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Daily News – January 4th, 2011
Our news sources today are Ha’aretz and Ynet.
In today’s headlines:
Saudi Arabia 'nabbed Israeli-tagged vulture for being Mossad spy'.…….. Netanyahu expresses condolences to Abbas over death of his brother..…….. IDF: No proof Palestinian woman died from tear gas at protest
And now for the news in detail:
The bird was found in a rural area of the country wearing a transmitter and a leg bracelet bearing the words "Tel Aviv University", according to the reports, which surfaced first in the Israeli daily Ma'ariv. Although these tags indicate that the bird was part of a long-term research project into migration patterns, residents and local reporters told Saudi Arabia's Al-Weeam newspaper that the matter seemed to be a "Zionist plot." The accusations went viral, with hundreds of posts on Arabic-language websites and forums claiming that the "Zionists" had trained these birds for espionage.
------------ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday to express condolences over his brother's death, adding that he hoped to resume the peace process as soon as possible. The two leaders last spoke more than a month ago, when Netanyahu called Abbas to thank him for the Palestinian Authority's assistance in quelling the devastating Carmel wildfire. Netanyahu and Abbas have not met face to face since September 15, nine days before the end of Israel's temporary construction freeze in the West Bank, when the Palestinians declared that they would halt contact pending renewal of the moratorium. Abbas cut short a trip to Tunisia on Monday and returned home following the death of his older brother, Atta Rida Shehada Abbas, in Damascus. Abbas was to receive mourners at his Ramallah office on Wednesday.
------------ The Israel Defense Forces said on Monday that the medical report on the death of a Palestinian woman said to have been killed at a West Bank protest contains significant inconsistencies regarding the circumstances of her death. Bil'in residents claim that Jawaher Abu Rahmah, 36 died after inhaling tear gas fired by IDF soldiers during a protest against the West Bank security barrier on Friday. Military sources said, however, that there was no evidence that Abu Rahmah even participated in Friday's demonstration against the security barrier in Bil'in - nor that she died from inhaling tear gas.
----------- After a successful run of high-tech and computer-related innovation, Israel is focusing its ambitions on the next big thing — preparing the world for life without coal and oil. Israel is driving to become a world leader in alternative energy, with the government throwing its support to encourage cutting-edge technologies. The number of private entrepreneurs entering the so-called "clean-tech" sector has swelled dramatically. Already, a number of firms are moving to roll out new ideas. Perhaps the country's best known clean-tech company — Project Better Place — aims next year to activate a network of charging stations for electric cars across Israel, which would be one of the most extensive such grids in the world. Others are still in early stages. On a 10-meter (yard) stretch of a north Israel highway, the firm Innowattech tested out its system of tile-like generators, which are installed under roads and convert the weight and motion of passing vehicles into electricity. It is now looking to expand, claiming that a kilometer-long (0.6-mile) lane of its generators could power more than 200 households.
----------- Malcolm Hoenlein, the executive vice president of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, met recently in Damascus with Syrian President Bashar Assad, Channel 10 reported on Monday. According to the Channel 10 report, Hoenlein delivered a message to Assad from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. A senior official in Jerusalem said that Netanyahu knew about Hoenlein's trip but did not ask him to send a message or serve as a mediator. Hoenlein also denied that his trip involved diplomatic matters. Channel 10 reported that Hoenlein told Netanyahu about his trip before it occurred and even received Netanyahu's blessing. According to the report, Netanyahu sent a message to Assad via Hoenlein and after the trip was updated on the details of Hoenlein's conversation with the Syrian president.
Jerusalem Weather
Forecasters called for 55° Fahrenheit in Jerusalem today, then going down to 45° tonight, with local rain.
Daily News – December 20th, 2010
Our news sources today are Ha’aretz and Ynet.
In today’s headlines:
IDF to deploy super-armored tanks along Gaza border.…….. Egypt arrests four citizens over spying for Israel..…….. In Dubai, Gal Nevo sets an Israeli record in the 200-meter butterfly
And now for the news in detail:
The deployment will begin next month following intelligence assessments that the threat of anti-tank missile attacks in the area is on the rise. Two weeks ago an IDF tank was hit in the northern portion of the border with the Gaza Strip by an anti-tank missile. The tank was damaged but the crew was not injured. Security sources had said at the time that there are strong indications that the Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip have upgraded their anti-tank missile capabilities.
------------ An Egyptian security official says four locals have been arrested on suspicion of spying for Israel and plotting to kidnap of tourists in an effort to harm Egypt's economy. The official revealed Sunday that the four suspects allegedly set up offices in Egypt, Britain, Israel, and Gaza to record officials' phone conversations and collect information about Japanese and Chinese tourists visiting the Sinai Peninsula. The official said those detained were responsible for supplying Israeli officers with the information necessary to orchestrate the abductions of the tourists. The suspects are facing charges of espionage and forming a terrorist cell. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.
------------ Israel's national swimming team finished on Sunday morning on a positive note as Gal Nevo set an Israeli record in the 200-meter butterfly. Nevo's 1:56.66 was enough for 23rd place, one-one hundredth of a second ahead of fellow countryman Alon Mandel. Looking back, Israel met its personal goals, though it fetched no medals, as well as the diplomatic victory of making it to Dubai. The team expected Nevo would reach the 400-meter medley finals while Guy Barnea in the 50-meter and 100-meter backstroke and Amit Ivri in the women's 50-meter and 100-meter butterfly events were capable of reaching the semifinals. Then there was the political aspect. The swimmers were allowed in only after pressure was applied by FINA, the international swimming federation, and the International Olympic Committee. And Nevo's final showed that the effort was well worth it.
----------- The outgoing chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, Howard Berman (D-CA), talks to Haaretz about the Palestinians' plan for unilateral declaration of statehood, Turkey's ties with Israel and the U.S., and President Barack Obama's foreign policy. There are some fears of a stalemate in foreign policy following the midterm elections. What are the chances of cooperation between the parties, especially as the 2012 elections approach? It would be tragic for this country if partisan fights undermine the importance of international leadership by the U.S., and I don't think they will. I will give you a little example regarding a very deep conflict over taxes - and the ability to find a compromise, which I think will be accepted. This election was not about foreign affairs, but about jobs, deficits, and the president seems to find an ability to work through these issues with the other party. The need also to do it on foreign affairs is so clear that I just can't believe that the Republican leadership in the Congress would be so irresponsible as to want to weaken American security for partisan interests.
----------- A French appeals court on Friday upheld the convictions of 16 people for their roles in the 2006 kidnapping, torture and murder of Parisian Jew Ilan Halimi, handing down sentences of up to 18 years in prison. The appeals court in Creteil near Paris heard appeals of defendants already convicted by a lower court into the slaying of Halimi, who was lured by a young woman and then abducted and killed. The ringleader, Youssouf Fofana, was not on trial in the proceedings that began Oct. 25. He chose not to appeal his conviction and life sentence.
Jerusalem Weather
Forecasters called for 63° Fahrenheit in Jerusalem today, then going down to 52° tonight, with partly cloudy skies.
Daily News – December 13th, 2010
Our news sources today are Ha’aretz and Ynet.
In today’s headlines:
Winter storms: Snow in Jerusalem and a boon for the Kinneret.…….. Netanyahu welcomes talks with U.S. on core Mideast issues..…….. As Israel's water crisis worsens, push for desalination gains strength
And now for the news in detail:
Snow blanketed the Golan Heights in the north. On Monday morning, the level of snow was measured at 240 centimeters at the site of the upper cable car at the Mount Hermon ski site. Officials hope to open the site to skiers by Tuesday or Wednesday. The storm has been a boon for the Sea of Galilee and Israel's water reservoirs, which had been suffering from a drought. Authorities said that the level of the Sea of Galilee has risen five centimeters in the past day. Since the storm started, 209 millimeters of rain have fallen in the Upper Galilee, 200 in the Golan Heights, 170 on the northern coast, 140 in Haifa, 70 in Beit Dagan near Tel Aviv and 30 in Jerusalem.
------------ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed on Monday a U.S. decision to drop efforts to achieve a construction freeze on Israeli settlements and focus on resolving core issues of the Middle East conflict. "To reach peace, we have to discuss the issues that are truly delaying peace ... I welcome the fact that we will now begin discussing these issues and try to narrow gaps," Netanyahu said in a speech to an economic forum, hours before a U.S. envoy George Mitchell was due to arrive in Israel. In the speech, Netanyahu cited issues such as his demand that Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state, security arrangements and the future of Palestinian refugees. Mitchell will meet with Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Monday evening to put forth U.S. ideas for moving the peace process forward.
------------ The cabinet decided on Sunday to increase desalination and find a solution to the delays in building a desalination plant at Ashdod. Instead of reinstating the controversial drought tax, the cabinet also decided to allow consumers to use more water, above which the price will rise. After a presentation by National Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau and Water Authority chief Uri Shani, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would instruct the tenders committee to immediately increase the annual output of desalination facilities to around 100 million cubic meters. Shani told the cabinet that saline water had already penetrated the water table due to the drought and more wells had to be closed because of the decline in water quality.
----------- British police searched a house north of London overnight in connection with a suspected terrorist attack in Stockholm over the weekend. According to Scotland Yard, the search took place on Sunday night. No arrests were made and no dangerous materials found, the Press Association said. One person, believed to be the attacker, was killed and two people were injured in the blast Saturday evening in a busy shopping area in the Swedish capital. Initially, a car exploded at the intersection of Drottninggatan and Olof Palmes Gata streets. A second blast then went off in the nearby street of Bryggargatan, where a man's body was discovered. British and Swedish media reported that the suspected attacker had been an Iraqi-born Swede, aged 28 or 29, who had studied at Bedfordshire University in England.
----------- Jordan's King Abdullah II is seeking practical steps for improving his country's frosty relations with Iran. The monarch's appeal contrasted with his regime's frequent criticism of Iran's policies. Abdullah made the appeal for better ties during a meeting Sunday with Esfandiar Rahim Mashai, the director of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's office, according to an official Jordanian statement. It said Abdullah was invited to visit Tehran. As early as 2004, Abdullah warned of Iran's growing influence in Iraq and the rest of the region.
Jerusalem Weather
Forecasters called for 46° Fahrenheit in Jerusalem today, then going down to 45° tonight, with occasional rain.
Daily News – December 10th, 2010
Our news sources today are Ha’aretz and Ynet.
In today’s headlines:
IDF: Hamas is upgrading anti-tank capabilities in Gaza.…….. Poll: Half of Israeli Jews hold negative views of Obama..…….. After arid November, winter to storm into Israel over the weekend
And now for the news in detail:
Early yesterday the air force attacked three Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip: a weapons storage facility in the north and two other sites in the south. No Palestinian casualties were reported. The attack followed the wounding of a security officer in a community in the Eshkol Regional Council on Wednesday night during a mortar attack from the Strip. The man was lightly injured and taken to Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva. An IDF spokesman said Israel considers Hamas responsible for any attack from the Gaza Strip, so it retaliated against installations run by the organization.
------------ 51 percent of Israeli Jews hold negative views of U.S. President Barack Obama, while 41 percent feel positive towards the American leader, a poll released on Thursday by the Saban Center for Middle East Policy found. According to the poll, the world figure most admired by Israeli Jews is German Chancellor Angela Merkel, followed by former U.S. president Bill Clinton, with Obama coming in third place. Not surprisingly, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is the world leader most disliked by Israeli Jews. 62 percent of Israel Jews polled want Israel to do more to promote comprehensive peace with the Arabs, but about half of Israeli Jews believe that Arabs would not accept a solution to the conflict.
------------ After a November that was the most arid month in 42 years, winter is expected to storm into Israel with fury this weekend. A weather system arriving on Friday will bring with it heavy rains and wind speeds that could reach 80 kilometers per hour. Snow is predicted to fall on Mount Hermon in the north. The predicted rains have raised fears of flooding throughout the country, including in the Carmel hills region, where the largest wildfire in Israeli history occurred last week. Electric authorities are asking people to secure outdoor items that could be picked up by strong winds and damage power lines.
----------- The Palestinians did not have a problem with Israel continuing settlement construction during past peace talks, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said following a meeting with United Nations Secretary General Ban ki-Moon on Thursday, saying that it was mutual mistrust, not settlement building, which was hindering the current round of direct negotiations. Barak's comments come as the United States and Israel are engaged in last ditch attempts to salvage direct Middle East peace talks, derailed late September over Israel's reluctance to extend an expired freeze on West Bank settlement construction. On Friday, Secretary of State Clinton is expected to officially announce the failure of recent negotiations to sway Israel into extending its moratorium on settlement building, and that Washington was looking for fresh avenues, including the possibility of returning to proximity talks.
----------- The prosecutor of the UN-backed tribunal investigating the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri will issue his first indictment very soon, the court's new leader said Thursday. Special Tribunal for Lebanon registrar Herman von Hebel gave no details about the content of the indictment, which will remain confidential until it is confirmed by a judge at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, likely early next year. Tension over the tribunal has paralyzed Lebanon in recent weeks amid speculation prosecutor Daniel Bellemare will indict members of Hezbollah, the Syrian- and Iranian-backed Shiite militant group that controls a military force that is more powerful than the national army and part of Lebanon's fragile governing coalition. Hariri, a Sunni Muslim, was Lebanon's most prominent politician in the years after the 1975-1990 civil war. He and 22 other people were killed by a truck bomb on Feb. 14, 2005. At the time, he was trying to limit Syria's influence in Lebanon.
Jerusalem Weather
Forecasters called for 61° Fahrenheit in Jerusalem today, then going down to 48° tonight, with partly cloudy skies.
Daily News – December 9th, 2010
Our news sources today are Ha’aretz and Ynet.
In today’s headlines:
Israel strikes Gaza after overnight mortar attack.…….. U.S. official: Obama does not and will not condone Israel's settlement activity..…….. Israel likely to offer heavy 'humanitarian' compensation over Turkey flotilla deaths
And now for the news in detail:
A military spokeswoman said the strikes were aimed at three separate targets in the Gaza Strip, two of which militants confirmed were sites they used for training. No casualties were reported. The IDF strike was apparently in retaliation for a rocket attack from Gaza on Wednesday night. Gaza militants fired about five mortar rounds late on Wednesday and fragments from one of them wounded one man. The man, the head of security in one of the kibbutzim in the Eshkol region, which borders the Gaza Strip, was reportedly hit in the neck by a piece of shrapnel outside his home. He was taken by helicopter to hospital in Beersheba, but his wounds were not life-threatening, the IDF spokeswoman said.
------------ The United States does not and will not accept Israel's continued West Bank settlement activity, a top U.S. official said on Monday, stating that the fact that Washington no longer supports a temporary settlement freeze did not mean it condones continued building. The comment by State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley came as U.S. officials had confirmed that negotiations between Jerusalem and Washington over a new partial moratorium on settlement construction and on the terms of the guarantees proposed by U.S. President Barack Obama have hit a dead end. A senior Washington official told Israeli correspondents during a conference call on Tuesday that after consulting with both the Israelis and the Palestinians Obama's administration reached the conclusion that conditions were not ripe now for successful negotiations, even with a new freeze.
------------ Israel is expected to offer hundreds of thousands of dollars to the families of the nine Turkish activists who were killed in a deadly raid on a humanitarian aid convoy bound for the Gaza Strip last May. Turkey and Israel are close to an agreement over the wording of an apology Ankara has demanded as the two sides move toward rebuilding ties. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed with senior advisers on Wednesday the content of a memo aimed at ending the crisis with Ankara's once-close ally. Most of the remaining points of contention concern the exact phrasing of Israel's apologies related to its raid on the flotilla. Erdogan demands that Israel say it "apologizes," while Israel prefers to use the word "regrets."
----------- The web site of a newspaper affiliated Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group has been shut down following a hacker attack, apparently over its publishing of leaked U.S. diplomatic cables, an editor with the daily said Thursday. Omar Nashabe said he doesn't want to speculate who is behind what he called the most serious attack on the Al-Akhbar newspaper since it was established in 2006. WikiLeaks gave the privately owned Al-Akhbar an advance copy of secret U.S. diplomatic documents, and the paper has been publishing the cables since last week.
----------- A southern Indiana college town is coming together in support for the Jewish community after a wave of vandalism that marred the eight days of Hanukkah. Rocks have been thrown at two Jewish student centers near Indiana University in Bloomington, and sacred Hebrew books were placed in library toilets and urinated on. Police have no suspects. But as the attacks have increased, so has the response from residents in the town. Christians, Buddhists, Muslims and others all have expressed their support for the Jewish community. Hundreds attended a menorah lighting ceremony on Sunday.
Jerusalem Weather
Forecasters called for 66° Fahrenheit in Jerusalem today, then going down to 52° tonight, with partly cloudy skies.
Daily News – December 8th, 2010
Our news sources today are Ha’aretz and Ynet.
In today’s headlines:
Israel allows more exports from Gaza to West Bank and abroad.…….. Germany okays huge boost in aid plan for Holocaust survivors..…….. Sea of Galilee water levels expected to reach the black line
And now for the news in detail:
The purpose of the decision is to try to ease pressure on the population in Gaza, which is being subjected to oppression under the Hamas regime, a statement by the Prime Minister's Office read. Cabinet ministers were presented with data on economic growth in the Gaza Strip, which is expected to continue until the end of 2010. The ministers were notified that in the last few months, the cabinet approved seventy-eight projects in Gaza sponsored by international organizations and foreign countries in the fields of health, infrastructure, water, sewage, housing, and education.
------------ Next month, Germany will begin transfer of 110 million Euros to organizations providing social assistance to Holocaust survivors. Half the money will be distributed to survivors in Israel and the rest to survivors worldwide. The money is to be transferred via the Claims Conference, which will pass it on to the Foundation for the Benefit of Holocaust Victims in Israel. The foundation has been involved over the past 16 years in funding nursing care and other medical expenses for survivors here. Its budget, currently NIS 400 million annually, is expected to increase considerably. This is good news for some 12,000 Israeli Holocaust survivors, many of whom have had prior requests turned down by officials of the Benefit Foundation.
------------ Despite predictions of an upcoming stormy weekend, Israel will probably have to manage its water economy with various reservoirs reaching the black line, at which point further pumping could cause permanent damage to the quality of Israel's water, according to the Mekorot water company. Mekorot's chief hydrologist, Dr. Yossi Guttman, says the conclusions are based on the expected amount of rainfall in the coming rainy season and the fact that no additional desalination plant is scheduled to go into operation this year to counter the effects of the drought. According to Guttman, Israel's high-quality western mountain aquifer is already a few centimeters below the red line, below which point no pumping should take place, and the amount of water flowing through the Jordan River is only half what it was a year ago. The level of Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) declined by 18 centimeters in November, with only 10 million cubic meters of water entering the lake, the smallest amount ever recorded in November.
----------- Negotiations between Israel and the U.S. government regarding Israel's renewal of a moratorium on West Bank settlement construction in exchange for an American letter of guarantees have failed. A senior Israeli official said the talks between the two countries have reached a dead end, and that they will try to find new ways to advance the Middle East peace process. A senior U.S. diplomat confirmed Tuesday that Washington was "ending the contacts to try and achieve another moratorium." The diplomat, briefing reporters in Jerusalem on condition of anonymity, said "we reached the conclusion this is not the time to renew direct negotiation by renewing the moratorium".
----------- Cuban President Raul Castro celebrated Hanukkah on Sunday with the island's tiny Jewish community, a heavily symbolic act at a time when his government is holding a Jewish-American subcontractor on suspicion of spying. Neither Castro nor those assembled at Havana's Shalom synagogue mentioned the name Alan Gross during the gathering, which was broadcast on the state-television newscast Sunday evening. But Gross's one-year detention without charge was the elephant in the room. The U.S. government says Gross was in Cuba as part of a USAID program to distribute communications equipment to the island's 1,500-strong Jewish community, and both the State Department and Gross's wife, Judy, made fresh appeals this week for his release. The leaders of Havana's two main Jewish groups have denied having anything to do with him. Castro wore a suit and a yarmulke, the head covering which observant Jews wear as a symbol of their deference to God, and was given the honor of lighting the first candle of the menorah. It was the first time in memory that either Castro or his brother Fidel appeared with the Jewish community at a religious celebration like Hanukkah.
Jerusalem Weather
Forecasters called for 64° Fahrenheit in Jerusalem today, then going down to 52° tonight, with partly cloudy skies.
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