By: Reuters – The Jerusalem Post; jpost.com

With a length of about 1,500 km and a maximum depth of 2,700 metres, it will be the longest and deepest subsea electricity cable to have ever been constructed, the Energy Ministry said.

Cyprus, Greece and Israel on Monday signed an initial agreement to build the world’s longest and deepest underwater power cable that will traverse the Mediterranean seabed at a cost of about $900 million and link their electricity grids.

The project, called the Euro-Asia interconnector, will provide a back-up power source in times of emergency, said Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz, who was in Nicosia to sign a memorandum of understanding with his counterparts.

Cypriot Energy Minister Natasa Pilides said it marked “a decisive step towards ending the island’s energy isolation, and consequently, our dependence on heavy fuels.”

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/israel-cyprus-and-greece-agree-to-link-power-grids-via-subsea-cable-661316

By: Alex Winston and Lahav Harkov – The Jerusalem Post; jpost.com

Photographs of the vessel, which Israel has accused of ‘eco-terrorism’, show the ship anchored off the Iranian coast.

Israel has named Libyan-owned Emerald as the ship that caused a huge oil spill that severely damaged the coastline and its environment, in what it described as an act of “eco-terrorism.”

The Emerald was seen anchored off Iran’s Kharg Island on January 17, according to photographs released by the Environmental Protection Ministry on Thursday.

The tar from the spillage reached Israel’s shores on February 17, causing immense damage and harm to the coastline, wildlife habitats and marine life, and polluting beaches.

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/iranian-vessel-anchors-off-persian-coast-loaded-with-oil-in-pictures-660936

By: Udi Shaham – The Jerusalem Post; jpost.com

Southern Command uses mock Palestinian city to exercise various scenarios ahead of possible future confrontation.

The IDF has completed the construction of the underground concrete wall between Israel and the Gaza Strip, as part of the effort to prevent terrorists from crossing into Israel via cross-border tunnels.

The concrete wall is just one component in the 60 km.-long barrier, which also includes a fence above the ground, advanced sensors both above and underground, and cutting-edge technologies meant to tackle the tunnel threat and stop terrorist infiltrations.

Senior IDF sources told The Jerusalem Post that almost 95% of the barrier has been completed, and that it will be operational in the near future.

https://www.jpost.com/arab-israeli-conflict/idf-completes-underground-wall-as-israel-readies-for-hamas-war-660951

By: Yaakov Lappin – Jewish News Syndicate; jns.org

Rafael’s air-defense system has successfully intercepted more than 90 percent of projectiles headed for built-up areas in Israel since 2011 and has become an essential element of national security, even as it had to overcome resistance before its initial arrival.

Ten years have passed since the Iron Dome air-defense system, produced by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, made its first revolutionary interception of a Gazan rocket in Israeli skies in 2011. Since then the system has conducted more than 2,500 successful real-world interceptions, preventing large-scale carnage in Israeli cities.

It has achieved an interception rate of more than 90 percent and is considered an essential element of Israeli security, on standby against enemy arsenals threatening the Israeli home front from north to south.

While Iron Dome is indispensable today, it had to overcome some preconceived notions about the role of air defense in security before first making its appearance.

https://www.jns.org/one-decade-since-its-appearance-iron-dome-has-intercepted-2500-enemy-rockets-and-counting/

By: Abigail Klein Leichman – Israel 21c; Israel21c.org

Veterinary professionals and volunteers rush to clean the beaches and rescue injured sea turtles, birds, lizards, snails and other wildlife.

A catastrophic tar spill washing up along Israel’s entire Mediterranean coast may be the worst environmental disaster in Israeli history.

While governmental authorities investigate the source of the offshore leak of at least 1,000 tons of sticky, toxic tar, many Israeli civilians and soldiers are helping with cleanup efforts that will likely take months.

https://www.israel21c.org/israel-scrambles-to-save-animals-hurt-in-massive-tar-spill/

Israel Hayom – israelhayom.com

Among the possible scenarios that could have led to the ecological disaster is a faulty storage device at the Minerva Helen.

Five days after Israel’s shorelines was contaminated by a massive oil spill, Israeli authorities revealed on Wednesday that the Greek-flagged vessel Minerva Helen may have been the source of the pollution.

Investigators said the vessel was expected to dock at the port of Piraeus on Friday, during which they hope it could be examined to determine whether the oil originated from it. Israeli environmentalists said that they nine other vessels could have been responsible for the spill as well.

https://www.israelhayom.com/2021/02/24/israeli-authorities-reveal-suspected-vessel-behind-massive-oil-spill/

By: Raphael Ofek – Jewish News Syndicate; jns.org

Traces of radioactivity were found recently at two Iranian sites where Tehran has reported no nuclear activity.

Samples collected by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at two Iranian sites where Tehran has not reported any nuclear activity showed traces of radioactivity. Although the IAEA refrained from naming the sites in its quarterly report of June 5, 2020, they were identified last year by the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) in Washington. The identification was based on information extracted from the Iranian nuclear archive smuggled out of Tehran and into Israel in January 2018.

The first site visited by IAEA inspectors in August 2020 was a pilot plant for uranium conversion, with an emphasis on the production of UF6 (uranium hexafluoride, a uranium compound which, in its gaseous phase, enables the enrichment of uranium by centrifuges). This site, located about 47 miles southeast of Tehran, operated under the aegis of the Amad military nuclear program. In documents from the Iranian nuclear archive, this location is referred to as the “Tehran Site.” The facility was dismantled in 2004.

https://www.jns.org/opinion/signs-irans-nuclear-weapons-program-never-halted/

By: Nathan Lewin – Jewish News Syndicate; jns.org

Within 14 days of the panel’s decision, Arkansas’s Attorney General may request that the full array of active Circuit Judges of the 8th Circuit review the decision in what lawyers call an “en banc rehearing.”

A federal appeals court has just issued a pernicious constitutional ruling that should promptly be voided. In March 2017, the Arkansas legislature, by a unanimous vote of its Senate and a 69-3 vote of its House, passed a law designed to deter boycotts against Israel. Copying the text of a law enacted in Georgia in April 2016 (also adopted by the Texas legislature in May 2017 and by several other states), Arkansas law requires any company contracting with the state government to certify that it does not engage in a boycott of Israel. “Boycott of Israel” is defined in the law as “engaging in refusals to deal, terminating business activities or other actions that are intended to limit commercial relations with Israel.”

https://www.jns.org/opinion/boosting-bds-a-federal-court-decision-that-should-be-vacated/

By: Samuel Smith – The Christian Post; christianpost.com

A federal judge permanently blocked New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s controversial restrictions on indoor worship gatherings that the U.S. Supreme Court issued a temporary injunction against last November. 

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto, a George W. Bush appointee, granted a  permanent injunction to block Cuomo’s COVID-19 guidelines as applied to all houses of worship listed in red and orange zones throughout the state. 

In red zones, houses of worship were subject to a limit of 25% maximum occupancy or 10 people, whichever is fewer. Meanwhile, places of worship in orange zones were subject to a limit of 33% maximum occupancy or 25 people, whichever is fewer.

https://www.christianpost.com/news/federal-court-permanently-blocks-cuomos-restrictions-on-worship.html

By: Aryeh Savir – Israel Today; israeltoday.co.il

Why exactly is he on trial, and how long’s it expected to take for a verdict?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared in the Jerusalem District Court on Monday to face charges against him in Cases 1000, 2000 and 4000, alleging bribery, breach of trust, and fraud.

Netanyahu, who left the court after a short session, pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The hearing began with an oral statement from the various defendants, including the prime minister, following the written answers their lawyers sent to the court last month.

Due to the Coronavirus constraints, the hearing took place in the new and larger courtroom. The number of representatives of each defendant was limited, the journalists sat in another room when what happened in the courtroom was broadcast to them on CCTV.

https://www.israeltoday.co.il/read/netanyahu-goes-to-court-im-not-guilty/