Israel Update 17.11.22

 

TERRORIST ATTACK

 

A Palestinian (18) employed at a factory in the  West Bank city of Ariel, killed three Israelis and wounded three others in a series of attacks on Tuesday. He first attacked the Israeli guard at the entrance to the industrial zone, then stabbed three more people at a nearby gas station. He then stole a car, intentionally collided with another vehicle on a nearby highway and struck a person. He was eventually shot.Read more here

 

The victims of Tuesday’s terror attack are Tamir Avichai, 50, a father of six who resided in Kiryat Netafim; Michael Ledigin, 36, a father of two who lived in Bat Yam; and Mordecai Ashkenazi, 59, a father of three from Yavne. Read more here

 

 

ISRAEL AT COP 27

 

 

Israeli companies EV Motors and GenCell presented their breakthrough hydrogen-based, off-grid hybrid charging station for electric vehicles…The new charging station received a lot of attention from the heads of delegations and the energy ministries of Egypt, Italy, Belgium and the UAE.Read more here

 

 

At COP27, as world leaders try to thrash out agreements that are largely symbolic and non-binding, Israel has been showcasing climate-tech startups that are making a difference here and now, the first time Israel, or any country, has brought along 10 climate tech startups to demonstrate the impact they’re already having. One company, Tomorrow.io a startup in the Israeli delegation that uses AI-powered software to provide predictive and actionable weather insights, announced a partnership with Microsoft at COP27. They will bring both of their technologies together to support governments, businesses, and farmers in Africa in adapting to climate change.  Read more here

 

 

DeserTech, an Israeli platform for climate technologies geared to dry and desert climates, launched a programme to partner with the Global Mechanism of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and the 11 African countries leading the “Great Green Wall” movement, an African-led initiative aimed at rehabilitating 100 hectares (over 385,000 square miles) of degraded land across the Sahel region by 2030, generating millions of jobs, and capturing 250 million tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.  Read more here

 

 

 ELECTRIC CAR CHARGING

 

 

Israel’s Zooz Power is to be installed at New York’s La Guardia airport. The Lod-based startup, has developed a technology for fast charging electric vehicles in places where the power grid is not up to handling multiple cars at once by deploying a unique flywheel technology to boost the capabilities of an existing power grid by up to three times. Read more here

 

 

IRANIAN THREAT

 

Iranian Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) Aerospace Force, said that Iran had obtained technology for hypersonic missiles that could reach Israel in 400 seconds. Hypersonic missiles travel at a speed of Mach 5 or greater and are manoeuverable, giving them the ability to dodge defense systems and evade radar. Read more here

 

 

Israel has been working with the U.S. Missile Defence Agency to counter the threat of hypersonic missiles. “Hypersonic missiles are not yet a threat in the region but they are a big concern,” said one senior IDF officer.There is still no system that can intercept hypersonic missiles. Read more here

 

 

The security services in Georgia on Tuesday reported that they had thwarted an assassination attempt on an Israeli businessman living there. They said that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corp planned the attack using a Pakistani hit squad affiliated with Al-Qaeda which had arrived in Tbilisi. One of the hitmen was arrested and found to be in possession of weapons and other incriminating items. Two people with dual Georgian and Iranian citizenship, allegedly responsible for providing the Pakistani assailants with weapons, were also arrested. Read more here

 

 

The Israeli-owned Pacific Zircon tanker was attacked in the Gulf of Oman on Tuesday with the same series of Iranian suicide drones as those used by Russia against Ukraine, the  US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed. “This unmanned aerial vehicle attack against a civilian vessel in this critical maritime strait demonstrates, once again, the destabilizing nature of Iranian malign activity in the region,” said CENTCOM commander General Kurilla.      Read more here

 

Footnote:

New intelligence collected from downed Iranian drones in Ukraine shows that a majority of the aircrafts’ parts are manufactured by companies in the U.S., Europe and other allied nations. Despite Iran being the target of comprehensive sanctions, Ukrainian intelligence estimates that 3/4 of the components in the Iranian drones downed in Ukraine are American-made. Read more here

 

GLOBAL INVESTMENT FORUM IN MOROCCO

 

The conference is sponsored by the Jerusalem Post Group and its media partners – Global Media Holdings in Morocco and the Khaleej Times in the UAE.

Among Israeli companies participating are:

Mekorot, Israel’s national water corporation. The company’s CEO said “Mekorot is an example of success in the efficient and smart management of the water sector, …our systems are known for providing sufficient water supply with very little water loss, alongside minimal energy consumption in the production and supply process.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed today 17/11 during the Forum, between Morocco’s National Office for Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE) and Mekorot to establish a framework for the development of co-operation between the two institutions in the areas of drinking water and liquid sanitation. Read more here Read more here

 

 

NewMed Energy the largest, oldest and most experienced energy group in Israel, which brought natural gas to Israel at the beginning of the millennium. The company is engaged in the exploration, development, production and sale of natural gas and condensate.         Read more here

 

 

Netafim,the world’s largest irrigation company and the global leader in precision irrigation solutions. Founded in 1965 Netafim pioneered the drip revolution, creating a paradigm shift toward precision irrigation – which drives sustainability across the entire food chain, increases water efficiency in farming by more than 50% and promotes more environmental cultivation of crops, including reducing the number of greenhouse gases generated and the amount of fertilizer required. Read more here

 

 

ENVIRONMENT

 

Israel is forging ahead with a plan to protect sections of its 118-mile coastline, a measure experts say is crucial to maintain biodiversity and shield ecosystems from humanity. Rosh Hanikra, is the centrepiece of this effort, providing what scientists believe can be a blueprint for rescuing seas ravaged by pollution, overfishing and climate change.Read more here

 

 

RESEARCH

 

People who regularly run or engage in other aerobic exercise cut their chance of developing some cancers by 72%, according to research from Tel Aviv University. Aerobic exercise makes some organs so efficient at grabbing sugar that is in the body that tumours are left starved of glucose, and often unable to grow and spread, the peer-reviewed  research published last week suggested.Read more here

 

 

SAVE A CHILD’S HEART

 

Save a Child’s Heart has operated on children from 64 countries around the world and has brought more than 6,000 children to Israel from developing countries and countries with whom Israel does not have diplomatic relations. Now, thanks to a collaboration with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Israeli embassy in Pretoria, the organization has expanded its activities to include Mauritius and recently saved the life of a one-year-old Mauritian toddler with a complex heart condition.Read more here

 

 

 

MEDICAL INNOVATION

 

 

Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Centre (Ichilov) has successfully used Imagene, an Israeli AI platform to deliver instant accurate genomic analysis to two brain cancer patients, eliminating days they would have spent waiting before getting treatment for their brain cancer. Read more here

 

 

 

DEFENCE

 

 

Israeli defence electronics company Elbit Systems Ltd  announced that it has been awarded a contract to supply electronic warfare and airborne laser technologies to protect military helicopters of a country in Asia-Pacific. The contract, worth $200 million, will be implemented over four years.      Read more here

 

 

The vice-president of marketing for India at Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), says he is working closely with the Indian Army and Indian Air Force to tailor solutions for their defence needs. This includes the Heron MK II, a state-of-the-art UAV that can fly at a height of 35,000 feet, cover a radius of 1,000 km., see through dense clouds, work in bad weather and fly for 45 hours.    Read more here

 

 

SPACE

 

NASA’s new moon rocket blasted off early Wednesday on its debut flight with an Israeli experiment aboard. As part of the uncrewed Artemis I mission, Israel’s StemRad will assess the protective qualities of the AstroRad, an anti-radiation suit co-developed with Lockheed Martin to protect vital organs from harmful gamma radiation, on mannequins aboard the Orion. StemRad is a developer of radiation protection suits for space explorers, emergency responders, defence forces, nuclear industry workers and medical personnel. Read more here

 

 

 

ECONOMY

 

Credit rating agency S&P has kept Israel’s favourable rating unchanged at AA- with a “stable” outlook,  and forecast that Israel’s economy will grow by a strong six % this year, but that global economic trends would hamper growth in 2023 to an estimated 2%. Last month, the Bank of Israel forecast Israel’s GDP growth at 6% in 2022, and 3% in 2023, as the country  continues to grapple with inflation. Read more here

 

 

THE P.A.

 

While calling on the rest of the world to boycott Israel, the Palestinians maintain substantial levels of trade with Israel. Monthly trade reports published by the PA Central Bureau of Statistics show the importance of that trade.  In August 2022, goods purchased by Palestinians from Israel constituted 56% of all the goods imported to the Palestinian market. Goods sold by Palestinians to Israel constituted over 90% of all goods exported. Read more here

 

 

ESTONIA

 

 

The Estonian public broadcaster reported Monday that Estonia has changed its policy toward Israel and will no longer vote for UN resolutions condemning it. Read more here

 

 

COMMENT & OPINION

 

 

Yoni Ben Menachem (Jerusalem Centre for Public Affairs):
A number of new Palestinian terrorist groups have formed in Nablus and Jenin in the West Bank. In addition to the Lions’ Den, there is the Nablus Battalion and the Balata Battalion in Nablus and the Wasp’s Nest in Jenin.
Security officials in Israel estimate that terrorist activity in the West Bank will increase in the coming days as the terrorist organizations try to challenge the new Netanyahu government. Read more here