Operation Iron Swords - Day 197 - 20 April 2024

“At any point, Hamas could have ended this burgeoning tragedy to
surrender and release every hostage. …
Hamas instigated and owns this humanitarian catastrophe.”
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA)

Contents

UPDATED - True Promise IR-IL NEW - War Termination NEW - Operations NEW - Operations - Gaza NEW - Operations - Judea-Samaria NEW - Operations - Lebanon NEW - Operations - Syria / Iraq NEW - Operations - Yemen UPDATED - Operations Maps NEW - By-Standers NEW - Axis of Resistance NEW - Allied for Democracy UPDATED - By the Numbers

While the extremist religious “ Temple groups ” seek to slaughter the “Red Cow” on the Mount of Olives in occupied Jerusalem in front of Al-Aqsa Mosque, the name of Ain Silwan, a spring of water in the town of Silwan, the southern host of Al-Aqsa Mosque, is being mentioned. The slaughter of the red cow , which has been talked about recently, is a biblical ritual that allows the Jews to carry out mass raids on Al-Aqsa Mosque, and thus move forward towards the demolition of the Dome of the Rock Mosque in order to build the alleged “Third Temple.”

The "ritual" requires slaughtering the red cow on the Mount of Olives, then burning it and mixing its ashes in the waters of the Silwan Spring under the pretext of purifying the Jews from the "impurity of the dead," as they described it, and in cooperation with the so-called "Temple Mount Administration." Many tales and stories are woven around the eye about the nations and civilizations that passed through it that did not change much, while efforts are being made to Judaize it - today - to erase its history and impose procedures for its entry.

Passover will begin in the evening of Monday, April 22, and will last through April 30 just after sundown. Jews in the land of Israel and some Reform Jews in diaspora will end Passover on the evening of Monday, April 29th. Passover, also known as Pesach in Hebrew, is a significant Jewish holiday commemorating the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt, as narrated in the biblical book of Exodus. It is one of the most widely observed Jewish holidays and is celebrated for seven or eight days, depending on tradition. The central ritual of Passover is the Seder, a ceremonial meal held on the first two nights (and sometimes the last two nights) of the holiday. During the Seder, the Haggadah, a text that recounts the story of the Exodus, is read aloud, and symbolic foods are eaten. These include matzo (unleavened bread), bitter herbs (to symbolize the bitterness of slavery), charoset (a mixture of fruits and nuts representing the mortar used by the Israelites in their forced labor), and others.

The prohibition of chametz (leavened food) is a significant aspect of Passover observance. This stems from the biblical command to eat only unleavened bread during the holiday. Many Jews thoroughly clean their homes before Passover to remove all traces of chametz, and some even perform a ritual search, called Bedikat Chametz, to ensure no chametz remains. Passover is also a time for Jews to reflect on themes of freedom, redemption, and renewal. It is a time for family gatherings, storytelling, and prayer, as well as for contemplating the relevance of the Exodus story to contemporary issues of justice and liberation.

Passover in the Jewish religion symbolizes the period in which the children of Israel left Egypt to escape from Pharaoh under the leadership of the Prophet Moses, peace and blessings be upon him. Their story says that during their exodus, over a period of 8 days, they made unleavened bread without leaven by God’s command and as a thank you to Him. To save them from Pharaoh. This is why this holiday is considered one of the most important occasions for the Jews because it is linked to what they call offerings of “thanks to God” for saving the children of Israel, according to their interpretation. Passover - which in Arabic means “crossing over” - extends for 7 days, the first of which will fall on Tuesday, April 23. . Extremist Temple groups insist on linking this holiday with the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and mobilize their supporters before it comes every year to carry out mass raids on its squares, at a time when the Palestinians of Jerusalem are experiencing difficult days. the “Returning to the Temple Mount” organization submitted an official request to the Israeli police to allow it to slaughter the “Passover offering” inside the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque after setting off from Buraq Square towards it. In the request, the extremist organization said that it wanted to slaughter the sacrifice at the Dome of the Chain in the courtyard of the Dome of the Rock or near it.

Days after submitting this request, the organization called on its supporters to prepare to slaughter the sacrifice at Al-Aqsa next Sunday and Monday, which is considered the eve of Eid, and said that the sacrifice must be less than one year old. The matter did not stop there. Rather, the organization offered temptations to grant huge financial rewards to any settlers who succeeded in smuggling and slaughtering sacrifices inside Al-Aqsa during Easter. The value of the reward reached more than 13 thousand US dollars, in addition to smaller financial rewards for any settlers who attempted to smuggle Easter animal sacrifice and fails to do so.

The "Temple Mount in Our Hands" organization, it has not stopped publishing advertisements for weeks urging extremists to storm during Passover. The advertisements stated that transportation would be supported, and that their incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque would be secured by the Israeli police. They promised that their tours inside it would be exciting, and invited them to carry out them without wearing leather shoes “for the sanctity of the place” for the Jews, according to her claim. The organization published the Passover program and its tours, which it included under the title “Pilgrimage to the Temple Mount with the Best Guides,” and placed in the advertisement design an image of a glass of wine in front of the Dome of the Rock chapel.

During the last two years, the Jewish Passover did not pass quietly in the squares and chapels of the first two Qibla, especially since it coincided with the blessed month of Ramadan. In 2023, 3,430 extremists, male and female, stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque and performed Talmudic rituals and prayers, many of whom wore white biblical clothing. The extremist Temple groups carried out the rituals of slaughtering the sacrifice on the southern wall of the mosque, and published “6 facts” to incite his slaughter in Al-Aqsa, saying, “His blood is the bond of our covenant with the Lord, and if you bring thousands to the gates of Al-Aqsa, the government will enable us to impose the sacrifice.”

In 2022, 3,670 extremists, both male and female, stormed Al-Aqsa’s courtyards during Eid, and about 15 attempts to smuggle animal sacrifices into the mosque were seized before and during Easter. It is not possible to mention Easter in Ramadan 2022 without mentioning the harshest storming carried out by the occupation forces into Al-Aqsa Mosque shortly after the dawn prayer on Friday, April 15, and brutally assaulted 30,000 worshipers, resulting in 158 injuries and the arrest of 476 secluded people inside the Al-Qibli prayer hall. After it was stormed, all of them received orders to be removed from the holy mosque for varying periods.

War Termination

The Qatari threat to withdraw from the role of mediation between Hamas and Israel regarding the issue of the war on Gaza left its impact on communications that froze during the last week, especially after Hamas stressed its rejection of any agreement that does not include a clear declaration of stopping the war and the return of the displaced and providing relief to them before any exchange of prisoners and detainees. There is talk of American efforts to revitalize communications soon. On April 8, the Egyptian side requested an urgent meeting with the leadership of the Hamas movement. To inform her of the existence of “a paper containing advanced ideas that would break the deadlock surrounding the negotiating process.” Hamas inquired about the truth of the matter from the Qatari side, and understood that the Egyptians had a paper prepared in consultation with the Americans. Accordingly, the movement’s deputy head in Gaza, Khalil al-Hayya, traveled to Cairo to meet with the Egyptian Minister of General Intelligence, Abbas Kamel, and his deputy for Palestinian affairs, Ahmed Abdel Khaleq.

However, it turned out that the new paper did not contain anything new that would answer the basic questions related to the ceasefire and the withdrawal of the occupation forces from the Gaza Strip, noting that Hamas had modified the number of prisoners required to be released in exchange for enemy prisoners, based on promises that this step would facilitate achieving Demands to stop the war and allow the return of the displaced to the northern Gaza Strip, but none of this was achieved.

After Al-Hayya returned to Doha, the Qatari and Egyptian mediators were informed that the answer would be after consultation with the movement’s leadership in Gaza and Doha. Indeed, the debate within the movement was quickly resolved, to the point that “it is not possible to respond to new ideas.” The movement took its time to respond, and in the meantime, new contacts took place with the Egyptians and Qataris, during which Cairo said that “once Hamas agrees, Israel will be obligated to comply with the full terms.” This angered Hamas, which rejected the matter. The Egyptians came back and said that “the paper was prepared by them in consultation with the Americans.” Then they added that “Israel agrees to it.” But “Hamas must announce the approval first, so that it becomes considered a valid card.”

After internal discussion in the movement, and consultations with “Islamic Jihad” and other factions, it was decided to reject the new paper. After interventions by the Qatari side, it was decided that the response would be via a letter. It was not too late until Hamas re-sent the same paper it had submitted last March 14, with only the above date modified.

Hamas' response angered Cairo and the Americans. Even the Qataris said they would have preferred the movement to "show some flexibility." But Hamas came back and informed the mediators that there is no way to accept any solution that is not based on three principles:

First: direct reference to a date for a final cessation of the war and the date for the withdrawal of all Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.

Second: Allowing the return of all residents to their areas of residence, without any kind of restrictions and releasing aid.

Third: Completing an exchange deal that is not subject to the enemy’s conditions that were presented earlier, and deciding the numbers and fate is linked to the first steps.

Yesterday, the Hamas movement confirmed, in an official statement, that the statements made by US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, in which he accused the movement of obstructing reaching a ceasefire, are “confirmation of the US administration’s blatant bias towards Zionist fascism.” In Tel Aviv, Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper revealed that there are attempts from the political and security levels to push towards creating “new ideas” to move the negotiations forward. According to the newspaper, the two ministers in the “war council,” Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot, requested that the council be held to discuss ways to break the stalemate. But no meeting took place in this regard, 12 days ago, and “the negotiations have reached a dead end, and the war is at a standstill,” according to what the Hebrew “Channel 12” saw.

Operational Update

Operational Update - Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Sunday to increase “military pressure” on Hamas in the “coming days,” and member of the war cabinet, Benny Gantz, stressed the continuation of pressure on the movement to free the kidnapped people. Netanyahu said in a speech on the occasion of Passover: “On this night, 133 of our dear brothers and sisters were not brought to the Passover table, and are still imprisoned in the hell of Hamas... Their suffering and the suffering of their families breaks our hearts and only increases our determination to return them. We do not "We abandon, even for a moment, the sacred mission of returning them to their homeland."

He added, according to what was reported by Al Hurra’s correspondent: “Unfortunately, Hamas rejected the proposals to release our abductees... Instead of retreating from its extremist positions, Hamas is building on the division within us, and is deriving encouragement from the pressures directed against the Israeli government. Therefore, we will direct additional strikes at it.” "It is painful, and it will happen soon." He continued: "In the coming days, we will increase military and political pressure on Hamas because this is the only way to free our hostages and achieve our victory."

For his part, Gantz said: “We have not achieved all the war goals yet, but we have not given up on any of them,” stressing that his country will increase “political, military and economic pressure to return the kidnapped people.” The former Defense Minister said: "We will not give up on our goals, most notably the return of the kidnapped people, and we are committed to returning them." Gantz added, "The Lebanon front imposes the greatest challenge on us and requires urgent dealing with it," noting that "the hour of decisiveness is approaching on the northern front on the border with Lebanon."

Yesterday (Friday), the commander of the Southern Command and the commander of Division 162 held a situation assessment in the area together with the fighting forces. As part of the assessment of the situation, thry further discussed the fighting of the IDF forces in the region.

During the last day, aircraft and fighter jets of the Air Force attacked dozens of targets in aid of the maneuvering forces, including armed terrorists, military infrastructures and military buildings. The battle team of the Nahal Brigade continues to work to counter terrorism in the center of the Gaza Strip, during one of the attacks the fighters identified a terrorist who posed a threat to the force in the region and eliminated him. The 215th Fire Brigade and aircraft of the Air Force in cooperation with the Gaza Division attacked targets, including a launch pit in the Beit Hanon area in the northern Gaza Strip last night (Friday), shortly after a launch was detected that crossed from the Beit Hanon area towards the city of Sderot and intercepted.

The Israeli army bombed several areas in the Gaza Strip after committing new massacres in the past hours, raising the number of martyrs to more than 34,000. Al Jazeera's correspondent said that a Palestinian woman was martyred and others were injured this evening in an Israeli bombing that targeted a house in the Al-Salam neighborhood, east of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. The reporter added that a child was injured in a separate bombing near the Eastern Cemetery in Rafah.

Since this morning, the Israeli army has continued to fire and fire artillery shells towards the border areas east of the city of Rafah, amid low and intense flight of reconnaissance drones. This repeated bombing comes while the Israeli media is talking about preparations being made by the occupation army to begin a military operation in Rafah, which houses about 1.5 million displaced people. Earlier today, Al Jazeera's correspondent said that Israeli warplanes bombed a house today in the Beit Lahia project area in the northern Gaza Strip.

The occupation aircraft also launched raids on the Al-Sikka and Tal Al-Zaatar areas in Jabalia, which are also located north of the Gaza Strip. At the same time, the occupation artillery targeted the vicinity of Ezbet Beit Hanoun in the same area. A few days ago, the Israeli army carried out an incursion into Beit Hanoun for the first time in 4 months, targeting displaced people in the area. The resistance confronted the invading forces and carried out operations against them that included sniping at soldiers, in addition to launching rockets towards the settlements surrounding the Gaza Strip .

In Gaza City, Israeli warplanes targeted Al-Shati camp today, and 3 people were martyred yesterday as a result of the bombing of the Al-Jazzar family’s home in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of the city. In the central region, the occupation bombed empty homes and agricultural lands in the Al-Mughraqa area, the vicinity of the electricity company, and north of the Nuseirat camp. Two days ago, Israeli forces retreated from the northern Nuseirat area after a military operation that left large numbers of martyrs and widespread destruction. Also in field developments, Israeli Channel 13 reported that Iron Dome intercepted this evening a missile fired from Gaza towards the Sderot settlement on the Gaza Strip.

The military and strategic expert, Colonel Hatem Karim Al-Falahi, said that the Netzarim axis - which separates the central and southern region of the Gaza Strip from the northern region - is under the hammer of the resistance factions, which have a missile arsenal that reaches a long distance. He explained - in his military analysis of the developments in the war in Gaza on Al Jazeera - that the Israeli occupation is expanding the Netzarim axis, by building two bases, the first at the Salah al-Din Street intersection and the second at the Rashid Street intersection, which is a signal from the occupation that it seeks to remain in this area for a long time.

Through the expansion of the Netzarim axis and the barriers and checkpoints it sets up there, the occupation army aims to control the movement of Palestinian civilians from north to south and vice versa. The Israeli newspaper "Haaretz" said that it had seen satellite images and photographs taken earlier, revealing that the Israeli occupation army is building and developing two settlement outposts on what it described as a strategic road that divides the Gaza Strip into two halves.

Regarding the capabilities of the resistance factions to confront Israeli plans, the military and strategic expert confirms that the resistance fighters are bombing the forces located in the Gaza envelope area or in the buffer zone, which means that the missiles reach a greater distance than the areas where the occupation army is located in the Netzarim axis. He added that the arsenal of rockets and weapons possessed by the resistance in the Gaza Strip, including “Rockets 107,” “Qassam 1,” “Qassam 2,” and “Qassam 3,” can reach the Netzarim axis, the Gaza envelope, and the buffer zone, which means that the sectors of the Israeli army in these The areas will be under the hammer of the resistance factions during the coming period.

Colonel Al-Falahi suggested that there would be direct attacks on the Israeli forces present in the Netzarim axis, which are trying to expand there. The military and strategic expert recalled what he had previously said, that the recent Israeli incursion into the Al-Zahraa and Al-Mughraqa areas, north of the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip, and the extensive destruction and bulldozing it caused there, aimed to prepare the area to be a future base for the occupation army.

The occupation army also aims, through concentrated bombing on the central sector of the Gaza Strip, to push the resistance factions, whose target became this axis after the withdrawal of the occupation army, to the buffer zones or to areas in the Gaza envelope. Military expert Colonel Hatem Karim Al-Falahi said that the occupation operation in the Netzarim axis in the central Gaza Strip was not as sudden as Tel Aviv claimed, expecting that it aimed to repel threats after the axis was between the jaws of the resistance pincers.

The "Jerusalem Brigades", the military wing of the "Islamic Jihad" movement in Palestine, said in a statement on Saturday that it bombed a gathering of Israeli soldiers and vehicles in the "Netzarim" axis of progress in southern Gaza. The Al-Quds Brigades reported that the targeting operation was carried out with a barrage of heavy-caliber mortar shells. The "Jerusalem Brigades" also announced that it bombed the "Kissufim" military site with a missile salvo.

The Israeli army continues its bombing of various areas in the Gaza Strip, with the death toll rising.

Operational Update - Judea-Samaria

Yesterday (Friday) a notice was given of an intention to confiscate and destroy the house where the terrorist Muhammad Manazar lived in the Qalandiya refugee camp. The terrorist carried out a serious shooting attack on February 29, 2024 at the gas station at the entrance to the Ali settlement, in which Yitzhak Zeiger and the late Uriah Hartum were murdered. In an operation lasting more than 40 hours: IDF and Special Forces soldiers eliminated and arrested terrorists, located an IDF and uncovered explosives in Nur al-Shams. Many forces of the IDF and MGB under the direction of Aman and the Shin Bet continue a broad operation to counter terrorism in the Noor al-Shams area in the Menashe Brigade. So far, the forces have eliminated ten terrorists in encounters, arrested eight wanted persons, uncovered explosives and axes and searched buildings.

In addition, the forces located and destroyed a laboratory of explosives for use in terrorist activities, located and confiscated many weapons including pistols, 'M16' type weapons and other combat equipment. Since the beginning of the activity, eight IDF soldiers and an IDF soldier were injured with minor and moderate injuries, all the soldiers were evacuated to receive medical treatment at a hospital, their families were informed. The arrested wanted persons and the confiscated means of warfare were transferred to the security forces for further treatment.

Operational Update - Lebanon

A force from the 6th Brigade identified a number of terrorists in a military infrastructure of the Hezbollah terrorist organization in the Al Jabin area in southern Lebanon. In a quick closing circle, Air Force fighter jets attacked the military infrastructure where the terrorists were staying. IDF forces identified a terrorist entering a Hezbollah military building in the Eyta al-Sha'ab area. Air Force aircraft attacked the building and the terrorist who was staying there. At the same time, aircraft attacked a terrorist who was staying in a Hezbollah military infrastructure in the area of Kfar Kila in southern Lebanon.

Operational Update - Syria / Iraq

The Iraqi Islamic Resistance asserted responsibility for an attack on the Ovda air base located south of the occupied Palestinian territories on Monday. The umbrella group of anti-terror factions in Iraq made the announcement through a statement on its Telegram channel on Friday. The operation, conducted by the fighters of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, aimed to support the people in Gaza and respond to the atrocities inflicted by Israel on Palestinian civilians, including vulnerable groups such as children and women.

"In continuation of our path in resisting the occupation, in support of our people in Gaza, and in response to the massacres committed by the usurping entity against Palestinian civilians, including children, women and the elderly, the fighters of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, on Monday, 15/4/2024, targeted the Zionist entity’s ‘Ovda’ Air Base in our occupied territories with drones," stated the group.

According to the statement, the attack was a direct response to Israeli crimes against Palestinian civilians, as the Iraqi Islamic Resistance affirmed its determination to persist with operations against Israeli targets. This strike is part of a series of similar attacks by the coalition on Israeli targets, initiated following the genocidal war on Gaza launched by the occupying regime on Israel in October.

Operational Update - Yemen

Maps

All maps are lies. “Not only is it easy to lie with maps, it is essential,” wrote cartographer Mark Monmoneir in his book How to Lie with Maps. He showed that condensing complex, three-dimensional spaces onto a two-dimensional sheet of paper [in old days] is bound to be reductive. But it is impossible to comprehend the war in Gaza without reference to maps, otherwise the entire conflict is reduced to an endless series of meaningless acts of random violence and the suffering of civilians. The first characteristic of guerrilla warfare is the loss of a front line. Evidently, different mappers have different ideas of how to depict the war in Gaza, notably those that seek to depict Israeli progress in the ground campaign. Part of the problem is latency. The news that forms the basis of the maps takes time to filter out to mappers, and the cartographers take time in crafting their maps, and it takes time to curate them. These processes are uneven among mappers, so their maps may differ in detail. Probably there is some ideological bias, or at least thematic apperception, which is understandable in wartime. It may come as no surprise that al-Jazeera maps depict rather less Israeli territorial progress than other sources. Finally, there remains the epistemological question of just exactly what are the colored in areas depicting. Naively, this might be understood as areas of Israeli control, that are no longer contested by the HAMAS. Or possibly these are areas of Israeli presence, in many of which the possibility of an RPG-wielding HAMAS militant popping out of a tunnel unexpectedly remains a live possibility. With the "zero-range" combat characterized by small unit tactics on both sides, maps may be prey to a fallacy of misplaced concreteness.

Bystanders

Axis of Resistance

Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri hailed the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps’ “might and influence” as the reason behind the deep anger the US, the Zionist regime, and their allies feel toward the revolutionary force. In a message on Saturday, Major General Baqeri congratulated IRGC Commander Major General Hossein Salami on the anniversary of the foundation of the IRGC.

The top commander said the anger and rancor that the enemies of the Iranian nation, specifically the US, the Zionist regime and their regional and extra-regional allies, feel toward the IRGC result from this Iranian revolutionary organization’s might and influence and its determination to thwart their sinister plots. He also lauded the retaliatory ‘True Promise Operation’ that the Iranian armed forces carried out against the Israeli military targets on April 14 as a glowing punitive operation against the fake and criminal Zionist regime.

Praising the IRGC for playing a key role in the development of Iran in various areas and giving people assistance in hard times, the senior general said the IRGC has provided inspiration for those interested in the Islamic Revolution and has become a source of generation of power for countering the threats and plots of the hegemonic system and Zionism.

In the early hours of April 14, the IRGC Aerospace Force launched tens of missiles and drones in retaliation for the Israeli regime’s April 1 airstrike that killed seven Iranian military commanders and advisers in Syria. The IRGC commander said authentic reports about the Iranian missiles that have hit the Israeli targets indicate that the retaliatory operation has been considerably more successful than expected.

The foreign minister of Iran sounded a stern warning that the Zionist regime’s threat of invading Rafah in southern Gaza will deteriorate the humanitarian catastrophe in the besieged enclave that has been suffering an Israeli onslaught for over six months. In a meeting held on the sidelines of a UN Security Council session in New York on Friday, Hossein Amirabdollahian and President of the International Committee of the Red Cross Mirjana Spoljaric Egger discussed the latest developments in Palestine.

Praising the ICRC for its efforts regarding Gaza and other parts of Palestine amid the dire humanitarian condition there, the Iranian minister said, “Unfortunately, the politicized, double standards and wrong approaches have so far made political efforts to stop the Gaza crisis inconclusive.” Amirabdollahian stated that the developments in Gaza amount to a humanitarian catastrophe and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s threats to attack Rafah can deteriorate the situation. Iran has always pursued the policy of restraint, he added, warning against the repercussions of the escalation of tensions.

Allied for Democracy

The United States imposed sanctions on two Israeli entities for their roles in creating fundraising campaigns on behalf of Yinon Levy (Levi) and David Chai Chasdai (Chasdai), two violent extremists who were sanctioned on February 1, 2024, in connection with violent incidents in the West Bank. The US Treasury Department said in a statement that Friday's moves, which freeze any US assets owned by those subject to sanctions and prohibit Americans from dealing with them in general, target two organizations that launched campaigns to raise funds to support settlers accused of violence and were targeted by previous sanctions.

The Treasury explained that one of the two entities, the Mount Hebron Fund, launched an online campaign to collect funds, and had already collected $140,000 for the settler, Yinon Levy, after he was targeted by US sanctions, on the first of February, because of his leadership of a group of settlers that attacked Palestinian and Bedouin civilians, burned their fields, and destroyed them. Their property. The Treasury added that the second entity, Shalom Aserich, collected $31,000 on an online fundraising site for David Chai Chasdai, who the United States says started and led a riot that included setting vehicles and buildings on fire and causing damage to property in Huwara, resulting in the death of a Palestinian civilian.

Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said, “The Mount Hebron Fund and the Shalom Aserich Fund have raised tens of thousands of dollars for extremists responsible for the destruction of property, attacks on civilians, and violence against Palestinians.” He added that such actions by these organizations "undermine peace, security and stability in the West Bank. We will continue to use our tools to hold those responsible accountable."

This is the latest American move targeting those whom Washington blames for escalating violence in the occupied West Bank. The sanctions, in addition to those already imposed this year on five settlers and two illegal settlement sites, are the latest indication of growing American anger at the policies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to Reuters.

"Mount Hebron Fund" organizers define themselves on its website as "a group of activists who help supporters of Israel strengthen the strong Jewish presence in the city of Hebron, which is located in the West Bank." “The Hebron Fund is a 501(c)3 non-profit founded in 1979, fifty years after the Hebron massacre,” they explained. “Dedicated American Jews founded the Hebron Fund, a US-based non-profit organization, to support and preserve the Jewish community in Hebron,” the fund’s website stated. "For centuries, Jewish communities have raised funds to support the community living in the holy city of Hebron," he explained.

The fund said on its website, “The city of Hebron has been the property of the Jewish people since the time of our ancestors. The ancient city contains walls that date back to our ancestors and are 4,500 years old.” It added: "However, for more than 700 years (1267-1967), Maarat Hamakhbela remained closed to the Jewish people. Visiting pilgrims and the local community were only able to walk up to the Seventh Step." It continued: "After the Six-Day War (1967), the tomb of the patriarchs and mothers was opened again to the Jewish people."

The Associated Press reported that after the Treasury Department approved sanctions on Levy, fundraising funds in violation of US sanctions were collected from a crowdsourcing campaign, which was collected on the Israeli website GiveChuck, by a non-profit organization under the auspices of the Council of Israeli Settlers in the region. After the announcement of the US sanctions, a fundraising campaign appeared on the GiveCheck website, which is run by the Mount Hebron Fund. The contact information listed a government email address, indicating that it was linked to the South Mount Hebron Regional Council, and the fund had an account with Bank Leumi.

Israeli media reported that the fundraiser's contact was Levy's brother, Itamar, to whom Levy transferred ownership of a company he co-owned, in an apparent attempt to evade sanctions. Even after the page was removed, Itamar Levy continued to accept donations to the Bank Leumi account, emails obtained by The Associated Press showed. JeffChuck does not reveal the whereabouts of donors, but it is possible to donate from the United States. Many donors wrote their names in English, and the page was circulated on American social media platforms.

Levy founded the Metarim farm in 2021 in the South Hebron Hills, under a contract between him and the local regional council, according to the Associated Press, which explained that the settlement outpost was developed through “crowdsourcing,” as a campaign was gathered on the JGive website, initiated by the organization Nonprofit, approximately $6,000. The agency stated, "As the settlement outpost developed, more than 300 people from four nearby Palestinian villages fled their homes, citing the violence practiced by Levy and other settlers."

In the case of Chasdai, the fundraiser was organized by Shalom Aserich, which raises money for imprisoned Jewish extremists. According to the website of “Shalom Aserich,” it is concerned with “dozens of Jews who are in prisons, home confinement, and various restrictions under administrative orders.” The website that publishes photos and data of these prisoners explained that, “Although some of them were subjected to strict investigations by the Shin Bet, they were subjected to severe violations, and these Jews are harassed daily, and they are treated harshly and differently from other prisoners.”

He said, "Some of them sit in separate cells without phone calls, with the ability to go out once a day for an hour, and all this is in addition to harassment from the guards, and all of this is based on 'higher orders.'" The website said: “We, Shalom Aserish, take care of them, and ensure that they receive basic products every month. We also help women and their children who are left alone without a breadwinner at home, and we organize trips to them for discussions to support them morally.” The website described these prisoners as "fighters for the Jewish image of the Land of Israel," and the site calls on its page to "donate to help and support these prisoners and their families."

The Associated Press reported that “Shalom Aserich,” or “The Welfare of Your Prisoners,” has been raising money in Israel since at least 2018. The group was officially registered as a non-profit organization in 2020 by a group consisting mostly of Israelis from ultra-Orthodox settlements in the West Bank.

According to its promotional materials, the agency explained that this group provided assistance to Legal Amir, who assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995, Amiram Ben-Uliel, who was convicted of killing a Palestinian child and his parents in 2015 in an arson attack, and Yosef Haim Ben-David, who was convicted of kidnapping and murder. A 16-year-old Palestinian boy in Jerusalem in 2014. The group also helps an ultra-Orthodox man who stabbed a 16-year-old Israeli girl to death for being gay in Jerusalem during a Pride parade in 2015.

According to the agency, it is not clear when US fundraising efforts for Shalom Aserich began. As a relatively new organization, the group's official registration with Israel's non-profit registry provides little data and does not indicate how much money it has raised. But in its promotional publications, Recently broadcast by Israeli Channel 13 news, the organization indicated that it had collected 150,000 shekels, or about 43,000 dollars.

Operation Iron Swords - By the Numbers

• 1,900,000 IDPs in Gaza
• 76,980 Gazans injured, 28% adult male
• 70,000 tons of explosives dropped on Gaza
• 70,000 housing units completely destroyed
• 70,000 Israeli IDPs from Lebanon border
• 45,000 bombs dropped in Gaza
• 43,000 Gazans killed, including buried under rubble
• 33,000 Gaza targets attacked
• 33,797 Gazans martyred
• 20,528 Palestinians in Israeli prisons [Haaretz, 20 Mar 2024]
• 15,140 Israelis injured [i24 TV]
• 15,000 rockets launched from Gaza
• 14,520 Gazan children martyred
• 13,000 HAMAS combatants killed [N12]
• 13,000 HAMAS combatants killed [IDF]
• 11,000 arrested by Israelis in the West Bank in 2023
• 10,000 Gazans missing under the rubble
• 9,920 Gazan women martyred
• 9,400 Palestinians in Israeli prisons
• 9,000 IDF needing psychological assistance
• 8,365 arrested by Israelis in the West Bank since Oct.7th
• 7,209 IDF injured admitted to rehabilitation [IDF]
• 6,800 IDF officers and soldiers injured [Channel 12]
• 6,000 HAMAS combatants killed [HAMAS]
• 5,500 IDF wounded [reports]
• 4,800 West Bank Palestinians wounded
• 4,700 sites targetted in Lebanon
• 3,850 wanted persons arrested throughout Judea and Samaria
• 3,484 administrative detainees
• 3,188 IDF wounded [IDF]
• 2,100 Gazan women are missing
• 1,609 terrorists killed on the first day
• 1,650 wanted persons arrested throughout Judea and Samaria affiliated with Hamas
• 1,160 Israelis killed on the first day
• 604 Israeli officers and soldiers killed since the start of the war
• 468 West Bank Palestinians martyred
• 364 people [including fighters] killed in Lebanon
• 260 Israeli officers and soldiers killed in Gaza
• 240 Hezbollah fighters killed in Lebanon
• 126 people recovered, including 91 Israelis, 11 bodies, and 24 foreign workers
• 116 living hostages in Palestinian custody
• 70 civilians killed in Lebanon
• 29 IDF deaths were caused by "friendly fire"
• 15 Israelis killed in the West Bank and Israel

Not every number is reported every day, so sudden jumps generally reflect reporting artifacts rather than actual upticks. Many of these numbers fluctate, up and down, with no apparent explanation. This list records the highest number reliably reported for each matter, under the theory that reality with catch up with reports, as is relentlessly the case.