Israel celebrates Yom HaAtzma’ut - Independence Day
Anna Klechinova, newly appointed project manager of the First Home in the Homeland program in Israel (which is supported by Christians for Israel), reports:
“Today and yesterday are closely connected in the hearts of each Israeli. On April 28 we honored the memory of more than 23,000 people who died in all the wars Israel had, thanks to whom our country exists. We remembered more than 2500 victims who died in the terror attacks, and security officers who laid down their lives for fellow citizens.”
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Aliyah proceeds - notwithstanding the Corona crisis
The Israeli government has decided that Aliyah can continue notwithstanding the Corona virus restrictions. Koen Carlier reports from Ukraine that nine Jewish emigrants flew this week from from Kiev to Tel Aviv. “The Christian Aliyah Alliance, of which Christians for Israel is part, was asked to help with the transportation. There were no obstacles and all nine olim from Ukraine were taken to the airport in Kiev safely and on time for their departure. The next flight with olim from Ukraine is scheduled for Monday May 11.”
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Germany outlaws Hezbollah - totally
Yesterday (30 April) Germany decided to outlaw the political and military wings of the Hezbollah terror group. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas explains the decision today to outlaw the Hezbollah terror group, including its political wing. According to a tweet by Germany’s Foreign Ministry, Maas has said the Lebanese Shiite movement “denies Israel’s right to exist, threatens with violence and terror and massively upgrades its rocket arsenal.”
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Corona virus in Israel
The Corona virus continues to dominate life in Israel, as it is doing around the world. So far 219 people have died of the virus in Israel, which has imposed a strict lockdown having enormous economic and social repercussions.
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Although Israel is helping many Palestinians, Hamas is opposing any cooperation with Israel. Khaled Abu Toemeh reports: “If Hamas is opposed to any form of cooperation with Israel, why does it continue to allow medical supplies to be transferred from Israel into the Gaza Strip on an almost weekly basis?... It was also revealed that the sister of senior Hamas official Musa Abu Marzouk had been admitted to an Israeli hospital for two weeks for cancer treatments. Hamas is now saying that the Palestinian 'peace activists' who talked to Israelis through an online videoconference will face legal measures for their 'crime.'”
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The COVID-19 virus is of course having a devastating effect around the globe. Read these fascinating articles published by BESA about the effect of Corona in Russia, Iran and in the religious world.
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Israel’s political crisis
Someone recently remarked: “Keeping up with Israeli politics can be like watching an unending game of speed chess. Sometimes it’s easy to follow the moves, other times much less so.” In Israel, right in the midst of the coronavirus crisis and on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, after a year of stalemate and three elections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White head Benny Gantz recently signed a first-of-its kind coalition agreement in which they will share the position of Prime Minister over the next three years.
The agreement requires a range of legislative measures to be taken:
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In the midst of all of this are the legal proceedings against PM Netanyahu, who faces three criminal charges including bribery. Yesterday the Israeli Attorney-General Mandelblit confirmed that in his view there is no legal reason why a sitting Prime Minister who is indicted cannot be charged with forming a government.
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Who owns the West Bank?
One of the terms of the new coalition government agreement is the decision to annex parts of the “West Bank”. PM Netanyahu has announced intentions to achieve this in the coming months, on the back of the recent Trump “Peace Plan”. This raises the question: who “owns” this territory? Does it belong to Israel, or to the Palestinians?
According to the document published yesterday by the Prosecutor to the International Criminal Court (ICC), “sovereignty over the Occupied Palestinian Territory resides in the Palestinian people under occupation”. Her report can be
read here.
Many lawyers dispute this view. Instead they say that understanding the status of these territories requires investigation into the legal and political history of “Palestine”. It is perhaps no coincidence that last weekend was exactly 100 years since the meeting that was held on 25
thApril 1920 in San Remo in Italy after the WW1. The decisions taken at San Remo laid the foundations of the State of Israel – and are thus essential in understanding the status of these territories.
Christians for Israel has created a page full of “San Remo resources” to assist you to understand what happened during these critical years after WWI, and what their legal and historical significance is today. Take the time to view these materials, including excellent
Whose Land? video’s produced by Hugh Kitson:
https://www.c4israel.org/san-remo/
More information about the international law developments, including the significance of San Remo, can be found here:
www.thinc.info