A7News: Watch: Netanyahu says US and Israel will never be pulled apart

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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.

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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.