Thursday, September 12, 2024

09/12 Links Pt1: Harris' support for Palestinian state rewards terrorism; ICJ refuses SA delay; IDF names three Hamas-UNRWA terrorists killed in Gaza airstrike

From Ian:

Benjamin Weinthal: Harris' support for Palestinian state rewards terrorism, experts warn
Vice President Harris’ endorsement of a Palestinian state during and prior to her debate with former President Trump would further destabilize the Middle East and bring about additional terrorism, according to Israeli and American experts.

During Tuesday's presidential debate on ABC, the Democrat presidential candidate reiterated her support for a two-state solution: "I will always give Israel the ability to defend itself, in particular as it relates … to Iran and any threat that Iran and its proxies pose to Israel. But we must have a two-state solution where we can rebuild Gaza, where the Palestinians have security, self-determination and the dignity they so rightly deserve."

The two-state solution means an independent Palestinian state on Israel’s borders that encompasses the West Bank territory (known in Israel by its biblical name of Judea and Samaria) and the Gaza Strip. Biden faced intense criticism in February for ignoring the outbreak of Palestinian terrorism in Judea and Samaria while singling out Israeli residents of the region for sanctions.

Vice President Harris speaks during the presidential debate in Philadelphia on Sept. 10, 2024. (Doug Mills/New York Times/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Trump’s former ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, told Fox News Digital, "After Oct. 7th, the two-state became a dead letter. A Palestinian state between Israel and Jordan will destabilize both countries and bring only additional terror and misery."

Friedman, who authored the new book, "One Jewish State: The Last, Best Hope to Resolve the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict," added, "Vice President Harris should stop parroting failed theories and trying to force a square peg into a round hole. She should empower Israel to reach a just and workable solution on its own and not interfere in matters where she is neither competent nor well-informed."

In early September, Friedman blasted Biden on Fox News' "Your World" for creating rifts within Israeli society. Kamala Harris Benjamin Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets Vice President Harris at the White House on July 25, 2024. (Amos Ben-Gershom (GPO)/Handout/Anadolu/via Getty Images)

Jonathan Conricus, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies who served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for 24 years as a combat commander and spokesperson, told Fox News Digital, "The so-called two-state solution may have been possible to implement 31 years ago, but four straight Palestinian rejections of Israeli peace offers have made it clear that the current Palestinian leadership does not aspire to end the conflict and achieve peace. Palestinian rejectionism has also eroded the political support for the peace process in Israel, since it has become abundantly clear that the Palestinian leadership does not seek peace."

According to Conricus, "Polling of the Palestinian population in Gaza and Palestinian Authority-controlled areas shows clear popular Palestinian support for Hamas, signaling that the Palestinian population supports the genocidal vision of annihilating Israel through jihad, as demonstrated by Hamas on Oct. 7. Global leaders would do well to listen to the two parties to the conflict to understand how the situation has changed and adapt diplomatic solutions to current possibilities. And whatever the outcome of the Oct. 7 war that Hamas waged against Israel, giving Hamas the ultimate prize of statehood would be devastating for regional stability and peace and for American global standing. Terror must not be awarded with statehood."

Joel Rubin, former deputy assistant secretary of state and Democrat strategist, told Fox News Digital, "The two-state solution is on life support right now, but just because this is a difficult moment to envision a peaceful endgame between Israel and the Palestinians that’s rooted in diplomatic compromise, that does not mean it should not be the goal. After all, Israel fought multiple existential wars with Egypt and then, only years after the Yom Kippur War, concluded a peace deal that has held and provided Israel with deep security along its southern border for more than four decades. That is what a two-state solution is all about: Ending the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians in a manner that provides stability and security for the long haul."
ICJ refuses SA request to delay date to submit evidence of alleged genocide in Gaza
The International Court of Justice in The Hague has refused South Africa's request to postpone the deadline to submit evidence showing the alleged genocide, Israeli media reported on Thursday.
‘State of Palestine’ takes seat in UN General Assembly despite lack of full membership
Palestinians took a seat among member states at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, a new right accorded to the Palestinian Authority’s delegation despite it not being a full member of the body.

In May, an overwhelming majority of the General Assembly asserted that Palestinians deserved full membership, a move that has been blocked by the United States, which along with Israel says recognition of Palestinian statehood must come through a peace agreement.

The General Assembly granted the delegation certain new rights in a resolution, which still excludes it from being able to vote or be a member of the Security Council.

Starting with the 79th General Assembly session, which began Tuesday, the Palestinians can submit proposals and amendments, and sit among member states.

The Palestinian Authority’s envoy to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, took his place on Tuesday afternoon at a table marked “State of Palestine” between Sri Lanka and Sudan.

“This is not merely a procedural matter. This is a historic moment for us,” said Egyptian Ambassador Osama Mahmoud Abdelkhalek Mahmoud.

Just as during the resolution’s adoption, Israel denounced the move.

“Any decision and or action that improves the status of the Palestinians, either in the UN General Assembly or bilaterally, is currently a reward… for terrorism in general and the Hamas terrorists in particular,” said Jonathan Miller, deputy Israel ambassador to the United Nations.


Biden-Harris Admin Under Pressure To Expedite Hamas Financing Report in Wake of Hostage Execution
As Hamas continues to foment terror against Israel, including the brutal slaughter last week of six hostages, the Biden-Harris administration is facing pressure to expedite the release of a congressionally mandated report detailing the terror group's financial channels.

Rep. Bryan Steil (R., Wis.), a member of the House Financial Services Committee, is pressing the Treasury Department to release a much-anticipated report on Hamas's financial channels and U.S. efforts to disrupt these networks.

The report is meant to help legislators identify Hamas's major funding channels, including those tracing back to Iran, so that they can sculpt sanctions and other measures that disrupt the terror group's financial lifelines. While the administration has until October 21 to furnish the report, Steil says it should come sooner as a result of Hamas's ongoing terror campaign.

"This report is a critical first step to denying Hamas the funds it will continue to spend on terrorism," Steil wrote Thursday to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, according to a copy of the letter obtained by the Washington Free Beacon. "Recent events underscore the urgency of identifying the sources of financing to Hamas and taking clear and decisive steps to disrupt their illicit financial flows and their ability to finance armed hostilities."

Hamas is estimated to spend anywhere from $100 million to $350 million annually on its military budget, and the terror group's top leaders are worth billions, running the militant group's operations from luxury hotels in Qatar. The organization is funded, armed, and directed by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, which provides the logistics and cash needed to fuel war against Israel.

While the Biden-Harris administration has issued several tranches of fresh sanctions on Hamas in the wake of the group's Oct. 7 terror spree on Israel, Hamas is believed to have raised an additional $500 million in recent months by stealing humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip and reselling it on the black market.

As the terror group continues to prove that it can pay for terrorism, Steil and other lawmakers are eagerly awaiting the Treasury Department's report so that they can begin working to disrupt the cash flow.

"Recently, Hamas viciously murdered Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an American citizen, and five other hostages, as Israeli forces closed in on their location," the lawmaker wrote. "This recent act of violence has made it abundantly clear that we need to do more to put pressure on Hamas and its sponsors to get hostages home and put an end to these atrocities."
Why ABC’s Linsey Davis’ Israel-Hamas War Question at Harris-Trump Debate Was Appalling
What is it about Western media journalists and legitimizing Hamas numbers and figures?

ABC broadcast journalist and Trump-Harris debate moderator Linsey Davis may appear professional and well-composed, but there’s more than meets the eye.

One of the hot-button issues brought forth in the Tuesday night debate was the candidates’ position on the Israel-Hamas war and how they would negotiate an end to it. Davis posed the following question to Harris first:
In December you said, “Israel has a right to defend itself” but you added, “It matters how.” Saying international humanitarian law must be respected, Israel must do more to protect innocent civilians. You said that nine months ago. Now an estimated 40,000 Palestinians are dead. Nearly 100 hostages remain. Just last week Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there’s not a deal in the making. President Biden has not been able to break through the stalemate. How would you do it?

Let’s break this down, and evaluate what is inherently wrong and biased or leading about this.

The 40,000 figure Gazan death toll
The fact that Davis did not credit the 40,000 death toll figure to Hamas is obvious. She also did not make a distinction that even Western media tends to make – Hamas numbers never differentiate between civilians and terrorists. Further, she is implying that the IDF targets innocent civilians, and by pressing Harris on an update of her stance on the issue after nine months of continued war and death, she places most of the fault on Israel rather than Hamas.

So, why is it important to clarify that these are Hamas numbers and, therefore, are unreliable?

Because Hamas, as a terror organization, has a history of inflating numbers and cannot be trusted. One example came as recently as Monday. Hamas claimed 40 dead civilians as a result of an Israeli strike. The strike targeted three senior Hamas commanders directly involved in the October 7 massacre. They were conveniently embedded in a designated humanitarian zone. However, after rolling out the initial number, Hamas later revised it to “at least 19.”

Suggesting that Israel does not do enough to protect civilians
Saying international humanitarian law must be respected, Israel must do more to protect innocent civilians. You said that nine months ago. Now an estimated 40,000 Palestinians are dead.

Let’s focus a bit more on the insinuation here.

This is a biased and misleading question. Davis is implying that Israel isn’t respecting or abiding by international humanitarian law. But it is. In fact, the IDF does more than necessary.

When urban military experts like John Spencer as well as lawyers corroborate this, who is this American journalist to suggest Israel is not doing enough to prevent civilian casualties to an audience of approximately 67 million viewers?

Moreover, suggesting that the onus of civilian deaths and continuation of the war belongs to Israel alone is dangerous and despicable. What about Hamas? They could have continued the ceasefire nine months ago by releasing the rest of the hostages under the previous deal.

But they didn’t.


Biden ‘outraged’ over death of US citizen during Samaria riot
U.S. President Joe Biden expressed “outrage” on Wednesday over last week’s accidental killing of an American-Turkish dual citizen during a riot near Nablus (Shechem) in Samaria.

“I am outraged and deeply saddened by the death of Aysenur Eygi. Aysenur was a recent U.S. college graduate. She was also an activist whose idealism led her to travel to the West Bank to peacefully protest the expansion of settlements. The shooting that led to her death is totally unacceptable,” a White House statement read.

“Israel has acknowledged its responsibility for Aysenur’s death, and a preliminary investigation has indicated that it was the result of a tragic error resulting from an unnecessary escalation. The U.S. government has had full access to Israel’s preliminary investigation, and expects continued access as the investigation continues, so that we can have confidence in the result,” added the statement.

An initial Israel Defense Forces probe found that 26-year-old Eygi was “with high probability” struck by “indirect and unintended IDF fire, which was aimed at a main instigator” during clashes, according to the military.

“The incident occurred during a violent gathering of dozens of Palestinian suspects, who burned tires and threw stones at forces at the Beita Junction,” added the IDF.

Eygi was an activist with the anti-Israel International Solidarity Movement.


Top U.S. diplomat says Israeli response to West Bank killings of Americans is ‘unsatisfactory’
Stephanie Hallett, the deputy chief of mission at the U.S. embassy in Israel, described Israel’s response to the killing of two U.S. citizens in the West Bank as “unsatisfactory,” during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Wednesday.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) pressed Hallett, during the hearing, about the recent shootings of two 17-year-old American citizens in the West Bank, Mohammad Khdour and Tawfic Abdel Jabbar, allegedly by Israeli fire. Van Hollen said that he believes the State Department is not “actively pursuing” the cases and “has not taken sufficient action to hold individuals accountable for the killings of American citizens.”

“It’s my understanding from the Israeli government that those investigations are ongoing,” Hallett said. “I know that’s unsatisfactory, it is to us in the embassy as well, and I assure you that we will continue to ask and demand accountability and a full investigation.” She was appearing before the committee for a confirmation hearing for her nomination to be the U.S. ambassador to Bahrain.

Hallett added that she agreed with recent comments by Secretary of State Tony Blinken, following the killing of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a Turkish-American activist in the West Bank, that Israeli security forces have used excessive force in the West Bank and turned a blind eye to settler attacks.

Hallett said that Israel’s rules of engagement in the West Bank “warrants further attention and discussion from us at the embassy and from the administration.”

Also during the hearing, Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID), the top Republican on the panel, accused the State Department of stonewalling requests from both Republicans and Democrats for information about long-suspended Iran envoy Rob Malley, who is under federal investigation.

Risch said Republicans are blocking votes on State Department nominees in response to the State Department’s failure to provide the requested information about Malley and other inquiries. Risch has also previously linked a blockade of committee business to Senate Democrats’ refusal to call a vote on International Criminal Court sanctions legislation.

“This committee should not and cannot rubber stamp nominees while State continues to be unresponsive to oversight requests,” Risch said. “This is unconscionable … We are entitled to this information.”

He said that the lack of information about Malley is part of a broader pattern of obstructionism from State and other agencies, and that blocking nominees is Republicans’ “only recourse.”
Gazan 'journalist' reveals he is actually a terrorist during IDF interrogation
A Gazan named Amro Abu Rida, who claimed to be a journalist, was arrested for his involvement in the October 7 massacre, and during an IDF interrogation, it was revealed that he was actually a terrorist, KAN news reported on Wednesday night.

In his interrogation, Rida said that he was an operative of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terror organization and admitted to kicking the body of one of the hostages, the KAN report added.

Until now, campaigns on social media have been calling for Rida's release from prison, including media outlets such as Al Jazeera, which reportedly accused Israel of kidnapping the journalist.

According to the report, Rida explained during his interrogation with the IDF that he had the role of a military operative in the PFLP terror group.

Rida also said that he mostly served as a field documenter for the terror group, as he filmed and edited videos of terror activities. However, Rida also reportedly confessed to participating in ambushes against the IDF while troops operated in the Gaza Strip.

An active participant in the October 7 attacks
On October 7, Rida participated in an attack in front of Kibbutz Nir Oz. The IDF has documentation of him shooting in an incident in which soldiers fell and were taken hostage.

Additionally, according to the KAN report, Rida's brother was found to have participated in the kidnapping of the Bibas family members, who included 9-month-old Kfir and 4-year-old Ariel.

During Rida's arrest back in February, he was found outside of the Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, and when attempting to flee the area, he reportedly posed as an innocent civilian.

After the IDF besieged the hospital, Rida was captured.


IDF names three Hamas-UNRWA terrorists killed in Gaza airstrike
The Israel Defense Forces on Thursday named nine terrorists who were killed in an airstrike the previous day on a school-turned-Hamas command base, including some whom the U.N. Relief and Works Agency had claimed were providing assistance to displaced Palestinians.

The Israeli Air Force said on Wednesday it had struck “terrorists who were operating a command-and-control center in an area previously used by the Al-Jaouni school in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip.

“Ahead of the attack, many steps were taken to reduce the possibility of harm to civilians,” the IDF said in a statement, accusing Hamas of violating international humanitarian law by hiding in civilian infrastructures.

Following the airstrike, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry reported 14 deaths, and UNRWA said six of those killed were employed by the agency.

The IDF said on Thursday that as soon as UNRWA’s allegations surfaced, the military “contacted the agency for details and names in order to examine the allegation in-depth.” However, as of Thursday, the U.N. agency failed to respond “despite repeated requests.”

So far, Israel has identified nine Hamas terrorist operatives killed in the strike, at least three of whom doubled as UNRWA staffers: Muhammad Adnan Abu Zaid, Yasser Ibrahim Abu Sharar and Iyad Matar.

UNRWA on Wednesday denounced the Nuseirat strike as “endless and senseless killing,” claiming the aerial attack caused “the highest death toll among our staff in a single incident.”

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres also weighed in, calling the strike on the Hamas command center unacceptable. “These dramatic violations of international humanitarian law need to stop now,” he said.

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, hit back at Guterres in an X post on Thursday, urging the U.N. chief to “carefully check who these terrorists were, what they did in the past and what they were doing when they were eliminated before making statements.

“What is ‘unacceptable’ is the fact that the U.N. secretary-general refuses to recognize reality and continues to distort it,” Danon wrote, adding that the terrorists who operated from the former UNRWA structure “are not innocent, and it is impossible for the U.N. to continue condemning Israel for its war against vile terrorists, while Hamas continues to use women and children as human shields.”


Unwilling to Be Human Shields, Some Gazans Turn Gunmen Away from Shelters
When the war forced Nasser al-Zaanin to flee his home in northern Gaza in October, he, along with his adult sons and grandchildren, moved to a school in Deir al Balah that had been turned into a shelter. He helped set up a system of committees that oversaw food, water and medical needs. They had one red line: No armed men were allowed in the compound. Residents wanted to avoid becoming a target for Israeli forces hunting down Hamas militants.

Early in the conflict, Hamas had wanted to station police officers at the compound, but Zaanin said the residents had gathered to stop that. "All the families agreed." Several other residents of school shelters in central Gaza recounted similar stories. "We will quickly kick anyone who has a gun or a rifle out of this school," said Saleh al-Kafarneh, 62, who lives at another government school in Deir al Balah and said he locked the gates at night. "We don't allow anyone to ruin life here, or cause any strike against those civilians and families."

The residents' testimonies also suggested that Hamas's grip on the enclave may be weakened by the war and that ad hoc community groups are starting to operate outside its control.


‘I did not fulfill my mission’: Commander of IDF’s 8200 intelligence unit resigns
The commander of the IDF’s Unit 8200, Brig. Gen. Yossi Sariel, notified his superiors and subordinates on Thursday that he intends to resign from his position, close to a year after Israel’s intelligence establishment failed to prevent Hamas’s October 7 onslaught.

The IDF said Sariel is due to be replaced “in the coming period.” Unit 8200 is the IDF’s main signals intelligence unit, and is among the units pointed to as playing a role in the failure to prevent October 7. Sariel entered the position in February 2021 following a long military career in intelligence.

Sariel said Thursday that he was resigning over his role in the failures leading up to the massacre, although the move comes a full 11 months following the assault, in which thousands of Hamas terrorists breached Israel’s borders and killed around 1,200 people, taking 251 captive to Gaza.

A Channel 12 report in July said that Sariel at the time was resisting any efforts to resign, saying that such a move would be tantamount to “cowardice.”

In a letter written to those under his command on Thursday, Sariel wrote that “on October 7 at 6:29 a.m. I did not fulfill my mission as I expected of myself, as my commanders and subordinates expected of me, and as the citizens of the nation I love so much expected of me.”

Sariel added that in light of such failures, “and in accordance with the state of the war,” he is seeking to “carry out my personal responsibility as the commander of 8200 and pass the baton to the next shift,” at a time seen fit by IDF authorities.
IDF declares victory over Hamas’s Rafah brigade
The Israel Defense Forces has defeated Hamas’s Rafah brigade, the military declared on Thursday after four months of targeted raids in the area of the Gaza Strip’s southernmost city near the border with Egypt.

Since the start of the Rafah operation on May 6, troops have killed more than 2,000 Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists and destroyed some eight miles of underground smuggling and attack routes, according to an Israeli army statement on Thursday evening.

“During these operations, the troops have dismantled the Rafah brigade of the Hamas terrorist organization,” the military formally declared.

In recent weeks, the IDF’s Nahal Brigade, Givati Brigade, 401st Brigade, Yahalom combat engineering unit and Shayetet 13 naval commando unit have been operating in Tel al-Sultan, western Rafah, the IDF said.

In “intelligence-based targeted” operations, troops killed more than 250 terrorists, including the commander of Hamas’s Tel al-Sultan Battalion, Mahmoud Hamdan, and most of the battalion’s chain of command.

Troops destroyed some 80% of tunnels located near and beneath the Philadelphi Corridor, the army statement noted, using the IDF’s name for the 8.5-mile-long land strip along the border with Egypt. It added that forces continue to discover and destroy underground routes.

Speaking with reporters on Thursday, 162nd Division commander Brig. Gen. Itzik Cohen declared that “four battalions have been destroyed, and we have completed operational control over the entire urban area.”

The Rafah brigade and its four battalions—Yabna (south), east Rafah, Tel al-Sultan (west) and Shaboura (north)—was the terror group’s final functioning brigade, according to past Israel military assessments.

On Aug. 21, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant during a visit to Gaza first declared that the IDF had achieved victory over the Rafah brigade.

“I came here first and foremost to express my appreciation [to the soldiers]. The IDF’s 162nd Division defeated the Rafah brigade,” the defense minister stated following a tour of the Philadelphi Corridor.

At the time, the IDF had located and destroyed around 150 tunnels, and after Gallant ordered the destruction of the remaining smuggling routes, some 50 more were blown up by the forces, Cohen said on Thursday.


Terror suspect involved in Hebron-area car bombing arrested in Halhoul hospital
In a joint operation, the IDF and Shin Bet arrested a resident of Halhoul for involvement in an August car bombing near Hebron on Thursday morning, Israeli media reported.

The car exploded in Halhoul on August 13, with Palestinian media reporting at the time that two people were injured.

The suspect was injured during the explosion and was arrested by Israeli security forces at a Halhoul hospital, where he was undergoing treatment for his wounds.

Suspect named
The suspect, named Iham al-Bo, has since been taken into the Shin Bet's custody for further investigation.

The night before the accidental explosion saw two entrapped car bombings thwarted by Israeli security forces in the Gush Etzion area.

Palestinian eyewitnesses alleged that the suspect and his friends were dressed "in costume, as women with veils," Ynet reported.


‘Israeli forces raided Iranian weapons depot in Syria’
Israel Defense Forces commandos raided a key Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps weapons facility in the Masyaf area of northwestern Syria on Sunday night, unconfirmed Arabic reports claimed on Thursday.

At least 14 people were killed and dozens wounded in a series of Israeli airstrikes in northwestern Syria late Sunday, according to state media.

Syria’s SANA news agency reported that the Israeli Air Force targeted several military sites around Masyaf.

According to Reuters, which cited two regional intelligence sources, among the sites hit was the Scientific Studies and Research Center, known as CERS or SSRC, a major military base that is believed to be responsible for research and development of nuclear, biological, chemical and missile technology and weapons.

The center is thought to house a team of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps military experts and provides logistical support to Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorists.

Thursday’s reports claimed that Israeli forces had boots on the ground during the large-scale operation. According to the reports, the facility’s access roads were targeted by fighter jets to prevent the approach of Syrian troops before helicopters carrying IDF special forces operators arrived in the area, with air support from gunship helicopters and attack drones.

The troops reportedly entered an unspecified arms depot, removed equipment and sensitive documents and then set off explosives to destroy the facility. During the heavy fighting, two to four Iranian operatives were said to have been captured by the Israeli soldiers.


I saw baby Bibas’s father behind bars in a cage, says released hostage
A freed hostage has revealed that she saw the father of Kfir Bibas – the baby taken captive by Hamas – in a cage while she was in a tunnel under Gaza.

Adina Moshe, who was released from Hamas captivity in a deal after 49 days in Gaza, said on Thursday that she saw hostages Yarden Bibas and Ofer Kalderon from Kibbutz Nir Oz in cages.

Moshe revealed the bravery of the two men; “they had confronted Hamas” she recounted, as she described the cage they held in.

In an interview with the Israel Defence Force radio station, the 72-year-old said: "There were cages there. I approached, and it was completely dark. I asked, 'Why are you in a cage?' and they said they didn’t know. When I asked if they had confronted Hamas, it turned out they had. During the abduction, they had confronted Hamas.

"I took a few steps backward, slowly, thinking: 'Let's see if the Hamas guards look away for a moment.' Ofer and Yarden told me their story. I immediately started thinking about what I could do with this information later on."

Two days later, Moshe said she asked the commander of the Hamas unit guarding them if she could speak to other hostages from Kibbutz Nir Oz.

"I told him I heard people speaking Hebrew and that they were from Nir Oz. He asked, 'From Nir Oz? How do you know?' I told him to bring them to join us. Two days later, he brought them to us for an hour, then returned them to the cage. The next day, he brought them back for two hours."

Moshe was asked by the father of two if he knew what happened to his wife, Shiri, and their sons, Kfir, who turned one in captivity, and Ariel who turned five last month.

The released hostage, who saw her husband murdered on October 7, explained Bibas’s account of Hamas’s attack: “He said he left the safe room and confronted the Hamas terrorists. Shiri and the children stayed inside. He told us, 'I really hope they didn’t get to them because the terrorists in my house captured me and took me to the meeting point at the kibbutz, and from there, they took me to Khan Younis.'

“He believed that for a long time. At some point, I asked Hamas if Shiri and the children were with them. They told me it would take time to find out. I established a good and fair relationship with Hamas from the beginning, understanding it would be in our best interest."
State of a Nation: Hope Amid Despair | With Her Cousin Omer Held Hostage, Yasmin Magal is Fighting to Save His Life
When her cousin Omer was abducted by Hamas terrorists on Oct 7, Yasmin and her family's life was thrown into unimaginable turmoil. Yasmin opens up about the personal and emotional toll of fighting to bring Omar home, the impact of international activism, and the painful backlash she has faced. From her dreams of his return to her tireless advocacy on campuses and around the world, Yasmin’s story is a powerful reminder of hope and resilience. Join us as we explore the complexities of hostage negotiations and the human impact of the ongoing struggle.

Please watch, share, and support the fight to free the hostages.
00:00 Coming Up
01:05 Monologue
02:58 Main Titles
03:12 Introduction: The Abduction of Omer.
09:18 Yasmin and the Familiy's Struggles After the Abduction
11:10 Activism and Raising Awareness for Omer
16:37 The Antisemitic Backlash
26:15 The Role of Omer's U.S. Citizenship, and the U.S.'s Role on the World Stage
30:13 Women and children first
34:27 Negotiating with evil
36:54 Emotional Toll of Watching the Abduction Videos
41:37 Yasmin's Hope for Omer’s Return


Yellow balloons flood Times Square as students demand hostage release in NYC
Hundreds of yellow balloons were released in Times Square on Thursday, along with a prayer for the release of the over 100 remaining hostages in Hamas captivity, Chabad on Campus stated.

Students reportedly traveled from campuses all over Israel to participate in the Chabad on Campus - INEXG Israel event.

Rabbi Moshe and Bracha Shailat managed the event, the statement noted.

Many of those who participated are students in New York for a leadership program. The program will reportedly enable the students to meet Jewish students in American universities like Columbia, Yale, and Harvard.


Hersh Goldberg-Polin’s parents call to keep fighting for hostages ‘before it’s too late’
The parents of slain-Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin called on Thursday for the public to keep protesting on behalf of a deal that will enable the release of the 101 people still believed to be held hostage in Gaza.

In a video published on their social media accounts, Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin appear wearing the now-distinctive masking tape on their shirts with the number “342,” to signify the number of days that have passed since the October 7 terror onslaught and since their son and many others were abducted from the Supernova music festival. Even after the death of their son, the couple have continued to wear the tape daily to mark time passing for those still being held in Gaza.

“We are still in mourning, but we are also in an emergency situation,” Jon states in the video. “We are speaking on our behalf, but also in the sweet memories of the precious souls of Hersh, Alex, Almog, Ori, Eden and Carmel.”

“Their deaths could have and should have been avoided,” he added. “People in positions of power failed them and failed us as their families. No other family should experience what we are experiencing. We must continue to act to save the remaining 101” — 97 of whom were kidnapped on October 7 and four who have been held in Gaza for a number of years.

Hersh, along with Eden Yerushalmi, Ori Danino, Alex Lobanov, Carmel Gat and Almog Sarusi, was executed in a tunnel in southern Gaza’s Rafah late last month, and his body recovered by the IDF overnight on August 31.

News of their killings just days before the IDF located their bodies sparked deep mourning across Israel and provided even greater fuel to 11 months of protests demanding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agree to a deal with Hamas that would see the release of the hostages in exchange for a ceasefire and Israel freeing jailed Palestinian security prisoners.

Netanyahu has repeatedly said — including on Thursday — that he is doing everything he can to reach a deal favorable to Israel, blaming Hamas for thwarting talks, while some families of hostages have accused the premier of stymieing a deal with unnecessary demands for political ends.


Caroline Glick: Kamala Caves to Hamas on 9/11 Anniversary
Join JNS senior contributing editor Caroline Glick as she dissects the presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.

In this episode of "In-Focus," Glick discusses how both candidates answered foreign-policy questions, especially about Israel, and highlights what viewers may have missed.

Chapters
0:00 War update and remembering Sep. 11th
3:00 US debate
9:00 Kamala responds
17:00 Rewarding Hamas
24:00 Trump fires back
32:15 Analysis


Israel Undiplomatic: Everything Wrong With the Trump/Harris Debate on Israel
In this episode of "Israel Undiplomatic," JNS senior contributing editor Ruthie Blum and Mark Regev, former Israeli ambassador to the United Kingdom—both former advisers at the Prime Minister's Office—discuss the 23-year anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the recent presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, as well as the ongoing conflicts in the Jewish state.

Has the world forgotten the lessons of the 9/11 attacks? Is Trump or Harris better suited to help Jerusalem face the Islamic terrorists in the region, including Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas? Will Israel be lost amongst all the other issues that Americans are facing this heated election season?


The Israel Guys: The Mysterious Destruction of Egyptian Towns on Israel's Border
How come no one knows why the Egyptian border cities are destroyed? What happened? All eyes are on Israel but what is going on just 2 miles to the south? The complete destruction of entire neighborhoods and cities across Egypt's northern Sinai? Hang tight for a deep dive into the mysterious destruction of Egypt’s northern Sinai


The Quad: Blowing the Lid off the BBC
In today’s season premiere, “The Quad” (Emily Schrader, Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, Shoshanna Keats Jaskoll and guest host Zina Rakhamilova) are joined by national security and foreign policy researcher Khaled Hassan, who exposed BBC for their extreme anti-Israel and pro-Hamas bias.

The Quad also discusses the controversy boiling over in Israel regarding the ongoing hostage negotiations and, of course, they reveal their Scumbags and Heroes of the Week!

Welcoming Shoshanna Keats Jaskoll, co-founder of Chochmat Nashim, as a new cohost to the Quad.

Chapters:
00:00 The Aftermath of Hostage Executions
02:52 Media Bias and International Community's Role
05:47 Protests and Public Sentiment
08:55 The Importance of Unity
12:11 Diversity in Decision-Making
14:53 BBC's Reporting and Bias
18:13 The Role of Terrorism in Media
21:05 Hope Amidst Conflict
24:00 Scumbags of the Week
28:01 Heroes of the Week


Spiked Podcast: Islamism: the enemy we dare not name
Ayaan Hirsi Ali – writer, activist and author of Prey: Immigration, Islam and the Erosion of Women’s Rights – returns to The Brendan O’Neill Show. Ayaan and Brendan discuss the hidden dangers of multiculturalism, the UK’s free-speech crisis and the rise of the Islamo-left.


TRIGGERnometry: "Gender Gets You Cancelled, Islam Gets You Killed" - Andrew Gold
Andrew Gold is a journalist and the host of YouTube channel Heretics. A former BBC presenter, Andrew produced documentaries focussing on bizarre and controversial subcultures. He now interviews free thinkers and heterodox figures on his own podcast ‪@andrewgoldheretics‬. He is the author of ‘The Psychology of Secrets: My Adventures with Murderers, Cults and Influencers’
32:48 Dangers of Islam
34:05 Thought-terminating clichés
35:19 Israel is not an apartheid state
35:56 Jews are leaving wokeism
39:02 My muslim neighbours want me dead
41:43 The stats are scary
43:45 The UK can’t deal honestly with Islamist extremism
48:02 I am nihilistic now
48:40 Are you thinking of leaving the UK?
50:47 What’s the one thing we’re not talking about?




Australia introduces new hate crime and anti-doxxing legislation amid rising antisemitism
Australia’s government introduced new hate crime legislation on Thursday that would impose criminal penalties, including jail, for offenders if they targeted a person’s race, gender, ethnic origin, religion, or sexual orientation.

The bill comes as the government responds to a rise in hate incidents following the Israel-Gaza war and follows landmark laws passed last year which banned the Nazi salute and public displays of terror group symbols.

“No Australian should be targeted because of who they are or what they believe,” Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said in a statement.

“We proudly live in a vibrant, multicultural, and diverse community which we must protect and strengthen,” Dreyfus added.

Protecting freedom on the streets and the internet
The bill proposes jail sentences of up to five years for anyone threatening to use force or violence against a group or person and if a person fears that the threat would be carried out. Offenders could get seven years in jail if the threats pose a danger to the government.

The government said it would also introduce a separate legislation on Thursday to tackle “doxxing,” the malicious release of anyone’s personal data online, threatening offenders with jail of up to six years.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in February promised to take steps to outlaw doxxing after names, social media accounts, and other personal details of hundreds of Jewish Australians were published online by anti-Israel groups.

The anti-doxxing bill would include a provision for victims to sue for “serious privacy invasions,” though journalists and intelligence agencies would be given exemptions.
"Victoria police is appalled"Anti-Israel protesters clash with police in Melbourne; 39 arrested, 24 officers injured
Anti-Israel and anti-war protesters and police clashed outside a defense exhibition in Australia’s second-largest city of Melbourne, with police using sponge grenades, flash-bang devices and irritant sprays to control parts of the hostile crowd.

A Victoria state police spokesperson said in a statement that police were pelted with rocks, horse manure and bottles filled with liquid as they tried to protect attendees of the expo, some of whom were assaulted by protesters.

Police said two dozen police officers required medical treatment and 39 people were arrested for offenses including assaulting, obstructing or hindering police, arson and blocking roads.

“Victoria police is appalled at the behavior of some of the protesters in attendance,” the police spokesperson said. “If you wish to come and protest, do so peacefully. We will not tolerate criminal behaviour.”

“Some police have been spat at by protesters, whilst other officers have been sprayed with a liquid irritant, some of which has been identified as acid.”

Protesters, organized by groups including Students for Palestine, Extinction Rebellion and Disrupt Wars, also lit fires in the street and disrupted traffic and public transportation, while objects were thrown at several police horses but no serious injuries were reported, police said.

Some 1,200 people attended the protest outside the venue hosting the biennial Land Forces International Land Defence Exposition, according to authorities.

Australian media reported it was the largest police operation in Melbourne since 2000, when the city hosted the World Economic Forum. Local police, fearing crowds of as many as 25,000 protesters, diverted resources from regional areas in anticipation.

About 1,000 exhibiting organizations from 31 countries were expected to attend the event through Friday, which the organizers said was Australia’s largest defense expo.

Some attendees were doused in a red liquid by protesters, ABC News reported.

Videos posted to social media showed many protesters chanting pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel slogans through loudspeakers and waving Palestinian flags while dumpsters were pushed toward police lines.

Dozens of people could also been heard shouting “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” a chant condemned by many as a call for the elimination of Israel.


Young woman is called out over 'absolutely appalling' act at Melbourne anti-war protests - before she sinks even lower with vile one-sentence spray
A young woman who wore clown make-up while dressed in an Australian Defence Force cadet uniform at the Melbourne anti-war protests has been slammed for disrespecting diggers.

The woman, who calls herself Nikki on social media, was one of around 1,200 anti-war demonstrators who descended on the Land Forces 2024 weapons expo at Melbourne Convention Centre on Wednesday morning.

She was filmed in the background of a live news segment, staring down the camera lens while nonchalantly eating a croissant.

Her cadet uniform was adorned with a badge that read 'Zionism is terrorism'.

At one stage, she rushed up to Sky News reporter Georgie Dickerson where she screamed: 'You are complicit in genocide!'

Her appearance in an Australian Air Force Cadets uniform sparked fury, with online commentators calling for her to be immediately kicked out of the youth military program.

'This is absolutely appalling! The behaviour on display is utterly unacceptable and deeply concerning,' seethed one person.

'Is this truly the standard of individuals the ADF is recruiting? It’s a disheartening reflection on our armed forces and a sad day for all Australians when this is the calibre of those entrusted with defending our nation.

'This kind of conduct brings shame to an institution meant to uphold the highest standards of integrity and professionalism.'




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