Juniper Cobra, the largest joint US-Israeli air defense exercise is underway, with thousands of US and Israeli troops deployed across the country simulating scenarios where Israel faces missile barrages simultaneously on various fronts. In the two years since the last Juniper Cobra exercise, Israel’s enemies have changed and while 2017 was a relatively quiet year for Israel, the IDF’s Aerial Defense Division successfully intercepted drones in the north and rockets launched from the Gaza Strip and Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. The environment in which Israel find itself is “explosive” said Brig.-Gen Zvika Haimovitch, the head of the IDF’s Aerial Defense Division,…
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The US diplomatic mission in Israel urged Americans there to “keep a low profile” following last week’s announcement that the US Embassy in Jerusalem will open in May. American diplomats in Israel were prohibited from official travel in the West Bank starting Wednesday, the US Consulate General in Jerusalem announced. The Consulate General also is prohibiting employees and their family members from personal travel in the West Bank. The mission issued a warning to American citizens to avoid anticipated demonstrations and anti-American protests over the embassy announcement last Friday by the State Department, and to “exercise caution if unexpectedly in…
The IDF Galilee Division on Thursday completed a series of large-scale exercises designed to prepare the military for a potential rapidly unfolding war in Lebanon, the army said amid rising tensions in recent weeks along Israel’s northern frontier. “Conscripted soldiers, along with reservists, took part in the exercise. They practiced a rapid call-up of reservists, as well as operational capabilities and readiness to fight in Lebanese terrain,” the Israel Defense Forces said. In addition, the army’s 188th Armored Brigade conducted its own, separate exercise in northern Israel, along with troops from combat engineering, infantry, and artillery. The drills came amid heightened…
The Israeli Air Force struck multiple terror targets in the Gaza Strip overnight, including what military officials called “underground infrastructure,” after a rocket was fired from Gaza into southern Israel on Sunday evening. The rocket hit an open area in Shaar Hanegev Regional Council and no injuries or damage were reported. The previous day, a rocket fired from Gaza struck a house in Kibbutz Or Ha’ner, with the inhabitants fortunate to escape injury. A statement by the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said, “Israel holds Hamas responsible for everything that transpires in the Gaza Strip, above and below ground. The IDF will continue to ensure the Israel…
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley warned Wednesday that Iran’s piloting of a drone into Israeli airspace on Saturday must serve as a “wake-up call to the world” regarding the Islamic republic’s efforts to cement its presence in Syria. Saturday’s incident ratcheted up tensions on the Israel-Syria border. The Iranian drone was intercepted by Israeli air defenses, but a retaliatory strike on Iranian assets in Syria saw anti-aircraft fire down an Israeli fighter jet as it was returning from its mission. Addressing a U.N. Security Council briefing that focused on the situation in Syria and Saturday’s incident, Haley lambasted Iran’s breach…
The Israel Air Force hadn’t lost a fighter jet to enemy fire in 34 years, until Saturday, when Iranian and Syrian forces downed an Israeli F-16 over the Galilee. The plane in question was part of a strike force on a retaliatory mission into Syria after an Iranian drone entered Israeli airspace during the early morning hours. The drone was promptly shot down, and then a squadron of Israeli fighters entered Syria to destroy the command center from which the infiltrator had been remotely piloted. The Israeli planes faced overwhelming anti-aircraft fire. The downed F-16 was hit either directly by…
In a visit to Israel’s northern border on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Security Cabinet were briefed by IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot and generals of the Northern Command. “We come in peace,” Netanyahu clarified. “But we are prepared for any scenario.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and ministers of the Security Cabinet toured the Golan Heights on Tuesday. They were briefed by IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot and generals of the Northern Command. Netanyahu commended the IDF for its work along Israel’s northern borders. “We come in peace,” Netanyahu clarified in a statement on…
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed the importance of accurately remembering the Holocaust on Monday. Speaking to foreign diplomats at an event, he said that Israel expects every country, including Poland, to “defend and reveal the truth about the Holocaust.” At an event attended by foreign diplomats on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed the importance of remembering the truth about the Holocaust. In his speech, Netanyahu singled out Poland, which has been advancing a bill that seeks to criminalize accusations of Polish complicity in the Nazi genocide of the Jewish people. “The truth about the Holocaust must always be studied.…
US Vice President Mike Pence paid a 15-minute visit to the Western Wall on Tuesday, further normalizing what until May was a taboo preventing high-ranking US administration officials from visiting the site. US President Donald Trump broke the taboo with a visit in May, followed by another visit to the site in June by UN Ambassador Nikki Haley. Though the visit of Pence and his wife to the site was formally characterized as a “private” one, journalists were invited to cover it, and a makeshift tent was setup to receive the vice president. In addition, spotlights shined on the wall…
Netanyahu was interviewed by CNN’s Fareed Zakaria on the main Davos stage on Thursday, saying: “Under any peace agreement the capital of Israel will continue to be in Jerusalem.” Netanyahu reiterated that the seat of Israeli government is in Israel, and that Jerusalem has been the capital of the Jewish people for 3000 years. Donald Trump did “a great service for peace, because peace can only be based on truth. You can’t build peace on fantasy,” the PM said. When asked whether there wasn’t anything to be said for the Arabs’ historical connection to Jerusalem, Netanyahu stated that “Israel’s position…