Monday, July 29, 2024

07/29 Links Pt1: Terrorists and Diplomats Are Trying to Redraw Israel’s Borders; Why is it only ‘escalation’ when Israel retaliates?; WaPo dragged for ‘disgraceful’ front page

From Ian:

Seth Mandel: Terrorists and Diplomats Are Trying to Redraw Israel’s Borders
“One of the reasons that we’re continuing to work so hard for a ceasefire in Gaza,” said Secretary of State Antony Blinken after Hezbollah murdered twelve children in northern Israel, is to create “an opportunity to bring calm, lasting calm, across the blue line between Israel and Lebanon… We want to see Israelis, we want to see Palestinians, we want to see Lebanese live free from the threat of conflict and violence.”

I have no doubt Blinken really wants peace, and I know that the Israeli political opposition, specifically Benny Gantz, has been tempted into making similar remarks. But this attitude erodes Israeli sovereignty—and a state is nothing without its sovereignty.

Tying Gaza and Lebanon together is reminiscent of the long-debunked “linkage theory” of the Middle East, in which a peace deal with the Palestinians is considered a prerequisite to solving any other conflict in the region. The idea here is that Israel does not deserve peace with Hezbollah/Lebanon until it has first made peace with Palestinians.

No other country is made to follow such inane rules of engagement. Were the U.S. to be at war with Mexico, we would not countenance the idea that Canada can bomb us until we reach a truce with Mexico. Once again, putting any other country in Israel’s shoes reveals just how ridiculous are the standards to which the Jewish state, and no one else, is held.

But there’s a more serious erosion of sovereignty at play if Israel cannot deter Hezbollah and quiet its northern border.
Brendan O'Neill: Why is it only ‘escalation’ when Israel retaliates?
We see this time and again in the discussion of Israel. Attacks on Israel by Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis are seen as bad, sure, but it is Israel’s response that is truly feared, that is fretted over as potentially apocalyptic. Even following Hamas’s pogrom of 7 October, in which it slaughtered more Jews in one day than anyone else had since the Nazis, the woke lost more sleep over Israel’s promise of ‘mighty vengeance’ than they did over Hamas’s fascistic terror. When, earlier this month, Israel attacked Houthi bases in Yemen following a Houthi attack on Tel Aviv that killed a 50-year-old man, the UN droned on about the ‘urgent need to avoid regional escalation’. And now it is Israel’s response to Hezbollah’s barbarism, rather than Hezbollah’s barbarism, that seems to exercise the angst of the righteous of the West.

The truth is that it is Hezbollah that ‘escalated’ tensions – and ruthlessly so. Since the 7 October pogrom, Hezbollah has fired an untold number of missiles at Israel in solidarity with its fellow anti-Semitic Iranian stooges in Hamas. Swathes of northern Israel have been set alight by Hezbollah rockets. An estimated 60,000 Israelis have had to evacuate their homes. And now we’ve had the deadliest Hezbollah assault of the post-October moment. Israel should ‘show restraint’? It has. If it now decides not to, if it now decides that the displacement of tens of thousands of its citizens and the massacre of a dozen of its kids is something that must be forcefully confronted, could we blame it?

The treatment of Israel as the only true escalator of tensions in the Middle East is so telling. It speaks to the double bigotry of Israelophobia, where Israel is viewed as the region’s sole autonomous actor whose every military antic threatens to unleash apocalypse, while the other side is infantilised, reduced to the level of missile-firing overgrown children who cannot truly be held responsible for what they do. Even when what they do is escalation. It is this dual demonisation of the Jewish State and infantilisation of its enemies that gives rise to the skewed discussion we see today. Which leads to a situation where even Israel’s response to the murder of its children is seen as more troubling than the murder of the children. The West’s viewing of the Middle East through identitarian goggles has blinded it to the truth – and to morality.
Ruthie Blum: En route to Beirut?
When 12 kids were slaughtered Saturday in the Golan Heights town of Majdal Shams by an Iranian missile supplied to Hezbollah, Israelis were horrified but not surprised. Given the incessant bombardment of northern Israel—leading to the evacuation months ago of hundreds of families from their homes—mass murder was just a matter of time.

That’s what happens with a policy of containment—a key element of the very “conceptzia” that enabled Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre. If an enemy assault fails to be as deadly as it could have been, Israel doesn’t treat it with the response it deserves. Instead, it prides itself on preventing more casualties thanks to Iron Dome defenses and public obedience to Home Front Command directives.

These include: informing us of how many seconds we have to enter a bomb shelter or safe room when an air-raid siren goes off; instructing us to exit and clear away from our cars when caught by an alarm while driving on the highway, then lie on the asphalt with our hands on our heads; warning us not to photograph interceptions, which can result in injury from falling shrapnel; admonishing us to lock our doors, turn out our lights and close our shutters at the first sign of a potential terrorist invasion; and assuring us that we’ll be the first to know if we need to stock up on supplies ahead of a greater, less temporary threat.

It’s no wonder, then, that our military is called the Israel Defense Forces. Considering the fact that we are surrounded by foes both bent on our destruction and equipped by Tehran to carry it out, one would have thought it appropriate to replace the word “defense” with “offense.”

But no. The IDF boasts of being the most moral army in the world, with a code of ethics fit for local and international kangaroo courtrooms, not soldiers risking their lives to protect the country.

Though it was crafted by Asa Kasher, a far-left activist working to topple the government and undermine Israeli efforts at victory over Hamas in Gaza, it’s still touted as a holy guide, rather than tossed in the trash where it belongs.

Another part of the “conceptzia” that hasn’t been discarded despite the Oct. 7 atrocities is the principle of “legitimacy.” Rather than responding to every rocket launch as though it had succeeded in its aim of mass murder, the government and IDF top brass treat each failed attempt as a statistic—a number added to the spreadsheet of projectiles emanating from one of the many entities in the region working to wipe Israel off the map.

The most egregious example was on April 14. Since the Iranian launch of hundreds of drones and ballistic and cruise missiles left only a seven-year-old Bedouin-Israeli girl injured and caused minor damage to two Israeli airbases, Israel and the “coalition” of countries that assisted it in intercepting the bulk of the projectiles left it at that.


The Biden-Harris Admin Has Pressured Israel To Forestall a Confrontation With Hezbollah. That Policy Just Backfired.
The Biden-Harris administration has long worked to keep Israel from confronting Hezbollah. That policy backfired Saturday when the Iran-backed terror group launched an attack on the Jewish state that killed 12 civilians, mostly children. Now, the administration is once again pushing to contain Israel's response.

A Hezbollah missile struck a Druze town in northern Israel on Saturday, exploding on a soccer field and killing several children in the deadliest standalone attack on the Jewish state since Oct. 7. Israel launched several retaliatory strikes across Lebanon, including strikes on Hezbollah weapons caches, and is reportedly plotting a larger response.

The Biden administration wants to stifle that response.

American diplomats spent the weekend working the phones at Lebanon's behest to "urge restraint from Israel," according to the Washington Post. "What happened today could be the trigger we have worried about and tried to avoid for 10 months," an anonymous U.S. official told Axios on Saturday. CBS News reporter Margaret Brennan said the administration's pressure campaign on Israel is meant to "contain the fallout" and stop an "all out war."

That campaign reflects what has been a key pillar of the Biden-Harris administration’s policy in the Middle East, where, through efforts led by energy envoy Amos Hochstein, it has worked to foster a detente between Israel and Hezbollah.

Hochstein led efforts to broker a 2022 maritime gas deal between Israel and Lebanon that was "supposed to prevent escalations like the one we are witnessing now," according to Jonathan Schanzer, a Middle East analyst with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank. Hochstein also traveled to Israel last month "to work on de-escalating the conflict" between the Jewish state and Hezbollah.

"But with the benefit of hindsight," Schanzer wrote Saturday, "Hochstein’s effort should be seen for what it is: a failed attempt to appease Hezbollah."

In addition to Hochstein's efforts, Biden himself pressured Israeli prime minister Bibi Netanyahu to forgo a preemptive strike on Hezbollah days after Oct. 7. The United States has provided upwards of $100 billion in sanctions relief to Hezbollah's benefactors in Tehran in just under four years, flooding Iran’s hardline regime with the cash needed to support Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Schanzer now says that "a big war in the north" is likely, even as the United States pressures Israel to hold off—much like it did in the wake of Hamas’s unprecedented terror attack in Israel’s south.

"And it’s not pretty," Schanzer said in a weekend analysis. "Hezbollah has 200,000 rockets in its arsenal, thousands of drones, and an estimated 1,500 precision guided munitions that can strike military assets or even strategic infrastructure in Israel. To be clear: skyscrapers could fall."


US warns Israel against hitting Beirut
The Biden administration has warned Israel against targeting Beirut in response to Hezbollah’s rocket attack on Saturday that killed 12 children in the Golan Heights.

Washington fears that Israeli strikes on the Lebanese capital could lead to a major escalation, Axios reported on Sunday.

U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein, tasked with the Lebanon portfolio by President Joe Biden earlier in his administration, spoke to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Saturday, stressing that Jerusalem has a right to defend itself against the Iranian terror proxy, but must avoid an all-out war and minimize civilian casualties.

An Israeli official told Axios reporter Barak Ravid that Hochstein expressed concern that if Beirut is targeted, Hezbollah would respond by firing long-range rockets at Israel, leading to further escalation and the situation likely “spiraling out of control.”

“We definitely think an IDF strike on Beirut is a potential red line for Hezbollah,” a U.S. official told Ravid.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Gallant on Monday, emphasizing the administration’s concern about further escalation.

According to the readout of the call provided by State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller, Blinken expressed his sympathies to those killed in the Hezbollah attack on the northern Druze town of Majdal Shams and wished a speedy recovery to those who were wounded.

“The Secretary reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad commitment to Israel’s security against threats from Iranian-backed terrorist organizations, including Hezbollah,” according to the readout.

“He emphasized the importance of preventing escalation of the conflict and discussed efforts to reach a diplomatic solution to allow citizens on both sides of the border between Israel and Lebanon to return home.”

The two men also discussed ongoing efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and return the hostages. Blinken underscored “the U.S. commitment to securing lasting peace and stability in the region.”
Days after Golan Heights bloodbath, Austin stresses deal with Hezbollah
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin reiterated Washington’s belief in a diplomatic solution for the conflict on Israel’s northern border during a call with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday, two days after Iran-backed Hezbollah killed 12 children in the Golan Heights.

The two discussed “continued efforts toward a diplomatic solution in the north that stops all attacks and allows citizens on both sides of the Israel-Lebanon border to return home safely,” the Pentagon said.

Austin condemned “the appalling attack on Majdal Shams, in which 12 children playing soccer were killed and numerous civilians were wounded. He offered condolences to those who lost loved ones, and prayers for the full recovery of the injured,” per the U.S. readout.

The secretary was also said to have “discussed threats still facing Israel from a range of Iranian-backed terrorist groups,” including Hezbollah.

In its readout of the conversation, the Israeli Defense Ministry made no mention of diplomatic negotiations with the Lebanese terrorist army.

Instead, Jerusalem stated that Gallant stressed to Austin the Jewish state’s reinvigorated “determination to restore security to Israel’s northern border and to exacting a heavy price from Hezbollah.”

“On Oct. 8, Hezbollah attacked the State of Israel and has since been firing barrages of rockets on a daily basis, threatening Israel’s northern communities,” the Israeli statement read, adding that Gallant vowed to hold Hezbollah responsible for Saturday’s “significant escalation.”
US envoy praises Qatar’s role in maintaining ‘peace and security’
U.S. Ambassador to Qatar Timmy Davis stressed the importance of Washington’s diplomatic relationship with Doha for regional “peace and security,” speaking during a meeting with Qatar’s chief spokesperson on Monday.

Davis said he sat down with Majed al-Ansari for a “robust conversation on key regional and international developments, reaffirming the importance of the U.S.-Qatar partnership for peace and security.”

Al-Ansari wrote on X: “The strong bonds between Qatar and the U.S. are further strengthened by our shared commitment to securing peace & stability in the region and beyond in these difficult times.”

Neither diplomat mentioned the ongoing indirect hostages-for-ceasefire talks between Israel and the Hamas terrorist organization, which Qatar and Egypt have been mediating with the backing of the United States.

Qatar, which hosts Hamas and has provided the terrorist organization with hundreds of millions of dollars, played a role last year in mediating the release of hostages from Gaza in exchange for Palestinian terrorists.

Doha previously deflected accusations of playing a double game, saying the Biden administration requested that it open that mediation channel.

In April, a top Qatari official told an Arab League summit that there could be no negotiations with Israel as the Jewish people are “slayers of prophets.” Essa bin Ahmad al-Nassr, who serves in the Shura Council legislature and holds the rank of brigadier-general in the Qatari Armed Forces, claimed that Judaism “only accept[s] one thing—killing.”
Senate Appropriations Committee votes to extend U.S. freeze on UNRWA funds
The Senate Appropriations Committee voted on a bipartisan basis on Thursday to extend the U.S. freeze on aid to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency through at least the end of the 2025 fiscal year, making it increasingly likely that U.S. aid to the troubled U.N. agency will remain blocked into the foreseeable future.

Sens. Jon Tester (D-MT), Joe Manchin (I-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) voted with Republicans in favor of an amendment extending the UNRWA aid hold, which was opposed by most Democrats on the committee. The House already approved a bill containing a similar provision.

The committee’s debate over UNRWA largely followed now-familiar arguments.

Republicans highlighted links between UNRWA personnel and Hamas and the Oct. 7 attack, as well as the Hamas facilities found under UNRWA facilities, UNRWA’s teaching of antisemitic materials in schools and the findings of an independent review of UNRWA that it had violated its own policies. They also noted that the U.S. is providing additional aid to the Palestinians through other channels.

Multiple Republicans said they wouldn’t support the bill, under any circumstances, if the bill allowed aid to UNRWA to resume.

Democrats argued that there’s no viable replacement mechanism for UNRWA and that defunding it would destabilize not just Gaza and the West Bank but the entire region, including Jordan and Lebanon. They also noted that U.S. allies have seen fit to resume their own assistance to UNRWA.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) claimed that the Israeli government’s allegations that a large percentage UNRWA personnel are members of or linked to terrorist groups “do not hold up,” and that the push to eliminate UNRWA “is not based in facts,” but rather longtime grievances of the Israeli right.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), the ranking Republican on the subcommittee, said that UNRWA is “dead to me” and other Republicans and that he will never approve “another penny” for the agency barring a full restructuring, based only on the Hamas ties and other malfeasance that has been verified publicly.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), the ranking member of the Appropriations Committee, noted that UNRWA and the region have not collapsed despite the U.S. funding pause in place since early this year and that the U.N. and other international bodies have had time to begin to stand up alternatives.

Van Hollen and Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) ultimately voted against the bill over the UNRWA aid cut.


House bill calls for FBI to add Hamas, Islamic Jihad leaders to ‘most wanted’ list
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) introduced legislation last week that would add 11 leaders of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad to the FBI list of most wanted terrorists and offer rewards, via the U.S. State Department Rewards for Justice program, for information leading to their capture and prosecution.

“This legislation is more than a listing. It tells the truth and sends an unmistakable message: We know who launched an unprecedented terror war in Israel last Oct. 7, and we will do everything in our power to bring the guilty to justice,” Issa said, of H.R. 9153, the Hamas Terrorist Fugitive Act.

“The leadership of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad must know that America won’t forget the atrocities they’ve committed, and we will see through the accountability they must one day meet,” the congressman added.

The Gold Institute for International Strategy helped draft the legislation. At press time, the bill, which has no sponsors, was referred to committee.

The 11 leaders are Ismail Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, Khaled Mashal, Mahmoud al-Zahar, Mousa Mohammed Abu Marzook, Ziyard al-Nakhalah, Nasser Abu Sharif, Jamil Yusuf Ahmad ’Aliyan, Akram al-Ajouri and Mu’ad Ibrahim Muhammed Rashid al-Atili.
US opposes Knesset bill to use PA tax revenues for Oct. 7 terrorists’ legal defense
The State Department on Monday denounced proposed Israeli legislation that would use tax revenue collected on behalf of the Palestinian Authority to defray the legal expenses of Hamas terrorists captured on Oct. 7.

“We have been clear that the Palestinian Authority’s clearance revenues belong to the P.A. and should be transferred in full,” said a State Department spokesperson.

“Effective counterterrorism policy upholds the rule of law while respecting human rights,” the statement continued.

The Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee on July 15 advanced an amendment to the Public Defender’s Office Bill stipulating that legal fees for those charged with terrorism be deducted from funds intended for the P.A.

Those charged with or suspected of nationalistically motivated crime, and who are not citizens or residents, would not be eligible for state funding with regard to legal representation under the amendment.
US, Russian envoys bicker, Israel calls UNSC meeting an ‘absurdity’
Israel’s ambassador called Friday’s United Nations Security Council meeting an “absurdity,” as the body was summoned again to discuss the humanitarian situation in Gaza at the request of Russia, China and Algeria.

Gilad Erdan, noting that Israeli forces had recovered the bodies of five slain hostages from a designated humanitarian zone in Gaza, chided the council for failing to call a single meeting to discuss “what has caused the war and how to address it.”

He also criticized the United Nations for its failure to deliver the humanitarian aid to Gaza that Israel facilitates the screening and entry of, and for relying on Hamas’s data regarding casualty figures and other metrics.

“How can we even hold a session on the situation in Gaza without verifiable data?” asked Erdan. “Why hasn’t the Security Council called a meeting to ask the United Nations for an independent process to secure reputable information, rather than trusting the words of child killers and rapists?”

Much of the meeting was focused on the plight of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the scandal-plagued Palestinian-only U.N. agency which Israel has accused of extensive ties to Hamas.

Israeli legislators are advancing bills to designate UNRWA as a terror organization, to halt the agency’s activities in Jerusalem and to strip the agency and its staff of diplomatic privileges and immunities.

Its facilities in Jerusalem have been attacked by Israeli civilians angry at the agency’s alleged ties to Hamas, the participation of a number of its staff members in the Oct. 7 massacre and UNRWA’s disinformation campaign regarding Israel’s humanitarian aid efforts.

“The campaign against UNRWA, attacks against its premises and legislative efforts to declare UNRWA a terrorist organization to end its operations are utterly unacceptable and endanger our operations,” said Muhannad Hadi, U.N. deputy special coordinator for the Middle East peace process.

Antonia De Meo, UNRWA deputy commissioner-general, complained to the council that “many U.N. staff” have been refused visas to enter Israel or have been issued short-term visas, while the visa of UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini “expired more than a month ago and has not yet been renewed.”
Russian FM: Total destruction of Hamas ‘unrealistic’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war objective to destroy Hamas in Gaza as a precondition for a ceasefire is unachievable, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Sunday.

“Israel, through Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said in response to calls for a ceasefire that it would not stop until it completely eliminates Hamas,” Lavrov told reporters towards the end of a visit to Malaysia, Russian state news agency TASS reported.

“In my opinion, and many of my colleagues share this point of view, it is an unrealistic task to eradicate the organization which exists, which has enough capabilities and enough support, including in the Muslim world,” the minister said.

He also expressed support for the Palestinian cause and promised to “continue to help restore the Palestinian unity.”

Israel-Russian relations have deteriorated since the outbreak of the current Gaza war.

In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Israel’s campaign against Hamas in the Gaza Strip amounted to genocide, taking up a slander spread by the Jewish state’s worst enemies.

“What is currently happening in Gaza in response to the terrorist attack on Israel does not resemble a war at all. It is akin to the complete elimination of the civilian population,” said the Russian leader.

Russia invited a Hamas delegation to visit Moscow less than two weeks after the Hamas attack on Israel

Israel’s Foreign Ministry denounced the visit.

“Israel condemns the invitation of senior Hamas officials to Moscow, which is an act of support of terrorism and legitimizes the atrocities of Hamas terrorists. We call on the Russian government to expel the Hamas terrorists immediately,” the ministry said.
Call Me Back - with Dan Senor: Decision Time In The North - with Matti Friedman
This past weekend we saw a major and brazen escalation against Israel by Hezbollah. This war front is not new, but it will now come into much sharper focus.

And with the slaughter of Druze children, we have received a number of questions about Israel’s Druze community in Israel’s North, as well as questions about the options for Israeli decision-makers now.

To help us unpack all of this, we are joined by Matti Friedman, who is one of the most thoughtful writers when it comes to all matters related to Israel, the broader Middle East, and also trends in the world of journalism. He is a columnist for The Free Press: https://www.thefp.com/

Matti’s most recent book is called “Who by Fire: Leonard Cohen in the Sinai.” Before that he published "Spies of No Country: Secret Lives at the Birth of Israel," and before that "Pumpkinflowers: A Soldier’s Story of a Forgotten War.” Matti’s army service included tours in Lebanon. His work as a reporter has taken him from Israel to Lebanon, and other hotspots across the Middle East and around the world. He is a former Associated Press correspondent and essayist for the New York Times opinion section.
The Commentary Magazine Podcast: Harris’s Lebanon Test
Hosted by Abe Greenwald, Christine Rosen, John Podhoretz & Matthew Continetti
Dan Senor joins the podcast to reckon with the horrible attack on the Druze town in the Golan Heights and what it means for Israel and the region—and, more specifically, what Kamala Harris’s silence on the matter in the first 36 hours after it happened portends for her campaign.
Our murdered children
There is talk in Washington and London of ensuring that Israel is supplied with defensive military equipment such as Iron Dome batteries, but not offensive weaponry to strike back at those who try to murder our children.

Those proposing or considering such a move, can look the families of 10-year-old Milad Muadad Alsha’ar, 11-year-old Alma Ayman Fakher Eldin, 11-year-old Naji Taher Halabi, 11-year-old Jifara Ibrahim, 11-year-old Vinees Adham Alsafadi, 12-year-old Yazan Nayeif Abu Saleh, 12-year-old Iseel Nasha’at Ayoub, 13-year-old Johnny Wadeea Ibrahim, 15-year-old Hazem Akram Abu Saleh, 16-year-old Ameer Rabeea Abu Saleh, 16-year-old Fajer Laith Abu Saleh, and 16-year-old Nathem Fakher Saeb, in the eye and tell them that their country is not allowed to do anything but buy more Iron Dome interceptors. Can you look them in the eye and tell them that they must accept that since Iron Dome is not perfect, more children will inevitably be killed because you think that’s better than doing what is necessary to end the threats of Hamas and Hezbollah?

Can you look at Amina al-Hassouni and tell her that Iran has the right to fire ballistic missiles at her head because Israel does not have the right to strike back?

Can you look at the photographs of Kfir Bibas, the baby who has spent most of his life has a hostage in Hamas-controlled Gaza, and really say that the only thing Israel is allowed to do to get him back is to release more murderers of children to kill again?

Has all life even tangentially related to Jews become so cheap that this is what passes for morality in the enlightened 21st Century? Is Yahya Sinwar’s life worth more than that of Kfir Bibas? Is Hassan Nasrallah’s life worth more than the 12 children he just murdered?

If the US, the UN, the EU, and the whole world demand that Israel declare that the blood of its children is cheap, then Israel must ignore them. The blood of a child in Majdal Shams is just as red as the blood of a child in New York, in London, in Paris, and everywhere else.

When it comes to the lives of our children, no one, not the President of the United States, nor the Secretary-General of the United Nations, has the right to tell us that we must stand by and let their blood be shed. Anyone who tries to tell us that can go straight to hell.
Druze leader: Hezbollah strike on children’s soccer game ‘worst disaster in community’s history’
Hezbollah’s deadly rocket strike on Saturday in the remote Druze village of Majdal Shams that killed 12 children playing soccer and wounded dozens of others was the worst disaster in the history of the Druze community in Israel, the community’s leader, Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, told those who gathered to bury their loved ones there on Sunday.

Images showed thousands of people accompanying a row of 10 white coffins as they were carried through the streets of the town, which borders both Lebanon and Syria on the northern tip of Israel’s side of the Golan Heights. The mood was one of total shock, according to media reports and MADA, Israel’s first aid agency, said that at least nine people at the funeral received treatment after fainting.

“Yesterday was a dark Saturday for the Druze and for residents of the north,” the sheikh said in his address. “It’s a Saturday that will be engraved in memory as a low point in humanity, the killing of children. The scenes of horror will never be erased.”

The 10 children buried on Sunday were identified as: Ameer Rabeea Abu Saleh, 16; Hazem Akram Abu Saleh, 15; Alma Ayman Fakher Eldin, 11; Milad Muadad Sha’ar, 10; Vinees Adham Al-Safadi, 11; Naji Taher Halabi, 11; Johnny Wadeea Ibrahim, 13; Yazan Nayeif Abu Saleh, 12; Iseel Nasha’at Ayoub, 12; Fajer Laith Abu Saleh, 16; and Nathem Fakher Saeb, 16.

An eleventh victim of the attack was buried in the nearby town of Ein Keinya, while a twelfth child, who had been missing, was identified late Sunday as 11-year-old Jifara Ibrahim.

Some community members responded angrily to the appearance of Israeli government ministers who showed up in the town to attend the funerals, accusing them of long-abandoning the Druze – and the Golan Heights – even as the Iranian-backed Lebanon-based Hezbollah has steadily increased its attacks on northern Israel in recent months.

Following Saturday’s attack, which Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the IDF spokesman, described as the worst on Israeli soil since Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre, there have been increasing calls for a retaliatory strike that would pierce deeper inside Lebanon, or possibly even target sites in the country’s capital, Beirut, and the region was still bracing itself in anticipation of a harsh Israeli response to the attack.Hezbollah’s deadly rocket strike on Saturday in the remote Druze village of Majdal Shams that killed 12 children playing soccer and wounded dozens of others was the worst disaster in the history of the Druze community in Israel, the community’s leader, Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, told those who gathered to bury their loved ones there on Sunday.

Images showed thousands of people accompanying a row of 10 white coffins as they were carried through the streets of the town, which borders both Lebanon and Syria on the northern tip of Israel’s side of the Golan Heights. The mood was one of total shock, according to media reports and MADA, Israel’s first aid agency, said that at least nine people at the funeral received treatment after fainting.

“Yesterday was a dark Saturday for the Druze and for residents of the north,” the sheikh said in his address. “It’s a Saturday that will be engraved in memory as a low point in humanity, the killing of children. The scenes of horror will never be erased.”

The 10 children buried on Sunday were identified as: Ameer Rabeea Abu Saleh, 16; Hazem Akram Abu Saleh, 15; Alma Ayman Fakher Eldin, 11; Milad Muadad Sha’ar, 10; Vinees Adham Al-Safadi, 11; Naji Taher Halabi, 11; Johnny Wadeea Ibrahim, 13; Yazan Nayeif Abu Saleh, 12; Iseel Nasha’at Ayoub, 12; Fajer Laith Abu Saleh, 16; and Nathem Fakher Saeb, 16.

An eleventh victim of the attack was buried in the nearby town of Ein Keinya, while a twelfth child, who had been missing, was identified late Sunday as 11-year-old Jifara Ibrahim.

Some community members responded angrily to the appearance of Israeli government ministers who showed up in the town to attend the funerals, accusing them of long-abandoning the Druze – and the Golan Heights – even as the Iranian-backed Lebanon-based Hezbollah has steadily increased its attacks on northern Israel in recent months.

Following Saturday’s attack, which Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the IDF spokesman, described as the worst on Israeli soil since Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre, there have been increasing calls for a retaliatory strike that would pierce deeper inside Lebanon, or possibly even target sites in the country’s capital, Beirut, and the region was still bracing itself in anticipation of a harsh Israeli response to the attack.
Seth Frantzman: US response to Hezbollah attack on Majdal Shams influences regional dynamics
This solution appears to mean that any Israeli retaliation should be limited. In addition, it means that Hezbollah will be left in charge in Lebanon. Hezbollah already showed that the US-backed maritime deal of 2022 was largely just a piece of paper and that it did not lead to a reduction in tensions, as was promised at the time.

Therefore Hezbollah expects that it can get away with murdering twelve children in Majdal Shams. This is what Hezbollah wants. It has carved out a new “equation” in northern Israel since October 8. It now claims a right to attack northern Israel whenever it wants. It also links its attacks to Gaza, so that every time there is escalation in Gaza, Hezbollah now says it can join and have a right to attack Israel.

This is a major setback for Israel because Hezbollah now wants a kind of zone of control inside Israel where it can attack at will. This is in contrast to the era when Israel was the one dictating the rules and carrying out a campaign between the wars in Syria. Now it is Hezbollah doing a campaign between the wars inside Israel.

De-escalation and ceasefires are a way to let Hamas continue to control Gaza, and Hezbollah continue to control Lebanon. Regional allies and partners are watching this closely. Saudi Arabia was already non-plussed by US policy on Yemen after 2015. Eventually, Saudi Arabia agreed to a deal with the Houthis and Riyadh reconciled with Tehran.

Together, Iran Saudi and other countries are seeking closer ties with Russia, China, and groups such as the SCO and BRICS. US partners are drifting away or hedging because they see that Iranian-backed groups are allowed to take over Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Iraq. Those groups now threaten Jordan and other countries. They also see how Israel has not received enough backing since October 7. They are watching the US electoral map closely.

The US has the power to continue to push for its policies in the region. It can project power back to friends and weaken enemies. However, just like during the Cold War, any perception of US weakness will invite adversaries to fill the perceived vacuum. Hezbollah and Hamas, along with the Houthis and militias in Iraq are seeking to press their advantage.

The militias in Iraq and Syria, for instance, have returned to attacks on US forces after a lull since January when Kataib Hezbollah killed three US soldiers in Jordan.

After Majdal Shams all eyes are on how the US responds and how Israel responds. If Israel is restrained and walks into a “limited” response then Hezbollah will conclude that it can kill civilians. It can always say “It wasn’t us” or “mistake” and then get the benefit of the doubt. Killing twelve children in the Golan is an unprecedented attack.

If it becomes the new normal, the way Hezbollah rocket and drone attacks became a new normal and the way Hamas became empowered, or West Bank armed groups have grown, this will have serious consequences.
Israel’s Security Cabinet authorizes response to Hezbollah attack
Israel’s Security Cabinet on Sunday night authorized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to retaliate against Hezbollah for Saturday’s deadly strike on Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights.

During a four-hour meeting at the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv, lawmakers gave Netanyahu and Gallant the green light “to decide on the manner and timing of the response” against Iran’s Lebanese terror proxy.

Twelve children were killed and more than 40 people were wounded by the Hezbollah missile strike on the northern Druze town, marking the Iranian proxy’s deadliest attack on Israel since Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre.

Following the attack, Netanyahu returned early from his visit to the United States, landing in Israel on Sunday and holding a security assessment at the Kirya in the afternoon with Gallant, National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi, Netanyahu’s Chief of Staff Tzachi Braverman, Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) Director Ronen Bar, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi and other top officials.

Mossad chief David Barnea also participated in the security meeting after returning from multilateral hostage release and ceasefire negotiations in Rome earlier in the day.

On Sunday, thousands of members of the Druze community held funerals for 10 of the 12 slain children, who ranged in age from 10 to 16. The memorial services took place as leaders and members of the community demanded a swift and harsh response against Hezbollah for the rocket attack.
Response to Hezbollah will be ‘tough,’ PM vows in Majdal Shams
Israel’s response to Saturday’s Hezbollah rocket barrage that killed 12 children in the Golan Heights will be “tough,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Monday during a visit to Majdal Shams.

“With Iranian backing, Hezbollah attacked here with an Iranian missile, taking the lives of 12 pure souls. Twelve boys and girls who played soccer here and, sadly, could not make it to a shelter,” the premier said as he placed a wreath at the disaster site on behalf of the government.

“We embrace the families who are going through indescribable suffering,” Netanyahu said, according to a readout. “These children are our children; they are the children of all of us. The State of Israel will not and cannot let this pass. Our response will come, and it will be tough.”

Addressing the entire Druze community in the Jewish state, Netanyahu continued: “We have a covenant of life, but unfortunately, it is also a covenant of moments of bereavement and grief. We embrace you.

“Do not lose hope in the face of attacks by the evil axis of Iran and Hezbollah. The State of Israel will continue to stand by your side—here and in the entire region, today, tomorrow and forever,” the leader said.

Netanyahu, who came to the Golan Heights on Monday alongside Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) Director Ronen Bar, was received by Majdal Shams Council Chairman Dolan Abu Saleh, Ein Qiniyye Council Chairman Wael Mugrabi, and Druze spiritual leader Mowafaq Tarif.

As part of the visit, Netanyahu and Bar met with representatives of the bereaved families and heard about their loss. The prime minister asked them to convey his heartfelt condolences to all affected families.

Some residents protested Netanyahu’s visit.


UKLFI Charitable Trust: Dr Efrat Sopher on the Hezbollah rocket attack on a football pitch in Majdal Shams on Sky News
Dr Efrat Sopher (UKLFI Director and Chair of the Ezri Center for Iran and Gulf States Research at the University of Haifa) discusses the implications of the Hezbollah rocket attack that killed 12 Druze children playing football in Majdal Shams on Sky News




‘Golan Heights is part of northern Israel,’ White House says after Hezbollah attack
Biden officials clarified that the Golan Heights is part of northern Israel in statements released after the Hezbollah attack Saturday that killed 12 children in the Druze village of Majdal Shams, located in that region.

National Security Council spokeswoman Adriane Watson and Vice President Kamala Harris’s national security adviser both spoke of the “horrific attack” that took place in “northern Israel” when they issued statements on Monday.

When asked if the Biden administration considered it part of Israel, US National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby replied “Yes.”

Israel captured that strategic territory from Syria during the 1967 Six Day War and annexed it in 1981, but that move was never recognized internationally.

The United Nations annually calls on Israel to return the Golan Heights to Syria, despite the civil war that has raged in that country for more than a decade. Enlrage image

Former US president Donald Trump recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights in 2019; the Biden administration upheld that policy but made it seem circumstantial.


PMW: Why didn’t the Palestinian Authority condemn the murder of 12 children?
The Palestinian Authority knows how to condemn terror attacks very well when it wants to do so. In response to the recent terror attack in Russia, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas proclaimed that he was “opposed to terror regardless of its source.”

Today, following the murder of 12 Druze children by a Hezbollah rocket in the Golan Heights town of Majdal Shams, the PA’s silence is deafening. If the PA condemns terror regardless of its source, why didn’t Abbas and the PA condemn this murder of children?

Is it because the children were Israeli residents and the PA considers them a valid target?

Is it because the attack was perpetrated by Hezbollah who has been fighting a terror war against Israel and therefore the PA sees it as an ally?

Is it both?

The PA’s silence in the face of the murder of 12 children tells us more about its values and support for terror than Abbas' condemnation in response to the attack in Russia.


Arab newspapers downplay Majdal Shams massacre, skirt Hezbollah's role
Despite Hezbollah's attack on Majdal Shams killing 12 children on Saturday, the incident did not dominate the front pages of newspapers in the Arab world on Sunday. Even where the attack was mentioned, Hezbollah was not presented as the culprit, despite statements from the IDF.

Qatar's The New Arab front page featured a photo of a Gazan child receiving medical treatment, part of an article on Gaza's collapsing health care system. The headline for the Majdal Shams attack read: "The Occupation Insists on Blaming Hezbollah and Threatens to Respond."

The London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi also focused on Gaza on its front page. The headline about Majdal Shams read: "12 People Killed by a Rocket in the Occupied Syrian Golan. Israel Blames Hezbollah – and the Latter Denies," followed by a review of Saturday's events.

Syria's Al-Watan avoided linking the incident to Hezbollah, reporting that an "unknown missile" struck Majdal Shams. The article began with Hezbollah’s denial of responsibility, noting it followed Israel's accusation that the group fired the missile, which resulted in 10 deaths and 30 injuries, mostly children.

The London-based Asharq Al-Awsat featured images from the Majdal Shams strike on its front page, under the headline: "The Fire from Southern Lebanon Spreads to the Golan" without attributing the blame to Hezbollah. The article reported numerous casualties, Hezbollah’s denial of involvement, and Israel’s threats of a harsh response, also mentioning Lebanese concerns about the situation.

Saudi Arabia’s Asharq published an article titled: "Majdal Shams – The Story of a Druze Village in the Golan Captured by Israel in 67’." It stated Israel had for years "tried to erase their identity and affiliation with Syria." Regarding the attack, the paper reported that "Majdal Shams was subjected to a rocket attack targeting a soccer field," with Israel blaming Hezbollah, which denies responsibility.


WaPo dragged for ‘disgraceful’ front page about Hezbollah airstrike
The Washington Post is being mocked online for its perplexing Monday front page photo showing mourners at the funeral of an 11-year-old girl killed by a Hezbollah rocket strike, which the paper paired with a headline about Israeli airstrikes.

“Israel hits its targets in Lebanon,” the large-type front-page headline announces, positioned directly under a photo of anguished family members mourning over the coffin of Alma Ayman Fakhr al-Din, 11, one of the 12 kids killed by a Hezbollah rocket strike on a soccer field in the Israel-controlled Golan Heights.

Another 40 people were injured in the Saturday strike, making it the deadliest attack against Israel since the Oct. 7 massacre that sparked the war in Gaza.

“That’s an image of a funeral of a girl KILLED IN ISRAEL BY A HEZBOLLAH ROCKET FROM LEBANON, so why is the Washington Post headline backwards?” former Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy asked incredulously on X in a post including a screenshot of the paper’s front page.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) took a swipe at the WaPo in its own post on X, showing the infamous front page and writing, “You can see the grieving family members burying children murdered by Hezbollah in the Madjal Shams massacre. If by chance you understood anything else from their headline, you might not be the problem.”

Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) also posted the puzzling front page on X, the pro-Israel Democrat wondering about the decision to present the news the way the paper did.

“The front-page image of today’s Washington Post is that of a child murdered by Hezbollah,” the congressman wrote on his personal account in a post that garnered more than 200,000 views.

“Yet the front-page headline — ‘Israel Hits Targets in Lebanon’ — portrays Israel, not Hezbollah, as the aggressor.”


IAF hits 35 terror targets as Rafah, Khan Younis ops continue
Israeli fighter jets and drones struck 35 Hamas targets across the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours as troops continued operations in the former Hamas strongholds of Rafah and Khan Younis.

The IAF hit armed terrorist cells, terrorist infrastructure and buildings rigged with explosives.

Meanwhile, another round of ceasefire negotiations took place in Rome on Sunday with the participation of Mossad chief David Barnea.

CIA director Bill Burns, the Prime Minister of Qatar Mohammed Bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani and the head of Egyptian intelligence Abbas Kamel also reportedly took part in the negotiations.

The summit came a day after Jerusalem reportedly delivered an updated ceasefire proposal to the United States.

According to an Axios report, Jerusalem is demanding a foreign mechanism to ensure that terrorists and weapons cannot move from the southern Gaza Strip to the north of the territory, changes to redeployment of Israeli forces in the first phase of the agreement, as well as that the Israeli military remain in control of the 8.7-mile Gaza-Egypt border area, known as the Philadelphi Corridor, during this stage.


New details of Hamas assault on Nahal Oz
Two minutes and eight seconds. That’s the time Hamas terrorists estimated it would take them to reach their target, Kibbutz Nahal Oz, from their starting point in Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood.

This chilling detail, along with other instructions and methods of operation, appears in “Operation 402″—Hamas’s attack order for the conquest of the kibbutz on Oct. 7 that left 15 residents dead and eight kidnapped. Alongside stories of heroism, questions arise regarding the Israeli military’s performance that day.

Operation 402
Drawn on impressive aerial photographs in Operation 402, a green arrow shows the short, simple route taken by dozens of heavily armed Hamas terrorists on motorcycles as they raided the kibbutz on the morning of Oct. 7. It starts at the outermost building in Shejaiya and stretches directly eastward.

Other operation orders prepared by Hamas for the capture of communities in southern Israel have been revealed in the past, but Operation 402 is undoubtedly the most detailed published to date. Written in military language with more than 10 pages of data and instructions, members of Hamas’s “military” wing laid out the step-by-step plan for the massacre. Ran Poslushni turned his Nahal Oz home into a fortress, not allowing any terrorist to enter. Credit: Courtesy.

Nahal Oz victims
There’s no need for Hamas’s aerial photographs to understand how close Nahal Oz is to the border with Gaza. Since its establishment in 1951, the kibbutz has suffered from its proximity to the Strip, from fedayeen infiltrations, through more than 20 years of Qassam rockets and mortar shells, to the “Great March of Return” riots held throughout 2018 that enveloped the kibbutz in thick smoke every Friday.

But even veteran residents of Nahal Oz couldn’t have imagined Oct. 7, when 15 kibbutz members were murdered—Staff Sgt. Ilan Fiorentino, Staff Sgt. (res.) Ran Poslushni, Shlomo Ron, Shoshi Brosh, Haim Livne, Yasmin, Yaniv, Keshet and Tchelet Zohar, Dikla Arava, Tomer Arava-Eliaz, Noam Elyakim, Maayan Idan, Somkuan Pansa-ard and Joshua Mollel.

Eight people were kidnapped from the kibbutz on that Black Saturday—Tsachi Idan and Omri Miran, who are still in captivity; Judith Raanan and her daughter Natalie, American citizens who were released after 14 days; sisters Dafna and Ela Elyakim and Alma Avraham, who were released after 51 days; and Clemence Felix Matanga, a Tanzanian citizen who was murdered and whose body is being held in Gaza.

Since Oct. 7, Nahal Oz has been a closed military zone. Although it is almost empty of residents, the kibbutz is still well-maintained—a group of volunteers tends to the greenery so it doesn’t grow wild. The green lawns are waiting for the community to return home. On a visit to the kibbutz this week, it’s easy to imagine the pastoral scene of that Simchat Torah morning. It’s also easy to imagine the dust cloud raised by the motorcycles on which Hamas terrorists rode on their short journey from nearby Shejaiya.

The IDF investigation into the battle in Nahal Oz has not yet been completed, and its publication is not expected soon. However, the remarkable bravery displayed by the kibbutz’s emergency response team is already evident.


The Tikvah Podcast: Noah Rothman on Kamala Harris’s Views of Israel and the Middle East
Suddenly, Vice President Kamala Harris is the Democratic party’s candidate for president. She’s been in the public eye for much less time than Joe Biden or Donald Trump, and much less is known about her views on many subjects—including on the U.S.-Israel relationship or America’s posture in the Middle East.

For instance, as Israel’s war in Gaza ramped up earlier this year, Harris became an outspoken critic of it, and a champion of a ceasefire arrangement between Israel and Hamas on the grounds of humanitarian concern for Palestinian civilians. But it’s possible that these attitudes were a product of her role in the Biden administration, that she was assigned the role of bad cop to the president’s good cop.

So what does Harris really think about the subject? What role might her Jewish family members play in her views? How does she understand the politics of the U.S.-Israel relationship? To answer those questions, host Jonathan Silver speaks here with Noah Rothman, a senior writer at National Review and the author of a recent essay there called “The Left Thinks It’s Getting an Anti-Israel Radical in Kamala Harris.” Together, the two also survey the wide coalition of the Democratic party—its elected officials, its voting base, its NGOs and operatives—and try to understand the pressures, the points of leverage, the incentives, and the political vulnerabilities to avoid on questions related to Israel.


Algeria’s judoka Olympic competitor accused of avoiding competing with Israel
Israel accused the Algerian judoka Olympic competitor of deliberately failing a weigh-in to avoid competing against an Israeli fighter, international media and Olympic bodies reported on Sunday night.

Algeria’s Redouane Messaoud Dris, 22, had been scheduled to compete in the -73kg category against Israel’s Tohar Butbul on Monday, but was found to weigh above the 73kg limit and was therefore removed from the draw.

"Redouane Messaoud Driss has been disqualified... Dris, entered in the men's -73 kg event, failed the weigh-in. Therefore his opponent Tohar Butbul will win the scheduled contest by walkover," Games organizers said in a statement.

"Tohar's competitor has removed himself from the competition," the Israeli Olympic Committee said in a statement. "The Israeli delegation will continue to compete with the Olympic values in mind, we believe this kind of behaviour has no place in the world of sport."

Algeria's history of refusing to compete against Israel

Algeria’s athletes have refused to compete with Israel in the past. In the 2021 Tokyo games, Fethi Nourine refused a judo match against Butbol. As a result, the International Judo Federation handed him a 10 year suspension.

Despite competitors refusing to face Butbul, he won bronze at the previous Olympics.

The French news outlet Ouest France reported only days ago that Dris was expected to forfeit the match, as Algeria does not recognize the state of Israel.


Burger boss pictured with child in Hamas-style headband
A primary-school-aged child has been seen wearing a Hamas-style outfit at a pro-Palestine rally, with disturbing photos of the child alongside prominent activist Hash Tayeh referred to the Australian Federal Police.

In one troubling photo, Mr Tayeh, who is the owner of restaurant chain Burgertory, can be seen next to a boy wearing a Hamas-style headband in front of a crowd.

The green headband, which looks like those worn by members of the terrorist organisation, is understood to say “I love choccy milk”.

It comes after the Herald Sun revealed photos of several protesters wearing Hamas insignia had been referred by Victoria Police to the Australian Federal Police.




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