Latest news with #Nasrallah
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Defense Ministry awards security prize to 'movie-like' systems behind Nasrallah killing
"These are capabilities you only see in movies, which made a decisive contribution before the campaign against our enemies, and some even helped in the elimination of Nasrallah,' Israel Katz said. Defense MinisterIsrael Katz will award the Israel Security Prize for 2025 to the "Eitan" Armoured personnel carrier, the "Oron", "Shavit", and "Eitam" aircraft, and unique capabilities that led to the killing of former Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, the Defense Ministry stated on Thursday. "A tremendous contribution to the country's security. These are capabilities you only see in movies, which made a decisive contribution before the campaign against our enemies, and some even helped in the elimination of Nasrallah,' Katz said. 'I congratulate the winners who continue to ensure Israel's security – today and in the future." The Eitan APC is an 8x8 wheeled armored personnel carrier designed for infantry fighters, allowing operations in highly threatening combat scenarios. The Eitan has played a significant role in the Israel-Hamas War, including participating in the rescue of hostages from Gaza. The prize for the Eitan APC will be awarded to the military directorates responsible for its development and production, including the Merkava and Armored Corps Directorate (MANTAK), the Security Procurement Administration (MAHAR), the Weaponry Division, the Operational Mobility School of the Ground Corps, the Medical Corps in the Technology and Logistics Branch, and the Nahal Brigade The Shavit, Eitam, and Oron mission aircraft played a vital role in defending Israel's airspace during the war and preserving intelligence superiority. The system is based on advanced technologies that provide control and monitoring capabilities. The prize will be awarded to the Research and Development Directorate for Weaponry and Technology Infrastructure in the Ministry of Defense, Israel Aerospace Industries, the Air Force, the Navy, and the IDF Intelligence Directorate. Additional prizes will also be awarded to the Shin Bet, the Mossad, and Elbit Systems for various defense missions, including the killing of Nasrallah. The Israel Security Prize will be awarded in the presence of President Isaac Herzog, IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, and other security officials on June 18 at the President's Residence.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Jewish protester charged over placard mocking terrorist leader
A Jewish protester was arrested by the Metropolitan Police after he briefly held a placard satirising a Hezbollah terrorist leader, The Telegraph can reveal. The British man, who has asked to remain anonymous for his safety, was detained and charged last September over a cartoon that showed Hasan Nasrallah, the Lebanese terror chief, with a pager and the words 'beep, beep, beep'. The placard satirised a targeted Israeli attack, dubbed Operation Grim Beeper, in which explosives in pagers and walkie-talkies killed 42 people, mostly Hezbollah terrorists. Nasrallah survived, but was killed in an air strike a week later. During questioning, police repeatedly asked the man – who was part of a counter-demonstration against a pro-Palestinian march – if he believed the image would offend 'clearly pro-Hezbollah and anti-Israel' activists. Hezbollah is a terror group, which is proscribed in the UK. The decision by police to allow pro-Palestinian demonstrators to march through London since the Oct 7 massacre, including in areas with high Jewish populations and near synagogues, has been highly contentious. The man's case is the latest in a string of heavy-handed police responses to lawful expression. Last year, The Telegraph reported how columnist Allison Pearson was questioned at home by two officers over an X post following pro-Palestinian protests. The Telegraph also uncovered the case of Julian Foulkes, a retired special constable, who was wrongly cautioned by Kent Police for warning about the threat of anti-Semitism in Britain. The latest case prompted condemnation from senior MPs and peers on both sides of the House. Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said it was an example of 'two-tier policing in action'. He told The Telegraph: 'In recent times, the police have failed to act when confronted with protesters calling for jihad and intifada in London. Yet this man was apparently arrested because he might have offended supporters of a banned terrorist organisation. 'This is two-tier policing in action. The law is rightly clear that supporting banned terrorist groups, inciting violence, inciting racial hatred or harassing people is illegal. Beyond that, free speech applies to everyone. 'The police sometimes turn a blind eye when applying the law might be difficult, yet over-police at other times. The law should be applied equally to all, robustly and without fear or favour. That is not what happened here.' It comes just a day after Sir Nick Clegg also weighed in on the issue, telling an audience at the Charleston Literary Festival in Sussex that police had become 'too censorious' of online speech. The man in the latest case held the placard for less than three minutes during the demonstration in Swiss Cottage, north-west London, on Sept 20. The area, near the home of Tzipi Hotovely, the Israeli ambassador, has been targeted almost weekly by pro-Palestinian activists since the October 7 massacre. On Sept 20, a pro-Palestine demonstrator was filmed in the area shouting 'I love the 7th of October' and 'I like any organisation that starts with H'. He was arrested under terrorism legislation, but was not charged. The Jewish man was part of a counter-demonstration organised by Stop the Hate UK, a multi-faith group. He was arrested a week later when he returned to the same location for another demonstration on Sept 27. Before detaining him overnight at Islington police station, officers searched his home in a failed attempt to find the placard, which the man had already explained was not his. 'Two police vans and six officers turned up at our house to search for 'offensive material', which was quite invasive. It was a horrible experience,' he said. 'They put me in the lounge and asked my partner to go with them around the house. They weren't very pleasant to her and even went through her knicker drawer. It was totally ridiculous.' Following his arrest, in police interview footage obtained by The Telegraph, an officer can be seen repeatedly asking the counter-protester: 'Do you think that showing this image to persons protesting who are clearly pro-Hezbollah and anti-Israel that by doing so would stir up racial hatred further than it is already?' Both the counter-protester and his lawyer, Carl Woolf, specialist criminal solicitor advocate at Woolf Law LLP, were 'completely shocked' at this question. In the footage, Mr Woolf replied: 'Are you saying that there were pro-Hezbollah people there? Because it is a proscribed terrorist organisation.' The officer answered 'I am aware of that', but continued the line of questioning. The counter-protester denied intending to incite racial hatred or insult or distress supporters of the proscribed Lebanese terror group, telling the investigating officer the sign was 'political satire'. He was released at 6.30am and later charged under the Public Order Act for causing racially or religiously aggravated harassment, alarm or distress by words or writing. On May 10 – eight months after his ordeal began – the Crown Prosecution Service dropped the case, saying there was insufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction. In an exclusive interview, the man described the ordeal as 'distressing' for him and his family. 'The Met Police are still completely out of their depth when it comes to policing the anti-Israel hate marches we've seen on our streets week in, week out since the October 7 attacks,' he said. 'It beggars belief that police could think that this placard may be offensive to supporters of Hezbollah. If there are Hezbollah supporters at these marches, then why weren't charges brought against them for terrorist offences, rather than me being charged for holding a sign that can only be construed as political satire? 'I didn't realise how relieved I was until I heard I wasn't going to court.' On Friday, with regard to the repeated references in the interview to the counter-protester having offended supporters of a proscribed terrorist organisation, the Met Police said the officer 'clearly misspoke when she described those in the protest as pro-Hezbollah instead of pro-Palestinian'. A spokesman added that the man 'was charged following a careful consideration of the evidence' and that the force would attempt to learn lessons from the episode. The spokesman said: 'We will reflect on the CPS decision not to proceed with the case, applying any learning to future investigations.' The case is likely to fuel criticism of police for failing to confront anti-Semitic hate and heighten concerns over the safety of British Jews. It comes two days after a gunman shot dead two Israeli embassy staff near Washington DC's Jewish museum. The suspect told police 'I did it for Gaza' and shouted 'free Palestine' as he handed himself in. The attack prompted Scotland Yard to urge London's Jewish community to remain vigilant. In an extraordinary move on Friday, Benjamin Netanyahu accused Sir Keir Starmer and other world leaders of siding with Hamas, claiming they were 'on the wrong side of humanity'. In a televised statement addressing the shootings at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, the Israeli prime minister, said that by condemning the war in Gaza the leaders were supporting 'mass murderers, rapists, baby killers, and kidnappers'. Amichai Chikli, the Israeli diaspora affairs minister, accused Sir Keir, the French president Emmanuel Macron and the Canadian prime minister Mark Carney of having 'emboldened the forces of terror through their failure to draw moral red lines'. 'This cowardice has a price – and that price is paid in Jewish blood,' he said. On Friday, peers with expertise in countering political violence raised alarm at the Met's conduct and called for an investigation. Lord Walney, the Government's former extremism tsar, told The Telegraph: 'We all understand the police have a difficult job preventing protests escalating into disorder, but the idea that officers intervened on the side of supporters of a proscribed terrorist organisation is grotesque.' The cross-bench peer, whose advisory role was axed by Sir Keir in February after he called for some climate activists and pro-Palestine groups to be banned, said that the 'disturbing' incident should be investigated and that there should be 'a full apology from the Met if the protester's claims are upheld'. He added: 'It's an implausible explanation from the police that this officer simply misspoke. She was reading from a list of pre-prepared questions. They should just own their mistake and use this opportunity to ensure lessons are learnt.' Lord Austin, a non-affiliated peer who was investigated by police for calling Hamas 'Islamists' on social media, told The Telegraph: 'It beggars belief that someone would be arrested, put in the cells and then charged for holding this sign because it might upset supporters of Islamist terrorists and a proscribed organisation, rather than take action against the terror supporters. 'There is clearly a systemic problem when it comes to dealing with the hate marches and, instead of telling us they disagree with individual decisions, ministers need to get a grip and sort it out.' A Met Police spokesman said: 'We take support for proscribed organisations very seriously. Since October 2023, we have made 28 arrests under the Terrorism Act for offences at protests including wearing clothing or displaying symbols that indicated support for such groups, including Hezbollah. This is in addition to the hundreds of arrests made for other offences.' The pro-Palestinian demonstrator filmed shouting 'I love the 7th of October' on Sept 20 was arrested by the Met under terrorism legislation. He was not charged, despite Scotland Yard twice submitting a file of evidence to the CPS, the second time after appealing against a decision not to pursue the case. A Met spokesman told The Telegraph that discussions with the CPS regarding the case were continuing, adding that 'we will ensure all available avenues to challenge the decision not to bring charges are pursued'. After the CPS became aware of The Telegraph's imminent publication of the story, it issued a statement to say it was 'urgently reviewing' its decision-making in the case of the pro-Palestinian protester. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
L'Orient-Le Jour
06-05-2025
- Politics
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Al-Jadeed employees 'fear for safety' after report on Nasrallah mausoleum
Thirty-four employees of the Lebanese television channel Al-Jadeed said they feared for their safety in a letter to management Monday, following the airing of a report that criticized the cost of a mausoleum for former Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah. Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs on Sept. 27, 2024 during the latest war between Hezbollah and Israel (October 2023-November 2024). The controversial nine-minute segment, aired Friday during a talk show hosted by Josephine Dib, allegedly was not produced by Al-Jadeed and did not reflect the channel's editorial position, according to a clarification cited by the independent news site al-Modon. The report alleged that tens of millions of dollars were spent on acquiring land and building the mausoleum, while many Hezbollah supporters whose homes were destroyed in the war have not been compensated. The segment reportedly identified former and current owners of the properties and claimed the purchases were funded by 'non-transparent Iranian money' and "bags filled with smuggled dollars" — bypassing official banking channels. The investigation estimated that both land acquisition and construction costs reached $50 million each. It further claimed the transactions did not go through Lebanon's Finance Ministry but were approved only by the Bourj al-Barajneh municipality, a Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut's southern suburbs. The report triggered a backlash on social media, with some Hezbollah supporters accusing the channel of spreading Israeli propaganda and inciting public opinion against the party. In their letter to management, Al-Jadeed staff said they felt 'in danger' and that their families and relatives had also received threats. They urged management to 'act as quickly as possible to resolve these issues and ensure the safety of all employees.' The letter emphasized that employees do not influence the station's editorial direction, but their safety is at risk due to 'practices and trends adopted by the channel that could provoke internal conflict.' L'Orient-Le Jour contacted Al-Jadeed's administration and one of its journalists for comment, but both were unavailable. Hezbollah's media outlet al-Manar responded Monday, describing the report as 'nine minutes of polite incitement' disguised as investigative journalism. It said the segment lacked basic professional standards and accused Al-Jadeed of attempting to stir domestic unrest. The channel claimed that official records disproved the report's assertions. On Saturday, Hezbollah MP Ibrahim Moussawi called the investigation a 'qualified crime' and urged the judiciary to take immediate action.
Asharq Al-Awsat
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
New Reports Reveal Details of Hassan Nasrallah's Assassination
Several Israeli reports revealed last week new information about the assassination of former Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, saying the Joe Biden administration was reportedly furious about the operation. The US did not try to stop the strike, but said the Israeli operation made them 'look like fools,' a report by Israel's Channel 13 said. It showed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hesitated for a long time before he gave the order to execute the operation. Nasrallah was killed shortly after the Israeli PM gave a speech at the United Nations General Assembly. On Sunday night, former Israeli Ambassador to the US, Mike Herzog, told Channel 13 that he attempted to provide advance warning of the strike. Herzog said that it was agreed that Israel would update the Americans before the strike on Nasrallah's compound, at the level of [then-National Security Advisor] Jake Sullivan. In the interview, the former ambassador said, 'We tried setting up a phone call with Jake Sullivan and he didn't get back to us. He was angry because he thought we had deceived them, and we let them make public the initiative for a ceasefire and make them look foolish, while we are planning to eliminate Nasrallah.' The US official who was informed about the Israeli operation is then-Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who had received a phone call from then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Asked how Austin responded during the call, when Gallant informed him that the strike was about to occur, former US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro made a diplomatic statement, saying, 'I'll allow others to characterize that call.' During his interview with Channel 13, Gallant said, 'I updated Austin 15 minutes before the operation. I told him, 'We're about to eliminate Nasrallah'. He asked me, 'When?' I told him, '15 minutes'. He really did not like this. He told me, 'This could lead to a regional war'. I told him, 'With all due respect, this man murdered thousands of Israelis and hundreds of Americans. I suggest you carefully consider your response.' Gallant continued, 'So he (Austin) asks me, 'Are you convinced he's there?' I told him, 'There is a very high probability.'' At the end of September 2024, Israel was informed about Nasrallah's plans to attend a high-level meeting in Beirut's southern suburbs. The French newspaper Le Parisien, citing a Lebanese security source, revealed that an Iranian spy provided Israel with information regarding the arrival of Nasrallah in Beirut's southern suburbs. The report noted that Nasrallah arrived in the exact vehicle as Abbas Nilforoushan, the Deputy Commander of Iran's Quds Force in Lebanon. According to Le Parisien, the informant alerted Israel about Nasrallah's planned arrival at the headquarters on Friday afternoon, just four hours before the strike. But Israel's Kan 11 channel said Israel received the information days before the strike. Nasrallah, who had led Iran-backed Hezbollah for 32 years, was killed on September 27, 2024 when a series of Israeli airstrikes flattened several buildings in Beirut's southern suburbs.
L'Orient-Le Jour
05-05-2025
- Politics
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Al Jadeed staff fear for safety following Nasrallah mausoleum report
BEIRUT — 34 employees working with the local TV station, Al-Jadeed, wrote a letter to the station's management expressing their fear for their safety, after a report was broadcasted on Friday criticizing the costs of former Hezbollah's Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah's mausoleum. Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern suburbs of Beirut on September 27, 2024, four days after the escalation of the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel. The nine-minute report angered Hezbollah's audience as it claimed that tens of millions of dollars were spent on purchasing real estate and constructing the mausoleum while, Hezbollah members whose homes were destroyed during the war remain without shelter or compensation. Following that, a campaign of incitement was launched against the channel, with some party supporters accusing it of promoting Israeli propaganda and inciting the population against Hezbollah. In the letter which protested the station's policy, the employees claimed that they are now in "danger," adding that threats are extending to their families and relatives as a result of the report. They also called on the management to "act as quickly as possible to resolve these issues to ensure the safety of all its employees." They emphasized that they do not interfere in the channel's policy and direction, but that their safety is at risk due to certain practices and the station's adoption of tendencies that could cause strife in the country. The report showed the properties that were earlier purchased and the names of their owners as well as the identities of some new owners. According to the report, "the funds did not enter through banking channels, but were provided through non-transparent Iranian funds and bags full of smuggled dollars.' According to the report, both the costs of purchasing the land for the project and of construction are estimated at $50 million each. The report also claims that the sale, purchase and transfer were not done legally as the Lebanese Ministry of Finance was not aware of them, adding that the buyer and seller only obtained authorization through the Hezbollah-controlled municipality of Burj al-Barajneh, an area in the Southern suburbs of Beirut. The report, which was aired as part of a talk show hosted by host Josephine Deeb, was not produced by Al Jadeed. Moreover, according to the local newspaper Al Modon, Al Jadeed clarified that the report was not endorsed by the channel. L'Orient Today contacted the station's administration and one of its journalists but they were not immediately available to comment. Reacting to these claims, Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV wrote: 'Nine minutes of polished incitement, released by Al-Jadeed under the label of a journalistic investigation, appeared closer to a booby-trapped security statement, with no signature, no professional reference, and no minimum standards of accuracy. The report is filled with imaginary headlines that are not based on logic, ... aimed at fueling internal strife and incitement." Al Manar added that Al Jadeed does not have any proofs for its claims, adding that official maps and documents refute all these allegations. Moreover, on Saturday, Hezbollah MP, Ibrahim al-Moussawi, described the report as a 'qualified crime,' calling on the judiciary to take immediate action.
