Below is your weekly edition of E-News recapping key developments affecting Israel’s security.
Israelis Face Continued Rocket Fire
For two straight days, Palestinian terrorists in Gaza fired rockets at Israelis. On Tuesday, two rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip towards southern Israel. Rocket sirens went off in Ashkelon and Ashdod. The Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted the two rockets. On Wednesday, rockets were fired at Israeli communities—one damaging a home. Families in southern Israel rushed to bomb shelters. Last Friday, five rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip towards communities in southern Israel. This is the reality Israelis are forced to confront.
Israel Preparing Diplomatic Ground for Possible Action Against Hezbollah
Preparing the diplomatic ground for possible action against Hezbollah's precision missile program in Lebanon, Israel's mission at the U.N. informed the Security Council on Monday that Hezbollah is operating a facility for the production of these missiles in the Bekaa Valley. According to a statement issued by Israel's mission at the U.N., “The IDF has provided valuable information on Hezbollah's precision missile program in Lebanon, which has helped Israel advance its case in recent letters to the Security Council.” Hezbollah is a terrorist organization that receives $800 million annually from Iran. With Iran's help, it has built an arsenal of over 150,000 rockets and missiles in Lebanon, and is developing precision-guided weapons to strike specific sites in Israel.
Israel’s vibrant and pluralistic democracy will once again be on full display as Israelis return to the polls across the country next week, on Sept. 17, to elect a representative government. The voters will decide the newest members of Israel’s parliament, the Knesset. These unprecedented follow-up elections, the first in the country’s history, were triggered by the Knesset’s dissolution vote in May after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was unable to secure the 61-seat majority needed to form a new government. Following the election, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin will determine which member of the Knesset has the best chance of forming a 61-seat coalition, since no single party will be able to rule alone.
U.S. Continues to Impose Sanctions on Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas
As part of a growing effort to push back on Iran’s malign actions, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) continued to impose sanctions on entities affiliated with terrorist groups this past week. On Tuesday, OFAC imposed sanctions on a series of 15 leaders, facilitators, and entities affiliated with terrorist groups. The Treasury targeted groups including entities affiliated with Hamas, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), al-Qaida and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force.
Virginia Becomes First in U.S. to Pilot Israeli Waste Conversion Solution
An Israeli product is helping Virginia address one of the world’s most significant environmental challenges. The world produces approximately two billion tons of waste per year—and plastics are the most problematic, according to the World Bank. Israeli startup UBQ Materials has found a way to combat this problem—reusing and recycling products, turning them into plastic. Now, UBQ is helping America become more sustainable. The Central Virginia Waste Management Authority (CVWMA) launched a partnership with UBQ to offer 2,000 recycling bins, shipped from Israel, made with UBQ Material, to residents. Virginia is the first state in the United States to pilot this waste conversion solution.
