Israeli jets target Hamas sites in response to rocket fire

Two-week long quiet shattered by two incidents of rocket fire in less than 24 hours

For the second time in less than 24 hours Israeli jets struck Hamas positions in the southern Gaza Strip following earlier rocket fire on Thursday evening.

The military said that Israeli jets struck an “underground infrastructure and a naval target” belonging to Hamas in the southern Gaza Strip as well as “a terrorist military compound in the northern Gaza Strip.”

According to Palestinian media in the coastal enclave the strikes were said to have targeted Hamas sites in Khan Yunis and Rafiah in the south as well as targets in Beit Lahia in the northern part of the Strip.

The IDF said that a projectile was fired towards the kibbutz of Kfar Azza near the Gaza border earlier in the evening. A local regional government spokesperson said that there were no injuries or damage after the projectile struck an open field.

The rocket fire on Thursday came hours after Israeli jets struck a Hamas weapons production facility in the coastal enclave following a rocket fired towards the college town of Sderot around 2.30AM. The rocket was intercepted by the Iron Dome system.

The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Maj.-Gen. Kamil Abu Rokon announced that in response to the rocket fire, the fishing zone would be reduced from 15 nautical miles to 10 nautical miles until further notice.

The Israeli military holds Hamas, which has ruled over Gaza since 2007, responsible for all violence.

The "terror group Hamas is responsible for what occurs in the Gaza Strip and what emanates from it, and that it will bear the consequences of actions against Israeli citizens,” the IDF said in a statement.

Late in the afternoon on Thursday the IDF said it arrested three armed Palestinians who attempted to infiltrate into southern Israel from the northern Gaza Strip.

The previous day an Israeli aircraft fired and struck an armed Palestinian carrying what seemed like an assault rifle. He was spotted by IDF reconnaissance and observation posts approaching the border fence.

The rocket fire and infiltration attempts broke two weeks of relative quiet in southern Israel when IAF jets struck Hamas targets in response to three rockets fired from the Strip. All three were intercepted by the Iron Dome.

https://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Israeli-jets-target-Hamas-sites-in-response-to-rocket-fire-611522

State Department Employee and Spouse Indicted for Trafficking in Counterfeit Goods from U.S. Embassy

A U.S. Department of State employee and his spouse were arrested today for their role in an international conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods from the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, Korea.

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Billy J. Williams of the District of Oregon and Deputy Assistant Secretary Ricardo Colón of the Department of State Diplomatic Security Service made the announcement.

Gene Leroy Thompson Jr., 53, and Guojiao “Becky” Zhang, 39, were indicted by a grand jury in Eugene, Oregon, and charged with conspiracy and trafficking in counterfeit goods. According to the indictment and other court documents, from September 2017 through December 2019, Thompson Jr. and Zhang allegedly sold counterfeit Vera Bradley handbags from e-commerce accounts to persons throughout the United States.

Thompson Jr. is employed by the U.S. Department of State as an Information Programs Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, Korea. Thompson Jr. used his State Department computer to create numerous accounts on a variety of e-commerce platforms, all from within a secure space within the Embassy designed to protect classified information. Once Thompson Jr. created these accounts, Zhang took primary responsibility for operating the accounts, communicating with customers, and procuring merchandise to be stored in the District of Oregon. Thompson Jr. and Zhang also directed a co-conspirator in the District of Oregon to ship items to purchasers across the United States.

https://breaking911.com/state-department-employee-and-spouse-indicted-for-trafficking-in-counterfeit-goods-from-u-s-embassy/

Lauder’s new antisemitism watchdog group begins operations

‘No one who says something will be missed," the World Jewish Congress president said.

Just a week after announcing the establishment of a new antisemitism watchdog group, Ronald S. Lauder, the New York businessman and president of the World Jewish Congress told The Jerusalem Post that the operations are already underway.

Lauder has called the new organization the Antisemitism Accountability Project (ASAP) and has set aside $25 million of his own money to fund its operations. He told the Post that he was motivated to launch the new initiative due to the significant increase in antisemitism across the world, and because what is being done today – conferences and a lot of talking – is simply not enough.

“We need action,” he declared.

According to a poll commissioned by ASAP, antisemitism, as defined by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), has doubled over the past five years. Today, 14% of Americans hold antisemitic beliefs, as compared to 7% from a survey released by the Anti-Defamation League in 2014.

Lauder said that the rise in antisemitism is partially due to the fact that the world’s memory of the Holocaust is fading. “Many young people don’t know about it,” he said.

Lauder, 75, has served as president of the World Jewish Congress since 2007. He is the former US ambassador to Austria.

ASAP, he said, will be watching for antisemitism across the United States in universities, college classrooms as well as among politicians from the level of the city council, through the sheriff’s office, Congress and the highest office in the country.

When it comes to colleges, the organization will monitor for antisemitic pro-BDS bills as well as classes where professors or lecturers espouse antisemitism. Students, Lauder said, will monitor the classrooms and if there are lecturers who engage in antisemitism, “We will go after their reputation.”

When it comes to antisemitic politicians, Lauder said that ASAP would use tools as needed to “fight them in the ballots.”

“If we use the money correctly,” he said, “we can have a big impact.”

ASAP will use aggressive political campaigns against federal, state, and local candidates who support or normalize antisemitism. Lauder said that it will be a bipartisan effort that will focus on candidates from both parties who are on the ballot before or on Election Day in November 2020.

“No one who says something will be missed,” he said.

https://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Lauders-new-antisemitism-watchdog-group-begins-operations-611483

Three Israeli Police Officers Charged in Alleged Weapons Trafficking Ring

Three policemen and one civilian are facing charges related to an alleged plot to purchase, stock and distribute arms and ammunition.

Israeli Border Police Officers Ahmad Murad and Jamil Abd al-Halim and Police Studies Center Logistics Officer Mousa Murad were indicted at the Haifa District Court on Thursday along with civilian Imad Abdullah on weapons trafficking offenses, reported the Times of Israel.

According to the outlet, all four men are residents of the Israel Kafr Manda - an Arab town in the state’s northern district - and were allegedly stockpiling weapons and ammunition to be sold at a later date.

At least two of the men stand accused of abusing their power as Israeli officers to obtain access to arms. Authorities have asked for the men be remanded until their proceedings conclude.

The Times of Israel noted these indictments come amid Israeli law enforcement officials’ push to increase their enforcement activity against both the possession and use of weapons obtained illegally. Recent efforts in particular have been focused on violence within the state’s Arab community.

https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201912201077651252-three-israeli-police-officers-charged-in-alleged-weapons-trafficking-ring-/

Trump Lawyers Exploring Legality of Impeachment After Pelosi Refuses to Send Articles to Senate

President Trump’s lawyers are reportedly exploring the legality of whether Trump was actually impeached after Speaker Pelosi refused to send the articles to the Senate.

Democrats voted to impeach President Trump for ‘abuse of power’ and ‘obstruction of Congress’ on Wednesday night.

Not one Republican voted in favor of impeachment.

Pelosi gave a presser Wednesday night where she threatened to withhold the articles of impeachment from the Senate unless they bow to her demands.

Senator Lindsey Graham called Pelosi’s refusal to send the articles of impeachment to the Senate ‘extortion.’

This has never happened before so there is a lot of debate on what comes next and now Trump’s lawyers are questioning the legality of the process.

Jennifer Jacobs of Bloomberg reported:

Lawyers close to President Donald Trump are exploring whether House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s decision to temporarily withhold articles of impeachment from the Senate could mean that the president hasn’t actually been impeached.

The White House legal theory, according to a person familiar with the legal review, is that if Trump has been officially impeached, the U.S. Senate should already have jurisdiction. Backers of the theory would argue that the clause of the U.S. Constitution that gives the Senate “the sole Power to try all Impeachments” indicates that the impeachment isn’t formalized until the House reported the charges to the upper chamber.

Speaking Thursday in the Oval Office, Trump said it was “unconstitutional” for Pelosi not to submit the articles of impeachment to the Senate.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2019/12/new-trump-lawyers-exploring-legality-of-impeachment-after-pelosi-refuses-to-send-articles-to-senate/