Israel Update 10.11.22

THE UN COP27 CLIMATE CONFERENCE

Israel’s President Herzog led the Israeli delegation to the conference where he inaugurated the first-ever Israeli pavilion at a COP summit. He met the leaders of Morocco, Chad, Finland, Czechia, Belgium, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Norway, the UAE and Colombia, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and King Abdullah II of Jordan. In his speech to the conference, Herzog presented an Israeli vision of what he called the “renewable Middle East,” in which “Israel and regional states will cooperate to provide major solutions for the climate crisis.”

TERRORIST ATTACKS

Shalom Sofer, 63, who was stabbed by a Palestinian two weeks ago in the village of Al-Funduq, west of Nablus, died on Tuesday. His attacker was arrested shortly after the incident. Read more here

A member of Hamas opened fire near Kiryat Arba in the West Bank on 29/10, killing Israeli civilian Ronen Hanania, 50, and wounding four other people. The gunman was later shot dead by an off-duty soldier. Ofer Ohana, a Magen David Adom medic who reached the scene with another first responder to treat the wounded, was shot by the gunman and seriously hurt. Read more here

5 IDF soldiers were wounded in a ramming attack near Jericho on 30/10; the assailant was shot dead.Read more here

A gunman was killed in an attempted shooting attack on IDF forces on 28/10. Read more here

An IDF officer was seriously wounded 2/11 in a car-ramming attack at a West Bank checkpoint near of Modiin. The Palestinian assailant then tried to stab the victim, who shot and killed his attacker.Read more here

Three policemen were wounded in a stabbing attack in Jerusalem’s Old City 3/11 and the Palestinian assailant was shot dead. Read more here

Responding to the killing of Palestinian terrorists in Nablus, Fatah Deputy Chairman Mahmoud Al-Aloul admitted that the PA security forces were fighting together with terrorists against Israel. He added that Israeli soldiers were wounded “as a result of the brave position of the Palestinian security forces” and that all Palestinians are “one unit” including the PA security forces and Fatah’s terror faction. Read more here

The Palestinian Fatah movement, headed by PA President Mahmoud Abbas, posted on Facebook on Oct. 2, 2022, that it was responsible for 7,200 terror incidents in the West Bank since the start of the year. Read more here

Four rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip on Thursday evening 3/11, one of which was intercepted by the Iron Dome air defence system. The other 3 fell short within Gaza. Read more here

Israeli troops opened fire at a group of Palestinians Saturday night 5/11 who were hurling stones at Israeli cars and damaging several of them, killing one. Read more here

COUNTER TERRORISM

Three women from Nablus with ties to Palestinian Islamic Jihad were charged this week over plans to commit a shooting attack against Israeli security forces in the West Bank. The three were detained by Defence Ministry security guards at a crossing, near Qalqilya. A loaded Carlo submachine gun was found in the trunk of their car. Read more here

Israeli troops arrested Tzdaki Ahmed Ali Marai, 23, in Jenin for his involvement in the fatal shooting of Sergeant Major Noam Raz in May. Marai was described as a “high-level militant operative” who was involved in a number of shooting attacks at IDF soldiers. An M-16 rifle and two handguns were found in his possession. Read more here

THE UN

When members of the UN Security Council expressed alarm over the rising number of Palestinian casualties, Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan responded: “Israel is in the midst of a terror wave. Since the start of this year alone, there have been over 4,000 Palestinian terror attacks perpetrated against Israelis. Car-ramming, rock throwing, fire bombings, stabbing, shootings, rockets and many other acts of Palestinian violence have become a fact of life for millions of Israelis.” While “the Palestinian Authority may play victim here at the council,” in Jenin and Nablus it “praise[s] terrorists.” Read more here

CO-OPERATION

Israeli, Bahraini, UAE & US paratroopers made a joint jump over the gulf to mark the 2^nd anniversary of the Abraham Accords. Video embedded in this article. View here

MOROCCO

At a “Medicine and Peace” conference in Morocco, 60 medical professionals from Morocco, Israel & France focussed on encouraging medical co-operation. Read more here

Israel’s Elbit Systems has secured a $70 million contract to supply Morocco’s Royal Armed Forces with an Alinet Electronic Warfare Solutions system…Since the re-establishment of relations with Israel, Morocco’s army has signed several contracts allowing the country to secure high-level, military-related technology. Read more here

SAUDI ARABIA

Israeli businessmen addressed Saudi Arabia’s recent flagship Future Investment Initiative conference, in a clear sign of growing commercial ties and Israel’s growing acceptance in the kingdom.Read more here

INDIA

India’s Centum Electronics and Israel’s Rafael Advanced Systems signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Oct. 29 to jointly develop an electronic warfare system for the Indian Navy and Coast Guard. Read more here

GREEN TECH

Israeli company RE-Refurbished Smartphones Revolution provides a one-stop-shop mobile phone vending machine that allows consumers to recycle, sell or upgrade to a better refurbished model. The aim is to save on the energy, natural resources and mining-related environmental damage associated with producing smartphones and to reduce end-use electronic waste. The machine is currently available at three stores in Tel Aviv and 14 in Europe — in Finland, Germany and Spain. Read more here

MEDICAL

Researchers at Tel Aviv University are developing a water-based gel that will encourage bones to re-grow. It could transform the way dentists replace lost teeth with implants. Read more here

SOLAR

Shoresh, a maker of Israeli sandals, has become the first manufacturing company in the country, and one of the first in the world, to go off grid and become totally dependent on its own solar energy. Read more here

BIRD MIGRATION

Israel’s Nature & Parks Authority sets out fresh fish for birds, including the great white pelicans, which are currently making their annual stopover in Israel, as they migrate south for the winter. Photos here: Read more here

Each year, countless wounded birds of prey make their way to Israel during the autumn migration, most of them shot on the Lebanese side of the border. A lesser spotted eagle suffering a gunshot wound is currently recovering in Israel. Yaron Cherka, the KKL-JNF chief birdwatcher said “It is saddening that our neighbours to the north routinely shoot these wonderful birds for no clear reason. The wildlife rehabilitation centre takes care of them with incredible dedication, as well as all other wildlife that come to us.” Read more here

AUTONOMOUS BUSES

Israel has launched a two-year pilot programme in which four companies will operate self-driving public buses in a bid to ease road congestion. Read more here

ARCHAEOLOGY

Researchers in Israel have translated the first sentence ever discovered written in the ancient language of Canaanites on a nit comb. Made from ivory, a material found in the tusks of elephants, it reads: ‘May this tusk root out the lice of the hair and the beard.’ Read more here

SPORT

Israeli long-distance runner Lonah Chemtai Salpeter on Sunday came second in the New York City Marathon women’s race.Read more here

An Israeli marathon runner Moshe Lederfien caught the attention of spectators during the Sunday New York Marathon when he ran with a pineapple atop his head. He is “currently training with a watermelon.” Read more here

FOOTNOTE

ISRAEL’S ELECTION

Domestic Israeli politics are outside the scope of this Update.

However, for those who would like to know the final results, here’s a link: