Jewish news briefs: July 31, 2015

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Poll: 76% of Israelis think Israel needs to continue fighting Iran nuclear deal
(JNS.org) More than three-quarters of the Israeli public believes that Israel needs to press on with efforts to torpedo the Iran nuclear deal, a new Israel Hayom survey conducted by New Wave Research revealed.

According to the poll, 76 percent of Hebrew-speaking Jewish Israelis believe Israel should continue fighting the deal, while only 15 percent think that Israel should not fight it.

In the survey—a random selection of 500 individuals over the age of 18—the Israeli public’s decisiveness on the nuclear issue was also reflected in the general opinion regarding President Barack Obama, who is seen as having led world powers toward the agreement with Iran. Asked whether they thought Obama was looking out for Israel’s interests, 73 percent said no, and only 20 percent believe Obama had Israel’s best interest at heart.

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Hamas threatens terror attacks, ‘day of rage’ after killing of Palestinian toddler
(JNS.org) The Hamas terrorist group said that every Israeli is now a legitimate target in the wake of a terror attack that killed a Palestinian toddler.

Hamas has also called for a “day of rage” in order to “protect the al-Aqsa Mosque,” the Jerusalem Post reported. Early on Friday, 18-month-old Palestinian boy Ali Dawabsha was killed and three members of his were family injured when a suspected Jewish extremist threw a Molotov cocktail into their home in the Palestinian village of Duma in the northern West Bank.

Israeli leaders were swift to condemn the attack.

“I am shocked by this horrific, heinous act,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. “This is a terror attack in every sense of the word. The State of Israel deals forcefully with terror, regardless of who the perpetrators are.”

Netanyahu said that security forces will “use all the resources at their disposal to capture the killers and bring them to justice as soon as possible.”

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said the attack was a “most severe terrorist act that we cannot tolerate, and we condemn in every way.”
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In wake of Iran nuke deal, Egypt and Saudi Arabia sign mutual defense pact
(JNS.org) In the wake of the Iran nuclear deal, Egypt and Saudi Arabia signed a pact boosting military and economic cooperation between the two leading Arab Sunni Muslim states.

On Thursday, a Saudi delegation led by Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visited Cairo and met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, where they attended a military parade together.

“The two sides stressed the need to exert all efforts to boost security and stability in the region, and to work together to protect Arab national security,” Sisi’s office said, AFP reported.

According to the “Cairo Declaration,” both sides will work towards developing military cooperation, including establishing a Joint Arab Force, as well as enhancing joint cooperation and investment in the fields of energy, electricity and transportation, Al-Ahram reported.

In a possible reference to the threat posed by the Islamic State terror group, both countries also said they will strengthen cooperation in politics, culture and media “to jointly counter the dangers of the current regional destabilization.”

Saudi Arabia has been a key ally of El-Sisi since he ousted Muslim Brotherhood leader and Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi in 2013. As the head of the Arab world’s largest state, the Saudis view El-Sisi as a bulwark against further regional destabilization. El-Sisi has used the nearly $4 billion in aid from Saudi Arabia to bolster his military and fledgling economy to counter the threat of Islamic extremism, especially in the Sinai Peninsula and Libya.

Meanwhile, the U.S. announced that it will deliver eight F-16 fighter jets to Egypt within the next two days, according to a statement from the U.S. Embassy in Cairo. The statement added that an additional four F-16s will be delivered in the fall.
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Netanyahu vows to bring Jerusalem gay pride parade stabber to justice
(JNS.org) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to bring to justice the attacker who stabbed six people at the Jerusalem gay pride parade on Thursday.

“Justice will be dealt to whoever was responsible for this act,” Netanyahu said. “In the State of Israel, an individual’s freedom of choice is one of the country’s most basic values.”

“It is up to us to make sure that every man and woman can live in safety at all times in every way that they choose to live. This is how we work and this is how we will continue to do things. I wish a speedy recovery to all those injured,” Netanyahu added.

Shortly after the parade began, a haredi man, later identified as Yishai Shlissel, began wildly stabbing victims along the parade route, seriously wounding two people, including a 17-year-old girl.

Shlissel was wrestled to the ground and arrested by police. Police confirmed that Shlissel was the same man who stabbed three people in a Jerusalem gay pride parade in 2005 and was just released weeks ago for that crime.

According to the Jerusalem Post, Shlissel had published a handwritten letter a week before the current parade, saying that “it is the obligation of every Jew to keep his soul from punishment and stop this giant desecration of God’s name next Thursday.”

Both of Israel’s chief rabbis condemned the attack. Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau said “the Torah of Israel forbids any act of violence and harming a person, and all the more so a man who harms others and attempts to kill.”
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Israeli general: Israel could attack Islamic State terrorists in Egypt’s Sinai
(JNS.org) Israeli Brigadier General Royi Elcabets said that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) may launch an attack on Islamic State terrorists in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula if it perceives a possible attack on Israeli targets.

The “threat of terror from Sinai” has grown in recent years, Elcabets said at a ceremony marking the end of his two years as commander of the military division controlling Israel’s border with the Sinai, AFPreported.

“It is our duty to preempt it and strike at it, if and when this happens,” he said.

Islamic State terrorists have killed hundreds of Egyptian soldiers and policemen since 2013, and Egypt says its military has killed more than 1,000 such terrorists in the area.

Israel recently “agreed to Egypt’s request to allow more Egyptian forces and devices into Sinai, and provided intelligence to Egypt”—more than the amount stipulated in Israel’s 1979 peace agreement with Israel, noted Elcabets.
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4.3-magnitude earthquake strikes Israel
(JNS.org) A 4.3-magnitude earthquake took place in Israel on Thursday, centering around the Dead Sea and southern Israel. Northern Israeli residents also reported feeling vibrations, but no injuries or damage have been reported.

The earthquake is not the first to occur in Israel this summer, nor the strongest. On June 27, a 5.2-magnitude earthquake whose epicenter was Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula led to tremors that were felt throughout Israel, forcing the Jewish state’s Ben Gurion International Airport to halt flights for 10 minutes.

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