May 8, 2018
U.S. Embassy Road Signs Go Up In Jerusalem
At least three “U.S. Embassy” road signs went up in Jerusalem on Monday (7th) ahead of next week’s opening of the mission in the city, a Reuters witness said.
The signs, in English, Hebrew and Arabic, were installed by workmen close to the south Jerusalem location of a U.S. consulate building that will be repurposed as the embassy when it is officially relocated on May 14 from Tel Aviv.
(reuters.com)
Paraguayan President To Open Embassy In Jerusalem
Outgoing Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes is expected to arrive in Israel by the end of the month to open an embassy of his country in Jerusalem, Israel media reported.
He will be accompanied by his successor.
Both the trip and the embassy have been discussed with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In March, both Paraguay and Honduras said they were ready to move their embassies to Jerusalem.
(israelnn.com)
Incendiary Balloons From Gaza Cause Damage To Israeli Field And Forest
Several incendiary balloons flown from the Gaza Strip on Monday afternoon (7th) caused fires in several different locations on the Israeli side of the border. No one was hurt but great damage was caused.
The westerly winds push the balloons, which are filled with helium gas, towards Israel. After a short while in the air, the fire from the Molotov cocktail causes the balloon to explode in midair, with the incendiary contraption dropping to the ground.
Monday’s (7th) fires caused a wheat field In Kibbutz Mefalsim to burn, causing damages in the hundreds of thousands of shekels. The Be’eri Forest was again set ablaze – the second time in over a week.
(ynetnews.com)
Analysis: Turkey Working To Islamicize Jerusalem Ahead Of US Embassy Move
In the run-up to the U.S. Embassy move to Jerusalem, Turkey, together with the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, , is pumping a quarter of a billion dollars into the Islamification of the city, according to Israel’s Hadashot News.
The Wakf, the Muslim custodian of the Islamic holy places on the Temple Mount,and a slew of Islamic organizations in Israel’s capital received the bulk of the money officially to “rescue” the holy sites and finance “renovations.”
Israeli security agencies, however, fear the money will end up financing fresh riots once the U.S. moves its embassy of Jerusalem on May 14, a day before the Palestinian Arabs commemorate the so-called Nakba (catastrophe), when Arabs fled before and during the 1948 War of Independence in Israel.
(israeltoday.co.il)
Shi’ite Militia Groups In Syria To Do Iran’s Dirty Work – Strike Israel
Shi’ite militia groups in Syria are the ones likely to carry out a strike on Israel on behalf of Iran, giving Tehran the ability to deny its role in the attack, according to leading regional experts.
Israel is bracing for a barrage of missiles to be launched towards military positions along its northern front from Syrian territory, masterminded by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, as revenge for alleged Israeli strikes on Iranian bases there.
While Hizbullah and the IRGC are the only groups who have the weapons and know-how to launch a strike, it is believed that an attack will be launched by one of the many Shi’ite groups stationed in Syria and active in the civil war there.
(jpost.com; reuters.com)
Israeli MInister Threatens Assad Over Any Iranian Attacks From Syria
An Israeli security cabinet minister said on Monday (7th) that Israel could kill Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and topple his government if Iran used Syrian territory to carry out attacks on Israel.
“Israel has not gotten involved in the Syrian civil war so far,” Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz was quoted as telling Israeli media.
“If Syrian President Bashar al-Assad continues allowing Iran to operate within Syrian territory, Israel will liquidate him and topple his regime,” he was quoted as saying.
“If Assad lets Iran turn Syria into a military base against us, to attack us from Syrian territory, he should know that will be the end of him.”
(worldisraelnews.com; reuters.com)
Bennett: ‘Lebanon Equals Hizbullah’ After Election
JERUSALEM – Hizbullah’s gains in the Lebanese election on Sunday (6th) show that the state is indistinguishable from the Iran-backed Shi’ite group and that Israel should not distinguish between them in any future war, an Israeli security cabinet minister said.
“Hizbullah = Lebanon,” Education Minister Naftali Bennett, said on Twitter Monday (7th)
“The State of Israel will not differentiate between the sovereign State of Lebanon and Hizbullah, and will view Lebanon as responsible for any action from within its territory.”
(jpost.com)
Report: Syrian Soldiers Who Downed Israeli Fighter Jet Killed In Blast
The Syrian soldiers responsible for the downing of an Israeli Air Force F-16 fighter as it was returning from an operation in Syria in February were killed in a blast over the weekend.
At least eight soldiers, apparently senior officers in Syria’s aerial defense, were killed in an explosion as they were driving towards the Tyas Airbase, where they were stationed, reports indicate.
They were members of Syria’s 150th Battalion, which is entrusted with operating the S-200 aerial defense batteries, according to reports.
The blast was caused by a roadside explosive.
(worldisraelnews.com)
Israel Expecting More Rain, Thunderstorms In May
As May begins, Israelis and tourists are gearing up for another week of rainy weather.
Monday (7th) saw local rainfall in most areas of Israel, including isolated thunderstorms. The rains will continue through Wednesday (9th), with some flooding forecasted for southern and eastern streams.
(israelnn.com)
Israeli Flags Denigrated On German Streets
Against the backdrop of a recent rise in anti-Semitic incidents, the popular tabloid Bild decided a week ago to hang Israeli flags in different locations throughout the country to – with the aid of hidden cameras – examine how they would be treated.
“The results of the test were shocking,” the paper wrote, noting most flags were either taken down, torn to shreds, stepped on, lit on fire or thrown in the trash.
In Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, Duisburg, the flags were treated in the same way.
In response to Bild’s report, German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said he looked upon the incidents with severity, and that, as far as he was concerned, a “rule of zero tolerance for any kind of anti-Semitism should always apply.”
(newspapershub.net/bild)
