Hamas accuses Israel of ‘falsifying’ Jerusalem history

Author: Published: July 16, 2021

A Hamas spokesperson said that Israel’s effort to “falsify history and distort the facts will not help it, and Jerusalem will remain the capital of Palestine and its Arab Islamic identity.”

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH

JULY 14, 2021 19:46
Remains of destruction discovered near the wall from previous excavations. (photo credit: ELIYAHU YANAI/CITY OF DAVID ARCHIVES)
Remains of destruction discovered near the wall from previous excavations.
(photo credit: ELIYAHU YANAI/CITY OF DAVID ARCHIVES)
Hamas responded on Wednesday to the news about the discovery of a section of Jerusalem’s city wall built during the First Temple period by accusing Israel of “falsifying” history.
Hamas spokesman Muhammad Hamadeh said that Israel’s effort to “falsify history and distort the facts will not help it, and Jerusalem will remain the capital of Palestine and its Arab Islamic identity.”
The Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced that the section of the wall that was mostly destroyed by the Babylonian army in 586 BCE has been uncovered by archaeologists in the City of David National Park.
Hamadeh dismissed the announcement and accused Israel of “falsifying and stealing history.”
He said that the announcement was “a continuation of previous announcements related to the alleged Temple.”
The announcement, Hamadeh said, represents a “continuation of the [Israeli] approach based on the forgery and theft of the history of the holy city.”
He also claimed that the announcement was part of Israel’s “plans to Judaize Jerusalem and obliterate its Arab Islamic identity.”
He added: “The aggression of the occupation did not stop at the limits of falsifying history. Rather, it seeks to change the reality. The announcement of these alleged discoveries comes in conjunction with the normalization agreements [between Israel and four Arab countries] that gave it an international cover.”
The spokesman warned Israel against causing “harm and vandalism” in the area of the Aqsa Mosque compound.
Earlier this week, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh called on the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to examine Israel’s excavations “beneath the Aqsa Mosque compound and prevent the intended plans of the Israel Antiquities Authority to expand the tunnel located below the al-Buraq Wall,” referring to the Western Wall.

IDF requests billions in budget increase to boost Iran attack capabilities

Author: Published: July 15, 2021

Israel considers Iran’s nuclear program as the number one concern. It would take one year to make a nuclear bomb – intel reports.

By ANNA AHRONHEIM

JULY 15, 2021 11:51
Israeli president Reuven Rivlin, Defense Benny Gantz and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kohavi pay a visit to Lea and Simcha Goldin, parents of Lt. Hadar Goldin as they attend a passive protest outside the memorial ceremony marking six to his death and abduction outside the military cemetery in Je (photo credit: OLIVIER FITOUSSI/FLASH90)
Israeli president Reuven Rivlin, Defense Benny Gantz and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kohavi pay a visit to Lea and Simcha Goldin, parents of Lt. Hadar Goldin as they attend a passive protest outside the memorial ceremony marking six to his death and abduction outside the military cemetery in Je
(photo credit: OLIVIER FITOUSSI/FLASH90)
The Israeli military has reportedly asked for a major budget increase so that it can strengthen its attack capabilities should it need to attack Iran’s nuclear program.
The request, worth billions of shekels, was made during preliminary discussions on the budget, KAN public broadcaster reported on Wednesday.
Israel considers Iran’s nuclear program as the number one concern and, according to recent intelligence assessments, if the Islamic Republic does decide to renege on the agreement, it would take one year for it to produce enough fissile material to make a nuclear bomb.
According to Israeli assessments, Iran is less than a year away from a nuclear weapon and has accelerated its nuclear enrichment activity.
On Wednesday, Iran’s outgoing President Hassan Rouhani said that Tehran could enrich uranium up to 90% purity if its nuclear reactors needed it.
Iran has always denied seeking nuclear weapons but it is believed that the terrorist-supporting country is continuing to develop the capabilities to produce a nuclear weapons arsenal as well as ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
The KAN report said that in recent talks between senior American and Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Israel’s freedom of action was emphasized as being non-negotiable.
In an article published in Israel Hayom on Thursday, Gantz said that Israel must be able to protect itself and thwart enemy actions.
“When Israel has a credible military option, this is to the benefit of the other world powers, and it is essential in order to present an iron wall against Iran and persuade them to come to terms,” he wrote. “There isn’t going to be a good, wide-ranging nuclear deal without a credible military option behind it.”
Gantz also criticized former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying that his conduct during the last few years has allowed Iran to make significant progress toward acquiring nuclear weapons.
Netanyahu has “many merits to his credit with regards to Israel’s security, but the outspoken way with which he dealt with the United States damaged our ability to prevent the Iranians from advancing their nuclear capabilities,” he wrote. “In the last few years of his tenure, Iran moved substantially forward with its nuclear program, and Netanyahu’s stance endangered our position in the eyes of the Americans as a country that enjoys bipartisan support.”
In a speech Wednesday night during the graduation ceremony for Israel’s National Defense College, Gantz called for Israel to step up preparations should Iran obtain a nuclear weapon.
“Against the greatest threat – Iran arming itself with a nuclear weapon – we have no choice but to expand our force build-up, to continue to rely on our human capital and to adapt our capabilities and our plans,” he said.
In his speech, the defense minister called on the government to allow the country’s security services to “maintain military superiority, which allows our existence and our efforts to obtain peace,” which is not “a privilege but a real existential need.”
“All of these threats demand that we speed up and increase our preparedness to carry out our mission with an iron wall of action – and not to get by with just words,” Gantz said.

Gantz: Israel must prepare for a nuclear Iran

Author: Published: July 15, 2021
By

By JUDAH ARI GROSS Today, 9:10 pm  

 

Defense Minister Benny Gantz says Israel must prepare itself for the possibility that Iran will obtain an atomic weapon.

“In face of Iranian armament with a nuclear weapon, we have no choice but to expand our force build-up, rely on our human capital and to adapt our plans,” Gantz says at the graduation ceremony for Israel’s National Defense College.

In recent months, the United States and Iran have been negotiating a mutual return to the 2015 nuclear deal, but these talks have so far failed to achieve a breakthrough, increasing the likelihood that Tehran will fully abandon the accord.

Israel has maintained that as it is not part of the nuclear deal, it is free to act as it sees fit to prevent Iran from obtaining an atomic bomb.

In his speech, Gantz calls for the government to allow the country’s security services to “maintain military superiority, which allows our existence and our efforts to obtain peace.”

This appears to refer to a report by the Kan broadcaster earlier in the night that the Israel Defense Forces is asking the government for a major budget increase.

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