| 1 |
The head of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) reiterated on Saturday that Israelis could expect no safe haven in the Jewish state.
“The Zionists have no safe haven in occupied Palestine and all parts of the land are within the reach of Palestinian resistance movements’ firepower,” Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami was quoted as saying by Iran’s official Fars agency.
Salami has a long record of anti-Israeli and antisemitic statements.
Following Operation Breaking Dawn between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group in the Gaza Strip earlier this month, Salami stressed that the Palestinian response showed “a new chapter” had begun and that Israel “will pay another heavy price for the recent crime.”
Meanwhile, Washington has assured Israel that it won’t make any concessions to Iran’s nuclear ambitions and a new deal on Tehran’s uranium enrichment program won’t be announced in the immediate term, local media reported on Saturday.
Israel regards Iran’s nuclear program as an existential threat and views the 2015 deal as too lenient toward the Islamic Republic.
| 2 |
Nine European nations condemned the IDF raid on the offices of seven Palestinian nongovernmental organizations it designated as terror groups.
“These actions are not acceptable,” the nine countries said in a joint statement. It was issued by the foreign ministries of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden.
These European nations have been at odds with Israel over its designation in October of six NGOs as terror organizations, explaining that Israel has not shown them compelling evidence to back up that claim.
The United Nations similarly condemned the move and said it had similarly not received any information from Israel that proved that these organizations were engaged in terror activity.
The six groups in question are Al-Haq, Addameer, the Bisan Center, Defense for Children International-Palestine, the Union of Agricultural Work Committees and the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees.
| 3 |
Hezbollah terror chief Hassan Nasrallah warned of an “escalation” with Israel if Lebanese demands are not met in maritime border talks.
In a televised speech on Friday, Nasrallah denied any link between the Iran-backed terror organization’s actions in the maritime dispute — which the United States has been mediating — and the ongoing negotiations to restore the Iranian nuclear accord.
“If the Lebanese state is not given what it wants, we will be heading to an escalation, even if the nuclear agreement gets signed,” the Hezbollah leader said, according to Lebanese news site Naharnet.
Nasrallah has recently issued a number of threats toward Israel, amid intensified US efforts to resolve the more than a decade-old maritime border dispute between Jerusalem and Beirut.
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.
| 4 |
Israel Defense Forces soldiers on Saturday arrested three Palestinian women carrying a firearm and notes stating they wished to die in the perpetration of a terrorist attack against Israelis.
The three would-be terrorists were detained near a checkpoint near the Israeli community of Alfei Menashe in the West Bank.
The would-be attackers were armed with an improvised submachine gun known colloquially as “Carlo.”
They were spotted driving toward the checkpoint — where they apparently intended to gun down Israeli soldiers — and were detained before they could reach their destination.
Relatedly, suspected Palestinian terrorists fired on a crowded Israeli bus in Judea and Samaria on Saturday night. The bus was traveling along the north-south highway of Route 60 when it was fired upon from the Palestinian village of Silwad, which is located near the Jewish community of Ofra, the IDF said in a statement.
No casualties were reported and a manhunt was launched to apprehend the perpetrators, the military added.
Recommended Reading
- IRGC Head Reveals Multi-Point Strategy Against Israel – Analysis (Seth J. Frantzman, Jerusalem Post)
- As IDF Fought Terrorism in Gaza, We Waged Battle on Disinformation’ (Tamir Morag, Israel Hayom)
- Israeli Researchers Develop Program to Find Cancer-Related Genes Using Artificial Intelligence (Jewish News Syndicate)
- Israeli App Helps Deaf Community Engage and Cope in War and Peace (Yonat Frilling, Fox News)
- CNN Is Airing a Special on Antisemitism. Here’s Your Guide to What It Will Cover. (Philissa Cramer, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Featured Image: Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images
