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Thursday, Feb. 09 '17, י"ג בשבט תשע"ז
HEADLINES:
1. HAMAS CANINE UNIT REVEALED, ISRAELI EXPERT SKEPTICAL
2. ROCKETS FIRED TOWARDS EILAT
3. ARAB COUNTRIES OFFER LIMP OPPOSITION TO TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDER
4. HAARETZ PUBLISHER APOLOGIZES FOR ATTACKING GOLDIN FAMILY
5. WATCH: BENNETT SINGING WITH SEVERELY WOUNDED IDF SOLDIER
6. SOCIAL SECURITY REPORT: IN 2044 MONEY RUNS OUT
7. CHUCK NORRIS MEETS PRIME MINISTER
8. WATCH: A LOOK INTO DONALD TRUMP'S CHILDHOOD HOME
1. HAMAS CANINE UNIT REVEALED, ISRAELI EXPERT SKEPTICAL
by Mordechai Sones
In a recent Hamas parade in Gaza, a yet-unseen capability was displayed: attack dogs, apparently styled after the IDF's Oketz canine unit.
Hamas' canine unit is a part of the Nohba ("elect") tunnel unit of the organization, and has been used so far for patrolling the new paved patrol road that runs along the border with Israel - 250 meters running inside PA territory. Other tasks have included distancing Arab protesters confronting Israeli soldiers, throwing stones, and damaging the fence.
Not all canine experts are impressed with reports of this new capability, however. Mike ben Yaakov, Commander of the civilian Israel Dog Unit (IDU) that deals with security, search, and rescue dogs dismisses the reports as a "Hamas PR stunt."
According to ben Yaakov, the reports resemble "typical Hamas/Hizballah psychological warfare to intimidate Jews and the IDF. Anybody can take a picture of themselves with a dog; naturally the Hamas, who tries to pretend that they're a real army - they can't have F16's and they can't have perhaps Merkava tanks, but they can find a dog and take a picture of it and pretend to have such a unit. In my humble opinion, they do not have a unit with any great capabilities, because that's what Hamas does: They engage in disinformation and until otherwise proven, I'll assume it doesn't exist or that it's not a very serious unit.
"It takes a very long time to create a serious unit with serious canine capabilities. We at the Israel Dog Unit, which is a civilian unit, have been working with preparing dogs with Israeli and international experts for the last seventeen years. So I can safely state that this is not something that you put together a few dogs in a few months and you take some pictures and you have a dog unit. Even if they have some dogs, I think it's a little early to call it a Dog Unit.
"If I were the decision makers in Israel, I would take heed of the possibility that they have dogs, and that could complicate Israeli raids in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza."
Just last week, a senior security official warned that Hamas has restored their pre-Operation Defensive Shield capabilities, both in terms of tunnels and its rocket arsenal: In the prevailing Gaza quiet, Hamas is working energetically to renew its capabilities.
A large part of the arsenal is the result of Hamas's Gaza weapons industry, comprised largely of improvised materials. Negotiations between Hamas and Egyptian authorities for opening of the Rafiah crossing prompted concern among IDF officials, lest the new channel allow for authentic weapon smuggling, further improving Hamas' capabilities. It is estimated that Hamas is not heading towards an imminent conflict but continues preparing for one.
Last week, a Hamas military wing spokesman referred to the State Comptroller's report on the tunnel threat and said that it provides proof of Hamas' victory in Operation Defensive Shield. "In the near future the scope of the failure will become more evident", he declared. "The report shows the size of the Zionist enemy's loss and the failure - it proves that Hamas won Defensive Shield," said the spokesman, Abu Obeida. "In the near future there will be more evidence of the scope of failure."
2. ROCKETS FIRED TOWARDS EILAT
by Elad Benari
[youtube:2024344]
Sirens were sounded on Wednesday night, shortly before 11:00 p.m., in the resort city of Eilat and in the Eilot Regional Council.
Residents in the area reported hearing explosions immediately after the sirens.
The IDF confirmed that three rockets were fired from Egypt towards Eilat and that the Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepted them.
A fourth rocket exploded in an open area. There were no damages, but four people who suffered shock were evacuated to the Yoseftal Hospital in the city.
IDF forces are continuing to search the area.
Earlier on Wednesday evening, a tank shell from Syria landed in an open area in the Golan Heights.
No injuries or damage were reported.
The IDF believes that the shell was a result of a spillover from the civil war in Syria, and that Israel was not targeted for attack.
The IDF responded by attacking a target in the northern Golan Heights belonging to the army of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad.
"The IDF will not tolerate any attack on Israel's sovereignty or the security of its citizens, and sees the Syrian regime is responsible for what happens in its territory."
3. ARAB COUNTRIES OFFER LIMP OPPOSITION TO TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDER
by Shimon Cohen
Americans are still angrily demonstrating against the executive order which President Donald Trump is trying to enforce against the entry of nationals to the US from seven countries defined as "encouraging terror". However there are apparently voices in Arab countries supporting Trump's move.
Researchers of the MEMRI organization have gathered a number of statements in this vein over the past few days which testify to the fissure in the Arab world. They also cited the fact that the Arab League did not loudly protest the president's directive but offered a laconic statement on the matter.
Egypt, Morocco, and Jordan have also kept silent as they wish to maintain cordial relations with the new administration. Saudi Arabia has offered audible support for the president's initiative. Saudi Energy Minister Khaled Al-Falah said in a BBC interview that it was not directed against Islam and that "it is the right of America to ensure the security of its nation."
Another senior Arab quoted by the researchers is the Foreign Minister of the UAE, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who said that "there is no doubt that countries have the right to take sovereign decisions. America took a decision within the framework of these sovereign decisions. There has been an attempt to make the impression that the decision targeted a certain religion but this is incorrect."
MEMRI estimates that the reason Trump's decision is being supported by these nations is due to the fact that the directive included Iran together with six other Arab countries - Iraq, Syria, Libya, Sudan, Somalia and Yemen. The UAE and Saudia Arabia have very strained relations with Iran and therefore support Trump's initiative.
Even those countries which expressed their opposition to the decision did this in a cautious manner, focusing on the damage to individual citizens of the seven countries and reiterating their cooperation with America in its struggle against terror while calling on President Trump to reevaluate his view.
Qatar, a supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood, which according to reports is regarded as a terror group by the Trump administration, only offered a flaccid response offering that Islamic states cannot be viewed as the source of terror and calling on Trump to reevaluate his view.
Two countries mentioned in the order responded themselves - Sudan and Yemen - but also offered cautious responses to the order, stating that they were upset with the order but would continue to cooperate with America and that "such decisions give more support to extremists."
4. HAARETZ PUBLISHER APOLOGIZES FOR ATTACKING GOLDIN FAMILY
by Arutz Sheva Staff
Haaretz editor Amoz Shoken has apologized to the Goldin family after he sharply criticized the parents of slain kidnapped IDF soldier Hadar Goldin Hy'd {May his blood be avenged) for attacking a newspaper article which targeted them.
The Haaretz television critic , Rogel Alpher, had described the Goldin familys' conduct as "mad hubris" after it demanded pressure on Hamas in order to bring their son's body to Israel for burial.
Alpher had among other things described Hadar's brother, Chemi Goldin, as "demonstrating advanced symptoms of a condition which could be described as 'Goldin Condition'.....a cognitive dissonance typified by an inability on the part of the sufferer to distinguish between the dead and the living and his constant protests over the fact that the dead do not receive the same treatment as the living. His distress regarding reality is inevitable since the state relates to the living-but- suffering-from-the-syndrome as if he were dead, while the person suffering from the syndrome demands that the dead receive the same treatment as the living.
Goldin's parents, Leah and Simcha, responded to the article by tweeting Haaretz editor regarding Alpher: "Rogel Alpher produced an embarrassing show of demagoguery. He doesn't know the IDF value of mutual responsibility, of not abandoning soldiers in the field. The three religions all endeavor to bring the dead to a proper burial. Do you think that to want such a dignified burial for our son should be defined as 'mad hubris'?"
Shoken originally answered laconically "indeed" and aroused the anger of the bereaved parents who answered him that "we believe that if Hadar Goldin were Palestinian, Amira Hess and Gidon Levi [ultra left-wing Haaretz journalists] would fight for his right to be brought to burial on the pages of Haaretz.
Shoken later apologized for his "crazy" tweet and said that he had not read the Goldins' question properly.
5. WATCH: BENNETT SINGING WITH SEVERELY WOUNDED IDF SOLDIER
[youtube:2024332]
In the video above Yehuda Hayisraeli, the most seriously injured soldier from the Protective Edge Operation in Gaza sings together with Education Minister Naftali Bennett.
When the Protective Edge campaign broke out on Israel's Gaza border in 2014, Yehuda Yitzhak HaYisraeli was enrolled in an elite officer's training course. Exempted from the fighting, he nevertheless begged his commanders to be allowed to serve his country on the front line.
After completing the training course, his request was granted, and Yehuda Yitzhak joined his comrades fighting in southern Gaza as part of Operation Protective Edge.
As they entered the city of Rafiah, he enjoined his troops to leave behind their fears and other concerns, to concentrate solely on the coming battle. "Now we forget our home and family – and we are for the Nation of Israel." This was especially true for Yehuda Yitzhak himself, as he was leaving behind a pregnant wife and young daughter.
Tragically, however, during the fight in Rafiah, he was critically wounded, suffering a near-fatal wound to the head. Shrapnel penetrated his skull, entering his brain, leaving him unconscious for an extended period and rendering him unable to speak.
His second child, a son, was born while he lay unconscious in Soroka Hospital and the baby's brit milah was held there, with his bed moved to be near it, although he did not respond. His father teaches at Morasha Religious Zionist elementary school in Kiryat Moshe, Jerusalem, and the night prior to the brit, his entire class came to the hospital by bus to say the Shema prayer at the infant's crib and pray for Yehuda Yitzhak's recovery.
After a series of eight operations, Yehuda Yitzhak made a remarkable recovery, regaining consciousness and the ability to communicate. But still, he remained unable to talk. During a recent family celebration in Har Bracha, however, Yehuda Yitzhak demonstrated his improving condition, smiling for photographs with relatives, and even speaking.
When the Defense Ministry refused to fund a specially designed additions to Hayisraeli 's home for his handicapped condition, because he lives in Samaria, his family opened a fundraising campaign and raised 1.4 million NIS to enable him to come home last year.
In the video above HaYisraeli sings together with Education Minister Naftali Bennett.
גם אישים מהשמאל תרמו למענו. יהודה הישראלי באירוע משפחתי
צילום: בניה הישראלי
6. SOCIAL SECURITY REPORT: IN 2044 MONEY RUNS OUT
by Shlomo Piotrokovsky
National Insurance Institute (NII) Director General Prof. Shlomo Mor-Yosef submitted this week their complete actuarial report to the Minister of Labor, Welfare, and Social Services MK Haim Katz.
The report presents a comprehensive picture of the current financial situation and the expected forecast of total National Insurance payments and receipts for the near and distant future.
The report is based on current Israeli population data, population forecasts, taking into account data from various sectors in coming decades, according to Central Bureau of Statistics projections.
The report's conclusions indicate expected problems in NII's financial situation. By 2026 National Insurance stipends paid to the public are expected to exceed receipts, forcing reserve fund utilization for financing further payments. In 2045 the reserve fund would be completely drained and National Insurance would not be able to pay all its legal obligations.
The main conclusion of the report is that austerity measures must already come into effect to address NII's expected problematic financial situation, by such means as increasing premium rates, raising the retirement age, and other options.
The report notes the importance of accompanying any change to the National Insurance Law by the Israeli Knesset with an actuarial examination of the change's impact on NII's financial stability and the ability to fund and pay pensions in the long term.
Minister of Labor, Welfare, and Social Services MK Haim Katz said after the report was submitted, "National Insurance is one of the fundamental pillars upon which Israeli social policy rests. It is our duty to ensure that the NII continues to serve the citizens of Israel in the future. The conclusions of the report require the Israeli government to work towards improving the actuarial situation of the NII to ensure the ability to pay pensions over time to Israeli citizens including the elderly, the disabled, and the disadvantaged."
NII Director General Prof. Shlomo Mor-Yosef noted, "In recent years we have taken various measures to deal with the challenges of an aging population and the NII's actuarial means, following the previous actuarial report. These measures have helped defer an actuarial deficit for several years, but a warning sign to Israel still stands. I call on the government to raise the issue, and proceed today with austerity measures to improve the situation, in order to avoid drastic measures in the future that may harm the level of benefits to policyholders."
7. CHUCK NORRIS MEETS PRIME MINISTER
by Gary Willig
[youtube:2024333]
Famed American martial artist and movie star Chuck Norris met with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem Wednesday.
Netanyahu told Norris that his presence made Israel unbeatable.
"Israel is strong, but it's indestructible now," the Prime Minister said, before joking to his security detail that with Norris around they could go home.
Norris, whose reputation spawned 'Chuck Norris facts' internet memes about his capabilities, such as the joke that he has the strength to push the earth when he does push-ups, told Netanyahu that he'd "always have my support."
Norris has been a long-time supporter of Netanyahu. He released a video before the last Israeli Knesset election in 2015 urging Israelis to re-elect Netanyahu as Prime Minister.
Norris had met earlier with Former Foreign Ministry Director-General Dore Gold during his visit to Israel.
[youtube:2002620]
8. WATCH: A LOOK INTO DONALD TRUMP'S CHILDHOOD HOME
by Arutz Sheva Staff
[youtube:2024367]
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