Arutz Sheva Daily Israel Report
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Thursday, Mar. 09 '17, י"א באדר תשע"ז
HEADLINES:
1. BRITISH FOREIGN MINISTER: EITHER TWO STATES - OR APARTHEID
2. BENNETT PREPARING FOR NATIONAL LEADERSHIP WITH LIKUD MERGER
3. HEZBOLLAH RECRUITED THROUGH FACEBOOK PROFILE
4. STATE DEPARTMENT: OBAMA MONEY REACHED PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY
5. RABBI LEVINSTEIN: I APOLOGIZE FOR THE TONE, NOT FOR THE MESSAGE
6. WATCH: WHEN THE COACH BRINGS A PURIM SURPRISE
7. BEAUTY QUEEN RETURNS TO TORAH OBSERVANCE
8. SAMARIA RESIDENTS SUFFER SERIOUS ROCK ATTACK
1. BRITISH FOREIGN MINISTER: EITHER TWO STATES - OR APARTHEID
by AFP and Arutz Sheva
British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson has warned that the alternative to a two-state solution in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is an "apartheid system."
Johnson had a whistlestop 24-hour visit to Israel Wednesday in which he reaffirmed British support for Israel but criticized Jewish building in Judea and Samaria.
"What we are saying is that you have to have a two-state solution or else you have a kind of apartheid system," Johnson said in an interview published in The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday.
In Ramallah on Wednesday, Johnson stressed that his government's policy was "absolutely unchanged" and they remain committed to two states.
When meeting Netanyahu on Wednesday, Johnson stressed Britain's "rock-like" support of Israel, but also touched on building in Judea and Samaria.
"Israel has first and foremost an absolute right to live in security, and the people of Israel deserve to be safe from terrorism," Johnson said.
But he later added: "Of course we must also try to remove obstacles to peace and progress such as the settlements."
2. BENNETT PREPARING FOR NATIONAL LEADERSHIP WITH LIKUD MERGER
by Hezki Baruch
Jewish Home leader and Education Minister Naftali Bennett believes that elections are not yet on the horizon. He estimates that the Netanyahu investigations will not lead to an indictment but like his coalition colleagues he is also preparing for elections. Bennett has brought forward the Jewish Home party's internal elections and says he is aiming for leadership.
Bennett believes that before the elections his party will gain ground in opinion polls and that if Netanyahu leaves politics the Likud party will shrink dramatically, leaving the Jewish Home party as the only real alternative on the right. Bennett also believes that Yair Lapid's candidacy for premier is bad for the State of Israel.
In order to forestall Lapid's rise in the polls, Bennett intends before the election to merge with the Likud, just as Yisrael Beytenu did in the past. In this way he will be able to gain the premiership via the ruling party.
If Netanyahu continues to serve in the next election as leader of the Likud, Bennett intends to demand - either from within the Likud or outside it - the Defense Ministry. In the previous election Bennett was promised the Defense Ministry but the prime minister reneged on that promise.
Bennett admits in private conversations that he has not succeeded in implementing his agenda of building outside the "settlement blocs" and claims that despite pressure from the right, Netanyahu still believes in the 'two-state solution.'
3. HEZBOLLAH RECRUITED THROUGH FACEBOOK PROFILE
by Mordechai Sones
The recent arrest of Hezbollah operative Yusuf Yasser Soilam, 23, has been released for publication. The arrest was part of a Shin Bet operation in cooperation with the IDF and the Israel Police. The Qalqilia resident was trained to commit terrorist attacks including carrying out an abduction.
The Shin Bet investigation revealed that Soilam, a locksmith by profession, was recruited to Hezbollah using a Facebook profile used to identify potential recruits to the organization.
At one point Soilam was instructed to open an operational email address using encryption software with which he maintained contact with a Hezbollah operator known as "Abu Hasin".
Soilam's operators assigned him to perform various tasks, including photographing and gathering information on IDF bases, checkpoints, and sites in Jerusalem's Old City. He was also directed to set up a terror cell which was to carry out an abduction and transfer the abductee to Lebanese territory.
Soilam was arrested by the Shin Bet before he could perform the planned attacks.
An indictment against Soilam was handed down by a Samaria military court, charging him with aggravated security offenses.
4. STATE DEPARTMENT: OBAMA MONEY REACHED PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY
by Mordechai Sones
One of the first decisions the Trump government took after becoming President was to freeze $220.3 million that his predecessor President Obama earmarked for the PA just before he left the White House.
However, the State Department has confirmed that Obama's money has reached its destination. Acting State Department spokesman Mark Toner said last night (Wednesday) in a press briefing that the money was mostly for humanitarian purposes in the Palestinian Authority and Gaza, and in part used to pay Israeli creditors of the PA.
"None of the funding was to go directly to the Palestinian Authority," stressed Toner in response to questions on the subject.
At the same time, Toner criticized the conduct of UNRWA: "UNRWA is obviously something where ...we've been very vocal about our concerns given some of the allegations ... some of UNRWA's programs and how it's spent or used some of its funding...we certainly made those concerns clear to UNRWA's leadership."
The disbursal was one of President Obama's last acts in the White House, and it was approved just hours before the exchange of Presidents.
Congress authorized the transfer amount to the PA, but at least two Republican lawmakers acted to prevent the fund transfer, due to PA actions attempting to join UN organizations as a sovereign entity.
State Department officials said they decided to delay executing the transfer until the new Secretary of State entered office - and it was assured that any funds transfer was consistent with the priorities of the Trump government.
As of now, at least according to Toner's testimony, the frozen money ultimately was transferred to the PA.
5. RABBI LEVINSTEIN: I APOLOGIZE FOR THE TONE, NOT FOR THE MESSAGE
by Ido Ben Porat
Rabbi Yigal Levinstein, one of the heads of the paramilitary academy Benei David in Eli, responded Wednesday to the storm over his condemnation of religious soldiers in mixed gender units and religious young women's conscription to the IDF.
In an interview with Channel 2 anchor Sivan Rahav-Meir, Rabbi Levinstein apologized for his tone of speech. "My words were said in a sharp style which stemmed from my strong feelings on the matter. In the last two years a deep cultural process has begun in the IDF. Feminist ideologies which do not accord with Jewish values have penetrated the army."
Rabbi Levinstein stressed that young men can continue to serve in the IDF in the segregated units, but stressed that "in every place where the army insists on doing things which are halakhically prohibited, a religious soldier cannot participate. What can we do? We're religious. Just like they respect Kashrut and Shabbat, they must understand that religious youths have other restrictions. They have no problem with women but they cannot have physical contact with them or be secluded with them."
Rabbi Levinstein apologized for his derogatory tone regarding religious female soldiers but stressed that he was not changing his viewpoint. He said that "the IDF has made huge campaigns to conscript religious girls and the campaigns stem from a broader feminist desire to draw girls into these processes."
Rabbi Levinstein claimed that "the way in which I phrased my words insulted a number of the most special people whom I love, respect and admire. I have a deep ideological argument with these people but I apologize if they were insulted by the tone of the words." However he dismissed calls to cancel budgetary allocations to the academy he heads since "in the 30 years that I am here I have yet to hear of an officer or soldier harming a female soldier. The institution has never incited against female soldiers in any way."
6. WATCH: WHEN THE COACH BRINGS A PURIM SURPRISE
by Yoni Kempinski
[youtube:2025706]
Click here to join Paamonim's special Purim project
7. BEAUTY QUEEN RETURNS TO TORAH OBSERVANCE
by Mordechai Sones
Mor Maman, only 21 years old, decided to take advantage of International Women's Day and, in a personal and moving post on her Instagram page, shared her process of return and connection to the Creator.
"Madly in love with the Creator, King of Kings. There is no day, minute, or second that I do not thank Him and tell Him how much I love Him," wrote Maman in her post. "He keeps and protects me, He has accompanied me for the six months of my return journey, He lets me understand what being a good person is and what it means to love the L-rd your G-d with all your heart.
"He sends messengers and good souls that help me and give me good advice. He opens doors for me in business and in my personal life and He fills me with joy that never ends. Smile, you are children of the King of Kings, the Holy One. Blessed is He Who made me a woman, Happy Woman's Day.
"I keep Shabbat and go three times weekly to Torah classes and the synagogue. I am now in Brazil and I'm not in a swimsuit or uploading photos in a swimsuit. Although I was secular, I've always had an affinity for religion. I started to become more religious because I felt I had everything in this life and yet I have nothing. I feel authentic happiness that is not dependent on anything. I have signed a partnership with an American cosmetics firm. We have 20 offices in 11 American states and these days we are also expanding to Brazil and other countries. Being there makes me feel good, because actually Torah teaches you to be a better person".
8. SAMARIA RESIDENTS SUFFER SERIOUS ROCK ATTACK
by Arutz Sheva Staff
This morning, Arabs threw rocks at several Israeli cars passing between the Jewish communities of Elon Moreh and Itamar in Samaria.
Nobody was wounded, but serious damage was caused to the vehicles.
In particular, the car of one woman from Yitzhar in Samaria was pelted with rocks and severely damaged.
Last week, security forces arrested six Arabs who threw rocks at Border Policemen in the Jerusalem area.
After security forces subdued the attackers, they were surprised to find that three of the attackers were women.
Initial investigations revealed that the attackers were, in fact, students at Birzeit University north of Ramallah, residents of Arab villages near Shechem, in their twenties.
[twittervideo:2025698]
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