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1. 2nd Terror Attack on Highway 60, 2 Jews Shot
by Chana Ya'ar and Elad Benari
Palestinian Authority terrorist groups are scrambling to claim credit for a second attack that left a Jewish man and woman, both in their 30s, wounded on a road north of Jerusalem late Wednesday night.
Rabbi Moshe and Shira Moreno, residents of the Jordan Rift Valley, were treated on the scene by Magen David Adom medics before being rushed to Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center in Jerusalem. Moreno was moderately wounded, and suffered leg injuries; his wife sustained lighter wounds as a result of the vehicle overturning.
Terrorists peppered their car with bullets in a drive-by shooting on Route 60 between the Rimonim Junction and the Jewish community of Kochav HaShachar in the Binyamin region of Samaria, just about 15 minutes north of the capital, at about 11:00 p.m. The vehicle overturned, tumbled down an incline and landed in a ditch.
Rabbi Moreno, who teaches at the Maale Efraim pre-military academy, is the brother of the late Lt.-Col. Emanuel Moreno, who fell in battle during the 2006 Lebanon War while serving in one of the IDF’s most elite units, Sayeret Matkal, on a mission near B’albek. The details of that mission were so secret that due to the constraints of national security, to this day a photo of the deceased has not been published as is customary when a soldier falls in battle. Emanuel Moreno was survived by his wife, Maya and three children. All four of his brothers, including Moshe, served in elite IDF units.
Fatah Renegades, Hamas Compete for Credit
A Fatah cell calling itself the Al-Namir cells of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack in a call late Wednesday night to the offices of WorldNetDaily. The group issued a statement promising the attack was “part of a series of more attacks to come.”
According to journalist Aaron Klein, highly placed sources in both Fatah and its affiliate group, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Al-Namir is a renegade Fatah group that opposes the opening of talks with Israel.
The sources denied the group was coordinating its movements with the political leadership of Fatah and the PA, adding that it had planned and carried out Wednesday night’s attack with Hamas and the Islamic Jihad terror group.
By Thursday morning, Hamas had also claimed responsibility for the attack.
Netanyahu: 'Peace Begins with Leaders'
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who is currently in Washington, was updated on the terror attack as he was making his way from the White House back to his hotel.
Both Netanyahu and PA President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the attack. Speaking during a special dinner in Washington to mark the end of the Ramadan fast day, Abbas said: "We do not want bloodshed on the Israeli side. We want the two peoples to live an ordinary life with real peace."
Netanyahu also condemned the attack and said to Abbas: "You are my partner for peace. Peace begins with leaders."
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This attack comes just over 24 hours after Tuesday's terror attack near Kiryat Arba, in which four people were killed, including parents of six children.
MK Dr. Michael Ben-Ari (National Union) responded to Wednesday's attack and said: "Netanyahu is behaving like a UFO and not like a Prime Minister. The country is burning, the roads have become terror stricken, and Netanyahu is playing games in the United States. Netanyahu speaks of peace but brings terrorism upon us."
MK Prof. Aryeh Eldad (National Union) blamed Defense Minister Ehud Barak for the attack: "The Defense Minister is responsible for the safety of the residents, and despite our repeated warnings he decided to abandon the lives of Jews and remove the checkpoints.
"This lawlessness is what allows murderers to move freely and we will claim their blood from Ehud Barak," added Eldad. "The Defense Minister should resign or be fired since he has proven to be a complete failure and that he exercises bad judgment."
Nachi Eyal, General Manager of the Legal Forum for the Land of Israel, said in response to the terror attack that the barriers in the region should be returned.
"We've warned in the past and even appealed to the High Court against dismantling the checkpoint in the area," said Eyal. "The political echelon, the IDF commanders, and the High Court justices refused to adhere to our request and now it turns out that we were right. Are more deaths and injuries required in order to understand that the checkpoint must be returned?"
2. Series of Miracles Saves Terror Attack Target
by Hillel Fendel
Rabbi Moshe Moreno, who was shot Wednesday night in the second Palestinian terrorist roadside attack in as many nights, says he is only now realizing the magnitude of the miracles that befell him.
From his hospital bed in Hadassah Hospital where the bullet wound to his leg is being treated, he spoke with Arutz-7’s Uzi Baruch on Thursday morning and said, “I’m not sure if I’m 37 years old – or one day old, after what happened to me last night. So I figure I’m somewhere in between, a youth of about 18 and a half… Only now that I am out of it, I can recount about ten miracles that happened to us in the space of about five minutes, with praise and thanks to G-d.”
Rabbi Moreno teaches at the pre-military yeshiva academy in Maaleh Ephraim, on the western edge of the Jordan Valley. He is the younger brother of one of the most famous casualties of the 2nd Lebanon War of 2006, Lt.-Col. Emanuel Moreno, who was known for his leadership skills, bravery, all-around soldiering, spirituality, and meticulous adherence to religious values.
“My wife and I were traveling back from Jerusalem to Maaleh Ephraim," Rabbi Moreno recounted. "We passed by the trempiada [where Yesha residents wait for rides] at French Hill, where we often pick people up and drop them off at Kokhav HaShachar [about two miles out of the way – ed.]. Luckily, as it turned out, there was no one there, nor at the next “stop,” at Hizme. After the turnoff to Rimonim, a car 'settled' in back of me with his brights on; I tried to signal him in various ways to lower them, or to pass me, but he kept on playing with me, until I finally just gave up. But I didn’t suspect anything."
“Suddenly, around the curve between Rimonim and Kokhav HaShachar, he overtook me and began firing at me, from point-blank range essentially. It was an unbelievable miracle that he did not hit us, except for one bullet in my leg; my wife was not hit at all. The police told me later that there were nine bullet holes in my door, and only one hit me. What are the chances that a man standing next to you as he passes by you in a car and firing a Kalachnikov rifle in automatic will not hit you – one in a billion? One in two billion? … An amazing miracle. But there has to be some accounting as to who gave them these guns [towards the beginning of the Oslo process].
“I veered the car towards the right, and G-d enabled me to regain control: I opened the door, got my wife and myself out of our seat belts and out of the car and we rolled ourselves down and away from the road. Another miracle is that my wife just ‘happened’ to be holding her cell phone in her hand, and also that it was a Pelephone and not Orange [cellular companies in Israel]; just 2-3 months ago we switched it, as there is no reception for Orange in that area. We found ourselves behind a big boulder, and I phoned a friend of mine in the area to call the army… I panicked for a moment and started to yell, but another miracle was that the terrorists or other Arabs were not there to hear me… This was a series of miracles that only now am I beginning to grasp.”
Rabbi Moreno made his own personal accounting as well: “I am not sure in what merit G-d chose to save my life. I have a few ideas: It could be some form of merits of my forefathers, or perhaps because at that very minute, my mother was reciting Psalms for two hours straight… Or it could be because of a special kindness that I did for someone in our town just the day before… I’m not sure, but the bottom line is that I have received my life anew, as a gift.”
In related news, the car from which the fatal shots were fired at the Beit Haggai victims on Tuesday evening was found by the Palestinian Authority security forces… Gershon Mesika, head of the Shomron Regional Council, has called on his fellow regional council heads to boycott the Rosh HaShanah toast called by Defense Minister Ehud Barak. “Jews are murdered as a result of his policies, and he goes out to celebrate,” Mesika said.
3. 'They Shoot, We Build; Everyone Does His Thing'
by Hillel Fendel
The “genuine Zionist response” to Arab terrorism was activated again yesterday, with the beginning of construction of three new buildings in Judea and Samaria. The Yesha Council of Jewish Communities in Judea and Samaria declared, the morning after the quadruple murders of the Beit Haggai residents, that it officially views the construction freeze as over and expired.
Construction was begun at three different locations yesterday evening (Wednesday), and another one is to begin today. Concrete was poured for a new neighborhood's first building in Kiryat Arba, a sports hall was begun in Adam, just north of Jerusalem, and a kindergarten in Kedumim in central Samaria. Some 200-300 people took part in each.Yesha Council: "They shoot and we build; everyone does what he believes in.”
Building of a private home is to begin today in Beit Haggai, where the four victims of Tuesday’s terrorist attack – Yitzchak and Tali Imas, Kochi Even-Chaim, and Avishai Shindler – lived.
There has been no word from the Defense Ministry or Civil Administration as to whether they will take action against the apparent violations of the government-mandated construction freeze.
Kiryat Arba’s Chief Rabbi Dov Lior placed the first shovelfuls of cement in the Kiryat Arba building. “It is a pleasure to be here,” he told the assembled, “amidst a healthy, vibrant public, healthy in spirit and mind. Despite the difficulties and suffering that we are undergoing, you are filled with faith, and you continue to build and take root… Peace and security will not be achieved by giving in to these murderers and thieves. Rav Kook wrote around World War One that there cannot be peace in the world until the stolen land of Israel is returned to the Jewish people…”
The Yesha Council explained in a statement why it is resuming construction now:
"The terrorists identify our willingness to give in and make concessions, and this gives them a supportive tail-wind for their acts of murder. Every time there is a diplomatic summit of this sort, they wake up… The terrorists who murdered the Beit Haggai four escaped to the village of Bani Naim via a route that had been closed to traffic for 15 years because of attacks on Jews in the area – but which was reopened six months ago as a gesture to Abbas… The residents warned that it would endanger the lives of Jewish travelers and that it would end up costing Jewish lives – but the warnings fell on deaf ears.”
“Immediately upon learning of the murderous attack, we announced that it was not designed to thwart the peace talks, as was widely stated, but was rather a direct result of the talks. We called on the Prime Minister to return to Israel, and not take part in sham ceremonies with those who sent the murderers while their victims were being buried… He did not do so, and we then announced that the construction freeze is officially over and that construction would resume within hours…”
“Over the course of 120 years of Zionism, the yishuv [Jewish populace in the Land of Israel] always knew how to recover from such attacks; the Zionist answer is to build. They shoot and we build; everyone does what he believes in.
Video filmed by:
Hezki Ezra (Arutz Sheva) and Rivkah Rybak (www.yeshabulletin.com)
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4. Outburst of Rage Follows Shooting, Barak Calls for Calm
by Maayana Miskin
Dozens of young Jews from the Hevron region took part in an angry demonstration Wednesday following the brutal slaying on Tuesday of four residents of Beit Chaggai by Palestinian Authority terrorists. Some youths burned tires and attempted to cause damage in an Arab neighborhood of Hevron, but were stopped by soldiers.
One youth was lightly wounded while struggling with soldiers. A second was arrested after he succeeded in breaking windows on an Arab-owned building.
A small group of Judea and Samaria youths have promoted the so called “price tag” approach to Arab violence in the area, in which they damage Arab property to make Arab communities “pay the price” for perpetrating, allowing or abetting Arab attacks on Jews. Proponents of the approach say they hope to force both Arab communities and the IDF to do more to prevent terrorism.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak called on Judea and Samaria residents to “show responsibility.” He said the IDF would do everything possible “to prevent terrorists from disrupting the ties and the relative quiet that have developed in the region in recent years.”
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu issued a similar call. “At this hour, as the entire nation of Israel is united in mourning the murder of four innocent civilians, I call on everyone involved to demonstrate restraint and responsibility and to honor the rule of law,” he said in a statement issued from Washington, where he met Wednesday with U.S. President Barack Obama.
On Tuesday, a terrorist cell in the Hevron region opened fire on four residents of Beit Chagai as they drove on a local road. After forcing the car to stop, the terrorists closed in and shot their victims at close range. A married couple with six children, a 37-year-old wife, mother, and nursery school teacher, and a 24-year-old newlywed were slain in the attack.
5. Netanyahu to Abu Mazen: "You're My Partner for Peace"
by Hillel Fendel
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, and PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) are making last-minute preparations for the much-touted direct talks, set to begin at 5 PM Israel time (10 AM in Washington).
With so many weighty issues in the background, the foreground talks themselves are sometimes hard to make out. Looming behind the scenes are the two Palestinian terrorist attacks over the past two nights that claimed four lives and wounded two others, the fast-approaching end of the Jewish construction freeze in Judea and Samaria, and the threats by Abu Mazen to quit the talks if the freeze is not extended.
Netanyahu turned to Abu Mazen on Wednesday night and said, “You are my partner for peace.” He said he came to Washington to achieve “secure, durable peace for all sides,” not to play “a blame game” or “to find excuses.”
However, he emphasized, he would not make any concessions in terms of security. “Peace must provide security,” he said, and the “West Bank,” as he called it, must not become one that is dominated by terrorists, as occurred in Lebanon and Gaza. He said he is confident that peace is possible.
Netanyahu has told the Americans that the freeze will end on Sept. 26 as planned, explaining that settlement construction is actually a final-status issue and should not be dealt with separately.
Danny Dayan, head of the Yesha Council of Jewish Communities in Judea and Samaria, has also traveled to Washington. He told Haaretz he is there in order to speak to the media and make the case against a Palestinian state, and to monitor the situation and initiate quick decisions if necessary.
“The Palestinian Authority leadership is fully party to the murder [of four Jews from Beit Haggai on Tuesday night],” Dayan said, “and is not a partner for peace. They continue the incitement, continue to praise vile terrorists. Even the condemnation issued by the Palestinian Authority after the terrorist attack was completely propagandist and did not contain a single word of grief… For the last hundred years, terrorism has been the Palestinians' strategy... Abu Mazen, demonstratively, visited the grave of the female terrorist from the deadly attack on the bus on the coastal road. He named a square in Ramallah after her... The Palestinian youths learn from this what to believe in and how to act, much more than they do from the mere participation of the Palestinian leadership in the direct talks with Israel.”
He said there is no essential difference between Hamas and Fatah: “The different factions play the roles of the good cop and the bad cop. But they all share the same worldview. There are organizations that call for efforts in two stages: first establish a Palestinian state and then eliminate Israel, and there are others that argue that this has to be done in one fell swoop.”
6. Netanyahu to US: Building Will Resume
by Maayana Miskin
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu reiterated his previous commitment to end the Judea and Samaria construction freeze in September in a meeting Wednesday with United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Netanyahu said there was “no change to the cabinet decision to end” the freeze.
He and Clinton spoke in advance of Netanyahu's meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama.
“It is impossible to take the issue of settlements in the West Bank, which is an issue for the permanent agreement and deal with it separately at the beginning of the direct talks,” Netanyahu was quoted as saying by AFP.
Israel has made no demands of the Palestinian Authority, he said. “We came here to find a real solution without preconditions,” he stated.
PA leaders have insisted that Israel cease all construction for Jews east of the 1949 armistice line with Jordan, including in Jerusalem neighborhoods. If Israel allows Jews to build in those areas, the PA has threatened to drop out of the talks.
The 10-month construction freeze is scheduled to end on September 26. The Yesha Council of Jewish Communities in Judea and Samaria announced Wednesday that it would resume construction immediately, prior to the end of the freeze, in response to a terrorist shooting Tuesday in which four Israelis were murdered.
7. False Arab Graves Also Found Near Eastern Old City Wall
by Elad Benari
Several weeks ago, Arutz7 reported exclusively that dozens of new tombs were being added to the Mamilla Cemetery, an ancient Muslim cemetery located on the outskirts of Jerusalem's Independence Park, but no one is buried beneath them. These faked graves were in fact a Muslim project aimed at taking over land.
Following Arutz7’s report, the faked tombs were removed by the Jerusalem Municipality and the Israel Lands Authority.
Now, it appears as though the same phenomenon is occurring also in the area of the Eastern Wall in Jerusalem (adjacent to the Western Wall). The Arabs are simply ignoring a law that deems the area a national park.
Maya Shukri of the El Har HaMoriyah Institute, who documented the faked graves with her camera, told Arutz7 on Wednesday that at the present time, the graves are empty but an infrastructure is in place for future burials. Shukri, who compared older photographs to photographs taken recently, said that “there are markings [of graves] there, but underneath there is only soil. Some of them don’t have a tombstone.”
About a year ago, Israel’s High Court responded to an appeal which was brought forth and ruled that no burial would be allowed to take place on these grounds, and in fact, ruled that the area is to be transformed into a national park. The decision meant that the area would be cleaned, benches will be placed, and proper lighting installed.
Shukri said, however, described a reality that is far from what was ruled by the Court. “A year has passed and nothing has been done,” she said. “The police promised to provide any required assistance to turn the place into a national park, but what is happening today is that the police are preventing Jews from passing through the place.”
All the while, Arabs are continuing to place tombstones and concrete blocks in preparation for future burials on the site.Shukri pointed out the historical value of the area which once held a a bridge that connected the Holy Temple and the Mount of Olives. In the Holy Temple periods, the High Priest would pass through this bridge on his way to slaughter the para aduma, the red heifer whose ashes were used in purity laws. Shukri said that by preventing free access to Jews to the area and by allowing it to be covered by illegal empty graves, the site’s unique Jewish history will be obliterated. The High Court recognized this, but the follow up to its ruling never occurred. Instead, Arab encroachers took over.
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