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Middle East Updates: Pope Francis Unveils Nativity Scene, With Jesus Swaddled In An Arab Keffiyeh; More

Photo of David Brummer, WND News Center David Brummer, WND News CenterDecember 11, 2024
0 13 6 minutes read
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JERUSALEM – Middle East/Israel Morning Brief

Pope Francis unveils Nativity scene, with Jesus swaddled in an Arab keffiyeh

Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?

On Saturday, Pope Francis attended a nativity scene titled “Nativity of Bethlehem 2024,” crafted in the Judean city of the same name, by Johny Andonia and Faten Nastas Mitwasi and presented by Palestinian officials in Pope Paul VI Hall in Vatican City. The display depicting the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem featured baby Jesus swaddled in a keffiyeh.

Speaking at the event, a wheelchair-bound Francis called on Catholics to “remember the brothers and sisters, who, right there [in Bethlehem] and in other parts of the world, are suffering from the tragedy of war,” adding, “enough war, enough violence!” and lamenting the existence of the commercial arms trade.

Benjamin Netanyahu gives court testimony at his corruption trial

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared at the Tel Aviv District Court Tuesday to defend himself against a number of charges relating to bribery, accepting illegal gifts, and corruption.

Some five years have passed since the unprecedented indictment of a sitting prime minister, and now Netanyahu will present his version of events in these cases over the course of weeks, possibly months.

U.S. assesses journalist Austin Tice is alive in Syria, thought to be held along with others as bargaining chip for former regime official

The Media Line confirms U.S. journalist Austin Tice, who was abducted in Syria in 2012, and several other detained journalists are alive, but in urgent need of food and water. Tice, a former U.S. Marine Corps officer, and the other journalists are being hidden in a secure location by a member of the ousted Syrian regime who is attempting to ensure their safe escape from the country.

Efforts to ensure the safety of the detained journalists are ongoing. A source in Damascus told The Media Line that Tice and the others have been without food or water since the regime fell. Deliveries are impossible as the person protecting them is in a separate location, and any movement risks compromising their safety.

U.K. considers removing HTS from terrorism list

Cabinet Minister Pat McFadden announced Monday that the British government will review its terrorist designation of the Syrian rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), signaling a possible modification of the U.K.’s official stance toward the organization. McFadden clarified that no decision has been reached regarding the current ban on HTS, the jihadi organization which has spearheaded the opposition campaign against the now-fallen Assad regime.

IDF strikes some 300 targets in Syria, dozens of aircraft, almost entire Syrian navy reported destroyed

The Israeli Navy carried out a significant strategic operation against the Syrian Navy overnight Tuesday, destroying a large number of vessels and preventing weapons from falling into the hands of jihadist terrorists.

In effect, Israel’s action destroyed the Syrian Navy’s ships. This joins a large-scale operation by the Air Force in the past two days in which Syrian Air Force aircraft were destroyed: MiG-29 and Sukhoi fighter jets, and helicopters at bases throughout Syria.

Dutch leader Geert Wilders meets with Netanyahu in Jerusalem

Dutch political leader Geert Wilders has met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the latter’s office in Jerusalem, the prime minister’s office says.

Wilders posted to X that he told Netanyahu “in 1 year — by crushing Hamas, pulverizing Hezbollah and significantly weakening Iran — he has done more to fight (international) terrorism than the EU has done in the last 70 years!”

Israel denies Qatari report about Hamas sharing names ahead of proposed hostage-prisoner swap

Israel denied a Dec. 9 report that the Iran-backed terrorist organization Hamas had provided a list of Israeli hostages seized during its Oct. 7, 2023, atrocities.

In a statement sent to hostage families on Dec. 9, Israel said a report published in the London-based Qatari newspaper al-Araby al-Jadeed stating Hamas was willing to release the listed hostages to Egyptian negotiators as part of ongoing ceasefire negotiations was “not correct.”

Separately, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a televised address that the overthrow of the Iran-backed regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria meant that Hamas’s isolation “opens another opening to making progress on a deal that will bring our hostages back.”

World Central Kitchen forced to fire 12% of Gaza staff after failing security background checks

Some 60 of the 500 Gaza workers for World Central Kitchen, the Washington-based food relief charity, have lost their jobs after failing an Israeli security background check.

Fadi Hamad, who started working with the group four months ago, said he was suspended on the basis of “a security check that recommended that I no longer continue working.”

Shocking revelation … NOT. Captured records show Hamas controlled UNRWA schools in Gaza

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency, or UNRWA, managed schools throughout Gaza until they were closed following Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel and the subsequent war. Employing approximately 13,000 staff members, including many in its schools, the agency is responsible for ensuring the neutrality of its facilities in conflict areas by preventing terrorists from accessing its premises or being on its payroll.

However, interviews and an analysis of records shared with the New York Times by the Israeli military and foreign ministry suggest UNRWA employed at least 24 people across 24 different schools, who were members of Hamas or the Islamic Jihad. Before the war, UNRWA oversaw a total of 288 schools housed within 200 building complexes in Gaza.

WATCH: Syrians in Damascus pull down statue of former Syrian dictator Hafez al-Assad

Israel denies its tanks reached Qatana, within 15 miles of Damascus

The Israeli military on Tuesday denied reports that its tanks were advancing towards Damascus, insisting that Israeli forces were stationed in a buffer zone near the Israeli-Syrian border.

“The reports circulated by some media outlets claiming that the Israeli Defense Forces (military) are advancing towards or nearing Damascus are completely false,” military spokesman Avichay Adraee wrote on X. “The IDF forces are stationed within the buffer zone and at defensive points near the border in order to protect Israel’s borders.”

IDF eliminates 10-man Hamas terrorist cell responsible for deaths of 3 Israeli troops in Jabalia

An IDF aircraft killed 10 of the Palestinian terrorists responsible for the deaths of three soldiers in the Gaza Strip on Monday, the military announced in a statement on Tuesday morning.

“In a joint operation of the 401st Brigade and the air force, an aircraft attacked and eliminated ten of the terrorists who took part in yesterday’s terror act, in which Staff Sgt. Ido Zano, Staff Sgt. Barak Daniel Halpern and Sgt. Omri Cohen, of blessed memory, fell,” the army stated.

The three soldiers, all members of the Givati Brigade’s “Shaked” Battalion, were reportedly killed by a Hamas anti-tank missile during counterterror operations in the Jabalia area of the northern Strip.

U.N. kept quiet when Turkey ethnically cleansed 200,00 Kurds; criticizes IDF presence in Syria buffer zone as ‘violation of 1974 agreement’

The United Nations accused Israel of having violated the 1974 Disengagement Agreement with Syria, after Jerusalem informed the U.N. Security Council that it had taken “limited and temporary measures” in a demilitarized strip on the border in Syrian territory to counter any threats to the Israeli Golan Heights.

Gallant speech at Washington, D.C. synagogue canceled over ‘security concerns’

Adas Israel, the largest Conservative synagogue in Washington, D.C., canceled a planned event on Monday with former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, citing a security threat.

The synagogue shared with JNS a follow-up statement from its executive committee that was sent to congregants on Monday.

“Due to specific security concerns that arose in connection with this event, Adas Israel Congregation canceled the scheduled speaking engagement with former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant,” the committee stated. “Contrary to speculation, this decision was not based on the event’s subject matter, but rather on our commitment to the safety of our community.”

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This article was originally published by the WND News Center.

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Photo of David Brummer, WND News Center David Brummer, WND News CenterDecember 11, 2024
0 13 6 minutes read
Photo of David Brummer, WND News Center

David Brummer, WND News Center

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