August 29, 2018
IDF Acquiring New Rockets To Hit All Targets With Unprecedented Precision
The Defense Ministry has signed with Israel Military Industries (IMI) to develop and acquire advanced precision short-and long-range rockets for the IDF.
The precision firepower will significantly improve the IDF’s capabilities to accurately hit targets from a distance at a cost relative to other combat systems, according to the ministry.
The acquisition of the new rockets, in a deal worth hundreds of millions of shekels, follows a decision by Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman to equip the IDF with precision rockets for all distance ranges.
“We are purchasing and developing high-precision systems that bolster the IDF’s offense capabilities,” Liberman said on Monday (27th). He added that some of the systems are already in production and others are nearing the end of the research and development stage.
“The deal for the missile system, which within a few years will allow for coverage for every point in short and far ranges,” Liberman said of the new rockets, some of which will have a range of 18-93 miles.
Shell accuracy continues to become increasingly important, since the IDF conducts most of its operations in urban areas.
According to IMI Systems chairman Yitzhak Aharonovich, “The innovative rocket systems that the IDF will receive from this transaction reflect the company’s technological capabilities, which specialize in the ability to fire accurately and strike at a variety of ground targets.”
(jpost.com; israelhayom.com)
Hamas Activities In Turkey Against Israel – Omer Dostri
In the reconciliation agreement between Turkey and Israel signed in June 2016, Turkey committed itself to ending terror activities against Israel from its territory. Yet Ankara and Hamas continue to maintain a close relationship. Turkey’s assistance to Hamas stems from a shared ideology. Hamas and President Erdogan’s political party are “spiritual descendants” of the world-wide Muslim Brotherhood movement.
Erdogan views himself as the leader of Sunni Islam and aspires to restore Turkey to its former Ottoman Empire glory. Cooperation with Hamas positions Erdogan as the protector of Jerusalem and the Palestinians. It also undermines Jordan’s status as protector of the holy sites on the Temple Mount.
Hamas invests much effort in recruiting Palestinian students who study abroad, specifically in Turkey. These students are sent for military training in Lebanon or Syria and then return to the West Bank to organize terror attacks against Israel. In addition, Hamas in Turkey uses workers and activists belonging to Turkish humanitarian organizations who operate in Gaza. Hamas has a headquarters in Istanbul which works to mastermind terror attacks.
(jerusaleminstitute.org.il)
Pro-Iran Militias Turn On Assad, Try To Establish Land-Corridor To Mediterranean
A concerned Israel has been closely watching developments as pro-Iran Shiite militias have been observed fighting Syrian army forces on the border with Iraq several times over the last two weeks, in what has been described as a battle for one of Syria’s key strategic areas.
This marks the first time the two sides have been reported to be fighting, with fatalities and casualties on both sides, after years of cooperation as Iran supported Syrian President Bashar Assad in the country’s civil war.
The reports came from various media outlets in the eastern area of Al-Bukamal and from credible Syrian opposition websites.
The fighting is focused around the town of Al-Bukamal, next to the Al-Qa’im border crossing between Syria and Iraq, which is considered a key strategic point in securing trade between Iraq and Syria – and indirectly, between Iran and the Mediterranean Sea.
Al-Bukamal is located on the eastern border of the Deir Ezzor region, on the banks of the Euphrates River.
The fighting between Shiite militia forces and the Syrian military forces began more than two weeks ago, and the two sides are apparently in an all-out battle over control of the town, its various neighborhoods and the border crossing.
The fighting resumed over the weekend, local media reported, with the Iranians bringing reinforcements to the area and threatening Assad’s loyalists that those identified with the military would be eliminated if they didn’t retreat from the town.
Meanwhile, Israel has been following the developments in that area, fearing that Iran could succeed in establishing a land corridor to the Mediterranean that would pose a significant threat to the Jewish state. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long been campaigning internationally against Iranian presence and influence in Syria, and has lately been seeking to convince Russia to expel all Iranian forces from Syria.
(timesofisrael.com)
Israel Does Not Have An Official Religion, But Britain Does – Denis MacEoin
Once word got out that the Israeli parliament had dared to enact a Basic Law: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People, it was, for many, as if they had never known that, since the time of the Bible, the land now called Israel was home to the Jews.
In Iran, the large Baha’i minority suffers massive persecution, including imprisonment and execution, while in Israel, the Baha’i have their international governing body and their holiest shrines, and bring in pilgrims from around the world.
Israel is being wrongly condemned for something that not one Muslim state has ever been condemned for: identifying its nationality with its religion. Iran, Pakistan, Mauritania, and Afghanistan officially identify as Islamic Republics. All are dangerous places for non-Muslims to live, with laws against apostasy and blasphemy.
Islam is the official religion of the Palestinian Authority, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, the UAE, Kuwait, Iran, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, the Maldives, Brunei, and Malaysia. Even Britain officially exists as an Anglican state, without mistreating any of its minorities.
Israel, though a Jewish state, does not have an official religion – not even Judaism – and members of all religions and ethnic groups are full citizens.
The writer is a senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute.
(gatestoneinstitute.org)
Drought Expected For The Sixth Year In A Row
Israel is expected to suffer its sixth straight year of drought, the Water Authority announced on Sunday (26th), even with an increase in rainfall over previous years, TheMarker reported.
Water Authority chairman Giora Shaham stated that “forecasts are for average rainfall this year, maybe a bit more, but forecasts are forecasts.”
According to the Water Authority, Israel’s natural water reservoirs are so low that even if there is a little more precipitation than last year and the pumping from the Sea of Galilee does not resume, the Sea of Galilee will remain below the red line. The Water Authority is preparing to allocate water for 2019 and is waiting for more accurate forecasts which will come in mid-September.
Chairman Shaham said that drought conditions could cause direct damage to Israel’s economy. “The drought causes a lot of damage to the soil and the air, and we have seen severe damage to crops.”
He also discussed the planned construction of two more desalination plants, one in the Western Galilee.
Knesset Water Lobby head MK Yael Cohen Paran responded to the report that the drought would continue: “The climate crisis is already here and the expectation is that Israel will experience another drought year. Water is life and this is the main resource that humanity will fight over in the future. In order for us not to reach the state of Cape Town – which is rationing tap water, the government must prepare a multi-year plan for the management of water resources. As Chairman of the Water Lobby, I intend to initiate a special discussion on the subject as soon as the Knesset begins.”
(israelnn.com)
