December 14, 2018
IDF Shoots And Captures Ofra Terrorist Hours After Newborn Victim Dies
The IDF shot and captured one of two Palestinian terrorists who committed a shooting attack at the Ofra Junction on Sunday (9th), according to media reports.
The baby boy born prematurely as a result of Sunday’s attack, died Wednesday evening (12th), after doctors in Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem fought to save him for close to 72 hours.
Earlier in the day, the baby’s parents Shira and Amichai Ish-Ran, hospitalized for injuries sustained in the attack, visited the baby for the first time, a hospital spokesperson said in a statement.
The young couple, married for less than a year were at a bus stop when the shooting attack took place. The baby’s mother Shira was severely wounded in the abdomen and underwent surgery immediately. The unborn child was also injured and was removed immediately from his mother’s womb. Five others were also injured in the attack.
The terrorist was captured Wednesday night (12th), just hours after the baby boy died.
Media reports said the terrorist, who was a taxi driver, was capture in a shootout, while driving his vehicle north of Ramallah. Two others in the vehicle were, apprehended.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “Our hearts are with Shira and Amichai over the passing of their four day old son who did not even have a name. The murderers are abhorrent, the most deviant criminals on earth.”
President Reuven Rivlin called the parents “true heroes.”
(worldisraelnews.com; timesofisrael.com)
PM Warns Hizbullah Against Targeting Tunnel Operation
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday (11th) warned Hizbullah against targeting Israel’s counter-tunnel operations near the Lebanese border, saying that the Shiite terror group would risk an Israeli retaliation that “it cannot even imagine.”
A third terror tunnel was discovered snaking under the Israel-Lebanon security fence. This passageway was detected as part of Operation Northern Shield, which is seeking to neutralize “all” of Hizbullah’s cross-border tunnels.
The IDF has rigged all found tunnels with explosives and warned Hizbullah and the Lebanese army against approaching the passageways from their side of the border.
Netanyahu and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot visited the Northern Command on Tuesday (11th), where they were briefed by them on the progress made since the counter-tunnel operation was launched last week.
Netanyahu said Israel was “methodically” dismantling Hizbullah’s tunnel weapon,” and warned the terrorist group not to re-establish the front.
“If Hizbullah makes the serious mistake of deciding in any way to attack us or target the tunnel operation we have undertaken, it will be hit in a way it cannot even imagine,” he stated.
“The Shiite terror group,” he said, “thought they could dig tunnels uninterrupted. We knew about it and we planned this operation carefully. We’re carrying out exactly what we planned, but we’re also ready for anything. There is considerable firepower here and we are ready for any scenario,” he said, referring to the military deployment near the border.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon has confirmed the IDF’s findings.
(israelhayom.com)
U.S. House Passes Bipartisan Bill To Prevent Use Of Human Shields
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bipartisan bill on Monday (10th) that would enact sanctions on those who use human shields in war.
The Senate unanimously passed its version in October. The bill now goes to U.S. President Donald Trump to sign into law.
The bill mandates that the president impose sanctions on any entity that “knowingly and materially supports, orders, controls, directs or otherwise engages in” the exercise of human shields by terrorist organizations, such as Hizbullah and Hamas.
“This is the first time Congress has taken legislative action against this heinous practice,” AIPAC said in a statement.
“The importance of this legislation is underscored by the recent discovery of Hizbullah tunnels into Israel that originated under the cover of civilian houses in Lebanon,” AIPAC added. “And just weeks ago – using the cover of civilian populations in Gaza – Hamas fired 500 rockets at communities across southern Israel.”
Many are hailing the bill saying it will save civilian lives and will give the United States and its allies the freedom to fight without both hands tied behind their backs.
(jns.org)
Israel To Build Embassy Quarter In Jerusalem
Israel is preparing a special embassy quarter in Jerusalem to facilitate the relocation of more embassies to its capital, Israel National News reported.
Officials from Israel’s Construction and Housing Ministry on Wednesday (12th) announced plans to build a complex in the capital with space for nine embassies.
According to the report, the plan is being promoted by Construction and Housing Minister Yoav Galant, who instructed ministry officials to prepare for additional embassy moves.
The new embassy quarter is expected to be established on a plot of land in the Amon HaNativ neighborhood, on 25 acres of land, and will include both embassy facilities and housing for embassy staff.
Some 646,000 square feet of building space will be included in the project, with an option to expand to 861,000 square feet, ministry officials said.
“I am convinced that many more countries will locate their embassies to Jerusalem,” Galant was quoted as saying by INN, while urging the international community to relocate their embassies to Jerusalem, “our eternal capital. It is the right thing to do. Make the move soon, the best places are going to be taken quickly.”
Australia is set to formally recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel since the country’s national security committee approved the move on Tuesday night (11th), Times of Israel reported.
The U.S. was the first to relocate its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on May 14, followed two days later by Guatemala.
Other countries, among them the Czech Republic and Brazil, have announced their intentions to move their embassies to Jerusalem.
(worldisraelnews.com; inn.com; timesofisrael.com)
Jewish Cemetery Near Strasbourg Sprayed With Neo-Nazi Graffiti
Several tombstones were defaced with anti-Semitic graffiti at a Jewish cemetery near the city of Strasbourg in eastern France.
The incident was discovered Tuesday (11th) in Herrlisheim, a northern suburb, the CRIF umbrella of French Jewish communities said in a statement. The unidentified perpetrators wrote “CRIF=ZOG” and the digits 88 on the tombstones. ZOG stands for “Zionist occupation government.” The number is code for Adolf Hitler.
The incident in Herrlisheim is the fourth time in two months that graffiti featuring far-right anti-Semitic rhetoric was discovered in sites linked to Jews in the eastern Alsace region. In two incidents, Jewish mayors were the target of the graffiti.
Later on Tuesday (11th), three people were killed and 12 injured at a Christmas market in Strasbourg, in a shooting attack by a Muslim radical, police said. The suspect, they said, may have fled to Germany.
(jpost.com; reuters.com)
