Western Wall Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz sharply condemned the removal of the note placed in the Wall by US Senator Barack Obama. In a statement sent to the media, the Rabbi said that notes placed in the Wall are removed twice a year, on the eve of the Jewish New Year and Passover, and placed in a special repository for religious items, under supervision to keep them hidden from human eyes.
“Notes which are placed in the Western Wall are between the person and his Maker; Heaven forbid that one should read them or use them in any way. The custom of placing notes between the stones of the Western Wall is ancient and is used as a means of expression by a person praying to his Creator. This sacrilegious action deserves sharp condemnation and represents a desecration of the holy site,” read the statement.
--The Hamas Izz al-Din Brigade terrorist who masterminded the suicide bombing and prepared the explosives that took the life of an elderly Israeli woman in Dimona last February, was himself killed in an IDF counterterrorism operation in the Rafidiyeh neighborhood in Hebron. IDF soldiers from the elite Duvdevan unit circled the building and then shelled the home of 25-year-old Shihab al-Natsheh after he refused to surrender and instead began shooting at the troops, according to local residents. The soldiers also arrested his assistant, Wal Bitar as well as a second Hamas terrorist, Aba Abu Aisha.
The terrorist organization announced it would avenge the operative’s death. “Our response will be swift and painful,” said the group in a statement released to the media.
Three Years Ago Today at IsraelNN
Eight soldiers were killed in fierce fighting in the Hizbullah stronghold of Bint Jbeil. The enemy fighters were equipped with anti-tank weapons, rocket propelled grenades, mortar shells, and LAW rockets that came from Syria and Lebanon. The dead and wounded were evacuated under fire, and several soldiers carried stretchers more than one mile.
--An IDF officer was killed and three soldiers wounded in fighting in the village of Maroun Al-Ras, between the Israeli-Lebanese border and the village of Bint Jbiel
--Former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was transferred to the Emergency Room at Sheba Medical Center in Tel HaShomer as his body continued to retain fluids after deterioration in his condition several days ago.