War Intensifies in Northern Syria

US-backed factions opened a major new offensive against the Islamic State (IS) terror militia in northern Syria this week, attempting to cut off the flow of weapons, fuel and other supplies to the group by taking control of crossings and smuggling routes over the Turkish border in the so-called “Manbij pocket” area. The ground offensive has been supported by US air strikes and Turkish cross-border artillery.

Bloomberg issued a report Thursday showing that the international effort to Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) Israel is failing to have a serious impact on the Jewish State’s economy, despite making some progress towards the goal of politically and socially isolating it. “We don’t have a problem with foreign investment in Israel — on the contrary,” quoted the Finance Ministry’s Chief Economist Yoel Naveh told Bloomberg.

There were developments Wednesday in the case of IDF Sgt. Elor Azaria, who was filmed shooting dead an already subdued terrorist in Hebron on 24 March. The IDF, which is prosecuting Azaria on charges of manslaughter, presented evidence that the knife the terrorist used in his initial attack had been moved closer to him after the shooting in an effort to make it appear that he was an imminent threat, thus justifying the shooting. The prosecution also stated that Azaria has admitted to “90%” of the case” against him and it is up to him to prove that the shooting was done in self-defense.

The Palestinian Authority complained on Wednesday that less than half of the $3.5 billion promised by international donors for the reconstruction of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip has been delivered nearly two years after a conference where the pledges were made. Progress has been made in the reconstruction process however and one PA official expressed hope that the situation will soon improve.