Bushfire threatens Tel Mond neighborhood, causing gas explosion

Firefighting teams fight blazes in Tel Mond and the Jerusalem area, where 6 people were lightly hurt by the fire.

By Raanan Ben-Zur

 

A bushfire spread into a street in Tel Mond in the Sharon plains on Wednesday, causing gas tanks to explode and causing damage to the electricity infrastructure on the street. No one was hurt in the fire.

Aerial firefighter work to stop bushfire – Photo: IsraelandStuff/PP

Five firefighting teams were working to put out the fire, which has already spread to three homes and is threatening additional homes.

In the Jerusalem area, two firefighting teams were working to put out a bushfire near a structure in Arab neighborhood of Ras al-Amud. Continue Reading »

The Israel Air Force struck 4 targets in Gaza in response to 4 rockets fired on Israel

Israel’s Defense Minister Ya’alon: We hold Hamas responsible for everything that happens in the Gaza Strip.

By Matan Tzuri, Yoav Zitun, Itay Blumenthal, Elior Levy, Moran Azulay

 

The Israel Air Force struck four targets in the Gaza Strip early Wednesday morning in response to rocket fire at southern Israel the previous night, IDF spokesman said.

IAF F-16 – Photo courtesy, Nir Ben-Yosef/IDF Spokesperson’s Unit

The IAF strike targeted Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets, and accurate hits were identified, the army said. “If there is no calm in Israel, the Gaza Strip will pay a heavy price for it, one that causes anyone who chooses to challenge us to regret it,” Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said. Continue Reading »

Amnesty Int’l: Hamas Guilty of Extrajudicial Execution of 23 Palestinians During Gaza War

Amnesty Int’l reports Hamas committed multiple war crimes by the “brutal campaign of abductions, torture & unlawful killings against Palestinians accused of ‘collaborating’ with Israel”

By Elad Benari

 

Hamas used its 2014 Gaza war with Israel to “settle scores” with rival Palestinians, executing at least 23 in possible war crimes, Amnesty International said Tuesday, according to the AFP news agency.

Extrajudicial Execution of Palestinian During Gaza War

Public Extrajudicial Execution of Palestinian During Gaza War

A report by the London-based group detailed the “brutal campaign of abductions, torture and unlawful killings against Palestinians accused of ‘collaborating’ with Israel” by Hamas, de facto ruler of Gaza.

The report details the “extrajudicial execution of at least 23 Palestinians and the arrest and torture of dozens of others”.

Continue Reading »

Faced with possible defeat by Islamic State, Nasrallah inducts Christians to fight in Hezbollah

Shiite terror group forges unlikely alliance with Lebanon’s Christians integrating ‘dozens’ of  into its military wing to fight in Syria.

By i24news

 

Faced with the threat posed by the Islamic State, Lebanon-based Shiite terror group Hezbollah has forged an unlikely alliance with the country’s Christian contingent and is training Christian fighters, according to reports in Arabic media.

One of Hezbollah’s enemies: Mujahideen members of al-Qaida’s‏ Nusra Front – Photo: REUTERS/file

Christians are among Middle East minorities at risk from rising unrest across the region, and from extremist groups such as the Islamic State, which has violently carved out a large area of control in Iraq and Syria. Continue Reading »

Israel’s Newest Minister Gilad Erdan Takes Aim at BDS Movement

Erdan’s notice on Facebook explained his reasons for joining Netanyahu’s coalition and objectives he plans on tackling.

 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu completed the process of forming his fourth government Monday when his no. 2 in Likud, MK Gilad Erdan, was appointed as minister of public security, strategic affairs and public diplomacy, 11 days after the rest of the cabinet.

Gilad Erdan – Photo: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST

The appointment unanimously passed a telephone vote in the cabinet and a 58-55 vote in the Knesset.

Tourism Minister Yariv Levin willingly gave up the Public Security portfolio and Immigrant Absorption Minister Ze’ev Elkin reluctantly relinquished the Strategic Affairs Ministry. Continue Reading »

Druze reservists angry over IDF’s decision to disband battalion

Druze reservists threaten to petition High Court and hold demonstrations outside the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv if decision isn’t reversed.

By Yossi Yehoshua

 

High-ranking Druze reservists opposed to the move have sent a harshly worded letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in which they call on him to intervene. The Druze officers warn that if the decision is not rescinded, they will petition the High Court of Justice and stage demonstrations outside the Kirya base in Tel Aviv.

IDF's Druze Herev Battalion during exercise  - Photo: IsraelandStuf/PPMembers of all-Druze Herev Battalion during exercise protecting Northern settlement on border with Lebanon – Photo: IsraelandStuff/PP

Herev was formed in 1974 and around 400 Druze soldiers currently serve in the battalion, which is involved primarily in routine security duties along the border with Lebanon. Continue Reading »

Gaza Rockets Fired On Israel

—– BREAKING SECURITY UPDATE—–

Air raid sirens sound in Ashdod & Lachish, regions, with least 1 rocket hitting Ashdod region.

By Arutz Sheva Staff

 

Air raid sirens sounded in towns across southern Israel Tuesday at 9:02 p.m. evening.

Rocket fired from the Gaza Strip toward Israel. – File photo: REUTERS

There are reports that as many as four rockets were fired from Gaza, and some residents of the south reported seeing Iron Dome missile defense batteries deploying to intercept the incoming rockets.

The IDF has now confirmed that at least one rocket fired from Gaza struck close to the city of Ashdod. Continue Reading »

Israel Customs Authority Confiscate Islamic State Rings Imported by Palestinians

Israel Customs Agents intercept large shipment of gold & silver rings highlighting ISIS slogans, that were to be sold in Ramallah to Palestinians who support the murderous organization.

By Israel Today Staff

 

Israeli Customs agents earlier this month discovered 120 rings bearing ISIS slogans bound for a jewelry shop in the de facto Palestinian Authority capital of Ramallah.

Rings bearing ISIS slogans bound for the Palestinian Authority capital of Ramallah – Israeli authorities

Like all packages transiting via Ben Gurion Airport en route to the Palestinian Authority, this particular package from a seller in Turkey underwent strict security checks.

During the course of these checks, an Israeli agent well versed in Arabic noticed the now-famous ISIS slogans and immediately informed superiors. Continue Reading »

Israel Reaches Historic Low: Unemployment Rate Drops to 4.9%

Looking Good: Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics reports number of employed Israelis has reached 3.64 million, for an all-time high of 60.9%.
• Bank of Israel leaves interest rate unchanged at 0.1%, acknowledging economy is “growing at moderate rate” with Consumer Price Index up 0.6%.

By Zeev Klein

 

Unemployment in Israel has fallen to an all-time low and the number of employed Israelis has reached an all-time high, the Central Bureau of Statistics said Monday.

An Israeli employment office – Photo: Yehoshua Yosef

According to the bureau’s data, the April jobless rate was just 4.9%, below the psychological threshold of 5%. Continue Reading »

Syria’s Ancient City of Palmyra Still Remains Intact

Jewish presence at Palmyra is exhibited by the opening verses of the Shema carved into a stone doorway, to-date, the longest carved Hebrew inscription found from antiquity.

By REUTERS

 

BEIRUT – The Syrian government’s antiquities chief said on Tuesday the historical city of Palmyra had been unharmed since the Islamic State group seized it from state control last week.

The Shema inscription found in a doorway in Palmyra, photogrphed in 1884 . – S. Landauer

Maamoun Abdulkarim said was still afraid the jihadist group would blow up ancient ruins at Palmyra including tombs and the Temple of Bel, which would be viewed as idolatrous in its puritanical vision of Islam. Continue Reading »

Israir Airbus Passenger Jet Confiscated in Portugal Over Alleged Debt

Israir Airlines says 7 yr-old court proceedings are still ongoing and was ‘very surprised’ of the seizure by Portuguese airlines, EuroAtlantic.

By Itay Blumenthal

 

An Israir Airlines plane was confiscated in Lisbon on Monday night following a claim by EuroAtlantic Airways that the Israeli company owes “tens of millions of euros”.

Israir Airbus A320 (Photo: Zohar Azar)
Israir Airbus A320 – Photo: Zohar Azar

Sources told Ynet that the seizure of the plane led to the cancellation of a flight from Eilat to central Israel, leaving dozens of Israelis stranded in the southern city.

The timing was unfortunate for Israir, which saw another one of its planes make an emergency landing earlier in the day because of a faulty engine. Continue Reading »

Soldier Court-Martialed For Publicly Debasing IDF Has Become Left’s Hero

Israel’s left-wing daily, Haaretz, praises soldiers who said to German TV audience that IDF conditions its soldiers to treat Arabs as subhuman.

By Gil Ronen

 

The Left’s new hero is Corporal Shachar Berrin, who serves as a combat soldier in the Home Front Command (HFC). Berrin was lauded in Haaretz‘s main editorial Monday and was glorified in at least two articles by the paper’s pundits, Gideon Levy and Uri Misgav, as well as in other left-wing and anti-Israeli websites.

Corporal Shachar Berrin, screenshot

Berrin’s “heroic” action was a monologue on German TV channel Deutsche Welle‘s show, The New Arab Debates, hosted by Tim Sebastian, which was taped in Jerusalem about two weeks ago.

Continue Reading »

UN Runs Palestinian Schools That Indoctrinate Hatred Of Jews & the West Pays For It

In an exclusive interview, Col. Richard Kemp, former commander of British Forces in Afghanistan says peace is far from breaking out, as he comments on the conflict with Hamas, the battle for public opinion, the ethics of war, & changes needed for peace.

By Judith Bergman

 

Col. Richard Kemp, CBE, has been spending time in Israel, where he spoke at Shurat Hadin’s “Towards a ‎New Laws of War” Conference, and at Bar-Ilan University, which bestowed him with an honorary ‎doctorate in recognition of his stalwart battle against terrorism and terrorist organizations. Kemp, now ‎retired from the British Army, was commander of the British forces in Afghanistan in 2003 and served in ‎Iraq, the Balkans and Northern Ireland. Continue Reading »

Diplomatic Disaster Averted by Israel’s Cooperation With Nuclear Ban Treaty Diplomats

In a dramatic show of support for Israel at the UN nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty conference last week, the US vetoed an Egyptian-led drive for a Mid-East nuclear weapons ban.

 

Israel’s ongoing cooperation with diplomats involved in efforts to set up a regional dialogue over weapons of mass destruction helped it avoid a bad outcome during a UN conference last week, an arms control expert said on Monday.

A nuclear test explosion from April 1954 is shown in this undated photo from the US Defense Department – Photo: REUTERS

In recent days, the US vetoed an Egyptian-led drive on a possible Middle East nuclear weapons ban at a UN nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) conference. Continue Reading »

Economist Reports: Israel’s new right-wing gov’t harms its foreign relations

Report in UK based publication details series of political challenges before Israel’s latest coalition gov’t, implying PM Netanyahu is leaning further right.

By Ynet

 

The influential magazine The Economist, claimed in an article published Sunday that the guidelines of the new Israeli government further undermine the already fragile relations between Jerusalem and the world.The Economist page on facebook

The article analyzes the sensitive situation of Israel’s foreign relations, detailing a list of difficulties with which Netanyahu is dealing with these days, starting with the French initiative to recognize a Palestinian state, then the possible European Union boycott of products made in the settlements, and concluding with the demand to suspend Israeli football from international play. Continue Reading »