Netanyahu orders halt of cement shipments to Gaza after tunnel discovery
(JNS.org) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday ordered a halt to Gaza-bound cement shipments, following the discovery of a Hamas terror tunnel under the Israel-Gaza border.
Israel had allowed cement to enter Gaza as part of the rehabilitation efforts there following Operation Protective Edge in 2014. Although some 10,000 buildings were damaged during that summer’s war, Hamas has used the cement mostly for military purposes.
Netanyahu also said Monday that a seaport would not be established in Gaza, adding that Gaza would only have access to Israel’s Ashdod port, enabling Israel to inspect any incoming cargo.
“We support any form of humanitarian aid,” Netanyahu said. “But supervising a port is much more problematic….I will not sacrifice Israel’s security for the sake of a good headline. I will not permit the establishment of a maritime artery to Gaza through which arms and terrorism will flow.”
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IDF soldier who shot neutralized terrorist identified, charged with manslaughter
(JNS.org) The 20-year-old Israel Defense Forces soldier who shot a neutralized Palestinian terrorist in Hebron last month has been charged with manslaughter and named as Sgt. Elor Azaria, after a Jaffa military court lifted the gag order on his identity on Monday.
At a hearing, the military prosecution indicted Azaria on counts of manslaughter and inappropriate behavior, and the judge extended his remand until the end of legal proceedings. The judge further ruled that Azaria would be able to visit his family for the Passover holiday over the coming weekend.
Military court judge Lt. Col. Ronen Shor wrote in his decision that “there is apparent evidentiary basis showing that the defendant caused the man’s death via a prohibited act, and that the gunfire carried out by the defendant directed at the terrorist was done with no operational necessity, rather with criminal intent.”
But the judge also wrote, “Within the investigation materials themselves, there is evidence that weakens the stance of the prosecution, which maintains that the defendant’s actions and conduct necessarily constitute the crime of manslaughter. There is not insignificant evidence…that the injured terrorist, who was lying on the ground, was carrying an explosive device.”
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Arab League, U.S., Germany reject Israel’s Golan Heights affirmation
(JNS.org) The Arab League has denounced Israel’s “escalation” over control in the Golan Heights, while Germany and the United States also rejected Israeli claims on the strategic territory.
Israel’s cabinet held its weekly meeting in the Golan on Sunday to symbolize the Jewish state’s sovereignty in the area.
“Israel will never come down from the Golan Heights….In the 49 years Israel has controlled the Golan, it has been a place of peace and prosperity. Israel today is the solution, not the problem,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
On Monday, Arab League General-Secretary Nabil al-Arabia said Netanyahu’s comments marked “a new escalation that represents a brazen violation of international law.”
At the same time, Germany’s Foreign Ministry on Monday said that Israel’s decision to unilaterally maintain control over the Golan Heights would violate international law. German Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer said it is “a basic principle of international law and the U.N. charter that no state can claim the right to annex another state’s territory just like that.”
The U.S. State Department also said that the American position on the Golan Heights has not changed, and that it does not recognize the territory as part of Israel.
According to recent reports, a negotiated deal on the Syrian civil war that is being worked on by world powers would declare the Golan Heights as Syrian territory. Israel gained control of the Golan during the 1967 Six-Day War.
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World Bank: Arab donors ‘fall short’ on funds to rebuild Gaza
(JNS.org) Several leading Arab states have fallen well short of their promised aid to help in the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip following the 2014 war there between Israel and the Palestinian terror group Hamas, a new World Bank report said.
“Actual disbursements fall short of planned disbursements by around $1.3 billion, and hence, donors are urged to accelerate the disbursement of funds,” the report said, the Associated Press reported.
At a 2014 conference in Cairo, the international community pledged roughly $3.51 billion in aid over three years to Gaza. But as of the end of March 2016, only $1.41 billion has been delivered compared to the scheduled $2.71 billion.
In particular, several Arab states have fallen significantly short of their stated pledges to Gaza. Qatar, which promised the most aid at $1 billion at the 2014 Cairo conference, has so far only donated $152 million (15 percent of what it promised), the World Bank said.
Additionally, Saudi Arabia, the second-leading pledger of funds, has delivered only 10 percent of its promise of $500 million, while the United Arab Emirates has sent only 15 percent of its pledge of $200 million.
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Jordan drops plan to install security cameras on Temple Mount
(JNS.org) Jordan has decided against plans to install security cameras on the Temple Mount holy site amid ongoing Palestinian objections to the move.
According to reports, Palestinian activists have recently been distributing leaflets warning against the installation of the security cameras. The decision to drop the plan was announced by Jordanian Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour, the Jerusalem Post reported.
The agreement to install the security cameras was reached late last year between Israel and Jordan against the backdrop of ongoing tensions over the Temple Mount. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry helped facilitate the agreement.
Last month, during a visit to Ramallah by Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas also voiced support for the cameras. But Palestinians objectors have reportedly argued that the security cameras would be used by Israel to arrest Muslim worshippers on the Temple Mount.
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After earthquakes, Israeli relief group sends teams to Japan and Ecuador
(JNS.org) The Israeli international relief organization IsraAID has sent a delegation to southern Japan, where more than 50 people have been killed and thousands have been injured as a result of two strong earthquakes in the Kumamoto province since last Thursday.
The Israeli relief delegation in Japan comes after another IsraAID delegation was dispatched to Ecuador, where another earthquake killed more than 70 people and injured hundreds on Saturday.
In addition to distributing food, the IsraAID volunteers are offering medical and psychological assistance to the affected communities.
“In addition to the dozens of volunteers of IsraAID who are working hard to provide support to the teams on the ground IsraAID plans to provide on going support to both countries and regions in need,” the organization said, the Jerusalem Post reported.
The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) humanitarian group also responded to the earthquakes in both countries. In Ecuador, JDC said it is “assessing needs and coordinating relief efforts with both the Jewish community of Ecuador and longstanding partner Heart to Heart International,” while also opening a fundraising webpage. For Japan, JDC disbursed a $25,000 grant to its partner on the ground, the Japanese humanitarian agency “JEN.”
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IDF discovers new Hamas-built terror tunnel in Israel
(JNS.org) The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has discovered a tunnel built by the Hamas terror group that extended from the Gaza Strip across the border into Israel.
Military assessments indicate that the tunnel, which is 30 meters (about 98 feet) deep, was probably dug after the IDF destroyed many such tunnels during Operation Protective Edge in 2014. Such tunnels are built for Hamas terrorists to infiltrate Israel and commit terror attacks in Israeli territory.
The tunnel was uncovered 10 days ago, but permission to announce the discovery wasn’t given until Monday. The IDF found the tunnel through an alert from an innovative technological system developed to detect such tunnels in the wake of 2014’s war with Hamas. The alert system was developed by Israel’s Ministry of Defense’s Administration for the Development of Weapons and Technological Infrastructure, the Geophysical Institute of Israel, Elbit Systems Ltd., and another small start-up, reported the Israeli business website Globes.
“The challenge is very big. The tunnels are very deep. We have capabilities that do not exist anywhere else in the world. We can detect, at depths of 30 to 40 meters,” a senior security source told the Jerusalem Post.
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