West Bank Israeli settlements
Reuters Reporting by Ali Saftawi and Nuha Sharaf; Writing by Howard Goller; Editing by Timothy Heritage 20 December 2024

Extracts:

• West Bank Israeli settlements

The United Nations says more than 700,000 Israelis live among 3 million Palestinians, in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, lands Israel captured in 1967

Most countries deem Israeli settlements built on the captured land to be illegal
Israel disputes this and cites historical and biblical ties to the land

Violence has surged across the West Bank since the October 7, 2023 attack led by Hamas militants on southern Israel, which triggered Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza and a wider conflict on several fronts

Syria Could Become a Turkish Protectorate
Haaretz by Zvi Bar'el 15 December 2024

Extracts:

• Syria Could Become a Turkish Protectorate, Limiting Israel's Freedom of Action

With a strategic interest in turning Syria into an anti-Kurdish bulwark, Turkey is seeking to take the place of Russia and Iran – including control of Syria's airspace

• HTS letters to UNSC

One day after Israel took control of "Syrian Mount Hermon" and areas around Quneitra, Syria's new government under Abu Mohammed al-Golani swiftly dispatched two letters to the United Nations Security Council and secretary-general, demanding,
1. Israel withdraw its forces from Syrian territory
2. and cease its attacks

Israel At War - Day 442 Houthis Still Standing Still Firing
Missile from Yemen explodes in south Tel Aviv park
The Times of Israel 21 December 2024

Extracts:

• Missile from Yemen explodes in south Tel Aviv park, lightly injuring 16

IDF says interception attempts failed:
sirens send millions rushing to shelters throughout central Israel, in second Houthi attack in as many days

Long war - Bitter lessons
Haaretz by David Rosenberg 19 December 2024

Extracts:

• The Bitter Lesson Israel Can Learn From Russia About Fighting Long Wars

Prolonged fighting is straining the Russian economy
Israel faces the same problem if Netanyahu insists on keeping it on a war footing

Economically speaking (and for that matter, virtually everything-else speaking) Israel and Russia couldn't be more different

Israel was asleep at the wheel...

• Terrorists unleashed surprise terror of savagery and sadism, on Israel 07 October 2023
• This “belligerent warring” been going on far too long.... Israeli soldiers far too high a toll
• Israel has not seen this scale of military activity in terms of duration, intensity and cost in recent times
• Israel is burning and bleeding, on all fronts including its economy

Hamas must have known what would happen – that Israel would react with force and that many Gazan people would suffer as a result Then again,
1. “We make the headlines only with blood”
2. “No blood, no news”
3. willingness to sacrifice Palestinian civilian lives for their own advantage
4. calling their own people's deaths “necessary sacrifice”

• Gaza

Palestinian civilian death toll and horrific humanitarian situation in the Gaza strip

• common denominator: Russia

The two wars currently dominating the agenda: Ukraine war and Israel-Middle East war -- have / had one common denominator: Russia

Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X, has called on Mr Scholz to “immediately resign” in the wake of the terror attack, and called the Chancellor an “incompetent fool”.

All Israel News December 20, 2024

What is he on

Russian President Putin expresses concern over Israeli military presence in Syria:
"Russia condemns the seizure of any Syrian territories. This is obvious," Putin said

"I have the impression that not only are they not going to leave, but they are going to reinforce there," Putin claimed, adding that Israel has reached Soviet-built fortifications located some 25 km (16 miles) inside Syria.

"We all understand this. There will be many problems. But we are on the side of international law and for the sovereignty of all countries, while respecting their territorial integrity, meaning Syria," Putin stated

No wonder Zelensky call him dumbass

denies Moscow's weakening after Assad's fall:
He denied that Moscow’s backing of the former Assad regime was a failure.

Russia’s main interest in Syria is to secure its two main military bases, which offer Russia direct access to the Mediterranean Sea.

Putin claimed that Russia is currently engaged in dialogue with Syrian rebels, who, according to him, support the preservation of Russia’s military assets in Syria.

whatever he is on, double

Turning to Russia’s tense relations with the United States due to the war in Ukraine, Putin said Russia is ready to embrace compromises and hopes that relations will improve under President-elect Donald Trump.

"We have always said that we are ready for negotiations and compromises," Putin stated

"Soon, those Ukrainians who want to fight will run out, in my opinion, soon there will be no one left who wants to fight.
We are ready, but the other side needs to be ready for both negotiations and compromises," he added.

While initially rivals in Syria, Russia and Iran have formed a close military alliance since the Ukraine war began in 2022 amid international boycotts against both countries.

The Iranian regime has provided Russia with drones that have been used against Ukraine.

In return, Moscow has provided Tehran with advanced military equipment, including Russia's aerial defense systems.

The Times of Israel December 21, 2024
After missile strike in Tel Aviv, Houthi official says ‘heart of enemy no longer secure’

Medics say 16 lightly injured, mostly by shattered glass
IDF confirms ‘attempted interceptions did not succeed’

From: The Times of Israel December 22, 2024
Yemen airstrikes reportedly carried out by US-led coalition

CENTCOM confirms strikes on Houthi missile storage facility and command center in Sana’a

US Central Command confirms having conducted airstrikes in Sana’a, Yemen earlier this evening, saying it targeted a missile storage facility and a command-and-control site operated by Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

CENTCOM says the attack will degrade Houthi capabilities to conduct attacks such as ones that have targeted US warships and merchant vessels in the Southern Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb, and Gulf of Aden.

It makes no mention of last night’s Houthi missile attack in Tel Aviv.

During the operation, CENTCOM forces also shot down multiple Houthi drones and an anti-ship cruise missile over the Red Sea, CENTCOM says.

“The strike reflects CENTCOM’s ongoing commitment to protect U.S. and coalition personnel, regional partners and international shipping,” the statement adds.

Yemen’s Al-Masirah outlet, linked to the Iran-backed Houthis, says the blasts in Sana’a a short while ago were the result of airstrikes.

The strikes were carried out by the US-led coalition, and not Israel, Israeli sources say.

From: The Times of Israel December 22, 2024

German Christmas market attacker is Saudi anti-Islamist who shared pro-Israel content
Attacker reportedly tried 'to hit as many people as possible'

Regional premier says suspect is doctor, 50, who lived in Germany since 2006 showed support for far-right AfD;
Washington Post says man believed to have been under influence of drugs

The suspect in the deadly ramming at a Christmas market in Germany on Friday was an anti-Islam activist who shared pro-Israel content on social media in the wake of the October 7 attacks, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Five people were killed and some 200 injured when an SUV plowed through the festive crowd in Magdeburg.
One of the victims was a young child.

Regional premier Reiner Haselhoff said that the suspect is a 50-year-old doctor and was seemingly a lone attacker.
He was detained in the wake of the deadly ramming.

German media added that he was a doctor of psychiatry, and partially named him as Taleb A.

According to the Journal report, the suspect, a Saudi national who had moved to Germany in 2006 ran a website and social media channels warning against Islam and discussing women’s rights, as well as posting content in support of Israel.

He also showed support for Germany’s far-right anti-immigration AfD party, the report said.

A German security official familiar with the investigation told the Journal that the suspect had arrived in Germany as an asylum seeker who said he had fled Saudi Arabia due to strict Islamic laws.

He was granted refugee status before obtaining permanent residence in the country.

According to the report, the suspect had posted on social media in recent days accusing the German government of,
1. allowing the proliferation of Islamization in the country
2. and of persecuting female Saudi asylum seekers

Police said the vehicle drove “at least 400 meters across the Christmas market” leaving a trail of bloodied casualties, debris and broken glass at the city’s central town hall square.

The local Volksstimme newspaper said reports from the scene indicated the attacker clearly tried “to hit as many people as possible.”

From: The Jerusalem Post December 20, 2024
Saudi Arabia warned Germany ahead of Christmas market ramming, source claims

A Saudi source told Reuters that Saudi Arabia had warned German authorities about the suspect after he posted extremist views on his X account that threatened peace and security.

A German security source said Saudi authorities had sent several tips in 2023 and 2024 and that these had been passed on to the relevant security authorities.

A risk assessment conducted last year by German state and federal criminal investigators came to the conclusion that the man posed "no specific danger," the Welt newspaper reported, citing security sources.

Germany's domestic and foreign intelligence agencies both declined to comment on the investigation.

The state and federal criminal investigation offices did not respond to Reuters' request for comment.

A strange case the Christmas attack the Saudi of Shia origins once threatenend Angela Merkel. Considering him being Shia there may be a link to Iranian or other intelligence services.


The man who drove into a Christmas market in Magdeburg on Friday evening displayed "atypical" behavior that "did not fit into a pattern," Holger Münch, the head of the German Federal Police, told public television broadcaster ZDF late Saturday evening

Münch also confirms that a tip came from Saudi Arabia about the suspect in 2023, after which a case was opened and the police conducted “an appropriate investigation.”

Perpetrator was not known for violent acts
The police knew the man. "He had several contacts with authorities, made insults and occasionally threats, but was not known for his violent acts," Münch told ZDF.

The police chief said that everything now needs to be put back on the table, and that the security authorities need to check that they have not let anything slip through their fingers. "But again, we have a completely atypical pattern here," Münch said.

He is migrant too

Haaretz December 22, 2024

Joint U.S.- British strike targets Yemen's Hodeidah

Lebanese news channel Al Mayadeen reported Saturday that the United States and the United Kingdom carried out a joint strike in western Yemen's Hodeidah.

7Israel National News December 21, 2024

Pope Francis: claims Israel's war against Hamas terror group is 'cruelty, not war';
Foreign Ministry: 'Cruelty is holding 100 hostages for 442 days'

Pope Francis: on Saturday criticized Israel's operations to destroy the Hamas terror group in Gaza, claiming that Israel acted with "cruelty."

During his annual Christmas address to Catholic cardinals, the Pope alleged:
"Yesterday, children were bombed. This is cruelty. This is not war. I wanted to say this because it touches the heart."

Foreign Ministry: 'Israel makes extraordinary efforts to prevent harm to innocents, enough with double standards & singling out the Jewish state & its people.'

Israel's Foreign Ministry responded to the Pope's statement, saying, "In response to the Pope’s statement today:
1. Cruelty is terrorists hiding behind children while trying to murder Israeli children;
2. cruelty is holding 100 hostages for 442 days, including a baby and children, by terrorists and abusing them."

"Unfortunately, the Pope has chosen to ignore all of this, as well as the fact that Israel’s actions have targeted terrorists who used children as human shields.

"The Pope’s remarks are particularly disappointing as they are disconnected from the true and factual context of Israel’s fight against jihadist terrorism — a multi-front war that was forced upon it starting on October 7

The death of any innocent person in a war is a tragedy.

Israel makes extraordinary efforts to prevent harm to innocents, while Hamas makes extraordinary efforts to increase harm to Palestinian civilians.

"The blame should be directed solely at the terrorists, not at the democracy defending itself against them," the Ministry added.
"Enough with the double standards and the singling out of the Jewish state and its people."

Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel tweeted:
1. "Hamas uses children as human shields and targets innocent civilians on both sides.
2. The Pope’s comments overlook the reality of Israel’s fight against brutal terror imposed on it on October 7
3. The responsibility lies with the terrorists, not with the state defending its citizens."

In his continued attitude toward Israel, the Pope is undermining 80 years of rebuilding relations between Roman Catholics and Jews since the Holocaust, when the Vatican protected Nazis.

"He is destroying the reconciliation that Pope John Paul ll was so passionate about with the Jews.
This is a just war as Israel still has 100 hostages left in Gaza."

Pope: also claimed that the Catholic bishop of Jerusalem, called the "patriarch," had tried to enter Gaza for a visit on Friday, but was denied entry.

On Saturday, the IDF said that the patriarch had been approved entry and would enter Gaza on Sunday;
the IDF added that aid from his office entered Gaza last week.

The IDF also stressed to Reuters that it allows clerics to enter Gaza, and "works in cooperation with the Christian community to make it easier for the Christian population that remains in the Gaza Strip – including coordinating its removal from the Gaza Strip to a third country."

The patriarch's office told Reuters that it was not able to comment.

Haaretz December 22, 2024

1. Hamas Agrees to Release 11 Young Male Hostages in First Phase of Deal With Israel
2. Israel Agrees to Release 200 Prisoners Serving Life Sentences, Palestinian Source Says

Israel and Hamas remain divided over the identities and numbers of hostages to be freed in a potential two phase deal that would release female, elderly and sick Israeli hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including convicted murderers

Israel has agreed to release around 200 prisoners serving life sentences in a hostage release deal, a Palestinian source told Haaretz on Saturday, but added that disagreements remain regarding the identities of those to be freed.

A political source said that the "terrorist Marwan Barghouti will not be released if and when a deal is reached to release the hostages." According to him, reports saying otherwise are false.

Yep like the police chief said "atypical" behavior. A Shia rooting for AfD and attacking a Christmas market hurting and killing so many German people. It's a terror attack but very strange although not suprising in today's Geopolitics and tensions.

From: The Jerusalem Post December 22, 2024

Netanyahu likely to choose IDF intel over Mossad on Houthis, delays direct strike on Iran

If there is a major Iranian strike or counter-strike against Israel, the IDF is on the hot seat for failing to prevent hits.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will likely prefer what appears to be an IDF intelligence recommendation to respond to the latest Houthi ballistic missile attack with a direct counterattack against the group over what Mossad chief David Barnea supposedly recommended – a direct attack against Iran.

Netanyahu appears to favor the military intelligence approach because he wants to hold out for potentially attacking Iran at some later date – likely not until after Trump has taken office.

Barnea has been among the country’s leading hawks on Iran throughout his term and has tended to advocate hitting Tehran more often and harder, whereas IDF intelligence has tended to be more conservative about direct attacks on the Islamic Republic in light of the potentially grave consequences.

The Mossad frequently views Iran through a general strategic prism of needing to weaken the broader long-term threats it poses – whether through its nuclear program, its conventional weapons, or its terrorism worldwide.

In contrast, the IDF is responsible not only for Israeli offense but also for air defense, meaning that if there was a major Iranian strike against Israel, the IDF would be in the hot seat for failing to prevent hits, such as occurred on Saturday in Jaffa.

From: The Jerusalem Post December 22, 2024
Israel and Poland:

An obscene irony: Talk of arresting Netanyahu at Auschwitz - analysis

The irony of arresting Netanyahu at Auschwitz would be astounding, undermining the very purpose of the commemoration.

Nearly five years ago, as preparations were underway to hold a major event in Jerusalem on January 20, 2020 marking the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, dozens of world leaders were slated to attend.

Poland’s President Andrzej Duda, however,  announced he would not participate because he would not be allowed to speak at the event.

Instead, keynote speeches were to be delivered by,
1. then-US Vice President Mike Pence,
2. Russian President Vladimir Putin
3. and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

For Duda, the decision to exclude him from speaking was more than a diplomatic slight—it was, he argued, “a distortion of the historical truth,” denying him the chance to honor Polish citizens who perished in the Holocaust.

This sensitivity to “historical truth” raises questions about how Duda might view a potential scenario unfolding today:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu being unable to travel to Poland and Auschwitz for an event marking the 80th anniversary of the death camp’s liberation on January 27, 2025 because Poland has stated it would honor an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant for his arrest on alleged war crimes stemming from the October 7 war.

Poland’s deputy foreign minister, Wladyslaw Bartoszewski told a Polish newspaper on Friday that Netanyahu would indeed be arrested if he came to the ceremony.

Think of that:
Poland, upon whose soil millions of Jews were killed, would detain the leader of the Jewish state for taking actions to protect the country from those seeking to destroy it.

And this is based on an arrest warrant issued by a court that lacks jurisdiction over Israel.

Talk about a distortion of truth — both past and present.

Auschwitz stands as the ultimate symbol of antisemitism, where 1.1 million people were murdered, a million of them Jews.

To arrest Netanyahu under an ICC warrant—a move widely viewed in Israel as antisemitic due to its double standards and bias—would send an unconscionable message.

For Poland to enforce such a decree, especially at a memorial event for history’s greatest crime of Jew-hatred, is almost unfathomable.

Making noise for noise's sake?
At this stage, however, it’s important to note that this scenario remains hypothetical.

Netanyahu never announced any plans to attend the event  -- it is the Polish deputy foreign minister who floated the idea in a newspaper interview --  and it is unclear whether the prime minister would attend even if the ICC case weren’t a factor.  

The natural candidate to represent Israel at such a ceremony would be President Isaac Herzog.

Indeed, five years ago, a week after the event in Jerusalem, then-President Reuven Rivlin represented Israel at a 75th anniversary commemoration held at Auschwitz.

Herzog himself traveled to Poland two years ago to mark the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

Israel’s ties with Poland have been tense over the last number of years, making Israeli representation at such events more complex.

Once robust, ties  took a turn for the worse in 2018 when Poland pushed forward legislation criminalizing suggestions that the Poles were complicit in the Holocaust and making it a punishable crime to say “Polish death camps

A year later, on a trip to Poland, Netanyahu infuriated the Poles when he was erroneously quoted as saying that “the Poles” collaborated with the Nazis, rather than that “Poles” -- implying “some Poles “ -- collaborated with them.

As a result of this, then-Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki canceled a trip to Israel to take part in a high-level summit. 

Two days later, Israel Katz, who had just become foreign minister, exacerbated the crisis even further when he said in relation to the brouhaha: “I am the child of Holocaust survivors, and like every Israeli and Jew, I will not compromise over the memory of the Holocaust.

We will not forgive nor forget, and there were many Poles who collaborated with the Nazis.

How did Yitzhak Shamir put it – they killed his father – ‘the Poles imbibe anti-Semitism with their mother’s milk.’.”

Relations further deteriorated in 2021 when then-Foreign Minister Yair Lapid recalled Israel’s envoy from Poland over Polish legislation limiting restitution claims for Holocaust victims.

Lapid labeled the law “anti-Semitic and unethical” and said, “Poland has become an anti-democratic and illiberal country that does not honor the greatest tragedy in human history.”

Poland responded by recalling its ambassador from Tel Aviv.

Though Israel’s envoy returned to Poland a year later, just days after Russia invaded Ukraine, Poland only returned an ambassador to Israel last month.