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Lebanon Delivers Signed Sea Border Deal to U.S. Mediator, AP
Lebanon signed and delivered its copy of a U.S.-mediated sea border deal with Israel on Thursday to a U.S. mediator, hoping to soon start exploring gas in its southern maritime blocs to bring economic stability to the crisis-ridden country. The agreement to demarcate the maritime border comes after months of indirect talks mediated by Amos Hochstein, the U.S. envoy for energy affairs, and would mark a major breakthrough in relations between the two nations, which have formally been at war since Israel’s creation in 1948.
Israel’s Herzog Warns Biden of Mounting Iran ‘Challenge’, The New York Times
Israeli President Isaac Herzog warned President Joe Biden on Wednesday of a mounting Iranian “challenge” as Tehran continues its brutal crackdown over widespread protests led by young Iranians and U.S. efforts to revive the Iran nuclear deal flounder. At the start of an Oval Office meeting with Biden, Herzog noted it had been 40 days since the death of Mahsa Amini in Iranian security custody, which spurred the protests across Iran. He also noted that Iran was “moving toward” becoming a nuclear power and alluded to Tehran providing Russia with drones that are “killing innocent citizens in Ukraine.”
Ukraine’s FM Criticizes Israeli Politicians Who Boasted About Friendships With Putin, Axios
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba expressed tacit criticism about Israeli opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu for his rhetoric on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and his attitude towards Russian President Vladimir Putin during his time as Israel’s prime minister.
‘You’re Suffocating Us’: Israeli Blockade in West Bank Angers Palestinians, The New York Times
To fight a growing insurgency, the Israeli Army has closed off several entrances to a major Palestinian city, harming its economy and stirring more protest.
Israel’s Defense Minister Visits Turkey As Relations Thaw, AP
Israel’s defense minister became the first top defense official from his country to visit Turkey in more than a decade Thursday as the two nations take steps to normalize their strained ties.
Ben-Gvir’s Party Members Trying to Form Armed Militia in Tel Aviv Suburb, Haaretz
Members of Itamar Ben-Gvir’s far-right Otzma Yehudit party are attempting to form an armed civilian militia in the Tel Aviv suburb of Bat Yam, saying their intentions are to “defend our home.”
A New Group of TikTok-Savvy Palestinian Fighters Tests Israeli Forces in the West Bank, NPR
Daniel Estrin reports, “This year has already been the deadliest Palestinians have experienced in the Israeli-occupied West Bank in many years. But a brazen Israeli special forces operation before dawn Tuesday, which killed five Palestinians, including at least one militant, and wounded 20, was this year’s single bloodiest confrontation in the West Bank yet. Israel’s target was not one of its usual suspects, like the Hamas or Islamic Jihad militant groups. It was the Lions’ Den, a new renegade group of young armed men, many in their teens and early 20s. They are small in number — analysts estimate between 50 to 100 — but big in influence.”
Do American Jews Really Know What ‘Zionist’ Means?, Haaretz
Mira Sucharov analyzes the findings of a survey of the political attitudes of American Jews, in which they were asked a series of questions about Zionism. She writes, “The results confirmed my hunch – namely that when the subject of Zionism arises, self-proclaimed Zionists (Jewish or otherwise) and anti-Zionists (Jewish or otherwise) are talking about completely different things.”