Part II
Letter from Ruth Matar (Women in Green) Jerusalem
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Dear Friends,
The most shocking information was transmitted to its readers by Arutz Sheva, Israel National News, last week, December 5, 11:03 PM.
It is essential that you read this article.
JUDEA AND SAMARIA: IDF ROUNDING UP JEWS’ WEAPONS
by Gil Ronen
(IsraelNN.com) The IDF is conducting a large scale operation to confiscate weapons from the Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria, according to Channel 10 TV. The purpose of the operation is described as “putting the settlers’ gun permits in order.”
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.”
‘This amounts to making the settlers fair game’
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.”
* * *
Even more shocking is the following article that appeared two days later, on December 7, in The Jerusalem Post:
Palestinians to finally get 25 armored vehicles
Yaakov Katz, THE JERUSALEM POST
December 7, 2007
Following a slight delay in delivery and despite opposition from within the IDF, Israel will facilitate the transfer of 25 armored personnel carriers next week to Palestinian Authority security forces in Nablus, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert approved the shipment two weeks ago over the objection of his own security forces, which then held up the transfer of the Russian-made armored vehicles after the Palestinians demanded that they be fitted with mounted machine guns.
Olmert’s decision to allow the transfer was made in line with the Israeli policy of strengthening PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and his security forces in the face of Hamas attempts to take over the West Bank like it took control of the Gaza Strip in June.
Defense officials said Thursday that the armored vehicles will be transferred early next week. The vehicles will be transferred into the West Bank via Jordan. They will be deployed in Nablus, where they will be used by the Palestinian police. Defense officials said that while the Palestinians backed down from their demand to have machine guns installed on the vehicles, it was still possible that they would do so unilaterally once the transfer was completed.
“There are heavy machine guns floating around the West Bank and if they want to, there is no real way to stop them from putting the weapons inside the vehicles and taking them out when they want to,” a senior defense official said.
This is the first time the PA will receive armored vehicles since the outbreak of the second intifada in 2000. In 1995, PA security forces in the Gaza Strip received 45 BRDM-2 vehicles, all later destroyed in Israeli air strikes.
The officials said that despite concern within the IDF over the transfer, if needed, it would be easy for Israel to destroy the new armored vehicles. “They do not pose such a threat since, if we would have a need to, it is fairly easy to destroy them from the air,” the official said.
The BRDM-2 is driven by a gasoline engine that also supplies power to a water jet for amphibious travel. It has a crew of four – a driver, codriver, commander and gunner – and is fully protected against small arms fire and artillery shrapnel.
The decision to transfer the armored vehicles came under harsh criticism from right-wing lawmakers who said the move would lead to a further deterioration in Israeli security.
Likud Chairman Binyamin Netanyahu warned last month that the armored vehicles would eventually fall into the hands of Hamas.
Meanwhile Thursday, IDF troops shot and killed two Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip, killing one man and moderately wounding a second, Palestinian medical officials said. The army said it opened fire at two men next to the border fence after they were spotted planting an explosive device.
* * *
Prime Minister Olmert, it has become necessary to ask you once again:
ARE THERE NO LIMITS TO YOUR PERFIDY?
With Blessings and Love for Israel,
Ruth Matar
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Women For Israel’s Tomorrow (Women in Green)
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