Israeli police forces last week prevented Knesset members and Jewish activists from reclaiming ownership of a Jewish-owned Jerusalem property that had been illegally settled by local Arabs. Dozens of activists flanked by two Knesset members attempted to enter Shoafat to reclaim a five-acre Jewish property on behalf of the site’s owner, identified as private Israeli citizen Eliyahu Cohanim, who had given the group power of attorney over the site. Cohanim said he had been dismayed that Arabs were constructing illegally on his land and that the Palestinian Authority was planning to build in the area. The Israeli government over the years has done little to stop rampant illegal Arab construction in northern and eastern neighborhoods of Jerusalem, which now have Arab majorities. Hundreds of acres of the land in question are legally owned by the Jewish National Fund, or JNF, which purchases property in Israel for the stated purpose of Jewish settlement. As the Jewish activist group congregated near Shoafat, policemen reached the area to prevent the activists from entering the largely Arab-occupied neighborhood, stating they had a court order barring Israeli Jews from entering the site without police coordination. National Union Knesset Member Aryeh Eldad charged that police “help the Arab criminals who build on Jewish land in Jerusalem and instead of destroying the [illegal] Arab houses, they prevent the owner of the land in Jerusalem from going into the land.” Eldad’s colleague Knesset Member Effie Eitam accused the Israeli government of “dividing Jerusalem” by not allowing Jews into an Arab-occupied, largely Jewish-owned neighborhood. The incident has major political implications, since it involves an area widely expected to be handed over to the Palestinian Authority as a result of Israeli-PA negotiations aimed at forming a Palestinian state. Huckabee Gets It Right The division of Jerusalem is “unimaginable” and a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the “wrong answer,” said former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee during a fact-finding tour of Israel this past week. “Israel is surrounded by nations in various states of war with the Jewish state. Because of the limited footprint of real estate they have, it’s not practical for Israel to give up any land. The two-state solution is no solution, but will cause only problems,” Huckabee told this column. Huckabee’s tour was sponsored by the Jerusalem Reclamation Project or American Friends of Ateret Kohanim as well as private U.S. Jewish donors. (See front page story.) Bullet-proof Terrorists U.S.-provided bullet-proof vests have reached Palestinian security forces in the West Bank, including units in which known terrorists serve, WorldNetDaily has learned. The U.S. last week received a green light from the Israeli government to provide standard-issue police flak jackets to security forces from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah organization, which has had many members undergo advance U.S. training in recent months. Israel had delayed the transfer of the flak jackets for almost a year, with defense officials citing concern the protective gear could fall into the hands of terrorists. A senior Palestinian security official told WND the U.S. flak jackets have been delivered to Fatah’s Preventative Security Service and Force 17 forces in the northern West Bank and should reach forces in southern West Bank areas, such as Hebron and Bethlehem, by next week. Many members of the Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades terrorist organization, including much of the group’s well-known leadership, serve openly in Fatah security forces. Since November at least five Israelis were murdered by Fatah security officers who are Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades terrorists. Unfriendly Skies Israel has general information that Hizbullah may be looking to shoot down an Israeli aircraft over Lebanon, according to informed security sources. The sources believe Hizbullah, aided by Iran, is in the early stages of acquiring advance radar and anti-aircraft missiles that could threaten the Israel Air Force. They said Hizbullah has made importing and setting up the anti-aircraft system top priority and could easily bring missiles in along active Syria-Lebanon smuggling routes, or even through Lebanon’s international airport. During the 2006 war, Israel dominated the Lebanese skies. Since then, Israel has been carrying out regular flights over Lebanon for intelligence purposes.
Aaron Klein is Jerusalem bureau chief for WorldNetDaily.com. He appears throughout the week on leading U.S. radio programs and is the author of the book “Schmoozing with Terrorists.”