Sunday, August 25, 2024

08/25 Links: On the Gaza War, Kamala Harris Says a Lot of Nothing; Israel unveils its preemptive capabilities; Arab world mocks Hezbollah 'Nasrallah the chicken hunter'

From Ian:

JPost Editorial: Kamala Harris, don't place Israeli, Palestinian narratives on equal footing
Acutely aware of the anti-Israel protests outside the convention hall, she started off by unabashedly voicing her pro-Israel stance. “Let me be clear. I will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself, and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself,” she declared, evoking a standing ovation from the packed hall. “Because the people of Israel must never again face the war that a terrorist organization called Hamas caused on October 7, unspeakable sexual violence and the massacre of young people at a music festival.”

Then she quickly shifted to Gaza, saying that what has happened there over the past 10 months is devastating. “So many innocent lives lost, desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety. Over and over again, the scale of suffering is heartbreaking.”

Harris reiterated that she and Biden are working to end the Israel-Gaza war so that “Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination.” According to commentators, that comment elicited the loudest applause in the foreign policy section of her speech.

Her Republican opponent, former president Donald Trump, responded to her speech in real time on Truth Social. Harris, he charged, stands for “incompetence and Weakness,” adding that “Our Country is being laughed at all over the World!” With regard to her comments on Israel, Trump added: “SHE HATES ISRAEL – Wouldn’t even show up to Congress for [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s session!” referring to his speech to the joint session last month.

Some commentators such as the NYT’s Sanger said the speech signaled that Harris planned to continue Biden’s policy if she wins the presidential race on November 6.

“Acutely aware that the Gaza issue and the protests it spurred on college campuses had left the administration caught between two powerful constituencies – pro-Israel Democrats and younger progressives – she was looking for a way to quiet the issue for the next three months,” Sanger wrote. “In the end, Ms. Harris relied on a forceful tone to address the protesters in the party, rather than a change in policy.”

On the other hand, Vox analyst Zach Beauchamp argued that Harris “displayed empathy for both sides [Israel and the Palestinians] while also implicitly distancing herself from Biden’s unbalanced pro-Israel approach.”

Too often, he wrote, “people discussing this topic feel the need to only recognize one of these narratives – and in American politics, that’s most often the Israeli one. Yet Harris placed them on truly equal footing.”

While it remains to be seen if Harris follows or strays from Biden’s approach, we urge her not to draw a moral equivalency between the Israeli and Palestinian narratives, especially while Hamas is still holding Israelis hostage in Gaza.
Noah Rothman: On the Gaza War, Kamala Harris Says a Lot of Nothing
Why have “innocent lives” been lost in Gaza, and why are its people “desperate” and “hungry”? Because Hamas has abused the people over whom it presides. Their only value to Hamas is as sympathetic corpses. Why are they “fleeing to safety”? Because they are being evacuated via no-fire corridors by the IDF to temporary refugee cordons. Israelis do not oppose Palestinian self-determination. Before October 7, they regularly expressed support for that outcome, although that sentiment had eroded with every “round” of hostilities inaugurated by Hamas and like-minded terrorist groups. Successive Israeli governments have made dozens of concessions over the decades in the effort to make Palestinian self-determination a reality. Where the pro-Palestinian Left heard a rebuke of Israel, Israel’s friends heard pablum.

“And know this,” Harris closed, “I will never hesitate to take whatever action is necessary to defend our forces and our interests against Iran and Iran-backed terrorists.”

Well, that should be that. Hamas is very much one of those “Iran-backed” terrorist organizations — one of many in the region with American blood on its hands. Its destruction is in America’s immediate national-security interests. Harris refused to identify the real obstacle blocking her preferred pathway to peace, likely to preserve the delusion that Benjamin Netanyahu is the recalcitrant party here. But it is Hamas that has rejected every temporary cease-fire on offer, and it is Hamas that will not accept its own dissolution. Obviously.

If Harris were compelled by her own logic, she would clear the way for the IDF to finish the job in Gaza, neutralize Hamas, and open the door to a better future in which a responsible civilian authority might succeed the terrorist regime under which Gazans have long suffered. That, not mollifying an unyielding mob, is the path of least political resistance.

But Harris hasn’t earned anyone’s trust yet. The anti-Israel/pro-Hamas activists are crestfallen today. They cannot be appeased, and it was foolish of Harris to make the attempt. Even her perfunctory nod in the general direction of their concerns will embolden them to keep menacing the Democratic Party until it capitulates to their demands. Pro-Israel Americans are probably just as unsatisfied. They need to know if, by giving Israel “the ability to defend itself,” Harris means defensive weapons alone — just enough support to keep Israeli civilians from dying en masse, but not enough to eliminate the threats that regularly force Israelis to flee their homes, huddle in bunkers, or spend restless nights wondering if their families will be murdered in their beds.

Harris will have to do more. We know the vice president is for peace. How she intends to secure that peace remains a mystery.
Caroline Glick: JNS poll: Israelis willing to defy US to defend national interests
With the U.S. pushing Israel to avoid taking action against Iran or Hezbollah in Lebanon that risks intensifying the regional war, JNS/Direct Polls asked Israelis a series of questions on Aug. 19 about how they assess the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to Israel’s security and how they feel about defying the administration’s wishes on a series of pressing issues.

When asked to what extent they believed Biden and Harris when they declare their commitment to Israel’s security, 38% of respondents said that they have great faith in the U.S. leaders’ commitments to Israel’s security. Twenty-one percent said they somewhat believed them, 22% said they had little faith in their commitment, and 19% said they have no faith in the U.S. leaders’ commitment to Israel’s security.

On the other hand, only 34% of Israelis believe that Biden and Harris are committed to preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Sixty percent do not believe them. And 6% have no opinion.

Fifty percent of Israelis believe that following the events of Oct. 7, Israel should give less consideration to the U.S. administration’s positions on foreign affairs and national security issues. Twenty-three percent said that Israel’s position should be unchanged from what it was on Oct. 6, and 22% said Israel should give greater consideration to the U.S. position.

These numbers were reflected in answers to specific questions.

Fifty-two percent of Israelis said that in the event the U.S. asks for Israel not to carry out a military operation in Lebanon or attack Iran’s nuclear installations, Israel must defy the U.S and act in accordance to its interests. Another 29% said that it depends on the circumstances in which the U.S. makes the request. Eighteen percent of Israelis responded that Israel must abide by such an American request.

JNS asked the Israeli public what they believed was responsible for the rising levels of animosity towards the Jewish state among Democrats.

Forty-five percent of respondents attributed the growing hostility to the presence of extreme progressive view in the American body politic. Thirteen percent attributed the hostility to either the Israeli government or the American Jewish community. Twenty-six percent of Israelis said that progressive opinion and hostility towards the Israeli government and American Jews were equally responsible for the rising levels of hostility. And 16% said neither of the choices was accurate.


Ruthie Blum: The Israeli imperative to destroy myths, not just missiles
Furthermore, Israel doesn’t need phony disavowals from mass murderers, whatever they’re wearing. Though Fatah, the faction headed by Abbas, is a longtime foe of Hamas, it shares the rival group’s aim of eliminating Israel. To this end, the schools, mosques and media it controls glorify “martyrdom for Allah.”

Nevertheless, the U.N. continues to treat the P.A. as a “moderate” entity whose goal is independent statehood, free from the ostensible shackles of Israeli “occupation.” And those in the West who’ve come to acknowledge, grudgingly, that its current constellation can’t be considered a partner for peace created a new fantasy: that of a “revitalized” Palestinian authority with a lower-case “a.”

The idea behind this fallacy is that a reformed Palestinian group can replace Hamas in Gaza when the war is over. Good luck finding anyone in the P.A. who fits the bill, especially since the favored candidate for the top job, who’s acceptable both to Hamas honcho Yahya Sinwar and much of the Palestinian street, is Marwan Barghouti.

Serving five life sentences in Israeli prison for his role in the murder of many Israelis, Barghouti reportedly heads the list of hundreds of terrorists whose release Sinwar is demanding as part of any ceasefire/hostage deal. So much for the de-radicalization of a post-war Gaza.

This hasn’t prevented the administration in Washington from clinging to the notion of a viable “two-state solution” in the la-la-land of U.S. foreign policy. This outlook poses an even greater threat in the long term than the Hezbollah drones and rockets that the IDF destroyed early Sunday.

Most sane analysts understand that Hamas and Hezbollah are Iran-backed terrorist organizations whose military capabilities have to be countered. But illusions about the P.A. remain dangerously intact. It’s imperative for Israel to destroy the myth along with enemy missiles.
Where Did the Name "Palestine" Come From?
In 135 CE, the Roman suppression of the revolt of the Jews resulted in many Roman casualties. Emperor Hadrian, angered by the Jews, ordered the "erasure from memory" of the name "Judah" and decreed that the land be called "Palaestina," assuming that the Jews would forget their homeland and cease to rebel. However, the peoples who lived there during history were not referred to as "Palestinians." Since the Arab conquest in 638 CE, there has never been any mention in Arabic or Islamic literature of a distinct Palestinian people with their own identity or a defined country.

At the San Remo Conference in April 1920, the leaders of the victorious powers of World War I decided to grant 99% of the territory, which had previously belonged to the Ottoman Empire, to the Arab peoples. The remaining 1% was awarded to the Jewish people, and Britain was tasked with fulfilling the Balfour Declaration regarding the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people in "Palestine - Land of Israel."

When British Prime Minister Lloyd George was asked about the boundaries of "Palestine," he opened an atlas and pointed to a map of "Palestine under David and Solomon," which spanned both sides of the Jordan River. "This belongs to the Jews," he said. Between 1870 and 1878, British surveyors conducted a detailed "Survey of Palestine." Jerusalem had a solid Jewish majority. The estimated Arab population of the land at the time was around 100,000.

In an interview with the Dutch newspaper Trouw (March 1977), the head of the terror group As-Sa'iqa, PLO Executive Committee member Zuhair Mohsen, stated: "The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is a new tool in the ongoing struggle against Israel for the purposes of Arab unity. Realistically, there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians, and Lebanese. Just for political reasons we carefully underwrite our Palestinian identity, because it is of national interest for the Arabs to advocate the existence of Palestinians to balance Zionism."

This is the power of propaganda: a recently invented collective can deny the national identity of one of the oldest peoples in the world, who already in the 10th century BCE had a kingdom in their homeland, where Saul, David, and Solomon ruled. Yet the world ignorantly believes that before the establishment of Israel, there was a Palestinian state here.
The Middle East: A Story of Journalistic Failure
"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct "Palestinian people" to oppose Zionism." — Zoheir Mohsen, Trouw, March 31, 1977.

"The founding of the PLO, now known as Fatah had nothing to do with the desire for statehood, throughout the charter it states, again and again, its sole goal is the destruction of Israel, nothing more, thus started the Palestinian Narrative, they needed a story behind their need." — Timothy Benton, February 14, 2019.

Arabs who fled during the fighting had likely assumed, based on broadcasts they were hearing, that leaving the area would make it easier for the Arab armies to kill the Jews. The plan presumably was to return soon to collect the spoils and take possession of a swiftly-conquered land.

When the Arab armies were defeated, and some of the people who had fled tried to return, they were told they had not been loyal and were refused admittance. It is the Arabs who fled, and their descendants, who now call themselves Palestinians. They are simply Arabs who fled Israel at the time and were not allowed back.

Neither the Palestinian Authority in the West bank nor Hamas in the Gaza Strip nor the Palestinians in general are seeking a two-state solution. They are quite openly seeking a one-state solution: displacing Israel.

Comparisons to England and Ireland fall way wide of the mark: even at the height of Ireland's "Troubles", no one ever claimed that England belonged to Ireland and that everyone who was not a Roman Catholic should leave.

The land that comprises Jordan, according the Balfour Declaration, was officially pledged as "a national home of the Jewish people." Jordan, therefore, is rightfully Occupied Israel.
Israel unveils its preemptive capabilities
The Israeli Air Force’s major preemptive strike on Sunday, launched a little before 5 a.m. against Hezbollah positions in Southern Lebanon, was a stinging surprise to the Iranian-backed terror army.

However, despite this important achievement, and the welcome activation of preemptive steps, it is important to remember that the fundamental threat to Israel’s north remains in place.

Both Hezbollah and its Iranian sponsor are likely conducting an extensive situation assessment to gauge the damage that Hezbollah sustained, and to plot their next move. Initial signs are that they wish to end this particular episode and regroup for the next stage of their war on Israel.

According to Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, Israel Defense Forces international spokesperson, the operation was a direct response to intelligence indicating that Hezbollah was preparing to launch an extensive missile and rocket attack on northern and central Israel.

The IDF has been closely monitoring Hezbollah and Iran attack capabilities, and remained on the highest state of alert in anticipation of an attack on Israel. For weeks, the Iranian-led Shi’ite radical axis has been threatening to respond to the assassinations of Hezbollah chief of staff Fuad Shukr in Beirut on July 30 and Hamas Political Bureau chief Ismael Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31.

This swift and decisive action by the IDF, involving around 100 fighter jets, targeted thousands of Hezbollah rocket launchers across more than 40 launch areas in southern Lebanon, thwarting what could have been a significant assault on Israel.

Hezbollah was still able to fire hundreds of rockets and unmanned aerial vehicles towards northern Israeli communities on Sunday, but most of its attack was headed off by the IAF’s preemptive move.

Hezbollah’s preparations involved embedding rocket launchers within villages and towns across Southern Lebanon, thereby increasing the risk of collateral damage during any retaliatory strikes.

The IDF, which called Sunday on Lebanese civilians to move away from Hezbollah’s areas of activities, carried out a remarkable operation that not only destroyed a sizeable number of launchers but also proved, at the operational and intelligence level, that Israel is viewing Hezbollah’s activities in real time and can respond quickly to intelligence warnings.

Hezbollah had been preparing to fire rockets and missiles at Israel, with some reports indicating that these were intended to target key strategic locations in central Israel, including security and military installations. Shoshani confirmed that most of Hezbollah’s planned attacks were intended to hit targets in northern Israel, and “some in central Israel.”
Seth Frantzman: After Hezbollah’s barrage, can it be deterred?
This war is being managed and fought in a proportional manner. However, Hezbollah has less to lose than Israel. Hezbollah, so far, has not faced political repercussions at home for its actions. People have had to flee Southern Lebanon, but Hezbollah doesn’t seem to lose out due to this new reality. It has political opponents in Lebanon. However, it is willing to risk part of the country to achieve success.

From Iran’s point of view, this is a win. Iran can cause damage to northern Israel, and although there is destruction in Lebanon and Gaza, Iran itself remains intact.

Also, Iran gets to use its proxies such as those in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen to target Israel. If Israel responds, this does not appear to harm Iran’s overall posture in the region.

In addition, the countries that Iran exploits in the region are generally poor, so the proxies have less to lose if they plunge into war. Yemen, for instance, has already been at war for many years. The Houthis do not care if Yemen is harmed. As for Lebanon, it is already almost bankrupt. Iraq and Syria have been devastated by conflicts over the last decade as well.

This is where Iran seeks to redraw the “equation” in the region. Iran knows that Israel was seeking to wage a “campaign between the wars” atwixt 2014 and 2023. This entailed Israel trying to prevent Iranian entrenchment in Syria. However, Iran was able to entrench there anyway and move weapons to Hezbollah. This organization also increased its stockpile of precision-guided munitions and drones. Now Hezbollah may have taken some losses in its rocket stockpile. However, it appears to have many tunnels and underground bunkers where it can hide its most sophisticated capabilities.

Now, Hezbollah must weigh its next steps. Is it willing to make the type of conflict that unfolded in the early hours of Sunday morning a new normal? Will it continue to a second “phase” of operations, as it has threatened to do against Israel? Or is it happy to have tested Israel and increased the heat a bit, and now it will turn the heat back down and continue to attack northern Israel?

Hezbollah understood that the equation of attacks now meant that as long as it only struck within a few miles of the border, this would not lead to a major escalation. What this means is that it could launch several rockets and drones a day and the consequences will be proportional. This managed conflict is not likely in Israel’s long-term interests. Is it in Hezbollah’s long-term interest? This is the key question for Hezbollah.

So far, Hezbollah appears to believe that this kind of conflict, where it dictates the tempo, time, and place of the attack, is in Hezbollah’s interest. It is not deterred because it has generally only faced Israeli reactions. Even the attack yesterday was primarily about Israel preempting an attack, rather than rewriting the rules.

The question in Israel will be whether Hezbollah can be deterred and when that might happen. As the war in Gaza continues, there is a sense that over the last seven months, Israel has wanted to shift focus to the North. However, the war in Gaza continues to require focus because Hamas continues its attacks.
Netanyahu: Preemptive strike on Hezbollah ‘not end of the story’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that the IDF’s coordinated preemptive strikes against Hezbollah terror assets on Sunday was not the final blow.

“What happened today is not the end of the story. Early this morning, Hezbollah tried to attack the State of Israel with rockets and drones. We directed the IDF to carry out an intense preemptive attack to remove the threat,” Netanyahu said at the start of the Cabinet meeting, which this week was held at the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv.

“The IDF destroyed thousands of short-range rockets, all of which were designed to attack our citizens and our forces in the Galilee. Also, the IDF intercepted all of the drones that Hezbollah launched at a strategic target in the center of the country,” continued the premier.

“We are striking Hezbollah with surprising crushing blows. Three weeks ago, we eliminated its chief of staff [Fuad Shukr], and today we thwarted its attack plan.

“[Hezbollah terrorist chief Hassan] Nasrallah in Beirut and [Iranian Supreme Leader Ali] Khamenei in Tehran need to know that this is an additional step in changing the situation in the north and returning our residents securely to their homes,” Netanyahu said.

Early on Sunday morning, approximately 100 Israeli Air Force fighter jets, directed by IDF intelligence, destroyed thousands of Hezbollah rocket launchers in Southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah subsequently fired more than 200 projectiles into Israel.

The Iranian proxy released a statement according to which the launches were “stage one” of its retaliation for Israel’s targeted killing of Shukr on July 31.
Hamas: Hezbollah attack a ‘slap in the face’ of Israeli gov’t
The Hamas terrorist group on Sunday praised that day’s Hezbollah attack on Israel as an act of strength and a humiliation for Jerusalem.

“We emphasize that this strong and focused response, which struck deep inside the Zionist entity, is a slap in the face” of the Israeli government, the Shi’ite organization said.

The Israel Defense Forces carried out a preemptive strike on Hezbollah targets in Southern Lebanon early on Sunday, after detecting preparations by the Iranian proxy to launch an “extensive” attack.

Approximately 100 Israeli warplanes carried out simultaneous strikes on some 40 Hezbollah targets, destroying more than 6,000 missiles and drones before launch, the IDF said.

Hezbollah subsequently fired more than 200 projectiles into Israel.

The terrorist group claimed its attack had been “carried out with the highest precision” and that it had “successfully implemented the retaliatory operation it had planned,” according to its media mouthpiece Al-Mayadeen.


Israel Navy sailor killed in Hezbollah attack on north
Israeli Navy Petty Officer Third Class David Moshe Ben Shitrit, 21, was killed and two of his comrades were wounded on Sunday morning during Hezbollah’s missile attack on northern Israel, the Binyamin Regional Council announced.

According to a preliminary probe, they were injured by shrapnel when an Iron Dome interceptor missile exploded above their Dvora-class fast patrol boat, part of Squadron 914.

“With great pain we learned this morning that David, son of Shimon and Iris, a council employee and brother of Tamar, Shir and Hodiya, fell while serving in the navy during the fighting in the north,” said Binyamin Regional Council Chairman Israel Ganz.

“David loved the country and was determined to serve the people of Israel and fight for it. This is a hard blow for all of us and especially for the community of Adam [also know as Geva Binyamin], which last week buried the soldier Mordechai Ben Shoam.

“I would like to offer my condolences to the parents and sisters—we are all with you! And also to strengthen the residents of Adam. Thanks to our heroic soldiers, the nation of Israel will win!” said Ganz.

On Saturday, an Israel Defense Forces soldier was killed while battling Hamas terrorists in the southern Gaza Strip, the military announced on Sunday. The slain man was named as Staff Sgt. Amit Tsadikov, 20, a fighter in the Paratroopers Brigade’s 202nd Battalion, from Beit Dagan.

Also on Saturday, the military announced that three reserve soldiers were killed during fighting in central Gaza.


'Nasrallah the chicken hunter': Arab world mocks Hezbollah over foiled attack
Following a tense morning where the IDF reportedly intercepted a wide missile attack from Hezbollah planned for the significant Shi’i commemoration day of Arba’iniyat Al-Hussain, the Iranian proxy claimed in a formal statement that all rockets and drones that were planned to take part in the attack were indeed operated and pledged to have ended its operations for the day.

Some Hezbollah aficionados lauded the attack, sharing images of damaged houses and small fires that erupted as a result of the attack, while others claimed in a conspiratorial tone that this was an “Implicit coordinated response between the two parties,” adding: “initial response to Israel a chicken coop was destroyed, killing a number of chickens and chicks and breaking thousands of eggs. Damn you scoundrels, you and the Iranian Houthis, you laugh at the Arab peoples, you and the Zionists are two sides of the same coin, implementing one project and one goal.”

However, the relatively low-key impact and damage of the attack sparked a wave of online comments from users around the Arab world mocking Hezbollah for its actions, and focusing especially on reports of damaged chicken pens in the Galilee region.

Mockery across the Arab world
One Kuwaiti user named Fahed uploaded a picture of a dead chicken, adding cynically: “Allahu Akbar! Hassan Nasrallah’s response! Hezbollah’s response! The number of chicken injuries rose to 27 chickens, 5 of them are critically injured, with first-degree burns to the wings and beak, after the chicken pen was targeted in response to the assassination of Fouad Shukr. He says ‘Our missiles are accurate!’”

A parody account named after Syrian tyrant Bashar Al-Assad wrote “A video showing the result of Hezbollah’s response to Israel, where dozens of Israeli chickens were killed and wounded. Is it reasonable that my ally Hezbollah would respond to the assassination of the party’s top military commander by killing chickens? I will now call my friend Hassan Nasrallah to explain to him that Israel is a murderer and assassinated his leaders, not a midwife who delivered them so that he could slaughter chickens on this occasion.”

A Syrian user named Khaled added: “The chicken massacre was not a coincidence, but a strategic plan! The goal? To prevent the opponents and enemies of the ‘resistance’ from gloating after every bombing and saying ‘They didn’t even hurt a chicken.’ Hezbollah finished off the chickens and chicks with premeditation and deliberation, in order to deprive us of the pleasure of joking and mocking its response and missiles!”

A Jordanian commenter added, “Iranian Hezbollah takes revenge for Fouad Shukr and Haniyeh by striking an Israeli chicken coop, killing a number of chickens?!!”


Israeli hurt during car-ramming attack outside Ariel
An Israeli was lightly wounded during a car-ramming attack outside the city of Ariel in central Samaria on Sunday evening.

The driver and a passenger tried to slam into an IDF post at the entrance to the city. Security personnel opened fire on the two terrorists in the vehicle.

Emergency medics treated a man, a passer-by aged about 40, who was hit by shrapnel, according to the United Hatzalah rescue service.

The victim was evacuated to Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikvah in stable condition with superficial wounds to the abdomen.

At least one of the Palestinian terrorists was reportedly killed by the gunfire.

“We provided initial medical treatment at the scene to a man of about 40 who sustained light injuries from shrapnel when security forces fired at the two assailants in the vehicle,” said Adiel Agassi, head of United Hatzalah’s Ariel branch.

“Additionally, we treated a man and a woman for mild shock resulting from the incident and the sound of gunfire,” he added.

The capital of Samaria, Ariel is located 25 miles east of Tel Aviv.

Last week, an Israeli bus driver sustained light wounds when suspected Palestinian terrorists threw rocks at cars traveling on a main highway in Samaria, near Jerusalem.

Also last Monday, Israeli security personnel neutralized an improvised roadside bomb near the town of Havat Gilad in northern Samaria. There were no casualties in the attempted terrorist attack.


Rotten from the Top Down | UN Watchdog Hillel Neuer Names Names and Produces Evidence
Hillel Neuer, Executive Director of UN Watch, returns for a second visit to presents a decade's worth of evidence exposing the troubling activities within the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and other supposed "humanitarian" international bodies. He sheds light on the involvement of senior UNRWA officials, revealing their material support for terrorism and the alarming influence they wield over thousands of educators in the region.

Hillel and Eylon explore the far-reaching consequences of UNRWA's actions, not just for Israel, but for the stability of the Middle East as a whole. This episode is a critical deep dive into the controversial operations of an organization that has long been at the center of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Join us for an eye-opening conversation that challenges the narratives surrounding UNRWA and uncovers the hidden realities of its impact on the region.

00:00 Coming Up
00:38 Monologue
02:18 Main Titles
02:34 Introduciton
03:21 UNRWA's complicity in Oct 7
09:11 UN Cover-up
15:36 The UNRWA Hamas partnership
23:06 UNRWA in Lebanon
25:54 Philippe Lazzarini's role
27:59 UNRWA's real goal, and the countries that support it
34:27 Francesca Albanese
44:57 The ICJ and Nawaf Salam




NETANYAHU'S RED LINE: THE PHILADELPHI CORRIDOR
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has announced at the end of a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday that Netanyahu has accepted the new US bridging proposal for a hostage deal. Now Hamas should do the same, the Secretary said. But Netanyahu's detractors in Israel, as well as Hamas, insist on blaming the Israeli Prime Minister for the stalemate. In Israel the blame is tied to the controversy over the Philadelphi Corridor, the border between Gaza and Egypt where the IDF has found about 200 smuggling tunnels so far. Gadi and Mike discuss the politics around the deal in Israel, the US, and among Hamas and its allies – all in the shadow of a looming regional war.

Plus: we check our predictions from last time against what happened since.




NatWest apologises after ‘debanking’ Yad Vashem UK
NatWest has apologised to the UK arm of Israel’s national holocaust museum, Yad Vashem, after the holocaust education charity was “de-banked” and had its bank account shut down in what the bank said was an “administrative error”.

A NatWest spokesperson told MailOnline: “We have apologised to the customer as this was an administrative error and we will be continuing to bank Yad Vashem UK. We are working to ensure something similar does not happen again and are sorry for the upset caused.”

Yad Vashem UK chairman Simon Bentley told the Mail that NatWest’s actions were “shocking”.

He continued, “Yad Vashem is an apolitical registered charity focused on Holocaust education, handling unprecedented levels of anti-Semitism here in the UK and worldwide. We have, I'm sure, only proven to be a model customer with NatWest for many years, consistently maintaining our current account in credit, with large levels of funding on deposit with them.”

Both the Board of Deputies and Campaign Against Antisemitism have urged NatWest to provide a more detailed explanation about how Yad Vashem UK ended up debanked.


Hamas-connected journalists have worked for global mainstream media outlets for years
They executed their infiltration to perfection last Oct. 7, but it had been meticulously planned for years.

Some of those planners were connected to Hamas, some to other terror groups in Gaza and some had praised Adolf Hitler on social media.

All were virulently antisemitic and committed to doing what they could to wipe out Israel.

That description obviously fits the Nukhba terrorists who murdered 1,200 Israelis on Oct. 7 and more than 400 more since then.

But it also describes Gazans who have been working as journalists in major mainstream media outlets where ordinary Americans receive their daily news.

Hamas called its plan for invading southern Israel “Jericho Wall,” and it included “everything in great detail, from how many Nukhba brigades would come, to how they would break through the barrier, and even those so-called reporters who would join the brigades and broadcast the operation in real time,” investigative reporter Ilana Dayan revealed to The Jerusalem Post in March.

Hamas learned the importance of manipulating international media from other terrorist groups.

Hezbollah, for instance, has had a coordinated media infiltration plan for more than a decade.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine has taught media courses in Gaza since 2012.

Realizing their ability to defeat the Israeli militarily was limited, Hamas adopted a long-term strategy of exploiting global media to shift public opinion and impact international policy.

Al Jazeera, which is essentially Qatari state media, has employed active terrorists in Hamas, which like the network itself is funded from Doha.

One such “employee” held a senior role in a Hamas anti-tank unit and taught young jihadis how to fire missiles and make incendiary devices.

Others were part of the Hamas force that invaded Israel, including Ismail al-Ghoul, who was targeted by the Israel Defense Forces in late July.


BBC is blasted for describing Hamas suicide bomb attacks that killed 80 civilians aged 13 to 83 as 'military operations'
The BBC has come under fire for describing a series of Hamas suicide bomb attacks that killed Israeli civilians as 'military operations'.

A media monitoring group has criticised the news site after it reportedly referred to attacks organised by Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif, which claimed the lives of 93 people, including 80 civilians aged 13 to 83, as 'military operations'.

Deif was killed in an Israeli an airstrike last month, but under his command Hamas carried out dozens of suicide bombings against Israelis on buses and at cafes since the 1990s.

In a story following his death, BBC Arabic reportedly stated Deif 'took part in several military operations against Israel starting from kidnapping soldiers and rocket attacks' which culminated in the October 7 attack, according to The Telegraph.

But the corporation has since defended its coverage and argued it has 'made clear throughout' its reporting that Deif was listed as a terrorist by the US and the EU.

The committee for accuracy in Middle East reporting and analysis (Camera) also accused the BBC of whitewashing Hamas as it claimed BBC Arabic's reporting suggested the attacks were aimed at soldiers instead of civilians.

Camera told the Telegraph: 'Downplaying Palestinian groups' responsibility for targeting innocent civilians as mere 'accusations', which only Israel and the US supposedly aim at them, has been a BBC Arabic habit for years.

'Even when the Palestinian groups themselves boast about similar murders, BBC Arabic reporters would often use their own voice to falsely describe them as 'military operations' carried out against 'soldiers' or 'gunmen'.'


Algerian arrested in south France shul attack
French police have arrested a man suspected of trying to set a synagogue ablaze in the southern French city of la Grande-Motte on Saturday, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin announced.

Most of the Shabbat worshippers had not yet arrived at Beth Yaakov when the explosion occurred. Only the rabbi and five other people were inside the synagogue. No one was injured.

About 200 police officers had been hunting for the suspect, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said on Saturday.

The terrorist attacker had set fire to several entry doors to the synagogue and several cars nearby.

The suspect, a 33-year-old Algerian, was arrested in Nîmes. No additional details were provided by police.

The anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office was put in charge of the investigation.

“Before the police could intervene, the suspect opened fire on the [police], who returned fire. The man was wounded in the face,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement, adding that two other people were also arrested.

A policeman was slightly injured when a gas canister exploded as officers secured the site of the attack on Saturday morning.

“This is an antisemitic attack. Once more, our Jewish compatriots are targeted,” Attal said on X. “In the face of antisemitism, in the face of violence, we will never allow ourselves to be intimidated.”


Syrian asylum seeker turns himself in to German police over deadly festival stabbing
A 26-year-old man has turned himself into police, saying he was responsible for the Solingen knife attack that left three dead and eight wounded at a festival marking the city’s 650th anniversary, German authorities announced Sunday.

Duesseldorf police said in a joint statement with the prosecutor’s office that the man “stated that he was responsible for the attack.”

“This person’s involvement in the crime is currently being intensively investigated,” the statement said.

Federal prosecutors said they were investigating on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and membership in a foreign terrorist organization. The suspect, wearing handcuffs and leg shackles, was taken later Sunday from the police station in Solingen to make a first appearance before a judge at the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe.

The suspect is a Syrian citizen who had applied for asylum in Germany, police confirmed to The Associated Press. The dpa news agency reported, without citing a specific source, that his asylum claim had been denied and that he was to have been deported last year.

On Saturday, the Islamic State terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack, without providing evidence. The extremist group said on its news site that the attacker targeted Christians and that the perpetrator carried out the assaults Friday night “to avenge Muslims in Palestine and everywhere.” The claim couldn’t be independently verified.

Friday’s attack plunged the city of Solingen into shock and grief. A city of about 160,000 residents near the bigger cities of Cologne and Duesseldorf, Solingen was holding a “Festival of Diversity” to celebrate its anniversary.
NY rabbi, wife booted off JetBlue flight by ‘antisemitic’ staff after heated exchange over switching seats: suit
A New York rabbi and his wife claim they were kicked off a JetBlue flight by “antisemitic” staff following a heated exchange over switching seats due to their religious beliefs.

Abraham Lunger and his wife, Miriam Lunger, were bounced from the Palm Springs-to-NYC flight on New Year’s Eve after the rabbi informed flight crew that, as an Orthodox Jew, he cannot sit next to a woman “unless she is a blood relative or his wife,” the February filing states.

During the incident, a male passenger offered to resolve the beef and sit next to the rabbi.

But instead of allowing the switch, a confrontation ensued between the Lungers and the flight crew, court papers claim.

The pilot allegedly said moving to another seat was a violation that would cause a “weight imbalance” on the plane, and told Lunger he had to get off the aircraft, the suit charges.

Lunger’s wife and Brucha Ungar, who was traveling with the couple, were also told to exit the plane, the suit says.

JetBlue recently filed a motion to dismiss the Manhattan Federal Court suit.

“JetBlue’s policy is clear: passengers may not occupy a seat other than the passenger’s assigned seat. Plaintiffs breached JetBlue’s contractual policy and were removed from the aircraft as a result. No other facts matter: Plaintiffs cannot maintain their claims — for discrimination or otherwise,” according to court filings.
October 7: When Hamas targeted Israel's peaceniks on kibbutzim
Holin wasn’t unusual in her desire to reach out to Gazans. Her fellow kibbutzniks petitioned the government to allow Gazans to enter Israel to work. The late Vivian Silver of Kibbutz Be’eri worked to make sure conditions and wages for Gazans working on the kibbutzim were fair. Other kibbutzniks, such as the above-mentioned cardiologist, drove Gazans to hospitals for treatments. Long-time Gazan workers became part of the community, even bringing their children to kindergarten.

When the workers couldn’t get into the kibbutz during times of tension, the kibbutzniks would gather funds to send to them. Many of the kibbutz founders hailed from Left-leaning youth movements, from Israel and abroad, and over the generations they passed down their values, remaining bastions of Israel’s peace camp.

Holin shared the success of the exhibition – particularly the optimism it inspired in many who came to see it – with “Mahmoud,” who wrote back a glowing letter, saying, “I know there are people around me who don’t like our cooperation, but I take this risk in the hope that this project will influence and improve understanding, quality of life, and security on both sides of the fence.” They continued to correspond until March 2023, when there was silence from his side.

On Oct. 7, Batia and Nachum, whose modest kibbutz home is close to the border, spotted terrorists outside and hurried to their safe room. They lost contact with their daughter and grandchildren when terrorists entered their daughter’s home, but they were able to stay in touch with their son. Among the incoming calls, one was from an unknown Israeli phone number. (Remember how Hamas members activated dozens of Israeli SIM cards around midnight, just hours before the Oct. 7 attack?) At 10 a.m., after they had been cowering in their safe room for three and a half hours, Batia heard a man with a strong Arabic accent speaking to her. It was “Mahmoud.”

“He started asking me a lot of questions – mainly about our army, about the soldiers and their movements. At this point, I realized that his questions were wrong, and it was time to end the conversation.”

She understood that he was targeting her.

After 26 hours in their shelter, Batia and her husband were rescued under heavy fire by courageous Givati Infantry soldiers. She and Nachum joined the line of Israelis literally crawling through an agricultural trench out of the kibbutz.

To their enormous relief, their daughter, grandchildren, and son were rescued later.

Holin has a new exhibition now. It’s called “Fracture.” She shows the beautiful before photos and horrific after photos of her cherished kibbutz.

Fracture.

A perfect word to describe what we have experienced. Even if our hope for peace was fragile and distant before Oct. 7, it was there.

The exhibition was displayed at Kibbutz Shefayim, to which Holin’s family was evacuated. That’s where I spoke to her this week as she was dealing with the many, many requests to tell her story and share her photographs.

Sixty kibbutzniks were murdered on her kibbutz. At least 18 were kidnapped.

I’ve just returned from a speaking tour in the United States. Wherever I spoke for Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, I was, of course, embraced by strong supporters of Israel. After all, “Zionism” is this organization’s middle name. But when I ventured outside of that circle, I was more cautious. I needed different tools. I needed to be heard.

Telling the stories of these righteous kibbutzniks was a good place to start.
Released hostage says Gaza captor demanded ransom from her father
A released hostage said Saturday that one of her captors demanded a ransom from her father while she was held in Gaza. The ransom was ultimately not paid.

Moran Stela Yanai, who was released during a weeklong ceasefire in November, told Channel 12 news that one day while she was held hostage, one of her captors began asking questions about her father.

The terrorist asked her if her father loved her, to which she responded, “Of course, more than anything.”

He then asked how much money her father would pay to get her back. Yanai said that he would pay anything.

“I understood very quickly that maybe they were really contacting our parents and asking for money, and I made it clear to him at that moment that my father would pay anything for me,” Yanai said.

When she returned from captivity, Yanai asked her father if he had been asked for money and he said he had. Moran Stela Yanai embraces family members at Sheba Medical Center after being released from Hamas captivity in Gaza, November 29, 2023. (Courtesy)

Screenshots published by Channel 12 showed WhatsApp messages and phone calls between Yanai’s father and a person saved in his phone as “Khan.” The messages were in broken English and Hebrew.

In the first message sent to Yanai’s father, the sender told him the hostage was with them and included a photo of Yanai from before she was taken captive. The message was followed by a WhatsApp phone call after which he was told, “One hour if you want to see her alive.”

However, before any money was transferred, the man who had been speaking with Yanai’s father cut off contact.

“It’s part of the psychological games they play with us. They don’t just toy with us, they toy with our families. It doesn’t end with ‘we murdered [people], we took [people], and we left.’ They continue to abuse us and continue to torment our families,” Yanai said.

Yanai was abducted from the Supernova music festival on October 7. She told Channel 12 that she was captured twice and managed to convince her captors to let her go, but she was caught a third time and taken to Gaza.

She was freed in November as part of a truce with Hamas when 105 hostages were released in exchange for Palestinian security prisoners, all of them women and minors.
I was a captive of Hamas. After I was freed, I was imprisoned by online trolls
Growing up in Kibbutz Kfar Aza next to Israel's border with the Gaza Strip meant a childhood that could be interrupted at any moment by sirens warning of a Hamas rocket attack. Sibling fights or quiet nights were instantly turned into a scramble for the nearest safe room. Hamas took control of Gaza a few months before I was born in 2007, so living in its shadow is all I have ever known.

Having 15 seconds to run to safety might not be a common theme in childhood nostalgia, but I convinced myself that it had made me stronger than kids from the comfortable Tel Aviv bubble.

Then came Oct. 7. Hamas terrorists charged into our home, shooting my father, Nadav, and sister, Yam, in a furious ecstasy of hate. I was dragged out of the house together with my mother and two younger brothers and forced into a car to Gaza. I see my father's fading eyes when I close mine at night.

Arriving in Gaza, the car was surrounded by a mob, mostly people who appeared to be about my own age, 17, or younger. They smiled and laughed as I wept.

In Judaism, there is a tradition that baseless hatred - hatred divorced from all reason - is what led to the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in the year 70. I now know what it means to be hated baselessly - for all that I am and all I am not.

My Hamas guards hated me for being Jewish, so I was coerced into reciting Islamic prayers and made to wear a hijab. I was forbidden from mourning my father and sister, and often ordered to look down at the ground. Six female hostages I met in a tunnel told me about men with guns who came into their shower rooms and touched their bodies.

Hearing about these young women's fear of sexual abuse was agonizing. When one of my guards told me that he would find me a "husband" in Gaza, and that I would live the rest of my life as a chained slave-wife, my mother interrupted, deflecting his advances. I was fortunate to be released, along with my family members, in a prisoner exchange after 51 days. But those six young women are still in captivity, held for more than 300 days, without their mothers. They all should have come home a long time ago.

Baseless hatred can lead a person to awful places, but when that hatred is shared by a group, it is terrifying to witness. One morning, my family was moved from our safe house to a school hall, filled largely with Gazan women and children. Strangers asked if I wanted anything to sit on, or if I was thirsty - a rare moment of human connection.

But then, in an instant, the low buzz of conversation was drowned out by Hamas launching rockets, just meters away from us, from inside the school compound. The hall erupted in joy, and as the Gazans celebrated, I realized that Hamas had moved us there to serve as human shields.

Shortly before my family and I were released at the end of November, a guard made a point of telling us that, in the next war, Hamas would return to kill us. There would be no hostage-taking, no more dealmaking.

When we were transferred to a Red Cross vehicle for our ride out of Gaza, a mob formed, just as when we arrived. But weeks of Israel's intense bombing had changed the mood. Instead of laughing and taking photos, the Gazans banged on the windows and screamed at us: Die, die, die. The word is almost the same in Arabic as in Hebrew - but, then again, hatred sounds the same in every language.




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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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