Tevet 18, 5776 / Wednesday, Dec. 30 '15
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Headlines
- Cave of Machpelah victim dies of his wounds 3 weeks later
- Israel braces for its first winter snowstorm
- Duma suspect reveals alleged suicide attempt scars
- Netanyahu: We've been here 4,000 years; terror can't defeat us
- Report: Obama spied on Netanyahu after NSA reforms
- Deputy AG: Duma suspects in 'good physical, emotional condition'
- Groom, man who waved weapon at 'extremist wedding' released
- Watch: Duma suspect finally released
1. Cave of Machpelah victim dies of his wounds 3 weeks later
by Ari YasharShaare Tzedek Hospital in Jerusalem announced on Wednesday morning that Ganedi Kofman, who was stabbed by an Arab terrorist outside the Cave of Machpelah in Hevron just over three weeks ago on December 7, has died from his wounds.
Throughout his hospitalization Kofman remained in serious condition in intensive care, suffering from life-threatening wounds.
Dr. Ofer Merin, director of Shaare Tzedek's trauma unit, said at the time of his hospitalization that "the stabbing wounds hit his heart, lungs and other organs in the stomach."
Hevron activist Baruch Marzel of Otzma Yehudit had been protesting at the site of the stabbing, and earlier this month IDF Central Commander Roni Numa passed by where he was protesting.
"They may call you Numa but you need to wake up, Jews are being slaughtered in the land of Israel," quipped Marzel, playing off how "numa" can also mean "go to sleep." In response, a stung Numa said, "you hit me below the belt."
"Ganedi Kofman they stabbed above the belt in his heart, and he's lying in critical condition, and you're doing nothing to deal with the problem," shot back Marzel.
2. Israel braces for its first winter snowstorm
by Arutz Sheva StaffIsrael is anticipated to come under a winter storm this Friday with possible snow falling in the capital of Jerusalem, but the wintry weather started showing signs already on Tuesday night with rain in the coastal plains.
Local rains are expected on Wednesday, from Haifa in the north to Be'er Sheva in the south, accompanied by a noted drop in temperatures. There are concerns of flooding at rivers in Israel's south and east.
The rain is to progressively grow stronger on Thursday from the north to the Negev, and thunder storms are also expected along with an additional drop in temperatures.
Then on Friday the full blast of the wave of winter weather is to reach its peak, with rain and storms in most parts of the country, and snow anticipated in the mountainous regions.
Ahead of the possible snowfall in Jerusalem, the municipality on Wednesday will hold an assessment of the situation according to the updated forecasts, and if the chances of snow are reckoned to be high enough, preparations to cope with the impending snowfall will be launched.
Snow is expected to fall on Mount Hermon in Israel's north as early as Thursday, with snow in the northern mountains anticipated to last from Thursday night on into Friday.
Temperatures on Wednesday are to be as follows: up to 19° C (66° F) in Tel Aviv, highs of 13° C (55° F) in Jerusalem, 16° C (60° F) in Haifa, 16° C in the Golan Heights, Tzfat (Safed) and the Galilee mountains, 20° C (68° F) in Tiberias, 21° C (70° F) in the Dead Sea region, 16° C in Be'er Sheva, and 19° C in Eilat.
3. Duma suspect reveals alleged suicide attempt scars
by Arutz Sheva StaffThe lawyers of one of the minor Jewish suspects being interrogated in the lethal Duma arson case photographed his wrists, to prove his claims before the court that he attempted to commit suicide to put an end to the alleged brutal torture by the Israeli Security Agency (ISA).
After the minor revealed last week that he tried to commit suicide and was ready to confess to anything just to get the interrogation to stop, the ISA and subsequently Jewish Home ministers Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked denied that he tried to slash his wrists.
The minor's lawyers saw the cuts on his wrists when they were allowed to finally meet him after 21 days in which he was denied legal consultation.
Upon discovering the scars from the cuts, they demanded that they be documented in the investigation file, and it was revealed that his wrists had been shown to the judge. Afterwards the youth was placed under observation by the Israel Prison Services (IPS), and underwent several psychiatric checks.
Only this week, two weeks after the incident, was permission given to photograph the youth's wrists and the cuts on them which have scarred over in the meantime; clear scars remain visible however.
Attorney Chai Haber, who is representing the minor for the Honenu legal aid organization, said, "one picture is worth a thousand words."
"In the state of Israel a youth is interrogated, tortured until he reaches a state in which he tries to end his life. It was sad to read the denials of the incident by the interrogation unit, and the attempt to throw sand in the eyes of the public, when the matter is documented and recorded in the investigation file."
"I would imagine that after the investigation materials are revealed, and along with the degree of the torture and blows, the unusual conduct in this investigation is published, the public will be shocked and will know where the truth is and where the lies are," added the attorney, noting on the media gag order on the case.
ISA issued a statement in response, saying it "is a state organization and all of its activities are conducted according to the law. Shabak (ISA) investigations are conducted in accordance with the instructions of the law and rulings, and are under the supervision of the attorney general, the state attorney and the courts. The claim that one of the detainees tried to commit suicide has no basis."
"Can the court stop the torture?"
In court last week, it was revealed that the psychiatric counselor determined that the minor suspect had been driven into severe depression and traumatic stress as a result of the investigation; he also had been prescribed sleeping pills by a doctor in his detention center due to sleep deprivation related to interrogation and torture.
"I beg Your Honor, I cannot endure this," the youth stated, in a recording that was played back to the boy's family. "Does the court have a way to control the investigation? They hung me upside down by hands until they burned. I feel like they're burning me up."
Testimony also revealed that the ISA kicked the youth in the chest while he was handcuffed with his head bent, stopping him from breathing for a few minutes. At the time, the youth asked to consult with his lawyer, and was refused; he was also forced to listen to music on Shabbat as he was interrogated, which is forbidden on the Jewish day of rest.
The torture only grew worse, he revealed, to the point where the ISA kept him up most nights torturing him. Among other things, the ISA spent an entire night flogging the youth's back, he said, and he begged the judge for medical treatment and legal counsel.
"I would confess to everything, but I don't know how - I don't have anything to tell them," said the suspect to the judge.
One minor suspect in the case reportedly broke down and confessed last week after nearly a month of interrogation, but suspects have alleged brutal torture in the interrogation, raising concerns that the confession may have been false and inadmissible as evidence. Prior to the confession, officials admitted there was no evidence against the suspects.
Further raising questions regarding the basis of the investigation is the fact that on Tuesday, the Lod District Court ordered one of the suspects to be released to a 10-day house arrest.
After being held for 29 days - during the first 20 of which he was denied legal consultation - police asked to extend his arrest based on alleged involvement in a completely unrelated quarrel with Bedouin shepherds two years ago, in a surprising request thrown out by the court.
4. Netanyahu: We've been here 4,000 years; terror can't defeat us
by Arutz Sheva StaffPrime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke on Wednesday about the murder of Ganedi Kofman, who passed away earlier in the day after being hospitalized for over three weeks struggling to recover from an Arab terrorist stabbing attack at the Cave of Machpelah in Hevron.
At the start of a Cabinet meeting, Netanyahu sent his condolences to Kofman's family, noting the victim "was the gardener at the Cave of Machpelah," an ancient site where the Jewish patriarchs and matriarchs other than Rachel are buried.
"He was stabbed in a murderous assault several weeks ago. Sadly, he did not recover," said Netanyahu.
"This morning as well, I say to all those who would uproot us from the Tomb of the Patriarchs - except for a few years in the previous century, we have been there for almost 4,000 years and we will stay there forever. You cannot defeat us."
Netanyahu's comment was met with criticism by Eliezer Rudrig, chair of the Likud branch in Kiryat Arba/Hevron, and a member of the Kiryat Arba/Hevron Regional Council.
In response to the prime minister's statement, Rudrig called on him "to make actions and not statements. The first thing is just to come to the Cave of Machpelah, something you haven't done for many years."
"In addition, for over 20 years we have been praying in rain and snow, cold and heat, and there is no roof in the Cave of Machpelah. Building the roof is dependent only on your approval," he said, addressing Netanyahu.
"Currently the Cave of Machpelah is not handicapped accessible, which is also dependent only on your approval."
"In order to preserve the site, we who live in the city of the patriarchs need to continue to build; allow us to live in Machpelah House and approve building plans for new neighborhoods outside of Kiryat Arba/Hevron," continued Rudrig.
The local Likud head concluded: "sympathy is a good start, but real actions are needed too, first of all by stopping the discrimination against Jews (regarding building permits - ed.). We have a history, the future depends on us."
The government enforces a strict limit on Jewish residence in Hevron, and the Cave of Machpelah site is split between Jewish and Muslim control, with access to the side housing the tomb markers of Yitzhak (Isaac) and Rivka (Rebecca) only open to Jews ten days of the year.
5. Report: Obama spied on Netanyahu after NSA reforms
by Elad BenariPresident Barack Obama's administration continued to spy after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, even after he announced two years ago he would curtail the National Security Agency's eavesdropping program on friendly heads of state, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
Current and former officials who spoke to the newspaper said that the White House decided to keep certain allies under close watch and that Netanyahu topped the list.
The U.S., pursuing a nuclear arms agreement with Iran at the time, captured communications between Netanyahu and his aides that inflamed mistrust between the two countries and planted a political minefield at home when Netanyahu later took his campaign against the deal to Capitol Hill, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The National Security Agency's targeting of Israeli leaders and officials also swept up the contents of some of their private conversations with U.S. lawmakers and American-Jewish groups, the report said.
That raised fears, an "Oh-s**t moment," one senior official said, that the executive branch would be accused of spying on Congress.
Over the past few years there has been a series of revelations related to the NSA's spying program, most of which has been based on documents supplied by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.
Snowden's leaks revealed, among other things, that the NSA had monitored the phone conversations of 35 world leaders. The documents particularly caused tensions with Germany, after Chancellor Angela phoned President Barack Obama and accused the NSA of monitoring her telephone conversations.
It has also been reported that the NSA recorded millions of phone calls in France, including calls involving individuals with no links to terrorism, and that the agency had collected almost 200 million text messages a day from across the globe, using them to extract data including location, contact networks and credit card details.
As for the spying on Netanyahu, White House officials believed the intercepted information could be valuable to counter Netanyahu's campaign against the Iran deal. They also recognized that asking for it was politically risky, however, so, wary of a paper trail stemming from a request, the White House let the NSA decide what to share and what to withhold, officials said.
"We didn't say, 'Do it,' " a senior U.S. official said. "We didn't say, 'Don't do it.' "
Stepped-up NSA eavesdropping revealed to the White House how Netanyahu and his advisers had leaked details of the U.S.-Iran negotiations to undermine the talks; coordinated talking points with Jewish-American groups against the deal; and asked undecided lawmakers what it would take to win their votes, according to current and former officials familiar with the intercepts.
Mostly disturbing is the fact that after Snowden's revelations and a White House review, Obama announced in a January 2014 speech he would curb such eavesdropping, and this surveillance of Netanyahu came after that announcement.
According to The Wall Street Journal, in closed-door debate, the Obama administration weighed which allied leaders belonged on a so-called protected list, shielding them from NSA snooping. French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other North Atlantic Treaty Organization leaders made the list, but the administration permitted the NSA to target the leaders' top advisers, current and former U.S. officials said.
Other allies were excluded from the protected list, including Recep Tayyip Erdogan, president of NATO ally Turkey, which allowed the NSA to spy on their communications at the discretion of top officials, according to the American officials who spoke to the newspaper.
Privately, Obama maintained the monitoring of Netanyahu on the grounds that it served a "compelling national security purpose," according to current and former U.S. officials. Obama mentioned the exception in his speech but kept secret the leaders it would apply to.
Israeli, German and French government officials declined to comment on NSA activities. Turkish officials didn't respond to requests Tuesday for comment. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the NSA declined to comment on communications provided to the White House.
The Wall Street Journal noted that its account, stretching over two terms of the Obama administration, is based on interviews with more than two dozen current and former. intelligence and administration officials and reveals for the first time the extent of American spying on the Israeli prime minister.
The report also marks the second time that American surveillance on Israeli leaders has been exposed.
Some Snowden documents showed that the U.S. had been monitoring the email traffic of Israeli officials, including former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and former Defense Minister Ehud Barak.
6. Deputy AG: Duma suspects in 'good physical, emotional condition'
by Ido Ben-PoratDeputy Attorney General Attorney Raz Nizri, who paid a visit to the suspects being held over the deadly Duma arson attack, has forcefully rejected claims by their attorneys of torture.
According to Nizri, the detainees were in good physical and emotional condition when he met with them, and he accused the defense team of greatly exaggerating the conditions of their detention and interrogation as "torture."
The issue of alleged torture in the case has become a point of major controversy, with defense attorneys claiming their clients were subjected to shocking physical abuse - to the point that one minor currently still in detention reportedly attempted suicide - which could invalidate any confessions extracted from them.
The Shin Bet and other officials deny the accusations, saying that while the suspects were being subjected to intensive interrogation techniques - as are often used on terror suspects - they are not being tortured.
In a letter to Defense Attorney Adi Kedar of the Honenu legal rights group, Nizri responded to Kedar's criticism of his visit to the Shin Bet complex where the suspects are being held. Kedar had accused Nizri of obstructing the investigation via his visit, but the Deputy Attorney General accused Kedar in response of feigning ignorance.
"Your claim contains strong statement, which I will assume stem from a lack of familiarity with the facts and the legal-normative framework pertaining to the matter (of the interrogation and investigation - ed.), so I will therefore present them in brief," Nizri's letter began.
Under the law, the Deputy Attorney General is considered a legitimate, official visitor by dint of his position, Nizri noted.
"My department is responsible for dealing with this subject, and a lawyer from my department is the one who coordinates all matters regarding visits to prisons and the Israeli Prosecution Service detention facilities."
Relating to the torture claims, he said an investigation would be launched by the Attorney General's office "as is proper."
In fact, he added, the very purpose of his visit was to investigate the conditions under which the suspects were being held "and to hear the complaints, if any, straight from their mouths, in accordance with the authority of an official visitor as explained."
"At the start of the visit and at the end we spoke - as is standard for an official visitor - with Shin Bet personnel, but the conversations with the detainees themselves were held in private, without any prison wardens or Shin Bet interrogators in the holding cell," he added.
Detainees were given a chance to make any formal complaints, or if they so chose to not meet with Nizri and his team at all. He said he had made it clear to the suspects that the conversations were not related to the Duma investigation but purely concerning the conditions of their detention.
"I can already note that our impression was that the physical and emotional state of the suspects were fine, and that there is a huge gap between the claims we heard straight from their mouths and what has been claimed publicly on their behalf," he said.
Attorney Kedar responded to Nizri's claims, saying, "the letter of the deputy attorney general was leaked (to the press) even before being placed on our table."
"In his words, Mr. Nizri continues the invalid usage of messages he was instructed to say in order to cover the violence that he gave permission to be used."
"The goal of the 'official visitors' is for other reasons, and Mr. Nizri's appearance in a way that was not coordinated with the suspects was done as part of a continued effort to 'justify' the use of violence, something which is invalid according to every legal system and treaty," concluded Kedar.
7. Groom, man who waved weapon at 'extremist wedding' released
by Orli HarariThe Magistrate's Court on Wednesday morning ordered to release on bail Daniel Pinner, who was arrested the night before for taking part in a wedding in which alleged Jewish extremists appeared to celebrate the deadly Duma arson while waving weapons, and also to release the groom.
A total of five people were arrested on Tuesday, after video from the event was leaked to the press and caused a public outcry. In the video, people are seen dancing while waving guns and knives, and one masked person is seen holding a picture of the Arab baby murdered in the Duma attack and stabbing it at one point.
Pinner was seen in the video waving a gun in the air that he argues was a toy gun, and wearing a shirt of the Kach movement, which was founded by the late MK Rabbi Meir Kahane.
Police on Wednesday asked the court to extend Pinner's arrest by five days, but the judge threw out the request and accepted the argument of Attorney Itamar Ben-Gvir, who said that even if the act may have angered people there are no grounds to extend the arrest.
Pinner, a resident of Kfar Tapuach in Samaria, is to be released on a bail of 2,000 shekels (just over $500), but the police requested to delay the release so as to submit a petition.
The Jerusalem Magistrate's Court also ordered the release of the groom from the wedding, Yakir Eshbal, rejecting the police request to keep him in jail for another five days. However, a 24-hour delay order was put on the release to allow the police to petition.
"I expect that the police will this very day arrest everyone celebrating in Umm al Fahm and Rahat who wave and even shoot weapons during weddings," said Ben-Gvir following the decision on Pinner, noting on how Arab weddings frequently include live gunfire in the air.
Pinner's wife on Tuesday night wrote her version of events from the wedding on Facebook, saying, "he didn't join in stabbing the picture and wasn't even close to the people who did it."
"He held a toy gun and sat on the shoulders of someone with a shirt that was passed from person to person during the dancing of 'zachreini na,'" she wrote, referring to a traditional song recording the Biblical Samson's revenge against the Philistines. "After he understood what they did there with the picture he stopped dancing."
Three participants in the wedding remain under arrest, including the groom and an IDF soldier who is being held on suspicions that he may have passed his personal weapon to one of the participants.
8. Watch: Duma suspect finally released
by Yoni KempinskiThe courts ordered the release of one of the Jewish suspects in the lethal Duma arson case on Tuesday, but after the Israel Prison Services (IPS) delayed his release despite the order, the court forced them to comply.
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Lod District Court ordered the suspect, whose identity remains under a media gag order, to be released to a 10-day house arrest.
After being held for 29 days - during the first 20 of which he was denied legal consultation - police asked to extend his arrest based on alleged involvement in an unrelated quarrel with Bedouin shepherds two years ago, in a request thrown out by the court.
However, the Honenu legal aid organization representing the suspects reported the IPS was refusing the order to release him, as State Attorney Shai Nitzan had a request issued to have the release delayed while submitting a petition. The group argued the delay was illegal, and apparently the IPS finally relented and released the man from the Lod District Court.
Attorneys reported that the suspect testified he was subjected to torture, including "violent shaking, hitting, banging his head against a wall, stretching his head back until he vomited, and sleep deprivation for entire days."
His family released a statement shortly after the court ruled to release him, saying, "the entire argument in the court throughout stages of the arrest was that they're dealing with a ticking bomb as it were, and it was a lie from the beginning and they led the court, the politicians and the public astray."
"We call to establish a parliamentary investigation committee to examine the video tapes from the interrogation so that the truth behind the claims of torture will reach the light," added the family.
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Wednesday, December 30, 2015
A7News: Cave of Machpelah victim dies of his wounds 3 weeks later
