Netanyahu to Abbas: Choose between peace with Hamas or Israel
(JNS.org) On Wednesday, a delegation representing Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at reconciliation talks with Hamas in Gaza indicated that a major breakthrough had been achieved. Spokesmen on both sides indicated that a Palestinian unity government would be established within five weeks, and that parliamentary elections would be held within months.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Abbas must choose whether he wants peace with the terrorist group Hamas or peace with Israel.
“I hope he chooses peace [with Israel]; so far he hasn’t done so,” Netanyahu said, according to Israel Hayom.
The prime minister added that, “Every time we get to that point [of peace negotiations with the Palestinians], Abu Mazen (Abbas) stacks on additional conditions which he knows that Israel cannot give. So instead of moving into peace with Israel, he’s moving into peace with Hamas.”
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Palestinians suspected of torching terror victim’s memorial
(JNS.org) A memorial monument for Gilad Zar—a 41-year-old Israeli security officer for the Shomron Regional Council who was shot dead by Palestinian terrorists in May 2001—was torched Tuesday, apparently by Palestinians.
“This is the way of our Arab enemies,” said Itai Zar, who in 2002 established the Jewish community of Havat Gilad in memory of his slain brother, according to Israel Hayom. “First they murder and then they burn the memorial monuments.”
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France withholds funds slated for Israeli association beyond Green Line
(JNS.org) French parliamentarian Meyer Habib was recently informed that a financial grant he initiated for an Israeli association in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo has been withheld because the organization sits just beyond the Green Line, Israel Hayom reported.
In December 2013, Habib—who was selected about a year ago to represent French citizens living in Middle Eastern countries—received the French government’s permission to grant $4,100 to the Daat Menachem association, which provides assistance to French-Israeli students studying in Jerusalem. French parliamentarians may offer financial contributions as part of their authority.
Habib said the decision to withhold the funds unfairly distinguished among Jerusalem residents.
“The decision is shocking, unfair, and works to ostracize residents of Jerusalem and Gilo in particular,” Habib wrote in a letter to French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius. “Everybody knows that no matter what agreement is reached [with the Palestinians], the neighborhood of Gilo will remain a part of the State of Israel.”
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Record 1.3 million passengers travel through Ben-Gurion Airport during Passover
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) A record 1.3 million passengers passed through Israel’s Ben-Gurion International Airport on more than 8,200 flights during the Passover holiday, a 30-percent increase from 2013.
Turkey was the top destination, with 107,464 passengers traveling there from Israel. The U.S. came in second, with 82,538 visitors from Israel, followed by Italy (68,007), Germany (67,587), and France (65,590).
Shmuel Zakai, the director of the airport, said the increase in the number of travelers to Europe was due to the implementation of the “Open Skies” agreement signed by Israel with the European Union (EU), which allows for more flights and cheaper prices between the Jewish stare and EU countries.
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