Samaria Shooting Attack Injures 6 Israelis including Pregnant Woman

A pregnant woman was left in critical condition and six others suffered moderate injuries in a terror attack Sunday evening (9th), when shots were fired from a passing car at a crowd of people waiting at a bus stop outside the Israeli town of Ofra.

The woman, 21, suffered wounds to her upper body and was rushed to Shaare Zedek Medical Center, in Jerusalem, the Magen David Adom paramedic service said.  The woman, who was said to be in the 30th-week of her pregnancy underwent surgery late Sunday. A man, 21, was taken to the same hospital as were two others.  Army Radio reported that one of the men injured was the pregnant woman’s husband.

Another person, 22, with moderate injuries and two 16-year-old girls were taken to Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem, also in Jerusalem.

In a security camera video of the shooting, posted to social media, a white car is seen slowing down near the bus stop, after which bullets can be seen striking the crowd who scrambled for cover.  The car, which comes to a stop for a few moments while the shooting apparently continues, then speeds off down the road as IDF soldiers run to the scene.

The IDF launched a manhunt for the terrorists.

(gglz.net; timesofisrael.com)

 

Israel Warns Lebanon: Rein In Hizbullah Or We Strike

Israel warned Lebanon that if Hizbullah doesn’t stop its efforts to produce precision missiles, Israel will strike the terrorist group’s targets within Lebanon, Israeli and American sources told The Wall Street Journal.  

Israeli sources told the paper that they fear that precision-technology Hizbullah is obtaining from Iran will turn their missiles into a far more deadly arsenal.

According to the Journal report on Saturday (8th), Israel requested from senior officials in the U.S. and France that they relay the message to the Lebanese government that Israel will take action against Hizbullah in their country if it doesn’t take steps to prevent the terrorist group from obtaining advanced precision-missile technology.

Although Hizbullah maintains an arsenal of between 120,000-130,000 missiles already, according to most estimates, they are not precision-guided.  Should they obtain such technology, it would put Israeli nerve centers at risk.

Israel is currently carrying out Operation Northern Shield, an effort to eliminate tunnels Hizbullah has been digging as part of a plan to attack the Northern Galilee.  Since the operation began last week, the IDF has uncovered three terror tunnels.

The Israeli government has indicated it may expand the operation to include knocking out Hizbullah’s missiles, which remain the greatest threat from the terror organization.

On September 27, at the UN, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed suspected sites in Beirut where Hizbullah was working to convert ground-to-ground missiles to precision-guided ones.

“Israel knows what you are doing, Israel knows where you are doing it, and Israel will not let you get away with it,” Netanyahu said, pointing out three sites on a placard in Lebanon’s capital, one of which is a soccer stadium.   

(wallstreetjournal.com; worldisraelnews.com)

 

IDF Chief Urges UN To Destroy Hizbullah Terror Tunnels

On Sunday (9th), IDF Chief of the General Staff, Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot held a meeting with the Head of Mission of UNIFIL, Italian General Stefano Del Col, to discuss the ongoing Israeli operation on the Israeli-Lebanese border to locate and neutralize cross-border tunnels.

Last week, the IDF launched Operation Northern Shield to destroy Hizbullah terror tunnels built from southern Lebanon into Israel.

The tunnels mirror similar tunnel networks used by the Hamas terror organization in the Gaza Strip for both internal transit within the coastal enclave, and for attacks on Israeli targets outside of the Strip.

During their meeting, the Chief of the General Staff emphasized that the terrorist organization’s (Hizbullah’s) attack tunnels, which stretch into Israeli territory, are a blatant violation of UN Security Council 1701 and were intended to be the surprise element of Hizbullah’s plan of attack against Israel.

The Chief of the General Staff, Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot, presented the progress of Operation “Northern Shield” and expressed the importance he sees in UNIFIL implementing the UN’s resolutions, working to neutralize the tunnels from the Lebanese side and preventing violations of the resolutions by the terrorist organization.

The Chief of the General Staff further emphasized that the responsibility for the construction of these tunnels by Hizbullah in South Lebanon lies with the Lebanese government.

(israelnn.com)

 

Report: Palestinian Killed In Israel After Accusations Of Selling Land To Jews

A Palestinian man killed in an Arab-Israeli town over the weekend was involved in the sale of West Bank land to Jews, Palestinian media reported Saturday (8th).

Ahmed Salama, a resident of Jaljulia in central Israel, was shot Friday (7th) near his home and later pronounced dead at Meir Hospital in nearby Kfar Saba. Police have opened an investigation into the shooting.

Originally from the PA city of Qalqilya, Salama acquired residency in Israel through his marriage to an Arab-Israeli woman, news reports said.

Citing an unnamed Palestinian Authority source, Ynet news reported that Salama was wanted by the PA for selling land to Jewish settlers, which is punishable by death under the West Bank-based government’s penal code.

Salama had denied involvement in such land sales according to Ynet.

Attention was recently drawn to the Palestinian Authority’s outlawing of selling land to Israeli Jews over Israel’s arrest last month of its Jerusalem governor.  Adnan Ghaith is reportedly suspected of abducting a Palestinian-American resident of East Jerusalem who was accused of selling property to Jews.

(ynetnews.com)

 

Survey: 38% Of Jews In Europe Are Thinking Of Leaving

Growing anti-semitism has prompted 38% of European Jews to consider leaving Europe, a new report by a European human rights agency reveals.

The report was compiled by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, which was established to uphold human rights and fight all forms of racism.  According to the report, 89% of Jews surveyed said that anti-Semitism in the EU had risen significantly in the past five years, with 85% saying that anti-semitism was the most serious problem they faced.

The report is based on the largest survey on anti-Semitism conducted anywhere in the world, which included 16,400 respondents from 28 EU member nations.

Nearly one-third (30%) of respondents said they had personally experienced anti-Semitic attacks.

Of the tens of thousands of Jews surveyed, 80% told the EUAFR that they had refrained from reporting anti-Semitic incidents to the police or other authorities, thereby skewing official reports on the scope of anti-Semitism in a number of countries.  A third of respondents said they chose to stay away from Jewish events or Jewish institutions out of fear for their personal safety.

Respondents reported that the most common anti-semitic comments they encountered included “Jews have too much power and influence,” “Jews exploit the Holocaust for their own interests,” and “Israel treats the Palestinians like the Nazis treated the Jews.”

Yaakov Hagoel, vice chairman of the World Zionist Organization, said that the report showed that decisions taken to combat anti-semitism must be implemented immediately

“Jews are loyal citizens of the countries where they have decided to live, and the government of those European countries have a responsibility to ensure their safety,” he added.

(israelhayom.com)