From PressTV
Israeli army holding military drills in West Bank
The Israeli army is conducting military drills in the occupied West Bank as part of preparations to deal with possible deterioration in security conditions in the Palestinian territories, Press TV reports.
The level of military exercises has been unprecedented over the past 10 years, the Israeli newspaper Ma’ariv quoted unidentified Israeli military sources as saying.
“The military exercises on this level definitely have a political message for Palestinians. They are aimed to show that Israel has the upper hand and its army has the power to deter attacks by Palestinian activists,” Esmat Mansour, an expert on the Middle East affairs, told Press TV.
Israeli soldiers have mistreated Palestinians during the exercises carried out in villages and near civilians’ houses, human rights organizations reported.
In one case, the soldiers broke into a house while a Palestinian family was inside.
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From PressTV
Settlers hurl rocks at Palestinian car, injure teenage girl
A 12-year-old Palestinian teenage girl has sustained moderate injuries in an incident during which a group of Israeli settlers pelted the car she was traveling in with rocks in the central occupied West Bank.
Local sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the girl, identified as Rua Hazim Sawalha, was in a car just north of Ramallah, located 10 kilometers (6 miles) north of al-Quds (Jerusalem), late on Saturday, when settlers hurled rocks at the car and injured her.
Earlier in the day, an Israeli settler opened fire on a young Palestinian man in the town of ar-Rihiya, situated six kilometers (3.7 miles) southwest of al-Khalil (Hebron). The youth was struck in the thigh.
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From PressTV
Israeli settler opens fire on Palestinian in West Bank
An Israeli settler has shot and wounded a young Palestinian man in a village near the occupied West Bank city of al-Khalil (Hebron).
The Palestinian, identified as Ibrahim Issa Suleiman al-Tubassi, suffered injuries when an Israeli from a nearby settlement opened fire on him in the village of al-Rihiya, Palestinian news agency Maan reported on Saturday.
Al-Tubassi was taken to hospital for treatment, with medical sources clarifying that he was shot in the thigh.
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From PressTV
Israel settlers, security forces storm al-Aqsa Mosque
Israeli settlers accompanied by the Zionist regime’s security forces have stormed the holy al-Aqsa Mosque in East al-Quds (Jerusalem).
On Sunday, the settlers along with the forces stormed the holy site to take pictures inside the mosque compound.
Israel continues to restrict the movement of Palestinian worshipers to the al-Aqsa Mosque.
A new survey by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research shows that 68 percent of Palestinians think the mosque will be imminently destroyed by Israel, while around 77 percent say Israel is planning to replace the mosque with another temple.
Over the past decades, the Tel Aviv regime has tried to change the demographic makeup of al-Quds by constructing illegal settlements, destroying historical sites and expelling the local Palestinian population.
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From Ynet News
Esther, Moshe reach NYC top baby name list
Annual list includes Chana, Miriam, and others; may be thanks to ultra-Orthodox population.
New York City’s Health Department has released its annual breakdown of popular baby names. Besides the general top 10, there are also lists for different ethnicities: Among white babies, Esther was the third most popular girls’ name, trailed by Sarah, Leah, Rachel, Chaya, Miriam, and Chana, all in the top 10.
Leah was seventh among all girls’ names, regardless of ethnicity, up from number nine.
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From the Jewish Daily Forward
Why Benjamin Netanyahu Attended Paris Anti-Terror March Over France’s Objections
Did Israeli Politics Cause Premier to Flip-Flop and Go?
By Haaretz and Barak Ravid
After the French government began to send invitations to world leaders to participate in the rally against terror, Hollande’s national security adviser, Jacques Audibert, contacted his Israeli counterpart, Yossi Cohen, and said that Hollande would prefer that Netanyahu not attend, the source said.
Audibert explained that Hollande wanted the event to focus on demonstrating solidarity with France, and to avoid anything liable to divert attention to other controversial issues, like Jewish-Muslim relations or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Audibert said that Hollande hoped that Netanyahu would understand the difficulties his arrival might pose and would announce that he would not be attending.
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From the Jewish Daily Forward
Israel Expects 50% Surge in Immigration by French Jews
Jewish Agency Says 10,000 To Make Aliyah in 2015
By Reuters
Israel expects the number of French Jews moving there this year, which was already predicted to rise sharply from 2014’s record level, to accelerate further after the killings at a Paris kosher grocery, a senior official said on Sunday.
Natan Sharansky, head of the Jewish Agency promoting emigration to Israel, said his estimate for 2015 was 10,000 French immigrants, after 3,300 in 2013 and 7,000 last year.
“It will probably be much more than 10,000,” he told Reuters at a Jewish Agency meeting for French considering emigration. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liebermann, at his side, said about 700 Jews had attended the session during the day.
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From the Jewish Daily Forward
Why Did Barack Obama Skip Paris March Against Terrorism?
Ambassador Attends — Joe Biden and John Kerry Busy
By Reuters
Washington — The absence of President Barack Obama or any top members of his administration from a huge march in Paris on Sunday to honor victims of Islamist militant attacks raised eyebrows among some in the U.S. media.
French President Francois Hollande and some 44 foreign dignitaries, including leaders from Germany, Italy, Britain, Turkey, Israel and the Palestinian territories, headed more than a million people in what commentators said was the largest crowd in Paris since its liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944.
Islamist militants killed 17 people, including journalists and police, in three days of attacks in the French capital last week.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
‘France will no longer be France’ if Jews leave, prime minister says
(JTA) — The soul of the French republic would be at risk if there were a mass exodus of Jews from France, the country’s prime minister said.
“If 100,000 French people of Spanish origin were to leave, I would never say that France is not France anymore,” said Valls, who is the son of Spanish immigrants. “But if 100,000 Jews leave, France will no longer be France. The French Republic will be judged a failure.”
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