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The Times of Israel liveblogged Wednesday’s events as they unfolded.
Hamas chief: Palestinians need ‘shared vision’ for intifada
The Palestinian leadership must set a shared vision for the current “intifada,” says Hamas’s political bureau chief Khaled Mashaal, in reference to the near-daily stabbing attacks against Israeli civilians and security forces since October 1 in Israel and across the West Bank.
Mashaal says the Palestinians must “formulate a national strategy; there must be coordination between resistance operations on the ground and [the Palestinian Authority’s] political processes.”
“The Palestinians must decide on a shared vision for this intifada,” he adds, according to Ynet, while criticizing the Palestinian Authority for not doing enough to counter Israel’s “settlements policy and settlers’ war crimes.”
“The crises in the Gaza Strip [following last summer’s war] must be solved — the end of the blockade, the establishment of a seaport and an airport, and so on. [Former Quartet envoy] Tony Blair and [UN Special Coordinator] Nickolay Mladenov suggested we come to London and Geneva [for talks] but first we must solve these issues,” he is quoted as saying.
Palestinian arrested for smuggling building materials to Hamas
The Israel Defense Forces says a Palestinian man was arrested for smuggling building materials to terror group Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip.
According to a statement by the military, Tamer Ahmed Mahmad Brim, a 36-year-old Gaza resident, admitted to delivering “hundreds of tons of building materials” — intended for reconstruction following Operation Protective Edge last summer — straight to Hamas.
Brim was arrested in late August at the Erez Crossing between Israel and Gaza.
“The transferring of the materials successfully bypassed the UN monitoring mechanism. The UN mechanism was put in place in order to ensure that materials which are donated by countries and organizations are used for reconstruction and development of civilian infrastructure,” the military says, adding that this is “another example of how Hamas replenishes its terror infrastructure using money and materials donated for the reconstruction and the development of the civilian infrastructure of the Gaza Strip.”
Israel filed an indictment with a Beersheba court charging Brim with “endangering state security through aiding a terror organization and involvement with illegal materials intended for terror,” according to the statement.
Illustrative photo of cars being transported near the Erez crossing into Gaza (photo credit: Tsafrir Abayov/Flash90)
Nazareth woman in Afula incident released to house arrest
The Nazareth woman who was shot when she was thought to be attempting to stab an Israeli guard at the Afula bus station last month has been released to house arrest, the Nazareth Magistrate’s Court announces.
A police investigation into the October 9 incident revealed that Asra’a Zidan Abed, 30, did not intend to carry out a terror attack, and would not face charges for attempted murder.
Instead, she faces minor charges of carrying a dangerous weapon.
Police and Shin Bet investigators say they believe Abed did not plan to stab anyone when she wielded the knife at the Afula station, but was pretending to be a Palestinian terrorist in the hope that she would be shot by security forces.
Earlier in the investigation police said they thought Abed may suffer from mental health issues. Suspicions were confirmed after discovering a history of suicide attempts and hospitalizations, the police said at the time. Investigators think she was trying to commit suicide, having recently lost custody of a child.
Abed will remain under house arrest pending her trial.
A video of Abed’s tense standoff with police went viral last month.
IS insists it downed Russian plane but ‘not forced to reveal how’
The Islamic State terror group in Egypt, Wilayat Sinai, is insisting it downed the Russian passenger plane over Egypt’s Sinai peninsula on Saturday — killing all 224 people on board — but says it doesn’t have to reveal how it did it.
In an audio message published on social media, the group says: “We are the ones who downed it, thanks to God, and we are not forced to reveal how we downed it. ”
“Bring your black box, and do your analysis…prove we didn’t down it…we will reveal the way at the time we wish,” the message goes on.
The recording was titled: “We downed it, so die in your rage.”
Russian and Egyptian officials had dismissed the terror group’s claim of responsibility, but US officials said yesterday that US satellite systems detected heat around the plane before it crashed.
One of the officials said they ruled out a missile striking the Metrojet Airbus A321-200 because neither a launch nor an engine burn had been detected.The infrared activity that was detected could mean many things, including a bomb or that an engine on the plane exploded because of a malfunction.
An initial probe suggests that the plane, traveling at an altitude of some 30,000 feet, started breaking up mid-air.
The investigation is ongoing.
FIFA rules Palestinians can’t host World Cup qualifier against Saudis
FIFA says the Palestinian soccer association will not host two World Cup qualifying matches this month for security reasons.
The decision followed meetings Tuesday in the Palestinian territory “after which the Palestinian government confirmed that it could no longer guarantee the safety and security around the matches in question.”
A home match against Saudi Arabia, originally scheduled for last month and then Thursday in Ramallah, has been postponed a second time.
The Saudi association had refused to play in Ramallah, seeming to want to avoid going through Israeli security checks.
FIFA says the match will now be played Monday and the Palestinian federation will “provide details on the neutral ground in Asia” to host it.
A November 12 qualifying match against Malaysia will also be played on neutral ground.
— AP
Police to remove some E. Jerusalem roadblocks
Police say that due to a new assessment of the security situation in Jerusalem, some roadblocks in neighborhoods in East Jerusalem will be dismantled altogether and conditions in others will be alleviated to allow a freer traffic flow.
A roadblock in Abu Tor in the direction of Silwan, one in Jabel Mukaber and another in Umm Lison will be taken down, according to police, while roadblock conditions in Jabel Mukhtar will be eased.
Previously, roadblocks in East Jerusalem’s Wadi Joz and Sheikh Jarrah were removed and conditions at a roadblock in Issawiya were eased, according to police.
According to a police statement, the decision was made following “the achievement of a certain amount of stability” in the security situation in the capital, which was the site of many stabbing attacks and stabbing attempts last month, with most of the assailants hailing from East Jerusalem.
The last attack in Jerusalem was on Friday when an East Jerusalem resident from Kfar Aqeb stabbed an American tourist near the Ammunition Hill train station. A second man was wounded by police gunfire during an attempt to subdue the attacker, who was also shot.
Before then, the last attack in the capital was some two weeks prior.
Police warned that any change or escalation in the security situation would force it to employ “all available measures against terror perpetrators and those who break the law.”
Two injured in car-ramming attack near Hebron
According to preliminary reports, two people have been injured in a car-ramming terror attack in the Hebron area.
Just one injury in Hebron car-ramming attack
A 20-year-old Border Police officer is seriously wounded after a car-ramming attack on Route 60 in the West Bank, at Halhul Junction, north of Hebron.
Previous reports had two injuries.
The victim was taken to Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital in Jerusalem.
The attacker was shot dead at the scene.
High Court postpones demolition of West Bank shul
The High Court of Justice is postponing the planned demolition of a synagogue in the Givat Ze’ev settlement outside Jerusalem for a time to be determined by police over the next two weeks.
The court rejected the police request to postpone the demolition for the end of the month, but gave them until November 17 to proceed with the order.
The High Court of Justice ruled earlier this year that the structure be razed because it was allegedly built on private Palestinian land.
Earlier, hundreds of people barricading themselves inside the Ayelet HaShahar synagogue in the settlement, with some threatening violence.
The manager of the synagogue told the Hebrew daily Maariv: “There are people here with gas balloons; one of the worshipers threatened to hang himself while other encouraged him to do so.”
According to Maariv, a Channel 10 reporter who arrived at the scene was physically attacked by those present.
Ben-Gurion Airport closes for take-offs amid worsening sandstorm
Ben-Gurion Airport has been closed for take-offs amid a worsening dust storm and poor visibility, according to Army Radio.
Sde Dov Airport in Tel Aviv was shut earlier, except for landings.
This is the second major sandstorm in Israel in two months, blanketing the country with dust and disrupting air travel.
Ben-Gurion Airport reopens but disruptions expected amid sandstorm
Ben-Gurion Airport reopens after a brief partial closure following worsening weather conditions and low visibility.
The airport was closed for take-offs for a few hours but full operations have resumed even as authorities warn that disruptions and delays should be expected.
Ya’alon: No link between bodies of terrorists, remains of IDF soldiers held in Gaza
Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon says there is “no connection” between Israel’s return of the corpses of Palestinian terrorists who perpetrated recent attacks and the bodies of the two Israeli soldiers held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip since last summer’s war.
“There is no professional assessment that can tie the issue of returning the bodies of terrorists from the Jerusalem area and that of the bodies of the IDF soldiers held by Hamas in Gaza,” Ya’alon says, according to Hebrew media reports.
“Holding the bodies of terrorists in and of itself does not deter future potential assailants, unlike razing homes or revoking residency rights,” Ya’alon says, adding that there is proof these measures have a deterrent effect.
The issue has divided the Israeli leadership, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan coming out against the return of the remains and Ya’alon in favor, with the caveat that families of attackers forgo a large, public funeral.
The families of Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul and 1st Lt. Hadar Goldin, two IDF soldiers whose bodies were stolen by Palestinians during last summer’s war against Hamas in Gaza, have called on the government to reverse its policy of returning the remains and to arrange an exchange.
US says 85-90% of Russian strikes in Syria target moderate rebels
A top US diplomat says that between 85 to 90 percent of Russian air strikes in war-torn Syria have targeted moderate Syrian rebels, according to Reuters.
This is contrary to Russian statements that its air campaign was aimed at mainly combating the Islamic State terror group which control large swaths of land in Syria and Iraq.
During a congressional committee session, Anne Patterson, the assistant secretary of state for near eastern affairs, said the Obama administration was looking into ways to “intensify” the battle against IS.
“The president is looking at a number of other efforts to intensify our efforts in this battle,” she is quoted as saying.
UK suspends Sinai flights amid fears Russian plane crash caused by bomb
The British government says it is increasingly concerned that the Russian passenger plane that crashed on Saturday, killing all 224 people on board, was brought down by a bomb and is suspending flights to and from Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.
Prime Minister David Cameron’s office says British aviation experts are travelling to the Sinai resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, where the flight originated from, to assess security before British flights there will be allowed to leave.
No British flights are flying there at the moment.
Cameron’s office at Downing Street says “we have become concerned that the plane may well have been brought down by an explosive device.”
— AP contributed
Palestinian youth center names soccer tourney after terrorist
A Palestinian youth center in the West Bank city of Jenin named a soccer tournament after the Palestinian terrorist who killed two people in Jerusalem’s Old City last month.
According to Palestinian Media Watch, an NGO that monitors Palestinian media reports, the Yasser Arafat Youth Center in Jenin named the tournament after Muhannad Halabi, 19, from el-Bireh near Ramallah who stabbed and killed Aharon Banita and Rabbi Nehemia Lavi in Jerusalem on October 3. Halabi also stabbed Banita’s wife multiple times, injuring her moderately.
Security forces shot and killed Halabi after arriving on the scene, alerted by Banita’s wife.
According to a November 2 Al-Hayat Al-Jadida report cited by PMW, “the Martyr Yasser Arafat Youth Center succeeded in organizing the first football tournament named after Martyr (Shahid) Muhannad Halabi, which took place on its football fields. The final game was played by the Yasser Arafat Youth Center and Bal’a, which rightly won the title.”
The Shin Bet security service said Sunday that it arrested a suspected accomplice of Halabi’s.
Abed al-Aziz Mari was accused of helping Halabi cross into Jerusalem illegally, purchasing a knife and planning out the attack.
Mari planned the attack after police turned him and Halabi away from praying at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, according to Hebrew media reports.
A street in the municipality of Surda-Abu Qash in the West Bank was named after Halabi.
Israeli man makes apparently false report of attack, is taken into custody
Earlier this evening, a resident of northern Israel called police claiming he had been attacked by three Arab men. When police arrived at the scene, however, it became clear that the man was not injured and had not been attacked, police spokeswoman Luba Samri says.
The Israeli man who made the apparently false report has been taken into custody, and Rosh Pina police officers are investigating the incident.
It was not clear what kind of attack the man alleged.
— Judah Ari Gross
Supreme Court president security detail upped amid threats
An additional guard was added to the security detail of the president of the Supreme Court, Miriam Naor, following a security assessment by the Shin Bet security service, according to Channel 10 news.
Naor is behind a court decision last year to demolish a synagogue in the West Bank settlement of Givat Ze’ev, outside Jerusalem, because it was allegedly built on private Palestinian land.
Overnight Tuesday, protesters defaced the Supreme Court building protesting the decision.
“You don’t destroy a synagogue, we want a Jewish state,” graffiti sprayed on the building read.
Today, the court decided to postpone the demolition of Ayelet Hashahar Synagogue amid threats of violence by right-wing activists, but instructed police to follow through with the order by November 17.
Hundreds of protesters had blockaded themselves inside the structure to block its razing, threatening to harm themselves and security forces.
On Forbes ‘most powerful’ list, Netanyahu ranks 21, Putin #1
Forbes Magazine publishes its annual “most powerful people” list, ranking Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as number 21, five slots above the number 26 spot he received last year.
Russian President Vladimir Putin holds a meeting with senior government officials at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Russia on Wednesday, September 30, 2015. (Alexei Nikolsky/RIA Novosti, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Number 1 on the list is Russian President Vladimir Putin (for the third year in a row), followed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel who ousted US President Barack Obama from last year’s number 2 ranking. Obama dropped to third place this year.
The top 10 include six political leaders, Pope Francis (4), Microsoft’s Bill Gates (6) and Google co-founder Larry Page (10).
In this Sunday, Nov. 1, 2015 file photo released by the office of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the regime’s leader speaks at a meeting with Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and the country’s diplomats in Tehran. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP, File)
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei came in at number 18, three spots above Netanyahu and one above Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg.
Other notables include presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton (68) and Donald Trump (72).
Head of the Islamic State terror group, Abu Baker al-Baghdadi, is one spot more influential than Clinton, according to Forbes.
US flight advisory for Sinai: Avoid low altitudes
The US has no plans to change or update its flight advisory for Egypt’s Sinai region, which already advises civil aviation to avoid flying at low altitudes over the peninsula because of risks associated with Islamic extremist activity, the White House says.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest is quoted by Reuters as saying at a new briefing: “I’m not aware of any plans to update that specific advisory.”
US carriers do not operate flights to or from Sinai.
The Federal Aviation Administration advisory has been in place since March.
This comes as the UK just announced that it is suspending flights to and from Sinai amid fears the Russian passenger plane that crashed Saturday, killing all 224 people on board, was brought down by a bomb.
“We have become concerned that the plane may well have been brought down by an explosive device,” says a statement issued by the office of UK PM David Cameron.
The Islamic State terror group has claimed responsibility for bringing down the plane, but has provided no proof of doing so.
Earlier today, the group published an audio message saying it will reveal evidence of its involvement at the time of its choosing.
