February 20, 2018
Netanyahu warns Iran at Munich Security Conference
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to attack Iran in response to terror attacks on Israel’s soil.
“Israel will not allow Iran’s regime to put a noose of terror around our neck. We will act without hesitation to defend ourselves. And we will act, if necessary, not just against Iran’s proxies that are attacking us, but against Iran itself,” Netanyahu said Sunday (18th), addressing the Munich Security Conference.
Netanyahu waved a piece of an Iranian drone shot down over northern Israel last week, which led to Israeli airstrikes on Iranian targets in Syria, and directly addressed Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who also attended the conference.
(worldisraelnews.com)
Israel pounds Hamas target in response to rocket attack
Palestinian terrorists launched a rocket at southern Israel from the Gaza Strip on Sunday night (18th), setting off the siren system in the Sha’ar HaNegev Regional Council and the city of Sderot, sending tens of thousands of residents running for shelter.
The rocket fell in an open space, causing no injuries or damage.
In response, early Monday morning (19th) Israel Air Force (IAF) fighter jets targeted underground infrastructure in the southern Gaza,” the IDF stated.
On Saturday night (17th) terrorists fired a rocket at Israel which hit a house.
Monday morning was the second time Hamas targets were bombed by Israel within two days.
On Saturday night (17th), in response to an explosive charge that wounded four IDF soldiers on the border with Gaza earlier in the day, IAF fighters struck 18 Hamas military targets, including weapons manufacturing infrastructure.
(worldisraelnews.com)
Lieberman confirms IAF destroyed Hamas tunnel
Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman confirmed Monday (19th) that the Israeli Air Force attacked and destroyed a Hamas terror tunnel in the Gaza Strip early Monday (19th) near the Kerem Shalom crossing.
The latest attack in Gaza came after a rocket fired from the Strip exploded Sunday evening (18th) in an open area in southern Israel.
“The incidents proved that the IDF is ready for any scenario with zero warning, It wasn’t easy to achieve this kind of capability but the fact is that we have stood up to the tests and we know how to handle them,” Lieberman added.
(ynetnews.com; jta.org)
Israel thwarts Islamic Jihad plot to assassinate Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman – Anna Ahronheim
The Israel Security Agency announced Sunday (18th) it had thwarted an Islamic Jihad terrorist cell that was planning to place a bomb on a West Bank road on which Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s convoy was scheduled to travel. Cell members had tried to purchase explosives and had contacted a terrorist organization in Gaza to receive funding for the attack.
One cell member said he wanted to carry out the attack in order to be arrested so his family would receive a prisoner’s pension.
(jpost.com)
Critically wounded pilot downed in Syria strike walks out of hospital
A seriously wounded pilot, who ejected from his damaged F-16 fighter jet on Feb. 10 after it was struck by Syrian anti-aircraft fire, walked out of Haifa’s Rambam Hospital in “good” condition Sunday (18th) and went home, doctors said.
The pilot arrived at the hospital unconscious and attached to a respirator. He was seriously hurt from shrapnel wounds in his abdomen, and had to receive emergency surgery to stem internal bleeding. He had ejected from his jet as it crashed in a ball of flames into a hillside in northern Israel.
(timesofisrael.com)
Trump, Netanyahu to meet at White House on March 5
U.S. President Donald Trump will host Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a meeting at the White House on March 5, two U.S. officials said on Friday (16th).
“The president has a great relationship with the prime minister and looks forward to meeting him,” a White House official said.
(reuters.com)
IRGC Commander: Zionist regime of Israel not to survive
There are indications suggesting that the Zionist regime of Israel will not survive, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force Commander Maj.-Gen. Qasem Soleimani said Thursday (15th). “There is no night we sleep without thinking about our enemies. The conduct of the regime shows that it will not last, as there are no signs indicating its survival.” Soleimani spoke at a conference in Tehran to mark the 10th anniversary of the martyrdom of Imad Mughniyeh, a top Lebanese Hizbullah commander.
(irna.ir)
Ministers back bill to deduct terrorists’ stipends from PA taxes
The Ministerial Committee on Legislation on Sunday (18th) approved a bill to deduct the salaries the Palestinian Authority pays terrorists and their families from the tax funds collected by Israel for the PA.
Under the 1993 Oslo Accords, a mechanism was set up for Israel to collect taxes – value added tax and customs fees – on behalf of the Palestinian Authority and transfer the money to the PA.
Those funds amount to about $100 million a month, and the PA uses a considerable portion of them to finance the stipends it pays to terrorists and their families. In 2017, it spent a total of $358 million on those stipends.
The so-called “Terrorist Wages Bill,” sponsored by Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, stipulates that at the end of each fiscal year, the defense minister will present the Ministerial Committee on National Security with a report detailing the payments the Palestinian Authority has made to terrorists and families – that figure will then be deducted from the tax funds collected by Israel for the PA.
(israelhayom.com)
Gazans attack Qatari ambassador’s convoy
On Monday (19th) throngs of Gazan civilians attacked the convoy of the Qatari ambassador responsible for the rebuilding of Gaza, Muhammad al-Amadi, accusing his country of deepening the division between Fatah and Hamas. Some of the attackers demanded that the nine million dollars that Qatar announced it was donating to Gaza’s health infrastructure should be given directly to its citizens.
(ynetnews.com
Iranian wrestler who threw bout to avoid Israeli opponent banned for six months
An Iranian wrestler who intentionally lost an international competition to avoid facing an Israeli opponent was suspended from competition for six months by the world wrestling body.
The decision to ban Alireza Karimi-Mashiani was announced Friday (16th) by the United World Wrestling Disciplinary Chamber.
His coach, Hamidreza Jamshidi, also is banned from the sport for two years for instructing his wrestler to lose.
Both wrestler and coach were found to have acted in direct violation of the International Wrestling Rules.
(jta.org)
