April 13, 2018
PM Netanyahu, Russian President Putin discuss tensions in Syria
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by telephone Wednesday (11th) and discussed the volatile situation in Syria.
Netanyahu’s and Putin’s conversation also focused on the strike on the T-4 airbase in Syria on Monday (9th), which Russia and Iran have attributed to Israel.
Putin reportedly asked Netanyahu to “respect Syrian sovereignty” and “refrain from actions that might further undermine the situation in Syria or its security.”
The Prime Minister’s Office said Netanyahu stressed that Israel will not tolerate an Iranian military presence in Syria.
(pmo.gov.il)
Gaza bullet hits Israeli family’s house: ‘The baby was in the shelter’
A family from Kibbutz Sha’ar Hanegev whose house was hit by Gaza Strip gunfire early Thursday morning (12th) said it had been shaken by the ordeal.
Ayelet, a resident of the kibbutz, told Hadashot news: “This is scary for anyone raising little children but we are sticking to our daily routines. It’s a very unpleasant feeling although we understand that the fire wasn’t directed specifically at the community. It’s still very troubling.”
While Hamas gunmen in the Gaza Strip targeted Israeli aircraft with machine gun fire in the early morning, apparently one of the bullets hit the family house.
(timesofisrael.com)
Iran envoy: Iran will destroy Tel Aviv, Haifa, if Israel attacks
The Iranian Supreme Leader’s envoy to the elite Quds Force unit said on Thursday (12th) that Tehran could destroy Israel and warned it to avoid “stupid” measures against the Islamic Republic, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.
“If Israel wants to continue its treacherous existence…it should avoid stupid measures. If they give excuses to Iran, Tel Aviv and Haifa will be destroyed,” cleric Ali Shirazi – Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s representative to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force – was quoted as saying. “Iran can destroy Israel,” he added.
(ynetnews.com; reuters.com)
Arab social media praises Israel for striking Syria and confronting Iran
While Syria, Iran and Russia are busy threatening Israel over its alleged strike on an Iranian air base in central Syria, much of the Arab world is encouraging the Jewish state to keep up the pressure.
Most of the Arab world views Iran as a major threat, just as Israel does. The Islamic Republic seeks hegemony, and its military foothold in Syria is cause for serious concern.
Some of the comments on Arab social media are as follows:
“We must tell the truth, Israel is the only state that punishes Assad for the massacres he carries out,” Khadr Abu al-Heij, a Palestinian living in Sweden wrote on Al-Jazeera’s popular comments portal.
Egyptian Ismail bin Ismail also called on Israel to continue striking Syria, writing “it turns out that Israel not only has courage but also the brains to inflict losses on Iran and Syria. If there is one state that puts Iran in its place – it is Israel……. .
Lebanese Bassel al-Hassan wrote that Israel must continue its strikes in Syria even at the cost of violating Lebanese airspace.
Many others on Arab social media are totally backing Israel’s courage in dealing with Iran’s entrenchment in Syria.
(israeltoday.co.il; israelhayom.com)
Hamas practices breaching Gaza security fence and abducting IDF soldiers
Hamas operatives have been practicing breaching the Gaza security fence, rushing IDF posts and abducting Israeli soldiers and civilians under cover of the border riots, senior defense officials told the Walla news website. In some places near the border, these drills are carried out in broad daylight, an official noted.
(israelhayom.com; walla.co.il)
Report: 80% of Palestinians killed at Gaza border were terrorists – Yonah Jeremy Bob
26 of the 32 Palestinians killed in the recent Gaza border clashes – 80% – were terrorist operatives or identified with terrorist organizations, the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center reported. The high proportion of persons identified with terrorist groups showed that the clashes are being orchestrated mostly by those groups and not by civilian leaders. 30 of the 32 were men between the ages of 19 and 45.
(jpost.com)
Hamas attacks Israel – and the world condemns Israel – Larry Haas
With hundreds of Palestinians chanting, “We are going to Jerusalem, millions of martyrs,” Hamas leaders made clear that their “March of Return” is only the latest tactic in their efforts to destroy Israel. However, that hasn’t convinced much of the global community to abandon its comfortable narrative of a peace-loving Palestinian people in Gaza driven to violence by an iron-fisted Israel. However carefully it responds to violent efforts to breach its borders and attack its people, Israel finds itself falsely portrayed, second-guessed and ultimately condemned.
“Palestine and Jerusalem belong to us,” top Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh declared this week. Maybe Israel’s critics don’t realize that with their one-sided condemnations, they’re emboldening Hamas Or maybe they do.
(thehill.com)
Lieberman at Holocaust ceremony: ‘You will never succeed in breaking us’
Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman told Israel’s neighbors that they will not be able to destroy Israel and should instead learn to live alongside the Jewish state during a speech in honor of Holocaust Memorial Day at Yad Mordechai Kibbutz in southern Israel.
Liberman addressed the recent mass protests in Gaza, saying that Israel will defend itself against those who threaten to destroy it.
“We have the ability to stand and the ability and the right to defend ourselves. Therefore, my message to our neighbors from the south – you will never succeed in breaking us. The spirit, the hope and the faith that accompanied us during the Holocaust and during the War for Independence makes us stronger than our enemies and all those who hate us. You have no chance.”
(jpost.com)
Rivlin at the March of the Living: ‘Poles too killed Jews’
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin criticized the controversial Polish Holocaust Law during his speech at the March of the Living in Poland Thursday (12th). At the German concentration camp Birkenau, Rivlin said to Polish President Andrzej Duda: “The truth cannot be denied, the Nazi killing mechanism could not have succeeded in fulfilling its vision without help.” Rivlin added: “Our people were betrayed by the nations they lived among, and were killed by Poles as well.”
(ynetnews.com)
Study: 22% of US millennials don’t know about Holocaust
A recent study entitled “The National Survey of Holocaust Awareness and Knowledge Among Adults in the United States” commissioned by the Claims Conference, revealed that a startling percentage of Americans are unaware of key facts regarding what occurred during the Holocaust.
Perhaps even more shocking, 58% of the 1,350 people polled fear that another Holocaust could be perpetrated in the future. The poll also revealed that 22% of people aged 18-24 hadn’t even heard of the Holocaust, while 11% of 26-34-year-olds claimed to be unfamiliar with it.
41% of “youths” and 31% of “adults” were under the misapprehension that fewer than two million Jews perished in the Holocaust.
(worldisraelnews.com)
