Archive for March 10, 2019

US advocates for Israel urge Trump to rescind Carter era legal opinion

Although the author of the Carter-era State Department legal opinion himself admitted the opinion was “controversial” and many distinguished legal experts were adamant that Israel’s settlements are indeed legal, it was accepted in 1977, giving a distinct unfair advantage to the Arab side ever since.

By Orli Harari

 

With Trump’s Deal of the Century in the offing, an anti-Israel legal opinion in the State Department has surfaced, which outlaws all Israeli communities over the Green Line. CUFI, which speaks for 4 million Christians, as well as the RCA and ZOA, are urging the Administration to rescind the controversial document. The fear is that Israel will be in a disadvantageous position if the “Deal of the Century” is published and an official pro-Arab legal opinion, negating all settlements, remains intact. Continue Reading »

IDF jets hit 4 Hamas bases after mortar explodes in southern Israel

After a projectile exploded in open territory in Israel’s Eshkol Regional Council on Saturday night, IAF fighter jets and attack helicopters hit Hamas naval facilities near Sudaniya & Khan Yunis, and two terror facilities in Zeytoun and Gaza City.

By ANNA AHRONHEIM &  HERB KEINON

 

Qatari Ambassador to Gaza Mohammed al-Emadi is expected to arrive in Gaza on Sunday, as diplomatic efforts to tamp down tension in the region continue.

Since November, Qatar has transferred – with Israel’s approval – three tranches of some $15 million a month to pay salaries and stipends to poor families.

Qatar begins sending to Hamas each month, three suitcases stuffed with 15 million dollars in cash as payment to pay salaries and stipends to poor families.

Continue Reading »

U.S. Muslim think-tank member condemns Rep. Omar for antisemitism

WATCH:  A Muslim member of the Council of Foreign Relations, a U.S. based think-tank believes Rep. Omar should be ejected from the House of Foreign Affairs Committee immediately because anything that the Minnesota Representative now proposes can be “interpreted through the lens of antisemitism.”

By ZACHARY KEYSER

 

Dr. Qanta Ahmed, a member of the Council of Foreign Relations a United States based think-tank, has appeared on Fox and Friends this week to discussing her op-ed in which she claims that Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar is “proving to be an enormous liability to America’s Muslim’s.”

“In her remarks, she has branded every Muslim in America as an antisemite, and this is absolutely unacceptable and un-Islamic,” Ahmed said. Continue Reading »

Israeli firm signs $10m contract to supply robots for Italian military police

Roboteam has supplied robotic systems to military, gov’t divisions from the U.S., Canada, the UK, Switzerland, South Korea, Japan & Thailand.
• The $10 million contract will provide 40 robots to Italy’s military police, the Arma dei Carabinieri.

By JNS and Israel Hayom Staff

 

Israeli robotics company Robo-Team Ltd., also known as Roboteam, announced on Wednesday that it has been awarded a $10 million contract to provide 40 robots to Italy’s military police, the Arma dei Carabinieri.

The firm manufactures ground robotic systems, also known as the Transportable Interoperable Ground Robot (TIGR), for military and law-enforcement utilization, such as handling of suspicious and dangerous items, in addition to collecting intelligence. Continue Reading »

BREAKING: Explosions heard in Gaza, after ‘Code Red’ activated in south

From the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit: A mortar shell exploded in an open area in Israel’s south without causing an injuries or damage.
– Residents in southern Israel spotted IAF helicopters near Khan Yunas on Friday evening.
– Palestinian media reports 2 Gazans killed in border riots, and loud explosions, following a day of intense confrontations between Palestinians and IDF forces.

By HAGAY HACOHEN, ANNA AHRONHEIM

 

IAF helicopters and loud explosions north of the Gaza Strip were reported on Friday evening by Palestinian media.

The reports follow a day of intense clashes between roughly 8,000 Palestinian protesters and IDF forces marking what Palestinian refer to as ‘March of Return.’ Continue Reading »

PLO leader Erekat calls on Palestinian boycott of US Embassy in Jerusalem

The leading diplomat and official PA peace negotiation team leader urges the international community to boycott the new Palestinian Affairs Unit inside the Jerusalem Embassy, which was created to consolidate & expedite requests by taking over the responsibilities of the (now closed) U.S. Consulate, that was also located in the Israeli capital.

By Elad Benari

 

Top Palestinian Authority (PA) leader Saeb Erekat on Thursday urged the international community to boycott the newly created US Embassy unit that will handle relations with Palestinian Arabs, The Associated Press reported.

The US this week merged its embassy and consulate in Jerusalem. The move followed an announcement by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in October that the US would be shuttering the consulate facility in eastern Jerusalem, and would incorporate the services provided there in the US embassy on Agron Street. Continue Reading »

Palestinian official threatens to “dismantle the PA” if Pay to Slay ends

The office of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas warns that they will disband the PA if the Israeli cabinet keeps the deducted 500 million shekels ($140m) from the Palestinian Authority, due to its uncompromising policy of paying monthly stipends to convicted terrorists and their families.

By Daniel Siryoti & Israel Hayom Staff

 

Israel has one week to reinstate funds it has deducted from the taxes it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, otherwise, the PA will seek to reopen the Paris Protocol, the office of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas warned in a statement Wednesday.

The Paris Protocol was an amendment to the Oslo II Accord of 1995. Continue Reading »

EU court rejects Hamas bullsh!t, terror status remains intact

The EU General Court rejected Hamas’ assertions presented, rebuffing each argument; bottom line: EU funds earmarked for Hamas will remain frozen.

BY HAGAY HACOHEN

 

The EU General Court rejected an appeal by the terrorist group Hamas which claimed it is ‘a lawful political movement’ on Wednesday.

In a political move, Hamas demands PA autocrat Abbas resign. – Photo: Twitter / @KhaledAbuToameh

The ruling rejected all the arguments made by Hamas, ensuring the EU funds controlled by the movement will remain frozen.

The decision can be appealed before the EU Court of Justice.

 

View original The Jerusalem Post publication at:
https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/EU-court-rejects-Hamas-appeal-reinforces-its-statues-as-terror-group-582774 Continue Reading »

Lebanon warns UN, EU against joining in Israel’s EastMed gas pipeline

In formal letter of protest to the UN Secretary General, EU foreign policy chief, Cyprus, Italy and Greece, Lebanon’s foreign minister, Gebran Bassil asks for them to honor Lebanon’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), emphasizing to the Greek FM that Beirut will not permit its sovereignty to be violated.

By Reuters

 

Lebanon on Thursday warned its Mediterranean neighbours that a planned EastMed gas pipeline from Israel to the European Union must not be allowed to violate its maritime borders.

Beirut has an unresolved maritime border dispute with Israel – which it regards as an enemy country – over a sea area of about 860 sq km (330 square miles) extending along the edge of three of Lebanon’s southern energy blocks. Continue Reading »

Iron Dome shoots down two rockets, IDF tank responds firing on Gaza

The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit reports Iron Dome shoots down two rockets launched from Gaza after three months of ‘relative calm’.

By Tal Polon

 

A rocket was fired Wednesday evening at the Gaza envelope communities and was intercepted by the Iron Dome system, without causing damage.

This was the first time that a rocket had been fired at the area after three months of relative calm.

Successful interception by Iron Dome’. – Photo by IDF Spokesperson’s Unit

The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit updated that sirens sounded in the Eshkol Regional Council after a projectile was launched from the Gaza Strip at Israeli territory. Continue Reading »

Survey: U.S. Democrat Support for Israel in Sharp Decline

A Pew Research report exposes a partisan divide that has widened considerably, with support for Israel by Democrats plummeting to 27% while Republican support has risen to an all time high.

By David Lazarus

 

Support for Israel among US Democrats is dropping sharply, and the party once preferred by American Jews is quickly losing their support

According to a 2018 Pew Research survey, currently, 79% of Republicans say they sympathize more with Israel than with the Palestinians, compared with just 27% of Democrats.

Since 2001, the number of Republicans siding with Israel over the Palestinians has increased 29 percentage points, from 50% to 79%. Continue Reading »

Waqf Council chairman rejects Israeli court closure of Gate of Mercy compound

Jordan appointed Waqf Council chairman says Gate of Mercy compound will remain open for Muslims to pray, despite Jerusalem District Court decision to re-seal the area by next Monday.
• Muslim cleric demands Israel permit the Jordanian run Waqf to renovate the Temple Mount building, allow Waqf officials, Waqf guards and worshippers to enter the site.

By The Associated Press and Israel Hayom Staff

 

The Islamic authority that oversees Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem has rejected an Israeli court order to close a religious hall that has ignited tension between Palestinian worshippers and Israeli police in recent weeks.

Sheikh Abdelazeem Salhab, chairman of the Waqf Council appointed by neighboring Jordan, said Tuesday that the structure, called the Gate of Mercy shrine, would “remain open for Muslims to pray,” despite Israel’s ultimatum to close the site by next Monday. Continue Reading »

UN Human Rights Chief: IDF guilty of “disproportionate force” in protecting Israel

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said in a speech on global inequity at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, that Israel may have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity against Hamas-led protests on the Gaza border.

By TOVAH LAZAROFF

 

Israeli soldiers act with disproportionate force against Palestinian protestors at the Gaza border, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said on Wednesday.

United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet

Bachelet noted that it is almost a year since the Hamas-led protests on the Gaza border, known as the March of Return, have begun. Continue Reading »

Former Pakistani president calls for diplomatic ties with Israel

Speaking in Dubai, former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf, who established contact with the Jewish State in 2005 via Jack Rosen, a U.S. businessman, told a journalist that there is no harm in establishing diplomatic relations with Israel.

By Kaswar Klasra, The Media Line

 

ISLAMABAD — Former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf believes it’s time for Pakistan to consider establishing ties with Israel.

He was speaking at a press conference on February 22 in Dubai, where he has been living in self-exile to avoid what he believes are politically motivated court cases back home.

Pakistan Passport, ‘not valid for travel to Israel’ – Twitter

“There is no harm to establish a relationship with Israel,” Musharraf said, adding that “it will help Pakistan counter India” by accessing an “elite club” of “influential” nations. Continue Reading »

IDF jets strike Hamas compound following launching of explosive balloons on Israel

In retaliation to the continued release of explosive balloons from the Gaza terror enclave on Israeli civilian towns, IDF fighter aircraft once again strike at a Hamas military compound.

By Elad Benari

 

The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said on Tuesday evening that IDF fighter planes and aircraft attacked a number of terrorist targets in a military compound belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization in the northern Gaza Strip.

The attack was carried out in response to the explosive balloons that were sent from the Gaza Strip toward Israeli territory.

Bundle of balloons launched from Gaza before reportedly dropping an explosive charge near Kibbutz Nir Oz in Israel.

Continue Reading »