https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/israeli-res-maj-gen-calls-for-taking-nasrallahs-threats-seri

Israeli Res Maj Gen calls for taking Nasrallah's threats seriously

Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's threats made against the Israeli occupation on Monday must be taken seriously, Israeli occupation Reserve Major General Amos Gilad said Tuesday.

"Nasrallah's threats must be taken seriously, and [the Israeli occupation forces] must prepare," Gilad told Israeli public broadcaster KAN. "If they attack the Karish rig or any other rig, that will definitely lead to a confrontation that can have many dimensions."

Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah "simply wants to sponsor this agreement if it happens and say 'I am the defender of Lebanon. It is because of me that Lebanon has advantages in the ongoing confrontation with Israel'," the IOF officer said.

"We do not know if the Iranians were behind this, but I do not believe they were," he added.

Reserve Major General Yitzhak Brik highlighted that "Hezbollah has about 100,000 missiles, and they have hundreds of UAVs directed at strategic targets, residential, and, of course, on Israel's gas rigs."

"It is just a matter of time before this happens," Brik added.

Israeli media reported Tuesday that Israeli occupation forces (IOF) officers warned that the Ground Forces were "ill-prepared" for war.

In a report, Israel Hayom pointed out that since the July 2006 war on Lebanon, the IOF "has made a calculated choice to reduce the deployment of its Ground Forces, favoring the Israeli Air Force instead, mostly with the aim of minimizing casualties."

This come right after Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah related to Al Mayadeen, as part of the "Dialogue of the 40th Anniversary", the achievements of the Resistance over the past several decades.

Warning the Israeli occupation against committing any provocations against Lebanon, Sayyed Nasrallah said there were no Israeli targets in the sea or land out of the reach of the Resistance's precision missiles.

Sayyed Nasrallah underscored that the Israeli occupation realized, through the July war, that confrontation with the resistance was dangerous and that the resistance's capabilities were much more than just confrontations at the border.

"Since 2006, the enemy does not dare take any action against Lebanon," the Resistance leader said, noting that "Tel Aviv" was only resorting to run-of-the-mill operations that leave no mark in Lebanon.

The Israeli occupation forces over the past few months have been simulating various scenarios, including a missile attack on several targets in "Israel's" maritime economic zone, Israeli media reported on Tuesday, citing senior security sources.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/us-military-making-plans-in-case-pelosi-travels-to-taiwan

US military making plans in case Pelosi travels to Taiwan

Officials in the United States said they have little concern that China will target Nancy Pelosi's plane if she flies to Taiwan. However, the US House Speaker would be entering an area, where US-China tensions are on the rise. As a result, the Pentagon is preparing for every situation.

Officials told AP that if Pelosi visits Taiwan, which remains a possibility, the military will expand its movement of forces and assets in the Indo-Pacific region.

They declined to elaborate but claimed that fighter jets, ships, surveillance assets, and other military systems would most likely be employed to create overlapping bands of protection for her travel to Taiwan and any time she spent on the land there.

Any foreign travel by a senior US leader requires additional security. But officials said this week that a visit to Taiwan by Pelosi — who would be the highest-ranking US elected official to visit Taiwan since 1997 — would go beyond the usual safety precautions for trips to less risky destinations.

Asked about planned military steps to protect Pelosi in the event of a visit, US Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Wednesday that discussion of any specific travel is premature.

He added, “if there’s a decision made that Speaker Pelosi or anyone else is going to travel and they asked for military support, we will do what is necessary to ensure the safe conduct of their visit. And I’ll just leave it at that.”

Increased security

The US officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive security problems, outlined the necessity for buffer zones to be established around the speaker and her plane. The United States already has sizable soldiers distributed over the region, so any additional security could be handled largely by assets already in place.

The military would also need to be ready for any incident, whether a mishap in the air or on the ground. They stated that the United States would require nearby rescue capabilities, which might include helicopters aboard ships currently in the vicinity.

Pelosi, a Democrat from California, has not officially announced any new plans for a trip to Taiwan. She was supposed to go in April, but she canceled after testing positive for COVID-19.

Chinese military on alert

China's Ministry of National Defense, Tan Kefei, warned on Tuesday that the Chinese military will not sit back if US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visits Taiwan. His statement was made in response to a press inquiry regarding the issue.

China demands that the United States keep its promise that it would not support "Taiwan independence," Tan said, adding that if Washington insists on making the visit, the Chinese military will take strong actions to counter any external interference or "Taiwan independence" separatist scheme, and will be determined in safeguarding China's national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Call between Biden and Jinping

A Pelosi visit may overshadow a phone meeting scheduled for Thursday between Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, their first in four months. On the condition of anonymity, a US official confirmed the call's plans to the Associated Press ahead of the public announcement.

According to US officials, the administration is skeptical that China will allegedly take direct action against Pelosi or try to derail the visit.

Security experts disagreed Tuesday on the scope of any threat during the trip and the need for additional military security.

'Firm measures to defend sovereignty'

On Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian stated that Beijing has frequently conveyed its "solemn view" regarding a possible Pelosi visit. According to him, China is ready to "take robust and powerful actions to preserve national sovereignty and territorial integrity."

According to US sources, the possibility of a Chinese intercept or show of force near Pelosi's trip "raises worries", necessitating the presence of American aircraft and other forces nearby.

The USS Ronald Reagan and its strike group are now operating in the western Pacific, with a port stop in Singapore over the weekend. At least two other Navy ships and Carrier Air Wing 5, which comprises F/A-18 fighter fighters, helicopters, and observation aircraft, are part of the strike group.

The strike group was operating in the South China Sea before arriving in Singapore. A destroyer, the USS Benfold, has also been performing freedom of navigation operations in the vicinity, including a voyage across the Taiwan Strait last week.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/israeli-pm-meets-with-jordans-king-abdullah-ii

Israeli PM meets with Jordan's King Abdullah II

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid met with King Abdullah of Jordan on Wednesday, Israeli media reported, adding that the meeting took place in the King's palace in Amman.

Abdullah told Lapid that Palestinians should be part of US-sponsored regional economic projects to underpin stability in the Middle East.

In their first meeting since US President Joe Biden's visit to the region earlier this month, he also told Lapid that the establishment of a Palestinian state was critical to "achieving long-term peace between Arabs and Israelis."

The leaders also discussed how to strengthen their "long-standing friendship" and strengthen their "mutual interests", according to Walla.

Previously, Israeli media stated that an Israeli official revealed that Biden’s trip to the region is an “unprecedented opportunity to change dynamics in the Middle East.”

The announcement that "Israel" had been waiting for, which eventually surfaced hours before Biden took off for Jeddah, is that the Civil Aviation Authority of Saudi Arabia stated that all commercial aviation carriers could now fly across the nation.

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid referred to the Saudi statement as "the first official step in normalization with Saudi Arabia" despite the fact that it made no mention of "Israel".