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A shocking explosion at a fireworks storage area tore through a popular market in Armenia’s capital on Sunday, killing at least one person, injuring 36 others, and setting off a large fire. The fireworks ignited a fire and plumes of smoke, resulting in people running for their lives and others trapped in the rubble.

One person was killed in the incident. At least 36 others were injured.

It took more than three hours for firefighters to get the blaze at Surmalu market under control. Pillars of smoke blanketed the center of Yerevan. Rescue workers and volunteers in civilian clothes searched for victims who might be trapped under slabs of concrete and twisted metal. Explosions of fireworks punctuated the air as firemen worked to douse the flames and workers rummaged through rubble to find survivors.

The market, about two kilometers south of city center, is popular for its low prices and variety of goods.

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fice of Sheikh Rahimullah Haqqani. It’s a very huge loss for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,” said a senior Taliban official of the interior ministry, referring to the group’s name for its administration.

Haqqani was a prominent scholar in the Taliban who had survived previous attacks, including a large blast in the northern Pakistani city of Peshawar in 2020 claimed by the ISIL (ISIS) group that killed at least seven people.

A U.S.-led invasion toppled the Taliban government following the September 11, 2001, attacks. Since coming back into power a year ago, the Taliban have said that they have restored security in the country. Despite their assurances, attacks remain an almost constant occurrence.

Regular attacks by armed groups, many of them claimed by an ISIL affiliate known as the Islamic State in Khorasan Province, ISKP (ISIS-K), have taken place in recent months.

Lately, the group has increased attacks on mosques and minorities across Afghanistan. In June, ISKP claimed responsibility for the attack on a Sikh temple in Kabul, killing two people.

The ISIL affiliate, which has been operating in Afghanistan since 2014, is seen as the greatest security challenge facing the country’s Taliban government.

Soldier Killed by Friendly Fire

In a heart wrenching and avoidable tragedy, an IDF soldier was killed in a friendly fire incident in the West Bank on Monday night.

Nathan Fitoussi, 20, had left the group to pray. When he came back to his

comrades in the Kfir Brigade near the Palestinian city of Tulkarem, another soldier mistook him for the enemy.

The army says the soldier who had killed Nathan had followed the military’s open-fire procedures. The procedure includes shouting at a suspect to halt, firing into the air, and only using deadly force if the soldier feels threatened.

Nathan was buried at the Netanya military cemetery on Tuesday morning.

According to a family friend, “The family has no anger toward the soldier who shot. Not only are they not angry with him, they even feel sorry for him and I have no doubt that they would want to meet him, “said Meir Fitoussi, a close friend of the deceased soldier’s father.

“The father is a dentist. They have three daughters…and Nathan was the only son. They left everything in France and came to Israel,” he added.

Military spokesperson Ran Kochav said that the shooting soldier was cooperating with the ongoing investigation. “We will take care of him and try to understand what went through his mind and why this mistake was made,” he said.

PIJ Leader to Sit in Jail

Bassem Saadi, senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad member, is being held in jail. He had been arrested at the beginning of the month; his detainment sparked a round of fighting between Israel and the terror group in the Gaza Strip.

This week, the court at the Ofer military base ordered Saadi be held for another six days, until August 21.

Saadi, the leader of the terror group in the West Bank, was arrested on August 1 by Israeli troops in the Palestinian city of Jenin. The PIJ, in response, announced it was declaring a state of alert. The Israel Defense Forces, saying it had concrete indications of an imminent attack on the Gaza border, put the area on lockdown for several days.

The lockdown was maintained for four days amid concerns that PIJ would try to fire anti-tank missiles at Israeli targets along the border. Eventually, the IDF launched a series of airstrikes in Gaza against a senior PIJ commander and several anti-tank guided missile squads, which prompted rocket fire from the Strip.

After nearly three days of fighting, a ceasefire agreement was signed, which reportedly included “Egypt’s commitment to work toward the release of” Saadi and another Palestinian detainee, Khalil Awawdeh, a terror group spokesperson, said.

But Israel has said that it has no intention of releasing the prisoners early. Defense Minister Benny Gantz said last week he was “not familiar with a promise to release terrorists.”

Last week, UN’s Middle East envoy Tor Wennesland said his office dispatched a team to visit Saadi.

Wennesland said the visit was part of the UN’s commitments in the ceasefire that brought an end to the three-day conflict between Israel and PIJ.

“I reiterate that the ceasefire in Gaza is very fragile, and I call on all sides to preserve the calm,” Wennesland said on Twitter.

PIJ, meanwhile, has threatened to resume fighting if Israel fails to release Saadi and Awawdeh, who is currently on a hunger strike in protest of his detention without charge.

Saadi, 61, has been jailed and released by Israel seven times over the years, according to the Shin Bet.

Israel Nabs Gold

Israel took gold on Monday in the men’s team marathon event at the European Athletics Championships in Munich, an extraordinary success coming 50 years after the massacre of Israeli athletes in the same city.

Israel’s Marhu Teferi also won a silver medal in the individual runners’ competition, while fellow Israeli Gashau Ayale picked up the bronze.

Along with Teferi and Ayale, who are both Ethiopian-born Israelis, the other

28 members of the gold medal squad were Omer Ramon, Yimer Getahun and Girmaw Amare. The Jewish Home | AUGUST 18, 2022 The strong showing for Israel came 50 years after 11 Israeli athletes were murdered by Palestinian terrorists during the 1972 Munich Olympics. Israel’s Olympic Committee said in a statement it was “moved to tears to experience the exciting continuity of Israeli sports on Munich soil” 50 years after the massacre. Team medals are given to the country whose fastest three runners have the best combined time. Team Israel’s gold-winning result was 6:31:48. The silver medal went to Germany, and Spain won bronze. In the women’s marathon, Israeli runner Maor Tiyouri finished in 28th place with a time of 2:38:04.

Tragedy in Jerusalem

Three people lost their lives last Thursday night when a bus on Shamgar Street in Jerusalem swerved into a bus stop. At least nine others were injured.

The driver told authorities that he was attempting to fix a malfunction on the bus and released the brake. The bus then rolled into the crowd.

Shoshana Glustein, 40, of Ofakim, who was pregnant, was killed in the crash. Two of her daughters, Chaya Sara, 7, and Chana, 3, were also killed.

Their funeral was held on Friday afternoon in Jerusalem, with hundreds in attendance.

Eulogizing his loved ones, Shoshana’s widowed husband Rabbi Dov Glustein said, “The L-rd gave, and the L-rd has taken away. Everyone has their own time that they should be here in this world.”

He added, “The fact that we are now crying is a mistake. We received Mom for a limited period of time, and we received Sarah and Chana for a limited period of time and it wasn’t meant to be more than that. We are thankful for the wonderful years that G-d blessed us with a family that supports us from all directions. If Shoshana could, she would ask to donate to charity so that we may be blessed with the coming of Moshiach in our days, Amen.”

Fourteen people were killed in traffic accidents in Israel in the past week alone. Earlier Friday, two bus drivers – Yoav Hidri and Hanoch Talker – were struck and killed by oncoming vehicles when they crossed Route 4 near the Yad Mordechai intersection near Ashkelon in order to help the victims of another accident.

7 Wounded in Shooting Attack

On Saturday night, a terrorist went on a shooting spree in Jerusalem, wounding at least seven people. Four members of one family who had been visiting Israel and hailed from New York were injured. The parents, son and daughter were waiting for a taxi at a bus stop when they were shot near King David’s Tomb. The father was said to be in serious condition, sedated and on a respirator, while the mother was in moderate condition. The terrorist had waited for the bus to arrive before shooting at those boarding the vehicle.

A 35-year-old pregnant woman who was sitting in a nearby car was shot in the abdomen. She had undergone emergency surgery and the doctors delivered her baby, who is said to be in serious but stable condition.

On Sunday morning, the terrorist, Amir Sidawi, 26, took a cab to the police station to turn himself in. Police had been searching for him for hours in the Silwan neighborhood outside the Old City, where the gunman allegedly fled after firing on a bus and cars close to a parking lot near the Western Wall.

Prime Minister Yair Lapid said, “Let all those who wish us evil know that they will pay a price for any harming of civilians.”

He added, “Jerusalem is our capital and a center of tourism for all religions. Police forces and the IDF are working to restore calm and the feeling of security to the city.”

Palestinian terror group Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, was quick to praise the attack, branding it “heroic” and saying it was “a natural response to the occupation’s daily crimes against our people, our country and major Muslim and Christian sites.”

Hamas Wants to Skew Reporting

Hamas had recently issued rules for journalists covering Gaza to follow – only to reverse them.

Palestinians who work with foreign journalists were first informed of the new rules earlier this week in messages sent by the Hamas-run Gaza interior ministry. They were ordered not to report on Gazans killed by misfired Palestinian rockets or the military capabilities of Palestinian terror groups and were told to blame Israel for the recent escalation.

The Foreign Press Association, which represents international media, including The Associated Press, said the guidelines were rescinded after discussions with authorities in Gaza.

The FPA said in a statement that “such a move would have constituted a severe, unacceptable and unjustifiable restriction on the freedom of the press, as well as the safety of our colleagues in Gaza.”

Salama Marouf, director of the government media office in Gaza, confirmed the reversal. “There are no restrictions,” he said. “We welcome all foreign journalists and media into Gaza and we call on them to come.”

The rules would have gone much further than existing Hamas restrictions. They appeared aimed at imposing the Islamic group’s narrative on media coverage of the conflict by implicitly threatening Palestinian reporters and translators who live under its heavy-handed rule.

Even if the rules are officially withdrawn, Hamas has still signaled its ex-

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pectations, which could have a chilling effect on critical coverage, AP reported.

Hamas, which seized power in Gaza in 2007 from rival Palestinian forces, requires all visiting reporters to have a local sponsor — usually a Palestinian journalist or translator hired by the news outlet.

Under the now rescinded restrictions, sponsors were told they must accompany the journalists during their reporting and will be held responsible for what they produce. The sponsors were warned that they must “demonstrate national spirit, defend the Palestinian narrative and reject the foreigner’s bias to the Israeli narrative.”

They would have also been required to inform Hamas of “any suspicious behavior or illogical questions” outside the scope of journalistic work, and to submit a full report to Hamas of what the journalists did in Gaza, in addition to links to all published works.

In recent years, Hamas has required journalists to apply for advance approval to film in certain locations, such as the Gaza fishing port, the beach, and the gold market in Gaza City’s old quarter.

Hamas has also barred Palestinians from working for Israeli media or providing services to them. Palestinians are also barred from giving interviews to Israeli outlets.

EHK Demands Answers

The chairman of the Eretz Hakodesh party, a charedi slate in the WZO, Rabbi Pesach Lerner, has appealed for an immediate freeze of the transfer of funds to a joint venture of the Ministry of Diaspora and the Panim organization to establish a so-called “Office of Jewish Renewal,” which was approved in the amount of NIS 60 million from coalition funds of the Labor Party.

An investigation has revealed that MK Gilad Kariv served concurrently with his tenure in the Knesset as a member of Panim’s executive board and that the Diaspora Ministry’s engagement with Panim raises serious questions and concerns of conflict of interest.

Rabbi Lerner pointed out that since Eretz Hakodesh is a global Jewish movement which operates to strengthen Jewish identity and Jews’ connection to Eretz Yisroel, he was very surprised that neither he nor any other such organizations were given any opportunity to participate in the “Jewish Renewal” project.

Following this, an in-depth investigation was conducted, revealing that the procedure for establishing the Office of Jewish Renewal in collaboration with the Panim organization was carried out in an improper manner, raising suspicion of improprieties. At the same time, journalist Kalman Libeskind published an investigation in the Ma’ariv newspaper about the involvement of MK Kariv in the project, raising serious questions about the approval of the project.

In the investigation published in Ma’ariv, Libeskind points out that there are allegations about the allocation of the money, with the sole goal of funneling funds to Reform and Conservative bodies that are close to Labor and other left-wing parties. These claims gain further validity from the fact that the office chosen to lead the project is precisely the Ministry of the Diaspora, which is under the control of the Labor Party, at the same time that the ministry’s field of activity is related to matters concerning Diaspora Jewry, while the entire project of the Office of Jewish Renewal is intended for non-profit organizations operating in Israel.

The Ma’ariv investigation enumerates the questions that arise surrounding the transfer of NIS 60 million to the organization, Panim, of which MK Kariv served as a member, and the fact that the Diaspora Ministry did not hesitate in any way to transfer tens of millions of shekels without a tender, without criteria, to an entity that has no financial management or experience.

The establishment of the Office of Jewish Renewal and the budgeting of the project are the implementation of a clause in the coalition agreement that was signed when the Labor faction entered the government. MK Kariv, who previously served as the chairman of the Reform movement in Israel, promoted the introduction of the clause and took an active role in its promotion and approval in the state budget for 2022. However, it has emerged that the money went to the Panim organization, in which MK Kariv was involved as an executive committee member. MK Kariv’s connections with Panim did not prevent him from dealing with the budget. In fact, the chairman of Panim