J Street to Biden Administration: Time to Withhold Some US Weapons to Israel for Continuing to Block Humanitarian Assistance to Gaza, J Street
J Street – the pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy group – today called on the Biden Administration to enforce American laws which require the United States to stop supplying arms and assistance to governments found to be obstructing humanitarian assistance, and to follow through on the 30-day deadline for action the administration set last month for the Israeli government.
Trump Chooses Mike Huckabee To Be U.S. Ambassador to Israel, The Washington Post
“The mask is off. This announcement is further proof that ‘pro-Israel’ for Trump is totally disconnected from any concern for Jewish values, safety or self-determination,” Jeremy Ben-Ami, J Street’s president, said in a statement. “It’s all about what ‘pro-Israel’ means to extremists in the MAGA base.”
After Harris’ Defeat, Top Democrats Tilt to the Center on Israel, Tackling Antisemitism, Jewish Insider
J Street, the progressive Middle East advocacy group, slammed the decision and called for the U.S. to withhold certain weapons from Israel. “The law is clear. American arms should not be provided to countries that block humanitarian assistance,” J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami said in a statement. “The White House should not give any country, even its closest friends, a pass. This can’t be delayed anymore.”
Trump Taps Mike Huckabee, Evangelical Favorite, to Be Ambassador to Israel, Jewish Telegraphic Agency
“Ben-Ami urged the outgoing Biden administration to take actions in its lame duck session to mitigate the changes coming. ‘Biden has a narrow window of opportunity to blunt the impact before he leaves office – he must use it,’ he said.”
U.S. Says No Policy Consequences for Israel Despite Lack of Gaza Aid, The Washington Post
Israel has largely failed to comply with the three main demands of the U.S. letter, according to aid groups and U.N. officials, which included surging humanitarian aid across the enclave, resuming access for commercial trucks and ending the isolation of the north. Humanitarian organizations say the policies have brought the Palestinian enclave to the brink of mass starvation.
Trump Picks Mike Huckabee To Serve as US Ambassador to Israel, CNN
He’s been a supporter of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including laying a cornerstone for a new neighborhood in one of the largest settlements, just east of Jerusalem, in 2017
Biden Envoy Says “There Is a Shot” of Ceasefire in Lebanon Soon, Axios
The letter would include a U.S. commitment allowing Israel to take military action in Lebanon if the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers don’t prevent Hezbollah from reestablishing military activity near the border, or from smuggling heavy weapons into Lebanon, U.S. officials said.
3 Young Siblings Killed in Gaza As Israeli Strikes Leave 6 Dead in Lebanon, AP
An Israeli strike on a home in northern Gaza killed three siblings aged 6 and under, among at least six people killed in airstrikes in the war-ravaged territory, Palestinian medics said. In Lebanon, an Israeli airstrike on an apartment building south of Beirut on Wednesday killed at least six people and wounded 15, the Health Ministry said.
Biden To Meet Families of American Hostages Held in Gaza After Meeting With Trump, Axios
The families urged Sullivan to have the Biden administration work with Trump and his team “to commit all available time and resources” to get a deal that brings the hostages home before Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, the families said in a statement.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad Terror Group Releases Third Video of Hostage Sasha Trufanov, The Times of Israel
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group releases a video of hostage Sasha Trufanov. It is unclear when the video was made. In the clip Trufanov says that he is aged 28; however, the video is released two days after he turned 29, his second birthday in captivity.
Israeli Forces Kill 22 People in Gaza, Force New Displacement in the North, Reuters
Israeli military strikes killed at least 14 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, as Israeli forces deepened their incursion into Beit Hanoun town in the north, forcing most remaining residents to leave.
Trump Names Steven Witkoff, Megadonor and Personal Friend, as Mideast Envoy, Haaretz
The appointment of Witkoff, who is Jewish, comes despite having no experience in diplomacy. The news follows the nomination of Mike Huckabee, a longtime ally of the Israeli settler movement, as the next U.S. ambassador to Israel.
Turkey Cuts Off Relations With Israel, Newsweek
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, “We, as the State and Government of the Republic of Turkey, have cut off relations with Israel. We do not have any relationship with Israel at this point. Period.”
IDF Gearing Up to Remain in Gaza Until End of 2025, at Least. This Is What It Looks Like, Haaretz
Yaniv Kubovich and Avi Scharf report, “This isn’t a new public housing project, it’s a completely different type of project. Scenes similar to this one, near the Netzarim corridor, can be seen in additional places in the Gaza Strip. The development momentum is in full swing, and the goal – whether it is talked about openly or not – is clear: building the infrastructure for the military’s prolonged stay in the field, at least in the first stage.”
In Lebanon, Residents Fear Hezbollah Could Be Hiding Among People Displaced by War, NPR
Arezou Rezvani shares, “As the displaced people have settled into new cities, towns and neighborhoods, there’s a growing fear from longtime residents that Hezbollah operatives may be hiding among them, and that Israeli airstrikes could soon follow.”
The Axis of Resilience, Foreign Affairs
Renad Mansour writes, “In all likelihood, the Israeli strategy of total war will continue to yield short-term tactical victories that degrade the capabilities of militant groups and states, forcing them into a kind of survival mode for a time. But without a political solution that comes to terms with the social embeddedness of the groups, the axis will likely draw again on local sources of influence, along with its transnational connections, to reconfigure itself at the local and regional levels.”
Israeli Justices Must Not Allow Netanyahu to Place Himself Above the Law, Haaretz
The Haaretz Editorial Board writes, “At this stage in the story, the judges should already know that if they accept the arguments of Netanyahu’s lawyers and postpone his testimony because of the war, the war will never end. Netanyahu has already proved countless times that his actions are motivated not by the national interest but rather only by his own need to survive. Israel has been in a dangerous trap for several years already, because a criminal defendant is serving as prime minister. The public interest requires his trial judges in the district court to deny Netanyahu’s request, and above all to end the trial as soon as possible.”