The Pen, the Sword – and the Hilltops

by Doron Nir-Tzvi, INN, translated by Hillel Fendel.

The IDF's military campaign against increasing Iran-backed Palestinian terrorism in Judea and Samaria must be accompanied by the reinforcement of the Jewish settlement presence – and the establishment of a city in the Jordan Valley.   

Everyone with eyes in his head has known for a while that with Israel facing a multi-front war, Judea and Samaria would not be left out for long. And in fact, terrorism against civilians in the areas of Yosh has indeed intensified, stemming first from Jenin and Tul Karem in the northern Shomron, then continuing southward to Binyamin, from there to Gush Etzion, and reaching Judea, where Hevron is the terrorism capital.

In recent weeks, we have seen attempted attacks the likes of which we have not experienced in years. There were car bombs in Binyamin and Gush Etzion, which thankfully were detected in time, and in a form of Lebanonization, 100-kilogram explosive charges were hidden under refugee camp roads, targeting specifically IDF vehicles. We also experienced the brazen murder of three policemen in the Mt. Hevron area, as well as other assorted stonings and shootings.

And they have all been perpetrated with the use of weapons and explosives that made their long way from Iran and Afghanistan, through Iraq and Syria, and finally to Jordan and its semi-porous border with Israel.

Finally, however, it appears that the IDF Central Command has gotten the message. The result is an ongoing offensive - significant but still limited - against the terrorist infrastructures in northern Shomron and in the Jordan Valley.

The terrorists in Yosh have a general lust to kill Jews - but this desire is now buttressed by the added goal of tying up IDF forces so that they will be less available to fight in Gaza and in the north (against Hizbullah). So far, they appear to be succeeding.

Unfortunately, most of Am Yisrael [Jews inside and outside the Land of Israel] do not yet understand the essential importance of renewed Jewish settlement in the Gaza region, which was a major Jewish center even back in Talmudic times. Even our Prime Minister said that in his opinion, this is an unrealistic goal.

In my humble opinion, however, as we destroy Arab terrorist-stronghold cities in Gaza, we must simultaneously rebuild the Jewish residential presence there. This will be an acknowledgment of the utter foolishness of the Disengagement from Gush Katif in Gaza 19 years ago, and a form of "repentance" for having wantonly abandoned this precious part of our holy national inheritance. It will also, of course, serve as a painful punishment to Hamas, and a lesson for all those who wish to mimic them.

On the other hand, a withdrawal of IDF forces from the region will be a renewed Disengagement – of which everyone now sees the folly. As King Solomon wrote, "As a dog returns to his vomit, so does a fool repeat his folly" (Proverbs 26,11).

So much for Gaza. But regarding Judea and Samaria, there is practically no dispute regarding the necessity of both an IDF and a civilian presence there. Right now there are over half a million Jews living there, not even including another 300,000 who live in the areas in and around Jerusalem that were liberated in the Six Day War. As such, our presence there is a concrete fact that cannot be changed, and provides critical protection for central Israel.

Now, when Abu Mazen and Fatah still refuse to hold elections because they know that Hamas will win, is a perfect opportunity. We must destroy terrorist cities that support, encourage, and incite terrorism, and at the same time expand the Jewish settlement enterprise in Yosh by building new communities – even cities! – and expand the existing ones.

A New Jordan Valley City!

The increasing terrorism in the Jordan Valley towns of Tubas, Tamon, and Fara al-Jiftlik must be punished by the establishment of a Jewish city in the huge Jordan Valley expanse of vacant state lands. It should be located so as to connect to the main west-east Highway 5, leading from the Tel Aviv area to Ariel and points further east. We must also build a railroad that passes through the city of Ariel; the railway is already in the planning stages from central Israel to Ariel.

If the new city is built with public housing, as the Shamir government did in the 90's for the great wave of Aliyah from Russia, this will also be a solution for the shortage of housing for young couples in our country. Finding such housing must be a flagship project, including also expansion of existing communities and building new ones, and even in Area B (under Israeli military control).

We can thus achieve several national goals together: the eradication of terrorism in central Israel by striking out at the infrastructures that support terrorism; attaining cheap housing for young couples; and the strengthening of Jewish settlement in our heartland. We also thus achieve the observance of two important Torah commandments: inheriting the Land of Israel, and settling it.

Hopefully our political leaders will understand and start the ball rolling.

Four Comments on the "Situation"

by Menachem Rahat, INN, translated by Hillel Fendel.

1. The cold-blooded murder two weeks ago of the six innocent Israeli captives in the tunnels of Gaza by the monsters of Hamas has, most unfortunately, passed without a sufficient Israeli response. The response should have been, and still can be, something that will prove to the Gazans, and to Arabs in the entire region, that the spilling of Jewish blood comes at a price. This is now the time for emergency military orders to burn whatever remains of Gaza and turn it into a pile of ruins. Only in this way will the Arab world learn that Jewish blood is far from cheap.

The time has come to teach the new Nazis of our generation that nothing will hold us back, and that our response to their cruelty will be disproportionate. We must renew the Israel deterrence, transmitting the unmistakable message that there is no place for Hamas under the sun – and as they seek to kill us, we will wipe them out from under the sun. The barbarous atrocities of Oct. 2023, and the more recent cruel shots to the heads of the six young hostages, followed by six more murders – of three policemen near Hevron and three guards at the Allenby Crossing – prove that Hamas and allies are a malignant cancer that must be uprooted before they take root in the rest of the enlightened world.

As such, there is no room for any kind of agreement with them, temporary or otherwise. Cancers must be eradicated, before they grow and spread – and it is now clear that there will never be quiet as long as even one Hamas member continues to exist. It's either them or us.

2. The Torah portion of this past week began with: "Judges and policemen you must place throughout your gates… and they must judge the people with justice." It is a Torah commandment to carry out justice – and this is exactly what the proposed campaign to wipe out all traces of Hamas, Hizbullah and Islamic Jihad seeks to do. Anything that threatens the lives of the masses must be exterminated, as part of the Torah's charge to pursue justice.

But this must be done by judges who are themselves just, and by a judicial establishment that itself runs according to law. Israel's justice system, at present, leaves something to be desired in various areas, insulting sometimes the public intelligence, sometimes the law, and sometimes simple logic.

For instance, a few days ago we were witness to a strangely crooked phenomenon that casts a shadow upon the entire judicial establishment – even though it involves a judge who is now retired. Former Justice Sarah Haviv was filmed, with her clear knowledge and consent, working hard to tear down a large poster of photos of fallen IDF soldiers. The poster had been placed by members of the Gvurah Forum, who have lost family members in the course of the war against Hamas and who believe that the best way to return the captives home is by continuing the war against Hamas. Judge Haviv does not agree, and this was a good enough reason for her to act with violence and take the law into her own hands. As she told the cameraman with smug confidence, "The pictures are there illegally… We'll meet in court."

In a letter to the Israeli Bar Association requesting that Haviv's license to practice law be revoked, a bereaved father and Gvurah Forum member wrote: "What she did is comparable to walking into a cemetery and uprooting the gravestones of IDF soldiers. The pictures of fallen IDF soldiers that are posted throughout the country are living monuments to those who paid with their lives so that we can continue to live here."

3. Israel Must Win!
As Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu explained so well this week, the latest Hamas demand is for a total IDF withdrawal from all of Gaza, including the Smuggling route (AKA the Philadelphi route) between Gaza and Egypt – but under no circumstances can Israel afford to leave the Smuggling route. This is precisely the route where still today exist tens of tunnels, through which arms, explosives and rockets are smuggled to Hamas. If Israel wants to win this war – and it must!! [as former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said this week, www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-819431] – the only way to do so is by holding onto the Smuggling route for at least as long as it takes to destroy every last tunnel there. This, despite the hateful accusations by those who hate Netanyahu that he cares only for his political needs.

4. The dispute regarding the Smuggling route has not evaded the eyes of the soldiers battling in Gaza. These continue their tireless efforts to locate the enemy's tunnels and weaponry, and to find terrorists disguised as innocent citizens (sometimes as women). One of the soldiers sent an unsigned post in which he explained:

"The left is engaged in cheap demagoguery, as if a simple road is more important than the hostages' lives. So permit me to explain: Yes, the Smuggling route is more important than the hostages – and more than all of us. More than the Bibas children, and more than me and my entire battalion that has been fighting in Gaza since the beginning of the war. It is more important than all the thousands of soldiers who have been battling and warring with all they've got against a cruel enemy for nearly a year. The Smuggling route is that important, because it is through the Smuggling route that Hamas is able to arm its fighters with rockets, bombs, and explosives. The entire top command knows this, but for some reason what is leaked to the press is only the "correct" opinion, which is, "Don't worry, everything will be fine, we'll leave the Smuggling route and come back whenever we want." That's totally false! Every 100 meters, give or take, there is a tunnel that crosses under the border, through which tons of equipment for the terrorists come in – which is what enabled Oct. 7^th. If we leave it for one day, it means a death sentence for additional thousands of Israelis."

How sad it is that simple soldiers on the battlefield understand what thousands of relatives of hostages, and others, can't seem to overcome their emotions enough to understand. And by the way, the soldier didn't even mention that if we leave the Smuggling route for even one day, some of those very hostages are liable to be taken under that very route to Egypt and from there to the Nazis of Iran. Are there any words for such a frightening prospect?

The views expressed herein are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect those of our organization.