Hamas and Islamic Jihad praise terror attacks, yeshiva student stabbed
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) The Palestinian terrorist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad praised Wednesday’s terrorist attacks that targeted Israeli Jews in Jerusalem, Kiryat Gat, and Petah Tikva, calling on Palestinians to commit more attacks. Indeed, after Wednesday’s three stabbing attacks, Thursday brought more of the same, with a Palestinian terrorist stabbing a Jewish yeshiva student in his 20s at a light rail station in Jerusalem’s French Hill neighborhood.
Hamas said the perpetrator of Wednesday’s Kiryat Gat attack, Amjad al-Jundi, was a member of the Gaza-ruling group. Al-Jundi, a resident of the Palestinian village of Yatta near Hebron, was killed in a shootout with security forces who arrived at the scene of the attack.
The Fatah movement, led by Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas, praised the “struggle to defend Al-Aqsa mosque” on the Temple Mount, but at the same time called for the “continuation of popular, unarmed resistance.” PA Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah blamed the recent surge of violence on “the crimes of Israeli settlers.”
In Thursday’s light rail stabbing, a 19-year-old Palestinian from eastern Jerusalem tried to grab a service weapon from a security guard, but failed. He then stabbed the yeshiva student in the neck, seriously injuring him. The victim was treated at the scene and then taken to Jerusalem’s Shaare Tzedek Hospital. An Israel Police Special Patrol Unit neutralized the Palestinian terrorist and took him into custody.
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Judea and Samaria leaders unsatisfied with PM’s response to Palestinian terror
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) After meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week, Judea and Samaria community leaders, who have been protesting outside the Prime Minister’s Residence in Jerusalem since Wednesday, said they were not satisfied with the Israeli government’s response to the recent wave of Palestinian terrorist attacks and will continue advocating for further settlement construction.
“Unfortunately, we did not receive a satisfactory answer to our concerns from the prime minister, and we will continue our struggle,” the Judea and Samaria leaders said in a statement, adding, “We are open to further talks with the prime minister about the issues we raised, especially regarding settlements and lifting the construction freeze, but we will not drop our demands.”
Several government ministers visited the leaders’ protest tent, including Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked (Jewish Home), Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel (Jewish Home), and Science, Technology and Space Minister Ofir Akunis (Likud).
Akunis said Israel should “move forward with construction, regardless of the recent rise in terror attacks.” Immigrant Absorption Minister Ze’ev Elkin (Likud) told the protesters, “We are both on the same side….You should know that there has not been a single suggestion made by the security forces that was not approved by the [diplomatic-security] cabinet.”
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White House cites ‘concern’ over violence in Israel, doesn’t use word terrorism
(JNS.org) The White House on Wednesday expressed “deep concern” over the growing violence in Israel, but stopped short of calling recent Palestinian attacks “terrorism.”
“We are deeply concerned about recent violence and escalating tensions in the West Bank and Jerusalem,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said. “The United States condemns in the strongest possible terms violence against Israelis and Palestinian civilians.”
“We call upon all parties to take affirmative steps to restore calm and refrain from actions and rhetoric that would further inflame tensions in that region of the world,” Earnest added.
Palestinian terrorists carried out a string of attacks against Israelis on Wednesday, including stabbing attacks in Petah Tikva, Jerusalem, and Kiryat Gat, as well as a car-ramming attack at the A’zaim checkpoint between Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim.
One U.S. citizen, Eitam Henkin, has been killed during the recent spate of Palestinian violence.
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Jerry Seinfeld to make comedy debut in Israel
(JNS.org) Famed Jewish-American comedian and actor Jerry Seinfeld is slated to make his comedic debut in Israel later this year.
Seinfeld, who was born in Brooklyn to Jewish parents from the Ukraine and Syria, will perform in Tel Aviv’s Mitvtachim Menorah Arena on Dec. 19 as part of a world tour.
The comedian is most known for his enormously popular NBC sitcom Seinfeld, which ran from 1989-1998 and is widely considered one of the greatest TV series of all time.
The visit will not be Seinfeld’s first to Israel, where he most recently visited in 2007 to promote his film Bee Movie.
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Facebook to use Israeli-built satellite to bring Internet access to Africa
(JNS.org) Facebook has announced plans to use an Israeli-built satellite to bring Internet access to impoverished regions of sub-Saharan Africa.
“I’m excited to announce our first project to deliver Internet from space. As part of our Internet.org efforts to connect the world, we’re partnering with Eutelsat to launch a satellite into orbit that will connect millions of people,” Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said.
“As part of our collaboration with Eutelsat, a new satellite called AMOS-6 is going to provide Internet coverage to large parts of sub-Saharan Africa,” he added.
The AMOS-6 satellite, which is being built by Israel Aerospace Industries, is expected to launch in 2016 into a geostationary orbit and will large parts of western, eastern, and southern Africa.
“We’re going to work with local partners across these regions to help communities begin accessing Internet services provided through satellite,” Zuckerberg said.
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Netanyahu nixes trip to Germany amid Palestinian terror wave
(JNS.org) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has cancelled his upcoming trip to Germany, which was scheduled to mark 50 years of diplomatic relations between the two nations, amid the ongoing wave of Palestinian terrorism in Israel.
According to a senior Israeli official, Netanyahu informed German Chancellor Angela Merkel of the cancellation and is looking to reschedule the visit. Netanyahu was to arrive in Berlin on Wednesday morning and return on Thursday evening.
On Wednesday, the wave of Palestinian terrorism continued with an Israeli man moderately wounded in a stabbing attack in Jerusalem’s Old City, while another Palestinian terrorist stabbed an Israeli soldier in Kiryat Gat. In the second attack, the terrorist attempted to hole up in a nearby building before being shot dead by the police.
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