Israel Headlines Update [Jan. 25, 2016]

Government to set up a COGAT for Israelis
Ministers Ya’alon, Shaked and Ariel to head up new government coordination group for Jewish activities in Judea and Samaria in an effort to end the coalition crisis that resulted from the eviction of some 200 Jews from their purchased homes in Hevron last week.

Hamas Terror Tunnels Collapsing Under Heavy Rain in Gaza
Heavy rains in Israel are a blessing to the land and to the security of the Jews living in the Land as well. The soft sands of Gaza are easy for diggers to tunnel through, but that same softness becomes a death trap when the moisture seeps in from the heavy rains of winter. It is then that the weight of the mud above transforms their work environment into a grave. Regardless, Hamas forces the diggers to continue their work in both directions: creating a network of terrorist tunnels to snake under the borders to infiltrate Egypt as well as Israel.

Qatar said pushing Fatah-Hamas Reconciliation Deal
Qatar is trying to help the Palestinian organizations Fatah and Hamas to mend their fences and reach a unity agreement, which has eluded them for a decade. Fatah controls the West Bank, while Hamas wields power in the Gaza Strip. The two groups have been at loggerheads almost constantly since Hamas won elections in the Palestinian Authority in 2006 and subsequently staged a violent takeover of Gaza.

Netanyahu: The World Must Work to Stop PA’s Incitement
PM Netanyahu urges the world to stop Palestinian incitement, following revelation that Dafna Meir’s murderer was inspired by PA TV.

Arab MKs Threaten Violence Over Enforcement of Building Laws
Government finally moves to crack down on illegal Arab building in Israel, sparking backlash from extremist Arab MKs. Following the announcement that previous legal decisions about illegal building throughout Israel will be more strictly enforced, Arab Join List MKs threatened that Arab Israelis will respond with violence.

US Envoy Apologizes for Timing of His Criticism of Israel
US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro sought to quell on Monday a flurry over his comments the previous week that charged that Israel appears to institute “two standards of adherence to the rule of law: one for Israelis and another for Palestinians” in the West Bank. The problem is that he is only apologizing for the timing of his comments and not for the comments themselves. The real problem is the US administration’s failure to realize that a two-state solution is not feasible at this time, nor is it foreseeable in the future while the Palestinian people (and Hamas in particular) want to obliterate (as stated in the Hamas charter) the Jewish people.