IDF soldiers on Wednesday shot at Palestinians rioting near the Israel-Gaza border fence, injuring seven, according to Palestinian medical officials cited by Ma’an news agency.
IDF vehicle patrols along Gaza border fence [file] – Photo: REUTERS
The rioting occurred on the border with both central and southern Gaza.
By Guy Ben Simon, Calcalist
El Al Israel Airlines reported strong third quarter financial results on Tuesday.
The airline’s Q3 revenues amounted to $605.7 million, as in the corresponding quarter.
El Al – Facebook page
Passenger revenue grew by 3.6%, mainly due to a gain in yield per revenue passenger kilometer offset by the depreciation of the euro against the dollar.
Cargo revenues dropped 16.5% to $43.7 million as compared with $52.3 million in the corresponding quarter, presumably as a result of reduced quantity of ton to kilometers. Continue Reading »
In reality Hamas has not changed or relinquished its dream of replacing Israel with an Islamist state that is funded and armed by Iran. Unless Hamas changes its charter, the talk about changes in its strategy only serves to spread the movement’s campaign of deception.
Is Hamas really on its way to moderation and pragmatism, as some Western political analysts and diplomats have come to believe?
And what do some Hamas leaders mean when they say that they are ready to accept a Palestinian state “only” in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem?
These questions were raised after CNN recently aired an interview with Hamas “political leader” Khaled Mashaal. Continue Reading »
Elior Levy, Reuters
RAMALLAH – Britain said it would support a Palestinian bid for a diplomatic upgrade at the United Nations if it received assurances that the Palestinians would return to peace talks and would not seek to prosecute Israelis through the International Criminal Court.
‘Wrong side of morality.’ Ashrawi’s press conference in Ramallah Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg
“Up until the time of the vote itself we will remain open to voting in favour of the resolution if we see public assurances by the Palestinians,” Foreign Secretary William Hague told parliament on Wednesday. Continue Reading »
The Israel Navy on Wednesday detained a group of fisherman from the Gaza Strip, saying they had gone beyond a recently expanded fishing zone off the Israeli-blockaded Palestinian enclave.
Gazans collecting their catch off the coast. – Photo by AP
Fishermen on two boats were detained and taken to Israel’s Mediterranean port of Ashdod for questioning, an Israel Defense Forces spokeswoman said. The Hamas-run Interior Ministry in Gaza said nine men had been seized and at least one vessel sunk. Continue Reading »
By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
SodaStream Israel, a favorite target of the BDS Israel boycott movement, must remove a video commercial in Britain because it allegedly disparages other soda manufacturers.
Soft drink bottles fizz out in comercial
SodaStream commercial screenshot
(from YouTube clip below)
SodaStream manufactures and distributes machines for home use to make carbonated drinks, eliminating the need to buy environmentally unfriendly plastic bottles.
It also operates a plant in Mishor Adumim, located between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea, an area claimed by the Palestinian Authority. Continue Reading »
France announced Tuesday that it plans to vote in favor of upgrading the Palestinians to an “observer state” at the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday.
Turkey’s Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that he plans to visit Gaza next week, Turkish paper Today’s Zaman reported.
Erdogan said he was invited to join Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal’s visit to Gaza on December 5, Today’s Zaman reported.
Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan – Photo: REUTERS
The Turkish prime minister has expressed willingness to visit Gaza several times in the past. Earlier this month, Erdogan told reporters he plans to visit Gaza soon, and that Turkish officials are conducting talks with officials in the Strip in order to make the trip happen, according to Today’s Zaman.
AFP
FIFA secretary-general Jerome Valcke has pledged that soccer’s world governing body will help rebuild the Palestine Stadium in Gaza City, after it was partially destroyed in Israeli air strikes.
Gaza Stadium – Photo: AFP
“We see it our mandate to rebuild football infrastructure which has been destroyed,” Valcke was quoted as saying on fifa.com. “We will also rebuild the stadium in Gaza, which has been destroyed.
“Soccer brings people together and we will support any re-construction necessary when football infrastructure is destroyed through disasters,” added Valcke, who is in Brazil for the draw of the Confederations Cup. Continue Reading »
By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
The World Bank has come to the rescue of Hamas, giving it $6.4 million to improve water and sewage services after the latest escalation in attacks on Israel that drew Israel into the eight-day Pillar of Defense counterterrorist campaign.
Rocket launch from civilian area in Gaza – Reuters
The Islamic Development Bank is contributing an additional $11.1 million, but there has been no report of safeguard measures to ensure that some of the money will not be used for more weapons for future attacks on Israel. Continue Reading »
A diagram obtained by The Associated Press shows that Iranian scientists have run computer simulations for a nuclear weapon that would produce more than triple the explosive force of the World War II bomb that destroyed Hiroshima.
The undated diagram that was given to the AP by officials of a country critical of Iran’s atomic program allegedly calculating the explosive force of a nuclear weapon. Photo by AP
The diagram was leaked by officials of a country critical of Iran’s atomic program to bolster their arguments that Iran’s nuclear program must be halted before it produces a weapon. Continue Reading »
Days after Hezbollah leader Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah threatened to rain thousands of rockets on Israel “from the Lebanese border to Jordan to the Red Sea, from Kiryat Shmona to Eilat,” Lebanese lawmakers warned on Tuesday that the terror group chief’s remarks pose a threat to Lebanon’s stability.
Hezbollah leader Nasrallah speaks to supporters from his hiding place via camera – Photo: REUTERS
MP Dory Chamoun, the leader of Lebanon’s center-right, mainly Christian National Liberal Party, told Lebanese daily Al-Joumhouria that by threatening to attack Israel in a speech in Beirut on Sunday, Nasrallah had “gone beyond all the norms and conventions that recognize the existence of an independent country called Lebanon, with a standing army and a multi-faceted population”.
By Reuters
France said on Tuesday it would vote in favor of Palestinian non-member status at the United Nations, boosting Palestinian efforts to secure greater international recognition.
‘Concern for coherency.’ Fabius – Photo: AFP
Frustrated that their bid for full UN membership last year was thwarted by US opposition in the UN Security Council, Palestinians have launched a watered-down bid for recognition as a non-member state, similar to the status the Vatican enjoys. Continue Reading »
Yoav Zitun
How did one terrorist manage to infiltrate the border and stab a Moshav Sdei Avraham resident? This question stands at the center of an investigation being conducted in the Gaza Division since Monday morning.
IDF soldiers protecting settlement during ‘alert’ [illustrative] – Israel and Stuff/PP
An initial probe into the incident, found that if not for the mother’s resourcefulness, the incident could have ended with casualties. Continue Reading »
By Rachel Hirshfeld
PBS’ “Newshour,” with host Hari Sreenivasan, followed the direction of the majority of mainstream media programs last Thursday in presenting a wholly biased and inaccurate portrayal of the situation in Israel and the Gaza Strip following the end of Operation Pillar of Defense.
Hamas – Reuters
The news program aired two back-to back-stories– one focusing on Israel, the other focusing on Arabs in Gaza– about the resumption of normal life in the region, both of which presented only one side of the situation, completely omitting the Israeli narrative. Continue Reading »
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