Israel Weekly News Roundup - Nov. 15, 2024

5 Things you need to know

Israel at War - Day 406

1. Israel Waits For President-Elect Trump

Israeli media and the public are closely following the proposed Trump administration, especially the nominations that will affect Israel and the ongoing wars in Gaza and Lebanon. Israel is vastly affected by American international policies, mainly regarding the Middle East. Right-wing supporters in Israel and the extremist far right embrace the new Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, who is an open supporter of Israeli right-wing views, and settlement of the West Bank, and defines himself as a Zionist. He supports annexation of the West Bank, which he calls Judea and Samaria, and implementing Israeli law in those territories in place of the current system of military rule. Elise Stefanik was nominated as the American Ambassador to the UN. Stefanik led the hearing in Congress of the heads of the Ivy League University presidents on antisemitism during the protests on the campuses earlier this year.  She is also considered a right-wing Israeli supporter. The nomination of Marco Rubio as the Secretary of State was also embraced by Israel's right-wing Government. Rubio has already expressed his support for Israel's war on Lebanon, and he is not calling for a cease-fire. These views align with those of PM Netanyahu and many of the Israeli cabinet.  Other nominations also indicate that Trump is going to support PM Netanyahu’s approach towards the West Bank, annexation, and maintaining a hard line with the Palestinians.

It was reported that PM Netanyahu has already spoken to Trump several times since he was elected, Netanyahu also sent his closest adviser, minister Ron Dermer for meetings with the new administration to open negotiation channels.

2. The War in Lebanon and Gaza

The war in Lebanon is still very intensive and the toll on human lives is high on both sides. Although Israeli officials, even the newly nominated minister of defense, Yisrael Katz, announced that Israel is winning, there are still intensive missile and drone attacks in Israel, including in Tel Aviv. Millions of Israelis have to take shelter several times a day.  The American special envoy to the Israeli-Lebanon war is making endless efforts to close a deal to end the war. Israel continues to heavily strike the Hizbollah quarter of Beirut. 

The war on Gaza concentrates now on the northern part of the Gaza Strip. Human rights organizations are accusing Israel of war crimes in the area. The situation in northern Gaza is dire. There is not enough food, not enough medical aid, and medical treatment. Since recent Israeli legislation outlawed UNRWA, it is challenged to address people's needs in the area. The Israeli army is calling on the Palestinians to move to the humanitarian corridor in the middle of the Gaza Strip, and many convoys of people, with children, elderly, women and men are helplessly and desperately moving south with nothing to look forward to. On the other side, Israeli soldiers are also exhausted and there are rising numbers of combat deaths during ongoing confrontations with Hamas fighters. The total number of Israeli soldiers killed fighting Hamas in Gaza since October 7, 2023, currently exceeds 380.

3. President Biden Met With Families of Hostages

President Biden held a meeting at the White House with families of Israel-Americans who have been held hostage in Gaza since October 7th, 2023. This was his fourth meeting with those families since they were abducted. He promised them to do all he could to restart negotiations for their release in the short time he still has at the White House. He also raised this issue in his meeting with President-elect Trump.

Biden also met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog. The two presidents expressed their wishes for the release of hostages. There are 101 hostages, alive and dead, who are still in Gaza. Islamic Jihad released a short video of one of the hostages, Sasha Trufenov, who also holds Russian citizenship. Sasha, who just turned 29, was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz. His mother was also in captivity but she was released after 51 days. In the video, he begs Israel make a deal to release him and the other 100 hostages, since they live in very bad conditions and don’t have enough food.  

In terms of the war, President Biden is pushing Israel to increase the number of trucks with humanitarian aid sent into Gaza, especially northern Gaza, and has conditioned sending ammunition on increasing levels of aid.

4. PM Netanyahu’s Testimony is Due December 2nd

PM Netanyahu requested a further delay for his testimony in his corruption trial in the district court in Jerusalem. PM Netanyahu claimed that he is overwhelmingly occupied with the war in Gaza and Lebanon and he has no time to prepare himself for his testimony. The panel of three justices held a court meeting and also heard some security issues behind closed doors. The claim was that it may be dangerous to hold a trial with the presence of the PM while Israel is still under the threat of missile attacks and there is a direct threat to the PM. Eventually, the court rejected the request. This trial has been going on for more than four years. PM Netanyahu already requested a delay a few months ago and was granted a few month's delay to prepare his testimony. The panel ruled that the previous time was also during the intensive war situation and all relevant issues were then taken into consideration. Therefore his testimony is due to be given on December 2nd this year.

5. Israeli Soccer Team Played in Paris Under Sever Security and Protest

The Israeli soccer team played a game in Paris against the French team, with the presence of a large security force accompanied by many protests against Israeli policies and the war in Gaza. The Israeli national security council issued a warning to fans not to travel to France, due to intensive security alerts. The tension around the game was intensified after the violent events in Amsterdam last Friday, when lots of Israeli fans were brutally attacked by pro-Palestinian local gangs.  There is a lot of tension around Israeli groups and officials, mainly due to the war in Gaza. Many of the protesters accused Israel of causing a major humanitarian crisis in Gaza, some accuse Israel of genocide. Prior to the attack in Amsterdam a few groups of Israeli fans walked in the streets, chanting slogans against the Arabs, including to kill all the Arabs. Some Israelis roamed the streets, tearing down Palestinian flags that were hanging on balconies and in windows of private homes. After the violent attacks, Israeli airlines sent airplanes to rescue all Israeli tourists who came to watch the soccer game in Amsterdam.

Emmanuel Macron, French President attended the game in Paris, to express his support for Israel and to show that he totally opposes antisemitism. Hundreds of people protested in the streets of Paris, lighting bonfires, and chanting pro-Palestinian slogans.