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1. '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.”
2. Defense Minister: 'Fix the Freeze Order' by Hana Levi Julian 
The Defense Ministry announced Thursday it will amend the order to freeze all Jewish construction in Judea and Samaria and will allow residents to build additions to their homes. Repairs and renovations to residential buildings will also be permitted.
In addition, builders will be permitted to complete construction of those homes in which the foundations had been poured before the freeze order went into effect.
The ministerial committee, which included Defense Minister Ehud Barak (Labor) and Minister without Portfolio Benny Begin (Likud) authorized the Civil Administration head, Brigadier-General Zev Mordechai to implement the amendments. “The committee realized the written orders that were issued were inconsistent with that which was decided by the Cabinet,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement. “Hence these amendments.”
National Union MK Aryeh Eldad was less than impressed with the announcement, however. “The so-called concessions on the freeze that were published may reduce the wave of lawsuits by the hundreds of millions of shekels by those who were hurt by the madness of the system used by the government,” he said. “But these concessions aren’t yet being translated into facts on the ground.
“The building inspectors continue to run wild, and the appeals committees go through the motions. From now on, it is not enough to get planning permits and receipts for payment for work; the committee also wants authorization from lawyers. These are unreasonable demands despite the easing of the restrictions by Barak and the army, who act like a state within a state."
3. Mofaz Demands Primaries in Kadima to Ward Off Split by Hillel Fendel 
Kadima’s #2, Sha’ul Mofaz, met with the beleaguered #1, Tzipi Livni, at her home in north Tel Aviv on Thursday, and demanded primaries as the way to forestall the impending party split.
Speaking with reporters afterwards, Mofaz did not say whether Livni agreed to his demand or not. The Kadima Party Council will convene on Thursday afternoon to discuss the internal party crisis.
Mofaz lost narrowly to Livni in the previous party primaries in September 2008. However, given the current discontent in the party, his chances this time are much improved.
Mofaz told reporters, “I recommended to party leader Tzipi Livni the steps I think Kadima should take in order to repair the damage and prevent the split.” Asked specifically if he had suggested holding new primaries, he confirmed that that was true. “She has heard other advice in the past,” Mofaz said, “and now she will hopefully hear mine and perhaps, for the first time, even listen.”
Mofaz has zig-zagged often in his political career. He is remembered for insisting, in late 2005, that he had no plans to leave the Likud – followed two days later by his jump to Kadima. After his loss to Livni in last year’s primaries, he announced that he was quitting politics – a threat that he did not fulfill.
One Has Left, Six on the Way
Meanwhile, MK Eli Aflalo, one of the MKs who left the Likud four years ago in order to join Kadima, has announced his resignation from Kadima and his formation of a one-man Knesset faction. He told Voice of Israel Radio that he has “stopped believing in Livni’s leadership.” He said he does not doubt her integrity, but said that she "has taken a centrist party to the left.”
Six other Kadima MKs have reportedly initialed an agreement to quit Kadima.
Criticism has also been heard of the manner in which some MKs in Kadima are given preferential treatment by faction whip Dalia Itzik, who arrived in Kadima from the Labor Party. “There are some [Kadima MK who are good only for drawing water and chopping wood,” Aflalo said. “I’m apparently good for bringing votes, but not good for being one of [Livni’ close aides…”Voice of Israel reporter Ayala Hasson said she knows for certain that Aflalo was chosen to the #6 spot in the Kadima party primaries, but was somehow moved down to #14. A police investigation of the Kadima primaries was closed last week with no results.
4. 'Six Kadima MKs Signed Defection Paper with Netanyahu' by Gil Ronen 
Six Knesset members from Kadima signed their initials on an agreement with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for leaving their party and joining his government, Channel 1 reported Wednesday night. According to the report, MK Eli Aflalo told Kadima chairwoman Tzipi Livni Tuesday that he intends to leave the party, either as a one-man faction or to join Likud.
The Prime Minister's associates reportedly promised the defectors several ministerial portfolios, as well as deputy-ministerships and the chair of a Knesset committee. Portfolios that were mentioned include the Minister for Jerusalem, Minister for the Negev and Galilee, Minister of the Broadcasting Authority, and Chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
According to the report, there are also promises of a future appointment as Chairman of the Israel Lottery (Mifal HaPayis) and Chairman of the Israel Bonds.
Besides Aflalo, six MKs have been mentioned as possible defectors in news reports: Ronit Tirosh, Yaakov Edry, Aryeh Bibi, Otniel Schneller, Yulia Shamalov Berkovich and Zeev Boim.
Livni said Tuesday that "Netanyahu is the first prime minister to deal obsessively with the Opposition instead of affairs of state.”
5. 12th Graders: We’ll Fight for Israel and not Expel Jews by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu 
Two hundred 12th graders from all parts of Israel, including urban centers, have written Defense Minister Ehud Barak that they want to serve in the army but will not accept orders to expel Jews from their homes.
The unprecedented declaration represents another slap in the face of the Defense Minister, whose policies prompted the Hesder yeshiva in Arad to announce on Wednesday it is pulling out of the Hesder program after he threw the Har Brachah yeshiva out of the Torah study army service program.
Defense Minister Barak has rejected as insufficient Hesder yeshiva Rabbi Eliezer Melamed’s signed statements opposing soldiers publicly protesting the expulsion policy. Barak also has insisted on using soldiers to help carry out police actions to expel Jews.
Under the title "Petition to the Security Services,” the 12th graders wrote, “We want very much to enlist in the IDF and fight for the defense of our Land of Israel. We consider the use of the army for political purposes and the war against Jews as a danger that can ruin the army, especially when it is involved in a grave sin against settling the Land.
“We declare that our faith in the Torah comes before any other law or order, and therefore any [arm order that is against the Torah will be refused. We will not participate in any expulsion of a hilltop community or Jewish community in the Land of Israel. That is the way we will preserve the true values and principles of the IDF."
Meir Teller of Haifa, one of the signatories, explained that “we are supposed to fight against enemies and not against citizens who are among our own people.” He noted that that the ”best soldiers” in the 2006 Second Lebanon War and 2009 Operation Cast Lead were residents of Judea and Samaria “and were not leftists from northern Tel Aviv.”
The student charged that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Barak are trying to turn the best soldiers into enemies and to use the army against them.
Another signatory is Hanan Liberzon of Kiryat Tivon, a suburb of Haifa. "Barak’s hypocrisy is outrageous,” he declared. “It is inconceivable that the army sends officers to learn in universities where lecturers and professors incite against the country and against serving in the army, and then Defense Minister Barak targets rabbis who dedicate their lives to educating according to the Torah and to serve in the best units in the IDF.”
The 12th graders’ letter coincides with growing opposition among National Religious rabbis to Barak’s actions against the Har Brachah yeshiva and to the continued use of soldiers to raid Jewish communities and expel their residents. Leading rabbis and educators have warned that the Defense Minister is risking the loss of National Religious students who comprise a large part of elite combat units.
6. Significant Quantities’ of Oil Discovered in Center of Israel by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu 
An everlasting hope of finding significant amounts of oil in Israel may have been realized with the announcement Thursday that “significant quantities” of oil were found in a well in the area of Rosh HaAyin, a city located east of Tel Aviv on the western edge of Samaria.
The Givat Olam (Hebrew for “Hill of the World”) Exploration Limited Partnership informed the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange of the discovery, but added, “At this stage it is not possible to estimate the significance of these findings." The company’s stock more than doubled on the stock market, according to Globes.
The firm said the oil was found late Wednesday night and that “more than 60 percent gas was measured in the drill mud.” The commercial potential of the oil field will not be known until tests and calculations on production and processing can be completed.
The “Meged” well in the Rosh HaAyin area is one of the few that have been drilled outside of the Negev and Dead Sea area. Several studies by independent consultants have confirmed the potential for oil in the area, and previous drillings have encouraged the prospects of discovering enough oil and gas for commercial production.
Earlier this year, a huge gas field was discovered off the Mediterranean Coast. The gas is expected to be on line in three years and is anticipated to help Israel become self-sufficient in gas. It also is providing hundreds of high-paying jobs for developing the field and bringing the gas from the sea, off Hadera and Haifa, to the coastline.
If the Meged well proves commercially viable, it will further Israel’s longtime hope of being energy independent and is likely to strengthen the shekel against world currencies.
7. Hamas Rocket Victims Sue in Belgium for War Crimes Arrests by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu 
Israeli victims of Hamas rocket attacks who hold dual citizenship have turned the tables on anti-Zionists and have appealed to a Belgian court to arrest Hamas leaders, including de facto Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and Khaled Mashaal.
The 15 plaintiffs, all of them Belgian nationals who also hold Israeli citizenship, were wounded, sustained property damage or lost relatives in last year’s rocket barrage on southern Israel, which subsided but resumed, albeit at a reduced level, after the three-week Operation Cast Lead that began in late December of last year.
Attorney Mordechai Tzivin, representing the plaintiffs, told the French news agency AFP, "This is a first step in a broad offensive across Europe that will include Spain, Britain, Italy and other countries.”
The suit follows several attempts by anti-Zionists in Europe who have sought the arrest of Israeli political and military leaders for authorizing counterterrorist maneuvers.
"The request for arrest warrants was submitted after six months of legal preparation and is based on strict evidence which ties Hamas leaders to terror attacks in which Belgian citizens ware harmed," attorney Roel Coveliers told AFP.
 Hamas rocket terrorists The suit charges 10 Hamas leaders of war crimes and is based on the United Nations Human Rights Commission report authored by Judge Richard Goldstone, who accused Israel of war crimes but mentioned, almost in passing, that Hamas rocket attacks on civilians also constitute violations of international law.
Besides Haniyeh and Mashaal, the top leader of Hamas who is based in Damascus, the suit names Gaza-based Mahmoud al-Zahar and the leaders of Hamas’ “military” division.
An official of the pro-Israel organization that helped launch the suit said that the group hopes “to shatter the myth that draws a parallel between Israel and terror organizations such as Hamas.”
Earlier this week, Hamas officials have said they are providing information to Europeans to help them file war crimes charges against Israel. |
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UN-Soldaten: "Es wird scho glei dumpa"
