Israel Weekly News Roundup June 23, 2023
5 Things you need to know
Severe Escalation in The West Bank, Followed By Calls for a Major Military Operation. Four Israelis Murdered in a Terrorist Attack in The West Bank, By A Palestinian Squad: Four Israelis, all of them settlers from the settlement Eli, were shot dead by a Palestinian squad of two, one of the Palestinians was killed at the scene. Following this attack, hundreds of settlers entered three Palestinian villages close to the scene, vandalized, and burned Palestinian property, cars and buildings. These outlaw events lasted hours. Israeli soldiers tried to calm things down, during the violence, a Palestinian was killed. On Thursday night the Shin Bet (secret service) arrested and detained three of the outlaws. It is very rare that e Shin Bet detain Jewish activists.
Since the formation of the current government, led by PM Netanyahu, there has been an on-going escalation in the conflict with the Palestinians, with more terrorist attacks and more military invasions into Palestinian towns and villages, in an attempt to prevent this escalation.
Senior members in the government, mainly from the right wing extremist parties, Otsma Yehudit (Jewish Power, led by minister of national security Itamar Ben-Gvir) and Religious Zionism (led by finance minister, Betzalel Smotrich. Ben Gvir immediately showed up at the scene and called on the government (in which he serves as a minister) to open a major military operation in the West Bank, to “regain deterrence” that was lost by the previous government, according to Ben Gvir.
In addition, the government decided to build another thousand living units in the settlement Eli. That decision has already resulted in a series of condemnations from major governments, mainly the US and the European Union.
This is still a developing news story.
An Israeli Army Unit Got Into a Difficult Situation While on a Military Mission in a Hostile Palestinian Village: Earlier this week, an Israeli army unit, which was on a mission to catch terrorists and prevent planned attacks against Israelis, was unable to extricate themselves and needed extra aid. For the first time in many years, the IDF (Israel Defense Force) used military fighter helicopters for targeted killing and as a means to rescue the Israeli soldiers. At least seven Palestinians were killed in the operation, and seven Israeli soldiers were injured needing rescue.
Analyst say that this military operation was the cause for the terrorist attack on Israelis the next day.
Israel is trying to regain its power and control in the Palestinian towns and villages in the northern parts of the West Bank, and army units are showing an intensified presence on the ground leading to heightened tension.
Anti-Judicial Overhaul Candidate Wins Israeli Bar Association Elections: Attorney Amit Becher, interim chair of the Israeli Bar Association, and a vocal objector to the judicial overhaul won the race against the pro-overhaul candidate and former bar chair, Effi Naveh. Becher won 73% of the votes, while his opponent, Naveh, positioned as the pro-Netanyahu candidate received 17% of the votes. The voting turnout was considerably higher this time, with 50% of bar members, as compared to 30% in previous elections, casting their votes.
In his victory speech, Becher said that his election will go down as ‘an important chapter in the history of Israeli democracy’. Naveh, accepting his defeat, said that the elections were not about professional matters of the Bar, but about the divide between left and right politics. Naveh stepped down as chair of the bar after he was indicted and found guilty of deceit, when he tried to re-enter Israel with his partner without stamping her passport.
Soon after the final results of the elections were published, the Likud party announced that it will promote legislation designed to dismantle the Bar Association in its current form and curb the Bar Association’s membership in the Judicial Appointment Committee.
Clashes Between Police and Druze Residents in Protests Over Construction of Wind Turbines in the Golan Heights: Five Druze protestors were badly injured, and six arrested in protests that lasted two days. Twelve policemen were slightly injured in clashes with the protestors who forcibly entered a local police station, confronted the policemen and threw stones. Following the clashes in the localities close to the area where the construction work had started, the protest expanded to other centers in the north and many roads were blocked to traffic. The police used rubber bullets, smoke grenades and water cannons to disperse the demonstrations.
The catalyst for the protests was a comprehensive multi-million shekel project to construct electricity generating wind turbines on private Druze farms and orchards in the Golan Heights in the north. While some of the landowners initially agreed to lease their lands to Energix, the company in charge of the project, some changed their minds and others resisted, as the implications became known to them. These include noise pollution, neurological effects, as well as a decline in local tourism during cherry and apple picking seasons. The heated protests occurred within the broader context of the increasingly strained relationship between the Druze community and the Israeli government, following the legislation of the Nation State Law and the judicial overhaul.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with the spiritual leader of the Druze community, Sheikh Wafak Tarif, and demanded they "immediately stop the violence and the riots". Skeikh Tarif, on the other hand, called on Netanyahu and the police to order the work to stop, “to prevent bloodshed”, and said that the protest sparked by the works stems from an "accumulation of many years of anger”.
Hezbollah Erected Two Military Positions on Israeli Territory Near the Lebanese Border: Israeli media reported earlier this week that Hezbollah erected two tents populated by 10 armed operatives. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) did not attack the tents and their inhabitants, even though it was aware of their presence for several weeks. In response to probes from the media, The IDF laconically said “the matter is known and being dealt with by the relevant authorities.” Media resources further reported that since the erection of the military posts by Hezbollah, the IDF has been working with the Foreign Ministry and in dialogue with UNIFIL to convince the small Hezbollah contingent to withdraw, without the use of force, possibly to avoid further escalation.
And before we end this report, a developing story regarding PM Netanyahu’s Trial:
The Panel of Judges for PM Netanyahu’s Trial Delivered a Message to the Prosecution, Saying That it Would Be Hard to Prove the Bribery Chapter in the Indictment, and Suggested Considering a Plea Deal. In an unprecedented message, the three judges told the representatives for the prosecution to consider another path in the case. PM Netanyahu is under indictment for three charges: bribery, fraud and breach of trust. The key witness for fraud and breach of trust is scheduled to testify on Sunday, from the UK via video conference. The witness is the Hollywood mogul Arnon Miltchen, who was a source for supplying cigars, champagne and other presents to the Neyanyahus for a sum of hundreds of thousands of NIS.
For Further Reading:
Terrorist Attack: Here, here, here
Military Operation: Here, here, here, here