Israel News for 8-25-2021
News Update
IDF warplanes struck Hamas targets in Gaza, including a weapons production facility and a rocket launch site, on Tuesday in response to incendiary balloons launched from Gaza on Monday that causes nine fires. One teen was reportedly killed in the strikes. Hamas has reportedly promised to stop the launching of incendiary balloons from Gaza, following talks with Egyptian mediators.
The IDF deployed additional troops to the Gaza border, ahead of planned demonstrations on the Gaza side. An Israeli Border Policeman was shot in the head during a violent demonstration over the weekend.
IDF troops came under attack in Nablus, during an arrest raid yesterday. Palestinians fired shots and dropped large boulders from rooftops. Soldiers fired at the attackers, including one teen who was about to drop a boulder on the head of the unit commander. The teen was killed.
PM Bennett is in Washington to meet with President Biden. Ahead of the meeting, Bennett told the NYTimes that Israel must form a regional coalition against Iran in cooperation with the US. He said he will present Biden with a plan to contain Iran on all fronts, including imposing new economic sanctions, mobilizing international pressure and continuing Israel’s clandestine campaign against Iran’s nuclear arms program.
The United Nations human rights office expressed concern over the arrests of peaceful demonstrators by Palestinian Authority security forces. The UN body said it was “deeply concerned at continuing pressure on those seeking to exercise their rights to freedom of expression and assembly in Palestine.” A statement from the European Union representative in Jerusalem also condemned the weekend arrests, which it said had come “against the backdrop of reports of an increase in apparently politically motivated arrests by the Palestinian Authority over the past few months.”
Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, one of the premier leaders of the Haredi community, said, “Teachers and educators who have not been vaccinated must not come to teach. Vaccines are a godsend and must be taken to prevent Bitul Torah [wasting time that could be spent on religious studies] and illness. “Every person should try to watch themselves in every way so as not to infect or get infected…and to adhere to the health regulations.”
The Health Ministry today reported 9,891 new corona cases on Tuesday, with an infection rate of 6.69, the highest rate since the start of the current wave of infections. At least 692 patients are in severe condition, of whom 129 are ventilated. The official death toll now stands at 6,880.
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has signed a deal worth €200 million to supply new radars to the German Navy.
Israel is the world’s most expensive country in which to buy a Tesla S electric vehicle. The basic version of the Tesla S, which costs a customer in the US $91,000 (as of today following the most recent price increase), costs a customer in Israel about $166,000 including all taxes. To find out why the price difference, click here.
Arab Israeli swimmer Iyad Shalabi won a gold medal today at the 2020 Paralympics Games in Tokyo. Culture and Sports Minister Yehiel Moshe “Hili” Tropper was among the first to congratulate him.
