​Israël vandaag - 27 juli 2017.
​(Israël vandaag zal voortaan in het Engels worden weergegeven. Gebruik de google-vertaling voor een beter begrip!).

ISRAEL EMBASSY SHOOTING IN JORDAN COMPLICATES TEMPLE MOUNT CRISIS:
 
A deadly shooting at Israel’s Embassy in Jordan further complicated Israeli government efforts on Mon. 24 July 2017 to find a way out of an escalating crisis over a major Jerusalem shrine, including mass Muslim prayer protests and Israeli-Palestinian violence. The shooting, in which an Israeli security guard killed two Jordanians after being attacked by one of them with a screwdriver, led to a diplomatic standoff between the two countries at a time when Jordan is heavily involved in efforts to defuse the crisis over the Jerusalem holy site. Jordan is the Muslim custodian of the shrine, which is the holiest site of Judaism, revered as the place where biblical Temples once stood. The 37-acre walled compound is the third holiest site of Islam, after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia. Following diplomatic tensions between the two countries and Jordan’s refusal to release Israel’s diplomatic staff from the Amman embassy, including the guard who killed the Jordanians, they were allowed to return to Israel late Mon. night, 25 July 2017. (Washington Times/J.Post)

ISRAEL REPLACING METAL DETECTORS WITH HI-TECH SURVEILLANCE:

 Israel began removing the metal detectors at Jerusalem’s Temple Mount that are being cited by the Muslim world as the cause for days of rioting and are replacing them with hi-tech cameras with thermal capabilities. More than $28 million has been allocated for the new system, which will include cameras capable of facial recognition and spotting weapons or explosives. The decision to capitulate on the magnetometers is believed to be tied to a proposal made by USA President Trump’s international negotiator, Jason Greenblatt, and included the situation caused by an incident in Jordan in which an Israeli embassy guard shot and killed two Palestinians working in the area who attacked him with a screwdriver. Jordanian officials refused to allow the embassy staff to leave when they were summoned to return to Israel in order to prevent further incidents in Amman.

Although it has been denied that the decision to remove the metal detectors was related to the incident in Jordan, it is believed that the solution was agreed to by Israeli PM Netanyahu and Jordan’s King Abdallah II in discussion with Greenblatt. Israel’s diplomatic staff from the Amman embassy, including the guard who killed the Jordanians, were allowed to leave and returned to Israel on 25 July 2017. (Reuters)

MUSLIM WORSHIPERS STILL REFUSING TO ENTER TEMPLE MOUNT: 
Despite the removal of metal detectors from the entrances to the Temple Mount, Muslim worshipers are still refusing to enter the compound. The worshipers said that they refused to enter the holy place and will continue to carry out violent protests until all security measures including cameras are removed from the site. On Mon. night 24 July 2017, the security cabinet issued a statement saying that it had adopted the recommendations of the various security services to remove the metal detectors in favor of the smart-cameras as well as “other measures.” The Cabinet had decided to allocate a budget of up to $28 million to implement new "smart check" technology over a time frame of up to six months. Until the smart-cameras and other requirements are in place, the numbers of police personnel at the site will be increased in order to ensure the safety of visitors to the Temple Mount. The decision to remove the metal detectors comes after a period of heightened tensions following a terrorist attack at the Temple Mount in which two police officers were murdered. The decision to erect the metal detectors was met with rioting and clashes from Arabs and Muslims in Israel and abroad. The crisis reached a peak when an Israeli embassy guard in Amman shot dead to two Jordanians in self defense after being attacked by one wielding a screwdriver, who managed to stab the guard twice before being shot and killed. (J.Post) 

SAUDIS MAKE MECCA PILGRIMS WEAR ELECTRONIC BRACELETS:
 
In Mecca, Saudi Arabia, there are 5,000 closed-circuit television cameras overseen by a British company, G4S. As a security measure, an electronic bracelet is attached to each of the millions of pilgrims throughout their entire stay in the kingdom, allowing the authorities to monitor them. (Ynet) There are metal detectors also at the Vatican, at Jerusalem's Western Wall, Westminster and hundreds of other vulnerable sites across the globe. Only Israel is singled out as not being able to protect itself against terrorist murders with preventative security devices. Palestinian leaders in every walk of life continue to condone, teach, honor and promote violence against the Jewish State and then bitterly protest when Israel takes up self-defense measures.

DANON: MURDERER OF SALOMON FAMILY WILL RECEIVE PA SALARY:
 
Israeli Ambassador to the UN strongly criticized the Palestinian Authority's response to this month's terrorist attacks in Israel ahead of a Security Council meeting on the recent violence over the Temple Mount. “The Salomon family had gathered for the most joyous occasion, the birth of a new grandson. Instead, the night ended in a massacre. They sat down to eat the Sabbath meal when the terrorist entered their home. He stabbed his victims to death, murdering Yosef, the seventy-year-old grandfather, his daughter Haya, and his son Elad, all while the children were hidden in a room,” said Ambassador Danon. “Instead of condemning this act of terror and calming the situation, the Palestinians are trying to spread the lie that this unspeakable act of violence is Israel’s fault. Do not believe these lies. The terrorist who murdered this family did so knowing that the PA will pay him thousands of dollars a month,” the Ambassador continued. “This attack is not an isolated incident. It is part of a wave of terror sweeping the free world by those brainwashed by hateful teachings. They are taught that violence and coldblooded murder is holy. The Security Council must demand that Mahmoud Abbas and the PA act immediately to end the terror and incitement before the lives of more innocent victims are lost,” Ambassador Danon concluded. (Arutz-7) 

EU TOP COURT RULES HAMAS TO STAY ON ITS LIST OF TERROR GROUPS: 

The Court of Justice of the European Union on Wed. 26 July 2017 decided to keep Hamas on the EU blacklist of terrorist organizations. The court thus surprisingly disqualified a 2014 ruling by a lower EU court that said Hamas should be removed from the list, a move that sparked vehement protests from the Israeli government at the time. EU Ambassador to Israel Lars Faaborg-Andersen welcomed the decision. “The current listing of Hamas remains in force and the European Union continues to consider Hamas a terrorist organization,” he said. "All restrictive measures against the group - an asset freeze and a ban against soliciting or mobilizing funds - remain in force," he added. (Times of Israel)

TRUMP: HEZBOLLAH TERRORIST GROUP A ‘MENACE’ TO THE MIDDLE EAST:
 
USA President Trump on Tues. 25 July 2017 hosted Lebanon's PM Saad Hariri at the White House. In a press conference with Hariri, Trump called Hezbollah a threat to the entire Middle East and accused the group and Iran of fueling a humanitarian disaster in Syria. “Hezbollah continues to increase its military arsenal which threatens to start yet another conflict with Israel. With the support of Iran, the organization is also fueling humanitarian catastrophe in Syria," he added. Trump also praised Lebanon's efforts to prevent ISIS and other jihadist groups from gaining a foothold inside their country and promised continued American help. Hariri said he hopes the partnership between the USA and Lebanon against terrorism will continue until terrorists are defeated. Trump responded, "We will do that.” The USA leader failed however to acknowledge the fact that Hezbollah is a member of Hariri's government. (Arutz-7)

1600-YEAR-OLD STONE WINE PRESS FOUND IN RAMAT NEGEV:
 
Maintenance work in Israel’s Ramat Negev regional council led to the accidental discovery of a spacious stone wine press from the early Byzantine period. The discovery was made as part of a salvage operation led by Yoram Haimi, the archaeologist in charge of the South-Negev region. Hari and his team unearthed a 40 x 40 meters wine press (131 x 131 feet) complete with a stone pressing floor, a separation pit and a fermentation pool that could contain six and half cubic meters (6,500 liters) of wine. Haimi spoke to reporters while supervising the ancient wine press which is to kept hidden until the local council will decide what to do with it.

​“Wine making at the time was done using human labor”, he said, “the workers would step on the grapes, then the pulp would be delivered to a basin where the clear liquid would surface and the dregs sink. This clear liquid is the tirush (unfermented) wine most Israelis associate with childhood Seder meals. The tirush would be moved to fermentation pots. Negev wines were held at a very high esteem at the time, like the boutique wines of today,” said Haimi. Wine production in the region went smoothly until a plague in the sixth century led to the decline of wine making in Southern Israel. The wine industry came to halt with the Arab conquest of the Levant and the end of the Byzantine period. The site had been covered to ensure it is protected until its future is decided upon. “Ideally, it would be open to the pubic”, said Rasyuk. (J.Post)