Category: Articles

In response to the murderous terrorist attacks in Jerusalem, the Security Cabinet decided unanimously to authorize nine communities in Judea and Samaria.

Some of these communities have existed for many years, if not decades. It was agreed to authorize:

1. Avigil
2. Bet Hogla
3. Givat Harel / Haroeh
4. Givat Arnon
5. Mitzpe Yehuda
6. Malachei Hashalom
7. Ashael
8. Sde Boaz
9. Shaharit

The Civil Administration Higher Planning Committee will be convened in the coming days to approve the construction of new residential units in existing communities in Judea and Samaria.

The Sovereignty Movement responded to the news: “A new spirit is filling the land, a spirit of return to Zionist values, settlement, construction, and love for the Land of Israel…..we welcome the steps taken by the new government that restore the people in Israel to the Zionist vision of a sovereign Jewish state in our country.” Read their full statement.

Source:
Security Cabinet authorizes 9 communities in Judea and Samaria, by Israel National News, February 12, 2023

Two very young boys were was murdered, and five others were injured – three critically, among them a child, and two moderately – in a car-ramming attack in Jerusalem on Friday afternoon at a bus stop in the Ramot neighborhood. One of the victims, Alter Shlomo Lederman, died in the hospital shortly afterwards. Lederman, a 20-year-old yeshiva student who had gotten married two months ago, was on his way with his wife to his parents’ home for Shabbat. Another of the wounded, father of the two young boys who were murdered has been getting worse since first hospitalized.

Just this afternoon a 17-year-old male was wounded in a terrorist stabbing attack in the Old City of Jerusalem. Roughly two hours later, a 20-year-old man was stabbed by a 13 year old at the Anatot checkpoint near the Arab neighborhood of Shuafat in eastern Jerusalem. He was in critical condition and has now died of his wounds.

It’s clear that the PA’s response to the new Netanyahu “right-wing” government is to attack Israel at every chance possible and over the last few weeks that is exactly what is taking place. Abu Mazzen has stated that as fact. What will be the government’s response to put a stop to this brutal carnage?

Sources:
Two killed in Jerusalem terror ramming, including 6-year-old boy; driver shot dead, by Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel, February 10, 2023

2 Jerusalem attacks by teen terrorists in 2 hours, 20-year-old in critical condition, by World Israel News Staff, February 13, 2023

Over 2,000 people are expected to stay and celebrate the seder night in Evyatar together with local families. They will also be celebrating the Exodus of the Jewish nation from Egypt together with the return of families to Evyatar.

The Nachala Movement believes that the government will allow the families and the Yeshiva who were evacuated from Evyatar to return to their homes over the next month.

Source:
Returning to Evyatar: Thousands expected to gather in Evyatar for Passover Seder, by Israel National News, February 10, 2023

After weeks of angry demonstrations every Saturday night and threats of strikes against the “fascistic” legislation to reform the Judicial Selection Committee, on Tuesday, MK Simcha Rothman, Chair of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, published his bill, titled, Basic Law: The Judiciary (Amendment No. 3, Strengthening the Separation of Branches of Government).

Here’s a glance at portions of the bill scheduled to be submitted to the plenum for the first reading next Monday:

Amendment to clause 4 of Basic Law: The Judiciary. In clause 4 Subsection (B) is replaced by the following:
The committee will have nine members, who will be:
(a) The President of the Supreme Court, as well as two retired judges to be appointed by the Justice Minister, with the approval of the Supreme Court President
(b) The Justice Minister and two other ministers are chosen by the government
(c) Three Knesset Members including the Chair of the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, and two MKs, one from the coalition and one from the opposition, as will be determined by the law
The Justice Minister will chair the committee.

Rothman also snuck in a clause that has nothing to do with the protocol of appointing judges but is significantly more important than the majority of the bill.
Judicial Review Regarding the validity of a Basic Law:
15a. Whoever has judicial authority according to law, including the Supreme Court, is not required, directly or indirectly, to rule about the validity of a Basic Law and there will not be any validity to a ruling made in the aforementioned matter. It means that should the Knesset decide to upgrade legislation to the level of a Basic Law, the court does not have the power to overrule, revoke, annul, or cancel it.

It’s clear that judicial reforms are well underway to becoming a reality and nothing can stop what is coming. It’s all good for Israel.

Source:
There It Is: MK Rothman’s Judicial Selection Bill (a.k.a. ‘Regime Revolution’), by David Israel/Jewish Press, February 8, 2023

Reports state that Israel’s coalition does not intend to bow down to American pressure to halt construction of new Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. Instead, the coalition plans to introduce a bill next week to regulate Homesh.

At a cabinet meeting this week, Religious Zionism Minister of Settlement Orit Strock raised the urgent need to advance the issue of regulating Homesh considering the deadline set by the High Court of Justice requiring the government to explain why the yeshiva should not be evacuated.

In response, Justice Minister Yariv Levin informed Strock that this bill is scheduled to come up for a vote in the Ministerial Committee for Legislation this coming Sunday, and next Wednesday will be submitted for a first reading by the Knesset. Levin also promised that the bill would be given a high priority, and this was confirmed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

It’s reassuring that Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government is giving Homesh high priority. We eagerly await confirmation of measures that will regulate and SAVE Homesh.

Source:
Coalition Determined to Regulate Homesh Despite US Objections, by David Israel/Jewish Press, February 8, 2023

The Palestinian Authority is paving an unauthorized road through a nature reserve south of Jerusalem in violation of the Oslo Accords. Local Jewish leaders warn the move is a preliminary step towards the establishment of an illegal city to cut off a large portion of Judea from the rest of Israel.

Gush Etzion Regional Council chief Shlomo Ne’eman, in whose district the illegal road is being paved, warned that the Palestinian Authority’s blatant violation of the Oslo Accords highlights the lack of Israeli control over the area. “We see the establishment of an Arab town in every way shape or form, with infrastructure, water sources, roads, pouring of concrete, trucks, everything.”

As the clock continues to tick, lawlessness prevails. Time is of the essence and Israel must implement procedures to take back control of its land NOW.

Source:
Palestinian Authority building illegal city south of Jerusalem, Gush Etzion leader warns, by World Israel News Staff, February 7, 2023

Justice Minister Yariv Levin on Sunday shrugged off calls to slow the advance of his long overdue legal overhaul proposals, even as President Isaac Herzog joined for the first time those saying legislation should be halted in order to allow negotiations for a broadly agreed-upon reform.

Speaking to Channel 13, Levin said the legislation would not be halted “even for a minute.” After Levin’s interview aired, Herzog reiterated his calls to calm public discourse around the plans. “Stop the whole process for a moment, take a deep breath, allow dialogue to take place, because there is a huge majority of the nation that wants dialogue.” He added: “When I see people are threatening to murder the prime minister… it’s a terrible thing that needs to be eliminated and the stain removed.”

For a fifth straight weekend Israelis turned out by the thousands to protest the proposed judicial reforms. These are left wingers who now find themselves in the minority in the Jewish population of Israel and are up in arms about losing control. People who have a mature and factual understanding of the urgent need for these legal reforms understand that these moves will restore a system that was undermined chiefly by Aharon Barak who hid his changes to the courts powers in lengthy decisions and in rulings delivered when many people were on recess.

Threats and violence will accomplish nothing. The detractors must be made to understand that a democratic and codified legal system is necessary in order for Israel to advance its democratic process. Minister Levin has the blueprint. Since the cry to allow for negotiations is only a delay tactic, and the Chief Justice has refused to meet with the Law and Justice committee, no further dialogue is needed.

Sources:
‘NO DELAY OF JUDICIAL REFORM’: Israeli Justice Minister rejects pleas of President Herzog, by Lauren Marcus/World Israel News, February 6, 2023

Is judicial reform a threat to Israeli democracy?, by Alex /JNS, January 15, 2023

The cabinet approved the establishment of a new town called Hanun on Sunday. Hanun will be located in the Sdot Negev Regional Council, adjacent to the northern Gaza Strip. This lays the ground for about 500 new households in the area. The planning of the town began under the last government headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Hanun will provide a solution to those wishing to live in the Gaza border region who do not wish to join a moshav or kibbutz, where they would need to take part in an agricultural community.

Netanyahu stated: “We all feel that we are in a historic moment, because we are continuing the momentum of a town in the Gaza border area as an adequate response to terrorism and as an expression of fundamental Zionism and the settlement of Israel.”

Source:
New Israeli town near Gaza border set to bring in 500 families to region, by Tzvi Joffre/Jerusalem Post, February 5, 2023

The Israel Defense Forces targeted Hamas weapons production sites and storage facilities in the Gaza Strip in response to rockets launched toward Israel early Thursday.

The rockets targeted southern Israeli communities in Sderot and nearby Nir Am and Ibim. The Iron Dome missile defense shot down the rocket targeting Sderot, as the first siren sounded at 2:38am local time. Another alert came 10 minutes later in Be’eri, Sirens followed throughout the night in Kfar Aza nearby.

Magen David Adom treated a woman in her 50s who fell while running to a bomb shelter in Sderot. There were no reports of other injuries, but a large piece of shrapnel caused minor damage to a road, the Sderot municipality said. An eight-month-old baby broke his hip when he fell from his older sister’s arms while she was running for shelter in Sderot during the rocket fire.

The latest friction point appeared to be over the treatment of Palestinian terrorists imprisoned in Israel, with National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir having ordered the shutdown of two bakeries inside detention facilities that supplied security inmates with fresh bread.

We know Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “right-wing” government presents an enormous threat to Israel’s enemies who continually seek to harm and delegitimize it. The government is starting to exercise its legal and sovereign rights to restore processes and operations to their rightful level of integrity in the face of threats of copycat and revenge attacks that hang overhead. Israel’s defense and security forces must be ready at every turn to combat and prevent these attacks.

While continued Iranian financed attacks continue and escalate, one must wonder why the West is pointedly focused on aid to Ukraine and is not doing more to surreptitiously assist the revolutionaries inside Iran. The overthrow of the Islamic state would greatly reduce the existential danger to Israel and the great danger to all of the Western world. We pray that this is happening in secret.

Sources:
Tensions escalate as IDF strikes Hamas workshop in Gaza in response to rockets, by Hanan Greenwood/Israel Hayom, February 2, 2023

Sderot: 8-month-old baby breaks hip during Gaza rocket attack, by Israel National News, February 2, 2023

The Israeli government on Wednesday asked the Supreme Court for a four-month extension for submitting its response to a ruling demanding the implementation of demolition orders against the illegal Bedouin village of Khan al-Ahmar. It is the ninth time the state has requested a postponement.

Meir Deutsch, the director general of Regavim, said, “We were hoping for an appropriate response by a national right-wing government, as promised in the election campaign.”

Last month, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir demanded that laws be applied equally to Israelis and Palestinians in Judea and Samaria. “I believe in the rule of law but there cannot be one law for Arabs and one law for Jews. The law should also be enforced on Khan al-Ahmar and dozens of illegal Arab outposts,” said Ben-Gvir.

The clock is ticking. It’s time for the government to act swiftly and evacuate this long-standing illegal encampment. What reason can it have for delay?

Source:
Israeli gov’t again asks court for delay in demolishing illegal Bedouin village, by Charles Bybelezer/JNS, February 1, 2023