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Visit our Web site: www.bridgesforpeace.com | August 25, 2011 |
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1. Rocket Hurts Baby; IDF Hits Gaza Arms Depot2. Israel: Palestinian Failure to Condemn Terror Raises Questions3. IDF Investigation: Egyptians Took Part in Attack near Eilat4. Slain Police Sniper Laid to Rest5. "I Was Too Scared to Move"6. Western Wall Area to Be Turned into Arab Housing Neighborhood7. West Anxious over Libya's Chemical Weapons Caches8. At Long Last, the Light Railway Moves
1. Rocket Hurts Baby; IDF Hits Gaza Arms Depot
At least 20 rockets were fired at Israel's southern communities since Wednesday evening [August 24] with calm nowhere in sight. A rocket fired at Ashkelon Wednesday evening exploded near a house in the Hof Ashkelon Regional Council. A nine-month-old baby was hit by glass splinters and sustained light to moderate wounds. He was taken to the Barzilai Medical Center. A vehicle caught fire and damage was also caused to several structures.
The IDF [Israel Defense Forces] responded in force early Thursday, killing two Palestinians and wounding at least 20 in an airstrike on what the army said was an arms depot in the northern Gaza Strip. Earlier, Palestinian sources said the site hit in the strike was an Islamic Jihad social club.
"We heard the rocket's impact, ran to the fortified shelter and only then noticed that the baby had been wounded by the glass debris," family members of the nine-year-old baby said. "The family was home but did not hear the alarm. It was very frightening. We hope it will be the last attack in our community," one family member said.
The baby was hurt when he was in his room while the other children were in the fortified shelter. "One cannot be in the fortified shelter all the time. It's not a matter of not being responsible," he said.
Earlier, another rocket exploded inside the local council and a third hit Ashkelon's southern industrial zone. No injuries or damage were reported. The Iron Dome system intercepted a fourth rocket fired at Ashkelon. Additional Grad rockets were fired at Beersheba shortly after midnight. One landed north of the city around 2 am, causing no damage or injuries.
In addition, a rocket fired at Beersheba was intercepted by the Iron Dome system prompting a loud blast. Two mortar shells landed in an open field at the Eshkol Regional Council. No injuries or damage were reported. Several minutes later, Palestinians reported that the IDF hit a cell launching rockets east of Shuja'iyya in the Gaza Strip. Several victims were taken to hospital as the IDF mounted its third strike in Gaza in less than 24 hours.
After midnight, Gaza sources said the Air Force struck a Rafah smuggling tunnel, wounding several people seriously. The army later confirmed the report, adding that it also struck an arms production facility in the area
Following the latest bout of rocket fire on the city, Beersheba Mayor Beersheba Mayor Rubik Danilovitch appealed to local residents to "continue showing vigilance, listen to directives and not rely on the Iron Dome system which managed to intercept the rocket this time around. We are in a situation where terror is being carried out against residents of the south, something we cannot agree to and cannot accept as routine."
(Excerpts of an article by Ynetnews, August 25, 2011)
Prayer Focus
Pray that the Lord will intervene to bring this violence to an end. Pray that the international community will stand behind Israel's right to defend herself against these attacks that make a mockery of ceasefire agreements.
Scripture
"But I know your dwelling place, our going out and your coming in, and your rage against Me. Because your rage against Me and your tumult have come up to My ears, therefore I will put My hook in your nose and My bridle in your lips, and I will turn you back by the way which you came" (2 Kings 19:27-28).
2. Israel: Palestinian Failure to Condemn Terror Raises QuestionsJERUSALEM - Following last Thursday's [August 18] vicious multi-stage terror attack, which resulted in the deaths of eight Israelis and included attacks on civilian vehicles, Israeli Prime Minister's Office spokesman Mark Regev said the lack of a formal condemnation of the terror from the Palestinian leadership in the West Bank raises "serious questions."
Regev, speaking by phone with The Mideast Update, also noted the contrast between the Arab League's condemnation of Israel's military response in Gaza to the terror coming from there and their weak critique of Syria's brutality against its own people.
While Gaza has launched dozens of rockets at Israel since Thursday and is believed to have been the origin of Thursday's terror attack, the separate Palestinian leadership in the West Bank, led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, has so far issued repeated critiques of Israel for their targeted military response to terror in Gaza without formally condemning the terror attack that began the escalation.
Said Regev of the West Bank leaders, "The Palestinian leadership's failure to condemn last Thursday's terrorist attack in the south - which was the deliberate targeting of civilians by terrorists - raises serious questions as to their stated readiness for independence and their commitment to fight terrorism."
The concerns raised by Israel come less than a month before the Palestinians are expected to try and go to the United Nations to seek statehood recognition outside of a peace deal with Israel. While the Palestinians have said such a step can work with negotiations afterwards, Israel feels it would formalize hard-line Palestinian positions on a deal, making compromise even more difficult. The US, Germany and others have also expressed their opposition to the move.
The WAFA Palestinian news agency reported that the Arab League, which has endorsed the Palestinian UN move, condemned Israel's actions in Gaza. Regev said in response, "The Arab League, which put out a very, very mild statement about Syria, where the regime there butchers its people, has no qualms whatsoever about putting an extreme statement about Israel, when everyone knows that this whole escalation was triggered by the fact that terrorists crossed into Israel from an Arab League member. The aggression was launched from an Arab League country. That they've conveniently forgotten."
"The Prime Minister [Benjamin Netanyahu] has instructed the military to make every effort to avoid harming Gaza civilians. Ultimately, they are not our enemy," said Regev. "Our goal is to target as surgically as is possible those directly responsible for firing rockets upon Israeli civilians." Regev said the Israeli military activities are also intended to prevent Gaza rocket and missile fire on Israeli cities.
(Excerpts of an article by Joshua Spurlock, www.themideastupdate.com, August 22, 2011)
Prayer Focus
Pray that the Palestinian Authority's failure to condemn these horrific attacks will strengthen the resolve of the nations to stand against the PA unilateral bid for statehood recognition in September.
Scripture
"Do not be envious of evil men, nor desire to be with them; for their heart devises violence, and their lips talk of troublemaking. Through wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established" (Proverbs 24:1-3).
3. IDF Investigation: Egyptians Took Part in Attack near EilatThe IDF [Israel Defense Forces] did everything in its power to prevent Egyptian troops from getting hurt in last Thursday's [August 18] multiple terror attacks near Eilat, inquiries conducted by both the IDF and the Egyptian army showed. The IDF also found that at least three of the terrorists were Egyptian citizens. Head of the General Staff's Planning Branch Amir Eshel, who traveled to Cairo early this week to present to Egyptian officials the findings of the IDF's initial investigation, even brought photographic evidence to the fact.
The evidence shows that contrary to Egyptian media reports, the IDF's attack helicopters avoided hitting Egyptian military vehicles and troops stationed at the border. Videos shot from the aircraft show that the troops intentionally diverted fire from the Egyptian all-terrain vehicles and soldiers towards open areas near the border base, from which the terrorist sniper fire originated.
The terrorists, who positioned themselves a few dozen meters from the Egyptian military post, launched an RPG rocket at one of the helicopters and directed machine gun fire at it. In addition, an examination of the bodies of the terrorists killed by the IDF clearly showed that at least three of them were Egyptian citizens.
One was a member of a radical Egyptian group who was tried in the country. He escaped from prison during the first days of the Egyptian revolution, when several Cairo prisons were broken into as hundreds of imprisoned Jihadist terrorists escaped to Sinai. Many had also reached the Gaza Strip and Egypt is demanding that Hamas extradite them.
The Egyptian terrorists joined Palestinian operatives from the Popular Resistance Committees and together they perpetrated the coordinated attacks. Israel also has further proof that joint Palestinian-Egyptian terror cells were in Sinai for weeks and were assisted by Bedouins in the region.
Also according to the IDF investigation, the Egyptian troops noticed the presence of the terrorists even before the attack was launched, but did nothing about it. Only later that evening did an officer and a few soldiers leave their post, evidently to stop the ongoing sniper fire. The terrorists, who were wearing uniforms similar to those of the Egyptian army, resisted.
Possibly at this moment, when the troops and the operatives merged together, the Egyptian soldiers were shot. It remains unclear who fired the deadly shots, as the soldiers' bodies have yet to be autopsied by the Egyptian authorities.
Israel has photographic evidence that GOC Southern Command Maj.Gen. Tal Russo personally ordered the forces fighting on the ground and in the air to be careful not to hit the Egyptian military post and its soldiers.
Israel was aware of these facts last week, but decided against releasing them in order to avoid embarrassing the Egyptian army and to dodge a media dispute over the versions of the events. However, the information was submitted to Egypt's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which in turn invited an IDF representative, Maj.-Gen. Eshel, to present the findings in Cairo. Some of the findings were published in an Egyptian newspaper on Wednesday.
The Israeli authorities are aware that the Egyptian interim government is under great pressure to sever the diplomatic ties with Israel. One of the primary reasons that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Defense Minister Ehud Barak and the eight-minister forum decided against ordering an intensive military retaliation against the terrorist movements firing rockets from Gaza on Saturday night was their desire to avoid further damage to the relations with Egypt.
It was clear that such an operation can ignite the rage of the Egyptian public and result in further pressure from the Muslim Brotherhood to annul the peace accord with Israel.
Netanyahu and Barak, backed by most of the top ministers, decided instead to wait for a window of opportunity that would allow them to eradicate the rocket fire and terror acts from Gaza - after the spirits have calmed down.
Meanwhile, the IDF continued with its new policy of thwarting any operations planned by terror groups in Gaza and Sinai. As part of the strategy, an Islamic Jihad operative was killed n the Rafah region early Wednesday morning. According to intelligence obtained by Israel, the operative was planning an attack that was to be launched from Sinai.
Moreover, official sources in Egypt told the daily newspaper Al-Shorouk that the Egyptian army has mapped out the tunnel network connecting the Gaza Strip and Sinai ahead of shutting them down. According to the report, bolstered Egyptian forces secured their side of the border in and around Rafah, and vigorously searched individuals crossing the border.
(By Ron Ben-Yishai, Ynetnews, August 24, 2011)
Prayer Focus
The regime change in Egypt has put Israel in an extremely difficult position. Pray that the Lord will move to stabilize relations between the two countries while motivating the Egyptians to end terror operations from their side of the border.
Scripture
"Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name. Let Your mercy, O LORD, be upon us, just as we hope in You" (Psalm 33:20-22).
4. Slain Police Sniper Laid to RestHundreds paid their final respects to legendary sharpshooter Pascal Avrahami,
killed in the murderous terror spree which plagued Israel's south Thursday (August 18). Pascal Avrahami, 49, a police sniper who was killed in Thursday's terror attacks on southern Israel, was laid to rest on Friday, at the Mount Herzl Cemetery in Jerusalem.
Avrahami was killed by terrorist fire near the Egyptian border, while Defense Minister Ehud Barak and IDF [Israel Defense Forces] Chief of Staff Benny Gantz briefed journalists nearby. The briefing had followed a blood-drenched day, in which multiple terror attacks near Eilat left eight people dead and dozens injured.
Hundreds of people - friends, relatives and fellow officers, including Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch, Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino, all members of the police's top brass, as well as YAMAM officers past and present - arrived at the cemetery to pay their final respects.
Avrahami was a legendary sharpshooter with YAMAM (the Israeli SWAT Unit) and was the police force's elite anti-terror unit's most veteran sniper. A decorated officer, Avrahami was awarded the police medal of valor in 1990 and in 1995 received the medal of distinguished service.
"The Israel Police and the State of Israel bow their heads before the bravery of this man, who gave his life for us," Police Commissioner Danino eulogized. "We have lost a brave warrior who fought fearlessly. There is no doubt that the YAMAM team's actions saved lives yesterday," he said.
Avrahami's commander spoke next: "We're standing here, unable to fathom the loss of YAMAM's number one officer...You did not hesitate yesterday, didn't falter for one moment and your heroic actions saved many lives.
"You were the pillar of fire showing us the way. We promise to carry on with your
work." Tal Avrahami also eulogized his father: "Why is it that God always takes away the very best? I'm sure there is no one up there like you.
"You were a role model for us and the entire people of Israel. A real hero. Many people are alive because of you and they don't even know it…You are the salt of the earth, the pride of the family. I promise that we will be strong for you. Give us the strength and watch over us from heaven, as you did on earth."
Avrahami was also a French national, and several representatives of the French Embassy attended the funeral service. French Foreign Minister Alain Juppé denounced the terror attack, saying that "nothing can justify such acts, which took place while every effort should be focused on achieving peace." Avrahami is survived by a wife and three children.
(By Omri Ephraim, Ynetnews, Aug 19, 2011)
Prayer Focus
Pray that the Lord will comfort the family of this Israeli hero and other soldiers who were wounded or killed during this week's violence. Pray that the Lord will protect all those who are commissioned to protect His people.
Scripture
"Moreover the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD binds up the bruise of His people and heals the stroke of their wound" (Isaiah 30:26).
5. "I Was Too Scared to Move"A woman injured in one of Thursday's [August 18] terror attacks recalled the moments of horror from her hospital bed, saying she pretended to be dead after terrorists fired at the car her husband was driving in order to escape being shot at again.
"I couldn't move because I was afraid that the terrorist would see and shoot us again. There was blood on the floor, and I heard my husband gasping. I saw that his shirt was soaked in blood. I was afraid to call to him," she said. The couple was driving back from a vacation in Eilat when they were caught in a terrorist ambush.
"We saw cars stopping. We were told that Egyptian soldiers were shooting. After a few minutes a military jeep came, and the soldiers told us to continue driving. But we didn't understand them correctly. They told us to go back, but we continued straight ahead," she said. Moments later, they saw three figures behind them, one of whom began shooting at their car.
"In retrospect, there must have been an observer who warned him that we were coming," she said. "I screamed, bent over and shielded my face. It was an instinct." Her husband, who was driving, tried to avoid the bullets, but lost control of the steering wheel. The car flipped over.
"I prayed quietly that they would stop shooting at us," the woman recalled. "The radio was on…The songs continued to play while we heard a fire exchange between the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] and the terrorists. It was close to us."
They lay there for over an hour. At one point, the pressure of the seat belt became unbearable, and the woman reached for her bag and took out her cell phone. She called her son and asked him to call for help. Moments later, soldiers arrived and rescued them.
(Excerpts of an article by Ilana Curiel, Ynetnews, August, 18, 2011)
Prayer Focus
Pray for swift healing for the civilians that were wounded in the attacks and comfort for the families of those who were killed. Pray that the Lord will move to protect every citizen of Israel from any plan to terrorize, maim or kill.
Scripture
"You [God], who have shown me great and severe troubles, shall revive me again, and bring me up again from the depths of the earth. You shall increase my greatness, and comfort me on every side" (Psalm 71:20-21).
6. Western Wall Area to Be Turned into Arab Housing NeighborhoodOfficial Palestinian Authority TV broadcast a documentary which stated that the PA plans to build an Arab residential area in place of the Western Wall Plaza in Jerusalem, "when they [Israelis] disappear from the picture, like a forgotten chapter in the pages of our city's history."
The Western Wall, a remnant of the Temple Mount, is Judaism's holiest and most important prayer site. The PA TV documentary further rejected the Jewish connection to Jerusalem, referring to Jewish history as "their false history," while the Jews' praying at the Western Wall was called "sin and filth." The following is the transcript of the excerpt of the PA TV documentary:
"They [Israelis] know for certain that our [Palestinian] roots are deeper than their false history. We, from the balcony of our home, look out over [Islamic] holiness and on sin and filth [Jews' praying at Western Wall] in an area that used to have [Arab] people and homes. We are drawing our new maps. When they [Israelis] disappear from the picture, like a forgotten chapter in the pages of our city's history, we will build it anew [residential area]. The Mughrabi Quarter will be built here [on the Western Wall Plaza]." PA TV (Fatah) August 10, 2011.
(By Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Ziberdik, Palestinian Media Watch, August 17, 2011)
Prayer Focus
Pray that this outrageous historical revisionism will be exposed for the dangerous propaganda that it is. Pray that the nations of the world will join with Israel in telling the Palestinian people the truth.
Scripture
"For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is destruction; their throat is an open tomb; they flatter with their tongue. Pronounce them guilty, O God! Let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions, for they have rebelled against You" (Psalm 5:9-10).
7. West Anxious over Libya's Chemical Weapons CachesWASHINGTON - As the world watches deposed Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi's forces take their last stand in Tripoli, western intelligence officials are trying to follow the trail of Libya's chemical weapons arsenal, and especially its mustard gas caches. In an interview with CNN, United States Envoy to the UN Susan Rice said that the US was taking steps to prevent the weapons from falling into the wrong hands.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague told the BBC that there were many dangers in store for the Libyan people in the days ahead, adding that regime loyalists "have a great deal of weapons...thousands of fighters are still receiving salaries from Gaddafi."
Most of Libya's chemical weapons are held at a facility located in Rabta, south of Tripoli. Western analysts believe that the country's WMD (weapons of mass destruction) arsenal alone contains some 10 tons of various chemical agents which can inflict grave damage. It is also believed that Gaddafi was in possession of Scud-B missiles, over 1,000 tons of uranium powder and mass quantities of conventional weapons.
Over the last few weeks, US, British and French diplomats have been holding talks with senior members of the Libyan Interim National Council (NTC) over ways to secure the chemical weapons arsenal immediately after the fall of Gaddafi's regime.
The Americans and their NATO partners are observing Libya via satellite, drones and other aircraft used to gather intelligence. The US and other countries also have intelligence personnel placed on the ground in Libya, tasked with aiding Libyan opposition factions in securing the chemical weapons' sites. It is possible that NATO has personnel placed within the arsenals themselves, though this has not been confirmed.
Libya had previously signed a historic agreement with the George W. Bush administration, under which it must take action to destroy its WMDs in exchange for normalizing ties with the US.
Gaddafi sent the US the blueprints of the infrastructure for his nuclear plan and destroyed all long range missiles. He also destroyed 3,300 aircraft designed to disperse the chemical weapons.
In 2004 Tripoli joined the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) yet US sources claim that Libyan plans to halt production of chemical weapons and destroy chemical weapons arsenals were held up due to disputes between Libya and the US over funding an logistics.
(By Yitzhak Benhorin, Ynetnews, August 23, 2011)
Prayer Focus
Any such chemical weapons or weapons of mass destruction could seriously threaten the whole Middle East region, and particularly Israel, should they fall into the wrong hands. Pray that the forces on the ground in Libya will be successful in locating and properly disposing of all such weapons.
Scripture
"Hear my cry, O God; attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For You have been a shelter for me, a strong tower from the enemy" (Psalm 61:1-3).
8. At Long Last, the Light Railway MovesTen years and US $1.4 billion later the Jerusalem light railway finally accepted its first passengers today (August 19), albeit traveling for now free of charge. Much of the delay in opening the line was due to the fact that the city had to keep going during the infrastructure phase of construction.
This construction also revealed archaeological remains that had to be checked, ancient graves and objections from Palestinians living in east Jerusalem who did not like the idea that such a train line linked their neighborhoods with the west of the city.
In the short term travel on the light railway will be free of charge. During this running-in period final technical problems, such as the phasing of traffic signals will be completed.
Today an estimated 40,000 people tried out the new railway. Shopkeepers along the route hope that after all the disruption during the decade of construction, which affected their incomes negatively, the public will return to the shops along the route of the train line and business will turn around for the better.
(By Isranet, August 19, 2011)
Prayer Focus
Praise the Lord that this major endeavor has been completed. Pray that the goals of alleviating Jerusalem's serious traffic problems as well as improving air quality will be met. Pray that business will improve for the many shopkeepers who lost large sums of money during the construction phase.
Scripture
"…For as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people, and My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth children for trouble; for they shall be the descendants of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them"(Isaiah 65:22b-23).
Note: All Scripture is taken from the New King James Version, unless otherwise noted.
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