Friday
Yom Shishee
21 Cheshvan 5785
November 22, 2024
UPDATE 6:00 AM ISRAEL TIME
May Their Memories Be For A Blessing
Another dark day for Israel with two more soldiers and a civilian killed yesterday.
Sgt. Gur Kahti, 20 years old from Nir Benim, a fighter in the 13th battalion of the Golani brigade, fell in battle in southern Lebanon.
Bryan Drektor, a 27-year-old civilian resident of Ma’alot, was killed by shrapnel from a Hezbollah missile as he ran to a bomb shelter in Nahariya. He is the fourth person to be killed in Nahariya in less than a month.
Sgt. Ron Epstein , 19 years old from Nesher, a fighter in the Sabar Battalion, Givati Brigade fell in Jabaliya in northern Gaza.
On the Ground in Gaza
The view from here in Ashdod:
OneIsrael does not have anything specific to report today except to say that judging from the continuous explosions and heavy aircraft activity all night emanating from Gaza, we can only deduce that the battle for Jabaliya continues full force.
The War in the North
Hezbollah missile and drone attacks yesterday:
21:01 Gush Etzion, Tamar, Ein Gedi (possibly a missile from Yemen); 17:26 Margaliot; 11:46 Nahariya; 08:38 Metulla, Ajjar; 06:25 Rosh HaNikra, Betz.
10 missiles targeted Nahariya at 11:46 (one of which killed Bryan Drekter); 15 missiles were launched by Hezbolloah in the 17:26 barrage..
As you can clearly see if you are a regular reader of OneIsrael, there was a dramatic decrease in the number of launches out of Lebanon yesterday. The missile stocks of Hezbollah may be decreasing; Hezbollah may be regrouping; Hezbollah might have just decided not to expose their launchers to more IAF attacks. Whatever the reason, it will be interesting to see what today brings.
The economic cost of the war in the north:
The government estimated yesterday that the economic cost of the damage caused by the firing of the rockets and UAVs to 82 communities on the northern border is at least 5 billion shekels, which includes damage to water and electricity infrastructures, destroyed houses, and damaged factories.
Of course, the personal costs in terms of lost lives, emotional trauma, and evacuation from one’s home cannot be measured.
The Farce in The Hague
To no one’s surprise considering the composition of the International Criminal Court headed as it is by Karim Khan of Pakistani descent, the ICC yesterday issued arrest warrants for PM Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Gallant for “war crimes against humanity.”
Laughably, the Court also issued arrest warrants for Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh–all of whom are dead.
It is not important here to enumerate the bogus charges against Netanyahu and Gallant. You can easily imagine what they are.
The point is that both of them are now subject to arrest should they enter one of the 124 countries that is a signatory of the Rome Statute that created the ICC. By the way, a few of the countries that are not signatories are the U.S. China, India, Russia, and Israel.
It is important to note which 3 countries rushed to the podium yesterday to declare that they they would arrest Netanyahu or Gallant should they visit. They were The Netherlands, Canada, and Italy. Presumably, other countries will follow suit today.
In regard to The Netherlands, it was Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp who made the announcement. If you can believe this, Veldkamp made the announcement two days before he was scheduled to come to Israel. Last night, Israel Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said that Veldkamp will not be allowed in the country.
It is also important to note that the U.S. led a handful of countries that rushed to Israel’s defense and condemned the ICC action.
Senator Lindsay Graham of South Carolina issued this statement:
“We cannot let the world believe for a moment that this is a legitimate exercise of jurisdiction by the Court against Israel because to do so means we could be next. I will be introducing legislation that puts other countries on notice – If you aid and abet the ICC after their action against the State of Israel, you can expect consequences from the United States. Any nation that joins with the ICC after this outrage is a partner in a reckless act that tramples the rule of law.”
Kolakevod to Senator Graham.
Also yesterday came news that Australia has decided that former Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked cannot enter the country because “she does not support a two-state solution.“
The steps taken by the ICC and Australia are just two more taking us down a slippery slope at the end of which all Israelis may find themselves persona non grata in large swaths of the world
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.