Free Republic

For perhaps the first time, a minister in Binyamin Netanyahu's government has admitted that the Prime Minister plans to give away most of Judea and Samaria to an incipient Arab state, with Israel retaining only the settlement blocs. During a tour of Gush Etzion, Michael Eitan, whose title is Minister for Improvement of Government Services, said that “enacting the Prime Minister's policies will lead to the annexation of the settlement blocs, including Gush Etzion, with the intent of giving up other parts of Judea and Samaria for the benefit of a Palestinian state.” Gush Etzion Council head Shaul Goldstein, who...

This week the Israeli Air Force (IAF) held a ceremony spotlighting the "operational acceptance" of its biggest unmanned aerial vehicle, the 4.5-ton Heron TP, or "Eitan." The far-flying UAV, with a wingspan almost as long as a 737 airliner, appeared on the runway with a comparatively diminutive F-15 alongside it. The IAF already rushed this UAV into action during the 2008–'09 war in Gaza, so the ceremony really served as a reminder to Iran that its drone fleets can reach the nation. But how will Israel use them? The Eitan can carry a ton of payload and can reach Iran's...

  The Israeli Air Force Sunday launched a new unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), dubbed "Eitan," that can stay in the air 24 hours and can reach Iran. During the ceremony, attended by Air Force Commander Major General Ido Nehushtan, the UAV was officially transferred from the Israel Aerospace Industries to the IAF.  “The ‘Eitan’ marks a technological breakthrough and a new level in the Air Force's ability to operate against threats, near and far, in its every day missions and during emergencies,” IDF spokesmen said. Military officials at the ceremony declined to say whether the new UAV was designed for use...

(IsraelNN.com) Former minister Rafi Eitan, who recruited Jonathan Pollard as a spy for Israel in the US, expressed regret over the espionage debacle in an interview on Channel 2. "I admit the failure and I regret it,” he said. In an interview to Maariv in 2008, Eitan said that the US intelligence services made a joint decision not to permit Pollard ever to be released until the end of his life. “The reason isn't Pollard. It's Israel... It's connected to the relationship system between the American intelligence services and the state of Israel.” Eitan went on to confirm that the...

MOSSAD'S KILLING MACHINE COMES TO BRITAIN A killing war between Israel's Mossad and Islamic fanatics came closer this weekend in Britain. The Israeli intelligence agency has sent four members of its kidon assassination squad to this country, to join fifteen other handpicked katsas, its relentless field agents. Their brief is to "disable" any of the "close to 50" British Muslims that the extremist Islamic group, Al-Muhajiroun, last week boasted were ready to carry out suicide missions similar to the one in Tel Aviv. Al-Muhajiroun spokesman, Asif Butt, said the 50 were "primed and ready to go". The threat was sufficient...

Israel And Freedom For Jonathan Pollard By Caroline Glick The Jerusalem Post - With INA Publisher's Note Below Jerusalem ---- April 28......Jonathan Pollard is one of the most polarizing figures of our times. Pollard, a former intelligence analyst in US naval intelligence, has now served 20 years of a life imprisonment sentence following his conviction for transferring classified US intelligence materials relating to Arab ballistic missile and nonconventional weapons programs to Israel from May 1984 until his arrest in November 1985. For his contribution to Israel's security and for his long suffering in prison, Israel considers Pollard a national hero....

Rafael Eitan was born in Tel Adashim in the Jezreel Valley in 1929. He served as the Israel Defense Forces chief of staff from 1978 through 1983, following 37 years of military service in the pre-state Palmah strike force and in the IDF. Eitan commanded the 890th Paratroop Battalion, the Paratroop Brigade and the Beka'a Brigade. He was involved in the IDF's sole combat parachute jump into the Mitla Pass during the 1956 Sinai campaign. Eitan, who was wounded in the 1948 War of Independence and on three other occasions, served the IDF as a paratrooper, armored corpsman and pilot....

Housing and Construction Minister Effi Eitam said the current conflict with the Palestinians will likely lead to the death of Palestinian Chairman Yasser Arafat, but he would not predict how or when. Eitam said Israel needs to make war with Arafat, as he is the country's enemy. "This man can't enjoy any immunity," Eitam said in an exclusive session with Jerusalem Post editors and writers. On the broader topic of the country's future, Eitam, chairman of the National Religious Party, said "an element of Judaism - not religion" that is modern and relevant must be injected into Israeli life, or...