U.S. blocks UN statement ignoring Hamas rockets as cause of conflict
(JNS.org) The U.S. has blocked the release of a United Nations statement on the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza because the statement failed to acknowledge that Hamas started that conflict by bombarding Israel with rockets. Erin Pelton, spokeswoman for the U.S. mission to the UN, said the statement “failed to address the root cause,” according to Reuters.
“We made clear that we would measure any action by the Security Council based on whether it supported the ongoing diplomacy toward de-escalation of violence and a durable outcome that ends the rocket attacks on Israeli cities… By failing to call for the immediate and permanent halt to rocket launches from Gaza into Israel, this press statement failed to contribute constructively to those goals. As such, we could not agree to this statement,” Pelton said.
Terrorist blows up Tel Aviv bus, injures 20JNS.org) A terrorist blew up a bus in Tel Aviv at noon Wednesday near the IDF Kirya military headquarters, Israeli police said. Magen David Adom medical services said 20 people were wounded in the attack. The bomb blew out the windows on the vehicle, a 76 line bus belonging to the Dan company, causing extensive damage but no fatalities, Israel Hayom reported.
According to eyewitnesses, the terrorist boarded the bus, where he placed a package before fleeing the scene. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said that the terrorist group “blesses the attack in Tel Aviv and sees it as a natural response,” according to ABC News. This is not the first terrorist bombing attack in Tel Aviv. The last one was in 2006, in a sandwich shop, where eleven people were then killed.
This latest bombing occured not long after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Israel and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the ongoing conflict. “One of the scenarios we have been preparing for is more than just rockets but also terror attacks in our cities. There is high motivation by the terror groups to hit our cities. We are massively deployed throughout the entire country with a special emphasis on the big cities. We are interviewing eyewitnesses and conducting an investigation in conjunction with the Shin Bet. If there is a terrorist on the loose we are doing everything to put our hands on him,” said Police Commissioner Yochanan Danino.
Even as rockets rain down, Israeli economic strength rings throughNEW YORK—On Nov. 20, for the sixth consecutive year, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) recognized the innovative technology and business acumen that characterizes the Jewish state at its “Israel Day.”
The event took place in the midst of high tension from ongoing Gaza rockets, but even as Israelis were forced into shelters, the Tel Aviv stock exchange rose 28 points, noted Laurence Leibowitz, chief operating officer of the NYSE Euronext International Listing.
The importance of Israel Day could not be greater, said Leibowitz. “In Israel, they do what they do,” he said, stressing the importance of ensuring that investors are not fearful about investing in Israel.
Ido Aharoni, the Consul General of Israel in New York, said the Israel-Gaza conflict is not about land, but about Israel’s very right to exist.
“One indicator of Israel’s resilience is the behavior of Israel’s stock market,” he said.
“Israel is the living proof that it is possible to defend yourself and be successful!” Aharoni added.
IDF soldier killed in Israel-Gaza conflict(JNS.org) An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldier, 18-year-old Col. Yosef Partuk, was killed Tuesday as the conflict between Gaza and the Jewish state continued.
A reserve Armored Corps IDF officer was also injured near the Gaza border. The IDF announced Partuk’s death not long after six people were injured when a rocket struck an apartment building in the city of Rishon LeZion. The top floors of the building were burned.
Also on Tuesday, one Israeli was injured from rocket attacks in Ashkelon and several people were injured in Ashdod. One grocery store was completely destroyed, according to the Jerusalem Post. Gaza terrorists fired 20 rockets at Beersheba, but the Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted at least 11 of those. A bus and a car were damaged, but no one was injured.
Islamic Jihad leaders confirm Iranian involvement in Gaza(JNS.org) In separate interviews, Islamic Jihad leaders have confirmed that Iran has supplied Gaza terrorist groups with long-range Fajr-5 rockets, despite Iranian denials.
On Sunday, following a speech by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah praising Hamas’s firing of Iran’s Fajr-5 rockets, Iran’s leaders sought to downplay its involvement in Gaza.
“The resistance” does not need Iranian rockets and claimed Iran’s support for Hamas extended only to “spiritual support,” said Alaeddin Boroujerdi, head of the Iranian parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee.
However, during an interview on Lebanese TV, senior Islamic Jihad leader Khaled al-Batsh also confirmed Iran’s involvement, “Of course they [Fajr-5 rockets] are 100% Iranian made, received by the Resistance in the framework of the legitimate aid which the Islamic Republic gives to the Palestinian people,” according to a translated video posted by the blog Elder of Ziyon.
Separately, the Jerusalem Post—citing Islamic Jihad deputy leader Ziad Nakhleh—reported that rockets fired by Hamas at Israeli towns and cities “are of Iranian origin.”
Iran’s involvement in Gaza has generated growing tensions between Egypt, Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
According to a report in Israel Hayom that cited Egyptian media reports, the mood between Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza is tense, with Hamas leaders blaming Jihad rocket fire on Israel as the cause of the death of Hamas terrorist chief Ahmed Jabari.
The reports also indicate that Hamas is “furious” with Islamic Jihad for not being flexible enough in negotiations for a ceasefire and that Egypt’s President Mohamed Morsi called Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to bring the head of Islamic Jihad, Ramadan Salah, onboard with a ceasefire.
Hamas, which had been long allied with Iran, had a falling out with the Islamic Republic after it abandoned its offices in Damascus amid the Syrian civil war. Since then, Hamas has gravitated towards Sunni Arab allies Egypt, Turkey and Qatar. Late last month, Qatari emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, became the first Arab head of state to visit Gaza under Hamas’s rule.
*Preceding provided by JNS.org