A letter from Heinrich Himmler—the head of the SS and the key official behind the planning and implementation of the Holocaust—to Amin Haj al-Husseini, the former grand mufti of Jerusalem, was recently discovered in Israel’s National Library. Dated to 1943, the letter expresses German solidarity with Palestinian Arabs in undoing the “criminal” Balfour Declaration. Joy Bernard writes:

The Nazi commander . . . wrote to the Muslim leader that “the joint recognition of the enemy, [i.e., the Jew], and the joint battle against him are what creates the firm allegiance between Germany and freedom-seeking Muslims all over the world.”

Himmler went on to tell the mufti . . . that his country was closely following the Palestinian resistance against the Balfour Declaration. “The National-Socialist movement of Greater Germany has made its fight against world Jewry a guiding principle since its very beginning,” Himmler wrote. “For that reason [the movement] has been closely following the battle of freedom-seeking Arabs, especially in Palestine, against the Jewish invaders,” the Nazi leader added.

He finished his warm letter to the mufti by writing: “In this spirit, I am happy to extend to you, on the anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, warm wishes for the continuation of your battle until the certain final victory.”

On Tuesday, a Hizballah drone attack injured three people in northern Israel. The next day, another attack, targeting an IDF base, injured eighteen people, six of them seriously, in Arab al-Amshe, also in the north. This second attack involved the simultaneous use of drones carrying explosives and guided antitank missiles. In both cases, the defensive systems that performed so successfully last weekend failed to stop the drones and missiles. Ron Ben-Yishai has a straightforward explanation as to why: the Lebanon-backed terrorist group is getting better at evading Israel defenses. He explains the three basis systems used to pilot these unmanned aircraft, and their practical effects:

These systems allow drones to act similarly to fighter jets, using “dead zones”—areas not visible to radar or other optical detection—to approach targets. They fly low initially, then ascend just before crashing and detonating on the target. The terrain of southern Lebanon is particularly conducive to such attacks.

But this requires skills that the terror group has honed over months of fighting against Israel. The latest attacks involved a large drone capable of carrying over 50 kg (110 lbs.) of explosives. The terrorists have likely analyzed Israel’s alert and interception systems, recognizing that shooting down their drones requires early detection to allow sufficient time for launching interceptors.

The IDF tries to detect any incoming drones on its radar, as it had done prior to the war. Despite Hizballah’s learning curve, the IDF’s technological edge offers an advantage. However, the military must recognize that any measure it takes is quickly observed and analyzed, and even the most effective defenses can be incomplete. The terrain near the Lebanon-Israel border continues to pose a challenge, necessitating technological solutions and significant financial investment.