Israeli women soldiers stray into West Bank city, saved from mob by PA police

Assad vows to retake all of Syria on cusp of ceasefire

Syria’s President Bashar Assad vowed to retake all of Syria from “terrorists,” hours before a truce brokered by Russia and the United States was due to take hold on Monday.

Speaking in Daraya, a former rebel stronghold recently surrendered to the government, Assad said “the Syrian state is determined to recover every area from the terrorists,” state media reported.

“The armed forces are continuing their work, relentlessly and without hesitation, regardless of internal or external circumstances,” he said.

Assad made a rare public appearance to celebrate the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday in Daraya, where state media showed him attending prayers at the Saad Bin Moaz mosque.

After years of government siege and fighting, its remaining residents and rebel fighters evacuated the town in late August under a deal with the regime, which has since retaken control.

“After five years, some people still haven’t woken up from their fantasies,” Assad said, referring to the anti-government protests that erupted in Syria in 2011.

“Some were betting on promises from foreign powers, which will result in nothing,” he added.

Assad was joined at the prayers by a number of members of his ruling Baath party, as well as several ministers and members of parliament.

The mufti, or Muslim cleric, presiding over the prayers, hailed Daraya as an example for Syria, which has been ravaged by conflict since 2011.

“Daraya is living proof for all Syrians that the only option available to you is reconciliation and abandoning fighting,” said Adnan al-Afiyuni, mufti for Damascus province.

— AFP

Netanya rabbi arrested in city hall corruption case

The Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s extended the detention of Rabbi Shimon Sar, a Netanya city hall official, on suspicion of involvement in a corruption case that’s embroiled the coastal town’s mayor.

 

Tel Aviv building collapse victims to be laid to rest

Ruslan Iskov and Oleg Mushailov, two construction workers who were victims of a building collapse in northern Tel Aviv last week, will be laid to rest this afternoon in the northern town of Acre.

Netanyahu says ‘always’ open to talks with Palestinians

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with his Luxembourger counterpart in Jerusalem and reiterates that Israel “is always ready to negotiate without preconditions” with the Palestinians.

Trump hopes Clinton ‘gets well soon’

Donald Trump says he hopes rival Hillary Clinton “gets well soon” after her abrupt departure from a 9/11 anniversary ceremony following a health episode.

Trump said in an interview on “Fox and Friends” Monday morning that: “Something’s going on, but I just hope she gets well and gets back on the trail and we’ll be seeing her at the debate.” The first of three debates is scheduled for September 26.

Video captured of the Democratic nominee shows her staggering and slumping forward as she was helped into a van leaving the Sunday ceremony in Manhattan.

Her doctor says she is fighting a case of pneumonia.

Trump says he’s planning to release detailed health information from a new physical exam in the coming days.

The Republican nominee told “Fox and Friends” that he had a physical examination last week. He said he expects a report this week and he’ll “be releasing very, very specific numbers.”

He said: “Hopefully they’re going to be good. I think they’re going to be good. I feel great.”

Trump says Clinton’s comment painting half of his supporters as a “basket of deplorables” is the “biggest mistake of the political season.”

Clinton was at a fundraiser on Friday when she said that she would put “half of Trump’s supporters” into “the basket of deplorables. Right? The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic – you name it.” She has since apologies for being “grossly generalistic.”

Trump said Monday in a phone interview on “Fox and Friends” that when he heard the comment, he “thought that it was not something that was within the realm of possible that she would have said it.”

The Republican presidential nominee said that being elected to the White House means: “You’re president of all the people.”

— AP

Man stabbed in Rishon Lezion

Police report a man was stabbed in Rishon Lezion. There was no word of the man’s condition or the nature of the incident.

The circumstances of the incident are under investigation.

2 dead, 2 injured in collision near Rahat

Magen David Adom paramedics pronounce two people dead in a car crash in southern Israel. Two others are injured in the collision south of the Bedouin town of Rahat.

Video of Rahat collision

A video from the scene of the accident near Rahat appears to show two severely damaged vehicles that apparently collided head on.

Two are dead and two others are in critical condition.

Border Police officer lightly hurt by stone

A Border Police officer is lightly injured after being struck by a stone in the ear while on duty near the West Bank settlement of Tekoa. She receives medical treatment on site and doesn’t require hospitalization.

Cameron resigns from Parliament

Former British PM Cameron resigns from Parliament, just months after stepping down as premier.

IDF HQ inaugurates archaeological park

The IDF is holding an inauguration ceremony for the largest archaeological park in the country in Tel Aviv’s military headquarters at the Kirya complex.

Among the items on display are artifacts from the Roman period to Middle Ages, including part of a stone pillar from the Temple Mount, Israel Radio reports.

Arsonist attacks mosque where Orlando shooter worshiped

The Florida mosque where Orlando nightclub shooter Omar Mateen worshipped was targeted in an arson attack early Monday, authorities said.

Fire crews responded to a 911 call at 12:31 am reporting that flames were coming out of the Fort Pierce Islamic Center, Major David Thompson of the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office said.

Security video showed an individual approaching the building from the east, he said.

“Immediately after the individual approached, a flash occurred and the individual fled the area,” Thompson said.

“Evidence has revealed that this fire was set intentionally,” he said. “The sheriff’s office is currently investigating this as an arson.”

No injuries were reported and the extent of the damage was not immediately clear.

Photographs posted on the sheriff department’s Facebook page showed fire engines parked in front of the building, a former church, with the facade appearing undamaged.

Authorities were working on enhancing the security video to help identify the perpetrator.

Thompson declined to speculate on a motive, but noted that it came shortly after the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks on the United States.

“We all know the implications of the date… Is that related? I would not want to speculate but certainly that is in the back our minds,” he told reporters.

The attack also came as Muslims worldwide prepared to celebrate Eid al-Adha, Islam’s feast of sacrifice.

The Fort Pierce mosque’s gathering on Monday was moved “to another area and they’re going to allow us to conduct our investigation so we can hopefully determine who set it,” Thompson said.

Forty-nine people were killed and another 53 injured on June 12 when Mateen, a 29-year-old US citizen of Afghan origin, opened fire on the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando. Mateen was killed by police.

The mass shooting was the deadliest in modern US history.

— AFP

Israeli said to be infected with Zika

A resident of southern Israel is infected with the Zika virus, the Eshkol regional council tells residents.

The person was reportedly bitten by a mosquito while abroad and is receiving treatment, Channel 10 reports.

Liberman: We must support soldiers ‘even if they make a mistake’

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman says the country must support its soldiers “even if one of them makes a mistake,” in reference to Sgt. Elor Azaria, an IDF soldier currently on trial for manslaughter after he allegedly shot and killed a disarmed, supine Palestinian assailant in March.

“We should remember, all of us, including members of the media, public figures and politicians, that until you are convicted in court, you are innocent,” he says.

This is especially true when you are dealing with soldiers who are on a mission, Liberman says.

The trial of Azaria has gripped the nation’s attention for months.

Liberman, who prior to becoming defense minister vocally supported Azaria, has dialed back his rhetoric since taking the position.

The defense minister says he expects that a military court can “ignore the noise from the left and from the right.”

— Judah Ari Gross

Liberman calls for ‘transfer’ of Israeli Arabs to future Palestinian state

Defense Minsiter Avigdor Liberman speaks in favor of transferring Israeli Arab cities from Israel to a future Palestinian state during a speech at Ariel University in the West Bank.

“I don’t see a reason why the ‘Triangle’ and Umm al-Fahm need to be a part of Israel,” Liberman says, referring to a predominantly Arab region of Israel.

— Judah Ari Gross

Syria ceasefire deal takes effect

An internationally backed ceasefire for Syria came into effect at sundown Monday as part of a hard-fought deal to bring an end to the war between rebels and regime fighters.

The truce, brokered by the United States and Russia, entered into force at 7 p.m. local time (1600 GMT) across Syria except in jihadist-held areas.

While the Syrian government and its allies have signed on to the deal, opposition forces have yet to formally respond.

— AFP

Second car accident kills 1, injures 9

Another deadly car accident in the Negev Desert in southern Israel has left one killed and nine injured, including four in serious condition. The accident occured on Route 80 near Arara.

Clinton has ‘no other’ health problem than pneumonia: aide

Hillary Clinton is suffering from no health ailments other than pneumonia, and the Democratic presidential nominee is expected to return to the campaign trail as early as mid-week, a senior aide said Monday.

“There’s no other undisclosed condition. The pneumonia is the extent of it,” spokesman Brian Fallon told MSNBC a day after Clinton, 68, fell ill at a 9/11 memorial event in New York and her campaign announced she had been diagnosed with pneumonia.

“I expect that by the middle to the late of the week she’ll be back out there on the campaign trail,” he said, adding that the campaign will also release fresh medical records to help “further put to rest any lingering concerns” about the former secretary of state’s health.

— AFP

Electric Co., PA reach deal on power debt

The Electric Company and Palestinian Authority have arrived at a deal to settle a NIS 500 million electricity bill debt that will also see responsibility for power lines in Palestinian territories pass to the PA, Channel 2 reports. The PA will pay Israel the sum of the debt.

US, Israel said to reach $38 billion military aid deal

The US and Israel have reached a military aid package agreement to the tune of $38 billion over the next decade, including a reduction of spending those funds on Israel’s arms industry in the next six years, and a commitment not to ask for more funds from Congress, Channel 2 reports.

Israeli shooter takes bronze in Rio paralympic games

Paralympic shooter Doron Shaziri wins the bronze medal in the Rio games in the Men’s R7-50m Rifle 3 Positions, coming behind Laslo Suranji of Serbia, who took gold, and Abdulla Sultan Alaryani of the United Arab Emirates, who took silver.

Soldiers rescued after straying into Tulkarem

Some female Israeli soldiers accidentally strayed into the West Bank city of Tulkarem and were nearly “lynched” by a Palestinian mob, Channel 2 reports. The soldiers were rescued by Palestinian police and the IDF and are in good health and unharmed.

Shell fired in Syria lands in Golan Heights

A shell fired from Syrian into the Golan Heights exploded, causing no injuries or damage, according to Channel 10.

IDF confirms shell from Syria hits Golan

IDF confirms shell fired from Syria lands in Golan Heights,and says no injuries are reported.

IDF investigating how soldiers ended up in Tulkarem

Two female IDF soldiers have been rescued from Tulkarm, after rocks were thrown at their vehicle, upon entering the Palestinian city “mistakenly,” an army spokesperson says.

The army received reports of the soldiers’ accidental entrance into the Palestinian city. The Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories unit, along with the Israel Police, intervened to rescue the soldiers.

Once they were taken out of Tulkarm, the soldiers “were transferred to IDF custody,” a spokesperson says.

It’s not immediately clear how the soldiers mistakenly entered the city, the spokesperson adds.

“The incident will be investigated,” the army says.

— Judah Ari Gross