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MAY 27, 2021 | The Jewish Home
security threat on board and were instructed to divert to the nearest airport, Minsk.” The airline added that “nothing untoward” had been found in checks in Minsk.
Erdan Defends Israel’s Defense
Representatives from Israel and the Palestinian Authority on Thursday attended an emergency meeting of the United Nations General Assembly to discuss the rockets fired at Israeli civilians and Israel’s response to the continuous missiles fired upon its cities. At the meeting, Israeli Ambassa-
dor to the United Nations (UN) Gilad Erdan said, “You all know – and even the Palestinian representative here today knows – that Hamas’s premeditated assault had nothing to do with any Israeli action. “This was all the result of Hamas’s frustration with [Palestinian Authority] President [Mahmoud] Abbas’s decision to cancel the [joint Palestinian Authority-Hamas] elections [on April 29] and its desire to increase its political influence in East Jerusalem and the West Bank,” he said. Erdan noted, “Hamas seeks to replace the Palestinian Authority, and take control of the Palestinian territories. So after the elections were canceled, it decided to launch a war of aggression against Israel.” Prior to the assembly, Erdan had said, “Hamas’s charter, which, like the Nazis, is committed to the genocide of the Jewish people.” He noted that the world seemed indifferent to the attacks. “We see an attempt to create a false moral equivalence. Israel makes every effort to avoid civilian casualties. Hamas makes every effort to increase civilian casualties.” Israel, Erdan emphasized, “did everything to de-escalate the situation,” but “we are looking for a cure, and not a band-aid.”
“I have heard voices in this hall, accusing Israel of a disproportionate response based on the different number of Israeli and Palestinian casualties,” Erdan said. “If the UN General Assembly had existed during the Nazi regime, would it have held a special session to condemn the Allies for their disproportionate response and the large number of German casualties? Would it have urged them to show restraint in the face of Hitler, the Nazi army and their supporters?” Siding with Israel, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said: “I don’t believe that there is any country working more urgently and more fervently towards peace.” She also supported Israel’s right to defend itself. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he is “deeply shocked” by the IDF’s response to the rocket fire and criticized both sides for violating “the laws of war.” “Counter-terrorism or self-defense” are not justifications for war crimes, he claimed, urging Israel to use “proportionate” force and “exercise maximum restraint in the conduct of military operations.” He also called on the Gaza terror groups to stop the “indiscriminate launching of rockets and mortars from highly populated civilian neighborhoods into civilian population centers in Israel.” Though Gaza claimed over 230 casualties in the war, over half of those – at least 145 – were terrorists. Others were killed when Hamas rockets fell short, exploding in civilian areas of Gaza. Despite this, PA official Riad al-Maliki claimed that Israel was committing “genocide of whole Palestinian families” during the Gaza operation, urging that the small Jewish state be held accountable for acting in self-defense and not be provided with arms. “Let’s stop this massacre,” the Palestinian official said.
Two Stabbed in Jerusalem Two Israelis suffered moderate injuries in a stabbing attack near a police station on Monday, Israeli authorities reported. The attack, which occurred on Jerusalem’s Haim Bar-Lev Street near the light rail station, wounded an IDF soldier and an Israeli civilian, both in their early 20s. The terrorist was shot
by officers at the scene, and the victims were taken to Hadassah Mount Scopus for medical treatment. In a statement, Israel Police said, “Around 1:30 p.m., an assailant arrived at the light rail station, pulled out a knife and used it to injure two people there. Officers who were on the scene responded quickly, shooting the assailant and neutralizing him.” According to the IDF, the stabbing seemed to be a terror attack. Responding to the attack, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu wished the wounded a full recovery, praised the officer who neutralized the terrorist, and promised that Israel “will continue to fight terrorism with all our might.”
Israel to Lift Coronavirus Restrictions
Israel’s Health Minister Yuli Edelstein (Likud) on Sunday announced that, beginning June 1, all coronavirus-related restrictions on gatherings, as well as the Purple Badge and Green Passport requirements, will be lifted. The requirement to wear masks will remain in place for at least another two weeks. The changes will not influence international travel, and Israelis are urged not to travel to countries which have high infection rates and to strictly adhere to quarantine rules upon returning to Israel. In a Sunday statement, Edelstein said, “Israel is returning to routine. Less than six months ago, we started the vaccination campaign. Thanks to the excellent work of the workers in the health system … we carried out the best vaccination drive in the world. We have long been reaping our reward with low morbidity. “Now, to my joy, the situation allows us to cancel the use of the Green Pass and the restrictions of the Purple Badge.” Edelstein noted that the Health Ministry is continuing to monitor the situation, emphasizing that “if there is an outbreak, we will have to backtrack.”
