The BBC, The Guardian, Sky News, The Financial Times and Reuters all report that fighter pilots in an elite Israeli Air Force squadron have vowed not to attend training, in an unprecedented protest against the government. Nearly all of the 40 reservist pilots from 69th Squadron have refused to join a one-day training exercise this week. It is seen as an unparalleled political move by some of Israel’s most strategically important reservists. It is also a sign of growing opposition to the ruling nationalist coalition’s plans to overhaul the legal system. One unnamed pilot told the Ynet news website that the squadron was “signalling that we won’t be prepared to serve a dictatorial regime”.

The BBC, Sky News, and The Times report that six Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli army raid in Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. Prime Minister Netanyahu said one of the dead had been responsible for killing two Israeli brothers last month in Hawara. The raid on Tuesday afternoon took place in a refugee camp which is a frequent target for Israeli operations against Palestinian militants.

The Guardian reports that Joe Biden is under growing pressure to block a visit by Israel’s extremist finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, over his call to “wipe out” a Palestinian town that was the target of an attack by Jewish settlers. Smotrich’s plan to speak at an investment conference in Washington DC next week has drawn strong criticism from individuals and groups that are more usually ardent defenders of Israel.

Reuters reports that Moody’s Investor Service warned on Tuesday that the Israeli government’s planned judicial reforms could weaken institutions and could negatively impact Israel’s sovereign credit profile. In its statement, Moody’s did not downgrade Israel’s A1 positive credit rating and did not walk back the positive outlook it assigned in April 2022 that was driven by solid government finances. But Moody’s warned, “there could arguably be downward pressure on those scores” if the government fully passed the judicial overhaul.

Kan News reports that a red alert siren was sounded yesterday evening in Kibbutz Nir Am near Sderot. A rocket was fired from the Gaza Strip, which likely did not fall in Israeli territory. Security forces had readied themselves for rocket fire from Gaza, which was a heightened possibility after the battle yesterday in Jenin in which six Palestinians were killed, including the terrorist who murdered two brothers in Huwara.

Yediot Ahronot reports on this mission, which resulted in the death of the brothers’ purported killer, 48-year-old Hamas member Abdel Fattah Hussein Kharousha. The GSS and IDF knew Kharousha’s identity and the general direction in which he’d fled, and they had learned that the terrorist’s sons smuggled him out of Huwara and into the heart of the Jenin refugee camp, assuming he would be able to avoid security forces there. The raids took place in broad daylight. Heavy gun battles erupted, and improvised explosive devices and cement blocks were thrown at the Israeli forces. Kharousha was killed during the exchange of fire, as were at least five other terrorists. Twenty-three more were injured. Two Yamam soldiers were injured, one lightly and one moderately. One was treated on site; the other was taken to Rambam Hospital in Haifa. The incursion to the Askar camp in Nablus was carried out by Duvedevan forces and by members of the Golani Brigade special forces unit. During that operation, Khaled and Mohammed Kharousha, two of the dead terrorist’s sons who were suspected of planning and aiding the attack, were arrested and detained for interrogation. Ynet reports that the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said: “The occupation’s massacre of Jenin and Nablus show Israel has chosen escalation over peace, and therefore carried all responsibility for future ramifications.” President Abbas added by saying: “The Israeli government bears responsibility for this dangerous escalation.”

Kan News also reports that around 40 high-ranking retired police officers, (including former police commissioners), have called for the dismissal of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir because of his recent behaviour, saying that Ben Gvir was leading a hostile takeover of the Israel Police and that he was involved in giving operational instructions to commanders, contrary to his authority. Ben Gvir responded that some of these officers had destroyed the police and he was “repairing the extensive damage they caused”. Channel 12 News adds that twenty-five of those former chiefs of police and senior officers have written to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu warning that orders issued by Ben Gvir will cause a third Intifada. The specific order issued by the minister to the police that made the retired officials jump was the order to continue demolishing houses in East Jerusalem during Ramadan, which will begin at the end of the month.

Aviv Bushinsky, who once served as Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s spokesperson, writes about the ongoing protests for Channel 12 News: “They are called anarchists. It is claimed they are funded by foreign money, that the Iranians are behind the protests and then there is another child, a guy by the name of Netanyahu, who calls them all… terrorists. In fact, the protesters are here, and they are here to stay. True, there are more than a few people who are hitchhiking politicians trying to make a comeback on the heels of the demonstrations, members of the “Go” and “Crime Minister” movements who joined in for yet another reason to party. There are opponents of the occupation—you can see how that is tied in here—and even people joining in the protests who are against ‘swinish capitalism.’ I saw them with my own eyes. Today’s protest will not fade and will not disappear. Not even if the Knesset ratifies the second and third readings: The day after will not be the same as the day before. There is a large sector of the public that does not agree with the reform and will not make peace with it. The economy is likely to look different, diaspora Jews will have a tough time living with it, and the rest of the world might, too.”

Ynet reports that Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi responded to protests by IDF elite Squadron 69 reservists, who say they will refuse to volunteer to serve should the judicial reform become law. “For those who refuse to serve I will quote from the book of Esther: ‘For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish.’ Israel will manage without you and you can go to hell.”

Artzi-Sror writes for Yediot Ahronot about the protest, saying: “Only one percent of Israel’s population does reserve duty. The reservists not only serve in Judea and Samaria or in the cockpits of Squadron 69—they can also be found in the Military Rabbinate, in Human Resources and in welfare units. When the coalition leaders or self-appointed representatives call the reservist volunteers ‘wimps,’ ‘abscess,’ ‘anarchists’ or send them to hell, this is doubly shameful. It is both ingratitude that raises the flames and aggravates the crisis, and is also a spit in the face, seeing as this comes from a government where many of its members never served in the army or did a shortened service and where the number of reservists is near zero”.

On the protest, Yediot Ahronot reports that the situation is liable to become a dangerous snowball. “Squadron 69 is not alone: similar debates on disobeying orders are taking place in almost all the squadrons, some have already written letters and explored options. A fault line is liable to be created that will not be healable. Therefore, the decision (that Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi shared) is not to punish, but to listen. In the future, after the rage subsides, the IDF and the Air Force will have to think about what can be done to prevent such phenomena in the future”.

Ynet reports that UN Ambassador to the Middle East Tor Wennesland wrote on Wednesday that he was “appalled” by the ongoing violence in the West Bank between Palestinians and Jewish settlers. “All civilians must be protected. This cycle of violence must be stopped immediately. All must refrain from further steps that would lead us to more violence,” Wennesland wrote on his Twitter account.

Ynet also reports that the Israeli National Cyber Directorate announced on Monday that the MuddyWaters hacking groups, associated with Iran’s security agencies were behind the cyberattack on the Technion last month.