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Israeli Arab detainees refuse to be included in prisoner release deal

(JNS) — The attorneys of several Israeli Arab detainees informed the Israeli State Attorney’s Office and Justice Ministry on Wednesday that their clients refuse to be included in a prisoner release deal with Hamas. 

On Monday, Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office released a list of 50 female prisoners in Israeli jails that would be added to the 150 prisoners slated for release as part of a prisoner-exchange deal with Hamas. 

Of those 50, 22 were Israeli Arabs arrested after Oct. 7 for online incitement in support of the terror group and its surprise attack on Israel, in which 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, were killed and 240 were taken hostage.

The Israeli decision sparked opposition on Tuesday from the Ra’am and Hadash-Ta’al parties, along with the Arab Higher Monitoring Committee, an unofficial group comprising Israeli Arab Knesset members and local Arab council heads.

They argued that including Israeli Arabs in a deal with Hamas is undesirable as it gives the Gaza-based terror group a role within Israel’s Arab population. 

“It is very serious that the government gives Hamas ownership over Israeli Arab citizens in order to include them in transactions of this type,” said Arab political figures, according to Channel 12.

The Hadash Party also expressed fear that once released the prisoners would face retribution from Jewish extremists.

The government’s decision to add 50 more female prisoners to the original list of Palestinian prisoners was Israeli “compensation” to Hamas for ceding on Tuesday to Israel’s demand to free two additional women, government officials told Army Radio.

The officials said it was key to resolving an impasse in the ceasefire negotiations on Tuesday. 

“As of now, we have freed 74 hostages, including 50 women and children,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a visit to an Israeli military base on Tuesday.  

“We are committed to completing this outline and bringing about the release of all of our hostages—all of them, without exception,” he added.

Netanyahu hosts AIPAC leaders in Israel on solidarity trip

(JNS) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with the leadership of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee on Wednesday at his Jerusalem office.

The premier thanked them for “their deep and consistent support of the State of Israel,” according to a government statement.

Led by AIPAC President Michael Tuchin, the delegation is on a solidarity visit to the Jewish state. 

In addition to Netanyahu and Tuchin, the meeting included National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi; Netanyahu’s chief of staff, foreign policy adviser and spokesperson; AIPAC CEO Howard Kohr and AIPAC Israel Director Cameron Brown.

Benny Gantz, leader of the Blue and White Party and a minister-without-portfolio in Israel’s War Cabinet, hosted the AIPAC delegation in Jerusalem on Tuesday.

During the meeting, Gantz addressed rising antisemitism around the globe and discussed the Nov. 23 attack by anti-Israel rioters on the Los Angeles home of Tuchin, which the LAPD is investigating as a possible hate crime.

“As an outspoken leader of his community, Michael’s home was targeted and vandalized on Thanksgiving Eve in an unacceptable hate crime,” said Gantz.”

“Facing an alarming rise in antisemitism globally and bigotry towards the one and only Jewish state, we must all act to protect Jewish communities around the world.”

Israeli forces kill commander of Islamic Jihad’s Jenin Battalion

(JNS) — Israeli security forces operating in the Samaria city of Jenin on Wednesday killed Mohammed Zubeidi, the commander of Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s Jenin Battalion, the IDF, Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and Israel Police said in a joint statement.

Zubeidi, a relative of notorious Fatah terrorist Zakaria Zubeidi, was killed alongside another senior Palestinian terrorist in an exchange of fire, according to the security forces.

“Among other things, Zubeidi was involved in the shooting attack Hermesh Intersection in which the late Meir Tamari was killed, and in another shooting attack in the sector in which a civilian and four soldiers were injured,” the statement read, adding that Zubeidi sent the terrorists and supplied them with means of transport.

During the operation in Jenin’s refugee camp, IDF troops fired at the structure where Zubeidi had holed up. After entering the building, soldiers found the terrorists’ corpses and three M-16 assault rifles.

The security forces also arrested 17 wanted persons and seized weapons, explosives, ammunition and other military equipment. 

The Jenin Battalion was founded in the aftermath of the 2021 war (“Operation Guardian of the Walls”) against Hamas. While the organization was initially set up as an Islamic Jihad branch in Jenin’s refugee camp, terrorists from other factions, including Fatah’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and Hamas, have since joined.

The Jenin Battalion reportedly receives millions of shekels in funding from terrorist groups such as Islamic Jihad, Hamas and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

One year ago, the Jenin Battalion made headlines by kidnapping Tiran Fero, 17, a member of Israel’s Druze community who entered Jenin together with a friend to get his car repaired. According to Fero’s family, terrorists murdered him in a Jenin hospital by disconnecting life support equipment.

Jerusalem has also accused the Jenin Battalion of killing Sgt. Maj. Noam Raz, a veteran member of the Israel Police’s elite Yamam National Counter-Terrorism Unit, during a May 15, 2022, raid.

Netanyahu: ‘No way’ we will agree to end war against Hamas

(JNS) — Jerusalem will not give up on its goal to destroy Hamas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday, amid rumors the terrorist organization offered to release all hostages held in Gaza in exchange for an end to the Israel Defense Forces operation.

“There is no way we are not going back to fight to the end. This is my policy, the entire Cabinet stands behind it, the entire government stands behind it, the soldiers stand behind it, the people stand behind it—this is exactly what we will do,” said Netanyahu.

“From the beginning of the war, I set three goals: the elimination of Hamas, the return of all our hostages, and to ensure that Gaza will never again be a threat to Israel. These three goals remain,” the premier said.

“Over the last few days I’ve heard a question: When this phase of returning our hostages is exhausted, will Israel return to fighting? My answer is an unequivocal yes,” he added.

On Tuesday afternoon, Army Radio Arab Affairs Correspondent Jacky Hugi reported on a proposal from Hamas to release all approximately 165 hostages still held captive, including IDF soldiers, in return for an indefinite end to Israel’s operation against the terrorist group.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich immediately rejected the suggestion Israel would agree to Hamas’s terms, writing on X (formerly Twitter) that the end of the war is “not on the agenda, not even as a suggestion.”

“This is a plan to eliminate the State of Israel. With God’s help, we will continue until the absolute victory and the destruction of the Hamas Nazis,” said Smotrich.

Hamas has asked for another extension of the hostages-for-ceasefire agreement it reached with Israel on Nov. 24, AFP reported earlier on Wednesday.

“Hamas has informed the mediators that it is willing to extend the truce for four days and that the movement would be able to release Israeli prisoners that it, other resistance movements and other parties hold during this period, according to the terms of the existing truce,” a source told the news agency.

The Islamist group is believed to be holding enough Israeli women and children in Gaza for the ceasefire to be extended for at least two more days, CNN said on Wednesday.

On Monday, the two sides agreed to extend the ceasefire for up to six days, if Hamas releases 10 Israeli women and children each day. Israel has agreed to free three jailed Palestinian terrorists for each hostage released.

Senior PA official calls Oct. 7 a ‘natural reaction to oppression’

(JNS) — The head of the Samaria Council, Yossi Dagan, is demanding the arrest of Jibril Rajoub, a senior official in the Palestinian Authority’s ruling Fatah faction, after he expressed support for the Oct. 7 massacre and warned of a similar attack in Judea and Samaria.

Makor Rishon journalist Assaf Gibor on Tuesday tweeted the video of Rajoub’s interview with Egypt’s MBC News channel in which he made the inflammatory remarks.

“What happened on Oct. 7 was a natural reaction to oppression. Those who rule Israel are an example of neo-Nazis. The fascist occupation sinks its own swamp. Oct. 7 should be a turning point in our treatment of the occupation and its crimes,” said Rajoub.

“What happened on Oct. 7 did not happen in a vacuum. The occupation and its crimes are responsible for this. The event was part of the Palestinian defensive war. This is definitely the beginning of outbreaks. The next powerful outbreak will be in the West Bank,” he continued.

“Hamas was and will be an integral part of militant and national Palestinian political elements. This war will lead to Palestinian nationalist unity where the people and the leadership are united in the decision to achieve the goal to establish an independent Palestinian state on all the Palestinian land,” said Rajoub.

Makor Rishon journalist Shiloh Fried tweeted Dagan’s response:

“Rajoub must be arrested immediately, as was done recently with every supporter of terrorism and anyone who expressed support for the events of 7/10. It is not possible to give a concession to the leader of the terrorists. He is a Nazi terrorist and a senior terrorist, expresses support for terrorism and works internationally to boycott Israel.”

Rajoub serves as the secretary-general of Fatah’s Central Committee and heads the Palestinian Football Association.

JNS reached out to FIFA for a response to Rajoub’s remarks and has yet to receive a reply.

IDF shells targets in southern Lebanon

(JNS) — The Israel Defense Forces shelled targets in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, Reuters reported, citing Lebanese state media.

There was no immediate confirmation from the Israel Defense Forces.

Israel responded to multiple daily attacks from Hezbollah terrorists during the war against the Hamas terror group in Gaza, but the border has been mostly quiet since a temporary pause in fighting in the Strip took effect on Friday.

Halevi meets heads of authorities in north

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi met on Tuesday with the heads of authorities in northern Israel. Hundreds of thousands of residents have been evacuated from the northern and southern frontiers since the Hamas massacre of Oct. 7 and ensuing war.

“We made a difficult decision to evacuate the residents in the north, and I am full of appreciation for the way you show resilience and patience, and allow us to fight,” said Halevi.

“We will plan together with the heads of the authorities the return of the residents and its timing, in dialogue and with the understanding that we will not be able to return to the reality that existed here before the war,” he continued.

“For the past eight weeks, IDF fighters and commanders have been fighting with determination and defending the homeland. We will continue to fight and are ready for developments in other arenas, also in the north,” he said.

Halevi thanked the forum and insisted that the dialogue continue on an ongoing basis.

‘So Long, Marianne,’ another upcoming Leonard Cohen miniseries, focuses on his 1960s years

By Andrew Lapin

(JTA) — The actor and musician Alex Wolff assumes the role of one of the century’s most beloved Jewish musicians during a crucial early period in his artistic development in an upcoming miniseries.

“So Long, Marianne” will follow a young Leonard Cohen during his years-long relationship with Norwegian muse Marianne Ihlen, which spanned from the early 1960s through the ’70s. Named after the hit Cohen song, the series follows the pair during their extended sojourn on the Greek Isle of Hydra, with segments also set in Norway, New York and Cohen’s hometown of Montreal.

Variety reports that the show has already filmed and is selling international rights in territories including the United Kingdom, Greece and Cyprus, but there is no word yet on a U.S. release. The show is co-produced by Norwegian, Canadian and German production companies, and bestselling Norwegian novelist Jo Nesbø is credited as a co-writer.

Wolff, the son of Jewish jazz musician Michael Wolff and Christian actress and producer Polly Draper, is known for his roles in the “Jumanji” franchise and the horror film “Hereditary.” He also sang and acted with his family in the Nickelodeon series “The Naked Brothers Band.”

Cohen died in 2016, but interest in his life remains high: “So Long, Marianne” joins another Cohen screen adaptation in development. Israeli-Canadian journalist Matti Friedman’s nonfiction book “Who By Fire: Leonard Cohen in the Sinai” is also being adapted into a miniseries by Israeli production house Keshet International and “Shtisel” writer Yehonatan Indursky. The book covers Cohen’s 1973 concerts for Israeli soldiers on the frontlines of the Yom Kippur War, which the musician had embarked on directly from Hydra as his relationship to Ihlen was unraveling.

Israel: 2,005 soldiers injured since Oct. 7

By Pesach Benson

(JNS) — According to Israel’s Defense Ministry, 2,005 soldiers have been injured since Oct. 7, the first such figures have been released since the war began.

The announcement coincided with the annual National Day of Appreciation for Israel’s Wounded Soldiers and Victims of Terror.

According to the Israeli Defense Ministry, of the 2,005 wounded, 287 are still hospitalized, either from injuries sustained while defending southern communities or during the ground war inside Gaza.

Overall, approximately 62,000 people injured in Israeli wars and military operations are being treated by the Israel Defense Force’s rehabilitation department, of whom 56% are over the age of 60. About 15% are dealing with post-trauma symptoms.

At least 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on Oct. 7. Another 240 men, women, children and soldiers were taken back to Gaza as hostages. Some people remain unaccounted for as Israeli authorities continue to identify bodies and search for human remains.

Since Nov. 24, when the ceasefire went into effect, Hamas has released 97 hostages, mostly women and children, including 73 Israelis, 23 Thais and one Filipino.

Israel has released 210 Palestinian security prisoners, mostly women and minors.

The names of 395 Israeli soldiers killed since Oct. 7 have been cleared for publication.

Terrorist wounds two Israelis in Jordan Valley car-ramming

(JNS) — Two Israel Defense Forces reservists were lightly wounded on Thursday afternoon in a car-ramming attack near Moshav Beka’ot in the Jordan Valley.

The troops were evacuated to the hospital and their families were notified, according to the military.

Israeli forces killed the Palestinian terrorist.

Earlier on Thursday, three Israelis were killed and six other persons were wounded in a terrorist shooting on Weizman Boulevard at the main entrance to Jerusalem.

The fatalities were identified as 24-year-old Livia Dickman, from the city’s Har Nof neighborhood; Hanna Ifergan, a school principal in Beit Shemesh in her 60s; and Rabbinical Court Judge Elimelech Wasserman, 73.

According to police, two terrorists got out of their car at 7:40 a.m. and opened fire at a bus stop. They were reportedly armed with an M-16 assault rifle and a handgun.

Two off-duty soldiers and an armed civilian killed the terrorists, according to reports.

The attackers were later identified as brothers Murad Namr, 38, and Ibrahim Namr, 30, from eastern Jerusalem.

According to the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), the pair were Hamas members and had previously been jailed for terror-related activity.