Israel News

6 Hamas positions hit by air & ground forces after RPG fired at IDF patrol

IDF is checking the possibility that one of the two powerful bombs that detonated within a minute of each other near IDF soldiers this morning was actually an RPG or anti-tank rocket.

By Kobi Finkler

The IDF Spokesperson’s Office provided additional details about the security incident that took place this morning, Thursday, along the Gaza Strip border.

The details revealed so far indicated that two powerful bombs were detonated within a minute of each other as an armored force passed this morning near Nahal Oz .

IAF F-15i (Ra’am) – Photo: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit

It is possible that an RPG rocket was also fired at the force. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: Gaza attacks, IAF, IAF strike, IAF-Gaza, Israel retaliates, RPG

israelandstuffcom | March 15, 2018

Air raid sirens sound throughout Israel as civilians, US troops & IDF hold war drills

Israel held a nation-wide emergency drill, complete with air-raid sirens throughout the country in preparation for a war “on six fronts,” while US ground troops drilled with IDF soldiers in the 2018 Juniper Cobra joint military exercises.

By Israel Today Staff

Last week at the graduation ceremony for new Israeli naval officers, IDF Deputy Chief of Staff Gen. Aviv Kochavi said that the Jewish state was preparing for war on no fewer than six fronts.

Kochavi did not list those fronts, except to say that Iran is among them.

Merkava tank along Israel’s border with Lebanon- Photo: IsraelandStuff/PP

The others can be guessed at: Egyptian Sinai, where ISIS holds sway; Hamas-ruled Gaza; Lebanon; Syria; and the cyber realm. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: IDF US, Juniper Cobra, National drill

Israel takes 11th for ‘Happiest Country in the World’, for 5th year in a row

For the 5th year in a row, Israel has been rated as the 11th happiest country in the world, according to Wednesday’s UN annual “World Happiness Report.”

By i24NEWS

Israel has not fallen below 14th in the history of the report, which first came out in 2012

For the fifth year in a row, Israel has been listed as the 11th happiest country in the world, according to the United Nations’ annual “World Happiness Report,” which was released on Wednesday.

Friends enjoying Saturday night dinner & drinks, by the Hatzbani River in northern Israel – Photo: IsraelandStuff/PP

Israel has not fallen below 14th in the history of the report, which first came out in 2012. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: report, World Happiness Report

White House holds meeting on Gaza, with Israel, Arab Gulf states, despite Abbas

Ignoring the vapid Palestinian response, Israel and the Arab Gulf states were among 19 nations that attended the Trump initiative held at the White House on what needs to be done to alleviate the Gaza humanitarian crisis.
• Even though Abbas is foolishly boycotting the initiative, a senior administration official said, ‘Many of the projects could go ahead without the PA, but our goal is to involve it.’

News Agencies and Israel Hayom Staff

The White House on Tuesday hosted 19 nations, including Israel and Arab Gulf states, to address the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.

But the Palestinian Authority, angered by the Trump administration’s policies on Jerusalem, boycotted the meeting. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: Gaza, Gaza Hamas, humanitarian aid, Jared Kushner

Mazel Tov!! Jewish fertility rate in Israel, higher than Israeli Arabs, highest in OECD

A newborn infant, seconds after delivery. Amniotic fluid glistens on the child's skin. - Photo: Wikimedia, Ernest F

Israel’s Jewish fertility rate, now at its highest level since 1983, has been on the rise since 2006, and is now higher than the Israeli Arabs.

By David Rosenberg

Israelis are having more children on average, defying global trends that have seen fertility rates plummet across the industrialized world.

According to a report by Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday, 181,405 babies were born in the Jewish state during 2016 – a 92% increase since 1980.

A Jewish ‘brit’, circumcision ceremony is held on the child’s 8th day.- Photo: IsraelandStuff/PP

Of those 181,405 children born, 73.9% were born to Jewish women, compared to 23.2% born to Arab women. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: Birthrates, CBS, Central Bureau of Statistics, OECD

U.S. & Israeli ground forces begin new phase in joint #JuniperCobra2018 drill

Now that Israeli & American aerial defense forces completed their joint training as part of the 2018 Juniper Cobra exercise, more than 1,000 U.S. Marines and Israeli paratroopers join in urban warfare scenarios. – Watch Video
– Marine battalion commander, ‘This increases our already rock solid relationship with Israel.’

By Yoav Zitun

More than one thousand United States Marines and Israeli paratroopers have recently been training in Israel’s southern region’s Tze’elim base, as part of the massive joint 2018 Juniper Cobra exercise held this month.

With the air defense’s parts of the exercise already complete, the two armies have now moved to ground operations. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: IDF US, Juniper Cobra, Military cooperation, Military exercises, US Army

israelandstuffcom | March 13, 2018

Hamas daily advocates the resumption of suicide bombings

The aftermath of a bus bombing in Haifa in 2003. Photo: Wikimedia, B. Železník

Hamas daily in Gaza publishes special edition calling for resumption of bombing attacks, marking wave of suicide bombings that devastated Israel before the construction of the security barrier that brought the carnage to a halt.

By Arutz Sheva Staff

Mustafa al-Sawwaf, a columnist for the Hamas Al-Risalah daily, called for the renewal of suicide bombings against Israelis.

The article was printed as part of a special edition marking the 22nd anniversary of a series of suicide bombings in 1996.

In his article, which was translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), al-Sawwaf asked, “Are we about to see actions similar to those carried out by the imprisoned commander Hassan Salameh?” Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: hamas, incitement to violence, Palestinian violence, suicide attacks, suicide bomber

israelandstuffcom | March 13, 2018

OECD report: Israel is one of world’s strongest economies

– The Bad News:
There’s the need to improve productivity in the labor market, a need to improve infrastructure, investment in education, promoting consumer reforms and …
– The Good News:
“The Israeli economy has grown faster & more consistently than nearly any other in the OECD for the past 15 years,” and “Unemployment is at historically low levels.”

By Ariel Whitman, Reuters & Israel Hayom Staff

A new report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has found that the Israeli economy is one of the strongest economies in the world today.

OECD acting Chief Economist Alvaro Pereira, who is currently visiting Israel, presented the report Sunday to Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, Finance Ministry Director General Shai Babad and Chief Economist Yoel Naveh. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: Finance Ministry, Israel economy, Moshe Kahlon, OECD

Abbas invited to meet Jordan’s King Abdullah to discuss Trump’s peace plan

PA autocrat Abbas summoned to meet with Jordan’s King Abdullah to discuss the ‘nearly finished’ US peace plan.
– Breaking from the strategies of past administrations, Trump’s peace initiative will be proposing specific solutions to ‘stickler points’ as opposed to a broad framework of principles suggested in past negotiations.

By i24NEWS

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will meet Jordan’s King Abdullah II in Amman on Monday to discuss US President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan, which officials in Washington say is nearly ready to be unveiled.

A report by the New York Times on Sunday cited senior US officials as saying that the Trump administration is putting the finishing touches on the plan which will break from the strategies of past administrations by proposing specific solutions as opposed to a broad framework of principles. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: Jordan-PA, Trump Peace Initiative, Trump's recognition of Jerusalem

Contestant challenges question, says Jerusalem is capital of Israel, not Tel Aviv

On-air controversy erupts on an Argentine TV game show when contestants are asked, “Tel Aviv is the capital of what country?”
• A contestant challenged the question, saying ‘Israel is probably what I should say, but that is not the correct answer.‘

By Shlomi Diaz

The popular Argentine game show “La Tribuna de Guido” outraged the local Jewish community last week when contestants on Friday’s show were asked, “Tel Aviv is the capital of which country?”

The program, which airs on the local Canal 13 station, pits contestants against each other with trivia questions, with the goal of winning a car. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: Argentina, Jerusalem, Jerusalem Capital of Israel, Trump's recognition of Jerusalem

Superman to fly to Israel for Knesset visit

Superman actor of the 1990s, Dean Cain, may save the day this Wednesday when he’ll attend a Knesset event saluting Israel at the invitation of his friend, Zionist Union MK Hilik Bar.

By Amihai Attali

With the recent crisis surrounding the IDF draft bill, the Knesset seems in dire need of a superhero. This coming Wednesday, it seems, the Israeli parliament will get one.

Actor Dean Cain, world renowned for portraying the Man of Steel, Superman, in the seminal nineties television series Lois and Clark, will visit the Knesset Wednesday to express his support of Israel in a conference organized by Deputy Knesset Speaker MK Hilik Bar. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: Dean Cain, Hilik Bar, Knesset

Honduras, Paraguay reportedly prepared to relocate embassies to Jerusalem

Army Radio reports that should Israel’s PM Netanyahu visit both Paraguay and Honduras, their leaders will be willing to move their perspective embassies to Jerusalem.

By Elad Benari

Paraguay and Honduras said they are both ready “in principle” to relocate their embassies to Jerusalem, Army Radio reported on Sunday, citing a senior Israeli diplomatic source.

Honduras & Paraguay Flags – Photo: Crossed-Flag-Pins.com

According to the report, the two countries conditioned the move on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu making an official visit to their country.

In December, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly voted to condemn U.S. President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, with a total of 128 of the UN’s 193 members voting in favor of the resolution. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: Embassy move, Honduras, Israel Honduras, Israel Paraguay, Paraguay, Trump's recognition of Jerusalem

israelandstuffcom | March 11, 2018

Elbit acquires IMI, maker of the Uzi, for $522 million

Elbit Systems plans to relocate the IMI facilities from central Israel to the southern Negev, a move that would allow real estate development in central Israel and broaden the economic development in the Negev.

By i24NEWS – AFP

Israel is selling state-owned IMI Systems, maker of the Uzi sub-machine gun, to defense company Elbit Systems for more than half a billion dollars, the finance ministry said on Sunday.

The government began the process of privatizing IMI Systems, formerly known as Israel Military Industries, in 2013.

IMl’s UZI PRO 9mm automatic pistol – Photo: gar2chan/Wikimedia

The firm is the manufacturer of the legendary Uzi sub-machine gun [top photo] and the Galil assault rifle. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: Elbit, Israel Military Industries, Uzi

israelandstuffcom | March 11, 2018