Robin Hood's Tree Passes Away

https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-15909993/Ancient-oak-tree-Robin-Hood-legend-dies-1-200-heatwaves-huge-tourists.html

Ancient oak tree linked to Robin Hood passes away after 1,200 years

An ancient oak tree linked to Robin Hood has died after 1,200 years.

The Major Oak is located in Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire.

The hollowed-out trunk of the huge oak was used as a hideout by Robin Hood, shooting the tree to worldwide recognition.

The tree was named 'Major' after it was mentioned in a 1790 book by Major Hayman Rooke - an ex-British Army soldier who lived in Mansfield Woodhouse, a few miles from Sherwood Forest. 

Tributes have been made to the oak tree from famous faces including Dame Judi Dench, who is known for her love of ancient trees.

The Major Oak, an ancient tree linked to Robin Hood 

The hollowed-out trunk of the huge oak - said to be approximately 1,200 years old - was used as a hideout by Robin Hood.

Dame Judi, an ambassador for the Woodland Trust, told the BBC: 'The Major Oak has provided inspiration for countless stories, poems, paintings and people for more than 1,000 years - all the while itself teeming with life and providing a home to an enormous range of wildlife.

'I hope everyone who has been inspired by the Major Oak or another ancient tree reaches out to their MP and asks them to improve legal protections for these iconic and vital elements of our national landscape.' 

Simon Parfey, managing director at SoilBioLab - specialists in soil microbiology testing and part of the team caring for the ancient oak since 2021 - said surveys uncovered the root system had been 'quietly struggling for a long time' because of naturally poor soil and heavy ground compaction.

Tourism in Victorian times

The tree - which has been alive since the Norman conquest - will remain standing in the forest as a monument for people and wildlife. 

Kevin Costner in the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

The tree will remain standing in the forest as a monument for people and wildlife

https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-15909993/Ancient-oak-tree-Robin-Hood-legend-dies-1-200-heatwaves-huge-tourists.html

Sherwood Forest

Map showing the location of the Major Oak in Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire

The Major Oak's earliest recorded name was the Cockpen Tree in the mid 1800s, as the sport of cock fighting once took place there

Completely hollow inside, it has a hole in the trunk which visitors used to climb inside.

12 years old Shepherd Calls for Charges against Leftist Activist

     Defender of Terrorists

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/428773

Shepherd calls for prosecution of left-wing activist

A 12-year-old filed a police complaint after being filmed while being attacked in grazing lands by Arik Asherman. Honenu sent an urgent letter demanding Asherman's removal from the area and that charges be filed.

A 12-year-old filed a complaint with the police against left-wing activist Arik Asherman, who attacked him during an event that took place about a week ago in grazing lands in eastern Binyamin.

Following the complaint, attorney Haim Bleicher from the Honenu organization sent an urgent letter to the police, demanding that Asherman be removed from the area and that charges be brought against him. Tom Nisani, the organization's specialist, assisted with the case.

During the confrontation Asherman attempted to take a rope that was tied to a donkey. In footage released from the event, Asherman is seen holding on to the minor and trying to make him release the rope, and in the background the child is heard shouting, "Why are you pinching me? You're stealing my donkey."

In his letter to the police, Bleicher wrote that this is a serious incident requiring immediate action by the enforcement authorities. He further wrote that, according to his claim, this is not an isolated case and that Asherman had been involved in additional incidents with residents and minors.

Bleicher said, "This is a serious incident of assaulting a minor. The video footage from the field clearly shows how Asherman pressed himself to the child, caused him pain and applied physical force against him in violation of the law. This is not the first time Asherman has been involved in such incidents against residents and minors in the area. We approached the police in an urgent letter following the minor's complaint, and we expect the Israel Police to act decisively in order to remove the suspect from the place immediately and to hold him accountable by filing an indictment as soon as possible."

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/428773

End of the Hebron Protocol

     The Tomb of the Patriarchs

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/428713

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-899608

Smotrich announces the end of the Hebron Protocol

Bezalel Smotrich says Israel has stripped Hebron’s Arab municipality of planning authority over the Jewish community and holy sites.

Finance Minister and Minister in the Defense Ministry Bezalel Smotrich announced on Tuesday the completion of a process to deny the Arab Hebron Municipality all planning and construction authorities granted to it by the Hebron Protocol.

The process follows a cabinet decision initiated by Minister Smotrich and ratified several months ago. On Monday, the Central Planning Bureau passed the ruling required to complete the process.

As a result of the decision, planning and construction authority over the Jewish community in Hebron and the holy sites there, including the Cave of the Patriarchs, will no longer rest with the Hebron municipality but will instead return to the full responsibility of the State of Israel.

Smotrich said, “Yesterday, we canceled the Hebron Protocol. For many years, one of the most absurd provisions of the Oslo Accords remained in effect, under which authority over matters relating to the Jewish community in Hebron and its holy sites depended on the terrorist municipality of Hebron. Yesterday, we put an end to that. This is far more than a planning measure; it is a historic correction. We are continuing the revolution of regulating settlement, strengthening governance, and deepening Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria."

The Israeli Foreign Ministry stated:  "This decision was made following years of a complete lack of cooperation on these matters by the Arab Hebron Municipality."

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/428713

Smotrich’s announcement of the reported annulment of the Hebron Accords was made during the inauguration ceremony for the new West Bank settlement of Doron, located in the Hebron hills.

     Defense Minister Israel Katz and Smotrich at Doron Cornerstone Laying Ceremony

“For many long years, one of the most absurd clauses of Oslo remained in place, whereby authorities relating to the Jewish settlement in Hebron and to the holy sites were subject to the Arab terrorist municipality of Hebron,” Smotrich said. “Yesterday we put an end to that."

He called the move a “historic correction,” noting that it is part of the initiative to regulate settlements and “deepening Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria."

Under Smotrich’s claim, all planning and construction responsibilities granted to the Hebron Municipality under the Hebron Agreement had been withdrawn and instead “returned” to the Israeli government.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's office called the seizure of powers an "infringement upon the political and legal status of Hebron," and a violation of international law.

Many MKs, including Smotrich, have pushed for Israel’s annexation of the West Bank (Judea and Samaria).

In May, Israel approved a NIS 250 million plan to preserve heritage and antiquities sites across the West Bank, the Jordan Valley, and the Judean Desert.

New heritage centers, set to serve as research and educational facilities, and visitor centers will be constructed at sites in these areas in order to bolster “the connection of the Israeli public to the Jewish people's historic assets in the region.”

A multi-year plan worth tens of millions of shekels will also be implemented to upgrade existing infrastructure and, hopefully, turn the sites into major tourist destinations.

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-899608

     Tomb of the Patriarchs

The Tomb of the Patriarchs is revered in Judaism as the burial site of the biblical patriarchs and matriarchs Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebecca, Jacob and Leah.

The settlement movement and the Jewish community in Hebron have long sought to assert Israeli civilian control over the Tomb of the Patriarchs.

Muslims built the Ibrahimi mosque in the ​14th century, to desecrate the site.

Smotrich, who wants to bury the ‌idea of ⁠Palestinian statehood in the West Bank, has backed a rapid expansion of Israeli settlements in the territory.

Netanyahu's security cabinet approved steps earlier this year to make it ​easier for settlers to buy land in the West Bank and give Israeli authorities more enforcement powers in the territory.

A Jewish presence has existed there for thousands of ​years. They view the West Bank as their biblical heartland.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has led an unprecedented drive to expand Jerusalem’s control of Judea and Samaria, having approved tens of thousands of homes and dozens of new communities in the past three-and-a-half years.

Pally Soccer Chief/Terrorist Supporter denied Visa to enter USA

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/428645

Pally soccer chief denied US visa to attend FIFA World Cup

The head of the PA soccer association, Jibril Rajoub, is denied a US visa for the 2026 World Cup. Rajoub is known for his anti-Israel comments and incitements.

Jibril Rajoub, the prominent Fatah official who leads the Palestinian Authority’s soccer association, revealed that his request for a United States visa had not been approved, blocking him from traveling to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, JNS reported.

The development follows several instances where the Trump administration barred specific tournament delegates from entering the country, with recent restrictions impacting an Iraqi team photographer and a Somali referee.

Rajoub, who served a prison sentence in Israel for security-related offenses, regularly incites against Israel, and has in the past said that Jews deserved the genocide inflicted on them by the Nazis.

In October 2011, he delivered a speech at a ceremony honoring the terrorists released by Israel in the Shalit deal, in which he praised Hamas for abducting the soldier and hailed the released prisoners as heroes.

In another incident, he declared that if the PA had a nuclear bomb, it would use it against Israel.

In 2018, Rajoub was suspended for a year from FIFA for inciting hatred and violence, after he called on soccer fans to target the Argentinian Soccer Association and burn jerseys and pictures of Messi when he was scheduled to play a friendly game in Israel.

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/428645

Palestinian soccer chief says US, Canada haven’t granted him visa to attend World Cup

Jibril Rajoub went to the opening match between Mexico and South Africa on Thursday in Mexico City. But he is among several people accredited to attend the soccer World Cup who have been denied visas or have yet to receive them from the United States.

Rajoub told AFP that he had also failed to obtain a visa for Canada, which is co-hosting the World Cup.

The United States has refused entry to delegates from a raft of countries, including a referee from Somalia and a photographer traveling with Iraq’s team.

The US State Department last year implemented new restrictions on Palestinian passport holders, including on anyone who has been employed by the Palestinian Authority.

It revoked a visa to allow Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to travel to the United Nations General Assembly last September.

Last month, Rajoub refused to shake hands with the head of Israel’s soccer federation.

Palestinian soccer chief Jibril Rajoub ‘denied US visa for 2026 World Cup’

In 2024, then Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz threatened to ban Rajoub from traveling abroad, accusing him of using sports to promote terrorism and violence.

“Jibril Rajoub, a terrorist in a suit who openly supported Hamas’s crimes, is working around the clock to get Israel removed from the international soccer association,” Katz tweeted, tagging FIFA on the post.

“We will work to thwart his plans, and if he doesn’t stop—we will imprison him in the Muqata’a [P.A. presidential compound in Ramallah], where he will be left to play Stanga by himself between the walls,” added Katz, referring to a soccer-like game popular with Israeli children.

On April 30, Rajoub refused to stand alongside Israel Football Association Vice President Basim Sheikh Suliman during a tense moment at the FIFA Congress in Vancouver.

Both officials were invited to the stage by Infantino, who attempted to bring them together. Rajoub declined to move closer to Suliman despite Infantino placing a hand on his arm and gesturing for him to do so.

https://www.jns.org/news/u-s-news/palestinian-soccer-chief-jibril-rajoub-denied-us-visa-for-2026-world-cup

IDF Eliminates Hezbollah Commander

 

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/defense-news/article-899391

IDF kills senior Hezbollah commander who served as Nasrallah's former bodyguard, in southern Lebanon

Ali Musa Daqduq was responsible for founding the 'Golan Terrorist Network,' coordinating various attacks against IDF soldiers along the border, and planning the murders of five US soldiers in 2007.

The IDF killed senior Hezbollah commander Ali Musa Daqduq in a precision strike in southern Lebanon, the military announced on Sunday. 

According to the statement, Daqduq held various senior positions within Hezbollah, including as bodyguard to then-Hezbollah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah, head of the terror group's infantry unit, and founding commander of the "Golan Terrorist Network."

The "Golan Terrorist Network" is the terrorist unit responsible for Hezbollah's involvement in Syria and the established military infrastructure along the Israel-Lebanon border. The network was exposed by the IDF in 2019.

Daqduq orchestrated many of Hezbollah's operations against IDF soldiers and the State of Israel, primarily near the border with Lebanon.

Leiter announces death of senior Hezbollah terrorist before IDF publishes confirmation

Israel's Ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter, announced the assassination of Daqduq before the IDF statement was officially released.

According to Leiter, Daqduq was responsible for carrying out the kidnapping and murder of five US soldiers in 2007 and managing Hezbollah's "Golan Portfolio" plan to invade and take over northern Israel.

Who was Ali Musa Daqduq?

Daqduq joined Hezbollah in early 1983, The Jerusalem Post previously reported.

He was sent to Iraq in 2005 after Iran asked Hezbollah to form a group to train Iraqis to fight coalition forces in the country. He helped train and advise the terrorists in Jaysh al-Mahdi, now known as Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq. Daqduq was behind bloody attacks against Western troops in Iraq in 2006 and 2007, including the attack that killed five US soldiers.

He was captured by the British SAS in Basra in March 2007 and spent five years in prison. He was released by the Iraqi government in 2012 despite strong protests from Washington. He was designated by the United States Treasury Department that year for his role in the attack.

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/defense-news/article-899391