Palestinian terrorist indicted for fatally stabbing Israeli woman in Alon Shvut
(JNS.org) An indictment for murder was filed Sunday at the Samaria Military Court against Maher Hamdi al-Ashalmoun, the Palestinian terrorist who fatally stabbed 26-year-old Israeli woman Dahlia Lemkus last month at the entrance to the community of Alon Shvut in Gush Etzion.
According to the indictment, al-Ashalmoun drove up to an intersection and then sped into the passenger pick-up area on the side of the road, running over Lemkus. He then exited the car and stabbed her 20 times until she died. The prosecutor has requested that al-Ashalmoun’s remand be extended until the end of court proceedings.
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Israeli Knesset committee approves $3 million tourism center in Samaria
(JNS.org) The Knesset Finance Committee on Sunday voted to allocate $3.1 million to build a tourism center in the Jewish community of Barkan in Samaria. Committee members from the Likud, Habayit Hayehudi, and Yisrael Beiteinu parties voted in favor of funding the center.
“The visitors’ center in question is a crucial asset for Israel,” Likud MK Gila Gamliel said, according to Israel Hayom. “It’s intended to present scientific exhibits to thousands of young people and school pupils.”
Responding to criticism of the vote’s result by Labor MK Erel Margalit, Finance Committee Chairman MK Nissan Slomiansky (Habayit Hayehudi) said that “450,000 people live in Judea and Samaria, and they also deserve to lead their lives.”
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Palestinian man tries to stab IDF soldier at checkpoint
(JNS.org) A Palestinian man tried to stab an Israel Defense Forces soldier at the Nitzanei Oz checkpoint near the West Bank city of Tulkarem on Monday morning. Soldiers at the scene thwarted the stabbing attempt and arrested the attacker.
No one was injured in the incident.
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Jordan: Palestinian U.N. measure on Israeli withdrawal ‘will take time’
(JNS.org) While the Palestinian Authority is seeking that its Jordan-backed resolution on United Nations-imposed Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank come up for debate soon at the U.N. Security Council, Jordanian Ambassador to the U.N. Dina Kawar said, “The matter will take time.”
The Jordanians are working with France and the U.K. to formulate a proposal that will avoid a U.S. veto. While the U.S. has called the current wording of the Palestinian measure unacceptable, America may be open to a Security Council resolution that calls for renewed Israeli-Palestinian talks without mandating a deadline for an “end to the occupation,” as the current resolution states.
“There is no sense of urgency [on the Palestinian resolution],” an anonymous diplomat said, according to Israel Hayom.
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Israel strikes terror target in Gaza in response to rocket attack
(JNS.org) The Israeli Air Force struck Gaza-based Hamas terrorist infrastructure in response to a rocket fired at southern Israel on Friday.
Earlier in the day, residents of the Eshkol Regional Council, an Israeli community located close to the border with Gaza, reported blasts. The Israel Defense Forces later discovered that a rocket had landed in an open area, marking the third Gaza rocket to land in Israel since this summer’s 50-day war between Israel and Hamas.
“Israel’s security takes precedence over everything and I will not ignore the firing of even one rocket,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday night. “Therefore, the air force responded to this firing by destroying a cement factory that was serving to rebuild the tunnels that we hit in Operation Protective Edge. Hamas bears the responsibility for any escalation. We will safeguard Israel’s security.”
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Hamas reportedly rebuilding its terror tunnels and rocket arsenal
(JNS.org) Hamas has reportedly renewed work on its terror tunnels, using building materials transferred from Israel for the reconstruction of civilian structures in Gaza following this summer’s war.
According to Yedioth Ahronoth, Palestinian sources inside of Gaza said that after Israel allowed a limited flow of goods and materials into Gaza, a black market for mortar paste emerged that allowed Hamas to renew construction of concrete slabs used to line the inside of tunnels. Hamas has also started to rebuild its rocket arsenal from “dual-use” materials such as iron, which is being smuggled through the Egyptian border or by sea.
Yedioth Ahronoth also reported that Hamas is formulating a new strategy for infiltrating Israel during the next round of fighting due to the success of the Iron Dome missile defense system in intercepting Hamas rockets.
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Israeli students take first prize in international robotics competition
(JNS.org) A group of students from the southern Israeli city of Yeruham won the top prize at the FIRST Tech Challenge robotics competition, held in Chicago last week.
The Israeli team—which calls itself the “Y Team” and comprises some 30 students from the Yeruham Sci-Tech school—was represented by Racheli Amar (10th grade), Itai Seif (9th grade), and their mentor, Reuven Stahl.
Competitors in this year’s competition were asked to build and program an 18-inch by 18-inch robot that would pick up scattered whiffle balls and place them in tubes of varying heights of up to 35 inches. The robot had to move autonomously for 30 seconds, after which the team could control it for two minutes.
The Israeli team developed a creative solution—a robot that holds the tallest tube, which provides the highest points, and suctions the balls in.
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Israel grants Palestinian Christians travel visas for Christmas
(JNS.org) Israel has granted travel visas to Palestinian Christians ahead of Christmas.
According to the Israel Defense Forces, 700 Palestinian Christians living in Gaza will be able to visit family members in Israel or the West Bank. Additionally, 500 Palestinian Christians from the West Bank will be allowed to travel to Gaza to visit family there, and 200 Palestinian Christians from Gaza and the West Bank will be allowed to travel abroad for the same purpose via Israel’s Ben-Gurion Airport.
Israel maintains restrictions on Palestinian travel from the West Bank and Gaza due to security concerns. The IDF said the Christmas visas are “confidence-building measures” with the Palestinian Christian population.
Gaza has an estimated Christian population of 1,000-2,000 that is dwindling under pressure from Hamas’s Islamist policies. While the West Bank is home to a larger number of Christians, their numbers have also decreased under similar pressure from Palestinian Authority rule. Meanwhile, Israel is home to one of the few remaining growing Mideast Christian communities, comprising around 161,000 people.
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Chabad public menorah commemorates Sydney terror attack victims
(JNS.org) Chabad-Lubavitch set up a 32-foot-tall Hanukkah menorah in downtown Sydney to commemorate the victims of the recent jihadist siege on the Australian city’s Lindt cafe.
The menorah—placed in Martin Square in Sydney’s central business district, where the terror attack occurred and the site of Chabad’s annual public menorah for the last 30 years—was rededicated to the victims after community leaders and local authorities canceled a Dec. 18 Hanukkah celebration while the city recovered from the attack.
Two hostages were killed and four more were injured in the 16-hour siege on the cafe by Iranian jihadist Man Haron Monis. A sign placed at the foot of the Chabad menorah reads, “The Jewish community of Australia expresses our deepest sympathy for the families of the Martin Place tragedy. May the lights of the festival of Chanukah bring comfort and warmth to our nation.”
“As we mourn the loss of life and the atrocity that has taken place, people of goodwill will continue to shine the light of freedom and communal harmony, which is what the Chanukah menorah is all about,” said Rabbi Elimelech Levy, the local Chabad emissary.
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Jewish architect wins prestigious lifetime achievement award (Corrects previous)
(JNS.org) The American Institute of Architects (AIA) awarded Jewish architect Moshe Safdie—an Israeli, Canadian, and American citizen—with its 2015 Gold Medal, which is considered the most prestigious award for lifetime achievement in the field of architecture.
Safdie’s notable projects include the Habitat ’67 structure for the 1967 World Exposition in Montreal, the Marina Bay Sands hotel in Singapore, the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem, the Khalsa Heritage Memorial, the main branch of the Salt Lake City Library, and the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Arkansas.
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Christian-Jewish group sends delegation to aid Ukrainian Jews in distress
(JNS.org) A delegation from the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ) landed in Ukraine last week to provide aid to poverty-stricken Jews. IFCJ has allocated a special budget of $5.1 million to provide food, clothing, and heating for Ukrainian Jews in need.
“When the Ukrainian revolution began, many people lost their jobs,” said IFCJ President Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein said, according to Israel Hayom. “The government stopped old-age stipends or cut them back, and the Jewish institutions have been forced to use most of their budgets for security following anti-Semitic incidents and incitement.”
IFCJ has also helped move refugees from the conflict zone in eastern Ukraine to camps in the western part of the country.
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