A7News: Tel Aviv Will Be Bombed in Next Gaza War, Says Minister
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I’m still here. J Watching the world. And like I’ve never been before in my life, I’m watching and what I see, is a bit scary. The future here in America, certainly is.
Gabriel
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Tammuz 24, 5771 / Tuesday, Jul. 26 '11
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Headlines
1. Tel Aviv Will Be Bombed in Next Gaza War, Says Minister
2. Hamas Executes Two Arabs for ‘Collaborating’ with Israel
3. Rabbi Lior's Arrest Was 'Unlawful,' Says His Driver
4. Rick Perry Will Give the Republicans A Heavy Hitter for 2012
6. ‘Housing Crisis' Marks Beginning of Election Campaign
7. Photo Essay: Arab Arson, IDF Helplessness
8. Landau: Turkey is the One Who Needs to Apologize
1. Tel Aviv Will Be Bombed in Next Gaza War, Says Minister
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Metropolitan Tel Aviv, Israel’s finance and commercial center, will be bombed by missiles n the next Gaza war, warns Home Front Minister Matan Vilnai.
"In the next conflict with Gaza, even if it at a much lower intensity than a war, missiles will fall on Gush Dan -- for all purposes, inside Tel Aviv," Vilnai said at an international defense conference in metropolitan Tel Aviv.
Intelligence officials have warned for more than two years that the Hamas terrorist regime in Gaza has smuggled missiles that can reach far beyond southern Israel, which was targeted nearly three years ago, before and during the counterterrorist Operation Cast Lead campaign.
Hamas and other terrorist groups have at least 10,000 missiles and rockets, according to military intelligence estimates. Advanced weapons are smuggled, in whole or in parts for assembly, enter Gaza from Iran, often via Sudan.
Vilnai said that Israel is improving its defense capabilities against missiles, and referred to bomb shelters and missile interceptors as well as retaliatory measures.
Citing Israel’s tiny area, he said, "There is no country in the world that is threatened like the State of Israel," he said. "The only country that approximates it is South Korea."
Since the end of Operation Cast Lead, southern Israel has been attacked by nearly 300 missiles and rockets. Israel has carried out tit-for-tat retaliatory tactics, striking rocket manufacturing plants and terrorist tunnels. The Defense Ministry, headed by Ehud Barak, has not explained why orders have not been give to the IDF to conduct pre-emptive strikes before missiles cam bombard Israeli civilians.
2. Hamas Executes Two Arabs for ‘Collaborating’ with Israel
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Hamas again resorted to executions by hanging to punish two Gaza Arabs for allegedly collaborating with Israel. The executions are legal under Palestinian Authority law.
The Hamas Interior Ministry announced the executions after appeals were rejected for convictions handed down in 2004. Human rights activists have not commented on the executions.
Earlier this year, a Hamas firing squad executed one man convicted for helping Israel, and three others are on death row.
The IDF routinely relies on collaborators for information on the location of terrorists, smuggling tunnels and weapon storerooms.
The Palestinian Authority law allows a death sentence for the offenses of collaborating with Israel, murder and drug trafficking, but execution orders must be signed by PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, whom de facto Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh does not recognize.
Abbas also has previously approved executions, mainly for the crime of selling property to Jews, an offense punishable by death from the time of the Jordanian occupation of most of Judea and Samaria. .
3. Rabbi Lior's Arrest Was 'Unlawful,' Says His Driver
by Elad Benari
Police officers who arrested Rabbi Dov Lior last month did so while abusing their power and violating his rights, his driver said on Monday.
The driver, Oren Fitoussi, was responding on Arutz Sheva’s Hebrew website to a media report several days ago about a meeting between a group of rabbis, including Rabbi Chaim Druckman of the Or Etzion Yeshiva, and police commissioner Major General Yohanan Danino. According to that report, Danino claimed during the conversation with the rabbis that Rabbi Lior's arrest was carried out while maintaining his dignity and observing the law.
Fitoussi, however, tells a different story. He told Arutz Sheva that two policemen had been waiting for Rabbi Lior’s vehicle as it was driving down on the Gush Etzion tunnel road. When one of them noticed that Rabbi Lior was in the vehicle, recalled Fitoussi, he called another officer who arrived on the scene.
“The officer opened the door and asked me if this is my vehicle,” said Fitoussi. “I told him it is, and he asked if I was sure. I said yes, and then he said that the police were searching for me for a long time over a hit and run and that they finally ‘got their hands’ on me.”
The officers’ claims surprised Fitoussi who has no past criminal record of any kind. He tried to argue that the police made a mistake but they only responded by demanding that he show them his driver’s license immediately.
Fitoussi added that while he was embarrassed by the fact that the entire incident occurred in the presence of Rabbi Lior, he presented his license while again suggesting to the police that they made a mistake. They would not hear of it, he said.
“I parked the car and went out to give them my license, and while I did so an undercover policeman in civilian clothes entered the car,” said Fitoussi. “I heard the door close. I turned around and saw the car driving off.”
He added that he began calling out towards the car, but to no avail. The policemen then took his own gun, put him in their vehicle and detained him as well.
Fitoussi said that he cannot understand how such an arrest takes place without a warrant and without cause. He said that when he read in the paper the words of the commissioner describing the detention as lawful, “I was shocked. Either the commissioner does not know what is going on with his officers, or a more serious situation is going on, about which I do not want to think.”
Rabbi Lior had been detained over the “haskama”, rabbinical approbation, he gave to the book Torat Hamelech. A “haskama” is found at the beginning of many Judaic works and signifies that the rabbi who read it testifies to the Halakhic coherence and accuracy of the writing. Authors attempt to get “haskamot” from famous rabbis for that reason.
While an arrest warrant had been issued for him, Rabbi Lior explained he believed he was not obligated to appear before the police despite the normative practice that one follow the law of the land because it was Torah itself being put on trial.
The police declined to respond to Arutz Sheva’s inquiry on the matter of Rabbi Lior’s arrest.
4. Rick Perry Will Give the Republicans A Heavy Hitter for 2012
by Amiel Ungar
After months of tantalizing hints, Texas Governor, Rick Perry is going to toss his hat into the ring next month. This will provide a sense of relief to Republican voters because a Perry candidacy provides them with a candidate who must be taken seriously (the last two Republican presidents were Texan) and can arouse a degree of enthusiasm.
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney could make a claim for administrative competence, but failed to excite the Republican base. His support of a healthcare solution,during his term as Massachusetts governor, that seemed to resemble Barack Obama's program was a liability.
While former governors – Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton have won their party's nomination, they had left office relatively recently. Mitt Romney has not held executive office for 6 years. Even if he has an excellent record, it is more for the history books and less in the voters consciousness. Rick Perry is the nation's longest serving governor and he is still in office.
Minnesota Representative Michele Bachmann did cause a stir amongst the Republican base, but she too carries a major liability: The Republicans have harped on President Obama's lack of administrative experience prior to his election. They claim that Obama was unprepared for high office. Michele Bachmann may have run her own business but this does not compare with running a mammoth state like Texas.
If Perry gets the nomination, the Democrats most will most assuredly find weak points in his stewardship, but Perry can take pride in the fact that Texas has generated the most jobs since 2009 – a major selling point in a country flirting with double digit unemployment.
The Texas Governor has enough of a record to rally social and economic conservatives. He is pro-life and he signed a law in Texas enshrining traditional marriage. Economically he cut state spending.
While conservatives can feel confident with him, he does not scare off moderates. His response to the New York State law that allowed for same-sex "marriage" displayed his political deftness. On the one hand, Perry is on record as supporting traditional marriage. He however called the New York law that state's prerogative. In other words he defended the New York legislature's passage of the law on the conservative grounds of state's rights and as representing the will of local voters rather than judge-imposed law.
Perry has begun making forays into New Hampshire where he declares his enthusiasm for the "Granite State's" brand of retail politics where voters are convinced one by one. Texas politics is wholesale politics due to the size of the state and to succeed you must know how to raise funds. Perry is a proven success both in state politics as well as in the post of Chairman of the Republican Governors Conference.
While the record of the Obama administration is debatable, there is one thing that nobody questions: Barack Obama, unopposed for the Democratic nomination, will have a substantial political war chest at his disposal.
The Republican candidate may not equal it but he has to come close. Perry with his Texas base and fundraising ability can make this into a fight as well.
5. Peres: No Reneging on Oslo
by Gil Ronen
President Shimon Peres said Tuesday that there is no basis for speculation that Israel might renege on the Oslo accords if the Palestinian Authority declares statehood unilaterally in September.
A leftist news outlet reported earlier this week that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s National Security Adviser Yaakov Amidror is looking into the possibility that Israel would declare the Oslo Accords null and void.
“We are closer than ever to reaching a peace treaty with the Palestinians,” Peres insisted. “The threatening month of September can be turned into a ‘September of hope.’ In the short time that remains we can try to reach understandings. The Israeli nation desires peace and there is no one who doesn’t think a peace treaty can be reached.”
Peres spoke at a news conference for the Arab press, in honor of the Muslim month of Ramadan.
Regarding Syria, Peres said: “President Assad needs to go home, he has killed 2,000 innocent people.” He added that “it is not easy to demonstrate when you are being shot at. I am moved by the fact that they continue the struggle.”
6. ‘Housing Crisis' Marks Beginning of Election Campaign
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
The “housing crisis” is an attempt to bring on early elections as Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu provides solutions and the Israeli media encourage a campaign blaming him.
The cost of homes in Israel has risen continually for decades, and bureaucratic agencies have maintained a shortage of land and housing that favors builders. Netanyahu is on record for trying to change the extant centralist system of government land ownership. Prices have risen more sharply in the last year or two, in part due to the building freeze, absentee overseas ownership and a plethora of high cost housing for the latter.
However, the issue of housing, which mainstream media have declared has suddenly become a “crisis,” has succeeded in igniting a large scale movement after having begun in Tel Aviv as a left-wing funded protest, with the involvement of the New Israel Fund. A correspondent for the Washngton Post suggested that the protest movement may be Israel's version of an Arab Spring uprising, as there is no need to protest Israel's strong economy and even stronger democracy.
Globes, Yediot Acharonot and Voice of Israel government radio have been instrumental in providing a running commentary that has promoted what they have constantly termed to be a 'crisis' following failures to whip up enthusiasm for anti-Netanyahu rallies around the issues of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit and the cost of cottage cheese.
Elections are scheduled for 2013 but can take place sooner if the coalition government falls.
Prime Minister Netanyahu is clearly worried. A poll published by the left-wing Haaretz newspaper, which is strongly against the Netanyahu government, revealed that his “approval” rating has dropped to 32 percent, in contrast to 51 percent after he spoke to the United States Congress in May.
The same poll showed that an overwhelming 85 percent back the housing protest movement, which originally had less sympathy as it seemed like a trendy group's unrealistic demand for affordable housing in the commercial center of the country, Tel Aviv. The organizers soon saw to its spread to other areas.
Prime Minister Netanyahu scrapped a planned trip to Poland Tuesday to deal with the political crisis, with Kadima leader Tzipi Livni and coalition partner but arch-political enemy Defense Minister Ehud Barak waiting in the wings.
Voice of Israel’s Yaron Dekel jumped on the Prime Minister for not delivering his speech on answers to the housing problem at the scheduled 11 A.M. time. “What? Again?” Dekel asked incredulously, adding superfluously that tardiness is a habit of the office of the Prime Minister.
Prime Minister Netanyahu said he will issue immediate measures to open the housing market and change the bureaucratic and marketing system for more and cheaper residential units. He accused the government land agency of holding on to land, a situation he suggested must be changed through deep-seated reform.
The Prime Minister said prices will be cut so that housing will be more affordable to students, young couples and recently-discharged soldiers. He also said bus and train fares will be cut so that travel will be more affordable to and from housing areas outside of major urban areas.
Regional Authority heads and small town mayors have said that housing in development towns and Yesha could solve the problem, but transportation would have to be drastically improved.
He also noted the Olmert administration’s decision to restrict marketing of housing, contributing to a growing shortage and rising prices. “There aren’t enough residential units because it takes so many years for the bureaucratic process to approve projects,” a process he said is the worst in the world.”
Construction has increased since he took office, Prime Minister Netanyahu said at the highly-attended press conference this morning.
Prime Minister Netanyahu added that he saw the housing crisis coming two years ago but it has taken that long to convince others to agree to implement changes. For example, six different committees must approve building projects, causing a traffic jam for pending projects.
7. Photo Essay: Arab Arson, IDF Helplessness
by Gil Ronen
A volunteer photographer from Tatzpit, an organization that documents Arab violence in Judea and Samaria, took pictures of the Arab arson attack near Neveh Tzuf Monday.
The Arabs can be seen as small figures on the crest of the mountain in at least one of the photos, taken just before the fire began to spread.
Local Jews expressed extreme anger at the helplessness exhibited by the IDF, which did not take any kind of effective action against the arsonists and is not known to have made any arrests.
Local Arabs have been attacking Jewish property and taunting the IDF at Neveh Tzuf for over a year, taking advantage of the IDF's unwillingness to use overwhelming force against them.
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8. Landau: Turkey is the One Who Needs to Apologize
by Elad Benari
National Infrastructures Minister Uzi Landau on Monday rejected outright the Turkish demand that Israel apologize for killing nine Turkish citizens in the 2010 incident on the Mavi Marmara.
In an interview with Arutz Sheva’s Hebrew-language news service, Landau said an Israeli apology would only harm its status and prestige in the world.
“If anyone should apologize, it’s Turkey for standing behind the provocative flotilla,” he said. “It’s Turkey that needs to explain its connections with Hamas and other extremist Muslim groups. It’s Turkey that needs to explain its policy, not only to us but to the entire world.
“Enough with these Israeli apologies,” added Landau. “If we apologize we will be presented as the ones responsible for what happened and we will be humiliated.”
Landau rejected the arguments that an Israeli apology will prevent Turkey from demanding that the naval commandos who boarded the Marmara be put on trial. He said he is convinced that even if Turkey does not stand behind these demands for prosecution of the commandos, it will do so through a third party. He added that the relations between Turkey and Israel have always depended on the Turks’ interests, noting that when the Turkish government sought to prove its ability to lead the Muslim world, it did so at Israel’s expense.
Referring to the position of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu over the apology, Minister Landau admitted that he does not know where Netanyahu stands.
“It is difficult to assess,” he said, adding that if Netanyahu ultimately agrees to apologize to Turkey, many ministers would find it hard to accept. “Whoever does not keep his honor, no one will keep his honor for him,” said Landau.
Landau’s comments came as Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was reportedly considering downgrading diplomatic relations with Israel.
The Turkish Hurriyet newspaper reported Monday that Erdogan’s “Plan B” is to downgrade the level of Turkey’s diplomatic staff in Israel if Israel continues to refuse to apologize for the Mavi Marmara incident.
Meanwhile, the United Nations officially confirmed on Monday that the release of the Palmer Report on the Mavi Marmara incident would be postponed until late August.
UN spokesman Martin Nesirky, who confirmed the delay, gave no specific date for when the report would be released.
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