Israel News for 6-19-17
High Alert
IDF forces in Judea and Samaria as well as in East Jerusalem are on high alert for the last ten days of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, fearing copycat attacks of the Friday night terror attacks that claimed the life of a female border police officer.
Israeli has also cancelled around 250,000 Palestinian entry permits into Israel and PM Netanyahu has ordered the area around the Damascus Gate be declared a security area.
Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman blamed the Palestinian Authority, saying, “We will continue to fight relentless Palestinian terror and the unbridled incitement that feeds it. We will pursue the perpetrators and instigators wherever they may be. The thunderous silence from the PA, which refuses to condemn terrorism, and the claims by Abbas that Israel murdered three innocent Palestinians, proves there is no partner on the other side.”
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Hero funeral
Thousands attended the funeral of Master Sergeant Hadas Malka, who was stabbed by a terrorist on Friday night in Jerusalem while she tried to draw her weapon and defend herself. Among the mourners were Minister of Public Security Gilad Erdan, Police Commissioner Roni Alsheikh, Border Police Commissioner Yaakov Shabtai and other ministers and Knesset members.
PM Netanyahu expressed condolences on behalf of the government and the nation to the Malka family Sunday morning at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting saying, “Their grief is our grief; their sorrow is that of the entire nation. Hadas was a young person full of life. She was imbued with a sense of mission of defending the State of Israel. Her commanders and those under her command loved her and trusted her.”
He also said, “I call on the countries of the world to condemn both the murder and those who praise it, and demand the immediate cessation of Palestinian Authority payments to the families of terrorists, something that only encourages terror.”
The Palestinian Authority issued a statement on Saturday condemning the deaths of the three attackers, calling it a “war crime” by Israeli forces. The PA has not condemned the Friday night attacks.
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BBC Apologizes
The BBC apologized for its news headline regarding the Friday night terrorist attack that read, “Three Palestinians killed after deadly stabbing in Jerusalem.” The headline was only changed after strong protest from the foreign ministry and the Israeli Ambassador in London, Mark Regev. The two sharply criticized the network for refusing to use the word “terror” when it comes to attacks against Israelis.
In response to the widespread outcry, the BBC said, “We accept that our original headline did not appropriately reflect the nature of the events and subsequently changed it. Whilst there was no intention to mislead our audiences, we regret any offense caused.”
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Haj Flight
As a result of secret negotiations between Israel, the US, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the PA, there apparently will be special flight organized exclusively for Palestinians to fly from Israel directly to Saudi Arabia for the Has, the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca. A senior Israeli source said the talks are already in advanced stages and that the flight would be carried out through a foreign company that is neither Israeli nor Saudi.
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US Visits
Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt will be in Israel this week to try to move President Trump’s peace initiative forward. They will hold meetings in Jerusalem and Ramallah.
A White House official said, “It is important to remember that forging a historic peace agreement will take time and to the extent that there is progress, there are likely to be many visits by both Mr. Kushner and Mr. Greenblatt, sometimes together and sometimes separately, to the region and possibly many trips by Israeli and Palestinian negotiators to Washington DC or other locations as they pursue substantive talks.”
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Binary Options
One year after the Israel Securities Authority banned trading in binary options for Israeli customers, the cabinet and the Ministerial Legislative Committee yesterday approved a bill proposed by Minister of Finance Moshe Kahlon extending the ban to overseas customers. The Knesset is expected to pass the bill without any difficulties.
According to the bill, trading in binary options by Israeli concerns involving customers in Israel or overseas will constitute a predicate offense under the Prohibition of Money Laundering Law, due to the “criminal characteristics likely to accompany this industry,” as set out in the explanations accompanying the bill.
The Securities Authority said that there were additional reasons for extending the ban to overseas customers, including Israel’s image. People all over the world have filed complaints against unscrupulous binary options trading companies originating in Israel.
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