Arutz Sheva Daily Israel Report http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com ------------------------------------------------ Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday Subscribe to this Daily Israel Report: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Subscribe/ Wednesday, Jan. 20 '16, Shevat 10, 5776 HEADLINES: 1. HEZBOLLAH TERROR CELL THWARTED IN SAMARIA 2. STABBING ATTACK AVERTED BY ALERT SOLDIERS 3. POLICE CALLED AS ANTI-ISRAEL RIOT ERUPTS AT LONDON UNIVERSITY 4. UK TAXPAYERS FUNDING 'TORTURE IN PALESTINE' 5. PUTIN OFFERS EUROPEAN JEWS REFUGE IN RUSSIA 6. 'I HOPE MOM DIDN'T HEAR MY SCREAMS' 7. WATCH: US BACKS EU'S RESOLUTION DIVIDING ISRAEL 8. WATCH: PALIN SAYS TRUMP WILL 'KICK ISIS ASS' 1. HEZBOLLAH TERROR CELL THWARTED IN SAMARIA by Arutz Sheva Staff A Hezbollah terror cell from Tulkarem planning shooting attacks against Israelis was broken up by Israeli security forces, it was released for publication Wednesday. The cell was operating under guidelines received from Juad Nasrallah, son of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, and planned at least one shooting attack in Israel. It was thwarted by a joint operation between the Israel Security Agency (ISA), the IDF and the Israeli Police. The head of the terror cell has been identified as Mahmud Ja'lul, who received instructions from Nasrallah's son via social media. From the investigation conducted by the ISA it was revealed that Ja'lul was instructed by a Hezbollah operative, by the name of Fadi, to open a new email account through which he would receive instructions. These instruction told him how to recruit others to join the terror cell, as well as how to obtain tactical information of possible targets. Jalul and the terror cell he formed were instructed to setup and maintain a secret communications network, make preparations to build a bomb and carry out a suicide bombing, and to gather intelligence information regarding training facilities. They were also instructed to gather and pass on information about the movements of security forces in their area. Members of the terror cell requested that Hezbollah send them munitions and money in order to carry out their objectives. In response Hezbollah transferred $5000 from an international account to the group. Mahmad Masaruah, and Ahmed Abu el-Az purchased weapons from Ja'lul and were later apprehended by Israeli forces before they could carry out their planned attack against IDF soldiers. They were caught in possession of the illegal weapons with which they were planning to carry out the attack. 32 year-old Ja'lul, who has a prior arrest and was incarcerated from 2001-2005 was arrested. As was 28 year old Rabah Lebadi also a Tulkarem resident who has two prior convictions and served time in prison from 2002-2007and then again from 2008-2011. Three nineteen-year-olds were also arrested for taking part in the planned attack and terror cell. They are Mohammad Ja'lul, Mahmad Masaruah, and Ahmed Abu El Az. This is yet another attempt by Hezbollah to perpetrate an attack in Israel. In recent years Hezbollah Unit 133 has attempted to setup a terror network within Israel to act as a fifth column, as well as using Fatah operatives as proxies, and has been continuously thwarted by Israeli forces. According to the ISA this case is unusual in that it involved a terror cell being directed by Hezbollah itself. The ISA said that over recent years Hezbollah has been attempting to fan the flames of Palestinian incitement and create a full scale uprising through methods of incitement, and seducing young Palestinians into becoming terrorists by offering large sums of money to those who carry out attacks. Hezbollah has been attempting to use the internet as a secret method of communication and to fly under the radar of Israeli security forces, while setting up a terror network in the Palestinian Authority from afar. The suspects have been indicted in a military court in Judea and are accused of the following crimes: Membership in an illegal organization, contact with an enemy entity, accepting money from an enemy, conspiracy to manslaughter, illegal weapons trading and possession, conspiracy to shooting at an individual, and the obstruction of justice. 2. STABBING ATTACK AVERTED BY ALERT SOLDIERS by Ari Yashar IDF soldiers averted a stabbing attack by an Arab terrorist on Wednesday, after a security check revealed he was carrying a concealed knife. The soldiers, from the Tzavar battalion of the Givati Brigade, had stopped the Arab man during a routine check near Beit Anoun, located just northeast of Hevron and Kiryat Arba in Judea. On his person, the soldiers came across a lethal blade and succeeded in arresting him. Under initial investigation, he admitted to planning to stab IDF soldiers. Hevron has been a key hotbed of terror in the recent wave of attacks, as a large number of assailants have hailed from the ancient city that features a radical Arab population that is overwhelmingly supportive of Hamas. Numerous attacks, including many lethal ones, have been conducted in Hevron during the wave of attacks that began last September. Just last Thursday IDF soldiers foiled an attempted stabbing attack in Beit Anoun, as an Arab terrorist tried to murder Jewish civilians waiting at a nearby junction. The soldiers caught the jump on him, shooting him dead before he could deal any damage. Last Sunday, it was revealed that security forces last November thwarted a massive shooting attack being planned by a Hamas terror cell, targeting Highway 35 near Hevron. In charge of the cell was Mohammed Ali Qawasmeh, 38, who recruited the terrorists - all residents of Hevron. Qawasmeh's brother, Hassam Ali Qawasmeh, was the mastermind behind the abduction and murder of three Israeli teenagers in June 2014. Just two weeks ago, another Qawasmeh-led cell was busted which planned further kidnappings and murders of Israelis. The ancient city of Hevron, where the Jewish patriarchs and matriarchs other than Rachel are buried, has also been plagued by a serial Arab sniper. 3. POLICE CALLED AS ANTI-ISRAEL RIOT ERUPTS AT LONDON UNIVERSITY by Ari Soffer A violent riot by anti-Israel activists at a leading London university has left Jewish students shocked and concerned about their safety on campus, and ended in at least one Jewish student being physically assaulted. Police were called to Kings College London University on Tuesday night, after a speech by former Shin Bet chief Ami Ayalon was attacked with shocking violence by pro-Palestinian groups. Ironically, Ayalon - who was brought to London by the controversial liberal Jewish group Yachad - is an ardent left-wing campaigner and advocate of Israeli concessions to the Palestinians. Security was already tight in anticipation of protests and hecklers - which commonly target pro-Israel events at London university campuses - but organizers say they were completely unprepared for the level of violence and intimidation they faced. Anti-Israel activists from Kings' "Action Palestine" student group, as well as activists from other London universities, hurled chairs at people attending and set off fire alarms in the building more than a dozen times in order to disrupt the event. After eventually being forced to leave the room, the extremists then proceeded to chant loudly and bang on the windows of the venue, smashing one and leaving many of those present visibly terrified. One student, Esther Endfield, has submitted a criminal complaint after being physically assaulted. In a Facebook post, she described "crying hysterically for over half an hour because I was so terrified." The event was hosted by Kings' Israel Society, and was jointly organized with the Israel Society at the London School of Economics (LSE). LSE Israel Society co-chair David Tamman described the "violent intimidation" in a Facebook post accompanying footage from the event, which shows Ayalon forging on with his speech as fire alarms blare, while anti-Israel activists thump on the door and chant outside. Click on the image below to view video: Another video, from outside, showed protesters hitting the windows - one of which had clearly been broken. [youtube:2011714] Tamman described his "bitter feelings of frustration and upset" at the attack, which he said illustrated both the extremism of pro-Palestinian groups, as well as the lack of the kind of "safe space" for Jews who support Israel as is afforded to other students. Of the roughly 200 people who turned up to attend, only a few dozen were able to fit into the small room granted to the Israel Society for "security reasons." Among those left outside were more than a dozen anti-Israel activists; Tamman described what happened next: Confronted with this, violent protesters set off multiple fire alarms to interrupt the talk. They also banged on windows, threw chairs and screamed to the top of their voices. Attendees inside felt the walls and windows shake as they were struggling to hear the talk, looking genuinely scared for their security. Indeed they had reason to. It got violent as a few managed to push their way into the building, brake a glass window and physically assault a friend of mine (and co-organiser Esther Endfield, KCL Israel society President). This came along with a tirade of verbal abuse inches from the faces of many jewish students. It got to a stage where the police felt the need to call in around 15 police officers and two vans. 2 female friends of mine cried from the fear and abuse and I stood there staring at a poster on the door declaring Kings College London to be a 'safe space' and thought - what a lie. The truth is, universities across the UK are not safe spaces (if you happen to be a Zionist Jew). It shocks me how universities and students seem to obsess on the provision of 'safe spaces' when a few students are offended by an old statue in Oxford (Cecil Rhodes), whilst there is a total disregard for Israel supporting Jews who are intimidated on a constant basis (in this case even assaulted). After prolonged violence and despite the protesters being distanced from the building by police, the event was forced to end half an hour early due to security concerns. "Protecting the free speech of violent protesters violated the free speech of Ami, a man who merely wanted to engage in dialogue with a receptive audience. This is a sad state of affairs. What about his freedom to speak? What about our freedom to listen?" "I've genuinely had enough," he continued. "Enough with the intimidation. Enough with the alarms. Enough with the long wasted hours of organising events that get ruined by hateful extremists. Enough with university apathy towards their Jewish minority. "But silence is not the answer. We will continue because giving up is exactly what these hate-filled, extremist cretins desire. Jewish and Israeli students will not be silenced. My co Jamie and I are already planning our next event (and hoping to get some university work done amongst all this madness)." Speaking to Arutz Sheva, Tamman described the incident as "genuinely scary." "No one in that room felt safe last night - and no one was safe. People sitting near the window for example... there was a real threat they could get hit by shattered glass," he said. He noted that while the incident in question was particularly severe, it is part of a clear pattern of disruptions by anti-Israel groups, aimed at forcefully stifling pro-Israel voices on campus. In some cases, for example, organized gangs of extremists ensure that those who set off fire alarms are not students at the university in question, to avoid the administration taking disciplinary action. By staging such disruptions, anti-Israel activists forced pro-Israel student groups to foot the bill for extra security, which is often far too high. "That means that very often we can't host speakers because it's out of our budget," Tamman said. "Our freedom, our right to freedom of speech is being violated... ironically, the protection of freedom of speech on one side is violating the freedom of speech on the other." But he vowed that far from deterring him and his fellow activists, the violence only spurred them on to defy it, and emphasized that while the narrative harbored by such extremists was certainly "dangerous," they were only a "loud minority." "The truth is that most other people are much more moderate," he said, cautioning supporters of Israel not to resign themselves to the false notion that "the whole world hates us." Many of those who turned up for the speech for example were neither Jewish nor involved in pro-Israel activism, and were left with a clear impression of "who the real bigots are." "It really shows the true colors of these so-called 'human rights' activists, and what they're all about; that they aren't really interested in any peace with Israel, they're not critical of Israeli government policy. What they're essentially opposed to is the existence of the State of Israel in and of itself... so there's no room for discussion with them." 4. UK TAXPAYERS FUNDING 'TORTURE IN PALESTINE' by Arutz Sheva Staff A British news site revealed on Wednesday that the UK government has handed over vast funds to the radical B'Tselem organization in Israel, which was just weeks exposed to be involved in the torture and murder of Palestinian Arabs. The British Foreign Office was sharply criticized on Tuesday night according to The Sun, after it came out that it gave £227,988 (around $323,000) in taxpayer money to B'Tselem since 2010. The Foreign Office claimed the aid stopped in 2013, with parliamentary records showing the funding dates back as far as 2006. B'Tselem employee Nasser Nawaja, along with radical leftist activist Ezra Nawi, were exposed in a broadcast by the "Uvda" TV show on Channel 2 earlier this month, showing how they hand over the names of Arabs wanting to sell land to Jews, giving information to the Palestinian Authority (PA) that tortures and then executes the "offenders." In response to the expose B'Tselem, which was revealed to be partially funded by the PA, defended the actions leading to the death of Arabs by calling it the "only legitimate channel" to block Jews from living in the region. Ukip MEP Steven Woolfe told The Sun he intends to raise the issue of the funding to the European Parliament, and said, "the EU and UK must immediately suspend funding of B'Tselem." "It is outrageous that British taxpayers money is, via the back door, going towards aiding and abetting torture in Palestine. It further reinforces how mad the aid policies are of the EU, UK and other European governments." NGO Monitor president Prof. Gerald Steinberg also commented on the revelation, telling the site, "for many years, the British government, largely through the Department for International Development has provide millions of pounds in taxpayer funds annually to radical NGOs whose activities make peace between Israelis and Palestinians even more difficult." "B'Tselem is a prominent example, although far from the only one, and given the large number of NGOs active in Israel and the Palestinian Authority, there is no justification for British government subsidies." 5. PUTIN OFFERS EUROPEAN JEWS REFUGE IN RUSSIA by Gil Ronen As anti-Semitic attacks increase throughout Europe, Russian president Vladimir Putin has invited European Jews to immigrate to Russia. Putin made the offer on Tuesday in a meeting with members of the European Jewish Congress (EJC) that took place in the Kremlin. Moshe Vyacheslav Kantor, EJC president, complained to Putin about the rising anti-Semitism across Europe and the growing number of attacks against Jews. "Statistically," Kantor told his host, "the situation of the Jews in Europe is the worst it has been since the end of the Second World War and there is a very real prospect of an exodus of Jews from certain parts of Europe." According to Russian news outlet RT, Putin replied: "Let [the Jews] come to us then," adding that "during the Soviet period they were leaving the country, and now they should return." Kantor reportedly called Putin's proposal a "new fundamental idea" that the EJC will take up for debate. Kantor had told Putin that ultra-right wing movements are "springing up like mushrooms" in Britain, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Sweden and Italy, and that the rise of Islamist extremism in Europe is prompting a mass exodus of Jews from the EU. At Putin's initiative, the Duma (Russian Parliament) recently passed a law outlawing "distorted and/or extremist" commentary of Scriptures. The purpose of the unusual law, it is widely understood, is the prevention of cynical advantage being taken of Biblical verses for anti-Semitic purposes. Putin has long been known to oppose anti-Semitism, and violent attacks against Jews in his country have in fact been on the decline in recent years. He also conducts warm relations with Israel – even as he does the same with Iran. 6. 'I HOPE MOM DIDN'T HEAR MY SCREAMS' by Arutz Sheva Staff Ranana Meir, the 17-year-old daughter of Dafna Meir who was brutally stabbed to death by an Arab terrorist at the entrance to her home in Otniel in southern Judea on Sunday night, recalled the horrors of seeing her mother murdered before her eyes. Meir, 39, worked as a nurse at Soroka Hospital in Be'er Sheva, and was a mother to six including two adopted children. She fought with the Arab terrorist, and prevented him from murdering three of her children who were inside at the time, including Ranana. Meir was buried Monday amid tearful eulogies, and the 16-year-old terrorist was apprehended Tuesday. Ranana relived the attack in an interview with Channel 2 on Wednesday, saying, "I was lying in my parents' bedroom. I was in the middle of a phone call with one earphone. At first I thought to myself that she (Dafna) was probably frightened by a centipede or a cockroach, two things which easily could have caused mom to shout." "But then the shouts grew louder and didn't stop. I understood that something was happening there. When I went upstairs, mom was already lying on the ground. She was still fighting with the terrorist." The bereaved teen recalls seeing the Arab terrorist try to pull the knife out of her mother so as to continue murdering and stab her as well. "I saw him try to pull out the knife. I shouted to my two brothers no to go up to the living room. I understood that he wanted to continue. It took a few seconds until he realized that he couldn't remove the knife, and he ran," she recounted. "Mom fought with him, she didn't let him remove the knife, she didn't let him hurt us. I screamed. He was shocked and fled. I went to mom, to the knife that was sticking out of her. I came to remove it but then I remembered that in the Magen David Adom course they told us not to remove foreign objects." At that point Ranana called Magen David Adom and had an ambulance dispatched, saying, "I was screaming the whole time from the panic. Mom was still breathing, I just asked her the whole time to keep breathing, not to stop, but I already knew. It was clear to me that it was over. She tried to keep breathing. I felt that she heard me even though she already wasn't responding." "I hope that she didn't hear my screams," the 17-year-old said. Her father, Natan, was with one of his sons at a doctor's visit in Gush Etzion at the time, and Ranana called him to inform him of the tragedy, at which point he raced home. "For forty minutes I made my way to Otniel," he later recalled. "I stopped to pick up my son who studies at Mekor Chaim Yeshiva. The whole time I tried to contact friends from the town, from the (response) team, who I knew were supposed to be there in case of a (security) incident." Natan said, "they all told me that they're treating her. Forty minutes pass, and I understand that if they're treating her for 40 minutes, the situation is very grave. I turn on the radio and hear 'a woman was murdered in an attack in Otniel,' and then I understood it was over." 7. WATCH: US BACKS EU'S RESOLUTION DIVIDING ISRAEL by Ari Yashar US State Department spokesperson John Kirby on Tuesday indicated the Obama administration supports the European Union's (EU) controversial resolution on Monday, according to which EU agreements with Israel no longer apply over the 1949 Armistice lines. Kirby's statements, in response to the questions of Associated Press reporter Matt Lee, can be seen starting at 44:50 in the video below. [youtube:2011697] "Our longstanding position on settlements is clear. We view Israeli settlement activity as illegitimate and counterproductive to the cause of peace. We remain deeply concerned about Israel's current policy on settlements, including construction, planning, and retroactive legalizations," said Kirby. The spokesperson added that, "the US government has never defended or supported Israeli settlements, because administrations from both parties have long recognized that settlement activity beyond the 1967 lines and efforts to change the facts on the ground undermine prospects for a two-state solution. We are no different." Ironically the EU has been changing facts on the ground by funding illegal Arab settlements in Area C of Judea and Samaria, an array of regions designated by the 1994 Oslo Accords to be under full Israeli administration. In response to Kirby's statements, Lee sought to clarify whether he meant the US has "no issue" with the EU decision to no longer apply its agreements with Israel in the Jewish Biblical heartland of Judea and Samaria, to which Kirby indicated there is no American opposition. He also reiterated the administration's support for the EU decision last November to label Jewish products from Judea, Samaria and the Golan Heights. "We do not view labeling the origin of products as being from the settlements a boycott of Israel. We also do not believe that labeling the origin of products is equivalent to a boycott," said Kirby. In December the EU double-standard in the move was put on display as a top European court struck down a trade deal with Morocco in the occupied Western Sahara, and the EU responded by petitioning the ruling. Legal experts revealed the ruling undermines the EU's claims that its labeling of Israel and taking other punitive actions are due to a principle of "non-recognition," since the court decision shows that it can and does do business with "occupiers." Regarding the legal status of Israel's presence in Judea and Samaria, and consequentially of products from the region and agreements in it, the 2012 Levy Report proved that Israel's presence is legal according to international law. However, despite being commissioned by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, two consecutive coalition governments led by him have yet to adopt the findings of the report. 8. WATCH: PALIN SAYS TRUMP WILL 'KICK ISIS ASS' by Ari Yashar Former Alaska Governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin appeared on stage with Republican frontrunner Donald Trump on Tuesday, promising that he would "kick ISIS (Islamic State) ass." [youtube:2011700] Palin, after endorsing the real estate mogul in a statement, went on to appear with him at an Iowa campaign stop. "Looking around at all of you, you hard working Iowa families, you farm families and teachers and teamsters and cops and cooks, you rock and rollers and holy rollers!" Palin told the crowd. "You all make the world go around and now our cause is one." Using terms like "hallelujah," the former running mate of Senator John McCain (R-AZ) said she was "proud to endorse" Trump, and asked the crowd, "are you ready to stump for Trump?" Trump stood beside her during the 20-minute speech, in which she praised him as "compassionate," "refreshing," and "self-made." In response he thanked her, calling her "special" and "amazing," and noting, "this is a woman that, from Day 1, I said, 'If I ever do this, I have to get her support.'" Palin's support comes as Trump is neck-and-neck with Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) in Iowa, ahead of February 1 caucuses. Palin has been a leading figure in the Tea Party campaign, and previously she spoke favorably of Cruz, leading many to suggest the endorsement may harm his campaign. However, Cruz remained unmoved by it, saying Tuesday, "regardless of what Sarah decides to do in 2016, I will always remain a big, big fan." "I think it'd be a blow to Sarah Palin, because Sarah Palin has been a champion for the conservative cause, and if she was going to endorse Donald Trump, sadly, she would be endorsing someone who's held progressive views all their life on the sanctity of life, on marriage, on partial-birth abortion," Cruz spokesman Rick Tyler said earlier. Cruz and Trump traded blows in last week's Republican presidential debate, after having largely refrained from direct confrontations in the race until now. ------------------------------------------------ Subscribe to this Daily Israel Report: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Subscribe/
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