| 1 |
The United States is mediating negotiations among Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt that could help pave the way for the normalization of ties between Jerusalem and Riyadh.
The agreement involves finalizing the transfer of two strategic islands, Tiran and Sanafir, in the Red Sea from Egyptian to Saudi sovereignty, according to a report in Axios.
In 2017, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi ratified a treaty to give the islands, which are located within the Straits of Tiran and provide access to the ports of Aqaba in Jordan and Eilat in Israel, to Saudi Arabia, although the deal was never completed despite surviving a number of legal challenges in Egypt.
Saudi Arabia originally gave Cairo control of the islands in 1950, after which both were demilitarized as part of the 1979 Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty.
If the negotiations are successful, it could strengthen and possibly lead to the eventual expansion and scope of the Abraham Accords, which were brokered by the Trump administration.
| 2 |
The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) busted a Hamas terror cell that was reportedly planning a series of attacks in Jerusalem, including the assassination of Israeli parliamentarian Itamar Ben Gvir of the Religious Zionist Party.
Five suspects were taken into custody by security forces in early April and were indicted in a Jerusalem court on Tuesday, May 24.
The cell was allegedly led by Rashid Rasheq, who is said to be a prominent Hamas operative living in Jerusalem’s Old City. He and fellow Hamas member Mansour Safadi had purportedly planned either a shooting attack or suicide bombing in Jerusalem.
The cell is said to have purchased a drone, which it is claimed they planned to equip with weapons to launch an attack on the holy city’s light rail system.
| 3 |
In what would be a rare move for a diplomat, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu is expected to visit the Temple Mount on Wednesday as part of his trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories.
Çavuşoğlu’s two-day tour is the first such visit by a Turkish FM in 15 years and is indicative of the thawing relations between Ankara and the Jewish state.
Çavuşoğlu was slated to arrive in Israel on Tuesday before traveling to Ramallah for a meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
On Wednesday, talks with Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid are scheduled, followed by a trip to Yad Vashem — the World Holocaust Remembrance Center — and then the Temple Mount, which is known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif.
| 4 |
The Palestinian Authority has referred to the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor’s office the death of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was shot during clashes between Palestinian gunmen and the Israeli military during an arrest raid near the West Bank city of Jenin –a known hub of Palestinian terrorist activity.
On Monday, the IDF’s Advocate General Brig.-Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi said Palestinians were hindering a full investigation into Abu Akleh’s death by not giving the bullet that killed her to Israeli officials for a proper examination.
The Palestinian Auhtority has refused an Israeli offer to conduct a joint investigation into the incident.
“At this stage, it is unclear which side fired the round that struck the journalist,” said Gen. Tomer-Yerushalmi in an address at Israel Bar Association’s annual conference in Eilat.
“The best way to determine how the journalist died is to check the bullet that was found in her body through a professional ballistic investigation,” she added. “Without the possibility of investigation of the bullet, doubt remains at this time.”
The IDF will reportedly continue attempting to establish the exact circumstances surrounding Abu Akleh’s death.
| 5 |
Israel will automatically extend tourist visas and give work permits to refugees who came to Israel from Ukraine following the Russian invasion, Israeli Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked announced.
More than 28,000 Ukrainians have arrived in the Jewish state since the outbreak of the war in February.
The Ukrainian Embassy in Israel praised the decision, which it described as “unprecedented for local legislation.”
“The permits will allow Ukrainians to legally work in Israel and sustain themselves while the war in Ukraine continues and our citizens are unable to return to their homeland,” the embassy stated.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, over 6.5 million people have fled Ukraine since the outbreak of the conflict.
Recommended Reading
- All Options Open in the Campaign Against Iran (Yoav Limor, Israel Hayom)
- Russia’s Withdrawal From Syria Is an Opportunity for Israel (Jacob Nagel and Jonathan Schanzer, Newsweek)
- Volodymyr Zelensky, Mila Kunis, Zoë Kravitz Among Jews on Time 100 List (Jackie Hajdenberg/JTA, Jerusalem Post)
- Distortions and Israel’s Dilemma (Thane Rosenbaum, Jewish Journal)
