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Three Israelis were killed and three others were wounded following a Palestinian terror attack in the West Bank earlier today.
The attack began when a Palestinian terrorist, identified as 18-year-old Muhammed Souf, stabbed a security guard and a second individual at the entrance to the industrial park outside the city of Ariel. The attacker then ran to a nearby gas station, where he stabbed three more people.
The terror spree continued when the attacker fled in a stolen vehicle and crashed into several cars traveling on Route 5, a major highway in the region. The terrorist then stabbed one more person before hijacking another vehicle and crashing into more cars.
The terrorist was finally neutralized by an Israeli soldier who had arrived on the scene.
Three Israelis, two of whom had been stabbed at the gas station and one whose car had been rammed on the highway, were declared dead by Israeli medical personnel.
Israeli security personnel are currently searching for a suspect who is thought to have aided the terrorist.
This latest attack is part of a rising wave of violence and terror that has consumed Israel over the past year. Since March 2022, 24 Israelis have been killed in attacks in addition to those murdered today.
In response, Israeli security forces have been conducting Operation Breaking the Wave, a collaborative effort focused on disrupting Palestinian terror organizations based in the West Bank.
Just heartbreaking 💔
This is Tamir Avihai (50), a father of six, murdered in today’s stabbing attack by a Palestinian terrorist in Ariel. That’s 6 children without their father now. His only ‘crime’? He was Jewish!
May Tamir’s memory always be blessed! pic.twitter.com/oWCwHnxzEs
— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) November 15, 2022
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According to recent Israeli media reports, the US Department of Justice has informed the Israeli Ministry of Justice that it will conduct its own investigation into the death of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.
Abu Akleh, a veteran reporter for Al Jazeera, was killed in May 2022 while covering an Israeli counter-terror operation at the Jenin refugee camp. Initially, Israel claimed that she could have been killed by an errant Palestinian bullet during the ensuing firefight but, following an official investigation, later concluded that there was a high likelihood that she was killed erroneously by an Israeli soldier.
In the months following Abu Akleh’s death, a wide variety of international media organizations conducted questionable investigations into the incident, with some even falsely claiming that she was deliberately targeted by Israeli forces.
Following the media reports, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz released a statement that Israel had already conducted an investigation into the matter and, thus, the Jewish state “will not cooperate with an external investigation.”
Echoing Gantz, Israeli Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman stated that this new investigation is “an odd decision” and that Israel will not “allow anyone else to investigate IDF soldiers.”
Liberman further added that “The US was part of the investigation all along, if anyone didn’t cooperate it was the Palestinians.”
🔴 #BREAKING: The United States has informed Israel that it has decided to open an investigation into the killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) November 14, 2022
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The opening session of the 25th Knesset is set to begin on Tuesday, two weeks after former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc won a decisive victory in Israel’s national elections.
While Netanyahu will be appointed prime minister in the coming days, he has yet to officially form his new cabinet as there are some internal divisions between him and other coalition leaders over who will become the next Defense Minister.
Due to this delay, the vote for the Speaker of the Knesset, which is usually conducted at the opening session, will be postponed until a later date.
This incoming Knesset is slated to include 29 female lawmakers (7 less than the last Knesset) and 28 rookie parliamentarians.
In related news, Netanyahu continued to receive congratulatory messages on his electoral victory from world leaders, the latest being from King Abdullah II of Jordan and General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan of Sudan.
Since 1994, Israel and Jordan have been parties to a peace agreement that saw the Hashemite Kingdom officially recognize the Jewish state. However, over the years, the relationship between the two nations has been fraught with tension as contentious issues (such as the Temple Mount and the status of the West Bank) threaten to harm this fragile bilateral relationship.
While Israel and Sudan have no official relationship, there have been efforts to normalize relations between the two countries. However, these efforts have largely been frozen due to political turmoil inside Sudan stemming from last year’s military coup.
14 years ago we watched in horror as his parents were murdered at the Mumbai Chabad House. His heart wrenching cries for his mother were broadcast around the world. Today, Moishy Holtzberg opened the new Knesset session with reciting a chapter of Tehillim in their memory. pic.twitter.com/UbrFk2set6
— Eliezer Zalmanov (@ezalmanov) November 15, 2022
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The Israeli Navy recently concluded a 10-day naval exercise in Greek waters with the Hellenic Navy as well as other international naval forces.
The Israeli Navy sent the Flotilla 3 missile ship formation, which included two Sa’ar 4.5-class missile boats, to the exercise.
As part of the drill, the Israeli ships practiced with live fire from 76-mm cannons, partnered with Greek ships for a lengthy exercise and also enhanced communication with the other representative navies.
This is the first time that Israel has taken part in the Greek-led exercise since 2019.
In related news, IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi recently awarded the Israeli Navy with a citation for “ground-breaking cooperation in operational events that contributed to the security of the state.”
This citation comes four months after the Israeli Navy helped down three Hezbollah drones that had been launched towards the Karish gas field in the Mediterranean Sea off of Israel’s northern coast.
At the time, the Karish gas field was the focus of a heated dispute between Israel and Lebanon over who had the economic rights to the waters that the gas field was located in.
Last month, Israel and Lebanon signed a US-brokered maritime agreement that gave the Jewish state exclusive rights to the Karish gas field.
Israel’s IDF says “As part of the exercise, the naval forces practiced various defense scenarios, including defense against surface threats and anti-submarine training.” pic.twitter.com/V77gStmJqv
— Seth Frantzman (@sfrantzman) November 11, 2022
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Featured Image: North American Arms Dealer via Commons Wikimedia
