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Friday, September 06, 2024

09/06 Links Pt1: The Oslo effect; Walz: Anti-Israel protesters ‘speaking out for all the right reasons’; Trump: If you vote Democrat, Israel will no longer exist

From Ian:

Melanie Phillips: The Oslo effect
This is all utterly delusional. For two decades, Egypt was complicit in the construction and use of the Philadelphi tunnels; entrusting it with Israel’s security would be to put the fox in charge of the henhouse. Israeli reliance on electronic sensors was one of the reasons the Oct. 7 pogrom happened.

As for the IDF returning to the corridor after it pulled out, the same argument was used by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in the 2005 disengagement from Gaza when he pulled Israel out of Philadelphi—the issue over which Netanyahu resigned from that government. Just as international pressure meant the IDF never went back in despite the subsequent barrages from Gaza, so a return to the corridor would now be a total non-starter.

Despite the thousands on the streets, most Israelis get this. In one opinion poll, 79% agreed that Israel needed to control Philadelphi permanently to prevent weapons smuggling from Egypt to Gaza. When asked more emotively whether Israel should control Philadelphi “even at the expense of a hostage deal,” more respondents said it should than those who balked at preventing a hostage deal.

Gantz, Eizenkot and Gallant are part of a military and security establishment whose morally and intellectually bankrupt “conceptziya” brought about the Oct. 7 catastrophe in the first place.

Netanyahu, too, was part of that same establishment and in due course must be held to account for the heavy responsibility he bears.

However, those who aren’t blinded by a pathological hatred of him can see that he is holding off intense American pressure to pull out of Philadelphi, just as they can also see that America itself bears a significant measure of responsibility for the hostages’ fate.

The Biden administration forced Israel to proceed in Gaza far more slowly than the IDF judged necessary to defeat Hamas and thus save the hostages. Worse, for three months, the administration stopped Israel from entering Rafah—below which the six hostages were murdered last week. If Israel had been free to proceed at its own pace, those six captives and many others might have been saved.

Whatever happens to Netanyahu, the left will almost certainly discover that, for the second time, it has made a terrible strategic error.

The first such error was the 1993 Oslo Accords, which gave the Palestinians political power and status—with the Americans even training their police—on the assumption that they intended to live in peace alongside Israel.

This was a victory of fantasy over reality. The eventual result was more than 1,000 Israelis murdered in the five-year intifada from 2000 to 2005, and an enduring culture of indoctrination and incitement that today has turned Judea and Samaria into another genocidal front for Iran.

The catastrophic Oslo “conceptziya” caused the Israeli elites to ignore the clear evidence of Islamic holy war by the Palestinians and to believe that Israel could keep a lid on potential trouble. They believed that their enemy was not genocidal Palestinianism. It was Netanyahu.

That’s also why they spent most of last year fighting judicial reform. And the same people are now sickeningly weaponizing the hostages to the same end—to remove Netanyahu from power. You don’t have to be a Netanyahu fan to be revolted, frightened and enraged.

The effect of the Oslo nightmare was to wipe out the left’s chances of gaining political power. The public’s revulsion and anger that these same types of people have been doing the work of Hamas for it by promoting Israel’s surrender means that this terrible betrayal won’t be forgotten or forgiven. It will be the Oslo effect on steroids.
Arsen Ostrovsky: To End the War In Gaza, Pressure Hamas' Sponsors, Not Israel
Hamas made their response clear—with bullet holes to the heads of the six hostages, including Hersh.

Yet, like clockwork, the international community instead chose to single out Netanyahu and Israel, for opprobrium.

It is hardly surprising therefore, that Hamas continues to reject every proposal put before them, when they know they can sit on their laurels and wait for the international community to up the pressure on Israel. By focusing its attention on Israel, the U.S.is empowering Hamas and removing any incentive for the terror group to compromise or reach a deal.

If the international community, led by the U.S., wants to actually advance a hostage deal, they could do so by demanding that American allies such as Qatar and Turkey use all of the levers at their disposal to pressure Hamas into accepting a deal.

Hamas operates extensive financial and business networks out of Qatar and Turkey, while its leaders live in luxurious accommodations in Doha. Qatar's Al Jazeera media empire is Hamas' primary outlet for its propaganda, not only inciting terror, but undermining moderate governments interested in Middle East peace. Turkey has given senior Hamas leaders Turkish passports in order to facilitate their travel around the world.

Perhaps if the international community spent a fraction of the energy they do on pressuring Israel to make further concessions, to instead applying unyielding pressure on Hamas and their state sponsors, primarily Qatar, Turkey, and of course Iran, we could have already reached a deal and saved countless lives.

The U.S. must show Doha and Ankara that there is a costly price to pay for failing to pressure Hamas, which knowingly-executed a U.S. citizen in cold blood. There are numerous steps that the Biden administration and Congress can take. Congress should demand regular reports on any and all entities providing material support to Hamas in Qatar and Turkey (as well as in additional countries such as Malaysia, Algeria, Egypt and Lebanon), in order to examine their eligibility for sanctions. Sanctions should also be placed on Qatar's Al Jazeera for its terror support.

The U.S. should demand that the Qatari and Turkish governments extradite Hamas leaders involved in the murder of US citizens, especially following the Justice Department's announcement this week of terrorism charges against senior Hamas leaders. The U.S. could also take steps to make it easier for private victims of terror to bring lawsuits against all countries which have provided support to Hamas. If Qatar fails to take swift action to force Hamas to accept a deal, Doha should lose its status as a major U.S. non-NATO ally, which Biden granted it in 2022.

The international community, and especially the U.S., now faces a choice. It can continue its rhetoric against Hamas while focusing real pressure on Israel. Or it can act to truly increase the chances of a deal, by placing unyielding pressure on Hamas and its state sponsors. Only the latter can save the lives of the hostages being held in Gaza, while ensuring security for Israel and a future of stability in the Middle East.
The new hostage paradigm
Israel’s past willingness to trade more than 1,000 terrorists for a single Israel Defense Forces soldier (Gilad Shalit) sent a clear message to its enemies: Israel will make outrageous concessions to secure hostages. This policy has emboldened groups like Hamas who understood that hostage-taking is like kryptonite for Israel. They believed that they could exact tremendous concessions because of the Israeli people’s commitment to each other. Hamas turned this beautiful characteristic into an Achilles heel. It is incumbent upon Israelis to adjust the way they approach these challenges, and this new doctrine must be adopted.

It is quite interesting—and concerning—that hundreds of thousands of Israelis fail to recognize this reality. It is almost as if they do not understand that making a deal at any cost will only serve to further embolden their enemies and encourage them to repeat such actions in the future. The surprising lack of understanding highlights the complexity of the issue and also the level of trauma that so many Israelis have been exposed to.

Similarly, and perhaps even more inexplicably, American Jews have been highly critical of Netanyahu. At a time when the Jewish people face immense challenges, it is astonishing that the leader of the only Jewish state is subjected to criticism from every armchair general with an opinion. This is the height of irresponsibility. People should think twice and then think again before putting pen to paper to criticize the democratically elected prime minister of Israel.

The idea that Israel would sacrifice critical military objectives such as control over the Philadelphi Corridor to secure the release of hostages is simply untenable. This corridor is vital for cutting off Hamas’s supply lines, preventing rearmament and limiting their ability to continue their terror campaign. The United States will have a new president in nine weeks, and it is completely uncertain what that administration’s policy will be vis ร  vis Israel and the war in Gaza. Facts on the ground matter.

Diplomatic pressure from the United States and the international community could easily prevent Israel from re-entering this critical area if it were to leave now. Losing control over the Philadelphi Corridor would severely undermine Israel’s ability to choke off Hamas’s resources and win the war.

We must have faith in our leaders, recognizing that both our enemies and allies are watching Israel closely. Netanyahu is acting in what he believes to be the best interest of Israel’s present and future. He was elected by the people, and if they are unhappy with his decisions, those same people can vote him out of office. In the meantime, we must respect and support the difficult choices his government is making.

The harsh reality is that the hostages may be lost. Israel must do everything within its power to bring them home but not at the expense of its broader strategic objectives. We must not allow our enemies to believe that taking hostages will lead to major concessions. It is time to create a new hostage doctrine. There must be a happy ending to this story, and there can be by ensuring a victory over Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran.


Psychological warfare: Sinwar-approved doc highlights Hamas's negotiating tactics - report
A previously unseen document found on Yahya Sinwar's computer reportedly sheds light on the organization's negotiation strategy, including psychological torture of hostage families, the German newspaper BILD reported in an exclusive on Friday.

The document, obtained by BILD, reportedly dates to spring 2024 and was said to have been approved by Yahya Sinwar personally. While BILD told The Post that they cannot give details of the source, they said the contents of the file were verified by two independent sources. BILD also said that, since October 7, they have almost always had reporters on the ground, some giving high-ranking interviews and with access to high-level sources.

According to BILD, the document lists several factors that Hamas wanted to consider when negotiating a hostage-ceasefire deal.

These include "exhausting" Israel's military apparatus, increasing international pressure on Israel, and maintaining its armed capacity.

Psychological terror with hostages
The document apparently states that Hamas intentionally abuses hostages to leverage its negotiating position.

It instructs, "Continue to exert psychological pressure on the families of the [hostages], both now and during the first phase [of the ceasefire] so that public pressure on the enemy government increases."

In recent days, following the IDF's discovery of six bodies of Israeli hostages in a tunnel below Rafah, Hamas has released several videos featuring statements from the hostages before their deaths. These videos contain mentions of the failure of the Israeli government, pleas to be brought home, and details of the hostages' horrifying living conditions.

According to BILD's reading of the document, psychological tactics against the hostages' families is a strategy developed to increase pressure on Israel's government to agree to the terms of the deal.

Hamas also, according to the document, wants to use the hostages to put pressure on Israel. "During the negotiations for the second phase (of the ceasefire, ed.), Hamas will allow the Red Cross to visit some of the prisoners as a gesture of goodwill and to convey messages to their relatives."

The stated aim of this is to increase pressure on Israel to extend the ceasefire to Hamas's benefit.


Walz: Anti-Israel protesters ‘speaking out for all the right reasons’
Walz has said little about the war in Gaza since Harris tapped him to be her running mate in August. His remarks in the WCMU interview, after a reporter asked how a Harris-Walz administration would handle the Israel-Hamas war, offered a look at his thinking on the topic.

“I think first and foremost, what we saw on October 7 was a horrific act of violence against the people of Israel. They have certainly, and the vice president said it, l’ve said it, have the right to defend themselves, and the United States will always stand by that,” Walz began.

In his answer, Walz did not mention Hamas. Nor did he refer to the six hostages, including U.S. citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who were murdered over the weekend.

“We can’t allow what’s happened in Gaza to happen,” Walz continued. “The Palestinian people have every right to life and liberty themselves. We need to continue, I think, to put the leverage on to make sure we move towards a two-state solution.”

Then, Walz clarified where, in his view, the U.S. should exert leverage: on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“I think we’re at a critical point right now. We need the Netanyahu government to start moving in that direction,” said Walz. “We’ve said it and continue to say it, getting a cease-fire with the return of the hostages, and then moving towards a sustainable, two-state solution is the only way forward.”

Over the past year, Walz has attempted to appease both pro-Israel Democrats and more progressive Democrats who have become staunchly critical of Israel after Oct. 7. He drew scrutiny last month for having previously appeared at events with a Muslim cleric who has shared antisemitic and pro-Hamas content.


Anti-Israel protesters ‘speaking out for all the right reasons,’ Walz says in Michigan radio interview
The Biden-Harris administration’s handling of the war could be a critical issue on Election Day in swing states like Michigan and Pennsylvania, where balancing the pro- and anti-Israel vote could be a deciding factor given how close the race is expected to be.

Anti-Israel protesters have interrupted Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign events repeatedly since U.S. President Joe Biden dropped out of the race in July.

At a rally in Detroit in August, hecklers chanted “Kamala, Kamala, you can’t hide, we won’t vote for genocide.”

Responding to the anti-Israel message of the hecklers, Harris took a more combative approach than her running mate. “If you want Donald Trump to win, then say that,” she said. “Otherwise, I’m speaking.”

At a rally in Arizona two days later, she responded to another interruption by talking about “respecting the voices” of protesters.

“Now is the time to get a ceasefire deal and get the hostage deal done,” Harris said.

In his interview on Thursday, Walz ended his answer about Israel with a call to “find a way that people can live together.”

“Getting a ceasefire with the return of the hostages and then moving towards a sustainable two-state solution is the only way forward,” he said.

Matt Brooks, the CEO of the Republican Jewish Coalition, stated that “Joe Biden thinks the antisemitic, anti-Israel radical protestors ‘have a point,’ Kamala Harris appeases them, saying they ‘are showing exactly what the human emotion should be’ and now Tim Walz believes they ‘are speaking out for all the right reasons.’ What a total disgrace.”

“Let’s be clear: The mobs on our streets and college campuses are wildly antisemitic and anti-Israel and should be totally condemned in the strongest possible terms,” Brooks said. “It is shameful and appalling that the top leaders of today’s Democratic Party cannot firmly and directly reject their vile antisemitic base.”

“Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are choosing to put partisan politics ahead of the safety and security of the Jewish community and America’s key ally as it fights a war for its very survival. It is disgusting, and the American people will reject Harris and Walz’s extremism in November,” he added. “Their priorities are clearly not our priorities. Harris and Walz stand with the radical squad, not with us.”
Biden-Harris State Dept Set To Host Iraqi Official Allegedly Helping Iran Evade Oil Sanctions
The Biden-Harris State Department is slated to host a senior Iraqi official allegedly involved in "industrial-scale sanctions evasion on behalf of the regime in Iran," prompting Congress to demand the administration revoke his American visa.

On Monday, the State Department’s Bureau of Energy Resources will hold an event at Rice University in Houston with Iraqi oil minister Hayyan Abdul-Ghani, who has helped convert Baghdad’s energy sector "into a powerful and endemic means by which Iran-Aligned Militia Groups (IAMGs) and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) generate terrorist financing," according to five GOP House lawmakers, who are investigating the Iraqi official’s ties to Tehran.

Led by Foreign Affairs Committee member Rep. French Hill (R., Ark.), the lawmakers are urging the Biden-Harris administration to "prevent Minister Abdul-Ghani from attending events in the United States until these allegations are investigated and the findings are presented to Congress." In the interim, Abdul-Ghani and his delegation should "no longer be granted visas to the United States," they wrote in a Wednesday investigatory letter obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

The sanctions evasion scheme, which has picked up pace as Iran co-opts high-ranking Iraqi officials and institutions, is estimated to generate nearly $1 billion per year, lining Tehran’s coffers at a time when it is fomenting terrorism against Israel and American forces in the Middle East. Abdul-Ghani's oil ministry, according to a recent Washington Institute for Near East Policy report, helped establish "a mechanism for diverting Iraqi government oil to militias" through "asphalt plants run by Iran-backed terrorists." Information about his role in the Iranian smuggling network was presented to the State Department and intelligence community officials in June, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The Biden-Harris administration has done little to disrupt Tehran’s oil smuggling operations and the State Department’s upcoming event with Abdul-Ghani indicates the United States is still trying to drive investments into Baghdad’s energy sector.

Iraq has been morphing into an Iranian client state for many years, with IRGC-backed militia groups proliferating across the country and using it as a launching pad for attacks on American outposts. Baghdad’s energy sector, the globe’s fifth-largest oil producer, has increasingly shut out America-aligned elements, including the pro-U.S. Kurds, raising concerns with American investors and lawmakers in Congress.

Abdul-Ghani will arrive in Texas with officials from Iraq’s oil ministry, electricity ministry, and prime minister’s office, according to an invitation for the Monday event viewed by the Free Beacon. While at Rice University, Abudl-Ghani will participate in "two invitation-only roundtable dialogues focused on oil and gas development and power sector." The State Department’s assistant secretary in the bureau of energy resources, Geoffrey Pyatt, will attend on behalf of the U.S. government.


Trump: If you vote Democrat, Israel will no longer exist
Former President Donald Trump delivered a blistering critique of the Biden administration's Middle East policies during his address at the Republican Jewish Coalition's annual conference in Las Vegas. Trump asserted that the October 7 Hamas attack would not have occurred under his leadership and promised unwavering support for Israel if re-elected, while warning that a Kamala Harris presidency would pose a significant threat to Israel's interests.

Matt Brooks, CEO of the Republican Jewish Coalition, highlighted the significance of Trump's appearance: "As we approach the one-year anniversary of the horrific October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel, and only days after the brutal murder of 6 innocent hostages who had been held captive in Gaza, President Donald J. Trump will speak not only to the RJC's leadership gathered in Las Vegas this week but to the entire American Jewish community."

Brooks emphasized the political stakes, adding, "This is a critical moment for the Jewish community and for Israel, and the policy contrast between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris could not be clearer in this election."

Trump's entrance was met with thunderous applause from the audience. He began by addressing the recent hostage killings, saying, "After being held captive for nearly a year following the monstrous October 7 attack on Israel, Hersh was barbarically executed with a bullet to the back of his head. And as for the evil savages responsible for these murders, may they never know peace."

Trump boldly claimed, "The October 7 attack on Israel would never have happened if I was president. Zero chance. It was not going to happen just like the disaster in Afghanistan would never have happened. And frankly, the invasion of Ukraine by Russia would not have happened. This November, we're going to replace weakness with strength, cowardice with courage and clarity, and war with peace. We're going to tell comrade Kamala Harris, you're fired."

He warned of dire consequences if the Harris wins prevails: "If Kamala Harris wins, terrorist armies will wage an unceasing war to drive Jews out of the Holy Land, and you know it... Kamala Harris will support unlimited migration from terrorist hotbeds into the United States and will totally abandon Israel... Israel will no longer exist."


Jewish rights activist, Democrat Shabbos Kestenbaum endorses Trump
Shabbos Kestenbaum is a self-proclaimed lifelong Democrat who's become the face of the crusade against Harvard's treatment of its Jewish students.

On Thursday, in front of the Republican Jewish Coalition's annual Las Vegas leadership summit, Kestenbaum announced his endorsement of former President Donald Trump.

Kestenbaum told the crowd he held out hope for the Democratic party after October 7 and hoped to create change from within.

The Democratic National Convention is the straw that broke the camel's back, Kestenbaum told The Post on Thursday night, several hours after his endorsement speech.

Kestenbaum said he went to the DNC last month "in total good faith."

"I came looking for answers, and I did not receive a single answer that would alleviate any of my concerns," Kestenbaum said. "And that's when it occurred to me I couldn't support the Democratic nominee for president."

Kestenbaum said the Trump campaign has been actively courting Jewish students and Jewish Americans, doing what he said campaigns are supposed to do and earn his vote.

It's pretty obvious at this point that the Jewish community's interests are more aligned with the current Republican nominee for president than it is for the Democratic nominee for president, according to Kastenbaum.


Cruz: Biden and Harris ‘greatest friends Hamas and Hezbollah have ever known’
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) called for Middle East policies of “absolute and unequivocal clarity” at the launch party in Dallas on Wednesday night for American Jewish Conservatives.

“This is a time to separate the wheat from the chaff, because when it comes to Oct. 7, and what has happened in the days and weeks afterwards: this is a battle of good versus evil,” he said in a speech to the group on Wednesday. “This is a battle between civilization and barbarism, and there is no gray; there is no in-between.”

Cruz said, “I’m sorry to tell you, the Biden-Harris administration has proven to be the most anti-Israel administration in the history of this nation.”

In what he acknowledged was a “shocking statement,” he went even further, saying “Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have been the greatest friends that Hamas and Hezbollah have ever known.

Cruz called the Hamas atrocities in southern Israel on Oct. 7 “not just a horrific act of terrorism against Israel, it was one of the worst acts of terrorism against Americans in the history of our nation.”

Describing the defeat of Hamas as in the security interests of both Israel and the United States, Cruz said “understand those brave IDF soldiers that are right now battling Hamas. They’re defending Israel, but they are also defending Americans.”
‘Very weak’ Biden admin sending ‘mixed messages’ that are confusing Middle East leaders, senator says
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) met with leaders last month in Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan and Egypt—a trip that made her hopeful that a deal would lead to good news in the war between Israel and Hamas.

In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Ernst and her delegation that “he felt that the IDF was choking out Hamas,” the senator told JNS this week on the sidelines of the Republican Jewish Coalition Summit in Las Vegas. “He felt that they were affecting their resupply of munitions and arms into the Gaza Strip.”

But after the congressional delegation left, Ernst learned that Israel had recovered and identified the bodies of six hostages whom Hamas executed. “Right now, it sounds like a ceasefire may be further away than it was a week ago,” she told JNS.

The Iowa Republican, who is a member of the congressional Abraham Accords Caucus, told JNS that Washington must do a better job of mediating between the countries she visited on the trip.

“We need strong leadership to bring these parties to the table and really talk about what is going on and how to find that path forward,” she said.

Ernst said a “very weak Biden-Harris administration” is “sending mixed messages to the Middle East, and it’s confusing all of those leaders.”

“They’re not sure where their alliances are. Is it with Israel? Is it with Iran?” she told JNS. “So we really don’t know, and they don’t know. If they don’t know, they will not be able to find a path forward.”
FDD: 10 Things Washington Should Do to Hold Hamas Accountable
U.S. citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, was executed by Hamas in late August after being taken hostage from an Israeli music festival and held in Gaza for more than 300 days. In response, a bipartisan roster of U.S. officials immediately pledged to hold Hamas accountable. On August 31, 2024, President Joe Biden issued a statement saying, “Make no mistake, Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes,” while Vice President Kamala Harris issued a statement saying, “The threat Hamas poses to the people of Israel—and American citizens in Israel—must be eliminated and Hamas cannot control Gaza.” On September 1, 2024, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin vowed that “Hamas will be held accountable.”

Washington policymakers should make good on these promises in the following ways:
1. Hamas leadership: Support Israel’s campaign to kill or capture Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and other Hamas leaders at large, both inside and outside Gaza.
This support starts with recently unsealed Justice Department indictments for the murder and hostage-taking of Americans but continues with demands made of countries like Qatar, Turkey, and Lebanon for extraditions, and an advertising campaign in Gaza offering a very large reward for information leading to the capture or death of Yahya Sinwar. The United States should also make clear to all countries that it supports Israeli efforts to kill or capture Hamas officials wherever they reside.

2. Hamas and partner networks: Within the United States and overseas, lead a crackdown on Hamas networks.
The Department of Justice should move forward with indictments of known individuals and groups in the United States providing material support to Hamas and those associated with Hamas, domestically and abroad. The Departments of the Treasury and State should also target Hamas’s support network of terrorist entities in and out of the Gaza Strip. Sanctions have not yet been imposed on organizations such as the Popular Resistance Committees, Abdul al-Qadir al-Husseini Brigades, and the Palestinian Freedom Movement. These armed organizations coordinate attacks on Israeli troops and territory with known designated Palestinian terrorist factions. Palestinian organizations that provide material support to Hamas and coordinate attacks with them should be held accountable for their actions. Hamas networks in foreign countries, including South Africa, should be targeted with sanctions as well.

3. Munitions to Israel: With U.S partners, publicly send Israel a series of additional munitions to help it wage an offensive against Iran’s terrorist proxies.
Alongside a public show of materiel support for Israel, provided without conditions or caveats, the administration should use its leverage and influence to compel the United Kingdom and Canada to lift any holds or restrictions on defense exports to Israel. Sinwar must see momentum shifting toward international support for Israel and be disabused of any dreams of the United States again withholding weapons from Israel.
Kontorovich: Biden admin tried to pass off old charges against Hamas as response to discovery of bodies
When the U.S. Justice Department unsealed charges against six Hamas leaders on Tuesday, the federal government appeared to respond to Israel having secured and identified the bodies of six hostages, whom Hamas terrorists executed, including Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin over the weekend.

Merrick Garland, the U.S. attorney general, opted to unseal charges that had been filed seven months earlier because the Biden administration “needed to be seen as doing something” after Hamas “murdered an American citizen in cold blood,” according to Eugene Kontorovich, a professor at George Mason University Scalia Law School and executive director of its Middle East and international law center.

“Unless you read carefully, you might have thought that this was a response but, in fact, the only response was to leak something they did seven months ago,” he said, “which shows that they actually have no response to the murder of an American citizen.”

It is not uncommon for the Justice Department to seal charges in sensitive cases, according to Kontorovich, but in this instance, he thinks that the Biden administration was intentionally trying to mislead the public.

David May, research manager and a senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told JNS that the Biden administration has been reluctant to pressure Hamas.

“They are taking a carrot versus stick approach but, perhaps, the murder of six Israeli hostages, including an American one, convinced them to apply more pressure,” May said.
Will the U.S. try to extradite Khaled Meshaal from its ally Qatar?
The U.S.’ indictment of top Hamas official Khaled Meshaal earlier this week is raising new questions about how and whether the administration will pursue Meshaal’s arrest, an issue with serious implications for the U.S.-Qatar relationship. Meshaal lives in Qatar, which is a U.S. ally, but does not have an extradition treaty with the United States.

Multiple Republican lawmakers who’ve been critical of Qatar said they support efforts to ensure that Qatar turns Mershaal over for trial in the United States. Some also said the indictments were long overdue.

“Although the United States does not have an extradition treaty with Qatar, we would expect a major non-NATO ally to comply with any request to extradite a terrorist leader responsible for the murder and kidnapping of U.S. citizens,” Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC), a lead sponsor of legislation seeking to reevaluate the U.S.’ relationship with Qatar, told JI.

The Department of Justice, State Department and White House all declined to comment on the prospect of seeking Meshaal’s extradition.

Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY) said in a statement to JI that the U.S. should “utilize every resource at its disposal to bring Hamas leaders to justice including a ramped up pressure campaign to demand the Qatari government cooperate with federal authorities and quit harboring terrorists like Khaled Meshaal.”

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) called for “pressure on the Qatari government to facilitate the extradition of Khaled Meshaal so he can face trial in the US,” adding, “We should not allow our security partners to harbor Hamas leaders and help them escape justice.”

Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL), who may be in contention for a Cabinet position in a potential second Trump administration, told JI that Qatar needs to “do more to crack down on Hamas operations that occur there.”

He added, however, that he’s “concerned this indictment is a token fig leaf to cover up the Biden administration’s one-sided pressure on Israel to make a deal, even after the brutal murder of six hostages including an American. Real pressure needs to be put on Hamas and their Iranian backers.”

Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), who is running to become the top Senate Republican next year, said on X that the charges “should have been brought days after the attacks, not almost a year later.”
Hamas piles on new demands for ceasefire deal amid hostage threats - NYT
Hamas has added new demands to its list of conditions for a Gaza ceasefire-hostage deal, the New York Times reported on Friday, citing one Arab and a number of American officials.

These new demands were added after the terror group announced last week that they would begin murdering the hostages should IDF forces get too close.

Hamas’s new execution policy was reportedly put in place after Operation Arnon, which saw four captives rescued in June.

Following Hamas’s new policy, the bodies of six hostages were recovered from a tunnel in Rafah. The IDF said they were killed only days before the military arrived.

According to the NYT, Qatar’s prime minister has been pushing for the Gaza-based terror group to compromise on its deal conditions. After months of this pressure, Hamas dropped the additions to the deal. However, two American officials claimed that the terms of Hamas’s agreement have returned to the table.

Hamas adds new demands
Anonymous sources told the NYT that Hamas increased the number of security prisoners it demanded to be released in the opening phase of the deal.

Qatar also reportedly offered Hamas three alternatively worded compromise agreements, according to Husam Badran, a senior Hamas official based in Qatar. Badran added that Hamas representatives chose one of these alternatives.

The terror group also agreed to focus on the hostage-prisoner swap with a possibility to look at other issues.

“We did that because we’re keen on the issue of a ceasefire,” Badran said. “If there are some phrases that will make the negotiations easier and lead to the same result - the end of the war - we have no problem.”

One of the said issues is the Philadelphi Corridor, from which Hamas demands an Israeli withdrawal.

Officials said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had also added to Israel’s demands for a deal.
‘Killing of hostages makes it more difficult to close deal,' US says
The Hamas execution of six hostages in Gaza last weekend has complicated efforts to finalize a ceasefire deal but has increased the urgency to do so, US National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby told reporters on Thursday.

“We've suffered yet another huge setback here.” Kirby said, but that “doesn't mean we're not going to keep trying.” He focused, as other US officials have in the past day, on the complications around the exchange of up to 32 hostages for the release of Palestinian security prisoners and terrorists held in Israeli jails.

“The exchange of prisoners has not been agreed to, and that is really the heart of this deal,” Kirby stated.

Hamas not only killed hostages over the weekend but also changed some of the terms of the exchange, he said.

Kirby said that talks were continuing from the negotiators' home countries but that no follow-up common meeting had been planned in a single location as had taken place in the past weeks in Cairo and Doha.

Negotiations should continue
“I can't speak to the in the motivation to murder those hostages, but we still believe that as tragic as that was, and it certainly was tragic, that the ceasefire negotiations can and should continue,” he said.

There is now point-to-point “communication between us and our counterparts in Qatar and Egypt and, of course, Israel, to try to still see if we can move this thing forward,” he said.
A hollow peace? Cairo facilitated weapons smuggling to Hamas
Israel has uncovered 180 tunnels under the Philadelphi Corridor, Gaza’s strategic border with Sinai. Observers say those tunnels served as 24-hour weapons supply lines for Hamas, not just under the watchful eyes of Egypt, but with its willing assistance.

The revelation of Egyptian complicity raises troubling questions about Israel’s purported ally.

“The feeling in Jerusalem now is that Egypt is ungrateful,” Yoni Ben Menachem, Middle East intelligence analyst for the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs (JCFA), said on Thursday.

Israel helped Egypt in its campaign against the Islamic State in Sinai. It allowed Cairo to double its forces in the peninsula, far more than allowed by the 1979 Israel-Egypt peace treaty. Israel even conducted bombing raids against the Islamic State at Egypt’s request. In 2014, Israel intervened on behalf of Egypt with the U.S. to ensure American aid continued.

“Now it turns out that the Egyptians have been playing a double game,” Ben Menachem told JNS. “They’ve been letting Hamas smuggle weapons for many years, especially after [Egyptian President] Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi came to power 10 years ago,” he said.

Smuggling isn’t only through the tunnels, he added, but through the Rafah border crossing, thanks to the bribing of senior Egyptian officials.

Smuggling is big business for the Egyptians, a multibillion-dollar industry. Mahmoud el-Sisi, the president’s son and deputy head of the Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate, is heavily involved, having partnered with businessman Ibrahim al-Organi. A Le Monde profile in May reported that al-Organi has controlled entries and exits across the border for a decade. He is nicknamed the “King of the Rafah crossing.”

Early in his regime, President el-Sisi fought smuggling, viewing Hamas as a threat. The terrorist group, a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, which is outlawed in Egypt, had targeted Egypt at the time, sending its members to Sinai to train Islamic State terrorists. It participated in terrorist attacks in Egypt—the most well-known being the assassination of Egypt’s chief prosecutor, Hisham Barakat, in 2015—a joint attack with the Muslim Brotherhood and Islamic State, Ben Menachem said.

When current Hamas paramount leader Yahya Sinwar was elected the organization’s Gaza chief in 2017, Cairo saw an opportunity. Egyptian intelligence head Abbas Kamel visited Gaza and cut a deal with Hamas. The latter agreed to stop attacking Egypt in exchange for the opening of the Rafah crossing 24 hours a day. “Egypt opened the Arab world to them,” Ben Menachem said.

One of the reasons that the Egyptians are siding with Hamas over the group’s demand that Israel leave the Philadelphi Corridor is that they worry that Hamas will rejoin the Muslim Brotherhood and the Islamic State, he said.
FDD: ICC Prosecutor Defends Seeking Arrest Warrants for Israeli Leaders
Latest Developments
The International Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor Karim Khan defended his decision to file a request for the court to issue arrest warrants for Israeli leaders alongside leaders of Hamas during a nearly an hour-long interview with the BBC on September 4. Speaking on the show “Political Thinking” with BBC presenter Nick Robinson, Khan said that the request was aligned with the court’s responsibility to hold all violators of war crimes accountable. Khan compared his request for arrest warrants on Israeli officials to the warrant issued for Russian President Vladimir Putin for Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine. “If one had applied for warrants in relation to Israeli officials and not for Gaza, [some would] say: ‘well, this is an obscenity’ and ‘how on earth is that possible?” Khan said. “You can’t have one approach for countries where there’s support, whether it’s NATO support, European support [and] powerful countries behind you, and a different approach where you have clear jurisdiction.”

Khan announced that he was seeking arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on May 20, along with three Hamas leaders, including Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar and two others who have already been killed by Israel — Muhammad Deif and Ismail Haniyeh. So far, the court has not issued the arrest warrants, prompting Khan to urge the ICC judges to speed up their decision, saying in an August 23 court filing that “Any unjustified delay in these proceedings detrimentally affects the rights of victims.” On September 3, Haaretz reported that Israeli Justice Ministry officials believed that the ICC would issue arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant in the coming days or weeks.

Expert Analysis
“Karim Khan’s prosecution of Netanyahu and Gallant is a dangerous abuse of the ICC, politics masquerading as a legal proceeding. It is contrary to the facts, international law, and the ICC’s own charter. Khan’s baseless request for arrest warrants for officials of Israel — which is not an ICC member, is committed to compliance with the law of war, and robustly self-polices alleged abuses by its armed forces — sets a dangerous precedent for officials of the United States, which is also not a member, is committed to compliance with the law of war, and robustly self-polices alleged abuses by its armed forces.” — Orde Kittrie, FDD Senior Fellow

“This is lawfare to help Hamas, not adherence to international law. The claims are baseless, the jurisdiction is non-existent, and the request should be rejected by the ICC. If a kangaroo court can make up accusations and illegitimately come after Israel, it can do the same to the United States, too.” — Richard Goldberg, FDD Senior Advisor

Khan’s Allegations Against Israeli Officials
In his announcement earlier this year, Khan alleged that Netanyahu and Gallant were responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, accusing Israel of intentionally using starvation as a method of warfare and intentionally directing attacks against Gaza’s civilian population. The United States is also not a member of the ICC. The ICC is a “court of last resort,” authorized by its charter to proceed only in the event that a nation’s authorities are unwilling or unable to prosecute alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity by its own forces. Khan himself has explicitly recognized that “Israel has trained lawyers who advise commanders and a robust system intended to ensure compliance with international humanitarian law.”

Congress Requests ICC Sanctions
Khan’s accusations were widely panned by officials of Israel and its allies. Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin said that the request was “one of the greatest moral disgraces in human history,” adding that its purpose was “to deny Israel the right of self-defense.” Separately, President Joe Biden called the warrant request “outrageous,” and Secretary of State Antony Blinken questioned the investigation’s “legitimacy and credibility.” On June 4, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 247-155 to impose sanctions on the ICC and, in a bipartisan letter to Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, urged the Biden administration to impose sanctions on Khan and “any other officials who have demonstrated undue bias in their actions.”

Independently, experts have also assessed the allegations against the Israeli leaders as false. A scientific study published on June 2 by a group of Israeli academics and public health officials concluded that food shipments to Gaza were enough to feed the enclave’s entire population of 2.4 million and that the average calories supplied exceeded recommended averages for daily nutritional intake.
A letter to John Dugard: Time to recognize Hamas's violations of int'l law
This is not apartheid
All this, dear John, is not apartheid.

One does not need to turn to the provisions of international law to know that Israel is a democracy for all its citizens, and, in fact, the only democracy in the Middle East.

Anyone attempting to charge Israel with apartheid is simply engaged in slander.

I am sure you are familiar with ancient history and do not attempt to deny, as some Arab leaders do, that there was a Temple in Jerusalem; that kings David and Solomon lived and ruled there; and that the prophets predicted the return of Jewish sovereignty to its ancient homeland.

However, you appear to be ignoring something fundamental – Israel’s right to self-defense. The Jewish state has been the target of war and aggression since its birth in 1948, with Arabs waging at least four wars against it with the aim of destroying it.

Under international law, Israel is entitled to defend itself. Your attempt to twist it all around and charge Israel with genocide is simply unfounded.

John, as a long-standing student of international law, it is astonishing that you have lost your way. It is time you stop endorsing Nazi-like genocide and recognize that Israel has been the victim of brutal aggression, which it is entitled to combat and defeat.

Israel has repeatedly offered to make peace with the Palestinians, to compromise with them, and to back their right to self-determination – as long as they agree to acknowledge Israel’s existence and live in peace. Yet, time and again, none of Israel’s efforts, from 1948 to the present, have been successful.

The Palestinians are, today, intent on abolishing the Jewish state and replacing it with a Palestinian one. And while the saying goes, “It takes two to make peace,” when one party has never even conceded the existence of the other, there is little room for compromise and concession.

I think it is time to be candid with yourself and the world and recognize that Hamas has consistently violated international law – while Israel has sought to act in accordance with its principles.

John, it is not too late for you, as an authority on international law, to seek to promote the principles of that code regarding Hamas while there is still time.


American-Turkish activist killed by Israeli forces at West Bank protest
American-Turkish human rights activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, succumbed to her wounds on Friday after being shot in the head by Israeli forces during a weekly protest against settlement expansions in the West Bank, according to Palestinian Authority-run news outlet Wafa.

During the weekly protest in Beita, south of Nablus in the West Bank, IDF soldiers opened fire at the protesters using live ammunition, the report noted. Eygi was subsequently critically wounded in the head. The 26 years old activist was evacuated to Rafida Hospital in Nablus, where she later died.

Fouad Nafaa, the head of the Rafidia Hospital, told Reuters that a woman arrived at the hospital in a very critical condition with a serious head injury.

"We tried to perform a resuscitation operation on her, but unfortunately, she died," he said.

Wafa’s report noted that the IDF used live ammunition, stun grenades, and tear gas in an attempt to disperse the protest in Beita, which, in addition to fatally wounding Eygi, caused shrapnel to injure an 18-year-old Palestinian.

Eygi was part of the Faz'a campaign, which supports Palestinian farmers against military and settler violations. Additionally, similar to Rachel Corrie, who was killed in Rafah in 2003 while attempting to interfere with IDF operations, Eygi was a member of the International Solidarity Movement, a Palestinian-led movement.
IDF destroys explosives lab hidden under mosque in Jenin counterterrorism operation
The military, Shin Bet, and Border Police forces have eliminated and apprehended numerous terrorists, dismantled booby traps, and conducted aerial strikes in Jenin, the IDF reported Friday morning.

Terrorist Wassem Hazem, Hamas' terror organization head in Jenin, was killed after directing explosive and shooting attacks in the area, as well as numerous terror attacks in the West Bank.

Over the last week and a half, this joint operation has led to the elimination of 14 terrorists, the detainment of over 30 suspects, and approximately 30 explosives planted under roadways were dismantled.

Terror infrastructure was destroyed
Several sites for terrorist infrastructure were destroyed, including a weaponry storehouse and a lab used for manufacturing explosives located under a mosque.

IDF troops also confiscated a large amount of weapons.

The IDF plans to continue their counterterrorism operation in Jenin, the military said.


ISA data: Significant spike in terror attacks foiled in Judea and Samaria
ISA data: Significant spike in terror attacks foiled in Judea and Samaria Attempted terror attacks rise from 53 to 90 from July to August, with shooting attacks, car bombings, and even the first suicide bombing in years.

There has been a significant spike in the number of terrorist attacks that have been foiled in Judea and Samaria, according to ISA data published Friday morning in the Israel Hayom newspaper.

The number of significant attacks remained high but largely stayed the same, with 25 such attacks in August compared to 24 in July. The number of overall attacks that were foiled rose from 53 in July to 90 in August, an increase of 37 attacks over the previous month. Most of the attacks carried out were shooting attacks, but two were bombing attacks, one was an incendiary attack, and for the first time in about two decades - one failed suicide bombing in Tel Aviv.

The rise in incidents shows the strong desire of the terrorists to carry out attacks. Gush Etzion and Mount Hebron are still recovering from their most difficult week since the Second Intifada following the murder of three police officers in a shooting attack and two car bombings that caused minor injuries.

The security establishment estimates that most of the terrorism comes from Shechem (Nablus) and the IDF has begun to change the nature of its activity in that area in response.

It is estimated that the biggest threat in the current terror wave is the car bombs, and that the terrorists are looking for "attractive" targets to carry out serious attacks, such as school buses carrying children, as was believed to have been the target of the car bomb discovered near Ateret earlier this week.
Seth Frantzman: IDF division eliminates 200 terrorists in the Rafah area
The Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) 162nd Division, which has been operating in Rafah since May, eliminated 200 terrorists in a week of fighting, the IDF said on September 4. The division is the main unit securing the southern Gaza border area near Egypt.

The IDF entered Rafah in May after Palestinian terrorists launched projectiles at IDF troops in Kerem Shalom. The advance followed several months in which Israeli political leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, had vowed to enter Rafah and take control of Gaza’s border with Egypt. This area, known as the Philadelphi Corridor, is around 8.7 miles long and has long been used by Hamas to control smuggling routes and goods entering Gaza.

On September 4, Netanyahu stated that the Philadelphi Corridor became completely porous after Israel left Gaza in 2005. “This border, once we left our side of the Philadelphi Corridor, rockets went in, missiles went in, drones went in, ammo went in, weapons manufacturing equipment came in, tunnel drilling equipment came in,” he said. Netanyahu also said he is resolved to have Israel keep control of the key route. Hamas has demanded that the IDF withdraw from the area as part of any hostage and ceasefire deal.

Hamas had a brigade of fighters in Rafah and along the border prior to the IDF’s operation in May. The IDF defeated this “Rafah Brigade” in early August after about three months of fighting. However, the IDF’s recent description of operations by the 162nd Division illustrates that the terrorists continue to have a presence in Rafah.

The 162nd has been operating in an area called Tel al-Sultan, which is next to Rafah. “Over the past week, the troops of the 401st Brigade have been conducting precise, intelligence-based operations in the Tel al-Sultan area, as part of the 162nd Division’s operations in Rafah. To date, the troops have eliminated over 200 terrorists and located dozens of weapons in civilian structures during the operations,” the IDF said on September 4.

Israeli soldiers have faced sniper attacks and additional threats and found rocket launchers and large quantities of weapons in buildings. The number of rockets fired by various groups in Gaza has vastly declined from the opening days of the war. Nevertheless, 116 rockets were fired from Gaza at Israel in August, according to Israel’s official data.


Israeli film brings shock of Oct. 7 and aftermath to Venice film fest
Just a month before the first anniversary of the Hamas October 7 attacks on Israel and the start of the war in Gaza, Israeli filmmakers have brought the horrors of the conflict to the Venice Film Festival.

“Of Dogs And Men” was filmed on location in a kibbutz that was targeted by Palestinian terrorists on October 7, following a teenage girl seeking her dog that she had lost during the assault she herself had survived days before.

War broke out on October 7 when Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 251.

Confronting the aftermath of the massacre in her own shattered community, she witnesses, at a distance, the tragedy unfolding across the border fence in Gaza as Israeli forces pound the coastal enclave.

Speaking before Friday’s world premiere of his movie, director Dani Rosenberg dismissed suggestions it might be too soon to be making a fictional film out of the conflict that is still raging in the Gaza Strip.

“I felt very strongly that it was the right time to tell the story,” he told Reuters. “I think it’s our job, as filmmakers, to open a window onto reality in order, perhaps, to allow for a ray of humanity to enter.”

On the first day of the festival, more than 300 filmmakers, actors, writers and musicians published a letter condemning the inclusion of “Of Dogs And Men” and another Israeli film, “Why War,” saying Israeli production houses were complicit in the “oppression of Palestinians.”

Rosenberg shrugged off the boycott call, saying those who had signed the letter had not even seen his film.

“Ultimately, my aspiration is for the war to end and their aspiration is also for the war to end, meaning, in that sense, that we share the same goal. I just don’t agree with their way of promoting it.”


Celebrities demand US arms embargo on Israel, alleging human rights violations
A celebrity activist group formed in the first weeks of the Israel-Hamas war to call for a stop to the fighting embarked on a new campaign Thursday demanding that the United States stop supplying weapons to Israel, citing “grave human rights violations.”

The Artists4Ceasefire group launched the initiative alongside non-profits Oxfam America, ActionAID, and Children in Conflict.

“Our demand is simple — our elected leaders must enforce existing US and international humanitarian laws,” said actor Mark Ruffalo, a leader of the group, according to Variety.

Other public faces of the campaign were actors Ilana Glazer, Mahershala Ali and Cynthia Nixon.

The activists specifically cited American and international law banning the supply of weapons for “striking schools or hospitals, restricting humanitarian aid, [or] killing children.”

The Hamas terror group, in its war against Israel, frequently uses schools, hospitals, and other civilian sites as bases of operation, leading to regular strikes on those sites when they’re used to launch attacks on Israeli forces. Israel denies ever targeting civilians.


Israel's hostage deal revolt & the hypocrisy of Britain's arms embargo
Thousands of protestors have taken to the streets in Israel calling for Netanyahu to accept a ceasefire and return the hostages. So far Israel's Prime Minister has blocked any deal which would involve removing the IDF from the Philedephi corridor - the short border between Egypt and Gaza. With over 53 per cent of the population in support of prioritising hostages over the Philedephi corridor, will Netanyahu remain defiant? Natasha Feroze speaks to editor of the Jewish Chronicle Jake Wallis Simons and urban war expert John Spencer about the negotiations and the hypocrisy behind Britain's partial arms embargo to Israel.


The Commentary Magazine Podcast: Walzing with Hamas
Hosted by Abe Greenwald, Christine Rosen, John Podhoretz & Matthew Continetti
Donald Trump talks about the economy while Tim Walz says pro-Hamas protestors are right to protest and Israel is defending itself in the wrong way even though it supposedly has the right to defend itself. And we conclude our week-long discussion of our own Christine Rosen’s very important new book, The Extinction of Experience.


Ritchie Torres Slams Marc Lamont Hill for Supporting ‘Violence’ Against Israel, Dismissing ‘Demilitarized’ Palestinian State
US Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) slammed professor and Al Jazeera host Marc Lamont Hill after the latter, a prominent anti-Israel activist, criticized the congressman’s advocacy for the creation of a “demilitarized” Palestinian state and expressed support for terrorist violence against the Jewish state.

“Marc Lamont Hill went into a tirade against me for calling for a nonviolent demilitarized Palestinian state,” Torres wrote on X/Twitter.

On Thursday, Torres shared a video of Hill in which the pundit criticized the representative for insisting that Israel is “an innocent nation-state surrounded by Hezbollah, Hamas, [and] the Houthis,” all of which are internationally designated terrorist organizations backed by Iran. Hill also lambasted Torres’s support for a “demilitarized” Palestinian state, arguing that this would leave the Palestinians “under the literal gun of the Israeli military.”

“We’re talking about occupation, my friend,” Hill said in reference to Torres.

Hill continued, defending violence by Palestinian terrorist groups against Israel. Hill insisted that Palestinians “absolutely” need to engage in violence against the Jewish state, claiming that peaceful tactics will never help them achieve freedom and independence.

“You keep talking about the ‘Free Palestine movement’ as if it’s bound up in violence, as if an oppressed and occupied people don’t have a right to resist,” Hill continued. “I’m not going to adopt a respectability politics that says, \somehow, we can only support Palestinians if they say they’re non-violent.’ Sometimes you’ve got to be violent. When you’re fighting an oppressive, violent state you absolutely have to be violent. Hugs and flowers don’t get you freed from an apartheid ethnostate, just saying.”

Torres responded in apparent astonishment, questioning if Hill supports the indiscriminate slaughter of Israeli civilians by terrorist groups as a means to achieve Palestinian political goals.

“He insists Palestinians ‘absolutely’ have a right to be violent. Does that right to violence extend to the execution of the six hostages by Hamas? Does it include the abduction of an infant? The kidnapping of a Holocaust survivor? He dismisses any rejection of violence as ‘respectability politics.'”

Torres went on to say that Western anti-Israel activists encourage Palestinians to engage in counterproductive behavior which only perpetuates their immiseration.

“The Western anti-Zionists, glorifying violence from the comfort of their ivory towers, are doing an irreparable disservice to the very Palestinians they claim to champion,” Torres concluded.

Hill has a long history of peddling anti-Israel narratives and calling for explicit violence against the Jewish state.




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