WORLD ISRAEL NEWS

IDF strikes Hamas terror tunnel just meters from border
 May 12, 2018
IDF strikes Hamas terror tunnel just meters from borderThe IDF detonates an exposed terror tunnel on the border with Gaza in April. (Screenshot)
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The Israeli military struck a terror tunnel just inside the Gaza Strip on Saturday evening.
By: TPS
IDF jets struck a Hamas tunnel near the Erez Crossing in the northern Gaza Strip, an IDF spokesman said Saturday night after earlier reports that missiles had been fired on Hamas targets in the area. The spokesman said the tunnel had been dug meters from the border, but had not yet crossed into Israel.
According to Palestinian sources, around 10 missiles were fired at the targets.
Among the IDF’s targets on Saturday evening were infrastructure targets belonging to the military wing of Hamas near Beit Hanoun in the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian reports.
An IDF spokesman confirmed ongoing military activity in the area.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/idf-strikes-hamas-attack-tunnel-just-meters-border/?


Palestinians to mark US Jerusalem embassy opening with ‘huge day of rage’
 May 12, 2018
Palestinians to mark US Jerusalem embassy opening with ‘huge day of rage’Palestinian protestors burn US flags. (Wisam Hashlamoun/Flash90)
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The Palestinian Authority sharpened its tone regarding the inauguration of the new American embassy in Jerusalem this coming week.
By: Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News
May 14th will be the latest “day of rage” called for by the Palestinians if the celebration turning the American consulate in Jerusalem into an embassy takes place on its scheduled date, said senior PLO official Ahmad Majdalani.
As reported in the Jerusalem Post, “The fourteenth of this month will be a huge, popular day of rage everywhere,” Majdalani said, according to Voice of Palestine, the official Palestinian Authority (PA) radio station. “Our people will express their rejection of relocating the embassy to occupied Jerusalem.”
What commonly occurs on such days are mass street protests and rioting, with some violently clashing with Israeli security forces, whether at checkpoints or other sites.
According to Palestinian mouthpiece Wafa, other possible steps may include “enhancing popular resistance,” which are code words for terror attacks on Israelis. The Palestinians may also bring more cases against Israelis in the International Criminal Court in the Hague or “revive the Palestinian Jerusalem municipality,” an apparent reference to the PA’s attempt to run the civil affairs of Jerusalem’s Arab inhabitants through Orient House in violation of the Oslo Accords. Israel closed the Orient House in 2001.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/palestinians-mark-us-jerusalem-embassy-opening-huge-day-rage/?


Perfect Timing: America is making King David very proud!
 May 9, 2018
Nearly 3000 years ago, in a landmark achievement, King David established Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Throughout history, ever since the Holy Temple stood in all its glory, through thousands of years of exile and until today, Jerusalem has remained the eternal capital of the Jewish People.
Netanyahu Trump
PM Netanyahu and President Donald Trump (Avi Ohayon/GPO)
Once again, Jerusalem history is in the making. And to many, this is another example of the fulfillment of biblical prophesy.
For the first time in over 2000 years, a world power will recognize Jerusalem as the eternal capital of Israel – and in a most dramatic way. This is historic!
When candidate Donald Trump made a campaign promise to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem, many were skeptical. They wondered: Was this just another candidate’s attempt to gain the pro-Israel vote?
On June 1, 2017, several months after President Trump’s victory, he signed the waiver to avoid moving the embassy, as had been done for decades by former presidents.
“What about his campaign promise,” many asked. “Was it all just rhetoric?”
Jerusalem Embassy Sign
Jerusalem municipality workers hang a road sign directing to the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Six months later, on December 6, 2017, Trump said that the US will formally recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, reversing nearly seven decades of US policy. He then ordered the relocation of the US embassy to Jerusalem.
The move was expected to take years, but then came the shocker:
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/america-is-making-king-david-proud-jerusalem-embassy-coins/?

Iran attacks Israel for first time; IDF responds with massive strike
 May 10, 2018
Iran attacks Israel for first time; IDF responds with massive strikeAn IAF F-15 takes off. (IAF)
In a failed assault, Iran attacked Israel directly for the first time in history. The Israel Air Force responded by bombing dozens of Iranian targets in Syria, the largest such operation in decades. 
By: Aryeh Savir, World Israel News 
Iran’s Quds forces launched a barrage of rockets at IDF bases on the Golan Heights in northern Israel on Wednesday night, the first Iranian attack on Israeli soil in history. The assault prompted an extensive Israel Air Force (IAF) attack on dozens of Iranian targets in Syria.
Shortly after midnight, IDF defense systems identified approximately 20 rockets that the Iranian Quds forces had launched at IDF forward posts on the Golan Heights. The majority of the rockets missed their mark and fell in Syria territory, while four were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system.
The incoming attack set off air raid sirens in communities throughout the north.
The Iranian attack caused no injuries or damage and was essentially a resounding failure.
In response to Iran’s attack on Israeli sovereignty, IAF fighter jets struck dozens of military targets belonging to the Iranian Quds forces in Syrian territory.
As part of the wide-scale attack, said to be the largest in decades and possibly since the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the IAF struck Quds Force intelligence centers, Quds Force logistical command centers, a Quds Force military center and a Quds Force logistical center in Al-Kiswah, as well as an Iranian military base north of Damascus.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/iran-hits-israel-idf-responds-with-massive-attack/?



Russia: Israel fired 70 missiles at Iranian targets in Syria
 May 10, 2018
Russia: Israel fired 70 missiles at Iranian targets in SyriaAn IAF F-15 in flight. (Shutterstock)
The Russian Defense Ministry released details on the massive Israeli strike against Iranian military targets inside Syria.
By: World Israel News Staff
28 Israel Air Force (IAF) F-15 and F-16 fighter jets participated in a massive airstrike on Iranian targets in Syria and some 70 rockets were fired, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
The Ministry on Thursday released details on the massive Israeli strike against Iranian military targets inside Syria, which was carried out in retaliation to a Quds Forces rocket attack on Israel’s Golan Heights.
As part of the wide-scale attack, said to be the largest in decades and possibly since the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the IAF struck Quds Force intelligence centers, Quds Force logistical command centers, a Quds Force military center and a Quds Force logistical center in Al-Kiswah, as well as an Iranian military base north of Damascus.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that the Syrian air defenses shot down more than half of 70 missiles fired by Israel.
The Syrian army claimed its air defenses “repelled an Israeli missile aggression on Syrian territories, shooting down scores of missiles.”
A military source quoted by Syria’s official SANA news said the army’s air defenses shot down “tens of Israeli missiles, preventing most of them from reaching their targets,” while some managed to hit a number of air defense battalions, radars and an ammunitions depot.
In response to the Syrian intervention, the IAF attacked a number of Syrian aerial interception systems, including SA-5, SA-17, SA-22, SA-2 batteries.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/russian-defense-ministry-28-jets-fired-70-missiles-iranian-targets-syria/?



WATCH: Trump ‘made the world a much safer place,’ Bennett tells BBC
 May 10, 2018
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaRyZ0PAgzE&ab_channel=%D7%A0%D7%A4%D7%AA%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%91%D7%A0%D7%98%7CNaftaliBennett
Israeli Minister Naftali Bennett discusses Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, explaining why the US president’s decision will ultimately prevent bloodshed.
Bennett to BBC: Iran’s Ayatollah regime has hijacked the Persian nation and is nearing its end



Iran’s leader dismisses Trump’s words as ‘empty, absurd’
 May 9, 2018
Iran’s leader dismisses Trump’s words as ‘empty, absurd’Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (Khamenei's office)
Trump “made a damn mistake” threatening Iran, Khamenei said of the US’ withdrawal from the nuclear deal. 
By: World Israel News Staff
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dismissed President Donald Trump’s address in which he announced the US’ exit from the Iran nuclear deal as “empty and absurd,” and charged him of lying “several times.”
“Trump threatened the Islamic establishment and Iranian people that he will do this and he will do that. I say on behalf of the people of Iran: Mr. Trump, you are talking nonsense!” Khamenei said on Wednesday during a meeting with Iranian educators in honor of Teacher’s Week.
He hit back at Trump’s “silly and cheap” comments, which he said included more than 10 lies, claiming that Trump had “made a damn mistake” threatening Iran.
The US withdrawal from the nuclear deal indicates that Iran’s nuclear program was not the real issue, and was only a pretext to weaken Iran, Khamenei added.
“Now you can see, we accepted the JCPOA, but the enmities are still in place,” Khamenei said, referring to the Iran nuclear deal, known officially as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/irans-leader-dismisses-trumps-words-empty-absurd/?


WATCH: US recognizes Israel’s ‘sovereign right’ to self-defense
 May 10, 2018
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders responds to reports that Iran launched rockets at Israel, a move she said shows Iran can’t be trusted. Sanders commented that the US supports Israel “in whatever efforts they have in order to defend themselves.”
WATCH https://worldisraelnews.com/us-israel-absolutely-sovereign-right-self-defense/?




WATCH: Trump welcomes Americans home from North Korea
 May 10, 2018
At a military base outside Washington, President Donald Trump personally welcomes back three Americans as they return from captivity in North Korea.
Trump welcomes Americans home from North Korea
CNN
Published on 10 May 2018
President Donald Trump personally welcomes back three Americans as they arrive at a military base outside Washington after their release from North Korea.
WATCH 8.30 MINS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kZeo7qItJA&ab_channel=CNN

Several Iranian soldiers killed in Israeli strike in Syria
 May 9, 2018
Several Iranian soldiers killed in Israeli strike in SyriaScene of the purported strike in Syria. (Social media)
At least nine Iranians, and possibly as many as 32, were killed in a strike in Syria attributed to Israel.
By: World Israel News Staff
An Israeli strike inside Syria on Tuesday night targeted “missile depots and platforms” in an attack that killed at least nine Iranian soldiers, reported the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), which has assets on the ground.
SOHR attributed the strike to Israel, which hit the Al-Kiswah area in southwestern Rif Dimashq and targeted missile-related infrastructure belonging to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC).
According to the SOHR, the attack killed at least nine Iranians, possibly IRGC troops or militiamen loyal to Iran. The attack also left several wounded, some of them seriously.
Syria’s official SANA news claimed that the Syrian air defenses intercepted two Israeli missiles and destroyed them.
Russia’s Sputnik news quoted a source at the Beirut International Airport that said that said that Israeli combat aircraft were in Lebanese airspace at the supposed time of the strike in Syria.
The Israeli NZIV site, quoting Syrian sources in Arabic, said that at least 32 individuals were killed in the strike, including a high ranking general and several other officers. Tight security was seen around the hospital to which the bodies were brought.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/several-iranian-soldiers-killed-israeli-strike-syria/?


Signatories to Iran deal vow to stay in it, despite Trump pull out
 May 9, 2018
Signatories to Iran deal vow to stay in it, despite Trump pull outIran's President Hassan Rouhani with the EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)
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Insisting that the Iranians are keeping their side of the nuclear accord, the Europeans, Russians and Chinese all say they’ll remain in it too.
By: Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News
The UK, Russia, France, China and Germany all joined the US in signing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran in 2015, and they all immediately backed away from President Donald Trump’s decision Tuesday to pull out of it. In making his announcement, Trump cited the agreement’s deep flaws, which in his view make it worse than having no nuclear deal at all.
The other signatories’ criticism of Trump’s announcement was unanimous, worded more or less strongly, depending on the country.
Noting that the European Union “regrets” the president’s statement, the EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini’s statement called the deal “crucial for the security of the region, of Europe and of the entire world.” She added that since the EU believes Iran is implementing its part of the accord, “The European Union is determined to preserve it.”
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/signatories-iran-deal-vow-stay-despite-trump-pull/?


Iran-backed rebels in Yemen fire missiles at Saudi capital
 May 9, 2018
Iran-backed rebels in Yemen fire missiles at Saudi capitalHouthi forces launch a missile. (Screenshot)
Houthi rebels, outfitted by Iran, fired rockets at Saudi Arabia.
By: AP
Yemen’s Shiite rebels fired ballistic missiles at the Saudi capital on Wednesday, according to the rebels and Saudi state TV, which said they were intercepted by the military.
The cross-border attack by the Iran-allied rebels, known as Houthis, came amid mounting regional tensions after US President Donald Trump decided to withdraw from the nuclear agreement with Tehran.
Saudi forces have intercepted Houthi missiles several times since March 2015, when a Saudi-led coalition launched a war against the rebels and their allies after they captured much of northern Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa.
There was no immediate comment on the strikes on Riyadh from the Saudi military, which said it had intercepted two missiles fired across the border at the southern Jizan province, hundreds of miles away.
The rebel-run Al-Masirah TV said Wednesday’s missiles hit their targets with “high accuracy.”
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/iran-backed-rebels-yemen-fire-missiles-saudi-capital/?



Iran plots next move under nuclear deal after US withdrawal
 May 9, 2018
Iran plots next move under nuclear deal after US withdrawalIranian President Hassan Rouhani (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)
Rouhani described the US’ presence in the nuclear deal as “a nuisance,” and said Iran would determine the deal’s fate in the coming weeks.
By: World Israel News Staff
President Hassan Rouhani ordered Iran’s Foreign Ministry to consult with the remaining signatory countries within the next few weeks regarding the nuclear deal’s future in light of the US’ withdrawal. Specifically, Iran must decide whether to stay in the deal or drop it completely.
Speaking on Iranian TV minutes after President Donald Trump announced the US’ exit from the Iran nuclear deal and the immediate re-imposition of sanctions against Tehran, Rouhani asserted that the nuclear deal is now an agreement between Iran and the five remaining countries.
Going on the offensive, Rouhani described the US presence in nuclear deal as “a nuisance,” and claimed that Washington had not fulfilled its obligations under the pact “from the beginning.”
He also asserted that the US “aims to pressure Iran with psychological and economic war, but it will fail to do so,” claiming that the US’ withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) will “unite the Iranian nation and will promote their commitment.”
Rouhani said that his government has taken required measures and the US decision will not cause major problems for Iran’s economy, a contention that flies in the face of the current economic crisis facing his nation which is one of the worst in its history.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/iran-will-decide-fate-of-nuclear-deal-in-coming-weeks/?

World Israel News
Obama, Kerry Slam Trump’s Withdrawal from Iran Deal
May 9, 2018
Obama, Kerry slam Trump’s withdrawal from Iran nuclear dealFormer President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State John Kerry. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
call the president’s announcement to nix it a “serious mistake.”
By: Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News
It was the signature deal of Barack Obama’s presidency, and President Trump’s dramatic announcement Tuesday that he was withdrawing from it engendered very sharp reactions from both the former president and his secretary of state, John Kerry, who oversaw the negotiations with Iran.
Obama reiterated the main argument he made when Congress was debating in 2015 whether to agree to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the formal name of the nuclear accord.
“Without the JCPOA, the United States could eventually be left with a losing choice between a nuclear-armed Iran or another war in the Middle East,” he said, adding that a nuclear Iran “could embolden an already dangerous regime; threaten our friends with destruction; pose unacceptable dangers to America’s own security; and trigger an arms race in the world’s most dangerous region.”
He also invoked the upcoming US negotiations with North Korea as another reason why the president’s decision was “so misguided.”
“The consistent flouting of agreements that our country is a party to, risks eroding America’s credibility, and puts us at odds with the world’s major powers,” his statement continued.
What Obama left out of his statement is that the JCPOA was an international compact that was entered into by the United States only through an executive agreement signed by Obama. It was never a treaty ratified by Congress. The White House deliberately constructed it differently since a treaty needs to be approved by two-thirds of Congress, a hurdle which many believe the JCPOA never could have overcome.
Indeed, over 50 senators voted to disapprove the deal the three times they tried, while in the House of Representatives the various resolutions introduced against different parts of the deal were handily won by deal’s opponents. However, the requirement in this case was to get veto-proof and filibuster-proof majorities to kill the accord, and this could not be done.
Kerry claims withdrawal hurts Israel
Kerry’s condemnation of the pullout perhaps surprisingly mentioned Israel specifically as being a potential loser from Trump’s move, even though Jerusalem has always stood firmly against the accord and praised Trump unstintingly for keeping his campaign promise to get America out of the “horrible deal,” as Trump repeatedly called it.
“Today’s announcement weakens our security, breaks America’s word, isolates us from our European allies, puts Israel at greater risk, empowers Iran’s hardliners, and reduces our global leverage to address Tehran’s misbehavior, while damaging the ability of future Administrations to make international agreements,” Kerry said in his statement.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/obama-kerry-slam-trumps-withdrawal-iran-nuclear-deal/?


WATCH: Counter-terrorism expert debunks Obama’s Iran deal reaction
https://worldisraelnews.com/counter-terrorism-expert-debunks-obamas-iran-deal-reaction/?
 May 9, 2018
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While former president Barack Obama says abandoning the Iran nuclear agreement poses “unacceptable dangers to America’s own security,” Republican congressman and counter-terrorism expert Brian Mast casts serious doubt on Obama’s statement.
https://worldisraelnews.com/counter-terrorism-expert-debunks-obamas-iran-deal-reaction/?
Fox News
Published on 8 May 2018
Former president says abandoning the JCPOA poses 'unacceptable dangers to America's own security'; reaction from Republican Congressman Brian Mast on 'Fox News @ Night with Shannon Bream.'
Fox News
Published on 8 May 2018
Former president says abandoning the JCPOA poses 'unacceptable dangers to America's own security'; reaction from Republican Congressman Brian Mast on 'Fox News @ Night with Shannon Bream.'
Obama criticizes Trump's decision to exit Iran deal
WATCH https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=20&v=ZScUaHnTLco&ab_channel=FoxNews

Trump to announce decision on Iran nuclear deal on Tuesday
 May 7, 2018
Trump to announce decision on Iran nuclear deal on TuesdayUS President Donald Trump (AP/Carolyn Kaster)
The US president says he will announce his decision on whether to keep the US in the Iran nuclear deal on Tuesday.
By: AP and World Israel News Staff
US President Donald Trump was expected to announce his decision on whether to uphold the 2015 nuclear deal, which he has long criticized, by his May 12 deadline. The American leader has signaled he will pull out of the agreement unless it is revised, but he faces intense pressure from European allies not to do so.
“I will be announcing my decision on the Iran Deal tomorrow from the White House at 2:00pm,” Trump tweeted Monday.
The president has been the subject of an intense lobbying effort by American allies to maintain the agreement, with British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson making a last-ditch appeal to the administration in a visit to Washington this week. European leaders say that they are open to negotiating a side agreement with Iran but that the existing framework must remain untouched for that to happen.
Earlier Monday, Trump criticized former Secretary of State John Kerry after reports that he has been promoting the Iran nuclear deal.
Trump said on Twitter: “The United States does not need John Kerry’s possibly illegal Shadow Diplomacy on the very badly negotiated Iran Deal. He was the one that created this MESS in the first place!”
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/trump-announce-decision-iran-nuclear-deal-tuesday/?


Israeli minister warns Assad: Get Iran out of Syria or get killed
 May 7, 2018
Israeli minister warns Assad: Get Iran out of Syria or get killedSyrian President Bashar al-Assad (AP/Ibrahim Usta)
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Energy Minister Steinitz warned that if Assad continues to keep Iranian military bases in Syria, “he will have his blood on his head.”
By: World Israel News Staff
“If Syrian President Bashar Assad continues allowing the Iranians to operate out of Syria, it will be the end of him, the end of his regime,” Energy Minister and Cabinet member Yuval Steinitz said Monday in an interview with Ynet.
According to Israeli government officials, Iran – furious over the recent attacks on its Syrian weapons depot and drone unit, among other Iranian targets allegedly hit by Israel over the past month in that war-torn country – could be preparing an attack on northern Israel in the near future, Channel 2 news reported Sunday evening.
“If Assad allows Iran to turn Syria into a forward operating base against us, to attack us from Syrian soil, he should know that will spell his end,” Steinitz declared.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/israeli-minister-warns-assad-get-iran-out-of-syria-or-get-killed/?


WATCH: City workers in Jerusalem put up US Embassy street signs
 May 7, 2018
https://worldisraelnews.com/watch-city-workers-jerusalem-put-us-embassy-street-signs/?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bk0LuOv9j0
Road signs go up for US Embassy in Jerusalem
euronews (in English)
Published on 7 May 2018
The road signs went up a week before the US Embassy's opening, which will coincide with the 70th anniversary of Israel's founding. …
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2018/05/07/ro..
Road signs go up for US Embassy in Jerusalem
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bk0LuOv9j0&ab_channel=euronews%28inEnglish%29



Hamas blames Israel for mysterious blast that killed 6, vows revenge
 May 7, 2018
Hamas has vowed to avenge the death of six of its members whom they claim were killed in “a complex security mission after revealing a large spying system” planted by Israel.
By: World Israel News Staff
The Hamas terror organization on Sunday blamed Israel for Saturday’s blast in the Gaza Strip that killed six members of its military wing and vowed to avenge their deaths.
A press statement released by Hamas’ al-Qassam Brigades on Sunday said that six of its members were killed in “a complex security mission after revealing a large spying system” planted by Israel in Gaza.
The blast is widely believed to the result of a “work accident” in which a massive explosive charge went off prematurely.
Israel’s Ynet reported that the terrorists were working to dismantle an unexploded missile fired by Israel.
However, Hamas attempted to depict the incident as a heroic action “to protect the Palestinian people.”
“By sacrificing their lives, our fighters were able to protect the Palestinian people and the resistance from an eminent danger,” the Brigades claimed in the statement. “As a result, a large intelligence scheme set by the Israeli occupation has been thwarted.”
Hamas said that full details of “the complex security operation will be revealed to the public soon.”
The terrorist organization holds Israel in “full and direct responsibility for the killing and vowed to take painful revenge.”
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/hamas-blames-israel-for-mysterious-blast-that-killed-6-vows-revenge/?


WATCH: Abbas honors ‘precious, beloved’ mother of 5 terrorists
 May 7, 2018
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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas continued his policy of glorifying terror against Israeli civilians by honoring the mother of five terrorists, including two murderers.
Abbas honors mother of 5 terrorists, including 2 murderers
palwatch
Uploaded on 7 May 2018
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this video do not represent those of Palestinian Media Watch in any way. PMW monitors and analyzes the Palestinian Authority through its media and schoolbooks. For more info visit: http://palwatch.org.  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9IdiTs59C8


‘Nazi Grandma’ evades prison term
 May 7, 2018
‘Nazi Grandma’ evades prison termHolocaust denier Ursula Haverbeck in court. (Friso Gentsch/dpa via AP)
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Ursula Haverbeck, an infamous German neo-Nazi who was sent to prison for denying the Holocaust, is fleeing justice.
By: AP and World Israel News Staff
A Holocaust survivors’ group is urging German authorities to intensify their search for a notorious neo-Nazi who didn’t show up for her prison sentence.
The International Auschwitz Committee said Sunday it hopes that Ursula Haverbeck, 89, who has been sentenced to two years in prison for incitement and Holocaust denial, will soon be found.
Haverbeck was convicted of Holocaust denial in September 2016 for a letter she wrote to the mayor of Detmold when Reinhold Hanning, a former SS Auschwitz guard, was on trial, claiming the notorious Nazi death camp was merely a labor camp and calling survivors “alleged witnesses.”
In 2015 she was convicted for a similar statement in an interview outside the trial of Oskar Groening, another former SS Auschwitz guard, in Lueneburg. She was convicted of Holocaust denial in November 2016 as well.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/nazi-grandma-evades-prison-term/?


WATCH: E-Commerce giant Alibaba’s Jack Ma meets with Netanyahu
 May 7, 2018
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Jack Ma, founder and executive chairman of  Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, in Jerusalem. Ma, who is visiting Israel with a group of 28 young Alibaba group presidents, said he was impressed by the business opportunities in Israel.
PM Netanyahu Meets Founder & Executive Chairman of Alibaba Group Jack Ma
WATCH 2.37 MINS VIDEO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APKJ4WsNjBw


Report: Syrian soldiers who downed Israeli fighter jet killed in blast
 May 7, 2018
Report: Syrian soldiers who downed Israeli fighter jet killed in blast(Shutterstock)
 Has Israel settled another score with adversaries in Syria?
By: World Israel News Staff
The Syrian soldiers responsible for the downing of an Israeli Air Force F-16 fighter as it was returning from an operation in Syria in February were killed in a blast over the weekend.
At least eight soldiers, apparently senior officers in Syria’s aerial defense, were killed in an explosion as they were driving towards the Tyas Airbase, where they were stationed, reports indicate.
They were members of Syria’s 150 Battalion, which is entrusted with operating the S-200 aerial defense batteries, according to the reports.
It is yet unknown who carried out the attack. Analysts say that based on photos from the site, the blast was caused by a roadside explosive device rather than a missile launched from a plane.
Syria has remained silent on the incident.
The downing of Israel’s F-16 occurred on Feb. 10 after an Iranian drone infiltrated Israeli airspace from Syria. Israel shot down the drone and then attacked what it said was an Iranian command center, located at the T4 base. Israeli planes came under anti-aircraft fire, and one was struck. Israel responded by destroying Syrian anti-aircraft positions.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/report-syrian-soldiers-downed-israeli-fighter-jet-killed-blast/?

Revealed: New details about Mossad’s ‘greatest operation’, exposing Iran’s secret nuclear program
 May 2, 2018
“From an operational aspect, this is amazing, and all credit goes to the Mossad people. This is one of the greatest intelligence operations in the State of Israel’s history,” Israel’s Intelligence Minister said. 
By: World Israel News Staff
New details have emerged about the Mossad’s daring mission in Tehran through it successfully captured half a ton of documents on Iran’s secret and illicit nuclear program.
A New York Times report on Monday quoted a “senior Israeli official” who said that Israel’s Mossad intelligence service discovered the warehouse located in the Shorabad suburb in southern Tehran in February 2016, and had the building under surveillance since then.
“From the outside, this was an innocent looking compound. It looks like a dilapidated warehouse. But from the inside, it contained Iran’s secret atomic archives locked in massive files,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday when he exposed Project Amad, Iran’s secret project to build a nuclear bomb.
“Few Iranians knew where it was, very few, and also a few Israelis,” Netanyahu added.
Mossad operatives broke into the building one night last January, removed the original documents and smuggled them back to Israel the same night, the Times said.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/new-details-reveal-mossads-daring-tehran-intelligence-heist/?


Iran threatens to respond to Israeli strikes in Syria
 May 2, 2018
Iran threatens to respond to Israeli strikes in SyriaAlaeddin Boroujerdi, the chairman of the Iranian parliament's national security committee (PressTV)
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Iran will retaliate against Israel “at the appropriate time and place,” a senior Iranian official declared. 
By: AP
A senior Iranian official declared Tuesday the Islamic Republic will respond “at the appropriate time and place” to purported Israeli missile strikes that killed Iranian troops in Syria.
The comments by Alaeddin Boroujerdi, the chairman of the Iranian parliament’s national security committee, were the first to directly address the attack Sunday night on outposts in northern Syria, widely believed to have been carried out by Israel.
A war monitoring group and an Iranian news agency said the strikes killed more than a dozen pro-government fighters, many of them Iranians.
“Aggression of the Zionist entity against the presence of our military advisers in Syria gives us the right to respond at the appropriate place and time,” Boroujerdi said at a press conference in the Syrian capital
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/iran-threatens-respond-israeli-strikes-syria-appropriate-time-place/?


WATCH: Netanyahu given power to declare war in ‘extreme circumstances’
 May 2, 2018
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The Knesset on Monday gave the prime minister the authority to declare war or order a major military operation in “extreme” situations by consulting only the defense minister, and not via a full cabinet vote as the law had previously required.

Israeli Defense MinisterIsraeli Prime MinisterNetanyahu
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=9&v=AEjjibOtmIo




Trump proclaims May ‘Jewish American Heritage Month’
 May 2, 2018
Trump proclaims May ‘Jewish American Heritage Month’President Donald Trump (AP/Alex Brandon)
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Trump praised Jewish Americans for their contributions to public service, educational institutions, and critical civil rights activism, which have “have made the world a better place.”
By: JNS
US President Donald Trump declared May “Jewish American Heritage Month,” marking the 12th year of the celebration of Jewish Americans.
“Jewish Americans have helped guide the moral character of our Nation,” the proclamation stated. “They have maintained a strong commitment to engage deeply in American society while also preserving their historic values and traditions. Their passion for social justice and showing kindness to strangers is rooted in the beliefs that God created all people in his image, and that we all deserve dignity and peace.”
He praised Jewish Americans for their contributions in building public service and educational institutions, and taking part in critical civil-rights activism, actions that “have made the world a better place.”
He also lauded the Jewish community for their “enduring tradition of generosity,” which has led them to act as “a light unto the nations” with philanthropic and humanitarian projects, as well as major achievements in science and medicine.
Jewish American Heritage Month began under President George W. Bush in 2006 and has been continued by all presidents since.
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US slams Abbas’ anti-Semitic rant as ‘new low’
 May 2, 2018
US slams Abbas’ anti-Semitic rant as ‘new low’Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas (AP/Majdi Mohammed)
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“Abu Mazen  has reached a new low in attributing the cause of massacres of Jewish people over the years to their ‘social behavior relating to interest and banks,'” Ambassador Friedman stated. 
By: World Israel News Staff
Senior US officials castigated Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud Abbas for an anti-Semitic speech he delivered to the Palestinian leadership in which he alleged that the Jews’ own conduct caused anti-Semitism and that Jewish usury caused the Holocaust.
US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman stated on Twitter that “Abu Mazen [Abbas] has reached a new low in attributing the cause of massacres of Jewish people over the years to their ‘social behavior relating to interest and banks’.”
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WATCH: Killing the Iran deal sends right message to North Korea, expert says
 May 2, 2018
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Lt. Colonel Michael Waltz (Ret.), a former Green Beret and current Congressional Candidate weighs in on the future of the Iran nuclear deal.
Iran and North KoreaIran nuclear deal
https://worldisraelnews.com/watch-killing-iran-deal-sends-right-message-north-korea-expert-says/?


Firing back at international condemnations over Gaza border casualties
 April 29, 2018
Firing back at international condemnations over Gaza border casualtiesPalestinians burn giant Israeli flag during violent protests at Gaza border, Apr. 6, 2018. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)
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Leading international legal experts says Israel is following agreements set in the 1995 Olso II accords that envisage the dangers inherent in attempts to approach the border.  
By Steve Leibowitz, World Israel News
UN Human Rights chief Zeid Ra’ad demanded that Israel stop the  “excessive use of force” by its security forces along the Gaza border and hold to account those responsible for the “many deaths and injuries” sustained by Palestinians in the past month.
Amnesty International went even further, calling for an arms embargo against Israel along with a “war crimes” investigation at the International Criminal Court.
Palestinian attacks on the border are expected to continue each Friday for several more weeks.
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Japanese prime minister in Israel on official visit
 May 2, 2018
Japanese prime minister in Israel on official visitJapanese PM Shinzō Abe and his wife arrive at Ben Gurion Airport. (Avi Ohayon/GPO)
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Japan’s Prime Minister Abe is on his second visit to the Jewish state to bolster ties between the two countries.
By: World Israel News Staff
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe arrived in Israel on Tuesday, his second official visit to the Jewish state.
Abe is accompanied by his wife and a delegation of senior Japanese business leaders.
Upon arriving, the Japanese premier drove to Ramallah to meet with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.
Abe is slated to hold a small meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which will be followed by an extended working meeting chaired by the two prime ministers.
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In Israel, ‘Lag B’Omer’ means bonfires, barbecues and Mount Meron
 May 2, 2018
In Israel, ‘Lag B’Omer’ means bonfires, barbecues and Mount MeronChildren and their parents make a bonfire for Lag B'Omer. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90
While the Torah lists three pilgrimage festivals, Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot, the largest annual Jewish pilgrimage these days will take place this week during the lesser known holy day of “Lag B’Omer.”
By: Alex Traiman/JNS
An estimated 250,000 Israelis—men, women and children—are expected to travel to the gravesite of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai in the small northern village of Meron (technically, a moshav) in the Upper Galilee near Tzfat over a two- to three-day period that commences on Wednesday evening, which begins the 33rd day of the 49-day counting of the Omer between Passover and Shavuot.
The 33rd day, known as “Lag B’Omer,” is associated with the anniversary of the passing (yahrtzeit) of the Mishnaic sage and Kabbalist Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, also known by the acronym “Rashbi.” It is believed that on the day of his passing, he revealed for the first time teachings that constitute a significant portion of the Zohar, the foundational book of Jewish mysticism.
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Report: Trump may allow Jonathan Pollard to immigrate to Israel
April 30, 2018
Report: Trump may allow Jonathan Pollard to immigrate to IsraelJonathan Pollard (AP/Bebeto Matthews)
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As US-Israel relations are at an all-time high, many are hoping that the Trump administration will allow Jonathan Pollard, a former American intelligence analyst who spied for Israel, to come to Jerusalem.
By: World Israel News Staff
The Trump administration is seriously considering allowing Jonathan Pollard, a former intelligence analyst for the US government who pleaded guilty in 1987 of spying for Israel and providing it with classified information, to move to Israel, US and Israeli officials at The Jerusalem Post Conference in New York said Sunday.
Originally sentenced to life in prison, Pollard was freed in 2015, albeit with restrictions, among which he is prohibited from leaving the US.
In his defense, Pollard said that he committed espionage because “the American intelligence establishment collectively endangered Israel’s security by withholding crucial information.”
Pollard is the only US citizen who has received a life sentence for passing classified information to an American ally, and several American-Israeli groups as well as US and Israeli politicians have lobbied in his defense, saying the punishment exceeds the crime.
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Three more terrorists killed in violent attempts to infiltrate Israel from Gaza
April 30, 2018
Three more terrorists killed in violent attempts to infiltrate Israel from GazaFuneral in southern Gaza Strip of Abdulselam Bakir, 32, who was killed at the Israel-Gaza border during clashes with IDF forces, April 28, 2018. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)
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According to a senior IDF officer, the Hamas government is controlling and managing the violence and intentionally sending women, children and disabled people to the border.
By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News
Two more unsuccessful attempts were made to infiltrate Israel Sunday evening in the Hamas-led hostilities at the Gaza border.
In the first incident, IDF forces killed one of two terrorists trying to infiltrate Israel from the southern part of the Strip and captured the other.
In the second, two more terrorists breached the fence and threw a firebomb at IDF soldiers guarding the area. The soldiers accurately returned fire, killing both.
This brings the number of terrorists killed to 44 over the past five weeks of violent demonstrations at the Gaza border that the Palestinians are calling the “March of Return.” A few thousand have been injured as well, whether from inhalation of tear gas, rubber bullets or live fire from the snipers the IDF has stationed at the border to prevent infiltrations.
Last Friday, hundreds of Arabs rushed a barbed wire fence within Gaza to try and dismantle it in what was the most violent attempt yet to cross the barrier, according to a senior IDF officer. The army responded with riot-control measures and live bullets under threatening circumstances.
The response was necessary to prevent those throwing firebombs, rolling burning tires, and making other attempts to physically tear down the security infrastructure from entering Israeli territory. According to the officer, the Hamas government is controlling and managing the violence and intentionally sending women, children and disabled people to the border.
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Romanian president blasts PM’s ‘secret’ Israel trip, demands resignation
April 27, 2018
Romanian president blasts PM’s ‘secret’ Israel trip, demands resignationRomanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila (R) visits Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, April 25, 2018. (AP/Tsafrir Abayov)
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Romania’s president censured his country’s prime minister for embarking on a visit to Israel and declaring support for moving the embassy to Jerusalem without his consent.
By: AP
Romania’s president has slammed the country’s prime minister for embarking on a visit to Israel without his authorization.
Klaus Iohannis blasted what he described as the “absurd secrecy” surrounding the two-day visit this week of Premier Viorica Dancila to Israel.
“Mrs. Dancila is not up to the job of prime minister of Romania and as a result the government is becoming a liability for Romania. That is why I am publicly calling for Mrs. Dancila’s resignation,” Iohannis said on Friday.
This latest spat comes just a week after Iohannis said Dancila had allegedly overstepped the mark in saying Bucharest was ready to follow the US and move the country’s embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.
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WATCH: Emotional Israeli judoka gold medalist sings national anthem
April 29, 2018
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Israeli Judoka Sagi Muki won the gold medal at the European Judo Championships, which are being held in Tel Aviv. At the awards ceremony, an emotional Muki later sang “Hatikva” (The Hope), Israel’s national anthem, as the audience joined in.

WATCH https://worldisraelnews.com/watch-emotional-israeli-judoka-gold-medalist-sings-national-anthem/?


Dozens in Poland protest US bill demanding restitution of Jewish property
April 26, 2018
Dozens in Poland protest US bill demanding restitution of Jewish propertyProzna Street, in the heart of what was the Jewish quarter before World War II in Warsaw, Poland. (AP/Czarek Sokolowski)
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Polish nationalists demonstrated at the US embassy in Warsaw against a bill passed in Congress supporting Holocaust victims and their families in recovering property owned before WWII.
By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News
The American embassy in Poland’s capital was the scene of a small rally Wednesday as dozens of the country’s nationalists gathered to protest the issue of compensating Jews for properties lost during the Holocaust.
US legislation was the target of their ire as the House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill the previous day to support Holocaust victims and their families in recovering or being compensated for assets owned before World War II. This follows a unanimous vote for the JUST (Justice for Uncompensated Survivors Today) Act in the Senate last December, and now goes to President Trump for his expected signature to turn it into law.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/dozens-poland-protest-restitution-jewish-property/?


Israel bombs Hamas targets in response to cross-border violence
April 29, 2018
Israel bombs Hamas targets in response to cross-border violenceA Palestinian rioter on the security fence. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)
The IAF bombed several Hamas targets in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led, cross-border violence.
By: World Israel News Staff
Israel’s Air Force (IAF) on Friday night bombed several Hamas targets in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led cross border violence earlier in the day.
Some 10,000 Palestinian rioters burned tires, threw Molotov cocktails, flew kites with flaming objects attached to them and carried out terror attacks while attempting to infiltrate Israel on Friday as part of the latest round of protests and clashes on the Gaza-Israel border.
Hundreds of rioters attempted to infiltrate Israel and burn the security fence adjacent to the Karni Crossing in the northern Gaza Strip
The rioters approached the security fence, hurled rocks and firebombs and tried to light the fence on fire. In response, IDF troops used riot dispersal means and, when needed, “operated in accordance with the rules of engagement,” using live fire against rioters and thwarting the attempted infiltration, the IDF stated.
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WATCH: Israeli team discovers genetic memory
April 29, 2018
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Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have stumbled on an astonishing find that links genetic markers in brain cells to memory.
WATCH 1.40mins
Israeli Team Finds Memories Are Part Of Our Genes - Apr. 26, 2018
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggBb6q0GHPE



Israel’s UN ambassador exposes Iranian recruitment center in Syria
April 29, 2018
Israel’s UN ambassador exposes Iranian recruitment center in SyriaAmbassador Danny Danon addresses the UNSC. (Facebook)
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Danon exposed another major component of Iran’s military presence in Syria: a center for recruiting Shia terrorists.
By: World Israel News Staff
Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon on Friday addressed the Security Council (UNSC) debate on the Middle East and presented new information about Iran’s presence in Syria, including an aerial photo of an Iranian-run induction and recruitment center for Shia militias.
“There are over 80,000 extremists from all over the Middle East who are members of Shia militias in Syria under Iranian control. What you see here in this image is Iran’s central induction and recruitment center in Syria,” Danon told the Security Council.
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Ben Gurion Airport gets huge makeover as Israeli tourism on rise
April 25, 2018
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Ben Gurion International Airport has just announced a massive new expansion to the tune of $1 billion shekels, or a quarter of a billion US dollars, as Israel hits a record number of tourists.
https://worldisraelnews.com/ben-gurion-airport-gets-huge-makeover-as-israeli-tourism-on-rise/?

Ben Gurion Airport Getting Makeover As Israeli Tourism On Rise - Apr. 25, 2018
WATCH .2.53 MINS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5O8LAr_imcM


Amid skepticism, North Korea to close nuke test site in May
April 29, 2018
Amid skepticism, North Korea to close nuke test site in MayNorth Korean leader Kim Jong Un (L) and South Korean President Moon Jae-in. (Korea Summit Press Pool via AP)
North Korea’s leader has vowed to shut down his country’s nuclear testing site in May and open the process to Western media.
By: AP
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has vowed to shut down the country’s nuclear test site in May and open the process to experts and journalists from South Korea and the United States, Seoul’s presidential office said Sunday.
The event may serve as a dramatic setup to Kim’s crucial nuclear negotiations with President Donald Trump that may take place in the next few weeks amid widespread skepticism on whether the North will ever fully surrender its nuclear weapons.
Kim made the comments during his summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Friday at a border truce village, where he also expressed optimism about his meeting with Trump, saying the US president will learn he’s “not a person” to fire missiles toward the United States, Moon’s spokesman Yoon Young-chan said.
Moon and Kim during the summit promised to work toward the “complete denuclearization” of the Korean Peninsula, but made no references to verification or timetables. Seoul had also shuttled between Pyongyang and Washington to set up a potential meeting between Kim and Trump, which is expected next month or early June.
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Saudi Crown Prince: Palestinians should negotiate peace or ‘shut up’
April 30, 2018
Saudi Crown Prince: Palestinians should negotiate peace or ‘shut up’Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (AP/Francois Mori)
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“It is about time the Palestinians take the proposals and agree to come to the negotiations table or shut up and stop complaining,” Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman stated.

By: World Israel News Staff

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman said the Palestinian leadership needs to accept the peace plans proposed by the US or stop complaining and that the Arab world has lost interest in the so-called Palestinian issue.

In a closed-door meeting with heads of Jewish organizations in New York in March, Bin Salman harshly criticized Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinians’ diplomatic conduct over the past 40 years, according to a report by American news site Axious. The report cited an Israeli foreign ministry cable sent by a diplomat from the Israeli consulate in New York as well three other sources – Israeli and American – who were briefed about the meeting.

According to the report, the Saudi Crown Prince told the Jewish leaders that “in the last several decades, the Palestinian leadership has missed one opportunity after the other and rejected all peace proposals. It is about time the Palestinians take the proposals and agree to come to the negotiations table or shut up and stop complaining.”

He also noted that the Palestinian issue was not a top priority for the Saudi government or Saudi public opinion, saying that Saudi Arabia “has much more urgent and important issues to deal with,” such as confronting Iran’s belligerent expansion in the Middle East.

While leveling harsh criticism against the Palestinians, Ben Salman conceded that in order for Saudi Arabia and other Arab states to normalize relations with Israel, at least some progress on the Israeli-Palestinian diplomatic process would have to be made. He did not demand a final status agreement.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/saudi-crown-prince-palestinians-accept-peace-plan-shut/?

WATCH: Macron talks with Rouhani to save the Iran nuclear deal
April 30, 2018
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French President Macron has opened a dialogue with the Iranian president in an attempt to modify the terms of the Iran nuclear deal before Trump’s May 12 deadline.


Emmanuel MacronHassan RouhaniIran nuclear deal
Rouhani and Macron in talks to save the Iran Nuclear Deal
Less than a Min video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuZwOCZ3oJY

https://worldisraelnews.com/analysts-pompeo-plans-rock-iranian-world/?Analysts: Pompeo plans to rock the Iranian world
April 30, 2018
Analysts: Pompeo plans to rock the Iranian worldSecretary of State Mike Pompeo (AP/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
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After meeting Netanyahu, the new American secretary of state makes it clear: “If Iran nuclear deal can’t be fixed, it will be nixed.”

By Steve Leibowitz, World Israel News

“We remain deeply concerned about Iran’s dangerous escalation of threats toward Israel and the region.” Those words came from new US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who made the Middle East his first trip abroad only a few days into the job.

Largely ignoring the Israeli-Palestinian issue, Pompeo met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at IDF military headquarters in Tel Aviv Sunday, where he vowed to “fix or nix” the “flawed’ Iran nuclear agreement, declaring that strong ties with allies like Israel are “critical to our efforts to counter Iran’s destabilizing and malign activity throughout the Middle East, and indeed throughout the world.”

Pompeo said Washington is also focusing on “non-nuclear threats” posed by the Islamic Republic, including its missile systems, support for Hezbollah, fighters in Syria and assistance to Houthi rebels in Yemen.

When Pompeo finally commented on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it was to say, “The boundaries of Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem remain subject to negotiations between the parties,” and that Washington remains “committed to achieving a lasting and comprehensive peace that offers a brighter future for both Israel and the Palestinians.”

Pompeo then added that the Trump administration is “incredibly proud” to open the new embassy in Jerusalem on May 14th, noting that “by recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and the seat of its government, we’re recognizing reality.”

Lenny Ben David, a former leading official in the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), told World Israel News (WIN), “Pompeo’s track record dating back to his time in Congress has been very positive toward Israel. His time in the CIA deepened his connection to Israeli intelligence, and he developed a strong appreciation for Israeli capabilities. He is intimately aware of Israelis sharing data with the US. I cannot remember anyone in such a high position in the US government who had a better understanding of Israeli security needs.”

Asked why he thinks Pompeo is not meeting with the Palestinians, he said, “The threats to US interests come from the Iranians and not from the Palestinians. He is well aware of their incursions and mischief around the globe. Add to this that the Palestinian Authority is rejecting contact with the Trump Administration. In Saudi Arabia he heard Prince Mohammed bin Salman say the Palestinians need to either “put up or shut up.” According to Ben David, Pompeo is apparently now giving that same message to the Palestinians.

Trump’s 3 issues: Iran, Iran and Iran
Mark Zell, who heads Republicans in Israel, told WIN that Pompeo does not represent a new US policy direction.

“Under President Trump’s leadership, the top three issues for the US in the Middle East are Iran, Iran and Iran. This has been the case since day one. Having said that, we can see that Pompeo is quite proactive and uses a different tone than former Secretary of State Tillerson. Before even setting foot in his new office in Washington, Pompeo came to the Middle East on his first trip overseas. He visited Saudi Arabia and now Israel. His message is quite clear. He is pushing back against the Iranian nuclear program and against Iranian expansionism and support for terrorism throughout the region.

Middle East Analyst Amotz Asa-el told WIN, “On an emotional level, Pompeo is as pro-Israel as they get. He is a longtime, staunch supporter of Israel. The way he sees it, the Palestinians are a non-factor. He wants to focus on Iran because they are the de-stabilizing force in the Middle East.”

According to Asa-el, “The grand peace plan of Trump was rejected by the Palestinians, so they are irrelevant. He plans to move more forcefully against Iran because they destabilize the entire Middle East. Of course he wants to undo Iran’s nuclear ambitions. But even more than that, he believes that the Islamic regime in Iran can ultimately be toppled. He plans to speak directly to the Iranian people and its silent majority that seeks to depose the radical Islamic regime.”

Analysis: US Rejection of Term ‘Occupied Territories’ Brings Peace Closer
 April 26, 2018
Analysis: US Rejection of Term ‘Occupied Territories’ Brings Peace CloserNew neighborhood in Efrat, an established city in Judea. (Gershon Elinson/Flash90)
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The State Department’s omission of the word ‘occupied’ when referring to the territory of Judea and Samaria may ultimately facilitate a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.

By: Daniel Krygier, World Israel News

A US State Department report recently dropped the word ”occupied” in reference to Judea and Samaria for the first time since 1979. In isolation, this move may seem insignificant, but it may also indicate a new US Middle East policy in the making that could facilitate a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/analysis-state-depts-rejection-of-term-occupied-territories-could-bring-peace-closer/?



Liberman: If Iran attacks Tel Aviv, Israel will strike Tehran and destroy every threat
 April 26, 2018
Liberman: If Iran attacks Tel Aviv, Israel will strike Tehran and destroy every threatDefense Minister Avigdor Liberman meets with IDF soldiers. (Ariel Hermoni/MoD)
Israeli defense minister sends stern warning to the Islamic Republic after a senior Iranian official vowed to punish Israel for a recent airstrike in Syria.
By: Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News
In an interview with the London-based Saudi news site Elaph published Thursday, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman minced no words when it came to recent Iranian threats to “punish the Zionist entity” for its recent actions in Syria.
“If Iran attacks Tel Aviv, Israel will strike Tehran and destroy every Iranian military site that threatens Israel in Syria, whatever the price,” Liberman stated unequivocally.
He was reacting to statements being made by various senior Iranian officials over the last two weeks that Israel would be held accountable for a missile strike April 9th on a Syrian base that killed seven Iranian Quds Force members, including the head of their drone unit. Although Israel has not officially taken responsibility for the attack, a senior IDF officer confirmed it anonymously to the New York Times a week later.
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Trump: Iran screamed ‘Death to America’ with Obama, not with me
https://worldisraelnews.com/watch-iran-screamed-death-america-obama-not/?
 April 26, 2018
Trump slammed Obama’s policy on Iran, claiming the Islamic Republic understands that America is tougher with the regime and has cut down on the violent rhetoric, in spite of the fact that this week Iran’s senior admiral threatened to sink US ships.
#10 ON TRENDING
Exclusive Interview: President Trump on Fox & Friends
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Published on 26 Apr 2018
President Trump calls into 'Fox & Friends' to discuss Ronny Jackson's withdrawal, Michael Cohen and the possible North Korea summit. Also, the president says he is disappointed in his Justice Department, calls Comey's book a big mistake and thanks Kanye West for his support.
FOX News Channel (FNC) is a 24-hour all-encompassing news service dedicated to delivering breaking news as well as political and business news. The number one network in cable, FNC has been the most watched television news channel for more than 15 years and according to a Suffolk University/USA Today poll, is the most trusted television news source in the country. Owned by 21st Century Fox, FNC is available in more than 90 million homes and dominates the cable news landscape, routinely notching the top ten programs in the genre.
WATCH 30 MINS  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lu_Hgw60Ns


9 teens dead, several wounded and 1 missing in flash floods
 April 26, 2018
9 teens dead, several wounded and 1 missing in flash floodsZAKA first responders collect the bodies of dead teens, Apr. 26, 2018. (ZAKA)
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At least nine high school students have died and several others were wounded when their field trip was disrupted by flash floods. One teen remains missing.
By: World Israel News Staff
At least nine high school students have died and several others went missing on Thursday when the field trip they were on in the south of the country was disrupted by flash floods.
The group of 25 high school students from the Bnei Zion pre-military academy in Tel Aviv was hiking at the Tsafit stream in the Arava valley, near the Dead Sea, when the area was hit by massive flooding.
Some students managed to escape to high grounds, while others were swept by the floods.
Rescue units, including the IDF’s 669 Search and Rescue Unit, were alerted to scene.
Sheba Hospital in Be’er Sheva has prepared special teams to treat the victims.
Police are investigating why the school did not cancel the trip, despite the dangerous weather conditions.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/5-teens-dead-several-missing-in-flash-floods/?


WATCH: What can be expected if the US pulls out of the Iran nuclear deal?
https://worldisraelnews.com/watch-can-expected-us-pulls-iran-nuclear-deal/? April 26, 2018
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With the confirmation of Mike Pompeo as US Secretary of State, the fate of the much maligned Iran nuclear deal appears bleak. Analyst Rebecca Bornstein discusses the “fixes” to the deal that must be made in order for the US Administration to remain a signatory to the agreement and what could happen if the Americans pull out.
THE IRAN DEAL AND MIKE POMPEO
i24 NEWS https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=70&v=JdPVsQE-yvo
The Iran Deal and Mike Pompeo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=70&v=JdPVsQE-yvo&ab_channel=i24NEWS



‘Kippah’ rally in Berlin draws thousands protesting anti-Semitism
 April 26, 2018
‘Kippah’ rally in Berlin draws thousands protesting anti-Semitism(Henning Kaiser/dpa via AP)
Analysts warn that anti-Semitism is growing, has spread through much of Europe, and there is no turning it back.
https://worldisraelnews.com/kippah-demonstration-berlin-draws-thousands-protesting-anti-semitism/?By Steve Leibowitz, World Israel News and AP

Germans of various faiths donned Jewish skullcaps and took to the streets Wednesday in several cities to protest an anti-Semitic attack in Berlin and express fears about growing hatred of Jews in the country. More than 2,000 people — Jews, Christians, Muslims and atheists — put on kippahs in a show of solidarity. Beyond that, hundreds of people also rallied in Cologne, Erfurt, Magdeburg and Potsdam.

The ‘kippah’ protest was triggered by the assault last week of two young men wearing skullcaps in an upscale neighborhood in the German capital. The 21-year-old victim was an Arab Israeli who wore the kippah in a show of solidarity with his Jewish friends. A video of the incident showed a young man whipping him violently with a belt while shouting “Yahudi!” — Jew in Arabic. A 19-year-old Syrian asylum-seeker is being held for the attack, which drew outrage in Germany and sharp condemnation by Chancellor Angela Merkel and other top German officials.

Berlin Mayor Michael Mueller told those gathered at the rally, “Today, we all wear the kippah. Today, Berlin is wearing the kippah.”

Elard Zuehlke, a 26-year-old non-Jewish Berliner, said he came to the rally in front of the city’s synagogue on Fasanenstrasse because “it cannot be that in Germany there is any kind of anti-Semitism — not in schools, not in public, not at work, not in politics, nowhere. This cannot be happening. Germany has to live up to its special responsibility.”

Earlier in the week, German-Jewish leader Josef Schuster said he would advise people visiting big cities against wearing Jewish skullcaps. Schuster’s comments on hiding the skullcap drew sharp criticism from other Jewish leaders, who say Jews should wear a kippah to show they’re not afraid. “Jewish identity is not something we should hide,” said Rabbi Yehuda Teichtal. “We have to be proud of who we are and at the same time fight anti-Semitism.”

Yesh Atid party leader Yair Lapid, who is in Germany to try and convince the European Union to define Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, joined the march as well.

“It is inconceivable that Jews would be afraid to wear kippot in Germany in 2018,” said the politician, who is the son of a Holocaust survivor. “I will not accept that we and our children are afraid as our parents and grandparents were afraid.” He concluded by saying that the message to anti-Semites should be, ‘You will fear us, we will not fear you.”

‘Germany not worst case of anti-Semitism in Europe’
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Israeli rights group sues Hamas for using children as human shields
 April 26, 2018
Israeli rights group sues Hamas for using children as human shieldsA Palestinian rioter on the Gaza border. (Abed 
Hamas officials are being sued at the International Criminal Court for war crimes over their recruitment of children to a militant organization.
By: Yair Altman/JNS
The Shurat Hadin Israel Law Center is seeking International Criminal Court (ICC) action against Hamas over the terrorist group’s use of children as human shields in the riots that have taken place on the Israel-Gaza border over the past month.
The lawsuit is based on a clause in the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC’s work, which says that recruiting children under the age of 15 to any militant organization is a war crime.
The suit names former Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal, deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri and money man Zahar Jabarin as guilty of war crimes, saying that as all three are nationals of Jordan, which is a signatory to the Rome Statute, they are subject to the court’s jurisdiction.
“The death of a 15-year-old boy near the Gaza border last week was a direct result of the war crimes committed by Hamas leaders against their own people,” said Shurat Hadin director Nitzana Darshan-Leitner.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/israeli-rights-group-sues-hamas-icc-using-children-human-shields/?


Report: Assassinated Hamas engineer was arms dealer
 April 26, 2018
Report: Assassinated Hamas engineer was arms dealerFuneral procession for Hamas engineer al-Batsh in Malaysia. (AP/Vincent Thian)
Al-Batsh served as a Hamas arms dealer in Malaysia, possibly buying illegal North Korean weapons.
By: World Israel News Staff
Fadi al-Batsh, a Hamas-linked electrical engineer assassinated in Malaysia over the weekend, was shot because of his arms dealings for the terror organizations.
The New York Times reported Wednesday that the hit was part of a broader operation ordered by the Mossad chief Yossi Cohen to dismantle a Hamas project that sends promising Palestinian scientists and engineers overseas to gather know-how and weaponry to fight Israel.
The report quoted “Middle Eastern intelligence officials” who confirmed the information.
Batsh, a technology expert for Hamas’ military wing, co-wrote a paper on drone applications in 2013. He was sent by the terror group to Malaysia to research and acquire weapons systems and drones, the report said.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/report-assassinated-hamas-engineer-arms-dealer/


WATCH: Israeli undercover police arrest weapons smugglers
 April 26, 2018
The Israel Police and Shin Bet security service arrested a number of suspected terrorists for smuggling weapons, some of which were stolen from an IDF base and sold to an arms trafficker.
Israel Police
Published on 25 Apr 2018
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=20&v=MjulSsUjEMc



Russia to provide advanced air defenses to Syria
 April 25, 2018
Russia to provide advanced air defenses to SyriaAn S-300 interceptor is launched. (Tasnim news)
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Russia will supply Syria with the sophisticated S-300 air defense system, ignoring Israel’s request not to do so.
By: AP and World Israel News Staff
The Russian military has indicated it will supply the Syrian government with an advanced air defense system, to the chagrin of Israel, which requested Russia not take this step.
Col. Gen. Sergei Rudskoi said in a statement Wednesday that Russia will supply Syria with “new missile defense systems soon.”
Rudskoi did not specify the type of weapons, but his remarks follow reports in the Russian media that Moscow is considering providing its S-300 surface-to-air missile systems to Syria.
Top Russian officials said earlier this month that Moscow may reconsider a pledge it gave a decade ago not to provide Syria with the S-300 system in light of airstrikes on Syria earlier this month carried out by a US-led coalition and reportedly by Israel’s Air Force (IAF) in a separate incident.
Russia is a key ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/russia-provide-advanced-air-defenses-syria/?





North Korea’s nuclear test site collapsed, rendering it unsafe
 April 26, 2018
North Korea’s nuclear test site collapsed, rendering it unsafeNorth Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspects an H-bomb. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
North Korea’s main nuclear test site has likely collapsed. Is that why North Korean President Kim Jong Un’s announced that his country was ceasing its testing program?
By: AP
Research by Chinese geologists suggests that the mountain above North Korea’s main nuclear test site has likely collapsed, rendering it unsafe for further testing and requiring that it be monitored for any leaking radiation.
The findings by the scientists at the University of Science and Technology of China may shed new light on North Korean President Kim Jong Un’s announcement that his country was ceasing its testing program ahead of planned summit meetings with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump.
The results also support some of the findings of an earlier study by another group of Chinese researchers that was published last month by the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
Nuclear explosions release enormous amounts of heat and energy, and the North’s largest test in September was believed early on to have rendered the site in northeastern North Korea unstable.
Chinese authorities have said they’ve detected no radiation risk from samples collected along the border. Calls to those departments were not immediately answered on Thursday.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/north-koreas-nuclear-test-site-collapsed-rendering-it-unsafe/?

Trump ‘walks back’ vow of pullout in Syria, Israelis relieved
 April 25, 2018
Trump ‘walks back’ vow of pullout in Syria, Israelis relievedPresident Donald Trump. (AP/Evan Vucci)
The American president’s comment that the US seeks to leave a “strong and lasting footprint” in Syria has left Israeli analysts feeling assured that an early troop pullout is not in the cards.
By Steve Leibowitz, World Israel News
US President Donald Trump apparently back-tracked on an earlier promise for an “immediate” pullout of troops based in Syria, indicating that his reason is that “’we don’t want to give Iran open season to the Mediterranean.”
The remarks were well received in Israel, where there has been great concern that a withdrawal of American forces would embolden Iranian military advances in Syria.
Trump’s comment that “it was “important to not allow Iranian influence to grow in the country” underlined the feeling that an “immediate withdrawal” is now off the table.
During his joint press conference with visiting French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, Trump said, “We’re going to be coming home relatively soon. We almost finished our work with respect to ISIS in Syria, ISIS in Iraq, and we have done a job that nobody has been able to do. I do want to come home, but I want to come home also with having accomplished what we have to accomplish.”
The US has about 2,000 military personnel in eastern Syria, working with local Kurdish militia groups fighting to defeat the extremist Islamic State group while trying to keep out of Syria’s civil war. A US withdrawal from Syria has raised fears in Israel of an emboldened Iran stepping up efforts to expand its presence in Syria and setting up bases for use in attacks against Israel.
Israeli officials have repeatedly stated that Israel will not allow Iran to entrench itself in Syria, marking it as a “red line” that it will be prevented militarily if necessary.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/analysts-trump-has-walked-back-vow-of-pullout-in-syria/?


Report: Jordan to strip citizenship from Abbas, other Palestinian officials
 April 25, 2018
Report: Jordan to strip citizenship from Abbas, other Palestinian officialsPalestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (R) with Jordanian King Abdullah. (Issam Rimawi/FLASH90)
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Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is among those set to lose their Jordanian passports.
By: Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News
Some of the most senior and well-known leaders of the Palestinian Authority (PA) are set to lose their Jordanian citizenship, according to a Jerusalem Post report quoting the London-based Raialyoum newspaper on Wednesday.
PA President Mahmoud Abbas and long-time PA negotiators Saeb Erekat and Abu Ala are three of the approximately 30 senior PA and Fatah officials and their families who are going to lose their citizenship rights, which they had requested – and received – many years ago.
The report added that those stripped of citizenship would also only be given temporary visitors’ visas when they entered Jordan again in the future. It gave no explanation as to why King Abdullah II decided to make this move now.
It has been known for years that these senior officials had Jordanian citizenship, although the fact did not sit well with many in Amman or the PA. It seemed especially egregious in 2011, when the Hashemite Kingdom decided to revoke the citizenship of tens of thousands of Palestinians in response to those same leaders who wanted them to stop giving out Jordanian citizenship so that the people would “consolidate their Palestinian identity,” as reported in the press at the time.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/report-jordan-strip-citizenship-abbas-palestinian-officials/?


WATCH: Germany’s Jewish community launches ‘Kippah March’
 April 25, 2018
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Last week, two men wearing kippahs, or Jewish skullcaps, were brutally attacked on the streets of Berlin. On Wednesday, citizens of Berlin will take to the streets in support of the Jewish community. Participants in the march will wear a kippah as a show of solidarity.
Germany's Jewish Community Launches 'Kippa March'

WorldJewish Congress
Published on 24 Apr 2018
In 2017, there were 1,453 anti-Semitic incidents in Germany. Last week, two men wearing kippas were brutally attacked on the streets of Berlin. It has become increasingly dangerous for Jews to display their faith publicly. On Wednesday, citizens of Berlin will take to the streets in support of the Jewish community. All participants in the march will wear a kippa as a show of solidarity. Kippas or yarmulkes are traditionally worn by religiously observant Jews or in prayer. Today, we call on the world to stand up against hate. SHARE THIS VIDEO #IchBinJude
Germany's Jewish Community Launches 'Kippa March'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=10&v=Bg7vt_1TBAM


Iranian admiral threatens to sink US ships
April 25, 2018
Iranian admiral threatens to sink US shipsIranian Admiral Ali Fadavi (Press TV)
The commander of Iran’s navy keeps up the war-like rhetoric of recent days, threatening to sink US ships if Trump pulls out of the nuclear deal.  
By: Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News
The naval commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Admiral Ali Fadavi, threatened outright on Iranian television on Saturday to sink US warships if America pulls out of the nuclear deal.
Fadavi asserted in a television interview, as translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), “The actual information that the Americans have about us is much less than what they think they have. When will they figure this out? When it is too late. They will definitely figure it out when their ships are sunk, or when they find themselves in a catastrophic situation.”
The admiral’s smiling face belied his tough talk, which was followed Tuesday by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s speech – also on Iranian TV – in which he warned, according to Reuters, “If anyone betrays the deal, they should know that they will face severe consequences.”
On the same day, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told The Associated Press: “If the United States were to withdraw from the nuclear deal, the immediate consequence in all likelihood would be that Iran would reciprocate and withdraw. There won’t be any deal for Iran to stay in.”
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/iranian-admiral-threatens-to-sink-us-ships/?


Czech Republic to open Jerusalem ‘honorary consulate’ as ‘first step’ of embassy move
 April 25, 2018
Czech Republic to open Jerusalem ‘honorary consulate’ as ‘first step’ of embassy moveMilos Zeman. President of the Czech Republic (Wikimedia Commons)
While stopping short of announcing an imminent embassy move to Jerusalem, the Czech Republic announced a multi-stage plan culminating in the opening of its embassy in Israel’s capital.
By: World Israel News Staff
At an event in Prague on Wednesday, Czech Republic President Miloš Zeman announced, “There will be, I hope three phrases of removal of the Czech embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.”
According to the Czech Foreign Ministry, “The Czech Republic has decided, as a first step, to open an honorary consulate (led by Honorary Consul Mr. Dan Propper) in May and a new Czech Centre by the end of this year,” both in Jerusalem.
Zeman announced on Wednesday at a Prague Castle event attended by Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely, “A few years ago, I said that our embassy should be transferred to Jerusalem,” reported the Jerusalem Post. “The time has come,” concluded Zeman.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/czech-republic-open-jerusalem-honorary-consulate-first-step-embassy-move/?


WATCH: Trump and Macron at odds over future of Iran nuclear deal
 April 25, 2018
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US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron found common ground on many issues during the French leader’s state visit, but the future of the Iran nuclear deal remained a point of contention.
FOXNEWS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=25&v=nsbgcICjYXc



Jimmy Carter Center accused of fraud, ‘material support for terrorism’ in new lawsuit
 April 25, 2018
Jimmy Carter Center accused of fraud, ‘material support for terrorism’ in new lawsuitFormer US President Jimmy Carter (AP/David Goldman)
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An organization founded by former US President Jimmy Carter and “known for its anti-Israel views” was slammed with a lawsuit involving a number of serious allegations.
By: TPS
The Carter Center, an NGO founded by former United States President Jimmy Carter, received over $30 million from USAID by fraudulent certifications and provided material support for terrorism, according to a lawsuit filed by the US based Zionist Advocacy Center and Yifa Segal, director of the Jerusalem-based International Legal Forum.
The case was submitted under the False Claims Act (FCA) in 2015, but was until recently under seal. The plaintiffs argue that the Carter Center, which they state “is well known for its anti-Israel views and activities,” is in violation of the certifications and assurances that must be signed by USAID recipients and that include a broad and strict definition of material support for terrorism.
Segal explained to Tazpit Press Service (TPS) that the definition of material support was established by the United States Supreme Court decision of Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project.
In the precedent-setting ruling, the Supreme Court found that although the Humanitarian Law Project sought to help the Kurdistan Workers’ Party in Turkey and Sri Lanka’s Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam learn how to peacefully resolve conflicts, Congress had intended to prevent aid to such groups on the principle that any assistance could help to legitimate a terrorist organization and free up its resources for terrorist activities.
The Carter Center submitted an amicus brief to the Supreme Court in connection with Holder voicing its concern that if the statute prohibiting material support were upheld, it would jeopardize the Center’s work. The Court ruled against the Carter Center’s position, yet, Segal told TPS, the NGO has continued its illegal activities, including, repeatedly hosting terrorist representatives at its facilities; offering expert assistance to Palestinian factions, including Hamas and the Popular Front For the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP); providing expert mediation services to Hamas in an effort to negotiate reconciliation between the terrorist organization and Fatah.
Segal noted that some of the Hamas and PFLP representatives hosted by the Carter Center
are wanted terrorists and that hosting them means also harboring them. Furthermore, she said, such meetings provide terrorist representatives with credibility, networking, status, and potential political power.
MORE  https://worldisraelnews.com/jimmy-carter-center-accused-fraud-material-support-terrorism-new-lawsuit/?


Hezbollah member killed in mysterious blast
 April 24, 2018
Hezbollah member killed in mysterious blast(Shutterstock)
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Who and what killed a senior Hezbollah operative?
By: World Israel News Staff
A member of the Hezbollah terror organization was killed in an explosion in the sea-side city of Sidon.
Lebanon’s Daily Star reported that the blast occurred at Sidon’s Haret Saida, and that the source of the explosion has yet to be determined.
China’s Xinhua news reported that man was killed in a gas explosion, possibly from a gas canister.
He was identified as Bilal Hassan Abdo, “a member of Hezbollah who was killed in a house accident,” the LBCI quoted Hezbollah sources as saying.
Other reports said the explosion may have been caused by munitions found in Abdo’s house.
Hezbollah and local security officials reportedly sealed off the area shortly after the blast.
MORE  https://worldisraelnews.com/hezbollah-member-killed-mysterious-blast/?


Israel demolishes home of terrorist who murdered father of 6
 April 24, 2018
Israel demolishes home of terrorist who murdered father of 6The home demolition (IDF)
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Israeli forces demolished the home of a Palestinian terrorist who was involved in the murder of a father of six children.
By: World Israel News Staff
Israeli forces early Tuesday morning demolished the home of a Palestinian terrorist who was involved in the murder of Rabbi Raziel Shevach in January.
The IDF said in a statement that it destroyed the home of Ahmed Kunaba in Jenin.
Palestinian rioters attacked the Israeli forces participating in the demolition with explosive charges, shooting and rocks, during which a Border Policewoman was lightly injured in her leg. The Israeli forces fired back, hitting three terrorists.
Kunaba was a member of Hamas terror cell that shot and murdered Shevach, a father of six, as he was driving home to Havat Gilad in Samaria.
Several other cell members were killed or captured, and a number of other homes were demolished in the process.
The demolition of terrorists’ homes are meant to serve as deterrence for potential terrorists plotting future attacks.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/israel-demolishes-home-terrorist-murdered-father-6/?


WATCH: Annual Druze festival culminates in pilgrimage to Tomb of Jethro
 April 25, 2018
The Druze are an important minority in Israel who trace their religion to the father-in-law of Moses, Jethro. Israeli politicians join in the annual Druze festival celebrations, with many Druze traveling to visit the Tomb of Jethro near the Sea of Galilee.
Druze Celebrate Ancestor Jethro
i24NEWS
Published on 24 Apr 2018
TRENDING | The Druze minority are an integral part of Israeli society, residing mostly in the north of the country. Our Shelby Weiner went to visit the celebration of their biblical ancestor Jethro.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=amoUTjg0i5A&ab_channel=i24NEWS


UK man convicted of hate crime for Nazi-salute dog video
 April 24, 2018
UK man convicted of hate crime for Nazi-salute dog videoMark Meechan leaves court. Andrew Milligan/PA via AP)
Convicted of publishing “grossly offensive” material, a Scottish man who filmed a dog appearing to give Nazi salutes was fined.
By: AP
A Scottish man who filmed a dog appearing to give Nazi salutes was fined 800 pounds ($1,200) on Monday after being convicted of a hate crime, in a case that has sparked a debate about the limits of free speech.
Mark Meechan filmed his girlfriend’s pug responding to phrases such as “sieg heil” by raising its paw and posted the footage on YouTube in 2016.
Meechan — a comedian and video blogger who uses the name Count Dankula — said the stunt was meant as a joke, but he was convicted last month of posting “grossly offensive” material.
A judge at Scotland’s Airdrie Sheriff Court imposed the 800-pound fine Monday. Sheriff Derek O’Carroll said the video “contained menacing, anti-Semitic and racist material.” The dog was filmed responding to “Gas the Jews,” a phrase repeated 23 times in the video, O’Carroll said.
The judge said that while the right to freedom of expression is very important, “in all modern democratic countries the law necessarily places some limits on that right.”
Outside court, Meechan, 30, said his conviction set a “really dangerous precedent” for free speech and he would appeal. His conviction drew expressions of concern from comedians such as Ricky Gervais. Several far-right commentators also championed Meechan’s right to post the video.
Meechan, whose Youtube channel bears the description “offensive social commentary in an accent you won’t understand,” said Scottish authorities have ignored the context of the dog video.
“It’s the juxtaposition of having an adorable animal react to something vulgar that was the entire point of the joke,” he said.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/uk-man-convicted-hate-crime-nazi-salute-dog-video/?


Belgian court sentences Paris attack terrorist to 20 years
 April 23, 2018
Belgian court sentences Paris attack terrorist to 20 yearsCourtroom sketch of Salah Abdeslam, second right, and Soufiane Ayari, second left. (Petra Urban via AP)
A Belgian court found two Paris attack terrorists guilty of attempted murder over shots fired at police as they sought to avoid arrest in Brussels.
By: AP
A Belgian court on Monday found 2015 Paris attack suspect Salah Abdeslam and an accomplice guilty of attempted murder over shots fired at police as they sought to avoid arrest in Brussels.
The court handed both Abdeslam, Europe’s most wanted fugitive at the time, and Sofiane Ayari the maximum 20-year sentence.
It said the “terror character” was clearly established in the March 2016 shooting, four months after the Paris attack that killed 130. Abdeslam was close to being arrested in a hideout when he and Ayari fled while another man sprayed gunfire at police and was killed. Three officers were wounded.
His lawyer Sven Mary said it remains to be seen whether Abdeslam will seek to appeal his sentence. He has 30 days to decide. Mary insisted it is unclear whether Abdeslam himself had fired shots at officers trying to break into the hideout.
“If there is doubt, he should have been let go, it’s that simple,” Mary said.
Abdeslam attended the opening day of the trial in February but has refused to cooperate since. He is being held in a French prison. Ayari was also absent.
It is unclear when Abdeslam will face trial over the Paris attack but it is expected to take several years.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/belgian-court-sentences-paris-attack-terrorist-20-years/?

US and France to demand ‘new deal’ from Iran
 April 24, 2018
US and France to demand ‘new deal’ from IranPresident Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
The presidents of the US and France announced their commitment to correct flaws in the current nuclear agreement with Iran.
By: World Israel News Staff
At a press conference in Washington with US President Donald Trump by his side, French President Emmanuel Macron issued a joint call for a new direction in the multi-national nuclear agreement with Iran.
After “very frank discussions” between the two leaders, Macron announced that the US and France would “from now on … work on a new deal with Iran,” reported AFP.
“I think we will have a great shot at doing a much bigger, maybe, deal,” declared Trump at the press conference on Tuesday. The president reiterated that the current agreement is “a bad deal, a bad structure.”
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/us-france-demand-new-deal-iran/?

Assassination in Malaysia struck a heavy blow to Hamas
 April 24, 2018
Assassination in Malaysia struck a heavy blow to HamasHamas mourns Fadi al-Batsh in Gaza. (AP/Adel Hana)
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Even though it’s not clear to the Gazan public which projects engineer al-Batsch was involved in, the mood in Gaza indicates that his assassination has affected Hamas’ operations and morale.
By: Yoni Ben Menachem/JNS
According to sources in Hamas, the Israeli Mossad intelligence agency is continuing to hunt down senior scientists attached to the Hamas military wing in various countries around the world. The Hamas scientists were using their scientific knowledge to develop various means of warfare for Hamas to use in its war against Israel.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/assassination-malaysia-struck-heavy-blow-hamas/?


Opinion: An open letter to Natalie Portman
 April 24, 2018
Opinion: An open letter to Natalie PortmanNatalie Portman (Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
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Like Portman, Henry Roth, a Jew living in Montreal, Canada, was born in Israel. In this letter, he tells the famous, multiple award-winning actress that her decision to refuse the prestigious Genesis Prize was “very wrong.”
Dear Ms. Portman,
The two of us have a lot in common; I too was born in Israel, and like you, my family left Israel when I was young.  However, hearing that you have refused the Genesis Prize because of the “ … mistreatment of those suffering from today’s atrocities …”, it is clear to me that we differ greatly on how we, as Diaspora Jews, perceive modern-day Israel and how we can best serve the interests of the Jewish people.
Ms. Portman, you are wrong on the facts because Israel is not mistreating anyone nor is it committing atrocities.  Israel is dealing with a violent, intractable, nihilistic enemy who sees nothing wrong in placing their children in harm’s way, and Israel is to be commended for their restraint and humanity.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/open-letter-natalie-portman/?


Palestinian factions brawl in Gaza ‘mourning tent’
 April 23, 2018
Palestinian factions brawl in Gaza ‘mourning tent’Palestinians from various factions. (File/Hadas Parush/Flash90)
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Hamas and Fatah members clashed at a funeral-related gathering in Gaza, with tensions between the two embattled factions boiling over.
By: Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News
A mourning tent became the latest scene of internal Palestinian strife on Saturday, which ended with the temporary structure being torn down.
The family of 15-year-old Mohammed Ayoub, who was one of four Palestinians killed in the latest round of violent rioting on the Gazan-Israeli border, was receiving condolence callers in Gaza City when a fracas broke out between Hamas and Fatah members who came to pay their respects.
Hamas security forces then attacked the Fatah members present, injuring a senior operative, reported Times of Israel. The source who provided the info added that the Hamas men then dismantled the tent and ordered everyone to leave.
Although the subject of the verbal altercation is not known at this time, Hamas has accused Fatah of trying to “score political points” with the teen’s death by attempting to get his parents to show support for Palestinian Authority President Abbas. In reaction to Saturday’s events, a Fatah spokesman condemned the Hamas “assault,” calling it “irresponsible.”
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/palestinian-factions-brawl-gaza-mourning-tent/?

Israel halts deportation proceedings against illegal immigrants
 April 24, 2018
Israel halts deportation proceedings against illegal immigrantsProtest against deportation of asylum seekers at Rabin Square in Tel Aviv, March 24, 2018. (Gili Yaari/Flash90)
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No more deportation orders will be served on illegal immigrants, the state told the High Court of Justice on Tuesday, adding that all existing orders have been cancelled.
By: TPS, with additional reporting from World Israel News Staff
“At this stage there is no possibility to carry out a forced deportation to a third country,” state attorneys told the High Court of Justice on Tuesday. “Therefore, as of today, April 17, 2018, deportation hearings have been halted and no more deportation orders will be handed out.”
The State also said that individuals whose temporary residency permits have expired will be eligible for a 60-day extension, as has been customary heretofore.
The treatment of more than 30,000 illegal immigrants has divided Israeli society in recent years, with many residents of south Tel Aviv, where most of the immigrants live, saying that a majority of the individuals in question came to Israel seeking work, not political asylum, and that the influx has led both to an increase in crime and deep cultural shifts in the neighborhood.
On the other hand, human rights organizations believe the residents are mainly political refugees and have blasted Israeli authorities for failing – or refusing – to investigate applications for political asylum.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/israel-halts-deportation-proceedings-illegal-immigrants/?


Report: New Israel Fund, EU use proxy to fight Jerusalem embassy move
 April 24, 2018
Report: New Israel Fund, EU use proxy to fight Jerusalem embassy moveWorkers paving a new access road leading to the US Consulate in Jerusalem's Arnona neighborhood. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
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Israeli sources reported that an extreme leftist group funded by the NIF and European governments is trying to use Israel’s justice system to stop the US’ historic Jerusalem embassy move.
By: Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News
The extreme left-wing Ir Amim organization has joined a few Jerusalem citizens in petitioning the High Court of Justice (HCJ) to stop the construction work necessary to change the American consulate in Jerusalem into an embassy, reported Mako and Mida, two Israeli news sites.
Much of Ir Amim’s funding comes from abroad, including NIS 6.5 million from the American-registered New Israel Fund (NIF) over the last eight years, according to NGO Monitor. Over the same period, Ir Amim also received nearly NIS 2 million from the EU, NIS 3.6 million from Germany, and millions more from other countries that object to the democratically elected Israeli government’s internal affairs.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/report-new-israel-fund-eu-use-proxy-fight-jerusalem-embassy-move/?


Israel nabs armed terrorists on Gaza border
 April 24, 2018
Israel nabs armed terrorists on Gaza borderIDF forces on the Gaza border. (Sliman Khader/Flash90)
IDF forces arrested two terrorists who attempted to infiltrate Israel. 
By: World Israel News Staff
Israeli forces arrested two armed Palestinian terrorists on the border with Gaza early Tuesday morning as they attempted to infiltrate into the country
The IDF stated that troops identified two suspects attempting to infiltrate Israel from southern Gaza. The suspects, who were carrying a grenade and a knife, were apprehended near the border fence and transferred to security forces for questioning.
This incident occurred just hours after IDF forces arrested four Palestinians who had scaled the fence and attempted to enter Israel.
There were no injuries in either incident.
These latest events occurred amid the daily violence on the Israel-Gaza border, orchestrated by Hamas, the Islamic terror group that rules the Strip and calls for Israel’s destruction.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/israel-nabs-armed-terrorists-gaza-border/?


Syrian mortar falls in Israel; IDF responds
 April 24, 2018
Syrian mortar falls in Israel; IDF respondsAn IDF artillery battery in action. (IDF)
Israeli forces bombed a Syrian target in retaliation to Syrian mortar fire.
By: World Israel News Staff
The IDF hit a Syrian military position in the Golan Heights on Monday in response to a mortar round fired into Israel earlier in the day that fell adjacent to the security fence.
In response, the IDF targeted an artillery piece in the area from where the fire originated in the al-Kom area, near the town of Khan Arnabah, which is controlled by the Assad regime forces.
“The IDF holds the Syrian regime accountable and will not tolerate any attempt to breach Israeli sovereignty or endanger civilians,” the IDF stated after the incident.
Opposing factions in Syria’s civil war have been battling in the Quneitra area adjacent to Israel’s northern border, and the fire that hit Israel was estimated to be stray.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/idf-responds-fire-syria/?

Russia warns Israel of ‘catastrophic consequences’ for attacking soon-to-be-deployed missile defense in Syria
 April 23, 2018
Russia warns Israel of ‘catastrophic consequences’ for attacking soon-to-be-deployed missile defense in SyriaVladimir Putin, Bashar Assad in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia (AP)
According to reports in a Russian paper, Moscow will deliver the advanced anti-aircraft system to Syria “soon”, and warned Israel to stay away.
By: Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Senior Russian officials told the Kommersant newspaper on Monday that following the April 14th missile strike on Syrian facilities by an American, French and British task force, Russia will be bringing its S-300 anti-aircraft missile defense system to Syria “soon” to protect its ally from further attack.
According to the report, the Russians won’t even charge Syria for it.
Russian defense officials warned Israel that if it “decides to carry out rocket strikes on the deployment locations of the S-300, the consequences will be catastrophic for all sides.”
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov then appeared to backtrack slightly later in the day, saying that Russia had not yet decided whether it would deliver the system to Syria, but that it would not make a secret of the matter if it took such a decision, the TASS news agency reported.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/will-russia-deploy-anti-aircraft-missile-defense-system-syria/?



Israelis praise US for dropping ‘occupied’ references to Israeli territory
 April 23, 2018
Israelis praise US for dropping ‘occupied’ references to Israeli territoryIsraeli Minister with Efrat Mayor at new construction site in the Judean city. (Gershon Elinson/Flash90)
For the first time since 1979 the US State Department dropped the term “occupied” when referring to lands captured by Israel in 1967’s Six Day War.
By: Steve Leibowitz, World Israel News
Israeli leaders have hailed the decision of the US government to stop referring to territories captured in the Six Day Way as “occupied.” In its first practical expression, the annual US government report on human rights worldwide in 2017 dropped reference to various territories as “occupied” for the first time since 1979.
Released on Friday, the section on “Israel and the territories” refers to the geographic regions as “Gaza and the West Bank, and the Golan Heights.” Israel formally annexed the Golan in 1981, and maintains security control over Judea and Samaria (the “West Bank” of the Jordan River) through its military government. Israel withdrew entirely from the Gaza Strip in 2005.
The US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman refers to the Israeli presence in the territories as “alleged occupation” and he reportedly initiated the campaign to stop the State Department from using the term “occupied.” The Israeli government applauded the change with Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman declaring, “The lie of the occupied Palestinian territories begins to be revealed. They say that a lie repeated often enough becomes true, but the truth is always stronger. The State Department report is proof of that.”
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/analysts-praise-state-department-dropping-occupied-references-israeli-territory/?


Defense minister: Israel did not kill Hamas engineer, rival Palestinian faction did
 April 23, 2018
Defense minister: Israel did not kill Hamas engineer, rival Palestinian faction didDefense Minister Avigdor Liberman (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
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Liberman said al-Batsh was killed as part of infighting between rival Palestinian factions. 
By: World Israel News Staff
Israel’s Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman denied that Israel was behind the assassination of a Hamas-linked engineer in Malaysia, blaming it on infighting between rival Palestinian factions.
Speaking to IDF Radio on Sunday, Liberman said that “we heard about it [the assassination] in the news. The terrorist organizations blame every assassination on Israel – we’re used to that.”
“Maybe James Bond is behind the hit,” he said.
“The man was no saint and he didn’t deal with improving infrastructure in Gaza – he was involved in improving rockets’ accuracy. We constantly see a settling of accounts between various factions in the terrorist organizations and I suppose that is what happened in this case as well.”
The Hamas terror group claimed Saturday that Fadi al-Batsh, an electronics scientist linked to its drone development program, was assassinated by the Mossad.
Malaysian police say the 34-year-old al-Batsh was shot early Saturday by two assailants who killed him as he was heading to a mosque for dawn prayers in Kuala Lampur.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/defense-minister-israel-not-kill-hamas-engineer-rival-palestinian-faction/?


Assassination of Hamas ‘rocket man’ exposes spread of terror group
 April 23, 2018
Assassination of Hamas ‘rocket man’ exposes spread of terror groupHamas member Fadi al-Batsh, who was recently killed in Malaysia. (AP Photo/Sadiq Asyraf)
The killing of Hamas rocket engineer Fadi al-Batsh in Malaysia has raised questions about the growing presence of the terror group overseas.
By: Steve Leibowitz, World Israel News
Hamas confirmed that assassinated rocket-maker Fadi al-Batsh, who was gunned down in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Saturday, is indeed a member of the organization. The admission draws attention to the growing number of safe havens and terrorist training grounds that Hamas has been cultivating over the past decade.
Kuala Lumpur is home to a growing Hamas presence that allowed the Palestinian electrical engineer to operate unhindered by the local government. According to Israeli intelligence sources, Malaysia is used as a Hamas center for training operatives for audacious terror attacks. Haaretz reported that Hamas has recruited some 40 Palestinian students to serve as operatives on Malaysian campuses.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/assassination-hamas-rocket-man-exposes-spread-terror-group/?


European Parliament demands Hamas return IDF soldiers’ remains, release Israeli captives
 April 20, 2018
European Parliament demands Hamas return IDF soldiers’ remains, release Israeli captivesLate IDF soldiers Hadar Goldin (L) and Oron Shaul, whose bodies are held by Hamas. (Social media)
The European Parliament has called on Hamas to return the remains of Israeli soldiers and the release of citizens held In Gaza.
By: TPS
The European Parliament adopted a resolution Thursday calling for the return of the remains of IDF soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul and the the release of Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayeed, two Israeli civilians believed to be suffering from mental illness, being held by Hamas in Gaza.
The call came in the framework of a larger resolution on the situation in Gaza Strip that also noted “an increase in terrorist attacks against Israel” over the past few weeks.”
The resolution also recognized Israel’s “security challenges and the need to protect its territory and borders while using proportionate means” and expressed concern that “Hamas seems to be aiming at escalating tensions” and is “using civilians for the purpose of shielding terrorist activities.”
However, at the same time, in reference to recent Palestinian protests along the Gaza border in which over 30 people have been killed by Israeli troops – at least 26 of them affiliated to Hamas and other terrorist groups, according to Israeli sources – the resolution  condemned “the killings and injury of innocent Palestinian demonstrators in the Gaza Strip” and urged the IDF to “refrain from using lethal force against unarmed protesters.”
MORE  https://worldisraelnews.com/european-parliament-demands-hamas-return-idf-soldiers-remains-release-israeli-captives/?

US State Department stops referring to Judea and Samaria as ‘occupied’
https://worldisraelnews.com/us-state-department-stops-referring-judea-samaria-occupied/?
 April 21, 2018
US State Department stops referring to Judea and Samaria as ‘occupied’Supporters of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria (AP/Emilio Morenatti)
In a significant policy change, the State Department ceased using the term “occupied” in references to various regions of Israel, including Judea and Samaria.
By: World Israel News Staff

In a US State Department annual report on human rights, the controversial term “occupied” was largely eliminated in references to various territories in and adjacent to Israel. While the term “occupied” had been used in such reports since the Carter administration, the 2017 version drops this term, which is generally used pejoratively to criticize Israeli policy following military victories through which the Jewish state acquired control of various territories.

The change comes after US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman advised the department in December to stop using the “misleading” term “occupied” in references to Judea and Samaria

At the time, Friedman remarked in an interview, “I think the settlements [in Judea and Samaria] are part of Israel,” which “was always the expectation when [UN] Resolution 242 was adopted.” He added, “The 1967 borders were viewed by everybody as not secure. There was always supposed to be some expectation of [Israeli] expansion” into Judea and Samaria.

The term “occupied” is considered by many to be a loaded phrase intended to demonize Israel with regard to its activities in disputed areas. According to policy expert Dan Diker of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA), “Friedman is advancing Trump administration policy to correct past mistakes and misconceptions of American diplomats. Since the Oslo Accords in 1995, the most densely Palestinian populated areas in the territories are designated as ‘Area A’ and ‘Area B,’ which are under Palestinian autonomy, and are certainly not legally occupied.”

Mark Zell, who heads Republicans in Israel, commented to World Israel News in December that “Ambassador Friedman is fighting back against bureaucratic inertia and State Department Arabists.”

In response to the State Department’s subsequent change in terminology, Israel’s Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman tweeted over the weekend, “The lie of the occupied Palestinian territories begins to be revealed. They say that a lie repeated often enough becomes true, but the truth is forever stronger. The State Department report is proof of that.”
David FriedmanJudea and SamariaUS State Department




Hamas rocket engineer assassinated in Malaysia, Israel ‘blamed’ for hit
 April 21, 2018
Hamas rocket engineer assassinated in Malaysia, Israel ‘blamed’ for hitFuneral of Hamas member Fadi Mohammad al-Batsh. (Twitter)
A Palestinian rocket engineer killed in Malaysia received funeral honors in Gaza reserved from high-ranking Hamas military commanders. Hamas said Israel was responsible.
By: World Israel News Staff
A 35-year-old Hamas engineer named Fadi Mohammad al-Batsh, described by the terrorist organization as a “loyal” member, was killed on the streets of Kuala Lumpur in a drive-by motorcycle shooting early Saturday morning.
Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Seri Mazlan Lazim announced that one of two suspects on the motorcycle “fired 10 shots, four of which hit [Batsh] in the head and body. He died on the spot.”
According to Hadashot TV news, Hamas ships young Gazans to Malaysia for technical training, with the nation deemed a a “paradise” for the terrorist organization by Israel’s Channel 10.
In Gaza, at the entrance of mourner’s tent erected by Hamas, a banner lauded Batsh as a “commander” in the terror group, which also positioned ten masked fighters there, adhering to protocol for senior Hamas commander funerals.
Hamas referred to the dead engineer as a “martyr” and his family immediately blamed the Israeli intelligence service for orchestrating the hit.
While Batsh was affiliated with Hamas, his cousin Khaled al-Batsh serves as a senior official in the Islamic Jihad terror group. The cousin joined other family members blaming the Mossad for the assassination.MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/hamas-rocket-engineer-assassinated-malaysia/?
MOREhttps://worldisraelnews.com/hamas-rocket-engineer-assassinated-malaysia/?


US State Department stops referring to Judea and Samaria as ‘occupied’
 April 21, 2018
US State Department stops referring to Judea and Samaria as ‘occupied’Supporters of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria (AP/Emilio Morenatti)
In a significant policy change, the State Department ceased using the term “occupied” in references to various regions of Israel, including Judea and Samaria.
By: World Israel News Staff
In a US State Department annual report on human rights, the controversial term “occupied” was largely eliminated in references to various territories in and adjacent to Israel. While the term “occupied” had been used in such reports since the Carter administration, the 2017 version drops this term, which is generally used pejoratively to criticize Israeli policy following military victories through which the Jewish state acquired control of various territories.
The change comes after US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman advised the department in December to stop using the “misleading” term “occupied” in references to Judea and Samaria
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/us-state-department-stops-referring-judea-samaria-occupied/?


Pondering the ‘German Problem’ after Holocaust Remembrance Day
 April 11, 2018
Pondering the ‘German Problem’ after Holocaust Remembrance DayAnti-Israel protesters in Germany. (Boris Roessler/dpa via AP)
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An examination of Germany’s relationship with the Palestinians, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and its own sizable Muslim population raises more questions than it answers, after Israel observes Holocaust Remembrance Day.
By: Henry Roth, Exclusive to World Israel News
On the annual Day of Atonement for Jews, the rabbis remind us that it is not enough to ask G-d for forgiveness for the sins we have committed; we must also make amends to those against whom we have sinned. In the context of this concept of atonement, when we examine Germany’s post-war relationship with Israel and world Jewry, we must conclude, somewhat sadly, that there appears to have been minimal effort by Germany to atone for their transgressions against the Jewish people (if that were even possible given the scale of the atrocities).
In fact, at the most important junctures in Israel’s history, when German support would have been invaluable and when the Germans had an opportunity to demonstrate their genuine commitment to help repair the damage they inflicted on the Jewish community – and by extension, support Israel – they have utterly and indisputably failed.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/opinion-pondering-german-problem-holocaust-remembrance-day/?




Jewish national freedom comes at a price
 April 17, 2018
Jewish national freedom comes at a priceAn Israeli man prays at the grave of a fallen soldier. (Gili Yaari/Flash90)
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Yom Hazikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day for fallen soldiers and victims of terror, serves as a reminder that national freedom is a precious commodity that must be vigorously defended.
By: Daniel Krygier, Political Analyst, World Israel News
Seventy years after its rebirth, the State of Israel continues to face enemies committed to its destruction, first and foremost Iran and its Islamist allies. On Yom Hazikaron, which is observed this year on Wednesday evening and Thursday, the Jewish state commemorates over 23,500 IDF soldiers who have fallen in the line of duty and 3,800 Israeli civilians murdered by Muslim Arab terrorists.
This is a tremendous sacrifice for the tiny State of Israel and proportionally corresponds to over one million Americans. Nevertheless, it is a price worth paying when considering the fact that six million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust when the Jewish People was homeless and defenseless.
David Ben-Gurion, modern Israel’s founding father, had no illusions about anti-Semitism disappearing anytime soon. Quite the opposite. The epicenter of Jew-hatred has moved from post-Christian Europe to the neo-Islamist Middle East. Israel’s first prime minister also realized that the Arab-Israeli conflict is not territorial, but driven by an Arab opposition to Israel’s existence within any borders. Building a formidable military and intelligence force for Israel therefore became a top priority for the leaders of the reborn Jewish state.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/defending-jewish-national-freedom-comes-at-a-price/?


Can US and Palestinians reign in firestorm of rhetoric?
 April 16, 2018
Can US and Palestinians reign in firestorm of rhetoric?PLO Secretary-General Saeb Erekat (Amir Levy)
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As US envoy Jason Greenblatt and PA negotiator Saeb Erekat exchange insults, it appears that the two sides are drifting ever further apart, making cooperation between Washington and Ramallah increasingly less likely.
By: Steve Leibowitz, World Israel News
Any remaining hopes for an early return to normalcy between the United States and the Palestinian Authority has been buried under the continuing war of words between Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt and Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat.
In his letter dated April 12, Erekat lobbed the most recent salvo writing to diplomats that, “Greenblatt has assumed the role of spokesperson of the Israeli Authorities. It is clear that those who do not consider that the lives of Palestinians and Israelis are of equal value cannot possibly promote any plan that will be remotely close to a just and lasting peace. Rather, the Trump administration continues to adopt Israeli positions that aim to perpetuate the denial of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.”
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/can-us-palestinians-reign-firestorm-rhetoric/?


Pentagon: suspected 9/11 recruiter captured in Syria
 April 20, 2018
Pentagon: suspected 9/11 recruiter captured in SyriaTwin towers on 9/11 (AP/Gene Boyars, File)
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An “outspoken, flamboyant Islamist” who “relished any opportunity to extol the virtues of violent jihad” and was tied to the 9/11 attacks was caught in Syria.
By: World Israel News Staff
The Pentagon on Thursday confirmed statements by a spokesman for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-affiliated group battling Bashar Assad’s regime, announcing the capture of Mohammad Haydar Zammar, a Syrian-born German national linked to the Sept. 11, 2001 US attacks.
Known as a staunch advocate of “violent jihad,” Zammar was captured in Syria by US-backed forces over a month ago, announced Pentagon spokesman Eric Pahon. The arrest is “part of [the SDF’s] ongoing operations to defeat ISIS inside Syria,” continued Pahon.
“We are working with our SDF partners to obtain additional details,” Pahon said.
According to the Congressional account on the 9/11 attacks, Zammar was an “outspoken, flamboyant Islamist” who extolled “the virtues of violent jihad.” He was also fingered as the a “possible recruiter” of the 9/11 attackers.
“Zammar reportedly took credit for influencing” a number of members of the primary terrorist cell responsible for the attack, explains the Congressional report.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/pentagon-suspected-9-11-recruiter-captured-syria/?



WATCH: Israeli nano-drops bring simple fix to poor vision
https://worldisraelnews.com/watch-israeli-nano-drops-bring-simple-fix-to-poor-vision/?
 April 10, 2018
A new medical procedure using “nano” eye drops, developed by Israeli scientists, 
could help millions by providing a simple alternative to laser correction, glasses, and contact lenses.
Israeli Nano-drops bring simple eye fix into view
3,114 views
The Jerusalem Post
Published on 9 Apr 2018
(Video: Reuters)
WATCH https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=28&v=fvKOKlE_PcA


Egyptian army: ISIS leader in Sinai killed in shootout
 April 18, 2018
Egyptian army: ISIS leader in Sinai killed in shootoutISIS terrorists in the Sinai (Wikicommons)
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The leader of the Islamic State group in the Sinai Peninsula was killed in a shootout with the Egyptian military. 
By: AP
Egypt’s military says its forces killed a man they identified as the leader of the Islamic State (ISIS) group in the restive Sinai Peninsula.
Col. Tamer el-Rifai, a military spokesman, said in a Wednesday statement that Naser Abou Zaqoul has been killed in a shootout with troops in central Sinai. He did not elaborate.
The news came just days after the military said eight soldiers were killed and 15 wounded when terrorists wearing explosive belts blew themselves up as they tried to infiltrate a military base in central Sinai.
Egypt has been struggling to contain a long-running insurgency in Sinai. It launched a massive operation in February against terrorists in Sinai as well as parts of Egypt’s Nile Delta and the Western Desert, along the porous border with Libya.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/egyptian-army-isis-leader-sinai-killed-shootout/?

The State of Israel celebrates its 70th birthday!
 April 18, 2018
The State of Israel celebrates its 70th birthday!Israelis celebrate their Independence Day. (Mendy Hechtman/Flash90)
Israel is celebrating its 70th birthday. Festivities begin in the evening and continue throughout the day. Happy Birthday Israel!
By: World Israel News Staff
Israel made the complex transition from Yom Hazikaron (Memorial Day) to Yom Ha’atzmaut (Independence Day) on Wednesday night, as the official ceremony kicked off the celebration that took place on Mount Herzl, in Jerusalem.
Each year, Yom Ha’atzmaut – Israel’s Independence Day – begins immediately following Yom HaZikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day, in memory of fallen soldiers and victims of terror. This transition from somber remembrance to joyous celebration helps serve as a reminder that the State of Israel owes its existence to those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
This remarkable ability to grieve for the fallen and then rejoice in the miracle of the Jewish State is manifest in the State of Israel, where the people continue to look to the future with hope and optimism.
The state ceremony that ushers in Yom Ha’atzmaut takes place at Mount Herzl, Israel’s military cemetery, by the grave of Theodor Herzl, one of the founders of Modern Zionism. The flag, which was at half mast for Yom HaZikaron, was raised to the top of the pole. The celebration includes soldiers marching with flags creating various formations, hundreds of dancers, and of course, fireworks. The program is televised on Israeli TV channels.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/state-israel-celebrates-70th-birthday/?


IDF fires at terrorists operating on Gaza border fence
 April 18, 2018
IDF fires at terrorists operating on Gaza border fenceAn IDF tank in action. (IDF)
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The IDF repelled another two Palestinian attempts to cause Israelis harm on the border with Gaza.
By: World Israel News Staff
An IDF tank early Wednesday fired shells at a terrorist cell that was operating on the security fence on the border with Gaza.
The IDF stated that troops identified five suspects, at least one of which was armed, approaching the security fence in the southern Gaza Strip. In response, the troops fired towards the suspects.
Palestinian sources reported that a least three of the terrorists were hit by the shells.
The cell may have been operating to place an explosive charge, later to be detonated against IDF forces on patrol in the area. Several such incidents have occurred recently.
This incident came just hours after an IDF tank fired rounds at a Hamas post on the border with Gaza in response to gunfire directed at IDF forces stationed on the border.
These latest incidents came amid the daily violence on the Israel-Gaza border, orchestrated by Hamas, the Islamic terror group that rules the Strip and calls for Israel’s destruction.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/idf-fires-terrorists-operating-gaza-border-fence/?

Is Iran imminently planning to attack Israel from Syria?
 April 17, 2018
Is Iran imminently planning to attack Israel from Syria?Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (AP/Vahid Salemi)
A senior military expert says Israel and Iran “are not necessarily on an inevitable course to a full-scale military conflict,” despite reports indicating that Iran plans to attack imminently.
By: World Israel News and Yona Schnitzer/TPS
A senior IDF source told Sky News Arabia that Iran plans to attack Israel from Syria, The Jerusalem Post reported Tuesday.
“Israel will react strongly to any Iranian action from inside Syria,” a senior IDF source told the news site.
Aerial photos released Tuesday show that Iran has established several military bases in Syria. The pictures indicate that Tehran remains capable of flying in surface-to-surface missiles to Syria as well as unmanned aerial vehicles under the guise of humanitarian aid, the Post said.
However, according to Brig.-Gen. (ret.) Yossi Kuperwasser, former director-general of the Ministry of Strategic Affairs and former head of the IDF’s Intelligence Research and Assessment Division, Israel and Iran “are not necessarily on an inevitable course to a full-scale military conflict.”
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/israeli-military-expert-says-iranian-attack-unlikely-despite-indications-to-the-contrary/?




Israel halts to commemorate fallen IDF soldiers, terror victims
 April 17, 2018
Israel halts to commemorate fallen IDF soldiers, terror victimsIDF soldiers salute their fallen comrades ahead of Yom Hazikaron. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)
Israel will come to a standstill to mark Yom Hazikaron, its national Memorial Day, and to commemorate the 23,646 fallen IDF soldiers and victims of terrorist attacks.
By: World Israel News Staff
Israel will come to a standstill on Tuesday night to mark Yom Hazikaron, its national Memorial Day, and to commemorate the 23,646 fallen IDF soldiers and 3,134 victims of terrorist attacks who have died in the last 150 years.
It is one of the most somber dates on the Israeli calendar. Places of entertainment shut down. Radio and TV stations air documentaries about the fallen soldiers and terror victims.
The figure of 23,646 fallen soldiers is counted from when Jews first began to settle outside of Jerusalem in the 1860s, including 71 fallen IDF officers and soldiers who died in the past year. The last one to join the sad but distinguished list was Sgt. Eliyahu Drori, who was killed on Saturday in an operational accident.
Since the establishment of the state, 3,117 civilians were murdered in acts of terrorism. Since last year’s Yom Hazikaron, 12 civilians were killed in attacks. The latest victim was Adiel Coleman, a father of four who was stabbed to death in Jerusalem last month.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/israel-halts-commemorate-fallen-idf-soldiers-terror-victims/?


Hezbollah threatens Israel: Killing Iranians ‘will be met with response’
 April 17, 2018
Hezbollah threatens Israel: Killing Iranians ‘will be met with response’Sheikh Naim Qassem, deputy leader of the Hezbollah terror organization. (Tasnim News)
“The elimination of the Iranians by Israel at the airbase will be met with a response,” Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem threatened. 
By: World Israel News Staff
A senior Hezbollah official has threatened retaliatory action by Iran against Israel in response to an attack attributed to Israel in Syria in which several Iranian soldiers were killed.
Sheikh Naim Qassem, deputy leader of the Lebanon-based Hezbollah terror organization, warned Monday that Iran would respond to last week’s airstrike on the Tiyas Military Airbase which was struck by several missiles on Monday, leaving at least seven Iranian soldiers dead.
“The elimination of the Iranians by Israel at the airbase will be met with a response,” Qassem, told the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Mayadeen TV.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/senior-hezbollah-official-israels-elimination-iranians-will-met-response/?


Jewish national freedom comes at a price
 April 17, 2018
Jewish national freedom comes at a priceAn Israeli man prays at the grave of a fallen soldier. (Gili Yaari/Flash90)
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Yom Hazikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day for fallen soldiers and victims of terror, serves as a reminder that national freedom is a precious commodity that must be vigorously defended.
By: Daniel Krygier, Political Analyst, World Israel News
Seventy years after its rebirth, the State of Israel continues to face enemies committed to its destruction, first and foremost Iran and its Islamist allies. On Yom Hazikaron, which is observed this year on Wednesday evening and Thursday, the Jewish state commemorates over 23,500 IDF soldiers who have fallen in the line of duty and 3,800 Israeli civilians murdered by Muslim Arab terrorists.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/defending-jewish-national-freedom-comes-at-a-price/?


WATCH: Hamas holds Gazans hostage, uses them as human shields
 April 16, 2018
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Hamas is destroying the lives and the welfare of the people of Gaza in a deadly charade aimed at convincing the world that Israel is an aggressor, all while trying to infiltrate the border and kill as many Israelis as possible.
WATCH https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7r7VbKAvc4Y


Can US and Palestinians reign in firestorm of rhetoric?
 April 16, 2018
Can US and Palestinians reign in firestorm of rhetoric?PLO Secretary-General Saeb Erekat (Amir Levy)
As US envoy Jason Greenblatt and PA negotiator Saeb Erekat exchange insults, it appears that the two sides are drifting ever further apart, making cooperation between Washington and Ramallah increasingly less likely.
By: Steve Leibowitz, World Israel News
Any remaining hopes for an early return to normalcy between the United States and the Palestinian Authority has been buried under the continuing war of words between Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt and Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat.
In his letter dated April 12, Erekat lobbed the most recent salvo writing to diplomats that, “Greenblatt has assumed the role of spokesperson of the Israeli Authorities. It is clear that those who do not consider that the lives of Palestinians and Israelis are of equal value cannot possibly promote any plan that will be remotely close to a just and lasting peace. Rather, the Trump administration continues to adopt Israeli positions that aim to perpetuate the denial of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.”
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/can-us-palestinians-reign-firestorm-rhetoric/?


After barring chemical inspectors, Syria finally grants access to attack site
 April 17, 2018
After barring chemical inspectors, Syria finally grants access to attack siteSyrian children affected by the chemical attack. (Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets via AP)
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International inspectors have entered the Syrian town where an alleged chemical attack was carried out earlier this month, Syrian state media reported Tuesday, after they had waited for days in the capital for permission from Syrian and Russian authorities.

By: AP

The fact-finding mission from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons is investigating reports that government forces launched an April 7 chemical attack in the final stages of their fight to retake the town of Douma from rebels. The alleged gas attack, which Syrian activists say killed more than 40 people, prompted punitive U.S., British and French airstrikes.

The US and France say they have evidence that poison gas was used in the April 7 attack in the opposition-held town of Douma, killing some 200 people, and that Syrian President Bashar Assad’s military was behind it.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/barring-chemical-inspectors-syria-finally-grants-access-attack-site/?



Israeli lawmakers battle over ties with Nazi-linked Austrian party
 April 17, 2018
Israeli lawmakers battle over ties with Nazi-linked Austrian partyThe Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee in session. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)
The Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee debated Israel’s policy of “non-engagement” with Austria’s far-right Freedom Party.
By: World Israel News Staff
The Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee convened on Monday and held a heated debate over Israel’s policy of  “non-engagement” with the Freedom Party of Austria (FPO).
Founded in 1956, FPO emerged from the short-lived Federation of Independents, launched after World War II by former Nazis who had been stripped of their voting rights. Its first head was an ex-member of the Nazi Waffen SS unit.
The far-right Freedom Party of Austria is led by Heinz-Christian Strache, political heir of former party head Jörg Haider, who was notorious for his anti-Semitism and pro-Nazi opinions. When the party joined the Austrian government in 2000, Israel recalled its ambassador in a diplomatic crisis that continued until 2003.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/israeli-lawmakers-battle-ties-nazi-linked-austrian-party/?



IDF sanctions Gaza bus companies for aiding Hamas
 April 17, 2018
After warning Gazan bus companies, the IDF is sanctioning 14 of them for aiding Hamas’ violence on the border with Israel. 
By: World Israel News Staff
The IDF announced that it has leveled sanctions against 14 Gaza-based bus companies and their owners for aiding Hamas in busing protesters to the border with Israel to participate in the violent daily demonstrations.
The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the IDF unit responsible for implementing government policy in Judea and Samaria and vis-à-vis the Gaza Strip, announced Monday that 14 Gazan companies were identified as aiding the transportation of “Hamas terrorists and violent rioters” to the Gaza border.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/idf-sanctions-gaza-bus-companies-aiding-hamas/?

Report: Jordan quashes pro-Palestinian demonstration in capital
 April 16, 2018
Report: Jordan quashes pro-Palestinian demonstration in capitalAn anti-Israel demonstration in Jordan. (PressTV)
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Security services do not allow march that was to show support for the violent anti-Israel demonstrators at the Gazan border.
By: Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News
A march in the Jordanian capital by citizens who wanted to show their solidarity with the three-week-old Palestinian protest at the Gazan border with Israel was nipped in the bud by security services on Friday, according to the Anadolu news agency.
While chanting slogans such as “It’s my right to return to Palestine” and “Jerusalem is our capital,” the demonstrators started making their way after prayers at an Amman mosque to the city’s central Al-Nahl Square. Before they got there, however, representatives of Jordan’s security services convinced them to call off their march, the report said.
The Friday rioting attracted fewer demonstrators in comparison to the previous two weeks, but still some 10,000 Palestinians gathered at five locations near the border fence. The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit reported several attempts to sabotage or cut through the security infrastructure, with rocks and explosive devices hurled, large Israeli flags and posters of Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Liberman burned, and more tires set alight.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/gaza-rioters-try-firebomb-israel-kites/?


Gaza rioters try to firebomb Israel with kites
 April 16, 2018
Gaza rioters try to firebomb Israel with kitesPalestinians fly kites near the Gaza border with Israel. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
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Gazans fail in new kind of attack during third week of violent demonstrations at the border with Israel.
By: Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News
Instead of their conventional way of propelling a flammable device toward Israeli soldiers, Palestinian terrorists on Friday attempted to hit the Jewish state by attaching Molotov cocktails to kites and flying them over the border fence during their third week of violent demonstrations.
The low-tech method failed to do much harm, however, as one kite caused just a small fire in a field adjacent to Kibbutz Kissufim, and another temporarily set fire to a field near Kibbutz Be’eri. They were both extinguished quickly and there were no casualties.
At least one other similarly-laden kite was spotted by the IDF, which published a picture of it flying over the heads of hundreds of protestors near the fence. That one failed to cross the border, falling inside the Strip and exploding.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/gaza-rioters-try-firebomb-israel-kites/?


Israel approves measures restricting trade with North Korea
 April 16, 2018
Israel approves measures restricting trade with North KoreaThe Knesset's Economic Affairs Committee in session. (Yonatan
The Knesset updated its directives regarding sanctions on North Korea, in accordance with UNSC resolutions.
By: World Israel News Staff
On Sunday, the Knesset’s Economic Affairs Committee approved orders related to supervision of and limits on trade with North Korea, also known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).
The orders were issued by the Ministry of Economy. About two and a half years ago, the committee approved a directive which bans the export of luxury goods to North Korea, in accordance with resolutions adopted by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
As part of the effort to press the Asian dictatorship to relinquish its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, the UNSC has recently passed additional resolutions which introduced a limit of 4 million barrels, or 525,000 tons, in the aggregate amount per a twelve-month period allowed for the supply, sale or transfer of crude oil by Member States to the DPRK; banned nearly 90 percent of refined petroleum product exports to North Korea by capping them at 500,000 barrels a year; expanded sanctions by introducing a ban on DPRK’s export of food and agricultural products, machinery, electrical equipment, earth and stone including magnesite and magnesia, wood and vessels; prohibited the DPRK from selling or transferring fishing rights; introduced a ban on the supply, sale or transfer to the DPRK of all industrial machinery, transportation vehicles, iron, steel and other metals; and prohibited the export by the DPRK of coal, iron, iron ore, lead, lead ore and seafood.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/israel-approves-measures-restricting-trade-north-korea/?


Analysis: Iran’s plummeting currency reflects country’s economic, military concerns
 April 16, 2018
Corruption, political infighting and fear of a collapse of the Iranian nuclear deal are major factors in the rial’s fall.
By: Sean Savage/JNS
With much of the world focused on the military confrontation in Syria over that country’s use of chemical weapons, Iran’s economy took a major hit as its currency plunged to record low levels. The dive in Iran’s currency, the rial, caused a panic among Iranians as the government sought to keep things under control.
However, the ongoing threat of a major war in Syria—where Iran is heavily involved in support of Syrian President Bashar Assad—coupled with the potential collapse of the Iranian nuclear deal next month could spell major instability ahead for Iran.
Since the beginning of the year, the rial has lost nearly one-third of its value. When Iranian President Hassan Rouhani came to power in 2013, $1 equaled 36,000 rials; now that figure stands near 60,000 rials to the dollar. However, the currency devaluation has been a trend since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, when the dollar equaled 70 rials.
In order to ease the panic, the Iranian government announced this week that it was going to set the official exchange rate at 42,000 rials to the dollar, while threatening harsh punishment to anyone trying to exchange money at a different rate.
While currency devaluations such as this are sometimes tied to issues such as a trade imbalance or slumping oil prices, Iran’s non-oil imports in 2017 were $47 billion, with oil sales at $55 billion, leaving a currency surplus of $17 billion.
Corruption, political infighting kill the rial
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/analysis-irans-plummeting-currency-reflects-countrys-economic-military-concerns/?


US to hit Russia with new sanctions for aiding Syria’s Assad
 April 16, 2018
US to hit Russia with new sanctions for aiding Syria’s AssadUS Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley (AP/Mary Altaffer)
“The international community will not allow chemical weapons to come back into our everyday life,” said Haley while announcing new sanctions on Russia for enabling Syria.  
By: AP and World Israel News Staff
President Donald Trump’s aides on Sunday stressed continuing US troop involvement in Syria and plans for new economic sanctions against Russia for enabling the government of Bashar Assad.
Stepping up the pressure on Syria’s president, US Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Nikki Haley indicated the sanctions to be announced Monday would be aimed at sending a message to Russia, which she said has blocked six attempts by the UN Security Council (UNSC) to make it easier to investigate the use of chemical weapons.
“Everyone is going to feel it at this point,” Haley said, warning of consequences for Assad’s foreign allies.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/us-hit-russia-new-sanctions-aiding-syrias-assad/?

IDF source credits Israel with attack on Iranians in Syria
 April 16, 2018
IDF source credits Israel with attack on Iranians in SyriaSite of the Israeli strike in Syria in December 2017. (Arab media)
American paper cites anonymous officer who says Israel acted to contain Iranian efforts to establish bases in Syria, but later amends report to reflect IDF’s official position.
By: Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News
Although nobody would confirm the admission officially, a senior member of the IDF was quoted in the New York Times Monday as stating that Israel did indeed attack a Syrian air base a week ago.
“It was the first time we attacked live Iranian targets — both facilities and people,” said the source, according to the paper.
The T-4 base that was hit by at least three missiles had been the launchpad of an Iranian drone sent into Israeli airspace on February 10th which had been quickly shot down by an Israeli air force helicopter.
Israel had openly reacted to the violation of its sovereignty at the time by hitting the base with several IAF jets in what was the largest strike on Syria since the First Lebanon War. IAF Chief of Staff Brig. Gen. Tomer Bar described that mission as an attack on advanced long-range surface-to-air missiles, components of Syria’s air-defense system, and the Iranian mobile control center that had been responsible for the drone.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/unnamed-army-source-confirms-israeli-attack-syria-idf-says-no-comment/?




Israel and Russia: Friends or foes in Syria?
 April 16, 2018
Israel and Russia: Friends or foes in Syria?PM Benjamin Netanyahu meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, June 7, 2016. (Haim Zach/GPO)
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Putin and Netanyahu have built a relationship based on mutual understanding if not agreement. How does Syria fit in? 
By: Daniel Krygier, World Israel News
Israel has been frequently criticized for its military intervention in Syria. Those opposing it claim that this policy increasingly puts Jerusalem on a collision course with Russia. However, critics ignore the dangers of not enforcing Israel’s red lines in Syria.
Iran’s genocidal regime demands Israel’s destruction and supports terrorist organizations Hezbollah in the north and Hamas in the south. A further Iranian entrenchment in Syria would constitute a grave and unacceptable threat to the Jewish state’s national security. It was recently revealed that the Iranian drone that was neutralized by the Israeli Air force after violating Israeli airspace two months ago was equipped with explosives.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/israel-russia-friends-foes-syria/?


Students discover ancient menorah-adorned lamp while preparing Independence Day surprise
 April 16, 2018
Students discover ancient menorah-adorned lamp while preparing Independence Day surpriseThe oil lamp and other discoveries from the Sanhedrin Trail. (Clara Amit/IAA)
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Israeli students preparing a gift for the state discovered an ancient precursor of Israel’s national symbol. 
By: World Israel News Staff
Israeli students working on the interactive “Sanhedrin Trail” in honor of Israel’s 70th independence celebrations did not imagine that the symbol of the state of Israel would unexpectedly emerge from the ground in the form of an ancient oil lamp bearing the symbol of the Temple’s menorah.
Over the past year, thousands of students in the Galilee have been excavating and organizing Israel’s first “smart trail,” in which dozens of stones on the trail relay information, history and activities to hikers’ mobile telephones.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/surprise-students-preparing-independence-day-gift-uncover-ancient-oil-lamp-adorned-with-



Report: Jordan quashes pro-Palestinian demonstration in capital
 April 16, 2018
Report: Jordan quashes pro-Palestinian demonstration in capitalAn anti-Israel demonstration in Jordan. (PressTV)
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Security services do not allow march that was to show support for the violent anti-Israel demonstrators at the Gazan border.
By: Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News
A march in the Jordanian capital by citizens who wanted to show their solidarity with the three-week-old Palestinian protest at the Gazan border with Israel was nipped in the bud by security services on Friday, according to the Anadolu news agency.
While chanting slogans such as “It’s my right to return to Palestine” and “Jerusalem is our capital,” the demonstrators started making their way after prayers at an Amman mosque to the city’s central Al-Nahl Square. Before they got there, however, representatives of Jordan’s security services convinced them to call off their march, the report said.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/report-jordan-quashes-pro-palestinian-demonstration-capital/?

IDF destroys Gaza cross-border terror-tunnel
 April 15, 2018
IDF destroys Gaza cross-border terror-tunnelIDF soldiers work to discover and dismantle Hamas’s terror tunnels in the Gaza Strip in July 2014. (IDF)
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The IDF has exposed and neutralized a fifth underground terror threat emanating from a Hamas terror tunnel.
By: World Israel News Staff
IDF forces on Saturday exposed and destroyed a terror tunnel running from Jabalia, in northern Gaza, into southern Israel near the community of Nahal Oz.
The tunnel was exposed in what the IDF described as an “engineering operation” inside Israeli territory, conducted by combined Israel forces.
An IDF spokesman said the tunnel was dug by the Hamas terror group and was connected to an intricate network of other tunnels running through Gaza.
This is the fifth tunnel exposed and demolished by Israel on the border with Gaza in recent months. In this case, the IDF sealed, rather than bombed, the underground structure.
The tunnel ran under the border in an area where Palestinian protesters have been clashing with Israeli forces, the IDF said.
The IDF noted that the tunnel, which ran into Israeli territory, was exposed at its early stages and was under constant monitoring.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/idf-destroys-gaza-cross-border-terror-tunnel/?


Iron Dome voted greatest Israeli invention of all time
 April 15, 2018
Iron Dome voted greatest Israeli invention of all timeAn Iron Dome battery intercepts rockets from Gaza. (Uri Lenzl/Flash90)
Israelis voted for their all-time top Israeli invention. Which is yours?
By: Mara Vigevani/TPS
The Iron Dome missile defense system has been voted Israel’s all time top innovation in a competition organized by the Ministry of Economy in honor of Israel’s 70th Yom Ha’atzmaut (Independence Day) celebrations, which will kick off Wednesday evening.
Iron Dome received 28 percent of the 115,000 votes cast in the online competition titled “70 Great Blue and White Inventions.”
The Waze mobile navigation app came in second with 17.77 percent of the votes, a fraction ahead of the drip irrigation system which received 17.75 percent. A mere 12 votes separated the two.
The Israel Innovation Authority presented 70 inventions for the competition, in which nine made it to the second stage.
The USB flash drive came in fourth with 10.96 percent of the votes, followed by the Memic’s micro-surgery robot with 9 percent. Water Gen, a technology to extract fresh water directly from the air, came in sixth with 8 percent of the votes, while Source Sandals, famous for their non-slip sole even in wet conditions came in seventh with 4 percent.
Closing off the list were Check Point Software Technologies for its firewall software and the Ofek reconnaissance satellites with some 2 percent each.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/iron-dome-voted-greatest-israeli-invention-of-all-time/?



IDF: Downed Iranian drone was armed to attack Israel

IDF intelligence revealed that an intercepted Iranian drone was carrying explosives when it infiltrated Israeli airspace earlier this year. 

By: TPS

An Iranian drone that penetrated Israeli airspace in early February was armed with an explosive device and its operators had planned to carry out an attack inside Israel, the IDF said Friday night.

“After flight path analysis and an operational and intelligence-based investigation of the Iranian UAV that infiltrated Israeli airspace on February 10, 2018, the IDF concluded that the Iranian UAV was armed with explosives and was tasked to attack Israel,” an IDF spokesman said.

“By intercepting the Iranian UAV, IAF combat helicopters prevented the attack Iran had hoped to carry out in Israel. The UAV was identified and tracked by Israeli defense systems until its destruction, effectively eliminating any threat the Iranian UAV posed,” the spokesman added.

In response to the penetration of the drone, Israeli fighter planes conducted the largest strike on Syria since the first Lebanon War, hitting a mobile Iranian control center that sent the drone into Israeli airspace and then striking 12 targets in the country after Syrian Army air-defenses shot down an Israeli F-16I jet as it returned to Israel following the initial strike.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/idf-downed-iranian-drone-armed-attack-israel/?



Netanyahu declares Israel’s ‘full support’ for US-led Syrian strike
 April 14, 2018
Netanyahu declares Israel’s ‘full support’ for US-led Syrian strikePrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Marc Israel Sellem/POOL)
Prime Minister Netanyahu, in addition to several other high-ranking Israeli officials, expressed approval of the allied strike on Syrian targets following the most recent chemical attack in the war torn nation.
By: World Israel News Staff
Following targeted airstrikes launched by a coalition of US, UK, and French forces, a statement issued by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on Saturday offered Israel’s support for the action.
To that end, Netanyahu declared, “A year ago, I made clear that Israel fully supports the decision by President Trump to stand against the use and spread of chemical weapons,” in an apparent reference to previous US strikes against Syria in April 2017 following a sarin gas attack attributed to Assad’s regime.
“Trump’s resolve and Israel’s support remain unchanged,” Netanyahu said. “This morning, under American leadership, the United States, France, and the United Kingdom demonstrated that their commitment to the fight against chemical weapons is not limited to declarations.”
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/netanyahu-declares-israels-full-support-us-led-syrian-strike/?



US and allies carry out ‘perfectly executed strike’ on Syria
 April 14, 2018
US and allies carry out ‘perfectly executed strike’ on SyriaDamascus skies erupt with surface to air missile fire as the U.S. launches an attack on Syria. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
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Allied missiles struck at the heart of the Syrian chemical weapons arsenal, aiming to punish the Assad government for a suspected poison gas attack against civilians and deter the possible future use of such banned weapons.
By: AP
Pentagon officials said the assault pummeled, but did not eliminate the Syrian weapons program.
“A perfectly executed strike,” President Donald Trump tweeted Saturday in the aftermath of his second decision in just over a year to attack Syria. “Could not have had a better result. Mission Accomplished!”
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/us-allies-carry-perfectly-executed-strike-syria/?



Study: 22% of young Americans never heard of the Holocaust
 April 12, 2018
Study: 22% of young Americans never heard of the HolocaustHolocaust survivors. (AP)
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According to a survey published on Thursday, one-fifth of young Americans have never heard of the genocide committed against the Jews in World War II or are unclear as to what actually transpired.
By: World Israel News Staff
A recent study entitled “The National Survey of Holocaust Awareness and Knowledge Among Adults in the United States” commissioned by the Claims Conference revealed that a startling percentage of Americans are unaware of key facts regarding what occurred during the Holocaust.
Perhaps even more shocking, 58% of the 1,350 people polled fear that another Holocaust could be perpetrated in the future. The poll also revealed that 22% of people aged 18-24 hadn’t even heard of the Holocaust, while 11% percent of 25-34-year-olds claimed to be unfamiliar with it.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/study-22-us-millennials-dont-know-holocaust/?




South Carolina becomes first state to pass bill confronting anti-Semitism
 April 15, 2018
South Carolina becomes first state to pass bill confronting anti-SemitismNeo-Nazis march. (AP/Steve Helber)
“Anti-Semitism, and the forces that have led to its resurgence, are not representative of the values of South Carolina,” said State Representative Alan Clemmons.
By: JNS and World Israel News Staff
South Carolina became the first state to pass legislation to protect students from anti-Semitic acts.
The State Senate overwhelmingly approved the legislation, H3643, in a 37-4 vote on Thursday as part of a larger spending package. The bill passed the State House of Representatives in March in a 116-2 vote. South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster has previously expressed support for the bill and is expected to sign it into law.
“Anti-Semitism, and the forces that have led to its resurgence, are not representative of the values of South Carolina,” said State Representative Alan Clemmons, who authored the legislation.
The South Carolina bill will help break down the barriers in the fight against anti-Semitism by providing educators and administrators with a clear and uniform definition to recognize anti-Jewish bigotry, according to the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under the Law.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/south-carolina-becomes-first-state-pass-bill-confronting-anti-semitism/?



Holocaust survivors Simon Gronowski and Alice Gerstel Weit reunited after more than 70 years. There was much hugging and crying as the two old friends shared memories from a long-ago past.
By: AP
When Alice Gerstel bid an emotional farewell to her family’s closest friends in October 1941, she was hopeful she’d see “Little Simon” Gronowski again. And she did — 76 years later and half a world away from where they were separated in Brussels.
Gerstel and her Jewish family had hidden in the Gronowskis’ home for nearly two weeks before her father sent word from France that he had reached a deal with a smuggler who would get her, her siblings and their mother safely out of Nazi-occupied Belgium.
The Gronowskis, also Jewish, decided to stay. They hid for 18 months until the Nazis came knocking at the family’s door and put Simon, his sister and mother on a death train to Auschwitz.
“I thought the entire family was murdered. I had no idea,” Gerstel (now Gerstel Weit) said Wednesday, the day after their tearful reunion. She and her friend clutched hands at the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust as they recounted their story.
“You didn’t know that I jumped off the train?” asked Gronowski, now 86.
“No, no. I didn’t know anything,” his 89-year-old friend replied.
The two will return to the museum Sunday to recount to visitors how the Holocaust ripped apart a pair of families that had become fast friends after a chance meeting at a Belgian beach resort in 1939. How it led an 11-year-old boy to make one of the most daring escapes of the war. How it put the other family on a perilous journey through occupied France that reads like a scene from the film “Casablanca.”
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/friends-separated-holocaust-reunite-california/?



US envoy blasts Palestinian negotiator’s ’empty, self-indulgent rhetoric’
 April 16, 2018
US envoy blasts Palestinian negotiator’s ’empty, self-indulgent rhetoric’US Special Envoy Jason Greenblatt (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
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US envoy slams senior Palestinian official’s claims that he is taking Israel’s side regarding the ongoing conflict at the Gaza border.
By: Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News
Jason Greenblatt, President Donald Trump’s Special Representative for International Negotiations, hit back Friday after being accused of automatically “repeat[ing] Israeli talking points” while “omitting any word of condemnation” of Israeli forces at the Gaza border fence, where daily violence orchestrated by Hamas has been ongoing.
Chief Palestinian Authority (PA) negotiator Saeb Erekat had leveled these highly critical accusations at Greenblatt and the American administration in a letter sent to all foreign diplomats in Ramallah last week. Not for the first time, Erekat also dismissed the idea that Washington could serve as an impartial peace broker since, as he put it, “those who do not consider that the lives of Palestinians and Israelis are of equal value cannot possibly promote any plan that will be remotely close to a just and lasting peace
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/us-envoy-blasts-palestinian-negotiators-empty-self-indulgent-rhetoric/?

Palestinians lead Arab effort to deny Israel UN Security Council seat
 April 13, 2018
Palestinians lead Arab effort to deny Israel UN Security Council seatPalestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks during a meeting with the Palestinian Central Council (AP/Majdi Mohammed,l)
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Arab nations act early to block Israel’s selection to UN Security Council
By World Israel News Staff
On June 8, the 193 members of the United Nations General Assembly will select two nations to fill the non-permanent seats on the Security Council that are not reserved for Africa, Latin America and Asia-Pacific.
Israel is campaigning for a seat but faces fierce opposition from the UN’s Arab members, led by the Palestinians.
“We are doing everything possible to convince as many countries as possible to block the vote on Israel’s bid for a seat at the Security Council,” Palestinian foreign minister, Riyad al-Maliki told reporters in Riyadh ahead of the Arab Summit this weekend.
UN regulations mandate that a nation receive two-thirds of the vote to win a seat on the Council.  Voting as a bloc, the Arab nations represent 56 votes, less than the required one-third to derail Israel’s candidacy but a significant base on which to build the necessary opposition.
Maliki stated that the campaign against Israel’s ascension has European support but no specific countries were mentioned.


Trump to strategize with allies before Syria strike decision
 April 13, 2018
Trump to strategize with allies before Syria strike decision
President Donald Trump. (AP/Evan Vucci)
President Donald Trump has put off a final decision on possible military strikes against Syria after tweeting earlier that they could happen “very soon or not so soon at all.”
By: AP
The White House said on Thursday that President Donald Trump he would consult further with allies. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis warned such an attack carried the risk of spinning out of control, suggesting caution ahead of a decision on how to respond to an attack against civilians last weekend that U.S. officials are increasingly certain involved the use of banned chemical weapons. British officials said up to 75 people were killed.
The White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, said in a brief statement after Trump met with Mattis and other members of his National Security Council: “No final decision has been made. We are continuing to assess intelligence and are engaged in conversations with our partners and allies.”
Sanders said Trump would speak later with French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Theresa May.
Although Mattis noted that military action carried risks, he also emphasized that Syrian use of chemical weapons should not be tolerated. And he insisted it remains U.S. policy not to be involved directly in Syria’s civil war.
“Our strategy remains the same as a year ago,” he said. “It is to drive this to a U.N.-brokered peace but, at the same time, keep our foot on the neck of ISIS until we suffocate it,” referring to the Islamic State extremist group.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/trump-strategize-allies-syria-strike-decision/?


WATCH: Palestinian TV promotes Holocaust denial, Nazi conspiracies
 April 13, 2018
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Palestinian writer Hani Abu Zeid accuses the Jews of colluding with Hitler in what he terms the “false Holocaust,” in a tirade attacking current Israeli leaders.
The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI)
WATCH https://worldisraelnews.com/watch-palestinian-tv-promotes-holocaust-denial-nazi-conspiracies/?



Palestinian rioters try to breach barrier with explosives, Molotov cocktails
 April 13, 2018
Palestinian rioters try to breach barrier with explosives, Molotov cocktailsPalestinians violently riot at the Gaza border. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)
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For the third week in a row, Palestinians staged violent, smoke-filled riots along the Gaza border, guided by the day’s theme of burning Israeli flags.
By: World Israel News Staff
Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip remained the site of unruly demonstrations by Palestinians, directed by the Hamas terrorist organization that has ruled the coastal enclave for the past decade.
According to the IDF, Palestinians attempted to breach Israel’s border fence using explosives and Molotov cocktails.
“The IDF will not allow damage to the security and fence infrastructures that protect Israeli citizens and will act against violent rioters and terrorists involved,” said the IDF statement.
In the run up to Friday’s riots, Palestinians used hashtags such as #BurningFlag and #RaisingFlag on social media to encourage mass burning of Israeli flags. While the rioting has been portrayed as a peaceful “Great March of Return,” a large number of the protesters that have been killed have been identified by Hamas itself as military operatives and members of the terrorist organization.
Organizers have used fiery rhetoric to incite Gazans, who exist under Hamas’ totalitarian Islamic regime. In a recent video, Hamas leader Yehia al-Sinwar declared, “We will take down the border [with Israel] and we will tear out their hearts from their bodies.”
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/palestinians-resume-violent-riots-gaza-border-burn-israel-flags/?


WATCH: Has anti-Semitism entered a ‘new phase’?
April 13, 2018
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Normalization and mainstreaming of anti-Semitism not seen since World War II appears to be occurring, according to  a Tel Aviv University Kantor Center report.
ANNUAL ANTI-SEMITISM REPORT : 'Anti-Semitism has entered a new phase'
World Israel News
Published on 12 Apr 2018
Tel Aviv University’s Kantor Center released the 2017 Annual Report on Antisemitism Worldwide noting that Europe’s largest Jewish communities are experiencing a normalization and mainstreaming of anti-Semitism not seen since World War II.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=jN1a6yYeQtg


UNESCO shelves anti-Israel resolutions for six months
 April 13, 2018
UNESCO shelves anti-Israel resolutions for six monthsUNESCO Director-General, Audrey Azoulay (AP/Michel Euler)
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“It shows … that dialogue is still possible and it can happen here in UNESCO,” claimed the agency’s director-general.
By: Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News
In a victory for the power of diplomacy, the Executive Board of the United Nations Organization for Education, Science, and Culture (UNESCO) agreed Thursday to postpone a vote on two anti-Israel resolutions at least until the next meeting of the board in half a year. Over a dozen Arab and Muslim states joined the rest of the 58-member board, including Israel, making the decision unanimous.
The decision was applauded by UNESCO’s new Director-General, Audrey Azoulay. “It is a very important day for UNESCO and its executive board,” she said. “And I welcome the spirit of dialogue and responsibility that was shown today in the discussions regarding the Middle East, where for once — and it’s been a long time since it has happened – we’ve been able to reach a consensus without vote on the sensitive issues.”
Thanking the Israeli, Palestinian, Jordanian, American and EU delegations for actively supporting the dialogue, Azoulay also hoped that this rare agreement would be “a moment on which we can build” to restore “peace, dialogue, and cooperation” on UNESCO’s mandate. This, she stressed, was to work together for the advancement of science, culture, education and freedom of expression.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/unesco-shelves-anti-israel-resolutions-six-months/?

Germany refuses to join potential strike on Syria
 April 12, 2018
Germany refuses to join potential strike on SyriaGerman Chancellor Angela Merkel (AP/Markus Schreiber)
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Notwithstanding pervasive reports that chemical weapons attacks have been inflicted on Syrian civilians, Germany announces that it will not participate in a military response there.
By: Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News
On Thursday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that although Germany “support[s] … that everything is being done to send a signal that this use of chemical weapons is not acceptable,” the nation won’t participate in military action in Syria.
Russia, meanwhile, continues to maintain that reports of chemical weapons used in the Saturday attack on rebel-held Douma are false. Russian news agency Tass reported on Tuesday that according to the country’s Defense Ministry, it was a civil defense group called the White Helmets that alleged that chlorine bombs were dropped on the town — and that this organization was “known for its fake news.”
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/germany-refuses-join-potential-strike-syria/?


Trump: Syria attack ‘could be very soon or not so soon’
 April 12, 2018
Trump: Syria attack ‘could be very soon or not so soon’President Donald Trump. (AP/Evan Vucci)
After a series of threatening messages were exchanged between Russia and the US regarding possible military action in Syria, President Trump tweeted mixed signals on Washington’s next move.
By: Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News
On Thursday, US President Donald Trump seemingly took a breather, after responding angrily the day before to Moscow’s threats to intercept any missiles fired at its  Mediterranean ally, Syria, and to strike back at the sources of the launches.
“Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria. Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and ‘smart!’,” Trump had tweeted on Wednesday, not budging from his vow to respond to the regime’s alleged chemical attack on its own civilians last Saturday that killed dozens.
However, in the early morning hours, he took to his favorite social media platform to claim, “Never said when an attack on Syria would take place. Could be very soon or not so soon at all!”
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/trump-syria-attack-soon-not-soon/?


Parkland victims honored with new Israeli ‘ambucycles’
 April 12, 2018
Parkland victims honored with new Israeli ‘ambucycles’United Hatzalah ambucycles. (courtesy)
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As the State of Israel prepares to celebrate 70 years of independence, a leading Israeli volunteer organization is providing “ambucycles” in honor of the Parkland school shooting victims.
By: Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News
As part of the Jewish state’s Independence Day celebrations next Thursday, a leading Israeli organization will oversee the donation of a whole new fleet of 70 specialized ambulance-motorcycles (“ambucycles”).
Nine of the new ambucycles were donated in response to the tragedy of the mass shooting in a Florida high school in February. The Jewish community of Palm Beach, Florida raised the money “to leave a legacy of lifesaving for the children and teachers killed in the horrific attack,” according to the organization’s statement. Five of the 17 students and staff members killed by a white supremacist at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School were Jewish.
The ambucycles will be numbered 1948 through 2018, one for each year of modern Israel’s existence, and donors can choose to fund a specific year that means something special to them. The dedication ceremony will take place in Bat Yam, in the presence of the Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi David Lau, and Professor Alan Dershowitz, the well-known law professor and author who has defended and supported Israel on countless occasions in public forums.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/parkland-victims-honored-new-israeli-ambucycles/?


WATCH: Teen uses Israeli intel to unlock mystery of Great Potato Famine
 April 11, 2018
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A high school student from New York used Israeli intel to discover the root cause of the Great Irish Potato Famine, which destroyed the economy and claimed nearly 1 million lives during the mid-1800s.
Israeli Intel Helps Solve The Great Potato Famine - Apr. 10, 2018
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=7&v=6jqek8Bclko


Despite chemical weapons attacks, Syria to chair UN conference on disarmament
 April 10, 2018
Despite chemical weapons attacks, Syria to chair UN conference on disarmamentA Syrian father lost his 9-mont-old twins in chemical weapons attack in 2017. (Alaa Alyousef via AP)
“Having the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad preside over global chemical and nuclear weapons disarmament will be like putting a serial rapist in charge of a women’s shelter,” Hillel Neuer — executive director of UN Watch — declared in a statement..
By: Ben Cohen, The Algemeiner
The Syrian regime is to preside over a UN conference on disarmament next month, despite its consistent use of chemical weapons during a seven-year-old civil war — most recently on Saturday, when at least 42 people, including many children, were killed in a suspected toxic gas attack on the town of Douma that left many victims struggling to breathe and foaming at the mouth.
The Geneva-based NGO UN Watch said on Monday that it was calling on ambassadors from the US, the EU and other democracies to walk out of the UN’s Conference on Disarmament in Geneva during the four weeks when the Syrian regime’s envoy, Hussam Edin Aala, serves as president of the conference.
“Having the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad preside over global chemical and nuclear weapons disarmament will be like putting a serial rapist in charge of a women’s shelter,” Hillel Neuer — executive director of UN Watch — declared in a statement.
Neuer said his organization was urging the UN “to understand that at a time when Syria is gassing its own men, women, and children to death, to see Syria heading the world body that is supposed to protect these victims will simply shock the conscience of humanity.”
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/despite-chemical-weapons-attacks-syria-to-chair-un-conference-on-disarmament/?


Arab social media users defend Israel, slam Hamas over human rights abuses
 April 9, 2018
Arab social media users defend Israel, slam Hamas over human rights abusesPalestinian protesters on the Gaza border. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)
Arabs from countries outside of Israel and the Palestinian-run territories are defending Israel in the current wave of violence at the border with Gaza and denouncing Hamas for abusing its own people.
By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Arabic-language Facebook and Twitter pages are usually filled with hate messages against the Jewish state during its operations against Palestinian terrorists. Surprisingly, however, the current violence at the Israel-Gaza border is eliciting a different response from some Arabic-speaking users.
A week ago Friday, 15 Palestinians were killed and more than 750 wounded by Israeli fire as 30,000 Gazan protesters marched to the border with Israel in a violent demonstration organized by Hamas. Thousands of Palestinians threw rocks and rolled burning tires toward troops, while terrorists were trying to conduct attacks under the cover of protests.
In another round of violence this past Friday, 10,000 Palestinian rioters amassed at the border, burning thousands of tires and throwing Molotov cocktails at IDF soldiers, after which social media comments decrying Hamas’ exploitation of its citizens erupted like never before.
Speaking to Ynet News, Yonatan Gonen, head of the Arabic Language Digital Diplomacy team at Israel’s Foreign Ministry, said their posts were full of thousands of responses slamming Hamas.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/arab-social-media-users-defend-israel-slam-hamas-human-rights-abuses/?

Putin warns Netanyahu not to threaten Syria
 April 12, 2018
Putin warns Netanyahu not to threaten SyriaPutin greets Netanyahu. (YouTube/Screenshot)
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President Putin reportedly tells Prime Minister Netanyahu not to threaten Syrian sovereignty
By World Israel News Staff
Moscow revealed that in a phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Russian leader “underscored the principal importance of observing the sovereignty of Syria and called for holding back from any actions that would further destabilize the situation in this country [Syria] and present threats to its security.”
The Russians, along with the Syrians and Iranians, hold Israel responsible for the recent attack on the T-4 airbase near Homs, in which a drone launch site and command center was destroyed and several ranking Iranian military personnel were killed.
Israel has not accepted responsibility for the operation although the Israeli government has long made it clear that it would not allow Iran to establish a permanent military presence in Syria.
According to a statement from the Prime Minister’s office regarding the phone call, Mr. Netanyahu took the opportunity to reiterate this point to President Putin. Any attempt by Iran to install its military in Syria is considered an unassailable red-line for the Jewish State.
The phone call between the two leaders comes a day after President Trump tweeted that missiles “will be coming” to Syria in response to the use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime against the city of Douma. Russian military officials announced this morning, that Syrian government forces have taken control of the city and surrounding areas, bringing to an end the bitter battle for one of the last rebel-held enclaves.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/putin-tells-netanyahu-tread-lightly-syria/?


Iran threatens Israel’s ‘very existence,’ warns secretary of state nominee Pompeo
 April 12, 2018
Iran threatens Israel’s ‘very existence,’ warns secretary of state nominee PompeoSecretary of State nominee Mike Pompeo. (AP/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
US President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of state warned on Thursday that Iran’s activities in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon “threaten the very existence of Israel.”
By: The Algemeiner
“Iran’s activities in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon threaten the very existence of Israel, and the global reach of Hezbollah threatens us right here in the homeland,” Mike Pompeo — currently director of the CIA — was expected to tell senators at his confirmation hearing on Thursday morning.
In an an advance copy of his remarks to the senators, Pompeo was quoted as saying that Iran has not paid enough of a price for its “dangerous activities.”
“Our administration has developed a strategy to counter Iran to raise that cost,” Pompeo said. “The issues surrounding Iran’s proliferation threat are real and we, along with our allies, must deal with the long-term risk that its capability presents.”
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/iran-threatens-israels-existence-warns-secretary-state-nominee-pompeo/?



WATCH: Remembering the Righteous Diplomats who saved Jews during the Holocaust
 April 12, 2018
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On Holocaust Remembrance Day, Israel commemorates the 6 million Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust, as well as the 36 Righteous Diplomats from 21 countries, who risked their lives to save thousands of Jews during WWII.

Remembering the Righteous Diplomats who saved Jews during the Holocaust
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7CVTs2jk20&ab_channel=Israel%27sForeignAffairsMin.


Experts: Israel-Iran conflict in Syria could spiral into war
 April 11, 2018
Experts: Israel-Iran conflict in Syria could spiral into war(Shutterstock)
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Israeli analysts agree that tensions have risen dramatically in recent days, but offer differing appraisals of the likelihood of the crisis leading to a full military conflict.
By: Steve Leibowitz, World Israel News
The airstrike widely attributed to Israel, against the Iranian T-4 air base in Syria on Monday has sparked a ratcheting up of warlike rhetoric from Iran.
Jerusalem is maintaining its official policy of ambiguity regarding the airstrike, neither confirming nor denying that it was behind the attack. The US confirmed that Israel was responsible, while Russia broke its custom of not commenting and said the attack was carried out by two Israeli F-15 fighter jets, firing eight missiles at the Tiyas base.
Fourteen people were reportedly killed in the strike and according to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), at least seven of the group’s members were among those killed in the alleged Israeli strike, including one high ranking officer. This is only the second such admission by Iran.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/experts-israel-iran-conflict-syria-spiral-war/?


Israeli Air Force rehearsal terrifies Tel Aviv
 April 12, 2018
Israeli Air Force rehearsal terrifies Tel AvivIsrael Air Force General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon. (Ofer Zidon/Flash90)
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Israeli warplanes rehearsing for the annual Independence Day air show left people on the Tel Aviv coast in fear that the conflict in Syria was about to heat up.
By: World Israel News Staff
While in reality Israel Air Force (IAF) planes were merely engaged in practice flights ahead of the annual Independence Day national air show on April 19, the rehearsal was misinterpreted by citizens who saw the planes scream by.
The pilots performed various maneuvers and dropped anti-missile flares, all of which took an ominous appearance in light of heightened tensions along the Syrian border.
“Many calls were received from worried citizens about noise from a squadron of planes in the Tel Aviv area,” police said in statement, reported the Jerusalem Post. “We would like to make clear they were training for the Independence Day aerial display. There’s no emergency.”
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/mistaken-fosyrian-escalation-iaf-air-show-rehearsal-terrifies-tel-aviv/?


WATCH: US Congresswoman introduces ‘Never Again’ bill
 April 12, 2018
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US Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) has introduced legislation that would give teachers the “resources and training” to more effectively provide Holocaust education in the US. The bill enjoys widespread, bipartisan support.

US Holocaust Bill Introduced - Apr. 11, 2018
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=8WQ1rH6ZXfE&ab_channel=ILTVISRAELDAILY



Killing Jews is not ‘freedom of expression’
 April 12, 2018
Killing Jews is not ‘freedom of expression’Palestinian security forces (AP)
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The “March of Return” is Hamas’ way of saying that it refuses to accept defeat and seeks to turn the clock back to the Arab assault on the nascent Jewish state in 1948.
By Daniel Krygier, Exclusive to World Israel News
The “March of Return” Gaza border aggression organized by Hamas, has absurdly been described by EU’s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini as “freedom of expression” and “freedom of assembly”. In reality, there is no “freedom of expression” in Gaza other than incitement against murdering Jews and calling for the destruction of Israel.
By blaming Israel for defending itself, instead of holding Hamas accountable for its aggression, the UN and EU endangers the lives of civilians on both sides of the conflict. Hamas deliberately targets Israeli civilians while cynically hiding behind Arab civilians, a double war crime. The same international community that demanded that Israel leaves Gaza, now hypocritically attacks the Jewish state for defending its border and citizens.
Many critics argue that Gaza is a tinderbox with an impending humanitarian crisis. If the Hamas regime focused on peacefully building Gaza instead of destroying Israel and murdering Jews, there would be no casualties and no conflict with Israel.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/killing-jews-not-freedom-expression/?



White House – PA rift may sideline Trump peace plan
 April 12, 2018
White House – PA rift may sideline Trump peace planPA President Mahmoud Abbas (Onur Coban/Pool Photo via AP)
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Palestinian displeasure with President Trump may render peace proposal still-born
By World Israel News staff
Speaking at a conference on Jerusalem in Ramallah on Wednesday, PA President Mahmoud Abbas, reiterated his stance that the Palestinian Assembly will not accept any  peace proposal proffered by the Trump Administration.
“We honestly will not wait for anything from them, and we will not accept anything from them,” Abbas said.
President Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capitol and his accelerated timetable to move the US Embassy to the city angered the Palestinians, as well as many in the Muslim world. Since then, relations between the US and the PA would best be described as ‘chilly’.
For its part, a White House official acknowledged that the much anticipated plan, dubbed by the President as the ‘deal of the century’ is facing a “disconnect” with the Palestinians, which he further described as “not a small blip”.
At present, the details of the plan remain unknown, although it is believed to be in the final phase of development and could be unveiled in the near future. However, the decision to release the plan will be complicated by President Abbas’ insistence that no US proposal will be considered by his government.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/white-house-pa-rift-may-sideline-trump-peace-plan/?




IDF continues strike in response to cross-border attack
 April 12, 2018
IDF continues strike in response to cross-border attackIAF F-15s in flight. (IAF)
The IAF keeps pressure on Hamas in response to explosives targeting IDF troops.
By: World Israel News Staff
In continuing retaliation for an explosive device planted along the Gaza border and detonated by an Israeli D-9 bulldozer, the Israel Air Force (IAF) fighters bombed a Hamas “terror target in a Hamas military compound”.
Hamas terrorists responded with machine gun fire but failed to hit their targets. IAF aircraft intercepted the terror cell, killing one terrorist and seriously wounding another.
Sirens were sounded in Israeli communities in the vicinity of the incident in response to the shooting. A house was hit and lightly damaged.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/idf-continues-strike-response-cross-border-attack


Report: Anti-Semitism rises, violence against Jews falls
 April 12, 2018
Report: Anti-Semitism rises, violence against Jews fallsProtesters chant slogans during a demonstration against alleged prejudice in the Labour Party,April 8, 2018. (Dominic Lipinski/PA via AP)
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A report released by Israeli researchers says violent attacks on Jews dropped in 2017, despite a rise in other forms of anti-Semitism.
By: AP
Violent attacks on Jews worldwide dropped in 2017 despite a rise in other forms of anti-Semitism, researchers reported Wednesday, in a year characterized by normalization and mainstreaming of anti-Semitism not seen in Europe since World War II.
Researchers at Tel Aviv University said assaults specifically targeting Jews fell 9 percent last year. They recorded 327 cases compared to 361 in 2016, which had already been the lowest number in a decade.
But they noted attacks were far more brazen. Most dramatic were a pair of cases in France, where a Jewish woman was thrown to her death out of her apartment window and a Holocaust survivor was stabbed and burned to death in her Paris home.
Threats, harassment and insults have also driven thousands of French Jews to relocate.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/report-anti-semitism-rises-violence-jews-falls/?


Russia appears to move warships away from Syrian danger zone
 April 12, 2018
Russia appears to move warships away from Syrian danger zoneRussian missile cruiser Varyag on patrol off Syria's coast. (Vadim Savitsky/Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
Although it warned the US that it would hit back if Western allies attack Syria, Russia appears to be protecting its fleet.
By: Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News
Satellite images published Wednesday show that almost the entire fleet of Russian warships based in the Syrian naval base of Tartus has gone to sea. The photos were posted on Twitter by ImageSat International, an Israeli company which focuses on high-resolution satellite imagery.
There are various possibilities why the eleven ships, including two submarines, have left port, of course. They could be going on maneuvers, assuming defensive positions that can intercept missiles as American destroyers are edging closer to the Syrian coast, or deserting their Middle Eastern ally by moving out of the way of a possible Western strike.
President Donald Trump has vowed to retaliate for a deadly chemical attack the Syrian regime allegedly carried out on Saturday against the rebel-held enclave of Douma. The US Navy has already sent two destroyers to the area that were close by, and announced Wednesday that an entire strike group of several destroyers and a guided-missile cruiser are being deployed to the Mediterranean.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/russia-appears-move-warships-away-syrian-danger-zone/?



WATCH: Israeli leaders lay wreaths at Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony
 April 12, 2018
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, along with other Israeli leaders, participated in a wreath-laying ceremony for Holocaust Remembrance Day, at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem.
PM Netanyahu in wreath-laying ceremony for Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Day
WATCH https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=20&v=UQw1kVtViaU&ab_channel=IsraeliPM
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Interior minister investigating entry by anti-Israel Irish politician
 April 11, 2018
Interior minister investigating entry by anti-Israel Irish politicianDublin mayor and BDS proponent Mícheál Mac Donncha. (Twitter)
Despite attempts to ban the entry of Dublin’s mayor due to his virulently anti-Israel activity and BDS involvement, the Irish politician claimed via Twitter to have already entered the Jewish state.
By: Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News
After declaring that the mayor of Dublin, Mícheál Éamonn Mac Donncha, was not allowed to enter the country due to his anti-Israel activities, Israeli government ministries involved discovered that Donncha was already in Ramallah, preparing for a Palestinian solidarity conference.
Israel’s Ministry of Strategic Affairs, which is responsible for making recommendations to the ministry in charge of the Immigration Authority, had passed on Donncha’s name as an undesirable person. However, the Immigration Authority claimed that a mistake had been made in the spelling of his name and therefore no red light came on to warn officials to stop his entry. Interior Minister Aryeh Deri has ordered an investigation to get to the bottom of the affair.
Donncha works together with the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC), which is one of the most extreme BDS groups working against the Jewish state today. It advocates boycotting almost all Israeli products, from diamonds to agricultural produce, and acts to get stores to remove them from their shelves. It calls for an arms embargo on Israel, and for boycotting Israeli businesses and international companies that operate in the Jewish state. It is, in fact, included on a government list of anti-Israel organizations whose senior members should not be allowed to enter the country.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/interior-minister-investigating-entry-anti-israel-irish-politician/?

Palestinians launch shooting attack in Samaria; no casualties
 April 11, 2018
Palestinians launch shooting attack in Samaria; no casualtiesIDF forces in action. (IDF)
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Palestinian terrorists fired at the Israeli community of Sha’arei Tikvah. No one was injured in the attack.
By: World Israel News Staff
Palestinian terrorists fired at the Israeli community of Sha’arei Tikvah, in Samaria, on Monday night. No one was injured in the attack.
The IDF stated that the terrorists emerged in a vehicle from the nearby Palestinian village of Beit Amin and fired at Israeli homes. One home was hit.
The IDF launched a manhunt for the terrorists.
In related news, a Bedouin carrying funds meant for terrorism was arrested on Tuesday night at the Meitar crossing, south of Hebron.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/palestinians-launch-shooting-attack-samaria-no-casualties/?


Russia vetoes UN Security Council resolution on Syrian chemical massacre
 April 11, 2018
Russia vetoes UN Security Council resolution on Syrian chemical massacreUS Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley votes against a draft resolution presented by Russia at the UNSC. (AP/Julie Jacobson)
The UN’s most powerful body has remained paralyzed in the face of Syrian chemical attacks on civilians, with the Russians protecting the Assad regime. 
By: AP
Rival US and Russian resolutions to determine responsibility for chemical weapons attacks in Syria suffered defeats at the United Nations on Tuesday, a result that the Russian ambassador said the Trump administration wanted so it can “justify the use of force against Syria.”
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) also rejected another Russian-drafted resolution that would have welcomed an investigation by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) of allegations of a weekend chemical attack in the suburbs of Syria’s capital. The US, Britain and France opposed the measure, saying that the investigators are already headed there and that the text didn’t include a new way to assess blame for chemical attacks.
The council has met four times in the past week on chemical weapons in Syria, with the US, Britain and France facing off against Russia, Syrian President Bashar Assad’s key ally, which insists no chemical attack took place in the Douma suburb.
Security Council paralyzed
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/watch-israels-labor-party-severs-ties-british-counterpart-anti-semitism/?


WATCH: Former Syrian Captive Not Surprised by Syrian Gas Attack
 April 10, 2018
Theo Padnos spent two years as a hostage of al-Nusra, one of the Syrian Rebel groups.  He relates conversations with his ‘hosts’ that indicate that all sides in the Syrian Civil War would use chemical weapons to eradicate their enemy.
Former American hostage weighs in on situation in Syria
FOX NEWS 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=Y-qaILoGmFo


WATCH: Israel’s Labor party severs ties with its British counterpart over anti-Semitism
 April 11, 2018
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Avi Gabbay, the leader of Israel’s Labor Party, announced that his party will suspend relations with Britain’s Labour Party, citing its on-going hostility towards the Jewish people and recurring Anti-Semitic statements by its leader, Jeremy Corbyn.
anti-semitismIsraeli Labor partyJeremy Corbyn
WATCH 
https://worldisraelnews.com/watch-israels-labor-party-severs-ties-british-counterpart-anti-semitism/?



Hebrew songs in the concentration camp: 6 Holocaust survivors tell their stories
 April 11, 2018
Hebrew songs in the concentration camp: 6 Holocaust survivors tell their storiesA Holocaust survivor lights a torch during the Yom Hashoah ceremony. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)
These are six stories of tribulation, survival and ultimate triumph over Adolph Hitler, the Nazis and their aspirations to annihilate the Jewish people.
By: World Israel News Staff, with survivor narratives provided by Yad Vashem
Israeli will begin marking Yom HaShoah, its national Holocaust Remembrance Day, with an official opening ceremony that will take place on Wednesday evening, in Warsaw Ghetto Square, at Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem.
During the ceremony, six Holocaust survivors will light six memorial torches in memory of the six million Jews murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust.
These are their stories of tribulation, survival and ultimate triumph over Adolph Hitler, the Nazis and their aspirations to annihilate the Jewish people, as recorded by Yad Vashem.
Mirjam Lapid
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/hebrew-songs-concentration-camp-6-holocaust-survivors-tell-stories/?



Border attack on IDF triggers immediate response
 April 11, 2018
Border attack on IDF triggers immediate responseIDF tanks operate near Gaza's border. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)
IDF tanks strike Hamas targets in response to explosives targeting IDF troops.
By: World Israel News Staff 
IDF tanks on Wednesday morning shelled Hamas targets in Gaza in response to an attempt by terrorists to harm IDF troops conducting routine maintenance on the security fence.
The IDF stated that an explosive device, placed by terrorists using the recent Palestinian riots as cover, was detonated against a military D-9 bulldozer operating on the western side of the security fence in northern Gaza.
No injuries were reported in the explosion.
In response, the IDF struck a number of Hamas military targets.
“The IDF holds Hamas responsible for all occurrences in Gaza and will not allow the terror organization to turn the area of the security fence into a combat zone,” the IDF stated after the incident.
This incident occurred amid the daily violence on the Israel-Gaza border, orchestrated by Hamas, the Islamic terror group that rules the Gaza Strip and calls for Israel’s destruction.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/border-attack-idf-triggers-immediate-response/?


Trump warns Russia missiles ‘will be coming’
 April 11, 2018
Trump warns Russia missiles ‘will be coming’President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
President Trump puts Russia on notice that attack is coming.
By World Israel News Staff
Brushing aside Russia’s pledge to repel any attack targeting Syria, President Trump used his infamous Twitter feed to put Moscow on notice that a response to Syrian President Assad’s use of chemical weapons is on the way.
“Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria,” Trump tweeted. “Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and ‘smart!’ You shouldn’t be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!”
Although Russia, Syria and Iran forcefully deny that chemical weapons were deployed on the rebel-held city of Douma, the US and its allies claim that they have evidence validating the charge.
The precise timing and nature of the attack remains unknown but it is being reported that the  President’s national security team is advocating for a something more robust than the 59 Tomahawk missiles launched by the US against the  Al Sharyat airfield one year ago.
Earlier in the week, the White House spoke of working to build support for an international response to Syria that would emphasize that the use of chemical weapons is a red-line no nation should feel comfortable crossing.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/trump-fires-tweet-across-kremlin-bow/?


Border attack on IDF triggers immediate response
 April 11, 2018
Border attack on IDF triggers immediate responseIDF tanks operate near Gaza's border. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)
IDF tanks strike Hamas targets in response to explosives targeting IDF troops.
By: World Israel News Staff 
IDF tanks on Wednesday morning shelled Hamas targets in Gaza in response to an attempt by terrorists to harm IDF troops conducting routine maintenance on the security fence.
The IDF stated that an explosive device, placed by terrorists using the recent Palestinian riots as cover, was detonated against a military D-9 bulldozer operating on the western side of the security fence in northern Gaza.
No injuries were reported in the explosion.
In response, the IDF struck a number of Hamas military targets.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/border-attack-idf-triggers-immediate-response/?

.Iran threatens Israel and ‘its masters’ after striking Syria, killing 7 Iranians
 April 10, 2018
Iran threatens Israel and ‘its masters’ after striking Syria, killing 7 IraniansAli Akbar Velayati, an adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
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A leading adviser to the Iranian supreme leader announced that the recent attack on a Syrian airbase attributed to Israel, which Tehran claims killed seven members of the Iranian military, will not go “unanswered.”
By: World Israel News Staff
Following an air strike on the Syrian Tiyas Military Airbase on Monday, subsequently attributed to the Israeli military, Iran’s Ali Akbar Velayati issued several threats targeting Israel. Velayati, who serves as a top adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, made the threats on Tuesday speaking to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/iran-threatens-israel-masters-syria-strike/?


WATCH: Is the US response to Syrian chemical attack imminent?
 April 10, 2018
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President Trump: All options are on the table in retaliation for Syrian gas attack.
Trump signals US military response to Syria is imminent
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_8CNpmWzmI&ab_channel=FoxNews



[EXCLUSIVE] Olmert: ‘A return to public life not currently on my agenda’
 April 10, 2018
[EXCLUSIVE] Olmert: ‘A return to public life not currently on my agenda’Former PM Ehud Olmert (Ohad Zwigenberg/POOL)
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In his first media comment since the report that he asked President Rivlin for clemency, former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert declines to elaborate on his personal agenda.
By Steve Leibowitz, World Israel News
Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Tuesday confirmed to World Israel News (WIN) that he had indeed presented a request to President Reuven Rivlin asking him to expunge his criminal record. In his first public comment on the matter, Olmert told WIN that public disclosure of the clemency request was not made by him.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/exclusive-olmert-a-return-to-public-life-not-currently-on-my-agenda/?


Israeli sources: Palestinian ‘journalist’ killed on Gaza border was Hamas operative
 April 10, 2018
A Palestinian killed on the border with Israel was a Hamas intelligence officer, not a journalist as previously claimed. 
By: World Israel News Staff
The Palestinian journalist killed on Friday on the border with Israel was in fact a Hamas intelligence officer, Israel’s Walla News reported, citing unnamed Israeli security personnel.
The video of Yasser Murtaja, 30, being shot and killed at the border fence on Friday went viral, sparking widespread condemnation of Israel. At the time, international media reported that Murtaja was a journalist covering the day’s protests. In fact, it appears that he was an active member of Hamas’ internal security service.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/israeli-sources-palestinian-journalist-killed-on-gaza-border-was-hamas-officer/?


Netanyahu assures Sderot residents: Security is number one concern
 April 9, 2018
Netanyahu assures Sderot residents: Security is number one concernPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Marc Israel Sellem/POOL)
 Following an early morning airstrike on a Hamas military base in Gaza, Netanyahu says the IDF will always preemptively strike its enemies if necessary for Israel’s security.
By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke reassuringly Monday to residents of Sderot, a town of about 25,000 people situated near the southern part of the Gaza Strip. Having suffered many terror attacks over the years, Sderot is one of the communities currently threatened by the violent Hamas protests, including attempted infiltrations into Israel through the border fence.
During a signing ceremony for an umbrella agreement between government ministries, the Israel Land Authority and the municipal authorities that will allow construction work to begin on new infrastructure in the city, Netanyahu put the ongoing clashes just a few kilometers away into perspective.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/netanyahu-assures-sderot-residents-security-number-one-concern/?


WATCH: Why UK Jews are saying ‘enough is enough’ of Labour Party anti-Semitism
 April 8, 2018
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International affairs analyst Tom Gross discusses why British Jews are ending their silence in the face of anti-Semitism and what Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party leadership and potential to win the UK premiership of the UK means to them.
Jews Protest Anti-Semitism in UK
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7Vu_jeoTuI&ab_channel=i24NEWS


Holocaust survivors file groundbreaking lawsuit against pro-Nazi publisher
 April 10, 2018
Holocaust survivors file groundbreaking lawsuit against pro-Nazi publisher(Shutterstock)
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A Polish publisher of  pro-Nazi propaganda and Holocaust denial will face three Polish citizens who survived the atrocities of the Nazi occupation in court.
By: World Israel News Staff
Three Polish citizens have filed a lawsuit against a Gdansk-based publisher for producing books containing pro-Nazi propaganda and Holocaust denial. The books entitled “The Age of Hitler 1” and “The Age of Hitler 2 and  “Hitler the Democrat”, were written by Belgian Nazi collaborator and SS officer Leon Degrelle.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/holocaust-survivors-file-groundbreaking-lawsuit-pro-nazi-publisher/?



Hamas’ Gaza is nothing Like Martin Luther King’s Selma
 April 10, 2018
Hamas’ Gaza is nothing Like Martin Luther King’s SelmaDemonstrators, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., stream over an Alabama River bridge at the city limits of Selma, Ala., during a voter rights march, March 10, 1965. (AP/File)
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To link the Gaza marches to Dr. King or the civil-rights movement is not merely ahistorical. It sullies the memory of the sacrifice of genuine nonviolent protesters and human rights activists. 
By: Jonathan S. Tobin, editor in chief, JNS.org
When Hamas organized a “March of Return” on March 30, like the producers of a theatrical production, leaders of the terrorist group and their foreign enablers waited to see the returns from their investment and how it would fare with the critics. Given the deaths of as many 17 Palestinians and the willingness of the foreign press to blast Israel for defending its border, they had to be satisfied with both
MORE .https://worldisraelnews.com/hamas-gaza-nothing-like-martin-luther-kings-selma/?


Mattis faults Russia on Syria, won’t rule out US strike
 April 9, 2018
US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis blames Russia for failing to ensure the elimination of Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal.
By: AP
As President Donald Trump considered U.S. options in Syria, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Monday took aim at Russia for what he suggested was its failure to ensure the elimination of Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal. The Pentagon chief said he would not rule out a U.S. military strike against Syria in response to a suspected poison gas.
Trump planned two meetings with senior national security aides on Syria, in addition to a previously scheduled late-afternoon White House conference with leaders of U.S. military commands around the world. Monday was the first day on the job for Trump’s new national security adviser, John Bolton, who has previously advocated military action against Syria.
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Terrorism’ – Turkish Style
 April 8, 2018
‘Terrorism’ – Turkish StyleTurkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Kayhan Ozer/Pool Photo via AP)
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Erdoğan cynically refers to his opponents as “terrorists,” thus stifling any dissent and free speech in Turkey. 
By: Uzay Bulut/ The Gateston Institute
On March 19, a group of students at Istanbul’s Boğaziçi University, Turkey’s leading institute of higher education, demonstrated against an event on campus. The event against which they were demonstrating, organized by the Society for Islamic Research, was to champion the Turkish soldiers who had participated in the Afrin invasion. While the pro-government students distributed Turkish delight sweets, the counter-demonstrators unfolded a banner reading: “Invasions and massacres are not [to be celebrated] with delights.”
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/terrorism-turkish-style/?


Former PM Ehud Olmert seeks presidential pardon
 April 9, 2018
Former PM Ehud Olmert seeks presidential pardonFormer Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (Amit Shabi/POOL)
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Olmert is seeking a presidential pardon and erasure of his criminal record.
By: TPS
Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert submitted a request for a pardon from President Reuven Rivlin on Monday, asking for erasure of his criminal record.
“A request for a pardon on behalf of Ehud Olmert asking for the annulment of the criminal record in his case was submitted today,” the President’s Residence said in a statement. “The application has been forwarded to the relevant bodies and after the required legal opinions are submitted, the President will make his ruling.”
ast July, Olmert was released from prison after serving 16 months of a 27-month sentence for fraud and bribery.
Olmert, who served as prime minister from 2006 to 2009, was convicted for accepting a NIS 60,000 (approximately $17,000) bribe when he served as Industry, Trade and Labor minister, and for obstructing court proceedings.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/former-pm-ehud-olmert-seeks-presidential-pardon/?utm_term=Former+PM+Ehud+Olmert+Seeks+Presidential+Pardon


Honduran president cancels participation in Israel’s 70th-anniversary ceremony
 April 10, 2018
Honduran president cancels participation in Israel’s 70th-anniversary ceremonyPM Netanyahu and President of Honduras Juan Orlando Hernández (Kobi Gideon/GPO)
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Following controversy in Israel, Honduran President Hernández will not take part in a torch-lighting ceremony marking Israel’s 70th Independence Day.
By: JNS and World Israel News Staff
Israel’s Foreign Ministry has announced that Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández will not take part in a torch-lighting ceremony marking Israel’s 70th Independence Day.
“Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández will not attend Israel’s 70th-anniversary festivities, as originally planned,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “The Foreign Ministry regrets his not coming and welcomes the friendship between the two countries.”
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/honduran-president-cancels-participation-israels-70th-anniversary-ceremony/?

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At least 14 people were killed when the T4 airbase in Syria was struck by missiles. Did Israel carry out the attack?  
By: Aryeh Savir,  World Israel News 
The Syrian Tiyas Military Airbase, located in the Homs province, was struck by several missiles on Monday, Syrian media reported.
According to reports, at least 14 were killed in the strike and several others were wounded. Some reports say that over 20 missiles landed in and around the base. Syrian media claimed that Syrian forces were successful in intercepting eight missiles.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), which has operatives inside Syria, reported that “Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities” were killed in the strike. The “non-Syrians” likely refers to Iranians.
The T4 Air Airbase is home to Iranian forces, the Lebanese Hezbollah terror organization and Syrian regime forces.
Syrian media initially blamed “American aggression,” but the Pentagon has denied any involvement in the strikes. Syria then pointed its accusatory finger at Israel.
MORE  https://worldisraelnews.com/syrian-airbase-bombed-us-denies-responsibility-israel-silent/


WATCH: Hamas sends civilians to die for media coverage
 April 9, 2018
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An adviser to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas says that Hamas is sending civilians to die at the Israel-Gaza border for PR purposes, comparing them to the demonstrators at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
Hamas is sending civilians to die for media coverage, says Abbas' advisor
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palwatch
Published on 8 Apr 2018
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this video do not represent those of Palestinian Media Watch in any way. PMW monitors and analyzes the Palestinian Authority through its media and schoolbooks. For more info visit: http://palwatch.org.  

Supreme Shari’ah Judge, Mahmoud Abbas’ advisor on Religious and Islamic Affairs, and Chairman of the Supreme Council for Shari'ah Justice Mahmoud Al-Habbash: “The Palestinian people… is not relating to those [Hamas] with ‘the emotional stories of heroism,’ those with the slogans of heroism – slogans that when you hear them, you think that the people saying them are inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque after they liberated it. And afterwards you discover that they are only selling illusions, trading in suffering and blood, trading in victims [instructing]: ‘You Palestinians, our people, go and die so that we will go to the media with strong declarations.’ These [Hamas] acts of ‘heroism’ don’t fool anyone anymore. The Palestinian people… is by the side of the PLO.” 
[Official Palestinian Authority TV, Apr. 6, 2018]
WATCH https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPVj6who4-8


Israel bombs Hamas target, responding to cross-border attack
 April 9, 2018
Israel bombs Hamas target, responding to cross-border attack
In the latest incident on the Gaza border, the IAF bombed a Hamas military target in response to explosives targeting IDF troops.
By: Aryeh Savir, World Israel News 
Israel’s Air Force (IAF) on Monday morning targeted a Hamas terror target Gaza in response to a cross-border attack earlier in the day.
Three terrorists infiltrated Israel through the security fence near the northern Gaza Strip and then returned to Gaza. An IDF tank fired at them.
IDF troops later located two explosive devices placed by the terrorists at the scene.
In response, the IAF bombed a Hamas military target.
“The IDF views with great severity any attempt to damage the security fence or security infrastructure and will not allow the region to become a combat zone,” the IDF stated, noting that “Hamas is responsible for all events originating from the Gaza Strip and its consequences.”
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Impeachment process launched against Arab Knesset member
 April 9, 2018
Impeachment process launched against Arab Knesset member
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Israeli-Arab MK Hanin Zoabi called for “millions of Palestinians to march on Jerusalem.” She is now facing possible impeachment. 
By: TPS and World Israel News Staff
Members of the Yisrael Beteinu political party on Monday initiated procedures to impeach Member of Knesset (MK) Hanin Zoabi of the Joint Arab List following her call for “millions of Palestinians to march on Jerusalem.”
At a press conference Friday at the United Nations (UN) in New York, Zoabi claimed that Israeli soldiers who fired on Palestinian protesters storming the Gaza border fence that day and since the previous Friday were acting unlawfully.
“Israel is not defending itself as it is claiming,” she charged. “The occupation and the siege are not an act of self-defense, but rather one of terrorism.”
“Israel has turned from a racist country to a fascist one,” she asserted, calling on “millions of Palestinians to march on Jerusalem.”
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/impeachment-process-launched-against-arab-knesset-member/?


WATCH: How will the US respond to Assad’s use of chemical weapons?
 April 9, 2018
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Retired Four-Star General Jack Keane, Chairman at the Institute for the Study of War, provides expert analysis on what measures the United States must take against the Assad regime for its use of chemical weapons in the ongoing Syrian Civil War.
HERE https://worldisraelnews.com/impeachment-process-launched-against-arab-knesset-member/?


Iran’s president: US will ‘regret’ collapse of nuclear deal
 April 9, 2018
Iran’s president: US will ‘regret’ collapse of nuclear dealIranian President Hassan Rouhani (AP/Ebrahim Noroozi)
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The West, and specifically the US, “should definitely know that they will regret it if they violate it,” Rouhani said of the nuclear deal. 
By: World Israel News Staff
Iran’s president lashed out at the US, saying it would come to “regret” the day the 2015 nuclear deal collapsed.
Marking Iran’s National Nuclear Day, dedicated to the country’s achievements in nuclear technology, President Hassan Rouhani on Monday stated that despite its attempts, the US has “failed to destroy” the 2015 deal between Iran and world powers.
Rouhani reaffirmed his commitment to the deal and said Iran would not be the first to violate it.
“We will not be the first to violate the accord, but they should definitely know that they will regret it if they violate it,” Rouhani stated in Tehran, according to AFP.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/irans-president-us-will-regret-collapse-nuclear-deal/?



Israeli Minister of Defense Avigdor Liberman called on Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit to probe the B’Tselem organization over its call urging IDF soldiers to refuse orders and not to fire on Palestinian rioters breaching Israel’s border.
B’Tselem on Wednesday called on the forces to disobey open-fire orders unless Gaza protesters posed an imminent threat to the soldiers’ lives.
“As long as soldiers in the field continue to receive orders to use live fire against unarmed civilians, they are duty-bound to refuse to comply,” the extreme left-wing group stated.
In his letter to Mandelblit, Liberman wrote Sunday that he views the call “which is intended to sow fear and dissension” among IDF forces during a time when troops are defending Israel’s southern border from “acts of terrorism and provocations organized by Hamas.”
He called on Mandelblit to probe whether B’Tselem was involved in inciting insubordination.
“Even in the most complex scenarios, IDF soldiers and their commanders operate in an ethical and legal fashion. This attempt to undermine the military system and direct the soldiers to operate otherwise is extremely grave,” Liberman added.
“This subversive organization, together with the haters of Israel and the international media, are trying to delegitimize our soldiers who are acting in a legal and moral manner in a very complicated situation,” he tweeted Sunday. “We will put an end to this.”
The IDF is the Israel’s most respected institution, and such criticism is considered by the majority of the public to be tantamount to sedition.
Following B’Tselem’s call last week, Liberman tweeted that he had a “practical suggestion” for the organization’s CEO: Liberman invited him to convince the thousands of Gazans protesting on Israel’s border on Friday to “stop placing bombs on the border roads, shooting at soldiers, violating Israel’s sovereignty and to go home peacefully. If that does not work, it appears we will need the IDF.”
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/liberman-probe-left-wing-group-urging-idf-troops-disobey-gaza-orders/?



Israeli technology: Your voice will guide your chores, healthcare and driving
 April 8, 2018
Israeli technology: Your voice will guide your chores, healthcare and driving(Shutterstock)
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In five years, voice tech will help doctors diagnose and operate, carmakers provide customized web content, HR professionals judge job applicants and more.
By: Abigail Klein Leichman, Israel21c
Back in 1995, Shlomo Peller founded Rubidium in the visionary belief that voice user interface (VUI) could be embedded in anything from a TV remote to a microwave oven, if only the technology were sufficiently small, powerful, inexpensive and reliable.
“This was way before IoT [the Internet of Things], when voice recognition was done by computers the size of a room,” Peller tells ISRAEL21c.
“Our first product was a board that cost $1,000. Four years later we deployed our technology in a single-chip solution at the cost of $1. That’s how fast technology moves.”
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/israeli-technology-your-voice-will-guide-your-chores-healthcare-and-driving/?

Liberman: Probe left-wing group for urging IDF troops to disobey Gaza orders
 April 8, 2018
Liberman: Probe left-wing group for urging IDF troops to disobey Gaza ordersIsraeli Minister of Defense Avigdor Liberman (C). (Ariel Hermoni/Ministry of Defense)
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Liberman asked the attorney general to probe the B’Tselem organization after it urged IDF soldiers to refuse orders and not to fire on violent Palestinian rioters.
By: World Israel News Staff
Israeli Minister of Defense Avigdor Liberman called on Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit to probe the B’Tselem organization over its call urging IDF soldiers to refuse orders and not to fire on Palestinian rioters breaching Israel’s border.
B’Tselem on Wednesday called on the forces to disobey open-fire orders unless Gaza protesters posed an imminent threat to the soldiers’ lives.
“As long as soldiers in the field continue to receive orders to use live fire against unarmed civilians, they are duty-bound to refuse to comply,” the extreme left-wing group stated.
In his letter to Mandelblit, Liberman wrote Sunday that he views the call “which is intended to sow fear and dissension” among IDF forces during a time when troops are defending Israel’s southern border from “acts of terrorism and provocations organized by Hamas.”
He called on Mandelblit to probe whether B’Tselem was involved in inciting insubordination.
“Even in the most complex scenarios, IDF soldiers and their commanders operate in an ethical and legal fashion. This attempt to undermine the military system and direct the soldiers to operate otherwise is extremely grave,” Liberman added.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/liberman-probe-left-wing-group-urging-idf-troops-disobey-gaza-orders/?


WATCH: Will Pledged $2 Billion in Aid Actually Help Victims of Yemen’s Civil War?
 April 8, 2018
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The United Nations is stepping up its inspections of ships bringing humanitarian aid to war-torn Yemen in order to ensure that no weapons are being smuggled in and that relief supplies get to where they are needed as quickly as possible.
HERE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6H8AbbaWfIc

International Criminal Court investigates Israel for war crimes on Gaza border
 April 8, 2018
International Criminal Court investigates Israel for war crimes on Gaza borderChief ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda. (AP/Jerry Lampen)
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The International Criminal Court says Israel, as well as Hamas, may be guilty of war crimes at the Gaza border.
By: AP and World Israel News Staff
The chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court raised concerns Sunday that Israel and Hamas may have committed war crimes during a current flare-up of violence in the Gaza Strip.
In a statement, Fatou Bensouda’s office expressed “grave concern” over the shootings of Palestinians by Israeli troops during mass protests along Gaza’s border with Israel.
Her office said that Israel’s “violence against civilians — in a situation such as one prevailing in Gaza” may constitute war crimes. But in an apparent reference to Gaza’s Hamas rulers, she also said “the use of civilian presence for the purpose of shielding military activities” could also be a war crime.
MORE https://worldisraelnews.com/international-criminal-court-investigates-israel-war-crimes-gaza-border/?