Netanyahu: We will not allow Iran to destroy us
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on Thursday evening (25th) at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland
He criticized the nuclear deal with Iran and said, “I think that the current arrangement is so flawed that it promises that Iran will have everything necessary to create nuclear weapons, including the enrichment of fissile material on a huge scale.”
Netanyahu added, “I don’t care if the agreement is fixed, cancelled, or kept. What is important to me is to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear arsenal. Because not only does Iran spread terror all over the world, Iran openly says that it will use these weapons and any weapons it possesses in order to destroy Israel, We will not let that happen,” he reiterated.”
He also reaffirmed that the seat of the Israeli government is in Israel, and that Jerusalem has been the capital of the Jewish people for 3,000 years. “Donald Trump did a great service for peace, because peace can only be based on the truth. You can’t build peace on fantasy,” the PM said.
(jpost.com; israelnn.com)
Iran a no-show at Davos
Gulf Arab officials used the World Economic Forum at Davos on Wednesday (24th) to slam Iran for what they said was its destabilizing behavior in the region, taking advantage of Tehran’s conspicuous absence at the annual event.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had been a regular presence at the annual forum, and often clashed with his Gulf Arab counterparts at competing sessions.
But this year he didn’t show.
As a result, the platform was wide open for Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to criticize the Islamic Republic
(israelhayom.com)
Iran has amassed an army of 82,000 troops in Syria, says Danon
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon warned the UN Security Council Thursday (25th) that Iran had amassed a fighting force in Syria, including thousands of Revolutionary Guard soldiers flown in from the Islamic Republic.
According to Danon, the Tehran regime has formed an army of 82,000 combatants in Syria, including a core of 3,000 Revolutionary Guard troops, thousands of Hizbullah terrorists and other militias.
According to Danon, “Iran is working to turn Syria into the largest military base in the world.”
(reuters.com)
Jerusalem court sentences rock-throwers who killed Israeli driver
The Jerusalem District Court on Thursday (25th) sentenced three Israeli Arabs to prison terms ranging from three to fifteen years for the 2015 death of Alexander Leviovich.
Leviovich, 64, was returning to his Jerusalem home on the eve of Rosh Hashana, when his car was struck with rocks, causing him to lose control and crash. He died in the hospital shortly after the attack. Two other passengers were injured.
(worldisraelnews.com)
Report: U.S. re-examining all aid to Palestinians
The State department is re-examining the entirety of U.S. aid to the Palestinian Authority after an announced $100 million cut to UNRWA, Hadashot News reported Wednesday (24th). U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley reportedly wants the Palestinian leadership to pay for its attitude toward the U.S. government and President Trump. The U.S. gave $700 million to the Palestinians last year.
(hadashot.com; timesofisrael.com)
Poll: Most Palestinians, half of Israelis no longer believe in two-state solution
Most Palestinians and half of Israelis no longer believe in the two-state solution because they believe it is no longer possible, an Israeli-Palestinian poll conducted by Palestinian pollster Dr. Khalil Shikaki and the Tami Steinmetz Center for Peace Research showed.
The rate of Jewish Israelis preferring a peaceful resolution also dropped, the survey showed, with the percentage of people supporting a decisive war rising, compared to a previous poll.
(ynetnews.com)
Heavy downpours flood roads, snow falls in north
Heavy downpours fell in northern and central Israel Thursday morning (25th), straining the country’s drainage infrastructure as the rain inundated its roads. Accompanied by thunder and lightning, the showers literally brought traffic to a standstill.
Snow also dropped on the lower Hermon area, causing authorities to close it to visitors.
Rain will continue through Friday (26th).
The rains are being well received after over four years of drought.
(ynetnews.com)
Arizona Attorney General defends Israel anti-Boycott law – Howard Fischer
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich is defending a 2016 law designed to prevent public dollars from going to firms that engage in boycotts of companies that do business with Israel. Brnovich said Arizona lawmakers have a legal and moral right to ensure that companies receiving public funds do not discriminate based on national origin.
“When you have a close ally of the United States, where you have a key trading partner to the state of Arizona that has been under, quite frankly, constant attacks since 1948, I think the state does have a role. I think we do have a right to say ‘We stand with Israel.””
He said the state has acted reasonably to prevent commerce from being used as an economic weapon against Israel. “This is particularly true as the effect – and often goal – of BDS boycotts is to strengthen the hand of the Palestinian Authority at the expense of Israel.”
(paysonroundup.com)
Syrian infant discharged from Israeli hospital after life-saving surgery
A month-old baby born to Syrian refugees in a camp in Cyprus last month and airlifted to Israel for emergency surgery is now being discharged from Sheba Tel Hashomer Medical Center in Tel Aviv, doctors said Thursday (25th).
The newborn was flown to Israel on December 23rd with a life-threatening heart defect after an appeal was sent to the Israel Foreign Ministry for entry permits. The permits were issued, and the baby and his father entered Israel.
The parents had fled to Cyprus to escape the Syrian civil war in 2011.
(worldisraelnews.com)
Desecration of Thessaloniki Holocaust memorial condemned
The Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece have condemned the vandalizing of a Holocaust Memorial in Thessaloniki.
“Merely a week before the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, (this Saturday, 27th) followers of the Nazi party in Greece stated their presence by desecrating the Holocaust Monument in Thessaloniki with their repulsive signature,” the central board said in a statement, according to Greek newspaper, Neos Kosmos.
Not only was the monument spray-painted, but anti-semitic leaflets were posted in a city square calling Thessaloniki Mayor Yiannis Boutaris a “slave of the Jews.”
The monument, a sculpture depicting a menorah with human bodies intertwined into the flames of its candles, was recently vandalized with “Free Palestine” graffiti.
(jta.org)
