Tuesday, September 26, 2017
Border cop, 2 security guards named as victims of Har Adar shooting attack
The three Israelis killed in a terror attack at the Har Adar settlement Tuesday were named as border policeman Solomon Gavriyah, 20, and civilian security guards Youssef Ottman, 25, from Abu Ghosh and Or Arish, 25, a resident of Har Adar.Hailed as heroes, victims of Har Adar terror attack buried
A third civilian — the head security officer of Har Adar — was seriously injured in the attack. He underwent surgery at the Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem in Jerusalem after suffering two bullet wounds and his condition was later described as stable and moderate.
According to police, the assailant arrived at the rear entrance of the settlement northwest of Jerusalem and opened fire on a group of security personnel, including Border Police officers and the community’s private guards, who were opening the entrance to Palestinian workers.
Gavriyah was from the central Israeli community of Be’er Yaakov. He was posthumously promoted to staff sergeant. Police said in a statement that he had joined the Border Police for his mandatory national service and had recently been serving as a policeman in the Jerusalem seam area along the boundary with the West Bank.
He will be buried at 5 p.m. in the Be’er Yaakov military cemetery. He is survived by his parents, two sisters and a brother.
Ottman was a resident of the Arab Israeli community of Abu Ghosh, close to Har Adar. He was expected to be buried later in the day in his hometown.
Arish’s funeral was scheduled for 4:30 p.m. at the Givat Shaul cemetery in Jerusalem.
Thousands of mourners gathered on Tuesday afternoon to pay their final respects to the three Israelis who were killed by a Palestinian terrorist in the Jerusalem-area settlement of Har Adar earlier in the day.
Border policeman Solomon Gavriyah, 20, civilian security guards Youssef Ottman, 25, from Abu Ghosh and Or Arish, 25, a resident of Har Adar were laid to rest in separate funerals on Tuesday afternoon.
Gavriyah was buried in his central Israel hometown of Beer Yaakov, in an emotional ceremony that saw several family members collapse from grief. In Jerusalem, Arish was buried in the city’s Givat Shaul Cemetery, with the funeral closed to the press.
In the nearby Arab Israeli town of Abu Ghosh, hundreds attended the funeral for Ottman. The burial was held in both English and Arabic, and was attended by police officials, Knesset members, and town mayor Issa Jaber.
'Outstanding pupil with a big heart who loved his country'
Friends of Border Policeman Staff Sergeant Solomon Gaviria described him as an "outstanding pupil with a big heart who loved the country and wanted to protect it."Netanyahu: Israel expects Abbas to condemn terror attack
Dozens of family members, neighbours and acquaintances descended on the Gaviria house in Beer Yaakov. Gaviria joined the Border Police a year and a half ago and served in the Jerusalem corridor. A year ago he was lightly wounded in an attack near the site of today's attack. The incident occurred on a Shabbat during a patrol on the fence of Har Adar. A terrorist jumped out of the bushes and stabbed him in the hand.
One of Gaviria's officers related that despite his wounds Solomon fought back and succeeded in fending the terrorist off. Friends added that after he recovered from his wounds he insisted on returning to service.
Gaviria is survived by two sisters and a brother.
The leader of the Ethiopian community in Beer Yaakov, Baruch Boglah, said that "for many years I have known this heroic boy. A year ago he was injured in the war with terrorists, recovered and returned to serve. Unfortunately today we heard the worst possible news. He grew up here, learnt and excelled."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to condemn the Har Adar terror attack Tuesday morning that killed two security guards and one border police officer, and not to justify it.
Speaking before the weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said that the attack is the result – among other things – of “systematic incitement by the Palestinian Authority and other elements.”
"The security forces will continue to take action against incitement and terrorism as they have been doing night and day and we, of course, will finish the investigation of the incident and will discuss together the next steps," Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu said that the home of the terrorist, 37-year-old Nimer Jamal from Beit Surik, will be destroyed, and that the IDF has secured a closure around the village. Additionally, all work permits for the members of Jamal's extended family will be revoked.
President Reuven Rivlin responded to the attack, saying the nation's hearts are with the families of the victims. "The brutal terror attack exposes once again the daily reality that Israeli security forces, who are on the front lines, have to deal with," said Rivlin. "We will continue to confront terror and put our hands on the attackers and their backers."
PMW: Fatah glorifies this morning’s murderer
Terrorist murderer’s family will be rewarded by the PA:
6,000 shekels paid immediately
2,600 shekels each month for life
The 3 Israelis murdered this morning by a Palestinian terrorist have not yet been buried and Abbas’ Fatah Movement is already celebrating the killings.
Right after this morning’s terror attack in Har Adar northwest of Jerusalem, where terrorist Nimr Mahmoud Ahmed Al-Jamal shot and murdered an Israeli border police officer, two security guards and wounded another Israeli, Fatah’s Nablus Branch hurried and glorified the attack and the terrorist’s “Martyrdom” with this post on Facebook:
“What is the homeland?
It is the longing to die in order to return the right and the land that were stolen.
A morning scented with the fragrance of the Martyrs (Shahids).”
[Facebook page of the Fatah Movement - Nablus Branch, Sept. 26, 2017]
On its official page, Fatah honored the killer by posting his picture, calling the attack “an operation” and the murderer a “Martyr”:
Posted text: “The one who carried out the operation in Jerusalem (sic., Har Adar) is Martyr (Shahid) Nimr Mahmoud Ahmed Al-Jamal.” [Official Fatah Facebook page, Sept. 26, 2017]
Fatah’s referring to the terrorist murderer as a Shahid (Martyr), is the highest praise that Fatah could give. Defining the terrorist as a “Shahid” means that he “died for Allah.” Fatah is telling Palestinians that murdering Israelis is something that their god, Allah, desires, and for which the “Martyr” will be rewarded in Heaven.
Mahmoud Abbas’ advisor on religious affairs, Mahmoud Al-Habbash, has explained the value of being a Shahid - “Martyr”:
This morning, after a terrorist killed 3 Israelis & wounded 1, Gazans handed out sweets to celebrate the attack. pic.twitter.com/BEHmM1JAnM
— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) September 26, 2017
United States, UN quickly condemn Har Adar terror attack
The United States and the United Nations quickly condemned Tuesday’s terrorist attack in Har Adar, and called for a condemnation of terrorism. The short statement by the UN special envoy twice made note that the attack took place in a “settlement.”Security forces said to arrest father, brother of Har Adar terrorist
“I condemn this morning’s shooting attack by a Palestinian perpetrator in the Har Adar settlement in which one Israeli policeman and two security guards were killed, and another was seriously injured,” read the statement issued by UN special envoy Nickolay Mladenov just four hours after the attack – the first international condemnation issued.
“It is deplorable that Hamas and others continue to glorify such attacks, which undermine the possibility of a peaceful future for both Palestinians and Israelis,” he said. “I urge all to condemn violence and stand up to terror.”
The introduction to Mladenov’s comment read: “Statement by United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nickolay Mladenov, on today’s attack in a settlement in the occupied West Bank.”
The US Embassy in Tel Aviv and the US Consulate in Jerusalem, in an unusual move, issued a joint statement condemning the attack. That statement made no reference to Har Adar as a settlement.
Israeli security forces on Tuesday reportedly arrested the father and brother of the Palestinian terrorist who shot dead three Israelis in Har Adar, near Jerusalem, earlier in the day.After deadly shooting, IDF seals off hometown of Har Adar terrorist
Palestinian media reports said Nimer Mahmoud Ahmad Jamal’s relatives were arrested by IDF and Border Police officers when they raided the attacker’s hometown of Bayt Surik in the West Bank.
The army confirmed three people were arrested in the operation, but did not identify them.
The IDF said in a statement that Bayt Surik was sealed off by security forces to prevent any accomplices from escaping or evidence destroyed.
“As part of the operation, IDF and Border Police forces swept the village, raided the terrorist’s home and blockaded the village. Various forces and intelligence methods were deployed, visible and hidden, in the roads and paths [around the village] in order to ensure security in the area,” the military said.
The IDF imposed a closure on the West Bank village of Bayt Surik on Tuesday after one of its residents shot and killed three Israeli security officers earlier in the day at the neighboring Har Adar settlement.‘The man who cleaned our house for 2.5 years was the terrorist’
According to the military, residents of the Palestinian village can enter it freely, but will “only be allowed out in humanitarian cases.”
After the attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel would demolish the terrorist’s home and rescind the work permits held by the terrorist’s relatives.
Early Tuesday morning, the terrorist, identified as 37-year-old Nimer Mahmoud Ahmad Jamal, took a pistol out of his shirt and shot at a group of security officers who were opening the back gates of Har Adar to Palestinian laborers.
The Palestinian father of four who killed three Israelis at Har Adar on Tuesday morning was a “completely normal” and “good-natured” man who worked as a cleaner for a group of families at the settlement, one of the residents who employed him said soon after the shooting.‘Deport family members of Palestinian terrorists to Syria'
Interviewed on Israel Radio, Michal Avidor said she was “on my way to the school to tell my children that the man who’s been cleaning our house for the past two and a half years was the terrorist.” The gunman was identified as Nimer Jamal, 37, from the adjacent village of Bayt Surik.
Nimr Mahmoud Ahmed Jamal, who carried out a terror attack at the Har Adar settlement on on September 26, 2017 (Facebook)
Avidor said she was astounded when she realized who the terrorist was. “I started to figure it out when they said he was a father of four from the village.”
“This was a man who we talked with,” she said, “whom my children gave drinks and food.”
She said she felt completely shocked by the incident, and that the first thing she wanted to do when she got home from telling her children was to completely clean her house.
The families of Palestinian terrorists should be deported to Syria, Housing Minister Yoav Galant (Kulanu) said on Tuesday morning as he stood at the site of the terror attack by the back gate of Har Adar that claimed the lives of three Israelis.Shin Bet: Attacker had familial problems and was left by his wife
Those who engaged in terror, “have to pay a price," Galant said.
“If you want to live side by side in cooperation, in liberalization and in freedom with the Israelis and work here, you are very welcome.
“If you want to kill Israeli kids, we will deport you, not to Gaza, but to Syria. You are not allowed to stay here,” Galant said before heading to the weekly government meeting in Jerusalem.
He was one of many Israeli politicians who blamed the attack on the Palestinian Authority for inciting and educating its people to violence against Israel.
“It is not something that started right now and today. If we want to make sure that the roots of terror are eliminated in this region, we need make sure that the Palestinian Authority behaves differently,” Galant said.
37-year-old Nimer Mahmoud Ahmad Jamal, who shot dead three Israeli security men outside of the Har Adar settlement near Jerusalem on Tuesday, had familial problems and was left by his wife weeks ago, according to the Shin Bet.Hamas speaks highly of deadly shooting attack that killed 3 Israelis
“An initial investigation into the attack indicated that the assailant had personal and familial problems including those related to domestic violence,” the Shin Bet said in a statement. “It was also discovered that the assailant’s wife fled to Jordan a number of weeks ago and left him with their children.”
Jamal, a resident of Beit Surik, was the father of four children and had a permit to work in settlements in the West Bank. According to Channel 2, he was fired from his job in Har Adar four years ago.
In a farewell message to his wife on Monday evening, Jamal praised her and admitted that he had not treated her well.
“I swear to God that the mother of Bahaa, my wife, truly was a righteous spouse and compassionate mother,” he said. “I was the one who treated her poorly only because of my foolish jealousy.”
Jamal also said that the attack he would carry out is unrelated to his wife.
Hamas spoke highly of a deadly shooting attack on Tuesday outside the Har Adar settlement near Jerusalem.Har Adar Terror Attack: Headline Fails
“Once again Jerusalem proves that it is the heart of the conflict with the occupation,” Hamas spokesman Hazim Qassim said in a statement on his Facebook page. “The operation this morning in northern Jerusalem is a new chapter of the Jerusalem intifada and... an affirmation that our uprising youth will continue to fight until the people and land are completely liberated.”
Even though Hamas has said it does not want war with Israel at the present moment, it has encouraged shooting, ramming and knifing attacks against Israelis in the West Bank and Jerusalem.
In Tuesday’s attack, a Palestinian assailant opened fire on Israeli security personnel outside Har Adar, leaving three dead and one severely wounded, police said.
The attacker, a laborer from Bayt Surik, a village east of Har Adar, was shot dead at the scene, police added.
Qassim also said the attack is a popular rebuke of the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah’s approach to pursue freedoms and recognition in international bodies.
“The operation today indicates that our people reject the logic of begging for rights at international institutions. Our people will preserve their rights and holy sites with their soul and blood,” he said.
A Palestinian terrorist shot and killed an Israeli border policeman and two civilian guards outside the Israeli community of Har Adar, which straddles the Green Line near Jerusalem. A fourth Israeli is currently hospitalized in moderate condition. The Palestinian was killed by responding security forces.
According to media reports, the 37-year-old Palestinian, Nimer Mahmoud Ahmad Jabbar, was a father of four from a nearby village and had a permit to work in Har Adar. After arousing the suspicion of the guards, Jabbar pulled out a pistol, hitting his victims at close range.
For the Daily Mail’s Mail Online, however, the use of scare quotes around “terror attack” appeared to question whether this was actually what occurred.
Shortly after HonestReporting contacted Mail Online, the scare quotes were removed.
In addition, the murdered Israelis were not soldiers but a border policeman and two of the community’s private security guards. HonestReporting has also requested a further correction.
PreOccupiedTerritory: Troubled Har Adar Terrorist ‘Martyr’ Consigned To Heavenly Psych Ward (satire)
The Palestinian attacker who shot and killed three Israelis and injured a fourth this morning at a community northwest of Jerusalem, and was fatally shot in the process, has been admitted to the supernal psychiatric section and remains under quarantine, an angelic spokesman told reporters this afternoon.Evelyn Gordon: Trump Tries a New Tack on the Peace Process
Archangel Gabriel announced at a noontime Pearly Gates press conference that Nimer Mahmoud Ahmed Aljamal, 37, of the village of Beit Surik, was bring kept under observation in isolation until a more permanent disposition can be found appropriate, following reports that the father of four had physically abused his wife, causing her to flee to Jordan, and displayed other signs of emotional and psychological instability.
“We’ve seen more and more of these patients recently,” observed Gabriel. “Unfortunately, instead of seeking treatment for, or simply confronting, their problems, Palestinians in emotional distress of various sorts have taken to getting themselves killed in attempts to kill Jews, thereby ending their earthly misery and guaranteeing generous lifetime pensions for the family they leave behind. While Allah and the Heavenly host acknowledge the appeal of such a course of action, we nevertheless remain concerned that it betrays an attitude and psychological state ill-suited to eternal bliss, and are therefore keeping Mr. Aljamal under observation, and will determine at a later date whether he can be safely released to inhabit the afterlife.”
In short, until Trump came along, the Palestinians won this major concession for free. Now, by refusing to declare a two-state solution as his goal, he has essentially told the Palestinians, for the first time in the history of the peace process, that every concession they previously pocketed is reversible unless and until they actually sign a deal. In other words, for the first time in the history of the peace process, he has told the Palestinians they have something to lose by intransigence. And if they want to reinstate America’s commitment to a Palestinian state, they will have to give something in exchange.The UN, the GA and Israel
The same goes for Trump’s refusal even to mention the Palestinians in his UN speech. When former Secretary of State John Kerry repeatedly insisted that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is the world’s most important foreign policy problem (a message routinely echoed by European diplomats), that gave the Palestinians tremendous leverage. Since they have always been the more intransigent side, the easiest path for any broker to follow is to simply support more and more Palestinian demands without requiring any substantive Palestinian concessions in return and then try to pressure Israel into agreeing. Thus, if world leaders are desperate to resolve the conflict, they will naturally tend to take that easy path in the hope of producing quick “achievements,” which is, in fact, what has happened over the last two decades. The result is that the Palestinians have concluded they can keep getting more simply by continuing to say no.
In his UN speech, Trump sent the opposite message: There are a lot of important foreign policy issues, like North Korea and Iran, and the Palestinian issue is so trivial by comparison that it doesn’t even merit a mention. In other words, though Trump would like to broker a peace deal, it isn’t necessary for America’s own interests. And therefore, it’s only worth investing time and effort in it if Palestinians and Israelis are both actually ready to deal, which means the Palestinians will have to be ready to finally make some concessions.
There are ample grounds for skepticism about whether Trump’s approach will work; based on the accumulated evidence of the last quarter century, I consider it far more likely that the Palestinians simply aren’t interested in signing a deal on any terms. Nevertheless, there is a plausible alternative theory. Perhaps Palestinians keep saying no simply because doing so has proven effective in securing more concessions. And if that’s the case, then reversing this perverse set of incentives by telling them they stand to lose from intransigence rather than gain by it could actually be effective.
Whether he succeeds or fails, Trump deserves credit for trying something new. Given the failure of his predecessors to achieve peace, only State Department bureaucrats could imagine that doing the same thing one more time would somehow produce different results.
It’s a well kept secret that Israel is very active in helping other countries solve problems – especially in Africa. Israelis are particularly adept in helping African nations improve their ability to grow crops and expand their food sources. They teach them how to get more milk from cows and more eggs from chickens. They assist in productive irrigation and efficient crop growth. Israelis assist other nations with health care, computer technology and communication services. And, of course, Israel aids countries with their infrastructure development, security and defense.Shmuley Boteach: How glorious it was to watch Trump hammer UN apathy and amorality
And most of the deals between Israel and these other nations – many of whom refuse to acknowledge Israel’s existence, let alone shake the hand of an Israeli in public, are initiated and inked behind closed doors at UN committees and during annual GA gatherings.
One of the main accomplishments of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s recent trip to Central and South America is the decision to have Israel join Mexico and the United States in helping develop the countries of Central America. The reason that is so significant is because Israel has already perfected a method of helping and assisting countries develop along these very lines. That experience is through the UN.
Years ago prime minister David Ben-Gurion famously referred to the UN by its Hebrew acronym – “Ha’Oum.” Ben-Gurion said “oumsmoom.” At the time many member nations were openly and virulently anti-Israel. That has not changed much. Many bodies within the UN are still anti-Israel and the United Nations is still a platform for an ugly, deplorable form of antisemitism.
That hasn’t changed. Yet things have changed – Israel has changed.
Today Israel contributes greatly to the UN and, by extension, to the world. Those contributions are what makes the world a better place and slowly moves publicly antagonistic countries closer to recognizing Israel as a contributing member of the nations of the world.
For that, this New Yorker is willing to put up with a few days of congestion and traffic.
Less than two years into the disastrous nuclear deal signed by president Barack Obama, Iran already seems to be violating its barely-extant side of the agreement. Israeli intelligence appears to have learned that International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors were denied entry into a critical Iranian military installation and didn’t bother getting into a number of other sites of suspected nuclear research and development. Trump has better intel than we do, and he seems to agree. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump declared that Iran had “violated so many different elements” of the deal that the US would no longer “stand for what they’re doing.”ANTI-ISRAEL HYSTERIA AT THE UN "HUMAN RIGHTS" COUNCIL AS MALAYSIA CLAIMS ISRAEL VIOLATES ALL HUMAN RIGHTS
With a deadline for Iranian sanctions relief coming up this October, many had come to believe that Trump might just scrap what he called “the worst deal ever.” Iranian President Hassan Rouhani responded just a few days ago with the not so veiled threat that Iran would “react swiftly” to an American nixing of the deal. Apparently trying to intimidate the US, he added that “if the US wants to increase the tensions, it will see the reaction from Iran.”
And with all this circling, Trump was set to give his first address to the global community.
It was as though the world itself had set a momentous stage for the American president.
He delivered.
Trump offered a speech of moral clarity, unequivocal in its denunciation of the world’s most evil regimes. In some of the strongest terms available to a head of state, Trump went after what he called “the scourge of our planet” – the cynical, violent band of “rogue regimes” known more specifically as North Korea and Iran.
Speaking on September 25, 2017, at the UN Human Rights Council session dedicated to the demonization of Israel, agenda item 7, Malaysia accused the democratic state of Israel of violating every single human right.UN: Israeli, PA incitement violates Resolution 2334
In its words: "The world continues to witness successive generations of the Palestinian people enduring under the Israeli illegal occupation, being subjected to atrocious and wide-ranging human rights violations. Records show that no human right of the Palestinians that [sic] has not been violated, including their right to self-determination."
Israelis and Palestinians have engaged in inflammatory rhetoric that violates UN Resolution 2334, which condemns settlement activity, UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process Nikolay Mladenov said on Monday.Hype aside, experts doubt Israel-Bahrain ties ready for prime time
He presented the UN Security Council with his third report on the resolution since its approval last December, in which he gave both Israelis and Palestinians a failing grade.
“I, once again, urge both parties to demonstrate their commitment to rejecting violence, inflammatory rhetoric and provocative actions,” Mladenov said.
During the Temple Mount crisis in July, Hamas and senior Palestinian Authority officials called for a “day of rage.”
“Hamas and others continued to openly glorify attacks, describing the murder of three Israelis at their home in Halamish as “heroic,” Mladenov said, adding, however, that Abbas explicitly condemned that attack.
Israeli officials, including Netanyahu, he said, have used “provocative rhetoric” in support of settlement activity. “Other senior Israeli politicians also made repeated calls for annexation of the West Bank, with one Member of Knesset expressing his desire to ‘destroy’ hopes for Palestinian statehood, and stated that ‘there is room to define and realize the national aspirations of one people only – the Jewish people.’” During the last three months, Israelis and Palestinians did not take steps to “reverse negative trends on the ground that are imperiling the two-state solution,” he said.
Reports this month have indicated the island kingdom of Bahrain will soon take steps to normalize ties with Israel, ending seven decades of a diplomatic boycott of the Jewish state.Saudi Newspaper: ‘No Lasting Peace Can Exclude Hamas and its Supporters’
And some experts who spoke with The Times of Israel say they have noticed a tendency in recent years for Bahrain to speak publicly about its relations with Israel.
However, at the same time, analysts argue it’s unlikely Bahrain would normalize ties with the Jewish state without any serious developments in the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians.
By normalizing relations with Israel, Bahrain, a Sunni monarchy struggling to hold its grip over the Shiite majority populace, would bleed too much political capital, they said, while getting nothing in return that it can’t get from Israel now, including business and security deals made under the table or through third parties.
The current discussion over Bahrain-Israel ties improving revolves around statements made by Rabbi Marvin Hier, who is the dean and founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, California, and by the associate director of the center Rabbi Abraham Cooper, both of whom met with the Bahraini king in Manama, the tiny Persian Gulf state’s capital, on February 26.
Despite an all-time low in relations between the Riyadh government and the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas, a leading Saudi newspaper has offered a cautious welcome to the current reconciliation process between Hamas and its rival Fatah as they prepare for next week’s session of the Palestine National Council in Gaza — the first such meeting in three years.Netanyahu Tells Newly-Reelected German Leader Merkel: Israel Is Concerned About Rise of Antisemitism
“That Hamas and Fatah will confront their differences and resolve their issues allows for a new phase of Palestinian politics that will bring back the focus on ending Israel’s occupation and the Palestinian campaign for statehood,” the English-language Saudi Gazette stated in an editorial on Saturday. “No lasting peace with the Palestinians can exclude Hamas and its supporters.”
The editorial suggested that Hamas still has opportunity to get back into the good graces of Saudi officials if it falls into line behind the kingdom’s “Arab Peace Initiative,” which calls for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“Hamas should become part of the Palestinian political system rather than remaining outside it, upending any serious negotiations or a potential peace deal,” the paper said. “A united Palestinian people is more conducive to a successful peace process than Palestinians split and in conflict.”
At the same time, the paper urged caution with regard to the fruits of any Hamas-Fatah rapprochement, pointing to six failed attempts since 2007 — when the Fatah-dominated PA was violently expelled from Gaza — to bring the two sides together.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday Israel was concerned over a rise in anti-Semitism, after a right-wing nationalist party won seats in Berlin's parliament.German Far-Right Leader Questions Country’s Relationship With Israel
"Israel is concerned over the rise of anti-Semitism in recent years among political elements from the right and left, as well as from Islamist elements," Netanyahu's office quoted him as saying in a phone call with the German leader.
While Netanyahu seemed to be referring to the results of the Sunday general German election, the Israeli leader stopped short of naming the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which won about 13 percent of the general vote -- the best showing for a nationalist force since World War II.
In his conversation with Merkel, Netanyahu "called on the new government that would be formed to act to strengthen the forces in Germany that accept the historic responsibility" of the Holocaust, his office said.
"Israel rejects any attempt to deny the Holocaust," Netanyahu said, noting that Germany also remained responsible for the historic event.
"There are two things -- Holocaust denial, and denial of the responsibility," he said.
Key members of AfD have challenged Germany's culture of atonement over World War II and the slaughter of six million Jews in the Holocaust.
The leader of the far-right political party Alternative for Germany (AfD) Monday questioned why Israel’s existence should remain a German national interest, following his party’s third-place finish in Sunday’s election.Member of cell that murdered Malachi Rosenfeld gets life sentence
“If Israel’s existence is part of the German national interest then we would have to be prepared to send German soldiers to defend the Jewish state,” AfD co-leader Alexander Gauland told reporters Monday, referring to the issue as “problematic” for Germany.
Gauland reiterated his position in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper, saying, “German society doesn’t really understand what the significance is. That is, that German soldiers would fight and die alongside Israeli soldiers.”
The far-right leader’s comments came during the same press conference in which he said Jews have nothing to fear from his party’s electoral victory.
“There is nothing in our party, in our program, that could disturb the Jewish people who live here in Germany,” he said.
A Palestinian who was part of the cell that murdered Malachi Rosenfeld in June 2015 was sentenced late on Monday by the Judea Military Court to life in prison.Hamas calls IDF general 'de facto Palestinian president'
Rosenfeld, 27, from Kochav Hashahar, was one of four men shot at close range by the cell members in a passing car near Shvut Rahel, some 45 km. north of Jerusalem.
He died of his wounds while being treated at the capital’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center.
The Palestinian, Amjad Hamad, was part of a four-man cell and was also fined compensatory damages of NIS 325,000 and punitive damages of NIS 25,000 as a co-conspirator in the murder.
Hamad had also been convicted of multiple attempted murder counts and other security crimes.
He and two others were indicted by the IDF prosecution in August 2015. One of the other defendants was sentenced to life in prison on January 22, 2017, while another defendant’s trial is still pending.
A fourth defendant was taken into custody by the Palestinian Authority in 2015, but there have been no further reports regarding him.
Hamas released a video on Monday that claims Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, the coordinator of government activities in the territories, is the "de facto Palestinian president."Funding Issues Threaten PA-Hamas Reconciliation
The video introduces the general as "President Mordechai," arguing that Mordechai pilfers power away from the Palestinian Authority.
Mordechai approves economic projects that serve his goals in the West Bank, the video claims. He controls the Palestinians' work, travel and family visitation passes.
Hamas also warned against the coordinator's online activity, arguing that the internet is used by Israeli "occupation" forces as a tool for espionage, surveillance and intelligence gathering.
Mordechai is involved in projects to "penetrate Palestinian minds," targeting Palestinian youth and "exploiting their need to find a solution to their problems in an attempt to take them down and recruit them."
The issue of Hamas employees resurfaced to block the reconciliation agreement between Hamas and Fatah, especially after the Finance Minister announced that the employees can’t be included within the government.US officials: Iran faked its latest missile test
Hamas warned Prime Minister Rami al-Hamdallah of failing once again.
Mousa Abu Marzouk, a member of Hamas’ political bureau, sent a direct message to Hamdallah saying that unity is a priority.
Marzouk’s message came a few hours after Minister of Finance Shukri Bshara said that the authority was not concerned with the inflation and didn’t have the capacity to include 40,000 or 50,000 new employees, meaning Hamas’ government employees.
Shukri told the state TV that the Palestinian Authority (PA) and government are suffering from a financial crisis and the debt exceeded $3 billion. He added that it is currently difficult to include 40,000 employees explaining that this needs years of study.
The minister suggested establishing a special fund for Gaza’s employees not linked with the authority’s budget.
Bishara’s statement could indicate that the reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah will fail.
Iran's allegedly successful test of a new ballistic missile was fabricated, two U.S. officials told Fox News on Monday.‘Why Can’t I Be Rocket Man?’ Iranian Leader Laments (satire)
Iranian state television released video footage Friday claiming to show the launch of a Khorramshahr missile – a new type of medium-range ballistic missile with a range of 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles), capable of reaching Israel – a few hours after it was displayed during a military parade in Tehran.
In response, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Saturday that the missile test was "not just a provocation and an act of defiance directed at the U.S. and its allies, including Israel, it is also further proof of Iran's aspirations to become a world power and to threaten not just the Middle East but all the countries of the free world."
According to the American officials, however, Iran never fired a ballistic missile.
The video released by the Iranians was over seven months old, dating back to a failed launch in late January in which the missile exploded shortly after liftoff, the U.S. officials told Fox.
U.S. President Donald responded to the now-in-question test launch on Twitter, saying it illustrated the weakness of the Iran nuclear deal reached by his predecessor, Barack Obama. He also linked the action to recent aggressive moves by North Korea.
"Iran just test-fired a ballistic missile capable of reaching Israel. They are also working with North Korea," Trump said on Twitter. "Not much of an agreement we have!"
Iran’s supreme leader is distraught over US President Donald Trump’s decision to dub North Korean strongman Kim Jong-un “Rocket Man,” saying he has long been gunning for that title.
“I have spent the better part of two decades building an illegal nuclear weapons and missile program, just so I could have a badass nickname,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told The Mideast Beast. “And Trump bestows this honor on that fat Korean infidel? Those damn Americans give us no respect.”
“I mean I don’t wish to be culturally insensitive but don’t those guys eat dogs? It’s like they’re living in the stone age. Here in Persia when we say, ‘stone age’ we’re talking about the midday session planned for some sodomites.”
Khamenei has responded to the snub by unveiling a new long-range ballistic missile capable of striking Israel. He has also reportedly invited Elton John to perform in Tehran.
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