Thousands attend funeral of Mexican-born IDF soldier killed in accident
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Some 2,000 people on Thursday attended the funeral of Mexican-born Israel Defense Forces Capt. Yishai Rosales—killed days earlier in a training exercise at the Tze’elim Base in southern Israel—at the military cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.
During the exercise, a soldier with the Armored Corps’s 75th Battalion fired an 81 mm mortar shell that exploded right next to Rosales, who was taking part in a different drill nearby. Rosales sustained critical wounds and died shortly afterward. Another soldier was lightly wounded.
Yishai’s father, Aharon, bid his son an emotional farewell.
“You have gone away and left us with broken hearts, but we know you are in heaven,” he said. “The day will come when we will meet again, our dear son. In the meantime, the Holy One, Blessed be He, will watch over you among the righteous. Your mother and I are waiting for you and your gigantic smile to walk through the door, but we know it will never happen again….We cannot imagine the Shabbat table without you. Every Shabbat we will leave a chair for you next to the table, so you can be with us. You have left us and taken a large part of our hearts with you.”
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Bedouin teacher jailed for urging Israeli students to support Islamic State
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) An Israeli Bedouin elementary school teacher was sentenced to four years in prison Thursday after the Beersheba District Court convicted him of supporting the Islamic State terror group and encouraging his students to join its forces in Iraq and Syria.
Muhammad Abu al-Kian, 28, from the southern Bedouin town of Hura, struck a plea bargain with the Israeli Southern District Attorney’s Office in which he pled guilty to supporting an illegal organization and conspiracy to commit a crime.
According to the indictment, apart from his role as a teacher, al-Kian also served as a preacher at a local mosque. He would head secret meetings attended by local youths and introduce them to Islamic State’s radical religious indoctrination. He planned to form an Islamic State cell and travel to Syria, to join the jihadi group’s forces.
The court accepted the plea bargain, saying that al-Kian, who has no previous criminal record, expressed remorse for his actions. The judge did, however, note that al-Kian “abused his position as an educator to deliver speeches in the mosque to convince them [worshippers] to join the organization.”
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U.S. imposes sanctions on Hezbollah financier
(JNS.org) The United States has imposed sanctions on Lebanese financier Ali Youssef Charara and his telecommunications company, Spectrum Investment Group Holding SAL, for supporting the Hezbollah terror group.
According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Charara has received millions of dollars to invest in commercial projects in support of Hezbollah. As a result, all of Charara and Spectrum’s assets based in the U.S. have been frozen.
“Hezbollah relies upon accomplices in the business community to place, manage and launder its terrorist funds,” said Adam Szubin, acting Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. “We are committed to exposing and disrupting these networks to pressure Hezbollah’s finances and degrade its ability to foment violence in Lebanon, Syria, and across the region.”
The sanctions are the first to be imposed under the new Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Act of 2015, which was signed into law last month. The law aims to sanction international financial institutions that knowingly engage in business with Hezbollah.
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Four Palestinian terrorists behind two stabbing attacks shot and killed
(JNS.org) Four Palestinian terrorists armed with knives were shot and killed as they attempted to stab Israel Defense Forces soldiers in two separate incidents in Judea on Thursday.
The first attack was on IDF reservists guarding the Gush Etzion junction. They were approached by three Palestinians, all armed with knives. The IDF said on Twitter, “3 attackers armed with knives attempted to stab soldiers guarding at Gush Etzion Junction. Forces thwarted attack & shot assailants.”
Less than two hours later, a fourth Palestinian terrorist attempted a similar attack on IDF forces at the Beit Anoun Junction, outside of Hebron.
No Israelis were injured in the attacks.
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Israel provides emergency relief for flood-stricken Paraguay
(JNS.org) Israel announced that it will provide food and assistance kits to Paraguayans impacted by massive flooding.
“The State of Israel is sympathetic to our sister nation of Paraguay in this difficult moment when thousands of citizens have been forced to leave their homes behind,” said the Israeli Embassy in the Paraguayan capital Asuncion. “We are ready to support the government to provide humanitarian aid.”
Some 100,000 people in Asuncion have been displaced from their homes due to massive flooding of the Paraguay River from El Niño storms during December.
Israel re-opened its embassy in Asuncion last summer. The Jewish state and Paraguay have a free trade agreement and cooperate in the areas of water, agriculture, education, and medicine.
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London Jews attacked with gas canisters, told ‘Hitler is on the way’
(JNS.org) Jews in northern London were pelted with gas canisters and verbally attacked on Wednesday by men who told them “Hitler is on the way,” The Guardian reported.
In the incident, three men threw steel canisters from a pickup truck at two Jewish men and one Jewish woman who were shopping in the Tottenham Hale area, according to the London-based Jewish watchdog group Shomrim.
“Hitler is on the way to you, Heil Hitler, Heil Hitler, Heil Hitler,” the attackers shouted, Shomrim said.
“The verbal abuse was disgusting, and small objects were thrown towards the victims, making them fear for their immediate safety,” said Shomrim volunteer Michael Blayer.
Shomrim is supporting the victims and the incident “has been reported to the Metropolitan Police [of London],” added Blayer.
“I have absolute confidence in our local police that this will be thoroughly investigated. I encourage anyone who witnessed this incident or who may have experienced a similar incident to report it,” he said.
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Masked men attack tour bus carrying Arab Israelis near Giza pyramids in Egypt
(JNS.org) Masked gunmen riding motorcycles on Thursday shot fireworks and rubber bullets at a bus carrying Arab-Israeli tourists near the Giza pyramids in Egypt, causing some damage to a nearby hotel and several tourist buses. No one was injured in the attack.
The bus that was attacked was carrying 40 Arab-Israeli tourists, most of whom are from the northern town of Umm al-Fahm or from Jaffa, one of the tourists on board told Israel’s Channel 2.
Arab-Israeli Member of Knesset Ahmad Tibi and other Israeli lawmakers have voiced concern that the tour bus was targeted specifically because its passengers were Arabs with Israeli citizenship, the Times of Israel reported.
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Hamas terrorists arrested for planning to kidnap Israeli man
(JNS.org) The Shin Bet, Israel Defense Forces, and Israel Police jointly revealed Thursday that six members of the Hamas terrorist group had allegedly planned to kidnap and kill an Israeli man in similar fashion to the murders of three Israeli teenagers—Gilad Schaar, Eyal Yifrach, and Naftali Frenkel—in June 2014. The men intended to use the kidnapped man to negotiate an exchange of Palestinian prisoners for his body.
Israeli authorities arrested the Hamas members in December, and Jerusalem’s district prosecutor filed indictments against the suspects on Thursday. One of the Hamas members, 20-year-old Ziad Abu Hadoan, previously served time in prison for violent actions at the Temple Mount holy site. He was released in October 2015. Another member, 36-year-old Maher Qawasmeh, also served time in prison for planning terror plots for Hamas.
The investigation by Israeli authorities revealed that the Hamas members had been planning the kidnapping for a year. They also planned to use explosives in a terror attack for which they purchased chemical materials, Israeli media reported.
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