Arutz Sheva Daily Israel Report
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Tuesday, Jun. 28 '16, Sivan 22, 5776
HEADLINES:
1. STONE-THROWERS ON TEMPLE MOUNT WOUND WORSHIPPER AT KOTEL
2. JEWS BARRED FROM TEMPLE MOUNT
3. JEWISH HOME MINISTERS SLAM TURKEY RECONCILIATION DEAL
4. CONTROVERSIAL 'HANNIBAL DIRECTIVE' MAY BE ABOLISHED
5. 'IF I SEE AN ISRAELI I'LL SLIT HIS THROAT'
6. STEINITZ IN AMONA: 'I'LL WORK TO AVERT TRAGEDY'
7. FALLEN SOLDIER'S COMRADE: 'DON'T ABANDON HIM'
8. 'AN ANGEL COMMANDED ME TO KILL'
1. STONE-THROWERS ON TEMPLE MOUNT WOUND WORSHIPPER AT KOTEL
by Uzi Baruch
A 73-year old Jewish woman who came to pray at the Western Wall was wounded Tuesday morning by Arab stone-throwers on the Temple Mount above the Western Wall Plaza.
The woman, who was lightly wounded, was treated on the scene before being evacuated to the Hadassah Ein Karem hospital.
Police are still searching for the attackers.
On Tuesday, Israeli authorities closed the Temple Mount to Jews and other non-Muslim visitors, noting that Arab rioters had clashed with police the past two days.
MK Yehuda Glick (Likud) criticized the decision to shut down the holy site to Jews and tourists.
"We cannot allow a situation where dozens of tourists and Jews wanting to visit the Temple Mount, from which the call of 'Nation shall not lift up sword against nation' is supposed to emanate, are repeatedly held hostage by a violent rabble roused by radical Islamic clerics."
Glick called on the police to "fight unflinchingly" against Muslim rioters on the Temple Mount.
2. JEWS BARRED FROM TEMPLE MOUNT
by David Rosenberg
The Temple Mount will be closed to Jewish visitors and tourists for the next three days, Jerusalem police said Tuesday morning.
The closure, which takes place during the Islamic month of Ramadan, comes following rioting by Arabs on the Mount Sunday and Monday in protest of visits by non-Muslims.
No restrictions on Muslims ascending the holy site have been announced.
Following the initial wave of rioting on Sunday, police barred Jews from the Mount in an effort to restore calm. When non-Muslims were again allowed onto the site on Monday, Arab rioters again clashed with police, hurling stones and barricading themselves in the Al Aqsa Mosque.
On Tuesday Arab youths again congregated in and around the mosque, preparing for a third round of violence with stones and firecrackers.
Jerusalem police said in light of ongoing tensions on the Mount, non-Muslim visitors would be barred in the coming days from ascending the holy site, adding that additional security forces would be placed on the Temple Mount to help keep the peace.
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3. JEWISH HOME MINISTERS SLAM TURKEY RECONCILIATION DEAL
by Ido Ben Porat
Senior ministers from the Jewish Home party have indicated that they will vote against ratification of a deal to normalize relations with Turkey following six years of diplomatic tensions.
Jewish Home chief Naftali Bennett and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked raised objections to the deal on Tuesday, citing the agreement's provision for a compensation package to Turkey and the lack of any binding requirement for Turkey to pressure the Hamas terror organization to return two Israeli captives and two fallen IDF soldiers killed in 2014.
The pair signaled their opposition to the deal after details of the agreement were disclosed to the cabinet.
The ministers decried the planned $20 million compensation fund Israel would be required to establish for Turkish citizens killed in 2010, after they attacked Israeli soldiers boarding a Turkish vessel attempting to break the Gaza blockade.
"Reconciliation with Turkey is important now, and an interest of the State of Israel," said Education Minister Bennett. "But at the same time," continued Bennett, "paying compensation to the perpetrators of a terrorist act sets a dangerous precedent that the State of Israel will regret in the future. Israel must not pay [the families] of terrorists who tried to harm the IDF."
"So long as Turkey holds influence over Hamas, they should do their utmost to ensure that [the fallen IDF soldiers] Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin are returned to Israel."
Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu), who has in the past slammed attempts to win Turkish support for normalized relations with a compensation fund, emphasized on Monday that his position had not changed.
"I don't see any reason to go back on my opposition to the agreement," Liberman told Yisrael Beytenu members during a faction meeting. "The compensation [package] has serious implications."
Despite the opposition of the Defense Minister and both ranking Jewish Home Ministers, observers predict the agreement will pass ratification in the cabinet on Wednesday.
4. CONTROVERSIAL 'HANNIBAL DIRECTIVE' MAY BE ABOLISHED
by Arutz Sheva Staff
State Comptroller Yosef Shapira has expressed opposition to the 'Hannibal Directive', a policy dictating IDF soldiers should take all necessary measures to stop a kidnapping of a soldier in progress or immediately afterwards, even if it means endangering the lives of the kidnapped soldiers themselves. This according to a report in Haaretz Tuesday.
According to Haaretz, the first draft of the Comptroller's report dealing with lessons to be learned from operation Protective Edge contains a recommendation to abolish the directive, which, in the Comptroller's view, is not clear to or understood by the IDF chain of command.
In this draft, distributed over the past few days to the relevant levels of the IDF command hierarchy, the directive is interpreted by many as a green light to kill kidnapped soldiers during pursuit, while the directive only really permits the use of force to rescue kidnapped soldiers even if this endangers their lives.
The Comptroller writes in the draft that this directive is more suited to kidnappings in circumstances of regular security operations, and not to states of war where there is more room to take into account International Law considerations, such as the principle of differentiation between combatants and civilians, and the principle of proportionality which dictates that the scope of a military operation needs to be kept in proportion to its objectives. These principles militate against the use of excessive force during a state of war.
Also recommended in the drafted report is raising the clearance requirement for authorizing broad use of force in an attempt to stop a kidnapping. The authority to order this is currently held at the level of Brigade Commander. The Comptroller recommends that deliberations regarding such an order take into account the severity of the event, the environment in which it occurs, and the potential for subsequent escalation. The decisions should be made at the highest level, by the Chief of Staff with the help of the Military Advocate General. He would also need to make sure that the ethical issues inherent in the operation are clear to all participating units.
'Haaretz' quotes the response of the IDF spokesperson, who said that "the draft of the report was received by the IDF yesterday, and will be studied in the coming days. The IDF will deal with the draft directly, and not through the press.
The paper adds that a senior military official has recently said that Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot had already decided to abolish the Hannibal Directive several weeks ago and a new standing order is currently being drafted in the Operations Directorate.
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5. 'IF I SEE AN ISRAELI I'LL SLIT HIS THROAT'
by Arutz Sheva Staff
A senior Palestinian Authority official said yesterday (Monday), that if he saw an Israeli he'd 'slit his throat'.
The official is Fatah Central Committee member and adviser to PA President Mahmoud Abbas, Sultan Abu al-Einein.
In an interview with the Donia Al Watan site discussing the matter of normalization of relations with Israel and the talks currently ongoing between Israeli and Palestinian Authority representatives, the Fatah member said: "I am against discussions, talks, meetings, and any kind of normalization with the Israeli occupiers."
He also commented on meetings with Israelis being attended by other members of Fatah, such as Ahmad al-Majdalani, another Fatah Central committee member, and Muhammad al-Madani, head of the committee for interaction with the Israelis.
"If Abu Mazen [Abbas], tries to make me participate in meetings that include Jews I will forcefully refuse. I will not have any interaction with Israeli society unless I get kidnapped by extremist settlers," said Abu al-Einein. He added that he doesn't have anything against his colleagues who do attend such meeting, and commented on the requirement for Palestinian officials to obtain special transit visas. "The fact that we are in need of special documentation to allow us to pass through the checkpoints shows that we live in dark times."
Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, Major-General Poli Mordechai, commented on al-Einiein's words on his Facebook page, writing: "How short is the distance between wild incitement and acts of terror, and how is it that the lives of Judea and Samaria residents hang in the balance of one irresponsible tongue."
Mordechai reached out to Palestinian Authority hrresidents, saying that "in the Middle East of the summer of 2016, this kind of talk doesn't stay in the realm of the symbolic or rhetorical. In our area there is a short distance between these kind of irresponsible remark and terrorist in the field who understand that there is legitimization from the leadership for an act of terror they're about to carry out. The distance between that and a deep destabilization of your way of life is shorter still."
The Major-General called upon Palestinian society, and especially its leadership, to denounce such remarks that" bring Ramallah closer to Raqqa and Mosul", referring to cities controlled by ISIS, and instead to call for dialogue and tolerance.
These comments from a senior Palestinian Authority official come on the heels of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' wild accusation that Israeli Rabbis had demanded that the Israeli government poison wells to kill Palestinians. This accusation has been dubbed "a blood-libel" by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
6. STEINITZ IN AMONA: 'I'LL WORK TO AVERT TRAGEDY'
by Eliran Aharon
Minister of National Infrastructure, Energy and Water Resources Yuval Steinitz expressed staunch opposition to the evacuation of the Samarian community of Amona in a visit there today (Tuesday). Steinitz spoke to local leaders about the fight against the planned evacuation and possible legal solutions.
Accompanying the Minister on the visit were Likud National Camp co-Chair Shevach Stern and Natan Englesman, Yesha Council Chairman Avi Roeh, Amona leaders, and Infrastructure Ministry representatives.
"It's unthinkable to evacuate whole towns because of judicial considerations which would never, under any circumstance, apply to Tel Aviv or Haifa," said Steinitz, "You can't evacuate or destroy and area just because someone says it belongs to him. Only in a case where ownership is proven conclusively should anything be done, and even then it should only be in the form of monetary compensation"
Steinitz promised, "I will act in every legal and logical way to prevent the unnecessary tragedy of the evacuation of Amona in the coming months or years."
Shevach Stern, Chairman of the Likud National Camp said that Minister Steinitz's visit in the area accomplishes two goals. "The first goal is to promote the saving of Amona in the government. As the man who chaired the Knesset's committee investigating the [previous] Amona incidents [referring to the 2006 evacuation] and knows the subject well, Minister Steinitz has exactly the right talents and capabilities to bring about a good solution."
"The second goal is returning the water infrastructure in Judea and Samaria to a fully operational state long-term. As Infrastructure Minister, Steinitz must use all of his abilities and influence to bring this about."
Amona, which is slated for evacuation by year's end, was the site of a violent confrontation between security forces and demonstrators in February 2006, after a Supreme Court order for the demolition of nine homes. Over 300 people were wounded in the evacuation, most of them peaceful protestors.
7. FALLEN SOLDIER'S COMRADE: 'DON'T ABANDON HIM'
by Benny Toker
Tzlil Turgeman, a reservist medic from the Givati reconnaissance battalion which fought back Hamas terrorists who killed Hadar Goldin and took his body into captivity, blasted Israel's reconciliation deal with Turkey, saying that the agreement abandoned those being held by Hamas and wasted a "golden opportunity" for their return.
"About two year ago we took part in a difficult war, [as part of] Operation Protective Edge. All of us left behind families to go out and defend our people and our country, and all of us went in there with the understanding that we might not come back alive," Turgeman told Arutz Sheva.
"We went out [to fight] based on a faith in the system, and if called upon we would do it again."
Israel, which has concluded months of negotiations to restore relations with Turkey after six years of diplomatic tensions, has agreed to provide $20 million in compensation for the families of Turkish terrorists killed after they attacked IDF soldiers in 2010.
Yet the reconciliation deal includes no binding requirement for Turkey to pressure the Hamas terror group to free two Israeli captives held in the Gaza Strip, or return the bodies of IDF soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, killed in 2014. Turkey, which has formal ties with the Hamas terror organization, is estimated to exert strong influence over the group.
Turgeman criticized the decision, calling on the Israeli government to insist Turkey force Hamas to return all Israelis held in captivity, including the two fallen soldiers.
"We understand that there is a golden opportunity here to make Hamas pay a price and demand the return of the bodies."
"They fought hard, because [they knew] that if God forbid something happened to them, they would be brought back and buried in Israel. All this time they [the government] assured the families that any negotiations on the Gaza blockade would include a provision requiring the return of their sons."
"But suddenly last Thursday this provision disappeared from the agreement. We need to demand this condition from Hamas: if you want humanitarian aid, give back the bodies of Hadar and Oron. There is a golden opportunity here to put a price on Turkey's assistance, which helps Hamas – and they need to take steps to bring back the two soldiers. This is a one-time opportunity for the State of Israel."
8. 'AN ANGEL COMMANDED ME TO KILL'
by Ido Ben Porat
The Supreme Court rejected on Tuesday an appeal filed by Jack Teitel, who was convicted in 2013 for the murder of two Palestinian Arabs, dismissing claims the killer suffered from temporary insanity and was thus not responsible for his actions.
Teitel, a 43-year old American-born immigrant, confessed to murdering an Arab taxi driver and a shepherd, along with a host of other attacks, though police determined that Teitel was not responsible for all of the acts to which he confessed, including the 2009 shooting of a Tel Aviv LGBT center.
While Teitel's lawyers had claimed that he was mentally unfit to stand trial, the court found him sane and therefore fully responsible for his actions. His attorneys later agreed to a plea bargain. A 2010 report by a district psychiatrist found him unfit for trial, though the court later rejected this opinion.
Teitel appealed the decision ruling him responsible for his actions, requesting the Supreme Court consider his claim of temporary insanity.
According to the claim, Teitel was under the influence of delusional thoughts during the killings. Teitel has claimed that prior to the murders an angel "revealed itself to me", commanding him to carry out the killings.
The court responded to Teitel's appeal, saying that the claims of delusional visions of angels this late in the process raised doubts about the credulity of his appeal.
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