Israel News for November 9, 2015
More Terror
This morning a Palestinian woman brandishing a knife was shot and killed by security guards near Alfei Menashe when she failed to stop approaching them after being warned several times. Palestinian sources identified her as Rasha Awissi, 23, of Qalqilya. A note was found on her body that read, “I’m ending my path, and I’m reaching this end with my full mental capacity, in defense of my homeland and the young men and women. I can’t bear what I see any longer. All I know is that I can’t take it. To my mother and brothers, please forgive me.”
On Sunday, a 48 year old Israeli man was seriously wounded after being stabbed in his car near the West Bank Palestinian village of Nabi Elias and the Jewish settlement of Alfei Menashe. The man was returning home after shopping in the village when he was attacked. According to Palestinian sources, the 24 year old terrorist surrendered to Palestinian Authority security forces and is being held and interrogated by them. He is the third terrorist to have surrendered to Palestinian authorities, none of whom have been put on trial or extradited to Israel. Israeli security officials are not happy with the arrangement, to say the least.
For further reading click here.
A 33 year old Israeli security guard, Yishai Kreitenberg, was stabbed and lightly wounded by a female terrorist whom he stopped at the security gate of Betar Illit in the West Bank. The guard managed to shoot and seriously wound the attacker. It was Yishai’s birthday.
Hours earlier, a Palestinian rammed a car into people at a hitchhiking station at the Tapuach Junction (West Bank). Four Israelis were wounded, two critically. The terrorist was shot and killed by Border Police.
Palestinians threw rocks and firebombs at Israeli soldiers near Kever Rachel, in Hevron and in other locations throughout the West Bank.
For further reading click here.
Wounded Policemen Dies
Binyamin Yakobowitz , a 20-year-old Israeli border policeman who was critically wounded on Wednesday in a car-ramming attack in the West Bank, died of his wounds Sunday. Upon his family’s request his organs will be donated, in their words, as “an act which could help save a life or significantly improve the life of a person in need.” The terrorist who rammed him was shot and killed at the scene.
According to Palestinian sources the terrorist’s family received his body after the attack. The IDF claims that a Red Crescent ambulance arrived at the scene of the attack and was able to remove the body from the scene undetected. An IDF spokesman said that it was not worth risking the lives of soldiers to recover the body.
For further reading click here.
Bennett Warns
Reacting to a report in Haaretz, which said that PM Netanyahu will unveil a series of confidence-building “gestures” toward the Palestinians during his meeting today with US President Obama, Education Minister and Bayit Yehudi chairman Naftali Bennett pledged to oppose those “gestures” if they are brought to a cabinet vote.
According to Haaretz, the “gestures” will include the removal of checkpoints and easing movement restrictions on Palestinians. It will also include steps to improve the Palestinian economy – like approving infrastructure projects or approving master plans for Palestinian construction in parts of Judea and Samaria under full Israeli control.
“If the Palestinians see that terrorism will pay off, it will continue,” Bennett warned. He added, “Maybe for once the Palestinians will make gestures to Israel, such as to stop killing us?”
For further reading click here.
Israeli Sources
CNN has reported that a US intelligence source and a diplomatic source have both indicated that at least some of the intelligence being assessed to determine the cause of the Russian passenger jet that broke up over Sinai killing 244 last week came from Israeli sources. The communications were captured by Israeli intelligence focused on the Sinai, and passed along to the United States and Britain, the sources said. There was no comment from Israeli officials.
For further reading click here.
Cash for Kids
Yesterday the Knesset Finance Committee approved an increase in child support as part of the state budget and the coalition agreements with the ultra-Orthodox parties. The monthly allowance for a first child was increased from 140 Shekels to 150 Shekels, For second, third and fourth children it went up from 140 Shekels to 188 Shekels. From the fifth child and up there will be an allowance of 150 Shekels. This is the first increase in child support since Yesh Atid Chairman and then Finance Minister Yair Lapid slashed them in 2013 as part of his anti-ultra-Orthodox platform/policy. The ultra-Orthodox parties in Israel have always insisted on generous child support as part of their coalition agreement due to the large number of children among their constituents.
The committee also approved a savings fund for every child, where the state would deposit fifty shekel a month that could be matched by the parents until the age of 18.
For further reading click here.
Kashrut Slap
Rabbi David Stav, Chief Rabbi of Shoham and the head of the Tzohar rabbinical organization, has been one of the most vocal critics of Israel’s Chief Rabbinate. He is one of the founders of the conversion court recently established to serve as an alternative to the Chief Rabbinate courts, which is a direct challenge to the Rabbinate’s authority.
In a move that seems a bit too coincidental, the Chief Rabbinate’s Kosher Enforcement Unit inspected an event hall in Shoham (R. Stav’s town) and found numerous kashrut violations, including non kosher food.
Chief Rabbinate officials told Arutz Sheva that, “Rav Stav is always talking about the systems for kashrut and marriage, claiming they are not properly supervised. We think that Rav Stav should carefully check what happens in his house and in areas that are under his authority before he speaks about the national kashrut system.”
Na, na, na na na….gottcha.
For further reading click here.
