Yahya Sinwar has been elected to lead Hamas in the Gaza Strip after internal elections were held for the organization's institutional and leadership positions. Sinwar was one of the most senior officials released by Israel in the Shalit deal in which hundreds of terrorists and political prisoners were released in exchange for the return of captured IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. He has developed a reputation as being among the most radical in Hamas, calling since his release for further kidnappings of IDF soldiers, and is thought of as the link between the military and political wing of the terror organization. With his ascent to power, Sinwar will take the reins to rule the Strip from Khaled Mashal. (Ynet) Terrorist murderers released in prisoner swap deals notoriously return to their terrorist occupations despite signing promises to refrain from doing so. They receive the status of Palestinians heroes, and, as in the case of Yahya Sinwar, rise to the ranks of elected Palestinian leaders. As such, it is a reflection of the values of the society and officials who put such men into power. Pray there will be growing numbers of Palestinians who weary of terrorist leaders and their focus on destruction of Israel, rather than on building better lives for their own citizens. [Comment]

The USA and European terror forecast for 2017 'looks alarming,' in part because of increased pressure on ISIS and other terror groups on their home turf, according to a monthly assessment by House lawmakers. Officials predicted necessary efforts to crush foreign terror groups could actually spur more attacks on Western soil. Coming attacks in the USA and Europe could be carried out by lone wolves as well as homegrown terrorists who return from fighting in such places as Iraq, Syria and Somalia. "I am very encouraged that the Trump administration is preparing to put greater pressure on jihadists in their safe havens throughout the world,” said House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul. "But as they do, we can expect to see militants [terrorists] returning to the West to build new networks and to plot more deadly operations.” The report is based on information gleaned from the media, publicly available government data and documents and nongovernmental assessments. Since the beginning of 2016, there have been plots or attacks by 39 homegrown jihadists in 19 USA states. Two instances occurred on American soil last month: The attack at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport carried out in the first week of 2017 by Esteban Santiago, radicalized by ISIS videos, and the 31 Jan. murder of a Denver Regional Transportation District contract security officer by a suspect carrying jihadist material in his backpack. The report also cites numerous incidents in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. (Fox) [Comment]

As tensions between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip increase, Hamas has issued a new animated video in Hebrew, called "Zionist: You Will Perish in Gaza.” The song was uploaded to YouTube on Tues. night 7 Feb. 2017, and has started going viral. The rhetoric including "I will eat you alive, tastes best without salt, Zionist –Yes, yes, you” is accompanied by swords chopping bodies in half, and bloody heads being severed. The video threatens Israeli military sites including the "kirya” or Defense Ministry, and is sung in Arabic-accented Hebrew. Israeli analysts said the goal of the video was to scare Israelis into pressuring their government not to enter a new round of fighting in Gaza. Earlier this week, a rocket from Gaza hit southern Israel and Israel responded with a series of attacks on Hamas installations in Gaza. (Medialine) [Comment]

IDF tanks and aircraft destroyed six Hamas positions on 6 Feb. 2017, after a rocket was fired toward Israel and Hamas forces opened fire on an IDF force working near the Gaza border fence. Israel’s PM Netanyahu said: "We will respond to all shooting with heavy fire. There is no way that someone can shoot at us and we don't respond." (Ynet News) [Comment]

A red alert siren sounded in Eilat in southern Israel Wed. night, 8 Feb. 2017 the IDF reported. At least four missiles were fired from the direction of the Egyptian border and three were successfully intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system. Eilat Police reported that none of the rockets fell within city limits. The incident comes just hours after a mortar fell in the Golan Heights near the border fence. There were no known causalities or damage. The IDF reported that the mortar was spillover from fighting within Syria, and in response, the IDF attacked a target in the northern Syrian Golan and confirmed a hit. Such spillover is not unusual, and the IDF has usually responded, even if it was expected to be accidental, with attacks against Syrian Army positions. (J.Post) Intercede for the ongoing protection of Israel’s southern and northern borders; against intentional missile fire from terrorist group, Hamas, in the Gaza Strip and ISIS associated factions operating from the Sinai Desert - as well as from spillover fire from the Syrian conflict in the North. [Comment]

 Israel’s justice minister said on 6 Feb. 2017 that the Jewish state’s efforts to combat incitement on social media were finally bearing fruit. Addressing an international cyber conference in Tel Aviv - attended by more than 70 ambassadors and attaches from around the world - Ayelet Shaked said that more than 1,400 requests to remove pages and posts containing content aimed at inciting terrorism have been partially or fully accepted as valid by Internet companies. Shaked told the gathering about the inter-ministerial task force, led by the cyber department of the State’s Attorney’s Office, established last year to locate online incitement and submit legal requests for its removal. She said that since it began operating, the task force has had a 78% success rate. The justice minister also referred to the dialogue that Israel has been conducting with major web platforms, such as Google and Facebook, to come to an understanding of the shared interest of not promoting violence. She said that though there was still a "long road ahead” in the endeavor to cause the providers to increase their level of involvement in what is going on in their platforms, "We are beginning to reap the fruits of our labor, and are finding the large Internet providers attentive.” (Algemeiner) Continue to pray against social media content aimed at inciting terrorism and hatred against the Jewish people and the state of Israel. [Comment]

No one understands how Julian Edelman made the catch that led his team to victory on Sunday night, 5 Feb. 2017. Many are already calling it the greatest catch in the history of the Super Bowl. Others say it's just the craziest. "I don't know how he caught it. I don't think he knows," said teammate and New England Patriots star Tom Brady, who made the pass. The game was one of the most dramatic in the history of American football, and has been compared to Donald Trump's election victory. The Patriots were in arrears 28-3 versus the Atlanta Falcons in the third quarter of the game, but finally managed to win 34-28 in overtime. Edelman's catch was in the fourth quarter, when the Falcons led 28-20. The ball was thrown from a distance of about 25 meters, and was at first fumbled by one of the Falcons, Robert Alford. But Alford could not gain control of the ball, it hit his leg. And somehow, with perfect instincts, Edelman managed to catch it a few inches from the turf. Edelman became the star of the Super Bowl and commentators who interviewed him after the game said that the game will be remembered for his historic play. (Arutz-7) [Comment]

 Likud MK Yehuda Glick discussed the Regulation Law, which passed its second and third readings in the Knesset on Mon. evening, 6 Feb. 2017. The Jewish communities in Judea & Samaria are "an irreversible process”, Glick explained. "If we see thousands of houses that are in danger, we have to make sure that they are legal, and therefore the law which legalizes these houses is something to which we are obligated. The Israeli government, run by Binyamin Netanyahu and the Likud party, promised our people that we positively support the Jewish settlements in Judea & Samaria, and we will do everything we can in that regard,” he said. "Eventually, our next step is implementing Jewish-Israeli sovereignty over all of Judea & Samaria,” declared Glick. (INN) [Comment]

The Israeli Knesset on Mon. night 7 Feb. 2017, voted in favor of legislation that would see thousands of housing units in Judea & Samaria outposts legalized, in a move that is already causing widespread criticism. The Regulation Law legalizes and protects thousands of Jewish homes in Judea & Samaria which were built with government backing and no knowledge of the existence of absentee land owners, but against which there are now claims of property ownership. Under the Regulation Law, the homes built on such properties will be allowed to remain, and owners with proven claims to the land will be given a choice of receiving an alternate plot of land or monetary compensation for 125% of their land's value. The law has been condemned by the previous USA administration of Barack Obama, the European Union, the UN and Israel’s own attorney general, Avichai Mandelblit, who has warned that it marks the first time Israeli legislation explicitly affirms government support for the settlements, and would openly curtail property rights of Palestinians in Judea & Samaria. (Times of Israel/Arutz-7/i24) [Comment]

Danny Danon, Israel's Ambassador to the UN, has responded to the Iranian ballistic missile test by saying, "Iran has once again defied Security Council resolutions and revealed its true intentions." Danon warned, "The international community must not bury its head in the sand in the face of this Iranian aggression. The Security Council members must act immediately in response to these Iranian actions which endanger not only Israel, but the entire Middle East." (Arutz-7) [Comment]