Archive for July 12, 2014

Two large Palestinian cities in West Bank hit by rockets fired from Gaza

 

IDF confirms, 2 rockets hit Bethlehem and 1 rocket hits Hamas-controlled Hebron.

By Ynetnews

 

Two major Palestinian cities in the West Bank, Bethlehem and Hebron, were hit on Saturday evening from rockets fired from the Gaza Strip, the IDF said.

Hebron after rocket hit. Photo: IDF Spokesman

One rocket hit Hebron, a city controlled mostly by Hamas, and residents reported seeing a plume of smoke. Two additional rockets have reportedly hit Bethlehem and Gush Etzion.

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President Abbas flabbergasted as Hamas accuses him of being ‘Likud member’

 

IDF’s Arab-language spokesman, Avihay Adarei, posted a status on Facebook mocking Hamas spokesman Fauzi Barhoum, who said the “resistance” knows where to fire, so Arabs are not hurt. Continue Reading »

President Abbas flabbergasted as Hamas accuses him of being ‘Likud member’

After PA chief criticized Islamist group on Lebanese TV for rocket fire, admitting “We are the losing side”, Hamas officials strike back, branding him “a criminal” & “a Likud member.”

By JPOST.COM STAFF

 

Hamas officials assailed Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for his criticism of the persistent rocket attacks on Israel, Israel Radio reported on Saturday.

Mahmoud Abbas

PA President Mahmoud Abbas, praying or surprised – Photo: REUTERS

Leaders of the Islamist movement which rules Gaza said that Abbas, who heads the rival Fatah faction, was “aiding the enemy” by making his statement. Hamas accused the PA chief of “acting as a third party” while branding him “a criminal” and “a Likud member.” Continue Reading »

Hamas refuses to consider truce deal presented by Egypt

 

Where as Israel agrees there is room for discussion,  Hamas is first waiting for a tangible victory to show the Palestinian people. No Israeli killed yet.

By Elior Levy

 

Egypt and another Arab country, most likely Qatar, have put together an initial draft of a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, and presented it to both parties Saturday.

Hamas has so far refused to discuss the terms of the cease-fire, while Israel has expressed to the authors its willingness to meet to discuss the details of the deal.

The cease-fire draft is divided into two sections: security and socioeconomic.

The security aspect includes among other items the demands by Hamas for the release of 56 prisoners who were freed as part of the 2011 Shalit swap deal, but rearrested by Israel during the IDF operation followed the abduction and murder of three Israeli teens in the West Bank last month. Continue Reading »

Aussie Jew wearing IDF T-shirt mugged in Melbourne

Zachary Gomo says he was simply walking in a Jewish neighborhood in Melbourne, wearing his IDF T-shirt when he was attacked by 2 Arabic speaking men.

By

 

A Melbourne man wearing an IDF T-shirt said two Arabic-speaking men assaulted him on the street.

Illustration: Melbourne’s Central Business District.

Melbourne’s Central Business District. (Illustrative): – Photo courtesy: Wikipedia Commons

Zachary Gomo told JTA he was walking to a shop around 10 P.M. in a Jewish neighborhood on Thursday night wearing a T-shirt from his service in the Israel Defense Forces when he was set upon by two young men.

“I noticed them when it was too late.

Continue Reading »

Thousands of Hamas Supporters Protest Against Israel in Paris & London

Pro-Palestinian & Hamas supporters, demonstrating by the thousands in UK & French capitals, call for the end of Israeli military strikes on Hamas in Gaza.

By Elad Benari, Canada

 

Thousands of pro-Palestinian Arab demonstrators turned out on the streets of London and Paris on Friday to call for an end to Israeli military strikes on Gaza.

Pro-Palestinian Arab demonstrators protest against Israel in London

Pro-Palestinian Arab demonstrators protest against Israel in London – Reuters

According to The Associated Press (AP), several thousand people crowded the streets outside the Israeli Embassy in west London, waving placards that read “Gaza: End the Siege” and “Freedom for Palestine.”

The crowds blocked an entire road and several protesters managed to climb on top of a double-decker bus stuck in traffic, but police said the protest was largely peaceful, according to the report. Continue Reading »

Gaza Rocket Hits Home in Be’er Sheva, Elderly Woman Injured

Rocket fired from Gaza gets by Iron Dome to hit a home in Be’er Sheva, injuring a woman & causing extensive damage to the building.

By Elad Benari, Canada

 

A rocket fired from Gaza hit a home in the southern Israeli city of Be’er Sheva on Friday evening.

A woman in her 80s suffered mild injuries and was taken to the Soroka Hospital for treatment. Extensive damage was caused to the building.

A salvo of rockets hit southern Israel earlier on Friday evening, with at least five rockets fired towards Ashdod.

Two rockets were intercepted by Iron Dome. Three other rockets exploded in open areas. Continue Reading »

Israel’s cellphone towers go into the service of meteorology scientists

 

Israeli scientists refined a method of using cellular towers to measure rainfall, snow & even detect fog.

By Iddo Genuth

 

Serendipity or a happy accidental discovery, has been a well documented part of the development of science and technology throughout recorded history. From Penicillin to Viagra, x-rays to the cosmic background radiation (the ancient hum left by the Big Bang), chance was there to help those who had an open mind.

Missouri Judge Blocks Laws on Cell Phone Towers. August 29, 2013 ( Thomas Coex/AFP )

Cell Phone Towers. – Photo: Thomas Coex/AFP

Professor Hagit Messer from Tel Aviv University had a small help from lady luck when she realized about 10 years ago that it is possible to dramatically improve the accuracy of environmental monitoring using an unexpected tool – cellular towers – such as the ones found in and around any modern city. Continue Reading »

Lebanese Report: Man arrested in connection to earlier rocket fired at Israel

Lebanese media says military personal recovered additional rockets at launching site, prepared by unknown militant group, assumed to also be fired toward Israel.

By JPOST.COM STAFF

 

 

Lebanese authorities reportedly arrested one person on Friday in connection to the rocket attack from Lebanon into Israel earlier this morning.

 Lebanese army personnel inspects the remains of a shell that was suspected of having been launched from Lebanon to Israel, near the village of El Mari in Southern Lebanon July 11, 2014.   - Photo: Reuters/Karamallah Daher

Lebanese army personnel inspects the remains of a shell that was suspected of having been launched from Lebanon to Israel, near the village of El Mari in Southern Lebanon July 11, 2014 – Photo: Reuters/Karamallah Daher

The Beirut-based newspaper The Daily Star, cited security forces as saying the suspect’s car had blood stains that matched blood traces found at the scene where the rocket was launched. Continue Reading »

Palestinian President criticizes Hamas’ rocket attacks on Israel

 

President Abbas said  on Palestinian TV, that its preferable ‘to fight with wisdom & politics’, and also called on all parties to end military conflict.

By Ynetnews

 

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas went on Palestinian television Thursday to condemn the ongoing rocket fire from Gaza on Israel, Bloomberg reported.

Le président palestinien Mahmoud Abbas, à Ramallah le 10 mars 2014 ( Abbas Momani (AFP) )

Abbas in Ramallah – Photo: Abbas Momani/AFP

“What are you trying to achieve by sending rockets?” Abbas asked, without mentioning Hamas directly by name. “We prefer to fight with wisdom and politics.”

The comments were the first such condemnation from the Palestinian leader since Israel’s launch of Operation Protective Edge on Monday, during which hundreds of rockets have been fired from Gaza at Israeli communities across the country, and around 100 Palestinians, including dozens of children, have been reported killed in IAF attacks. Continue Reading »

Israeli Children’s Rocket Alert Song Goes Viral

Developed by Joint Distribution Committee in 2008 for a Sderot kindergarten teacher, who wanted to do something to help the children in her class deal with air raid sirens and the ongoing rocket attacks against Israel.

This song is that much more relevant today.

 

The recent barrage of rockets fired by Hamas at Israel has revived the fortunes of a video developed in 2008 as part of a trauma intervention effort in Sderot by the Joint Distribution Committee.

Sderot

Schoolchildren in Sderot, July 10, 2014. – Photo: Cheli Goldenberg

“The Code Red (Tzeva Adom) Song,” named for the code word for rocket attacks in Israel, is going viral on YouTube, with over 43,000 hits as of Friday morning for the version that was uploaded in 2012. Continue Reading »

U.S. Will Back Israel Should Jerusalem Decide on Ground Assault on Gaza

US Ambassador to Israel said on Israel’s Army Radio Friday morning that ‘no one wants a ground operation,’ but Washington backs Israel in any case.

By Ari Yashar

 

US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro spoke to Galei Tzahal (IDF Radio) on Friday morning, and committed America’s firm support for Israel if it decides to launch a ground offensive on the Hamas stronghold of Gaza.

The statement comes after the IDF on Thursday afternoon sent telephone warnings to 100,000 residents of Gaza, telling them to evacuate the area near the security border in an indication of an imminent ground entry. Continue Reading »

Lebanese Group Fires Katyusha Rocket at Upper Galilee

IDF returns fire from area where small radical organization, not Hezbollah, fired single rocket from Lebanon, senior army source says.

 

 

One rocket was fired from Lebanon on Friday morning on a village in the Upper Galilee. There were no injuries in the attack.

me digging out Katyusha rocket

Retrieving remnants of an exploded Katyusha rocket in Upper Galilee Kibbutz (archives) – Photo: IsraelandStuff/PP

Artillery fire was directed at the area from which the rocket was fired, a senior army source said.

The rocket was not fired by Hezbollah but by a small radical organization in Lebanon, Maj.-Gen. Continue Reading »

Hamas Launches Rockets at Israel’s Nuclear Reactor

5 Million Israelis under rocket threat with Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and further cities targeted, but Iron Dome manages to protect the cities & other sensitive targets amidst Hamas’ onslaught.

By Israel Today Staff

 

As Hamas desperately seeks what Israeli media termed a “quality” terror attack, it escalated rocket fire from Gaza on Wednesday and Thursday by targeting Israel’s nuclear reactor in the southern town of Dimona and firing barrage after barrage at the densely-populated Tel Aviv area.

Iron Dome launched to intercept & destroy incoming Gaza rocket – Photo source: Israel Today

Hamas and its allies have fired around 300 missiles and rockets from Gaza over the past week.

Continue Reading »

Israel Air Force Executes Over 930 Terror Targets Successfully in Gaza

After Security Cabinet meeting, Israel’s Defense Minister, Chief of Staff & IAF Commander discuss details of upcoming operations.

By Ari Yashar

 

After a lengthy Security Cabinet meeting, Israel’s military leaders spoke about the road ahead for Operation Protective Edge, which has already hit 930 terror targets in the Hamas enclave of Gaza.

“Hundreds of targets have been destroyed including the homes of militants, government institutions, launchers, rockets and other war materiel,” said Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon after the meeting.

Thanking the IDF for its firm defense of Israel, Ya’alon remarked “the IDF has impressively succeeded in intercepting the rockets being launched at the State of Israel, and in thwarting the terrorist organizations’ malicious intentions to perpetrate attacks, both by sea and in other ways.” Continue Reading »

Israel Amb. Prosor tell UN: Cease-fire not goal, now we dismantle Hamas rocket infrastructure

At emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, Secretary General says Israeli ground option still preventable if Hamas stops rocket fire.

 

UN Secretary General Ben Ki-moon said Thursday that an Israeli ground operation in the Gaza Strip is still preventable if Hamas stops rocket fire.

The United Nations Security Council meets to discuss the Israel-Gaza conflict, July 10, 2014

The United Nations Security Council meets to discuss the Israel-Gaza conflict, July 10, 2014, at the United Nations in New York. – Photo: AFP

Speaking at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council in New York, Ban expressed concern for the wellbeing of civilians in both Israel and Gaza, adding that the citizens of Gaza are caught between Hamas’ irresponsible behavior and Israel’s air strikes.

Continue Reading »