Palestinian Hamas operative was killed on Monday morning as a tunnel collapsed on top of him east of Gaza. Several reports named the man as 20-year-old Anas Musa Abu-Shawish, a Gaza resident and a member of Hamas's armed wing, the Izzadin Kassam Brigade.

Abu-Shawish was evacuated to receive medical treatment following the tunnel's collapse but was already pronounced dead en route to the hospital.
Incidents like this are not uncommon. Since Operation Protective Edge, the 2014 conflict between Israel and Hamas, scores of Palestinians are reported to have died as a result of tunnels collapsing across the Gaza Strip.

This coming summer will mark three years since that operation, which was mostly characterized by a significant and largely successful IDF mission to put a halt to the vast network of underground terror tunnels Hamas built with the purpose of infiltrating Israeli territory and carrying out terror attacks against security forces and civilians.

In the time that has lapsed since 2014's conflict, Israel has invested more than NIS 600 million(165 million USD) in detection technology and trained every ground soldier to handle an attack launched from underground, planning to eliminate the terror tunnel threat once and for all.

http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Hamas-operative-killed-in-tunnel-collapse-Israel-on-guard-488162

A gunman from the Izz ad-Din al- Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, photographed inside an underground tunnel in Gaza

Arab Israeli children live in fear of gunfire

Shootings are plaguing the Arab populace in Israel, endangering dozens of innocent bystanders; since the beginning of the year, there have been 18 Arab civilian deaths in shooting incidents, similar to last year's January–April toll of 20; Arab child, after reporting a shooting: 'No policeman came. Why is that? Do they think Arab blood is cheap?
Since the beginning of the year there have been 18 civilian deaths among the Arab populace caused by shooting incidents in which dozens more were wounded either deliberately or accidentally—among them children, who were hurt not only physically but mentally.
As Israel Police activity in Arab towns and villages is considered to be complicated and dangerous, Arab-on-Arab crime has grown rampant in recent years; with protection rackets, drugs and illegal weapons trade, primarily carried out by crime cells or clans that have devolved into crime families, causing a massive increase in violence and shooting incidents.
"After what I've been through I'm scared to leave home and go to school. I'm afraid that I'll get shot again," said Muhammad Amash, 10, who was struck by a stray bullet.

Muhammad, who lives with his family in Jisr az-Zarqa, told Ynet that about a month ago he and his relative went to visit a friend, when suddenly they heard gunshots. "We tried running away but I got hit in my right leg. My relative was also wounded; he got shot in the chest."

Jamil Amash, Muhammad's father, said, "The little children are the ones paying the price of the violence. My son is having a hard time coping with what happened to him. We're all scared to get shot. My nephew, who is 13 years old, was shot in that same incident and is still in serious condition.

"We're all busy with treating the wounded and in the meanwhile the shooters are walking free. Unfortunately, the police are not doing enough. Even if they arrest someone the court releases them and our lives remain in danger."

Wesam Amash, Muhammad's mother, said, "Despite the horrible incident we went through, the authorities didn't pay us any mind. Our situation demands assistance for my son, but we were abandoned. My son is traumatized. He barely sleeps at night, reliving that nightmare."

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4950026,00.html

GERMAN TOURISM TO ISRAEL ON THE RISE AS TERRORISM GOES GLOBAL

Security concerns are apparently diminishing among German tourists, as terrorism extends its tentacles to Europe.

in the same week in which an ax-wielding terrorist wounded five at the Düsseldorf railway station in Germany, Israel established itself with a sign in rainbow colors advertising the “Land of Creation” at the world’s largest tourism trade show, held at the Berlin Convention Center from March 7 to 12.

Over a year ago, the wave of terrorist attacks hitting Israel and particularly Jerusalem might have deterred German tourists from visiting the Jewish state, but according to Israeli representatives and tour operators networking at this tourism extravaganza, security concerns are diminishing among German tourists, as terrorism extends its tentacles to Europe.

According to the Israel Government Tourist Office in Berlin, the fall of 2016 saw a 13% rise in tourism from German-speaking countries, compared to 2015, and a marked increase from previous years. The start of 2017 has also shown a marked rise, with repeat visitors counting for about 40% of German tourism.

At the event, Gerd Müller, the general manager of Frankfurt-based Diesenhaus Ram, a travel agency specializing in Israel, declined to offer exact numbers but said his company has been pleased with bookings in 2016 compared to previous years.

“There’s an increase of interest among the public, and I see there’s also a different attitude toward feelings toward Israel,” Müller said. “There is a very positive attitude. Before, we talked to people a lot about the security situation, and now, when I was visiting and attending travel fairs, we didn’t have to talk about it.

People said: ‘I want to go to Israel. Please help me.’” The Israel exhibition covered 670 square meters of one of the 26 fully decked, colorful halls, situated peacefully near the exhibitions of Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan. (The “State of Palestine” had its own exhibition in another hall, near Tunisia and Algeria.) Responding to increased demand, new Israel-Germany routes will be added this year. From winter 2017, the popular discount airline Ryanair will begin to operate flights from Baden-Baden, Frankfurt and Berlin to Eilat, and from Baden-Baden to Tel Aviv. It is hoped that by this time, the new Ramon International Airport in Eilat will be in operation, transforming southern Israel into its own destination.

Eli Nahmias, director of incoming tourism at the Jerusalem Development Authority, said that 90% of German visitors to Israel make it to Jerusalem. The city of Jerusalem has invested in European tourism, with five tourism offices on the continent and intense marketing activity showcasing the cultural diversity, festivals and events in the capital.

“German tourists are coming more for cultural tourism,” Nahmias said, over Arabic music coming from the Jordanian exhibition, music which just moments before had competed with Mizrahi music coming from the Israeli exhibition. “It’s tourism that seeks to visit new destinations and historical destinations, like Jerusalem, which has a lot of diversity.”

Nahmias added that the average tourist increasingly perceives Israel as safe and professional when it comes to security, particularly in an increasingly terrorism-ridden Europe.

“It could happen anywhere in the world,” he said.

http://www.jpost.com/Metro/German-tourism-to-Israel-on-the-rise-as-terrorism-goes-global-484955

One lightly-moderately wounded in a terrorist attack at the Gush Etzion intersection; Terrorist shot, killed.

A Palestinian terrorist driving a private car hit a 70-year-old man, who was getting off a bus, and wounded him lightly-moderately; An IDF force in the area fired at the terrorist and killed him.

Another attack at the Gush Etzion junction. A Palestinian driving a private car hit a 70-year-old pedestrian on Wednesday afternoon, injuring him lightly. The IDF Spokesperson's Unit said that an IDF force fired at the terrorist who was killed as a result.

The IDF Spokesperson's Office confirmed it was a terrorist vehicular ramming attack. The terrorist was identified as Suheib Mashahra, 21, from the village of Sawahra, east of Jerusalem.

MDA teams gave medical care to the injured person on scene and evacuated him to Shaare Zedek Hospital.


MDA emergency medic, Shmuel Daniel, said: "At the bus station, a man of about 70 was lying on the ground conscious and confused. Civilians told us that he was hit by a vehicle while standing behind the bus. "

Shlomo Ne'eman, head of the Gush Etzion Regional Council, said: "Another event that demonstrates the desire of terrorism to subdue us, but they must understand that it only strengthens us.

"I wish a quick recovery to the wounded and call on the government to strengthen the settlements and promote its construction with all its might. When they shed our blood, every hatred monger must know that … the result will be many more houses and settlers throughout the Land of Israel."

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4950962,00.html

Give up their land occupation & pray to Yahweh (The roasted-meat loving god of Abraham, Isaac & Israel) to speak forth a word of fire that will build a paradise city for his “chosen children” in the Atlantic Ocean or the Red Sea so that there can be peace in the Middle East - simple as A, B, C

Nobody gives a fvck about what happens in Israel.

Why are ethiopian/black jews mistreated and discriminated against, mr cristianisraeli

MtuMsuper:
Why are ethiopian/black jews mistreated and discriminated against, mr cristianisraeli

its the same all over the world,blacks in the usa,jews in europe,black skinned indians in india,igbos in nigeria and other minorities,its not an israeli thing

Israeli start-up invents traumatic anxiety-treating app

With Israel unfortunately being a leading force in dealing with traumatic events, one psychologist and three former elite IDF fighters are looking to help work through trauma-induced anxiety via automated app; 'We are saturated with difficult events,' says the company's CEO, who wants to harness Israel's knowledge for good.

Anxiety and posttrauma are conditions that afflict a large number of people in Israeli society, including quite a few children and adolescents, and many fail to get rid of the symptoms long after the event that caused them.

A study from 2012 found that in Sderot, half of the high school students suffer from post-trauma caused by Qassam rockets, and another study from 2014 that examined anxiety victims who were taken to Soroka Medical Center for treatment during Operation Pillar of Defense revealed that half of them continued to suffer from anxiety symptoms (such as impaired concentration, sleep and mood swings) eight months after treatment. Additionally, at a Knesset hearing one year ago, Bela Ben Gershon, who is in charge of emergency preparedness for mental health at the Ministry of Health, said that the ministry is not prepared to provide mental health care to victims of anxiety in the event of a general war. As all anxiety victims actually seek out treatment, the reality on the ground may be much more serious than even currently assessed.


ReachMore, founded six months ago with the vision to develop an application that provides treatment for trauma victims, tries to address these issues with their new product, an application that offers mental support to people suffering from trauma-induced anxiety. Instead of a psychologist, the treatment will be given by a completely automatic therapist-simulating system, "without human contact" that will be able to reach large audiences in real time. The goal is to offer assistance in dealing with the traumatic event immediately upon exposure to it and during the first month following it, to reduce the chance of victims entering posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Bringing about cognitive change
The app is based on a study by psychologist Dr. Jacob Zimmerman, one of the company's four founding partners. Zimmerman took a look at the effectiveness of automated online therapy for anxiety disorder that relied on a cognitive-behavioral treatment (CBT) protocol. His study showed that such online treatment were able to achieve similar and even better results when compared with traditional, face-to-face psychological treatment.

The unique advantage of automated online therapy programs is that the patient follows the treatment plan at home and according to their own pace, and that they can review previous stages and information they have learned along the program whenever they choose. One of the main disadvantages to such automated protocols is that without a therapist there is no person to notice the patient's body language and responses to the treatment, nor can the program adjust its course accordingly.

The app mainly treats anxiety through techniques that work to induce cognitive change. The app teaches techniques of sedation, such as breathing or muscle relaxation exercises, and offers a therapeutic program according to the answers the user selects.

A past in combat, a future in posttraumatic healing
In addition to Zimmerman, who is a mental health professional, the company's founders include Vardi, a former sales manager at Cisco Israel and Amsterdam, who founded the Caring car rental venture and served as a combat soldier and commander in the Sayeret Matkal elite commando unit; Uri Hacohen, another former Sayeret Matkal alum and CEO of the BDO company, which assists small and medium businesses on behalf of the Ministry of Economy; and Yonatan Goffman, VP of Technologies, a former F-15 pilot who has a Bachelor's and Master's degree in computer science from the Technion Institute of Technology.

Reachmore is hoping to get to a point where they can offer each client a personal program that develops automatically, in accordance to their reactions to treatment. "We'll be able to reach you mainly through the authorities," explains Gidi Vardi, the company's CEO. "The easiest way for that to happen will be for you to get a text message that says: an incident took place near your location—download the app here. After downloading the application, it will explain in a very clear and gradual manner the treatment process, which will last for 30 days."

There are currently several tools available on the local market for self-help through an application and without the direct involvement of a therapist, offering treatment for such ailments as phobias and social anxieties, though not for those dealing with a traumatic event. The US goverment runs a similar program to support veterans, though it is intended to treat people with full-blown PTSD.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4951096,00.html

Gaza resident entered Israel for cancer treatment—and smuggled explosives

Security guards at the Erez Crossing examined two Palestinian sisters and found weapons and explosive materials concealed in tubes normally used for medical subpplies; Shin Bet says explosives were sent by Hamas.

Explosive materials used to manufacture explosive devices were found in the belongings of two sisters who entered Israel from the Gaza Strip on Wednesday for the purpose of receiving cancer treatment.

According to the Shin Bet, the materials were concealed inside medical supply tubes and identified by the security guards of the Crossings Authority at the Erez Crossing.

The explosives were handled by a sapper of the southern district of the Israel Police. According to the Shin Bet, an initial investigation indicated that the weapons were sent by Hamas and were intended to be used in terrorist attacks in Israel in the near future.

The Shin Bet stated: "This is a continuation of the attempts of the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip, led by Hamas, to take advantage of the humanitarian infrastructure and medical assistance that Israel provides to the residents of the Gaza Strip to carry out terrorist attacks in Israel."

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4951092,00.html

WATCH: A satellite built by Israeli students launched into space

The hard work of more than 80 students from Ofakim, Yeruham, Ofra, Hura and Herzliya on the development of a small satellite dubbed Duchifat 2 comes to fruition as it is launched toward the International Space Station.

After a delay of about a month, the tiny Israeli Duchifat 2 satellite was launched Wednesday evening from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The satellite, a project of the Israeli Space Agency in the Ministry of Science and the Herzliya Municipality, was launched on the Atlas 5 launcher to the International Space Station.

The satellite was carrying a swarm of 28 tiny satellites from around the world in order to map the atmosphere, a mapping that will help in transmitting GPS signals. Duchifat 2 is the only high school student satellite to be launched in this project, while the rest of the satellites were built by college students and researchers from around the world.

The rocket was launched at 06:11pm from Florida. About 20 minutes later, the spacecraft disengaged from the launcher. At the space station, the satellites will be transferred to the Japanese section and in a month and a half they will be released into space by a special robot arm operated by the astronauts. NASA's launch site said the Israeli satellite was among the dozens of satellites that were launched into space today.

Duchifat 2 is the second tiny satellite developed by Israeli students weighing only 1.8 kg. Duchifat 1, which was developed by students from the Science Center in Herzliya and launched in June 2014 is still active in space beyond the original estimate. Of the 50 groups in the world that have started working on satellites, only 28 have passed NASA's rigorous tests, including the Israeli group.

More than 80 students from Ofakim, Yeruham, Ofra, Hura and Herzliya had been working on the development of Duchifat 2 in the last two years. The students worked in ten teams and had a clean room, an electronics laboratory and a ground station for communications with satellites at their disposal.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4951124,00.html

The photo that went viral: Jewish couple and Muslim mother

A man named Jackie Summers posted a photo that went viral overnight, showing a Jewish couple sitting beside a Muslim mother feeding her baby, after both insisted on the other taking the seat; Summers, a Taoist, ended up giving his seat and showing the internet what he believes America is all about.

A Taoist man named Jackie Summers posted a picture on Sunday of what he believes encapsulates America—cultural, racial and religious freedom and coexistence.

A Taoist (me) gives up his seat so a Hasidic couple can sit together. They scoot over so a Muslim mother can sit and nurse her baby, on Easter Sunday,” Summers wrote under the image, which he posted on Facebook. The post got about 77 thousand likes and was shared about 60 thousand times.

This is my America: people letting people be people," Summers added.

The picture went viral over night, shown by many as a beautiful example of diversity they believe America should stand for.

The New York Daily Mail noted that a number of Facebook users praised Summers’ sentiment—and took slight jabs at President Trump, who has been accused of peddling racism and xenophobia since launching his historically divisive campaign.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4951127,00.html

cristianisraeli:



its the same all over the world,blacks in the usa,jews in europe,black skinned indians in india,igbos in nigeria and other minorities,its not an israeli thing

are you serious? is that a response? i cant believe what you just wrote.

WITH SYRIA IN PIECES, IT’S TIME TO RECOGNIZE ISRAEL’S ANNEXATION OF THE GOLAN'

Deputy minister for diplomacy Michael Oren stresses that Israel sought peace before the 1967 Six Day War.
michael Oren says it is time for the world to recognize the Golan Heights as part of Israel.
In contrast to negotiations with the Palestinians, there is no Syria to negotiate with, Deputy Minister for Diplomacy in the Prime Minister’s Office Oren said on Tuesday.

Without Israel there [in the Golan], the region would be jeopardized. ISIS would be on the Kinneret,” he said, adding that other states in the region are glad Israel is on the Golan. This is one of several important outcomes of the 1967 war still felt today.

Israel annexed the Golan in 1981 in a decision that was never recognized internationally.

Oren was speaking at a Jerusalem seminar hosted by The Israel Project and the Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research. The seminar – one of a series that runs through June – is focused on the impact of the war of 50 years ago, domestically and geopolitically, with special emphasis on Jerusalem.

“The capital city is a key element of the seminar, in the lens of Israel post-67, through its distinct populations, demographic developments and historical significances. Discourse will be forward-thinking, as participants will be exposed to the plethora of ideas for the future in relation to these various issues, with a focus on the role of the Arab countries and wider international community,” said Lior Weintraub, vice president of The Israel Project and director of its Israel office.

“The purpose of this activity is to provide the foreign diplomatic and press communities based in Israel – who are faced with an abundance of information and have the difficult task of producing their own analyses of events on the ground – with a fresh look at current realities,” he added.

Oren, a former ambassador to the United States and current member of the Knesset for the Kulanu Party, is the author of the 2002 book Six Days of War. He reminded the audience that in many ways his life was shaped by the momentous events of 1967.

“Would we be sitting in this room today,” he asked, if Israel had lost? “Wars in history become wars of history. [It took place over] only six days, but we will be battling over the importance of the war, we will see it over the next months as we approach the anniversary.”

http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/With-Syria-in-pieces-its-time-to-recognize-Israels-annexation-of-the-Golan-488381

IDF tanks are seen along the Golan Heights border with Syria.

Israel says Assad's forces still have several tonnes of chemical weapons

Israel's military said on Wednesday it believes Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces still possess several tonnes of chemical weapons, issuing the assessment two weeks after a chemical attack that killed nearly 90 people in Syria.

Israel, along with many countries, blames the strike on Assad's military. French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said French intelligence services would provide proof of that in the coming days.

A senior Israeli military officer, in a briefing to Israeli reporters, said "a few tonnes of chemical weapons" remained in the hands of Assad's forces, a military spokesman told Reuters.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-israel-idUSKBN17L2U8

SENIOR IDF OFFICIAL: US GAVE ISRAEL 2 HOUR WARNING BEFORE SYRIA STRIKES

The United States warned Israel two hours before US warships in the eastern Mediterranean Sea fired 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles against the Syrian regime’s Al Shayrat Airbase, a senior IDF official said on Wednesday.

Following the strikes, the IDF’s Spokesperson’s Unit released a statement saying that Israel’s military had been briefed in advance and expressed its support for the strikes. Speaking to military journalists at the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv, the senior official confirmed that the IDF had been warned about the US strike against the base where warplanes that carried out the deadly Khan Sheikhoun chemical gas attack were based.

While the Syrian military continues to deny responsibility for the attack, blaming the rebels and stating that it would never use chemical weapons, “it is hard to imagine that Assad did not know about the attack in advance. And the price he’s paid for it is severe. He’s lost all legitimacy,” the senior official said.

The Assad regime agreed to dismantle the country’s chemical weapons stockpiles in a 2013 deal brokered by the United States and Russia following the regime’s deadly attack on East Ghouta near the capital of Damascus where over 1,400 people were killed, including 426 children.

While the regime did comply by removing much of its stockpiles of chemical weapons – over 1,290 metric tons of sarin, VX and sulfur mustard, a precursor to mustard gas – as well as dismantling the infrastructure to produce them, according to the senior official, the Assad regime still has residual amounts – between one to three tons – of the deadly chemical agent.

http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Senior-IDF-official-US-gave-Israel-2-hour-warning-before-Syria-strikes-488356

Israel Fighting to Stop FIFA From Suspending Settlement Soccer Teams

Move against six teams initiated by Palestinians, backed by FIFA panel; Israelis pessimistic

Israel is increasingly concerned that when the FIFA Congress holds its annual meeting in another four weeks, the international soccer federation will decide to suspend six Israeli soccer teams based in West Bank settlements.
Consequently, ambassadors in dozens of capitals worldwide have been ordered to work with officials of their host countries to foil the move.
An official involved in the issue said that two weeks ago, Israel learned that Palestinian Football Association President Jibril Rajoub had asked to put the issue of the settlement teams on the agenda of both the FIFA Council, which will meet in Manama, Bahrain on May 9, and the FIFA Congress, which will meet in the same city on May 10 and 11.
On Tuesday, the Foreign Ministry sent a cable to dozens of Israeli embassies instructing embassy staffers to try to persuade their host countries to remove the issue from FIFA’s agenda or ensure that no vote on it takes place. But the official said Israel must be prepared for the worst-case scenario, in which a vote does take place. If so, Israel’s chances of winning are negligible.
“Our growing assessment is that the FIFA Congress is liable to make a decision on suspending six Israeli teams that play over the Green Line, or even on suspending Israel from FIFA,” the cable said. “We urge you to contact your countries’ representatives on the FIFA Council as soon as possible to obtain their support for Israel’s position, which rejects mixing politics with sport and calls for reaching an agreed solution between the parties ... and to thwart an anti-Israel decision if it is brought before the council.”

http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.784442

President of the anti-racism campaign Global Watch, Tokyo Sexwale, center, in front of the separation barrier on the outskirts of the West Bank city of Ramallah,

Israel develops new ties with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states

Israel and Saudi Arabia have no diplomatic relations. And yet, recently, Saudi officials have been willing to meet Israeli officials publicly. General Yakov Amidror, a former senior advisor to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and former Saudi intelligence chief Prince Turki al-Feisal might have seemed an odd pair when they met publicly at the Washington Institute in Washington, D.C. last year.

According to Amidror, al-Feisal said once Israel reaches an agreement with the Palestinians, “together we can change the Middle East.” He added, “There is nothing that can stop the combination of Israeli money and the Saudi mind.”

Saudi Arabia and other Gulf States share common goals with Israel, one of which is developing new energy, water, and agricultural technology. In 2015, Israel opened its first diplomatic mission in the United Arab Emirates, and there are extensive business ties between Israel and Gulf countries valued at hundreds of millions of dollars.

Israel and the Gulf States also share common enemies: ISIS and Iran. According to Dan Diker, head of the project for counter-political warfare at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, the threat of a nuclear Iran and the Islamic Republic’s terror proxies around the Middle East are particularly worrisome for the Gulf States.

“That convergence of concern between Israel, the Sunni Arab states and President [Donald] Trump’s administration creates the possibility for real coordination and cooperation between Israel and the Arab world.” These geopolitical circumstances, Diker says, “make Israeli outreach and Arab acceptance much more possible than it was before.”

Egypt and Jordan already have longstanding peace treaties with Israel. And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reached out to more of the Arab world as efforts for a deal with the Palestinians have foundered. According to Times of Israel Editor David Horvitz, Netanyahu “has wanted to believe that if Israel can deepen its relations more widely across the region, that may lead to the Palestinians being prodded in a more compromising direction by other Arab parties.”

In other words, Netanyahu hopes his new Arab friends may be able to nudge the Palestinians back to negotiations.

Security ties between Israel and Egypt have grown under Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi as Israel has shared intelligence to help fight ISIS in the Sinai desert. But there have been no serious Israeli-Palestinian negotiations for four years. The Egyptian Ambassador to Israel, Hazem Kheirat, told a recent conference in Tel Aviv that there remains no alternative to the two state solution for an independent Palestinian state next to Israel.

https://www.pri.org/stories/2017-04-19/israel-develops-new-ties-saudi-arabia-and-other-gulf-states

Hezbollah deputy leader: Israel deterred from war

Speaking to a Lebanese Hezbollah-affiliated media outlet, Naim Qassem warns that any military adventures launched by Israel on the northern border would be a 'foolish and reckless step'; says terror movement prepared for any confrontation.


Hezbollah’s deputy leader Naim Qassem said Thursday morning that the terror movement had sufficiently deterred Israel, convincing its leaders not to launch a war on the northern border.
Qassem added that Israel’s fear of incurring high casualty tolls in any prospective war also accounts for its decision to avoid a renewal of hostilities.

Speaking in an interview with the Lebanese Hezbollah-affiliated daily Al-Akhbar, Qassem was asked if the Lebanese-based movement had any fears of a summer offensive.

Qassem added that Israel’s fear of incurring high casualty tolls in any prospective war also accounts for its decision to avoid a renewal of hostilities.

Speaking in an interview with the Lebanese Hezbollah-affiliated daily Al-Akhbar, Qassem was asked if the Lebanese-based movement had any fears of a summer offensive.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4951377,00.html

Hezbollah Deputy Leader Naim Qassem

The terror attack Israel prefers to conceal

Op-ed: Not a single Israeli minister attended the ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of the Israeli Embassy bombing in Buenos Aires, which left 29 people dead. Has the Netanyahu government given up on settling the score with the perpetrators and finally bringing justice to the victims?

Why isn’t Israel helping the investigation into the 1992 terror attack on the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, which claimed the lives of 29 people?

A special ceremony, which was held last month to mark the 25th anniversary of the attack, was attended by survivors from Israel, diplomats who lost family members in the attack and even people from the United States who had helped the wounded.

The terrorists have not been caught to this very day. The Israeli government, as usual, chose to stay away from the ceremony for its own odd reasons. Out of the 28 members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, not a single minister bothered to attend a ceremony commemorating one of the most serious terror attacks that Israeli diplomacy has ever experienced.

Argentina’s new government, headed by President Mauricio Macri, went out of its way to welcome the terror attack’s survivors and the Israeli delegation led by Foreign Ministry Director-General Yuval Rotem. President Macri took the time to listen to the survivors’ pain. The Chief of Cabinet of Ministers Marcos Peña, one of the strongest figures in the new Argentinean government after the Cristina Fernández de Kirchner era, met with Israeli journalists covering the ceremony and told us about the new Argentina, which seeks to reopen the issue of the two serious terror attacks which have yet to be solved.

He also brought up the investigation into the mysterious death of Alberto Nisman, the Jewish chief investigator of the 1994 car bombing of the Jewish center in Buenos Aires, who was found dead in his apartment just one day before he was due to explain to the National Congress of Argentina his allegations against de Kirchner, who he had accused of covering up the case.

His body was found inside the bathroom in a pool of blood, with his personal gun next to it. Initial estimates pointed to suicide, and at the end of the autopsy, the authorities announced that there were no findings pointing to external involvement.

Two attacks, zero charges
The second terror attack took place on July 18, 1994, at the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA). The bombing left 85 people dead and more than 300 wounded. Although the traces clearly led to Iran and Hezbollah as the culprit, not a single person has been charged with the bombing to this very day.

About two years earlier—on March 17, 1992, at 2:50 pm—a car driven by a suicide bomber and loaded with explosives smashed into the Israeli Embassy building on 910 Arroyo Street, which had been located there since 1950. The building was completely destroyed, 29 people were killed and hundreds were wounded, including embassy workers, neighbors and passersby. None of the attack’s executers or masterminds were punished in this case either.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4950219,00.html

Israeli embassy bombing in Buenos Aires in 1992. Time hasn't healed the victims' pain
Jewish center bombing in 1994. Argentina's deadliest terror attack

IDF attacks Syria in response to mortar hits in Golan

Following three mortar shells landing in Israeli territory, apparently a spillover from internal Syrian fighting, the army strikes back.

The IDF announced on Friday evening that it had attacked the sources of three mortars fired into the northern Golan Heights earlier that day.

Friday afternoon, a mortar shell exploded in an open area in the northern Golan Heights. No alarm sounded at that time.

Later, an alarm sounded shortly after 6pm in the area, and a short time later, two mortar shell hits were identified in Israeli territory. The IDF reported that there were no casualties and no damage was caused by any of the mortars.

In a statement, the army said, “The IDF will not tolerate any attempt to harm the sovereignty of the State of Israel or the security of its residents and will see the Syrian regime responsible for what happens within its territory.”

It was also reported that the mortars were apparently a spillover from the internal fighting in Syria.