Israeli unemployment rate sees historic drop
(JNS.org) April 2016 marked a historic drop in the Israeli unemployment rate, which sunk to 4.9 percent compared to 5.3 percent in March, according to a new report from Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS).
The report said about 193,000 people were unemployed in April, down from roughly 208,000 in March. CBS economists warned not to read too much into the changes in April due to a rise in temporary jobs leading up to the Passover holiday, but the drop in unemployment is still seen as noteworthy.
Meanwhile, Bank of Israel Governor Dr. Karnit Flug has left Israel’s June interest rate unchanged at 0.1 percent. Among other reasons, the interest rate remains unchanged due to the continued rise in housing prices, the growing demand for mortgages, and the surprising rise of the dollar by 4.26 percent since the beginning of May.
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Netanyahu asks French prime minister to organize direct Israeli-Palestinian talks
(JNS.org) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told French Prime Minister Manuel Valls that he should help organize direct Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in Paris.
“If you really want to help launch peace, then help us launch direct negotiations with [Palestinian Authority President] Mahmoud Abbas,” Netanyahu told Valls, who was on a three-day Middle East trip.
The French government originally proposed holding a summit of about 20 international leaders to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Paris on May 30. The summit, which was postponed to June 3, aims to unveil a new French peace initiative and plan for a larger summit in the fall.
While Abbas has welcomed the French initiative, Netanyahu has opposed the meeting, which does not include Israeli or Palestinian representatives.
“The Palestinian leadership doesn’t see the French initiative as an inducement to compromise, but rather as a way to avoid it,” Netanyahu said.
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Hamas plans to hold more than a dozen public executions
(JNS.org) The Palestinian terror group Hamas says it is planning to go ahead with the public executions of more than a dozen criminals in the near future.
“Capital punishments will be implemented soon in Gaza,” Hamas attorney general Ismail Jaber said. “I ask that they take place before a large crowd.”
Hamas official Khalil al-Haya said that 13 men are currently awaiting public executions. The last time Hamas held public executions was during the 2014 summer war with Israel, where Hamas firing squads shot several people outside of Gaza’s main mosque for allegedly collaborating with the Jewish state. The bodies were then dragged through the streets.
Since 1994, more than 170 Palestinians have been sentenced to death and about 30 have been executed, according to the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights.
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London’s Heathrow Airport considers Israeli security measures
(JNS.org) Due to increased warnings of potential Islamic State terror attacks in Europe, officials at London’s Heathrow Airport are considering implementing more stringent security protocols similar to those employed at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport.
The proposed protocols include the so-called “ring of steel” initiative, in which undercover security personnel are scattered throughout the airport and are reinforced by custodial and maintenance staffers. Heathrow would also implement increased screening of baggage handlers, the British newspaper The Times reported Sunday.
According to The Times, a senior Israeli intelligence official warned that European airports are strong targets for terror attacks, and that Islamic State may conduct more attacks like March’s Brussels airport bombing and last year’s bombing of a Russian plane in Egypt. Additionally, a former McDonald’s employee who was trained by al-Qaeda was revealed to have been planning a suicide attack against Israeli and American passengers at Heathrow.
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Israeli home design app Houzz wins Google Play’s ‘Best App’ award
(JNS.org) The Israeli interior design app Houzz won “Best App” in the first Google Play awards. The app allows people to track design options by saving photos categorized by room type, location, and style. Users can also consult with each other, share choices with friends and family, and find design inspiration from top interior decorators.
Houzz, which was created by Adi Tatarko and Alon Cohen, has been downloaded by more than 10 million users while being rated an average of 4.6 on a scale of 5 by more than 250,000 users, Google Play’s data shows. The Israeli app beat out TuneIn Radio, Colorfy, BuzzFeed News, and Yummly for the Google Play award.
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