Thursday, December 31, 2020
You’re Grounded! IDF Sends Home Drunken Lebanese Teens Who Snuck Across Border
Three Lebanese flee back across the border after IDF soldiers fired in the air.
By Yakir Benzion, United With Israel
Three apparently drunk teens from Lebanon were arrested by Lebanese police after unsuccessfully trying to sneak over the border into Israel, the Lebanese army reported Tuesday.
“On 12/29/2020, at approximately 17:00, a patrol from the Intelligence Directorate stopped three young men as they approached the technical fence in the Sahl al-Khiam area while they were apparently drunk,” the Lebanese Army tweeted.
On the Israeli side of the heavily defended international border, the IDF spokesperson’s office issued a statement saying that IDF spotters who monitor the border spotted suspects approaching the border fence, apparently near the town of Metula, which sits right on the border.
“One of the suspects climbed the fence, crossed several meters into Israeli territory and returned to Lebanon shortly after,” the IDF statement said. “IDF forces that arrived in the area immediately identified the suspects in Lebanese territory after crossing back and carried out a suspicious arrest procedure that included firing into the air.”
“The IDF observed the suspects throughout the incident. IDF forces combed the area and confirmed no further intrusions.”
Lebanese news website The961 reported that an investigation into the incident was opened and “the suspects were referred to a relevant judiciary in Lebanon.”
Lebanon is home to Iranian-backed terror forces that use its territory as a staging ground for attacks against Israel.
Hezbollah is in de facto control of southern Lebanon, where the incident occurred and has repeatedly launched cross-border attacks, sparking the war in 2006 when Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets at Israeli towns and cities as a cover to kidnap IDF soldiers who subsequently died in Hezbollah captivity.
Hezbollah refuses to comply with UN Security Council Resolution 1701 passed after the 2006 war, which demands “the disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon, so that … there will be no weapons or authority in Lebanon other than that of the Lebanese state.”
In 2018, the United Nations confirmed that several military attack tunnels dug by Hezbollah into Israel were both illegal and violated Security Council resolution 1701. The IDF subsequently destroyed all the tunnels.
There have been several attempts this year by Sudanese laborers in Lebanon to cross the border into Israel, where it is known that working and living conditions are much better than in Arab countries. In all cases, the infiltrators were returned to Lebanon.
Fox News Joins MSNBC Incorrectly Depicting ‘Palestine’ as Independent State
The graphic in question appeared during the Dec. 23 broadcast of “America’s Newsroom” during a segment about U.S. President Donald Trump and the recently passed legislative package.
By JNS
A graphic on Fox News last week showed “Palestine” as a country, despite it not being an independent nation.
The graphic appeared during the Dec. 23 broadcast of “America’s Newsroom” during a segment about U.S. President Donald Trump complaining about foreign aid in the legislative package Congress passed this week that included $1.4 trillion to fund the government and around $900 billion in COVID relief.
Fox News did not respond to a request for comment.
A similar error occurred in April when an MSNBC graphic showed “Palestine” in a rolling list of countries.
While the “State of Palestine” is recognized by some 138 countries and has the status as a non-member observer state of the United Nations, there does not exist a sovereign independent Palestinian state.
The Palestinian Authority is an interim Palestinian government established under the Oslo Accords, and its final status was left for future negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. Currently, the P.A. has control over portions of Judea and Samaria, known as Areas A and B, while the terrorist group Hamas controls the Gaza Strip after it ousted the P.A. from the coastal enclave in 2007.
During his remarks, Trump lamented U.S. assistance allocated toward certain countries, referring to more than $85.5 million for Cambodia, more than $134 million for Burma, $1.3 billion for Egypt and more than $505 million for Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama.
He also complained about the $25 million allocated for democracy and gender programs in Pakistan.
However, he did not mention U.S. assistance to Israel or the $250 million allocated over five years to expand coexistence between Arabs and Israelis, in addition to peacebuilding programs in the region and to support projects to strengthen the Palestinian economy.
None of the $250 million can go to the Palestinian Authority in accordance with the Taylor Force Act, which prohibits funding from going to including, but not limited to, the P.A. or any individual or group the secretary of state determines to be involved in or advocating terrorist activity.
On Sunday night, Trump signed the omnibus spending bill into law after a significant delay but before a government shutdown were to take place.
IDF Airstrikes Nail Syrian Targets, Kill Fighter
The strike occurred in the Zabadani area northwest of the capital Damascus, after midnight on Tuesday.
By Aryeh Savir, TPS
An Israeli Air Force (IAF) in Syria on Tuesday night killed at least one person and injured at least three others in an attack on Hezbollah targets in the country, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported.
The attack occurred in the Zabadani area northwest of the capital Damascus, after midnight on Tuesday.
The Israeli strikes targeted Hezbollah forces in the Nabi Habeel area in Zabadani and a Syrian army defense battalion that tried to counter the Israeli attack.
The casualty and injured fighters were Syrian soldiers.
Israel has remained silent on the reports.
The IAF reportedly last attacked in Syria early Friday morning and killed at least six Iran-backed fighters.
The SOHR’s report on the strike said that the casualties were all foreign paramilitaries fighting alongside President Bashar al-Assad’s forces.
A missile hit a government-run scientific research facility in the area. The center is used for the development and production of weapons, including long-range missiles, and has been bombed by Israel in the past.
In a summary of 2020, IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi noted that “the Iranian establishment in Syria is in a clear slowdown, but we still have a long way to go to complete the goals in the arena.”
“We have struck over 500 targets this year, on all fronts, in addition to multiple clandestine missions,” he said.
In general, Iran and Hezbollah’s military build-up in Syria remains a red line for Israel. The IAF has carried out thousands of attacks to thwart the Iranian entrenchment in the war-torn country.
Israeli leaders have repeatedly declared that they will not tolerate an Iranian threat on its northern border with Syria and will take all necessary measures to ensure that such a menace does not emerge.
Israel Smashes Goal of 150,000 Daily COVID-19 Vaccinations
“This is how we defeat a pandemic!” says Israeli Health Minister Yuli Edelstein.
By Maytal Yasur Beit-Or and Assaf Golan, via Israel Hayom
Israel has vaccinated 152,000 people against COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, surpassing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s goal of 150,000 daily vaccinations.
“On the path to 1 million vaccinated! 152,000 vaccinated as of yesterday, close to 650,000 total. This is how we defeat a pandemic!,” Israeli Health Minister Yuli Edelstein tweeted on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, 5,583 of the 99,126 COVID-19 tests administered in the country came back positive, putting the infection rate at 5.7 percent, according to Health Ministry data.
As of Wednesday there were 633 people listed as being in serious condition due to the virus, including 200 whose condition was listed as critical. To date, 3,304 people in the country have died due to the disease.
Israel entered its third nationwide COVID-19 lockdown on Sunday.
WATCH: Terrorists Attack Fake IDF Tank in Gaza War Games
Palestinian terrorists staged a theatrical faux attack on an Israeli Merkava tank, which was in a reality no more than a stage prop.
Members of 12 Gaza terror groups were able to put their differences aside long enough this week to stage a “unified” drill intended to impress Palestinians and intimidate Israel
The violent pageant involved a fake IDF Merkava IV battle tank and rockets launched towards the sea.
Sadly, Gazans are being crushed by the coronavirus pandemic, while Hamas and other terror groups blow millions of dollars on dress-up war games with expensive props.
WATCH: Jonathan Pollard Kisses the Ground as He Arrives in Israel
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed Jonathan and Esther Pollard upon their arrival in Israel, reciting the Shehechiyanu blessing together.
Thirty-five years after his arrest for spying for Israel, Jonathan Pollard arrived in the Holy Land on Wednesday morning, where he and his wife Esther kissed the ground before exchanging greetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Israeli leader and the Pollards then recited the Shehechiyanu blessing, giving thanks to God for surviving to see this day.
“Now you are at home,” said Netanyahu, to which Pollard responded, “We are ecstatic to be home at last after 35 years and we thank the people and the Prime Minister of Israel for bringing us home. No one could be prouder of this country or this leader than we are.”
