The Big Lies About Israel’s Big Bombs
President Joe Biden says Israel is losing support because of its “indiscriminate bombing” in Gaza. He says that Israeli conduct in Gaza has been “over the top.” His secretary of state, secretary of defense, and vice president have all said Israel must do more to make the war in Gaza less destructive. Yet the White House has never laid out precisely what Israel is doing wrong on the battlefield. How does one wage a less destructive war when facing an enemy that has spent more than a decade building hundreds of kilometers of tunnels underneath densely populated areas, turning whole neighborhoods into human shields?Top U.S. intelligence officials refuse to reject claim that Israel is "exterminating" Palestinians
A growing contingent of journalists believes it has the answer to this question: Israel must stop using 2,000-pound bombs in Gaza and shift to smaller, less powerful munitions. Investigations by CNN, the Washington Post, and the New York Times all make the case that employing such large bombs in dense urban environments is inherently reckless, even criminal.
Yet the military analysis that informs this conclusion is amateurish, placing inordinate emphasis on the potential of 2,000-pound bombs to inflict grave harm on people and buildings far from the point of impact. This ignores how a well-trained air force can limit such harm by fusing a bomb to detonate below ground, as well as adjusting factors such as the angle and velocity of its delivery.
The indictments also tend to brush aside that Hamas has spent a decade constructing a tunnel network that is more extensive, built tougher, and buried deeper than those of other insurgent forces, such as ISIS. Ignoring this key fact, the critics ask why Israel needs to use 2,000-pound bombs if the United States and its allies used them infrequently in urban environments when fighting ISIS.
Another flaw of the broadsides against Israel’s use of large bombs is that their conclusions rest heavily on analysis provided by experts drawn from progressive ranks, and especially from organizations calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and an immediate end to U.S. military support for Israel. The voices of independent military experts are conspicuously absent.
Finally, the critics shy away from observing that Hamas has embedded its military infrastructure directly under homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques. This is a war crime, plain and simple, yet the media’s emphasis remains on Israel’s alleged culpability, with no reference to the original sin of locating military infrastructure in prohibited spaces. Unquestionably, the war has inflicted unprecedented suffering on the people of Gaza. Yet that is part of Hamas’s plan.
Avril Haines, director of national intelligence, and Williams Burns, director of the CIA, testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Monday. Sen. Tom Cotton asked Haines and Burns whether they agreed with allegations that Israel is “exterminating” the Palestinian people.Caroline Glick: Israel’s strategic game of survival
For any honest, non-biased intelligence director, answering would be easy. Of course, Israel isn’t exterminating the Palestinian people; nor is it attempting to do so.
Yet, neither Haines nor Burns disavowed this slanderous claim. Cotton gave Burns two tries. Both times, Burns refused to disagree with the slander, choosing instead to mouth non-responsive Biden administration talking points about the need for a cease-fire, etc.
Cotton then asked Haines the same question. She replied that she fully endorses Burns’ (non) response. You can watch these exchanges here, beginning at around the 1 hour, 8 minute mark
The answers Burns and Haines gave are disgraceful. One can be “mindful” of the deaths of innocent civilians in Gaza, as Burns said we should be, without lending credence to the calumny that Israel is exterminating the Palestinian people. But neither of Americas two top intelligence repudiated that charge.
The charge is manifestly false. According to Hamas, Israel has killed around 31,000 Palestinians in Gaza. This number is garbage, but let’s assume, for purposes of argument, that it’s accurate. And let’s add in the nearly five hundred Palestinians that, allegedly, have been killed in the West Bank.
Prime Minister Netanyahu says that Israeli forces have killed approximately 13,000 Hamas terrorists. I have no reason to doubt this figure, but let’s say, again for the sake of argument, that the real number is half of what Netanyahu claims.
Under these assumptions, all of which are highly favorable to the Hamas propaganda machine, Israeli forces have killed approximately 25,000 Palestinian civilians, around 24,500 of whom resided in Gaza. The population of Gaza is around two million.
“Exterminate” means to destroy completely. Clearly, there has been nothing resembling an extermination.
Nor, especially in light of Hamas’ strategy of hiding among civilians, has there been an attempt at extermination. Given Israel’s massive military superiority, if its forces were trying to exterminate Palestinians, they would have killed many times more of them than they have.
Yet, America’s two top intelligence chiefs wouldn’t deny the calumny — a modern day blood libel — that Israel is exterminating Palestinians.
To understand the nature of the armed conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, “you really have to go back to World War II-style battles,” said Spencer.
“Defense is always the strongest form of warfare … Hamas has had 15-plus years to build defensive positions. … Yes, they don’t have an air force. They don’t have armor and tanks. They’re mostly light infantry. But they’re in probably the most defensive terrain that could ever be created. They’re in literally bomb-proof bunkers underneath every house. … It’s 400 miles of tunnels that range from 15 feet to 300 feet underground where no military munition can reach.”
The IDF, Spencer noted, “has lots of drones and things above, but you can’t see through concrete. You can’t see underneath the buildings. It’s an immense defensive capability, but also the rocket supply. The fact that Hamas has launched over 12,000 rockets at Israel’s civilian sites—every one of them a war crime—is part of their combat power. … The fact that they’re sitting in their defensive positions, waiting for attack and have been planning for that for 15 years means it doesn’t really matter how big the IDF is or how powerful they are.”
The second fundamental feature of Hamas’s war against Israel that the United States refuses to acknowledge is that Hamas’s Oct. 7 operation was not a terrorist attack. “They did terrorist things, but that was a full division-level invasion of a nation, of Israel,” and “while Hamas is a terrorist organization, it’s also an army.”
The terrorists that carried out the slaughter that day didn’t “penetrate” Israel, like a suicide bomber who explodes himself in a crowded cafe. Hamas operatives invaded Israel with thousands of well-trained, heavily armed terror forces organized as light infantry and artillery units. Their goals were to seize whole communities, military bases and villages, and enact a premeditated plan of sadistic slaughter, gang rape, seizure of hostages of all ages, seizure of strategic targets, and, if possible, the holding of territory within Israel. The ground invasion was synchronized with a massive missile and drone strike, in addition to a cyber-attack against first-response systems and other critical infrastructure.
Three things Israel must do to win
Israel’s mini-war against Hamas in 2014 ended with a tactical victory and strategic stalemate. Ten years ago, Netanyahu was able to withstand the Obama-Biden administration’s demand that Israel capitulate and enable Hamas to win a strategic victory by mobilizing the support of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which opposed Hamas.
Fearing Hamas’s mastermind Iran—and in light of the U.S.’s determination to enable a Hamas victory to empower Iran—today the moderate Arab states are unwilling to stick their necks out. In the absence of Sunni support, Israel is compelled to stand alone against the United States.
To win, Israel must do three things. It must remain politically stable. Schumer’s broadside from the Senate floor was just the latest salvo in an all-out effort by the administration to destabilize Israel politically and replace Netanyahu with his chief rival Benny Gantz, whom they believe will agree to capitulate and accept the formation of a Palestinian state. Minister-without-Portfolio Gideon Sa’ar’s decision on Tuesday to ditch Gantz’s party and take his faction’s four Knesset seats into the coalition speaks to the near consensus view in Israel that Netanyahu is the only leader that will fight to victory despite U.S. opposition. On Wednesday, a new Direct Polls survey showed that U.S. hostility has strengthened Netanyahu and the right. Netanyahu leads Gantz 47 % to 37% in public support. His right-religious bloc of parties, (including Sa’ar) is polling a 62 seat-majority to Gantz’s leftist bloc of parties’ 48 seats.
The second thing Israel must do is mobilize U.S. public opinion on behalf of its goal of achieving strategic victory by eradicating Hamas and maintaining its security control over Gaza for the foreseeable future. According to last month’s Harvard-Harris poll. Americans support Israel against Hamas 82% to 18%. Netanyahu opened a campaign this week to secure public support with a slew of interviews to the American media and his speech to AIPAC’s annual convention.
Schumer’s hysterical attempts to walk his remarks back amid a furious storm of criticism from all quarters revealed that pro-Israel public opinion remains a factor in American politics.
Finally, Israel must conquer Rafah in defiance of the Biden’s redline and do so as quickly as possible.
As the weeks and months pass, and Election Day in America draws nearer, if Israel remains politically stable, if the IDF continues its brilliant fight in Gaza and if U.S. opinion remains supportive, just as Israel has turned Hamas’s tactical advantages into its own, it will turn the Palestinian U.S.-centered strategy on its head. For once, time will work in Israel’s favor, and Israel will win the strategic victory it needs to secure its survival.
Jonathan Tobin: The Problem in Gaza Is Hamas, Not How to Provide Aid
After months where media outlets seemed to only highlight the suffering of Palestinians since Hamas started a war on Oct. 7, President Joe Biden felt he had to respond with a tangible demonstration of his sympathy for Gaza civilians - to build a floating port from which food and other supplies would flow to alleviate the shortages that have produced a steady stream of appalling images of conditions there. Yet there remain unanswered questions about how the food will actually reach needy Palestinians without being stolen by Hamas.Hamas demands 50 released prisoners for every female soldier - report
But the real problem in Gaza isn't about aid or its distribution. The main issue in Gaza is Hamas itself. As long as the terrorist group is still armed and in charge of any part of Gaza - and still able to use parts of the tunnel system it built with international aid intended to help ordinary Palestinians - all talk about humanitarian concerns there is essentially a diversion.
The only reason residents in Gaza continue to suffer is precisely because the international community, the media, and the U.S. government have been persuaded to treat the impact on Palestinians of the war that began on Oct. 7 as more important than its cause. The only way it will truly end is by Hamas' complete defeat.
A ceasefire now would essentially reward Hamas for its assaults on Jewish communities in Israel. It would make the repeat of that spree of murder, rape, torture and kidnapping a virtual certainty; Hamas has said as much. All the suffering in Gaza and the casualties on both sides is the fault of Hamas alone. It started the war with cross-border attacks and unspeakable atrocities. And by not releasing the men, women and children it took as hostages, it must accept the responsibility for the inevitable consequences.
Hamas is counting on the images of Palestinian anguish, which they caused, to bail them out. They see the focus of the international community and the U.S. on the aid question, rather than on demanding that Hamas end its futile resistance. By acting as if the priority is to push aid into Gaza, regardless of the fact that most of it is being stolen by Hamas, they are prolonging the war and increasing rather than alleviating the pain of Palestinians.
The only way to ease Palestinian suffering is to help Israel to complete the defeat of Hamas and end its control of any part of Gaza. Once that happens, the problem of feeding and caring for Palestinians becomes simpler. Pressure on Israel to agree to a ceasefire before the terrorists are finished will only mean more privation for Palestinians as well as more blood spilled by Hamas.
Hamas has revealed its proposed terms for a hostage deal that was passed along to Israeli officials, including releasing 50 prisoners for every female soldier, and a permanent ceasefire, according to a report on Friday by Qatari stated-owned news source Al-Jazeera.Iranian bombs dropped on Israel are transported on ships using European ports
According to the report, Hamas wants its terms for a hostage deal to be carried in three stages, with each stage lasting 42 days.
Allegedly, the group demanded that during the first stage the IDF must withdraw from Rashid street and Salah al-Din street in Gaza, so that displaced civilians can return to their homes.
During the second stage, a complete and permanent ceasefire must be announced, and only then will Hamas begin to release Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
The report specified that for every female soldier released by Hamas, Israel must release 50 Palestinian prisoners. it also mentioned that 30 of the prisoners that Hamas demanded to be released are serving life sentences in Israeli prison.
Finally, the report stated that the third phase would include the "comprehensive reconstruction" of Gaza, but didn't specify what this meant.
Iran is using European ports to provide cover for shipments of weapons to Hezbollah, The Telegraph can reveal.Iran Air could be banned from Europe if Tehran sends missiles to Russia, US warns
The Lebanese terror group has received missiles and bombs on ships that go on to dock in ports in Belgium, Spain and Italy, sources said.
Hezbollah and Israel are close to all-out war amid daily exchanges of cross-border fire, causing border regions to be evacuated.
Iran has switched to shipping weapons by sea after Israel’s air force began to target consignments coming in by land into northern Syria via Iraq, the source said.
Weapons and other goods are now shipped to the Syrian port of Latakia before the vessels go on to ports in Antwerp, Valencia and Ravenna, the Telegraph was told, in an attempt to disguise the purpose of the journeys.
From Latakia, the weapons are transported south to Lebanon.
“Using Europe helps to hide the nature and the source of the shipments, switching paperwork and containers… to clean the shipments,” a senior intelligence source in Israel said.
“Europe has huge ports so Iran is using that as a camouflage. It’s very easy to do manipulations in those big ports where things have to get moved quickly, rather than a small port where there will be more scrutiny.
“It’s like a cat and mouse between us and the Iranians. They’re trying to smuggle and we’re trying to stop it. It’s been at least three years like this.”
G7 nations are prepared to respond with severe new penalties that could include a ban on Iran Air flights to Europe if Iran proceeds with the transfer of close-range ballistic missiles to Russia, a senior US official saysHouthis: The captain of the 'Galaxy Leader' ship was transferred to Hamas
“Our message today is, if Iran proceeds with providing Russia with ballistic missiles, the response from the international community will be swift and severe,” the official tells a small group of reporters.
“The ship and its crew are in the hands of the brothers in the Hamas resistance movement and the Al-Qassam Brigades,” Houthi spokesman Nasr Al-Din Amer said, CNN reported.
The Galaxy Leader cargo ship was hijacked by a Houthi-owned helicopter on November 19 in the Red Sea, 116 days ago, as the terrorists laid siege to the ship and took hostage the ship’s crew of 17 Filipinos, two Bulgarians, three Ukrainians, two Mexicans and a Romanian.
March 14 Red Sea Update
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 15, 2024
Between 6:50 a.m. on March 14 and 12:40 a.m. on March 15 (Sanaa time), Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists fired two anti-ship ballistic missiles (ASBMs) from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen toward the Gulf of Aden and two additional ASBMs towards the Red… pic.twitter.com/Mck2CEEZSC
Jonathan Tobin: Schumer provides cover for Biden’s smears of Israel
Yet what made Schumer’s speech truly newsworthy—and appalling—was his open call for a change of government in Israel. While he claimed that he only wanted to give Israel’s people a “choice,” they gave the current coalition a clear majority only 16 months ago. It’s been a stormy term for Netanyahu, and the fact that the Oct. 7 disaster happened on his watch may ultimately end his political career.Chuck Schumer’s Problem Is with Israel, Not Netanyahu
But even though Americans like Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama have been trying to interfere in Israeli politics for decades, never has a U.S. official been so brazen in demanding that Israel’s democratic system bow to Washington’s wishes that it produce a government more amenable to the diktats of the White House on the Palestinians and Iran.
That isn’t merely hypocritical, given the nonstop bleating of Democrats over the past eight years about Russian efforts to intervene in U.S. elections. Schumer thinks that Netanyahu should condemn Israeli politicians who are part of his coalition, like Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, because of their extremism. But has Schumer done the same to the antisemitic extremists in his own party of the left-wing “Squad” or sought to expel its members from Congress?
The damage Schumer is doing to the U.S.-Israel relationship is evident from the condemnations that his speech has received across the board from Israelis, including chief Netanyahu rival Benny Gantz. The irony is, as Gantz knows well, that by seeking to oust Netanyahu by unfairly attacking the IDF’s war effort and saving Hamas, as well as by demanding a two-state solution that Israelis from right to left oppose, Biden and Schumer are helping rather than hurting the prime minister. They are making new elections—something that is not going to happen in the middle of a war—even less likely than before.
Treating Israel as a client state that must sacrifice its security for the sake of discredited policies like a two-state solution that has been tried and failed is bad enough when it comes from those who don’t pose as advocates of the Jewish state as Schumer does. Yet his stance is rooted entirely in partisan political interests rather than principle. This is one of the most perilous times in Jewish history, when Jews are being attacked for backing Israel, and others are fighting and dying to ensure that the Jewish state will live. For Schumer to speak in this disgraceful manner and to undermine Israel in wartime for the sake of helping Biden hold onto office is a decision that should permanently associate his name with that of betrayal and dishonor.
Schumer’s remarks are designed to establish the fiction that new leadership in the Israeli government would yield a new approach to this war and the subsequent effort to establish a healthier social contract in the Gaza Strip. He has no reason to believe that, though he probably thinks you might.Schumer stabs Israel in the back with disgraceful remarks
Netanyahu’s government is no longer wholly dependent on the right-wing coalition that brought him back to power after an 18-month interlude from 2021 to 2022. It’s a wartime unity coalition led by a tripartite pact composed of political rivals. Netanyahu’s foremost domestic political opponent, Benny Gantz, is a minister in that government without portfolio. Nor is Yoav Gallant, Israel’s defense minister, a member of Netanyahu’s party. Like all coalition governments, this one is reportedly riven by strife and internal conflict, but it has shown the world no indication that it is disunited on the tactical approach to the war in the Gaza Strip. It is united in pursuit of its strategic objective — eliminating Hamas once and for all — because Israeli society is united behind that objective.
New elections might produce a new prime minister, but it would not yield a new war because it would not create a new Israel. That is the unspoken source of Schumer’s consternation, but he is not alone. “I cannot support sending Israel more weapons as long as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains in power,” Congressman Joaquin Castro insisted. “We should not provide this money to allow Netanyahu to continue the indiscriminate bombardment,” Senator Bernie Sanders barked. The “U.S. military aid can’t be a blank check to a right-wing Netanyahu government,” Senator Elizabeth Warren insisted.
Netanyahu is not a popular figure — not in America, not in Israel, and, indeed, not even in his own party, if the polling is to be believed. He makes for an easy target. Schumer has only borrowed his colleagues’ tactic because it gives to the Democrats who adopt it a plausible claim that they are merely critical of Israeli leadership, not the state or its people. But they don’t believe it. Not if the White House’s conduct is any indication. If Democrats genuinely thought Netanyahu was the villain here, the administration would not have given Gantz the Bibi treatment during his recent visit to Washington.
It’s hard to believe that the smart Brooklyn boy I knew 60 years ago has so completely missed the mark. Israel’s conduct of the war in Gaza is determined by a War Cabinet agreed upon in October, which includes some of Netanyahu’s toughest critics. Moreover, the vast majority of Israelis approve of the government’s conduct of the war. Israel has done more than any nation in history to protect innocent civilians in wartime, while taking down a terrorist infrastructure in Gaza that has been decades in the making.Elliott Abrams: Schumer 's Attack on an Ally at War
Netanyahu is leading a country that is still in shock, in mourning and unwaveringly determined that the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust will never be repeated. Ironically, attacking Netanyahu now will only make him stronger politically at home, as he defends Israel from both Hamas and its supporters in the U.S. at the same time.
While Israelis face an existential enemy that publicly announces its intention to repeat Oct. 7 over and over again, Democrats are trying to look tough on Israel to please their radical supporters sitting safely here in the U.S. This is not the time to insert American political calculations into our relationship with a key strategic partner and a democratic ally in an increasingly fragmented world.
In this moment of crisis, Israel deserves our wholehearted support. Americans know this — the majority of them support Israel. But Democrats in Washington are seeing their poll numbers dropping, and Schumer’s remarks make clear that they are increasingly willing to sacrifice our ally Israel to win votes in certain battleground states. It is a “shanda,” a disgrace, that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of Brooklyn, New York, is the one holding the knife.
Schumer seems deeply confused about what Israelis want. Prime Minister Netanyahu is very unpopular and may well lose the next election—or be tossed out sooner if he loses his majority in the Knesset. But his unpopularity is tied to accusations of corruption and last year’s judicial reform battle, not to “peace.” In fact the Israeli populace supports the actions of the current war cabinet. As the Israeli journalist Amit Segal write in the Wall Street Journal on March 13,The Commentary Magazine Podcast: Ground Chuck
Yes, there is a significant disparity between Israel’s leadership and its citizens—but it’s the opposite of what people in Washington assume. The Israeli public is far more “right-wing” than the policies of its government. While Mr. Netanyahu has previously voiced support for a Palestinian state, a February survey conducted by Midgam for Channel 12 News found that 63% of the Israeli public strongly opposes such a state under any circumstances. While the cabinet implicitly agreed that a renewed Palestinian Authority would control Gaza, 73% of those who expressed an opinion in the survey opposed it.
Israelis are notoriously outspoken and have a vibrant democracy. In the middle of a war the very last thing they need is for a Democratic Party politician to elevate his own party’s electoral needs over Israeli national security and over Israeli democracy. This speech, coming after the Vice President’s, appears to signal a continuing campaign against Netanyahu. It’s a shameful and unprecedented way to treat an ally, and an unconscionable interference in the internal politics of another democracy.
Hosted by Abe Greenwald, Christine Rosen, John Podhoretz & Matthew Continetti Dan Senor joins the podcast to discuss the politics behind Chuck Schumer’s dumbfounding speech calling for the deposition of Benjamin Netanyahu. What does it tell us about Democratic party politics and Israel’s standing with the party Jews have historically supported by huge margins?
It is highly inappropriate and simply wrong for Senator Schumer to be calling for new elections in Israel.
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) March 14, 2024
We need to stand strong with Israel, but the White House and Senate Democrats are seemingly standing with and supporting Iran and its proxies instead. pic.twitter.com/5NGJifz0GO
McConnell quite rightly hits Schumer’s Israel comments — hard: pic.twitter.com/ig7Po4OuVQ
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) March 14, 2024
.@LindseyGrahamSC is spot-on.
— Morgan Ortagus (@MorganOrtagus) March 14, 2024
5 American lives are on the line in Gaza, and the Left is calling on Prime Minister Netanyahu to step down for executing a war strategy that most Israelis support.
Israel can fight this war however they want. https://t.co/geoWcW4GK7
WATCH: Chairman @SenJohnBarrasso rebuts Chuck Schumer’s outrageous claim that the Prime Minister of Israel is an “obstacle to peace.”
— Senate Republicans (@SenateGOP) March 14, 2024
Schumer is wrong.
“It is terrorists, rapists, and murderers of Hamas who are obstacles to peace.” pic.twitter.com/tYwGbDhupE
RELEASE: Sen. Cruz Response to Schumer’s Israel Commentshttps://t.co/xeP7c8NqEl pic.twitter.com/FlJyihAnmE
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) March 14, 2024
'Inappropriate and Offensive': Tom Cotton Slams Chuck Schumer's Call To Oust Netanyahu
Sen. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) on Thursday blasted Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer's (D., N.Y.) call for Israelis to vote out Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"Chuck Schumer's demand for new Israeli elections is inappropriate and offensive," Cotton said in a statement. "Israel is a close ally and a healthy, vibrant democracy. The last thing Israel needs is the 'foreign election interference' that Democrats so often decry here."
Schumer, who is Jewish, in a Thursday Senate floor speech fulminated against Netanyahu, saying the Jewish state's leader "has lost his way" by forcefully responding to Hamas's Oct. 7 attack on Israel, in which the terrorist group killed more than 1,200 Israelis.
The majority leader, who accused Netanyahu of allying with "radical right-wing Israelis" and being "stuck in the past," went so far as to call the prime minister a "major obstacle to peace," on par with Hamas and the Palestinian Authority's president.
"I believe a new election is the only way to allow for a healthy and open decision-making process about the future of Israel," Schumer said.
Schumer, who as recently as last year shared pictures of himself embracing Netanyahu, is just the latest Democrat to express hostility toward Israel's government as the party's progressive wing criticizes the Jewish state for defending itself. Mere hours after Hamas attacked Israel, far-left "Squad" members Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.) and Cori Bush (D., Mo.) blamed Israel for the attack. In February, Bush and fellow Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D., N.Y.) teamed up to host a fundraiser alongside anti-Semitic activists who have defended terrorism.
An anonymous Democratic congressman told Politico last year that he fears anti-Semitism will "grow and metastasize" throughout his party.
Chuck Schumer’s demand for new Israeli elections is inappropriate and offensive. pic.twitter.com/dWgDJgltij
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) March 14, 2024
Chuck Schumer’s attack on the Israeli government is an outrage and undermines the relationship between America and Israel at the worst possible time. The prime minister of the democratic State of Israel is chosen by the citizens of Israel; not the Majority Leader of US Senate.…
— Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) March 15, 2024
Chuck Schumer’s attack on the Israeli government is an outrage and undermines the relationship between America and Israel at the worst possible time. The prime minister of the democratic State of Israel is chosen by the citizens of Israel; not the Majority Leader of US Senate.…
— Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) March 15, 2024
Regardless of my opinion of Netanyahu and his fitness to serve, Senator Schumer’s call for new Israeli elections is deeply disrespectful of our democracy and sovereignty. Israel is an ally, not a vassal state. Along with the U.S., we’re one of the few countries never to have…
— Michael Oren (@DrMichaelOren) March 14, 2024
.@SenSchumer You are not Moses. You are not the "protector" of the Jewish people. SHAME SHAME SHAME! pic.twitter.com/xaj5pzJ4eh
— Dov Hikind (@HikindDov) March 14, 2024
So the Hill’s story isn’t that Schumer is calling for regime change in our ally Israel. It’s that Republicans are reacting to it? We’re pouncing?
— Matthew RJ Brodsky (@MattRJBrodsky) March 14, 2024
Get a clue. pic.twitter.com/RJIcGWRy9H
.@RJC's @Sam_Markstein to TPM's Ari Hoffman @thehoffather on Chuck Schumer's comments about Netanyahu:
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) March 14, 2024
"This is full-out political warfare on our key ally Israel, while also rewarding Hamas terrorists. It really is mind-boggling." pic.twitter.com/kfO7HpK6LY
Israel Will Defeat Hamas in Rafah
Mounting international pressure to end the war won't weaken Israel's resolve to accomplish its mission of destroying Hamas, freeing the hostages and guaranteeing that Gaza will never pose a threat to Israel again. Detractors dismiss total victory as implausible, but the facts on the ground indicate otherwise. Israel has already incapacitated more than 21,500 Hamas terrorists. John Spencer, chairman of urban warfare studies at West Point, says that Israel is setting the "gold standard" for avoiding civilian casualties.Aaron David Miller: Why Biden Isn't Pressuring Israel
Israel doesn't need prompting to provide humanitarian aid or to act with caution. According to retired British Col. Richard Kemp, the average combatant-to-civilian death ratio in Gaza is about 1 to 1.5. According to the UN, the average combatant-to-civilian death ratio in urban warfare has been 1 to 9.
The city of Rafah is Hamas' last stronghold and its defeat there is a prerequisite for victory. Whoever pressures Israel to refrain from entering Rafah is preventing the destruction of Hamas and the freeing of Israel and Gazan civilians from Hamas' stranglehold. Gen. David Petraeus, who led the 2007 American surge in Iraq, said last week that the "key now is to not stop until Hamas is fully destroyed." Asking Israel to stop the war now is akin to telling the Allies to stop halfway to Berlin in World War II.
President Biden may be increasingly uncomfortable with how Israel is waging this war and the appalling loss of life of innocent civilians, but he shares Israel's war aims: to both eliminate Hamas' capacity to pull off another Oct. 7 and end its sovereignty in Gaza. This is a war against Iran-backed Hamas - a terror organization that seeks to replace Israel with an Islamic state; that engaged in a rampage of indiscriminate, sadistic killing and raping; and that holds hostages.Netanyahu approves Rafah operation, Israeli officials to head to Qatar
That war is occurring in a densely populated area roughly twice the size of Washington, D.C., where Hamas has embedded its military assets around and under civilian structures and population.
If the president had a compelling alternative to how Israel could wage a war in these circumstances without doing grievous harm to civilians, he might have more leverage. Moreover, a large majority of Israelis, including Prime Minister Netanyahu's rival, Benny Gantz, support the war.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved a military operation for Rafah in Southern Gaza, that will also include the evacuation of civilians, his office said on Friday after the war cabinet met in the early afternoon.FIDF Briefing: Lt. Col. (Res.) Jonathan Conricus, Former. IDF Spokesperson - March 13, 2024
The Rafah operation has been one of the levers Israel has used to pressure Hamas to make a deal for the return of the remaining 134 captives held in the enclave.
The international community has opposed the move fearing for the fate of the over 1.3 million Palestinians in the area of Rafah, many of whom fled there to escape bombing in northern Gaza.
The US has insisted that Israel must present a credible and realistic plan to protect civilians in Rafah, with US National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby saying on Thursday that the Biden administration has yet to see such a plan.
FIDF Chief Executive Officer Steve Weil welcomes Lt. Col. (Res.) Jonathan Conricus, Sr. Fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies and Former IDF Spokesperson to provide a briefing on dismantling Hamas, fighting against Iran, Hezbollah, and Lebanon, thwarting the attempts from the Houthis in Yemen, the need to oppose Iran, the narrative surrounding Rafah and the significance of it in the bigger picture, and more.
LTC (Res.) Conricus also answers questions about defending against the stock of weaponry Hezbollah has, the expected response to Lebanon, the lack of accountability being held to Iran, the Gaza evacuation efforts as UNRWA chose to disobey, and more.
Donate NOW at FIDF.org for the fastest and most direct way to give IDF Soldiers what they need most. 100% of your contribution will go to meet their emergency humanitarian needs.
The sooner Israel starts the necessary assault on Hamas in Rafah, the sooner the war and suffering will end. My thoughts on out of bounds US statements as well on @BBCWorld pic.twitter.com/VHoZaBxcI4
— Jonathan Conricus (@jconricus) March 15, 2024
IDF destroys 200 meter tunnel under Gaza Strip agricultural area
The IDF uncovered munitions and terror infrastructure in the Hamad area of Khan Yunis, including a 200-meter-long tunnel under a pepper field in an agricultural area, the IDF announced on Friday.
According to the IDF, the discovery was part of continued operations by the 7th Armored Brigade's combat team, which has been operating in the Hamad area, eliminating terrorists and locating and destroying tunnel shafts and enemy compounds.
During searches in an agricultural pepper field in the area, soldiers located an underground terror tunnel approximately 200 meters long, which was used by Hamas and had weapons stored inside of it.
The tunnel was thoroughly inspected before being destroyed
Combat Engineering soldiers inspected the tunnel for traps before destroying it.
Additionally, the soldiers located additional weapons in the area, including grenades, RPG missiles, explosives, rocket launchers, vests, and cameras.
Here’s aerial footage of the massive tunnel that was just exposed by the IDF https://t.co/yLlEpi3o8g pic.twitter.com/TDsVum9xZr
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) March 15, 2024
Palestinian Authority police officers embroiled in terror
Almost 80 members of the U.S.-trained and armed Palestinian Authority security forces have been implicated in acts of terrorism against Israeli civilians and military personnel in the past three years alone, according to research published by the Jerusalem-based Regavim Movement think tank on Friday.Caroline Glick: SHOCKING: Palestinian Security Forces Heavily Involved in Terrorism
The report, titled “Officers by Day, Terrorists by Night,” provides a detailed account of dozens of cases in which P.A. police officers “turned their Western-supplied guns against the State of Israel,” Regavim said.
Regavim’s research primarily relies on official “martyrdom proclamations” released by the P.A.’s ruling Fatah faction and Ramallah’s security organs. The study focuses exclusively on P.A. employees with terror links and does not include countless attacks perpetrated by Fatah members.
Between January 2021 and December 2023, 44 P.A. officers were declared “martyrs” by Ramallah after being killed by Israeli forces while perpetrating acts of terror. Seven others sustained injuries. During the same period, Israel arrested at least 25 members of the P.A. Security Forces (PASF) on various terrorism charges.
The figures are likely an underestimate, Regavim noted, as they do not include PASF terrorists who managed to escape justice or whose connection to the P.A. has not been made public in any way.
“To continue to claim that the P.A. is a moderating force that fights terrorism is to prop up the same failed concepts and paradigms that collapsed on Oct. 7,” said Regavim director Meir Deutsch. He charged that “these attitudes and misperceptions endanger the safety and security of every citizen of Israel.”
Late last month, a P.A. police officer murdered two Israelis at a gas station outside the town of Eli in the Binyamin region of Samaria.
The P.A. has one of the largest per capita security forces in the world, trained and armed by the U.S. and other Western nations. Members of the PASF have a long history of carrying out terror attacks. Last year, Fatah boasted that most of its “martyrs” served in the PASF.
A US Intellegence Report warns that Bibi's rule is unstable just as an old foe joins his government and a new shocking report shows that terrorism is "baked in" to the Palestinian Authority.
Mahmoud Ziyad Abu Al-Haija (محمود زياد أبو الهيجاء מחמוד זיאד אבו אלהיג'א) was a Hamas' Al-Qassam Brigades terrorist. Mahmoud fired at the IDF. The forces returned fire and eliminated the terrorist.
— GnasherJew®גנאשר (@GnasherJew) March 15, 2024
Mahmoud was buried in his Hamas uniform.
The Mustafa Barghouti whitewashing… https://t.co/YpRMfrTSsV pic.twitter.com/6E9g15nXsf
IDF finds bomb in vehicle at Tzofim checkpoint, arrests four suspects
IDF arrested four suspects at the Tzofim checkpoint after finding a bomb in their vehicle, the IDF said on Friday.
Soldiers who were operating at the checkpoint stopped the vehicle and, after searching it, found the explosive device on the side of the car door.
After conducting a further search, photos of weapons were also found on the suspect's phones.
The suspects have been arrested and transferred for further investigation.
Further IDF arrests
In addition to the four arrested, Shin Bet arrested 14 wanted people on Thursday night throughout the area of Judea and Samaria.
According to the IDF, in the villages of Arraba in Northern Israel and Tulkarm in the West Bank, five wanted people were also arrested.
Those arrested had all their weapons confiscated from them, while no IDF soldiers were injured in the process.
Since the beginning of the war, approximately 3,500 wanted persons have been arrested, over 1,500 of whom are associated with the terrorist organization Hamas, the IDF said.
#WATCH:
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) March 15, 2024
The footage of the attempted break in to Eldad by two Palestinian terrorists. IDF acted quickly, Impressive. https://t.co/x32ag70dHa pic.twitter.com/iNaizOa1fp
IDF probe: Palestinian gunmen killed Gazans waiting for aid, no army fire at all
The IDF says that last night, Palestinian gunmen opened fire at Gazan civilians waiting for aid at Kuwait Square in Gaza City, leading to casualties. It says IDF troops did not open fire at any stage during the incident.
According to the IDF’s probe, a convoy of 31 trucks containing food and other humanitarian aid for civilians made its way to northern Gaza.
An hour before the convoy arrived at an IDF-established corridor, armed Palestinians opened fire while civilians were waiting for the aid trucks, the probe finds.
“As aid trucks were entering [the corridor], the Palestinian gunmen continued to shoot as the crowd of Gazans began looting the trucks,” the IDF says, adding that it also identified several civilians who had been run over by the trucks.
Hamas health officials said at least 21 people were killed and more than 150 were wounded in the incident.
The IDF says that after conducting an “intensive preliminary review,” it found that “the IDF did not open fire at the aid convoy at Kuwait Square.”
“A review of our operational systems and IDF troops [on the ground] found that no tank shelling, airstrike or gunfire was carried out toward the Gazan crowd in the area of the aid convoy,” the military says.
The IDF adds that it is continuing to investigate the incident.
#BREAKING:
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) March 15, 2024
The IDF reports that Palestinian gunmen fired at civilians waiting for aid at Kuwait Square in Gaza City last night, resulting in casualties. IDF troops did not fire during the incident.
As per the IDF's investigation, a convoy of 31 trucks carrying food and… https://t.co/tpui5zwxWd
Full IDF English statement:
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) March 15, 2024
About an hour before the entry of the aid convoy last night, Palestinian gunmen were seen opening fire in the midst of a crowd of Gazan civilians. We emphasize that there was no opening of fire by IDF forces at the aid convoy in Kuwait Square. The IDF…
Approximately one hour before the arrival of the convoy to the humanitarian corridor, armed Palestinians opened fire while Gazan civilians were awaiting the arrival of the aid convoy. As aid trucks were entering, the Palestinian gunmen continued to >>
— דובר צה״ל דניאל הגרי - Daniel Hagari (@IDFSpokesperson) March 15, 2024
A review of our operational systems and IDF forces on the ground found that no tank fire, air-strike or gunfire was carried out toward the Gazan civilians at the aid convoy.
— דובר צה״ל דניאל הגרי - Daniel Hagari (@IDFSpokesperson) March 15, 2024
The IDF is continuing to review the incident >>
As a result, on the first Friday of the month of Ramadan, a smear campaign was created with the aim of spreading baseless misinformation for the sake of instigating violence in other arenas.
— דובר צה״ל דניאל הגרי - Daniel Hagari (@IDFSpokesperson) March 15, 2024
Palestinian gunmen opened fire on Palestinian civilians waiting for humanitarian aid.
— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) March 15, 2024
Then the Palestinian propaganda machine went into overdrive to blame the IDF.
Now the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza has added the victims to its casualty count and blames the IDF for… pic.twitter.com/4N09FOmNwf
This is how the United Nations launders information for Hamas.
— Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) March 15, 2024
What it DOESN'T tell you is the "Hamas commander" Israel "says" was targeted was involved in hijacking humanitarian aid and diverting it away from civilians in need. Because that would make @UNRWA look bad. pic.twitter.com/yoAFBu9DVE
This never happened.
— Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) March 15, 2024
Once again, @SkyNews has rushed to copy-paste a Hamas press release as a headline, while Israel "denies" it. Not waiting for the facts. Not investigating itself. Just taking a Hamas talking point and covering up it's a Hamas talking point.
Unprofessional. pic.twitter.com/K8oAwM3lHR
Last night, Palestinian gunmen opened fire at Palestinian civilians waiting for the arrival of a humanitarian convoy in northern Gaza. Hamas immediately blamed Israel.
— Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) March 15, 2024
Naturally, mainstream media ran with Hamas's version of the story. pic.twitter.com/RFPgjZDTzn
The Challenges of Providing Aid to Gaza
One of the key contributing factors to the suffering of Palestinians caught up in the Gaza conflict are the numerous difficulties aid convoys are experiencing in their efforts to provide adequate humanitarian relief.The Temporary Pier and the Question of Why
Whether it is the rigorous checks being applied by the IDF, who are rightly concerned about weaponry and other supplies being diverted to Hamas, or desperate Palestinians looting the convoys the moment they enter Gaza, ensuring an orderly and even distribution of food and medicine to those in need is proving to be enormously challenging.
The Israeli government insists that more than 14,000 trucks of aid have entered Gaza in the five months since the conflict started, more than sufficient to keep endemic hunger at bay.
Claims that Palestinians are dying of starvation are bitterly rejected by Israel.
Much of the data being provided by humanitarian groups to support the contention Gaza faces widespread famine is being provided by Hamas itself, whose primary goal is to discredit both Israel and its allies.
Since Oct. 7, 2023, external humanitarian aid has primarily had to enter the Gaza Strip via the land crossing at Rafah, which is run by Egypt.What's Going on With Shipping? : US Army Sets Sail on Some Slow Boats to Gaza
Gen. Abdel Fatteh El-Sisi, the ruler of Egypt for the past decade, is as committed as Israel to the goal of keeping arms out of the hands of terrorists, so Israel trusts his government in Egypt to vet these shipments and ensure that armaments aren’t smuggled in among the convoys of food and beverages that cross every day.
Neither Israel nor Egypt have put a limit on the number of trucks that can enter at Rafah, and the Gaza Strip is not a particularly big place – it’s only about twice the size of Washington D.C., in fact. One entrance with unlimited trucks is quite sufficient to bring in aid for such a small area.
But ever since Hamas’s horrific attacks on Israel on October 7 that started this long-needed police action, the global anti-Israel lobby has declared that they need another way to bring in humanitarian aid – one outside Egypt. They need a seaport, they tell us, to bring in aid directly from the Mediterranean.
Why?
The answer is obvious. The terrorists of Hamas and their fellow travelers have allies in Cyprus, Turkey, Greece, Iran, and the United Nations. Anyone else who might ship cargo to Gaza would – intentionally – have weaker security checkpoints than Egypt has.
There’s a reason, after all, why Israel hasn’t been allowing relief vessels to serve Gaza, and it dates back to long before October 7. Israel has frequently caught weapons caches being smuggled into Gaza by sea in the past – always under the guise of humanitarian aid.
This isn’t Israel being mean or suspicious; this is Israel learning from experience, and acknowledging reality.
If the West wants to get food, medicine, and beverages into Gaza, all they have to do is send it to Rafah, and Egypt will make sure it gets there.
But Hamas doesn’t want Western food, medicine and beverages. Hamas wants weapons.
March 13, 2024
In this episode, Sal Mercogliano - maritime historian at Campbell University (@campbelledu) and former merchant mariner - discusses the deployment of five US army watercraft to Gaza and the preparation to load a Ready Reserve Force cargo ship with causeways.
So the landing craft are off of Charleston now pic.twitter.com/BsgXriOfrk
— Seth Frantzman (@sfrantzman) March 15, 2024
Col. Elad Goren, head of our civilian affairs dept, delivered a briefing at the Kerem Shalom crossing. He discussed Israel's ongoing humanitarian efforts & highlighted the considerable measures implemented in recent months to enhance humanitarian aid inspection and facilitation. pic.twitter.com/KJHpxGXspu
— COGAT (@cogatonline) March 14, 2024
🚛244 humanitarian aid trucks were inspected and transferred to Gaza today (Mar. 14).
— COGAT (@cogatonline) March 14, 2024
44 aid trucks can be inspected in one hour in both Crossings combined.
Coordinate aid, we will facilitate. There is no limit. pic.twitter.com/uE3LIkjZ2b
Since the beginning of March, an average of 126 food trucks entered Gaza daily. This is 80% more food trucks entering compared to before Oct. 7.
— COGAT (@cogatonline) March 15, 2024
500 trucks entered Gaza daily before Oct. 7, carrying building, agriculture and industrial supplies; only an average of 70 carried food pic.twitter.com/PA3Izbd05R
Brother of Naama Levy: ‘I can’t help feeling that I failed to keep her safe’
The older brother of 19-year-old hostage Naama Levy has said the possibility that his sister has been sexually assaulted is “a fear that I go to sleep with every night and wake up with every morning.”
Amit Levy, 21, shared Naama’s story during a meeting with MPs at Westminster, joining a delegation of hostages’ family members to continue to keep the issue of the hostages at the top of the UK government’s agenda.
Naama, who Amit called a “gentle and loving soul” and “the kindest person I know”, was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nahal Oz on October 7. Amit's voice cracked as he said: “You’ve probably seen the video of Naama being dragged by the hair, hands bound, into a jeep at gunpoint somewhere in Gaza.”
In the widely circulated video from that fateful day, Naama’s grey sweatpants appear stained with blood around the crotch area, which has convinced many that Naama — along with countless other October 7 victims — were subjected to sexual violence.
“It’s very, very hard to stay optimistic,” said Amit. “My mom can’t sleep and everyone is worried sick about what Naama, as a teenager, may be going through.”
“I can’t help but feel that I failed to keep her safe. I can’t imagine the horrors she must be going through every day and with every passing hour. This situation is a nightmare for my family personally and for many other families, but it’s also a historic moment for the world, and we all must stand on the right side of history. The clock is ticking. Every minute the hostages stay in Gaza is too long. Time is running out for them. Please help us bring my sister back.”
A powerful moment from former hostage Itay Regev’s speech at the British parliament. pic.twitter.com/b7pUkLi105
— Elad Simchayoff (@Elad_Si) March 15, 2024
Dave Rubin’s Reaction to Seeing the 47-Minute Hamas Unreleased Attack Footage
Dave Rubin of “The Rubin Report” describes his emotional reaction to seeing Israel’s 47-minute reel of raw footage of Hamas’ October 7 attacks and what he has learned about the risk of Hezbollah attacks from Lebanon.
Over 250,000 Israelis evacuated their homes amid war, report says
Amid the ongoing war in Gaza, 250,000 Israeli residents evacuated their homes. Some 164,000 were instructed or recommended to evacuate under government compensation, and between 100,000 to 150,000 people evacuated without being asked to by the government.Gazan women, teens took part in Hamas's October 7 attacks on Israel - report
February saw a sharp decline in the number of evacuees staying in hotels: at the beginning of the month, 46,000 evacuees resided in hotels, and by March 9, about 29,000 evacuees stayed – marking a 137% decrease. Most of southern Israel’s residents left hotels, and currently, less than 10,000 of them still stay.
These figures come from an internal governmental report written by Israel’s Information and Knowledge Center aimed at supporting the country’s home front in emergencies. The institute is technologically supported by the National Digital Agency. The report details the evacuees’ situation as a result of the war, relying, among other things, on information from the IDF Home Front Command.
According to the report, as of the start of 2024, the government issues evacuation plans for eligible communities in which a total of 127,000 Israelis reside, with the aim of presenting the main trends seen in February and early March, as well as overviewing the current situation in southern Israel - where the government encourages residents to return to their homes via grants.
The report’s main points indicate that most of the evacuees from Sderot left hotels due to the government’s financial incentives and the announcement the school year would open as usual – with schools in the city reaching a 50% attendance rate since the beginning of March.
As investigations continue to find evidence of who participated in Hamas's October 7 attack, it was found that women and teens were involved in both the attacks and kidnappings of hostages, according to a Makor Rishon report.
Since the devastating attacks on October 7, there has been much investigation into who was involved. One of the leaders of the investigation in the Israel Police's Unit of International Crime Investigations, Alex Namirovski, related his efforts to collect concrete evidence, hoping that the justice system would be able to use it to indict those who are suspects.
According to Namirovski, those currently detained are "teenagers, aged 17 or 16. Some adults are also close to the age of sixty."
"There were also women who assisted in the kidnappings, guarded the hostages, and helped the terrorists. Women participated on October 7, although there were not many," Namirovski continued.
How to indict terrorists who were involved on October 7
Israel has been faced with the issue of how to prosecute the terrorists who were involved in the attack. For example, there is currently a lack of evidence when it comes to proving sexual assault.
"On the issue of sexual assault, we do not have concrete evidence because most of the victims were probably murdered," Namrvoski explained.
Due to this lack of concrete evidence, Namirovski also mentioned the difficulty of differentiating between which terrorists were involved, as there were many on the scene, and it is difficult to know which terrorist did the act of shooting.
ONE SMALL OCT 7 RESTITUTION
— Australian Jewish Association (@AustralianJA) March 15, 2024
IDF soldier in Gaza recovers Pesach (Passover) Seder Plate which was stolen by Hamas terrorists from an Israeli home on October 7.
Aside from kidnapping, murder and rape, the Gazans also engaged in a great deal of theft on Oct 7. pic.twitter.com/QCX3csmr4w
I like our pins better. 😎#AmYisraelChai #StandWithIsrael pic.twitter.com/tmslNERVge
— The Persian Jewess (@persianjewess) March 15, 2024
Contact @netflix and request this documentary be made available:
— Corrected Media (@correctedmedia) March 13, 2024
Supernova: Music Festival
Massacre
Link: https://t.co/hqQo3W3h9s
No login required.
Takes seconds, submit and share. pic.twitter.com/UhkDZpLwRt
Visiting the site of the Nova music festival massacre — harrowing & horrifying. On 10/7/23, more than 350 innocent people were slaughtered in cold blood here by Hamas terrorists. These photos now mark what was once the victims’ dance floor. Look at their faces, please: pic.twitter.com/K5tZyB7YIs
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) March 14, 2024
This is Alona Tzur, who hid under this tree for 7 hours after Hamas attacked the Nova Party on October 7th.
— Documenting Israel (@DocumentIsrael) March 15, 2024
5 months later, she came back to where she thought she would be raped & murdered.
She is singing with joy how she won & also the song "He who believes, is not afraid" pic.twitter.com/d6EKtCSlau
US funding pause to UNRWA could become permanent
U.S. officials are preparing for a potential permanent halt in American funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Funding from the U.S. and several other Western nations was suspended in January, following allegations of UNRWA staff involvement in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel.Australian Jewish community responds to country's resumption of UNRWA funding
UNRWA is presently under investigation regarding the allegations.
Representative Brian Mast, R-Fla, claimed that UNRWA “masquerades as a relief organization while building the infrastructure to support Hamas… it is literally funneling American tax dollars to terrorism.”
As the largest donor to UNRWA, providing $300-400 million annually, the U.S. aims to await the investigation’s results before reconsidering funding.
A spokesperson for the agency stressed UNRWA’s broader role beyond Gaza, encompassing health care, education and social services in East Jerusalem, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.
Even if U.S. funding resumes funding, only $300,000 in appropriated funds would be released without congressional approval.
A U.S. congressional bill, which includes aid to Israel and Ukraine, carries a provision that blocks UNRWA funding, and it is supported by President Biden’s administration.
UNRWA is currently conducting an independent review. Earlier this year, the agency terminated a dozen employees over allegations of ties to Hamas. According to a recent UNRWA report, some employees claim they were coerced by Israel into making false statements linking the agency to Hamas.
Sweden and Canada have pledged to restart their contributions to UNRWA.
The Australia/Israel & Jewish Affair Council (AIJAC) and the Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA) criticized the Australian government’s decision to resume funding UNRWA on Friday.
The AIJAC voiced its “grave disappointment” at the decision. The organization's executive director, Colin Rubenstein, said, “Funding for needy Palestinians must, of course, be supplied urgently, but this can and should have been done through alternative agencies to UNRWA,” such as the “UN World Food Programme,” with which Israel is already cooperating to bring aid into Gaza.
He highlighted the dangers behind the decision, stating, “The reckless decision to resume UNRWA funding now risks both inadvertently assisting Hamas, a banned terrorist group, and undermining Australia’s own foreign policy goals for the Middle East.”
Rubenstein also noted the discrepancy in the Australian government’s actions. While in its Friday statement, it welcomed the investigations regarding allegations that UNRWA staff participated in the October 7 massacre, it reinstated funding for the organization before investigations were completed.
He remarked on the “ample evidence” that illustrates UNRWA affiliations with Hamas, terrorism, and incitement to terror. This “deliberately perpetuates and exacerbates the Palestinian refugee problem over multiple generations, rather than helping resettle Palestinian families in permanent homes, and thus undermines the prospect of a Palestinian state living in peace alongside Israel in the future," he added.
ZFA slams Australian government
The Zionist Federation of Australia issued a similar statement, with President Jeremy Leibler stating, “We are deeply concerned that a resumption of funding to UNRWA may be wholly counterproductive” to aiding civilians in Gaza.
“If that funding ultimately strengthens Hamas, as it has in the past, it will only extend this war and the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza,” he explained.
He referred to attempts made by the US, “UNRWA’s largest donor,” to find an alternative conduit for aid that does not involve the organization nor bolster Hamas.
Leibler also dismissed the Australian government’s suggestions that Israel was baring aid from entering the Gaza Strip. “This is demonstrably false,” he stated before adding, “Israel has been encouraging donor states to send additional aid and has committed to facilitating its entry into Gaza.”
“The best future for Gazans is one without Hamas, and that includes preventing aid going to any organization that is complicit with this terrorist organization,” Leibler concluded.
Shameful 🇦🇺:
— Ron M. (@Jewtastic) March 15, 2024
Australia openly says the country will use loopholes to shield itself from prosecution while resuming funding to @UNRWA which is now associated with terrorism
The Foreign Minister now has a look-away policy re: terrorism..
"I don’t know what I don’t know" - "What I… pic.twitter.com/ITBXxwIqic
‘Disgraceful move’: Albanese government reinstates funding to UNRWA
Australian Jewish Association President Dr David Adler has criticised the Albanese government over its move to reinstate funding to UNRWA.
Mr Adler called the move from the government “outrageous” and “disgraceful”.
Australia was among a dozen other donor countries that froze funding to the Palestinian aid agency after evidence emerged that some of its workers had been part of the October 7 Hamas terror attacks.
“There has been overwhelming evidence that Hamas and UNRWA are closely integrated ... there [were] active participants of the October 7 massacre employed by UNRWA,” Mr Adler told Sky News host Erin Molan.
“This is a dreadful move by our government.”
MEDIA STATEMENT – LABOR RESTORES UNRWA FUNDING
— Australian Jewish Association (@AustralianJA) March 15, 2024
The Australian Jewish Association (AJA) is outraged that Labor has announced the resumption of Australian taxpayer funding for UNRWA (UN Relief and Works Agency), despite mounting evidence of the use of UNRWA facilities by Hamas and… pic.twitter.com/yDaw55b5gm
There is no excuse for this.
— Australian Jewish Association (@AustralianJA) March 15, 2024
Labor knows that there is a good chance that Australian taxpayer dollars will now be used to kill Jews.
They have complete disregard for Jews and for Israel and will throw the Jews under a bus to pick up a few extra votes. pic.twitter.com/ytUrJNermE
Dear Sen @ChrisVanHollen:
— Hussain Abdul-Hussain (@hahussain) March 14, 2024
From one Marylander to another, let me explain to you how things work in Gaza. No matter how much aid goes into the strip, Hamas fears that distribution without its control allows for the emergence of alternative patronage networks that can compete with,… https://t.co/ij2DVXyQTm
.@melaniejoly Why are you embracing Mahmoud Abbas who just in September was condemned by the Mayor of Paris for denying the Holocaust? https://t.co/ZqMAUrWKnl
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) March 14, 2024
Who is now in the 20th year of his 4-year term?
As a Canadian, you shame us for embracing a Holocaust denying despot. https://t.co/9AmmitchcB
It’s is unconscionable that Teachers at Dawson here in Montreal are hosting an all day event raising money for Hamas Rapists and murders - UNWRA has been proven to be a Hamas front. pic.twitter.com/T6kcrBxQLj
— Elisheva Ysabella Hazan (@ysabellahazan) March 14, 2024
Call Me Back PodCast: The Sobering of the Israeli Left – with Dr. Einat Wilf
Hosted by Dan SenorQuestion Time | 14th March 2024
Since October 7, we have heard from more and more friends in Israel who came of age — politically — in the 1990s. Some of these friends were key political figures on the Israeli Left and were committed to working on a two-state solution as the final resolution to achieve regional peace.
Dr. Einat Wilf joins us to discuss the sobering of many of these figures and what it means for Israel’s future. Einat also discusses an essay she penned for Sapir journal about the tendency of activists in other countries to project their political debates on Israel — something happening today — however disconnected from Israel those debates may be. Her essay is called “How Not to Think About the Conflict” and it can be found here:
Einat was born and raised in Israel. She was an Intelligence Officer in the IDF. She has worked for McKinsey. She was Foreign Policy Advisor to Vice Prime Minister Shimon Peres and an advisor to Yossi Beilin, who was Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. Dr. Wilf was a member of the Israeli Parliament (the Knesset) in the early 2010s, where she served as Chair of the Education Committee and Member of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
She has a BA from Harvard, an MBA from INSEAD in France, and a PhD in Political Science from the University of Cambridge. She was a Visiting Professor at Georgetown University and is a lecturer at Reichman University in Israel. Einat is the author of seven books that explore key issues in Israeli society. “We Should All Be Zionists“, published in 2022, brings together her essays from the past four years on Israel, Zionism and the path to peace; and she co-authored “The War of Return: How Western Indulgence of the Palestinian Dream Has Obstructed the Path to Peace”, which was published in 2020.
“THE WAR OF RETURN”
Fiona Bruce presents an hour of topical debate from Liverpool. On the panel, from the government, Lee Rowley MP, minister in the Department for Levelling-Up, Housing and Communities; Jonathan Reynolds MP, who is Labour’s shadow Business and Trade Secretary; the Scottish National Party’s Westminster leader, Stephen Flynn MP; the broadcaster Ayesha Hazarika, who was an adviser to the Labour Party; and the commentator Melanie Phillips.
Defending Israel with David Harris: Batya Ungar-Sargon
Batya Ungar-Sargon author, journalist and freelance writer discusses the world’s response following the events of October 7th and the rise of antisemitism with David Harris.
The Israel Guys: Why the Health Ministry Is Lying About This
Since the beginning of the war, Gaza’s Health Ministry has been casually throwing out numbers of those killed in the conflict with surprising regularity. Since the Health Ministry is controlled by Hamas, and they have proven themselves to be inaccurate in past conflicts, one would think that no one would take them at face value. Mainstream media has been quoting this corrupt organization since the beginning of the war without any caveats. This is misleading at best, and propaganda at worst.
On today’s episode, we dive into the numbers put forth by the Gaza Health Ministry. A casual look will both shock and alarm you. Has Israel really killed 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza since October 7th? All of this, and much more on today’s program.
Hamas deal proposes ‘females, sick, injured and children’ for ‘700 to 1,000’ prisoners
Foreign correspondent Sarah Coates says a proposal by Hamas for a hostage release would see “females, sick, injured and children released from the Gaza Strip” in exchange for “700 to 1,000 Palestinian prisoners”.
“According to Reuters, it would seem a proposal by Hamas for a hostage release and also a ceasefire plan … would see females, sick, injured and children released from the Gaza Strip, these hostages, in exchange for some 700 to 1,000 Palestinian prisoners,” Ms Coates told Sky News host Erin Molan.
“It will be during this first phase that they discuss a ceasefire.
“Still no response yet from the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, but he has been calling these demands by Hamas ridiculous, really vowing to finish the job inside Gaza.
“We’re still waiting for a response from Israel, but certainly seems as though there could be a little bit of movement on this.”
‘Disgusting thing to do’: Jonathan Glazer under fire over Oscars speech
Newsweek opinion editor Batya Ungar-Sargon has expressed outrage over ‘The Zone of Interest’ director Jonathan Glazer for his divisive Oscars speech.
Ms Ungar-Sargon called the speech “disgusting”.
“I want you to understand why so many Jews were so horrified by what he said,” she told Sky News host James Morrow.
“He said that he ‘refutes his Jewishness and the Holocaust’ being used to justify the occupation.
“First of all who is doing that, nobody is out there saying because there was a Holocaust therefore Israel can mistreat Palestinians. No one says that.
“He is giving sucker and comfort to the anti-Semites saying, there are all these bad Jews out there, you’re right and I am the good Jew.
“What a disgusting thing to do after winning an award for a Holocaust movie.”
Co-sign. 🇮🇱 pic.twitter.com/jgyvIsMeyE
— Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) March 14, 2024
Representative Ilhan Omar is calling Jake Sullivan's integrity into question because he reported on Hamas' unwillingness to release hostages.
— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) March 14, 2024
The only question I have is, does Omar seriously doubt that Hamas would act in that manner or is she purposely playing dumb?
Hamas is a… pic.twitter.com/SSbm39N5Ob
AJA Exclusive: DON’T ALLOW EXTREMISM TO FESTER IN AUSTRALIA
— Australian Jewish Association (@AustralianJA) March 14, 2024
by Rabbi Yossi Engel
Adelaide, South Australia
On Sunday March 3, in Adelaide, hundreds of Christian and other non-Jews, joined the Adelaide Jewish community, to stand up against anti-Semitism, which has recently…
AJA in the Jewish Report - The Middle East conflict is disrupting Australia's multicultural harmony
— Australian Jewish Association (@AustralianJA) March 15, 2024
Pick up your copy of the Jewish Report at many Kosher stores and supermarkets in Sydney and Melbourne. pic.twitter.com/b0fJLZGUWp
Wonder how many people know that pro-Palestinian groups like Free Palestine Melbourne oppose 2 State Solution with Jews & Palestinians living side by side in peace?
— Menachem Vorchheimer (@MenachemV) March 15, 2024
Rather they want to destroy Israel & take it all, including Judaism’s holiest site Jerusalem
That’s not peace pic.twitter.com/znCqTRjfSl
LOCAL ACTIVISTS: TERRORISM (IN AUSTRALIA) IS JUSTIFIED RESISTANCE.
— 🚨 Kofy Time (@kofy_time) March 15, 2024
SHORT CLIP
Is the Indigenous First Nations Aboriginal movement in Australia being co-opted and hijacked by radical Islamists and Pro-Palesitnian Hamas activists?#auspol #Hamas #Israel #Palestine pic.twitter.com/W2JptoY29C
Pro-Palestine protesters swarm New York Times for reporting Hamas rapes
Over 100 pro-Palestine protesters were arrested on Thursday for swarming The New York Times headquarters in midtown Manhattan several hours after surrounding the paper’s printing facilities in Queens, according to ABC7 News.
Organised by the Palestinian Youth Movement, the 150-strong group were protesting over the left-leaning paper’s coverage of Israel’s offensive in Gaza.
The demonstrators held signs that read “Lies” in the Times’ trademark font, chanted “New York Times you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide,” and handed out fake versions of the paper retitled “New York War Crimes.”
The parody paper’s website features articles by pro-Palestine writers and activists, with one article that says: “And then you have The New York Times pumping out nonsense: whatever it is that the Israeli military spokesman or Netanyahu’s media person wants the story of the day to be. So, the International Court of Justice is meeting, and the rape story is released. Whatever is happening, a story gets released by Israel and fed to this outlet, such that this is the story that hits the front page – rather than whatever it is Israel wants to cover up.”
“Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians,” another article read. “The New York Times, however, would like its readers to believe that this is not the case. The Times presents the dead as the unfortunate toll of a just war to rid the world of evil.”
According to the NYPD, 124 of the protesters were taken into custody for disorderly conduct.
The incident came just hours after demonstrators blocked trucks from entering the Times’ printing facility in Queens by obstructing the roads with debris at around 1am, according to ABC7. They held signs that read: "Stop the presses. Free Palestine" and "Consent for genocide is manufactured here.”
Over 100 Pro-Palestinian protesters have been arrested today after they stormed The New York Times's lobby.
— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) March 14, 2024
They were infuriated over The Times's in-depth investigation of Hamas' sexual crimes committed on October 7th and claimed that the newspaper "manufactured consent of… pic.twitter.com/8tedaoRBI5
"Shame!" Pro-palestine protesters chant as the speaker says: "The freelancer they hired is in an ex IDF Soldier with no journalistic experience" pic.twitter.com/PyqWFb1XxU
— Oliya Scootercaster 🛴 (@ScooterCasterNY) March 14, 2024
"Maccy Maccy shame shame"
— Harry's Place (@hurryupharry) March 15, 2024
"McDonalds gives the IOF Happy meals every time they kill children"
If only there was mobilisation like this for the million held in Chinese concentration camps... pic.twitter.com/c8pqVPH8HC
Free Palestine 'Human rights activist' has spent her Ramadan morning celebrating the death of young women..
— Ron M. (@Jewtastic) March 14, 2024
This is who they are. It's not the exception - It's the rule. I said what I said. 🇵🇸 pic.twitter.com/4nwxNjhgvW
What Palpatinians thinks of Q*ueers for Palpatine!?
— Hayder Alasadi 海得 (@1AlasadiHayder) March 14, 2024
👉Iraqi 🇮🇶 & stand with Israel 🇮🇱💙✡️ pic.twitter.com/mNc8tk5mtZ
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