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Israel News for January 25, 2016

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PM Defends DM
PM Netanyahu defended Defense Minister Ya’alon’s eviction of Jews from two houses in the Old City of Hebron that they moved into last week. The PM said that if, “anyone bought an apartment in the Muqata compound in Ramallah (seat of the Palestinian Authority) no one would expect the IDF to protect him so he could live there.”

The Jews claim to have purchased the houses legally, but the Defense Minister claims that they did not follow legal procedures and get the authorization required to take possession of property.

Several Likud and Bayit Yehudi MK’s attacked Ya’alon, prompting the leaders of the coalition parties to establish a ministerial committee in charge of “improving coordination between the government, the security establishment and the settlements’ leadership on construction in the settlements.” The committee will include Ya’alon, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked and Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel, and will function as an “advisory body” in settlement-related matters.

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TV Incitement
The Shin Bet has announced that the 15 yr. old terrorist who murdered Dafna Meir in Otniel last week was motivated to carry out his attack by incitement on Palestinian television, which presented Israel as “the killer of Palestinian youngsters.”

The Shin Bet issued a statement saying, “The severe consequences of the attack show once more the seriousness of the threat posed by the Palestinian media’s wild incitement against the State of Israel and Jews, which influences lone-wolf attackers to commit murder and carry out serious terror attacks.”

The suspect’s father said, “If I would have known I would have prevented this and even handed him in. I hope it turns out he is innocent.”

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said the teen committed the murder after a falling out with his father and deciding to either become a martyr or get arrested and be sent to jail.

Deputy Defense Minister Tipi Hotovely continues to speak out strongly against Palestinian incitement that she claims is financed in large part by funds received from foreign governments. In an Wall Street Journal op-ed, Hotovely called on the international community to condition its funding of the PA on a close inspection of whether or not it will stop inciting terror and funding the families of terrorists. She has reiterated her views in meetings with European foreign ministers.

Hotovely recently published figures showing that the PA continues to fund terrorism and support terrorists, both by broadcasting programs inciting terror, and actively financing the families of terrorists, with the relatives of those who succeed in murdering Israelis receiving a larger reward.

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IAF Strikes
Israeli jets struck a Hamas-affiliated target inside Gaza early today in retaliation for a rocket fired at Israel last night. The rocket landed in an open area near the Gaza border causing no injuries or damage. While there were no group has yet to claim responsibility for the rocket attack, Israel holds Hamas responsible for everything that happens in Gaza.

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Building Enforcement
Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein has approved recommendations to increase enforcement of planning and construction laws and regulations, with a special emphasis on the Arab and Druze communities.

Planning officials within the Arab community say that there are some 50,000 houses in Arab communities that have no construction permits.

Arab Knesset members lashed out at the new initiative, even threatening violence. MK Basel Ghattas said: “We have been working for years to freeze demolition orders to arrive at an arrangement regarding construction that is not according to the law, but the authorities ignore this demand.”

Ghattas warned that if the government pursued this course, “the outcome will be very severe for both sides. We have no interest in violent conflict between the Arab minority and the state, but if this policy continues, it will come. The state…makes itself the enemy of the Arab citizens with its own two hands.”

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Close Call
Israel’s plans to export billions of dollars worth of natural gas to Egypt almost unraveled when an Italian exploration company discovered a massive Egyptian gas field last August. But fear not. The company’s original output estimate for the field has just been cut in half. Too bad for Egypt, but good news for Israeli gas exports.

Ring Returned
One bride-to-be is counting her blessings, and probably being a bit more careful with her jewelry.

On Thursday, the young woman in Jerusalem’s ultra-Orthodox Geula neighborhood, who is set to get married next month, placed her diamond engagement ring in her pocket while emptying her trash into a receptacle on the street.

There was also a small, empty food bag in her pocket which she also discarded, and the ring allegedly fell into the bag before she threw it into the dumpster. When she searched for her ring in her pocket, it wasn’t there.

Just her luck a garbage truck had just emptied the dumpster. The woman realized what had happened and immediately alerted the driver to the problem.

After a search on the street failed to locate the ring, the truck – with the approval of the municipal authorities – was taken to a city warehouse and emptied to enable the family to search for the ring. The family then sent out a notice asking members of the public to help them with their search.

The searchers didn’t end up finding the ring. It turns out that a Jerusalem man, who wishes to remain anonymous, had already found the ring on the street on Thursday, but didn’t hear about the search until after Shabbat. When he did, he immediately contacted the family and returned the ring.

Mazal Tov!!

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Israel News for August 20, 2015

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High Court Rules, Temporarily
The High Court yesterday temporarily suspended the administrative detention order under which Palestinian hunger-striker Mohammed Allaan has been detained. He will remain in Barzilai hospital to receive medical treatment, but will no longer be shackled to his bed and will be allowed to receive visits from his family. If and when he recovers from the effects of his hunger-strike, the administrative detention order will become active again.

Background
Earlier on Wednesday the government said the they would release Allaan if it turns out that he has suffered irreversible brain damage and is, therefore, no longer a security threat. The High Court ordered an MRI performed to determine the extent of Allaan’s brain damage. While the tests did show that there was some degree of brain damage, they were not conclusive as to whether the damage is reversible or not. Doctors say that the brain damage is likely to have been caused by a lack of vitamins, particularly vitamin B1, and they aren’t sure if replacing the vitamins will reverse the damage.

Meanwhile, the IDF has deployed an Iron Dome anti-missile battery in the southern city of Ashdod in response to Islamic Jihad threats of missile attacks from Gaza if Allaan dies.

Upshot
While the High Court’s ruling to suspend Allan’s administrative detention order is being viewed as at least a semi-victory by his supporters, the fundamentals of the situation haven’t really changed. The government can legally detain Allaan as long as they feel that he is a security risk, which is what they probably will do unless he proves to have irreversible brain damage that prevents him from being involved in future terrorist activity. The government also technically still has the legal right to force-feed him. What the court has succeeded in doing is preventing Allaan from dying while in detention, which would be a blow to the government.

Terror Attacks Continue
The string of terror attacks against Israelis continued yesterday with two new attacks.
Palestinians threw an improvised explosive device at a military patrol on the Tunnel Bypass Road which connects the Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo to the Gush Etzion area in Judea. The purpose of the bypass tunnel is to provide drivers with a route that avoids passing through or near Arab villages, which would expose them to terror attacks. One soldier was wounded in the attack.

In another part of Jerusalem, near highway 443, two Palestinians threw rocks at Israeli cars. A man and a two year old girl were lightly wounded by broken glass. The 443 is one of two main highways that connect Jerusalem with the center of the country.

US in Sinai
The US is reviewing the status of its peacekeeping troops stationed in the Sinai in the face of threats from ISIS inspired terror groups active in the northern part of the peninsula.

Background
When Israel and Egypt signed their historic peace treaty in 1979, one of the provisions was that the US would station ground troops to monitor the agreement. There are currently 700 US Army troops stationed in Sinai, monitoring and verifying treaty compliance. These troops are lightly armed and don’t have any real offensive capabilities. That makes them prime targets for the terrorists who have been carrying out large scale attacks against the Egyptian military in northern Sinai. The last thing the US wants is to leave the troops exposed to attack.

Options
The US can either beef up the security of the troops and increase their fighting capabilities or withdraw them. Pulling out of Sinai would send a message of weakness to the terrorists and ISIS, as well as to its allies in the region who feel that the US is giving in to Iran in the nuclear deal. So making sure the troops can defend themselves looks like the way to go.

Hamas Nabs Spy
Israel Army Radio reported yesterday that Hamas claims to have captured an Israeli spy off the Gaza coast. A dolphin. No, not one of the Israeli navy’s Dolphin class submarines. A real dolphin. Hamas claims that it was equipped with spying equipment.
This dolphin is not the first animal to be accused of working for Israel. In 2010, an Egyptian official accused Israeli sharks for attacking tourists in the Red Sea. In 2012, an eagle with Israeli tracking tags was captured in Sudan and accused of spying for Israel.
Is the Mossad really that good?

Huckabee Stands with Israel
Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee is touring Israel and sending a clear message that he is a loyal supporter of Israel. His first stop was the town of Shilo in Judea. When asked why he visited a town that the international community considers to be occupied territory he answered, “It’s a Jewish town. I don’t call this area occupied territory, but rather Judea and Samaria. Israel has a special connection with this region.”
He added, “I arrived in Shiloh in order to see the history of the Jewish people, I recommend that everyone go there. I don’t understand why the international community prevents Israel from living securely in Judea and Samaria as well. As a presidential candidate I feel that obligation to Israel.”

Huckabee met with PM Netanyahu yesterday in Jerusalem. He spoke against the BDS movement, encouraged the Palestinians to pursue peace instead of terror, and expressed his opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state and Israeli withdrawals from Judea and Samaria.

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