Multiple salvos fired on Israel for second day in a row. Children’s playground in Sderot damaged by rocket debris. IDF says aircraft struck “dozens of Islamic Jihad terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip” and a facility belonging to the terrorist group on the outskirts of Damascus.

By Neta Bar, ISRAEL HAYOM , 02-24-2020 16:34

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks in May, 2019 | Photo: Oren Ben Hakoon

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Monday that if Gaza’s terrorists continued to fire rockets on Israeli communities, they will face a massive Israeli assault.

Netanyahu made the comments during a visit to Samaria with US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman and other American officials.

“We attacked in the Gaza Strip, and also in Syria, and I am not going to let up the pressure,” Netanyahu said. “On my way here I talked with security officials and as you can probably gather, we are going to go beyond the painful blows we have inflicted on our enemies.”He then went on to say that he will resort to a full-fledged assault if the Palestinians continue to terrorize Israeli communities along the border with rocket attacks.
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T, Belman. Could it be that Netanyahu wants Hamas to escalate prior to the elections.  Some believe that the country is less likely to vote against a war-time leader.

The Egyptians, as usual, will be called upon to help calm the situation, along with the UN’s mission to Gaza. They’ve likely already engaged with the sides, but will only be able to make progress after the current tit-for-tat subsides.

By Yoav Limor, ISRAEL HAYOM

A masked Palestinian terrorist checks the damage following overnight Israeli airstrikes on an Islamic Jihad military base in the town of Khan Younis, Monday | Photo: AP/Khalil Hamra

Sunday night’s wild rocket attack on the western Negev and Gaza envelope communities forced Israel into an uncomfortable corner at an inconvenient time. Contrary to its stated desire to maintain calm in the south, Israel had to act, but still with the clear intention of keeping the ceasefire with Hamas intact and avoiding a wide-scale escalation on the eve of the March 2 general election.

This time, too, Palestinian Islamic Jihad was behind the mayhem, similar to its previous efforts over the past year and a half (and on the eve of the last election in September) to torpedo any attempt by the sides to reach an agreement. It doesn’t matter whether these efforts stem from an internal rivalry with Hamas, PIJ’s natural anarchism, or directives from its Iranian master, the result is the same: Palestinian Islamic Jihad is currently the primary source of Gaza’s ills.

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Children’s playground in Sderot damaged by rocket debris. IDF says aircraft struck “dozens of Islamic Jihad terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip” and a facility belonging to the terrorist group on the outskirts of Damascus. Palestinian Islamic Jihad says the airstrikes in Damascus killed two of its members.

By Neta Bar, ISRAEL HAYOM   Last modified: 02-24-2020 13:32>

Rockets fired by Palestinian terrorists from the Gaza Strip | Archives: AFP/David Buimovich

For the second day in a row, sirens blared across southern Israel on Monday as residents were forced to take shelter in the face of incoming rockets fired from Gaza.

There were no reports of casualties, but considerable damage was caused to property in several locations by debris from intercepted rockets.

The IDF said it identified 14 rocket launches from the Gaza Strip toward Israel. Twelve were intercepted the army said. Read more…

By Raymond Ibrahim, AMERICAN THINKER

True to form, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (“CAIR”) — also known as an “unindicted co-conspirator” in the largest terrorist funding case in U.S. history, and a designated “terrorist organization” for nations allied to America — is again protesting my forthcoming appearance to the U.S. Army War College, urging the latter to “reconsider its decision and disinvite Ibrahim,” since my presentation will no doubt be “hypocritical, ahistorical and hateful.”

This, of course, is all déjà vu — a repeat of events from eight months ago. As CAIR itself notes in it new press release, which came out on Feb. 21, 2020:

.Last summer, CAIR and its allies launched an online campaign highlighting Ibrahim’s Islamophobic views and their negative impact.

Led by CAIR-Philadelphia and MPower Change, and supported by Community Responders Network, About Face, and Common Defense, the campaign drew more than 1800 signatures and received widespread support from its interfaith allies.

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Netanyahu and Defense Minister Bennett talk a big game but are willing to go far to ensure calm – Sunday’s rocket fire shows Hamas is in no rush to implement a cease-fire

By Amos Harel, HAARETZ

A demonstration, called for by various groups in Gaza, to protest against a U.S.-brokered peace plan, in Gaza City on February 21, 2020. MOHAMMED ABED / AFP

Former Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman is not bothered by little things like the army censor’s objections, especially when it’s not clear that they are justified. And this time, the Yisrael Beiteinu leader did the public a favor.

A report, about to be published by journalist Tal Shalev on the Walla news website, had been delayed by the military censor for nearly two weeks. It revealed a secret visit to Qatar by Mossad head Yossi Cohen and the army’s Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Herzl Halevi to persuade the Emirati leadership to continue funding the ceasefire process in Gaza. On Saturday Lieberman went on Israel’s Channel 12 and blew the case wide open.
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The first few tapestries were completed in December 1519, and brought to the chapel immediately thereafter. However, Raphael died in the months following and never got to see the complete collection.

By Zachary Keyser, JPOST 

A tapestry designed by Renaissance artist Raphael is installed on a lower wall of the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican as part of celebrations marking the 500th anniversary of his death  (photo credit: REUTERS)

Ten breathtaking tapestries commissioned by High Renaissance artist Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, known as Raphael, have been returned to the Sistine Chapel after centuries of separation.

The tapestries are being brought to the famous chapel in Vatican City to commemorate the anniversary of Raphael’s death. Normally the tapestries are housed on rotation in the “Raphael Room” at the Vatican Museum, and have not been removed from the facility in centuries.

Referred to informally the Raphael Cartoons, the extravagant tapestries depict the lives of Saint Peter and Paul – painted by Raphael and then sent to Brussels to be woven into tapestries by master weaver Pieter van Aulst.

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By Anna Ahronheim, JPOST

Defense Minister Naftali Bennett meets with IDF officials on January 28, 2020  
(photo credit: DEFENSE MINISTRY)

Israel is “preparing a plan to fundamentally change the situation in the Gaza Strip” Defense Minister Naftali Bennett said following a night of deadly retaliatory air strikes against the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terror group in Syria and throughout the Strip after rockets were fired toward southern Israel throughout the evening on Sunday.

“We are preparing a plan to fundamentally change the situation in the Gaza Strip. I really understand the situation of the people of the South; they deserve peace and security,” Bennett said during a conference in Jerusalem on Monday.“We have eliminated at least six terrorists over the last day – not only in Gaza – but we have also made progress in hurting the source of the problem. But deterrence is not built in a moment,” he said.

Israeli Air Force fighter jets struck numerous PIJ targets south of the capital of Damascus on Sunday night, killing at least six terror operatives. Amid fears of fresh violence, the IDF’s Home Front Command announced that roads, schools and the train line near the Gaza Strip would be closed.

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London says it’ll look at tens of millions given to UN refugee agency; one physics book discusses use of slingshots against IDF soldiers, others praise terrorists

By TOI STAFF

An image said to be from a Palestinian school textbook covering physics which shows a Palestinian boy shooting a slingshot at Israeli soldiers. The caption, according to the Daily Mail, reads: ‘What is the relationship between the elongation of the slingshot’s rubber and the tensile strength affecting it? What are the forces that influence the stone after its release from the slingshot?’ (Courtesy IMPACT-se)

British officials have pledged to urgently review the tens of millions of dollars in aid the UK provides to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, after an investigative report found that a majority of the funds have been going to schools in the West Bank and Gaza Strip which use textbooks that incite violence against Israelis.

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From Utøya to Christchurch to Galle and Hanau: Experimenting with the body of society in the name of creating utopia produces monsters.

By Alexander Maistrovoy

A century ago, in 1918-20, Europe sunk into the “red terror”. Inspired by the Russian revolution, people with red armbands, red flags and red stars were determined to celebrate the “new bright future”. At factories, the power was transferred to factory committees, banks were nationalized, churches were turned into food and military warehouses, monuments were demolished, people were forcibly mobilized into the Red Army.

Extraordinary commissions murdered the “enemies of the people” and their families and deprived them of land and property. The Bavarian Soviet Republic, Hungarian Soviet Republic, Slovak Soviet Republic, Alsace-Lorraine Soviet Republic, Bremen Soviet Republic, Red Finland – the creators of the great Utopia destroyed everything that was associated with traditional values, ideals and virtues.

Nowadays no one seems to remember it. The Left will not benefit from those memories; the Right dreads accusations of whitewashing Nazism.
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Reports show US schools are not preparing new generations of Americans to understand basic US history, the virtue of freedom, and the stark difference between a free market and a government-dictated economy. What can we do to fix this?

By Kenneth Abromowitz

However, our schools — both secular and religious — are failing to educate and protect our distinctly American culture.

A recent research report, “Meet Today’s Typical Millennial,” by SaveTheWest consulting editor & videographer Jon Sutz, lays waste to the notion that our schools are preparing new generations of Americans to understand even basic U.S. history, the virtue of freedom, and the stark difference between the free market and a government-dictated economy.

So what can we do to fix this growing mess?

There are 9 changes that should be made now:
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7 South Koreans said to test positive for virus after returning from Israel

Woman in Israel infected by coronavirus during quarantine in Japan reportedly in good condition; Italy records its first death amid a cluster of cases near Milan

By AGENCIES and TOI STAFF

Workers wearing protective gears help clean each other’s suits after disinfecting against the coronavirus at a subway station in Seoul, South Korea, Feb. 21, 2020. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

The World Health Organization warned Friday that the window to stem the deadly coronavirus outbreak was shrinking, amid concern over a surge in cases with no clear link to China.

The warning came as Italy saw its first death from the virus amid a rash of infections and moved to close public spaces in 10 towns, in a move with echoes of China’s lockdown of entire cities in the province at the center of the outbreak.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has for weeks insisted the low number of cases of COVID-19 outside the epicenter of the deadly outbreak in China’s central Hubei province presented a “window of opportunity” to contain the international spread.

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How they refuse to engage

by Seth Mandel, COMMENTARY

Something unusual happened in the world of Arab–Israeli negotiations early this year: The Palestinians were given a reason to come to the negotiating table. On January 28, the president unveiled “Peace to Prosperity: A Vision to Improve the Lives of the Palestinian and Israeli People,” to great fanfare at the White House. The plan leaves open a path to a Palestinian state without holding Israeli security needs and political legitimacy hostage. It calls for a settlement freeze in most of the West Bank and offers amnesty for illegal Palestinian construction, thus giving a boost to Palestinian sovereignty, while allowing Israel to retain control over the areas of the Jordan Valley it deems necessary.

Attending the White House ceremonial release of the plan were envoys from Bahrain, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates. In a statement, the Saudi foreign ministry said it “appreciates the efforts of President Trump’s administration to develop a comprehensive peace plan between the Palestinian and the Israeli sides” and encouraged further talks using the Trump plan as the basis for negotiations. Similar statements came from Morocco and Qatar. Even Egypt chimed in with praise.
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by Jonathan Spyer, JPOST

The global spotlight has currently returned to Syria because of the Assad regime’s current bloody offensive in Idlib, Aleppo and Latakia provinces. The regime is trying to reduce the last enclave held by Sunni Arab rebels in the country’s northwest.

The assault has precipitated one of the worst humanitarian disasters of the bloody, nine-year war. Eight hundred thousand people have left their homes to flee the advance of regime forces and the relentless, indiscriminate bombing of Assad’s Russian allies.

Far to the south of Idlib, however, and largely ignored by the global media, events are under way that may offer a clue to the future direction of Syria. These events are of direct interest to Israel. Read more…

by Howard Rotberg

20-20 eyesight is a normal and good eye-sight. We now are in the year “2020”. We wonder, in the context of historical knowledge and recent political, economic, and cultural events, whether the year 2020 is going to usher in for Israel and its friends in America, a clear vision of geo-political threats and appropriate actions and words. The big issue is whether 2020 will see a war between Israel and Iran and/or between Israel and Iran’s terrorist proxies. The Iranian leadership continues to seek power, influence and territory, from Iraq to Syria to Yemen, even as the Iranian people themselves are showing discontent with that leadership.

Sadly, both America and Israel, while blessed with outstanding leaders who understand the threats to Israel, are bogged down in political and legal disputes, which takes up much of the media reporting. The year 2020 has already exposed certain lessons. President Trump, despite constant attempts by the American Democratic Party and its media shills to chase him from power, has shown great strategic success in assassinating the leading Iranian terrorist Solomeini and re-framing, in his Deal of the Century, the paradigm for peace between Arabs and Israel, and possibly has encouraged some rapprochement between Israel and certain Sunni Muslim countries like Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the Emirates, who now realize that Iran, not Israel, is the leading threat.
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By AP Reports

Rahmat Gul / AP PhotoIn this Nov. 13, 2019, file photo, Afghan security personnel gather at the site of a car bomb attack in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Rahmat Gul / AP Photo)

The countdown to the signing of a peace agreement between the Taliban and the United States on Feb. 29 to end the 18 years of war in Afghanistan will begin at midnight Friday, when a seven-day “reduction of violence” promised by the Taliban goes into effect, an Afghan official said.

After that week-long period, the long-sought peace agreement between the U.S. and the Taliban will be signed in Doha, Qatar, paving the way for a withdrawal of U.S. troops and intra-Afghan negotiations, a senior U.S. State Department official said.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the deal and its details.

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