Belgian media have named the two suicide bombers who blew up the departure hall at Zaventem Airport in Brussels on Tuesday.

State broadcaster RTBF reported the two terrorists were brothers, Khalid and Ibrahim El-Bakraoui, both known to the police.

A third suspect, Najim Laachraoui, was also seen on CCTV security footage before the explosions in the airport, and remains at large.

Brussels authorities have asked residents to stay in their homes due to the security situation in the city.

The two brothers were acknowledged as “martyrs” by the Da’esh (ISIS) terrorist organization. The terror group took responsibility for the attacks on the city’s airport and a metro station near the headquarters of the European Union.

At least 30 people died in the attacks and more than 200 others were wounded. Two Israelis who sustained minor wounds and four U.S. citizens who were hospitalized.

Belgium has raised its national threat alert to Level 4, the highest possible, after three explosions shut down the Brussels metro following a massive attack on the city’s international airport. 15 people were killed in the train attack and another 55 were wounded.

The Brussels Metro rail system was struck Tuesday morning in a carefully time, coordinated attack with blasts that were detonated within minutes of each other at separate locations.

The attacks came about a half hour after a suicide bombing at the departure hall of Zaventem Airport in the Belgian capital which killed at least 11 people and wounded 35.

The first two explosions in the city are believed to have taken place on a train between the Maalbeek/Maelbeek and Schuman stations stations, near the headquarters of the European Commission.

The blasts were heard at Maalbeek metro station at around 8:30 am, according to RTBF, about 400 meters from the Berlaymont building – home to the headquarters of the European Commission.

A witness said the explosion appeared to come from the front of the train. “The lights went off, there was panic given what happened at Brussels airport.

“The doors of the train were forced open to get off the train. There was a lot of smoke. We left via Maelbeek station. The glass doors were blown out. The explosion must have been violent.”

No trains are currently running to or from Brussels Midi, according to the Eurostar company.

“Brussels customers are advised to postpone, and not come to station,” the firm tweeted. “Our thoughts rest with anyone affected by the unfolding events in Brussels – we are closely monitoring and will update,” a Eurostar spokesperson said in a statement.

Both France and Britain have raised their national alert levels.

Security was increased at London Gatwick and Heathrow Airport following the attacks, and at the Paris Charles de Gaulles airport as well. UK Prime Minister David Cameron is set to chair a meeting of the government’s emergency Cobra committee Tuesday evening in response to the explosions in Brussels.

In a letter to the European Union’s Ambassador to the United States, David O’Sullivan, U.S. Representatives took the EU to task for pretending there is a legitimate “political” wing of Hezbollah. The EU has labeled Hezbollah’s “military arm” as a terrorist organization, distinguishing it from the group’s political wing, which is not so designated.

Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL-06) and Grace Meng (D-NY-06) sent the letter to O’Sullivan following the recent decision by an organization of Gulf States (GCC) to designate the entire Hezbollah enterprise as a terrorist organization.

Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.)

Queens. New York City Rep. Grace Meng.

“While the 2013 EU designation of Hezbollah’s military wing was a step in the right direction, distinguishing between Hezbollah’s military and political arms is a distinction without a difference,” Roskam and Meng wrote. “Hezbollah can easily transfer money within its organization, rendering EU attempts to effectively sanction its terrorist activities meaningless. The entire organization is implicated in Hezbollah’s nefarious activities.”

The U.S. lawmakers made no bones about the extent of mayhem Hezbollah has unleashed on the world:

Since its founding, Hezbollah, funded in part by Iran, has been responsible for thousands of deaths in Lebanon, Turkey, Bulgaria, Argentina, Saudi Arabia, and many more. There is no indication that Hezbollah has slowed its terrorist activities. In recent years, Hezbollah has been implicated in plots in Cyprus, Thailand, Nigeria, Uruguay, the U.S. and more.

Roskam and Meng then turned to the dangers posed to Israel by Hezbollah.

Hezbollah is also in possession of approximately 150,000 rockets and missiles, some of which are capable of precision targeting nearly anywhere in Israel. In February, Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah declared his intention to target an ammonia plant in Haifa and boasted that such an action will ‘lead to the deaths of tens of thousands of inhabitants.’ This type of action goes against international law, all recognized norms of armed conflict, and basic morality. We are inching closer to another Hezbollah-initiated war against Israel that would be disastrous for all involved.

“The European Union is a vital partner to the United States in addressing global issues,” the two Members of Congress added. “Given our collective importance to the global financial system, a unified approach to countering terrorist financing would be a formidable obstacle for terrorist organizations like Hezbollah. We urge the European Union to immediately designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization and work to oppose their global terrorist ambitions.”

The letter was sent to O’Sullivan on March 9.


The Israeli government is very displeased with a video produced by the Jerusalem’s Periphery Forum depicting the European Union Ambassador to Israel as a killer cannibal.

Foreign Ministry Director-General Dore Gold condemned the use of a cannibal mask on the image of a diplomat as being disrespectful.

European Union Ambassador to Israel Lars Faaborg-Andersen was depicted as Hannibal Lecter, the serial killer featured in The Silence of the Lambs.

The group posted the film clip to its Facebook page on Sunday night.

On the video, the narrator says: “He’s the man that stands behind the illegal building around Route 1. He is creating facts on the ground so that there can be contiguous territory for a terrorist state in the future.

“It would be unthinkable for Israeli ambassadors in Europe to create outposts for the refugees. In that same way we can’t let Andersen challenge us by acting in a way that endangers all of us. We’ll have to restrain Andersen.”

The outposts referred to in the video are the illegally-built structures built by Arabs – many funded by the European Union – that keep popping up among the Judean Hills along Route 1 as it descends to the Dead Sea from Jerusalem.

Get ready for a deeply spiritual and penetrating analysis from Rabbis Ari Abramowitz and Jeremy Gimpel into one of the most perplexing questions of our times.

Reports are now surfacing that Europe is systematically covering up the violent crimes Islamic immigrants are committing across the continent.

Only decades ago, these same European governments collaborated with Adolf Hitler and assisted him in deporting six million Jews to Nazi gas chambers.

Today, as they embrace Islam and cover up their crimes, Europeans consistently condemn Israel while seeking to isolate her politically and economically.

Can we glean from the millennia of wisdom and insight to make sense of this today?

By Jonathan Benedek/TPS

Jerusalem (TPS) – In light of a recently discovered road illegally built in Area C (territory in Judea and Samaria under full Israeli control), the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Subcommittee on Judea and Samaria convened this morning to discuss the continued illegal Palestinian construction financed by the European Union.

“There is a serious reality of illegal Arab construction of hundreds of thousands of buildings on state lands in Area C of Judea and Samaria,” said Subcommittee Chairman MK Moti Yogev (Jewish Home) as he began the discussion. “This is simply terrorist construction by the Palestinian Authority, funded by EU countries, amounting to 110 million euros a year.”

Yogev also accused the Civil Administration in Judea and Samaria of failing to prevent the illegal construction. “The Civil Administration is operating with neglect or, more accurately, not operating at all. It is not exercising its control and it is abandoning the area,” charged MK Yogev.

The subcommittee chairman also spoke out against what he viewed as unequal treatment of illegal Jewish construction versus illegal Palestinian construction.

“There is just lawlessness and a lack of proportionality on the part of the Judea and Samaria legal counsel and the enforcement agencies,” contended MK Yogev.

“If we were talking about illegal Jewish construction, it would have been enforced a long time ago,” he continued. “In practice, illegal Jewish construction percentage levels are lower by hundreds of percentage points yet Jewish construction is more strictly enforced while almost nothing is done to stop illegal Palestinian construction.”

Civil Administration Deputy Commander Colonel Uri Mendes disputed MK Yogev’s claim that the Civil Administration applies disproportionate standards to the handling of illegal construction.

“We are not ignoring any illegal construction,” Mendes stressed. “We are operating according to the law. We respond to and destroy any illegal construction that has no temporary court injunction.”

Colonel Mendes referred to a recent instance when the Civil Administration destroyed illegally constructed buildings financed by the European Union. “Just last week, we destroyed five buildings and confiscated a number of tents that were financed by the European Union,” Mendes said.

Meanwhile, other MKs joined MK Yogev in speaking out against the illegal Palestinian construction that has been sponsored by the European Union.

“This illegal Palestinian construction is a flagrant violation of the agreements signed by the EU,” said MK Michael Oren (Kulanu), a former Israeli Ambassador to the US. “This is a blatant attempt by the Europeans to force the establishment of a Palestinian state without negotiations.”

”We have a right and a duty to prevent this,” continued Oren. ”If we do not act against this massive project, then we will be confronted with an impossible situation.”

Likud MK Amir Ohana concurred on the need to immediately address the European Union over the issue in light of the European Commission’s recent decision to label Jewish-Israeli products from Judea and Samaria. “We here in Israel must call out the European Union and destroy their illegal projects now of all times while it is labeling us.”

By Michael Bachner/TPS

Ashdod (TPS) – An Israeli company has been authorized to export plastic foam safety surfaces for childrens’ playgrounds to countries in the European Union. Hundreds of thousands of surplus foam packagings, originally used to protect new products from damage during their delivery, will thus be transformed into safety surfaces for children’s playgrounds in Europe.

The surfaces, called ‘Shockpads,’ are produced by the Israeli company Pashut Yarok (“Simply Green” in Hebrew), and installed under synthetic grass. This way if a child falls from a playground apparatus, the spongy layer will absorb the shock, potentially saving the child’s life.

“We hope to be closing deals with European facilities in the near future,” said Guy Saar, CEO of Pashut Yarok to Tazpit Press Service (TPS).

“The export of the ‘Shockpad’ holds great economic potential,” he added. “The EU countries invest a huge amount of resources to protect children in playgrounds. The combination of safety with recycling and protecting the environment, is very important to European decision makers.”

The plastic foam used to make the surfaces is considered an ecological nuisance all over the world, since recycling the material is too costly. It is estimated that in Israel alone, more than one thousand cubic meters of packaging are discarded every month. Using a special and unique process developed by “Pashut Yarok”, this surplus packaging can now be economically recycled.

The surfaces have already been successfully installed over the past year in parks, kindergartens and schools all over Israel. Now, the product has received a green light to be exported to Europe following examinations by Labosport, a lab authorized to approve safety surfaces in Europe.

There are two different ‘Shockpad’ surfaces, one made of 20mm-thick layers and the other from 25mm-thick layers. The lab examinations confirmed that the surface reduces the force of the impact, and can continuously cushion repeated falls.

“We were approved to export to all countries in the EU, but we are specifically aiming at economically strong countries like Germany, France, Britain and the Netherlands, in which we have more options to enter the market,” concluded Saar to TPS.