Israeli Air Force launches two strikes against Islamic State in Syria
(JNS.org) The Israeli Air Force (IAF) struck Islamic State forces Monday in Syria, Israel’s second strike against the jihadist terror group in just more than a day.
The IAF had killed four Islamic State terrorists Sunday in Syria in response to mortar and artillery fire on Israeli troops patrolling along the Israel-Syria border.
According to the Israel Defense Forces, Monday’s strike targeted an Islamic State post in the southern Syrian Golan Heights. The post is believed to be an abandoned United Nations military installation that had been used by the terror group to gain a foothold near the Israeli border. The IAF dropped 10 one-ton bombs on the site, completely leveling the facility and destroying weapons stored there.
“There have been several attempts to attack Israel’s forces along the border,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. “We will not allow any drizzle [of assaults], and if necessary, we will attack the enemy.”
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MK Michael Oren calls on Israelis to ‘think twice’ about buying French products
(JNS.org) Member of Knesset Michael Oren (Kulanu) encouraged Israelis to “think twice” about purchasing French-made products following a decision by France’s government to label Israeli products originating from beyond the 1967 lines differently.
“France is labeling Israeli products from Judea, Samaria, and the Golan. Israelis should think twice before buying French products,” Oren wrote Sunday on Twitter.
The statement by Oren, Israel’s former ambassador to the U.S. and currently the deputy minister for diplomacy in the Prime Minister’s Office, came days after the French government directed businesses to not use “Made in Israel” labels for products from Israeli companies in Judea, Samaria and the Golan Heights.
Responding to Oren, French Ambassador to Israel Halene Le Gal wrote on Twitter, “So you are calling for boycotting French products when in France boycotting Israel is punished by law?”
France’s decision comes about a year after the European Union issued a non-binding resolution recommending that its member states use labels distinguishing between Israeli products from within and beyond the 1967 lines.
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Israel approves acquisition of 17 additional F-35 fighter jets
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Sunday that Israel will purchase 17 additional F-35 fighter jets from the U.S.
Israel’s diplomatic-security cabinet unanimously approved the acquisition, saying American defense aid funds would be used to finance the deal.
Once the deal is completed, Israel’s F-35 squadron will include 50 stealth jets. The Israeli cabinet also decided Sunday that one of the jets acquired as part of the latest deal will be used as a test aircraft, on which the Israeli Air Force (IAF) can install and test new operating and weapon systems.
Israeli ministers are believed to already be considering a third purchase, this time for 25 F-35 jets. This acquisition may also include the F-35B STOVL, an advanced stealth takeoff and vertical landing variant aircraft.
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Netanyahu calls fires resulting from arsonists ‘terror in every way’
(JNS.org) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that any brushfires resulting from arsonists will be considered terrorism.
“Every fire that was the result of arson or incitement to arson is terror in every way and we’ll treat it as such. Anyone who tries to burn parts of the state of Israel will be severely punished,” Netanyahu said.
More than 60,000 people were evacuated Thursday from Haifa, Israel’s third-largest city, in what officials called the largest civilian mobilization in Israel’s history. Around 600-700 homes were damaged in the fires, with 37 completely destroyed, Haifa officials said. By Friday, all Haifa residents were cleared to return to their homes.
According to Israeli officials, more than a dozen people were taken into custody for starting fires near Haifa and elsewhere. Israel has been plagued by extremely dry and windy weather that has exacerbated the fire conditions across the country.
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