 |
||
 |
        |
 |
|
||
| MP3 Radio | Website News Briefs: | |||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
 |
 |
1. Israeli Suppliers of PA City Boycotting Other Israeli Firms
by Gil Ronen
About 20 Israeli firms have signed contracts with a new Palestinian
Authority city-in-the-making, in which they agree not to use products
manufactured by Israeli companies in Judea, Samaria,
northern/southern/eastern Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.
The PA is building the new city, called Rawabi,
at a furious pace in Samaria. The contracts between the Rawabi
administration and the Israeli suppliers are believed to total tens of
billions of dollars.
IDF Radio reported that the Israeli suppliers of the city's
construction administration have agreed not to use products that are
defined as "Products of the Territories." This definition includes all
land that is outside Israel's narrow-waistline 1949 ceasefire lines,
famously dubbed the "Auschwitz borders" by former Foreign Minister Abba
Eban.
The contracts determine that "the company is responsible for making
sure that all of the products and services do not originate in the
Israeli settlements."
MK Danny Danon (Likud) said Tuesday that he intends to propose a new
law that would fine any company signing a contract with a body that
boycotts Israeli-made products. The fines would be equal to the value of
the contract signed.
The Land of Israel Lobby, headed by Ze'ev Elkin (Likud) and Aryeh Eldad
(National Union) intend to propose a bill that would ban such companies
from participating in government tenders and working with state
companies.
"This is shameful and shocking collaboration with Palestinian economic
terrorism," the lobby stated. Companies that signed the agreement "sold
their Zionist souls for a deal with the enemy," is added.
Orit Strook of the Human Rights in Yesha organization called the
contracts "discrimination of the most shameful kind" and called on the
government to announce it would cut off all business ties with firms
that cooperate with "such anti-Semitic discrimination."
The PA has expressed hope that construction of Rawabi would boost the boycott of Israel by giving Arabs employment. The access roads to the city and its proximity to Jewish communities are some of the other problems raised by its construction.
2. Fire on Train Hurts 76, Five in Moderate Condition
by Gil Ronen
At least four cars on a passenger train caught fire Tuesday morning,
trapping passengers inside and hurting at least 76 people. Five people
were evacuated in moderate condition and the rest are described a being
lightly hurt.
The moderately injured passengers suffer from burns, smoke inhalation
and cuts they suffered from glass while clambering out the train
windows.
The casualties were evacuated to Laniado Hospital in Netanya, Meir
Hospital in Kfar Saba, Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikva and Ichilov
Hospital in Tel Aviv.
The train was traveling from north to south on the Haifa-Tel Aviv
tracks. Near Shefayim, opposite the Ronit Farm, the rear engine car
caught fire, possibly due to an electrical malfunction. The fire spread
to passenger cars and passengers shouted to the train driver to stop the
train.
The train ground to a halt but emergency system that was supposed to
throw open the train's doors failed to operate, and the passengers were
trapped. The windows in the cars are supposed to be broken in case of an
emergency, but the emergency hammers for breaking them were all gone.
It remained to a Border Guard policeman to solve the problem by loading
his weapon and firing at the windows to break them and allow people to
get out.
Photos: Flash 90
%InAd1%
3. Daughter Born to Deceased Carmel Firefighter Danny Hayat
by Gil Ronen
Danny Hayat was the 44th person to die as a result of burns suffered in
the huge Carmel fire. On Tuesday, ten days after he succumbed to his
injury, his widow Hofit gave birth to a healthy girl. The Afula hospital
announced that mother and girl are both healthy.
Danny Hayat died while tried to save firefighting cadets whose bus was
caught in the Carmel fire's flames. The cadets had been taking part in
the evacuation of the Damon prison, which held terrorist prisoners. He
was very badly wounded and taken to Rambam Hospital's Intensive Care
Unit, where he died after two weeks.
His widow Hofit eulogized him at the funeral,
which was attended by thousands: "Thank you for the little princess who
is in my womb, for the great love I received from you, for the coffee
you made for me in the morning. G-d was supposed to save you but he took
you as tzaddikim [the righteous - ed.] are taken away. I promise you
that I will be strong, just like you expected me to. You are my hero."
Prime Minister Netanyahu also spoke of Danny in the weekly cabinet meeting that followed.
"To our deep sorrow, firefighter Danny Hayat passed away last night
after fighting for his life for two weeks," he said. "Danny courageously
fought the fire in an heroic attempt to save the Prison Service bus. My
wife and I visited him in hospital. We met his wife Hofit, who is due
to give birth. We met his parents, Motti and Batsheva, and we discovered
a strong, united and brave family. Despite all the prayers and the
efforts, Danny passed away. Our hearts – the Government's and the
nation's – are with the Hayat family."
4. Orlev: Publish Comptroller’s Report on Waqf
by Elad Benari
According to MK Zevulun Orlev (The Jewish Home), the contents of a
recent report by the State Comptroller which outlines the destruction of
antiquities on the Temple Mount by the Waqf should be made public.
Speaking to Arutz Sheva’s daily Hebrew journal on Monday, Orlev
responded to comments made last week by MK Otniel Schneller (Kadima),
who heads an internal Knesset committee whose task is to decide if and
what to publish of the State Comptroller’s report. The report was
written approximately six months ago, but until now it has not yet been
determined which sections of it, if at all, would be made public.
Schneller told Arutz Sheva last week that most of the shortcomings
regarding Israel’s ineffectiveness in dealing with the Waqf’s
excavations on the Temple Mount have been corrected. As such, Schneller
said that he believes that most of the report should not be published as
such a publication could damage Israel's international standing.
However, Orlev, who was one of the members of the same committee and
who has read the entire contents of the report, disagrees with Schneller
and said that he believes that there is no reason to hide any of the
report’s findings.
“This report is of outmost importance,” said Orlev. “It touches upon
the most holy place for us. It's a hard report. Although the committee
has not yet decided what part of it will be published, the facts are
known to the public. The Waqf makes every effort to undermine the Jewish
connection to the Temple Mount.”
Evidence has surfaced that the Waqf has taken control of the Temple
Mount over the past ten years, conducting illegal digs and building
mosques in the area.
In fact, Dr. Gabi Barkai, senior lecturer at Bar Ilan University and recipient of the Jerusalem Prize for Archaeology, recently told Arutz Sheva
that “Some years ago they took 400 truckloads of dirt from the Temple
Mount and dumped it into the Kidron Valley – totally illegally. This is
dirt that is filled with Jewish history from many periods: the
Canaanites, the First Temple, the period of the return to Zion [from
Babylonia], the Second Temple, including the Hashmonaim period and King
Herod, and up to now.”
Barkai also said that the Muslims clearly have the goal of detaching
Israel from its past and Holy Temple connections: “They wish to
undermine Jewish ownership and bonds to the Temple Mount. They've built a
giant mosque there in Solomon's Stables [under the Temple Mount] and
another one nearby – but aside from that, they have an ideological goal
which is even making inroads to naïve circles in the west, and it is
called 'Holy Temple denial.' They act as if there never was a Holy
Temple. This is very very grave.”
Jewish residents in the area have confirmed Barkai’s statements
and have reported that Waqf works are taking place 'under cover'. They
said that despite attempts by the Waqf to conceal the work, it is not
hard to see what is happening on the Temple Mount.
“I thought that we should reveal as much as possible of what is
happening on the Temple Mount,” said Orlev, who reiterated his position
that the only passages in the report that should not be made public are
those which relate to the measures taken by the police and the state to
prevent the continued destruction by the Waqf. “The State Comptroller
has also mentioned the importance of the report. It would be appropriate
for the whole world to be made aware of the level of vulnerability on
the Temple Mount.”
Regarding the question of the possible risk to Israel's status in the
world following the publication of the various parts of the report,
Orlev said that he believes that the exact opposite would happen and
that making the report public would strengthen Israel's status, as it
would reveal “the criminal acts of the Waqf on the Temple Mount. It will
not hurt but rather help us. Archaeology is a global science and
everyone knows that there are certain things which should not be
touched. We could use this report as leverage in our favor.”
%InAd2%
5. Egypt: No Rockets Will Be Launched From Sinai at Israel
by Chana Ya'ar
An Egyptian security official issued a denial Sunday that the Sinai
Peninsula has become the latest operations center for the Hamas
terrorist organization.
The denial came in an interview published by the London-based
Arabic-language daily A-Sharq al-Awsat. The source denied last week's
report by the Hebrew-language Ma'ariv claiming that Hamas is using the
area for production and storage of weapons.
“Egypt's strict security measures at the borders with the Gaza Strip
prevent storage of fighting equipment in Sinai,” he maintained.
The source detailed the measures used to prevent terrorists from
building military facilities in the Sinai for use in their war against
Israel. Security checkpoints exist every 100 meters along the Egyptian
border city of Rafiah, he said, in addition to guards deployed along the
border fence. Dozens of other officers are also stationed in the area,
he added, and they work to prevent weapons smuggling in the area.
“Egypt will never accept its territories being used for launching missiles at Israel,” the source stated.
In August, Egyptian security forces uncovered 190 anti-tank missiles
and 10 anti-tank bombs, prepared and ready to be smuggled from the Sinai
into Gaza. The security forces had raided storehouses in northern Sinai
as part of a wide scale police operation to ferret out drugs and
weapons.
IDF and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) officials have warned in the
past year that global jihad terrorist groups have established terror cells throughout the Sinai.
Earlier in the year, the twin cities of Aqaba and Eilat, located in
Jordan and Israel, were hit with a barrage of rocket fire launched by
Hamas terrorists from the Sinai.
Five rockets struck Eilat in the April attack, including two that
exploded in open areas and three which landed in the sea. Another rocket
exploded in Aqaba next to a local hotel, killing one person and
wounding three others.
6. New Cover for Patriarch Joseph's Tombstone
by Gil Ronen
A new ornate cover has been placed on the gravestone of the Biblical Patriarch Joseph in Shechem.
Arutz Sheva reader Ma'ayan Ayish of Yitzhar took first photos of the new cover and sent them to us, to show the world.
The tombstone was defiled and desecrated by Arab vandals in 2000.
Vandalization of other religions' holy sites is common practice among
Muslims, who expect that their own holy sites be treated with the utmost
respect.
The site of Joseph's tomb had been off-limits to Jewish worshipers for
seven years after it was overrun and ransacked by Arab rioters in
September 2000. Israeli soldier Medhat Yusef was killed in that attack.
Over the last three years, Samaria Regional Council director Gershon
Mesika has been advancing efforts to rebuild the holy site and restore
free access for Jewish visitors to the site. In response, the Israeli
military has allowed some midnight visits to the site for a limited
number of guests from time to time. Recently, basic renovations were
carried out by the Council with the assistance of the IDF. Damage to the
ancient domed roof was repaired and a new tombstone was set in place.
David Ha'ivri, director of the Shomron Liaison Office said Tuesday: "I
am glad to see progress in our efforts to re-establish Jewish rights at
Kever Yosef. The situation here and the events that led a Jewish holy
place in the Land of Israel to be desecrated, neglected and closed to
Jews should be a warning call to anyone who has not yet understood that
the path of negotiating our land away to Arabs can only lead to tragedy.
We will countinue our efforts to correct these mistakes and to return
honor to Yosef haTzadik."
%InAd3%
7. PM: No Apologies to Turkey, Interim Deal with PA Possible
by Chana Ya'ar
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu reiterated Monday evening that Israel
will not apologize to Turkey over the Mavi Marmara incident in which
nine armed terror activists were killed after they attacked IDF
commandos.
“We do not want to apologize to Turkey – but we are ready to express
sorrow, as we have expressed, over the loss of life,” he said.
“But first, we want to protect our soldiers,” he added. “We demand that
Turkey recognize that Israel did not act maliciously and that our
soldiers acted in self-defense.”
The prime minister made the comments Monday in an interview on Israel's
Channel 10 television. He added that Israel also expects Turkey to
dissolve all international legal proceedings against the Jewish State in
connection with the incident.
The eight Turkish nationals and U.S. citizen who were killed were all
members of the Turkish terror-linked IHH organization that had sponsored
the Mavi Marmara. The ship was part of an attempt by a six-vessel
flotilla to break Israel's blockade of Gaza.
The ships ignored repeated requests by Israeli naval personnel to
change course for Ashdod port. When IDF commandos boarded the vessels,
the IHH members on the Mavi Marmara stabbed them with knives and beat
them with metal rods and clubs. The five other vessels were brought to
port without incident.
Turkey has continued to insist that Israel apologize for the May 31
incident and compensate the families of the slain attackers – a demand
that Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has referred to as “chutzpah.” Lieberman
also accused Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu of lying after
Davutoglu implied that Israel might delay sending assistance if Turkey
were to suffer a humanitarian disaster.
Netanyahu's office responded within hours, striving to contain the
diplomatic damage by saying Lieberman's remarks constitute his own “personal assessments and positions.”
Monday night's remarks were a rehash of that effort, with the prime
minister continuing to insist his foreign minister's remarks did not
represent the government's view as Netanyahu strove to appear
imperturbable.
“The foreign minister is not humiliating me,” he said. “He is
expressing his views. Under Israel's system of government, ministers
always express their views. We have a coalition, and we have different
views.
“In this case we have Foreign Minister Lieberman, Defense Minister
Barak, Interior Minister Eli Yishai and HaBayit HaYehudi – [and] they
all have different views,” he said.
The bottom line, Netanyahu added, still ends at his own desk.
“The final opinion is that decided upon by the government and that
which is expressed by the prime minister,” he said pointedly. “That's
how it has been in all the governments.”
Interim Agreement with PA More Likely
Netanyahu also addressed the issue of whether to pursue the rapidly
fading dream of a final status agreement with the Palestinian Authority,
saying an interim agreement appeared more likely at this point.
Until recently, Netanyahu had been willing to go along with U.S.
efforts to secure a final status agreement with a short period of a few
months at most. But that prospect seems increasingly unlikely as the PA
continues its campaign for recognition of unilateral statehood from
nations around the world.
Netanyahu appears to have become resigned to the fact that an
assessment expressed recently by Lieberman – that an interim agreement
is the only reasonable option left – is the most accurate.
“I set out a clear policy in the Bar Ilan speech,” he noted. “There I
said that if the Palestinians recognize the Jewish State and give up the
right of Palestinian refugees to return... I mean, if they recognize a
demilitarized Palestinian state that recognizes the Jewish State, I
announce here and now that I will see it through to the end.”
However, he said, at the end of the day, the process may end up leading
to an interim agreement, rather than a final status deal.
“This may be where the diplomatic process leads us,” he said. An
interim agreement is the only option left, he said, if the two sides
fail to reach an understanding on Jerusalem and the “right of return”
for millions of foreign Arabs claiming residency in pre-1948 Israel.
8. Barak, Lieberman Straining Coalition
by Gil Ronen
Likud's two senior partners in the governing coalition are placing
pressure on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to approve controversial
measures. The timing of the pressure may be connected to the upcoming
vote on the state budget. The vote puts Netanyahu in a particularly
delicate situation with regard to his coalition partners, who can
prevent the budget from passing.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Monday that he wants the cabinet to
vote on a resolution that calls for the establishment of an Arab state
next to Israel in the Land of Israel.
"It is time to make the Prime Minister's Bar Ilan speech
- which defines Israel's position on 'two states for two nations' -
into a government decision so that it obligates everybody, all of the
ministers, and certainly the ministers who deal with foreign policy," he
jabbed Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman during a tour of the Elbit
Systems plant.
"We see a process of delegitimization of Israel in the world, being led
by our rivals, with the participation of elements that are partly naive
and partly motivated by various considerations," Barak added.
"We must act in order to block this process. There is an urgent need
for launching a comprehensive Israeli plan that will deal with the core
issues, in both the Palestinian matter and on other regional issues. The
earlier we launch it, and broadcast its honesty and seriousness
worldwide, the better."
If the proposed vote takes place, Netanyahu will probably face great
uproar within the nationalist camp, which has recently shown signs of
rejuvenation.
Meanwhile, sources in Lieberman's Israel is Our Home party told the
media on Monday that the party demands an immediate vote in the
government approving the law that would guarantee full legal status to
conversions carried out in the IDF. There has been great controversy over IDF conversions in recent months, after a state attorney said that military conversions were not fully recognized.
If the government votes to approve the law, hareidi-religious parties
Shas and United Torah Judaism are likely to leave the coalition.
More Website News:
 |
Israel Declares England-Based Hamas Group Illegal  |
|
MKs Meet in Building Slated for Demolition in East Jerusalem  |
|
2010 Record Year for Tourism to Israel |
|
Don't Mess with Putin-He'll Have the Key Thrown Away |
|
US Arms Reach Hizbullah, American Military Attache Admits |
