Archive for Israel News

| June 6, 2012
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Netanyahu: I will fire any minister who votes to legalize Ulpana homes

PM’s office updates ministers that government position is to oppose a bill that would legalize settlement construction on privately-owned Palestinian land.

 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a sharp warning to government ministers on Tuesday, threatening that anyone who votes for a bill to legalize homes on the settlement of Ulpana Hill, which was built on privately-owned Palestinian land, will be fired.

Settlers at the start of a three-day march from Ulpana to Jerusalem, June 4, 2012.

Settlers at the start of a three-day march from Ulpana to Jerusalem - Photo by Emil Salman

The Prime Minister’s Office has begun updating ministers on Tuesday that Netanyahu decided that the government position is to oppose a bill that would authorize settlement construction on privately-owned Palestinian land. Continue Reading »

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| June 5, 2012
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‘Netanyahu should be put on trial’

Hanin Zoabi says prime minister, senior IDF officials should be tried for oppressing Palestinians as court hears petition over partial revocation of Knesset privileges

 

According to Knesset Member Hanin Zoabi “The people who should be here in court are the people who are oppressing the Palestinian people – Ehud Barak, Benjamin Netanyahuand Gabi Ashkenazi.”

Hanin Zoabi Photo: Uria Tadmor

Hanin Zoabi - Photo: Uria Tadmor

The Balad MK made the comments on Tuesday at the end of a High Court hearing into the revocation of some of her parliamentary privileges, over her participation in the Gaza flotilla two years ago.

Zoabi was on board the Mavi Marmara when Turkish activists assaulted IDFcommandoes that were trying to take control of the ship in June 2010. Continue Reading »

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| June 5, 2012
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Netanyahu: German submarines prove commitment to Israeli security

German media reports about ongoing negotiations between Germany and Pakistan on the sale of nuclear submarines.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that submarines supplied by Germany to Israel are “a very important addition to our national security,” adding that “through them, [Germany] demonstrates its commitment to Israel’s security.”

The Dolphin-class submarine first entered service in 2000. – Photo- IDF Spokesperson’s Unit

Netanyahu made the remarks in an interview with Kai Diekmann, chief editor of the German tabloid Bild, Europe’s most popular newspaper, in Jerusalem.

On Monday, another German newspaper, Der Spiegel, reported that submarines produced by Germany and supplied to Israel as part of an extensive arms deal are capable of launching nuclear-tipped cruise missiles – despite insistence by German Chancellor Angela Merkel that the submarines provided to Israel are not nuclear-capable. Continue Reading »

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| June 5, 2012
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IAF Chief Says ‘Nein’ to Volkswagen

Air Force Commander Eshel, son of Holocaust survivor, refused to upgrade his car to a German model

 

Recently appointed Israel Air Force Commander Major General Amir Eshel told the military that he does not want to upgrade his car to a Volkswagen Passat, although his advance to the rank of major general entitles him to do so.

Amir Eshel

Amir Eshel - IDF Photo

The reason for his refusal is the fact that the vehicle is manufactured in Germany. His refusal was immediate, and he said the decision came “from the head, but also from the gut.”

Eshel’s mother is a Holocaust survivor. Continue Reading »

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| June 5, 2012
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IDF to establish three new ultra-Orthodox battalions ahead of new enlistment law

Military drawing up plans for mass recruitment of ultra-Orthodox men after successor to Tal Law goes into effect.

 

The Israel Defense Forces is preparing to absorb large numbers of ultra-Orthodox conscripts in anticipation of a new law setting out the terms of Haredi enlistment. The army has withdrawn its years-long opposition to the creation of new separate units, and is proposing the establishment of three new Nahal Haredi battalions that can be integrated into combat forces.

Ultra-Orthodox soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces.

Ultra-Orthodox soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces.

The army’s plan for taking on large numbers of yeshiva students after the successor to the Tal Law goes into effect was presented on Sunday, in broad outline, to a committee evaluating alternatives to that law, which the High Court of Justice declared unconstitutional. Continue Reading »

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| June 5, 2012
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Food in Israel 20% more expensive than OECD’

In final report, Kedmi Committee on food prices blames market concentration for dramatic increase in food prices.

 

The Kedmi Committee submitted its final report on the food market on Monday, recommending that the government work to restrict the market share of leading suppliers and retailers, encourage small businesses and remove import barriers.

The committee, headed by Industry, Trade and Labor Ministry director-general Sharon Kedmi, was established by the government one year ago, following a consumer revolt against dairy manufacturers Tnuva, Strauss and Tara.

Fruit and vegetables – Photo: Thinkstock/Imagebank

Israeli consumers paid 10-20 percent more for food in 2008-2010 than their counterparts in the rest of the OECD group of developed economies, the final report concluded.

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| June 5, 2012
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Op-ed: Taking the offensive at UN

Op-ed: Even against overwhelming odds, Israel’s UN mission can boast impressive achievements

 

“Oom Shmoom.” Ask any Israeli politician, university lecturer, or taxi driver on their opinion of the United Nations, and odds are – that’s the response you’ll get. The pejorative term is Hebrew slang for “United Nothing,” and has come to epitomize the Israeli mentality towards the UN ever since it was coined by David Ben Gurion 60 years ago.

Ron Prosor Photo: Shahar Azran

Ron Prosor - Photo: Shahar Azran

For a select group of Israeli diplomats, however, the UN is not only the frontline in the fight for their nation’s legitimacy, but a crucial venue for promoting age old Jewish values of Tikkun Olam (fixing the world.) Continue Reading »

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| June 5, 2012
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IDF in cyber space: Intelligence gathering and clandestine operations

IDF defines its activity in cyber space as a platform to improve operational effectiveness and defense. IDF has been relentlessly operating in the field

 

IDF Operations Department recently defined the essence of IDF cyber warfare, putting together instructions that define the military’s operational methods in cyber space and clarify its goals in facing potential enemies. IDF Website exclusively reveals these instructions for the first time.

According to the document, cyber space is to be handled similarly to other battlefields on ground, at sea, in the air and in space. The IDF has been engaged in cyber activity consistently and relentlessly, gathering intelligence and defending its own cyber space. Continue Reading »

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| June 4, 2012
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Border Police Officer Stabbed at Cave of Patriarchs

A Border Police officer was lightly wounded in a Hevron stabbing attack; terrorist shot, resuscitated

 

 

A terrorist on Monday evening stabbed a Border Police officer at the Muslim entrance to the Cave of the Patrarchs in Hevon.

Nearby soldiers opened fire on the terrorist, wounding him critically and ending the threat.

MDA team arrived on the scene cleared the soldier to the Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem, with light injuries to their head. Another MDA team resuscitated the terrorist.

The Israel Police and IDF are investigating the incident.

Earlier on Monday, Arabs in Hevron threw iron bars at soldiers.
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| June 4, 2012
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Israel’s insane gesture

Op-ed: Why do we return terrorist bodies, seek peace talks with anti-Semitic Arabs who hate us?

 

Had Adolf Eichmann been executed during Benjamin Netanyahu’s term, the Nazi war criminal would not have been burned and his ashes would not have been disposed of at sea. Instead, the body would have been preserved and handed over to the German president upon his visit to Israel, so it can be buried in Germany with full military honors.

Terrorists' coffins Photo: EPA

Terrorists' coffins - Photo: EPA

Does this sound delusional? No more so than the ceremony where “President” Mahmoud Abbas and his top brass received the coffins of 91 terroristswho murdered more than 200 people; indeed, the bodies of these “martyrs” were saluted with wreathes and the firing of volley shots. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News |
| June 4, 2012
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Qassam hits western Negev; none injured

Rocket fired from Gaza causes small brush fire but no injuries; IAF strikes targets in Strip

 

A Qassam rocket fired from northern Gaza exploded on the outskirts of Sderot at noon on Monday. No injuries were reported.A small brush fire erupted at the landing site, but was quickly extinguished by local firefighters.

The IAF struck a terror tunnel and a weapons mill in northern Gaza Strip overnight.

The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said that the pilots reported destroying their marks, adding that the strike came in response to Sunday’s rocket fire at the western Negev.

 

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By Neri Brenner Continue Reading »

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| June 4, 2012
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French Jews say Lyon assault latest in series of anti-Semitic incidents

Jewish leaders call atmosphere unbearable, say attacks have picked up since Toulouse shootings in March

Jewish communal leaders in France say an attack on three Jewish men Saturday night was just the latest in a line of anti-Semitic incidents against the country’s Jews.

“There has been a series of acts like the one in in Villeurbanne,”  said Richard Prasquier, president of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France (CRIF), according to Le Figaro.

 

Protesters raising a banner reading "in France, we kill Blacks, Jews, and Arabs" during a silent demonstration in Paris in March. (Photo credit: Daniel Hoffman)Protesters raising a banner reading “in France, we kill Blacks, Jews, and Arabs” during a silent demonstration in Paris in March. – Photo: Daniel Hoffman

 

Police are still searching for the culprits behind the incident Saturday night near the southern city of Lyon, in which 10 attackers assaulted three 18-year-old Jewish men outside a Jewish center in Villeurbanne. Continue Reading »

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| June 3, 2012
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Thousands take to streets in demand of social justice

‘This summer’s protest will be the real thing,’ says one protester, as thousands in Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jerusalem resume social protest

 

Thousands of Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jerusalem and other cities across Israel to reignite the social protest on Saturday. Four thousand people marched on Tel Aviv’s Eben Gvirol street banging on pots and pans and reiterating last summer’s slogans.

“There’s a feeling that what happened last summer is just the first wave,” said one of the protesters, Raz Levin. “This summer will see the real thing. We’ve grown up and won’t let those in power get away with it this time. Continue Reading »

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| June 1, 2012
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Clinton rejects Barak’s unilateral withdrawal

“The United States believes there is no substitute for direct talks between the parties,” said the US secretary of state.

 

WASHINGTON – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday rejected the notion of unilateral Israeli steps toward separating from the Palestinians.

“We have discouraged unilateral action from both sides,” Clinton said when asked about the possibility during a press conference while on trip to Denmark.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Brazil - Photo: REUTERS/Ueslei MarcelinoUS Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Brazil – Photo: REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino

“The United States believes there is no substitute for direct talks between the parties.”Several leading Israeli voices, including most recently hints by Defense Minister Ehud Barak, have raised the possibility of unilateral Israeli withdrawals from the West Bank – though presumably they would not be as extensive as those sought by the Palestinians – in the face of a longtime stalemate in negotiations to reach a peace agreement.Clinton,

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| June 1, 2012
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Politics and peace rival pop at Madonna show

Five ways to show you’re a True Blue fan before the Queen of Pop heads to Dubai

 

That’s it, the party’s over. Madonna’s opening concert in Ramat Gan for the MDNA tour finished before midnight, and revelers headed home and to after-parties to consider the meaning of this latest installment from the Queen of Pop.

Some Israeli reviewers were critical, pointing out that Madge showed less energy than in previous concerts — she is almost 54, said one — and wasn’t even on stage at certain times (costume changes). The Israeli crowd seemed to be taken aback by the giant cross on stage — perhaps they expected a Jewish star given her Kabbalah interests — and thought Madonna’s gun scene was a tad overstated, considering the pro-peace speech she made mid-show. Continue Reading »

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