A bipartisan majority in the House passed the Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act earlier today. The bill will now head to the Senate, where we expect it to be voted on sometime next week.
AIPAC commends the House for adopting this important pro-Israel legislation and urges the Senate to pass this bill.
This legislation is particularly important and urgent as the ICC issued warrants in November for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
You can read AIPAC's full summary of the bill here.
Also today, renowned Israeli human rights activist and former Soviet refusenik Natan Sharansky published an op-ed in The Free Press on the ICC's "false charges [that] betray human rights law for the sake of demonizing the Jewish state."
"While international law and institutions were intended to promote peace, they have been co-opted by those who seek the destruction of the Jewish state. If the words 'never again' are to mean anything, then, they must mean rejecting this state of affairs," Sharansky writes.
CENTCOM strikes Houthis as the Iranian-backed terror group continues to attack
The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) on Wednesday struck weapons depots used by the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists in Yemen to target U.S. Navy ships and commercial vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
"The strikes are part of CENTCOM's effort to degrade Iranian-backed Houthi attempts to threaten regional partners and military and merchant vessels in the region," CENTCOM said.
Meanwhile, the IDF said that since October 7, 2023, the Houthis have launched approximately 40 surface-to-surface missiles and 320 drones from Yemen at Israel.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in December that Israel "will hunt down all of the Houthis’ leaders and we will strike them just as we have done in other places."
A drone launched at Israel apparently from Yemen after it was shot down by the Israeli Air Force near Gvulot in southern Israel earlier today.
Hamas is stealing, selling humanitarian aid sent into Gaza
Hamas is systematically stealing humanitarian aid shipments, using armed terrorists to seize supply trucks carrying internationally funded assistance and then reselling it at a markup to the local population.
"The resale of international aid has become their dominant revenue stream," a senior Israeli security official said, adding that Hamas uses the profits to finance salaries for terrorists and ongoing recruitment efforts.
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Lebanon elects a new president for the first time in two years
Today, Lebanon's parliament elected Lebanese Armed Forces chief Joseph Aoun as president, defeating the Hezbollah- and Qatari-aligned candidates and filling a vacancy that had been left open for two years.
Following his election, Aoun said, "The state has the exclusive right to bear arms, and the Lebanese state alone has the right to resist [Israeli] occupation. The trilogy of the people, the army, and the resistance has ended. We have entered the era of the army and the people….We have entered the era of the removal of weapons," apparently referring to the disarmament of Hezbollah.
President Biden said, "Now, through their elected parliamentarians, the people of Lebanon have exercised their democratic right to choose their own future. They have chosen a path aligned with peace, security, sovereignty, and reconstruction, in partnership with the international community. And the United States will support them as they walk that path."
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said, "I congratulate Lebanon upon the election of a new President, following a lengthy political crisis. I hope that this choice will contribute towards stability, a better future for Lebanon and its people and to good neighborly relations."
Growing threat from Iranian-backed terror groups in the West Bank
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that the West Bank may be on the brink of war in a meeting with local authorities this week.
A terror attack in the West Bank on Monday, later claimed by Hamas, killed three Israelis and injured at least eight more.
The Shin Bet reported last Tuesday that it had thwarted 1,040 significant terrorist attacks in the West Bank and Jerusalem in 2024.
And back in November, Israel announced that it had begun building a fence along the Israel-Jordan border to stop the smuggling of weapons from Iran through Jordan into the West Bank.
The United States must support Israel's effort to combat terrorism in the West Bank and pressure the Palestinian Authority to do more to counter terrorism.
The mission of AIPAC is to encourage and persuade the U.S. government to enact specific policies that create a strong, enduring and mutually beneficial relationship with our ally Israel.
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