Chicken or Egg

The old riddle of which came first the chicken or the egg applied to the fierce cycle of violence that swept Israel this week. The apparent cause this time was an IDF raid into the northern West Bank city of Jenin, considered a stronghold of terrorist groups. Since last years wave of terror that reached the streets of Tel Aviv, the Israeli Army has been carrying out nearly nightly raids in the West Bank trying to curtail any new terrorist momentum by arresting men wanted for involvement in organizing and carrying out terrorist attacks.  According to the BBC, “Since the start of this year, at least 162 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, while 21 Israelis have been killed.” On June 19, 2023 the IDF went into Jenin, an area now controlled by terrorists, in force with a convoy of armored vehicles and hundreds of troops all to arrest two wanted terrorists. Usually, these raids go off smoothly with the army’s special units moving in, arresting the wanted men, and leaving. This time, according to observers, armed Palestinian groups, like the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hamas, and Iranian backed Hezbollah fighters were waiting. Roadside bombs that had been placed in advance of the raid exploded under or beside the Israeli vehicles. Five vehicles were disabled. Israeli soldiers in the vehicles were injured. Then a firefight broke out that lasted for hours.  For the first time since the Second Intifada two decades ago, an Israeli Apache attack helicopter entered the fray, blasting away at Palestinian positions. When the raid was over seven Israeli soldiers, including border policemen, had been rushed to the hospital, a few by rescue helicopter. According to the BBC, "The helicopter reportedly fired at militants on the ground while Israeli forces tried to extract soldiers.” One resident told local media: "We are unable to leave the house, it's a real war here. Apache helicopters are flying over our heads.” According to media reports, the Palestinian health ministry said five men and a 15-year-old boy, whom it named as Ahmed Yousef Saqr, were killed during the raid. More than 90 Palestinians were wounded, including a 15-year-old girl who local reports said was hit by a bullet which came through the wall of her home. She later died of her wounds. Israel had to send in heavy vehicles to remove those damaged by the roadside bombs. The Apache helicopters provided covering fire to help the  operation. The EU and the UN condemned the raid.  On Tuesday, Islamic Jihad claimed credit for the Jenin roadside bomb that wounded Israeli troops. On Wednesday, media reports said that two teenagers associated with Islamic Jihad, who were from the Balata refugee camp near Jenin, were killed in an apparent work accident while trying to assemble a bomb. Ehud Yaari, veteran Arab affairs correspondent, reported on Channel 12 TV news that Jenin and some towns around it were no longer under the control of the Palestinian Authority but were rather controlled by Palestinian terror gangs, many funded directly by Iran. According to Yaari most of the terrorists were under the age of 26 and unemployed, and disenfranchised, because they were too young to get work permits to enter Israel where most of the men in the West Bank found employment. Some pundits said that these young men were desperate to find work and angry at being turned away at the border. Israel has a profile system in place that tries to weed out potential problems like allowing young fighting age men into the country. Iran, said Yaari, was pouring money into these groups of young men who were also supported by Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, two groups that also received funds from Iran. REPRAISALS   The reprisals were not long in coming. On June 20, 2023 four Israelis were shot and killed, and four others injured, in a gas station near the West Bank Jewish settlement of Eli when two Palestinian gunmen drove into the gas station and opened fire with automatic weapons, killing Elisha Anteman, 17, Ofer Fayerman 64, Harel Masood 21, and Nachman Mordoff 17.   At the gas station Morel Nikel, a security guard at the Eli settlement, was sent to the scene. He said he arrived and opened fire at one of the gunmen, who fired back. He said he kept firing until the terrorist was killed but was hit twice himself, once in the leg and once in the shoulder. Nikel was hospitalized and in stable condition. The second gunman was found a few hours later and died when the IDF tried to arrest him. The four Israelis were buried on Wednesday June 21, 2023. Channel 1 Kan TV news reported that Hamas was responsible for providing the gunmen with the M-16 automatic weapons. And that Hamas and Ultra-Nationalist Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotritch had one thing in common, they wanted to see the demise of the Palestinian Authority. Other commenters have worried aloud what the situation would be once Palestinian Authority leader Abu Mazen, 86, passed on his chair to someone else. As of now the PA and Israel have a good security working relationship that Hamas would like to see end. On Wednesday the IDF issued a statement that following the deadly attack in the settlement of Eli, several additional battalions would be sent to the West Bank to bolster the troops already there. The Israeli government also issued a statement that 1,000 new apartments would be built in Eli in response to the killings. Jordan, the EU and the US have criticized the proposed expansion of the West Bank settlement. SETTLER RAMPAGE On Tuesday night, In response to the killing of the four Israelis, hundreds of settlers rampaged through the West Bank setting fire to fields, homes and cars.  According to the Times of Israel, on Wednesday, after the funerals of the four Israelis, 60 cars and 30 homes were damaged in the West Bank town of Turmus Ayya, near the Palestinian city of Ramallah, not far from the Eli settlement. At least a dozen Palestinians were wounded. There were no reports of Israeli arrests, although some unofficial sources said two Israelis were arrested on Tuesday night. Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Galant called on the settlers to obey the rule of law. He said that the IDF was fully capable of dealing with the situation. According to Israel TV’s Kan Channel 1, four months ago the IDF and the Shin Bet (Israel’s FBI) had dealt effectively with the settler rampage after two Israelis were killed driving through the Arab village of Hurawa. The IDF said they would find and arrest those responsible for the current rampage. Some called for immediate action. Israel’s National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir called for a full scale invasion of the West Bank in order to quell the terrorism. His call was echoed by another Ultra-Nationalist, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotritch. However, government spokesmen said that no action of that scale would be taken without careful planning and execution. When asked about the two Ultra-Nationalists’ call for invasion of the West Bank and Israeli pilot still on active duty made a wry face and dismissed the idea with a wave of his hand. Media reports that Thursday night, settlers had started to rampage once again in the Arab city of Huwara, the scene of the killing of two Israeli settlers four weeks ago. One commentator said that given the present situation it was nearly impossible to pin down when the present cycle of violence began.  JUDICIAL REFORMS The Judicial Reforms that have roiled Israel for the last 24 weeks were dealt a setback today when Amit Bechar was elected the new head of the Israel Bar Association. The head of the Bar Association sits on the committee that choses Israeli judges, including the High Court. Normal turnout for this rather standard election ran about 20%, however this time more than 50% of those qualified turned out to vote. Amit Bechar, who is reportedly against the Judicial Reforms, defeated Efi Naveh, Prime Minister Netanyahu’s coalition candidate. Even so, Netanyahu has said that he will continue to advance the Judicial Reforms. Last Saturday Night protesters turned out for the 24th week in a row to express their opposition to the Judicial Reforms.  Aaron Barak, former head of the High Court, said that the protesters should continue their activities since that was the only tool available to them to prevent the undemocratic Judicial Reforms, under the present circumstances. WAR IN UKRAINE According to the Jerusalem Post, Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska is hopeful there will be a quick rollout of the Israeli early-warning systems that Israel has agreed to provide to Ukraine. She also hoped for “desperately needed” technology that Israel could provide. Israel has already provided humanitarian aid to Kyiv. Also according to the Jerusalem Post, Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s presidential administration, has called on Israel to allow Ukraine to use Israeli made defensive weapons against Iranian-made drones now being used by Russia. Some pundits think that the current war in Ukraine allows the US and Israel to test weapons against Russia and Iran in ‘battlefield conditions.’ One correspondent recalled the late Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin saying that the US was using Israel to ‘battle test’ American weapons in the battles against Syria in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, and the same process is occurring again but with Israel using some weapons of its own. ARAB ISRAELI CRIME WAVE The Arab Israeli crime wave continues. Nearly 130 Arab Israelis have been killed this year in the on-going gang war taking place mostly in the north of Israel but also in places like Jaffa and even Ramat Gan. Last week a motor scooter exploded shortly after a gang member stepped away, seriously injuring him.   HEALTH The Sackler family, owners of the Purdue Pharma Company that was found partly responsible for the opioid epidemic, have agreed to remove the Sackler name from Tel Aviv University’s medical school.