Palestinian dentists arrested for carrying out pipe bomb terror attack
(JNS.org) Five members of a Palestinian terrorist cell led by a dentist were apprehended by security forces last month, the Israeli Shin Bet security agency revealed Monday. The terrorists—including three dentists—had carried out a pipe bomb attack in which an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officer was seriously wounded.
Members of the IDF’s Duvdevan special forces unit arrested the five terrorists in the Palestinian town of Hizme, north of Jerusalem, in the days following the May 10 attack.
The Shin Bet named Dr. Samer Mahmoud al-Halabiyeh, 36, a dentist from the Palestinian town of Abu Dis, as the cell’s leader. Halabiyeh reportedly implicated himself in the attack, citing “the desecration of Al-Aqsa mosque and harming Palestinian children” as the motive.
Shin Bet agents also arrested Halabiyeh’s father, 64-year-old nurse Muhammed Halabiyeh; his brother Dawoud Alhabiya, 42, also a dentist; his cousin, Shadi Ahmed Muhsan, 32; and a third dentist identified as Daganeh Jamil Nabhan, 36.
The suspects led interrogators to an additional 56 pipe bombs they had planned to use in future attacks. The explosive devices were neutralized by military sappers.
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Israel and Turkey restore ties after six-year rift
(JNS.org) Israel and Turkey have agreed to normalize ties after a six-year rift in their diplomatic relationship.
“Israel and Turkey are two major regional powers,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. “The disconnect between us prevented necessary cooperation.”
Turkish-Israeli relations broke down after the 2010 Gaza flotilla incident, in which nine Turkish militants were killed in clashes after they attacked Israeli commandos who boarded a ship that was trying to breach the blockade on Hamas-ruled Gaza.
According to reports citing Israeli and Turkish officials, the normalization deal includes $20 million in Israeli compensation for the families of those killed in the flotilla incident, an end to all Turkish legal claims against the Israeli military over the interception, and the mutual restoration of ambassadors. Turkey will be allowed to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza and to invest in infrastructure there, including the construction of residential buildings and a hospital.
“Israel and Turkey are natural allies in many ways….They share common threats and concerns. They have overlapping energy interests. They have complementary economies. Accordingly, cooperation is a far better alternative than conflict,” said American Jewish Committee CEO David Harris.
While Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said the maritime blockade on Gaza was “largely lifted” as part of the agreement, Israel is disputing that assertion.
“I was not willing to compromise on [the blockade]. This interest is essential to prevent the force-buildup by Hamas and it remains as has been and is,” Netanyahu said.
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U.K. will remain friend of Israel after Brexit, British envoy says
(JNS.org) United Kingdom Ambassador to Israel David Quarrey said his country will remain close friends with Israel following the U.K.’s decision to leave the European Union (EU) in the Brexit referendum.
“We have been a friend of Israel in the EU, we’ll be a friend of Israel outside the EU, but Israel’s relations with the EU in the future will have to be determined without Britain at the table,” Quarrey said in an interview with Israel’s Channel 2.
“I don’t see any likely change in the desire on our part for a strong relationship with Israel based on trade, investment, security, cooperation, technology, and science,” he added.
On Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his British counterpart David Cameron, who resigned following the vote, is a “respected leader and a true friend of Israel and the Jewish people.”
Netanyahu added that under Cameron’s leadership, “the security, economic and technological cooperation between the United Kingdom and Israel has greatly expanded.”
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Two Israelis injured in vehicular attack, Palestinian terrorist killed
(JNS.org) Two Israelis were lightly injured in a vehicular terror attack outside of the Jewish community of Kiryat Arba near Hebron last Friday.
According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the two Israelis had stopped at a bus stop to pick up a hitchhiker when a Palestinian woman rammed into their vehicle. IDF soldiers at the scene shot and killed the Palestinian driver. The two Israelis, who are in their 50s, were taken to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem.
Since last October, 38 Israelis and tourists to Israel have been killed in spate of stabbing, car-ramming, and shootings terror attacks by Palestinians.
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Israeli first lady of Iceland lauds Nordic nation’s UEFA soccer win over Austria
(JNS.org) The Israeli first lady of Iceland lauded the Nordic nation’s victory over Austria in the 2016 UEFA European Championship last week, pointing out that the nation’s victory in the soccer competition should serve as a lesson for other countries, including the Jewish state.
Dorrit Moussaieff, who is married to Icelandic President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson and holds Israeli, Icelandic, and British citizenships, said Iceland’s victory was “not by chance.”
“They are great fighters and we invest a lot in soccer from the age of 4,” she said, Yedioth Ahronoth reported. “You have to understand that Iceland invests a great deal in its children and in creating a group atmosphere. Iceland is unlike Israel when it comes to football. When Iceland’s players work together they win. It’s an important lesson not only for Israel but to many countries….I hope Israel will reach this point, and I would be very happy to help.”
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The American Jewish Committee issued the following statement concerning Turkish-Israeli reconciliation:
AJC hails today’s announcement of restored diplomatic relations between Israel and Turkey, after a six-year hiatus. A formal document to that effect is expected to be signed shortly, with an exchange of ambassadors to follow.
Turkey, which, in 1949, was the first majority-Muslim nation to establish relations with the Jewish state, sharply downgraded ties in the aftermath of the 2010 Mavi Marmara incident, when ten Turkish nationals on board a boat seeking to break Israel’s legally-recognized blockade of Hamas-ruled Gaza lost their lives resisting Israeli efforts to stop them.
“Israel and Turkey are natural allies in many ways,” said AJC CEO David Harris. “They are anchors of the region. They share common threats and concerns. They have overlapping energy interests. They have complementary economies. Accordingly, cooperation is a far better alternative than conflict.”
The first step toward rapprochement came in 2013, when Israel issued an apology for the deaths on the Mavi Marmara and agreed to compensate the families. Under today’s agreement, Israel will maintain its defensive blockade of Gaza, but allow Turkey to send in humanitarian aid through the Israeli port of Ashdod, and build a power plant and a desalination plant in Gaza.