Change Region:
Tensions High On Northern Border Following Aleppo Strike
ICEJ News Briefs
Posted on:
28 Mar 2019 
Tensions were running high on Israel’s northern border Thursday following what Iran and the Assad regime are saying was an Israeli air strike in Syria’s Aleppo province which killed seven fighters from Iranian-backed terror militias and caused a total power outage in Aleppo, Syria’s second largest city. Israeli officials declined to comment on the accusations, but IDF units deployed on the northern border remained on high alert amidst threats by Iranian leaders to “respond” to such strikes. In related news, the US and Israel were subjected to withering rhetoric at a late-night emergency meeting of the UN Security Council Wednesday which was called to discuss the recent recognition of Israeli sovereignty in the Golan Heights by US President Donald Trump. Reports of the alleged Israeli strike near Aleppo trickled in during the discussions, which did not result in a formal vote.
“Israel must ensure that this territory will never again be used to target our people,” Israeli Ambassador to the UN Dani Danon said during his own testimony before the Council. “Without the Golan Heights, Israel will find Iranian soldiers on the tip of the Sea of Galilee. We will never let that happen.”
All 28 governments of the European Union also issued a statement on Wednesday declaring that they do not agree with the US recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan. Several Israeli political leaders spoke out against the EU statement, characterizing it as cynical and unhelpful. The US move has also been condemned by Turkey, Iran, several Arab governments and the Lebanese Shi’ite terror militia Hezbollah, which Israel has accused of using the civil war in Syria as a pretext to deploy its forces in Syrian territory in an effort to menace Israel.
“Israel must ensure that this territory will never again be used to target our people,” Israeli Ambassador to the UN Dani Danon said during his own testimony before the Council. “Without the Golan Heights, Israel will find Iranian soldiers on the tip of the Sea of Galilee. We will never let that happen.”
All 28 governments of the European Union also issued a statement on Wednesday declaring that they do not agree with the US recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan. Several Israeli political leaders spoke out against the EU statement, characterizing it as cynical and unhelpful. The US move has also been condemned by Turkey, Iran, several Arab governments and the Lebanese Shi’ite terror militia Hezbollah, which Israel has accused of using the civil war in Syria as a pretext to deploy its forces in Syrian territory in an effort to menace Israel.
Iranian Government Under Intense Pressure Due to Flooding
Iranian President Hassan Rohani was forced to make a nationally televised address promising material compensation for damage incurred by citizens by massive flooding which has now affected 25 of Iran’s 31 provinces. The death toll from the floods has reached 37, with many more injured and estimates of property damages already reaching billions of dollars. Meanwhile, some analysts were warning that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps could be preparing for a ‘soft coup’ to take control of the country in the wake of the failure by the civilian government to respond adequately to the disaster.
Here are two videos giving a closer look at the floods in Iran and related issues
French Frigate Docks in Haifa
Here are two videos giving a closer look at the floods in Iran and related issues
French Frigate Docks in Haifa
Efforts to Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) Israel and isolate it diplomatically suffered yet another defeat this week when the French Navy sent the Languedoc, one of its most technologically advanced surface combatants, to dock in Haifa. The frigate is in the region as part of France’s mission to fight the Islamic State (IS) terror militia, while the French Embassy in Tel Aviv issued a statement saying the visit was meant to be a friendly gesture towards a valued military ally as well as an opportunity for extend the already close anti-terror cooperation between Israel and France.
Salt Cave Near Dead Sea Sets New Record
Salt Cave Near Dead Sea Sets New Record
The Hebrew University in Jerusalem issued a statement Thursday announcing that a team of geologists exploring the Dead Sea region have discovered that the Malham Cave in the Dead Sea’s Mount Sedom, first explored by HU in the 1980s, is a little over 10 km. long, making it the longest such structure ever found in Israel. “Thirty years ago, when we surveyed Malham, we used tape measures and compasses,” explained Prof. Amos Frumkin, director of the Cave Research Center at HU’s Institute of Earth Sciences. “Now we have laser technology that beams measurements right to our iPhones.”
“The Malham Salt Cave is a river cave,” he continued. “Water from a surface stream flowed underground and dissolved the salt, creating caves – a process that is still going on when there is heavy rain over Mount Sedom about once a year.”
Today's video celebrates Israel's Special Olympians
“The Malham Salt Cave is a river cave,” he continued. “Water from a surface stream flowed underground and dissolved the salt, creating caves – a process that is still going on when there is heavy rain over Mount Sedom about once a year.”
Today's video celebrates Israel's Special Olympians