Gaza Terrorists Launch Rockets at Southern Israel

Palestinian Authority terrorists in Gaza launched another rocket attack at southern Israel Sunday morning.

Two short-range Qassam rockets exploded in fields located in the Sdot HaNegev Regional Council district area, near Netivot.

 

No one was physically injured and no property damage was reported.

An Israel Air Force drone preempted a terrorist cell from launching a missile attack against Israel from Gaza on Saturday.

Two terrorists riding a motorcycle near the southern Gaza city of Rafiah were wounded in the air strike.

Also on Saturday, the IDF announced it had located an unexploded Grad Katyusha missile near Eilat, two days after an attack was launched against the southern city of Eilat. Continue Reading »

Muslim Brotherhood: We will not put Egypt-Israel peace treaty to referendum

Freedom and Justice party MP Al-Dardiri’s announcement over Camp David Accords made as an Egyptian delegation tries to show the U.S. there is nothing to fear from Muslim Brotherhood rule.

A member of parliament for Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice party said on Friday that the movement would not put Egypt’s peace treaty with Israel to a national referendum vote.

Muslim Brotherhood Members in Egyptian Parliament

Muslim Brotherhood members attending the first Egyptian parliament session after the revolution that ousted former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo - Photo by: Reuters

“We will not put the Camp David accords, or any other agreement Egypt has signed to a national referendum,” said member of parliament Abd Al-Maujood Al-Dardiri. Continue Reading »

Op-Ed: Egyptian Candidate Tells Palestinians to Accept Israel?

One of the presidential hopefuls running for Egyptian elections to be held on 23 and 24 May 2012 is Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh.

Walid Shoebat

Walid Shoebat

Israel’s most-watched news program Ulpan Shishi was even more hopeful, going out of its way to capture statements from Aboul Fotouh in English.

In the interview, Aboul Fotouh went as far as to state that “we say to Palestinians ‘you should recognize the State of Israel’.” He even expressed the view strongly that the Camp David Accord “should be respected.”

The Arabic reveals otherwise. In a press conference, Aboul Fotouh announced that the entire interview was fabricated:

It was said that I told an Israeli journalist that I accept Camp David, that Palestinians need to recognize Israel and that Israelis need to recognize Palestine. Continue Reading »

World Bank to donate $55 m. to West Bank, Gaza

Money transfer will “continue to focus on strengthening the institutions of a future Palestinian state,” organization says.

 

The World Bank will donate $55 million to the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, the international organization announced Friday.

“The Bank’s support will continue to focus on strengthening the institutions of a future Palestinian state,” the organizations stated.

World Bank building entrance

World Bank building entrance- By Wikimedia Commons

The $55 million will be transferred to the Trust Fund for Gaza and the West Bank, pending approval from the Board of Governors. It will be invested in promoting private-sector growth and strengthening public institutions, in line with the Palestinian National Development Plan for 2011-2013, the Bank stated.

Continue Reading »

Christians in Holy Land pray on Easter Saturday

Franciscan monks, ordinary believers march through Jerusalem’s old city, congregate at Church of the Holy Sepulcher

Thousands of Christians gathered near Jerusalem‘s Church of the Holy Sepulcher for Easter Saturday and marched in processions brimming with tradition, taking turns to pray in the site where they believe Jesus was slain and buried.

Easter Saturday is a day of reflection and waiting for many Christians, who believe Jesus was crucified on Friday and rose from the dead on Sunday.

“This day is very important for us. It’s the waiting for the great celebration of the resurrection,” said Father Ibrahim Shomali, a Palestinian Christian priest from the nearby town of Beit Jala. Continue Reading »

Hamas executes 3 in Gaza, including Israel ‘collaborator’

Islamist group Hamas executed three men on Saturday, hanging two convicted murderers and a Gazan found guilty of collaborating with Israel, the Hamas-run ministry of interior said.

Khaled Meshal

Khaled Meshal - Photo by: AP

It did not name the men and gave few details of the allegations against them, but said one of trio was convicted of kidnapping a boy, raping him and then killing him.

It denounced the man who helped Israel as a “traitor.”

The ministry said in a statement the families of the murder victims had refused to offer an amnesty to the killers.

The executions were carried out “in accordance with our religion, rulings of the Palestinian law and in preserving the rights of citizens and achieving the security of the community”, the statement said. Continue Reading »

Pollard Rushed to Hospital

Jonathan Pollard was rushed to a hospital emergency room near his Butner, North Carolina prison.

Jonathan Pollard, convicted of spying for Israel and serving a life sentence without parole for 26 years, was rushed to a hospital emergency room near his Butner, North Carolina penitentiary early Friday after suffering from extreme pain, sources close to him said Friday.

Ashkenazi chief rabbi Yonah Metzger called upon Jews around the world to pray during the Passover holiday for the health and freedom of Pollard, whose Hebrew name is Yehonatan Ben-Malka.

President Shimon Peres will meet Sunday with MKs Uri Ariel and Ronit Tirosh who will hand him a letter for US President Barack Obama asking for the release of convicted Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard. Continue Reading »

Operation IDF Passover Seder

As millions of Israelis prepare to celebrate the Passover seder on Friday night, the IDF will join them at bases around the country.

 

As millions of Israelis prepare to celebrate the Passover seder on Friday night, the IDF will join them at bases around the country.

The various IDF units have been busy all week preparing for the feast to come. Passover preparations involve dozens of soldiers and commanders at army bases and outposts on land, out at sea, and flying the skies.

As part of its preparations for the holiday, the IDF purchased 70,000 kg of various foods that included 8,000 kg of Nile perch fish, 3,500 kg of roast beef, 9,000 kg of chicken thighs, 7,200 kg of matzah, 16,000 bottles of grape juice, and more. Continue Reading »

Is Tower of David timeline oldest on Facebook?

“A timeline makes perfect sense for us, because we already work based on a timeline,” director of special projects at the museum tells ‘Post’.

 

As Facebook switches to its new “Timeline” design, some users are already taking advantage of the revamped layout to exemplify what they do best.
Tower of David Museum’s Facebook page
Tower of David Museum’s Facebook page

Launched this week, Jerusalem’s Tower of David Museum’s Facebook page boasts possibly the oldest “Timeline” on the social networking site’s newest technology.

Its birth is dated at 1099, when the Crusaders conquered Jerusalem and established a fortress where the museum stands today.

“A timeline makes perfect sense for us, because we already work based on a timeline,” Rose Ginosar, director of special projects at the museum, told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.

Continue Reading »

Wind energy industry gets policy boost

National Zoning Board approves first-ever policy paper detailing guidelines for future wind turbines farms

Israel’s National Planning and Building Board approved the first-ever policy paper on wind turbines farms in Israel.

(Illustration) Photo: Index Open

(Illustration) Photo: Index Open

The policy paper aims to promote the production of 800 megawatts of electricity and the board’s approval is considered a breakthrough for Israel’s wind energy industry.

According to EnergiaNews, the paper – complied by the Interior Ministry’s planning administration – dismissed the idea of erecting offshore wind turbines and recommends forming wind turbines farms in the periphery and as part of industrial zones.

While wind energy is considered very environmentally friendly, the planning administration noted several concerns as to the turbines’ environmental impact, especially on the migration paths of birds. Continue Reading »

State to allow export of 50% of gas reserves

A committee chaired by the director general of the Energy and Water Resources Ministry Shaul Tzemach, decided that Israel needs to have some 400 billion cubic meters of gas as a strategic reserve at any one time; the rest may be exported to foreign countries.

The Tzemach Committee on Energy Policy has recommended keeping only 25 years of natural gas reserves for Israeli use, and allowing producers to export the rest. The committee published its interim report yesterday and will now accept public comments before preparing its final recommendations.

drilling platform

A drilling platform in the Tamar offshore natural gas field - Photo by Albatross

The committee, chaired by the director general of the Energy and Water Resources Ministry Shaul Tzemach, decided that Israel needs to have some 400 billion cubic meters of gas as a strategic reserve at any one time; the rest may be exported to foreign countries.

Continue Reading »

Jewish Woman Comes Home After Two Years

Lehava organization brings home a 25-year-old Jewish woman and her one-year-old baby, two years after she ran away with an Arab boyfriend.

The Lehava anti-assimilation organization has been able to locate a young Jewish woman and her one-year-old baby, two years after she ran away from her home with an Arab boyfriend.

Aryeh from the Lehava organization told Arutz Sheva on Thursday about the rescue operation. He said that the 25-year-old woman, originally from Jerusalem, left her parents’ home two years ago after meeting an Arab man at her workplace. The woman, who was identified only as A, ran away with the man to an Arab village in northern Israel, where she gave birth about a year ago. Continue Reading »

Beijing steps up pressure to prevent an attack on Iran

China official Chen Xiaodong issues strongest warning yet against using force on Iran over its nuke program, says a strike would incur retaliation, drive up oil prices; Iran, world powers to restart talks this month.

 

BEIJING – A senior Chinese diplomat said on Friday an attack on Iran would invite devastating retaliation that would envelop the region and destabilize the global economic recovery, and added that the international community had to restrain itself from war.

Iranian military in the Strait of Hormuz - By REUTERS/Fars News/Hamed Jafarnejad

Iranian military in the Strait of Hormuz - By REUTERS/Fars News/Hamed Jafarnejad

Iran is locked in a dispute with the West over its nuclear program, which Iran says is for peaceful purposes.

Continue Reading »

Israel presents new deterrence policy

IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz on Thursday declared a change in army policy whereby any firing at Israel’s south will be met with an attack on Hamas, regardless of the group behind the fire.

Similarly, any firing from Lebanon will result in an attack on Hezbollah, and any terror attack by Iran’s emissaries overseas will prompt a response against Tehran.

Speaking at a conference in the Gelilot base, Gantz discussed the many threats Israel faces. “The IDF is Israel’s sharpened sword and protector,” he noted. He also addressed the firing of rockets at Eilat on Wednesday night.

הרמטכ"ל גנץ. "להכות בעוצמה במבקש רעתנו" (צילום: עידו ארז)

IDF chief Gantz.

Continue Reading »

Britain’s Royal Air Force considering purchase of Israeli unmanned aerial vehicle

U.K. looking at the Eitan system, also known as the Heron TP – the largest and most sophisticated drone Israel makes.

Britain’s Royal Air Force has been considering the purchase of unmanned aerial vehicles from Israel.

Heron TP drone

The Israeli army Heron TP drone, also known locally as the Eitan, flies during a display at the Palmahim Air Force Base. - Photo by AP

The Eitan, also known as the Heron TP, is the largest and most sophisticated drone Israel makes. It is assembled by Israel Aerospace Industries and began operational service in the Israel Air Force two years ago, in a new squadron at the Tel Nof airbase. Continue Reading »