(JNS.org) The day after the targeted killing of Hamas terrorist chief Ahmed Jabari, the Palestinian media lead with headlines praising his “martyrdom,” despite his long history of involvement in terrorism against Israeli civilians.
According to Palestinian Media Watch (PMW), the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) official newspaper, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, referred to Jabari’s death as Shahada—martyrdom death for Allah—calling it “the crowning achievement of his life of struggle” and “his self-sacrificing actions (i.e., terror attacks) will be told for generations to come and will be eternalized in memory.”
PA President Mahmoud Abbas has demanded that, “Arab countries in the [UN] Security Council discuss courses of action to end the [Israeli] aggression.”
The PA’s support for Jabari comes despite his position as part of its rival, Hamas. The PA broke with Hamas in 2006 after Hamas forces ousted the PA from Gaza in a bloody coup d’état. Meanwhile, in Gaza, tens of thousands took to the streets for Jabari’s funeral procession from Gaza’s Omari Mosque, according to the Times of Israel.
Referred to by Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak as the “the military chief of staff of Hamas,” Jabari was born in 1960 in a village in Gaza. Jabari was arrested by Israeli forces in 1982 as a member of Fatah and spent 13 years in an Israeli prison where he switched allegiance to Hamas. After his release in 1995 Jabari quickly rose through the ranks of Hamas’s military wing—the Izz Adin al-Qassam Brigades—for his role in several terrorist attacks against Israel, such as a 1998 terror attack on a school bus that killed two Israeli children.
In 2002, Jabari took over as commander of Hamas’s military wing after the former commander was injured in an Israeli strike. In 2006, Jabari directed the capture of Israeli solider Gilad Shalit.
In a 2006 interview with Al-Jazeera on the targeting of civilians, Jabari said “The Jew who comes to the soil of Palestine… is fighting us, and we will fight him and kill him,” according to PMW.
Later, Jabari received praise by Hamas’s hardline leadership for his role in securing the release of 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Shalit in 2011.
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Rockets strike Tel Aviv area, city’s siren rings for first time since Gulf War
(JNS.org) A rocket launched by the Palestinian terrorist group Islamic Jihad struck the Tel Aviv suburb of Holon on Thursday evening, Haaretz reported, following an earlier rocket that fell outside Rishon Lezion (roughly 15 kilometers outside Tel Aviv).
Due to the rockets, a real air raid siren was heard in Tel Aviv—Israel’s second-largest city and its commercial center—for the first time since the Gulf War in the early 1990s.
No casualties or injuries were reported as a result of this rare occurrence of Gaza rockets reaching central Israel.
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Netanyahu on IDF operation: ‘No government would tolerate’ Hamas’s terror
(JNS.org) In the wake of the Israel Defense Forces’ killing of Hamas military leader Ahmed al-Jabari, more than 250 rockets fired by Gaza terrorists into Israel, and three Israelis being killed, the IDF is now calling army reservists and preparing for a potential ground incursion into Gaza.
The IDF’s operation has become known as “Pillar of Defense.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement Thursday in the wake of these developments.
“In recent days and weeks, Hamas and the other terrorist organizations in Gaza have made normal life impossible for over one million Israelis. No government would tolerate a situation where nearly a fifth of its people live under a constant barrage of rockets and missile fire, and Israel will not tolerate this situation. This is why my government has instructed the Israeli Defense Forces to conduct surgical strikes against the terrorist infrastructure in Gaza. And this is why Israel will continue to take whatever action is necessary to defend our people,” Netanyahu said.
The rest of the Netanyahu’s statement was as follows:
“I want to remind you that seven years ago, Israel withdrew from every square inch of Gaza. Now Hamas, they took over the areas we vacated. What did it do? Rather than build a better future for the residents of Gaza, the Hamas leadership, backed by Iran, turned Gaza into a terrorist stronghold. They fired thousand of rockets at our cities, at our towns, at our civilians, at our children. They’ve smuggled thousands of rockets and missiles into Gaza, and they deliberately place these rockets and missiles in civilian areas: in homes, in schools, near hospitals. This year alone, the fired over one thousand rockets and missiles at Israel, included close to 200 rockets in the last 24 hours.
“I’m stressing this because it’s important to understand one simple point. There is no moral symmetry; there is no moral equivalence, between Israel and the terrorist organizations in Gaza. The terrorists are committing a double war crime. They fire at Israeli civilians, and they hide behind Palestinian civilians. And by contrast, Israel takes every measure to avoid civilian casualties. I saw today a picture of a bleeding Israeli baby. This picture says it all: Hamas deliberately targets our children, and they deliberately place their rockets next to their children. Despite this reality, and it’s a very difficult reality, Israel will continue to do everything in its power to avoid civilian casualties.
“Yesterday I spoke to President Obama and I briefed him on Israel’s operations. I want to express my appreciation once again to President Obama for his unequivocal clear sided support for Israel’s right to defend itself. I also want to express my appreciation to the other world leaders I’ve had a chance to speak to in the last 24 hours. I hope that Hamas and the other terror organizations in Gaza got the message. If not, Israel is prepared to take whatever action is necessary to defend our people.”
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IDF takes Operation Pillar of Defense to social media
(JNS.org) In addition to Amud Anan (Pillar of Defense), its operation in defense of the Jewish state in response to a barrage of rockets from Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is also taking the operation to Twitter.
“The IDF has begun a widespread campaign on terror sites & operatives in the Gaza Strip, chief among them Hamas & Islamic Jihad targets,” said the IDF spokesperson’s unit, according to Globes.
The IDF tweets regularly about the launch and interception of rockets, and it also tweeted the video showing the killing of Hamas military commander Ahmed Jabari.
In addition to Twitter, the IDF is posting frequently on Facebook. One post, “Hamas rocket threat,” shows a map of rocket ranges and Israeli cities, and the statement, “Tonight, more than one million Israelis are going to sleep in bomb shelters. This operation will bring a better tomorrow. Share if you believe Israel has the right to defend itself.” Another post states “Palestinian terrorists have fired more than 12,000 rockets against Israel in the last 12 years. Share if you believe Israel has the right to defend itself.”
Jewish groups react swiftly to escalation of Gaza rocket attacks on Israel
(JNS.org) Jewish organizations had an outpouring of reaction on Wednesday to the escalation of Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel that had started Saturday—conveying their prayers for the safety of southern Israelis, condemning the Hamas terrorism, and affirming the Jewish state’s right to respond.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a broad Gaza operation targeting Hamas terrorists, called “Pillar of Defense,” which killed Hamas military chief Ahmed Jabari. After Jabari’s death, Hamas intensified its rocket fire.
In Kiryat Malakhi, where three Israelis were killed by a rocket that hit their home, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) said its Better Together program “is taking care of 30 displaced families whose building was bombed and deemed uninhabitable by providing basic needs and finding them temporary shelter.” JDC is also delivering food to the homes of the elderly.
“JDC’s Emergency Response Team is already helping the elderly, people with disabilities, and youth at risk, providing basic needs and emotional support during this distressing time,” JDC President Penny Blumenstein and Interim CEO Darrell Friedman said in a joint statement.
Roz Rothstein, CEO of the pro-Israel education group StandWithUs, expressed “hope for the day when Palestinian leaders lay aside their hatred and arms, and reach out for peace with Israel.” She also said Hamas’s onslaught “endangers the citizens of Gaza who are being used as human shields.”
The Conference of President of Major American Jewish Organizations noted that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas “remains silent” despite daily Palestinian terrorist attacks.
“He has yet to condemn or criticize these blatant violations across an international border that put one million innocent Israelis in jeopardy,” Conference of Presidents Chairman Richard Stone and Executive Vice Chairman Malcolm Hoenlein said in a joint statement.
Jerry Silverman, president and CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America, said “These latest unprovoked attacks follow years of unrelenting terror that has forced so many Israelis to live in a constant state of fear— conditions which no country would tolerate.”
“We proudly stand shoulder to shoulder with the people and state of Israel during this difficult time and pray that such attacks will soon end,” Silverman said.
American Jewish Committee Executive Director David Harris on Thursday criticized the United Nations Security Council for not being able to agree on a statement of concern regarding Israel’s situation during a Wednesday night emergency session in New York.
“The inability of too many world leaders to distinguish between the arsonist, Hamas, and the firefighter, Israel, is gross negligence,” Harris said. “No UN member state can honestly say it would respond differently to a neighbor dedicated to its annihilation and launching rockets to provoke a larger confrontation.”
The National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC) said it “stands with Israel as it exercises its sovereign right to respond to the rocket attacks launched by Hamas terrorists from Gaza.” NJDC added that it is “relieved to see that the Iron Dome missile defense system has intercepted many incoming rockets, helping to save Israeli lives and property as well.”
Morsi slams IDF operation, sends Israel ambassador home
(JNS.org) Slamming the Israel Defense Forces’ Operation Pillar of Defense, which came as a response to ongoing rocket fire by Hamas, Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi said “Israelis must realize that this aggression is unacceptable and would only lead to instability in the region and would negatively and greatly impact the security of the region,” the Associated Press reported.
“We are in contact with the people of Gaza and with Palestinians and we stand by them until we stop the aggression and we do not accept under any circumstances the continuation of this aggression on the Strip,” Morsi said.
On Wednesday, Egypt also sent its ambassasor to Israel home due to strikes that killed Ahmed Jabari, the Hamas military chief, according to Morsi spokesman Yasser Ali.
Three Israelis killed in ongoing Gaza rocket onslaught
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) The Israel Defense Forces kept up the pressure on terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip on Thursday as Operation Pillar of Defense entered its second day. The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said that by Thursday afternoon more than 150 terrorist sites in Gaza had been struck. Meanwhile, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other terror groups have continued launching rockets at civilian targets in Israel’s south, with around 150 rockets fired at Israel since Wednesday afternoon. The Iron Dome system has successfully intercepted around 50 of those rockets.
Three Israelis—Aharon Smagda, a 40-year-old father of three, Yitzchak Amselam, 22, and Mirah Scharf Cohen, a 25-year-old pregnant mother of three—were killed when a Grad rocket scored a direct hit on a building in Kiryat Malachi. Police and IDF Homefront Command officers said they had been standing at their apartment’s window when the rocket struck, and might have survived had they obeyed instructions and sought shelter in their building’s stairwell.
The Iron Dome anti-rocket system had intercepted some 50 rockets by Thursday afternoon over major population centers including Ashdod and Beersheba. Some Grad rockets did explode in these cities, causing damage but no loss of life. A factory sustained a direct hit in Ashdod, but there were no casualties. Radio reports said a steady stream of Israelis from southern towns was moving north to escape the constant rockets, although there were no confirmed numbers.
In Gaza, 13 Palestinians—including seven terrorists and four civilians—have been killed by Israeli actions since Wednesday. Among the dead terrorists was Hamas military commander Ahmed Jabari and another senior military wing commander, as well as a three-man rocket launching squad. Among the civilian dead were a seven-year-old girl and a pregnant woman, Palestinian medical sources told the BBC.
PA non-member observer state vote violates peace accords, Israel says
(JNS.org) Israeli officials are telling international dignitaries that the Jewish state may fully or partially cancel the Oslo Accords if the United Nations General Assembly makes “Palestine” a non-member observer state. The Palestinian Authority (PA) plans to hold a vote at the UN on Nov. 29, the anniversary of the UN vote on the Partition Plan for Palestine in 1947. If the vote takes place, about 150 of the 193 member nations are expected to vote for the resolution.
A cable was sent to international Israeli representatives by the Israeli foreign ministry Sunday stating that they should request the local authorities to “halt the Palestinian initiative because of its far-reaching consequences,” according to Haaretz. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman met with the Israeli ambassadors to the European Union nations in Vienna, and said that they must respond harshly to the PA’s intention to hold this vote. But “under no circumstances can we harm the Palestinian civilian population,” he also said.
“The Palestinian resolution is a clear violation of the fundamental principle of negotiations and is a violation of the agreements between Israel and the PLO. The adoption of the resolution will give Israel the right to re-evaluate previous agreements with the PLO and consider canceling them partially or completely, and would make progress in the peace process more difficult in the future,” said ambassador Roni Leshno-Yaar, who is charge of all Israeli efforts to block the Palestinian initiative in the UN.
Israel pioneers new type of liver cancer treatment
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) A new method for operating on liver cancer patients was put to the test for the first time in Israel recently at Hadassah University Hospital-Ein Kerem in Jerusalem. The method applies a direct flow of high-voltage electrical currents to the malignant tumor and has raised new hope for patients diagnosed with the disease. Until now, a cancerous growth in the liver has been considered a death sentence. But after the first operation of its kind using the electrical current method was performed several weeks ago on Louis Saznovsky (55) from the town of Sitria, the diagnosis has become a lot less frightening.
Saznovsky, who was told he had a cancerous growth last year, said, “Since the growth was attached to blood vessels, they explained to me that it would be difficult to reach and remove it. Without surgery, there was no other way to treat me.” With no other way to help Saznovsky, doctors decided to try the new method known as irreversible electroporation, which takes just several minutes under complete anaesthetic. Since that first use of the new method, more than 200 such operations have been performed worldwide.
“The method does not generate excessive heat or cold in the body, and can therefore be applied close to blood vessels and vital organs without harming them,” said Dr. Mohamed Faroja, a Hadassah surgeon who learned the method in a British hospital. The operation in Israel, which was performed with the help of Prof. Nahum Goldberg and Dr. Liat Applebaum, was considered a complete success.
“Already on the day after the operation we knew it was successful and there were only a few scars where the tumor once was. I feel good today and have even gone back to work,” Saznovsky said. “After the operation, Hadassah Director-General Prof. Ehud Kokia visited me and I thanked him for saving my life.”
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