May 7, 2018

Netanyahu: Israel Must Keep Iran From Syria Even If It Means ‘Struggle’

“We are determined to stop the Iranian aggression against us, even if it involves a struggle – it is better now than later,” Netanyahu said.

Israel is determined to prevent Iranian entrenchment in Syria even at the price of a direct confrontation with the Islamic Republic, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated Sunday (6th), three days before a planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the issue.

Speaking at the beginning of the weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said that while all his meetings with Putin are important for Israel’s security and for the coordination between the IDF and Russian army which is operating in Syria, this meeting is especially important “in light of Iran’s growing efforts to establish bases in Syria against Israel.”

“Nations that were unwilling to act in time against murderous aggression against them paid much heavier prices later,” he said.

(jpost.com)

 

IDF Shoots Dead Two Palestinians Planting Bombs At Gaza Fence

IDF soldiers killed two Palestinians on Sunday afternoon (6th), and shot a third while trying to cross and sabotage the southern end of the Gaza border fence, according to the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit.

The third Palestinian was said to be in serious condition and was evacuated to the hospital in the Strip.

The incident took place at Khan Younis when troops from the Golani Brigade 51st Battalion opened fire on the three suspects.

(ynetnews.com)

 

Israel Bombs Hamas ‘Fire Kite” Position

Israel’s Air Force (IAF) on Saturday night (5th) bombed a Hamas position in Gaza, adjacent to the border with Israel, from which “fire kites” were being launched.

Palestinian terrorists in the Strip have been setting fire to dozens of acres of southern Israeli farmland, using this new airborne weapon of choice.

The IAF strike was in response to “terrorists launching burning incendiaries in an attempt to cause fires in Israeli territory,” the IDF said.

(worldisraelnews.com)

 

An Israeli Farmer Who Lives Near Gaza – Avner Yona

It pains my heart to see a field on fire after we worked day and night to sow it.  People who aren’t farmers might not understand, but when you grow wheat, you only have a certain time frame.  We invest a lot of money and effort in fertilizing the soil and irrigating the wheat, so in a situation in which we see everything going up in flames, I see crops burning before they can be harvested, and my heart burns along with them.

I’m not a firefighter, I’m a farmer.  It’s always something else: tunnels, bombs, snipers, and now the terrorists are using kites.  The writer lives in Kibbutz Nahal Oz near the Gaza border.

(israelhayom.com)

 

6 Hamas Terrorists Killed In “Work Accident”

Six Hamas terrorists in Gaza were killed in a massive explosion on Saturday (5th) in what appeared to be a “work accident” when a bomb they were preparing was set off prematurely.

The incident occurred in the city of Deir al-Balah in the center of the Gaza Strip.

Israeli media said the terrorists were working to dismantle an unexploded missile fired by Israel.

Hamas in a statement blamed Israel for the blast, calling it a “deplorable Zionist crime.”

(worldisraelnews.com)

 

Report: Iran Planning To Launch A Barrage Of Missiles Against Israel

Iran is preparing a barrage of missiles to launch against Israeli military positions from Syrian territory, Hebrew media reported Sunday (6th), citing defense officials.

Iran plans to avenge alleged Israeli strikes on its bases in Syria, Ma’ariv defense analyst Alon Ben David said, by targeting military positions in northern Israel.

As of now, Israel isn’t “on the eve of war against iran,” he said, “but the Iranians do want revenge for their losses.”

(reuters.com; jpost.com)

 

Hizbullah Chief Pledges Loyalty To Iran’s Supreme Leader – Amir Touma

In March, an Iran State-affiliated media outlet published a speech by Hizbullah Chief Hassan Nasrallah, where he emphasized his belief in the velayat-e-faqih, the founding ideology of the Islamic Republic.  It calls for a theocratic government and an Islamic state with power vested in the hands of a cleric, or the vali-ye faqih, who is the Supreme Leader and acts as the deputy of God on earth.  Nasrallah’s speech confirms that Hizbullah is an arm of the Iranian government and the Lebanese branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.

(longwarjournal.org)

 

Former Egyptian Official Compares Israel And Arab Countries

Reda Abd Al-Salam, former governor of Egypt’s Al-Sharqiya province, wrote in Nile-Press on January 12 that Israel surpasses the Arab countries in many ways because it has invested in education, health, science, and technology, and is building a democracy, while the Arabs have remained mired in primitiveness and tyranny.

“The Arab and Muslim peoples live under regimes that for decades have engaged not in developing their peoples and establishing themselves in economy, society, science, and democracy, but in establishing their rule…During this time, those we called the sons of apes and pigs, engaged in real building.  They focused on education, health, economy, and technology, and of course on democratic process.”

“Over the past decades Egypt has received tremendous support, in billions of dollars, from its Arab brothers and also from international institutions in the form of grants and aid for developing education, roads, and the like.  Where has this money gone?”

(memri.org)

 

Israel Weighs Creating New Quarter For Embassies Relocating To Jerusalem – Greer Fay Cashman

Israeli Construction Minister Yoav Galant has instructed his ministry to find a new quarter in Jerusalem for the establishment of embassies that will relocate to the capital.  Most foreign diplomatic residences are currently located in Tel Aviv suburbs.

(jpost.com)

 

Athens Jewish Cemetery Vandalized

The Jewish cemetery of Athens, Greece, was vandalized over the weekend, an event the local Jewish community is calling “one of the most violent and significant anti-Semitic events of recent years in Greece.”

Unknown vandals entered the cemetery on Friday night (4th) and destroyed nine commemorative marble struts.  The marble slabs are used to mark the sectors of the cemetery, and are dedicated to the memory of the dead by their families.

“The scene is repulsive and our disappointment is great,” the Jewish community said in a statement.

Among Europeans, Greeks have some of the most negative attitudes towards Jews, a 2016 Pew Research Center study revealed.

(jta.org; worldisraelnews.com)