IDF Kills Terrorists Behind Murder of Jewish Teens

Tuesday, September 23, 2014 |  Israel Today Staff

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Terrorism

Israeli forces on Tuesday morning exchanged fire with and killed the two chief suspects in the June 12 abduction and execution of Jewish teenagers Eyal Yifrach, Gilad Shaar and Naftali Frenkel (pictured).

The brief gun battle took place in the Judean town of Hebron, where Marwan Kawasme and Amer Abu Aysha had holed up in a carpentry shop near a complex owned by the Kawasme family.

Israeli soldiers surrounded the building during the predawn hours and demanded the two wanted Hamas members surrender. They were instead met by machine gun fire.

Following the disappearance of Yifrach, Shaar and Frenkel as they attempted to hitchhike home from their yeshiva near Hebron, Israel launched “Operation Brother’s Keeper” in a frantic effort to find the youths.

When the boys’ bodies were found a week later, the operation shifted to one of retribution and deterrence. In the wake of Tuesday’s successful operation, had this to say:

“On the eve of the Jewish New Year, Operation Brothers’ Keeper - which began Friday, June 13, 2014 and continued with determination since then - came to an end. We promised the Shaar, Yifrach, and Frenkel families that we would get to their children’s murderers, and we did that this morning.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu added the following:

“When we found the bodies of Naftali, Gilad and Eyal I said that whoever carried out the kidnapping and murder of our teens — his blood will be on his head. This morning it was accomplished. We will continue to hit terror everywhere.”

Hamas, too, confirmed deaths of its operatives in a statement reading:

“Two members of the Izz A-Din al-Qasam brigades, Marwan Kawasme and Amer Abu Aysha were killed after a journey of sacrifice and giving. This is the path of resistance and we walk it side by side.”

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IDF Chief: Israel Must Retake Gaza if it Wants Quiet - ISRAEL TODAY

IDF Chief: Israel Must Retake Gaza if it Wants Quiet

Monday, March 24, 2014 |  Israel Today Staff  

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Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Gen. Benny Gantz last week said that if Israel wants a return to quieter days in its southern regions, it will eventually have to reconquer the Gaza Strip.

On Wednesday, Gantz gave a presentation at a high school in the town of Gan Yavne, situated situated adjacent to the southern port city of Ashdod, a regular target of terrorist missile crews operating out of Gaza.

Students asked Gantz if it would ever be possible to put a full stop to the rocket fire that has effectively placed some one million Israelis under a kind of long-range siege.

Gantz responded: “If we want to make sure that nothing will come from there, we need to retake Gaza.”

The general said Israel had made the strategic decision to “sleep on it,” but indicated that reconquering the Hamas-ruled coastal enclave is a very real possibility.

Several high ranking Israeli officials, including Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, were calling for just such action last week, days after Gaza-based terrorists pounded southern Israel with over 50 missiles and mortar shells.

At a rally in Gaza City on Sunday, Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh (pictured) said any Israeli military move would be a major mistake.

“We tell the enemy…who is threatening to reoccupy Gaza that the time for your threats is over,” Haniyeh declared. “Any aggression or crime or stupidity you commit will cost you a very high price.”

On Saturday, hundreds of Israelis, including many journalists, received threatening cellphone text messages and emails from Hamas. The messages promised continued rocket attacks and kidnapping attempts against Israel, and vowed that the next Gaza war would result in Israel’s demise.

One email message received by staff at Israel National News spoke of revenge for the 2004 elimination of Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin by the IDF. It read:

“Ten years ago, Ismail Ahmed Yassin, our leader, was killed by three missiles as he left a mosque after morning prayers. This is a reminder that we do not forget our Sheikh’s blood on your hands. We vow once again that we will take revenge, and cut off the heads of your commanders. Missiles killed our Sheikh and now, our missiles will hit every place in the State of Israel. Know that the next war will see the end of your country.”

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Israel Today: Israel, Foreign Dignitaries Lay Ariel Sharon to Rest

Israel, Foreign Dignitaries Lay Ariel Sharon to Rest

Monday, January 13, 2014 |  Israel Today Staff  

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Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon took the ride to his final resting place in the southern Negev region on Monday following a pair of memorial ceremonies in Jerusalem and Latrun.

The morning started at the Knesset in Jerusalem, where Israeli officials were joined by more than a dozen foreign dignitaries, including US Vice President Biden, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Czech Prime Minister Jiri Rusnok, Russian parliamentary head Sergey Naryshkin, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Spanish Home Affairs Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz and Canadian Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander.

Biden and Blair joined Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres in eulogizing Sharon.

A massive convoy then made its way to Latrun, where a then-20-year-old Sharon took part and was seriously wounded in a bloody battle against Arab forces during Israel's War of Independence.

Arriving at Sharon's Sycamore Ranch in the Negev, a group of senior IDF generals lowered the former leader's coffin into the ground next to his late wife Lily.

With the Sycamore Ranch situated so close to the Gaza Strip, security officials had feared Palestinian terrorists would try to attack the funeral with rockets. Indeed, earlier in the day two rockets were fired from Gaza, but failed to reach southern Israel.

Standing at the graveside, IDF Chief of Staff Gen. Benny Gantz told Sharon, revered by many as one of history's greatest Jewish warriors, that the Israeli army continues to "march to the sound of your footsteps."

Sharon's tearful son, Gilad, mourned a father who had "become a national legend."