Keeping Up With Latest News Out Of Israel

 Nadene Goldfoot                                               

 An Israeli helicopter reportedly landed near a military site in the Damascus, Syria  area last night for around 20 minutes. Soldiers were seen entering the site. In addition, more Israeli forces reportedly entered the demilitarized zone in Syria. Syrian rebel leader Ahmad al-Sharaa said that Syria will continue to adhere to the disengagement agreement signed in 1974 following the Yom Kippur War. He also criticized Israel's advance into Syrian territory.

According to Israeli Prime-Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Syrian army had abandoned its positions on the Golan Heights after the collapse of the Assad regime, which prompted Netanyahu to order the IDF to "temporarily" occupy the place in order "to ensure that no hostile force embeds itself right next to the border of Israel," until adequate security arrangements could be made. On 18 December, it was reported that over 100 Syrian families had been forcibly expelled from the Golan Heights by the Israeli military (who shouldn't have been there. This is the point )  

The Agreement on Disengagement between Israel and Syria, which was signed on May 31, 1974, officially ended the Yom Kippur War and the subsequent attrition period on the Syrian front. Sites on the Golan in blue are Israeli settlements. Sites on the Golan in black are Syrian villages.

Meanwhile, Israel is deciding how to respond to Houthi missile and drone attacks from Yemen.

The Shin Bet  ( Shin Bet, also known as Shabak or the Israel Security Agency (ISA), is Israel's internal security agency: What it does: Responsible for Israel's internal intelligence;  When it was founded: February 8, 1949: )    announced today that Ardler (Israel) Amoyal, a 23-year-old from Jerusalem, was arrested last month on suspicion of collaborating with Iranian intelligence agents and carrying out security-related missions in Israel under their direction, in exchange for monetary compensation. His activities were intended to advance violent operations, including planning an attack in Israel. He was also instructed to recruit other agents, including individuals with criminal backgrounds.

Regarding the hostage negotiations, an Israeli official told Ynet, “The goal is to finalize a deal by the end of the month. Most details have been agreed upon, but the primary dispute centers on the number of hostages to be released in the first stage.” All at one time was mentioned.  Yesterday, President-elect Trump reiterated his warning to Hamas, saying "all hell is going to break out" if the hostages are not released by his inauguration on Jan. 20.

Rafael Mariano Grossi (born 29 January 1961) is an Argentine diplomat. He has been serving as Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) since December 3, 2019. He was formerly the Argentine Ambassador to Austria, concurrent with Slovenia, Slovakia and International Organisations based in Vienna (2013–2019).  

International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said Iran was enriching uranium to a military grade and was rapidly nearing the position of a nuclear state. (Enriched uranium is uranium that has been processed to increase the concentration of uranium-235, an isotope that is essential for nuclear weapons and some specialized reactors. The level of uranium-235 concentration determines whether uranium is used for nuclear reactors or nuclear weapons: )    Weapons-grade uranium:  Highly enriched uranium is considered weapons-grade when it has been enriched to about 90% U-235.   U-233 is produced from thorium-232 by neutron capture. The U-233 produced thus does not require enrichment and can be relatively easily chemically separated from residual Th-232.Low-enriched uranium (LEU): Contains 0.7–20% uranium-235;  Highly enriched uranium (HEU): Contains 20% or more uranium-235;  Weapons-grade HEU: Typically contains 90% or more uranium-235.  

The process of enriching uranium is technically difficult and expensive because it requires separating isotopes with similar chemical and physical properties. Some enrichment processes include gaseous diffusion, gas centrifuge, and laser separation. Uranium enrichment is a sensitive technology that requires close international control. Some countries, like Iran, have been accused of stockpiling enriched uranium for weapons-grade purposes, and that's the situation most likely Iran has been working towards. Not only is Israel and the USA in danger, but Iraq is also.  They are competitors for power in the Middle East .   The Iran–Iraq War was a military conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from 1980 to 1988:  Eight years of fighting and at the end the soldiers were the youngest left. 

Hamas has reportedly recruited over 4,000 new terrorists in Gaza and rebuilt its units in Gaza in recent months. The key Hamas leaders managing operations in Gaza are Mohammed Sinwar (“Abu Ibrahim”) and Az al-Din al-Haddad (“Abu Sohaib”). Let's hope this report is completely wrong!!!  I can find no reference to this report. Hamas is known to exaggerate numbers; so I take this to be highly exaggerated; not going according to past reports.  They have managed to avoid Israeli intelligence. 

Hamas has been using their control over humanitarian aid to retain power over the Gaza population.  This happens to be true!!!  Poverty could be a major factor in turning young men to join Hamas.

IDF Major (Res.) Moshiko (Maksim) Rozenwald, 35, from Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut, and another soldier who's name has not yet been released, were killed in a building collapse in the area of the Philadelphi Corridor in Rafah. Major Rozenwald served as a company commander in the 7107th Engineering Battalion.

Resource:

ISRAEL AM

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafael_Grossi

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agreement_on_Disengagement_between_Israel_and_Syria#:~:text=The%20Agreement%20on%20Disengagement%20between,in%20black%20are%20Syrian%20villages.