US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said that the billions of dollars the US provides to Israel should be considered a gift from the US. In Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to join Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss phase II of the Gaza peace agreements.
France has allowed Prime Minister Netanyahu’s plane to fly over its airspace en route to the US. This is despite an arrest warrant issued against Netanyahu by the International Criminal Court in The Hague. According to OSINT sources, Spain refused to allow the plane to fly over its airspace.
Like the Biden administration before them, Trump’s team has been arguing with the Israelis for weeks over tactical issues, such as opening the Rafah crossing with Egypt and providing tents to displaced Palestinians seeking shelter for the winter. “It’s J.D., Marco, Jared, Steve, Susie. Netanyahu has lost them.” “The only one he has left is the president, who still loves him, but even he wants the Gaza deal to move faster than it is now,” a White House spokesperson told Axios.
The future of the Gaza peace deal is expected to hinge on this meeting, as White House officials grow increasingly frustrated with Netanyahu, considering him “slow” and undermining the peace process, fearing that Israel may soon resume a full-scale war with Hamas.
Ishaq Dar, Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of Pakistan: We are ready to send a contingent for a peacekeeping mission in the Gaza Strip, but we do not accept its participation in a mission to disarm Hamas.
Meanwhile, tensions remain high between Israel and Iran. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Iran: “The security services are closely monitoring developments, but of course I cannot discuss them in detail.” Katz also spoke at the National Conference on Education of Yeshiva Bnei Akiva and Makor Rishon and the Ulpanot Center: “Israel will never leave Gaza. There will be a significant area surrounding Gaza to protect the settlements. In my view, in due course, we will create Nahal nuclei in the northern part.”
Israeli journalist Amit Segal explained: “A senior Israeli official I spoke to on December 12 said that the probability of approval for the sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey was about 40%; this percentage is much higher than estimated several weeks earlier.”
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with a delegation of senior Hamas officials led by Khalil al-Hayya in Ankara. Erdogan in a message to Netanyahu: Let me be clear: we will not allow our rights to be trampled on, neither in the eastern Mediterranean, nor in the Aegean, nor anywhere else. Those who have the blood of over 70,000 Palestinians on their hands are no different from a can. We will not allow the rights or interests of Turkish Cypriots to be violated either. According to Middle Eastern military analysts, the escalation between Israel and Turkey over the Turkish presence in Syria is intensifying.
According to Israeli media, Russia has quietly joined US-backed efforts to broker a security agreement between Israel and Syria. Moscow is attempting to deploy Russian troops in southern Syria, near the Israeli border, a move that Israel prefers to an increased Turkish presence.
Meanwhile, the signing of an operational program for trilateral military cooperation between Greece, the Republic of Cyprus, and Israel has been confirmed.
Tensions in the Middle East arose after Israel recognized Somaliland as independent from Somalia. A Saudi royal source told Israeli Channel 12 that relations between the Saudi Kingdom and Israel had entered their most critical phase after Tel Aviv recognized Somaliland as an independent state. “Israel’s recognition of Somaliland distances it from normalization with Riyadh and increases its isolation from the region. Turkey, Somalia, Djibouti, and Egypt are opposed.
Fourteen countries issued a joint statement on December 24 condemning Israel’s recent approval of 19 new settlements in the West Bank, warning that the decision violates international law and threatens regional stability. The United States did not join the condemnation, becoming the only G7 country not to sign the statement. The coalition, comprising Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and the United Kingdom, called on Israel to reverse its decision and cease all settlement expansion, in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2334.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on the possibility of a new war: It is unlikely that our enemies will repeat their mistakes. We ended the 12-day war with strength and pride, our enemies misjudged Iran’s capabilities, and now our forces are stronger and better prepared than before the war. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian: In my opinion, we are waging a total war with the United States, Israel, and Europe: they do not want our country to recover and get back on its feet. This war is more complex and confusing than the Iran-Iraq war.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on the possibility of a new war: It is unlikely that our enemies will repeat their mistakes. We ended the 12-day war with strength and pride, our enemies misjudged Iran’s capabilities, and now our forces are stronger and better prepared than before the war. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian: In my opinion, we are waging a total war with the United States, Israel, and Europe: they do not want our country to recover and get back on its feet. This war is more complex and confusing than the Iran-Iraq war.
In an official statement, Saudi Arabia calls on the forces of the Southern Transitional Council, supported by the United Arab Emirates, to withdraw from two recently conquered provinces in southern Yemen and to act in coordination with the legitimate government in Aden. Oman has announced that it will make an “important announcement” on events in eastern Yemen in the coming hours.
And now a look at the military scenarios opened by Israel, updated at 4:00 p.m. on December 28. The funerals of five senior Houthi officers were held in the Yemeni capital on December 27. All of them, including the commander of a Houthi drone brigade with a rank equivalent to that of general, were killed in American attacks last May. Yemen’s National Defense Council, backed by Saudi Arabia, is holding an urgent meeting on events in eastern Yemen. Saudi jets are firing signal flares over the Hadhramaut region in eastern Yemen. “Any Israeli presence in Somaliland will be considered a military target,” said Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, head of Ansarullah.
On December 24, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps reported that a tanker carrying 16 crew members and smuggled goods had been seized in the Persian Gulf.
Jordan carried out at least eight airstrikes overnight against southern and southeastern Syria on December 24 in al-Suwayda against a Captagon smuggling center; several farms and warehouses in the hills, as well as about five villages, were damaged.The commander of the Turkish army’s special forces, Unsal Hayal, made a surprise visit to bases in Syria. Unsal Hayal visited the Childiroba base on the border and the Kafr Djenne base near Afrin.
Israeli army soldiers continue to fire on civilian homes in border towns, particularly in Kafarshouba. Bullets penetrate walls and windows and nearly hit the family. The Lebanese army inspected seven homes in Bint Jbeil (five destroyed and two inhabited) and six inhabited homes in Aynatha. This is happening despite the Lebanese army command stating that it would not inspect houses without legal justification from a Lebanese court.
An Israeli Air Force attack helicopter intercepted two drones attempting to enter the country from the western border. IDF observation posts and an air control center recently detected two drones crossing the western border of the State of Israel in an attempt to enter the country. After detection, an IAF attack helicopter, together with the 80th Division, intercepted both drones as they entered the country.
IDF Chief of Staff Zamir at a meeting of the Military Intelligence Research Department: “The battle is not over yet, all fronts are active, and many challenges await us in protecting the State of Israel and its citizens. Our duty is to move toward growth, renewal, and hope.” An IDF soldier was seriously wounded in a shooting at a base in the north of the country.
The mayor of Haifa, Yona Yehav, issued an unusual warning to residents: “In a month’s time, we will be back in shelters and security rooms due to extremely serious security issues.” Israeli security services are investigating an unusual incident that occurred last night in the Negev, when two suspected Bedouins from the village of Tarabin infiltrated nearby Jewish settlements, setting fire to and damaging dozens of cars. It is suspected that this was revenge for a police operation to arrest suspects in Tarabin.
The Israeli army is conducting a special operation in Nablus, in the West Bank.
Antonio Albanese e Graziella Giangiulio
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