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Hostile Arabs in Judea and Samaria who identify with Gaza terrorists have planned a "Day of Rage" for Friday. .....

President Shimon Peres called on Jews from Judea and Samaria last week to send a cohort with their strength and skills to settle the Negev. Addressing an event to mark the 70th anniversary of Kibbutz Revivim—located deep in the Negev—Peres noted that at present, there are only 6,500 residents in the Ramat Hanegev region. … In the Negev, which comprises some 60 percent of the land mass of Israel, there are few Jewish communities and bus routes are still relatively sparse. …

DM Moshe Ya'alon chose Gilad Altman, of Kibbutz Maale HaHamisha as his advisor on Yesha towns. Altman served as an IDF commando, and later as Chief of the 'Green Commandos', responsible for preservation of national real estate against Arab land theft. Altman, of strong right wing affiliation, was preferred over Mt Hebron Council Chairman Tzviki bar-Hai...

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 ...

Defense Minister Ehud Barak has proposed a unilateral withdrawal from most of Judea and Samaria, with tens of thousands of Jews outside of population centers in Judea and Samaria to leave or remain under a Palestinian Authority government. He issued the suggestion of another one-sided move in an interview with the Yisrael HaYom newspaper. Excerpts were published Monday and the full interview will be published Tuesday, the day before Yom Kippur. Jews in Ariel, located in Samaria (Shomron), Maaleh Adumim -- a large city between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea -- and in Gush Etzion, south of Jerusalem, would remain...

The numbers which appear below in the Official Population Statistics of Judea and Samaria (Yesha), aka the West Bank, are not readily accessible to the general public. They come directly from the Population Registry of Israel's Interior Ministry and are painstakingly gathered and formulated by the office of Knesset Member Yaakov “Ketzaleh” Katz. The growing number of Jews in Judea and Samaria is getting the attention of influential people. Despite headlines of world leaders planning a Palestinian State on Jew-free turf, a slow and quiet Jewish population explosion there has already rendered these designs wholly unrealistic. As of June 30,...

On Thursday evening, the Women in Green for Israel's tomorrow undertook an operation to put up signs on Highway 60 from the southern Hevron Hills to Elon Moreh, urging the application of Israeli sovereignty over all of Judea and Samaria. A statement released by the group on Sunday said "Women in Green" has long understood that we must pass to initiative rather than trudge through an endless defensive." Women in Green has scheduled its second annual conference on starting Israeli sovereignty in the region for July 12th in Hevron. ...

Gershon Mesika in Europe Shomron Regional CouncilA Palestinian Authority minister has blasted the European Union for hosting Shomron leader Gershon Mesika, whom it called a “terrorist.” Mesika two weeks spoke to the EU Foreign Affairs Commission of the Parliament in an unprecedented visit to the Brussels-based EU parliament. It was the first time a leader of Judea and Samaria spoke at an official parliamentary meeting, and it clearly infuriated the Palestinian Authority, which is heavily dependent on EU financing. An official letter to European Union members from the Foreign Affairs Ministry of the PA stated that "The Ministry of Foreign...

More than 80 percent of 304,000 Jews in Judea and Samaria own their own homes, nearly 15 percent more than the national average, according to government statistics. The official population figures, higher by up to 20 percent than numbers reported by several left-wing groups, do not include young people living in “illegal” communities. Information from the Central Bureau of Statistics, reported by Globes, paints a picture of quality of life not enjoyed by Israelis living in urban communities. The statistics do not include other factors such as education, which is a high priority in most towns in Judea and Samaria...

The Cabinet Sunday approved a nearby temporary housing site for residents of Migron, over whose heads hangs an expulsion order. Nationalist Knesset Members in the coalition have insisted that Migron must remain in its current location, and the High Court has rejected a government petition to defer the scheduled expulsion beyond a July 15 deadline. The unanimous vote by the Cabinet approved a temporary housing site on Givat HaYekev in Kochav Yaakov, located in central Samaria. This was part of an agreement negotiated between the residents and the government as a site for the town if the present location is...

France and Jordan on Tuesday condemned Israel's decision to normalize the status of three communities in Judea and Samaria. The communities of Rechilim, Bruchin, and Sansana were built in the 1990's with government approval. The Foreign Ministry in Paris issued a statement that the move "sends a negative message, which is an obstacle to peace." According to France, all Israeli construction in Judea, Samaria, and eastern Jerusalem is illegal. Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh also condemned Israel for "legalization of three settlements and unilateral activity." Nonetheless, a special Ministerial team appointed by the government to determine the status of Israel's...

Opposition leader Shaul Mofaz (Kadima) told the The New York Times that he would "respond to 100% of the territorial demands of the Palestinians" if elected Prime Minister. “I intend to replace Netanyahu,” Mr. Mofaz, 63, said. “I will not join his government.” Mofaz said that he believed Israel should keep the main settlement blocs, but that he would give the Palestinian Authority as much land from sovereign Israeli ground as he kept from Judea and Samaria. He added that he believes it is possible to reach an agreement on the borders and security within one year. When asked about...

Recent demolitions of outposts are part of psychological warfare to prepare the public for mass expulsions, warns a Yesha leader. Sarah Eliyash, deputy chairman of the Council of Jewish Communities in Judea and Samaria (Yesha), said she is calling for an urgent conference of Yesha leaders to break off relations with the government as a response to the recent wave of demolitions of Jewish homes and the expulsion of families, including women and babies, in the middle of the night. “We plan to break off all contact with Cabinet ministers and Knesset Members, the army and the Civil Lands Administration”...

Orit Struk, Director of the Yesha Human Rights organization responded to the decision of the High Court to release the five right wing detainees to house arrest. “We call upon the PM and Justice Minister to seriously internalize the criticism of High Court Judge Amit about applying outdated charges against demonstration organizers. Stop the unbridled wild oppression of the right wing detainees at the hands of the State Attorney’s Office, that deals a fatal blow to the principles of democracy and...

The Ministerial Committee on Legislation on Sunday will discuss a bill proposed by Minister of Welfare and Social Services Zevulun Orlev (Jewish Home) seeking to normalize the status of most Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of third-party petitions filed by left-wing NGOs seeking to destroy Israel's settlement enterprise in Judea and Samaria by demanding the destruction of communities and neighborhoods they claim were built on privately owned Arab land. The Justice Ministry, Civil Administration, and Supreme Court have maintained the exclusive remedy in these cases is the demolition...

Rabbi Eliezer Melamed makes clear in response to an inquiry that the media reports concerning violent incidents in the Shomron are an example of the media's notorious hyperbole. Question: Rabbi, what is your reaction to the violent incidents which took place Monday night in the Shomron against the Brigadier Commander, Deputy Brigadier Commander, and soldiers? Answer: I don't know exactly what happened, but of one thing I am sure: Whatever the media reports is extremely exaggerated. The mainstream media and IDF spokesmen's reputation for this - and I do not mean the soldiers themselves and their dedicated field officers -...

The government claims to be in favor of allowing Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria to grow “naturally,” expanding incrementally to ensure that children and grandchildren are able to remain in the towns where they grew up, if they so wish. In reality, though, no practical steps have ever been taken to ensure this minimum growth in Yesha, with the result being that many Yesha towns are experiencing severe housing shortages, since the government will not allow wide-scale expansion in these towns, despite the huge demand for housing by young couples. MKs Ya'akov Katz (Ketzaleh), chairman of the National Union,...

Frustrated by the restrictive no-fire orders handed down by IDF attorneys, local rabbis and leaders are asking the Chief Rabbis of Israel to take the rare step of issuing a direct contradiction. While the Rabbinate avoids involvement in military affairs, the rabbis said that in this case, the orders are a case of “pikuach nefesh,” life and death. A letter from Rabbi Shalom Dov Wolpe, Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, and Professor Hillel Weiss reads: To the Honorable Chief Rabbis of Israel, Rabbi Shlomo Amar, And Rabbi Yona Metzger As the new year begins, we wish you a good and sweet year,...

Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch has ruled, not for the first time, that any area in Judea and Samaria that has not been declared state land is considered private Arab land by default and all buildings in such areas must be demolished. She could just as well have ruled that this land is not claimed and therefore could be settled by Jews according to the law that land that is worked on for ten years without prior proven ownership can become the property of those working it, or that unclaimed land can be given to Jews outright. It is a...

Not what you would think, Not what you are being told… I was walking through the campus listening to the sounds of the various instruments being played by young musicians. It was like a bouquet of sounds, not really mixed well as the variety of types of music being played was as diverse as the students playing. Jazz, Classical, Rock, an Oud playing classic Arabic tunes, and the whispers of Klezmer seeping through. Long hair, Short hair, Shorts, Sandals, like I said…as diverse as the students playing. Another first day of classes, this is obviously notyour “regular” educational program… the...