IDF Discovers Tunnel Shaft from Gaza to Israel

During Operation Pillar of Defense airstrikes destroyed dozens of tunnels but the discovery of a tunnel that leads into Israeli territory remains a top priority.

By Annie Lubin

 

A shaft to a smuggling tunnel into Gaza was discovered Monday afternoon by IDF forces who were engaged in combat near the security fence in southern Gaza.

Tunnel into Gaza discovered by the IDF

Tunnel into Gaza discovered by the IDF – IDF Spokesperson

The IDF has launched an investigation in an effort to figure out when the tunnel was built.

IDF airstrikes during Operation Pillar of Defense destroyed dozens of smuggling tunnels leading into Gaza and the army continues to make the discovery and closure of such smuggling tunnels a top priority. Continue Reading »

Facebook deactivates page of Palestinian writer posting anti-corruption articles

Veteran Journalist Khaled Abu Toameh, has had his Facebook account deactivated because of Hamas & PA threats, ‘simply’ for posting articles detailing Palestinian Authority corruption.

by The Commentator

 

Social networking website Facebook has today been accused of attempting to silence critics of the Palestinian Authority as it cracked down on the page owned by Arab-Israeli writer Khaled Abu Toameh.

Khaled-abu-toameh

Arab-Israeli writer Khaled Abu Toameh

Abu Toameh, the son of an Arab Israeli father and a Palestinian mother, is a former senior reporter for the Jerusalem Post. He has reported that as of yesterday, his Facebook page had been deactivated.

The Commentator has learned that following complaints from the Palestinian Authority and Jordanian security authorities about his articles dealing with corruption, Facebook had taken the steps necessary to effectively censor his work.

Continue Reading »

The word ‘Jew’, is the new ‘cool’ in Dutch, linguist says

Dutch teenagers use the word “jood” as an expression of enthusiasm.

The kids are also using the Yiddish word “tof” as “good.”

By JTA

 

THE HAGUE – Dutch teenagers are using “Jew” akin to “cool” or “awesome” in English, according to a linguist from Leiden University.

Jewish gay participants cruises canals in Holland. Photo by REUTERS - Michael KoorenProfessor Marc van Oostendorp wrote Monday on his blog that he heard the new usage of the word “jood” (pronounced yode) at a high school in Leiden shortly after learning about the phenomenon from an online forum about the Dutch language.“One is at first unsettled by it. The word Jew is still a slightly sensitive issue if used improperly,” van Oostendorp wrote, adding an example of how soccer fans use it as a pejorative.
Continue Reading »

Police foil Palestinians’ plans to return to E-1 outpost

Regional Arabs try to return to tent encampment in disputed E-1 area following Sunday’s forced evacuation; Israeli Border Guard block their path at entrance to main road.

By Elior Levy, Itamar Fleishman

 

Dozens of Palestinians on Tuesday attempted to return to the Bab al-Shams outpost they recently erected in the disputed E1 area between Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim.

Arabs try to enter E1 outpost  Photo by Ohad ZwigenbergThe Palestinians attempted to arrive at the site on foot, but Israeli security forces chased after them and managed to block them at the entrance to the main road leading to the site.

The tent encampment was evacuated by Israeli security forces on Sunday, citing security concerns. Continue Reading »

Israeli cabinet secretary: Israel to renovate 9 West Bank ‘National Heritage Sites’

Israeli Cabinet Secretary Tzvi Hauser says Israel is adding handicapped access to the Tomb of the Patriarchs, and the obligation to renovate is unrelated to politics.

 

The Israeli government says it is moving forward on a plan to invest in places it considers part of Israel’s national heritage, including nine West Bank sites.

The Cave of the Patriachs in Hebron. – Photo: Hagai Ofen

Israeli Cabinet Secretary Tzvi Hauser says Israel is adding handicapped access to the Tomb of the Patriarchs, a site in the West Bank city of Hebron sacred to both Jews and Muslims. The announcement comes a week before Israeli elections and could appeal to hard-line voters. Continue Reading »

Obama: Israel doesn’t know what’s in it’s own best interests

Obama said repeatedly, “Israel doesn’t know what its own best interests are….Netanyahu is so captive to the settler lobby,”

By Gil Ronen

 

The Atlantic‘s Jeffrey Goldberg, writing in Bloomberg View, has revealed that U.S. President Barack Obama said repeatedly recently that

Barack Obama

Barack Obama – Reuters

When informed about the Israeli decision to approve construction plans in the E1 area, “Obama, who has a famously contentious relationship with the prime minister, didn’t even bother getting angry,” wrote Goldberg. “He told several people that this sort of behavior on Netanyahu’s part is what he has come to expect, and he suggested that he has become inured to what he sees as self-defeating policies of his Israeli counterpart. Continue Reading »

Jewish synagogue found where Jesus may have taught

When the synagogue was first discovered in 2009, the archaeological team found a large stone table or altar with intricate carvings.

By  Israel Today Staff

 

A team of archaeologists from Israel’s Antiquities Authority have unearthed an ancient synagogue with some very unique characteristics in a small Galilee village frequented by Jesus and his disciples.

Migdal synagogueThe synagogue was found in Migdal (known in the New Testament as Magdala), which sits just north of Tiberias on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.

During Jesus’ time, Magdala was a thriving fishing village, and home to many of his followers, most notably Mary Magdalene (literally: Mary of Magdala). Continue Reading »

Arab shot near Gaza border; IDF denies any involvement

Palestinian officials accuse IDF soldiers of shooting the man near the border. The Gazan, taken for treatment later dies of head injury at Shifa hospital.

 

By REUTERS

Palestinian medical officials accused Israeli soldiers of killing a farmer in the Gaza Strip on Monday, but a military spokeswoman denied any Israeli involvement.

IDF vehicle patrols along Gaza border fence - Photo REUTERSMustafa Abu Jarad was shot in the head in the town of Beit Lahiya on the border with Israel, said Gaza’s health ministry, run by the territory’s Islamist Hamas rulers.

The 21-year-old was taken to Shifa hospital but died later, said doctors.

An IDF spokeswoman said officials had checked “and apparently the incident is not related to the Israeli army.”

Continue Reading »

Technion Embryonic Stem Cell Discovery Could Be Breakthrough in Fertility Treatment

Researchers from the Technion & the Emek Medical Center in Afula discover a potentially new way to grow human eggs.

 

An end to egg donation? Israeli researchers from the Technion‘s Rappaport Faculty of Medicine have discovered that the amnion membrane, a part of the amniotic sac, may contain embryonic stem cells that could be developed into human eggs. The discovery was made by doctoral student Ayelet Evron mentored by the Dean of the Faculty, Professor Eliezer Shalev.

The human egg – Photo Wellcome ImagesAmnion membranes constitute a part of the inner layer of the amniotic sac, which protects the fetus throughout the pregnancy period. Continue Reading »

Report: Jewish births increasing, Muslim births decreasing

In Israel, the fertility rate among Jewish women is rising while birthrate in the Muslim sector drops, according to latest demographics report.

Yaron Druckman

 

According to a demographics report released by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) on Monday, the State of Israel has a population of 7,836,600, of which 75.4% is Jewish.

Population growth – Photo: Shiran Granot

The data, which was compiled for 2011, also indicates that Jewish births are on the rise, while Arab and Druze births are decreasing.

According to forecasts, by the end of 2035 the number of Jews is expected to be somewhere between 7.7-9.9 million and the Arab population is to total between 2.3-2.9 million. Continue Reading »

US judge: Palestinians allowed to cover up link to 2002 terror attack

Citing “privileged & protected” information, U.S. Judge orders memo proving the connection of the PA to a suicide bombing, returned to the Palestinian Authority or destroyed.

By JPOST.COM STAFF

A US judge ruled that the Palestinian Authority has the right to cover up evidence of its connection to a 2002 suicide bombing in Karnei Shomron which killed three teenagers, The New York Post reported Monday.

Abu Mazan & Arafat

According to the report, a two-page memo directly linking the PA to the terror attack was inadvertently handed over to lawyers suing the Palestinian government for $300 million on behalf of the parents of two American teens killed in the bombing.

Continue Reading »

Sea of Galilee adds 2m hitting highest water-level since 2007

Week-long torrential rains gave Israel’s freshwater reservoir much needed boost.

Israel Water Authority expects additional half-meter rise from upcoming melting snow

By Ynet

 

Lake Kinneret enjoyed a robust six-day period resulting in a massive rise of nearly a meter, the Water Authority said.

Lake Kinneret Photp: AFP

Lake Kinneret – Photo: AFP

The weather system which brought a week-long rain storm to Israel has caused increased outflow in the rivers flowing to the lake, which is Israel’s only freshwater reservoir, resulting in an 80cm rise in water levels in the span of five days.

The Sea of Galilee has added 2 meters since the winter began and is now at 211.20 meters below sea level. Continue Reading »

Egyptian Historian: Muslim Brotherhood Responsible for Jews Expelled from Egypt

An Egyptian history professor has fingered the Muslim Brotherhood as being the cause for the Jews fleeing Egypt.

By Elad Benari

 

An Egyptian historian has fingered the Muslim Brotherhood as being responsible for the country’s Jews fleeing Egypt.

Khaled Fahmi,The history professor, Khaled Fahmi, made the remarks during an interview which aired on Al-Nahar TV on January 3, 2013. They were translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).

“The Muslim Brotherhood bears much of the responsibility for the fleeing of the Jews from Egypt,” Fahmi said. “All the writings of the Muslim Brotherhood… If you grab a copy of their Al-Nazir newspaper [from the late 1930s], the editor-in-chief of which was Salah Al-Ashmawi, you will see that there were many anti-Jewish articles – articles that did not distinguish between Zionism and the Jews. Continue Reading »

Syrian Generals ordered to attack Israel & Egypt should Assad fall

Assad’s reason for attacking Israel is obvious. Syria is officially in a state of war with Israel & hosts numerous terror groups dedicated to the Jewish state’s annihilation.

By Israel Today Staff

 

Embattled Syrian dictator Bashar Assad has ordered his military chiefs to launch ballistic missiles at Israel if he is killed by rebel forces, according to sources in Damascus cited by Israeli media this week.

Syrian threat aimed at Israel & Egypt

The online newspaper Inyan Merkazi reported that Assad met with his top generals recently to express concerns that he could be taken out by advanced American missiles recently provided to rebel forces, or by a violent mob similar to the one that violently murdered former Libyan dictator Muamar Gaddafi. Continue Reading »

Israel plans to wean off gasoline for natural gas to fuel transportation

The gov’t is advancing projects to wean Israel off its oil dependence and oil imports.

Energy & Water Minister, Uzi Landau: Natural gas is the greatest engine for growth in the Israeli market.

By Hezi Sternlicht and Israel Hayom Staff

 

 

The day is approaching when buses will be fueled by natural gas and private vehicles will run on various types of greener fuel.

Israel is gearing towards using natural gas instead of gasoline – Photo: Reuters

The government decided on Monday to advance an initiative put forth by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz and Energy and Water Minister Uzi Landau, to study the use of alternative fuel sources for private and public consumption from now until the year 2025. Continue Reading »