Friday, July 19, 2024

07/19 Links Pt1: ICJ sips espresso while Tel Aviv coffee shops burn; The crimes of Mohammed Deif; Trump: Return hostages or face severe consequences

From Ian:

ICJ sips espresso while Tel Aviv coffee shops burn: a tale of legal myopia
Picture this: A judge in The Hague, sipping coffee and flipping through a stack of documents, while a Yemeni Houthi drone crashed into a Tel Aviv building, killing an Israeli citizen and injuring ten. They're drinking coffee while coffee shops in Tel Aviv closed due to terror. While they were drinking their espressos on Friday morning, ahead of a useless hearing, missiles were sent from Lebanon towards Israeli towns, and Hamas kept on hiding 120 Israeli hostages in their underground tunnels.

It's in this serene environment that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has declared Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem illegal under international law. ICJ judges, are you genuinely supporting a terrorist organization with this ruling?

Let’s start with the glaring omissions. The ICJ conveniently forgets the historical and legal mess that is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The West Bank and east Jerusalem, captured by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War—a defensive conflict, mind you—have never been sovereign Palestinian territories. But why bother with such details when you can make sweeping declarations from the comfort of The Hague? Do you prefer your judgments to be based on convenience rather than facts?

The ICJ also seems to have a selective memory regarding security concerns. Israeli settlements act as crucial buffers against the kind of aggressions that tend to happen when your neighbors aren't exactly sending you fruit baskets. Judea and Samaria have been a breeding ground for terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians. Suggesting that Israel dismantle these settlements without any security guarantees is like telling someone to take off their bulletproof vest in the middle of a shootout. Do you believe Israel should compromise its security for a romantic fantasy?

And then there’s the historical connection. The Jewish ties to east Jerusalem, home to the holiest sites in Judaism, stretch back thousands of years. But the ICJ waves this off as if it’s an annoying pop-up ad. Reducing millennia of Jewish presence to a mere political squabble is an insult to history and common sense. Are you seriously that dismissive of a people’s ancient heritage?

Why is the ICJ making its opinion known now?
The timing of this opinion is as impeccable as ever. It predates the current Israel-Hamas conflict but was delivered amidst heightened tensions. It’s almost as if the ICJ wanted to pour gasoline on a fire. Funny how that works. Are you deliberately trying to escalate the situation?

The UN General Assembly’s request to the ICJ is just another chapter in its long history of anti-Israel bias. Israel gets condemned by UN bodies more often than a bad restaurant on Yelp. This consistent targeting undermines the credibility of the UN and, by extension, the ICJ. But who needs credibility when you have politics? Do you enjoy turning severe legal matters into a circus?

The ICJ’s ruling is just the latest example of the Western world’s favorite pastime: abandoning Israel when it’s most convenient. During the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Western nations took their sweet time sending support while Israel faced coordinated attacks. It was only after significant casualties that aid finally showed up. Thanks a lot. Is it acceptable to delay aid until the damage is done? Then, in 2015, the West couldn’t sign the Iran Nuclear Deal fast enough, ignoring Israel’s legitimate security concerns. Prioritizing appeasement over real threats to Israel’s existence—what could go wrong? Are you comfortable with empowering regimes that openly call for Israel’s destruction?
The crimes of Mohammed Deif
Anyone relying on the mainstream-media coverage of the attempted assassination would get a grossly one-sided view of what happened. It was widely reported that Israel killed at least 90 people in what was the designated humanitarian zone of al-Mawasi, near Khan Younis. The implication here is that the vast majority of those killed in the strike were civilians. This impression would have been reinforced by pictures on television, since camera crews in Gaza are not allowed to film Hamas casualties – something that Western media outlets do not often disclose.

The Western media also typically fail to ask the most blindingly obvious questions, such as why were senior Hamas leaders hiding among civilians? And doesn’t that mean they share at least some, if not all, of the responsibility for any civilian deaths? It seems like a textbook example of Hamas using the Gazan people as human shields.

In any case, the Israeli version of events is completely different. Israel says that Hamas’s leaders were surrounded by their associates in a fenced-off area within the villa. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) had been watching the compound for weeks, waiting for Deif to turn up. When Israel did eventually launch its strikes, a large number of those killed were, in the Israeli account, Hamas terrorists.

So why has Mohammed Deif become so significant? Why has Israel made so many attempts to assassinate him? From the 1990s onwards, he was responsible for numerous lethal attacks on Israelis, including a wave of suicide bombings. He also played a key role in transforming Hamas from a small-scale terrorist outfit to a paramilitary force with land, sea and air capabilities. That made him one of the main architects of the 7 October pogrom in southern Israel, during which about 1,200 people, mostly Jews, were slaughtered.

Even those who doubt Israel’s account of its assassination attempt cannot question Deif’s murderous intent towards Jews. On 7 October, after declaring the start of ‘Operation Al-Aqsa Deluge’, Deif quoted the Koran in relation to what he called the ‘criminal enemy’ – in other words, Jews. ‘Kill them wherever you may find them’, he said.

Even when talking about Israelis living in pre-1967 Israel (that is, excluding the West Bank), he called on the Palestinian population to ‘torch the earth under the feet of the plundering occupiers – kill, burn, destroy and shut down roads’.

Hamas leaders have restated this aim of murdering Jews time and again. Last month, Hamas’s Lebanon representative, Ahmad Abd Al-Hadi, said in a TV interview that, ‘If we could go back in time, we would carry out the 7 October attacks again’. Indeed, even in anti-Israel protests in London and elsewhere across the West there are some Hamas supporters who openly celebrate the atrocities of 7 October. (Deif himself was once glowingly profiled by the British leftists of Novara Media in 2014.)

Deif’s role in bringing misery to the Palestinians should also not be underestimated. Israeli retribution for the 7 October slaughter was inevitable. However, Hamas leaders felt relatively safe as they have been able to shelter in the extensive underground tunnel network developed by Deif. Ordinary Gazans are forbidden from entering these shelters. This effectively turned the civilian population into human shields on a massive scale. Ultimately, the war in Gaza could have ended long ago if Hamas leaders surrendered and released their Israeli hostages. Neither Israel nor the people of Gaza wanted this terrible conflict.

Israel’s assassination attempt was fully justified. Deif played a key part in waging a murderous war against the Jewish people, as well as in causing Palestinians untold suffering. Israel may often be smeared as a ‘genocidal’ state, but Hamas and its Islamist allies are the true force for genocide here.
Blinken asserts hostage-ceasefire deal is close, reasserts support for two state solution
Ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas are "inside the 10 yard line and driving toward the goal line," according to Secretary of State Antony Blinken who spoke Friday at the Aspen Security Institute with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly.

"We often know the last 10 yards are often the hardest," he added, noting the question now is finishing negotiating some critical details.

Blinken said the United States continues to believe that the quickest way to bring the war to an end and to bring relief to the people of Gaza who so desperately need it is through an agreement on a ceasefire and hostages.

He dodged Kelly's direct question about reports of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu deliberately sabotaging the ceasefire negotiations and carefully answered how he is dealing with the prime minister.

"I'm not focused on personalities, I'm focused on policies," Blinken said, which led to some laughter from the audience. "And we want to make sure as we go forward with anyone, whether it's our Israeli allies or anyone else, that we reach agreements on the concrete steps to be taken to move whatever it is we're trying to move forward."

Blinken said what he's hearing across Israeli society is a strong desire to "get this done" and to get a ceasefire and the hostages home.

A need for two states
When asked if the future for a two state solution is dead, Blinken replied, "not only is not that, it can't be."

Though he said there are fundamental realities that can't be escaped, that between Gaza and the West bank, there are over five million Palestinians and there are about seven million Israeli Jews.

"Neither is going anywhere," he said. "Palestinians are not going anywhere. The Jews are not going anywhere."

There has to be an accommodation that brings lasting peace and lasting security to Israelis who so desperately want it and need it, and fulfills the right to self determination of the Palestinians, Blinken said.

On Iran he said, "where we are now is not a good place," as they're likely weeks away from developing having the breakout capacity of producing fissile material for a nuclear weapon, though Iran has not developed a nuclear weapon itself.

We need to see if Iran is serious about actually pulling back, he said, adding the Biden administration has "been maximizing pressure on Iran across the board."


Israeli killed, four hurt as ‘aerial target’ strikes Tel Aviv
An Israeli man was killed and four others were wounded overnight Thursday when what the Israel Defense Forces described as an “aerial target” exploded in a residential neighborhood in central Tel Aviv.

During the search of a building, Magen David Adom emergency medics found the lifeless body of a man in his 50s with “penetrating injuries” and determined he was killed by the blast. Security and rescue personnel at the scene of a drone explosion in Tel Aviv on July 19, 2024. Photo by Erik Marmor/Flash90.

The slain man was later identified as Yevgeny Ferder, who made aliyah from Belarus two years ago to escape the Russia-Ukraine war.

Medics treated a woman in her 20s and a man in his 30s for shrapnel wounds at the scene before evacuating them to Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center’s Ichilov Hospital.

Two others were wounded either by shrapnel or the shockwave of the explosion. Four additional people were being treated at hospitals for anxiety.

The explosion occurred just after 3 a.m. in the area of Ben Yehuda Street, a few blocks away from the U.S. diplomatic mission in the heart of the coastal city.

A U.S. official said the embassy branch office was not damaged and no American citizens were hurt.

Footage from the scene appeared to show an armed drone striking a building on the corner of Shalom Aleichem Street.

“An initial inquiry indicates that the explosion in Tel Aviv was caused by the falling of an aerial target,” the IDF stated.

The military subsequently announced that the drone had been detected by air defense systems but was not intercepted due to human error.

No warning sirens were activated in Tel Aviv ahead of the attack.
Houthi drone was detected about seven minutes before impact: How did it get that far?
The IDF has continued to investigate the unusual event that occurred early Friday morning when a UAV launched by the Houthis in Yemen crossed into Israeli territory, crashed in Tel Aviv, and caused the death of Yevgeny Perder.

The IDF is still investigating why it was not marked as a hostile target and, accordingly, not intercepted by the Air Force, even though it was detected by radar about seven minutes before the fatal impact.

The Air Force is still trying to reconstruct the supposed flight path of the drone, and according to initial estimates, it was launched from Yemen and flew over two thousand kilometers through Egypt to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, most likely in the Al-Arish area.

From there, the UAV continued north until it crashed in a residential area on Ben Yehuda Street in Tel Aviv.

Since the beginning of the war, air defense systems and air force planes have thwarted thousands of missile launches from all combat fronts.

According to IDF data, 200 drones and cruise missiles were launched just from Yemen that were on their way to hit targets in Israel. Except for the drone that hit tonight, all the launches were intercepted.


Yevgeny Perder, 50, named as victim of Houthi drone strike on Tel Aviv
The victim of Thursday night's drone attack on Tel Aviv has been named as Yevgeny Perder, 50, according to Israeli media.

N12 said Perder lived in an apartment in a building where he performed maintenance work between Shalom Aleichem and Ben Yehuda streets in Tel Aviv.

His family have been notified of his death.

Asleep at the time of the Houthi attack
Perder was asleep at the time of the explosion, according to Maariv. His room, located toward the top of the building was hit and was hit by shrapnel.

MDA spokesman Zachi Heller told N12 "During scans of the scene of the incident, a 50-year-old man was found unconscious with penetrating injuries and no signs of life in one of the buildings. MDA was forced to determine his death."

An additional 10 other people were wounded in the attack, which Yemen's Houthi group has claimed responsibility for.


UN’s top court accused of ‘lawfare’ as it rules that Israeli settlements are ‘illegal’
The Internation Court of Justice has issued an advisory ruling that Israel’s settlement regime in the West Bank is illegal under international law.

The ICJ, the highest court of the United Nations, was asked to examine the legal status of Israel’s occupation by the UN General Assembly in December of 2022.

Among the countries that presented arguments were Belize, Bolivia, Cuba, the Comoros, Namibia, Syria and the Maldives, many of which have deep-seated problems with corruption and authoritarianism.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the December 2022 resolution “disgraceful”.

He said: "The Jewish people are not occupying their land and are not occupying their eternal capital Jerusalem. No UN resolution can distort this historical truth.”

The Israeli government previously said it considered the court case to be, "part of the Palestinian attempt to dictate the results of the political settlement [of the Israel-Palestinian conflict] without negotiations.”

The United States government had called on the ICJ to “carefully calibrate its advice" and to avoid issuing an opinion "that calls for a unilateral, immediate and unconditional withdrawal by Israel that does not account for Israel’s legitimate security needs.”

In an opinion issued by Lebanese judge Nawaf Salam, it declared on Friday that Israel has systematically discriminated against Palestinians and conducted a “de facto annexation” of the occupied territories.

The Jewish state’s actions, it said, prevented the Palestinian people from exercising their right to self-determination.

“The transfer by Israel of settlers to the West Bank and Jerusalem as well as Israel’s maintenance of their presence, is contrary to article 49 of the fourth Geneva Convention,” Salam said.

While the verdict is advisory, rather than binding, it will have a significant political and diplomatic impact for Israel.

According to the court, Israel has an obligation to immediately cease all new settlement activity and repeal all legislation maintaining the “unlawful situation” in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Israel must also provide reparations, it added, and return any land taken and assets seized since 1967.

Israelis must be removed from settlements and the elements of the security barrier built within the occupied Palestinian territories must be removed, while Palestinians moved because of the occupation must be allowed to return, it said.
Top UN court tells Israel to end ‘unlawful’ Judea, Samaria ‘occupation’
Harriet Schleifer and William Daroff, chair and CEO respectively of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, condemned the court’s ruling “in the strongest terms.”

“The ICJ, like the entire United Nations’ system, is rife with antisemitism and anti-Israel bias—this verdict has given us simply more proof of what was already evident,” the two leaders stated. “The accusations in the ruling amount to a modern-day blood libel.”

Arsen Ostrovsky, CEO of the International Legal Forum, told JNS that the “obscene” decision will fuel antisemitism and reward Hamas for its Oct. 7 terror attack. The opinion “is yet another utterly baseless and politically motivated decision of the court, masquerading as a legal opinion, that will only further erode the ICJ’s credibility and place it squarely as a tool of Palestinian lawfare,” he said.

“Albeit non-binding, this opinion, delivered by the Hezbollah-controlled Lebanese presiding judge, with a pre-existing deep-seated history of anti-Israel bias, is rooted in historical revision and denial of the Jewish people their inalienable connection to their holy sites, including Jerusalem,” the international human rights lawyer added.

Anne Herzberg, legal adviser at NGO Monitor, told JNS that the court’s decision “must be seen within the context of the ongoing war to eliminate Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people.”

“In addition to military action in every conflict, there is also a political warfare component, and this opinion is a clear part of this campaign,” Herzberg said. “While less than half of U.N. member states sought this opinion, the Lebanese-led court has issued a wide-ranging, ahistorical opinion that completely erases the security reality, attacks Jewish self-determination rights and cultural heritage and eviscerates Oslo and the Middle East Peace Process.”

The opinion “will likely lead to further antisemitic violence which is surging globally,” she added. “For all of these reasons, countries of conscience should forcefully reject it.”

“Neither the U.N. nor the ICJ has the authority to make pronouncements about Judea and Samaria,” stated the leadership of Christians United for Israel, which referred to the “gross overreach and willful blindness to indisputable facts of anti-Israel activist judges.”

“In a world comfortable with Jew-hatred, the concept of alternative facts and a court led by an anti-Israel judge, we do not expect the international community will see the light of truth anytime soon,” it added.
Israeli leaders slam ICJ's call for end to 'illegal' activities in Palestinian territories
Following the International Court of Justice's decision on Friday to declare settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem illegal, Israeli leaders hit back, criticizing the decision.

MK Yuli Edelstein, chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, called the decision "another illusory and despicable decision of the court in The Hague, which was hijacked by Islamists and their supporters, and turned from a court of justice into a court of empowering and encouraging terrorism."

Edelstein then denied that Israel was an occupying state and asserted that Israel had full legal and historical rights to control all of the territory.

MK Simcha Rothman, chairman of the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, plainly responded to the publication with the statement, "Sovereignty Now."

Foreign Affairs Minister Israel Katz also took issue with the ICJ's publication, describing it as "fundamentally warped, one-sided, and wrong.

"The opinion ignores the past: the historical rights of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel. It is detached from the present: from the reality on the ground; from the security threats to Israel; from the greatest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust; from the attacks by Hamas, Iran, and other terrorist elements on seven fronts; and from the need for Israel to defend its territory and its citizens. It is also dangerous to the future: it plays into the hands of the extremists and it encourages the Palestinian Authority to continue on the path of defamation and baseless mud-slinging.

"The State of Israel adheres to the rule of law and is committed to international law and it will continue to do all that is necessary to protect its citizens in accordance with international law."


Eugene Kontorovich: There are no surprises at the ICJ Advisory Opinion today, including its timing right before Shabbat.
There are no surprises at the ICJ Advisory Opinion today, including its timing right before Shabbat. Holding: Israel's presence in West Bank & Jerusalem entirely illegal and ultraverybad. Some things to keep in mind.

Remember that the ICJ is just the judicial arm of the UN - an organization that runs several Hamas front organizations, and whose SG said of Oct 7th, that it didn't happen without a context. The ICJ's membership selected largely by the GA, who actually asked for this "opinion." Its judicial decisions simply reflect the politics of the GA.

This ICJ's opinion is not legally binding (its advisory), nor is it morally binding, coming from the U.N., which in Gaza has merged with Hamas and lost all credibility since Oct. 7th.

The ICJ decision is also the millionth nail in coffin of two-state solution, by telling Palestinians they have all the marbles: starting position is Israel must leave all territory, evacuate all settlements, etc. This maximalist rhetoric is what has made it impossible to them to compromise for decades.
Aizenberg: ICJ advisory opinion DOES NOT assert Gaza is "occupied" by Israel. Contrary to media reports
ICJ opinion is a severe blow to claims Gaza is occupied. ICJ does not say Gaza is occupied. It simply claims that based on an unspecified level of "effective control" Israel may still have obligations under “law of occupation”; quite different than saying “Gaza is occupied.”

To be clear, the ICJ opinion only covers the status of Gaza pre-10/7, the reality of Gaza since then and going forward is and will be different. But the notion that Gaza was occupied by Israel pre-10/7, one of the so-called "justifications" for 10/7, is harmed by ICJ opinion.


PA’s Abbas calls ICJ ruling against Israel a ‘triumph for justice’
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas hails today’s ICJ ruling that Israel’s presence in the territories is illegal.

Abbas in a statement calls the decision “a triumph for justice.”

The PA president “urges the international community to compel Israel, the occupying power, to fully and immediately end its occupation and colonial project without conditions or exceptions.”

He says the “ruling underscores the rejection of Israeli occupation, the recent Israeli Knesset decision (rejecting Palestinian statehood), and US policies supporting Israeli occupation and rejecting the establishment of a Palestinian state.”


UNRWA is a terrorist organization, replacement is needed
On May 29, 2024, the Israeli parliament designated UNRWA as a terrorist organization, passing a preliminary reading with a 42-6 majority. Consequently, Israel will cease its ties with the UN organization.

During a meeting with ambassadors to the UN in his office in Jerusalem in January, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, "It is time for the international community and the United Nations to realize that UNRWA's mission must end." UNRWA is a temporary organization that unfortunately has now lasted for 75 years and its dangers now heavily outweigh its benefits.

Now, new research by Israel’s Defense and Security Forum’s research department reveals the true identity of the UN agency with the innocent appeal.

The parliamentary bill's passage is driven by substantial evidence of UNRWA's involvement with Hamas. Senior Israeli security people have said time and again that UNRWA has been serving Hamas’ interests. This includes the discovery of Hamas tunnels beneath UNRWA schools and collaboration between UNRWA employees and Hamas during the October 7 attacks. A UN inquiry investigating allegations against 12 UNRWA employees implicated in the October 7 massacre, resulted in the termination of 10 contracts, while two employees were confirmed dead.

The allegations against staffers with the UN agency for Palestinian refugees prompted Western countries to freeze funds vital for the body, including the U.S., the agency’s biggest donor. Prior to the funding freeze, the United States, the EU, Canada, Japan and Australia contributed 99% of UNRWA’s annual budget of over $1.6 billion. The United States was UNRWA’s top donor, contributing $340 million annually, but in March 2024 banned all U.S. funding to UNRWA until at least 2025 due to neutrality concerns. When President Joe Biden initially resumed funding the agency, his administration insisted that UNRWA was committed to neutrality but that clearly did not transpire.

The purported neutrality of UNRWA has been demystified time and again. UNRWA is the only UN refugee agency to have become enmeshed in the politics of the people they are supposed to support. The Palestinians are not merely a passive group of dependent refugees but highly conscious refugee communities with political leadership structures and armed sections engaged in warfare. UNRWA spokespeople tweet accusations, voice hollow defenses of its practices. UNRWA is without question a well-defined political mechanism instead of a humanitarian entity.
EU pledges 400 million euros for Ramallah, subject to progress on PA reform
The European Commission said on Friday it would provide the Palestinian Authority with 400 million euros ($435.5 million) in emergency financial support in the coming two months amid concerns within the European Union that the Ramallah-based body could collapse.

The money will be disbursed in the form of grants and loans in three payments between July and September, subject to progress in the implementation of the reform agenda of the Palestinian Authority, the Commission said in a statement.

It had earlier signed a letter of intent with the PA setting out a strategy to address its budgetary and fiscal situation.

“Together, we are laying the groundwork for economic and political stability in the West Bank,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

The PA’s finances have been in disarray for years as donor states have cut back funding that once covered nearly a third of its $6 billion annual budget, demanding reforms to tackle corruption and waste.

But Palestinian officials say the situation has worsened sharply since thousands of Hamas-led terrorists attacked Israel on October 7, killing nearly 1,200 people and kidnapping 251, sparking the war in Gaza. Israel subsequently withheld a portion, earmarked for Gaza, of the tax revenue it collects on behalf of the PA. That tax revenue is the PA’s main source of funds.

The PA welcomed the new European funding, calling it “an important step to contribute to alleviating the stifling financial and economic crisis that our people are going through, which worsened after the Israeli aggression on Gaza.”
UK to restore funding to controversial UN Palestinian Agency Unrwa
Foreign Secretary David Lammy confirmed that the UK would restore £21 million of government funding to the controversial Palestinian UN Agency, Unrwa.

In a statement to the House of Commons, where he spoke about the need to get aid into Gaza, Lammy said, “Humanitarian aid is a moral necessity in the face of such a catastrophe and it is aid agencies who ensure UK support reaches civilians on the ground.

During the debate, in which no independent MPs elected on a pro-Gaza platform were in attendance, Lammy said: “Unrwa is absolutely central to these efforts. No other agency can get aid into Gaza at the scale needed.”

The government says the funding will mainly go towards Unrwa’s flash appeal for Gaza and the West Bank, which focuses its resources on emergency food, shelter and other support for 3 million people.

The UK was one of several countries that stopped funding Unrwa in January 2024 after Israel accused its employees of participating in the October 7 attacks and subsequent violence.

The Foreign Secretary acknowledged these concerns but said that Unrwa had taken measures to change. He told MPs, “I was appalled by the allegations that Unrwa staff were involved in the October 7 attacks. We are reassured that after Catherine Colonna’s independent review, Unrwa is ensuring they meet the highest standards of neutrality and strengthening its procedures, including on vetting.”

“Unrwa has acted. Partners like Japan, the EU and Norway have now acted. This Government will act too.”

However, last week, the IDF said it found evidence of Unrwa facilities being used by terrorists in Gaza and, last month, the JC reported that victims of the October 7 massacre had filed a lawsuit against Unrwa for “aiding and abetting” Hamas.

A statement from the Board of Deputies said that, “While we of course believe it is vital that aid is delivered directly to those who need it, we believe the resumption of such funding needs to come alongside significantly increased oversight of Unrwa's activities.”


Return hostages before I assume office or face severe consequences, Trump warns
The attack on Israel on October 7 would not have happened had he been president, presidential candidate Donald Trump said Friday morning (Israel time) during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

The former president added, "We want our hostages back. And they better be back before I assume office, or you will be paying a very big price." It is unclear if Trump was speaking about the American-Israeli hostages or all of the Israeli hostages. Assumably, he was speaking of the American hostages since that was a repeating theme during the convention.

Earlier, Trump described how he narrowly survived an attempt on his life, telling a rapt audience at the Republican National Convention in his first speech since the attack that he was only there "by the grace of Almighty God."


Safer for Jews at GOP convention than ‘other side,’ says RNC publicist
Republicans address antisemitism in their ranks more effectively than Democrats do, and after Hamas’s Oct. 7 terror attack, the best way to protect Jews is via implementing policy, according to the Jewish spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee.

“When you see 1,200 of your own slaughtered, all that you should be worried about is policy,” said Elizabeth Pipko, 29, a model and new RNC publicist.

“Policy dictates what happened on Oct. 7. It dictated the response on Oct. 8, which would have been much stronger. It dictates why they’re still being held hostage right now, including five Americans,” Pipko told JNS on the sidelines of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Thursday. “The policy is what matters.”

The self-identified “Jew first, then a Republican,” told JNS that she stepped away from being spokeswoman for the so-called exodus movement—which encourages progressive Jews to leave the Democratic Party—because she thought it was more important to convince Jews to become more religious than more politically conservative.

“It would then lead to the same result,” she said.

Prior to Oct. 7, Pipko figured that Jewish voters would move to the right after looking at the differences between Democrat and Republican policies, and they would see that the latter was better for them. Then Hamas’s attack opened the eyes of many Jews who voted Democrat, she told JNS.

“There actually wasn’t a major shift until Oct. 7—until people saw what happened, until they realized that all the policies of this administration might have contributed to that,” Pipko said. “Until they sat and thought, ‘Would this be the same under a Donald Trump administration?’”
Parents of Omer Neutra at RNC: ‘Trump stands with the American hostages’
Orna and Ronen Neutra, parents of Omer, who is held captive by Hamas in Gaza, spoke at the Republican National Convention in Wisconsin on Wednesday night.

Among those present in the hall were presidential candidate Donald Trump and his vice-presidential candidate, J.D. Vance.

“For 285 long days and nights, Hamas terrorists have been holding Omer in prisons in tunnels underneath Gaza,” said Orna. “He was born in New York City, one month after 9/11. Eight months pregnant, I walked across the Queensborough Bridge towards home that day. And here we are, 23 years later, and he’s the victim of another vile terrorist attack.”



The audience in the hall gave them prolonged applause and enthusiastically chanted, “Bring them home.”

“October 7 was not merely an attack on Israel. This was, and remains, an attack on Americans,” said Ronen.

“President Trump told us personally right after the attack when Omer was taken captive. We know he stands with the American hostages,” he added.

“Omer, we love you—we will never stop fighting for you,” they declared at the end of the speech, to the sound of the crowd’s cheers.
Washington Post under fire for suggesting hostage parents haven’t spoken out about war in Gaza
An article in the Washington Post has sparked fury for suggesting that the parents of an American hostage held by Hamas in Gaza have not spoken out about the war in Gaza.

The Post’s national correspondent, Joanna Slater, interviewed Ronen and Orna Neutra about their experience since their American son, Omer Neutra, 22, was taken on October 7.

The initial headline of an article about the Neutras in the Post read: “Omer Neutra has been missing since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. When his parents speak publicly, they don't talk about Israel's assault on Gaza that has killed over 38,000 Palestinians, according to local officials. Experts have warned of looming famine.”

The backlash against the framing was rapid. Daniel Sugarman of the Board of Seputies tweeted, “how the hell did it get published in the first place” and another social media user commented: “Their kid is being held hostage in Gaza but they’re… not speaking out against the war in Gaza?!? C’mon. How is that the frame for this story?”

Shortly after the piece was shared on social media, the headline was revised to remove the reference to famine, Hamas figures, and to make the parents of the hostage sound more sympathetic: “Omer Neutra, an American hostage in the Israel-Hamas war, has been missing since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. His parents have mounted a relentless effort to get him released, speaking to anyone who might be able to support their cause.”

The Post added on X that they deleted the previous version of the story which “mischaracterized the efforts of Neutra’s parents.”

Although the headline has been revised, Slater’s article still includes a reference to the fact that the parents have not spoken about Israel’s actions in Gaza.


Israeli college student compiles unblinking guide to dark trail of Hamas massacre
Shortly after Hamas’s October 7 murderous onslaught on southern Israel, University of Haifa student Alon Penzel set out to compile raw, first-person accounts of the horrors.

These graphic impressions collected by the grandson of Holocaust survivors became an English-language book, “Testimonies Without Boundaries: Israel: October 7th, 2023,” that documents the dark trail of the Hamas massacre.

The 23-year-old first-time author interviewed more than 60 people, including volunteers from ZAKA, an organization that handles human remains after terrorist attacks; survivors of the Supernova festival, where 360 people were slaughtered; and Dr. Chen Kugel, director of the National Center of Forensic Medicine, also called Abu Kabir, where burned and mutilated victims’ bodies were taken to be identified.

From the start Penzel, aiming for the events to never be forgotten, said he wanted his interviewees to spare no details. They “appreciated my determination,” he said.

“They immediately realized the initiative’s significance and my ambition to commemorate what happened,” Penzel said. “They were able, step by step, to open up to me.”

The interviews are uncensored and horrific. Appearing just as shocked by the atrocities as his readers might be, Penzel serves as an unblinking guide to the murders of 1,200 people in southern Israel and the abduction of 251 to the Gaza Strip.

Beyond the documentation, however, what is most important to Penzel is that the testimonies be heard, he told The Times of Israel. To that end, Israel’s Foreign Ministry offered to help disseminate the book through its offices.
‘Week of Goodness’ highlights the plight of the 120 captives in Gaza
The Baka neighborhood in Jerusalem saw a unique Torah scroll dedication on Thursday night, July 18.

At most such events the Torah is held under a chuppah, a canopy similar to those used at Jewish weddings, and led by a truck with flashing lights and loud, festive music.

This Torah was initiated by the parents of American-Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, as part of their “Week of Goodness” to bring global attention to the plight of the remaining 120 captives held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Hundreds of supporters followed Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg-Polin from the Baka Bnei Akiva Center to the Baka Community Center as they carried the newly-commissioned Torah under the chuppah. Proceeding behind, the crowd of all ages grew, some solemnly joining in on the slow Hebrew songs of the strolling musicians.

After the short distance, as per tradition, the procession and the crowd arrived to be greeted by three men holding the Torah scrolls from the prayer group that meets in the Baka Community Center.

During the emotional scene in the courtyard of the community center, Rachel Goldberg-Polin spoke briefly in English. The Torah was written to merit and honor Hersh and all the hostages. She explained it was here that the family joyously celebrated Simchat Torah on the Friday night of Oct. 6, 2023, with their community.

The reading of the Torah on Simchat Torah morning Oct. 7 was not to be.

On Thursday night, from the new Torah scroll, a portion from the Simchat Torah reading was finally recited. Hundreds stood silently, responding at appropriate times.

Goldberg-Polin said that the support of so many had been their source of strength during the ordeal of the past months nine months.
Jennifer Jason Leigh pleas for hostages' return at Jerusalem Film Festival
“In this difficult time, I just want to say, Hazak… tachziru oatam habayita achshav!” said Jennifer Jason Leigh, the acclaimed actress who is the guest of honor at the 41st Jerusalem Film Festival, using the Hebrew words for, “Be strong . . . bring them home now!” as she announced that the festival was officially open on Thursday night at an especially emotional opening ceremony at the Sultan’s Pool Amphitheater in Jerusalem.

Leigh was referring to the 120 hostages still held by Hamas, who were kidnapped from Israel to Gaza when the war broke out on October 7, in an attack that killed 1200 people in Israel. The festival opening, usually very festive, was toned down out of respect for the hostages, the murdered, and the soldiers who have fallen and who are serving. Very few speakers addressed the crowd before the opening film, Thelma by Josh Margolin was shown, among them the CEO of the Jerusalem Cinematheque and the director of the festival, Roni Mahadav-Levin, and Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion.

Standing before an audience of 6000 at the Jerusalem Film Festival’s opening ceremony in the Sultan’s Pool Amphitheater, a thousand of whom were evacuees and bereaved families, Leigh received the festival’s Achievement Award from actress Reymonde Amsallem, and said, “It is very meaningful for me to be here tonight, to have my work recognized, but to be here not only as an actress, but as Jew. It’s very poignant for this to be my first time in Israel, because Israel has been on my mind every day.”

Growing up in Los Angeles in a secular family she said, “We were raised to be very proud Jews,” by a mother whose children called her, Eema, Hebrew for mom. “And every once in a while she would say, next year in Jerusalem.”


The Rabbi Who Was the First Non-Christian to Pray at the Republican National Convention
On the opening night of the Republican National Convention, Harmeet Kaur Dhillon offered a traditional Sikh prayer, provoking criticism from some, mostly online, corners of the right. (Perhaps the most fervent attack came from the anti-Semitic social-media personality Nick Fuentes.) As Jack Jenkins points out, Dhillon did the same at the 2016 convention, as did another Sikh in 2012. Jenkins then turns to the first Jew to lead prayers at a party convention:
The tradition of including non-Christian voices at the major party conventions goes back more than a century at least, to an invocation given by Rabbi Samuel Sale, of St. Louis, when the Republican convention was held there in 1896. Sale’s appearance, according to a New York Times report from the time, was the result of a political compromise: the Republican Party’s Catholic and Protestant factions were so bitterly opposed to each other that a rabbi was a safer choice than a pastor or a priest from either Christian tradition.

Sale, who was known for advocating for a “universal day of rest” in the way of the Jewish Sabbath, said in his prayer, “Fill us with a deep and abiding sense of the transcendent dignity and nobility of American citizenship and of the sacred obligations that should attend it. . . .”

Four years later, Democrats called on a rabbi at their convention as well, and ever since, rabbis have been regular guests at gatherings for both parties.


UAE willing to join multinational force for Gaza
The United Arab Emirates has signalled it is willing to send forces to a multinational “stabilisation” mission for Gaza after the Israel-Hamas war, becoming the first nation to say it could deploy boots on the ground in the strip.

The Gulf state said it could deploy its forces if the US provides a leadership role and supports steps towards a Palestinian state. The comments by Lana Nusseibeh, special envoy to the UAE foreign ministry, come as Arab states and the west struggle to devise a viable postwar plan for Gaza.

Nusseibeh told the Financial Times that Abu Dhabi had discussed the plans with the US as a step to fill the vacuum in besieged Gaza and address its massive humanitarian and reconstruction needs.

She said the UAE would only take part if invited by the Palestinian Authority, the western-backed body that administers limited parts of the occupied West Bank.

“The UAE could consider being part of the stabilisation forces alongside Arab and international partners . . . at the invitation of a reformed PA, or a PA led by an empowered prime minister,” Nusseibeh said. “The United States should have the lead on this for it to succeed.”

Nusseibeh said Abu Dhabi had, “and continued to have, conversations on the ‘day after’ with all the concerned actors in the region”.

The Gulf state normalised relations with Israel in 2020 and has maintained communication with the Jewish state since Hamas’s October 7 attack triggered the war and Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza.

Details of the mission, including whether it was a military or police force, were still being discussed.
IDF, Shin Bet eliminate Hamas military intelligence officer in Gaza
The IDF and the Shin Bet killed Hamas military intelligence officer Adel Hamediya, who was staying at a UNRWA compound in the Zeitoun area of Gaza City, on Thursday night.

As part of a joint operation by the IDF and the Shin Bet, a fighter jet attacked terrorists who were staying at the UNRWA compound in the Zeitoun area, which served as the headquarters of the Hamas Gaza City Brigade.

Hamediya had been in his position since 2019; as part of his role, he was responsible for the collection and building of divisional intelligence in preparation for the October 7 massacre.

Responsibility in the war
During the war, he was responsible for directing offensive operations against IDF troops and forming the intelligence picture about the maneuvering forces.

Hamediya was also responsible for gathering intelligence and assessing the situation for the senior officers of the Gaza Brigade and the senior commanders of the military wing of Hamas.

His department was responsible for promoting operations against IDF troops and the Gaza border towns.
Hezbollah is afraid of starting a war and not for the reason we thought
Three major game-changers
According to Mahmoudian, the 21st century was another transformative period for Hezbollah marked by three major events: the killing of the head of the Quds Force Qassem Soleimani, the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in 2022, and October 7. Soleimani's death had profound consequences for Hezbollah's operations in Iraq. Soleimani was a key figure coordinating Iran's courier network. Fearing to lose its grip on Iraq after his death, Iran tasked Hezbollah with filling this gap.

Hezbollah has increased its training of Iraqi militias, focusing on advanced military tactics, urban warfare, and the use of sophisticated weapons. Hezbollah has also taken on the role of providing strategic guidance for operations against US and coalition forces, including planning and executing attacks on bases and military convoys. At the same time, Hezbollah increased its influence on pro-Iranian factions in the Iraqi government, which called for the expulsion of the 2,500 remaining US troops in the country.

The war in Ukraine also gave Hezbollah a boost by undermining Russia's role in Syria. Moscow withdrew troops from Syria, leaving a power vacuum that was filled by both the IRGC and Hezbollah. This not only gave Hezbollah an opportunity to expand its presence but also allowed the militia to present itself as a valuable player capable of protecting Russian interests.

While the chaos abroad allowed Hezbollah to expand its regional influence, the internal chaos serves the same purpose. Over 80% of Lebanese live in poverty due to the financial turmoil in the country and the devaluation of the Lebanese pound. These difficult circumstances helped Hezbollah.

Its financial backbone, the Al-Qard Al-Hasan Association (AQAH), offered personal loans to Lebanon in exchange for gold and foreign currency, making Hezbollah the holder of the country's largest gold reserves.

In addition, Hezbollah, through its global financial network, including gold mines in Venezuela, transferred foreign currency and gold to Lebanon. Given the weak value of the Lebanese currency, this gave Hezbollah enormous purchasing power and allowed the militia to expand its economic presence by purchasing many construction and solar energy projects.

The funds gathered by Hezbollah may make it wary of escalating the current exchange of fire with Israel. Over the past four decades, Hezbollah has demonstrated a remarkable ability to exploit regional instability and conflict.

Whether during the US war on terror, the Arab Spring, or the tumultuous events of 2020, each round provided Hezbollah with new opportunities to expand its range of activity.


Hezbollah launches dozens of rockets at north; drone from Lebanon intercepted
Hezbollah launched some 65 rockets from Lebanon at northern Israel on Friday, according to the military, after a senior commander in the Lebanese terror group’s elite Radwan force was killed in an Israeli strike the night before.

A Hezbollah statement claiming responsibility for the rocket fire said the barrages were a response to recent IDF strikes in southern Lebanon, without specifically mentioning Thursday’s airstrike on Ali Jaafar Maatouk and other operatives.

According to the Israel Defense Forces, several of the rockets were shot down by the Iron Dome air defense system, while others impacted open areas.

No injuries were caused and troops shelled the launch sites with artillery, the IDF said.

Later, a rocket launcher used in one of the barrages against the community of Abirim was targeted in a drone strike, alongside a building used by the terror group, in southern Lebanon’s Ayta ash-Shab, the military said.

Meanwhile, the IDF said fighter jets struck Hezbollah weapons depots in Blida, Tayr Harfa and Houla. Another Hezbollah site was also struck in Houla, the IDF added.


Call Me Back PodCast: Bibi in Washington – with Amit Segal
Hosted by Dan Senor
Prime Minister Netanyahu prepares to arrive in Washington, DC next week for an address to a joint session of Congress (his 4th), a meeting with President Biden (covid-permitting), all against the backdrop of the negotiations over hostages and a temporary (or phased) ceasefire.

To help us understand what is going on the eve of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s visit, to preview what the Prime Minister hopes to get out of the visit, and the stakes for the visit (and also the future of the political Right in Israel), we are joined by Amit Segal. He is the chief political correspondent and analyst for Channel 12 News, and for Yediot Achronot, the country’s largest circulation newspaper. In his military service, he worked as a media and parliamentary correspondent for IDF (military) Radio.
The Israel Guys: Israel’s Government REJECTS Two-State Solution | This might make America Angry…
In an historic move, Israel’s Knesset voted to pass a resolution that absolutely rejects the creation of a Palestinian state…..well….kind of. There is one clause in the resolution that may allow for a future Israeli government to change their minds. That being said, this is still an outright rejection of a decades-old plan that has failed time and time again.

Is this the end of the world’s futile attempts to create a murderous, terrorist-run state directly inside of their Biblical Heartland? Only time will tell.

In the meantime, our organization is being accused of stealing Palestinian land in the West Bank, supporting the building of illegal settlements, and enabling violent Israelis to shoot Palestinians in the Occupied Territories.

All false of course….unless you count things like planting trees, harvesting grapes, and pruning vineyards as illegal.






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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 20 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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