Dear Family & Friends,

Too much to finish last night so, here, on a bright, warm sunny day is Sunday & Monday’s lots of news & commentary.

Enjoy the sun today & tomorrow it may rain. We pray for rain for this year’s food crops.

All the very best, Gail/Geula/Savta/Savta Raba x 2/Mom

2.The murder suspect who WAS released is… By Susie Dym

3.Feb 14-18: “March for Judea&Samaria” – Get involved! By Yosef Rabin

4.‘I was stabbed – I’ll join the army and give my all’

5.Attackers Arrested in Stabbing of 17 yr Old Israeli in Jerusalem

15.

International media outlets ignore Beit El terror attack by Rachel Avraham

Our government is playing games with itself. And losing.

On Wednesday Chaim Levinson reported in Ha’aretz that for the first time in nearly two years, last week the Civil Administration of Judea and Samaria approved new building plans for a small number of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.

Levinson also reported that last month Jerusalem’s municipal planning and building commission gave final approval to plans to build nearly 900 housing units in the southern neighborhood of Gilo. Initial approval was granted back in 2012.
But in the intervening three years, the commission refused to allow them to go forward.

From the report, we learn that the government’s critics in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria who claimed that it was barring Jewish building were right all along. Despite the government’s denials, the fact is that for at least the last year and a half, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his ministers maintained an undeclared freeze on construction for Israeli Jews in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria.

During this period, Jews have only been permitted to build in these areas either on the basis of plans that had received final approval before the unofficial freeze took effect, or in cases where refusal to approve building would have involved admitting that a freeze was in effect. So, for instance, in areas where the rights of Jews to their property in Judea and Samaria have been challenged before the Supreme Court by EU-financed Israeli NGOs like Yesh Din, the government has defended those rights and so given permission for Jews to exercise their property rights.

The government opted to enact this unofficial building freeze, and so trample the civil rights of hundreds of thousands of Israeli citizens, in the hopes of convincing the Obama administration to protect Israel from Palestinian efforts to pass anti-Israel resolutions at the UN Security Council.

It might have been possible to justify the government’s behavior – or at least to understand it – if it had brought about the hoped for benefits.

If President Barack Obama had responded to Netanyahu’s radical concession by burying the hatchet and supporting Israel at the UN and on the international stage more generally, then perhaps the move would have been worth it.

But that didn’t happen. Over the past 18 months, the administration – backed by much of the Israeli Left – has escalated its anti-Israel policies and rhetoric. Even as the government curtailed the property rights of Israeli Jews in the hopes of appeasing him, Obama along with Secretary of State John Kerry has led the charge in wrongly blaming Israel for the absence of peace with the Palestinians.

Obama and Kerry have engaged in acts of deliberate libel by falsely accusing Israel of institutional racism against the Palestinians in Judea and Samaria.

As for the UN, both Obama and Kerry – along with their advisers – have repeatedly threatened to allow anti-Israel resolutions to be passed in the Security Council.

The message the administration is sending through its continued aggression is plain to see. It has no interest in being appeased by Israel, and as a result, no concessions Israel makes will satisfy it or diminish its desire to downgrade the US-Israel alliance and weaken Israel diplomatically.

Obama’s beef is not with building for Jews beyond the 1949 armistice lines. Attacking Jewish building is merely a means for attacking Israel.

In the absence of such building, Obama and his advisers have been quick to make up new excuses for condemning Israel.

The undeclared and unrewarded building freeze isn’t the only policy the government has implemented to the detriment of Israel’s national interest in the unfounded hope of satisfying hostile foreign governments.

There is also its policy in regard to Israeli-registered NGOs that operate as agents of foreign governments in their efforts to subvert the government and harm the state.

According to a report published earlier this month by NGO Monitor, between 2012 and 2014, foreign governments transferred a whopping NIS 169,728,500 to 27 organizations registered as Israeli nonprofits. Foreign government funding comprised 65 percent of overall funding for these highly political, anti-Israel groups.

Twenty of the 27 groups in question receive the majority of their funding from foreign governments either directly or through third party organizations. Since these groups are registered as nonprofits, the funds they receive from foreign governments are tax exempt. In other words, Israeli taxpayers are subsidizing agents of foreign governments.

These groups, which include the likes of B’Tselem, Breaking the Silence, Yesh Din, Machsom Watch, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, and Adalah, work together and separately in a bid to make it impossible as a practical matter for Israel to defend itself against terrorist groups or to respect the civil rights of its Jewish citizens, including their rights to property and self-defense. Moreover, they work to criminalize Israel’s leaders and soldiers internationally while promoting BDS.

Given their activities and goals, it is self-evident that these groups are a threat to the national interests of Israel. They cause it great harm both domestically and internationally.

As the public’s awareness of the threat posed by these foreign government-funded groups has grown in recent years, Knesset members have repeatedly introduced legislation geared toward curbing their activities.

Not surprisingly, given the fact that foreign governments – principally from the EU and its member states – are funding and so directing the actions of these groups, each time the Knesset tried to rein them in, those efforts have been immediately and viciously attacked by the governments of Europe, the EU, the Obama administration, the groups themselves, the international media and the Israeli Left.

Each time, the attacks have been the same. The foreign governments and their allies in the media and the Israeli Left, including their employees, have insisted that any move by the Knesset to restrain, regulate or otherwise expose their hostile activities constitutes nothing less than a deadly assault on Israeli democracy.

The criticism is absurd on its face, and represents pure projection. After all, it is hard to imagine a more direct assault against a nation’s democratic system than foreign governmental funding of domestic groups whose goal is to delegitimize and vilify their government and country.

These ridiculous attacks on government attempts to regulate the actions of foreign-funded anti-Israel groups beg for an unapologetic counter assault from the government. Distressingly, rather than strike the necessarily blow, time after time the government has crumpled.

One after another, NGO bills have been abandoned or watered down to the point of fecklessness.

Today Israel is being subjected yet again to the coordinated assault of the phony “champions of democracy.” As in the past, the Obama administration has joined forces with the EU, the Israeli Left and the Western media to attack the government for its support for Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked’s NGO Transparency Bill.

Given the unhinged nature of the attacks, one could reasonably assume that this time, the government is serious. But alas, as in the past, one would be wrong.

There is nothing in Shaked’s bill that will do significant damage to either the Israeli groups or their foreign governmental funders. For instance, Shaked’s bill does not remove these groups’ nonprofit status. Under the Shaked bill, foreign government- funded groups that vilify the IDF and its soldiers like Breaking the Silence will continue to enjoy the same tax exemptions as real nonprofits like the IDF’s widows and orphans fund.

Shaked’s bill only treats as foreign agents organizations that receive the majority of their funding from foreign governments. But the distinction between Yesh Din, which receives 93% of its funding from foreign governments, and Machsom Watch (of which Yesh Din is a spinoff), which receives 47% of its funding from foreign governments, is entirely arbitrary. Both groups are beholden to foreign governments. Both are foreign agents.

Like its decision to freeze Jewish building projects, the government’s decision to water down the NGO Transparency Bill was clearly motivated by its hope of winning points with hostile governments. It is hard not to sympathize with this hope. But the fact that it comes from an understandable impulse doesn’t make the government’s behavior rational. As the unhinged criticisms directed at the bill from the US and EU make clear, they are not impressed, indeed they couldn’t care less about the government’s attempt to mollify them by advancing a bill devoid of substance.

The lesson from these miserable experiences is clear enough. Since Israel is going to be attacked no matter what it does, we might as well do things that advance our interests.

Since we will be vilified for building “settlements” even when the government freezes construction, we might as well build settlements.

Since the price for expanding existing buildings is the same as the price for building new neighborhoods and communities, there is no reason to pay full price for a fraction of the benefit. Indeed, since the Obama administration and the EU plan to attack us no matter what we do, we might as well go ahead and apply Israeli law to the Jordan Valley and Gush Etzion.

Likewise, since the same forces will viciously condemn us for advancing legislation that will do nothing to curb their funding for Israeli agents or curtail the hostile actions of those agents, we might as well get viciously attacked for doing something to curb their funding and curtail their actions. Given the ferocity of the criticism Israel is enduring over the Shaked bill, it makes sense to redraft the bill and turn it into something useful.

We get it. The Obama administration and the EU aren’t attacking Israel because we did something wrong. They’re attacking us because they want to hurt us. That is their goal. Recognizing this sorry truth, the public elected the Likud and its coalition partners to defend our interests and our rights. Hope is not a strategy. Building new communities and neighborhoods, expanding the writ of Israeli law and curtailing the activities of subversive foreign agents is a strategy. And a good one.

============= Please contribute to The Freeman Center’s essential educational activities. Mail check to address above or by paypal: http://www.freeman.org/paypal.htm

Spy stations said to intercept and decode transmissions from Black Sparrow target rocket used for interceptor development By Stuart Winer TimesOfIsrael.com Jan. 31, 2016 2:22 pm

A test launch of the David’s Sling missile defense system (Courtesy Defense Ministry)

Stuart Winer is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel.

The US and Britain reportedly monitored details of a rocket developed by Israel to test its anti-missile defense systems, as part of a massive eavesdropping program revealed last week.

The Americans and British gathered information about the Black Sparrow missile, which mimics the flight path of an incoming ballistic missile and has been used by Israel in tests of the Arrow and Magic Wand defense systems, the Hebrew daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported Sunday.

It was not clear from the report how the data was obtained or if it was taken directly from intercepted transmissions during flights of the Black Sparrow .

On April 1, 2015, a Black Sparrow was successfully intercepted during a test of the Magic Wand anti-missile system, also known as David’s Sling, the report said.

The Arrow system, already operational, is intended to shoot down long-range ballistic missiles. Magic Wand is still under development and is planned to intercept medium- to long-range missiles.

Made by Israeli defense contractor Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and manufactured under license by the US-based Raythorn company, the Black Sparrow missile is air-launched from a plane, usually an F-15 fighter jet. It then accelerates away to become a target for anti-missile systems to track and intercept.

Israel was disappointed, but claimed not to be surprised, by the revelation Friday that US and British intelligence services have spied on its air force operations for at least 18 years. The intel breach was described by one Israeli security source Friday as “an earthquake… the worst leak in the history of Israeli intelligence.”

The US and UK cracked the IDF’s special encryption system for communication between fighter jets, drones and army bases, Israel’s military censor approved for publication Friday, after the long-term spying operation was reported in two overseas publications. The two countries have reportedly used this access to monitor IDF operations in Gaza, watch for a potential Israeli strike on Iran, and keep tabs on the drone technology that Israel exports.

The tracking has been done from a Royal Air Force installation in the Troodos Mountains, near Mount Olympus, the highest point on the island of Cyprus, according to The Intercept, which, along with German newspaper Der Spiegel, first published the documents.

The IDF encryption code was cracked as part of a major intelligence operation that has been conducted by the US’s National Security Agency (NSA) and its British counterpart, the GCHQ, since 1998. Throughout the operation, many ciphers for advanced weapons systems used by Hezb’Allah , Egypt, Turkey, Iran and Syria were broken.

However, much of the focus of the operation, code-named Anarchist, was Israel. Within Anarchist, the focus on the Black Sparrow project was called Runway, Yedioth said.

2.The murder suspect who WAS released is… By Susie Dym Arutz Sheva IsraelNationalNews.com 1/30/2016, 10:01 PM

Susie Dym, is a spokesperson for Mattot Arim, with over 20 years of expertise…

on “peace-for-peace” issues.

Amazing. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/09/israel-imprisons-two-jewish-extremists-administrative-detention-arson-attack-palestinian-west-bank – it’s reported even in the Guardian.

Evyatar Slonim and Meir Ettinger have been in administrative detention for nearly six months. In contrast, Ezra Nawi has been released despite videotapes documenting his suspected involvement in murder of Arabs. This is different because …? Because the Arab victims in Ezra Nawi’s case were Arabs who sold land to Jews? Do we who are Jews think that selling land to us is a crime hence murderers of that sort of Arabs is ok? Furthermore, a suspect in the Duma fatal arson – Ben-Uliel – has already been indicted.

It is high time that the imprisonment without trial of Slonim and Ettinger come to an end. As AFSI wrote this week, “No democracy keeps prisoners indefinitely in solitary confinement without any charges.” Israelis are in favor of due process.

The principles the government of Israel should follow are these:

a. It is essential that an arson which led to the death of parents and a baby in Duma needs to be investigated – but properly. Administrative detention violates the principle of “innocent until proven guilty”. It is a tool used for rampant terrorism against the State of Israel and its allies and is not suitable for an isolated case of murder, shocking though that case may be.
b. All probable and possible suspects, Jewish and Arab, should be investigated. The Israeli public believes that the courts have no choice but to convict a Jew for the Duma arson even if the evidence is mainly or solely a confession obtained under inappropriate circumstances. To dispel this widespread concern, the government should specifically report to the public as to whether or not steps have been taken to investigate Arab suspects as well. If 4 different arsons occurred in Duma in the last few months (see Sara Beck’s report, here: http://www.maariv.co.il/journalists/Article-495449) , law enforcement authorities should be mulling this carefully, and keeping the public posted that they are doing so. Is that happening?

c. Defense Minister Yaalon says he “knows” that the perpetrators of the fatal arson in Duma were Jewish. Unfortunately Defense Minister Yaalon – hailing from the kibbutz movement traditionally affiliated with the Israeli Left – has not always been a trustworthy source, of late, when speaking to the press about non-defense issues namely the Jewish community of Judea and Samaria. At any rate, if knowledge confirming that Slonim or Ettinger are perpetrators, then they should be indicted and tried. Not imprisoned without either of these 2 cardinal steps, leading the public to wonder whether anything is really known against these men.

d. The Government of Israel should delicately hint to American Jewish groups – if they cannot discern this need on their own – that US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro needs to learn to mind his own business. He has had the audacity to criticize Israel’s law enforcement policies: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4754628,00.html.

Ironically, it took years not months until the powerful country that Shapiro represents finally managed to convict the Arab perpetrator who murdered Meir Ettinger’s grandfather (Rabbi Meir Kahane) in a roomful full of people in the United States of America https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Meir_Kahane#cite_note-8 ,

and those like Shapiro who live in tin houses should not be throwing can-openers. If Shapiro feels impelled to contribute toward law enforcement in Judea and Samaria, he could speak up for solving the mystery of who hacked two children to death in Tekoa which is also in Judea and Samaria: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murders_of_Koby_Mandell_and_Yosef_Ishran.

While “only” 6 months have elapsed since the fatal Duma arson, the murderer/s of Israeli-American pre-teen Koby Mandell and his friend Yosef has or have been at large for 15 years!! If anyone can find protestations whatsoever – by Ambassador Shapiro or any other US Ambassador — about this, anytime over the past 15 years, kindly forward same to mattot.arim at gmail dot com.

e. The Government of Israel cannot, unfortunately, rely blindly on Shabak evaluations of the Jewish community of Judea and Samaria, after radical former Shabak chief Carmi Gillon stated that “There is not any difference in my eyes between ISIS and the (recently apprehended suspected) Jewish terrorists”, and added that the Jewish suspects must be dealt with harshly because they “refuse to compromise” (?). http://new.jpost.com/landedpages/printarticle.aspx?id=441857. Similarly, the judge who reviewed Ettinger’s case reportedly said that Ettinger should remain in prison without indictment, trial or conviction because he “has not changed his views” (?) /Articles/Article.aspx/18288#.Vq0UH49OJes. The Government of Israel needs to distance itself from this sort of politics and demonstrate to the public its commitment to preventing and identifying all factual perpetrators of violent crime – period.

f. The Government should clarify that violent crime is OUT, whereas Jewish building in the Land of Israel is IN. This will clarify that the red line is against violence, not against the Land of Israel, strengthening the rule of law and weakening any who would succumb to violent tendencies.

The continued imprisonment of Evyatar Slonim and Meir Ettinger is indicative of a larger problem. Feel free to use the above information when you write to:

Minister Yaalon, Fax: 972-2-5303506. Email: pniot@mod.gov.il

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu: Fax 972-2-6703398. Email: mankals@pmo.gov.il pm_eng@pmo.gov.il

President Reuven Rivlin. Fax: 972-2-588-7225. Email: public@president.gov.il.

You can also write your appeal right here below so it will be seen by the public. Political figures are sometimes more affected by what the public reads about them (i.e. here) than by what you write to them privately.

The murder suspect who WAS released is… By Susie Dym

3.Feb 14-18: “March for Judea&Samaria” – Get involved! By Yosef Rabin

Yosef Rabin is a United Temple Mount Movement activist who has been involved in the ongoing battle for Jewish rights and sovereignty on the Temple Mount for over 10 years. Having made Aliyah from the US, today Yosef is married & lives in Jerusalem. For ideas and comments, send your emails to matemikdash@gmail.com

Dear supporters of Judea and Samaria worldwide!

In the last couple of days, we have been hard at work trying to mobilize Jews and supporters of Israel worldwide (via Facebook) for a week of protest on behalf of the Jewish communities in Judea&Samaria.

Between February 14-18, people will mobilize their communities to go out to the street in unprecedented rallies to demand that governments recognize the Jewish communities in Judea&Samaria as legal and legitimate.

Currently, we are focusing on the following rally points and you should get involved!

MARCH FOR JUDEA&SAMARIA – HOME PAGE

March for Judea&Samaria – Finland

March for Judea&Samaria – Connecticut, USA

March for Judea&Samaria-Stockholm, Sweden

March for Judea&Samaria- New York, USA

March for Judea&Samaria – Germany

March for Judea&Samaria- Pennsylvania, USA

March for Judea&Samaria- Colorado, USA

March for Judea&Samaria – Michigan, USA

March for Judea&Samaria – New Mexico, USA

March for Judea&Samaria- Arizona, USA

March for Judea&Samaria- New Zealand

We are urging you to get involved and help organize and mobilize friends and families for the rally points listed above.

If your town/city/country is not yet on the list of rally points, let us know where you live and befriend Yisrael Yehuda via Facebook to become a admin for an event page. I

The popular struggle for Judea and Samaria has begun, but it will only be successful with your help! Stop complaining about the situation and start doing, because when “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

Thank you, Yosef Rabin

International Land of Israel Committee; Email landisraelc@gmail.com

Phone US 914 – 336 – 4669; Phone UK 44 207- 048 – 6356; Phone Israel 054-492-9220

Feb 14-18: “March for Judea&Samaria” – Get involved! By Yosef Rabin

4.’I was stabbed – I’ll join the army and give my all’

Stabbing victim in today’s attack near Damascus Gate made aliyah from Brooklyn in order to join IDF. Only became a citizen last month. By Arutz Sheva Staff First Publish: 1/30/2016, 10:53 PM

Scene of attack by Damascus Gate

From security camera

The 17-year-old Jewish youth who was stabbed in a terror attack near Jerusalem’s Damascus Gate spoke with reporters from his hospital bed.

Though his name has not been released, he is originally from Brooklyn, New York. He made aliyah last month in order to join the army and is currently studying in a pre-military academy next to Jerusalem.

“I turned around and saw them running, and I started to run. I understood that it was a terror attack and that I had been stabbed. I didn’t see the terrorist, he came from behind and stabbed me. There were two of them with knives, they looked young… I was never afraid. G-d willing, I will enlist in the army and join Sayeret Matkal.”

Dr. Osnat Levtzion-Korah, the head of Hadassah Mount Scopus Hospital, stated: “A 17-year-old youth arrived with a stab wound in his hip. He was lightly wounded. He underwent tests and will remain here for supervision, and will probably be released tomorrow. She added: “He said that he was walking with some friends and that he was stabbed. Nothing more.”

The victim’s family has not yet been informed of what occurred.

5.Attackers Arrested in Stabbing of 17 yr Old Israeli in Jerusalem

The attack took place close to the end of Sabbath; two suspects were arrested an hour later. By: Hana Levi Julian JewishPress.com Published: January 30th, 2016

Ambulance near Shaar Shechem following terror attack – Jan. 30, 2016. Photo Credit: Amichai Stein

A 17-year-old was stabbed in his back on Sultan Suleiman Street near the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem.

Police arrested two Jerusalem Arab minors Saturday night in connection with the stabbing of a 17-year-old Jewish teen by two teen terrorists about an hour later. Both were transferred to security personnel for interrogation.

Searches continued in the area Saturday night until police could confirm the identity of the suspects in custody as the attackers, or innocent bystanders.

The victim had just left evening prayers at the Western Wall together with a second Jewish teen when the two were set upon by their attackers.

The second Jewish teen managed to escape the assailants and race back into the Old City via the Damascus Gate, where he found police and alerted them to the attack by two “14 to 15 year olds” taking place outside the entrance.

The stabbing took place at the close of the Sabbath, as the stars were emerging in the sky.

The victim, who is in fair to good condition, was taken by emergency medical personnel to Hadassah Medical Center’s Mount Scopus campus.

6.BDS: Building a cause around a fraud by Barry Shaw

BDS is a perfect subject matter for Occam’s Razor. Arutz Sheva IsraelNationalNews.com 1/29/16

Barry Shaw, is the Senior Associate for Public Diplomacy at the Israeli Institute for Strategic Studies. He is also the author of ‘Fighting Hamas, BDS and Anti-Semitism.’

BDS campaigns are not built on any solid foundation. They are built on a hypothesis, hypothesis being a proposed explanation based on limited evidence, or no evidence at all. It is used by BDS as their starting point and its lack of intellectual depth and honesty is draped in a mantle of emotional claims and sloganeering. No need to elaborate or produce facts or statistics. Emotional sloganeering is more effective in rousing support.

Something hypothetic is based on an imagined situation rather than fact. Everything in the BDS toolbox is based on hypothetical arguments devoid of facts. You know the list. Israel is an apartheid state when it isn’t. Israel is conducting an intense blockage on Gaza when it isn’t. Israel is conducting ethnic cleansing against the Palestinians when the condition and the population numbers of Palestinians have improved. Israel is a racist state when it is the most multifaceted nation in the Middle East and Africa.

They try to disguise the paucity of their argument in a form of tautology. They say and write the same simplistic things under different formats. They do this by attempting to recruit people in differing fields to declare their refusal to have any contact with their Israeli counterparts as if the message is

Like the one made by Professor Malcolm Levitt of Southampton University that made him look ridiculous.

In 2013 he said, “Israel has a totally explicit policy of making life impossible for the non-Jewish population and I find it totally unacceptable.”

If, by Israel’s non-Jewish population, Levitt is referring to Israel’s Arab, Druze or Christians I challenge his foolish remark. These non-Jewish members of our community have it far better than their counterparts in much of the regions non-Jewish regimes.

In science and philosophy, Occam’s Razor, is the principle of accepting the simplest satisfactory explanation. Atheists sometimes use the theory of Occam’s Razor to prove that God is an unnecessary hypothesis in this physical world.

I would suggest that BDS is a perfect subject matter for Occam’s Razor. They take two sides of an argument, their own and any Israeli claim. They then chip away any Israeli fact or evidence that disproves their contrary and pre-conceived view. They then present their biased hypothesis as if the other side has no challenging argument, leaving them to present the simplest explanation for perceived Israeli action, or non-action in a deceptive manner.

They take an alternative route to their own wrong conclusion by employing an illogical argument that proposes that, as the Palestinians seem weaker and poorer than the stronger and more prosperous Israel, the Palestinian condition must be a result of Israel oppressing and exploiting them. Known as a syllogism, a deductive conclusion reached by two or more assertive propositions, their assumption matches their desired aim, namely to point the finger of blame on to their intended target, the Jewish state. They can compound their conclusion by associating other false claims against Israel to their cause.

What is lacking in their inherently false assumption is the possibility of another piece of the syllogistic puzzle, namely that the Palestinian condition is based on their repeated rejection of generous Israeli peace offers that would surely have improved their lot.

This obvious hypothesis gets in the way of their prime obsession to blame Israel for all the ills of their tunnel-vision world. To accept this notion would expose the bankruptcy of their psychotic existence in which they have reveled on the high of bringing their ill-conceived views to a wider and receptive audience.

As such, BDS is an unnecessary and dishonest hypothesis.

Author of ‘Fighting Hamas, BDS & Anti-Semitism’ available from www.barrysbooks.info & Amazon.

BDS: Building a cause around a fraud by Barry Shaw

7.Ban Ki-moon ‘Alarmed’ by Hamas Pledge on tunnels, rockets By: JNi.Media JewishPress.com Published: January 30th, 2016

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a Gaza terror tunnel that stretches into Israel. Photo Credit: GPO

Alarmed by recent statements from the Hamas leadership in Gaza about their intention to continue building tunnels and firing rockets at Israel, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Saturday said such remarks and actions do “serious disservice” to Gaza’s long-suffering people and put at risk the international community’s humanitarian and development efforts.

“Such statements and actions put at risk reconstruction, humanitarian and development efforts by the international community and Palestinian and Israeli authorities. They also do a serious disservice to the long-suffering people of Gaza,” Ban said in a statement issued by his spokesperson.

“After three devastating conflicts in seven years, people in Gaza and the people of southern Israel deserve a chance for peace and development,” the Secretary-General’s statement continued, underscoring that every effort must be made to improve the living conditions of the people of Gaza.

“The Secretary-General reiterates his condemnation of terrorism in all its manifestations,” it concluded.

Earlier this week, the Secretary-General, on the same day Israel buried terror victim Shlomit Krigman, excused Palestinian terror, telling the Security Council, “It is human nature to react to occupation, which often serves as a potent incubator of hate and extremism.”

Prime Minister Netanyahu responded, saying “The secretary-general’s remarks provide a tailwind for terrorism. There is no justification for terrorism. Those Palestinians who murder do not want to build a state, they want to destroy a state and they say this openly.”

My word: Diplomatic offensives

Moralistic self-recrimination plays into the hands of Israel’s worse detractors, and the bitter fruits of Israeli self-flagellation are beginning to ripen.

Israeli policemen stand near a checkpoint close to the West Bank settlement of Otniel. (photo credit:REUTERS)

There is no[t] any difference between ISIS and this Jewish group that was lately arrested. They are exactly com[ing] with the same agenda, with the same beliefs. The only difference is that they are Jewish, and they are Arab/Muslims. – Carmi Gillon, former head of the Shin Bet, Jerusalem Press Club, January 17, 2016
Enslaving the families of the kuffar [infidels] and taking their women as concubines is a firmly established aspect of the Shari’a… that if anyone were to deny or mock, he would be denying or mocking the verses of the Koran and the narrations of the Prophet. –from ISIS’s English magazine Dabiq, in “ISIS soldiers told to rape women ‘to make them Muslim’” – CNN, October 8, 2015
State Department’s silence deafening after US citizens engage in Israeli settler violence. The silence of the US government when American citizens are actively engaged in anti-Palestinian terrorism suggests that we condemn Islamist terror while condoning Jewish terror. – Richard Silverstein, MintPress News, January 6, 2016
ISIS has executed more than 10,000 men, women and children in Iraq and Syria since June 2014…. In reality the death toll from ISIS’s murderous campaign is evidently even higher than the already shocking statistics suggest. – International Business Times, September 24, 2015
On January 17, 38-year-old Dafna Meir, a nurse and mother of six, was stabbed to death by a Palestinian terrorist in front of her teenage daughter, at their home in Otniel, a small Jewish community, south of Hebron.
With excruciatingly bad timing, on the very same day, the former head of Shin Bet, Carmi Gillon, chose to equate acts of Jewish ‘hilltop’ renegades, not only with the current wave of lethal Arab terrorism, but with the gory agenda of ISIS.
Widespread umbrage and outrage
According to Gillon, “The only difference is that they are Jewish and they are Arab/Muslims.”
Many Israelis were deeply offended, even outraged, by the suggestion that there is any hint of equivalence between the two.
This certainly seems to be the sentiment among Jerusalem Post readers. Thus, in a caustic letter to the editor (January 19), reader Ze’ev Shandalov reproaches Gillon for having “the unmitigated gall to make such a statement,” charging that it should earn him “damning condemnation from all sectors.” He asks, not without justification: “How many Jewish terrorists have massacred hundreds of Yazidis? How many Jewish terrorists have dropped gays to their deaths from tall buildings? How many Jewish terrorists have put a bullet in the head of their mother in a public execution?” and concludes, “Gillon’s comments are repugnant, sickening and loathsome, and should be roundly condemned by anyone who has any sense of morality.”
Shandalov was not alone in his indignation. In another letter to the editor, J.W. Krasner points out: “ISIS is for brutal public beheadings, the rape and enslavement of women, and mass punishment and exile for thousands,” asking with evident exasperation: “How can anyone mention Jewish terrorists in the same breath? Where is the gravitas and temperance that should accompany past heroes as they age?” The talkback responses to Gillon’s talk in the Post’s Internet edition, headlined, “Jewish terrorists more harmful to world Jewry than Arab counterparts,” were almost uniformly condemnatory of his inference of equivalence.
Mindless, misleading comparison
Just how staggeringly mindless and misleading Gillon’s comparison is should be clear from the catalogue of carnage, perpetrated by various Islamist organizations such as ISIS, Hamas and Hezb’Allah .
Clearly, ISIS, with which Gillon equates with the Jewish price-tag/hilltop radicals, is the bloodiest of all – with a billion-dollar budget and a deadly reach stretching across the globe, from the eastern fringes of the Levant and the Arabian Peninsula, through Western Europe (Paris) and across the Atlantic Ocean and the American continent to California’s San Bernardino – see “Recent Attacks Demonstrate Islamic State’s Ability to Both Inspire and Coordinate Terror,” New York Times, Jan. 14.
Indeed, the shocking fatality figures cited in the opening excerpts (from the International Business Times) only partially convey the full extent of the gruesome picture.
As the report admits, it “doesn’t account for thousands more victims… who have been killed in suicide bombings and captives fleeing the horrors of life in Raqqa… It also excludes the slaughter of 5,000 Yazidi people in Iraq’s Sinjar province last August who were shot down by ISIS fighters…”
There is of course not the vaguest similarity between the scope of savagery, the capabilities or global ambitions of jihadist Islamist terrorism and the few score Jewish youth, who according to Gillon, live in remote caves, have no organizational structure and operate without cellphones.
Killing Jews ‘only human’?
But one need not invoke ISIS to illustrate how absurd any purported equivalence between alleged Jewish “terror” and Arab terrorism is. For that, a cursory glance at the grim statistics of the recent wave of Judeocidal Arab violence is sufficient.
Since the end of July, when the arson in Duma, supposedly perpetrated by a Jewish radical (or radicals), and which took the lives of three Arabs, there has not been a single Arab harmed – never mind killed – by any act of Jewish ideologically motivated crime.
In stark contrast, since mid-September, due to institutionalized incitement from official Palestinian organs, 30 Israelis have been killed at the hands of Arabs, and 10 times that number injured (almost 30 seriously), in 170 separate attacks – over 100 of them stabbings.
This, of course, is in no way merely a spontaneous expression of individual grievance, induced by years of “occupation,” as apparently UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon would have us believe, when he seemed to insinuate that killing Jews was only human: “It is human nature to react to occupation, which often serves as a potent incubator of hate and extremism.” (Security Council session on the situation in the Middle East, January 26)
Institutionalized Judeocidal incitement?!
It would be intriguing indeed to learn what “occupation” he would invoke as an “incubator” for the staggering scope of fratricidal, intra-Islamic “hate and extremism” in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Sudan, Afghanistan and Pakistan, to name but few blood-drenched loci within the occupation-free Muslim world.
Indeed, to dispel any illusion that the current wave of attacks is the spontaneous, undirected response of aggrieved individuals, let me, once again, draw attention to the recent analysis of “lone wolf” terrorism in the Post (November 1, 2015) by Prof. Boaz Ganor, head of the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism in Herzliya
In it, he describes the “institutional incitement and training” underpinning the phenomenon: “The Palestinian terrorist organizations… stepped up their incitement on the Web and published instructions on how the attackers could be more effective.”
Ganor adds: “The instructions are usually accompanied by video clips with recommendations on the kind of knives to use, where to stab the victims, from which angle to attack and so on. In some instances, the terrorist organizations suggest attacking in pairs or in larger groups, seizing rifles from prospective military victims and opening fire in all directions.”
He states, quite unequivocally: Israel is in the throes of a nationalist and religion-driven wave of terror fueled by incitement…,” noting that the “mainstream voice was the catalyst that drove inflamed young people into the streets… randomly killing Israelis.”
There is, of course, no equivalent phenomenon in the Jewish mainstream, making any moralistic self-incrimination, over some nonexistent parallel, wildly inappropriate – and needlessly detrimental.
Jewish graffiti is terrorism; lethal Arab stones are not?
But things get even worse.
The day before Gillon’s talk, Jerusalem’s Dormition Abbey, a Benedictine monastery on Mount Zion, just outside the walls of the Old City, was defaced by crudely anti-Christian and admittedly reprehensible graffiti in Hebrew. No one was harmed in the incident. Yet in referring to it, Gillon informed his audience of foreign journalists that “the sabotage of the church in Dormition [Abbey]… in my eyes, is a terror act.”
But when it came to Arabs hurling stones intended to kill or main Jews, he remarked: “Speaking about Palestinians who threw stones, the Shin Bet doesn’t deal with that. This is not a terror act.”
Some might find this diagnosis astonishing.
After all, stones thrown at Jews by Arabs, merely because they were Jewish, have resulted in a number of fatalities – most of them of young children.
Thus, Haaretz reported:
– “The 64-year-old Israeli, Alexander Levlovitz, died and two passengers were hurt after attackers pelted their car with rocks in Jerusalem.” (September 14, 2015)
– “Adele Biton, the four-year-old child who was critically injured in a stone-throwing incident near the settlement of Ariel two years ago, died in Petah Tikva’s Schneider Hospital…Her mother and two sisters were moderately injured in the attack.” (February 17, 2015)
– “Fatal West Bank car crash caused by Palestinian stone-throwing. Israel Police confirm Kiryat Arba crash that killed Israeli father [Asher Palmer, 25] and infant son [Yonatan, one] was [a] terror attack despite initial IDF report claiming crash was an accident. (September 25, 2011)
– “Yehuda Shoham was aged five months [and died when] his skull was fractured by Palestinians who pelted his parents’ car with rocks near Luban as they drove home.” (August 24, 2001)
So non-lethal Hebrew graffiti is an “act of terror,” while lethal rocks, launched with the intent to murder or maim Jews, are not?
What is wrong with this picture?
‘Jewish terrorists are more dangerous for Israel than Hamas…’
But perhaps the most disconcerting remark from Gillon was this: “Those Jewish terrorists, they are more dangerous for the State of Israel than the Hamas and the Palestinians terror groups… Hezb’Allah and so on…. The sabotage of that small Jewish group would make, for the State of Israel, is much more dangerous.”
In many ways, this proclamation is as breathtaking as it is bewildering. For although similar allegations have been bandied about liberally of late, no one actually seems able to stipulate the mechanism by which that great danger will be precipitated, other than by speculating about future intentions, which the meager band of sparsely scattered nomads, whose most formidable weapon hitherto has been, allegedly, a box of matches and a bottle of inflammable liquid, are clearly incapable of perpetrating.
Clearly, I do not wish to downplay the repercussions of the anger an attack attributed to Jews on a sensitive non-Jewish target might generate. However, it is difficult to see how such an attack, given the paltry resources available today (or in the foreseeable future) to price-tag/hilltop renegades, could be, in anyway, comparable to the damage Arab terrorist organizations can wreak on the country and its citizens.
Is that threat comparable to the threat posed by Hezb’Allah ? With an estimated 100,000 rockets/missiles (compared to around 14,000 in 2006, which kept over a million Israelis huddled in shelters for weeks), along with unmanned aircraft, antitank weapons, antiaircraft and land-to-sea missiles that it possesses today, Hezb’Allah terrorists are likely to rain up to 1,200 projectiles a day down on Israeli civilians .
Much the same could be asked about Hamas in the south, with the rapid replenishment of its rockets and the renewed tunnel activity increasingly evident…
Or the growing ISIS-affiliated jihadist insurgency in Sinai, pressing against the long southern border, threatening to cut off land access to Eilat…
Jewish “terror” more dangerous than Arab terrorism? Really?
The bitter fruits of self-flagellation
In the past I argued against artificially inflating the threat posed by a marginal, and marginalized, band of radical Jewish renegades. Portraying Israel as a threatened society, teetering on the brink of becoming a theocratic, tyrannical monarchy, is as misplaced as it is misleading.
I urged against attempts to draw any equivalence between Arab terrorism and the terrorist organizations that promote/perpetrate/ propagate it, and the groups of Jewish theo-ideological extremists. I cautioned against blurring the very real distinction that exists between them, and of the detrimental consequences that drawing inappropriate parallels might entail for Israel. After all, how can Israel hope to invoke international sympathy or solidarity in its struggle against Arab/Muslim terrorism – and international understanding for the policies it requires to contend with it – if it, itself, is guilty of harboring equivalent malfeasance? I warned that moralistic self-recrimination plays into the hands of Israel’s worse detractors, and as the introductory excerpt from the bitterly inimical Richard Silverstein shows, the bitter fruits of Israeli self-flagellation are beginning to ripen.
Remarks like those of Carmi Gillon can only increase the noxious harvest. They will be pounced on by those bent on harming Israel. As such, it – and he – will have done Israel a great disservice.
Martin Sherman (www.martinsherman.org) is the founder and executive director of the Israel Institute for Strategic Studies. (www.strategic-israel.org)

9.Defense Ministry unveils first Namer APC with Trophy anti-missile system by Yaakov Lappin 1/28/16

Defense Ministry releases first images of new Jordan border security fence

IDF expands missile fortification of strategic sites

Rafael-produced system will enable troop transporter to move across battlefields rife with anti-tank & RPG threats.

Namer armored personnel carrier with Trophy anti-missile system. (photo credit:DEFENSE MINISTRY/MERKAVA TANK ADMINISTRATION)

The Defense Ministry unveiled on Thursday the first Namer armored personnel carrier equipped with the Trophy HV active protection system.

Trophy – made by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems – has already been installed on Merkava MK 4 tanks, protecting them from antitank and rocket- propelled grenade attacks during the 2014 Gaza conflict.
Now the system will be installed on every new Namer, the Defense Ministry’s Merkava Tank Administration announced, following the completion of the first operational drill involving IDF personnel at the Armored Corps School in southern Israel. The trial was held by Defense Ministry engineers and IDF ground forces, and came following a series of live-fire tests in which missiles were fired at the Namer and destroyed by Trophy.
The Trophy-equipped Namers will be able to enter battlegrounds rife with antitank and RPG threats and safely transport infantry, even in the face of multiple, simultaneous threats.
The Trophy system uses radar panels to detect and follow threats before destroying them in mid-air with interceptors.
“We will implement the Defense Ministry’s policy of equipping every Namer coming off the production line with the only active protection system in the world,” said Brig.-Gen. Baruch Matzliah, the head of the Merkava Tank Administration.
“The Namer with the Trophy system will form the highest level of protection for IDF soldiers and provide them with defense and a significant advantage on the battlefield.”
During Operation Protective Edge, the Namer APC was used to save the lives of many soldiers who were protected by its reinforced armored structure.
Last year, the Defense Ministry doubled its orders for parts for both Namer and Merkava MK 4 tanks ahead of an expected rise in orders for them. Some 200 factories produce parts for the Merkava and Namer across Israel, most of them located in peripheral areas, employing around 10,000 people.

AEL NEWS

COGAT warns of Gaza crossings closure if Hamas doesn’t stop terror recruitment

Israel believes Russia’s intervention decreases chance of Israel- Hezb’Allah conflict

The move to the South stems from changes to the IDF outlined by the Gideon multi-year working plan.

IDF tanks. (photo credit:IDF SPOKESMAN’S UNIT)

This week the IDF’s Armored Division 162, also known as the Steel Formation, officially moved from the Central Command, where it has been based for nearly 40 years, to the Southern Command, marking a significant step in realizing plans by IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gadi Eisenkot to prepare the military for future challenges on Israel’s borders.
In the face of hybrid, heavily armed terrorist armies building up their capabilities to disrupt daily life in Israel, Eisenkot is planning to develop three multi-arena, all-purpose wartime divisions, designed to swiftly mobilize and take the fight to the enemy.
Division 162 is one of the three. The move to the South stems from changes to the IDF outlined by the Gideon multi-year working plan, an army source told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday. This is part of the response the IDF is preparing against current and future expected challenges, he added.
“Southern Command received a quality division. It is clear that it will be significant in future conflicts,” the source said.
Armored Division 162 left the Southern Command 35 years ago, after the peace treaty with Egypt, moving to the Central Command. It has taken part in all of Israel’s wars, and is now returning to the Southern Command, though its form has changed considerably since it was last there.
Receiving it has been a “very complex procedure, with many aspects, including logistics, operations and personnel,” lasting several months, the source added.
The Steel Formation moved south six months ahead of schedule, and received the Givati infantry brigade under its command as well. It will no longer be in charge of the Jordan Valley Territorial Brigade, which remains under the Central Command and secures the area from the northern Dead Sea to Beit She’an.
Although based in the Southern Command, Division 162 units will focus on preparing for battle on any front. The division is made up of Nahal and Givati infantry brigades, the 401 Armored Corps brigade, the 215 Artillery Corps brigade and the 179 Reserve Armored Corps brigade.
In a ceremony at the Armored Corps Museum in Latrun on Tuesday, Eisenkot shed further light on the significance of the move, saying it “strengthens the IDF’s offensive capability and subordinates it to the Southern Command to improve its ability to crush the enemy, and completes a process to strengthen the three central offensive divisions,” Eisenkot said.
“These divisions will act anywhere – in the North, South and Center – wherever we will need them, and we want them better equipped, more ready, and more trained, with excellent personnel who know how to act in any mission we give them,” he added.
“This will strengthen our deterrence and the IDF’s defensive capability, which has become more relevant now than in the past,” Eisenkot said.
OC Southern Command Maj.-Gen. Eyal Zamir said at the ceremony that the division “knows how to carry out defensive and offensive battles in all arenas, to maneuver in depth of the battlefield, and to activate firepower in complex areas against existing challenges and those taking shape on Israel’s borders.
“In the Southern Command, we are following, preparing and adapting our operational response to potential threats in various sectors. Since the end of Operation Protective Edge, Hamas has been trying to rebuild its professional capabilities.
We are following developments in the Gaza Strip and we are prepared for any scenario. We will respond to any attempt to harm our communities and our forces,” Zamir warned.

Analysis: Hezb’Allah ‘revenge’ for Kuntar likely done; ISIS could be next northern threat

As Hezb’Allah rocket arsenal grows, Israel creates new battalions

IDF assessments continue to warn that small incidents could escalate quickly on borders.

Lebanon’s Hezb’Allah members carry Hezb’Allah flags during the funeral of Adnan Siblini, who was killed while fighting in Syria. (photo credit:REUTERS)

Russia’s intervention in Syria and close interaction with Hezb’Allah may actually decrease the likelihood of an Israel- Hezb’Allah conflict erupting in the near future, according to IDF assessments.
For example, dialogue between Russia and Hezb’Allah could provide an opportunity to rein in Hezb’Allah responses to reported Israeli air strikes on weapons-trafficking runs in Syria.
The assessments are part of a broader look at Israel’s strategic environment.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is seeking the survival of a pro-Moscow regime in Syria where he also has an economic interest. Moscow also wants to keep Islamic State away from the country’s 20 million Russian- Muslim citizens.
Meanwhile, the Syrian war rages on and more than one percent – 300,000 – of the country’s population has been killed in the conflict and more than 10 million people have been displaced.
Hezb’Allah , which is deeply involved in Syria, has lost 1,300 fighters and another 10,000 of its members have been injured. Hezb’Allah also faces economic problems due to delays in the transfer of around $100 million a year from Iran, which is 10% of the annual $1 billion Hezb’Allah budget from Tehran.
At least some of that hold up, according to IDF assessments, is due to a refusal by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to approve all IRGC budgets for Hezb’Allah because he wants some of that money for domestic spending.
Still, despite its costly intervention in Syria, Hezb’Allah continues to prioritize the deployment of its fighters to south Lebanon where 240 Shi’ite villages have been turned into rocket and military posts for targeting Israel in any potential conflict.
The IDF believes that the chances of Hezb’Allah initiating a war with Israel are low,but that the chances of a tactical incident in 2016 inadvertently turning into a bigger conflict remains significant. It expects Israel to be challenged by security incidents along its borders with Gaza, Sinai and Syria, even though Hamas, Hezb’Allah and even Islamic State-affiliated forces remain highly deterred by Israel at this time, perceiving it as a powerful and unpredictable state.
Meanwhile, the military believes Hezb’Allah ’s patron, Iran, is approaching a key junction next month when elections for its parliament and Assembly of Experts will put to the test US President Barack Obama’s theory that Iran will change by the time the nuclear deal expires in 10 to 15 years.
There is no question among military analysts that the West could have gotten a better deal with Iran over its nuclear program since the regime is anxious about its future stability and economy. Nevertheless, according to the assessments, Iran has scaled back its nuclear program to some degree without any conflict, and the IDF views this as a tangible achievement.
As the February elections loom, an unprecedented number of candidates – 12,000 – have put their names forward, of which 40 percent were approved by the authorities. Of those, however, a mere 30 are from Rouhani’s reformist camp, which has led to open protests by the Iranian president.
These events could result in domestic Iranian instability if the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, does not intervene.
And, while Iran is about to enjoy the fruits of sanctions relief, it will still take several years for the Islamic Republic to rebuild its economy, industries and infrastructure, during which time Iran’s destructive regional influence will continue, the military holds.
Iran is seeking to infiltrate the West Bank, and it encourages Hamas to attack Israel, content for Sunni blood, rather than Shi’ite, to be spilled in the war on Israel. Most importantly, Iran continues to build up Hezb’Allah ’s monstrous offensive capabilities.
Regionally, the military has identified four nation-states that will remain intact in a Middle East where the state model is collapsing all around: Israel, Turkey, Iran and Egypt. All other states face varying degrees of dangers of semi or full collapse.
In the West Bank, lone attackers continue to launch knife and car-ramming attacks on Israelis, that are devoid of any involvement by terror organizations or states. ??
Although the attackers are acting on the same idea – to target Jews and Israel – it is not believed the situation has reached the level of an intifada since the Tanzim armed militia has not sent its gunmen out to carry out mass shootings and there have been no incidents of large-scale rioting.
This is, in no small part, due to the dependence of more than 100,000 Palestinians on Israel for their livelihoods, the IDF say, viewing economic restraining factors as key in preventing further deterioration.
Looking ahead to the day after PA President Mahmoud Abbas leaves power, it is more likely that a group, rather than one leader, will try to take over, according projections. The military’s central concern is that Hamas does not rise to power in the West Bank.
Meanwhile, on Hamas’s home turf of Gaza, the military wing continues to be in conflict with the political wing, while a new, proactive Saudi Arabia is competing with Iran for influence over the terrorist organization.
Hamas’s military wing is loyal to Iran, which funds it with tens of millions of dollars per year and passes on military doctrines, but Hamas’s political wing, headed by Khaled Mashaal, would like to shift toward Saudi Arabia.
To keep up with dramatic, fast-paced changes in the region, the military is placing new emphasis on moving into social media and messaging services has recruited technological officers to assist in intelligence gathering.

12.Israel slams French peace plan as encouraging Palestinian intransigence By Dana Somberg, Reuters JPost.com 01/29/2016 21:24

· France to recognize Palestine if deadlock with Israel not broken

Spain ‘deeply worried’ over Palestinian deaths from Israel’s use of force Israel said Friday it will reject any French initiative to re-start peace negotiations with the Palestinians.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius presents Europe’s position to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, June 21. (photo credit:thomas coex / reuters) Israel said on Friday that it will reject any French initiative to re-start peace negotiations with the Palestinians.
Jerusalem reacted shortly after French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said that his government will recognize a Palestinian state if its efforts in coming weeks to try to break the deadlock between Israelis and Palestinians fail.
“France will engage in the coming weeks in the preparation of an international conference bringing together the parties and their main partners, American, European, Arab, notably to preserve and make happen the two-state solution,” he said.
A French diplomatic source added Paris intended to launch this conference by the summer.
The Middle East peace process has stalled because of differences over borders & settlements. There have been no serious moves to resume the peace talks between Israel and Palestinians.
If this last attempt at finding a solution hits a wall, “well…in this case, we need to face our responsibilities by recognizing the Palestinian state,” Fabius said.
As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, Fabius added that France had a responsibility to try to keep up efforts to find a solution between Israel and the Palestinians.
“We see that unfortunately colonization continues and that recently, the Israeli prime minister went so far as to reproach the UN secretary-general for encouraging terrorism on the basis that he had reminded of colonization’s illegality and asked that it cease,” Fabius said.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday described Israel’s settlements as “provocative acts” that raised questions about its commitment to a two-state solution, nearly 50 years after occupying lands the Palestinians seek for a state.
The United States, European Union and the United Nations have issued unusually stern criticism of Israel, provoking a sharp response from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and raising Palestinians’ hopes of steps against their neighbor.
A diplomatic source in Jerusalem told The Jerusalem Post’s Hebrew-language sister publication Ma’ariv that Paris is essentially encouraging Palestinian intransigence by signaling its willingness to recognize statehood, thus prejudicing the outcome of negotiations.
“The foreign minister’s statement offers incentive to the Palestinians to reach a deadlock,” an Israeli official said. “It is not possible to conduct negotiations or to achieve peace in such a manner.”

13.“We welcome the French initiative & affirm the status quo cannot continue,” Palestinian leader said.

A Palestinian man hangs a Palestinian flag atop the ruins of a mosque, during a snow storm in West Bank village of Mufagara. (photo credit:REUTERS)

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday welcomed the latest French initiative to convene an international peace summit to resume peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
Abbas, who has recently renewed his call for holding an international conference to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, said in a speech before the 26th African Union Summit in Ethiopia, “We welcome the French initiative & affirm that the status quo cannot continue. Our people will continue to use political & legal methods, through a peaceful and popular resistance, to achieve our national rights.”
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius announced on Friday that his country would try to renew diplomatic efforts between Israel and the Palestinians. He threatened that France would formally recognize a Palestinian state if the diplomatic efforts failed.
Fabius, who was speaking at a conference of French diplomats in Paris, said that France hopes that the international peace summit would be attended by Israelis and Palestinians, as well as other international actors like the US, EU and Arab countries.
“France will engage in the coming weeks in the preparation of an international conference bringing together the parties and their main partners to preserve and achieve the two-state solution,” Fabius said.
“If this attempt to achieve a negotiated solution reaches a dead end, we will take responsibility and recognize the Palestinian state.”
In his speech, Abbas reiterated the call for convening an international conference for peace in the Middle East. He also called for the United Nations Security Council to play a larger role in the conflict.
“We are not going to return to the negotiations (with Israel) for the sake of negotiating,” Abbas said. “And we won’t remain the only ones to implement the signed agreements (with Israel). We will never accept provisional or partial solutions and we will continue to work for peace. It’s inconceivable that Israel remain a country above the international law.”
Abbas said that the Palestinians were working to fulfill their vision of establishing a Palestinian state alongside Israel so that they could live in peace and security. He also renewed his demand for providing international protection for the Palestinians. [Gail Sez: See Manny’s analysis of NATO coming to “protect” Palestinians. Sent 1/31/16 ]
Abbas accused Israel of seeking to change the status quo at the Temple Mount and warned that this could turn the political conflict into a religious one. He also accused Israel of working towards changing the character and identity of east Jerusalem.
“Peace and security in our region won’t be achieved unless the occupation and settlements end,” Abbas added. “We need to build bridges instead of walls. Our hand is extended for peace that is based on justice. We shall remain on this land.”
PLO Secretary-General Saeb Erekat also welcomed the French initiative:
“We have been calling upon the international community to have an international conference for Palestine based on international law and UN resolutions, with the parties implementing their obligations under signed agreements; including a full cessation of Israeli settlement activities within a specified timeframe and terms of reference,” Erekat said in a statement.
“We will be contacting France, as well as other international parties, to advance in that direction.”
PLO Executive Committee member Ahmed Majdalani praised the French initiative, saying it marks the “beginning of the end of the American monopoly over the peace process.” He said that the Israeli government’s rejection of the initiative was “proof that it sponsors terrorism and is working toward ending the two-state solution.”
Majdalani said that the Israeli stance also shows that the Palestinians do not have a peace partner in the Israeli government.

15.

International media outlets ignore Beit El terror attack by Rachel Avraham

Media outlets from Great Britain to the US to Turkey have ignored the Beit El terror attack, acting like it did not happen. Out of all of the non-Israeli media outlets surveyed for this report, only Le Monde, Ma’an News Agency, Al Arabiya and Al Jazeera covered this terror attack. Jan 31, 2016, 8:00PM

It has been about 7 hours since a Palestinian terrorist wounded 3 IDF soldiers in the Beit El community in a shoot-out yet till now, the BBC, the Guardian, the Daily Mail, the New York Times, the Washington Post, CNN, Al Ahram, and Hurriyet Daily News have not covered this terror attack at all. Out of all of the non-Israeli media outlets examined for this report, only Le Monde, Ma’an News Agency, Al Arabiya and Al Jazeera covered this terror attack.

According to the Le Monde report, three Israelis were injured in a settlement in the occupied West Bank. They noted that the assailant was killed and that Palestinian ambulances were not permitted to retrieve the body immediately. In the report, they minimized the number of Israelis that were killed in the present wave of violence by saying that 26 were killed since October 1 instead of saying that 30 were killed since September 13, 2015. Le Monde refrained from mentioning that the terrorist was the personal body guard for a Palestinian Attorney General in Ramallah, which implies that he is a paid employee of the Palestinian Authority, Israel’s so-called peace partner.

Al Jazeera referred to the Beit El terror attack as an alleged shoot-out. According to them, Israel shot an alleged attacker rather than a terrorist even though the terrorist Amjad A-Sukari left behind a message on his Facebook page indicating that he had every intention of implementing a terror attack, stressing that a life under the so-called occupation was not worth living. He called his terror attack “a day of victory” and recited the Muslim shahada. But for Al Jazeera, it is still an alleged attack even though 3 people were clearly injured by a person who had every intention of waging a terror attack.

Al Arabiya was a bit better than Al Jazeera. They did not refer to the Beit El terror attack as an alleged attack. However, they blamed the terror attack on Palestinian frustration with Israel’s occupation, the lack of progress in peace negotiations, and the fractured leadership within the Palestinian Authority. They added as a side note that Israel blamed it on Palestinian incitement.

In the Ma’an Palestinian News Agency report, the attack was also not alleged but Ma’an emphasized that the Beit Jewish community is illegal and is located in the occupied West Bank. They noted that the body of the terrorist was returned to the Palestinian Authority only hours after the shoot-out and the funeral will be later. Ma’an devoted a lot of attention to the fact that the IDF created checkpoints and shut down many areas following the terror attack. They also published a statement by Hamas that called the terrorist act “a heroic resistance operation.” Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri added: “This attack showcases the rejection of the security cooperation even among members of the PA Security Forces.” Like Le Monde, Ma’an also minimized the number of Israelis killed in this present wave of terror, reducing it from 30 to 20.

At this time, it appears that most of the world is interested in ignoring the fact that a paid employee of the Palestinian Authority implemented a terror attack that resulted in the maiming of 3 Israeli soldiers. For them, it is not something that is worthy paying attention to even as France and other countries demand that Israel immediately restart peace negotiations with the very same Palestinian Authority that just demonstrated their lack of commitment to peace and coexistence with the State of Israel.