6 Cheshvan 5780
4 November 2019
The Quotation of the Day
“Our policy is clear. We will not allow unrest in the south. We will decide how and when to respond.”
Acting Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz
How would you classify this absurdity? As simply absurd? As an outright fraud? As almost criminally negligent?
There has been nothing but unrest in the South for years. Just look at the column on the right hand side of this page. 2,540 missiles and mortars in the last 5 years. 508 per year.
Not a minute goes by that the residents of the South along the Gaza border don’t have to worry about running to the nearest bomb shelter.
A silent protest in Sderot this morning. 120 chairs, each empty and each with the name of a member of the Knesset, are beside Sderot City Hall. The chairs are meant to show that the government is nowhere to be seen (photo: Dvir Sassi).
The simple fact is that the government doesn’t care. Following Katz’s statement yesterday, the so-called security cabinet met last night and decided to maintain the “containment and absorption” policy in the South. In other words, our idiotic government believes that Hamas and Islamic Jihad will be “contained” as long as the people of southern Israel continue to “absorb” missiles.
It is beyond absurd. The truth is that while Israel engages in this containment and absorption “strategy”, Hamas and Islamic Jihad are not only firing missiles at Israeli families along the border, they are engaged in a massive build-up of forces to be used in the next war with Israel.
By the way, the “security cabinet” explained its decision last night by saying that it is important not to get into a “conflict” now because of concerns in the North.
13 missiles hit the Sderot area in the space of a few hours last Friday night and this is not a “conflict”?
Unbelievable.
The News on the Israeli Street
Palestinian terror in the last 24 hours . . .
On the Gaza border:
More bomb laden balloon clusters landed in southern Israel yesterday after having been launched by Palestinian terrorists in Gaza. Another “book” (see yesterday’s blog) was found by an Israeli family while on a hike at Nahal Ra’im.
Fortunately, the father in the family saw his children about to pick up up the “book” and stopped them. He then called the police who came and defused it. It was packed with 0.5 kg of TNT and loaded with metal balls–all of which would have ripped the children apart.
In Judea and Samaria:
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*Palestinian terrorists using “rocks” and Molotovs attacked a bus at Beit Ummar, and cars at Beit El, Halhul, Tekoa, Negohot, Kochav Shahar, and Road 443 near the Maccabim Checkpoint to name a few places.
*Palestinian terrorists uprooted an orchard of some 350 trees and destroyed the orchard’s irrigation system near Ein Oz. It is estimated that the damage is well over 100,000 shekels.
Government negotiations heat up . . .
Perhaps the most surprising (and completely uncorroborated) report of yesterday came from Israel’s fake news Channel 13 which was that Benny Gantz had offered New Right leaders Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked any positions they wanted if they will join his as yet to be formed Coalition.
More specifically, the report was that Bennett would be Defense Minister and Shaked Justice Minister. Whether this offer is really on the table is highly questionable, but other reports are that Netanyahu wants to offer Bennett the Defense Minister position at this moment to forestall an offer from Gantz.
As said, all of this is pure speculation.
Other news was that some members of the 55 “right block” are pushing the ultra-orthodox to make sufficient compromises to permit Avigdor Lieberman to join a “Right Coalition.” As for Lieberman, he said yesterday that he will not join any Coalition headed by Benny Gantz unless he sees who else is in it.
Meanwhile, Gantz’s clock continues ticking. He has 15 days left to form a government.
TODAY’S BLOG:
Annexation, Now!
Judea and Samaria: map of Areas A, B, and C–as established by an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians in the Oslo Accords. Note that Area C–where all of the Jewish communities are located–is in green. This is what Ayelet Shaked’s bill would annex.
“There is currently a window of political opportunity and readiness from the US for such an annexation process, which will not return. Therefore, this window of opportunity should not be hesitated or waited on and [we should] begin to apply during the sovereignty over these areas.”
Ayelet Shaked, Knesset member and former Justice Minister
Shaked made those remarks yesterday as she filed an annexation bill in the Knesset in an event which somehow flew under the radar of all mainstream news organizations.
Her bill is wide-reaching. If adopted, all of Area C would be annexed including all 132 officially established Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria as well as nearly 100 more unofficial ones. As you may or may not know, Area C also includes the Jordan Valley and Gush Etzion.
Shaked’s bill specifies that “all of Area C” means the commercial and industrial areas, archaeological sites, state lands between the communities, and roads.
Your humble servant has only one thing to say: Bravo Ayelet!
As regular readers of OneIsrael know, this is precisely what we have been advocating for years. And there is no doubt that she is correct; this is a tiny window of opportunity that will quickly go spinning off into the universe–unlikely to ever return.
It is also an opportunity for all the slippery politicians who have advocated annexation to put their money where their mouths have been. Those politicians include Benjamin Netanyahu, Benny Gantz, Avigdor Lieberman and a whole host of others from both sides of the political spectrum.
Will they finally act?
We seriously doubt it–after all, Israeli politicians are chronically paralyzed; they are all talk and no bite.
A student from Malawi, who had worked with an Israeli health volunteer in his country battling AIDS, came up to us as we walked down the street in the UC-Davis Picnic Day Parade and wanted to carry the Israeli flag.