Israeli, U.S. leaders express concern over Palestinian unity government
(JNS.org) Israeli and American leaders expressed concern with the announcement of a new Palestinian unity government between Fatah and Hamas.
In a telephone call with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry “expressed concern about Hamas’s role in any such government and the importance that the new government commit to the principles of nonviolence, recognition of the state of Israel and acceptance of previous agreements with it,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the international community not to recognize the unity government, saying such a move would “strengthen terrorism.”
“Hamas is a terrorist organization that calls for the destruction of Israel and the international community must not embrace it,” Netanyahu said.
Economy Minister Naftali Bennett, leader of the Jewish Home party, called the new government “terrorists in suits” and said Israel should respond to its formation by annexing Area C of the West Bank, The Jerusalem Post reported.
*
Abbas swears in Palestinian unity government
(JNS.org) Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas swore in a new unity government on Monday following an agreement between Abbas’s Fatah party and the terrorist group Hamas.
The agreement came as the two sides resolved a dispute over a key ministry position.
“Today, after announcing the government of national unity we declare the end of division that caused catastrophic harm to our cause,” Abbas said in a statement announcing the unity government.
Abbas said that Rami Al-Hamdallah, the former interim Palestinian prime minister, would be the prime minister of the new unity government. Additionally, Abbas announced that government would recognize agreements previously made by the Palestinians, in reference to the Oslo Accords with Israel.
But Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said the new government would continue to pursue “resistance by all forms,” which likely includes armed conflict against Israel.
11 potential kidnappings of Israelis foiled since start of last year
(JNS.org) Since the beginning of 2013, the Shin Bet security agency and the Israel Prison Service have thwarted 11 cases in which security prisoners directed operatives in the field to carry out kidnappings against Israeli soldiers and civilians. Those details were made public on Sunday after a court-issued gag order was lifted.
The majority of the kidnappings were organized by Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, with the purpose of negotiating a prisoner exchange to secure their release.
In about half the cases, prisoners affiliated with the Palestinian Fatah movement led the hostage-taking operations, while the others involved prisoners belonging to Hamas and other Islamist groups. The Shin Bet is currently conducting investigations against several of the suspected planners, according to Israel Hayom.
*
After rocket fire from Gaza, Israeli Air Force strikes terror sites
(JNS.org) The Israeli Air Force (IAF) struck two terror sites in the Gaza Strip early Monday morning in response to recent rocket fire from the Hamas-controlled coastal enclave, Israel Hayom reported.
The Israel Defense Forces confirmed direct hits on the targets, one in southern Gaza and the other in central Gaza.
“This morning’s IDF actions are a direct response to Gaza terrorist aggression against the citizens of southern Israel,” said Lt. Col. Peter Lerner of the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit. “The unlawful Gaza rocket attacks, meant to terrorize, maim, and kill Israelis, will not be allowed to become routine.”
In the two days prior to the IAF strikes, two rockets were fired into southern Israel from Gaza. Additionally, on Monday morning, a mortar shell fired from Syria exploded near an IDF position in the Golan Heights.
*
NBA star Pau Gasol meets with Israeli President Shimon Peres
(JNS.org) National Basketball Association (NBA) star Pau Gasol met with Israeli President Shimon Peres in Jerusalem on Sunday along with a group of Jewish and Arab basketball players. The 33-year-old Los Angeles Lakers forward/center was making his first trip to Israel, for a basketball workshop meant to promote peace and coexistence.
“I am extremely happy to be here,” the Spanish-born Gasol said, Reuters reported. “I believe sport is an amazing tool for bringing people together.”
Gasol is a four-time NBA All-Star and has been part of two championship seasons for the Lakers.
Peres said, “In sport, people learn to play without discrimination and in the spirit of fairness.”
*
Federal court denies motion to dismiss lawsuit on IRS review of pro-Israel groups
(JNS.org) The U.S. District Court for Washington, DC, last week denied an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) motion claiming that a lawsuit by the pro-Israel group Z Street is not appropriate for federal courts. Z Street alleges that it was subjected to more rigorous review procedures than other organizations applying for tax-exempt 501(c)(3) status.
The IRS sought to dismiss Z Street’s lawsuit under the Tax Anti-Injunction Act (AIA), whose stated purpose is to “permit the United States to assess and collect taxes alleged to be due without judicial intervention.” But Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote in her ruling, “The remedy sought in this lawsuit has no direct effect on the public … and certainly not one that would impact the [U.S. Department of the] Treasury or otherwise affect the agency’s assessment and collection.”
In its complaint, Z Street alleges that the IRS “violated the First Amendment when it implemented an internal review policy that subjected Israel-related organizations that are applying for tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the U.S. Code to more rigorous review procedures than other organizations applying for that same status.”
Z Street applied for tax-exempt status in December 2009. The group’s founder, Lori Lowenthal Marcus, told JNS.org, “Although it took four years, we were thrilled that Judge Jackson authoritatively told the IRS what we have been saying since our claim was filed: this lawsuit is about the government, in this case, the IRS, treating Z Street differently than other tax-exemption applicants because of our political viewpoint. That is a violation of our constitutional rights and the IRS can no longer hide behind obfuscatory and false legal defenses.”
*
French man with suspected Islamist ties arrested in connection with Brussels attack
(JNS.org) Mehdi Nemmouche, a 29-year-old French national with suspected ties to Islamic radicals in Syria, was arrested Friday in connection with the May 24 shooting at a Jewish museum in Brussels that killed four people, Agence France-Presse reported.
Nemmouche is suspected of having been in Syria with jihadist groups in 2013. At the time of his arrest, he was in the southern French city of Marseille in possession of a Kalashnikov rifle and a handgun similar to the ones used in the Brussels attack.
Even before the arrest of Nemmouche, there have been several European Muslims, including from Belgium, who have traveled to Syria to join the fighting in the civil war there, leading to theories of a possible jihadist motive for the museum attack.
Two Israeli tourists were among the victims of the shooting.
*
India, Israel ink $5 million joint educational research program
(JNS.org) India and Israel announced a new $5 million joint research program to further strengthen education-sector collaboration between the two countries.
According to the Indian financial daily, Business Standard, 66 research proposals have already been received and will be evaluated by experts on both sides. Annual bilateral trade between India and Israel currently reaches about $5 billion.
The announcement comes just days after Narendra Modi was sworn in as India’s new prime minister. Modi, who forged close ties with Israeli businesses as chief minister of the Indian state of Gujarat, has indicated he will pursue closer Indo-Israeli ties.
“We are very confident he will give the proper attention to the relations with Israel because he understands the strategic bond,” Anat Bernstein-Reich, president of the Israel-India Friendship Association and vice president of the Israel-Asia Chamber of Commerce, told JNS.org.
*
Jewish humanitarian group sends 15 tons of aid to Balkans flood victims
(JNS.org) In response to last week’s massive floods in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), along with the Federation of Jewish Communities in Romania, has dispatched five aid convoys carrying 15 tons of aid for flood victims.
“We’re especially proud that in this moment of tremendous need, we could partner with the Jewish communities of Romania, Serbia, and Bosnia to bring life-saving aid to those who need it most,” said Diego Ornique, JDC’s incoming Europe Regional Director.
The emergency aid includes food, personal hygiene products, water, milk, powdered milk, diapers, liquid soap, bedding, and replacement furniture for flood victims in the towns of Belgrade, Doboj, and Banja Luka.
*
Preceding provided by JNS.org, which is sponsored on the pages of San Diego Jewish World through the generosity of Dr. Bob and Mao Shillman.