Israel Update 22.10.20

GAZA

 

Last Friday evening, Gazan terrorists fired a rocket into Israel. Sirens were set off sending thousands of civilians to bomb shelters for the second time this month. Read more here

 

The IDF announced Tuesday that, following an “indication” from the underground barrier system currently being installed, it had uncovered a “terror attack tunnel” dug from the Gaza Strip that ran dozens of metres into Israeli territory. Read more here

 

Another rocket fired by terrorists on Tuesday was intercepted by the Iron Dome air defence system. Israel then struck a subterranean site linked to Hamas.  Read more here

 

CORONAVIRUS IN ISRAEL

 

(Last Thursday’s figures in brackets for comparison)

The Health Ministry recorded 1,094  (2,004) new coronavirus cases on Wednesday. The number of active cases hit 19,207 (43,939) on Thursday morning, after slipping below the 20,000 mark for the first time since July. The number of serious cases was at 600 (734), after peaking at 900 on October 4. Health Ministry figures showed 226 (253) patients on ventilators. The death toll climbed to 2,319 (2,099) since the start of the pandemic. Read more here

 

Experts predict that the downward slide in new coronavirus cases will halt and Israel will see a spike in new cases due to noncompliance with virus guidelines. Read more here

 

Senior PLO official Saeb Erekat, 65, is in critical condition and on a ventilator at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem after being diagnosed with Covid-19. “Erekat poses a huge challenge…due to his (2017) lung transplant and its suppression of the immune system,” the hospital said. Read more here

 

 

From 23 Oct., Britain joins the list of 185 other countries and territories on Israel’s red list so that travellers form the UK must enter a 14-day quarantine upon their arrival in Israel.Read more here

 

 

AUSTRALIAN PARTNERSHIP

 

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) recently announced a new joint venture with Australian logistics and materials company Bis Industries to convert existing trucks and bulldozers to work autonomously at mining sites. IAI’s subsidiary, Elta, has been developing autonomous off-road vehicles for 15 years. Read more here

 

ISRAEL & THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

 

A delegation of senior UAE officials arrived in Tel Aviv on Tuesday for a series of meetings with their Israeli counterparts. They signed four bilateral agreements with Israel, including a visa waiver agreement. They also announced the creation of a trilateral fund seeking to foster regional cooperation and prosperity. Read more here

 

Netanya-based agriculture technology startup CropX Technologies has had numerous inquiries from the UAE. The company’s sensors notify farmers via phone alerts when to water their fields, saving large amounts of water – a potential game-changer for the parched Gulf landscape.Read more here

 

Israel’s Ministry of Transport signed an aviation agreement with the UAE allowing 28 weekly flights in each direction between Tel Aviv and Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Read more here

 

An oil pipeline running from Eilat to Ashkelon will be extended to the UAE , providing them with a route to get fuel directly to Europe.   Read more here

 

ISRAEL & BAHRAIN

 

An Israeli delegation in Bahrain on Sunday signed seven Memorandums of Understanding as well as a Joint Communique on the establishment of diplomatic, peaceful and friendly relations. Read more here

 

IRAQ

 

Iraq’s former deputy prime minister and well-known politician Bahaa al-Araji said on Wednesday that “Iraq is very prepared to normalize relations with Israel, and the conditions are well-suited.”Read more here

 

SUDAN

 

The first conference of the “Popular Initiative for Normalization with Israel” was held Sunday in Khartoum. Read more here

 

An Israeli delegation reportedly made a rare visit to Sudan late Wednesday to discuss normalizing ties. Read more here

 

 

DEFENCE

 

Israeli defence contractor Rafael has developed a battlefield navigation system CT-MENTOR for armoured vehicles that does not rely on GPS. GPS-jamming techniques have been used against Israeli forces in various arenas. Read more here

 

ALBANIA

 

The Albanian parliament has endorsed the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of anti-Semitism making Albania one of the first majority-Muslim countries to adopt the definition.Read more here

 

EUROPE

 

Airbus, the European aerospace and defence conglomerate, will work with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) to operate its Heron medium-altitude long-endurance, remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) to spot migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe. The EU has awarded Israel’s Elbit Systems a separate contract for identical services using its Hermes drones. The drones will be based in Greece, Italy or Malta. Read more here

 

In 2019, the EU authorized 32 grants totalling 30.1 million euros for projects listed under “Palestine” and an additional 9 grants totalling 3.3 million euros for projects listed under “Israel.” At least 3 grants totalling 5.8 million euros involve Palestinian NGOs with ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, an EU-designated terrorist group. Seven grants totalling 6 million euros went to Palestinian NGOs which promote anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and/or glorify terror. Read more here

 

INNOVATION

 

Facebook has started to test a new, lightweight version of its popular Instagram App, with improved speed, performance, and responsiveness while using less data, to target users in emerging markets where network connectivity is unstable and speeds can be slow. Instagram Lite, is being developed by Facebook’s technology team in Tel Aviv.Read more here

 

COMMENT & OPINION

 

Khaled Abu Toameh: (P.A. President) Abbas is now talking to terrorist-promoting Hamas, Turkey and Qatar, reportedly discussing ways of “coordinating positions to direct blows to the interests of the Arab countries, especially the Arab Gulf states and Egypt.” The report also revealed that Qatar recently gave Abbas and some of his aides “more than $50 million for their personal bank accounts inside banks in Israel and the Palestinian Authority areas.”…A Syrian journalist based in the UAE, who calls herself Shukran, tweeted on Sep. 17: “My dear Palestinians: Your real enemy is in front of you; it is the corrupt Palestinian Authority…. We tried wars, now we want to try peace.” Read more here

 

David Horowitz: The horrific false allegations (against Israel) disseminated by (Saeb) Erekat were given wide credibility and immense coverage in much of the international media; in Britain, for instance, where those allegations made front-page news and were quoted in Parliament, Israel’s image, already long under assault, has never quite recovered. (A few months ago) the PA cancelled the arrangements by which Palestinians needing medical treatment not available in PA areas can be transferred to Israeli hospitals. (Erekat is currently being treated in an Israeli hospital) ..I truly hope Saeb Erekat will live to internalize and benefit from some of those lessons. What is certain is that a leading hospital in the State of Israel is doing everything in its power to give him that opportunity. Read more here

 

Jonathan Tobin: When PLO leader Saeb Erekat recently fell ill with Covid-19, instead of going to a Palestinian or Jordanian hospital, he chose to go to Hadassah Medical Centre in Jerusalem. This is the same person who spent his career smearing Israel as a nation of oppressors and war criminals. As the PA’s chief negotiator, he’s spent his tenure working to make peace negotiations impossible, swearing that he will never recognize Israel as a Jewish state and end the ongoing conflict. … While it’s doubtful that any other country would be so generous to an enemy, the notion that Israel would turn away a person in need is inconceivable. Read more here