6 Arab teens charged with firebombing Jewish homes
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Six Arab youths from the A-Tur neighborhood in Jerusalem were charged Thursday with hurling rocks and firebombs at homes belonging to Jews in the area. The teens, ages 14-16, are accused of attempted arson and attempting to assault police officers and civilians.
According to the indictments, filed Thursday by the Jerusalem District State Attorney’s Office, between June 2014 and April 2015, the suspects habitually hurled rocks and firebombs into a number of Jewish-owned homes and facilities in A-Tur.
Two of the suspects allegedly targeted the Beit Orot compound, which houses a yeshiva, an events hall, mobile homes, and permanent homes. They also allegedly targeted pedestrians and drivers whom they deemed to be Jewish. The indictment said that the motive for their attacks was nationalistic.
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Israeli ambassador’s infant dies day after birth in quake-ravaged Nepal
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) An Israeli ambassador’s infant born to a surrogate mother in Nepal died on Thursday in a hospital in Kathmandu.
According to the Israeli Foreign Ministry, the infant had been kept in a sealed tent on the grounds of a hospital massively damaged by the recent massive earthquakes that hit the area. The tent, which housed a total of nine babies, was meant to stave off infections.
The baby’s death, coming less than a day after he was born, came nine days after the most recent earthquake in Nepal, which measured 7.3 on the Richter scale. The newborn’s twin, also kept in the tent, has survived. The parents, Israeli Ambassador to Serbia Yossi Levy and his same-sex partner, have an older child who was also born via surrogate.
The cause of death is still under investigation. One possibility is that he died of dehydration, and another is that he suffered from a congenital heart defect. But even if the death was caused by an existing condition, detection and treatment might have been better in a more suitable hospital setting.
Magen David Adom emergency services agency CEO Eli Bin, who is currently in Nepal, said, “I spoke with Yossi’s partner. They are having a very hard time. It is very sad. When you go through a process like this—so long—it can break you. But this is the reality now, and they are thinking ahead.”
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Israel releases 15-year-old footage of Lebanon outpost demolition
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) A decade and a half after Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon, the Israeli Defense Ministry on Wednesday published footage of the demolition of the iconic Beaufort military outpost, which was located at the site of an ancient Crusader fortress on top of a cliff near the Lebanese village of Arnoun.
The video, filmed by an Israeli drone, shows two Israel Defense Forces vehicles leaving the outpost and slowly driving toward Israel. During the journey, the vehicles come under anti-tank, mortar, and light arms fire. Later, the video shows the outpost being destroyed in a huge controlled explosion.
The demolition of Beaufort was perhaps the most dramatic moment of the IDF’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon in May 2000. Beaufort was a symbol of Israel’s 18-year military presence in southern Lebanon, which began during the First Lebanon War in 1982.
Even though it was just three miles from the border with Israel, Beaufort was considered one of the most dangerous IDF outposts in southern Lebanon. The road that provided access to it was steep and passed near the edge of the Israeli-controlled area in southern Lebanon.
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U.S. proposes $1.9 billion military package for Israel
(JNS.org) The United States has proposed a $1.9 billion military package for Israel amid growing concerns over Iran.
The massive package, which was announced by the U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency and must be approved by Congress, includes 750 bunker buster precision-guided bombs and 3,000 Hellfire missiles, among several other items.
“The United States is committed to the security of Israel, and it is vital to U.S. national interests to assist Israel to develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability. This proposed sale is consistent with those objectives,” the Department of Defense said in a statement, adding, “The proposed sale of these munitions will not alter the basic military balance in the region.”
The timing of the American-Israeli deal comes as President Barack Obama promised last week to step up military assistance to Arab Gulf states due to their concerns about Iran’s nuclear program. Similarly, Israel’s concern about Iran is reportedly the reason for America’s increased military aid to the Jewish state.
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Netanyahu to EU foreign policy chief: ‘I support the vision of two states’
(JNS.org) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he is “not for a one-state solution” in a meeting with European Union (EU) foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini on Wednesday.
“I support the vision of two states for two peoples—a demilitarized Palestinian state that recognizes the Jewish state, and I look forward to discussing with you how we can advance that vision forth in a practical, secure, and responsible way,” Netanyahu told Mogherini, adding that his position on the issue “has not changed.”
The prime minister also said that the “peace and security of the region and the world demand that we insist on a better deal” with Iran over its nuclear program. The deadline for a final agreement between Iran and world powers is June 30.
“Because of Lausanne (the Swiss city where the recent framework nuclear deal was reached), the sanctions [against Iran] are already eroding,” said Netanyahu. “In recent weeks, Airbus aircraft have been sold to Iran in direct violation of the sanctions. If pressure is being lifted today, what leverage will remain to ensure that Iran complies tomorrow, when there is no pressure when the sanctions are removed? And the answer, the honest answer is: nothing. Nothing will be left to ensure that Iran complies with the deal or that Iran ceases its aggression and its terror.”
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Swiss court orders Israel to pay Iran $1.1 billion over pre-revolution oil deal
(JNS.org) A court in Switzerland has reportedly ruled that Israel must pay Iran $1.1 billion for not compensating the Islamic Republic for an oil deal agreed upon between the two countries before the 1979 Iranian revolution.
The 1968 deal, conducted at a time of friendly relations between the two countries and when Iran held shares in the Eilat-Ashkelon Pipeline Co., involved the shipping and sale of Iranian oil via the Red Sea port at Eilat. Through this port, the Iranian Oil Company delivered 14.75 million cubic meters of crude oil to Israel’s Trans-Asiatic Oil Ltd. That amount of oil was worth $450 million, according to theIslamic Republic News Agency.
But after the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979, the Iranian government no longer recognized Israel and all the oil contracts with the Jewish state were frozen. Iran proceeded to sue Israel in France and Switzerland, and the current oil deal ruling is not the first one in Iran’s favor. In 1989, another Swiss court ruled that Israel’s Trans-Asiatic Oil Ltd. should pay $500 million to Fimarco Anstalt, a sub-contractor of the Iranian Oil Company.
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FIFA head says Israel should not be booted from world soccer association
(JNS.org) Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) head Sepp Blatter said during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that contrary to Palestinian complaints, Israel has not violated any FIFA statutes and should not be suspended from international soccer’s governing body.
“We should not come to one federation saying we will exclude them,” said Blatter, the Jerusalem Post reported.
“If the national association is fulfilling its obligations then there is no need to intervene,” he said. “I’m on a mission for peace and not on a mission to force anybody to do something. The discussions that I will have with the Palestinians will evoke the messages I have obtained from Israel’s political authorities.”
The Palestinians, who have been members of FIFA since 1998, have initiated a motion at the upcoming FIFA congress on May 28 to bar Israel from international competition over the Jewish state’s alleged restrictions on the movement of soccer players in and out of the disputed territories. The Palestinians also oppose the participation of five soccer clubs located in Judea and Samaria communities in Israeli national championships. The motion will need a three-quarters majority of 209 FIFA members to pass.
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Iran’s Khamenei: no interviews of nuclear scientists, inspection of military sites
(JNS.org) Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has vowed not to allow international inspectors to interview Iran’s nuclear scientists or to inspect military sites under any final agreement with the P5+1 nations.
Khamenei told Iranian military commanders that he will resist any “coercion and excessive demands” by the U.S. and other world powers.
“The impudent and brazen enemy expects that we allow them to talk to our scientists and researchers” but “no inspection of any military site or interview with nuclear scientists will be allowed,” Khamenei said on Iranian state TV, the New York Times reported.
The ayatollah’s statement comes as negotiators from the P5+1—the U.S., U.K., France, Russia, China, and Germany—have gathered in Vienna for a new round of talks to reach a final deal on Iran’s nuclear program by the end of June. The U.S. State Department has said that Iran must allow access to any “suspicious sites” for nuclear inspectors.
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