Arlene Kushner
When last I wrote, a member
of an Israeli crew working on the fence being constructed on our border with
Sinai -- precisely to prevent infiltration into Israel -- had just
been killed by terrorists who had crossed over from
Sinai. (According to one report, one terrorist shot by the IDF was
wearing a suicide belt, and planning considerably greater damage.)
This followed by two days the
launching of two Grad Katyusha rockets from the Sinai into the Negev.
Then, very shortly after the
attack at the fence, rocket attacks from Gaza began.
The army statement at that time
was that there was no connection between the Gaza rocket launchings and the
terrorist attack out of the Sinai. Such coincidental timing left me a bit
dubious.
While the situation is still
muddled and confused in many ways, I would like to begin today with a report
from Barry Rubin of the GLORIA Center. Rubin said (and this has now
been confirmed) that the terrorists who attacked at the fence adjacent to the
Sinai had come out of Gaza. When he wrote, there were unconfirmed
reports that these men were Hamas.
"This event follows a report in
Haaretz newspaper, attributed to Israeli security officials, that the
Muslim Brotherhood had asked Hamas to attack Israel...This story was not picked
up by other Israeli newspapers, suggesting either that it was wrong or that it
had been a security leak which the army had then stopped."
The significance of this is considerable, according to
Rubin: "...we are now at the beginning of Egypt’s
involvement, directly or indirectly, in a new wave of terrorist assault on
Israel." He sees the possibility that Egyptian
Islamists would not only provide support to Hamas, but allow Hamas
infiltration into Egypt and Hamas bases on Egyptian soil, where Israel would not
be able to pursue them.
~~~~~~~~~~
I share this
speculative piece by Rubin not because it is correct in all its details.
In fact, according to a report today, the Israeli Air Force has now
hit the cell in Gaza -- near Rafah -- that orchestrated the
terrorist attack at the Sinai border on Monday. One terrorist from
that cell who was killed, Raleb Armilat, was Islamic (or Global) Jihad
affiliated, not Hamas; he was an aide to a senior member of IJ, who was
badly wounded.
So much for
Hamas having gone into Egypt at the Brotherhood's behest.
But, as I
pointed out earlier, it was Hamas that celebrated the apparent (it is not a sure
thing even now!) win by the Brotherhood candidate in the Egyptian presidential
elections. And I've just picked up from the Intelligence and Terrorism
Information Center the fact that the Egyptian press had reported that Hamas
operatives played an active role in the uprising in Tahrir Square
(something denied by Hamas). What is more, Hamas does seem to be involved
in the launching of rockets out of Gaza now (much more on this below). So
Hamas involvement cannot be ruled out.
We're going to
need a spread sheet to keep track of all of this. For there are Bedouins active
in terrorism in the Sinai as well, and there is an Al Qaeda presence. (An
obscure Al Qaeda affiliated group, Mujahedeen Shura Council of Jerusalem,
actually claimed responsibility for the Monday attack at the
fence.)
~~~~~~~~~~
What I'm most
interested in is Rubin's larger point regarding possible cooperation of Islamic
terrorists in Gaza with Islamists in Egypt. This should be
not be taken lightly. The situation is in flux and increasingly
radicalized, this does not promise a whole lot that's good at our
border.
While I
metaphorically allude to that spread sheet, I also want to point out that the
various radical groups are not all autonomous and discrete. Sometimes they
compete, but sometimes they overlap and cooperate in sharing of resources
in order to bolster their mutual goals. What is more, disgruntled
members of one radical group sometimes switch allegiance and join another group,
thereby adding to its strength and expertise.
~~~~~~~~~~
As to Gaza,
since I last wrote, the situation has escalated. The last few times there have
been rocket launchings from Gaza, Islamic Jihad has been responsible, not
Hamas. Some while back I wrote about the eclipsing of Hamas by IJ, with
Hamas having fallen out of favor with Iran.
And so at
first, the current barrage of rockets was thought to be the work of IJ. But
Hamas has taken some credit here, and we're going to have to watch what's going
on.
Today alone
more than 24 rockets and mortars have been fired at Israel. Some 50 have been
launched since the attacks began on Monday. The Sdot Negev Regional Council, the
Hof Ashkelon Regional Council, and the Eshkol Regional Council have all been
involved. Sderot is once again in the line of
fire.
Most of the
rockets have been Kassams, but a Grad Katyusha struck the outskirts of Beersheva
this morning, just as children had reached their schools.
Summer vacation
is almost upon us, and parents in the region are reluctant to send their kids to
school at all. Once again there is talk about having
sufficient shelters for all. Sound familiar?
Some nine
people have been injured -- one border policeman seriously -- and there has been
damage to property.
An Iron Dome
installation intercepted a rocket launched at
Netivot.
~~~~~~~~~~
Needless to
say, the Israeli Air Force has launched several air strikes in the last few
days. The most recent in the north of Gaza this evening, when two terror
camps were hit.
Where is this
going? Have no answers. Not yet.
~~~~~~~~~~
Also an
important part of the face of things to come: what has happened at the Ulpana neighborhood
in Beit El.
The 30
families who are the residents of the five houses to be evacuated by the
end of this month -- according to High Court order -- last evening struck a
deal with the government, with the guidance, encouragement and support of the
Rabbi of Beit El, Rav Zalman Baruch Melamed. Beit El mayor Moshe
Rosenbaum was also involved, as was MK Ze'ev Elkin (Likud Faction and Coalition
Chair). This represents the culmination of several days of
negotiations.
Rav Melamed,
who heads the Beit El Yeshiva, told his students on
Monday:
"Sometimes, we
must understand that there are battles that cannot be won. Therefore, it would be best to use this
terrible low point for the betterment of all of Judea and
Samaria."
Please G-d, if
all proceeds per this agreement, there should be a gain for Judea and
Samaria. But even beyond this, Rav Melamed had concern with regard
to violence anticipated when the Ulpana residents were to be evicted, and
he was eager to prevent this. As the Ulpana residents said in their
statement:
“...we are
peaceful people. Struggles between brothers tear the entire public, and our
community in particular, apart."
For the dignity
and the rightness of this stance, I applaud all of
them.
~~~~~~~~~~
But, as the
residents also made clear, they have agreed with "a heavy heart," for there is
an essential injustice that has been levied against these people that is
not mitigated by the agreement.
The agreement
in its essentials:
The residents
will leave peacefully. They will temporarily reside in caravans (mobile homes).
Their houses will not be destroyed, but will be moved to a new location. I
was not able to learn what that intended location is (if indeed this has been
determined yet). And there seems to be some question as to the logistical
feasibility of actually moving those buildings. But this is the
deal.
~~~~~~~~~~
The government
promises to construct 300 new houses in Beit El. This is major. It sets a
precedent.
There has been
no building in Beit El for some time -- no room for building. Now what has
been decided is that an army base at the Beit El location will be moved to
Migron (I'll address this at some other point), so that land for
housing will now be available (as the property where the base is located
will become civilian State land).
MK Elkin made
it clear that there were attempts by opponents of building in Judea and Samaria
to put up legal stumbling blocks to the building. But they have now been wiped
away and there are no obstacles. Those legal objections, as I understand
it, had to do with transfer of the military base to civilian use. But all
of Beit El began as a military base.
My contact in
Beit El tells me that the government agreement to do the building, complete with
a timetable for construction, has been put in
writing.
What seems to
be the case is that back some weeks ago when Netanyahu first made the promise to
construct 300 houses in Beit El, the legal barriers had not been defeated.
That is, his promise at that point consisted of words (which is why I had picked
up rumors that he wasn't serious). But now, I'm told, the situation is
different.
~~~~~~~~~~
The last
concession by the government is also major: a ministerial committee will
oversee building in Judea and Samaria and in the future, no decisions to
demolish neighborhoods or communities are to be made by the government, the
Attorney General or the Ministry of Defense.
This goes to
the heart of the miscarriage of justice that occurred in this
instance.
In brief, the
High Court ordered the evacuation of the buildings in Ulpana because they were
allegedly on "Palestinian land" before the issue of whether this is truly
the case has been adjudicated. It is currently being reviewed by the
Jerusalem District Court; the High Court does not deal with issues of
evidence. It may take years for the District Court to examine
all evidence, and in the end it may decide that the residents of Beit
El were the property's true owners.
What makes this
all the more surreal is that even if the court decides in favor of the Arab
who is claiming it, the land will sit unoccupied by order of the IDF, because it
is considered a security breach to allow Arab building in the heart of this
Jewish community. This very strongly mitigates for compensation to the
alleged owner, if his ownership were to be proved, rather than evacuation of the
site.
The claim that
the land was Palestinian Arab owned was brought by Yesh Din, a far left
organization that is funded by foreign elements. That claim was made seven
years after the building had been done in Ulpana -- it was not as if the alleged
Arab owner saw the construction on his land begin and then rushed to do
something about it. This alone gives pause.
The High Court
relied upon the statement of the prosecutor, speaking in the name of the
government, that the houses would be taken down. That prosecutor did
not represent the sentiments of the Knesset or the coalition at that
time.
Subsequently,
when there was a furor about the projected evacuation of these houses, the
prosecutor was sent back to the High Court in the name of the government to say
that there had been a change in the government's position. The High Court
refused to accept this, saying that the evacuation would stand. This is
indicative of an imbalance in the system, and a Court that is predisposed
politically in one direction.
For a
description of this miscarriage, see commentator Moshe Dann's article,
here:
For a more
detailed description of what has transpired from the beginning and the way in
which those in opposition to Jewish building in Judea and Samaria played the
system, see this article by Baruch Gordon, Beit El resident, member of the Beit
El Council, activist:
~~~~~~~~~~
©
Arlene Kushner. This material is produced by Arlene Kushner,
functioning as an independent journalist. Permission is granted for it to be
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