Comments (0)Israel, U.S. Set to Begin Air Defense Drill
October 21, 2009Jerusalem
JTA Wire Service
Israel and the United States are set to begin an air defense drill that will simulate a missile attack on Israel.
The largest-ever drill between the two states, known as Juniper Cobra 10, will begin Wednesday and last two weeks. It is the fifth in a series of biennial exercises, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
About 1,000 U.S. European Command personnel and a similar number of IDF personnel will participate in the exercise.
During the exercise, which will simulate long-range missile attacks on Israel from Iran, Syria and Lebanon, small numbers of U.S. forces will be temporarily deployed to a number of locations in Israel in the vicinity of civilian areas.
“This exercise is not in response to any world events,” according to the IDF, which said the countries began planning the exercise a year-and-a-half ago.
West Bank Construction Task Force Approved
Israel will appoint a task force to issue building permits in the West Bank.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Interior Minister Eli Yishai agreed to create the task force Monday after requests from settlement leaders, Ha’aretz reported.
The task force, which will include a geographer, a jurist and archivists, will establish ownership of West Bank lands before building starts to ensure that construction takes place on Jewish-owned and not Palestinian-owned land. A previously appointed team was disbanded three years ago.
Since then, construction of schools, kindergartens and other public buildings has been held up, Ha’aretz reported.
Israel Pulls History Textbook from Shelves
Israel’s Education Ministry is pulling a history textbook from school and stores.
The book, which had been approved by the ministry, presents the Palestinian claim that Israel practiced “ethnic cleansing” during the 1948 War of Independence.
Ha’aretz reported that ministry officials said they found “a great many mistakes, some of them serious,” in the book, which is meant for 11th and 12th grade.
The book was not scheduled to be introduced into classrooms until January. It will be corrected and reviewed again before being replaced on bookshelves in Israeli classrooms and stores.
This story reprinted courtesy of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.