May 23, 2018
Netanyahu To Assad: Remove Iran And Hizbullah And We’ll Stop All Attacks
Citing the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida, Ma’ariv reported on Tuesday (22nd) an Israeli-American offer to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, in which he was told, “Remove Iranian forces from Syria, and in return Israeli attacks will cease and American forces will withdraw from Syrian territory.”
According to an anonymous source at the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Russian President Vladimir Putin conveyed the proposal to Assad, stating that Hizbullah forces also had to leave. Putin said the Revolutionary Guards and forces under their control could drag the region into an all-out-war.
(israelnn.com)
Israeli Security Cabinet To Meet In Underground Bunker
A recently built underground bunker in Jerusalem will host meetings of Israel’s security cabinet until further notice, representing a significant departure from the meeting’s traditional venue in the Prime Minister’s Office.
While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu provided no official reason for the decision to hold meetings in the new location, members of the Hebrew-language media commented that the intensifying conflict with Iranian forces in Syria may have necessitated the secure locale.
(worldisraelnews.com; jpost.com)
UN Chief Calls On Hizbullah To Halt Its Military Action
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres strongly criticized Hizbullah for operating as the most heavily armed militia as well as a political party in Lebanon. He also urged the terror group to halt its military activities inside and outside the country, including Syria.
In a report to the Security Council obtained Monday (21st) by the Associated Press, Guterres called on Lebanon’s government and armed forces “to take all measures necessary to prohibit Hizbullah and other armed groups from acquiring weapons and building paramilitary capability” outside the authority of the state.
(worldisraelnews.com; ap.com)
Gazan Palestinians Set Fire To IDF Outpost – IDF Bombs Hamas Target
A group of Gazan Palestinians cut through the border fence with Israel and set fire to an empty Israel Defense Forces outpost, on Tuesday (22nd). They then fled back through the fence. The IDF said that it had monitored the group as it began its approach to the fence.
In response, an IDF tank on Tuesday (22nd) targeted a Hamas observation post in the southern Gaza Strip. No injuries were reported according to the IDF.
(jta.org; worldisraelnews.com)
Palestinian Shooting Attack In Samaria, No Injuries
Palestinian terrorists on Tuesday morning (22nd) carried out a drive-by shooting attack against Israelis near the community of Na’ama, in Samaria.
No one was harmed in the attack. The vehicle in which the Israelis were traveling was damaged. Nine-millimeter casings were found at the scene of the attack.
(worldisraelnews.com)
Erdogan Wishes Abbas Speedy Recovery, Promises To Investigate Israel’s Crimes
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan talked Tuesday (22nd) on the phone with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas who is hospitalized in Ramallah and wished him a speedy recovery, according to the Wafa Palestinian news agency.
Erdogan promised Abbas “To establish an international experts committee to investigate the crimes of the Israeli forces against the Gaza border demonstrators.”
(ynetnews.com; wafa.ps)
Israel Air Force Head: Israel First Country To Carry Out Airstrikes With F-35
Israel is the first country to carry out airstrikes with the F-35 stealth fighter jet, the commander of the Israel Air Force told his counterparts from 20 countries from around the world.
“We are flying the F-35 over the entire Middle East and it has become part of our operational capability,” Maj.-Gen. Amikam Norkin said Tuesday (22nd). “We were the first in the world to attack with the F-35. The Israeli Air Force has twice carried out strikes with the F-35, on two different fronts,” he said.
Israel currently has eight of the planes – a total of 50 have been ordered, and will be in Israel’s fleet by 2024. They will all be fitted with advanced Israeli weapons systems.
Norkin on Tuesday (22nd) addressed the commanders of allied countries air forces from around the world at the start of a three-day conference held to mark the 70th anniversary of Israel’s Air Force.
(jta.org; jpost.com)
Panama: 1994 Plane Crash Was ‘Terrorist Attack’
A 1994 plane crash in Panama which killed 21 people was a “terrorist attack,” President Juan Carlos Varela said Monday (21st), citing Israeli intelligence reports.
“I have ordered the reopening of the case after intelligence reports indicated the incident was a terrorist attack,” Varela told reporters.
Most of the 21 people killed were Jewish businessmen operating in the Panama Colon Free Trade Zone.
The crash happened on July 19, 1994 when the plane exploded shortly after taking off in the Caribbean province of Colon. The day before on July 18,1994, a bomb ripped through the offices of a Jewish center in the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires, killing 85 people.
(israelnn.com)
‘Hatikva’ Sung Around The World
Thousands of people from 50 different countries joined the World Jewish Congress for the Jewish Hope Project as a special gift to the State of Israel in honor of the 70th anniversary celebrations.
At the initiative of the Congress, groups and individuals from around the world sent videos, in which they sang the Israeli anthem Hatikva in Hebrew. Albania, Colombia, Kyrgyzstan, the Philippines, Britain, South Africa, Russia, Paraguay, Mexico and many more were among the participating countries.
The hundreds of videos were edited together to form a historical Hatikva video – a gift from the Diaspora to the citizens of Israel.
(worldjewishcongress.org)
Israel MInister, Diplomats To Take Part In NY Celebration Despite Security Fears
Israel’s Consul General in New York, Dani Dayan vowed Monday (21st) that he and Culture Minister Miri Regev would take part in a Time Square event in two weeks, part of Israel’s 70th birthday celebrations, following a report that Israeli diplomats had been barred from attending their own celebration due to security fears.
“Relax,” tweeted Dayan. “On 6/3 Minister Miri Regev and I, and all the diplomats from Israel in New York will march in the morning for Israel down Fifth Avenue and in the evening we will watch the closing presentation in Times Square. Everything is OK.”
His tweet came following a report by Hadashot news that diplomats and staffers at Israel’s New York consulate were warned against attending the event for fear of attacks in outdoor Manhattan.
(timesofisrael.com)
