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Israel news summary

Israel News for 8-26-2019

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Rockets Fired
Three rockets were fired from Gaza into Israel last night. IDF jets responded by striking several targets, including the office of a Hamas battalion commander, in a Hamas military compound in northern Gaza.

PM Netanyahu ordered to cut by half the amount of fuel being transferred to Gaza via the Kerem Shalom border crossing, starting Monday and until further notice.

For further reading click here.

Drone Attack
The IDF announced yesterday that it thwarted an attempted drone terror attack planned by Iranian officials based in a luxury villa in Damascus. IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said the Al Quds force, working with allied Shiite militias, had been planning to send a number of explosives-laden attack drones into Israel. He said Israel had monitored the plot for several months and on Thursday prevented Iran from making an “advanced attempt” to execute the same plan. Then, Iran tried again late Saturday to carry out the same attack. IDF fighter jets destroyed the drones.

US Secretary of State Pompeo tweeted, “Spoke with Israeli PM Netanyahu today regarding recent Israeli airstrikes in Syria. I expressed my support for Israel’s right to defend itself from threats posed by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps & to take action to prevent imminent attacks against Israeli assets. We discussed how Iran is leveraging its foothold in Syria to threaten Israel and its neighbors. The Prime Minister Netanyahu noted that Israel would strike IRGC targets threatening Israel, wherever they are located.”

Meanwhile, an official from a military position belonging to a Palestinian group in the Lebanese town of Qusaya, near the Syrian border, said three Israeli air strikes targeted it, causing damage, but no casualties.

For further reading click here.

Drones in Beirut
Hezbollah claimed yesterday that two Israeli drones came down over Beirut, with one of the pair being rigged with explosives and causing serious damage to a building housing Hezbollah’s media office. But images of the crash site reveal the drones were manufactured in Iran and not in Israel. [Of course, that didn’t stop the Lebanese Prime Minister from condemning the Israeli aggression.]

For further reading click here.

Peace Plan
Speaking at the G-7 conference in Biarritz, France, President Trump said he may release his Middle East peace plan prior to the Israeli election. He said, “I think you may see what the deal is before the election.”

Trump said that the PA would ultimately join US-brokered talks in order to receive funding from the US — “I think the Palestinians would like to make a deal. As you know, I cut off most funding to the Palestinians — a lot of funding. And I think they’d like to get it back. I think they’d like to make a deal. We’ll see what happens. Nobody has ever done that before. They used to negotiate paying a fortune of money — $750 million. They’d pay, pay, pay. And they’d be treated with disrespect, but they’d keep paying. This went on for years. So I don’t believe in that.”

He added, “We cut off their funding — a lot of it. And we’ll see what happens. But I think they want to make a deal, the Palestinians. And I think Israel would like to make a deal too.”

For further reading click here.

Economic Boom
Apparently, the Palestinian economy is doing pretty well. Hundreds of millions of dollars in financing for infrastructure projects as well as for Palestinian Authority bonuses, grants and loans are pouring in from abroad. Exports to Israel are growing and tens of thousands of Israeli Arabs are shopping in the Palestinian areas. And continued construction in Judea and Samaria and in Israel proper has been a boon for the 130,000 Palestinian workers. Tourism and local industries are flourishing.

What all that means is that the Palestinians, on the whole, have no motivation to make trouble. The’ve got too much to lose.

For further reading click here.

Israel news summary

Israel News for 8-23-2019

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Terror Attack
Rina Shenrav, 17, from Lod was killed and her 20-year-old brother Dvir 46-year-old father Eitan were wounded by an improvised explosive device (IED) planted on the road by a terrorist, while visiting a spring northwest of the Palestinian city of Ramallah near the settlement of Dolev this morning.

IDF forces are chasing a suspicious vehicle which escaped the scene and is believed to be the vehicle of the terrorists who threw the explosive device. Checkpoints have been set up and searches are being carried out in villages in the area.

The spring, Ein Bubin, is also called “Danny’s Spring,” after Danny Gonen, a Lod resident who was murdered there several years ago by a terrorist in the same location.

Rina’s father, Rabbi Eitan, had served as a medic in the army and administered first aid to his children.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad praised the attack.

Rina Shenrav will be buried today in Lod. She was one of 11 children.

For further reading click here. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/267808

Yesterday, a terrorist armed with grenades who was trying to infiltrate into Israel from Gaza was shot and killed by IDF troops.

For further reading click here.

Tax Money
Palestinian Civil Affairs Minister Hussein al-Sheikh, a senior Fatah member, said an “agreement was reached a few days ago with the Israeli side to transfer the tax money on oil and fuels which the Palestinian Authority bought in Israel, in the amount of around two billion shekels ($568 million).” The tax money, collected by Israel on behalf of the PA, was being withheld by Israel because of the stipends paid by the PA to the families of terrorists.

Under Thursday’s deal, the Palestinians say Israel will stop collecting about $60 million in monthly fuel taxes and allow the Palestinians to collect the funds directly. Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayeh says the additional revenue will ease a financial crisis and allow him to slightly increase civil servants’ partial salary payments, which have been significantly cut since last February.

For further reading click here.

Gender Separation
Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit on Thursday published a new set of guidelines that would allow local authorities to hold gender segregated events under specific conditions. His decision comes in the wake of a gender separated concert for the Haredi community in the city of Afula. The event was initially banned by the district court but then permitted on appeal to a higher court. The Supreme Court then banned the event, after it had already taken place.

AG Mandelblit said if a local authority wished to hold a gender-segregated event meant for a public interested in attending one, the officials must first examine the possibility of allowing the participants to be apart on a voluntary basis, without having to plan an event that’s segregated from the start.

He also urged the local authorities to take into account the conditions outlined in anti-discrimination laws, and demanded to make sure the participants for whom the event is intended would refrain from attending it otherwise.

For further reading click here.

Election Update
The Blue and White party said that it would not join in a coalition with the Joint Arab List unless they recognize Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. The comment came after Joint List leader Ayman Odeh said his party would consider joining a center-left coalition if his terms were met. Arabs make up 20% of Israel’s population, but only about half of Arab eligible voters voted in the last election.

For further reading click here.

Iraq Strikes
Israel has reportedly been striking Iranian related targets in Iraq.

For further reading click here.

Israel news summary

Israel News for 8-19-2019

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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.

For further reading click here.

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.

For further reading click here.

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.

For further reading click here.
 

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.

For further reading click here.

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.

For further reading click here.

Israel news summary

Israel News for 8-16-2019

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Terror Attack
Two Arab terrorists attacked and stabbed a policeman in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City last night. Other policemen shot the terrorists, killing one and seriously wounding the other in the leg.

For further reading click here.

Congresswomen Banned
Israel has banned U.S. Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar from entering Israel. PM Netanyahu said last night, “As a vibrant and free democracy, Israel is open to every critic and criticism, with one exception: Israeli law prohibits the entry of people who call for and carry out a boycott of Israel, as is the case with other democracies that prevent the entry of people whoas positions harm that country. This is how the U.S. acted towards an Israeli Knesset member and other public figures in the world.”

The PM added, “Congresswomen Tlaib and Omar are leading activities to promote boycott legislation against Israel in the U.S. Congress. Only a few days ago, we received their visitation plan, which showed they were planning a campaign whose sole purpose is to strengthen the boycott and deny Israel’s legitimacy. They said their destination was ‘Palestine’ and not ‘Israel,’ and unlike all Democratic and Republican congressmen to this day, refrained from seeking a meeting with any Israeli official either in the government or the opposition.”

The congresswomen are supporters of the anti Israel BDS movement. Under Israeli law, backers of the BDS movement can be denied entry to Israel.

President Trump urged Israel to ban the congresswomen, tweeting that not doing so “would show great weakness”.

US Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer tweeted, “Denying entry to members of the United States Congress is a sign of weakness, not strength. It will only hurt the U.S.-Israel relationship and support for Israel in America. No democratic society should fear an open debate. Many strong supporters of Israel will be deeply disappointed in this decision, which the Israeli government should reverse.”

Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, tweeted, “Israel’s denial of entry to Congresswomen Tlaib & Omar is beneath the dignity of the great State of Israel. @realDonaldTrump’s statements about the Congresswomen are a sign of ignorance & disrespect, & beneath the dignity of the Office of the President.”

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., criticized the decision, tweeting that while he disagrees with Tlaib and Onmar, “denying them entry into Israel is a mistake. Being blocked is what they really hoped for all along in order to bolster their attacks against the Jewish state.”

AIPAC also criticized Israel’s decision tweeting, “We disagree with Reps. Omar and Tlaib’s support for the anti-Israel and anti-peace BDS movement, along with Rep. Tlaib’s calls for a one-state solution. We also believe every member of Congress should be able to visit and experience our democratic ally Israel firsthand.”

[Some Israel supporters believe that the decision to ban will give the congresswomen enormous publicity and turn them into heroes.]

Congresswoman Omar said in a statement, “Trump’s Muslim ban is what Israel is implementing, this time against two duly elected Members of Congress. Denying entry into Israel not only limits our ability to learn from Israelis, but also to enter the Palestinian territories. Sadly, this is not a surprise given the public positions of Prime Minister Netanyahu, who has consistently resisted peace efforts, restricted the freedom of movement of Palestinians, limited public knowledge of the brutal realities of the occupation and aligned himself with Islamophobes like Donald Trump.”

“As a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, it is my job to conduct oversight of foreign aid from the United States of America and to legislate on human rights practices around the world. The irony of the ‘only democracy’ in the Middle East making such a decision is that it is both an insult to democratic values and a chilling response to a visit by government officials from an allied nation.”

For further reading click here.

Humanitarian Visit
After being barred from entering Israel, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib submitted a humanitarian request to Interior Minister Aryeh Deri to be allowed in to visit relatives in the West Bank. She wrote, “I would like to request admittance to Israel in order to visit my relatives, and specifically my grandmother, who is in her 90s and lives in Beit Ur al-Fouqa. This could be my last opportunity to see her. I will respect any restrictions and will not promote boycotts against Israel during my visit.”

Sources say that Tlaib could be allowed in if she signs a document agreeing to a series of restrictions, including committing to refrain from promoting a boycott of Israel during her stay.

For further reading click here.

Israel news summary

Israel News for 8-14-2019

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Shiva Call
The PM and his wife yesterday visited the mourning family of Dvir Sorek, the soldier and yeshiva student murdered by terrorists last week, in the Ofra settlement in Samaria. The PM said, “We are determined to defend our homeland. These are not vain words – they are true words, until our enemies understand that we cannot be uprooted from anywhere in the Land of Israel, including from this place.”

For further reading click here.

Hamas Security
Hamas has apparently beefed up security along its border to prevent terrorists from infiltrating into Israel in the wake of several recent failed infiltration attempts. Hamas has sought to distance itself from the terrorists by describing them as “angry” Palestinian individuals seeking to end the siege on the Gaza Strip. Palestinian political analysts pointed out that Hamas did not endorse any of the terrorists, thus signaling its interest in preserving the ceasefire understandings reached with Israel earlier this year under the auspices of Egypt and the United Nations. However, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar pledged yesterday to continue the armed struggle against Israel.

For further reading click here.

Tsunami Drill
The Israeli navy participated in a massive tsunami drill in Haifa port along with the navies of Greece, France and the United States. The drill practiced for a humanitarian crisis sparked by a magnitude 7.0 temblor and subsequent huge tsunami hitting the coastal plain of Israel. Troops trained to quickly assess the damage and select a port to bring in assistance as the maritime gateway to the country. According to data, there is a significant earthquake in the region every 100 years, and the last one in Israel occurred in 1927.

For further reading click here.

New Poll
A new poll published Tuesday afternoon shows the Likud winning 30 seats, five less than it won in April, but more than the Blue and White party, which is projected to fall from 35 seats to just 29. Yamina, the new joint right wing list, would win 11 seats, as would the joint Arab list.

Avidgor Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu would rise from 5 to 10 seats and the Haredi parties would win a total of 15 seats. The left wing Labor and Gesher list would win 7 seats, as would Ehud Barak’s Democratic Party and Meretz list.

Based on the poll, the right wing block would win a total of 66 seats, but only with Lieberman, who has vowed to block the formation of a narrow rightist government.

For further reading click here.

Star Returns
After 10 years in the National Basketball Association (NBA), Omri Casspi will return to Israel to play for Maccabi Tel Aviv. He is the first Israel to have played in the NBA.

For further reading click here.

Measles Kills
Rotem Amitai, the 43 year old El Al flight attendant who contracted measles on an El Al flight from New York on March 26, dies yesterday after being hospitalized for months in serious condition. She had received one out of the two necessary vaccinations as a child. Rotem leaves behind 3 children.

For further reading click here.

Kabbalist Passes
Rabbi Chaim Cohen, a renown kabbalist, passed away yesterday at age 84. Rabbi Cohen was known as “the milkman” due to his day job in a Tel Aviv dairy owned by his family. He was part of a group of kabbalists who studied together in the 1960’s and were each called by the jobs they worked at. Rabbi Cohen lectured at a yeshiva in Givatayim and authored numerous books explaining the Torah portions and other subjects according to Kabbalistic teachings (Talelei Chaim). He is survived by his wife and four children.

For further reading click here.

Israel news summary

Israel News for 8-12-2019

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Terrorists Captured
Israeli anti-terror special forces captured the killers of 18-year-old Dvir Sorek, the soldier and yeshiva student murdered last Wednesday in Gush Etzion. The 2 terrorists were caught in the Palestinian Authority-controlled village of Beit Kahil, near Hebron. IDF forces mapped their homes for demolition early this morning.

For further reading click here.

Terrorists Killed
Over the weekend IDF Golan troops killed 4 heavily armed terrorists attempting to infiltrate into Israel from Gaza. The terrorists were armed with Kalashnikov rifles, hand grenades and rocket-propelled grenade launchers. Hamas denied responsibility for the attack, but Israel is holding them responsible. There were no IDF casualties.

For further reading click here.

Temple Mount
The Israeli government had issued a ban on Jews visiting the Temple Mount on Tisha B’av (Sunday), which coincided with the Muslim festival of Eid al Adha — when tens of thousands of Muslim worshippers would come to pray on the mount. Thousands of Muslim worshippers rioted and attacked police, causing police to fire stun grenades and close one of the gates to the mount.

However, the government reversed the ban on Sunday morning, allowing Jews to ascend the Temple Mount. A total of 1,729 Jews visited the Temple Mount on Tisha B’av, which is 20% more than last year.

No Separation
Nazareth District Court Judge Jonathan Abraham ruled on Sunday that any form of gender segregation would be banned at a concert of Hasidic singer Motty Steinmetz at Afula City Park scheduled for Wednesday, even though the even is specifically geared towards the Haredi community, which required gender separation at events. The petition was filed by the Women’s Lobby.

The judge said, “I forbid segregation on the grounds of gender, race or any other category during the event. Each person who attends the event will be allowed at his or her discretion, to be at any place at the event. Any ushers, security guards, or any other authorities at the event are prohibited from carrying out any segregation based on gender.”

The judge instructed police and security guards to prevent any attempt to carry out gender segregation and remove from the event anyone who tries to carry out gender separation.

For further reading click here.

Unity Talks?
Blue & White chairman Benny Gantz today revealed details of talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Likud before the Knesset was dissolved in May and said he is open to future negotiations after the September 17 elections. Speaking in an interview with YNet, Gantz said that if Netanyahu offered a rotation agreement, in which he Gantz would be prime minister first, then it would be possible to start talking.

This remark by Gantz demonstrates that despite previous comments about not joining a coalition with Netanyahu because of the possibility that he will be indicted, Gantz is nevertheless open to considering it.

PM Netanyahu has said that he will only form a right wing government. But things tend to change in Israeli politics.

For further reading click here.

Miss Universe
Representatives of the Miss Universe Organization have met with Israeli producers in New York and have secretly visited Israel. The interest in holding the event in Israel comes in the wake of the success of Eurovision in Tel aviv this year.

For further reading click here.

Rescuer Rewarded
A Palestinian man who saved the children of Rabbi Michael Mark, who was murdered along with his wife in a terror attack in 2016, was awarded residency in Israel last week. The Palestinian rescuer and his wife, who have requested to remain anonymous, helped the surviving Mark family escape their overturned vehicle and provided first aid until first responders arrived on the scene. As a result of his actions he received death threats and could not continue living in his village.

Interior Minister Aryeh Deri praised him for his “selfless, noble” actions and said he would now be able to begin a new life in Israel.

For further reading click here.

Israel news summary

Israel News for 8-7-2019

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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.

Israel news summary

Israel News for 8-2-2019

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Terror Attack
Yesterday an IDF officer was moderately wounded and two other soldiers lightly wounded after a terrorist breached the security fence in the southern Gaza Strip and opened fire at IDF troops. The IDF said the terrorist, Hani Abu Salah, who was killed during a shoot-out with the soldiers, belonged to a Hamas unit responsible for restraining border violence along the security fence. The IDF shelled a Hamas outpost near the border in response to the attack.

The attack occurred in the area where IDF is currently constructing an underground barrier along the border in order to prevent the terror group from building cross-border attack tunnels.

According to sources in Gaza, the terrorist’s border was killed by Israeli sniper fire during mass protests in the Strip in May 2018.

For further reading click here.

Voting Cameras
The Likud Party is requesting the chairman of the Central Election Committee, Judge Hanan Melcer to allow cameras in polling stations in the Israeli Arab sector after they claim voting law violations had occurred in the last elections.

On election day last April, Judge Melcer was alerted to the fact that Likud party activists placed 1,200 cameras in polling stations in Israeli Arab cities and towns.

Though the law is not clear, Melcer had already allowed audio recordings in poling locations but has not allowed any filming inside the voting booth, except under special circumstances.
 
It was entirely forbidden to film voter lists or protocols but registration of voters as they arrive at the stations, present their I.D cards and receive an envelope in which to place their ballots, was permissible.
Likud is pressing to be allowed to film these procedures again claiming it will prevent illegal acts.

The Likud representative in the election committee David Bitan, claimed after the April 9 vote that violations of the law occurred, alleging that husbands voted on behalf of their wives and that voters were threatened as they arrived to place their ballot.

Israeli media reported earlier this week that the Likud budget for cameras in Arab sector polling stations has been increased to NIS 2 million, and that there is a plan in place to employ hundreds of “observers” on election day and have even sent a request to the Israel Police asking for protection for them on the day.

Supporters of the Likud initiative suggest the presence of cameras will deter those trying to sway the elections, while opponents insist this move besmirches an entire sector of the population and even keeps voters who are suspicious of authorities from exercising their rights.
 
For further reading click here.

Some Perspective
Just to add some perspective to the Middle East, Saudi Arabia published new laws early Friday that loosen restrictions on women by allowing any citizen to apply for a passport and travel freely, ending a long-standing guardianship policy that gave men control over women.

Still in place, however, are rules that require male consent for a woman to leave prison, exit a domestic abuse shelter or marry. Women, unlike men, still cannot pass on citizenship to their children and cannot provide consent for their children to marry.

[Maybe civil rights activists in the US Congress should be focusing countries other than Israel?]

For further reading click here.

Jlo Rocks
Jennifer Lopez performed in Israel Thursday evening as part of her global It’s My Party tour celebrating her 50th birthday. Go Jlo!

For further reading click here.

Israel news summary

Israel News for 7-31-2019

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Arab Homes
The security cabinet on Tuesday unanimously approved PM Netanyahu’s plan to build 700 housing units for Palestinians living in the West Bank’s Area C, which is under full Israeli civil and security control. This is the first time in four years that new Arab construction has been approved. The proposed construction is part of a broader plan which also envisions some 6,000 housing units for Israelis living in Area C.

Sources say that the PM was “persuaded” to include the new Arab housing by the Trump administration, ahead of the long anticipated US peace plan announcement.

For further reading click here.

Peace Plan
Senior White House advisor Jared Kushner kicked off a visit to the region today, during which he is expected to invite Arab leaders to a peace conference at Camp David ahead of the Israeli elections. President Trump is expected to reveal his peace plan at the conference. PM Netanyahu is not expected to attend, since his presence there might make it harder for Kushner to sell the Arab leaders on the plan.

Kushner is set to travel to Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to hold talks during his current visit.

The leaders of Jordan and Egypt met a few days ago to arrive at a mutual position regarding the peace plan.

For further reading click here.

Improved Crossings
The Israeli military has installed the face scanners as part a multimillion dollar upgrade of the Qalandia crossing that now allows Palestinians from the West Bank with work permits to zip through with relative ease. Qalandia is one of the main crossings for the thousands of Palestinians who enter Israel each day for a variety of reasons, including work, medical appointments or family visits. Thanks to the upgrades, crossing through Qalandia takes only around 10 minutes, even during the early morning rush hour.

Israel’s Defense Ministry has poured over $85 million into upgrading Qalandia and several other major checkpoints between Israel and the West Bank in recent years — part of a strategy it says is meant to maintain calm by improving conditions for Palestinians.

Over 83,000 Israeli work permits were issued to Palestinian workers in June. Around 8,000 cross at the Qalandia crossing every day.

For further reading click here.

Election Update
The Jewish Home and National Union parties have signed an agreement with the New Right party to run on a joint list called the United Right in the upcoming elections. Ayelet Shaked will lead the new list with Jewish Home chair Rafi Peretz taking the number 2 spot, National Union head Bezalel Smotrich number 3, and Naftali Bennett 4.

Meanwhile, the far right Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party has joined with the newly formed Noam party (also far right) to run in a joint list. In the last election Otzma ran together with Jewish Home and National Union, but talks between the parties this time around collapsed when Otzma was only offered the 8th and 16th places on the joint list.

PM Netanyahu had reportedly urged against the United Right joint list.

The 4 Arab parties have agreed to run as a joint list, which is expected to result in more than the 10 seats the Arab parties won in the previous election.

For further reading click here.

According to the latest poll, the United Right would win 14 seats. Some of those would evidently come from Likud, which would fall to 28 seats while Blue and White would win 30 seats. The Joint Arab List would win 11 seats, and Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beitenu 10 seats. United Torah Judaism would win eight seats, Shas 7 seats, the Democratic Camp (Meretz-Barak) seven seats and Labor-Gesher 5 seats.

For further reading click here.

German Social
Germany’s Foreign Ministry says it has instituted new social media guidelines and disciplined personnel after anti-Israel and anti-Semitic tweets were “liked” by the official Twitter account of the German mission to the Palestinian territories.

The heart icon for several tweets criticizing Jews and Israel was clicked some two weeks ago an account belonging to Germany’s envoy to the Palestinian territories, Christian Clages. The tweets included a video praising attacks on IDF soldiers as well as footage of David Duke – former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan and Holocaust denier – discuss an “allege” massacre of Jews.

The Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that 10 people had access to the “Germany in Ramallah” Twitter account and it wasn’t clear who clicked the “likes.” The ministry says the account wasn’t secured against unauthorized users.  
 
For further reading click here.

Israel news summary

Israel News for 7-24-2019

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Syria Strike
Syrian state television said on Wednesday that Israel attacked a strategic area in southern Syria overlooking the Golan Heights, where Western intelligence sources previously said Iranian-backed militias are known to be based. The London based opposition  Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that there were fatalities.

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Hamas Offer
Hamas terror group said yesterday that there’s a “real chance” to negotiate a return of Israeli MIAs and POWs but the window of opportunity “could soon be closed.” The statement came just hours after a state ceremony was held in Jerusalem commemorating Israeli troops fallen in the 2014 Gaza war known as Operation Protective Edge.

The bodies of IDF soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, who were killed during Protective Edge, are thought to still be held by Hamas. In addition, Hamas claims to have captured, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, two mentally ill Israelis who voluntarily crossed into Gaza several years ago.

Speaking at the commemoration ceremony PM Netanyahu said, “We are committed to bringing Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin, as well as Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, back home. I cannot go into detail here about everything that we are doing but we are doing very much.”

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Anti BDS
The US House of Representatives on Tuesday voted 398 to 17 to approve a non-binding resolution that opposes BDS, the boycott movement against Israel.

Introduced by a bipartisan group of members, the resolution supports a two-state solution, argues the global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement is an effort to delegitimize Israel and urges “Israelis and Palestinians to return to direct negotiations as the only way to achieve an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

It also recognizes the right of an American citizen to “protest or criticize the policies of the United States or foreign governments.” Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, and Republican Reps. Lee Zeldin of New York and Ann Wagner of Missouri were initial co-sponsors of the resolution.

Democrat Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan tweeted earlier this month that the resolution is “unconstitutional” and aims to “silence” opposition to Israel’s policies. Rep. Ilhan Omar and Tlaib introduced their own resolution in response to the anti-BDS resolution, affirming that Americans have “the right to participate in boycotts in pursuit of civil and human rights at home and abroad, as protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution.”

The GOP-controlled Senate passed anti-BDS legislation earlier this year that would go farther than the House’s anti-BDS resolution by making it easier for states to fight against the BDS movement. Many Senate Democrats opposed the anti-BDS language, saying it violated First Amendment rights of Americans who want to boycott Israel. That measure hasn’t been taken up by the House.

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Alleged Hit
The Iranian Tasnim News Agency published a report Wednesday quoting unnamed official sources suspecting that Israel and the United States had assassinated Yukiya Amano, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency who died last week. Amano was 72 and died of “unknown causes”.

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Bye Fax
Israel’s Fax Law will go into effect on Friday, requiring government ministries and public bodies such as hospitals, the National Insurance Institute, health funds, and others, to allow the public to contact them via email instead of via fax. [Who still uses fax??]

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Yeshiva Visit
Billionaire and staunch Israel supporter Sheldon Adelson visited the famous Ponevezh Yeshiva in Bnei Brak along with his wife Miriam yesterday. He toured the yeshivah, which is one of the largest and most prominent in Israel, on his electric chair/scooter and spoke with the Rabbi Kahaneman, the Yeshiva head. He was reportedly very moved by his visit.

To view video and images of the visit, click here.