A7News: New poll: Likud gets 34 seats, Blue and White 33

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Friday, Jun. 21 '19, י"ח בסיון תשע"ט





HEADLINES:
1. NEW POLL: LIKUD GETS 34 SEATS, BLUE AND WHITE 33
2. 'WORLD'S FIRST' FULLY-ELECTRIC PLANE UNVEILED BY ISRAELI COMPANY
3. TRUMP GIVES IRAN AN ULTIMATUM
4. REPORT: US WON'T RULE OUT MILITARY STRIKE ON IRAN
5. PENTAGON RELEASES FLIGHT PATH OF DOWNED DRONE
6. FROM THE ARMY OF JUDAH - TO THE IDF
7. SUSPECT IN RAPE OF 7 YEAR OLD 'BURST INTO TEARS' IN COURT
8. WILL TRUMP STRIKE IRAN? 'YOU'LL FIND OUT SOON'


1. NEW POLL: LIKUD GETS 34 SEATS, BLUE AND WHITE 33
by Arutz Sheva Staff

A new survey by Maagar Mochot showed that if elections were held today, the Likud party would win the most seats.

The survey, conducted for 103FM Radio, showed that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's Likud would win a narrow victory with 34 Knesset seats, and the center-left Blue and White party would receive 33 seats.

The Yisrael Beytenu, Shas, and UTJ parties would receive eight seats each, while the United Right and the Arab Ta'al-Hadash would each receive six.

Left-wing Meretz would barely pass the electoral threshold, receiving just five seats, and the New Right party would receive four Knesset seats, as would Labor and the Arab Ra'am-Balad.

According to the poll, the right-wing bloc would receive 68 seats - 60 without Yisrael Beytenu - while the center-left bloc would receive 52.

If Netanyahu were forced to resign his position, 27% of respondents support MK Gideon Sa'ar (Likud) replacing him, while 19% would prefer either former Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz (Likud) or Knesset Chairman Yuli Edelstein (Likud).


2. 'WORLD'S FIRST' FULLY-ELECTRIC PLANE UNVEILED BY ISRAELI COMPANY
by Sara Rubenstein

Eviation Aircraft Ltd., an Israeli aviation company, displayed the Eviation Alice, an entirely electric commuter plane, at the Paris Air Show this week.

The Alice, which can seat nine passengers and two pilots, can fly at 273 miles per hour for up to 621 miles on one battery charge, at a cost of $200 per hour of flight. The battery comprises 65% of the plane's weight. The plane's unusual and modern look, which Eviation CEO Omar Bar-Yohay described as "whale-shaped," is due to its aerodynamic efficiency.

📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/264912

Eviation already has orders for a "double-digit" number of airplanes from US regional carrier Cape Air, with which Eviation signed its first deal. Each plane will carry a $4 million price tag.

"Operating at a fraction of the costs of conventional jetliners, our Alice will redefine how people travel regionally and usher in a new era of flying that is quieter, cleaner, and cost-effective," Bar-Yohay said.

The use of electric planes, especially if they "take off" and become widespread is a step in the right direction to a cleaner environment, as the high carbon emissions from standard planes have been a source of concern for environmentalists. Electric planes can also potentially decrease the high costs of plane travel due to the huge amount of oil planes require.

Bar-Yohay, speaking at a press conference at the Paris Air Show on Tuesday, said that the Alice will undergo flight-tests this year and will then be tested for certification by the American Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The company is expecting Alice to be ready for commercial use by 2022.


3. TRUMP GIVES IRAN AN ULTIMATUM
by Arutz Sheva Staff

US President Donald Trump sent a message to Iran setting a deadline for the rogue power to initiate talks, after which the US will attack in retaliation for downing an American surveillance drone earlier this week.

Reuters quoted a source in the Iranian government which said Trump's message was passed via Oman, and emphasized that the US does not want war.

Iran responded that "Supreme Leader [Ali] Khamenei opposes talks with the US."

Air France-KLM and Qantas have announced that they will avoid flying over parts of Iran due to "precautionary measures."

Lufthansa, as well as US airlines, noted the downed drone and said they will avoid flying over the Gulf of Oman and Strait of Hormuz.


4. REPORT: US WON'T RULE OUT MILITARY STRIKE ON IRAN
by Arutz Sheva Staff

The US government has not ruled out a future military response to Iran's downing of an American surveillance drone, a senior official told The Wall Street Journal.

Iran, meanwhile, claims it has "proof" that the drone entered its airspace.

Former US ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro told Reshet Bet that the US "needs to think two or three times before responding, in order to avoid causing an unnecessary escalation."

"Israel as well does not want a war in the north with Hezbollah. Right now no one is interested in a widescale war, other than a few of [US President Donald] Trump's advisers," he explained.

ABC reported that Trump's last-minute decision to cancel the strike on Iran came in direct contradiction to US National Security Adviser John Bolton's opinion, as well as that of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.



5. PENTAGON RELEASES FLIGHT PATH OF DOWNED DRONE
by Elad Benari

The Pentagon on Thursday released an image showing the flight path for the drone that was shot down by Iran, in an effort to prove that the drone was shot down in international airspace.

"This was an unprovoked attack on a US surveillance asset that had not violated Iranian airspace at any time," said Lt. Gen. Joseph Guastella, the commanding general of United States Air Forces Central Command.

📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/264898

Earlier on Thursday, Iran filed a complaint against the US, claiming the drone was on a spy mission over its territory and was shot down in Iranian airspace.

In a letter to the UN Secretary General and the Security Council, Iran's UN Ambassador Majid Takht Ravanchi said a US drone entered Iranian airspace despite repeated radio warnings.

The drone, claimed the Iranian Ambassador, conducted "an overflight through the Strait of Hormuz to Chabahar port in a full stealth mode as it had turned off its identification equipment and engaged in a clear spying operation."

US officials have denied that the drone had entered Iranian airspace and stated that the drone was shot down in international airspace over the Strait of Hormuz.

President Donald Trump tweeted Thursday that Iran "made a very big mistake!" in shooting down the American drone.

The shooting down of the American drone comes amid heightened tensions between the Islamic Republic and the US. On Wednesday, the Pentagon said that the latest deployment of 1,000 additional troops to the Middle East, announced earlier this week, will include a Patriot missile battalion, manned and unmanned surveillance aircraft and "other deterrence capabilities."

"The United States does not seek conflict with Iran, but we are postured and ready to defend US forces and interests in the region," a Pentagon spokeswoman said in a statement.

The US deployment was announced by the Pentagon following last week's attacks on two tankers as they were passing through the Gulf of Oman.

Trump has said the twin attacks had Iran "written all over it", rejecting Tehran's vehement denial.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo similarly accused Iran of being behind the attacks in the Gulf of Oman. Iran's parliament speaker, meanwhile, hinted that Washington could be behind the tanker attacks in an attempt to pile pressure on Tehran.



6. FROM THE ARMY OF JUDAH - TO THE IDF
by Arutz Sheva Staff

📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/264801

A watchtower dating from the time of the Kingdom of Judah (8th century BCE – during the reign of King Hezekiah) was recently uncovered during archeological excavations by IDF soldiers, together with the Israel Antiquities Authority, at a paratroopers base in the south of the country.

The excavation was conducted as part of the project called "The Nature Defense Forces Project- Commanders Take Responsibility for their Environment," led by the IDF's Technology and Maintenance Corps, and was carried out in cooperation with the IDF, the Ministry of Defense, the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, the Israel Nature and Parks Authority and the Israel Antiquities Authority.

The tower, whose dimensions in antiquity is estimated to have been 5 x 3.5 m, was erected at a high geographic site, and as such, was an observation point to the Hebron Mountains, the Judean plain and the Ashkelon vicinity. It was built of especially large stones, some 8 tons in weight, and its height today reaches around 2 m.

According to Sa'ar Ganor and Valdik Lifshitz, excavation directors on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, "The strategic location of the tower served as a lookout and warning point against the Philistine enemy, one of whose cities was Ashkelon. In the days of the First Temple, the Kingdom of Judah built a range of towers and fortresses as points of communication, warning and signaling, to transmit messages and field intelligence.

This tower is one of the observation points connecting the large cities in the area, located in the Beit Mirsim (Mirsham), Tel Eton and Tel Lachish sites. In ancient times, to transmit messages, beacons of smoke were lit during the day and beacons of fire at night. It is probable that the watchtower now uncovered is one of the towers that bore some of the beacons."

In the Bible, beacons, or, in the language of the Bible, "pillars" are mentioned several times. Thus, in the story of the Concubine in Gibeah, the use of pillars of smoke is described: "The Israelites had arranged with the ambush that they should send up a great cloud of smoke from the city, and then the Israelites would counter attack .The Benjamites had begun to inflict casualties on the Israelites (about thirty), and they said, "We are defeating them as in the first battle." But when the column of smoke began to rise from the city, the Benjamites turned and saw the whole city going up in smoke" (Judges 20: 38-40). The prophet Jeremiah also describes the manner in which the beacons were passed: "Flee for safety, people of Benjamin! Flee from Jerusalem! Sound the trumpet in Tekoa! Raise the signal over Beth Hakkerem! For disaster looms out of the north, even terrible destruction" (Jeremiah 6:1).

Evidence from another source is known from one of the ostracons (letters on clay) discovered at Tel Lachish. At the end of letter no. 4 it is written, "May God cause my lord to hear reports of good news this very day …. Then it will be known that we are watching the (fire) signals of Lachish according to the code which my lord gave us for we cannot see Azekah."

This letter shows that the existence of the beacons and the interpretation of the signals were part of the defense system and the idea of routine security, and security in times of emergency, in the Kingdom of Judea during the Iron Age.

Activity in the ancient tower, uncovered in the area of the military base, ceased on the eve of the expedition of Sennacherib, King of Assyria, to Judah in 701 BCE. Archaeological excavations revealed that the entrance to the tower was blocked, and the force stationed there apparently converged on one of the nearby fortified towns.

From biblical testimonies and archeological findings in the area, we know that Sennacherib's attack virtually destroyed Judah, including 46 cities and 2,000 villages and farms. Now, some 2700 years after Sennacherib's expedition to the Land of Judah, IDF soldiers uncovered an observation tower belonging to Judean army soldiers, similar to the watchtowers used today by the army.

Guy Saly, director of the IDF Nature Defense Forces Project states that about 150 recruits and commanders from the Paratroopers Brigade, including recruits from commando units, participated in the excavations, in an activity that lasted several months. Saly added that the project, established with the aim of leading commanders and soldiers to becoming responsible and actively involved in protecting nature, landscape and the heritage values of their surroundings, began in 2014 with eight projects, and today, as part of this project, sixty activity centers operate across the country.

"To our delight, each project creates solidarity, strengthening the connection between the soldiers and their surroundings.The IDF, a melting pot of Israel's diverse population, is a unique meeting place for people from all parts of the country, which, through environmental activities, creates between them a stronger awareness to the preservation of nature and the Israeli heritage," says Saly.

Second Lieutenant Roi Ofir, age 21, commander of the recruit team in the reconnaissance battalion of the Paratroopers Brigade, from Rosh Ha'ayin, says: "The archaeological excavation was a routine break from my point of view. I saw soldiers enjoying manual labor that has added value.This is the first time I participated in excavations. The connection to the land, and the fact that there were Jewish fighters in the past, gave me a sense of mission. The fact that there was also a connection to the area where we carried out our own military maneuvers; left us with a feeling that we were giving back.


7. SUSPECT IN RAPE OF 7 YEAR OLD 'BURST INTO TEARS' IN COURT
by Ido Ben Porat

The Palestinian Arab accused of raping the 7-year-old girl was brought in Wednesday afternoon for a remand hearing, during which he burst into tears.

The military prosecution asked the court in Ofer to extend the defendant's remand by 10 days.

The defendant's lawyer, Nashef Darwish, said that during the hearing the defendant burst into tears and told police: "Why are you asking for further investigation? What have you done all these days?"

Attorney Darwish told reporters: "There is no new case as was reported, I am unable to explain why. This case will eventually turn out to be an indictment against the investigative bodies "

The prosecution requested that the defendant's remand be extended in order to carry out further investigation in the case, and in order to exhaust the investigation into suspicions regarding others involved in the rape.

Gadi Siso, head of the Police Investigations Division, and the Military Advocate General, Major General Sharon Afek, decided yesterday to order the Central Unit in the Judea and Samaria District to conduct additional investigations.

The step is unusual, coming as it does after the Military Advocate General submitted an indictment against the suspected Palestinian Arab school janitor to the Ofer Military Court on Sunday following the police investigation.


8. WILL TRUMP STRIKE IRAN? 'YOU'LL FIND OUT SOON'
by David Rosenberg

[youtube:2059541:436]

President Donald Trump spoke with journalists following a meeting with senior security officials Thursday, telling reporters they would "soon find out" if the US will attack Iran in retaliation for the downing of an American drone recently.

When asked by a reporter whether the US planned to strike Iran, the president, who is slated to meet with Canadian premier Justin Trudeau at the White House, responded by saying "You'll soon find out."

"Obviously we're not going to be talking too much about it. You're gonna find out. They made a big mistake."

Trump also said "Iran made a big mistake. This drone was in international waters, clearly. We have it all documented. They made a very bad mistake."

"I imagine someone made a mistake," Trump said, adding that he believed it was someone "loose and stupid who did it," hinting that the US response would have been different, had the aircraft been manned.

"We didn't have a man of woman in the drone. It would have made a big, big difference."

When pressed by a reporter regarding the administration's plans, Trump said: "Let's see what happens."

Earlier on Thursday, senior Trump administration officials met with the president to discuss possible responses to the shooting down Wednesday of a US unmanned aircraft over the Strait of Hormuz.

The US and its allies have accused Iran of a number of recent attacks on oil tankers in the Straits of Hormuz.

Iran claimed responsibility for downing the American drone aircraft.

President Trump tweeted Thursday that Iran "made a very big mistake!"

The shooting down of the American drone comes amid heightened tensions between the Islamic Republic and the US.

On Wednesday, the Pentagon said that the latest deployment of 1,000 additional troops to the Middle East, announced earlier this week, will include a Patriot missile battalion, manned and unmanned surveillance aircraft and "other deterrence capabilities."

📹 To watch the video: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/264877