Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu blamed Palestinian Authority incitement for the terrorist attack that left a 46-year-old police officer dead, and his 28-year-old pregnant wife and nine year old son wounded.

A terrorist opened fire at Israeli civilian vehicles traveling along Highway 35, near the western edge of Hevron. Israeli soldiers closed off the area in search of the perpetrators but have yet to make arrests.

Netanyahu issued the statement to media following the murder of Israel Police Chief Superintendent Baruch Mizrahi, of blessed memory. He and his family were traveling on the road to a seder to celebrate Passover in Kiryat Arba at the time of the attack.

Mizrahi is to be laid to rest at 1:00 p.m. local time Wednesday at the military cemetery in Jerusalem, Mount Herzl, in the section reserved for the Israel Police.

Mizrahi served as director of Technology in the SigInt Unit for the Intelligence division of Israel Police since June 2011. He served in various roles in the IDF for 25 years, ending his military career as a Lieutenant Colonel in the 8200 Intelligence Unit.

“Baruch z’l devoted his entire life to two great loves – his family and the State of Israel,” said his commander. His entire unit and Israel Police released a statement expressing their joining the grief of the family and their wishes for a speedy recovery for his wife.

The terrorist responsible for the murder was standing by the side of a road, waiting for targets, armed with an AK-47 assault rifle, also known as a Kalashnikov. He also shot at other cars passing on the road, according to the Tazpit News Agency, which received reports of attacks from other drivers.

The AK-47 is the same weapon supplied to the Palestinian Authority police force by the U.S. government, via Jordan, during military training at an American-funded base in Jericho during the Bush administration under the supervision of U.S. Lt.-Gen. Keith Dayton.

“This reprehensible murder of a man who was traveling with his family to a meal for the Festival of Freedom is the result of the incitement for which the Palestinian Authority is responsible. The Palestinian Authority continues to constantly broadcast – in its official media – programs that incite against the existence of the State of Israel,” he said.

“Last night this incitement was translated into the murder of a father who was traveling with his family to celebrate the first night of Passover. The incitement of the Palestinian Authority continues in that it has yet to see fit to condemn this abominable and reprehensible act,” Netanyahu pointed out.

Government Minister Uri Ariel (Bayit Yehudi) released  a statement warning that every PA prisoner release emboldens the terrorists, and demanded the government cancel all future releases. Ariel said the government should require the PA to cancel any unilateral steps at the United Nations as a precondition to continuing any final status talks.

The United States has supplied more than $161 million dollars to the Palestinian Authority for paramilitary training for its security forces. This includes provision of assault rifles, ammunition and other military supplies. There have been a number of terrorist attacks on Israeli citizens committed by so-called “PA police officers” using this equipment.

Although the United States has had the fantasy that the PA security forces would enforce agreements made by its government to abandon violence and restrain terrorist groups in order to “enable” a “two state solution” — that has not worked out. Instead the PA paramilitary force has simply continued along its traditional path of enforcing the corruption of its leaders. Moreover, some of its members have joined – or returned to — terrorist ranks, bringing along with them new knowledge, training and equipment gifted to them from the American government.

These new police terrorists are more dangerous than the garden-variety operatives because they often appear to be security personnel, while being the very opposite.

The picture above and the following five are incredible shots of IDF helicopters used in a variety of missions. These warplanes are ready to act on a moment’s notice to defend the State of Israel.

This helicopter took off after a visit from Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz to the snowy region. Mt. Hermon borders Syria and plays a strategic role in guarding Israel’s northern border.

A helicopter is waiting for takeoff during an aerial evacuation drill for the IDF’s Desert Reconnaissance Battalion, which is entirely comprised of Bedouin soldiers who volunteer for service in the IDF.

IDF and Hellenic Air Force both in the role of ally and enemy. The exercise also gave the IAF the chance to practice rescue missions while dealing with mountainous terrain and rapidly-changing weather.

These five helicopters display the principles of cooperation and coordination.

The soldiers practiced storming an area, and operating under bio-chemical attack and protecting a helicopter that was to land in an open field.

Hundreds of Haredim in Meah Shearim rioted on Thursday, after a young Haredi man was arrested for refusing to show up for the draft.

The Haredim began throwing rocks at the police, burning garbage in the streets and blocking traffic.

Five rioters were detained by police after the riot.

All Israeli citizens are subject to arrest if they don’t show up when called for the draft.

Last week JewishPress.com reported on the 30,000 Haredim who received their permanent exemptions from the draft as a result of the new draft law.

Leaders of the community of Yitzhar, in northern Samaria, finally have come out with an appeal to its youth to stop violence against the IDF.

Dozens of attacks against IDF vehicle and bases have taken place throughout Judea and Samaria over the past two years, many of them allegedly caused by a band of hooligans from Yitzhar.

Last week, a Yitzhar teenager allegedly slashed the tires of an IDF commander’s vehicle, apparently in revenge for the government-ordered demolition of a home. Following more demolitions earlier this week, dozens of residents, some of them grown men, went on a  rampage. They threw rocks at police, injuring several of them, and ransacked an IDF post manned by reservists who were stationed to defend Yitzhar from Arab terrorists. For their trouble, the soldiers’ personal and army equipment was trashed.

Two days later, Yitzhar leaders decided to announce they are opposed to violence, but their calls were limited to attacks against the IDF. No mention was made of “price tag” attacks against Arabs through collective punishment.

The leaders also explained that they understand why the vandals take action. Indeed, everyone is frustrated by the government’s demolitions of homes, a policy that the leaders called an attempt to eliminate Yitzhar.”

But they hastily added that the explanation was not intended to justify the violence.

Communities in Judea and Samaria, and the umbrella Council of Jewish Communities in Judea and Samaria known  as Yesha, always have had a problem distinguishing good settlers from bad settlers.

In the rare instance when the leaders, and once or twice even rabbis, condemn violence, it always includes a “but.”A letter from Yitzhar leaders stated that the violence “produces a very negative response’ and gives Yitzhar a public black eye.

The message is that violence is wrong because it damages the reputation of Yesha.

There is not one sentence in the letter that condemns violence against Arabs.

The letter states, in part, that “recent incidents of violence against the IDF…are contrary to the polices of residents and leaders” of Yitzhar and also against the rabbi of the community.

“We strongly opposed attacking IDF soldiers and security forces and causing property damage.“

Israel has launched another military satellite to keep an eye on Iran as the Islamic Republic ramps up its nuclear development program.

While international leaders continue to negotiate with Iran over slowing down its race to develop nuclear arms – an intent it denies despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary – Israel is watching Tehran very closely. Iran has repeatedly vowed to wipe Israel “off the map.”

On Wednesday the Defense Ministry sent its newest “eye in the sky” heavenward to join its predecessors in the mission to keep tabs on Iran and other enemies of the Jewish State.

The Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI)’s Ofek 10 reconnaissance satellite is expected to orbit the Earth every 99 minutes – 800 times a year — from an altitude of 373 miles (600 kilometers) officials said. The process should take about 64,000 minutes annually. Like its predecessor, the new satellite was launched from the Palmachim Airbase near Rishon Lezion. And although the Ofek 9 carried a multi-spectral ‘Jupiter’ space camera produced by El-Op, its new brother has better equipment.

The camera on the Ofek 10 reportedly boasts resolution “much better than half a meter,” and is sharp enough to detect objects being carried by people, officials said. It is also capable of photographing under different lighting and changing weather conditions.

Two other Israeli satellites, the Ofek 5 and the Ofek 7, are still orbiting the Earth as well.

The Jewish State’s tenth satellite will also send images to other intelligence agencies.

Gaza terrorists attacked the Western Negev with a mortar shell that landed smack in the middle of a small community Wednesday night but miraculously exploded in an open area without causing damage or injuries.

The IDF is investigating why the Color Red early warning system did not sound and give residents the usual advance notice of 20 seconds to scurry to bomb shelters.

Earlier in the day, terrorists launched a mortar shell but it landed inside the Gaza area.

The name of the community targeted in the explosion Wednesday night was not reported for reasons of security except that it was in the Sha’ar HaNegev region, less than a mile from northern Gaza and home to several farming moshavim and kibbutzim.

The IDF is certain to retaliate within hours, but as usual, the targets will be a rocket or mortar shell launching site or perhaps a weapons factory and a smuggling tunnel.

The IDF knows the locations of terrorists but responds only in the case of rocket strike or mortar shelling or a “ticking bomb” plot to attack.

A strong counter-terrorist maneuver, such as invading Gaza or bombing Hamas offices would meet with universal condemnation for a “disproportionate” attack.

And Israel does not want to be disproportionate because it might cause the world to be angry with the Jews. It might mean Israel won’t have the backing of the United Nations and the Obama administration, especially  U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

Oh, did someone say Israel does not have that support anyway? No, it can’t be. Kerry says he is pro-Israel, so it must be.

But what happens when, God forbid, the IDF runs out of miracles, and a mortar shell or “primitive” Kassam rocket hits a kindergarten? That happened a couple of years ago, but another miracle happened – the pre-school facility was closed for the day.

But when someone is killed or seriously wounded, and it will happen, then the IDF can be “proportionate” and go after one or two terrorists.

The principle of “proportionate” only applies to Israel. The day is not near when any other country will count how many citizens are killed or wounded by an enemy missile strike before going to war against the attacker.

But the United States is big on proportionate retaliation. Wasn’t it the United States that dropped a couple of Atomic Bombs on Japan? And wasn’t it the atomic bombs that put an end to the war?

Israel does not need to nuke Gaza,. The time will come when Gaza will meet its Maker,

The best scenario is one whereby Gaza falls apart with a mini-civil war breaking out between terrorists who will kill each other off until the only ones remaining alive are the poor Arabs who enjoyed a much better life when the Jews were employing them as construction workers in Tel Aviv and farm workers in Gush Katif.

One scenario is another major counter terrorist attack, but that won’t happen until the world gives up on Hamas and puts it money behind the cliché that “Israel has a right to defend itself (but it better not).”

That is not going to happen today. Nor tomorrow. And not next month.

The third scenario, more likely, is a mini counter-offensive in Gaza, with aerial bombing of Hamas targets but without, God forbid, injuring any terrorists, usually described to the gullible and foolish media establishment as people who are handicapped, mentally ill or are small children who actually were playing soccer in a no-go zone near the security fence at Gaza.

And there is the other scenario, the one that is now in place.

It’s called Russian Roulette..

So, please, pray tonight for more miracles.

Two Israeli Merkava tanks crossed the electronic fence on the northern border and entered Lebanese territory Tuesday, the Lebanese-run National News Agency reported.

The IDF refused to confirm or deny the report, and military spokeswoman explained to The Jewish Press, “We do not comment on reports from foreign media.”

The Lebanese news agency claimed that the two tanks remained in Lebanese territory for approximately two hours before leaving.

It added, “At the same time, Israeli warplanes violated the Lebanese airspace over the central sector, while a reconnaissance aircraft flew over (the southern regions of) Bint Jbeil and Marjeyoun,” according to the same source.

Israeli helicopters reportedly flew over southern Lebanon near the border and fired flares.

The activity could be related to Israeli military drills in the area but also may be a reaction to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s boast on Monday when he took responsibility for a bomb explosion aimed at an IDF patrol last month.

Tuesday, April 8, at the INSS (Institute for national security studies) in Tel Aviv, the head of the IDF Telecommunications Branch, Maj. Gen. Uzi Moshkovitz, spoke about the current and future states of cyber warfare and cyber defense. What follows is the speech he gave.

Everything is cyber

“When we look at data centers and information systems, they are basically entirely located in the cyber dimension. Everything can be attacked potentially. Everything is cyber.”

“Everything in this cyber dimension is new, dynamic and volatile. I’m going to talk about the defensive side.”

The human advantage

“The most important thing to us is human capital. Everything within the cyber domain relies upon the strength of our personnel. Therefore, we must restructure our education system. The main tools of cyber defense are not the switches, routers, or operating systems, but rather the cyber defenders themselves.”

Cyber warfare vs. air warfare

“Cyber warfare vs. air warfare – this is an inevitable comparison. Let’s look at history of air warfare between 1917 to 1939, right up to the beginning of World War II. During the last two years of WWI, air warfare was pretty much nonexistent. Twenty years later we had the Luftwaffe, the RAF (German and British air forces), which were highly influential factors.”

Moreover, this was almost a hundred ago, when the pace of technological advancement was not as rapid as what we are witnessing today. We can only imagine where the cyber dimension is heading in the coming decades.”

The rise of cyber warfare

“Why is the cyber domain so attractive? It influences everything – intelligence organizations are on a quest for the enemy’s secrets. During the last 35 years, all of our secrets and the enemy’s secrets have been stored inside computers. This makes the use of the cyber attacks obvious.

If we look upon psychological warfare and social media – this is about controlling people by controlling the internet. If we look at the Arab Spring, which erupted 3 years ago, it was solely initiated and propagated through social media. This is how people are controlled nowadays.”

The easy development of cyber warfare

“Let’s say you’re a nation and you develop ballistic capabilities or even intercontinental ballistic missiles. You have to have a very good engineering infrastructure and lots of money. If you’re lucky enough to have resources, it will take you a few years to have this capability.”

“On the hand, look at the cyber domain – if a nation wants to go from number 7 or 8 to number 2 or 3, it’s much easier. They will have almost no dependence on physical matters – they only need the the human capital. The cyber force buildup is very very cheap.

To attack a computer or a computer network that’s a mile away from you or 15,000 miles away from you – it’s basically the same. In the cyber domain, the physical distance between hostile parties has basically no importance, though this is a bit simplistic.”

“Our understanding is rapidly changing. Basic computers now control our water, our energy resources, and our transportation systems. The grid has now much wider and deeper significance than it had a few years ago. Say a stock exchange site goes down once a month – what does it do for the site’s credibility?”

The real threat of cyber warfare: unpredictability

“Yesterday we had an attack [OpIsrael] that we were aware of and able to defend against. This is not what we fear. We fear the attacks we don’t know about. We fear the enemies that have stabilized themselves within our networks of which we are unaware. Now, a party can be under attack and be totally unaware–this is different from classic warfare. Who attacked Georgia and Estonia a couple of years ago? We still do not know.”