Author: AFSI Staff

Cabinet ministers last week approved a series of measures promoted by Minister Bezalel Smotrich to strengthen communities in Judea and Samaria.

The approved package includes: sanctions imposed against the Palestinian Authority following the measures it promotes against Israel in The Hague, measures that includes the cancellation of permits and various benefits for senior PA officials, restricting the movement of PA senior officials and preventing them from leaving the country, enforcing their incitement offenses, expelling senior officials, withdrawing enforcement powers from the PA in the Judean Desert and enforcement actions against rampant construction in the area, enforcement in Area B against damage to heritage sites and environmental hazards, and more.

The most amazing news is that regulation for 5 communities was approved for: Evyatar in Samaria, Sde Ephraim in Binyamin, Givat Assaf in Binyamin, Heletz in Gush Etzion and Adorayin on Mount Hebron.

Smotrich said, “After weeks of discussions, the Israeli government is promoting an appropriate response to the anti-Israeli measures led by the Palestinian Authority.

Samaria governor Yossi Dagan shared the news about Evyatar’s normalization with Tzofia Borovsky, the widow of Evyatar Borovsky. Tzofia said: “It’s not the first and last new town that will be built in Judea and Samaria, there is a very strong and clear message here that more young new towns will be built.”

The even clearer message is that Israel is an independent and sovereign nation and only Israel alone is responsible for determining its own destiny. Next stop: Sovereignty over Judea and Samaria!

Sources:
Cabinet approves: Sanctions against PA, regulation of five communities by Uzi Baruch/Israel National News, June 28, 2024

Widow of town namesake: ‘Normalization of this town is what we waited for’ by Israel National News, June 28, 2024

Israeli officials were angered to learn that dozens of Palestinian terror suspects arrested in Gaza were unconditionally released and returned to the Strip on Monday. Most prominent among them was Shifa Hospital director Muhammad Abu Salmiya.

“This morning’s publication and the chaos in the government regarding the release of the director of Shifa Hospital, is a direct continuation of the lawlessness and dysfunction of the Israeli government that leads to damage to the security of Israeli citizens,” said opposition leader Yair Lapid.

“The Minister of Defense did not know, the Minister of Internal Security is not involved, exchange of accusations. Everything is leaked. This is what a breakdown of values ​​and functions looks like,” he added.

According to a Shin Bet statement, the prisoners were released to relieve overcrowding in prisons, and that counter-terror operations had even been cancelled because of the problem. The Shin Bet implicitly blamed Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir, saying requests for more cells had gone unheeded for months.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this evening ordered the convening of a team that will examine the status and identity of prisoners from Gaza before they are released and determine if their releases can proceed following the controversial release of the director of the al-Shifa Hospital.

The Prime Minister’s office said that “the release of the director of the Shifa Hospital is a serious mistake and a moral failure. This man, under whose auspices our hostages were held and murdered, belongs in prison.” “The decision to release the director of the Shifa Hospital was made without the knowledge of the political echelon or the heads of the organizations,” Netanyahu’s office added.

He didn’t know, they didn’t know, not our problem, it’s their fault, not ours. This is an embarrassment for Israel and is a threat to its safety and security. Even worse is that this is playing out during a time of war when the country is fighting for its survival.

Sources:
Anger, Finger-Pointing as Israel Releases Dozens of Hamas Detainees by Pesach Benson/TPS, July 1, 2024

Netanyahu: Release of Shifa Hospital director ‘serious mistake & moral failure’ by Israel National News, July 1, 2024

For decades, we’ve repeatedly heard the claim that it’s not the right time to promote sovereignty. On the other hand, it has become evident that waiting for precisely the most opportune moment never yields any tangible results on the ground.

The concept of sovereignty as a practical political goal is now much more widely accepted in Israel than at any time in the past. The vast majority of Israelis have become completely disillusioned with dreams of coexistence and peace after the ruthless determination of its adversaries to annihilate Israel through various brutal and monstrous means became so painfully evident on Oct. 7.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s announcement this week of his intention to promote through legislation, and not only on the ground, the application of Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria comes at precisely the right time. This declaration embodies the self-evident historical justice of the return of the people of Israel to its land and constitutes the realization of the Zionist dream of sovereignty over the Land of Israel.

Source:
Sovereignty from statements to action by Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar/JNS, June 28, 2024

Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly on Thursday announced the imposition of additional sanctions on so-called “extremist settlers.”

The announcement reads, “This round of sanctions lists seven individuals and five entities for their role in facilitating, supporting or financially contributing to acts of violence by Israeli extremist settlers against Palestinian civilians and their property.”

The seven people on whom the sanctions were imposed are: Ben Zion Gopstein, Daniella Weiss, Einan Ben-Nir Amram Tanjil, Elisha Yered, Ely Federman, Meir Mordechai Ettinger, and Shalom Zicherman. The five entities named were: Amana, Hilltop Youth, Lehava, Moshe’s Farm, and Zvi’s Farm.

Joly has no grasp of the facts or reality and is another victim of the narrative of lies intended to destroy Israel. She stated nothing about the endless terror attacks against the Jewish residents of this region and the security concerns they live with. We think this delusional foreign minister should spend a few weeks living among the “settlers” and see for herself who and where the problems really are. We know many “extremist settlers” who would welcome her with open arms and even take her on a personal grand tour.

Source:
Canada announces more sanctions on ‘extremist settlers’ by Israel National News, June 27, 2024

A lawsuit filed Monday in US Federal Court by victims of the October 7 terrorist attacks alleges extensive fraud and corruption in United Nations aid distribution to Gaza, according to a press release. The legal action claims that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) orchestrated a billion-dollar money laundering operation that funded Hamas, significantly reducing humanitarian aid to Gaza residents and contributing to the October 7 attack.

An individual identified as TB, who witnessed events on October 7, stated: “The horrors I witnessed on October 7 are only possible through an extended and pervasive poisoning of the soul of a people. UNRWA’s complicity in October 7 goes far beyond providing the material means for Hamas to carry out this attack. UNRWA provided Hamas with a generation of children and the social controls necessary to breed the evil that I witnessed and so many suffered that day and since.”

It’s been several years since we first reported on the true intentions of UNRWA. Since October 7 UNRWA has been exposed for what it really is – a terrorist entity. This lawsuit could finally dismantle UNRWA.

Source:
Oct. 7 victims sue UNRWA over ‘$1B terrorist scheme’ by Ariel Kahana/Israel Hayom

Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, earlier this week ripped UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and called on him to resign. This comes after the UN chief insisted that claims he has never condemned Hamas were “misinformation.”

Erdan shared a video of Guterres telling a reporter, “I’ve heard the same source many times saying that I never attacked Hamas. That I never condemned Hamas. I asked for a statistic to be made by our colleagues. I have condemned Hamas 102 times, 51 of them in formal speeches, the others on different social platforms,” continued Guterres. “So, the truth, in the end, always wins.”

In the end the truth does always win but in this case it’s how Guterres chose his words to condemn Hamas that matters, which is not at all. Erdan wrote in a post on social media site X, “The Secretary General’s response proves yet again that he has ZERO integrity. His ‘condemnations’ of Hamas have been empty words when compared to his actions.”

Take a close look at the photo in this article. Who do you see? Anotnio Guterres with Yasser Araft and Khalil al-Wazir (Abu Jihad). See @DanLinnaeus’ X post.

Gutteres is an all-around liar. He should resign.

Source:
Erdan blasts UN chief: He is an accomplice to terror and should resign today! by Elad Benari/Israel National News, June 25, 2024

The New York Times on Friday published a transcript of a recording of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich in a meeting talking to residents of Judea and Samaria. In it he is heard telling them that the Israeli government is engaged in a stealthy effort to irreversibly change the way the region is governed without being accused of formally annexing it.

The goal of the plan is to prevent Judea and Samaria from becoming part of a Palestinian state.

“I’m telling you, it’s mega-dramatic,” Smotrich told those at the meeting. Such changes change a system’s DNA.”

In the comments, Smotrich outlined a carefully orchestrated program to take authority over Judea and Samaria out of the hands of the IDF and turn it over to civilians working in the Defense Ministry.

Smotrich’s plan works for the time being. While sources on the left race to report this as a clandestine effort, Smotrich is doing what the people voted for him to do; working to positively advance the development of Judea and Samaria. What he’s also really doing is trying to prevent Judea and Samaria from becoming part of a terrorist state. We hope his plan will suffice until full sovereignty is applied .

Source:
Smotrich outlines plan for control of Judea & Samaria: ‘Netanyahu is with us full on’, by Israel National News, June 21, 2024

The IDF and the ISA were forced to cancel about twenty planned arrests this week due to prison overcrowding. Security officials are warning about the problem in detention facilities and prisons that leads to the cancellation of arrests and thwarting operations.

According to Kan, in light of the growing overcrowding in detention facilities, security bodies are having to conduct assessments regarding the dangerousness of prisoners and release administrative detainees at the end of their detention period out of necessity.

How will this impact the safety and security of Israel and its law-abiding, peaceful citizens? When it comes to terrorists, whatever the level of their dangerousness or threat, they all have only one goal and that is to harm and kill Jews. With the war still raging, it’s a daily expectation that the IDF will find more terrorists in every corner they turn to. That, plus the alarming climate of hostility against Israel and the Jewish people leaves us concerned that it would embolden the “less threatening or dangerous” terrorists they want to release or worse, not arrest to begin with.

Source:
Due to prison overcrowding: IDF cancels arrests in Judea and Samaria, by Israel National News, June 23, 2024

The Israeli military announced Tuesday that the heads of the IDF’s Northern Command and Operations Directorate approved a tactical schedule for an offensive into southern Lebanon.

In a statement, Major Generals Ori Gordin and Oded Basiuk, said that after an assessment of the security situation in northern Israel, “operational plans for an offensive in Lebanon were approved.”

The decision comes amid an eight-month-long terror campaign by the Tehran-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon that has included almost daily incursions of drone, missile, and rocket attacks targeting the Druze and Jewish communities in the area.

The frequent bombardments have caused 60,000 residents to be evacuated, the closure of major roadways, the diversion of emergency and combat personnel, and multiple wildfires to scorch the region.

In addition to the vast infrastructure damage created by the relentless attacks, at least 11 civilians and 15 soldiers have been killed because of the aggression.

Negotiations with Hamas keep failing. Hostilities from Hezbollah keep increasing. It seems this leaves Israel with no other choice to defend itself but to remain on high alert and be prepared to wage war against Hezbollah.

Source:
The Muskets are Cocked: IDF Approves Battle Plans for Southern Lebanon, by Foreign Desk News, June 19, 2024

Daniela Weiss, chairwoman of the Nachala movement, spoke with Arutz Sheva – Israel National News about the special lobby to resettle Gaza in the Knesset. To date, six organized communities are ready to take up immediate residence in the Gaza Strip.

“We want to return to all of Gaza, right away,” she declared. “When we heard about this desire, I mobilized my fifty-year experience and tried to see the practical ways for fulfilling the bigger vision of resettling the Gaza Strip. Everybody knows that the army alone cannot hold the area – only the army and the settlers together bring true Zionism and true victory.”

Weiss believes that despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s repeated declarations stating that Israel won’t permanently occupy Gaza, she has “seen hints from Netanyahu that he will let us go into Gaza. He is a great Zionist, and knows that if he wants victory, this is the only way.”

Source:
Daniela Weiss: ‘The only path to victory is to resettle Gaza’, by Israel National News/June 19, 2024