Israel News for 6-27-18
Gaza Conflict
The IDF bombed a vehicle belonging to one of the commanders of Hamas’ military wing in the Neuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on Tuesday night. Soon after, 13 rockets were fired from Gaza at Israeli communities near the border. At least three of the rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system. There were no reports of injuries.
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Solar for Gaza
Israel has approved a plan to build a solar field on Israeli territory to ease the electricity crisis in the Gaza Strip. The construction of the facility at the Erez Crossing will be funded by private Israeli and foreign elements. The plan, along with other ideas to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, were discussed in meeting this week with US envoys Jason Greenblatt and Jared Kushner. The idea to build a solar field was initially raised by Israel at an international conference on the strip’s reconstruction held in Washington at the beginning of the year. The move would be unilateral, with no agreement from Hamas.
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Holocaust Law
Poland’s lower house of Parliament voted 388 to 25 to remove jail penalties for suggesting that Poland took part in crimes against the Jews during the Holocaust. The original “Holocaust Law” passed by the Polish government in February makes a crime to accuse the Polish nation of taking part in the crimes of the Holocaust. The law was condemned by Israel and the US. Poland is seeking to bolster security ties with the US.
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Arms Deal
A deal has been signed between Israeli defense contractor Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and US-based defense contractor Leonardo DRS to supply the American military with the Israeli made Trophy active defense system for tanks and armored personnel carriers.
Trophy consists of sensors that detect and classify the threat and its precise location. The system then launches a countermeasure to intercept the threat. Data regarding the position of the attacker is transmitted to field forces who can then neutralize the threat. Since its first battlefield interception in March, 2011, the system has proven itself numerous times, especially during Operation Protective Edge in Gaza. It is the only active defense system for armored vehicles in the world.
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Gas Discovery
Egyptian media reports that Italian energy company Eni is about to announce a massive offshore gas discovery in the coming few days have been enough to seen energy stocks on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) plunging. With an estimated 2,550 billion cubic meters (BCM) of gas, Noor would be three times larger than the Zohr gas field, over five times larger than Israel’s Leviathan field and more than ten times the Tamar field.
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