Today, we wish all of our US readers a joyful 4th of July: Today, we wish all of our US readers a joyful 4th of July. We hope that you enjoy a beautiful celebration along with your loved ones and that you stay mindful of the independence and freedom this day represents. May you receive endless blessings from the Lord and remain prosperous, free and healthy.
IDF Strikes in Jenin, Launches Major Counterterrorism Campaign; 10 Palestinians Killed: Israeli military forces launched a major operation in the West Bank city of Jenin early Monday morning, July 3, focused on the city’s restive refugee camp, with airstrikes carried out against multiple targets.
A senior government official said that “the goal of this extensive operation is to end Jenin’s role as a ‘city of refuge’ for terror, and it will last as long as it needs to.” IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari also told reporters “We did not come to occupy the refugee camp. This is not an operation against the Palestinian Authority but against the terror groups in Jenin.”
The campaign appeared to be the largest in the West Bank in 20 years, and came as tensions were sky-high following a series of deadly terror attacks carried out by Palestinians from the Jenin area.
As of Monday afternoon, at least 10 suspected Palestinian terrorists are dead and dozens wounded, according to IDF sources. The Palestinian Authority health ministry said 50 people were wounded, 10 of them in serious condition.
Palestinians reported that residents had been sent text messages asking them to remain indoors, while some members of armed groups had received texts urging them to lay down their arms and turn themselves in.
Members of the Jenin Battalion, a local Islamic Jihad wing, claimed its members had opened fire on Israeli troops in the city and targeted military vehicles, including a D9 bulldozer, with explosive devices.
The IDF said that during the operation, forces located a makeshift rocket and a number of explosive devices, among other weapons and military equipment. At least 20 suspects were detained, a military spokesperson said. The IDF said troops demolished a laboratory used to manufacture explosive devices. (TOI / VFI News)
“God, we ask that all Israeli citizens remain shielded from terrorists and that hostilities in our country will soon come to a halt. We are immensely grateful for Your protection and the alertness of our leaders in regards to national safety, and we hope that Israel can be a peaceful country from now on.”
The articles included in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Vision for Israel. We try to provide accurate reporting on news pertinent to Israel, the Middle East, the diaspora, and Jewish issues around the world—and we hope that you find it both informative and useful for intercessory prayer.
‘We Are All Behind You’: Opposition Gives Its Blessing to Jenin Military Operation: Lawmakers from the coalition and opposition threw their support Monday, July 3, behind the major military operation launched early in the morning against terror infrastructure in the West Bank city of Jenin.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid tweeted his support for the operation and for IDF troops on the ground, writing: “We are all behind you. This is a justified action against terrorist infrastructure,” he said, adding that he supported actions “against terrorist infrastructures and the attempts to build missile production systems in Jenin with Iranian assistance.”
National Unity party leader Benny Gantz, also of the opposition, said: “We are all one front against terror.” Gantz’s No. 2 Gideon Sa’ar wrote: “The entire nation is behind the campaign against the terrorists.”
In the US, Israeli Ambassador Mike Herzog tweeted overnight: “Over the past two years, Jenin has become a major hub of terrorism and an Iranian stronghold close to Israeli population centers. Most of the terror attacks against Israelis originated from Jenin. No nation would sit idly by as terrorists strike its citizens.”
IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said that since last year, some 50 shooting attacks were carried out by residents of the area, and 19 wanted Palestinians escaped to Jenin to seek refuge there from Israeli forces. (TOI / VFI News)
“The Lord protects and preserves them— they are counted among the blessed in the land— he does not give them over to the desire of their foes.” – Psalm 41:2
Israel Informed US Before ‘Unavoidable’ IDF Action in Jenin: The Israeli government informed the US of its plan to enter Jenin, a senior diplomatic source said on Monday, July 3. Jerusalem told Washington about 10 days ago that it plans to try to root out terrorism from the West Bank city, without saying when it would do so or providing further specific details, the Israeli source said.
“We said that security officials think that we cannot avoid entering Jenin, though we had not yet made an exact decision of how and when we would do it,” the source stated. “We said we would enter for a focused action when we have enough intelligence.”
American interlocutors understood the necessity of the actions, according to the source, who compared it to the US Army fighting ISIS in Iraq or Syria: “Sometimes, you know you can’t wait.”
The source argued that Israel put off the action for two years, but it became necessary: “We tried to avoid it and made an effort to stop the terrorist cells when they got out of the [Jenin refugee] camp. We hoped the Palestinian Authority would take responsibility, but they didn’t.”
“What the Americans care about is stability and de-escalation, and they know, like we do, that the terrorists want to destabilize and escalate,” he stated. Both Hamas and Islamic Jihad have each transferred millions of shekels to their cells in Jenin during 2023. (JPost / VFI News)
“God, we are grateful for our understanding and strong allies, as well as the unison within Israeli leadership. We pray that terrorists will realize Israel’s strength and will not attempt further vindictive attacks that could compromise the safety of all citizens that reside in our region.”
Hamas Urges Young Palestinians to Join Fighting in Jenin: Saleh al-Arouri, deputy head of the political bureau of Hamas, urges all young men in the West Bank to join the fight in Jenin, claiming there are already “hundreds of thousands willing to sacrifice their lives.”
“To our heroes in the West Bank, from the south to the north: This is your day, young men. Fight with all the weapons, all your anger and with any means possible to defend our honor in Jenin, ” he says in a statement.
“The bloodshed on the land of Jenin will determine the nature of the next stage in all directions and paths, and our people and their resistance in all their places know how to respond to this barbaric aggression,” said Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas’s political bureau Haniyeh.
“Jenin will not surrender, and our fighters are determined to confront and fight no matter the sacrifices,” added the Islamic Jihad.
Meanwhile, around 1:15 p.m. on Monday, July 3, the IDF and a large group of armed Palestinians engaged in a wider gunbattle near a mosque. Israeli media reported that some of the armed Palestinians were firing from inside the mosque itself and therefore the IDF did not respond with any sort of airstrike in order to avoid damaging the mosque.
Also, the IDF spokesman in Arabic, Avichay Adraee, denied Arabic reports circulating on social media according to which the IDF attacked the Freedom Theater in Jenin during the operation. Adraee called the reports “lies” and “baseless,” and attached a video clip in which the theater can be seen from the air, untouched by IDF airstrikes. (TOI / VFI News)
“They eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.” – Proverbs 4:17
Mossad Black Ops Mission Takes out Hit Squad Looking to Kill Israelis, Captures Terror Chief in Iran: Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency revealed the thrilling raid on Iranian soil and arrest of a man who led a terrorist cell in Cyprus that aimed to kill Israelis on the island.
“We will reach whoever foments terrorism against Jews and Israelis around the world, including on Iranian soil,” a senior Mossad official said in a statement released Thursday, June 29, along with a video confession from Yusef Shahabazi Abbasalilu, the head of the Iranian cell.
Abbasalilu reportedly received detailed instructions and weapons from senior IRGC members in Iran before traveling to Cyprus, where he and his operatives planned to kill Israeli businesspeople.
Cypriot authorities announced earlier that they had apprehended several members of a cell of Iranian-affiliated terrorists, thwarting a planned attack. Abbasalilu alone was able to elude capture and returned to Iran.
But Mossad carried out a counterterrorist operation on Iranian soil, finally capturing Abbasalilu. He revealed all the details of the operation of the cell as well as his involvement in an attempted assassination and how he tried to carry it out, including hiding a weapon.
He said the group had carried out an assassination in the past and that they helped him illegally enter the Greek part of the island from the Turkish held north. His confession allowed the Cypriot security services to fully dismantle the remainder of the terrorist cell in the country. (FN / VFI News)
“God, we thank You for giving us extremely competent professionals that are able to capture terrorists and keep Israelis safe worldwide. We are grateful for the tireless efforts of our defense forces and we trust that no terrorist organization will be able to harm Israel and its citizens onwards.”
Police Seized over 400 Illegal Weapons in Israel’s North since Start of 2023: Four hundred different weapons have been seized by the Northern District Israel Police since the beginning of the year, the Police spokesperson said on Sunday, July 2.
Two hundred and seventy nine of the seized weapons were firearms, 162 of them pistols, and 117 rifles. The police also confiscated 90 grenades and 28 other explosive devices.
On June 5, the northern district police said that they had seized 340 weapons since the start of the year. Sixty illegal weapons had been taken from criminals over the past month.
Over the weekend, police said that they had seized six weapons from Nahf and Kfar Kanna. This included two Carlo-style machine pistols, two pistols, two M-16 rifles, and ammunition of various calibers.
The police said that they had increased their presence in the area due to violence leading up to the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.
The Israel Police said that the fight against crime was its top priority, “Many forces are deployed in the field openly and covertly for the purpose of preventing and detecting crime. We view incidents of violence seriously, and will continue to invest resources, forces and tools to fight against crime for the good of the personal safety of citizens.” (JPost / VFI News)
“Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked.” – Proverbs 3:25
Rioters Vandalize Holocaust Memorial in Paris: Rioters vandalized a Holocaust memorial site in the Paris suburb of Nanterre amid the large wave of anti-police protests.
Video footage of the incident on Thursday, June 29, shows rioters shouting and writing anti-police slogans on the wall of the Memorial to the Martyrs of the Deportation.
“The vandalization of this monument desecrates the memory of the victims of the Nazis. Amid the social unrest currently roiling France, Holocaust memorials must be respected and protected,” said the Combat Antisemitism Movement.
“The Memorial to the Martyrs of the Deportation in Nanterre honors the 200,000 people who were sent from Vichy France to German concentration camps during WWII,” it tweeted.
The protesters that vandalized the site were angered by the death of 17-year-old Nahel by police. Reports say that he drove away from a traffic checkpoint in Nanterre when he was killed. (JPost / VFI News)
Israel Warns of Human Trafficking Risk of Surrogate Mothers Abroad: The rights of surrogate mothers in nations and territories such as Albania, Kenya and northern Cyprus are being exploited and violated, the Justice Ministry’s National Anti-Trafficking Unit (NATU) warned late last month.
Legal concerns include “indications of a violation of the basic rights of the surrogate women and their dignity, while objectifying them and limiting their freedom.” Furthermore, “in serious cases, there is even a suspicion of human trafficking.”
Additionally, the unit claims that “substantial concerns have been raised about the involvement of criminal organizations in the surrogacy procedures.”
According to the statement, these organizations take vulnerable women from their families in other foreign countries, forced into prostitution before, during, and/or after the surrogacy procedure, and are under constant watch.
NATU also found that the initial agreement signed by these women to be part of a surrogacy procedure in the first place was highly dubious.
“It is possible to consistently find indications of their exploitation as part of the procedure,” the announcement explains. Things such as economic freedom and freedom of movement for women in these surrogacy roles seems highly doubtful. (JPost / VFI News)
“Do not exploit the poor because they are poor and do not crush the needy in court.” – Proverbs 22:22
The suggestions, opinions, and scripture references made by VFI News writers and editors are based on the best information received.
