Hamas official details possible prisoner swap with Israel
(JNS.org) Hamas and Israel may be on the verge of signing a deal that would involve the release of top Hamas officials and operatives in exchange for the remains of fallen Israeli soldiers.
According to a post on Hamas official Mushir al-Masri’s Facebook page, the terrorist organization “has bargaining chips that forced Israel to succumb to Palestinian demands.” Masri was presumably referring to the remains of Israel Defense Forces Sgt. Oron Shaul and Lt. Hadar Goldin, who were killed in Gaza this summer.
“The indirect [Israeli-Palestinian] negotiations mediated by the Egyptians may in the future lead to a new prisoner swap deal in which many Palestinian prisoners are freed,” said Masri.
A senior Hamas official told Israel Hayom, “Even though talks in Cairo won’t take place until next month, work is being done on the ground, messages are constantly being sent between the sides by Egyptian negotiators, and gaps are closing. Still, it’s early to say we are on the brink of signing a prisoner release deal.”
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Israeli defense minister: Hamas has 20% of its weapons stockpile left
(JNS.org) Hamas has “around 20 percent of its rocket and mortar stockpile left” after Operation Protective Edge Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said Monday.
Speaking at a conference hosted by Bar-Ilan University’s BESA Center on the lessons of the 50-day Gaza operation, Ya’alon said, “The success of Operation Protective Edge will have to be measured in time. We need to see how we prevent Hamas and other groups from growing stronger.”
According to Ya’alon, most of the rocket-manufacturing facilities in Gaza were destroyed during the operation, something that will “make it harder for Hamas and Islamic Jihad to return to their course of rearmament as they did after Operation Cast Lead (2008-2009) and Operation Pillar of Defense (2012).”
The defense minister also admitted that Israel’s ground operation to destroy Hamas terror tunnels “took longer than we expected.”
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Islamic State paraphernalia found at home of Israeli Arab teacher
(JNS.org) An Israeli Arab high school teacher was arrested Monday on suspicion of supporting the Islamic State terror organization after a search of his Umm al-Fahm home revealed Islamic State flags and jihadist propaganda materials.
Twenty-four-year-old Mahmoud Mehamid teaches a class on Islam at Atid High School in Kafr Qara. The Hadera Magistrates’ Court remanded him in custody until Wednesday. Local Police Superintendent Shimon Ben-Shabo said the suspect had returned from a trip to Jordan, where he said he got the Islamic State materials, including a flag, scarves, and books.
“A search of the suspect’s house revealed the flag and laptop computers,” Ben-Shabo said, according to Israel Hayom. “He admitted that he had traveled to Jordan for his studies and claimed that the seized items were for his work.”
One of Mehamid’s relatives said that he is the cousin of a young man from Nazareth who left Israel to train with Islamic State in Syria. “This is a young man with no criminal past who recently became very connected to his religion, but not in a jihadist way, just in a religious way,” the relative said.
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Temple-era pilgrimage to Jerusalem making a comeback
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) The Temple-era holiday pilgrimage will make a comeback when some 8,000 people recreate the ancient tradition during a two-day march to Jerusalem over the Sukkot holiday next week.
The Israeli government and the Israel Defense Forces tried to revive the pilgrimage tradition back in the 1950s, establishing the “four-day march” during Sukkot. After 13 years, the march was scaled back to three days, and in 1975 it turned into a symbolic walk around Jerusalem.
This year, the full-scale pilgrimage is back. An initiative of the Mitchabrim (“connecting”) organization and funded by six Israeli government ministries, the march will include every facet of Israeli society, including Israeli Arabs and Druze. Mitchabrim organizers Ram Shmueli and Avihu Soffer said, “The objective is to unify the people and Israeli society in the aftermath of Operation Protective Edge.”
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Israeli rhythmic gymnastics team wins silver medal in Turkey
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Israel’s rhythmic gymnastics team won the country’s first silver medal at the World Championships in Izmir, Turkey, on Sunday.
The Israeli team’s winning routine earned a score of 16.983. Spain won the gold medal with a score of 17.433, and Belarus placed third at 16.60.
This is the second time that Israel’s rhythmic gymnastics team has earned a place on the podium at the World Championships, after winning the bronze medal in 2011 for its hoop and ribbons routine. The team also took home the bronze medal at the last European Championships.
If Israel garners a repeat win at next year’s World Championships, it will qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games.
“The team’s and the gymnasts’ recent streak of success proves that they are among the top in the world in their sport and that gives us high hopes for [the Olympic Games in] Rio in 2016. This is so exciting and it makes our nation proud to make history, in Turkey of all places,” said Israeli Culture and Sport Minister Limor Livnat.
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