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Wednesday, Jan. 18 '17, כ' בטבת תשע"ז
HEADLINES:
1. 'THIS WAS AN ATTACK AGAINST THE STATE OF ISRAEL'
2. 'THERE WERE UPS & DOWNS. US AND ISRAEL ARE BEST FRIENDS'
3. 'HE SMASHED HER HEAD TO PIECES AND TORE OUT HER FINGERNAILS'
4. ISIS-INSPIRIED SARONA TERRORISTS ADMIT TO 3 OF 4 MURDERS
5. REGAVIM: GOVERNMENT MUST QUASH INCITEMENT IN SOUTHERN ISRAEL
6. TRUMP'S UN AMBASSADOR BLASTS WORLD BODY'S ANTI-ISRAEL BIAS
7. IMPEACH GHATTAS? NOT SO FAST
8. SHAPIRO: I PREPARED MY ENTIRE LIFE TO BE AMBASSADOR TO ISRAEL
1. 'THIS WAS AN ATTACK AGAINST THE STATE OF ISRAEL'
by Yoni Kempinski
[video:2023382]
Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel (Jewish Home) responded Wednesday morning to the deadly terror attack in Umm Al-Hiran which left police officer Erez Levy dead and a second officer wounded.
"What happened in Hiran was a terror attack against the State of Israel," said Ariel. "We won't be deterred from enforcing law and order in the Bedouin sector, along with working to advance legal housing solutions."
Ariel has been charged by the government with finding a solution to the problem of rampant illegal construction in the Bedouin sector and the existence of dozens of unauthorized settlements.
The Minister slammed the involvement of Arab MKs from the Joint List party and other outside elements who encouraged residents of Umm Al-Hiran to turn down alternative sites to build.
"The families in Hiran received an explicit order [to evacuate], and we offered them plots in [the Bedouin town of] Hura. They refused, even though we offered them prepared plots; they could have moved like dozens of other families who voluntarily dismantled [their illegal homes] and received from us plots and moved out ahead of [the eviction]."
Ariel noted that the residents' case had been heard and rejected by both a district court and the Supreme Court.
"They've made these arguments in court, and even brought it to the district court and the Supreme Court," said Ariel, adding that the appeals had been dismissed and the case closed.
"We offered the claimants alternative housing, we went beyond the letter of the law in order to reach an agreement. But those who think they can take advantage of that to steal state land – it won't happen."
Ariel called upon local leaders in the Bedouin sector not to inflame tensions following the attack and subsequent demolition in Umm Al-Hiran.
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2. 'THERE WERE UPS & DOWNS. US AND ISRAEL ARE BEST FRIENDS'
by Yoni Kempinski
[youtube:2023374]
Arutz Sheva spoke on Tuesday with Dan Shapiro, the outgoing United States ambassador to Israel, who will step down on Friday when President-elect Donald Trump takes office but will stay in Israel for a few more months as his children finish their school year.
The conversation came on the sidelines of a farewell event that Shapiro held at the Yitzhak Rabin Center in Tel Aviv. In his remarks, Shapiro spoke with great excitement about his time as ambassador.
Shapiro told Arutz Sheva that the experience was "amazing" and "a job I loved and my family loved".
"There were some ups and downs. No relationship is perfect, even relationships between best friends, and we are. The United States and Israel are about as good friends as you can have between two countries," he admitted.
Despite the disagreements, Shapiro said he is not focusing on that, but rather on his own personal experiences.
"We've enjoyed every moment. We've felt warmly embraced by the Israeli people, we've tried to give that back in equal measure, and I believe we've accomplished amazing things in strengthening the relationship in security, technology, intelligence, and economic relations. And that happened all during the same period in which we had disagreements. So I look back with great fondness and a sense of satisfaction."
Asked if he has any recommendations for the next ambassador, David Friedman, Shapiro replied, "I hope he will enjoy the job as much as I did and I hope he will get to know the Israeli people, all of them all over the country the way we did, but every ambassador and every administration has to decide how they want to conduct their diplomacy and do their job, so I will respect that and wish him well."
Speaking to the crowd at the Rabin Center, Shapiro had said, "When other observers and maybe former ambassadors write about this period, I think the correct record will show that in every respect the U.S.-Israel relationship grew stronger."
He added that the embassy in Israel tries very hard "to connect with every part of Israeli society: Jewish, Arab, Muslim, Christian, Druze, Bedouin, Orthodox, haredi, national religious, secular – it doesn't matter who the Israeli citizen is. We want to know them, we want them to know us, we want them to connect to the values that bind our two countries. That has dramatically increased during the five-and-a-half years we've been privileged to do this job."
Shapiro stressed that the "two-state solution" to solve the Israel-Palestinian Authority (PA) conflict is a "common commitment and a common bond we share."
3. 'HE SMASHED HER HEAD TO PIECES AND TORE OUT HER FINGERNAILS'
by David Rosenberg
A 27-year old Arab Christian resident of northern Israel was indicted Wednesday morning for the murder of his girlfriend, Tehilla Nagar.
Raad Roshrosh, from the village of Marar, is suspected in the murder of Nagar last month, and linked himself to the crime during interrogation. While Roshrosh was arrested hours after the discovery of Nagar's body, his identity had been concealed by a gag order until Wednesday's indictment.
Nagar, 31, was a resident of Kibbutz Ginosar, and had been in a romantic relationship with Roshrosh for over a year and a half, despite pleas by her family to break up with him.
According to her family, Roshrosh had physically abused Nagar during their relationship, and was reported to the police by relatives just two weeks prior to her murder. Roshrosh was arrested and held in custody for five days during the investigation.
But after Nagar refused to press charges, police were forced to free Roshrosh, who according to the indictment, then resolved to take 'revenge' on Nagar for his arrest.
Investigators say Roshrosh reached out to Nagar after he was freed, and on December 19th she agreed to see him. The suspect picked up Nagar from her Kibbutz and drove to Teverya, where she purchased a new SIM card for her phone, in order to conceal her renewed relationship with Roshrosh from her family.
After dining in a local café, the two left in the suspect's car, driving down Route 90. At one point, Roshrosh pulled off of the road. There he attacked Nagar, beating and strangling her. According to the indictment, Roshrosh tortured Nagar during her final moments, ripping out her finger nails and dragging her around on the ground while continuing to beat her.
Finally, Roshrosh killed Nagar, crushing her head with a large rock.
"He completely smashed her head to pieces, then left her wallowing in her own blood and want back to his home in the village [of Marar]," said lead investigator Ofer Austa.
Her remains were found the next day.
"When we came to the place we found a young woman in her 20's with violent wounds inflicted on the upper part of her body. She was lying next to the road," said Meir Ashraf, an MDA paramedic who arrived on the scene. 'She was not breathing and after a few moments we determined that she had died."
4. ISIS-INSPIRIED SARONA TERRORISTS ADMIT TO 3 OF 4 MURDERS
by Uzi Baruch
Two Arab terrorists charged with the murder of four Jews during an attack on the Sarona Market in Tel Aviv have plead guilty to three of the murders, but denied responsibility for the fourth victim's death.
Khalid and Mahmoud Mehamara, cousins from the village of Yatta south of Hevron in Judea, opened fire at patrons of a restaurant in the Sarona Market in Tel Aviv last June. The attack killed four and left six wounded.
The pair admitted they were responsible for three of the murders, but argued they were not liable for the death of Ilana Naavah, a Tel Aviv resident who died after suffering a heart attack during the shooting.
While the Defense Ministry has recognized Naavah as a victim of terror, the defense has argued that no evidence exists linking her heart attack and subsequent death to the killers' actions.
The third terrorist involved in the attack, Yunis Zin, also a resident of Yatta, has admitted to assisting Khalid and Mahmoud Mehmara, and will be tried either as an accessory or an accomplice to the crime.
According to the indictment filed in July, the terrorists had been inspired by the ISIS terror group. Mahmoud Mehamara was reportedly radicalized while studying in Jordan, during which time he became interested in the ISIS organization.
5. REGAVIM: GOVERNMENT MUST QUASH INCITEMENT IN SOUTHERN ISRAEL
by Avi Hyman
The Regavim movement, which monitors and prosecutes illegal building across Israel issued the following statement following the terrorist murder of an Israeli policeman during riots at the evacuation of the illegal Umm al Hiran outpost in Southern Israel this morning:
"Regavim call upon the government to immediately restore the rule of law in Southern Israel where Islamist agitators have infiltrated illegal Arab-Israeli settlements to incite violence against Jewish-Israelis and security forces.
"After a decade of appealing multiple Supreme Court rulings to vacate the site. Illegal squatters in the Hiran region have chosen to use violence and murder to force the hand of the authorities, emboldened by anti-Israel NGOs and Arab-Israeli lawmakers. This is unacceptable and must be quashed. Years of incitement led to the murder of an Israeli Policeman this morning.
"It is unfortunate that so much fake news on the decade long legal battle has spread like wildfire. The squatters have been offered free plots of land in the nearby town of Hura or advantageous terms to continue living in new homes in Hiran both deals come with generous monetary compensation, despite them living on the site illegally. Instead of accepting the unprecedented offer, they have chosen to use violence to force the hand of the authorities. Regavim calls on the Israeli government to quash the incitement and return the rule of law to Southern Israel."
Regavim is a legal advocacy organization, dedicated to ensuring responsible, legal and accountable use of Israel's national land. By investigating claims on the ground level, Regavim protects national land interests, presenting its findings in the form of white papers and legal action, in addition to briefing the press and diplomatic corps.
6. TRUMP'S UN AMBASSADOR BLASTS WORLD BODY'S ANTI-ISRAEL BIAS
by Elad Benari
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, will blast the global body over its treatment of Israel at her Senate confirmation hearing, according to prepared testimony seen by Reuters on Tuesday.
"Nowhere has the UN's failure been more consistent and more outrageous than in its bias against our close ally Israel," Haley will say in the opening remarks for her appearance on Wednesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
"Any honest assessment also finds an institution that is often at odds with American national interests and American taxpayers," the speech says, according to Reuters.
Noting that the United States contributes 22 percent of the UN budget, far more than any other country, Haley's speech says, "Are we getting what we pay for?"
She also promises to work with U.S. lawmakers to pursue what she described as "seriously needed change" at the United Nations, according to Reuters.
The UN's anti-Israel bias is well-known and was even acknowledged by its former Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, before he stepped down at the beginning of this month.
Ban also admitted the UN's anti-Israel bias during a 2013 session with Israeli students, though the comments were not widely reported by Israeli media at the time.
Despite his admission of the bias, the global body just recently passed a series of anti-Israel resolutions during its annual "International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People".
Haley's hearing comes weeks after the UN Security Council passed Resolution 2334 which was critical of Israel's presence in Judea, Samaria and eastern Jerusalem.
Some Republican lawmakers, led by South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, have threatened to cut U.S. funding for the UN following the anti-Israel resolution.
Graham and fellow Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas last week introduced a law that would block taxpayer dollars from going toward the UN, in response to Resolution 2334.
7. IMPEACH GHATTAS? NOT SO FAST
by Ben Ariel
Efforts to impeach MK Basel Ghattas (Joint List), who is suspected of providing cellular phones to Hamas terrorists in Israeli prisons, hit a snag on Tuesday.
On Monday, Minister Ze'ev Elkin (Likud) submitted to Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein the 72 signatures from MKs required to apply the MK Removal Law in the case of Ghattas.
However, Knesset Legal Adviser Eyal Yinon informed Elkin on Tuesday that his request to impeach Ghattas did not include the reasoning for the request as required by the law, and he would therefore need to resubmit the request.
"Article 8a of the Law stipulates that the application [for impeachment] should be submitted together with 'the reasons and the material on which it is based,'" Yinon wrote to Elkin. "An examination of the request shows that it was written a month ago, and that the factual basis on which it is based is condensed in the phrase 'yesterday MK Basel Ghattas was summoned for questioning over the suspicion that he passed information and smuggled items, including cell phones, to security prisoners incarcerated in the Ketziot prison.'"
Yinon continued, "An MK may be impeached on one of two grounds: 'incitement to racism or support for the armed struggle of an enemy state or a terrorist organization against the State of Israel.' In order to open the procedure, it is not sufficient to use an out of date factual basis as presented in the request."
Responding to Yinon's letter, Elkin indicated on Tuesday evening that the request would be resubmitted with updated information.
"Since the majority of the signatures were collected before the indictment [against Ghattas] was submitted, the text of the letter to the Knesset Speaker was based only on the initial material published. In consultation with the Knesset's Legal Advisor it was decided that we would submit an updated request which will include the incriminating video and the material in the indictment draft prepared by the Attorney General, which clearly show that the actions of MK Basel Ghattas certainly constitute aid to a terrorist organization," said Elkin.
Meanwhile, Ghattas is not only alleged to be implicated in aiding terrorists in Israeli prisons. On Monday he was questioned by police on allegations of forgery, fraud, and money laundering, among other charges.
8. SHAPIRO: I PREPARED MY ENTIRE LIFE TO BE AMBASSADOR TO ISRAEL
by Arutz Sheva Staff
[youtube:2023387]
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