Israel Matzav

Sitting ducks in Judea and Samaria?

As those of you who have visited Israel undoubtedly know already, we may be the ultimate proof for the anti-gun control lobby's claim that "guns don't kill people; people kill people." In addition to active duty soldiers who routinely wander our streets with automatic weapons, a large portion of the country's citizens pack a hand gun in their belt loop (with permission). This is especially true of those Jews who reside in Judea and Samaria, where the ability to get out of one's car and shoot a weapon in the air can often be the difference between life and death. Yet criminal shootings and other violent crimes using guns are a rarity here.

The Olmert-Barak-Livni government has a problem. They currently have some 400,000 Jews in Judea, Samaria and 'east' Jerusalem, who will need to be 'resettled' if God forbid the country ever goes back to the 1967 Auschwitz borders. Considering that they have not yet succeeded in 'resettling' most of the 10,000 Jews who were expelled from their Gaza homes two years ago, one cannot have great expectations for how long it might take to 'resettle' 400,000 Jews. So the Olmert-Barak-Livni government junta has hit on a solution: They're going to have the 'Palestinians' help them to reduce the number of Jews.

Two weeks ago, I reported that the Olmert-Barak-Livni junta had decided to allow the 'Palestinians' to purchase 25 armored vehicles immediately - and another 25 down the road - so that they can maintain 'order' in Judea and Samaria. As a bonus, at the same time, the Olmert-Barak-Livni junta also allowed the 'Palestinians' 1000 rifles and some two million rounds of ammunition. Now that the 'Palestinians' have been armed to the teeth, the junta is taking steps to ensure that the Jews won't be armed at all (Hat Tip: Killian Bundy). Channel 10 (cable) news reported last night that the IDF is conducting a large-scale operation to confiscate weapons from Jews in Judea and Samaria. Although this is nominally being called a 'license check,' the goal is clear: to reduce the number of weapons in the hands of Jews in Judea and Samaria so as to (a) Make them sitting ducks for the 'Palestinians' and (b) Quash any thoughts of attempting to remain in areas that the junta ultimately surrenders.

The security coordinators of the communities in Samaria have been summoned to a meeting with IDF officers Thursday, and community leaders are convinced that the IDF intends to collect many of the weapons in the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.

Hillel Reinus of Yitzhar said: "I have no idea who is giving the order, it seems to be coming from up high, but they've decided to take the weapons away from everyone." Another resident of the community, Yigal Amitai, added, "They are abandoning citizens, it is an irresponsibile act, but everything pales compared to reality."

None of the three 'mainstream media' English language sites is reporting this story. And the only MK who appears to be moved by it is National Union/National Religious Party's Aryeh Eldad:

MK Aryeh Eldad (NU/NRP) wrote a letter to Defense Minister Ehud Barak following the report, saying, "Army representatives have recently informed the military security coordinators that they intend to collect most of the weapons which the residents of Judea and Samaria use for self-defense. When a move such as this is made along with the release of hundreds of terrorists, the deployment of Palestinian policemen in Shechem (three of whom were involved in the murder of Ido Zoldan) and the arming of these policemen with weapons, ammunition and armored personnel carriers, this amounts to making the settlers fair game and sending the terror organizations a clear message that they may murder Jews."

"When all this is done against the backdrop of your announcement that you are joining the 'expulsion/compensation' plan, this amounts to blackmail. You are trying to encourage Jews to run away from Judea and Samaria, and in order to prod them along you are taking away their weapons and urging terrorists to attack them," he wrote.

"With this letter," Eldad concluded, "I wish to inform you that the settlers of Judea and Samaria will hold you personally responsible for any casualties among the Jews in Judea and Samaria from now on, unless you immediately put an end to the process of collecting the settlers' weapons."

But the revenants are not sitting idly by. They have a different plan: A Jewish state in Judea and Samaria:

SOS Israel is planning a campaign to choose a flag and anthem for the new Jewish state it plans to erect in the West Bank in the event of an Israeli withdrawal from the territories.

The initiative will be published in this week's "Our Land of Israel," a pamphlet distributed in synagogues on Shabbat. A prize of several thousand shekels will be awarded to the participant whose design is adopted.

In an article entitled "The Coming Earthquake," Rabbi Shalom Dov Wolpe [pictured above. CiJ] writes: "In the wake of the Annapolis Conference at which the Israeli government agreed to the establishment of a Palestinian state with its capital in Jerusalem and the defense minister's (Ehud Barak) proposed 'evacuation compensation' law, many are asking themselves 'what can I do now?'."

"Are we just going to stand aside like lambs to the slaughter while the malicious government destroys the lives of tens of thousands of Israeli families, as we did to our brothers in Gush Katif? Are we going to surrender to the 'axis of evil' in Jerusalem and help it turn 120 thousand Jews into refugees in their own land, hundreds of thriving communities into mere rubble? Is it possible to lend a hand to something which threatens the very physical existence of millions of Jews?" [120,000 is - if I am not mistaken - the number of Jews who now live outside the route of the 'security fence.' So much for anyone who deluded themselves that it was not intended to be a border (and yes, there were people who bought that delusion five years ago). CiJ]

Before hordes of anxious talkbackers hit reply, the rabbi has his own answer to these questions: "The answer is simple," he writes. "First of all we must understand that 'it will come to pass,' in other words- to internalize the lessons of the cruel expulsion from Gush Katif and to cease living in illusions. It is upon us to choose if we want to be brought to the slaughter, God forbid, or to stand up for our lives against the government's intentions.

"There is no doubt then that the only solution is to immediately declare the establishment of an autonomous Jewish state in Judea and Samaria. The time has come to seriously consider erecting a legal body that will unite the Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria as a state-to-be," Rabbi Wolpe wrote.

Read it all. It goes on to talk about a pledge not to expel Jews from their homes that all IDF inductees are being asked to sign. Given the high percentage of revenants and others (principally religious soldiers) who might be willing to sign that pledge and the high percentage of religious soldiers in the IDF's officer corps and combat units, the junta has to take this threat seriously. Look for Rabbi Wolpe to be summoned for questioning - and possibly even be placed in 'administrative detention' (which can also be done as house arrest) in the near future. That was the favorite tactic of the Rabin-Peres government that inflicted the Oslo disaster on us.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 3:06 PM