Israel will ‘deal with Hamas’ if it won’t disarm, Sa’ar says
(JNS) — If Hamas does not follow through with U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace plan that involves the terrorist group laying down arms, Israel “will have to deal with the problem,” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said in an interview with the Saudi state-owned channel Al Arabiya English on Dec. 17.
Israel’s top diplomat said he hopes the Islamist organization adheres to the plan, which both Israel and Hamas’s leadership agreed to, but that “unfortunately,” senior Hamas officials have issued public declarations saying that they have no intention of giving up their weapons.
“The main issue is how the Gaza Strip will not be a threat to the State of Israel, [which is] directly connected to the demilitarization and deradicalization and disarmament of Hamas and Islamic Jihad,” Sa’ar continued, adding that this was the “heart” of the second stage of Trump’s peace plan.
He added that Israel would be happy to achieve its objective of removing the threat of a terrorist state on its border via a diplomatic path. The minister stressed that Jerusalem has made this approach its top priority and is assisting in any way possible, but that eventually “we will have to deal with the problem, because we are the neighbors of the Gaza Strip.”
On Syria, Sa’ar said that the new regime in Damascus has recently “toughened” its positions regarding a security agreement with Jerusalem, which is delaying diplomatic progress.
Report: Abbas called Oct. 7 ‘the greatest day in Palestinian history’
(JNS) — Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas praised the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre, calling it “the greatest day in Palestinian history,” Palestinian researcher Hani al-Masri said in a recent interview.
Al-Masri, the director general of Masarat — The Palestinian Center for Policy Research and Strategic Studies — spoke when asked by Palestinian content creator Ahmad Biqawi in a social media interview posted on Dec. 11 how Ramallah reacted on the morning of the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel.
“This is the ‘authority’ people want the ‘Palestinian Authority’ to be? A terror-worshiping authority,” Israel’s Foreign Ministry said in a social media post on Dec. 17, accompanying the relevant clip from the interview. The ministry noted that al-Masri is also a member of the Board of Trustees at the Yasser Arafat Foundation, saying he “knows a thing or two about the P.A.”
Al-Masri also said that the P.A. is continuing terror payments to the families of prisoners and “martyrs,” despite commitments to the European Union and the United States to end its “pay-for-slay” policy.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar highlighted the continuation of the P.A.’s payments policy in a social media post on Dec. 17, accusing Abbas of once again lying about ending the practice. He added that the P.A. is disguising payments to released murderers as pensions for members of the Palestinian Security Services.
Israel approves $34 billion natural-gas deal with Egypt
(JNS) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the approval of the country’s largest-ever natural gas export agreement — a deal worth 112 billion shekels ($34.5 billion) that will send fuel to Egypt through 2040 on Dec. 17.
The agreement with U.S. energy company Chevron and Israeli partners is expected to generate about 58 billion shekels ($17.9 billion) in state revenue through taxes and royalties, with funds designated for education, health, infrastructure and security. The deal also includes more than 16 billion shekels ($4.9 billion) in direct infrastructure investment.
“This deal greatly strengthens Israel’s status as a regional energy power and contributes to stability in our region. It encourages other companies to invest in gas exploration in Israel’s economic waters,” Netanyahu said alongside Energy and Infrastructure Minister Eli Cohen following the approval. “More gas will be found, but first and foremost, this deal obligates the companies to sell gas at a good price to you — the citizens of Israel.”
Revenue will start modestly, at about half a billion shekels ($154 million) annually during the first four years as companies expand pipeline infrastructure, then rise to about 6 billion shekels ($1.9 billion) per year, according to Netanyahu’s office.
Cohen called the agreement a historic moment that establishes Israel as a regional energy power. The approval includes mechanisms to prioritize supply and improve gas pricing for the local market.
Herzog, Pope Leo discuss antisemitism amid Bondi massacre
(JNS) — In the wake of the terrorist attack on Jews in Sydney, Australia, Israeli President Isaac Herzog spoke on Dec. 17 with Pope Leo XIV about the rise of global antisemitism.
The president posted that during their phone call, he expressed the “urgent need to combat all forms of this hatred.”
The call was made in light of the upcoming Christmas holiday.
Herzog extended his warm wishes to the pontiff and Christian communities around the world, stressing Israel’s “important relationship with the Holy See and Christians around the world.”
The president said he took “tremendous pride in Israel’s Christian communities, whose leaders will gather for an annual festive meeting at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem in the coming weeks.
“We both expressed hope for peace and a brighter future for the world following the New Year,” Israel’s head of state noted.
On Monday, the pope called for prayers for the victims of Sydney massacre, writing in a post on social media that the slain and wounded should be “entrusted to the Lord.”
Fifteen people were murdered and more than 40 wounded in the terrorist shooting at Sydney’s popular Bondi Beach.
Alon Leichman becomes first Israeli head pitching coach in the MLB
(JTA) — Alon Leichman was en route home to Israel to celebrate his wedding with family when he made a group chat with the new coaching staff for the Colorado Rockies to begin planning for his new role as the team’s head pitching coach, a first for any Israeli.
Leichman, who grew up on Kibbutz Gezer and was first introduced to baseball on a field his father built, had just wrapped up a season as assistant pitching coach for the Miami Marlins when he received the news on Dec. 13.
“Thank you Miami! You’ve changed my life. Can’t wait for what’s next with the Rockies and Colorado,” wrote Leichman in a post on social media announcing the move this week.
Before joining the Marlins, Leichman served as the assistant pitching coach for the Cincinnati Reds the previous two years. Earlier in his career, he also played and coached for Team Israel, including a stint as bullpen coach at the 2017 World Baseball Classic.
In March, Leichman is expected to be the head pitching coach for Team Israel at the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
Leichman’s latest accolade appears to make him the first Israeli to hold a head pitching coach position in the MLB. (In February 2024, Assaf Lowengart made pro-baseball history as the first first Israeli-born position player to secure a contract in the United States.)
