Three Israeli soldiers wounded in Gaza border blast
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Three Israeli soldiers were wounded on Tuesday morning when a roadside bomb exploded near an armored vehicle along the border with the Gaza Strip, Army Radio reported.
The injured soldiers received medical care at the scene and one was later transported to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba for further treatment.
The incident occurred in the Kibbutz Nirim area as soldiers from the Givati Brigade were conducting a routine patrol.
In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces Spokesperson’s Unit said the IDF would continue to act against terrorism emanating from the Gaza Strip. It cast blame for such terrorism on Hamas.
Two weeks ago, an IDF company commander was seriously wounded by an explosive device along the fence near the Kissufim border crossing.
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Microsoft CEO meets Netanyahu to finalize cooperation deal
(JNS.org) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz met with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer in Jerusalem on Monday morning to discuss cooperation in the field of teleprocessing technology, Israel Hayom reported.
Israeli Finance Ministry Chief Information Officer Carmela Avner and Microsoft Israel CEO Danny Yamin were set to sign a memo of understanding defining the parameters of the strategic cooperation between Microsoft and Israel, and including mechanisms for exchanging information and know-how in a number of fields, as well as the development of joint infrastructure intended to encourage investment in the field of international teleprocessing.
Within this cooperative framework, the sides will also work to promote and develop technological innovation, launch government policies, implement technology to reduce bureaucratic burdens, better handle large databases, improve information security and privacy protection, improve access to government services, exchange information, launch community projects in Israel and advance Israeli technology and start-up companies.
“The combination of Israel and Microsoft is a natural one because the Israeli high-tech industry is one of the world leaders,” Netanyahu said at the meeting. “Microsoft understood Israel’s potential many years ago, and has since enjoyed the fruits of Israel’s quality manpower.”
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Report: Secret U.S.-Iran talks going on for several months
(JNS.org) Following a New York Times report last month that the U.S. had agreed to direct negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program for the time, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Monday that a senior advisor to President Barack Obama has already been leading secret talks with Iran for several months.
The Israeli newspaper said Valerie Jarrett, a Chicago lawyer who was born in the Iranian city of Shiraz, initiated the talks with the Islamic Republic. The White House denied that report, as did Obama during the Oct. 22 presidential debate on foreign policy.
In the ongoing U.S.-Iran talks, which are taking place in Bahrain, Jarrett has reportedly been communicating with representatives of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Jarrett, a longtime friend of First Lady Michelle Obama, is the assistant to the president for public engagement and intergovernmental affairs. Jonathan Tobin, senior online editor of Commentary magazine, wrote that “by putting someone with no background on security issues in charge of [negotiations with Iran], Obama may be signaling that the president’s goal here is not an Iranian surrender of nuclear capability, but rather a political compromise that may not eliminate the threat of an Islamist bomb sometime down the road.”
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