A terrorist opened fire on soldiers and civilians standing at a hitchhiking station at the junction near the community of Givat Assaf in the Binyamin region, between the towns of Beit El and Ofra. Two IDF soldiers were murdered, a serviceman was critically wounded and a civilian is in serious condition.

This latest attack follows on the heels of Sunday’s terrorist attack in Ofra.

Tourism Minister Yariv Levin called on the government to respond by pushing forward legislation that would regulate hundred of homes in Judea and Samaria.

The Jerusalem Post reports that only hours later car ramming attack was foiled today in Al-Bira near the West Bank settlement of Psagot, north of Jerusalem, according to the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit. This is the third terrorist attack in five days.

Community leaders throughout Judea and Samaria are calling on the government to take action to stop the terror and will organize a general strike on Friday.

Airbnb’s decision to remove Judea and Samaria from its listings has spurred ingenuity and support from those who care about the REAL ISRAEL.

In our December 3 newsletter we reported that Koshbn is now operating as a portal of kosher friendly guest rentals around the world.

OlehStay is another guest rental site just started by two US born men (photo above). More HERE.

The town of Surfside, Florida condemned Airbnb on Wednesday for violating an agreement with the town that prohibits discriminatory boycotts amid Airbnb’s removal of Judea and Samaria from its listings. The Surfside commission unanimously passed a resolution introduced by Vice Mayor Daniel Gielchinsky. Source – JNS Jewish News Syndicate

Sunday evening, a group of Israeli civilians waiting at a bus stop next to the town of Ofra in Samaria were shot at – the victims of another act of terror against Israel. Shira Ish-Ran (Shira Yael bat Liora Sara), a 30 year old pregnant woman was critically injured and though doctors successfully delivered her baby (Rach HaNolad ben Shira Yael) prematurely, the baby has taken a turn for the worse. Shira’s husband, Amichai (Amichai Yishai ben Galila), is in good condition and recovering from bullet wounds to the leg. Pictured above are Shira’s parents. Her father Chaim has been with AFSI on many of our tours in and around Jerusalem.

Hamas calls the shooters “heroic.” This is the same Hamas that the United Nations failed to condemn last week.

“We must put our own price on terror.” Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked urged PM Netanyahu to normalize the status of Ofra in Samaria, following the attack there last night.

Ambassador David Friedman wrote on Twitter, “The #US stands with #Israel against terrorists even if others won’t.”

Jason Greenblatt, US President Donald Trump’s special representative for international negotiations blasted the UN vote, “Hamas praises yet another terror attack. You had the ability to help fight against terror. Is this what the UN wants its legacy to be?”

The United States drafted a resolution condemning Hamas at the United Nations and was voted on last week but failed to condemn Hamas’s terrorism against Israel.

“Is the hatred of Israel so strong that you will defend a terrorist organization, one that is harming the Palestinian people? Isn’t it time to let that go? For the sake of peace and the sake of this institution I respectfully urge my colleagues to this resolution,” UN Ambassador Nikki Haley said.

Reality tells us that this should have been a no-brainer to vote YES – condemn Hamas. There were 87 countries who supported the resolution with 33 abstained. Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon is taking last Thursday’s vote in a positive light stating that though the resolution failed to pass, the fact that the UN discussed the terror group was a victory. “We focused on condemning a terrorist organization – and this is a subject that is troubling the entire world.”

Despite Danon’s comment, this is another shameful act that occurred at the United Nations, a place where hypocrisy reigns. A place that no longer fulfills its charter of maintaining worldwide peace and security. Until there is full condemnation at the United Nations there can be little progress in the fight against terrorism.

Arutz Sheva reports that IDF security forces discovered and destroyed a terrorist tunnel Tuesday morning that leads into Israeli territory from southern Lebanon.

Apparently built by Hezbollah terrorists, the tunnel originates in the southern portion of the Lebanese town of Kafr Kela and crosses over into Israeli territory. It is believed to have been dug for use in an upcoming terror attack on Israeli targets.

US National Security Advisor John Bolton issued a strong statement on Twitter in defense of Israel:

“The US strongly supports Israel’s efforts to defend its sovereignty, and we call on Hizballah [sic] to stop its tunneling into Israel and to refrain from escalation and violence. More broadly, we call on Iran and all of its agents to stop their regional aggression and provocation, which pose an unacceptable threat to Israeli and regional security.”

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) stated, “Israel has the absolute right and obligation to dismantle the terror infrastructure that Hezbollah has built in preparation for infiltrating its northern border and attacking its citizens…”

Israel’s Foreign Ministry plans to submit a protest to UN Secretary General António Guterres and the president of the Security Council against aggressive actions emanating from Lebanon.

The Foreign Ministry also instructed its representatives abroad to stress that the digging of these tunnels constitutes an aggressive action and is a clear violation of Israeli sovereignty, not to mention, an additional violation of Security Council resolutions 1559 and 1701. Source – Jerusalem Post

Read Mordechai Kedar’s take on discovery of the tunnel in his Arutz Sheva OpEd.

“We have gone from a discourse of eviction to a discourse of normalization.”

Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked has agreed to a legal opinion provided by the Justice Ministry’s Counseling and Legislation Department, which paves the way for the access road to the community of Haresha in Binyamin to be constructed.

This move means that the community will be legally legitimized immediately.

Source – Arutz Sheva

“In the wake of Airbnb’s decision to ban Jewish homes in Jerusalem and the West Bank, we made it clear the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement is wrong, and it has no place in the free enterprise of the United States of America,” said VP Mike Pence speaking at a conference last week.

In response to the Airbnb decision – and in only a week – Koshbn is up and running! United With Israel reports that Koshbn is a portal of kosher friendly guest rentals around the world. Read more HERE.

Former minister and Likud member Gideon Sa’ar participated last week in the My Israel conference.

Sa’ar expressed his strong support for Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria. “We need to make a move that will bring about normalization and say that we’re there forever. We must apply sovereignty in the Israeli settlement areas and we must build everywhere in the Land of Israel.”

Source – Arutz Sheva

An unprecedented UN ‎resolution condemning Hamas is being promoted by the United States and Israel. ‎

The resolution, a joint move by Israeli Ambassador to the ‎UN Danny Danon and outgoing US Ambassador Nikki Haley, ‎excoriates Hamas’ terrorist activities, its rocket fire on Israel, ‎its incitement to violence, and its use of civilian resources for military ‎purposes, predominately its sprawling grid of terror tunnels. ‎

Source – Israel Hayom

The Jewish Press reports that the Israeli High court ruled that 522 dunams (129 acres) of disputed land near Kibbutz Rosh Tzurim in Gush Etzion does in fact belong to the Kibbutz and a subsidiary organization of the Jewish National Fund.

Arabs were claiming that this land belonged to them.

Today’s Times of Israel reports that Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan said that Israel is “closer than ever” to re-occupying the Gaza Strip and “must move from defense to offense.”

He further clarified his statement to mean “targeted killings of the terrorist leaders of Hamas’ military wing. And it means being willing to capture and hold the Gaza Strip, until we dismantle the terrorist infrastructure.”