Free Republic

Maj. Gen. Nimrod Sheffer, the head of the Israel Defense Forces Planning Directorate, told Israel Hayom in a weekend interview that when Israeli leaders say “all options are on the table” with regard to Iran, they mean it. “If someone builds a nuclear bomb and at the same time declares that the State of Israel has no right to exist, then we have to think about how to respond,” he said. “It goes beyond a simple challenge." When asked if Israel might take “dramatic steps” in defiance of the American position, Sheffer answered positively: "When it comes to our national...

In a weekend interview with Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot, IDF Southern Command head General Sami Turgeman said that Hamas is back at it—attempting to dig tunnels into Israel. While the IDF destroyed most, if not all, of the tunnels Hamas had dug into Israel in previous years during Operation Protective Edge, it appeared that the terror group was using the resources that are now pouring into Gaza to rebuild homes and businesses to instead rebuild its terror network, said Turgeman. “We are keeping a close eye on Hamas,” Turgeman said. “It is clear that they have gone back to digging...

Islamic State has recently found a following among Bedouin tribes in southern Jordan, tens of kilometers away from the border with Israel, sources from the IDF's Southern Command claim, according to Walla! News. Sympathy for the terror organization, IDF sources fear, may spur terror cells to be established along the border, from where terrorists will infiltrate into Israel's Aravah region and carry out attacks. Concern is only amplified by the fact that there is no border fence between Jordan and Israel in that region, and the Aravah Division of the IDF, responsible for border security, suffers from low manpower.

IDF fear that if Israel continues to sanction Palestinians economically, it could backfire, leading to riots if not new uprising in West Bank. Economic sanctions implemented by Israel against the Palestinian Authority could backfire, top IDF officials warned Monday, saying the pushback from the Palestinian street could lead to unrest, or even an uprising in the West Bank. Israel is currently holding NIS 2.5 million in Palestinian Authority tax funds, a move it took in retribution for unilateral Palestinian actions in the diplomatic arena, like their attempt to attain statehood through a UN Security Council resolution and their accession to...

The Israel Defense Forces is taking a series of measures to prevent an escalation of violence in the West Bank, including holding large-scale surprise drills and easing entry restrictions on Palestinians, as some officials warn the dead-end in peace talks could lead to new fighting. An unnamed military source indicated that an explosive confrontation in the region — taking into account the election results — was possible, but stressed that the army and the Palestinian Authority were engaged in various preemptive measures to stymie the eruption of a Third Intifada, the army weekly Bamahane reported. “As of today, the Palestinian...

Nadaf expresses his hopes that Netanyahu will continue to support Christian participation in the IDF and integration into Israeli society. Father Gabriel Nadaf sent a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulating him on his recent victory in the Israeli elections on Tuesday. According to Nadaf’s Facebook page, the Christian leader wrote to Netanyahu that “he was confident and sure that the new government that is going to be established with [Netanyahu’s] leadership will continue to support the Israeli Christians Recruitment Forum, lead by Father Gabriel." Nadaf also expressed hopes that Netanyahu will work to integrate the Christians into Israeli...

While Israeli citizens only began voting Tuesday morning, IDF soldiers across Israeli have been casting their ballots since Saturday night. For elections, the IDF distributed polling stations to seven command centers: Central Command, Southern Command, Northern Command, Home Front Command, the Technology and Logistics Division, the Navy, and the Air Force. The command centers were divided into over 60 areas, each with an elections authority officiating. In total 688 ballot stations were set up for soldiers across the Jewish state. The first to vote on Saturday night were Air Force officers in the Sde Dov airport, before traveling abroad as...

Israel's military says two of its soldiers were killed and another seven were wounded in a Hezbollah strike Wednesday on an army convoy near the Lebanese border. Israel's military responded to the anti-tank missile strike on the convoy with aerial and ground attacks on Hezbollah positions in Lebanon. Lebanese security officials told the Associated Press that Israel fired 25 shells across the border. The Israeli Defense Forces said that residents of the area had been ordered to remain in their homes. The Lebanese terror group Hezbollah earlier claimed responsibility for the attack and said it destroyed a number of Israeli...

The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit says that the Israeli Air Force was striking multiple artillery positions belonging to the Syrian army, and that direct hits were identified. The air strikes came minutes after residents in the northern Golan Heights reported hearing air raid sirens around 12:30AM (Wednesday). No casualties or damages have been reported in Northern Israel. On Tuesday morning two rockets exploded in the northern Golan Heights.

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad on Sunday accused the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) of conspiring with the Al-Qaeda terrorist group. “It’s very clear. Because whenever we make advances in some place, they attack in order to undermine the army. It’s very clear,” Assad told the American Foreign Affairs magazine in excerpts of an interview that will be published in full on Monday. “That’s why some in Syria joke, how can you say that Al-Qaeda doesn’t have an air force? They have the Israeli air force,” he added.

But President Obama will not be meeting with Netanyahu when he visits. “As a matter of long-standing practice and principle, we do not see heads of state or candidates in close proximity to their elections, so as to avoid the appearance of influencing a democratic election in a foreign country,” White House National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said in a statement today. “Accordingly, the president will not be meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu because of the proximity to the Israeli election, which is just two weeks after his planned address to the U.S. Congress.”

Massive IDF movement was report Thursday in Israel’s northern communities in wake of recent tensions in the area.

The IDF will on Thursday pull out its security forces from Israeli communities that are not located near the security fence with Gaza, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit announced on Monday evening. The move was made after evaluating the security situation, with the understanding that the IDF provides optimal security to the communities in the Gaza Belt, in coordination with the heads of the communities, the statement said. “IDF forces are deployed in the area and are prepared for any scenario,” stressed the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit. Responding to the decision, the heads of the local communities in the Gaza Belt called...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday confirmed that Israel had acquired four new Sa’ar-class warships from Germany, reportedly to help protect off-shore gas extraction facilities. ... A spokesperson from the Prime Minister’s Office said that for the time being the deal remained an understanding, and that Germany would be footing a “nice” part of the cost. He refused to detail the cost of the ships.

Israel is likely to place a second order for between 12 and 15 U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets, around half the number previously mentioned by defence sources in both countries, an Israeli newspaper reported on Monday. A reduced Israeli purchase may dent international confidence in the Lockheed Martin Corp plane and set back Israeli efforts to get a lower unit price because of advance orders. Israel bought 19 F-35s for $2.75 billion in 2010, with delivery scheduled between 2016 and 2018. Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon, who visited the United States last month, agreed a preliminary deal for 25 to 31 more...

IDF soldiers gave out orders Saturday informing Palestinians of Israel’s plans to confiscate 3,176 acres (12,852 dunams) around the West Bank village of Beit Iksa for military purposes, Palestinian media reported. Beit Iksa residents said to Ma’an news agency that soldiers at a checkpoint distributed the orders, signed by head of the IDF Central Command Gen. Nitzan Alon. The orders gave the residents until the end of 2017 to leave the land in question. They also said that soldiers informed the Beit Iksa residents that an IDF liaison would come on Monday to explain which parcels of land would be...

Several ministers, headed by Strategic and Intelligence Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz, strongly objected to purchasing more F-35 fighter jets at the ministerial committee for defense purchases’ meeting Wednesday. The Defense Ministry and Israel Air Force submitted to the committee a proposal to buy a second squadron of the advanced fighter jets at the expected cost of some $4.5 billion. Steinitz spearheaded the objection to buying 31 jets, which will be added to the 19 ordered in the first deal. Steinitz is in favor of buying numerous cheap missiles to be launched from the sea, surface and air, and for increasing...

srael Police said a large commercial vehicle with Palestinian plates rammed into three IDF soldiers standing near a pillbox by al-Arroub on Wednesday. Magen David Adom rescue personnel confirmed three soldiers suffered moderate-to-severe injuries near a Palestinian refugee camp close to the Gush Etzion Junction. The vehicle escaped towards Hebron; security forces are conducting searches of the area and placing barricades to catch the suspect.

The findings are according to a new study conducted by military experts for the publication Business Insider. Israel’s military is the most powerful in the Middle East while its air force ranks second to none globally, according to a new study conducted by military experts for the publication Business Insider. The publication ranked the 15 strongest armies in the region while noting the size of the countries’ respective defense budgets as well as the latest geopolitical tumult and its impact on military strength. “A close defense relationship with the US and an energetic domestic defense industry give Israel a qualitative...

The Palestinian leadership is bound for the UN Security Council, where it will demand a deadline for Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank. But, given the risk of a swift Hamas takeover of the West Bank, a former Israeli security official questioned the sincerity of the Palestinian demand, speculating that it may be acting against its own self-interest just to spite Israel. Addressing donor states in a conference for the rehabilitation of Gaza last week, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas did not cite November 2016 as the final date by which Israeli troops are to leave the West Bank (as...