Israel News for 12-31-18
Gaza Update
Over the weekend Hamas fired a rocket into Israel from Gaza and the IDF responded with a helicopter strike against a Hamas military target. No injuries or damages were caused by the rocket. It was the first rocket launched from Gaza since November. The incident follows the border rioting on Friday during which 5,000 people rioted, some of whom threw grenades and rocks. One rioter was shot and killed by IDF fire and 6 wounded.
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New Right
Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked and Education Minister Naftali Bennett have split off from their Bayit Yehudi party to form a new party called the New Right. The New Right will focus on getting votes from the secular right wing, while Bayit Yehudi will continue to focus on the religious Zionist camp. After the elections the two parties will reportedly form a joint faction on the assumption that they will have won more Knesset seats than currently held by Bayit Yehudi alone. However, the split could also result in one of the parties failing to pass the minimum required threshold to gain entry into the Knesset, which could harm any potential right wing coalition.
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US Troops
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, an outspoken critic of President Trump’s decision to withdraw US troops from Syria, announced yesterday that he had met with the President and that the process of withdrawing the troops has been slowed down.
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US Legislation
The Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act, which was signed into law by President Donald Trump back in October and recently approved by the US Congress, would allow US authorities to seize assets from any foreign “terrorist entity” that receives financial aid from the American government.The law would also permit any US citizen to sue the Palestinian Authority (PA) for its involvement in terror activity and be compensated by the money received through financial aid.
The PA security apparatus in Ramallah is the only area still eligible for US financial assistance—believed to be in the region of $61 million annually—after earlier this year the State Department announced that Trump administration decided to cut more than $200 million in bilateral aid to the Palestinians, following a review of the funding for projects in the West Bank and Gaza.
Over the past month, the Trump administration have reportedly been scrambling to amend the legislation in order to ensure the US security assistance to the PA continues. A senior Israeli official told Ynet that Israel has also been working behind the scenes to ensure the law is amended, and once the US Congress returns from the Christmas break, there is a “reasonable” chance the legislation will indeed undergo the necessary changes.
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Seller Convicted
A Palestinian Authority court in Ramallah today sentenced Isaam Akel, a Palestinian American citizen, to life in prison with hard labor for his involvement in the sale of properties to Jews. The US State Department and the US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman have protested against his arrest and incarceration and have demanded his immediate release.
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Poverty Line
According to the annual poverty report of the National Insurance Institute,1,780,500 people, including 466,400 families and 814,800 children, live below the poverty line in Israel. The poverty rate among Arabs and Ultra Orthodox hovers close to 50%. Israel still has the highest rate of poverty of any OECD country.
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New Israelis
Aliyah (immigration) to Israel rose 5% in 2018 compared with 2017, the Jewish Agency reports. 29,600 immigrants reached Israel in 2018, up from 28,220 in 2017. The main reason for the rise was a 45% jump in immigration from Russia with 10,500 immigrants coming to Israel in 2018. 6,500 immigrants arrived from Ukraine this year, down 9% from 2017.
There were 3,550 immigrants to Israel from North America, a similar number to last year. 2,600 immigrants arrived from France, down 25% from 2017, 660 immigrants from Brazil, down 4% and just over 500 immigrants from the UK, down 4%. There were 330 immigrants from Argentina, up 17% and 320 immigrants from South Africa, down 2%.
