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JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli soldiers shot three suspected Palestinian terrorists on Wednesday who had crossed the Gaza border fence into southern Israel.

The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement that the infiltrators were hiding in a wooded area opposite Kibbutz Kissufim near the border. After one of the infiltrators threw what the IDF identified as “an explosive charge or grenade” at the Israeli troops pursuing them, the soldiers opened fire.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a terrorist group in the Gaza Strip, sent the infiltrators, Ynet reported Wednesday, citing unnamed sources in Gaza.

Haaretz identified the infiltrators as teenagers from central Gaza aged 16-18.

Hamas called the killing an “ugly crime.”

“While the Israeli leadership is busy welcoming leaders from all around the world, Israeli tanks killed three Palestinians in cold blood,” the terror group said in a statement, Ynet reported. “This is a message to all those arriving in Israel, all they [Israelis] know is killing.”

The statement referred to the gathering of world leaders who will be attending the World Holocaust Forum being held Thursday in Jerusalem.

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(JTA) — Amar’e Stoudemire has signed to play with the defending Israeli basketball champions Maccabi Tel Aviv, stirring calls of traitor from fans of his former Israeli squad of which the one-time NBA All-Star was a part owner.

Stoudemire returns to Israel through the end of the season after playing 11 games for the Fujian Sturgeons in the Chinese Basketball Association. Maccabi Tel Aviv, a perennial power, is in first place in the Israel Premier League after winning the title the last two seasons.

The 6-10 forward played for Hapoel Jerusalem in 2016 and 2017, then returned for the 2018-19 season, during which time he was granted Israeli citizenship. He is a part owner of the club, which has a healthy rivalry with Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Along with calling Stoudemire a traitor, Hapoel fans took to social media said his signing with Maccabi was “absurd.”

“I am very humbled for the opportunity, happy to be in Israel, the place that I love,” Stoudemire said in a statement posted on Maccabi’s website. “I have a chance to play in the highest level in Europe, which is a dream come true.”

He identifies with the Hebrew Israelites, African-Americans who believe they are connected to the biblical Israelites, and observes Jewish holidays. He told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency last year that he is in the process of an Orthodox conversion to Judaism.

Stoudemire played for the New York Knicks and Phoenix Suns among other teams in his 16-year NBA career.

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(JTA) — Terry Jones, one of the core members of the Monty Python comedy troupe, died Tuesday night at 77. He had been suffering from dementia.

In addition to starring in numerous Python productions, the beloved comedian directed some of the group’s biggest films, including “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” “The Meaning of Life” and “Life of Brian.”

The last of those tells the story of a Jewish man named Brian Cohen, who is born on the same day as and subsequently mistaken for Jesus Christ. At the time of its release in 1979, the film angered Christian groups around the world for making light of the Jesus story, but it was a huge box office success. “Life of Brian” has since been recognized as one of the funniest movies of all time.

Part of the film involves a group of Jewish revolutionaries who plot a revolt against their Roman rulers. In 2007, Jones told the U.K. Telegraph about a scene that he cut from the script that likely would have angered Jews:

One scene deleted from the film was the “Otto” scene, which features a radical, first-century Jewish revolutionary who has the same dreams as the young Adolf Hitler. Otto sports a toothbrush moustache [sic], and, in case we still haven’t got the message, his disciples all wear a symbol that combines the Star of David with a swastika. These are “Nazi Jews.”

Jones insists he didn’t make the cut to avoid giving offence [sic]. “It was a very funny scene,” he says, “but it wasn’t relevant; it wasn’t part of the story. When I took it out, the film just flowed so much better.” He regretted having to cut the scene at the time and regrets it even more so now. “I think what it addressed is extremely relevant today,” he says, “with what’s going on in Israel. Eric [Idle, who wrote the scene] put his finger on something; it was quite prophetic.”

The potential character divided the cast. According to the book “Jesus and Brian: Exploring the Historical Jesus and his Times via Monty Python’s Life of Brian,” Terry Gilliam once said to his Python mates, “Listen, we’ve alienated the Christians, let’s get the Jews now.” But Michael Palin had reservations about it, and Idle himself said in “The Pythons: Autobiography” that he was uncomfortable about the character as well, calling it a “pretty savage attack on rabid Zionism.”

In the end, Otto didn’t make the final cut, so we should all just look on the bright side of life.

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JERUSALEM (JTA) — French President Emmanuel Macron shouted at Jerusalem police officers on Wednesday when they tried to accompany him into a Jerusalem church owned by the French government and considered French territory.

“We know perfectly — everybody knows the rules. I don’t like what you did in front of me. Go out … out,” Macron yelled at an officer on the threshold of Saint-Anne Church in the Old City. The moment was captured in a video that was posted on social media.

“Nobody has to provoke nobody, OK … You did a splendid job in the city. Please respect the rules that have been carried out for centuries. Everyone will respect the rules. Please,” he also said.

However, Jerusalem police officers are posted inside the church on the Via Dolorosa, Ynet reported.

Macron arrived in Israel on Wednesday for the Fifth World Holocaust Forum at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem to be held the following day.

The faceoff that afternoon echoed a similar incident in 1996, when then-President Jacques Chirac confronted Israeli security officers outside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher as they urged him on and pushed away Arab residents of eastern Jerusalem who were trying to shake his hand.

Chirac demanded an apology from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, threatening to abort his visit otherwise. Netanyahu refused and said that “if he wants to leave, he can leave,” according to Ynet.

Coup de colère de #Macron contre la police israélienne à Jérusalem. Dans les pas de Chirac en 1996 pic.twitter.com/DKP5ICThTK

— Ava Djamshidi (@AvaDjamshidi) January 22, 2020

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