Israel News

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In a statement following the summary’s release, U.S. President Joe Biden said, “Critical information about the origins of this pandemic exists in the People’s Republic of China, yet from the beginning, government officials in China have worked to prevent international investigators and members of the global public health community from accessing it.”

China’s embassy in Washington issued a statement saying the report “wrongly” claimed that China continued to hinder the investigation and that “a report fabricated by the U.S. intelligence community is not scientifically credible.”

“The origin-tracing is a matter of science; it should and can only be left to scientists, not intelligence experts,” the statement said, adding that the report was aimed at “scapegoating China” and that such actions would “disturb and sabotage international cooperation on origin-tracing and on fighting the pandemic.”

The Chinese Embassy also claimed that Washington “has been shying away from tracing the origin in the United States and closing the door on any such possibility” and suggested that the U.S. invite the World Health Organization to Fort Detrick to investigate.

Undercover Sniper Succumbs to His Injuries

Sergeant Barel Hadarya Shmueli, the 21-year-old Border Police officer who suffered critical injuries in a violent Gaza border riot on Saturday, August 21, passed away this week from his wounds, the Border Police announced in a Monday statement.

Shmueli, a sniper, was shot in the head at close range while securing the border during the riot. He was evacuated to Be’er Sheva’s Soroka Medical Center, where he was admitted to the trauma unit and underwent an emergency operation, which was then followed by additional operations. Medical staff fought for nine days to save his life, but his condition deteriorated on Sunday, and Shmueli succumbed to his injuries.

Shmueli enlisted in the Border Police in March 2019 and underwent training as a fighter. Following his training, he completed a course to join the Border Police’s undercover Arab unit, after which he became part of the Border Police Southern District’s unit (Yamas).

During his service in the unit, Shmueli completed a sniper’s course, later serving as a Yamas sniper and taking part in dozens of operations to foil terror activity and fight serious crime in southern Israel.

Soroka Medical Center, which treated Shmueli following the attack, said in a statement, “The medical team fought for his life and he underwent multiple surgeries during his hospitalization. Despite the intense efforts, due to his serious injury, the medical staff was forced to determine his death. We share in the heavy grief of his family.”

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said, “There are no words to

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comfort his family amid their deep grief. Barel was a fighter in his life and a fighter in his death. He fought for his life until the last moment, as all of the people of Israel were praying for him.”

Defense Minister Benny Gantz responded, “Barel Hadarya Shmueli, one of the best this country has, fell in defense of the homeland and the residents of the south. On behalf of the defense establishment, I send heartfelt condolences to his parents and family.”

Thousands attended Shmueli’s funeral on Monday night in Tel Aviv.

His family is demanding an inquiry into the circumstances of his death, accusing the IDF of tying the troops’ hands and creating an unnecessary dangerous environment for the soldiers when facing the Hamas-led riots.

Bennett Meets with Biden

U.S. President Joe Biden met with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Friday at the White House, in a meeting that stretched beyond the planned 25 minutes to a full 50 minutes.

The meeting had originally been scheduled for Thursday but was delayed due to the blast at the Kabul airport, which killed 169 Afghans and 13 U.S. troops.

Biden said that it was “great to have the prime minister here. We’ve become close friends.”

In addition to discussing the COVID-19 pandemic, Biden emphasized “the unwavering commitment we have in the United States to Israel’s security. And I fully, fully support replenishing Israel’s Iron Dome system. And we are also going to discuss the threat from Iran, and our commitment to ensure that Iran never develops a nuclear weapon. But we are putting diplomacy first and seeing where that takes us.

“But if diplomacy fails, we are ready to turn to other options. We will support Israel’s developing as well deeper ties with Arab and Muslim neighbors and globally. That’s a trend that I think should be encouraged, not discouraged, and we will do what we can to be value added.”

Biden also said that the two countries would discuss the “the unwavering commitment that we have in the United States to Israel’s security” but added that they would also seek “ways to advance peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians.”

The U.S. president said, “The U.S. will always be there for Israel. It’s an unshakeable partnership between our two nations.”

For his part, Bennett thanked Biden for his support of Israel, especially during Operation Guardian of the Walls in May 2021.

“Israel knows that we have no better or more reliable ally in the world than the United States of America,” Bennett said.

He also quoted from the Navi Yeshayahu, which says, “Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the hip.”

“What this [passage] means is the sons and daughters of the Jewish people are going to come back to our land, are going to nurse our ancient land and rebuild it,” Bennett explained. “And this ancient Jewish prophecy is today Israel’s reality.

And it’s a miracle that you’ve been so central and so part of it for so many years.”

He added, “You and I are going to write yet another chapter in the beautiful story of the friendship between our two nations.”

Bringing Home the Gold in the Paralympics

Israeli swimmer Ami Dadaon, 20, on Monday won a gold medal at the Tokyo Paralympics, as Israeli swimmer Mark Malyar, 21, won bronze. The two medals bring Israel’s total medals from the 2020 Paralympics to seven: four golds, two silvers, and one bronze.

Dadaon’s win broke his own world record by six seconds, as he completed the 200-meter freestyle in 2:44:84 minutes.

On Saturday, Dadaon, who has cerebral palsy, won a silver medal in the men’s 150-meter individual medley.

In an interview with Kan, Dadaon’s parents, Yaffa and Yair Dadaon, said, “There was a lot of tension. We knew this was supposed to be a gold medal and we are happy that he is fulfilling his dreams.

“From a young age, Ami makes his decisions, and he did not give up.”

Fellow swimmer Malyar, who also won two gold medals at the Tokyo Paralympics, won the bronze for the 100-meter backstroke. He told Kan, “I was not expecting to take a medal today and am really glad I did. So far I have lived up to expectations, and I am happy.”

Malyar’s twin brother Ariel Malyar, who also suffers cerebral palsy, is also competing at the Tokyo Paralympics. Both brothers began swimming as part of their physical therapy, and they compete at different disability levels.

On Sunday, Israeli rower Moran Samuel won a silver medal in the women’s 2,000-meter single sculls, and on Wednesday, Iyad Shalabi won the 100-meter backstroke in the S1 category. Shalabi is the first Arab Israeli to win a medal in either the Paralympics or Olympics.

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At-Home Testing for Kids

In an effort to open schools safely, Israel is distributing at-home Covid tests for families to screen their children before school begins. Those who are under 12 and those who are older than 12 and who are not vaccinated are being asked to take the test. Some schools are also distributing the test kits to vaccinated pupils, as the Delta variant has broken through immunity on numerous occasions.

School is set to start on Wednesday.

Some children have the virus but do not exhibit any symptoms. The tests are there to prevent those children from heading to school and inadvertently affecting others.

Infection from the Delta strain commonly goes unnoticed among youth, and the country is still deep in the throes of a wave of the highly infectious variant. More than 10,900 new cases of COVID were confirmed in Israel on Monday, marking a record one-day high since the outbreak of the pandemic.

Children who test positive with the at-home kit are supposed to register for a lab-processed PCR test to confirm the diagnosis. PCR tests are deemed more accurate, and in some very rare cases a home test kit may throw out a false positive.

Steps are also being taken to reduce the spreading of infection by teachers. They are now required to have Green Passes, which means they must be vaccinated or have recovered from the virus. They also have the option of providing a negative result from a test performed in the last 72 hours, at their expense.

Children and teachers will be expected to wear masks in school. Parents will only be allowed on school premises if they show a Green Pass. Teacher-parent meetings are expected to take place online rather than in person.

Children ages 12 and up will be offered vaccines in school, if they are not already inoculated, as long as they have the permission of one parent. In high-infection cities and towns, classes for grades 8 to 12 will be moved online if more than 30% of students are completely unvaccinated, though as soon as seven in 10 kids has at least one shot, they can return to classrooms.

Abbas Meets with Gantz

The Hamas and Islamic Jihad terror groups on Monday slammed Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas for a Sunday night meeting with Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz (Blue and White).

The meeting was the first between leaders of the two sides since former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Abbas in 2010.

In a statement, Hamas spokesperson Abd al-Latif al-Qanou said, “President Mahmoud Abbas’s meeting with Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz is a stab in the back of the Palestinian people and what they have sacrificed. It is a betrayal of the blood of the martyrs.”

Hamas’ spokesperson Hazim Qasim stated that Abbas was guilty of “encouraging Arab countries to normalize with Israel,” adding that the meeting “weakens the Palestinian stance that rejects normalization.”

Islamic Jihad spokesperson Tariq Silmi added, “The blood of children killed by the army on Gantz’s orders has not yet dried, even as President Abbas meets him in Ramallah.”

The Defense Ministry said that the Sunday night meeting in Ramallah focused on security, diplomacy, the economy, and civil affairs.

On Sunday, a source close to Is-