They built illegally in a nature reserve – and attacked the police officers and inspectors who came to enforce the law

Today (Monday), Nature and National Parks Authority inspectors, accompanied by a police escort, went to the Har Meron Nature Reserve to post court orders on illegal structures built in the protected area.

The inspectors quickly found themselves surrounded by a violent mob of residents of nearby Beit Jann, who pelted them with stones and physically assaulted them. The inspectors were extracted with great difficulty.

The video clip of the incident released by the Nature and National Parks Authority’s spokesperson shows the inspectors’ vehicle overturned and in flames.

Meir Deutsch, Director General of Regavim, reacted to the incident:

“The same criminals who have defaced the Har Meron Nature Reserve with illegal construction are now attempting to use violent means to prevent enforcement authorities from doing their job. They physical assault on state officials is an attempt to prevent the enforcement of the State of Israel’s Planning and Construction Law.

Enforcement officers should not find themselves in life-threatening situations, and the Israel Police must prosecute these criminals to the full extent of the law. We will monitor the investigation of this incident closely, and demand that those involved are brought to justice. Hooliganism of this kind cannot be rewarded.”

Source: Regavim Press Release, July 13, 2020

Yesterday, July 12, marked the 116th yahrzeit of Theodor Herzl, the father of modern Zionism.

Herzl was born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1860, where he was educated in the secular Jewish-German enlightenment milieu. In 1878, following the death of his sister he moved with his parents to Vienna, where Herzl studied law, receiving his doctorate in 1884.

Although his death in 1904 meant that Herzl never saw the founding of the independent State of Israel, his convening of the first Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland in August 1897 paved the way. The Congress ratified the goal of Zionism as being “to establish a National Home for the Jewish People in Eretz Yisrael, that will be secured on the basis of the Law of Nations.”

#Zionism #TheodorHerzl #EretzYisrael #FatherOfModernZionism

Source:
Remembering Herzl on his 116th yahrzeit. Herzl’s most famous quote stands as a testament to his tenacity: ‘If you will it, it is no dream.’, by Donna Rachel Edmunds. Jerusalem Post – July 12, 2020

One hundred years of practical Zionism and more than seventy years of statehood have proven that Zionism embodies a tremendous economic stimulus for the Jewish people. The Sovereignty Movement calls for Israel’s government to continue the Zionist strategy that characterized the Jewish people over recent decades. They believe it will constitute the basis for continued economic development that will steadily intensify in the future.

In order to reinvigorate the Zionist process, which, to date, has produced so much good for the Jewish people, the Israeli government must adopt a clear Zionist, nationalist policy in a variety of areas.

#SovereigntyNow #SovereigntyOverAllIsrael

Source:
Real Zionism Also Includes Economic Momentum, by Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar. Ribonut – July 13, 2020

Over the weekend, we got word from various sources that Presidential emissary Avi Berkowitz when in Israel on June 30, gave a list of “considerable concessions” of land that Israel is being pressured to grant to the Palestinian-Arabs. Berkowitz reportedly also called for the approval of Benny Gantz and Gabi Ashkenazi before any plans proceed. The American people after all elected Donald Trump – not Jared Kushner, and certainly not Mr. Berkowitz – to be their leader. Why now did Berkowitz fly into Israel to add conditions to the already negotiated (although not favored by many on the right or left in the Israeli public) plan for Sovereignty?

Adding concessions now is ABSOLUTELY unacceptable. The PA has already rejected the Deal of the Century. Additional concessions are not only uncalled for, but would only weaken Israel in the eyes of the Middle Eastern Countries. There, strength is admired, concessions show weakness. Israel’s longest serving Prime Minister has the strength and the will to serve ALL the people of the Jewish Nation State by giving them all equal protection under the law.

A country as small, crowded and threatened as Israel, is not in a position to make concessions. A whole Israel is absolutely necessary for the only Jewish nation in the world to survive with defensible borders. Every Palestinian Arab has ties to the Arab nations in the region which have 20 states available to live in. One, Jordan, is actually a Palestinian State.

We are extremely concerned about any talk about concessions and hope for a rapid clarification from the Trump Administration that the USA is not in fact demanding any concessions from tiny Israel, certainly not to the territorially well-endowed Arab nation.

#NoMoreConcessions #PeaceForPeace #NoMoreLandForPeace

~Americans For A Safe Israel

Exploiting the furlough of Israeli Civil Administration inspectors during the coronavirus shutdown is the latest illegal act by the Palestinian Authority. Convoys of PA municipal garbage trucks have been dumping thousands of cubic meters of refuse from Ramallah and El Bireh into the Binyamin Region’s Tarrifi Quarry, just outside the Jewish communities of Kochav Ya’akov and Psagot.

Regavim released video and photo documentation this past week of the ecological crimes being carried out by the PA at the site.

Binyamin Regional Council Head Yisrael Gantz responded to the illegal dumping stating, “this is an ecological terror attack. It seems that taking care of the natural resources of this area is of no concern to the Palestinians, even though the pollution harms all Jews and Arabs alike. The State of Israel must take responsibility and show its concern for a clean and safe future when it comes to the environment.”

An immediate end to this ecological crime should be the Civil Administration’s top priority. As Naomi Kahn of Regavim notes at the end of this article, “If a person on a hike in Israel throws away a cigarette and is caught, it’s a 750 NIS fine. The PA has dumped thousands of kilos of raw garbage and has not been fined or held responsible.”

#StopPAEcologicalCrimes #StopPAIllegalGarbageDumping

Source:
PA continues to dump waste while Israel grapples with coronavirus crisis, by Josh Hasten. Jewish News Syndicate – July 6, 2020

Two masked Arab men hijacked a car from a woman and her daughter at the Dotan Hermesh junction in Samaria today.

During the hijacking, one of the Arabs fired a gun into the air and even attempted to shoot at the mother and daughter. Their lives were saved when his weapon jammed.

Samaria Regional Council chairman Yossi Dagan lamented the circumstances that make such attacks possible. “This event is the result of the removal of the checkpoints whose absence allowed the attackers to get away. In the name of easing the restrictions on Arab movement in the area, Israelis living in the area are attacked, including a mother and her child,” Dagan said.

#RestoreCheckpoints #CheckpointsKeepIsraelSafe #CarTheftInSamaria

Source:
Arabs hijack car from mother, daughter in Samaria, by Arutz Sheva Staff. Arutz Sheva – July 9, 2020

In the past few days, more than a thousand young people from all parts of the Land have signed a petition calling on the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to apply Israeli Sovereignty over Judea and Samaria without recognizing a Palestinian state.

The petition signing campaign was organized by members of the Sovereignty Youth Movement. It was carried out recently at more than thirty hasbara booths scattered throughout Israel. At the booths, the youth held meetings and distributed material on the importance of Sovereignty as a national goal to realize the Zionist vision. Their discussions also emphasized the dangers of a Palestinian state to the existence and security of the State of Israel.

#YouthSupportsSovereignty #SovereigntyNow #SovereigntyOverJudeaSamaria

Source:
A Thousand Youths to the Prime Minister: Sovereignty without a Palestinian State, by Sovereignty Movement. Ribonut – July 6, 2020

The announcement of the Trump Administration’s Deal of the Century has sparked a Palestinian Authority “construction race” in areas designated for Israeli Sovereignty in Gush Etzion. Regavim has petitioned the court against the inaction of the Defense Ministry and Civil Administration.

Regavim’s recently filed petition focuses on Kfar Nahlin, near Rosh Tzurim in Gush Etzion. Since the roll-out of President Trump’s “Vision for Peace to Prosperity,” an intensive Palestinian Authority effort has been underway to create facts on the ground through illegal construction on Israeli state land adjacent to the village. Recent projects include construction of new buildings and extensive infrastructure work.

Gush Etzion’s Regional Council head Shlomo Ne’eman added: “There’s a storm raging in this region. From the beginning of the corona epidemic we have been sounding the alarm against the Palestinian Authority’s hostile takeover of state land. Now that Sovereignty is approaching, the Arab race to plunder land throughout Gush Etzion has accelerated. It is inconceivable that the State of Israel has not put a stop to this illegal activity.”

#StopPAIllegalActivity #AreaCBelongsToIsrael #StopPAConstructionRace

Source:
The Race of the Century: Regavim petitions court to halt PA race to take over Gush Etzion, by Mordechai Sones. Arutz Sheva – July 6, 2020

While the much anticipated July 1 date for Israel to declare Sovereignty has passed and Israel’s declaration of Sovereignty did not happen, the Sovereignty campaign inside Israel is growing stronger than ever. Let’s hear what those inside Israel are saying.

The Sovereignty Movement continues its campaign to strengthen Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is under pressure from home and from abroad. They call for the Right to stand behind him and call on him to stand strong for the Land of Israel. Sovereignty Movement members continue their campaign “Yes to Sovereignty, No to Palestine.” All over the country, on billboards, in traffic junctions and various other locations, members of the movement are distributing flyers and signs to encourage the Prime Minister on what the movement defines as taking a strong stand for the Land of Israel.

What does an Israeli living in Judea and Samaria gain from the application of Sovereignty? The half million Israelis living in Judea and Samaria just want to lead normal lives – and that is what Sovereignty, which in simple words means applying Israeli law to the area, translates to on the ground.

Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria have been protesting for years that they are treated like second class citizens, although they pay taxes to Israel and serve in the IDF. And they are right. Rochel Sylvetsky’s explains in her Arutz Sheva OpEd.

#SovereigntyNow

Sources:
The Sovereignty Movement to PM Netanyahu: Stand Strong for Sovereignty and against a Palestinian State!, by The Sovereignty Movement. Ribonut – July 2, 2020

What will an Israeli living in that 30% of Judea and Samaria gain from sovereignty?, by Rochel Sylvetsky. Arutz Sheva – July 2, 2020

Despite the anticipated early July time frame set to declare Sovereignty in Judea and Samaria, it appears Israel will not take steps to do so this week. This is according to multiple American sources with knowledge of the matter.

Sources also say that plans and Israeli desired US approval of them will not be ready in time.

Netanyahu is considering making a statement on the topic of Sovereignty on Wednesday, instead.

Although Israeli officials previously worked on the assumption that any expansion of Sovereignty would have to take place this summer, so there will be some time between the blowback and the US presidential election, Trump administration sources said this week that the matter does not need to be dealt with urgently.

We’re extremely disappointed that it appears that the early July target date will not be met. The application of Sovereignty does need to be dealt with urgently. Applying Sovereignty to Judea and Samaria and the Jordan Valley is critical in order to guarantee Israel’s security needs. There are 500,00 Jews living in Judea and Samaria and their lives should not be on hold or threatened any longer. IT IS URGENT THAT ISRAEL APPLIES SOVEREIGNTY NOW!

#ApplySovereigntyNow #IfNotNowWhen #SovereigntyOverAllIsrael

Sources:
Annexation will not happen on July 1 – US sources, by Lahav Harkov, Tovah Lazaroff, Gil Hoffman. Jerusalem Post – June 29, 2020

After Gantz says annexation can wait, Netanyahu snipes: ‘It’s not up to him’, by TOI Staff. Times of Israel – June 29, 2020