17 Tammuz 5777
11 July 2017
The News on the Israel Street
Palestinian Terror in the last 24 hours . . .
In eastern Gush Etzion at the T-intersection beside Tekoa yesterday afternoon, a Palestinian terrorist ran over a soldier then jumped out of his car and attempted to stab other soldiers. He was shot and killed. The soldier was evacuated to a nearby hospital with “moderate” wounds.
More than 30 other Palestinian terror attacks were reported including: “rock” attacks on IDF forces in Deheisheh, Issawiya, and Silwan; Molotov assaults at Al Khader, Azzun, and on Route 55 near Nebi Elias; and “rock” and Molotov attacks on Israeli motorists near Giti Avisar and Tekoa. None of these 30+ “other” terror attacks were reported in the international or Israeli media.
In the above terror attacks, at least three Israelis had be be treated by MADA.
Avi Gabbay wins the Labor Primary . . .
Avi Gabbay, the new leader of the Labor Party. He received 52.4% of the vote.
In somewhat surprising election results last night, Avi Gabbay narrowly defeated Amir Peretz in a runoff for leadership of the Labor Party. However, Gabbay immediately indicated that he wants Bougie Herzog to remain for now as the leader of the opposition in the Knesset.
Cast as a “newcomer” and “Mr. Clean”, Gabbay is anything but.
He began his career as a functionary for the Ministry of Finance. In 1999 he went private, joining Bezeq, Israel’s universally disliked major telephone company. Working his way up the ladder, he became CEO from 2007-2013. During this time, Gabbay apparently made a fortune (is that why all of our telephone bills were so high?) and even attempted to buy El Al airlines before he entered the political sphere.
As one of the founders of the Kulanu Party in 2015 (along with Moshe Kahlon), he was given a seat in the Netanyahu Coalition where he served for the past two years as Minister of Environmental Protection.
What does the future hold for Israeli politics? . . .
In his victory speech last night, the Sephardic Gabbay (both of whose parents are from Morocco), declared that it is time for Israeli leadership that is concerned with Dimona and not only Amona.
In making this declaration, Gabbay was taking straight aim at the heart of Netanyahu’s Likud constituency–which has always been the Sephardic community in Israel’s so-called “periphery” in cities such as Dimona and Ashdod.
He was also taking aim at Israel’s “right-wing” by casting aspersions on Amona, a bitterly contested Jewish community which is over the Green Line near Ofra.
Interestingly, the person who immediately attacked Gabbay last night was not Netanyahu, but the man widely regarded as Netanyahu’s replacement one day: Gideon Sa’ar. Sa’ar criticized Gabbay for continuing with Labor’s “failed attempt to influence the public”, and for throwing one Jewish community under the bus (Amona) at the expense of another (Dimona).
Avigdor Lieberman continues his awkward drift to the “left” . . .
In yet another bizarre speech last night in front of his Yisrael Beiteinu Party, Lieberman continued to defend his dangerous plan to build 6,300 new Palestinian homes around Qalqilya–right up to Highway 6.
Declaring that the apartments “are already being marketed”, Lieberman declared “there is no room for argument” concerning the construction of the new homes.
No room for argument? Because apartments “are already being marketed”?
What a joke.
If your humble servant had a shekel for every time that apartments were already being marketed in Judea, Samaria, and eastern Jerusalem only to have the government freeze construction, he would be a rich man. A very rich man.
On Wednesday, the Cabinet is expected to argue about Qalqilya whether Lieberman likes it or not.
Now that Mosul has been taken . . .
Iran can get down to the business of running Iraq and kicking out all foreigners (except for Iranians and Hezbollah of course).
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In a fiery speech yesterday, Iran’s premier military leader Qasem Suleimani declared that the Shi’ite force he created in Iraq, al-Hashd al-Shaabi, is there to stay. As the most powerful force in Iraq, it has become a critical component of the Iraqi armed forces. He went on to say that al-Hashd al-Shaabi operates under strict Sharia law as issued by Shi’ite leader Ayatollah Ali Sistani. He then thanked Hezbollah for the role it played in many victories in Iraq. Suleimani concluded by saying that Iraq would not allow any foreign forces to remain on its soil.
All of which leaves many Sunnis in Iraq asking themselves the question today whether life was better under Islamic State or under Iranian Shi’itism?
Interesting flight statistics from Ben Gurion Airport . . .
In June, the number of passengers flown by El Al in and out of the airport dropped under 30% for the first time.
Well sort of . . .
El Al handled 29.48% of the passengers despite registering a significant passenger increase over last June. However overall activity at the airport increased dramatically with other airlines handling 70.52% of the 1,279,676 passengers.
One of those other airlines was none other than Israir which accounted for 4.03% of passengers. Israir, as you may or may not know, was recently purchased by El Al.
TODAY’S BLOG:
Another PLO “Begging Junket” Pays Off
Hamdallah and Steinetz cut the ribbon at the new Jenin electrical substation (photo AFP).
Despite neverending Palestinian terror, the government owned Israel Electric Corporation and the PLO (aka the Palestinian Authority) signed a new deal yesterday to increase by 60 megawatts the power to northern Samaria–specifically to the area in and around Jenin, one of the most vicious centers of Palestinian terrorism.
To that end, a new electrical substation was opened near Jenin with PLO PM Hamdallah and Israel Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz cutting the red ribbon.
Two sentences in the Reuters account of this event stood out to your humble servant.
First:
” . . . the internationally-funded substation is one of four that will be operated in the area by a Palestinian Authority-owned transmission company.“
Seriously, is there a more infantile group of people in the world than the Palestinians?
Totally lacking in self-dignity, they are completely copacetic with taking handouts from everyone for everything. It is amazing how Palestinian “leaders” spend millions of dollars globetrotting around the world on begging junkets to produce more monies to buy Swiss villas for themselves, pay the salaries of their terrorists, and “purchase” electrical substations and electricity.
Note that the internationally-funded substation (the Europeans paid 40 million Euros) will be operated by a PLO-owned transmission company. In other words, whatever monies are generated by the electricity will flow straight into the pockets of Mahmoud Abbas and his corrupt cronies.
Second:
“The facility will transmit 60 megawatts of electricity purchased from the Israel Electric Corp (IEC), officials said.”
If there is any good news about the new internationally funded substation, it is that for once Israel is not giving something for nothing. Hopefully, your humble servant and other Israelis will soon be able to stop paying for Palestinian electricity via our high electricity costs which cover unpaid Palestinian debts. Let the Europeans and others buy the electricity for the Palestinians and pay us.
A student from Malawi, who had worked with an Israeli health volunteer in his country battling AIDS, came up to us as we walked down the street in the UC-Davis Picnic Day Parade and wanted to carry the Israeli flag.