Bomb targets IDF patrol on Gaza border
(JNS.org) An explosive device was detonated near an Israel Defense Forces patrol traveling along the Gaza Strip border on Monday morning, Israel Hayom reported. No injuries or damage were reported in the incident.
According to Army Radio, the troops were patrolling near Kibbutz Nahal Oz, southwest of Sderot, when the device exploded. Security forces deployed in the area were tasked with canvassing it for any additional roadside bombs.
The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit tweeted Monday morning that the military had “seized improvised explosives on Gaza’s northern border, the 2nd incident of this type in 3 days.”
Monday’s incident was the second attempt by terrorists to target IDF patrols in the area, in the span of one week. Last Friday, a roadside bomb exploded near a military patrol traveling by the southern border with Gaza Strip, causing no harm.
The recent roadside bomb incidents follow a relatively calm summer in the south, despite two incidents of rocket fire in August, on the resort city of Eilat and the Eshkol Regional Council. The Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted the rocket fired at Eilat, and neither incident caused any casualties or damage.
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Israeli population surpasses 8 million ahead of Rosh Hashanah
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Ahead of Rosh Hashanah, the Israeli Population, Immigration, and Borders Authority on Monday issued its annual report containing the most recent population data for the Jewish state.
According to the report, the population of Israel currently stands at 8,081,000 people. In 1948, when Israel was established, the population was 806,000. Since then, the population of Israel has increased tenfold. The Jewish population of the state has increased ninefold since the establishment of Israel.
Some 160,749 babies were born in the passing year, with the most popular names for them being Itay, Daniel, Uri, Yosef and Noam for boys, and Noa, Shira, Tamar, Talia and Yael for girls.
The report further indicated that 127,052 Israelis got married in the passing year, while 29,616—about 15,000 couples—divorced.
During the course of the past year, Israel welcomed 17,484 new immigrants.
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Palestinian terror attack on Jerusalem shopping center foiled
(JNS.org) Two Arab residents of eastern Jerusalem were indicted Sunday on charges of planning to carry out a large-scale attack for a Hamas terror cell at a popular Jerusalem shopping center over the upcoming Jewish holidays, Israel Hayom reported.
According to the indictment, Ahmad Rishak, 23, and Ismail Abu Mfalfal, 27, were allegedly in the advanced stages of planning the attack on the popular Mamilla shopping mall in Jerusalem. Hamdi Romana, a 22-year-old Ramallah resident, recruited Rishak, who then recruited Mfalfal. Romana, Rishak and Mfalfal were among five men arrested in a joint operation by the Israel Security Agency, the Israel Defense Forces and the Israel Police, but only Rishak and Mfalfal have so far been indicted.
Romana plotted on to assemble a pipe bomb and plant it in a densely populated area with the explicit aim of “killing the maximum number of Jews.” Mfalfal and Rishak were maintenance workers at the Mamilla shopping mall. Mfalfal gathered about 40 pellets to be incorporated into the bomb, and allegedly provided Rishak with the chemicals needed to manufacture the bomb.
The men allegedly planned to disguise the bomb like a gift box of chocolates, and to put the “gift” in a trash can at the shopping center during one of the upcoming Jewish holidays.
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Israel waits while Obama seeks congressional approval for Syria strike
(JNS.org) JERUSALEM—Israelis now sit in limbo as a U.S. strike on Syria is on hold, pending congressional approval. The planned U.S. attack is in response to Syria allegedly killing at least 1,429 of its own citizens with chemical weapons. Congress is not set to address the issue until it reconvenes from recess on Sept. 9.
Speaking in Jerusalem on Thursday, U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert (R-WA) expressed confidence that military action would ultimately be taken.
“We know there will be some response,” Reichert told JNS.org.
Israelis, meanwhile, now wait while the U.S. decides if and when a strike will be ordered. On the one hand, a successful military strike on Syrian military targets could significantly weaken Israel’s northern neighbor, and take out what is widely believed to be one of the largest chemical weapon’s stockpiles in the world—weapons that could at some point be fired at Israel.
On the other hand, any U.S. strike could trigger a response on Israel that may send chemical weapons over the border on long-range missiles targeting Israeli population centers. Similarly, Hezbollah in Lebanon could begin launching rockets toward Tel Aviv.
Members of the Syrian and Iranian government have already signaled that any U.S. strike will be retaliated against first and foremost by strikes on Israel.
This past week, Israelis converged on makeshift gas mask distribution centers setup across the country.
“The risks of a U.S. strike for Israel are obvious,” Reichert said.
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Israeli woman takes gold at Judo world championship in Brazil
(JNS.org) Israeli Yarden Gerbi took the women’s gold in the 63-kilogram division at the Judo world championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Thursday.
Entering the match as the top-ranked competitor in the world, Gerbi defeated her challenger, France’s Clarisse Agbegnenou, the second-ranked player, to earn her title in only 43 seconds.
Gerbi won all of her five fights in the competitive by “ippon,” or Judo’s version of a knockout, Ynet reported. She is the fifth Israeli to win a medal in the Judo world championships.
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Israeli documentary and crew disinvited from Dubai film festival
(JNS.org) The crew of an Israeli documentary, “Israel: A Home Movie,” was disinvited from the upcoming International Federation of Television Archives (IFTA) festival because the festival is going to be held in Dubai.
The film’s producer, Arik Bernstein, was notified by IFTA’s chairman that because the ceremony is taking place in Dubai—an Arab country that does not recognize Israel—and the film deals with Israeli history, it will not be shown at the event. Additionally, the film’s crew will not be allowed to attend the event and will be disqualified from winning any prizes, Haaretz reported.
“Israel: A Home Movie” uses archival and private footage to depict the story of Israel’s establishment during the mid-20th century.
This is not the first instance of controversy surrounding Israel and Dubai. In 2009, after international pressure, Dubai’s decision to ban Israeli tennis player Andy Ram was reversed, and he was allowed to compete in a tournament in Dubai despite anti-Israel opposition to his participation.
“Conferences and festivals such as this are designed to open and foster dialogue, and in my view it’s scandalous that an international organization would succumb and boycott one of its members for reasons that have no connection to the conference’s substance,” Bernstein told Haaretz.
The popular blog Elder of Ziyon is urging readers to contact IFTA’s sponsors to pull their sponsorship of the festival until the decision is reversed.
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Poll: 67 percent of Israeli Jews support U.S. attack on Syria
(JNS.org) About 67 percent of Israeli Jews support a U.S. attack on Syria, while 17 percent oppose an attack, according to a new Israel Hayom survey conducted by New Wave Research.
The same percentage of Israelis who support the attack are concerned that if such an attack occurs, Israel will be drawn into a war.
Close to 73 percent of respondents believe an attack against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime will take place. Only 13 think that the situation will deteriorate into an all-out war in the Middle East. About 29 percent said they are not concerned that a U.S. attack will drag Israel into a war.
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Preceding provided by JNS.org