Category: Articles

Thousands gathered along Route 60 in Samaria Monday afternoon, ahead of the funerals of the two Israeli men murdered by an Arab terrorist in the village of Huwara Sunday afternoon. The two brothers, Hillel Menachem Yaniv, 22, and Yagel Yaakov Yaniv, 20, were residents of Har Bracha.

Their mother Esti Yaniv called on the government to restore security to Samaria. “We cannot allow ourselves this kind of loss [of security]. We also really want to prove that that the eternal nation is not afraid of the long journey.”

Terror attacks continued today. A 27-year-old Israeli man was killed in a drive-by shooting north of the Beit Ha’Arava junction. Two other terror attacks were carried out nearly simultaneously, in three separate locations, all of them drive-by shootings. All were in the Jordan Valley. At a third location, Palestinian Authority terrorists opened fire on Highway 90 near St. George’s Monastery, also in the Jordan Valley, near the Almog Junction. The terrorists sprayed an Israeli vehicle with bullets, but miraculously, no one was injured. It is believed the same terrorist(s) were responsible for all three shootings.

This is what happens immediately following a security summit? One can only wonder what the benefit to Israel is in attending these summits when Israel continues to experience multiple daily terror attacks!

Americans For a Safe Israel conveys its condolences to the Yaniv family and the family of the 27-year-old killed today. May the families be comforted among all the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem and know only simchas. We wish a speedy recovery to those who may have been injured or traumatized in today’s terror attacks.

#Huwara #TerrorAttack

Sources:
‘Instead of seeing them get married, we are burying our sons’, by Israel National News, February 27, 2023

Israeli man killed in West Bank terror shooting — IDF, by Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel, February 27, 2023

Israeli Killed in Jordan Valley Terror Attack Near Beit Ha’Arava Junction, by Hana Levi Julian/Jewish Press, February 27, 2023

Netanyahu denies agreeing to construction freeze at Jordan summit, by JNS, February 27, 2023

Roughly 450 Jews returned Sunday night to their rightful homes in Evyatar, following the drive-by murder that afternoon of the two Yaniv brothers. From the Samaria community of Har Bracha, they were murdered in a terrorist shooting attack at the Huwara checkpoint on Route 60. Huwara is a town with a one lane in either direction running through the commercial area. It has been a constant flashpoint for terror – so much so that a road is under construction to provide a bypass for those desiring safe passage. At present it is the only way to reach many of the Jewish communities in Samaria, Har Bracha among them.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir appealed in a detailed letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, asking him to allow the residents to stay in Evyatar which has all but been legally regulated.

AFSI applauds the residents of Evyatar for their response to this latest terror attack. No matter how many times the IDF returns to evacuate them, Evyatar residents, most of whom are part of the Nachala Movement, possess the drive and determination to secure nothing more than a full return to their legally obtained homes and to continue to build it up. They represent the true Zionist spirit.

@BenGvir

Source:
Proper Zionist Response: Evyatar Settlers Return Home following Huwara Murders, by David Israel/Jewish Press, February 27, 2023

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Adjunct Minister in the Defense Ministry Bezalel Smotrich last Thursday signed an agreement. This is in keeping with the coalition agreement between Likud and Religious Zionism, regulating the division of powers between them regarding managing Judea and Samaria.

According to the agreement, most of the powers of the Civil Administration in Judea and Samaria will be transferred to Smotrich, including the central supervision unit responsible for enforcing construction laws. However, Gallant will have the authority to exercise enforcement against illegal construction defined as a “fresh incursion,” and demolishing it constitutes “security urgency.” Still, Smotrich must be informed ahead of such action.

Now that powers have been officially transferred, it is mandatory that Jews in Judea and Samaria receive the protection and services they need and that they be allowed to develop the land. We trust that Israel can look forward to Jews being treated with the respect they deserve and not like terrorists.

Source:
Gallant, Smotrich Reach Compromise on Running Judea and Samaria, by David Israel/Jewish Press, February 23, 2023

The Knesset passed the first two pieces of legislation relating to the government’s judicial reform plan. This followed a noisy six-hour-plus debate that ended after midnight Tuesday. Both bills passed by a vote of 63 to 47. This is the first of three readings.

The first bill amends Basic Law: The Judiciary so that the Supreme Court can’t invalidate basic laws, which are considered to have quasi-constitutional status in Israel. The second bill changes the composition of the Judicial Selection Committee to give elected officials a majority in choosing judges both for the Supreme Court and lower courts.

MK Simcha Rothman stated: “The Supreme Court is the one that harmed judicial authority. Only those who ‘have the right stuff,’ only those who ‘are part of the family’ are eligible to become a judge in the Supreme Court.”

Throughout the evening, opposition and coalition MKs traded barbs as they mounted the Knesset podium. To date, the opposing side has not come forward with their list of suggested reforms. Opposition leaders have refused to answer President Isaac Herzog’s request that the two sides come together to work out their differences. What is their answer to combat the 28 year abuses of judicial power? Silence so far.

Source:
Judicial reform advances in Knesset after heated debate, by Mati Tuchfeld and JNS/Israel Hayom, February 21, 2023

Four-and-a-half years after the destruction of 15 homes in Elazar’s Netiv Ha’avot neighborhood, Wednesday morning, the Civil Administration’s Higher Planning Committee greenlighted 433 housing units in the neighborhood.

In addition, over 1,000 units were approved throughout Gush Etzion, and the eastern Gush community of Pnei Kedem was officially registered within the Israel Land Registry.

We remember all too well Israel’s Supreme Court order of the demolition of 15 Netiv Ha’avot homes, which was carried out in June 2018. The court ordered the entire houses destroyed even though only a mere two precent of the buildings were built on land where the ownership was in question.

Gush Etzion Regional Council Head Shlomo Ne’eman responded favorably, “Today’s approval of over 400 units, to be built alongside the 68 homes currently in Netiv Ha’avot, along with the other approvals throughout Gush Etzion and Judea and Samaria as a whole, is a tremendous boost.

While this is certainly great news, it cannot erase the horrible destruction of Jewish homes and lives. Nothing can bring back what once was. We can only hope that under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new coalition that new communities are built throughout Gush Etzion, Judea and Samaria, and the entire Land of Israel.

Source:
4 years after destruction: New homes approved in Gush Etzion neighborhood, by Israel National News, February 22, 2023

Israel’s government is expected to limit the entry of Jews to the Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest site, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

At a meeting, Israel’s security forces were asked to close the Temple Mount to Jews during the final 10 days of the month as was done in previous years. MK Itamar Ben-Gvir shouted during the discussion, “Even the Bennet government didn’t limit entry like you want to. The previous government closed the site for nine days, and the defense establishment wanted 10. I don’t think we need to close the Temple Mount to Jews at all.”

Whether the prior government closed the Temple Mount for nine or ten days doesn’t matter. The decision to close then, as with the government now, is nothing more than a continuation of Israel caving to terror and it must STOP!

Source:
Government to limit Jewish entry to Temple Mount during Ramadan, by Israel National News, February 19, 2023

The Coalition announced Wednesday afternoon that a planned vote on the Override Clause, a key element of the judicial reform plan, has been cancelled. The Override Clause is a controversial amendment to the country’s Basic Laws which would explicitly empower the Knesset to veto Supreme Court rulings overturning Knesset laws and curb judicial activism by the high court.

Coalition chairman Ofir Katz said the decision to nix the planned votes was made in response to the request by President Isaac Herzog. It was done to foster goodwill between the Coalition and the Opposition and in the hopes of facilitating talks towards a compromise. This was denied by MK Simcha Rothman and Justice Minister Yariv Levin.

Despite this, the passage of the judicial reform plan will continue without delay. MK Rothman remains firm on his goal: “Returning power to the Israeli democratic process and bringing Israel in line with almost every known Western democracy.”

Sources:
Coalition cancels vote on key bill in judicial reform package, by Hezki Baruch/Israel National News, February 15, 2023

Returning power to democracy: Understanding the Israeli judicial reform, by MK Simcha Rothman/Israel National News, February 15, 2023

The bill to repeal the Disengagement Act of 2005, was passed by the Knesset in a preliminary reading on Wednesday by a majority of 62 to 36.

This shameful bill decreed the expulsion of close to 10,000 Jews from the Gaza Strip and northern Samaria. It was enacted following Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s decision on what he termed euphemistically the “disengagement plan.” The terms “uprooting” and “exiling” of thousands of Jews seemed too real at the time.

There are many bad memories and haunting images the Jewish residents of this area had and still remember. With the first positive step taken yesterday to repeal the Disengagement Act of 2005, we pray they can look forward to a future that wipes out the evil endured during that terrible time.

Source:
Knesset Passes in 1st Reading a Bill Revoking Shameful ‘Disengagement Act’, by David Israel/Jewish Press, February 16, 2023

Israeli security forces on Wednesday morning evacuated a vineyard in Samaria’s Shiloh Valley belonging to Chen Ben Eliyahu’s Meshek Ahiya. The evacuation followed a 2021 High Court ruling that ordered the Civil Administration to destroy some 42 acres of vines.

MK Bezalel Smotrich sent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu an irate letter headlined: “Urgent! The displacement of a vineyard in Binyamin due to delays in implementation of the agreement to transfer powers to the Civil Administration and the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories.”

Despite the orders of Netanyahu to halt the demolition, security forces resumed the destruction of the Jewish owned orchard in Samaria Wednesday. Let’s remember Netanyahu’s campaign promises. Now it’s time for him to keep them. Transfer of powers to Smotrich is required by the coalition agreement and must happen without further delay.

Sources:
Security forces resume demolishing Jewish grove after PM orders halt, by Israel National News, February 15, 2023

Smotrich Threatens Netanyahu over Uprooting of Shiloh Vineyard, Multiple Arrests, by David Israel/Jewish Press, February 15, 2023

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich vowed on Tuesday to promote unrestrained construction in Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, despite opposition from the Biden administration.

Smotrich said that the government needs to remove all restrictions on fully developing Judea and Samaria. “This area must be treated exactly as any other part of the State of Israel, and that is what will happen.”

Source:
Smotrich vows unrestrained building in Judea and Samaria despite US opposition, by JNS, February 14, 2023