Monday, August 04, 2014
Brendan O’Neill: This anti-Israel hysteria is the opposite of a peace movement
There is nothing remotely progressive in today’s myopic, disproportionate Western fury with Israel. On the contrary, it is a profoundly ugly phenomenon, masquerading as a peace movement but actually devoting its energies to drumming up hatred, sanctions and possibly even intervention against a state that it has found guilty in the kangaroo court of liberal opinion of being a ‘rogue’. It is always concerning when Western activists and institutions try to have foreign states written off as ‘criminal’ and ‘insane’, for such judgements further moralise and destabilise international affairs, resurrecting the divide between the civilised nations and the savage nations and making war more rather than less likely. But it’s particularly concerning to see Israel branded a ‘rogue state’. For whether you like it or not, Israel is intimately bound up with the Jewish people. Recent outbursts of anti-Semitism in Europe suggest it could be a short step indeed from labelling Israel a rogue state to looking upon the Jews themselves as rogues.Douglas Murray: Hamas censors British journalists. Why don’t we care?
Before the 2003 war in Iraq, for instance, reporters broadcasting for television or radio from inside Iraq nearly always made reference to the fact that they were reporting under restrictions imposed on them by Saddam Hussein’s government. This often meant a Hussein goon was standing nearby checking that nothing untoward was said.Times of Israel Blog: Man killed in J’lem tractor attack; soldier shot near Mount Scopus
In the same way, Hamas takes great care to ensure that the ‘wrong’ message does not come out. Indeed they recently expelled a reporter from the Putin propaganda channel Russia Today because he mentioned that Hamas were launching rockets from Gaza.
Yet I can think of no example during this conflict when reporters for any major broadcaster have told the truth – which is that if they stay in Gaza they are only able to tell Hamas’s account of this conflict (complete with ‘deliberate’ Israeli targetting and only ever ‘innocent’, never ‘guilty’ victims). There will be those who think this a small technical point. But I suspect this is one major reason why some surprising Western observers seem to have become so rancidly pro-Hamas during this conflict.
A unilateral humanitarian window declared by Israel takes hold Monday morning. The IDF death toll stands at 64, as it partially redeployed in and around Gaza, nearing the end of its work demolishing Hamas tunnels. A Palestinian delegation held talks on ceasefire arrangements in Egypt. Israel was condemned for hitting a UN school, killing 10, and said it was looking into the incident. Gazan health officials put the death toll there at some 1,800. Israel says many of those are Hamas fighters.The Bolt Report - Gaza
Isi Leibler: Will Obama keep shielding Hamas barbarians at our gates?
The cabinet must speedily decide on one of two options. It can expand the ground campaign and conquer Gaza, which the majority of the nation would probably initially endorse but which would likely entail massive casualties and provoke concerted international pressure that would probably force us to withdraw unilaterally or face sanctions. It would appear that without ruling out this option, Prime Minister Netanyahu – at least in the short term – intends to continue degrading the rocket launchers and attacking Hamas from the air, thereby limiting Israeli casualties and providing greater leverage to achieve demilitarization.Pornography of Pain: Why the Heartbreaking Images Out of Gaza Are Hurting the Palestinians
The outcome rests largely with the US. If it rewards Hamas for its aggression by seeking to “lift the blockade” or provide them with funds without demilitarization, it will be betraying us. The US will thus have destroyed whatever little global credibility it retains and will be seen as abandoning its long standing-ally and groveling to those who support fanatical Islamic terrorism.
Will the US support Israel’s just cause against genocidal terrorism or act as a shield to protect the Hamas barbarians at our gates, effectively paving the way for a far more brutal war in the near future?
Perhaps the press' duty is indeed to bring death to our living rooms multiple times a day lest we become immune to the savagery of armed conflict. But if the media's role is to wound as much as to educate us, then we need to ask why some victims merit so much more affection than others. Why did the western press embed itself with troops rather than their victims when it was American soldiers doing the killing in Iraq? Why so few heartbreaking testimonies out of Libya? Why doesn't the media make the pain of Yemenite victims of US drones into ours as well? And what about those dying next door to Israel, right now? It may be customary to hold Israelis to an impossible ethical standard while holding Arabs to none, but why is Gaza's suffering more important than that of Christians expelled, raped and murdered in Mosul at this very moment? 1000 have died in three weeks of urban fighting in Gaza and the world pauses and mourns. Meanwhile, over 2000 have been killed in Syria and yet they remain anonymous. Why are only Palestinian losses systematically made taxing to the whole planet?Journalists Threatened, Given Talking Points About How To Talk About Hamas, Gaza
When victims of atrocities all over the world are systematically ignored by the media while incomparably fewer Palestinian casualties of war are painfully lionized, the Palestinians inevitably come to be perceived as unique victims. This effect is compounded by Palestinian propaganda's thorough exploitation of potent emotional triggers ("ethnic cleansing", "occupation," "apartheid," "genocide," etc.). Yasser Arafat, who understood the power of televised victimhood, once cynically asked: "The Palestinian child holding a stone, facing a tank, is that not the greatest message to the world, when that hero becomes a 'martyr'?" (i.e., when that child is killed and his death is reported).
Freedom of the Press is certainly not the reality for journalists in Gaza covering the Hamas – Israeli conflict. Reporters have been given specific guidelines of what they may or may not cover or photograph. Then, Hamas spells out precisely how they are to spin the stories.Protocols of the Elders of Hamas
In other words, the world is being played by Hamas.
How many photographs have come out of the Gaza strip of Hamas militants or jihadists who have been injured or killed in the war? It is difficult, if not impossible, to find even one. The photos are all of “civilians,” but that is not because no militants have been killed. It is a calculated move by Hamas to gain public sympathy in the propaganda war, a war that is every bit as real as the battle with rockets and gunfire.
This is in keeping with a specific guideline from the Hamas interior ministry, reports the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI). Investigative journalists are forbidden to do their job and ascertain whether a person killed in Gaza is a civilian or a Hamas militant. All deaths are to be reported as “innocent civilian” deaths:
The UN Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay went further and said that Israel deliberately targeted civilians.Seven-hour humanitarian window begins
Deliberate.
That’s quite an accusation. And she better be right. Because if she’s wrong, she is guilty of yet another blood libel against the Jewish people.
The facts, of course, are otherwise. To Hamas, Palestinian children are nothing but bullet proof vests to be donned by cowardly terrorists, human missile silos to protect their rockets.
However, the Israeli military said the ceasefire, which started at 10 a.m., would not apply to areas where troops were still operating, and that they would respond to any attacks.Rockets Strike 2 Hours After Unilateral Ceasefire Begins
Palestinian sources claimed that there were firefights in the Shati refugee camp that is located near Gaza City.
Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai said that any violation of the truce would be met with immediate retaliation at the source of the fire.
Rockets fell in open areas near Ashkelon at roughly 12:05 pm Monday, just two hours after Israel began observing a unilateral cease-fire. No injuries or damage were reported.Hamas: We Don't Trust Israeli Ceasefire
Israel began the truce at 10:00 am Monday, following a late-night decision by the Security Cabinet and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
The seven-hour truce will last until 5:00 pm Monday, and excludes the Rafah area, where ongoing clashes have raged since Friday.
Hamas on Sunday night rejected the seven-hour humanitarian ceasefire announced by Israel and scheduled to begin Monday morning at 10:00 a.m.Gunman on motorbike shoots soldier in Jerusalem
In a statement quoted by AFP, the group’s spokesman said that the terrorist group “does not trust” the ceasefire.
"The unilateral ceasefire announced by Israel is an attempt to divert the attention from Israeli massacres," the spokesman, Sami Abu Zuhri.
"We do not trust this ceasefire, and call on our people to be very cautious," he said, according to AFP.
The shooting took place on Hanadiv Street, which separates the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Wadi al-Joz from Hebrew University. The soldier, 20, was rushed to nearby Hadassah Medical Center, where he was listed in serious condition.Pedestrian killed in excavator terror attack in Jerusalem
Security forces chased the gunman, who had reportedly escaped into Wadi al-Joz. A security guard opened fire on the gunman, police said.
Jerusalem police chief Yossi Pariente said the soldier was “shot at close range by a man dressed in black,” adding that the shooting was with “very, very high likelihood,” a terror attack.
A male pedestrian approximately 30 years old was run over by the tractor as it headed toward the bus and was killed. The tractor driver, identified as East Jerusalem resident Muhammed Naif El-Ja’abis, turned the bus over onto its side during the attack, making several efforts to do so before he succeeded. The bus driver as well as five others were lightly hurt.Terrorist being shot in Jerusalem 04/08/2014
Police said the attack, which took place at the end of Shmuel Hanavi Street, near the Olive Tree Hotel, was nationalistically motivated.
A police officer and Prisons Service official who realized what was happening ran up to the tractor and fired a volley of shots at the terrorist as he sat in the cab and killed him, Jerusalem police chief Yossi Pariente said.
One Killed in Tractor Terror Attack in Jerusalem, Rogue Driver Shot Dead (GRAPHIC VIDEO)
Hamas officials in Gaza praised the attack, calling it “a brave and natural response to the massacre being perpetrated in Gaza.” The Islamist group called on Palestinians in the West Bank to “increase their resistance, in all its forms, throughout Palestine,” Israel Radio said.Netanyahu: The Operation Continues Until its Goals Are Reached
Arabs perpetrated three similar attacks in 2008 and 2009, killing three and wounding dozens of others in the first attack, which took place during construction of the light rail line, near the Central Bus Station.
The second attack took place near the city’s King David Hotel. Security officials shot the driver to death before he could do any damage in his rampage.
Netanyahu’s declaration came after a security assessment he held with Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon, IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) chief Yoram Cohen.IDF Blog: New Map Exposes Hamas’ Fortress in Shuja’iya
"Operation Protective Edge continues until its goals are achieved - restoring quiet and security to Israeli citizens for an extended period, with significant damage to the terrorist infrastructure. It will take as long as it takes, using as much force as needed," Netanyahu said after the assessment.
"After completing its action against the tunnels, the IDF will prepare to continue the operation according to Israel’s security needs, until we achieve the goals of the operation," he stressed.
Hamas uses the residential neighborhood of Shuja’iya as a terrorist stronghold for its weapons, rockets, tunnels and command centers. This is why the IDF targeted multiple sites in Shuja’iya.Hamas Fires Rockets from Everywhere in Gaza
Shuja’iya is a densely populated neighborhood, close to the Karni Crossing and just over the border fence from the Israeli community of Kibbutz Nahal Oz. Shuja’iya is saturated with Hamas observation points and is home to a vast network of tunnels used for attacking Israel.
During Operation Protective Edge, Hamas has used populated areas of Gaza to launch attacks against Israel. The terrorist organization knows that rocket launching sites may be the targets of IDF counterstrikes. Nevertheless, Hamas has never stopped firing rockets from mosques, school, hospitals and other civilian areas.IDF Naval Forces Strike Long Range Rocket Launcher
Hamas is responsible for the destruction in civilian areas in Gaza. Not only did Hamas draw the IDF into a battle by refusing to cease its indiscriminate rocket fire on Israelis, Hamas also brought the battle right into the heart of Gaza’s civilian areas.
Motorcycles and Weapons Found Inside a Tunnel from Gaza
Watch: IDF Transfers Truckloads of Goods into Gaza
Even as Hamas continues its terrorist actions and fires rockets towards Israel, the IDF continues to transfer goods to Gazans.IsraellyCool: Hamas Wants To Blockade Gaza
On Sunday, the IDF transferred 186 truckloads of food, medical supplies, fuel and other goods into Gaza via the Kerem Shalom border crossing.
Hamas has for years claimed that Israel is imposing a “siege” on Gaza, yet Israel consistently allows humanitarian aid and other materials into the coastal territory.
But the IDF and Israel are determined not to let them.IDF Transfers Truckloads of Goods into Gaza
I’ve noticed something. Almost every day without fail Kerem Shalom gets shot at by Hamas. Kerem Shalom is the ONLY goods crossing point into Gaza. Israel operates the crossing to control what goes in and exclude all the stuff that Hamas would like to get, like more rockets or weapons.
In fact I tried to get Matt Lee at the AP to ask at the State Department briefing about this crossing a few days ago:
ANALYSIS: Israel and Sunni powers finally display convergent interests
Two-and-a-half sentences stuck out from all the others in Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s comments to the nation Saturday night when he said Operation Protective Edge would continue, albeit with the troops deployed differently.US, UK ‘appalled’ by shelling near UNRWA school
Tucked in among his well-worn comments about the operation – that its goals were to restore quiet and hit Hamas hard, that the IDF had hit thousands of terrorists targets, that the country was demonstrating remarkable resilience – were the following lines that constituted something new and different: “We are enlisting the international community to support this goal of linking the rehabilitation and development of Gaza to its demilitarization but no less important – this may surprise many, but not us – is the unique link which has been forged with the states of the region,” he said. “This as well is a very important asset for the State of Israel. With the cessation of the fighting and the conclusion of the campaign, this will open new possibilities for us.”
This immediately set off speculation about just whom Netanyahu had in mind, and what new possibilities would open up.
US State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki delivered an unusually strong condemnation of an Israeli strike near a Gaza school being used as a shelter in Rafah, saying that the US was “appalled” by the “disgraceful shelling outside an UNRWA school.”Not Your Average Motorcycle Gang
The shelling, which left 10 people dead according to Palestinian reports, drew harsh condemnations worldwide, including from the United Nations, London and elsewhere, amid growing international criticism of the 27-day-long operation.
The IDF issued a statement saying that forces had targeted three Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists on board a motorcycle in vicinity of an UNRWA school in Rafah, and added that “the IDF is reviewing the consequences of this strike.”
However, the US said that the presence of combatants did not justify targeting areas near the school.
These motorcycles were found inside Hamas terror tunnels leading into Israeli towns.Palestinians present Egypt with draft of Gaza truce demands
Hamas planned to enter the towns, kidnap women and children, and use the motorcycles to zoom safely back to Gaza via the tunnels with their hostages.
A Palestinian delegation including Hamas presented its joint demands on Sunday to Egyptian mediators in Cairo for a truce with Israel, including an end to the Gaza blockade, officials said.US, Qatar again working on alternative ceasefire
The delegation, which included members of president Mahmoud Abbas’s Palestinian Authority and Gaza’s Hamas rulers, met the Egyptian mediators late in the day even as Israel began pulling some of it forces out of Gaza.
Cairo is to relay the demands to Israel, which balked at sending negotiators after accusing Hamas of breaching a 72-hour truce soon after it began on Friday.
Palestinian sources in Cairo revealed on Monday that the United States and Qatar have again renewed their attempts to reach an understanding on a ceasefire in Gaza, even as Palestinian factions meet Egyptian officials in Cairo to forge their own proposal.Yishai’s Opponent Goes Apoplectic on Al Jazeera [video]
Representatives of the US administration are in Cairo at the same time as a Palestinian delegation that includes senior officials from Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Fatah.
The Palestinian sources suggested that the US-Qatari initiative slows and undermines the Egyptian efforts.
OK, unfortunately you have to listen to Al Jazeera’s skewed bias and nonsense for a bit and a lot of ranting as well, and it is obviously unfair that the talking-time distribution is so uneven, but stay to the end and watch Yishai Fleisher not only mop the floor with them, but as his opponent goes apoplectic as he is unable to counter Yishai’s arguments.Can diplomacy still end the Gaza crisis? [should work in the US now (h/t Alexi)]
‘We could have taken Gaza in a week, but that wasn’t our mission,’ says senior IDF source
“Had we been ordered to defeat Hamas, we would have done it. We would have drafted four divisions, evacuated the Gazan population from battlegrounds, conquered the area and scanned it thoroughly.Sa’ar: The lesson we can learn from Gaza is not to allow a Palestinian state
It would take a week to take Gaza, and up to two years to destroy terrorist infrastructure,” the source said.
In such a scenario, “A guerrilla war would have started. This was not the mission given to the IDF, and rightfully so,” the source said. “The IDF divided up Gaza dozens of times, most recently in Operation Cast Lead [in 2009]. Every brigade can do it. The question is, what is the aim?” The goal of the offensive was not to topple Hamas, but to create a better security environment for Israel, the source continued.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu faced a challenge Sunday from his No. 2 in Likud, Interior Minister Gideon Sa’ar, who warned him that Hamas’s attack on Israel proved the danger of creating a Palestinian state.Livni Slams Naysayers, Praises Success of Gaza Operation
Sa’ar, who is considered a future candidate for prime minister, spoke at a conference marking the nine-year anniversary of Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip at Jerusalem’s Menachem Begin Heritage Center.
“After withdrawing from Lebanon brought Hezbollah to power and withdrawing from Gaza brought Hamas to power, the lesson must be not to form a terrorist state in the heart of our land,” Sa’ar said.
“A Palestinian state would endanger Israel’s future.”
Minister of Justice Tzipi Livni (HaTnua) had harsh words for the “sour spin”, as she put it, of the Israeli media on Operation Protective Edge.Goldin’s fiancee at funeral: I thought we’d be together forever
"Take a look at the current situation and what we have achieved thus far," said Livni in an interview with IDF Radio Monday. "Their leadership is still burrowed in, and they don’t dare show their heads above ground ...they have 1,800 dead and have not attained even one of their goals."
"With them, there will always be the one who will stick his head out of his bunker to say ‘We won!’, and with us, there will always be someone who will rush to cry out, 'We lost!'" she added.
Tens of thousands of people paid their last respects to Lt. Hadar Goldin in Kfar Saba, and thousands more said farewell to other soldiers killed late last week in a series of funerals around the country Sunday.IDF Officer Led From The Front: ‘If Anyone Dies, It’ll Be Me, First’
Givati Brigade officer Goldin, 23, was laid to rest in the local cemetery of Kfar Saba, the town where he and his family lived. The officer was killed, along with two others, in a Hamas attack on IDF troops last Friday during a period when a ceasefire agreement was supposed to be in effect.
In the hours after the attack, the IDF believed he may have been kidnapped, driving intense public interest regarding his fate. However, on Saturday night the IDF told his family that Goldin was declared dead.
“I didn’t expect you to leave me so quickly,” Goldin’s fiancee Edna Sarusi said at the funeral, her voice choked with emotion. “I relied only on you. I don’t know what to do.”
An IDF infantry officer who fell in battle in Gaza on Friday, once said, “I always made sure I was first in to sweep structures – before my soldiers, so, if anyone was going to die – it would be me,” Israel’s NRG daily reported.JNF Raises $4 Million for Emergency War Help
On Sunday, thousands of mourners attended the funeral of Givati Brigade Ranger commander, Cap. Benaya Sarel, 26, of Kiryat Arba.
Sarel left behind a fiancee, Gali, who he was to wed in three weeks. His parents, and seven brothers and sisters are veterans of the Hebron-area town.
As Israeli Jews have been descending on the south with donations, food, clothing, and everything else they can fit in the trunks of their cars, Jews in the diaspora have been marshaling resources to help the IDF and Israelis cope with Operation Protective Edge. On Sunday, the Jewish National Fund said it had raised $4 million in just the past several days from Jews and supporters of Israel in North America.IDF Soldier Adopts Mutt, Abandoned in Gaza Fighting
Among other things, the money will be used to buy 160 mini-shelters, to be placed in Israeli towns in the south. The shelters will allow residents to move about town and remain prepared for a rocket attack; they will be placed close enough together so that an individuals walking down the street will be able to get to the shelter within just a few moments.
During a bout of fighting in Gaza last week, an IDF soldier adopted a starving, weak dog he found wandering among the rubble.Meet a Hero
St.-Sgt. Roee Cohen (res), 25, was part of front-line forces tasked with safely evacuating wounded soldiers out of battle.
Leading the pitiful creature into their armored vehicle, Cohen brought the animal out of the area with him, for a few days away from the fighting.
Adopting his “new best friend,” Roee named the dog “Tzuk” (Cliff), for the Hebrew name for Operation Protective Edge – Tzuk Eitan, and treated the mutt to field rations and lots of attention, according to Channel 2 News.
When Lt. Eitan realized that Lt. Hadar Goldin was kidnapped and pulled into a Hamas terror tunnel in Rafah during the cease fire, he grabbed his soldiers and jumped into the tunnels to chase after them and try to save Lt. Hadar Goldin.MK Says Haaretz's Levy Is a Traitor
The chase led them into a maze of tunnels 20 meters underground. It was there that they found the personal effects of Lt. Goldin from which the IDF was able to determine that Goldin had not survived the attack. He and his soldiers, with no radio contact with above, searched hundreds of meters of the tunnel maze for Goldin.
Lt. Eitan (24) serves as Deputy Commander of a Pulsar Givati reconnaissance unit.
Coalition Chairman MK Yariv Levin (Likud) wants Haaretz journalist Gideon Levy put on trial for treason, following articles he wrote in the course of Operation Protective Edge.Israeli Karateka Fends Off Iranian Attackers in Germany
"Gideon Levy is the lowest kind of provocateur,” Levin told Channel 2 Saturday evening. “When someone who lives among you turns himself into an enemy mouthpiece, while spreading lies, out of the hope that this will undermine your ability to wage war – this is called, in simple Hebrew, 'treason'.
"Levy writes the enemy's lies in an Israeli newspaper, and then these writings are quoted all over the entire world as if they were written by Israelis, and as if they reflect a reality that is supposedly objective,” he explained.
Israeli karate trainer Shai Hai was attacked by a group of Iranians and Germans in Frankfurt, Germany, at an international karate seminar last week.5 police officers injured during riot on Temple Mount
Hai was the headline speaker at the seminar, which was attended by about 90 people and supposedly dedicated to advancing world peace and unity. He was the only Israeli at the international event.
When he got up to speak, members of the Iranian delegation and about 15 Germans began shouting at him, he told IDF Radio Monday. “They called me a murderer, said I had blood on my hands, that I came from a nation of murderers, that I had gained his position in the karate world by stepping on the bodies of Palestinians, that it is unthinkable to learn martial arts from a person who hails from a nation of murderers, ugly things like that,” he recalled.
A female attacker tried unsuccessfully to spill red paint on his clothes, Hai added. Another man tried to approach him physically. He responded with the self defense techniques he is trained in: “In a matter of seconds, he had flown halfway across the auditorium,” he said.
At least five police officers were lightly injured Monday morning on the Temple Mount when hundreds of masked Muslims rioted and erected roadblocks in an attempt to block reinforcements from dispersing the mob.Expert Says Terror Tunnels a Threat in the Galilee
According to police, at approximately 7:30 a.m. officers charged with opening Mughrabi Gate for Jewish and Christian visitors were pelted with rocks and fire crackers.
Border Police reinforcements who were called in were initially impeded from entering the scene by road blocks placed at Rambam Gate, but were able to get through after dismantling them. Meanwhile, 12 Arabs were arrested for rioting in east Jerusalem overnight. Police said that over the past 30 days, 430 Arabs have been arrested for rioting throughout the capital.
For a long time he spoke to every official, every minister, and every IDF Chief of Staff over the threat of terror tunnels - in Gaza and elsewhere - but the system preferred to silence him.JCPA: The Hamas Threat to the West Is No Different from ISIS
Now, Geologist and res. Col. Yossi Langotsky speaks to Arutz Sheva for the first time since Operation Protective Edge began 28 days ago about his perspective on the current conflict, and on how war tunnels may continue to threaten Israel despite the operation.
Col. Langotsky commanded for five years in Operational Intelligence and won the Israel Security Prize twice. Despite his expertise, however, his warnings about terror tunnels were apparently ignored.
Hamas and ISIS differ on only two important issues: the alliance Hamas has forged with Shiite Iran, which has outraged Egypt and Saudi Arabia who view Iran as a strategic threat, and secondly, Hamas’ willingness to play the political and diplomatic game within its ideological boundaries. Unlike ISIS, Hamas is prepared to cooperate with human rights organizations in pursuit of its own objectives, particularly, at this stage, constraining the IDF in attacking targets in Gaza, which would grant Hamas a “license to kill” Israelis while hiding behind human shields.Liberman: Topple Hamas and give UN control over Gaza
In sum, the threat Hamas poses to the West is not fundamentally different from the threat posed by ISIS and its branches. Both organizations seek to overthrow the pro-Western regimes in the Middle East, eject Western influence from the region, and establish an Islamic caliphate to wage holy war (jihad) against the West and Christianity, which are considered the cardinal enemies of Islam. The rise of radical Islam in the Middle East, and the creation of the caliphate and other Islamic “emirates” (official and de facto) along with the toppling of existing governments, could gradually foster the conditions leading to a jihad front against Western interests and allies.
Speaking to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Liberman said asking the UN to become the custodian of Gaza was one of several ways Israel could proceed after nearly four weeks of fighting in the Strip.World should impose solution on Israel, France says
“One idea is an international mandate of the United Nations. A UN mandate is not only part of the history of the land of Israel, we also saw it nowadays at least several times, for example in the cases of East Timor and Kosovo. We saw UN mandates working, and they worked not bad. And therefore here, too, we need to consider returning control over Gaza to the UN. I certainly don’t rule out this option.”
An aide to Liberman told The Times of Israel the idea was “a serious possible consideration,” when asked whether the suggestion was meant as a trial balloon.
As Israel observes a unilateral, seven-hour cease-fire - which Palestinians say was broken immediately after it went into effect when a house was bombed, leaving a Palestinian child dead and others wounded - French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius made a statement, addressing the ongoing fighting.Keith Ellison explains his vote against Iron Dome
Fabius said on Monday that world powers should impose a political solution to halt the conflict between Israel and Hamas that has claimed hundreds of lives in the Gaza Strip, and dozens on the Israeli side.
You may recall that on Friday, in what would have been a Christmas Miracle were it not several months early, Congress actually got something done. It was the passage of a bill approving $225M in funding for Israel’s Iron Dome defensive missile system. It was quite the bipartisan effort in retrospect, garnering an overwhelming 395 votes in the House with only eight in opposition. One of those eight was Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison, and as The Corner reports, he went out on the weekend gab circuit to explain why he didn’t support the measure.China's Foreign Minister Calls for Truce, End of Gaza Blockade
“Because a cease-fire is what we should prioritize now,” he said when asked to explain his vote on Meet the Press. “A cease-fire protects civilians on both sides — it doesn’t just say, ‘We’re only concerned about people on one side.’”
He pointed to the devastation he witnessed during his trips to Gaza. (h/t MtTB)
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on Israel and the Islamist terrorist group Hamas on Sunday to stop fighting and urged the Jewish state to lift its blockade of Gaza.Saudi Grand Mufti Issues Fatwa against Solidarity Marches with Gaza
Wang made his comments at a press conference with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukri, whose government is hosting a Palestinian delegation for ceasefire talks snubbed by Israel after Hamas broke a series of previous truces.
The fatwa was issued by Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti and General President for Scientific Researches and Fatwa, Abdul Aziz Al Ash-Sheikh.Hamas Demands UN 'Apologize' for Demanding Soldier's Release
This comes at a time after which several demonstrations have been organized in Arab and non-Arabs countries alike in solidarity with the Gaza Strip. These demonstrations have taken place since the Zionist aggression on Palestinians starting, July 8.
According to Al Ghadeer TV, Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti said that the pro-Gaza demonstrations “are just useless demagogic actions, that won’t help Palestinians.” “Demagoguery does not work. It is just an exaggeration,” he added.
Hamas officials called on UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to "formally apologize before the Palestinian people" for "accepting Israel's version of events" regarding their breaking a humanitarian ceasefire on Friday, claiming that the fact that IDF soldier Hadar Goldin (hy"d) was killed and not abducted proves that Israel lied to international community on being attacked by Hamas.'We Don't Target Israeli Civilians', Claims Hamas
Hamas spokesman in Gaza, Sami Abu-Zuhri, called Ban a "partner in slaughter" to Israel in his remarks and demanded an apology.
In a statement on Sunday, the group’s “military wing”, the Izz A-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, threatened to fire rockets at all the cities in Israel that are within the ranges of its rockets.Abd Al-Bari Atwan: Arafat Ignited Second Intifada; Why Don't We Do the Same in West Bank?
At the same time, the statement claimed, Hamas is not trying to harm Israelis with its rocket attacks, only military personnel and installations.
"During the campaign we tried as much as possible to focus on targeting military personnel, soldiers and officers of the enemy, its military bases and airports, and avoided as much as possible targeting someone who is not a military person,” Hamas claimed.
IRGC Deputy Commander: We Will Hunt the Zionists Down from House to House
Dog! Traitor! - Islamists' Debate on ISIS and Hamas Turns into Exchange of Insults
VIDEO: Hamas releases footage said to show sniper attacks targeting IDF forces
On Monday, Hamas's armed wing released video said to show a sniper targeting IDF soldiers operating in Gaza.Iran Accuses Israel of 'Genocide' in Gaza
In the video released by Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, which cannot be independently verified by Reuters, a masked militant is seen loading a long rifle. The video also shows a compilation of moments in which gunshots are heard and what appears to be soldiers being shot in the distance.
In information released with the video, Izz ad-Din al-Qassam wrote that they had built the rifle and that it had a range of 2 kilometers (1.25 miles).
His comments came at a meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement's (NAM) committee for Palestine, with several foreign ministers among officials from Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Venezuela, Bangladesh, Sudan, Uganda and other member states.Erdogan: Israel Deliberately Killing Palestinian Mothers
"The savage aggression by the army of this child-killer regime (Israel), continues with a deliberate policy to commit genocide and massacre civilians and destroy infrastructure, houses, hospitals, schools and mosques," Rouhani said in Tehran.
"The inaction of international bodies, in particular the Security Council, to prevent the crimes against humanity of the Zionist regime" is to be condemned, he added.
Addressing hundreds of thousands of supporters at his biggest rally so far ahead of the August 10 election, Erdogan again likened Israel's actions to those of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.Arab TV Host Pulls Out Sword During Broadcast: Let the Real Men Fight in Gaza
"Just like Hitler, who sought to establish a race free of all faults, Israel is chasing after the same target," Erdogan told the sea of cheering supporters at an Istanbul arena, according to Reuters.
"They kill women so that they will not give birth to Palestinians; they kill babies so that they won't grow up; they kill men so they can't defend their country ... They will drown in the blood they shed," he charged. (h/t Bob Knot)
New footage provided by MEMRI shows a Jordanian TV host pull out a large sword on TV and demand that real men be allowed to fight in Gaza.IsraellyCool: Hamas On Helium
Husam Al-Abdalet, irritated by the perceived collaboration between Arab countries, Israel and America, opened by declaring "All the disgrace-afflicted Arabs, whose honor has been defiled, and who have been kissing the boots of the Zionists and the Americans, are collaborating in the killing of Hamas, in the killing of the people in Gaza, in the killing of Islamic Jihad, and in the crushing of the Al-Qassam Brigades."
I am all for mocking Hamas, but at the same time educating people about their genocidal nature.HamasOnHelium
Study: More Photographs Of Bigfoot Than Of Hamas Fighters (satire)
Cryptozoologists – whose field of endeavor involves finding creatures rumored to exist but of which no convincing evidence has surfaced – noticed over the last several weeks that Western photographers were transmitting hundreds of photos of wounded women and children, but not a single image of the hundreds, if not more than a thousand, casualties from among the Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters. The lack of such photographs emanating from the fighting in Gaza has made those devotees consider expanding their effort to include proving the existence of such entities.
“This could be a way to scoop the mainstream media,” says Bebe See, who has spent fifteen years pursuing the Himalayan Yeti, also known as the Abominable Snowman. “They’re constantly focused on toeing the company line and not taking any journalistic risks, so of course they’re ignoring this story, which doesn’t fit the mainstream corporate narrative.” He suspects it would take maybe two weeks on the ground in Gaza to obtain irrefutable photographic evidence that Hamas fighters exist.
“There are indications beyond the mere photographic,” agreed Bigfoot enthusiast Emma Sensbisi. “Statistically, the ages and sexes of the casualties are disproportionately males between the ages of 20 and 40, but those aren’t the photos any of the major outlets are showing,” she noted. “The mainstream media would have you believe these creatures do not exist, and the public is swallowing that. We have the opportunity to blow the lid off MSM complicity in concealing some of the biggest zoological conspiracies of all time.”
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