Israeli man wounded in Palestinian stabbing attack on highway to Jerusalem
(JNS.org) An Israeli man was moderately wounded on Sunday evening when he was stabbed by a Palestinian terrorist at a gas station on a main highway near Jerusalem.
The assailant was shot and killed by IDF troops as he tried to flee the scene of the attack. The incident took place at a Dor Alon gas station west of Beit Horon on Route 443, one of the two main highways linking Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. The Palestinian arrived at the gas station and began looking for an Israeli to target. He set his sights on a 26-year-old Israeli man who was fueling his vehicle, and stabbed him in the shoulder while shouting, “Allahu akbar!” (“God is greater!”)
Several other Israelis at the gas station tried to confront the terrorist, but he was able to get away from them and run toward the highway. Israeli soldiers rushed to the scene and shot the terrorist dead alongside the highway, some 165 feet from the gas station. The wounded Israeli man was transported to Shaare Tzedek Medical Center in Jerusalem.
Sunday’s incident was the latest in a string of Palestinian terrorist attacks in recent weeks. On Aug. 3, three Israelis were wounded when a firebomb was thrown at an Israeli vehicle near the Arab neighborhood of Beit Hanina in northern Jerusalem. Last Thursday, three Israeli soldiers were wounded when a Palestinian motorist intentionally rammed them with his vehicle at a junction on Route 60 near Shiloh in Samaria.
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Iran outraged by warming ties between Hamas and Saudi Arabia
(JNS.org) Iran canceled a planned visit to Tehran by Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal due to the Palestinian terrorist organization’s new ties with Saudi Arabia, according to Arab media reports.
An Iranian official reportedly met with a Hamas delegation in an unnamed Arab country just days before Mashaal was due to make a visit to Tehran that would have included a meeting with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The Iranian official informed the Hamas leaders of the unprecedented cancellation, but did not offer specific reasons for the move.
Reports said the official then spoke about Hamas’s improving relations with Saudi Arabia, noting that Tehran is not supportive of the budding friendship. The official added that in light of Iran’s uncompromising support of the Palestinians—in the economic, military, and political spheres—the recent meetings between Mashaal and Saudi officials in Riyadh were viewed by Iran as a personal affront.
In interviews over the past few days, senior Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouk has said that Hamas’s relationship with Iran is now virtually nonexistent.
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OECD praises efforts to integrate Israeli Arabs
(JNS.org) The 34-nation Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) praised Israel’s economy in a recent report, noting that it “weathered the global financial crisis [of 2008-2009] better than most OECD countries” and kept unemployment at “historically low levels.”
Part of the report is dedicated to the integration of Israeli Arabs in the labor market and includes recommendations for the Israeli government. According to the report, the seven government-run employment centers in the Arab community have been a “welcome development,” in part because they help create a more skilled workforce that could climb the economic ladder.
“Skills are a key route out of poverty, but many disadvantaged groups in Israel have levels of skills attainment well below that of the mainstream Jewish population,” the report noted, adding that for those centers to maximize their potential, the government should “strengthen local policy cooperation and coordination by fostering partnerships that can effectively design and implement employment and skills strategies targeted at Arab-Israelis.”
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Swedish man spied on Israeli military facilities for Hezbollah, Shin Bet says
(JNS.org) Israel’s Shin Bet security agency on Sunday announced the arrest of Khalil Hizran, a 55-year-old Swedish man of Lebanese descent who admitted to working for the Hezbollah terrorist group.
Hizran—arrested July 21 at Ben Gurion Airport and indicted on three counts related to terrorism and espionage—is suspected of gathering information on Israeli military facilities. The Shin Bet said Hezbollah “is preparing for the next war with Israel and is marking out a ‘target bank.’”
According to the Shin Bet, during Hizran’s family visit to Lebanon six years ago, Hezbollah members had informed him that they were looking to recruit Palestinians living in Europe to use their European passports to enter Israel and spy for Hezbollah. Hizran allegedly received $3,100 for his cooperation with Hezbollah in recent years. But his lawyer, Leah Tsemel, told Reuters that Hizran “refused any request to harm Israel’s security.”
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S&P affirms Israel’s A+ credit rating
(JNS.org) The international financial services and credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s on Friday affirmed Israel’s international credit rating as positive, giving it an A+ score. The agency’s economic forecast for the Jewish state defined the country’s economy as “stable” and projected it would grow by 3 percent between 2015 and 2018.
But the Israeli economy is not without its challenges, S&P said, naming a high debt ceiling as well as geopolitical factors and regional threats that may destabilize the Middle East, deter foreign investors, and curb growth potential.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “Reaffirming Israel’s credit rating reflects the global community’s faith in Israel’s responsible and balanced fiscal policies over the years.”
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Catholic aid group announces $4 million aid package for Iraqi Christians
(JNS.org) The Catholic charity organization Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has announced a new package of $4 million in assistance for Iraq’s beleaguered Christian community, coming one year after 120,000 Christians were forced to flee their homes by the Islamic State terror group.
According to ACN, many of the displaced Christians now live in Iraqi Kurdistan, where they “continue to suffer material, psychological, and spiritual hardships.” Other Iraqi Christians have fled to Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey.
ACN said it has spent more than $8 million to help Iraqi Christians, with one-third of the grants paying for the rental of reliable housing for internally displaced Christians.
The announcement of the aid package coincides with the one-year anniversary of Islamic State taking control of the Iraqi Christian city of Qaraqosh, which came a month after it took control of Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city.
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Canadian Israelis launch crowdfunding campaign to re-elect PM Harper
(JNS.org) A group of Canadians living in Israel has launched a crowdfunding campaign to help Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper win re-election this October.
“As Canadians, we believe Harper is good for Canada, he is good for the Jewish community, he is good for Israel, and he is good for the world. We want to help him stay in office,” said the campaign’s leader, strategic consultant Dan Illouz.
The crowdfunding campaign (http://jewcer.com/harperisrael) hopes to raise $20,000. The group plans to use the funds to send 10 people to Canada just prior to the election to get out the vote for Harper in Canadian Jewish communities.
Under Harper’s leadership, Canada has been an outspoken supporter of Israel in international bodies such as the United Nations. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in June that Israelis believe the Jewish state has “no better friend than Canada.”
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Ya’alon hints at Israeli involvement in assassination of Iran’s nuclear scientists
(JNS.org) Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon hinted that Israel might be involved in the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists.
“Ultimately it is very clear, one way or another, Iran’s military nuclear program must be stopped,” Ya’alon said in an interview with the German newspaper Der Spiegel. “We will act in any way and are not willing to tolerate a nuclear-armed Iran. We prefer that this be done by means of sanctions, but in the end, Israel should be able to defend itself.”
Ya’alon added that he was “not responsible for the lives of Iranian scientists,” and that Israel is considering carrying out airstrikes on Iranian military facilities.
At least five Iranian nuclear scientists have been assassinated over the past several years, most of them through car bombs. While Iran has blamed Israel for the assassinations, the Jewish state has never admitted to being involved.
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Leading Jewish Democrats Schumer, Engel to vote against Iran deal
(JNS.org) U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer and U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel, two leading Jewish Democrats in Congress from the state of New York, will vote against the Iran nuclear deal.
Schumer’s impending decision was the source of intense public lobbying efforts, with Politico reporting that his office received more than 10,000 phone calls from opponents of the deal.
While noting in a statement on Thursday that “all fair-minded Americans should acknowledge the president’s strong achievements in combating and containing Iran,” Schumer said that “no one can tell with certainty which way Iran will go.”
“Who’s to say this dictatorship will not prevail for another 10, 20, or 30 years?” he said. “Therefore, I will vote to disapprove the agreement, not because I believe war is a viable or desirable option, nor to challenge the path of diplomacy. It is because I believe Iran will not change, and under this agreement it will be able to achieve its dual goals of eliminating sanctions while ultimately retaining its nuclear and non-nuclear power.”
In a statement obtained by Reuters, Engel said, “The answers I’ve received simply don’t convince me that this deal will keep a nuclear weapon out of Iran’s hands, and may in fact strengthen Iran’s position as a destabilizing and destructive influence across the Middle East.”
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