Israeli-Palestinian negotiations move forward despite terror attack
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to move forward with peace negotiations with the Palestinians despite Monday’s terror attack in which a police officer was killed on his way to a Passover seder with his family.
A meeting between the negotiating teams was pushed back from Wednesday evening and is now scheduled to take place Thursday. The Prime Minister’s Office did not comment on whether the delay was out of respect for the terror victim’s family or if it was simply to better suit the timing of U.S. special envoy Martin Indyk’s arrival in Israel.
The U.S. State Department expressed ongoing support for the peace process on Wednesday evening. State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said that the “bottom line is both parties tell us they want negotiations to continue, and they’re searching for a path to do that.”
Palestinian Authority (PA) Religious Affairs Minister Mahmoud al-Habash warned of the talks’ collapse Wednesday during a joint press conference with a delegation of Israeli Members of Knesset in Ramallah. He added that if the situation remains the same, the PA is likely to fall apart by the end of the year, leaving Israel responsible for the consequences.
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British Airways to add more Tel Aviv-London flights
(JNS.org) Starting next winter, British Airways will increase its number of weekly flights between Tel Aviv and London from 14 to 17, Israel Hayom reported. The purpose of the increase is to give travelers from Israel more convenient arrival times as well as shorter connection times.
Under the new schedule, the first morning flight, a wide-body Boeing 777 aircraft, will depart Ben-Gurion International Airport daily at 7:30 a.m. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, a second morning flight will depart at 10:30 a.m. There will also be a daily flight departing at 4:30 p.m.
Starting this month, British Airways passengers on flights from Israel have been arriving at Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport, considered one of the most luxurious terminals in the world.
A British Airways official in Israel said the increase in flights (around 1,000 extra seats) from Tel Aviv to London was prompted by a rise in demand on the route. The official said that connection times at Heathrow for incoming passengers from Israel would be reduced significantly due to the schedule changes.
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Three Hamas operatives killed in Gaza explosion
(JNS.org) Three operatives of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas were killed and five moderately to seriously wounded in an explosion near Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday.
According to Palestinian media outlets, the blast apparently occurred during the assembly of an explosive device in a building belonging to the Hamas military wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades.
Hamas Interior Ministry spokesman Eyad al-Bozom said Hamas was conducting an investigation into the cause of the blast, Israel Hayom reported.
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Hunt for terrorist continues as Israeli killed on way to Passover seder laid to rest
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) The Israel Defense Forces has entrusted intelligence entities with the investigation into Monday evening’s terror attack that left a high-ranking Israeli police officer dead, after searches in the Palestinian village of Idhna, where the attacker was thought to be hiding, did not lead to an arrest.
Monday’s attack took place about a mile east of the Tarkumia checkpoint, when a terrorist armed with an AK-47 assault rifle opened fire on three vehicles traveling from west to east on Route 35. Baruch Mizrahi, 47, was in the second vehicle and was killed when his car came under fire as he and his family were making their way from Modiin to a Passover seder in Kiryat Arba. Mizrahi’s wife, Hadassah, 41, was moderately wounded in the attack and was rushed to the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem. The couple’s children were unharmed. The first vehicle escaped unscathed and a child traveling in the third car was lightly wounded.
Mizrahi was a chief superintendent in the Israel Police. Hundreds attended Mizrahi’s funeral on Wednesday in the section of Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl cemetery reserved for police officers. His wife said, “Baruch, my love, it does not make sense to me how I ended up in this situation, where I am separated from you, where I am eulogizing you. Instead of growing old together as we planned and raising our children—Sharon, Einav, Itai, Nadav and Yuval—enjoying the seasons as they pass, enjoying tranquility, with the whistle of a bullet I lost the love of my life.”
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