Archive for Israel News

| May 21, 2012
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Israel Strikes Oil Off Tel Aviv Coast

Israel has struck oil again, this time off the Tel Aviv coast. Developers maintain the find includes 100 million barrels of oil, worth $10 billion.

Pictured left – Oil tankers in New Jersey — coming soon to Israel? (Reuters)

Pictured left – Oil tankers in New Jersey — coming soon to Israel? - Photo: Reuters

Modiin Energy and Adira Energy discovered an estimated 128 million barrels of oil and 1.8 trillion cubic feet of gas in their Gabriella and Yitzhak licenses, in shallow water less than 15 miles northwest of Tel Aviv.

Officials called the find “significant” and added, “Surveys conducted in recent months found oil in the target strata. The potential oil reservoir is 128 million barrels of oil, and the contingent reserves are an additional 120 million barrels.” Continue Reading »

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| May 21, 2012
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Knesset passes controversial settlement bill

Law offers 35% tax break on donations to NGOs that support settlement on both sides of the Green Line.

 

The Knesset on Monday evening approved a law that offers a 35-percent tax break on donations to NGOs that encourage settlement anywhere in the country, including in Judea and Samaria.

The legislation passed a final reading in the plenum by 33 to 13, after a brief debate.

Palestinian laborer in Kedar - Photo: Ammar Awad/Reuters

Palestinian laborer in Kedar - Photo: Ammar Awad/Reuters

Its opponents say the bill was designed to direct tax breaks to those who support West Bank settlements.

One of the measure’s sponsors, coalition chairman Ze’ev Elkin (Likud), previously argued that the bill was conceived to help the Negev and the Galilee, but the language was then expanded so that it was applicable to all Israeli communities.

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Category: Israel News |
| May 21, 2012
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Ancient Gold Jewelry Collection Discovered at Megiddo

Archaeologists have discovered a collection of ancient jewelry hidden in a vessel at Tel Megiddo in the Jezreel Valley in northern Israel.

Ancient gold earring found at Megiddo

Ancient gold earring found at Megiddo - Photo courtesy of TAU

Dated from about 1100 BCE, one of the pieces is a gold earring decorated with molded ibexes – wild goats – and considered “without parallel.”

According to Tel Aviv University’s Professor Israel Finkelstein, the vessel was discovered in 2010 but remained uncleaned while awaiting a molecular analysis of its contents. When the team was finally able to wash out the dirt, pieces of jewelry, including a ring, earrings and beads tumbled from the vessel, Finkelstein said. Continue Reading »

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| May 21, 2012
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Minister: Israel taking steps to deport infiltrators

Neeman says hoping to return migrants to home countries, 3rd-party countries; MKs slam gov’t, court policy in c’tee meeting.

Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman on Monday said that Israel is taking steps to deport infiltrators from Israel, adding that all branches of government are working to eliminate the “scourge” from the country.

Eritrean migrants, Sinai

Eritrean migrants, Sinai - Photo: Asmaa Waguih/Reuters

Speaking at a law conference in Eilat, Neeman said that Israel is employing a multi-pronged strategy, which includes “building of a fence along the Egyptian border, which is in its final stages… the deportation of migrants… and the establishment of facilities to house them until they can be dealt with.”

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Category: Israel News |
| May 20, 2012
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Jerusalem: 30,000 take part in ‘Flag Dance’ parade

Israelis celebrate Jerusalem Day in festive procession; rightist activists clash with Palestinians

 

More than 30,000 people on Sunday took part in the traditional “Flag Dance” parade in the capital, in honor of Jerusalem Day. Several violent clashes between the marchers and leftist activists and residents of the Muslim quarter were recorded.

In Damascus Gate, several hundreds of marchers gathered as police separated them from the Palestinian residents. Leftist activists held a counter protest at the site.

Many of the marchers chanted “Am Yisrael Chai” but others used the parade to voice hate messages. Several were heard making slanderous calls against Prophet Muhammad. Continue Reading »

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| May 20, 2012
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Netanyahu: Israel will continue to build Jerusalem and keep it united

Marking Jerusalem Day, PM says ‘Israel without Jerusalem is like a body without a heart’; thousands of religious-Zionist youths march through the city and Arab neighborhoods.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday during a ceremony marking Jerusalem Day that the Israeli capital will never be divided and that building in Jerusalem will continue.

Netanyahu during Jerusalem Day - AP - May 20, 2012

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a special cabinet meeting marking Jerusalem Day at Ammunition Hill in Jerusalem - Photo by AP

“We will protect Jerusalem,” Netanyahu said. “Israel without Jerusalem is like a body without a heart. Our heart will never be divided again.”

“A nation willing to sacrifice it’s heart will convince its enemies that it is willing to give up on everything,” he warned, and said that he does not believe that abandoning the Temple Mount to a different power will preserve the freedom of religion.

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| May 20, 2012
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Rice: Israel is where the US learned about homeland security

On 25th visit to Israel, former secretary of state recalls the first panicked moments of 9/11

The world changed in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, former US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice told an audience in Israel Sunday, and so did the relationship between the United States and Israel.

While Jerusalem and Washington were always good friends, after the attacks they became allies “with a common cause in the fight against people who would seek political gain by attacking civilians, parents and children,” she said.

 

 

Former US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice speaking in Israel on Sunday (Courtesy)
Former US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice speaking in Israel on Sunday (Courtesy)

 

Rice also described the first panicked minutes for the US administration on 9/11, including the moment she raised her voice to president George W. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News |
| May 20, 2012
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Shin Bet: Palestinians tried to kidnap mother, baby

Security service arrests terror cell members who attempted to kidnap Israelis in West Bank in order to use them as bargaining chips in prisoner exchanges

 

Nine Palestinians from the Ramallah area have been charged with attempting to kidnap Israelis, it was cleared for publication on Sunday.

The Shin Bet internal security service said in a statement that in mid-March the Palestinians tried to kidnap a mother and her baby daughter near the West Banksettlement of Beit El.

Palestinian terror cell leader, Ramdan

Palestinian terror cell leader, Ramdan

The terror cell members were arrested by the Shin Bet with the help of Israel Police and the IDF. Continue Reading »

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| May 20, 2012
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After 4 months, largest UAV remains grounded

Officials fear prolonged grounding could scuttle sales to France of Heron TP, dubbed the drone “that can reach Iran.”

The Heron TP, Israel’s most advanced unmanned aerial vehicle, remains grounded almost four months after one crashed during a test flight near the Tel Nof air base outside Rehovot.Two panels set up independently by the Israel Air Force and Israel Aerospace Industries, the drone’s manufacturer, are still investigating the cause of the crash and there is concern that the continued grounding will affect a possible sale of the Heron TP to France.
IAI Heron UAV aircraft - Photo: Tim Chong/Reuters
IAI Heron UAV aircraft – Photo: Tim Chong/Reuters

At the time of the crash, officials said it occurred after the UAV performed a maneuver that was beyond its capabilities, causing one of its wings to break off. Continue Reading »

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| May 20, 2012
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Jewish Birthrate Up, Arab Rate Down in Jerusalem

The Jewish birthrate in Jerusalem is higher than the Arab birthrate, putting an end to reports of an Arab demographic threat.

The Jewish birthrate in Jerusalem is higher than the Arab birthrate, putting an end to reports of an Arab demographic threat in the united capital.

The birthrate in the expected life of mothers is 4.2 children for Jewish mothers compared with 3.9 children for Arab mothers, according to the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies (JIIS).

Reflecting the trend in the rest of Israel, the birthrate for Jews represents a dramatic reversal and is on the increase while the Arab birthrate is declining. Continue Reading »

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| May 20, 2012
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Israel’s southern border fence progressing

Construction on the section of the fence in the Eilat Mountains will cost four times as much as any other part of the project due to the harsh terrain – canyons and cliffs as high as 170 meters, which don’t deter infiltrators

 

As public debate on the issue of refugees and infiltrators from Africa heats up, the Defense Ministry is expediting work on the border fence in the Eilat Mountains.

Since the completion of the western part of the fence, on the Egyptian border, African infiltrators have been forced to detour south to find an ingress – sometimes through dangerous mountain terrain that stretches for 14 kilometers and is marked by canyons and cliffs up to 170 meters high. Continue Reading »

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| May 19, 2012
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Jewish Family Attacked by Arabs, Narrowly Escapes Injury

A religious family narrowly escaped injuries after its car was attacked by Arab rioters in Jerusalem.

A religious family narrowly escaped injuries after its car was attacked by Arab rioters in Jerusalem this week, the religious radio station Radio Kol Chai reported on Friday.

The incident occurred as the family members were making their way home from prayers at the Western Wall. They were caught in a Nakba Day demonstration held at the Damascus Gate area, the report said.

Nakba Day 2012

Nakba Day 2012 - Reuters

Nakba Day, or the day of catastrophe, is what the Arabs call the English date of May 15, when the State of Israel was re-established with a declaration of independence in 1948. Continue Reading »

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| May 19, 2012
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As Danino tours TA, police stop gunman in Holon

Officers shoot down motorcyclist after apparently failed robbery; Danino calls for 20% increase in police patrols.

While Police chief Insp.-Gen. Yohanan Danino on Friday night toured the streets of Tel Aviv on the backdrop of a crime wave that has shaken the nation, it was the city of Holon where a scene developed adding further momentum to nationwide fears that violent crime is infesting Israel’s growing urban enclaves.

 

[illustrative photo] - Photo: Yoni Cohen
Photo: Yoni Cohen

 

It was there police managed to bring down a 19-year-old motorcyclist they said was trying to rob and murder a man traveling in a taxi cab in that city, which sits inland just south of Tel Aviv-Jaffa.

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| May 18, 2012
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Medics attacked by Palestinians near Jerusalem

Emergency crew responding on scene of accident find themselves the target of violent mob

 

An emergency medical crew narrowly escaped being lynched this week while responding on the scene of an injurious car accident near Jerusalem, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Friday.

The fateful call came on Tuesday; a car carrying a group of Palestinian youths from east Jerusalem swerved off the road and hit a safety barrier near the village of Hizm.

Illustration Photo: Index Open

Illustration Photo: Index Open

Upon reaching on the scene the crew began treating two young women who were hurt in the crash. But their efforts were interrupted with the arrival of the victims’ family members, whose misguided attempts to defend the women quickly turned violent. Continue Reading »

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| May 18, 2012
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TIME Devotes Cover Story to ‘King Bibi’

TME Magazine devotes its cover story this week to PM Binyamin Netanyahu, who is named “King Bibi”.

TIME Magazine devoted its cover story this week to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who was named “King Bibi”, in a play on the name of famous blues artist B.B. King.

The article was written by TIME’s managing editor Richard Stengel and it profiles Israel’s Prime Minister, explaining why he is “the King of Israel”.

Binyamin Netanyahu

Binyamin Netanyahu - Photo by Reuters

“Netanyahu is poised to become the longest-serving Israeli Prime Minister since David Ben-Gurion, the founding father of Israel,” writes Stengel. “He has no national rival. Continue Reading »

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