Austrian minister nixes Israel visit over eastern Jerusalem meeting
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Austrian Science, Research and Economy Minister Reinhold Mitterlehner canceled a planned visit to Israel after his host—Science, Technology and Space Minister Ofir Akuni—insisted on meeting him in his eastern Jerusalem office. The visit was supposed to culminate with the two countries signing scientific cooperation agreements.
Mitterlehner was scheduled to arrive in Israel next week, but decided to cancel the trip after Akunis said the officials’ meetings would have to take place at the ministry, located in eastern Jerusalem, just north of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. It is part of a large complex that houses several government agencies. While Jerusalem was united following the 1967 Six-Day War, Austria and most other countries do not recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the capital’s east. Mitterlehner suggested the meeting be held at the Knesset instead, or even in Tel Aviv, but Akunis refused.
“With all due respect to the Austrian minister, Jerusalem has been our capital for the past 3,000 years; holding a meeting there trumps any other option,” Akunis said Thursday. “The government complex in east Jerusalem is part and parcel of Jerusalem; the Jerusalem Law says as much. Had I agreed to his request I might as well have agreed to the division of the city—which is never going to happen. We are not going to divide Jerusalem, just like the Austrians will never divide Vienna.”
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New Islamic State video threatens IDF and Netanyahu
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) The latest video released by the Islamic State terror group included more directs threats at Israel, this time singling out Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and IDF soldiers.
In the opening scene of the video, an Islamic State member is seen looking at photos of Israeli soldiers and of Netanyahu on Facebook.
The video then cuts to show young boys sitting at desks in the middle of a desert, as a teacher preaches about Islam, speaking about the fate of Jews and infidels. Afterward, the boys are shown learning hand-to-hand combat.
The video warns that these young terrorists, “the children of the caliphate,” will come to Tel Aviv “and behead you.”
The boys are then shown playing war games with Islamic State prisoners, where they are taught how they are expected to treat them.
The jihadi group had already released two Hebrew-language videos threatening Israel. The videos warn that the current wave of Palestinian terrorism is nothing compared to “the real war” that has yet to begin.
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Donald Trump to visit Israel by end of 2015, Prime Minister’s office confirms
(JNS.org) Republican presidential candidate and billionaire real estate mogul Donald Trump is expected to visit Israel before the end of 2015, the Israeli Prime Minister’s office confirmed, according to The Jerusalem Post.
An unnamed Israeli official said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with Trump during his visit as part of Netanyahu’s policy of meeting all major presidential candidates.
Trump has been leading the crowded Republican field in nearly every national poll over the last few months. Thursday’s confirmation of the visit comes after Trump indicated at a rally in Virginia on Wednesday night that he plans to visit Israel “soon.”
“I love Israel,” Trump told Jewish Republicans in Manassas, Va.
“Israel is our real strong supporter,” and a place Trump has “always wanted to visit,” he said.
Regarding Netanyahu, Trump said, “He’s a good man. He’s worked very hard. He has absolutely no support from President [Barack] Obama. Absolutely none.”
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Russia starts shipment of advanced S-300 missiles to Iran
(JNS.org) Russian has started the delivery of the advanced S-300 air defense system to Iran, despite American and Israeli objections.
“The contract is in action. They’ve begun,” Russian presidential aide for military-technical cooperation Vladimir Kozhin said, the Russian news agency TASS reported.
The S-300 surface-to-air-missile was initially developed under the Soviet Union, and its newer variants are regarded as the most potent anti-aircraft missile systems in the world.
Initially signed in 2007, the $800 million deal between Iran and Russia for the S-300 system was suspended in 2010. But in April, Russian President Vladimir Putin lifted the suspension after the framework nuclear deal between Iran and the P5+1 powers. A Russian official in early November, several months after the final nuclear deal was reached, confirmed that the sale was moving forward.
The move comes despite Israeli-Russian military coordination over the Syrian civil war in order to avoid inadvertent clashes such as the recent incident in which a Turkish fighter jet shot down a Russian fighter jet.
The U.S., Israel, and Saudi Arabia have all opposed the sale of the S-300 system to Iran. Israel and the U.S. fear that the missile defense system could make it more difficult to use the military option against Iran’s nuclear program.
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Trump: if elected, give me 6 months to assess Israeli-Palestinian peace process
(JNS.org) Donald Trump said in an interview published Thursday by The Associated Press that if he is elected president, he would know in six months whether or not his administration could achieve an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.
“If I win, I’ll let you know six months from the time I take office,” Trump said.
“I have a real question as to whether or not both sides want to make it,” said the Republican contender and billionaire real estate mogul, noting that he has more concern about the Palestinian side’s intentions.
Trump added that he understands if Israel is unwilling to make the sacrifices needed to bring about an agreement.
“A lot will have to do with Israel and whether or not Israel wants to make the deal—whether or not Israel’s willing to sacrifice certain things,” Trump told The Associated Press. “They may not be, and I understand that, and I’m OK with that. But then you’re just not going to have a deal.”
In an interview with JNS.org earlier this year, Trump said he was “not exactly thrilled” by the U.S. government’s current funding of the Palestinian Authority to the tune of $500 million per year.
“It’s obvious. We have to help people that respect us, that want things to be done and properly done. Not just there (the Palestinian Authority), we’re giving money to all sorts of groups and people and countries that take advantage of the United States, so it’s something that I’m not thrilled about,” Trump said at the time.
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‘Good Morning, Vietnam’ for Netanyahu? PM invited to visit Asian nation
(JNS.org) During a meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem on Wednesday, Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Hoàng Trung Hải invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to make an official visit to the southeast Asian nation, while Netanyahu invited Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng to visit the Jewish state.
At Wednesday’s meeting, the Israeli and Vietnamese foreign ministries signed a memorandum of understanding on diplomatic and political dialogue.
“I welcome this formal expansion of our dialogue,” Netanyahu said. “Our trade is already robust both ways, which I think is the healthiest. I think there are many opportunities between Vietnam and Israel in so many fields, in almost every field. And we look forward to doing this and we believe our countries can seize the future individually, but better together.”
Netanyahu proposed Israeli-Vietnamese collaboration in areas including R&D, water, biotechnology, and agriculture.
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