Israel News for 8-7-2019
Minister in Trouble
The Israel Police said Tuesday that there is sufficient evidence to bring charges against Deputy Health Minister Litzman for fraud, breach of trust and witness tampering in two cases, one of which relates to the extradition of former Melbourne school principal Malka Leifer, who is accused of child sex abuse and the second involving the business of a close associate.
Litzman, the head of the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party, has been a long-standing key coalition partner of PM Netanyahu. He denies all the allegations against him.
[Judging from past history, the charges shouldn’t negatively effect Litzman’s prospects at election time.]
For further reading click here.
Terrorists Busted
The Shin Bet has uncovered several Hamas terror cells operating in the West Bank and receiving orders from Gaza. The cells had planned terror attacks against Israeli as well as Palestinian Authority targets. Security forces also found an explosive device in a makeshift lab in Hebron. The device was to be detonated in Jerusalem.
For further reading click here.
More Building
The West Bank’s Civil Administration High Planning Subcommittee authorized the promotion of 2,304 homes in settlements and outposts, of which 838 received final approval for construction. Close to 200 of the planned homes will be located in outposts considered “illegal”.
The Gush Etzion Regional Council Head, Shlomo Neeman, said in response that, “this is huge news for the south-east of Gush Etzion, to Jewish settlements in the Judean Desert and to the entire settlement movement.”
Peace Now condemned to new housing plans, calling it “a part of the destructive policy set to prevent a peaceful solution and the two-state solution and bring about the annexation of the West bank.”
For further reading click here.
Greek’s Sue
The Greek Orthodox Church on Monday filed a new lawsuit in Jerusalem District Court against the Ateret Cohanim organization in a bid to overturn a Supreme Court decision upholding the sale of three properties in predominantly Arab parts of the Old City of Jerusalem.
The Supreme Court in June upheld the 99 year leasing of two Palestinian-run hotels — Imperial and Petra — located near the Jaffa Gate, and another building near Herod’s Gate to Ateret Cohanim. The Church claims that Ateret Cohanim falsified documents and bribed the official who agreed to the sales.
Ateret Cohanim plans to vacate the current residents of the buildings and replace them with Jewish inhabitants.
For further reading click here.
Iran Coalition
Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz on Tuesday revealed to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that Israel is taking part in a coalition led by the United States to secure the Persian Gulf.
For further reading click here.
Temple Mount
An Israeli police officer was injured this morning, after he was attacked by a member of the Waqf, the organization that administers the Temple Mount. The incident occurred when several officers told a Waqf official that they wanted to bring him in for questioning.
The Waqf official refused and attacked the officers. One police officer was lightly injured.
During the scuffle, the Waqf official was also injured.
For further reading click here.
No Unity
PM Netanyahu pledged today that he will not form a unity government with the left. In a column published in the Israel Hayom newspaper, Netanyahu wrote, “My commitment is clear: To establish a strong right-wing government after the elections, which will continue to lead the State of Israel to unprecedented achievements and safeguard Israeli citizens.” He added, “This is my commitment to Likud voters. There will be no unity government.”
For further reading click here.
Space X
SpaceX successfully launched Israeli communication satellite Amos-17 into orbit from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station last night. the company says that the 6.5-ton, high-power HTS satellite will provide extensive C-band HTS, Ka-band and Ku-band capabilities to meet Africa’s fast-growing communication demands. It will offer increased connectivity between Africa, the Middle East, India, China and as far west as Brazil.
Spacecom says Amos-17 is planned to be in operation for a minimum of 20 years. The company currently has a sales backlog valued at $58 million for communications services to the African market via the satellite, including with Nigeria-based broadcaster IDS Africa, and expects to sign additional large deals in the future.
For further reading click here.
Palestinian Waze
A new Palestinian app called Doroob Navigator is meant to help Palestinian drivers in the West Bank negotiate traffic at Israeli military checkpoints and uncover routes to towns mainstream providers often miss. Doroob Navigator crowd-sources road closures and traffic data from users. It aims to supplant apps like Google Maps and Waze, which rarely account for Israeli restrictions and struggle to navigate between Palestinian cities.
For further reading click here.
