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Israel News for October 6, 2016

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Airstrikes Hit Gaza
Israel launched five separate airstrikes against Hamas targets in Gaza in retaliation for yesterdays rocket attack on Sderot. One airstrike hit a Hamas outpost in the southern city of Khan Yunis while another three hit Gaza City. The last one hit Hamas in the northern part of the Strip. IDF artillery also hit targets in Gaza.

For further reading click here.

Israeli Pilot Killed
Israeli Air Force F-16I pilot Capt. Ohad Cohen Nov was killed today while attempting to eject from his plane shortly before landing at the Ramon Airbase in the Negev. His navigator managed to eject and was lightly wounded. The aircraft was returning from a reprisal raid in Gaza.

According to the preliminary investigation, the aircraft began experiencing technical difficulties upon its return, leading the pilot to fly another circle above the base prior to landing in an effort to remedy the problem. After it became clear that his efforts were insufficient, he decides to abandon the plane.

In accordance with the standard procedure and the automatic mechanisms in the ejection system, the navigator managed to eject from the plane, sustaining light injuries. The pilot’s ejection was supposed to occur seconds later but, for reasons which are yet to be fully determined, he did not manage to implement the ejection and at a critical moment the jet crashed and burst into flames.

Investigators believe that the plane experienced a weight imbalance prior to landing, which caused the malfunction.

Capt. Ohad, 34, had become deputy commanded of his F-16I squadron, known as the Bat Squadron, just last week. He is survived by his pregnant wife, Shahar, and a young daughter.

One of his fellow pilots said, “He was a person of gold. He was happy, funny, and had a good heart. He was always nice and courteous and smiling. He loved challenges and was an excellent pilot. He had everything.”

Capt. Ohad Cohen Nov’s funeral will be held on Friday at Mazor, the moshav in central Israel where he lived.

May his memory serve as a blessing for us all.

For further reading click here.

Israel and US Clash
Last week Israel approved the construction of 98 new housing units and up to 200 additional units in the settlement of Shvut Rachel near Shilo (Samaria-West Bank) to provide housing for the residents of the Amona outpost which is due to be dismantled. The settlement of Shvut Rachel has a population of around 100 families and was founded in 1991 in memory of the victims of a terrorist attack on a bus.

Yesterday the US State Department and the White House lashed out harshly against the decision. The State Department statement, signed by deputy spokesman Mark Toner, stressed that the U.S. views advancement of the plan as a violation of a commitment by Netanyahu’s government not to establish any new settlements in the West Bank.

The statement said, “Proceeding with this new settlement is another step towards cementing a one-state reality of perpetual occupation that is fundamentally inconsistent with Israel’s future as a Jewish and democratic state. Such moves will only draw condemnation from the international community, distance Israel from many of its partners, and further call into question Israel’s commitment to achieving a negotiated peace.”

The statement also connected the issue to the new military aid package recently agreed upon and the death of Shimon Peres saying, “It is deeply troubling, in the wake of Israel and the US concluding an unprecedented agreement on military assistance designed to further strengthen Israel’s security, that Israel would take a decision so contrary to its long term security interest in a peaceful resolution of its conflict with the Palestinians. Furthermore, it is disheartening that while Israel and the world mourned the passing of President Shimon Peres, and leaders from the US and other nations prepared to honor one of the great champions of peace, plans were advanced that would seriously undermine the prospects for the two-state solution that he so passionately supported.”

Later in the day White House spokesman Josh Earnest said, “We had public assurances from the Israeli government that contradict this new announcement – so when you talk about how friends treat each other – this is also a source of concern. There is a lot of disappointment and great concern here at the White House.”

The Israeli Foreign Ministry issued a statement defending the decision to construct the new housing units, saying, “This housing will be built on state land in the existing settlement of Shilo and will not change its municipal boundary or geographic footprint. The units are intended to provide a housing solution for the residents of Amona who must leave their homes in accordance with the demolition order issued by Israel’s High Court of Justice.”

The Foreign Ministry added that Israel remains committed to the two-state solution, “in which a demilitarized Palestinian state recognizes the Jewish state of Israel. The real obstacle to peace is not the settlements – a final status issue that can and must be resolved in negotiations between the parties – but the persistent Palestinian rejection of a Jewish state in any boundaries.”

A spokesman for the residents of Amona has rejected the new construction plan and any attempt to transfer the outpost’s residents under any circumstances.

For further reading click here.

To read about the reaction of the Amona residents, click here.

Navy Boards Boat
A boat carrying 13 female activists that set sail from Barcelona last week in an attempt to break the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza was stopped and boarded by the Israeli navy around 35 miles off the coast. There was no resistance or injuries reported, and the boat was escorted to the Port of Ashdod.

The boat was sponsored by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, a group of pro-Palestinian groups based mostly in Europe. The Dutch-flagged boat was carrying 13 female activists from different countries headed by Mairead Maguire, an Irish Nobel Peace Prize laureate. A retired US colonel and former South African Olympic athlete were also on board, along with women from the United Kingdom, Sweden, Russia and Malaysia.

Zaher Darwish, one of the coordinators of the flotilla, said the boat not carrying any aid and that the goal was purely “symbolic” — to call attention to the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza, which he called illegal.

For further reading click here.

Medical Breakthrough
Researchers at Tel Aviv University have developed a new form of treatment that fixes the impaired gene that causes Alzheimers. Trials performed on mice were successful. The treatment takes a new approach; targeting the APOE gene. The gene has two forms: a healthy form called APOE3 and a disease-related pathological form called APOE4. The researchers at TAU have developed an approach that will convert the bad form into the good form.

According to research team leader Professor Daniel M. Michaelson, Director of the Eichenbaum Laboratory of Alzheimer’s Disease Research and incumbent of the Myriam Lebach Chair in Molecular Neurodegeneration at TAU’s Faculty of Life Sciences, “APOE4 is a very important and understudied target. It is expressed in more than 60 percent of Alzheimer’s patients. Anti-APOE4 treatments are thus expected to have a major impact on the patient population.”

For further reading click here.

Israel News for August 18, 2015

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Hunger Striker
Israel’s High Court postponed ruling on the case of the Palestinian prisoner Mohammed Allan and has instructed the government and Allaan’s family to come up with a compromise agreement. The government yesterday offered to free Allaan on the condition that he leave the country for four years .

Arab-Israeli Knesset member Mohammed Jabareen of the Joint Arab List party, who is representing Allaan, rejected the offer, claiming that it proves that Allaan isn’t really that dangerous. Instead, the family has offered for Allaan to end his hunger strike on the condition that the state not extend his detention, which is scheduled to expire in November.

Background
Allaan was arrested in November and is being held under the administrative detention law (without formal charges or trial) on suspicion of being involved with Islamic Jihad. He has been on a hunger strike for 62 days now in protest. Last month the Knesset passed a law allowing a judge to sanction force-feeding or medical treatment if an inmate’s life is threatened, even if the prisoner refuses. But doctors, backed by the Israel Medical Association, have refused to use force-feeding and consider it to be inhumane.

Allaan is currently in Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon where he is receiving intravenous fluids and vitamins, which is not considered force-feeding. But doctors say some of his organs are damaged as a result of the hunger strike and his condition is precarious.

In the past Israel has freed Palestinian prisoners on hunger strikes for fear that their deaths could stir up Palestinian outbreaks of violence. At the same time the government doesn’t want to set a precedent which would encourage prisoners to go on hunger strikes to attempt getting released. The government also feels that Allaan will be a security threat if released.

Upshot
According to Israeli law the government has every right to continue detaining Allaan since it believes that he is a security threat. It also has the right to force-feed him in order to save his life. Instead the government has offered to set him free as long as he leaves the country for four years. That would seem to be a good deal for Allaan considering his current situation. Unfortunately for him, due to his condition he is unable to make any decisions for himself, leaving the Israeli-Arab and Palestinian politicians and activists representing him to decide his fate. And they’ve decided, at least for now, that their fight against Israel takes precedence over saving Allaan’s life.

PA Money funds terror
Indictments filed by the Military Advocate General of Judea and Samaria against the terrorists responsible for the murder of Malachi Rosenfeld a month ago in the West Bank reveal that PA money was indirectly used to fund the terror cells.

Background
Ahmad Najar, the head of the terror cell that murdered Rosenfeld, was imprisoned in Israeli jail for the murder of six Israelis in 2004. After his release as part of the Shalit deal, he received a monthly stipend from the Palestinian Authority for his time served in Israeli prison.

Najar then moved to Jordan and had his brother Amjad withdraw the money from his bank account in the West Bank. He used the money to train and arm a terror cell under his command.

On June 29, the terror cell’s members shot Rosenfeld to death and wounded his three friends near the settlement Shvut Rachel. Prior to the fatal attack, they fired at a Magen David Adom ambulance near Beit El, in an incident that ended without injuries. The Palestinian Authority arrested two members of the terror cell. Israel arrested the rest.

In a separate indictment Muhammed Abu Shaheen from Qalandiya was indicted for shooting Danny Gonen to death near the settlement Dolev and wounding his friend Netanel Hadad. The charges against his terrorist cell members also include several cases of shooting at soldiers in Qalandiya and planning to kidnap an Israeli.

Hamas deal. Not.
Despite reports in the Arab press and statements from Turkish officials and PA President Abbas that Israel was close to reaching a long term cease first agreement with Hamas, the PM’s office released a statement yesterday flatly denying any negotiations with Hamas. According to the statement, “There are no meetings with Hamas. There are no direct contacts, no contacts through other countries and no contacts through intermediaries.”

Passport Control Crumbles
Waiting in line for immigration officers to check your passport at Ben Gurion airport is never a pleasant experience. Last Friday, it got a whole lot worse. The passport control computer system went down, requiring agents to check incoming passengers’ passports manually. With Shabbat approaching, and a huge backlog of anxious and impatient passengers still waiting, authorities decided to just let about 1,300 Israeli citizens through without any record of their entry into the country. The catch is that they would need to call the Interior Ministry (Misrad Hapnim) to register their re-entry into the country.

When people called they were told that they need to show up at a ministry office to personally confirm that they’re back in Israel. If they don’t they’re considered as if they aren’t in Israel and therefore will not be covered by their national insurance. At least they made it home for Shabbat.

No Soccer on Shabbat
Economy Minister Aryeh Deri, who is also head of the Ultra Orthodox Sephardic Shas party, sent a letter to the Minister of Culture and Sports Miri Regev and to the head of the Soccer Association requesting that they not schedule National League (Liga Leumit) games on Shabbat.

Background
There are two professional soccer leagues in Israel: the top tier Premier League and the second tier National League. While the Premier League has always schedule some games on Shabbat, the National League has not, until now. The league has decided to schedule games on Shabbat in the upcoming season. At least ten players have protested this decision and said they will refuse to play on Shabbat.

Pants attack
A 15 yr old girl was walking with her family in Jerusalem on Rechov Strauss, a main street running through the center of town, not far from an Ultra Orthodox (Charedi) neighborhood. She was wearing pants. A 40 yr. old Charedi man considered the pants to be immodest. He expressed his opinion by spitting on her. The man was arrested. The girl most likely wiped the spit off and then continued wearing her pants.