hz, Author at Netzach Yisrael

Egypt, Israel or accident? Mystery shrouds Gaza tunnel blast

hzFebruary 9, 2017News

Times of Israel

Illustrative: smoke rises after an explosion at a smuggling tunnel

Citing Israeli defense officials, the Arabic Al-Jazeera news service reported Thursday that the Egyptian military was behind an explosion near the Gaza-Egyptian border overnight that killed two Palestinians and injured five others.

After the blast, Hamas, the terror group that controls the Gaza Strip, immediately pinned the blame on an Israeli airstrike, but the Israel Defense Forces denied involvement. The spokesman of Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, Ashraf al-Qudra, named the two men killed as Hossam al-Sufi, 24, and Mohammed al-Aqra, 38.

hzFebruary 8, 2017February 8, 2017News

JTA

An Iron Dome Missile Defense Battery

Israel’s anti-missile Iron Dome system intercepted at least three missiles fired from the Sinai at its southernmost resort town, Eilat.

The Israeli media quoted the army as saying the missiles were fired Wednesday evening. There were varying counts on the total number of missiles fired, between four and seven. There were no injuries.

hzFebruary 8, 2017News

Algemeiner

Militant student rally at Birzeit University

Experts called on Western institutions to cut or re-evaluate ties with a Palestinian university in the West Bank, after a militant student rally was held at the school late last year.

Cinnamon Stillwell, of Campus Watch — a project of the Middle East Forum think tank — told The Algemeiner that she does not think partnerships with Birzeit University should continue, following a December march by the school’s Shabiba student group celebrating the Fatah movement’s 52nd anniversary, at which armed men dressed in fatigues shouted slogans like, “This is a call to arms!” and “Blow up the head of the settler!” — as seen in a video posted and translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).

hzFebruary 7, 2017February 7, 2017News

Algemeiner

PM Benjamin Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called on the leaders of both the United Kingdom and Belgium this week to stop funding left-wing NGOs that “slander” the Jewish state.

“I will continue to fight the lies and do everything to protect our soldiers,” Netanyahu vowed in a Facebook post on Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, the Israeli leader met in Jerusalem with visiting Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel. On Monday, Netanyahu was the guest of British Prime Minister Theresa May at 10 Downing Street in London.

hzFebruary 7, 2017News

Bloomberg

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said he expects U.S. President Donald Trump to try and renegotiate the nuclear accord, heralding “difficult days” ahead for the Islamic Republic.

Zarif, in remarks published by the Tehran-based newspaper Ettelaat, said that neither Iran nor other signatories will accept reexamining the 2015 landmark accord that lifted a host of sanctions on Iran in return for curbing its nuclear program.

hzFebruary 7, 2017February 7, 2017Articles

JTA

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu at Google’s Tel Aviv office

By Daniel Shapiro and Scott Lasensky: When President Trump meets Prime Minister Netanyahu next week at the White House, the two are expected to discuss Iran, Syria and Israeli-Palestinian issues, including the Trump campaign promise to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv and what the White House recently called “settlement activity.”

But if Trump would like to generate even closer ties between the two countries and greater prosperity for Americans and Israelis, he should consider a public pledge to move faster toward renewing the U.S. Free Trade Agreement with Israel and helping Israelis qualify for visa-free travel to the United States.

hzFebruary 5, 2017News

Algemeiner

America’s UN ambassador, Nikki Haley with Danny Danon

“Never again will our allies have to question our support,” new US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley vowed this weekend, after meeting for the first time with her Israeli counterpart, Danny Danon.

In a statement published on her Facebook page, Haley said she and Danon had a “great meeting,” at which they discussed the “strong” US-Israel relationship.

hzFebruary 5, 2017News

Times of Israel

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to leave for London Sunday afternoon for his first meeting with his British counterpart, Theresa May, in what he described as a bid to create a united Israel-US-UK front against Iran.

“I intend to emphasize the need for a common front against Iran’s defiant aggression, which has raised its head in recent days,” Netanyahu said about his trip at Sunday’s weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem. “This must be done on an ongoing basis, but especially in light of Iran’s defiance against the international order.”

hzFebruary 5, 2017Articles

Real CLear Politics

President Donald Trump

By Caroline Glick: The PLO is disoriented, panicked and hysterical. Speaking to Newsweek this week, Saeb Erekat, PLO chief Mahmoud Abbas’s chief conduit to Israel and the Americans, complained that since President Donald Trump was sworn into office, no administration official had spoken to them.

“I don’t know any of them [Trump’s advisers]. We have sent them letters, written messages. They don’t even bother to respond to us.”

hzFebruary 4, 2017News

Times of Israel

Israeli natural gas rigs in the Mediterranean Sea

In yet another sign of the burgeoning diplomatic detente between Israel and Turkey, a high-level delegation of Turkish energy officials will visit Israel Sunday.

The group, led by the director of Ankara’s Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, according to Israel Radio.

The delegation is slated to meet Israeli Energy Ministry officials, as well as representatives of Delek Group and Noble Energy, the two main members of a concern developing Israel’s massive natural gas fields in the Mediterranean. One key issue on the agenda, according to reports: an initiative to lay an underwater gas pipeline between Israel and energy hub Turkey.

Egypt, Israel or accident? Mystery shrouds Gaza tunnel blast

Israel intercepts rockets aimed at Eilat

Experts: Western Universities Should Cut, Reconsider Ties With Palestinian Partner School in Wake of Militant Rally Inciting Violence

‘How Would You Feel if Israel Funded Welsh or Scottish Independence Groups?’ PM Netanyahu Asks UK Counterpart in Call for Foreign Governments to Stop Giving Money to NGOs

Zarif Says ‘Difficult Days’ Ahead as Trump Sets Sights on Iran

On trade and travel, Trump has an opportunity to bolster US-Israel ties

‘Never Again Will Our Allies Have to Question Our Support’

Netanyahu heads to UK seeking a ‘united front’ against Iran

The Trump Way of Winning the War

In further sign of warming ties, Turkish energy officials headed to Jerusalem