Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a speech Monday at a ceremony marking the opening of the Ilan and Asaf Ramon Airport in the Arava Desert north of Eilat, referencing IDF strikes on Iranian targets in Syria earlier in the day and declaring that Israel is “operating both against Iran and against the Syrian forces that are abetting the Iranian aggression. We will strike at anyone who tried to harm us. Whoever threatens to eliminate us will bear full responsibility.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in N’Djamena, capital of the central African country of Chad, over the weekend to sign an agreement of mutual formal diplomatic recognition between the two countries. Netanyahu told reporters that the move had come with the encouragement of Arab governments, despite efforts by Iran and Palestinian factions to derail it. “The breakthroughs with the Arab world help us in the Muslim world,” he said. “And also, the Muslims want our help in dealing with the Arab states.”

In a dramatic move, Palestinian Authority Rami Hamdallah sent a diplomatic letter to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over the weekend informing him that the PA formally renounced all financial aid from the US, including for security, so as to avoid liability for US court decisions holding the PA financially liable for terrorist attacks committed by its subjects against US citizens. The decision by the PA came following the passage of the 2018 Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act (ACTA, P.L. 115-253) last October and its going into effect at the end of January.

In yet another defeat for the effort to Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) Israel, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko landed in Israel this week along with his Economy Minister Stefan Kubiv to sign a Free Trade Agreement with the Jewish State. The first official meeting was with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, who thanked him for Ukraine’s support of Israel in various international forums.

Researchers at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University and their colleagues at Harvard Medical School announced a breakthrough this week in their efforts to identify a mechanism that the human body uses to attack cancer cells. A recent study published in the medical journal Nature gave details of their findings, which give hope to millions of people around the world who suffer or are at risk for a variety of illnesses, including lung and skin cancer.

The latest volume from the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), reviews a period marked by distinct changes in Israel’s close strategic environment as well as events in its more distant circle that likewise have had a direct impact on the challenges and opportunities before it.

The growing threat of rocket and missile attacks on communities in the north and south of Israel prompts our appeal for help in providing life-saving bomb shelters and other emergency response equipment to communities in the line of fire. Please help us protect the innocent civilians who are in danger.