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 י"ב בתשרי תשע"ח / Monday, Oct. 02 '17 Subscribe to this Daily Israel Report -http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Subscribe Headlines
1. Death toll surges to 50, more than 100 woundedby David Rosenberg [youtube:2033534] At least 50 people were killed and more than 100 more wounded in a mass-shooting attack at a country music concert in Las Vegas late Sunday night. A gunman opened fire with a fully automatic weapon at concert-goers at a country music festival at the Mandalay Bay resort just before 10:30 p.m. local time. The shooting apparently targeted the Route 91 Harvest festival, and began during the performance of country music singer Jason Aldean. Local police have called for those in the vicinity of the shooting to evacuate. “We're investigating reports of an active shooter near/around Mandalay Bay Casino. Asking everyone to please avoid the area,” Las Vegas Metropolitan Police tweeted. Authorities say 50 fatalities have been confirmed, and that some 100 people were wounded. Fourteen of the wounded are in critical condition. University Medical Center spokeswoman Danita Cohen reported that the hospital had taken in “several” victims with gunshot wounds. Local police later declared the shooting a “mass casualty incident”, and say that the scene is still “active” at this time. One witness told KSNV-TV he believed there were multiple shooters, saying that hundreds of rounds had been fired at the audience. "Clip after clip after clip after clip, bullets flying everywhere, everybody running. It was really bady." Bullets were "ricocheting everywhere... they were firing from somewhere high and they were unloading clip after clip after clip… multiple shooters, has to be…[there were] hundreds of shots.” Others told Fox News that they had seen a concertgoer shot in the head. Police have shut down part of the Las Vegas Strip and are searching for the gunman. McCarran International Airport has temporarily suspended all landings and takeoffs, airport officials reported. There are also unconfirmed reports of multiple shooters, including claims that one gunman opened fire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay resort hotel. Police say that one suspect was shot and killed on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay resort, adding that no additional shooters are believed to be at large. [youtube:2033531] 2. Driver rams solider, policemanby Arutz Sheva Staff A police officer and a soldier were injured on Monday morning near Tomer Junction on Route 90, the IDF reported. The two were enforcing traffic laws in the area when they ordered a speeding driver to stop. Instead of obeying the order, the driver attempted to escape, and rammed the squad car from behind, injuring both the officer and soldier. Magen David Adom personnel treated both victims and transferred them to a nearby hospital. Both victims were lightly injured. The driver who caused the ramming managed to escape, but police note that his identity is known. 3. Likud minister condemns church vandalismby Arutz Sheva Staff Regional Cooperation Minister Tzachi Hanegbi (Likud) condemned on Monday a vandalism incident at St. Stephen's Church in Beit Jimal, near Beit Shemesh. On September 20, some of the church's stained glass windows were broken, and a statue was shattered. "I was very saddened to hear about last Wednesday's indefensible act of vandalism against the St. Stephen’s Church in Beit Jimal," Hanegbi said. "I strongly condemn this, and any other act of vandalism against a holy site of any faith." "Vandalism of holy sites stands in complete contrast to the State of Israel's values and traditions as a Jewish state. Israel is a democracy that guarantees freedom of religion and worship and is committed to coexistence and a culture of mutual respect. "Vandalism of Christian holy sites in Israel is not only an attack against Christianity, it is an attack on our democracy. "The State of Israel will not tolerate vandalism against any holy site. We will act with determination to find those responsible and bring them to justice." 4. Police to clarify policy regarding soccer on Temple Mountby Shlomo Pyutrikovsky The Jerusalem District Police legal adviser promised to clarify to officers the legal policy regarding soccer games on the Temple Mount. The Supreme Court ruled that soccer games are forbidden on the Temple Mount, since they desecrate the site's holiness. This policy does not include the area near a school on the Temple Mount. Attorney Haim Bleicher of the Honenu legal organization in a letter explained that "approximately one month ago, Jewish visitors to the Temple Mount noticed that the Arabs' soccer games had spread into the Temple Mount's main area." "The police refused to hear their complaints, so the Jews spoke to a lawyer, who demanded the police do 'everything possible to avoid another such occurrence, and to bring those who desecrate the Temple Mount to justice.'" Such conduct, Bleicher said, "is a desecration of a holy place and insults all who visit the Temple Mount, as well as all those who believe in Judaism." The letter also noted that playing soccer in holy places is illegal and the punishment for such actions is seven years in prison. Responding to Israel Police's promise to clarify the policy regarding soccer on the Temple Mount, Bleicher said, "I hope that from now on, the police will work determinedly to safeguard the site's holiness from Arabs who desecrate it." Arabs continuously desecrate the holy site by holding soccer games against the law, and even have clowns perform there. 5. Dozens of Israelis claim valid passports destroyed at borderby Mordechai Sones Dozens of Israelis claim that border control employees at the entrance to Israel, whether at the Taba crossing or at Ben Gurion airport, intentionally damaged their passports, forcing them to pay about NIS 750 ($212) for replacement, NRG 360 reported. The issue came up recently in the Facebook "Lovers of Sinai" group. A post from last weekend quickly went viral. One member who had returned from Sinai reported that border control told him in passing that his passport was defective. Reactions were quick to arrive, revealing that this was not an isolated case. "I just got back from Sinai. The passport control clerk at the passage on the Israeli side was particularly slow to deal with my passport under her desk in a strange way, and then she informed me that I had a torn page and that I should exchange the passport for a new biometric [passport]; so she repeatedly recommended. The odd thing is that 10 minutes later my friend was with her and got the same treatment. We do not remember that there was a torn page. Has anyone ever experienced anything like that?" he wrote. Other group members shared their own experiences, which were suspiciously similar to the case described. Another member of the group wrote: "It happened to me that when I returned from Sinai two weeks ago. The clerk at the Israeli crossing also pointed out to me that I had a torn page in a passport that I hadn't noticed." One of the group members, Eva Melech,shared her own experiences with NRG 360. "After Rosh Hashanah I was checked by two clerks. One of them turned to me with a strange question, saying, 'I don't understand your name.' Meanwhile, the second clerk held my passport, and the two exchanged glances and detained me for a few minutes. Meanwhile my friend passed me by with no problem." Melech noted that her friend's passport was seven years old, while hers was three. "As an aside, she said to me: 'Your passport has been torn and you should take care of it.' At that moment I didn't realize that they might have done something suspicious, especially since my passport was kept in a safe place, and I have a special cover for my passport. From the cut in the passport, one can see that it was cut and not torn. I had planned to fly out for Simchat Torah and now I'm stuck here; there is no chance that my passport will be accepted in the state it's in and I refuse to pay a fine of NIS 750 for renewing a defective passport," said Melech. As the post gained momentum, other group members wrote that the phenomenon was not limited to the Taba crossing, but that similar incidents took place at Ben-Gurion Airport. One group member told 360 that he was forced to pay the 750 shekels for a new passport at the airport. "Once my passport was in the hands of the border officer, he showed me that it had a tear. I noticed that one could easily tear it, even if it was a tear that's barely visible." The Population and Immigration Authority responded to the claims in a statement which read: "One of the main functions of a border controller is to ensure that the passport presented by the traveler is in order and not defective in any way whatsoever according to all the rules. A controller who does not notice a defect in the passport does not carry out his duty, and this may cause the passenger to encounter various problems abroad and even be arrested by immigration authorities. We will not tolerate the slandering of the Authority or of the workers who did their work in accordance with the law, and any such slander will not lack for a response." 6. Airline shutdown leaves Israelis stranded abroadby David Rosenberg Over 110,000 passengers were left abroad after one of Great Britain’s largest airline companies collapsed Monday, leaving thousands stranded and forced to purchase return flights at their own expense. Monarch Airlines announced Monday that it had ceased all operations, effective immediately. “[W]e are sorry to inform you that, as of 2 October 2017, all future holidays and flights provided by these companies have been cancelled and are no longer operating,” a message on the company’s website reads. Monarch acknowledged that the sudden closure was “unprecedented” and left thousands of passengers stranded abroad. “This is an unprecedented situation and because there are up to 110,000 passengers abroad, the UK Government has asked the CAA to coordinate flights back to the UK for all Monarch customers currently overseas. These new flights will be at no extra cost to you.” But Monarch’s promise of a free return flight did not extend to non-UK residents visiting Great Britain, or other travelers who had travelled elsewhere abroad with layovers in London on Monarch flights. Passengers stranded in the UK or elsewhere abroad must now book new flights home – at their own expense. Israeli travelers stranded in the UK have been offered return flights to Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv for $159 apiece from Wizz Air. Hundreds of Israeli travelers are believed to be stranded in the UK. Prior to its collapse, Monarch Airlines operated six weekly flights between Israel and the UK. Company representatives in Tel Aviv expressed shock at Monarch's abrupt termination of operations. “We are in shock," one representative told Haaretz. "This is a black morning for all of us. We are trying to figure out what to do with Israeli customers, and who will pay for the alternative flights customers will apparently have to book." Monarch CEO apologized for the company’s abrupt closure, acknowledging that there would significant disruptions for customers. “I am so sorry that thousands now face a cancelled holiday or trip, possible delays getting home and huge inconvenience as a result of our failure,” Monarch CEO Andrew Swaffield said. “I am truly sorry that it has ended like this.” “We are working with the joint administrators and the CAA to do everything we possibly can to help minimise disruption where we can, but are under no illusion as to the problems this will cause.” In addition to the thousands of passengers already abroad, some 300,000 travelers had booked flights with Monarch which have now been cancelled. Monarch’s collapse is the largest British airline failure to date. Some 2,500 Monarch employees were laid off as a result of the closure. 7. 'Time to throw pro-terror Arab MK out of the Knesset'by Hezki Baruch Communication Minister Ayoub Kara (Likud) has called for a member of the Arab Joint List party to be stripped of his Knesset seat after he participated in a celebration marking the release of a convicted terrorist from prison. Speaking with Arutz Sheva, Kara said the Knesset should strip MK Abd al-Hakim Haj Yahya of his seat, after it was revealed that Haj Yahya took part in a celebration last week for Mohammed Khalf, a resident of Jatt who was freed after a 12-year prison sentence for terror activity. According to a report by Yediot Ahronot, Khalf had become involved in terror through his acquaintance with a Hamas terrorist by the name of Wael Zakala, whom Khalf employed in his carpentry business. Zakala introduced Khalf to the terror cell in which he was involved. “As time passed, Khalf began to help Zakala’s terror cell more and more, including trying to obtain weapons for it,” the report reads. “The beginning of 2005 saw a gradual increase in cooperation between the two. Zakala, who saw that he was having difficulty obtaining materials in the Samaria region for the preparation of explosive devices for his terrorist cell, asked Khalf to take advantage of his access to such substances as an Israeli citizen. In March 2005, Khalf purchased materials used to manufacture explosives, including potassium and sulfur, and hid them in paper bags, traveling to Tulkarm to hand them over to the Zakala.” Following the revelation, Minister Kara spoke with Arutz Sheva, calling for Haj Yahya’s removal from the Knesset. “We need to remove terror collaborators who meet with terrorists from the Knesset; nothing less will do.” Haj Yahya’s participation in the terrorist’s release party, added Kara, constituted an act of defiance “against Israel’s law enforcement authorities.” “We need to come up with laws to deal with terrorism; to illustrate that Western laws – including those of Israel – have no answer [to the problem of terrorism]. We need to make our laws fit the reality of the Middle East.” Deputy Speaker of the Knesset Nava Boker (Likud) also called for Haj Yahya’s removal from the Knesset. “We need to throw him out of the Israeli Knesset. How long will we keep paying terror supporters?” 8. Catalan government: 90% voted for independenceby Arutz Sheva Staff Catalonia's leader Carles Puigdemont said on Sunday night that the region won the right to break away from Spain, as his government claimed that 90 percent of voters backed independence in a referendum that is not recognized by the Spanish government. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy declared the Sunday plebiscite had been blocked, saying "today there has not been a self-determination referendum in Catalonia," AFP reported. At least 92 people were confirmed injured out of a total of 844 who needed medical attention, Catalan authorities said, as police cracked down on the vote, which Spain's central government branded a "farce". The interior ministry said 33 police required treatment as a result of the clashes. The violence raised alarm abroad and further heightened tensions between Rajoy's government and the authorities in Catalonia in the worst political crisis in Spain in decades. Rajoy called the vote a process that "only served to sow division, push citizens to confrontation and the streets to revolt", but left the door potentially open to negotiations on greater autonomy for the region, noted AFP. Puigdemont, who governs Catalonia, said in an address after polls closed, "With this day of hope and suffering, the citizens of Catalonia have won the right to an independent state in the form of a republic." He urged the European Union to stop looking "the other way" following the police crackdown. In a press briefing, regional government spokesman Jordi Turull said 2.02 million Catalans voted for independence, or a 42.3 percent turnout. He added that "90 percent" of the votes cast said “yes”, while 7.8 percent said "no" to the question: "Do you want Catalonia to become an independent state in the form of a republic?" A further two percent cast a blank vote, he added, and 0.5 percent of ballots were void. 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