The big news today in Israel: the weather. Heavy winds and rain covered most of the country today, and snow fell in the Hermon region in the Golan. The snow is expected to spread to high-altitude areas such as Jerusalem, Tzfat, and Hevron, which are doing their best to prepare, given the late warnings they were given. Several people have been lightly injured in accidents related to the stormy weather; one is in more serious condition, after being knocked off a roof by the heavy winds. Electricity was cut off for several hours in large parts of Netanya, Kfar Saba, and many communities in Gush Etzion, Binyamin, and the northern Dead Sea region. Residents of Yesha have been asked by the police to cut down on their travels after 6 PM, because of the weather.
One apparent consequence of the above was a decrease in Palestinian violence in Yesha today - despite the Day of Rage declared by the intifada leadership. In addition to assorted rock-throwing incidents, Arabs lobbed two grenades at IDF forces near Rafiach, in Gaza, in the early afternoon; no one was hurt. A yeshiva student was stabbed and lightly wounded by an Arab woman near Beit Romano in Hevron today; she was apprehended, and a closure was imposed on parts of the city. An Israeli attempt to arrest a Hamas terrorist near Jenin this morning was foiled when he was not found at home; his brother was arrested instead.
A wide-scale campaign to make Yesha school buses and other similar-purpose vehicles bulletproof will begin in the coming days. The army has allocated some 30 million shekels for the purpose.
One apparent consequence of the above was a decrease in Palestinian violence in Yesha today - despite the Day of Rage declared by the intifada leadership. In addition to assorted rock-throwing incidents, Arabs lobbed two grenades at IDF forces near Rafiach, in Gaza, in the early afternoon; no one was hurt. A yeshiva student was stabbed and lightly wounded by an Arab woman near Beit Romano in Hevron today; she was apprehended, and a closure was imposed on parts of the city. An Israeli attempt to arrest a Hamas terrorist near Jenin this morning was foiled when he was not found at home; his brother was arrested instead.
A wide-scale campaign to make Yesha school buses and other similar-purpose vehicles bulletproof will begin in the coming days. The army has allocated some 30 million shekels for the purpose.