Archive for June 19, 2016

Israeli PM sends firefighting planes to extinguish Cyprus blaze

 

Following request from Cypriot government, PM Netanyahu dispatches Israeli firefighting aircraft to assist in dousing blaze.

By Arutz Sheva Staff

 

Israel said Saturday it was sending firefighting planes to a blaze in Cyprus, returning the neighboring island’s helping hand when the Jewish state suffered a devastating forest fire in 2010.

A plane filmed battling the Carmel Forest fire in 2010. – Photo: יחידה אווירית

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered that firefighting planes be sent to Cyprus to help put out a giant fire that is raging in Paphos,” on the island’s west coast, Netanyahu’s office said.

It said the decision followed a formal request from the Cyprus government. Continue Reading »

With so many guns, Israel is the ‘well-regulated militia’

 

The Israeli ethos instilled in the IDF’s training of both men & women on their ‘duty to bear arms’ has kept gun violence down.

By JTA

 

Dirty, hot and exhausted Israeli soldiers waiting for their bus home from the army base tend, understandably, to be in a hurry to get on board.

Continue Reading »

Are Netanyahu & Liberman Planning a Historical Move?

 

Is Israel’s Prime Minister merely positioning to remain in power, or is Netanyahu, as his confidants hint, really prepared to make a dramatic move for peace?

By LESLIE SUSSER

 

IMMEDIATELY AFTER Avigdor ’s swearing in as Israel’s new defense minister in late May, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the hitherto hawkish Yisrael Beytenu leader took pains to show the world just how dedicated they are to Middle East peacemaking and a two-state solution with the Palestinians.

Netanyahu and Liberman – Photo: AMOS BEN GERSHOM, GPO

“I am committed to achieving peace with our neighbors the Palestinians and with all our neighbors,” Netanyahu insisted, intimating that the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002, which promises normalization with the Arab world in the event of peace with the Palestinians, could be the basis for a major regional peace move. Continue Reading »

Israeli Produced Food Aiding More Syrians to the Ire of Many

 

Not all Syrians are happy with the aid from the ‘Zionist Entity’ that’s been more evident of late, especially the food that’s been reaching families of Syrian rebels fighting in the southern Qunietra region on Israel’s Golan Heights border.

By Roi Kais

 

Israeli produced food is showing up on the frontlines in Syria, and has been causing a firestorm in Arabic media and social media.

The food has been showing up in Qunietra province which is on the border with the Israeli Golan Heights, specifically in areas controlled by rebel groups. While many of the rebel groups seem to be happy with this aid, there are others who are not too pleased with it, saying “it is a disgrace to be receiving food from the Zionist Entity which has stolen the Golan.” Continue Reading »

Palestinians starts maritime border talks with Egypt

 

The Palestinian Authority’s agenda is to establish an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off Gaza’s coast under UN Convention on Law of the Sea, that incidentally has not been signed by Israel, or the U.S.

By AFP

 

Goal is to establish exclusive economic zone off coast of the Gaza Strip under UN Convention on Law of the Sea
The Palestinians have begun talks with Egypt on setting out the maritime borders of their hoped for future state and the resources they can extract from the sea, their UN ambassador to the United Nations said Friday.

Border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, seen from Rafah, – Photo: SAID KHATIB:AFP

The goal is to establish an exclusive economic zone off the coast of the Gaza Strip under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, said ambassador Ryad Mansour. Continue Reading »

Yatta: A heritage from Judaism to terrorism

 

The murderers from the Sarona Market terrorist attack belong to the Mahamra clan, one of the largest families in the Palestinian town of Yatta and who actually descended from Jews. For generations they even kept some Jewish traditions, but now, they embrace terrorism.

By Nadav Shragai

 

The Palestinian town of Yatta in the south Hebron Hills, the starting point for Khaled and Mohammed Mahamra’s killing spree at the Sarona Market complex last week, was the first Arab community in Judea and Samaria to be connected to the water supply and electricity grid after the 1967 Six-Day War. The veteran members of the Civil Administration recall that Yatta was given that boon after town officials approached Israeli army officers a few months after the war, carrying an ancient gold Hannukah menorah and making a surprising claim: They, the Mahamra clan, were the descendants of an ancient Jewish tribe. Continue Reading »

ISRAEL: Water supply to West Bank Palestinians increased, not decreased

 

Contrary to mainstream media reports, Israel has increased the water flow to Palestinians in the evening, when its demand is particularly higher after the Ramadan fast.

By TOVAH LAZAROFF,  MICHELLE MALKA GROSSMAN

 

Israel on Thursday dismissed Palestinian charges that it had cut the water supply to West Bank Palestinians, explaining that a broken water pipe had caused a temporary shortage.

Continue Reading »

Israel’s Robots and Drones From European Defense Expo 2016

 

view videoCheck out these impressive Israeli innovations featured at Europe’s most prominent defense conference, the Eurosatory: An anti-drone defense system, a new robotic vehicle, and a unique stealthy UAV to name but a few.

By Udi Etsion

 

Israel’s presence at the Euro 2016 soccer championships, taking place in France, may be limited to the audience at home (and some lucky spectators who managed to get tickets), but at Eurosatory—Europe’s most important weapons and defense expo—Israel will have a central role. A large number of innovative new products made by firms from the holy land will be shown at the conference. 

Continue Reading »

Rabid anti-Israel Knesset Member intends to join new flotilla to Gaza

 

Arab MK Zoabi reportedly plans to join in a women-only ‘Freedom Flotilla’ to Gaza in mid-September.

By Gil Ronen

 

MK Hanin Zoabi (Balad / Joint List) reportedly intends to join a flotilla to Gaza, some six years after she participated in a flotilla aboard the infamous Mavi Marmara, where terrorists prepared an ambush for Israeli commandos.

According to Channel 2 TV News’s website, the Freedom Flotilla will be an all-female endeavor, sailing in mid-September and expected to reach Gaza October 1.

 

Continue reading at:

View original Arutz Sheva publication at:
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/213739#.V2NAGGP8fFI Continue Reading »

Israeli NGO threatens Boeing with lawsuit over deal with Iran

 

In the last two years Shurat Hadin – the Israel Law Center, has won blockbuster judgments against the Palestinian Authority & Iran, and now says Iran needs to pay lost court debts before it can purchase the planes.

By YONAH JEREMY BOB

 

Shurat Hadin – Israel Law Center on Thursday told US aerospace giant Boeing that it will place liens on any of its airplanes slated for Iran if it goes through with an announced sale.

Boeing company as seen in Los Angeles, California, US. – Photo: REUTERS

The NGO represents hundreds of families of victims of Iranian-sponsored terrorism who hold billions of dollars in unsatisfied US court judgments, and it says Iran needs to pay the debts before it can purchase the planes. Continue Reading »

National project: 60 mile-long underground wall to protect Israel from Gaza

 

Israel Hebrew media reports Jerusalem’s plan to build an underground concrete wall tens of meters deep to neutralize the threat of Hamas attack tunnels.
* A senior defense official: ‘Another confrontation with Hamas is inevitable, so it must be the last one.’

By Nahum Barnea

 

Israel’s defense establishment’s plan to build a concrete wall tens of meters underground as well as aboveground along the Gaza Strip border was revealed by Yedioth Ahronoth Thursday morning.

A Hamas attack tunnel – Photo: IDF spokesperson

It has previously been estimated that such a project would cost tens of billions of shekels. However, under the new plan the construction costs are estimated to reach NIS 2.2 billion. 
Continue Reading »

Israel’s Defense Minister revokes VIP entry permit of Palestinian official

Israel’s Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman canceled Mohammed Al-Madani’s VIP entry permit, saying the Palestinian Authority’s outreach liaison to Israeli society was engaging in “subversive political activities.”

By Lilach Shoval, Israel Hayom Staff & The Associated Press

 

Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Wednesday revoked the VIP entry permit of the Palestinian Authority’s outreach liaison to Israeli society.

The Qalandiya crossing between Jerusalem and Ramallah –  Photo: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit

Lieberman said the VIP permit of Mohammed Al-Madani was revoked because he had engaged in “subversive political activities,” including trying to create a political party that included Israeli Arabs and Mizrahi Jews. Continue Reading »

Dozens of Hezbollah killed/injured by Syrian forces over military strategy

 

Syrian media reports of heavy fighting early Thursday morning involving Hezbollah fighters against Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces in two villages of Aleppo’s southern suburbs.

By MAAYAN GROISMAN

 

The first signs of a rift between Hezbollah and the Syrian regime, which have been cooperating over the past five years in the Syrian civil war, reportedly began emerging amid heavy fighting against rebel factions in Aleppo.

Lebanese Hezbollah supporters march during a religious procession in Nabatieh. – Photo: REUTERS

According to the Syrian news site, Syrian Mirror, heavy clashes broke out between the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad and Hezbollah fighters early Thursday morning in two villages in Aleppo’s southern suburbs. Continue Reading »

Arab residents move into first real Palestinian ‘city’, Rawabi

 

Although sections of Rawabi are still under construction, the first residents of first planned Palestinian city have been moving in since January, in spite of important agreements that need to be settled with Israel.

By The Associated Press

 

After years of setbacks, Palestinians are proudly starting to move into Rawabi, their first planned city being built in the West Bank — a move that isn’t just about real estate but also a symbol of their quest for statehood.

Rawabi family leaves their new apartment building – Photo: AP

Though Rawabi is still unfinished, its glistening high-rises and shopping centers bring a rare sense of pride and excitement to the territory at a time of growing malaise over a standstill in Mideast peace efforts.  Continue Reading »

Huckabee: ‘America’s enemies are Israel’s enemies’

 

view videoWATCH VIDEO: “Mike” Huckabee, addresses the 16th annual Herzliya Security Conference: ‘Every friend of Israel is a friend of the United States and every enemy of Israel is an enemy of the United States.’

By Yoni Kempinski

 

“Every friend of Israel is a friend of the United States and every enemy of Israel is an Enemy of the United States,” said Governor Michael “Mike” Dale Huckabee, 44th Governor of Arkansas and two-time GOP presidential hopeful. Speaking on Wednesday during the second day of the 16th annual Herzliya Conference, Governor Huckabee said “America is looking into the mirror and sees Israel.” Continue Reading »