Israel must again remind Palestinian leaders that Jesus was Jewish
Monday was Christmas (25th), which means that local Christians were once again treated to a rant by Palestinian leaders trying to appropriate Jesus as part of their cause against Israel.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas published a Christmas greeting that referred to Jesus as “a Palestinian messenger who would become a guiding light for millions around the world.”
Abbas’ predecessor and mentor Yasser Arafat began the shameful Christian tradition decades ago.
As in other years, Israel’s Foreign Ministry responded with scorn.
“He should have read the Gospel before uttering such offensive nonsense, but we will forgive him because he doesn’t know what he is doing,” ministry spokesman Yagal Palmor told the Times of Israel, as he echoed Jesus example of forgiving those who wrong you.
Abbas spent the rest of the letter blaming all of the Palestinians’ ills on Israel, the so-called “occupation.”
(israeltoday.co.il; timesofisrael.com)
Abbas spent Christmas Eve with Fatah terrorist
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas spent part of Christmas Eve with a former senior commander of the Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades, Fatah’s military wing, recently released from prison for plotting a suicide bombing attack against Israel 16 years ago.
Rafat Jawabra was received into PA Chairman Abbas’ office Sunday evening (24th).
In May, while still in prison, Jawabra was elected the mayor of al-Doha on the Fatah ticket.
In a Facebook post, Jawabra was seen speaking at a rally with armed and masked gunmen, honoring him upon his release from prison.
(jpost.com)
Israel foiled 400 major terror attacks in 2017 – Jonathan Lis and Yaniv Kubovich
Israel foiled 400 major terror attacks in 2017, Israel Security Agency head Nadav Argaman told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Sunday (24th). They included 13 suicide attacks and 8 kidnappings. A further 1,100 lone wolf attacks were thwarted. There were 54 attacks in 2017, compared with 108 in 2016. However, Argaman noted that “the calm we are experiencing is misleading, and Hamas is trying with all its might to carry out attacks.”
(haaretz.com)
Hamas “just waiting for Abbas to die” as Palestinian unity deal falters – Yaakov Lappin
Hamas’ latest effort to join a Palestinian unity government is little more than a facade, and the terror group’s top immediate objective is to seize control of the West Bank and turn it into a second Gaza, according to the assessments of defense experts. “Hamas is just waiting for Abbas to die, or that he agrees to elections, to try and take over the West Bank,” said Dr. Ely Karmon, a senior scholar at Israel’s International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT). “And Hamas is again talking about close ties with Iran and Hizbullah.”
Col. Moshe Elad, former head of security coordination between the IDF and the PA, said IDF-PA coordination is “the insurance policy” that the PA has for its survival in the West Bank, since “Hamas is very strong there….Abbas knows that the five to six battalions the PA has cannot keep him in power over time on their own. He needs Israel.” Elad has counted more than 25 unification attempts between Hamas and the PA since 2007.
(JNS.org)
Illegal Palestinian weapons factory shut down in Jenin
Israel’s security forces located and shut down a workshop overnight Monday (25th) that was being used by Palestinians in Jenin to manufacture weapons for terror attacks, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit announced.
The discovery comes as part of a wide-scale operation launched by the IDF over a year ago to uncover and stamp out illicit weapons-producing industries. A wave of terror that has swept across Israel in recent years has led to the deaths of dozens of Israelis and wounded hundreds in almost daily acts of terror against civilians and soldiers.
(worldisraelnews.com)
Deputy FM; More than 10 countries considering moving embassies to Jerusalem
The Israeli Foreign Ministry is in talks with 10 countries currently considering following in the footsteps of the U.S. and relocating their embassies to Jerusalem, Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely said Monday (25th).
On Sunday (24th) Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales drew praise after announcing that he had decided to relocate the Central American country’s embassy to Jerusalem.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said Guatemala’s decision to transfer its embassy to Jerusalem after the U.S. recognized the city as the capital of Israel was “shameful.”
Honduras and Panama meanwhile informed the Palestinian Authority that they plan to relocate their embassies in Israel to Jerusalem, also.
(israelhayom.com; ynetnews.com)
U.S. says it negotiated $285M cut in United Nations budget
The U.S. government has negotiated a significant cut in the United Nations budget, slashing its funding to the UN in 2018-2019 by over $285 million.
U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said that the “inefficiency and overspending” of the organization is well-known, and she would not let “the generosity of the American people be taken advantage of.”
(ap.com)
Bangladesh rejects Israeli aid offers for Rohingya Refugees – Itamar Eichner
The Israeli Foreign Ministry established contact with Bangladesh – a Muslim country without any diplomatic ties with Israel – to offer significant humanitarian aid for Muslim refugees from the Rohingya minority who fled from Myanmar.
Bangladesh thanked Israel for the offer, but said it cannot accept aid due to the political ramifications that could ensue.
The Israel Foreign Ministry is exploring other routes through which to provide humanitarian assistance to the Rohingya refugees.
(ynetnews.com)
Bye UNESCO: It’s About Time – Editorial
Israel will join the U.S. in removing itself and its funding from UNESCO. It’s about time. The decision by the U.S. was precipitated by UNESCO’s decision in 2011 to accept “Palestine” as a full-fledged member, even though there is no such thing as a Palestinian state, only a failed, quasi-political entity that is split between an Islamist enclave ruled by Hamas in Gaza and a corrupt fiefdom controlled by Fatah in the West Bank. A 1990s-era U.S. law prohibits funding any UN agencies that recognize Palestine as a state.
Like other UN institutions, UNESCO has been hijacked by an anti-American, anti-Semitic agenda.
UNESCO rewrote history to leave out the Jews. It decreed last October that Jews have no connection with the Temple Mount. The area, the holiest place in the world for Judaism, was referred to as Buraq Plaza after Muhammad’s horse.
(jpost.com)
Anti-Semitic slogans painted on 3 Jewish buildings in Odessa, Ukraine
Unidentified individuals painted anti-semitic graffiti and symbols on three Jewish institutions in the city of Odessa in southern Ukraine.
The graffiti, which included the words “toasting the Holocaust” on the gate of the Odessa Holocaust museum, was discovered Monday (25th). The city’s Brodsky Synagogue had the words: “Jews Out, Ukraine for Ukrainians” scrawled on its exterior fence. Offensive symbols were also drawn on the Beit Grand Jewish Community Center.
The incidents follow several cases of death threats and vandalism against Jewish institutions in western Ukraine, including at cemeteries and synagogues.
(jta.org)
