Arutz Sheva Daily Israel Report
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Friday, Mar. 25 '16, Adar Bet 15, 5776
HEADLINES:
1. WATCH: VIDEO CONFIRMS CLAIMS BY SOLDIER WHO KILLED TERRORIST
2. DEAL OR NO DEAL, CONGRESS CAN STILL LEAD THE FIGHT AGAINST IRAN
3. REPEAT STABBING FOILED IN HEVRON
4. BELGIUM ADMITS: WE MESSED UP
5. UN DEMANDS 'SWIFT JUSTICE' AFTER 'GRUESOME' KILLING OF TERRORIST
6. CRUZ FURIOUSLY RIPS TRUMP AS 'A SNIVELING COWARD'
7. PM SLAMS SOLDIER, LIBERMAN ATTACKS 'HYPOCRITICAL ONSLAUGHT'
8. SAMARIA BUSINESSMEN CHECK OUT THE FRENCH BOYCOTT
1. WATCH: VIDEO CONFIRMS CLAIMS BY SOLDIER WHO KILLED TERRORIST
by Arutz Sheva Staff
[video:2013842]
After an onslaught of condemnation from across the political spectrum against the soldier who killed a wounded terrorist, a witness present at the scene of Thursday's stabbing attack in Hevron has corroborated a key element of his defense.
The soldier, who is now under investigation, claims that he feared the terrorist was carrying a suicide bomb vest, noting that the terrorist was wearing a thick coat despite the heat, possibly to conceal an explosive device.
An activist from the left-wing NGO B'Tselem recorded part of the incident and publicized a video clip showing the soldier shooting the terrorist in the head.
A civilian paramedic, who responded to the stabbing attack on Thursday in which two Arabs wounded a soldier, has stated that those present at the scene feared that one of the neutralized terrorists was armed with a suicide bomb vest, and was attempting to activate it when the soldier opened fire.
The witness recalled the moments immediately after the attack.
"I was at home when all of the sudden I got an [emergency] call on the radio," the paramedic told NRG.
"I ran down [to the scene] and saw a civilian holding his hand to a soldier's shoulder in an attempt to stop the bleeding. There were two terrorists lying down nearby; one next to the soldier and one about 15 yards away."
"As we started to treat him [the soldier] someone started shouting 'Look out, look out! He's trying to blow himself up. Get the bomb squad.'"
"That's what people were yelling there; I heard it with my own ears. If the video had recorded the sounds at the scene," the witness said, referring to the video recording released by B'Tselem, "you'd be able to hear it as well."
Binyamin Malka, the attorney representing the soldier under investigation, noted that his client had an outstanding record as a combat soldier.
"Unfortunately," said Malka, "the soldier is getting tried by the public before getting the right to defend himself, and all because of a video distributed by some left-wing activists."
Malka noted that the video did not include a recording of the sound from the incident.
A second video released on Friday corroborates the central claims of the soldier's argument. Taken on site with audio, at least one person at the location can be clearly heard warning others to steer clear of the wounded terrorist, due to a possible suicide bomb vest.
While a team of paramedics transported the wounded soldier to an ambulance, they noticed that the wounded terrorist was alive and moving.
"The terrorist is still alive!", one man shouted. "Don't let him attack us!"
A second individual, presumably a soldier, responded, warning others to take note that the terrorist was alive and appeared to be armed with an explosive device.
"He looks like he has an explosive pack, watch out. Until the bomb squad comes, don't touch him," he told paramedics.
2. DEAL OR NO DEAL, CONGRESS CAN STILL LEAD THE FIGHT AGAINST IRAN
by Ari Soffer, Washington DC
[youtube:2013845]
The nuclear agreement with Iran may be a done deal, but Congressman Lee Zeldin (R-NY) says the battle against the Islamic regime's aggressive policies - including sponsoring global terrorism and expanding its control over the Middle East - is far from over.
Zeldin, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has been one of the legislators leading efforts following the nuclear deal to keep the heat on Tehran.
Just recently, he co-sponsored a bill tightening inspections of Iranian ships and airlines. Under the existing law, the President is required to report to Congress - on an annual basis - on sea and air traffic into Iran which could have violated international sanctions. The law expires on December 31. The new bill, if passed, would extend the law for another three years, and would also add a new requirement that the Administration report to Congress all efforts the State Department has made to encourage other countries to prohibit the use of air space and airports by sanctioned Iranian air carriers.
Speaking to Arutz Sheva earlier this week, Zeldin said Congress must keep up the pressure on Iran regardless of the deal - an agreement which he insisted isn't worth the paper it's written on.
"Not only is this not a treaty or an executive agreement, (but) Secretary (of State John) Kerry calls it a 'political commitment,' and has admitted that it hasn't even been signed.
"This isn't really a deal - the Iranians haven't even put pen to paper on it yet."
Worse still, he noted that Congress has yet to be briefed on the verification agreement between the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Iran - leaving serious question marks over the reliability of the mechanisms in place to ensure Iran complies.
That - in addition to "a whole lot of other bad activity by Iran," such as continuing to act as the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world - requires a tough response from the US, Zeldin says.
"We need to understand that this is a country that doesn't respect weakness, they only respect strength," he said. "The leverage which brings them to the table is sanctions, so we need to strengthen the sanctions if we want to deal with any of its other bad activity."
In addition, he says the US should work to weaken Iran's regional allies - in particular its proxies Hezbollah and Hamas - as well as undermining Tehran's key alliances with Russia and China.
In a veiled swipe at the Obama administration's policy of detente with Iran, Zeldin stated that such tough policies are the only way to curb Iran's belligerent foreign policy.
"The Iranians will not come to the table because they believe they are good world citizens - that's just not reality."
3. REPEAT STABBING FOILED IN HEVRON
by Ari Yashar
A female Arab terrorist carrying a knife in her bag was arrested on Friday morning at an IDF post in Hevron, where a stabbing attack took place on Thursday morning in which a soldier was lightly wounded.
It would appear that the knife-wielding Arab woman was planning to conduct a stabbing of her own; the incident is currently being investigated.
In Thursday's attack, two Arab terrorists approached and pounced on a soldier at the same guard post adjacent to the Tel Rumeida neighborhood, stabbing and moderately wounding him before being shot dead.
The soldier was evacuated to Shaare Tzedek Hospital in Jerusalem where his condition stabilized and improved, and he was reclassified as being lightly wounded.
The stabbing gained widespread attention given that a camerawoman of the radical leftist NGO B'Tselem filmed a soldier medic shooting one of the terrorists in the head as he lay on the ground neutralized. The soldier was arrested and investigated based on the footage.
Countering the widespread accusations against him leveled by nearly all politicians and top levels of the military brass, the soldier explained that he saw the terrorist move and feared he was about to detonate a suicide bomb belt, given suspicions that the terrorist was hiding explosives under his coat which he wore despite the warm weather.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu joined widespread condemnation of the soldier on Wednesday night, saying, "what happened in Hevron does not represent the values of the IDF. The IDF expects its soldiers to act with self-control and in accordance with the open-fire regulations."
In the soldier's defense, Yisrael Beytenu chairperson MK Avigdor Liberman said, "this onslaught against the soldier is hypocritical and unjustified, and it is better to have a soldier who makes a mistake and stays alive than a soldier who hesitates and the terrorist kills him."
4. BELGIUM ADMITS: WE MESSED UP
by Ari Yashar
The government of Belgium on Thursday admitted it could have done more to prevent Tuesday's Islamic State (ISIS) bombings in Brussels, as Prime Minister Charles Michel refused to accept the resignation tendered by two ministers over the fiasco.
Interior Minister Jan Jambon and Justice Minister Koen Geens offered to step down in recognition of their shortcomings in not stopping the bombings at Zaventem Airport and a metro station, in which at least 31 people were murdered and 250 others were wounded.
After having his resignation rejected, Geens admitted to reporters that authorities "don't have to be proud about what happened," and added, "we perhaps did things we should not have done," reports Associated Press on Friday.
Serious questions about the handling of the threat were raised after it was revealed the attack was conducted by the same ISIS cell responsible for last November's Paris attacks in which 130 people were murdered. Leaders of the cell hailed from the Molenbeek neighborhood of Brussels.
The ministers also specifically noted on Turkey's revelation Wednesday that it had warned Belgium last year about Brahim El Bakraoui, one of the suicide bombers, after he was arrested infiltrating the border with Syria. However, Belgium failed to act on the warnings.
Speaking on Belgian TV about who was to blame for the failure to act on the Turkish warning, Geens said, "it is clear it is not one single person, but it is true that we could have expected from Ankara or Istanbul a more diligent communication, we think, that perhaps could have avoided certain things."
"Our own services should perhaps have been more critical about the place where the person had been detained," he added, noting on the Turkish border with Syria. "We have to be very self-critical."
In fact Turkey was not the only country to reveal it had warned Belgium.
Reports on Wednesday found that Israel had provided Belgium with concrete information on security breaches at the Zaventem Airport, and informed them that "there are serious security deficiencies at the airport in Brussels."
Then on Thursday sources revealed the US had the two suicide bomber El Bakraoui brothers on its terror watch lists.
The two brothers had tracked the Belgian nuclear chief and secretly video taped him, evidently as part of preparations for an attack on nuclear reactors in the country that in the end was scrapped as the terrorists rushed their plans ahead, following the arrest last Friday of Salah Abdeslam, a key leader of the Paris attacks.
5. UN DEMANDS 'SWIFT JUSTICE' AFTER 'GRUESOME' KILLING OF TERRORIST
by Arutz Sheva Staff
The United Nations condemned on Friday the killing of a wounded Arab terrorist by an Israeli soldier in the city of Hevron a day before, after a video of the death was spread online.
"I strongly condemn yesterday's apparent extra-judicial execution of a Palestinian assailant in Hebron in the occupied West Bank," UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East peace process Nickolay Mladenov said in a statement.
"This was a gruesome, immoral and unjust act that can only fuel more violence and escalate an already volatile situation."
Mladenov called on the Israeli authorities to "swiftly bring to justice" the soldier involved in the incident.
The Israeli army on Thursday arrested the soldier caught on video shooting a wounded terrorist in the head as he lay on the ground after stabbing another soldier.
The viral video clip, which was recorded by the far-left B'Tselem organization, has been disputed by witnesses on the scene, who argue that the video, which was taken at a distance and lacks audio, misrepresents the situation.
The soldier claimed that the terrorist appeared to be wearing a suicide bomb vest, and he feared the terrorist was trying to activate the explosive device.
A witness told NRG that there indeed was concern among those on the scene that the terrorist was carrying a bomb.
An attorney representing the soldier noted that despite the warm weather, in the video the terrorist can be seen wearing a heavy sweater – often a sign of a concealed bomb vest.
On Friday a second video emerged taken at the scene of the terror attack, in which several people on site express concern that the terrorist "looks like he has an explosive pack," warning others to keep clear of him until a bomb sapper arrives.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the soldier, saying that his behavior was not in keeping with the army's values. Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon vowed that the incident was being treated with "utmost severity."
Former foreign minister Avigdor Liberman defended the soldier, saying it was "hypocritical and unfair to gang up against the soldier."
"Better a soldier who makes a mistake but stays alive than a soldier who gets killed by a terrorist because he hesitated," he said.
AFP contributed to this report
6. CRUZ FURIOUSLY RIPS TRUMP AS 'A SNIVELING COWARD'
by David Rosenberg
The simmering rivalry between Republican frontrunner Donald Trump and Texas Senator Ted Cruz exploded this week as the candidates' wives were dragged into the mudslinging.
The fracas began when a PAC unaffiliated with any candidate publicized racy photographs of Trump's wife Melania. The "Make America Awesome" PAC, which is dedicated solely to preventing Donald Trump from reaching the 1,237 delegates necessary to secure the nomination, does not back either of his two remaining GOP rivals.
A picture from a GQ photo shoot in 2000 was used by the PAC ahead of Tuesday's Utah caucus in an effort to discourage the state's conservative caucus-goers from supporting the New York billionaire.
PACs or political action committees, are prohibited by law from coordinating their efforts with candidates or their campaigns. That did not stop Trump, however, from accusing Cruz of orchestrating the PAC's use of his wife's image.
"Lyin' Ted Cruz just used a picture of Melania from a G.Q shoot in his ad."
Trump continued with a threat directed at Cruz's wife, Heidi.
"Be careful, Lyin' Ted, or I will spill the beans on your wife!"
Liz Mair, head of the PAC responsible for the ads featuring Melania's picture, stated explicitly that Cruz was not involved in the ad campaign.
Cruz blasted Trump for the threat, calling him "a coward" and "classless".
But denials by Cruz and Mair failed to settle the matter. On Wednesday Trump brought the matter up again on Twitter.
"Lyin' Ted Cruz denied that he had anything to do with G.Q. model photo post of Melania. That's why we call him Lyin' Ted!"
On Thursday Trump mocked Cruz's wife when he retweeted a side-by-side comparison of Melania Trump with an unflattering picture of Heidi Cruz, with the text "No need to spill the beans, the images are worth a thousand words".
Cruz responded angrily on Thursday, writing "Donald, real men don't attack women".
When reporters asked Cruz about the tussle, the Texas Senator called Trump was visibly upset.
"Donald, you're a sniveling coward. Leave Heidi the hell alone."
7. PM SLAMS SOLDIER, LIBERMAN ATTACKS 'HYPOCRITICAL ONSLAUGHT'
by Hezki Ezra, Ido Ben-Porat
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu joined the series of figures condemning an IDF soldier, who was filmed by a camerawoman of the radical leftist NGO B'Tselem shooting an Arab terrorist who had been neutralized in Hevron on Wednesday.
The terrorist was one of two who stabbed and moderately wounded a soldier at the site before being shot and killed. In the footage, one of the terrorists is seen lying on the ground and moving slightly. After a few minutes the soldier cocks his weapon and shoots him in the head.
The soldier has been arrested and an investigation launched against him, but his family argues that he feared the terrorist had a suicide belt concealed under his coat, which he wore despite it being a warm day.
Netanyahu on Wednesday night added his criticism of the soldier, saying, "what happened in Hevron does not represent the values of the IDF. The IDF expects its soldiers to act with self-control and in accordance with the open-fire regulations."
Meanwhile the soldier's lawyer Binyamin Malka spoke to Arutz Sheva, and said his client is certain that he acted correctly, noting that he was known to be an outstanding soldier in his military service.
Malka says he spoke to the soldier's family, adding, "we are certain his innocence will be proven. He did the right thing, in the right time and at the right place. This is an outstanding combat soldier who graduated a course for combat medics, whose entire existence comes from a place of loving the land."
Explaining his decision to represent the soldier, the attorney said, "I said in the past, and say now, and it will be my guide in the future: I am captain (res.) Binyamin Malka, I will not abandon soldiers in the field. I will always stand besides those who defend this land - (they are) the pillar of fire that stands before the camp and protects my family."
[youtube:2013828]
Also backing the soldier was MK Avigdor Liberman, chairman of the Yisrael Beytenu party, who was one of only three MKs in the nationalist camp to come out in the soldier's defense - the other two were MKs Oren Hazan (Likud) and Betzalel Smotrich (Jewish Home).
It may be that the soldier was right or that he was wrong in his decision to shoot the terrorist, said Liberman, emphasizing, "that will be checked by the appropriate sources in the IDF."
"But what is already clear now is that this onslaught against the soldier is hypocritical and unjustified, and it is better to have a soldier who makes a mistake and stays alive than a soldier who hesitates and the terrorist kills him," said the MK.
Addressing the head of the Arab Joint List party, Liberman added, "as for Ayman Odeh who accused Israel of conducting executions, I propose that he move to live in Syria or join Hezbollah where he will be able to enjoy the Arab democracy he deserves."
Smotrich for his part condemned Netanyahu's immediate criticism of the soldier, writing on Twitter, "it's too bad that Netanyahu is closing ranks with the leftist politically correct. Morally speaking, a terrorist who tried to murder Jews is a dead man."
"Enough, stop already," Hazan responded. "Let the mother of a terrorist cry and not a Jewish mother. A combat soldier, a heroic medic, neutralized a murderer and said 'there was concern that he would blow up with an explosive.' I believe him. Period."
Bentzi Gopshtain, director of the Lehava anti-assimilation group, wrote on Facebook that the soldier should get an honorary citation for shooting the terrorist, adding, "better a soldier in jail and a dead terrorist than a dead soldier and a terrorist in jail."
8. SAMARIA BUSINESSMEN CHECK OUT THE FRENCH BOYCOTT
by Yoni Kempinski
A delegation of businessmen from Samaria headed out to Paris last week in order to see for themselves how the boycott targeting Jewish products from their region is playing out.
The delegation met with directors of French marketing chains, French members of parliament, and even tried to contact members of the BDS boycott movement in the country to investigate their motives.
French MP Claude Goasguen met with the delegation and told them, "in France there is a law against the boycott that is strictly enforced. France chose not to label products despite the instructions from the European Union on the topic."
His comment references the discriminatory EU decision to label Jewish products from Judea, Samaria and the Golan Heights.
Accompanying the heads of business from his region was Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan, who told Goasguen that "France and Israel have a lot in common, and we should join hands."
He also spoke about the coexistence in factories in Samaria, where Palestinian and Israeli workers are employed and work together under the same conditions.
Ami Guy, the owner of Shamir Salads who also took part in the French trip, said, "in France I had my feelings confirmed that the BDS movement does not work against Judea and Samaria but rather against the entire state of Israel."
Guy noted that the trip led to increased business cooperation with France, and that it was an important action in terms of advancing Israel's position.
The businessmen likewise searched for their products on shelves in French stores and looked for EU labeling on them.
Video from the meetings in Hebrew and French can be viewed below.
[video:2013840]
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