Major General Hossein Salami, recently appointed to command Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) following the assassination of his predecessor Qasem Soleimani, made an impassioned speech at a memorial event on Tuesday morning in which he said, among other things, that his soldiers would “set ablaze” unspecified locations identified with the US and its regional allies, including Israel and Saudi Arabia. Shortly after his speech, a stampede broke out at the event which health officials said killed an estimated 40 mourners and injured hundreds of others.

Avi Berkowitz, assistant to US President Donald Trump and special representative for international negotiations, was in Jerusalem Monday to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman was also reportedly at the meeting, which was held for the purpose of discussing the Trump Administration’s so called “deal of the Century” plan for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. The meeting comes amidst rumors that the Administration will release the plan publicly in the new future, perhaps even before elections scheduled for early March.

Rigs extracting natural gas from Israel’s massive offshore Leviathan field began pumping on Monday, with the Ministry of Environmental Protection issuing a statement that air quality was not affected as was feared by residents of the nearby coastal cities. The field is estimated to contain at least 605 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas, enough for 65 years of domestic consumption at current rates.

The movement to Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) Israel suffered more setbacks this week as British singer/songwriter Robyn Hitchcock announced that he will be performing in Tel Aviv in early February and American private equity firm Insight Partners announced that it is acquiring  cybersecurity firm Armis, based in California but with strong ties to the Jewish State, in a deal valued at $1.1 billion.

Financial analysts were warning of rough times ahead for Israel following Monday’s announcement that the government’s fiscal deficit widened to 3.7% of GDP in 2019. The Ministry of Finance admitted that this was substantially higher than the target of 2.9 percent, adding that the gap amounted to nearly NIS 12 billion. The total deficit for 2019 came to roughly NIS 52.2b. ($15b.)

The killing of Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani is being celebrated across the Arab world by Muslims who were cruelly victimized by him in the service of Iran’s imperialist ambitions. The Palestinians’ fulsome praise for Soleimani and accompanying support for Iran are raising eyebrows across the Arab world.

As this report highlights with new data and analysis, the IRGC-QF has supported a growing number of non-state fighters in Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan, and Pakistan—including nearly a 50 percent increase since 2016. Thanks to Iran, these forces are better equipped with more sophisticated weapons and systems. This report also uses satellite imagery to identify an expansion of IRGC-QF-linked bases in countries like Iran and Lebanon to train non-state fighters. (PDF)

Thanks to you, this has been a tremendous year and, for the ICEJ, 2020 will be a year of great significance and celebration as we reflect on God faithfully using us to comfort the people of Israel for the past 40 years. The number 40 is a significant number. In the Bible, it can symbolise a time of testing which – if passed through in obedience – ends in blessing and the fulfilment of God’s promises. Thank you for being a part of this miraculous journey.