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/
Sunday, Mar. 06 '16, Adar 26, 5776
HEADLINES:
1. REPORT: PM RECONSIDERING KOTEL REFORM AS OPPOSITION GROWS
2. MOSHE FEIGLIN: DONALD TRUMP IS DANGEROUS FOR ISRAEL
3. RUSSIA FREEZES IRAN MISSILE SALE FOLLOWING ISRAELI PRESSURE
4. NETANYAHU PLAYS DOWN RIFT WITH OBAMA AHEAD OF BIDEN VISIT
5. JEWISH HOME MK: ANNEX JUDEA/SAMARIA, PAY ARABS TO EMIGRATE
6. PA MUFTI OPENLY INCITES AT THE AL-AQSA MOSQUE
7. CRUZ GAINS ON TRUMP, RUBIO LOOKS TO BROKERED CONVENTION
8. HOW DID A PALESTINIAN STABBER ATTACK IN GERMANY?
1. REPORT: PM RECONSIDERING KOTEL REFORM AS OPPOSITION GROWS
by David Rosenberg
Opposition to the planned reforms at the Kotel Plaza in the Old City of Jerusalem is growing, with Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel (Jewish Home) and MK Bezalel Smotrich (Jewish Home) aligning with haredi opponents of the plan.
On Friday, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu called on Israel's Chief Rabbis to meet with him and Rabbi of the Kotel, Shmuel Rabinowitz, this Sunday in an attempt to assuage fears over growing government recognition of the Reform movement.
Late Saturday night, however, the meeting was abruptly cancelled, with no formal explanation given.
Behind the scenes, however, the Chief Rabbis, David Lau and Yitzhak Yosef, pulled out all the stops to coalesce opposition to the Kotel reform plan.
The Chief Rabbis met Saturday night ahead of the planned meeting with Netanyahu, along with Rabbi Rabinowitz and Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit to draw up an alternative plan for the Kotel Plaza, BeHadrei Haredim reported. The four notified the Prime Minister's office of their meeting and intentions to offer their own plan for the Kotel area.
National Religious MKs Ariel and Smotrich were also enlisted in the effort, notifying the government of a planned tour of the Kotel Plaza with former MK Eli Yishai during the government's opening meeting this morning.
In light of the Saturday night meeting and the strengthening opposition from across the religious spectrum, Netanyahu cancelled talks with the Chief Rabbis. The planned Kotel reforms are expected to be shelved until a compromise can be arranged to satisfy Netanyahu's haredi coalition partners.
2. MOSHE FEIGLIN: DONALD TRUMP IS DANGEROUS FOR ISRAEL
by David Rosenberg
Former Likud MK and founder of the Zehut (Identity) movement Moshe Feiglin blasted Israeli supporters of GOP frontrunner Donald Trump on Sunday, warning the New York real estate mogul was dangerous to Israel.
In an interview with Arutz Sheva, Feiglin called Trump "the most dangerous candidate for Israel", comparing his surging populist movement to a runaway bulldozer.
"He is dangerous for Israel. People say he'll get things done, that he's just like a bulldozer," he told Arutz Sheva.
"That reminds me of what people said about Ariel Sharon before he became Prime Minister. 'The bulldozer' is what they called him, and we all know how that ended – with Jewish communities destroyed in Gush Katif. Trump is also a bulldozer; a bulldozer without a driver."
When asked if he felt there was any candidate worth supporting, Feiglin replied that Jews needed to look to their own country and not a foreign government to improve the situation.
"What matters here is not whether there is a Republican or a Democrat in the White House; what's important is our identity and our connection to the Land of Israel," he said. "If we have that, America will stand with us. If we don't, they'll work against us, whether it's a left-wing Democrat or a conservative Republican."
Feiglin noted that the 2005 Gaza Disengagement took place during a conservative Republican administration which was widely considered very supportive of Israel.
"The best of example of how irrelevant this all is goes back to Sharon again. Remember, when Sharon wanted to push his Gaza Disengagement plan, he had to work to convince [President] Bush to support it."
"Of course my concerns over Trump do not mean I support Hillary Clinton, who I think wouldn't be a friend to Israel at all, and Bernie Sanders even more so. The point is don't put your faith in foreign leaders. Ultimately, they don't decide what will happen here. And all of them, Republicans and Democrats, will be acting with America's interests in mind, not ours."
3. RUSSIA FREEZES IRAN MISSILE SALE FOLLOWING ISRAELI PRESSURE
by David Rosenberg
Russian President Vladimir Putin has frozen missiles bound for Iran amid Israeli protest of the sale, the Kuwaiti paper Al-Jarida reports.
According to the report, an order of S-300 heavy surface-to-air missiles purchased by Iran has been put on hold by the Russian leader following talks with Israeli officials.
Israel criticized the sale, claiming that at least some of the S-300 missiles would likely fall into the hands of the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon. The presence of long-range anti-aircraft missiles along Israel's border would threaten both military and civilian flights inside Israel.
According to Al-Jarida, Russia halted the shipment of the missiles after Israel provided evidence that other surface-to-air missiles sold by Russia to Iran had ended up in Hezbollah's hands.
Russian pilots operating in the area confirmed Israel's claims, positively identifying SA-22 missile batteries in Hezbollah-controlled territory in Lebanon.
Since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war, military ties between Russia, Syria, and Iran have tightened, with increased sales of advanced weapons and even direct intervention by Russian forces in the area.
With the release of billions of dollars in frozen assets and the end of economic sanctions, Iran has placed large orders for Russian-made heavy weaponry, including missiles, warplanes, submarines, and tanks.
However, Israel's own ties with Moscow have similarly strengthened, with Russia granting the Israel Air Force freedom to operate over Syria against threats to the Jewish state, while Israel has, among other things, granted Russian aircraft permission to use Israeli air space in their battle against Islamist rebels.
4. NETANYAHU PLAYS DOWN RIFT WITH OBAMA AHEAD OF BIDEN VISIT
by Arutz Sheva Staff
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke Sunday of "strong" ties with the United States ahead of a visit by Vice President Joe Biden, despite deep disagreement over the nuclear accord with Iran.
"This visit expresses the strong relations between Israel and our ally the US," Netanyahu said at the start of a cabinet meeting.
"There are those who have predicted the collapse of these relations. It is not so. The relationship is strong in all areas and also in face of the challenges that we are standing together against in our region."
Israeli officials are anxious to avoid the kind of diplomatic dust up which marred Biden's last visit to Israel six years ago in March 2010. An announcement for housing plans in the neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo led to an angry backlash first from the Vice President, then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who lambasted Netanyahu during a 43 minute phone call.
Biden is set to arrive on Tuesday for talks with Netanyahu as well as Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah.
Israel and the United States have been seeking to move past deep disagreement over the Iran nuclear accord and work out a new 10-year defense aid package.
The current deal grants Israel some $3.1 billion annually, in addition to spending on other projects such as missile defense.
Biden's visit comes amid a surge in terrorism that has left more than 30 Israelis dead and hundreds wounded. The White House said on Friday that Biden would not be pursuing any major new peace initiatives during his visit.
US President Barack Obama has acknowledged that there will be no comprehensive agreement between Israelis and Palestinians before he leaves office in January 2017. His administration's harsh criticism of Israeli housing construction in Judea and Samaria has added to tensions between the two longstanding allies.
Biden is also expected to discuss the fight against the Islamic State group
with Netanyahu.
AFP contributed to this report
5. JEWISH HOME MK: ANNEX JUDEA/SAMARIA, PAY ARABS TO EMIGRATE
by Arutz Sheva Staff
Deputy Speaker of the Knesset Bezalel Smotrich offered his alternative to the two-state solution during an interview with the Yisrael HaYom newspaper, arguing that Israel should annex Judea and Samaria and offer Arab residents in the area generous compensation packages to emigrate.
According to Smotrich's plan, Israel would annex all of Judea and Samaria, including areas A, B, and C.
As for the demographic problem posed by adding those areas to the State of Israel, Smotrich proposes to give Arab residents three options. First, every Arab in the area would offered $100,000 to emigrate to the country of their choice.
For those who wish to remain, they would have the choice of either accepting permanent residency status, as was offered to Jerusalem's Arab population when eastern portions of the city were annexed in 1967, or living under an autonomy arrangement. Under the latter, local Arabs would continue to manage their own affairs, while the land would be under Israeli sovereignty.
Smotrich emphasizes that his plan to encourage Arab emigration from Judea and Samaria would be completely voluntary.
"This is a comprehensive solution that until now has never been put on the table," Smotrich said. "It's important to put an alternative out that will remove the leftwing plan of Palestinian statehood from the agenda, a plan that for all practical purposes has no chance of reaching a [negotiated] agreement. As I see it, the establishment of a Palestinian state would be tantamount to collective suicide for us."
Smotrich dismissed concerns over international reaction to his proposal. "Even from an international point of view the solution I'm offering is the best. Think outside of the box. Today when the Prime Minister says that there needs to be a Palestinian state, I can't blame the international community. But when we start talking in terms of justice, ethics, and history and not just security, the world, which is primarily religious, will understand."
Smotrich's suggestion would go further than a plan already proposed by his party's leader, Naftali Bennett, which calls for Israel to annex Area C, while granting full autonomy to the Palestinian Arabs in Areas A and B.
6. PA MUFTI OPENLY INCITES AT THE AL-AQSA MOSQUE
by Dalit Halevi
A preacher who gave a sermon on Friday at the Al-Aqsa Mosque openly incited against Israel, accusing the Jewish state of executing Palestinian Arabs.
The sermon came at Friday prayers attended by tens of thousands of worshipers, including Muslim residents of Judea, Samaria and Gaza, as well as Israeli Arabs.
The sermon was delivered by the Mufti of "Palestine", Sheikh Mohammed Hussein, who called on the worshipers to strengthen their ties with the Al-Aqsa Mosque in order to remove the "settlers and Jewish organizations," who in his words are trying to impose a new reality on the ground.
According to the Palestine newspaper, Hussein further said that "the occupation continues to kill Palestinians and execute them without trial, on the pretext that they were trying to carry out operations against the soldiers of the occupation or against settlers."
The sermon is an example of the continued incitement against Israel by Palestinian Arab officials, which has directly led to the current terror wave in which dozens of Israelis have been murdered.
PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas has also been at the forefront of the constant incitement against Israel, the most famous recent instance being his call on Palestinian Arabs to "liberate" the Al-Aqsa Mosque from Jews and their "filthy feet".
Despite the incitement at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, it was reported this past week that Israel had backed down from its demand that security cameras to be installed on the Temple Mount also be placed inside mosques, following pressure from Jordan.
7. CRUZ GAINS ON TRUMP, RUBIO LOOKS TO BROKERED CONVENTION
by David Rosenberg
Texas Senator Ted Cruz's resounding victories in Kansas and Maine on Saturday have helped him close the delegate gap with GOP frontrunner Donald Trump.
The "Super Saturday" vote in four states was a resounding success for Cruz, who carried both Kansas and Maine with nearly 50% of the vote, and narrowly lost to Trump in Louisiana and Kentucky by only three and four points respectively.
In the delegate count, Cruz picked up 64 to Trump's 49, bringing the total delegate figures to a near tie, with Trump ahead 378 since the February 1st Iowa caucus compared to Cruz's 295.
Florida Senator Marco Rubio had perhaps his weakest night of the primary season, failing to reach second in even a single state and falling to a humiliating fourth place in Maine with only 8%. Rubio picked up a mere 13 delegates, falling behind even further in the race to 1,237 delegates needed to clinch the nomination.
With roughly a third of delegates already allotted, there is little room for Rubio to plot a course to the nomination short of a brokered convention.
Rubio's poor showing came despite borrowing some of Trump's tactics in a series of blistering attacks on the frontrunner, mocking everything from his appearance to the size of his hands. In light of Saturday's results, only Cruz appears to have benefited from the Rubio-Trump debacle.
8. HOW DID A PALESTINIAN STABBER ATTACK IN GERMANY?
by Arutz Sheva Staff
The British newspaper The Sun posted an article on its website Saturday about a Moroccan teen supporter of Islamic State (ISIS) stabbing a police officer in Hannover, Germany - but it used a picture from an attack by a female Arab terrorist inside Israel.
The article featured a picture from an attack last November at a checkpoint in Beitar Illit, in which a female terrorist stabbed and lightly wounded a security guard before being shot and neutralized.
[youtube:2009320]
But according to The Sun, the picture was of the 15-year-old Moroccan-German girl who stabbed an officer at a railway station in Hannover. The article was later deleted by the site, according to Yedioth Aharonoth.
The attacker in Hannover had been living on the border between Syria and Turkey, trying to join her terrorist friends in ISIS. She was arrested by Turkish police and deported back to her mother in Hannover.
The 15-year-old had a German passport and a criminal past including theft and assaults.
Saturday's report by The Sun, itself based on a report by Breitbart UK, reported that the 15-year-old approached the officer in the Hannover Central Railway Station, and that "the girl can be seen fishing a giant kitchen knife out of her purse and stabbing the officer while he examined her identity documents."
But as noted the screenshot in the article was mistakenly taken from the Beitar Illit attack, which was captured by a security camera.
The German officer was stabbed in the neck before his colleagues stepped in and ended the stabbing.
"While the officer turned to inspect the girl's ID, with lightning speed she stabbed him," a police officer told The Sun. "He didn't have a chance to defend himself. It was a miracle he survived."
------------------------------------------------
Subscribe to this Daily Israel Report:
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Subscribe/
