Philistine Temple Ruins Uncovered in Goliath's Hometown
by Hana Levi Julian

Bar Ilan University archaeologists have uncovered the ruins of a Philistine temple in the ancient city of Gath, home of the Biblical Goliath, buried in one of the largest tels (ancient ruin mounds) in Israel.

The temple and a number of ritual items dating back to the 10th century BCE were discovered at Tel Tsafit (Tell es-Safit/Gath) by Professor Aren Maeir of BIU's Martin (Szusz) Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology and his international team. The tel is located about halfway between Ashkelon and Jerusalem, near Kiryat Gat along the southern coastal plain.

“Interestingly, the architectural design of this temple, with its two central pillars, is reminiscent of the architectural image that is described in the well-known Biblical story of Samson and the Philistines,” Maeir said. He added that the discovery could indicate that the story of Samson reflects a type of temple that was in use in Philistia at the time.

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The Flotilla Farce - Danny Ayalon (Wall Street Journal Europe)

* There are currently 100 armed conflicts and dozens of territorial disputes around the world. There have been millions of people killed and hundreds of millions live in abject poverty without access to basic staples.
* Yet hundreds of high-minded "humanitarian activists" are spending millions of dollars to reach Gaza and hand money to Hamas that will never reach the innocent civilians of Gaza.
* The latest flotilla is preparing to leave from Lebanon, while its organizers ignore the dire human rights situation of the Palestinians in Lebanon.
* This amply demonstrates that these flotillas have nothing to do with humanitarian concerns and everything to do with delegitimizing Israel.

(online.wsj.com)

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Abbas resists push for direct talks with Israel
By SALAH NASRAWI (AP)

CAIRO — The Palestinian president is refusing to move to direct peace negotiations with Israel, as the Arab League meets Thursday to decide whether to add its weight to U.S. and Israeli pressure for face-to-face talks.

Mahmoud Abbas is under strong U.S. and European pressure to restart direct talks that were frozen in 2008. But the Palestinian leader said he would only do so if Israel agrees to a complete halt in settlement construction and accepts a Palestinian state in territories seized in the 1967 Middle East war — the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem.

"When I receive written assurances (about) accepting the 1967 border and halting the settlement (building), I will go immediately to the direct talks," Abbas was quoted as saying in remarks reported by Egypt's state-owned news agency Thursday.

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Arabs meet on Palestinian peace talks with Israel

CAIRO — Arab officials began crucial talks with Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas on Thursday to decide whether he will begin direct negotiations with Israel amid pressure from the United States.

Abbas was expected to present the results of the US-brokered indirect talks the Arab League approved in May for a four-month period to the meeting of foreign ministers and representatives.

Abbas has so far accepted holding only indirect talks with Israel, which has rejected his conditions for face-to-face negotiations.

Thursday's meeting is expected to back Abbas's condition that Israel guarantee a Palestinian state based on pre-1967 war borders between the Jewish state and east Jerusalem and the West Bank.

"The issue is not US pressure, the issue is what is in the Palestinians' interests," Arab League official Hisham Yussef, who heads Secretary General Amr Mussa's office, told AFP.

"Their interest from their perspective is clear -- they want to see progress in the proximity talks and we support them.

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Are Israelis Leaning Right? Two Polls May Indicate Answer is Yes
by Eli Stutz

Two separate polls may indicate that the Israeli public is leaning increasingly to the right of the political spectrum.

Poll #1: Israelis Largely Against Unilateral Withdrawal

A Geocartography telephone poll broadcast on Israeli Television's Channel 1 yesterday showed the following results:

62% Israeli Jews oppose additional unilateral withdrawals. 21% were in favor.

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Arabs Riot Over Jerusalem King's Garden Project
by Hana Levi Julian

Hundreds of Arab demonstrators rioted Tuesday in Jerusalem over the city government's plans to demolish 22 Arab homes that were built without permits.

At least 200 Palestinian Authority Arabs were involved in the violence, according to an AFP news photographer. Eyewitnesses said that some of the rioters were hurling rockets at police and border guard officers, who fired tear gas and rubber bullets at the mob.

No arrests were made, according to a police spokesperson. Local Arab officials eventually convinced the demonstrators to disperse. Five protesters were reportedly injured in the melee.

The city's project to upgrade the crumbling, crowded Arab neighborhood into an archaeological park has inflamed passions among the local residents, many of who built their homes without permits.

Another 66 similarly-built illegal structures in the King's Garden area, also known as the Al-Bustan neighborhood, would be allowed to remain and under the plan would be retroactively legalized.

The neighborhood is located in a part of the city known internationally as the so-called “Holy Basin,” which houses the site of ancient Jerusalem during the time of the Biblical kings David and Solomon. The area was restored to Israel during the 1967 Six Day War in a move not recognized by the international community.
(IsraelNationalNews.com)

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IDF soldier's murderer gets 18 years
By JPOST.COM STAFF

St.-Sgt. Ori Hen was stabbed to death in 2009 Rishon Lezion brawl.

The Petah Tikva District Court on Wednesday sentenced Waja Minlik to 18 years in prison for the murder of St.-Sgt. Ori Hen in Rishon Lezion in September 2009.

The 20-year-old IDF soldier, who served in the Golani Brigade and took part in several combat operations in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead, was stabbed to death by Minlik, who had been released from prison. The stabbing took place after a verbal altercation.

Doctors had battled to save Hen's life for several hours, but were forced to declare him dead.

Shortly after the incident, South-African-born former police detective and security consultant Marc Kahlberg told The Jerusalem Post that Hen's murder was part of a recent upswing in alcohol-fueled youth violence.

Kahlberg said a lack of proper education and a deadly youth culture which promotes violence and disdains human life will ensure that random violence among youths will increase.

"I think there is no respect for the law whatsoever among the youth in Israel," he said.