What’s so special about September 20th?
The Palestinian Authority statehood bid will be presented to the United Nations on September 20, PA Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Malki told AFPon Saturday. ”Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas will personally present the request to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at the opening of the sixty-sixth session (Sept 20),” Malki said. Abbas “will insist on this historic initiative and Ban Ki-moon will present the request to the Security Council,” he added. Malki said PA officials chose September because Lebanon, which will hold the presidency of the Security Council, would be in a strong position to push the bid forward. source – Arutz Sheva
Defense establishment to simulate strike on nuclear facility
The defense establishment will hold a special emergency drill this week, simulating an enemy strike on Israel’s nuclear facility.
“Operation Fernando” will aim to test the defense establishment’s readiness for the worst case scenario – a missile strike on the facility itself or its immediate surroundings, Yedioth Ahronoth reported. The drill, whose details have been classified as top secret, is scheduled for Tuesday. Given its classification, only a handful of senior defense establishment officials are privy to its outline.
The Israel Atomic Energy Commission will oversee the drill, along with the Home Front Command and Ministry for Home Front Defense.
Apart from an enemy strike scenario, “Operation Fernando” also aims to test the implementation of various lessons learned from Japan’s ***ushima disaster. ”Operation Fernando” is the first of its kind to be held in Israel in the past seven years.
Meanwhile, the defense establishment has finished its review of the results of “Turning Point 5″ – the nationwide Home Front Command emergency drill, which tested war readiness in 85 cities and towns across Israel.
The report found that while emergency services and municipalities’ communication and coordination with the Home Front Command had improved, the coordination between the emergency services