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Israel Update 7.4.22

At the time of writing (Thursday afternoon) the Israeli government is in the midst of a political crisis resulting from the resignation from the coalition yesterday of MK Idit Silman. Her departure means that the current ruling coalition has lost its razor-thin 61 MK majority out of 120 seats.

 

 

MORE NEWS FROM THE ISRAELI FIELD HOSPITAL IN UKRAINE

 

 

Israel’s Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz on Monday visited the Israeli field hospital in western Ukraine. He thanked medical staff, for their “holy work” treating more than 2,000 women and children thus far, and stating that “Israel is the only country that has established such a facility within Ukraine” adding that his visit sends a message of Israel’s “solidarity with Ukraine in the face of a brutal Russian invasion and in the face of the massacres and war crimes that are being uncovered these days across the country.” Read more here

 

 

Aliyah and Integration Minister Pnina Tamano-Shata  visited the hospital on Wednesday and met the medical team, calling them “the pride of Israel,” and thanked them for their work on the front lines saving lives. Read more here

 

 

Doctors at the Israeli field hospital in Ukraine delivered the first baby born there last Friday. Read more here

 

 

COUNTER TERRORISM

 

 

Three Islamic Jihad terrorists were killed early Saturday near Jenin by Israeli Border Police counterterrorism officers while on their way to an attack in Israel. The terrorists had been responsible for previous attacks against Israeli security forces. Four Border Police officers were injured in the fight, one seriously. A video on social media showed one of the terrorists reading out a will prior to setting out for the attack. Guns and grenades were found in their car. A fourth member of the cell was arrested near Tulkarm. Read more here

 

 

A member of the Islamic Jihad cell had boasted that he had planned “something very big in Israel”. Read more here

 

 

 

P.M. Bennett said Tuesday that a string of recent deadly terrorist attacks in Israel should serve as a wake-up call, but that more than 15 other such attacks had been foiled recently.Read more here

 

 

EUROVISION

 

 

Kalush Orchestra, Ukraine’s entry to the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest, arrived in Israel on Monday to participate in a four-day pre-Eurovision event the band’s first foreign appearance since the Russian invasion. They will take part in “Israel Calling,” an annual event inviting Eurovision acts to visit Israel before the competition, set to culminate in a concert in Tel Aviv on Thursday evening.Read more here

 

 

PHILIPPINES

 

 

The Embassy of Israel in the Philippines donated Israeli-made NUF water filtration systems to typhoon stricken Del Carmen and San Isidro in Siargao Island and Cagdianao and Basilisa in Dinagat Islands in Mindanao on March 29. The portable system can take water from a polluted source and purify up to 400 liters per hour, enough to supply all water needs for 300 to 400 people. Read more here

 

 

 

WATER

 

 

Global semiconductor giant STMiccroelectronics  (ST) is to partner with Israeli firm Watergen  in an effort to lower the company’s water usage at its manufacturing centres. ST is hoping to reduce the company’s water consumption by 20% by 2025, thereby taking the industry lead in social and environmental responsibility.Read more here

 

 

CO-OPERATION

 

 

Greece, Cyprus and Israel will continue working together on natural gas pipeline projects with European energy dependency a new focus because of the war in Ukraine. Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, who met his Greek and Cypriot counterparts in Athens, said that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has changed the structure of the energy market in Europe and in the Middle East.Read more here

 

 

 

CORONAVIRUS IN ISRAEL

 

 

For the first time in two weeks, Israel’s coronavirus transmission rate dipped below 1 on Sunday, signalling that the pandemic was once again in retreat. Read more here

 

 

A fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose significantly boosts protection against severe illness in older adults, according to an Israeli study released on Tuesday. The study compared people over age 60 who received a 4th vaccine dose against those who only had three doses. In the latter group the rate of severe disease was 3.5 times higher after 4 weeks.

Confirmed infections after receiving the 4th dose were lower, but that effect dropped after 4 weeks and was almost gone after 8 weeks.

The protection against severe illness did not decrease in the 6 weeks after receiving the 4th dose..Read more here

 

 

VETERAN GAMES

 

 

Dozens of British Armed Forces personnel injured during their service are to take part in this year’s Veteran Games in Israel, from 29 May to 3 June, where they will compete against their peers injured while serving in the IDF.Read more here

 

 

 

DEFENCE

 

 

 

Israel Aerospace Industries has delivered the first of eight  ELM-2084 Multi-mission radar (MMR) systems to the Czech Republic, replacing obsolete Soviet-made ones. Reportedly, the radar systems will be integrated into NATO’s Integrated Air and Missile Defence early-warning systems, providing continuous radar coverage at low altitudes.Read more here

 

 

 

Israeli defence company Elbit Systems announced a $27 million contract to provide the Swedish Armed Forces with ammunition for its Leopard Main Battle Tanks. Read more here

 

 

 

The German government has decided to arm the UAVs it leases from Israel with missiles manufactured in Israel at a cost of 152 million euros. Read more here

 

 

 

Germany has received approval from Israel and the U.S. to purchase the long-range Arrow-3 missile defence system. Should Germany buy the system, it would mark the first time that the Arrow 3 has been sold to another country. The Arrow-3 development program is co-managed by Israel and the U.S. Read more here

 

 

 

NANOTECHNOLOGY

 

 

New, cheap, lightweight flat lenses – around a thousandth of the thickness of a human hair – will be making their move from the research labs to our shops and homes thanks to research by Professor Uriel Levy, Director of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology with postdoc student Dr. Jacob Engelberg. They established a standard method to compare flat-lens technologies and designs, and published their findings in the leading journal Nature Photonic. Read more here

 

 

MEDICAL

 

 

An Israel-developed cancer drug has been shown to boost the effectiveness of both chemotherapy and immunotherapy in mice. The nanoparticle is the world’s first RNA-based drug to deliver an effective boost to both treatment types. The Tel Aviv University research team is now concentrating on further development, in the hope of initiating human trials. Read more here

 

 

CANNES INTERNATIONAL SERIES FESTIVAL

 

 

The Israeli series “The Lesson,” a social drama illustrating political tensions in the country, won the prize for best long series and the prize for interpretation at the Canneseries festival. Read more here

 

 

 

COMMENT & OPINION

 

 

JPost Editorial on “UK-Israel ties: It is felt by trade, it is felt by scientific cooperation, the collaborations in the battle during the coronavirus pandemic and it is also felt on the security and defence front… Despite the disagreements, there is a level of friendship today between Jerusalem and London not previously felt. And this is to the credit of both governments for understanding that while they might have disagreements on some issues, it does not have to undermine the quality of the relations. Read more here

 

 

Akiva Van Koningsveld: A report by Israel’s Intelligence Ministry, prepared in June 2021 but declassified only this year, describes how the Palestinians use EU funds to build thousands of illegal structures and grab swaths of agricultural land in Area C in Judea and Samaria, contrary to international law and relevant agreements. Over the past eight years, the Palestinian Authority has received over half a billion dollars to carry out “unilateral land seizure moves.” Read more here