Israel’s new anti-terror bill cracks down on incitement and terror tunnels
(JNS.org) Israel’s new anti-terrorism legislation will soon face its second and third Knesset readings after its final draft was approved by the Israeli legislature’s Constitution, Law and Justice Committee on Monday.
The bill grants law enforcement agencies, particularly the Shin Bet security agency and the Israel Police, more tools to fight terrorism and terrorist organizations. It includes articles meant to fight terrorism in a global age as well as amendments to existing terrorism-related offenses.
While Israeli law has previously required “clear and imminent probability” of actual acts of terror in order to criminalize incitement to terror, an amendment in the bill states that a “clear call to commit an act of terror”—regardless of the imminent probability of an attack—will constitute criminal incitement. The bill also breaks new ground by defining the digging of terror tunnels as a criminal offense, stating that “the digging of a tunnel or passageway meant to facilitate an offense or be used as a getaway route” is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
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Israel thwarts attempts to smuggle drone parts into Gaza
(JNS.org) Israel has recently thwarted dozens of attempts by terrorist groups in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip to smuggle in drone components and other weapons parts through the mail.
According to the Israeli Defense Ministry, the items have been discovered during mail inspections conducted by the Crossing Authority at the Erez border crossing.
A collaborative effort by a number of Israeli security and law enforcement bodies is putting pressure on Gaza terrorist groups, forcing them to try to find new smuggling methods. In recent weeks, it appears terrorist groups have turned to the postal service Israel provides to Gaza.
During Operation Protective Edge in the summer of 2014, the Israeli military intercepted a Hamas drone over the coastal city of Ashdod.
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Christian-Jewish group brings 26 African-American Christian leaders to Israel
(JNS.org) Twenty-six African-American Christian leaders participated in a May 23-29 educational trip to Israel sponsored by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (The Fellowship).
The visiting delegation was from the National Baptist Convention of America, a predominately black church. Yael Eckstein, senior vice president of The Fellowship, said the trip sought to “build strategic friends and allies for the Jewish people both financially and politically.”
“Just seeing the country and experiencing [it] is something which can build a greater connection with Israel,” she said.
Rev. Samuel C. Tolbert Jr.—president of the National Baptist Convention of America—said he hoped to use the trip to help find “common ground” between Palestinians and Israelis, the Jerusalem Post reported.
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Hezbollah in worst financial shape in decades, U.S. official claims
(JNS.org) A U.S. Treasury official claimed that the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah is in its “worst financial shape in decades.”
Adam Szubin, the U.S. Treasury Department’s acting under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, who was also the chief architect of U.S. sanctions on Iran, told lawmakers from the House Foreign Affairs Committee, “After many years of sanctions targeting Hezbollah, today the group is in its worst financial shape in decades. And I can assure you that, alongside our international partners, we are working hard to put them out of business.”
Szubin also said the Iran nuclear deal has had “no impact on our efforts” to target Iranian funding and weapons transfers for Hezbollah, one of Iran’s terror proxies.
“In late January, we sanctioned a major Hezbollah financial support network, which was laundering criminal proceeds to support Hezbollah’s terrorism and destabilizing activity,” Szubin said.
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Egyptian-Muslim mob attacks elderly Christian woman, torches Christian homes
(JNS.org) A Muslim mob in Egypt attacked an elderly Christian woman and torched several Christian homes in a recent attack in the country’s Minya province.
According to a statement by a local Orthodox Coptic Church and security officials, the attack began after rumors spread that the woman’s son had an affair with a Muslim woman. Police arrested six men and were looking for 12 more as of Friday.
Anba Makarios, a top Christian cleric in Minya, told the Egyptian network Dream TV that the mob dragged the elderly woman out of her home, beat her, and stripped her clothing, then forced her to walk through the streets naked.
Christians comprise 10 percent of Egypt’s population of 90 million. Since rising to power, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has promised to address Christian grievances such as changing election laws to allow more Christian lawmakers to serve in the national legislature, and to ease restrictions on building new churches. But Egyptian Christians say they are still frequently targeted by Muslim criminal gangs.
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Multi-faith transgender women compete in Miss Trans Israel 2016 pageant
(JNS.org) Transgender women from each of the three Abrahamic faiths reached the final round of Israel’s first transgender beauty pageant last week. The final three contestants vying for the Miss Trans Israel 2016 crown were a Jewish confectioner from Jerusalem, a Muslim belly dancer from Tel Aviv, and a Christian ballerina from Nazareth.
Ta’alin Abu Hanna, the Christian ballerina, won the pageant and will represent Israel at the Miss Trans Star International pageant in Barcelona in September.
The pageant initially had 12 contestants representing different sectors in Israel.
“My goal is not to win, but to send a message to the Arab communities in Israel or abroad to accept the other,” Carolin Khoury, a Muslim pageant participant who has endured violent opposition to her gender transition from her family, told Reuters.
“This competition will open the door for some people,” Khoury added.
Israel is known as an oasis in a rough Middle East region for LGBT rights.
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Israel intercepts Gaza-bound supplies for weapons manufacturing
(JNS.org) Israeli security forces thwarted the smuggling of a Gaza-bound shipment of supplies used in projectile manufacturing, the Israeli Defense Ministry said Thursday.
The shipment, intended for the Hamas terror group, was supposed to be smuggled into Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing. It was intercepted at the Tarkumia checkpoint by Shin Bet security agency officers and their counterparts at the Defense Ministry’s Crossings Directorate.
The contraband included hundreds of four-inch steel pipes used for the production of mortar shells, as well as electric engines and engine parts used by Hamas in the effort to rebuild its network of cross-border terror tunnels. The shipment also included dozens of rockets.
According to the Defense Ministry, the contraband was hidden inside a shipment containing textiles and jewelry.
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U.N. demands Israel pay restitution for accidental 1996 shelling of Lebanese village
(JNS.org) A United Nations body has demanded that Israel pay restitution for the accidental shelling of a U.N. compound in the Lebanese village of Qana in 1996.
During Operation Grapes of Wrath, the Israel Defense Forces, while fighting the Hezbollah terror group, accidentally bombarded a U.N. compound that served as a refugee camp. The compound provided shelter for 800 Lebanese civilians, 106 of whom were killed in the attack.
The Fifth Committee of the U.N. General Assembly, which is responsible for administration and monetary matters, has been urging Israel to pay compensation of $1.17 million. But Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon said, “Hezbollah terrorists were those who had attacked Israel and its civilians, while using the citizens of Lebanon as a human shield…This is an absurd situation in which Israel is urged to pay for the war crimes of a terror organization.”
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