Category: Articles

The Palestinian Authority (PA) held an official ceremony over the weekend to inaugurate a “Palestinian” tourist complex in the town of Sebastia in Samaria, the historic capital of the biblical Kingdom of Israel.

In total non-compliance with an order issued by the IDF approximately two months ago, a 15-meter-high mast was installed at the site, topped by a PLO flag.

The Samaria Regional Council has been working for several months with Shomrim Al Hanetzach, (Guardians of Eternity), a project dedicated to the preservation of the archaeological treasures situated throughout Judea and Samaria, and with the Ministry of Defense and government officials to combat the phenomenon of the PA taking over Jewish historical sites.

Head of the Shomron Regional Council Yossi Dagan wrote in a scathing letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials, “For a long time now, Abu Mazen [PA head Mahmoud Abbas] and his terrorist comrades have been developing and preparing land at the entrance to ancient Samaria, the site of the historic palace of the Kings of Israel, with significant damage to archeological remains and vandalism,”

Dagan underscored the fact that Israel has the authority and duty to act to prevent the destruction of the site, even though part of the sits is in Area B, under the PA’s control. He stated that the PA’s authority in Area B was “given only to manage civil and municipal matters, and not to damage the property and destroy national and world heritage assets.”

AFSI echoes Dagan’s comments. There is a big difference between managing Area B and destroying it. We believe that Israel has the right and must exercise its legal authority to safeguard Area B from all illegal activity.

Source:
PA Inaugurates ‘Heritage Site’ at Israel’s Ancient Capital in Samaria, by Aryeh Savir, Tazpit News Agency. Jewish Press, November 2, 2020

Enforcement activities were carried out earlier this week on the Khan a-Luban archaeological site near Ma’ale Levona in the Binyamin area. The was a joint effort of members of the Inspection Unit and the Archaeology Command Unit at the Civil Administration, the Coordination and Liaison Administration in Ramallah and IDF and Border Police forces.

The activity was carried out after illegal construction in the area of ​​the site was identified in recent months by the coordinators of supervision in the Civil Administration.

The director of the Civil Administration’s inspection unit, Marco Ben Shabbat, said: “The enforcement activity carried out today is another step in the Civil Administration’s effort to eradicate the illegal construction phenomenon throughout Judea and Samaria, while maintaining the rule of law.”

Source:
Civil Administration destroys illegal Khan a-Luban construction, by Ido ben Porat. Arutz Sheva, November 3, 2020

A decision by the IDF’s Civil Administration that would severely cut back on the possibility of Israel Jewish communities encroaching on allegedly privately-owned Palestinian land while also preventing the Palestinians from building illegally on land that is under Israeli control has been approved by the attorney general and is waiting for a green light from the nation’s leadership.

The IDF’s Civil Administration, which operates under the auspices of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) has recommended a process of regulation of land ownership in Judea and Samaria that would replace the unwieldy and lengthy process currently in use. A land survey would be conducted after which land belonging to Israel would be officially declared as such.

AFSI looks forward to the Netanyahu-Ganz government advancing this recommendation as soon as possible. This decision will have a significant and long overdue impact on the claims of Arab ‘landowners’ on lands held by Jews, as well as the PA’s attempts to take over state-owned lands in Area C.

We also hope that this decision will not legitimate the claims of Arabs to any land West of the Jordan River that was parceled out without any legal authority by Jordan between 1948 and 1967.

Source:
Will government implement plan to regulate both Israeli and Palestinian land in Area C?, by Efrat Forsher. Israel Hayom, November 2, 2020

Last evening Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benny Gantz submitted their response to the Regavim movement’s petition in the Khan al-Ahmar affair to the Supreme Court.

The response was signed by joint affidavits of the head of the National Security Council, Meir Ben Shabbat, and Avi Roee, the Assistant to the Defense Minister for Settlement Affairs. It stated that “the political echelon still insists on the implementation of demolition orders in the compound…..To that end, the political echelon needs an additional period of several months.”

The Regavim movement criticized the state’s position. “The state’s alleged commitment to law enforcement and to hold dialogue proceedings with the residents is no different from the previous times when the state declared the exact same things to the Supreme Court,” said Meir Deutsch, director general of the Regavim movement.

Source:
State: Khan al Ahmar will not be evacuated in next 4 months, by Arutz Sheva Staff. Arutz Sheva, November 2, 2020

MK Gideon Sa’ar of the Likud party visited the communities of Amichai and Shilo, in the Binyamin region, on Sunday. The focus of his visit was on ongoing attempts by the Palestinian Authority to seize control over open areas near Israeli communities.

Following his tour, Sa’ar told his hosts, “I was very impressed by what I saw today in Amichai, but especially by the pioneering spirit that you are exhibiting here, after many years during which no new settlements were established in Judea or Samaria. This is the way in which we need to pursue and expand settlement.” He added that, “The Palestinian Authority is engaged in an ongoing battle to seize land. This is a very aggressive battle, funded by the European Union, well planned and organized, and the State of Israel needs to respond to this.”

We at AFSI are extremely proud of our friends in Amichai, most of whom were expelled from Amona under the harshest circumstances. They have made Amichai into a thriving and enjoyable place to live. They deserve the most positive assistance possible in order to maintain the safety and security of the new community and its residents.

The heads of the “Forum for Zion and Jerusalem” within the Likud party, Avichai Boaron and Doron Nir Tzvi, also spoke following the tour, echoing Sa’ar’s remarks, “…the Arabs are gaining control over hill after hill – and they don’t care if it’s in Area B or C. And Israel isn’t doing a thing in response.”

Source:
‘The Palestinian Authority is seizing hill after hill while Israel does nothing’, by Hezki Baruch. Arutz Sheva, November 1, 2020

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced today that ‘Israel’ will be permitted to be listed on the US passports of citizens born in Jerusalem, reversing decades of US policy that only “Jerusalem” could be listed.

Until now, US passport holders born in Jerusalem could not list their country of birth as Israel even if they were born in western Jerusalem. Until yesterday, US policy was that the status of Jerusalem was to be determined in negotiations with the Palestinian Authority. AFSI is grateful to President Trump for taking another step in the right direction.

Source:
US ends ban on listing ‘Israel’ on passports of people born in Jerusalem, by Gary Willig. Arutz Sheva, October 29, 2020

Israel said on Tuesday the United States is effectively lifting a ban on US funding of Israeli scientific research projects conducted in Judea and Samaria and the Golan Heights.

Past scientific accords with the US government stipulated that Israeli research projects receiving US grants could not be carried out in areas that came under Israeli administration in the 1967 Six-Day War.

The Trump administration last year effectively backed Israel’s right to build Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria by abandoning a long-held US position that they were “inconsistent with international law.”

The revised agreements signed yesterday “will expand scientific cooperation between Israel and the United States to Judea and Samaria and the Golan Heights,” the Israeli statement said.

AFSI is grateful to President Trump for all he continues to do for Israel. However, let’s pause a moment and remember that this agreement is not an acceptance of Israel’s right to apply Sovereignty. Sovereignty is our goal and we continue to advocate for it.

Sources:
Friedman: US-Israel ‘righting old wrongs’ by extending W. Bank agreements, by Lahan Harkov. Jerusalem Post, October 28, 2020

US will now fund research in Golan Heights, Judea and Samaria, by Reuters and ILH Staff. Israel Hayom, October 28, 2020

On October 23, the US, Israel, and Sudan issued a joint statement on the normalization of relations between Khartoum and Jerusalem. This step follows the peace agreements between Israel and the UAE and Bahrain and helps cement the nascent regional axis that features Israel as a highly prized ally rather than a vilified enemy.

Sudan is the third Arab country to make peace with Israel in the past two months.

Time will tell to what extent this step will help the provisional Sudanese government overcome its own internal differences and reach the 2022 elections as a functioning and effective body.

Soon to follow? A normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia is rumored to also be in the works, a diplomatic official said Thursday night. “The Saudis will soon ‘come out of the closet,'” the official said. If this comes to fruition, it will be a significant game changer in the Middle East.

AFSI applauds President Donald Trump for his ongoing efforts to broker normalization between Israel and its too many hostile enemies. These new peace deals are rapidly redefining the Middle East paradigm. We look forward to future relationships with Arab nations that will represent diplomacy, cooperation and a full rejection of the anti-Israel delegitimization agenda that has been the norm for much too long.

Sources:
Sudan and Israel: An Era of Change, by Dr. Haim Koren. BESA Center, October 26, 2020

Report: As Sudan poised to normalize ties with Israel, Saudis warming up to idea, by Ariel Kahana. Israel Hayom, October 23, 2020

How Sudan’s wall of hostility crumbled, by Oded Granot. Israel Hayom, October 26, 2020

The Albanian parliament last Thursday endorsed the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of anti-Semitism, making Albania the first majority-Muslim countries to adopt the definition.

The definition agreed by IHRA, (spelled out in full in the source below) an inter-governmental organization including 34 member countries, is an internationally agreed upon classification of anti-Semitism.

The decision comes six days before the Parliament of the Republic of Albania, in partnership with the Combat Anti-Semitism Movement and the Jewish Agency for Israel, hosts the first-ever Balkans Forum Against Anti-Semitism.

Source:
Albania becomes first Muslim country to adopt IHRA definition of anti-Semitism, by  News Agencies and ILH Staff. Israel Hayom, October 23, 2020

Seven were arrested Sunday in clashes between a “Jews for Trump” caravan that was passing through Times Square in midtown Manhattan and a march of anti-Trump protesters who arrived from Brooklyn. The anti-Trump protesters blocked the cars in the convoy and clashes began as some drivers got out of their cars to confront their attackers.

In addition to Jews being attacked, former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani who rode through the NYC with Trump Caravan, was pelted with eggs and vile insults.

Giuliani said, “I would love to have had a campaign commercial of it and put it on in the middle of America and say, ‘Who would you prefer for the next four years? This group of foul-mouthed people who don’t seem to have a vocabulary beyond three words, or these very nice Jewish people who are driving in the car and not saying anything back and not doing anything other than exercising their right to say they’re for Donald Trump.”

Americans For A Safe Israel does not endorse candidates for political office. We do, however, demand that Jews be free to exercise their rights in this country without being attacked, such as we saw yesterday. Thank you Mayor Giuliani for coming to the defense of NYC’s Jewish community by speaking the truth.

Source:
‘Jews for Trump’ Pelted with Eggs, Stones, Punched Out in Times Square, by David Israel. Jewish Press, October 26, 2020