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/
Friday, Apr. 01 '16, Adar Bet 22, 5776
HEADLINES:
1. SOLDIER WHO SHOT TERRORIST TO BE RELEASED TO OPEN BASE
2. DUMA SUSPECT: 'LET ME TAKE PART IN MY SON'S BRIT MILAH'
3. PEACE NOW CHIEF YARIV OPPENHEIMER QUITTING ORGANIZATION
4. MINISTER KATZ WARNS EX-MOSSAD CHIEFS TO KEEP QUIET
5. PALESTINIANS: 1,114 'SETTLERS' ON TEMPLE MOUNT LAST MONTH
6. SYRIAN REFUGEES FACE MASS EXPULSION
7. 'INSTEAD OF STOPPING TERROR THEY'RE POUNCING ON SOLDIERS'
8. WATCH: JEWS WOUNDED IN BRUSSELS ARRIVE IN ISRAEL FOR TREATMENT
1. SOLDIER WHO SHOT TERRORIST TO BE RELEASED TO OPEN BASE
by Uzi Baruch
The soldier who shot a neutralized terrorist in Hevron will be released to serve his jail sentence at the Idan division headquarters, near Kibbutz Nahshonim.
In making its decision, the military court turned down the prosecutor's request from Thursday evening to keep the soldier where he is.
The Chief Military Prosecutor, Colonel Sharon Pinhas Zagagi, told the court that releasing the soldier could disrupt the still-ongoing investigation. "We cannot accept the claim that he acted out of a threat to his life or for an operational need, but rather it is clear that the shot he fired into the terrorist was intentional," he explained.
Last night, the judge ruled that the soldier should be released to an open jail sentence in the Kfir Brigade's base until April 7. In his decision, the judge acknowledged the evidence that has been submitted but hinted that the prosecutor may have used an overly strict interpretation of the charge, even after it was reduced from murder to manslaughter.
"Yes, the various videos of the incident show a series of actions taken by the suspect to fire the shot," he wrote. "We cannot learn from the evidence that the threat of a bomb on the terrorist's body was ruled out at the time. At the same time, others who were at the scene felt it right to deal with the potential danger from the terrorist in a different manner.
"The suspect was not considered the authority at the scene and there is no question that he acted on his own accord. Thus there is a reasonable suspicion that he exceeded his authority and carried out the shooting illegally.
"There is evidence on both sides as to the question of what motivated him to fire. After reviewing the updated material from the investigation, my opinion remains the same. As such, we cannot necessarily consider the suspect's action to be as serious as the prosecutor claims."
2. DUMA SUSPECT: 'LET ME TAKE PART IN MY SON'S BRIT MILAH'
by Orly Harari
Meir Ettinger, the primary suspect in the Duma arson and murder, submitted an urgent appeal on Thursday evening. He asked the court to order the prison service to let him leave next Monday, in order to participate in his son's brit milah.
Ettinger made his appeal through his lawyer, Sima Kochav from the legal defense organization Honenu. He says that he only needs a few hours.
The Be'er Sheva court will look into the request Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m.
Ettinger was placed on administrative detention more than seven months ago. The initial order, signed by Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon (Likud) was only for six months. About a month and a half ago, Ya'alon order it to be extended for an additional four months.
Kochav says, "We submitted an urgent appeal for the regional court to instruct the Israel Prison Service to allow Ettinger to participate in his eldest son's brit milah. There is no need to expound on the importance of brit milah for the Jewish People, and even an administrative detainee has rights.
"I am hopeful that the court will accept the appeal and that Ettinger will celebrate the brit milah in a dignified manner."
Ettinger is being held in solitary confinement and is forbidden from speaking on the telephone, except to some of his family members. He recently went on a 17-day hunger strike against his conditions.
3. PEACE NOW CHIEF YARIV OPPENHEIMER QUITTING ORGANIZATION
by David Rosenberg
For 15 years, Yariv Oppenheimer has been the face of the left-wing activist group Peace Now. According to a report by NRG, however, the secretary general and former director general is not only stepping down from his position, but leaving the organization altogether.
Formed in 1978, the organization has been a staunch supporter of a two-state solution and opposes Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria, and eastern Jerusalem.
Oppenheimer became the movement's spokesman nearly 15 years ago, later serving as director general. But his abrasive style and frequent controversial comments, which have been cited as reasons for the organization's declining membership and influence, isolated some within the movement.
Last September, Oppenheimer stepped down as director general of Peace Now, but remained with the group, serving as secretary general.
Now, however, Oppenheimer is set to leave Peace Now altogether, leaving his position and cutting all ties with the organization.
According to information leaked to NRG and Makor Rishon, Oppenheimer's departure comes amid personal disputes within the group, including what appears to be a feud between the one-time director general and his successor, Avi Buskila.
Buskila, an activist for LGBT causes, was chosen to replace Oppenheimer, despite the latter's threats to bolt the organization should Buskila take the top leadership position.
4. MINISTER KATZ WARNS EX-MOSSAD CHIEFS TO KEEP QUIET
by Arutz Sheva Staff
Transportation and Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz (Likud) on Friday responded to the surprising comments made by former Mossad chief Efraim Halevy, during a speech at a college in London.
During his speech, Halevy spoke about his role as Mossad head and said, "I studied law - which helped me to learn how to breach the law when I needed to do so."
"Did I break the law when I did what I did? Yes. I won't tell you how many times I broke (the law) because I don't want to spend the rest of my life in jail," said Halevy.
In response to Halevy, Katz said on Friday, "what was that good for? We don't have enough investigations and limitations on our actions in the world?"
"As Minister for Intelligence Affairs I am surprised every now and then by the unbelievable gap among some of the 'former ones' (i.e. ex-Mossad heads - ed.), between the knowledge they gathered in the framework of their roles and the responsibility or irresponsibility that they show after they finish their roles," he said.
"On this our sages said: 'silence is a fence around wisdom,'" concluded the minister, calling on the former Mossad heads who have come out with criticism of the state in recent years to keep quiet.
5. PALESTINIANS: 1,114 'SETTLERS' ON TEMPLE MOUNT LAST MONTH
by Dalit Halevi
The Palestinian press reported on Friday in time for April 1 that during the previous month of March, over 1,114 "Jewish settlers" went and "breached" the Temple Mount - the holiest site in Judaism.
Of the 1,114 Jewish visitors, 846 were labeled "settlers" by the Palestinians, while 268 were "students and guides." The report added that the visitors were accompanied by Israeli police.
In February there were 893 Jewish visitors to the holy site according to the Arab report.
The "settlers" tried to hold "Talmudist prayers" at the Temple Mount, alleged the Palestinian press, saying that Al-Aqsa Mosque guards forced the Israeli police to remove the Jews before they completed their visit.
Dozens of Palestinian activists were arrested by the police in March and distanced from the Temple Mount according to the report, including women who "defend the mosque" by shouting at and abusing Jewish visitors.
Just this Wednesday an Arab activist was distanced by police after waving a flag of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) terror group in order to provoke Jewish visitors. The Jews asked police to stop him as waving the flag is a breach of the law, and only after much time had passed did the officers comply in doing so.
Despite being liberated by Israel in the 1967 Six Day War the Temple Mount remains under the de facto control of the Jordanian Waqf which has banned Jewish prayer at the site, despite Israeli laws ensuring freedom of worship.
Currently Jordan is poised to place cameras on the Temple Mount which only it will have access to so as to "reveal Israeli violations," even though the Israeli government initially said it agreed to the step so as to monitor the actions of Arab Islamists who regularly riot at the site.
6. SYRIAN REFUGEES FACE MASS EXPULSION
by Arutz Sheva Staff
Amnesty International accused Turkey on Friday of illegally forcing groups of Syrians to return to their conflict-torn country, saying the alleged expulsions showed the "fatal flaws" in a migrant
deal agreed with the EU.
The claim by Amnesty comes just days before Turkey is due to start taking back migrants expelled from the EU under an accord reached last month.
The rights group said its research in the south of Turkey suggested the country was forcing around a hundred Syrians to return home on a daily basis. Turkey -- which has taken in 2.7 million Syrian refugees since the conflict began in 2011 -- has always vehemently denied that any Syrian is forced to go home and insists its "open door" policy remains in place.
The government has yet to comment on the latest accusations from Amnesty.
"Turkish authorities have been rounding up and expelling groups of around 100 Syrian men, women and children to Syria on a near-daily basis since mid-January," Amnesty said.
Greece is due on Monday to start sending back to Turkey all migrants, including Syrians, who crossed the Aegean Sea illegally.
EU leaders hope the deal will curb the influx of migrants that has plunged Europe into its biggest refugee crisis since the end of World War II.
But Amnesty said its revelations showed Turkey was not a "safe country" for refugees.
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Thursday confirmed that under the scheme one Syrian refugee would be settled in Europe legally in return for every Syrian migrant sent back to Turkey from the Greek islands.
"In their desperation to seal their borders, EU leaders have wilfully ignored the simplest of facts: Turkey is not a safe country for Syrian refugees and is getting less safe by the day," said John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International's Director for Europe and Central Asia.
"The large-scale returns of Syrian refugees we have documented highlight the fatal flaws in the EU-Turkey deal," he added, lambasting the "EU's extended courting of Turkey".
He said it was "highly likely" that Turkey has returned several thousand refugees to Syria in the last seven to nine weeks, warning that those who are sent back under the EU-Turkey deal risk suffering the same fate.
An EU source told AFP in Athens on Thursday that 500 people were set to be sent back from Greece to Turkey on Monday, "barring a last-minute problem".
AFP contributed to this report
7. 'INSTEAD OF STOPPING TERROR THEY'RE POUNCING ON SOLDIERS'
by Benny Tocker
Ramle Mayor Yoel Lavi, who fully backs the soldier from his city who last week shot a wounded Arab terrorist in Hevron, spoke to Arutz Sheva on Friday about his disappointment in the treatment of the soldier by the country's leadership.
"The strategic security establishment of the state of Israel is dealing with a large number of stabbings and car ramming attacks, and instead of giving the response they are passing off the judgement and responses to a lone soldier," said Lavi. In his comments he noted how the government has not put down the Arab terror wave, and instead left soldiers to deal with the threat on an individual basis.
Lavi told Arutz Sheva, "when you pass along the judgement from the Chief of Staff to a soldier, mishaps are liable to occur. They aren't succeeding in dealing with the terror, and instead pounce on an outstanding soldier and place him in handcuffs."
"Instead of embracing the soldiers they put them in handcuffs, that isn't how an establishment that loves its soldiers acts. The soldiers are acting in a complicated reality and the commanders aren't giving any response."
The soldier has argued he shot the terrorist - who minutes earlier together with an accomplice stabbed and wounded another soldier - over concerns he was moving to detonate a bomb belt that was thought to be hidden under his unseasonably thick coat.
Speaking about the details of the incident, Lavi noted, "who said that the terrorist was neutralized? Did someone report on that?"
"If a soldier sees a motion of a terrorist and doesn't know if he's neutralized or not, then they accuse him for shooting - that is maliciousness on the part of an establishment that does not love its soldiers."
The soldier's version of events were vindicated by a Magen David Adom (MDA) investigative committee, which confirmed that suspicions that the terrorist was hiding an explosive had not been ruled out. In a hearing on Thursday an officer in the army's Criminal Investigations Department (CID) likewise backed the soldier's version of events.
Lavi called to investigate the Arab activist of the radical leftist NGO B'Tselem who filmed the incident in Hevron.
"He filmed in military territory, took the material and passed it out to harm the IDF. Why aren't they doing anything? Why isn't he investigated?," asked the mayor.
On Friday a petition hearing was held, as the military prosecutor fought to keep the soldier in jail after the court a day earlier ordered his release to an open base, rejecting the prosecution's request to extend his detention by seven days.
In the hearing on Thursday, the prosecutor dropped the murder charges against the soldier, instead accusing him of manslaughter.
8. WATCH: JEWS WOUNDED IN BRUSSELS ARRIVE IN ISRAEL FOR TREATMENT
by Yoni Kempinski
[video:2014070]
Two Belz Hasidim who were wounded in last week's terrorist attacks in Brussels landed on Thursday night at the Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv.
The two victims, aged 23 and 28, were hospitalized at the Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem.
One of them is listed in moderate to serious condition. The other was moderately wounded.
The Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital said that the two arrived at the hospital's trauma unit and that they will be treated in the ICU and orthopedic wards.
Earlier this week Walter Benjamin, a Jew who was seriously wounded in last week's twin suicide bombings at the Zaventem airport in Brussels, told Channel 2 News that he decided his future belongs in Israel, and is planning to move there as soon as he is physically able.
Benjamin made it clear that after the attack, Aliyah was very much on his mind, saying that the very first thing he planned to do once he is released from the hospital is to move to Israel.
------------------------------------------------
Subscribe to this Daily Israel Report:
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Subscribe/
