Israel Update 26.1.23

COUNTER TERRORISM

 

On Thursday the IDF launched an operation in Jenin to “apprehend a terror squad belonging to the Islamic Jihad terror organization,” acting on intelligence provided by the Israel Security Agency, to thwart “a major attack.” Nine Palestinians were killed in the clash, eight were armed militants, mostly Islamic Jihad operatives. At least 20 others were wounded in the fighting.
Such an extensive operation in broad daylight is unusual and suggests the planned Palestinian attack was imminent. Read more here

 

Context

 

At a recent UN Security Council meeting, Israeli Ambassador Gilad Erdan said:” Over and over again, we have heard how the past year has been the deadliest year for the Palestinians…Yet the vast majority of Palestinian fatalities and casualties are not civilians, but, instead, terrorists who were “neutralized in the midst of their acts of violence…. it was also the year with the most terror attacks committed against Israelis in a decade.”  with more than 5,000 attacks against Israelis in 2022, killing 31 and injuring 418. Read more here

 

 

HEZBOLLAH THREAT

 

 

Hizbullah has built 20 observation and guard posts over the past year along Israel’s border with Lebanon, including this past month the construction of an 18 metre high tower.
According to UN Security Council Resolution 1701, following the 2006 Lebanon war, Hizbullah is forbidden from operating near the border fence. The IDF has long accused Hezbollah of conducting clandestine activities along the Israel-Lebanon border under the guise of an “environmental” group known as “Green Without Borders”. Read more hereRead more here

 

 

In recent weeks Hezbollah activists have been harassing residents of the northern Israeli town of Metullah by using powerful lasers shining blinding green light from a hill in Lebanon only 180 metres away into homes and into the eyes of Israeli drivers.  This kind of laser can cause irreparable damage to people’s eyes, including permanent blindness. The UN has promised to intervene, but nothing has been done to date. Read more here

 

 

 

Hizbullah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah recently announced that more than 9,000 new recruits had joined the “resistance.”bolstering the 90,000 members of the al-Mahdi scouts. He claimed that the party can count on at least 100,000 experienced fighters, meaning that Hizbullah can mobilize 200,000 men in the event of an armed conflict.  Read more here

 

 

 

HAMAS

 

 

Hamas has been holding two Israeli civilians and the remains of two soldiers for over 8 years. Recently the Gaza-ruling terror group released a short video puroportedly showing Avera Mengistu one of the captive Israelis. Israeli authorities have been quietly engaged in fruitless negotiations for the captives’ release for years. Read more here

 

 

 

THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY

 

 

 

Two Palestinian terrorists, Karim and Maher Younis, recently released from prison after serving 40-year terms for murdering IDF Cpl. Avraham Bromberg on the Golan Heights in 1980, each received $98,698 from the Palestinian Authority as a reward for the murder, according to Israeli NGO Palestinian Media Watch.Read more here

 

 

 

 

HUGE US/ISRAELJOINT DRILL

 

The Israel Defence Forces and United States Central Command on Monday began a large-scale joint exercise in Israel and over the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The drill, dubbed Juniper Oak 2023, will involves over 140 aircraft, 12 naval vessels, and artillery systems from both nations and lasts until Friday. A senior US defence official said that the drill was aimed at showing adversaries, such as Iran, that Washington is not too distracted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and threats from China to mobilize a large military force. Read more here

 

 

CYBER SUMMIT AT UNITED NATIONS

 

 

Israel’s mission to the UN hosted a first-of-its-kind cyber summit at HQ in New York.  The Israeli mission partnered with Israel’s National Cyber Directorate (INCD) and Israel-based venture group Team 8 for the event, called Stronger Together: Collaboration for a Cyber-Safe World. Read more here

 

 

 

PROFESSOR

 

 

Dr. Abdulla Watad, 35, from the Israeli Arab village of Jatt, is the youngest Israeli physician to receive a full professorship at the Tel Aviv University Faculty of Medicine. Watad is a senior rheumatologist and deputy director of the Internal Medicine B ward at Sheba Medical Centre. He has co-authored about 200 scientific publications.”  At Sheba, I never felt there is discrimination between Arab or non-Arab,” he said. Read more here

 

 

 

WOMEN’S HEALTH

 

 

In the 2021 Hologic Global Women’s Health Index published this week, Israel is ranked number 9. Read more hereRead more here

 

 

 

UKRAINE

 

 

Work is underway on the transfer of Israeli technology related to smart alert regarding missiles and drones, according to the Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel.Read more here

 

 

 

Ukraine’s Ambassador to Israel visited Ukrainian soldiers being rehabilitated and fitted for prosthetics at the Loewenstein Rehabilitation Hospital in Ra’anana. The ambassador also visited 13-year-old Rynat Tsupryk, who has been undergoing rehabilitation there since March. Read more here

 

 

Israeli emergency aid organization IsraAID recently sent personnel to Dnipro, Ukraine, to assist in the response to a devastating Russian missile strike. IsraAID-trained psychologists were providing free support to families and first responders at four hospitals while IsraAID was also providing food and other aid including blankets to residents and families affected by the attack. Read more here

 

INDIA

 

 

The 30th Indo-Israel Centre of Excellence has been inaugurated in Haryana, dedicated to semi-arid horticultural crops. Israel is a pioneer in developing sustainable technologies and solutions for all agricultural sectors.  There are now 30 such centres in different states across India with more in the pipeline. These centres are increasing farmers’ yield and productivity while diversifying local crops and improving the quality of produce. Read more here

 

 

MOROCCO

 

 

Following the first meeting of the monitoring committee for Moroccan-Israeli defence cooperation, the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces has agreed with Israel “to further strengthen cooperation and expand it to other areas, including in intelligence, air defence and electronic warfare.” Read more here

 

 

 

DEFENCE

 

 

Elbit Systems UK (a subsidiary of Israel’s Elbit Systems Ltd) has been awarded a contract to provide Magni-X micro-Uncrewed Aerial Systems to the UK Ministry of Defence by mid-2023. Magni-X is a proven military-grade Vertical Take-Off and Landing quadcopter, capable of autonomous flight and integration with Elbit’s Legion-X System to give it swarming capabilities.Read more here

 

 

Israel’s Plasan Sasa Ltd. has signed a contract with BAE Systems Australia to armour the first three Hunter class frigates for the Royal Australian Navy. Plasan is currently providing composite armour for UK Type 26 frigates. Read more here

 

 

Elbit Systems has signed a contract with NATO to deliver anti-missile systems for its tanker transport plane fleet. Read more here

 

 

Elbit Systems Ltd has announced that its subsidiary Elbit Systems Sweden AB has been awarded a $48 million contract by the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration, to supply Technical High Mobility Shelters (THMS) to the Swedish Army. https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-elbit-systems-wins-48m-swedish-army-deal-1001436286

 

 

Israel Aerospace Industries won a U.S. Department of Defence contract to develop and deliver a new attack drone described as a hybrid electro-optically guided missile.The drone, called Point Blank, can be carried in a soldier’s backpack and launched by a single soldier, landing back in the soldier’s hand. Read more here

 

 

MEDICAL INNOVATION

 

 

Israel’s Neteera Technologies has developed a small device that can be placed up to five feet away from patients to remotely monitor their heart rate, respiration rate, respiration depth and inhale-exhale ratio. It is currently used in 15 nursing homes in the U.S. Read more here

 

 

 

Israelis liberDI has received clearance from the US FDA for its Digital Dialysis Clinic. The 3kg device allows patients to perform a 90 min dialysis at home or at work, by themselves, monitored by their physician using the advanced telemedicine capabilities of the system. (TY Michael O).   Read more here

 

 

 

ROBOTICS

 

 

 

Israeli scientists have created a robot with a sense of smell stronger than any other electronic device, by wiring it with a locust’s antenna. The new robot can be trained to detect explosives, drugs and diseases and can even discern different whiskies by their smell. Read more here

 

 

 

Verobotics an Israeli startup developing the first autonomous AI-powered robot to clean and inspect the facades of high-rise buildings has signed a $5.4 million deal for upkeep and maintenance of skyscrapers in Hong Kong, marking its foray into the Asian market. Read more here

 

 

RETAIL

 

 

Trigo’s technology enables “frictionless” shopping – making purchases without scanning or checkout.  The company works with some of the largest retailers in the world, including Tesco and Aldi.Read more here

 

 

 

BLOOD DONATION

 

 

The ban on blood donation in Israel by those who lived in the UK for more than six months between 1980 and 1996 or received a blood transfusion there during that time, has been lifted. There had been fears of infection from BSE (mad cow disease).    Read more here

 

 

 

KASHRUT

 

Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau has ruled that, with certain caveats, beef cultivated from stem cells by Aleph Farms could be considered “parve” if marketed as a meat alternative, but not if it claims to be meat. Read more here

The ruling in Hebrew: View here

 

 

ARCHAEOLOGY

 

 

A mysterious hand imprint was discovered carved into a 1,000-year-old dry moat that surrounded Jerusalem’s Old City during excavations of defensive fortifications.Read more here

 

 

SPORT

 

 

Fifth division soccer team Hapoel Zafririm Holon recently embarrassed its opponent Maccabi Pardes Katz with a record 31-0 victory. During the game, the referee ran out of space in his notepad to record the names of each goalscorer.  Read more here

 

 

TEL AVIV’S “DOGOTEL” 

 

 

Lior Gibenberg, a former officer from the IDF’s canine unit, is a seasoned dog trainer who uses his skills to train hundreds of pups in “Doghotel” which includes a playroom with a library and a “poodle room” spa.  Read more here

 

 

 

COMMENT & OPINION

 

 

Brig.-Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser and Or Yissachar: PA payments to terrorists have been official policy for decades. The PA offers stipends of $400 to $3,500 monthly for every Palestinian terrorist who murders or attempts to murder innocent Israelis. These salaries are lifelong. For the average Palestinian, this is like winning the lottery. A lifetime monthly salary of $3,500 is four times the average Palestinian wage and eight times higher than the minimum wage. A convicted terrorist makes five times more than teachers and engineers, and as much as a Palestinian supreme court judge. Read more here

 

 

 

An interesting article by Melanie Phillips critical of a recent action by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s investigative arm. Read more here