Author: AFSI Staff

The Security Cabinet on Saturday night approved the proposal of the Minister in the Ministry of Defense, Bezalel Smotrich, to authorize the splitting of 13 communities in Judea and Samaria from their adjacent communities and to work toward recognizing them as independent communities.

The move, led by Minister Smotrich as part of the work of the Settlement Administration under his responsibility, is taking place against the backdrop of the approval of tens of thousands of housing units in Judea and Samaria and constitutes another significant step in the process of normalization and regulation of the settlement enterprise.

Until now, these communities were formally considered part of their “parent” communities, sometimes for decades, which caused numerous difficulties in their day-to-day management. Recognizing each of them as an independent community in practice is an important step that will greatly assist in their advancement and development.

Minister Smotrich said, “We continue, with God’s help, to lead a revolution of normalization and regulation in the settlement enterprise. Instead of hiding and apologizing – we raise the flag, build, and settle. This is another important step toward de facto sovereignty in Judea and Samaria.”

Source:
13 Judea and Samaria communities to be recognized, by Israel National News, March 23, 2025

Israel is committed to defeating the Hamas terror group everywhere, including in Judea and Samaria, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir charged during a security assessment in the territories on Thursday.

“When we talk about defeating Hamas, it means defeating Hamas everywhere, including here in Judea and Samaria. Continue the ongoing counterterrorism operations alongside robust defense,” Zamir added.

“Because while we are waging an intense war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, we are aware of the possibility that a larger and more intense front could open here in Judea and Samaria,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a visit to the Border Police’s Mista’arvim undercover special-forces unit for the region. He also pointed out that a more intense front could open in Judea and Samaria amid the resumption of combat with Hamas in Gaza.

Source:
IDF chief: Defeating Hamas includes Judea and Samaria, by JNS Staff, March 21, 2025

Eli Sharabi who survived Hamas captivity and whose family was murdered during the October 7th Massacre, briefed the ambassadors of the United Nations Security Council last week and recounted his experience in captivity.

“I saw what happened to [the] aid. Hamas stole it. I saw Hamas terrorists carrying boxes with the UN and UNRWA emblems on them into the tunnel. Dozens and dozens of boxes, paid by your government, feeding terrorists who tortured me and murdered my family. They would eat many meals a day from the UN aid in front of us, and we never received any of it.”

Ambassador Danny Danon stated in response: “No one can dispute the testimony of a hostage survivor who saw with his own eyes Hamas benefiting from UN humanitarian aid. You can no longer turn a blind eye – UNRWA supports Hamas’ murderous terror enterprise that is starving our hostages and perpetuating the humanitarian disaster in Gaza.”

Eli Sharabi is a brave soul for giving his riveting testimony and so soon after his release from the hell he endured. The United Nations needs to stop hiding its head in the sand while it protects Hamas and its atrocities. The UN must condemn them for the terrorist entity they are.

Source:
Eli Sharabi: ‘Where was the Red Cross when we needed them? Where was the UN?’, by Israel National News, March 20, 2025

The ceasefire is over, with Israel putting an end to the games played by Hamas with its “mediator” supporters, Qatar and Egypt, at the negotiating tables in Doha and Cairo.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz have instructed the IDF to “take strong action” against the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza following a late-night situation assessment at the IDF Kirya Headquarters in Tel Aviv.

“This follows Hamas’s repeated refusal to release our hostages, as well as its rejection of all of the proposals it has received from US Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff and from the mediators,” Netanyahu said in a statement released at 3:00am Tuesday.

“The IDF is, at this time, attacking targets of the Hamas terrorist organization throughout the Gaza Strip in order to achieve the objectives of the war as they have been determined by the political echelon including the release of all of our hostages, the living and the deceased.”

“Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength,” Netanyahu added.

Military sources revealed that the plan to resume hostilities was developed and kept highly classified to create an element of surprise and tactical deception that Hamas was unprepared to counter.

Sources:
Ceasefire Officially Over: IDF Returns to War in Gaza, by Hana Levi Julian/Jewish Press, March 18, 2025

Under cover of darkness: Israel’s planned return to Gaza war, by Lilach Shoval/Israel Hayom, March 18, 2025

A breakdown of Palestinian terror attacks in 2024 showed that Judea and Samaria bore the brunt of the violence, according to the annual report released by Hatzalah Judea and Samaria (YOSH) on Monday.

While an overall 48 people were killed and 443 more injured in attacks across Israel, the report’s breakdown showed that 56% of the fatalities and 69% of the injuries took place in Judea and Samaria.

“People are used to Judea and Samaria residents getting pummeled by rocks, lasers, gunshots, and car rammings,” Natalie Sopinsky, the emergency response organization’s director of development told The Press Service of Israel. “Most people don’t care, including those residents themselves. We got used to that.”

Sopinsky stated that “the consequences of these attacks are dire. Head injuries, shattered windshields, and loss of control often lead to fatal accidents.”

Source:
Judea and Samaria Bears Brunt of Palestinian Terror Attacks, by Sveta Listratov/TPS, March 17, 2025

Despite a suspension of humanitarian aid and fuel deliveries, Hamas continues to enrich itself through a system of vouchers provided to Gaza residents.

One of the primary ways Hamas profits is through international aid vouchers. Various humanitarian organizations provide Gaza’s families with monthly vouchers worth NIS 1,000-1,500 ($272-$$409) meant to help them buy essentials. However, Hamas-controlled exchange services demand a 22% fee for converting these vouchers into cash.

“People have no choice but to pay this fee,” Ofer explained to TPS-IL. “It’s not an open market. Hamas dictates the rates. With hundreds of thousands of families relying on these vouchers, Hamas rakes in hundreds of millions of dollars every month from this system alone.”

A government spokesperson told TPS-IL that Hamas’s theft and profiteering from humanitarian aid underlines the necessity of eradicating the terror group.

“This highlights the urgent need to remove Hamas from any governing role in Gaza’s future,” said David Mencer, a spokesperson for the National Public Diplomacy Directorate in the Prime Minister’s Office. “The government’s ultimate goal remains clear: freeing Gaza from Hamas.”

Source:
Hamas ‘Rakes in Hundreds of Millions of Dollars’ Through Aid Vouchers, Anna Epshtein and Pesach Benson/TPS, March 20, 2025

For the first time, the heads of the Yesha Council paid an official visit to a Muslim country. The delegation to the UAE included the Yesha Council Chairman, Yisrael Gantz, Head of the Mount Hebron Regional Council Eliram Azoulay, and the Yesha Council CEO, Omar Rahamim.

As part of the visit, the Yesha Council senior officials met with government officials, businessmen, and influencers, to discuss economic, security, and diplomatic cooperation. They also met with the Israeli Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, Yossi Shelli.

Ganz emphasized the importance of UAE-Israel collaboration, calling it a “testimony to regional change” and a way to strengthen settlements.

‘“The direct connection that has been created between the settlement and senior officials in the United Arab Emirates opens up new opportunities for the implementation of the Abraham Accords in Judea and Samaria. This is an important beginning for a common front that will strengthen the settlement in Judea and Samaria,” Azoulay concluded.

Source:
Judea and Samaria council in Abu Dhabi: “A New World Order”, by Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz/Israel365News, March 17, 2025

Israelis have begun to develop a strategic hilltop overlooking several strategic highways in Samaria, including the Trans-Samaria Highway, the Huwara Bypass, and Tapuach Junction, which connects the roads to northern Samaria, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and the Jordan Valley. It also provides a commanding view of two Israeli towns, Tapuach and Evyatar.

The new hilltop will create a continuum of Israeli territory between the towns of Tapuach and Evyatar, breaking an otherwise steady line of Palestinian Authority territory along the entire north side of the Trans-Samaria Highway to Gitai Junction.

The Israel Dog Unit, a nonprofit specializing in working dogs, is helping to secure the hilltop with dogs and drones. The organization has also begun holding search and rescue practices on the hilltop as part of its extensive work in locating missing persons throughout Israel.

IDU director Yekutiel Ben-Yaakov commented “We welcome this development and were also asked to participate in the defense of the new and important settlement outpost.”

Source:
Strategic new hilltop developed in Samaria, by Israel National News, March 16, 2025

On Sunday, former National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir announced that he and the other members of his Otzma Yehudit faction have drafted and submitted to the Knesset a bill which would annul the Oslo Accords, and subsequent deals between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Ben-Gvir and his party are pushing legislation that would undo the legal recognition of the Palestinian Authority and restore Israeli control over all of Judea, Samaria, and Gaza.

Ben -Gvir said, “According to the proposal, these agreements will be completely annulled, and the State of Israel will restore the previous status, including the return of territories that were transferred as part of these agreements.”

“More than three decades after the start of the peace process, it is time to recognize that these agreements have harmed Israel’s security, cost thousands of lives, and led to the strengthening of terrorist organizations in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza,” the bill’s explanatory notes read.

While there may be no going back to undo the damage that was done because of the Oslo Accords, looking forward it’s possible this bill could finally bring about the application of sovereignty declared over Judea and Samaria.

Source:
New Knesset bill would nullify Oslo Accords, restore Israeli control over all of Judea, Samaria, Gaza, by David Rosenberg/World Israel News, March 10, 2025

https://worldisraelnews.com/new-knesset-bill-would-nullify-oslo-accords-restore-israeli-control-over-all-of-judea-samaria-gaza/

Israeli Minister for Social Equality and the Advancement of the Status of Women, May Golan spoke at the United Nations event marking 30 years since the Beijing Declaration and condemned the UN for their deafening silence facing brutal violence against women in Israel and around the world, accusing them of hypocrisy and “selective blindness.”

She said, “We gather here today to mark 30 years since the Beijing Declaration—a milestone of hope, a moment etched in history. Thirty years ago, the world came together and pledged, in Section 29, to “prevent and eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls.” It was a noble promise, a stirring commitment that echoed through the halls of that conference. The leaders of nations stood tall and declared their resolve. Or so they said.”

“It seems some were left out of that memo. Boko Haram didn’t get the update. The Taliban must have missed the call. Hamas apparently didn’t hear the news. These groups—subhuman in their cruelty—were somehow exempt from the world’s grand proclamation. And honestly, I don’t expect humanity from those monsters. My expectations lie elsewhere…”

“My wrath is for YOU, the UN, with your hollow resolutions and selective blindness, abandoning Christian girls, Jewish women, and Muslim children – who dare to dream beyond oppression. UN officials – explained these rapes did not occur without context. UN officials – are spokespeople for the gang rapists! UN officials – are advocating for terrorists!”

“And you, the mighty and oh-so-moral UN—your inaction breeds this plague! So, I ask you today: Will you honor the promise you made 30 years ago? You penned that pledge—where’s your fire? Will you enforce it, or let it fester in your paper-pushing complicity, soaked in innocent blood?”

“I promise you all: from the river to the sea – Jewish women will be free!”

Source:
‘From the river to the sea – Jewish women will be free’, by Israel National News, March 12, 2025