Israeli Defense Minister: ‘We are ready to act’ to help Lebanon

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Israeli Defense Minister: ‘We are ready to act’ to help Lebanon
By: Venny Gantz - Jewish News Syndicate - 07-05-21
Re: https://www.jns.org/israeli-defense-...-help-lebanon/

“As an Israeli, as a Jew and as a human being, my heart aches seeing the images of people going hungry on the streets of Lebanon,” says Benny Gantz.

Photo link: https://cdn.jns.org/uploads/2021/07/...08-880x495.jpg
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz (fifth from right) and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi (fourth from right) at the inauguration ceremony for a new monument in memory of fallen soldiers of the South Lebanon Army (SLA), in Metula, northern Israel, July 4, 2021. Photo by Basel Awidat/Flash90.

(July 5, 2021 / JNS) Israel stands ready to assist Lebanon and help it through its current crisis, Israel’s defense minister said on Sunday.

Speaking at the inauguration near Metula of a monument to the fallen soldiers of the Southern Lebanese Army, Benny Gantz said that Israel had offered assistance to Lebanon in the past, and was ready to do so again today.

“We are ready to act, and to encourage other countries to extend a helping hand to Lebanon so that it will once again flourish and emerge from its state of crisis,” said Gantz.

Lebanon is in the midst of a severe economic crisis, with shortages of fuel, medicine and basic goods. The Lebanese currency is foundering and banks have moved to restrict withdrawals and transfers.

“As an Israeli, as a Jew and as a human being, my heart aches seeing the images of people going hungry on the streets of Lebanon,” said Gantz.

The crisis, which began in late 2019, is blamed by many in Lebanon on corruption and mismanagement by the political class.

Gantz said Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah shoulders part of the blame for the crisis, which he said it is using as cover to take over the country.

“We see attempts to increase the interference of Iran in Lebanon and to carry out a kind of quiet revolution. Step-by-step, Iranian organizations and Iranian investments are entered into Lebanon and with them attempts to insert weapons and a radical ideology,” said Gantz.

Israel left Lebanon with the goal of ending the conflict with its northern neighbor, said Gantz, adding, “If not for Hezbollah and those who sent it, I believe we would already have arrived at peace.”

Israel abandoned a security zone it created in Lebanon’s south in 2000. The area, established in 1985 and about 10 kilometers (6 miles) in depth, was meant as a buffer zone between Israel and Lebanon-based Palestinian terrorists acting against Israel’s northern communities.

During Sunday’s ceremony, Gantz and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi distributed campaign medals to SLA veteran commanders who fought with IDF soldiers. In the days following the ceremony, SLA commanders will award battle medals to SLA soldiers.

Also; 2nd report;

Record number of women to become officers with Israel’s Border Police
By: Yaron Doron - JNS News - 07-05-21
Re: https://www.jns.org/israeli-defense-...-help-lebanon/

“I’m more than proud to be serving in a corps whose values are based on equality of opportunity,” says Inspector Maayan Sadeh, one of seven women who graduated the tough training course.

2nd. Photo link: https://cdn.jns.org/uploads/2021/07/...en-880x495.jpg
The seven women who completed the officer-training course with Israel's Border Police, July 4, 2021. Credit: Israeli Border Police.

(July 5, 2021 / Israel Hayom) A record seven women completed the Border Police’s officer-training course on Sunday, two of them cited for outstanding performance.

The seven women were among a graduating class of 23 candidates, who will now join the Israel Police.

The Border Police was a trailblazer in terms of integrating women in combat roles. As early as 1995, for the first time in the country’s history, women were assigned to combat duty, and ever since, the Border Police has taken significant steps toward breaking the glass ceiling.

Border Police commander Deputy Commissioner Amir Cohen has established a clear policy of integrating female fighters in command positions and promoting them throughout the corps. Several months ago, a female officer was assigned to command a combat company in the Border Police’s Coastal District. In the coming weeks, female officers will be appointed to lead combat companies in Judea and Samaria and in the north, as well as to train recruits.

One of Sunday’s graduates cited for outstanding performance, Inspector Maayan Sadeh, said: “I’m more than proud to be serving in a corps whose values are based on equality of opportunity, and I feel I’m fulfilling my potential as a fighter and commander in the Border Police. I learned and developed a lot during my training as an officer, and I’m waiting to begin in my new assignment and make an impact.”

Inspector Reut Nahmias, who was also cited for her particularly exemplary performance in the course, said: “I’m thrilled to wear the officer’s ranks, which for me symbolize the long path I’ve been on. It’s a given today and natural for women to be officers and fighters just like the male officers and fighters, and here, in the Border Police, female fighters are assigned to key command positions in the most challenging places.”

Continuing and even surpassing its path of equal opportunity, the Border Police’s current class of officer cadets includes 16 women.

This article first appeared in Israel Hayom.