Three Hamas terrorists reportedly from Hebron opened fire at a checkpoint south of Jerusalem on Thursday, killing an IDF soldier and wounding another five police officers and soldiers. 
Initial police investigations revealed that the terrorists were on their way to commit a much larger-scale attack in Jerusalem when their car was flagged as suspicious at the checkpoint by security personnel, who stopped the vehicle for inspection. At that point, the terrorists opened fire. The terrorists were neutralized by Israeli security forces.
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BREAKING: Six Israelis have been wounded, including one critically, in a shooting terror attack near the “tunnels” checkpoint on Route 60, south of Jerusalem. 
Three terrorists have been killed on the scene. Security forces are searching for additional attackers in the area. <a href="https://t.co/QPgXY1BgYL">pic.twitter.com/QPgXY1BgYL</a>
&mdash; Jewish Breaking News (@JBreakingNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/JBreakingNews/status/1725075032064282909?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2023</a></blockquote>
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“I saw a white Skoda with all its doors open, and each terrorist was outside, shooting in different directions,” <a href="https://www.maariv.co.il/news/military/Article-1052658" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Moshe Moalem, a civilian security guard who was injured in the attack. “All of our forces present immediately shot back. I felt a round strike my leg and looked for cover.” Moalem was spared further injury when shrapnel became embedded in his wallet, preventing it from penetrating further into his other leg.
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*המרכז הרפואי הדסה:* רופאי יחידת הטראומה בהדסה עין כרם שלפו את ארנקו של הפצוע מהפיגוע וגילו: הארנק חסם רסיס כדור ומנע פגיעה ברגל. 
משה מועלם בן ה-32, מאבטח בחברת האבטחה TM עוטף ירושלים, המוצב במחסום המנהרות, נפצע בפיגוע שארע הבוקר בעמדת האבטחה. 
הוא פונה על ידי מד״א להדסה עין… <a href="https://t.co/xVm3i3u2TE">pic.twitter.com/xVm3i3u2TE</a>
&mdash; בז news (@1717Bazz) <a href="https://twitter.com/1717Bazz/status/1725096576618484210?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Hamas has claimed responsibility for the attack. Israeli security agency Shin Bet has <a href="https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/380431" target="_blank" rel="noopener">identified </a>two of the three terrorists as belonging to Hamas, with one of them being the son of the head of Hamas’ military arm in Hebron, who was killed in 2003. The Shin Bet said it was still verifying the identity of the third terrorist, but Arab media have <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/6-injured-1-critically-in-attack-by-3-gunmen-at-west-bank-checkpoint-near-jerusalem/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> identified him as a Hebron resident affiliated with Hamas.
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BREAKING: Israeli intelligence assessment reveals the terror cell which committed the shooting attack in south Jerusalem belongs to Hamas and planned to enter Jerusalem to carry out a much larger terror attack. &#8211; Hillel Bitton Rosen 14
&mdash; Jewish Breaking News (@JBreakingNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/JBreakingNews/status/1725077708856516799?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2023</a></blockquote>
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A police search of the terrorist’s vehicle revealed two M-16 rifles, two handguns, 10 loaded magazines, and hundreds of additional rounds of ammunition. Axes and uniforms resembling those used by the IDF were also found in the car. The <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/6-injured-1-critically-in-attack-by-3-gunmen-at-west-bank-checkpoint-near-jerusalem/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">car</a> in which the terrorists arrived had false Israeli license plates.
&#8220;Axes and a lot of ammunition were found in the terrorists&#8217; vehicle,&#8221; said Jerusalem District Police Commander Doron Turgeman. &#8220;The terrorists were probably planning to carry out a more significant operation in Jerusalem, but we eliminated them before they could do so.&#8221; 
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A terror shooting attack occurred at the Tunnels Crossing entrance to Jerusalem. Three heavily armed terrorists, who initiated gunfire on security forces, have been neutralized
Large police forces have secured the scene, and traffic has been reopened to the public <a href="https://t.co/6sGDg8vlSB">pic.twitter.com/6sGDg8vlSB</a>
&mdash; Israel Police (@israelpolice) <a href="https://twitter.com/israelpolice/status/1725137834242150549?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2023</a></blockquote>
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A bus filled with children on their way to school was at the checkpoint at the time of the attack. The shooting was filmed from the bus as children ducked under the seats, praying and reciting psalms in fear. This highlighted a concern previously voiced by Oded Revivi, mayor of Efrat, about the risks that the necessary checkpoints may inadvertently cause. “We have been warning that the checkpoint can become a death trap because of the bottleneck it causes, which endangers the residents who wait sometimes bumper to bumper along the whole length of the road, which doesn’t provide for any solution during a tragic event,” <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6OPZOnb5Eo&amp;t=58s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Revivi to Channel 7. 
“The operational necessity of security checks is clear. However, creating such a big traffic jam endangers lives and creates sitting targets for terrorists,” he argued. “It is horrifying to think what would happen if terrorists opened fire on a group of cars in the traffic jam and the physical inability of emergency service vehicles to reach them. An immediate solution has to be created to save lives.”

Funeral Held For Israeli Soldier Killed In Gaza

One Dead, Five Injured In Hamas Terror Attack At Jerusalem Checkpoint As Police Say Larger Attack Likely Prevented

Hamas

Israel

Jerusalem

Terrorism

An Air Seychelles flight to Israel was forced to make an emergency landing at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Saudi Arabia on Monday evening. Flight HM22 <a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-saudi-arabia-flight-464413aa6f694abf4f9f6af58a378ede">diverted</a> to Jeddah while flying over the Red Sea due to a technical electrical malfunction of the plane. There were 128 Israelis on board. 
The situation was closely <a href="https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376222">monitored</a> by the Israeli Foreign Ministry, as Israel does not have diplomatic ties or air links with the Saudi Kingdom, and Israelis are officially restricted from traveling to Saudi Arabia. 
&#8220;When they announced on the flight that we were landing in Saudi Arabia, it was really scary,&#8221; <a href="https://www.kan.org.il/content/kan-news/global/507853/">said</a> Sharon Licht-Patren, a passenger on the flight. &#8220;It wasn&#8217;t clear what would happen. Every now and then, the captain updated us that they were in contact with the Foreign Ministry and the authorities and that there still wasn&#8217;t approval to get off the plane. We were stuck for more than three hours without electricity or working toilets.&#8221;
Saudi officials soon escorted the Israeli passengers to an airport hotel, where they spent the night. A replacement plane was sent from Dubai to pick up the passengers, and they arrived safely in Israel on Tuesday. 
Israeli passengers were pleasantly surprised by the treatment they received from their Saudi hosts. &#8220;There was concern, but it turns out that Saudi Arabia is really surprising. We were told we were welcome. We didn&#8217;t expect it,&#8221; <a href="https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/376240">said</a> Emmanuel Carmel in an interview with Israeli Radio 103FM.
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Israeli passengers say they are treated courteously in Jeddah International Airport <a href="https://t.co/qHtW4Dkdq4">pic.twitter.com/qHtW4Dkdq4</a>
&mdash; Haisam Hassanein (@HaisamHassanei1) <a href="https://twitter.com/HaisamHassanei1/status/1696444848104980858?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 29, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Another passenger, Chen Giladi, told <a href="https://www.ynetnews.com/travel/article/rkbx5eoa3">Ynet</a>, “They took us in buses to a lovely hotel at the terminal and they treated us very well. From the moment we disembarked, they greeted us with ‘shalom’ in Hebrew and made us feel good. They are very nice here.”
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אני מאוד מעריך את היחס החם של הרשויות הסעודיות לנוסעים הישראלים שהמטוס שלהם נקלע למצוקה ונאלץ לנחות נחיתת חירום בג&#39;דה. 
אני שמח שכולם חוזרים הביתה. 
אני מאוד מעריך את השכנות הטובה. <a href="https://t.co/XyVj0o9B1g">pic.twitter.com/XyVj0o9B1g</a>
&mdash; Benjamin Netanyahu &#8211; בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) <a href="https://twitter.com/netanyahu/status/1696458980090839376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 29, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu praised the Saudi Government in a video recorded in Hebrew with Arabic subtitles. “I greatly appreciate the warm attitude of the Saudi authorities toward the Israeli passengers whose flight was in distress,” he said while gesturing towards a map of the region behind him. “I greatly appreciate the good neighborliness,” highlighting the potential for improved ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Though Saudi Arabia was not one of the Gulf and Arab countries that normalized ties with Israel as part of the 2020 Abraham Accords brokered under the Trump administration, the two countries have developed strong but informal connections in recent years over their shared concerns about Iran’s growing influence in the region. 
Speculation has grown about an impending deal as the Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/in-new-step-toward-israel-deal-saudi-arabia-offers-to-resume-palestinian-authority-funding-9e2dcc5">reported</a> this week that Saudi Arabia is considering resuming aid to the Palestinian Authority as part of its effort to lay the groundwork for a future recognition agreement with Israel. 
Saudi Arabia had previously been a staunch supporter and benefactor of the Palestinian Authority, giving over $5 billion to Palestinian causes, but Riyadh cut funding in 2016 amid allegations of incompetence and corruption. The resumption of Saudi aid, which would be contingent on the Palestinian Authority cracking down on militant groups and violence in Judea and Samaria, could play an important role in securing their support for the kingdom’s outreach to Israel. 
Netanyahu has long <a href="https://www.israelhayom.com/2022/10/24/i-intend-to-achieve-peace-with-saudi-arabia/">championed</a> a deal with the Saudis, saying that the big prize for Israel is a deep relationship with Saudi Arabia. It would grant legitimacy to the presence of a Jewish state in the mostly Muslim region and potentially open doors to normalization with other large Muslim nations such as Malaysia and Indonesia.
According to Daily Wire Editor Emeritus <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-hands-cash-to-iran-an-incentive-to-take-more-hostages">Ben Shapiro</a>, the Saudis are willing to normalize relations with Israel. However, the Biden administration has put pressure on the Saudis not to normalize relations unless Israel makes concessions to the Palestinians, and the Palestinians are governed by terror groups connected to Iran. 
Biden’s latest <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-reaches-deal-with-iran-to-free-americans-in-exchange-for-iranian-prisoners-6b-in-funds">deal</a> with Iran, which unfroze nearly $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets in exchange for the transfer of five U.S. citizens from prison to house arrest in Tehran, only seems to bolden its sponsorship of terrorism. Terror in Israel is out of control, with more Israelis dead this year from Palestinian terror than any year since the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/israeli-mother-murdered-in-front-of-her-daughter-in-terrorist-shooting-attack-near-hebron">second intifada</a>, 20 years ago. Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu has blamed Iran for the latest spree of violence, culminating yesterday with four terror attacks in a span of less than 24 hours.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu Visits Berlin

Israeli PM Bibi Netanyahu Thanks Saudi Arabia For Kind Treatment Of Stranded Israelis As Warming Relations Grow

Saudi Arabia

Batsheva Nigri, a 42-year-old preschool teacher from Beit Hagai in Judea, became the most recent Israeli victim of a <a href="https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/375861" target="_blank" rel="noopener">terrorist shooting attack</a> while traveling on Route 60 near the city of Hebron on Monday. Her 12-year-old daughter was in the back seat and witnessed the entire attack, miraculously escaping unharmed. The driver of the car, Aryeh Gottlieb, also a resident of Beit Hagai, is in serious condition after receiving multiple gunshot wounds. 
Security forces&#8217; initial investigation <a href="https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/375863" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revealed</a> that the terrorists cut off the victim’s car at an intersection, launched a barrage of over 20 gunshots at close range, and then fled into Hebron. The severely wounded Gottlieb managed to continue driving until he reached a safe place, where he was treated by United Hatzalah, Magen David Edom, and IDF medics. Unfortunately, Nigri was unable to be revived and was pronounced dead at the scene. After a massive manhunt by the IDF, Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), and Israel Border Police, two Arabs were <a href="https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/375898" target="_blank" rel="noopener">arrested</a> on Tuesday after admitting to carrying out the attack. The weapon that was allegedly used was also confiscated.
At a press <a href="https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/375882" target="_blank" rel="noopener">conference</a> near the scene, Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu offered a prayer for the injured and expressed his condolences to the families of the victims. He also called out Iran&#8217;s involvement in this latest terror wave. “We are in the midst of a terror offensive that is encouraged, planned, and funded by Iran and her satellites. We will fight and win.” 
Defense Minister Yoav Galant added, “It is important to understand the significant change that is taking place on the ground; it is related to Iranian funding and to the proliferation of weapons under the Iranian directive. Iran seeks every means to harm the citizens of Israel. We will reach the terrorists, and we will take additional action to ensure the security of Israel&#8217;s citizens while exacting a price from those responsible for any harm.”
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אנחנו בעיצומה של מתקפת טרור שמכוונת ומעודדת על ידי איראן וגרורותיה. אנחנו נילחם וננצח. <a href="https://t.co/yumOWeYQA9">pic.twitter.com/yumOWeYQA9</a>
&mdash; Benjamin Netanyahu &#8211; בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) <a href="https://twitter.com/netanyahu/status/1693666975568757140?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 21, 2023</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;The murder of Batsheva Nigri in front of her young daughter in the horrific shooting on Mount Hebron is shocking and heartbreaking,&#8221; Israeli President Isaac Herzog wrote on <a href="https://twitter.com/Isaac_Herzog/status/1693582450885112056" target="_blank" rel="noopener">X (formerly Twitter)</a>. &#8220;These are difficult and painful days for the people of Israel, in which our enemies are working with different means to strike and hurt us. They will not succeed.&#8221;
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הירצחה של בת שבע נגרי הי&quot;ד לעיני ביתה הקטנה, בפיגוע הירי המחריד בהר חברון, מזעזע וקורע את הלב. אלה ימים קשים וכואבים לעם ישראל, כשאויבינו פועלים באמצעים שונים להכות ולפגוע בנו. הם לא יוכלו לנו.
&mdash; יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) <a href="https://twitter.com/Isaac_Herzog/status/1693582450885112056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 21, 2023</a></blockquote>
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The terror attack was the second this week. On Saturday, a father and son were executed by terrorists in Huwara in Samaria, as they waited for their car to be repaired at a local carwash. According to <a href="https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-755380" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reports</a>, employees at the carwash allegedly alerted the terrorist to the presence of people speaking Hebrew, who approached the victims on foot and shot them from close range. The terrorists involved in that attack have yet to be apprehended.
Hamas officials celebrated the terrorist attacks. &#8220;We congratulate the heroic shooter in Huwara, who is the result of our continued promise of resistance to protect our people, respond to the crimes of the occupation, and defend Al-Aqsa mosque from the dangers of the Justification,&#8221; said the terrorist organization&#8217;s <a href="https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-755380" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spokesman</a> shortly after the attack. 
“We praise the hero who carried out the act in Hebron and the opposition battle that is escalating in the West Bank,&#8221; <a href="https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/375876" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Ismail Radwan, a senior Hamas official. Fatah also <a href="https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/375883" target="_blank" rel="noopener">celebrated</a> the attack, stating that “this operation comes as a natural reaction to the crimes of the occupation and its arrogance.” Pictures circulated online of Arabs handing out candy in celebration of the terror attack.
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Pure evil. Palestinians in Gaza already handing out candy, after an Israeli Jewish mother executed in front of her daughter in Hebron drive-by terror shooting! <a href="https://t.co/YGn9CC0mMO">pic.twitter.com/YGn9CC0mMO</a>
&mdash; Arsen Ostrovsky 🎗️ (@Ostrov_A) <a href="https://twitter.com/Ostrov_A/status/1693593245178106063?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 21, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Many Israeli leaders <a href="https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/375862" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called</a> for more stringent measures to prevent such incidents in the future. MK Michal Woldigger, Deputy Finance Minister, <a href="https://twitter.com/michalwoldiger/status/1693528371987104056" target="_blank" rel="noopener">demanded</a> stricter checkpoints in Judea and Samaria, stating that “​​As long as terrorists move freely in Area C, we will, unfortunately, continue to see attacks and victims.” MK Dan Illouz called on the Government to restore deterrence, insisting that Israel must not wait any longer to take action against terrorism.
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כל עוד ינועו מחבלים באופן חופשי בשטחי C, נמשיך לצערי לראות פיגועים וקורבנות. ליבי עם הפצועות והפצועים ומתפללת לבשורות חיוביות. 
לממשלה שבה אני חברה אני אומרת: די עם הפקרות המעברים והיעדר המחסומים! <a href="https://t.co/2d6Ed3DRLW">pic.twitter.com/2d6Ed3DRLW</a>
&mdash; מיכל וולדיגר (@michalwoldiger) <a href="https://twitter.com/michalwoldiger/status/1693528371987104056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 21, 2023</a></blockquote>
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The Mayor of the Gush Etzion Regional Council and head of the Yesha Council, Shlomo Ne’eman, <a href="https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/375862" target="_blank" rel="noopener">condemned</a> the attack. “The terrorists act as a result of the hate education and funding from the PA, with the goal of massacring us. The government simply can’t continue down the path of the terrible Oslo agreements.” 
The Biden administration expressed its condolences and condemned the attacks on Israelis, yet quickly <a href="https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-755602" target="_blank" rel="noopener">equated</a> Palestinian terrorist attacks with alleged settler violence. “The US remains deeply concerned by violence in the West Bank and Israel, and we express our condolences to those killed,” said US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield. “We strongly condemn Palestinian terrorist attacks against Israelis, including this morning’s shooting attack near Hebron. We strongly condemn the terror attacks by settlers in Burqa on August 4 that killed a 19-year-old Palestinian. Both Israelis and Palestinians must take immediate steps to de-escalate and restore calm,” adding that Israeli and Palestinian security forces should increase their cooperation. 
Thomas-Greenfield was referring to an incident outside the village of Burqa that led to the shooting death of Qusai Jamal Ma’atan, 19, by an Israeli whose skull was fractured when he was hit in the head with a rock. The Israeli claimed that the shooting was in self-defense, as he was attacked while herding sheep. The incident is currently being investigated by Israeli police, who have yet to determine whether the shooting was justified. Yet, without waiting for the results of the investigation, the Biden Administration quickly <a href="https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/375891" target="_blank" rel="noopener">branded</a> the incident a terror attack.
This year has already seen the most terrorist attacks against Israelis since the second Intifada, <a href="https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/375870" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to Yediot Acharonot military correspondent Yossi Yehoshua, who noted that since the beginning of 2023, 34 Israelis have been murdered in terrorist attacks, while &#8220;the total for 2022 was 33.”

PALESTINIAN-ISRAEL-CONFLICT-INDEPENDENCE DAY

Israeli Mother Murdered In Front Of Her Daughter In Terrorist Shooting Attack Near Hebron 

Palestinians

The Jewish population currently residing in Judea and Samaria, the heartland of Israel where the seminal Biblical Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob once lived, has exceeded half a million people, according to a recent report <a href="https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-742868" target="_blank" rel="noopener">published by former MK Ya’akov Katz</a>. The report, drawing from the Israeli Interior Ministry’s Population Registry, indicates that as of January 1, 502,991 Jews were residing in Judea and Samaria. This <a href="https://www.jns.org/jewish-population-in-judea-and-samaria-tops-half-a-million/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">figure</a> does not include the nearly 350,000 Jews living in the eastern part of Jerusalem, an area contested by Palestinians despite being a lawful part of Israel&#8217;s unified capital.
Judea and Samaria, which are the historical heartlands of the Land of Israel and the center of the Jewish State in ancient times, are currently branded by the mainstream media as the property of the Palestinians, and Jewish residency is considered by many an illegal “occupation.” Yet, over 90% of the geographical sites mentioned in the bible are concentrated in Judea and Samaria, such as Hebron, where Abraham bought the cave of Machpela as a burial site and where the Jewish Patriarchs and their wives are buried. Hebron was also the site where King David was crowned and it served as his capital until the capture of Jerusalem. 
Other prominent biblical sites include Elon Moreh, where the Bible says God promised the Land of Israel to Abraham; Shechem, where Joseph, who became the Egyptian pharaoh’s right-hand man, is buried; Mount Gerizim and Ebal, where the Israelites, under the guidance of Joshua, first gathered after they entered the land; Shiloh, where the Tabernacle rested for roughly 370 years; and the Valley of Elah, where David fought Goliath.
As reported by The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/desantis-staunchly-backs-jewish-claim-to-heartland-of-israel-judea-and-samaria?%3Futm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=dwnewstwitter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Daily Wire</a>, current Republican presidential nominee and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis recently issued a ringing endorsement of the idea that the Jewish people have the strongest claim to the biblical heartland of Israel. In an interview with <a href="https://www.israelhayom.com/2023/06/22/desantis-to-israel-hayom-israel-has-the-strongest-claim-of-right-in-judea-and-samaria/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Israel Hayom</a>, he stated “[Judea and Samaria] are some of the most historic Jewish lands going all the way back to biblical times. And so it&#8217;s not occupied territory. It is disputed territory, and I think Israel&#8217;s claim is the most superior in terms of anybody else for it.” DeSantis was the first major U.S. elected official to do public events in Judea and Samaria.
Yigal Dilmoni, the former CEO and current director of International Relations for the Yesha Council (Yesha is an acronym for Yehuda and Shomron &#8211; Judea and Samaria) and a board member of American Friends of Judea and Samaria (AFJS), lauded the accomplishment at the <a href="https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/375324" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Israel Heritage Foundation conference in Jerusalem</a>. &#8220;We passed half a million Jews in Judea and Samaria. This is the embodiment of a miracle, especially when we consider that in 1967, the number of Jews residing in Judea and Samaria was precisely zero.&#8221;
Dilmoni vividly described how he took a friend to see the vineyards in the community of Elon Moreh. &#8220;I told him, &#8216;Look, a miracle has happened because before 1967, there were no vineyards and wineries in the Shomron (Samaria). When we returned to Judea and Samaria in 1967, we not only reconnected with the land, but we also reconnected with our history. We revisited the Bible and absorbed the words of Jeremiah, who prophesied, &#8216;You will plant vineyards again in the Samaria mountains.'&#8221; He passionately emphasized that after 2,000 years, the realization of this Biblical prophecy is unfolding before our very eyes. “Now you can see thousands of dunams of vineyards in Judea and Samaria. Miracles happened.” 
“The Jewish nation has come back home,” said Rafi Lazerowitz, chairman and co-founder of <a href="https://afjs.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AFJS</a>. “It is our legal right to live in our biblical heartland. It is also our strategic duty to reside here and keep it under full Israeli control, for without it we can not have a state of Israel.”
Shlomo Neeman, mayor of the Gush Etzion Regional Council and chairman of the Yesha Council, <a href="https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-742868" target="_blank" rel="noopener">highlighted</a> how the region continues to grow, regardless of opposition from both previous governments and international pressures: “The region is flourishing and thriving with over 150 communities, among which are four cities, a university, numerous tourist locations, and high-tech industries. Unfortunately, even after 25 years, we are still governed by the military, whose actions do not correspond with the realities on the ground. We will continue to work with the present government with the aim of adapting to the changes and maintaining the momentum of construction and the development of roads and infrastructure in the area for our residents and for all of Israel.”
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Dilmoni, in a 2017 <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/2017-03-11/ty-article/.premium/the-sun-isnt-setting-on-the-settlement-enterprise/0000017f-dbb2-d856-a37f-fff2a8000000" target="_blank" rel="noopener">op-ed</a>, noted that government policies such as planning and construction freezes, dating back to 2010, played a role in hindering growth. He emphasized that had these restrictions not been in place, more people would have moved to Judea and Samaria, and he pointed out examples of settlements where housing restrictions weren&#8217;t present and where significant growth was evident.
According to a survey <a href="https://www.israelhayom.com/2023/05/07/poll-reveals-surprising-attitude-israelis-have-to-living-in-judea-and-samaria/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">commissioned</a> by the Israel Defense and Security Forum (IDSF) and conducted among a representative sample of 1,191 citizens, 70% of Israelis feel a historical connection to Judea and Samaria, 63% an emotional connection, and 48% a religious connection. In contrast, only 37% of Israeli Arabs feel a historical connection to Judea and Samaria, while 32% feel a religious affinity to it.

PALESTINIAN-ISRAEL-CONFLICT-SETTLEMENT

Jewish Population In Judea And Samaria Reaches Half A Million

Judea

Samaria

With 86% of the votes <a href="https://www.jpost.com/israel-elections/live-updates-721259">counted</a> in Israel&#8217;s 25th Knesset election, the right-wing bloc led by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/daily-wire-exclusive-netanyahus-fierce-capitalism-if-youre-not-strong-you-disappear-youre-devoured">Benjamin Netanyahu&#8217;s</a> Likud Party leads with a projected 65-seat majority. 
As a result, Netanyahu is poised to return to the prime ministership after a brief year in opposition. Netanyahu was Israel&#8217;s ninth prime minister from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009 to 2021. He will also become the first Israeli politician to have served for three non-concurrent terms.
Netanyahu <a href="https://www.jpost.com/israel-elections/article-721231">thanked</a> his supporters in a speech early Wednesday morning for giving him and his bloc a vote of confidence from the Israeli public. &#8220;It was again demonstrated that Likud is the largest party in Israel,&#8221; said Netanyahu. &#8220;Israelis voted for national pride and a Jewish state. I’ll set up a national government that will look after all the citizens of Israel.”
&#8220;Israel is returning to sanity today,&#8221; <a href="https://www.jpost.com/israel-elections/article-721231">said</a> former Israeli ambassador to the UN, and incoming Likud MK, Danny Danon. &#8220;After years of political instability, the citizens of Israel voted for a nationalist government that will restore security and governance to the people of Israel.&#8221;
In the lead-up to the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/netanyahu-poised-for-comeback-as-israeli-elections-go-down-to-the-wire">election</a>, some polls indicated another stalemate, with the Netanyahu-led bloc stuck at 60 seats and the Yair Lapid-led bloc with 56 seats. Even according to the exit polls, Netanyahu&#8217;s coalition would only barely eke out a 61-seat majority. However, as the votes were counted, it became clear that certain left-wing parties that were expected to pass the threshold would not do so, giving the right-wing bloc a larger majority. The national voter turnout on Tuesday was 71.3 percent, the highest since 2015.
At present, Netanyahu’s Likud party has won 31 seats. Lapid’s Yesh Atid party won 24 seats. Betzalel Smotrich’s and Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Religious Zionism Party won fourteen seats. Benny Gantz’s and Gideon Sa’ar’s National Unity Party won 12 seats. Aryeh Deri’s Shas Party won 12 seats and Moshe Gafni’s and Yitzchok Goldknopf’s United Torah Judaism party won eight seats. 
Based on the current <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/with-85-of-votes-tallied-netanyahu-on-verge-of-breaking-deadlock-regaining-power/">numbers</a>, Netanyahu is poised to create a coalition made up of his Likud Party, the Religious Zionism Party, and the Haredi Shas and United Torah Judaism parties. This will end four years of political stalemate that have dragged the country through five elections in three years. 
While the National Unity Party could theoretically join the coalition and give Netanyahu a center-right majority of 77 seats, it appears unlikely that they will.
 &#8220;We have decided to continue our efforts to position the National Unity Party as a major organization at the center of the political map,&#8221; National Unity <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/national-unity-party-leaders-we-will-go-to-the-opposition/">said</a> in a statement. &#8220;We accept the voters&#8217; decision, and we will remain a responsible opposition after the establishment of the government.&#8221;
The only scenario that could thwart the Netanyahu bloc’s majority is if both the Meretz Party and Balad Party end up above the electoral threshold of 3.25% and if the Labor Party, which is currently at 3.57%, does not fall below it.
As officials begin tallying the final ballots cast by members of the security forces, prisoners, people with disabilities, and diplomats serving abroad, these figures may change. However, a significant shift in the number of seats held by Netanyahu&#8217;s coalition and its opponents is <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/with-85-of-votes-tallied-netanyahu-on-verge-of-breaking-deadlock-regaining-power/">unlikely</a>.

Israel’s November 2022 General Elections

Bibi’s Back! Israel’s Election Results Project Huge Comeback For The Right

Netanyahu Poised For Comeback As PM After Israel's Election Results Project Win For The Right

Benjamin Netanyahu

Global Politics

World

A <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/hamas">Hamas</a>-affiliated terrorist opened fire with an M-16 rifle in the Givat Ha’avot neighborhood of Kiryat Arba near Hebron on Saturday night, killing one and wounding five. This is yet another terror incident in a wave of terror attacks in Judea and Samaria as Israel heads to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/netanyahu-poised-for-comeback-as-israeli-elections-go-down-to-the-wire">elections</a> to decide the 25th Knesset. 
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بثبات وإقدام.. هذه هي اللحظات الأولى لعملية مستوطنة <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/%D9%83%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AA_%D8%A3%D8%B1%D8%A8%D8%B9?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#كريات_أربع</a> في <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AE%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%84?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#الخليل</a> التي نفذها الشهيد <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%AF_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D8%B9%D8%A8%D8%B1%D9%8A?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#محمد_الجعبري</a>
 <a href="https://t.co/laAMnrWYtj">https://t.co/laAMnrWYtj</a>
&mdash; Khair Eddin Aljabri (@Khair_Aljabri) <a href="https://twitter.com/Khair_Aljabri/status/1586652555425333255?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 30, 2022</a></blockquote>
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While initial <a href="https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/361906">reports</a> claimed that the shooting targeted the home of MK Itamar Ben-Gvir, an outspoken member of Israel’s right-wing bloc and chairman of the Otzma Yehudit party, the IDF later <a href="https://www.ynetnews.com/article/s1uu5zo4o">clarified</a> that the terror attack did not target the lawmaker, despite being carried out near his home. 
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🔴 Israeli security forces believe the shooting was not directed at Ben-Gvir&#39;s home, but rather at a military checkpoint near the settlement.<a href="https://t.co/uJbYiXI8lN">https://t.co/uJbYiXI8lN</a>
&mdash; The Jerusalem Post (@Jerusalem_Post) <a href="https://twitter.com/Jerusalem_Post/status/1586426574617817088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 29, 2022</a></blockquote>
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The victim was <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/victim-in-kiryat-arba-shooting-named-as-ronen-hanania-wounded-son-recounts-horror/">identified</a> as Ronen Hanania, a 49-year-old resident of the area. Hanania&#8217;s son Daniel, who was in the car with his father at the time of the attack and one of the wounded, told <a href="https://www.mako.co.il/news-military/2022_q4/Article-8705f9a6da72481026.htm??utm_source=Twitter&amp;utm_medium=NewsChannelPost&amp;partne=rNewsChannelTwitter">Channel 12 News</a>: &#8220;We were shot at; my father was hit in the head and I watched him die. I knew there was no chance he&#8217;d survive.&#8221; After escaping the car, the younger Hanania was helped by several Arabs in a shop, who bandaged his hand and applied a homemade tourniquet to his wound before he was eventually evacuated to a nearby hospital.
Ofer Ohana, a Kiryat Arba community activist and paramedic, was shot and seriously injured as he responded to the scene. The Rescuers Without Borders organization <a href="https://twitter.com/mokednewsil/status/1586504448393748481">issued</a> a statement, saying, &#8220;We are all praying for the recovery of Ofer Ohana, a Rescuers Without Borders Judea and Samaria volunteer who was wounded in the attack near Kiryat Arba when he rushed to the scene to save a life.&#8221; Two Israelis and an Arab were also among the other victims, all of whom sustained minor injuries. 
The terrorist was rammed by an Israeli security officer responding to the attack before being shot dead by an off-duty Israeli military officer, as seen in security and dashcam footage. 
The terrorist, a teacher in Hebron, was <a href="https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-720970">reportedly</a> terminally ill with cancer. Several members of the terrorist’s family are reportedly associated with Hamas, including his brother who was released as part of the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange deal in 2011. Arabs in Hebron celebrated the terror attack by distributing sweets and by shooting off fireworks as seen on social media.
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🔴 Palestinians celebrating Hebron&#39;s shooting attack with fireworks and sweets <a href="https://t.co/BxjnoTbkin">pic.twitter.com/BxjnoTbkin</a>
&mdash; Inbar Cohen (@InbarCohen13) <a href="https://twitter.com/InbarCohen13/status/1586464978441232387?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 29, 2022</a></blockquote>
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ערבים בחברון חוגגים את פיגוע הירי בישיבה בהר חברון <a href="https://t.co/JvBrbovbRo">pic.twitter.com/JvBrbovbRo</a>
&mdash; בז news (@1717Bazz) <a href="https://twitter.com/1717Bazz/status/1570517093078171649?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 15, 2022</a></blockquote>
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In a eulogy at the funeral on Sunday, Hanania’s son <a href="https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/361944">urged</a> the Israeli government to do everything possible to prevent this from happening again. MK Ben-Gvir also eulogized his neighbor at the funeral, which was attended by Israel&#8217;s Chief Rabbi, Rabbi David Lau, Likud MK Amir Ohana, and Religious Zionism party chairman MK Bezalel Smotrich.
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صور من جنازة المستوطن الذي قتل في عملية إطلاق النار بمستوطنة &quot;كريات أربع&quot; حيث أقيمت في مدينة القدس اليوم <a href="https://t.co/C4xEfJJL1y">pic.twitter.com/C4xEfJJL1y</a>
&mdash; القسطل الإخباري (@AlQastalps) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlQastalps/status/1586795461410709504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 30, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Former Prime Minister and Likud Party Chairman MK Benjamin Netanyahu issued a <a href="https://twitter.com/netanyahu/status/1586428676530266114">statement</a>, saying, &#8220;I pray for the injured in the terror attack in Kiryat Arba, and I support the security forces who are acting on the ground. Only a strong hand will triumph over terror.&#8221;
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מתפלל לשלום הפצועים בפיגוע בקריית ארבע ומחזק את כוחות הביטחון שפועלים בשטח. רק יד קשה מנצחת את הטרור.
&mdash; Benjamin Netanyahu &#8211; בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) <a href="https://twitter.com/netanyahu/status/1586428676530266114?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 29, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Kiryat Arba/Hebron Council Chairman Eliyahu Liebman criticized current Defense Minister and National Unity Party head Benny Gantz for reopening the checkpoint that the terrorist used to enter the area. &#8220;Five months ago, the Defense Minister decided to open the Ashmoret checkpoint, which had been closed to Palestinian vehicle traffic for 20 years,” <a href="https://www.ynetnews.com/article/s1uu5zo4o">said</a> Leibman. “We warned in real time that the opening of the checkpoint could lead to attacks, and unfortunately, as mentioned, this fear came true tonight.&#8221; 
Just a few hours afterward, shots were <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/5-people-hurt-one-critically-in-shooting-attack-on-west-bank-settlement/">fired</a> at Israeli troops from a passing vehicle near the Arab town of Bani Na’im, according to the IDF. The soldiers fired back at the terrorists, who fled by car.
In another incident that night, A 27-year-old Israeli man <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-october-29-2022/">received</a> a head injury when terrorists threw stones at his car near Ma’ale Amos in the Gush Etzion area of Judea. 
This <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-5-soldiers-hurt-in-ramming-attack-near-jericho-palestinian-assailant-shot/">afternoon</a>, a terrorist ran over a civilian with his car at Nebi Mussa near Jericho and then continued to the Almog Junction and rammed into a bus stop running over and injuring 4 IDF soldiers. A policeman who was at the scene shot the terrorist.
https://twitter.com/AttorneyNitsana/status/1586706970077184005
On the previous Thursday evening, a family narrowly <a href="https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/361936">escaped</a> a lynching attempt near the Mount of Olives in east Jerusalem. Their vehicle was attacked when returning from a memorial event by a group of Arabs wearing masks who broke their windows and smashed their mirrors and other parts of their car before the driver was able to escape. 
In response to the wave of terror, MK Ben-Gvir <a href="https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/361950">held</a> a press conference on Sunday evening, stating that he would request the public security ministry during coalition talks following the upcoming election. Ben-Gvir outlined a five-point strategy for dealing with the rise in terrorism, which included arming reserve soldiers, relaxing open-fire rules to allow police officers and soldiers to use live fire on rioters throwing stones and petrol bombs, and passing legislation that will grant police officers and soldiers immunity from criminal prosecution for actions taken in response to terrorism.
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הודעתי הערב על כוונתי לשמש כשר לביטחון פנים בממשלת הימין שנקים בקרוב אחרי שננצח בבחירות ביום שלישי הקרוב בעזרת השם. הגיע הזמן <a href="https://t.co/DJP6vy8vMm">pic.twitter.com/DJP6vy8vMm</a>
&mdash; איתמר בן גביר (@itamarbengvir) <a href="https://twitter.com/itamarbengvir/status/1586761793648660487?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 30, 2022</a></blockquote>
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As reported by The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/netanyahu-poised-for-comeback-as-israeli-elections-go-down-to-the-wire">Daily Wire</a>, the race is neck and neck, with some polls showing a right-wing block led by Likud’s Netanyahu just eking out a 61-seat majority over the center-left block led by current interim Prime Minister Yair Lapid. Whether the current terror wave will boost the right-wing bloc to regain power will become clear on Tuesday evening when the polls close.

ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT-FUNERAL

Terror Wave In Judea And Samaria Continues As Israel Heads To Elections

Former <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/daily-wire-exclusive-netanyahus-fierce-capitalism-if-youre-not-strong-you-disappear-youre-devoured/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu</a> could be poised for a dramatic comeback as Israelis go to the polls Nov. 1 for the fifth time in less than four years.
Polls show elections to the 25th Knesset headed down to the wire, with one showing a right-wing block led by Likud’s Netanyahu likely eking out a 61-seat majority over the center-left block led by current interim Prime Minister Yair Lapid. But other polls, such as the <a href="https://www.jpost.com/israel-elections/article-720420" target="_blank" rel="noopener">KAN radio poll</a>, show neither side getting a majority, with the Netanyahu-led block stuck at 60 seats and the Lapid-led block with 56 seats. If that happens, voters will try again while Lapid’s government rules until a new coalition materializes.
&#8220;Do you want to restore national pride? Reduce living costs? Restore personal safety?&#8221; a smiling Netanyahu recently asked a crowd in a Central Israel town. When the crowd chanted, “Bibi the king,” the 73-year-old politician replied, &#8220;I&#8217;m not a king. A king doesn&#8217;t get elected. I need to be elected and that depends on you.&#8221;
The Israeli government is <a href="https://www.gov.il/apps/elections/elections-knesset-15/heb/lexicon/esystem.html#:~:text=Summary%3A,is%20the%201.5%25%20qualifying%20threshold." target="_blank" rel="noopener">elected</a> through a nationwide proportional representation system. Voters vote for a party, and the 120 seats of the Knesset are distributed based on the percentage of votes for each party topping a 3.25% threshold. Each party then chooses its representatives to the Knesset. The leader of any party that can cobble together a 61-seat majority will become the new prime minister.
The president of Israel will usually task the leader of the largest party to try and form a coalition first. If the party leader is unsuccessful after 21 days, any other party can try to form a coalition. If no party is able to form a coalition, the Knesset is dissolved and new elections are scheduled for four months from the date of the dissolution.
<div id="attachment_455225" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-455225" class="wp-image-455225 size-large" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/GettyImages-1244210267-864x576.jpg" alt="billboards for Yair Lapid, Israel's prime minister and leader of the Yesh Atid party, in Tel Aviv," width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/10/GettyImages-1244210267-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/10/GettyImages-1244210267-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/10/GettyImages-1244210267-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/10/GettyImages-1244210267-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/10/GettyImages-1244210267-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/10/GettyImages-1244210267-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/10/GettyImages-1244210267-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Roadside election billboards for Yair Lapid, Israel&#8217;s prime minister and leader of the Yesh Atid party, in Tel Aviv. (Kobi Wolf/Bloomberg via Getty Images)</div>
Following the previous election in <a href="https://en.idi.org.il/israeli-elections-and-parties/elections/2022-1/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2021</a>, Naftali Bennett, whose right-wing party Yamina had only 6 seats, broke from a coalition supporting Netanyahu and formed a unity government with the center-left, including current interim Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s party, Yesh Tikva. Israel&#8217;s 36th government held a thin majority of 61 MKs, composed of eight parties representing a wide range of ideologies and varied interests, and was the first time that an Arab party was included in the coalition. The coalition encountered numerous disagreements among its members and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/israels-political-crisis-bennett-government-coalition-loses-majority-as-whip-idit-silman-resigns?_gl=1*y9ybdt*_ga*MTAyOTA2NzE2OS4xNjU4OTM4NTg5*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTY2NjY3ODc5My4xMy4xLjE2NjY2Nzg4OTIuMjUuMC4w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ultimately fell</a> after just one year in office. Once the Knesset was dissolved, Yair Lapid was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/israel-will-have-a-new-prime-minister-tonight" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sworn</a> in as interim Prime Minister.
Here is a quick look at the <a href="https://en.idi.org.il/israeli-elections-and-parties/elections/2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">parties</a> running in the election:
The right-wing block is led by the Likud Party. At its head sits Netanyahu. The Likud platform is security-focused, traditional religion-state status quo, and somewhat capitalist in economics. It won 30 seats in the previous election and is <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/2-weeks-out-election-polls-see-renewed-gridlock-with-neither-bloc-winning-majority/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">projected</a> to win between 30 and 36 seats this time around.
The Religious Zionism Party is projected to be the second-largest right-wing party and consists of a merger between Betzalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionist Party and Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit Party. Its platform is focused primarily on a strong Israel internally and internationally, religious freedom, security, law and order, civil liberties, and judicial reform. It won six seats in the previous election and is projected to win between 10 and 15 seats.
The wild card is the rise of Ben-Gvir, a hardline conservative who has galvanized the right by calling for increased security by removing restrictions on the police and army in protecting Israel’s citizens from terrorism. Ben-Gvir has been vilified by the Israeli left, who see him as the new kingmaker and a real threat to their agenda. As reported by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-administration-seeks-to-stop-israel-from-turning-to-the-right-prompting-meddling-accusations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Daily Wire</a>, Biden administration officials have signaled to Netanyahu that the White House would be “troubled by the possibility” that Ben-Gvir might become a minister in the future Israeli government, prompting meddling accusations.
The Haredi (ultra-religious) parties consist of Aryeh Deri’s Shas Party, and Moshe Gafni’s and Yitzchok Goldknopf’s United Torah Judaism Party. Their platforms are similar, with each representing different segments of the Haredi population, championing ultra-Jewish religious and educational values, and securing funding for their private school systems. They generally sit in right-wing coalitions. Shas won nine seats in the previous election and are projected to win between six and eight seats. UTJ won 7 seats in the previous election and are projected to win between five and seven seats.
Bennett’s Yamina Party disbanded once he resigned from the premiership, and his deputy, Ayelet Shaked, is headlining the Bayit Hayehudi party. Yamina won six seats in the previous elections, while Bayit Hayehudi is currently not expected to pass the electoral threshold, a sound rebuke from the former prime minister&#8217;s right-wing constituents on his decision to create a unity government with the left-wing parties.
Lapid’s Yesh Atid Party is a center-left party, focusing on the secular democratic nature of Israel and a slightly socialist economic platform. Yesh Atid won 17 seats in the previous election and is projected to win between 22 and 27 seats.
The National Unity Party, a merger between Benny Gantz’s Blue and White Party and Gideon Sa’ar’s New Hope Party, are a centrist/left-leaning party running on an “anything but Bibi” platform. They collectively won 14 seats in the previous election, were members of the Bennett-Lapid coalition, and are projected to win between nine and 13 seats.
Avigdor Leiberman’s Yisrael Beitenu Party represents the Russian immigrant bloc and is very anti-religious in regard to state policy. They used to be part of the right-wing bloc, but a fallout with Netanyahu led Lieberman to join the Bennett-Lapid coalition. Yisrael Beitenu won seven seats in the previous election and are projected to win between four and seven seats.
Zehava Gal-On’s Meretz Party is an ultra-left-wing socialist party, with extreme liberal and anti-religious values, and is against any Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria. Meretz won six seats in the previous election, were members of the Bennett-Lapid Coalition, and are currently projected to win between three and seven seats with a nine percent chance of falling below the electoral threshold.
Merav Michaeli’s Labor Party has a liberal left-wing socialist platform. Once one of the dominating parties in Israel (winning 44 seats in 1992), it has now shrunk to a tiny shell of itself. Labor won seven seats in the previous election, were members of the Bennett-Lapid Coalition, and are currently projected to win between three and six seats with a 16% chance of falling below the electoral threshold.
The Arab parties are made up of Ayman Odeh&#8217;s Hadash-Ta’al party, Sami Abu Shehadeh’s Balad party, and Mansour Abbas’s Ra’am party. Their platforms advocate for the rights of Arab citizens in Israel. However, while Hadash-Ta’al and Balad are generally anti-Israel, going so far as to demand from within the creation of a Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria with East Jerusalem as its capital, and refuse on principle to sit in a coalition with Israeli parties, Ra’am, an Arab Bedouin party with ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, has sat in the previous Bennett-Lapid coalition. Hadash-Ta’al and Balad ran together in the last election as The Joint List Party and won six seats. Ra’am won four seats. In this election, Hadash-Ta’al and Ra’am are both projected to each win between two and five seats, with a 45% chance of falling below the election threshold, while the Balad party is not expected to pass the electoral threshold.

Likud Party election Campaign Posters Are Printed Ahead Of Legislative Elections

Netanyahu Poised For Comeback As Israeli Elections Go Down To The Wire

Bibi Poised For Comeback As Israeli Elections Go Down To The Wire

Readers Pass

Yair Lapid

TEL AVIV &#8212; The deaths of four children in a rocket strike near a mosque in northern <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gaza-militants-fire-missiles-into-israel-as-middle-east-crisis-heightens">Gaza</a> Saturday amid <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/israel">Israel&#8217;s</a> Operation <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-your-time-is-up-israeli-forces-kill-terrorist-leader-attack-islamic-jihad-in-gaza">Breaking Dawn</a> were caused by a Palestinian rocket and not an Israeli airstrike, video shows.
The children&#8217;s deaths were among seven in a residence in the Jabaliya refugee camp, and prompted immediate finger-pointing by Hamas and Palestinian media. But <a href="https://twitter.com/IsraelMFA/status/1556155858219941891">videos circulating widely on social media</a> show that one of the many rockets fired by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad toward Israeli citizens misfired and detonated inside Gaza. 
“Tonight, Islamic Jihad terrorists fired a rocket towards Israel which fell short inside Gaza, hitting a Palestinian home in the Jabalia neighborhood and tragically killing at least four children,&#8221; Keren Hajioff, spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, said in a <a href="https://www.gov.il/en/departments/news/islamic-jihad-rocket-kills-children-in-gaza-6-aug-2022">video statement</a>. &#8220;There is video documenting the entire thing. There was no Israeli activity in the Gaza Strip, in that area or at that time.” 
The Israeli military launched Operation Breaking Dawn on Friday to combat what Israeli commanders claimed was an immediate and genuine threat that the terror group posed to Israeli communities. The Israeli Air Force carried out multiple strikes in Gaza targeting the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group. However, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officials insisted there had been no air strikes in the area at the time when the children were killed.
The IDF also released a video that showed a rocket failing to cross into Israel and crashing into the Jabalia refugee camp. Officials <a href="https://www.thejc.com/news/news/four-palestian-children-killed-after-misfiring-terror-rocket-hits-gaza-home-WCvlUgnkqDbxUsTI3DOZT">said</a> the clips “prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that this incident was not the result of an Israel Defense Forces’ strike. Israeli security forces did not strike in Jabaliya in the past few hours,&#8221; according to The Jewish Chronicle.
According to a detailed chronology from Israeli military officials, the blast in the refugee camp happened at around 9 pm in the northeastern part of Gaza. Israel had targeted only the northwestern part of the Strip at 6:51 pm.
Hajioff said the terrorist group must be held accountable for its actions.
“Islamic Jihad is killing Palestinian children in Gaza,&#8221; Hajioff said. &#8220;One in four rockets fired from Gaza towards Israel – lands inside the Gaza Strip. The world should be outraged at this terrorist group targeting innocent Israelis and killing innocent Gazans. Israel will continue to stand up to this vicious terrorist organization – which threatens Israelis and Palestinians alike.”
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Palestinian Arabs chiefly pay the cost for radical Islamic terrorism <a href="https://t.co/b86jiRxLVy">https://t.co/b86jiRxLVy</a>
&mdash; Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) <a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/1556136720671903744?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 7, 2022</a></blockquote>
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According to the IDF, some 200 of the 1,100 rockets that Palestinian Islamic Jihad has fired at Israel since the operation began have landed within Gaza. More innocent people in Gaza were killed by failed Islamic Jihad rockets than by Israeli airstrikes during Operation Breaking Dawn, <a href="https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-714165">according</a> to Brig. Gen. Ran Kochav.
“All fire by the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization is a double war crime,” <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-says-gaza-terrorists-failed-rocket-launch-kills-several-palestinian-children/">said</a> Elad Tene, head of the Prime Minister’s Office’s Public Diplomacy Directorate. “All fire by the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization is a double war crime: it is shooting at civilians, and using Gazan civilians as human shields. This incident is an example of Islamic Jihad harming the residents of Gaza. All harm to innocent civilians is tragic.”
Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket fire and IDF airstrikes continued throughout Saturday and Sunday until a ceasefire took effect Sunday night.

PALESTINIAN-ISRAEL-CONFLICT-GAZA

Video Shows 4 Gaza Children Killed By Palestinian Rocket Misfire, Not Israeli Airstrike

Gaza

Israel Defense Forces (IDF)

TEL AVIV &#8212; President Joe Biden’s trip to Israel earlier this month featured saccharine platitudes and rote pledges of friendship and fealty, but given that Biden was spurned by the Saudis, used by the Palestinians, left Israel worse than he found it, and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/president-joe-biden-has-covid-white-house-announces">apparently got COVID</a> for his trouble, maybe he should’ve stayed home.
After landing at Ben Gurion International Airport July 13, Biden was warmly greeted by Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, who called the American president “​​a great Zionist and one of the best friends Israel has ever known.&#8221; Israeli President Isaac Herzog was equally effusive, calling Biden “a visionary and a leader,” “like the biblical Joseph.”
Biden’s very words and deeds while in the Jewish State belied their charitable words, and it wasn’t just the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/joe-biden-looks-lost-during-trip-to-israel-makes-holocaust-gaffe">shocking gaffe in which he referred to the “honor of the Holocaust</a>,” or his failure to visit the iconic Western Wall. Biden smiled to our faces, then insulted us behind our backs. His limousine sported Israeli and American flags during visits to Yad Vashem and the Maccabiah games, but the Israeli banner vanished when he headed east Jerusalem to visit the Augusta Victoria Hospital on the Mount of Olives.
The Palestinian flag waved from the hood of the presidential limousine when Biden went on to Bethlehem to meet with the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas. Biden stood mute while Abbas accused Israel of “apartheid” and demanded an end to 74 years of “occupation,” an unmistakable call for the end of Israel.
Biden reiterated his support for a two-state solution, calling it “the best way to achieve an equal measure of security, prosperity, freedom, and democracy for the Palestinians as well as the Israelis.”
“The Palestinian people deserve a state of their own,” Biden said before <a href="https://www.jpost.com/israeli-news/article-712210">calling</a> for a divided Jerusalem to be the capital of that state, breaking from the Trump administration&#8217;s recognition that Jerusalem is the undivided eternal capital of the Jewish people.
“Jerusalem must be a city for all its people, its holy sites preserving the status quo &#8230; We must all be free to practice our faiths in peace, in safety, and in dignity,” said Biden.
Of course, Biden’s real mission on the Middle East trip was to beg the Saudis for more oil production. With the Kingdom interested in better relations with the Jewish State, Biden sought to position the U.S. as a facilitator – in effect using Israel to leverage oil from the Saudis.
“Biden didn’t come to Israel as a giver, rather as a beggar,” said former Likud Member of Knesset and Zehut founder Moshe Feiglin. “He came to the Middle East because of the oil prices in the United States. He needs Saudi Arabia to produce more oil, and don’t forget that it was Biden who left the Saudis alone to deal with Iranian attacks, so the Saudis are not exactly lining up to do him favors. The Saudis, due to U.S. foreign policy of abandoning them, have grown closer to Israel.”
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/desantis-unloads-on-biden-over-energy-crisis-hell-fist-bump-saudi-arabia-but-wont-produce-oil-here">Biden’s infamous fist bump with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman</a> angered the left, which was hoping he would take a break from begging long enough to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-claims-he-confronted-saudi-crown-prince-over-murder-top-saudi-official-pushes-back">deliver a rebuke</a> for the grisly murder of Jamal Khashoggi. Of course, the same left sought no such rebuke for Abbas, who praises terrorists who kill innocent Jews and pays their families if they are killed or imprisoned, <a href="https://youtu.be/xhpC0ySJyuA?t=2335">noted</a> Israeli journalist Amit Segal during a recent question and answer session with Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro in Tel Aviv.
“Biden’s Middle East trip was despicable, disastrous, and dangerous to the future of the Jewish state in the Middle East,” said Melissa Jane Kronfeld, a former Rutgers University lecturer and national security expert who now lives in Tel Aviv. &#8220;From the removal of the Israeli flag during his visit to Jerusalem’s Arab neighborhoods and his homage paid to the “honor of the Holocaust”; to his callous commitment to the long defunct two-state solution and feigned intent to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon — whose sole purpose is the destruction of the State of Israel — and even his bestie fist bump with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman; Biden proved that his foreign policy is careless, cowardly, and always conciliatory to those state actors who seek to undermine the stability of the region.”
Gaffes, snubs, and cynical photo ops aside, the real damage done by Biden’s visit was caused by the leftist government of Lapid. As preconditions for the visit, Israel agreed to a host of “good-will” concessions, including the approval of hundreds of existing illegal structures and the territorial expansion of Arab settlements, consisting of thousands of dunams in Area C of Judea and Samaria. Those will effectively lead to the isolation of Gush Etzion, a major Jewish area, from Jerusalem. In addition, Lapid promised Biden that his coalition will not “<a href="https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/356514">surprise</a>” the White House with any more Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria.
Meir Deutsch, director general of Regavim, an NGO that monitors and pursues legal action against illegal Palestinian construction in Judea and Samaria, <a href="https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/356467">called</a> on the right-wing members of the coalition to reverse this “catastrophe.”
“Saar, Shaked, Kahana, Elkin, Hendel, Orbach – you were elected on right-wing votes because you promised to protect the Jewish settlement enterprise,” Deutsch said. “It is your responsibility to block this insane plan to whitewash thousands of illegal structures that will cut off Jewish settlement blocs from Jerusalem and give permanence to the criminal Palestinian takeover of Area C.”
Israeli diplomats with decades of experience engaging U.S. presidents struggled to put the bungled trip into perspective.
&#8220;It starts with the visit of a U.S. President to a Palestinian institution in east Jerusalem; it continues with the inability of Lapid to set a red line and prevent this dangerous precedent; and it ends with the removal of the Israeli flag from Biden&#8217;s entourage in the capital of the State of Israel,&#8221; said Danny Danon, head of World Likud and a former Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations.
Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman called the trip offensive to the people of Israel.
“President Biden wouldn&#8217;t go to the Western Wall which is the iconic symbol of the Jewish people in the land of Israel,” Friedman told <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuVZhCts-YQ">Fox News</a>. “Instead, he goes to a hospital in Jerusalem, takes down the Israeli flag, and refuses to acknowledge that Jerusalem is fully the capital of Israel, even though the State of Israel has asserted its sovereignty over all of Jerusalem for more than 50 years. His actions were very clear. He denied Israeli sovereignty over parts of Jerusalem. Every Israeli prime minister, right, left, or center, would find that offensive.”
In an odd post script that would seem to indicate the White House was as confused about the purpose of the trip as Israelis, a video summarizing it in glowing terms was uploaded to the President&#8217;s Twitter account, where Biden wrote, “May Israel and the U.S. continue to prosper together for the benefit of the world.”
However, just a few hours later, without any explanation, the video was <a href="https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/356632">deleted</a>.

TOPSHOT-ISRAEL-US-SAUDI-POLITICS-DIPLOMACY

View From Israel: Biden Visit ‘Despicable, Disastrous’ Flag-Waving Failure

View From Israel: Biden Visit 'Despicable, Disastrous' Flag-Waving Failure

Biden Administration

Middle East

PALESTINIAN-ISRAEL-CONFLICT

Israel To Close Temple Mount To Jews ‘Until Further Notice’ Due To Muslim Rioting

Islam

Temple Mount

Two people were killed and 12 more were wounded in a terror shooting attack in the center of Tel Aviv on Thursday night. The attack took place in multiple locations on Dizengoff Street, a popular scene filled with restaurants and bars, turning the crowded area into a scene of chaos and panic, as reported by the <a href="https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-703568">Jerusalem Post</a>. This is the latest in a series of deadly terror attacks that began last month in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/4-israelis-murdered-by-arab-terrorist-worst-attack-in-almost-6-years-hamas-praises-killer">Beersheba</a>, Hadera, and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/terror-in-israel-continues-5-killed-by-terrorist-in-bnei-brak-shooting">Bnei Brak</a>. So far, 13 people have been killed.
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Police video shows response to Tel Aviv shooting <a href="https://t.co/UT7aezXZmB">pic.twitter.com/UT7aezXZmB</a>
&mdash; Luke Tress (@luketress) <a href="https://twitter.com/luketress/status/1512175743295438852?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Two males approximately 30 years old were pronounced dead at the hospital, while a 38-year-old male, a 28 year-old-female, and a 20-year-old male are said to be in critical or serious condition, according to officials at Icholov Medical Center. The rest are classified as having serious to mild injuries of various degrees.
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<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BREAKING?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BREAKING</a>: More then 6 injured in multiple locations in a shooting attack in Tel Aviv (video: <a href="https://twitter.com/rbinyamini?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@rbinyamini</a>) <a href="https://t.co/sluRKQHHGg">pic.twitter.com/sluRKQHHGg</a>
&mdash; Amichai Stein (@AmichaiStein1) <a href="https://twitter.com/AmichaiStein1/status/1512132834114244608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2022</a></blockquote>
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The Israeli Ambulance Service Magen David Adom (MDA) Spokesperson <a href="https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/325450">said</a>, &#8220;At 9:00 p.m., MDA received reports of multiple victims wounded in shootings at multiple locations, including on Dizengoff Street, Gordon Street, and nearby, in Tel Aviv. EMTs and paramedics treated and evacuated nine patients who were wounded in the attack in Tel Aviv to Ichilov, Sheba Tel Hashomer, and Wolfson Hospitals.”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Deadly shooting attack in Tel Aviv - fighting for the lives of the wounded in Ichilov" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OU9uXpoX5Xs?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
“There was a large commotion at the scene, with dozens of people running in the streets,” <a href="https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/325450">said</a> MDA Paramedic Yisrael Weingarten, one of the first to arrive at the scene. “We saw six patients lying on the sidewalk. We immediately began treatment, including bleeding control and bandaging. Two of them were unconscious and underwent resuscitation, and four others were conscious.&#8221;
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I was very close. Heard many shots behind me on Dizengoff. People ran in every direction. Medics came. Civilians with pistols came. Police came. I hid in an apartment stairwell with people. With police searching with weapons drawn, we were invited into a stranger’s apartment.
&mdash; Daniel Rubenstein (@paulrubens) <a href="https://twitter.com/paulrubens/status/1512137468878929935?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Renan Shimon, 32, from Ramat Gan, was injured by a bullet that went into his cheek. He told <a href="https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/325457">reporters</a> that he “went out for a beer with a friend and after a quarter of an hour, the terrorist appeared in front of me and started shooting. I went down to the floor, we were looking for shelter and we stood on the beer kegs and I was dripping with blood.” Doctors who treated him at Ichilov Hospital said that it was a “miracle” that he came out alive.
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🇮🇱 — UPDATE: 4 hours since the terror attack in Tel Aviv and the suspect is still on the run — Newly released footage shows the moment of the shooting attack in Tel Aviv. The Terrorist then runs into an apartment building. <a href="https://t.co/iYLKNSDZut">pic.twitter.com/iYLKNSDZut</a>
&mdash; Belaaz News (@TheBelaaz) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheBelaaz/status/1512188800117755907?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2022</a></blockquote>
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The <a href="https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-703583">shooter</a> fled the scene and is still at large five hours after the attack. Large security forces are searching the area, and over 100 roadblocks were set up throughout Tel Aviv and Gush Dan, as Tel Aviv residents were told to stay inside and lock their doors. The manhunt included Israeli special forces from the IDF&#8217;s elite Sayeret Matkal and Shaldag Units, as well as the police&#8217;s Yamam elite counter-terror unit and senior agents of Shin Bet (the Israeli equivalent of the FBI).
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Tel Aviv, tonight: manhunt after the terrorist <a href="https://t.co/j45dUppn4I">pic.twitter.com/j45dUppn4I</a>
&mdash; Amichai Stein (@AmichaiStein1) <a href="https://twitter.com/AmichaiStein1/status/1512151168893521925?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2022</a></blockquote>
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TV footage showed hundreds of police officers and military personnel gathered with guns drawn outside a building where the suspect was reported to be holed up inside, just down the street from the scene. However, the terrorist is still at large. Police have shared a photo of the suspect and are asking the public to help locate him.
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Police are scanning buildings on Dizengoff St. in Tel Aviv, searching for a possible shooter in hiding <a href="https://t.co/AYln3YO2gA">https://t.co/AYln3YO2gA</a>
&mdash; Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) <a href="https://twitter.com/AvivaKlompas/status/1512149343586902024?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Unreal <a href="https://t.co/FnWNuGJC3N">pic.twitter.com/FnWNuGJC3N</a>
&mdash; Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) <a href="https://twitter.com/AvivaKlompas/status/1512164189724463111?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett <a href="https://twitter.com/naftalibennett/status/1512187725952303109">said</a> in a statement, “This is a very difficult night. My condolences to the families of the murdered and I’m praying for the complete recovery of the wounded. Security forces are in pursuit of the terrorist who carried out the murderous rampage this evening in Tel Aviv. Wherever the terrorist is — we’ll get to him. And anyone who assisted him, directly or indirectly, will pay the price.”
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לילה קשה מאוד. תנחומיי למשפחות הנרצחים ואני מתפלל לרפואתם השלמה של הפצועים. כוחות הביטחון נמצאים במרדף אחר המחבל שביצע את ההשתוללות הרצחנית הערב בתל אביב. 
היכן שהמחבל נמצא &#8211; אנחנו נגיע אליו.
וכל מי שסייע לו בעקיפין או במישרין &#8211; ישלם מחיר.
&mdash; Naftali Bennett נפתלי בנט (@naftalibennett) <a href="https://twitter.com/naftalibennett/status/1512187725952303109?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Dimiter Tzantchev, the European Union&#8217;s ambassador to Israel, <a href="https://twitter.com/DTzantchev/status/1512136392838717464">tweeted</a> that he was &#8220;deeply worried&#8221; by the reports of the terror attack in Tel Aviv. &#8220;Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. The EU stands with Israel.&#8221;
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Deeply worried about reports about another terror attack against Israeli civilians, this time in the heart of Tel Aviv. Appalling. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. The EU stands with Israel 🇮🇱
&mdash; Dimiter Tzantchev (@DTzantchev) <a href="https://twitter.com/DTzantchev/status/1512136392838717464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2022</a></blockquote>
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U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides<a href="https://twitter.com/USAmbIsrael/status/1512146819370917897"> tweeted</a>: “Horrified to see another cowardly terror attack on innocent civilians, this time in Tel Aviv. Praying for peace, and sending condolences to the victims and their families. This has to stop!”
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Horrified to see another cowardly terror attack on innocent civilians, this time in Tel Aviv. Praying for peace, and sending condolences to the victims and their families. This has to stop!
&mdash; Ambassador Jack Lew (@USAmbIsrael) <a href="https://twitter.com/USAmbIsrael/status/1512146819370917897?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Both Hamas and Islamic Jihad terror groups celebrated the terrorist attack, yet neither of them took responsibility. Palestinian media shared videos of celebrations throughout the West Bank, Gaza, and Lebanon. Hamas called the attack a &#8220;natural and legitimate response to the escalation of the occupation&#8217;s crimes against our people, our land, Jerusalem, and al-Aqsa Mosque.&#8221;
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Sweets being handed out in Ramallah in celebration of the attack in Tel Aviv this evening. <a href="https://t.co/Is2L4ga2Cs">pic.twitter.com/Is2L4ga2Cs</a>
&mdash; Aurora Intel (@AuroraIntel) <a href="https://twitter.com/AuroraIntel/status/1512155321170640903?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Handing out sweets in Ramallah to celebrate the murder of Israelis.
But tell me more about Israel&#39;s &#39;partner for peace&#39; <a href="https://t.co/fEYEVWGPTr">pic.twitter.com/fEYEVWGPTr</a>
&mdash; Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) <a href="https://twitter.com/AvivaKlompas/status/1512155005570199563?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David M Friedman <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidM_Friedman/status/1512166752603578373">tweeted</a>: “Palestinians in Ramallah, Jenin and elsewhere are celebrating yet again the murder of Israeli civilians. I want my government to end — end — all financial support and diplomatic engagement with Palestinian terrorists and their enablers. Create some accountability for God’s sake!”
This is the latest in a string of deadly terrorist attacks in Israel in recent weeks, which have occurred during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and during a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/israels-political-crisis-bennett-government-coalition-loses-majority-as-whip-idit-silman-resigns">government crisis</a>. Whip Idit Silman, a member of Bennett’s Yamina party, quit the coalition yesterday, stripping it of its parliamentary majority and putting the coalition on the verge of collapse.

Armed attack leaves 2 dead, 4 wounded in Israel

Terror In Israel Continues: 2 Killed, 12 Wounded In Latest Terrorist Shooting Attack In Tel Aviv

Yamina MK Idit Silman <a href="https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-703365">announced</a> early Wednesday morning that she is resigning from the government coalition. As a result, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett&#8217;s government lost its 61 seat Knesset majority, putting his government in a tie with the opposition. This potentially enables the opposition to veto any coalition bills and If another MK were to leave the coalition, the government could be brought down in a law brought by the opposition that would disperse the Knesset. If the opposition achieves a majority, they will be able to establish a government without having to hold elections.
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Huge political development in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Israel?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Israel</a>: The head of the coalition from the party of PM <a href="https://twitter.com/naftalibennett?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@naftalibennett</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/iditsilman?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@iditsilman</a>, is leaving the coalition because she &quot;cannot take it anymore.&quot; Scoop by <a href="https://twitter.com/amit_segal?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@amit_segal</a>
&mdash; Gil Hoffman (@Gil_Hoffman) <a href="https://twitter.com/Gil_Hoffman/status/1511553911706066950?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 6, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Amit Segal of N12 News, who <a href="https://twitter.com/amit_segal/status/1511552031764459520">broke</a> the story of Silman’s resignation, reported that Prime Minister Bennett did not have advance notice that a member of his party would resign, leaving the premier to learn through media reports that he had lost his government majority
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בנט גילה על הפרישה מהדיווח שלנו
&mdash; עמית סגל (@amit_segal) <a href="https://twitter.com/amit_segal/status/1511556059416170497?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 6, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Silman&#8217;s <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-dramatic-move-whip-silman-quits-government-robbing-coalition-of-majority/">decision</a> to leave was due to her ideological differences with the government’s Left-wing partners, including the Meretz and Labor factions and comes just days after she leveled an ultimatum against Health Minister and Meretz faction chief Nitzan Horowitz over his order to allow hametz (leavened grain products) into hospitals in Israel over the holiday of Passover.
In her resignation letter to the prime minister, Silman <a href="https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-703365">said</a> that she had &#8220;joined the current coalition out of a genuine desire to produce unity and closeness on the basis of the common good that unites us as a people and as a state. I honestly believed that in this way we would be able to realize the ideals with which we set out.” 
“I cannot [continue] any longer,” Silman <a href="https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/325304">said</a>. &#8220;I tried unity. I worked hard for the present coalition government. Unfortunately, I won&#8217;t be able to support harming the Jewish character of the State of Israel and the Jewish people. My values and where I came from do not let me continue on this path. I am ending my membership in the coalition, and I will continue to try to convince my friends [in the coalition] to come home and form a right-wing government. I know that I am not the only one who feels like this.&#8221;
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קם הדבר ונהיה <a href="https://t.co/dy22cnn6sb">pic.twitter.com/dy22cnn6sb</a>
&mdash; עמית סגל (@amit_segal) <a href="https://twitter.com/amit_segal/status/1511597445783994374?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 6, 2022</a></blockquote>
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A second Yamina MK <a href="https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/325340">hinted</a> that he may not remain in the Bennett government for much longer. MK Nir Orbach told the Giluy Da’at newspaper that he will not sit in any government which freezes construction in Israeli towns in Judea and Samaria, adding that a building freeze is being considered by the current coalition.
Other members of the coalition were hopeful that the current political crisis could be resolved. Yamina MK and Religious Services Minister Matan Kahana <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-dramatic-move-whip-silman-quits-government-robbing-coalition-of-majority/">said</a> in a radio interview that he hoped Silman would change her mind. “I hope it is reversible. This government is doing good things for the people; it was formed because of political exigency, but I think it is very worthwhile for it to continue to function.” 
“We are in a difficult time for our coalition. Political crises happen, and this is definitely a difficult one,” <a href="https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/325348">said</a> Labor Party chief and Transportation Minister Merav Michaeli. “The Labor Party and I are committed to doing everything possible to keep this government functioning and working.”
Right-wing lawmakers were quick to congratulate and praise Silmin for her resignation. Former Prime Minister and current opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu said in a <a href="https://twitter.com/netanyahu/status/1511561371988733953">video statement</a> “I was very moved to hear MK Idit Silman’s statement, and I congratulate her on behalf of the masses of the people of Israel who yearned for this moment.” He also predicted that the Bennett government will collapse in the near future. 
MK <a href="https://twitter.com/shitrit_keti/status/1511554066031259648">Keti Shitrit</a> (Likud), MK <a href="https://twitter.com/bezalelsm/status/1511555999928356868">Bezalel Smotrich</a> (Religious Zionism), and MK <a href="https://twitter.com/itamarbengvir/status/1511559887595220992">Itamar Ben-Gvir</a> (Otzma Yehudit) were among the many who released <a href="https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/325305">statements</a> praising Silman&#8217;s decision.
According to the <a href="https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-703372">Jerusalem Post</a> and <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/silmans-coalition-defection-catches-political-partners-off-guard/">Times of Israel</a>, if the Bennett government is unable to restore its majority, the two most likely outcomes are either elections or the formation of a new government within the Knesset. If the Knesset is dissolved and new elections are called, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid would immediately replace Naftali Bennet and become interim Prime Minister until a new government is formed, according to the coalition agreement.
Alternatively, the opposition could cobble together a coalition of at least 61 Knesset within the current Knesset, avoiding handing the premiership to Lapid. Given that the Arab Joint List would not support the formation of a right-wing administration, it would need to pull away seven members of the current coalition. Defense Minister Benny Gantz&#8217;s eight-seat Blue and White party, as well as right-wing components of the present coalition, are potential options for joining with Likud and the other right-wing parties, although it is unclear whether Bibi Netanyahu would become Prime Minister in such an agreement.
A third scenario would be where the current coalition government, which is now unable to pass any legislation, would continue until the beginning of 2023 when a new budget must be passed and failure to do so would trigger dissolution. At that point, Israel would go to new elections and Yair Lapid will become Prime minister until a new government is formed.

Naftali Bennett

Israel’s Political Crisis: Bennett Government Coalition Loses Majority As Whip Idit Silman Resigns 

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Yehuda Levi