Tag Archives: Israel

Major Oil Find in Israel but Quality and Cost of Extraction Unknown

Israel is surrounded by countries loaded with oil bearing land. To find a sufficient amount of oil could mean a huge boost for her young oil production industry.

A company drilling for oil on the Golan Heights, close to the country’s border with Syria , claims they have found a significant amount of oil reserves. What they found looks to be 10 times larger than the average oil field worldwide.  This could  boost support of domestic demand but the quality, quantity and the cost involved for extraction is not known at this time.

Three drilling sites on the Golan have uncovered what is potentially billions of barrels of oil, enough to fulfill the Israeli market’s 270,000-barrel-per-day consumption for a very long time.

Chief geologist of Afek Oil and Gas, Yuval Bartov, said, “It’s a fantastic feeling. We came here thinking maybe yes or maybe no and now things are really happening!”

Since Israel’s founding, companies have drilled 530 exploratory wells in search for oil, but few of them have turned up commercially viable product, the Times of Israel reported. 

This find, however is already shadowed by the concerns regarding the war in Syria and the cost involved to protect the oil fields, domestic concerns as to the legality of Israel’s right to Golan Heights, as well as an ongoing struggle with environmental groups concerned over the effects the drilling will have on the land and the wildlife found there.  

The main site is close to the small town of Katzrin, which lies northeast of the northern shore of the fabled Sea of Galilee and is home to a wide range of special plants and wild animals, including major nature reserves such as Gamla, home to Israel’s largest population of Griffon vultures.

Spreading Violence in Israel Forces Netanyahu to Cancel German Visit

A rise in street violence has prompted the Prime Minister to cancel his visit to Germany planned for Thursday.

Israeli and Palestinian leaders have been attempting to calm the fueled confrontations that have been surrounding Jerusalem’s al Aqsa mosque complex, Islam’s third holiest site which is considered as a holy place called the Temple Mount by Jews and the site of their two ancient temples.

The prospect that Israel is trying to expand the Jewish presence at the hilltop compound has led to ongoing clashes, including Palestinians barricading themselves inside the mosque and throwing stones and firebombs at Israeli forces.

Several incidents throughout Israel including a Palestinian man was shot dead in southern Israel on Wednesday after he stabbed an Israeli soldier and attempted to grab his weapon.

Earlier Wednesday, a Palestinian woman stabbed an Israeli man who then shot and wounded her in Jerusalem’s Old City and a Palestinian stabbed an Israeli man outside a mall in central Israel, police said. The attacker was arrested.

Four Israelis have been killed in stabbings in Jerusalem and a drive-by shooting in the occupied West Bank since Thursday, and two Palestinians have been shot dead and scores injured in clashes with security services, triggering fears of an escalation.

Palestinians fear increasing visits by Jewish groups to al-Aqsa are eroding longtime Muslim religious control there. Netanyahu has said he is committed to maintaining the status quo.

Tensions Rise between Palestinians and Israelis after Death of Palestinian Teen

Clashes between Israelis and Palestinians on the West Bank resulted in hundreds of injuries and the death of a Palestinian teenager on Sunday. The recent escalation in violence is a reaction to Israel’s decision of restricting Palestinians from entering Jerusalem’s Old City with the exception of residents.

The clashes intensified on Monday after Israeli forces shot and killed Huthayfa Soliman, 18. According to the Israeli military, he and others were throwing firecrackers, rocks, and firebombs at the soldiers at a checkpoint near Tulkarm, in the northern West Bank.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society told Al Jazeera that nearly 400 people have been injured in the recent clashes. The humanitarian organization reported that in two incidents, Jewish settlers have smashed ambulances and physically attacked their staff members.

The escalation in violence began Thursday when Palestinian gunmen killed a Jewish couple near a settlement in the occupied West Bank. Two days later, two ultra-Orthodox Jewish men were fatally stabbed by a Palestinian teenager in the Old City of Jerusalem. Hours later, a Palestinian man stabbed and wounded a 15-year-old Jewish boy in a Jerusalem neighborhood. Palestinians have also shut themselves inside the Al-Aqsa mosque, blocking all entrances and throwing firebombs at police.

The Guardian reported that Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed a harsh offensive against “Palestinian Islamic terror” on Sunday. In a televised announcement, he said there would be a series of measures, including the “speeding up of the process for the demolition of the homes of terrorists.”

The Palestinian state news agency reported that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas appealed the United nations for an international force to be deployed in the West Bank. Abbas has increasingly asked for outside forces.

Netanyahu’s Powerful Address to U.N.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stayed firm on Israel’s stance on the Iran nuclear deal with a powerful speech to the U.N. Thursday. The power came with his words but was intensified by his silence.

“Seventy years after the murder of six million Jews, Iran’s rulers promise to destroy my country, murder my people,” Netanyahu said. “And the response from this body— the response from nearly every one of the governments represented here— has been absolutely nothing. Utter silence. Deafening silence.”

What followed was a stone cold silence delivered by the Prime minister as he stared down the assembly. No one spoke or stirred as Netanyahu remained quiet for nearly a minute.

“The days when the Jewish people remained passive in the face of genocidal enemies— those days are over.”

The speech was Netanyahu’s first major address since the Iran nuclear deal survived a debate in the U.S. Congress. Netanyahu also reached out to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

“I am prepared to immediately resume direct negotiations with the Palestinian Authority without any preconditions whatsoever,” Netanyahu said. “Unfortunately, President Abbas said yesterday that he is not prepared to do this. I hope he changes his mind.”

Abbas stated in his own address to the U.N, “Israel has destroyed the foundations upon which the political and security agreements are based. We therefore declare that we cannot continue to be bound by these agreements and that Israel must assume all its responsibilities as an occupying power.”

Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with President Obama in November.

Palestinian President Says His People No Longer Bound By Peacekeeping Oslo Accord

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas announced at the United Nations General Assembly that Palestinians are no longer bound by the 1995 Oslo accord that established the foundation for a two-state solution because Israel did not implement it. This announcement has risen even more between Palestine and Israel and has sent Middle Eastern negotiations into uncharted territory.

The Oslo Accord was a peacekeeping agreement between Israel and Palestine that stated Palestine would be independent and free of Israeli occupation by 1999. Since then, Israel set up three areas in the West Bank for transitional governance.

“As long as Israel refuses to commit to the agreements signed with us, which render us an authority without real powers, and as long as Israel refuses to cease settlement activities and to release of the fourth group of Palestinian prisoners in accordance with our agreements, they leave us no choice but to insist that we will not remain the only ones committed to the implementation of these agreements, while Israel continuously violates them,” Abbas said.

Nadia Hijab, a senior fellow at the Institute for Palestine Studies, says one of the implications could be for countries to implement legally bound sanctions against Israel for not meeting its commitments.

“The EU would have to take a much further stand in labeling products that emerge from settlements. They could have to ban settlement products altogether and be even legally inclined to sanction Israel,” she said.

Other analysts believe that Abbas’ announcement would not change anything. Aaron David Miller, a Middle East expert and scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Institute in Washington, stated that the announcement was “an expression of frustration and an effort to create a new point of political departure for his international drive for recognition.”

The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel stated that Abbas’ declaration was “deceitful.” The director of Israel’s Foreign Ministry, Dore Gold, stated in an interview with the New York Times that “Israel does uphold its agreements.”

Israel Launches Airstrikes in Gaza in Response to Palestinian Rocket

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) launched a series of airstrikes in the Gaza strip after the Palestinian enclave shot a rocket that was heading for the Jewish nation. The Palestinian rocket was stopped by the Iron Dome anti-missile system.

Palestinian sources told Ynet that the IAF hit 4 “terror targets” inside Gaza, and at least two of the targets belonged to Hamas.

While many citizens heard explosions and reported them on social media, there were no immediate reports of injuries. Israel also had no reports of injuries from the rock that had been intercepted by the Iron Dome near the city of Ashdod.

Israel Defence Force (IDF) spokesman, Lt. Col. Peter Lerner stated: “This evening, the third day of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, a rocket was fired at southern Israel sending the residents of Ashdod as well as several surrounding communities to nearby bomb-shelters. Hamas is responsible and will be held accountable for every attack emanating from the Gaza Strip. The IDF will continue defending all Israelis who are repeatedly attacked by such blatant acts of aggression.”

Sheikh Omar Hadid, and ISIS affiliated Salafist group, used social media to claim responsibility for the rocket attack. The group stated that the rocket was a response to the fatal shooting of Hadeel al-Hashlamon, an 18-year-old woman who was killed at the checkpoint in the West Bank last week. The arrest of an Israeli Arab women for allegedly joining ISIS was another stated reason for the rocket attack.

Violence at Temple Mount During Start of Jewish Holiday Sukkot

Violence once again erupted between Palestinians and Israeli riot police after young protesters barricaded themselves inside the Al-Aqsa mosque on the Temple Mount, despite an order permitting only men over the age of 50 to enter the compound for prayers.  Women of any age are also allowed entry.  Israel has imposed the ban during times of unrest because it is for the most part, young palestinian men who throw rocks at the holy site. This comes as Jerusalem is filled with those who have come to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.  

The Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City has been a sore point for both Palestinians and Jews.  This ground is very much a center point of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  Muslims revere it as the place they believe the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven, while the Jews call it the Temple Mount, the site of the two biblical Jewish temples.  

Palestinians stockpiled rocks and other projectiles at the Al-Aqsa mosque overnight, according to police spokeswoman Luba Samri.

Palestinians threw rocks, firebombs and firecrackers from within the mosque at the police, Samri also added that the fire bombs sparked a fire at the entrance to the mosque. Waqf guards did not prevent the “desecration of the sanctity of the place,” she said .

Police had tried to negotiate with the Waqf – the Islamic religious authority that oversees the compound – to call for calm, but talks failed and police entered the compound to seize the “dangerous devices intended to harm visitors to the site and police and endanger their lives,” Samri added.

Israeli Police were able to restore calm  but occasional stone throwing continued throughout the morning.  They reported that by noon the site was quiet.

Prime Minister Netanyahu Meets with Putin, Agrees to Coordinate Military Action

Many countries have become concerned with Russia’s recent military growth in Syria, including Israel.

On Monday, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Russian President Putin in Moscow to discuss the global terrorist threat and a plan on peace for the Middle East. The meeting ended with Israel and Russia agreeing to coordinate their military actions to avoid trading fire, according to Netanyahu.

Netanyahu did not elaborate to the media on the agreement, but did say he wanted to achieve the goal of “prevent(ing) misunderstandings between IDF (Israel Defense Force) units and Russian forces” in Syria, where Putin’s ally, Assad, is fighting a civil war with Islamist-dominated insurgents.

Putin stated that Russia would continue to provide military support to Assad in Syria’s fight against the spread of the Islamic State influence. He added that the assistance that has been provided so far is within international law.

Prime Minister Netanyahu informed reporters that he would be sharing the details of his visit with the United States. Currently the U.S. has stopped flying missions against the Islamic State insurgents in Syria until U.S. and Russian leaders meet.

A former adviser to Netanyahu reported that Israel was concerned that Russia’s help to Assad could strengthen Russia’s relationship with Iran, Assad’s other financial backer and Hezbollah patron. This could possibly create an alliance between Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah, resulting in Russia’s technology being given to the terrorist organization.

Netanyahu warned Putin that keeping weapons from Hezbollah was his top priority, and informed Putin of Israel’s policy to strike at guerrillas suspected to attack from the northern frontier of Syria.

Palestinians Attack Israelis on “Day of Rage”

Palestinians attacked Israelis with Molotov cocktails, rocks and other projectiles after Islamic terrorist group Hamas called for a “day of rage.”

The terrorist group was capitalizing on days of tension around the Al-Aqsa mosque during the Jewish new year.

Israeli officials had prepared in advance for the terrorist-initiated violence by adding 800 extra police to patrols in the middle of Jerusalem and surrounding Arab areas.

“The Israeli police have heightened security in and around Jerusalem and the Old City in order to prevent and respond to any incidents that could take place,” said spokesman Micky Rosenfeld, adding that undercover units had been deployed.

Three people were wounded by a firebomb according to police officials.  Five Palestinians have been arrested for the attack.

Palestinian leaders had been claiming that Israel was attemping to change the status quo at the site, where Jews can visit under police guard but are not allowed to stop and pray.

Heavy Clashes at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem

Muslim youths attacked Israeli police for a second day at the al-Aqsa mosque complex in East Jerusalem.

The site, considered holy by both Jews and Muslims, was raided by Israeli police after Palestinian youths attempted to attack far-right Jews who visited the complex for the Jewish New Year.

“As the police entered the compound, masked youths fled inside the mosque and threw stones at the force,” a police spokesperson said in a statement.

Nine Palestinian youths were arrested.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would be holding emergency talks on the clashes between police and Palestinians that began Sunday.

Netanyahu said in a statement he would “use any means to maintain the status quo and the rule of law on the Temple Mount”.

Police also discovered that the Palestinians were stocking up on pipe bombs and other weapons.  A cache of bombs and weapons was found near to the mosque site and is currently being forensically examined by Israeli authorities.

United Nations officials in the area called for calm saying they wanted everyone to do their share in “ensuring that visitors and worshippers demonstrate restraint and respect for the sanctity of the area”.