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Thursday, Mar. 17 '16, Adar Bet 7, 5776
HEADLINES:
1. FORMER MOSSAD CHIEF MEIR DAGAN PASSES AWAY
2. TERROR ATTACK NEAR ARIEL
3. TERROR SURVIVOR TO ADDRESS UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
4. ISRAEL PRESENTS RED LINES TO RUSSIA ON GOLAN, IRAN
5. GOP LEADERS MEET OVER POSSIBLE THIRD PARTY RUN AGAINST TRUMP
6. TERRORISTS USED FAMILY REUNIFICATION LAW TO ENTER ISRAEL
7. FBI RAIDS YESHIVA VENDORS IN ROCKLAND COUNTY
8. ANONYMOUS LAUNCHES CYBER WAR AGAINST TRUMP
1. FORMER MOSSAD CHIEF MEIR DAGAN PASSES AWAY
by David Rosenberg
Former Mossad Director Meir Dagan passed away on Thursday, following a years-long battle with cancer. He was 71 years old.
Dagan, who was first appointed to the Mossad by Ariel Sharon, served from 2002 to 2011, undertaking some of the agency's most ambitious anti-terror operations.
Dagan was widely believed to be responsible for numerous assassinations of Hamas and Hezbollah terrorists abroad, earning him a reputation as "superman" in the Arab world.
Born at the end of World War II to Jewish refugees who had narrowly escaped the Holocaust, Dagan was a decorated soldier who served with distinction and was wounded multiple times in the line of duty.
First enlisting in 1963, Dagan fought on the southern front in the 1967 Six Day War, was a member of an elite commando unit in the early 1970s, and was a unit commander involved in the crossing of the Suez Canal during the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
Dagan later served as a commander in Lebanon in the 1980s, and continued his military service through the mid-1990s.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu remembered Dagan as a "daring fighter and commander who greatly contributed to the security of the state in Israel's wars, at the [National Security Council] Counter-Terrorism Bureau and as Director of the Mossad."
"The photograph in which his grandfather is being humiliated by Nazi soldiers shortly before he was murdered in the Holocaust was always before his eyes. Meir was determined to ensure that the Jewish People would never be helpless and defenseless again and to this end he dedicated his life to building up the strength of the State of Israel. In the eight years in which he served as Director of the Mossad, he led the organization to daring and pioneering operations. A great soldier has passed away; may his memory be blessed."
Late in his term as Mossad Director, Dagan was involved in Israel's campaign to halt Iran's nuclear program, which included the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists.
2. TERROR ATTACK NEAR ARIEL
by David Rosenberg
Terrorists struck near the entrance to Ariel on Thursday morning, leaving one wounded.
At 11:13 this morning, a female soldier was attacked by two terrorists near a bus stop at the entrance to Ariel near Route 5 in Samaria.
One of the terrorists stabbed the soldier in her throat, leaving her in moderate-to-serious condition.
Security forces quickly responded, killing both of the attackers.
MDA paramedics Yohanan Weiss and Haim Ratzabi described the scene of the attack.
"When we arrived, we saw a young woman around 20 years of age lying on the sidewalk, fully conscious, with stab wounds on her upper body."
"We gave her first-aid, stopping the bleeding, and then evacuated her to Beilinson Hospital."
Emergency response teams transferred the wounded soldier to Beilinson Hospital, while both terrorists were declared dead at the scene.
The bus stops and hitchhiking posts at the entrance to Ariel are heavily used by both Israelis and Palestinian Authority residents.
Doctors at Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikva reported that the stabbing victim was still conscious and able to communicate. While they do not believe her life is in immediate danger, she is still undergoing checks to fully assess the extent of her injuries.
3. TERROR SURVIVOR TO ADDRESS UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
by Arutz Sheva Staff
More five years ago, Kay Wilson was the victim of a brutal terror attack committed by three Palestinian Authority residents.
The December 2010 attack, which occurred in the Mata Forest near Beit Shemesh, left Wilson wounded. Her friend, Kristine Luken, was murdered in the attack. Wilson only managed to survive the brutal assault by playing dead, fooling her attackers who had already stabbed Wilson 13 times.
Now the British-born victim-turned-activist is heading to the United Nations to recount her harrowing story of survival.
With the help of UN Watch, a Geneva-based human rights group, Wilson has been scheduled to address the United Nations Human Rights Council to share her experience and provide the often neglected perspective of victims of terrorism.
Last week, UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer addressed the Council ahead of its 10th anniversary. Questioning the organizations efficacy, Neuer provided examples human rights abuses in member states, prompting angry responses from Russia, Pakistan, Cuba, China, and Venezuela.
4. ISRAEL PRESENTS RED LINES TO RUSSIA ON GOLAN, IRAN
by Arutz Sheva Staff
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin met with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Wednesday ahead of a planned Russian withdrawal from Syria.
Rivlin conveyed to the Russian leader Israel's concerns about Iranian activity in Syria, and the active role the Hezbollah terror group has assumed in the Syrian civil war.
The Israeli leader also touched on the future status of the Golan Heights, which Syria continues to claim as sovereign territory, despite Israel's annexation of the area in 1981. Rivlin reportedly told Putin that borders of both Syria and Iraq were arbitrarily drawn during the First World War, and did not reflect present realities.
Rivlin even suggested that the borders of both countries be altered, suggesting support not only for recognition of Israel's annexation of the Golan, but possibly the partition of both Iraq and Syria.
The Israeli President emphasized Israel's concerns, laying out the country's red lines vis-à-vis Syria. Israel would not accept, Rivlin told Putin, the presence of Iranian armed forces near the Golan Heights. Rivlin expressed hope that the United Nations peacekeeping force separating Israel and Syria would return, restoring the buffer between the two countries that has been absent since 2013.
Rivlin also noted that the future of the Golan Heights was non-negotiable, and that the area must remain under Israeli control.
Putin told Rivlin that Russia was committed to Israel's security, and that the Russian president had "a personal commitment towards all of those Russians who immigrated to Israel."
5. GOP LEADERS MEET OVER POSSIBLE THIRD PARTY RUN AGAINST TRUMP
by David Rosenberg
After Donald Trump swept four of Tuesday's five state primaries, party bigwigs are set to meet on Thursday to lay out a plan to derail the frontrunner's path to the nomination.
According to Politico, the meeting was organized by former Bush administration official Bill Wichterman, conservative activist Erick Erickson, and Bob Fischer, a prominent GOP fundraiser and bundler.
Aside from coordinating efforts to prevent Trump's nomination, conservative activists and party leaders will also mull an option that was unthinkable just half a year ago: breaking with the Republican Party and launching an independent, third party bid for the White House.
The idea of a third party conservative bid was first seriously broached in February when Republican donors called for research into the feasibility of such a scheme.
A memo produced by the conservative polling firm Data Targeting in late February was publicized by Politico, revealing research results indicating that "it is possible to mount an independent candidacy, but [it] will require immediate action".
According to exit polls from Tuesday's vote in critical battleground states, a third party run may enjoy wide backing among Republican voters.
A total of 39% of GOP voters in Florida, Illinoi, Missouri, North Carolina, and Ohio said that they would seriously consider backing a third party if Trump became the nominee. And a full 27% told pollsters that they would never vote for Trump under any circumstances, even if he won the nomination.
While the Republican Party is edging closer to a split, Democratic voters are also expressing frustration with frontrunner Hillary Clinton. According to last week's NBC/Wall Street Journal poll, 33% of Sanders supporters would never vote for Clinton in a general election.
In addition, Clinton's poor performance among working class whites in the Rust Belt indicates serious problems for her among that key demographic group in a head-to-head election with Trump. Trump has performed well among blue collar whites and could potentially pull many traditionally Democratic voters away from Clinton in general election, particularly in the Midwest.
6. TERRORISTS USED FAMILY REUNIFICATION LAW TO ENTER ISRAEL
by David Rosenberg
Three terrorists responsible for two terror attacks in Jerusalem last week entered Israel legally under the guise of family reunification, the Shin Bet reported on Wednesday.
The three attackers were involved in shooting attacks in the capital last Tuesday and Wednesday, including an attack that left two Israeli Border Police officers seriously wounded.
Last Tuesday, two of the three terrorists opened fire on a Border Police vehicle driving down Salah a-Din Street in Jerusalem.
A day later, one of the three terrorists was involved in the shooting attack on a crowded bus in the Ramot neighborhood in northern Jerusalem.
Yesterday (Wednesday) the Shin Bet security agency revealed that the three terrorists were given permission to reside in Israel as part of the family reunification policy.
Israel's family reunification law, which grants citizenship or permanent residency to non-citizens, including Palestinian Authority residents, has been restricted in recent years due to security concerns.
"The family reunification process, which is based on humanitarian concerns, allows Palestinians with family in Israel, like [the terrorists] Fuad Tamimi and Abed Almalak Hareb, to effortlessly enter Israel, a number of whom committed terror attacks in Israel," the Shin Bet agency said in a statement to NRG.
Yet restrictions on the family reunification law, which give Israel discretionary powers to deny citizenship or residency to Palestinian Authority residents, have been heavily criticized by the Israeli left. And due to rulings by the Israeli Supreme Court, the restrictions are temporary, and must be extended every year by a Knesset vote.
Meretz chief Zahava Gal-On called the law a "disgrace that stains the Israeli books of law," while Arab MKs have repeatedly derided the restrictions as racist.
7. FBI RAIDS YESHIVA VENDORS IN ROCKLAND COUNTY
by Arutz Sheva Staff
The FBI on Wednesday swooped down on several vendors connected to an ongoing fraud probe involving yeshivas in Rockland County, The New York Post reported.
Numerous search warrants to obtain records on equipment purchases from religious schools were served, law enforcement sources said.
Nearly a dozen federal agents wearing flak jackets issued the warrants to the vendors at several addresses in Ramapo, Monsey and Airmont, including 21 and 29 Robert Pitt Drive, 161 route 59 and Route 59, sources told The New York Post.
The midday operation was carried out as part of a wider investigation into possible corruption at Rockland yeshivas under scrutiny for the way they spent cash though the federal government's E-rate program, which came into existence in 1998 and distributes over $4 billion in annual funds nationally for computer and Internet access.
Some raids on the same topic were also carried out in the ultra-Orthodox community of Kiryas Joel in Orange County, according to LoHud.com.
In a statement quoted by the website, the U.S. Attorney's Office said, "Today, the FBI, working with our office, conducted searches in connection with an ongoing fraud investigation. If and when charges are filed, they will eventually become public. This remains an ongoing matter, and we are unable to provide any additional information at this time."
More than 300 agents and officers were involved in the operation, authorities said, adding that no arrests have been made and none were expected Wednesday.
8. ANONYMOUS LAUNCHES CYBER WAR AGAINST TRUMP
by Ben Ariel
Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump is already dealing with rivals Ted Cruz and John Kasich, but he might soon have to deal with another threat: The group of hackers known as Anonymous.
The hacking group is urging its followers to launch a barrage of cyberattacks on April 1 to take down Trump's websites and expose the "appalling" GOP presidential candidate, The Hill reported Tuesday.
The call was made before Trump won several more states on "Super Tuesday 3", but that undoubtedly will encourage the hackers even more.
"We need you to shut down his websites, research and expose what he doesn't want the public to know," a person wearing the group's trademark Guy Fawkes mask said in a video posted by to an Anonymous YouTube channel. "We need you to dismantle his campaign and sabotage his brand."
[youtube:2013536]
In a separate written statement, Anonymous encouraged hackers to target the Trump's websites, and it also released Trump's alleged personal details, such as his cellphone number and Social Security number, to help hackers harass the Republican presidential front-runner.
"Dear Donald Trump, we have been watching you for a long time, and what we see is deeply disturbing," the video says, according to The Hill. "You have shocked the entire planet with your appalling actions and ideals."
"You say what your current audience wants to hear, but in reality you don't stand for anything except your personal greed and power," it adds.
The group insisted Operation Trump, or #OpTrump as it called it, is "important" given Trump's "disturbing" policy positions.
"This is not a warning, this is a declaration of total war," the video says. "Operation Trump engaged."
Anonymous has in recent months declared war on the Islamic State (ISIS) jihadist group and later claimed to have taken down more than 5,500 Twitter accounts belonging to ISIS.
Anonymous is responsible for several large hacking attacks in recent years and has also threatened Israel with massive cyberattacks which have mostly been a failure.
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