Hamas command capabilities severely curtailed. IDF reaching goals.
Defense officials said that the IDF operation was having an effect on Hamas's command-and-control capabilities and that the group was not able to mobilize large forces to fight against the IDF. Officials said that it was likely that a number of senior Hamas...
France's Chief Rabbi: 'Israel is simply fighting for the survival of its people."
Several thousand demonstrators waved Israeli flags and sang Hebrew hymns in Paris Sunday to show support for Israel in its military offensive in Gaza, a day after a huge pro-Palestinian rally.
Warmly dressed to...
IDF land offensive begins. Morale high.
Immediate forces bisected Gaza to prevent replenishing of military supplies.
Israeli ground troops clashed Sunday morning with Palestinian gunmen in the Gaza Strip, and reportedly bisected the coastal area. Early Sunday, thirty Israel Defense Forces soldiers were wounded, two of...
US blocks UN call for ceasefire in Gaza.
The United States late Saturday blocked approval of a U.N. Security Council statement calling for an immediate cease-fire between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers, diplomats said.
French U.N. Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert, the council president, said the 15 council members could not...
Oslo and the expulsion of the Jewish communities from Gush Katif led to war, not peace.
When those opposed to the expulsion of Jewish communities in Gush Katif claimed that such a move would bring terror and war and not peace, it was not empty rhetoric.
The truth in such statements has been born out by the...
Egypt has harsh words for Hamas
Ahmed Aboul Gheit's comments came as Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Egypt's president, part of a tour by the Turkish leader to work out an Egyptian-Turkish initiative to end the violence.
The initiative calls for a halt to Israel's assault, a return to...
Shows true colors with an idea meant to make your eyes roll
While defense officials tend to favor a clear agreement with Hamas, even if it is not enshrined in a written document, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is considering another idea.
She reportedly believes that it might be better to aim for a situation in which there...
Click on media section to see Netanyahu statements on Gaza
Netanyahu gives over 20 interviews on Tuesday alone to inernational media
Opposition leader, favored Prime Ministerial candidate and famed public speaker Binyamin Netanyahu is taking a break from politics to defend Israel in the international arena.
...Running for his life, Haniyeh claims "Victory will be ours."
Shamelessly unconcerned about Arabs killed
Hamas prime minister Haniyeh barely comments on his hundreds of operatives killed during the Gaza campaign. While he speaks from carefully guarded shelter of ultimate victory, his...
Israel rejected international pressure to suspend its air offensive in Gaza
Israel has rejected international pressure to suspend its strikes against Palestinian militants whose rocket barrages are striking close to the Israeli heartland, sending warplanes Wednesday to demolish smuggling tunnels that are the lifeline of Gaza's...
Shin Bet right: Missiles land in Beersheva
At approximately 9 p.m. Tuesday night Hamas proved the head of Israel's Shin Bet correct in his evaluation that Hamas is capable of hitting Beersheva with rockets. Two grad missiles landed in Beersheva; one in eastern Beersheva and one in northern Beersheva.
One of the missiles...
Six clichés you are likely to hear constantly in the coming days, and why they’re false
1) “Israel’s response in Gaza is disproportionate”
Since when is war a mathematical equation? The basic objective of any warring party is to inflict maximal damage on the enemy while minimizing its...
Two Israelis were killed in Monday's Hamas attacks in the south and others were critically wounded.
It is estimated that Hamas has a stockpile of 3 months worth of rockets and missiles, at least a dozen of them the long-range type capable of travelling 30 kilometers.
Showing determination to put an end, once and for all, to the...
After months of Hamas rockets landing in southern Israel, damaging property, agriculture and forcing Sderot residents into shelters time and time again, Hamas announced that they were ending their ceasefire. Apparently several rockets landing daily was considered a ceasefire by Hamas and their announcement declaring an end to the ceasefire heralded in...
While rockets fall unceasingly on the Jewish residents of Sderot and other Southern communities, "human rights" organization, B'tselem, continues to ignore human rights violations against Jews, preferring to entertain any claim by any Arab anywhere of Jewish injustice towards him. No claim is too outlandish or too antique.
Now that...
As she sits in the governments cabinet and does nothing, outside of the cabinet meetings media darling, Tzippi Livni, promises that her government will take control away from Hamas in Gaza...but won't explain any of the steps "her government" will take.
Meanwhile, Defense Minister Ehud Barak has the nerve to say that he hurts along...
The good news and the bad news
Even before publication of the Bayit HaYehudi list criticism abounded pointing out that starting a new party with an unknown at the head of the list is a recipe for disaster.
Promises of two secular candidates and two women candidates in the top ten have not been fulfilled. Zvulun Orlev,...
The democratic process shone on Monday as the Likud primaries resulted in a list reflecting the full gamut of firmly committed Zionists from Dan Meridor , Limor Livnat and Silvan Shalom on the centurist left to Moshe Ya'alon to the centurist right and Moshe Feiglin on the right.
Bibi Netanyahu leads this diverse list, which many...
Beit HaShalom, the disputed house in Hebron, was evacuated just hours after Defense Minister Ehud Barak met with Yesha leaders. It might be said that Barak was not negotiating in good faith, given the timing of events.
It's difficult to choose a villain in this tragedy of errors.
It could be the Arab who sold the house to the Jewish...
Retired General James Jones, Obama's choice for national security advisor, known to favor NATO presence in Yesha
A former commander of NATO, Jones has for the past year served as a security envoy to Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
During his meetings with Israelis, Jones has proposed that a NATO-based...
Rivki Holtzberg's father says he will take over Chabad in Mumbai
Rebbetzin Rivkah Holtzberg, the slain Chabad representative in Mumbai who was laid to rest in Jerusalem's Mount of Olives cemetery along with her husband Gavriel on Tuesday evening, was five months pregnant at the time of her murder.
Shimon...
In a moving letter, Rabbi Nahman Holtzberg pleas with Olmert not to destroy Jewish Unity
HaRav Nahman Holtzberg, father of HaRav Gavriel Holtzberg, ה"יד, one of those murdered in the Chabad House in Mumbai, has written a letter to Prime Minister Olmert pleading with him not to destroy the unity created by the murder of...
Judge rules that Federman does not pose a threat to public safety
The State petitioned the Court to prohibit Noam Federman, on trial for alledgedly attacking a policeman when he evicted him and his family from their home before destroying it, from entering Yehuda or Shomron during his trial.
Judge Shulamit...
Arabs stealing antiquities is a common phenomenon; getting caught - less so
Nature guides from the Gush Etzion Field School came across an area Arab stealing antiquities by using a metal detector to discover antique coins in Tel Fuar. After a brief chase, they were able to catch the man caught in an act which is quite...
In meetings last week between dead duck Olmert and lame duck Bush, Olmert tried to convince Bush that negotiations with Syria are important strategically while Bush asked why Israel would want to give Syria the Golan Heights and get nothing in return. (good question, that)
Explaining that in his view Syria only pretends to be friendly to Iran...
Rabbi manages to cover wife with tallit before he is murdered
The 29-year-old rabbi, a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen, and his 28-year-old Israeli wife were among nine killed in the center run by the ultra-orthodox Chabad-Lubavitch sect and nearly 200 dead in the 60-hour rampage by suspected Muslim militants. The carnage ended earlier...
At least three buildings in the Indian port city of Mumbai were taken over by terrorists - the Taj Mahal Hotel, the Oberoi Hotel and the nearby Chabad House.
Indian commandos began "taking" the buildings on Thursday, with the battle over the Chabad House beginning in the early morning hours.
Three loud explosions...
Mazuz told Olmert to expect an indictment on charges of fraudulent receipt of goods under aggravated circumstances, fraud, breach of public trust, false registration in corporate documents and tax evasion.
The prime minister is suspected of having sent bills to more than one non-profit organization for trips that he made abroad...
Nowhere have the flames of anti-Semitism burned more furiously than in France:
In Lyon, a car was rammed into a synagogue and set on fire. In Montpellier, the Jewish religious center was firebombed; so were synagogues in Strasbourg and Marseilles; so was a Jewish school in Creteil - all recently. A Jewish sports club in Toulouse...
Eight weeks before Barack Obama is sworn into office, signs have emerged over the weekend that point to what is turning out to be the new administration's plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
This is the conclusion that one reaches when considering the upcoming appointment of Hillary Clinton to the position of secretary of...
Thousands in Hebron for Chayei Sara - tense but quiet
After a tense but relatively quiet weekend in Hebron, security officials Saturday expressed concern that some security personnel would refuse orders to forcibly evict settlers from a disputed building in the city.
Officers in the IDF's Central Command said they were...
"I will stay here as long as I need to, until the army comes. I hope that if we are here, the army won't come," said Ze'ev when moving into Beit Hashalom.
The High Court issued a decision calling for the eviction of Jewish residents of Beit HaShalom until the regular court system could rule on the evidence as to the legality of the...
Former Chief of Staff Moshe "Boogie" Yaalon has decided to join Likud after weeks of serious exploration both as to Netanyahu's true intentions on important issues and as to his own political conscience.
Known for his analytical acumen as well as his decision to leave a lauded military career because of the evacuation of Jews from...
In light of the Israeli Supreme Court ruling ordering the evacuation of Beit Hashalom, the joint committee has met.
The committee is comprised of representatives of the Hebron Municipality, the Jewish Community of Hebron, the local council of Kiryat Arba, residents of Beit Hashalom, Committee for Chomesh First, The Land of Israel...
6% think US should stand behind Palestinians
Only 6 percent of Americans think the United States should stand behind the Palestinians in Middle East peace talks, according to a recent poll of voters conducted by Public Opinion Strategies and Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research and commissioned by The Israel Project.
...In a communique from the Al Qassam Brigade they reported on Friday's kassam rocket attacks on Ashkelon and Sderot:
Day: Friday.
Time: 11:20.
Operation: Shelling Al Majdal (sic) (Ashkelon) settlement (sic) by two Grad rockets.
Result: "18" Zionist settlers was wounded in the city.
...
Winning over 53% of the vote, entrepreneur Nir Barkat won his second bid for Mayor of Jerusalem. Running on a campaign which promised change (sound familiar?), Barkat brought a breath of fresh air to a city plagued by a population heavily weighed down by large families who pay little or no taxes and the responsibility of being the most important...
At a Tel Aviv rally commemorating the 13th anniversary of Yitzhak Rabin's assassination, Defense Minister Ehud Barak implied that Jewish extremists are responsible for the violence permeating Israeli society.
"We used to call them wild weeds, but now they are tumors with secondary growths," said Barak.
Shas's Industry, Trade...
Judges admit that olive harvest violence not what it seems
With the cards totally stacked against her, tireless Orit Struck, champion of the legal rights of Jews in Israel (how alarming is it that this is such an uphill struggle?), released transcripts from two Jerusalem Magistrate's Courts hearings which indicated that...
Hamas challenges Obama to follow through on campaign pledges
"[Obama] should know he has duties to the United States and in the whole world and in hotspots especially in the Middle...
MKs from Kadima, Shas, Likud, Aguda and NRP toured Beit HaMariva (Beit HaShalom) in Hebron last week in response to Defense Minister Ehud Barak's eviction notice.
Saying that the notice was a move of dirty politics on Barak's part, taking advantage of the lack of government during the current transitional government, the MKs signed a petition...
A cry from the heart
Tension around controversial reference to World War II pope did not begin last weekend.
The plan, involving appealing to the pope by lobbying his ambassadors around the world, was approved on Thursday night in New York and will be announced formally on Monday, a leader of an organization...
Labor and Kadima claim Netanya's worldview too different for Obama
The newest political campaign spin of the Israeli Left seems to be the claim that Bibi Netanyahu's world perspective both regarding Israel and general economic issues differ too greatly from Barak Obama's to make him a reasonable choice for Prime Minister.
...Now that the US Presidential election is over it seems to be clear that yet again the American people have voted for one candidate only to see the "winner take all" electoral college system reflect a different reality. In spite of a slim 6% lead in the popular vote, in spite of Obama running away with the electoral college.
A...
Although admitting that the overwhelming majority of Jewish settlers in Yesha are law-abiding citizens, Olmert went on to say in the weekly cabinet meeting that “there is also a not small group of wild people who behave in a way that threatens proper law and governance, not only in the areas in which they live, but also in the overall...
The campaign of Republican presidential nominee John McCain is demanding the Los Angeles Times release a video purportedly showing Barack Obama at an event in which he spoke of his friendship with a controversial Palestinian scholar, the newspaper reported on Tuesday.
The footage is said to be of a 2003 banquet during which Obama, who was then...
After talks broke down between Kadima and potential government partners, time ran out and President Shimon Peres rescinded Kadima's mandate to form a government.
Kadima grandstanded by announcing they would run a bill through to disperse the knesset immediately, only to back down from that claim and support the original election date of...
Media, govt, police turn a blind eye to vast Arab destruction of Jewish agriculture.
In one of the extreme Left's most successful public relation spins, the media, Leftist groups in Israel and from abroad have managed to pull political committees into the fray concerning the vandalism and sporadic, minor violence involving...
Jesse Jackson: Zionists will lose their clout when Obama's in White House
My observation of the "Jewish American view of Sen. Obama" was that there was an atmosphere of unreality surrounding Jewish advocacy and Jewish opposition to Sen. Barack Obama.
Both pro-Obama and anti- Obama forces in the Jewish...
Statistics bear out that Arabs vandalize and destroy Jewish olive orchards in much higher numbers than vice versa.
The IDF stopped three Palestinians on Saturday afternoon who were suspected of trying to infiltrate the Har Bracha settlement in Samaria.
According to the military, the three came very close to the...
Police vs Settlers: Best defense is a good offense
The Israeli police is attempting to activate that old adage which says that the best defense is a good offense, only this time the adage is being used to threaten the democratic process.
In response to being "outed" as reacting with excessive force in...
In his first official visit to Israel, PA Foreign Minister Riad Al-Malahi, mouthed the stale rhetoric we're grown to know and but not yet love - 1) settlement in Yesha is a "ticking bomb" 2) if the PA loses the Arab street, Hamas is the only alternative and 3) they are "losing hope" for a piece (oops, I mean, peace) agreement.
...True Leftists should be protecting Jewish agricultural products and livestock from Arab destruction, vandalism and theft.
Even in the face of statistics to the contrary, Leftist groups have succeeded in making it seem that Jews wantonly destroy Arab olives and olive trees in such vast numbers that the Civil Administration today...
Yakir Segev announces campaign to enrich secular Zionists
Oct. 2nd, at The Begin Heritage Center in Jerusalem, Yakir Segev, leader of the reservists call for Olmert's resignation in light of the his failures during the Second Lebanon War, announced the opening of a public information campaign aimed at secular...
Brash, irresponsibility in Olmert's latest venting
Continuing his brash, irresponsible declarations, Olmert vented his bitterness in an interview with Yediyot Ahronot Erev Rosh HaShana calling for a "going out of business" giveaway of parts of Israel Arabs never dreamed might be theirs - ceding virtually...
Deposed PM Olmert would be well advised to reduce the level of his rhetoric
One more beacon shining on the nasty fact that incitement is tolerated when spouted by the Left and punishable by imprisonment when even its scent is picked up on the Right.
Ehud Olmert invoked that epitome of red flags to the Israeli public...
Settlement Affairs: Dani Dayan: The anti-extremist
With his business suit and tie, Dani Dayan's very appearance goes against the stereotypical media vision of a settler - sandals, a kippa and an assault rifle strapped to his shoulder.
Dani Dayan, an atypical 'settler.'
Elected only last summer...
A film every Jew and Non-Jew should see -- Amazing
It takes a few minutes to watch, but is very important.
Please help to pass this important information.
http://www.terrorismawareness.org/what-really-happened/
Maj.-Gen. (res.) Giora Eiland, former head of the National Security Council, warned in a new report that the current formulation of the two-state solution is untenable.
Photo: Ariel Jerozolimski
"Israel and the Palestinians do not truly desire the conventional two-state solution, and the Arab world -...
As people streamed toward Jerusalem's Old City for shlichot services Monday night, an East Jerusalem terrorist took the opportunity to ram his BMW car into a group of soldiers milling around chatting with friends at the city's main intersection to the Old City, Kikar Tzahal.
About 15 people were injured, three in moderate condition and the...
At the end of her first weekend as Israel's intended prime minister, it became clear to Tzipi Livni that she would have an easier time forming a coalition with Syrian President Bashar Assad than with her colleagues back in Israel.
Judging by the editorial about her in the Syrian daily Tishrin - which represents the official line - Assad...
After a night filled with drama as the results came in from polling stations around the country, Mofaz - who trailed the foreign minister in television exit polls by as much as 12 percent - lost by just 1.1 percent. It is generally accepted that the inaccurate and highly biased television exit polls themselves may have created an atmosphere which...
If she were leading a rock group, we could call it Tzipi and the Expectations. She is expected to form a nimble yet stable government, broad enough to avert early Knesset elections yet efficient enough to work and to make policy.
Her first priority will be to briskly de-Olmertize the party and to purge the rot and corruption at...
The government's national committee for planning and construction approved the establishment of the Lachish region community of Mirsham yesterday, rejecting demands to prevent the community for Gush Katif refugees based on environmental issues.
The same environmental groups leading the protest against the establishment of the community of...
Nine year old Tuvia Shtetman fought for his life on Shabbat after being surprised by his Arab attacker while on his way to shul. After children smelled fire and found a neighbor's house aflame, Tuvia was stabbed seven times before escaping his attacker, who fled into his nearby village. Tuvia managed to drag himself home where his father, Ido, first...
It has been reported that Abbas is demanding pre-1967 borders. Included in his demands are Ma'ale Adumim and Givat Ze'ev. He is "willing" to negotiate over the status of Gilo and the French Hill.
Sound beyond incredible chutzpah? Olmert's desperation gives Abbas the idea that such demands will not be received as such.
...According to the Eretz Yisrael Shelanu newsletter, people who were wounded and evacuated from Amona in the 2006
confrontation with security forces there have begun to receive letters from Magen David Adom demanding that they pay for their evacuation.
The letters threaten that legal steps will be taken against the victim's...
A beleaguered Prime Minister, wearing an open-neck shirt and looking like he hadn't slept in weeks, met an excited 240 olim from North America on Monday morning after their Nefesh b'Nefesh flight landed at Ben Gurion. On the chairs were copies of Haaretz and The Jerusalem Post, given out free to the 800 guests who awaited the planeload of homeward...
The Central Region Commanding Officer recently signed directives restricting the movements of three Israeli Jews - residents of Yesha - forbidding them from freedom of movement in Yesha, including their own homes. The reasons behind the directives are classified and the three effected by the orders have no access to the information even in order...
After debate in the Ministry of Domestic Security and in the knesset and knesset committees, the decision was made to destroy the home of the East Jerusalem terrorist who murdered eight young yeshiva boys at Mercaz HaRav Kook Yeshiva six months ago.
Andre Rosental, lawyer for a human rights group, petitioned the high court on behalf of the...
Jerusalem District Court Judge Aharon Farkash ruled on Monday that it was possible to implement a 2004 US court ruling, according to which the Palestinian Authority must pay compensations of more than $116 million to terror victims' families.
In July 2004, a US court ruled that the Palestinian Authority was to pay some $116 million to the...
Israeli officials say security services have foiled two attempts by the Lebanese militia Hezbollah to kidnap Israeli businessmen.
Details are sketchy, and Israel's military censor banned publication of some of them. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because no official statement had been made.
Channel 2 TV...
Some 50 Balad activists and pupils demonstrated outside the Taufik Ziad School in Nazareth on Monday in protest of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's visit.
The protesters held placards, which read, "Not welcome, no 'ahalan.' Get out you murderer."
Balad Secretary-General Wail Omari said the demonstration was held in protest of...
Shas leader, Eli Yisha, claims that Olmert has no legal or ethical right to come to any agreement with what he considers the fake leadership of the Arab community, Abu Mazan, and certainly not any agreement which concerns Jerusalem.
Responding to a report in Haaretz which stated that Olmert and Abu Mazan have a tentative agreement about...
Two of the "stars" of one of Salah-a-Din's recent training camp are an 11 year old and a 4 year old who participated in gun and rifle practice without the aid of adults.
When asked why he preferred such training to spending the day at the beach, the 11-yr-old answered that he wanted to learn to kill Jewish children to give their...
An Islamic Jihad cell plotting to assassinate Israeli pilots, scientists and university lecturers was exposed in a joint IDF, Shin Bet and police operation. The arrest was cleared for publication on Thursday evening.
Worrying Phenomenon?
Bedouin accused of contacting al-Qaeda / Yonat Atlas
...
Hamas recently jacked up the number of Palestinian prisoners it wants Israel to release in exchange for kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit, from 1,000 to 1,500, a senior government source said.
At a meeting with senior cabinet ministers on Wednesday, both Shin Bet security service chief Yuval Diskin and Ofer Dekel, who was appointed...
The Defense Ministry is considering turning over the strategic hilltop in Gush Etzion which was once the IDF army base Shadma to Beit Sahour to build a hospital.
Although the need for a hospital in the area is clear, Jewish area residents feel that this strategic defense position should remain in Jewish hands and one of the 4 alternative...
State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss explained that while Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor, Olmert "systematically breached protocol" in pushing government funding for a project in Eilat called "Aquaria" which did not provide sufficient economic feasibility documentation.
The comptroller's report states that the...
The BBC has denied charges that money raised by a BBC charity was used to recruit and train the terrorists involved in the 7/7 terror attacks on London that killed 52 people in 2005.
The BBC's own Newsnight current affairs programme reported on Tuesday night's broadcast that the BBC's Children in Need charity had donated around £20,000 to...
The IDF shut down BBC radio transmitters in Hebron on Wednesday, acting on orders of the Communications Ministry and citing interference with communications at Ben-Gurion International Airport.
The IDF Spokesman said the transmitters were illegal, adding that the Communications Ministry had found them to be jeopardizing contact between...
Israel should not have to trade land for peace, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee said as he explained to a small group of reporters Tuesday morning why he believed Israel should remain sovereign both in Jerusalem and the West Bank.
"As an American,...
Reports showing video clips and quoting terror organization leadership claim that women are fast becoming Hamas's new best weapon against IDF soldiers. Because Israeli soldiers are known to hesitate from following regulations to the letter when dealing with females in the Arab population, Hamas has been training large groups of women in the fields of...
In the continuing saga of Migron, The Supreme Court handed down its response to the government's decision to allow Migron to remain in place while a permanent site is built close by.
Taking into account the agreement between The Yesha Council and the government, the court gave Peace Now and the organization's Arab partners until the first...
Just hours before he was to perform at a concert in memory of the Dickstein family and Elazar Leibowitz who were killed by Arab terrorists six years ago, Ehud Banai cancelled his participation saying that the evening had taken on a "political flavor". Banai was virtually isolated within his milieu for performing in Gush Etzion several years...
Rivka Turgeman was 18 when she sat with a group of other girls on the road leading up to Amona in the hours before daybreak on the day of confrontation. She was trampled by a horse whose horseman not only did not try to avoid her but did not slow down or check to see what her condition was after running her over. While the other...
Inevitably the media fastens on to the craziest of the people who come out of the woodworks when there's controversy in the air.
The flames fanned by a couple of Yesha rabbis and a few more from outside of Yesha against the outpost victory that The Yesha Council's perseverence snatched out of the jaws of defeat have produced the usual knee-jerk...
Abu Abir, Spokesman for Salah a-Din, an Arab terrorist group in Gaza, told the press on Saturday that an exercise was carried out by two units of 50 terrorists each to practice kidnapping an Israeli soldier from an IDF post. The terrorist used to play the part of the kidnapped soldier looked remarkably like Gilad Shalit.
Abir went on to say...
Update: Migron Agreement
Well-known, outspoken right-wing lawyer, Eliyakim HaEtzni, from Kiryat Arba writes about The Yesha Council agreement with The Defense Ministry concerning Migron:
A not-so-young woman went to a new doctor. During initial intake the doctor asked her how old she was. She answered, "People give me 40...
Justice Dept. Encouraged to Encroach upon Legislative Arm
Radical left-wing group, Peace Now, in its continuing encouragement of the justice system to seize legislative and executive powers, too, has informed Mazuz and The Justice Dept. of its intention to petition The Supreme Court to rule against the law pardoning Gush Katif...
Hamas wants Egyptian negotiators replaced by Germans.
An Arab newspaper out of London has reported that Hamas is delaying progress in talks about Gilad Shalit's freedom. Unhappy with Egypt's 500 policeman at the Gaza-Egyptian border to contain Gazan infiltration and what Hamas considers foot-dragging in pressuring Israel to...
Abu Ala pessamistic about reaching an agreement this year.
Arab Negotiator, Abu Ala, expressed his pessamism about the possibilitiy of reaching a "peace" agreement with Israel. He said that any two-state solution would necessarily require a division of Jerusalem and that thus far Israel has not agreed to include that...
Third anniversary of forced expulsion of Jews from Gush Katif marked.
The central event marking the 3rd anniversary of the traumatic and tragic expulsion of Jews from Gush Katif was held at the Kisufim junction. Over 5000 people attended the rally coming from all over the country on pre-arranged buses and in private cars.
...Left-wing extremists claim that IDF restricts their protest in Hebron.
They met in an emergency meeting to discuss what can be done about IDF interfering with their free movement in Hebron. According to Peace Now the new military officer in charge makes it difficult for them to carry out their bus trips to Hebron...
A high-ranking officer described the conditions under which 188 members of Fatah, many teenagers among them, were rescued from Gaza under fire and hospitalized in Soroka, Barzelai and Kaplan hospitals. Those rescued were questioned in order to ascertain that they did not pose a security threat to Israel.
The rescue was approved by Defense...
At a Kadima conference held in Kiryat Ono, Shaul Mofaz, just returned from the U.S., said that he would form a coalition government once elected leader of Kadima.
Tsippi Livni told the press after the meeting that she, too, would aim for creating a coalition government.
Both, however, may well be building castles in the sky with such...
In the late afternoon excited whispers began that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert would be announcing his resignation in the evening Wednesday. This man, with more corruption allegations pending than any other politician in the history of the State of Israel, with less popular support (3%) than any other Prime Minister in the State of Israel, a product of...
After a stormy debate during which Meretz MK Zahava Galon compared the behavior of right-wing activists to that of the Nazis, capitalizing on democracy's weakness during the Weimer Republic, the first reading of a bill to pardon Gush Katif protestors was passed.
One of the initiators of the law, Ruby Rivlin, said, after the vote, that there are...
The central ceremony commemorating three years to the destruction of the Jewish communities of Gush Katif will be held on Wednesday, August 6th, beginning at 5 p.m. at Kisufim, the closest point to the destroyed communities.
During these days leading up to Tisha B'Av, when we observe the rituals of mourning, we see a direct link between...
Undisclosed sources on the Right echoed Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni's, concerns that Prime Minister Olmert is making out-of-proportion promises to Syria just for Syria's agreement to have direct talks instead of indirect talks through Turkey.
Those sources claim that Olmert has already pledged territorial compromise in return for the...
Likud hawks expressed skepticism about Maj. Gen. (res.) Uzi Dayan's joining their party pointing out his support for the Oslo Accords and unilaterial disengagement from Gush Katif. Citing other high-ranking military personalities who received a warm welcome into the Likud only to depart for greener pastures when they found it politically...
While emphasizing in an interview on Israeli television on Friday that those who responded with violence to security forces evacuating an "outpost" last week reflect a small number of Yesha residents, Yesha Council Chairman Danny Dayan also pointed out that this response reflects an understandable response to the government having repeatedly...
Yesha's population grows by 5.5% in spite of Olmert government's Draconian measures and continual harrassment by the radical Left in the courts and on the ground. Yesha's population continues to grow faster than any other part of Israel.
With the facts in from the bi-annual government-sponsored census, it is seen that Yesha's population has...
In an interview with Arutz7 this week, Danny Dayan, Chairman of The Yesha Council, praised the first building block in trust between the government and Yesha supporters as a possible beginning of an end to the inhumane freeze on development in Yesha.
The Jordan Valley community of Maskiot was initially approved by Amir Peretz when he was...
Saying that no public official has ever created such obstacles to being interrogated, Attorney General Mazuz went on to say that “The situation in which a prime minister sits in office while multiple criminal investigations are being conducted against him is likely to raise questions regarding his ability to fill his post, both in regards to his...
Just hours after another act of bulldozer terrorism in Jerusalem, this time only meters away from The King David Hotel, Barak Obama, the golden boy of liberal America, arrived in Israel's capitol.
Having been given a lesson in the knee-jerk response to anything approaching real support for Israel, Obama managed to remain within the...
"And the threefold cord is not easily broken" (Kohelet 4:12)
On the 3rd Anniversary of the Disengagement from Gush Katif and Northern Shomron
CYIR: Council of Young Israel Rabbis in Israel in conjunction with The Jerusalem Great Synagogue invite you to a special evening of commemoration, inspiration and solidarity
...The driver of the Egged bus first hit by the tractor terrorist thought he'd been involved in a simple traffic accident. When he stopped and the tractor driver bashed into the bus again, he realized that it was a terror attack and drove quickly out of range. Many passengers had already been wounded lightly by breaking glass but escaped further...
In a London paper an Egyptian source is quoted as saying that Israel has made up a list of 70 terrorists Israel agrees to release in exchange for the kidnapped soldier, Gilad Shalit. The much-feared Bargouti, serving out 5 life sentences is on the list. Ahmed Sadaat, in prison for his involvement in the assassination of Minister Ze'evi (Gandi), is not...
For some reason, when Israel came under Gordon Brown's criticism for its settlement policy, Olmert felt an appropriate response was to predict an Israel-Palestinian agreement before the end of the year.
Olmert seems to be one of the few remaining people in the civilized world behaving as if totally unaware that he is setting an historical...
The precedent set by the release of Kuntar has led to Hamas leader Haniya's boast that "the day will soon come for celebration and victory with the release of every prisoner from Israeli jails."
Israel has long held fast to the principle that long-time security prisoners guilty of murdering Israelis are not eligible for exchange in...
Hours of grueling cross-examination by Olmert's lawyers could not budge Talansky from his damaging testimony or confirm Olmert supporters' attempt to discredit him as shady, violent and dangerous.
A clip of the police interrogation of Talansky, touted to discredit him, only made him easier to identify with when he said that he'd given the...
With big headlines and imaginary trumpets sounding in the background, the media announced, coincidentally on the day that Israel set the precedent for releasing a brutal murderer in exchange for bones, that 24 Hamas activists were arrested by Israeli Defense Forces in Judea and Samaria during the night between Tuesday and Wednesday.
As Hamas...
Okay, so Israel is unwilling or unable to catch and punish Arabs who have been stealing copper from electrical infrastructure in the Binyamin Region for years. Thousands of motorists have become accustomed to driving in total darkness for kilometer after kilometer as a result. The cost of constantly replacing the stolen copper became so astronomical...
The much-awaited Hamas report concerning missing navigator Ron Arad has been received...and says nothing. It contains four versions of what may have happened to Arad, all claiming his death but under various circumstances.
It's accepted that kidnapped soldiers Goldwasser and Regev have been dead for some time.
In spite of there being no...
Makes you want to slap your forehead yet again at the crazy things Israel does in the name of humanity in spite of the international community continuing to denounce Israel at every turn for being inhumane.
Yes, the Israeli government has been subsidizing the burial of terrorists through payments made by the National Insurance Institute. In his...
It was discovered quite by accident this week that the families of at least three Arab terrorists killed while carrying out murderous actions against Israelis continue to receive all sorts of government subsidies and assistance as if their terrorist relative were still alive.
The families of the bulldozer terrorist, the Mercaz HaRav terrorist...
The blood libel stamped through the ages on the Jewish People in various forms has no defined beginning and, apparently, has no end.
Claims which seem to us obviously ridiculous and which we might think noone with a shred of sense would believe, we've learned to take seriously because of the murder and mayhem which...
In Monday's court hearing concerning Yesh Din's petition against the nine houses most recently populated in Ofra it was decided to give the residents of those houses 30 days to prepare their response. The State was given an additional 30 days to prepare their response. At the end of those 60 days, the court will decide upon a date for discussion of the...
Hamas remains adamant that Israel release 1000 Arab terrorists from prison in exchange for the kidnapped soldier, Gilad Shalit, now in his third year of captivity.
Furthermore, Hamas has now stated that no more "signs of life" will be forthcoming as long as negotiations are stalled.
Unhappy with Egyptian negotiations on their...
Barak's order to demolish terrorists' homes was mainly based on Thursday's announcement by Attorney General Menachem Mazuz stating that razing homes of terrorists is permissable by law.
Mazuz informed Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Barak that rulings made by the High Court of Justice over the years clarify there is no...
When policemen hesitated to shoot and kill the bulldozer terrorist last week, we all saw how an unarmed young man, now known as "M", grabbed a nearby weapon and shot the terrorist in the head at close range.
Orit Stroch, director of an organization which monitors the judicial process to insure the rights of Jews, explained to Army...
Receiving information that Peace Now intended to stage provocative confrontations with residents in Ofra and Migron Friday, the police and army organized Thursday afternoon to prevent their entrance to the two communities.
With the Supreme Court hearing (bagatz) concerning Ofra just days away, it seems that Peace Now hopes to stage photos of...
Member of Knesset Yuval Steinitz (Likud) came out publicly calling for the demolition of the house of Wednesday's terrorist in Sur Bahir, adding that it should be done as soon as possible to show determination on Israel's part to punish terrorism.
"We must create a situation where terror is not rewarded," he told Army Radio....
The middle of the day. The middle of the week. An Arab tractor driver appears seemingly out of nowhere and drives down busy Yafo Street near the old Sha'are Tzedek Hospital toward the entrance to Jerusalem. Driving the wrong way down this one-way street, he manages to turn over a city bus and smash several cars before he is shot and killed.
The...
By Jacob Richman
On Wednesday, July 2, 2008, the Gush Katif Documentation Center was opened in Nitzan.
Unique documents, pictures and materials from 35 years of settlement were presented to the public for the first time.
At the ceremony, the public was shown the design of the Gush Katif stamp that will be issued officially...
For the eighth time, the knesset voted to continue the limitations on immigration of Arabs into Israel - even in the case of the claim that the request is on the basis of the unification of families.
Unsurprisingly, Arab party representatives denounced the decision....again. Also unsurprisingly, Zahava Galon (Meretz) echoed her Arab allies in...
The US State Dept. has reacted with anger to the leak from an anonymous source that the United States believes that Israel is planning to attack Iran before the end of the year.
In addition to the anonymous source, Tom Bolton, former US ambassador to the UN, told Fox News that it is believed that Israel will attack Iran after the Nov. 4th...
The first reading of three necessary to make a law requiring a public referendum before Israel can make territorial concessions in The Golan Heights (and any other land within the borders of the State of Israel) passed with a vote of 65 in favor, 18 against and no abstentions on Monday.
The striking similarities in the statements made by Meretz...
Saying that “The objective and assumption leading us all this time has been that we are working to return live men. Today we know for certain that this is not the case. ", beleagured Prime Minister Ehud Olmert remained adamant and gained approval for one of the largest terrorist exchanges in the history of the State of Israel.
...Even the 75% of Israelis polled who said they had no faith in the ceasefire in Gaza lasting probably didn't think there would be four violations in the first 10 days of the agreement.
In a pathetic continuation of Middle Eastern behavior, Israel's government entered into a bad agreement in which they did not stand firm on their own terms and...
According to Olmert aides, President Shimon Peres may be receiving the Prime Minister's letter of resignation if the motion for the Knesset's dissolution passes a preliminary vote on Wednesday.
"If the Knesset dissolution bill passes on Wednesday, the choice will be between resigning or having to face the government's...
Lecturing Israel on making "bad decisions" and explaining to Israel's leadership that the only good solution for the future is a Palestinian State and a divided Jerusalem, Sarkozy was made to feel right at home by a government who's become quite accustomed to representatives deciding its policy.
Meanwhile, Sarkozy's wife, model Carla...
Just when it seemed he could sink no lower, Prime Minister Olmert showed that he can still surprise with his flagrant misuse of power. Desperately trying to retain his job, Olmert threatened to fire 5 ministers in his cabinet should they vote in favor of the preliminary reading of a bill to disband the knesset early.
Fearing for his political...
Hamas says it will break ceasefire in Gaza if Shalit's petition is granted.
Noam and Aviva Schalit petitioned the court on Saturday night and a discussion will be held on Sunday to halt the easing of economic restrictions at the Gaza borders until their son, Gilad, is released.
Last Wednesday, their lawyers, Prof. Ariel Bendor, Eldad...
Jewish settlers in Yesha replaced an illegal (sic) structure that was demolished last week by security forces in the (Yesha) settlement of Yitzhar with another caravan.
"We will rebuild each and every outpost, including Homesh," settler leader Yossi Dagan told Ynet on Saturday.
Violent riots...
In spite of rumor to the contrary, security forces were informed about the hike beforehand.
Three yeshiva students from the Yesha community of Itamar in the Binyamin region were wounded Friday in a shooting attack against a group of hikers near Neveh Tzuf, northwest of Ramallah.
Two masked terrorists opened fire on the three...
Nine houses, eight of which have families living in them, surrounded by other Ofra houses populated years ago and uncontested, are the middle of the latest provocation of the radical left. After intensive and expensive research "Yesh Din" managed to find Arabs willing to have their names on a request from The Supreme Court to have an...
In Parshat Shelach Lecha all but one of the "spies" or scouts sent by Moshe into Eretz Yisrael, finding a land filled with abundance, choose to report back only the most frightening of what they've found.
"…a land that eats up its inhabitants; and all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature…and we were...
In an interview conducted in Hebrew (lest you think he was unable to make himself clear), Olmert told BBC that he sees Hamas as a viable partner for peace if the terror organization pays lip service to recognition of the State of Israel.
Olmert went on to say that he was elected to make peace, most Israelis want peace, ergo he will rush to an...
Noam Shalit, the father of abducted soldier Gilad Shalit, strongly attacked Israel's agreement to a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip because it did not guarantee his son's return.
In an interview with Haaretz, Shalit accused Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of violating his commitments - and of showing a lack of sensitivity for abducted...
How many times will our blood pressure rise at hearing Condoleesa Rice once again say that building in the settlements might harm negotiations with the PA?
How many times will we be pleased to hear Condoleesa Rice once again say that the rockets must stop falling in Southern Israel?
The most effective thing Rice seems to be able to...
Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz on Friday characterized the cabinet's decision to continue indirect cease-fire talks with Gaza as problematic, adding that Hamas should be asking Israel for calm rather than the other way around.
"We must act against terror through deterrence," Mofaz told Army Radio. "The Gaza...
Chairman of the Labor party Ehud Barak attacked the government saying that “if this government was not shadowed by Kadima's primaries, the decision on a temporary ceasefire would have been accepted long ago.”
According to Barak, “This government is not capable of making decisions opposite Hamas,...
In a recent issue of "Foreign Affairs", Condoleesa Rice points out that although Hamas won 2004 elections handily and rules in Gaza with a brutally strong thumb, the party has been put in a position with those elections to convert itself from a terrorist organization to one which leads and controls a population and its everyday life. In that,...
The majority of the Israeli public believes Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who is currently under investigation for allegedly receiving unlawful funds from American businessman Morris Talansky, should step down immediately; even before Attorney General Menachem Mazuz and the State Prosecutor's Office decide whether or not an indictment is warranted in his...
The parents of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, who was taken prisoner by Hamas over 20 months ago, have received another letter from their son, Monday.
The letter – which was preceded by two others – was relayed by Hamas as part of the group's pledge to former US President Jimmy Carter.
Shalit's...
In committee meeting Wednesday, June 4th, committee chairperson, David Tal (Kadima) brought up for discussion an offered bill that passed preliminary discussion last year calling for a public referendum prior to any agreement with Syria which includes territorial compromises concerning The Golan Heights.
At the request of Zahava Galon (Meretz)...
In a world run amuck with political correctness and spin, Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz became a beacon for reason when he said that the window of opportunity for reasonable discussions with Iran has closed. He went on to say that "Ff Iran continues its plan to develop nuclear weapons, we will attack it."
While a...
With Salaam Fiad lobbying The European Union to nix strengthening economic ties with Israel at their upcoming June 16th meeting in Luxubourg partially because of the building in East Jerusalem and Abu Alla shouting for a one-state solution as a result of this flagrant violation of international law, Housing Minister Ze'ev Boim remains unruffled.
...Following immediately on the heels of a Fatah statement that, given the state of the negotiations, there can be no agreement this year, wonder of wonders, is a statement from Abu Alla, on the one hand, that an agreements is being drafted and, on the other hand (and for a different forum), that there can be no agreement which does not include Jerusalem,...
There's been lots of talk lately about the supposed agreement between Yesha leaders and representatives of the Defense Ministry. Never has there been so much to do about nothing. If only all the noisemakers knew what The Yesha Council principles are for any possible such agreement, perhaps they would lament the fact that there is no agreement here on...
A small band of Yesha teens, led by former-mayor, former-politician Daniella Weiss, ignored the right of Migron residents to invite and host The Yesha Council as their guests for Yom HaAtzmaut.
Creating disturbances before, during and after the Yom HaAtzmaut activities, they were, however, unable to ruin the festive atmosphere as...
On the one hand, should Mazuz decide to indict Olmert, the Prime Minister would have to resign, based on decisions handed down by the High Court of Justice in cases involving Shas leaders Aryeh Deri and Raphael Pinhasi.
On the other hand, knowing the seriousness of the investigations against him, Olmert has met with Abbas this week for...
Born in South Africa in December 1914, he was in his 94th year. He was a Betari, a confidant of Ze'ev Jabotinsky, a member of the High Command of the Irgun, elected to the first Knesset, Zionist thinker, author and ideologue. He had been in an old-age home for the past few years and just two months ago, underwent an operation caused by blood...
With a blanket of silence still spread over the issues for which Prime Minister Olmert was called in for questioning, Condoleesa Rice arrived in Israel for what was to be Olmert's greatest hour of political maneuvering.
Speculation is running high as to the reason that the country's highest judicial official Mezuz issued an urgent order for...
Adding insult to injury, the settlement division of the World Zionist Organization has demanded repayment of 125 million shekels worth of loans given to Gush Katif residents over the most recent three decades of Jewish residency there.
With the majority of Gush Katif refugees still unemployed and without permanent housing, the absurdity...
Israeli officials declined to comment on the report, but the message and the unwillingness of the government to comment creates a sense of deja vu. Last time it was Jerusalem and this time The Golan Heights.
Syrian Emigrant Affairs Minister Buthaina Shaaban told satellite television al-Jazeera that the message from Israeli Prime...
Two Israeli guards were killed Friday morning in a shooting attack in an industrial zone near Nitzanei Oz in the Sharon region. The two were in charge of checking Palestinians arriving from the West Bank. The two were identified as Shimon Mizrahi, 53, of Bat Hefer and Eli Wasserman, 51, of Alfei Menashe
The Al-Quds...
Four rockets were fired at Ashkelon on Friday morning, one of then landing in the city's southern cemetery. Dozens of graves were damaged.
The al-Quds Brigades, the Islamic Jihad's military wing, claimed responsibility for the rocket fire, as well as for a shooting attack which left two Israeli guards dead in an...
Taking advantage of the crossings into Gaza used for humanitarian needs, Palestinians attempted to pull off major terrorist attacks to strike fear into the hearts of Israelis as they began the Pesach celebration.
Exploding two vehicles packed with explosives accompanied with a barrage of 15 mortar shells, 13 soldiers were wounded, in spite of a...
This Pesach remember those who are not free
On the eve of this Pesach holiday when we are preparing ourselves to sit around the Seder table to read the Haggada, drink 4 cups of wine and talk about the exodus from Egypt, the escape from slavery into freedom, to work toward the geula – at this very time we must...
Two weeks ago, The Yesha Council, the Mevo Horon Council and The Defense Ministry agreed to make Mevo Horon the test case for the ongoing "outpost" talks between Yesha leadership and the Ministry.
The Yesha Council's position has, and continues to be, that almost all of the so-called outposts can easily be made legal if the government...
A Long Island mogul is at the center of a sensational bribery scandal that could bring down embattled Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, The Post has learned.
Millionaire financier Morris Talansky - who runs an investment firm out of his tony home in Woodmere - allegedly passed money to Olmert while the politician was mayor of Jerusalem in the...
The IDF is carrying out an arrest operation in Ramallah and Bituniyah,
The operation includes the encircling of 9 or 10 homes there.
Reportedly, among the homes involved in the operation are the homes of President Mahmoud Abbas, Hamas leader Dr. Myriam Salah, currently jailed in Israel, and a...
The High Court of Justice on Monday rejected a plea filed by 30 Sderot residents
The residents' suit called on the government to fortify 800 private homes in the Qassam-battered town.
The residents claimed the government was not upholding its responsibility to defend Israeli citizens against the threat...
Former US Pres Jimmy Carter Receives a Cool Reception in Israel.
Israeli leaders are shunning former President, Jimmy Carter, apparently for his having accused Israel of apartheid and for planning to meet with the head of the violently anti-Israel Hamas group.
A schedule released by the U.S.-based...
The numbers of demonstrators increased at the Rimonim junction this week as the IDF continued to pack up their security checkpoint.
The Yesha Council leadership, the mayor of The Binyamin Regional Council, Amana leadership and many like-minded people gathered again to take up where the government is forcing IDF to leave off.
Refusing to...
Yesha Council leadership will be joined by the Mayor of the Binyamin Regional Council and many others at the site of an IDF checkpoint which is to be removed.
Not far from this intersection between Jerusalem and Jericho just south of the Jewish communities of Rimonim and Cochav HaShachar, Eti Gehalia, mother of 7, was murdered by terrorist...
Remember Amir Peretz as Minister of Defense? In his brief and quite inappropriate stint in the Defense Ministry, Peretz became the first to create and destroy a community with the stroke of a pen surprising even Peace Now at the power their opinion had never levied before.
Approved at every level, the young evacuees of Gush Katif's Shirat...
Motti Kirshenbaum, of London and Kirshenbaum fame, enthusiastically accepted Pinchas Vallerstein's invitation to come see what all the outpost noise is really about. His partner, Yaron London, who was to join them, declined at the last moment.
Beginning in Bruchin, driving through Ariel to Nofei Nehemia and Eli, Kirshenbaum saw the 6 houses in...
The NYTimes published the full results of a Ramallah-based public opinion poll conducted by the respected Halil Shakaki Institute, thought to be a reliable source for Palestinian public opinion. The Shakaki Institute reported unprecedented support for violence against Israelis with
64% in favor of the kassam...
John McCain spoke out strongly for Israeli action.
In fact, McCain managed to come out more strongly against the continuing Palestinian aggression against Israel in his one week visit to Israel than Olmert has exhibited in his entire term in office so far.
Calling the situation "insufferable" in a conversation...
The following is an excerpt from Commader Designate of the Israel Air Force, Major General Ido Nehustan, written in a publication of the Jerusalem Institute for Public Affairs.
Gaza as an Example of the New Conflict Paradigm
The process that we see in Gaza is the first appearance ever of a regime affiliated with...
At least three Kadima representatives concur with colleague Amira Dotan's assessment as vice director of the knesset committee entrusted with the situation of the Gush Katif refugees when she said that it was a disgrace. Zev Alkin, Marina Slodkin and Shlomo Mula expressed their dissatisfaction with the lack of results thus far.
With 1600 people...
As various government office continued to study the issue of the legality of destroying the Jabel Mukaber home of the terrorist who murdered 8 young men at Mercaz HaRav Yeshiva in Jerusalem, rising frustration at the government's seeming impotence and foot-dragging led 200 protestors to gather at Talpiot's Promenade from which many entered...
The Palestinian Authority declared Sunday that it would rebuild the home of Islamic Jihad operative Muhammad Shahade, who was killed by the IDF in Bethlehem last week along with three other gunmen.
Palestinian Economy Minister Kamal Hassuneh, who headed an official PA delegation to the mourning tent over the weekend, announced that the...
IDF officials were quick to evaluate the situation at the Shilo junction where Rabbi Erez Bar-On fired on and killed an Arab terrorist as he tried to stab a 15 year old Jewish boy at a bus stop at the Shilo junction.
They said that Rabbi Bar-On's level-headed and quick response was both decisive and appropriate given the circumstances and that...
Moshe "Boogy" Ayalon, former IDF Chief of Staff, spoke to a room filled to capacity in the community of Ofra Saturday night. A Gofrit member, a kibbutz located near Eilat, and former Peace Now supporter, Ayalon talked about the process he went through to become an supporter of Yesha residents firmly committed to the belief that...
Foreign Minister Livni will be sending a legal document to the ministry's legal advisor in the coming days which will , in turn, be sent to the regional court, clearing the way for victims of terror to bring suit against the Palestinian Authority for not preventing terrorists from entering Israel to carry out their acts of terror.
...
At the end of shiva for the 8 young men cut down by terrorist gunfire last week, every inch of Mercaz HaRav Yeshiva was taken by a country in mourning for some of its most committed, most wholesome young. Praised by the Defense Minister as a bastion of Zionist strength, Mercaz HaRav is a symbol of belief in and investment in the future of Israel.
...Wednesday evening, Israel Police's elite Yamam counter-terror unit raided Bethlehem and killed four Islamic Jihad gunmen, including Mahmoud Shehada, 45, the commander of Islamic Jihad in the city. The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) said the four had constituted the leadership of the terrorist group's armed wing in the city. When the men's bodies...
"Almagor", an organization for victims of terror, turned to Prime Minister Olmert, Defense Minister Barak and Internal Security Director Dichter demanding they lift the smokescreen of legal issues behind which the political echelon is hiding in order not to take action against the East Jerusalem home of Ala Abu-Dayhem, the terrorist who...
A 750 home building project begun in the Givat Zeev neighborhood of Jerusalem in 2000 stopped when the Intifada broke out. When contractors wanted to get back to work, the government, taken aback by the international outcry at the building initiative in Har Homa, put bureaucratic obstacles in their way.
A legal battle between the contractors an...
Although Israel said earlier in the week that it would not intervene in the value of the dollar, Thursday the Bank of Israel stepped in and bought a rumored 50-100 million dollars as the dollar fell to 3.35 shekels to the dollar, its lowest value since 1997.
The dollar dropped 2.42% today and 11% since the beginning of the year.
The American Physicans Fellowship (AFP), which has been bringing US doctors to Israel for emergency and trauma medicine courses so they could fill in for Israel counterparts in an emergency, has established The Sderot Fund to build bomb shelters for residents of the city and others under Palestinian rocket attacks.
APF President Dr. Norton...
The names of the victims murdered in the deadly terrorist gunfire on Thursday evening at Mercaz Harav in Jerusalem were cleared for publication Friday just hours before a joint funeral began.
The murdered were identified as Yohai Lifshitz, 18, of Jerusalem; Yehonatan Yitzhak Alder, 16, of Shilo; Yonadav Haim Hirshfeld, 19, of Kochav Hashahar;...
In an interview on Israel Radio Reshet Bet with Aryeh Golan, former head of Military Intelligence, Yaacov Amidror, made it clear that in his opinion, small excursions into Gaza will not solve any problem there and will, necessarily, be seen as failure on Israel's part and used as such by the Palestinians.
Comparing the situtation to someone who...
"I cannot look you in the eye and promise that such incidents will not recur in the future," Defense Minister Ehud Barak said during a condolence visit Monday night to the Mercaz Harav rabbinical seminary in Jerusalem, the site of Thursday's terror attack that left eight Israelis dead.
"The battle against terrorism is at its...
As shell-shocked Ashkelon residents come back to see the damage to their homes from the Grad missile strikes on Thursday, they can be heard wondering how they could have escaped safe and sound.
One single mother explains that she found her teenage son, in his room when the missile hit their apartment, on the window ledge about to jump, thinking...
A Kadima committee made up of members of knesset who are not ministers met on Feb. 25th while Olmert was in Japan. They discussed the issue of Jerusalem and made it clear to the media and to the country that Kadima plans to stick with its original platform which confirms the sanctity of an undivided Jerusalem.
Eli Aflalo, Coalition Chairman,...
Some Israeli citizens may be surprised to learn that they are listed on Ministry of the Interior forms to be found of the official website as residents of a foreign country - no different than France or the USA.
Yesha is listed on the official Interior Ministry's site in the foreign country list of options when asked to define...
During the last snow storm when Yesha was hardest hit and road closings and school closings were widespread, Yesha residents were left guessing since the Israel Broadcast Authority, in keeping with their usual practice, did not report on Yesha weather conditions.
An Eli resident, fed up with the lack of basic services, turned to the Authority...
Intensified rocketing of southern Israel targets were felt all over the south on Wednesday and Thursday, with at least one hitting its target with deadly results.
Roni Yechiah, a 47 year old Logistic student at Sapir College, died of massive chest wounds from shrapnel shortly after being evacuated from the Sapir College campus.
Yechiah,...
Hizballah secretary-general Nasrallah gave a fiery speech at a memorial event in which he claimed the "fact" that Israel will disappear and the decline has already begun with Israel's poor performance and subsequent defeat in the Second Lebanon War.
He went on to point out that in spite of Israel's plan to kill Hizballah leaders on...
The first car convoy to Sderot drew 300 cars filled with people who infused the Sderot economy with 1.5 million shekels in purchases from local businesses. Over 700 cars pulled into Sderot in August for the second supportive car convoy with 2 million shekels spent during the day in Sderot shops and restaurants.
On Friday, Feb. 22nd, over 10,000...
The reality is the reality.
Again, cities are being bombarded. The government is the same government, the leadership is the same leadership and the floundering is the same floundering.
This was also the message Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter conveyed when he read aloud a section from the Winograd Report at a...
Former diplomat and respected political analyst, Yoram Ettinger, responds to Palestinian Census Report by replacing wishful thinking with fact.
When the Palestinian Census Report came out recently claiming a 30% rise in the Arab population in Yesha over the past decade, many could be heard crying ¨gevalt¨.
Yoram...
Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lopolanski: "Jerusalem will not be the latest illegal outpost!"
Olmert claims that Jerusalem will not be part of the initial talks, initial perhaps being the key word, with the Palestinians.
Abbas confidently announces that there would be no talks at all if Jerusalem were not being...
Activist organization pressing for Zoldan´s murderers to be turned over to Israel but skeptical that it will happen.
The murderers of Ido Zoldin, z"l, were apprehended shorted after his murder. They are reportedly being held by The Palestinian Authority, although there are those who are doubtful whether they are actually...
Danny Dayan writes to Police Chief Cohen with a copy to Minister of Domestic Security to protest the treatment of female minors held after demonstrating evacuation of outposts.
Yesha Council Chairman, Danny Dayan, sent off a missive to Dudi Cohen asking for clarification in the case of the...
Eli Yishai, in a moving speech this week, said that building in Kiryat Sefer, Beitar Elit and Elad will continue.
Shas MK Eli Yishai said this week that in spite of Olmert´s attempts to procedurally strangle any further building in Yesha, the Yesha communities of Kiryat Sefer, Beitar Elit...
High Court Denies Peace Now Petition
Israel's Supreme Court, led by Dorit Benisch, has denied Peace Now's petition to convert the court's decision regarding Migron to a legally defined requirement.
Peace Now, saying that history has shown the various Israeli governments reluctant to carry out evacuation decisions in Yesha, petitioned...
A military panel has rescinded its order forbidding Beit HaShalom residents from putting in windows to get through the winter. Previously the panel turned down the request saying that it violated humanitarian rights...apparently the right of Arabs to watch Jews suffer the winter cold.
Some say that Barak's desertion of the principles he represented a mere week or so ago to Yakir Segev of the Reservists Organization is reminiscent of his desertion of wounded soldiers at Bzelem years ago. Others have said that his decision is a reaffirmation that politics is stronger than principles and promises.
In response to media and...
2006 Lebanon campaign ended without victory, army did not provide effective response to Hizbullah rocket fire, inquiry commission head tells reporters. 'Olmert acted in what he thought was the interest of the State of Israel,' Winograd adds
"Overall, we regard the Second Lebanon War as a serious missed opportunity. Israel...
School distrupted in Jerusalem, the Galilee, the Golan, Gush Etzion and all over Yesha. Even the university at Ariel is closed.
Many Yesha roads are closed today including the roads along the hill country, from Jerualem to Shilo and in Gush Etzion.
Snow plows are out in force but so far 17 centimeters of snow has fallen in the Jerusalem...
With Shas reiterating that it will have no choice but to leave the government should Jerusalem be placed on the negotiation table, Olmert announced to fellow Kadima members that he will not open talks with the subject of Jerusalem. Although his dodgey comment means relatively little since it is clear that "not opening the talks with the subject of...
Defense Minister Livni, meeting with families who have lost loved ones in military actions, was reported by family representatives, to show identification with their criticism of Olmert's actions during the second Lebanese war.
Minister of Infrastructure, when meeting with the families, said that Olmert would best not take the Labor Party's...
"What made the government - our government - decide to build outposts on the hilltops? Was it by chance? Someone's capricious move? Not at all. The outposts on the hilltops were meant to allow the Jewish settlements to live in security."
These unequivocal statements were made in October 1999 by the man who...
Former IDF Chief of Staff Moshe "Boogy" Yaalon said Tuesday that there was no chance for a peace agreement with the Palestinians and that the negotiations with them were doomed to fail.
According to Yaalon, in order to make diplomatic progress, the Palestinians must carry out a reform. Speaking at the Herzliya...
A change in EU attitudes towards Israel? In a briefing to Israeli reporters Tuesday, European commissioner for Justice Freedom and Security, Frano Frattini, said that the steps leading up to the Gaza blackout cannot be construed as a war crime and criticized the incessant Qassam rocket fire on Israeli civilian population centers.
...
"There is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza," a military official told Ynet Sunday, claiming that the Palestinians had enough food supply to last them for the next weeks, and that any reports of such a crisis were created and promoted by Hamas.
While admitting that the situation in the Gaza Strip was far from good, the...
The Olmert strategy of fighting early elections is to both attack Barak and shout Olmert's refusal to give up his job. The Olmert message is that the problems highlighted in the Winograd Report have been "fixed" and that Olmert has learned his lesson and is now more readily consulting with experts about the areas of government...
"The final report of the Winograd Commission is expected to be dramatic and decisive," a member on the commission told Ynet Thursday.
The member also stated that the report could have "drastic ramifications" for the political system, and could even lead to a toppling of the government.
The commission's spokesman...
Fifteen months after being sworn in, Yisrael Beiteinu Chairman and Minister for Strategic Affairs Avigdor Lieberman announced Wednesday he was resigning his office and that his party was leaving the coalition.
The move, which was announced in a press conference, came just two weeks before the...
The statistics are in for terrorism in 2007. Relative quiet still equals 13 Israelis killed and 500 wounded.
Hatzalah has made its annual report for 2007 which is based on the daily incident report kept in their offices.
While there has, thankfully, been a sustained reduction in Israelis...
Yesha Council Chairman Danny Dayan met with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair along with others from Israel's political Right.
Along with Effi Eitam and others, Danny Dayan met with Tony Blair making this a first-time experience for the political veteran. Meeting with the political right,...
The battle over Beit HaShalom, the building between Hevron and Kiryat Arba purchased by Jews several months ago, is one being waged in the court system.
The next court date is later this week when the issue of whether or not the documents presented by the Jewish owners were genuine or forged as the...
Yesterday Omert and Mofaz traded insults regarding failures in The Lebanon War. Today Olmert and Barak trade barbs about Outposts
On Sunday Defense Minister Barak slammed PM Olmert for his remarks on the failure to evacuate "illegal outposts". This in response...
If such restrictions were decided against Arabs the courts would yell discrimination!
At an emergency meeting in Ariel, Mayor Ron Nahman told his municipal council that even the most basic of community building will now require personal approval of Olmert via the Defense...
Foreign volunteer killed by Palestinian sniper gunfire from within Gaza; man was shot as he was working in the fields of Kibbutz Ein Hashlosha. Hamas claims responsibility
A 20-year-old volunteer from Ecuador was killed after he was shot by a Palestinian sniper from within the Gaza Strip as he was...
Housing and Construction Minister Ze'ev Boim (Kadima) called Sunday for building to continue in sensitive areas in Jerusalem.
"Jerusalem has municipal boundaries that were established and within these domains it is our right to build. If we don't say this, we are pulling the rug out from...
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and former Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia will meet Monday for a first discussion on the core issues, which include Jerusalem, Yesha communities, Arab refugees, Israel's borders, security and the water resources.
PA President Abbas announced that core issue talks with...
Shas's position is that Jerusalem is not up for negotiation and that the first step toward serious negotiations of any kind is the cessation of Arab terror. After Sunday's meeting, however, Rafael Pinhasi, the Council's secretary said clearly that "The moment Israel starts discussing Jerusalm with the Palestinians, Shas will immediately...
In the Olmert style to which we've become accustomed, UTJ was promised 173 million shekels and support for tax benefits for organ donors if they join the coalition.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert took time out from preparation for Bush's visit to meet with United Torah Judaism MK Avraham Ravitz last week in a concerted effort to...
Beinisch meets with the US ambassador to Israel. Politician or Jurist?
A letter calling for Supreme Court Dorit Benisch to suspend herself from all legal discussions concerning building in Yesha, the legitimacy of outpost evacuations and the route of the separation fence has been signed by 20 Knesset members...
At a Yisrael Beiteinu faction meeting on Monday, Lieberman made his case for quitting the coalition.
Party Leader Lieberman said the government has crossed the red lines Yisrael Beiteinu set for itself, seemingly leaving the party no choice but to leave.
However, he asked...
Jewish leaders are reeling after what they say was a decision by Ms.
magazine to refuse to accept a full-page advertisement featuring three
prominent Israeli women.
The advertisement, submitted to the feminist publication by the American Jewish Congress, featured photographs of three
women...
In an emergency meeting held Jan. 6 in Ariel, 13 Yesha mayors plus Yesha Council's general director, decided on a united campaign to turn the tide of Olmert's illegal building freeze.
The following decisions were agreed upon:
Lieberman to meet with Olmert Monday or Tuesday to determine whether Yisrael Beitenu remains in the coalition.
"If the prime minister launches talks on the core issues we will be out of this government by the end of the week", Tourism Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch (Yisrael Beiteinu) said...
Israelis living in the West Bank (sic) should ignore the law and continue to build in their communities in a show of civil disobedience to the government-ordered construction freeze, MK Arye Eldad (National Union-National Religious Party) said Sunday.
"Our instructions to the residents of Judea...
Along with traffic snarls and myriad ceremonies announcing the visit of George Bush, there were also those who chose to send another message to the American president.
Thousands of people, young and old, religious and secular, rabbis, soldiers, mothers and youth groups, gathered to hold hands, making a human chain around and on top of the walls...
A handful of people, including several minors, were arrested for putting up posters depicting Peres, Olmert and Bush wearing kaffiyah.
Those arrested explained that they were being paid to put up the posters and others have pointed out in response to the arrest that both the person employing those detained, as well as those detained, were...
Migron settlers keep watering gardens
Nadav Shragai - Haaretz
Migron, an outpost whose evacuation American diplomats demand every time they discuss the outposts with their Israeli counterparts, ceased to be an outpost a long time ago. Seven years after it was established, Migron now looks like a full-fledged settlement: two...
Hamas official quoted by Al-Hayat as saying former Fatah leader will be freed as part of prisoners' deal to release kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. 'Israel has become more flexible,' he says.
Israel has agreed to release former Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti in the framework of a future prisoner exchange deal for the release of kidnapped IDF...
With an overwhelming majority vote of confidence by the extended general board of The Yesha Council, Pinchas Vallerstein, former mayor of The Binyamin Regional council, was elected to the position of General Director of Yesha in Thursday evening's vote. He was also installed a member of the board with full voting privileges.
With only a small...
Citing the terrorist murder of two off duty soldiers as they hiked with a friend on Friday, Danny Dayan has called for an immediate change in Olmert's policy of releasing terrorist security prisoners. Furthermore, he has called for the cancellation of the ministers' committee set up to re-define the term "prisoners with blood on their hands"...
Foreign Minister Tsippi Livni toured some of the so-called outposts on Jan. 8th, flying overhead in a helicopter , presumably to be better informed for President Bush's upcoming visit to Israel on Wednesday. In a statement during the day, Livini said that the government's position on the outposts is not a bluff and that enforcing the law is something...
Cpl. Amihai and Sgt. David Ruben, both of Kiryat Arba and both from special fighting units in the IDF, were murdered by terrorists on Friday as they hiked in a wadi near Hebron with a female companion on Friday. In a fierce firefight between the two and their attackers, one terrorist was killed and another critically injured. The young woman hiker was...
Public Security Minister, Avi Dichter recently wrote to MKs Uri Ariel and Aryeh Eldad (National Union - NPR) that Jews are not allowed to pray openly on the Temple Mount, even if it just entails moving their lips.
Over ten years ago, the Supreme Court ruled that it accepted the government's position that it was not opposed to individual...
Human Chain Around Jerusalem
On the day before President Bush begins his visit to Israel, One Jerusalem is organizing a massive human chain around the walls of the Old City.
The Human Chain is an expression of firm support for united Jerusalem.
The Human Chain is grassroots opposition to Prime Minister Olmert's...
In a letter handed to US President George Bush, former Sephardic Chief of Israel Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu admonished the US president to avoid any course of action that would harm the Jewish nation.
“The Jewish nation is eternal, and forever remembers those that have aided it throughout history,...
Cinematography lecturer Nizar Hassan is still on suspension from his
academic duties at the Sapir College in southern Israel pending a hearing
on his divisive decision to bar a student wearing an IDF uniform from his
class - but a new controversy has already reared its head and is...
Israel is planning to allocate funds to build over one thousand apartments in east Jerusalem and the West Bank as part of its 2008 budget, despite previous statements that it would not expand West Bank construction, Army Radio reported.
500 apartments are planned to be built in Har Homa and another 240 in Ma'aleh Adumim. This is in addition to...
Prof. Tamir Shafer and his research student Itai Gabai evaluated thousands of news reports and quotes in the British and American media before and after the expulsion of Jews from Gush Katif. To their surprise, they found that world opinion, not particularly favorable to Israel prior to the expulsion, was even less favorable after the action.
...Dozens of activists from the Jewish National Front movement infiltrated demonstrations staged by teachers against the government during their two-month strike and documented the behavior of police officers towards the protesters. Now the activists intend to file a civil lawsuit against the police for what they say is discriminatory behavior against...
Security Forces claim that the violence used in the confrontation in Amona was just the very bottom rung of possibilities while reportedly some right wing sources are calling for taking the battle to enemy territory. This seems an ominous sign for future attempts at evacuations in Yesha.
In what may be a fear tactic being used by security...
In June before the transfer of Jewish families from Gush Katif, the Harel (Levenstein) brothers, Mordi and Elizur, along with a third companion, placed old cars adjacent to the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem Highway with the intention of setting fire to them to call the attention of drivers to their opposition to the pending evacuation. Before they carried...
A military rabbi, along with a number of IDF soldiers and Chabad members affixed a mezuzah Monday on a wall at the entrance to one of the most sensitive areas in Yesha – the Casbah in Hebron.
Judea Brigade Rabbi Captain Eliyahu Peretz presided over the unusual ceremony, which lasted only a few minutes. Aluf Yehuda Fucks,...
The Left Speaks to the Left Again
The Ministers' Committee headed by Haim Ramon met this week ostensibly to understand and deal with the outstanding issues which make the communities known as the "unauthorized outposts" problematic. The nine ministers, among them Foreign Minister Livni, Minister of Agriculture Simhon, Minister of...
Kadima is slated to meet today, Thursday, but so far has been seen to rally around its tainted leader. Pouncing on the Winograd conclusions that Olmert and the rest of the political echelon was weak and at fault but the military was worse, there are those who are ironically even asking for an apology to Ol
