A7News: Ex IDF intel chief says PM revealed sensitive info to Hezbollah

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Friday, Dec. 07 '18, כ"ט בכסלו תשע"ט



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HEADLINES:
1. EX IDF INTEL CHIEF SAYS PM REVEALED SENSITIVE INFO TO HEZBOLLAH
2. WATCH: EVERY 3RD HOME IN LEBANON
3. COMMANDOS WERE IN GAZA FOR TWO MONTHS BEFORE BOTCHED RAID
4. BENNETT SLAMS LEFTIST MK: 'MICHAELI LIED'
5. BENNETT SAYS ISRAEL WILL DESTROY LEBANON IF WAR BREAKS OUT
6. HALEY AT THE UN: IS THE HATRED OF ISRAEL SO STRONG?
7. ELITE COMMANDO UNIT WAS INTERROGATED BY HAMAS FOR 40 MINUTES
8. 'WHOEVER ATTACKS US - HIS BLOOD IS ON HIS OWN HEAD'


1. EX IDF INTEL CHIEF SAYS PM REVEALED SENSITIVE INFO TO HEZBOLLAH
by Tzvi Lev

Former IDF intelligence head and Major General (ret.) Amos Yadlin said that Prime Minister Netanyahu revealed sensitive information when he said that Hezbollah only has a few dozen prevision rockets.

Speaking at a Mossad graduation ceremony on Thursday, Netanyahu had said that Hezbollah "was supposed to be equipped with thousands of missiles today, but at this moment they have a few dozen. The reason they have a few dozens is among other things those that are sitting in this room," added Netanyahu, referring to the Mossad agents present.

Yadlin said that Netanyahu's revelation was improper and could potentially tip off Hezbollah to Israel's intelligence gathering capabilities.

"We heard yesterday the prime minister and the defense minister talking about relatively accurate numbers of missiles," Yadlin told 103FM. "It's a big mistake because it helps Hezbollah to understand where we know what we know and if we have today. "

"A certain advantage that we have over Hezbollah - an advantage that did not exist in 2006 - is very good intelligence sources, and it is forbidden to help Hezbollah discover them."

"The prime minister has to talk about these things in closed forums and not in open statements to the public," Yadlin added.

The retired Major General also said that Hezbollah's terror tunnels are not its main offensive weapon against Israel.

"Operation Northern Shield is important, but it should not be inflated beyond what it is. The tunnels are not Hezbollah's 'ace. Hezbollah's 'ace' is its firepower," said Yadlin.

"It is very good that we have found the tunnels and acted against them, but when there are operations there is also some damage because the enemy understands that he was penetrated. Now we have to make every effort to prevent them from understanding where they were penetrated from."


2. WATCH: EVERY 3RD HOME IN LEBANON
by Arutz Sheva Staff

📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/255794


3. COMMANDOS WERE IN GAZA FOR TWO MONTHS BEFORE BOTCHED RAID
by JTA

An Israeli special operations force caught last month in a firefight with Hamas had been in Gaza for about two months before their cover was blown.

The team, which entered both through the Erez border crossing and through a breach in the security fence, had rented an apartment and were posing as medical aid workers, Hadashot TV news reported Thursday, citing Palestinian media reports.

They were discovered at a Hamas checkpoint in Khan Younis, and their stories were not consistent during interrogation, according to the report. Their discovery led to a firefight in which one Israeli soldier was killed and a second injured.

In the wake of the incident, terror groups in Gaza fired hundreds of rockets on southern Israel over two days, killing one person and damaging buildings.

The dead soldier was not publicly identified, except by his first initial, due to the sensitivity of the operation. The soldiers from the special forces unit were in Gaza to gather intelligence, according to reports, though details of the mission have been blocked by the military censor.

Earlier this week the British newspaper The Independent reported, citing an unnamed Hamas official, that the Israeli forces were in Gaza to replace listening and surveillance devices that had been there for some time.


4. BENNETT SLAMS LEFTIST MK: 'MICHAELI LIED'
by Tzvi Lev

Jewish Home leader and Education Minister Naftali Bennett slammed Zionist Union MK Merav Michaeli for her assault on Religious Zionist national service volunteers.

Earlier this week, Michaeli had released a video accusing Religious Zionist national service volunteers of "brainwashing" secular children in an attempt to make them follow an observant lifestyle.

Writing in the Religious Zionist weekly Matzav Haruach, Bennett said that Michaeli "adopted a pattern in which everything is permitted" in her battle against the Jewish tradition.

"Michaeli ignored the most basic details and wrote the facts to fit the distorted reality she wanted to create," wrote Bennett.

"It seems that in the war against the "mock Religionzatoin', Michaeli and others have adopted a pattern in which everything is permitted - to lash out, to distort, to generalize an entire public," added Bennett.

The education minister alleged that Michaeli's attack on Religious Zionist volunteers in secular public schools was just another step in a campaign that seeks to stamp out Israel's Jewish character.

"It is important to understand that Michaeli is not alone," said Bennett. "This video is only a small part of the attacks that are being intensified by organizations that wish to erase all Jewish symbols from the State of Israel, the army, education, and public sphere."

"We must make it clear to everyone that it is forbidden to spread lies about us, that it is forbidden to harm the daughters of the National Service, we must not engineer data, and religious Zionism will not shut up when they close the Mechina program."

The issue is part of a larger debate regarding the role of religion in Israel's public sphere. Over the past year, numerous stories have surfaced in the media concerning alleged cases of increasing religious coercion in Israel. Led by the radical Secular Forum, the stories have targeted courses in Jewish history and tradition in the school system, the influence of the IDF's military rabbinate, and popular Lag Baomer events given by Chabad at malls all across Israel.



5. BENNETT SAYS ISRAEL WILL DESTROY LEBANON IF WAR BREAKS OUT
by Arutz Sheva Staff

Education Minister Naftali Bennett, a member of the political-security cabinet, said on Friday that Lebanon would pay a heavy price if war broke out between Israel and the Hezbollah militia.

Bennett's remarks came as the IDF started an operation this past week to destroy Hezbollah's terror tunnels on the northern border.

Bennett warned that Israel would destroy Lebanon should war break out between Hezbollah and the Jewish State."Hezbollah equals Lebanon. We will no longer agree to see Hezbollah as an independent and separate organization from the state of Lebanon, as we did in the Second Lebanon War," Bennett tweeted.

"If heaven forbid, rockets are fired from Lebanon at Israel, it would be seen as an act of war by the sovereign state of Lebanon on the State of Israel, with all that this implies. Anyone who pretends to be a "defender of Lebanon" will become its destroyer.

During the Second Lebanon War in 2006, Israel did not target Lebanon directly, reserving the brunt of its military force on Hezbollah directly.

On Monday, Israel embarked on an operation to destroy Hezbollah-dug tunnels snaking under its border with Lebanon.IDF forces have already unearthed one terror tunnel on Tuesday morning since the campaign began.

The tunnel, apparently built by Hezbollah terrorists, originates in the southern portion of the Lebanese town of Kafr Kela. The tunnel crosses over into Israeli territory, however, and is believed to have been dug for use in an upcoming terror attack on Israeli targets.

On Thursday evening, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed that Hezbollah only has dozens of precision missiles thanks to Israel's preventive actions.

"Hezbollah has two tools. One is tunnels and were stopping it. The second tool are the rockets, statistical weapons, but they want precise weapons. This changes the balance of power radically," said the prime minister at a Mossad graduation ceremony.

"According to Hezbollah's plan, they were supposed to be equipped with thousands of missiles today, but at this moment they have a few dozen. The reason they have a few dozens is among other things those that are sitting in this room," added Netanyahu, referring to the Mossad agents present.

The Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah has been building factories in the heart of Beirut to convert missiles into highly-accurate precision weapons capable of striking sensitive Israeli sites. Upon deciding to convert its massive 150,000-strong rocket arsenal to missiles with pinpoint accuracy, Hezbollah chose to transfer its sites to the heart of Beirut in order to deter Israeli airstrikes.

Israel has repeatedly reiterated that it will not allow Hezbollah to obtain highly accurate missiles that would threaten sensitive Israelis sites and has been escalating its threats vis a vis Lebanon.



6. HALEY AT THE UN: IS THE HATRED OF ISRAEL SO STRONG?
by Elad Benari

📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/255831

The United Nations General Assembly voted on Thursday against a resolution to condemn the Hamas terrorist organization over its rocket attacks on Israel, its digging of terror tunnels, and launching of incendiary balloons at Israeli communities in the Gaza envelope.

Before the vote, the UN voted by a majority of 75 to 72, with 24 abstentions, for a two-thirds majority for the adoption of the US resolution condemning Hamas.

As such, even though the resolution received a majority of 87 votes in favor, it was not approved.

57 countries voted against the resolution, and 33 countries abstained.

The resolution was one of the final moves being promoted by US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley in the United Nations before she leaves office.

Speaking before the vote, Haley said that "the question before us now is whether the UN considers terrorism is acceptable if it's directed at Israel."

"Is the hatred of Israel so strong that you will defend a terrorist organization, one that is harming the Palestinian people? Isn't it time to let that go? For the sake of peace and the sake of this institution I respectfully urge my colleagues to this resolution," she added.

Before the vote, Saudi Arabia said it planned to vote against the resolution condemning Hamas, explaining that issue is the "Israeli occupation". Iran's envoy also spoke before the vote, claiming Iran would vote against the resolution because "Hamas is a legitimate resistance movement of the Palestinian people".

Hamas had been trying to convince the UN to vote down the measure. Last week, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh wrote directly to UN General Assembly president Maria Fernanda Spinosa, in response to the US and Israel's efforts against Hamas in the UN.

This week, Hamas received surprising support from its longtime rival Fatah, which is headed by Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

Abbas Zaki, a member of the Fatah Central Committee, condemned the American resolution and described it as a "clear racist decision".

On Monday, US special envoy Jason Greenblatt slammed the PA for defending Hamas, calling its actions "beyond absurd".


7. ELITE COMMANDO UNIT WAS INTERROGATED BY HAMAS FOR 40 MINUTES
by Tzvi Lev

The commandos that were involved in last month's botched special forces mission in Gaza were interrogated for 40 minutes by Hamas before the gunfight erupted, Channel 2 reported.

The soldiers were stopped while driving in Gaza by Hamas terrorists, who decided to detain them after finding inconsistencies in their story. The undercover operatives them opened fire in order not to be taken into custody and fled while being pursued by several patrol vehicles manned by Hamas terrorists.

The IDF dispatched several unmanned aircraft which opened fire on the Hamas terrorists pursuing the Israeli agents.

During the pursuit, one of the Israeli vehicles struck a wall, forcing the team members to continue on foot. An IDF helicopter later managed to land inside the Gaza Strip and evacuate the team.

The report also said that the troops had entered Gaza two months earlier and were installing highly advanced surveillance gear inside Gaza, including attempts to tap Hamas' communications network.

A 41-year-old Israeli lieutenant colonel, identified solely by the initial "M", was killed in a pitched battle with Hamas terrorists deep inside the Gaza Strip, near the city of Khan Yunis.

Hamas has been intensively investigating last week's events and has called on the public to supply any information that might help them expose more details about the highly classified unit. Hamas says that it managed to salvage classified equipment the commandos had been carrying in their car despite the vehicle having been bombed by the IDF.

Earlier this week, Hamas claimed that the classified unit was living in Gaza in a safe house under the guise of humanitarian volunteers. The team's equipment was smuggled into the Hamas-controlled coastal enclave through the Kerem Shalom crossing, where it was picked up by an agent working for Israel inside the Strip. The agent is also said to have secured two cars for the Israeli special forces team

Transcripts of Hamas' radio chatter during the operation that were released by Hadashot last month showed that the terror group originally thought it was battling drug smugglers during the shootout with the commandos. Only after IDF drones started strafing Hamas terrorists did the organization realize it was a commando op gone awry.

"Four fighter jets are above me. There was a strike near us. The jets are coming from the north. They attacked one of the (Hamas) cars. Hide. Close in on the Jews. Don't let them leave Gaza," one Hamas commander yelled into the radio during the firefight



8. 'WHOEVER ATTACKS US - HIS BLOOD IS ON HIS OWN HEAD'
by Nitzan Keidar

📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/255800

Prime Minister Netanyahu met this morning, Thursday, with foreign ambassadors in the northern sector, near the IDF forces operating to expose and neutralize terror tunnels.

The ambassadors of the European Union, Britain, France, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, Italy, Poland, Russia, Ethiopia, Brazil, Ivory Coast, Mexico, Australia and Canada took part in the meeting.

Netanyahu updated the ambassadors on the details of Operation Northern Shield and Hezbollah's intentions to use tunnels against Israel. He stressed that Hezbollah tunnels are one expression of Iranian aggression in the region.

The prime minister asked the ambassadors to condemn the violation of Israeli sovereignty and to join the demand for increased sanctions on Hezbollah.

The ambassadors were briefed by Northern Command Chief Yoel Strik and the head of the Planning Directorate, Amir Abulafia, and toured the tunnel area exposed by IDF forces.

"We deny our enemies the weapons of the tunnels systematically and decisively, we are doing this to Hamas, to Hezbollah as well, and we will do what we need to. Whoever attacks us - his blood is on his own head. Hezbollah knows this and Hamas knows this," Netanyahu said at the end of the meeting.

Netanyahu said he told the ambassadors that they should "condemn this aggression by Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas unequivocally, and of course also intensify the sanctions against these elements. This activity is at its beginning, but at its end this weapon, in which Hezbollah invested so much, will no longer exist and will not be effective."

"Israel's expectation is unequivocal condemnation of Hezbollah, additional sanctions on Hezbollah, condemnation and demand from the Lebanese government to stop granting its allowance to use its territory for these attacks on Israel. All this will be raised at the upcoming UN Security Council meeting at Israel's demand. This is an important diplomatic step that complements our engineering efforts to deprive Hezbollah and Iran of the tunnel weapons."

A diplomatic source added that the purpose of the ambassadors' tour was for Israel "to receive support and legitimacy for additional operations if necessary."

📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/255800




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