Marcel Alain De Souza, President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), met with President Rivlin in Israel today. They spoke about economic cooperation between Israel and West African countries.
“Africa is key to the future of the world. Your organization facilitates the cooperation between the individual African countries, and also between Africa and the whole world which looks to see what is happening there,” remarked Rivlin. “We have excellent cooperation, and we welcome the opportunity for Israel to contribute from its knowledge and abilities in the fields of health, water and agriculture; a sign of the friendship between us.”
ECOWAS is a 15-member regional group, constituting around 320 million people, with a mandate of promoting economic integration in all fields of activity of the constituting countries. Member countries making up ECOWAS are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote d’ Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Senegal and Togo.
The recent few weeks have shown an increase of cooperation, diplomatically, economically and politically between Israel and African countries. There seems to be a major regional trend of countries reaching out to Israel for guidance and training in technology, agriculture and security.
It may come as a surprise that many Arabs and Muslims support Israel. However, many refuse to voice their support for Israel and anger for the Palestinian Authority due to fear for their lives.
Khaled as a child with Israeli flag (credit: Facebook)
This was the case last week when Khaled Abu Much, who works in a Jerusalem hotel, was attacked by a fellow Arab worker who found, via Khaled’s Facebook page, that Khaled is a long-time supporter of the State of Israel. Khaled posts pictures of himself with the Israeli flag and posts about his disgust for MK Haneen Zoabi.
Finding this out, his fellow worker threw a rock at his head and Khaled was rushed to a hospital to receive stitches while suffering with dizziness.
During an interview on Israel’s Channel 20, Khaled stated that he is not afraid to voice his support for Israel. “These responses, it’s normal, wherever there are such extremist Arabs, but they won’t break me,” he exclaimed. “I walk the true path. This is the truth. I was born here, I opened my eyes here and saw the national flag. There was no Palestinian flag where I was born. The Star of David, that’s me, that’s how my mother raised me.”
Khaled is not the only one being attacked for voicing his opinion about Israel. Mahdi Satri, 17, a young Palestinian Arab from the village of Jadeidi-Makr in northern Israel, says he receives “regular threats from both Arab Israelis and Palestinians, via social media and by phone” because of his outspoken support for Israel. In an interview with The Algemeiner, Satri stated that he is in constant fear for his life from people in his community and that he feels like he is being targeted by all Arabs in Israel, including Hamas.”
Mahdi Satri
In a touching letter he wrote, Satri explains his fear and says “If I died and if they succeeded to kill me, know that I died a Zionist defending my country. And know that I was smiling while dying because I’ll die for my country.”
In the past, Arabs showing support for Israel even fled the country due to fear for their lives. In 2014, Muhammad Zoabi, a loyal Arab Muslim citizen of Israel, fled the country after receiving multiple death threats. Today, Zoabi is back in Israel and is one of the countries leading voices supporting Israel and speaking out against Muslim terror. His Facebook page exudes love for Israel.
Muslim support for Israel has no borders. Even Muslims from Pakistan publicly show their support for Israel. Noor Dhari, whom we interviewed a few months ago, is a Pakistani Muslim who went as far is becoming an honorary member of the Zionist federation in the UK. He claims there are many pro-Israel Muslims just like him, but most are afraid to speak up.
It is an outrage that one cannot voice their support without being attacked or fearing for their lives. Are Muslims so insecure about their beliefs that they need to attack other Muslims for voicing an opinion? Is it such a crime to want peace in the country in which one lives?
A 27-year-old Syrian man blew himself up at a music festival in Ansbach, Germany wounding 12 people, 3 seriously. The man detonated a an explosive device after being refused entry into the Ansbach Open music festival at around 10PM Sunday evening.
According to the Bavarian interior minister, the explosive content in the bomber’s backpack had the capability to injure and kill many more people. He also reported that the attacker came to Germany two years ago seeking asylum but his asylum claim was rejected. They claim the attacker attempted suicide twice before and spent time in a psychiatric clinic. However, the common denominator in the recent attacks in Germany is Islamic terrorism.
This is the fourth Muslim attack in Germany in the past week, including the attack in Munich that killed 9 people and injured 27 and the machete attack killing a pregnant woman. Germany has been on high alert since the recent attacks. Many German citizens are irate about the influx of Syrian refugees which seems to include a number of Islamic extremists and terrorists.
According to a poll conducted by state broadcaster ZDF, 77% of Germans fear future attacks.
Just weeks after Prime Minister Netanyahu’s historic trip to Africa and just days after Israel signed a diplomatic agreement with Guinea, Israel reports it looks to reestablish ties with Chad, another majority-Muslim African country.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry Director Dore Gold met with Chad President Idriss Déby to discuss issues of common interest and establish bilateral cooperation.
Chad severed ties with Israel in 1972 after pressure from neighboring Arab countries. However, many African countries are now feeling less pressure to cooperate with Israel after seeing Muslim countries, including Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, building strong security ties with Israel.
Chad, like many Muslim and African countries, is facing the threat of Islamic extremists and could use a partner like Israel to assist with security and intelligence. Israel’s technological and entrepreneurial advances can also benefit many African countries economically.
In Gaza, a Hamas-controlled court sentenced three Palestinians to death for collaborating with Israeli forces. Two men, aged 59 and 49, were sentenced to death by hanging, while a third man aged 38 was sentenced to death by firing squad.
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), a Palestinian NGO, condemns the excessive punishment and rejects the death penalty. It claims 13 death penalties have been carried out so far this year. In total, the number of death sentences handed out in Palestinian Authority controlled areas since 1994 has risen to 177.
This should come as no surprise considering the culture of death that Hamas and the Palestinian Authority present. Just this week, Hamas opened up one of its terror tunnels for touring as part of its exhibition to mark the two year anniversary since the last armed conflict between Israel and Hamas. The tunnel, located in the Shuja’iyya neighborhood of Gaza, is one of many Hamas has used to infiltrate Israeli territory to commit acts of terror.
Wait, there’s more of Hamas’ violent influence on its civilians. This summer, more than 30,000 Palestinian children will be attending camps run by Hamas. The camp is run by the Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing. Activities include military training with real weapons, religious indoctrination and incitement to kill Jews. Hamas is training and indoctrinating the future of the Palestinian people into a life of terror, violence and martyrdom.
Of course the world sides with Hamas and the Palestinians with claims that they are just resisting against an “occupying and aggressive” Israel. The truth is that Hamas’ charter details that Jihad and terror against Jews is a duty. It has nothing to do with land and occupation. It has to do with radical Islamic ideology, no different than that of groups such as ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Hezbollah and Boko Haram.
While terror attacks around the world are being condemned by the international community, attacks on Israel are being ignored. The UN and some countries even go as far as sympathizing with Palestinian terror. Prime Minister Netanyahu recently made a statement condemning this blatant hypocrisy: “Terrorism is terrorism, whether it is in France or Israel, and there must be a unified approach of condemnation and war on this terrorism – here and everywhere else.”
Israel, represented by Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director General Dr. Dore Gold, and the Republic of Guinea (Guinea-Conakry), represented by Chief of Staff of the Guinean Presidency Mr. Ibrahim Khalil Kaba, signed an agreement renewing diplomatic ties between the two nations.
The two countries have not had diplomatic ties for almost 49 years, following the Six-Day War in 1967. Though Guinea is a country with a Muslim majority, it kept a close friendship with Israel throughout the years. Israel played a major part in the international effort to eradicate the Ebola virus that also struck Guinea. This may have fostered this initiative to strengthen ties between the two countries.
“Israel is ready to share its experience and abilities for the good of Guinea’s development needs in a wide range of areas, such as agriculture, water management and homeland security,” stated Director Gold.
This development came soon after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned from a trip to Africa where he visited a number of countries to strengthen and upgrade the political, economic and security ties with Africa. A few months ago, Israel’s Knesset also launched the Africa Caucus where Netanyahu exclaimed: “Israel is coming back to Africa; Africa is coming back to Israel.”
Yesterday another fire broke out in a home in the Duma village. This is the same village where an arson attack occurred a year ago and led to the arrest of two Jewish youths who were later charged for the attack. However, as many have speculated, it seems there is an internal feud between clans living in the village that may be responsible for firebombings in the last year including the one from yesterday.
The house-fire on July 31, 2015 in Duma resulted in the death of two parents and their 18-month-old child from the Dawabsha family clan. At least 6 arson attacks occurred in Duma over the last year and investigations show that the Dawabsha clan is to blame for them. A fire was reported in March but authorities said the cause was not clear.
What is clear is that Israeli authorities rushed to accuse alleged Jewish extremists in the arson attack last year. Those arrested were subject to brutal interrogation methods and were forced to admit to the arson attack. Authorities continued to arrest other Jews that were in no way affiliated with the case in Duma.
Of course, Palestinian media right away tried to put the blame of yesterday’s arson on Jews. However, all signs point to another Dawabsha clan attack. Let’s hope these blood libels against Jews don’t lead to another witch hunt against “Jewish extremists.”
Yesterday marked ten years since the Second Lebanon War with Israel. The Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee of the Knesset marked the day with a debate on the lessons learned from the war to see if the home front is prepared for a possible future conflict.
While the chief of staff for the IDF`s Home Front Command, Brig. Gen. Dedi Simchi, says of the 257 local authorities, 235 will be able to handle – with varying degrees of success – a future emergency situation, and that an “excellent culture of emergency has developed in the national home front,” several MK’s argued that a lot of work is needed to prepare for a future conflict.
MK Mordhay Yogev (Habayit Hayehudi) said the government must budget plans for fortification and the evacuation of civilians, if needed. “A war can – God forbid – leave us with thousands of people killed and damage to infrastructure to such an extent that we will have a hard time recuperating,” he stated. ”If we will not invest five billion shekels in fortification, we will sustain 50 billion shekel`s worth of damage.”
MK Eyal Ben-Reuven (Zionist Camp) said a conflict in the north ”is almost inevitable” but the region ”is not prepared for a war with 1,200-1,500 missiles falling daily.”
Committee Chairman Dichter lauded the Home Front Command for drawing the necessary conclusions immediately after the war, and said the issue of the local authorities` preparedness for a future conflict must be addressed.
”We must not leave question marks that will be exposed only in an emergency,” he said, adding that ”Hezbollah`s current [dire situation] gives us time to prepare the north, and this must guide us from an operational perspective.”
During his appearance before the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Monday, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman remarked:
The Iranian threat remains the greatest threat to the State of Israel. Iran is moving forward with its missile program, as well as its military program, with full force, and one does not have to guess what the objective of this missile program is.
Liberman went on to address the different threats that Israel faces and the importance of the home front in defending Israel’s citizens by “erasing any will and motivation the enemy has to mess with us.”
I do not know of any other country that is currently dealing with as many threats as Israel is: ISIS on the Sinai border, Hamas and [Islamic] Jihad in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and al-Qaeda in Syria. All of our enemies are planning to turn the next conflict into an attack on the Israeli home front; on civilian population. It is obvious that in the next conflict there will be an attempt to harm innocent people. This is why the home front is a very high priority for us.
Many have assessed that an improved economic situation for the Palestinian people would reduce the number of terror attacks. However, Hamas takes advantage of worker entry permits and that the increase in entry permits the last few years also saw an increase in terror attacks using said permits. An example brought by Liberman is the city of Hebron. Despite Hebron being a prosperous Palestinian commercial center, it is an extremist hotbed from which many of the recent terrorists emanated.
Liberman warned that while Israel may soon be facing a military confrontation on one of its borders, “if someone is trying to force a conflict on us – every conflict must end [with a decisive victory]. We must erase any motivation our enemies have to test us a second time, if they try to test us a first time. But first we must erase any will and motivation to mess with us.”
During the weekly Cabinet meeting on Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed draft laws to strengthen economic stability and improve the functioning of government ministries. However, he began with strong statements regarding recent events around the world.
Netanyahu made the following remarks: “Israel and Turkey recently agreed on a reconciliation process between them. We assume that this process will continue without any connection to the dramatic events in Turkey over the weekend.
In recent days, we also experienced the shocking terrorist attack in Nice and it underscores the need for a unified and aggressive approach in the face of the murderous terrorism that is attacking the entire world. I sent condolences — on behalf of the government and people of Israel – and my wishes for a recovery to the wounded, via French President Francois Hollande.
The Palestinian Authority also sent condemnations and condolences, but with one difference: Here, not only do they not condemn vehicular terrorism, they encourage it. They glorify the terrorists responsible and finance them and their families if the terrorists are dead.
Terrorism is terrorism, whether it is in France or Israel, and there must be a unified approach of condemnation and war on this terrorism – here and everywhere else.”
The sentiments of his remarks are clear: While the world cries for terror victims in Europe or the US, it remains silents when it comes to Israeli terror victims. While the world speaks of war on terror and fighting ISIS, it does not speak up when it comes to Palestinian terror. Netanyahu is trying to make the point that the motives behind Palestinian terror is no different than the motives behind ISIS and other terror groups.
