Yisrael Katz

Israeli army begins ground offensive in Lebanon, defense minister says

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Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz attends a press conference, held by Israeli Defense Ministry, with senior military officials in Israel on March 12, 2026. [Elad Malka (IMoD) /Handout – Anadolu Agency]

Israel’s defense minister confirmed on Monday that the Israeli military has begun a ground offensive in Lebanon, as regional escalation continues to expand, Anadolu reports.

“The IDF (army) has begun a ground maneuver in Lebanon to remove threats and protect the residents of the Galilee and the north,”Katz said in comments carried by the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper during a situational assessment at the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv.

“Hundreds of thousands of residents of southern Lebanon who have evacuated and are evacuating from their homes will not return to their homes south of the Litani area,” he added.

Katz said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed the military to dismantle what he described as “militant infrastructure” in Lebanese villages along the border.

READ: Israel to mobilise 450,000 reservists as ground operation in Lebanon considered

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Donald Trump sings and dances, says that it's fun to kill everyone ...
Donald Trump sings and dances, says that it’s fun to kill everyone …
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.
Donald Trump explains why he established his Bored of Peace
Donald Trump explains why he established his Bored of Peace

Continue ReadingIsraeli army begins ground offensive in Lebanon, defense minister says

Israel defence minister orders plans to occupy West Bank refugee camps, expand permanent military presence

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Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz in Washington, United States on July 18, 2025. [Yasin Öztürk – Anadolu Agency]

Israel’s defence minister Yisrael Katz has ordered the army to prepare plans to occupy refugee camps in the occupied West Bank and establish a permanent military presence there, Israeli media reported.

According to the Israeli intelligence website Walla, Katz has instructed the army’s Central Command to draw up operational plans aimed at occupying refugee camps and dismantling what Israel describes as “armed infrastructure”.

The report said the planned operations would mirror the ongoing campaign in the Jenin refugee camp, where Israeli forces entered the camp, displaced residents and demolished large sections of housing. Israeli officials have described the Jenin operation as a success that restored the army’s “freedom of action” in an area it characterised as a security stronghold.

During 2025, the army’s Central Command launched a broad military operation across the West Bank. Following Katz’s instructions, Israeli forces occupied and severely damaged three refugee camps in the Jenin and Tulkarm areas, displacing more than 50,000 residents from the Nur Shams refugee camp and the Tulkarm refugee camp. Military outposts were subsequently established inside those camps.

Israeli authorities claim that armed groups operating in northern West Bank camps fled to surrounding villages as a result of the operations. According to Israeli assessments cited by Walla, maintaining a continuous military presence is intended to dismantle infrastructure, expand the army’s operational freedom and prevent armed groups from rebuilding or reaching a level where they could carry out attacks.

Military officials told the website that operations are carried out immediately when intelligence allows. “Where there is no such opportunity, we act extensively to prevent future growth, systematically dismantling capabilities and infrastructure,” one official was quoted as saying.

Palestinian officials and human rights organisations have warned that such operations amount to collective punishment and risk entrenching long-term military control over densely populated civilian areas in the occupied West Bank.

Reports: Hezbollah deploys forces, rockets amid fears of war with Israel

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Experiencing issues with this image not appearing. I suspect because it's so critical of Zionist Keir Starmer's support of and complicity in Israel's genocides.
Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpA
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Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.
Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.

Continue ReadingIsrael defence minister orders plans to occupy West Bank refugee camps, expand permanent military presence

Israeli minister Ben-Gvir storms Ibrahimi mosque in Hebron to provoke an escalation in the West Bank

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Original article by Aseel Saleh republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Itamar Ben-Gvir in June 2021. Photo: Wikimedia Commons / שי קנדלר

Following ICC’s issuance of arrest warrants against top Israeli officials over Gaza’s genocide, Ben-Gvir bluntly threatened to escalate the situation in the West Bank, confirming Israel’s disregard of international law.

Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir stormed Ibrahimi Mosque in the city of Hebron (Al-Khalil) in the southern occupied West Bank on Friday, November 22, accompanied by thousands of Israeli settlers.

A Palestinian citizen from a local committee working to defend Hebron city from Israeli violations told Anadolu Ajansı that Ben-Gvir and the settlers escorting him performed Talmudic rituals for the Jewish holiday Chayei Sarah (Life of Sarah) inside the mosque. He added that the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) imposed a curfew on the old city of Hebron, where the Ibrahimi Mosque is located, banning Palestinians from reaching the area during the settlers’ raid.

Meanwhile, the director of the Ibrahimi Mosque Mutaz Abu Sneineh informed media outlets that the IOF closed the mosque to Muslim worshipers and employees through Saturday evening. The Ibrahimi Mosque itself has also been the site of numerous settler attacks. In 1994, extremist settler terrorist Baruch Goldstein entered the mosque during a prayer and open fired, killing 29 Palestinian worshippers and injuring over 100.

While settler violence against Palestinians has a long history that goes back to the period of the British Mandate in Palestine, the rise of extremist leader Ben-Gvir since 2019 has been accompanied by a sharp uptick in attacks and provocative acts. Ben-Gvir has been labelled by Israeli and western media alike as a provocateur, pyromaniac, ultranationalist, and an extremist settler.

Ben-Gvir has been part of Netanyahu’s government, playing a key role in shaping politics and decision making, since 2022 as the Minister of National Security. Ben-Gvir’s illegal attacks and provocations would not be possible without his government’s policies and rhetoric which explicitly back settler violence.

Israel’s new Defense Minister, Yisrael Katz, announced on Friday the suspension of administrative detention for Israeli settlers who carry out attacks against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. The Palestinian Authority slammed Katz’s decision as it would further encourage settlers to commit more crimes against Palestinians.

In a statement issued on Friday, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said that Katz’s decision “would encourage supremacist colonists to commit acts of terrorism against Palestinians and their properties and further foster their impunity.” The Ministry also called for effective international action to restrain settler “militias” and protect the Palestinians from their violence.

Katz’s decision may be seen as part of the plan recently declared by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich for the West Bank annexation early November. The plan was re-iterated by Ben Gvir, who called for implementing it in response to the ICC’s issuance of arrest warrants orders for top Israeli officials on Thursday, November 21.

According to analysts, Israeli ministers aim at fueling the situation in the West Bank to find a pretext to end the Oslo Accords which granted the Palestinian Authority self-governance over the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and to undermine international efforts for a two-state solution.

Original article by Aseel Saleh republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Continue ReadingIsraeli minister Ben-Gvir storms Ibrahimi mosque in Hebron to provoke an escalation in the West Bank