1. Hamas Attacks IDF, 1 Dead
by Hana Levi Julian
Less than a week after the IDF left Gaza, Hamas terrorists returned to “business as usual” with an attack on Israeli soldiers at the Kissufim crossing Tuesday morning in a new violation of the ceasefire that killed one soldier and wounded three others. The fallen soldier was a non-commissioned officer.
One officer was seriously wounded and two other soldiers were lightly wounded.in the attack The officer was airlifted by helicopter to Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva, where he was rushed into emergency surgery. The other two soldiers were evacuated to Soroka by ambulance.
Terrorists detonated the explosive device around 8:00 a.m. after they had planted along the security fence as an IDF soldiers' vehicle patrolled near the Kissufim crossing. The terrorists also fired a number of rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) at Israel.
The IDF responded with machine gun and tank fire and shut down the crossing points
According to the Hebrew-language Yediot Acharonot, IDF ground forces returned to Gaza in response to the violation of the ceasefire. Hamas was warned repeatedly by Egypt and Israel not to test Israel's resolve. The government has threatened an immediate and harsh retaliation to any ceasfire violation.
Gunfire was clearly heard in central Gaza, according to local sources, and Israeli helicopters reportedly were seen firing bursts from machine guns. Gaza sources reported one dead, who they said was a farmer, in an exchange of gunfire between soldiers and terrorists. Two explosions were heard in Gaza City as well.
"We hit Hamas hard [in Operation Cast , but that does not mean it will disappear," said Defense Minister Ehud Barak during a Tuesday morning visit to soldiers stationed near Gaza. "There will be attacks occasionally."
Hamas struck on the eve of the visit of new United States Middle East envoy Sen. George Mitchell.
According to the IDF, Hamas told its operatives following the conclusion of Operation Cast Lead to continue to target Israeli soldiers, despite having called for a ceasefire. IDF sources said Tuesday’s attack shows that Hamas does not intend to include activities against Israeli soldiers in its ceasefire agreement.
Hamas previously fired mortar shells on the western Negev on the first day of the truce.
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by Hana Levi Julian
Less than a week after the IDF left Gaza, Hamas terrorists returned to “business as usual” with an attack on Israeli soldiers at the Kissufim crossing Tuesday morning in a new violation of the ceasefire that killed one soldier and wounded three others. The fallen soldier was a non-commissioned officer.
One officer was seriously wounded and two other soldiers were lightly wounded.in the attack The officer was airlifted by helicopter to Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva, where he was rushed into emergency surgery. The other two soldiers were evacuated to Soroka by ambulance.
Terrorists detonated the explosive device around 8:00 a.m. after they had planted along the security fence as an IDF soldiers' vehicle patrolled near the Kissufim crossing. The terrorists also fired a number of rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) at Israel.
The IDF responded with machine gun and tank fire and shut down the crossing points
According to the Hebrew-language Yediot Acharonot, IDF ground forces returned to Gaza in response to the violation of the ceasefire. Hamas was warned repeatedly by Egypt and Israel not to test Israel's resolve. The government has threatened an immediate and harsh retaliation to any ceasfire violation.
Gunfire was clearly heard in central Gaza, according to local sources, and Israeli helicopters reportedly were seen firing bursts from machine guns. Gaza sources reported one dead, who they said was a farmer, in an exchange of gunfire between soldiers and terrorists. Two explosions were heard in Gaza City as well.
"We hit Hamas hard [in Operation Cast , but that does not mean it will disappear," said Defense Minister Ehud Barak during a Tuesday morning visit to soldiers stationed near Gaza. "There will be attacks occasionally."
Hamas struck on the eve of the visit of new United States Middle East envoy Sen. George Mitchell.
According to the IDF, Hamas told its operatives following the conclusion of Operation Cast Lead to continue to target Israeli soldiers, despite having called for a ceasefire. IDF sources said Tuesday’s attack shows that Hamas does not intend to include activities against Israeli soldiers in its ceasefire agreement.
Hamas previously fired mortar shells on the western Negev on the first day of the truce.
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2. J'lem Conf. - Live Broadcast
by IsraelNN Staff
The 6th annual Jerusalem Conference is discussing at this moment "The Global Economic Crisis and Its Meaning for the Israeli Economy," chaired by Eli Kazhdan, chief executive officer of CityBook Services for the real estate market in the United States.
Participants include Fred Ehrman of Brean Murray Carret & Company in New York, Zvi Stepak, chairman of Meitav Investment Group and Ken Abramowitz, managing general partner, NGN Capital in New York.
Click below for a live English broadcast (simultaneous translation) from the conference
See the Jerusalem Conference Schedule of speeches and panel discussions which conclude Wednesday at 8:15 p.m. with world-renowned Islamic expert Prof. Bernard Lewis.
The Jerusalem Conference is being held at the Regency Hotel (formerly the Hyatt) in Jerusalem's Mount Scopus neighborhood. Register at the door. Simultaneous translation into English is provided for all Hebrew segments.
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by IsraelNN Staff
The 6th annual Jerusalem Conference is discussing at this moment "The Global Economic Crisis and Its Meaning for the Israeli Economy," chaired by Eli Kazhdan, chief executive officer of CityBook Services for the real estate market in the United States.
Participants include Fred Ehrman of Brean Murray Carret & Company in New York, Zvi Stepak, chairman of Meitav Investment Group and Ken Abramowitz, managing general partner, NGN Capital in New York.
Click below for a live English broadcast (simultaneous translation) from the conference
See the Jerusalem Conference Schedule of speeches and panel discussions which conclude Wednesday at 8:15 p.m. with world-renowned Islamic expert Prof. Bernard Lewis.
The Jerusalem Conference is being held at the Regency Hotel (formerly the Hyatt) in Jerusalem's Mount Scopus neighborhood. Register at the door. Simultaneous translation into English is provided for all Hebrew segments.
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3. Ya'alon: No More Retreats
by Gil Ronen
Lt.-Gen. (res.) Moshe “Bogey” Ya'alon, who is eighth on Likud's Knesset list, opened the first session of the three-day Jerusalem Conference with a Zionist speech of the old-fashioned, hard-hitting kind, that outlined a new strategy for Israel: no more retreats.
“We suffer from inertia in our way of thought,” Ya'alon said. “We pretend that there is a Palestinian entity which has recognized Israel. But from the dawn of Zionism there has not been an Arab movement that was willing to recognize Israel as the sovereign state of the Jewish nation. Mahmoud Abbas said it well before Annapolis: "Why should Judaism, this religion, have a state?" But we didn't want to listen. We blur this in the political and public debate.”
Ya'alon pointed to a disconnection from reality in Israel's strategic thinking. “We pretend that the problem began in the Six Day War,” he told a packed hall at Jerusalem's Regency Hotel. “But did the Arabs recognize us before the Six Day War? We wanted peace in exchange for territories, but we received terror for territories. And when we exited Gaza unilaterally, we received rockets for territory... After the Disengagement we went to Annapolis anyways. We didn't change the concept. Isn't this confusion?”
'Let's try something else'
The former Chief of Staff pooh-poohed the claim that the retreats were forced upon Israel by United States: “The United States did not pressure Israel to go to Oslo, or to carry out the Disengagement, or to do what it did last year with the Syrian President. There is a blurring here also. I think that after September 2000 we should have stopped and said – 'we've tried two states for two peoples, let's try something else.'”
“We pretend that the conflict is the Middle East is a territorial one but it is a clash of civilizations,” Ya'alon said. “We retreat from Lebanon and we think that this will cancel the Hizbullah's reason for existing but the exact opposite happens.”
Confusing the Arabs
Ya'alon outlined his prescription for the next government's policy: “We must stop talking about territories for peace, about the division of Jerusalem, and let the Arabs in Judea and Samaria have autonomy. Just by talking about retreats we give jihadist Islam a boost.”
“Some of our politicians have a hidden agenda of a binational state,” he accused. “This confuses the Arabs. When Israeli politicians turn into our enemies' advisors and we remain silent we confuse them,” he said, in an apparent reference to Ra'am-Ta'al's Ahmed Tibi, who was Yasser Arafat's advisor before running for Knesset.
He also took jabs at statements made by outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, without mentioning their names: “We need leadership that doesn't say 'we are tired of fighting wars.' The nation is not tired and the army is not tired. If the leadership is tired it should be changed. As for another statement, that the state of Israel is finished if we do not return to the 1967 borders: time works in favor of whoever makes good use of it,” Ya'alon stated.
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by Gil Ronen
Lt.-Gen. (res.) Moshe “Bogey” Ya'alon, who is eighth on Likud's Knesset list, opened the first session of the three-day Jerusalem Conference with a Zionist speech of the old-fashioned, hard-hitting kind, that outlined a new strategy for Israel: no more retreats.
“We suffer from inertia in our way of thought,” Ya'alon said. “We pretend that there is a Palestinian entity which has recognized Israel. But from the dawn of Zionism there has not been an Arab movement that was willing to recognize Israel as the sovereign state of the Jewish nation. Mahmoud Abbas said it well before Annapolis: "Why should Judaism, this religion, have a state?" But we didn't want to listen. We blur this in the political and public debate.”
Ya'alon pointed to a disconnection from reality in Israel's strategic thinking. “We pretend that the problem began in the Six Day War,” he told a packed hall at Jerusalem's Regency Hotel. “But did the Arabs recognize us before the Six Day War? We wanted peace in exchange for territories, but we received terror for territories. And when we exited Gaza unilaterally, we received rockets for territory... After the Disengagement we went to Annapolis anyways. We didn't change the concept. Isn't this confusion?”
'Let's try something else'
The former Chief of Staff pooh-poohed the claim that the retreats were forced upon Israel by United States: “The United States did not pressure Israel to go to Oslo, or to carry out the Disengagement, or to do what it did last year with the Syrian President. There is a blurring here also. I think that after September 2000 we should have stopped and said – 'we've tried two states for two peoples, let's try something else.'”
“We pretend that the conflict is the Middle East is a territorial one but it is a clash of civilizations,” Ya'alon said. “We retreat from Lebanon and we think that this will cancel the Hizbullah's reason for existing but the exact opposite happens.”
Confusing the Arabs
Ya'alon outlined his prescription for the next government's policy: “We must stop talking about territories for peace, about the division of Jerusalem, and let the Arabs in Judea and Samaria have autonomy. Just by talking about retreats we give jihadist Islam a boost.”
“Some of our politicians have a hidden agenda of a binational state,” he accused. “This confuses the Arabs. When Israeli politicians turn into our enemies' advisors and we remain silent we confuse them,” he said, in an apparent reference to Ra'am-Ta'al's Ahmed Tibi, who was Yasser Arafat's advisor before running for Knesset.
He also took jabs at statements made by outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, without mentioning their names: “We need leadership that doesn't say 'we are tired of fighting wars.' The nation is not tired and the army is not tired. If the leadership is tired it should be changed. As for another statement, that the state of Israel is finished if we do not return to the 1967 borders: time works in favor of whoever makes good use of it,” Ya'alon stated.
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4. Egypt Blocks Iranian Ship
by Hana Levi Julian
Egypt has so far blocked an Iranian ship from crossing the Suez Canal, where it would then proceed to the Mediterranean Sea and probably on to Gaza. The ship is believed to be carrying a cargo of weaponry for Hamas terrorists. The move has won high marks from Jerusalem and the U.S.
Currently the ship is docked in the Red Sea port outside Suez. "This is a big test for the Egyptians," said a senior defense source in Jerusalem. "So far the Egyptians have prevented the ship from crossing the Suez, and we hope it will stay that way."
There are two main smuggling routes in Gaza, according to security sources, one by land and the other by sea. The land route, accessed through smuggling tunnels from Egypt into Gaza, is reached from Somalia and Sudan, and sometimes also from Port Said in the Sinai. The sea route is accessed by ships dropping their wares overboard in waterproof containers, to be picked up by Gaza “fishermen” or divers after the vessels have gone.
Gaza fishermen have begun to resume their daily activities in the wake of the IDF’s withdrawal from the region.
The Jewish State is continuing to closely track the freighter’s movements, which Jerusalem believes are aimed at replenishing the depleted arsenal of missiles used by Gaza terrorists against civilians in southern Israel.
The U.S. Navy recently boarded an Iranian ship carrying artillery shells and other ordnance, according to a report from the Pentagon that was conveyed to Jerusalem. There are concerns that Iran will make good on its vow to resupply Hamas with long-range Fajr missiles, which have a 70-kilometer range, capable of reaching Tel Aviv and beyond.
While the U.S. has maintained a firm stance in blocking Iranian attempts to rearm Hamas terrorists in Gaza, President Barack Obama’s administration has also said it hopes to engage in “direct diplomacy” with the Islamic Republic.
However, newly-installed U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice said that did not mean America would not continue its pressure to relieve Iran of its nuclear ambitions.
Rice told reporters Monday that “dialogue and diplomacy must go hand in hand with a very firm message from the United States and the international community that Iran needs to meet its obligations as defined by the Security Council. And its continuing refusal to do so will only cause pressure to increase,” she said.
by Hana Levi Julian
Egypt has so far blocked an Iranian ship from crossing the Suez Canal, where it would then proceed to the Mediterranean Sea and probably on to Gaza. The ship is believed to be carrying a cargo of weaponry for Hamas terrorists. The move has won high marks from Jerusalem and the U.S.
Currently the ship is docked in the Red Sea port outside Suez. "This is a big test for the Egyptians," said a senior defense source in Jerusalem. "So far the Egyptians have prevented the ship from crossing the Suez, and we hope it will stay that way."
There are two main smuggling routes in Gaza, according to security sources, one by land and the other by sea. The land route, accessed through smuggling tunnels from Egypt into Gaza, is reached from Somalia and Sudan, and sometimes also from Port Said in the Sinai. The sea route is accessed by ships dropping their wares overboard in waterproof containers, to be picked up by Gaza “fishermen” or divers after the vessels have gone.
Gaza fishermen have begun to resume their daily activities in the wake of the IDF’s withdrawal from the region.
The Jewish State is continuing to closely track the freighter’s movements, which Jerusalem believes are aimed at replenishing the depleted arsenal of missiles used by Gaza terrorists against civilians in southern Israel.
The U.S. Navy recently boarded an Iranian ship carrying artillery shells and other ordnance, according to a report from the Pentagon that was conveyed to Jerusalem. There are concerns that Iran will make good on its vow to resupply Hamas with long-range Fajr missiles, which have a 70-kilometer range, capable of reaching Tel Aviv and beyond.
While the U.S. has maintained a firm stance in blocking Iranian attempts to rearm Hamas terrorists in Gaza, President Barack Obama’s administration has also said it hopes to engage in “direct diplomacy” with the Islamic Republic.
However, newly-installed U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice said that did not mean America would not continue its pressure to relieve Iran of its nuclear ambitions.
Rice told reporters Monday that “dialogue and diplomacy must go hand in hand with a very firm message from the United States and the international community that Iran needs to meet its obligations as defined by the Security Council. And its continuing refusal to do so will only cause pressure to increase,” she said.
5. Fire Sale on Cash
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Bank of Israel Governor Prof. Stanley Fischer announced Monday night that the prime interest rate for banks will be at an all-time low of one percent as he tries to free the country from the economic strangulation of a recession.
The cut had little effect on the shekel-dollar rate because foreign currency traders already had taken the new interest rate into account, driving the dollar up to nearly four shekels early Monday before it fell back to the current 3.98 level.
Fischer's interest rate slash followed that of most Western countries in recent months as economic growth continues to dive beneath the most pessimistic predictions. He lowered his growth forecast several times last year, and dryly noted Monday night that there has been "a marked decline in demand and economic activity."
The latest revision of growth concedes that instead of previously estimated 1.5 percent growth this year, Israel will join the growing ranks of nations in a recession and will see a minus growth of 0.2 percent.
The good news is that everything is relative. Despite the bad situation, it is worse in Western countries where the banking system is more unstable and the recession is worse.
Exactly a year ago, economists, including the Bank of Israel, were confident that Israel's robust economic growth of more than five percent coupled with near zero inflation would provide armor against the fallout of the financial credit tsunami that began in the United States and affected the entire world.
"The effects of the global crisis on real economic activity in Israel are evident, with data indicating a marked decline in demand and economic activity," the Bank of Israel stated while explaining the extraordinary cut in the interest rate.
Inflation, which soared out of control the first half of last year due to skyrocketing fuel and food prices, has tumbled as the commodity price bubble burst. The price of crude oil, which was nearly $150 a barrel last July, was quoted at $46.50 Monday afternoon in New York.
The cut in interest rate is aimed at halting the domino effect caused by the credit crisis and falling prices that were accompanied by massive layoffs, resulting in less consumer demand that in turn causes further layoffs.
The government may be the worst hit by the economic chaos. Falling income and dropping prices mean less revenue in taxes at the same time that the government needs to increase spending to help failing sectors in the economy.
The result is a soaring deficit coinciding with the election and expected coalition bargaining that will cost even more money.
Comment on this story
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Bank of Israel Governor Prof. Stanley Fischer announced Monday night that the prime interest rate for banks will be at an all-time low of one percent as he tries to free the country from the economic strangulation of a recession.
The cut had little effect on the shekel-dollar rate because foreign currency traders already had taken the new interest rate into account, driving the dollar up to nearly four shekels early Monday before it fell back to the current 3.98 level.
Fischer's interest rate slash followed that of most Western countries in recent months as economic growth continues to dive beneath the most pessimistic predictions. He lowered his growth forecast several times last year, and dryly noted Monday night that there has been "a marked decline in demand and economic activity."
The latest revision of growth concedes that instead of previously estimated 1.5 percent growth this year, Israel will join the growing ranks of nations in a recession and will see a minus growth of 0.2 percent.
The good news is that everything is relative. Despite the bad situation, it is worse in Western countries where the banking system is more unstable and the recession is worse.
Exactly a year ago, economists, including the Bank of Israel, were confident that Israel's robust economic growth of more than five percent coupled with near zero inflation would provide armor against the fallout of the financial credit tsunami that began in the United States and affected the entire world.
"The effects of the global crisis on real economic activity in Israel are evident, with data indicating a marked decline in demand and economic activity," the Bank of Israel stated while explaining the extraordinary cut in the interest rate.
Inflation, which soared out of control the first half of last year due to skyrocketing fuel and food prices, has tumbled as the commodity price bubble burst. The price of crude oil, which was nearly $150 a barrel last July, was quoted at $46.50 Monday afternoon in New York.
The cut in interest rate is aimed at halting the domino effect caused by the credit crisis and falling prices that were accompanied by massive layoffs, resulting in less consumer demand that in turn causes further layoffs.
The government may be the worst hit by the economic chaos. Falling income and dropping prices mean less revenue in taxes at the same time that the government needs to increase spending to help failing sectors in the economy.
The result is a soaring deficit coinciding with the election and expected coalition bargaining that will cost even more money.
Comment on this story
6. Shas Backs Netanyahu
by Hana Levi Julian
The Shas Sephardic religious party has announced its support for Likud party chairman and Knesset Ppposition leader MK Binyamin “Bibi” Netanyahu to become the next prime minister of Israel.
Shas chairman and Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor Eli Yishai made the announcement Tuesday morning at the kickoff of the party’s election campaign for the February election.
In his statement, which came shortly after a cross-border attack in which Hamas killed one IDF soldier and wounded three others, Yishai noted that “Israel’s deterrence has been severely damaged as a result of restraint and hesitation, which ultimately shows weakness and not strength. We must not be indifferent to this; we have seen the same script before.”
Yishai said he would recommend to President Shimon Peres that Netanyahu be tapped to form the next government, saying “a strong Shas will keep Netanyahu from repeating his mistakes of the past.”
Netanyahu has been severely criticized by Shas in the past for his programs as Finance Minister, which involved heavy cuts in the social services sector, a major focus for the party. Yishai contended that a strong Shas will be able to force Netanyahu to allocate funds for social services.
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by Hana Levi Julian
The Shas Sephardic religious party has announced its support for Likud party chairman and Knesset Ppposition leader MK Binyamin “Bibi” Netanyahu to become the next prime minister of Israel.
Shas chairman and Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor Eli Yishai made the announcement Tuesday morning at the kickoff of the party’s election campaign for the February election.
In his statement, which came shortly after a cross-border attack in which Hamas killed one IDF soldier and wounded three others, Yishai noted that “Israel’s deterrence has been severely damaged as a result of restraint and hesitation, which ultimately shows weakness and not strength. We must not be indifferent to this; we have seen the same script before.”
Yishai said he would recommend to President Shimon Peres that Netanyahu be tapped to form the next government, saying “a strong Shas will keep Netanyahu from repeating his mistakes of the past.”
Netanyahu has been severely criticized by Shas in the past for his programs as Finance Minister, which involved heavy cuts in the social services sector, a major focus for the party. Yishai contended that a strong Shas will be able to force Netanyahu to allocate funds for social services.
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