Most Israelis miss Yitzhak Rabin but can’t justify Oslo Accords, poll says
(JNS.org) While most Israelis miss former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, who was assassinated 20 years ago for political reasons, an even larger proportion do not believe the 1993 Oslo Accords—for which Rabin was the foremost champion—were justified.
A new Israel Hayom poll on Rabin and his legacy found that most Israelis still respect his efforts to strike peace with the Palestinians. Seventy-six percent agreed that Rabin was a respectable leader and 55 percent said they missed him.
But when it came to the Oslo Accords, only a third of respondents thought that the peace process was justified, while 42 percent felt the accords were unwarranted. Twenty-five percent did not have an opinion on the matter. Asked whether they supported the Oslo Accords at the time they were reached, 33 percent said yes and 38 percent said no.
The poll was conducted among a representative sample of 504 Jewish Israelis over the age of 18.
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13-year-old Palestinian terrorist indicted, wanted to be a martyr
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Thirteen-year-old Palestinian terrorist Ahmed Manasra, who together with his cousin stabbed and critically wounded an Israeli boy in Jerusalem earlier in October, was charged with two counts of attempted murder on Friday.
Manasra made headlines when Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas claimed in an Oct. 14 speech that the boy had been “executed” by Israel. In reality, he was being treated at an Israeli hospital.
On Oct. 12, Manasra and his 15-year-old cousin stabbed a man, 20, who was walking along a Pisgat Ze’ev street, and then a boy, 13, as he was getting on his bicycle after exiting a candy shop. Both victims survived the attack.
The indictment said Manasra had met his cousin, Hassan, on his way home from school that day. The two “talked about the situation at Al-Aqsa mosque, the living conditions in Gaza, the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, and decided to be shahids (martyrs)—to be killed in the battle for Islam by way of committing a stabbing attack in an effort to kill Jews,” the indictment said.
The prosecution is expected to face a number of legal hurdles in prosecuting Ahmed Manasra because Israeli law does not allow courts to hand down prison sentences to children under the age of 14. Since Manasra will turn 14 in January, the prosecution is considering delaying the trial.
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Israel’s El Al inks $1.25 billion deal with Boeing for Dreamliner jets
(JNS.org) El Al Israel airlines inked a $1.25 billion deal with Boeing to add to its fleet 15 aircraft, among them Boeing’s new Dreamliner jets, in a ceremony at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport on Thursday.
The Israeli airline is purchasing nine of Boeing’s state-of-the-art 787 Dreamliner aircraft (with two of them leased) and will lease an additional six aircraft. The 787s will replace the Boeing 747-400s and Boeing 767s already in use.
El Al CEO David Maimon called the agreement “a major leap forward in the company’s evolution.” Boeing President and CEO Ray Conner praised El Al’s long 60-plus-year partnership with the American company, which will celebrate its 100th anniversary next year.
“To say that [partnership] is something special is a bit of an understatement,” Conner said.
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Israeli woman wounded in rock-throwing attack along Route 431
(JNS.org) An Israeli woman was lightly wounded Thursday in a rock-throwing attack while driving along Route 431 near Ramle junction.
The woman, who sustained wounds to her face from shattered glass, was treated at the scene by Magen David Adom paramedics and then taken to Assaf Harofeh hospital. She was also traveling with her 8-month-old grandson, who was not hurt in the incident.
Also on Thursday, another Israeli woman was lightly injured in a stabbing attack in the southern city of Eilat.
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IDF soldier stabbed, attacker killed
(JNS.org) An Israeli soldier was stabbed in the face on Thursday in Hebron.
The soldier from the IDF’s Kfir Brigade was lightly wounded by 22-year-old terrorist Mahadi al-Muhatseb, who also tried to attack a border policeman, according to reports. The policeman shot and killed him.
In another incident on Thursday, a terrorist tried to stab an Israeli in Hebron but was also shot and killed by IDF officers on scene.
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