Today’s Top Stories
1. The IDF and Islamic State had their first ever major exchange of fire this morning. Israeli forces traded fire along the Syrian border this morning east of Moshav Avnei Eitan. Credit the Wall St. Journal (click via Google News) for the clearest summarizing snippet:
An Israeli unit was conducting an operation beyond a fence that separates the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights and Syria but within the border when it was shot at by Islamic State militants, the army said. The soldiers returned fire before an Israeli warplane struck a machine gun-mounted vehicle that was carrying the militants, said military spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner.
The strike killed at least four militants, according to a visual assessment by the pilot. No Israeli soldiers were injured.
2. Israel’s wild fires are largely under control, though new fires broke out sporadically in Karmiel and Rishpon,. Here’s a by the numbers look at the damage based on the Times of Israel.
– 0: Fatalities
– 133: Individuals treated by Magen David Adom
– 527: Homes destroyed in Haifa
– 1,700: Haifa residents unable to return to homes by late Saturday
– 2,000: Firefighters battling blazes since Tuesday
– 41: Palestinian firefighters combating the flames
– 29: Israeli and foreign firefighting planes involved
– 480: Aerial sorties by the firefighting planes
– 1.5 million: Tons of fire retardent used as of Saturday night
– 32,000: Acres of natural forest and brush destroyed
– 35: People arrested on suspicion of arson or encouraging it
See below for more on what’s known, the aftermath, and commentary. And see also Politicizing Israeli Wildfires: Why are The Guardian and AFP more concerned about the location of fires near Jewish settlements than the fires themselves?
3. France issued regulations requiring retailers to label goods from Israeli settlements. According to the AP, “It was not immediately clear whether the notice published in the French Official Journal is binding for retailers or a recommendation.” And according to Haaretz, which first broke the story, it’s not clear why Paris made this move now:
Under the new regulations, if a product comes from a settlement, French retailers and importers must make this clear on the packaging and not just name the geographical location where the product originated.
The regulations make it clear that this is intended to prevent a situation in which consumers are misled and think they are buying Palestinian goods from the West Bank or East Jerusalem.
Join the fight for Israel’s fair coverage in the news
Israeli Fires
• Damages from the wild fires are expected to cost the state at least 2 billion shekels.
If the fires are indeed recognized as acts of terrorism, the state would have to carry the onus of compensating citizens for damages incurred, rather than the insurance companies . . .
Those expected to lose out are citizens who had their properties insured, as the compensation the state would provide them with would be lower than what the insurance company would be required to pay and would not cover many of the valuables that perished in the fires, such as jewelry, art, and the like.
• Israelis are grateful for the international assistance, “included planes from Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Russia, Turkey, Croatia, France, Spain, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, the US and Egypt. Other countries that offered help include the Netherlands, Belarus, Great Britain, Portugal, Switzerland, Georgia, Bulgaria, Romania, The Czech Republic, Slovakia, Jordan and Austria.”
And Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Mahmoud Abbas to thank him for sending 40 Palestinian firefighters and eight trucks to help battle the flames. Tweet of the day from Israeli police superintendent Micky Rosenfeld:
Palestinian firefighters working together with Israeli firefighters in the city of Haifa to help put out fires and blazes. pic.twitter.com/hfcoZd4TuO
— Micky Rosenfeld (@MickyRosenfeld) November 25, 2016
• Israel has arrested more than 30 people suspected of deliberately setting fires or encouraging others to do so. Security footage caught perpetrators on video in the Etziyon and Ariel areas.
• Firefighter Yair Cohen recounted to The Algemeiner the experience of battling the flames in Haifa.
• What will the fires mean for Haifa’s Jewish-Arab coexistence? The Los Angeles Times takes a closer look.
In the Haifa Arab neighborhood of Kbabir, located just few minutes’ drive from the fires and home to a community of Ahmadiyya Muslims, Sheikh Muhammad Sharif Odeh opened up the local auditorium center to host 150 soldiers from Israel’s Home Front Command while the fires raged.
“We have to put out the physical fires and we also have to put out the fire of hate,’’ Odeh said. “Allah is the one sovereign and we have to look after everyone. The ethnic mosaic [in Haifa] is strong, and politicians can’t change the relations here.’’
Participants in HonestReporting’s November, 2015 mission met with Sheikh Odeh to learn more about coexistence in Israel’s third largest city.
Inspiring message of peace, charity & inclusivity from leader of Ahmadi Muslim community in Haifa. #HRMission pic.twitter.com/wohCOpWRBs
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) November 18, 2015
Israel and the Palestinians
• The long-overdue Fatah party congress, which is expected to pick successor to Mahmoud Abbas, kicked off today. AFP coverage.
• A Palestinian was shot while trying to stab a security guard at the Shuafat crossing on Friday afternoon.
• The Washington Post examines what I’ll call “the battle of the bodies.” Hamas holds the bodies of IDF soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, as well as two Israeli civilians who wandered into Gaza. Meanwhile, Israel holds the bodies of several Palestinians killed in clashes.
Around the World
• This can’t be good news. According to Arab media reports, Russian military leaders in Syria held their first meeting with Hezbollah:
The Lebanese daily said that the gathering “came at the request of the Russians” who were impressed by Hezbollah’s military performance during the “Battle of Martyr Abu Omar Saraqeb,” a failed rebel offensive launched in late October against regime positions in western Aleppo.
• The municipality of Trondheim, Norway’s third-largest city, approved a boycott of all goods and services from Israeli settlements. According to The Local, the resolution also asked city residents to do the same.
• Plot to bomb Amsterdam synagogue revealed.
• A German bank is shutting down the account of the pro-BDS organization, Jewish Voice for a Just Peace in the Middle East.
• A campus watchdog organization reports a spike in anti-Semitism at US universities. Tammi Rossman-Benjamin of the AMCHA Initiative discussed the issue with The Algemeiner.
• ‘Death to Jews’ sprayed on Ukrainian synagogue.
• Police investigating after anti-Semitic graffiti scrawled on San Diego home.
• This is bizarre on so many levels: Wife of Putin’s spokesman draws ire for Holocaust themed ice dance show.
Commentary/Analysis
• Here’s what else I’m reading:
– Avi Issacharoff: Terrorism, at home, by fire
– Eyal Zisser: Arson as a weapon
– Seth Frantzman: Arabic social media support for fires and arson in Israel
– Yoni Ben Menachem: Abbas in a race against time to choose successor
Featured Image: CC BY-NC smilla4; Haifa via YouTube/Avry Ninio; Trondheim CC BY-ND SO JORD;
For more, see yesterday’s Israel Daily News Stream and join the IDNS on Facebook.
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