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The leaders of two sworn enemies of Israel, Lebanon’s Hezbollah and the Gaza-based Hamas terrorist organizations, met recently to discuss diplomatic normalization between the Jewish state and Arab countries. Hassan Nasrallah, head of the Iran-backed Hezbollah, was seen meeting Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’ chief. They discussed “political and military developments in Palestine, Lebanon, and the region,” as well as “the dangers to the Palestinian cause.”
The meeting in Lebanon followed an escalation of violence in recent weeks in which Hamas-affiliated groups lofted incendiary balloons and fired short range rockets into Israel, with Israeli warplanes responding by striking terror targets in the Gaza Strip. Last week, Hamas announced that international mediators had brokered a ceasefire with Israel, halting the latest round of fighting.
During his visit, Haniyeh boasted that Hamas has the capability to attack Tel Aviv. Before a cheering crowd of hundreds in a refugee camp outside the southern coastal city of Sidon, Haniyeh said: “Today the resistance in Gaza has missiles that can hit Tel Aviv and beyond Tel Aviv.”
While Hamas rockets have reached Tel Aviv and far beyond in the past, such launches are rare and would be considered a serious escalation by Jerusalem.
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September 7, 2020, marks the sixth anniversary of when Avera Mengistu was taken captive by Hamas. A year later, the Palestinian terror group also took hostage Hisham al-Sayed.
Both Israelis suffer from mental illness and crossed into the Gaza Strip of their own volition.
Since then, neither has had access to medical treatment or been afforded the privileges guaranteed by international law.
Notably, Hamas is also refusing to return to Israel the remains of two IDF soldiers who were killed in Gaza during the 2014 war.
Kidnapping innocent civilians is an egregious human rights violation. Yet, even with all the recent media coverage about the weeks-long confrontation between the IDF and Hamas, there has been little, if any, attention paid to the captives’ plight.
Media Blackout: Hamas’ Israeli Hostages (VIDEO)
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Antisemitism Watch: Two American citizens with ties to a far-right extremist group have been charged with trying to support Hamas by plotting violent attacks in Minnesota. Prosecutors say Michael Robert Solomon, 30, and Benjamin Ryan Teeter, 22, are members of a group called the Boogaloo Bois, a faction of what is known as the Boojahideen. They were allegedly conspiring with Hamas to sow discord amid racial justice protests in Minnesota by shooting cops, blowing up a courthouse and killing politicians.
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Palestinian officials have accused the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and other Gulf states of trying to foil a United Nations draft resolution that aims to prevent normalization between Israel and Arab countries. The resolution calls on all Arab states to adhere to the Arab Peace Initiative, which calls for normalizing relations between the Arab world and Israel in exchange for a full withdrawal by Israel to the pre-1967 armistice lines; a “just settlement” of the Palestinian refugee issue based on UN Resolution 194; and the establishment of a Palestinian state with eastern Jerusalem as its capital.
Under US President Donald Trump’s peace plan, most of Jerusalem, except for Israeli-Arab neighborhoods on the other side of the security barrier, would be united under Israeli sovereignty.
The Palestinian Authority has accused the UAE of violating the terms of the Arab Peace Initiative by agreeing to normalize relations with Israel in exchange for nothing. And in response to the announcement that Serbia and Kosovo would soon be opening embassies in Jerusalem, the PA vowed on Sunday to sever ties with any country that does so.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman told US President Donald Trump in a phone call on Sunday that the kingdom was eager to achieve a fair and permanent solution to the Palestinian issue. While Saudi Arabia does not recognize Israel, the kingdom said it would allow flights between UAE and Israel – including by Israeli airliners – to use its airspace.
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Under pressure from his ultra-Orthodox coalition partners, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reversed course on implementing lockdowns in some 40 communities with high COVID-19 infection rates. Instead, the Israeli government on Sunday evening approved a measure that would see a night-time curfew placed on such locales. The curfew is set between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m, with non-essential businesses closing during the time period.
Recent Health Ministry data shows that the ultra-Orthodox and Arab-Israeli sectors have been hit the hardest by the coronavirus pandemic. The original plan submitted by coronavirus chief Prof. Ronnie Gamzu had sought to impose a general lockdown on 10 cities, located mainly in Arab and ultra-Orthodox towns. But after first signalling that the Cabinet would introduce lockdown restrictions, Netanyahu announced that the meeting had been postponed.
Finally, in memory of the over 1,000 Israelis to have died as a result of COVID-19, 1019 empty chairs were placed in Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square on Monday.
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Dean Kremer, the first Israeli to be drafted by a Major League Baseball team, made his debut on Sunday for the Baltimore Orioles. In the first inning, the pitcher recorded two strikeouts and a pop fly out for a perfect 1-2-3 opening frame against the New York Yankees. He maintained his composure and allowed only one run over six innings, with seven strike-outs and three walks, leading the Orioles to a 5-1 win.
Kremer pitched for Israel national teams five times since 2013, starting with the under-18 tournament in Cyprus and then in the 2014 and 2015 European Baseball Championship qualification campaign. He won the Most Valuable Pitcher award in both tournaments.
Mazel Tov to one of our own, #TeamIsrael pitcher @DJ_KREY6 who will make his @MLB debut today! https://t.co/AjqLEQL87F
— Israel Baseball (@ILBaseball) September 6, 2020
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