Egypt Will Open Rafah Border with Gaza
Arutz 7—Arab news sources reported Wednesday that Egypt has agreed to open the crossing between it and Gaza at Rafah, on the condition that the Gazan side be supervised by the Palestinian Authority under Mahmoud Abbas, and not by Hamas. Hamas has reportedly agreed to this, mostly because it is now a part of the PA government, since joining Abbas’s Fatah in a unity coalition. Abbas is supposed to serve as the link between Egypt and Israel regarding Gaza, according to the reports. It was also agreed that a conference would be held next month in Norway, to collect funds for rehabilitating Gaza. After the Israeli delegation arrived Tuesday, the US is also joining the talks in Cairo. Spokesperson for the US Department of State, Jen Psaki, said on Tuesday night that Frank Lowenstein, the American Middle East Envoy, was making his way to Cairo in order to participate in ceasefire talks between Israel and factions within the Palestinian Authority. Psaki added that Lowenstein will support the Egyptian initiative and that he will not speak directly with Hamas representative.
Alan Gross’ Condition Worsens, CoP Appeals for his Release
Conference of Presidents Executive Vice Chairman, Malcolm Hoenlein has appealed President Obama to intervene in the case of Alan Gross, an American Jewish professional who is being held by Cuba as a spy. “We view with growing alarm the condition of Alan Gross, who has been held for over four years in a Cuban prison. His health has been deteriorating and he has reportedly lost vision in his right eye. The message he sent to his family, in which he bids them farewell, raises concern that he is giving up… We join more than 300 Rabbis who petitioned President Obama and ask for his intervention and call on the Cuban government to effectuate his immediate release. This injustice has gone on for too long and we dare not let it end in a tragic outcome.”
The Slaughter in Syria Continues as ISIS Gains Control
TIP—More than 130 civilians were killed last weekend by Syrian regime forces across the country, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights watchdog group. Figures estimating that more than 1,800 people have been killed in Syria in ten days, just weeks after Bashar al-Assad was sworn in to a third seven-year term. The House Foreign Affairs Committee heard testimony from a Syrian defector who told lawmakers that more than 150,000 civilians are at risk of torture and death in Syrian jails. The defector, who appeared in disguise for security reasons, presented a collection of photographs taken in Syria, which, per the Daily Beast, catalogued “the torture, starvation, and death of over 11,000 civilians.” The Wall Street Journal characterized the lawmakers attending the hearing as “stunned” at the images, part of a larger collection of approximately 50,000 photographs smuggled out of the country by the defector, a former military photographer. International war crimes prosecutor David Crane called the photos “smoking gun evidence” of atrocities committed by the Assad regime, which Rep. Eliot Engel, the committee’s ranking Democrat, called “war crimes, plain and simple.” Engel criticized the Obama administration for not acting sooner “to stem the growth of ISIS and weaken the regime of Bashar Assad.” ISIS has in recent weeks made gains across Syria, and through the weekend battled Lebanese armed forces in the border town of Arsal, killing more than a dozen Lebanese troops and leaving scores injured.
30,000 Meals a Day Among Outpouring of Support for IDF
Doron Elbaz, who owns a farm near the Gaza border, told his kids: “Let’s go buy some lemons and make lemonade for the soldiers driving by.” Soon, his lemonade stand became the focal point for donations that began pouring in from across the country—food, clothing, toiletries, shampoo, baked goods. Joined by a few volunteers, he started making 1,000 meals a day for soldiers, then 2,000 meals, then 5,000 as donations, and requests from IDF units, poured in. Now 250 volunteers are cooking 30,000 meals per day. A dozen masseurs have set up tables to offer free massages. A barber was offering free haircuts and free shaves. There are a number of similar “rest stops” for soldiers at many intersections along the Gaza border.
32 Countries Ask U.N. To Make Yom Kippur an Official Holiday
JNS.org—Thirty-two countries signed a letter circulated Wednesday in the United Nations General Assembly that requests the recognition of Yom Kippur as an official U.N. holiday. The letter follows an Israeli government campaign on the issue that was launched in May. The U.N. “recognizes the major festivals of many of the world’s main religions, yet Judaism is not represented,” states the letter to the U.N. General Assembly’s Committee on Conferences, the Associated Press reported. The 32 ambassadors who signed the letter were from the U.S., Albania, Andorra, Argentina, Bahamas, Canada, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Dominica, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Grenada, Guatemala, Honduras, Israel, Ivory Coast, Malawi, Micronesia, Monaco, Nauru, Nigeria, Palau, Panama, Philippines, Rwanda, Samoa, Seychelles, South Sudan, Suriname, Togo, Uruguay, and Vanuatu.
Operation Protective Edge Cost Israel $4.3B
JNS.org—Operation Protective Edge’s overall cost for Israel was estimated Tuesday to be $4.3 billion.Defense officials have pegged the overall military expenditure at $2.3 billion, saying the Israel Defense Forces will revise its 2015 budget demands accordingly, Israel Hayom reported. Israeli Tax Authority Director Moshe Asher, quoting preliminary assessments by Finance Ministry Chief Economist Yoel Naveh, said Tuesday that the Israeli economy had lost 0.5 percent in projected gross domestic product growth, estimated at $1.3 billion, during the month-long Gaza campaign. The Tax Authority estimates that more than $14.6 million worth of property damage has been caused by rocket fire, and further predicted a drop of $438 million in tax revenue in 2014 because of the operation. Israel is also expected to pay $29 million in restitution to southern communities affected by Operation Protective Edge.
Israeli Guard Attacked in Maaleh Adumim
JNS.org—An Israeli security guard was stabbed by a Palestinian man at the entrance to Maaleh Adumim on Tuesday. The 60-year-old guard was moderately wounded in the incident and was taken to a nearby hospital for medical treatment, Israel Hayom reported. According to investigators, a Palestinian man carrying a bag arrived at a checkpoint at the entrance to Maaleh Adumim, a suburb community located east of Jerusalem. The guard asked to examine the bag, at which point the man drew a knife from the bag and stabbed the guard. The attacker then fled in the direction of a nearby Arab village. Other guards opened fire at him, but he apparently got away unscathed.
Israeli Priest to U.S. pastors: Protect Mideast Christians
JNS.org—Israeli Christian leader Father Gabriel Nadaf told a group of 51 Evangelical pastors from the U.S. that it is “your responsibility” to help end the slaughter of Mideast Christians. “The silence [in the West] to what is happening in the Middle East to Christians is an enormous sin,” Nadaf said. The pastors, who hail from every U.S. state and the District of Columbia, are touring Israel as part of a three-day solidarity mission organized by Christians United for Israel (CUFI). The mission intends to show “support for the Jewish people at a time when the nations of the world have expressed unilateral condemnation for Israel’s choice to defend her citizens from terrorists’ attacks,” according to a pre-trip letter to the pastors by CUFI founder Pastor John Hagee.
