Tzfas Sephardi Chief Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu Shlita announced that he and others in Tzfas did not sleep on motzei Shabbos or Friday night. The rav explains “we heard the fighter planes overhead and we davened for bsuros tovos.”

Speaking with Galei Yisrael on Sunday morning 25 Iyar 5773, Rav Eliyahu explains “we are davening for something good”. He added “every war is painful but in this case, it is preferable that it should be painful for them and not us. We suffered enough from them during the Second Lebanon War that was a tragedy and an embarrassment, to see how they attacked us with hundreds and thousands of rockets and we exercised restraint. Finally there is a response.”

Regarding the sharp rise in Arab terror throughout Yehuda and Shomron, Rav Eliyahu commented “At the moment it is clear to the Palestinians there we are here for good the attacks will stop. It may sound like a fantasy but there are those who recall the days when one could walk around Shechem, Hebron and Gaza without protection. It sounds utopian, but it did exist and many Israelis traveled there and everyone benefited from this. The delusions of peace that were told to the Arabs included an option that we will run from these areas and here is where the danger began.”

“As soon as they realize we are here forever, as stated in the Torah, the motivation for the attacks will diminish to almost zero. We must clarify for them that we are here to stay,” the rav stresses.

Regarding so-called “price tag” attacks, the rav said they are not proper or correct but the IDF must be determined regarding the Palestinians, not to just publish statements but to act, as we see in Syria”.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)