Amnesty urges no death penalty

The Israel Defence Forces should rescind its reported demand that the suspects in the Itamar stabbing attacks be given the death penalty, Amnesty International said in a statement. The army is reported as intending to seek the death penalty for the suspected murderers of five members of the Fogel family in Itamar in March. It would mark the first time the army has sought a sentence of death since the mid-1990s. Responding to the Ha’aretz report, the Israeli chapter of Amnesty International urged military prosecutors to drop the demand saying that the news was “cause for grave concern.” Amnesty said “the murder of the Fogel family was a heinous crime, but exaction is a punishment that has no place in today’s criminal justice system.”  

U.S to help with missiles

The Pentagon is planning to help Israel buy four more Iron Dome short-range anti-rocket batteries, the head of the Pentagon’s Missile Defence Agency said. “In our budget, we have a proposal to assist with procurement of four more batteries,” Army Lieut-Gen. Patrick O’Reilly, the agency’s director, told the U.S. Senate appropriations defence subcommittee. The batteries consist of a mobile air defence system with a radar-guided interceptor missile launched from a truck-sized firing platform. The goal was to spur production and deployment of the system, the first direct U.S. investment in the project. On April 7, the system successfully intercepted a rocket from Gaza for the first time, followed by at least seven other intercepts, the Israeli military said. O’Reilly said he considered Iron Dome to have been “highly effective” in combat, but Israel faced a “daunting task” because of the volume of short-range rockets and missiles it faces.

Israeli firm on Iran sanctions list

An Israeli company is among seven newly sanctioned by the United States for dealings with Iran. Ofer Brothers Group is being sanctioned for its role in providing a tanker valued at $8.65 million to an Iranian shipping company. The company “failed to exercise due diligence and did not heed publicly available and easily obtainable information that would have indicated that they were dealing with” Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines, the State Department said last week in releasing the names of seven companies it’s adding to the list of those sanctioned for dealing with Iran’s energy sector. The other companies are from Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, Monaco, Iran, Venezuela and Jersey, a British crown dependency in the English Channel.  In a statement, the Ofer Brothers denied any involvement. “We have never sold ships to Iran, and well-respected Israeli officials will certify this,” they said.

Egypt to open Gaza border

Egypt will permanently open its Rafah border crossing with Gaza. The Egyptian border with Gaza was to be opened daily beginning May 28, the Egyptian state MENA news agency reported. The border had been closed since 2007, when the Islamist Hamas organization assumed control of the coastal strip. The decision is “part of Egyptian efforts to end divisions among Palestinians and to finalize their reconciliation.” Egypt brokered the recent reconciliation between the Fatah Party led by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas, which Israel, the United States and the European Union deem a terror group. The opening takes the steam out of Israel’s land and sea blockade of Gaza, which began after Hamas’ takeover of Gaza. It’s not clear if only people or also goods will be allowed to cross the Rafah border. Israel limits the kinds of goods that enter Gaza in order to prevent weapons-making material from falling into the hands of Hamas and other terror groups. “This is a dangerous development that may allow for the entrance of weaponry, explosives and Al Qaeda agents into the strip,” Deputy Prime Minister Silvan Shalom said May 26. Shalom said Israel must do everything in its power to stop the opening of the Rafah crossing without international supervision.
– files from Ha’aretz and JTA