JERUSALEM – A British military helicopter made an emergency landing on Sunday in the West Bank because of a “technical malfunction,” an IDF spokeswoman said.
A Black Hawk helicopter – File Photo: Reuters
There were no casualties in the incident on Sunday afternoon and IDF soldiers were “securing the scene,” she added.
Sky news website said the RAF helicopter had been en route from the Jordanian capital Amman to Cyprus when it was forced to land by engine failure. Continue Reading »
Medical device maker Covidien is buying Israeli camera-in-a-capsule maker Given Imaging for $30.00 per share in cash, totaling $860 million, the companies said on Sunday.
The next generation of Given Imaging’s PillCam capsules are expected to boost sales.
Given Imaging developed a pioneering technique for non-invasive endoscopy. Its technology for visualising, diagnosing and monitoring the digestive system starts with the PillCam, a capsule containing a miniaturized video camera. Over the years Given Imaging, which operates out of Yokneam, developed a number of versions for the technology, including one for esophageal diagnostics. Continue Reading »
By Gil Ronen
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke Sunday at the Saban Forum and said that stopping Iran’s nuclear program is not enough – Iran’s policy of genocide must change, too.
Netanyahu quoted incendiary statements by Iran’s leaders, who called Israel “a rabid dog,” among other things.
The Iranian regime, he said, “is committed to our annihilation and I believe that there must be an uncompromising demand at the Geneva talks, for a change in Iran’s policy. In other words, there needs to be not just a change in the capability of Iran to arm itself, but also a change in its policy of genocide. Continue Reading »
In the wake of last Wednesday’s reports about the assassination of Hassan al-Laqqis, the man said to be in charge of Hezbollah’s weapons and technology programs, new reports from Lebanon over the weekend pin the blame on “Kidon,” the Mossad unit allegedly responsible for employing lethal force.
Middle East expert Dr. Mordechai Kedar of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies says Israelis have almost totally lost their faith in the two-state solution to the Israeli-Arab conflict.
Dr Mordechai Keder – Photo: MER Screenshot
Whereas a decade or two ago a majority of Israelis viewed the internationally backed diplomatic effort as a harbinger of peace after 50 years of war, the number of Israelis who still feel that way can “fit in two telephone booths,” Kedar told Israeli radio station Arutz Sheva. Continue Reading »
BOSTON — Companies with connections to Israel contributed $6.2 billion to the Massachusetts economy last year, a new study found.
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick – Photo: New England – Israel Business Council
The study, released on Thursday, was conducted by the consulting firm Stax and supported by Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Boston. It found that, when accounting for other business spending, the full economic impact of companies with Israel ties contribute $11.9 to the state economy.
A man stands on a bridge overlooking flooded railway tracks – Photo: Reuters
Although winter arrived considerably late this year, Sunday’s post-Shabbat showers serve a stark reminder that winter has arrived.
The rarity of rain in the Holy Land usually makes for excitement, however the sudden downpour left Tel Aviv roads considerably dangerous today, says Tel Aviv resident Shahar Geist.
Although she is happy to see the Kinneret rise, Geist says the government doesn’t do enough to ensure road safety in extreme weather conditions.
By AFP
A visit to Israel by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte Sunday was marred by a dispute over a new security scanner on the Gaza border, an Israeli official said.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte – Photo: AP
Rutte was to have inaugurated the scanner on the frontier with the Palestinian Islamist-ruled enclave, but the ceremony was put off because of the row.
“Installation of the Dutch scanner, which would have been used to verify the contents of containers from Gaza destined for export, was postponed after the Netherlands made unexpected demands,” the official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. Continue Reading »
Economics Minister Naftali Bennett on Sunday reiterated his proposal that Israel should annex parts of Judea and Samaria under its full military control of Jewish areas, according to AFP.
“I favor implementation of Israeli sovereignty over the zone where 400,000 Jews live and only 70,000 Arabs,” said the Jewish Home (Bayit Yehudi) head. Bennett was referring to the “Area C” regions of Judea and Samaria, which under the Oslo Accords are still under Israeli military and civilian control. Continue Reading »
Widespread protests in Ukraine have prompted the country’s Jewish communities to up security arrangements, a community leader from Kiev has said.
Students wave Ukrainian and European Union flags as they shout slogans during a rally of the opposition in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on December 5, 2013.- Photo: AFP
“Now that streets across Ukraine are full of civilians, the community’s safety is becoming our primary concern,” Oleksandr Feldman, a Ukrainian lawmaker and president of the Ukrainian Jewish Committee, wrote in statement published Wednesday by the Israeli Ma’ariv daily. Continue Reading »
By Elad Benari
U.S. President Barack Obama said at the Saban Forum on Saturday that there must not be another Gaza in the Palestinian Authority-assigned areas of Judea and Samaria.
President Barack Obama at the Saban Forum in Washington, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2013.- Photo: AP
Israel pulled out of Gaza in 2005, as part of the “Disengagement”. This resulted in Hamas taking over the region and escalating rocket attacks at southern Israel. Continue Reading »
The IDF shot and killed Wajih Ramahi, 15, from the Jalazone refugee camp north of Ramallah on Saturday evening, according to B’Tselem.
IDF troops take up position during clashes with Palestinian stone-throwers in Hebron. Sept. 22, 2013.- Photo: REUTERS
Its spokeswoman Sarit Michaeli said a field worker at the Ramallah hospital where Ramahi was taken reported from doctors there that he had been shot in the back.
The IDF launched an investigation after receiving a Palestinian report via the civil administration about the shooting of a teenager. Continue Reading »
By AFP
The US Air Force has secretly developed a new stealth drone for long-range reconnaissance missions that could be operational by 2015, according to a report Friday in an industry magazine.
Northrop Grumman RQ-180
The unmanned drone, dubbed RQ-180, is currently in the testing phase at the top secret Groom Lake air base in Nevada in the infamous “Area 51” where the Air Force tested the U2 spy planes in the late 1950s, Aviation Week said. Continue Reading »
U.S. President Barack Obama said on Saturday that a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians is possible, and would have to be implemented in stages.
U.S. President Barack Obama. – Photo: Shahar Azran
Both sides will have to “stretch out of their comfort zones,” Obama said at the annual Saban Forum in Washington, D.C., adding that “we know what the outlines of a potential agreement will look like.” Continue Reading »
Two Kassam rockets were fired into Israel Saturday from Gaza, Channel 10 reports. The rockets landed in an uninhabited areas; no injuries were reported.
The news follows various reports that Hamas has been stepping up its preparations for another clash with Israel during the relative calm. In recent weeks, Hamas has threatened genocide against Israel; claimed that they have missiles capable of reaching Tel Aviv; and built numerous terror tunnels into Israel, in the hopes of kidnapping soldiers and attacking Israeli civilians. Continue Reading »