Free Republic

Israel Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir says his ministry is now approving “up to 3,000” gun license applications a day. The Times of Israel quoted Ben Gvir saying, “When the war started, we knew that we were right when we said that every place that has a weapon can save a life.” He went on to say, “My policy within the office was to permit as many people as possible to get a weapon…[and] in a short period of time, we were giving up to 3,000 approvals a day.” Ben Gvir indicated over 260,000 gun license applications have been approved...

JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel defied U.S. pressure to halt construction in its West Bank settlements Sunday, with key leaders speaking out in support of the contentious enclaves and preparing to sign orders to allow building of hundreds of new housing units there. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak are expected to approve orders for about 500 new apartments Monday, said Israeli officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because the plans have not been finalized.

WOODLAND, Calif. (AP) - Environmentalists sued the Yolo County Board of Supervisors on Thursday for approving the expansion of the Cache Creek Dairy without a permit. The Sierra Club said supervisors caved to pressure from the dairy's owner to give their blessing to nearly double the size of the county's largest dairy - from 1,500 to 2,800 cows. The environmental group said that if the county required a permit it would have triggered an environmental review to determine how much air and water pollution the expansion would create. Four years ago, in response to the dairy's creation, the board amended...

Arafat accused of approving attacks on Israel May 20 2004 at 01:15PM Tel Aviv - An Israeli court that convicted Marwan Barghouthi of murder on Thursday said the Palestinian uprising leader's orders for attacks on Israelis were sometimes "based on instructions" from President Yasser Arafat. "Arafat would never give explicit instructions for attacks but he let it be known when the timing was right," the judges said in a verdict read out in a Tel Aviv courtroom. "He made sure his subordinates understood very well when he was interested in a ceasefire and when he was interested in terror attacks...

<p>Gov. Gray Davis will sign the budget the Assembly passed on Tuesday. It's either that or consign the state to chaos.</p> <p>What different budget could Davis hope to push through, having seen legislators reject his two previous proposals?</p> <p>If only the extra time had produced a better outcome. The new budget confirms every joke ever made about the quality of work produced by a committee. Instead of facing up the state's fiscal problems, it ducks most of them. Almost $11 billion will be borrowed. Already the next budget is reckoned to be $8 billion short.</p>