BIDEN ADMIN SLAMS ISRAEL FOR DEMOLISHING MANSION OF WEALTHY TERRORIST: On Thursday, the IDF demolished the mansion of Muntasir Shalabi who shot three young yeshiva students in a drive-by shooting attack at a bus stop at the Tapuah Junction in Shomron, murdering Yehuda Guetta, age 19.
“As we stated numerous times, the home of an entire family should not be demolished for the actions of one individual,” a spokesman from the US Embassy said. “We believe it is critical for all parties to refrain from unilateral steps that exacerbate tensions and undercut efforts to advance a negotiated two-state solution, this certainly includes the punitive demolition of Palestinian homes,” the statement said. An unnamed official in the Prime Minister’s Office said that while Prime Minister Naftali Bennett “respects” the United States, Israel must act in the interest of its citizens. (Israel 365 / VFI News)
EU PARLIAMENT SEEKS SANCTIONS ON IRAN OFFICIALS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSE: The European Parliament passed a resolution dated Wednesday, July 7, urging that sanctions be imposed on Iranian regime officials for the imprisonment and executions of EU nationals.
According to the resolution’s language, the EU Parliament called on the European Council, “to consider further targeted sanctions, including freezing the assets of the Iranian regime officials and entities involved in the arbitrary detention and sentencing to death of EU nationals, including, in the event of Dr. Ahmadreza Djalali’s continued detention, either using the current EU human rights sanctions regime against Iran or the EU’s global human rights sanctions regime (EU Magnitsky Act).” (JPost / VFI News)
IRANIANS CHANT ‘DEATH TO KHAMENEI’ DURING MASS PROTESTS OVER POWER BLACKOUTS BLAMED ON HEATWAVE AND CRYPTOCURRENCY MINING FARMS: Power shortages in Iran have given rise to widespread blackouts and triggered protests in the streets.
Outgoing president Hassan Rouhani apologized to Iranians on Tuesday over the massive power outages which have come amid a heatwave, with temperatures reaching 50 degrees celsius. Officials have blamed the blackouts on surging demand for power, along with low rainfall cutting hydroelectric output and illegal crypto-currency mining farms accessing subsidized electricity. According to videos posted on social media, protests turned political in some areas, with people chanting ‘Death to the dictator’ and ‘Death to (Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali) Khamenei’ and other slogans during blackouts. (DM / VFI News)
ISRAELI PM BENNETT HOLDS SECRET MEETING WITH JORDAN’S ABDULLAH: Prime Minister Naftali Bennett secretly met with Jordan’s King Abdullah at his palace in Amman last week, as the two countries finalize a major water deal in advance of their separate trips to Washington later this summer.
Such meetings between former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and King Abdullah were rare and had not happened for several years due to rising tensions between the two countries. At last week’s meeting, Bennett and Abdullah agreed that the two countries must heal that rift. As a step in that direction, they spoke of a water deal. (JPost / VFI News)
PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY ORDERS LOCAL BUSINESSES TO REMOVE HEBREW SIGNS: Abdullah Kmeil, the Palestinian Authority Governor of the Salfit district in the central West Bank, on Thursday issued a “strict decision” obligating all commercial installations and shops in the area to remove signs and billboards written in Hebrew.
Kmeil, who is also a senior official with the ruling Fatah faction headed by PA President Mahmoud Abbas, ordered the businesses to replace the signs and billboards with ones written in Arabic. The decision came after many Palestinian businesses in the West Bank, especially those close to settlements, started hanging signs in Hebrew to attract Jewish clients. Kmeil said that the measure “comes in light of a decision that was taken previously and confirming that the occupation is exploiting the scene of the signs in Hebrew for purposes that serve its racist and fascist policy.” (JPost / VFI News)
ISRAELI EXPERTISE BRINGS CLOSURE TO SURFSIDE DISASTER IN MATTER OF DAYS: The operation to search for survivors and bodies in the rubble of the collapsed Champlain Towers South condominium building in Surfside, Florida, a suburb of Miami, has been ongoing for two weeks. Sixty-four people have so far been confirmed dead and 76 are officially still missing.
On Thursday, June 24, at roughly 1:25 am Eastern Daylight Time, the 12-story building collapsed suddenly, with some reports stating that long-term degradation and structural issues were to blame for the incident. By Friday, an Israeli task force was onsite, sifting through the upper layers of rubble in 12-hour shifts. The Israeli government conveyed offers of help from the Israel Defense Forces’ Home Front Command search and rescue team, which has become a world-leading expert after assisting in many other disasters around the world. (INN / VFI News)
ISRAELI OFFICER RECOVERS JEWISH HOLY BOOKS IN FLORIDA CONDO RUBBLE: Col. Golan Vach and his crew worked alongside local rescuers to locate the bodies of a Jewish couple buried in the debris where the Champlain Towers South condo once stood, the Miami Herald reported.
As he gathered their personal belongings Tuesday, Vach noticed that many of the books he came across were from the Talmud, the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law. Commenters around the globe took note of the symbolism of rescuers saving holy texts amid the tragedy, in which the death toll Thursday stood at 54, with 86 people still unaccounted for. (NY Post / VFI News)
ISRAEL UNVEILS MAJOR DISCOVERY FROM JERUSALEM’S SECOND TEMPLE ERA: Israeli archaeologists have reportedly discovered an opulent building where VIPs and members of the elite were likely welcomed on their way to visit the nearby Temple Mount some 2,000 years ago.
“This is, without doubt, one of the most magnificent public buildings from the Second Temple period that has ever been uncovered outside the Temple Mount walls in Jerusalem,” Shlomit Weksler-Bdolach, excavation director on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, told the Jerusalem Post on Thursday. The grandiose structure will soon be part of the Western Wall Tunnels itinerary, offering visitors a glimpse into life during the first century, the IAA and the Western Wall Heritage Foundation said. (NY Post / VFI News)
The suggestions, opinions and scripture references made by VFI writers and editors are based on the best information received.
Blessings from Jerusalem,
Barry Segal with the Editorial Staff
