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Yaakov Lappin

Yaakov Lappin

Yaakov Lappin is an Israel-based military affairs correspondent and analyst. He is the in-house analyst at the Miryam Institute; a research associate at the Alma Research and Education Center; and a research associate at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University. He is a frequent guest commentator on international television news networks, including Sky News and i24 News. Lappin is the author of Virtual Caliphate: Exposing the Islamist State on the Internet. Follow him at: www.patreon.com/yaakovlappin.

All of the economic benefits being offered to Gaza as part of a package deal—an improvement in the water and electricity supplies, the construction of a seaport, the cancellation of debts owed by the Hamas government, a relaxation of the Israeli security blockade—hinge on an agreement.
During one exercise, the medical center practiced receiving 50 patients injured by enemy fire while the city sustained rocket barrages. All the while, the hospital experienced power failures and infrastructure crashes as part of the simulation.
Video surveillance operators are part of the wider IDF Border Defense Array, which was established a year ago, swallowing up the older Combat Intelligence Collection Corps and adding several other units to it, such as mixed-gender border-defense battalions and Bedouin scouting units.
David’s Sling is designed to shoot down an array of threats: heavy rockets, cruise missiles, drones, short-range ballistic missiles and evasive airborne threats that maneuver as they fly.
The ships conducted joint combat, search and rescue, and medical-treatment exercises, marking the first time that this happened in French waters since 1959. In recent years, the French Navy has visited Israeli naval bases for joint exercises on multiple occasions.
The very issue that caused Hamas to escalate tensions in the first place—Gaza’s isolation and faltering economy, and Hamas’s desire to change these things—remain in place, meaning that conflict could flare up even more in very little time.
Both sides have stopped short of going to war. Hamas is sticking to short-range fire, and Israel’s airstrikes have destroyed tunnels, command posts and other military targets, but did not target senior Hamas members.
Ultimately, the United States will decide. Multiple bills are being debated in Congress designed to challenge and block the sale.
They will conduct critical border-defense missions, though will not belong to brigades that would maneuver deep into enemy territory in case of war.
Whether wireless, wired, or using satellites and phones, the Hoshen Unit is involved in enabling military communications, and its personnel are aware of the fact that Israel’s enemies are keen on being able to shut down the IDF’s networks if they could.
Asked to describe what the enemy looks like in 2018, an IDF major notes that a common denominator links them all, whether they are located in Syria, Lebanon or Gaza.
While keeping a lid on terror activities, the Menashe Brigade is also obligated to protect Palestinian civilians, and ensure their economic and agricultural activities. It seeks to strike a delicate balance in the area to help keep the peace.