News Digest — 9/10/19
Netanyahu Unveils Evidence Of New Iranian ‘Nuclear Weapons’ Site
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unveiled on Monday (9th) evidence of a previously undisclosed Iranian nuclear weapons site.
“Today, we reveal that yet another secret nuclear site was exposed in the archives that we brought from Tehran. In this site, Iran conducted experiments to develop nuclear weapons. This is the site near Abadeh, south of Isfahan,” Netanyahu explained during a press conference.
“When Iran realized that we uncovered the site, here’s what they did: they destroyed it. They just wiped the site out,” he added, explaining that the facility was discovered based on records that Israel seized from an Iranian nuclear warehouse early last year in a raid during which Mossad agents sprinted out of Iran a “half-ton” of nuclear documents.
Among the evidence Netanyahu presented on Monday (9th) were satellite photos of a facility in the southern Fars province Abadeh area in June, followed by a second photo of the site being destroyed in July, after the Iranians realized they’d been discovered.
“They wiped out the site. Here they conducted nuclear experiments for nuclear weapons. This is the site, that after they understood we were on to them, they tried to destroy the evidence,” Netanyahu explained.
Speaking directly to Tehran, the prime minister said, “Israel knows what you’re doing, Israel knows when you’re doing it, and Israel knows where you’re doing it.”
“We will continue to expose your lies,” said Netanyahu. “What we see is a constant pattern of lies, deception and violations.”
Netanyahu also confirmed that uranium traces were found at a Turquzabad facility he identified last year, referring to a report on Sunday evening (8th) that the IAEA inspected the site in April and found radioactive material, including uranium, which is a key ingredient for developing nuclear bombs.
That information was communicated by Reuters, which based its report on the word of two diplomats familiar with the IAEA’s work.
“A year and a half ago, we exposed Iran’s secret archives which revealed that Iran was developing five nuclear warheads as early as 2003. Last year we exposed Iran’s secret nuclear warehouse in Turquzabad which Iran used for storing materials and equipment for its secret nuclear program,” Netanyahu added.
Before concluding his press conference, Netanyahu urged the international community to exert “pressure, pressure and more pressure” on Tehran and to support U.S. President Donald Trump’s sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
(reuters.com; ap.com; worldisraelnews.com)
NGO: PA Raises Salaries Of Bomb Makers Behind Deadly 2003 Attacks
The Palestinian Authority has raised the “salaries” of two of the terrorists responsible for the deadly twin suicide bombings in Israel in 2003, according to Israeli NGO Palestinian Media Watch.
The monthly payments were increased from $1,703 to $1,982 in accordance with PA law, as the two terrorists have now been imprisoned by Israel for 15 years.
The two who were arrested in July and August 2004 were the ones that manufactured the suicide vests used in the attacks.
The PA has to date paid a total of $922,136 to the terrorists responsible for the bombings, accoring to PMW. Calculations carried out by the NGO according to the PA’s own pay scale show that the PA has to date paid the six terrorists imprisoned for their roles in the attacks a total of $820,660, while the families of the two bombers—so-called “martyrs”—received a total of $101,118.
The move was made in accordance with the Palestinian government’s “pay-to-slay” policies, despite U.S. and Israeli pressure, including through various legislation in Congress and financial penalties.
Sixteen people were murdered and 75 wounded in the 2003 bombings.
The law guaranteeing imprisoned terrorists monthly salaries was adopted by the PA in 2004.
In 18 months, according to PMW, the PA is scheduled to raise the salary of mass murderer Irbahim Hamed, who is serving 54 life sentences for planning terror attacks which claimed the lives of 54 people.
(israelhayom; palwatch.org; jns.org)
Dutch Christians Donate Europe’s Largest Menorah To Sderot
Dutch Christian Zionists donated Europe’s largest Hanukkah menorah to the Israeli city of Sderot in solidarity with its residents’ plight over rocket attacks from Gaza.
The 36-foot menorah was erected Sunday (9th) in Sderot, said Arjen Lont, the Christian Zionist philanthropist from the Netherlands who in 2013 donated about $40,000 to build the object.
Boasting a 6-ton base and a frame shaped like a Star of David, the Dutch menorah has featured in Hanukkah candle-lighting ceremonies organized across the kingdom over the past six years by the Christians for Israel group.
“After unspeakable suffering, the horrors of the Holocaust and most recently the attacks on Israel, Jews may feel they are alone,” Lont told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency shortly after the menorah was built. “This is our way of saying you are not alone, we are behind you.”
On Sunday (9th), Lont wrote on Twitter, “Today, we set up the Hanukkah menorah in Sderot in Israel’s south. It is here to stay for good.”
In Sderot , the menorah was placed in the center of a traffic circle in a residential neighborhood. Its original oil lamps have been replaced with electric bulbs, and it is anchored by four two-ton concrete cubes.
“The official inauguration of the menorah will be on December 17, five days before the first night of Hanukkah, in the presence of Dutch Chief Rabbi Benjamin Jacobs,” Christians for Israel director Roger van Oordt wrote in a statement. “Amid constant threat from rockets, we want to bring the light of the menorah,” he added.
(jta.org; israelnn.com)
Did Israeli Archaeologists Just Discover A Seal Belonging To King David’s Son?
A 2,600-year-old bulla, or seal, bearing the Hebrew words “Adenyahu Asher Al Habayit” which translates “Adenyahu by Appointment of the House” was uncovered three weeks ago. It was found by a volunteer sifting through dirt excavated from 2013 under Robinson’s Arch near the Western Wall.
Adenyahu was a son of David. There are two other mentions of the name, one of a Levite in the times of King Jehoshaphat and another in the days of Nehemiah, a 5th- century figure who came back from Babylon to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
“This is the first time this kind of archaeological discovery has been made in Jerusalem. The biblical title “Asher Al Habayit” was the highest ranking ministerial position beneath the king during the time of the kings of Judea and Israel. It is undoubtedly of great significance,” Israeli archaeologist Eli Shukron of the Israeli Antiquities Authority said.
Doron Spielman, vice-president of the City of David Foundation, which operates the archaeological site, said, “This tiny bulla has immense meaning to billions of people worldwide.”
“The personal signet of a senior official to a biblical king from the First Temple Period, is another link in the long chain of Jewish history in Jerusalem that is being uncovered and preserved at the City of David on a daily basis,” he said.
“The discovery follows another in March of a bulla and a 2,600-year-old stamp bearing Hebrew names uncovered in the City of David.
They were found in a large public building destroyed in the 6th century BCE – likely during the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE.
The seal impression, dated to the First Temple period, featured the words: “Belonging to Nathan-Melech, Servant of the King” (LeNathan-Melech Eved HaMelech).
The name Nathan-Melech appears once in the Bible, in the second book of Kings 23:11, where he is described as an official in the court of King Josiah, who took part in the religious reform that the king was implementing.
The title, Servant of the King (Eved HaMelech) appears often in the Bible to describe a high-ranking official close to the king. The seal impression was the first archaeological evidence of the Biblical name Nathan-Melech.
Bullae are small pieces of clay impressed by personal seals, used in ancient times to sign letters. Made of ceramic-like material, they survive the ages, unlike the parchment letters they embossed.
(antiquities.org; worldisraelnews.com)
Israeli Sales Of F-35 Parts To U.S. To Top $2 Billion
The U.S. has purchased over $1.75 billion in components from Israel for the F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter, Globes reported Monday (9th).
Lockheed Martin’s F-35, which was the product of the Joint Strike Fighter program, was developed in cooperation with American allies, including Israel, who contributed components used in the fighter’s construction.
According to the report, Israeli companies commissioned to produce the F-35 components, took in more than $500 million last year in F-35-related sales to Lockheed Martin, pushing the total sales by Israeli firms to the F-35’s producer to $1.75 billion.
Israeli companies, including Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and a firm owned by Israel’s Elbit, first signed deals with Lockheed Martin for the F-35 components in 2010.
The Israeli Defense Ministry expects the total number of sales of F-35 parts to top $2 billion by the end of 2019.
The components manufactured in Israel include the F-35’s wings, with 50 pairs of F-35 wings already produced by Israel Aerospace Industries, and more than 750 additional pairs expected to be produced by IAI.
Lockheed Martin also commissioned an Elbit subsidiary for a $1.2 billion deal to produce the hi-tech helmets worn by F-35 pilots which link into the aircraft’s computer system, providing target data, aircraft status information, infrared views and a night-vision camera.
(globes.co.il; israelnn.com)
