Arutz Sheva Daily Israel Report
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Sunday, Jan. 24 '16, Shevat 14, 5776
HEADLINES:
1. RAIN AND SNOWSTORM HIT ISRAEL
2. PM: ISRAEL TO AUTHORIZE RETURN OF EVICTED HEVRON RESIDENTS
3. 'A BOYCOTT OF ISRAELI DOCTORS IS A REAL DANGER'
4. PA INTELLIGENCE OFFICER AIDED TULKAREM TERROR CELL
5. SMOTRICH SLAMS YA'ALON'S 'SHAMEFUL' RHETORIC AGAINST 'SETTLERS'
6. EZRA NAWI TO BE RELEASED FROM POLICE CUSTODY
7. ANTI-ISRAEL RIOTERS STORM JEWISH LGBT CONFERENCE IN CHICAGO
8. GEORGE GALLOWAY BANS ISRAEL SUPPORTERS FROM ELECTION EVENTS
1. RAIN AND SNOWSTORM HIT ISRAEL
by Cynthia Blank
The rain and snowstorm that began to bear down on Israel over the weekend have grown even stronger Sunday along with a sharp drop in temperatures and gusty winds across the country.
Snow has already fallen on Mount Hermon and is expected to spread throughout the day to the northern Golan Heights and the Upper Galilee, even reaching Tzfat in the evening.
Rains from the north to the Negev have also already started to fall on Sunday morning, and will be accompanied later in the day by thunderstorms and hail according to predictions.
Meanwhile, flood warnings for streams and rivers in the Judean Desert and the Dead Sea region came into effect on Shabbat.
Residents of Gush Etzion communities as well as of Kiryat Arba in Judea reported late Sunday morning that snowflakes are also falling in the region, though they are not yet sticking.
Temperatures will remain quite chilly on Monday and the rains will continue accompanied by thunderstorms from the north to the Negev.
Scattered snow showers will spread Monday to the mountains in the center of the country and the northern Negev region, and may even reach the upper neighborhoods of Jerusalem overnight Tuesday.
The rains won't let up on Tuesday either, with their scope focused on the center and south of the country, and they will be accompanied by thunderstorms. Flood warnings in the Negev are to remain in effect.
By Tuesday afternoon, the rain will weaken, ceasing totally on Wednesday, though temperatures will remain unseasonably cold.
Temperatures Sunday will reach 9°C (48°F) in the Golan Heights, 14° (57°) at the Kinneret, 12° (54°) in Haifa, 14° in Tel Aviv, 13° (55°) in the Shfela region, 6° (43°) in Jerusalem, 12° in Be'er Sheva, 18° (64°) at the Dead Sea and 16° (61°) in Eilat.
2. PM: ISRAEL TO AUTHORIZE RETURN OF EVICTED HEVRON RESIDENTS
by Nitsan Keidar
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu clarified at the cabinet meeting on Sunday that Israel will permit the 200 Jews evicted from two houses in Hevron on Friday to return once they receive the proper permits.
"The government supports the settlements at any time, especially in days like these, when they are under terrorist assault and are taking a courageous and determined stand in the face of terrorist attacks," the Prime Minister said, adding that "at the same time, we are a lawful country and must respect the rule of the law."
"The moment that the purchase process is authorized, we will allow the population of the two houses in Hebron," Netanyahu stressed.
"We will begin the examination today and we will do it quickly. If it doesn't come to an end within a week, I will make sure that a status report will be submitted to the cabinet," noted Netanyahu.
The Prime Minister also addressed relations between Israel and the United States, thanking US President Barack Obama "for deciding to attend an event marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day at the Israeli Embassy."
"This sort of thing hasn't happened in many years, and it is more proof that the relations between Israel and the US, despite the disagreements, are solid and strong."
"We've heard over the past years talk of the collapse of the relations. What happened are talks of collapse, but it seems that the relations are getting stronger – for example the memorandum of understanding that we will likely reach in the upcoming months regarding defense aid for the next 10 years," Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu also made note of his trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos, in which me met with several world leaders, and announced that both Argentina and Ethiopia seek to strengthen relations with the Jewish state.
3. 'A BOYCOTT OF ISRAELI DOCTORS IS A REAL DANGER'
by Benny Tocker
Following reports of attempts to have Israel ousted from the World Medical Association (WMA), leading anesthesiologist Dr. Leonid Eidelman has demanded the Foreign Ministry take immediate action to protect Israeli doctors against boycotts.
The news that 71 British physicians had begun to exert pressure on the WMA to revoke the membership of the Israel Medical Association (IMA) was revealed in a Knesset meeting last Wednesday.
IMA representative Dr. Ze'ev Feldman announced to the meeting, "The sword of the boycott has been raised against the scientific medical community in Israel," adding that the British physicians claim "our doctors perform medical torture on Palestinian patients."
Eidelman, IMA's chairman, told Arutz Sheva that this is not the first time international doctors have tried to have the Israeli association boycotted.
"We are constantly faced with such efforts on the part of British and Scandinavian doctors - the attempts so far have failed," Eidelman said. "But if God forbid, [a boycott] happens, it would cause huge damage to medicine in Israel."
"Israeli doctors cannot afford not to be part of the global medical community," he continued. "This will harm the ability of Israeli doctors to attend conferences, publish research or in medical publications and this will hurt Israeli medicine."
"We, for our part in the IMA, reject all the slander [against us]; it has no foundation," Eidelman said, before urging the Foreign Ministry to realize the danger such a boycott poses.
"Recently I was at a conference in South Africa and there was a demonstration against me. They wanted to expel me. I called the Foreign Ministry but I didn't received any help or protection whatsoever. The Foreign Ministry ignored me and said this is just how it is."
"I speak with officials in government ministries and don't receive any assistance," Eidelman blasted. "We follow the news, and are trying to fight so physicians in Israel continue to be part of the medical community but we hope that the Foreign Ministry will also help us do that."
4. PA INTELLIGENCE OFFICER AIDED TULKAREM TERROR CELL
by Ari Soffer
Israeli security forces have captured the terror cell responsible for a shooting attack last week which left an IDF soldier lightly wounded, it has been cleared for publication.
The three-man terror cell was based in Danaba, a suburb on the eastern outskirts of Tulkarem in Samaria. The arrest operation took place on Friday, and involved the IDF and Shin Bet internal security service.
The two members of the cell who conducted the shooting - which targeted IDF soldiers last Wednesday as they carried out an operation in Tulkarem - have been identified as:
Amar Anbatz, 27, who served time in an Israeli prison for terrorist activity in 2008
Samer A-Haq, 30
The third cell member was Ala'a Barkawi, a 32-year-old member of the Palestinian Authority intelligence services, who provided support to Anbatz and A-Haq by helping them to escape and hide their weaponry following the attack.
All three have been handed over to the Shin Bet for interrogation.
It is the second terror cell uncovered in Tulkarem in recent days.
Last week it was announced that a Hezbollah cell based in the PA city had planned shooting attacks against Israelis. The cell was reportedly directed by Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah's son, but was broken up by security forces before it was able to carry out attacks.
5. SMOTRICH SLAMS YA'ALON'S 'SHAMEFUL' RHETORIC AGAINST 'SETTLERS'
by Shlomo Piotrokovsky
The coalition crisis over the eviction of 200 Jews from Hevron continued to brew on Sunday as MK Bezelel Smotrich (Jewish Home) launched yet another attack on Defense Minister Moshe (Bogie) Ya'alon.
After Ya'alon defended the decision to remove the Jewish residents of Hevron from two legally-purchased buildings in an interview with Army Radio, Smotrich took to Twitter to vent his anger.
Responding to Ya'alon's claim the residents were "intruders," Smotrich blasted, "Intruders?! Residents who purchased homes at full price are intruding?! I listened to Bogie's rhetoric against settlers in the interview and it's just shameful."
Sources close to Ya'alon said Thursday that in order to populate a house in Hevron, it is necessary to receive approval for the purchase, have security clearance and also receive approval from the political echelon - which they claim the 200 Jews did not do.
"There is nothing illegal about entering these houses," Smotrich continued, slamming the above claim. "Under the applicable law in Judea-Samaria, you do not need purchase approval to move back into your home."
Smotrich also attached a photo of the aforementioned order, which asserts there is no need to submit an application for such approval.
"It turns out you can give purchase approval without a request and without documents," Smotrich noted. "It's in the hands of Bogie and the 'rule of law' is a poor excuse."
In his interview Sunday, Ya'alon contended that "with Smotrich, and a few others from my faction, I share no common language. I hope Likud will walk in Begin's path and not of these people on the fringes."
"With whom in the political system does Ya'alon share a common language?" Smotrich charged in response. "Maybe Tzipi Livni. The responses of most of the Likud ministers teach that he doesn't [share one] with them either."
6. EZRA NAWI TO BE RELEASED FROM POLICE CUSTODY
by Ari Soffer
Far-left activist Ezra Nawi, who is accused of having helped execute Palestinians who sold land to Jews, is to be released from police custody today (Sunday).
Jerusalem District Court Judge David Richter ordered Nawi's release to house arrest, but delayed the release until 4 p.m. Sunday to allow prosecutors time to appeal the decision.
In his ruling, the judge said he didn't see any compelling reason to keep Nawi in detention, dismissing police claims that releasing him could disrupt their investigation.
He said that no new evidence had been presented over Nawi's alleged role in the death of "Abu Khalil", a Palestinian man who died shortly after being entrapped by Nawi for selling land to Jews. While Palestinian Authority officials had claimed he died of a stroke, police are looking into the possibility that he was murdered, and that by informing on him Nawi played a part in his death.
Ezra Nawi was arrested earlier this month as he attempted to flee the country, following an expose which showed him gloating about having handed Palestinians over to the PA for torture and execution, for the "crime" of selling land to Jews.
His arrest was followed by two others - one a fellow Jewish far-left activist and the other an Arab activist with the Israeli B'Tselem group - but Ezra Nawi's identity as the first arrested suspect was only cleared for publication late last week.
7. ANTI-ISRAEL RIOTERS STORM JEWISH LGBT CONFERENCE IN CHICAGO
by Cynthia Blank
Hundreds of anti-Israel demonstrators rioted outside a Shabbat reception for Jewish attendees of a gay activism conference in Chicago on Friday night, JTA reports Sunday.
The Creating Change conference was hosted by A Wider Bridge, a Jewish organization seeking to build ties between LGBT communities in Israel and North America.
The demonstrators chanted, ""Hey hey, ho ho, pinkwashing has got to go," as they streamed through the Hilton Chicago hotel to disrupt the reception.
Pinkwashing is a term used in the anti-Israel community to describe the alleged practice of presenting Israel as gay-friendly in order to downplay or cover up its policy toward Palestinians.
The demonstrators took issue with the fact that the reception featured members of the Jerusalem Open House, a gay activist organization based in Israel's capital.
The National LGBTQ Task Force, which organizes the Creating Change conference, initially bowed to the demonstrators and cancelled the program featuring speakers from the Jerusalem Open House - but later reversed its decision.
According to A Wider Bridge, the anti-Israel protestors stormed into the reception and took over the stage, preventing the visiting Israelis from speaking.
"Last night the values of free speech and respectful communication that we all value and that should be the hallmark of the Creating Change conference were replaced by a disgraceful authoritarian-like action that seeks to silence the voices of anyone the protesters feel don't adhere to their rigid dogma," the group said in a statement.
"Lies and gross distortions about A Wider Bridge and Israel were being repeated throughout the conference and at the protest," it added.
"We look forward to working with the leadership of the Task Force to ensure that Creating Change can be a welcoming and safe space for LGBT people, Jews and non-Jews, who care about Israel."
8. GEORGE GALLOWAY BANS ISRAEL SUPPORTERS FROM ELECTION EVENTS
by Ari Soffer
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Controversial anti-Israel politician and London Mayoral candidate George Galloway has been accused of "fascism," after refusing a man entry to his events because he is pro-Israel.
Jewish activist Ben Gross of the Israel Advocacy Movement had attempted to enter a public talk by Galloway last week, but was rejected and physically blocked from entering.
If Gross was under any doubt as to why he was turned away, Galloway himself quickly made it clear to his audience that it was his pro-Israel sympathies which made him a persona non grata.
"We rejected at the door one of the main Zionist agitators in London, who wanted to come in here," Galloway told his audience. "If he had come in here he would have, in his inimitable style, accused us of terrorism!"
"It was a slightly surreal but not unexpected experience being told I'm not allowed in but never being given a reason why," Gross told Arutz Sheva. "It's clear they had profiled me prior to the event and upon reflection it smacks of fascism to ban someone for his political views."
Galloway's "no-Zionists" policy is hardly a surprise coming from a man who, as MP, branded his constituency an "Israel-free zone," and who infamously walked out of a debate upon discovering his opponent was Israeli.
Still, it is ironic given the Galloway campaign's official slogan for this year's London Mayoral Elections: "A London for all."
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