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Israel’s military revealed on Tuesday that Gaza’s Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) was involved in a failed attempt to launch a drone toward the Tamar gas rig during this past weekend’s Operation Breaking Dawn.
The terrorist group’s unsuccessful launch of an unmanned aircraft from Gaza prompted the Israel Defense Forces to step up its efforts to protect the platform, located 14 miles off the coast of Ashkelon in southern Israel.
According to IDF estimates, the PIJ launched around 1,175 rockets from the Palestinian coastal enclave at Israel during the three days of conflict that ended late Sunday night with an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire.
About 200 failed launches landed in the Gaza Strip. Two of the failed launches resulted in the deaths of about 11 people, including seven children.
Following the military conflict, criticism against Palestinian Islamic Jihad appeared in both the press and social media of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Critics claimed, among other things, that PIJ is an Iranian proxy organization acting on behalf of the Islamic Republic, thus inflicting suffering on Gaza Strip residents. Further, they argued that the conflict erupted due to Tehran’s desire to expedite nuclear talks in Vienna. One writer criticized the launch of Iranian rockets from within civilian population centers inside Gaza.
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President Isaac Herzog called Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Tuesday as part of Israel’s ongoing efforts to prevent Moscow from closing down the operations of the Jewish Agency in Russia, his office said.
“The presidents discussed Israeli-Russian bilateral relations, including the challenges of the Jewish people in the Diaspora. In this context, President Herzog elaborated on the issue of the activities of the Jewish Agency in Russia,” Herzog’s office said.
Last month, Russian authorities petitioned a Moscow district court to halt the activities of the Jewish Agency in Russia, claiming the organization, which facilitates and encourages Jewish immigration to Israel, had violated local laws by illegally collecting information on Russian citizens.
The next hearing in the case is set to take place on August 19.
Prime Minister Yair Lapid has warned that Moscow shuttering the Jewish Agency would be “a grave event, which will have consequences” for Russian-Israeli ties.
Many see the tensions as a result of Israel’s increased support for Ukraine in its conflict with Russia.
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Gaza’s Hamas rulers issued sweeping new restrictions on journalists operating in the Palestinian enclave following the recent conflict there, but then rescinded them, a group representing foreign media in Israel and the Palestinian territories said on Tuesday.
Palestinians who work with foreign journalists were first informed of the new rules earlier this week in messages sent by the Hamas-run Gaza interior ministry. They were ordered not to report on Gazans killed by misfired Palestinian rockets or the military capabilities of Palestinian terror groups, and were told to blame Israel for the recent escalation.
The Foreign Press Association, which represents international media, including The Associated Press, said the guidelines were rescinded after discussions with authorities in Gaza.
The rules would have gone much further than existing Hamas restrictions. They appeared aimed at imposing the Islamic group’s narrative on media coverage of the conflict by implicitly threatening Palestinian reporters and translators who live under its heavy-handed rule.
Ibrahim al-Nabulsi, who was wanted by the IDF for several years, was killed in an operation in Nablus on Tuesday. Along with Nabulsi, two others were killed.
Special forces from the elite Yamam counterterrorism unit of the Israel Police and the IDF’s undercover Duvdevan Unit entered Nablus early Tuesday and surrounded Nabulsi’s home.
Nabulsi refused to surrender and the security forces proceeded to use the “pressure cooker” method to reach him, which involved firing an anti-tank missile at the building in which he was holed up.
Nabulsi had been wanted by Israel for years and was said to have been responsible for a number of terrorist attacks in the West Bank, including shooting attacks against military positions in the area and at Joseph’s Tomb, which is located on the outskirts of Nablus.
Police said a large number of explosives and additional weapons were found where Nabulsi was staying.
After Nablusi’s death, the Fatah-affiliated Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades warned that the response would be “blood for blood” and that the deaths would lead to “operations that will shake” the Jewish state.
Recommended Reading
- Palestinian Islamic Jihad Is Part of a Global War Against Free Nations (Bassem Eid, Algemeiner/Jewish News Syndicate)
- New Iran Satellite Presents Significant Challenge to Israel, US and Allies – Experts (Times of Israel)
- Why Jews Don’t Control America’s Foreign Policy (Jonathan S. Tobin, Jewish News Syndicate)
- What Do Israelis Care About Most Ahead of November Elections? (Tal Spungin, Jerusalem Post)
- An Orchestra for Musicians With and Without Disabilities (Abigail Klein Leichman, Israel21C)
- Boston’s Jews Are Getting a ‘Jewish Tavern’ to Study Religious Text — And Drink Beer (Jackie Hajdenberg, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Featured Image: Majdi Fathi/TPS
