Tuesday, November 08, 2022

11/08 Links Pt1: Israel Won’t Ever Be the Country of American Fantasies—Nor Should It Aspire to Be; US Backs IHRA Definition After UN Criticism; German institute holds ‘Shoah, Nakba’ event on date of Kristallnacht

From Ian:

Israel Won’t Ever Be the Country of American Fantasies—Nor Should It Aspire to Be
Following last week’s election, the veteran Middle East reporter Thomas Friedman authored a New York Times column under the headline “The Israel We Knew Is Gone,” full of dire predictions about what will befall the Jewish state now that its citizens have returned its longest-serving prime minister to power. Daniel Gordis dissects the column’s faulty assumptions and misguided conclusions, which distill misconceptions that plague much American commentary on Israel:
Here’s the heart of the problem. There are many people around the world who want Israel to be something it does not wish to be. They want it to be successful, but humble. They want it to be strong and secure, but still desperate for foreign support of all sorts. They want it to be Jewish, but in a “nice” kind of way. Israeli dancing (which I haven’t seen here in years), flags at the right time, a country filled with “Hatikvah moments,” as some call them. A country traditional enough to be heartwarming, but not so traditional that it would dare imply that less intense forms of Jewish life cannot make it. A country steeped in memory, but also one that is finally willing to move on.

An Israel moderate in every way would be an Israel easy to love. It would be a source of pride, but not a source of shame. It would be an Israel that would make us feel great as Americans and as Jews. The only problem is that that Israel doesn’t exist, and it never has.

And what of Friedman’s more specific gripes?
Tom Friedman writes that “Netanyahu has been propelled into power by bedfellows who see Israeli Arab citizens as a fifth column who can’t be trusted,” intimating that Israeli Arabs are not a fifth column. Some are; some aren’t. . . . I’ve interviewed many Arab women and men who are quite the opposite. But if you live in the Negev, if you have farmland you can’t protect from Arabs in the south or the north, you’re fearful. If you’re a young Jewish Israeli woman afraid to walk in downtown Beer Sheva, you don’t think a “fifth column” is a ludicrous claim. . . . Friedman can dismiss it, but Israelis increasingly don’t. The left and center ignore the issue, and now, Israelis are ignoring them.
Eugene Kontorovich [WSJ]Israel’s Right-Wing Coalition Gets the Cold Shoulder From Biden
The victory of Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition has many on the left bemoaning the end of democracy in Israel. Even before voting began, Sen. Robert Menendez (D., N.J.) threatened harm to bilateral relations should Israelis vote to the right. The State Department has said it would boycott some right-wing ministers, and President Biden waited almost a week before calling to congratulate Mr. Netanyahu. Yet Secretary of State Antony Blinken apparently had time Friday to phone Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who last stood for election (to a four-year term) in 2005.

What has degraded Israeli democracy, according to critics, is the electoral success of Itamar Ben-Gvir’s party. Mr. Ben-Gvir’s critics cite his past in the far-right Kahanist movement. For all the consternation, one would think he was the future prime minister, rather than the head of a second-tier party, with seven of 120 seats in the Knesset.

Yet those saying Mr. Ben-Gvir’s inclusion in the government is unacceptable were untroubled by the departing government, which included Ra’am, a party affiliated with Israel’s Islamic Movement, which was founded by a convicted terrorist; or the far-left Meretz, with roots in an actual Stalinist party; or by Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s apparent willingness to accept support from Hadash, a still-Communist party whose members of the Knesset recently justified terrorism against Israeli civilians.

Another theme in the dire forecasts for Israeli democracy are legal-system reforms that the new government may pursue. The measures would actually reinforce democracy and introduce checks and balances to a political system in which the Supreme Court has far more power than its American counterpart.

Like the U.S. Supreme Court, Israel’s strikes down laws as unconstitutional—even though Israel doesn’t have a written constitution. The court has, without statutory authority, taken upon itself the power to strike down any law or government action as “unreasonable”—that is, anything the justices don’t think is a good idea. The justices—they currently number 15—decide what laws to bestow “constitutional” status on. They also dominate the committee that appoints new justices as well as lower-court judges. Candidates don’t undergo confirmation hearings before the Knesset.

The legal reforms being discussed would weaken the ability of sitting justices to pick their successors. The reforms would allow the Knesset, in some cases, to override Supreme Court decisions based on interpretations of Knesset legislation—much as the Canadian Parliament can do. Such a measure would be a far less radical check on the court’s power than the court-packing U.S. Democrats have entertained as a way of reining in the judiciary.

For years, Israeli prosecutors have pursued Mr. Netanyahu for the crime of “breach of trust.” Some in the incoming government seek to do away with this offense because no one knows what exactly it prohibits. The U.S. Supreme Court, in Skilling v. U.S. (2010), struck down as unconstitutionally vague a similar statute about denying “honest services.”

The potential legal reforms don’t undermine the values Israel shares with the U.S. Instead, they would bring Israel closer to the American model.
Jerusalem publishes zoning for new US embassy in Jerusalem
The Jerusalem Municipality on Tuesday published the zoning description for a new US Embassy complex in the capital city.

The embassy will be on Derech Hebron between Hanoch Albek Street and Daniel Yanovsky Street, an area known by its British Mandate-era name, “Camp Allenby.”

The complex will include an embassy, offices, residences, parking and security structures. The buildings can be no more than 10 stories high, and the wall surrounding the area will be 3.5 meters high.

Time to start planning the move
Members of the public will have 60 days to submit their opposition to the plan to the municipality.

“After almost four years of hard work with the American Embassy in Jerusalem, we are pleased that the zoning plans were published this morning for the new Allenby complex,” Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Fleur Hassan-Nahoum said Tuesday.

“The US Embassy in such a central part of the city will upgrade the urban landscape of the neighborhood and connect it to all areas of the capital through the [Jerusalem] Light Rail network that will stop almost at its doors,” she said. “We hope that more countries will follow and move their embassies to our capital, Jerusalem.”

The US Embassy moved to Jerusalem in 2018, a few months after President Donald Trump recognized Israel’s capital.


Will the ICJ declare Israel's 'occupation' of the West Bank illegal? - analysis
At the root of both the prior ICJ and ICC rulings is the idea that the Palestinians’ right to self-determination overcomes basically every other legal principle, from standard notions of sovereignty, to UN Security Council resolutions (especially Resolution 242, which says new borders and Israel’s withdrawal can only be determine by negotiations between the parties) and to security considerations.

At best, Israel could hope that the ICJ was tougher against it in 2004 because the wall was a new physical change on the ground, whereas there is less of a drastic sudden change going on now, as opposed to slow incremental settlement expansion.

In that sense, the ICJ will probably see rulings against Israel as an opportunity to try to pressure Jerusalem into sooner territorial compromise with the Palestinians.

Moreover, since their rulings are only advisory, they need not worry about any immediate consequences on the ground the way that standard national courts do.

Ongoing attacks on the High Court of Justice within Israel could either make no difference or make the ICJ even more likely to go against Israel out of a sense that Israel’s legal establishment is losing its relevance.

The US has disagreed with past similar international rulings against Israel, such as the recent ICC ruling.

But every time a major international body such as the ICJ or the ICC rules against Jerusalem, it eats away at the Jewish state’s legitimacy globally and raises support for prosecuting Israelis or boycotting Israel.

To date, Israel has succeeded at fending off the nightmare scenarios that such rulings could bring about. But one never knows when the legitimacy wall protecting Israel will crack in a larger and more dangerous way.


US Backs IHRA Antisemitism Definition After UN Criticism
The Biden Administration on Friday repeated its support for the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism after it was criticized by a top UN official.

Speaking at the UN’s Third Committee on October 31, the last day of her term, E. Tendayi Achiume, the UN’s outgoing Special Rapporteur on Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia, said that there was a “worrying trend” of the “instrumentalization” of antisemitism. “I highlight the controversial status, divisive effects, and negative human rights impacts of the IHRA working definition on antisemitism,” she said, outlining the findings of her report to the committee on combating neo-Nazism.

State Department spokesman Ned Price said that Achiume had “misrepresented” the IHRA definition. “In an era of rapidly rising global antisemitism, now is not the time to discard one of the most fundamental and critical tools in the arsenal to combat it,” Price added.

Achiume, who was born in Zambia, was appointed to the special rapporteur role by the UN Human Rights Council in 2017 and is a law professor at UCLA.

Adopted in 2016, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance defined antisemitism as “a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.” IHRA also adopted illustrative examples of antisemitism to go along with the definition, including that targeting the state of Israel as a Jewish collectivity was antisemitic, but that criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country was not.

Gilad Erdan, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, called the report and the remarks by Achiume “a disgrace.” “These ill-founded recommendations made by the rapporteur are not in line with and are not part of her mandate,” he said, adding that the recommendation to suspend use of the definition would only give aid to antisemites.
German institute lashed for Tel Aviv ‘Shoah, Nakba’ event on date of Kristallnacht
After withering criticism from Israeli and German officials, the Goethe-Institut Israel on Tuesday postponed an upcoming event, “Grasping the Pain of the Others – Panel Discussion on the Holocaust, Nakba and German Remembrance Culture,” which had been set to take place in Tel Aviv on Wednesday evening — the 84th anniversary of Kristallnacht.

“The remembrance of the Shoah and the commemoration of the victims is a major concern of the Goethe-Institut, to which we devote ourselves in numerous projects,” the institute said in a German-language statement. “We regret that the choice of date for a panel discussion has currently caused irritation.”

The new date for the event in Tel Aviv is Sunday, November 13.

“The Goethe-Institut stands for understanding and dialogue,” the statement continued, “That is what the planned discussion is about.”

The Goethe-Institut is the cultural arm of Germany and is intended to facilitate cultural exchanges around the globe.

While delaying the event, the institute did not address criticism of the equivalency drawn between the Holocaust and the Nakba, or “catastrophe,” the name Palestinians and many Israeli Arabs use for the Arab defeat in the 1948 Israeli Independence War, which led to the establishment of the Jewish state.

The Foreign Ministry had earlier in the day blasted “the blatant cheapening of Holocaust and the cynical and manipulative attempt to create a linkage whose entire purpose is to defame Israel,” by discussing the Shoah and the Nakba in the same breath.

Yad Vashem Chairman Dani Dayan called the event itself an “intolerable distortion of the Holocaust.”


Biden calls Netanyahu for the first time since election win
Six days after Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party won a parliamentary election, U.S. President Joe Biden called him on Monday, Netanyahu announced on Twitter.

Netanyahu stated that Biden congratulated him on his election victory and said the alliance between the two countries is stronger than ever. Furthermore, Netanyahu told Biden that peace agreements with additional nations are possible while dealing with the Iranian threat.

Netanyahu’s spokesman said the conversation lasted eight minutes, and that Biden said, “We are brothers; we will make history together…. My commitment to Israel is unquestionable.”

The call from Biden came after British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak congratulated Netanyahu.

French President Emmanuel Macron congratulated Netanyahu on Sunday. Netanyahu has also been congratulated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, among others.


PreOccupiedTerritory: In Case Of Hezbollah Attack, Biden Admin Promises Israel Harsh Victim-Blaming (satire)
The White House sought today to reinforce its support for a maritime boundary and resource-sharing agreement between the the Jewish State and its northern neighbor Lebanon, assuring officials at the Ministry of Defense in this city that if the Iran-backed Shiite Islamist militia controlling Lebanon resorts to violence to press further claims, contrary to the terms of the agreement, the US will firmly stand behind statements justifying that violence and explaining why Israel kind of asked for it by being so stubborn about continuing to exist and protect itself.

American envoys visited the ministry Tuesday to restate President Biden’s staunch support for the agreement signed two weeks ago delineating a maritime boundary and division of natural gas revenues from offshore drilling in the area. Israel and Lebanon formally remain at war since 1948; Israel invaded Lebanon in both the 1970’s and 1980’s to suppress Palestinian terrorist groups, and maintained a security zone inside Lebanon until twenty years ago – only to be forced into invasion again when Hezbollah kidnapped and murdered three soldiers. Since 2006 an uneasy clam has prevailed along the border – under the nose of UN “peacekeeper” troops unwilling or unable to stop or track Hezbollah’s constant attempts to provoke the IDF into further violence. Biden’s envoy Amos Hochstein mediated between Israel and Lebanon – with the two sides never officially meeting each other, lest that imply Lebanon’s recognition of Israel – to produce the agreement, which bars aggression from Lebanon over the maritime boundary and allocation of resources. If Hezbollah violates that or any other provision of the agreement, Hochstein insisted, Biden will rush to explain that Israel probably deserves it.
Saudi Arabia Is Changing Fast. What Will That Mean for the U.S. and the Region?
Having recently returned from a weeklong visit to Saudi Arabia, during which he met with various prominent persons, Robert Satloff comments on the mood in the country, the rapid social and political changes, attitudes toward the U.S., and the possibility of normalization with Israel:
Five years ago, . . . we heard senior leadership characterize Israel as a “potential ally.” Now we see evidence of creeping normalization all around, with businesspeople, bankers, and athletes beginning to visit the kingdom in their professional capacities.

Yet one would be mistaken to conclude that full normalization is right around the corner. This is not due to lack of progress on the Palestinian issue, but rather to the fact that normalization—while certainly beneficial to the Saudis—is less important to them than it was to the states that signed onto the Abraham Accords. For one thing, the kingdom will be grappling with other major political, social, and economic reforms and has to consider carefully the manner and order in which they are implemented. . . . A society can only take so much reform at any one time.

Satloff’s remarks can be heard in full here, and a detailed written summary can be read at the link below. (Moderated by David Schenker. Video, 76 minutes.)


COP27: Israeli minister takes part in meeting with Lebanese, Iraqi officials
Environmental Protection Minister Tamar Zandberg took part in a meeting between leaders from across the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean, including from Lebanon, Iraq and Qatar, at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Sharm al-Sheikh on Tuesday.

The meeting served as the culmination of a regional process initiated by the Cypriot government in 2019, with Israel participating alongside Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Cyprus, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Kuwait and the Palestinian Authority.

Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid, Jordanian Prime Minister Bisher Al-Khasawneh and PA Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh spoke at the event alongside Zandberg and other regional officials.

The Cypriot initiative, known as the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East Climate Change Initiative (EMME-CCI), aims to coordinate efforts to combat the climate crisis at the regional level with 13 task teams and over 200 scientists from across the region and the world joining in. The task teams mapped the consequences of the climate crisis in the region, pointed out where work is needed and formulated recommendations on how to move forward.

Some of the recommendations are intended to launch joint regional actions between the participating countries, while others involve action within individual states. Israel has supported the initiative since it began in order to combat the effects of the climate crisis on the region and to take the opportunity to build up regional cooperation and strengthen political ties.

"We in Israel live in a hotspot, a hot climate point. The temperatures in our region continue to rise above the global average and extreme weather events do not pass over any country," said Zandberg. "Just as the climate crisis does not distinguish between borders, dealing with it must be regional and cross-border. Only a regional effort and sharing of knowledge and experience in the fields of technology will bring breakthrough solutions that will improve the lives of billions of people - not only in our region but around the world."
Herzog’s brief chat with Tunisia’s PM draws harsh criticism in Arab world
President Isaac Herzog was seen chatting briefly with Tunisia’s Prime Minister Najla Bouden at the COP27 UN climate conference in Egypt on Monday, drawing harsh criticism from some commentators in the Arab countries.

Herzog and Bouden exchanged pleasantries as world leaders gathered for a joint photograph at Sharm El-Sheikh.

Footage of the incident, showing Herzog amused, made the rounds on social media. Lebanese prime minister Najib Mikati was seen laughing nearby, apparently in response to the exchange.

The evidently brief conversation between the Israeli president and leaders of countries that don’t officially recognize the Jewish state was not received well by many in the Arab world.

“That smile is a sin,” the Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese newspaper al-Mayadeen wrote of Bouden.

Other headlines in Arab publications included: “Spreading like wildfire,” an apparent reference to Arab normalization with Israel, and “Bouden’s mishap with the Israeli president.”

Some speculated that the exchange could be interpreted as a sign of warming ties.

“Normalization between Tunisia and Israel? Will [Tunisian President] Kais Saied consider this treason?” an Algerian lawmaker tweeted, according to Israel’s Channel 12.


Stabbing terror attack victim dies 2 weeks later, identified as Shalom Sofer
A resident of Kedumim who was injured two weeks ago in a stabbing terrorist attack in Al Funduq in the West Bank died from his wounds on Monday night.

The victim was identified as Shalom Sofer; his funeral was set to take place on Tuesday.

At the scene of the attack, Sofer was determined to be moderate to severely injured and was taken to Sheba Tel Hashomer Hospital.

Sofer's son said that one of his wounds reopened on Monday after which his condition deteriorated at the hospital, and the medical staff had to pronounce him dead.

'A special man with a huge heart'
"It was in great sorrow that I received the message of [the death of] Shalom Sofer's... who died of his wounds two weeks after he was attacked and stabbed by a terrorist," wrote Prime Minister Yair Lapid on Twitter. "In the name of Israel's government and citizens, I would like to send condolences to his friends and family."
The Israel Guys: Israel Strikes Gaza After Rocket Fired Into Southern Israel
Sirens were heard in southern Israel Thursday night as a rocket attack was intercepted by the iron dome. While walking down the street in Kiryat Arba last week, an Israeli girl was shot in the head, two smuggling attempts were thwarted by the IDF in the last week, and Rishi Sunak, the new British Prime Minister has decided not to move the British embassy to Jerusalem.


Footage of car ramming and stabbing attack
The recording by Israeli security cameras shows the terror attack by Palestinian terrorist Habes Rayyan.

Habes Rayyan - 54-year-old Palestinian terrorist who ran over and wounded an Israeli army officer at Makkabim checkpoint between Modiin and Jerusalem on Nov. 2, 2022. Rayyan then got out of his car with an ax and tried to murder the wounded officer, but the officer managed to shoot and kill Rayyan. The attack was captured by security cameras. Rayyan reportedly had two Islamic Jihad terrorist prisoner sons.


PA media accuses Jerusalem of demolishing bakery operated by family of terrorist
Palestinian official media on Monday accused the Jerusalem municipality of demolishing a bakery outside the Shuafat refugee camp in East Jerusalem as an act of retribution against the family of a terrorist who shot and killed an Israeli soldier last month.

The municipality denied the charge, saying it was unaware that the building was reportedly being rented out by the family of the terrorist, Udai Tamimi, and that demolition orders had been issued as far back as 2014.

Tamimi shot and killed IDF soldier Noa Lazar in a shooting attack at a checkpoint at the entrance of Shuafat refugee camp on October 8.

Following an 11-day manhunt that included a closure on the camp, Tamimi was killed when he tried to carry out a second shooting at the entrance to the West Bank settlement of Ma’ale Adumim.

In a report after the building was demolished, the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency Wafa, charged that the lack of a building permit was merely a pretext for the demolition, whose real purpose was “punitive.”
MEMRI: Muslim-American Activist Dana Al-Hasan At Raleigh, N.C. Lecture: Martyrdom And Dying For Your Land Are An Integral Part Of Palestinian Culture; This Is An Important Religious And Cultural Element We Need To Tell Non-Muslims About
Muslim-American activist Dana Al-Hasan, who belongs to an organization called Muslims for Social Justice, delivered a lecture about the Palestinian "struggle for liberation" at the Islamic Association of Raleigh, North Carolina, on October 29, 2022. Al-Hasan said that fighting, dying, and martyrdom are "integral" parts of Palestinian culture, and people need to tell non-Muslims about the religious and cultural significance these things have to Palestinians. She also said that Muslims in America can "adopt" many things from the Palestinian resistance. Al-Hasan's lecture was accompanied by a slideshow that included a photo of several Palestinian terrorists, including Omar Abu Leila, Wafa Baradei, and Fatah terrorists Aboud Sobh and Muhammad Al-Azizi. The slideshow featured a quote from Al-Azizi's father that said that "martyrdom is a celebration". The slideshow also said: "Palestinian fighters are referred to as martyrs [and] the celebration of martyrdom allows Palestinians to honor the lives given to the resistance."

When Talking To People, Particularly Non-Muslims, Always Explain That "As Muslims, We Understand The Importance Of Honoring Our Martyrs... [It] Is Such A Great Honor To Die For Your Land"

Dana Al-Hasan: "What Islam tells us is that it is important for us to work together to defend ourselves, and to defend our country, and first and foremost, to defend our land. And this is a lot of what we are seeing from Palestinians on the ground that we can adopt today.

"I think for a lot of us, as Muslims, we understand the importance of honoring our martyrs. One of the reasons I had this here is because, again, when you're talking to people, particularly non-Muslims, this is an important religious and cultural element to explain to people. So always make sure to bring that within your conversation spaces as you're talking to people, and how this is such a great honor, to die for your land.

"Martyrs Dying For Our Land... Continuously Uniting And Fighting Together Is An Integral Part Of Palestinian Culture And Resistance"

"You know, martyrs dying for our land and just continuously uniting and fighting together is an integral part of Palestinian culture and resistance. And we have always resisted in so many ways... in so many creative ways. It was even last year when we saw six Palestinian prisoners who escaped with a spoon — that's the significance of that photo there. Supposedly the most high max prison in Israel. But still, this doesn't prevent us. We will not be defied, we will only get stronger."


MEMRI: Hebron High School Glorifies Terrorists And Terrorism, Inculcates Ideal Of Martyrdom Through Sports And Culture Activities, Everyday Study Materials
The Al-Zahariya high school in Hebron routinely incorporates in its daily activities and materials content that glorifies terrorists and terrorist attacks. In the recent months the school commemorated several terrorists in ceremonies and sports activities and by alluding to them in various study materials. Among these terrorists are 'Uday Al-Tamimi, who carried out a shooting attack at the Shu'afat checkpoint in East Jerusalem in which an Israeli soldier, Noa Lazar, was killed, and another shooting at the entrance to the town of Ma'ale Adumim, in which he himself was killed; Ibrahim Al-Nabulsi, who was responsible for a series of shooting attacks against Israelis, as well as Ra'd Khazem, who perpetrated a shooting in Tel Aviv, his brother 'Abd Al-Rahman Khazem, killed in clashes with the Israeli armed forces, and their father Fathi Khazem, a former officer in the Palestinian Authority's (PA) National Security Forces who joined the militants in Jenin and is wanted by the Israeli authorities.[1]

The commemoration and glorification of terrorists finds expression in many school activities, both academic and social. For example, several days ago the school took pride in a tenth-grade physics exam in which one of the questions alluded to terrorist 'Uday Al-Tamimi. The physics teacher who composed the exam, Khalil Abu Sharkh, displayed the exam question on his Facebook page with the caption " Physics Scented with the Blood of the Martyrs." His post was shared on the Facebook accounts of the school, of its principal Ghaseb Al-Shab'an, and of other teachers.

On his own Facebook page, the school principal proudly displayed a drawing made by one of the students, depicting the moment of Al-Tamimi's death during the attack he carried out at the entrance to the town of Ma'ale Adumim.

The school also held a futsal tournament named after the terrorist Ibrahim Al-Nabulsi, and the students produced banners commemorating the martyrs and encouraging the terrorists in Nablus and Jenin. Glorification of terrorists is further evident in speeches delivered by the teachers at school ceremonies, and in social media posts by the teachers and the principal.

This report reviews some of the school activities commemorating terrorists and the expressions of support for them by the school principal and staff.
PMW: “He never aspired… to prepare himself for the future. He aspired to Martyrdom” - Parents of dead teen terrorist
A chilling testimony by the father of a teenage terrorist after his son’s death illustrates the tragic success of the PA’s brainwashing of youth to seek Martyrdom-death. Instead of encouraging youth to progress in life and “prepare for the future,” the PA teaches them that death for Allah and “Palestine” is superior:
Mahmoud Al-Tamimi, father of 19-year-old terrorist “Martyr”:
“Qusai completed the matriculation exams last year [2021], and he worked for some time in a restaurant in Ramallah. He was beloved in the village, and he never aspired to have a car or to have a home, or to prepare himself for the future. He aspired to Martyrdom, and indeed he achieved it.”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Oct. 26, 2022]

The teenage terrorist’s father also illustrated Palestinian parent’s willingness to sacrifice their children for the sake of “Palestine,” adding that his son actively chose death:
“Our children exist to convey one message – that we will generously give all that we have so that the homeland will be liberated, as our rifle is Palestine’s rifle. I swear by Allah that this occupation will pass… Qusai chose to be a sacrifice for the sake of Palestine.”

“We have nothing to give the homeland and the [Palestinian] cause other than this pure blood”

Teen-Martyr Qusai Al-Tamimi’s mother expressed the same sentiments of support:
“‘All my children and grandchildren will follow the path of Qusai”

She explained that Qusai, who aspired Martyrdom-death, had shaved his head to look like another terrorist “Martyr,” Uday Al-Tamimi, who murdered 1.:




Gaza Strip Officials Resign over Disastrous Flooding
Omar Al-Ghoul, a member of the Municipal Council in the Gaza Municipality, announced his resignation from his position on Tuesday due to street flooding all over the Gaza City neighborhoods, Al-Quds reported.

The news website cited sources saying Al-Ghoul is not the only one who submitted his resignation, there are three other council members, who resigned despite attempts by the Hamas government to discourage them from leaving.

Citizens and activists accused the municipality of not paying attention in advance to weather conditions and taking steps to avoid the massive flooding. However, Gaza City spokesmen and local radio stations denied the allegations and said the infrastructure of Gaza City, like the rest of the Gaza Strip, is in its worst condition due to––you guessed it––”repeated Zionist aggression.”

Gaza Mayor Yahya Al-Sarraj toured the flooded areas, especially the Al- Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City.

Back in December 2019, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warned that 235,000 People across the Gaza Strip were at risk of flooding. According to that report, “Some 235,000 people residing in 39 low-lying areas lacking adequate infrastructure across the Gaza Strip are at risk of flooding during the upcoming winter season due to possible overflow of stormwater facilities and sewage pumping stations, according to estimates by the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Cluster for the Occupied Palestinian Territory. This may expose an already vulnerable population to waterborne diseases, property losses, disruption in access to livelihoods and services, and displacement.”

The IDF reported in July 2022, that Hamas had built new underground networks within the various neighborhoods of the Strip. The tunnels pass under civilian buildings, knowing that an Israeli attack on those targets would be condemned by world media as provocative. If the tunnels collapse, hospitals, mosques, universities, and factories will also collapse with them.




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