Three Men Were Murdered and Four Wounded in another Deadly Attack: Two Palestinians entered the local park in Elad, a predominantly Haredi town, with an axe and weapon, Thursday night, at the end of Independence Day, killing and wounding. They managed to flee before police arrived. Security forces initiated a manhunt to try and catch them, and delayed the opening of the closure that was imposed on the West Bank and Gaza for Independence Day, until Saturday night. Israel is still assessing the situation and weighing how to respond.
Earlier this week a Hamas Leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar, in a first public speech in a year, called Palestinians to go and hurt Israelis. Take an axe, anything and go out to hit Israelis he said in his speech. Sinwar also slammed Israeli Arab leader Mansour Abbas for cooperating with the Israeli government due to events on Mount Temple. Hamas Leader said that being part of the Israeli government is an “unforgivable crime”. Sinwar referred to the clashes on Mount Temple between Palestinians and Israeli police. “For an Arab to say that this is a Jewish state is the height of degeneracy,” said Sinwar, “You get a few achievements for Arab society, in exchange for the violation of Al Aqsa?” Leader of Arab Joint List, Abbas immediately attacked back and responded: “We don’t owe anything to Yahya Simwar or anyone else. We are what is good for the Arab community and Palestinian nation.”
It is important to mention here that Hamas is defined as a terrorist organization in Israel and other western countries, including the USA. It is also important to know that the Arab Joint List, Ra’am, is a Muslim religious party, and also Hamas is a Muslim religious movement and organization.
Israel Celebrates 74 years of Independence: The festivities began on the eve of May 4th after the end of Memorial Day with the formal ceremony in Mount Herzl, and the traditional torch lighting, under the theme “a hand meets a sister hand”. The thirteen torch lighters this year were women and men who transformed personal hardships, trauma and loss into social initiatives that benefit diverse communities and raise awareness of issues such as sexual violence, LGBTQI rights, people with special needs, and more. For the first time in the history of the ceremony, the organizers scrapped the traditional fireworks display, out of increased awareness to its impact on army veterans and people suffering from PTSD. Other localities followed their lead and cancelled fireworks displays.
Independence Day itself was marked by picnics and barbecues, the annual world Bible Quiz, the annual Israel Prize ceremony and the Air Force flyover. The traditional flyover, featuring the air force’s combat airplanes, flew over numerous cities and communities from north to south, including the city of Hebron in the West Bank. Palestinian leaders together with Jewish left-wing activists and politicians criticized the decision to flyover Hebron.
Israel President Herzog Called Jordanian King Abdullah and Palestinian President Abbas to Wish Their People Happy Eid al-Fitr: It was the first time an Israeli senior official has spoken to either of these two leaders since the outbreak of the clashes on the Temple Mount last month during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Herzog played an important role reducing tensions between the Israeli government together with policy makers and foreign Arab leaders in general, and Palestinian and Jordanian leaders in particular. It is important to mention here that according to the status quo, Jordan is the sole guardian of the Temple Mount and Israel cannot change the reality on the ground without consulting Jordan and getting their approval. Israel has authority over the venue but is not allowed to act in violation of the status-quo. Last month during the clashes, Israeli police forces entered the Mount to deal with violence led by gangs, and Jordan objected to the Israeli police actions. The Israeli police actions contributed to an increase in the tension between Israel and the Palestinians, especially with their leaders.
Israel Demands Russia Apologize For the Russian Foreign Minister’s Remarks that Even Hitler Had Jewish Blood: Sergei Lavrov, Russian Foreign minister was asked in an interview with an Italian media outlet, how can Russia claim that it is denazifying Ukraine when Zelensky is a Jew. Lavrov answered that even Hitler had Jewish blood. This remark provoked a chain of condemnations from all over the world, but mainly in Israel, demanding that he apologize.
Russia's ambassador to Israel was summoned to Israel's foreign ministry for talks. Until now, Israel tried not to side completely with Ukraine and leave an open path to the Russians and Putin. Israel is operating in Syria, which is controlled by Russia, and it needs Russia’s approval for those military attacks. But the remarks by Lavrov may have changed the political situation. President Putin called PM Bennett to congratulate Israel for Independence Day. Bennett’s spokesperson told reporters that Putin apologized, but the Kremlin report did not mention any apology.
Three Die of Food Poisoning in Home for People with Disabilities: an outbreak of food poisoning, possibly caused by contaminated meat, in a residential facility in Holon, near Tel Aviv, took the lives of three residents and caused severe symptoms among others. The facility is run by a private corporation with funding and supervision from the ministry of welfare. The case drew the attention of the media, politicians, and the public to the poor conditions in the facility, both in terms of physical infrastructure, staff burnout and low pay. Disability activists and journalists called for a comprehensive investigation into the conditions at the facility, and a broader review of the state criteria for the operation of privatized facilities for people with disabilities.
For further reading:
Palestinian attack: Here, here, here Here, here, here, here
Independence Day: Here, here, here, here, here
Eid al-Fitr: Here, here, here, here