Israel‘s army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi has approved the expansion of the ground invasion of southern Lebanon, according to Israel‘ Kan broadcaster.
The approval comes the same day Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said Israel had „defeated“ Hezbollah
Among the acts that would be construed as support for terror would be visiting the family of an attack suspect.
According to the proposal sponsored by Likud MK Ofir Katz, a candidate can be banned by the Central Election Committee without needing the final approval of the High Court of Justice, as is currently required. The proposed law is at base to ban Hadash and Arab parties from participating in the election, as well as weaken the Supreme Court’s power to overturn the decision. Furthermore, since left-wing and Arab voters do not belong to the right-wing camp, blocking participation of Hadash and Arab parties will also benefit the current far-right governing coalition electorally and increase its chances to win the next election.
Israeli forces have cut off communication and internet networks in northern Gaza, according to Al Jazeera.
Israeli media has reported evidence that a plan to ethnically cleanse northern Gaza and kill any Palestinians who remain is underway.
(October 10, 2024)
Lapid advocated regime change in Lebanon, saying, “the international community will need to appoint a sort of oversight committee for Lebanon to manage its civilian life for a set period until elections can be held and a new government can take control.”
Crucial to this effort would be the establishment of a collaborator Lebanese army loyal to Israel and its Western and Gulf allies.
(…)
Lapid claimed it would be easy to recruit Lebanese by paying soldiers in a new army $500 a month. New recruits would then be trained by French, Emirati, and US military officers.
The South Lebanon Army (SLA) was established by Israel in 1976 after the collapse of the Lebanese government due to civil war.
Since 1978, Unifil has lost 337 peacekeepers, making Lebanon the most costly, in human terms, of all the UN peacekeeping operations. But despite these risks it has remained in post. Throughout Unifil’s deployment, IDF has put it under pressure both directly and through a proxy force, the South Lebanon Army (SLA). As such Unifil has a strong institutional memory of staying put in the direst of circumstances which makes it unlikely to recommend a drawdown.
(September 22, 2024)
Israel‘s Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli accused Lebanon of not fulfilling the definition of a state and argued that the Israeli military should establish buffer zones inside of Lebanon in order to protect Israeli citizens living in the country‘s north.
Israel’s five-finger plan dates back to 1971, when it was formulated and implemented by the commander of the southern region in Israel at the time, Ariel Sharon, which aimed to divide the Gaza Strip across five regions that include military bases and settlements.
It sought to impose a new demographic situation in Gaza to reduce Arab population centers and cut off communication between them.
„Children in particular have borne the brunt of these attacks, suffering both directly and indirectly from the collapse of the health system,“ said Pillay, whose 24-page report covering the first 10 months of the war will be presented to the U.N. General Assembly on Oct. 30.
The UK is failing to stand up for international law, as Israeli forces are forcibly transferring civilians from northern Gaza to the south and relentlessly bombarding the area, making it uninhabitable and stripping away the essential conditions that sustain life. The Government must demand that Israel end its heinous attacks, and take action to oppose any annexation or shrinking of Gaza. Its current silence is tantamount to complicity.
(…)
Signatories:
– Action For Humanity
– Amos Trust
– Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP)
– Welfare Association
– Caabu
– Sabeel-Kairos UK
– Amnesty International UK
– Gender Action for Peace and Security (GAPS)
– Islamic Relief UK
– Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights (LPHR)
– Trócaire
– War on Want
– Action Aid UK
– Global Justice Now
– Oxfam GB
Analysts have considered Israel’s current operations in northern Gaza to be the first step in implementing the vision laid out by retired Israeli general Giora Eiland in an article he published in the early months of the war. Eiland’s article received the endorsement of several Israeli military officials and generals earlier in September and has since come to be called the “Generals’ plan” in the media. The plan aims at sealing off northern Gaza and rendering it uninhabitable, forcing the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in it to flee to the south and turn the entire north into a depopulated military area.
(October 3, 2024)
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran‘s longtime supreme leader, has for decades officially banned the production of nuclear weapons. But Israel, which possesses its own semisecret nuclear arsenal, has long accused the country of also clandestinely pursuing weapons of mass destruction.
The Times of Israel reported that the aircraft, believed to be transporting weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon or Syria, was intercepted over Iraq. Israeli forces reportedly acted on suspicions that the plane was carrying arms intended for the Iran-aligned resistance group.
Israel‘s Channel 13, citing military officials, said the Israeli army is preparing for a potential major operation against Iran. No further details were provided.
„Isn‘t that what you‘re supposed to hit? I mean, it‘s the biggest risk we have, nuclear weapons,“ he said.
„When they asked him that question, the answer should have been, hit the nuclear first, and worry about the rest later,“ Trump added.
The official added that it is “really hard to tell” if Israel will use the anniversary of Hamas’ October 7 attacks to retaliate.
“We hope and expect to see some wisdom as well as strength, but as you guys know, no guarantees,” the official said when asked by CNN if Israel has assured the US that Iran’s nuclear sites are off the table.
U.S. crude oil prices rose more than 4% on Thursday, on pace for a third consecutive session of gains on fears that Israel could strike Iran‘s oil industry in retaliation for Tehran‘s ballistic missile attack this week.
The president was asked about a potential strike on the oil infrastructure of Iran, which accounts for about 2 percent of the world’s supply.
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Tuesday that the US would work with Israel to ensure Iran faces “severe consequences.” President Biden has also said he is working with Israel on a response but said Wednesday that he wouldn’t support strikes on Iran’s nuclear facility.
“All seven of us agree that they have a right to respond, but they have to respond proportionally,” he said, referring to the Group of Seven nations.
…a theological explanation for why Israel had come into existence..
…“The Jews will gather from all parts of the world…
…the Antichrist and the end of the world but rather that Allah… final and decisive battle,,,“
…for killing all Jews…
…What if one of those missiles had been tipped with a nuclear warhead…
…Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that Iran was within a week or two of being able to produce enough weapons-grade uranium for a nuclear bomb…
(04.03.2015)
The prime minister has been warning for over 20 years that Tehran is close to achieving its pursuit of nuclear weapons.
Fmr. Defense Secy William Cohen joins The Lead
But after Iran fired about 180 missiles in an attack that went on for roughly half an hour, Israel’s challenge was not whether to attack Iran, but how powerfully to respond, said Yaakov Amidror, a retired major general who served as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s national security adviser.
The only question, General Amidror said, was “how much can we harm them versus their capacity to harm us.” He added he believed that the damage Israel inflicted on Hezbollah had diminished the threat of Iran’s proxies.
Even an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities — long a source of fear for Israel, which worries about Tehran gaining a nuclear weapon — “should be considered,” General Amidror added.
(March 13, 1962)
c. Commence large scale United States military operations.
3. A „Remember the Maine“ incident could be arranged in several forms:
a. We could blow up a US ship in Guantanamo Bay and blame Cuba.
b. We could blow up a drone (unmanned) vessel anywhere in the Cuban waters. We could arrange to cause such incident in the vicinity of Havana or Santiago as a spectacular result of Cuban attack from the air or sea, or both. The presence of Cuban planes or ships merely investigating the intent of the vessel could be fairly compelling evidence that the ship was taken under attack. The nearness to Havana or Santiago would add credibility especially to those people that might have heard the blast or have seen the fire. The US could follow up with an air/sea rescue operation covered by US fighters to „evacuate“ remaining members of the non-existent crew. Casualty lists in US newspapers would cause a helpful wave of national indignation.
4. We could develop a Communist Cuban terror campaign in the Miami area, in other Florida cities and even in Washington.
The terror campaign could be pointed at refugees seeking haven in the United States. We could sink a boatload of Cubans en route to Florida (real or simulated). We could foster attempts on lives of Cuban refugees in the United States even to the extent of wounding in instances to be widely publicized. Exploding a few plastic bombs in carefully chosen spots, the arrest of Cuban agents and the release of prepared documents substantiating Cuban involvement, also would be helpful in projecting the idea of an irresponsible government.
„If a temporary ceasefire is signed, Jewish Power will not be committed to the coalition,“ Ben-Gvir said, referring to his far-right party.
„If the temporary ceasefire becomes permanent, we will resign from the government.“
Asked about Israel‘s rejection of a U.S.-backed Lebanon ceasefire proposal, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told MSNBC: „The world is speaking clearly for virtually all of the key countries in Europe and in the region on the need for the ceasefire.“
„You hear the jets overhead; we have been striking all day,“ General Herzi Halevi told Israeli troops on the border with Lebanon, according to a statement from the military.
„This is both to prepare the ground for your possible entry and to continue degrading Hezbollah.“
The mobilized reserve brigades are integrated armored-infantry brigades that have previously been mobilized in this war, and will return to increase the defensive operations in the Galilee Division, as well as participating in a ground invasion of Lebanon if one begins.
Earlier on Wednesday Northern Command head Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin said Israel has ‚entered a different stage of the campaign‘ and threatened a ground entry into Lebanon, after another morning with dozens of rockets launched in attacks on areas of northern Israel, and waves of Israel Air Force attacks from the air throughout Lebanon, including north and south of Beirut.
(23 September 2024)
Writing on X, Minister of Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli said over the weekend that a buffer zone should be created in southern Lebanon.
He said that „even though it has a flag and even though it has political institutions“, Lebanon „does not meet the definition of a country“.
He also posted images of maps questioning the current borders of Syria and Lebanon, referencing the Sykes-Picot agreement of 1916 that carved up the Levent into British and French spheres of influence.
(November 30, 2023)
The document circulated widely among Israeli military and intelligence leaders, but experts determined that an attack of that scale and ambition was beyond Hamas’s capabilities, according to documents and officials. It is unclear whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or other top political leaders saw the document, as well.
(…)
Last year, shortly after the document was obtained, officials in the Israeli military’s Gaza division, which is responsible for defending the border with Gaza, said that Hamas’s intentions were unclear.
“It is not yet possible to determine whether the plan has been fully accepted and how it will be manifested,” read a military assessment reviewed by The Times.
(30.03.2011)
Yisrael Katz told Army Radio on Wednesday he wants an international force to control the island for „at least 100 years“ and for unloaded cargo to be brought into Gaza along a 4.5-km (3-mile)-long bridge with a security checkpoint to prevent arms smuggling. (…)
„We have built models and there are many entrepreneurs who are interested and prepared to invest billions and make money,“ he said, without giving further details.
(22.01.2024)
Israel’s foreign minister Israel Katz has sparked controversy after using a high-stakes meeting of EU foreign ministers to promote a plan to build an artificial island off the Gazan coast.
(29.02.2024)
Referring to the proposal by Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz on Jan. 22 at the EU Foreign Ministers Meeting to establish an artificial island in the Mediterranean to settle the people of Gaza, Halper noted that it is part of the project to cleanse Palestinian lands from Palestinians.
“The point of Israeli apartheid is to disappear the Palestinians as a people and Palestine as a country: confine the Palestinians to small islands (later called a “state,” but without real sovereignty or economically viable), take their lands and then normalize that regime in the international community.
(April 7, 2024)
In a statement titled „Readiness for the Transition from Defense to Offense,“ the military said the phase completed centred on logistics „for a broad mobilization of IDF (Israel Defence Forces) troops“.
„The commanders of the regular and reserve units are prepared to summon and equip all the required soldiers in just a few hours and transport them to the front line for defensive and offensive missions,“ the military said.
(April 7, 2024)
The Israeli army on Sunday said it had reached „another phase“ of preparation for war on its northern border with Lebanon, where it has spent months exchanging fire with Iran-backed Hezbollah.
(April 7, 2024)
The prime minister’s office declined to comment on the exchange. The White House declined to comment for this story.
(02.04.2024)
While Israel has used the F-15s it already owns to strike Gaza, its request for the planes appears to reflect longer-term concern about regional threats, including from Lebanon-based Hezbollah, Iran-backed militias in Syria, and Iran itself. The Israel Defense Forces would probably employ F-15s in any potential attack on Iran’s nuclear program.
Royal watchers have begun to witness his decline, too. Though he will be stepping out on Easter Sunday for a service at Windsor, the king is missing from the royal calendar for the foreseeable future, instead relying heavily on his sister, Princess Anne, to do the work of the royal family. While many would have assumed his heir, Prince William, would be stepping up to the plate, he too is missing from the royal schedule due to Princess Kate Middleton’s own cancer diagnosis and treatment.
(23.01.2024)
The conference, under the heading “Only settlement will bring security,” is organized by a group of movements that want to resettle Gaza, led by Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan and the Nachala Settlement Movement. It is scheduled for Sunday at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem.
So far, Zohar and Katz, and Likud MKs Hanoch Milwidsky, Nissim Vaturi, Amit Halevi, Tally Gotliv, Etty Hava Atia, Moshe Passal and Ariel Kallner have all said they will attend, according to the report.
Nissim Vaturi, an Israeli lawmaker belonging to the ruling Likud party, has announced he is joining an Israeli group that is planning to create illegal settlements in northern Gaza.
He made the announced on X on Tuesday, accompanied by a picture of a poster which states „only settlement will bring security„.
Mohammed Dahlan, an adviser to the president of the United Arab Emirates, outlined one under which Israel and Hamas would hand power to a new and independent Palestinian leader who could rebuild Gaza under the protection of an Arab peacekeeping force.
While such plans face steep challenges, the leaders of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the Emirates are open to supporting processes that are part of efforts leading to a Palestinian state, said Mr. Dahlan, who also has close ties to Egypt’s president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.