Israel News

Elite IDF unit captures wanted Hamas terrorist in West Bank

Ayoub al-Qawasmi, imprisoned by the Palestinian Authority and just released 2 weeks ago, was planning to rebuild Hamas’ terror infrastructure in the West Bank.

By Elior Levy, Yoav Zitun

An IDF unit working undercover in Hebron arrested Ayoub al-Qawasmi on Tuesday evening, one of the commanders of Hamas’ military branch in the West Bank and one of Israel’s most wanted suspects.

IDF training exercises – Photo- IDF Spokesperson’s Unit

Qawasmi, 50, is suspected of being involved in terrorist attacks against Israelis during the Second Intifada and has recently sought to renew Hamas’ terror infrastructure in the West Bank.

Qawasmi was imprisoned by the Palestinian Authority in January 2010 and was released only two weeks ago. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: Duvdevan, Hamas terrorist, IDF, Shin Bet, terror arrest

Palestinians: PM Netanyahu’s AIPAC speech basically terminates negotiations

Labor leader MK Herzog ‘believes less & less’ that the Prime Minister intends on leading Israel to a diplomatic solution with the Palestinians.

By Haaretz

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared a unilateral end to peace talks in his speech at the annual AIPAC conference, a top Palestinian official said on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Netanyahu addressing the AIPAC conference. – Photo: AFP

In his address to a gathering of the pro-Israel lobby, Netanyahu reiterated his demand that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a nation-state of the Jewish people.

“President Abbas, recognize the Jewish state,” Netanyahu declared. “In doing so you will tell your people that, though we have a territorial dispute, Israel’s right to exist is beyond dispute.

Category: Israel News | Tags: Benjamin Netanyahu, Middle East peace, Palestinian Authority, Peace Process

Israel Airport to undergo sensitivity course on ‘humiliating’ security procedures

Knesset ruling follows public outcry after improper treatment of an Arab Israeli teacher, who underwent a strip-search.

By i24NEWS

The Knesset Public Petitions Committee decided on Monday that Israeli Airport Authority officials will meet with people who have been forced into invasive security checks. The meetings, which will involve Arab MKs will be part of an attempt to enlighten airport officials on the often humiliating security searches that Arabs have to go through.

AN EL AL plane at Ben Gurion International Airport ( Wikimedia Commons )

AN EL AL plane at Ben Gurion International Airport – Photo Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

Haaretz newspaper reported that the decision follows last month’s public outcry over the treatment of Ezias Elias Shehadeh, and Arab Israeli teacher who was strip-searched while flying with her Jewish students. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: Arab discrimination, Arab Israelis, Ben Gurion International Airport, Knesset

Foreign Ministry: ‘Civilian Service’ in Chabad is Illegal

The Foreign Ministry rejects Shaked Committee’s proposal to allow Chabad emissaries as ‘hareidi service’ alternative.

By Maayana Miskin

The Shaked Committee (aka Equal Burden of Service Committee) has decided that 100 volunteers with the Chabad Lubavitch movement will be considered “civilian service” volunteers – and their service will count toward hareidi enlistment targets.

Chabad tanks celebrate Lag BaOmer – Israel News Photo: Chabad

The groundbreaking decision faces strong opposition from the Foreign Ministry, which declared Tuesday that the proposed arrangement would not be legal.

The Shaked Committee agreed that a select number of Chabad volunteers would be seen as working on behalf of the state of Israel, and their activities would be funded through the Sherut Ezrahi program for non-military national service. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: Foreign Ministry, habad, hareidi draft, Shaked Committee

The Half-Truths & Myth of Israel’s 2013 Settlement Boom

It’s deceitful to talk about a 120% increase in ‘settlement activity’ in 2013 when in 2012 there was almost no construction because of an imposed building freeze. Besides, Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics says only 5.7% of all new construction in 2013 was in the ‘West Bank’.

By Israel Today Staff

Fueling recent heavy criticism of Israel amidst ongoing US-brokered peace talks is the perception that construction of new Jewish homes on lands claimed by the Palestinians skyrocketed over the past year.

Construction site in the West Bank settlement of Modiin Illit. – Photo: AP

Even Israeli newspapers on Tuesday ran reports that while new building starts in Tel Aviv had decreased by 19 percent in 2013 compared to the previous year, Jewish construction in the so-called “West Bank” had shot up by 123 percent. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: building, CBS, Jewish construction, new construction

WATCH: Netanyahu address AIPAC – US on the right side of the moral divide

PM Netanyahu calls on Abbas to tell his people that also Jewish people have a right to a state of their own.

The PM also attacks boycott movement, calls on the world not to fall for “the BS in BDS.”

By JPOST.COM STAFF

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu addressed the AIPAC policy conference in Washington on Tuesday, saying that peace with the Palestinians has the potential to better the lives of hundreds of millions of people in the Middle East.

Netanyahu speaking at AIPAC 2014 – Photo: Amos Ben Gershom, GPO

Netanyahu stated that a historic peace agreement with the Palestinians would open up the possibility of establishing ties with leading countries in the Arab world. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: AIPAC, Binyamin Netanyahu

Obama puts on a performance for the press at Netanyahu meeting

U.S. president preferred to avoid a public confrontation this time, so he already sent Netanyahu his message via the Sunday Bloomberg interview.

By Barak Ravid

WASHINGTON – It was tough not to notice the significant differences between U.S. President Barack Obama’s withering criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a Bloomberg interview published on Sunday, and the praise he heaped on the Israeli leader in front of the cameras at the White House a mere 24 hours later.

Obama and Netanyahu during a meeting at the Oval Office in Washington, D.C., March 3, 2014. – Photo: AFP

Netanyahu was surprised when he landed here Sunday and immediately had to face the headlines about Obama’s comments.

Category: Israel News | Tags: Barack Obama, Benjamin Netanyahu, Middle East peace, Palestinians

Sheikh Raed Salah jailed 8 months for incitement

I got off cheap,’ joked Islamic Movement leader Sheikh Raed Salah after receiving an 8-month sentence for comments during Temple Mount protest that sparked riots leaving 3 Border Police officers injured.

By Kobi Nachshoni

Sheikh Raed Salah, the head of the Islamic Movement Northern Branch, is going back to jail after Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court sentenced him to an eight-month prison sentence for incitement to violence.

Salah was convicted last November for a 2007 speech he made on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

His comment, “Our best moments will be when we meet God as martyrs while Jews are still in the Al-Aqsa Mosque,” sparked a riot that left three Border Police officers wounded. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: District Court, incitement to violence, ‘Palestinian’ incitement

Nabbed: Police Arrested 14 Arab Terrorist Suspects Overnight

Police report charges range from carjacking to throwing Molotov cocktails, as arrests nab Palestinian terrorists across Israeli heartland.

By Tova Dvorin

The Judea and Samaria (Shomron) District Police, along with IDF and the Border Patrol, arrested 14 Arabs overnight (Monday/Tuesday) on suspicions of stone-throwing, illegal weapons hoarding, drug-dealing, and carjacking.

Unlicensed ammunition confiscated by police – Photo Courtesy: Israeli Police Spokesperson’s Office

Police investigation into recent carjackings in the Shomron led the forces to arrest at least one suspect in the Arab settlement of Hawara. Another man was arrested along Route 443 in the Binyamin region after being found driving a stolen vehicle. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: arrests, IDF, Israel Police, Judea and Samaria, MAGAV, operation

Abbas: For the 17th Time….Freeze Construction or Else…

Mahmoud Abbas threatens to end peace talks and turn to int’l institutions unless Netanyahu freezes construction in Judea & Samaria.

By Elad Benari

Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is threatening to end the negotiations with Israel unless it freezes construction in Judea and Samaria.

Abbas’s threats came during his meeting on Monday with Meretz Chairwoman MK Zehava Galon. “I will put the keys on the table and turn to international organizations,” he declared during that meeting.

“The only way we will agree to extend the talks is if Netanyahu announces a settlement freeze and the release of other prisoners beyond the next scheduled release,” Abbas told Galon. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: construction freeze, Mahmoud Abbas, Peace Negotiations, peace talks, Zehava Galon

Once Rare Long-Eared Owls Now Increase in Numbers in JNF Planted Forests

JNF staff find the Long-Eared Owl is staging a welcomed comeback in their man-made forests in northern Israel.

By Zafrir Rinat

A group of long-eared owls has established itself in part of the forest in recent months, say Jewish National Fund wardens in the Mishmar Ha’emek Forest area.

Long-eared owl (archive)

The owls are among several species of birds that have adapted themselves to the reality of expanding, man-made forests and are making their homes in the northern Israel forest for part of the year.

“Owls are known to congregate before nesting season, but we hadn’t seen it in these woods until now,” said Dr.

Category: Israel News | Tags: birds, Environment & Nature, Israel agriculture

2013 statistic: 123% rise in new settlement construction during past year

Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics says only 5.7% of all new construction by Israel in 2013 was in West Bank.

By Elior Levy

New Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank increased by more than 120 percent in 2013 from the year before, according to new data published by the Central Bureau of Statistics on Monday.

Construction site in the West Bank settlement of Modiin Illit. – Photo: AP

The data shows that there was a growth of 123.7 percent in “dwellings begun” in Judea and Samaria in 2013, comprising some 5.7 percent of all new construction by Israel last year. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: building, CBS, Jewish construction, new construction

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Netanyahu lands in Washington saying, ‘It takes 3 to dance the Mideast Tango’

Israel’s PM Netanyahu is to meet Kerry, Obama & Biden on Monday, and is then scheduled to address the AIPAC conference on Tuesday.

By Haaretz

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived late Sunday in Washington, where he was scheduled to meet U.S. President Barack Obama and address the AIPAC conference.

Netanyahu addressing journalists during a press conference with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. September 15, 2013 – Photo: AFP

Upon landing, Netanyahu told reporters that he was committed to negotiations for a final settlement and was waiting to see proof that the Palestinians were as well.

“It takes at least three to dance the Middle East tango,” Netanyahu said.

Category: Israel News | Tags: AIPAC, Barack Obama, Benjamin Netanyahu, John Kerry, Middle East peace, Palestinians

Ultra-Orthodox Man Suing Police for Forced Car Ride on Shabbat

The hareidi resident of Petach Tikvah is suing for NIS 2.5 million after being forced to violate the Sabbath by the police, even though he was prepared to cooperate & walk to the Police Station.

By David Lev

A hareidi resident of Petach Tikvah is suing police for NIS 2.5 million, after police forced him to ride to a police station on Shabbat. The lawsuit is based on the man’s forced violation of the Sabbath at the hand of police, even though he was prepared to cooperate with police and walk to the station, which was a five minute stroll away, the man’s attorney said. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News, Jewish News | Tags: hareidi, Israel Police, lawsuit, Shabbat, ultra-Orthodox