Category: Articles

Three Israeli children were attacked Tuesday evening by Palestinian Authority Arab terrorists near the Givat Gal neighborhood in Hebron, according to Tazpit Press Service.

The terrorists beat the children, hurled rocks at them and aimed pepper spray at them, the news agency reported.

A 12-year-old boy was evacuated to a hospital with multiple injuries. A 14-year-old boy was treated at the scene for minor injuries. Third, a 10-year-old boy, did not require medical care. Earlier in the day, a 14-year-old Jewish girl was wounded by PA terrorists who hurled rocks at the vehicle she was a passenger in.

Is going after the children the new target for PA terrorists? The government must exercise every defense tool it has to act immediately and put a stop to this and secure its residents.

Source:
Israeli Children Attacked by Terrorists in Hebron, by Hana Levi Julian/Jewish Press, November 29, 2022

Otzma Yehudit leader and the next national security minister, MK Itamar Ben-Gvir, plans to advance measures to expropriate land for developing infrastructure, as well as to allot hundreds of thousands of shekels to various unrecognized Judea and Samaria communities that have so far lacked official status. The plan depends in part on having the necessary sign-off from the various other agencies outside his ministry.

The plan details that the cabinet will pass a motion within 60 days of Netanyahu becoming prime minister. The motion would grant the necessary approval for 60 unauthorized communities in Judea and Samaria. The government would also advance legislation to amend the law in a way that would allow those communities to connect to the national electricity grid and allot yearly funding for building and maintaining various infrastructure, including water and sewage systems, roads, electricity pylons, and roads. The government will also create a special budget to bolster security there.

Ben-Gvir’s initiative is a huge step in the right direction but we’re not there yet. What we know has rightfully always belonged to Israel holds the promise of being made official in the coming months. When it does happen there should be NO turning back. Next step: SOVEREIGNTY!

Source:
Revealed: Dozens of Judea and Samaria communities to get official recognition by ILH Staff and Hanan Greenwood/Israel Hayom, November 28, 2022

On a long road between Neve Tzuf and Ofarim in west Binyamin are electricity poles that carry a sign that reads in English and Arabic: Jerusalem District Electric Company (JDECO).

These electricity poles have the authorization of the Civil Administration. They provide electricity to Palestinian villages and will soon carry voltage from the enormous solar farm that the Palestinian Authority has built between Neve Tzuf and Ofarim.

The Civil Administration does not penalize JDECO for providing electricity to illegal buildings in Area C. Instead, the company is rewarded with authorization to advance huge projects while the company’s growing debt to the Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) has topped a billion shekels.

To date there is no policy on disconnecting illegally constructed buildings from the grid, and no action has been taken against JDECO. Jewish residents in Area C have been unnecessarily waiting a very long time to be connected to the basic service of electricity. Instead of demolishing Jewish homes and treating Jews like terrorists, the new government’s priorities must focus on the development of the legitimate Jewish presence in Area C. It should also halt further development of any kind – certainly in area C – by Palestinian Arabs.

Source:
How Israel let the Palestinians get free electricity while taking over land, by Yifat Erlich/Israel Hayom, November 24, 2022

An emergency conference was held last week with members of Knesset Amichai Chikli, Ofir Sofer, and Almog Cohen together with “Ad Kan” to expose delegitimization organizations’ ties to the Hamas terror group.

The International Solidarity Movement (ISM) is among a coalition of organizations running a delegitimization campaign against the State of Israel and denying its right to exist as the nation-state of the Jewish people. Gilad Ach, CEO of Ad Kan, revealed that ISM cooperated and assisted terror organizations Hamas, Popular for the Liberation of Palestine, and Islamic Jihad.

MK Bezalel Smotritch said: “The State of Israel has enough legal tools. In the face of delegitimization, the encouragement of terrorism, and the tarnishing that we are going through, it is time to start to respond.”

MK Ofir Sofer said: “The findings that the Ad Kan organization reveals are extremely worrying and indicate extensive connections between anti-Israeli organizations financed by European funds and the Hamas movement and terrorist organizations.

Ad Kan’s important work cannot be underestimated and we are glad to see it receive the attention it deserves. We pray their exposure of these Jew-hating organizations receives the justice it so badly needs.

Source:
Knesset conference exposes ties between human rights orgs and terror groups, by Israel National News, November 22, 2022

According to a Channel 13 report last night, the Religious Zionist Party is conditioning its support for a future government led by Benjamin Netanyahu in part on the Likud’s willingness to include a clause in the coalition agreement obligating the new government to take steps to apply Israeli sovereignty over parts of Judea and Samaria.

What was seen as a deadlock with Likud now seems to be resolving and moving toward a clearer path toward forming a government. As recently as today, MK Bezalel Smotrich agreed to forgo the Defense Ministry position for that of Finance Minister.

According to a Channel 12 report today, Netanyahu had told Smotrich that he would not be given the defense portfolio due to his lack of experience and objections from the Biden administration. The Religious Zionism Party will nevertheless have authority over policies in Judea and Samaria as they relate to civil administration and the enforcement of laws in mainly uninhabited areas, according to the report. It appears likely that Yoav Gallant will become defense minister as he has extensive military experience. This report also has Oztma Yehudit leader Itamar Ben-Gvir being named public security minister, which would give him control over the police.

We’re glad to see Smotrich remain firm in the fight to not only apply sovereignty over Judea and Samaria but take responsibility for its overall affairs. However, the fact that sovereignty continues to be used as part of a negotiating tool is disgraceful. Sovereignty was never intended to be part of a compromise or a bargaining chip. A stable and functional government needs to recognize sovereignty as not only mandatory on the to do list of exercising Israel’s legal rights, but it also needs to convey to the world that sovereignty is an existential need of the State of Israel.

Sources:
Smotrich demanding sovereignty plan be included in coalition deal, by Israel National News, November 20, 2022

Smotrich willing to forgo Defense Ministry – on one condition, by Israel National News, November 21, 2022

Report: Smotrich drops demand for defense portfolio, to become finance minister, by JNS Brief, November 21, 2022

Governor of Florida Ron DeSantis defended the right of Jews to live in their Biblical homeland of Judea and Samaria and reiterated that he does not consider these “territories” to be “occupied” during a speech to the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) political conference Saturday night.

“I don’t care what the State Department said, they are not occupied territory.” (He went on to say that they are disputed territories. Not our position, but so much better than many others.

We appreciate Governor DeSantis consistent support for Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria. He stands out as a shining light to Israel among a vast sea of hostile and angry people and NGO’s who work vigorously to attack Israel for no other reason than Jew hatred.

Source:
DeSantis: Judea and Samaria are not ‘occupied’, by Israel National News, November 20, 2022

Hannah Steynen is a Christian woman, born in Holland, who moved to Canada to live there with her husband. She has four children and many grandchildren, her Dutch name is Hannikah, and she used to work as a social worker in a facility where many Holocaust survivors were treated.

At the age of 18, Hannah wanted to volunteer at a kibbutz but the plan never materialized. However, Hannah’s lifelong dream to visit Israel was realized on our recent Chizuk Mission and we were so delighted to have her join us and travel the real Israel with her.

Source:
Christian Dutch Woman Whose Parents Saved Jews Ascends the Temple Mount, by David Israel/Jewish Press, November 20, 2022

A total of six people were wounded in terror attacks that began near the entrance to the Ariel industrial zone on Tuesday morning and ended on Road 5. The attack began near the entrance to the industrial park, where one guard was stabbed and wounded. The attack continued to the “Ten” gas station where three people were stabbed. Three of the wounded people died from their wounds in this combined ramming-stabbing attack.

A terrorist was neutralized following a chase on Highway 5, after the terrorist also caused an eight-car traffic accident with the car he stole from the gas station. An additional person, age 50, was killed from the traffic accident, along with additional multiple wounded. Another person who was stabbed by the terrorist on Road 4 was evacuated.

Benjamin Netanyahu has his work cut out for him. The need to stop the massive escalation of terrorism in Judea and Samaria has grown in urgency and must be made priority number one. Without any plan to combat this, all citizens are left defenseless.

Sources:
Updated: Multiple Dead & Wounded in Terror Attack at Entrance to Ariel Industrial Zone, by Jewish Press News Desk, November 15, 2022

3 dead in Samaria terror attack, 4 wounded, by Israel National News, November 15, 2022

Today, the High Court of Justice (HCJ) is scheduled to hear a petition submitted by Peace Now on behalf of more than a dozen Arab residents of Bethlehem, who demand that the State of Israel allocate land in the area slated for construction of Givat Eitam, a new neighborhood of Efrat to be built on Israeli state land in Gush Etzion. The petition claims that Israel’s policy of land allocation discriminates against Palestinians.

According to Peace Now, the allocation of the land to the Efrat Municipality for construction of Givat Eitam – in Area C, the portion of Judea and Samaria placed under full Israeli jurisdiction under the Oslo framework – is tainted by racial and national discrimination and disregards the interests of the Palestinian residents of the general area who allegedly have a “connection” to the land. In an earlier stage of the case, a panel of High Court justices headed by Chief Justice Hayut issued a conditional order instructing the Israeli government to explain why it does not consider allocating land to the Palestinian petitioners – but Peace Now was not satisfied and petitioned the High Court for a temporary injunction to freeze all planning procedures for the new neighborhood until a final judgement is handed down in the case.

Israel should never have to justify why it will not allocate land to Palestinian Arab petitioners and furthermore, it does not need to answer to left-wing Jew hating NGO’s like Peace Now. This lawsuit is another attempt to delegitimize Israel. We pray that Prime Minister-Elect Benjamin Netanyahu chooses a new Justice Minister that can put a stop to this one-sided political show and put NGO’s like Peace Now in their place, which is not in any part of “Yisrael Shelayma.”

Photo courtesy of Regavim

Source:
Will High Court Force Jewish Town of Efrat to Allow Palestinian Authority to Build in New Neighborhood?, by Hana Levi Julian/Jewish Press, November 14, 2022

After more than 20 years since the Israeli government decided to establish Dror, a Jewish community of 2,500 families or 10,000 residents, and the defeat of countless Bedouin lawsuits against the plan, work began last week to finally turn the plan into reality.

In the area where the community was planned stood the illegal Bedouin village of Umm al-Khiran, which the state wanted to evacuate. In 2004, representatives of Umm Al-Khiran appealed to the Magistrate’s Court in Be’er Sheva against the decision to establish Dror, claiming that the state was the one that established their village in the 1950s.

Today we celebrate a brand-new Zionist future in the south, a small Jewish town that will serve as a bulwark against Bedouin expansion, help put a stop to Bedouin crime, and help establish a contiguous, safe Jewish State between Tel Aviv and Eilat.

Source:
10,000-Strong Jewish Community Starts Building in the Negev after 2 Decades of Bedouin Lawsuits, by David Israel/Jewish Press, November 10, 2022