Desert
WATCH: Archaeologists Hunt For Ark Of The Covenant In Israel
“There are some who say the Bible is unreliable. We have found it to be very reliable.”
Toxic Spill Spreads 12-Mile Trail Of Destruction In Israeli Desert
Toxic wastewater that surged through a dry riverbed in southern Israel at the weekend left a wake of ecological destruction.
Desert Flash Flood
Watch this flash flood from Israel’s Negev Desert as an empty riverbed comes roaring back to life.
DJ Rocks Masada
DJ Rocks Masada
Israeli Military Plans $7B Desert Campus
Israel’s military plans to vacate land worth $14 billion and move most of its headquarters from the heart of Tel Aviv in a $7 billion project intended to alleviate an acute national shortage of room for housing.
Analysis of Israel Fortifying Its Southern Border
Stratfor analyst Abe Selig examines the Israeli military’s recent call-up of six battalions of reservists and the role they will play on the Israeli-Egyptian border as part of an ongoing shift in Israel’s overall security doctrine.
IDF Strikes Terrorists Driving Armored Vehicles into Israel after Attack Killing 16 Egypt Soldiers
Israeli leaders are praising the vigilance, quick response and courage of the soldiers who thwarted a large-scale terrorist attack from the Sinai desert. By air and land, the soldiers chased down and killed a group of Islamic terrorists who had brazenly breached the border in an armored vehicle. A number of the dead militants were wearing explosive belts, leading officials here to believe their plan was to kill Israeli civilians in a string of suicide bombings. This official Israeli army video shows that a strike from the air force finally stopped the terrorists as they sped down a highway…a couple of the militants who survived the hit were killed by ground soldiers… Israel was the second act in this terrorist plot…the first target was an Egyptian border station in Sinai. Officials in Cairo say more than 30 Islamic militants opened fire on Egyptian troops as they broke the Ramadan fast, killing at least 16. Spilling Israeli blood was the terrorist’s next goal…but a general intelligence warning had put Israeli soldiers on high alert and they were prepared and in place to deal with the infiltrators… Visiting the scene, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attack showed Israel can only rely on itself when it comes to its security…calls from Jerusalem to Cairo to root out Islamic extremists in the Sinai and tighten security have largely fallen on deaf ears… Defense Minister Ehud Barak said he hoped the attack would serve as a wake up call for …
Egypt's Celebrity Kidnapping TV Show 'Comedy': Ramz 'Desert Fox' Jalal Plays a Convincing Terrorist
While lawlessness and an increase in the number of kidnappings in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula have prompted international concern for the safety of travelers, an Egyptian comedian is using the problem to boost television ratings during Ramadan. Egyptian TV network Al-Hayat is airing a show called “Ramz, The Desert Fox,” in which prankster Ramz Jalal tricks celebrities into thinking they’ve been kidnapped by terrorists while travelling through the Sinai. Arab celebrities are told they’re participating in a show to help promote Egypt’s tourism industry, which has taken a hit since last year’s revolution. The stars are taken by a bus loaded with foreigners and told they’re on their way to meet a famous Egyptian actor. But soon after reaching the desert, Jalal’s crew pulls up, decked out in head coverings and wielding guns. Shots ring out. The other passengers, who are in on the prank, scream in staged horror. A man with a portable mortar launcher then blows out the bus’ windows. The celebrity is blindfolded and taken from the bus while the crew stages a fake gun battle. Then the blindfold comes off and the celebrity realizes it was all prank. Jalal then spends several minutes trying to calm the victim down. While the show has become an instant hit in Egypt, not everyone is laughing. Some viewers have said the premise is too extreme, and Islamists have protested against such shows, saying the pranks are harmful and go against Islamic teachings. It’s no surprise that the show hits …
Austrian Skydiver Makes 18-Mile Drop in Spacesuit: Felix Baumgartner to Break Speed of Sound
An Austrian skydiver jumped from a balloon flying at an altitude more than 18 miles (29 kilometers) above Earth on Wednesday (July 25), falling at speeds topping 500 miles per hour (805 kilometers per hour) in a training run for his attempt to make the world’s highest skydive. Felix Baumgartner landed safely in a desert near Roswell, New Mexico after leaping from an estimated 96940 feet (29547 metres) wearing a pressurized space suit equipped with an oxygen supply. The test parachute jump was the second for Baumgartner, who is on a quest to complete a record-breaking skydive from 120000 feet (36576 metres) in the coming weeks. He also hopes to become the first man to break the speed of sound at 700 mph (1126 kph) in a free fall.
A thriving fish industry... in the Israeli desert
www.israel.org Where can you find Nemo? In Israel’s Arava desert, where aquaculture is blooming despite a dearth of fresh water. Israel’s Arava desert gets just 30 millimeters of rainfall a year, but it produces 60 percent of Israel’s fresh vegetable exports, 10% of cut flower exports … and now it has a thriving ornamental fish industry, too. “The desert is dry and all the water that we have here first of all is water that we drill here in the Arava; we’re not connected to a national water system,” explains Alon Gadiel, director Arava Research and Development Center. Yet Israel is in the top six exporting countries for aquarium fish, and there are now 18 fish farms in the Arava. Three of them breed the clownfish better known as Nemos because of the hit movie “Finding Nemo.” “A business like aquaculture is a very good business because you don’t need a lot of land, and you don’t need a lot of water. You need a lot of knowledge,” says Gadiel. In addition, he stresses, “We breed fish that originally grow in the sea, and we sell them from captivity so we prevent harming the ecosystem.” Visit the MFA’s Social Media Channels Facebook - www.facebook.com www.facebook.com Twitter - www.twitter.com www.twitter.com Find us on Instagram: @IsraelMFA & @StateOfIsrael