773 ‘asylum seekers’ left Israel in January for cash payment

 

Israel’s Interior Minister Gideon Sa’ar reports a dramatic rise in the number of migrant ‘asylum seekers’ who preferred to accept the gov’t offer, and left Israel for the cash payment.

By Omri Efraim

More than 700 asylum seekers left Israel under the “voluntary emigration” program in January, said Interior Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Wednesday during a visit to the Holot detention center.

Human rights organizations criticize the government program claiming it is not “voluntary emigration” when the only other alternative to staying in Israel is incarceration.

The January figure of 773 asylum seekers who exited the country is substantially higher than the overall numbers from the fourth quarter of 2013. Continue Reading »

Attempt to Stab Border Policeman Foiled in East Jerusalem

Female Arab terrorist attempted to stab Border Police officer in Issawiya but was stopped in time.

By Elad Benari

 

Border Police officers foiled a stabbing attack in the eastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Issawiya on Wednesday evening.

The incident occurred as dozens of Arab youths were throwing rocks at Border Police officers who were patrolling the neighborhood.

The officers began arresting the Arabs, when one of them, a female, tried stabbing one of the officers. She was immediately stopped. The officer was not hurt.

Earlier Wednesday, a Palestinian Arab man attempted to run over IDF soldiers near Homesh in northern Samaria, before fleeing the scene of the crime. Continue Reading »

Israel Air Force chief: IAF will destroy Hezbollah bases, even in residential neighborhoods

 

IAF head, Maj.-Gen. Amir Eshel says IDF’s military capabilities are 15 times greater than it was during last conflict in 2006 with Hezbollah.

By REUTERS
 

 

Israel accused Lebanon’s Hezbollah guerrillas on Wednesday of putting “thousands” of bases in residential buildings and said it would destroy these in a future conflict, even at the cost of civilian lives.

The unusually explicit threat by air force chief Major-General Amir Eshel appeared to be part of an effort by Israeli officials to prepare world opinion for high civilian casualties in any new confrontation with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Continue Reading »

‘170,000 rockets threaten Israel’ reports IDF intel chief

 

IDF’s Intelligence Chief Aviv Kochavi reports that although the number of missiles aimed at Israel have decreased, their lethality & accuracy has been dramatically improved.

By Shahar Chai

Sometimes, less is more: Military Intelligence Chief Brigadier General Aviv Kochavi said Wednesday that despite a drop in the number of missiles and rockets threatening Israel, their level of precision has drastically risen.

“Some 170,000 rockets and missiles are threatening the State of Israel from all regions. Up until recently, the number was much greater and it has decreased, but it will go up again.

“They are much more precise and a lot more lethal. Continue Reading »

National Union of Journalists in Britain is planning to boycott Israel – again

The National Union of Journalists in Britain 1st voted to support a boycott of Israel in 2007, in protest of the Second Lebanon War, but then later quashed it. The same is expected to happen once again, this spring.

 

The National Union of Journalists in Britain is planning to boycott Israel – again, the Telegraph reports. The union first voted to support a boycott (66-54) in 2007, in protest of the Second Lebanon War in the summer of 2006.

Boycott Israel flyers on the streets of Paris

Boycott Israel flyers on the streets of Paris – Photo: Dreamstime

At the time concerns were raised that it compromised journalistic integrity and that it deviated from the union’s main priorities. Continue Reading »

Arab Shot Dead After Firing on IDF Soldiers in Samaria

Palestinian killed at IDF post near Ateret, follows series of shooting attacks in Judea & Samaria.

By Ari Yashar

 

An Arab terrorist opened fire on an IDF guard post next to the Samaria community of Ateret, which lies roughly midway between Jerusalem and Shechem (Nablus). Soldiers returned fire, taking down the terrorist.

An army statement announced that “a Palestinian terrorist opened fire at an IDF (army) post near Ofra. The soldiers responded immediately in order to eliminate the imminent threat to their lives and fired towards the terrorist, identifying a hit.”

AFP reports that Arab sources have identified the terrorist as 19-year-old Mohammad Mubarak from nearby Jalazun. Continue Reading »

From Jerusalem of Gold to Jerusalem of Hamas

Hamas has been quietly working, setting up an alternative municipality to gain control of eastern Jerusalem, as a way of wrangling away Abbas’ influence.

By Israel Today Staff

 

Israel’s leading daily newspaper, Yediot Ahronot, ran a feature story this week warning that the nation’s capital is quietly changing from “Jerusalem of Gold” to “Jerusalem of Hamas.”

It seems the Palestinian terrorist organization has been successfully establishing itself as the municipal director of the eastern half of Jerusalem in recent years.

According to an indictment brought against Hamas in the Jerusalem District Court, the terror group has succeeded in mobilizing activists in a variety of fields, including religious, education and financial services. Continue Reading »

PM’s Office: Bennett needs to apologize or leave the gov’t

 

Minister Naftali Bennett jumps-the-gun in his untimely scolding of Netanyahu after PM said ‘Jews could live under Palestinian sovereignty in future agreement’.

PMO reports that Bennett’s recent comments & undeserving criticism of the PM & his coalition, have put the gov’t in danger.

 

Either Economy Minister Naftali Bennett apologizes for slamming Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in recent days for raising the idea that Jews could live in settlements under Palestinian sovereignty, or he is “endangering the coalition,” sources in the Prime Minister’s Office said Wednesday morning.

“Bennett was given a message that he needs to apologize clearly, otherwise there will be a price,” the sources said, not hiding the fact that Bennett’s comments, including a fiery and feisty speech Tuesday night, has triggered a coalition crisis. Continue Reading »

Rabbis’ orders won’t prevent religious girls from serving in IDF

 

IDF female inductees continue to rise as the number of female soldiers in 2013 almost doubled that of 2010, as IDF continues to order more & more military skirts.

By Yossi Yehoshua

The IDF‘s top adjutants said they aren’t interested in fighting with rabbis, but they will do everything else they can to keep raising the growing number of religious girls enlisting in the army.

Photo: "Army identity number 38166, Major General Ariel Sharon, warrior, commander and general, in the name of generations of soldiers past, present and future, I salute you. May your memory be blessed.”- IDF Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Benny Gantz

Female soldiers flank Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Benny Gantz at past Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s funeral.

“If they close the door on us, we know how to get in through the window,” an official in the Manpower Directorate said Tuesday. Continue Reading »

NYT Report: Kerry’s plan sees East Jerusalem as Palestinian capital

 

Senior NYT analyst Thomas Friedman, lays out expected points of John Kerry’s framework deal, which he believes will include phased withdrawal from West Bank according to 1967 lines but will not allow Palestinian refugees to return to Israel.

 

 

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s draft framework agreement for Middle East peace talks will include support for establishing a Palestinian capital in Arab areas of East Jerusalem, senior New York Times analyst Thomas Friedman wrote in his column published Wednesday.

Kerry and Netnayahu.

Kerry and Netanyahu at a press conference in Jerusalem, January 2, 2014. – Photo: Reuters

Friedman, who is currently visiting Israel, said that Kerry’s framework document would present the core concessions that Washington considers Israelis and Palestinians need to make for a fair, lasting deal. Continue Reading »

Downing of Egyptian Chopper by Terrorists Corroborates Bennett’s Warning

Video shows Sinai terrorist firing shoulder-launched missile at army helicopter. This scenario is what Israeli airliners may encounter if Judea & Samaria fall into Palestinian hands.

By Gil Ronen

 

Five Egyptian soldiers were killed when a military helicopter crashed to the ground in the northern Sinai peninsula, near Gaza, on Saturday. While the military said that the soldiers were killed in a helicopter “accident” as they pursued terrorists, the Al Qaeda-inspired Ansar Beit al Maqdis group said its fighters brought down the helicopter with a missile – and have posted a video corroborating the claim.

Helicopter brought down – Screenshot

The video showed a terrorist, whose face was blurred, firing a rocket at the helicopter. Continue Reading »

SodaStream Wins Lawsuit against French BDS Group

 

SodaStream victorious in it’s case, is believed to be the 1st Israeli firm to introduce formal court charges against the Palestinian lobby.

By: Tzvi Ben-Gedalyahu

 

A SodaStream ad in France, where a BDS-linked group has been found guilty of maligning the company.

A SodaStream ad in France, where a BDS-linked group has been found guilty of maligning the company.

A SodaStream ad in France

A French court has ordered a Pro Palestinian Authority group affiliated with the Boycott Israel movement to compensate the company and to stop all activities alleging that SodaStream products are illegally made and sold.

The company, whose Mishor Adumim factory in Israel’s Judean Desert is only one of 20 around the world, sued the Association France Palestine Solidarite (AFPS) in a Paris civil court for activities that the company said included “falsely claiming that the products are ‘illegally sold’ as a result of being manufactured in ‘occupied territories’ while bearing the ‘Made in Israel’ label.” Continue Reading »

Palestinians Gives Israel 3 Years to Withdraw from Judea & Samaria

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas gives Israel a 3 year deadline to withdraw every Jew from Judea and Samaria, in the event of an interim deal.

By AFP and Arutz Sheva Staff

 

Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has given Israel 3 years to withdraw from Judea and Samaria in the event that an interim agreement is reached, according to AFP.

“Those who are proposing 10 to 15 years (before a withdrawal) do not want to withdraw at all,” Abbas said in an interview screened on Tuesday at the annual conference of the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) taking place in Tel Aviv. Continue Reading »

More available single Israelis now than ever before

 

44%, or 2.46 million single Israeli adults above the age of 20, are defined as “available,” according to new figures provided by Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics.

More men than women are single, with 958 bachelors for every 798 bachelorettes.

By Zeev Klein

 

Continue Reading »

Shin Bet with Israel Police arrest 16 violent Hamas activists in Jerusalem

Members of Islamist terrorist movement are accused of setting up a learning program on Temple Mount that caused  increase tension & sparked public disturbances.

 

 

A group of 16 East Jerusalem residents have been arrested by the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and the Israel police on suspicion of being part of a Hamas cell operating in eastern neighborhoods of the city and the Temple Mount, the security service stated on Tuesday.

The Shin Bet said that the 16 suspects also includes activists from the northern branch of the Israel Islamic movement, who were part of a collaboration with Hamas at the Temple Mount compound. Continue Reading »