A7News: 'Gantz will carry out a mega disengagement'

Arutz Sheva Daily Israel Report
http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com
------------------------------------------------
Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday



Monday, Feb. 04 '19, כ"ט בשבט תשע"ט





HEADLINES:
1. 'GANTZ WILL CARRY OUT A MEGA DISENGAGEMENT'
2. JEWISH HOME APPOINTS NEW CHIEF
3. WATCH: RAFAEL SPIKE MISSILE LAUNCH TEST
4. INDICTMENT HEARING FOR NETZACH YEHUDA SOLDIERS
5. RABBI ARIEL DOES NOT SUPPORT RELEASE OF BOY ACCUSED OF TERRORISM
6. NETANYAHU LEANS ON RIGHT-WING, RELIGIOUS PARTIES TO UNITE
7. REPORT: TERRORISTS ACTIVE IN THE BDS MOVEMENT
8. EX-PENTAGON SPOKESWOMAN VISITS ANCIENT SHILO IN SAMARIA


1. 'GANTZ WILL CARRY OUT A MEGA DISENGAGEMENT'
by Eliran Aharon

Minister of Tourism Yariv Levin (Likud) on Sunday blasted former IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz in an interview with Arutz Sheva, and expressed hope that the public will be able to provide an answer at the polling stations to the indictment that is expected to be filed against Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu subject to a hearing.

Relating to Gantz's election speech last week, Levin said, "There were leftist clichés and lots of arrogance there, arrogance that one can come without any experience, not in the political sphere and not in the economic realm, without having spent a day in the Knesset, and already to lead a state. I think this shows contempt for the public and a lack of real understanding of the prime minister's role."

"When we use this expression of Tzipi Livni, 'we will preserve the settlement blocs', we say in effect that we will carry out a second 'mega disengagement' with the expulsion of tens of thousands of Jews from their homes, with the demolition of dozens of communities. I am convinced that the public will understand this and eventually vote for the right at the polling stations."

Is the unification of the right-wing parties an option?

"The current split is very dangerous, and it could also lead to a loss of votes because of parties that will not pass the electoral threshold and could also lead to the fact that the task of forming a government will not be put in the hands of Binyamin Netanyahu. I hope that the right-wing public will vote for the Likud and bring about a situation in which these parties will be forced to unite or disappear from the map, because this split ultimately harms both the ability to form a government as well as the ability to run it.

Will the Likud be harmed if the Attorney General decides to file an indictment against Netanyahu subject to a hearing even before the elections?

"This is a very serious incident in the very fact that it is a blatant intervention in the election campaign, something unprecedented. I can tell you clearly - these cases deal with matters that are not even on the ethical level, and are certainly not criminal. This is a truly global precedent of intervention and the transformation of the issue of relations between public figures and the press into something criminal."

"The attempt to do this during elections with all these leaks is a serious thing, but I trust the Israeli public to know how to distinguish between bad and good, between truth and lies, and to provide a crushing response in the ballot box with a vote for the right and especially the Likud."

Watch the full interview with Minister Levin (in Hebrew):
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/258546


2. JEWISH HOME APPOINTS NEW CHIEF
by David Rosenberg

The Jewish Home party has chosen a former IDF chief rabbi to succeed former party chairman Naftali Bennett, following his departure last month with Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked and MK Shuli Muallem to form the New Right (HaYamin Hehadash) party.

Rabbi Rafi Peretz, who served as the Israeli army's chief rabbi from 2010 to December 2016, was nominated by a public committee formed by the Jewish Home to select a new party chair after Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely (Likud) declined overtures from party leaders to lead the faction.

In a statement released by the Jewish Home Sunday, the party announced that Rabbi Peretz's nomination will be brought to the Jewish Home central committee for approval Monday night at 8:30 p.m. The party's Knesset list for the April 9th elections will also be brought before the committee for approval tomorrow.

A spokesperson for the party said that more than 70 candidates were considered for the position, and Rabbi Peretz was chosen only after a "long and thorough selection process."

The 63-year-old rabbi, a native of Jerusalem, holds the rank of Brigadier General, and previously served as the dean of the Otzem military prep academy in Yated, near the Gaza Strip.

During his mandatory IDF service, Rabbi Peretz served as an Israel Air Force helicopter pilot.

Rabbi Peretz is married to Michal (née Heiman) and has 12 children. The family lived in the town of Bnei Atzmon in Gush Katif prior to the 2005 Gaza evacuation. The town, which was founded by residents of the Sinai Peninsula evicted following Israel's surrender of the area to Egypt, was relocated again in 2008 and renamed Naveh, where Peretz currently resides.


3. WATCH: RAFAEL SPIKE MISSILE LAUNCH TEST
by Arutz Sheva Staff

📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/258575

Rafael unveiled new video footage from the Tammuz 5 missile test.

The rockets were fired at a range of over 25 kilometers (9.3 miles) from a newly launched light-weight launcher (which features a total of 8 missiles) that can be mounted on light SUVs.

In the experiment, the launcher was installed on a TOMCAR light vehicle. Due to its light weight and small size, it is possible to fly the launch vehicle and land it deep in enemy territory.

Zvi M, the head of the Exact Tactical Weapon Systems Administration at Rafael, referred to the experiment, noting that it is a system that will provide the ground forces with a high-precision, long-range shooting capability against mobile and stationary targets, independent of GPS.

"Rafael continues to develop capabilities and systems at the edge of technology, which provide the maneuverability and precision of the forces in different combat environments, and advantage over the enemy," stressed M..

Rafael's SPIKE NLOS missile is part of the Spike missile family - accurate and accurate electro-optical missiles for ranges of up to 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) that can be fired from a variety of sources on land, air and sea, and allow for the destruction of a wide range of targets, including hidden targets, without a line of sight.

In the experiment, a number of missiles were fired at different ranges, at different attack angles, according to the scenario and target type. The Spike missile family has already been sold to 31 armies, including the IDF, and some 30,000 missiles have been delivered to date.


4. INDICTMENT HEARING FOR NETZACH YEHUDA SOLDIERS
by Arutz Sheva Staff

The trial of five soldiers of the Netzach Yehuda Battalion began today at the military court in Jaffa. The solders are accused of beating Arab detainees held on suspicion of assisting the terrorist who carried out the attack at the Givat Assaf junction.

Two fellow soldiers of the accused soldiers were murdered in the attack.

The soldiers had allegedly beat the suspects who has assisted the in the attack at the junction.

At the start of the indictment hearing, the defense attorneys announced that they were denying the indictment saying, "reflecting a lack of basic understanding on the part of the system regarding the overall circumstances of the incident."

According to the attorneys, the indictment, "does not take into account the circumstances of the case, the difficulties in the investigation and the conduct of the army in the circumstances of sending that specific company for detention [of the suspects]. And these are things explicitly revealed by commanders in the battalion."

At the end of the indictment hearing the judge suggested that the two sides seek mediation because of the complex situation the soldiers faced.


5. RABBI ARIEL DOES NOT SUPPORT RELEASE OF BOY ACCUSED OF TERRORISM
by Arutz Sheva Staff

Rabbi Yaakov Ariel, the Chief Rabbi of Ramat Gan and a leading figure in religious Zionism, denied the claims that he signed an agreement to support the release of the teenager accused of killing Palestinian Authority resident Aisha Rabi.

n the section "Ask the Rabbi" on the 'Yeshiva' website, Rabbi Ariel was asked, "I saw that you would sign a recommendation to release the arrested boy on suspicion of throwing a stone at a car where a woman was killed.

In response to the question, Rabbi Ariel clarified emphatically, "I have never signed such a request.

"I signed only an appeal to the public to help the family with the funding of a lawyer who will represent the boy so that justice will be done," said Rabbi Ariel.

"On the matter of the killing of an Arab, I brought elsewhere the verse in the Torah that 'whoever sheds human blood, by man shall his blood be shed (Genesis 9:6). This verse refers to all human beings," he said.


6. NETANYAHU LEANS ON RIGHT-WING, RELIGIOUS PARTIES TO UNITE
by David Rosenberg

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has called smaller, right-wing and religious factions to unify to ensure that they pass the electoral threshold this April and maximize the right-wing bloc in the 21st Knesset, giving him the greatest chance of being able to form a viable governing coalition.

According to a report by Channel 12 Sunday evening, Netanyahu has urged the National Union faction to run jointly with the smaller Otzma Yehudit faction.

MK Bezalel Smotrich, who recently wrested control of the National Union faction from Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel, is a member of the Tekuma party, which broke off from the National Religious Party – a forerunner of the Jewish Home – in the 1990s.

The National Union – a joint list of smaller right-wing parties – ran with the Jewish Home in 2013 and 2015, after winning four seats in a joint bid with Eretz Yisrael Shelanu in 2009. Eretz Yisrael Shelanu, led by then-MK Michael Ben-Ari, later became the Otzma Yehudit faction, which failed to enter the Knesset in 2015 on a joint ticket with Yahad.

Netanyahu has reportedly called on Smotrich to form a joint bloc with Otzma Yehudit and the Jewish Home, to ensure that all three factions pass the 3.25% electoral threshold.

Otzma Yehudit, led by former Kach movement activists Michael Ben-Ari, Baruch Marzel, and attorney Itamar Ben-Gvir, has been linked with the ideology of Jewish Defense League founder and former Knesset Member Rabbi Meir Kahane. Rabbi Kahane advocated the expulsion of Arab residents of Israel, and was barred from the Knesset in 1988, after serving one term.

The Prime Minister also called on the haredi factions Shas and United Torah Judaism to form a joint religious bloc, to ensure that Shas passes the threshold.

Recent polls have shown Shas winning two to seven seats and has averaged about 4.5 mandates in polls released in January – just slightly above the electoral threshold. To enter the Knesset, a party must win 3.25% of the vote – or the equivalent of 3.9 seats.

The Jewish Home has also teetered on the edge of the threshold over the past month, ever since party chief Naftali Bennett bolted to form the New Right.

Recent polls also show the Otzma Yehudit and Yahad parties drawing between one-to-two percent of the vote, while the libertarian-leaning Zehut faction led by Moshe Feiglin would also draw one-to-two percent.

Some polls have even shown former Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman's Yisrael Beytenu party failing to clear the threshold.

Following the report Sunday, Yesh Atid charged that by advocating for a right-wing bloc including Otzma Yehudit, Netanyahu was effectively lobbying on behalf of supporters of Rabbi Meir Kahane.

"The Prime Minister of Israel has now pushed to have Baruch Marzel, Itamar Ben-Gvir, and Bentzi Gopstein brought into the Knesset, and all to ensure that he keeps his position and evades the charges of corruption against him. Netanyahu has no limits any more. The State of Israel no longer interests him."


7. REPORT: TERRORISTS ACTIVE IN THE BDS MOVEMENT
by Yoni Kempinski

📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/258524

The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement, which seeks to impose a world-wide boycott on Israeli businesses and institutions, is tied with terrorist organizations including Hamas and the PFLP, the Israeli government claimed in a report released over the weekend.

The Ministry of Strategic Affairs and Public Diplomacy (MSA) released its "Terrorists in Suits" report Sunday, revealing over 100 links shared between the internationally-designated terrorist organizations Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) with at least 13 anti-Israel BDS promoting NGOs.

The report reveals that both Hamas and the PFLP are utilizing a network of NGOs promoting boycotts against Israel as an additional tactic in their ultimate goal of dismantling the State of Israel.

The ties are not only ideological, but include the placement of known terrorists in positions of influence within major BDS organizations.

Hamas and the PFLP have successfully placed over 30 of their members, 20 of which have served time, including for murder, in senior positions within BDS-promoting NGOs. The report documents how boycott organizations and terrorist designated organizations raise finances together, share the same personnel, and showcases that contrary to popular belief, these officials have not abandoned their support for terrorism, but instead, continue to maintain organizational, financial, and active ties with terrorist groups.

The Israel-boycott organizations in question were also shown to have received millions of euros in funding from European countries and philanthropic foundations, while gaining access to additional funds through financial, crowdfunding and banking systems.

Erdan presenting the report
Arutz Sheva
Examples of terrorists working in support of organizations that promote the boycotting of Israel include Laila Khaled and Mustafa Awad. Khaled became infamous for hijacking two civilian airliners, Flights TWA 840 and El Al 219, and to this day remains active in the internationally-designated terrorist group the PFLP. She has fundraised for, and promoted, anti-Israel boycott NGOs both in Europe and South Africa. In 2011 she was found to have taken coordinated actions for a terrorist cell planning on attacking sites in Jerusalem. Furthermore, in October 2018 Khaled was quoted in an interview saying, "Palestine will be liberated through resistance in all its forms, first and foremost through armed struggle."

Awad, is currently serving time for his involvement in several terrorist organizations, including serving as a member of the PFLP and received training from Iranian terrorist group Hezbollah. He also represented Samidoun in Brussels, an organization known for promoting boycotts against the State of Israel and advocating for the release of Palestinian security-prisoners in Israeli jails, including those convicted of murdering civilians in terrorist PFLP attacks.

Another instance includes the BDS National Committee (BNC), the Ramallah-based leadership of the global Boycott movement toward Israel, consists of 28 Palestinian boycott groups. The lead member of this coalition is the Palestinian National and Islamic Forces (PNIF), which includes five internationally-designated terrorist organizations including Hamas, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The American fundraising platform Donorbox recently suspended the BNC's account after finding the group did indeed maintain ties to terrorist groups.

Over the past year, and following MSA activities to expose NGO terror ties, several European countries have announced the reexamination and decrease in funding granted to organizations which promote boycotts against the State of Israel.

The Israeli government report also showed how operatives in terrorist organizations operate under the guise of "boycott activists" to gain access, and meet with, senior Western government officials and exert pressure to release convicted terrorists held in Israeli prisons.

Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan called on European leaders to cut all ties with the BDS movement and groups supporting anti-Israel boycotts.

"Terrorist organizations and the BDS campaign have united in their goal of dismantling the Jewish state, with the former viewing boycotts as a complementary tactic to their armed attacks against Israel. Following the exposure of the ties linking boycott organizations to the terrorist groups, I urge the governments of Europe to rethink the legitimacy and stop the funding they provide to Israel-boycott organizations."


8. EX-PENTAGON SPOKESWOMAN VISITS ANCIENT SHILO IN SAMARIA
by Arutz Sheva Staff

📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/258545

Former Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White visited the Biblical city of Shiloh in the Binyamin district of Samaria on Sunday with Rabbi Shmuley Boteach.

"It's amazing how much history is there," White said, noting the city's ties to the history of Judaism and Christianity.

"To see the Tabernacle, where it stood, was incredible. I don't think that, as Christians, we pay enough attention to the books of Moses, and to see that site was inspirational."

"I hope to come back to Shiloh many more times, and I would encourage anyone who has any faith and wants a spiritual connection to come to Judea and Samaria, where 80% of what happened in the Bible happened there," she said.

"As someone who has lived a lot of her life in politics, I was amazed by what, as Americans, we don't know about Israel, how small the country is, and how the people who literally want to kill the State of Israel are right there. There's so much that we don't know about the size, about how people live. I was shocked to see the zone A signs where Israeli citizens aren't permitted. I went to Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, and my Jewish friends can't go there."