Subscribe to TNS Weekly Report by e-mail! Weekly News of Faith in Israel Week ending Shabbat, July 1, 2006 5 Tamuz, 5766 Israeli Air Force Pounds Gaza: As of Friday, Israel Defense Forces are pounding Gaza with air strikes and artillery in an attempt to pressure the population to force Hamas terrorists to give up their hostage, the nineteen-year-old IDF Corporal Gilad Shalit [pictured right]. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert froze Phase III of Operation Summer Rains Thursday evening at the request of Egyptian officials who were meeting with Hamas terrorists in an effort to persuade them to release their Israeli captive. However, he did not hold back IDF troops from continuing the operation that was already in play. More than 500 artillery shells were fired by the IDF in Gaza in twenty-four hours. An Israel Air Force [IAF] helicopter fired on an Islamic Jihad terrorist as he attempted to launch a Kassam rocket at Israeli forces. Twenty five-year-old Abdel Rael later died from his wounds. IAF jets scored direct hits on close to a dozen targets in pre-dawn attacks on Friday. In Gaza City alone, the "Palestinian" Authority Interior Ministry was struck, as was a Fatah office and a Hamas terrorist training camp. P.A. IDF sources identified that Interior Minister Said Siyam's office was targeted because it was "a meeting place to plan and direct terror activity." A missile also hit a Kassam rocket factory operated by the Fatah terrorist group, the Al-Aksa Martyrs' Brigades. Hamas Officials Are No Longer Israeli Citizens: Four top Hamas officials currently residing in East Jerusalem will no longer enjoy the benefits of Israeli citizenship. One of the four was arrested in an anti-terror security sweep this week. Interior Minister Ronny Bar-On [pictured left] immediately revoked their citizenship when a thirty-day ultimatum to choose between terrorist membership and Israeli residency expired [midnight on Thursday] for the four Hamas "Palestinian" Authority [ P.A. ] legislators. The four terrorist leaders were warned that they must leave their positions in the Hamas-led P.A. government and parliament, or suffer the consequences. Bar-On announced that Israeli residency documents are no longer valid for P.A. Minister for Jerusalem Affairs Khaled Abu Arafa and P.A. legislators Muhammed Abu-Tir, Muhammed Tutah, and Ahmed Adun. "The right to hold permanent residency comes with the duty to show loyalty to the State of Israel," Bar-On stated. "There should not be dual loyalties." Israeli citizens in East Jerusalem enjoy a number of social services, including pension and health care benefits, as well as freedom of movement within the country. Abu Arafa was also arrested with some 64 P.A. legislators and other officials on Thursday, including eight P.A. cabinet ministers in an Israeli security sweep. The operation was carried out against Hamas members on the orders of the Attorney General in accordance with the Terror Prevention Act. Israel Joins Red Cross After Sixty Years of Exclusion: After more than five decades of exclusion Israel is prepared to join the Red Cross movement, despite attempts by Muslim countries to derail a complex diplomatic initiative based on the creation of a new emblem. A two-day International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent opened Tuesday, where Israel's Magen David Adam requested approval of changes to meet Israeli demands that it be granted full status without using the cross or crescent in their identifying logo. They will now be permitted to assist with a new neutral emblem, a blank square standing on one corner that frames the Red Shield of David of the Israeli rescue society Magen David Adom. The emblem, named the "red crystal" was approved over Muslim objections in a hard-fought diplomatic conference last December. Syria-Iran Defense Treaty Endangers Israel: Iranian defense minister General Mustafa Najjar said: "Syria's security is part of Iran's security," as he signed a new military treaty with his visiting Syrian counterpart, General Hassan Turkmani (pictured left) in Tehran on June 15. The newly developed Syria-Iran defense treaty opens the way for Iranian Revolutionary Guards to be deployed on the border between Israel [Golan Heights] and Syria by the end of the summer. Sources in Tehran identified the Iranians desire to achieve three objectives by deploying RG units to the Golan Heights: Another direct front line against Israel. A forward position for an Iranian electronic warning station to sound a timely alarm of the takeoff of American warplanes or missiles from the eastern Mediterranean basin on their way to attack. The station can also keep electronic track of movements on Israeli air and missile bases, covering also Arrow anti-missile missile systems. The Syrian military delegation brought a year of secret negotiations to a conclusion. The breadth of Syrian-Iranian military relations can be measured by the military treaty's financial scope of 800 million dollars and the size of the delegation Damascus sent to Tehran [sixty officers representing every branch of the Syrian armed forces]. For many years both countries have supported the Lebanese Hezbollah militia and anti-Israeli "Palestinian" factions including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which maintain headquarters in Damascus. US Defense Department imposes loyalty test on US Jews: Government sources and attorneys identified that the Pentagon has sought and succeeded in removing security clearance from dozens of Americans, mostly Jewish, who lived, worked or have relatives in Israel. Official documents report that American Jews, employed by major defense contractors and denied access to military projects, were asked by Pentagon examiners whether they would join a U.S. attack on Israel and abandon their relatives if the Jewish state was threatened. In some cases, the sources said, the Pentagon even sought to remove the security clearance of high-ranking U.S. officers who served as consultants in Israel. "The policy didn't start yesterday," a Pentagon source said. "But those applying for security clearance are coming under greater scrutiny than ever for ties with foreign countries, and that especially includes Israel." A congressional staffer who oversees the Pentagon said, "There's always been accusations of dual loyalty all along with American Jews who worked on classified programs," the staffer continued, "But since the Phalcon episode the situation for anybody with ties to Israel has gotten worse" [referring to the episode in which Israel tried to sell an early-warning aircraft to China in 2000]. A report said the Pentagon has sought to increasingly restrict access to Americans with relatives in Israel. The report said more and more Americans with Israeli connections have been excluded from U.S. defense projects based on hearsay as well as claims that they would come under Israeli government pressure. In 2000, the Pentagon issued directives that denied security clearance to anybody with an Israeli or other foreign passport. "Prior involvement with the Israeli defense industry or any contact with Israeli security will probably cause denial [of U.S. security clearance]," said the report, entitled, "Israel, Foreign Preference-Foreign Influence Cases." It was authored by Sheldon Cohen, a Washington-based attorney who specializes in national security cases, the report reviewed 47 security clearance hearings held by the Pentagon since 1996 where applicants were accused of ties with Israel. Eighteen of the 47 applicants were granted clearances. The report, however, cited other cases in which Israel was not named, but was referred to as "Country A." Request from the Olivetree Connection: Dear friends, You may or may not be aware of the forthcoming 'Gay Pride Festival' that is being planned, to be held this year in Jerusalem, in about six weeks time. Here is a link to Israel National Radio http://www.israelnationalradio.com/. Please take the time to listen to several interviews by Tamar Yonah on INR Weekend Edition - Jerusalem to World Pride "Gay Away" Sunday, June 18, 2006. Attached are also two articles from Arutz Sheva, to assist you in comprehending the extent of the tragedy unfolding there-with the youth of Jerusalem as a major target! Karen and I believe, that as committed followers of Jesus, we have an obligation to do everything in our power to assist the people of Jerusalem (and Israel) in stopping this event. Please send this file attachments to as many people as you can - as soon as you can; there is no time to lose. Lobby your pastors to call your respective congregations to pray, to send faxes and to email anyone you can in Israel and in Australia; especially the heads of your denominations. We state categorically that we are in full agreement with the people identified on this radio program, that this is NOT a homophobic reaction, but an action to halt a public display that is an abomination in the sight of our God, Who sent His Son to carry His cross through the very streets, in which these people want to publicly promote their disgusting conduct. Jerusalem is no ordinary city - it is the city in which our Saviour died and rose from the grave! We plead with you to take this seriously and NOT dismiss it out of hand as something removed from us! Shalom and blessings, Frank Selch Director The Olivetree Connection Tour Israel for Hanukkah: Join us as we explore Israel from a genuine Biblical Zionists perspective. Meet the people who are continuing the Biblical narrative in the Land today. See for yourself how ancient prophesies are being fulfilled. Discover how you too can participate in the ongoing process of Biblical Redemption. Join us for an opportunity of a lifetime, to see the real Israel from the viewpoint of those who are living the Bible today. The experience will change your life. The tour has been coordinated and will be guided by Associate Pastor Jon Klein [pictured left]. More information | Questions Tzemach News Service [TNS] is a ministry of: Tzemach Institute for Biblical Studies This week's sources: Arutz Sheva, Debka file, Insight on the News, Israel Today, Reuters, The Olivetree Connection, Unity Coalition for Israel.