June 15, 2018
UN General Assembly Blames Israel For Gaza Violence, But Not Hamas – Edith M. Lederer
The UN General Assembly, in a 120-8 vote with 45 abstentions, approved a non-binding resolution Wednesday (13th) blaming Israel for violence in Gaza and deploring its “excessive use of force,” after narrowly rejecting a U.S. demand to add a condemnation of attacks on Israel by Hamas. The U.S. amendment was approved by 62-58, with 42 abstentions, but a 2/3 majority was needed, so the amendment failed. U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley said afterward, “Today a plurality of 62 countries voted in favor of the U.S.-led effort to address Hamas’ responsibility for the disastrous conditions in Gaza.”
(ap.com; washingtonpost.com)
Netanyahu Holds Surprise Meeting With Visiting Muslim Leader
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a previously unannounced meeting in Jerusalem on Thursday (14th) with Muslim leader Yahya Staquf, a visiting Indonesian cleric.
Staquf serves as secretary general of the 60 million member Nahdlatul Ulama movement, a Sunni sect in Indonesia which is the biggest Muslim organization in the country.
Netanyahu placed the meeting in the context of Israel’s improving relations with other Muslim countries, expressing “hope that we have some movement with Indonesia in the future.”
(worldisraelnews.com)
Palestinian Terrorist Blows Himself Up Preparing Explosives
A bomb that was in the process of being prepared in an apartment at Shu’afat in eastern Jerusalem, exploded prematurely late Wednesday night (13th) causing a massive explosion and killing the terrorist. Additional explosives were found in the apartment and eight suspects were taken in for questioning.
(jpost.com; worldisraelnews.com)
Gaza Palestinian Group Says It Will Launch 5,000 Incendiary Kites And Balloons At Israel Friday
A group of Palestinians that claims to be behind the initiative to send incendiary kites and balloons from Gaza into southern Israel said it would launch 5,000 of the arson tools on Friday (15th).
The group which calls itself the kite builders unit, also said at a news conference Thursday afternoon (14th) in Gaza that it would extend the range of the kites up to nearly 25 miles from the border.
(jta.org)
IDF Attacks In Gaza To Deter Incendiary Balloon Production
The IDF attacked infrastructure in the southern Gaza Strip on Thursday afternoon (14th), where earlier a terror cell was working on preparing incendiary balloons for Friday’s (15th) violence at the Israeli border fence.
An IDF aircraft initially fired warning shots at the cell, and later carried out an attack on the infrastructure.
(ynetnews.com; timesofisrael.com)
Israeli-Arab Woman In U.S. Charged In Islamic State Terror Plot
Waheba Issa Dais, 45, a native of Jerusalem residing in Wisconsin, has been charged with attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State by maintaining a virtual library of instructions on how to make bombs, biological weapons, poisons and suicide vests to assist in attack-planning. She provided detailed instructions on how to make Ricin and suggested introducing it to a government post or water reservoirs. She also suggested potential targets for bombing attacks, including summer street festivals and celebrations.
(justice.gov)
Assad: Iran’s Presence Is Non-Negotiable, But Deal Over South Syria Possible
Syrian President Bashar Assad on Wednesday (13th) said Iran’s presence in Syria and its relations with Damascus are not negotiable and repeated the claim that Iran has no fixed bases in Syria.
In an interview with Iran’s Al Alam TV broadcast Wednesday night (13th), he said reaching a settlement in the southwestern region, where Iranian-backed forces are near the border with Israel, is still possible.
Israel has repeatedly warned against any permanent Iranian military presence in Syria,
(timesofisrael.com)
Israel Says New ‘Rampage’ Rocket Will Break Bunkers, But Not The Bank
Israeli defense contractors this week unveiled a new long-range air-to-ground rocket, dubbed “The Rampage,” which the government-owned companies boast can be used to destroy high quality targets “for cheap.”
The rocket, which weighs over half a ton was designed to penetrate into and destroy areas, like bunkers, according to its manufacturers, Israeli Military Industries Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries.
“The targets that best fit the capabilities of the new rocket include communication and command centers, air force bases, maintenance centers, infrastructures and valuable field targets protected by anti-air systems,” the companies said in a joint statement.
It was unveiled at the Eurosatory Defense Expo held in Paris this week.
(timesofisrael.com)
New Jersey Man, 92, A Holocaust Survivor, Fulfills Dream Of Moving To Israel
A 92-year-old New Jersey man fulfilled his dream of moving to Israel 71 years after he arrived in New York as a refugee from the Holocaust.
Jack Nasielski, of Edison, arrived Tuesday (12th) at Ben Gurion Airport on a Nefesh B’Nefesh aliyah flight in cooperation with Israel’s Ministry of Aliyah & Integration.
Nasielski, a native of Dessau, Germany, fled the Nazis as a child through Poland, eventually being captured and sent to four Nazi concentration camps including Auschwitz. He was liberated from the Blachhamer camp in 1945.
He will be living in the Israeli city of Rehovot near his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
(jta.org)
Over 30 Headstones Toppled At Jewish Cemetery In Manchester, England
More than 30 headstones were toppled and smashed at a Jewish cemetery in Manchester, England.
The vandalism at the Urmston Jewish Cemetery discovered this week comes after two other reports of similar damage on May 7 and may 14, in which 22 headstones were toppled, The Jewish Chronicle reported.
(thejc.com)
