Israel News

Blank sheets of white paper have become a symbol of the protests blanketing China this week. In a symbolic protest against censorship, young demonstrators are holding up sheets of white paper — a metaphor for the critical social media posts, news articles, and outspoken online accounts that have been wiped from the internet as thousands of people took to the streets.

The unprecedented uprising, which has been largely ignored by the Chinese state media, saw demonstrators calling for an end to strict Covid lockdown measures and political freedoms. The protests stemmed from a fire in Urumqi that broke out in an apartment building last week. At least ten people died in the blaze when they were not able to escape due to quarantine measures and firefighters were not able to battle the blaze in time.

The city had been under lockdown for more than 100 days, with residents unable to leave the region and many forced to stay home.

Videos showed Urumqi residents marching to a government building and chanting for the end of lockdown on Friday. The following morning, the local government said it would lift the lockdown in stages but did not provide a clear time frame or address the protests.

That failed to quell public anger and the protests rapidly spread beyond Xinjiang, with residents in cities and universities across China also taking to the streets.

On Monday, shares of M&G Stationery, a household name with more than 80,000 retail outlets across China, tumbled as much as 3% after a document widely circulated on Chinese social media said the company would ban the nationwide sale of A4 white paper sheets both online and offline, starting Tuesday.

A4 refers to a standard paper size commonly used in countries outside of the United States and Canada.

M&G Stationery is based in Shanghai and sells its products in over 50 countries and regions around the world, according to the company’s website. It’s currently listed on Shanghai Stock Exchange and has a market cap of $6 billion.

The document shared on social media said the ban was to “maintain national security and stability” and “prevent outlaws from hoarding a large amount of A4 white paper and using it for illegal subversive activities.” It also said the company “strongly condemns the recent ‘white paper movement’” in various cities in China.

But shortly after its stock fell, M&G Stationery said the document circulating online was fabricated and that the company had notified the police, according to a filing published on the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s website.

“The company’s current production and operation are all normal,” the stationery supplier said.

Still, some have said that they were not able to order the paper from the company and have it shipped to their homes.

Landslide in Italy

At least one person was killed and nearly a dozen were missing Saturday on the southern Italian island of Ischia, where heavy rains caused a landslide that engulfed streets, vehicles and houses and left hundreds of people without electricity or running water.

Authorities said a woman in the town of Casamicciola, in Ischia’s north, died in the landslide, and they estimated that 10 people were missing. They declined to provide any further details as rescue operations continued on Ischia, a volcanic island and popular tourist destination off the coast of Naples.

As the inclement weather persisted Saturday, emergency workers trying to reach the island by motorboat and helicopter were held up, but at least 70 firefighters and 44 doctors arrived via aircraft and naval assets, according to the National Corps of the Firemen and the prefect of Naples, Claudio Palomba.

“We want to thank all the rescue workers who, in extremely difficult conditions, at the risk of their own lives, managed to land on the island today,” Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said at a news conference.

At least 70 residents have been evacuated from their homes, Palomba said. Rescue operations are expected to continue into the night.

“The night hours are coming,” said Fabrizio Curcio, head of Italy’s Civil Protection Agency. “This won’t make our work easier. Today it was particularly difficult because of the weather and sea conditions.”

Footage on Italian television showed that some of Ischia’s winding mountain roads had become rivers of mud and debris. In a video, rescue workers in Casamicciola can be heard trying to reassure a man, entirely covered in mud and floating outside his home, that they were coming to save him as he gripped a shutter.

“Don’t move,” a rescue worker shouted. “We’ll reach you in two minutes.”

Rescue workers elsewhere in the town were able to save two people who were dragged in their car into the sea when the landslide hit, Italy’s firefighter corps said.

In colloquial Italian, Casamicciola is a synonym for disaster. The northern section of Ischia has experienced natural disasters for centuries. (© The New York Times)

At Least 300 Killed in Iranian Protests

This week, for the first time since unrest swept across the country in September, an Iranian general acknowledged that more than 300 people have been killed in the ongoing protests in the country.

The demonstrations have engulfed Iran since Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman, died in the custody of Iranian religious morality police for allegedly wearing a headdress improperly.

While the official state account maintains that Amini suffered a fatal heart attack, eyewitnesses claim that several security officers assaulted her in the police van following her detention. Amini then fell into a coma and subsequently died.

The general’s statement marks the first time an official casualty toll has been publicized, according to the Associated Press. Still, local activist groups are challenging the official death statistic. According to these groups, more than 450 protesters have been killed, along with 60 Iranian security-force members. More than 18,000 protesters reportedly have been detained.

By the beginning of November, more than 80 Iranian cities had confronted some form of protest as growing outrage at economic hardship and political mismanagement have come to a head in the Persian regime.

Terrorism in Israel Increased by 300%

There have been 280 terrorist incidents in Israel so far this year, compared with just 91 in 2021, according to figures revealed by the Israel Defense Forces on Monday. A further 500 attacks were thwarted by Israeli security forces during the same period, according to Military Intelligence assessments.

Shooting attacks on Israeli military forces in Judea and Samaria have also risen sharply, with 110 recorded since January 2022, compared to 25 in 2021.

A total of 31 Israelis, both civilians and security personnel, have been killed in Palestinian attacks this year.

Over 130 Palestinians, most of them assailants, were killed in clashes and security incidents this year as well.

Since the start of 2022, and particularly since the launch of “Operation Break the Wave” in March following a string of deadly terror attacks, the IDF has arrested more than 3,000 security suspects, most of them in Samaria, seized around 250 illegal weapons, and captured terrorist funds worth over 2.7 million shekels.

Eleven back-up battalions were sent to reinforce the security barrier along the

seam line and various sectors within Judea and Samaria. Twenty-six battalions are active in total in the area.

A new task force was also established to manage the seam line security barrier. The Defense Ministry strengthened 16 kilometers (10 miles) of the barrier and began building a 45-kilometer (28 mile) new barrier.

The number of Palestinians illegally infiltrating from Judea and Samaria into Israel went from tens of thousands per week in 2021 to a few hundred per week currently, according to the figures. (JNS)

Soldier Injured in Car Ramming

Jerusalem, according to the Israeli military.

Her assailant was shot dead by police following a brief pursuit.

First responders treated the soldier for a head injury before evacuating her to Shaare Tzedek Medical Center, where she was in stable condition.

The assailant ran the woman over with his car before driving off. Police pursued the vehicle and opened fire on it, killing the driver.

Israeli media identified the attacker as 45-year-old Rani Mamoun Faiz Abu Ali, from the town of Beitunia. Abu Ali had a permit to work in Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria, according to the report.

The incident is the latest in a series of terror attacks against Israelis.

Two Israelis were killed and more than 20 injured on November 23, when two bombs packed with nails to cause maximum damage were detonated at Jerusalem bus stops. Police described the explosives as “high quality,” and suggested an organized terror cell planned and carried out the attack. (JNS)

Another Victim of Terror

On Saturday, Tadasa Tashume Ben Ma’ada died of wounds sustained in the twin terror bombings in Jerusalem on Wednesday. He was laid to rest at the city’s Har HaMenuchot Cemetery on Sunday. Hundreds of people attended the funeral of the 50-year-old father of six, who made aliyah from Ethiopia 21 years ago.

Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion revealed that he had met Ben Ma’ada the night before the attacks at the launch event of a community center tailored to the Ethiopian community.

“The next morning, while at a bus stop, [Ben Ma’ada] was fatally wounded by a bomb planted by a despicable terrorist – a bomb that destroyed an entire world and ended the life of such a special and unique person,” said Lion.

Israeli-Canadian Aryeh Shechopek,

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631-482-7160 | info@pesachinthesoutheast.com | pesachinthesoutheast.com 16, was killed and more than 20 others were wounded in the two explosions on Wednesday.

Outgoing Aliyah and Integration Minister Pnina Tamano-Shata spoke at the funeral as a representative of the government.

“Our consolation is that Tadasa, together with his family, got to make aliyah to the Land of Israel, which he loved so much and prayed so fervently to reach,” said Tamano-Shata. “The bitter enemy will not defeat us. We won’t let any terrorist break our people’s spirit. The State of Israel will hunt down every terrorist until full justice will be served.”

Tamano-Shata is the first Ethiopian-born woman to enter the Knesset.

Authorities believe that the blasts were caused by remotely detonated nailbombs. Police described the explosives as “high quality” and suggested an organized terror cell planned and carried out the attacks.

As of now, authorities have yet to determine who was behind the horrific attacks. Iran Says Israel Behind Cyber-Attack

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The Israeli and United States air forces launched a two-day drill on Tuesday simulating strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, according to an Israel Defense Forces statement.

The drills will be conducted over parts of Israel and the Mediterranean Sea and include long-range flights such as those Israeli pilots would be required to undertake to reach Iran, located some 1,200 miles from the Jewish state.

“Fighter jets and refuelers from the IAF and the US Air Force will take part in the exercise and simulate a number of scenarios in the face of regional threats,” said the statement.

A London-based Saudi news site reported in August that Israel and the United States had simulated air strikes on Iran and the seizure of Iranian warships in the Persian Gulf. It also said Israel had flown aircraft in Iranian airspace in the preceding months.

Iran recently began enriching uranium to 60% at its underground Fordow nuclear site and, as of October 22, hadamassed137 pounds of the substance, more than enough to produce a bomb if enriched to 90%, or weapons-grade.

Israel Defense Forces Military Intelligence Directorate chief Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva said last week that Iran would soon start enriching at least a “symbolic” amount of uranium to 90%, although he added that it was unlikely to make a dash for the bomb.

Haliva warned that Tehran had made “significant progress” on its nuclear program, and that the international community would soon face its “greatest test” in preventing the Islamic Republic from obtaining a nuclear weapon. (JNS)

Iran has blamed foreign countries, including Israel, for a cyber-attack on its semi-official Fars News Agency, which is affiliated with the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, AFP reported on Saturday.

Fars said in a statement posted to Telegram that its website was disrupted on Friday by a “complex hacking and cyberattack operation, and that “removing possible bugs… may cause problems for some agency services for a few days,” according to the report.

Cyber-attacks are carried out against Fars “almost daily” by various countries, “includingthe occupied territories [i.e. Israel],” the statement continued.

Iran International reported on Saturday that a group called Black Reward claimed responsibility for the attack, which allegedly deleted nearly 250 terabytes of data from the Fars servers.

The group also reportedly leaked direct communications between the agency and Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, as well as compromising Fars security camera footage.

In October, Black Reward announced that it had obtained documents related to