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Israeli soldiers thwarted an attempted ramming attack near the Ganim military post in northern Shomron on Sunday, killing one terrorist and apprehending a second, approximately an hour after a separate shooting attack in Binyamin claimed the life of a father of six.

The two terrorists approached the Ganim post in a vehicle and attempted to ram soldiers stationed there. Troops from the IDF’s 890th Battalion responded by opening fire at the vehicle, killing one of the attackers and taking the second into custody.

Following the attempted attack, additional IDF and Border Police forces were deployed to the area and began operating at the scene.

Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan praised the soldiers for their response and called for stepped-up operations against terrorism in the area.

“I commend the IDF soldiers who acted decisively and neutralized the terrorists. This incident proves once again that offensive operations in the terrorist villages must be intensified and the security checkpoints must be restored. Terror must not be allowed to raise its head.”

The attempted ramming came roughly an hour after a deadly terrorist shooting at the Neba spring, also known as Ein Raya, near Neve Tzuf in Binyamin. The victim, Netanel Shakron, a resident of Alei Zahav and father of six, had gone to the spring with his oldest son to immerse ahead of Yom Kippur.

In the earlier attack, a terrorist drove to the spring and opened fire. Shakron was discovered unconscious inside a vehicle with multiple gunshot wounds. Magen David Adom personnel treated him at the scene before rushing him to Beilinson Hospital while continuing efforts to save his life. He was subsequently pronounced dead.

After carrying out the shooting, the armed terrorist left his vehicle and escaped on foot. The IDF responded by imposing a closure on the nearby village of Deir Nidham, where the attacker was believed to have fled.

The IDF launched a large-scale manhunt involving troops from the Binyamin Brigade and the elite Duvdevan Unit, along with reinforcement companies and Israel Police personnel. Security forces erected roadblocks and conducted searches on foot, while drones and Israeli Air Force assets were deployed from the air as part of the pursuit.

{Matzav.com}

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Netanel Shakron, a father of six from Alei Zahav, was murdered Sunday morning in a terrorist shooting at the Ein Raya spring near Neve Tzuf in Binyamin, where he had gone with his oldest son to immerse ahead of Yom Kippur. The terrorist fled the scene and was captured several hours later by Israeli forces at a hospital in Ramallah.

The Samaria Regional Council announced Shakron’s death Sunday afternoon, identifying him as a longtime resident of Alei Zahav. He leaves behind his wife, Meirav, and their six children. Their oldest child is in 11th grade, while their youngest is just four years old.

Shakron worked as an information systems analyst for Hachshara Insurance Company. His wife, Dr. Meirav Shakron, is a lecturer at Ariel University.

According to Israeli authorities, the terrorist drove to the spring and opened fire at those at the site. He then emerged from his vehicle while armed and escaped on foot. Israeli security forces launched an extensive manhunt, surrounding the village of Deir Nizam as they searched for him.

Several hours later, soldiers from the IDF’s Duvdevan Unit apprehended the terrorist at a hospital in Ramallah. Drones and Israeli Air Force aircraft were also used during the pursuit.

Magen David Adom paramedic David Trachtenberg described the desperate efforts to save Shakron’s life after emergency personnel arrived at the scene.

“We arrived at the scene and saw a male in his 30s inside a vehicle, unconscious, with multiple gunshot wounds. We removed him from the vehicle and immediately began providing life-saving medical treatment. We placed him in the ambulance, and with the assistance of a physician and a paramedic, immediately began evacuating him to the hospital while fighting for his life, providing medical treatment and blood products, in the hope of stabilizing his condition.”

MDA EMT Yosef Rimal said emergency personnel arrived with substantial forces and immediately began treating the critically wounded victim.

“We received a report of a man who had been injured by gunfire. We arrived at the scene with a large number of forces and found the man unconscious. We immediately began providing advanced medical treatment, including controlling bleeding, bandaging and administering medications, and evacuated him in an MDA ambulance in serious condition.”

Before the terrorist was captured, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli forces were conducting an intensive search and vowed that those responsible for terrorism would be pursued.

“Our security forces are currently pursuing the vile terrorist who carried out the murderous attack in Binyamin. No terrorist is immune, neither are those who assist them; we will settle scores with all of them – in Gaza, in Lebanon, and in Judea and Samaria. At the same time, our heroic fighters eliminated another terrorist who attempted to carry out a terrorist attack in Samaria.”

Netanyahu said he had also ordered the IDF and Shin Bet to intensify operations throughout Yehuda and Shomron in response to the attack.

He added that he has “instructed the IDF and the Shin Bet to carry out operations in Judea and Samaria with reinforced forces, to impose closures and carry out offensive measures and arrests in order to safeguard the security of Israeli citizens. I have instructed that steps are taken to demolish the terrorist’s home immediately. On behalf of all citizens of Israel, my wife and I send our heartfelt condolences to the family of the victim murdered in the terrorist attack and share in their heavy grief.”

The IDF chief of staff traveled to the area following the shooting and said the military was maintaining heightened readiness throughout the country ahead of Yom Kippur. Reinforced forces have been deployed in multiple areas, with the increased alert expected to remain in effect throughout the fast.

“Our mission is clear and ongoing – to thwart terrorism, to act decisively against any threat and to protect the citizens of the State of Israel,” the Chief of Staff said.

Yisrael Ganz, head of the Binyamin Regional Council and chairman of the Yesha Council, arrived at the scene while the manhunt was still underway. He said the victims had come to the spring specifically to immerse before Yom Kippur when the gunman struck.

“Residents came to the spring ahead of Yom Kippur to immerse themselves in the water. A terrorist arrived armed with an M16 and opened fire on them. One of the residents was very seriously wounded and is being evacuated to the hospital.”

Ganz said at the time that multiple branches of Israel’s security establishment were participating in the search for the attacker, while pledging that the spring would continue to be visited despite the attack.

“IDF forces, the police, Shin Bet, and Border Police are all pursuing the terrorist, who is still in the area. This is a very difficult incident, but we are strong, and we will get through this as well. With God’s help, during Sukkot this place will once again be filled with visitors. No one will drive us away from here.”

After Israeli forces located and captured the terrorist, Ganz praised the speed of the operation but expressed regret that the attacker had been taken alive.

“I commend the security forces for their swift action, which removed the threat to the residents of Binyamin. I am deeply sorry that the despicable murderer remains alive. On the eve of Yom Kippur, he sought to take lives and break our spirit, but he failed. The people of Israel will not be intimidated or broken by terrorism.

“The capture of the terrorist is not the end of the incident. Judea and Samaria are flooded with illegal weapons, and the Palestinian Authority’s security forces possess tens of thousands of weapons that could be turned against us. Nearly three years after October 7, we must not wait for another disaster. I call on the Government of Israel to immediately launch a broad operation to collect illegal weapons, dismantle terrorist infrastructure, and disarm the Palestinian Authority and its security forces.”

Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan later visited the Shakron family home, where he described Netanel as a quiet and giving person devoted to his family and community.

“We are facing a very difficult event, together with the entire people of Israel. We are grieving, embracing and supporting the family. Netanel was a man of kindness, a humble person who loved others, a devoted family man and part of a deeply rooted, longtime family in Alei Zahav. He was murdered after immersing with his son ahead of Yom Kippur. Our hearts are broken. We will embrace Meirav and the six children and stand by their side. These barbarians will never break us.

“From here, I say before the entire world: You will never break the communities of Samaria, the people of Israel or the State of Israel. We will build the Land of Israel even more. I strengthen and embrace the IDF soldiers, Border Police officers, Israel Police officers, ISA personnel and all the security forces in their fight against terrorism.

“I expect the Israeli government and the senior command to shift from defense to offense, launch an operation throughout the entire area, go from house to house, collect every weapon and restore the security checkpoints. On the eve of Yom Kippur, we are grieving, but we are not broken. A thousand despicable terrorists like these will not defeat us.”

In Alei Zahav itself, Shakron’s murder left the community mourning a husband, father and neighbor described as humble, kindhearted and deeply devoted to those around him.

“The Alei Zahav community bows its head and mourns the murder of our beloved friend, Netanel Shakron. Netanel was a man of kindness, humble, modest and beloved, a devoted husband to Meirav and a devoted father to their six children. The Shakron family is a deeply rooted, longtime family in the community and an inseparable part of Alei Zahav. We all embrace Meirav and the children and will stand by their side during this difficult time and in every way necessary. May his memory be a blessing.”

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has placed a hold on the Trump administration’s proposed $2.8 billion munitions sale to Israel, joining House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York in withholding support for the transaction. Semafor reported that Shaheen’s hold has been in place since July.

Shaheen has raised concerns about the Israeli government’s military actions in Gaza and Syria, as well as violence by extremist Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank. According to Semafor, she has also sought information from the Trump administration about how Israel intends to use the weapons included in the proposed package.

The $2.8 billion package includes 40,000 2,000-pound bombs — 20,000 MK-84 bombs and 20,000 BLU-117 bombs, according to Reuters. The Biden administration had previously withheld a shipment of some 2,000-pound bombs to Israel because of concerns about their potential use in densely populated areas of Gaza.

Palestinian health authorities currently say that more than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war began following the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Those figures do not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Israel says its military operations are directed against Hamas and other terrorist groups and has accused Hamas of operating among civilians.

Because Shaheen is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, her objection can delay the informal congressional review that generally precedes major U.S. weapons sales. Such holds are not themselves a binding legal prohibition on an administration proceeding with a sale, but the State Department traditionally attempts to address concerns raised by the senior lawmakers overseeing foreign affairs before formally notifying Congress.

Semafor first disclosed Shaheen’s hold, reporting that it has been in effect since July. Her move became public shortly after Meeks announced his own opposition to advancing the same package through the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Meeks said his concerns centered on whether the Netanyahu government would use the American-supplied weapons in compliance with U.S. law and international humanitarian law. His objection alone does not legally prevent the administration from proceeding with the sale.

Asked by CNN on Wednesday about Meeks’s decision, Shaheen said, “all of us share concern about what Israel is doing.”

“What they’re doing in Gaza, they’re bombing in places like Syria and what that means for any peaceful solution in the Middle East,” she said.

Shaheen then expanded on her objections to the policies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, particularly in the West Bank.

“Netanyahu needs to hear from America that we don’t like what he’s doing. We don’t like what’s happening in the West Bank where settler violence is killing Palestinians, sending them out of their homes, disrupting basic infrastructure. And the Netanyahu administration has basically done nothing to address that,” Shaheen continued.

The holds by Shaheen and Meeks amount to opposition from the ranking Democrats on both congressional committees that review major foreign arms sales. The administration could nevertheless attempt to move the transaction forward despite those objections; Semafor noted that congressional holds during the informal review process are customary rather than legally binding.

The proposed sale comes amid continuing debate in Congress over U.S. military assistance to Israel. In April, 40 members of the Senate Democratic caucus voted to block a separate arms sale to Israel, reflecting increased opposition among Democratic lawmakers to some weapons transfers.

The Trump administration, meanwhile, has continued to support substantial military assistance and weapons sales to Israel. Reuters reported that the current package was informally presented to the congressional committees responsible for reviewing major arms transactions before any formal notification of the sale.

Neither the State Department nor the Israeli Embassy immediately responded to Reuters’ requests for comment when details of the proposed $2.8 billion package emerged earlier this week.

For now, the package remains caught in the congressional review process, with the senior Democrats on both the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and House Foreign Affairs Committee seeking additional assurances about how the weapons would be used before giving their approval.

{Matzav.com}

President Donald Trump’s planned Triumphal Arch in Washington, D.C., has cleared a key aviation review, with the Federal Aviation Administration determining that the towering monument would not endanger aircraft — provided that an “eternal flame” and extensive lighting are installed to ensure pilots can see it.

“The FAA’s determination includes conditions for the Arch to be appropriately marked with a non-standard eternal flame on top of the structure and floodlight projectors pointed towards the Arch to make it noticeable for pilots,” an FAA spokesperson told The Hill.

The agency issued its hazard determination Friday following an examination by FAA safety specialists. The review considered “airspace, air traffic patterns and procedures around Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, as well as operations at nearby military/public-use airports,” before concluding that the proposed structure “would not pose a hazard to aircraft.”

The lighting requirements represent a change from an earlier FAA recommendation. The agency had previously indicated that the arch would need conventional red obstruction lights, similar to those used atop the Washington Monument, but those lights are no longer required under the newly released determination. Instead, the eternal flame and floodlighting would serve to make the structure visible to pilots.

The FAA provided additional specifications in correspondence with the National Park Service, stating that the searchlight projectors accompanying the flame should “provide an average illumination of at least 15 foot-candles (161.46 lux) over the top one-third of the structure.”

Trump’s proposed arch is expected to rise approximately 250 feet, which would make it substantially taller than Paris’ Arc de Triomphe, which stands roughly 164 feet high, as well as Mexico City’s Monumento a la Revolución, which reaches approximately 220 feet.

The monument is planned for Memorial Circle on Columbia Island, between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. The site lies along the Arlington Memorial Bridge corridor, whose historic design was intended to symbolize the reunification of the North and South following the Civil War.

The proposal has also generated opposition. A veterans organization launched a campaign against the project last week, arguing that placing the enormous structure between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery would interfere with an important historic and symbolic sightline.

The group argued that it was “entirely inappropriate and borders on sacrilege to the men and women buried” at Arlington National Cemetery to disrupt the visual connection between the cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial.

The National Park Service has separately concluded that the project could adversely affect numerous historic properties and landscapes in the Washington area, particularly through changes to established views and sightlines.

Its review identified nearly 40 historic locations that could potentially be affected by the project, including the Pentagon, Washington Monument, U.S. Capitol, National Mall, Lincoln Memorial, Robert E. Lee Memorial and Lyndon B. Johnson Memorial Grove.

Despite those concerns, the FAA’s latest determination removes a significant aviation-related obstacle facing the project. The proposed arch would stand close to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and near heavily traveled flight paths, prompting questions from aviation experts and lawmakers about whether such a tall structure could complicate operations in Washington’s already tightly controlled airspace.

The FAA has now concluded that the arch can coexist with those aviation operations — as long as the required visibility measures are incorporated into the final design. Under the agency’s determination, that means Trump’s planned monument will not simply be illuminated at night: its enormous upper section will be continuously floodlit, with the distinctive eternal flame burning at its summit to make the structure readily identifiable to pilots.

{Matzav.com}