Ofan, Maguri Go Home, Two Others Remain in the Cold
IDF Central Commander Gen. Yair Naveh rejected two requests to revoke the administrative exile of Yesha residents, and approved two others.
Yehoyariv Maguri and Neriah Ofan will be allowed to spend the Passover holiday with their families. Maguri, married with one child, is a resident of the young Ronen neighborhood in Brachah. He was distanced from his home for a year six months ago, and had half of his "sentence" knocked off. Ofan, married with five children, a resident of the Lehavah outpost in Yitzhar, was nearing the end the six-month administrative order distancing him from his home in any event. The requests of two others were rejected because, Gen. Naveh said, they had violated the terms of their distancing orders.
Hamas Official Released
On the other hand, Israel released on Thursday a high-level Hamas official who was arrested following the kidnapping of IDF soldier Corp. Gilad Shalit. Muhammed Salim Abu Daka, 45, of Khan Yunis, was greeted by hundreds of friends and neighbors when he arrived home. As has been the case for the last several months, a prisoner exchange deal involving Shalit and 1,000 Palestinian terrorists is said to be "close." Though no such deal has yet been culminated - but Abu Daka, who ran on the Hamas list in the last election, is free.
No Paschal Sacrifice This Year, as of Now
In other legal news, the Supreme Court rejected a petition by the Temple Mount Faithful organization to ascend to the Temple Mount this Passover and offer the Biblically-mandated Paschal sacrifice. The judges noted, however, that the "ongoing frustration regarding [the deprivation of] Jewish rights on the Temple Mount is understood, particularly in light of the denial of any such rights by hostile elements."
Suspense Over Winograd Protocols
The Winograd Commission, which was to publicize the main testimonies of Prime Minister Olmert, Defense Minister Amir Peretz and retired IDF Chief of Staff Gen. Dan Halutz before the Passover holiday, has asked the Supreme Court for permission to delay the publication. Parents of fallen soldiers, opposition MKs, and others are disappointed.
Though the Supreme Court recently ruled that the testimonies must be released, the Winograd Commission has asked for permission to postpone the publication. The Commission explained that it feels it "must reconsider its approach to the issue of publication of closed-door testimony transcripts." The Court will issue its decision today or tomorrow.
Bereaved parents called upon the head of the commission, Justice Eliyahu Winograd, to resign. They wrote,
"We weren't sure to whom to address this letter [of complaint]: To the Prime Minister, who has called upon the Commission to violate a court order and not to publicize the testimonies? To the Defense Minister, who said he would resign his position - but only two months from now? To the Chief of Staff who has already resigned? To the State Comptroller, who is at odds with the Prime Minister? To the Court, which ruled that the protocols must be released yet nothing was done? ...
"Finally, we decided to write to you, Justice Winograd... Why do we deserve, after all we have gone through, to be dependent upon a cynical Prime Minister and Defense Minister who lack national responsibility and who spend their days trying to improve their 'popularity' [Olmert recently acknowledged that he was not popular - ed.] ? Perhaps their testimonies are not 'popular,' as the Prime Minister said, but they are very important in order to restore public confidence in the state institutions, and are critical in order to reveal the truth of what happened last summer... If you do not plan on following the court order, we call upon you to resign..."