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Israel’s security forces have gone on high alert amid fears that the Hezbollah terror group may attempt to carry out an attack in order to sabotage talks between the Jewish state and Lebanon on a maritime border dispute as the sides are said to be nearing an agreement.
Hezbollah, a Lebanon-based Shiite terror group backed by Iran, has vociferously opposed any concessions in the talks with Israel. Its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, has consistently threatened to target Israeli offshore installations.
In July, the IDF said it downed three Hezbollah drones launched at a gas rig in one of the disputed fields.
Israel and Lebanon have been engaged for over a year in US-brokered talks aimed at resolving a dispute over rights to offshore fields thought to contain a wealth of natural gas.
Both countries claim some 860 square kilometers (330 square miles) of the Mediterranean Sea. Lebanon also claims that the Karish gas field is in disputed territory under ongoing maritime border negotiations, while Israel says it lies within its internationally recognized economic waters.
Lebanon and Israel last fought a war in 2006, have no diplomatic relations and are separated by a UN-patrolled ceasefire line.
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Shin Bet security services head Ronen Bar visited Egypt on Sunday and met with the head of Egyptian intelligence Abbas Camel as tensions rise between Jerusalem and Cairo following an IDF arrest in Nablus in which three Palestinians, including the suspect, were killed.
The incident led to a breakdown of relations, and Camel, who was supposed to visit Israel, canceled his trip. Bar’s trip is meant to soothe tensions between Cairo and Jerusalem.
Bar and Camel were expected to discuss the situation in Gaza, with Egypt set to demand that Israel release Palestinian Islamic Jihad-affiliated arrestees.
During the recent Operation Breaking Dawn the IDF targeted and destroyed Palestinian Islamic Jihad strategic targets. In response, the Gaza-based terrorist organization fired over 1100 rockets toward Israel. The operation lasted for three days, at the end of which a ceasefire was agreed upon with the mediation of Egypt.
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The High Court of Justice rejected an appeal on Sunday to release a Palestinian from administrative detention who has been on a hunger strike for nearly six months.
Khalil Awawdeh has not been charged with a crime. However, the Jewish state says that he is a member of a terrorist organization, an allegation he had denied.
High Court judges wrote that the court has no place to intervene in the decision to keep him under arrest, noting there is “solid” justification to keep him under administrative detention.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist group demanded Awawdeh’s release – along with the release of Bassem al-Saadi – as part of the recent ceasefire agreement with Israel. However, the country’s Public Security Minister asserted that Israel did not agree to release the prisoners.
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Cyprus has reportedly struck a deal with Israel to acquire defense technology that is capable of shooting down Turkish drones.
The Cypriot Defense Ministry has reportedly started to “implement the government’s decision to purchase” the Iron Dome missile defense system, with agreements already being signed with Israel.
The media did not specify how many batteries of the system would be bought, or when they would arrive in Cyprus.
Jerusalem and Nicosia have been reportedly holding talks about the deal since early 2021.
The air defense system is designed to intercept and destroy missiles and rockets heading for populated areas. It showed a 97 percent success rate during Operation Breaking Dawn against Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket attacks, triggering additional interest among foreign buyers
Recommended Reading
- How Europe Bankrolls Palestinian Antisemitism (Ben-Dror Yemini, YNet)
- Iran Is Already Nuclearized, so Why Do We Need a Deal? (Eyal Zisser, Algemeiner)
- Theodor Herzl and the Jews’ Leap of Hope (Gil Troy, Jewish News Syndicate)
- Israeli Gymnast Artem Dolgopyat Wins Gold in European Championships (Jerusalem Post)
- Eye-Tracker in the Car Keeps Drivers Awake and Alert (Ariel Grossman, NoCamels)
Featured Image: Leviathan Gas Field: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/POOL/AFP via Getty Images;Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah:Mbazri via
