WarSclerotic

The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday said it was standing down the extra forces deployed to the Gaza border region during an uptick in violence last month.

“The IDF continues to be highly prepared to act quickly according to need and situation assessment,” the military said in a statement.

During the flareup the military had deployed two additional brigades to the Gaza Division, along with an artillery battalion, fleets of drones, and field intelligence units. Reservists were also called up from air defense, intelligence and other select units. The troops were sent to the south ahead of protests on March 30 to mark Land Day and the anniversary of the “March of Return” protests, and after a rocket fired from the enclave destroyed a residential building in central Israel, injuring seven people.

Amid peak tensions, senior commanders had been preparing for a variety of scenarios, including the possibility of a deterioration of violence to the point of a large-scale ground operation.

The brigades were brought to the Gaza border region from planned training exercises. On Sunday, they were given orders to return to their usual schedules.

The decision came amid a significant decrease in the level of violence along the border. The number of balloon-borne explosive and incendiary devices flown over the border has dropped in recent weeks, though attacks have not stopped entirely. Nightly riots have ended, and the weekly protests on the border have been held farther from the security fence.

IDF tanks stationed near the Israeli Gaza border on March 26, 2018. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Egypt, the United Nations and Qatar have recently worked to broker ceasefire understandings between Israel and Hamas, which, if finalized, would provide for an end to violence emanating from the Strip in exchange for the Jewish state easing some of its restrictions on the movement of people and goods into and out of the coastal enclave.

Israel says limitations on movement aim to prevent Hamas and other terror groups from transferring into Gaza weapons and materials used to construct tunnels and fortifications.

There appeared to be a breakthrough in the ceasefire efforts at the anniversary protests, when Palestinians in Gaza maintained relative calm along the border during large demonstrations.

Illustrative: Palestinians confront Israeli forces near the border with Israel, east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, on April 12, 2019. (Said Khatib/AFP)

Israel, in turn, reopened its two crossings with Gaza and significantly expanded the permitted fishing area around the coastal enclave.

Last year on Land Day — March 30 — Palestinians in the Gaza Strip launched the “Great March of Return,” a series of weekly protests and riots along the security fence. Israel maintains that Hamas appropriated the campaign for nefarious purposes, using the civilian protesters as cover for violent military activities.

Land Day marks a 1976 decision by the Israeli government to seize thousands of dunams of Arab-owned land in the Galilee region of northern Israel.

A senior leader of Hamas, the terror group that rules the Gaza Strip and is sworn to Israel’s destruction, on Wednesday dismissed the outcome of Israel’s election as irrelevant, as near-final results, later confirmed, showed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc had won a clear majority in the Knesset vote.

“All parties are faces of one coin, the coin of occupation,” said Khalil al-Hayya.

He said there was “no difference” between the Israeli parties, and pledged that Gaza’s Hamas rulers — who are committed to Israel’s destruction — would continue seeking to “end the occupation and achieve our national goals.”

On Friday, Palestinians said a 15-year-old was shot and killed during weekly protests along the Gaza Strip border as rioters threw rocks and fire bombs at IDF troops, who responded with tear gas and live fire. Some 7,400 Palestinians gathered for the demonstrations at several sites along the border.

Syrian state media said Israel carried out an air strike on military targets near the city of Masyaf in western Hama province overnight Friday-Saturday.

Syria’s official state news agency SANA said Israel Air Force jets fired missiles while flying from Lebanese airspace, destroying several buildings and injuring three people. Syrian opposition sources said the targeted sites served Iranian forces and their Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah.

“Around 2:30 am (2330 GMT Friday)… the Israeli air force carried out a strike targeting one of our military positions in the town of Masyaf,” SANA quoted a military source as saying.

SANA said Syrian air defenses intercepted some of the missiles.

“The enemy missiles were dealt with and some of them were shot down before reaching their target, resulting in the damage of a few buildings and the injury of three fighters,” SANA said, according to a Reuters report.

Earlier, SANA had reported explosions in the area’s countryside.

In February, an Israeli satellite imagery analysis company said that Syria’s powerful S-300 air defense system was “probably operational” in the area of Masyaf, where the recent strike reportedly occurred. The system would pose a potential threat to Israel’s aerial campaign against Iran in the country.

The firm, ImageSat International, based this assessment on multiple images of the anti-aircraft battery, which showed three of its four launchers in a raised position, signaling that they are likely ready to be used by the Syrian military.

Israel has threatened to destroy the S-300 system if it is used against its fighter jets, regardless of the potential blowback Jerusalem would face from Russia, which provided Syria with the powerful air defense battery.

Satellite photos released by ImageSat International appear to show three out of four missile launchers of the S-300 air defense system in the raised position in Masyaf on February 5, 2019. (ImageSat International)

Last month, Israel allegedly attacked Iranian targets near the northern city of Aleppo. SANA said at the time that the airstrike targeted several bases near an industrial zone by the airport and that air defenses had managed to intercept several incoming missiles.

Acting Foreign Minister Israel Katz appeared to confirm last month’s attack, saying in an interview with Israel Radio late last month that “as far as Iran knows, it’s Israel” that carried out the strike, and went on to say that it was a “challenging” operation.

The strikes come at a time of heightened tensions between Israel and Syria, following last month’s decision by the US administration to recognize Israel’s control over the Golan Heights it captured from Syria in 1967. The decision sparked condemnation and protests in Syria.

Israel in recent years has carried out hundreds of airstrikes in Syria against targets linked to Iran, which alongside its proxies and Russia is fighting on behalf of the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Israel has accused Iran of seeking to establish a military presence in Syria that could threaten Israeli security, and attempting to transfer advanced weaponry to the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon.

AFP contributed to this report.

A number of Iranian forces were reportedly killed in an airstrike on a Syrian military position near the city of Masyaf in western Hama province overnight Friday-Saturday. Syrian state media said Israeli jets carried out the raid in the middle of the night, firing missiles while flying in Lebanese airspace.

Syria’s official state news agency SANA said Israel targeted a military site in the area, but that Syrian air defenses intercepted the attack, downing some of the missile fired. The regime mouthpiece said the interception resulted in the destruction of several buildings and the wounding of three “fighters.” The area is known to house Iranian forces and their Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah.

According to a report by the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights in Arabic, Iranian “elements” and pro-Iranian militants were killed in the alleged attack, and 17 people were injured.

Israel does not regularly comment on alleged strikes in Syria, though it has acknowledged some operations.

The Observatory said Saturday that the strike targeted a Syrian military college in the town and two buildings used by Iranian forces in nearby villages — a development center for medium-range missiles in Zawi and a training camp in Sheikh Ghadban.

Iran has been one of the top military backers of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime in the over nine-year-long civil war in the country, as has been its Lebanese proxy, the Hezbollah terror group.

SANA quoted a military source as saying on Saturday, “Around 2:30 am (2330 GMT Friday)… the Israeli air force carried out a strike targeting one of our military positions in the town of Masyaf,” adding that Syrian air defenses intercepted some of the missiles.

“The enemy missiles were dealt with and some of them were shot down before reaching their target, resulting in the damage of a few buildings and the injury of three fighters,” SANA said, according to a Reuters report.

Earlier, SANA had reported explosions in the area’s countryside.

Israel is said to have previously struck the area near Masyaf, home to a Syrian scientific research center. Western officials have long associated the Scientific Studies and Research Center near Masyaf, known as CERS, with the manufacture of chemical arms.

In July last year, Israeli jets reportedly targeted a missile production facility in Masyaf, where a leading Syrian chemical weapons and missile scientist was killed earlier that month in a car bombing attributed to Israel.

File: Satellite image of CERS facility near Masyaf (screen capture: Google Earth)

In September 2018, satellite photos published by an Israeli intelligence firm purported to show the establishment of an Iranian surface-to-surface missile factory in the area of Wadi al-Uyun, near Masyaf. The photos, which were shared by ImageSat International, were said to show a facility resembling Iran’s Parchin facility, which has been linked to the Islamic Republic’s ballistic missile and nuclear programs.

The site was likely not targeted due to its close proximity to a Russian S-400 anti-aircraft battery, which is considered to be one of the most advanced air defense systems in the world.

In February, ImageSat International said Syria’s powerful S-300 air defense system was “probably operational” in the area of Masyaf. The system would pose a potential threat to Israel’s aerial campaign against Iran in the country.

The firm based this assessment on multiple images of the anti-aircraft battery, which showed three of its four launchers in a raised position, signaling that they are likely ready to be used by the Syrian military.

Israel has threatened to destroy the S-300 system if it is used against its fighter jets, regardless of the potential blowback Jerusalem would face from Russia, which provided Syria with the powerful air defense battery.

Satellite photos released by ImageSat International appear to show three out of four missile launchers of the S-300 air defense system in the raised position in Masyaf on February 5, 2019. (ImageSat International)

Last month, Israel allegedly attacked Iranian targets near the northern city of Aleppo. SANA said at the time that the airstrike targeted several bases near an industrial zone by the airport and that air defenses had managed to intercept several incoming missiles.

Acting Foreign Minister Israel Katz appeared to confirm last month’s attack, saying in an interview with Israel Radio late last month that “as far as Iran knows, it’s Israel” that carried out the strike, and went on to say that it was a “challenging” operation.

The strikes come at a time of heightened tensions between Israel and Syria, following last month’s decision by the US administration to recognize Israel’s control over the Golan Heights it captured from Syria in 1967. The decision sparked condemnation and protests in Syria.

Israel in recent years has carried out hundreds of airstrikes in Syria against targets linked to Iran and Hezbollah.

Israel has accused Iran of seeking to establish a military presence in Syria that could threaten Israeli security, and attempting to transfer advanced weaponry to Hezbollah

CHEBAA, Lebanon (AP) — Akram Kanaan looked toward an Israeli military position on a snow-capped mountain that overlooks the village of Chebaa in southern Lebanon, pointing toward the scenic area captured by Israel more than five decades ago. No matter how long it takes, he said, it will eventually return to Lebanon’s sovereignty.

Like many others in this area where the borders of Lebanon, Syria and Israel meet, Kanaan — a member of Chebaa’s municipal council — is angry about US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, seized from Syria in the 1967 Six Day War and effectively annexed in 1981. The American president had no right to give Israel lands that belong to Syria and Lebanon, he said.

“These are Arab territories that will be liberated sooner or later the way the south was liberated,” said Kanaan, standing near Chebaa’s main school as its buses left the compound at the end of a school day.

Trump’s move last month has caused concern among Lebanese officials that it would mean also recognizing Shebaa Farms and nearby Kfar Chouba hills, captured along with the Golan, as Israeli territory. Lebanese President Michel Aoun said the US recognition undermines Lebanon’s claim to the territory.

An Israeli military position, right, is seen on the top of Mount Hermon in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, where the borders between Israel, Syria and Lebanon meet. April 9, 2019. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

The origin of the dispute over ownership of the Shebaa Farms dates back to the French colonial period, when France drew maps of the area without officially demarcating the border.

Following an 18-year operation, Israel withdrew from south Lebanon in 2000, but held on to the farms. Hezbollah claimed the withdrawal to be incomplete and demanded, along with the Lebanese government, that Israel withdraw. Israel rejected the demands, saying the land was Syrian when it was captured in 1967. Syria has held an ambiguous position and generally refuses to demarcate the border before Israel withdraws from the Golan.

The UN, which doesn’t recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan, has said Lebanon’s claim is to be settled along with the Golan’s fate.

The territory is controversial, even among Lebanese themselves.

Although most Lebanese agree that the Shebaa Farms and Kfar Chouba hills are part of their country, anti-Syrian politicians have suggested it serves as a pretext for Hezbollah to hang on to its weapons and have called for the demarcation of the Lebanon-Syria border, a demand repeated by Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Wednesday even as he said the territory is Lebanese.

Politicians allied with the Syrian government say there is no need for such demarcation.

The area this week looked more like a tourist attraction, albeit deserted, rather than a front line, with rivers and springs flowing, birds chirping and shepherds leading their herds in the mostly green area amid clear weather.

According to Kanaan, the total size of the Lebanese area still held by Israel since June 1967 is about 250 square kilometers (96 square miles) or about 2.5 percent of Lebanon’s total territories.

An Indian U.N. peacekeeper passes next his armored personnel carrier near Chebaa farms in southeast Lebanon, April 9, 2019. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Kanaan said the area is owned by Lebanese citizens and that many of them have documents proving their ownership registered in the Lebanese coastal city of Sidon, the provincial capital of south Lebanon.

Arab countries have unanimously rejected the US recognition of Israeli control over the Golan, calling the Trump administration’s policies unfairly biased toward Israel.

On the edge of Chebaa, shepherds were seen taking their herds of sheep and goats near a fence built by Israel. About every 100 meters (109 yards) white and blue barrels marked the so-called blue line, or the border that the UN drew after Israel’s withdrawal in 2000.

The area has been calm since August 2006, after a UN Security Council resolution ended a 34-day war between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah terror group.

Soldiers at Lebanese army checkpoints on roads leading to Chebaa and Kfar Chouba checked the identity cards of people visiting the area to make sure no strangers enter. White UN vehicles with light blue flags could be seen along the fence that marks the border.

Near al-Naqar lake, three UN peacekeepers stood outside their armored personnel carrier keeping an eye on any suspicious move. Next to them stood a giant poster with a picture of late Egyptian president Gamal Abdul-Nasser and one of his famous quotes that reads: “What was taken by force can only be regained by force.”

A poster shows the late Egyptian leader Gamal Abdul-Nasser, near Chebaa farms, southeast Lebanon. The text reads: “What was taken by force can only be regained by force.” April 9, 2019. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Andrea Tenenti, spokesperson for the UN force in southern Lebanon known as UNIFIL, said the issue of Chebaa is one that is “discussed in New York at UN headquarters and not part of our mandate. Nevertheless, the position of member states is not necessarily the position of the United Nations,” Tenenti said when asked about Trump’s decision.

“Nothing has changed, and we are continuing with our work in the south of Lebanon, to monitor the cessation of hostilities and to work closely with the Lebanese army,” he said.

In nearby Kfar Chouba, shops were open in its main square where a group of people gathered at the main bakery, while others bought freshly picked vegetables and fruits.

“With deep regret, this guy who is called Trump who is the president of the United States of America, the most important country in the world, is acting like a thug,” said grocer Riad Khalifeh, who was 23 when Israeli forces captured the hills overlooking his hometown of Kfar Chouba in 1967.

“Who gave you the right to give a land that belongs to me or to Palestine or to Syria to an enemy that is occupying it?” Khalifeh asked.

WASHINGTON – US officials on Thursday announced sanctions on a Lebanese network accused of laundering millions of dollars for “drug kingpins” and helping finance Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Shiite movement that Washington labels a terrorist organization.

The US Treasury Department said it has added Lebanese national Kassem Chams to its blacklist, along with two related entities: the “Chams Money Laundering Organization” and Chams Exchange, a money service business in Lebanon.

“Kassem Chams and his international money laundering network move tens of millions of dollars a month in illicit narcotics proceeds on behalf of drug kingpins and facilitate money movements for Hezbollah,” the Treasury said in a statement.

The Chams network moves money to and from multiple countries including Australia, Brazil, Colombia, France, Italy, Lebanon, the Netherlands, Spain, the United States and Venezuela, according to the department.

Israeli soldiers show UNIFIL commander Maj. Gen. Stefano Del Col a Hezbollah tunnel that penetrated Israeli territory from southern Lebanon, on December 6, 2018. (Israel Defense Forces)

The sanctions are part of the administration’s “unprecedented campaign to prevent Hezbollah and its global terror affiliates from profiting off violence, corruption, and the drug trade,” Treasury under secretary Sigal Mandelker said.

The department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said Chams Exchange operates under license and supervision of the Central Bank of Lebanon (BdL) “despite US authorities long suspecting it” of significant money laundering.

The Treasury said it remains committed to working with BdL “to eliminate access to the Lebanese financial system by narcotics traffickers, money launderers, and terrorist groups such as Hezbollah.”

Israeli soldiers Nov. 4, 2009 unpack rockets seized by Israeli authorities on a ship near Cyprus that defense officials said was carrying hundreds of tons of weapons from Iran bound for Hezbollah. (AP/Tsafrir Abayov )

US President Donald Trump’s administration has accused Iran of taking provocative measures to destabilize the Middle East.

It has increased sanctions on the Islamic republic in order to undercut its revenues and to financially squeeze regional allies like the Lebanese Hezbollah.

Earlier this week Washington designated Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization.

TEHRAN — Iranians rallied on Friday against the US’s decision to designate the country’s powerful Revolutionary Guards as a foreign terrorist organization.

Thousands of worshippers came out of mosques after prayers and burned flags of both the US and Israel while also chanting traditional anti-US and anti-Israel slogans at such rallies of “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.”

State media said similar demonstrations took place in other Iranian cities and towns on Friday.

The US government this week designated the Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist group to increase pressure on Iran, isolate it further and prompt authorities to divert some of the financial resources Tehran uses to fund militant activity in the Middle East and beyond.

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Iran responded by designating all US forces as terrorist and labeling the US a “supporter of terrorism.”

Also Friday, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif sent a letter to the UN Security Council and Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stressing that Iran would hold the US accountable for any future provocations against the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC.

According to the state-run IRNA news agency, Zarif said the US and “several puppet governments will bear responsibility for dangerous consequences of the adventurism.”

“The provocative move will raise tensions to an uncontrollable level and increase threats in the region,” he said, adding that the Revolutionary Guard is at the forefront in fighting terrorism and extremism.

The commander of Iranian ground troops, Brig. Gen. Kioomars Heidari, said the US decision was self-destructive as the Americans “have put their own forces, particularly the US Central Command, in danger across the world.”

US President Donald Trump said his administration’s “unprecedented” designation “recognizes the reality that Iran is not only a state sponsor of terrorism, but that the IRGC actively participates in, finances, and promotes terrorism as a tool of statecraft.”

It was the first time that Washington has branded part of a foreign government a terrorist group, meaning that anyone who deals with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps could face prison in the United States.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was formed after the 1979 Islamic Revolution with a mission to defend the clerical regime, and the force has amassed strong power both at home and abroad. The Guards’ prized unit is the Quds Force, which supports Iran-backed forces around the region, including Syrian President Bashar Assad and Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah.