Author: AFSI Staff

After seeing Israeli tourists praying at Aaron’s Tomb, Jordan closed it off to them.

Tour guide Roni Ayalon said that the group was subjected to humiliating treatment by Jordanian authorities. “They just stripped down all of us,” he said. “They took off the women’s head scarves. All the boys’ yarmulkes were taken off. They took off everyone’s shirts to see if they had tzitzit (religious fringes) under their clothes and took [the tzitzit] off them. They confiscated any religious symbols they found on us.”

Just imagine the world condemnation if an Arab in Israel were ever be treated in this fashion! Jerusalem Post story HERE.

Plans to build 715 housing units in Palestinian Arab villages in Area C in Judea and Samaria were unanimously approved by Israel’s Cabinet on Tuesday.

It’s unclear if these plans are for building new housing units in those villages, or if they refer to the whitewashing of currently existing illegal buildings.

A joint statement was released on Monday by Binyamin Council head Israel Gantz and Samaria Council head Yossi Dagan in which they sharply attacked the plan: “The report of a Cabinet hearing aimed at approving building plans for Arabs in Area C is particularly alarming. “The Palestinian Authority, by assisting and financing foreign entities, is carrying out massive illegal construction in these areas with one clear purpose – the establishment of a terrorist state in the heart of the country. We hope this does not constitute a signal to the direction of the government which will be formed after the elections.”

Palestinians: We Don’t Need Permission From Israel To Build on Our Land. “The terms A, B, and C no longer exist because Israel has violated the Oslo Accords.” ~ Khaled Abu Toameh & Tovah Lazaroff’s article in the Jerusalem Post gives the PA reaction to the issuance of permits.

AFSI Chizuk Missions have traveled through Judea and Samaria where one sees many large red signs warning that it is dangerous and illegal for Israelis to enter Area A – entirely under the control of the Palestinian Authority. Now that the Arabs have been given permission by Israel to build in Area C – which is supposed to be under total Israeli control – will the prohibition signs come down and will it be safe for Israelis to enter those areas? The Israelis were the ones who put the signs up in the first place and we don’t believe they’ll take them down based on what the PA Prime Minister says. There may be no A,B & C for the PA – but we wonder how a permit application for Israeli building in Area A, or even B would be handled if these terms no longer exist. What would Jabotinsky say? Do you try to meet halfway someone who doesn’t want to meet you?

What do you think?

Ambassador Danny Danon called on the international community to suspend funding for UNRWA following the publication this week of a report that reveals corruption offenses at its top levels.

“The report reveals alarming, but not surprising, findings,” Danon said. “In addition to propagating false information about its refugee population, UNRWA has in recent years worked to redirect world funds to continue this corruption industry that has served its leadership.”

Coming soon: An opportunity for UNRWA policy change ~David Bedein

Switzerland Suspends Payment to UNRWA After Misconduct Report ~ Tovah Lazaroff and Uri Bollag

Earlier this week the Universal Deployment Commission of the Communications Ministry published its proposal that the services of HOT ( a large telecommunications company) be extended to the periphery in Israel. Though 220 localities are slated to be connected to HOT’s television and internet network, Judea and Samaria communities were not included – a decision not based on distance.

Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan’s letter to Amsalem said that he wants to see clear actions to counter the discrimination and send a clear message that the entire state of Israel is one. Tel Aviv and the Negev, Raanana and Samaria – are all one.

Communications Minister Dudi Amsalem instructed his general manager to include Judea and Samaria in the localities that will be serviced by HOT.

The New Right has signed an agreement for a joint run with Bayit Yehudi and National Union, ending weeks of speculation and days of negotiations.

Though not finalized, the name of the new party will likely be The United Right.

The deal requires that all parties remain together in the coalition negotiations period after the elections, and critically that all three parties recommend to the president that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formulate the next government. 

“We all need to be in one big party,” Shaked said, vowing “to do everything to unite with even more parties until the last minute.”

AFSI’s overriding mission of promoting Yisrael Shlayma is clearly furthered by the formation of this new united slate. Additional reading HERE.

Thank you former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley!

Last Thursday Haley blasted a UN council for singling out Israel for alleged violations of women’s rights. Seriously, UN?

The UN Economic and Social Council resolution was approved by a 40-2 margin, with nine abstentions. Among the countries that voted yes were those known for their notorious and often misogynistic policies that deny basic rights to females.

The Algemeiner writes that much of the resolution, which only the US and Canada voted against, did not deal with women’s rights at all, but instead spewed anti-Israel rhetoric, accusing the Jewish state of numerous crimes and alleged violations of human rights.

Different subject and still standing for Israel:
Haley tweeted earlier today, “This is Exactly why we stopped their funding.”
Reports top officials of UNRWA engaged in “abuses of authority for personal gain, to suppress legitimate dissent and to otherwise achieve their personal objectives”. Read the Jerusalem Post story HERE.

The US House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a resolution on Tuesday that rejects the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel

The bill, formally known as House Resolution 246 — also calls for increased security aid to Israel and support for a “two-state solution” (see AFSI commentary below). It passed by a vote of 398-17, with five abstentions.

Once again, under the guise of helping Israel, which the anti-BDS resolution surely does, is the continued use of the possibility of a “two state solution.” Americans For A Safe Israel has maintained over the years that there is NO evidence that such a solution could be found while a terrorist entity is in control of the PA. NO efforts have been made to change their “Constitution,” nor their educational goals, not their ongoing terror threats and actions against the Israelis. It is sheer folly to continue to include these meaningless words in any resolutions or proposals put out by Israel, or America, or any institutions or groups representing the voice of reason.

Israel’s Netanyahu Hails US House’s Passage of Anti-BDS Bill: ‘It Is Right, It Is Correct, and It Is Very Helpful’ ~ Benjamin Kerstein. This article makes no mention of House Res. 246 supporting a “two-state” solution nor does it state anywhere that Prime Minister Netanyahu is hailing such a solution. That’s as it should be!

Israeli NGO Regavim petitioned the Supreme Court against the illegal construction of a mosque at Sha’ar HaRachamim and is now responding to reports that Israel and Jordan agreed on an outline for resolving the dispute.

“The outline is a disgraceful and scandalous plan of total surrender to the illegal activity of the Muslim Waqf and the caprices of Jordan, a surrender and violation of Israeli sovereignty, which is quite appropriate to the ‘Three Weeks in which the Temple was destroyed,” responded Regavim.

Israel’s Supreme Court ruled that the State would respond to the petition within ninety days, a period of time that allowed the Waqf to do as it wished.

Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked will lead the New Right party, former Education Minister and incumbent New Right chairman Naftali Bennett announced Sunday evening, with plans for Shaked to lead a joint ticket with the United Right party.

This decision followed a spontaneous petition that began with a grassroots group of leading Religious Zionist women calling for Ayelet Shaked to be placed as the head of a joint right-wing list. The group would like to see Jews worldwide sign a petition which supports a United Right led by Shaked.

“Let’s Unite Today!’ Breaking as of this afternoon, the leaders of the right wing parties seem to have come to an agreement to run together in the September elections.

Israeli security forces began demolishing illegal Arab buildings in southeastern Jerusalem on Monday morning.

As expected, the typical detractors of Israel, the UN, the EU, etc., came to the defense of the Arabs with sharp criticism of Israel’s LAWFUL action.

Israel’s Public Security Minister, Gilad Erdan (Likud) defended Israel stating: “The demolition of the illegal and mostly uninhabited buildings which takes place today at ‎Wadi al-Hummus in the village of Sur Baher, Jerusalem, was approved by the Israeli High Court of Justice, which ruled that the illegal construction constitutes a severe security threat and can provide cover to suicide bombers and other terrorists hiding among civilian population and endanger the lives of civilians and security forces alike.”

Bravo to those Israelis with enough backbone to defy the EU, the UN, and the international anti-Israel gang to actually proceed with the demolition of the illegal Arab structures. One can see from the videos in the Arutz Sheva articles that they had progressed much too far and should have been halted from the beginning.

‘EU undermines Israeli sovereignty’ ~Regavim responds to the United Nations response to Israel’s demolition of illegal Arab homes