Israel Air Force returns night-time response to Hamas for earlier rocket fired from Gaza

— BREAKING NEWS —

IAF aircraft hit several of Hamas’ terror-related sites in Gaza, in retaliation for a rocket attack targeting the city of Netivot a few hours earlier.

By Elad Benari

 

Israeli Air Force (IAF) aircraft targeted several terror-related sites in Gaza on Thursday night, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said in a statement.

IAF airstrike in Gaza (archive) – AFP photo

According to the statement, the airstrikes targeted a weapons facility and a terrorist center in northern Gaza, as well as a weapons storage site in southern Gaza.

Direct hits were identified, and all aircraft returned safely to their basis, the IDF said. Continue Reading »

IHH designated as a terror group by most – not the U.S.

 

Turkey’s based IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation has already been blacklisted as a terrorist group by the Netherlands, Germany and Israel, yet Obama’s administration has failed to take similar action.

By John Rossomando, IPT News

 

 

Continue Reading »

Gaza Rocket hits open area in Sdot Negev – no injuries or damage

 

Red alert siren sounds throughout Netivot region when Gaza launched rocket explodes in open area within the Sdot Negev Regional Council.

By Mattan Tzuri

 

Rocket launched from the Gaza Strip hit in an open area in the Sdot Negev Regional Council. No injuries or damage were reported.

me digging out Katyusha rocket

retrieving fallen rocket [file] – IsraelandStuff/PP

A red alert siren sounded in the Netivot region. Residents reported to hearing blasts. No injuries were immediately reported.

Last week, at least one rocket hit an open area in the Eshkol Regional Council and two rockets hit open areas near Eilat. No injuries or damage were reported. Continue Reading »

Arab Shot Running Towards Iron Dome Position

IDF soldiers shoot at Arab man’s legs after storming the Iron Dome installation screaming ‘Allahu Akbar’.

By Maayana Miskin

 

Soldiers guarding an Iron Dome installation near the city of Eilat fired on an Arab man on Thursday after he ran at them screaming “Allahu Akbar” (Arabic for “G-d is great”).

Fearing a terrorist attack, the soldiers shot at the man’s legs in order to stop him. The man was hit and injured.

He was taken to Eilat’s Yoseftal Hospital. It is not yet clear whether the man is armed and was attempting a terrorist attack, or is mentally ill. Continue Reading »

N.Y. Senate: New law penalizes universities that boycott Israel

The new law doesn’t specifically mention Israel, but the bill’s sponsor Senator Jeffrey Klein (D-Bronx/Westchester), noted that academic boycotts of Israel were what inspired him to introduce the legislation.

By

 

 

The New York State Senate approved a bill that would suspend funding to educational institutions that fund groups which boycott Israel.

Bill de Blasio and Sheldon Silver.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, left, and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. – Photo: AP

The legislation, approved Tuesday in a 56-4 vote, bans state funding to colleges that fund organizations boycotting “countries that host higher education institutions chartered by the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York.” Continue Reading »

Fatah official: Palestinians seeking Iranian involvement in conflict with Israel

 

With signs of rapprochement between Islamic Republic and Abbas, Jibril Rajoub says Palestinians “entitled” to seek all channels to recruit any ally for its cause.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
 

 

The Palestinians have an interest in an Iranian role in the region, Jibril Rajoub, a senior Fatah official, said Thursday.

Fatah official Jibril Rajoub. - Photo: REUTERS

Fatah official Jibril Rajoub. – Photo: REUTERS

He announced that Fatah has not abandoned the option of “armed resistance” if the peace talks with Israel fail.

“The year 2014 is the year of decision; we either go to a state or to a confrontation,” Rajoub said. “The confrontation would be on three fronts: launching and escalating resistance; boycotting and isolating Israel and halting all forms of normalization [with Israel] on the political, academic, trade and economic levels.” Continue Reading »

Israel’s Strategic Affairs and Intelligence Minister: Abbas ‘most anti-Semitic leader’ in world

Israeli Strategic Affairs & Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz reveals the obvious, that under PA leadership, ‘level of anti-Israel & anti-Semitic incitement in the PA has reached new heights.’

 

 

Strategic Affairs and Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz called Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas the world’s most anti-Semitic leader, AFP reported on Thursday.

“Since Ahmadinejad left the political stage, Abu Mazen [Abbas] is the number one leader in injecting anti-Semitic and anti-Israel poison,” Yuval Steinitz said, at the Institute for National Security Studies conference at Tel Aviv University last Sunday.

“Under Abu Mazen, the level of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic incitement in the [Palestinian] Authority has reached new heights, where the bottom line is the destruction of Israel. Continue Reading »

New National Park Dedicated as Where David Defeated Goliath

Archaeologists have determined that a building unearthed south of Jerusalem, at Khirbet Qeiyafa, was King David’s ‘Suburban Palace.’

By Gil Ronen

 

A national park will be declared at Khirbet Qeiyafa and the Ela Valley, southwest of Jerusalem, and a residential neighborhood that had been planned next to the location will not be built. The area is believed to be the spot where the young David fought Goliath, according to the Bible.

An aerial view of the Khirbet Qeiyafa dig – Skyview/Archaeological Authority

The decision was made by the Jerusalem District Committee for Planning and Construction. The national park will stretch from Beit Natif in the east to Khirbet Qeiyafa in the west, and the construction of the southern neighborhood of Ramat Beit Shemesh will be scrapped. Continue Reading »

US intel assessment: Tehran can now build & deliver nuclear bomb

 

Director of U.S. National Intelligence:  Iran has the means to assemble & deliver nuclear device, but question is whether it has the political will.

By i24News

 

Iran has the technological capabilities to produce nuclear weapons should it decide to do so, the Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, said in a report to a US Senate intelligence committee on Wednesday.

Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper - Photo: Jim Watson/AFP

Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper – Photo: Jim Watson/AFP

The report, titled “US Intelligence Worldwide Threat Assessment,” discusses how Iran could make and deliver nuclear bombs if it made the political decision to do so.

“Tehran has made technical progress in a number of areas — including uranium enrichment, nuclear reactors, and ballistic missiles — from which it could draw if it decided to build missile-deliverable nuclear weapons,” wrote Clapper.

Continue Reading »

Israel Honors Local & Foreign Christians

 

The World Jewish Congress and Israel’s Knesset jointly award & publicly recognize Nazareth’s Priest Gabriel Nadaf for helping Christians integrate with Israel.

By Ryan Jones

 

The Israeli Knesset’s Christian Allies Caucus and the World Jewish Congress on Wednesday jointly hosted the eight annual Night to Honor Israel’s Christian Allies.

PM Binyamin Netanyahu meets Father Gabriel Nadaf, August 5, 2013. - Photo: Moshe Milner/GPO

PM Binyamin Netanyahu meets Father Gabriel Nadaf, August 5, 2013. – Photo: Moshe Milner/GPO

After various Israeli politicians and Christian leaders spoke about the shared roots and shared destiny of Christians and the Jewish people, the organizers got to the meat of the evening, the honoring of two Christians who have done much to advance Jewish-Christian relations in recent years. Continue Reading »

Deaf female 19 yr-old beats all odds to join Israel Police as dog trainer

Having been rejected by the army, Shahaf Karavny joins Israel Police force, “I have a special bond with animals, they understand me & they cannot argue with me,” she says

“The Israel Police welcomes people with disabilities,” says K-9 officer

By Itsik Saban

 

 

Continue Reading »

Racist Belgian MP: Zionists responsible for Holocaust

Belgium’s Parliament president condemns their revisionist lawmaker who said Zionists bankrolled the Holocaust, and did quasi-Nazi salute in the parliament.

By JTA

 

The president of Belgium’s parliament condemned the actions of a lawmaker who said that Zionists were responsible for the Holocaust and performed a quasi-Nazi salute in parliament.

“I would like to reinforce my condemnation of these hateful acts,” Andre Flahaut said on Jan. 23 in reference to the actions of Laurent Louis, who on Jan. 16 said in parliament: “The Holocaust was set up and financed by the pioneers of Zionism.”

The Belgian League Against Anti-Semitism, a newly-established watchdog, pledged during its inaugural event to  focus much of its activities on Louis — an independent member of the lower house of Belgium’s Federal Parliament. Continue Reading »

Israeli weed smokers gasping for lower prices

 

With construction of security border-barrier on the Egyptian border coming to an end, the number of Israeli drug consumers goes down because prices are now sky-high.

Police say Eastern Jordanian frontier may become alternative route for drug trafficking.

By Reuters

 

Israel’s newly fortified Egyptian border has delivered a severe blow to drug smugglers, forcing its hashish and marijuana smokers to deal with a new kind of high – soaring prices.

IDF Desert Worriers keeping their eyes focused on the border. Photo: Courtesy IDF Spokesperson’s Unit

The ravines that snake past rocky red mountains once provided a popular, low-risk route for traffickers to run drugs, women and African migrants into Israel over the southern frontier along Egypt’s Sinai desert. Continue Reading »

Scarlett Johansson quits as Oxfam ambassador

Movie star resigns from humanitarian group due fundamental difference of opinion in regards to BDS, boycotts and Israel.

 

Scarlett Johansson is ending her relationship with the humanitarian group Oxfam International after being criticized over her support for an Israeli company that operates in the West Bank.

A statement released by Johansson’s spokesman Wednesday said the 29-year-old actress has “a fundamental difference of opinion” with Oxfam International because the humanitarian group opposes all trade from Israeli settlements, saying they are illegal and deny Palestinian rights.

“Scarlett Johansson has respectfully decided to end her ambassador role with Oxfam after eight years,” the statement said. Continue Reading »

U.S. Amb. Shapiro explains: Kerry’s proposal came from Israeli & Palestinian demands

 

Comments by US envoy to Israel contradict with Prime Minister’s assertion that Kerry’s framework peace agreement demands reflect “American positions”.

Amb. Shapiro reports “very little” of framework paper will be purely authored by Americans.

 

 

The paper Secretary of State John Kerry is developing to form the basis for further Israeli-Palestinian negotiations is not solely composed of American ideas, but is drawn from what the Israelis and Palestinians presented, US Ambassador Dan Shapiro said on Wednesday.

Ambassador Dan Shapiro - Photo: Courtesy of US embassy Israel

Ambassador Dan Shapiro – Photo: Courtesy of US embassy Israel

“As we continue our work at this stage to shape a framework proposal, it is very much drawn from ideas the parties have put on the table themselves,” he said in Tel Aviv at the annual international conference of the Institute for National Security Studies. Continue Reading »