Chief Of Staff: ‘We’ll Lay Hands On The Terrorists, The Clock Is Ticking
IDF Chief of Staff LTG Herzi Halevi on Monday (6th) arrived at the scene of the shooting attack near Al-Funduk, and conducted a situational assessment and an initial inquiry with the Commanding Officer of the Central Command, the Commanding Officer of the Judea and Samaria Division and additional commanders.
“This was a severe attack – two female civilians and a police officer were killed,” Halevi said. “I extend my deepest condolences to the families.”
“We are engaged in intense and wide-ranging combat against terrorism in Judea and Samaria. We will intensify and continue this combat. For the terrorists who carried out this attack, the clock is ticking. We will find out who perpetrated this attack and reach them. We will act swiftly to bypass the town on this route and make the route safer.”
Three people were murdered in the shooting: Sergeant Elad Yaakov Winklestein, a 35-year-old police detective from Kibbutz Ein Hanatziv, who is survived by his wife Tal and his sons Neve and Omer, as well as his parents, Naomi and Yossi, and his siblings Yonatan, Hadas, and Harel. Rachel Cohen and Aliza Rize, ages 70 and 73, were close friends, both from Kedumim. Cohen (73) was a school counselor and is survived by her husband and five daughters. Rize (70) was also a school counselor, and is survived by her children and family.
Initial investigations show that two or three terrorists exited a vehicle and began firing towards two Israeli cars and a bus. The entire terror attack occurred on Highway 55 between Karnei Shomron and Kedumim in Samaria. Following their shooting spree, the terrorists entered a vehicle, after a civilian fired towards them. That civilian, Ani Berber, did not manage to hit the terrorists – but did succeed in driving them away.
Kedumim Attack Forces Long-Overdue Rethink Of Northern Samaria Strategy – Hanan Greenwood
The deadly terror attack near Kedumim Monday morning (6th) may finally force Israel’s hand in northern Samaria, a region that has been simmering dangerously since October 7. While Gaza, Lebanon and Syria have dominated headlines and military resources, this critical region has been relegated to secondary status – a strategic calculation that is increasingly difficult to justify.
The devastating shooting – the deadliest since the Passover 2023 attack on the Dee family – lays bare the shortcomings of this approach. Despite numerous brigade-level operations in hotspots like Jenin, Tulkarem and Nablus – including Sunday’s (5th) dramatic undercover arrest using an ambulance disguise – the security situation continues to deteriorate.
The timing couldn’t be more telling, just as construction finally began on the Funduk bypass road – a project prompted by the tragic murders of Halel and Yagel Yaniv near Huwara two years ago – attackers exploited the very vulnerability this road aims to address. The current route forces Israeli vehicles to slow significantly through Funduk village, creating perfect conditions for the kind of ambush we saw Monday (6th).
Security officials have been warning that northern Samaria sits on the brink of a major escalation. Local council heads are no longer mincing words, demanding a full military operation in the region. With each passing attack, the clock ticks louder on Israel’s containment strategy. The question is no longer if a major operation will be necessary, but when – and at what cost further delay.
Sderot Home Hit In Hamas Rocket Attack
Hamas fired rockets from northern Gaza, at Sderot and the Gaza border area on Monday (6th). One home in Sderot was hit according to preliminary reports.
The Sderot municipality said three rockets targeted the city, one was intercepted, and another fell in the city while forces were searching for the third. “We do not know of any injuries at this time but some damage to property was caused,” the municipality said in a statement.
Hamas fired at Israeli communities for nine consecutive days since last week, and on Saturday (4th), a mortar shell exploded near the Erez border crossing where trucks carrying humanitarian aid into the Strip were waiting to pass. Some damage to the crossing was reported.
The IDF said on Sunday (5th) that a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) who was the deputy commander of the rocket units in northern Gaza was killed in a targeted attack. According to the military he had participated in the October 7 massacre and carried out attacks on IDF troops in the Strip.
A clip filmed by the IDF showed two terrorists covered in blankets, approaching forces in the cover of night, and in the rain. The commander was killed , and the other man surrendered to the troops. Before he was taken for interrogation, an explosive device he was carrying with him was found.
Military Drills In Iran Doubled By Islamic Republic Due To Incoming Trump Administration – Report
Exercises and military drills have doubled in Iran by the Islamic Republic’s armed forces, largely in preparation for the incoming Trump administration in nearly two weeks, as well as the military attacks it took from Israeli forces this year, IRGC Brigadier General Ali Mohammad Naeini told the Financial Times in a report published on early Tuesday (7th).
Around 30 maritime, land, and air drills across six provinces in the southern and western parts of Iran would continue for a least two more months, the report cited Naeini as saying, while he also claimed that these drills were “designed to counter ‘new threats.’”
Naeini made these statements “on the sidelines” during a press briefing in Tehran, the report noted.
“The enemy is displaying false enthusiasm while misinterpreting the situation, trying to portray the Islamic Republic as weakened,” he added.
The Islamic Republic’s forces are expected to operate near Natanz nuclear facility in Isfahan province, with the forces’ longest maritime exercise to take place in the Strait of Hormuz.
Naeini concluded his statement by saying that “The Islamic Republic will not initiate any war in the region but will respond decisively to any threats,” after stating that the Islamic Republic “considered all possible scenarios and are conducting realistic and proportionate exercises.”
Egypt Unconvinced And Has No Trust In New Syrian Regime
Analysis: The Egyptian president says HTS rulers are to be judged by their actions, noting the affiliation of the new leaders in Damascus to the dreadful Muslim Brotherhood.
A select group of the heads of Egypt’s security services, intelligence, police and airport security has been convening daily in the intelligence headquarters in Cairo, to observe events in Syria and for good reason. Egypt is among the few Arab nations that have not dispatched representatives to meet with the new Damascus regime, and only sent one plane carrying aid, thus far.
The Egyptians supported the deposed Syrian leader Bashar Assad, not out of approval of his murderous regime, but because it was chosen through elections.
Only when the rebel forces neared the gates of Damascus and Assad fled, did the tune in Cairo change somewhat and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sisi declared that the new rulers would be judged by their actions.
Cairo feared an outbreak of mass riots, despite a ban on demonstrations on university campuses, factories and city streets. There is no shortage of reasons for protests, including widespread unemployment and poverty while palaces were built for el Sisi in Cairo and El Alamein, west of Alexandria and defense spending even has Israel worried.
The word in Cairo today is that there must be careful examination before a hand is extended to the rebel leaders now ruling over Syria. Allies of Ahmad al-Sharaa claim that Egypt refused to fly the Syrian opposition flag on the Syrian embassy building.
The head of Egypt’s national airline said Syrians wishing to enter Egypt would be subjected to special security checks by the security agencies and suggested that Syrian passport holders avoid traveling to Egypt altogether.
Just three days after the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) under the leadership of al-Sharaa took control of Damascus, the Syrian foreign minister received a call from his Egyptian counterpart. At the same time, a statement from el-Sisi was released. “The new regime in Syria will either build or destroy that country.”
Soon after, 30 Syrian nationals were arrested in Cairo after they celebrated the toppling of Assad. Three of them have since been dispatched back to Syria.
The next day, Egyptian television showed a film where the New Syrian ruler appeared alongside Mohammed Fathi, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, which has been outlawed in Egypt.
Had Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoken to the Egyptian leader, he would have realized that Egypt has not one iota of trust in the new Syrian rulers and is concerned that their success could bring conflict to its borders. Al Sharaa has been able to fool many who have been trying to understand his real intentions.
Sharaa may have chosen to appear in the finest Western suits but women he has appointed to senior positions are in veils. HTS may be dissolved as he promised but its members were using force when collecting arms. This reminds el-Sisi and his security and intelligence officials of the conduct of the Muslim Brotherhood in Cairo when they came to power.
Anti-Semitic Crime Up By 94% In Florida, 70% In Massachusetts, States Warn
Anti-Semitic crimes rose in Florida and Massachusetts in 2023 compared to 2022, government reports showed.
Anti-Semitic crimes increased by 94% in Florida and 70% in Massachusetts, according to Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody’s 2023 Hate Crimes in Florida Report and the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security’s Hate Crimes in Massachusetts 2023 report.
“Following the terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, the Jewish community was increasingly targeted on college campuses, places of worship, and other areas of our country,” said Moody.
“To protect Jewish Americans, we took action – calling for a zero tolerance policy for hate crimes and urging Florida college and university police chiefs to protect Jewish students and other religious groups.”
Moody’s office collected 311 reported hate crimes in 2023, a 36% increase from the 220 reports in 2022. Among the 311 incidents, there were 70 anti-Jewish motivated crimes. Anti-Semitic crimes accounted for 22% of all hate crimes in the state.
Almost 71% of all religion-motivated crimes were caused by anti-Semitism in Florida in 2023. Anti-religion-motivated crimes represented 31.5% of all hate crimes in 2023, second only to racially motivated crimes, which made up 38% of the reports. Twenty of the 2023 hate crime incidents took place at a church, synagogue, temple, or mosque.
Thirty-eight of the anti-Jewish crimes recorded by the Florida Attorney-General’s Office were acts of vandalism, and 15 were acts of intimidation. There were also four incidents of simple assault and the same number of aggravated assaults.
In 2023, 278 agencies participated in the reporting system, with 75 reporting hate crimes compared to 58 the previous year.
Eighty-nine municipal police departments, 14 campus police agencies, and the Massachusetts Environmental Police submitted a total of 557 hate-motivated crimes in 2023. Some 314 agencies had no bias crimes to report, and 41 agencies didn’t participate in the project. There were a total of 578 separate offenses, and 634 bias incidents in 2023.
Hate crimes in Massachusetts increased by 26.5%, according to the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security report. This was the highest amount of hate-motivated crimes reported since 2002.
Anti-Jewish crimes represented a total of 18.8 of the 634 bias incidents reported to police in Massachusetts. The amount of anti-Semitic crimes reported to police rose from 70 in 2022 to 119 in 2023.
Massachusetts police received anti-Jewish bias reports for 82 vandalism incidents, 23 intimidation incidents, four simple assaults, and two aggravated assaults in 2023. Churches, synagogues, temples, and mosques were host to 35 bias incidents in 2023.
The Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security detailed that hate crimes are not reported as a stand-alone offense “but rather as part of a separate criminal violation, ranging from vandalism to harassment to violent crimes.”
