Israel News for 7-2-2021

News Update

The IDF struck several Hamas targets in Gaza overnight in response to the launch of several incendiary balloons into Israel that started some small fires.

A female IDF soldier was stabbed in the back and moderately wounded by a terrorist who tried to steal her weapon, near the soldier’s base in the West Bank. The terrorist was apprehended.

The U.S. State Department’s annual “Trafficking in Persons” report downgraded Israel from the top Tier 1 category to Tier 2, which means that it doesn’t meet international standards for fighting trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so. No penalties are attached to a Tier 2 designation. Other US allies downgraded were Cyprus, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal and Switzerland.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier visited Israel yesterday. He met with President Rivlin and PM Bennett and visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial. Steinmeier reiterated Germany’s support for Israel.

Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, called on the Palestinian Authority to allow peaceful protests, after claiming that PA security forces beat and fired tear gas at protestors. She said, “Many people, including journalists and human rights defenders, were assaulted.” She also said that women appear to have been singled out, whether they were protesting or reporting for the media or were just bystanders, with many reporting being sexually harassed.

A record number of Israeli companies went public on US exchanges in June. To read more about this, click here.