Israeli Navy trains in Red Sea with Islamic State threat in mind
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) The Israeli Navy conducted a major training exercise off the coast of Eilat in the Red Sea on Wednesday, simulating several possible scenarios that could unfold on the high seas.
Some of the scenarios the navy wants to prepare for include the hijacking of a civilian vessel by terrorists, the infiltration of Israeli waters, or a terrorist attack on a navy ship. A large contingent of forces from various units took part in the exercise, including the naval commandos of the Israel Defense Forces, known as “Shayetet 13,” along with several missile ships.
During the exercise, the naval commandos were responsible for the extraction of hostages aboard a hijacked ship. A senior Israeli naval officer told reporters that the threat posed by the Islamic State terror group in the Sinai Peninsula, which also runs along the Red Sea, “was one of our considerations for holding this drill in this sector, but not the only consideration.”
Additionally, according to the IDF, the Israeli Navy is building an underwater fence near Eilat’s Princess Hotel as well as the Israel-Egypt border’s Taba Crossing, in order to counter the threat of infiltration by enemy divers.
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IDF soldier who shot immobilized terrorist won’t face murder charge
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) An Israel Defense Forces soldier who recently shot a neutralized terrorist in the head in Hebron, sparking controversy over his actions, will likely be charged with manslaughter and not murder, IDF prosecutor Lt. Col. Edoram Rigler said Thursday at a military court in Qastina.
Military court judge Lt. Col. Ronen Shor decided Thursday to release the soldier to open custody on a military base. While in custody, he will be forbidden from carrying a weapon and from making direct or indirect contact with relevant witnesses in the case.
At a hearing on Friday, the prosecution asked to have the soldier’s remand extended until next Thursday to facilitate the advancement of the investigation, noting the importance of not interfering with upcoming forensic testing and the autopsy of the terrorist. The autopsy, scheduled for Sunday, will determine whether the shot fired by the soldier in custody in fact killed him.
Military prosecutor Col. Sharon Zagagi-Pinhas said, “There are two main foundations that we believe form the basis for a clear evidential picture: the videos, of which we will present one main video to the court; and the comments made by the soldier immediately after the incident, specifically, ‘the terrorist has to die,’ which demonstrate the spirit and motivation underlying the act.”
The soldier’s lawyer, Eyal Beserglick, said in his client’s defense, “We need to put ourselves in the soldier’s shoes in real-time, not in a video. The scene is explosive, there are people screaming that the terrorist is still alive and has a bomb. The terrorist is wearing a coat that looks like a flak jacket on a very hot day. The Magen David Adom emergency services staff on site is not authorized to approach the terrorist because of concerns over an explosive device. The soldiers are also keeping their distance, and before the gunfire, you cannot get closer to the terrorist. When we asked [on Thursday] if transporting the terrorist from the area could have meant transporting a bomb, they said they still did not know. Additionally, there were concerns about a mixed [stabbing and bombing] attack.”
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U.S. criticizes U.N. vote to start database of Judea and Samaria businesses
(JNS.org) The United States on Wednesday criticized the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for its recent adoption of a measure that called for creating a database of Israeli businesses operating in Judea and Samaria.
“We continue to unequivocally oppose the very existence of that agenda item and therefore any resolutions…that come from it,” U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said.
The Obama administration, however, still maintains the stance that Israeli construction in Judea and Samaria (and in other areas beyond the 1967 lines) is detrimental to efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The U.N. measure was adopted last week, with 32 nations voting in favor, none against, and 15 abstaining. The U.S. is not a voting member of the UNHRC. Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon last week called the Judea and Samaria database a “blacklist.”
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Jordanian basketball tournament urges boycott of Israeli athletes
(JNS.org) A basketball tournament held on Thursday in Jordan sought to encourage participants to boycott Israeli athletes, the Jerusalem Post reported.
“We organize a basketball competition in commemoration of Land Day, to explain to Jordanian sportsmen the importance of supporting the boycott and refusing to participate in sports competitions that promote peace and normalization of relations with Israel,” the Jordanian arm of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement wrote in a Facebook post.
The basketball tournament, called “The Land Cup,” took place at the Applied Science Private University in Amman to mark Palestinian Land Day, an anti-Israel day initiative held annually on March 30 to commemorate six Israeli-Arab rioters who were killed in clashes with Israeli security forces in 1976.
Although boycotting Israeli athletes’ participation in competitions is a trend in the Middle East, the Egyptian sports minister confirmed in early March that Egypt would host the Israeli national basketball team in an international tournament, despite calls to boycott Israel. On the government level, both Egypt and Jordan have peace treaties with Israel.
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Israel reduces electricity supply to Jericho over Palestinian debt
(JNS.org) The Israel Electricity Company (IEC) on Thursday began decreasing the flow of electricity to the West Bank city of Jericho by one-third, causing power outages, said Hisham Al-Omari, director general of the Arab Electricity Company in eastern Jerusalem. The Jerusalem Post quoted sources as saying that the electricity supply to Jericho was reduced from 15 to 7.5 megawatts because of unpaid Palestinian electricity bills of more than $450 million.
About 80 percent of the debt belongs to Palestinians customers of the Jerusalem District Electricity Company, which provides electricity to Jericho, Bethlehem, Ramallah, and parts of eastern Jerusalem. The rest of the debt belongs to customers in Palestinian Authority-controlled areas. Al-Omari admitted that many Palestinian customers are not paying their electricity bills, and also cited an “increased phenomenon of electricity theft.” When Palestinian Authority police tried to collect on debts, they were reportedly met with violence and threats.
Sources at the IEC said the decision to reduce Jericho’s electricity supply was based on the fact that the city also receives electricity from Jordan, Haaretz reported.
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Operator on Belgian terror hotline denies Israel’s existence
(JNS.org) A volunteer with a Jewish center in Belgium who called the country’s terror hotline encountered an operator who denied the existence of Israel as a state.
The Joods Actueel news website reported that Israel had proposed to fly back at least two of its citizens who were among the hundreds wounded in the three bomb attacks in Brussels on March 22, in which more than 30 people were killed.
The volunteer from the Jewish center in Antwerp called the Belgian crisis center’s terror hotline to inquire about repatriation procedures. During the call, the operator repeatedly used the word “Palestine” instead of Israel. The operator also said he did not know of the existence of the State of Israel, but instead knew about “Jews who have established themselves in Palestine and are occupying territory.”
The Belga news agency reported that the crisis center has since apologized for the incident. “It is unacceptable; we regret what happened,” spokesman Peter Mertens said. “We have taken measures so this does not happen again.”
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Watchdog: Denmark ignores evidence of Palestinian Fatah terror glorification
(JNS.org) The Danish government has ignored an open letter and a report submitted to Denmark’s foreign minister from Palestinian Media Watch (PMW), both detailing how the Palestinian Authority’s ruling Fatah party frequently glorifies terror against Israelis, according to PMW.
Speaking in the Danish Parliament, Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen had reportedly dismissed an example of such terror glorification as not representative of Fatah, adding that he would reassess this position if confronted with additional evidence. PMW said that it followed up by submitting its open letter and report to the Denmark’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs, outlining multiple instances of such Palestinian terror glorification.
“We have nothing more to contribute,” the Danish ministry said when asked by PMW to respond to their submitted materials, according to the watchdog group. The ministry added that it “does not share the interpretation” of PMW that the foreign minister had agreed to reassess his position based on additional evidence.
In one instance of recent terror glorification, a Palestinian Authority school named a girls’ basketball game in honor of Palestinian terrorist Dalal Mughrabi, who in 1978 led efforts to hijack a bus near a Tel Aviv beach in an attack that killed 38 Israeli civilians.
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