Arutz Sheva Daily Israel Report
http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com
------------------------------------------------
Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
Sunday, Mar. 31 '19, כ"ד באדר ב תשע"ט
HEADLINES:
1. TRAGEDY STRIKES TERROR-STRICKEN FAMILY
2. TWO CHILDREN INFILTRATE ISRAEL, ARMED WITH A KNIFE
3. NEW TOOL FOR DISPERSING RIOTS: 'THE ROAR'
4. 'RESIDENTS OF THE SOUTH CANNOT BE HOSTAGES TO ELECTIONS'
5. WATCH: NORTHERN STREAMS FLOW BRISKLY EN ROUTE TO KINNERET
6. RARE DISCOVERY IN THE CITY OF DAVID
7. IDF ATTACKS HAMAS TARGETS IN GAZA
8. NZ MUSLIM LEADER: MOSSAD COMMENTS 'DON'T REPRESENT' OUR VIEWS
1. TRAGEDY STRIKES TERROR-STRICKEN FAMILY
by Arutz Sheva Staff
Shlomi Mark, the eldest son of Rabbi Mickey Mark, was killed in a road accident near the Kiryat Gat interchange on Highway 6.
The accident occurred when the motorcycle Mark was riding on collided with a guardrail. He was initially treated by Magen David Adom paramedics and evacuated in critical condition to Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva, where he was pronounced dead. He was 29.
Shlomi worked in the Prime Minister's Office, and the accident occurred while he was on his way to work.
His father, Rabbi Mickey Mark, was murdered in a terrorist shooting attack on Route 60 south of Hevron in 2016. His mother was seriously wounded in the attack.
Following the terror attack, Shlomi acted as the backbone of the family, supporting his mother and younger siblings.
He leaves behind a wife, Yiska - whose father was also murdered in a terror attack - and three children. The couple lived together in the Judea community of Otniel.
The Mark family stated: We are forced to announce the death of our husband, son and dear brother David Shlomo (Shlomi), son of Rabbi Michael Mark, following a terrible road accident on his way to work at the Prime Minister's Office."
"The funeral will take place tomorrow, Monday, at the Har Hamenuhot cemetery in Jerusalem."
2. TWO CHILDREN INFILTRATE ISRAEL, ARMED WITH A KNIFE
by Arutz Sheva Staff
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/261138
On Saturday morning, IDF troops apprehended two children near the security fence in the southern Gaza Strip. The children were carrying a knife.
Following an initial inquiry by IDF troops in the field, the children explained that they had intended to infiltrate into Israel with a knife so that they would be apprehended and sent to prison.
IDF troops gave the children water and then returned them to Gaza through the Erez Crossing.
Last year, Hamas sent a seven-year-old girl into Israel, to face the IDF forces stationed along the border fence with Gaza.
The IDF confirmed that the suspected terrorist was a young girl, engaged her, and ensured that she returned safely to her parents.
IDF soldier speaks with Gazan children sent into Israel with a knife IDF spokesperson
3. NEW TOOL FOR DISPERSING RIOTS: 'THE ROAR'
by Yehonatan Gottlieb
The IDF used a new system, the "Sha'aga" ("Roar") to disperse the violent demonstrations that took place at the Gaza Strip border over the weekend in which tens of thousands of Arabs participated.
Journalist Amir Buchbut reported that the "Sha'aga" is a non-lethal riot dispersal system based on radio waves that was developed in Israel.
The soldiers who used the system during the violent demonstrations said that it was very effective.
On Saturday, the so-called "Million Man March" took place in Gaza to mark the first anniversary of the so-called "March of the Return."
Over 40,000 Arabs participated in the demonstrations. Rioters threw explosives and stones at IDF soldiers. Three terrorists were killed by IDF fire, and hundreds were injured, a number of them seriously.
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/261171
4. 'RESIDENTS OF THE SOUTH CANNOT BE HOSTAGES TO ELECTIONS'
by Arutz Sheva Staff
Education Minister Naftali Bennett slammed Prime Minister Netanyahu following the cancellation of the cabinet meeting scheduled for Wednesday.
"The cancellation of the Security Cabinet is the abandonment of the residents of the south for politics," said Bennett. "When missiles fall on the south, the residents of the south and protecting them against rockets can not be hostages to an election campaign."
He said that "Netanyahu avoided the cabinet meeting because he knows that just as in the operation to destroy the tunnels during Operation Protective Edge, I will oppose a shameful deal with Hamas and lead a creative plan to deal decisively with Hamas."
The announcement of the cancellation came hours after news that Minister Naftali Bennett had requested Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit pressure Prime Minister Netanyahu to immediately convene the cabinet to discuss the security situation in the south.
In his letter to the attorney general, Bennett noted central events in the current escalation, including the launching of rockets into Gush Dan, the direct hit on a home in the town of Mishmeret, the barrage of fire on southern communities, and the demonstration yesterday in the Gaza Strip.
"In the course of all these incidents, the state of Israel only acted in a selective way that does not create the deterrence required in the face of Hamas activity intended to harm the security of Israeli citizens," Bennett wrote.
"It is inconceivable to be that the management of such security events is carried out solely by the prime minister and defense establishment without the input of the ministers of the Political-Security Cabinet, who bare the responsibility under the law to manage such matter
5. WATCH: NORTHERN STREAMS FLOW BRISKLY EN ROUTE TO KINNERET
by Arutz Sheva Staff
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/261169
6. RARE DISCOVERY IN THE CITY OF DAVID
by Arutz Sheva Staff
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/261165
A rare and exciting discovery: A bulla (seal impression) and a 2,600-year-old stamp bearing Hebrew names were uncovered in the City of David. The artifacts were discovered inside a public building that was destroyed during the destruction of the First Temple and were uncovered in archaeological excavations of the Givati Parking Lot in the City of David National Park in Jerusalem. The dig was conducted by archeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority and Tel Aviv University.
According to Prof. Yuval Gadot of Tel Aviv University and Dr. Yiftah Shalev of the Israel Antiquities Authority who were responsible for the dig, these special artifacts were found inside a large public building, that was destroyed in the sixth century BCE - likely during the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE. Large stone debris, burnt wooden beams and numerous charred pottery shards were discovered in the building, all indications that they had survived an immense fire. The importance of this building can be discerned, among other things, from its size, the finely cut ashlar stones from which it was built and the quality of the architectural elements found in the layers of destruction - for example, remnants of a polished plaster floor, which had collapsed and caved into the floor below.
The stamp and bulla, which are about one centimeter in size, were deciphered by Dr. Anat Mendel-Geberovich of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Center for the Study of Ancient Jerusalem, who, according to the script, dates them to the middle of the seventh century to the beginning of the sixth century BCE.
The seal impression, dated to the First Temple period, features the words: "(belonging) to Nathan-Melech, Servant of the King" (LeNathan-Melech Eved HaMelech). The name Nathan-Melech appears once in the Bible, in the second book of Kings 23:11, where he is described as an official in the court of King Josiah, who took part in the religious reform that the king was implementing: "And he took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entrance of the house of the Lord, by the chamber of Nathan-Melech the officer, which was in the precincts; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire."
The title "Servant of the King" (Eved HaMelech) is appears often in the Bible to describe a high-ranking official close to the king. This title appears on other stamps and seal impressions that were found in the past. This seal impression is the first archaeological evidence of the name Biblical Nathan-Melech.
Dr. Mendel-Geberovich notes that the fact that this official was mentioned by his first name alone indicates that he was known to all, and there was no need to add his family lineage.
According to Mendel-Geberovich, "Although it is not possible to determine with complete certainty that the Nathan-Melech who is mentioned in the Bible was in fact the owner of the stamp, it is impossible to ignore some of the details that link them together."
Bullae were small pieces of clay impressed by personal seals, used in ancient times to sign letters. While the parchment that they sealed didn't survive the fires that devastated ancient Jerusalem, the bullae, which are made of ceramic-like material, were preserved, leaving evidence of the correspondence and those behind them.
stamp of Ikar son of Matanyahu (Eliyahu Yanai, City of David)
A stamp-seal was also in discovered the same place, made of bluish agate stone, engraved with the name - "(belonging) to Ikar son of Matanyahu" (LeIkar Ben Matanyahu). According to Dr. Mendel-Geberovich, "The name Matanyahu appears both in the Bible and on additional stamps and bullae already unearthed. However, this is the first reference to the name "Ikar," which was unknown until today." She believes that despite the literal meaning of Ikar which is farmer, it most likely refers to a private individual with that name as opposed to a description of his occupation. It is still unclear who this person was. Private stamps were used to sign documents, and were often set in signet rings carried by their owners. In ancient times these stamps noted the identity, lineage and status of their owners.
According to Prof. Yuval Gadot of Tel Aviv University and Dr. Yiftah Shalev of the Israel Antiquities Authority, "Since many of the well-known bullae and stamps have not come from organized archaeological excavations but rather from the antiquities market, the discovery of these two artifacts in a clear archaeological context that can be dated is very exciting. They join the bullae and stamps bearing names written in ancient Hebrew script, which were discovered in the various excavations that have been conducted in the City of David until today. These artifacts attest to the highly developed system of administration in the Kingdom of Judah and add considerable information to our understanding of the economic status of Jerusalem and its administrative system during the First Temple period, as well as personal information about the king's closest officials and administrators who lived and worked in the city."
Moreover, "The discovery of a public building such as this, on the western slope of the City of David, provides a lot of information about the city's structure during this period and the size of its administrative area." The destruction of this building in the fire, apparently during the Babylonian conquest of the city in 586 BCE, strengthens our understanding of the intensity of the destruction in the city."
Both of these artifacts will be presented in full in the Israel Exploration Journal, the archaeological journal published by the Israel Exploration Society.
The dig (Kobi Har'eti, City of David)
7. IDF ATTACKS HAMAS TARGETS IN GAZA
by Elad Benari
IDF tanks targeted a number of Hamas military posts in the Gaza Strip overnight Saturday.
The attack was in response for several launches that were identified from the Gaza Strip at Israeli territory earlier.
Earlier, five rockets were fired by terrorists from Gaza into Israel. The rockets exploded in open areas in the Eshkol Regional Council.
There were no injuries or damages. A siren was activated in the area and residents reported hearing explosions.
Earlier on Saturday night, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke about the new Israel-Hamas agreement expected to be signed within the coming days.
In a video published on his Facebook page, Netanyahu said, "Now, after Shabbat, I told our forces to remain in place. We don't know if this calm will continue, and we are ready for every development.
"This is how we manage things: We use force when necessary, and we avoid, if possible, unnecessary wars," he added.
8. NZ MUSLIM LEADER: MOSSAD COMMENTS 'DON'T REPRESENT' OUR VIEWS
by Henry Benjamin, JTA
A Muslim community leader in New Zealand dismissed claims by the head of the country's biggest mosque that Israel's Mossad intelligence agency was behind the killing of 50 Muslims at two Christchurch mosques.
Mustafa Farouk, president of the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand, referred in his statement Thursday to remarks made on March 23 by Ahmed Bhamji, chairman of the Mt Roskill Masjid E Umar mosque.
"Recent comments by an individual do not represent the views of the Muslims of New Zealand," Farouk said.
The killings on March 15 were perpetrated by a 28-year-old gunman from Australia described in media reports as a white supremacist.
On March 23, Bhamji said during a sermon: "I stand here and I say I have a very very strong suspicion that there's some group behind him and I am not afraid to say I feel Mossad is behind this."
Bhamji continued: "And not only them. There are some business houses, also, who are around … you know, Zionist business houses that are behind him."
Sunday, March 31, 2019
Friday, March 29, 2019
A7News: Hamas: Coming hours will decide if conflict continues
Arutz Sheva Daily Israel Report
http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com
------------------------------------------------
Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
Friday, Mar. 29 '19, כ"ב באדר ב תשע"ט
HEADLINES:
1. HAMAS: COMING HOURS WILL DECIDE IF CONFLICT CONTINUES
2. FRENCHMAN ADMITS GUN-RUNNING
3. THE RETURN OF THE SOLDIERS AS A DEMAND IN COALITION NEGOTIATIONS
4. THE ANTI-SEMITIC EXCUSES FOR HATRED OF JEWS
5. DID OBAMA CONTROL TIMING OF ANTI-ISRAEL UN RESOLUTION?
6. SYRIAN TV CLAIMS ISRAEL ATTACKED IN ALEPPO
7. HUNDREDS ATTEND FUNERAL OF LONE SOLDIER
8. POLL: LIKUD PULLS INTO TIE WITH BLUE AND WHITE
1. HAMAS: COMING HOURS WILL DECIDE IF CONFLICT CONTINUES
by Chana Roberts
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh hinted that if talks do not succeed soon, war may break out.
"We are continuing the marathon of talks with Egypt in order to reach serious understandings that Israel will honor," Haniyeh said. "We are at a crossroads, and the coming hours will decide which direction we'll take."
Earlier this week, Hamas claimed that Israel "refused" to come to an agreement.
On Thursday night, Egyptian intelligence officials warned Hamas that "any mistakes on your part on Saturday may lead to war with Israel."
According to Mako, the Egyptians told Hamas that it was their efforts which prevented a war from breaking out a few days ago. Now, they said, Hamas needs to take active and significant steps in order to prevent conflict.
Egypt's demands from Hamas included, among other things, stationing Hamas members along the border fence in order to prevent masses of Gazans from infiltrating Israel and to prevent weapons from reaching the border area.
On Monday, a rocket hit a home in the Sharon region, injuring seven members of the Wolf family. Hamas initially claimed that the rocket was fired by mistake, later changing their story to say that "bad weather" caused the launch.
However, on Tuesday Hamas admitted that the launch had indeed been intentional, and was carried out at Iran's behest.
The IDF responded to the attack - which was followed by additional rockets - by striking at Hamas military targets in Gaza.
2. FRENCHMAN ADMITS GUN-RUNNING
by AFP, Arutz Sheva Staff
A Frenchman formerly employed by his country's Jerusalem consulate has been convicted of arms dealing after admitting three offences in a plea bargain, the Israeli Justice Ministry said Friday.
Romain Franck, who worked as a driver for the consulate, went on trial a year ago accused of exploiting reduced security checks for diplomats to smuggle 70 pistols and two automatic rifles from Gaza to Judea and Samaria.
"As part of a plea bargain the defendant admitted and was convicted of three counts of importing and trading in weapons and of fraud," the ministry said in a written response to an AFP query.
"Sentencing will be given on April 8," it added.
He faces a possible seven-year jail term, the ministry said.
Franck was arrested in February 2018 and his trial began the following month at the district court in the southern Israeli city of Be'er Sheva.
Israeli officials have said he acted on his own without the consulate's knowledge and that diplomatic relations with France were not affected.
The Shabak (Israel Security Agency) has said he was paid a total of around $5,500 for the guns he smuggled for a network involving several Palestinian Authority (PA) Arabs.
At a hearing in November Franck's lawyer, Kenneth Mann, said that his client's actions were not those of someone seeking to help PA terrorists.
"He was scared, he is young and inexperienced," Mann told reporters.
"He has no ideological or political involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."
3. THE RETURN OF THE SOLDIERS AS A DEMAND IN COALITION NEGOTIATIONS
by Arutz Sheva Staff
More than 200 people participated in the weekly gathering "Misdar Hadar," named in Hadar Goldin's memory on Friday afternoon.
Misdar Hadar is active in lobbying for the return of IDF soldiers and Israeli citizens from Gaza.
Hamas has been holding the bodies of IDF soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul since the 2014 Operation Protective Edge.
In addition, two Israeli civilians who went missing in Gaza - Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed - are believed to be held by Hamas as well.
The event, the 49th consecutive gathering, was held at the Cinemateque Plaza in Sderot, with the participation of the Goldin family, MK Haim Yellin (Labor), National Union Chairman MK Bezalel Smotrich, attorney Michal Kotler (Blue and White candidate) and Idit Silman (Union of the Right candidate).
Hadar Goldin's father Professor Simcha Goldin, harshly criticized the outgoing government. "The Prime Minister, the ministers in the cabinet, and the leaders of Operation Protective Edge failed to bring Hadar and Oron home," he said.
"Anyone who approaches the Gaza area and sees the IDF deployed with large forces there understands that the war didn't end because the leadership in the government and the army didn't insist on bringing the soldiers back from the battlefield," Goldin continued.
"Netanyahu is now talking about a small agreement but he also knows that the IDF soldiers and Israeli citizens can be returned if this issue is presented as top priority and is presented as a condition that Egypt will insist on. If that happens, the IDF soldiers and Israeli citizens will be returned even before the elections," Goldin concluded.
"We will raise the issue of returning the IDF soldiers as a demand in coalition negotiations," MK Bezalel Smotrich said. "The next government will act on several levels to put pressure on Hamas until the boys are returned."
MK Haim Yellin (Labor) said that the last night was difficult for the residents of Gaza border communities. "520 truckloads were on the fence last night and anyone who has not experienced his house shaking from explosions couldn't begin to understand what I'm talking about. We must return to the value of mutual responsibility. Our sons must be returned."
4. THE ANTI-SEMITIC EXCUSES FOR HATRED OF JEWS
by Dr. Sam Minskoff
[audio:2055706]
Dr. Sam Minskoff, a member of the Aliyah Team at Arutz Sheva, discusses the usual adage that countries' poor economies contribute greatly to rising Jew hatred, pointing out that the adage is not necessarily applicable in modern times.
He also addresses those self hating Jews who are deaf, dumb and blind to what it is to be a Jew and could not care less, to the extent that aliyah (immigration to Israel) is discouraged and moreover forbidden to the unfortunate, pitiful group who will just have to miss out on the miracles and blessings of living as a Jew in G-d-given Israel.
In so doing, Dr. Sam Minskoff implores the leadership that insists on caving in to Israel's enemies for the sake of being loved and accepted to stop that suicidal psychotic tendency and LIVE.
[קישורים:10:Radio]
5. DID OBAMA CONTROL TIMING OF ANTI-ISRAEL UN RESOLUTION?
by David Rosenberg
The Obama White House may have exerted more influence over a controversial anti-Israel United Nations resolution than previously believed, according to a new report by The New York Times.
In December 2016, following the 2016 presidential election, the Obama administration ordered the US mission to the UN to abstain from a Security Council vote on resolution 2334, which condemned Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria, and eastern Jerusalem as 'flagrant violations' of international law with "no legal validity".
The surprise decision not to veto the measure – abandoning the traditional US policy of barring blatantly anti-Israel measures at the Security Council – was initially seen as a parting blow to the Netanyahu government in Israel, but not part of an orchestrated effort by the Obama administration to target Israel.
US officials emphasized that the measure had been drafted by Egypt, with no indications the US had been involved in either the preparation or timing of the resolution.
But a new report by the NYT Thursday suggests that the Obama administration had in fact resolved to enable the resolution to be passed earlier in 2016, but used its influence to push off the UNSC vote until after the 2016 election.
"There is a reason the U.N. vote did not come up before the election in November," a former US official told NYT.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, stressed that the Obama White House was supportive of the resolution, but felt compelled to push off its passage until after the November election.
"Was it because you were going to lose voters to Donald Trump? No. It was because you were going to have skittish donors. That, and the fact that we didn't want Clinton to face pressure to condemn the resolution or be damaged by having to defend it."
Obama's deputy national security advisor, Ben Rhodes, went even further, arguing that the Obama administration, and much of the Democratic party's base, is far less sympathetic towards Israel than the party as a whole, with the "donor class" keeping party officials on an at least ostensibly pro-Israel line.
The Washington view of Israel-Palestine is still shaped by the donor class," Rhodes told the NYT. "The donor class is profoundly to the right of where the activists are, and frankly, where the majority of the Jewish community is."
6. SYRIAN TV CLAIMS ISRAEL ATTACKED IN ALEPPO
by Elad Benari
The official Syrian news agency SANA reported on Wednesday evening that heavy explosions were heard at the airport in the city of Aleppo.
According to the report, a number of "enemy airstrikes" struck the Shiekh Najjar District of the city.
Syrian state television reported that the attack was an Israeli attack and noted that "Syria's air defense forces intercepted several missiles."
It was also reported that the attack targeted warehouses used by the Iranian forces operating on Syrian soil.
The entire city of Aleppo is reportedly in darkness as the electricity flow to the city stopped immediately after the attack began.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that there were casualties in the attacks on Aleppo.
Last month, official Syrian media outlets claimed that Israeli tanks had opened fire on positions in Kuneitra on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights.
Subsequent reports claimed that the attack was an Israeli airstrike and that it killed two members of Iran's Revolutionary Guards.
Israel did not comment on the reports.
7. HUNDREDS ATTEND FUNERAL OF LONE SOLDIER
by Arutz Sheva Staff
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/261055
Close to 1,000 soldiers and civilians arrived Thursday at the military cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem to pay their last respects to IDF soldier Alex Sasaki, who passed away this week.
Sasaki, a lone soldier from the Golani Brigade who immigrated from the United States to contribute to the state through combat service in the IDF, was found dead earlier this week.
On various Facebook pages, an appeal was made to the public to attend Alex's funeral out of respect and appreciation for his contribution to the IDF.
Among the participants at the funeral were Alex's friends from the Golani Brigade, cadets in an officers' course who were on a tour of Jerusalem, and many citizens who wanted to pay him last respects and support his family in their time of distress.
One of the soldiers told Israel Hayom, "The Education Corps issued a statement about Alex's funeral so that as many soldiers as possible could come to accompany him on his last journey." Alex's friends in the Golani Brigade covered his grave with the earth of Jerusalem as some of them cried. Alex's commander, Yonatan Lux, said kaddish for him.
"Your friends and commanders saw you as an inspiration, a loyal friend who performs his responsibility in the best possible way," lamented Lieutenant Colonel Itai Matak, commander of the 12th Battalion. "You came to Israel, enlisted and chose the difficult and significant path. For me, you are the embodiment of Zionism. You brought calm and unity. We will remember your joy for life and your smile that remained even on the cold and hard nights."
8. POLL: LIKUD PULLS INTO TIE WITH BLUE AND WHITE
by David Rosenberg
The Likud party has pulled into a tie with the Blue and White party, according to a new poll, as the right-wing – religious bloc opens up a wider lead over the left-Arab bloc.
The new poll, conducted by the Midgam polling firm's Mano Geva and veteran pollster Mina Tzemach on behalf of Channel 13, gives the Likud 30 seats – identical to the number the center-left Blue and White party is projected to win.
As a whole, the parties affiliated with the Israeli Right or the haredi bloc – the Likud, Union of Right-Wing Parties, New Right, Shas, United Torah Judaism, Kulanu, Yisrael Beytenu, and Zehut - would win a total of 64 seats if new elections were held today.
The left-wing and center-left parties would win 45 seats, while the two Arab lists would win 11 mandates, the poll shows.
After the Likud and Blue and White party, the third largest party, if new elections were held today, would be Labor with 10 seats.
The far-left Meretz faction would win five – the same number it won in 2015 – and the two Arab lists would win a combined 11 seats – seven for the Hadash-Ta'al list, and four for the United Arab List-Balad ticket.
Gesher, the party of former Yisrael Beytenu MK Orly Levy, would fail to pass the minimum threshold. Yisrael Beytenu would also fail to pass the threshold.
The center-right Kulanu would win four seats if new elections were held today, as would the haredi Shas party. The United Torah Judaism faction would win seven seats, as would the Union of Right-Wing Parties and the libertarian-leaning Zehut. The New Right would win five seats.
http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com
------------------------------------------------
Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
Friday, Mar. 29 '19, כ"ב באדר ב תשע"ט
HEADLINES:
1. HAMAS: COMING HOURS WILL DECIDE IF CONFLICT CONTINUES
2. FRENCHMAN ADMITS GUN-RUNNING
3. THE RETURN OF THE SOLDIERS AS A DEMAND IN COALITION NEGOTIATIONS
4. THE ANTI-SEMITIC EXCUSES FOR HATRED OF JEWS
5. DID OBAMA CONTROL TIMING OF ANTI-ISRAEL UN RESOLUTION?
6. SYRIAN TV CLAIMS ISRAEL ATTACKED IN ALEPPO
7. HUNDREDS ATTEND FUNERAL OF LONE SOLDIER
8. POLL: LIKUD PULLS INTO TIE WITH BLUE AND WHITE
1. HAMAS: COMING HOURS WILL DECIDE IF CONFLICT CONTINUES
by Chana Roberts
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh hinted that if talks do not succeed soon, war may break out.
"We are continuing the marathon of talks with Egypt in order to reach serious understandings that Israel will honor," Haniyeh said. "We are at a crossroads, and the coming hours will decide which direction we'll take."
Earlier this week, Hamas claimed that Israel "refused" to come to an agreement.
On Thursday night, Egyptian intelligence officials warned Hamas that "any mistakes on your part on Saturday may lead to war with Israel."
According to Mako, the Egyptians told Hamas that it was their efforts which prevented a war from breaking out a few days ago. Now, they said, Hamas needs to take active and significant steps in order to prevent conflict.
Egypt's demands from Hamas included, among other things, stationing Hamas members along the border fence in order to prevent masses of Gazans from infiltrating Israel and to prevent weapons from reaching the border area.
On Monday, a rocket hit a home in the Sharon region, injuring seven members of the Wolf family. Hamas initially claimed that the rocket was fired by mistake, later changing their story to say that "bad weather" caused the launch.
However, on Tuesday Hamas admitted that the launch had indeed been intentional, and was carried out at Iran's behest.
The IDF responded to the attack - which was followed by additional rockets - by striking at Hamas military targets in Gaza.
2. FRENCHMAN ADMITS GUN-RUNNING
by AFP, Arutz Sheva Staff
A Frenchman formerly employed by his country's Jerusalem consulate has been convicted of arms dealing after admitting three offences in a plea bargain, the Israeli Justice Ministry said Friday.
Romain Franck, who worked as a driver for the consulate, went on trial a year ago accused of exploiting reduced security checks for diplomats to smuggle 70 pistols and two automatic rifles from Gaza to Judea and Samaria.
"As part of a plea bargain the defendant admitted and was convicted of three counts of importing and trading in weapons and of fraud," the ministry said in a written response to an AFP query.
"Sentencing will be given on April 8," it added.
He faces a possible seven-year jail term, the ministry said.
Franck was arrested in February 2018 and his trial began the following month at the district court in the southern Israeli city of Be'er Sheva.
Israeli officials have said he acted on his own without the consulate's knowledge and that diplomatic relations with France were not affected.
The Shabak (Israel Security Agency) has said he was paid a total of around $5,500 for the guns he smuggled for a network involving several Palestinian Authority (PA) Arabs.
At a hearing in November Franck's lawyer, Kenneth Mann, said that his client's actions were not those of someone seeking to help PA terrorists.
"He was scared, he is young and inexperienced," Mann told reporters.
"He has no ideological or political involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."
3. THE RETURN OF THE SOLDIERS AS A DEMAND IN COALITION NEGOTIATIONS
by Arutz Sheva Staff
More than 200 people participated in the weekly gathering "Misdar Hadar," named in Hadar Goldin's memory on Friday afternoon.
Misdar Hadar is active in lobbying for the return of IDF soldiers and Israeli citizens from Gaza.
Hamas has been holding the bodies of IDF soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul since the 2014 Operation Protective Edge.
In addition, two Israeli civilians who went missing in Gaza - Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed - are believed to be held by Hamas as well.
The event, the 49th consecutive gathering, was held at the Cinemateque Plaza in Sderot, with the participation of the Goldin family, MK Haim Yellin (Labor), National Union Chairman MK Bezalel Smotrich, attorney Michal Kotler (Blue and White candidate) and Idit Silman (Union of the Right candidate).
Hadar Goldin's father Professor Simcha Goldin, harshly criticized the outgoing government. "The Prime Minister, the ministers in the cabinet, and the leaders of Operation Protective Edge failed to bring Hadar and Oron home," he said.
"Anyone who approaches the Gaza area and sees the IDF deployed with large forces there understands that the war didn't end because the leadership in the government and the army didn't insist on bringing the soldiers back from the battlefield," Goldin continued.
"Netanyahu is now talking about a small agreement but he also knows that the IDF soldiers and Israeli citizens can be returned if this issue is presented as top priority and is presented as a condition that Egypt will insist on. If that happens, the IDF soldiers and Israeli citizens will be returned even before the elections," Goldin concluded.
"We will raise the issue of returning the IDF soldiers as a demand in coalition negotiations," MK Bezalel Smotrich said. "The next government will act on several levels to put pressure on Hamas until the boys are returned."
MK Haim Yellin (Labor) said that the last night was difficult for the residents of Gaza border communities. "520 truckloads were on the fence last night and anyone who has not experienced his house shaking from explosions couldn't begin to understand what I'm talking about. We must return to the value of mutual responsibility. Our sons must be returned."
4. THE ANTI-SEMITIC EXCUSES FOR HATRED OF JEWS
by Dr. Sam Minskoff
[audio:2055706]
Dr. Sam Minskoff, a member of the Aliyah Team at Arutz Sheva, discusses the usual adage that countries' poor economies contribute greatly to rising Jew hatred, pointing out that the adage is not necessarily applicable in modern times.
He also addresses those self hating Jews who are deaf, dumb and blind to what it is to be a Jew and could not care less, to the extent that aliyah (immigration to Israel) is discouraged and moreover forbidden to the unfortunate, pitiful group who will just have to miss out on the miracles and blessings of living as a Jew in G-d-given Israel.
In so doing, Dr. Sam Minskoff implores the leadership that insists on caving in to Israel's enemies for the sake of being loved and accepted to stop that suicidal psychotic tendency and LIVE.
[קישורים:10:Radio]
5. DID OBAMA CONTROL TIMING OF ANTI-ISRAEL UN RESOLUTION?
by David Rosenberg
The Obama White House may have exerted more influence over a controversial anti-Israel United Nations resolution than previously believed, according to a new report by The New York Times.
In December 2016, following the 2016 presidential election, the Obama administration ordered the US mission to the UN to abstain from a Security Council vote on resolution 2334, which condemned Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria, and eastern Jerusalem as 'flagrant violations' of international law with "no legal validity".
The surprise decision not to veto the measure – abandoning the traditional US policy of barring blatantly anti-Israel measures at the Security Council – was initially seen as a parting blow to the Netanyahu government in Israel, but not part of an orchestrated effort by the Obama administration to target Israel.
US officials emphasized that the measure had been drafted by Egypt, with no indications the US had been involved in either the preparation or timing of the resolution.
But a new report by the NYT Thursday suggests that the Obama administration had in fact resolved to enable the resolution to be passed earlier in 2016, but used its influence to push off the UNSC vote until after the 2016 election.
"There is a reason the U.N. vote did not come up before the election in November," a former US official told NYT.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, stressed that the Obama White House was supportive of the resolution, but felt compelled to push off its passage until after the November election.
"Was it because you were going to lose voters to Donald Trump? No. It was because you were going to have skittish donors. That, and the fact that we didn't want Clinton to face pressure to condemn the resolution or be damaged by having to defend it."
Obama's deputy national security advisor, Ben Rhodes, went even further, arguing that the Obama administration, and much of the Democratic party's base, is far less sympathetic towards Israel than the party as a whole, with the "donor class" keeping party officials on an at least ostensibly pro-Israel line.
The Washington view of Israel-Palestine is still shaped by the donor class," Rhodes told the NYT. "The donor class is profoundly to the right of where the activists are, and frankly, where the majority of the Jewish community is."
6. SYRIAN TV CLAIMS ISRAEL ATTACKED IN ALEPPO
by Elad Benari
The official Syrian news agency SANA reported on Wednesday evening that heavy explosions were heard at the airport in the city of Aleppo.
According to the report, a number of "enemy airstrikes" struck the Shiekh Najjar District of the city.
Syrian state television reported that the attack was an Israeli attack and noted that "Syria's air defense forces intercepted several missiles."
It was also reported that the attack targeted warehouses used by the Iranian forces operating on Syrian soil.
The entire city of Aleppo is reportedly in darkness as the electricity flow to the city stopped immediately after the attack began.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that there were casualties in the attacks on Aleppo.
Last month, official Syrian media outlets claimed that Israeli tanks had opened fire on positions in Kuneitra on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights.
Subsequent reports claimed that the attack was an Israeli airstrike and that it killed two members of Iran's Revolutionary Guards.
Israel did not comment on the reports.
7. HUNDREDS ATTEND FUNERAL OF LONE SOLDIER
by Arutz Sheva Staff
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/261055
Close to 1,000 soldiers and civilians arrived Thursday at the military cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem to pay their last respects to IDF soldier Alex Sasaki, who passed away this week.
Sasaki, a lone soldier from the Golani Brigade who immigrated from the United States to contribute to the state through combat service in the IDF, was found dead earlier this week.
On various Facebook pages, an appeal was made to the public to attend Alex's funeral out of respect and appreciation for his contribution to the IDF.
Among the participants at the funeral were Alex's friends from the Golani Brigade, cadets in an officers' course who were on a tour of Jerusalem, and many citizens who wanted to pay him last respects and support his family in their time of distress.
One of the soldiers told Israel Hayom, "The Education Corps issued a statement about Alex's funeral so that as many soldiers as possible could come to accompany him on his last journey." Alex's friends in the Golani Brigade covered his grave with the earth of Jerusalem as some of them cried. Alex's commander, Yonatan Lux, said kaddish for him.
"Your friends and commanders saw you as an inspiration, a loyal friend who performs his responsibility in the best possible way," lamented Lieutenant Colonel Itai Matak, commander of the 12th Battalion. "You came to Israel, enlisted and chose the difficult and significant path. For me, you are the embodiment of Zionism. You brought calm and unity. We will remember your joy for life and your smile that remained even on the cold and hard nights."
8. POLL: LIKUD PULLS INTO TIE WITH BLUE AND WHITE
by David Rosenberg
The Likud party has pulled into a tie with the Blue and White party, according to a new poll, as the right-wing – religious bloc opens up a wider lead over the left-Arab bloc.
The new poll, conducted by the Midgam polling firm's Mano Geva and veteran pollster Mina Tzemach on behalf of Channel 13, gives the Likud 30 seats – identical to the number the center-left Blue and White party is projected to win.
As a whole, the parties affiliated with the Israeli Right or the haredi bloc – the Likud, Union of Right-Wing Parties, New Right, Shas, United Torah Judaism, Kulanu, Yisrael Beytenu, and Zehut - would win a total of 64 seats if new elections were held today.
The left-wing and center-left parties would win 45 seats, while the two Arab lists would win 11 mandates, the poll shows.
After the Likud and Blue and White party, the third largest party, if new elections were held today, would be Labor with 10 seats.
The far-left Meretz faction would win five – the same number it won in 2015 – and the two Arab lists would win a combined 11 seats – seven for the Hadash-Ta'al list, and four for the United Arab List-Balad ticket.
Gesher, the party of former Yisrael Beytenu MK Orly Levy, would fail to pass the minimum threshold. Yisrael Beytenu would also fail to pass the threshold.
The center-right Kulanu would win four seats if new elections were held today, as would the haredi Shas party. The United Torah Judaism faction would win seven seats, as would the Union of Right-Wing Parties and the libertarian-leaning Zehut. The New Right would win five seats.
Thursday, March 28, 2019
A7News: Hundreds attend funeral of lone soldier
Arutz Sheva Daily Israel Report
http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com
------------------------------------------------
Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
Thursday, Mar. 28 '19, כ"א באדר ב תשע"ט
HEADLINES:
1. HUNDREDS ATTEND FUNERAL OF LONE SOLDIER
2. 'HAARETZ HAS BEEN ANNOYING US FOR ABOUT A CENTURY'
3. FARMERS EXPELLED FROM GUSH KATIF SHAFTED YET AGAIN
4. LEBANESE-AMERICAN ANALYST: PALESTINIANS HAVE BEEN REFUSING PEACE
5. 'BREAKING THE SILENCE GATHERS INFO ON CONSCRIPTED SOLDIERS'
6. SYRIAN TV CLAIMS ISRAEL ATTACKED IN ALEPPO
7. WATCH: NETANYAHU SAYS US AND ISRAEL WILL NEVER BE PULLED APART
8. POLL: LIKUD LEADS BLUE AND WHITE
1. HUNDREDS ATTEND FUNERAL OF LONE SOLDIER
by Arutz Sheva Staff
Close to 1,000 soldiers and civilians arrived Thursday at the military cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem to pay their last respects to IDF soldier Alex Sasaki, who passed away this week.
Sasaki, a lone soldier from the Golani Brigade who immigrated from the United States to contribute to the state through combat service in the IDF, was found dead earlier this week.
On various Facebook pages, an appeal was made to the public to attend Alex's funeral out of respect and appreciation for his contribution to the IDF.
Among the participants at the funeral were Alex's friends from the Golani Brigade, cadets in an officers' course who were on a tour of Jerusalem, and many citizens who wanted to pay him last respects and support his family in their time of distress.
One of the soldiers told Israel Hayom, "The Education Corps issued a statement about Alex's funeral so that as many soldiers as possible could come to accompany him on his last journey." Alex's friends in the Golani Brigade covered his grave with the earth of Jerusalem as some of them cried. Alex's commander, Yonatan Lux, said kaddish for him.
"Your friends and commanders saw you as an inspiration, a loyal friend who performs his responsibility in the best possible way," lamented Lieutenant Colonel Itai Matak, commander of the 12th Battalion. "You came to Israel, enlisted and chose the difficult and significant path. For me, you are the embodiment of Zionism. You brought calm and unity. We will remember your joy for life and your smile that remained even on the cold and hard nights."
2. 'HAARETZ HAS BEEN ANNOYING US FOR ABOUT A CENTURY'
by Arutz Sheva Staff
President Rivlin today, Thursday, opened the Haaretz Israel Democracy Conference.
The president began his remarks by saying "one hundred years of independent Hebrew journalism should not be taken for granted. One hundred years of giving a platform to crucial and civil discussion and debate is hugely important."
"Haaretz succeeds in annoying and irritating us all from time to time, for more or less a century," said the president. "I have been reading Haaretz for 70 years so I know what I don't agree with, and when they write good things about me in Haaretz, I am really worried and have a good look at what I have done. And yet, I think that it is one of the most important newspapers for the existence of Israeli democracy."
"It has always been committed to giving space to opposing and contradictory voices in its editorials. It has committed to the principle that democracy is not only majority rule. It is committed to the principle of giving a voice to the voiceless. Sometimes it is irritating, sometimes absolutely infuriating, and on the contrary, I sometimes ask myself – perhaps they are right? In any case, I wish us all that we continue to be irritated by this important publication for the next hundred years," he continued.
President Rivlin added, "Journalism and newspapers are supposed to be the oxygen and the disinfectant of democracy. A place where all views are heard, but also a place where facts are established. I know that public trust in the 'media', in journalism and journalists, is at a low. I also know that more and more newspapers see their role as combatants in the political sphere. But it is important to remember, particularly now, that the survival of the traditional press is vital for democracy. In the age of social media, the age of fake news, when everybody can be a self-appointed journalist, journalistic standards are critically important: to filter, to check, to search for the truth. Only if the traditional press maintains these standards, which have been neglected, of fairness, accuracy, proportionality, allowing the right of response and the right of everyone to their reputation – only then can it fight for its place and ensure its survival in the long run. A place where everything is published, without distinction between truth and lies, between reality and fantasy, between news and promoted content, is a place without free press. And a place without free press is not democracy."
"Right now, those standing for election to the Knesset are under examination, but the free press itself is also under the spotlight – its standards, its sifting of important and trivial, its ability to ensure that we citizens are as well-informed about the positions of the candidates and those who seek to lead us," he continued.
"My dear friends, it is not easy to be a president who is invited to speak at conferences during election season. Rather than continue to choose my words carefully, let me return to the previous century and speak about Salman Schocken."
The president spoke about Salman Schocken: "Salman was a man of vision and of deed. He saw the vital need to develop and strengthen the Jewish spiritual and cultural foundations of the Zionist endeavor. Allow me to also think out loud, for a moment. Although Salman 'only' bought the paper as a wedding present for his son, I think in honor of Haaretz's centenary, it would be right to revive the paper's Judaism supplement – in his name. Today, Haaretz flies the flag of democracy, but perhaps a comprehensive supplement would give voice to a wider discussion on Zionist ideology that believes in the right and the duty of the Jewish people to create a democratic framework for the state in the Land of Israel."
3. FARMERS EXPELLED FROM GUSH KATIF SHAFTED YET AGAIN
by Mordechai Sones
Can the State, which has given agricultural land to Gush Katif evacuees to help rehabilitate them, demand the land back? The court will have to decide the matter following a mammoth suit filed by agricultural families from Gush Katif evacuees, Israel Hayom reported.
According to the families, including the family of former MK Tzvi Hendel, only after they built themselves up and invested tens of millions of shekels constructing greenhouses and other working structures, the State claimed there was a problem with the land rendering it impossible to build greenhouses there.
In a petition filed with the Central District Court against the Israel Lands Authority, it was claimed that the families received land after they were evacuated from Ganei Tal and received land for housing and agriculture in Geranium Park in the Ashkelon area. However, according to the families, they received notice from the State they would have to evacuate the land without compensation or an alternative arrangement.
According to them, the State has undertaken to be able to establish greenhouses and engage in agriculture. The State also provided them with a building permit and gave them a lease agreement. But after a few years they received notice that they had to dismantle the greenhouses because wells were discovered in the area, so the land may not be used for real estate.
According to the families, the damage they will suffer from reneging on the agreement, the dismantling and the transfer may reach tens of millions of shekels and bring about their economic collapse.
4. LEBANESE-AMERICAN ANALYST: PALESTINIANS HAVE BEEN REFUSING PEACE
by Mordechai Sones
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/261050
American Mideast Coalition for Democracy Co-Chair Tom Harb said in an interview on Al-Alam TV (Iran) that the "Palestinians" began with their refusals of peace with Israel with the 1947 Partition Plan, explaining that Arab countries are starting to think about their own interest since the Palestinians haven't offered any solutions, reports the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).
He also said that Lebanon's economy is weak and that foreign companies are unwilling to invest in it because of Hezbollah's unchecked influence.
'Palestinians'
Flash 90
5. 'BREAKING THE SILENCE GATHERS INFO ON CONSCRIPTED SOLDIERS'
by Arutz Sheva Staff
The Ad Kan Organization is continuing to attack Breaking the Silence. In a new video, published for the first time since the Attorney General's contentious decision to close the complaint against Breaking the Silence due to a 'lack of public interest,' Ad Kan reveals that Breaking the Silence gathers intelligence information from conscripted soldiers, government employees and others.
The video begins with Breaking the Silence investigator Avichai Stoller attempting to calm down an undercover Ad Kan member worried about providing testimony. Stoller says, "Don't worry about it. We have interviewed conscripted soldiers. Like you know these things… also government employees and people who by law cannot be exposed."
Later in the video, another Breaking the Silence activist, Nadav Bigelman, is seen speaking to a group of activists saying, "Good morning, I am Nadav from Breaking the Silence. I gave testimony even while I was a conscripted soldier."
In a third part of the video, a conversation between an undercover Ad Kan member and Bigelman is played. The two discuss another female soldier and Bigelman says "Tell her I would like to speak with her. Let's sit down and talk and move on from there." The Ad Kan member responds, "Are you sure? But she is still a conscripted soldier?" Bigelman says, "For sure!" The Ad Kan member again asks, "But can she even give testimony now?" and Bigelman ends the discussion with, "Yes. People regularly interview while serving. Of course."
The end of the video quotes the decision of Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit who said, "And even if we assume that the organization possesses information it is not authorized to possess, it seems that there is no public interest in opening a criminal investigation." The video then asks, "Is there still no 'public interest'?"
Gilad Ach, Director of Ad Kan, said "It appears that Breaking the Silence receives millions of dollars from foreign governments, gathers classified military intelligence from soldiers and government employees still serving as conscripts, even with the knowledge that such actions violate the law.
"The recordings in the video prove that Breaking the Silence has no lines they will not cross to obtain the information they desire, including violating the law by interviewing soldiers and government employees still serving. The amount of intelligence information, the reliability of the information, and the ways it was obtained, all demand an investigation in order to protect IDF soldiers and determine where classified information is being stored. Moreover, the true reason for the gathering of this information by Breaking the Silence must be determined and we cannot accept a mere statement about 'a lack of public interest.'"
Breaking the Silence Spokesman Dean Issacharoff said in response, "Arutz Sheva hahaha."
It is worth recalling that just under three years ago, Channel 2 published a report about Breaking the Silence based on recordings provided by Ad Kan. The report demonstrated that Breaking the Silence gathers intelligence information on IDF soldiers. Later, Ad Kan filed a complaint with the police and Israeli Prosecutor's Office against Breaking the Silence. The complaint was rejected by the Prosecutor's Office. Ad Kan has continued to fight this decision by appealing to the Attorney General who recently ruled that the prosecution's decision should be upheld and that there is no 'public interest' in a criminal investigation.
Video (Hebrew):
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/261045
6. SYRIAN TV CLAIMS ISRAEL ATTACKED IN ALEPPO
by Elad Benari
The official Syrian news agency SANA reported on Wednesday evening that heavy explosions were heard at the airport in the city of Aleppo.
According to the report, a number of "enemy airstrikes" struck the Shiekh Najjar District of the city.
Syrian state television reported that the attack was an Israeli attack and noted that "Syria's air defense forces intercepted several missiles."
It was also reported that the attack targeted warehouses used by the Iranian forces operating on Syrian soil.
The entire city of Aleppo is reportedly in darkness as the electricity flow to the city stopped immediately after the attack began.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that there were casualties in the attacks on Aleppo.
Last month, official Syrian media outlets claimed that Israeli tanks had opened fire on positions in Kuneitra on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights.
Subsequent reports claimed that the attack was an Israeli airstrike and that it killed two members of Iran's Revolutionary Guards.
Israel did not comment on the reports.
7. WATCH: NETANYAHU SAYS US AND ISRAEL WILL NEVER BE PULLED APART
by Gary Willig
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/260943
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu addressed the AIPAC policy conference from Israel Tuesday.
Netanyahu had been scheduled to speak at Israel live in Washington DC. However, he flew back to Israel following the rocket attack on the town of Mishmeret which destroyed a home and injured seven people Monday morning.
The prime minister began by addressing Israel's ongoing military response to the rocket fire from Gaza. "We are prepared to do a lot more. We will do what is necessary to defend our people and to defend our state."
He praised the bipartisan support for Israel by both Republicans and Democrats, saying that that bipartisanship is "the way it should always be."
Netanyahu thanked US President Donald Trump for signing an official order recognizing Israel's sovereignty on the Golan Heights.
"Yesterday, at the White House, President Trump again made history. He formally recognized Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights. Now that decision deserves enormous applause," he said.
"The Golan Heights is indispensable for our defense. It's part of our history. When you put a shovel in the ground there, what you discover is the ruins of ancient synagogues. Jews lived there for thousands of years and the people of Israel have come back to the Golan. Israel holds the high ground, and we shall never, ever give it up. It's part of Israel," the prime minister said.
Netanyahu also thanked President Trump for recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, and withdrawing from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
He said that those who wish to pull the US and Israel apart "will fail. Our shared values are too deep, our shared interests are too strong, our shared destiny too intertwined."
"But having said that, I must tell you that we must never take anything for granted. Those who seek to defame this great organization AIPAC, those who seek to undermine America's support for Israel, they must be confronted. Despite what they claim, they do not merely criticize the policies of Israel's government. In Israel that happens every five minutes. They do something else. They spew venom that has long been directed at the Jewish people.
"Again the Jews are cast as a force for evil. Again the Jews are charged with disloyalty. Again the Jews are said to have too much influence, too much power, too much money," he said.
"Ladies and gentlemen, do you know what the best way to respond to this kind of hatred is? We read it just a few days ago in the book of Esther, when Mordechai confronted Haman of Persia. The best way to respond to those who espouse this kind of hatred is not to bow down to them, it's to stand up to them!
"The Jewish people do not bow down. We stand up, we fight, and we win!" Netanyahu declared.
"My friends, ladies and gentlemen, some people will just never get it. They'll never understand why the vast majority of Americans – Jews and non-Jews alike – support Israel.
In a jab at Rep. Ilan Omar, Netanyahu said: "Take it from this Benjamin, it's not about the Benjamins."
"The reason the people of America support Israel is not because they want our money, it's because they share our values. They just don't' get it. It's because America and Israel share a love of freedom and democracy. It's because we cherish individual rights and the rule of law. It's because we don't judge people by the color of their skin, their religion or their sexual orientation.
"I am proud of Israel's vibrant democracy, where no one – no one – is a second-class citizen. All of Israel's citizens are first-class citizens. All of Israel's citizens whether Jew or Arab, Muslim, Christian, or Druze, have exactly the same individual rights. We vote in the same elections. We're subject to the same laws. We study in the same universities. And we are also treated in the same hospitals.
"But Israel is also the one and only country on earth in which the Jewish people exercise our collective right of self-determination. And that right is expressed in the Star of David that is on our flag, in the Hatikvah that is our national anthem, in Hebrew our official language and most powerfully, in the right of every Jew across the world to automatically immigrate to Israel and become a citizen if they choose to do so.
"It is these features of our collective existence that the Nation State bill enshrined into an historic constitutional law. And contrary to the false attacks and allegations, it did not denigrate any individual rights, which remain sacred and equal for all our citizens. And it will always be that way.
"Israel will always be a democracy, just as Israel will always be the Jewish State, a place where all Jews anywhere can always call home, no matter how they pray or how they wish to conduct their lives. Israel is the home of all Jews.
"That is why we all celebrate today the democratic, Jewish State of Israel. We know the truth," he said.
8. POLL: LIKUD LEADS BLUE AND WHITE
by David Rosenberg
A new poll released Wednesday shows Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu positioned to win a fifth term as premier, with his Likud party leading its nearest competitor, the Blue and White party of former IDF chief of staff Benny Gantz.
According to the poll, conducted by Panels Politics for Walla!, the Likud holds a narrow lead over Blue and White, 31 to 30. That's a smaller margin than the three-seat lead the Likud enjoyed in the previous Panels Politics poll released last Tuesday, but still represents a better position for the Likud than other recent surveys, which show the Blue and White party leading by two to three mandates.
The new survey also shows Netanyahu's most likely coalition allies winning an outright majority in the 21st Knesset. The right-wing – religious bloc, including the Likud, United Torah Judaism, Shas, New Right, Union of Right-Wing Parties (URP) Kulanu, Yisrael Beytenu, and Zehut, would win a total of 68 seats if new elections were held today.
While the Likud fell slightly in the new poll, from 32 seats in last week's Panels Politics survey to 31, the libertarian-leaning Zehut rose from four to five, and the haredi UTJ rose from six to seven.
Shas and the center-right Kulanu remained stable at four a piece, while Yisrael Beytenu sank from five to four.
The New Right remained stable with six, and the Union of Right-Wing Parties – a joint ticket of the Jewish Home, National Union, and Otzma Yehudit – stayed at seven.
Former Yisrael Beytenu MK Orly Levy's center-left Gesher faction failed to cross the threshold in both last week and this week's surveys, with 2.6% of the vote in Wednesday's poll.
To enter the Knesset, a party must win 3.25% of the vote.
Labor rose from eight seats to nine, while the far-left Meretz fell from six to five.
The joint list of Hadash, the Israeli Arab communist party, and Ta'al, an Arab nationalist party, fell from nine seats to eight in this week's poll.
The second Arab party, a joint list of the United Arab List and Balad, did not pass the threshold, receiving just 1.9% of the vote.
http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com
------------------------------------------------
Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
Thursday, Mar. 28 '19, כ"א באדר ב תשע"ט
HEADLINES:
1. HUNDREDS ATTEND FUNERAL OF LONE SOLDIER
2. 'HAARETZ HAS BEEN ANNOYING US FOR ABOUT A CENTURY'
3. FARMERS EXPELLED FROM GUSH KATIF SHAFTED YET AGAIN
4. LEBANESE-AMERICAN ANALYST: PALESTINIANS HAVE BEEN REFUSING PEACE
5. 'BREAKING THE SILENCE GATHERS INFO ON CONSCRIPTED SOLDIERS'
6. SYRIAN TV CLAIMS ISRAEL ATTACKED IN ALEPPO
7. WATCH: NETANYAHU SAYS US AND ISRAEL WILL NEVER BE PULLED APART
8. POLL: LIKUD LEADS BLUE AND WHITE
1. HUNDREDS ATTEND FUNERAL OF LONE SOLDIER
by Arutz Sheva Staff
Close to 1,000 soldiers and civilians arrived Thursday at the military cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem to pay their last respects to IDF soldier Alex Sasaki, who passed away this week.
Sasaki, a lone soldier from the Golani Brigade who immigrated from the United States to contribute to the state through combat service in the IDF, was found dead earlier this week.
On various Facebook pages, an appeal was made to the public to attend Alex's funeral out of respect and appreciation for his contribution to the IDF.
Among the participants at the funeral were Alex's friends from the Golani Brigade, cadets in an officers' course who were on a tour of Jerusalem, and many citizens who wanted to pay him last respects and support his family in their time of distress.
One of the soldiers told Israel Hayom, "The Education Corps issued a statement about Alex's funeral so that as many soldiers as possible could come to accompany him on his last journey." Alex's friends in the Golani Brigade covered his grave with the earth of Jerusalem as some of them cried. Alex's commander, Yonatan Lux, said kaddish for him.
"Your friends and commanders saw you as an inspiration, a loyal friend who performs his responsibility in the best possible way," lamented Lieutenant Colonel Itai Matak, commander of the 12th Battalion. "You came to Israel, enlisted and chose the difficult and significant path. For me, you are the embodiment of Zionism. You brought calm and unity. We will remember your joy for life and your smile that remained even on the cold and hard nights."
2. 'HAARETZ HAS BEEN ANNOYING US FOR ABOUT A CENTURY'
by Arutz Sheva Staff
President Rivlin today, Thursday, opened the Haaretz Israel Democracy Conference.
The president began his remarks by saying "one hundred years of independent Hebrew journalism should not be taken for granted. One hundred years of giving a platform to crucial and civil discussion and debate is hugely important."
"Haaretz succeeds in annoying and irritating us all from time to time, for more or less a century," said the president. "I have been reading Haaretz for 70 years so I know what I don't agree with, and when they write good things about me in Haaretz, I am really worried and have a good look at what I have done. And yet, I think that it is one of the most important newspapers for the existence of Israeli democracy."
"It has always been committed to giving space to opposing and contradictory voices in its editorials. It has committed to the principle that democracy is not only majority rule. It is committed to the principle of giving a voice to the voiceless. Sometimes it is irritating, sometimes absolutely infuriating, and on the contrary, I sometimes ask myself – perhaps they are right? In any case, I wish us all that we continue to be irritated by this important publication for the next hundred years," he continued.
President Rivlin added, "Journalism and newspapers are supposed to be the oxygen and the disinfectant of democracy. A place where all views are heard, but also a place where facts are established. I know that public trust in the 'media', in journalism and journalists, is at a low. I also know that more and more newspapers see their role as combatants in the political sphere. But it is important to remember, particularly now, that the survival of the traditional press is vital for democracy. In the age of social media, the age of fake news, when everybody can be a self-appointed journalist, journalistic standards are critically important: to filter, to check, to search for the truth. Only if the traditional press maintains these standards, which have been neglected, of fairness, accuracy, proportionality, allowing the right of response and the right of everyone to their reputation – only then can it fight for its place and ensure its survival in the long run. A place where everything is published, without distinction between truth and lies, between reality and fantasy, between news and promoted content, is a place without free press. And a place without free press is not democracy."
"Right now, those standing for election to the Knesset are under examination, but the free press itself is also under the spotlight – its standards, its sifting of important and trivial, its ability to ensure that we citizens are as well-informed about the positions of the candidates and those who seek to lead us," he continued.
"My dear friends, it is not easy to be a president who is invited to speak at conferences during election season. Rather than continue to choose my words carefully, let me return to the previous century and speak about Salman Schocken."
The president spoke about Salman Schocken: "Salman was a man of vision and of deed. He saw the vital need to develop and strengthen the Jewish spiritual and cultural foundations of the Zionist endeavor. Allow me to also think out loud, for a moment. Although Salman 'only' bought the paper as a wedding present for his son, I think in honor of Haaretz's centenary, it would be right to revive the paper's Judaism supplement – in his name. Today, Haaretz flies the flag of democracy, but perhaps a comprehensive supplement would give voice to a wider discussion on Zionist ideology that believes in the right and the duty of the Jewish people to create a democratic framework for the state in the Land of Israel."
3. FARMERS EXPELLED FROM GUSH KATIF SHAFTED YET AGAIN
by Mordechai Sones
Can the State, which has given agricultural land to Gush Katif evacuees to help rehabilitate them, demand the land back? The court will have to decide the matter following a mammoth suit filed by agricultural families from Gush Katif evacuees, Israel Hayom reported.
According to the families, including the family of former MK Tzvi Hendel, only after they built themselves up and invested tens of millions of shekels constructing greenhouses and other working structures, the State claimed there was a problem with the land rendering it impossible to build greenhouses there.
In a petition filed with the Central District Court against the Israel Lands Authority, it was claimed that the families received land after they were evacuated from Ganei Tal and received land for housing and agriculture in Geranium Park in the Ashkelon area. However, according to the families, they received notice from the State they would have to evacuate the land without compensation or an alternative arrangement.
According to them, the State has undertaken to be able to establish greenhouses and engage in agriculture. The State also provided them with a building permit and gave them a lease agreement. But after a few years they received notice that they had to dismantle the greenhouses because wells were discovered in the area, so the land may not be used for real estate.
According to the families, the damage they will suffer from reneging on the agreement, the dismantling and the transfer may reach tens of millions of shekels and bring about their economic collapse.
4. LEBANESE-AMERICAN ANALYST: PALESTINIANS HAVE BEEN REFUSING PEACE
by Mordechai Sones
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/261050
American Mideast Coalition for Democracy Co-Chair Tom Harb said in an interview on Al-Alam TV (Iran) that the "Palestinians" began with their refusals of peace with Israel with the 1947 Partition Plan, explaining that Arab countries are starting to think about their own interest since the Palestinians haven't offered any solutions, reports the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).
He also said that Lebanon's economy is weak and that foreign companies are unwilling to invest in it because of Hezbollah's unchecked influence.
'Palestinians'
Flash 90
5. 'BREAKING THE SILENCE GATHERS INFO ON CONSCRIPTED SOLDIERS'
by Arutz Sheva Staff
The Ad Kan Organization is continuing to attack Breaking the Silence. In a new video, published for the first time since the Attorney General's contentious decision to close the complaint against Breaking the Silence due to a 'lack of public interest,' Ad Kan reveals that Breaking the Silence gathers intelligence information from conscripted soldiers, government employees and others.
The video begins with Breaking the Silence investigator Avichai Stoller attempting to calm down an undercover Ad Kan member worried about providing testimony. Stoller says, "Don't worry about it. We have interviewed conscripted soldiers. Like you know these things… also government employees and people who by law cannot be exposed."
Later in the video, another Breaking the Silence activist, Nadav Bigelman, is seen speaking to a group of activists saying, "Good morning, I am Nadav from Breaking the Silence. I gave testimony even while I was a conscripted soldier."
In a third part of the video, a conversation between an undercover Ad Kan member and Bigelman is played. The two discuss another female soldier and Bigelman says "Tell her I would like to speak with her. Let's sit down and talk and move on from there." The Ad Kan member responds, "Are you sure? But she is still a conscripted soldier?" Bigelman says, "For sure!" The Ad Kan member again asks, "But can she even give testimony now?" and Bigelman ends the discussion with, "Yes. People regularly interview while serving. Of course."
The end of the video quotes the decision of Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit who said, "And even if we assume that the organization possesses information it is not authorized to possess, it seems that there is no public interest in opening a criminal investigation." The video then asks, "Is there still no 'public interest'?"
Gilad Ach, Director of Ad Kan, said "It appears that Breaking the Silence receives millions of dollars from foreign governments, gathers classified military intelligence from soldiers and government employees still serving as conscripts, even with the knowledge that such actions violate the law.
"The recordings in the video prove that Breaking the Silence has no lines they will not cross to obtain the information they desire, including violating the law by interviewing soldiers and government employees still serving. The amount of intelligence information, the reliability of the information, and the ways it was obtained, all demand an investigation in order to protect IDF soldiers and determine where classified information is being stored. Moreover, the true reason for the gathering of this information by Breaking the Silence must be determined and we cannot accept a mere statement about 'a lack of public interest.'"
Breaking the Silence Spokesman Dean Issacharoff said in response, "Arutz Sheva hahaha."
It is worth recalling that just under three years ago, Channel 2 published a report about Breaking the Silence based on recordings provided by Ad Kan. The report demonstrated that Breaking the Silence gathers intelligence information on IDF soldiers. Later, Ad Kan filed a complaint with the police and Israeli Prosecutor's Office against Breaking the Silence. The complaint was rejected by the Prosecutor's Office. Ad Kan has continued to fight this decision by appealing to the Attorney General who recently ruled that the prosecution's decision should be upheld and that there is no 'public interest' in a criminal investigation.
Video (Hebrew):
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/261045
6. SYRIAN TV CLAIMS ISRAEL ATTACKED IN ALEPPO
by Elad Benari
The official Syrian news agency SANA reported on Wednesday evening that heavy explosions were heard at the airport in the city of Aleppo.
According to the report, a number of "enemy airstrikes" struck the Shiekh Najjar District of the city.
Syrian state television reported that the attack was an Israeli attack and noted that "Syria's air defense forces intercepted several missiles."
It was also reported that the attack targeted warehouses used by the Iranian forces operating on Syrian soil.
The entire city of Aleppo is reportedly in darkness as the electricity flow to the city stopped immediately after the attack began.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that there were casualties in the attacks on Aleppo.
Last month, official Syrian media outlets claimed that Israeli tanks had opened fire on positions in Kuneitra on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights.
Subsequent reports claimed that the attack was an Israeli airstrike and that it killed two members of Iran's Revolutionary Guards.
Israel did not comment on the reports.
7. WATCH: NETANYAHU SAYS US AND ISRAEL WILL NEVER BE PULLED APART
by Gary Willig
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/260943
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu addressed the AIPAC policy conference from Israel Tuesday.
Netanyahu had been scheduled to speak at Israel live in Washington DC. However, he flew back to Israel following the rocket attack on the town of Mishmeret which destroyed a home and injured seven people Monday morning.
The prime minister began by addressing Israel's ongoing military response to the rocket fire from Gaza. "We are prepared to do a lot more. We will do what is necessary to defend our people and to defend our state."
He praised the bipartisan support for Israel by both Republicans and Democrats, saying that that bipartisanship is "the way it should always be."
Netanyahu thanked US President Donald Trump for signing an official order recognizing Israel's sovereignty on the Golan Heights.
"Yesterday, at the White House, President Trump again made history. He formally recognized Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights. Now that decision deserves enormous applause," he said.
"The Golan Heights is indispensable for our defense. It's part of our history. When you put a shovel in the ground there, what you discover is the ruins of ancient synagogues. Jews lived there for thousands of years and the people of Israel have come back to the Golan. Israel holds the high ground, and we shall never, ever give it up. It's part of Israel," the prime minister said.
Netanyahu also thanked President Trump for recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, and withdrawing from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
He said that those who wish to pull the US and Israel apart "will fail. Our shared values are too deep, our shared interests are too strong, our shared destiny too intertwined."
"But having said that, I must tell you that we must never take anything for granted. Those who seek to defame this great organization AIPAC, those who seek to undermine America's support for Israel, they must be confronted. Despite what they claim, they do not merely criticize the policies of Israel's government. In Israel that happens every five minutes. They do something else. They spew venom that has long been directed at the Jewish people.
"Again the Jews are cast as a force for evil. Again the Jews are charged with disloyalty. Again the Jews are said to have too much influence, too much power, too much money," he said.
"Ladies and gentlemen, do you know what the best way to respond to this kind of hatred is? We read it just a few days ago in the book of Esther, when Mordechai confronted Haman of Persia. The best way to respond to those who espouse this kind of hatred is not to bow down to them, it's to stand up to them!
"The Jewish people do not bow down. We stand up, we fight, and we win!" Netanyahu declared.
"My friends, ladies and gentlemen, some people will just never get it. They'll never understand why the vast majority of Americans – Jews and non-Jews alike – support Israel.
In a jab at Rep. Ilan Omar, Netanyahu said: "Take it from this Benjamin, it's not about the Benjamins."
"The reason the people of America support Israel is not because they want our money, it's because they share our values. They just don't' get it. It's because America and Israel share a love of freedom and democracy. It's because we cherish individual rights and the rule of law. It's because we don't judge people by the color of their skin, their religion or their sexual orientation.
"I am proud of Israel's vibrant democracy, where no one – no one – is a second-class citizen. All of Israel's citizens are first-class citizens. All of Israel's citizens whether Jew or Arab, Muslim, Christian, or Druze, have exactly the same individual rights. We vote in the same elections. We're subject to the same laws. We study in the same universities. And we are also treated in the same hospitals.
"But Israel is also the one and only country on earth in which the Jewish people exercise our collective right of self-determination. And that right is expressed in the Star of David that is on our flag, in the Hatikvah that is our national anthem, in Hebrew our official language and most powerfully, in the right of every Jew across the world to automatically immigrate to Israel and become a citizen if they choose to do so.
"It is these features of our collective existence that the Nation State bill enshrined into an historic constitutional law. And contrary to the false attacks and allegations, it did not denigrate any individual rights, which remain sacred and equal for all our citizens. And it will always be that way.
"Israel will always be a democracy, just as Israel will always be the Jewish State, a place where all Jews anywhere can always call home, no matter how they pray or how they wish to conduct their lives. Israel is the home of all Jews.
"That is why we all celebrate today the democratic, Jewish State of Israel. We know the truth," he said.
8. POLL: LIKUD LEADS BLUE AND WHITE
by David Rosenberg
A new poll released Wednesday shows Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu positioned to win a fifth term as premier, with his Likud party leading its nearest competitor, the Blue and White party of former IDF chief of staff Benny Gantz.
According to the poll, conducted by Panels Politics for Walla!, the Likud holds a narrow lead over Blue and White, 31 to 30. That's a smaller margin than the three-seat lead the Likud enjoyed in the previous Panels Politics poll released last Tuesday, but still represents a better position for the Likud than other recent surveys, which show the Blue and White party leading by two to three mandates.
The new survey also shows Netanyahu's most likely coalition allies winning an outright majority in the 21st Knesset. The right-wing – religious bloc, including the Likud, United Torah Judaism, Shas, New Right, Union of Right-Wing Parties (URP) Kulanu, Yisrael Beytenu, and Zehut, would win a total of 68 seats if new elections were held today.
While the Likud fell slightly in the new poll, from 32 seats in last week's Panels Politics survey to 31, the libertarian-leaning Zehut rose from four to five, and the haredi UTJ rose from six to seven.
Shas and the center-right Kulanu remained stable at four a piece, while Yisrael Beytenu sank from five to four.
The New Right remained stable with six, and the Union of Right-Wing Parties – a joint ticket of the Jewish Home, National Union, and Otzma Yehudit – stayed at seven.
Former Yisrael Beytenu MK Orly Levy's center-left Gesher faction failed to cross the threshold in both last week and this week's surveys, with 2.6% of the vote in Wednesday's poll.
To enter the Knesset, a party must win 3.25% of the vote.
Labor rose from eight seats to nine, while the far-left Meretz fell from six to five.
The joint list of Hadash, the Israeli Arab communist party, and Ta'al, an Arab nationalist party, fell from nine seats to eight in this week's poll.
The second Arab party, a joint list of the United Arab List and Balad, did not pass the threshold, receiving just 1.9% of the vote.
Wednesday, March 27, 2019
A7News: EU: No recognition of 'Israeli occupied' Golan Heights
Arutz Sheva Daily Israel Report
http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com
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Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
Wednesday, Mar. 27 '19, כ' באדר ב תשע"ט
HEADLINES:
1. EU: NO RECOGNITION OF 'ISRAELI OCCUPIED' GOLAN HEIGHTS
2. JEWISH HOME: 'WE'LL CREATE A BLOC WITH NEW RIGHT, HAREDIM'
3. REPORT: 1 KILLED DURING CLASHES WITH IDF SOUTH OF JERUSALEM
4. RAINFALL TO INCREASE TOWARDS WEEKEND
5. RIGHT-RELIGIOUS BLOC OPENS UP DOUBLE-DIGIT LEAD IN POLL
6. IDF CONFIRMS: ATTACK ON GAZA BEGINS
7. IRAN ORDERED ROCKET ATTACK, AIMED TO HURT NETANYAHU IN ELECTION
8. NIKKI HALEY AT AIPAC: 'I WANT YOU TO HAVE HOPE'
1. EU: NO RECOGNITION OF 'ISRAELI OCCUPIED' GOLAN HEIGHTS
by David Rosenberg
The European Union will not recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights despite the US decision to alter its policy vis-à-vis the strategic plateau, the EU's foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini's office said in a statement Wednesday.
"The position of the European Union as regards the status of the Golan Heights has not changed," Mogherini's office said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.
The EU's foreign affairs office cited two United Nations Security Council resolutions regarding the Six Day War and Israel's annexation of the Golan in 1981.
In line with the international law and UN Security Council resolutions 242 and 497, the European Union does not recognize Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights."
United Nations Security Council Resolution 242, passed months after the 1967 Six Day War, calls for an unspecified "Withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict."
Israel has pointed to the UN Security Council's rejection of drafts calling for a withdrawal "from all territories" or "from the territories" and adoption of a version which does not specify the extent of the withdrawal as proof that the resolution does not require surrender of all territories taken in 1967.
The second resolution cited by the EU, United Nations Security Council Resolution 497, was passed in December 1981, declaring Israel's Golan Heights Law, which effectively annexed the Golan, "null and void".
Before this week, the US, like most foreign powers, had either explicitly rejected Israel's annexation of the Golan, or declined to recognize it.
On Monday, however, President Donald Trump ended the decades-long policy of non-recognition, signing an executive order recognizing the two-thirds of the Golan Heights under Israeli control as Israeli sovereign territory.
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/260995
2. JEWISH HOME: 'WE'LL CREATE A BLOC WITH NEW RIGHT, HAREDIM'
by Michal Levi, Chana Roberts
MK Bezalel Smotrich, who heads the United Right's National Union faction, on Wednesday morning said that after elections, he will work to create a bloc with New Right Chairman Education Minister Naftali Bennett and the haredi parties.
"After the elections, we will coordinate with Bennett and the haredi parties, and we will come to [Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin] Netanyahu as a technical bloc with clear demands in the areas of security, Torah, and more," Smotrich told Kol Barama radio.
Recent polls have shown conflicting results: On Sunday, a poll by Midgam gave the Blue and White, Labor, Meretz, Gesher, and the two Arab parties – slim majority of 61 seats in the 120-member Knesset.
However, a poll released Wednesday showed the pro-Netanyahu bloc regaining its majority, with a projected 63 seats.
Most of the parties have declared loyalty to either Gantz or Netanyahu, expressing a refusal to sit with the other side. However, a few of the smaller parties, potentially the deciding factor in the elections, have not refused to sit with either side.
3. REPORT: 1 KILLED DURING CLASHES WITH IDF SOUTH OF JERUSALEM
by Arutz Sheva Staff
The Palestinian Authority's health ministry claimed Wednesday morning that one person was killed and three more wounded after Arab rioters clashed with Israeli security forces outside of the city of Bethlehem, south of Jerusalem.
According to the PA, the man was shot and killed during riots in the Dheisheh neighborhood adjacent to Bethlehem.
The PA media outlet WAFA identified the man as Sajid Abdul Hakim Mezher. According to the WAFA report, Mezher was shot in the stomach during the riots, and was evacuated to the Arab Society Hospital in Beit Jala for treatment.
After his arrival, Mezher was declared dead.
Three other people were wounded during the clashes with Israeli security personnel, WAFA reported.
The riots broke out after Israeli forces arrested three terror suspects in the area during a series of raids.
The IDF declined to comment on the report, AFP said.
4. RAINFALL TO INCREASE TOWARDS WEEKEND
by Arutz Sheva Staff
The last week of March may not be the end of winter. Though forecasters aren't predicting more hail, rainfall is expected to continue throughout the week, increasing over the weekend.
Wednesday will be partly cloudy. There may be local rainfall in northern and central Israel, and winds will pick up. Temperatures will remain lower than seasonal average.
Wednesday night will be partly cloudy and rain may fall in northern Israel.
Thursday will be partly cloudy with a slight rise in temperature, and a chance of local rainfall in northern Israel.
Friday will be partly cloudy or cloudy, and rain may fall across the country. There may be a isolated thunderstorms, and Israel's southern and eastern streams may flood. Southern Israel may be hazy. Temperatures will be slightly higher than seasonal average.
Saturday will be partly cloudy or cloudy, with a drop in temperatures. There may be local rains and thunderstorms in northern Israel. Southern Israel is expected to be hazy. The rains will pick up on Saturday night, spreading across the country. Southern and eastern streams may flood.
5. RIGHT-RELIGIOUS BLOC OPENS UP DOUBLE-DIGIT LEAD IN POLL
by David Rosenberg
The Blue and White party continues to lead the Likud, even as the right-wing – religious bloc gains strength over the left-wing – Arab bloc, a new poll shows.
According to a survey conducted by Direct Polls on behalf of Kan, the Blue and White party – formed by a merger of the Yesh Atid faction with former IDF Chief Benny Gantz's Israel Resilience faction and the smaller Telem party – would win 30 seats if elections were held today.
The Likud would come in a close second at 28, two less than the party currently holds.
Despite the left-leaning Blue and White party's narrow lead, however, the eight right-leaning and haredi parties expanded their combined share of the projected vote, from 63 seats in the previous Direct Polls survey to 65.
The New Right would win seven seats if new elections were held today – one seat higher than its performance in last week's Direct Polls survey – while the Union of Right-Wing Parties fell by one seat, from six to five.
The center-right Kulanu faction of Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, which won 10 seats in 2015 but failed to cross the threshold in last week's poll, jumped to six mandates in Wednesday's survey.
By contrast, Yisrael Beytenu, which won four seats in last week's poll, failed to cross the threshold on Wednesday, receiving just 2.1% of the vote, below the 3.25% minimum.
The Zehut party, which combines libertarian positions on socio-economic issues with support for Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria, rose this week from four seats to six in the new poll.
The Gesher party, which was founded by former Yisrael Beytenu MK Orly Levy, who bolted when her faction joined the Netanyahu government in 2016, received just 2.6% of the projected vote in the poll, failing to cross the threshold.
The left-wing Labor party, which won 19 seats in 2015, fell to just 8 in the latest poll, one below its performance in last week's Direct Polls survey.
Meretz also fell by one seat over the past week, from six mandates last week to five on Wednesday.
The two Arab lists – Hadash-Ta'al and the United Arab List-Balad tickets – would win a combined 12 seats, five for UAL-Balad and seven for Hadash-Ta'al.
Another poll released Wednesday also found the right-wing – religious bloc gaining ground, rising from 59 seats in Sunday's poll to 63 in today's survey.
That survey, conducted by Midgam for IDF Radio – Galey Tzahal also showed the Likud with 28 and the Blue and White with 30.
6. IDF CONFIRMS: ATTACK ON GAZA BEGINS
by Gary Willig
The IDF confirmed Monday afternoon that the military response to the firing of a rocket at central Israel by terrorists in the Gaza Strip had begun.
The IDF Spokesperson issued a statement stating that the IDF had begun to attack targets belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization throughout the Gaza Strip.
The action was after a rocket was fired at Moshav Mishmeret in the Sharon region, hit a house and wounded seven civilians.
Arab media reported that the Israeli Air Force had attacked several locations in the Gaza Strip.
Earlier, the IDF announced that in view of the situation assessment and as part of upgraded preparedness measures, the Gaza Division decided to block areas and roads adjacent to the Gaza security fence. It was also decided to stop agricultural work in areas adjacent to the fence.
Blocked areas and routes include Givat Kobi in Sderot, Giv'at HaPa'amonim, the Black Arrow site, Givat Nazemit, Lone Horseman Hill, Highway 4 from Yad Mordechai Junction to Netiv Ha'asara and Highway 25 from Sa'ad Junction to Kibbutz Nahal Oz.
Additionally, all Gaza area authority departments were canceled this afternoon. Meanwhile, incendiary balloons continue to be launched from the Gaza Strip. At noon such balloons were located in Kiryat Gat near the railroad tracks.
Eshkol Regional Council sent a message to its residents cancelling all afternoon activities for area children. "Dear parents, in view of the security tensions, it was decided to cancel department activities this afternoon, which will end at 15:45. All activity beyond this hour is canceled for today."
UN Special Envoy to the Middle East Nikolai Mladanov referred to the morning rocket fire from Gaza into Israel: "The launch that hit a house north of Tel Aviv and wounded seven people is entirely unacceptable. This is a very serious incident. The UN is working with Egypt all the time and with all sides but the situation remains very tense."
The IDF announced it would deploy reserves to Iron Dome batteries and Home Front Command, and transfer an armored brigade and infantry brigade to Gaza.
7. IRAN ORDERED ROCKET ATTACK, AIMED TO HURT NETANYAHU IN ELECTION
by David Rosenberg
After some Hamas officials claimed a rocket attack on central Israel early Monday morning which injured seven had been 'accidental' or caused by 'bad weather', senior officials in the Gaza-based terror organization and Egypt now say that the attack was intentional – and carried out at the behest of Iran, with the intention of altering the outcome of Israel's upcoming general election.
A senior Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed to Israel Hayom Tuesday that the rocket which struck the Wolf family home in the town of Mishmeret in central Israel Monday and injured seven Israelis had been fired at the urging of Tehran.
The Hamas official claimed that Iran had "gone over the heads" of Hamas' leadership, directly ordering a cell operating out of the Gaza Strip to carry out the attack. The cell has been identified as part of the Islamic Jihad organization, a rival terrorist group which operates in the Gaza Strip and Judea and Samaria.
While senior officials in both Egypt and Gaza confirmed that Iran had ordered the attack, they claimed that Hamas' military leadership was aware of the plans to fire a rocket deep into Israeli territory – a major escalation of the conflict between Gaza and the Jewish state – adding that the leaders of Hamas' armed wing gave their blessing to the attack.
"It is definitely possible that senior Hamas leaders were not informed of the attack," said a senior Egyptian intelligence official involved in mediating talks between Israel and Hamas. "However, the leaders of the military wing of Hamas were notified and even coordinated with the Islamic Jihad's leadership, which was responsible for the preparations [for the attack]."
The senior Hamas official who spoke with Israel Hayom said that while the directive to launch the attack came from Tehran, Hamas also hoped the sudden escalation could help drive Netanyahu from office by harming his chances of winning reelection in next month's Knesset election.
"In Gaza, it is believed that Israel won't launch a major operation in Gaza two weeks before the elections," the official said. Hamas was surprised when Israel responded overnight with a series of airstrikes on Gaza, rejecting Hamas overtures delivered via Egypt for "quiet in exchange for quiet".
Israeli aircraft bombed dozens of Hamas targets across the Gaza Strip overnight in retaliation for the Monday rocket attack. According to a report by AFP, seven Gazans were injured in the IDF attacks.
During the airstrikes, Gaza-based terrorists launched dozens of rockets towards Israeli territory. While Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile defense system was activated during the attacks, one rocket hit and damaged a home in the town of Sderot in southwestern Israel. No injuries were reported.
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/260933
8. NIKKI HALEY AT AIPAC: 'I WANT YOU TO HAVE HOPE'
by Mordechai Sones
Former American Ambassador of the United States of America to the United Nations Nikki Haley spoke at the American Israel Public Affairs Council (AIPAC) conference in Washington, D.C.
Her appearance came as reports arrived that Hamas launched rockets from Gaza that smashed into a home right outside of Tel Aviv injuring a family of seven, including a toddler and an infant.
Haley was asked how during her UN tenure she would ensure it was clear the U.S. stood with Israel in these types of incidents.
Haley answered, "You know, what's interesting is at the U.N., I can guarantee you this morning it is radio silent. They are not saying anything about Hamas, they're not saying anything about the lives lost, they're not saying anything, but if it was any one of those countries, they'd be calling an emergency security council meeting.
"But this is where I want you to have hope, because in all these years, last year for the first time, the majority of the general membership of the U.N. voted for a resolution that acknowledged Hamas and acknowledged the terror that they were spreading and acknowledged how bad they were. That was an amazing thing and what we have to make sure they know is Hamas is a terrorist group that needs to be stopped and we can't ever be quiet about it."
Haley was asked why it seems the U.N. historically has focused on the Israeli response to an attack versus the attack itself. Haley replied: "What I've learned is at the U.N., it's just been this way for so long that they do that, but the story behind one of my meetings was I was meeting with a couple of Arab countries and we were talking about Yemen and one of them said, I just don't understand why isn't anybody calling out Hezbollah, why aren't they sitting there saying something about what's being done all of these things that are happening, because they were upset that that terrorist group was doing something they shouldn't be doing.
"And I turned around and I said, if you're upset about that, what's the difference between that and Hamas and Israel? They were stunned, but when our meeting was over, they pulled me to the side and they said, you're right, we know you're right, but we have to do this for our constituents. That's what they're doing this for. It's for sound bites for their constituents.
"They don't honestly think that way. It's just they've done it for so long they do what they think they've always had to do."
Recounting some of her brightest accomplishments, Haley began by saying " Still being alive today. Surviving the U.N. was -- surviving and I still have my heels on, by the way... I hope everybody in this audience is really proud of what we accomplished at the U.N., because if we just go down the list, we got out of UNESCO, we got out of the Iran deal and pointed the finger where it needed to be pointed, which was on Iran, we got out of The Human Rights Council, which for once, now other countries are actually holding the burden and realizing they need to do something about the anti-Israel bias.
"We got them to acknowledge Hamas for the first time and by the way, we moved the Embassy to Jerusalem. We got the Israeli bashing session that happened every month to not sit there and just bash Israel, we actually started a conversation about what really are the issues in the Middle East, like what was happening in Yemen, like what was happening with terrorists, like what we were trying to do in all of these other countries that mattered as opposed to it being about Israel."
Haley told of moments when the UN's focus was directed at Israel: "It was like everybody was bullying this kid in the corner and it was abusive and it was wrong and it was just unwarranted. That was the biggest thing is it was unwarranted. You know, here was such a strong democracy sitting in a neighborhood that's so dangerous and in any other situation, you'd be lifting that country up and having their back and instead they were kicking them.
"And so really, when you see something like that, whether it's Israel or anything else, you have to stand up and fight. You have to stand up and fight for those that don't think they can stand up for themselves. You look at Israel now, Israel's alive and kicking and they're going to continue to do that."
Haley explained why in her opinion there is such reluctance to have fairness and balance when it comes to Israel in the UN: "I think this goes back to after the 1967 War. I think that everyone suddenly realized that Israel couldn't be defeated and what that meant was they had to go after them diplomatically. And so all of the Arab countries led the charge on going after them diplomatically and because of their influence, because of the oil, because of so many other reasons, other countries felt the need to follow them.
"And that is why, towards the end, we absolutely called out the Arab countries on what they were doing and we need to keep doing that, because at the end of the day, I don't know that they believe this anymore. I think they've done it because they always have, but even you could see the embarrassment.
"You could see the fact none of the countries wanted to be called out. You could see the fact that they were actually looking in the mirror and I think we just can't let up on that."
Haley also discussed Iranian aggression: "I think we have to isolate Iran like we isolated North Korea, because they're one in the same. They're doing the same thing. They're suppressing their people; they're building up their military weapons. I mean, we have to separate them and make them feel isolated and I think we did that by getting out of the Iran deal. I think the Europeans are starting to realize that that's not going to be sustainable and they're going to have to come up with another option.
"I think we need to stop with the waivers. If you want to talk about BDS, if you were doing business with Iran, that's who we should be talking about in terms of a country that we don't want to have any companies do business with."
Haley concluded saying "I do want to end on one note, because after coming out of the U.N., there's something that I think is very important to everybody, the way the political atmosphere is right now it's so toxic. It's so toxic and you know how you know it's toxic is because if you put a good piece of legislation on the table, everybody wants to know whose it is first before they decide whether to support it. That's wrong.
"Political parties now see each other as evil and they're not evil, because I've seen evil. I've seen, in Democratic Republic of Congo, where the military comes in and I've heard women who've said they've taken their babies and thrown them in fires, I've been to South Sudan where they use rape as a weapon of war, I've watched as Assad has killed innocent children with chemical weapons.
"I've stood on the bridge outside of Venezuela where the average adult has lost 24 pounds trying to cross over that bridge in the hot sun just to get to one meal they're going to have that day. That's evil. What we have are issues, but those aren't evil, they're just our opponents. It's just policy. And on our worst day, America has so much to be blessed for. Every one of us should feel blessed every single day.
"So like stop the finger-pointing and stop the fighting and let's get some things done, but remind everyone that we are blessed, be grateful about it and never stop using the power of your voice, because it matters. It really does matter," said Nikky Haley.
http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com
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Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
Wednesday, Mar. 27 '19, כ' באדר ב תשע"ט
HEADLINES:
1. EU: NO RECOGNITION OF 'ISRAELI OCCUPIED' GOLAN HEIGHTS
2. JEWISH HOME: 'WE'LL CREATE A BLOC WITH NEW RIGHT, HAREDIM'
3. REPORT: 1 KILLED DURING CLASHES WITH IDF SOUTH OF JERUSALEM
4. RAINFALL TO INCREASE TOWARDS WEEKEND
5. RIGHT-RELIGIOUS BLOC OPENS UP DOUBLE-DIGIT LEAD IN POLL
6. IDF CONFIRMS: ATTACK ON GAZA BEGINS
7. IRAN ORDERED ROCKET ATTACK, AIMED TO HURT NETANYAHU IN ELECTION
8. NIKKI HALEY AT AIPAC: 'I WANT YOU TO HAVE HOPE'
1. EU: NO RECOGNITION OF 'ISRAELI OCCUPIED' GOLAN HEIGHTS
by David Rosenberg
The European Union will not recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights despite the US decision to alter its policy vis-à-vis the strategic plateau, the EU's foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini's office said in a statement Wednesday.
"The position of the European Union as regards the status of the Golan Heights has not changed," Mogherini's office said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.
The EU's foreign affairs office cited two United Nations Security Council resolutions regarding the Six Day War and Israel's annexation of the Golan in 1981.
In line with the international law and UN Security Council resolutions 242 and 497, the European Union does not recognize Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights."
United Nations Security Council Resolution 242, passed months after the 1967 Six Day War, calls for an unspecified "Withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict."
Israel has pointed to the UN Security Council's rejection of drafts calling for a withdrawal "from all territories" or "from the territories" and adoption of a version which does not specify the extent of the withdrawal as proof that the resolution does not require surrender of all territories taken in 1967.
The second resolution cited by the EU, United Nations Security Council Resolution 497, was passed in December 1981, declaring Israel's Golan Heights Law, which effectively annexed the Golan, "null and void".
Before this week, the US, like most foreign powers, had either explicitly rejected Israel's annexation of the Golan, or declined to recognize it.
On Monday, however, President Donald Trump ended the decades-long policy of non-recognition, signing an executive order recognizing the two-thirds of the Golan Heights under Israeli control as Israeli sovereign territory.
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/260995
2. JEWISH HOME: 'WE'LL CREATE A BLOC WITH NEW RIGHT, HAREDIM'
by Michal Levi, Chana Roberts
MK Bezalel Smotrich, who heads the United Right's National Union faction, on Wednesday morning said that after elections, he will work to create a bloc with New Right Chairman Education Minister Naftali Bennett and the haredi parties.
"After the elections, we will coordinate with Bennett and the haredi parties, and we will come to [Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin] Netanyahu as a technical bloc with clear demands in the areas of security, Torah, and more," Smotrich told Kol Barama radio.
Recent polls have shown conflicting results: On Sunday, a poll by Midgam gave the Blue and White, Labor, Meretz, Gesher, and the two Arab parties – slim majority of 61 seats in the 120-member Knesset.
However, a poll released Wednesday showed the pro-Netanyahu bloc regaining its majority, with a projected 63 seats.
Most of the parties have declared loyalty to either Gantz or Netanyahu, expressing a refusal to sit with the other side. However, a few of the smaller parties, potentially the deciding factor in the elections, have not refused to sit with either side.
3. REPORT: 1 KILLED DURING CLASHES WITH IDF SOUTH OF JERUSALEM
by Arutz Sheva Staff
The Palestinian Authority's health ministry claimed Wednesday morning that one person was killed and three more wounded after Arab rioters clashed with Israeli security forces outside of the city of Bethlehem, south of Jerusalem.
According to the PA, the man was shot and killed during riots in the Dheisheh neighborhood adjacent to Bethlehem.
The PA media outlet WAFA identified the man as Sajid Abdul Hakim Mezher. According to the WAFA report, Mezher was shot in the stomach during the riots, and was evacuated to the Arab Society Hospital in Beit Jala for treatment.
After his arrival, Mezher was declared dead.
Three other people were wounded during the clashes with Israeli security personnel, WAFA reported.
The riots broke out after Israeli forces arrested three terror suspects in the area during a series of raids.
The IDF declined to comment on the report, AFP said.
4. RAINFALL TO INCREASE TOWARDS WEEKEND
by Arutz Sheva Staff
The last week of March may not be the end of winter. Though forecasters aren't predicting more hail, rainfall is expected to continue throughout the week, increasing over the weekend.
Wednesday will be partly cloudy. There may be local rainfall in northern and central Israel, and winds will pick up. Temperatures will remain lower than seasonal average.
Wednesday night will be partly cloudy and rain may fall in northern Israel.
Thursday will be partly cloudy with a slight rise in temperature, and a chance of local rainfall in northern Israel.
Friday will be partly cloudy or cloudy, and rain may fall across the country. There may be a isolated thunderstorms, and Israel's southern and eastern streams may flood. Southern Israel may be hazy. Temperatures will be slightly higher than seasonal average.
Saturday will be partly cloudy or cloudy, with a drop in temperatures. There may be local rains and thunderstorms in northern Israel. Southern Israel is expected to be hazy. The rains will pick up on Saturday night, spreading across the country. Southern and eastern streams may flood.
5. RIGHT-RELIGIOUS BLOC OPENS UP DOUBLE-DIGIT LEAD IN POLL
by David Rosenberg
The Blue and White party continues to lead the Likud, even as the right-wing – religious bloc gains strength over the left-wing – Arab bloc, a new poll shows.
According to a survey conducted by Direct Polls on behalf of Kan, the Blue and White party – formed by a merger of the Yesh Atid faction with former IDF Chief Benny Gantz's Israel Resilience faction and the smaller Telem party – would win 30 seats if elections were held today.
The Likud would come in a close second at 28, two less than the party currently holds.
Despite the left-leaning Blue and White party's narrow lead, however, the eight right-leaning and haredi parties expanded their combined share of the projected vote, from 63 seats in the previous Direct Polls survey to 65.
The New Right would win seven seats if new elections were held today – one seat higher than its performance in last week's Direct Polls survey – while the Union of Right-Wing Parties fell by one seat, from six to five.
The center-right Kulanu faction of Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, which won 10 seats in 2015 but failed to cross the threshold in last week's poll, jumped to six mandates in Wednesday's survey.
By contrast, Yisrael Beytenu, which won four seats in last week's poll, failed to cross the threshold on Wednesday, receiving just 2.1% of the vote, below the 3.25% minimum.
The Zehut party, which combines libertarian positions on socio-economic issues with support for Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria, rose this week from four seats to six in the new poll.
The Gesher party, which was founded by former Yisrael Beytenu MK Orly Levy, who bolted when her faction joined the Netanyahu government in 2016, received just 2.6% of the projected vote in the poll, failing to cross the threshold.
The left-wing Labor party, which won 19 seats in 2015, fell to just 8 in the latest poll, one below its performance in last week's Direct Polls survey.
Meretz also fell by one seat over the past week, from six mandates last week to five on Wednesday.
The two Arab lists – Hadash-Ta'al and the United Arab List-Balad tickets – would win a combined 12 seats, five for UAL-Balad and seven for Hadash-Ta'al.
Another poll released Wednesday also found the right-wing – religious bloc gaining ground, rising from 59 seats in Sunday's poll to 63 in today's survey.
That survey, conducted by Midgam for IDF Radio – Galey Tzahal also showed the Likud with 28 and the Blue and White with 30.
6. IDF CONFIRMS: ATTACK ON GAZA BEGINS
by Gary Willig
The IDF confirmed Monday afternoon that the military response to the firing of a rocket at central Israel by terrorists in the Gaza Strip had begun.
The IDF Spokesperson issued a statement stating that the IDF had begun to attack targets belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization throughout the Gaza Strip.
The action was after a rocket was fired at Moshav Mishmeret in the Sharon region, hit a house and wounded seven civilians.
Arab media reported that the Israeli Air Force had attacked several locations in the Gaza Strip.
Earlier, the IDF announced that in view of the situation assessment and as part of upgraded preparedness measures, the Gaza Division decided to block areas and roads adjacent to the Gaza security fence. It was also decided to stop agricultural work in areas adjacent to the fence.
Blocked areas and routes include Givat Kobi in Sderot, Giv'at HaPa'amonim, the Black Arrow site, Givat Nazemit, Lone Horseman Hill, Highway 4 from Yad Mordechai Junction to Netiv Ha'asara and Highway 25 from Sa'ad Junction to Kibbutz Nahal Oz.
Additionally, all Gaza area authority departments were canceled this afternoon. Meanwhile, incendiary balloons continue to be launched from the Gaza Strip. At noon such balloons were located in Kiryat Gat near the railroad tracks.
Eshkol Regional Council sent a message to its residents cancelling all afternoon activities for area children. "Dear parents, in view of the security tensions, it was decided to cancel department activities this afternoon, which will end at 15:45. All activity beyond this hour is canceled for today."
UN Special Envoy to the Middle East Nikolai Mladanov referred to the morning rocket fire from Gaza into Israel: "The launch that hit a house north of Tel Aviv and wounded seven people is entirely unacceptable. This is a very serious incident. The UN is working with Egypt all the time and with all sides but the situation remains very tense."
The IDF announced it would deploy reserves to Iron Dome batteries and Home Front Command, and transfer an armored brigade and infantry brigade to Gaza.
7. IRAN ORDERED ROCKET ATTACK, AIMED TO HURT NETANYAHU IN ELECTION
by David Rosenberg
After some Hamas officials claimed a rocket attack on central Israel early Monday morning which injured seven had been 'accidental' or caused by 'bad weather', senior officials in the Gaza-based terror organization and Egypt now say that the attack was intentional – and carried out at the behest of Iran, with the intention of altering the outcome of Israel's upcoming general election.
A senior Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed to Israel Hayom Tuesday that the rocket which struck the Wolf family home in the town of Mishmeret in central Israel Monday and injured seven Israelis had been fired at the urging of Tehran.
The Hamas official claimed that Iran had "gone over the heads" of Hamas' leadership, directly ordering a cell operating out of the Gaza Strip to carry out the attack. The cell has been identified as part of the Islamic Jihad organization, a rival terrorist group which operates in the Gaza Strip and Judea and Samaria.
While senior officials in both Egypt and Gaza confirmed that Iran had ordered the attack, they claimed that Hamas' military leadership was aware of the plans to fire a rocket deep into Israeli territory – a major escalation of the conflict between Gaza and the Jewish state – adding that the leaders of Hamas' armed wing gave their blessing to the attack.
"It is definitely possible that senior Hamas leaders were not informed of the attack," said a senior Egyptian intelligence official involved in mediating talks between Israel and Hamas. "However, the leaders of the military wing of Hamas were notified and even coordinated with the Islamic Jihad's leadership, which was responsible for the preparations [for the attack]."
The senior Hamas official who spoke with Israel Hayom said that while the directive to launch the attack came from Tehran, Hamas also hoped the sudden escalation could help drive Netanyahu from office by harming his chances of winning reelection in next month's Knesset election.
"In Gaza, it is believed that Israel won't launch a major operation in Gaza two weeks before the elections," the official said. Hamas was surprised when Israel responded overnight with a series of airstrikes on Gaza, rejecting Hamas overtures delivered via Egypt for "quiet in exchange for quiet".
Israeli aircraft bombed dozens of Hamas targets across the Gaza Strip overnight in retaliation for the Monday rocket attack. According to a report by AFP, seven Gazans were injured in the IDF attacks.
During the airstrikes, Gaza-based terrorists launched dozens of rockets towards Israeli territory. While Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile defense system was activated during the attacks, one rocket hit and damaged a home in the town of Sderot in southwestern Israel. No injuries were reported.
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/260933
8. NIKKI HALEY AT AIPAC: 'I WANT YOU TO HAVE HOPE'
by Mordechai Sones
Former American Ambassador of the United States of America to the United Nations Nikki Haley spoke at the American Israel Public Affairs Council (AIPAC) conference in Washington, D.C.
Her appearance came as reports arrived that Hamas launched rockets from Gaza that smashed into a home right outside of Tel Aviv injuring a family of seven, including a toddler and an infant.
Haley was asked how during her UN tenure she would ensure it was clear the U.S. stood with Israel in these types of incidents.
Haley answered, "You know, what's interesting is at the U.N., I can guarantee you this morning it is radio silent. They are not saying anything about Hamas, they're not saying anything about the lives lost, they're not saying anything, but if it was any one of those countries, they'd be calling an emergency security council meeting.
"But this is where I want you to have hope, because in all these years, last year for the first time, the majority of the general membership of the U.N. voted for a resolution that acknowledged Hamas and acknowledged the terror that they were spreading and acknowledged how bad they were. That was an amazing thing and what we have to make sure they know is Hamas is a terrorist group that needs to be stopped and we can't ever be quiet about it."
Haley was asked why it seems the U.N. historically has focused on the Israeli response to an attack versus the attack itself. Haley replied: "What I've learned is at the U.N., it's just been this way for so long that they do that, but the story behind one of my meetings was I was meeting with a couple of Arab countries and we were talking about Yemen and one of them said, I just don't understand why isn't anybody calling out Hezbollah, why aren't they sitting there saying something about what's being done all of these things that are happening, because they were upset that that terrorist group was doing something they shouldn't be doing.
"And I turned around and I said, if you're upset about that, what's the difference between that and Hamas and Israel? They were stunned, but when our meeting was over, they pulled me to the side and they said, you're right, we know you're right, but we have to do this for our constituents. That's what they're doing this for. It's for sound bites for their constituents.
"They don't honestly think that way. It's just they've done it for so long they do what they think they've always had to do."
Recounting some of her brightest accomplishments, Haley began by saying " Still being alive today. Surviving the U.N. was -- surviving and I still have my heels on, by the way... I hope everybody in this audience is really proud of what we accomplished at the U.N., because if we just go down the list, we got out of UNESCO, we got out of the Iran deal and pointed the finger where it needed to be pointed, which was on Iran, we got out of The Human Rights Council, which for once, now other countries are actually holding the burden and realizing they need to do something about the anti-Israel bias.
"We got them to acknowledge Hamas for the first time and by the way, we moved the Embassy to Jerusalem. We got the Israeli bashing session that happened every month to not sit there and just bash Israel, we actually started a conversation about what really are the issues in the Middle East, like what was happening in Yemen, like what was happening with terrorists, like what we were trying to do in all of these other countries that mattered as opposed to it being about Israel."
Haley told of moments when the UN's focus was directed at Israel: "It was like everybody was bullying this kid in the corner and it was abusive and it was wrong and it was just unwarranted. That was the biggest thing is it was unwarranted. You know, here was such a strong democracy sitting in a neighborhood that's so dangerous and in any other situation, you'd be lifting that country up and having their back and instead they were kicking them.
"And so really, when you see something like that, whether it's Israel or anything else, you have to stand up and fight. You have to stand up and fight for those that don't think they can stand up for themselves. You look at Israel now, Israel's alive and kicking and they're going to continue to do that."
Haley explained why in her opinion there is such reluctance to have fairness and balance when it comes to Israel in the UN: "I think this goes back to after the 1967 War. I think that everyone suddenly realized that Israel couldn't be defeated and what that meant was they had to go after them diplomatically. And so all of the Arab countries led the charge on going after them diplomatically and because of their influence, because of the oil, because of so many other reasons, other countries felt the need to follow them.
"And that is why, towards the end, we absolutely called out the Arab countries on what they were doing and we need to keep doing that, because at the end of the day, I don't know that they believe this anymore. I think they've done it because they always have, but even you could see the embarrassment.
"You could see the fact none of the countries wanted to be called out. You could see the fact that they were actually looking in the mirror and I think we just can't let up on that."
Haley also discussed Iranian aggression: "I think we have to isolate Iran like we isolated North Korea, because they're one in the same. They're doing the same thing. They're suppressing their people; they're building up their military weapons. I mean, we have to separate them and make them feel isolated and I think we did that by getting out of the Iran deal. I think the Europeans are starting to realize that that's not going to be sustainable and they're going to have to come up with another option.
"I think we need to stop with the waivers. If you want to talk about BDS, if you were doing business with Iran, that's who we should be talking about in terms of a country that we don't want to have any companies do business with."
Haley concluded saying "I do want to end on one note, because after coming out of the U.N., there's something that I think is very important to everybody, the way the political atmosphere is right now it's so toxic. It's so toxic and you know how you know it's toxic is because if you put a good piece of legislation on the table, everybody wants to know whose it is first before they decide whether to support it. That's wrong.
"Political parties now see each other as evil and they're not evil, because I've seen evil. I've seen, in Democratic Republic of Congo, where the military comes in and I've heard women who've said they've taken their babies and thrown them in fires, I've been to South Sudan where they use rape as a weapon of war, I've watched as Assad has killed innocent children with chemical weapons.
"I've stood on the bridge outside of Venezuela where the average adult has lost 24 pounds trying to cross over that bridge in the hot sun just to get to one meal they're going to have that day. That's evil. What we have are issues, but those aren't evil, they're just our opponents. It's just policy. And on our worst day, America has so much to be blessed for. Every one of us should feel blessed every single day.
"So like stop the finger-pointing and stop the fighting and let's get some things done, but remind everyone that we are blessed, be grateful about it and never stop using the power of your voice, because it matters. It really does matter," said Nikky Haley.
Tuesday, March 26, 2019
A7News: Watch: Netanyahu says US and Israel will never be pulled apart
Arutz Sheva Daily Israel Report
http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com
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Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
Tuesday, Mar. 26 '19, י"ט באדר ב תשע"ט
HEADLINES:
1. WATCH: NETANYAHU SAYS US AND ISRAEL WILL NEVER BE PULLED APART
2. NANCY PELOSI: TO BE ANTI-SEMITIC IS TO BE ANTI-AMERICAN
3. 'WE PROVED NOT EVERY OCCUPIED TERRITORY NEEDS TO BE SURRENDERED'
4. IRAN ORDERED ROCKET ATTACK, AIMED TO HURT NETANYAHU IN ELECTION
5. IDF ATTACKS DOZENS OF TERRORIST TARGETS IN GAZA
6. ROCKET HITS HOME IN THE SHARON REGION
7. IDF CONFIRMS: ATTACK ON GAZA BEGINS
8. DOZENS OF ROCKETS FIRED TOWARD SOUTHERN ISRAEL
1. WATCH: NETANYAHU SAYS US AND ISRAEL WILL NEVER BE PULLED APART
by Gary Willig
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/260943
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu addressed the AIPAC policy conference from Israel Tuesday.
Netanyahu had been scheduled to speak at Israel live in Washington DC. However, he flew back to Israel following the rocket attack on the town of Mishmeret which destroyed a home and injured seven people Monday morning.
The prime minister began by addressing Israel's ongoing military response to the rocket fire from Gaza. "We are prepared to do a lot more. We will do what is necessary to defend our people and to defend our state."
He praised the bipartisan support for Israel by both Republicans and Democrats, saying that that bipartisanship is "the way it should always be."
Netanyahu thanked US President Donald Trump for signing an official order recognizing Israel's sovereignty on the Golan Heights.
"Yesterday, at the White House, President Trump again made history. He formally recognized Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights. Now that decision deserves enormous applause," he said.
"The Golan Heights is indispensable for our defense. It's part of our history. When you put a shovel in the ground there, what you discover is the ruins of ancient synagogues. Jews lived there for thousands of years and the people of Israel have come back to the Golan. Israel holds the high ground, and we shall never, ever give it up. It's part of Israel," the prime minister said.
Netanyahu also thanked President Trump for recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, and withdrawing from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
He said that those who wish to pull the US and Israel apart "will fail. Our shared values are too deep, our shared interests are too strong, our shared destiny too intertwined."
"But having said that, I must tell you that we must never take anything for granted. Those who seek to defame this great organization AIPAC, those who seek to undermine America's support for Israel, they must be confronted. Despite what they claim, they do not merely criticize the policies of Israel's government. In Israel that happens every five minutes. They do something else. They spew venom that has long been directed at the Jewish people.
"Again the Jews are cast as a force for evil. Again the Jews are charged with disloyalty. Again the Jews are said to have too much influence, too much power, too much money," he said.
"Ladies and gentlemen, do you know what the best way to respond to this kind of hatred is? We read it just a few days ago in the book of Esther, when Mordechai confronted Haman of Persia. The best way to respond to those who espouse this kind of hatred is not to bow down to them, it's to stand up to them!
"The Jewish people do not bow down. We stand up, we fight, and we win!" Netanyahu declared.
2. NANCY PELOSI: TO BE ANTI-SEMITIC IS TO BE ANTI-AMERICAN
by Arutz Sheva Staff
[HTML:2055507]
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi denounced anti-Semitism as "anti-American" during her address at the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference in Washington DC Tuesday morning.
"To be anti-Semitic is to be anti-American," Pelosi said during her address.
Pelosi also appeared to make a veiled attack on Republicans, suggesting some were attempting to use recent controversies involving Democratic lawmakers' attacks on Israel to turn support for the Jewish state into a "wedge issue".
"From Israel's founding through the present day, our pledge remains the same: Israel and America are connected, now and forever. We will never allow anyone to make Israel a wedge issue."
At the same time, Pelosi pushed back on suggestions of dual loyalty or 'allegiance to Israel' levelled against supporters of the Jewish state.
"In our democratic societies, we should welcome legitimate debate on how to best honor our values and advance our priorities – without questioning loyalty or patriotism."
Earlier this year, Republicans and even some congressional Democrats accused Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar of anti-Semitism, after she accused supporters of Israel of dual loyalty and "allegiance to" Israel.
While House Democrats later drafted a resolution condemning anti-Semitism, Pelosi and other House leaders came under criticism after the resolution was later rewritten to condemn bigotry generally, rather than just anti-Semitism specifically.
During her address Tuesday, Speaker also said Israel must maintain its "military edge", and vowed US assistance to do so.
"It is imperative that Israel maintains its qualitative military edge and America must ensure that it does."
3. 'WE PROVED NOT EVERY OCCUPIED TERRITORY NEEDS TO BE SURRENDERED'
by Yoni Kempinski
A senior political official explained the diplomatic importance of the American recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
"It's a major breaking point for Iran that the US gives us fill backing. It's powerful backing and establishes a principle - Israel can indeed hold territory occupied in a defensive war. This is important from a historical and diplomatic perspective."
"In Washington, we proved that not every occupied territory needs to be surrendered. The Golan Heights were occupied in self-defense," the official said. "Everyone says that Israel cannot hold occupied territory. So here you go, yes it can."
On Monday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order, instructing the State Department to formally recognize the Golan Heights as Israeli territory.
Israel captured the Golan during the 1967 Six Day War, but refrained from annexing the area until 1981, when it passed the Golan Heights Law, applying Israeli law directly to the Heights. At the time, the US, USSR, United Nations, and most other world powers refused to recognize the annexation.
4. IRAN ORDERED ROCKET ATTACK, AIMED TO HURT NETANYAHU IN ELECTION
by David Rosenberg
After some Hamas officials claimed a rocket attack on central Israel early Monday morning which injured seven had been 'accidental' or caused by 'bad weather', senior officials in the Gaza-based terror organization and Egypt now say that the attack was intentional – and carried out at the behest of Iran, with the intention of altering the outcome of Israel's upcoming general election.
A senior Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed to Israel Hayom Tuesday that the rocket which struck the Wolf family home in the town of Mishmeret in central Israel Monday and injured seven Israelis had been fired at the urging of Tehran.
The Hamas official claimed that Iran had "gone over the heads" of Hamas' leadership, directly ordering a cell operating out of the Gaza Strip to carry out the attack. The cell has been identified as part of the Islamic Jihad organization, a rival terrorist group which operates in the Gaza Strip and Judea and Samaria.
While senior officials in both Egypt and Gaza confirmed that Iran had ordered the attack, they claimed that Hamas' military leadership was aware of the plans to fire a rocket deep into Israeli territory – a major escalation of the conflict between Gaza and the Jewish state – adding that the leaders of Hamas' armed wing gave their blessing to the attack.
"It is definitely possible that senior Hamas leaders were not informed of the attack," said a senior Egyptian intelligence official involved in mediating talks between Israel and Hamas. "However, the leaders of the military wing of Hamas were notified and even coordinated with the Islamic Jihad's leadership, which was responsible for the preparations [for the attack]."
The senior Hamas official who spoke with Israel Hayom said that while the directive to launch the attack came from Tehran, Hamas also hoped the sudden escalation could help drive Netanyahu from office by harming his chances of winning reelection in next month's Knesset election.
"In Gaza, it is believed that Israel won't launch a major operation in Gaza two weeks before the elections," the official said. Hamas was surprised when Israel responded overnight with a series of airstrikes on Gaza, rejecting Hamas overtures delivered via Egypt for "quiet in exchange for quiet".
Israeli aircraft bombed dozens of Hamas targets across the Gaza Strip overnight in retaliation for the Monday rocket attack. According to a report by AFP, seven Gazans were injured in the IDF attacks.
During the airstrikes, Gaza-based terrorists launched dozens of rockets towards Israeli territory. While Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile defense system was activated during the attacks, one rocket hit and damaged a home in the town of Sderot in southwestern Israel. No injuries were reported.
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/260933
5. IDF ATTACKS DOZENS OF TERRORIST TARGETS IN GAZA
by Elad Benari
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/260908
IDF fighter jets on Tuesday morning attacked additional terrorist targets in a military compound belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization in Dir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit said.
In addition, several military targets belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization were attacked by tanks and helicopters.
Overnight Monday, the IDF updated that Israeli warplanes had attacked some 15 terror targets in the northern Gaza.
Among the targets that were attacked were a military compound belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization in Beit Hanoun and a military compound belonging to the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization in Beit Lahiya.
The attacks were in retaliation for the rocket fire at Israeli territory.
"The Hamas terrorist organization is responsible for all the goings on in and out of the Gaza Strip. The IDF is determined to carry out the task of protecting the citizens of Israel and is prepared for various scenarios and intensifying its operations as necessary," the IDF Spokesperson's Unit said.
Meanwhile, dozens of rockets continued to be fired into the Gaza envelope, even after reports of a ceasefire with Hamas.
The IDF Spokesperson's Unit said that from 10:00 p.m. until 2:45 a.m., about 30 launches were identified from the Gaza Strip towards the communities in the area.
Iron Dome intercepted a number of the launches. The rest exploded in open areas.
On Tuesday morning, the Home Front Command published updated guidelines for residents of the Gaza envelope.
According to the guidelines, it is permitted to hold gatherings in a closed area only, with up to 300 participants. In addition, classes in the Gaza envelope, Ashkelon, Ofakim, Netivot and the regional councils of Bnei Shimon, Merhavim and Hof Ashkelon will be cancelled on Tuesday.
6. ROCKET HITS HOME IN THE SHARON REGION
by Elad Benari
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/260846
A rocket fired from Gaza early Monday morning hit a house in Moshav Mishmeret in the Sharon region.
Magen David Adom reported that seven people were injured, among them a 60-year-old woman in moderate condition with shrapnel wounds and burns, a 30-year-old woman in moderate condition with shrapnel wounds and five people who were lightly injured.
In addition, several victims were treated for shock, as well as a number of individuals who were suffered light injuries while making their way to a protected area.
The victims were evacuated to the Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba.
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/260846
Earlier, a siren sounded at around 5:18 a.m. in the Sharon area. Local residents reported hearing explosions and the sound of a rocket exploding.
The IDF confirmed that one launch was identified from Gaza.
The IDF continues to look into the details of the incident. The Chief of Staff is receiving regular updates, as does Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu who is currently in Washington.
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/260846
Netanyahu's office said he would be holding a security consultation will be held with the Chief of Staff, the head of the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), the head of the National Security Council (NSC) and senior security officials.
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7. IDF CONFIRMS: ATTACK ON GAZA BEGINS
by Gary Willig
The IDF confirmed Monday afternoon that the military response to the firing of a rocket at central Israel by terrorists in the Gaza Strip had begun.
The IDF Spokesperson issued a statement stating that the IDF had begun to attack targets belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization throughout the Gaza Strip.
The action was after a rocket was fired at Moshav Mishmeret in the Sharon region, hit a house and wounded seven civilians.
Arab media reported that the Israeli Air Force had attacked several locations in the Gaza Strip.
Earlier, the IDF announced that in view of the situation assessment and as part of upgraded preparedness measures, the Gaza Division decided to block areas and roads adjacent to the Gaza security fence. It was also decided to stop agricultural work in areas adjacent to the fence.
Blocked areas and routes include Givat Kobi in Sderot, Giv'at HaPa'amonim, the Black Arrow site, Givat Nazemit, Lone Horseman Hill, Highway 4 from Yad Mordechai Junction to Netiv Ha'asara and Highway 25 from Sa'ad Junction to Kibbutz Nahal Oz.
Additionally, all Gaza area authority departments were canceled this afternoon. Meanwhile, incendiary balloons continue to be launched from the Gaza Strip. At noon such balloons were located in Kiryat Gat near the railroad tracks.
Eshkol Regional Council sent a message to its residents cancelling all afternoon activities for area children. "Dear parents, in view of the security tensions, it was decided to cancel department activities this afternoon, which will end at 15:45. All activity beyond this hour is canceled for today."
UN Special Envoy to the Middle East Nikolai Mladanov referred to the morning rocket fire from Gaza into Israel: "The launch that hit a house north of Tel Aviv and wounded seven people is entirely unacceptable. This is a very serious incident. The UN is working with Egypt all the time and with all sides but the situation remains very tense."
The IDF announced it would deploy reserves to Iron Dome batteries and Home Front Command, and transfer an armored brigade and infantry brigade to Gaza.
8. DOZENS OF ROCKETS FIRED TOWARD SOUTHERN ISRAEL
by Elad Benari
Dozens of rockets have been fired in the past few hours from Gaza toward Israeli communities in the Gaza envelope, even after reports of a ceasefire with Hamas.
After midnight on Monday, the Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepted at least one rocket.
At approximately 1:00 a.m., a barrage was fired at the Eshkol Regional Council. According to the IDF Spokesperson's Unit, up until 10:00 p.m., approximately 30 launches were identified from the Gaza Strip towards Israel.
The IDF Iron Dome Aerial Defense System intercepted several launches. The vast majority of the launches which weren't intercepted fell in open areas.
On Monday evening, a home in Sderot was hit by a rocket that did not explode. No one was hurt. The IDF continues to attack targets in Gaza, including destroying the office of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on Monday evening.
Meanwhile, New Right chairman and Education Minister Naftali Bennett warned Netanyahu on Monday evening against a ceasefire, saying that "a ceasefire at this moment will be a tailwind for terrorism."
"There is no country in the world that does not charge a price for missiles on its citizens, and there is no country in the world where the blood of citizens is cheap, as we have been experiencing in the past few days. Bombing empty buildings endangers Israel's deterrence and brings the next missiles upon us," said Bennett.
http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com
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Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
Tuesday, Mar. 26 '19, י"ט באדר ב תשע"ט
HEADLINES:
1. WATCH: NETANYAHU SAYS US AND ISRAEL WILL NEVER BE PULLED APART
2. NANCY PELOSI: TO BE ANTI-SEMITIC IS TO BE ANTI-AMERICAN
3. 'WE PROVED NOT EVERY OCCUPIED TERRITORY NEEDS TO BE SURRENDERED'
4. IRAN ORDERED ROCKET ATTACK, AIMED TO HURT NETANYAHU IN ELECTION
5. IDF ATTACKS DOZENS OF TERRORIST TARGETS IN GAZA
6. ROCKET HITS HOME IN THE SHARON REGION
7. IDF CONFIRMS: ATTACK ON GAZA BEGINS
8. DOZENS OF ROCKETS FIRED TOWARD SOUTHERN ISRAEL
1. WATCH: NETANYAHU SAYS US AND ISRAEL WILL NEVER BE PULLED APART
by Gary Willig
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/260943
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu addressed the AIPAC policy conference from Israel Tuesday.
Netanyahu had been scheduled to speak at Israel live in Washington DC. However, he flew back to Israel following the rocket attack on the town of Mishmeret which destroyed a home and injured seven people Monday morning.
The prime minister began by addressing Israel's ongoing military response to the rocket fire from Gaza. "We are prepared to do a lot more. We will do what is necessary to defend our people and to defend our state."
He praised the bipartisan support for Israel by both Republicans and Democrats, saying that that bipartisanship is "the way it should always be."
Netanyahu thanked US President Donald Trump for signing an official order recognizing Israel's sovereignty on the Golan Heights.
"Yesterday, at the White House, President Trump again made history. He formally recognized Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights. Now that decision deserves enormous applause," he said.
"The Golan Heights is indispensable for our defense. It's part of our history. When you put a shovel in the ground there, what you discover is the ruins of ancient synagogues. Jews lived there for thousands of years and the people of Israel have come back to the Golan. Israel holds the high ground, and we shall never, ever give it up. It's part of Israel," the prime minister said.
Netanyahu also thanked President Trump for recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, and withdrawing from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
He said that those who wish to pull the US and Israel apart "will fail. Our shared values are too deep, our shared interests are too strong, our shared destiny too intertwined."
"But having said that, I must tell you that we must never take anything for granted. Those who seek to defame this great organization AIPAC, those who seek to undermine America's support for Israel, they must be confronted. Despite what they claim, they do not merely criticize the policies of Israel's government. In Israel that happens every five minutes. They do something else. They spew venom that has long been directed at the Jewish people.
"Again the Jews are cast as a force for evil. Again the Jews are charged with disloyalty. Again the Jews are said to have too much influence, too much power, too much money," he said.
"Ladies and gentlemen, do you know what the best way to respond to this kind of hatred is? We read it just a few days ago in the book of Esther, when Mordechai confronted Haman of Persia. The best way to respond to those who espouse this kind of hatred is not to bow down to them, it's to stand up to them!
"The Jewish people do not bow down. We stand up, we fight, and we win!" Netanyahu declared.
2. NANCY PELOSI: TO BE ANTI-SEMITIC IS TO BE ANTI-AMERICAN
by Arutz Sheva Staff
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi denounced anti-Semitism as "anti-American" during her address at the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference in Washington DC Tuesday morning.
"To be anti-Semitic is to be anti-American," Pelosi said during her address.
Pelosi also appeared to make a veiled attack on Republicans, suggesting some were attempting to use recent controversies involving Democratic lawmakers' attacks on Israel to turn support for the Jewish state into a "wedge issue".
"From Israel's founding through the present day, our pledge remains the same: Israel and America are connected, now and forever. We will never allow anyone to make Israel a wedge issue."
At the same time, Pelosi pushed back on suggestions of dual loyalty or 'allegiance to Israel' levelled against supporters of the Jewish state.
"In our democratic societies, we should welcome legitimate debate on how to best honor our values and advance our priorities – without questioning loyalty or patriotism."
Earlier this year, Republicans and even some congressional Democrats accused Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar of anti-Semitism, after she accused supporters of Israel of dual loyalty and "allegiance to" Israel.
While House Democrats later drafted a resolution condemning anti-Semitism, Pelosi and other House leaders came under criticism after the resolution was later rewritten to condemn bigotry generally, rather than just anti-Semitism specifically.
During her address Tuesday, Speaker also said Israel must maintain its "military edge", and vowed US assistance to do so.
"It is imperative that Israel maintains its qualitative military edge and America must ensure that it does."
3. 'WE PROVED NOT EVERY OCCUPIED TERRITORY NEEDS TO BE SURRENDERED'
by Yoni Kempinski
A senior political official explained the diplomatic importance of the American recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
"It's a major breaking point for Iran that the US gives us fill backing. It's powerful backing and establishes a principle - Israel can indeed hold territory occupied in a defensive war. This is important from a historical and diplomatic perspective."
"In Washington, we proved that not every occupied territory needs to be surrendered. The Golan Heights were occupied in self-defense," the official said. "Everyone says that Israel cannot hold occupied territory. So here you go, yes it can."
On Monday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order, instructing the State Department to formally recognize the Golan Heights as Israeli territory.
Israel captured the Golan during the 1967 Six Day War, but refrained from annexing the area until 1981, when it passed the Golan Heights Law, applying Israeli law directly to the Heights. At the time, the US, USSR, United Nations, and most other world powers refused to recognize the annexation.
4. IRAN ORDERED ROCKET ATTACK, AIMED TO HURT NETANYAHU IN ELECTION
by David Rosenberg
After some Hamas officials claimed a rocket attack on central Israel early Monday morning which injured seven had been 'accidental' or caused by 'bad weather', senior officials in the Gaza-based terror organization and Egypt now say that the attack was intentional – and carried out at the behest of Iran, with the intention of altering the outcome of Israel's upcoming general election.
A senior Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed to Israel Hayom Tuesday that the rocket which struck the Wolf family home in the town of Mishmeret in central Israel Monday and injured seven Israelis had been fired at the urging of Tehran.
The Hamas official claimed that Iran had "gone over the heads" of Hamas' leadership, directly ordering a cell operating out of the Gaza Strip to carry out the attack. The cell has been identified as part of the Islamic Jihad organization, a rival terrorist group which operates in the Gaza Strip and Judea and Samaria.
While senior officials in both Egypt and Gaza confirmed that Iran had ordered the attack, they claimed that Hamas' military leadership was aware of the plans to fire a rocket deep into Israeli territory – a major escalation of the conflict between Gaza and the Jewish state – adding that the leaders of Hamas' armed wing gave their blessing to the attack.
"It is definitely possible that senior Hamas leaders were not informed of the attack," said a senior Egyptian intelligence official involved in mediating talks between Israel and Hamas. "However, the leaders of the military wing of Hamas were notified and even coordinated with the Islamic Jihad's leadership, which was responsible for the preparations [for the attack]."
The senior Hamas official who spoke with Israel Hayom said that while the directive to launch the attack came from Tehran, Hamas also hoped the sudden escalation could help drive Netanyahu from office by harming his chances of winning reelection in next month's Knesset election.
"In Gaza, it is believed that Israel won't launch a major operation in Gaza two weeks before the elections," the official said. Hamas was surprised when Israel responded overnight with a series of airstrikes on Gaza, rejecting Hamas overtures delivered via Egypt for "quiet in exchange for quiet".
Israeli aircraft bombed dozens of Hamas targets across the Gaza Strip overnight in retaliation for the Monday rocket attack. According to a report by AFP, seven Gazans were injured in the IDF attacks.
During the airstrikes, Gaza-based terrorists launched dozens of rockets towards Israeli territory. While Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile defense system was activated during the attacks, one rocket hit and damaged a home in the town of Sderot in southwestern Israel. No injuries were reported.
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/260933
5. IDF ATTACKS DOZENS OF TERRORIST TARGETS IN GAZA
by Elad Benari
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/260908
IDF fighter jets on Tuesday morning attacked additional terrorist targets in a military compound belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization in Dir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit said.
In addition, several military targets belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization were attacked by tanks and helicopters.
Overnight Monday, the IDF updated that Israeli warplanes had attacked some 15 terror targets in the northern Gaza.
Among the targets that were attacked were a military compound belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization in Beit Hanoun and a military compound belonging to the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization in Beit Lahiya.
The attacks were in retaliation for the rocket fire at Israeli territory.
"The Hamas terrorist organization is responsible for all the goings on in and out of the Gaza Strip. The IDF is determined to carry out the task of protecting the citizens of Israel and is prepared for various scenarios and intensifying its operations as necessary," the IDF Spokesperson's Unit said.
Meanwhile, dozens of rockets continued to be fired into the Gaza envelope, even after reports of a ceasefire with Hamas.
The IDF Spokesperson's Unit said that from 10:00 p.m. until 2:45 a.m., about 30 launches were identified from the Gaza Strip towards the communities in the area.
Iron Dome intercepted a number of the launches. The rest exploded in open areas.
On Tuesday morning, the Home Front Command published updated guidelines for residents of the Gaza envelope.
According to the guidelines, it is permitted to hold gatherings in a closed area only, with up to 300 participants. In addition, classes in the Gaza envelope, Ashkelon, Ofakim, Netivot and the regional councils of Bnei Shimon, Merhavim and Hof Ashkelon will be cancelled on Tuesday.
6. ROCKET HITS HOME IN THE SHARON REGION
by Elad Benari
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/260846
A rocket fired from Gaza early Monday morning hit a house in Moshav Mishmeret in the Sharon region.
Magen David Adom reported that seven people were injured, among them a 60-year-old woman in moderate condition with shrapnel wounds and burns, a 30-year-old woman in moderate condition with shrapnel wounds and five people who were lightly injured.
In addition, several victims were treated for shock, as well as a number of individuals who were suffered light injuries while making their way to a protected area.
The victims were evacuated to the Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba.
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/260846
Earlier, a siren sounded at around 5:18 a.m. in the Sharon area. Local residents reported hearing explosions and the sound of a rocket exploding.
The IDF confirmed that one launch was identified from Gaza.
The IDF continues to look into the details of the incident. The Chief of Staff is receiving regular updates, as does Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu who is currently in Washington.
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/260846
Netanyahu's office said he would be holding a security consultation will be held with the Chief of Staff, the head of the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), the head of the National Security Council (NSC) and senior security officials.
[album:open:10981]
7. IDF CONFIRMS: ATTACK ON GAZA BEGINS
by Gary Willig
The IDF confirmed Monday afternoon that the military response to the firing of a rocket at central Israel by terrorists in the Gaza Strip had begun.
The IDF Spokesperson issued a statement stating that the IDF had begun to attack targets belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization throughout the Gaza Strip.
The action was after a rocket was fired at Moshav Mishmeret in the Sharon region, hit a house and wounded seven civilians.
Arab media reported that the Israeli Air Force had attacked several locations in the Gaza Strip.
Earlier, the IDF announced that in view of the situation assessment and as part of upgraded preparedness measures, the Gaza Division decided to block areas and roads adjacent to the Gaza security fence. It was also decided to stop agricultural work in areas adjacent to the fence.
Blocked areas and routes include Givat Kobi in Sderot, Giv'at HaPa'amonim, the Black Arrow site, Givat Nazemit, Lone Horseman Hill, Highway 4 from Yad Mordechai Junction to Netiv Ha'asara and Highway 25 from Sa'ad Junction to Kibbutz Nahal Oz.
Additionally, all Gaza area authority departments were canceled this afternoon. Meanwhile, incendiary balloons continue to be launched from the Gaza Strip. At noon such balloons were located in Kiryat Gat near the railroad tracks.
Eshkol Regional Council sent a message to its residents cancelling all afternoon activities for area children. "Dear parents, in view of the security tensions, it was decided to cancel department activities this afternoon, which will end at 15:45. All activity beyond this hour is canceled for today."
UN Special Envoy to the Middle East Nikolai Mladanov referred to the morning rocket fire from Gaza into Israel: "The launch that hit a house north of Tel Aviv and wounded seven people is entirely unacceptable. This is a very serious incident. The UN is working with Egypt all the time and with all sides but the situation remains very tense."
The IDF announced it would deploy reserves to Iron Dome batteries and Home Front Command, and transfer an armored brigade and infantry brigade to Gaza.
8. DOZENS OF ROCKETS FIRED TOWARD SOUTHERN ISRAEL
by Elad Benari
Dozens of rockets have been fired in the past few hours from Gaza toward Israeli communities in the Gaza envelope, even after reports of a ceasefire with Hamas.
After midnight on Monday, the Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepted at least one rocket.
At approximately 1:00 a.m., a barrage was fired at the Eshkol Regional Council. According to the IDF Spokesperson's Unit, up until 10:00 p.m., approximately 30 launches were identified from the Gaza Strip towards Israel.
The IDF Iron Dome Aerial Defense System intercepted several launches. The vast majority of the launches which weren't intercepted fell in open areas.
On Monday evening, a home in Sderot was hit by a rocket that did not explode. No one was hurt. The IDF continues to attack targets in Gaza, including destroying the office of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on Monday evening.
Meanwhile, New Right chairman and Education Minister Naftali Bennett warned Netanyahu on Monday evening against a ceasefire, saying that "a ceasefire at this moment will be a tailwind for terrorism."
"There is no country in the world that does not charge a price for missiles on its citizens, and there is no country in the world where the blood of citizens is cheap, as we have been experiencing in the past few days. Bombing empty buildings endangers Israel's deterrence and brings the next missiles upon us," said Bennett.
Monday, March 25, 2019
A7News: Rocket hits home in the Sharon region
Arutz Sheva Daily Israel Report
http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com
------------------------------------------------
Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
Monday, Mar. 25 '19, י"ח באדר ב תשע"ט
HEADLINES:
1. ROCKET HITS HOME IN THE SHARON REGION
2. GRANDFATHER OF ROCKET VICTIM: SEND TERRORISTS' FAMILIES TO SYRIA
3. IDF SENDS REINFORCEMENTS TO SOUTHERN ISRAEL
4. 'NETANYAHU, IT'S TIME TO START BUILDING'
5. WATCH: FLASH FLOOD AT MASADA
6. FOLLOWING GAZA ATTACKS, NETANYAHU NIXES AIPAC SPEECH
7. POLL: RIGHT-WING BLOC LOSES MAJORITY
8. MDA PUSHES OFF JUDEA AND SAMARIA CLOSURES FOR 24 HOURS
1. ROCKET HITS HOME IN THE SHARON REGION
by Elad Benari
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/260846
A rocket fired from Gaza early Monday morning hit a house in Moshav Mishmeret in the Sharon region.
Magen David Adom reported that seven people were injured, among them a 60-year-old woman in moderate condition with shrapnel wounds and burns, a 30-year-old woman in moderate condition with shrapnel wounds and five people who were lightly injured.
Magen David Adom reported that seven people were injured, among them a 60-year-old woman in moderate condition with shrapnel wounds and burns, a 30-year-old woman in moderate condition with shrapnel wounds and five people who were lightly injured.
In addition, several victims were treated for shock, as well as a number of individuals who were suffered light injuries while making their way to a protected area.
The victims were evacuated to the Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba.
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/260846
Earlier, a siren sounded at around 5:18 a.m. in the Sharon area. Local residents reported hearing explosions and the sound of a rocket exploding.
The IDF confirmed that one launch was identified from Gaza.
The IDF continues to look into the details of the incident. The Chief of Staff is receiving regular updates, as does Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu who is currently in Washington.
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/260846
Netanyahu's office said he would be holding a security consultation will be held with the Chief of Staff, the head of the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), the head of the National Security Council (NSC) and senior security officials.
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2. GRANDFATHER OF ROCKET VICTIM: SEND TERRORISTS' FAMILIES TO SYRIA
by Hezki Baruch
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/260862
Sasson Lilu, the grandfather of the girl wounded in Monday morning's rocket attack, told Arutz Sheva that the fact that no one was killed was a "huge huge miracle."
In the attack, a family home sustained a direct hit, and seven people were injured.
"First off, it was horrific," Lilu said. "It was a huge huge miracle for the family. Just a miracle, a miracle, a miracle."
"In my opinion, if we really want this story to end, we need to take their families and send them to places like Syria, where they can be with Hamas. Then they'll understand that it's unacceptable to do what they're doing."
Lilu also said his granddaughter's condition is improving.
"My granddaughter, thank G-d, is doing much better. This was an absolute miracle and we need to wake up."
Did you ever imagine that a rocket from Gaza could reach here one day?
"We didn't believe it, and look, a rocket reached here. We need to wake up, the entire nation of Israel needs to understand that we can't make peace with them," he said.
"There's no peace with them. The best way is to take the families of the terrorist [sic] and send them to Syria. Then no one will do this."
3. IDF SENDS REINFORCEMENTS TO SOUTHERN ISRAEL
by Kobi Finkler
IDF spokesperson Brigadier Ronen Manelis on Monday morning told journalists that the rocket fired at the Sharon region was fired from near Rafah, in southern Gaza.
Rafah is 120 kilometers (approximately 75 miles) away from MIshmeret, where the rocket hit a family home, injuring seven people.
"This is a serious event, and involved a direct hit to a home. This Hamas rocket was homemade, and it was fired from Hamas' post in the Rafah area," he said. "Wee see Hamas as responsible for everything which occurs in Gaza and which emanates from it.
Manelis also explained that the rocket was not intercepted because there is no Iron Dome battery in the area, since it was not expected that a rocket would be fired towards the Sharon.
IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi held a meeting with the heads of the Military Intelligence Directorate, Operational Directorate, Israel Air Force chief, and Shabak (Israel Security Agency), he added.
"Due to the security assessment led by the Chief of Staff, we are currently bringing two brigades who were training and a the division commander for the Southern Command. We are calling in some reservists, for specific tasks. We are prepared for a wide variety of situations."
[album:open:10981]
4. 'NETANYAHU, IT'S TIME TO START BUILDING'
by Eliran Aharon
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/260864
Arutz Sheva on Monday morning joined Jerusalem City Council member Aryeh King on a tour of the E1 zone near Maaleh Adumim.
King explained that the State of Israel still freezes Jewish building in the area, despite the fact that building permits have been given and the planning process has already been completed.
"This is a strategic area, with water and electricity infrastructure. We can connect Jerusalem and Maaleh Adumim, and build 4,000 housing units here," he said.
Slamming the decade-long building freeze, King said, "For ten years, the Prime Minister has been coming here and talking about building and connecting Jerusalem to Maaleh Adumim. But there's talk, and there's action."
"This is a decision for the Prime Minister and Housing Minister. You can see a Jewish future here, especially since the Americans haven't demanded anything to the contrary. It all comes from the head."
5. WATCH: FLASH FLOOD AT MASADA
by Aviad Even-Hen
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/260861
6. FOLLOWING GAZA ATTACKS, NETANYAHU NIXES AIPAC SPEECH
by David Rosenberg
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has cancelled a planned appearance at this year's American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference in Washington DC, following an escalation on the Israel-Gaza border over the weekend.
Netanyahu, who had been slated to speak at the AIPAC policy conference on Tuesday, has decided to cut short his Washington visit and return home early on Monday to deal with the security situation, following rocket attacks from Gaza into central Israel.
According to a statement by the Prime Minister's Office Monday morning, Netanyahu will return home Monday, following his meeting with President Donald Trump.
"In the wake of the security-related incidents, the Prime Minister has decided to cut short his visit to Washington and to return to Israel following his meeting with President Trump," the Prime Minister's Office said.
Seven people were injured early Monday morning after rockets were fired from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip into central Israel.
At least one rocket landed in the Sharon region in central Israel, hitting a home in the Moshav Mishmeret. A 60-year-old woman was wounded by shrapnel and suffering burns from the rocket's explosion, leaving her in moderate condition. A 30-year-old woman is also said to be in moderate condition after suffering shrapnel wounds. Five others are listed in light condition.
The attack marks a major escalation in tensions between Israel and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. While terrorist groups operating in the coastal enclave have fired hundreds of rockets towards Israeli territory, the vast majority have targeted areas adjacent to the Gaza Strip in Israel's south, and have mostly landed in unpopulated areas.
Monday's attack, however, targeted the Sharon region in central Israel, some 50 miles from the Gaza Strip – a far more densely populated area than the Gaza envelope region.
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/260852
7. POLL: RIGHT-WING BLOC LOSES MAJORITY
by David Rosenberg
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's Likud party and its most likely coalition allies in a future government would fail to win a majority in the 21st Knesset if new elections were held today, a new poll shows.
According to the poll, which was conducted by Midgam on behalf of Channel 12, the center-left Blue and White party continues to lead the Likud, with a projected 32 seats to the Likud's 28 – two less than the Likud won in 2015.
In addition, the poll found that Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz is closing the gap with Netanyahu personally as a candidate for Prime Minister, with Netanyahu now leading by just five points.
When asked who they would prefer to have as premier, 39% of respondents chose Netanyahu, compared to 34% who said they favored Gantz, 18% who said they preferred neither of them, and 9% who had no opinion.
The right-wing – religious bloc also has lost its majority in the 120-member Knesset, the poll shows, falling from 62 seats in the previous Midgam survey, released last Wednesday, to 59 seats, while the left-wing – Arab bloc rose from 58 seats to 61.
While the Blue and White party remained stable since the previous poll at 32, the Likud inched up a seat, from 27 to 28.
Labor, which won 19 seats (out of a total of 24 on the joint Zionist Union ticket) in 2015, would win just 10 seats, the same number the party received in last week's poll.
The far-left Meretz party held stable at four seats, a decline of one seat compared to the 2015 election. The United Arab List-Balad ticket also remained stable at four seats, while the Hadash-Ta'al ticket fell this week by one seat, from eight to seven seats.
Former Yisrael Beytenu MK Orly Levy's Gesher (Bridge) party passed the threshold this week with four seats, while it failed to cross the threshold in last week's Midgam poll.
The center-right Kulanu, which passed the threshold with four seats last week failed to cross the threshold in this week's poll.
The New Right and Union of Right-Wing Parties both received five seats, while the libertarian-leaning Zehut and former Defense Minister Avidgor Liberman's Yisrael Beytenu party received four seats each in this week's poll.
Among the haredi factions, Shas gained a single seat this week, rising from five to six mandates – still a loss of one seat compared to 2015 – while United Torah Judaism remained stable at seven, an increase of one seat over 2015.
8. MDA PUSHES OFF JUDEA AND SAMARIA CLOSURES FOR 24 HOURS
by Arutz Sheva Staff
Magen David Adom (MDA) announced the closure of five stations in Judea and Samaria and reduced activity of others, due to budget cuts.
The move places thousands of lives in Judea and Samaria council at risk, critics say.
On Sunday, the Maged David Adom (MDA) emergency services organization said that its Judea and Samaria stations would close at 3:00 PM Monday, pushing off the planned closures by 24 hours. MDA had initially planned to shut down services in Judea and Samaria Sunday afternoon, but delayed the move at the request of Samaria Regional Council chief Yossi Dagan.
Dagan had contacted the Prime Minister's Office earlier on Sunday, demanding Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu convene an emergency meeting on the issue in the United States.
"A week after the attack, shamelessly, after cutting back on the number of soldiers in the area and refusing to meet needs of 400 million shekels for security components, they add insult to injury and close MDA stations, abandoning the lives of half-a-million residents of Judea and Samaria literally," Dagan said.
"The government of Israel and MDA should be ashamed. While there's a right-wing government, the Prime Minister's Office, the Health Ministry, Finance Ministry, and the National Organization of MDA cut budgets a week after a terrible attack.
"I'm ashamed how my government is behaving. Magen David Adom National Committee of the State of Israel - this is disgrace. The Prime Minister must convene a discussion in Washington and resolve this story.
"We cannot be hostages of ego wars and budgetary wars over millions every year. This is human life here. People may be killed, and killed as a result of this," he added.
Attorney Nati Rom, chairman of the Lev Haolam foundation, also condemned the planned closures and the failure of MDA and the health ministry to ensure a timely transfer of funds for operations in Judea and Samaria.
"The lives of our residents are not less important, they are not second-class citizens. Every year, MDA and the health ministry negotiate over the health of residents of Judea and Samaria. The time has come to make the health services payments for Judea and Samaria part of the regular government budget, not a special allocation every year."
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/260807
http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com
------------------------------------------------
Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
Monday, Mar. 25 '19, י"ח באדר ב תשע"ט
HEADLINES:
1. ROCKET HITS HOME IN THE SHARON REGION
2. GRANDFATHER OF ROCKET VICTIM: SEND TERRORISTS' FAMILIES TO SYRIA
3. IDF SENDS REINFORCEMENTS TO SOUTHERN ISRAEL
4. 'NETANYAHU, IT'S TIME TO START BUILDING'
5. WATCH: FLASH FLOOD AT MASADA
6. FOLLOWING GAZA ATTACKS, NETANYAHU NIXES AIPAC SPEECH
7. POLL: RIGHT-WING BLOC LOSES MAJORITY
8. MDA PUSHES OFF JUDEA AND SAMARIA CLOSURES FOR 24 HOURS
1. ROCKET HITS HOME IN THE SHARON REGION
by Elad Benari
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/260846
A rocket fired from Gaza early Monday morning hit a house in Moshav Mishmeret in the Sharon region.
Magen David Adom reported that seven people were injured, among them a 60-year-old woman in moderate condition with shrapnel wounds and burns, a 30-year-old woman in moderate condition with shrapnel wounds and five people who were lightly injured.
Magen David Adom reported that seven people were injured, among them a 60-year-old woman in moderate condition with shrapnel wounds and burns, a 30-year-old woman in moderate condition with shrapnel wounds and five people who were lightly injured.
In addition, several victims were treated for shock, as well as a number of individuals who were suffered light injuries while making their way to a protected area.
The victims were evacuated to the Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba.
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/260846
Earlier, a siren sounded at around 5:18 a.m. in the Sharon area. Local residents reported hearing explosions and the sound of a rocket exploding.
The IDF confirmed that one launch was identified from Gaza.
The IDF continues to look into the details of the incident. The Chief of Staff is receiving regular updates, as does Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu who is currently in Washington.
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/260846
Netanyahu's office said he would be holding a security consultation will be held with the Chief of Staff, the head of the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), the head of the National Security Council (NSC) and senior security officials.
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2. GRANDFATHER OF ROCKET VICTIM: SEND TERRORISTS' FAMILIES TO SYRIA
by Hezki Baruch
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/260862
Sasson Lilu, the grandfather of the girl wounded in Monday morning's rocket attack, told Arutz Sheva that the fact that no one was killed was a "huge huge miracle."
In the attack, a family home sustained a direct hit, and seven people were injured.
"First off, it was horrific," Lilu said. "It was a huge huge miracle for the family. Just a miracle, a miracle, a miracle."
"In my opinion, if we really want this story to end, we need to take their families and send them to places like Syria, where they can be with Hamas. Then they'll understand that it's unacceptable to do what they're doing."
Lilu also said his granddaughter's condition is improving.
"My granddaughter, thank G-d, is doing much better. This was an absolute miracle and we need to wake up."
Did you ever imagine that a rocket from Gaza could reach here one day?
"We didn't believe it, and look, a rocket reached here. We need to wake up, the entire nation of Israel needs to understand that we can't make peace with them," he said.
"There's no peace with them. The best way is to take the families of the terrorist [sic] and send them to Syria. Then no one will do this."
3. IDF SENDS REINFORCEMENTS TO SOUTHERN ISRAEL
by Kobi Finkler
IDF spokesperson Brigadier Ronen Manelis on Monday morning told journalists that the rocket fired at the Sharon region was fired from near Rafah, in southern Gaza.
Rafah is 120 kilometers (approximately 75 miles) away from MIshmeret, where the rocket hit a family home, injuring seven people.
"This is a serious event, and involved a direct hit to a home. This Hamas rocket was homemade, and it was fired from Hamas' post in the Rafah area," he said. "Wee see Hamas as responsible for everything which occurs in Gaza and which emanates from it.
Manelis also explained that the rocket was not intercepted because there is no Iron Dome battery in the area, since it was not expected that a rocket would be fired towards the Sharon.
IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi held a meeting with the heads of the Military Intelligence Directorate, Operational Directorate, Israel Air Force chief, and Shabak (Israel Security Agency), he added.
"Due to the security assessment led by the Chief of Staff, we are currently bringing two brigades who were training and a the division commander for the Southern Command. We are calling in some reservists, for specific tasks. We are prepared for a wide variety of situations."
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4. 'NETANYAHU, IT'S TIME TO START BUILDING'
by Eliran Aharon
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/260864
Arutz Sheva on Monday morning joined Jerusalem City Council member Aryeh King on a tour of the E1 zone near Maaleh Adumim.
King explained that the State of Israel still freezes Jewish building in the area, despite the fact that building permits have been given and the planning process has already been completed.
"This is a strategic area, with water and electricity infrastructure. We can connect Jerusalem and Maaleh Adumim, and build 4,000 housing units here," he said.
Slamming the decade-long building freeze, King said, "For ten years, the Prime Minister has been coming here and talking about building and connecting Jerusalem to Maaleh Adumim. But there's talk, and there's action."
"This is a decision for the Prime Minister and Housing Minister. You can see a Jewish future here, especially since the Americans haven't demanded anything to the contrary. It all comes from the head."
5. WATCH: FLASH FLOOD AT MASADA
by Aviad Even-Hen
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/260861
6. FOLLOWING GAZA ATTACKS, NETANYAHU NIXES AIPAC SPEECH
by David Rosenberg
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has cancelled a planned appearance at this year's American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference in Washington DC, following an escalation on the Israel-Gaza border over the weekend.
Netanyahu, who had been slated to speak at the AIPAC policy conference on Tuesday, has decided to cut short his Washington visit and return home early on Monday to deal with the security situation, following rocket attacks from Gaza into central Israel.
According to a statement by the Prime Minister's Office Monday morning, Netanyahu will return home Monday, following his meeting with President Donald Trump.
"In the wake of the security-related incidents, the Prime Minister has decided to cut short his visit to Washington and to return to Israel following his meeting with President Trump," the Prime Minister's Office said.
Seven people were injured early Monday morning after rockets were fired from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip into central Israel.
At least one rocket landed in the Sharon region in central Israel, hitting a home in the Moshav Mishmeret. A 60-year-old woman was wounded by shrapnel and suffering burns from the rocket's explosion, leaving her in moderate condition. A 30-year-old woman is also said to be in moderate condition after suffering shrapnel wounds. Five others are listed in light condition.
The attack marks a major escalation in tensions between Israel and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. While terrorist groups operating in the coastal enclave have fired hundreds of rockets towards Israeli territory, the vast majority have targeted areas adjacent to the Gaza Strip in Israel's south, and have mostly landed in unpopulated areas.
Monday's attack, however, targeted the Sharon region in central Israel, some 50 miles from the Gaza Strip – a far more densely populated area than the Gaza envelope region.
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/260852
7. POLL: RIGHT-WING BLOC LOSES MAJORITY
by David Rosenberg
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's Likud party and its most likely coalition allies in a future government would fail to win a majority in the 21st Knesset if new elections were held today, a new poll shows.
According to the poll, which was conducted by Midgam on behalf of Channel 12, the center-left Blue and White party continues to lead the Likud, with a projected 32 seats to the Likud's 28 – two less than the Likud won in 2015.
In addition, the poll found that Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz is closing the gap with Netanyahu personally as a candidate for Prime Minister, with Netanyahu now leading by just five points.
When asked who they would prefer to have as premier, 39% of respondents chose Netanyahu, compared to 34% who said they favored Gantz, 18% who said they preferred neither of them, and 9% who had no opinion.
The right-wing – religious bloc also has lost its majority in the 120-member Knesset, the poll shows, falling from 62 seats in the previous Midgam survey, released last Wednesday, to 59 seats, while the left-wing – Arab bloc rose from 58 seats to 61.
While the Blue and White party remained stable since the previous poll at 32, the Likud inched up a seat, from 27 to 28.
Labor, which won 19 seats (out of a total of 24 on the joint Zionist Union ticket) in 2015, would win just 10 seats, the same number the party received in last week's poll.
The far-left Meretz party held stable at four seats, a decline of one seat compared to the 2015 election. The United Arab List-Balad ticket also remained stable at four seats, while the Hadash-Ta'al ticket fell this week by one seat, from eight to seven seats.
Former Yisrael Beytenu MK Orly Levy's Gesher (Bridge) party passed the threshold this week with four seats, while it failed to cross the threshold in last week's Midgam poll.
The center-right Kulanu, which passed the threshold with four seats last week failed to cross the threshold in this week's poll.
The New Right and Union of Right-Wing Parties both received five seats, while the libertarian-leaning Zehut and former Defense Minister Avidgor Liberman's Yisrael Beytenu party received four seats each in this week's poll.
Among the haredi factions, Shas gained a single seat this week, rising from five to six mandates – still a loss of one seat compared to 2015 – while United Torah Judaism remained stable at seven, an increase of one seat over 2015.
8. MDA PUSHES OFF JUDEA AND SAMARIA CLOSURES FOR 24 HOURS
by Arutz Sheva Staff
Magen David Adom (MDA) announced the closure of five stations in Judea and Samaria and reduced activity of others, due to budget cuts.
The move places thousands of lives in Judea and Samaria council at risk, critics say.
On Sunday, the Maged David Adom (MDA) emergency services organization said that its Judea and Samaria stations would close at 3:00 PM Monday, pushing off the planned closures by 24 hours. MDA had initially planned to shut down services in Judea and Samaria Sunday afternoon, but delayed the move at the request of Samaria Regional Council chief Yossi Dagan.
Dagan had contacted the Prime Minister's Office earlier on Sunday, demanding Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu convene an emergency meeting on the issue in the United States.
"A week after the attack, shamelessly, after cutting back on the number of soldiers in the area and refusing to meet needs of 400 million shekels for security components, they add insult to injury and close MDA stations, abandoning the lives of half-a-million residents of Judea and Samaria literally," Dagan said.
"The government of Israel and MDA should be ashamed. While there's a right-wing government, the Prime Minister's Office, the Health Ministry, Finance Ministry, and the National Organization of MDA cut budgets a week after a terrible attack.
"I'm ashamed how my government is behaving. Magen David Adom National Committee of the State of Israel - this is disgrace. The Prime Minister must convene a discussion in Washington and resolve this story.
"We cannot be hostages of ego wars and budgetary wars over millions every year. This is human life here. People may be killed, and killed as a result of this," he added.
Attorney Nati Rom, chairman of the Lev Haolam foundation, also condemned the planned closures and the failure of MDA and the health ministry to ensure a timely transfer of funds for operations in Judea and Samaria.
"The lives of our residents are not less important, they are not second-class citizens. Every year, MDA and the health ministry negotiate over the health of residents of Judea and Samaria. The time has come to make the health services payments for Judea and Samaria part of the regular government budget, not a special allocation every year."
📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/260807
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