Teen Girls Being Used by Terror Groups in Battle Against IDF – Report: A recent report revealed a chilling tactic by Palestinian terrorist organizations: recruiting teenage girls as spotters for terrorists during their operations against the IDF.
Even more chilling is a report that over 60,000 Palestinian children are being trained every year to participate in combat. The report of an American-based news agency stated that this year alone, some 65,000 Palestinian children attended “summer camps” that included combat training and anti-Israel indoctrination.
Middle East analyst Jonathan Halevi reported that on April 10, 2022, a Telegram channel serving armed Palestinian groups in the Jenin region, published instructions for mujahideen (Jihad fighters) that deal with the use of children “to conduct visual observation and information gathering.”
The Telegram channel also noted that Jenin has a network of observation units staffed by “young people” assisting terrorist groups by “documenting on video and delivering reports about the activities of IDF forces.” A guidelines document (originally in Arabic) states: “To our brothers and the crown of our head … use children and residents to observe and gather information.”
Nada AlTaher, a senior foreign reporter, posted a video on Twitter last month claiming that 15-year-old Sadil Naghnaghia was filming IDF troops when she was shot.
In conventional armies, a spotter acts as part of a sniper team, observing the targets and their surroundings. In asymmetrical warfare and terrorist organizations, spotters serve a similar purpose, however, the team may be setting off an Improvised Explosive Device (IED). (I365N / VFI News)
“God, we ask that You protect Palestinian children and that You prevent them from being forced to work for terrorist organizations. We pray for peace in our country and for all children to be able to live in a safe and secure environment, surrounded by adults who love and protect them, rather than endangering them for their malicious plans.”
The articles included in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Vision for Israel. We try to provide accurate reporting on news pertinent to Israel, the Middle East, the diaspora, and Jewish issues around the world—and we hope that you find it both informative and useful for intercessory prayer.
Canada Condemns Terrorist Attacks Against Israelis: Horrific Acts: The Canadian Embassy in Israel on Tuesday, August 22, issued a statement condemning the recent terrorist attacks against Israelis. “We condemn these horrific acts and extend our condolences to the victims and their loved ones,” it wrote in a tweet.
The statement comes a day after Batsheva Nigri was murdered in a shooting attack near Hebron. The two terrorists who carried out the attack were arrested by security forces overnight Monday. On Saturday, Aviad Nir and his father, Shai Silas Nigreker, were murdered in a shooting attack in Huwara.
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) welcomed the statement from the Canadian Embassy. “A welcome condemnation of the murder of innocent Israeli civilians by Palestinian terrorists. In addition to condemning the acts, Canada should also condemn the perpetrators and hold the Palestinian Authority accountable for incentivizing terror,” it tweeted.
Meanwhile, amidst the attacks, MK Boaz Bismuth (Likud) who serves as a member of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, has proposed a bill to increase punishment for terrorists’ accomplices.
Bismuth believes that “anyone who helps a lowly terrorist before or after a terror attack – whether by hiding him, whether by allowing him to make a phone call, or even by giving him a sip of water – he is a terrorist.” He noted that as of now, the maximum punishment for aiding a terrorist after a terror attack is five years in prison. (INN / VFI News)
“God, we thank You for helping foreign nations realize the grave dangers that Israelis face daily from Palestinian terrorist organizations. However, we pray that they can also follow up with actions and austere measures – sanctions that will prevent these organizations from having the funds and power to hurt even more Israeli citizens.”
Biden Pays $16 Billion Ransom to Iran, Fails to Free 3 Americans: Critics are livid as US President Joe Biden prepares to pay the Iranian regime a hefty $16 billion for five hostages held by Tehran.
Not only does the huge ransom provide a lifeline for its sanction-stricken economy and help continue exporting terror across the world, but the deal leaves out three American nationals held as bargaining chips by the Islamic Republic.
The son of one of the hostages, Shahab Dalili, told American media that the Biden administration has abandoned his father. “They have included two unnamed prisoners in this deal with Iran who have been there for only a matter of months and have excluded him who’s been there for seven years and keep saying that they haven’t reached a decision on the unlawful designation matter. How could that take seven years?”
Shahab was detained by Iranian authorities when he visited the country for his father’s funeral in 2016. He was charged with “communications with a hostile country” and underwent what critics call a “shame trial.”
“The Biden administration’s policy on Iran is a strategic and moral travesty. Biden is giving the regime in Iran nearly $16 billion as ransom for five hostages. The regime will now get a big financial boost as it faces a popular revolt and possible collapse,” Alireza Nader, a Washington-based Iran scholar, told American media. (INN / VFI News)
“God, we pray for the Americans who are currently being held hostage by the Iranian regime. We ask that You ensure their safe return to their home country and that Iran will not acquire even more funds which could help further its terrorist and nuclear activity.”
Warning that Prisoner Swap with Iran Could Involve A Renewed Nuclear Deal: A group of 26 Republican senators raised concerns about the Biden administration bypassing congressional authority to agree to a nuclear deal with Iran.
In a letter addressed to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, the lawmakers voiced concerns about a “secret negotiation.”
“When the Obama administration released $400 million in liquidated assets to Iran in 2016, we warned that this dangerous precedent would put a price on American lives. Seven years later, the current administration is providing a ransom payment worth at least fifteen times that amount to the world’s largest state sponsor of terror, in yet another violation of the United States’ long-standing ‘no concessions’ policy,” the senators wrote.
“The release of such a significant sum to the Iranian regime runs entirely counter to that claim and will only serve to encourage additional hostage-taking for financial or political gain,” the letter continued.
The letter comes after House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner (R-OH) said earlier this month that the Biden administration’s prisoner swap with Iran involved a renewed Iran nuclear deal.
An American news outlet also reported that the agreement could increase the chances of Biden pursuing his goal of coming to the table with Iran over nuclear weapons. Last summer, Biden attempted to renew the Obama administration’s nuclear deal but ultimately failed. (DW / VFI News)
“The righteous choose their friends carefully, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.” – Proverbs 12:26
NYC’s Mayor Adams in Jerusalem: it’s Time to Put Faith into Action to Combat Hate: New York City Mayor Eric Adams kicked off a three-day trip to Israel on Monday, August 21, meeting with interfaith leaders in Jerusalem to discuss antisemitism and tolerance.
The mayor, a self-professed man of faith, told Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Druze representatives welcoming him to the city that rising global tensions demand that people convert their religious principles into actions.
“We are now at a moment that I believe we have to transcend our desire and our faith to move from being worshipers to practitioners,” he said. “What we learn in our churches, synagogues and mosques cannot remain in the sterilized environment of our places of faith,” the mayor continued.
New York boasts the world’s largest Jewish metropolitan population, and Adams’ visit comes as antisemitic violence continues to persist in New York City, which tallied 100 anti-Jewish hate crimes in the first half of 2023.
The mayor, a former police captain who has championed increased public safety, is considered to have good relations with several of the city’s Jewish communities.
Human rights champion and former Israeli minister Natan Sharansky also stressed the centrality of coexistence to Jerusalem’s inner workings, while progressive Jewish educational leader Rabbi Avital Hochstein pushed for religious pluralism. (TOI / VFI News)
“How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!” – Psalm 133:1
Uruguay to Open Diplomatic Office in Jerusalem, Foreign Minister Announces: Uruguay will open a diplomatic mission in Jerusalem, Foreign Minister Eli Cohen announced Wednesday, August 16, during his visit to the South American country.
The mission will not be an embassy, but rather an office aimed at boosting cooperation “in the innovation arena,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
There was no immediate confirmation from Uruguay and no details were given by Israel regarding when the mission will open. The announcement came after Cohen met in Montevideo with his Uruguayan counterpart Francisco Bustillo and President Luis Lacalle Pou.
Cohen said he invited Lacalle Pou to Jerusalem to inaugurate the new office, “We’re continuing to strengthen the international status of Israel’s capital. Uruguay is one of Israel’s most important friends in Latin America, and the president’s decision to open an innovation office in Jerusalem will advance economic and trade ties between us.”
The move did not appear to mark a shift in Uruguay’s stance on Jerusalem where it maintained an embassy until 1980 when it moved the mission out of the capital to Herzliya north of Tel Aviv. (TOI / VFI News)
“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.” – Proverbs 17:17
Ukraine Warns Israel: Maltreatment of Refugees Will Cost You Uman: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a warning to Israel on Friday, August 18, regarding visas for Ukrainians seeking to enter Israel.
In a statement from his weekly briefing to Ukrainians, and published on the Ukrainian president’s official government website, Zelensky said, “The things that the citizens of Ukraine actually face is the visa issue. Managers responsible for these issues have been given appropriate tasks. The rights of Ukrainian citizens must be guaranteed.”
Yevgen Korniychuk, Ukraine’s ambassador to Israel, elucidated the statement, asserting that it was directed at Israel. “The government of Ukraine will not tolerate [the] humiliation of its citizens while entering Israel. We will halt our bilateral visa waiver agreements as stipulated by Article 7 of the intergovernmental agreement. This option is on the table of our government,” Korniychuk said.
“It is unthinkable,” he added, “that we will have to go out of our way to host tens of thousands of Israelis in Uman, with a high-security risk, and with a huge logistical effort, when, on the other hand, the Israeli government abuses our citizens who come to Israel within the framework of the treaty between the two countries.”
The ambassador went on to state that if Israel would like Ukraine to continue to permit Israelis to visit Ukraine, including Uman, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should directly involve himself in solving the Ukrainian visa issue. (JPost / VFI News)
2,000-year-old Arch in Caesarea Aqueduct Collapses; Official: ‘We Sounded the Alarm’: A nearly 2,000-year-old arch in Caesarea’s famous ancient Roman aqueduct system collapsed on a much-frequented beach early Friday morning, August 18, leading the head of the Israel Antiquities Authority to issue accusations against the bodies responsible for the beach for ignoring repeated warnings and appeals to care of the structure.
IAA inspectors arrived Friday morning at the beach, which is popular with bathers, to assess the damage. The aqueduct was built some 2,000 years ago, in the days of King Herod.
The authority said the section that collapsed was a later addition, built in the time of Emperor Hadrian, some 1,900 years ago. “It’s pure luck that bathers weren’t killed,” said IAA Director-General Eli Eskosido.
“We have been sounding the alarm, we presented documents and plans, we said the situation was catastrophic and there was a real danger of collapse, we met again and again with the owners of the land — we even offered to cover some of the cost of the works, as we understood that this was a disaster waiting to happen.”
Ami Shahar, head of the IAA’s Conservation Department, added: “At this point, we feel we must inform the public that Acre’s 15-kilometer-long aqueduct is in an even more precarious state and faces collapse. (TOI / VFI News)
“The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.” – Proverbs 27:12
The suggestions, opinions, and scripture references made by VFI News writers and editors are based on the best information received.
