Israel seals off West Bank and Gaza in wake of Tel Aviv terror attack
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Two days after the Palestinian terrorist shooting that killed four Israelis in Tel Aviv, the Israeli diplomatic-security cabinet imposed a general closure on all of the West Bank and on border crossings into Gaza.
The two terrorists who carried out Wednesday’s shooting hail from the Palestinian city of Yatta in the West Bank. The Israel Defense Forces Spokesperson’s Unit issued a statement Friday saying that the border crossings would only be reopened after the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, which ends in Israel on Sunday night.
Over the weekend, the closure will only be lifted in the event of a humanitarian, medical, or otherwise extreme emergency, pending the approval of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai.
Also on Friday, the Israel Police were bracing for potential clashes on the Temple Mount as the first Friday prayers of the holy month of Ramadan were set to begin. Early Friday morning, thousands of police officers fanned out across eastern Jerusalem and the Old City in an effort to bolster security in the area. The police called on Muslim worshippers to adhere to police instructions and maintain the peace while observing their holiday.
*
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai sparked outrage through his response to Wednesday’s fatal terrorist shooting at the Sarona market compound, saying he understood the terrorists’ motives.
“We might be the only country where one people is under occupation by another without having civil rights, and the leaders say it’s so we can reach a [peace] deal,” Huldai told Army Radio.
“On one hand, we’re 49 years into the occupation, and I was part of it. (Huldai is a retired brigadier general who served as an Israeli Air Force pilot for 26 years.) I know the reality and I know that courageous leaders need to aspire to do things, not just talk. The fact that we accept this suffering isn’t leading to any change in our understanding about what we need to do,” Huldai said.
The mayor added that “you can’t hold people to a reality in which you conquer them and think that they’ll reach the conclusion that everything is all right and they can go on living that way.”
In response to Huldai’s controversial remarks, Israeli Science, Technology and Space Minister Ofir Akunis (Likud) said, “We don’t need Huldai to lecture us on morality and his desire for peace or the peace process. He should aim his criticism at the other side, which sends animals to murder innocent Israelis. The things he said, which could be interpreted as meaning there is a need for a mega-terrorist attack to start the peace process, are nonsense that should be condemned as harshly as possible.”
Deputy Defense Minister Eli Ben-Dahan (Habayit Hayehudi) said Huldai “is putting the blame on the occupation…or [the fact] that we haven’t reached a peace deal with the Arabs, so we’re suffering terrorism….It’s time for us, the [political] right, to tell the leftists: ‘You’re deluded.’”
Member of Knesset Nava Boker (Likud) said that “the blood still isn’t dry from the terrorist attack, and Huldai is already rushing to profit politically and tie the attack to the ‘occupation.’”
*
Israel announces arrest of third Palestinian involved in Tel Aviv terror attack
(JNS.org) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israeli authorities have arrested a third Palestinian involved in Wednesday’s deadly shooting terror attack at the Sarona market in Tel Aviv.
“We have conducted raids in Yatta (the hometown of the two Palestinian terrorists who carried out the shooting) and have caught the third Palestinian, who was an accomplice in the attack. We have restricted work permits for members of their family, and created a buffer zone around Tel Aviv,” Netanyahu said Thursday during a visit to the Sarona complex’s Max Brenner restaurant, where the terrorists are said to have dined before carrying out the attack.
“In this place, four innocent Israelis were murdered, and we honor their deaths,” Netanyahu added. “This nation is strong and they will not stop us. I know personally the pain their families feel. We stand with them, and wish the injured a speedy recovery.”
Netanyahu made his comments around the same time that reports emerged about how an off-duty Israeli police officer had accidentally invited one of the terrorists into his home after the attack, thinking that the man was a witness to the attack who was in shock and not realizing he was actually one of the shooters. The terrorist was left alone in the house with the police officer’s wife and in-laws, who were unharmed. He was eventually apprehended.
*
Growing Chinese interest in Israeli technology spurs investment summit
(JNS.org) Tel Aviv will host the “INNONATION: China-Israel Investment Summit” from Sept. 24-26, following the success of a similar summit held in January 2016 in Beijing.
The joint Israeli-Chinese conference is supported by both nations’ governments. It will be held at the David Intercontinental Hotel in Tel Aviv and will host more than 1,000 Chinese investors and strategic partners, as well as 500 Israeli high-tech companies and entrepreneurs from a variety of fields such as agriculture, clean technology, mobile and Web, smart cities, and medicine.
The INNONATION summit is a joint initiative of Israel’s Ministry of Economy and the Infinity Group, and has already secured the participation of more than 40 investors from Chinese investment funds, according to the Israeli business news outlet Globes.
“I expect that the vast majority of the Israeli venture capital funds which will raise capital in 2016 will include at least one Chinese investor. The significant interest of Chinese companies and investors and the large resources they have are an opportunity for Israeli companies. This fact particularly refers to sectors which include elements of advanced manufacturing, where Israel has a lot to offer, while in China, these capabilities are part of the recent five year plan of the Chinese government,” said Ziva Eger, head of the Foreign Investments and Industrial Cooperation Authority at the Israeli Ministry of Economy.
*
IDF reinforces Judea and Samaria presence following Tel Aviv terror attack
(JNS.org) The Israel Defense Forces on Thursday announced that it will deploy more troops in Judea and Samaria following Wednesday’s Palestinian terror attack that killed four Israelis in Tel Aviv.
“In accordance with situation assessments, the Judea and Samaria Division will be reinforced by two additional battalions,” the IDF said in a statement.
The village of Yatta, where the two Palestinian terrorists lived, was put on lockdown, with nobody allowed in or out without the IDF’s permission.
Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Thursday told reporters that he “does not intend to make do with just talk.”
“I came here to salute the people of Tel Aviv who endured another [terror attack], and despite this know how to return to life as normal,” Lieberman said as he stood in Sarona market, the site of the attack.
“I do not intend to elaborate on the steps we intend to take, but…I don’t intend to make do with just words,” he said.
*
Fake CEO scammers indicted in Israel
(JNS.org) Israel’s state prosecutor on Wednesday indicted four new immigrants from France for an international money scam costing five European companies about $10 million, the Associated Press reported.
Prosecutors say the immigrants created fake email accounts to send forged documents to employees of some of Europe’s largest companies, tricking them into transferring funds to bank accounts for a new “clearing firm.” The clearing firm turned out to belong to fake companies with accounts owned by the defendants.
In one of the bigger scams, the defendants impersonated a Chanel employee and convinced ICI Paris XL to transfer almost $6.2 million to a Bulgarian bank account. Another scam included impersonating a Mars CEO to get the supermarket chain Corato to send nearly $365,000 owed to Mars.
Other companies involved in the scam case include the Italian athletic clothing retailer Diadora, beer industry giant Anheuser-Busch, and car manufacturers Kia Motors and Toyota, but not all followed through with the transfer of funds. The pioneer of these fake-CEO scams, Gilbert Chikli, still lives freely in Netanya in central Israel, evading French authorities.
“If they have a problem, they can come see me. They know my address. I am not fleeing,” Chikli told the Associated Press by telephone. “Send them my regards.”
*
Articles from JNS.org appear on San Diego Jewish World through the generosity of Dr. Bob and Mao Shillman. Comments intended for publication in the space below MUST be accompanied by the letter writer’s first and last name and by his/ her city and state of residence (city and country for those outside the United States.)