Author: AFSI Staff

The Regavim Movement filed a petition Tuesday) in the Jerusalem District Court, against the Jerusalem Municipality, which has been concealing the existence of an underground tunnel dug by the Church of the Dormition, one of the largest and most recognizable Catholic churches in Jerusalem. The Dormition, located just outside the Zion Gate, on the highest point in ancient Jerusalem, is included in the historic preservation compound known as “The Sovev Homot [Jerusalem Ramparts] National Park.”

As a result of Regavim’s legal pressure over the past two years, the Jerusalem Municipality was forced to measure and document the tunnel, which encroaches on public property in an area dense with archaeological remains. Since the completion of the mapping project, the municipality has ignored Regavim’s continued requests for documentation of the tunnel and law enforcement at the site.

Mount Zion, one of the gateways to the Old City of Jerusalem, is well known for its unparalleled historic and archaeological importance to the three monotheistic faiths. The section of the mountain that is protected by the “Sovev Homot (Ancient Jerusalem Ramparts) National Park” contains numerous archaeological sites, including the site identified as King David’s tomb, the Hasmonean-era city walls, and the First Temple-era city wall.

For years, the existence of the tunnel was nothing more than a rumor shared among local residents and Jewish institutions active on Mount Zion, until Regavim sent an official request to the Jerusalem Municipality in 2019 for confirmation of its existence and precise details of the tunnel’s location, in order to determine the extent to which it encroaches on public land as well as the extent to which priceless antiquities may have been harmed by the unsupervised digging.

“When the details began to come into focus, we demanded over and over that the Jerusalem Municipality publicize the documentation of its findings, as required by the Freedom of Information Law. We further demanded that oversight, inspection and law enforcement procedures be taken immediately, to restore the site to its previous condition either by sealing off or demolishing the tunnel,” said Attorneys Avi Segal and Yael Cinnamon of the Regavim Movement. “We filed this petition only when our repeated requests to the Jerusalem Municipality were not answered.”

Sources:
Regavim Report March 10 2021

Who’s powering illegal construction in Area C?, by Naomi Kahn. Jewish News Syndicate, March 9, 2021

The IDF has nearly completed construction of an underground concrete wall between Israel and the Gaza Strip. Building this wall is part of the effort to prevent terrorists from crossing into Israel via cross-border tunnels.

The concrete wall is just one component in the 60 km.-long barrier, which also includes a fence above the ground, advanced sensors both above and underground, and cutting-edge technologies meant to tackle the tunnel threat and stop terrorist infiltration. To date, almost 95% of the barrier has been completed, and will be operational in the near future.

Hamas is believed to have a complex underground tunnel system throughout the Gaza Strip, which will be used to attack Israeli soldiers in a future ground battle inside the Strip. As a result, the IDF is preparing its soldiers for a combination of above-ground and below-ground warfare.

AFSI applauds the amazing IDF as it nears completion of this vital security measure. Always protecting Israel. Always ready to defend and secure Israel – and her Sovereignty – through whatever means necessary. We are in awe at the lengths Israel goes to in order to defend herself. It is a travesty that a country that works so hard at defense can still be the one accused of war crimes against a known terrorist entity.

Source:
IDF completes underground wall as Israel readies for Hamas war, by Udi Shaham. Jerusalem Post, March 4, 2021

A terrorist attack was foiled in the Binyamin district of western Samaria Monday morning, in the community of Havat Sadeh Efraim.During the abortive stabbing attack, a female terrorist brandishing a knife broke into a home in Havat Sadeh Efraim and attempted to stab members of the family living there.

Residents managed to overpower the terrorist and detained her until security forces arrived on the scene to take her into custody. Monday’s failed attack is the second terror-related incident in Havat Sadeh Efraim in just over a month.

We are grateful that no injuries were reported in this attack.

Source:
Terrorist breaks into home in Samaria, by David Rosenberg. Arutz Sheva, March 8, 2021

Settlement Affairs Minister Tzachi Hanegbi said Sunday that he believes that Israel will extend Sovereignty to parts of Judea and Samaria, without disclosing a timeline for the move.

In an exclusive interview with i24NEWS, Hanegbi said, “It doesn’t make sense that half a million people who live in Judea and Samaria cannot live under Israeli law, we did it in the Golan Heights and we will do it in Judea and Samaria.”

True, it doesn’t make sense that the residents of Judea and Samaria cannot live under Israeli law. What does make sense is SOVEREIGNTY NOW!

Source:
‘There’s no reason for Israel not to apply sovereignty over Judea and Samaria’, by  i24NEWS and ILH Staff. Israel Hayom, March 8, 2021

Israeli Air Force F-15 fighter jets were photographed flying over Samaria Sunday while escorting a United States Air Force B-52 strategic bomber through Israeli airspace.

According to a statement released Sunday by an IDF spokesperson, Sunday’s flyover by the B-52 was an act of “joint strategic cooperation” between the American and Israeli militaries. “This flight is part of the joint strategic cooperation with US forces, which is pivotal in maintaining the security of Israeli and Middle Eastern skies.”

Yesha Council director-general Yigal Dilmoni wrote on his Facebook page Sunday that in the photographs released from the flight, a number of Israeli towns in Samaria could be seen. “Under the nose of the plane are the towns of Shiloh and Shvut Rachel and the site of biblical Shiloh, where the Tabernacle stood.”

What a breathtaking way to “tour” Samaria from the beautiful blue skies above. How amazing it would be to tour Judea and Samaria this way on our next Chizuk Mission. However, AFSI does prefer to tour the land and spend time with the people – giving and getting Chizuk – strength!

Source:
American B-52 bomber flies over Samaria, by Arutz Sheva Staff. Arutz Sheva, March 7, 2021

Environmental Protection Minister Gila Gamliel yesterday blamed a Libyan “pirate ship” flying a Panamanian flag that was smuggling oil from Iran for a massive oil spill that has polluted most of Israel’s Mediterranean beaches.

Gamliel called the oil leak, which has been described as Israel’s worst ecological disaster in decades, an act of “environmental terrorism.” She suggested the spill was orchestrated by Iran.

“Iran is initiating terrorism not only with nuclear weapons and efforts to entrench itself on our borders. Iran is initiating terrorism by harming the environment,” Gamliel wrote on Twitter.

Both the Mossad and the IDF were blindsided by Gamliel’s accusation that Iran was behind this oil spill but are looking into

Defense sources said they could not confirm the veracity of Gamliel’s claims and said that neither the IDF nor the Mossad had been part of the investigation of these allegations. Officials said they were frustrated by the lack of coordination within the government.

Whatever the case may be, we trust Israel’s defense agencies will not overlook this and act accordingly should it be confirmed that this was a terrorist act against Israel.

Sources:
Blaming Iran, environment minister calls oil spill ‘environmental terrorism’, by TOI Staff. Times of Israel, March 3, 2021

Mossad, IDF blindsided by Gamliel’s Iran ‘eco-terror’ accusation, by Yonah Jeremy Bob, Udi Shaham. Jerusalem Post, March 4, 2021

Progressive Marc Lamont Hill was famously fired from CNN in 2018 after he called for “a free Palestine…from the river to the sea” in the halls of the United Nations. That was one of many troubling statements.

“Palestine from the river to the sea” was a slogan of the PLO beginning with its founding in 1964, claiming a Palestinian state between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea and rejecting control by Israel of any land in the region, including areas controlled by Israel prior to 1967. It later became a popular political slogan used by Palestinians who reject compromise with Israel, including the terror group Hamas, which calls for the destruction of Israel.

Hill has just come out with a new book, released in mid-February, apparently designed to repair his public image. The book is entitled Except for Palestine – The Limits of Progressive Politics, co-authored with Mitchell Plitnick, the president of ReThinking Foreign Policy, former director of the U.S. Office of B’Tselem and co-director of Jewish Voice for Peace.

The book is self-touted as a “major work of daring criticism and analysis.” It argues progressives in America are not anti-Israel enough.

Hill’s record unambiguously shows that he has not stopped advocating for the destruction of Israel. He just tries to camouflage his anti-Semitism by a campaign of lying and denial, disguising his scandalous hatred of Jews in the form of a policy book.

Source:
IPT Video: Marc Lamont Hill’s Duplicitous New Book, by Steven Emerson. IPT News, March 4, 2021

This coming Wednesday, the Jerusalem District Court is expected to rule on the saga of accessibility for people with disabilities and the elderly at the Cave of the Patriarchs. This, after Defense Minister Benny Gantz also ordered promoting the accessibility program and the move was stopped in a petition by Leftist organizations to the court.

“There’s access to both the cave plaza and the roof of the building. The absurdity cries to heaven, the Sovereign state of Israel needs the approval of Taysir Abu Sneina, who was part of the cell that murdered six yeshiva students in 1980?” MK Halevi asks, and calls to fulfill the expression of kindness, the great symbol of our ancestor Abraham, and make the cave accessible.

It is our hope that a path will be created for the disabled to this holy site without further delay. And without terrorist approval.

Source:
‘Absurd: Waiting for a terrorist’s approval’, by Shimon Cohen. Arutz Sheva, March 1, 2021

Residents of the Har Hevron Regional Council early today held a demonstration at the Tarqumiyah Crossing. Their demand: that the government ensure security near the separation wall.

“There’s complete chaos and we’re all suffering from it,” Council head Yochai Demeri said.

Thousands of Palestinian Authority Arabs enter Israel each day through gaps in the security fence, causing enormous traffic jams, and worse, upsetting the security of Israel’s citizens in Judea and Samaria and around the country.

“Our security is forfeit, and no one cares,” said Jacklyn Amar, a resident of Adora. “We see here, every morning, how people cross into here without anyone examining them to see whether they are bringing in coronavirus or any other security issue.”

Sovereignty NOW would end the lack of governance and provide the security the residents of Judea and Samaria so desperately need and are entitled to.

Source:
Har Hevron resident: ‘Our security is forfeit and no one cares’, by Arutz Sheva Staff. Arutz Sheva, March 1, 2021

The Regavim movement has petitioned the Jerusalem District Court, after the Civil Administration refused to provide data on the extent of electricity connections apparently supplied by the East Jerusalem Electric Company, an Israeli subsidiary of the Israel Electric Company which is subject to Israeli law, for thousands of illegal Palestinian structures in Judea and Samaria.

Source:
Regavim Freedom of Information Petition March 2, 2021

https://youtu.be/5nt8uBXpyAs