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Mofaz Orders Destruction of Three More Communities 11:15 Jan 13, '06 / 13 Tevet 5766 By Ezra HaLevi DM Sha'ul Mofaz has authorized the destruction of three Jewish neighborhoods in the Shomron. There are 7, 380 demolition orders against illegal Arab buildings that remain unexecuted. The threatened communities, called "unauthorized outposts" by the government, are Skully's Farm near Elon Moreh, the Arussi Farm near Har Bracha and Hill 725, near Yitzhar. Mofaz took advantage of the media attention to the alleged uprooting of Arab olive trees to declare that the outposts to be destroyed are close to the sites of...

Jan. 5, 2006 12:11 | Updated Jan. 5, 2006 12:24 Sheetrit: Kadima must choose leader By JPOST.COM STAFF In the midst of the dire health of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, and the rising uncertainty as to the political direction of the country, many political figures Thursday morning preferred to stick with wishing Sharon a speedy recovery without making political speculations. However, Transportation Minister Meir Sheetrit broke that trend, telling Channel 10 that he is calling on the Kadima Party council to hold a meeting within 48 hours due to the prime minister's condition, "in order to decide who will lead...

IsraelNN.com) Knesset Member Uzi Landau, contender for Likud party chairman, said Wednesday he hopes Likud voters will remember that Binyamin (Bibi) Netanyahu voted several times for the expulsion law. Landau told Arutz 7 radio that despite polls which show he is in last place in the race, which Netanyahu is leading, voters will think twice and remember that Netanyahu did not act to stop the expulsion plan. He voted for it several times and opposed it in the last vote, when his vote was not significant.

Nov. 24, 2005 18:47 | Updated Nov. 24, 2005 21:25 Low turnout mars Sharon-less Likud committee event By GIL HOFFMAN The Likud central committee convenes Minister without portfolio Tzahi Hanegbi Photo: Ariel Jerozolimski The first Likud central committee meeting without Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was intended to be a showcase of party unity in the post-Sharon era, but instead it will be remembered for its low turnout. When the event was supposed to start at 5 p.m., the room was nearly empty. It started an hour late and finished shortly thereafter. Organizers said after the event that 911 central committee...

Likud to Choose New Leader Likud Committee approves December primariesAmid growing tension among candidates for Likud leadership, ominous polls ahead of March general elections, Likud Central Committee convene in Tel Aviv Thursday to approve December 19 as date for leadership contest Attila Somfalvi Closing in. Mofaz Photo: Gil Yohanan A positive campaign. Netanyahu Photo: AFP Amid the growing tension among the candidates for Likud leadership and the ominous polls ahead of the March general elections, the Likud Central Committee is convening in Tel Aviv Thursday to approve the date for primary elections for party chairmanship and to determine the ordering...

Nov. 16, 2005 19:30 | Updated Nov. 16, 2005 20:03 Mofaz tours E1 area, Gush Etzion By ERICA CHERNOFSKYConstruction of the security fence in the Gush Etzion and Ma'ale Adumim area should begin as soon as possible, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said while visiting the West Bank settlements Wednesday. Mofaz met with the heads of the settlements and following his visit affirmed that the government will continue to strengthen the large settlements blocks, according to the Defense Ministry spokeswoman. He added that it would be these settlements that determine the eastern front of the state of Israel. He also said...

Mofaz meets with Mubarak in Cairo, agrees to opening Rafah with third party By Israel Insider staff and partners October 27, 2005 Israel's defense minister said Wednesday that agreement has been reached to let a third party join Egypt and the Palestinians monitor Gaza Strip crossing points. Shaul Mofaz, who held talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in a Cairo palace, said talks were ongoing over who the third party would be, although Egypt and the Palestinians have expressed support for a European presence. "It has been initially agreed for a third party to be present on the Rafah crossing...

Oct. 25, 2005 20:43 Mofaz off to Cairo to meet Mubarak By ARIEH O'SULLIVAN Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz flies to Cairo Wednesday for a one-day meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to discuss border crossing arrangements with the Gaza Strip. The sudden invitation to Cairo came following Mubarak's meeting on Monday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas who stopped in Egypt to brief Mubarak on his talks with US President Bush in Washington last week. It also comes amid criticism by a top Mideast envoy for dragging its feet over opening the Gaza border. Mofaz's visit will also include a meeting...

Mofaz to Bibi: You’ll destroy Likud Defense Minister calls on Likud Central Committee members to reject Netanyahu’s initiative to bring the party’s primary elections forward, says, ‘Bibi, if your battle (to push up the primaries) succeeds, you will be remembered as the person who destroyed Likud’ Attila Somfalvi Says Bibi hurt Likud voters. Mofaz Photo: Tzafrir Aviyov Defense minister attacked his economic policy. Netanyahu Photo: Hagai Aharon Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz called Thursday on Likud Central Committee members to reject the proposal to bring the party’s primary elections forward. Mofaz, who spoke during a New Year’s toast, launched a scathing...

General (res.) Doron Almog, former head of the Israel Defense Forces' Southern Command, escaped arrest Sunday by the London police's anti-terrorist and war crimes unit, when he remained on an aircraft that had landed in Heathrow airport and returned with it to Israel several hours later. Almog had arrived in London on an El-Al flight. Israel Ambassador Zvi Hefetz learned of a plan to arrest him for allegedly perpetrating war crimes during the intifada, and quickly informed Yaki Dayan, head of the political department in Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom's bureau. In Jerusalem no one knew whether Almog was to be...

The cabinet voted Sunday to leave about two dozen synagogues in the Gaza Strip intact, leaving the fate of the houses of worship in the hands of the Palestinians. The cabinet voted 14-2 against razing the structures, even though a year ago the same ministers approved the demolitions. Critics said last-minute considerations - including a desire to win the support of leading rabbis ahead of general elections - prompted several Cabinet members to change their minds. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told his cabinet ministers Sunday morning that he opposed the demolition of the synagogues in the Gaza Strip as part...

May. 15, 2005 23:07 | Updated May. 15, 2005 23:20 Mofaz paints dim picture of PA security situation for cabinet By HERB KEINON Israel views any attempt to develop a Kassam rocket in the West Bank as a "ticking bomb" and will take the necessary military action to thwart it without first asking the Palestinian Authority to act, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz told the cabinet Sunday. "The minute there is information about Kassam rockets we act," Mofaz said in answer to a question about the Palestinian rocket arsenal. Mofaz said that today in Gaza there were Kassam rockets with a...

Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz told a Cabinet meeting early Sunday that it was likely that the Palestinians have successfully smuggled Strella missiles into Gaza. Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz told a Cabinet meeting early Sunday that it was likely that the Palestinians have successfully smuggled Strella missiles into Gaza. Strella missiles have the ability to shoot down aircraft from a distance of two miles, using a sensing device that detects the heat given off by a jet plane. A Strella missile fired by Muslim terrorists narrowly missed shooting down an El Al civilian flight over Kenya in 2002. Defining the recent...

JERUSALEM, Feb. 17 - Israel ordered a halt on Thursday to the policy of demolishing the homes of Palestinian militants, a step welcomed by Palestinian and human rights groups. The decision by Israel's defense minister, Shaul Mofaz, suspends a practice that Israel has employed on and off for decades despite harsh international criticism of it as collective punishment. A military statement did not say why the policy was being changed, but the newspaper Haaretz reported on its Web site that Maj. Gen. Udi Shani, who headed a committee reviewing the matter, had challenged the existing military position that demolitions were...

Feb. 5, 2005 22:17 | Updated Feb. 6, 2005 21:01 Mofaz: Israel has frozen fugitive hunt By HERB KEINON AND KHALED ABU TOAMEH Palestinians during a demonstration in Gaza City calling for the release of prisoners being held by Israel Photo: AP Israel and the Palestinians have reached an agreement whereby Israel would stop hunting wanted terror suspects on the condition that each fulfills five conditions, including handing in their weapons and promising not to participate in terror activities, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz told the cabinet Sunday. The other three conditions include withdrawing their membership from terrorist organizations, capitulating to...

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has secured an agreement with leading Palestinian militant groups for a cease-fire of about a month, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said on Sunday morning. Hamas and Islamic Jihad had agreed to the cease-fire in return for a future role in the Palestinian Authority, Mofaz told Israel Radio in an interview. "As far as we understand, there is an agreement between (Abbas) and the heads of Hamas and Islamic Jihad for a cease-fire for a certain period ... about a month," said Mofaz. Officials from Abbas' Palestinian Authority and the two militant groups were not...

Israel and India Strengthen Defense Ties 19:00 Jan 19, '05 / 9 Shevat 5765 India and Israel continue to strengthen the military ties between the two countries. They have agreed to sign several more defense deals and conduct joint air exercises. Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz and Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Defense Amos Yaron met with an eight-member Indian delegation led by Indian Defense Secretary Ajai Vikram Singh. The meeting was intended to allay concerns that India’s security relations with Israel would decline under the Indian leadership of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), which assumed office...

Last Update: 20/01/2005 00:00 Ministers give approval, in principle, to army operation in Lebanon By Aluf Benn and Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondents The political-security cabinet, meeting Wednesday for the first time with its new Labor party members, approved in principle a military operation in Lebanon. The decision was made in response to three incidents in recent weeks, including one in which Hezbollah detonated explosive devices in the Har Dov region, killing an Israel Defense Force officer. "[Hezbollah] by its actions is trying to torpedo any progress between Israel and Abu Mazen (Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas)," Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz...

Jan. 19, 2005 18:20 | Updated Jan. 19, 2005 20:57 Security Cabinet decides to give Abbas a chance By JPOST.COM STAFF Israel will renew security ties with the PA a week after they were cut off, the National Security Cabinet decided Wednesday evening. Throughout the day, close associates of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas met with senior Israeli officials in Jerusalem to request cooperation, Army Radio reported. Defense Minister Mofaz agreed to a Palestinian request to allow senior IDF officials from the Southern Command to meet with Palestinian security officials in order to present and coordinate security steps the Palestinians are...

Jan. 18, 2005 23:10 | Updated Jan. 18, 2005 23:13 Mofaz: IDF will enter Gaza if Kassams don't stop By JPOST.COM STAFF Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said Tuesdsay night that if Kassam attacks on Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip and southern Negev towns continue, there will be no choice but to embark on a widespread operation in the region. Mofaz spoke to Channel 2 TV shortly after a suicide bomb attack Tuesday night at a roadblock near Gush Katif, which wounded seven people. "Terror organizations are making every effort to harm us, especially as disengagement approaches," Mofaz said. "The...