Weekly roundup of world briefs

Thai hostages reunite with families in Israel

By JNS Staff

(JNS) — Five Thai nationals recently freed from Hamas captivity in Gaza were reunited with their families on Tuesday at Shamir Medical Center in Be’er Ya’akov, Israel.

Relatives of four of the former captives traveled from Thailand to meet their loved ones and will accompany them home. Their visit was coordinated by Israel’s Foreign Ministry, the National Insurance Institute, the Prime Minister’s Office, the Israel Defense Forces and the Thai Embassy.

The freed hostages—Thaenna Pongsak, Sathian Suwannakham, Sriaoun Watchara, Seathao Bannawat, and Lumnao Surasak—were among 31 Thai workers kidnapped by Hamas-led terrorists during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. They were released on Jan. 30 as part of a ceasefire deal and transferred to Israeli security forces by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Israel’s Interior Minister Moshe Arbel has granted all five residency status, according to Hebrew media reports.

A delegation of senior Thai government officials, including Thailand’s Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa, visited the Western Wall in Jerusalem on Sunday after the hostages’ release.

Meanwhile, at least one Thai hostage, 35-year-old Pinta Nattapong, remains in Hamas captivity. Two other Thai citizens, Rintalak Suttisak, 43, and Sahaot Banawat, 30, were killed during the Oct. 7 attack, and their bodies are still being held by the terror group.

United to restart service to Israel next month

(JNS) — United Airlines announced on Tuesday that it will resume flights to Israel next month, becoming the first U.S. carrier to renew service to Tel Aviv after halting flights due to the Israel-Hamas war.

The Chicago-based carrier will restart flights to Israel from Newark’s Liberty International Airport on March 15, with daily service beginning two weeks later on March 29.

Before the war broke out, United offered the highest number of flights to Israel of any U.S. carrier, with 14 weekly flights from the New York area alone as well as service from several other major U.S. cities.

“United has a longstanding commitment to serving Tel Aviv, and this return will make United the first U.S. airline to resume service this year, the airline said in a statement.

Delta had previously announced that it would renew service to Israel in April.

American Airlines is still not flying to Israel.

The moves by United and Delta will effectively end the monopoly Israel’s flagship carrier El Al had on the lucrative transatlantic route through most of the 15-month-old war, which sent fares skyrocketing amid charges of price gouging.

Most Israeli Jews support Trump’s Gaza relocation proposal

(JNS) — A majority of Israeli Jews support as a practical plan U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal to relocate Gazans to other countries, according to a survey published on Monday.

In the survey, conducted for the Jewish People Policy Institute, 52% of Jewish Israelis said that it was “a pragmatic plan that we should try to pursue.” Among Arabs, only 8% gave this answer.

Trump said in January that he’s asked King Abdullah II of Jordan “to take on more, because I’m looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now and it’s a mess, it’s a real mess. You’re talking about a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing.”

He later said Egypt should also take in more Gazans.

In the survey, a majority of Arabs opposed the plan, with 54% saying it should be rejected because it’s immoral. Among Jews, 3% of respondents gave that answer.

Overall, 46 percent of Jewish and Arab respondents endorsed the plan as a practical goal. Another 30 percent of Jews and 9 percent of Arabs said they “don’t think this is a practical solution but I wish it were.” Another 13 percent of Jews and 18 percent of Arabs said the plan was “a diversion and we should focus on practical solutions.”

Among Arabs, 11 percent said they didn’t know, as did only 1 percent of Jews.

Overall, 46 percent of respondents said the plan was practical and they supported it; 26 percent said it wasn’t practical but they supported it; 14 percent said the plan was a diversion and 13 percent said it was immoral and should be opposed on those grounds. Another 3 percent overall said they didn’t know.

The full results of the survey are scheduled to be published next month. The JPPI did not immediately reply to JNS’s questions regarding the survey’s methodology, the specifics of which have not yet been published.

Trump remarks ‘cruel, immoral, impractical,’ pro-Israel Dem group says

(JNS) — U.S. President Donald Trump’s remarks on Tuesday evening that the United States “will take over the Gaza Strip” are “cruel, immoral and impractical,” Mark Mellman, the president and CEO of Democratic Majority for Israel, stated on Wednesday.

“One of DMFI’s founding principles is support for a negotiated two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” Mellman stated. “While terrorist attacks by Hamas, Hezbollah and others have made that goal more difficult to achieve and pushed the timetable farther into the future, we remain committed to that approach.”

It is important to remain focused on phase two of the ceasefire and hostage release deal, according to Mellman. “Instead, the president is calling for the forcible relocation of two million Gazans,” he stated.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), a staunch Trump supporter, was among the U.S. lawmakers who told Jewish Insider that president’s plan was imprudent. “I don’t know that I think it’s the best use of United States resources to spend a bunch of money in Gaza,” he told the publication.

Cotton reintroduces bill to ban federal government from using term ‘West Bank’

(JNS) — Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) reintroduced legislation on Wednesday that would bar the federal government from using the term “West Bank” to describe Judea and Samaria.

The bill requires the use of “historically-accurate terminology” and “pushes back on attempts to undermine Israel’s sovereign territory.”

“The Jewish people’s legal and historic rights to Judea and Samaria goes back thousands of years,” Cotton stated. “The United States should stop using the politically-charged term ‘West Bank’ to refer to the biblical heartland of Israel.”

Formally titled the Retiring the Egregious Confusion Over the Genuine Name of Israel’s Zone of Influence by Necessitating Government-use of Judea and Samaria Act (the “RECOGNIZING Judea and Samaria Act”), the bill bans funding for use of the phrase “West Bank” in any “policy, guidance, regulation, notice, executive order, materials, briefing, press release, communications or other work product” unless waived by the secretary of state.

The legislation also substitutes “Judea and Samaria” in place of “West Bank” in existing law.

The bill is the senate companion to legislation Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.) reintroduced in the House on Friday.

“The Israeli people have an undeniable and indisputable historical and legal claim over Judea and Samaria,” Tenney said. “I remain committed to defending the integrity of the Jewish state and fully supporting Israel’s sovereignty over Judea and Samaria.”

Critics of the term “West Bank” argue that the phrase erases the ancient Jewish connection to the land and delegitimizes the presence of Israelis in Judea and Samaria.

Jordan promulgated the term after Israel’s 1948 War of Independence to describe the territory it held west of the Jordan River, but Israel has governed it as Judea and Samaria since recapturing the territory in 1967.

More Americans support than oppose deporting Pro-Hamas students, poll suggests

By Izzy Salant

(JNS) — A larger percentage (43 percent) of American adults “strongly” or “somewhat” support U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order calling for the deportation of international students accused of Jew-hatred, particularly anti-Israel protests since Oct. 7, according to a new Economist and YouGov poll.

Some 35 percent of respondents “strongly” or “somewhat” opposed the executive order, and 21 percent didn’t have an opinion. Republicans were much likelier (71 percent) than Democrats (20 percent) to at least somewhat support deporting antisemitic international students.

The poll, which was conducted between Feb. 2 and 4, included 1,604 American adults.

The same percentage (40 percent) of respondents at least somewhat agree and at least somewhat disagreed with parents being allowed to use public school funds to pay for private or religious schooling, per the poll. Republicans were much likelier (67 percent) than Democrats (19 percent) to at least somewhat support such a school choice program.

The poll also took stock more broadly of reactions to Trump’s policies during his first weeks in office.

More Americans at least “somewhat” approve (46 percent) than at least “somewhat” disapprove (44 percent) of the president’s overall job performance, with Republicans approving at a rate of 90 percent, compared to 38 percent of independents and 10 percent of Democrats. At this point in Trump’s first term, his overall approval rating was two percentage points lower—44 percent.

According to the poll, more Americans (36 percent) say that the country is headed in the right direction “than at any time since the early days of Joe Biden’s presidency.”

Israel to cease participation in UN human rights council

By Ariel Kahana

(Israel Hayom via JNS) — Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced on Wednesday that Israel will follow the example set by U.S. President Donald Trump and cease its engagement with the United Nations Human Rights Council.

While neither are members of the council, both have informal observer status. 

In a pointed critique, Sa’ar characterized the council as a platform that systematically undermines Israel’s diplomatic standing while failing to address genuine human rights concerns globally.

The Israeli foreign minister went on to state that the council serves as a mechanism for protecting human rights violators, enabling them to evade international scrutiny. He specifically condemned the UNHRC for “obsessively demonizing the one democracy in the Middle East—Israel,” rather than genuinely addressing global human rights challenges.

Israel welcomes President Trump’s decision not to participate in the UN Human Rights Council. 

Israel joins the United States and will not participate in the UNHRC. 

Sa’ar noted that the council has passed more than 100 resolutions against the Jewish state—more than 20 percent of all council resolutions, surpassing the combined total of resolutions against Iran, Cuba, North Korea and Venezuela. Moreover, Israel remains the only nation regarding which the body has a dedicated agenda item, which Sa’ar said was clear evidence of institutional bias.

Sa’ar’s announcement reflects a broader strategy of challenging what Israel perceives as systemic discrimination within multilateral institutions.

This is an edited version of an article originally published by Israel Hayom.

Netanyahu gifts Trump golden pager

By JNS Staff

(JNS) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gifted U.S. President Donald Trump two pagers, one of them made of gold, during their meeting in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Hebrew media reported on Wednesday.

The objects referenced Israel’s operation against Hezbollah in September, in which the country’s Mossad intelligence agency set off hundreds of boobytrapped pagers and walkie-talkies it had sold to the Lebanese terrorists via shell companies.

The operation reportedly incapacitated the terrorist group’s mid-level officer class and is widely believed to have had a decisive impact on its war against Israel.

A member of Netanyahu’s entourage told Israel’s Channel 12 News that Trump called the operation “tremendous” when he received the gift.

Trump gave Netanyahu a photo of the two of them, on which he wrote: “To Bibi, a great leader,” according to the report.

The Israeli premier landed in the United States on Monday and is expected to return either Thursday or extend his stay into the weekend.

Gadi Mozes discharged, hopes to rebuild Kibbutz Nir Oz

(JNS) — A week after his release from Hamas captivity in Gaza, 80-year-old Gadi Mozes was discharged from Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov Hospital) on Thursday and returned home to Kibbutz Nir Oz, accompanied by his family.

After 482 days in the coastal enclave under harsh conditions, he expressed gratitude to his family, the Israel Defense Forces, the security services and hospital staff.

“I am excited and amazed by the immense solidarity and warm embrace from the citizens of the country. I ask for privacy and hope to soon return to working the fields and contribute to the reconstruction of Nir Oz,” Channel 12 News quoted him as saying.

Mozes was taken from his home in Nir Oz alongside his wife, Margalit, during the Hamas-led onslaught on Oct. 7, 2023. Margalit was one of the first captives released in the November 2023 truce.

Mozes stressed that “the way to recovery and renewal requires the return of all the hostages, until the last one.”

According to Israeli estimates, there are 79 hostages still in Hamas captivity in Gaza, including 76 abducted on Oct. 7, 2023.

Agam Berger and Arbel Yehud were released with Mozes, along with five Thai nationals, followed on Saturday by Yarden Bibas, Ofer Kalderon, and Keith Siegel. The six-week phase one of the truce calls for the release of 33 hostages and nearly 2,000 Palestinian terrorists. Another exchange is planned for this Saturday.

Mozes thanked the soldiers working tirelessly for their release, wished a full recovery to the wounded, and honored the fallen.

Eleven days after returning from Hamas captivity, four IDF observers—Liri Elbag, Naama Levy, Karina Arayev, and Daniela Gilboa—were released from Beilinson Hospital at Rabin Medical Center in Petach Tikvah on Wednesday. Berger, the fifth IDF observer, and Yehud were also discharged on Wednesday after six days of treatment.

Their families thanked the hospital staff, emphasizing the vital role of medical and psychological care in the young women’s recovery as they begin their journey back to normal life.

IDF opens fire on suspects in Gaza, ‘prepared for any scenario’

By JNS Staff

(JNS) — Israel Defense Forces troops fired on suspects who posed a threat to them in several parts of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, according to the military.

In one instance in southern Gaza, soldiers identified a number of suspects and fired warning shots to distance them. After the suspects continued advancing towards the troops, they fired “additional shots in order to remove the threat.”

“The IDF is committed to fully implementing the conditions of the agreement for the return of the hostages. The IDF is prepared for any scenario and will continue to take any necessary actions to thwart any immediate threat to IDF soldiers,” according to the statement.

The military reiterated its call to Gazans to abide by instructions and avoid approaching troops deployed in the enclave.

On Tuesday, Israel responded to multiple violations of the Gaza ceasefire agreement. In one case, “an air force aircraft fired to deter suspicious vehicles that were moving north from the center of the Gaza Strip on a route that is not approved for vehicle traffic, without passing through the agreed inspection route,” said the military.

The Israeli Navy also fired at Palestinian vessels that defied security restrictions in Gaza’s maritime zone and failed to comply with a demand to return to shore, forcing them to change course.

In central Gaza, soldiers fired at two Palestinians who had ignored warning shots, hitting one.

Netanyahu meets with Vance, Waltz in DC

(JNS) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that he had an “excellent and warm” meeting with JD Vance, the U.S. vice president, and Mike Waltz, the U.S. national security advisor, on Wednesday.

“The friendship between Israel and the United States has never been stronger,” Netanyahu stated.

Neither the White House nor Netanyahu’s office had provided a readout of the meeting at press time.

The Israeli prime minister’s office released silent video footage of the meeting, which was held at the Blair House near the White House. Netanyahu was seated on an easy chair across from the two U.S. officials, who sad side-by-side on a small couch.

When the camera pans out, it appears to show Tzachi Braverman, Netanyahu’s chief of staff, among at least half a dozen of others at the meeting.