Saturday
Yom Shabbat
21 Nisan 5785
April 19 2025
UPDATE 5:00 PM ISRAEL TIME
The View From Ashdod
Iranian FM Araqchi is meeting with the Witkoff-led American delegration at the Omani Embassy in Rome today. According to a letter yesterday from Iranian President Shamkani to Araqchi, the foreign minister has full power to negotiate on the basis of 9 principles: seriousness, guarantees that an agreement will not be canceled in the future, balance in the agreement, lifting of sanctions against Iran, reaching an agreement not based on the Libyan model of complete dismantling of the nuclear program, cessation of all military action against Iran, a speedy timeframe to reach an agreement, restraint of Israel, the creation of new economic investments in Iran.
Whew! Did you get all that?
Why don’t the Iranians just state the obvious which is that they want everything in return for nothing–the same negotiating stance they have always taken.
The only real question is what additional concessions will Witkoff give the Iranians by the end of today’s talks.
The entire farce being played out is not unlike the “negotiations” that Witkoff has been participating in with regard to Ukraine and Russia in which it is now being reported that the Trump Administration is considering recognizing Russian control over the Crimean Peninsula in return for nothing.
On the Ground in Gaza
*Unconfirmed reports are that 1 IDF soldier was killed and a number of others were wounded in fighting in Gaza City.
*Major explosions are reported from northern Gaza as IDF engineers and aircraft continue destroying Hamas assets. Other heavily attacked areas include Rafah (the Shabura and Tel Al-Sultan neighborhoods), the Morag Corridor, and the Netzarim Corridor.
7 Hamas terrorists were killed in this strike on Deir Al-Balach:
On the Ground in Lebanon
*A Hezbollah terrorist was killed by an IAF strike on his vehicle in Ayta ash Shab in southern Lebanon.
*Hezbollah terrorist Muhammad Jaafar Abdallah was killed in a strike in Sidon. Abdallah was in charge of the deployment of Hezbollah communications systems south of the Litani River.
*Another Hezbollah terrorist killed in the past two days was Ali al-Nabi Khadi, deputy head of Hezbollah’s Mhaibib military outpost in southern Lebanon.
On the Ground in Judea and Samaria
A few of the terror attacks in the last 48 hours:
*Palestinian terrorists attacked a bus on Road 60 near Sinjil near Ma’ale Levona. No Israelis were physically wounded; the terrorists escaped.
*Two Palestinian terrorists were killed as they attacked Israelis near Ozrin. A third terrorist was also wounded.
*Two more Palestinian terrorists were killed as they attacked Israeli motorists near Avitare.
*Palestinian terrorists attacked Israelis between Eviatar and the Beit Ha-Ha Towers. No Israelis were wounded. The terrorists escaped.
*Palestinian terrorists attacked Israelis with IEDs on Road 446 near Shukva. One Israeli was wounded.
On the Ground in Yemen
*The Houthis launched another ballistic missile toward Israel yesterday which was subsequently intercepted.
*The Houthis report attacks by the US Air Force on the center of the capital Sanaa and 4 attacks on the city of Bani Husaysh, northeast of the Yemeni capital.
On the Ground in Syria
It is not altogether certain what is going on with the American military in Syria. Apparently, the Trump Administration is halving the number of soldiers there–with about 2000 soldiers now moving to Iraq.
And so it goes in Israel and the neighborhood on this Shabbat . . . so far . . .
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(graphic below: Shuttercock)
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A student from Malawi, who had worked with an Israeli health volunteer in his country battling AIDS, came up to us as we walked down the street in the UC-Davis Picnic Day Parade and wanted to carry the Israeli flag.