May 17, 2018
Homes In Sderot Hit By Machine Gun Fire From Gaza
The bullets that hit a number of homes in the southern Israeli city of Sderot Wednesday (16th) were the result of machine gun fire by Palestinians in Gaza at an Israeli military aircraft, officials said.
Bullets shattered windows and hit exterior walls of houses, according to pictures posted on social media.
Former Sderot mayor Eli Moyal said his house was among those hit.
The IDF said in a statement that it sees the attack as a serious event and holds Hamas responsible for everything that occurs in the Gaza Strip.
(timesofisrael.com)
PM Netanyahu: Turkey Has No Business Preaching Morality To Israel
On Monday (14th), Turkey recalled its ambassadors from Israel and from the United States, and on Tuesday (15th) expelled the Israeli ambassador and consul general from Turkey. Israel responded by expelling the Turkish consul in Jerusalem.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the Israeli military’s action on Monday (14th) on the Gaza/Israeli border amounted to a “massacre” and a “genocide,” – proof that Israel “is a terrorist state.” He also accused Netanyahu of being prime minister of an apartheid state.
Netanyahu retorted, “Erdogan is among Hamas’ biggest supporters and there is no doubt he understands terrorism and slaughter very well. I suggest he not preach morality to us.”
“The man who sends thousands of Turkish soldiers to maintain the occupation of northern Cyprus and invades Syria will not preach to us when we defend ourselves against invasion by Hamas. A man whose hands are drenched in the blood of countless Kurdish civilians in Turkey and Syria is the last one who can preach to us about military ethics,” Netanyahu added.
(israelhayom.com)
Hamas Leader Says 50 Of The 62 Gazans Killed Were Hamas Operatives
A Hamas official on Wednesday (16th) acknowledged that 50 of the 62 Palestinians reported killed during Gaza border riots on Monday (14th) and Tuesday (15th) were members of the Islamist terror group, bringing the total number of known members of terror groups among the fatalities up to 53.
The Iran-backed Islamic Jihad had said on Tuesday (15th) that three of its members were killed by Israeli forces in Khan Younis.
(jpost.com; timesofisrael.com)
Report: Hamas Chief Berated In Egypt For Inciting Gaza Violence
Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh was flown to Cairo twice in two days – once before his carefully orchestrated mass riots at the border with Israel, and once after. After Sunday’s (13th) meeting with Egyptian Intelligence Chief Abbas Kamel, one of the Gaza participants reported that they had been promised that “Egypt would continue to stand alongside the Palestinian people…and try to lighten the burden of the siege.”
However, on Monday (14th), after some 50 were reported dead at the Gaza border and thousands injured, Haniyeh was abruptly summoned again to Cairo to receive a very direct, very loud dressing-down and warning.
A source said, “Kamel and others told Haniyeh in no uncertain terms that the blood of the dead Palestinians at the fence was on his head, including the whole Hamas leadership.” The source said the shouting was loud and Haniyeh was told, that if the killing didn’t stop, “history would never forgive him or the other Hamas leaders for such an illogical number of dead.”
(worldisraelnews.com)
Ex-Ambassador: Protests On Gaza Border Are “Play For Media Attention” – Julia Manchester
Former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren called Palestinian protests on the Gaza border “a play for media attention” on Monday (14th). “Palestinians, stirred on by Hamas, burned down their own crossing, burned their own energy lines so they could cry ‘humanitarian crisis’ to the world and have the world blame us. I hope that this time it won’t work,“ Oren told CNN.
“As we are speaking now the Syrian army is attacking the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp, they’re killing hundreds, maybe thousands of Palestinians. Has CNN covered it? Has anybody covered it? Does anybody care when Syrians kill Palestinians? It’s only when there is conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, and Hamas knows this.”
(thehill.com)
As Gaza Hospitals Suffer Shortages, Hamas Refuses Israeli Medical Aid
The Hamas terror group on Wednesday (16th) refused to accept two shipments of medical supplies for Gaza hospitals, which are struggling with shortages, after seeing they were sent by Israel.
There were four shipments from the Palestinian Authority, and two from the United Nations Children’s Fund which were accepted.
The two shipments refused from the IDF Technological and Logistics Directorate contained IV fluids, bandages, pediatric equipment, and disinfectants, as well as fuel and hospital generators.
(ap.com)
Palestinians Recall Envoys In Romania, Hungary, Czech Republic, Austria
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday (16th) it was recalling for consultations Palestinian ambassadors in Romania, Hungary, Czech Republic and Austria, citing those EU nations’ participation in an official celebration of the US Embassy’s move to Jerusalem.
It said that ambassadors from the four countries took part in an Israeli Foreign Ministry reception on Sunday (13th) in Jerusalem for the official delegation from Washington that inaugurated the US Embassy in the city on Monday (14th).
(ynetnews.com; reuters.com)
Guatemala Follows US Lead, Plants Embassy In Jerusalem
Just two days after the US Embassy officially opened in Jerusalem, Guatemala followed suit and opened the doors of its new mission in the Holy City.
Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales, was on hand to personally inaugurate his nation’s new embassy at the Malha Technology Park.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also addressed the event, showering affection and praises on Morales for having the courage to take a stand that is so unpopular with the international community.
Guatemala has a long history of supporting Israel.
(israeltoday.co.il)
‘US Embassy Relocation Speeds Up Israel’s annihilation’
Ali Akbar Velayati, a top foreign policy adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, threatened Israel on Tuesday (15th).
Velayati declared that the relocation of the US Embassy to Jerusalem speeds up the “annihilation of the Zionist regime,” according to a report in the Tehran Times.
“Relocation of the US Embassy to one of the most sacred religious places of the Muslims will speed up the process of the Zionist regime’s collapse,” he said on Instagram.
(israelnn.com; tehrantimes.com)
Man Fires Red Paint Balls At Israeli Flag Flying In Downtown Philadelphia
An Israeli flag flying in downtown Philadelphia at the spot where a Holocaust memorial is under construction was sprayed with red paint, Monday (14th).
Staff members of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia who were notified that a man was shooting paint at the flag, rushed to the corner of 16th Street and Ben Franklin Parkway. The man acknowledged that he was responsible for the vandalism and was taken into police custody.
Police are not calling it a hate crime. He faces institutional vandalism, according to ABC6.
(jta.org)
