Under pressure: 6 things to know for April 23

1. The internal IDF investigation into the death of a Palestinian teen protester who was shot dead by Israeli soldiers during Friday’s clashes along the Gaza border is likely to be released in the coming 24 hours, the Yedioth Ahronoth daily reported.

• The army has said that 15-year-old Mohammed Ibrahim Ayoub was trying to damage the border barrier when he was shot. Videos circulating on social media of Ayoub fatally injured drew harsh international condemnation.
• A senior IDF official told Yedioth Monday the terror group ruling Gaza was intentionally sending kids and teens to “confront IDF snipers” or sabotage the border fence during the weekly protests along the Gaza border. “We are dealing with a terrorist organization that is sending kids at us,” the official said, adding that while the number of protesters is steadily declining, the number of kids attending the protests is increasing.
• On Monday, the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said two protesters hurt in the recent border protests have succumbed to their injures. A spokesman said 18-year-old Tahrir Wahada was shot in the head in a clash with IDF troops east of Khan Younis on April 6, and 20-year-old Abdullah Shamali died of “bullet wounds to his belly” sustained on Friday.

2. Malaysia on Monday released composite images of two suspects who gunned down a Hamas rocket engineer Fadi al-Batsh in what the Palestinian terror group says was an assassination by Israel.

• National police chief Mohamad Fuzi Harun said the composite images were based on eyewitness descriptions. He said the suspects, clad in black jackets, were fair-skinned, well-built and bearded, and were likely European or Middle Eastern.

• Fuzi said the images were displayed at all exit points in the country but said it was unclear if the men had fled Malaysia.
• Hamas swiftly accused Mossad of killing Batsh, with leader Ismail Haniyeh warning Israel over the weekend of an “unsettled score” for carrying out the hit.

3. German Chancellor Angela Merkel denounced the emergence of “another form of anti-Semitism” from refugees of Arab origin in Germany, in an interview with Israeli television.

• “We have a new phenomenon, as we have many refugees among whom there are, for example, people of Arab origin who bring another form of anti-Semitism into the country,” Merkel told Channel 10 in an interview that aired Sunday night.
• Merkel — who was interviewed days after an anti-Semitic attack in Berlin was perpetrated by a Syrian refugee — said the German government had appointed a commissioner to fight against anti-Semitism. “The fact that no nursery, no school, no synagogue can be left without police protection dismays us,” she said.
• The German leader also reiterated Berlin’s support for the continuation of the Iran nuclear deal, saying having an international accord in place was better that none at all, “even if its not perfect.”

4. The Kremlin is warning Israel that striking the powerful S-300 missile defense system that it is providing to Syrian dictator Bashar Assad would be “catastrophic on all sides,” according to reports in Russian media.

• Russia reportedly decided to gift the anti-aircraft batteries to Assad following a series of airstrikes against regime targets by the US, UK and France earlier this month in response to an alleged chemical weapons attack by the Syrian dictator.

• Some analysts have indicated that Israel might look to destroy the defense system in an effort to retain its regional air superiority.

5. The Haaretz daily reports that a former top official at the Prime Minister’s Office who exploited his position to sexually assault a number of subordinates is serving a lengthy prison term under an assumed name due to his “sensitive”position.”

• The ex-PMO official admitted to the offenses against a number of women he worked with when confronted with the allegations several years ago, and an agreement was reached on a lengthy prison term. The report did not indicate who uncovered the sex abuse or if the former official ever stood trial.
• Haaretz said all those involved in the case, from police detectives to senior PMO staff, have been instructed not to discuss the case with anyone, and only a a handful of prisons service staff members know the inmate’s real identity.

6. The internal Shin Bet security agency is warning that Jewish-on-Arab hate crimes have increased significantly since the beginning of 2018.

• Agency numbers released Sunday revealed there has been 13 so-called price tag attacks on Arab or Palestinians since the beginning of the year, compared with eight in all of 2017.
• On Monday morning, police said that tires were slashed and Hebrew slogans were spray-painted on the walls of two Palestinian villages in the West Bank overnight. The cars were graffitied with slogans like “let’s take care of them,” upping 2018’s price tag total to 15.