Rocket fired from Gaza: IDF returns fire
A rocket fired from the Gaza Strip exploded in the Eshkol Regional Council near the Israel-Gaza border Monday evening (11th). No casualties were reported.
The IDF stated that military forces attacked terrorist positions belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization in the southern Gaza Strip in response to the rocket fire.
The IDF holds Hamas solely responsible for developments in the Gaza Strip.
(israelnn.com)
Netanyahu’s EU meeting first of its kind in 22 years
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Monday (11th) with 28 EU foreign ministers in a breakfast get-together in Brussels, Belgium. This is the first time in over two decades that a sitting prime minister has been asked to address such a gathering, which was made possible by the invitation issued by Lithuania, which holds the current presidency of the EU.
(worldisraelnews.com)
PA, Hamas miss reconciliation deadline
Palestinian Arab factions Fatah and Hamas have missed a major deadline in their reconciliation bid by failing to exchange power in the Gaza Strip, with the rival movements on Monday (11th) trading accusations of blame.
Sunday (10th) had been the deadline for the handover, a decade after Hamas seized power in the coastal enclave in a near civil war with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah.
(afp.com)
Lieberman: World is interested in our anti-tunnel technology
“The world is expressing interest in our tunnel destruction technology, but, for now, we are focusing our efforts on the threat in the south,” Leiberman told Israeli media.
“The most important thing is our security, and we are not ready to share our methods in combating this kind of terror. Additional research and technological updates are still necessary,” he added.
Behind the military’s ability to detect and neutralize two terror tunnels dug under Israeli territory over the past six weeks stands an original Israeli innovation developed by the Israel Military Industries and Elbit Systems.
(ynetnews.com)
IDF to Hamas: Terror tunnels are ‘death traps for you’
The IDF warned Hamas on Sunday (10th) that the attack tunnels which it continues to dig into Israeli territory will become a “death trap” for terrorists.
Speaking shortly after it was cleared for publication that the IDF had uncovered another cross-border terror tunnel near the Gaza Strip border, GOC Southern Command Maj. Gen Eyal Zamir accused Hamas of “systematically violating Israel’s sovereignty,” adding that their actions are causing an escalation of violence on the sensitive border.
“I have warned in the past, and I will warn the enemy again: Anyone who goes into and stays in a tunnel is risking his own life – Terror tunnels are a death trap to you,” Zamir added.
(ynetnews.com)
Gazans meet Bahraini interfaith group with hostility
An interfaith group from Bahrain visiting Israel and the Palestinian territories was welcomed with violence by a Palestinian mob as it attempted to visit the Gaza Strip Monday (11th).
Dozens of Palestinian activists gathered in front of the Beit Hanoun crossing in the northern Gaza Strip to prevent the Bahraini delegation from entering, Ma’an news agency reported.
The mob torched tires and chanted slogans accusing the delegation of normalization with Israel.
The Bahraini group of 30 people, including Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jews and Muslims, flew to Israel to visit universities and talk to officials there about topics of common interest.
(maannews.net)
Palestinian official urges Istanbul summit: Recognize Jerusalem as our capital
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hopes to bring together Muslim countries in Istanbul on Wednesday (13th) as part of Ankara’s response to Washington’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
The meeting is likely to ramp up tensions surrounding Jerusalem, after the Turkish president called Israel a “state of occupation and terror” on December 10, and the Palestinian Authority’s Jerusalem governor called on Muslim countries to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine at the meeting.
(jpost.com; reuters.com)
Iran defense minister: Trump’s Jerusalem move will hasten Israel’s destruction
BEIRUT – US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital will hasten the country’s destruction, Iran’s defense minister said Monday (11th).
“(Trump’s) step will hasten the destruction of the Zionist regime and will double the unity of Muslims,” said Brig. Gen. Amir Hatami, according to Iran state media.
The army’s chief of staff, General Mohammad Baqeri, said Trump’s “foolish move” is the beginning of a new intifada, or Palestinian uprising.
(irna.ir)
Jewish leaders condemn firebomb attack on Swedish synagogue – Tamara Zieve
Leading Jewish groups spoke out after a Swedish synagogue was firebombed on Saturday (9th) and protests in other European cities against US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital included anti-semitic chants.
“It is unconscionable that Jews are under attack on the streets of Europe, whether by terrorists hurling Molotov cocktails or openly and brazenly calling for the mass murder of Jews in Malmo, Vienna and Paris,” said European Jewish Congress President Dr. Moshe Kantor.
Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Associate Dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, said, “Now the world witnesses 20 hooded terrorists firebomb a synagogue in Gothenburg, where Jewish youngsters inside barely escaped injury or death. What more will it take for this democracy to finally deploy the full weight of their law enforcement and judicial powers against anti-Semites and provide full protection for its Jewish citizens?”
(jpost.com)
Tourism nets Israel $4.5 billion in 2017
In the period January-November 2017, about 3.3 million tourist entries were recorded in Israel, a 25.3% increase on the same period last year, and a 28% increase from 2015. Revenue from tourism in November reached about $487 million. Since the beginning of the year tourism has injected $4.5 billion into the Israeli economy.
(cbs.gov.il)
