Tag: Naftali Bennett

Covert War Between Iran, Israel Emerges from the Shadows

Chris Mitchell – June 23, 2022

JERUSALEM, Israel – For years, what’s called a “war between wars” has existed between Israel and Iran, where much of the fighting takes place in the shadows. This shadow war is coming more and more out into the open.

Recently, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced new rules of engagement with Iran called “Operation Octopus.”

He said, “In the past year, the State of Israel has taken action against the head of the terrorist octopus … the days of immunity, in which Iran attacks Israel and spreads terrorism via its regional proxies but remains unscathed, are over.”

Middle East analyst Ellie Cohanim sees the region shifting.

“I think it’s well overdue for Israel and Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the Bahrainis. All of these countries that have been the victims of the Iranian regime proxy activity start to hold Iran responsible rather than the proxies,” she told CBN News.

Some see a ratcheting up of Israel’s covert and even overt operations to thwart Iran’s nuclear, and conventional missile and drone programs. It could explain the mysterious deaths of a number of Iranian nuclear scientists and military leaders recently.

Another example is Israel’s recent attack on the Damascus airport, which Israel sees as a major conduit of Iranian weapons on their way to Hezbollah in Syria.

Now, Israel says Iran is threatening to retaliate by kidnapping or killing Israelis in the region and especially in Turkey.

“We are currently witnessing Iranian attempts to attack Israelis in various overseas locations. The security services of the State of Israel are working to thwart attempted attacks before they are launched. We will continue to strike those who send the terrorists and those who send those who send them. Our new rule is: whoever sends, pays,” said Bennett.

https://www1.cbn.com

World Is Silent as Palestinian Rioters Torch Joseph’s Tomb

Deborah Brand – April 10, 2022

Palestinian rioters on Saturday night vandalized Joseph’s Tomb, one of Judaism’s holiest sites,  setting it on fire and smashing the gravestone.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett expressed his “shock” over the incident that occurred near the West Bank city of Nablus.

“During the night Palestinians destroyed Joseph’s Tomb. Dozens of Palestinian rioters in a campaign of destruction simply violated a holy place for us, the Jews,” Bennett said at the start of the cabinet meeting.

“We will not stand by such an assault on a place that is holy to us — on the eve of Passover — and we will get to the rioters,” he said. “And of course we will make sure to reconstruct what they destroyed, as we always do.”

Around 100 Palestinians broke into the site overnight amid clashes between Palestinian gunmen and Israeli troops nearby. The Israeli Defense Forces arrested eight Palestinian terror suspects.

The raids were in response to a deadly terror attack in Tel Aviv on Thursday night in which three Israelis were gunned down.

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said the vandalism was a “serious event,” and said he had sent a “strong message” to the Palestinian Authority about the attack on the shrine.

“The vandalism of Joseph’s Tomb is a serious event and a grave violation of freedom of worship in one of the holiest places for every Jew. It violates the feelings of the entire Jewish nation, especially when it occurs during the Muslim holy month,” Gantz said.

https://www.breitbart.com

Israel warns the world: Threat is ready to take it into ‘dark abyss’

RT – November 12, 2021

Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has accused Iran of wanting to wipe out Tel Aviv and of seeking world domination via “radical militant Islam.” The warning comes after Tehran once-again threatened to destroy Israel.

In a pre-recorded message delivered during the Government Press Organization’s annual Christian Media Summit on Thursday, the PM remarked that “Here in Israel, we are fighting a very visible enemy, radical militant Islam that is sweeping across the Middle East.”

The premier’s remarks coincide with threats issued by the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Aerospace Force Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh. He warned that any mistake made by Israel in its dealings with Tehran will only accelerate Iran’s eradication of the Jewish state.

In his address, however, Bennett also noted positive developments in regional relations for Tel Aviv, claiming that Israel was “facing a new dawn” after creating ties with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain under the Abraham Accords, inked last year. The agreement saw Israel normalize relations with the two nations.

Israel’s navy publicly participated in joint exercises with the UAE and Bahrain in a first-of-its-kind operation, which started on Wednesday. While it was not clearly declared anywhere, Tel Aviv’s media has surmised that the drills were also to send a warning to Iran.

Tensions between Tehran and Tel Aviv have simmered dangerously close to boiling point in recent months, with the latter expressing grievances over Iran’s nuclear program.

https://www.rt.com

Israel is accelerating operational plans to take action against Iran – IDF chief Kohavi

ANNA AHRONHEIM – August 25, 2021

Israel’s military is accelerating its operational plans against Iran due to the progress of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kohavi has warned.

“The progress of the Iranian nuclear program has led the IDF to accelerate its operational plans and the recently approved defense budget is earmarked for that,” he said.

Kohavi commented as Prime Minister Naftali Bennett landed in the United States ahead of a visit with US President Joe Biden and other senior officials. Bennett is expected during his first visit to the White House to push Biden to harden his approach to Iran and drop efforts to revive the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

“When we began to plan the visit, a return to the agreement seemed certain,” Bennett said ahead of his departure on Tuesday. “Since then, the time has passed, the president in Iran has changed, and things seem far less certain. In our view, it may be that there is no return to the agreement.”

With no diplomatic options likely to push Tehran to stop its nuclear program, Israel’s military believes that the Islamic Republic needs to be aware that should it continue with its program, it will face harsher sanctions and a true military option to stop it.

https://www.jpost.com

Bennett sworn in as prime minister, unseating Netanyahu after 12 years in power

Raoul Wootliff – June 13, 2021

In a history-making vote, Israel’s 36th government was sworn in at the Knesset on Sunday, installing Yamina chair Naftali Bennett as prime minister and ousting Benjamin Netanyahu after 12 years of consecutive rule as premier.

MKs voted by a wafer-thin 60-59 in favor of the new government, made up of right-wing, left-wing, centrist, and Islamist parties that came together to oust Netanyahu and end two years of political deadlock.

One MK, Ra’am’s Saeed al-Harumi, abstained from the vote, in a protest centered on the demolition of Bedouin homes in the Negev. Three MKs from the predominantly Arab Joint List — Ayman Odeh, Ahmad Tibi and Osama Saadi — stayed out of the chamber until the votes were initially counted, ready to abstain if necessary to ensure the coalition was elected, but entered to vote against once it was clear that the required simple majority was assured.

Immediately following the confidence vote, members of Netanyahu’s government vacated the seats on the government table in the Knesset plenum, with Netanyahu leaving the prime minister’s chair.

Passing Bennett, the now-former prime minister shook his successor’s hand in a symbol of the peaceful transition of power. Earlier in the session, Netanyahu had derided Bennett in a speech as a fraudster unfit for office, and Netanyahu-loyalist MKs had heckled Bennett through his address introducing his government and setting out its plans.

Following the nail-biting vote, Bennett was sworn in as prime minister, as were his new government colleagues. His election represents the first time that Israel has been led by a religiously observant, kippa-wearing prime minister. He is also the leader of the smallest faction ever to appoint a prime minister, as his Yamina has a mere seven MKs, one of whom, MK Amichai Chikli, voted against the new government.

Bennett, 49, is also Israel’s second-youngest prime minister — the record for youngest stays with Netanyahu, who was just 46 the first time he assumed the role in 1996.

https://www.timesofisrael.com

Bibi’s done? Anti-Netanyahu coalition notifies Israeli president that it has formed new government after Arab party joins

RT – June 2, 2021

Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett have put together a governing coalition to oust PM Benjamin Netanyahu, just minutes before time ran out. For the first time in history, an Arab-Israeli party will be on board.

Lapid, who leads the Yesh Atid party, informed President Reuven Rivlin shortly before midnight on Wednesday that he has “succeeded in forming a government” and that his coalition partner Bennett of Yamina “will serve as prime minister first.” Lapid will take over as PM after two years, under the terms of the agreement.

As the clock ticked closer to the statutory deadline to form a new government or face yet another general election, the tipping point seemed to be the coalition agreement with Mansour Abbas of the United Arab Party (Ra’am).

Gideon Saar’s New Hope party added their six to the coalition following the Ra’am announcement. Lapid’s party has 17 seats. It takes 61 to have a governing majority in the 120-member Knesset.

Though Ra’am has only four MKs, their support is a historic development – the first time an Arab party has come on board a ruling coalition.

Yamina’s Bennett was present for the deal, and also signed a coalition agreement with Lapid. They also secured the support of Blue and White, led by current Defense Minister Benny Gantz – his former coalition partner who had accepted a role in Netanyahu’s unity government in May 2020.

If Lapid and Bennett’s razor-thin coalition gets approved by the Knesset, it will hold off the need for yet another general election; Israel has held four over the past two years, repeatedly failing to deliver a majority government. The vote may happen as early as next week, but the current Likud speaker of the Knesset is reportedly pushing for a delay.

https://www.rt.com