On Wednesday night, terrorists opened fire on a vehicle traveling along Highway 446 between Baruchin and Peduel in Samaria. The car was carrying a couple from Baruchin on their way to the hospital for the birth of their child. Tzeela Gez, 30, in advanced stages of pregnancy, was critically wounded in the attack and rushed to Beilinson Hospital while undergoing resuscitation. Despite prolonged efforts by medical teams through the night, she succumbed to her injuries.

In a desperate attempt to save the baby, doctors at Beilinson performed an emergency cesarean section in the trauma room. The newborn required immediate resuscitation and was transferred to Schneider Medical Center. His condition is currently unknown. The husband, Hananel, sustained mild injuries.

Yossi Dagan, head of the Samaria Regional Council, issued a forceful statement on Thursday morning following the deadly attack: “The villages that repeatedly harbor and dispatch terrorists cannot be allowed to continue life as usual. The rule in Burkin and Kafr a-Diq is no different from that of Khan Younes and Rafah. It is no longer acceptable to rely solely on military intelligence. This is an axis from which four terrorist attacks have already been launched—this area must look like Jabalia.”

Dagan called for a harsh response: ⁠“Jewish blood is not cheap. The villages that harbor terrorists must be flattened, like Rafah and Khan Yunis. This route has seen four attacks. It must be cleared.” Bruchin community leader Meital Ben Yosef added: ⁠“We are broken. But we will not surrender. We will build, grow stronger, and stay united.”

Source:
Terrorists Murder Tzeela Gez en Route to Delivery Room; Doctors Battle to Save Her Baby, by David Israel/Jewish Press, May 15, 2025

President Donald Trump met on Wednesday in Riydah, Saudi Arabia with Ahmed al-Sharaa at an economic summit hosted by the Saudi government. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was also present at the meeting.

Earlier in the summit, Trump had announced his plans to offer sanctions relief to Syria – a move Damascus has indicated it would be willing to make concessions for. “I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria in order to give them a chance at greatness,” Trump announced Tuesday.

Al-Sharaa, who led the terrorist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in ousting Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, welcomed the sanctions relief, viewing it as a step toward Syria’s recovery. He reiterated his administration’s desire to improve relations with the U.S., emphasizing the need for dialogue and understanding. The meeting underscores a broader regional effort to stabilize Syria and promote peace in the Middle East.

At first glance, this meeting presents promise, however serious challenges remain. The U.S. still designates HTS as a terrorist organization, and Israel views al-Sharaa’s regime with suspicion, particularly due to ongoing military operations in Syria. The full lifting of sanctions and normalization of relations may depend on Syria’s actions in these areas. Trump’s end game is peace, and a diplomatic route to attain that goal. If Syria is serious about peace and achieving the greatness that Trump dangles over them like carrot, then they must fully renounce their jihad/terrorist ways. Only time will tell if the Trump effect brings about the desired development toward normalization of relations and a true and lasting peace in the region.

Source:
Trump meets with Syria’s president, calls for Israel peace deal, by David Rosenberg/World Israel News, May 14, 2025

The War Wounded Forum comprises hundreds of fighters from across the country, including Kibbutz Gadot, Ramat Gan, Kfar Saba, Jerusalem, Beit El, and Tel Aviv, united behind the slogan, “We will not stop the fighting until the war is won.”

On Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with forum members and declared: “We will occupy Gaza, and our security control will remain there indefinitely. The situation has changed; a decision has been made to go all the way. In the coming days, significant actions will unfold in Gaza—actions that you haven’t seen or heard about until now.”

Netanyahu’s strategy is a calculated response to the challenges posed by Hamas’s refusal to lay down its arms. The effectiveness of Israel’s military strategy and the prospects for a sustainable resolution to the war should not remain ongoing subjects of intense debate and concern. Rather, it should be understood that Israel is fighting for its very survival.

Source:
Netanyahu Vows to IDF War Wounded: We Will Conquer Gaza, Maintain Security Control Forever, by David Israel/Jewish Press, May 13, 2025

The Israeli Cabinet voted on Sunday to back a series of “revolutionary” measures aimed at stopping what it said was the Palestinian Authority-led takeover of lands in Judea and Samaria, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced.

Sunday night’s vote “nullifies the P.A.’s attempts to seize land in Area C and, under the leadership of the Ministry of Defense, will lead to an arrangement for registering land in Judea and Samaria,” stated Katz.

The move “will lead to the strengthening, consolidation and expansion” of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, he continued, adding that the current war proves that “settlement in Judea and Samaria is a defensive shield for population centers in the center of Israel.”

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the government’s latest decision was part of his “normalization and de facto sovereignty revolution.”

“For the first time, the State of Israel is taking responsibility for the territory as a permanent sovereign, and is beginning the implementation of land registration in Judea and Samaria,” he said.

“Land registration will create legal certainty, enable land reserves for the development of settlements, and prevent P.A. efforts to take control of open areas,” concluded Smotrich, who also holds a post in the Defense Ministry with responsibility for civilian matters in Judea and Samaria.

The Cabinet resolution declares that Ramallah’s attempts to create a land registry in Area C, which according to the Oslo Accords is under Jerusalem’s exclusive control, will no longer hold any legal standing.

Accordingly, P.A. documents—including maps and approvals—will no longer be used in any Israeli legal or administrative processes.

The Jewish state’s defense establishment will also be instructed to take other measures to prevent the continuation of the P.A. land registration campaign, including by blocking Ramallah’s staff from accessing areas, obstructing European Union and other foreign support and issuing a direct demand that Ramallah halt its activities in this regard.

We hope that the next steps will be to take down the illegal structures that have sprung up all over Judea and Samaria and to declare sovereignty over the entirety of the Jewish homeland!

Source:
Israeli Cabinet votes to stop Palestinian takeover of Judea and Samaria, by Akiva Van Koningsveld/JNS, May 12, 2025

The Green Israel Forum warned on Monday of serious health risks following a wave of fires whose smoke has blanketed the Tel Aviv and central Israel regions.

According to the forum, the fires originate in illegal Palestinian Authority garbage dumps amid what it calls a longstanding issue of neglected landfill management. “This is environmental terrorism that is systematically occurring under the closed eyes of the international community,” said Erez Kalif, CEO of the Green Israel Forum.

“These wildfires do not stop at the Green Line – they penetrate the lungs of all Israeli citizens,” Kalif warned. “Israeli residents must not continue to pay with their health for environmental failures across the border,” Kalif added.

We would like to point out that there is no “border” within Israel. Additionally, fires were set not only in Judea and Samaria but also in Jerusalem. The Green Israel Forum needs to get its facts straight! No one living in Israel or anywhere else should be subjected to environmental terrorism.

Source:
‘Environmental terrorism’: Fires from PA landfills threaten health across central Israel, by Pesach Benson/TPS-IL via World Israel News, May 12, 2025

The United Nations obstructed an investigation by the American government into the ties between UNRWA employees in Gaza and the Hamas terrorist organization, according to a USAID report released last month.

The report, titled “USAID OIG’s Investigative Work to Prevent UNRWA Staff Associated With Hamas From Circulating to Other U.S. Government-Funded Aid Organizations,” documented how the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) redacted the names of UNRWA employees who had been investigated for alleged ties to Hamas, rendering the documents provided useless for the investigation.

Eitan Fischberger, the journalist who first reported the USAID report, stated that “the United Nations appears to have gone out of its way to obstruct” USAID’s investigation.

While this is not a surprise, it’s stunning how one story after another comes out about the UN’s corrupt ways. We don’t expect good of any kind to come from the United Nations. It is a corrupt Israel-hating agency, and it is our duty to report on their shameful actions.

Source:
UN obstructed US investigation into UNRWA ties to Hamas, by Israel National News, May 9, 2025

In the wake of Israel’s massive attack Tuesday on Sana’a International Airport — along with several power stations and a concrete factory — Iran was warned that it, too, will bear the consequences of the missile attacks on Israel by its Yemeni proxy, the Houthis.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday following the Israeli airstrikes that whoever harms the Jewish State will themselves be struck.

“I have said many times that whoever attacks the State of Israel – his blood is on his head,” Netanyahu said.

“Yesterday I said that the attack by the Houthi will be answered not with ‘a blow and we are done’ – but with ‘blows’. So yesterday we dealt a blow, a heavy blow to the port of Hodeidah. Today our planes attacked the airport in Sana’a, the airport that enables the terrorist army and the air entry into the terrorist state, which enables the firing of missiles against us.”

Defense Minister Israel Katz also issued a statement, reiterating a statement he made following the Houthi missile attack that struck Ben Gurion International Airport.

“Whoever harms us – we will harm them sevenfold,” Katz said. He added a warning to Iran as well.

“This is also a warning message to the head of the Iranian octopus: ‘You bear direct responsibility for every attack by the Houthi octopus arm against the State of Israel and you will also bear the full consequences,’” Katz said.

Source:
Israel Warns Iran Will Also Bear ‘Full Consequences’ for Houthi Attacks, by Hana Levi Julian/Jewish Press, May 7, 2025

The Constitution Committee chaired by MK Simcha Rothman on Monday held a tense initial hearing on a bill proposing an 80% tax on donations to NGOs from foreign political entities and a ban on court access for NGOs that lack the right of standing and receive the majority of their funding from such sources.

The bill’s explanatory notes state: “The purpose of this bill is to reduce the indirect influence of foreign governments and political entities on the State of Israel. This influence is reflected, among other things, in direct financial support for NGOs in Israel that act as agents of change on behalf of these entities. Such a phenomenon exceeds the bounds of the democratic framework and undermines the sovereignty and independence of the state where it occurs.”

During the discussion, Chairman Rothman stated, “In times of war, foreign countries inject massive sums into Israeli society to steer the state toward surrender or to promote the rights of terrorists. This must be stopped. We must ensure that Israeli citizens preserve their freedom of expression and are not drowned out by a megaphone funded by a foreign government.”

Source:
Rothman Weighs 80% Tax on $360 Million in Foreign Donations to NGOs, by David Israel/Jewish Press, May 6, 2025

Israeli President Isaac Herzog addressed the Makor Rishon and Ofra community Settlement Conference held in honor of the community’s 50th anniversary.

“Every time anew during my many visits across Israel, and certainly in Judea and Samaria, and certainly when I fly over the country in helicopters, I understand even more that the settlement movement is an important, formidable, and prosperous movement. How much the settlements are Israel’s defensive wall in every sense of the word,” Herzog declared.

Source:
President Herzog: ‘Settlements are Israel’s defensive wall’, by Israel National News, May 6, 2025

A ballistic missile fired from Yemen struck near Israel’s Ben-Gurion International Airport on Sunday morning, lightly to moderately wounding six people, and disrupting takeoffs and arrivals.

The attack triggered air-raid sirens across central Israel, including in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and the Shfela/Judaean Foothills. Several attempts were made to intercept the missile, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

The U.S.-made THAAD system attempted to intercept the missile but failed, as did Israel’s Arrow system, Channel 14 military correspondent Hillel Bitton Rosen reported. Authorities are investigating whether the blast near Terminal 3 was caused by a direct hit, missile fragments or interceptor debris. Police bomb squads and security forces remain on scene.

Magen David Adom updated its casualty figures on Sunday afternoon, reporting that six people were treated and transported to hospitals: a man in his 50s in light to moderate condition with limb injuries; two women, ages 54 and 38, in light condition due to blast-related trauma; a 64-year-old man lightly wounded by flying debris; and two women, aged 22 and 34, who were hurt while running for shelter.

In a statement on Sunday afternoon, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that “there will be blows” in response to the attack. “We are acting against them,” Netanyahu said of previous IDF military operations against the Houthis in Yemen. “We have acted in the past, and we will act in the future. I cannot detail everything. The U.S., in coordination with us, is also acting against them. It’s not a one-and-done, but there will be blows,” vowed the Israeli premier.

Source:
Houthi missile hits Ben-Gurion Airport, wounding six, disrupting flights, by Joshua Marks/JNS, May 4, 2025