Israel News for 8-19-2019
Terrorists Killed
An IDF helicopter and tank opened fire on 5 terrorists attempting to infiltrate into Israel from Gaza over the weekend. Three terrorists were killed and one wounded. The incident took place less than two hours after three rockets were fired into southern Israel from Gaza. Two of the rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome.
The shrapnel from one of the rockets landed in a meat smoker located in the backyard of a home in Sderot, causing some damage to the structure. Two people were lightly hurt while running to the bomb shelter, and four others – including a 79-year-old woman – were treated for shock.
The rocket attack was the second within 24 hours. The rocket which was fired into Sderot late Friday evening was also intercepted by the Iron Dome, prompting the IDF to strike at least two Hamas “underground infrastructures” in Gaza.
Politicians from both the right and left attacked PM Netanyahu for being weak against Hamas.
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Terror Arrests
Security forces arrested 23 terror suspects and confiscated several automatic weapons, handguns and ammunitions in Palestinian Authority controlled areas of Judea and Samaria.
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Terror Ramming
A brother and sister from the settlement of Elazar were wounded in a car-ramming terror attack at a bus stop in Gush Etzion on Friday. The terrorist drove into the junction at high speed and hit the 20 and 18 year old. He was shot and killed by an off-duty policeman who was on the scene.
The brother and sister are Noa and Nahum Navis; they were waiting for a bus in order to join their parents on a family vacation. The attacker, 26-year-old Ala Harimi from the Bethlehem region, was a known felon and drug addict associated with the Islamic Jihad and the Fatah movements. He was jailed in Israel for terror offenses between 2014-2015.
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Ukraine Visit
PM Netanyahu and his wife kicked off a two day visit in the Ukraine yesterday. In Kiev, the PM will meet with Zelensky and Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman, both of whom are Jewish. Ukraine is currently the only country besides Israel where both the president and the prime minister are Jewish.
Netanyahu will also visit a memorial at Babi Yar, where more than 30,000 Jews were killed in just two days during the Holocaust, and meet with local Jewish community leaders. Zelensky is set to accompany him to the memorial, which will be the first time a Ukrainian president accompanies an Israeli official to the site.
Sources say that the PM will also attempt to mediate between Ukraine and Russia.
Political commentators are speculating that the PM is visiting the Ukraine now to drum up support among Russian speaking voters in Israel ahead of the election. More than a third of all immigrants to Israel from the former Soviet Union came from Ukraine.
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Date Season
The date harvest season in Israel kicked off this weekend. Israel supplies about 60% of the global market for Medjool dates, which are considered the highest quality dates and are most in demand. Israeli dates are exported to over 30 countries, particularly to Turkey. They are also exported to Arab countries, via third party brokers.
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