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Opposition lawmaker tells US that following threats by left-wing reservists over judicial reform, soldiers now feel that their political views provide justification to refuse to follow lawful orders.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

Right-wing soldiers can now refuse orders that are against their moral code, such as evacuating Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria, due to reservists’ threats not to serve due to judicial reform, a prominent MK told American officials.

In recent months, reservists in critical IDF units have threatened to refuse to serve and skipped crucial training due to their left-wing political views, disapproval of the current right-wing government, and opposition to potential reforms to Israel’s judicial system.

Speaking to officials from the Biden administration in Washington, MK Matan Kahana (National Unity) said that these reservists have created a precedent that soldiers can pick and choose what actions they’re willing to carry out under the auspices of their IDF service.

According to an Israel Hayom report, Kahana expressed his view that the reservists’ threats and refusal to serve means that soldiers now feel that their personal political views are a relevant factor as to whether or not they decide to follow lawful orders.

It’s “no longer relevant” for IDF officials to expect soldiers to follow commands when it comes to politically controversial actions, such as dismantling Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, he said.

The bottom line is “an event like the disengagement cannot happen again,” because soldiers will feel justified in refusing to obey orders they do not morally agree with, Kahana reportedly said.

Kahana, who served in both the elite Sayeret Matkal special forces unit and as a fighter pilot in the IAF, confirmed to Israel Hayom that he made the statements during a meeting with an American official.

The official was reportedly surprised by Kahana’s analysis and did not previously think that the reservists’ protests could potentially create legitimacy for refusal on the other side of the political spectrum.

Despite pleas from senior IDF brass and defense analysts, reservists from elite army units have repeatedly threatened to refuse to serve or participate in important exercises due to their political beliefs, as a means to pressure the Knesset to abandon the judicial reform legislation.

The post Mass evacuation of Jews in Judea and Samaria ‘no longer relevant’ after anti-judicial reform disobedience, MK warns US appeared first on World Israel News.

22-year-old Israeli pop star and IDF veteran Noa Kirel comes in third at Eurovision song contest, behind Sweden and Finland.

By TPS

Israeli pop star Noa Kirel finished in third place at Saturday night’s Eurovision Song Contest final in Liverpool behind Sweden and Finland.

The 22-year-old Israel Defense Force veteran from the central Israeli city of Ra’anana was aiming to become the fifth Israeli to win the song contest since the Jewish state first entered the annual event in 1973 and the first since Netta Barzilai and her song “Toy” emerged the victor in 2018.

Kirel finished with 362 points for her performance of the song “Unicorn,” which she co-wrote alongside Doron Medalie, Yinon Yahel and May Sfadia. Kirel came in second place in the jury vote but fifth in the televoting.

Sweden’s Loreen took the top prize with 583 points for her performance of “Tattoo,” becaming the second performer to win the contest twice after Ireland’s Johnny Logan did it in 1980 and 1987. The 39-year-old daughter of Moroccan immigrants also won in 2012 for her song “Euphoria.”

Finland finished in second place with 526 points for Käärijä’s song “Cha Cha Cha.”

Kirel took the stage shortly after a tenuous ceasefire took effect on Saturday night between Israel and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, with the Gaza-based terrorist group continuing to fire intermittent rockets at southern Israeli communities and Israeli responding with aerial strikes. After passing the semi-finals earlier in the competition, Kirel said she was dedicating her performance to Israeli residents of communities near the Gaza border.

Kirel thanked her legion of fans in Israel and around the world for their support in an Instagram post that received nearly 300,000 likes and featured an image of her on stage proudly displaying an Israeli flag.

The post Israel’s Noa Kirel finishes third at Eurovision appeared first on World Israel News.

The ministry touts global public relations victory against Islamic Jihad, citing majority of supportive statements during Operation Shield and Arrow.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Israel’s foreign ministry expressed satisfaction Sunday with the support the country received during the just-concluded Operation Shield and Arrow, claiming that it showed the international community understood Israel’s right to defend itself from attack.

Foreign Minister Eli Cohen praised “the hard and professional diplomatic work” by his staff at home and around the world for the fact that the “legitimacy” Israel enjoyed to defend itself “remained stable throughout the entire operation and even strengthened.”

“The international community understands and backs Israel in its actions against the [Palestinian] Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terror organization, a proxy of the Iranian terror regime,” he said. “In my conversations with foreign ministers…and ambassadors serving in Israel, I heard that they support Israel’s right to defend its citizens.”

Cohen also credited his ministry’s diplomats for getting a United Nations Security Council statement critical of Israel blocked on Wednesday, the second day of the operation. An emergency session called by the United Arab Emirates ended without such a symbolic declaration due to the Americans and British envoys saying that they would not support it, even though it also condemned the rocket fire from Gaza.

Jerusalem had been concerned that the statement would still equate the terrorists with their intended victims, and successfully lobbied its friends on the Security Council to block it.

According to Israel National News, officials at the ministry said that Jerusalem had received “broad support” not only publicly but also “through diplomatic channels,” i.e., from countries who may have internal reasons for not wanting to be seen as supporting Israel over Palestinians.

Broad foreign support for the operation came despite predictions by Western diplomats who told Ha’aretz last week that the number of civilians killed during the IDF assassinations of three senior PIJ terrorists in the first moments of the operation would make it harder for Israel to garner backing for its actions.

Israel had regretted the deaths of all Gazan civilians, while noting that the terrorists were committing war crimes by using noncombatants as human shields. Officials also pointed out that while the IDF targets only terrorists, even calling off missions when it knows civilians are in the immediate area, the terror organizations, such as PIJ and Hamas, deliberately launch their attacks, whether airborne or on the ground, at Israeli civilians, which is also indisputably a war crime.

Hungary, Austria, the Netherlands, Australia and the United States were only some of the countries that condemned the terrorist rocket attacks.

According to the IDF, over the five days of the operation, the PIJ launched 1,469 projectiles at Israel, with the Iron Dome intercepting 437 of them. Roughly 20% fell short, killing several Gazans, including women and children. On the Israeli side, one Jewish woman and one Gazan worker were killed and 77 were injured, most of them lightly. This number includes more than 40 who were treated for extreme anxiety attacks as a result of the rocket fire.

The post Foreign Ministry cheers world response to IDF operation in Gaza appeared first on World Israel News.

UN Nakba event condones Jew-hatred, promotes ‘libelous’ Palestinian narrative, claims Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan.

By Adina Katz, World Israel News

Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan sent an open letter to his colleagues Sunday, urging them to skip a “Nakba Day” event scheduled for Monday.

The word nakba means catastrophe in Arabic, and is often used by pro-Palestinian groups and activists to describe the establishment of the State of Israel.

“The thought that an international organization could mark the establishment of one of its member states as a catastrophe or disaster is both appalling and repulsive,” Erdan wrote in the letter.

He noted that after Israel declared independence at the UN on May 14, 1948, armies from five neighboring Arab countries invaded the territory.

Against all odds, Israel emerged victorious from the War of Independence, but even 75 years later, the Palestinians and other Arabs refuse to acknowledge their role in the conflict, Erdan explained.

The Nakba Day event is “a blatant attempt to distort history, neglecting the fact that those who paint themselves as the victims were actually the aggressors who initiated a five-front war on the newly established State of Israel,” he wrote.

“This horrifying falsification must not be condoned in any way shape or form.”

The event exacerbates existing antisemitism, he wrote.

“Not only does this condone Jew-hatred, but it also gives a green-light to the Palestinians to continue exploiting international organs to promote their libelous narrative.”

Erdan said that countries who believe they have good intentions by participating in the event are actually perpetuating the conflict.

“Attending one-sided Palestinian initiatives that falsely brand Israel as the source of all evil does not bring the conflict closer to an end, but only serves to inflame tensions,” he added.

Addressing the diplomats, Erdan wrote that he “deeply” urges them “not to take part in the shameful ‘Nakba’ Event on May 15. Such events only serve to demonize Israel and further push away any chance for reconciliation.”

The post Skip ‘shameful’ UN Nakba event, urges Israeli ambassador appeared first on World Israel News.

Roadblocks are opened in southern Israel as five days of fighting between Israel and Palestinian Islamic Jihad ends with an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire.

By JNS

The Israel Defense Forces began to ease restrictions on Gaza Envelope communities on Sunday following an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian Islamic Jihad went into effect on Saturday at 10 p.m.

A small number of rockets were launched at Gaza-area communities in the hours after the ceasefire, with the last Red Alert sirens sounding in Ein HaShlosha and Nirim at 11:11 p.m. One rocket was intercepted and the other landed in an open area, according to the IDF. The Israeli military announced close to midnight that it was striking terrorist targets in Gaza in response to the rockets.

Roadblocks were opened in certain communities near Gaza on Sunday morning at 6 .am., following a situation assessment by the IDF. The remaining restrictions in effect for southern communities were scheduled to be lifted at 12 p.m.

Head of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, Maj. Gen. Ghassan Alian, announced the Erez and Kerem Shalom crossings from Israel to Gaza would be reopened on Sunday, and Israeli media reported that the maritime space around Gaza was also expected to reopen.

“Operation Shield and Arrow” saw five days of fighting between Israel and PIJ terrorists, who launched more than 1,250 rockets at the Jewish state, with the Israeli military killing six PIJ leaders and destroying terrorist infrastructure in nearly 400 targeted strikes across the Strip.

As of Saturday evening, the IDF reported 373 rocket interceptions by Israel’s aerial defense array, along with 221 PIJ rockets that failed to cross the border and came down inside Gaza. The Israeli military on Thursday accused PIJ of killing four Gaza civilians with failed rocket launches.

According to Israel’s Magen David Adom, two people were killed by rocket fire in Israel—an 80-year-old woman in Rehovot whose apartment building took a direct hit, and a 35-year-old male resident of Gaza who was struck in Shokada in the Sdot Negev Regional Council. A total of 30 other people were wounded, including another Gaza resident, who remains in serious condition. A total of 45 people were treated for anxiety by MDA medical personnel.

According to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights the death toll in Gaza stood at 33, including 15 civilians, while 147 were wounded.

“National Security Council Director Tzachi Hanegbi, on instruction from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, thanked Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and expressed the appreciation of the State of Israel for Egypt’s intensive efforts to secure a ceasefire,” the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.

“The NSC director made it clear that Israel’s acceptance of the Egyptian initiative means that ‘quiet will be met with quiet’, and that if Israel is attacked or threatened, it will continue to do everything that it needs to in order to defend itself,” the statement continued.

The United States government also thanked Egypt for its role in brokering the ceasefire, and expressed appreciation to Qatar.

“The United States welcomes tonight’s announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza-based militants brokered by the Egyptian Government after nearly five days of fighting,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

“U.S. officials worked closely with regional partners to achieve this resolution to the hostilities to prevent further loss of life and restore calm for both Israelis and Palestinians. We are grateful for the critical diplomatic efforts of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and senior Egyptian officials, as well as Amir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar.”

The U.S. State Department also commended Egypt and Qatar for their roles in fostering the ceasefire. State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said that Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Saturday to thank him “for Qatar’s partnership and important efforts to de-escalate violence throughout the recent hostilities.”

Miller reaffirmed Washington’s “ironclad commitment to Israel’s security, as reflected in our ongoing support for Iron Dome and other Israeli missile defense systems. We will remain engaged with our partners to promote calm in the weeks and months ahead.”

The post Fragile Gaza truce holds as Israel starts to ease restrictions appeared first on World Israel News.

New ‘Blue Whale’ drone submarine uses radar and electro-optical systems to detect sea and coastal targets.

The post WATCH: Israel reveals unmanned spy submarine appeared first on World Israel News.

The U.S. secretary of state spoke with the Qatari prime minister, and deputy secretary of state spoke with Israeli minister for strategic affairs, Foggy Bottom announced.

By JNS

Washington welcomed the Egypt-brokered ceasefire announcement “between Israel and Gaza-based militants,” Karine Jean-Pierre, White House press secretary, announced on May 13.

“We are grateful for the critical diplomatic efforts of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and senior Egyptian officials, as well as Amir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar,” she stated.

Matthew Miller, State Department spokesman, also welcomed the ceasefire in a statement, although he referred to “hostilities in Israel and Gaza,” rather than violence between Israel and militants in Gaza.

“We express our condolences to the families of civilians who were killed and those who were injured in the violence,” Miller stated. He too commended “Egypt’s crucial role” and “Qatar’s robust efforts.”

Earlier in the day, Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Qatari prime minister and minister of foreign affairs, per a State Department readout.

Another State Department readout noted that Wendy Sherman, deputy secretary of state, spoke on May 12 with Ron Dermer, Israeli minister for strategic affairs, to “reiterate the United States’ enduring commitment to Israel’s security and to convey her condolences for the Israeli citizen killed in yesterday’s rocket attacks.”

Sherman also “strongly condemned the indiscriminate launch of rockets into Israel from Gaza-based terrorist groups, which endangers the welfare of both Israelis and Palestinians,” per the readout.

Washington “reaffirms our ironclad commitment to Israel’s security,” Miller added in the May 13 statement. “We will remain engaged with our partners to promote calm in the weeks and months ahead. We also will continue our efforts to improve quality of life for Palestinians and we urge the swift delivery of fuel and other critical supplies into Gaza.”

“The United States believes that Israelis and Palestinians both deserve to live safely and securely and to enjoy equal measures of freedom, prosperity and democracy,” he stated.

The post White House welcomes ceasefire between Israel and Islamic Jihad appeared first on World Israel News.

A remarkable story of bravery and courage has emerged from the small town of Alpena in Michigan, where a 14-year-old boy is being celebrated as a hero for allegedly using his slingshot to protect his 8-year-old sister from being abducted from their backyard.

On Wednesday, the young girl was reportedly searching for mushrooms in her backyard when a 17-year-old suspect suddenly appeared from the woods, covered her mouth, and grabbed her around the waist in an attempt to pull her away.

The girl’s brother, who was inside their home at the time, quickly noticed the commotion and sprung into action. He grabbed his slingshot and shot something at the suspect’s head, which caused him to loosen his grip on the girl and allow her to escape. The boy then shot another projectile at the suspect which hit him in the chest, and the suspect immediately fled.

The suspect was later located and identified at a nearby gas station. Michigan State Police released a description of the suspect which helped to identify him as the alleged kidnapper. The suspect, who was not named, was arraigned in the 88th District Court on Thursday and charged as an adult with attempted kidnapping/child enticement, attempted assault to do great bodily harm less than murder, and assault and battery.

The suspect was taken to the juvenile section of the Alpena County Jail and is being held on a $150,000 cash bond.

Lt. John Grimshaw of the Alpena Post commended the 14-year-old boy for his heroic actions and stated that he had likely saved his sister’s life. Grimshaw also offered advice to anyone in an abduction situation, encouraging them to do everything they can to fight off the attacker and scream as loud as they can.

The suspect’s next court date is scheduled for May 17.

Sirens sounded in the cities of Holon, Rishon Lezion as well as the communities in the Gaza envelope.

By World Israel News Staff

One hour after Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist group reached a ceasefire deal on Saturday night, the Gaza-based terror group launched a volley of rockets over the border.

Sirens sounded in the cities of Holon, Rishon Lezion as well as the Sderot and Nir Am, in the Gaza envelope, at 11pm, one hour after the Egyptian-brokered truce was set to have taken effect.

IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said earlier in the day: “The Islamic Jihad terrorist organization’s continued fire enables us to continue to make further achievements. We are prepared to continue the targeted strikes and striking in a precise and increasing manner, as we have done over the last few days.”

National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi praised the Egyptians for their “vigorous efforts” in negotiating a cessation to the fighting but warned: “Quiet will be answered with quiet, and if Israel is attacked or threatened, it will continue to do whatever it must in order to defend itself.”

According to Israeli media, Israel rejected a PIJ demand to halt targeted killings and to hand over the body of its senior operative, Khader Adnan, who died in prison last week after an 87-day hunger strike.

His death triggered a barrage of more than 100 rockets into Israel in under 24 hours.

Two people died from rocket fire in the ensuing five-day conflict.

One was an Israeli from Rehovot and the other was Palestinian from Gaza who had a work permit to be in Israel.

PIJ launched more than 1,250 rockets at Israel, to which the IDF responded by striking some 400 terror assets in Gaza in a campaign dubbed Operation Arrow and Shield.

The post True to form, Islamic Jihad launches rockets after ceasefire takes effect appeared first on World Israel News.

An extremely rare seal turned up to rest on a beach in central Israel over the weekend.

According to Israeli media reports, the Mediterranean Monk Seal was pregnant. However, officials from the Nature and Park Authority told World Israel News that there was no evidence of that and it was possible that she was just a large mammal. They added that they had not inspected the seal, and were guarding her from onlookers until she was ready to return to sea.

It was the first time a seal had come on the shore in Israel in recorded history, the authority said.

The post WATCH: Rare seal makes history by napping on Israeli beach appeared first on World Israel News.