Israel’s indomitable lion Ariel Sharon, a bulldozer in war and peace, died on Saturday, eight years after suffering a massive brain hemorrhage that left him in a coma from which he never awoke.
Perhaps the most revered and often reviled of the country’s politicians, perceived alternately as a peacemaker and a warmonger, for decades his actions as a military commander and statesman shaped both Israel’s self-perception and the world’s image of the Jewish nation.
By Ynet
The passing of former-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s did not go unnoticed in the world, and the leading papers from around the globe paid their respect to the historic event.
But not all responses were positive, in its obituary of Sharon, the Palestinian news agency Ma’an said Sharon “promoted efforts to take over Arab-owned lands and give them to Jews, with the intent of preventing Arabs who had fled from returning.” Continue Reading »
The Ministerial Committee on Symbols and Ceremonies, chaired by Culture and Sports Minister Limor Livnat, convened Saturday evening at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem, to discuss funeral arrangements for former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who passed away Saturday afternoon at the age of 85.
Attending the meeting were representatives of the Sharon family, Yisrael Maimon and Ilan Cohen, as well as representatives of the President’s Residence, the Knesset, the Defense Ministry, the Foreign Ministry, the Israel Police and other agencies. Continue Reading »
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The Lebanese militant Shiite movement Hezbollah has dramatically improved its missile capabilities and can now pinpoint targets anywhere in Israel, a senior commander of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards said Saturday.
General Amir-Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Division – Press TV file photo
Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the head of the Guard’s aerospace division, said Israelis will see Hezbollah’s new might should a war break out. Continue Reading »
As Israel prepares to encounter increasingly unstable borders and a chaotic region, the IDF’s Combat Intelligence Collection Corps is about to receive a set of hi-tech surveillance capabilities that should, according to army brass, make it far more difficult for terrorists to infiltrate Israel.
A combat intelligence soldier surveying the field. – Photo: IDF Spokesman’s Office
Speaking from his office at Corps Headquarters at the Tzrifin base, near Rishon Lezion, Col. Continue Reading »
A 31-year-old Dimona woman who had tried to become pregnant for 12 years through in-vitro fertilization suffered a heart attack during her 30th week of pregnancy – and delivered healthy triplets soon after undergoing angioplasty of her coronary arteries.
Zinav Alpiomi in hospital with baby. – Photo: Courtest Kaplan Medical Cente
The drama took place at Rehovot’s Kaplan Medical Center, which reported the event on Thursday. Two of the baby girls were born at 1.6 kilos, and a third at 1.3 kilos. Continue Reading »
The wife of a Palestinian prisoner in an Israeli jail gave birth on Friday to a boy born from sperm smuggled into Gaza, her family said, the first successful pregnancy of its kind in the embattled coastal enclave.
Palestinian baby boy, who was conceived with the smuggled sperm of his father who is in an Israeli prison, after he was born in a hospital in Gaza City January 10, 2014. – Photo: Reuters
The procedure follows several similar cases last year in the West Bank, and Palestinians view such births as an act of defiance against Israel’s jail policies. Continue Reading »
Israel’s first hydroelectric storage facility will be built by Alstom, a French engineering group. The company announced on Thursday that it has won a 120 million euro ($163 million) contract to build the facility, which will reportedly be operational by 2018.
The company said that the project, which will have the group operating and maintaining the 300 MW Gilboa plant for 18 years, “represents Alstom’s first entry into the Israeli hydro market.” Continue Reading »
British student and Palestine activist Gary Spedding. – Photo: Facebook
By Yoav Zitun
The commanding officer of the Regional Samaria Brigade, Brig. Gen. Yoav Yarom, had his car tires slashed while meeting with the head of the West Bank settlement of Yitzhar on Friday.
The commanding officer’s punctured tires
Yarom was meeting with representatives of the Nablus-adjacent settlement to discuss the recent friction in the last week between settlers and Palestinians near Yitzhar. After the meeting he returned to his jeep, which was parked inside the settlement, and found his tires were punctured. Continue Reading »
Finance Minister Yair Lapid said Friday that Israel will be hurt economically by growing international isolation if it fails to reach a peace deal with the Palestinians.
Finance Minister Yair Lapid. – Photo: Emil Salman
Yair Lapid said his ministry has run through various scenarios and found that “a continuation of the existing situation will hurt the pocketbook of each of us.”
Lapid spoke to the Israeli news website Ynet in response to an announcement Friday that Israel plans to build 1,400 more homes in Jewish settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories the Palestinians seek for a state. Continue Reading »
Poland’s conservative opposition on Friday called for use of the erroneous term “Polish death camp” in reference to Nazi German facilities to be punishable by jail time, AFP reports.
Jews carry Israeli flags at Auschwitz – Reuters
Users of the term could get up to five years in prison, according to a bill introduced in parliament on Friday by the Law and Justice party.
Lawmakers voted to have it sent back to committee for more work. Continue Reading »
We reported last year on the discovery of an ancient biblical-era palace probably dating back to the time of King David himself that was subsequently covered up for political reasons.
‘David’s Castle’ to be Unveiled on land going to the Palestinians
Now, the group that stumbled upon the unprecedented find tells Israel National News that they will publicly reveal the location of the buried palace next Friday, January 17, an event that is likely to cause a diplomatic earthquake. Continue Reading »
Amb. Caspar Veldkamp holding a Kassam rocket in Sderot police station. – Photo: Calum Toogood
On Friday, Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the ambassador to Israel of the Netherlands, Caspar Veldkamp, to provide clarifications on the decision of PGGM, a large pensions administrator, to divest from five Israeli banks because of their activities in West Bank settlements.
During her speech at the National Board of Review Awards in New York on Tuesday, Streep ripped into Disney in a lengthy nine-minute rant saying the famous cartoonist “was supposedly a hideous anti-Semite” and a “gender bigot.”
Hollywood icon Meryl Streep says the legendary Walt Disney was anti-Semitic.- Photo Courtesy
“Disney, who brought joy, arguably, to billions of people, was perhaps, or had some … racist proclivities. He formed and supported an anti-Semitic industry lobby. Continue Reading »