Israel News for 1-25-19
Teen Charged
A 16 year old Jewish teen from the Mateh Binyamin area was charged with manslaughter, throwing a stone at a vehicle under aggravated circumstances as an act of terror, and intentional vandalism of a vehicle as an act of terror, after his DNA was found on the rock that hit the car that was carrying Palestinian mother Aisha al-Rawbi, killing her.
In October 2018, Rawbi, 47, was traveling on Route 60 with her husband and nine-year-old daughter when a rock allegedly thrown by Jewish youth hit the car’s windshield. The suspect was arrested on December 30th, along with 4 other teens, all students at the Pri Haaretz yeshiva in Rechalim. The 4 other teens were released to house arrest 10 days ago and have subsequently been released. All of the teens were interrogated by the Shin Bet.
The suspect told the Shin Bet that the reason why his DNA was on the rock was because his friends often went hiking in the area. Police are examining his version of events.
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Terror Arrests
Border Police officers entered the Shuafat refugee camp in East Jerusalem Thursday to arrest Palestinian youths who were throwing Molotov cocktails at a main road that runs near the camp. When one of the Palestinians continued the attacks, undercover officers shot and seriously wounded him. Two other attackers were arrested and taken for questioning.
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Irish Reprimanded
Israel’s Foreign Ministry reprimanded Ireland’s ambassador to Israel today following the advancement of an Irish bill criminalizing Israeli products from areas captured in the 1967 war.
The ministry said in a statement, “It was clarified to the ambassador that the hypocritical and anti-Semitic legislation will have serious ramifications for Israel-Ireland relations and [Ireland’s] status in the region, should it be advanced. It would be better for Ireland to deal with dark dictatorships and terror groups instead of Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East.”
The Irish bill would make illegal “the import and sales of goods, services and natural resources originating in illegal settlements in occupied territories.” It has already passed in Irelands lower house, but must still pass 3 additional stages before being made into law.
Israeli officials are confident that the Irish government will prevent the bill from passing, since the government has said that banning goods is the sole prerogative of the European Union.
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Morocco Trip
Moroccan media reported on Thursday evening that talks were under way about a visit by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to Morocco. According to the reports, National Security Council head Meir Ben Shabbat is heading the contacts on the Israeli side, and American officials are acting as mediators with the authorities in Morocco. Neither Morocco nor Israel commented on the report.
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Snowball Fight
Five years ago, when he was IDF Chief of Staff, Benny Gantz had a snowball fight with a Palestinian family. The photos, which were never published, have now been released ahead of the upcoming elections. To see them click here.
