Author: AFSI Staff

In years past, Israel’s defense ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) was mostly in charge of going after “illegal outposts,” as part of a 50+ year effort to curb Jewish community developments and encourage Arab expansion in Judea and Samaria.

This week a luxury resort complex built illegally by PA Arabs east of Duma village in Binyamin was demolished, including its three dining areas and swimming pools. The illegal resort is in Area C, which is under full Israeli control, both civilian and military, and so requires a construction permit. It didn’t have one.

“Any enforcement like this creates deterrence and curbs the rampant construction,” says Moshe Shmueli, Judea and Samaria coordinator for Regavim. “The Civil Administration was forced to do what it refused to do for years, and we welcome it.

Source:
It’s Not your Daddy’s Civil Administration: COGAT Demolishes Illegal Arab Vacation Resort, by David Israel/Jewish Press, June 7, 2024

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday morning visited the IDF Gibor base in Kiryat Shmona, where he was briefed by 769th Brigade Commander Avraham Marciano and Northern Command Home Front coordinator Brig.-Gen. (Res.) Alon Friedman.

In their briefing, the commanders discussed the operational situation, recent events in the sector, management of the defensive battle and actions being taken to defend the communities and residents in the north. Brigade and Northern Command actions against the Hezbollah terrorists and infrastructure in Lebanon were also presented.

During his visit, Netanyahu said, “Today I am on the northern border with our heroic fighters and commanders, as well as with our firefighters. Yesterday the ground burned here, and I am pleased that you have extinguished it, but ground also burned in Lebanon.

“We are prepared for very intense action in the north. One way or another, we will restore security to the north.”

Israel is in a very difficult position as it fights in both the north and south, in Judea and Samaria, and defends against terrorist attacks everywhere in between. This, plus all the international pressure hanging over Israel, makes it critical that she stay focused on the goals for this war.

Source:
Netanyahu in Kiryat Shmona: ‘We are prepared for very intense action in the north’, by Hezki Baruch/Israel National News, June 5, 2024

The ceremony for the establishment of the Gaza Envelope LOTAR (counterterrorism) Unit in the Gaza Division took place Monday, in the presence of the commanding officer of the Gaza Division.

In accordance with the directive of the Chief of the General Staff and as part of the lessons learned from the initial investigations on the ground from the events of the 7th of October, it was decided to establish the unit whose purpose is to provide a quick and available response to terrorist incidents in the Gaza Envelope area. The new unit is part of the “Mashiv Haruach” administrative work of the Border Protection Corps and the Chief Infantry and Paratroopers Officer Headquarters, whose purpose is to improve and rehabilitate the communities defense forces.

LTC. (res.) A., who serves as commanding officer of the Gaza Envelope LOTAR Unit, said, “The formation of the unit in this period contains within it the essence of the story of the State of Israel – from destruction to revival.”

Source:
IDF establishes new counterterrorism unit in the Gaza border area, by Uzi Baruch/Israel National News, June 5, 2024
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/391125

Firefighters over the past week have tended to approximately 600 fires in open areas in Judea and Samaria.

The Fire and Rescue Service emphasized that in a normal week, the firefighters deal with approximately 30-40 fires a week in the entire region.

Fire Deputy Chief Haim Ben-Nun, the head of the operations branch of the Judea and Samaria District said, “Last week we ended with 600 fires in open areas in the entire region. It shows a clear drastic upward trend in the number of incidents.”

According to the report, firefighters in Judea and Samaria are pointing out a concerning trend. Arson is being committed near IDF bases across Judea and Samaria, both small and large bases. This is in addition to cases of arson near homes.

The number of fires occurring is disturbing. This is clearly not the type of case where so many weekly fires due to extreme heat, like a forest fire, are the problem. It’s not arson either. It’s terrorism.

Source:
Concerning trend | Arson cases in Judea and Samaria spike by over 100%, by Israel National News, by Israel National News, June 4, 2024

Israeli officials pushed back on Monday on elements of the hostage deal proposal presented by US President Joe Biden over the weekend as an Israeli offer. Staying the course on his goals for the war, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted that there were gaps between that proposal and Israel’s stance: “The claim that we agreed to a ceasefire without our conditions being met is incorrect.”

“The proposal that Biden presented is incomplete,” the premier told MKs at a closed-door meeting of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. He also reportedly said that there are “gaps” between the Israeli version and Biden’s recounting of it.

Why did Biden think he could sneak in terms of a deal without Israel’s approval? It’s clearer than ever now that Biden will go to any length possible to appease Hamas and Iran, the very evil entities that Israel is trying to eliminate. Biden is not a leader nor a friend of Israel. He’s going along with anything that his campaign team believes will get him votes. Simply pathetic.

Source:
Netanyahu: We will destroy Hamas, Biden’s version of hostage deal ‘incomplete’, by Lazar Berman/Times of Israel, June 3, 2024

Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan sat down with Arutz Sheva’s Yoni Kempinski at the Arutz Sheva-Israel National News Jerusalem Conference in New York City on Sunday for a special live interview. Erdan expressed concerns over the UN’s evolving role, stating, “Sometimes I wonder if Israel should continue to be a member of an organization like the UN.”

Regarding Israel’s participation in the UN, Erdan continued, “However, for Israel’s national dignity and for the remaining allies among the nations of the world, I believe it’s still important to be there. Israel needs to cultivate its internal coalition among the friendly nations within the UN, those who genuinely and wholeheartedly support democratic values.”

It’s been on our minds too as to what benefit there is for Israel to remain a member of the UN. At the same time, there is so much more to be done to turn around the Israel hatred that has evolved at this “world body” whose mission has fallen off the radar screen. We thank Ambassador Erdan for his service (which will end this summer) and look forward to his replacement picking up where Erdan left off.

Source:
Ambassador Erdan: ‘UN poses a threat not only to Israel but to the entire world’, by Yoni Kempinski/Israel National News, June 3, 2024

In the past seventy years, there have been 25 administrative detentions of Jews in Israel, out of which 19 were carried out in the year and a half of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s tenure. According to one reporter, this is an unprecedented, predatory campaign against the Jews of Judea and Samaria.

Most of the time, administrative detention is done for security reasons, on the grounds that the detainee may endanger the security of the state sometime in the future.

MK Menachem Begin (then chairman of the Herut Party) attacked the use of administrative detention, comparing it to Nazism: “There are tyrannical laws, there are immoral laws, there are Nazi laws. Don’t ask me who determines which law is Nazi and which law is immoral. The law you used is tyrannical, it is immoral, and an immoral law is also illegal.”

Looking back, all the administrative detentions of Jews were carried out as a result of Arab terrorism. This is a travesty of justice that must stop.

Source:
Gallant Set All Time Record for Administrative Detention of Jews, by David Israel/Jewish Press, May 31, 2024

The IDF announced Wednesday evening that it has gained full operational control over the crucial strip between Rafah in the Gaza Strip and Egypt known as the Philadelphi Corridor.

Chief Spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari called it “Hamas’ oxygen pipeline” due to some 20 tunnels he said the army has found to date that cross the border into the Sinai desert, enabling the “regular” smuggling of weaponry into Gaza.

In Israeli testimony to the International Court of Justice, the number of tunnels crossing into Egypt was stated as being much higher.

The tunnels’ discovery is embarrassing for Egypt, and its state media was quick to reject the claim.

Yet, another terrorist underground infrastructure has been discovered by the IDF and is being dismantled. An arsenal of grenades, automatic rifles, explosive devices, and anti-tank missiles were found, which as we know, was stored there for the sole purpose of destroying Israel. To the foes of Israel: what was the reason you didn’t want Israel to go into Rafah? Do tell. We can’t wait to hear your answer.

Source:
IDF announces full operational control over crucial Philadelphi Corridor, by Batya Jerenberg/World Israel News, May 30, 2024

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has been ordered to vacate its Jerusalem offices within 30 days over violations of its lease.

In a letter to UNRWA, the Israel Lands Authority said the agency owed NIS 27.1 million ($7.3 million) for maintaining offices on Israeli state land without permission over the last seven years. The letter demanded that UNRWA “immediately stop any illegal use, destroy everything you have built in violation of the law, vacate the land of any people or items and return it to the [ILA] within 30 days from the date of this letter.”

“It’s not surprising that they are allowing themselves not to accept, not respect Israeli law here in Jerusalem,” Deputy Mayor Arieh King told TPS in February. “They’re building illegal buildings, they have petrol stations in places they’re not allowed to have, and it’s time that the Israeli government will allow us, the municipality of Jerusalem, to pass a law against UNRWA.”

We recall the many intensive years of David Bedein’s work to expose the UNRWA problem. His efforts, together with the domino effect of revelations on the truth about UNRWA are finally bringing about the “attention” they deserve.

Source:
UNRWA Ordered to Vacate Jerusalem Offices Over Lease Violations, by Pesach Benson / TPS/Jewish Press, May 30, 2024

In late April, the Commander of the IDF Central Command, Major General Yehuda Fox, announced he would retire from military life in August. But that has not slowed down his vicious campaign against the Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria, in open defiance of the authority of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich who also serves as an adjunct minister in the defense ministry in charge of the Coordinator of the Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT).

On Tuesday around 5 AM, some 300 police officers accompanied by civil administration inspectors and heavy machinery raided in a synchronized operation the outposts of Sdeh Yonatan and Or Meir in Binyamin, causing extensive destruction.

Tuesday morning’s destruction followed three other irregular demolition campaigns that recently took place in Or Meir. Residents point to a drastic increase in acts of destruction, blaming General Fox who, according to them, is trying to establish facts on the ground before the end of his tenure. But residents also blame Minister Smotrich, who continues to be ineffective in controlling COGAT.

We look forward to Fox’s retirement and pray his replacement is a true Zionist that embraces sovereignty in the way that it should be. That means not conducting business like you’re at war with your own people.

Source:
On Eve of his Retirement, General Fox Continues Aggressive Demolition Campaign Against Jews, by David Israel/Jewish Press, May 29, 2024