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Israel’s Hardline Defense Minister in First Trip to US Says All is Well in US-Israeli Relations

On his first visit to Washington since taking on his new position, Israel’s Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman denied reports that talks with the US on a new assistance package were stalled because of the bad blood between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. After meeting with his US counterpart Liberman said the talks on the defense assistance package known as the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) are going well, and a deal will likely be struck by November.

“The Americans are well aware of the threats we face, the terrorism that exists of every kind on our borders, and of Iran’s destabilization efforts.” Liberman is in Fort Worth, Texas today to watch the F-35 stealth jet roll off the assembly line at Lockheed Martin. Israeli officials say the planes, which they call a “game-changer” include advanced sensors and guided weapons and have a stealth capability. Israel is the first country outside the US to get the planes and the first two are expected to arrive in December. Libyan Militias Make Gains Against Islamic State Libyan militias say they seized a radio station and a mosque in Islamic State’s last bastion in the country in Sirte. The media center for the militias said that 18 members of their group as well as dozens of Islamic State fighters were killed in the pitched battles. Sirte is the only city outside Syria and Iraq that Islamic State has taken over.

The news from Libya comes amid news from Iraq and Syria that Islamic State is on the defensive and has lost significant amounts of territory. In Falluja, Iraqi troops are on the verge of retaking the city. A spokesman for Iraq’s government forces said they had retaken two northern neighborhoods and that 2500 Islamic State gunmen had been killed in the month-long battle to recapture the city. Jordan Vows No New Refugee Camps After an attack on Tuesday that killed six Jordanian guards and wounded 14 on the Syrian border, Mohammed al-Momeni, the Jordanian government’s spokesperson, said his country will not establish any new Syrian refugee camps, and would not expand existing ones. He said the border would be sealed, raising questions about how international aid will reach an estimated 64,000 refugees stranded on the border.

The UN says that Jordan has already absorbed more than one million Syrian refugees, and the country is struggling to take care of them. The attack on the border guards, by a suicide bomber driving an explosives-laden truck, has coalesced feelings in Jordan against allowing any more refugees into the Kingdom. New Alarm System for Hamas Tunnels in Southern Israel Amid concerns that the Islamist Hamas movement which controls the Gaza Strip is continuing to build attack tunnels into southern Israel, the government will sound an alarm not only when rockets are launched, but when Israel receives information about digging into Israeli territory. The alarm will sound the same as that for a missile alert, which gives residents closest to Gaza just 15 seconds to run to sealed rooms. At the same time, residents will receive an SMS message instructing,

“Due to terrorist digging, residents are requested to go into their homes and switch off the lights until further notice.” Speaking about the new initiative, a military official said on Tuesday, “Our central mission today is to defend the communities, in addition to offensive engagements against terror. The Israeli communities in the Gaza area are of primary importance their strength means success.” But some expressed concern that the decision could cause unnecessary panic among residents.