Free Republic

Terror group appears to pour cold water on mediators’ latest offer after Qatari PM says ‘good progress’ made; Israel said open to lengthy truce but refuses to end war Hamas on Monday evening appeared to reject a new framework for a hostage deal that had been agreed to by Israel, saying it would not accept any agreement that did not include an end to the war and the withdrawal of all Israeli troops from Gaza. The terror group issued a statement alongside a smaller terror group the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, insisting Israel must halt its “aggression”...

Right-wing activist Moshe Auerbach recieved a restraining order Monday to keep out of Judea and Samaria for 12 months. The reason for the order, as written by the commanding officer Nitzan Alon is "for security reasons which require it, and because it is necessary and essential to maintaining regional security and public ...

Benny Katzover, Chairman of the Samaria Residents Committee, welcomed on Tuesday the appointment of Hagai Mordechai to the position of commander of the IDF’s Judea and Samaria Division. Mordechai is replacing Brigadier General Nitzan Alon, who held the position for over two years and whose views more often than not clashed with the Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria. In an interview with Arutz Sheva, Katzover expressed hope that Mordechai’s appointment will mark the beginning of new and better relations between the IDF and Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria. “Unfortunately Nitzan Alon broke all records, and the peak was...

Last week Col. Yoav Zikaron, the deputy commander of the Haruv (Carrob) battalion, was dismissed for a deadly fire incident that occurred during a riot in the village of Kosrae on the eve of Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas' statehood bid at the United Nations. The decision to dismiss Zikaron from his post was taken by senior IDF officers despite the fact that the IDF's own investigation determined that soldiers in his platoon only opened fire, killing one, when their lives were clearly under threat. During the riot soldiers used less-than-lethal means and standard riot control techniques, but at one...