US Man Shoots Two Israelis Thinking They Were Palestinians
CrossFireArabia- February 17, 2025
A man in Florida, who has been described as a staunch supporter of Israel, is facing charges after allegedly opening fire on a vehicle in Miami Beach, believing the occupants to be Palestinian, US media reported.
The suspect, identified as 27-year-old Mordechai Brafman, was arrested and charged with two counts of attempted murder following the Saturday night shooting.
Unprovoked Shooting Captured on Video
According to arrest documents cited by CBS News, around 9:30 p.m., surveillance footage captured Brafman’s truck traveling south on Pine Tree Drive before making a U-turn at 48th Street, where the victims’ vehicle was stopped in the left lane.
Brafman then drove past, stopped in front of them, exited his vehicle, and fired at least 17 rounds unprovoked, striking both victims as they passed.
One victim suffered a gunshot wound to the left shoulder, while the other was grazed on the left forearm. Police confirmed that there was no prior connection between the suspect and the victims, whose statements were consistent with the surveillance footage.
After the shooting, Brafman drove to an area near 4887 Pine Tree Drive, where responding officers took him into custody.
Shooter Expressed Anti-Palestinian Motive
At the request of his attorney, Brafman was not interviewed by police, but while in custody, he spontaneously stated, “While driving my truck, I saw two Palestinians and shot and killed both,” according to the arrest report.
However, the victims were not Palestinians. They were Jewish Israeli tourists—a father and son visiting the United States.
The Times of Israel, citing the same arrest report, described Brafman as an extreme supporter of Israel.
Call for Hate Crime Charges
The Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is calling for federal hate crime charges in response to the attack.
“It is the alleged shooter’s reportedly bias-motivated actions, not the actual ethnicity of the victims, that should be the determining factor for charges in this disturbing case,” said Wilfredo Amr Ruiz, a CAIR representative, in a public statement.
Hate crimes can include attacks based on mistaken identity, which appears to be the case here.
Florida’s lax gun laws, which allow residents to carry concealed weapons without requiring training, background checks, or a permit, have also been cited as a contributing factor in the attack.
Broader Pattern of Anti-Palestinian Violence
This shooting comes amid rising anti-Palestinian racism and violence in the United States.
In November 2023, three Palestinian college students were shot in Vermont in what authorities are investigating as a hate crime.
The students—wearing keffiyehs at the time—were attacked while walking in Burlington.
According to the US Department of Justice, hate crime reports in Florida surged by over 50 percent from 2022 to 2023, with the sharpest increase in cases targeting individuals based on ethnicity and religion.
Israel to Build 1000 Settlement Units Near Bethlehem
- CrossFireArabia
- February 17, 2025
The Israeli government issued a tender to build nearly 1,000 settlement units in the occupied West Bank, an anti-settlement group said on Monday.
The Peace Now group, an Israeli watchdog that monitors settlement building in the West Bank, said 974 additional settler homes will be built in Efrat settlement south of Bethlehem city.
It warned that the construction of an entire neighborhood in the Efrat settlement “blocks the development of the Bethlehem metropolis to the south, and if Israel seeks to annex it to Israel, it will cut off the entire southern West Bank,” according to Anadolu.
The Israeli organization accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of harming Israel’s interests and undermining the two-state solution through imposing realities on the ground.
“While the people of Israel sets their sights on the release of the hostages and an end to the war, the Netanyahu government is operating ‘on steroids’ to establish facts on the ground that will destroy the chance for peace and compromise,” it said.
Nineteen Israeli captives and five Thai workers have been released in exchange for 1,135 Palestinian prisoners under a Gaza ceasefire agreement that took effect on Jan. 19.
The international community, including the UN, considers the Israeli settlements illegal under international law. The UN has repeatedly warned that continued settlement expansion threatens the viability of a two-state solution, a framework seen as key to resolving the decades-long Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
In July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s decades-long occupation of Palestinian land illegal and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Gaza: More Bodies From The Rubble; Tip of The Iceberg
- CrossFireArabia
- February 17, 2025
Palestinian medics and rescue teams recovered nine more bodies from the rubble in the Gaza Strip, pushing the overall death toll from Israel’s genocidal war since October 2023 to 48,284, the Health Ministry said on Monday.
A ministry statement said that the toll also included four Palestinians killed by Israeli army fire in the last 24 hours.
According to the ministry, 16 injured people were also admitted to hospitals, taking the number of the injured to 111,709 in the Israeli onslaught according to Anadolu.
“Many victims are still trapped under the rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” the ministry said.
A ceasefire agreement has been in place in Gaza since Jan. 19, pausing the Israeli war that has caused widespread destruction and left the Palestinian enclave in ruins.
Despite the ceasefire, the Gaza local authorities reported almost daily ceasefire violations by the Israeli army.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November last year for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
Saudi Arabia Holds 5-Nation Summit For Gaza
- CrossFireArabia
- February 17, 2025
Saudi Arabia is set to host a five-nation Arab meeting on 20 February to discuss an Egyptian-led proposal for rebuilding the Gaza Strip while ensuring that its Palestinian residents are not displaced, an Arab League official announced.
The meeting will bring together officials from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to Hossam Zaki, the Arab League’s assistant secretary-general.
In a televised statement, Zaki noted that Palestine may also be invited to take part in the discussions, which aim to establish a framework for the reconstruction initiative ahead of an upcoming Arab summit according to The Palestine Chronicle.
Egypt has scheduled an emergency Arab summit for 27 February, following the controversial proposal by former US President Donald Trump to take control of Gaza and forcibly resettle its Palestinian population.
Trump claimed his plan would turn the devastated enclave into the “Riviera of the Middle East,” a proposal widely condemned as ethnic cleansing.
“The countries participating in the upcoming meeting seek to coordinate their positions regarding the Egyptian proposals that will be presented at the Arab summit,” Zaki stated.
He added that the summit could be postponed for logistical reasons to ensure maximum participation from Arab leaders.
According to Zaki, the summit will aim to unify the Arab stance on Palestine, firmly reject displacement schemes initiated by Israel and backed by the US, and put forward a collective Arab counterproposal to Trump’s plan.
On Sunday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi confirmed that Cairo is working on a comprehensive reconstruction plan for Gaza, emphasizing that the initiative would not involve the forced relocation of Palestinians.
The discussions come in the wake of a ceasefire agreement that took effect in Gaza on 19 January, ending months of Israeli attacks that killed and wounded over 160,000 Palestinians—mostly women and children—and left much of the enclave in ruins.
