In a rare display of overt military prowess, an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) submarine last week reportedly crossed the Suez Canal. According to Arab intelligence officials, the naval vessel visibly traversed the waterway in the direction of the Persian Gulf, in what is being construed as a direct message to the Iranian regime. Notably, Egyptian authorities green-lighted the maneuver.
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Tensions between the Jewish state and Islamic Republic, while generally high, have risen significantly since the November 27 assassination of chief Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. The targeted killing was largely attributed to Israel’s Mossad spy agency, prompting Tehran to threaten to retaliate.
IDF chief Aviv Kochavi on Monday vowed that Jerusalem would respond “whether near or far” to any attack, emphasizing that, “if Iran and its partners, members of the radical axis, either directly or by proxy, take action against the State of Israel, they will find themselves in a very costly endeavor.”
All of this, meanwhile, comes against the backdrop of the upcoming one-year anniversary (January 3) of the assassination in a US drone strike of former Iranian Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani.
Barring a post-Hanukkah miracle, Israel will for the fourth time in less than two years hold a national election – likely on March 23 – after parliament overnight Monday-Tuesday rejected a bill that would have extended a deadline for the government to pass a state budget for 2020.
The development was predicted by most political analysts given ongoing disagreements between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main coalition partner, Defense Minister Benny Gantz. Unless a highly improbable last-minute deal is reached between the two politicians, the legislature, in accordance with Israeli law, will automatically disband at midnight Israel Standard Time.
Under the power-sharing deal between Netanyahu’s Likud Party and Gantz’s Blue and White, the failure to pass a budget is the only loophole that would enable the former to avoid transferring power to the latter in November 2021.
Preliminary polls show Blue and White, which won 33 seats in the March 2020 elections before fracturing when Gantz agreed to sit in a government with Netanyahu, hovering at about 5-6 seats – barely above the electoral threshold to enter parliament. Likud is at some 28-30 seats, down from the 36 it won in the last election but still leading the pack.
Likud appears to have lost support to a new party, New Hope, recently set up by breakaway former minister and Netanyahu rival Gidon Sa’ar, which is polling at 19-20 seats. Naftali Bennett’s Yamina party is also forecasted to receive around 20 mandates in the 120-member Knesset.
Sa’ar’s emergence, coupled with Bennett’s growing popularity, is liable to complicate Netanyahu’s path to retaining power even though surveys show a rise in overall public backing for right-leaning parties.
Senior White House adviser Jared Kushner joined an Israeli delegation on the first direct flight from Tel Aviv to Morocco to solidify the US-brokered agreement establishing ties between the two Mideast countries.
“The results are really what matters and I believe together we’ve achieved some historic results,” said Kushner, adding : “As this new Middle East moves forward, I hope that all countries will focus on pursuing common interests for the benefits of their citizens, instead of being held back by stale thinking and old conflicts.”
The senior White House adviser also called for an end to the singling out of Israel: “Scapegoating, antisemitism, and isolating Israel have led to destructive behavior that has held the world back for far too long. I urge the world as it goes forward to take the time to understand Israel’s perspective and to ask yourself if you would make the compromises Israel has been asked to make if you were in the prime minister’s shoes.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Kushner for showing “how wrong these naysayers were,” and said Israel is “deeply indebted” to the Trump Administration.
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— Avi Berkowitz (@aviberkow45) December 22, 2020
While in Rabat, the US and Israeli delegations are expected to sign the first documents that are part of the Israel-Morocco normalization deal, which both countries announced earlier this month. National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat will head Israel’s delegation. Ben-Shabbat and Kushner will see Morocco’s King Mohammed VI during the two-day trip.
Since August, the US has brokered agreements to establish diplomatic ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco.
Police in Jerusalem foiled a terrorist attack on Monday night at an entrance to the Temple Mount, near Lions’ Gate, in the Old City. A gunman had opened fire on a group of police officers at a security post. The officers then chased the attacker down and shot him dead. One officer was injured during the pursuit.
The incident follows the grizzly discovery by Israel Police early Monday morning of a 52-year-old woman, whose body was found near Tel Menashe in Samaria. Esther Hurgan, a mother of six, left her town to go for a jog in the nearby Reihan forest on Sunday but never came home. After Hurgan’s family reported her missing, search teams were dispatched.
Israel’s police service and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) are attempting to determine whether Hurgan’s murder was a terrorist attack.
In Jerusalem, Life Goes On During Pandemic (VIDEO) Produced By HonestReporting Intern Galia Palmer
- Iran’s Investment in Missile Technology Shows Its Real Plan All Along (Seth J. Frantzman, Jerusalem Post)
- WATCH: Belgian Jewish Students Take Action After Antisemitic Message in Train (Sarah Chemla, Jerusalem Post)
- The Olympics Must Ban Iran (Hossein Khosrov Ali Vaziri, Benjamin Weinthal, Alireza Nader, Foundation For Defense of Democracies)
- Why Did Israeli Firms Win Record Investments in a COVID Year? (Abigail Klein Leichman, Israel21C)
- Outdoor Photo Exhibit Offers ‘Local Testimony’ of 2020 Events (Jessica Steinberg, Times of Israel)
