| 1 |
The targeted killing of a senior commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps, Col. Hassan Sayyad Khodaei, will “inevitably” be avenged, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said Monday, the first time he has addressed Khodaei’s killing.
“Those who have lost the battle for the Temple Mount are showing their desperation by carrying out the assassination,” Raisi said, implying that Israel was behind the action.
On Sunday, Iranian officials quoted Sunday by Al Jazeera said the killing had crossed a “red line.”
Khodaei was killed outside his Tehran home on Sunday by gunmen on a motorbike, Iranian state TV reported. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.
He was believed to have been involved in Iranian plots to kidnap Israeli officials that were recently unearthed by Israeli security services. He also served as the right-hand man of Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, the former Quds Force chief whom the Trump administration killed in a missile strike in 2020.
The killing of Colonel Khodai is the most high-profile murder inside Iran since the November 2020 killing of top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. Iran had accused Israel of masterminding the attack on Fakhrizadeh’s convoy near Tehran.
According to the Iranian source quoted by Al-Jazeera, Khodaei’s killing will “change several equations,” and “those responsible will pay dearly.”
| 2 |
The Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court on Sunday ruled that Jews are now allowed to recite the “Shema” prayer and bow down on the Temple Mount. The decision was taken following an appeal by the legal defense group Honenu against the arrest of three young Jews, detained after praying at the site. They received a 15-day restraining order.
The status quo at Temple Mount, which is administered by the Jordanian Waqf, allows Muslims to visit and pray there almost every day, while Jews are not allowed to pray there and can only visit the site on certain days at fixed times.
Judge Zion Saharay said that the recitation of the Jewish prayer “Shema Israel” presents no “reason that could lead to breach of peace,” saying that the three young Jews should not be banned from the site.
Earlier, the Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement clarifying that no changes were planned in the status quo on the Temple Mount, which houses the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The State Attorney’s Office said it would appeal Saharay’s ruling.
During last month’s convergence of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the Jewish holiday of Passover, the site saw nearly daily clashes between Israeli security forces and Palestinian rioters.
| 3 |
The current tensions in the Jenin area could lead to further escalation between Palestinians and Israel, Shami al-Shami, a senior official with the ruling Fatah faction, warned on Sunday.
Shami said he and other Palestinians did not rule out the possibility that the IDF would launch another major operation in the Jenin refugee camp, similar to the one that took place during Operation Defensive Shield in 2002. Such an operation, he cautioned, would lead to more death and destruction.
Asked whether the armed wing of Fatah, al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, was involved in the fighting against the IDF, he said, “The position of Fatah is that it’s a duty to resist the occupation. Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades are part of the struggle; they have lost some of their members, while others have been imprisoned [by Israel].”
Shami rejected the widespread belief that the Jenin area has once again become a hotbed for terrorism.
| 4 |
Tens of thousands marched in New York City’s Celebrate Israel parade on Sunday, in a significant and long-delayed affirmation for the area’s Jewish communities and Israel supporters.
The parade, which is billed as the largest expression of solidarity with Israel outside of its borders, is normally held annually but had not taken place in three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is meant to be both a public show of support for Israel, including at a political level, and a chance for New York Jews to get together.
The march came during a fraught period. Since the last parade in 2019, antisemitism has surged in New York, with sizable anti-Israel marches having taken place in the city. Yet the parade passed without incident, and a protest against the event was sparsely attended.
In light of the return of the event, the theme of this year’s parade was “Together again.” Organizers estimated that 40,000 people from over 250 groups would attend the march.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul attended, as did New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
An Israeli delegation was led by Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Immigration and Absorption Minister Pnina Tamano-Shata and Diaspora Minister Nachman Shai. In addition, a group from Israel’s United Nations delegation was headed by envoy Gilad Erdan. Ambassadors and diplomats from Australia, Bhutan, Nauru, Bulgaria, Guatemala, the Czech Republic, Latvia and Brazil also joined the parade.
Recommended Reading
- ‘Ideology of Rage’ Comes to Congress (Ben Cohen, Israel Hayom)
- Proud to Fly the Israeli Flag in the Heart of Manhattan (Pnina Tamano-Shata, Times of Israel)
- Israel, Syria, Russia and the Shifting Middle East Sands (Eyal Zisser, Jewish News Syndicate)
- Israeli Orchestra Appears in Egypt for First Time in 40 Years (Lahav Harkov, Jerusalem Post)
- Netflix Releases Israeli Period Drama ‘Beauty Queen of Jerusalem’ (Caleb Guedes-Reed and Gabe Friedman, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
