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1. Construction in Judea and Samaria Up a Whopping 660%
by David Lev
With the end of the building freeze, construction has started up in Judea and Samaria (Yesha) communities. In fact, said the Central Bureau of Statistics, building jumped 660% in Judea and Samaria during the first half of 2011, as compared to a year before.
While the statistic was certainly breathtaking, the actual numbers on the ground were less impressive: Construction started on 546 new homes in Yesha communities during the period. Still, it was a sharp improvement over the number of housing starts in the first half of 2010, when only 72 housing starts were announced. Officials of the Yesha Council said they were pleased with the increase, but that clearly many more new homes were needed. "We need at least 500 new homes a month, not just in half a year, in order to accomodate all the families who want to live in Yesha." Last week, Arutz Sheva reported on how dozens of American families who sought to buy or rent homes in Efrat were unable to do so becasue of the lack of housing there.
The jump in Yesha construction this year was part of a general trend in the rest of Israel. According to the CBS, housing starts rose 14.4% overall during the first half of 2011. But certain parts of the country are set to grow far more than that number implies; for example, there are now 7,950 homes under construction in southern Israel, a 55% increase over the 2,495 home starts in the first half of 2010.
In Asheklon alone, 1,576 new homes are currently under construction – the highest number for any city in Israel. Other cities where building jumped in the first half of 2011 included Kiryat Gat (a 607% increase in housing construction starts), Ramle (252%), Ganei Tikvah (451%), Rehovot (203%), and Yavne (165%). Even in the already ultra-expensive Tel Aviv and Jerusalem regions, construction was up 28% and 8% respectively. In the north, housing construction starts were up 11.2% during the period.
Altogether, construction began on some 22,000 new homes. The CBS said that by the end of 2011, taking into consideration construction that was started in 2010, there will be some 75,000 new apartments under construction. Those apartments are expected to come “on-line” between the end of 2012 and during 2013, helping to satisfy the high demand for housing, hopefully at more reasonable prices.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Housing Minister Ariel Attias both expressed great satisfaction at the CBS announcement. “The increasing trend in housing starts reflects the increased successful activity by the government, which we began undertaking as soon as we took power,” Netanyahu said. “The steps we took in the real estate market, including the institution of the Housing Committees Law and the reforms we recently instituted in the Israel Lands Administration, have contributed, and will continue to contribute, to the increased availability of housing – and, as a result, a lowering of prices.”
Comment on this story
by David Lev
With the end of the building freeze, construction has started up in Judea and Samaria (Yesha) communities. In fact, said the Central Bureau of Statistics, building jumped 660% in Judea and Samaria during the first half of 2011, as compared to a year before.
While the statistic was certainly breathtaking, the actual numbers on the ground were less impressive: Construction started on 546 new homes in Yesha communities during the period. Still, it was a sharp improvement over the number of housing starts in the first half of 2010, when only 72 housing starts were announced. Officials of the Yesha Council said they were pleased with the increase, but that clearly many more new homes were needed. "We need at least 500 new homes a month, not just in half a year, in order to accomodate all the families who want to live in Yesha." Last week, Arutz Sheva reported on how dozens of American families who sought to buy or rent homes in Efrat were unable to do so becasue of the lack of housing there.
The jump in Yesha construction this year was part of a general trend in the rest of Israel. According to the CBS, housing starts rose 14.4% overall during the first half of 2011. But certain parts of the country are set to grow far more than that number implies; for example, there are now 7,950 homes under construction in southern Israel, a 55% increase over the 2,495 home starts in the first half of 2010.
In Asheklon alone, 1,576 new homes are currently under construction – the highest number for any city in Israel. Other cities where building jumped in the first half of 2011 included Kiryat Gat (a 607% increase in housing construction starts), Ramle (252%), Ganei Tikvah (451%), Rehovot (203%), and Yavne (165%). Even in the already ultra-expensive Tel Aviv and Jerusalem regions, construction was up 28% and 8% respectively. In the north, housing construction starts were up 11.2% during the period.
Altogether, construction began on some 22,000 new homes. The CBS said that by the end of 2011, taking into consideration construction that was started in 2010, there will be some 75,000 new apartments under construction. Those apartments are expected to come “on-line” between the end of 2012 and during 2013, helping to satisfy the high demand for housing, hopefully at more reasonable prices.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Housing Minister Ariel Attias both expressed great satisfaction at the CBS announcement. “The increasing trend in housing starts reflects the increased successful activity by the government, which we began undertaking as soon as we took power,” Netanyahu said. “The steps we took in the real estate market, including the institution of the Housing Committees Law and the reforms we recently instituted in the Israel Lands Administration, have contributed, and will continue to contribute, to the increased availability of housing – and, as a result, a lowering of prices.”
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2. Hamas Founder Sheikh Hassan Yousef Detained Near Shechem
by Chana Ya'ar
Hamas founder and leader Sheikh Hassan Yousef was re-arrested by the IDF Wednesday and taken to an undisclosed location.
Yousef was stopped up at the Zatara checkpoint south of Shechem, according to the Bethlehem-based Ma'an news agency. He was reportedly “held at the checkpoint for hours before detaining him,” witnesses said, after attending a meeting in the Samaria city of Jenin. His wife and several of his children were with him at the time.
The Ramallah-area resident had been released a few days earlier after serving a six-year sentence in an Israeli prison. Yousef was originally from the village of Al-Ghaniyeh, and was a key player in the founding of the Hamas terrorist organization.
Last month he was one of 200 Palestinian Authority Arab prisoners who were freed early as a goodwill gesture for the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
“The Israeli policy of kidnapping the elected legislators and officials will not succeed in deterring the Palestinians from pursuing their legitimate rights of liberation and independence,” Dr. Ahmad Bahar, deputy head of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), said in response to the arrest.
The senior Hamas leader is considered a popular grassroots activist among the PA Arab population in Judea and Samaria.
Yousef's son, Mosab Hassan Yousef, converted to Christianity several years ago and moved to the United States. There he published a book, “Son of Hamas,” on his experiences as an agent for the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) over 10 years.
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by Chana Ya'ar
Hamas founder and leader Sheikh Hassan Yousef was re-arrested by the IDF Wednesday and taken to an undisclosed location.
Yousef was stopped up at the Zatara checkpoint south of Shechem, according to the Bethlehem-based Ma'an news agency. He was reportedly “held at the checkpoint for hours before detaining him,” witnesses said, after attending a meeting in the Samaria city of Jenin. His wife and several of his children were with him at the time.
The Ramallah-area resident had been released a few days earlier after serving a six-year sentence in an Israeli prison. Yousef was originally from the village of Al-Ghaniyeh, and was a key player in the founding of the Hamas terrorist organization.
Last month he was one of 200 Palestinian Authority Arab prisoners who were freed early as a goodwill gesture for the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
“The Israeli policy of kidnapping the elected legislators and officials will not succeed in deterring the Palestinians from pursuing their legitimate rights of liberation and independence,” Dr. Ahmad Bahar, deputy head of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), said in response to the arrest.
The senior Hamas leader is considered a popular grassroots activist among the PA Arab population in Judea and Samaria.
Yousef's son, Mosab Hassan Yousef, converted to Christianity several years ago and moved to the United States. There he published a book, “Son of Hamas,” on his experiences as an agent for the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) over 10 years.
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3. School Year Off to a Quiet Start
by David Lev
With the dawning of the first of September Thursday, some 2 million children packed their book bags and headed out on the road – back to school. After two months of fun and sun, children and teens from kindergarten to 12th grade returned to their studies, with all schools open and all teachers in attendance – a marked difference from the common “opening day strike” that Israeli parents are subject to in many years.
The reason for this year's labor calm was the the agreement in advance between teachers and the Education Ministry's on schools' implementation of the “New Horizons” and “Strength in Giving” programs. Under the programs, kindergarten hours will be extended by 30 minutes at most schools, with kindergarteners coming home at 2 PM this year. The Ministry and teachers' unions were able to come to an agreement on hours and compensation.
The Ministry set up a hotline to deal with opening-day problems, but officials said that things were under control. With that, many schools in the south were on high alert in the event of Kassam rocket attacks by Gaza Arab terrorists. Children were being given special instructions on what to do if the Red Color warning system was sounded, and what to do in case of a surprise attack.
One school in Petach Tikvah was striking because of a decision by the Ministry to close schools where the majority of students are of Ethiopian background, in order to prevent segregation. The students are to eventually be divided and sent to different schools, a move opposed by a group of parents in the school The parents are preventing students from entering the school, demanding that it be kept open.
The biggest trouble spot in the past few days has been in Beit Shemesh, where students of the Orot Girls' School went to class under heavy police protection. Orot parents and members of the local Hareidi community have been engaged in a fierce fight for the building, with the Hareidi groups demanding that the national religious girls' school be moved elsewhere and the building be used exclusively for boys. Both Hareidim and parents of the Orot children and other members of the local national-religious community have taken turns trying to gain control the building, with protests and sit-ins held by both sides over the past few days.
Officially opening the school year, President Shimon Peres, accompanied by Mayor Nr Barkat, visited the Habad elementary school in the Ir Ganim neighborhood of Jerusalem. Peres told the students that he was very impressed by them, and stressed o how important it was to get an education – both religious and secular.
Comment on this story
by David Lev
With the dawning of the first of September Thursday, some 2 million children packed their book bags and headed out on the road – back to school. After two months of fun and sun, children and teens from kindergarten to 12th grade returned to their studies, with all schools open and all teachers in attendance – a marked difference from the common “opening day strike” that Israeli parents are subject to in many years.
The reason for this year's labor calm was the the agreement in advance between teachers and the Education Ministry's on schools' implementation of the “New Horizons” and “Strength in Giving” programs. Under the programs, kindergarten hours will be extended by 30 minutes at most schools, with kindergarteners coming home at 2 PM this year. The Ministry and teachers' unions were able to come to an agreement on hours and compensation.
The Ministry set up a hotline to deal with opening-day problems, but officials said that things were under control. With that, many schools in the south were on high alert in the event of Kassam rocket attacks by Gaza Arab terrorists. Children were being given special instructions on what to do if the Red Color warning system was sounded, and what to do in case of a surprise attack.
One school in Petach Tikvah was striking because of a decision by the Ministry to close schools where the majority of students are of Ethiopian background, in order to prevent segregation. The students are to eventually be divided and sent to different schools, a move opposed by a group of parents in the school The parents are preventing students from entering the school, demanding that it be kept open.
The biggest trouble spot in the past few days has been in Beit Shemesh, where students of the Orot Girls' School went to class under heavy police protection. Orot parents and members of the local Hareidi community have been engaged in a fierce fight for the building, with the Hareidi groups demanding that the national religious girls' school be moved elsewhere and the building be used exclusively for boys. Both Hareidim and parents of the Orot children and other members of the local national-religious community have taken turns trying to gain control the building, with protests and sit-ins held by both sides over the past few days.
Officially opening the school year, President Shimon Peres, accompanied by Mayor Nr Barkat, visited the Habad elementary school in the Ir Ganim neighborhood of Jerusalem. Peres told the students that he was very impressed by them, and stressed o how important it was to get an education – both religious and secular.
Comment on this story
4. Court: Beit Yehonatan Seal Orders Remain Intact
by David Lev
A High Court judge said Thursday that a previous decision to evacuate and seal Beit Yehonatan in the City of David neighborhood will stand, and that four residents of the building whom the court in 2007 said had made illegal use of the building were subject to various penalties, including a fine and other legal steps.
Court judge Edna Arbel said that the four – Moshe and Sivan Cordova and Efraim and Miriam Friedler – had not made any new arguments, and that there was no reason to cancel the order to seal the building. Arbel also complained that the Jerusalem municipality, who has the responsibility of carrying out the court's order, had been dragging its feet for years on the matter. Arbel added that Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat's position – that he could not in good conscience seal Beit Yehonatan unless similar action were taken against illegal Arab building in the neighborhood – was untenable, and that he had no grounds to stand on.
Arbel added that the residents themselves had a responsibility to vacate the building, even if the city was not doing its job. As such, she said, they were not entitled to the protection of the court. “The court will not extend its help to those who violate its orders and decide the law for themselves.” This alone, she said, would be sufficient reason to reject their plea.
Beit Yehonatan is one of the few places in the City of David where Jews have been able to find a place to live. The neighborhood had, at least until 1948, a significant Jewish population – until they were forced to flee for their lives in the onslaught of Arab murderers during the War of Independence. Besides fighting the High Court's decision to vacate the building, residents have been forced to contend with an ongoing Arab terror campaign; in a typical incident, Arab youths hurled rocks and firebombs at the Beit Yehonatan building in mid-July. They were arrested by police, and their case is pending.
Comment on this story
by David Lev
A High Court judge said Thursday that a previous decision to evacuate and seal Beit Yehonatan in the City of David neighborhood will stand, and that four residents of the building whom the court in 2007 said had made illegal use of the building were subject to various penalties, including a fine and other legal steps.
Court judge Edna Arbel said that the four – Moshe and Sivan Cordova and Efraim and Miriam Friedler – had not made any new arguments, and that there was no reason to cancel the order to seal the building. Arbel also complained that the Jerusalem municipality, who has the responsibility of carrying out the court's order, had been dragging its feet for years on the matter. Arbel added that Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat's position – that he could not in good conscience seal Beit Yehonatan unless similar action were taken against illegal Arab building in the neighborhood – was untenable, and that he had no grounds to stand on.
Arbel added that the residents themselves had a responsibility to vacate the building, even if the city was not doing its job. As such, she said, they were not entitled to the protection of the court. “The court will not extend its help to those who violate its orders and decide the law for themselves.” This alone, she said, would be sufficient reason to reject their plea.
Beit Yehonatan is one of the few places in the City of David where Jews have been able to find a place to live. The neighborhood had, at least until 1948, a significant Jewish population – until they were forced to flee for their lives in the onslaught of Arab murderers during the War of Independence. Besides fighting the High Court's decision to vacate the building, residents have been forced to contend with an ongoing Arab terror campaign; in a typical incident, Arab youths hurled rocks and firebombs at the Beit Yehonatan building in mid-July. They were arrested by police, and their case is pending.
Comment on this story
5. Kuwait Reconsiders Lawfare Suit Against Israel at The Hague
by Chana Ya'ar
Kuwait has reconsidered a lawfare suit against Israel at The Hague over the Mavi Marmara flotilla incident in May 2010, according to a report published in the Hebrew-language Yediot Acharonot newspaper.
Kuwaiti parliament member Dr. Waleed Al-Tabtabaei had participated in the six-vessel flotilla that attempted to breach Israel's blockade of Gaza.
A passenger on board the Turkish terror-linked IHH-sponsored Mavi Marmara vessel, Tabtabaei initially sued the State of Israel for assault and humiliation by the IDF naval commandos who boarded the ship to redirect it to Ashdod port.
In fact, the vessel did not carry even one item of humanitarian aid for Gaza residents. Instead, many of the passengers aboard the ship turned out to be armed with weapons and prepared for battle. The vessel ignored Israel's repeated instructions to change direction and when soldiers boarded to take control, attacked the troops.
Tabtabaei demanded that the petition he first filed locally be referred to the International Court of Justice at The Hague. Kuwaiti media reported the ministry was warned that Israel could win such a case because the Mavi Marmara broke international law by violating Israel's sovereign territorial waters, thus forcing Kuwait to pay Israel billions of dollars in compensation. As a result, the Kuwait Justice Ministry rejected his request.
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by Chana Ya'ar
Kuwait has reconsidered a lawfare suit against Israel at The Hague over the Mavi Marmara flotilla incident in May 2010, according to a report published in the Hebrew-language Yediot Acharonot newspaper.
Kuwaiti parliament member Dr. Waleed Al-Tabtabaei had participated in the six-vessel flotilla that attempted to breach Israel's blockade of Gaza.
A passenger on board the Turkish terror-linked IHH-sponsored Mavi Marmara vessel, Tabtabaei initially sued the State of Israel for assault and humiliation by the IDF naval commandos who boarded the ship to redirect it to Ashdod port.
In fact, the vessel did not carry even one item of humanitarian aid for Gaza residents. Instead, many of the passengers aboard the ship turned out to be armed with weapons and prepared for battle. The vessel ignored Israel's repeated instructions to change direction and when soldiers boarded to take control, attacked the troops.
Tabtabaei demanded that the petition he first filed locally be referred to the International Court of Justice at The Hague. Kuwaiti media reported the ministry was warned that Israel could win such a case because the Mavi Marmara broke international law by violating Israel's sovereign territorial waters, thus forcing Kuwait to pay Israel billions of dollars in compensation. As a result, the Kuwait Justice Ministry rejected his request.
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6. Vandals Deface Poland's Jedwabne Holocaust Memorial
by Chana Ya'ar
Vandals have destroyed a memorial to Jewish victims of a World War II pogrom in eastern Poland.
The site, located in the town of Jedwabne, marks the horrific attack in which hundreds of Jews were burned alive by the Polish neighbors in a barn in 1941.
Swastikas and racists taunts were scrawled all over the monument, police said Thursday. A wall surrounding the memorial and its Hebrew and Polish-language signs were also obscured by the vandals with painted comments that read, “They were highly flammable,” and “I'm not sorry for Jedwabne.”
Spokesman Andrzej Baranowski from the nearby Bialystok Police department added that an investigation was immediately launched into the vandalism.
This was not the first hate crime directed at the area's small Jewish and Muslim communities, as well as a tiny Lithuanian minority, the Reuters news agency reported. The Polish Interior Ministry this week told reporters that all the recent anti-Semitic and xenophobic incidents have probably been carried out by the same perpetrators.
“This is a perfect example of vandalism and stupidity, but we don't know the exact motives yet,” Baranowski cautioned.
July 10, 2011 marked the 60th anniversary of the massacre, a date on which Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski formally apologized in a letter read at a ceremony which took place at the monument.
The Polish government closed its investigation into the pogrom in 2002, concluding that between 300 and 400 Jews lost their lives in the massacre at Jedwabne. However, Polish emigre historian Jan Tomasz Gross contends that some 1,600 victims were murdered.
Comment on this story
by Chana Ya'ar
Vandals have destroyed a memorial to Jewish victims of a World War II pogrom in eastern Poland.
The site, located in the town of Jedwabne, marks the horrific attack in which hundreds of Jews were burned alive by the Polish neighbors in a barn in 1941.
Swastikas and racists taunts were scrawled all over the monument, police said Thursday. A wall surrounding the memorial and its Hebrew and Polish-language signs were also obscured by the vandals with painted comments that read, “They were highly flammable,” and “I'm not sorry for Jedwabne.”
Spokesman Andrzej Baranowski from the nearby Bialystok Police department added that an investigation was immediately launched into the vandalism.
This was not the first hate crime directed at the area's small Jewish and Muslim communities, as well as a tiny Lithuanian minority, the Reuters news agency reported. The Polish Interior Ministry this week told reporters that all the recent anti-Semitic and xenophobic incidents have probably been carried out by the same perpetrators.
“This is a perfect example of vandalism and stupidity, but we don't know the exact motives yet,” Baranowski cautioned.
July 10, 2011 marked the 60th anniversary of the massacre, a date on which Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski formally apologized in a letter read at a ceremony which took place at the monument.
The Polish government closed its investigation into the pogrom in 2002, concluding that between 300 and 400 Jews lost their lives in the massacre at Jedwabne. However, Polish emigre historian Jan Tomasz Gross contends that some 1,600 victims were murdered.
Comment on this story
7. 'Missile Threat Not About to End,' Warns Vilna'i
by Chana Ya'ar
Rocket attacks on southern Israel launched by Gaza-based terrorists aren't going to end anytime in the near future, warned Home Front Command chief Matan Vilna'i.
As a matter of fact, the attacks won't end for years, said Vilna'i, who also serves as the country's deputy Defense Minister.
Speaking at a ceremony to install 50 mobile protective bomb shelters near schools in Ofakim, Vilna'i was quoted by the Hebrew-language Ma'arive newspaper as saying, “The missile threat is not about to end in the next two years – so in addition to activity against terrorists, the Treasury should finance these protective chambers in the south.”
Each circular concrete shelter can accommodate up to 18 people for short periods of time.
Although Ofakim is receiving protection for children as they begin the school year, the same cannot be said for elementary schools in the Ashkelon Coast Regional Council district.
Council director Yair Farjoun told Arutz Sheva in an interview Tuesday that although the two largest schools in the region are now fortified against missile strikes, many other schools and day care centers are not.
“Everything more than five kilometers [from Gaza] – the government's attitude is that it can get by without fortification,” Farjoun said.
Chabad-Lubavitch emissary to the port city of Ashkelon, Rabbi Menachem Lieberman told Arutz Sheva that he is trying to raise money to purchase five pre-fab bomb shelters to be placed next to kindergartens in the city. Each of the pre-fab structures costs NIS 70,000, Lieberman said.
He added that both Chabad boys' and girls' schools in the city, from kindergarten through 12th grade, contain bomb shelters, and that the children would be drilled on how to reach them immediately in case of attack.
The parents of Ashkelon tried to force the government in a court petition to cover the costs of fortifying the public schools and buildings in the city against rockets, he added -- similar to the way in which Sderot was protected -- but the effort failed.
Comment on this story
by Chana Ya'ar
Rocket attacks on southern Israel launched by Gaza-based terrorists aren't going to end anytime in the near future, warned Home Front Command chief Matan Vilna'i.
As a matter of fact, the attacks won't end for years, said Vilna'i, who also serves as the country's deputy Defense Minister.
Speaking at a ceremony to install 50 mobile protective bomb shelters near schools in Ofakim, Vilna'i was quoted by the Hebrew-language Ma'arive newspaper as saying, “The missile threat is not about to end in the next two years – so in addition to activity against terrorists, the Treasury should finance these protective chambers in the south.”
Each circular concrete shelter can accommodate up to 18 people for short periods of time.
Although Ofakim is receiving protection for children as they begin the school year, the same cannot be said for elementary schools in the Ashkelon Coast Regional Council district.
Council director Yair Farjoun told Arutz Sheva in an interview Tuesday that although the two largest schools in the region are now fortified against missile strikes, many other schools and day care centers are not.
“Everything more than five kilometers [from Gaza] – the government's attitude is that it can get by without fortification,” Farjoun said.
Chabad-Lubavitch emissary to the port city of Ashkelon, Rabbi Menachem Lieberman told Arutz Sheva that he is trying to raise money to purchase five pre-fab bomb shelters to be placed next to kindergartens in the city. Each of the pre-fab structures costs NIS 70,000, Lieberman said.
He added that both Chabad boys' and girls' schools in the city, from kindergarten through 12th grade, contain bomb shelters, and that the children would be drilled on how to reach them immediately in case of attack.
The parents of Ashkelon tried to force the government in a court petition to cover the costs of fortifying the public schools and buildings in the city against rockets, he added -- similar to the way in which Sderot was protected -- but the effort failed.
Comment on this story
8. Tekoa Rabbi Supports PA's Statehood Bid
by Elad Benari
One of the leading rabbis in Judea and Samaria on Wednesday expressed his support of the Palestinian Authority’s unilateral bid for statehood in the United Nations on September 20.
According to a report in the PA-based WAFA news agency, Rabbi Menachem Froman of Tekoa supported and expressed his and other Israeli rabbis’ wishes for success to the PA bid to gain full United Nations membership of a Palestinian state.
The report said Rabbi Froman made the comments during a meeting with PA President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah.
Froman said that establishing a Palestinian state benefits the peace process and Israel and also works to achieve comprehensive, just peace and stability for the region and the world.
For his part, Abbas reiterated his commitment to the peace process with Israel and claimed that the PA’s statehood bid is a result of Israel’s refusal to abide by international law and agreements.
WAFA said Rabbi Froman congratulated Abbas on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, the Islamic holiday which marks the end of Ramadan.
Rabbi Froman also reportedly offered to establish a committee made up of both Arab and Israeli religious figures to stop mutual instigation.
“Establishing a Palestinian state in cooperation with the State of Israel is good for peace and for Israel and it will inspire the building of a just and lasting peace and stability in the region and the world,” Rabbi Froman was quoted as saying.
He warned, however, that “resistance by Israel on the one hand and the establishment of the Palestinian state contrary to Israel’s position on the other hand, will harm Israel, the Palestinians and the establishment of peace in the region and such a state would very quickly become an Iranian state.”
Meanwhile on Wednesday, Israel’s Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren said the PA statehood bid would likely jeopardize all existing agreements between the PA and Israel.
In an interview with Foreign Policy magazine, Oren said the move would render invalid economic treaties, including export, import and water sharing, as well as security cooperation agreements.
Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz said Wednesday the statehood bid at the United Nations is a greater threat to Israel than terrorism.
“This Palestinian initiative represents a more serious threat than that posed by Hamas,” Steinitz told Voice of Israel radio.
Comment on this story
by Elad Benari
One of the leading rabbis in Judea and Samaria on Wednesday expressed his support of the Palestinian Authority’s unilateral bid for statehood in the United Nations on September 20.
According to a report in the PA-based WAFA news agency, Rabbi Menachem Froman of Tekoa supported and expressed his and other Israeli rabbis’ wishes for success to the PA bid to gain full United Nations membership of a Palestinian state.
The report said Rabbi Froman made the comments during a meeting with PA President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah.
Froman said that establishing a Palestinian state benefits the peace process and Israel and also works to achieve comprehensive, just peace and stability for the region and the world.
For his part, Abbas reiterated his commitment to the peace process with Israel and claimed that the PA’s statehood bid is a result of Israel’s refusal to abide by international law and agreements.
WAFA said Rabbi Froman congratulated Abbas on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, the Islamic holiday which marks the end of Ramadan.
Rabbi Froman also reportedly offered to establish a committee made up of both Arab and Israeli religious figures to stop mutual instigation.
“Establishing a Palestinian state in cooperation with the State of Israel is good for peace and for Israel and it will inspire the building of a just and lasting peace and stability in the region and the world,” Rabbi Froman was quoted as saying.
He warned, however, that “resistance by Israel on the one hand and the establishment of the Palestinian state contrary to Israel’s position on the other hand, will harm Israel, the Palestinians and the establishment of peace in the region and such a state would very quickly become an Iranian state.”
Meanwhile on Wednesday, Israel’s Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren said the PA statehood bid would likely jeopardize all existing agreements between the PA and Israel.
In an interview with Foreign Policy magazine, Oren said the move would render invalid economic treaties, including export, import and water sharing, as well as security cooperation agreements.
Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz said Wednesday the statehood bid at the United Nations is a greater threat to Israel than terrorism.
“This Palestinian initiative represents a more serious threat than that posed by Hamas,” Steinitz told Voice of Israel radio.
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