September 24, 2018
Nasrallah: Hizbullah Has Precision Rockets Despite Israeli Action
Lebanon’s Hizbullah group has obtained precision rockets despite hundreds of Israeli strikes in recent years aimed at cutting off the supply route through Syria, the group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah declared Thursday (20th).
“No matter what you do to cut the route,” Nasrallah said, addressing Israel in a televised speech, “the matter is over and the resistance possesses precision and non-precision rockets and weapons capabilities.”
Hassan Nasrallah spoke in a televised speech on Thursday (20th) to supporters commemorating Ashoura, one of the most important religious holy days for Shiite Muslims.
“If Israel forces a war on Lebanon, Israel will face a fate and a reality it has never expected on any day,” he added, stressing that Hizbullah’s precision weapons were “highly accurate.”
Hizbullah, backed by Iran, has played a critical role in supporting Syrian President Bashar Assad during Syria’s seven-year civil war.
Israel regards Iran and Hizbullah as the biggest threats on its borders and has uncharacteristically admitted to carrying out repeated strikes in Syria to prevent Hizbullah from getting Iranian arms deliveries.
Nasrallah said Israel knows the regional balance of power has changed, and that recent Israeli strikes in Syria to prevent Hizbullah from acquiring those weapons failed because this “has already been achieved.”
(israelhayom.com)
‘Provoke Israel And We’ll Hit You Harder Than You Can Imagine’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke out Thursday afternoon (20th), following an address by Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah, in which the terror chief demanded Israel halt its attacks on military targets in Syria, and boasted that his group had obtained ‘precision missiles.’
“I heard the arrogant comments from Hizbullah,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
“This is coming from the same man [Nasrallah] who said after the 2006 war that if he would have known what Israel’s response would have been to the kidnapping of our three soldiers, he would have thought twice about it.”
“So today I suggest that he think not just twice but 20 times about it, because if he provokes us, he will get hit harder than he can even imagine.”
In his statement Thursday (20th), the Prime Minister also discussed his phone call Tuesday afternoon (18th) with Russian President Vladimir Putin, regarding the downing of a Russian plane following an Israeli airstrike in Syria.
“As far as our relations with Russia – I spoke with President Putin on Yom Kippur Eve, just a few minutes before the holiday began. I expressed on my behalf and on behalf of the Israeli people our sadness at the deaths of 15 Russian air crew members from the plane which was downed by Syrian fire.”
“I told him that the problem is Iran’s attempt to use Syrian territory as a base for attacks against Israel, and arm our enemies, like Hizbullah. I told him we reserve the right to defend ourselves. That being said, we place great importance on the security cooperation between Israel and Russia, which is why I decided to send the Israeli Air Force commander, Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin, to Moscow.”
(israelnn.com; ynetnews.com; timesofisrael.com)
Israel Reinforcing Nuclear Sites Due To Threats From Iran, Nuclear Chief Says
Israel is upgrading and reinforcing its nuclear sites in light of “repeated and explicit threats” made by Iran and its proxies to attack them, a nuclear official said.
Zeev Snir, the director-general of Israel’s Atomic Energy Commission addressed the issue on Tuesday (18th) in a speech to a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
“These outrageous threats require Israel to take action and continue to protect and defend its nuclear facilities. These facilities are constantly upgraded and reinforced, in line with IAEA safety guidelines, in order to withstand any attack,” Snit said in the speech provided to Israel media.
Israel rarely publicly discusses its nuclear activities.
Snir called for regional cooperation on nuclear security and safety but noted that while Israel has “repeatedly expressed its willingness to collaborate with all its neighbors” on nuclear safety and security, the Jewish state is not recognized by several Middle East countries and Iran has openly called for Israel’s destruction.
He called on the IAEA to “conduct a robust verification of Iran’s clandestine nuclear activities,” adding that the covert Iranian nuclear weapons program is “a documented fact.”
The new information recently revealed by Israel “conclusively proves that Iranian activities were part of a well-orchestrated plan, to continue the development of nuclear weapons,” he said.
He also noted Syria’s “undeclared, secretive military nuclear reactor at Dair Alzour,” which Israel bombed more than a decade ago.
(jta.org; worldisraelnews.com)
Friedman Blasts Palestinians For ‘Unconscionable’ Pay To Ari Fuld’s Murderer
US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman communicated his shock at the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) recent announcement that the family of the murderer of Israeli activist Ari Fuld would be “eligible to receive a monthly salary” based on the crime he committed.
“The Palestinian Prisoner Affairs Commission has confirmed that the family of the terrorist who murdered Ari Fuld is ‘eligible to receive a monthly salary’ as compensation for his incarceration,” tweeted Friedman on Thursday (20th).
“This practice is unconscionable and must stop if there is to be any hope for peace,” he added.
Friedman made the comments after a PA official confirmed to Times of Israel that the family of the killer, Khalil Jabarin, would in fact be eligible for payments.
“We are not bashful or secretive about our support for our prisoners,” the PA official told the Times. “The Jabarin family will be eligible to receive a monthly salary of $390, if their son is not freed by Israel and if they complete the necessary documents.”
After Jabarin stabbed Fuld in the back multiple times, he leapt into action, firing his handgun at the terrorist to prevent an attack on bystander Hila Peretz before ultimately succumbing to his wounds.
(worldisraelnews.com)
Rock Hurled Inside Polish Synagogue During Yom Kippur Prayers
Unidentified individuals hurled a rock into a synagogue in Gdansk in northern Poland shattering the glass of one window while worshipers, including children were inside.
The assault on Gdansk’s New Synagogue occurred on Wednesday (19th), during Yom Kippur, one of Judaism’s holiest days.
The rock fell “in the atrium where women were waiting for the final prayer of Yom Kippur,” a statement read. “There were children around. The rock flew close to where the women were standing. No one was hurt in the incident.”
The Jewish community in its statement said the incident recalled the actions of ultra-nationalists in the 1930s, who “would often target synagogues on Yom Kippur.”
In Poland, which is home to some 20,000 Jews, Deputy National Prosecutor Agata Galuszka-Gorska in May said that the number of anti-semitic incidents had dropped by 30%, to 112 in 2017, from 160 in 2016.
In November, 60,000 people attended a nationalist march in Poland that featured anti-Semitic rhetoric. Some local Jews say the government is tolerating ultra-nationalism that elevates the risk of anti-semitic violence, while others dismiss the claim.
(israelnn.com; jta.org)
