The foundation for custody in these conditions, it was stated during the meeting, is their arrival to violate a restricted military area, plus creating documentation on each individual using photographs with terrorists and links to terror groups.

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Gilad Erdan, as minister of public security, and Chief Superintendent Yoram Halevi, as Jerusalem District Police commander, decided at the time to exploit the window of opportunity and correct a historical injustice – gradually opening the door to Jewish prayers on the Mount, something that had been denied them since the Six-Day War. During their tenure, the number of visitors to the site grew, and silent prayers in a minyan began on the eastern side of the Mount, with police permission. Gradually, prayers were expanded and said aloud rather than whispered; visitor numbers also increased, now reaching nearly 60,000 annually.

Video: Just a decade and a half ago, only a few thousand Jews visited the Mount annually, and now there's been a growth of more than 1,000% / Credit: Arnon Segal

Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir expanded and further established this Jewish achievement. Prayers expanded even more, but were joined by prostrations, flag waving, and even public singing by worshippers. Jewish visiting hours on the Mount also increased slightly.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accompanies this change in the issue of Jewish prayer on the Mount not only with knowledge, but often with approval, through quiet agreements and understandings, both with police leadership and with ministers responsible for the police. Even Jordan's protests – whose security and intelligence cooperation with Israel is well-known – are a kind of game. It continues to protest vigorously, and sometimes with venom, about "violating the status quo," although de facto it accepts it.

The status quo on the Mount died long ago. The Waqf knows this, the Palestinians know this, Jordan knows this, and Netanyahu knows this, too. Even the US knows this. Those who overturned the status quo and changed it over decades were the Muslim side, and then came the Jewish side's turn. Just a decade and a half ago, only a few thousand Jews visited the Mount annually, and now there's been a growth of more than 1,000%. Just a decade and a half ago, police would remove Jews from the Mount who whispered prayers quietly, and today they pray there aloud, in a minyan, with singing and prostration.

So perhaps it's finally time to stop pretending there's a status quo, formally legitimize historical distortions that deprived the Jewish side, and expose the massive substantive changes the Muslim side carried out on the Mount, which have been reported here repeatedly over the years.

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Nearly two years have passed with them deteriorating in Hamas tunnels. Nearly two years have passed with an entire nation trapped in trauma. Nearly two years have passed without anyone in the government conducting discussions about "the day after," resembling someone fleeing from devastating news, while increasing numbers of families receive the most devastating news possible.

The moment has arrived for a courageous decision that will bring back all hostages in a single operation, terminate the war and end bloodshed on both sides. Hamas deserves no reward for the horrific October 7 assault, but what remained unaccomplished during two years of warfare will not be remedied through additional months of stagnation and casualties. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeatedly declares Israel represents the region's strongest power, so what exactly does he fear?

His fear does not stem from possibilities that Israel might be compelled to return and fight again. The military possesses that capability. Netanyahu fears his government's collapse. Threats from his ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich that stopping the war would dissolve the Knesset Coalition frighten Netanyahu more than global escalation against us. This includes possibilities that during his visit to the UN General Assembly's annual conference, a resolution might pass recognizing a Palestinian state. The individual who spent years preventing Palestinian state establishment has prepared the foundation for that silver platter and will now impose it upon us under disadvantageous and uncontrolled circumstances.

Decades of bloodshed

Opponents of reaching a Gaza agreement argue it will produce future murderous attacks on our communities. According to their claims, October 7 resulted from the 2005 Gaza Disengagement. That 2005 unilateral withdrawal elevated Hamas to power and strengthened it through dollars flowing to it with Israeli consent and encouragement.

This week marks 20 years since the disengagement. Numerous assessments mostly suffered from excessive nostalgia. Perhaps through forgetfulness, they avoided tallying Gush Katif settlement casualties, which began in 1973 and concluded in 2005. Sixteen Jewish communities, 8,600 settlers plus 600 additional Bedouins. Some 5,904 mortar shells and Qassam rockets were launched, primarily from Khan Younis, targeting Gush Katif. The Kisufim corridor, serving as the sole entry and exit route for the Gush, transformed into a blood-soaked highway, particularly following the First Intifada and intensifying during the second one. 282 Israeli civilians were murdered there while dozens of soldiers perished. Among images permanently seared into collective memory, soldiers appear crawling along the Philadelphi Corridor, searching for human remains of comrades killed in an armored personnel carrier by roadside explosives.

On July 23, 2005, following Sabbath spent with family members in Ganei Tal, my friends Rachel and Dov'le Kol departed the Gush. Due to shooting in the corridor vicinity, access was blocked. When the attackers remained unfound, they reopened the corridor. Ten vehicles at a time. Dov'le and Rachel, Jerusalem residents parenting three children, stood no chance when gunfire opened toward them. They died instantly. The Gush's final victims. Two weeks later, Disengagement commenced.

Today, Tisha B'Av 5785, this must be stated – enough casualties. Bring Rom, Evyatar and their companions home. The time has arrived.

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A 27-year-old woman faces charges for throwing sand at National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir during his family outing at Tel Aviv's Geula beach. The incident has ignited debate over public figures' security and the right to protest.

Prosecutors allege Noa Goldenberg, frustrated by the minister's beach visit at a time of war, formed a "hardened mud ball" and threw it at Ben-Gvir, hitting him and bystanders. The swift legal action has drawn criticism, with Goldenberg's mother suggesting misplaced priorities given current security challenges.

Video: Ben-Gvir at the beach during the incident in question / Credit: Free usage under Israeli copyright law (Section 27A)

The defense attorney questioned the necessity of rapid indictment, while police defended the charges, citing the seriousness of attacking a government official. They reported Goldenberg's attempts to evade officers and her lack of cooperation during questioning.

Following a court appearance, protesters threw sand on Ben-Gvir's pictures outside the courthouse. The Magistrate's Court ordered Goldenberg to remain under house arrest.

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The Israel Police has launched a probe into the new leader of the Labor Party, Yair Golan, for statements that might potentially constitute incitement, although it appears that they were taken out of context.

In a video released a month ago, Golan – who won a landslide victory Tuesday, having garnered 95% of his party members' votes – was heard calling for "widespread civil disobedience," such as refusal to do reserve duty, to exert pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government. When his remarks drew reactions from the audience, Golan clarified, "I'm not saying now that this is the right move."

הוא אומר פה במפורש: ״לא עכשיו לא עכשיו״
חברים הביביסטים בישלו דייסה הוציאו מהקשר כי למה לא אם אפשר pic.twitter.com/P6V1ZqDGd7

— לירי בורק שביט (@lirishavit) May 29, 2024

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir urged Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara to launch a criminal investigation against Golan, accusing him of "blatantly inciting insubordination – at a time when the State of Israel is at war."

Rejecting such allegations, Golan wrote on Twitter that they were "cheap manipulation" by the "poison machine" backing the "historically failed prime minister."

"We are calling for a large, broad, and continuous non-violent civil protest that will bring about a change of government, elections, the return of the hostages, the return of the evacuees to their homes, and an end to the existential war of the Netanyahu regime," he said.

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During his first visit to the highly contested holy site of Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City since Hamas' Oct. 7 attack, Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, known for his far-right views, forcefully condemned several European nations for extending diplomatic recognition to a future Palestinian state. Flanked by security forces, Ben Gvir released a video message on X, denouncing the moves by Norway, Spain, and Ireland as tantamount to "rewarding Hamas' Nukhba murderers and terrorists."

עליתי הבוקר להר הבית, המקום הקדוש ביותר לעם ישראל וששייך רק למדינת ישראל, שם הבהרתי בצורה ברורה: המדינות שהכירו הבוקר במדינה פלסטינית רוצות לתת פרס לחוטפי התצפיתניות ולרבבות תומכיהם בעזה - אנחנו לא נאפשר אף כניעה שתכלול אפילו הצהרה על מדינה פלסטינית.

את חמאס חייבים להשמיד השמדה… pic.twitter.com/KxwHFcfcoA

— איתמר בן גביר (@itamarbengvir) May 22, 2024

He was referring to the terrorist group's elite force, which orchestrated a deadly attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7 that left 1,200 people killed and 252 more taken hostage, of which 128 are still held captive. With footage of female hostages expected to be released this evening, Ben Gvir stated "Tonight we will receive further proof of why Hamas must be completely destroyed."

To accomplish this, the minister advocated for an intensive military campaign "going into Rafah until the absolute end, conducting a root canal operation," while also calling to cut off fuel to Gaza and severely restrict humanitarian aid flowing into the territory.

In response, the terrorist organization Hamas lamented that Minister Ben Gvir is inflaming tensions, having said that "The Minister's incursion into Al-Aqsa Mosque is an aggressive act that pours fuel on the fire."

The flashpoint Temple Mount compound – known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif – in Jerusalem's Old City holds immense significance, being Judaism's holiest site and the third-holiest in Islam, home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque. 

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The Shin Ben internal security agency will assist the police in tackling crime in the Arab sector, the Prime Minister's office announced Wednesday following a meeting by a ministerial panel established to address the spiraling crime wave.

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Although normally in charge of matters of national security, the Shin Bet will be brought in "against criminal organizations in all matters related to municipal elections."

Video: The scene of Tuesday's shocking quadruple murder in Abu Snan / Credit: Magen David Adom emergency medical services

According to Kan News, the agency has already identified 15-20 Arab localities in which candidates, voters, or elected officials are being threatened by criminal elements.

The panel – chaired by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – convened following the murder of two political figures from the Arab community in just two days.

Netanyahu said the shooting of the figures "crossed a line."

"We will use all means, including the Shin Bet and the police, to defeat this criminal phenomenon. We have eliminated organized crime in the Jewish sector in Israel and we will eliminate organized crime in the Arab sector as well," he said. "Every citizen of Israel must feel secure and not under the shadow of the threat of internal terrorism."

Similarly, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has called for the Shin Bet to investigate all violent crimes in the Arab sector and demanded the use of administrative detention that would enable holding suspects for extended periods of time without charge.

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National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant locked horns Tuesday during a Diplomatic-Security Meeting on the ongoing wave of terrorism in Israel.

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Ben-Gvir urged to place more checkpoints throughout Judea and Samaria, impose closures and partial lockdowns on Palestinian villages and rescind entry permits for Palestinian workers. He also called to tighten the conditions of Palestinian security prisoners in Israeli jails as well as carrying out targeted assassinations of Palestinian terror leaders in the West Bank.

Video: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits the site of the Hebron drive-by shooting / Credit: Twitter

Gallant pushed back, saying, "There is a danger of friction and you have to pay attention to it. It used to be a few dozen [terrorists] and today it is already hundreds."

Ben Gvir fired back, saying, "I feel like I'm in an imaginary film. People are being murdered, including a mother in front of her daughter. A few days ago a father and his son were gunned down, and you keep talking about the danger of friction and the danger of [Jewish] nationalist crime. Are we crazy? I'm starting to think we're in Switzerland as if these are our only problems. This meeting is about terrorism. We need to come up with operative measures for what to do to combat terrorism and not deal with nonsense."

The Prime Minister's Office said in a statement that the Diplomatic-Security Cabinet "made a series of decisions to target terrorists and those who dispatch them and authorized the prime and defense ministers to act on the matter."

"The forum supports the commanders and soldiers of the IDF and security services in their activities against the terrorist elements," it said without elaborating what measures would be taken.

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You can't argue with facts. The Arab sector has seen an unprecedented crime wave in recent months: shooting after shooting and murder after murder as crime groups and crime families wage a bloody war that exacts a heavy toll on the Arab residents.

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The public cannot help but feel helpless, and rightly so, as well as disappointed at the campaign promises by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir – to ensure governance and crack down on crime – that were never kept.

Video: The scene of the quadruple murder in the Israeli Arab town of Abu Snan / Credit: Magen David Adom

Although Ben-Gvir is not responsible for the spiraling crime wave in the Arab sector, as someone who built his entire campaign around a lack of governance, he certainly should be held accountable.

Governance is not something that can be restored by giving interviews to the media, holding press conferences, making empty promises, or bickering with the police commissioner. Rather, it is restored through cooperation between the National Security Ministry and the Isreal Police, as well as other government ministries.

Governance is restored by heeding the advice of professionals, such as Sigal Bar-Zvi, head of Israel Police's operations division, who warned just a few months ago that the Arab sector was collapsing and a state of emergency needed to be declared.

Instead of listening and taking action, it seems that the national security minister was preoccupied with everything but his responsibilities. He argued with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant about IDF activities in Judea and Samaria, which seems to be more important to him than burning issues related to national security.

Already a year ago, the police and security officials determined that crime organizations would most likely try to overtake the authority of Arab localities during municipal elections. And although the writing was on the wall, the national security minister not only did not address the matter but even dismantled the previous government's program aimed at tackling the crime wave.

And although Ben-Gvir does have some achievements, such as securing a hefty budget for the police, the severity of the situation in the Arab sector just cannot be overlooked.

A recent report by State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman linked the inactivity among youths in the Arab sector to its high crime rates. It classified 25% of Arab males and 34% of Arab females as "inactive" – meaning they were neither employed nor studying.

The report also found that alongside an increase in the number of unemployed Arab youth, there was also a staggering 50% rise in crime rates between 2015 and 2021.

The time is long overdue for rapid changes that would prevent criminal organizations from meddling in elections, as well as protect elected officials in the Arab sector who are subjected to pressure from criminal elements.

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The Diplomatic-Security Cabinet voted Sunday in favor of a series of economic and defense measures to boost the Palestinian Authority.

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Eight members voted yes in adopting the draft decision submitted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with one voting against and one abstention.

"In the absence of a change in the national assessment, Israel will act to prevent the collapse of the Palestinian Authority, while demanding that it cease its anti-Israel activity in the international legal-diplomatic arena, the incitement in its media and education system, the payments to the families of terrorists and murderers, and the illegal construction in Area C," the Diplomatic-Security Cabinet said in a statement following the vote.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also serves as a minister in the Defense Ministry, vocally opposed the assistance package, which comes amid the deteriorating security situation in Judea and Samaria.

Before the vote, Ben-Gvir called the proposal "delusional," and a "shameful decision to grant concessions and benefits to the Palestinian Authority."

"There is no greater absurdity than the fact that a body that encourages terrorism, pays salaries to terrorists and their families, encourages in the education system incitement in favor of the murder of Jews, takes over territories in Judea and Samaria, will win a basket of rewards from the Israeli government in the midst of a wave of terrorism," he said.

According to the government, the PA spends between 600 million and 650 million shekels ($170 million to $184 million) each year on stipends for terrorists. Some estimates put that number as high as 1 billion shekels ($283 million). The government collects 600 million to 800 million shekels ($174 million to $226 million) annually for the PA, accounting for 65% to 70% of its revenue, not counting foreign aid.

Recent Palestinian polling shows that 87-year-old PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas is deeply unpopular, with increasing support for armed terrorist groups.

The PA was created as part of the 1994 Gaza-Jericho Agreement, which was a follow-up to the Oslo I Accord.

In an interview with CNN on Sunday, US President Joe Biden warned that the PA "has lost its credibility, not necessarily because of what Israel's done, just because it's just lost its credibility, number one, and, number two, created a vacuum for extremism."

 Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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