Matzav

Police in Amsterdam on Sunday arrested several dozen people at an unauthorized anti-Israel protest rally at a square where, days earlier, Muslims assaulted Israeli soccer fans.

The arrests at Dam Square followed a temporary municipal ban on the anti-Israel demonstrations that regularly take place there. The ban followed the coordinated assault on Thursday by at least 100 Muslim men on fans of Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer team who were leaving a match against the local Ajax team.

Five Israelis were moderately wounded and another 20 suffered light injuries. Some 2,000 people left the Netherlands for Israel over the weekend in eight emergency flights organized by El Al, Israel’s flag carrier airline. The assaults, which Israeli President Isaac Herzog called a “pogrom,” shocked many in Israel and beyond.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu noted in a filmed address how the event coincided with annual anniversary of the Kristallnacht pogroms that happened throughout the Third Reich on Nov. 9-10, 1938.

“Unfortunately, we have seen in recent days images that are reminiscent of that night. On the streets of Amsterdam, antisemitic perpetrators assaulted Jews, Israeli citizens, only because they are Jewish,” Netanyahu said. But, he added, “there’s a difference between that night and our times: Now we have our own state, government and army. We have the ability, will and determination to defend ourselves and also to demand others fulfill their duties.”

Netanyahu said he had called his Dutch counterpart, Dick Schoof, and demanded to bring the perpetrators to justice and protect the local Jewish community. Schoof said he was “ashamed” of the assaults of Nov. 8, Netanyahu said.

In the Netherlands, the assaults were widely seen as part of the immigration crisis that has divided locals for decades, and especially following the entry of hundreds of thousands of people to that country and elsewhere in Europe after 2011. In that year, the Syrian civil war erupted, triggering the arrival of millions from the Middle East to Europe, many at the invitation of the German government.

Geert Wilders, the head of Netherlands largest party and senior coalition partner, called to deport the perpetrators, lamenting on X that “we have become the Gaza of Europe.”

Israeli journalists covering the aftermath of the assaults were intimidated by locals over the weekend, they said. Kan journalists Michal Reshef and Micah Rizov said that youths had followed them around in Amsterdam after they had filmed a segment there. The youths shouted “Free Palestine” until police pushed them away, they said.

Yossi Eli, a reporter for Channel 13, wrote on X that dozens of police officers escorted him and a cameraman to film in a heavily Muslim neighborhood of Amsterdam, where locals took photos of him and shouted insults. Police advised Eli to move to a hotel outside Amsterdam for his safety after the visit, he wrote, fearing the photos that Muslims had taken of him would be shared online with the intent of tracking him down and assaulting him.

On Sunday, Bart Schut, the deputy editor-in-chief of the NIW Dutch Jewish weekly, documented how shopkeepers in stores on the Nieuwndijk shopping street near Dam Square were holding up cell phones displaying the PLO flag in solidarity with the participants of the illegal protest, after some them moved to that street.

The assaults of Thursday night followed smaller altercations involving Maccabi fans, who reportedly damaged a taxi cab, stole a PLO flag hanging from a building façade and chanted at a metro station about “letting the IDF win and f***k the Arabs.”

The assaults were the largest-scale antisemitic assault in the Netherlands since the Holocaust. Video filmed by perpetrators showed scenes of public humiliation, including of an Israel who was forced to his knees and made to say “Free Palestine” before being beaten up. At least one Israeli jumped into a canal to escape his attackers. At least one suspected car ramming was reported.

Law enforcement agents apprehended 62 people ahead of the assaults, Amsterdam Police chief Peter Holla said on Friday.

But Wilders, the head of the Party for Freedom, revealed on Saturday that “Amsterdam Police just confirmed that NO ONE has been arrested during the Islamic Jew-hunt in Amsterdam Thursday night. All arrests have been made before and during the soccer match and NOT during the pogrom.”

Prime Minister Dick Schoof said in a statement Saturday that a “thorough investigation” will be carried out about how the event was allowed to happen and to “bring the perpetrators to justice.”

The Municipality of Amsterdam is carrying out its own independent investigation, Mayor Femke Halsema said at a press conference on Friday.

Dutch King Willem-Alexander in a statement on Friday wrote: “We must not look away from antisemitic behavior on our streets. History has taught us how intimidation goes from bad to worse, with horrific consequences. Jewish people must feel safe in the Netherlands, everywhere and at all times. We embrace them all and hold them close.”

(JNS)

A majority of Jewish Israelis back the continuation of the Israel Defense Forces military operations in Southern Lebanon, a survey published by the Israel Democracy Institute on Sunday shows.

The IDI’s Viterbi Family Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research conducted the November 2024 Israeli Voice Index, which included surveys of 600 men and women in Hebrew, and 150 in Arabic, between Oct. 28 and Nov. 4. The maximum sampling error was ±3.58% at a confidence level of 95%, according to the Israel Democracy Institute.

The survey asked, “In the current situation, on what should Israel focus its efforts in Lebanon?”

A majority of Jewish Israeli respondents (54%) said they support a continuation of the fighting, while a minority (38%) expressed support for ceasefire negotiations with the Lebanese state.

Asked who should control Southern Lebanon after the war, Israeli Jews are split between a multinational military force (37.5%) and the IDF itself (30.5%), with 21.5% saying the Lebanese Armed Forces, 1% answering a weakened Hezbollah, and 9.5% saying they don’t know.

The largest proportion of Jewish respondents told IDI pollsters that they believe the some 60,000 displaced Israeli civilians will be able to return to their homes near the northern border within six months to a year (27%), followed by three to six months (23%) and 30 to 90 days (16.5%).

Turning to the southern front with Hamas, a clear majority (62.5%) agreed that the IDF’s Oct. 16 killing of leader Yahya Sinwar has brought Israel closer to achieving its goal of toppling the terrorist group’s rule in Gaza.

On the Iranian issue, Jews are divided between thinking the IDF responded “appropriately strong” or “too weak” (both 43%) to the Islamic Republic’s Oct. 1 ballistic missile attacks on the Jewish state.

Israel has been battling Iran and its regional terrorist proxies—including Hezbollah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Yemen’s Houthis—since Hamas launched its Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in which approximately 1,200 people, primarily Israeli civilians, were murdered.

(JNS)

In what could be a preview of a further arms embargo on Israel, security officials told Ynet on Sunday that the delivery of more than 100 D9 armored bulldozers ordered by the Defense Ministry have been stalled.

A partial U.S. arms embargo on Israel has led to 134 D9 bulldozers that Israel has already paid for awaiting U.S. State Department approval to be exported.

These bulldozers are primarily used for flattening structures in the Gaza Strip, which has led to significant criticism in the U.S. Under intense pressure, the Biden administration has frozen deliveries for several months.

According to Ynet, many D9 bulldozers already in Israel require maintenance after months of heavy use in Gaza, and with the ground operation in Southern Lebanon, bulldozers are needed there as well.

The halt to deliveries of the bulldozers will likely delay the completion of a one-kilometer-wide buffer zone between the Gaza Strip and Israel’s western Negev on the Gaza side of the border, Ynet reported. It involves the leveling of hundreds of Palestinian buildings and the clearance of agricultural land.

While many of the buildings have already been razed, more work is necessary. The Americans oppose the actions.

“The fact there are videos of American D9 bulldozers demolishing homes in Gaza isn’t helpful, but it’s a necessity,” IDF sources told Ynet. “These homes are used by terrorists.”

While the delays in the bulldozer shipments are causing concern, the article noted that the Americans approved a dramatic increase in the delivery of JLTVs, or Joint Light Tactical Vehicles.

Dozens have already arrived out of around 300 ordered, with the order expanding to 1,000 vehicles. The armored personnel carriers will replace the older M-113 APCs. They will be outfitted with 30 mm cannons and remotely operated machine guns.

The deal is estimated to be worth NIS 4 billion (approximately $1.1 billion).

(JNS)

District Media Group president Beverly Hallberg discusses the media’s 2024 race coverage and their response to President-elect Trump’s victory.

WATCH:

The U.S. Embassy in Yerushalayim has announced significant changes to its consular services.

Last week, Paysach Freedman, CEO of Chaim V’Chessed, met with senior Embassy officials, where he learned about upcoming changes aimed at enhancing services for U.S. citizens. Starting November 11, 2024, a new contractor will oversee the Embassy’s consular operations, offering expanded service options and an improved appointment system for those seeking passport, Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA) or notarial services.

New Customer Service Locations

To streamline consular processes, in the near future, the Embassy will open new customer service centers in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. These centers will provide free document pickup and drop-off services. Additionally, over 30 premium service locations throughout Israel will offer pickup and drop-off services for a fee, along with a premium delivery option for added convenience.

From December 2 onward, all passport and consular document applications submitted to the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem or the Embassy Branch Office in Tel Aviv must be registered on the Embassy’s new appointment website. Applications sent through Israel Post or Aramex courier services will still be accepted until December 1.

Updated Appointment System Launching November 13

A new online appointment system for all passport, CRBA, and notarial services will go live on November 13, 2024, at 3:00 pm. Applicants will need to use this system to schedule in-person appointments at locations in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Haifa. New appointments will be released each Wednesday between 3:00 pm and 4:00 pm.

The Embassy has confirmed that existing appointments scheduled in the current system will still be valid. However, citizens who cancel any pre-scheduled appointment after November 8 will need to rebook through the new platform.

Emergency Passport Services Unchanged

The Embassy’s procedure for emergency passports remains the same. American citizens facing urgent travel needs can continue to secure walk-in appointments before 8:30 am on regular business days at both the Jerusalem and Tel Aviv locations. Emergency passports, issued with limited validity, are typically available for pickup by the next business day between 2:00 pm and 2:30 pm.

Paysach Freedman shared that over the past year, callers to Chaim V’Chessed have reported considerable improvements in the Embassy’s user experience. While he acknowledges that there may be some difficulties as the new system is implemented, he expressed that, “It is hoped that the new services will further enhance Embassy services for U.S. citizens in Israel.”

Not all details of the new arrangements have been released to the public yet. Chaim V’Chessed’s extensive U.S. Embassy information will be updated as soon as further details of the new rules become available.

{Matzav.com Israel}

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John Bolton, who served as President Donald Trump’s national security adviser during his first term, downplayed concerns about Elon Musk’s involvement in Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He suggested that the situation should not be overblown, stating it was “nothing to get ‘hyper-thyroid about,'” in an interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on Friday.

However, Bolton did express some skepticism regarding the broader context, saying, “It’s certainly not a sign that order and stability have suddenly appeared at Mar-a-Lago despite what everybody is talking about, these early appointments,” as reported by The Hill. Trump has been engaging with global leaders following his election victory, but Musk’s unexpected participation in the call with Zelenskyy on Wednesday sparked some questions.

NBC News reported on Shabbos that Musk had not been originally planned to join the call. According to sources, Musk entered the room during the conversation and briefly greeted Zelenskyy, though he did not engage in the substantive dialogue between Trump and the Ukrainian leader.

Bolton shared his initial thoughts on the situation, saying, “My first reaction when I heard it was, well, so what? What’s unusual about having the Vice President-elect sitting with the President-elect on a call?” He then reflected on the reality that “Elon Musk wasn’t the Vice President-elect.” Bolton emphasized that it’s too early to predict Trump’s presidential actions but expressed hope that “America will become stronger.”

Addressing the uncertainties surrounding Trump’s future actions, Bolton noted, “Of course, we cannot yet know what his actions will be. But we do hope that America will become stronger.” Trump has consistently claimed that he could resolve the Russia-Ukraine conflict before taking office, though critics argue his proposed solution would require Ukraine to cede territory.

Bolton, who has often criticized Trump, suggested that Musk’s involvement in the call fits into a larger pattern of chaotic decision-making by Trump. He described the situation as typical for the president, calling it “the same chaotic, ‘Do what you want to do’ Donald Trump, with his latest bright, shiny object, Elon Musk.”

Bolton was also asked about the advice he would offer to Trump’s future national security adviser. He explained that the adviser must be capable of presenting the president with the best possible options to “make the best selection of policy” and ensure that the decisions are implemented.

“If the president doesn’t take your advice, then that goes with the job,” Bolton said. “You are the national security adviser and not the national security decision-maker.” However, Bolton stressed that the adviser should not simply agree with the president’s wishes but should work to provide all available information and feasible options. “You have to do what you can, and you are obviously dealing with a human being, but you need to do what you can to make sure that all of the information is available, and all of the feasible options are laid out,” Bolton concluded, asserting that always agreeing does not serve the president or the country.

{Matzav.com}

Dutch Justice and Security Minister David van Weel addressed a letter to parliament’s lower house on Shabbos, stating that he will lead an investigation into the violent attack on Israeli soccer fans, including reviewing missed warnings from Israeli intelligence.

The minister confirmed that Thursday’s incidents were rooted in anti-Semitism, according to Volkskrant.

“Everything points to the fact that people were attacked and threatened yesterday because of their origin, their religion and their Jewish background,” he said on Friday.

Van Weel noted in his letter, “An investigation is still being conducted on possible warning signs from Israel.”

Additionally, the Public Prosecution Service has announced plans to expedite legal proceedings against those involved.

Van Weel emphasized that identifying all suspects involved in the attacks is “the absolute priority.”

{Matzav.com}

New details emerged this morning about Donald Trump’s developing administration. Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has returned to closely assist the president-elect in preparations for building the new administration.

Kushner, 43, was among the key figures in Trump’s first administration and led many of its successes. Since the 2020 election, he and his wife, Ivanka, Trump’s daughter, have avoided public and political activity, partly to provide their children with a more comfortable life.

Kushner broke his silence about a month ago, strongly criticizing the Biden administration for its approach toward Israel and the Middle East. According to a source familiar with the matter, he has now returned to active involvement in the president’s circle to contribute his experience ahead of Trump’s second term, which begins on Jan. 20.

Meanwhile, Republican Party sources assess that Trump’s rejection of a post for former CIA director and secretary of state Mike Pompeo increases the likelihood of Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) being selected as the next secretary of state.

Rubio, 53, a strong supporter of Israel, has grown considerably closer to Trump in recent months and attended the victory event in West Palm Beach, Fla. on Tuesday night. According to two sources, the chances of his selection as America’s top diplomat are high. JNS

{Matzav.com}

Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu confirmed for the first time on Sunday that Israel carried out the Sept. 17-18 pager attacks in Lebanon, which wounded thousands of Hezbollah terrorists.

“There were senior officials in the defense establishment and the political echelon in charge of them who opposed the pager operation, as well as [Hezbollah leader Hassan] Nasrallah’s elimination,” Netanyahu told fellow ministers at the weekly Cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office in Yerushalayim.

“When I wanted to eliminate Nasrallah, [have the IDF] enter [Gaza’s Hamas stronghold] Rafah and other things, there were those who opposed it in the Cabinet,” the prime minister added.

Thousands of pagers exploded on Sept. 17 across Hezbollah‘s terrorist strongholds in Lebanon. A day later, hundreds of Hezbollah walkie-talkies exploded. The attacks killed 39 people and injured some 3,000.

Jerusalem for weeks declined to comment on the pager blasts—the first wave of which came hours after the Israeli Cabinet added the return of displaced northern residents to their homes to the country’s war goals.

Each of the Hezbollah communication devices that exploded was individually detonated, with Israeli intelligence operatives knowing exactly which terrorist was being targeted, his location and whether others were in close proximity, according to reports in Israeli media.

The reports said the Mossad intelligence agency produced tens of thousands of pagers with the knowledge they would be thoroughly examined by Hezbollah, including through inspections by sniffer dogs.

Just over a week after the pager blasts, Israeli Air Force fighter jets dropped a dozen 2,000-pound bunker-buster bombs on Hezbollah’s headquarters in Beirut’s southern suburbs, killing Nasrallah, who had led the Lebanese terrorist organization for more than three decades.

Iranian-backed Hezbollah has attacked Israel nearly daily since Oct. 8, 2023, firing thousands of rockets, missiles and drones. The attacks have killed more than 60 people and caused widespread damage. Tens of thousands of Israelis remain internally displaced due to the violence.

Last week, Netanyahu dismissed his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, replacing him with Israel Katz, who until then served as foreign minister.

Gallant and Netanyahu “had substantial disagreements on the management of the military campaign, disagreements which were accompanied by public statements and actions that contravened the decisions of the government and the Security Cabinet,” the premier said.

Katz thanked Netanyahu for entrusting him with the new responsibility and vowed to lead the Israeli military “towards victory against our enemies and to achieve the goals of the war: The return of all the hostages as the most important mission, the destruction of Hamas in Gaza, the defeat of Hezbollah in Lebanon, the curbing of Iranian aggression and the safe return of the residents of the north and south to their homes.” JNS

{Matzav.com Israel}

The International Criminal Court will launch an external investigation into misconduct accusations against its top prosecutor, Karim Khan, the Associated Press reported on Friday.

The outsourced probe was greenlit this week at a meeting of the ICC’s internal watchdog, the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute, according to three sources acquainted with the matter who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.

The sources said that it was unclear who would lead the investigation. Options include European law-enforcement officials and a law firm.

The oversight body of the ICC was also mentioned as a possibility, but it might be ruled out for conflict-of-interest concerns over Karim’s spouse, who has previously worked for the agency in Kenya probing cases of harassment.

Neither the head of the ICC’s oversight body, Päivi Kaukoranta, nor Karim’s attorney has thus far responded to requests for comment, according to AP.

The allegations against Khan first emerged in May, around the time he requested to file arrest warrants against Israel’s Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu and then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

The top prosecutor denied that he tried to force a female assistant into an inappropriate relationship, with ICC officials close to Khan claiming that the accusations were part of a smear campaign carried out by Israeli intelligence agencies.

Khan said that there was “no truth to suggestions of misconduct” and that he has always supported victims of harassment and abuse in his 30 years of work. He added that, if asked, he would cooperate with any inquiry.

However, reports in the media depicted recurring incidents in which Khan tried to force himself on his aide.

One source told AP that, “This wasn’t a one-time advance or an arm around the shoulder that could be subject to misinterpretation. It was a full-on, repeated pattern of conduct that was carried out over a long period of time.”

AP obtained documents shared with the ICC’s watchdog and held talks with eight individuals familiar with the subject, including sources close to the woman.

The documents alleged an instance in which Khan had unwanted, inappropriate physical contact with an individual, and that Khan later knocked on her hotel door for 10 minutes at 3 a.m.

In October, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) requested “full transparency” from the ICC with regard to the allegations of misconduct by its top prosecutor.

“Public reports indicate that allegations of harassment surfaced in early May—just a few days before Prosecutor Khan applied for arrest warrants against the Prime Minister and Minister of Defense of Israel,” Graham said in a letter to the ICC last week. “The timing of the allegations is troubling, and only compounds the other strong legal, jurisdictional, and prudential objections I have expressed regarding the Prosecutor’s decision to seek arrest warrants.”

In May, Khan demanded the arrest of Netanyahu and Gallant for alleged war crimes. He lumped the two Israelis together with then-Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif and Hamas politburo head Ismail Haniyeh. (All three were eliminated by Israel over the past year.)

The ICC has no jurisdiction, as Jerusalem is not a signatory to the Rome Statute that established the court. But in a legalistic sleight of hand, the court claimed jurisdiction by accepting “Palestine” as a signatory in 2015, even though no such state exists under international law.

(JNS)

Russian President Vladimir Putin has officially enacted a treaty solidifying Russia’s strategic partnership with North Korea, which includes a clause for mutual defense, as confirmed by a decree published on Shabbos.

The agreement, which was signed by Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June following their summit in Pyongyang, stipulates that both countries will support each other in the event of an armed attack.

The Russian upper house approved the treaty earlier this week, following the lower house’s approval last month. On Shabbos, Putin signed a decree formalizing the ratification, which was made available on a government website that details the legislative processes.

This treaty marks a significant deepening of the relationship between Moscow and Pyongyang, particularly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Reports from both South Korea and Western nations suggest that North Korea has been supplying arms to Russia, with Ukrainian forensic experts identifying evidence of these weapons at locations hit by Russian forces.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed on Thursday that North Korea has sent 11,000 soldiers to fight alongside Russian forces, some of whom have been reported as casualties in clashes with Ukraine’s military in Russia’s Kursk region.

{Matzav.com}

An interview with Real Estate Syndicator Eli Puretz by Dovid Lichtenstein on Halacha Headlines:

LISTEN:

https://matzav.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/PuretzHeadlines.mp3

All are asked to daven for the rosh yeshiva Rav Asher Hakohein Deutsch, who is currently hospitalized at Maayanei Hayeshua Hospital in Bnei Brak and in need of a refuah.

Rav Deutsch was admitted to the hospital due to an infection.

A large atzeres tefillah was held at the Kosel due to a worsening in Rav Deutsch’s condition.

All are asked to daven Rav Asher ben Leah.

{Matzav.com Israel}

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Will Democrats act on discussions to replace Justice Sonya Sotomayor before Biden leaves office in January?

Israel’s defense forces have reportedly found thousands of disturbing video hours documenting Hamas officials subjecting Palestinian civilians to brutal treatment, according to The Daily Mail.

The footage reveals scenes of male detainees with bags over their heads, restrained in painful positions by chains affixed to floors and ceilings. Some prisoners are shown writhing in agony as they endure beatings to the soles of their feet. In one particularly distressing video, a hooded man appears to scream and protest against his captor. These traumatic scenes were inadvertently recorded by surveillance cameras within a Hamas base in northern Gaza, a facility Israeli forces raided earlier this year.

Reports suggest this footage was found on computers seized from a vacated building inside the Jabalia refugee camp, although the reasons for detaining these men remain unclear.

The detainees include political opponents and individuals suspected of collaborating with Israel. The time stamps on the footage indicate that these acts of torture occurred between 2018 and 2020. Guards often seem disturbingly nonchalant, conversing casually as the violence unfolds. In one video, an interrogator relaxes in a chair, arms folded behind his head, as a bound prisoner hangs from the ceiling by his arms. Another clip shows a man with a red bag over his head, chained in such a restricted position that he can barely place one foot on the floor, later choked severely by his captor.

An Israeli military official informed The Mail, “The IDF found these CCTV images in March. It took months to go through them all.” Although independent verification of the footage has not been possible, longstanding human rights reports have documented abuses by Hamas against Gaza civilians. Amnesty International previously published an in-depth report detailing Hamas’s record of abductions, torture, and killings targeting its own population during the previous Israel-Hamas war.

According to Hamza Howidy, 27, an accountant who later escaped from Gaza, “People outside of Gaza call Hamas freedom fighters when they are killing innocent Palestinians for nothing.”

One man, Abdul, previously shared with Israeli media how he endured repeated torture until he managed to flee to Egypt. Reflecting on his experience, he told i24News, “They put me in a tiny room. They wouldn’t let me sleep or go to the bathroom inside. There was no food… They would torture me so badly. Sometimes, they would tie my feet up and beat them with a stick. After that, every few years, they would arrest me and torture me in the same way…”

Mr. Howidy, who thinks he was held in western Jabalia in 2019, is unsure if he appears in the discovered footage. He explained that “Hamas controls everything.”

Mr. Howidy described others who suffered prolonged abuse, including one man detained for three years and tortured thrice weekly, enduring severe physical violations and electric shocks until his eventual release upon proving his innocence. “The first thing he did was shoot dead the Hamas officer who reported him – his uncle,” Mr. Howidy said. Without legal representation, detainees’ families remain unaware of their fates. After leaving Gaza for Europe via the Egyptian border last year, Mr. Howidy shared that he was warned not to return to Gaza.

{Matzav.com}

Kingda Ka, Six Flags Great Adventure’s monumental roller coaster, might be closing for good, according to a report by Shore News Network.

Today is reportedly the final opportunity to experience this record-breaking coaster, which has been thrilling visitors at the New Jersey amusement park since its debut in 2005.

Reaching an astounding height of 456 feet and catapulting riders from 0 to 128 mph in just 3.5 seconds, Kingda Ka has drawn thrill-seekers globally. However, it has also proven to be a consistent challenge for Six Flags. Although Six Flags hasn’t confirmed this season’s closure as permanent, insiders close to the matter have indicated the closure through various social media posts.

The ride’s hydraulic launch mechanism, responsible for its extreme speeds, has experienced recurring issues, resulting in frequent shutdowns and expensive repairs. In addition to the technical difficulties, the coaster has faced shutdowns due to weather and occasional unexpected downtimes, making its operation increasingly difficult for the park.

Currently, Six Flags Great Adventure has not shared any plans regarding a replacement for Kingda Ka—if there will be one at all. As a mainstay attraction for nearly 20 years, some hope for an even more daring ride, while others speculate that the park may take a different approach.

Today marks the last opportunity to ride Kingda Ka, if the rumors are accurate.

{Matzav.com}

Israeli flags line the central road inside the Netzarim Corridor, which heads east-west across the Gaza strip.  The road ends at a large military outpost on the Mediterranean coast, south of Gaza’s Sheikh Ijlin district. The base is now fully operational, with temporary detention facilities, interrogation rooms and permanent quarters for a brigade command and combat units. The base is being fortified with trenches as construction crews and engineering officers work to complete the fortifications.

The most critical part of this base lies between it and the coast: an advanced coastal checkpoint through which, the military hopes, a large portion of the Palestinian population will soon pass southward as the IDF increases pressure on the Jabaliya area of Northern Gaza.

Currently, the Netzarim corridor is held by two reserve brigades. Further south, at the bottom of the strip, another brigade holds the Philadelphi Corridor between Rafah and the Sinai.  

The IDF has expanded the Netzarim corridor over recent months, with the corridor now covering approximately 56 square kilometers (22 square miles), forming an Israeli military enclave at the heart of northern Gaza.

The corridor stretches along an eight-kilometer (five-mile) axis from the Be’eri region to the sea.  First secured a year ago by the IDF’s 36th Division, the area was seen as a potential leverage point in hostage negotiations. 
With negotiations stalled, the IDF is now expanding it’s territorial control in Gaza, with plans to potentially secure the Philadelphi corridor in similar fashion.  

Originally, when the war broke out, the border checkpoint leading from Israel to Gaza in the Netzarim corridor was called “Crossing 96.” Once the IDF realized that the Netzarim Corridor would remain under Israeli control, it established “Checkpoint 3” (Point 3), with a small team to monitor the movement of forces in and out of the corridor. Today, it has developed into “Terminal 3,” a large, organized military base at the edge of Be’eri Forest, currently in advanced stages of construction.
While at one point in the war, private individuals posing as soldiers managed to gain unauthorized access to Gaza through checkpoint, increased staffing and security infrastructure has been brought in to prevent any such infiltrations again. 

The checkpoint is frequented by IDF open-sided Humvees, along with armored Defender jeeps (known as “David” vehicles used primarily in security operations in the West Bank).  The military vehicles are joined by a steady flow of construction trucks, cranes and drills in what looks like a major highway.

Along the border with Israel, the IDF operates what it calls “The Cement Plant,” after the site was used to facilitated the large-scale engineering work establishing the corridor and rebuilding the border barrier damaged at the war’s outset.
The yard of the post features a barbeque used frequented by soldiers, and is turning into what looks like a permanent base:  A new water line from Israel has been installed, and Israeli cell phone service continues working inside, as the IDF installed a cell tower inside the corridor, enabling soldiers to keep in touch with their families, without climbing onto rooftops to try and catch a signal. 
From the post, one can see the northern end of the Netzarim corridor, including the hundreds of buildings the IDF destroyed to expand the corridor.  

Driving inside the corridor, not a single tank can be seen, as the IDF’s armored units are dispersed across a security and maintenance zone, which has now expanded to seven or eight kilometers wide. The road itself will soon be repaved with asphalt as the IDF prepares for a second winter in Gaza, and rainy season that comes with it. 
Posts inside the corridor consist of two types: repurposed Gazan buildings, and newly installed military structures, often modular containers.  

IDF sources say: “Everything here is modular and removable, most of these structures can be loaded onto trucks and engineering vehicles and quickly dismantled.” 

Between security posts inside the corridor, the IDF is conducting extensive drilling operations to find any tunnels running beneath the route. Led by the 252nd Division’s engineering battalion and involving civilian contractors, this project is designed to prevent potential explosive traps or exit points for attackers from below. Recently, a tunnel over 20 meters deep was found under the corridor.  It is slated to be destroyed.  

Earlier in the war, many Gazans approached IDF posts in the corridor, but were either fired upon or pushed back. Hamas even sent drugged Gazans toward IDF positions to gauge the soldiers’ responses. These situations  have declined, and the large Hamas attack on the corridor during the Iranian missile attack on October 1st, has not been repeated.

While some mortar fire on the corridor continues, it is becoming increasingly infrequent, with some weeks often passing between fire at some posts.  Loudspeakers connected to detection sensors are installed to warn troops of incoming mortar fire. 

The patterns of combat in the Netzarim Corridor have solidified over the recent months: Hamas continuously attempts to harass IDF battalion raids that chip away at Palestinian territory at the corridor’s periphery.  The most recent operations mostly focused on the Nuseirat area.

{Matzav.com} 

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