Arutz Sheva Daily Israel Report
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Tuesday, Apr. 26 '16, Nissan 18, 5776
HEADLINES:
1. WATCH: RIOTS ON THE TEMPLE MOUNT
2. PLANNED TERROR ATTACK DURING CHOL HAMOED FOILED
3. US TO GIVE ISRAEL 'LARGEST MILITARY AID PACKAGE IN HISTORY'
4. ISRAELI WAR HERO: KILL ANY TERRORIST WHO STEPS OUT OF HIS HOME
5. AGING DIMONA NUCLEAR CORE THREATENED BY THOUSANDS OF DEFECTS
6. BRITISH MP CALLED TO ETHNICALLY CLEANSE ISRAELI JEWS
7. TERROR TIES OF BDS BACKERS REVEALED
8. WOMEN IN GREEN: 'THE REAL, ONLY PLAN IS THAT THIS LAND IS OURS'
1. WATCH: RIOTS ON THE TEMPLE MOUNT
by Arutz Sheva Staff
Over 500 people visited the Temple Mount on Tuesday, including 400 tourists. Eight, however, were forced off by the police for allegedly "violating the visiting conditions."
Two Jewish visitors bowed down while on the site, in contravention of the status quo that bans Jews from praying while at their holiest site. After they did so, a number of Arabs attacked them, driving the pair to the ground. Police pushed back the rioters and forced the Jews to leave the site.
An official police statement says that, "As the last Jewish group finished its visit and left the Temple Mount, Muslim worshipers began yelling at the Jewish visitors. They were removed from the Temple Mount after violating the local restrictions. Police and Border Police at the scene distanced the Jews from the site. They continued working to prevent disruptions and restore calm."
2. PLANNED TERROR ATTACK DURING CHOL HAMOED FOILED
by Arutz Sheva Staff
Security forces, including special police units and the Shin Bet, arrested three people on Tuesday morning, on suspicion of planning a terror attack.
The three Arab men were caught in the eastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Jabel Mukaber, as they were leaving for their intended attack.
The group came from the area around Shechem, where three other young terrorists were caught about two weeks ago. Only a few days ago, another terror cell planning to kidnap Jews was caught.
Security forces are staying on high alert around Samaria out of suspicion that terror organizations will try to attack Jewish targets during the holiday.
Holiday periods, both Jewish and Muslim, are often a time for increased terror activity.
3. US TO GIVE ISRAEL 'LARGEST MILITARY AID PACKAGE IN HISTORY'
by David Rosenberg
The White House is reportedly planning to accept Israeli demands for increased military aid, following pressure by the US Senate to sign a new Memorandum of Understanding laying out US support to Israel for the next decade.
With the current Memorandum of Understanding set to expire in 2018, Israel has been pressuring the White House to enlarge the annual aid package from $3.1 billion to between $4-4.5 billion.
Israel has stated that it must increase its military spending to cope with growing threats from ISIS and the Iranian regime following last year's nuclear deal.
Since the signing of the deal last July, Iran has gone on a shopping spree for military hardware, purchasing Russian missiles, submarines, tanks, and fighter aircraft.
On Monday the Senate signed a joint letter calling on the White House to finalize a new Memorandum of Understanding, including a raise in the level of aid offered to Israel. The non-binding bipartisan declaration was adopted by 83 senators, including 51 of the Senate's 54 Republicans and 32 Democrats.
In response to the letter, a White House official pledged that the new Memorandum of Understanding would include the largest military aid package ever offered to a foreign nation.
"We are prepared to sign an MOU with Israel that would constitute the largest single pledge of military assistance to any country in US history."
Despite the pledge, the White House has yet to specify how much will be included in the proposed MOU.
4. ISRAELI WAR HERO: KILL ANY TERRORIST WHO STEPS OUT OF HIS HOME
by Eliran Aharon
Legendary war hero Brigadier General Avigdor Kahalani spoke with Arutz Sheva about the IDF soldier who shot a neutralized terrorist and the recent exposé on Rehavam Ze'evi.
Kahalani expressed his sympathy with Elor Azariya, the soldier now facing trial. "There are two points of view here," he claimed. "That of the soldier - this is a fighter who is defending his country against the terrorists that kill people every day and it infuriates us. I think that we need to kill any terrorist who leaves his home."
At the same, he acknowledged that "we must look at the state as a country and the army as a military. I've seen cases where enemies fought against my men and suddenly surrendered. It happened with Egypt in '67, with Syria in '73, and it happened to me in Lebanon in '82. Suddenly they raised their arms, because the Geneva Convention and the IDF's values require you to refrain from firing, even if one of them may intend to shoot you."
Ultimately, Kahalani agrees with the IDF Chief of Staff and the Defense Minister that there should be a criminal investigation against the soldier. "This is the right decision in the long run." Even so, he hopes the soldier is found not guilty.
Regarding the second topic - the Uvda exposé on former Tourism Minister Rehavam "Gandhi" Ze'evi - Kahlani says that the program was painful to watch. "I knew Rehavam personally. He was a renaissance man, a lover of books, one of the country's best sons.
"All historians judge people who are no longer alive, every book that is written deals with history as a single path. Gandhi still has his honor - one piece can't erase a person. He was a man of values and, from a journalistic point of view, I can't block the media."
Kahalani was awarded the Medal of Distinguished Serve for his actions in the Six-Day War and the Medal of Valor for the Yom Kippur War.
5. AGING DIMONA NUCLEAR CORE THREATENED BY THOUSANDS OF DEFECTS
by David Rosenberg
It was only meant to last 40 years. But the aluminum core at the heart of Israel's nuclear facility in Dimona, which was purchased from France in the late 1950s, has been operational since 1963, raising questions about the future of the facility.
After using an ultrasound monitor to study the core, Israeli scientists discussed long-term concerns during the 28th Conference of Nuclear Societies in Israel earlier this month.
It was revealed at the conference that the monitor found 1,537 cracks, surface distortions, and other defects had been discovered in the Dimona core.
According to a report presented at the conference, while the cracks do not pose an immediate threat, they highlight Israel's long-term nuclear dilemma.
Unlike some components, reactor cores, cannot be repaired, and replacement of the Dimona unit would require construction of a new reactor.
Built in secret with French assistance in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the Dimona facility is a political sore spot for Israel.
Unlike Israel's civilian nuclear facility, Sorek, the Dimona reactor is off-limits to IAEA inspectors, which has called for Israel to open up the site to international inspection.
Construction of a new reactor would likely draw renewed criticism and calls for Israel to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty and accept IAEA oversight. Due to the sensitive nature of operations in the Dimona facility and desires to keep Israel's nuclear capabilities ambiguous, Israel has refused to allow international inspectors into the site.
6. BRITISH MP CALLED TO ETHNICALLY CLEANSE ISRAELI JEWS
by Matt Wanderman
UK Labour Party MP Naz Shah has declared that all Israeli Jews should be "relocated" to the United States. She even suggested that the British government could pay for the "transportation costs" of removing Jews from the Middle East.
Her statements were uncovered by the website Guido Fawkes, which found a number of social media posts, including one that claimed the total cost would be "less than 3 years of defense spending," to which she added the phrase "problem solved."
Among her other posts was a link to a blog promoting conspiracy theories about Jews secretly ruling the government and warning that "The Jews are rallying to the poll."
In January, the Israeli embassy in England complained about Shah denying evidence of Palestinian rock-throwers killing Israeli children, even though she was provided with victims' names and information.
When asked for comment, Shah acknowledged writing the posts, but claims that she has become more moderate since being elected. "This post from two years ago was made before I was an MP, does not reflect my views and I apologise for any offence it has caused."
Shah represents Bradford West and defeated George Galloway in last year's election. While Galloway is notorious in his own right for his anti-Israeli sentiments and actions, Shah belongs to the main opposition party and is on the Home Affairs Select Committee, which is currently investigating anti-Jewish hatred in the UK.
The Labour Party has come under heavy criticism in recent months for its alleged tolerance of anti-Semitism.
7. TERROR TIES OF BDS BACKERS REVEALED
by David Rosenberg
While the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement has done little to hide its malicious anti-Israel hatred, the movement hitherto has succeeded in maintaining the appearance of legitimacy, presenting itself as the peaceful alternative to terrorism.
Despite rhetoric which pro-Israel activists have noted signals a rejection of Jewish statehood per se and draws upon the kind of terrorist propaganda disseminated by Hamas and the PLO, no clear link tying BDS to supporters of terror organizations could be found.
Last week, however, a former terrorism finance analyst for the US Treasury Department offered testimony to congress suggesting connections between the BDS movement and supporters of the Hamas terror group.
Jonathan Schanzer, who worked for the US Treasury Department from 2004 to 2007 monitoring terrorist funding, spoke before a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee last Tuesday regarding the ties between the BDS movement and terror fundraisers including the now defunct Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development.
Schanzer noted that three prominent Islamic organizations – the Holy Land Foundation, the Islamic Association for Palestine, and the KindHearts for Charitable Development – had been prosecuted and eventually shut down after serving as fronts for the Hamas terror group.
While many of the organizers responsible for these three groups were given prison sentences or deported from the US, others high-level members were involved in the founding of American Muslims for Palestine.
An inquiry by the Investigative Project on Terrorism found that five high-ranking officials in American Muslims for Palestine had been members of the Islamic Association for Palestine.
Schanzer pointed out other senior Islamic Association for Palestine members now operating in the AMP.
Rafeeq Jaber, for instance, had served as President of the IAP. Today, he is an official working for the AMP's Educational Foundation. Former IAP secretary general, Abdelbasset Hamayel, is now listed as an AMP agent in the organization's Chicago branch.
Other AMP members include Hossein Khatib, a former regional director for the Holy Land Foundation who now serves on the AMP board of directors.
Salah Sarsour is another AMP board member with ties to the Holy Land Foundation. Both Salah and his brother, Jamil, had served time in Israel over their ties to Hamas. Jamil admitted that he and his brother Salah had raised funds for the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas.
Anti-Israel organizations like Students for Justice in Palestine, which operates on college campuses across the US, are heavily funded by the AMP. In recent years the AMP has become one of the leading financial backers of BDS groups like the SJP.
Aside from direct financial support, the "AMP provides speakers, training, printed materials… and grants to SJP activists. AMP even has a campus coordinator on staff whose job is to work directly with SJP and other pro-BDS campus groups," Schanzer testified.
In some cases, terrorists were involved directly in the operation of BDS organizations. Schanzer offered the example of the US Coalition to Boycott Israel, a Chicago-based BDS group run by a former PFLP terrorist.
"The group's president is Chicago resident Ghassan Barakat, a consular notary for the Palestine Liberation Organization who has been identified… as a member of the Palestine National Council."
Barakat was a "'fighter in the ranks of the mountain brigade' for the PFLP," a reference to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a terror group responsible for some of the worst atrocities committed in Israel including the 1972 Lod Airport Massacre and 2014 Jerusalem Synagogue Massacre.
8. WOMEN IN GREEN: 'THE REAL, ONLY PLAN IS THAT THIS LAND IS OURS'
by Arutz Sheva Staff
[youtube:2014823]
Rabbi Zalman Melamed, the head of the Beit El Yeshiva, visited the Oz Vegaon nature preserve on Tuesday, along with his wife, Arutz Sheva CEO Rabbanit Shulamit Melamed.
The preserve was created in memory of the three teenagers who were kidnapped and murdered in 2014.
While there, Nadia Matar and Yehudit Katzover from the Women in Green organization gave the couple a tour. Matar and Katzover praised the Rabbi and his wife for their actions supporting communities in Judea and Samaria.
The guests received a briefing on the situation in the region and learned about the Women in Green's flagship project, in which they are pushing for full Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria.
Rabbi Zalman Melamed offered his praises in return for Matar and Katzover's efforts.
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