Israel Police seeks to bolster presence in Arab sector
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) The Israel Police is seeking to bolster its presence in the Jewish state’s Arab sector by enlisting 1,350 additional policemen and setting up 10 new police stations nationwide, Israel Hayom reported Tuesday. The cost of the plan, which is part of an overall government plan to increase governance in the Arab sector, is estimated at 800 million shekels (about $200 million).
A special ministerial committee headed by Israeli Immigrant Absorption Minister Ze’ev Elkin and Tourism Minister Yariv Levin will oversee the plan’s implementation. Increased presence on the ground is part of the police’s plan to streamline law enforcement efforts in the Arab sector, especially concerning construction law.
The ministerial committee is also scheduled to discuss the appropriation of 10 billion shekels ($2.5 billion) in the Arab sector’s development. As part of the government’s plan, the Interior Ministry’s Planning Administration will complete its outline for Arab authorities’ new zoning and construction plans within two years.
Arab authorities found to be in gross violation of constructions laws will not be eligible for additional development budgets. Under the Arab sector’s development plan, local Arab authorities will be required to formulate ways to eradicate illegal construction in their jurisdiction, including specific enforcement goals, which the police would need to approve.
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Roman-era canal system unearthed near Dead Sea
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) An ancient canal system used 2,000 years ago to irrigate terraced agricultural plots has been unearthed in an excavation near the Roman-era fortress of Metzad Bokek in southern Israel. The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority jointly conducted the excavation.
The system used gravity to carry water from the Ein Bokek spring to the terraces. The longest of the canals measures 1.2 miles. Noah Michael, the archaeologist directing the dig for the IAA, said that “the canal system, which connected irrigation pools and linked to an aqueduct that conducted water from the spring, was plastered and apparently covered. Signs of repairs evident in the plaster demonstrate that the system was in use for a long time during the Roman era.”
The IAA said, “The terraces were used to raise various crops that were apparently used in the process of creating the legendary persimmon perfume. That perfume was known far and wide, and researchers think that on these terraces, the persimmon plants themselves, which were different from the persimmon trees we know today, were grown.”
The area of the Dead Sea Valley in question, from Ein Gedi to Jericho, was the only place in the world where the persimmon was grown, making persimmon products extremely valuable in ancient times. The persimmon perfume was produced by combining resin of persimmon with purified oil and sundry spices. Preservation work is currently underway on the fortress and the western pool in preparation for the site being opened to visitors.
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Israeli firm uncovers eBay security flaw
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Israeli cyber-security firm Check Point revealed Tuesday that it has discovered a serious flaw in online e-commerce giant eBay’s security, allowing hackers and cyber criminals to use malicious code to target users and steal their online information.
According to a report by Israel’s Channel 2, eBay currently has 160 million registered users worldwide, all of which are at risk. Check Point, which posted its discovery on the company blog, believes that unless eBay acts to rectify this vulnerability immediately, “eBay’s customers will continue to be exposed to potential phishing attacks and data theft.”
The company had informed eBay of its discovery on Dec. 15, but as of Jan. 16, the e-commerce giant said it “has no plans to fix the vulnerability,” Check Point said. According to Check Point, all a hacker needs to do to launch a malicious attack is to set up an eBay store, from which he can send users legitimate-looking links that contain malicious code.
Responding to Check Point’s warning, eBay said, “As a company, we are committed to providing a safe and secure trading platform to our millions of customers worldwide. We take reports suggesting security issues very seriously and work quickly to assess them, as part of our security infrastructure. We consistently adapt our security systems and maintain a responsible system, where we partner with the researchers indicating such issues exist.”
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Hamas and Fatah officials to meet in Qatar in latest bid for reconciliation
(JNS.org) A delegation from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party will meet with exiled Hamas political leader Khaled Mashal in Doha, Qatar, this coming weekend to discuss reconciliation attempts between the two Palestinian factions.
“Fatah’s strategy with Israel has failed and Hamas has also not been providing answers regarding its own strategy to the Palestinians in Gaza,” a Fatah official told Haaretz.
According to the report, the new proposed Palestinian initiative will focus on forming a national unity government instead of a government of technocrats. This will eventually lay the groundwork for presidential and parliamentary elections, the report said.
The two Palestinian factions have been split since Hamas ousted by the Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority from the Gaza Strip in 2007. Since then, Hamas has ruled the Gaza Strip, while the Palestinian Authority has controlled portions of the West Bank.
Nevertheless, several reconciliation attempts have been made over the years, including the most recent agreement signed in 2014 in Cairo between Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Mahmoud Abbas. Despite the agreements, little progress has been made towards reconciliation as both sides remains fearful of attempts by either group to overthrow the other in their respective territories, in addition to a number of other lingering issues.
Israel has opposed any attempts by Abbas towards reconciliation with Hamas, a terrorist organization.
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At least one Hamas operative reportedly killed in latest Gaza tunnel collapse
(JNS.org) Palestinian media is reporting that at least one operative from the Hamas terrorist group was killed, and that several others were wounded, in the latest tunnel collapse in Gaza.
According to a spokesman from the Gaza Health Ministry, a 23-year-old Palestinian named Ahmed Heydar a-Zahar was killed in the tunnel operations, the Jerusalem Post reported.
The latest tunnel collapse would mark the second such incident in recent weeks. In late January, seven Hamas operatives were killed when the tunnel they were reportedly working on underneath the Israeli border collapsed from heavy rain and flooding.
“The resistance factions are in a state of ongoing preparation underground, above ground, on land and sea,” Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said at a rally honoring the seven dead operatives.
“East of Gaza City, heroes are digging through rock and building tunnels, and to the west they are experimenting with rockets every day. The resistance continues on its path of liberation of the land,” Haniyeh added.
Residents near the border with Gaza in southern Israel have expressed fears that Hamas is rebuilding its network of terror tunnels underneath their communities. They have claimed that they have been hearing Hamas digging tunnels underneath their homes.
In response, the IDF has started to drill along the Gaza border in an effort to locate the tunnels, in addition to installing advanced technological systems to identify possible tunnels.
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Israel to showcase latest diamond technology at international gathering
(JNS.org) Israel will host hundreds of diamond dealers from around the world this month during the International Diamond Week at the Israel Diamond Exchange in Ramat Gan.
Delegations of diamond buyers from Panama, Italy, and Hong Kong will join representatives from more than 20 countries to learn more about the latest tools in diamond technology.
“Israel, as the world’s leading specialist in larger fancy-shaped diamonds and fancy-color diamonds, has lots to offer to the top end of the jewelry design and manufacturing market,” Israel Diamond Exchange President Yoram Dvash said.
Renowned British jeweler Stephen Webster, known as “jeweler to the stars,” will be the guest of honor.
“I am excited to be coming back to Israel after an absence of more than 20 years, and look forward to take part in the International Diamond Week in Israel. High quality diamonds are an integral part of my own jewelry creations, as well as the jewelry of the house of Garrard. I expect to be seeing a lot of those quality diamonds on the exchange floor during my visit!” Webster said.
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Early humans living in cave near Tel Aviv ate tortoises, Israeli researchers say
(JNS.org) Researchers from Tel Aviv University, in collaboration with Spanish and German scholars, discovered that early humans living in the Qesem Cave near Tel Aviv 400,000 years ago ate tortoises as part of their diet.
“Until now, it was believed that Palaeolithic humans hunted and ate mostly large game and vegetal material,” said Prof. Ran Barkai, Tel Aviv University’s Institute of Archaeology. “Our discovery adds a really rich human dimension—a culinary and therefore cultural depth to what we already know about these people.”
Tortoise specimens were found all over the Qesem Cave, revealing evidence that they were eaten during the entire 200,000 years of human habitation at the cave. Researchers also were able to understand how humans ate the tortoises.
“We know by the dental calculus we discovered earlier, that the Qesem inhabitants also ate vegetables,” said Barkai. “Now we can say they also ate tortoises, which were collected, butchered and roasted even though they do not provide as many calories as fallow deer, for example.”
Barkai said that throughout history, there is some evidence that tortoises were used as “preserved or canned food,” but the recent findings “adds an important new dimension to the know-how, capabilities, and perhaps taste preferences of these people.”
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Israeli-Dutch ‘Innovation Day’ seeks to grow economic relations
(JNS.org) Israeli and Dutch businesses and government officials will meet at The Hague to showcase “smart cities” at the Israel-Holland Innovation Day on Feb. 4.
“The coming Innovation Day is another important tier in our successful economic cooperation with Dutch industry and government and builds upon a similar event held in the past. I have no doubt that this important event will increase cooperation between the two countries,” said Ohad Cohen, head of Israel’s Foreign Trade Administration.
Government officials from Amsterdam, The Hague, and Rotterdam, as well local businesses, will be presented with the latest technological innovations from Israel related to smart transportation, smart energy, and cyber-security.
“The term ‘smart city’ refers to a wide range of technologies, including security (physical security and information security), communications, applications, smart transportation, recycling, water, control and monitoring, and software. The smart city has vast business potential for a large number of Israeli technology companies,” said Ofer Sachs, director of the Israel Export Institute.
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Majority of French citizens blame Jews for growing anti-Semitism, poll says
(JNS.org) Sixty percent of French citizens believe that the country’s Jewish population bears some responsibility for the rise of anti-Semitism in their country, according to a poll conducted by the Ipsos market research firm.
More than half of the French respondents believe Jews have a “lot of power,” while 40 percent believe Jews are “a little too present in the media,” the 18-month study concluded, the Jerusalem Post reported.
Anti-Semitism has been on the rise in France, with an 84-percent increase in attacks on Jews in 2015 alone, according to reports.
The survey, sponsored by the Fondation du Judaïsme Français, also found that 13 percent of respondents think “there are a few too many Jews in France.”
These results are compatible with reports that French emigration is on the rise and another recent survey that said 43 percent of French Jews are planning to make aliyah to Israel.
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