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After years of banning journalists from reporting that Israel uses armed drones to strike targets, the IDF Military Censor announced on Wednesday that “It was found that there was no impediment in publishing the use of strike UAVs as part of its [the IDF’s] operational activities.”
Over the past decade, Israel’s use of drones has drastically increased, with almost every military operation involving these devices. During Israel’s conflict with Gaza-based terrorist groups led by Hamas last May, drones played a significant part in Operation Guardian of the Walls, with most of them taking off from Palmahim Air Force Base. According to data released by the IDF, 643 missions were carried out by drones for a total of 132.6 flight hours during the 11 days of war with terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip.
There are hundreds of drones in Israeli Air Force hangars across the country, from commercial DJI drones to the Skylarks reconnaissance drones (which are notorious for crashing in Gaza or in the north) to the attack drones, such as the Zik (Hermes 450), the Shoval (Heron 900) and the Eitan (Heron TP).
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On the second day of his historic visit to Morocco, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi on Wednesday toured the “Ben Grier” airbase of the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces and neighborhoods where the country’s Jewish community developed.
It is the first-ever public visit by Israel’s top soldier in uniform to the Arab state. Kochavi’s three-day visit is being hosted by Moroccan Defense Minister Abdellatif Loudiyi and army commander Lt. Gen. Belkbhir El-Farouk. Kochavi is accompanied by the head of the IDF Intelligence Research Division Brig. Gen. Amit Sa’ar.
Local media reported that Kochavi’s talks with Moroccan officials would also take up Iran’s influence in the region.
Last month, Israeli military officials participated as observers in a major military drill in Morocco, which saw the participation of troops from the US, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Chad, Brazil, the United Kingdom, and others.
Morocco was the fourth Arab country to normalize relations with Israel in 2020 within the framework of the Abraham Accords, after the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Sudan. The move was decried by Palestinian leaders as a “stab in the back.”
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Israel’s exports are on track to hit a record $165 billion in 2022, up 15 percent from 2021, the Economy Ministry said on Wednesday.
Economy Minister Orna Barbivai attributed the rise from $143 billion last year – which was up 25 percent from 2020 – to the opening of more global markets, as well as the easing of regulations for businesses and bringing foreign retailers to Israel.
The ministry noted that much of the rise this year will come from services, such as transportation, tourism, and research and development from sales of start-up companies. An increase in the export of goods, it added, will occur as a result of growth in the fields of medical and optical equipment, chemicals, and diamonds.
Europe remains Israel’s largest trading partner with $37 billion of bilateral trade over the first half 2022, excluding diamonds, followed by Asia with $21 billion, data from the country’s Central Bureau of Statistics showed.
The United States continues to be Israel’s largest partner by country at more than $10 billion over the first half of the year, followed by China at nearly $9 billion.
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Archaeologists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have unearthed artifacts near the capital’s Western Wall that include a Jewish ritual bath dating back to the late Second Temple period, thought to have been used by the city’s elite.
Zeev Elkin, Israel’s Minister of Construction and Housing and of Jerusalem Affairs, said the rare finds “provide proof of a continuous Jewish presence in Jerusalem for millennia.”
The discoveries, dating from the Second Temple, Roman-Byzantine, and Ottoman eras, also include a network of plastered pools and channels. They were revealed during a project to install an elevator and improve access for disabled people between Jerusalem’s Old City and the Western Wall.
The 2000-year-old mikveh, or Jewish ritual bath, was likely used by wealthy residents until the eve of the Second Temple’s destruction in 70 CE. Archaeologists said the structure is part of a private villa hewn into the bedrock and displaying a vaulted ceiling with masonry typical of the Herodian period.
The ritual bath will be preserved and incorporated into the new Western Wall elevator complex, Israeli officials said.
Recommended Reading
- Ben Shapiro: US Should Learn From Israel’s Common Sense of Destiny (Lahav Harkov, Jerusalem Post)
- How Russia’s War Is Undoing 30 Years of Jewish Community Building in Ukraine (Cnaan Liphshiz, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
- 13 Ways Smartphones Are Revolutionizing Healthcare (Abigail Klein Leichman, Israel21C)
- Closed IDF Base Guards World’s Largest Torah Collection (Hanan Greenwood, Jewish News Syndicate)
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