Advert |
|
Advert |
![]() |
|
World News |
New Zealand requires Israelis to disclose IDF service details as condition for entry |
![]() |
New Zealand’s government immigration authority has begun to require Israelis applying for a visa to report details of their military service as a condition for entry, and at least one person has been denied admission after doing so, The Times of Israel has learned. Israelis of reserve service age who applied for tourist visas to New Zealand have been asked to report whether they had served in the Israel Defense Forces — as almost all Israeli citizens are required to do — and whether they are active reservists. Those who answered affirmatively were required to complete detailed questionnaires about their military service. In the first questionnaire, visa applicants were asked about the dates of their military service, the location of their bases, the corps and units in which they served, the military camps where they were stationed, their rank, details of their roles, and their military ID number. In the second questionnaire, they were asked: “Have you been associated with any intelligence service or group, or law enforcement agency?” At least one soldier who served in Gaza during the ongoing war against Hamas has been denied entry to New Zealand. He said that this was a direct result of his answers to the questionnaire, while noting that he said he had not been involved in war crimes in Gaza. Australia has been operating a similar policy, and at least two Israelis have been denied entry as a result. New Zealand’s Immigration Authority (INZ), reached for comment, did not deny the details of this report, but said that serving in the current war did not automatically disqualify Israelis from entering the country |
|
Advert |
![]() |
|
Israel News |
Defense minister, in Syria buffer zone, says IDF to stay indefinitely |
![]() |
Defense Minister Israel Katz said during a visit to the Syrian side of Mount Hermon on Tuesday that the Israel Defense Forces will remain there indefinitely, apparently backtracking on repeated assurances from Israel that the move was temporary. “The IDF will remain at the summit of the Hermon and the security zone indefinitely to ensure the security of the communities of the Golan Heights and the north, and all the residents of Israel,” Katz said, apparently referring to a buffer zone on the Syrian side of the border that Israel seized following the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime last month. “We will not allow hostile forces to establish themselves in the security zone in southern Syria… we will act against any threat,” he said. “We will not be dependent on others for our security.” Katz said Israel will make contact with “friendly populations” in the southern Syria area, “with an emphasis on the large Druze community which has historic and close family relations with our Druze brothers in Israel.” The defense minister visited an army post at the Mount Hermon summit, where he held an assessment with senior officers and spoke with troops, according to his office. Israel has previously described its takeover of the buffer zone as a temporary measure aimed at preventing hostile forces from taking advantage of the power vacuum in Syria to enter the strategic zone and threaten Israeli territory. Katz’s remarks came as the IDF published footage showing the construction of what it called a “temporary” army posts atop the Syrian side of Mount Hermon, where troops have been deployed since last month. The military says the Technological and Logistics Directorate provided troops with insulated structures and equipment to reside on the mountain during the harsh winter weather. |
|
Breaking with Biden, Trump envoy expresses support for Israeli laws targeting UNRWA |
Breaking with the previous Biden administration, the Trump administration came out on Tuesday in favor of Israeli legislation to sever Jerusalem’s ties with the UN relief agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA and to severely restrict its operations in Gaza and the West Bank. “It is Israel’s sovereign decision to close UNRWA’s offices in Jerusalem on January 30. The United States supports the implementation of this decision,” US chargé d’affaires ad interim Dorothy Shea said in remarks during the UN Security Council’s monthly session on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Biden administration raised concerns over the extent to which Hamas has managed to infiltrate UNRWA and moved to freeze US funding to the agency following revelations that a number of its members actively participated in Hamas’s October 7 onslaught. However, it came out against Congress’s decision to extend that freeze to this coming March — when lawmakers are expected to maintain the hold indefinitely. Biden officials argued that UNRWA plays too essential of a role in Gaza’s humanitarian operations, and that it therefore should not be shuttered. It is behind many logistical aspects of aid delivery, including storage and transport. The Knesset legislation passed last fall also bars Israeli officials from any contact with UNWRA, which the agency says will lead to the collapse of its operations in Gaza and the West Bank where coordination with Israeli authorities is essential. |
|
IDF chief said to hail approval of ‘painful’ Gaza deal, stress war can resume if needed |
![]() |
Outgoing IDF Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said Tuesday that the government made the right decision in accepting the “painful” Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal, adding that the army would “make an effort for the price to be small” and would be able to resume fighting if the agreement collapsed, according to leaked comments from the closed-door Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. Halevi, who announced last week that he would resign on March 6 in light of his failures ahead of the October 7, 2023 Hamas onslaught, said that stepping down right after the attack “would have damaged the war effort.” “The military had to be led,” Halevi said. Halevi reportedly told the committee that the IDF was determined to complete as quickly as possible its probe of failures leading up to the onslaught when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and take 251hostages. The investigation could still take some time because the army insists on performing it “while fighting on seven fronts, without making errors or cutting corners… even if it takes two extra weeks,” he said, according to the reports. He stressed that the army would not keep information “from any authority, including the state comptroller,” Haaretz reported, citing people who were at the meeting. |
|
Advert A New Project in the Heart of Geulah |
|
|
To advertise click here or [email protected]:
|
The email was sent to [email protected] |