Archive for October 18, 2014

Egyptian Soldiers Die Destroying Hamas Smuggling Tunnel From Gaza

Egyptian army officers among the dead when Hamas-run smuggling tunnel from Gaza collapses during demolition operation.

By Arutz Sheva Staff

 

Two Egyptian army officers and a soldier were killed Saturday when a smuggling tunnel connecting Sinai and the Gaza Strip collapsed as they were preparing to blow it up, officials said.

One soldier was injured and another missing in the collapse, which happened as troops were planting explosives.

The army says it has destroyed more than 1,600 such tunnels – most of them since the ouster of president Mohamed Morsi last year – which the Hamas terrorist group uses to smuggle in arms, equipment and money. Continue Reading »

Tiny Israel begins building multi-tiered cemetery towers

After initial hesitations, Israel’s ultra-Orthodox burial societies have embraced the practice now that a rabbinical ruling makes the endeavor kosher.

 

At first glance, the multi-tiered jungle of concrete off a major central Israeli highway does not appear unusual in this city of bland high-rises. But the burgeoning towers are groundbreaking when you consider its future tenants: They will be homes not for the living but rather the dead.

Vertical part of the Yarkon cemetery

This Oct. 6, 2014, photo shows a new vertical part of the Yarkon cemetery outside of the city of Petah Tikva, Israel. – Photo: AP

With real estate at a premium, Israel is at the forefront of a global movement building vertical cemeteries in densely populated countries.

Continue Reading »

Syrian Rebel Tunnel Blast Proves Hezbollah Terror Tunnel Threat in Galilee Realistic

Aided with UN equipment, Islamic rebels obliterate Syrian army post annihilating its 60 soldiers, by tunneling undetected in rocky terrain – almost identical to that of the Israel-Lebanese border.

By Dalit Halevy, Ari Yashar

 

Members of the Syrian rebel group Ahrar al-Sham, part of the Islamic Front coalition, blew up a Syrian army post on Tuesday by digging attack tunnels in rocky terrain – similar to that of the Israeli-Lebanese border – in an incident further raising fears that Hezbollah may use the same techniques.

Syrian explosion - Screenshot YouTube/Al Jazeera

Syrian explosion – Screenshot YouTube/Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera Arabic reported on the blast and the tunnels on Wednesday, showing how the strike was conducted on the Al Dahrouj checkpoint near Maarat al-Numaan, in the rural northern Syrian region not far from Idlib. Continue Reading »

Gaza to receive Turkish floating power station for domestic energy

 

Allowing Turkey to deploy a Turkish ship off the coast of Gaza to serve as temporary power plant represents a goodwill gesture on the part of Israel.

By i24news

Israel allowed Turkey to deploy a Turkish ship off the coast of Gaza to serve as temporary power plant, until the Gaza power plant, damaged during the summer’s war with Israel, is repaired, Palestinian Minister of Civil Affairs Hussein al-Sheikh said on Thursday according to Israel’s Ynetnews website.

Carolyn Kaster (Pool/AFP)

“Secretary of State John Kerry during the International Gaza Reconstruction Conference in Cairo, Oct 12 2014 – Photo: Carolyn Kaster/ Pool/AFP

It is understood the move represents a goodwill gesture on the part of Israel. Continue Reading »

Embattled Christians: Jews & Israel Support Us, but Where is the Church

 

At Jerusalem press conference, the Vicar of Baghdad lauds Jewish support for the Mid-East’s persecuted Christians, but blasts the Church’s relative  silence.

By Israel Today Staff

 

In an impassioned plea delivered at a press conference in Jerusalem on Monday, Canon Andrew White, the “Vicar of Baghdad,” noted that Israel and the Jews are openly standing up for embattled Middle East Christians, while much of the global Church remains conspicuously silent.

Canon Andrew White – Israel Today

Speaking to reporters t the Feast of Tabernacles celebration hosted by the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ), White pointed to fellow panelist Ron Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, and wondered, “Here we see Jews standing with us, but where is the Church?” Continue Reading »

UN chief ‘shocked & alarmed’ by Gaza terror tunnels – but investigates Israel not Hamas

U.N. Secretary-General visits southern Israel & Gaza Strip
• UN Chief: The build-destroy, build-destroy cycle in Gaza must be broken
• UN Chief tours Hamas’ terror tunnel near Kibbutz Ein Hashlosha, calls threats posed by rockets & tunnels “not acceptable.”

By Shlomo Cesana, Gadi Golan, Daniel Siryoti, Israel Hayom Staff and News Agencies

 

The U.N. Human Rights Council’s investigation of Operation Protective Edge will go ahead as planned, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when the two met in Jerusalem earlier this week. Israel tried to convince Ban that an internal Israeli probe of the recent Gaza operation would be sufficient, but Ban made clear he would await the results of the U.N.
Continue Reading »

One name of 3 Israelis killed in Nepal avalanche has been released

 

Of 23 people rescued, about 15 climbers, including 12 Israelis, were recovering in a hospital in Kathmandu. Searches for any additional casualties resumed on Thursday morning.

By JPOST.COM STAFF, REUTERS

 

Agam Luria, a 23 year old from Yifat, a kibbutz in the northern Galilee, was named as one of three Israeli hikers killed in a Himalayan avalanche on Wednesday.

Himalayan range

Himalayan range. – Photo: REUTERS

A fourth Israeli is still missing, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday. The names of the two other casualties have yet to be released to the public.

At least 85 climbers are still unaccounted for after a blizzard dumped snow and triggered avalanches along a mountain trekking route popular with backpackers, the Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal said on Thursday. Continue Reading »

Israel’s Defense Minister: The Palestinians Will Have Autonomy – Not Sovereignty

Defense Minister Ya’alon says a political separation between Israel & Abbas’ PA has already come about, and he calls for demilitarized autonomy for the Palestinian Authority.

By Elad Benari, Canada

 

The Palestinian Arabs will not have a “state” but rather an “autonomy”, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon told the Israel Hayom daily newspaper in an interview published Wednesday.

“Our efforts to create shortcuts over the last two decades — from Oslo until present day — have all failed,” he said. “We know how to live with it. It is certainly not necessary to control them. We can give them political autonomy like they have now,” said Ya’alon. Continue Reading »

Palestinians’ envoy to the Netherlands hopes to avoid taking Israel to the ICC

‘Going to the International Criminal Court is the finale divorce,’ says Nabil Abuznaid, ‘I don’t think Palestinians & the Israelis are ready for a final divorce.’

By

 

JTA — Loading a newly released video of a beheading in Syria on his smartphone, Nabil Abuznaid, the Palestinians’ ambassador here in The Hague, shakes his head in disbelief.

Criminal Court

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad al-Malki (left) at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. – Photo: AFP

“Look at those animals,” he says, referring to the fighters from the Islamic State jihadist group who carried out the decapitation. “Do you think Israelis are immune from this craziness?

Continue Reading »

Planned Riots on Temple Mount Force Israel Police to Restrict Muslim Entry

 

Israel Police to allow the entry of Muslim male worshipers over 50 yrs-old onto the Temple Mount following intelligence information about additional planned riots.

By Uzi Baruch

 

The Israel Police will restrict the entry of Muslim worshipers to the Temple Mount on Wednesday, due to intelligence information that was received about plans by Arabs to riot at the compound, as they have done several times already in recent days.

The decision was made by the Jerusalem District Commander of the police following an assessment conducted Tuesday evening.

According to the decision, only Arab men over the age of 50 and women of any age will be allowed to enter the compound. Continue Reading »

Natanyahu to visiting UN chief: Direct negotiations only path to Israel-Palestinian peace

At a meeting in Jerusalem with visiting UN chief, PM Netanyahu says Palestinian extremists continue to incite recent Temple Mount violence by rioting & spreading baseless lies of imagined Israeli threat.

By and DPA

 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday at the beginning of his talks with visiting United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that real peace between Israel and the Palestinians would only be possible through bilateral negotiations with those who want peace.

Netanyahu and Ban shake hands before their meeting in Jerusalem, October 13, 2014.

Netanyahu and Ban shake hands before their meeting in Jerusalem, October 13, 2014. – Photo: Reuters

Unilateral Palestinian steps in the United Nations will not advance the cause of peace, Netanyahu told the UN chief.

Continue Reading »

Hamas’ weapons smuggling to suffer from rift between Iran and Sudan

Gaza’s arms suppliers are in the middle of a diplomatic snafu after Khartoum closed its Iranian culture centers out of concern Tehran was promoting Shi’ite ideology in Sunni Sudan.

By Roi Kais

 

After 20 years in which Sudan, a Sunni-majority state, maintained close strategic ties with Shi’ite Iran, cracks have begun to appear in the relationship between the two countries, who, according to foreign reports, have also cooperated against Israel.

Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir (left) with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei (right) – Photo: AP

There have been several reports in recent years about air raids on Sudanese territory against arms convoys reportedly transferring weapons to the Gaza Strip. Continue Reading »

3 Israeli Arabs reportedly entered Syria to join Islamic jihad

According to a report in a local Nazareth magazine, the families of the three men tried to have them arrested before they crossed the Turkish-Syrian border.

Four residents of Yafia, a town near Nazareth, left Israel for Turkey during Eid al-Adha earlier this month with the intent of enlisting with the rebel groups in Syria, or with the Islamic State, according to a report in a local Nazareth paper.

ISIS fighters in Raqqa, Syria.

Fighters from the Islamic State marching in Raqqa, Syria, January 2014. – Photo: AP

One of the four dropped out en route and returned home, where he told the families of the other three that they were planning to travel to Syria.

Continue Reading »

Israel’s Navy Successfully Tests ‘Iron Dome’ for Ships

Israel’s Barak 8 missile was successful in intercepting an anti-ship missile that imitated Russia’s Yakhont cruise missile.

By Gil Ronen

 

The Israel Navy has conducted a successful secret test of the Barak 8 missile, which is designed to defend ships from the much-vaunted Yakhont anti-ship cruise missiles, reports Channel 2.

The Yakhont missiles are one of the greatest threats to the Navy’s vessels, mostly because of their potential use by Syria and Hezbollah. The missile flies at a very high speed – almost the speed of sound – from the moment it is launched.

The test was carried out with the cooperation of an Italian firm, which provided a missile that imitated the Yakhont and similar missiles. Continue Reading »

Cairo’s conference of donors pledge $5.4 billion for Gaza reconstruction

Int’l powers outperform Abbas’ expectations with generous donations from  EU, US, Qatar, Turkey, and UAE.

By the Associated Press

 

A donor conference in Cairo to raise money to rebuild the Gaza Strip after this year’s war between Hamas and Israel ended with pledges of $5.4 billion for reconstruction there, Norway’s foreign minister said Sunday.

Palestinians return to destroyed homes (Photo: Reuters)

Palestinians return to destroyed homes – Photo: Reuters

Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende offered the figure at the end of Sunday’s one-day conference, far beyond the $4 billion initially sought by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

“The message was clear to the international community that the Palestinian brothers are not alone,” Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri said. Continue Reading »