Settlements

In excerpts of an interview published by Yisrael HaYom newspaper, Defense Minister Ehud Barak proposed a unilateral withdrawal from most of Judea and Samaria, requiring tens of thousands of Jews to leave their homes or remain under the sovereignty of the Palestinian Authority.

Despite relative stability, the IDF is bracing for possible escalation of violence in Judea and Samaria, Commander of the IDF Central Command, Major General Nitzan Alon, said at a recent Rosh Hashannah ceremony attended by community leaders and mayors from Judea and Samaria.

Residents of the town of Ginot Shomron (in the Shomron) are excited today as the Google Earth Camera Car has been driving around their...

On Tuesday evening, security forces discovered that the security fence of Maaleh Shomron was cut open on the west side, which faces the (hostile)...

Various news sources are reporting that a terrorist with a knife was captured while trying to squeeze under the fence into the town of Ginot...

The Arab who sold the building, Mr. Rajabi, claimed that we had stolen his property.

The delegates arrived from all over the world including Denmark, Sweden, Turkey and Australia, to take part in the New Media & Public Diplomacy Seminar at Ariel University in Samaria. Their formal goal is to "gain a better understanding of how public diplomacy shapes the Middle East conflict," but they are also counting on having a lot of fun.

General Security Services forces raided the yeshiva Od Yosef Chai in the Samaria-region community of Yitzhar in the early hours of Wednesday morning, detaining one student for failing to appear in court.

According to the Prime Minister, “Ariel is an inseparable part of the State of Israel and it will remain an inseparable part of the country in any possible future arrangement, just like all other population blocs.

Lior Farchi, the 43 year-old chief of security in the Samaria region Jewish community of Shaarei Tikva who was run over by a 25 year old Arab from Kafr Qasem, will be laid to rest at 2pm on Monday in a military ceremony at the Segula Cemetery in Petach Tikva. He is survived by a pregnant wife and three young children.

Those of us who live in democratic societies have grown to see the limits placed on our naturally exuberant police forces as essential components of our civil freedoms. We know a person may not be interrogated without his or her attorney being present. We know a person must be arraigned and charged with a crime, or be set free. We know a minor may not be interrogated without his or her parent present. Not in the wild-west territory of Judea and Samaria, where police is more likely to be brutal than not, especially to Jewish "settlers" (Hebrew for Pariah) and definitely not regarding Jewish boys of bar mitzvah age and younger.

Israel's cabinet approved today the appointment of Shai Nitzan to the position of Deputy Attorney General for Special Assignments. Nationalist activists and politicians say that as Deputy State Prosecutor for eight years Nitzan had a left-wing, anti-settlement, anti-nationalist agenda.

Arabs began by attacking Jewish hikers on Shabbat, but then the Mosque then called out the rest of the Arab villagers. 6 Jews have been injured so far in the Arab riots, and the IDF is doing its best to keep the Arabs from reaching the community of Aish Kadosh.

Police Special Patrol Force officer ordered his subordinates to kill a group of youths who had climbed a rooftop in Ramat Migron.

Last night, Defense Minsiter Ehud Barak decided that Nitzan Allon, head of the IDF Central Command, will not sign his approval for Ariel University to be recognized as a fully accredited university. This decision brought about a very angry reaction from right wing government factions.

A committee of expelled Gush Katif residents approached Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday requesting that he prevent the destruction of the synagogue and mikvah of the Migron settlement, which was evacuated.

Following the High Court of Justice's ruling from last week, the residents of the community of Migron, in the Benyamin region, were forcibly removed from their homes this morning. Large police forces arrived at the community early this morning, knocking on doors and serving the residents a court order to evacuate their homes. A few families offered passive resistance, but most of the fifty families left on their own accord.

After the Supreme Court finally ordered to evacuate the residents of the Judea and Samaria village of Migron from their homes by September 4, some families have begun on Saturday night to leave their homes voluntarily. For the first time since the court's decision, dozens of police officers and IDF soldiers have moved into the community. The soldiers arrived before dawn and blocked the village entrance. Some residents have barricaded themselves in their homes and refuse to leave.

The last of the youths detained in the fire bomb (Molotov cocktail) case have been released. Honenu attorney David HaLevi stated: “The detention was superfluous...

Honenu, the Israeli legal rights and aid organization announced that the two remaining minors from Bat Ayin who were arrested by police on suspicion of being involved in the August 16th firebomb attack on the Arab taxi will be released on Friday morning.

Israel's Supreme Court ruled that the Judea and Samaria outpost of Migron must be evacuated by Sept. 4.

The Migron outpost in the West Bank was not evacuated as scheduled.

Residents of Migron said they will not leave the Samarian outpost until the Israeli Supreme Court rules on a request to halt their evacuation.

Cabinet Secretary Zvi Hauser arrived in the last hour to visit the new neighborhood established to accommodate the residents of Migron who are slated to be evicted from their homes today following a Supreme Court hearing.

On Tuesday morning, the Israeli Supreme Court headed by Justice Asher Grunis is expected to examine the claims of the Migron residents. Over the past few months, several residents purchased plots of land in the surrounding area; if the purchase claims of these residents are found to be in proper order, 17 out of the 50 families will be permitted to remain in the area. The evacuation of the other families is expected to take place immediately after the Supreme Court hearing.

Despite the significant conclusion that damage is being caused to both the Jewish and Arab populations residing in these areas, and despite the importance of protecting the environment, many environmental organizations chose not to attend the conference and even banned it because the conference was held in Ariel.

Haim Bibas, Modi'in mayor: "Arab states and various organizations have tried to harm the legitimacy and sovereignty of Israel in every available forum. The EU’s decision not to include the city of Modi'in Maccabim-Re'ut as part of the free trade agreement with Israeli cities is the most recent example.”

The poll was also surprising in the diversity it found in the Israeli Defense Forces. 1,200 of the reservists were from the Republic of Georgia, 720 originated from Iran, 30 from the Philippines, and 4 from Bahrain. The study indicates a rarely seen picture of reserve duty, where minorities and immigrants play a larger role than previously thought. A total of 19% of reserve soldiers were born outside Israel.

The community, home to over 100 families and located approximately 18 miles from Tel Aviv, was founded in 1998 on state land. It was identified as an illegal outpost in Israel's Sasson Report published in 2005, but the Netanyahu government decided in April to retroactively legalize its status.

An EU directive will impose customs duty on products made in the cities of Modiin and Maccabim-Reut, built on what was no-man's land between 1949 and 1967.