Category: Headlines

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After 49 Years, Israel and Guinea Renew Diplomatic Ties

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.”

In essence, Israel truly is part of a broader African dynamic.

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Another Duma Fire: Blaming the Jews Again?

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.”

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Is Israel Prepared for a New Lebanon War?

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.”

Considering the recent Hezbollah drone that penetrated Israel’s airspace in the Golan and talks in the Knesset of the dangers Israel faces from its neighbors, it is an opportune time for Israel to step up its security measures for the civilian population.

 

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Liberman: “The Iranian Threat Remains the Greatest Threat to the State of Israel”

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.”

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Netanyahu Calls for Unified Approach of Condemnation and War on Terrorism Worldwide

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.