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Israel’s internal debate will not detract one iota from our determination and ability to act against our enemies, the prime minister said.

By JNS

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a warning to the enemies of the Jewish state at the start of Sunday’s weekly Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem amid ongoing demonstrations over his government’s judicial reform plan.

“We are exacting a high price from the regimes that support terrorism, beyond Israel’s borders. I suggest that our enemies not err. Israel’s internal debate will not detract one iota from our determination, strength and ability to act against our enemies on all fronts, wherever and whenever necessary,” Netanyahu said.

The remarks come after three missile strikes against Iranian targets in Syria over a four-day period attributed to Israel, including early Sunday in Homs Province. Iranian media reported that Friday’s attack near Damascus killed an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps member and it was reported on Sunday that another IRGC member died from wounds sustained during Friday’s strike.

Netanyahu also discussed domestic counterterrorism efforts, giving his full support to the Israel Police for an incident early Saturday in which a 26-year-old Bedouin man from southern Israel was killed by police after authorities said he snatched an officer’s gun at the Chain Gate entrance to the Temple Mount and managed to fire two bullets.

Palestinian witnesses gave a different account, saying that Mohammed Khaled Alasibi was trying to intervene in an argument between police and a woman.

No security cameras caught the incident, police said.

Israeli Arabs across the country launched a general strike on Sunday in protest against the killing.

The prime minister also offered well wishes to the three soldiers wounded on Saturday night in a car-ramming attack near the village of Beit Ummar, located northwest of Hebron in Judea.

It was also revealed on Sunday that the Israel Police and the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) preempted a terrorist attack in Jerusalem.

The prime minister touched upon the debate over judicial reform after Saturday night’s mass demonstrations against the proposed legislation in Tel Aviv and across the country—the 13th consecutive week of protests. President Isaac Herzog is holding meetings with Knesset factions to try to hammer out a compromise after Netanyahu announced a pause in the legislative process.

“We are currently in a process of dialogue with the goal of reaching broad consensus. I would like to remind you all that before the elections many of the current opposition leaders supported substantive changes in the judicial system. Therefore, there is a basis here for agreements which should be possible to reach with goodwill in genuine dialogue,” Netanyahu said.

He congratulated new Cabinet member David Amsalem, who was present at the meeting. Amsalem resigned his seat in the Knesset according to the so-called Norwegian Law to take up his role as a second minister in the Justice Ministry, as well as regional cooperation minister and liaison between the government and Knesset.

Avichai Boaron, chairman of the Zion and Jerusalem Forum Likud and next on the party’s Knesset candidates list, replaces Amsalem in the legislature.

Netanyahu also announced the establishment of the Women’s Status Ministry that Likud Knesset member May Golan has been tapped to lead.

The prime minister offered Passover greetings ahead of the holiday beginning on Wednesday evening.

“This week, the people of Israel will gather around the seder table. I would like to remind you all that for centuries on Passover we always remembered that we have a common past of thousands of years as well as a common future expressed in the prayer for next year in a rebuilt Jerusalem. Now, in the rebuilt Jerusalem, we will still remember that we have a glorious past and a bright future—together,” Netanyahu said.

“I wish the entire people of Israel a happy, kosher and quiet Passover,” the prime minister said.

The post Netanyahu warns Israel’s enemies amid unrest at home appeared first on World Israel News.

“Is the continuation of [Azerbaijan’s] silence not an implicit affirmation of statements made by Baku’s strategic partner?” says Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman.

By JNS

Iran on Friday criticized Azerbaijan for rebuffing a call to “explain” comments made on March 29 by Israel’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen on the occasion of the opening of Azerbaijan’s embassy in Israel.

Cohen said he had agreed with his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov on the need to form a “united front” against Iran.

“We asked the government of Azerbaijan to explain the words of the foreign minister of the Zionist regime regarding the agreement with Azerbaijan to ‘form a united front against Iran, ‘” said Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani on Friday.

“The spokesperson of Azerbaijan evaded the question and leveled new accusations against Iran. Is the continuation of [Azerbaijan’s] silence not an implicit affirmation of statements made by Baku’s strategic partner?” Kanaani continued.

“The criminal Zionist regime has no other purpose than to create differences and divisions in the Islamic Ummah [world] by approaching Muslim countries in order to realize its expansionist ambitions. We advise our Muslim brothers and sisters in Azerbaijan to be aware of the real intentions of the Zionist enemy,” he added.

Although Azerbaijan established relations with Israel in 1991, it hadn’t opened an embassy until last week.

Cohen called the opening of the embassy “further evidence of the strengthening of relations between the countries,” adding, “Azerbaijan is a Muslim country and its strategic location makes the relationship between us of great importance and great potential.”

The Israeli foreign minister also said that he would make a diplomatic visit to Baku “soon,” accompanied by a “large economic delegation which will further deepen the commercial ties between Israel and Azerbaijan.”

Azerbaijan, strategically located in the Caucasus region, shares a border with Iran and supplies Israel with 40% of its oil.

Although a Shi’ite Muslim country like Iran, it has had tense relations with its much larger neighbor to the south, rejecting its ‘Islamic Revolution’ and calling for autonomy for Iranian Azerbaijanis.

According to local media reports, on Feb. 1, Azerbaijan’s Interior Ministry detained 40 people in Baku and other parts of the country suspected of spying for Iran.

On Jan. 29, Baku ordered the evacuation of staff and family members from its Iranian embassy after a gunman killed a security guard and wounded two others there two days earlier, an attack Baku labeled an “act of terrorism.”

The post Iran blasts Azerbaijan’s silence following Israeli foreign minister’s call for ‘united front’ appeared first on World Israel News.

Historical drama aired on Palestinian Authority TV during Ramadan celebrates the killing of British policemen during the British Mandate.

The post WATCH: Palestinian Authority TV show glorifies murder of British policemen appeared first on World Israel News.

Ben-Gvir says opposition to new security body stems from “ego wars” within the police, insists initiative will go ahead as planned.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai publicly expressed their opposition to the formation of a new National Guard headed by Public Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, claiming that the new body could hurt national security.

Establishing a National Guard “as an independent and separate body from the police, directly subordinate to the National Security Ministry could cause heavy damage to the operational capabilities of the internal security systems in the country…and harm the security of the citizens,” Shabtai said in a statement on Sunday morning.

“This is due to damage to the… chain of command… power struggles between organizations and entities, and most of all, a lack of clarity regarding [which body is] the highest commanding entity, which bears the overall responsibility,” he added.

Shabtai charged that there “is no real reason for this unnecessary move” and “there are no advantages” to Ben-Gvir’s plan.

After the Association for Civil Rights in Israel filed a petition with Baharav-Miara, arguing that “establishing an armed force subject to the national security minister and separate from the police” is inherently “illegitimate,” the attorney general issued a ruling agreeing with their claim.

“There is a legal impediment to advancing this…proposal,” Baharav-Miara wrote to Ben-Gvir’s office on Sunday.

Ben-Gvir’s ministry responded forcefully to Shabtai and Baharav-Miara’s opposition to the formation of the National Guard.

“There are senior police officers who do not want a National Guard, because of ego wars,” read a statement from his office.

“There is a consensus that a National Guard is necessary to safeguard personal security, to fight the phenomenon of illegal possession of weapons, the crime wars, agricultural terrorism – and therefore the National Guard will be established.”

In reference to Baharav-Miara’s statement, Ben-Gvir’s office said that the attorney general “does not understand her place as an advisor,” adding that she is acting improperly in order to block the establishment of the body.

The post Ben-Gvir’s National Guard will ‘harm security,’ create confusion – Police commissioner appeared first on World Israel News.

After his words aroused a furor, Asaf Zamir apologized, calling his wording “unsuccessful.”

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Israel’s recently fired New York Consul General on Saturday called Israel a “U.S. protectorate,” arousing a storm of protest that led to his backtracking the comment hours later.

In an interview on Channel 12, former Tourism Minister and ex-Israeli consul general in New York Asaf Zamir said, “The thing that is most important for me to say is that this is a real emergency alert, we are losing the US. And we are a protectorate of the US, and in many ways we are dependent on this relationship.”

Zamir was referring to the controversial judicial reforms that the government wants to pass, an issue on which the Biden administration has openly sided with Israel’s opposition in calling for the coalition to “hit the brakes,” in the words of American ambassador to Israel Tom Nides.

Washington has also made it clear that it is not even thinking right now to invite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House. The Opposition takes this as a clear sign of the administration’s displeasure over the planned reforms, which its critics claim will turn Israel into a dictatorship. Netanyahu has reiterated several times that the judicial overhaul is intended to strengthen, rather than weaken, Israel’s democracy.

The backlash to Zamir’s statement was quick and fierce.

MK Boaz Bismuth (Likud) tweeted, for example, “Sir, it would seem you’re confused, you represented Israel in New York, not New York in Israel. Welcome back.”

Zamir backtracked just hours later, tweeting that his remark had been “An unsuccessful statement” that he wanted to “clarify.”

“Israel is not a ‘protectorate’ of the US,” he explained, “but Israel exists, grows stronger, and prospers thanks to its patronage and support – in UN vetoes, grants, securities, weapons, in a strong Jewish community and endless ways.”

“The crisis with the United States and the breaking of the principle of shared values is even more serious than some statement of the former consul,” he ended.

Zamir, who previously served in the Knesset as part of the Blue and White party, had announced on Twitter last Sunday, “I quit,” adding that he was resigning his position so that he could “fight for Israel’s future,” as he opposed the government’s planned judicial reforms. Zamir had been appointed by Yair Lapid, now head of the Opposition, when he served as foreign minister in 2021.

He had already been summoned to Jerusalem the week before for speaking against the reforms at a fundraising event in New York.

According to Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, Zamir had not sent in official notice, so on Thursday he ordered the consul’s immediate termination.

“Asaf Zamir announced his resignation on Twitter, but wanted to continue in the position for an unspecified time,” Cohen tweeted. “I decided to fire him immediately,” because “a diplomat who takes a political side cannot represent the State of Israel for even one day. Good luck in the future.”

The post Sacked Israeli consul in NY claims Israel is a ‘protectorate’ of the US appeared first on World Israel News.

Both the timing and content of Gallant’s urging last week to halt the judicial reform process had angered the prime minister.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (Likud) will reportedly be able to remain in his post if an apology regarding his urging last week to halt the judicial reform process is worded correctly.

According to reports by Channel 12, Channel 13, and Kan, Gallant is willing to apologize publicly for the timing of his demand to delay the legislation so that compromises could be reached. The Channel 12 report added that in order to retain his position, Gallant would also need apologize regarding its content.

The minister had called for the delay of the judicial reform plan in a press conference last Saturday night, saying that the “growing rift in our society” is posing “a clear, immediate, and tangible threat to the security of the state” because of the threats by more than a thousand reserve soldiers, including elite pilots, not to show up for training if the government pushes forward with its reforms.

He had spoken while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in London and it was still the Sabbath there. According to his confidantes, Netanyahu was furious that Gallant had expressed his opposition when they had ostensibly agreed just two days earlier that he would hold off, but even more angry because it was done while he was abroad and could not even publicly react immediately due to Sabbath restrictions.

There have been rounds of meetings held during the week between Gallant and other Likud ministers, as well as with Shas leader Aryeh Deri, to attempt a conciliation with Netanyahu.

Deri has reportedly suggested that in his apology, Gallant additionally make it clear that he opposes the soldiers’ threats to refuse due to their opposition to the suggested reforms, and this would be enough to have him retain his position.

Last Sunday evening, the prime minister’s office had put out a statement saying that Netanyahu had “lost confidence” in Gallant due to his “feeble and weak response against the refusals in the IDF.”

When petitions signed by hundreds of soldiers on the subject began surfacing over recent weeks, Netanyahu had publicly stated that this was it was an unacceptable phenomenon as it directly threatened Israel’s safety.

Netanyahu has not officially fired Gallant, however, and he is still serving as defense minister, as the prime minister has yet to send a written dismissal letter as the law demands. Netanyahu also called for the freeze Gallant had demanded the very next day, after the Histadrut Labor Federation called a general strike to begin immediately, partly in reaction to the announced firing.

Members of both the coalition and opposition have called for Gallant to remain, in light of the numerous security threats Israel faces. Having to bring another minister up to speed regarding the volatile situation in Judea and Samaria, with its ongoing Palestinian terror attacks, and the ever-present danger from Iranian proxies on Israel’s borders, as well as the threat from Iran’s nuclear build-up, is considered a luxury Israel cannot afford.

Even National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, an ardent supporter of the controversial reform who initially welcomed the dismissal as a senior minister should not go against his own government’s policies, has said that the decision should be rescinded.

The soldiers, and the hundreds of thousands of protestors who have filled city streets over the last three months, fear the judicial reforms will weaken Israel’s democratic character. The coalition believes that the country’s democracy has been undermined for decades, since an unelected judiciary has arrogated for itself too much power to overturn Knesset legislation and dictate government actions, and it is now seeking to rein that power in.

The post Report: Gallant to remain defense minister – if apology is worded correctly appeared first on World Israel News.

Businesses, schools, shops, and municipal services in Arab towns will be suspended for the remainder of the day in protest of the shooting of Arab man who grabbed officer’s gun.

By World Israel News Staff

Arab communities throughout Israel are launching a general strike and tens of thousands are expected to participate in mass protests following the shooting death of a Bedouin-Israel who grabbed a police officer’s gun on the Temple Mount.

Mohammed Elasibi, from the southern town of Hura, grabbed a police officer’s gun and fired off two rounds during a scuffle with security officers late Friday evening in the Old City of Jerusalem, police said.

“I felt our lives were in real danger. If I hadn’t tackled him, shot him and neutralized him, he would have shot me, my partner and the Border Police cops,” said an officer involved in the shooting, identified by the initial Y., said in a statement.

A female officer, identified as L., said that Elasibi “aimed the gun at my head” and that she ducked in order to avoid being shot as he fired the weapon, near the Chain Gate entrance to the Temple Mount.

“If the policeman hadn’t shot and neutralized him, we wouldn’t be here,” M., a witness, said in a statement.

Elasibi’s family and Arab activists have claimed that the 26-year-old was gunned down “in cold blood” by police, though they have offered no evidence or reasoning for that claim.

The Bedouin municipalities of Hura, Rahat, and Tel Sheva announced that they are launching a general strike, which will begin at noon on Sunday. Other Arab municipalities in Israel are expected to follow suit.

Businesses, schools, shops, and municipal services will be suspended for the remainder of the day in protest of the shooting.

Late Saturday evening, a major highway near Hura was temporarily blocked by demonstrators from the town.

Tens of thousands are expected to participate in a protest march following Elasibi’s funeral, though it’s unclear when the burial will take place.

At his family’s request, Elasibi’s body is currently being held at the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute, pending an autopsy.

The shooting came during the Ramadan holiday period, which often sees an uptick in terror attacks and security tensions.

The post Mass protests expected, strikes in Arab towns following shooting of Temple Mount terrorist appeared first on World Israel News.

Protester who was struck with riding crops conducts media interviews from the hospital while sitting in a wheelchair, despite the fact that she was not hit on her lower body, back, or legs.

By Adina Katz, World Israel News

An anti-judicial reform protester who illegally blocked Ayalon Highway and refused to obey police instructions to leave the area on Saturday evening claimed she was the victim of police brutality after she was hit with a riding crop by a police officer atop a horse.

But video from the scene and injuries to the horse tell a different story, backing up the officer’s claim that he struck the woman after she endangered the animal.

“I feel very bad, the police who are supposed to protect me are attacking me,” Yael Reuveni, the woman involved in the incident, told Ynet.

“I was on Ayalon [Highway] and started walking back up [to the street,] when suddenly, a police officer on a horse came up to me,” she claimed.

She said that she ended up “trapped between two horse-mounted policemen” and that they randomly began repeatedly whipping her in an unprovoked attack.

However, video from the event shows that Reuveni did not obey police instructions and was facing the horse, rather than away from the officers and in the direction of protesters leaving the highway. From the video, it also appears that Reuveni was struck just once by the officer.

לפרש הבריון שרמס הערב את אחותי הקטנה ואז הרביץ לה עם השוט, ושוב, ושוב ושוב

אני מקווה שהרבה לילות לא תצליח להרדם מרוב בושה

@IL_police לטיפולכם https://t.co/e4iyeMLiIA

— נוב ראובני | Nov Reuveny (@Nov_reuveny) April 1, 2023

An additional video from a different angle also shows that a cardboard sign and flag Reuveni was holding made contact with the horse numerous times, though she claimed this was an attempt to protect herself.

Reuveni conducted media interviews from Ichilov Hospital while sitting in a wheelchair, despite the fact that she was struck in the arm and not her lower body, back, or legs.

In videos from the scene after she was hit, Reuveni can clearly be seen continuing to walk away from the highway.

Considering that Reuveni was hit on her arm, it’s highly implausible that the incident rendered her wheelchair-bound, as is visually suggested in her media interview.

“After giving the order to disperse the protesters in Ayalon, while warning them that this was an illegal demonstration and that force would be used, two protesters waved protest signs and a flag on a [sharp] stick at the head of a police horse, in a way that endangered the horse, the rider and the protesters themselves,” police said in a statement.

“The rider drove the demonstrator away from the horse while using reasonable force.”

Public Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said that he would investigate the matter and ask Tel Aviv District Commander Ami Eshed for clarification regarding the incident.

The post Police brutality or animal cruelty? Woman hit with whip after endangering police horse appeared first on World Israel News.

Israeli security forces foil Hamas terrorist plot in Jerusalem.

By TPS

Israeli security forces recently foiled a planned terrorist shooting attack outside of the Temple Mount, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) revealed Sunday morning.

A statement by the Shin Bet and Israel Police revealed that in a joint operation, the two organizations thwarted a shooting attack planned against police officers in Jerusalem.

In March, the Shin Bet and the Jerusalem Police conducted an investigation of Omar Abedin, a 21-year-old resident of a predominantly Arab neighborhood in eastern Jerusalem who is suspected of conspiring to carry out acts of terror.

As part of the investigation, it was revealed that Omar belongs to the Hamas terrorist organization and in this context, he was a participant in Hamas activities within the ‘Kathala Islamiya’, the Hamas-identified student cell at Bir Zeit University in Ramallah.

In addition, it was revealed that a few months ago the suspect began to communicate via Facebook with a terrorist operative from Lebanon. Later they switched to chatting on Telegram.

At a certain point, Omar was instructed to carry out a shooting or bomb attack when and he would have received financial aid for this purpose through additional operatives from Judea and Samaria.

Omar agreed to this request and planned to carry out a shooting attack on a bus carrying police officers in the Temple Mount area.

An indictment is expected to be filed Sunday by the Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office.

In a separate operation conducted overnight, Israeli security forces arrested five wanted terror suspects across Judea and Samaria.

IDF, Border Police, and Shin Bet forces arrested two suspects and confiscated military equipment in the village of Husan south of Jerusalem.

The forces arrested another suspect  and confiscated ammunition and weapon parts in the city of Hebron.

IDF soldiers also arrested two wanted terror suspects in Kafr Ni’main in Samaria. During the operation, clashes broke out when dozens of Arab rioters threw stones at IDF forces, who responded with measures to disperse them.

In the activity of the forces near the village of Qabatiya in Samaria, the fighters fired at armed men who fired at them first.

The wanted persons who were arrested were transferred to the security forces for further investigation.

No casualties were reported to Israeli forces.

The post Hamas terrorist attack near the Temple Mount foiled appeared first on World Israel News.

IDF soldier injured in ramming attack discharged from hospital overnight, while two others remain hospitalized in serious and moderate condition.

By TPS

Officials from Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem in Jerusalem confirmed Sunday morning that overnight two IDF soldiers who were injured in a car ramming terrorist attack near the Arab village of Beit Umma in Judea, northwest of Hebron, were brought there for treatment.

The hospital reported Sunday morning that both of the victims are 20 years old.

One is reported to have been lightly injured, and was released during the night after receiving treatment.

The second soldier is said to be in moderate condition, having suffered injuries to the lower body.

He was operated overnight at the hospital and his condition is reported as stable at this time.

The third soldier injured in the attack was evacuated in serious condition to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in the capital.

Hospital officials said that the victim’s condition had stabilized, though he remains in serious condition.

The IDF earlier confirmed that in the drive-by attack carried three IDF soldiers were injured who were acting to secure the roads in the area.

Another soldier who was operating in the area killed the terrorist.

One soldier did not need to be taken to the hospital for treatment.

The post One soldier injured in Gush Etzion ramming attack released from the hospital, two other soldiers in stable condition appeared first on World Israel News.