Two rockets were fired early Monday morning from the northern Gaza Strip into the sea in the Ashdod area, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit reported.

No siren was activated. There were no reports of physical injuries or damages.

The IDF said in a statement that “two launches were identified from the northern Gaza Strip towards the coastal area in the Ashdod region which did not trigger a siren.”

In response to the rocket fire, IDF fighter jets attacked Hamas’ tunnel-digging infrastructure in the Gaza Strip.

Source:
Two rockets fired from Gaza towards the sea, by Eldad Benari. Arutz Sheva, January 18, 2021

Dr. Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist and prominent leader in the American Civil Rights Movement in the 1960’s. He was also an outspoken advocate on behalf of Israel’s security and against anti- Semitism, especially among the Africa-American community. Dr. King famously once told an audience of Jewish listeners at the popular Long Island vacation spot Fire Island, there is virtually no anti-Semitism within the Negro community.

Speaking at the annual convention of the Rabbinical Assembly in 1968, Dr. King said:
The response of some of the so-called young militants does not represent the position of the vast majority of Negroes. There are some who are color-consumed and they see a kind of mystique in blackness or in being colored, and anything non-colored is condemned. We do not follow that course … Peace for Israel means security, and we must stand with all our might to protect her right to exist, its territorial integrity and the right to use whatever sea lanes it needs. Israel is one of the great outposts of democracy in the world, and a marvelous example of what can be done, how desert land can be transformed into an oasis of brotherhood and democracy. Peace for Israel means security, and that security must be a reality.

Source:
Black-Jewish Relations: Martin Luther King & Israel, by Jewish Virtual Library

“Does someone have to be killed for lack of security for the West Bank outposts to be legalized,” railed Ori Bartfeld of Asael.

“We have come to understand that right-wing governments have no intention of regulating [legalizing] us,” he said at a nighttime Jerusalem rally Tuesday near the Prime Minister’s Office on Tuesday.

Yael Shevach, a resident of the Gilad Farm, whose husband Raziel was killed in a terror attack near their community in 2018, also spoke. She recalled that the government had voted to authorize the community in which she lived in the aftermath of her husband’s death. Shevach, who is also on a hunger strike, said that “three years later nothing has happened.”

AFSI Chizuk Mission participants visited with Yael on a 2018 trip. At that time we partnered with the non-profit organization,One Israel Fund, to purchase a camera for the entrance to that community (see below photo). Since then Marc Provisor, Security Director of the One Israel Fund has upgraded their security systems. We are with the strikers and hope that the Israeli government does more to provide protection for ALL Israelis, wherever in Israel they live.

Diaspora Minister Omer Yankelevich and Samaria Council Chairman Yossi Dagan came to visit Itai Zar, one of the leaders of the “young settlement” struggle, who collapsed Wednesday night in a protest tent and refused to receive a blood transfusion.

Zar has been on hunger strike for the past nine days in a protest tent, demanding that the prime minister approve a proposal to regulate the “young settlements” at a cabinet meeting next Sunday, which will allow 46 communities to be connected to water and electricity infrastructure.

Sources:
‘Does someone have to die for West Bank outposts to be legalized?, by Tovah Lazaroff. Jerusalem Post, January 12, 2021

Minister Yankelevich visits ‘Young Settlement’ leader who collapsed during hunger strike, by Hezki Baruch. Arutz Sheva, January 14, 2021

The HonestReporting and UNRWA: Stop Teaching Hate advocacy groups launched a joint petition on Monday calling on the United States government to declassify a report detailing the true number of Palestinian refugees worldwide, nine years after it was first commissioned and seemingly shelved by the State Department.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees claims there are over 1.5 million Palestinian refugees, but it is believed that that true figure is actually closer to about 30,000, the NGOs said.

The Palestinian Authority argues that all descendants of those displaced in 1948, about 5 million people, be granted the “right of return” to their homes in what is now Israel.

HonestReporting CEO Daniel Pomerantz explained, “In every other conflict around the world, refugee populations decrease over time. Only here do the numbers continue to rise – a phenomenon which weaponizes the concept against Israel.”

Joan Lurie, chair of UNRWA: Stop Teaching Hate, added: “this is the most serious obstacle to peace; neither Israel nor any sovereign nation could accept this Right of Return for over five million people. Negotiations cannot proceed until a more realistic refugee count is available.”

Source:
NGOs petition US to reveal true number of Palestinian refugees, by ILH Staff. Israel Hayom, January 12, 2021

Former consul-general in New York Dani Dayan became the latest acquisition of Gideon Sa’ar’s New Hope Party on Wednesday.

Dayan served for four years in the post, where he was responsible for representing the State of Israel throughout New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Delaware. He was appointed to the post by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a political appointment after he endorsed the Likud.

Source:
Former NY consul-general Dani Dayan running with Sa’ar, by Gil Hoffman. Jerusalem Post, January 13, 2021

The Supreme Planning Council of the Civil Administration is expected to discuss next Sunday the promotion of the legality of illegal construction plans led by the Palestinian Authority as part of its campaign to takeover Area C.

These plans include illegal construction within nature reserves, on state lands designated for Israeli localities, as well as a series of illegal schools, which the Palestinian Authority defines as “schools in the fight against settlements.”

Immediately after the start of construction at strategic points, a construction plan is submitted to the Civil Administration on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, and at the same time a petition is submitted to the court, demanding that the enforcement proceedings be suspended until the planning process is completed.

Meir Deutsch, Regavim Director General said, “Netanyahu publishes headlines about expanding Jewish settlement with 800 housing units, and on the other hand approves illegal construction plans by the Palestinian Authority on hundreds of dunams. The strategic significance here is clear and appalling: Jewish settlement must converge into small, fenced-in squares, while the Palestinian Authority spreads across the surface, and also receives approval for it.”

Both the Yesha Council and the Young Settlement Forum responded with stark criticism:

“All this while he continues to abandon – without living proper conditions and without minimal security – the tens of thousands of residents in the young settlements whose regulation he has been delaying for months.” ~Young Settlement Forum

“This is severe and sometimes life-threatening discrimination against normal citizens who are equal in obligations to the state but are not equal in rights. Mr. Prime Minister and Mr. Defense Minister, this is a time of trial. Stop the discrimination and harm to the settlers, confirm the decision on the table to regulate the young settlements.” ~Yesha Council

Sources:
Civil Administration supports legalizing illegal PA construction, by Arutz Sheva Staff. Arutz Sheva, January 11, 2021

‘Young Settlement’ Forum: Netanyahu continues to spit in our faces, by Arutz Sheva Staff. Arutz Sheva, January 11, 2021

A Defense Ministry panel will approve plans for over 800 new Jewish homes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday, confirming an earlier report.

At a meeting next week, the Civil Administration’s High Planning Committee will approve the construction of 500 housing units in Itamar, Beit El, Shavei Shomron, Oranit and Givat Ze’ev, the Kan public broadcaster reported.

In addition, the committee will also advance plans to build 100 units in Tal Menashe and more than 200 homes in the Nofei Nehemia outpost.

Tal Menashe, in the northern West Bank, was the hometown of Esther Horgen, who was killed last month in a terror attack. Her husband has called for increased construction following her murder.

Even though this is but a drop in the bucket of housing needs in Judea-Samaria, we hope these approvals will be acted upon.

Source:
Israel to okay over 800 new settlement homes days before Biden sworn in, by TOI Staff. January 11, 2021

The Samaria Regional Council began exporting products made in its own communities to the United Arab Emirates on Sunday with labels stating that Israel is the country of origin.

A shipment of olive oil and honey from the Tura Winery in the Rehelim community and Paradise Honey in the Hermesh area will be exported.

“This is a historic day for Samaria and the entire State of Israel,” said Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan, who was photographed holding a box that reads Tura Winery, Rehelim, Israel.

Samaria’s ability to export products to the UAE, which are treated as made in Israel items, is seen as a small step forward toward de facto Sovereignty and recognition that the Jewish communities of Judea and Samaria are indeed part of Israel.

Source:
Settlers begin exporting ‘made in Israel’ products to Dubai, Tovah Lazaroff. Jerusalem Post, January 10, 2021

Yesterday, Sudan signed on to the “Abraham Accords” with the United States, paving the way for the African country to normalize ties with Israel.

The newly signed agreement was a largely symbolic document, indicating Sudan’s intentions to move forward with normalization.

The memorandum did not officially establish diplomatic ties between Khartoum and Jerusalem, a move that is expected to happen in the near future, at an as yet undetermined date.

Source:
Sudan signs ‘Abraham Accords’ with US, paving way for Israel normalization, by Agencies and TOI Staff. Times of Israel, January 6, 2021

Arab bandits digging at the archeological site of Tel Tekoa in Gush Etzion on Thursday were documented by the Shomrim Al Hanetzch (Guardians of Eternity) organization while in action.

A drone documented the bandits digging through the archeological site while in search of findings they can later sell on the black market. One of the bandits is clearly seen with a metal detector while others are seen digging at the archeological site.

In a separate incident today, a group of Arab demonstrators supported by the Palestinian Authority on Thursday morning invaded land near Kochav Hashachar in Binyamin with the aim of taking over the territory and creating provocation. Jewish Israelis who were there were violently attacked and a fight broke out as the Arabs threw stones at the Jews.

Earlier this week, on Tuesday, an Israeli civilian and a soldier foiled a stabbing attack by a Palestinian Authority terrorist on Tuesday afternoon at the Gush Etzion junction in Judea, about 10 minutes south of Jerusalem. The terrorist, who was armed with a meat cleaver, was shot and killed by the civilian near the Gush Etzion Winery, located close a short distance from the junction.

Sources:
WATCH: Arab Bandits Caught on Drone Illegally Digging at Ancient Tekoa Archaeology Site, by Aryeh Savir, Tazpit News Agency. Jewish Press, January 5, 2021

Watch: Arabs attack Jews near Kochav Hashachar, by Arutz Sheva Staff. Arutz Sheva, January 7, 2021

Israeli Foils Gush Etzion Terror Attack by Arab with Meat Cleaver, by Hana Levi Julian. Jewish Press, January 5, 2021