. We believe this kind of behavior has no place in the world of sport.”




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