Security Failures
A review of the deadly terror attack by a 17 year old Palestinian in the settlement of Adam, which claimed the life of 31-year-old Yotam Ovadia last Thursday, has revealed the presence of malfunctioned security cameras and an almost 40 year old fence that did no have any infiltration alerts. The terrorist entered the settlement by climbing over the fence. Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot visited the settlement after the attack and committed to improving the security systems there.

The West Bank Division’s security officer Shlomo Vaknin said, “Today, 60 of the west Bank’s communities have the same fences as in Adam. The communities are not protected, despite that as opposed to other communities in Israel, the infiltration threat here is the most critical one.” He added that the security maintenance cost for each settlement is estimated at NIS four million per year. Based on the current amount provided by the government, “all the existing security systems will be upgraded only within a decade.”

Today, US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman visited Ovadia’s wife and two children, ages 2 and 7 months, as the family is sitting shiva.

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Teen Terror Released
Yesterday Israeli prison officials released Ahed Tamimi, the 17 year old Palestinian woman who was caught on video kicking and slapping an Israeli soldier in the village of Nabi Saleh last December. She was charged with 12 different counts for six different incidents in January, including aggravated assault, hindering a soldier in the line of duty, incitement, threatening a soldier’s life and stone-throwing. Her mother was also indicted for her involvement in the assault, as well as for another incident she was involved in along with her daughter. She was also charged with incitement to terrorism on Facebook.

After her release, Tamimi went to Ramallah, where she met with Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas, who said that “the Palestinian young woman Ahed Tamimi is an example of the Palestinian struggle for freedom and independence and for the establishment of our independent Palestinian state.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Tamimi to congratulate her and praise her “bravery and determination to fight”.

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Egyptian Offer
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi appealed directly to the Israeli public yesterday, calling on it to seize “a great opportunity” for peace. He said, “We have a great opportunity to achieve peace in the region and solve the Palestinian issue. This solution will not take away from your security or stability.”

On the other hand, el-Sissi said, “Egypt’s policies are clear,” he added. “We support all UN decisions, the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital and [an Israeli withdrawal] to pre-1967 borders.”

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Military Modesty
In order to ensure that religious soldiers can serve in the military without compromising on their beliefs, the IDF has the ‘Joint Service’ order which regulates interaction between troops of the opposite gender. The regulations include forbidding physical contact between the sexes, mandatory separate sleeping quarters, and rules defining appropriate attire while on base.

The IDF clarified its modesty guidelines for its female conscripts amid increasingly louder calls attacking the regulations as discriminatory. It made clear that individual commanders may not modify the rules by ordering additional prohibitions, such as prohibiting women soldiers from wearing a white shirt or prohibiting wearing bathing suits in pool areas.

IDF Human Resources Directorate Commander Moti Almoz said, “the orders regarding appearance, dress and the common service are binding orders, and they must be acted upon as they are written. No commander may decide on his own to harshen or lighten them.”

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Food Deal
European online food delivery company Takeaway.com has announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire Israeli online food company 10bis in Tel Aviv from TA Associates and its founder Tamir Carmel for €135 million.

Founded in 2000, 10bis operates an online food marketplace that provides employee meal benefits plans to corporations. The Israeli company’s technology allows businesses to replace their canteens with not only a delivery service, but also with local restaurants. 10bis serves thousands of corporations, representing hundreds of thousands of employees.

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IDF Rescue
The IDF rescued several hundred Syrian civil defense activists, along with their families, from the war torn area near the Israeli border. The activists belong to the White Helmets, officially known as Syria Civil Defence, which is a volunteer organization that operates in parts of rebel-controlled segments of the country and which works to rescue and assist civilians caught in war zones. After being taken across the Israeli border the activists were transported to Jordan.

Jordanian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Mohammed al-Kayed, confirmed that Jordan had agreed to accept the activists strictly on humanitarian grounds. From Jordan the rescued activists are expected to be relocated within three months to one of the three countries that have committed to accepting them: Britain, Canada and Germany.
 
The White Helmets organization has saved more than 100,000 lives since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war, according to the US State Department. Syrian President Assad has accused the organization of aiding the rebels. Syrian state TV Al-Ikhbariya reported the Israeli evacuation of the White Helmets, calling it a “scandal” and saying “terrorist groups” now have “zero options.”

Great Britain and the EU requested Israeli assistance in rescuing the activity and praised the rescue missions success. British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt tweeted, ”Fantastic news that we— UK and friends—have secured evacuation of White Helmets and their families. thank you Israel and Jordan for acting so quickly on our request.”

European Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini said in a statement that “The EU recognizes the essential efforts of Israel and Jordan, and of all others—including several EU Member States—who contributed to bringing the White Helmets and their families to safety.”

PM Netanyahu issued a video statement saying US President Trump, Canadian PM Trudeau and others had asked him to help evacuate the group’s members. He said, “These are people who saved lives and whose lives are now in danger. I authorized bringing them through Israel to other countries as an important humanitarian gesture.”

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Syrian Strike
The Syrian news agency SANA reported Sunday evening that an Israeli air strike hit a military post in the city of Misyaf in Syria’s Hama province, causing damage but no casualties. The Hezbollah-affiliated Al Mayadeen network reported that the alleged targets were scientific research centers for chemical arms production. An intelligence source said a major military research center for chemical arms production was located near the city. Syrian opposition members reported that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as well as Hezbollah’s members were killed in the alleged the strike. According to Syrian reports four Israeli fighter jets took part in the attack, with three missiles being intercepted by Syria’s airspace defense system.

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Gaza Strike
An IDF aircraft struck Sunday a cell of terrorists launching incendiary balloons from northern Gaza into Israel. No casualties were reported in the incident. Defense Minister Lieberman addressed the people of Gaza saying, “We have completed a situation assessment regarding the passage of goods in Kerem Shalom, and the residents of Gaza must understand that as long as incendiary balloons keep landing on our side and causing fires, on both sides of the fence, life will not go back to normal. My message to the residents of Gaza is — take responsibility, the key, among others, is pressure. You, Gaza residents, will put pressure on the Hamas leadership.”

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Soldier Buried
Hundreds of people attended the funeral yesterday of IDF soldier Staff Sgt. Aviv Levi, who was killed by a Hamas sniper on Friday afternoon on the Gaza border. Levi, who was 20 years old, was a commander of an IDF force that was in charge of preventing dozens of Gazan protesters from crossing the border fence.

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Palestinian Killed
IDF troops were carrying out an arrest raid in the Dheisheh refugee camp near Bethlehem overnight Sunday when a “violent riot” began. Palestinians hurled firebombs and grenades at soldier, which caused the soldiers to respond by firing live rounds selectively. A 15 year old Palestinian boy was reportedly shot in the chest and killed and another Palestinian shot in the legs and wounded. No IDF soldiers were injured.

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Free Shipping
Amazon has resumed free shipping to Israel for purchased over $75, which is the amount above which Israeli buyers must pay 17% VAT for their purchases. So you still need to pay the tax, but the shipping is free. Not too bad.

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Kindergarten Attacked
An incendiary balloon launched from Gaza yesterday landed in the yard of a kindergarten in the Sdot Negev Regional Council. There were children around, but none were hurt.

Earlier, IDF aircraft attacked a group of Gazans who launched incendiary balloons from the northern Gaza Strip into Israel. Firefighters put out 9 different fires caused by incendiary balloons flown from Gaza throughout Tuesday.

Speaking during a visit to a regional military base, Netanyahu said: “We are in the midst of a campaign, there is an exchange of blows, and I can say that the IDF is prepared for every scenario. Like me, all Israeli citizens believe in and support the IDF ahead of any possible development.”

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Egyptian Warning
Egypt has warned Hamas to significantly reduce or completely end within a few days the launching of incendiary balloons and kites into Israeli territory from Gaza. The ultimatum came after Israel announced on Monday evening that it would be closing the commercial Kerem Shalom crossing to gas and fuel supplies after a ceasefire agreement was violated earlier in the afternoon when a rocket was fired into southern Israel.

Hamas claims that it is unable to stop all of the incendiary attacks being launched by rogue terror groups. However, it does seem that the number of attacks has dropped significantly since the weekend.

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Online Law
PM Netanyahu prevented the passage into law of a bill today that would have required all online media providers to remove terrorist content. The bill passed its initial reading on Monday in the Knesset Law Committee and was set to pass into law in the plenum on Wednesday night. But Netanyahu asked that it be removed from the Knesset’s agenda.

A Likud spokesman said, ”Out of concern that freedom of expression could be harmed and to guarantee the rights of Israeli citizens to freely express their criticism online, the prime minister asked to halt the legislation of the Facebook bill and return it to its original goal of preventing online incitement to terror. The prime minister believes the current version of the bill could be interpreted too broadly and permit censoring of opinions and gravely harming freedom of expression in Israel.”

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New Airport
The first airplane – an Arkia flight from Tel Aviv – landed at Israel’s new Ramon Airport in Eilat today. The airport will be officially opened in April of 2019 will be able to serve 2 million yearly passengers.

The 875-acre airport is located a 30-minute drive away from Eilat. It will be used for both international and internal flights and will be Israel’s second largest airport after Ben Gurion Airport. The terminal covers 35,000 square meters, including a 3,320-square meter duty free area. The airport will replace the smaller Eilat airport in the city center for domestic flights and Ovda airport in the Negev for international flights.  

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Patriot Fired
Israel fired a Patriot missile at a drone that infiltrated 10 kilometers into Israel. The drone was destroyed.

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No Sale
The Palestinian mufti of Jerusalem, Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, on Tuesday issued a new fatwa (Islamic religious decree) banning Muslims from “facilitating the transfer of ownership of any part of Jerusalem or the land of Palestine to the enemies.” The fatwa states that, “Anyone who sells his land to the enemies, or accepts compensation for it, will commit a sin.” The fatwa also ruled that Muslims were obliged to boycott anyone who violates the ruling. The boycott includes refusing to do any business with the offenders or marrying them or attending their funerals or burying them in Islamic cemeteries.

The fatwa, according to Palestinian sources, came in response to an Israeli bill allowing Jews to purchase land in Area C of the West Bank. The bill, put forward by MK Bezalel Smotrich (Bayit Yehudi), aims to change a 1953 Jordanian law that prevents foreigners and non-Arabs from directly purchasing land in the West Bank. The explanation for the bill states that it is “unacceptable” for Israeli citizens to be barred from buying land just because they are Israeli citizens.

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Moscow Visit
PM Netanyahu landed in Moscow this afternoon, where he will watch the World Cup semi-final after holding a “very important” meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss an array of issues concerning Israel’s northern frontier. Netanyahu was welcomed by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov. The PM signed a soccer ball which has been signed by all the leaders who have visited Russia since the start of the World Cup.

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No Tariff Exemption
Israel has failed to secure an exemption from the 25% steel and 10% aluminum tariffs recently imposed by the U.S. The decision has the potential to deal a significant blow to the Israeli metal industry, as the U.S. is Israel’s largest goods export market.

According to data from Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics, Israeli export to the U.S. is almost twice the U.S. export to Israel, and the U.S. goods trade deficit with Israel is around $10 billion a year (for the past four years). The U.S. is Israel’s largest goods export market, accounting for 29% of Israeli export.

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Moon Mission
The Israeli organization SpaceIL and the state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) have announced plans to land a spacecraft on the moon. The spacecraft will be transferred to the US in November, before being launched in December. The plan is to land on the moon on February 13, 2019. If successful, Israel would become the fourth country to land a craft on the moon, after the US, the Soviet Union and China.

Dr. Ido Anteby, CEO of SpaceIL, said, “We will put the Israeli flag on the moon. It’s a small, smart spacecraft, it has a 2 meters diameter, its height is about 1.5 meters (3.2 feet), it weighs 600 kilogram, and will land on the moon at the weight of 180 kilograms.”

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Holocaust Payments
The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany announced yesterday that Germany has agreed to pay another 75 million euros ($88 million) to fund social welfare services for Holocaust survivors, bringing total funding next year to 480 million euros. Germany also agreed to increase pensions paid to 55,000 Holocaust survivors in Central and Eastern Europe, and expand eligibility for child survivors.

Since 1952, Germany has paid more than $70 billion. Divide that by 6 million Jews that were murdered and you get a whopping $11,666 per victim (not including property stolen). So, do you think Germany has paid enough??

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Prisoner Swap
Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan confirmed Thursday that Israel is undertaking efforts to kick-start talks with Hamas to secure the release of Israeli citizens and the remains of IDF soldiers, following reports that Germany is acting a mediator between the two side in a possible prisoner exchange deal. According to the report, German envoys made several secret visits to the Gaza Strip and met with Hamas officials to discuss the possibility of implementing the prisoner exchange deal.

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Earthquakes in North
Northern Israel experienced its second earthquake in two days yesterday with a 3.2 tremor. The previous one, on Wednesday, was a 4.5 magnitude. Dr. Ran Nof, a seismologist in the Geological Survey of Israel, said, “We don’t see earthquakes getting stronger and more frequent. It seems unusual because we are not used to feeling earthquakes, but they occur all the time, in particularly at the Dead Sea’s depths, which is a tectonic border.” He added, “A 4.5 earthquake is weak and isn’t even considered a medium-magnitude earthquake; 5-5.5 earthquakes are considered as medium magnitude,” Dr. Nof explained. “Earthquakes 6-7 in magnitude are considered high-magnitude.”

However, Knesset member Yinon Azulay (Shas) blamed the quakes on the governments decision to allow egalitarian prayer services at part of the Western Wall. He said, “Maybe the earthquake occurred this morning because somebody is attempting to touch what is sacred to us. Maybe we should do some soul searching and realize the earthquake happened because somebody is tampering with something that is holy to us.”

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Holocaust Denial
Yad Vashem, Israel’s holocaust museum and research center, along with holocaust survivor groups blasted Thursday’s joint statement between Israel and Poland that said, “The wartime Polish Government-in-Exile attempted to stop this Nazi activity by trying to raise awareness among the Western allies to the systematic murder of the Polish Jews. As such, they created a ‘mechanism of systematic help and support to Jewish people’ and even took vigorous action against Poles who betrayed Jews. Although the joint statement acknowledges that there were cases in which Poles committed cruelties against Jews, it also says that ‘numerous Poles’ risked their lives to rescue Jews.”

The Yad Vashem statement said, “The existing documentation and decades of historical research yield a totally different picture: the Polish Government-in-Exile, based in London, as well as the Delegatura (the representative organ of this Government in occupied Poland) did not act resolutely on behalf of Poland’s Jewish citizens at any point during the war. Much of the Polish resistance in its various movements not only failed to help Jews, but was also not infrequently actively involved in persecuting them.”

However, the joint statement did say, “We acknowledge and condemn every single case of cruelty against Jews perpetrated by Poles during the World War II.”

Education Minister Naftali Bennett tweeted, “The joint statement by Israel with the Polish government is a disgrace and is full of lies and harms the memory of those who perished in the Holocaust. As education minister, Who is entrusted with imparting the legacy of the Holocaust, I reject it completely. It lacks factual and historical validity and will not be taught in the education system. I demand that the prime minister annul the declaration or bring it to the government for approval.”

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Spy Watch
In a special operation, the Mossad has recovered the wristwatch of master spy Eli Cohen, who operated in Damascus for years and was caught and hanged by the Syrians in 1965. The Mossad said, “After Eli Cohen’s execution on May 18, 1965, the wristwatch was held by an enemy state. Upon the watch’s return to Israel, special research and intelligence operations were carried out which culminated in the unequivocal determination that this was indeed Eli Cohen’s watch.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the Mossad for “the determined and courageous operation, the sole objective of which was to return to Israel a memento from a great fighter who greatly contributed to the security of the state.”
 
Mossad Director Yossi Cohen added that “We remember Eli Cohen and do not forget. His heritage—of dedication, determination, courage and love of the homeland—is our heritage. We remember and have maintained a close connection over the years with his family, Nadia and the children. This year, at the conclusion of an operational effort, we succeeded in locating and bringing to Israel the wristwatch that Eli Cohen wore in Syria until the day he was captured. The watch was part of Eli Cohen’s operational image and part of his fabricated Arab identity.”

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