Archive for Israel News

Israel’s Negev home to world’s tallest solar tower

While the Jewish State has abundant sunshine, Israeli bureaucracy has hampered solar energy progress, so the world’s tallest solar tower project in the Negev that’s set to supply Israel with 5% of its electricity needs, is just a ‘drop in the bucket’ of its potential.

By The Associated Press

 

In sunny Israel, solar energy supplies only a small percentage of the nation’s power needs, leaving it far behind countries with cloudier and colder climates.

Now the fledgling solar industry is trying to make a leap forward with a large-scale project boasting the world’s tallest solar tower, as a symbol of Israel’s renewable energy ambitions. Continue Reading »

Jordan threatens US with “catastrophic” repercussions if Trump moves embassy to Jerusalem

 

Jordan’s Information Minister warned moving the embassy could affect relations between the U.S. and Jordan, stressing the move would be a “red line” and there will be “catastrophic” repercussions if Trump moves the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem.

By Elad Benari

 

Jordan’s government spokesman warned on Thursday of “catastrophic” repercussions if President-elect Donald Trump follows through with his campaign pledge to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Embassy of the United States in Tel Aviv, Israel - Wikimedia Commons

Current location of the Embassy of the United States in Tel Aviv, Israel – Wikimedia Commons

Trump repeatedly promised during the campaign to move the embassy if elected. Continue Reading »

6,000 Chinese construction laborers to arrive in Israel by June

 

Israel’s Finance minister says bilateral construction labor deal with China will help address housing shortage by bolstering undermanned construction sector, facilitating shorter construction time that translates into lower prices.

By Israel Hayom Staff

 

Israel’s construction sector, which has long suffered from a lack of sufficient manpower, received a boost on Wednesday after an Israeli delegation signed a bilateral agreement with the Chinese government to bring more than 6,000 Chinese laborers to Israel in the next half year.

The agreement, which was signed following protracted negotiations, is slated to be made official in late February, the Israeli news portal Walla reported. Continue Reading »

As Lame Duck Obama Causes Chaos Democrats Finally Expressing Disagreement

 

Some Democrat lawmakers are relieved to bid the POTUS farewell, especially after Obama’s decision to abstain from a UN Security Council veto, that passed Resolution 2334, disavowing Israel’s sovereignty over Jerusalem, Judea & Samaria and condemning a Jewish presence there.

By MICHAEL WILNER

 

WASHINGTON – For years, Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill managed to keep relatively quiet their frustration with Barack Obama’s approach to the Middle East, careful to navigate his brokerage of a nuclear deal with Iran, his absence in Syria and his antagonistic relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by offering respectful criticism couched in commitments to party loyalty. Continue Reading »

Israeli Arab politician MK Ghattas, indicted for terrorist activities

 

 

Indictment charges brought against the Arab Knesset Member are: unlawfully bringing communication devices into a prison, fraud, breach of trust, use of property for purposes of terrorism and fraudulently obtaining benefits.

By Tova Tzimuki

 

Indictment charges brought against the Arab Knesset Member are: unlawfully bringing communication devices into a prison, fraud, breach of trust, use of property for purposes of terrorism and fraudulently obtaining benefits.

MK Basel Ghattas (Joint List) was indicted on Thursday for smuggling cellphones to Palestinian security prisoners in Israel jails.

The offenses Ghattas will be charged with are: Bringing in documents not through the prison administration, bringing in communication devices, use of property for purposes of terrorism, fraud and breach of trust by a public worker, fraudulently obtaining benefits under aggravated circumstances. Continue Reading »

Haim Saban, staunch Democrat loyalist ‘deeply disturbed’ by Obama’s actions against Israel

 

Israel-American billionaire, mega-donor to the Democratic Party and Chairman of the Saban Forum, Haim Saban, issues a strong condemnation of the Obama administration’s recent anti-Israel actions.

By Ben Ariel

 

Israel-American billionaire and media mogul Haim Saban, one of the Democratic Party’s biggest donors, on Wednesday issued a scathing criticism of the Obama administration’s recent anti-Israel actions.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry poses for a photo with Saban Forum chairman Haim Saban - Photo: US St Dept/Public Domain

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry poses for a photo with Saban Forum chairman Haim Saban – Photo: US St Dept/Public Domain

In a harshly worded statement quoted by Breitbart, Saban said he is “deeply disturbed” by the Obama administration’s allowing of the anti-Israel resolution to pass in the United Nations Security Council, as well as Secretary of State John Kerry’s speech last week, in which he said Israeli “settlements” are an obstacle to peace. Continue Reading »

Esteemed Israeli archeologist admonished on Temple Mount by Jordanian Wakf

 

Abruptly interrupting Dr. Gabriel Barkay as he lectured US college students, a Palestinian guard warned him to stop referring to the holy site as “Temple Mount”.

By DANIEL K. EISENBUD

 

One of the nation’s most vaunted archeologists said he was rebuked by a Wakf Muslim religious trust guard and police officer over the weekend for referring to Judaism’s holiest site as the “Temple Mount” during a tour on the compound with US college students.

Jerusalem Prize winner and Temple Mount Sifting Project co-founder, Dr. Gabriel Barkay, on Tuesday said he was guiding an interfaith group of 22 undergraduates from UCLA Sunday morning when he was interrupted by an Arab guard for making the seemingly innocuous reference. Continue Reading »

WANTED: Mossad seeking to recruit women

 

Israel’s top intelligence agency, Mossad publishes recruitment ad specifically targeting “powerful women” to apply.

By i24news

 

Israel’s intelligence agency known as the Mossad has launched a recruitment campaign specifically targeting women for the first time since its establishment in 1949.

Mossad - Photo: IsraelandStuff/PP

Mossad – Photo: IsraelandStuff/PP

A series of advertisements published in national newspapers is aimed at drawing female recruits to the agency, whose staff is comprised of about 40 percent women – with 24 percent of those women occupying key top-level roles, according to Israeli news site Ynet.

One ad shows the face of a woman whose features are obscured in darkness, featuring the statement “powerful women needed”. Continue Reading »

Palestinian martyr-themed Christmas terrorist-tree for 2016 displayed in Jerusalem

 

Unlike the Arab Archbishop’s boss, Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III, who openly praised Israel’s protection of Christians, Atallah Hanna reveled around ‘hijacked’ Palestinian Christmas tree in East Jerusalem.

Israel Today Staff

 

A Christmas tree featuring photos of dozens of Palestinian terrorists killed while attacking Israeli Jews has been erected in eastern Jerusalem.

Until the past weekend, the tree had attracted many visitors, both Muslims and Christians. Among them was Archbishop of Sebastia Theodosios, better known as Atallah Hanna.

Theophilos & visitors with the 2016 martyr's Christmas tree in eastern Jerusalem. - Screenshot Israel TV2 News

Theophilos with visitors by the 2016 martyr’s Christmas tree in eastern Jerusalem. – Screenshot Israel TV2 News

Channel 2 News reported that Hanna told those gathered at the tree that it constituted a “Christmas message [from] the heart of Palestine – we are one nation defending one issue…standing firm and remaining in the Holy Land.” Continue Reading »

Chinese invest $20 million in Israeli ‘smart clothing’ startup

 

view videoKfar Saba-based cardiac monitoring clothing HealthWatch, raises $20 million from Chinese company Yiling, who will also market HealthWatch’s product in China.

By Israel Hayom Staff

 

Israeli startup HealthWatch Technologies, which develops cardiac monitoring garments, announced Monday a $20 million investment by Chinese company Yiling, which specializes in Chinese medicine and is now in the process of branching out into conventional medicine.

According to the financial daily Globes, the investment puts HealthWatch’s value at $65 million.

HealthWatch develops smart-digital garments with interwoven sensors measuring vital signs - Screenshot from HealthWatch website

HealthWatch describes itself as “a pioneer in harnessing textile technology to produce fashionable, smart-digital garments with interwoven sensors unobtrusively measuring vital signs of hospital-grade quality.” Continue Reading »

Intel launches 7th generation processors designed & developed in Israel

 

As well as being energy-saving, Intel’s latest Israel developed processor provides record-breaking performance rates and are the strongest, fastest processors available to the public.

By MICHAEL ZEFF

 

Intel announced on Tuesday the official launch of its full line of advanced seventh generation computer processors. According to Intel’s Israel division, the majority of development and design for the new high-performance processors came from the company’s Haifa development center.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the new Intel production line in Kiryat Gat, Monday - Photo: Kobi Gideon, Israel's GPO

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the new Intel production line in Kiryat Gat, Monday – Photo: Kobi Gideon, Israel’s GPO

“Today, many of Intel’s core products are being developed through Intel Israel’s development branch, specifically the sixth generation processors that were announced last year and the seventh generation that was just announced today,” Ran Sanderovitz, vice president and general manager of Intel Israel’s development centers, told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday. Continue Reading »

CAUGHT: Crashed EU drone exposes espionage near Mt. Hevron

 

WATCH: After recovering crashed drone, shocking footage reveals EU spying on Jewish towns and the illegal surveillance of IDF posts in Judea & Samaria.

by Gary Willig

 

A drone with a video camera which crashed in a forest on Mount Hevron revealed a European Union (EU) operation to spy on and gather intelligence on Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.

The footage from the drone was retrieved after it crashed in view of residents of the town of Ma’on in Judea, Channel 2 reported. The footage shows the drone flying low over residents before crashing next to a car. Continue Reading »

Meet Lt. Shahar, Israeli Air Force’s newest female fighter pilot interviewed

 

view videoIDF interviews history-making Lt. Shahar, the 4th female fighter pilot who qualified for the Israeli Air Force.
– WATCH short Israeli Air Force clip.

By Yoav Zitun

 

“I don’t feel special,” said Lt. Shahar, the fourth female fighter pilot in the history of the Israeli Air Force who completed the 173 Pilots’ Training Course last week. “Even before the course, I was a completely regular person. Not the most successful amongst my friends. I didn’t have the highest grades in high school—they were actually middling. In basketball as well I was good, but I wasn’t in the top league. Continue Reading »

REPORT: 21 Hamas terrorists died in collapses of terror-tunnels in 2016

 

Hamas reported that 21 members of its Islamic Palestinian militant groups were killed by the collapse of their attack-tunnels in Gaza during 2016.

By Ben Ariel

 

Hamas said on Sunday that 21 of its members were killed in tunnel collapses in Gaza during 2016, Kol Yisrael radio reported.

According to the terror group, seven of the 21 were killed in a tunnel in eastern Gaza City which collapsed six months ago during work to repair the damage caused to the tunnel by Israel during Operation Protective Edge in 2014.

Hamas terrorists from-the izz ad din al qassam brigades at funeral - photo: Wikimedia Commons

Hamas terrorists from the Izz ad din al Qassam brigades at funeral – Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Hamas has been busily reconstructing its terror tunnel network breaching into Israeli territory and which was targeted by Israel during the 2014 counterterror operation. Continue Reading »

Decision: Bodies of Hamas terrorists will no longer be returned to families

 

Israel’s decision came during Sunday’s meeting called by the government’s Security Cabinet to discuss ways to finally retrieve the missing Israeli soldiers and citizens, those dead and alive, held by Hamas since 2014.

By i24news

 

Israel’s Security Cabinet on Sunday announced a new policy in which the bodies of Hamas terrorists will not be returned to their families, but will be buried by Israeli authorities instead.

Cabinet members passed the measure unanimously during a meeting convened to discuss possible ways to bring back the bodies of Israeli soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin, and citizens held in the Hamas controlled Gaza Strip. Continue Reading »