Israel Weekly News Roundup - Dec 6, 2024

5 Things you need to know

Israel at War - Day 427

1. President-Elect Trump Threatens Hamas to Release the Israeli Hostages

President-elect Trump threatened Hamas in Gaza to ensure they release the 101 Israeli hostages who are still being held in Gaza in dire conditions. Trump posted the threat on his social media platform Truth, saying “all hell to pay” if they do not release the hostages. He ordered the Islamic organization in Gaza to make sure they release them before his inauguration on January 20th, otherwise, he will make sure “Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit…”. Trump would like the war in Gaza to be over by the time he takes office.

In response, a Hamas spokesperson argued that it was Netanyahu, not Hamas group that kept blocking progress toward an agreement.

It is important to say that Trump is popular in Israel mainly among members of the ruling coalition. PM Netanyahu is content with the results of the presidential election, and it seems like he is waiting for Trump's inauguration before taking any actions.

Meanwhile, there are reports of a new initiative presented by Egypt to restart negotiations between Israel and Hamas, to eventually release the hostages. It also appears that Qatar will lead the new round of negotiations. It is important to mention that more than 250 Israelis, civilians, and soldiers, were abducted on October 7th. Some of them were already dead when their bodies were taken to Gaza. Fifty days later there was a deal that enabled the release of the elderly, children, and women. In May Hamas agreed to release all the hostages conditional on ending the war together with the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. PM Netanyahu refused to end the war and withdraw from the Strip. Key members of his cabinet from the extreme right also objected to those conditions and since then, negotiations are stuck.

2. The Fate of Three Israeli-American Hostages Shakes The Families

After a thorough review, Israel has notified the family of Omer Maxim Neutra that their son, who was abducted on October 7th and considered one of the hostages, actually died on that day. Neutra was a dual Israeli-American citizen, he came to Israel and volunteered to serve in the army. Members of Congress from his home state, New York, paid tribute to him while speaking about him on stage. Flags in New York State were flown at half-staff. His community gathered for a collective prayer with his family at their local synagogue.

In addition. Hamas released a video of another Israeli-American hostage, Eden Alexander, in which he begs the Israeli government to make a deal to release him and the other hostages. In the video, he mentions President-elect Trump, which indicates that the video is recent.

Families of the hostages who are still being held in Gaza, 100 of which about 50 are presumed to be dead, continue to demonstrate to pressure the government to close on a deal for their release. Mothers of the abducted and other women from all over the country have started silent demonstration sit-ins.

The body of Itai Svirsky (38) was recovered from Gaza in a joint operation by the army and Shin Bet. Svirsky was taken hostage from his parent's house in Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7th and was murdered by Hamas 100 days later in January 2024. Both his parents were murdered on October 7th. There remain 100 hostages still being held in Gaza, dead and alive.

3. Former Minister of Defense, Moshe Ya’alon Accused Israel of Ethnic Cleansing

Moshe Ya’alon, who held the post of Minister of Defense under Netanyahu, and before that was chief of staff of the Israeli army, defined the Israeli policy in Gaza as ethnic cleansing. He held the political level responsible for what he defined as ethnic cleansing. He said that the army is misled to think that occupying and operating in the northern Gaza Strip is based purely on military and defense grounds, but the policy behind it aims to use the territories that were emptied from Palestinians to establish new Jewish settlements. Some ministers in PM Netanyahu’s coalition have already announced that their priority is to settle in Northern Gaza because they believe that only Jewish settlements in the area will bring security to Israel. Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, an extreme right-wing politician, has declared time and again that he thinks Israel can and should offer the Palestinians incentives to encourage them to leave the region of their “free” will and immigrate elsewhere. PM Netanyahu responded to questions about the possibility of settlements and answered that it is not on the table. On the other hand, there are already tens of people, right-wing activists and their supporters, who are willing to move there and build settlements. Almost all players in the political arena in Israel denounced Ya’alons accusations.

The situation in northern Gaza is dire, the IDF recommended that thousands leave and go south again, humanitarian aid is stuck, food and medical support cannot reach all the displaced people, Israel continues to bomb and target buildings and Hamas operators, and there is an extreme situation there which cause a high price in human lives and extensive damage to buildings and infrastructure.

4. Sara Netanyahu Meets President-Elect Donald Trump in Florida

The wife of PM Netanyahu met with President Trump earlier this week for dinner together with her son at the Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Florida. Mrs. Netanyahu is spending time in Florida, visiting her son, Yair, who has lived there for over a year and was also present at the dinner.

Following the dinner meeting, Mrs. Netanyahu wrote in a social media post in English and Hebrew that the dinner meeting was “warm and friendly”, and that they discussed "the strategic importance of Israel winning the war" and the importance of the continued relationship between Israel and the U.S. She added that she "emphasized the urgency to act to release the hostages and return them quickly."

A photo featuring President Trump and Mrs. Netanyahu was posted on social media by Trump’s deputy director of communications. Later, the prime minister’s son posted a photo showing he was present at the meeting as well.

Sara Netanyahu is currently in Miami with her son for several weeks. According to some media analysts, her trip at this time is possibly to keep her out of the country during the prime minister’s testimony in his criminal trial on corruption charges, which is scheduled for next week.

5. Two Senior Officers in Homeland Security Ministry Questioned Over Ethical Offenses

Earlier this week, a Jerusalem court cleared for publication that Israel’s Prison Service Commissioner Kobi Yaakobi, along with Chief Superintendent Avishai Mualem, commander of Israel Police's West Bank unit, were questioned by the Department of Internal Police Investigations on suspicion of offenses related to unethical and criminal conduct, including breach of trust, ignoring information about Jewish terror in the West Bank, and obstruction of ongoing investigations. Both senior officers are close to the far-right Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, who promoted them after assuming his position.

The arrests and investigations of both are part of a covert investigation by the Justice Ministry's department for investigating police officers. At a hearing held earlier this week at the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court, the Justice Ministry's representative stated: “This is a wide-ranging case involving sensitive issues and additional units."

In response to media reports regarding the allegations against both senior officers, Minister Ben Gvir said that the justice ministry officials were attempting a “coup” and that the investigations against the two distinguished officers were designed to intimidate senior officers from implementing his policies.