A7News: IDF soldier killed during training course in Galilee

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Monday, Jan. 07 '19, א' בשבט תשע"ט



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HEADLINES:
1. IDF SOLDIER KILLED DURING TRAINING COURSE IN GALILEE
2. REPORT: STABBING ATTEMPT IN SAMARIA
3. EMERGENCY AT 30,000 FEET
4. MOSHE ARENS, FORMER DEFENSE MINISTER AND DIPLOMAT, DEAD AT 93
5. 'SYRIA PULLOUT WON'T HARM ISRAELI SECURITY, WAR ON ISIS'
6. IDF ATTACKS HAMAS MILITARY CAMP
7. DOCTORS TELL ISRAELI FAMILY: 'GO TO CLEVELAND'
8. IDF STRIKES HAMAS STRONGHOLDS IN RETALIATION FOR BALLOON BOMB


1. IDF SOLDIER KILLED DURING TRAINING COURSE IN GALILEE
by David Rosenberg

The young man who drowned in a flash flood northern Israel overnight has been identified as an IDF soldier.

The soldier had been knocked down when a flash flood hit the Nahal Hilazon creek south of Karmiel in the Galilee overnight, while the soldier was taking part in a field navigation training exercise.

Emergency search and rescue teams, including a helicopter unit, were called in to locate the missing soldier.

Search teams located the soldier Monday morning, and evacuated him in critical condition. A medical team on board the evacuating helicopter declared the soldier dead prior to his arrival at Rambam Medical Center in Haifa.

According to an IDF spokesperson, military police have opened an investigation into the incident.

Central command chief Nadav Padan has called for a special team to be assembled to probe the circumstances surrounding the soldier's death.

At 10:00 p.m. Sunday night, the soldier began the solo portion of the field navigation course, eventually linking up with another soldier overnight.

As the two continued on towards their destination, the weather began to worsen, with heavy rains, storm winds, and lightning.

At 5:00 a.m. Monday morning, the two reached the Nahal Hilazon creek. The two decided to cross the creek, which had flooded as a result of the heavy rains, and was as deep as three feet in some places.

While one soldier managed to cross the creek successfully, the second soldier slipped during the crossing and was swept away. Attempts by the first soldier to aid his comrade failed, including tossing a line to help the struggling soldier cross the creek.

The soldier who was carried off by the flood waters drowned, and was found some 100 yards away an hour and a half after his disappearance.


2. REPORT: STABBING ATTEMPT IN SAMARIA
by David Rosenberg

A suspected Arab terrorist was shot at the Tapuah Junction in Samaria Monday afternoon, after she refused calls by Israeli security personnel to halt, Israeli police said.

According to a report by a police spokesman, the female suspect approached Israeli Border Police officers at the junction checkpoint, and refused calls by the officers that she halt.

After the suspect refused to stop advancing on the officers, the security personnel fired warning shots in the air. When the suspect continued to approach, officers opened fire on the suspect, wounding her in the leg and neutralizing her.

"Border police units at the Tapuach Junction in Judea and Samaria responded to a female suspect that approached the area and did not respond to border guards at the scene," a police spokesman said.

"Female suspect was shot in the lower part of the body."

There were no injuries reported among the Israeli security personnel.

The suspect was treated at the scene, then evacuated to Beilinson Medical Center in Petah Tikva for further treatment.


3. EMERGENCY AT 30,000 FEET
by Arutz Sheva Staff

An Israeli Air Force fighter jet suffered a serious malfunction midair recently, when the canopy detached during flight, leaving pilot and navigator exposed to extreme cold and heavy winds.

The incident occurred while an IAF F-15 air superiority fighter was flying northeast of Beer Sheva in southern Israel.

The fighter was taking part in a training exercise, and had reached an altitude of roughly 30,000 feet after taking off from Tel Nof airbase.

During the flight, the plane's canopy suddenly detached, leaving the two-man crew exposed to subzero temperatures and intense turbulence.

Though the crew had initially planned to ditch the aircraft and eject, after two found that they had suffered no injuries, they determined that they would be able to safely conduct an emergency landing of the plane.

The aircrew managed to contact the Nevatim airbase, which was placed on alert as the damaged F-15 initiated an emergency landing.

An IDF spokesperson confirmed the incident, and praised the flight crew's "professionalism and great skill".

"During a routine training flight, an F-15 fighter jet had to land after its canopy detached. The plane's crew was in full control throughout the incident, acted with level-headedness, professionalism and great skill in handling the rare malfunction, and landed the plane safely at the Nevatim Air Base."


4. MOSHE ARENS, FORMER DEFENSE MINISTER AND DIPLOMAT, DEAD AT 93
by David Rosenberg

Former Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Arens passed away Monday at the age of 93. He is survived by his American-born wife Muriel (nee Eisenberg), sons Yigal and Raanan and daughters Rut and Aliza, as well as numerous grandchildren.

Born in Kaunas, Lithuania in 1925, Arens moved with his family at the age of 14 to New York City, and attended George Washington High School in Manhattan.

Active in the Revisionist Zionist 'Beitar' movement, as a teenager, Arens enlisted in the US Army during World War II, but immigrated to Israel after the establishment of the state in 1948.

Arens joined the Irgun Movement, then led by future-premier Menachem Begin, and later became a founding member of the Herut political party, a forerunner of the Likud.

Moshe Arens as Defense Minister in 1991, Photo: Yossi Zamir
Returning to the United States in 1951, Arens studied at MIT and the California Institute of Technology, before returning to Israel in 1957.

After working at Israel Aircraft Industries for nearly a decade as deputy director-general, Arens ran for the Knesset on the newly-established Likud list in 1973, winning a seat. In 1983, Arens was tapped to serve as Defense Minister, a position he held again from 1990 to 1992, and a third time in 1999.

From 1982 to 1983, Arens served as Israel's ambassador to the United States, where Binyamin Netanyahu served on his staff.

Arens also served as Israel's top diplomat as Foreign Minister from 1988 to 1990.

Considered a hawk within the Likud, Arens voted against the Camp David Accords and peace treaty with Egypt, protesting the Egyptian demand that Israel withdraw from the Sinai.

📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/257270


5. 'SYRIA PULLOUT WON'T HARM ISRAELI SECURITY, WAR ON ISIS'
by David Rosenberg

📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/257242

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met with US National Security Advisor John Bolton at the Prime Minister's Residence in Jerusalem on Sunday, a day after Bolton arrived in Israel, as part of a Middle East visit which will include a stop in Turkey for talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as the US prepares for a troop pullout from Syria.

Joining Netanyahu and Bolton for the meeting Sunday evening were US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman and Israel's Ambassador to America Ron Dermer.

Following the meeting, Netanyahu and Bolton made a brief joint statement to the press.

During the joint press conference, Netanyahu praised Trump for withdrawing the US from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, and for the decision in December 2017 to relocate the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.

"That's important to America, to Israel, and to the world. Everybody who wants to stop Iranian aggression respects that deeply."

"You've also unequivocally backed Israel at the United Nations," Netanyahu added, "and that's something deeply appreciated by all Israelis."

Bolton hailed the relationship between Israel and the US under the Trump administration, saying the bond between the two countries had never been stronger.

"Under your leadership, with President Trump, we now have the best US-Israel relationship in our history."

"The leadership that's necessary in what is increasingly…a very critical time for security here in the Middle East and us around the world, requires that strong bond and leadership that you and the president provide," said Bolton, citing Iran's nuclear program, the Syrian civil war, and the ISIS terror organization.

Bolton also hinted that the US troop pullout from Syria, which President Trump announced last month, may be limited to American forces in northern Syria, leaving an enclave in Al-Tanf in southeastern Syria to prevent an Iranian takeover of the area.

"Right on your border we have the problem of the conflict in Syria. We're going to be discussing the president's decision to withdraw…from northeast Syria in a way that ISIS is defeated and not able to revive itself and become a threat again, and to make sure that the defense of Israel and our other friends in the region is absolutely assured. And to take care of those who have fought with us against ISIS and other terrorist groups.

"You know, for the United States, a sovereign nation's ability to defend itself is the ultimate mark of sovereignty. President Trump has said repeatedly that he backs Israel's right to self-defense. He says it proudly and unequivocally.
"I would just say that to any nation, whether in this region or not in this region, that has any doubt about America's support for Israel, self-defense, they better think about it again."

The Trump administration has sought to reassure regional allies – including Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf States, that it will not permit an Iranian takeover of Syria following the US withdrawal.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is slated to arrive in the region on Tuesday for a series of meetings with leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Egypt, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan.

Earlier on Sunday, Bolton told reporters in Jerusalem that the Trump administration would "condition" the US withdrawal from Syria on guarantees from Turkey that Kurdish militias would not be targeted after Turkey moves in to fill the vacuum left by the US.

In addition, Bolton said the US could leave forces at the Al-Tanf airbase in southeastern Syria even after troops are pulled out of northern Syria. Bolton said the US enclave in Al-Tanf could serve as a buffer, preventing Iran from expanding its presence in southern Syria.

📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/257242


6. IDF ATTACKS HAMAS MILITARY CAMP
by Elad Benari

IDF fighter planes and a combat helicopter attacked a number of terrorist targets in a military camp belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization in the northern Gaza Strip on Monday morning, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit said.

The attack was in retaliation for the rocket fire towards Israeli territory overnight Sunday.

"The IDF considers the terrorist organization Hamas responsible for everything happening inside and outside of the Gaza Strip. The IDF will continue to defend the citizens of the State of Israel and is determined to act against any terrorist act from the Gaza Strip," said the IDF.

Overnight Sunday, shortly after 3:00 a.m., "Red Alert" sirens were heard in the city of Ashkelon and the Hof Ashkelon Regional Council.

The IDF Spokesperson's Unit said that a rocket launch from Gaza into Israel was identified and intercepted by the IDF's Iron Dome Aerial Defense System.

On Sunday afternoon, IDF helicopters opened fire on Hamas posts in Gaza, in retaliation for the launching of balloon bombs into Israeli territory earlier on Sunday.

According to the IDF Spokesperson, Hamas terrorists operating out of Gaza launched the balloon bombs into Israeli territory using a model airplane, which carried the makeshift explosive device attached to balloons into Israeli airspace.


7. DOCTORS TELL ISRAELI FAMILY: 'GO TO CLEVELAND'
by Sponsored Content

A Beit Shemesh mother penned a vulnerable letter to the public Sunday morning, telling the "special and challenging" story of her daughter Yael, who suffers from severe epilepsy.

According to mother Sara's retelling, Yael had an entirely normal upbringing. She had no health issues until shortly after her bat mitzvah, when she endured her first seizure. Not long afterward, the epilepsy was diagnosed.

In the years that have followed, Yael's condition has steeply worsened. Recently, the family went through with their best option: major surgery. As the surgery day arrived, Yael and her siblings were both nervous for the procedure, and excited for the promise for a better future. One can only imagine their grief when the surgery was not only unsuccessful, but caused the teenage girl's health to decline. Each seizure has the potential to kill. She now endures a shocking 20 seizures a day.

Doctors have strongly advised the family to fly to the United States as soon as possible, so that Yael can receive life-saving surgery from a specific expert surgeon in Cleveland. With a mother who stays home to tend to her epileptic daughter, and seven other siblings living off of one income, however, this is a sheer impossibility. The Friedman parents have had to do the unthinkable: To tell their daughter that they cannot save her life.

Mother Sara has opened an emergency fund with a lofty goal: To raise enough money to get her daughter the surgery which would reverse her deterioration. "We want our happy Yael back," she writes.

Sara blesses all donors with healthy children of their own. And for those whose kids are able to do such basic tasks as attend school, or be unattended, she has the following powerful words: "Please hold them close and kiss them, because we never dreamed that this would happen."

Donations to save Yael's life are being collected here.


8. IDF STRIKES HAMAS STRONGHOLDS IN RETALIATION FOR BALLOON BOMB
by David Rosenberg

Israeli attack helicopters opened fire on Hamas posts in the Gaza Strip Sunday in retaliation for the launching of balloon bombs into Israeli territory earlier on Sunday.

According to an IDF spokesperson, Hamas terrorists operating out of the Gaza Strip launched the balloon bombs into Israeli territory using a model airplane, which carried the makeshift explosive device attached to balloons into Israeli airspace.

In response, Israeli helicopters opened fire on Hamas positions in Gaza.

"Earlier today, an explosive device attached to multiple balloons was launched on a model airplane from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory," the IDF said Sunday.

"In response, IDF attack helicopters targeted two Hamas military posts in the Gaza Strip."

"The IDF will continue to operate in order to protect Israeli civilians from acts of terror emanating from the Gaza Strip. The Hamas terror organization is accountable for all events transpiring in the Gaza Strip and from it and will bear the consequences for its actions."

The Palestinian Authority media outlet WAFA said the Hamas positions hit in the airstrikes were east of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip.

WAFA claimed that both positions were "completely destroyed", adding that no casualties were reported.

📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/257239