Israel News for 7-3-18
Terrorists Stopped
An IDF force opened fire on 4 terrorists who were trying to cross the Gaza border fence and set fire to a nearby sniper position on Monday afternoon. One terrorist was killed, another was critically wounded, and a third was arrested and taken in for questioning. The fourth terrorist apparently managed to escape back into Gaza.
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Australia Cuts PA Funding
The Australian government has stopped funding for the Palestinian Authority because it feared that the funds would be used to pay terrorists. Australia’s Foreign Minister said, “Any assistance provided by the Palestine Liberation Organization to those convicted of politically motivated violence is an affront to Australian values and undermines the prospect of meaningful peace between Israel and the Palestinians.”
Australia’s 10 million Australian dollar ($7.4 million) donation to the World Bank trust fund for the Palestinians will now be re-routed to the United Nations’ Humanitarian Fund for the Palestinian Territories which provides vulnerable Palestinians with health care, food, water, improved sanitation and shelter.
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Terror Payment Law
The Knesset voted 87 to 15 to deduct terrorists’ salaries from the $130 million in monthly tax revenues that Israel collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority. Under the new law, money that would otherwise go to pay stipends to roughly 35,000 families of Palestinian terrorists and their families will be automatically frozen. Arab Knesset members angrily protested the passing of the law.
After the bill’s approval, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman Tweeted, “We promised to halt the stipend free-for-all for terrorists and we have made good on our promise. It’s over. Every shekel that Abu Mazen (Abbas) will pay to terrorists and murderers will be automatically deducted from the Palestinian Authority’s budget. Effective fight against terrorism also goes through the pocket—of the terrorists, of their families and of Abbas.”
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Draft Bill
The proposed IDF draft bill passed its first reading in the Knesset by a vote of 63 to 39. The proposed legislation includes planned cuts to yeshiva budgets and the use of economic incentives to pressure them to encourage enlistment. But the proposed law does not contain any criminal penalties.
The enlistment objectives, as stated in the proposal, are that 3,000 yeshiva students will be drafted in the first stage and 600 will volunteer for national service. The plan will be given a two-year adaptation period, in which sanctions won’t be imposed if the yeshivas fail to meet the draft rates. In the third year, yeshivas who fail to encourage enlistment will be hit with economic sanctions if they drop below a 95-percent target.
The opposition part Yesh Atid voted in favor of the bill, while the Haredi parties in the coalition voted against it. Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman, of the United Torah Judaism party, has threatened to quit if the bill becomes law. However, the Haredi parties made sure that the coalition had enough votes to pass the bill before they voted against it, which seems to indicate that they believe that the new law will be able to be worked around in some way to allow yeshiva students to continue avoiding the draft.
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