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Israel Update 30.1.20

ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN PEACE PLAN PUBLISHED BY U.S.A.

 

The US vision for a comprehensive peace agreement was released on Tuesday. Download or read the full 180 page plan: Link here

 

Senior White House adviser Jared Kushner said that the Palestinians are not going to get a state “by doing a day of rage. All doing a day of rage shows is that they’re not ready to have a state. That’s not what people with states do.” He also said “Whole-hearted rejections will show the world that they are not interested in peace, they have never been interested in peace and, quite frankly, in the Palestinian areas you have a lot of people that are very vested in the status quo. Read more here

 

SOME INTERNATIONAL REACTION

 

British F.M. Raab said that the U.S. peace plan “is clearly a serious proposal, reflecting extensive time and effort. Only the leaders of Israel and the Palestinian territories can determine whether these proposals can meet the needs and aspirations of the people they represent.” “We encourage them to give these plans genuine and fair consideration…” Read more here

 

Australia has welcomed Trump’s “Vision for Peace” as a first step towards a two-state solution to resolve the Israel-Palestine conflict. Read more here

 

Saudi Arabia  “appreciates the efforts of President Trump’s Administration to develop a comprehensive peace plan between the Palestinian and the Israeli sides, and encourages the start of direct peace negotiations between the Palestinian and Israeli sides…and to resolve any disagreements with aspects of the plan through negotiations…” Read more here

 

The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign affairs urged Israel and Palestinians to carefully review the peace proposal and hold talks — with the US mediating.  Read more here

 

Kuwait and Morocco both gave a positive response to the plan. Read more here

 

GAZA

 

Gazan terrorists fired a rocket at southern Israel on Sunday night. In reponse, the IDF attacked a Hamas observation post.             Read more here

 

On Wednesday night a mortar shell was fired into Israel. Sirens sounded twice within 24 hours Weds/Thurs sending Israelis rushing to bomb shelters. Also on Thursday, a balloon-borne explosive device detonated in the air over Israel. Read more here

 

Two balloon clusters with suspicious devices attached were spotted in two kibbutzim near the Gaza border on Wednesday.             Read more here

 

On Saturday, 2 balloons batches, one carrying a bomb resembling an RPG & the other an incendiary device, landed in Israel, one near Sderot Boker about 25 miles from Gaza. Read more here

 

An explosives-laden balloon was found hanging from a tree in Sderot on Sunday.Read more here

 

In response to the continuing launch of incendiary devices, Israeli jets had struck a number of targets including a weapon-manufacturing depot and a military post operated by Hamas on Saturday night.Read more here

 

PRINCE CHARLES

During his recent visit to Israel, Prince Charles said: “It’s been fascinating to hear about so many of the cooperative ventures that are taking place between both our countries,” “From what I gather it sounds as though Israeli geniuses are maintaining the entire structure of the NHS, along with a great deal of other remarkable technology developments.” (A large percentage of medicines used in the NHS originate in Israel, while Israel is also at the cutting edge of medical advances.) He also pointed to the defence and security cooperation between the two countries. Read more here

 

AUSTRALIA

 

A team of nine Israeli and two Australian volunteers with SmartAID were among the first arrive on Kangaroo Island to help locals affected by wildfires. Based in Israel, SmartAID uniquely focuses on “harnessing the power of innovation and technology to save lives, alleviate suffering and empower communities.” Other Israeli groups helping fire victims in Australia include the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo which launched a fundraising campaign to buy veterinary supplies for volunteers treating wounded animals; and the Gan Garoo Australian Park in northern Israel, which is donating part of all ticket sales toward Australian relief efforts and plans to send a veterinary team to assist injured kangaroos. Read more here

 

Israeli tech entrepreneurs, programmers, water and environmental experts and zoologists are being called to take part in a special hackathon that will take place for 15 hours in Tel Aviv to devise ways to help Australia tackle the consequences of the environmental calamity it is witnessing.  Read more here

 

CYBER ATTACKS FOILED

 

As Israel hosted dozens of world leaders last week for the World Holocaust Forum, the country’s cyber defence system fended off 800 distinct cyberattacks targeting its international airport and the planes of the world leaders. All the attacks. which came from came from Iran, China, North Korea, Russia, and Poland. were successfully repulsed. Read more here

 

ACADAEMIA

 

In a move to foster academic exchange between Israeli and American universities, 28 U.S. professors recently travelled to Israel. Michael Dutch, Professor of business management at Guilford College in North Carolina, was struck by Israel’s “innovation, resilience, friendliness of the people and the sheer history of the nation.” adding “There are wonderful opportunities to interact academically; you need to come here and see it.” Read more here

 

MEDICAL INNOVATION

 

An Israeli nephrologist has published a study that has the potential to eliminate the future need for dialysis by rejuvenating kidneys and improving their function by using the patient’s own stem cells. Relying on the patient’s own cells circumvents problems with immune rejection. Read more here

 

The Microsoft Healthcare bot, a virtual medical assistant powered by artificial intelligence launched last year and used by healthcare providers and labs in the U.S., was developed by the Microsoft team in Israel. Read more here

 

The Netanya-based company Theranica specializes in combining neuromodulation therapy with wireless technology for pain mitigation and develops wearable devices that address conditions, such as migraines. Its Nerivio, devicewhich which comes in the form of an armband, uses electronic pulses sent from the accompanying smartphone app to stimulate conditioned modulation response to mitigate pain. Read more here

 

Two Israeli companies are finalizing the development of revolutionary antiviral reusable facemasks. Tests have shown that Sonovia’s ultrasonic fabric-finishing technology works against six types of bacteria including E. coli and Staph. Effectiveness lasts for up to 100 washes at 75°C (167°F) or 65 washes at 92°C (197°F).   Argaman is nearing commercialization of a reusable, washable, breathable antiviral facemask called Bio-Block. An independent lab found that CottonX remains effective against Staph and E. coli bacteria for 50 industrial washings or 100 home washings. Read more here

 

TERROR ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATED IN LONDON

 

Every year the terror group Fatah, celebrates the anniversary of its first terror attack against Israel, a failed attempt to attack Israel’s water carrier on January 1, 1965. Hundreds gathered in London on Saturday night to join in the celebrations.
Read more here

 

VIDEO

The story of Hadeel, Israeli, Christian and an IDF Officer.(3 mins) View here

 

COMMENT & OPINION – EXTRACTS

 

Mark Regev: Direct Peace Talks Are Still the Only Way Forward for Israel and the Palestinians. For the Palestinians, there is always an excuse to avoid negotiations….Unilateral recognition will only prolong the Palestinians’ delusion that progress is possible without direct talks. Read more here


Evelyn Gordon: To understand the true obstacle to Mideast peace, look no further than the Jordanian parliament’s unanimous approval last week of a bill to ban natural-gas imports from Israel, just days after the gas began arriving. Energy-poor Jordan needs a stable, affordable fuel supply, which the Israeli deal provides…As last week’s vote made clear, every single Jordanian lawmaker still views Israel as an enemy. Read more here

 

Adam Levick: Western journalists fail to report on the endemic anti-Semitism within Palestinian society and the deleterious impact such anti-Jewish racism has on efforts at peace and coexistence…recently Abbas’ Fatah movement produced a new video about Jewish history in Europe claiming that Jews “led the project to enslave humanity” and that Jewish behaviour led to European anti-Semitism. PA TV  broadcast a cleric warning that the Jewish threat to humanity can be stopped only by exterminating all Jews. The lofty rhetoric of world leaders evoking the idea of “never again” – rings hollow if the principle of anti-anti-Semitism is not applied universally.Read more here

 

COMMENT ON US PEACE PLAN.

 

John Podhoretz: Twice in 2000 and once in 2008, Israel offered Palestinians a state in exchange for a declaration of peace. In 2005, Israel unilaterally withdrew from the Palestinian territory of Gaza and left it to the Gazans to rule themselves. The Palestinians met both the offers and the withdrawal with multiple wars, thus giving the lie to the fantasy that all you need to achieve peace is an outstretched hand. Now the U.S. proposes a plan that takes account of Israel’s security needs and Palestinian aspirations for sovereignty and statehood… It says that no Palestinians and no Israelis will be uprooted from their homes. Read more here

 

 

Eugene Kontorovich: The Israeli-Palestinian peace plan unveiled Tuesday is an important and well-crafted effort that would benefit both sides. Critics are already indicting the plan for not meeting all Palestinian demands. But the plan also does not meet all Israeli demands. It is a compromise, requiring concessions from both sides…. For Palestinian leaders to reject such an offer of statehood from a U.S. administration best poised to deliver it – along with $50 billion in promised international investment in a new Palestinian state – shows that the Palestinians and their allies still see undermining Israel as their primary goal…The U.S. plan also crucially inverts the paradigm in which the Palestinians keep getting offered more for saying “no.” In the new plan, if the Palestinians do not agree to the peace deal – and do not meet minimal conditions – Israel can proceed to secure its interests without them.Read more here

 

Herb Keinon: One senior American official said the plan is important because it lays out conditions for a Palestinian state. Under the plan, the Palestinians, to get a state down the line, must disarm Hamas and Islamic Jihad, must stop paying terrorists and inciting terrorism, must end corruption, must respect human rights, and must grant religious freedom and allow a free press. That is important because up until now there has been a tendency to give the Palestinians a free pass regarding the type of state that will be created.    Read more here

 

Ray Hanania: By refusing to engage, Palestinians are unwittingly helping Israel achieve its goals. Instead, the Palestinian leadership should embrace the process. They should have insisted on being at the plan’s unveiling, demonstrating that they are committed to peace. Read more here

 

James S. Robbins: Critics said that recognizing united Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights would make future peace deals impossible, but what they signalled was that the president was willing to use his leverage to dislodge the stalled process and make those who rejected negotiations pay a real price. By refusing to negotiate even using the plan as a baseline subject to change, the Palestinians are saying they really aren’t up to the task of reaching a settlement. Read more here