NETANYAHU: IDF MUST BE PRESENT ON FUTURE PA/JORDAN BORDER!
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
(Israel National News)

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has said for the first time publicly that the IDF must maintain a presence along the future eastern border of a PA state, preventing arms smuggling into Judea and Samaria. He noted that Israel gave up its military presence along the Gaza-Egyptian border smuggling route four years ago, a situation that he said should not be repeated.

At a recent meeting of all Israeli ambassadors and lower-level diplomats, the Prime Minister noted that Israel’s security dangers are not at the borders of Gaza and Lebanon but rather beyond the borders. He said Israel cannot depend on paper agreements, signed or not, and broadly hinted that the IDF must maintain a presence along the eastern borders of any future Palestinian Authority state in Judea and Samaria in order to fight terrorism and prevent arms smuggling.

“Iran is creating a base in Lebanon for weapons that are used in areas adjacent to Israel with the intention of attacking Israel” according to Prime Minister Netanyahu. “The problem in Lebanon is not the border. The problem of security is Syria. The same happens in Gaza. The problem is not the border with Gaza, but with the 12 kilometers(eight miles) into Sinai” adjacent to the Philadelphia smuggling route.

He declared that “agreements, signatures and texts have left us with the same problem. We will not have a situation where Judea and Samaria become a third platform for rockets from Iran.” The Prime Minister explained that the smuggling of weapons into Judea and Samaria would create a problem far worse than Israel faces on the northern and southern borders.

Preventing arms from entering Judea, Samaria and Gaza is a condition for peace, Prime Minister Netanyahu continued. Without directly calling for an IDF presence in territory that might be part of future PA state, he stated, “I doubt whether anything except a real presence of the State of Israel, of Israeli forces, can accomplish a halt to importing weapons.The problem of demilitarization must be resolved effectively and this entails effectively blocking unauthorized entry, first and foremost from the east of Judea and Samaria whereever the border is defined.”

He previously has called for a future PA state to be demilitarized, but his speech was the first time that he said that Israeli forces will be stationed on its borders. The Prime Minister dismissed the option of again signing agreements such as United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the Second Lebanon War three years ago.

The resolution included a clause that called for United Nations UNIFIL forces to disarm Hizbullah terrorists, but the commanders of the international force said at the outset they would not and could not enforce it. Hizbullah has used the absence of control to stockpile at least three times as many missiles as it possessed before the outbreak of the 34-day war.

Israel, under the guidance of then-Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, agreed last year to end the Operation Cast Lead counterterrorist campaign with a signed agreement that the United States would ensure that technological installations and foreign monitors would be placed in Egypt to stop smuggling.

However, Hamas has continued to smuggle into Gaza advanced anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles as well as long-range Iranian-made rockets that can strike as far away as metropolitan Tel Aviv. The IDF has foiled some, but far from all, of the attempts to smuggle weapons, including rockets, into Judea and Samaria.

ISRAELI BANK, OWNED BY EUROPEANS, CUTS OFF YESHA (JUDEA & SAMARIA)
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
(Israel National News)

The parent bank of Dexia Bank, owned by French and Belgian interests, has notified regional councils in Judea and Samaria it is cutting off their line of credit. The Dexia Bank in Israel denies accusations that the decision was based on poliitcal considerations.

The Israeli bank, which is the official supplier of credit to the regional councils, asked them to close their accounts. The parent bank’s French officials ordered the move, which has left leaders in Judea and Samaria in shock.

The Dexia Group in 2001 bought the Israeli Municipality Treasure Bank and established Dexia Israel.

Local officials of the bank denied charges that pro-Arab groups, who have escalated a campaign to boycott products of Judea and Samaria, pressured the financial institution. Dexia signed an agreement with the Finance Ministry this past summer to set up a $70 million line of credit (NIS 274 million) for improving the financial structure of the councils.

Earlier this year, Dexia announced it will not finance communities in Judea and Samaria following a campaign against it that “Israel colonizes, Dexia finances.” Its shareholders raised the issue of Judea and Samaria at the company annual meeting in Brussels last March.

The bank’s chairman responded that it stopped financing the Jewish communities a year ago, and one regional council chairman in Judea confirmed to Israel National News that it has not received credit for several months.

Dexia has rejected anti-Israel groups’ demands to stop lending money to Jerusalem, which has sovereignty over parts of the capital that the Palestinian Authority demands as part of the future state it wants to establish.

Shmuel Rifman, chairman of the Ramat HaNegev council, which is not in Judea or Samaria, and head of the board of local councils in Israel, urged Wednesday that all regional councils in the country boycott Dexia in retaliation.

“The government sold its part of the bank to foreigners…who are afraid of the Arab world,” he stated. “I suggest a boycott against the bank because there are enough other banks in Israel where we can put our money.”

Israel National News apologies for a previous and erroneous reference to Bank Discount, which has no relation to Dexia Bank.

WASHINGTON UPSET OVER NEW HOMES FOR JEWS IN JERUSALEM!
(Israel Today News)

The Obama Administration on Monday criticized Israel for approving plans to build 700 new apartments in three Jewish neighborhoods on the eastern side of Jerusalem, which the Palestinians claim as their future capital.

The apartments will be built in neighborhoods that are home to tens of thousands of Jews already, and which almost no Israeli agrees should be surrendered and emptied of Jews as part of any peace deal with the Arabs.

But with Washington increasingly taking the Palestinian view of issues on the ground, an administration official speaking on condition of anonymity was not shy in referring to the new construction as “settlement activity.”

“…we consider all the Israeli settlements to be beyond the pale of what we wish to see going on, and are not helpful, again, to getting the two sides back to the table,” the official said in remarks to the Associated Press.

Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev reminded the Americans that Israel does not “make a distinction between the West Bank and Jerusalem. Jerusalem is our capital and remains such.”

Other officials also noted that eastern Jerusalem was not included in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s partial 10-month settlement freeze designed to get the Palestinians back to the negotiating table.

Unreported by most media outlets was the fact that the Jerusalem municipality also approved the construction of 500 new Arab housing units on the same day.

US TO “JUMPSTART” PEACE TALKS, BUT ISRAELI FM SAYS IT’S IMPOSSIBLE!
(Israel Today News)

The Obama Administration is preparing a major relaunch of peace efforts between Israel and the Palestinians, but Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said they are doomed to fail.

A senior Arab diplomat told the AFP in Cairo on Monday that “US special envoy George Mitchell will present two draft letters of guarantee, one for Israel and one to the Palestinian Authority during his next visit to the region.”

He said Washington hopes the two letters will serve as the basis for renewed peace talks, though the diplomat himself doubted it would work since the letter to the Palestinians does not include the demanded full cessation of Jewish construction in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria.

A day earlier, Lieberman said it is increasingly clear that a real peace agreement cannot be concluded in the next 10 to 20 years.

“We think that if we make more concessions everything will work out,” the Jerusalem Post quoted Lieberman as telling a gathering of Israel’s 140 ambassadors in Jerusalem. “Even if we return the last grain of sand, and divide Jerusalem, and agree to all the demands, nothing will change and we will be in the same situation.”

Lieberman said that Israel had already gone above and beyond in its concessions and gestures for the sake of peace, including allowing the PLO terrorist organization to move into the region and set up as a sovereign power and uprooting 10,000 Jews from the Gaza Strip.

On top of that, former prime ministers Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert had been willing to meet as much as 98 percent of remaining Palestinian demands, only to be slapped in the face by their “peace partners.”

“It doesn’t matter what we offer, they will always find an excuse to say ‘no,'” noted Lieberman.

Pointing out that the Palestinians cannot even remain united themselves, as evidenced by the Hamas-Fatah conflict, Lieberman lamented that there is little hope the current generation will see peace.

US DEMANDS CLARIFICATION ON SHECHEM RAID
by Gil Ronen

The United States has demanded clarifications from Israel after IDF special forces killed three terrorists Saturday who murdered a civilian, Rabbi Meir Chai, on Thursday.

Calls were made to National Security Adviser Prof. Uzi Arad, apparently by senior U.S. Administration officials, in which he was asked to provide clarifications. The calls came from the United States after Palestinian Authority officials complained to the Americans that the IDF had carried out “executions.”

Arad informed the White House of details of the counterterrorist raid and rejected the PA officials’ claims.

The left-wing group B’Tselem also made a public demand that an investigation be launched into whether the IDF “executed” two of the three terrorist murderers. The self-acclaimed human rights group said that an initial inquiry it conducted at the homes of the dead killers indicated that they were executed.

The group said that the family members of two of the terrorists had told them that the terrorists were not armed and did not try to escape, nor did IDF soldiers try to arrest them. Rather, they said, the soldiers shot them at close range when their identity was confirmed.
The IDF denied these allegations.

A senior IDF officer said Saturday night that the security forces received accurate and focused information regarding the whereabouts of the terror cell’s members. Forces from the Judea and Samaria Brigade, together with the Nachshon Battalion and the Duvdevan Battalion, were sent to the locations and conducted a three-hour long chase after the terrorists. One terrorist hid inside his home and sent his wife as a human shield to the front of the home.

“After the IDF operated on all required levels and using all means to arrest him,” the officer said, “and when he did not respond to the loudspeaker, nor to the means of riot dispersal and additional means, and in the knowledge that the man was armed and dangerous, a decision was made to open fire.”

MURDERERS OF RABBI CHAI KILLED BY IDF, SECURITY FORCES
by Malkah Fleisher

General Security Services in partnership with soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) killed the murderers of Rabbi Meir Avshalom Chai. All three were convicted terrorists who had been committed to and later released from Israeli prisons.

Chai, 45, was murdered by Arabs in a drive by shooting while chauffeuring his wife and one of their children in their family car, between Shavei Shomron and Einav.

The Israeli military operation took place on the evening of December 25, the Jewish Sabbath. PA head Mahmoud Abbas was not forewarned of the mission.

The homes of three men known to have taken part in the murder were surrounded by special forces units, who tried to arrest them. According to an army spokesperson, the men “refused to cooperate”, rejecting calls to surrender. Troops subequently opened fire on the buildings.

Nader Raed Sukarji, a 40 year-old inhabitant of Shechem, was arrested in 2002 and suspected of being a top Al Aksa terror group brigade operative and participant in many terror attacks. He also prepared bombs and helped establish explosives factories in Nablus (Shechem). He was released from prison in January 2009.

Palestinian sources say Sukarji’s wife was also injured in the operation, after her husband used her as a human shield while hiding in their house.

Ghassan Abu Sharkh, 39, was imprisoned by security forces in 1990. His brother, Nayef, was the head of the Tanzim terror organization’s military wing in Nablus. Nayef facilitated several terror attacks until being killed by IDF forces in June 2004.

Anan Suleiman Mustafa Subih, 36, resident of Nablus, was an operative of the “Shuhada al-Aksa” brigade, which was involved in extensive Tanzim military operations as a cell of Tanzim in Nablus. The group was led by Nayef Abu Sharkh, until Nayef’s death. Subih worked in trafficking weapons and supplies for use in terror acts.

Subih had recently been accepted to Israel’s amnesty program for Fatah gunmen. His participation in Tanzim activity was a direct violation of that agreement.

In the process of attempting to arrest Subih, Israeli forces found 2 rifles and 2 guns hidden in the house. The weapons have been transferred to police laboratories to determine if they were the ones used to kill Rabbi Chai.

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad condemned the IDF operation in Shechem, saying it would hurt the Palestinian ability to achieve stability and security. Terror organizations swore they would take revenge for the operation.

National Union chairman MK Yaakov “Ketzaleh” Katz demanded the indictment of the judges of the Supreme Court, for having released the men from jail who went on to commit the murder of Rabbbi Chai and other terror attacks. “… prosecute the Supreme Court justices who took part in the freeing of the murderers of Rabbi Meir Chai (may G-d avenge his blood), although they were warned that these men would return to killing,” Katz said. “This is the only way we can bring the infamous releases of our people’s murderers to an end.”

CEO Meir Indor of the organization representing terror victims, Almagor, praised the army’s mission, but is urging citizens to contact the Defense Minister’s office and demand a cessation to the release and pardon of terrorists. He says the government should re-evaluate its relationship with the PA leadership, claiming that the PA leaks information, training, and arms to Tanzim terrorists on a regular basis.

DOES ISRAEL HAVE A FUTURE?

ISRAEL IS GOD’S CREATION!
Isaiah 43:1 – “But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and He that formed thee, O Israel.”
Isaiah 43:7 – “for I have created him for My glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.”
Isaiah 43:15 – “I am the LORD, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.”

ISRAEL IS GOD’S CHOICE!
Deuteronomy 7:6-9 – “For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God; the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto Himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.”
Isaiah 41:8 – “But thou, Israel, art My servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham, My friend.”
Isaiah 43:10 – “My servant whom I have chosen”
Isaiah 44:1 – “Israel, whom I have chosen”

ISRAEL IS GOD’S CALLING!
Isaiah 45:3 – “that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.”
Isaiah 48:12 – “Hearken unto Me, O Jacob and Israel, My called: I am He – I am the first, I also am the last.”
Isaiah 48:15 – “I. even I, have spoken; yea, I have called him”

ISRAEL IS GOD’S CONFIRMATION!
Isaiah 44:26 – “That confirmeth the word of His servant and performeth the counsel of His messengers; that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof.”
Isaiah 46:10 – “Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure.”
Isaiah 46:11 – “I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.”
Psalm 105:10 – “and confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant.”

ISRAEL IS GOD’S COVENANT!
Genesis 15:18 – “In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram”
Genesis 17:7-8 – “I will establish My covenant between Me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.”
Psalm 89:34 – “My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of My lips.”
Psalm 105:8-10 – “He hath remembered His covenant for ever, the word which He commanded to a thousand generations. Which covenant He made with Abraham, and His oath unto Isaac; And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel, for an everlasting covenant: saying, ‘Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance.’”

ISRAEL IS GOD’S COMFORT!
Isaiah 40:1 – “Comfort ye, comfort ye My people, saith your God”
Isaiah 49:13 – “For the LORD hath comforted His people”
Isaiah 51:3 – “For the LORD shall comfort Zion: He will comfort all her waste places”
Isaiah 51:12 – “I, even I, am He that comforteth you”
Isaiah 52:9 – “For the LORD hath comforted His people”
Isaiah 66:13 – “As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you”

ISRAEL IS GOD’S COMMITMENT!

1. A commitment based on the PLAN He has to save them!
Isaiah 43:25 – “I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions for Mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.”
Isaiah 44:22 – “I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and as a cloud, thy sins: return unto Me; for I have redeemed thee.”
Isaiah 62:11 – “Behold, the LORD hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him”

2. A commitment based on the PROTECTION He would give them!
Isaiah 41:13-14 – “For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel”
Isaiah 43:2 – “When thou passeth through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee; when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.”
Isaiah 49:16 – “Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands”

3. A commitment based on the PURPOSE He had to be glorified!
Isaiah 40:5 – “and the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.”
Isaiah 43:7 – “For I have created him for My glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.”
Isaiah 44:23 – “for the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified Himself in Israel”
Isaiah 49:3 – “Thou art My servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”
Isaiah 60:21 – “the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, that I may be glorified.”
Isaiah 61:3 – “They might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He might be glorified.”

4. A commitment based on the PROMISES of His Word!
Isaiah 40:5 – “for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.”
Isaiah 46:10 – “My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure”
Isaiah 46:11 – “I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.”
Isaiah 55:11 – “So shall My word be that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”

A PROMISE OF RETURN
Isaiah 43:5-6 – “Fear not; for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, ‘Give up’ and to the south, ‘Keep not back: bring My sons from afar, and My daughters from the ends of the earth.”
Ezekiel 36:24 – “For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.”
Isaiah 35:10 – “And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”

A PROMISE OF RESURRECTION
Ezekiel 37:11-14 – “Then He said to me, ‘Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel.’ Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost; we are cut off for our parts.’ Therefore prophesy and say unto them: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, O My people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up out of your graves, and shall put My spirit in you and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: Then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.”

A PROMISE OF RESTORATION
Ezekiel 36:8 – “But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to My people of Israel, for they are at hand to come.”
Ezekiel 36:30 – “And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen.”

A PROMISE OF REBUILDING
Ezekiel 36:33-36 – “Thus saith the Lord GOD: In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded. And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by. And they shall say, ‘This land, that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited.” Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the LORD have build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the LORD have spoken it, and I will do it.”

A PROMISE OF REGENERATION
Ezekiel 36:25-28 – “Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean; from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; And I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh; and I will put My spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be My people and I will be your God.”

A PROMISE OF REIGN
Daniel 2:44 – “And in the days of these kings shall the God of Heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.”
Daniel 7:13-14 – “I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought him near before Him. And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.”

THE MESSIAH OF ISRAEL IS THE ONLY HOPE OF ISRAEL AND THE WORLD!

US DIPLOMATIC STAFF CAUGHT ABUSING ISRAELI BORDER GUARDS!
(Israel Today News and Jerusalem Post)

Tension is again brewing between Israel and Washington, but this time it’s not over pressure from US President Barack Obama to meet Arab demands. Rather, Israel is growing fed up with the abuse of its security officials by US diplomatic staff.

The situation neared boiling point on November 13 when the lead car of a 5-car convoy from the US Consulate in Jerusalem allegedly tried to run over an Israeli security guard at a checkpoint in Samaria.

According to an official description of the incident obtained by The Jerusalem Post, the convoy arrived at the Gilboa Crossing and refused to open any windows or provide identification. Israeli officials said the convoy purposely blocked the entire crossing and one of the vehicles lunged at an Israeli guard.

The incident was reportedly caught by security cameras installed at the checkpoint.

It was not the first time Israel has had trouble with US diplomatic vehicles.

Several months ago, a vehicle belonging to the US Consulate in Jerusalem was caught transporting a Palestinian without proper permits between Jerusalem and Palestinian Authority-controlled areas.

In January of 2008, the situation also became very tense when US Security Coordinator Lt.-Gen. Keith Dayton and then-consul-general Jacob Walles refused to roll down their windows or provide identification at a “West Bank” checkpoint.

In related news, major US Jewish organizations on Thursday blasted a senior member of the Obama Administration for criticizing Israeli Ambassador to the US Michael Oren for not attending an event put on by the left-wing Jewish lobby group J Street.

Oren has kept his distance from J Street since taking over the embassy due to strong differences between the lobby group and Jerusalem on issues such as Iran and peace negotiations with the Palestinians.

When Oren turned down an invitation to attend a recent gathering, former J Street board member and current State Department director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, Hannah Rosenthal, said it was “most unfortunate” and that Oren “would have learned a lot.”

Alan Solow, chairman of the New York-based Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, noted that it was unacceptable for an administration official to publicly criticize a foreign government for not having a stronger relationship with a US lobby group.

WE WILL CONTINUE IN FATHER’S PATH OF FAITH!
by Gil Ronen

Thousands of people took part in the funeral of Rabbi Meir Avshalom Chai who was murdered Thursday by a Fatah terror squad. The funeral procession started out at 10:00 AM from the Shamgar Funeral Home and went to the cemetery at the Mount of Olives.

Chai (40) lived in Shavei Shomron for 14 years. He was married with seven children, the youngest of whom is two months old.

Minister Yaakov Neeman eulogized Rabbi Chai tearfully and paid tribute to his great virtue as a teacher of young children.

Samaria Regional Council Head Gershon Mesika said that “Rabbi Meir is a victim of the folly of the government of Israel. His murder is the result of the removal of checkpoints. Two weeks ago the main checkpoint between Shechem and Tulkarm was opened. The government of Israel preferred the Arab’s fabric of life to the Jew’s life.” Mentioning Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Mesika said: “I demand that you face the widow and orphans and ask forgiveness because you cannot say ‘our hands did not spill this blood.’”

To the Arabs he said: “You have hit the lion in our ranks but you will not break our spirit. We vow to you, Rabbi Meir, that we will continue in your path, to settle in the lands of our forefathers, in spite of them.”

MK Nissim Ze’ev (Shas) said that Rabbi Meir was “a father to all of us and to… hundreds of children whom he taught Torah.”

MK Yaakov Katz (NU) said: “Rabbi Meir, you are all of Israel; you are a hero of Israel in the instruction of Torah and in fear of the Heavens.”

Turning to the residents of Judea and Samaria, he said: “We are the few who hold the many. Rabbi Meir, you represent the courage of the settlers. You represent the courage of those who drive at night without guards or security details, you are the hero who shines his countenance to the children at night and in the day. With our devoutness and the willingness to sacrifice we will raise up those who are distant. We need to teach the Prime Minister and the Defense Minister some Torah.”

Eliyahu, the Rabbi’s son, said: “I want to say to the youth – continue in my father’s path. Father wanted faith, he wanted Torah study, he wanted prayers. He could not stand to see that there are no tefillin. He had to see all of the mitzvot (commandments). If you want to memorialize my father these are the things you should do. Not to beat up Arabs with sticks. We are human beings and we will not shoot them in the head for no reason. We are human beings, we are the youth of Samaria… Father would be happiest if he saw us studying.” He asked Defense Minister Barak to respect the dedication of the youth of Judea and Samaria.

Rabbi Meir Avshalom Chai left the community of Einav at 4:30 PM Thursday and drove toward his home in Shavei Shomron. Terrorists in a car that overtook him opened heavy fire at him. Ten bullets hit Meir in the head. He was mortally wounded and died a few minutes later.

“ANTI-FREEZE” ACTION PLAN RELEASED!
by Hillel Fendel

Grassroots organizations in Yesha (Judea and Samaria), together with the National Union faction in the Knesset, have published a rough draft of a plan to actively fight the construction freeze. The program is formulated carefully and logically, yet deals with what it calls an “existential threat” and the “first step towards the destruction of most of the Jewish presence in Yesha.”

The Komemiyut (Proudly Upright) organization will disseminate the plan in post offices throughout Judea and Samaria at the end of this week. The program begins by outlining the calamitous nature of the construction freeze decision by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, explains the draconian nature in which the freeze is expected to be implemented, and concludes with an operative set of steps to fight it.

Excerpts: The decision to freeze all construction in Judea and Samaria is not something that can be easily ignored. It is nothing less than the first step – irreversible, under natural circumstances – towards expulsion and destruction of a far worse extent than what we experienced in Gush Katif and northern Shomron.

Just as it was naïve to believe that the expulsion from Gush Katif would legitimize Israel’s right to defend its southern communities – the world expressed its “understanding” for this right in the Goldstone Report – it is similarly blind to imagine that after ten months, the world will allow us to resume building. Past experience shows us that the international pressure and the Palestinian appetite will simply grow stronger.

It is also detached from reality to think that local town councils in Yesha will ever again be allowed to authorize construction. The freeze decree is clearly the beginning of a slippery and dangerous slope leading to the destruction of the entire Jewish settlement enterprise. One must be naïve to believe that this is only a temporary measure and to strenuously defend it, as Cabinet Ministers Yaalon, Begin, Lieberman and others have done.

The handwriting is on the wall in large, clear writing; we must simply open our eyes, read and internalize.

The very day (Friday) after the construction freeze order was signed, and up until the minutes that the Sabbath began, freeze orders were distributed to local mayors. Aerial photos were even taken in order to document the status quo. The speed with which this process was done shows that this was not a sudden decision, but one that was preceded by careful, long planning – far from the eyes of the public and by deceiving the voters.

The next logical step is negotiations and Israeli withdrawal from most of Yesha and the destruction of the towns and expulsion of their residents.

It is still not too late, however, to stop this. We can still bring the healthy political forces in the nationalist camp to get Netanyahu to change his path. We can still get Israeli society, and the decision makers, and the Defense Ministry subcontractors – those who do not realize that they should refuse the orders – to realize that choking the settlement enterprise in Yesha is mission impossible.

Know Your Opponent: How They Plan to Enforce the Freeze

The defense establishment is relating to the enforcement of the freeze as a national mission encompassing the entire IDF, from the Chief of Staff down to the regional brigades in Yesha. Just like before the Gush Katif expulsion, the army is preparing to provide “mental preparation” for the policemen and soldiers who will take part, including motivational talks about how the freeze is critical for national security. Some 40 teams of inspectors, including representatives of the Civil Administration, Border Guard, and IDF guards, will enforce the freeze, driving around in bullet-proof vehicles to the various communities.

They will attempt to create a “deterrence effect” by arresting individuals who will serve as scapegoats by being punished severely, with the expectation that others will be afraid to follow in their footsteps. This is critical for the government, since they know that they will not be able to deal with thousands of opponents – but if we realize that in truth they cannot punish thousands of us, and we thus break their “deterrence effect,” and simply not be afraid of them – we will have won.

Plan of Action: Basic Principles

We must create an atmosphere of tension and agitation, in order to get the nationalist-camp politicians to truly pressure and threaten Netanyahu.

No Dialogue!

We must also employ psychological warfare, in the sense of, “We’re upsetting the board and not playing anymore.” There must be no dialogue with the government or the IDF. Dialogue only serves their purposes, of keeping things under control. Their fear of the unknown and lack of control is much greater than ours, and if we don’t talk with them, they have more to lose than we do.

Netanyahu, for instance, has humiliated the Yesha leadership by refusing to meet with them ever since he was elected – except for immediately after the freeze orders were issued, when he wished simply to calm us down and neutralize our ability to fight. Meetings of this sort can help us in small things, but the price will be our ability to wage an effective fight.

We call upon the mayors, rabbis and community leaders not to meet with or have any contact with anyone connected with the enforcement of the freeze. This “extreme” move will significantly complicate the enforcement, and will also broadcast a message of how grave the construction freeze truly is.

A basic assumption is that the State will not be able to enforce the freeze in the face of thousands and tens of thousands of opponents. Neither will the IDF be able to handle refusals by dozens and hundreds of soldiers.

The struggle must therefore be broad and comprehensive, and supported by public leaders and rabbis. Groups of dozens and hundreds of adults and youths must be organized, where everyone places on brick on a new building. In this relatively simple manner, we will show that enforcing the freeze is impossible and that we will not take it lying down.

No Fear

We must also not be afraid to be arrested. We must fight their psychological warfare by showing that we are not afraid, and turning this approach to our advantage. The courts will not be able to deal with hundreds and thousands of indictments and arrests. It will not only stop up the court system, it will also broadcast a message of lack of control, of impending catastrophe, of a nationalist party against the public, etc.

In short, the motto is, “Arrest Means Victory.”