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Everyday life resumed in Israel on Thursday as the country emerged from its annual 25-hour shutdown for Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement which ended on Wednesday at sundown. The holiest day on the Jewish calendar is marked by fasting and intense prayer by observant Israelis, while many secular Israelis traditionally ride their bikes on empty roads.
As sunset approached on Tuesday, local radio and television broadcasts gradually fell silent, and virtually all businesses closed their doors. Public transport was likewise halted, with buses and trains stopping their routes and the Israeli airspace closed to civilian planes passing through.
Yom Kippur starts in just a few hours and Israeli airspace is now closed to all air traffic.
Israel's skies will reopen tomorrow evening, after the holiday concludes. pic.twitter.com/6qwjtulr1s
— Avi Mayer (@AviMayer) October 4, 2022
Amid the ongoing Palestinian terror threat, the Israel Defense Forces bolstered 26 military battalions in Judea and Samaria, forcing thousands of soldiers to spend the holiday on duty. The IDF also imposed a closure on crossings out of the West Bank and Gaza.
Yom Kippur is also one of the busiest days of the year for Israel’s medical system. Hundreds of extra paramedics, ambulances, and volunteers were deployed nationwide this year. Medics said they treated 2,741 people, including 268 people who suffered from dehydration or fainting brought on by fasting.
According to the Magen David Adom emergency service, 1,920 of those treated were taken to the emergency room for further examination. Meanwhile, 133 expectant mothers were rushed to hospitals, with medics assisting one woman in Jerusalem to deliver her baby.
Furthermore, 285 bicycle, scooter and skateboard riders needed treatment for road injuries, including six who were moderately injured. Three people sustained severe wounds on the roads.
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Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid has rejected Lebanon’s additional comments to the proposed maritime agreement, senior political officers told local media following Thursday’s security cabinet meeting. Lapid clarified that Israel would not “compromise its security or economic interests” in any way, even if that would mean an end to the negotiations.
Jerusalem and Beirut have been engaged for over a year in indirect, US-brokered diplomacy 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.
Hezbollah, a Lebanon-based Shiite terror group backed by Iran, has vociferously opposed any concessions in the talks with Israel. Its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, consistently threatens to target Israeli offshore installations.
US Energy Envoy Amos Hochstein’s draft, presented to Israel and Lebanon last week, was meant to be close to a final accord. However, on Tuesday, Lebanon submitted further demands. Lapid deemed some of the comments “new and significant” and instructed the Israeli negotiating team to reject them.
“Israel will extract gas from the Karish rig at the moment that it will be possible,” the Prime Minister’s Office added.
Speaking on Thursday at a Yom Kippur War memorial ceremony for fallen soldiers, Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz said that “An agreement on the maritime border will harm Iran’s interests — we are prepared to protect our infrastructure and our sovereignty. If Hezbollah seeks to damage them — there will be a heavy military price for the Lebanese state.”
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During a counterterrorism raid conducted over Yom Kippur, Israeli security forces arrested the Palestinian terrorist suspected of carrying out a recent shooting on a school bus and a cab for special needs children in the West Bank.
Salman Imran, 35, a resident of Deir al-Hatab near Nablus, was identified as an ex-prisoner connected to a Hamas cell planning attacks on Israelis.
Israeli troops were reportedly met with gunfire from multiple directions as they entered the village on Wednesday. In a voice note circulating on social media, Salman Imran said he was engaged in a gunfight with Israeli soldiers and called on other Palestinians to assist him.
Soldiers responded with gunfire, injuring several armed terrorists and killing one. After the exchange of fire, Imran turned himself in. He was detained by the army and transferred to the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) for interrogation.
The suspect’s October 2 attack, which lightly injured an Israeli man, sparked further Palestinian violence in the Nablus region. In the hours following the incident, other Palestinians fired volleys of shots at an Israeli anti-terrorism rally on the city’s outskirts, lightly injuring an IDF soldier in the leg.
The shootings, claimed by the Lion’s Den terror collective, were the latest in a series of violent confrontations between the IDF and Palestinians as Israel continues to clamp down on terrorism and Palestinian violence as part of Operation Break the Wave.
New year miracle: In terror attack on a bus (and car) near Nablus, head-level shots fired miss the children the bus was driving to school. https://t.co/15pj56tpXD
— מיכל קוטלר-וונש | Michal Cotler-Wunsh (@CotlerWunsh) October 2, 2022
Shortly before Yom Kippur commenced, security forces thwarted another attack on Israeli personnel near Ofra in the Samaria region. Police officers opened fire on a Palestinian driver who attempted to ram them. The suspect was later apprehended at a nearby checkpoint. A policeman sustained minor leg wounds, likely due to friendly fire, and was airlifted to a hospital for additional treatment.
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Ukraine’s Ambassador to Israel, Yevgen Korniychuk, told local media that the growing ties between Russia and Iran would bring Jerusalem and Kyiv closer. “It’s a very significant factor that pushes Israel to help Ukraine in a more visible and effective way,” Korniychuk said in an interview with Israel Hayom.
Since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion on February 24, Israel has provided considerable humanitarian aid to Ukraine, even becoming the first country to open a field hospital within the war-stricken country’s territory. Yet, at the same time, Israel turned down Ukraine’s request for military aid out of fear it would limit the IDF’s freedom of action in Syria, where Russia controls the skies.
In a recent interview, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was “shocked” by the lack of military assistance from Israel, claiming the Jewish state “has not provided us with anything. Nothing. Zero.”
For his part, Korniychuk said that “The difference between Israel’s position and all western democratic countries is that Israel is the only one that does not openly provide military aid to Ukraine.” He elaborated: “I don’t want to say things that are not usually talked about, although the president’s words mean a lot. But publicly, Israel does not do this.” [Emphasis added]
“Russia’s rapprochement with Iran is a very significant factor that can change the current situation,” the diplomat concluded.
As Russia’s assault on Ukraine enters its seventh month, the government in Jerusalem this week approved a NIS 90 million (nearly $25 million) budget for helping Russian Jews who want to immigrate to Israel. “We expect tens of thousands of Olim [immigrants] in the coming months. We are preparing for this and welcome this,” Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman commented.
Nevertheless, there remain significant barriers to getting prospective Olim to Israel, in part because of the dramatic rise in the cost of airfares out of Russia and the lack of flights between Moscow and Tel Aviv.
Recommended Reading
- How Jews Around the World Break the Yom Kippur Fast (Gabe Friedman, Ynetnews)
- The Trauma of Israel’s Yom Kippur War Was Fully Justified (Abraham Rabinovich, Jerusalem Post)
- Israel Hayom Poll Predicts Election Tie in Nov. 1 Vote (Mati Tuchfeld, Israel Hayom)
- Palestinians Concerned by Possible Relocation of UK Embassy in Israel (i24NEWS)
- Meet the Rabbi Who Made It Possible to Live a Jewish Life in the UAE (Yoni Michanie, Jewish News Syndicate)
Featured Image: Menahem Kahana/AFP via Getty Images
