HAMAS BOOSTED Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on June 8 that rather than moderating Hamas, there are increasing signs the new Palestinian unity government that was sworn in June 2 is helping the Gaza-based Islamist organization gain strength in the West Bank. The new government came after Hamas, which is opposed to Israel’s existence, and Fatah signed a reconciliation deal in April.SETTLERS BOOSTED The government announced on June 5 plans to build some 3,000 more settler homes in the West Bank in response to the inauguration of the Palestinian unity government. Housing Minister Uri Ariel said he had issued notices inviting bids to construct 1,500 housing units. In addition, Prime Minister Netanyahu ordered planning to proceed for a further 1,500 settler dwellings.LAPID THREATENS Finance Minister Yair Lapid said on June 8 that his coalition party, Yesh Atid, would quit the government if it acceded to right-wing demands to annex West Bank settlements in response to the breakdown in the peace process. “If even one settlement is unilaterally annexed, Yesh Atid won’t just quit the government, it will topple it,” said Lapid.BEN-ELIEZER QUITS Three days before the presidential elections, Knesset Member (Labor) Binyamin Ben-Eliezer withdrew his candidacy on June 7 following the initiation of a police investigation into allegations that he illegally received funds to buy a luxury apartment in Jaffa.PORT GRAFT Police on May 28 arrested or detained 15 suspects from Ashdod Port, including workers’ union chairman Alon Hassan, and affiliated private companies on suspicion of bribery and corruption deals totaling millions of shekels.TERRORIST CAUGHT The French authorities announced on June 1 that they had arrested a man in the killing of four people at the Jewish Museum in Brussels a week previously. The suspect, a 29-yearold Frenchman, Mehdi Nemmouche, had traveled to Syria last year to join radical Islamist fighters there. Among the victims in the attack were Israeli tourists Emanuel and Mira Riva.OLMERT AGAIN The state asked the Supreme Court on May 27 to send the Talansky Affair allegations against former prime minister Ehud Olmert (already convicted for the Holyland corruption case) to the Jerusalem District Court for a partial retrial. Olmert allegedly received large amounts of under-the-table cash from New York businessman Morris Talansky.TEMPLE MOUNT RIOTS Less than 48 hours after Pope Francis beseeched Jerusalem’s grand mufti to condemn violence on the Temple Mount, rioting ensued there on May 28 as thousands of Jews gathered nearby at the Western Wall in observance of Jerusalem Day. The day marked the 47th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem.PRISON WITHOUT PARDON The cabinet on June 8 approved proposed legislation to enable courts to convict terrorists to life in prison without any chance Compiled by Susan Lerner BAZ RATNER / REUTERS THE JERUSALEM REPORT JUNE 16, 2014 of a presidential commutation of their sentences. The bill is aimed at preventing the large-scale release of convicted Palestinian terrorists in the future.TURKISH WARRANTS A Turkish court issued arrest warrants on May 26 for four former IDF commanders, including former chief of the general staff Gabi Ashkenazi, in connection with the May 2010 IDF raid on the Mavi Marmara blockade-running ship, in which nine pro-Palestinian Turkish activists were killed after attacking IDF naval commandos. A tenth died recently of his wounds.ROCK LEGENDS The Rolling Stones led by Mick Jagger played to an enthusiastic crowd of more than 40,000 fans at Tel Aviv’s Park Hayarkon in their first-ever performance in the Holy Land.
