News Digest — 4/12/23
Netanyahu Bans Jews From Entering Temple Mount For Rest Of Ramadan
The Temple Mount will be closed to Jewish visitors from Wednesday (12th) to the end of the month of Ramadan, which is set to end near the end of next week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided on Tuesday afternoon (11th).
The decision was made despite the situation on the Temple Mount remaining relatively calm in recent days and despite the opposition of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
The decision to close the Temple Mount to Jewish visitors is a “grave mistake that will not bring quiet to the region,” said Ben-Gvir. “It can only escalate the situation.”
“The lack of Jewish presence on the Temple Mount will automatically cause a decrease in police presence, which will create fertile ground for calls of incitement to murder Jews,” the national security minister charged.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office, the decision was reached based on the unanimous recommendation of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, Shin Bet head Ronen Bar and Israel Police chief Kobi Shabtai.
Shortly before the decision was announced, the Hamas movement called on Palestinians to head to al-Aqsa mosque and stay there overnight and warned Israel “against committing any foolish act against al-Aqsa.”
Earlier on Tuesday morning (11th), 748 Jews visited the site, without any unusual incidents or violence, as were the visits by Jewish visitors in the two days prior, despite threats of violence by Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups.
In total, 3,013 Jews visited the Temple Mount during the intermediate days of Passover this year, a 32% increase compared to the same period last year.
Since 2013, the Temple Mount has been closed to Jewish visitors for at least six of the last ten days of Ramadan every year (including Friday and Saturday, when the Mount is closed to Jews year round).
Last week, Palestinians and police clashed in al-Aqsa after dozens of Palestinians barricaded themselves inside the mosque ahead of the eve of Passover.
A few hours after the clashes last week, 10 rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip toward southern Israel, followed by further rocket fire in the next two days from Gaza and Lebanon toward Israel.
19 Murdered In Terror Attacks So Far In 2023
The passing of Lucy Dee on Monday, (10th) following the terrorist shooting attack in the Jordan Valley on Friday (7th) in which she was critically wounded and her daughters Maia and Rina were murdered, has brought the death toll from terrorist attacks committed against Israelis in recent months to 19.
The 15 and 20-year-old sisters were laid to rest in the Gush Etzion cemetery on Sunday (9th).
Shortly after the shooting in the Jordan Valley on Friday (7th), Italian tourist Alessandro Parini was murdered in a terrorist ramming attack in Tel Aviv.
In February, Hallel and Yagel Yariv were murdered in a terrorist shooting attack in the Arab community of Huwara. Also in February, brothers Asher Menachem and Yaakov Yisrael Paley were murdered in a terrorist ramming attack in the Ramot neighborhood of Jerusalem. They were just eight and six-years-old. A third victim, Alter Shlomo Lederman, was killed in the same attack in Jerusalem.
In January, seven people were murdered in a shooting at a synagogue in the Neve Yaakov neighborhood of Jerusalem during Shabbat prayers, including 14-year-old Asher Natan, Shaul Chai, Irina Korolova, Raphael Ben Eliyahu, Eli and Natali Mizrahi, and Ilya Sosnaski.
In February, Border Police officer Staff Sgt. Asil Sawaed was murdered at the Shuafat checkpoint when he was stabbed by a 13-year-old terrorist who brought a knife from home to kill an IDF soldier. Also in February, US-Israeli citizen Elan Ganeles was murdered in a shooting attack on Highway 90 between the Dead Sea and Jericho. And in March, Or Eshkar was murdered in a shooting attack in the heart of Tel Aviv.
(isnn.com)
Bridging Divides: Arab Nurse Saves The Life Of Israeli Man In Nahariya
A male nurse at the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya has saved the life of a resident of the city who collapsed at the entrance to a store in a shopping center in the Druze village of Yarka.
Victor Epstein went shopping with his wife and friends in Yarka over the weekend, and while waiting for his wife outside a store, he suddenly felt dizzy and collapsed.
Amer Awad, the nurse who works in the hospital’s internal medicine department, who was fortunately at the shopping center rushed to his side and gave him cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and a cardiac massage. “I was just parking my car to go into the store,” Awad recalled.
“My daughter got out of the car, and suddenly knocked on the window and said: ‘Dad there is someone here lying on the sidewalk, come help him.’ I saw that he was frothing at the mouth and that he lacked a pulse and was not breathing. While massaging his heart, I asked someone to call Magen David Adom (MDA) to send an ambulance.
One of the people who gathered around brought a defibrillator from the shopping center that helped Awad to restore the patient;s pulse and his breathing. “I gave him an electric shock using the device and continued to massage him. Two minutes later, I gave him another electric shock, and continued massaging him. Then I saw that his pulse and breathing returned and thank God, he woke up.” The ambulance brought Epstein in moderate condition to the hospital in Nahariya to an intensive care unit, where he underwent cardiac catheterization.
From his bed in the intensive care unit, Epstein said: “I came with my wife and friends to go shopping and waited for her outside until she finished, but I suddenly felt very dizzy. I sat down on the sidewalk, and from that moment I don’t remember anything else except waking up in an ambulance.”
Awad visited Epstein while he was in the hospital. “I want to thank you for saving my life. We are all brothers, whether Arabs or Jews,” he told Awad as he shook his hand. “I don’t feel like a hero. I did what I had to do. Fortunately, I had the right knowledge and I was in the right place at the right time. I am so happy to see you in a good and stable condition. From now on, we are like family,” said Awad.
Dr. Or Tsafrir of the cardiac intensive care unit, said: “Victor suffered a heart attack, which turned into a cardiac arrest. Amer literally saved his life. I don’t want to think what would have happened if he had arrived a few minutes later. Victor is alive now thanks to Amer Awad’s quick and skilled work.”
The hospital’s deputy director, Dr. Tsvi Sheleg and nursing director Dalya Tedgi both praised Awad for his timely and exceptional professional and dedicated lifesaving efforts.
Israel Signs $400 Million Deal To Sell Greece Anti-Tank Missiles
Israel signed a $400 million deal to sell Spike anti-tank missiles to Greece, the Defense Ministry announced Monday (10th).
Defense Ministry Director-General Eyal Zamir and Director of the Greek General Directorate for Defense Investments and Armaments Vice Admiral Aristeidis Alexopulos signed a Government to Government (GTG) agreement for the export of naval, air and land-based Spike missiles manufactured by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, a statement read.
According to the Defense Ministry, the Spike missile is an innovative and precise electromagnetic munition that can be launched from about 45 different platforms on land, air or sea.
More than 40 countries around the world use these missiles, including 19 European Union countries and NATO member states. Over 34,000 Spike missiles have already been supplied to various countries around the world, with more than 6,000 of them fired during training exercises and in combat situations.
According to Greek media, the deal is expected to serve all three branches of the country’s security forces: the land forces, the air force – which will install the missiles on Apache helicopters – and the navy, which will use the missiles in several types of combat.
Greece’s long-time rival Turkey may find the purchase concerning, due to the relatively long range of the missiles, which can reach up to 30 miles when fired from helicopters and about up to 20 miles when launched from land or sea.
“This project joins a series of agreements between the State of Israel and the Hellenic Republic and further emphasizes the strong partnership between our countries and our defense establishments, as well as our mutual commitment to ensuring regional stability,” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said.
“I commend our defense industries. Our technological capabilities enable the State of Israel to make positive economic and political achievements..”
Risk Of Flash Flooding Remains In South As Rain Continues To Fall
The spell of cold and rainy weather was set to continue Wednesday (12th) with authorities warning of the ongoing risk of dangerous flash floods in Israel’s south until Thursday (13th).
Some snow was expected in the Hermon Mountain area in the north on Wednesday (12th).
The skies will clear by Friday (14th) with a warm weekend ahead.
On Tuesday (11th) rescue workers found the bodies of a brother and sister who went missing after their car was carried away by a flash flood in southern Israel the day before. A third woman who was with them was located and rescued.
The two fatalities were identified as 24-year-old Ma’ayan and 17-year-old Sahar Assor, both residents of the northern city of Tiberias.
Israel was hit by stormy weather and high winds Monday afternoon (10th) just as many flocked to nature sites to enjoy the outdoors over the weeklong Passover holiday.
The rescued woman, 21, was in good condition, though she was suffering from mild hypothermia, the MDA ambulance service said.
Recounting the ordeal to paramedics, the woman said the car was swept from the road by a powerful torrent. As the car began to fill with water, the group abandoned the vehicle. She said she was carried by the stream multiple kilometers as she sought to keep her head above water, before finally finding refuge on rocks by the side of the stream.
The trio managed to contact authorities to report they were caught up in a flash flood, but contact with the three was lost Monday evening (10th), police said.
Earlier Monday (10th), three women caught up in a flood in their vehicle near Eilat were rescued and transported to Yoseftal Hospital in the city for frostbite treatment, police said.
The military said israeli Air Force helicopters and forces from the IDF’s Unit 669, a combat rescue and evacuation force, rescued multiple civilians Monday night (10th) across southern Israel, in cooperation with the Israel Police, Magen David Adom medics, the Israel Fire and Rescue Services, and regional rescue units.
Authorities urged “citizens to show responsibility and not go near the flood areas.”
