Category: Articles

Visiting the Shin Bet security agency’s northern headquarters, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Sunday that Israel is entering a period of “vigilant routine” as security forces work to prevent further terror attacks.

Bennett stated, “Terrorists have all kinds of ideas, so we are on high alert, both the Shin Bet and the Israel Police, to identify any hint of an idea or plan for an attack, and thwart it in advance.” He also said the Israel Defense Forces are also on high alert along a security barrier, after a gap in the fence was utilized by a Palestinian who killed five people in a shooting attack in Bnei Brak last week.

As Israel now enters what Bennett calls “…a period of ‘vigilant routine,'” we pray that all of Israel’s security and defense agencies protect her people. May all of Israel’s law-abiding citizens, Jewish Christian and Muslim, soon feel confident returning to normalcy in their daily lives.

Source:
Visiting West Bank, Bennett says Israel on lookout for any ‘hint’ of attack, by Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel, April 3, 2022

Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan threatened to petition the High Court of Justice if the holes in the security fence were not immediately sealed.

Dagan issued the demand in a letter sent over the weekend after a terrorist from the village of Ya’bad near Jenin crossed through a hole in the fence in northern Samaria to carry out a terrorist attack in the Tel Aviv suburb of Bnei Brak. Five people were killed in that attack.

“Despite many warnings about the holes, the defense system you are tasked with has not taken any action to prevent the entry, either through temporary solutions to prevent the uninterrupted entry or the serious failure to permanently repair breaches in the fence. For years, Israel has neglected the separation fence under a ‘humanitarian’ excuse and dug its head in the sand in the face of a clear and real threat,” Dagan said.

This security fence has been broken for years and there is no excuse for ignoring the need to repair it. With the wave of terror that struck Israel last week, there is a pressing need to fix it. As Bennett stated in our earlier article about Israel being in a period of “vigilant routine” regarding security, we urge him to see the writing on the wall and make good on his word. He must take action and stop overlooking the urgently needed repair of this broken security fence.

Source:
‘50,000 Palestinians enter Israel illegally daily through holes in security fence’, by Efrat Forsher and Eyal Levi/Israel Hayom, April 4, 2022

 

 

 

After approaching the Israeli government, the Kohelet Policy Forum (KPF) today revealed that the Israeli government may be indirectly funding terror by transferring funds to the Palestinian Authority. They indicated that Defense Minister Benny Gantz may have acted outside of the boundaries of the law by providing the PA with “advance payments” and “loans.”

As Gantz has repeatedly engaged in appeasement efforts towards the PA, including reportedly telling PA president Mahmoud Abbas that he strives to be the “next Rabin” and transferring large sums of money to the Authority, some of which occurred ahead of schedule, the KPF’s Litigation Department raised concerns about the non-transparency of these transactions.

“We call upon the government to explain how Gantz could transfer funds to the Palestinians while they continue pay for slay. One of Israel’s greatest diplomatic achievements was the United States passing of the Taylor Force Act. When Israel breaks its own law to the same effect, it undermines this pillar of American support for Israel,” said Professor Eugene Kontorovich.

Source:
‘Hush money’ – Does Gantz indirectly support Palestinian terror funding?, by World Israel News Staff, April 4, 2022

 

 

 

 

 

 

“We are currently dealing with a new wave of terrorism,” said Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in a statement issued in response to the horrific attack in Bnei Brak.

Within the last week, Israel has experienced one of the worst waves of terror attacks in quite some time. In the last 7 days 11 have been murdered (Jews, Druze and an Arab Christian). This illustrates a disturbing trend of terror carried out in cities with mixed residents as well as communities populated only by Jews.

MK Itamar Ben Gvir delivered a fierce message: “The enemy recognizes weakness. This wave of terrorism is reminiscent of the bloody days of Oslo, and the writing on the wall is inscribed in the name of Internal Security Minister Omer Barlev and Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai, the most failed people in charge in the history of the State of Israel.”

Yesterday, two suspected terrorists were arrested at Jerusalem’s Shuk Machane Yehuda after civilians in the area identified them to police. The police approached the suspects, asked them for ID, and were brutally attacked by the suspects.

Just this morning a 28 year old Israeli man was seriously wounded in a terror stabbing near Neve Daniel. He received lifesaving surgery and is out of danger. Three others were treated at the scene for anxiety. The terrorist was shot dead on the bus by an armed passenger. We hope this hero will not receive the rude and dismissive treatment by investigators the way last week’s hero in Beersheva did.

After a situational assessment among top security officials and Defense Minister Benny Gantz, the Defense Ministry issued a list of immediate steps to be taken in response to the wave of terrorist violence.

Prime Minister Bennett thinks he knows exactly what needs to be done – but will he do it? It should be very clear to him now that he must 1) put any and all political pressures aside to stop appeasement of Arabs and 2) fully enable all of Israel’s security and defense forces to dig deep to eradicate this new wave of terror and stop it dead in its tracks.

As for the United States…thank you for your swift condolences. However, if we really want to be a friend to Israel we need to wake up and stop your delirious position on a two-state solution, which would only add to the terror as it would surely be ruled by Hamas, an Iranian proxy. We must also with an immediate cancellation to the Iran nuclear “deal” and cessation of sanctions.

AFSI is deeply saddened by these recent heinous attacks and mourns the loss of all of the victims. We also pray for the speedy recovery of those who are injured, along with a return to normalcy for all residents.

Sources:
More Security Everywhere: Defense Minister Issues New Directives following Assessment Meeting, by David Israel/Jewish Press, March 30, 2022

Bennett: We are dealing with a new wave of terrorism, by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett/Israel National News, March 30, 2022

Bennett Calls Terrorism Cyclical as Israel Is Hammered and Intelligence Fails, by David Israel/Jewish Press, March 30, 2022

Chase and Shooting at Jerusalem’s Shuk Machane Yehuda, by Jewish Press Desk, March 30, 2022

Israeli seriously wounded in terror stabbing near West Bank settlement, by Emanuel Fabian and Aaron Boxerman/Times of Israel, March 31, 2022

Dr. Mordechai Kedar has an important article in which he discusses how Israel must prepare for the next battle.

What Israel needs to do is to expand Jerusalem’s municipal jurisdiction to all of the Jordan Valley, incidentally, applying these basic laws and Israeli sovereignty to it. The world will rant and rave but will not do much else, just as it did nothing with regard to Jerusalem as it is today.

Source:
How Israel should respond to the Iranian nuclear deal, by Dr. Mordechai Kedar/Israel National News, March 29, 2022

 

The UN has conditioned Israel’s request for an exhibit on the Knesset at UN headquarters in New York on the removal of some content. This includes deleting references to Jerusalem as the country’s capital.

The exhibit, titled “The Knesset Celebrates 70 — Parliament Shaping Israeli Society,” was previously displayed at Ben Gurion Airport in 2019

Israel’s delegation to the United Nations was asked to display the exhibit at UN headquarters, but was told, “Please erase slide 43: According to relevant General Assembly and Security Council decisions, the Basic Law: Jerusalem, Capital of Israel, is not valid from our point of view,” the UN was quoted as saying in its instructions. The UN also instructed Israel to remove text accompanying a photo of the Knesset that describes Jerusalem as “the eternal capital of the Jewish people and their holy city.”

Facts are facts and the UN needs to come face it. Slide 43 does not contradict international law. Jerusalem is the united Capital of Israel. Jerusalem is the eternal Capital of the Jewish people and their holy city. Jerusalem will not be deleted to satisfy your never ending political hostility to Israel. Sorry, not sorry. It’s not happening.

Source:
UN wants references to Jerusalem as capital nixed from exhibit on Knesset — report ~TOI Staff, March 25, 2022

 

Yesha Council leaders launched a campaign Sunday to bring down the coalition and force a new round of elections due to what they deem as biased government policies. The Council was prompted by the government’s decision to “freeze” Jewish construction in Judea/Samaria, while effectively ignoring any illegal Arab construction.

The press conference was held in front of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s Jerusalem office. Yesha chair David Elhayani accused Gantz of ceding Israeli territory to the Palestinians and endangering national security. “Thus this government has no right to exist and should be toppled,” he concluded. Shomron Council head Yossi Dagan added: “The government is destroying [Homesh] and freezing construction in the “West Bank,” all while abandoning the Negev. Such a government will fall.”

AFSI applauds the Yesha Council for advancing its activism in the fight to secure Israel’s land. We continue to remain alarmed by the about face Prime Minister Bennett takes as he appeases the PA. Let’s not forget that Bennett himself is a former chairman of the Yesha Council, which makes his actions today all the more disturbing. Until Bennett does an about-face and holds true to his election promises, he cannot be trusted and is a threat to Israel’s safety and sovereignty.

Source:
Settler leaders launch campaign calling to topple government, by Elisha Ben Kimon/Ynetnews.com, March 27, 2022

 

 

 

 

The terrorist attack in Beersheva is still fresh in our minds. Thanks to the bravery of two men this week, by the time law enforcement showed up, the threat had been eliminated. Though there is some dispute about how long it took cops to arrive, it is clear that none had been stationed in the targeted area, the One Plaza mini-mall, prior to the incident.

As if the absence of security forces weren’t bad enough, the saviors who took out the terrorist were summoned by police and had their guns confiscated for ballistic examination. This despite video footage of the shooting from every angle.

Though the interrogation and temporary removal of the weapons was standard procedure, the investigator’s dismissive and rude treatment of “anonymous” was outrageous. Rather than hailing the citizen as a hero, the officer practically had him arrested for refusing to leave the premises until his weapon was returned.

We believe systemic change is needed and our heroes should not be subject to rude and unnecessary interrogation and confiscation of their guns. Whose country is this anyway?

Source:
Carnage in Beersheba and a badge of dishonor – opinion, by Ruthie Blum/Jerusalem Post, March 24, 2022

As far as Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is concerned, there’s no point in getting into a fight you can’t win. Given the Biden administration’s unshakable commitment to cutting a deal with Iran that will revive the 2015 nuclear agreement, he’s right that the chances of stopping this disaster from happening are slim and none. But while he may think he’s saving himself a lot of trouble and perhaps even gaining some credit with President Joe Biden to cash in during a future crisis, giving up even before the battle has even formally begun is not the wise strategy he thinks it is. More importantly, his decision will have implications not just for Israel, but for Americans who wish to mount a campaign against this policy or to reverse it that he and friends of the Jewish state will have good cause to regret.

We believe, as this article indicates, that Israel MUST go on record as standing steadfast against this “agreement”. We also have to make demands on the US government to treat this as what it is a treaty, uphold the Constitution and give it full consideration.

Source:
Must Bennett wave the white flag on a new Iran deal?, by Jonathan S. Tobin/JNS, March 23, 2022

After the Israeli government approved last week the establishment of the new ultra-Orthodox city of Kasif in the Negev and the community of Nitzana, it is expected to approve 10 more towns in the Negev this coming week. The announcement came from Minister of Interior Ayelet Shaked and Minister of Housing and Construction Ze’ev Elkin yesterday.

Shaked and Elkin will bring to the government’s approval this Sunday a final decision for the establishment of five new towns, the “Mevo’ot Arad” bloc.

Shaked said that “on Sunday, a historic and exciting government decision will be passed that is of strategic and national importance and that will give significant force to the strengthening of communities in the Negev.”

Source:
Israel announces 10 new towns in the Negev, by Tazpit Press Service, March 23, 2022