Wednesday, June 26, 2024

06/26 Links Pt1: The day-after plan for Gaza on Israeli leaders’ desks; Negotiating with Hamas Can’t Work; The Pogrom on Pico Boulevard; UNRWA Says All Donors Except U.S. Have Returned

From Ian:

The day-after plan for Gaza on Israeli leaders’ desks
The researchers argue that “the window of opportunity for transformation and rehabilitation is short,” meaning a few years. As such, the work towards changing Gazan society must start immediately after Hamas’ defeat.

This “requires civilian management, and the urgency of the timeline means that we must immediately start planning and establishing an effective and agreed-upon system for managing the Palestinian population in areas under Israeli control,” the paper states. The local governing apparatus in this initial stage would need to build trust with the local population and treat them in a dignified manner, which is necessary for the rehabilitation of Gaza to succeed. The paper suggests partnering with moderate Arab states.

The authors of the paper describe a delicate balance by which “successful transformation requires the creation of a positive horizon for the defeated nation,” while “the option of Israeli military rule must float in the background.”

Independence of some kind – avoiding the political debates about Palestinian statehood, the paper says only “an autonomous Palestinian entity” – would come only when concrete and measurable goals are met, including education for peace, distancing itself from violence and terror and effective governance.

However, if Israel makes clear that it will leave Gaza at some point regardless of its progress — similar to the U.S. setting a date to leave Afghanistan — Gazans will have less of an incentive to come up with an alternative to Hamas. As such, the goals Gazans need to meet must not have a rigid schedule attached to them.

Physical rehabilitation of Gaza is not enough; the paper calls to build its spirit as well by “eradicating jihadist ambitions” through overhauling the education, religion and media systems, including reforming the schools’ curriculum.

This would include “purifying the education system” of extremist educators and current textbooks, and establishing bodies to supervise school content and media to ensure they do not include radical content.

In that vein, the authors call to “take advantage of the acts of rebuilding to push UNRWA out of the [Gaza] Strip,” referring to the embattled U.N. body responsible for aid to Palestinians. According to Makor Rishon, they were told by the IDF higher brass that this is unrealistic.

The new narrative created for the Palestinians in Gaza would “lean on Sunni Muslim Arab tradition … in its moderate versions in education and culture and grant the Palestinians a concrete, positive vision to latch onto for demilitarized Palestinian self-rule at the end of the process.”

“It would be very bad for Israel to do that directly,” Barak-Corren said on Senor’s podcast, and suggested that the UAE, Saudi Arabia or Egypt be involved.

The paper discourages Israel’s leadership from setting a goal of democratization for Gaza, saying that this is “a move that has failed in every place it was tried in the Arab world. The goal should not be turning Gaza into a Western democracy, but an Arab-Muslim entity that is moderate and not jihadist.”
Netanyahu said set to offer new stance on Palestinian state in speech to Congress
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will present a new position on Palestinian statehood during his speech in Washington in July that will allow normalization with Saudi Arabia to progress, according to a Tuesday evening report.

Senior aides to the Israeli leader have told the White House that Netanyahu’s address to a joint session of Congress will contain elements that back United States President Joe Biden’s grand vision for the Middle East, Channel 13 news reported.

That plan includes a ceasefire-for-hostages deal to end the fighting in Gaza, a diplomatic solution for the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in Lebanon, a pathway toward a Palestinian state, and diplomatic ties between Riyadh and Jerusalem.

Biden’s Middle East vision takes on additional urgency as presidential elections loom in November. According to a Tuesday New York Times poll, Republican challenger Donald Trump leads Biden in seven key swing states, and would triumph by 312 electoral votes to Biden’s 226 according to the current polling.

Engineering a Saudi-Israel normalization deal would be a diplomatic masterstroke, one that could blunt criticism of Biden’s policies in Gaza and in Ukraine.

The Prime Minister’s Office pushed back on the report in comments to The Times of Israel, saying that Netanyahu “opposes a Palestinian state and will not change his position in his address to Congress.”

At the same time, the PMO response did leave some maneuvering space for Netanyahu to offer rhetorical support for a vague process that leads toward increased Palestinian autonomy short of a state.

Last month, the US and Saudi Arabia discussed a “semi-final” version of wide-ranging security agreements between the countries. The agreements are considered a major part of Washington’s efforts to bring Riyadh around to recognizing Israel for the first time. Saudi Arabia and the US have been clear that movement toward Palestinian statehood is a condition for an agreement.
Netanyahu: Allowing PA to collapse not in Israel's interest
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed a surprising stance in closed-door discussions, stating that the collapse of the Palestinian Authority (PA) was not in Israel's interest at that time. This revelation came ahead of a crucial cabinet meeting that approved a series of sanctions against Palestinian officials and countries that recognized a Palestinian state.

In a confidential conversation reported by N12, Netanyahu emphasized the importance of the PA's activities for Israel, despite his usual public criticism of the organization. "We cannot ignore the activities and actions of the PA; they have significant benefits for Israel," Netanyahu said, as cited by N12.

He further elaborated on the potential consequences of the PA's collapse. "The collapse of the Palestinian Authority is not in Israel's interest at this time. There is a need to promote actions that stabilize the Authority to prevent escalation in the area," he added, according to N12. The collapse of the PA

The cabinet convened to finalize sanctions that targeted Palestinian officials and implemented economic measures against the PA. Additionally, the sanctions extended to countries that had formally recognized a Palestinian state, N12 reported. This came amidst a backdrop of a severe financial crisis for the PA, which had seen a drastic reduction in clearance revenue transfers and a significant drop in economic activity. The World Bank warned that the PA's fiscal situation had "dramatically worsened," with a financing gap projected to double to $1.2 billion within months.

According to the report, during the discussion, ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich pushed for increased Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria, aligning with their longstanding political agendas. This development followed previous cabinet decisions to penalize the PA for its support of terror and actions against Israel on the international stage.
Negotiating with Hamas Can’t Work
I SERVED ON TWO PROVINCIAL RECONSTRUCTION TEAMS in Iraq and Afghanistan, which provided hundreds of millions of dollars in projects throughout Diyala, Kapisa, and Parwan. Some of my troops paid the ultimate price to give reconstruction projects to Iraqis and Afghans. It was important work, and I’m very proud of what we did. I remember those smiling Afghan children’s faces very well.

However, most of the time, it didn’t work. In Afghanistan, the Taliban intimidated our contractors, took our money, and then used it to kill our troops. In Iraq, it was a little bit different. When I served in 2010 in Diyala, the surge provided stability, which allowed some of our reconstruction projects to do some actual good. But all that good went out the window when we voluntarily left, allowing the Islamic State to destroy all that we had built.

This is the second reason to greet Hamas’s overtures with suspicion: If they aren’t using misdirection to gain time to rearm and improve their military odds in the current conflict, they are trying to secure an agreement that will make it possible for them to prepare to launch the next one. War with Israel is the only reason they exist. Count on it: If Hamas were to sign any deal allowing them to survive, they will take all the reconstruction money and turn it into a way to kill more Jews. They will rebuild their army. They will also emerge from the tunnels as conquering heroes among the jihadist community—both al Qaeda and the Taliban have already praised Hamas for their October 7, 2023 pogrom—and they will attack again.

Americans want quick fixes, and our enemies are counting on us to play to type. That’s because jihadists don’t have the same conception of time that we do. There’s an old Pashtun proverb, “The Pashtun who took revenge after a hundred years said, ‘I took it too quickly.’” The Taliban’s patience, combined with resilience, persistence, and willingness to die, made them formidable opponents. Hamas takes a similarly long view. They don’t need a first-world military to defeat the West. Instead, aided by their deep study of Western values, they will continue their cynical guerrilla war until we grow tired, relent, and retreat.

We’ve seen scenes like this play out before, and we’ll see them again. Since the Israeli government removed every Israeli from Gaza at gunpoint in 2005, Israel and Hamas have fought major battles in 2008–2009, 2012, 2014, and now since October 7, with sporadic rocket fire and airstrikes in between. The result of every previous ceasefire has been more terrorism. There’s a reason governments don’t negotiate with terrorists.

And if you think what Hamas did in Gaza is shocking, wait until the world sees what is in store in Afghanistan, where the Taliban and al Qaeda are building a similar terror state.

WAR IS A HIDEOUS THING. I’ve experienced it up close and personal. The trauma that it inflicts scars generations. I bear those scars. But sometimes the enemy must be killed, especially when the enemy repeatedly tells you he just wants to kill you. The destruction of Hamas, pursued while striving to minimize civilian deaths, is the only realistic hope of preventing many more civilian deaths in the future. If Hamas can be defeated, the prospect of a future peace, however distant, may become real once more.


Israeli officials believe ICC arrest warrants to be issued within weeks – report
Israel believes that the International Criminal Court will issue arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in the coming weeks, Channel 12 news reported Wednesday, after the court’s chief prosecutor announced applying for the warrants back in May.

The expected warrants have been the subject of meetings at the Prime Minister’s Office, the Foreign Ministry and the Justice Ministry in recent weeks, the network said, and all have estimated that they will be issued in the next few weeks.

ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan said in May that he was seeking arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant due to suspected crimes of “causing extermination, causing starvation as a method of war including the denial of humanitarian relief supplies, deliberately targeting civilians in conflict.”

At the same time, Khan said he was also seeking warrants for top Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar and Muhammad Deif on charges of extermination, murder, hostage-taking, rape, and sexual assault.

The decision was harshly criticized by Israeli officials, both due to the charges leveled against Netanyahu and Gallant, as well as the seeming comparison drawn between Israeli leadership in a war they did not start, and the Hamas terror group.

United States President Joe Biden added his voice to the criticism and said that the US rejected the accusations against Israel by the international court.

“What’s happening [in Gaza] is not genocide,” he said at the time.

The US is not a signatory to the Rome Treaty which established the ICC, meaning it does not recognize the court’s jurisdiction.
Gallant to Austin: This is the moment for US to prevent a nuclear Iran
This is the moment for the US to finally prevent a nuclear Iran, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during a Tuesday visit to the Pentagon.

"This is the time to fulfill the promises of all US governments in recent years - to prevent a nuclear Iran which would constitute a danger to the entire world," said Gallant.

The defense minister said that regarding preventing a nuclear Iran, "time is running out."

Austin told Gallant, “We stand together to ensure that Iran, which is the source of so much of the region's violence and instability, can never achieve a nuclear weapon."

Gallant spoke after a series of recent greater focus and scrutiny on the Islamic Republic's nuclear program from the US and the E3 (England, France, and Germany) as well as the IAEA nuclear inspectors.

With Tehran having increased its nuclear violations on a steady basis since mid-2019, and also gradually reduced the IAEA's ability to continue surveillance of its nuclear program since 2021, the IAEA Board of Governors finally condemned Iran for its nuclear violations on June 5.

Since then, the US and the E3 have continued to pressure the Islamic Republic, including with another statement on Tuesday, to restore its compliance with IAEA surveillance as well as to return to the limits placed on it by the 2015 nuclear deal.

In addition, the E3 seemed more ready to potentially refer the issue in the coming months to the UN Security Council, which could potentially snap back the global sanctions on Tehran that were part of the deal - with the snapback being veto-proof.

To date, Israel had remained comparatively silent over the past month on the issue until Gallant's dramatic statement on Tuesday.


Gallant: Israel backs US hostage deal, committed to bringing everyone
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant was the third Israeli official in the last three days to publicly swear that the government still supported the three-phase hostage deal, the one that US President Joe Biden unveiled at the end of last month.

“We stand firmly behind the President’s deal, which Israel has accepted, and now Hamas must accept – or bear the consequences,” Gallant said as Qatari and Egyptian mediators continued to attempt to salvage the flagging deal.

Hamas has rejected the deal, but Washington has not given up in attempting to bridge the basic stumbling block: Hamas insists that Israel must commit to a permanent ceasefire before the deal gets underway, while Israel wants that question dealt with during phase one of the deal.

National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said on Tuesday that Israel was committed to the deal, noting that time was not on the side of the hostages being held in Gaza. "Israel is committed to deal"

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged his commitment to the deal, which he said was an Israeli proposal, during a speech he gave to the Knesset plenum on Monday.

His tone was different from that which he used in an interview to Channel 14 on Sunday night, when he said he only partially supported the deal.

The hostage issue was high on Gallant’s agenda during his conversations in Washington this week with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.

“We are committed to bringing the hostages home with no exception. We are committed to defending our people,” Gallant said, referencing the remaining 120 captives held in Gaza who were seized on October 7.

“But let it be known, that our war is not with the people of Gaza. Our war is not with the people of Lebanon.

“Our war is against Hamas, Hezbollah, and their backer – the Iranian regime,” he said.

US National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby also called on Hamas to accept the deal, adding that it would additionally help facilitate the distribution of humanitarian aid in Gaza.

The deal would include a temporary halt to the fighting in its first phase, in exchange for the release of 33 of the hostages.


In first, US describes Hamas response to Israeli ceasefire offer as a ‘rejection’
The United States characterized Hamas’s last response to Israel’s proposal for a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza earlier this month as a rejection of that offer for the first time Tuesday, as Washington appeared to harden its rhetoric against the terror group.

Hamas on June 11 said a proposal laid out by US President Joe Biden and backed by Israel did not meet its demand for a complete end to the war in Gaza, responding to the offer with significant amendments that mediators have struggled to bridge. Israel has insisted it will fight till Hamas is destroyed over its devastating October 7 attack on the country.

The terror group “came back several weeks ago and rejected the proposal that was on the table,” US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said during a press briefing Tuesday.

“They gave us a written response that rejected the proposal put forward by Israel, that President Biden had outlined, that the United Nations Security Council and countries all around the world had endorsed,” he added, calling it a “written rejection and counter-proposal that came from Hamas.”

The comment marked the first time that a US official had publicly gone so far. To date, only Jerusalem has branded the Hamas response as a rejection. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken two weeks ago criticized Hamas’s counter-proposal as including changes that are “not workable,” but insisted the gaps were still bridgeable.

Egyptian and Qatari mediators have been in contact with Hamas over the past two weeks in an attempt to bridge the gaps with Israel.

An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity to The Times of Israel, suggested that the shift in rhetoric out of Washington is part of an effort to further isolate Hamas and provide Iran-backed Hezbollah an “off-ramp” to taper off its cross-border attacks on northern Israel that threaten to ignite a full-blown war.

The US has placed a major emphasis on keeping tensions on Israel’s northern border from snowballing into all-out war, working to broker a long-shot diplomatic deal while pinning its hopes on a ceasefire in Gaza leading to the restoration of calm between Israel and Lebanon-based Hezbollah.


Noah Pollak: The Pogrom on Pico Boulevard
The groups organizing and carrying out these regular campaigns of violence across the country are well known. They fundraise for and promote their criminal enterprise openly. They boast on social media about carrying out violence. Their assaults are documented on video from a dozen angles. They routinely break numerous state and federal civil rights and hate crime laws. They could be prosecuted under a half-dozen different statutes. But it never seems to happen. So it is very difficult to reach any other conclusion than this is all quite intentional.

If you think that’s unfair, just look at the statement released yesterday by Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass. She pledged to take three actions in response to the Pico pogrom: convene meetings, increase coordination between the LAPD and Jewish institutions, and ask for more state money for security. Notice anything missing? The mayor of Los Angeles isn’t even pretending that she will ask law enforcement to prosecute criminals who target Jews.

More than one friend and neighbor have contacted me over the last 48 hours asking if it’s time to leave Los Angeles. One texted me, “Can you see some assholes coming into our neighborhood and shooting us up, since the cops are clearly not doing anything?” I wish I could call her crazy, but her fear is legitimate. The cops are not doing anything. Nor is the mayor. Nor is the governor. Nor is the president.

Until political leaders ban masking during demonstrations; until our DA prosecutes criminals; until our mayor and governor instruct the police to protect Jewish institutions in the exact same way they protect other institutions; until the same rules apply to everyone, regardless of their identity, it will simply and grimly be true that California’s political leadership is upholding a two-tiered system of justice toward the second-largest Jewish community in America. And in that case, Los Angeles may not host such a large Jewish community for much longer.
Protest violence outside L.A. synagogue spurs widespread condemnation. Bass vows quick action
Hussam Ayloush, the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations office in Los Angeles, said the site of the demonstration was chosen not because it was in front of a Jewish temple but because of the event it was hosting.

The protest “was in response to the blatant violations of both international law and human rights from agencies that seek to make a profit selling brutally stolen Palestinian land as the Israeli government continues its eight-month-long genocidal campaign and ethnic cleansing in Gaza,” he said in a statement.

The law enforcement sources said the event was advertised in Friday’s issue of the Jewish Journal promising to provide information on “housing projects in all the best Anglo neighborhoods in Israel.” “Anglo” is a direct translation from Hebrew meaning “English-speaking.” The ad does not specify where in Israel the real estate is.

Protest fliers posted on social media said, “Our Land Is Not For Sale,” and condemned “land theft,” according to an Instagram post from the Southern California chapter of the Palestinian Youth Movement, which did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday.

“Elected officials and the mainstream media have politicized this incident as religious discrimination as opposed to a human rights issue,” Ayloush said. “We call on political leaders to condemn the organizations involved in the potentially illegal sale of Palestinian land and the counter-protesters who commit violence against anti-genocide protesters with the same fervor used for rightfully condemning antisemitism.”

Rabbi Yossi Eilfort was at the synagogue with his security group Magen Am after Jewish community members notified them about the planned protest, Eilfort said. Sunday’s protest was only the second time Eilfort could recall a protest taking place outside a synagogue since Oct. 7, when a group gathered outside the Shaarey Zedek synagogue and Hebrew school in Valley Village.

The protesters arrived in waves that overwhelmed LAPD officers on the scene, Eilfort said. At one point, Eilfort said he saw a masked protester use some type of irritant spray on Jewish counterprotesters.

“They came with weapons in order to escalate and create violence,” he said. “They have the right to protest. We have the right to hold an event that was in our community.”
Variety: Hollywood Jews Slam Violence Outside L.A. Synagogue as ‘Horrifying,’ Vow to ‘Mobilize’
Back in Los Angeles, several people across the creative spectrum say they are rattled by the events that took place at a synagogue located a short distance from the Sony and Fox Studios lots as well as agencies like CAA. Director Jonathan Jakubowicz says he moved to Los Angeles from his native Venezuela to escape antisemitism and finds himself once again feeling unsafe.

“For the first time this weekend, I felt that I may have to move away from Los Angeles for the same reason I came,” he says. “The Jewish community has been doing a good job protecting itself, but the level of violence keeps growing, and I don’t know how much longer we can go on our own without the help of the authorities.”

Likewise, WME agent Robert Newman called the incident “unspeakably horrifying and frightening” and adds, “This is like Charlottesville every day. And from their actions, it’s clear that these violent anti-Israel mobs feel even more emboldened and justified to threaten and attack Jews anytime and anywhere, at schools, restaurants, subways, hospitals, Holocaust museums, synagogues, in their neighborhoods and homes.”

Writer William Schmidt, who is currently a consulting producer on “Tulsa King,” thinks that Hollywood’s Jewish community has been too passive in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, which exposed a major rift in Hollywood, with anti-Israel sentiment gaining traction in an industry that had once been unified in support of the Jewish state. He says that timidity continues in the wake of the synagogue incident.

“I am discouraged and disgraced by the silence to these events by Jewish entertainment professionals — powerful and wealthy showrunners for instance,” Schmidt says. “We are a powerful, wealthy group — and we have done nothing — getting the guilds to allow us to have Jewish affinity groups. Big deal.”

As temperatures rise in the summer months, so too are tensions. And few expect things to normalize anytime soon. On one private WhatsApp chain popular with Hollywood Jews, participants were sharing an Instagram story from UCLA’s Cultural Affairs Commission, a student organization at the university that traditionally has been a feeder school to the industry. The story, a repost of a message written by Vishal P. Singh, a videographer who works on Netflix documentaries, illustrates the stark difference in perspectives on the Israel-Gaza conflict.

“Think about what happened today in Los Angeles. A real estate event to sell stolen Palestinian land cannot be protested or fascists will try to kill you,” Singh wrote. “LAPD threatening to execute pro-Palestine protestors at gun point. Zionists getting away with terrorist violence with impunity. We are in a cold civil war that is heating up rapidly. Prepare accordingly. Take a stop the bleed class. Learn how to use weapons safely. Save up for bullet proof armor. The genocide is not far away. It’s here. The heart of the empire is here. It’s our duty to fight and stop it by any means necessary.”

UCLA did not respond to a request for comment. Singh tells Variety, “Political tensions are rising in the United States and violence by police and private citizens against social justice activists has become normalized.”
Caroline Glick: Inside the LA Pogrom: "They came for the Jews"
A pogrom in the LA Jewish community; Pro-Hezbollah and Pro-Hamas protests crop up across America; AOC spreads antisemitic rhetoric and a new white house hire Tyler Cherry has a terrible history of anti-Israel and anti-Jewish comments.


Scalise says Justice Department civil rights section should probe L.A. synagogue protest
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise condemned the violent protest that took place outside of a Los Angeles synagogue over the weekend, and called on the Justice Department to take action.

“Everyone saw the antisemitic, pro-Hamas mob violently attack Jews outside a synagogue in L.A.” the Louisiana Republican lawmaker said in an X post Tuesday.

“The [Justice Department’s] civil rights division must take action. We all know they would if the protesters weren’t their [political] base,” he said.

A pro-Palestinian protest held outside of the California synagogue turned violent Sunday as pro-Israel counter-demonstrators showed up.

Pro-Palestinian protesters blocked traffic and were held yelling “Free, free Palestine — from the river to the sea,” and “Long live intifada.”

Police responded to the two protests and videos showed officers pushing pro-Palestinian protesters away from the doors of Adas Torah temple, CNN reported. One person was arrested for having a spike post, and L.A. police said all instances of violence will be investigated.

Several officials, including President Biden, denounced the violence, and called the protest antisemitic.

“I’m appalled by the scenes outside of Adas Torah synagogue in Los Angeles. Intimidating Jewish congregants is dangerous, unconscionable, antisemitic and un-American,” Mr. Biden wrote on social media Monday.

“Americans have a right to peaceful protest. But blocking access to a house of worship – and engaging in violence – is never acceptable,” he said.


'Al Jazeera on the Potomac': WaPo Reporter Taylor Lorenz Boosts Defenses of Los Angeles Synagogue Protest
Washington Post reporter Taylor Lorenz on Monday pushed a false claim that a Los Angeles synagogue was auctioning off Palestinian land this week—a conspiracy theory that led to violent, anti-Semitic protests outside the Jewish house of worship on Sunday.

Lorenz—who covers social media for the Post and often complains about being targeted by online harassment—reposted multiple comments on X, formerly Twitter, defending the synagogue protesters, promoting the false allegations, and slamming the media, including her former employer, the New York Times, for failing to give the allegations oxygen. The synagogue was in fact hosting an industry expo on real estate investing in Israel, and the false claims that Adas Torah was selling Palestinian land appear to have originated from radical anti-Israel groups, including Code Pink and the Palestinian Youth Movement, according to social media posts.

The groups posted calls for protesters to "stand against settler expansion at Sunday's real estate event selling homes to build 'Anglo neighborhoods' in Palestine." Protesters chanted for an "intifada" and called for the eradication of Israel "from the river to the sea," and violent scuffles broke out.

Lorenz retweeted a post from Talia Jane, a New York-based writer, that claimed the synagogue, Adas Torah, "was hosting a sale of Palestinian land, a strange choice for a place of worship that seems intended to make protests against the land sales look like they're targeting a place of worship for no reason." Jane also denied the protests were anti-Semitic because some of the demonstrators were supposedly Jewish.

Lorenz also reposted a complaint by Assaf Rad, who has worked as a research director at the National Iranian American Council and who said that "every major Western outlet frames this like an attack on a synagogue, while leaving out the part where the synagogue was hosting an event to sell illegally occupied Palestinian land." Rad has previously accused Israel of "genocide" and "apartheid."

In addition, Lorenz reposted Alec Karakatsanis, who claimed that a New York Times article about the synagogue protest "omitted that the location was being protested because it was hosting a mega-event on the sale of Palestinian land." Karakatsanis is an anti-police activist who has accused Israel of "land theft, authoritarianism, and massacres of children."


UNRWA Says All Donors Except U.S. Have Returned After Employees Caught Participating in October 7 Atrocities
The head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) told reporters on Tuesday that “all the donors have come back” to fund the agency, with the exception of America, following the revelation of evidence that UNRWA employees engaged in atrocities against Israelis on October 7.

UNRWA is the official United Nations agency to address the Palestinian territories and has faced years of accusations of aiding the expansion of terrorist organizations such as Hamas, the group responsible for the October 7 siege, through the indoctrination of children with jihadist textbooks and allowing Hamas to use its allegedly humanitarian facilities as terrorist infrastructure.

In January, the Israeli government revealed that it had obtained evidence that at least 12 UNRWA employees participated in the October 7 slaughter, in which Hamas terrorists killed an estimated 1,200 people, abducted about 250 (116 of which are still missing at press time), and engaged in widespread acts of torture, gang rape, and the desecration of corpses. According to the radical leftist publication the New York Times, one UNRWA employee reportedly helped kidnap an Israeli woman, another participated in the massacre of nearly 100 civilians at Kibbutz Be’eri, and another “handed out ammunition” to terrorists. UNRWA did not deny the reports, instead vowing that it would open a probe and firing the employees in question.

The identification of 12 UNRWA employees engaging directly in the slaughter was a separate scandal to the publication of a trove of text messages from a UNRWA group chat featuring thousands of employees that showed them celebrating on October 7. The non-governmental organization (NGO) U.N. Watch published text messages in which the UNRWA workers celebrated the killing of Jews and prayed for the terrorists.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have also uncovered multiple instances of Hamas using civilian UNRWA facilities for storing weapons and other terrorist activity.

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini continued to refer to the evidence that his employees engaged in terrorism as “allegations” on Tuesday, lamenting to reporters that the embarrassment had compromised the agency’s funding. Claiming that UNRWA had “suffered from the absence of attention given to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict over the last ten years” before October 7, he claimed that UNRWA struggled even more profoundly to fund itself after the attacks.


'No alternative but victory': Colonel says IDF nearly finished in Gaza, Lebanon next
"We are close to a decisive military victory in the Gaza Strip, and we are prepared for a battle in the North. We are already in a multi-front confrontation with changing forces, and at least in the places where I am, the IDF is prepared for a battle in the North," Colonel Dvir Edri, commander of the 460th Brigade, told Maariv in a recent interview.

"It will not be easy or simple, but in light of the fighting in the South, we have a generation of experienced commanders and soldiers," he added.

Responding to the comment that the soldiers were also tired and worn out, Edri stated "When the task is to return over a hundred thousand residents to their homes, then I trust them to find the strength to do it in the best way."

Most of Israel's wars to date have been short, unlike a prolonged war of attrition
"A short war is a relative matter," Edri said. "No war in the past has set itself such a clear goal which takes a long time to achieve. It is impossible to destroy Hamas in a short time. Perhaps we could have done things faster, or we could have done different things. Still, already at the start of the war, they spoke of a year of fighting with varying levels of intensity because everyone understood that defeating Hamas would take time."

Will the IDF be able to achieve its goals?
"I want to believe so," Edri stated. "Any military expert who can identify the achievements on the ground will say that we are close to victory. We have achieved definite results in the places we have reached. We defeated many battalions and achieved significant military accomplishments. Victory is a deceitful word - everyone defines it differently, but I think we are close to a decisive military victory."

But when the IDF leaves an area in Gaza, Hamas takes advantage of it to regain control
"Wherever we have been, we moved and maneuvered freely. When we first entered Gaza, it took us a week to reach and capture a specific point," Edri affirmed, adding, "Today, we can return to it within a few hours and do whatever we want inside. Hamas may succeed in launching a rocket here and there in three months, but it is no longer at a critical mass or in the quantities it had initially. That's what military decisiveness looks like."
FDD: Hamas Gunrunner, PIJ Missile Specialist Killed in Israeli Strikes on Gaza
Latest Developments
A prominent gunrunner for Hamas and a missile specialist for Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) who doubled up as an employee for a leading humanitarian non-governmental organization (NGO) were eliminated in two separate Israeli Air Force strikes in Gaza on June 25.

Gunrunner Wissam Abu Ishaq was targeted in a drone strike in southern Gaza, where he had “over the last few years directed smuggling through the Rafah Crossing and underground tunnels,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement.

The IDF statement announcing Abu Ishaq’s elimination did not explicitly mention Egypt, whose government claims to have cracked down on smuggling from the Sinai Peninsula into the Palestinian enclave for the past decade. Since the IDF launched a long-delayed sweep of the southern Gaza city of Rafah on May 7, officials say around 20 cross-border tunnels, some of them believed to have been recently active, have been unearthed.

Separately, Fadi al-Wadiya, described by the IDF as an “operative in the PIJ terrorist organization who was involved in the development and advancement of the organization’s missile array,” and who also worked in a clinic run by the Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) NGO, was killed in a drone strike in Gaza City.

The IDF noted that al-Wadiya’s expertise in electronics and chemistry had provided valuable assistance to PIJ. In a statement, MSF roundly condemned al-Wadiya’s killing, depicting him as a “healthcare worker” who had been killed “while on his way to provide vital medical care to wounded victims of the endless massacres across Gaza.” MSF made no mention of al-Wadiya’s affiliation with PIJ.

Expert Analysis
“Barely a week goes by without more evidence surfacing of a Sinai pipeline for the Hamas terrorist machinery. The Israelis, apparently keen to save face for their putative security partner south of the border, have avoided publicly calling out Cairo. But one hopes that there are stern conversations taking place behind the scenes — and that the United States, whose lavish aid pay-outs to the Egyptians are a direct outcome of their decision to make peace with Israel, will demand a full reckoning about this lethal duplicity.” — Mark Dubowitz, FDD CEO

“In both these strikes, Israel targeted terrorists who played a key operational role in the attacks launched by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Despite Egypt’s insistence that it is closely scrutinizing overland commercial and aid traffic, Abu Ishaq supplied Hamas with arms not only through tunnels but also through the Rafah Crossing. Al-Wadiya, meanwhile, used his position with MSF, a world-renowned NGO, as cover for his terrorist activities that enabled rockets to target innocent Israelis.” Joe Truzman, Senior Research Analyst at FDD’s Long War Journal
Hamas arms smuggler killed in drone strike
An Israel Defense Forces drone strike killed a prominent Hamas terrorist responsible for smuggling weapons into the Gaza Strip through Egypt’s Sinai, the military announced on Wednesday morning.

Wissam Abu Ishaq was involved in procuring arms for Hamas, smuggling weapons through the Rafah Crossing and cross-border tunnels in the area, according to an Israel Defense Forces statement.

The strike in southern Gaza was carried out in accordance with information provided by the Military Intelligence Directorate, the statement added.
IDF: Gazan ‘doctor’ killed in drone strike was PIJ bombmaker
An Israel Defense Forces drone strike in Gaza City on Tuesday killed Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist Fadi al-Wadiya, who was involved in developing missiles for the Iranian proxy group, the army announced.

The strike was denounced by the Paris-based Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) NGO, which named al-Wadiya as one of its staffers and claimed he was targeted while on his way to “provide vital medical care to wounded victims of the endless massacres across Gaza.”

Al-Wadiya served as the terrorist organization’s “source of knowledge” in the fields of electronics and chemistry, the IDF said on Wednesday.

“Always check to see who you’re hiring… Your colleague, Fadi Al-Wadiya, was a significant terrorist in Islamic Jihad,” the military tweeted.

“He advanced the terrorist organization’s rocket array, also known as a way to endanger the lives of civilians,” stated the IDF, noting that the incident was “just another case of terrorists in Gaza exploiting the civilian population as human shields.


Germany, Netherlands urge citizens to leave Lebanon for fear of war
Germany and the Netherlands urged their citizens to leave Lebanon on Wednesday, a day after Canada issued a similar warning in light of escalating tensions between Israel and the Hezbollah terror group.

In an updated travel warning on its website, the German Foreign Ministry stated that “the security situation in the region is highly volatile,” as clashes along the Israel-Lebanon border have intensified in recent weeks.

“A further escalation of the situation and expansion of the conflict cannot be ruled out,” the travel warning continued. “This applies in particular to the southern parts of Lebanon, including the southern urban areas of Beirut, and the Bekaa Valley, including the Baalbek-Hermel district.

“A further escalation could also lead to a complete suspension of air traffic from Rafiq Hariri Airport. Leaving Lebanon by air would then no longer be possible,” it added.
Erdogan accuses West of backing ‘Netanyahu’s plans to spread war’ throughout region
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday accused Western powers of backing what he charged were Israeli plans to attack Lebanon and “spread war” throughout the region.

His remarks came as concern soared over the ongoing cross-border exchanges of fire between Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israeli forces, fueling fears it could descend into fully-fledged war.

“Israel is now setting its sights on Lebanon and we see that Western powers behind the scenes are patting Israel on the back and even supporting them,” Erdogan told lawmakers from his ruling AKP party.

Prime Minister Benjamin “Netanyahu’s plans to spread the war to the region will lead to a great disaster,” he said.

Iran-proxy Hezbollah began firing rockets and launching drones at northern Israel on October 8, aiming to put pressure on Israel’s military in support of Hamas, but has indicated that the attacks will stop should the fighting in Gaza end. Near-daily skirmishes and cross-border fire on the northern border halted during a week-long truce in November, but efforts to secure a fresh deal have yet to bear fruit.

So far, the skirmishes on the border have resulted in 10 civilian deaths on the Israeli side, as well as the deaths of 15 Israel Defense Forces soldiers and reservists. There have also been several attacks from Syria, without any injuries. The Hezbollah attacks have displaced tens of thousands of residents from local towns and communities, and caused huge amounts of damage to homes and national parks.

Hezbollah has named 349 members who have been killed by Israel during the ongoing skirmishes, mostly in Lebanon, but some also in Syria. In Lebanon, another 64 operatives from other terror groups, a Lebanese soldier, and dozens of civilians have been killed. Tens of thousands have also fled their homes in south Lebanon.


Journalists tour American aid pier in Gaza as it resumes operations
With US soldiers within shouting distance of Gaza’s coast, the American military is taking another stab at delivering aid to hungry Palestinians by sea.

After several fits and starts, a $230 million pier is up and running again. The US military invited reporters for a tour of it on Tuesday, marking the first time international media has witnessed its operations firsthand.

International journalists have not been allowed to enter Gaza independently since the Israel-Hamas war began on October 7, when Hamas sent thousands of terrorists into Israel, where they killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostage.

The project, which first launched in mid-May, resumed operations last week after a recent pause due to rough seas.

As journalists looked on Tuesday, US soldiers with machine guns directed the pier’s operations. US vessels carrying trucks loaded with humanitarian aid docked at the pier.

Israeli and Cypriot drivers drove the trucks off the vessels and headed down the 400-meter (437-yard) causeway to the beach, where they unloaded pallets of aid.


‘Felt like the end of the world’: Hamas hostage speaks out about capture
Former Hamas hostage Aviva Siegel has revealed what happened in the moments when members of the terrorist group broke into her house and abducted her and her husband, Keith.

“There were lots of missiles coming from Gaza, so we sat there, and we felt that something else different was happening,” Ms Siegel told Sky News host Sharri Markson.

“It felt like the end of the world.”

Aviva’s husband, Keith Siegel, still remains a hostage of Hamas.




Freed hostage Shlomi Ziv returns to Lebanon border home
Shlomi Ziv returned to his home in the northern border community of Moshav Elkosh on Tuesday, some three weeks after being rescued from Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip.

The former captive was welcomed by Shimon Guetta, the head of the Ma’ale Yosef Regional Council, which administers the Western Galilee village.

“This is a very exciting day for all of us—to see Shlomi return to his home, and our home, in Ma’ale Yosef. God willing, we will soon be able to celebrate the return of the other 120 hostages,” Guetta told attendees at the welcome event.

Guy Katz, a resident of nearby Moshav Me’ona, told Ynet that residents of the area were “deeply moved” when Ziv was rescued.

“This is a ray of hope, as some of our council’s residents are evacuated, and the rest are holding the border towns with an iron fist,” said Katz, in reference to ongoing Hezbollah terrorist attacks. “Together, we will win.”

Ziv, 40, was a member of the security team at the Supernova music festival near Kibbutz Re’im in southern Israel, where terrorists led by Hamas murdered more than 360 people during the Oct. 7 invasion.

During the attack, Ziv stayed to fend off gunmen and evacuate people. He was kidnapped to the Gaza Strip.

Israeli security forces rescued Ziv during “Operation Arnon” on June 8. along with Noa Argamani, Andrey Kozlov and Almog Meir Jan from two separate locations in Nuseirat Camp in the central Gaza Strip.


"Unrestrained" Hezbollah War Inches Forward as Biden Withholds Weapons
Hezbollah Leader Hassan Nasrallah has promised an "unrestrained" war against Israel as Prime Minister Netanyahu publicly criticizes the Biden administration for withholding weapons from the Jewish state.

JNS CEO Alex Traiman and Middle East correspondent Josh Hasten break down this story and the latest news in Israel and the Jewish world.
- Naftali Bennett potentially jumping back into politics
- the effort by Israel to "cement control" in Judea and Samaria
- Antisemitic riots in LA


Mark Regev & Ruthie Blum: The Explosive Haredi Draft Decision | Israel Undiplomatic
In this episode of Israel Undiplomatic, Mark Regev and Ruthie Blum debate the Israeli Supreme Court decision on ultra-orthodox military service. Should this be happening now or at all? Will this bring down the Netanyahu government? They also debate the 'day after' Hamas, and what Israelis should learn from Dr. Strangelove.

Chapters
00:00 Unity and Compassion: A Story of a Kind Bus Driver and a Combat Soldier
03:04 Women in Combat and Ultra-Orthodox Military Service: Personal and Political Perspectives
05:01 The Supreme Court Decision on Ultra-Orthodox Military Service: Integration and Khare Di-Friendly Environment
08:47 Israel's Strength and Security: Navigating a Dangerous and Unstable Region
10:13 Peace Agreements and Settlement in Gaza: Balancing Security and Diplomacy
14:00 Understanding Palestinian Factions: Hamas, Fatah, and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict


The Commentary Magazine Podcast: The Bowman Defeat
Hosted by Abe Greenwald, Christine Rosen, John Podhoretz & Matthew Continetti Should the remarkable loss of Squad member and anti-Semite Jamaal Bowman in a Democratic primary be treated as a restoration of sanity—or a guide to American Jews on how to use their power to defeat their enemies? Or both? Or neither? And…here comes the debate!
In Jerusalem, Netanyahu thanks visiting Fetterman for ‘moral clarity, courage’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) on Wednesday at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem on the legislator’s first trip to the Jewish state. He met the day before with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who called him “a true leader.”

Netanyahu thanked him for visiting the country and for his consistent support of Israel, especially since the Hamas terrorist attacks on Oct. 7. He told the senator that standing up to pro-Palestinian demonstrators, while waving an Israeli flag, was courageous and heart-warming.

“We’ve been through dark times in these months of anguish war. During that time, I can say that Israel has had no better friend than Senator John Fetterman. Senator, welcome to Israel,” said the prime minister.

“I want to thank you for your courageous statements that show moral clarity and moral courage, and you just say it the way it is. We appreciate this friendship at all times but especially at these times. So welcome, friend, welcome.”

Fetterman replied succinctly and with visible emotion, saying, “We stand with Israel through this. I’m so sorry for what’s been done to this nation, but I’m just honored to be here today.”

Others participating in the meeting included Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer; director of the National Security Council Tzahi Hanegbi; and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew.


Blinken Shares Photo with Maldives FM as Nation Seeks to Ban Jewish Israelis
Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Tuesday with Moosa Zameer, the foreign minister of the Maldives, despite the fact that the Indian Ocean nation has banned Israelis from entering, in a move intended to exclude Israeli Jews.

As Breitbart News has reported, the Maldives sought to ban Israelis from entering the country earlier this month:
The move is the latest in a growing list of unfriendly gestures by Muslim states towards Israel, intended to oppose operations to neutralize Hamas following its invasion of Israeli territory. On October 7, thousands of Hamas terrorists invaded the country and engaged in a host of atrocities including the massacre of entire families, documented instances of torture and gang rape, and the mutilation and desecration of corpses, in some cases filmed for entertainment.

The office of Maldivian President Muizzu announced on Sunday that the president “has resolved to impose a ban on Israeli passports.”

However, as Breitbart News reported last week, the Maldives realized that since 20% of Israelis are Arab, its ban affected them as well. The ban had evidently intended to target Israeli Jews alone; now it is being adjusted.

None of that came up, evidently, in Blinken’s meeting with the foreign minister of the Maldives. The State Department reported, in a statement it said was attributable to spokesman Matthew Miller:
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken met with Maldivian Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer today in Washington, DC. Secretary Blinken reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to partnering with Maldives to promote a free, open, secure, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region. The Secretary highlighted the U.S. donation of eight patrol boats to Maldives and, working with Congress, the planned provision of $2 million in hydrographic support to help Maldives mitigate the impact of rising sea levels. The Secretary and the Foreign Minister discussed additional opportunities to enhance cooperation on addressing the climate crisis, economic growth, maritime security, and other bilateral priorities.


I Could Have Been a Houthi | Luai Ahmed escaped Islamist Yemen to become a pro-Israel peace advocate
Luai Ahmed was raised in the most fundamentalist Islamist culture in Yemen, where hatred of Jews, gays, and Kafirs was not only preached, but practiced. When he realized that he himself was gay, he had to plot an escape.

In this riveting interview, Ahmed recounts his extraordinary journey from his upbringing in Yemen where he was inches from becoming a Houthi himself, and the ideas beliefs his family and friends still hold, to his new life as an advocate for peace and understanding in Sweden.

He describes the shock and fear of meeting a Jew for the first time, the realities of Sweden's refugee camps as Islamists indoctrination mills, the tragedy and perversion of Sweden's support in the Middle East, and much more.

He is fierce critic of Europe's simplistic approach to multiculturalism and immigration, with a unique perspective on the challenges of integration, and the dangers of domestic radicalization. He eloquently points out the hypocrisy in Western media and political discourse, where issues like the persecution of Jews in Malmö by immigrants are underreported or ignored due to fears of being labeled racist.

Ahmed calls for more balanced and honest discussions about these issues to foster a more inclusive and understanding society, and today he fights alongside Israeli friends for democracy, human rights, and a peaceful future for our region—an activist in the “Builders of the Middle East” movement on social media.


UKLFI: Plumbing company vets customers and won’t serve Zionists
AWG Plumbing and Heating, whose website states that it works all over London, has sent a customer the following message:
“I won’t be able to provide you any services as we’re trying to VET all of our customers in the present climate and it appears that you opposed the BDS movement and give cover to the state of Israel as you a part of the law makers in this country. So for this reason, we can no longer offer our services and would therefore no longer like to be contacted. ”

The customer who received this message told UKLFI: “I was extremely shocked and upset. I couldn’t believe it had happened to me in this country.”

UK Lawyers for Israel has written to AWG Plumbing and Heating, pointing out that they are in breach of section 29 of the Equality Act 2010, which prohibits discrimination by suppliers of services to the public against customers because of “protected characteristics”, including religion or philosophical belief. In this case the company evidently discriminated against a customer because she supported the State of Israel and opposed BDS. In other words, because she is a Zionist.

UKLFI noted that in the recent case of Miller v University of Bristol an employment tribunal held that Professor Miller’s antizionism was a philosophical belief. UKLFI argued that on the same basis, Zionism is also a philosophical belief. In addition, since a higher number of Jews than of other religious groups are Zionists, AWG was also indirectly discriminating against people of the Jewish religion.

A UKLFI spokesperson commented: “It is shocking that companies are showing such disdain for the law, and are actually vetting their customers to check that they do not support Israel. We hope that AWG now apologise to that customer and change their illegal policy.”
Protester arrested after allegation he defecated in Rishi Sunak’s lake ‘to halt arms sales to Israel’
Anti-Israel protesters are alleged to have targeted Rishi Sunak’s Yorkshire home with a protest in a bid to halt UK arms sales to Jerusalem.

Youth Demand posted videos on X which appeared to show Oliver Clegg, 21, entering a lake on the prime minister’s grounds before pulling down his trousers and pushing out what appeared to be a lump of waste matter.

It is thought that the brown object was in fact made of silicon.

Wearing a shirt emblazoned with the words, “eat sh**t Rishi,” the student said in the video: “We have so much to thank the Tories for: from crumbling schools, sh*t in the rivers and a collapsing NHS, to creating a nation with more food banks than McDonalds and 4.3 million UK children living in poverty.

"From allowing their mates to get filthy rich from selling weapons to battle-test on toddlers in Gaza, or by drilling for more oil as the world burns – it’s quite a legacy!”

Both Labour and the Conservative Party, Clegg claimed, would continue "sh**ting on Gaza" by allowing weapons sales to Israel.

"The two party system is just two cheeks of the same arse,” he continued. “We deserve better!”

Four men have been arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass over the protest.

This includes a 52-year-old from London, a 43-year-old from Bolton, a 21-year-old from Manchester, and a 20-year-old from Chichester.

"We have arrested four people in the grounds of the Prime Minister’s constituency home this afternoon. Our officers were with the four men within one minute of them entering the grounds," North Yorkshire police said.
Cathedral dean withdraws from Gaza rally because of activists who ‘justify violence’
A senior Church of England dean has withdrawn from a Gaza rally because he did not want to share a platform with anti-Israel activists who “justify violence [and] incite hatred.”

The Dean of Peterborough Cathedral, the Very Reverend Chris Dalliston, had agreed to attend the “Peterborough March for a Free Palestine” in the city in the east of England on Sunday.

In a statement posted on the cathedral's Facebook page, Dean Dalliston announced his withdrawal from the event, and said: “I would not want to appear to endorse the view that Israel has no right to exist, let alone share a platform with those who might think it possible to justify any kind of violence or incite hatred.”

The dean said he believes in a “diplomatic solution” to the conflict in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank.

“I further believe that there should be an immediate end to hostilities, the release of hostages, and that work should commence towards a diplomatic solution that enables all people, Israelis and Palestinians, Jews, Christians and Muslims to live in peace, dignity, safety.

“Along with many others I believe that only a two-state solution can ultimately guarantee a future in which all can hope to flourish,” he wrote.

“It is for that reason, that I would not want to appear to endorse the view that Israel has no right to exist, let alone share a platform with those who might think it possible to justify any kind of violence or incite hatred.”


'Ignoring extremism': AFP drops probe into Sydney bakery that shared 'horrifying' Hamas-themed children's birthday cake, sparking outrage from Jewish community
Federal police have dropped an investigation into a Hamas-themed child’s birthday party featuring a terror-themed cake made by a Sydney bakery, saying no laws have been broken.

The lack of action has prompted warnings that authorities are again showing weakness in the face of Islamist extremism.

Sky News revealed exclusive footage of the fourth birthday party last month, in which the Auburn-based Oven Bakery by Fufu showed off its elaborate creation – a dessert adorned with the black and white pattern of the Palestinian keffiyeh, Palestinian flags and an image of Hamas spokesman Abu Obaida.

The cake appeared to have the birthday boy’s name on it with the words “[name omitted] is 4” and the camouflage-wearing child was pictured posing next to it, his face masked in a keffiyeh and making the same hand gesture as the terrorist.

‘What the hell are they thinking?’: Sydney bakery slammed over Hamas cupcakes
The party also included Hamas-themed cupcakes, Palestinian flag bunting and balloons - as well as drinks in the red and green colours of the Palestinian flag.

The western Sydney bakery has been registered to Mahmoud Hage since 2021.

NSW Police had been unaware of the footage until contacted by Sky News.

Within hours, state officers had referred the matter to Australian Federal Police.

It’s understood the AFP spent weeks getting advice on whether any laws had been broken.

But a month after the initial report, an AFP spokesperson confirmed to Sky News that police had dropped the investigation.

“The AFP has conducted a review of the online material in question and based on available information, assess that no Commonwealth offence has been committed,” the spokesperson said.

“No further comment will be provided on this matter.”

Australian Jewish Association CEO Robert Gregory says it is “disappointing but not at all surprising” that authorities were failing to act on the “brainwashing” of young children to support terrorism.

“It’s one thing for politicians to use strong words against extremism, but time and again we see the authorities failing to act,” Mr Gregory said.

“This lack of action once more sends a clear message of weakness to Islamic radicals.

“Many Australians will be asking whether our security agencies are asleep at the wheel or are wilfully ignoring Islamic extremism.

“The problem isn’t going to go away. Ignoring the growing Islamist extremism in our suburbs ensures that Australians are in for challenging times ahead.”




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This blog may be a labor of love for me, but it takes a lot of effort, time and money. For over 19 years and 40,000 articles I have been providing accurate, original news that would have remained unnoticed. I've written hundreds of scoops and sometimes my reporting ends up making a real difference. I appreciate any donations you can give to keep this blog going.

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