Israel apprehends alleged killers of cabinet minister’s nephew
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) The Israel Defense Forces apprehended three Palestinian Authority security officers who allegedly killed an Israeli near Nablus in 2011, Israeli officials said on Wednesday. The arrests, which were made in May but embargoed until Tuesday, were carried out with the help of the Shin Bet security agency.
Ben-Yosef Livnat, an Israeli from the Samaria community of Elon Moreh and the nephew of Culture and Sport Minister Limor Livnat, was killed in April 2011 when a group of Israelis tried to cross a Palestinian checkpoint en route to Joseph’s Tomb, where they had planned to pray. Due to the sensitive location of the site—on the outskirts of Nablus—Jews who wish to pray there must obtain the necessary permits from the Israeli authorities. Livnat and the other Israelis in the group did not coordinate their visit and were fired upon when they tried to pass through the Palestinian checkpoint.
The three detained Palestinian officers are Nawaf Fahd Nawaf Bani Uda, 24, Wa’el Khussein Muhammad Daud, 24, and Raki Diab Turki Zu’ara, 23. They were interrogated by Shin Bet officers and later confessed that they deliberately fired on the Israeli convoy even though they were not in a life-threatening situation. Shin Bet officials believe the new information implicates one of them as the shooter who killed Livnat.
Kim Jong-un gives out copies of ‘Mein Kampf’ as birthday gift
North Korea’s enigmatic leader Kim Jong-un gave out copies of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf to North Korean leaders during his birthday celebrations last January, according to a report on Monday by New Focus International, a website that covers news from North Korea.
“Kim Jong-un gave a lecture to high-ranking officials, stressing that we must pursue the policy of Byungjin (Korean for ‘in tandem’) in terms of nuclear and economic development. Mentioning that Hitler managed to rebuild Germany in a short time following its defeat in WWI, Kim Jong-un issued an order for the Third Reich to be studied in depth and asked that practical applications be drawn from it,” a source in North Korea told New Focus International.
Mein Kampf, which was published during the mid-1920s by future German leader Adolf Hitler, is an autobiography as well as a political manifesto that is deeply controversial for its racist content, and later for its historical consequences.
According to New Focus International, Kim Jong-un studied Hitler closely while at boarding school in Switzerland. During his birthday celebrations, Kim Jong-un reportedly highlighted sports as the secret behind Germany’s unity and praised Hitler’s policies that encouraged the German people to have more children.
China focuses more attention on Israeli-Palestinian conflict
(JNS.org) China is increasing its efforts to play a role in brokering a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, on Tuesday calling for resumed peace talks at the United Nations International Meeting in Support of Israeli-Palestinian Peace in Beijing.
“We need to redouble efforts to promote peace talks,” Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu said, according to AFP.
“There has been one boss in the peace process. No other country has had a word—a strong word—like the Americans. If the Chinese get involved, that will be very, very interesting because Israel and China are working together very closely economically,” Daniel Ben-Simon of Israel’s Labor Party said at the U.N. meeting.
Archbishop of Canterbury, whose father was Jewish, to visit Israel
(JNS.org) England’s new Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, will visit Israel, the Palestinian territories, Egypt, and Jordan next week. Welby, whose father was Jewish, recently discovered that he had lost relatives in the Holocaust and on his trip to Israel will visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem.
After Welby was appointed as the head of the Church of England in November 2012, he found out that his father was born a Jew. Welby’s Jewish grandfather, Bernard Weiler, came to England from Germany in in the late 19th century and married Londoner Edith James. Weiler and James were both described as “Hebrews” on the ship registry of an overseas trip they took.
“[Welby] realizes that the issue of Israel-Palestine is very difficult between Christians and Jews and will see how we can still talk despite what’s going on. He has the empathy to listen to every side, and listens to people of faith,” said Rev. David Gifford, CEO of the Council of Christians and Jews, according to the Times of Israel.
Bill Clinton visits Western Wall
(JNS.org) Former U.S. President Bill Clinton visited the Western Wall on Tuesday, calling the visit “an amazing visit to a place that opens one’s eyes,” the Jerusalem Post reported.
Clinton also toured the Western Wall tunnels and expressed admiration for Jerusalem’s long history.
“I really love this place,” Clinton said, the Jerusalem Post reported. “Here we see life in Jerusalem at different times. Here there are layers of different periods, one on top of the other, each one representing a world of life.”
But Clinton, who was in Israel for the annual Presidential Conference, also had some stern messages for the Jewish state. On Monday evening, during a speech at Israeli President Shimon Peres’s 90th birthday celebration, Clinton said he believes Israel has no alternative to a two-state solution if it wants to maintain its democratic character.
“Is it really okay with you if Israel has a majority of its people living within your territory who are not now, and never will be, allowed to vote?” Clinton rhetorically asked, the Associated Press reported.
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Preceding provided by JNS.org