Examples of continuous Israeli harassment/murder of Palestinians

[angelburst29]

Israelis vote in a national election on Tuesday. Polls show that veteran Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, seeking a fifth term in office, is best positioned in the tight race to win and head the next government. His decade-long dominance of Israeli politics has been the biggest issue of the campaign.

Explainer: Israeli parties running in the 2019 election

FILE PHOTO: Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara visit a market in Tel Aviv, Israel April 2, 2019. REUTERS/Tomer Appelbaum/File Photo

WHAT ARE THE POLLS SHOWING?
Recent polls have shown that the right-wing bloc led by Netanyahu will win a majority in the Knesset. But they also show a new centrist party headed by a popular former general emerging as the largest faction in parliament. Surveys detect many undecided voters who could swing the election either way.

HOW DOES THE ISRAELI ELECTION WORK?
The 120 Knesset seats are allocated by proportional representation to party lists. In order to win seats in the Knesset, a party must pass a threshold of at least 3.25 percent of the national vote, equivalent to 4 seats.

No single party has ever won an outright majority in the Knesset, making coalition governments the norm. After the election and consultations with party leaders, Israel’s president ask the candidate whom he judges has the best chance of forming a coalition to try and put together a government. That is usually the person heading the largest party, but not necessarily. That candidate has 28 days to form a government, with a possible 14-day extension. If he or she fails then the president tasks a different candidate with the job.

In the 2019 election, about 5.8 million Israelis are eligible to vote, according to the Israeli statistics bureau.

LIKUD, HEADED BY PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU
The biggest right-wing party in Israel is predicted to win about 29 seats. Likud champions tough security policies when it comes to Iran, Syria and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Many of its members oppose the creation of a Palestinian state. Netanyahu, in a last-minute election promise, said he would annex Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank if he wins another term. In the run-up to the vote, Likud has rallied around Netanyahu, who is facing possible indictment in three corruption cases in which he has denied any wrongdoing.

BLUE AND WHITE, HEADED BY FORMER MILITARY CHIEF BENNY GANTZ

Gantz has emerged as a serious rival to Netanyahu. His party is forecast to win 31 seats. Gantz is a popular former armed forces chief and a political newcomer. He joined forces with the right-wing Moshe Yaalon, a former defense minister, and centre-left former finance minister Yair Lapid to form the new centrist Blue and White party. Gantz has called for pursuing peace with the Palestinians while maintaining Israeli security interests. He has signaled he would make territorial concessions toward the Palestinians but has also sidestepped the question of Palestinian statehood. Gantz has vowed clean government, while at the same time giving mixed signals over whether he would join a Netanyahu-led coalition.

LABOUR, HEADED BY AVI GABBAY
Opinion polls have shown left-wing Labour, which governed Israel for decades, plummeting to 10 seats in the election from its current 18. Its campaign has stressed social and economic reform, as well as pursuing peace and a two-state solution with the Palestinians.

THE NEW RIGHT HEADED BY NAFTALI BENNETT AND AYELET SHAKED
Bennett, Israel’s education minister, and Justice Minister Shaked split from Israel’s national-religious faction to form a new far-right party that would appeal to more secular constituents. Polls presently show them winning 6 seats. Bennett calls for annexing most of the West Bank, offering autonomy to Palestinians. Shaked has vowed to “reign in” Israel’s supreme court which she has branded as too liberal and interventionist.

THE RIGHT WING UNION, HEADED BY RABBI RAFI PERETZ
Predicted to win 7 seats, Israel’s national-religious party is the most prominent political representative of Israeli settlers in the West Bank. It repudiates the idea of a Palestinian state and stresses Israel’s biblical and religious connections to land Palestinians seek for a state. The union includes Jewish Power, an ultra-nationalist religious party that includes disciples of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane who advocated the “transfer” of Palestinians to neighboring Arab countries and a ban on intermarriage between Jews and Arabs.

ZEHUT, HEADED BY MOSHE FEIGLIN
An ultra-nationalist religious party that has surged in the polls in recent weeks and is forecast to take around 6 seats - partly over its support for legalizing marijuana use. Zehut calls for the voluntary transfer of Palestinians to neighboring Arab states and bills itself as a libertarian force, pushing for a free market economy.

KULANU, HEADED BY FINANCE MINISTER MOSHE KAHLON
A former Likud member, Kahlon has partly come through on his pledge to halt soaring housing prices but has fallen short on dramatically reducing overall living costs. His party casts itself as moderate right-wing and has focused its campaign on socio-economic issues. Kulanu is expected to win only half of its current 10 seats.

ISRAEL BEITENU, HEADED BY AVIGDOR LIEBERMAN
The far-right party, which has counted on the support of immigrants from the former Soviet Union, has been teetering on the electoral threshold in recent polls. Moldovan-born Lieberman is a former defense minister whose policies include trading Arab towns in Israel to any future Palestinian state for territory in the West Bank where Jewish settlements have been built. He also wants to make loyalty to the state a condition for citizenship.

UNITED TORAH JUDAISM (UTJ), HEADED BY DEPUTY HEALTH MINISTER YAKOV LITZMAN

UTJ represents ultra-Orthodox Jews, or Haredim, of European origin and is seen winning about 6-7 seats in the Knesset. Successive coalition governments have had to rely on support from ultra-Orthodox parties, which traditionally put their sectoral demands above larger issues like security and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. UTJ is primarily concerned with safeguarding state benefits for Hared men who devote themselves to full-time religious study and do not serve in the conscript military or work.

SHAS, HEADED BY INTERIOR MINISTER ARYEH DERI
Allied with UTJ, SHAS (an acronym for Union of Sephardic Torah Observers) has like UTJ been an almost permanent fixture in successive governments and represents Haredi Jews of Middle Eastern origin. According to opinion polls, it will win 5-6 seats in parliament.

HADASH-TAAL, HEADED BY AYMAN ODEH AND AHMED TIBI

Predicted to take 7-8 seats in the Knesset, the socialist Jewish-Arab party draws most of its voters from Israel’s 20 percent Arab minority. It advocates an Arab-Jewish alliance to fight discrimination, racism and social inequality in Israel. Arab parties have never joined governing coalitions in Israel.

RAAM-BALAD, HEADED BY ABAS MANSOUR

Predicted to win 4 seats, Raam-Balad’s leaders are a mix of Islamist and Arab nationalists. It describes itself as a democratic movement opposed to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory.

MERETZ, HEADED BY TAMAR ZANDBERG
Predicted to win 5-6 seats in the Knesset, the left-wing party has not been part of a coalition government in the past two decades. Popular with liberal middle-class Israelis, the party advocates a two-state solution with the Palestinians.

Slideshow (12 Images)
Explainer: Israeli parties running in the 2019 election

Israel's election: first the vote, then the kingmaking

Israelis vote in a parliamentary election on Tuesday, choosing among party lists of candidates to serve in the 120-seat Knesset.

Israeli election: Far-right, pro-cannabis libertarian may be kingmaker

Moshe Feiglin, leader of Zehut, an ultra-nationalist religious party, poses for a selfie with supporters at an election campaign event in Tel Aviv, Israel April 2, 2019. Picture taken April 2, 2019. REUTERS/Corinna Kern

His political platform might be just a pipe dream - a heady mix of pot legalization and biblical temple reconstruction - but far-right candidate Moshe Feiglin could be a kingmaker in Israel's election on Tuesday.

Drawing support from alienated young voters, Feiglin’s new Zehut party has surged in the polls, which predict it could capture up to six of parliament’s 120 seats and perhaps tip the balance in coalition-building that will follow the ballot.

No single party has ever won a ruling majority on its own in Israel. Neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the right-wing Likud nor his main challenger, centrist Benny Gantz of Blue and White, have public assurances from Zehut that it will be on their side when they try to form a government.

Slideshow (5 Images)
Israeli election: Far-right, pro-cannabis libertarian may be kingmaker

 

[goyacobol]

Imagine this happening in the U.S. I doubt the aide to Israel would sound like such a good idea.

SOTT article:
Israeli troops storm Palestinian elementary school to arrest 9-year-old boy: It's 'becoming normal', locals say

The day before we met, human rights campaigner Aref Jaber recorded the arrest of a 9-year-old Palestinian boy, taken out of school in the West Bank city of Hebron by armed Israeli soldiers.

His footage shows soldiers inside Ziad Jaber elementary school, arguing with the school principal and other teachers, as they attempt to remove Zein Idris and his 7-year-old brother Taim.

At one point on the video, one of the teachers is told that if he does not let go of Zein, the soldier will break the teacher's arm.

The age of criminal culpability in Israel -- under both civilian and military law -- is 12, but when the principal points out that the brothers are just young children, an Israeli officer replies, "They threw stones, I don't care how old they are."

Taim was hidden in a classroom but, as the video shows, Zein was eventually frog-marched away and taken to an army vehicle.

According to the school and residents of the neighborhood, he was taken off to a nearby military post and held for just under an hour.

Describing the incident to CNN, the Israeli army spokesperson's unit said that a group of students had thrown stones toward cars belonging to residents of Israeli settlements in the city, and that soldiers then conducted a warning chat with the pupils.
The army disputed the suggestion it had made any arrests, but added that the incident will be investigated, and regulations clarified accordingly.

'You threw a stone'

When I visit Zein Idris, he is playing on the roof of the family house.

Sitting next to his mother, he tells me he was on his way out of school with Taim when they saw the soldiers running towards them, so they went back to school to hide.

"They ran into the school and arrested me. One of the soldiers screamed at me while twisting my ear and said, 'you threw a stone.' I told him I didn't, but he grabbed my shoulder and pushed me hard to the wall and kept me arrested for two hours."

Aref Jaber has lived in Hebron all his life. He documents as much as he can in the West Bank's largest Palestinian city with his video camera or his phone.

"The most dangerous thing," he says, "is that arresting children here is becoming normal."

 

[angelburst29]

This is going to be fun - to watch play-out? Netanyahu won't go down easy without an ugly fight!

Netanyahu, main challenger Gantz, both claim Israeli election victory

A combination picture shows Benny Gantz (left), leader of Blue and White party voting at a polling station in Rosh Ha'ayin and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voting at a polling station in Jerusalem during Israel's parliamentary election April 9, 2019. REUTERS/Nir Elias, Ariel Schalit/Pool via REUTERS

Both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main challenger Benny Gantz claimed victory in Israel’s election but exit polls and early results indicated on Wednesday the veteran right-wing leader was on course for a record fifth term.

Updated exit polls on two of Israel’s three main TV channels a few hours after voting ended on Tuesday showed Netanyahu’s Likud winning more parliamentary seats than Gantz’s centrist Blue and White Party. A third survey put Blue and White a seat ahead of Likud.

Though neither party captured a ruling majority in the 120-member Knesset, according to the polls, the surveys put Netanyahu in a stronger position to form a coalition government with right-wing factions, key to an ultimate victory.

Netanyahu’s prospects of becoming Israel’s longest-serving prime minister appeared to improve as the night went on. Partial results with 40 percent of votes counted gave Likud 40 seats, 10 more than in the previous election in 2015, and Blue and White 35, according to Kan public television and the Ynet news site.

“It is a night of colossal victory,” the 69-year-old Netanyahu told cheering supporters in a late-night speech at Likud headquarters, while cautioning that a “long night and possibly day” lay ahead awaiting official results.

Fireworks flared behind him as his wife Sara applauded and kissed him. “He’s a magician,” the crowd chanted.

Netanyahu said he had already begun talks with prospective coalition allies.

Netanyahu, in power consecutively since 2009, has been fighting for his political survival. The closely contested race was widely seen in Israel as a referendum on his character and record in the face of corruption allegations.

He faces possible indictment in three graft cases, and has denied wrongdoing in all three.

Rival Gantz, 59, earlier also claimed victory, citing preliminary exit polls that showed his party had won more seats than Likud.

“We are the victors,” said Gantz, a former military chief fighting his first election. “We want to thank Benjamin Netanyahu for his service to the nation.”

Political analysts cautioned it was too early to be certain of the outcome, with many hours to go before a final tally is in. Plus, Israeli exit polls have been wrong in the past.

Ofer Zalzberg, senior analyst with the International Crisis Group, said Likud and Blue and White would have to learn the fate of smaller parties to know whether they had garnered enough support for a coalition.

“Netanyahu is more likely to establish another right-wing government, but we will have to wait and see,” he said.

Slideshow (21 Images)
Netanyahu on course to win Israeli election: partial results

Partial results show Israel's Netanyahu on course to win election: Haaretz newspaper
Partial election results showed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on course to win a fifth term in office on Wednesday, despite a victory claim from his main rival, according to Haaretz newspaper.

Get out of the water and save me, Netanyahu tells election day beach-goers

Get out of the water and vote for me, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged beach-goers during an election day visit to the Mediterranean seashore on Tuesday.

 

[angelburst29]

I'm sure - everything was on the up n'up - no bribes, no arm twisting, no threats and no pay-off's?

April 10, 2019 - Israeli PM Netanyahu wins national election: CH 12 TV

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has won the Israeli national election, securing a record fifth term in office, TV Channel 12 said on Wednesday.

Israel's Netanyahu wins reelection with parliamentary majority: tally

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secured a clear path to reelection on Wednesday, with religious-rightist parties set to hand him a parliamentary majority despite a close contest against his main centrist challenger, a vote tally showed.

Tel Aviv shares up 0.5 percent with Netanyahu on course for election win

The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange's main indexes opened up 0.5 percent on Wednesday after results from Israel's general election indicated that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won another term.

 

[angelburst29]

Trump congratulates Israel's Netanyahu on election victory

U.S. President Donald Trump phoned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday to congratulate him on his re-election, and Netanyahu said he thanked his ally for "tremendous support for Israel."

Netanyahu's main election challenger concedes election defeat
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's main election challenger, the Blue and White party, on Wednesday conceded defeat in Israel's general election.

 

[angelburst29]

Israeli spacecraft Beresheet crashed onto the moon on Thursday after a series of technical failures during its final descent, shattering hopes of a historic controlled landing on the lunar surface.

Israeli spacecraft crashes onto moon after technical failures

An image taken by Israel spacecraft, Beresheet, upon its landing on the moon, obtained by Reuters from Space IL on April 11, 2019. Courtesy Space IL/Handout via REUTERS

The unmanned robotic lander suffered periodic engine and communications failures during the landing sequence, which lasted around 21 minutes, the support team said.

Beresheet, whose name is Hebrew for the biblical phrase ‘In the beginning’, had traveled through space for seven weeks in a series of expanding orbits around Earth before crossing into the moon’s gravity last week.

The final maneuver on Wednesday brought it into a tight elliptical orbit around the moon, around 15 km (9 miles) from the surface at its closest. From there it was a short, nail-biting and ultimately disappointing conclusion.

“It seems that a failure in our inertial measurements unit caused a chain of events in the spacecraft avionics which cut off the engines and caused us to lose the mission,” said Opher Doron, general manager of the space division at Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).

So far, only three nations have succeeded in carrying out a “soft”, or controlled, landing on the lunar surface: the United States, the Soviet Union and China.

Beresheet would have been the first craft to land on the moon that was not the product of a government program. It was built by state-owned IAI and Israeli non-profit space venture SpaceIL with $100 million funded almost entirely by private donors.

Still, the spacecraft achieved some milestones. “It is by far the smallest, the cheapest spacecraft ever to get to the moon,” said Doron. “It’s been an amazing journey, I hope we get a chance for another one.”

Shaped like a round table with four carbon-fiber legs, Beresheet stood about 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) tall. It blasted off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral on Feb. 21 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and entered Earth’s orbit about 34 minutes after launch.

Its circuitous flight path was around 4 million miles (6.5 million km). A direct route from the Earth to the moon covers roughly 240,000 miles (386,000 km).

 

[goyacobol]

Shaped like a round table with four carbon-fiber legs, Beresheet stood about 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) tall. It blasted off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral on Feb. 21 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and entered Earth’s orbit about 34 minutes after launch.

There's nothing like having your own "home grown" space launch for national pride I guess...

 

[angelburst29]

There's nothing like having your own "home grown" space launch for national pride I guess...

My guess, the space launch was 7 weeks prior to the Israeli election and Beresheet was purposely scheduled to land on the Moon, in celebration of Netanyahu's - highly anticipated - (rigged) election win? The successful landing would have added to the up-coming festive Passover gatherings ... but Beresheet went berserk and smashed hard upon impact! Considering, the $100 million project was funded almost entirely by private donors, one might be inclined to believe, he failed "to deliver the goods" and may owe some really big favors?

Explainer - Israeli election: with the final count in, who won and who lost?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won the backing of a majority of parliament members on Tuesday to form a new government, after the April 9 election.

Netanyahu passes threshold for nomination as Israel's premier

Israel's president said on Tuesday a majority of members of parliament had advised him to have Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu form a government after the April 9 election, effectively ensuring his nomination.

Israel's president starts consultations on prime minister nomination

Israel's president began post-election consultations on Monday with political parties that will lead to his appointment of a candidate to form a government.

 

[goyacobol]

Beresheet

I shouldn't do this but...you know what they say... "does the Beresheet in the woods?"

 

[angelburst29]

I shouldn't do this but...you know what they say... "does the Beresheet in the woods?"

April 14, 2019 - Bolsonaro Angers Israel by Saying Holocaust Can Be 'Forgiven'
Brazilian right-wing leader Jair Bolsonaro risked falling out with one of his closest allies over his off-hand "we can forgive, but we cannot forget" remark about the Holocaust after it sparked a fierce backlash in Israel.

April 15, 2019 - Bolsonaro Claims Holocaust Remarks Had ‘No Historical Context’ After Israeli Backlash
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro tried to explain the message behind his eyebrow-raising ‘Holocaust can be forgiven’ phrase was gravely distorted, and the following uproar is used to cause bad blood with his “Jewish friends”.

 

[angelburst29]

April 17, 2019 - 'Unlawful, Unrecognized': Twitter Heaps Criticism as US Maps Show Golan Heights as Part of Israel

The Donald Trump administration released a controversial new US government map of Israel that shows the Golan Heights in Syria as being part of Israel, much to the outrage of many online.

Special envoy to the Middle East, Jason Greenblatt, shared the updated map on Twitter on Tuesday, RT reported.

Israel occupied the Syrian region in the 1967 Six Day War and later annexed it in 1981 in a move that was not recognized by the international community or the UN Security Council.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1118234058872512518

President Donald Trump announced he was recognizing the Golan Heights as being part of Israel late last month, in the run up to Israel’s election in April.

Greenblatt tweeted that Trump had “instructed all agencies to take action to implement his decision. It’s a large process to update everything”.

The controversial move was met with criticism from the international community, which does not recognize Israel’s claim to the region, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others hailed the decision.

The updated map still refers to the West Bank as being “Israeli occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement; permanent status to be determined through future negotiations”, despite Netanyahu’s recent promise to impose Israeli sovereignty across West Bank settlements.

About 40,000 people live in the Golan, half are Druze and Alawites, and half are Jewish settlers.

 

[Ca.]

An interesting analysis of Israel's Iron Dome (by South Front). With comentray of the currrent tensions.

Israel's Magic Lamp: Iron Dome Missile Defense

Published on Apr 17, 2019 / 13:55

This video is based on an analysis released by SouthFront on On June 15, 2018: “Israel’s Iron Dome ABM System. Threats, Peculiarities and Development Prospects“

https://twitter.com/x/status/1118556978228363270

Did Israel use the supersonic Rampage to strike Iranian targets in Syria?

Israel allegedly struck an Iranian missile factory in Syria's Masyaf on Saturday.

www.jpost.com

Snip- 5-7 minute read:

Israel’s Air Force reportedly used the supersonic Rampage stand-off air-to-surface missiles for the first time during a strike on Iranian positions in Syria last week, foreign media has reported.

Israel allegedly struck a possible Iranian surface-to-surface missile factory in a Syrian base in the country’s Masyaf on Saturday and satellite images released by Israeli intelligence firm ImageSat Intl. (ISI) showed the complete destruction of the factory.

“The main industrial structures were completely destroyed, including the main hangar and the adjacent three production hangers and buildings. The rest of the structures were affected and damaged by the blast,” ISI said, adding that they “assess that all the elements and/or equipment which were inside are completely destroyed as well.”

According to Syria’s SANA news agency, Israeli jets fired the missiles from Lebanese airspace at about 2:30 a.m. Saturday.

The factory, ISI said, is located in the vicinity of other facilities likely linked to Iran’s SSM project in Syria, which have previously been struck in alleged Israeli strikes carried out over the past two years.

Dubbed “The Rampage” after a popular video-game, the missile is a supersonic, long range accurate air-to-ground assault missile with a warhead, rocket engine and advanced navigation suit which allows for precision targeting.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1117474575955185664

Israel’s air supremacy over Lebanon leaves Syria in serious trouble

BEIRUT, LEBANON (10:20 A.M.) - Israel's air supremacy over Lebanon has proven difficult for the Syrian military counter, especially when

www.almasdarnews.com

Mid Snip:

International Response?
Complaints to the international community, including the United Nations, have been pointless for both Syria and Lebanon, as the Israeli Air Force nearly violates Lebanese airspace on a daily basis without any consequences.

Lebanon is also in a bind because they are reliant on western nations, particularly U.N. Security Council members like the United States, France, and Great Britain, for weapons and military equipment.

All three of these western nations have expressed concerns over Hezbollah acquiring weapons from the Lebanese military, so the idea of supplying the latter with an adequate air defense system is out of question.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1118795591964921861

 

[angelburst29]

An interesting analysis of Israel's Iron Dome (by South Front). With comentray of the currrent tensions.

I can only envision - war activities intensifying - with Netanyahu given another couple years at the helm? He's on a invincible Power-high! In a rare photo op - notice that Israel actually "has a President" by the name of Reuven Rivlin. Guess who wields the Power?

Israeli president tasks Netanyahu with forming new government

Israel's President Reuven Rivlin hands a letter of appointment to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as he is entrusted with forming the next government, during their meeting at the President's residence in Jerusalem April 17, 2019. Ronen Zvulun

Israel's president on Wednesday nominated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to head the next government, after he won the backing of a majority of members of parliament following an April 9 election.

Netanyahu has 28 days, with a two-week extension if needed, to complete the task. If, as seems likely, he succeeds, he will become in July Israel’s longest-serving prime minister.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Ansarallah says that war with Israel is highly possible.

Hezbollah leader believes war with Israel is highly possible this summer
2019-04-19

 

[goyacobol]

notice that Israel actually "has a President" by the name of Reuven Rivlin. Guess who wields the Power?

In our warped MSM world who has even heard Reuven Rivlin's name mentioned. From some articles I have read he seems much more rational than Benjamin Netanyahu (but then who isn't more rational).