Author: AFSI Staff

Mossad Director David Barnea was in Washington DC yesterday, where he held meetings with senior officials from the White House, CIA, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Pentagon, State Department and additional security agencies. Barnea presented Israel’s stance regarding the resurrection of the Iranian nuclear deal.

Barnea’s visit is the latest in the string of top Israeli officials who are fighting to stop the deal. Last week, Israel’s Minister of Defense, Benny Gantz, and National Security Advisor, Eyal Hulta, both visited the US. Prime Minister Yair Lapid has reportedly finally held phone conversations with Joe Biden and other world leaders.

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid hinted today that Israel may have succeeded in preventing Western powers from reaching a new nuclear deal with Iran in Vienna, while warning Tehran that Israel will continues its zero-tolerance policy vis-à-vis attacks by Iranian proxies, as well as any potential nuclear threat. “It is still too early to know if we have indeed succeeded in stopping the nuclear agreement, but Israel is prepared for every threat and every scenario,” Lapid said.

Israel continues to be the most vocal world power in aggressively carrying out an “intensive campaign” to stop the signing of a dangerous nuclear agreement with Iran. This is an agreement that is potentially lethal to the rest of the world’s democracies. We do wish that more of them would join Israel in attempting to ward off these dangers. But Israel’s relentless pursuit of waking up the world to the dangers of this deal leaves us feeling a bit more secure in believing an agreement with Iran might be stopped

Sources:
Mossad chief Barnea heads to Washington to try and halt the Iran nuclear deal, Mandi Kogosowski/Israel Defense, September 5, 2022

Lapid warns Iran: We’re ready for every scenario, by World Israel News Staff, September 6, 2022

Shots were fired at a bus carrying Israeli soldiers on a major highway in the Jordan Valley on Sunday, injuring seven people. The terrorists, a man and his nephew, also tried to set the bus on fire.

The Israel Defense Forces said Palestinian gunmen opened fire at the bus near Hamra. This left one seriously wounded soldier. Another five soldiers and the bus’s civilian driver were hurt. The seriously wounded soldier and the bus driver are listed in moderate condition in Rambam Hospital with gunshot injuries. The hospital said the soldier’s condition had improved. The other five soldiers were lightly hurt by glass fragments.

The IDF is waiting for the Shabak to provide it with the location of the terrorists and the and the hunt is on for a third suspect and possibly more members of the terrorist cell.

The longer Israel appeases the Arabs, the more empowered they will be. Attacks like this against the very defense forces that exist to protect Israel must be stopped!

Sources:
7 injured as soldiers’ bus comes under fire by Palestinian gunmen in Jordan Valley, by Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel, September 4, 2022

New details on Jordan Valley bus shooting, by Israel National News, September 5, 2022

Massive development works on a new PA Arab city have been carried out in secret on Israeli state-owned and privately owned Jewish land in Area C, near the Karnei Shomron industrial zone. The works include the development of lots, construction of buildings, opening and paving roads, and laying down infrastructure connections.

The Regavim movement contacted law enforcement authorities as soon as this illegal work began but received no response and the fieldwork continued. Head of the Samaria Regional Council Yossi Dagan said: “The government is systematically abandoning Area C and now also private lands that Jews have purchased. This failure is inconceivable. Selective enforcement is reaching a peak we have not seen before.”

Just yesterday Arutz Sheva reported that the Palestinian Authority approved aid for the ‘committee for the fight against the fence and the settlements’ to further what it called “the fanatical colonialist attacks of the occupation authorities and the settlers.”

Israel’s inability to gain control of this issue greatly empowers the Arabs to advance their mission of destroying Israel. Whether another report from Regavim or an article in Arutz Sheva, this is not the kind of news we want to read. When will this register as being so terribly wrong that Israel’s officials must take necessary actions to stop it?

Sources:
New Palestinian City Rising on Jewish-Owned Land near Karnei Shomron, by David Israel.Jewish Press, September 1, 2022

PA moves to strengthen grip on Area C, by Dalit Halevi/Israel National News, September 5, 2022

David Barnea, the director of Mossad agency is scheduled to visit Washington D.C. next week. He is slated to speak with senior White House officials about the nuclear talks in Vienna. The Biden administration and European powers involved in the talks are widely expected to wrap up negotiations with Tehran in the next few weeks. This would lead to the signing of an agreement restoring the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

Last week Barnea sharply criticized the Biden White House over the impending agreement and accused the administration of lying to Israel. “We are making a pasted copy of the 2015 agreement, and the only thing that remains from this is the text,” Barnea said in closed conversations.

Interim Prime Minister Yair Lapid thought he had made headway pressuring the US but seems to now understand that the deal that is on the table releases billions of dollars to Iran for its own nefarious plans and to fund its terror proxies, many of whom are surrounding Israel now. Every Israeli understands that this terrible deal needs to have “tighter” IAEA oversight and include restrictions on Tehran’s ballistic missile program.

Biden has not taken his phone calls. First, the White House blamed Biden’s unavailability on his recent vacation, which ended last Wednesday. With both men set to speak at the United Nations General Assembly in September, Lapid is hoping for an in-person meeting.
So much for all the land given to Arabs by Lapid and Gantz during Biden’s trip. Useless show of weakness!

As Israel pushes forward to stop this disastrous deal from going through, we can only pray for their success. Any deal that does get penned with Iran will put them within weeks of obtaining nuclear weapons.

How the “Great Satan” can go along with this all is beyond our comprehension.

Sources:
Mossad chief to visit Washington for talks on Iran deal, by David Rosenberg/Israel National News, August 28, 2022

Israeli PM Lapid, unable to get Biden on phone, pushes for meeting to discuss Iran: report, by Ronn Blitzer/Fox News, August 28, 2022

A report in Arutz Sheva today states that the history of the settling of the Land of Israel may be entering a new era with an awakening that has not been seen in many years.

That awakening is certainly credited to our friends in the Nachala movement. Nachala comprises dozens of garinim (seed groups) and hundreds of families – sure signs that a new era has indeed begun.

The awakening began July 20, 2022, when tens of thousands of people packed their tents and families and went up to numerous locations simultaneously, demanding from the government of Israel the establishment of new Jewish communities throughout Judea and Samaria. Since last month, a number of garinim continue their activism.

Lital Slonim, Nachala’s public relations head said in order to redeem the Land, the Zionist pioneering spirit must forge ahead and remain a priority in the public discourse in Israel.

Source:
A new awakening for Jews in Israel and around the world, by Israel National News, August 29, 2022

Talks between Iran and world powers and indirectly with the US have ramped up in recent weeks after months of stalling following Iranian demands that were rejected by Washington. Throughout, Israel continues to hold firm on its position that Iran’s nuclear program must be prevented from advancing.

In response to the recent flurry of activity to push the Iran deal forward, Defense Minister Benny Gantz traveled to the US for a series of meetings with American defense officials.

In a press conference in Israel today, Prime Minister Yair Lapid said that Israeli pressure tactics on the United States have already had some positive effects. “The Americans accepted a large part of the things that we wanted them to include in the drafts. It is a welcome change, and the dialogue with them is good and we will continue it.” Given that according to the IAEA Iran is two weeks from having its first nuclear weapon, this dialogue must continue and it must be made clear that Israel and the region are in a precarious position. Sanctions should be strengthened and oversight must be made more thorough.

As the world continues to turn a blind eye to all of this, let’s remember that Iran’s President Ebraim Raisi is scheduled to speak in mid September at the United Nations annual General Assembly, where he is sure to push Iran’s desire for a nuclear agenda. Raisi should not be allowed in the country, let alone speak at the United Nations.

Israel continues to send a clear message by holding strong on its tough stance on the negotiations. The world must remember that Iran’s intentions are nefarious, not peaceful. Any deal with Iran, as Gantz made clear before he left for the US, “will harm global and regional security.” Israel’s visit to the US this week has had a positive effect on weakening attempts to seal the Iran deal, at least for now.

Sources:
‘World leaving us on our own against Iran’, by Shimon Cohen/Israel National News, August 25, 2022

Lapid says Israeli pressure campaign against Iran deal bore fruit with White House, by Amy Shapiro and TOI Staff/Times of Israel, August 25, 2022

The Tel Aviv school district will be using maps of Israel in the upcoming school year that display the Green Line, which marks a separation between the Judea and Samaria region and the rest of the Jewish State. This is in direct violation of the Education Ministry’s curriculum guidelines. Reports say that the move to the new maps came after a direct order from Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai.

Gush Etzion Regional Council Head Shlomo Ne’eman said of Mayor Huldai’s unauthorized decision: “There is a great need to apply sovereignty over Judea and Samaria, where hundreds of thousands of Jewish citizens of the State of Israel are treated as second class and any fool can decide to remove us from the map at any time.”

We agree. Whose side is Mayor Huldai on anyway? He doesn’t have his facts straight. It’s also not his job to determine where the map lines for Sovereignty over Judea and Samaria should be drawn. Shame on him! We’d like to see all those maps taken down and correct ones showing a whole Israel put in their place.

Source:
Maps separating Judea, Samaria from Israel to be used in Tel Aviv schools, by Lauren Marcus/World Israel News, August 23, 2022

The Civil Administration together with officers of the Border Police on Monday took action by razing 11 structures that were illegally erected by Arabs in the area of the Hasmonean Palaces archaeological site in Jericho.

The construction is yet another attempt by the Palestinian Authority (PA) to establish their facts on the ground in Area C, the parts of Judea and Samaria under direct Israeli control.

As part of a tour conducted in the area by the head of the Civil Administration, Brigadier General Fars Atila, an enforcement effort in the area was agreed upon as part of a campaign for the preservation of archaeological sites and for greater security enforcement overall in Area C.

We look forward to the same and more to protect ALL of Area C and all of Judea and Samaria!!

Source:
IDF Razes 11 Illegal Arab Structures Near Jericho’s Jewish Archeological Site, by TPS / Tazpit News Agency via Jewish Press, August 23, 2022

There are places within the Jerusalem area that the Palestinians could consider their capital, Defense Minister Benny Gantz said Monday.

“I repeat and insist that Jerusalem is the unified capital of the State of Israel,” he said in an interview with 103FM Radio. “And I do not see how we can continue towards an arrangement [with the Palestinians] in the coming years, but we must begin by initiating processes to reduce the conflict and strengthen security,” he said. Gantz continued, saying it was essential to prevent a “bi-national” state, “a situation that no one wants.”

“There are villages in the east that the Palestinians call Jerusalem, and they are not in the metropolitan area of Jerusalem,” he explained, adding: “It is possible to define them as a capital.” According to Gantz, “these are matters of debate that should be discussed “in the end,” and “Jerusalem will remain unified.”

It’s disgraceful that Gantz views certain parts of Jerusalem as not worth bothering with and even sadder that he would consider any portion of Jerusalem to be open for discussion. Handing over even the tiniest part of Jerusalem to the PA will not reduce any conflict and only weaken Israel and show weakness, but encroach on her legal rights as a sovereign nation. No negotiation about any part of Jerusalem should be allowed based on what we know to be true: Jerusalem, Capital of Israel must remain whole and undivided, not divided.

Source:
Gantz cites parts of Jerusalem as ‘possible’ Palestinian capital, by i24NEWS and ILH Staff

The Civil Administration last week attempted to uproot trees, including fruit trees, planted over four years ago, by residents of the Jewish town of Nokdim. The Civil Administration sought to uproot the trees after local Arabs claimed ownership of the land. Those trees belong to the State, located near homes in Nokdim where the town’s residents have cared for the trees continuously.

The Civil Administration sent Nokdim residents a note last Tuesday that they would be arriving the next day to uproot the trees. The decision was made by the Civil Administration itself, following an appeal by a leftist organization which was later supported by residents of nearby Bedouin towns. That appeal claimed that the land in question belonged to these local Bedouin, but did not provide any proof. Of course, the proof if it did exist, would most likely be a land grant from Jordan, an illegal occupier of the land from 1948 – 1967. The fact that the Courts and the Civil Administration are giving credence to these grants is absurd, and worse.

Nokdim residents responded with an appeal against the Civil Administration’s decision. Despite the appeal that expected a temporary order preventing the uprooting would be issued within less than an hour, the Civil Administration official in charge of the operation insisted on uprooting the trees quickly, before the temporary order could be issued.

MK Uzi Dayan was among many who spoke to the Civil Administration chief and the forces then left Nokdim to wait until the Supreme Court had issued its ruling. Later in the day, the Supreme Court rejected the residents’ appeal outright due to a technicality and other issues.

The Supreme Court’s decision does not show any strength in protecting land that legally belongs to Israel. It disturbingly and continuously baffles the mind to see Israeli official appease Bedouins and PA Arabs. Decisions such as this only serve to weaken Israel’s legal right to its own sovereign land.

Source:
Civil Administration to uproot trees near Jewish settlement?, by Israel National News, August 22, 2022