Israel News for 5-16-2022
News Update
Police arrested a 22 year old Palestinian with an axe today in the West Bank. The man admitted that he intended to attack Israelis on the road. He was carrying a letter in which he outlined his intention to avenge the death of friends by launching an attack, and was prepared to pay for his actions with his life. The IDF also arrested 5 suspected terrorists in the man’s home town of Al-Bireh overnight and several other suspects in other villages.
The Ra’am party said Sunday that it had reached a new agreement with the rest of the coalition regarding unrecognized communities in the southern Negev region of the country that would allow for some illegal construction to remain standing without penalty. Ra’am said the government had decided not to demolish buildings of up to 70 square meters (750 square feet) in unrecognized villages, nor fine the owners. The rules will apply to new homes and extensions that bring existing buildings up to that size, as well as to roof replacements. Ra’am said the development was just one of several it had secured in a new agreement with the government. The Islamic party is key to maintaining the government coalition, even though the coalition currently has only 60 seats, one short of a majority.
The US State Department will remove the Kahane Chai organization from its terror blacklist. The group was founded by the late Rabbi Meir Kahane. To read more, click here.
According to the initial estimate released by the Central Bureau of Statistics today, Israel’s GDP shrank by 1.6% on an annualized basis in the first quarter of 2022. The growth rate last quarter was 15.6%, but the 25% plunge of the NASDQ has a significant detrimental impact on the Israeli Technology sector. To read more, click here.
