REPORT: U.S. State Dept. denies visas to Israeli defense officials

Maariv reports: Mossad, IDF & Shin Bet officials were rejected entry visas. American Embassy says, ‘All visa requests examined individually.’

 

 

The United States is denying visa requests from Israeli military, defense establishment and intelligence officials, according to a report in Maariv.

American visa

American visa in a passport (illustrative) – Photo: Dreamstime

Israeli defense establishment officials have discussed the matter in private meetings, after noticing a pattern emerging: Hundreds of individuals with ties to Israel’s defense establishment have been denied entry to the U.S. in the past year, or have been allowed in for only three months, according to the report.

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IDF Shoots Dead 2 Hezbollah Terrorists Placing Bomb on Border with Syria

IDF soldiers engaged and then killed two terrorists last night who tried blowing up border fence on Golan Heights.

By Ari Yashar

 

IDF forces clashed with terrorists on Tuesday night in the northern Golan Heights. Soldiers opened fire on terrorists who placed an explosive on the border fence with Syria.

“Earlier today, two Hezbollah-affiliated terrorists were identified attempting to plant an explosive device near the Israel-Syria border in the northern Golan Heights. IDF forces… fired towards the suspects (and) hits were identified,” the army said in a statement.

A group of suspicious figures approached the fence in the middle of the night, and attempted to blow up the barrier.

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IDF intercepts Iranian ship capturing advanced rockets sent to Gaza

UPDATED

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IDF elite navy unit raided the Iranian vessel in daring open sea operation, capturing Iranian made long-range missiles that were en route to Sudan.

By Yoav Zitun

 

 

Israel seized an Iranian ship carrying advanced weapons destined for Gaza on Tuesday night and towed it to Eilat port, the IDF said Wednesday. Elite troops from the Israel Navy’s Shayetet 13 unit boarded the ship in open waters on the maritime border of Sudan and Eritrea, some 1,500 km south of Israel.

The Klos C

The Klos C – Photo source: Ynet

The Klos C Iranian vessel was sailing under a Panamanian flag, making its way to Sudan from Iran carrying a cargo of advanced rockets capable of reaching distances of up to 200 km. Continue Reading »

Israel Police prevent terrorist-related gas explosion in Jerusalem neighborhood

3 apartment buildings in Jerusalem evacuated after residents notice 2 deliberately severed cooking-gas lines.

 

 

A massive gas explosion was narrowly averted Tuesday morning after residents of Armon Hanatziv reported high concentrations of leaking gas and subsequently discovered two deliberately severed gas lines to their building, police said.

Road blocked - Photo courtesy Israel Police Spokesperson Office

Road blocked – Photo courtesy Israel Police Spokesperson Office

According to a police spokesman, upon smelling the odorous gas several residents promptly contacted officers who arrived within minutes along with Magen David Adom and firefighting units to prevent an imminent and deadly blast.

“The pipes were intentionally cut which caused extreme danger, so police evacuated three buildings in the area and shut off the gas supply,” the police official said shortly after the incident. Continue Reading »

Elite IDF unit captures wanted Hamas terrorist in West Bank

 

Ayoub al-Qawasmi, imprisoned by the Palestinian Authority and just released 2 weeks ago, was planning to rebuild Hamas’ terror infrastructure in the West Bank.

By Elior Levy, Yoav Zitun

 

An IDF unit working undercover in Hebron arrested Ayoub al-Qawasmi on Tuesday evening, one of the commanders of Hamas’ military branch in the West Bank and one of Israel’s most wanted suspects.

IDF training exercises – Photo- IDF Spokesperson’s Unit

Qawasmi, 50, is suspected of being involved in terrorist attacks against Israelis during the Second Intifada and has recently sought to renew Hamas’ terror infrastructure in the West Bank.

Qawasmi was imprisoned by the Palestinian Authority in January 2010 and was released only two weeks ago. Continue Reading »

Palestinians: PM Netanyahu’s AIPAC speech basically terminates negotiations

Labor leader MK Herzog ‘believes less & less’ that the Prime Minister intends on leading Israel to a diplomatic solution with the Palestinians.

 

 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared a unilateral end to peace talks in his speech at the annual AIPAC conference, a top Palestinian official said on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Netanyahu

Prime Minister Netanyahu addressing the AIPAC conference. – Photo: AFP

 

In his address to a gathering of the pro-Israel lobby, Netanyahu reiterated his demand that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a nation-state of the Jewish people.

“President Abbas, recognize the Jewish state,” Netanyahu declared. “In doing so you will tell your people that, though we have a territorial dispute, Israel’s right to exist is beyond dispute.

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Israel Airport to undergo sensitivity course on ‘humiliating’ security procedures

 

Knesset ruling follows public outcry after improper treatment of an Arab Israeli teacher, who underwent a strip-search.

By i24NEWS

 

The Knesset Public Petitions Committee decided on Monday that Israeli Airport Authority officials will meet with people who have been forced into invasive security checks. The meetings, which will involve Arab MKs will be part of an attempt to enlighten airport officials on the often humiliating security searches that Arabs have to go through.

AN EL AL plane at Ben Gurion International Airport ( Wikimedia Commons )

AN EL AL plane at Ben Gurion International Airport – Photo Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

Haaretz newspaper reported that the decision follows last month’s public outcry over the treatment of Ezias Elias Shehadeh, and Arab Israeli teacher who was strip-searched while flying with her Jewish students. Continue Reading »

Foreign Ministry: ‘Civilian Service’ in Chabad is Illegal

The Foreign Ministry rejects Shaked Committee’s proposal to allow Chabad emissaries as ‘hareidi service’ alternative.

By Maayana Miskin

 

The Shaked Committee (aka Equal Burden of Service Committee) has decided that 100 volunteers with the Chabad Lubavitch movement will be considered “civilian service” volunteers – and their service will count toward hareidi enlistment targets.

Chabad tanks celebrate Lag BaOmer – Israel News Photo: Chabad

The groundbreaking decision faces strong opposition from the Foreign Ministry, which declared Tuesday that the proposed arrangement would not be legal.

The Shaked Committee agreed that a select number of Chabad volunteers would be seen as working on behalf of the state of Israel, and their activities would be funded through the Sherut Ezrahi program for non-military national service. Continue Reading »

The Half-Truths & Myth of Israel’s 2013 Settlement Boom

 

 

It’s deceitful to talk about a 120% increase in ‘settlement activity’ in 2013 when in 2012 there was almost no construction because of an imposed building freeze. Besides, Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics says only 5.7% of all new construction in 2013 was in the ‘West Bank’.

By Israel Today Staff

 

Fueling recent heavy criticism of Israel amidst ongoing US-brokered peace talks is the perception that construction of new Jewish homes on lands claimed by the Palestinians skyrocketed over the past year.

Construction site in the West Bank settlement of Modiin Illit.

Construction site in the West Bank settlement of Modiin Illit. – Photo: AP

Even Israeli newspapers on Tuesday ran reports that while new building starts in Tel Aviv had decreased by 19 percent in 2013 compared to the previous year, Jewish construction in the so-called “West Bank” had shot up by 123 percent. Continue Reading »

Egyptian court Blacklists Hamas as terrorist organization, banning activities

 

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WATCH: Netanyahu address AIPAC – US on the right side of the moral divide

 

PM Netanyahu calls on Abbas to tell his people that also Jewish people have a right to a state of their own.

The PM also attacks boycott movement, calls on the world not to fall for “the BS in BDS.”

By JPOST.COM STAFF
 

 

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu addressed the AIPAC policy conference in Washington on Tuesday, saying that peace with the Palestinians has the potential to better the lives of hundreds of millions of people in the Middle East.

Netanyahu speaking at AIPAC 2014 – Photo: Amos Ben Gershom, GPO

Netanyahu stated that a historic peace agreement with the Palestinians would open up the possibility of establishing ties with leading countries in the Arab world. Continue Reading »

Obama puts on a performance for the press at Netanyahu meeting

 

U.S. president preferred to avoid a public confrontation this time, so he already sent Netanyahu his message via the Sunday Bloomberg interview.

 

 

WASHINGTON – It was tough not to notice the significant differences between U.S. President Barack Obama’s withering criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a Bloomberg interview published on Sunday, and the praise he heaped on the Israeli leader in front of the cameras at the White House a mere 24 hours later.

Obama and Netanyahu in the White House.

Obama and Netanyahu during a meeting at the Oval Office in Washington, D.C., March 3, 2014. – Photo: AFP

Netanyahu was surprised when he landed here Sunday and immediately had to face the headlines about Obama’s comments.

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Sheikh Raed Salah jailed 8 months for incitement

 

I got off cheap,’ joked Islamic Movement leader Sheikh Raed Salah after receiving an 8-month sentence for comments during Temple Mount protest that sparked riots leaving 3 Border Police officers injured.

By Kobi Nachshoni

 

Sheikh Raed Salah, the head of the Islamic Movement Northern Branch, is going back to jail after Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court sentenced him to an eight-month prison sentence for incitement to violence.

Salah was convicted last November for a 2007 speech he made on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

His comment, “Our best moments will be when we meet God as martyrs while Jews are still in the Al-Aqsa Mosque,” sparked a riot that left three Border Police officers wounded. Continue Reading »

Nabbed: Police Arrested 14 Arab Terrorist Suspects Overnight

Police report charges range from carjacking to throwing Molotov cocktails, as arrests nab Palestinian terrorists across Israeli heartland.

By Tova Dvorin

 

The Judea and Samaria (Shomron) District Police, along with IDF and the Border Patrol, arrested 14 Arabs overnight (Monday/Tuesday) on suspicions of stone-throwing, illegal weapons hoarding, drug-dealing, and carjacking.

Unlicensed ammunition confiscated by police – Photo Courtesy: Israeli Police Spokesperson’s Office

Police  investigation into recent carjackings in the Shomron led the forces to arrest at least one suspect in the Arab settlement of Hawara. Another man was arrested along Route 443 in the Binyamin region after being found driving a stolen vehicle. Continue Reading »

Abbas: For the 17th Time….Freeze Construction or Else…

Mahmoud Abbas threatens to end peace talks and turn to int’l institutions unless Netanyahu freezes construction in Judea & Samaria.

By Elad Benari

 

Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is threatening to end the negotiations with Israel unless it freezes construction in Judea and Samaria.

Abbas’s threats came during his meeting on Monday with Meretz Chairwoman MK Zehava Galon. “I will put the keys on the table and turn to international organizations,” he declared during that meeting.

“The only way we will agree to extend the talks is if Netanyahu announces a settlement freeze and the release of other prisoners beyond the next scheduled release,” Abbas told Galon. Continue Reading »