First F-35 jets will arrive in Israel in December, Lockheed Martin says
(JNS.org) Development of the advanced F-35 fighter jet is moving along as expected and Israel “has our commitment” that the first F-35s it ordered will arrive this December, Lockheed Martin Vice President Gen. (ret.) Gary North said Sunday at a Tel Aviv national security conference organized by the Fisher Institute for Air and Space Strategic Studies and Israel Defense.
North was responding to reports that development of the F-35 was hitting snags.
“The plane is still in the experimental state in the U.S.,” North said. “More than 170 planes are distributed among 10 bases. Lockheed Martin has accompanied the Israeli Air Force since the foundation of the state. The F-35 will be integrated into the air force’s operational parameters, which will redefine the battlefield.”
Israeli Air Force Chief of Staff Brig. Gen. Tal Kalman also addressed the reports, saying, “I’m reading things that have little to do with reality. I hear remarks about delays and problems with creating operational capability. The plane is already operational with the Marines and next year it will be operational in the U.S. Air Force.”
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Hamas admits it is holding two Israeli hostages and two dead bodies
(JNS.org) The Hamas terrorist group on Friday admitted that it is holding two live Israeli hostages and two bodies of dead Israelis, while accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of lying about their impending release.
Netanyahu “is lying to his people” and “deceiving the families of the captive soldiers,” Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida said regarding reports that both sides are nearing a prisoner exchange deal.
“There are no talks or negotiations relating to the prisoners. The enemy will not get information about the four without paying a clear price before and after the negotiations,” Obeida added.
A report earlier last week in the U.K.’s Asharq al-Awsat newspaper said that international mediators were attempting to broker a prisoner swap for the Israeli captives and dead bodies.
The deceased Israelis held by Hamas are former IDF soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, who were killed during Operation Protective Edge in 2014. The two live captives are Avraham Mengistu, an Ethiopian Jew, and an unnamed Israeli Bedouin.
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French health minister visits Israel to learn how to treat terror victims
(JNS.org) French Minister of Health Marisol Touraine visited Israel last week in an effort to learn from the Jewish state’s medical expertise on treating victims of terror attacks.
Touraine visited Tel Aviv’s Sourasky Medical Center on Thursday and met with her Israeli counterpart, Health Minister Yaakov Litzman. France needs to “think about the best way to prepare our hospitals in case of new attacks,” especially given her country’s “dramatic terror attack at the end of last year,” Touraine said in reference to the six coordinated Islamist shootings that killed 130 people in Paris last November.
Touraine also expressed her desire for greater cooperation between France and Israel, so that France can “learn from the Israeli experience,” the Associated Press reported.
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U.K. investigates Muslim school over alleged distribution of anti-Semitic leaflets
(JNS.org) The United Kingdom’s Department for Education is investigating a private Muslim school in Yorkshire over allegations that it has been teaching radical Islam, including through handing out leaflets to students that claim Jews are plotting to take over the world.
About 140 children attend an after-school program at Yorkshire’s Tarbiyah Academy, which is headed by Mufti Zubair Dudha. An investigation by Sky News found a flyer handed out at the school that quoted the infamous anti-Semitic forgery “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.”
“It saddens me greatly that certain extracts from our publications have been taken and misrepresented to link the academy with extremism. We fully believe in the importance and need of integration whilst being able to practice our faith,” Dudha said in response to the allegations.
The U.K. Department of Education said, “These serious allegations are under investigation. While it would be inappropriate to comment on the specific investigations of these institutions, we are clear that extremism has no place in our society and we are determined to protect children from it.”
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