China: Dong Jun New Defense Minister

According to media reports, China has named Dong Jun as its new defense minister, two months after his predecessor was officially sacked. Dong, a former navy commander, takes over from Li Shangfu, who was last seen in public in August.

Dong's appointment was announced by China's top legislators at a Standing Committee meeting of the National People's Congress in Beijing on Friday.

The move follows a slew of dismissals of top military officials from the country's top posts earlier this year.

As well as Li, it included the removal of Qin Gang as foreign minister in July. No reasons were given for Li or Qin's dismissals. Both had been in their posts for only seven months respectively.

Further sackings took place this week too, with nine senior military officials removed from the Standing Committee on Friday.

Three executives at state-owned missile defense firms were also removed from Beijing's top political advisory body earlier this week.

Some analysts say this could indicate that a possible wider purge has taken place, targeting senior military leaders.

Dong was made commander of the navy in August 2021. His previous roles included serving as deputy commander of the Chinese military's Southern Theatre Command. Its area of operations includes the South China Sea - a disputed area, over large parts of which China claims sovereignty.

Dong's appointment comes after military personnel from China and the United States held their first high-level talks by phone in more than a year last week.

Relations between the two nations soured in 2022 after the then US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan. Taiwan is self-ruled, but China sees it as a breakaway province that will eventually unite with it.

In recent months, there has been a rapprochement between China and the US, with Chinese President Xi Jinping meeting his counterpart Joe Biden in California in November and agreeing to resume military communications. The two had not spoken for more than a year.

 

Israel designates PFLP international branch as a terrorist organization,

As part of the campaign against the Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and its global organizational infrastructure, Defense Minister of Israel, Benny Gantz has signed an order designating the Samidoun organization, which acts abroad on the group’s behalf, as a terrorist organization.

According to a Defense Ministry press release, representatives of the organization are active in many countries in Europe and North America.

The Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity organization, also known as Samidoun (Arabic for holding ground), was designated as a terrorist organization because it is part of the PFLP. It was founded by members of the front in 2012.

The designation was made following the recommendation of the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and the National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing, the Defense Ministry said in a press release.

Representatives of the organization are active in many countries in Europe and North America, led by Khaled Barakat, who is part of the leadership of the PFLP abroad, press release stated.

Barakat is involved with establishing terrorist cells in the West Bank and abroad, the Defense Ministry said. The formal goal of Samidoun is to help Palestinian prisoners secure their release from prison, it said, adding that in practice, it serves as a front for the PFLP abroad.

Samidoun also plays a leading and significant role in the PFLP’s anti-Israel propaganda efforts, fundraising and recruiting of activists, the Defense Ministry said. These activities complement PFLP terrorist attacks against Israel, it said.

Gantz and the defense establishment will continue to take measures to foil terrorist activity and enforce the law against the attempts of the PFLP terrorist organization and its associated bodies to harm the security of Israel, the Defense Ministry said.