Israel's Administered Areas Due To Six Day War and Present Demographics

Nadene Goldfoot                                                             

Let's go back 42 years to the year 1972.  Almost a million Arabs lived in the administered areas.
The last census was in 2013.  over 4 million Arabs lived in the Palestinians areas.  4,420,549 according to the latest figures.  That growth has happened in the past 41 years.

1. Judaea and Samaria,  640,000 of them lived here,   the so wrongly called West Bank area which is 5,900 sq km or 2,270 sq. miles. Between 1948 and 1967 it was ruled by Jordan, which annexed it in 1950.  Originally part of British Mandate of Palestine-taken in WWI (first world war) from Ottoman Empire who lost to the Allies (England, France, USA) .  4 Israeli settled towns were pulled out by Israel in 2005.  In 2010 they had 2.52 million. By 2013 they had 2,719,112 .  By July 2014 Judaea, Samaria and East Jerusalem's population numbers 2,731,052.  This includes Arabs (83%) and Jews (17%).

2.  388,600 Arabs were living in the Gaza Strip of 360 sq. km or 140 sq. miles, same history but administered from 1948 to 1967  by Egypt who did not annex it.  2007 voting chose Hamas terrorists to rule.  2012 UN decided it was part of the future state of Palestine  Israel left by September 14, 2005.  By 2010 Gaza's population was up to 1.60 million.(July 2010 was 1,604,238).   By 2013 they had 1,701,437.

3.  North Sinai  (Sinai Desert) 1948 to 1967 administered by Egypt, 60,000 sq km or.23,000 sq miles with 2.5 million population today which is including more:  North Sinai, South Sinai, Suez, Ismailia, and Port Said.  With the most interesting history, Israel is not administering it today.  " Israel invaded and occupied Sinai during the Suez Crisis (known in Egypt as the Tripartite Aggression) of 1956, and during the Six Day War of 1967. On 6 October 1973, Egypt launched the October War to liberate the peninsula, which was the site of fierce fighting between Egyptian and Israeli forces. In 1982, after the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty of 1979, Israel withdrew from the entirety of Sinai. Today, Sinai has become a tourist destination due to its natural setting, rich coral reefs, and biblical history. Mount Sinai is one of the most religiously significant places in Abrahamic faiths.".(1)

4.  8,000 were living in the Golan Heights which consists of 1,250 sq km or 500 sq miles. 1948 to 1967 administered by Syria.  Citing " UN Resolution 242, which calls for "safe and recognised boundaries free from threats or acts of force" Israel in 1981 took it over with Israeli law and administration.  Approximately 10% of Syrian Golan Druze have accepted Israeli citizenship. According to the CIA World Factbook, as of 2010, "there are 41 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights" .

"Jews started to move into the Golan in the 1970s.  The Israeli-occupied territory is administered by the Golan Regional Council, based in Katzrin, which has a population of 6,400. There another 19 moshavim and 10 kibbutzim. In 1989, the settler population was 10,000. In 2010 the settlers had expanded to 20,000 living in 32 settlements."  The former population governed by Syria,  the population of the Quneitra Governorate numbers 79,000.
                                                                                 

    Yasser Arafat:of  PLO-Fatah,  1st President of Palestine Authority 1994-died November 11, 2004

This population consists mostly of Moslems.  The smaller Christian communities are made up of Greek Orthodox and Latin Orthodox who live mainly in Ramallah, Bethlehem and Beit Jala.  Living in the Golan Heights are the Druzses.  Today Bethlehem is 2/3 Muslim.  Ramallah today is the sea of Fatah.
                                                                                 

 Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah, : 2nd President of Palestine Authority January 9, 2005 to present

The status of the administered areas had not changed since June 1967 until 1973 as it was pending a peace settlement in which the borders between Israel and its neighbors would be then decided.  It is that of territories occupied during a war.  Israel had not annexed any part of the areas by 1973.  East Jerusalem was reunited in June 1967 with West Jerusalem.
                                                                               

 Ismail Haniyeh, elected January 25, 2006, Hamas Prime Minister, changed to Salam Fayyad by Abbas on June 14, 2007, remains disputed, taken over as head of Gaza.  .

Israel administered them because they were attacked in June 1967 by all the Arab nations and won this war that lasted 6 days.  This meant that until a peace settlement was arrived at, Israel had a basic policy that they followed.

1. Maintain security for all, Israelis and Arabs alike.
2. People under Israel administration would live normal lives without losing contact with other Arabs.
3. Make possible economic development happen quickly.
4. Encourage co-existence and cooperation between Arabs and Israelis. to set example for future relations between the 2 peoples.

Summary up to 1973:  October 6, 1973 was the Yom Kippur War or 6 Day War
1.  Goals were being attained.
2. Areas were quiet and thriving.
3. Local affairs administered by local population.
4. Open bridges on the Jordan allowed movement in both directions between areas and Arab States.Before 1967 they lived separated lives.

Who administered the Administered Areas in Accordance with International Law?
1. Israel Defence forces appointed military governors (army officer) for each of the 4 areas. Each of these commanders were sovereign and responsible for military (security) and civilian branches (economic and social services).  .
2.  Local affairs were to be administered by the Arab population through existing bodies such as municipalities and police.  Because of this self governing, the staff of the Israeli Military administration was very small.  there were 500 staff members in Judaea and Samaria and Gaza compared with 12,500 local personnel.
3. In Judaea and Samaria there were 23 municipalities and 31 rural councils.
4. In Gaza and North Sinai there were 3 municipalities and 7 rural councils.
Following Jordanian law, there were elections in 1972.  They had  lively election campaigns.  Candidates were on TV.  voter participation was 75%.  Half of the mayors were replaced by new ones.

Changes:

Major conflict erupted in Gaza in December 2006, when the Hamas executive authority attempted to replace the Palestinian police as the primary authority in Gaza.   Schools in Samaria and Judaea teach hatred towards Jews.  Their maps do not show Israel-the land is labeled "Palestine." Children are brainwashed through songs, TV children's programs to hate and to kill Jews.

 May 2012, a new Fatah government appointment in the "West Bank", in a move that has angered the Hamas government in Gaza, which slammed the decision to form a new cabinet, accusing Abbas’s Palestinian Authority and the Fatah movement he heads of abandoning reconciliation. 

On September 2012, Ismail Haniya, head of the Hamas government in Gaza, announced a cabinet reshuffle, appointing seven new ministers including a new finance minister. Haniya said the reshuffle was "normal procedure after nearly six years of work by some ministers and in order to achieve specific goals for the current period. 

April 23, 2014, Fatah and Hamas have reconciled.  They say they will have elections in 6 

months.   

Recent Peace talks ended.between Israel and Fatah  1967 to 2014 --No peace decisions in

past 47  years.  

Pope Francis visited areas and has invited Israel and Palestinian leaders to the Vatican for peace talks.  He 

offered the invitation on Sunday while in Bethlehem. Incidentally, Bethlehem had 8,820 population in 1945. 

 Today it is a Palestinian city.  In 2007 it had 25,266.  Most Christians have left.  The Palestinians blamed 

the Israeli travel regulations, but "however, other commentators attribute the diminishing Christian population primarily to persecution of Christians by Muslims."  This is something the Pope asked Abbas to start protecting; the Christians.  

Resource: Facts About Israel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_Strip
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_Palestinian_National_Authority
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governance_of_the_Gaza_Strip
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ismail_Haniyeh
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golan_Heights
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_disengagement_from_Gaza
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_Palestinian_territories
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinai_Peninsula (1)
http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/1.586924
Messsages from a Syrian Jew Trapped in Egypt (on Sinai, diving in Taba).
http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/25/world/pope-mideast-trip/

All About Israel's Administered Areas From Six-Day War

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                       

  We Jews Do Not Enter Area A.  There is no similar sign on the other side for B and C.

Territories that were occupied by Israel in the course of the Six-Day War against Israel came about when the Israel Defense forces miraculously defeated the massed Arab armies which menaced Israel's frontiers.  There are 4 administrated areas.

1. Judea and Samaria (West Bank) of the Jordan.  This territory had been until 1948 part of the British Mandate of Palestine.  Between 1948 and 1967 it was ruled by Jordan, which annexed it in 1950.  Since Judea and Samaria were never officially annexed by the Israeli government, the IDF Civil Administration has jurisdiction over the districts today.

2. The Gaza Strip had also been, until 1948, part of the British Mandate of Palestine.  Between 1948 and 1967 (with a short interruption in 1956-7), following the Sinai War, it was administered by an Egyptian Military Government.  It was not annexed by Egypt. Israel left completely in 2005 but keeps control of shipping lanes to keep out arms to be used against her.  .

3. The Sinai Desert was, until 1967, under Egyptian administration. It was given back to Egypt in return for peace agreement in March 1979 by Sadat with Begin.  .

4. The Golan Heights were, until 1967, under Syrian administration.  Since the 67 War, the Golan has officially been incorporated as parts of Israel.

The status of the administered areas had not changed from June 1967 to 1973.  Pending a peace settlement in which the borders between Israel and its neighbors will be decided, it is that of territories occupied during a war.  Israel had not annexed any part of the areas.  East Jerusalem was reunified in June 1967 with West Jerusalem.

Population: By July 1972, almost a million Arabs lived in the administered areas.
640,600 of them in Judea and Samaria (2,270 sq miles)
388,600 of them in the Gaza Strip and North Sinai (140 sq. miles)
   8,000 of them in the Golan Heights (500 sq miles)

The population of the areas is predominantly Muslim.  The smaller Christian communities of Greek Orthodox and Latins are mainly in Ramallah, Bethlehem and Beit Jala.  In the Golan Heights there are Druzes.

Until a peace settlement, which will determine the political future of the areas, Israel's policy tries to achieve the objectives of co-existence and cooperation between the Arabs of the areas and Israelis.  It is trying to enable the people to live normal lives  and to maintain security to all alike.  During the 1970's, Judea, Samaria and Gaza were the 4th fastest growing economy in the world-ahead of such places as Singapore, Hong Kong and Korea, and substantially ahead of Israel itself. (Historian Efrain Karsh).  Israel had been working hard to improve their lot.  

Local Authorities include 23 municipalities and 31 rural councils in Judea and Samaria.  Elections were held in 1972 in accordance with Jordanian law.  75% of voter participation caused about half the mayors to be replaced by new ones.   There were 3 municipalities and 7 rural councils in the Gaza Strip and North Sinai.  Liason officers of the Israel Ministry of the Interior approved their budgets, arranged to lend them funds at low interest, and audited their finances and administration.

Israeli Living in Administered Areas:  Between June 1967 and December 1972, Israel had established 14 towns in the Golan, 6 in Judea and Samaria, 7 in Gaza and North Sinai and 5 in East and South Sinai.  by 1977 there were 76 Jewish communities built in the Territories on undeveloped land.
 There are 3 different types:

1. Nahal villages:  Established by the IDF.  Nahal is a corps which combines military training with farm work.  Members become farmers when service ends.  The villages are military points, like those held by any other unit of the IDF.

2. Civilian villages:  Established in areas which Israel hopes may be assigned to its jurisdiction by peace treaties.  Israel knows where borders need to be for security.  These positions are not conditions and that in peace talks, everything will be negotiable.

3. Communities: Established where political future is not covered  with the assumption that should the area revert to Arab sovereignty under a treaty of peace, it should be allowed to continue to live in it just as Arab communities live in Israel..  We are talking about our ancient history of Judea and Samaria, established by King David and his son, King Solomon of which this land contains the Jewish holy shrines in areas beyond the bounds of pre-1967 Israel.  No Israeli would relinquish large parts of the administered area or accept any arrangement that banned Jews from living in places which are of religious and historical significance.

By 1977, some Israelis, such as the survivors of the Gush Etzion block, returned to rebuild Jewish communities that Arab forces had captured and destroyed in the 1948 war.  After 1977, 74 additional communities were built in the Territories on unallocated government land.  By 2005, the 150 communities included about 200,000 Israelis living on less than 2% of the land of Judea and Samaria.   80% of the people here live in communities close to the Green Line, currently consisting of suburbs of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.  The Green Line (a pre-1967 boundary) is not an internationally recognized border.  It is an armistice line, marking positions held by Israeli and Arab troops when the final truce was called at the end of the 1948 War.  the Green Line remained an armistice line because Arab leaders refused to negotiate to set final border lines.  The Oslo Accords called for Israelis and Palestinians to negotiate for a final border between the State of Israel and a future Palestinian state.  To date, these negotiations haven't resolved outstanding issues to the satisfaction of both parties.

Disputed Territories:  The communities that Israel built in Gaza and Judea and Samaria were in undeveloped, uninhabited areas and are entirely legal.  Palestinians have legitimate claims to sovereignty over some of the land..  Many are longtime inhabitants who feel they have been deprived of political rights and self-determination.  Israel disputes their territorial claims and Israel also has strong claims to the land.  Therefore, these lands are referred to as disputed territories.  Israel has 3 types of claims:

1. Legal claims:  The British Mandate 1920-1948.  this was the last legal sovereign authority for the Territories.  Jordan and Egypt illegally held them between 1948 to 1967.  They remain unallocated portions of the British Mandate since no government formally replaced the mandate's jurisdiction.  The guidelines called for Jews to settle the area on what was called, The Jewish Homeland as per League of Nations.  the Jews' right to live on the land is a "legal right assured by treaty and specifically protected by Article 80 of the UN charter.  ...the Jewish right of settlement in the area is equivalent in every way to the right of existing Palestinian population to live there.  (Eugene Rostow, former US under Secretary of State, 1990).

2. Historical claims:  Judea and Samaria (West Bank) were the cradle of Jewish civilization since the 2nd millenium BCE and had a continuous Jewish presence until the 1948 War when Jewish inhabitants were killed and about 10,000 were expelled by the Jordanians.

3. Security-related claims:  Arab states had repeatedly launched attacks against Israel from the Territories' strategic locations and UN Resolution 242 envisioned bilateral negotiations that would give Israel more secure borders and lead to greater regional stability.  Until 1988, the PLO officially continued to call for a Palestinian state to replace Israel, not for a separate state that would exist alongside it.  Today Abbas offers recognition if Israel takes his steps that would allow the destruction of the state as they continue to call for the destruction of the state!

Ending Occupation:   From 1993 to 2007, Israel gradually ended the "Occupation."  when the Oslo peace process began in 1993, Israel began ending its military administration as it turned civil governance of the Palestinian population over to their elected government.  In 1994 Israel began turning the administration over to the PA.  However, radical Palestinian groups call all of Israel "Occupied Territory."  Since 2005, Israel uprooted Jewish communities from Gaza.  Israel's goal was to help create a self-governing Palestinian state in all of Gaza and most of Judea and Samaria, incorporating land where 98% of Palestinians live.

Since 1993, the regions have been divided into areas A, B, and C.  Area A was assigned to the Palestinian Authority where most of the Arab residents live. According to many estimates, 1.5 million Arabs live in the region.  Accurate statistics have been difficult to obtain with claims that Arab demographics have been artificially inflated.   Area B is under joint control and has large tracts of barren land.  Israel has full control of Area C where most of the over 340,000 Jewish residents live.

All the while, Israel's security needs remain urgent.  In Gaza, the Hamas-led Palestinian government continues to call for Israel's destruction and even after the recent cease fire, have fired rockets, missiles and mortars into southern Israel.   Israel has been repeatedly attacked from Palestinian and Lebanese territories.  Hamas has ties with Iran, Syria and Hezbollah and has forged ties with al Qaeda.  They all call for Israel's destruction.  

Today an even bigger threat looms over Israel with Iran getting atomic capabilities and their threat to destroy Israel.  Syria, though engaged in a 2 year old civil war and has killed almost or more than 80,000 of their own people, are now threatening Israel with missiles bought from Russia.  Egypt is falling apart since putting in a Muslim Brotherhood leader, Morsi.  Jordan is straining with taking in Syria's refugees and a large Palestinian citizen population.  The Middle East is heating up along with the weather.   

Resource:  Facts About Israel 1973, published by the Division of Information, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Jerusalem
Israel 101 published by Stand with Us, supported by Christians United for Israel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egypt%E2%80%93Israel_Peace_Treaty
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/163774 Sections A, B, C
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judea_and_Samaria_Area
http://jewishfactsfromportland.blogspot.com/2013/04/some-facts-about-occupation-subject.html
http://israel-nadene.blogspot.com/2013/05/1973s-real-nitty-gritty-on-judaea-and.html

Insane UN Follows Syria's Lead

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                         

Just when I thought there was hope for the UN, they've gone crazy again with their harping hatred against Israel.  They are demanding that Israel hand over control of the Golan to the merciless Syrian army.  We must realize now that they have flipped their lid!  This is at a time when wild rockets have landed in the Golan as a spillover from their constant barrages on their populace.  Golan  is under Israel's control and has been peaceful and a content area.  .  

"At the UN Human Rights Council on Friday, March 8th, Syria accused Israel of violating human rights of children in the Golan, while diplomats met in another chamber on the same day to discuss a Syrian-drafted resolution to be adopted next week, entitled "Human Rights in the Occupied Syrian Golan." There will be five other resolutions targeting Israel, and about the same number on the rest of the world combined.  This is the most ridiculous ploy ever tried by Man.  At a time when the Syrian government has killed 70,000 of its own people who are rebellious and dissatisfied with their government, Syria has the audacity to turn around and put the floodlight on everyone's pet scapegoat, the Jews of Israel to get world attention off their own backs.  Pathetic!

The surreal UN text ignores mass atrocities of Assad's regime.  Instead of Syria doing the presentation, a "Pakistani colleague who chaired the session on behalf of the Islamic group presented the UN text.  .

Note that "not a single diplomat called out the sheer lunacy of the exercise. Rather, the EU commented that it was "committed to the protection of all, including those in the occupied Golan." It was willing to "constructively engage on the text," even as it noted that its proposals last year were not implemented.  Egypt, Israel's neighbor who was just awarded millions of dollars, pretty much as a bribe to stay peaceful with Israel, double-crossed the USA by  saying that  it aligned itself with the Islamic group. Of course they are a part of the Islamic group and were former leaders of it, so...what do people expect from them?  Whoever  is surprised is really quite naive.  

And what kind of human rights does Saudi Arabia exhibit as an example for the world to follow?  "As we heard this week from Amnesty International, Saudi Arabia was preparing imminently to execute seven alleged child offenders including Sarhan Al Mashayekh—who was also sentenced to be crucified over three days. Why is the Council refusing to address this in any resolution, urgent session, or even debate?  The Saudis have executed them by firing squad.

The UN is either so afraid of Syria or so enamored with them that they "elected Syria as  Rapporteur of the decolonization committee dealing with human rights."  

The Golan Heights was occupied by Israel after the 1967 War in which Israel was attacked by all Arab countries and won out.  Later in 1981 Israel annexed the Golan.  It is part of Israel.  Israel, led by Joshua, took the Golan from the Amorites.  The Israelite tribes of Dan and Manasseh had lived here.  It's back in Israel's domain again.  

What is happening is that 21 UN peacekeepers that were Filipinos had been captured.  They were released after 3 days.  (Force made up of Philippines, India, Croatia, Austria.)   They were between Syria and Israel.  Then the UNDOF legal advisor was kidnapped and held for ransom.  Japan had already pulled out its men.Croatia and Canada have joined them.    "Israel warned 10 days ago that it could not be expected to stand idle as Syria's civil war, in which 70,000 people have been killed, spilled over into the Golan Heights."   "UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a December report to the Security Council that fighting between Syrian armed forces and rebels inside the area of separation has "the potential to ignite a larger conflict between Israel and the Syrian Arab Republic, with grave consequences."  Now the UN have pulled out their peacekeeping patrols.  1,000 Syrian rebels are fighting only 25 km or about 15 miles  from the Golan.  Then again, Syria is still ticked off because in January Israel bombed a fleet carrying chemical weapons bound to be used on Israel, and also hit the center they were being manufactured in.  Now they're getting even with this preposterous claim.  Of course Russia and Iran stood with Syria.

Netanyahu plans to build a border fence between Syria and Israel in the Golan.

Resource:  UN Watch

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/un-curbs-golan-heights-patrols-after-peacekeepers-

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/166205

http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=306280

http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-01-31/world/36646164_1_israeli-airstrike-israeli-strike-southern-israeli-cities

http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1214.html

http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-01-31/world/36646164_1_israeli-airstrike-israeli-strike-southern-israeli-cities

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golan_Heights
http://israel-nadene.blogspot.com/2013/02/golan-heights-gets-hit-with-second.html

Two Israeli Fronts Take Hits

Nadene Goldfoot
Things must be getting worse, all right.  The Oregonian had a 3rd article in the paper this week, a much larger article in it today about Israel being hit from the Golan Heights area as well as the rockets, mortars and missiles coming in from Gaza daily.  Usually Israel is shelled at from Gaza and it never makes the papers.  The AP only reported 110 rockets shelling Israel after 3 days whereas papers in Israel have reported 140, but Israel's citizens are up in arms about it and Israel is about to take further steps to defend them.  Like the USA's CIA ability to read emails, Israel can zero in on Hamas leaders and go after them. They don't just shell Gaza like Gaza shells southern Israel pell mell which is populated by over a million citizens.  They try to hit targets where the shelling is coming from.

The Syrian War that has spilled into Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey has also been doing so in the Golan Heights, but Israel's borders have been receiving more than accidents, it is thought.  Bashar Assad may be trying to get Israel embroiled in fighting.  36,000 Syrians have been killed in the country's Civil War say the rebels.  Syria has chemical weapons that they have previously used on their own civilians that are alarming. That's why this tiny Jewish country of Israel has had to issue all its citizens gas masks.  It is so tiny that it only took Netanyahu 55 minutes to travel by train from Tel Aviv to ancient Beersheva of the Bible, which is in the line of danger from shelling.  From Beersheva to Gaza is only 15.8 miles. It's 2 minutes of flying time.  That's why people have only 15 seconds of warning when an incoming rocket is on the way.   That's southern Israel.

 The Investor's Business Daily also had an essay this morning  that was hitting the mark.  It pointed out that when Anne Sorock video-taped a celebrator of Obama's victory saying "no more Israel", it might have been reflecting the feeling of Obama supporters that Jewish lives are less important than other matters.  It was Lital Ben-Oved, a young mother in Israel whose house was hit by a rocket in Southern Israel who asked in a video, "Are Jewish lives less important than Palestinian lives?  Where are the UN resolutions?

 The UN always comes down on any retaliation Israel takes after being hit but never says a thing about the Palestinians bombardment on Israel which has been happening since 2001 from Gaza.  In just this past year, almost 1,000  rockets have been shot into Southern Israel. Since 2001 more than 12,800 rockets, mortars and missiles have been shot into Israel.  That's an average of 3 every day.  Was it just a coincidence that both Gaza and Syria struck at the same time?

Netanyahu has asked the UN Security Council to condemn the rocket fire. Had we had a strong UN doing what it was created for, there would be no shooting Israeli citizens, a state that was accepted by the UN upon creation.  Instead we have a UN who just installed Sudan on the Human Rights Council, a country who slaughtered people of Dafar, who have no idea of what human rights are.

Resource:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iafx_U2XCbE
Oregonian newspaper page A6 "Israel fires after Syrian mortar hits".
Investor's Business Daily page A12 "Bull's-Eye of David"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Palestinian_rocket_attacks_on_Israel,_2012
http://www.idfblog.com/facts-figures/rocket-attacks-toward-israel/
http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?ID=291648&R=R1
http://www.happyzebra.com/distance-calculator/Gaza-to-Beersheba.php

Third Day of Shelling Israel with 140 plus Rockets

Nadene Goldfoot
The update on the attack from Gaza terrorism against Israel is that so far 140 rockets have hit the southern part of Israel hitting 3 homes and putting 43 people into shock.  Ashkelon was defended by the Iron Dome which stopped two rockets.  Just since midnight 17 rockets and mortars rained down.  Four people were injured.  Two grads fell in Netivot.

 "Netivot has been the target of grad missile  attacks from Gaza. In 2012, a rocket exploded near a school in the city."  This is a city with a 2009 population of 26,700 that lies between Beersheba and Gaza in Israel..  It is populated by Jewish immigrants mainly from Morocco, Tunisia, Russia and Ethiopia.  Given the chance to finally live in Israel, "In 2009, a high school student from Netivot won first prize in the First Step to Nobel Prize in Physics competition."  Two of their homes were hit this time.  People tried to stick to their usual routines but finally cancelled school.  They all have just 15 seconds to get to a bomb shelter once the siren is heard.

Israel struck back at 3 targets.  They hit an armory, a tunnel and a rocket launching site.

Besides being attacked from Gaza, the Golan Heights in the North has been suffering from a series of attacks from Syria.  At first they were thought to be the spill over from their civil war, but it has been going on too much and too steadily.  Now the possibility is that it has been intentional.  "Israel responded for the first time on Sunday, firing what it called a "warning shot" into Syria after another mortar shell strayed across the frontier and landed near an Israeli military post. Israel also warned of a tougher response if the attacks persisted."

Resource:  http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/gaza-rocket-hits-yard-of-israeli-house-as-violence-enters-third-day.premium-1.476899
http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?ID=291432&R=R1
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/11/12/official-syrian-fighter-jet-bombs-area-close-turkish-border-several-injured/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netivot
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/grad-rocket-fired-from-gaza-severely-damages-two-houses-in-netivot-1.463607
11/12/12 Update: http://news.yahoo.com/israel-warns-tough-response-gaza-rocket-hits-house-080822495.html Truce signaled by Gaza 

The Golan Heights: Chip to be Bartered Away or Kept?

Nadene Goldfoot
How is the Golan Heights important to Israel?  I'm talking about a place that shares 80 kilometers (49.709 miles) with Syria which is an area in the mountainous northern Israel of 250,000 acres.  14,000 Jews live there in 32 towns and 1 city.  It's pretty much a rural area with 9 moshavim.  It is a place of strategic life-giving importance to Israel.  As recently as the 25th of September mortar shells were shot near their border  with Syria at 7am.  Israel thought that it was the result of the clashing rebel forces with Asad's army.  Read Victor Sharpe's new article, "The Golan Heights:  its biblical and post-biblical history."  (website address below).

In order to have peace, former Prime Minister Barak 12 years ago offered Hafez al Assad the Golan in exchange for peace except for a thin strip 500 meters wide along Lake Tiberias.  He did this through President Clinton.  Assad refused the offer. An article about it came out in Reuters through the Arab press on April 24, 2008 about Olmert making an offer.  "Israel wants Syria’s ties with Lebanon’s Hezbollah and the Palestinian group Hamas to be on the agenda."  Of course they just want the Golan back without any conditions of safety for Israel.  That's a bad bad deal.

It is said that Netanyahu secretly offered Assad the same deal in 2001 and again the answer was no. Now, our government through Bruce Riedel, former longtime CIA officer and former senior fellow in the Saban Center at the Brookings Institution at President Obama's request chaired the strategic review of policy toward Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2009.  He has also come up with this solution to problems. He thinks Israel should give away the Golan to Syria.

Is that all the solutionists can come with, to give away parts of Israel?  I know our enemies want all of teeny Israel. Iran will have an A bomb very soon.  Hizbullah,  terrorists against Israel that also spread Islam, who get their money from Iran and Syria,  has 50,000 rockets aimed at Haifa, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Syria has hundreds of SCUD missles tipped with chemical warheads that could get into Hizbullah hands.  The way Syria has been slaughtering its own people today, does one think that they would keep a peace treaty with Israel in return for most of the Golan Heights?  They had their chance and blew it.  I hope that Netanyahu has thrown that idea back into the wastebasket.

Resource: http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/sharpe/121005  Victor Sharpe's article
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_Study_Group_Report
Bruce Reidel of Saban Center of Brookings Institution through The Daily Beast
http://www.google.com/images?
q=Golan+heights&rlz=1B3RNFA_en___US482&hl=en&sa=X&oi=image_result_group
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Peace/golanstats.html
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4285819,00.htmlhttp://www.arabnews.com/node/311291
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hezbollah

Gen. McPeak's Audacity: Blames US Jews for Middle East Woes

Nadene Goldfoot
Our Lake Oswego General McPeak has been a loud vocal agitator against Israel. He is still a senior military advisor to Obama and is blaming American Jews for the lack of Mid-East Peace. This man has a long history of anti-Israel remarks, but now it's us "Jews" fault.

Scary though this may be, scarier even is the fact that this General is a candidate for Secretary of Defense. He is advocating a US-written "playbook" to create peace. I have a feeling that this means a McPeak-written peace proposal favoring Palestinians.

McPeak criticized Israel long ago for it's presence in Judea, Samaria, Gaza and the Golan Heights. He criticized us for not withdrawing after the 67 Six Day War. He knew we had legitimate security concerns, but knew that the Arabs wanted all the territory returned.

Though this same general spent time in Israel in joint exercises with the Israeli air force, and he said he enjoyed his experiences there possibly because the people he associated with were more cosmopolitan and liberal, he still seems to be anti-semetic by blaming American Jews for the woes of the world.

He also said that Jews and Christian Zionists have dual-loyalties, and that our concerns had manipulated American foreign policy in Iraq, so now we get the blame for Iraq, also.

Reference: Arutz Sheva : Obama Advisor Blames US Jews for Lack of Mid-East Peace