1 Av 5778
13 July 2018
The News on the Israeli Street
Palestinian terror in the last 24 hours . . .
On the Gaza border:
The fire situation worsened with 43 fires set by Palestinian terrorists launching increasingly sophisticated incendiary devices on kites, balloons, and other airborne items.
Outrageously, the government doesn’t care enough to stop the onslaught as long as it is only the south that is burning, but the idea that the rest of country might go up in smoke is striking fear into the political establishment. Yesterday the IDF announced that it was drawing up contingency plans in the event that the conflagration spreads to the rest of the country.
In Judea and Samaria:
Hawara, Tekoa, Psagot, Anatot, Beit Ummar, El Aruv, Hevron, Hizma, Adam, Luban a-Sharqiya, Beit El, Qalandiya, Qalqilya, Shechem, Karmei Tzur, Kiryat Arba, Road 433, the Gush Etzion Road to Hevron, Nebi Saleh, and outside of Jenin: these were 20 of some 40 locations where Palestinians attacked Israeli children, women, and men yesterday–as reported by citizens on the ground to hakolhayehudi, Rescue Judea and Samaria, and rotter.
The Duma fiasco continues . . .
The trial of the two suspects in the firebombing of the Dawabsheh family house in Duma continues to sputter along.
Last month, we had the remarkable circumstance in which the prosecution in the case admitted in open court that both suspects, an unnamed minor and an adult, had been tortured by the Shin Bet into confessing to the crime.
One would have thought that would have been enough to end the case, but such is not the way of Israeli justice these days. Neither defendant was released because the prosecution said it had enough evidence other than the confessions to convict the two.
Yesterday, however, the judge in the case, Ami Kobo, ordered the minor released to “home arrest” because he said that the evidence linking the minor to the firebombing and other alleged crimes is looking shakier than ever. Nevertheless, the minor will be forced to wear electronic monitoring equipment and not be allowed to leave the country.
Can you believe any of this?
In the first place, there is abundant evidence that the firebombing was carried out by a rival Arab clan in Duma, and in the second place the defendants were tortured.
The defendants have now been in prison for 2 years. Why?
By the way, the State Prosecutor’s Office immediately filed an appeal to the Supreme Court yesterday to void the Judge Kobo’s release of the minor.
Unbelievable.
Almost as unbelievable as this scene yesterday . . .
The IDF’s newest Major General: Sharon Afek (center) with IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot to the right.
Military Advocate General Sharon Afek was promoted yesterday. The IDF’s first openly gay general, Afek has overseen a number of disastrous cases such as the Duma case, the trial of Elor Azariya (our Hevron soldier), and numerous other cases in Judea and Samaria.
And yet, he was promoted to Major General, a promotion that abundantly shows how low the IDF General Staff has fallen.
These were his disingenous remarks at the ceremony: “This is a great mission and a great privilege to serve in the IDF and contribute to the defense establishment. The promotion in rank expresses the great responsibility of the Judge Advocate General’s Office to act shoulder to shoulder with the commanders in order to ensure that the IDF can fulfill its mission and win without relinquishing the values of the rule of law.”
Remarks such as these once again indicate that no one in the General Staff, most of all Afek himself, realizes the harm that Military Advocate General’s office has done to the IDF, and the relationship between the IDF General Staff and the people of Israel.
“Shoulder to shoulder with commanders”? What a sad joke.
The supposed new arrangement in Syria . . .
It was reported yesterday that a trilateral agreement has been reached between Israel, Russia, and the United States.
According to its terms, the Russians will keep the Iranians at a fixed distance from the Israel border. The U.S. will prevent any land passage from Iran to Syria. Israel is free to destroy any Iranian base or operations that threaten Israel.
In your humble servant’s opinion, it is highly doubtful that the Russians are capable of keeping the Iranians at bay, nor is it likely that the Americans will hang around long enough to prevent an Iranian superhighway from Tehran to Damascus.
In the meantime Syrian refugees flock to the Israel border . . .
On the Golan Heights border yesterday.
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As regular readers of israelstreet know, Israel is doing everything it can to provide medical care and humanitarian supplies to the refugees fleeing Assad’s army and its Iranian proxies.
However, Israel has established a firm policy which will not permit any refugees into the country because in recent weeks it has become known that mixed in among the refugees are Syrian soldiers and Hezbollah fighters.
The Irish shoot themselves in the foot . . .
In a close vote several days ago, the Irish Senate voted to boycott products from Judea, Samaria, and eastern Jerusalem. The Irish “House” must now consider the same law which it is expected to pass.
But lo and behold, thanks to our friends in the U.S. Congress, such boycotts now have severe consequences. The U.S. announced today that the U.S. will cease all economic and security cooperation with Ireland and ban all U.S. companies from trading with Ireland unless the vote is rescinded.
Israel Defense Minister Lieberman called on Israel this morning to shut down its Embassy in Dublin. Others have called for the Irish Ambassador to Israel to be sent home, and the Embassy here closed.
Likud MK Shiran Hechel said this last night: “It is inconceivable that the Irish government will boycott Israel and we will continue to assist them in the areas of defense, cyber security, intelligence sharing, or any economic connection.”
Well said.
TODAY’S BLOG:
Who Won The International Sniper Competition?
Participants in the sniper competition this week.
Competitors from elite military units descended upon Israel this past week to determine who are the best snipers. Units from the U.S., Italy, Canada, Cyprus, Greece, Poland, and Israel participated and were evaluated on the bases of such factors as hitting targets, short and long range shooting, day and night shooting, and ability to perform accurately in operational situations.
The results:
In third place: members of the Sniper School of the U.S. Army
In second place: members of the U.S. Navy Seals
In first place: members of Israel’s Maglan Unit
In case you are unfamiliar with Maglan, you are not alone. It is a highly secret IDF unit that spends most of it time in high-risk operations behind enemy lines.
The unit insignia of the Maglan:
The bird on the insignia is the ibis.
Why the ibis? According to Maglan, the ibis can adapt to any situation.
Congratulations to the Maglan!
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.