18 june 2014
Israeli military forces on Wednesday uncovered an explosive device on the border with the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, the Israeli military said.
The military unit was engaged in "routine activity" near the barbed wire on the fence demarcating the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip when the device was found.
Forces subsequently "detonated the device in a controlled manner," the military said in a statement.
Israeli news site Walla reported that the bomb had gone off prior to discovery.
No injuries or damages were reported.
Israel maintains a "buffer zone" on the Gaza Strip that reaches between 500 and 1,500 meters into the tiny enclave, or about 17 percent of the total land area, into which Palestinians are prohibited from entering.
The Israeli military regularly conducts operations beside the border on the Israeli side, and often conducts incursions onto the Gazan side as well.
The military unit was engaged in "routine activity" near the barbed wire on the fence demarcating the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip when the device was found.
Forces subsequently "detonated the device in a controlled manner," the military said in a statement.
Israeli news site Walla reported that the bomb had gone off prior to discovery.
No injuries or damages were reported.
Israel maintains a "buffer zone" on the Gaza Strip that reaches between 500 and 1,500 meters into the tiny enclave, or about 17 percent of the total land area, into which Palestinians are prohibited from entering.
The Israeli military regularly conducts operations beside the border on the Israeli side, and often conducts incursions onto the Gazan side as well.
Israeli sources said that a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip directly hit a home in a kibbutz in the Shaar HaNegev region of southern Israel on Wednesday, causing material damage but no injuries.
Another rocket landed in an open area, also on Wednesday evening, causing no damage, the Israeli army said.
Police from the nearby city of Sderot rushed to the scene, accompanied by explosive experts.
Sirens were heard around 9:20 p.m. on Wednesday in the Shaar HaNegev region before the rockets landed.
Israeli forces have repeatedly bombed the Gaza Strip in recent weeks, killing two people -- including a seven-year-old child -- last week, and injuring at least two more.
Although militants in the Gaza Strip frequently homemade projectiles and rockets into Israel, they usually land harmlessly in open areas.
Another rocket landed in an open area, also on Wednesday evening, causing no damage, the Israeli army said.
Police from the nearby city of Sderot rushed to the scene, accompanied by explosive experts.
Sirens were heard around 9:20 p.m. on Wednesday in the Shaar HaNegev region before the rockets landed.
Israeli forces have repeatedly bombed the Gaza Strip in recent weeks, killing two people -- including a seven-year-old child -- last week, and injuring at least two more.
Although militants in the Gaza Strip frequently homemade projectiles and rockets into Israel, they usually land harmlessly in open areas.
Palestinian resistance factions’ armed wings have confirmed that Israeli continued escalation and threats to the Palestinian people would only boost their determination and steadfastness, saying that they would not stand idle before Israeli violations. In a press conference held in Gaza on Tuesday evening, Palestinian resistance factions declared their total support for any Palestinian resistance effort aimed at liberating Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.
“We stand behind our people in the occupied West Bank in face of the Israeli terrorist aggression. We will not stand idle before Israeli violations and crimes against them as we share the same suffering and the same fate”, the armed wings stressed.
The armed wings hailed the steadfastness of the Palestinians in al-Khalil and the West Bank in general and the Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails in particular.
For his part, Palestinian National Initiative Secretary-General Mustafa Barghouthi said that the Israeli recent escalation and attacks in al-Khalil is similar to the Israeli invasion carried out in Palestinian cities in 2002.
Following his visit to residents of al-Khalil who are subjected to a fierce Israeli arrest and raid campaign, Barghouthi said that Netanyahu is imitating Sharon-era.
Barghouthi led a delegation of Initiative party and visited a number of homes raided by Israeli forces during the past few days including the home of Akram Qawasmi who was prevented along with his two children from being transferred to hospital for treatment after being seriously injured during the IOF raids.
Barghouthi confirmed that he witnessed the detention of 25 Palestinians all together in one room, while Israeli soldiers continued stealing laptops and cellular phones.
He added that Israeli collective punishment would achieve nothing due to the Palestinian people’s steadfastness.
“We stand behind our people in the occupied West Bank in face of the Israeli terrorist aggression. We will not stand idle before Israeli violations and crimes against them as we share the same suffering and the same fate”, the armed wings stressed.
The armed wings hailed the steadfastness of the Palestinians in al-Khalil and the West Bank in general and the Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails in particular.
For his part, Palestinian National Initiative Secretary-General Mustafa Barghouthi said that the Israeli recent escalation and attacks in al-Khalil is similar to the Israeli invasion carried out in Palestinian cities in 2002.
Following his visit to residents of al-Khalil who are subjected to a fierce Israeli arrest and raid campaign, Barghouthi said that Netanyahu is imitating Sharon-era.
Barghouthi led a delegation of Initiative party and visited a number of homes raided by Israeli forces during the past few days including the home of Akram Qawasmi who was prevented along with his two children from being transferred to hospital for treatment after being seriously injured during the IOF raids.
Barghouthi confirmed that he witnessed the detention of 25 Palestinians all together in one room, while Israeli soldiers continued stealing laptops and cellular phones.
He added that Israeli collective punishment would achieve nothing due to the Palestinian people’s steadfastness.
17 june 2014
Israeli warplanes launched an air raid on the city of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip early Tuesday, residents said.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
The attack followed the launch of a rocket from Gaza toward Ashkelon in southern Israel, with no immediate reports of injury or damage.
An Israeli military spokeswoman did not immediately return calls.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
The attack followed the launch of a rocket from Gaza toward Ashkelon in southern Israel, with no immediate reports of injury or damage.
An Israeli military spokeswoman did not immediately return calls.
15 june 2014
Rockets fired from the Gaza Strip late Sunday were intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome system, the Israeli army said.
"A salvo of rockets was launched at southern Israel by Gaza terrorists, two of which were successfully intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system," the army said in a statement.
The military "is searching the area for additional projectiles," the statement said, without providing further details.
The Israeli news site Ynet reported that four rockets were launched towards Ashkelon from Gaza, and that the two that were not intercepted by the Iron Dome landed in open areas without causing injuries or damages.
"A salvo of rockets was launched at southern Israel by Gaza terrorists, two of which were successfully intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system," the army said in a statement.
The military "is searching the area for additional projectiles," the statement said, without providing further details.
The Israeli news site Ynet reported that four rockets were launched towards Ashkelon from Gaza, and that the two that were not intercepted by the Iron Dome landed in open areas without causing injuries or damages.
A Palestinian woman and a teenage girl sustained wounds Saturday night in two separate Israeli airstrikes on the Rafah district in the southern Gaza Strip, medical sources said.
The injuries occurred as Israeli launched eight air strikes against the Gaza Strip overnight, in what they said was a response to three rockets fired from the besieged coastal enclave the day before.
Spokesman for the Gaza Ministry of Health Ashraf al-Qidra told Ma'an on Sunday that a 15-year-old girl was hit by shrapnel after an Israeli missile hit southern Rafah.
The girl, he said, was in her courtyard when an Israeli missile fired from the air hit a military camp near her house.
Al-Qidra added that a 27-year-old woman was moderately injured by shrapnel from an Israeli missile that landed in the Saudi neighborhood in southern Rafah. The woman suffered a fracture in the foot as a result of the attack.
Israeli warplanes also fired two missiles at open areas in al-Salam neighborhood in Rafah and the Saad Sayil military base in the city, though no injuries have been reported.
Two missiles were also fired at a military base for the military wing of the Islamic Jihad south of Rafah.
In Khan Younis, also in the southern Gaza Strip, Israeli jets targeted a military base belonging to Hamas' military wing Al-Qassam Brigades and an open area near an evacuated Israeli settlement. No injuries were reported in those strikes either.
The Israeli military confirmed the strikes, saying that they had targeted "three terror activity sites, two weapon storage and manufacturing facilities in the southern Gaza Strip, as well as a terror activity site in the central Gaza Strip."
The military said in a statement that "direct hits were confirmed."
The strikes come only three days after Israeli air forces targeted a Palestinian individual associated with Palestinian political and militant group Islamic Jihad in an airstrike that killed him as well as a seven-year-old boy who was walking nearby, and injured another man.
In the past two weeks, six rockets from the Gaza Strip have hit Israel, all of them landing harmlessly in open areas.
Although Hamas has maintained a ceasefire with Israel since Nov. 2012, other militant groups in the besieged coastal enclave occasionally fire rockets.
The injuries occurred as Israeli launched eight air strikes against the Gaza Strip overnight, in what they said was a response to three rockets fired from the besieged coastal enclave the day before.
Spokesman for the Gaza Ministry of Health Ashraf al-Qidra told Ma'an on Sunday that a 15-year-old girl was hit by shrapnel after an Israeli missile hit southern Rafah.
The girl, he said, was in her courtyard when an Israeli missile fired from the air hit a military camp near her house.
Al-Qidra added that a 27-year-old woman was moderately injured by shrapnel from an Israeli missile that landed in the Saudi neighborhood in southern Rafah. The woman suffered a fracture in the foot as a result of the attack.
Israeli warplanes also fired two missiles at open areas in al-Salam neighborhood in Rafah and the Saad Sayil military base in the city, though no injuries have been reported.
Two missiles were also fired at a military base for the military wing of the Islamic Jihad south of Rafah.
In Khan Younis, also in the southern Gaza Strip, Israeli jets targeted a military base belonging to Hamas' military wing Al-Qassam Brigades and an open area near an evacuated Israeli settlement. No injuries were reported in those strikes either.
The Israeli military confirmed the strikes, saying that they had targeted "three terror activity sites, two weapon storage and manufacturing facilities in the southern Gaza Strip, as well as a terror activity site in the central Gaza Strip."
The military said in a statement that "direct hits were confirmed."
The strikes come only three days after Israeli air forces targeted a Palestinian individual associated with Palestinian political and militant group Islamic Jihad in an airstrike that killed him as well as a seven-year-old boy who was walking nearby, and injured another man.
In the past two weeks, six rockets from the Gaza Strip have hit Israel, all of them landing harmlessly in open areas.
Although Hamas has maintained a ceasefire with Israel since Nov. 2012, other militant groups in the besieged coastal enclave occasionally fire rockets.
14 june 2014
Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip demonstrate Israeli "confusion" amid an ongoing search to find three Israeli settlers missing in the West Bank, the Hamas movement said Saturday.
Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said in a statement that Israel's targeting of the al-Qassam Brigades military base in the southern Gaza Strip reflects "deterioration of the morale of the Israeli leadership."
"The Israeli leadership is attempting to repair its morale after the incident in Hebron," Barhoum said, referring to the disappearance of three Jewish settlers from the southern West Bank in what some believe may have been a kidnapping.
The Israeli army said it launched airstrikes on two military sites in southern Gaza on Saturday in response to rockets fired from the Strip into Israel.
No injuries from either strike were reported.
Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said in a statement that Israel's targeting of the al-Qassam Brigades military base in the southern Gaza Strip reflects "deterioration of the morale of the Israeli leadership."
"The Israeli leadership is attempting to repair its morale after the incident in Hebron," Barhoum said, referring to the disappearance of three Jewish settlers from the southern West Bank in what some believe may have been a kidnapping.
The Israeli army said it launched airstrikes on two military sites in southern Gaza on Saturday in response to rockets fired from the Strip into Israel.
No injuries from either strike were reported.
Three rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip on Saturday, one of which hit the Hof Ashkelon region in southern Israel, the Israeli military said.
The rocket fire came just after a seven-year-old Palestinian child died of injuries sustained in an Israeil missile attack on the Gaza Strip on Wednesday.
Earlier Saturday, one rocket hit the Sdot Negev regional council in southern Israel.
None of the strikes caused any damage or injuries.
Although Hamas and Israel have maintained a fragile ceasefire since Nov. 2012, militant groups in the besieged Palestinian coastal enclave frequently launch rockets into Israel.
The majority of these attacks, which primarily involve homemade projectiles, land harmlessly in open areas across southern Israel.
The rocket fire came just after a seven-year-old Palestinian child died of injuries sustained in an Israeil missile attack on the Gaza Strip on Wednesday.
Earlier Saturday, one rocket hit the Sdot Negev regional council in southern Israel.
None of the strikes caused any damage or injuries.
Although Hamas and Israel have maintained a fragile ceasefire since Nov. 2012, militant groups in the besieged Palestinian coastal enclave frequently launch rockets into Israel.
The majority of these attacks, which primarily involve homemade projectiles, land harmlessly in open areas across southern Israel.
11 june 2014
A Palestinian militant takes part in a training session with rockets at an undisclosed location in the Gaza Strip on Sept. 15, 2009
Palestinian militants in Gaza fired a rocket Wednesday which struck southern Israel without causing any casualties or damage, Israeli officials said.
A statement from the military said the rocket hit the Eshkol region, with a police spokesman telling AFP it caused no damage.
Some 140 projectiles fired by militants in the Gaza Strip have hit southern Israel since the start of 2014, according to the military.
On June 1, two rockets from Gaza hit Israel, following which the Israeli air force launched raids on the coastal enclave.
Palestinian militants in Gaza fired a rocket Wednesday which struck southern Israel without causing any casualties or damage, Israeli officials said.
A statement from the military said the rocket hit the Eshkol region, with a police spokesman telling AFP it caused no damage.
Some 140 projectiles fired by militants in the Gaza Strip have hit southern Israel since the start of 2014, according to the military.
On June 1, two rockets from Gaza hit Israel, following which the Israeli air force launched raids on the coastal enclave.
9 june 2014
Bennet: Negotiations failed because of Gaza rockets
According to Israeli media, a Palestinian rocket was fired from Gaza at midnight, this morning, into open area in Ashkelon. In related news, Israeli Minister of Economy Naftali Bennett has stated that the failure of peace in the region is due to Gaza rocket fire.
The sources stated that an alarm siren rang out for a few minutes before the rocket exploded in the area. However, the PNN reports that the rocket was spotted by Israeli military bases near Gaza's borders.
In a related context, Israeli soldiers opened fire at Palestinian farmers, east of ash-Shujaeyya.
No injuries were reported.
Furthermore, the PNN reports that Israeli Minister of Economy, Naftali Bennett, declared this morning that Israel has tried negotiating with the Palestinians for 21 years but that this has failed, because Israel has been attacked by Palestinian rockets from Gaza.
He added that the Oslo agreement ended after the new Palestinian unity government was announced, in disagreement with Israeli Minster of Finance, Yair Lapid, over his plan of separating Palestine in a two state solution.
Lapid's party has suggested that they should freeze the biggest settlement projects and attempt a real peace agreement with the Palestinians and moderate Arabic countries.
He said that if PM Netanyahu connects the Israeli settlements in the West Bank, according to the Jewish Home Party's plan, this decision will lead to the destruction of the Israeli government.
According to Israeli media, a Palestinian rocket was fired from Gaza at midnight, this morning, into open area in Ashkelon. In related news, Israeli Minister of Economy Naftali Bennett has stated that the failure of peace in the region is due to Gaza rocket fire.
The sources stated that an alarm siren rang out for a few minutes before the rocket exploded in the area. However, the PNN reports that the rocket was spotted by Israeli military bases near Gaza's borders.
In a related context, Israeli soldiers opened fire at Palestinian farmers, east of ash-Shujaeyya.
No injuries were reported.
Furthermore, the PNN reports that Israeli Minister of Economy, Naftali Bennett, declared this morning that Israel has tried negotiating with the Palestinians for 21 years but that this has failed, because Israel has been attacked by Palestinian rockets from Gaza.
He added that the Oslo agreement ended after the new Palestinian unity government was announced, in disagreement with Israeli Minster of Finance, Yair Lapid, over his plan of separating Palestine in a two state solution.
Lapid's party has suggested that they should freeze the biggest settlement projects and attempt a real peace agreement with the Palestinians and moderate Arabic countries.
He said that if PM Netanyahu connects the Israeli settlements in the West Bank, according to the Jewish Home Party's plan, this decision will lead to the destruction of the Israeli government.
Brig. Gen. Itai Brun
These 80-km range rockets are among the 170,000 poised at Israel from Lebanon and Syria; Brig. Gen. Itai Brun also says Iran is abiding by agreements with the West and 'could very well' end up signing a permanent deal too.
Terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip have hundreds of rockets with a range of 80 kilometers, enough to hit Tel Aviv and the surrounding Gush Dan area, the head of Military Intelligence’s research department said Monday.
Altogether, some 170,000 missiles and rockets are currently aimed at Israel from Lebanon, Syria and Gaza, Brig. Gen. Itai Brun said in an address to the Herzliya Conference. However, only about 10,000 of these are medium- or long-range missiles.
Terrorist organizations are also working to make their missiles more accurate – for instance, by attaching GPS-based guidance systems. Such missiles can strike both military and civilian targets in Israel with a high level of accuracy, Brun warned.
“Iran is the principle source of know-how” for these efforts, he added.
Hezbollah has the biggest arsenal, with hundreds of long-range missiles, thousands of medium-range and about 100,000 short-range ones, Brun said. Short-range missiles are defined as having a range of up to 45 kilometers, while medium-range missiles can travel from 45 to 250 kilometers.
“Hezbollah is continuing to build its forces, and this includes acquiring weapons that can offset our aerial and naval superiority – surface-to-surface missiles, rockets and coastal missiles,” Brun warned.
In Gaza, the most powerful rockets have a range of 80 kilometers. Hamas and Islamic Jihad have hundreds of these, along with thousands of rockets with a range of 40 kilometers and thousands more than can travel up to 20 kilometers, Brun said.
“The force-building efforts of both organizations are focused on developing locally produced rockets with a range of 80 kilometers, as well as tunnels” for use in cross-border attacks, he added.
Last July, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Benny Gantz warned that Hamas was now capable of manufacturing rockets that could reach Tel Aviv and the surrounding area. The fact that Brun, a year later, put the number of such rockets in Gaza in the hundreds indicates that production has proceeded apace.
As for Iran, it has “hundreds of missiles of a range that enables it to hit Israel,” Brun said.
He also discussed the internal tensions between the moderate camp led by Iranian President Hassan Rohani and the conservative camp, saying, “The era following Rohani’s election signals a battle over the country’s character.”
As for Iran’s negotiations over its nuclear program with the six powers, Brun said Tehran has so far abided by the interim agreement it signed in January, and “could very well” end up signing a permanent deal too.
"In the meantime, Iran is abiding by the interim agreement and the pressures, mainly the economic crisis, are leading it toward a dialogue, which we regard as serious-minded, on a permanent agreement."
It was a rare sign of high-level divergence from Netanyahu's dismissive stance towards the Iran talks although not the first. In January, Israeli Air Force Commander Major-General Amir Eshel said that the Iran diplomacy appeared to have "a positive direction" although he added: "I don't know how it will end."
The negotiations stumbled in Vienna last month when each side accused the other of posing unrealistic demands. At the core of the dispute is the extent to which the Islamic Republic which denies Western suspicions that it is seeking a nuclear weapons capability - might retain technologies with bomb-making potential in exchange for wider sanctions relief.
Geneva meeting
Iran said it would meet U.S. and European Union officials in Geneva on Monday and Tuesday in a bid to salvage the diplomacy.
Widely assumed to have the Middle East's sole nuclear arsenal, Israel feels uniquely threatened by the prospect of an Islamic Republic that calls for its destruction going nuclear.
The Israelis have threatened to attack Iran unilaterally if they deem diplomacy incapable of denying it the bomb. That has given them lobbying leverage in war-wary foreign capitals.
Addressing the Herzliya Conference separately on Monday, Yuval Steinitz, the Israeli cabinet minister in charge of nuclear affairs and a Netanyahu confidant, reiterated the government's fear that Iran would be allowed to keep a "threshold" capacity to produce fissile material for a warhead.
"A good agreement with Iran is an agreement in which Iran may get the ability to present a developed civilian nuclear program like other countries have - Sweden or South Korea or Spain - but without the ability to enrich uranium and without the ability to yield plutonium," Steinitz said.
He said Israel would prefer for the July deadline to go unmet than for world powers to rush into a "bad deal" whereby Iran would retain the means to cobble together a first nuclear weapon within months, should it decide to do so.
"We opposed the interim deal because we saw problems and holes in it. Nor do we like the idea of extending the talks by half a year or a number of months," Steinitz said.
"But if the alternative that will be raised in the coming weeks, beginning with this imminent week, will be to try to seal an agreement at any price ... it would be preferable - though we are not keen on this - to extend the talks by a number of weeks or months to close up all of the holes on a matter that is so critical to our well-being and that of the world."
These 80-km range rockets are among the 170,000 poised at Israel from Lebanon and Syria; Brig. Gen. Itai Brun also says Iran is abiding by agreements with the West and 'could very well' end up signing a permanent deal too.
Terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip have hundreds of rockets with a range of 80 kilometers, enough to hit Tel Aviv and the surrounding Gush Dan area, the head of Military Intelligence’s research department said Monday.
Altogether, some 170,000 missiles and rockets are currently aimed at Israel from Lebanon, Syria and Gaza, Brig. Gen. Itai Brun said in an address to the Herzliya Conference. However, only about 10,000 of these are medium- or long-range missiles.
Terrorist organizations are also working to make their missiles more accurate – for instance, by attaching GPS-based guidance systems. Such missiles can strike both military and civilian targets in Israel with a high level of accuracy, Brun warned.
“Iran is the principle source of know-how” for these efforts, he added.
Hezbollah has the biggest arsenal, with hundreds of long-range missiles, thousands of medium-range and about 100,000 short-range ones, Brun said. Short-range missiles are defined as having a range of up to 45 kilometers, while medium-range missiles can travel from 45 to 250 kilometers.
“Hezbollah is continuing to build its forces, and this includes acquiring weapons that can offset our aerial and naval superiority – surface-to-surface missiles, rockets and coastal missiles,” Brun warned.
In Gaza, the most powerful rockets have a range of 80 kilometers. Hamas and Islamic Jihad have hundreds of these, along with thousands of rockets with a range of 40 kilometers and thousands more than can travel up to 20 kilometers, Brun said.
“The force-building efforts of both organizations are focused on developing locally produced rockets with a range of 80 kilometers, as well as tunnels” for use in cross-border attacks, he added.
Last July, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Benny Gantz warned that Hamas was now capable of manufacturing rockets that could reach Tel Aviv and the surrounding area. The fact that Brun, a year later, put the number of such rockets in Gaza in the hundreds indicates that production has proceeded apace.
As for Iran, it has “hundreds of missiles of a range that enables it to hit Israel,” Brun said.
He also discussed the internal tensions between the moderate camp led by Iranian President Hassan Rohani and the conservative camp, saying, “The era following Rohani’s election signals a battle over the country’s character.”
As for Iran’s negotiations over its nuclear program with the six powers, Brun said Tehran has so far abided by the interim agreement it signed in January, and “could very well” end up signing a permanent deal too.
"In the meantime, Iran is abiding by the interim agreement and the pressures, mainly the economic crisis, are leading it toward a dialogue, which we regard as serious-minded, on a permanent agreement."
It was a rare sign of high-level divergence from Netanyahu's dismissive stance towards the Iran talks although not the first. In January, Israeli Air Force Commander Major-General Amir Eshel said that the Iran diplomacy appeared to have "a positive direction" although he added: "I don't know how it will end."
The negotiations stumbled in Vienna last month when each side accused the other of posing unrealistic demands. At the core of the dispute is the extent to which the Islamic Republic which denies Western suspicions that it is seeking a nuclear weapons capability - might retain technologies with bomb-making potential in exchange for wider sanctions relief.
Geneva meeting
Iran said it would meet U.S. and European Union officials in Geneva on Monday and Tuesday in a bid to salvage the diplomacy.
Widely assumed to have the Middle East's sole nuclear arsenal, Israel feels uniquely threatened by the prospect of an Islamic Republic that calls for its destruction going nuclear.
The Israelis have threatened to attack Iran unilaterally if they deem diplomacy incapable of denying it the bomb. That has given them lobbying leverage in war-wary foreign capitals.
Addressing the Herzliya Conference separately on Monday, Yuval Steinitz, the Israeli cabinet minister in charge of nuclear affairs and a Netanyahu confidant, reiterated the government's fear that Iran would be allowed to keep a "threshold" capacity to produce fissile material for a warhead.
"A good agreement with Iran is an agreement in which Iran may get the ability to present a developed civilian nuclear program like other countries have - Sweden or South Korea or Spain - but without the ability to enrich uranium and without the ability to yield plutonium," Steinitz said.
He said Israel would prefer for the July deadline to go unmet than for world powers to rush into a "bad deal" whereby Iran would retain the means to cobble together a first nuclear weapon within months, should it decide to do so.
"We opposed the interim deal because we saw problems and holes in it. Nor do we like the idea of extending the talks by half a year or a number of months," Steinitz said.
"But if the alternative that will be raised in the coming weeks, beginning with this imminent week, will be to try to seal an agreement at any price ... it would be preferable - though we are not keen on this - to extend the talks by a number of weeks or months to close up all of the holes on a matter that is so critical to our well-being and that of the world."
Neftali Bennett, the Israeli Minister of Economy, disagreed with the Israeli Minster of Finance’s plane of separating Palestine in the two state solutions.
Bennett declared this morning that Israel has tried negotiating with the Palestinians for 21 years but that this has failed, because Israel has been attacked by Palestinian rockets from Gaza.
He added that Oslo agreement ended after the Unity government was announced.
Lapied declared that he would destroy the Israeli Government, if the Israeli Prime Minister agrees to connect the Israeli settlements in the West bank with the Israeli state and that he is always ready to go on election.
Bennett declared this morning that Israel has tried negotiating with the Palestinians for 21 years but that this has failed, because Israel has been attacked by Palestinian rockets from Gaza.
He added that Oslo agreement ended after the Unity government was announced.
Lapied declared that he would destroy the Israeli Government, if the Israeli Prime Minister agrees to connect the Israeli settlements in the West bank with the Israeli state and that he is always ready to go on election.
24 may 2014
Two Palestinian militants were killed and two others were injured Saturday in an explosion at a military training site in the southern Gaza Strip, an official said.
Ashraf al-Qidra, Gaza's health ministry spokesman, said two "unidentified citizens" were killed and two sustained serious injuries in an explosion at the Khan Younis site, without providing details about the cause of the explosion.
He said the injured two were taken to nearby Nasser Hospital.
Ashraf al-Qidra, Gaza's health ministry spokesman, said two "unidentified citizens" were killed and two sustained serious injuries in an explosion at the Khan Younis site, without providing details about the cause of the explosion.
He said the injured two were taken to nearby Nasser Hospital.
23 may 2014
A rocket struck southern Israel on Friday afternoon after Israeli forces opened fire and shot a Palestinian youth near the border in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli soldiers shot and injured a Palestinian youth along the border fence east of Deir al-Balah. The army, however, said that they only shot after fire was opened towards Israeli forces in the area.
Witnesses told Ma'an that an Israeli tank that was deployed near the border fence opened fire at a group of Palestinians in the area, hitting the youth.
He was taken to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah for treatment, and was said to be in a moderate condition.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said that "fire was opened" at Israeli troops near the security fence in the southern Gaza Strip, and that Israeli forces "fired towards the source of the shooting in response."
Soon after, a rocket from Gaza hit the Shaar HaNegev region of southern Israel, landing in an open area without causing any injuries.
Israeli soldiers shot and injured a Palestinian youth along the border fence east of Deir al-Balah. The army, however, said that they only shot after fire was opened towards Israeli forces in the area.
Witnesses told Ma'an that an Israeli tank that was deployed near the border fence opened fire at a group of Palestinians in the area, hitting the youth.
He was taken to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah for treatment, and was said to be in a moderate condition.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said that "fire was opened" at Israeli troops near the security fence in the southern Gaza Strip, and that Israeli forces "fired towards the source of the shooting in response."
Soon after, a rocket from Gaza hit the Shaar HaNegev region of southern Israel, landing in an open area without causing any injuries.
21 may 2014
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) entered southern Gaza on Wednesday morning and bulldozed tracts of land while Palestinian resistance fighters fired mortar shells at them. Local sources told the PIC reporter that IOF soldiers escorting four military bulldozers advanced 200 meters into eastern Qarara town, to the northwest of Khan Younis in southern Gaza Strip, and leveled land.
They said that resistance fighters fired four mortar shells at the invading troops and blasted an explosive device in one of the bulldozers.
The PIC reporter said that IOF opened artillery fire at areas east of Qarara and another area to the north west of the incursion area. No casualties were reported.
Reinforcements were sent to the invading force and sound of intermittent shooting was heard in the area as helicopter gunships hovered overhead, the reporter added.
They said that resistance fighters fired four mortar shells at the invading troops and blasted an explosive device in one of the bulldozers.
The PIC reporter said that IOF opened artillery fire at areas east of Qarara and another area to the north west of the incursion area. No casualties were reported.
Reinforcements were sent to the invading force and sound of intermittent shooting was heard in the area as helicopter gunships hovered overhead, the reporter added.
14 may 2014
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed on Tuesday his frustration over the Palestinian Authority reconciliation agreement with Hamas. “If Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas insists on the reconciliation agreement with Hamas, we will blame him on every rocket fired from the Gaza Strip,” he threatened.
He added during a meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kashia in Tokyo, “ we have seen negative changes since the Palestinian Authority signed agreement with Hamas that aims to destroy us.”
“We will remain committed to push the peace process forward; peace can be achieved only through negotiations,” He added.
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, for his part, said, “Abbas is not interested in reaching an agreement with Israel.”
On April 23, the Fatah-led PLO and Hamas announced a national unity deal to end seven years of political division between the largest two Palestinian parties, with a national unity government to be set in place within five weeks.
The division between Fatah and Hamas began in 2006, when Hamas won Palestinian legislative elections.
In the following year, clashes erupted between Fatah and Hamas, leaving Hamas in control of the Strip and Fatah in control of parts of the occupied West Bank.
The groups have made failed attempts at national reconciliation for years, most recently in 2012, when they signed two agreements -- one in Cairo and a subsequent one in Doha -- which have as of yet been unimplemented.
He added during a meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kashia in Tokyo, “ we have seen negative changes since the Palestinian Authority signed agreement with Hamas that aims to destroy us.”
“We will remain committed to push the peace process forward; peace can be achieved only through negotiations,” He added.
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, for his part, said, “Abbas is not interested in reaching an agreement with Israel.”
On April 23, the Fatah-led PLO and Hamas announced a national unity deal to end seven years of political division between the largest two Palestinian parties, with a national unity government to be set in place within five weeks.
The division between Fatah and Hamas began in 2006, when Hamas won Palestinian legislative elections.
In the following year, clashes erupted between Fatah and Hamas, leaving Hamas in control of the Strip and Fatah in control of parts of the occupied West Bank.
The groups have made failed attempts at national reconciliation for years, most recently in 2012, when they signed two agreements -- one in Cairo and a subsequent one in Doha -- which have as of yet been unimplemented.
2 may 2014
Palestinian militants fired a rocket from the Gaza Strip on Thursday night which hit southern Israel without causing any damage, the army said.
A statement said the rocket hit open ground in the Eshkol area, adding: "No injuries or damage were reported."
A military spokeswoman said that more than 100 projectiles fired by militants in Hamas-ruled Gaza have hit Israel this year.
Last week, militants fired three rockets at southern Israel, the same day Israeli warplanes wounded six people in a "counter-terror operation" north of Gaza City.
The air raid came after rival Palestinian leaders from the West Bank and Gaza angered Israel agreeing a new reconciliation agreement.
A statement said the rocket hit open ground in the Eshkol area, adding: "No injuries or damage were reported."
A military spokeswoman said that more than 100 projectiles fired by militants in Hamas-ruled Gaza have hit Israel this year.
Last week, militants fired three rockets at southern Israel, the same day Israeli warplanes wounded six people in a "counter-terror operation" north of Gaza City.
The air raid came after rival Palestinian leaders from the West Bank and Gaza angered Israel agreeing a new reconciliation agreement.
