Hizbollah Leader Hassan Nasrallah in a Threatening Message to Israel “We Will Not Tolerate You Pumping Gas From the Reservoir in the Mediterranean”: Nasrallah, who is the leader of Hizbollah, which is defined as a terrorist organization by a majority of the western international community, resides in Beirut, capital of Lebanon. He gave an interview in which he threatened Israel not to use its’ gas reservoir. There is a dispute between Israel and Lebanon on the ownership of some areas in the Mediterranean, on the shores of the two countries. The specific reservoir Karish (shark) is planned to be operative in September.
Nasrallah emphasized that his organization holds long distance missiles that have the ability to hit any given target in Israel or on its’ shores.
Israeli PM, Yair Lapid, Met With Abdullah, King of Jordan in Amman: The meeting took place at the Royal Palace, and was the first between the two since Lapid took office. The two discussed the ties between the two neighboring countries. Abdullah stressed Jordan’s will that the Palestinians will be part of the changes in the region and will not be left behind.
Russia Intends to Prevent The Jewish Agency from Operating in the Country: A diplomatic crisis which developed between Israel and Russia over the activities of the Jewish Agency reached another peak this week, when Russia did not grant visas to an Israeli delegation who wanted to participate in a district court meeting to discuss the matter. The government has filed a petition in the court to stop the Jewish Agency from operating in Russia. The Jewish Agency, a non-government organization that was established in the 1920s, operates all over the world to strengthen the ties between individuals, Jewish communities and Israel, and help Jews all over the world immigrate to Israel if they wish.
Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, earlier this year, the flow of immigrants from Russia to Israel grew. On the other hand, Russia decided to narrow the activities of many civil society organizations in the country. Israeli sources suspect that the new approach stems from the fact that Israel supports Ukraine, and doesn’t remain neutral. After a few tense days, the Israeli delegation were able to travel to Moscow to participate in the district court meeting, and Russia publicly insisted that this was a legal issue and not a policy one.
This story is still developing.
Firearms Death Toll in Arab Communities on the Rise, Mother of Three Shot Dead in Her Home: one man was killed and seven wounded, including two children, in firearm violence in Arab communities in central Israel. Rabab Abu Siam, 30, an educator, and mother of three, was shot dead in front of her mother, sister, and daughters in her parents’ home in Lod, near Tel Aviv. In conversation with her family in the house of mourning, they told us that while the police knew that explicit threats were made against her, they failed to prevent her murder. Jewish and Arab civil society activists and members of Knesset held a vigil in front of the Lod police station, in her memory, and in memory of Arab women murdered in recent years to protest the low number of perpetrators brought to justice.
Israeli-Arab Soccer Player Leaves National Team: Munas Dabbur, of the city of Nazareth, was considered the Israeli national team top goal-scorer. Dabbur released a brief statement on his Instagram profile, announcing he is quitting the national team: ““I would like to inform you of my decision that my part of the Israeli national team has come to an end. I would like to thank my family and everyone who has ever supported me.” Dabbur was temporarily removed from the team a year ago, following a post he wrote on Facebook, referring to the violence that erupted in the Al-Aqsa Mosque in May 2021. He later removed the post and apologized for it and explained that he expressed his concern for the sanctity of the site and did not intend to make a political statement. When he returned to play for the national team, he was booed by some Israeli Jewish fans.
For further reading:
Lapid & Abdullah: Here, here, here
Jewish Agency in Russia: Here, here, here