Palestinian officials said Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will propose to the U.N. Security Council to set a deadline for an Israeli withdraw to the pre-1967 borders, to pave the way for a Palestinian State as part his “day after” plan following the current conflict in the Gaza Strip.
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani told the visiting head of the UN nuclear watchdog said Tehran’s long-range missile program will not be discussed as part of talks aimed at resolving a decade-long nuclear dispute. Meanwhile, Iran’s foreign minister did not believe a final-status agreement would be made with the West by the time the next deadline comes in four months.
Israeli and Palestinian delegations restarted indirect talks in Cairo over the weekend, however Israeli officials were skeptical a truce could be reached by Monday’s midnight deadline. Over the weekend, Hamas threatened a “war of attrition” if its demands were not met. Meanwhile, Israel threatened “harsh strikes” if Hamas broke the ceasefire with any type of fire against the Jewish state and Israeli officials said “quiet and security’ will be restored ‘one way or another.’
The security cabinet convened in Tel Aviv on Friday morning to discuss the cease-fire agreement and negotiations taking place between Israel and the Palestinians in Cairo, the Jerusalem Post reported.
Jerusalem was hit with multiple terror attacks just before Tisha b’Av began. Riots broke out on the Temple Mount Monday morning when hundreds of masked Muslims stormed the holy site and injured at least five police officers. A few hours later, a Palestinian man seized a construction excavator, and mowed down and killed a pedestrian and injured six others, overturned a bus before being killed by police in the ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Shmuel Hanavi. Later, a soldier was seriously wounded at a bus stop after he was shot in the stomach by a man who fled on a motorcycle. During Tisha b’Av, Israeli police have heightened security throughout the capital.
As Operation Protective Edge enters its fifth week, Israel and Hamas have agreed to an Egyptian proposal for a 72-hour ceasefire beginning Tuesday morning.
As the conflict in Gaza entered its third week, pro-and-anti Israel rallies took place throughout the world. Since the beginning of the war, a surge in anti-Jewish hate crimes has taken place especially in Europe, leading to fears among Jewish communities that Europe is no longer a safe haven for its population.
Tensions intensified internationally as a U.N. run school was caught in the midst of a battle that left 19 Palestinians dead, and scores more injured. Nevertheless, Israel called up another 16,000 reservists as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) pressed forward with its campaign against Hamas vowing to destroy every terrorist tunnel. Meanwhile, the U.S. allowed Israel to resupply its grenades and mortar rounds from a U.S. munitions store located in Israel.
After U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry failed in bringing a ceasefire to the region, U.S. President Barack Obama called and urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayahu to agree to a ceasefire late Sunday night as Operation Protective Edge enters its 21st day. Since the beginning of the operation, 2,538 rockets have been fired into Israel. The death toll in Gaza move above 1,000, while the Israel Defense Forces have lost 43 soldiers.
Hundreds of Hamas terrorists planned to invade Israel through its tunnels on Rosh HaShannah, the Jewish New Year, which begins on September 24, however the terrorist attack was stopped as Hamas’ tunnel infrastructure was discovered by Israel Defense forces.
Israel sent ground forces into the Gaza Strip on Thursday evening to find and destroy terror tunnels and destroy Hamas’ infrastructure, Israeli officials said.
Israel accepted a Egyptian proposed ceasefire that went into effect at 9 AM, while Hamas’ armed wing rejected the offer completely saying it was “surrender.” If the ceasefire does not hold, Israel vowed to respond in force. Over the seven days of Operation Protective Edge, Israel has struck over 1,500 terrorist related targets in the Gaza Strip.
Israel attacked over 350 terror related sites in the Gaza Strip as the nation fell under a barrage of rockets, including Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. An extended operation is planned against Hamas as the the Israel Cabinet called up 40,000 reservists earlier in the day.
Israel is taking ‘significant steps’ in preparation for a Gaza campaign, military sources told the Jerusalem Post.
Hundreds of Palestinians attacked Israeli Police on the Temple Mount following Friday prayers resulting in at least five arrests.
Israel is planning to blowup the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem to prepare the way for a new Temple to be built on its ruins, Mahmoud al-Habash, the former Palestinian Authority (PA) Minister of Religious Affairs, claimed on Thursday.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu left Knesset members in shock this past Monday by suggesting that Israel would have to “separate” from the Palestinians, according to a report which appears in Friday editions of the nationalist-religious newspaper Makor Rishon.
The land of milk and honey is still living up to its name, according to data the Central Bureau of Statistics released Monday ahead of the Shavuot holiday. In 2013, total milk production in Israel stood at 1,435 million liters, a 2 percent increase over 2012.
The Palestinian Authority on Wednesday reiterated its position that east Jerusalem is the capital of the Palestinian state.
“Jerusalem is the heart of the nation. It will never be divided,” Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said. He spoke on Tuesday night, at Yeshivat Mercaz HaRav Kook, to mark the anniversary of the capital’s reunification, 47-years ago. From 1948 and until the Six-Day War in 1967, the city was split between Israel and Jordan.