Pentagon to restock IDF with Super Penetrator ‘Bunker Busters’ and guided bombs

U.S. State Dept and Pentagon approve extensive weapons deal, worth $1.9 billion to Israel in bid to allay concerns over Iran nuclear negotiations and the recent Gulf states’ military procurements.

By Ron Ben-Yishai & Yitzhak Benhorin

 

The US State Department approved a massive sale of bombs and missiles worth $1.897 billion, pending final congressional authorization. The procurement package includes bunker buster munitions and its timing suggests the Americans are seeking to alleviate Israeli concerns over the developing deal with Iran.

BLU-113 Super Penetrator – Photos Wikipedia Commons

The colossal weapons deal is believed to also be intended to prevent vocal opposition by Israel and its allies to the commitments made by President Barack Obama at Camp David to arming Gulf states. Continue Reading »

Swiss Judge Orders Israeli Firm to Pay Iran $1.1 Billion Over 1989 Legal Battle

Although Swiss court ordered oil firm to pay, a Finance Ministry official said Israel’s not paying anything.

By Tova Dvorin

 

A Swiss court has ordered an Israeli oil firm to pay Iran $1.1 billion in compensation over a joint venture from before the 1979 Islamic revolution, state news agency IRNA said Wednesday.

Oil rig (illustration) – Thinkstock

A judicial official quoted by IRNA said Tao, an Israeli firm registered in Panama, was ordered this month to pay the compensation to the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), in a legal tussle dating back to 1989.

NIOC and an Israeli company had signed an agreement in 1968 to transport Iranian oil to the Jewish state across the Red Sea, AFP notes.

Continue Reading »

Israel & Ontario celebrate decade of successful bilateral R&D projects

Canadian province invests another $6 million in joint projects with Israel that focuses on clean technologies and medical devices.

By Ynet

 

A decade-long research and development partnership between Israel and Ontario has received by a six million-dollar investment in joint Israeli-Canadian R&D projects from the Canadian province.

Reza Moridi, left, and Avi Hasson (Photo: Yossi Aloni)Reza Moridi, left, and Avi Hasson – Photo: Yossi Aloni

Ontario’s Minister of Research and Innovation Reza Moridi visited Israel last week to announce the investment.

The partnership program, according to a memorandum of understanding signed 10 years ago, will continue to support projects with a strong economic focus, in the fields of medical devices, information and communication technologies, clean technologies and life sciences. Continue Reading »

Quick Entry Into Israel Using Biometric Passport Stands at Ben-Gurion Airport

Goodbye, long lines: 17 Biometric Passport Stands at Israel’s largest airport to motivate citizens to change their current ID system over to biometric.

By Tova Dvorin

 

Israel took another step toward biometric identification on Wednesday, introducing 17 biometric passport stands to the Passport Control section of Ben-Gurion airport, according to Channel 10.

Interior Minister Silvan Shalom (Likud) uses new biometric passport system – Screenshot

Four stations already were in place as part of a pilot study for the program, which waives the long lines at Passport Control and allows Israelis and tourists to pass instead via a facial recognition system. Continue Reading »

Israeli Deputy FM reminds EU Chief: The Palestinians walked out of peace process

EU High Representative Mogherini meets with Abbas, scheduled to hold talks with PM Netanyahu as well in attempt to revive peace talks.

By i24news

 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is committed to pursuing peace negotiations with the Palestinians, and it is in fact the latter who abandoned last year’s US-led negotiations, Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely told EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini on Wednesday.

Dep. FM Tzipi Hotovely – Motti Kimchi/Ynet

The newly appointed Hotovely told Mogherini that the Palestinians must cease to undertake unilateral steps against Israel in the international arena, and that the EU must condemn terrorism more forcefully.

Continue Reading »

Israel’s new deputy FM calls on Norway to pressure Palestinian leaders

Israel’s new Deputy Foreign Minister Hotovely met with Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende in Jerusalem: Norway’s gov’t must understand there is an Israeli consensus that Jerusalem must remain the undivided capital of the Jewish State.

 

Newly appointed Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely (Likud) met with visiting Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende on Tuesday.

Deputy FM Tzipi Hotovely meets with visiting Norwegian FM Borge Bende, Tuesday – Photo: Noam Sela

Hotovely told Brende, “We expect you to put pressure on the Palestinian leadership to recognize the State of Israel as the state of the Jewish people.”

On the future of Jerusalem, Hotovely said, “The Norwegian government has to realize that there is an Israeli consensus regarding the unity of Jerusalem.” Continue Reading »

Police shot dead Arab driver in vehicular terror-attack injuring 2 Policemen in Jerusalem

Male & female Magav officers light-to-moderately wounded in morning vehicular  terror-attack while on patrol in Jerusalem’s Arab neighborhood of A-Tur.

A Palestinian terrorist was shot and killed Wednesday morning after driving his vehicle into two Border Police officers in east Jerusalem’s A-Tur neighborhood.

Damaged car at scene after terrorist intentionally hit 2 MAGAV Policemen

According to Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld, the attack took place shortly before 10 a.m. when the unidentified assailant rammed his car into a male and female officer, who sustained light-to moderate wounds to their legs and hips.

RELATED:

“The terrorist drove into them while they were on patrol in A-Tur and both were treated at the scene and then evacuated to Hadassah University Medical Center in Ein Kerem and Shaare Zedic Medical Center,” he said. Continue Reading »

IDF to introduce ‘more humane’ non-lethal bullet to neutralize rioters

After extensive testing, defense officials approves use of rubber-based ammunition in the West Bank by specially authorized IDF & Border Guard units to disperse aggressive rioters.

By Yoav Zitun

 

The IDF will soon introduce a new means for riot dispersal. Following a series of experiments recently performed by the military, the use of non-lethal ammunition has been approved as a method to avoid escalations of violence.

Non-lethal ammunition used by the IDF

An Army officer told Ynet that the rubber bullet “is considered a more humane weapon”.

The military has considered using the non-lethal method in the West Bank that is already used by Israeli police, but doubts regarding its lethality prevented its use. Continue Reading »

FIFA Chief Tells Netanyahu He Opposes Palestinian Bid to Oust Israel From Football Association

FIFA president Blatter meets Netanyahu in Jerusalem saying, “Football has the power to construct bridges. Football shall unite people & not divide people.”
Palestinian official responded, claiming Israel ‘leading world by nose because of Holocaust.’

By David Ben Shimol

 

During a visit to Israel on Tuesday, FIFA President Sepp Blatter voiced his objections to an upcoming vote initiated by the Palestinian Football Association to suspend the Israeli FA from participation in international soccer competitions.

Eini, Netanyahu, Blatter, and Regev (Photo: GPO)
Eini, Netanyahu, Blatter, and Regev (Photo: GPO)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warmly welcomed Blatter to Israel when the two met in Jerusalem. “I want to praise you for opposing the politicizing of sport.
Continue Reading »

Lithuanian Power Station Built With Jewish Headstones

A local resident noticed stolen Jewish headstones were used to build Lithuanian power station.

By Matt Wanderman

 

Archaeologists have confirmed that a Lithuanian power station was built using stolen Jewish tombstones.

(File image)Jewish Headstones (illustrative) – Photo: Rafi Fischer

Earlier this month Gledrius Sakalauskas, a local resident, noticed that many of the stones used to build the station contained Hebrew or Yiddish writing. “I touched the stones and I realized that they’re really gravestones,” he told AP.

Sakalauskas says that he is very saddened, but not surprised. There used to be a Jewish cemetery across the street from where the station now stands.

Continue Reading »

Germany pledges €2.5 million for preservation of Tel Aviv’s Bauhaus-style architecture

First a new center will be opened to supervise the restoration & preservation of roughly 2,000 buildings, comprising of the world’s largest collection of Bauhaus architecture.

By Itamar Eichner

 

Germany will donate 2.5 million euros over ten years for the preservation of Tel Aviv’s “White City”, German Construction Minister Barbara Hendricks told Mayor Ron Huldai on Thursday, with an initial grant of NIS 250,000.

Restored Bauhaus-style building in Tel Aviv (Photo: Zvika Tishler)Restored Bauhaus-style building in Tel Aviv – Photo: Zvika Tishler

The project coincides with the 50th anniversary of German-Israeli diplomatic relations.

The White City, which was designated a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site in 2003, is the largest collection in the world of buildings in the modernist Bauhaus style. Continue Reading »

In 2nd Case: Arab Sentenced to Prison For Calls to Kill Jews on Facebook

In this second precedent-setting case in Israel, the trend of Israeli Arabs being held accountable for calls to violence & supporting terror online should cause many to reconsider future behavior.

By Orly Harari

 

The Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court sentenced Israeli Arab Sami Dais to 8 months in prison on Tuesday, for inciting and supporting terror on Facebook.

Facebook (illustrative) – Photo: IsraelandStuff/PP

Dais, a resident of the neighborhood of A-Tur in Jerusalem, is accused of having published, among other things, a picture of a man dressed as an Orthodox Jew with guns aimed at his head and a knife and a gun over and above him with the caption: “Blood = blood! Continue Reading »

Greek mayor reluctantly relents in disgraceful Holocaust monument scandal

European antisemitism runs deep: After global outrage, Kavala Mayor Dimitra Tsanaka, who had opposed the Star of David on a local monument to Jewish Holocaust victims, quietly capitulates saying new stele will be dedicated “soon”.

By The Associated Press and Israel Hayom Staff

 

Faced with blistering criticism over objecting to the presence of the Star of David on a monument dedicated to Holocaust victims, the mayor of Kavala, in northern Greece, told protesters that the dedication ceremony, originally set for this Sunday, will take place “very soon.”

Kavala Mayor Dimitra Tsanaka [Archive] – Photo: AP

The monument is dedicated to the 1,484 Jews who lived in Kavala, a small fishing town about 400 miles north of Athens, and were sent to their deaths in the Treblinka extermination camp in 1943. Continue Reading »

Palestinian Authority advances lawsuits against Israel at ICC for war crimes & construction

Palestinian FM Riad al-Malki says PA submitted request to set date at ICC for alleged war crimes committed by Israel and their settlement expansions.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH, TOVAH LAZAROFF & YONAH JEREMY BOB

 

Authority has submitted an official request to the International Criminal Court to set a date to discuss the possibility of two war-crimes lawsuits against Israel, PA Foreign Minister Riad Malki said on Monday.

Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riad al-Malki (C) leaves the ICC at the Hague, August 5, 2014. – Photo: REUTERS

The Palestinians want the ICC to sue Israel for war crimes it claims were committed during last summer’s Operation Protective Edge and for Jewish building over the 1949 Armistice Line in Jerusalem and the West Bank. Continue Reading »

Saudis seek to revive their peace plan with Netanyahu’s new right-wing gov’t

Former Jordanian military general calls on PM Netanyahu to accept Saudi plan, saying 40 Muslim states “will establish diplomatic relations with Israel, including commercial cooperation and cultural ties.”

By Smadar Perry

 

The Saudi peace initiative first saw light some 13 years ago, and apparently there are still many key figures in the Arab world who would like to see it revived.

Saudi King Salman at an Arab League Conference this year – Photo: EPA

“Now that Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu has formed his new government, I call on him to say yes to the Saudi peace initiative. It’s alive and well and didn’t disappear with the regime change in Saudi Arabia,” says Dr. Continue Reading »