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Wednesday, October 16, 2024

10/16 Links Pt1: Negotiating what with whom?; Biden’s betrayal of Israel is clear weakness masquerading as policy; Netanyahu to Macron: UN didnt create Israel, ‘heroic fighters’ did

From Ian:

Negotiating what with whom?
Does Austin not think Israel is trying to do that? What would make it “possible” sooner rather than later? Does he think that talking to Hamas will do it? Just this month, U.S. officials said Hamas senior leader Yahya Sinwar is the primary impediment to a deal. And again, to be fair to Austin, he goes where the president goes, and U.S. President Joe Biden said the country is “doubling down” on negotiations.

Instead of doubling down, the administration should try a different path—one with which the secretary of defense should be familiar.

In 1939, following years of belligerence and the Anschluss, Nazi Germany launched World War II with the invasion of Poland. The Blitzkrieg followed in May 1940. Then Dunkirk, the French surrender, the Battle of Britain, Operation Barbarossa and Stalingrad. The Axis surrendered in North Africa in May 1943.

Maybe that was enough. Maybe the Allies should have sued for a negotiated settlement, offering the Germans … what? Autonomy for France and a promise never to take back Alsace? It was, after all, largely German-speaking and not terribly happy with France anyhow.

Then, the siege of Leningrad ended in the east and Italy surrendered in the west; followed by D-Day and the liberation of Paris.

Maybe that was the time to offer the Nazis a deal they could live with; after all, a lot of civilians had already been killed.

While the Soviets moved westward, the Allies moved east. The Germans launched the Battle of the Bulge in December of 1944, intending to split the Allied forces and allow the Germans to encircle the Allied armies and force them to negotiate a peace treaty in Germany’s favor.

Maybe they’d only keep half the concentration camps.

The Allies kept going and on May 7, 1945, Germany surrendered. Unconditionally. VE Day was on May 8.

President Franklin Roosevelt was a very mixed bag for Jews, to put it kindly. But on unconditional surrender, he was right, opposing half-measures for temporary quiet in Europe that might have been mistaken for “peace.”

Back to the present: Negotiations work best when the parties agree on an endgame and discuss, even acrimoniously, how to get there. Israel seeks security for its people; the removal of the military and political power of Hamas and now Hezbollah as well; and the return of the hostages. As long as Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah and friends believe the endgame is the destruction of Israel, their surrender is necessary.

There was nothing then and there is nothing now to negotiate with evil.
Biden’s betrayal of Israel is clear weakness masquerading as policy
A refresher course on how we got here is apparently necessary for a White House that seems to have forgotten.

Hamas broke a cease-fire to launch the war with Israel more than a year ago with its barbaric invasion from Gaza.

Hezbollah, in a show of support, began its daily barrage of rockets and drones the very next day, forcing more than 60,000 Israelis to evacuate from their homes along the Lebanon border.

They still can’t go home, and Israel is still taking incoming fire from all sides, with Iran playing the role of puppet master and financier.

The mullahs are also firing on Israel, yet the White House is insisting all Israeli retaliation be modest.

Indeed, Biden reportedly extracted a promise from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel’s response will not hit Iran’s oil fields or its nuclear facilities.

The argument against striking the oil fields is that taking Iran’s production off the global market would drive up prices everywhere.

The last thing Dems want is a spike in gasoline and heating oil prices as voters make their choice.

Perilous duel with Iran
The reason for the American ban on striking Iran’s nuclear facilities is less clear, although it surely reflects Biden’s constant fear of escalation.

It’s the same fear that has kept our ally Ukraine in a bloody stalemate with Russia.

Michael Oren, the former Israeli ambassador, likens the tit-for-tat limitation to a boxing strategy known as the “rope-a-dope.”

He cautions that “the knockout punch, the haymaker, is the Iranian nuclear weapon.”

Oren, writing in The Times of Israel, adds: “the only question is whether Israel is prepared to deliver ours first.”

That’s the crunch of the argument that Israel should strike the nuke plants before Iran gets a bomb and the missile to deliver it.

The clock is ticking, with some reports saying the mullahs could reach that point within weeks.

Netanyahu has often said Israel will never allow a nuclear-armed Iran because the mullahs have made it clear that eliminating Israel is their aim.

One former Iranian official even called Israel a “one bomb country,” meaning that’s all Iran would need.

Although Israel is said to be still debating how it will respond to Iran’s latest attack, it has greatly diminished both Hamas and Hezbollah and thus made Iran more vulnerable.

But Oren argues that a stalemate offers insufficient protection because Iran could throw its nuke punch without notice.

“Now is our chance to strike,” he concludes.

“We may not get another.”
Michael Oren: Israel Pays a Price for Delaying Its Retaliation against Iran
In a piece Mosaic published exactly one year ago today, Jonathan Schachter praised American military and rhetorical support for Israel, but also warned of the dangers of a “bear hug,” whereby U.S. aid becomes a tool for preventing the Jewish state from taking necessary actions to defend itself. Michael Oren fears Israel now finds itself in a similar situation in the wake of Iran’s October 1 missile attack, resulting in

a prolonged delay in Israel’s response that threatens our security no less than the missiles themselves. With each passing day of inaction, Israel’s casus belli grows weaker. If and when Israel acts, the world will scarcely remember why.

What, besides avoiding further friction with the White House, does Israel have to gain by waiting? . . . Can we use the American administration’s fear of our response to Iran to secure vital concessions from Washington?

One such concession would be the president’s agreement not to oppose Israel’s implementation of General Giora Eiland’s plan to declare northern Gaza a closed military zone and then trade territory for Hamas’s release of the hostages. Another concession would be a presidential commitment to intervene militarily against Iran’s nuclear plants once they enrich uranium above 60 percent. Yet another concession would be America’s agreement to sell us long-range strategic bombers capable of dropping 15,000 kilogram bunker-buster bombs from a height that Iran’s defenses cannot reach. Such a sale would say to the Iranians “we won’t bomb your facilities this time but we have the means to do so effectively in the future.”

In the past two days, as if to confirm Oren’s suspicions, the U.S. has begun transfer of the THAAD missile-defense system to Israel while reportedly extracting a promise that Israel will not attack Iran’s oil infrastructure or nuclear program. As to what Israel is getting in return, Washington also appears to be pressuring Jerusalem not to go through with the Eiland plan.


Ben-Dror Yemini: The main obstacle to peace: Iran's axis of evil
The recent successes of the IDF against Hezbollah have not brought calm to Israel. Any illusions that we had weakened the terrorist group's rocket launching capabilities were mistaken. A drone struck the heart of a military base, killing four soldiers and injuring dozens. The grief is overwhelming. Sirens blared in 182 communities in central Israel at once as a barrage of rockets rained down. There’s no end in sight. This has been Israel’s hardest year since its founding.

We’re told this won’t end until the Palestinian issue is resolved. There were moments when we deluded ourselves into thinking the issue had been sidelined, but it never truly disappeared. Worse yet, in the past year, the Palestinians have become a central cause for the global left, portrayed as the world’s leading victims.

Yet, by objective measures, the condition of the Palestinians — even in Gaza — was better before October 7 than the global average in terms of life expectancy, infant mortality and education. Billions in the developing world live in far worse conditions, but they don’t attract the same attention.

Some argue that peace is possible if Israel only agrees to a Palestinian state. Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and former Palestinian UN Ambassador Nasser al-Qudwa once signed a peace proposal. It didn’t cause much of a stir in Israel, though it was published in outlets like Le Monde.

Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi made a statement a little over two weeks ago, posing as dramatic: “We, the representatives of 57 Arab and Muslim states, declare our willingness to guarantee Israel’s security in the context of ending the occupation and establishing a Palestinian state.” The statement went viral. Even I received inquiries, including from friends: There’s a peace plan, they asked. Why is Israel rejecting it?

Safadi mentioned 57 states. Is he serious? One of them is Iran. Syria, Lebanon and Iraq are its proxies. Qatar is also on the list — the same country that has funded Hamas and anti-Israel incitement on campuses for years under the banner of “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” And by “free,” they mean under Islamist Hamas rule.

More importantly, the proposal Safadi referred to is the Arab Peace Initiative. But there’s a vast difference between the original Saudi initiative, which wasn’t adopted at the 2002 Beirut Summit, and the Arab Peace Initiative which was later pushed through under pressure from rejectionist states.

The Saudi plan didn’t include the so-called “right of return,” while the Arab Peace Initiative does, incorporating UN Resolution 194, which calls for the “right of return” and opposes granting citizenship to Palestinian refugees in Arab countries. These are not just words.
The Rhetoric of Misguided And False Narratives
False Equivalence: A Common Enthymeme
Another dangerous enthymeme used by Western critics of Israel, particularly in the aftermath of the October 7 attacks, can be summed up as follows:
- Unstated Premise: Both sides engage in violence.
- Stated Premise: Violence is always wrong.
- Conclusion: Therefore, both Hamas and Israel are equally wrong, and Israel’s actions are no more justified than Hamas’s.

This argument attempts to create a moral equivalence between Israel and Hamas, suggesting that both are equally culpable in the ongoing conflict. But this reasoning fails to account for the profound asymmetry between the two. Israel, as a democratic state, is bound by international law and the principles of proportionality and distinction in warfare. While no country is perfect, Israel’s military takes measures to avoid civilian casualties—such as warning residents before airstrikes—despite facing an enemy that deliberately hides behind civilians.

Hamas, by contrast, violates international law as a matter of policy. It embeds its military infrastructure in civilian areas, uses human shields, deliberately targets Israeli civilians in its attacks, and takes and murders civilian hostages. To ignore this fundamental difference and present both sides as equally culpable is to commit a fallacy of false equivalence. It is an enthymeme that resonates with Western audiences because it plays into a broader cultural aversion to violence, but it is, in essence, a manipulation of facts.

The Moral Appeal to Victimhood
One of the most pervasive rhetorical strategies employed by pro-Hamas audiences is the appeal to victimhood, which, when framed syllogistically, often looks like this:
- Premise 1: The Palestinians are victims of Israeli occupation.
- Premise 2: Victims have a moral right to fight back.
- Conclusion: Therefore, Palestinians, including Hamas, have the right to engage in violent resistance.

While it is undeniable that many Palestinians have suffered under difficult conditions, the leap from victimhood to justification of terrorism is a dangerous one. Victimhood, while deserving of empathy, does not grant carte blanche to commit atrocities. Hamas’s tactics—targeting civilians, exploiting its own population, and rejecting peace overtures—are not actions of a group seeking justice. Rather, they are the actions of an organisation committed to perpetuating violence and ensuring that peace remains elusive.

Moral relativism further exacerbates this issue. Many in the West, particularly in progressive circles, have adopted a moral relativist stance, where the lines between right and wrong become blurred, especially in conflicts like Israel-Palestine. This stance allows them to excuse Hamas’s actions as a legitimate response to Israeli policies. Yet, by doing so, they (inadvertently) condone terrorism.

Aristotle’s rhetoric reminds us that true persuasion comes from the proper alignment of logic, ethics, and emotion. In the case of pro-Hamas rhetoric, however, the emotional appeal to victimhood is disconnected from the ethical imperatives of justice and human rights, leading to a perverse justification of the obscene violence perpetrated on October 7.


Israel Has Proved Its Doubters Wrong in Gaza and Lebanon; Where Does It Go From Here?
As in any war, Israel has both explicitly defined, declared goals and implied, undeclared goals that it would like to realize as a result of the war. It is essential to stress that in the Israeli view, this is an existential war.

Post-October 7, Israel now understands that it can no longer allow hostile terrorist armies to exist on its borders waiting for the order to invade Israeli territory. When a war is existential, the goal is first to remove the threat and only then to clarify arrangements for “the day after.” This is not, after all, the American invasion of Iraq, a war that took place thousands of kilometers from US borders.

Here are Israel’s declared strategic and political goals in Operation Iron Swords:
- In Gaza: 1) To eliminate Hamas’ military power and force the collapse of its rule, with the object of bringing about a situation in which there is no longer any security threat from the Gaza Strip; and 2) to create conditions for the return of the hostages.
- In Lebanon: To return the residents of the Israeli north to their homes by destroying and pushing Hezbollah forces north of the Litani River.

However, it appears there is also an undeclared goal for the overall campaign that takes a more comprehensive and long-term view: the creation of a new regional security reality.

Israel aims to dismantle the two Iranian proxies — Hamas and Hezbollah — that threatened it on its borders, creating a ring of fire that contained the threat of ground invasion. Without these two proxies, Iran will be much weaker, and decades of investment are now going down the drain. Considering Iran’s current economic state, it is doubtful that it will be able to reinvest in its proxies on the same scale.

In Gaza, the fight against remnants of Hamas, isolated terrorist cells that continue to operate, will go on for many months and perhaps even years. The realistic goal is to hit Hamas hard enough that Gaza does not pose a greater threat than that posed by Palestinian terrorists on the West Bank. Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other organizational cells are present and active on the West Bank, but they do not pose a strategic threat. Israel will have to reach a hostage deal and thereafter to “mow the lawn” in Gaza as it is doing in the West Bank for the foreseeable future.

Israel is faced with an unresolved dilemma regarding Hamas’ control over humanitarian aid. If Israel distributes the aid, it will become the de facto force ruling Gaza, which it does not want. But if it does not act on the matter, it allows Hamas to control both the aid and the population. A solution needs to be found to this quandary.

However, Gaza is a relatively small area, and Israel currently controls the exits and entrances. It can gradually erode Hamas’ power, as the group is almost entirely unable to replenish its lost assets. Even the new fighters it is recruiting from among the local population lack the knowledge and equipment of the people Hamas has lost. Hamas has been stripped of most of its military assets and will not be able to restock them under the conditions of the Israeli closure and continuing military pressure.

One can hope that at some point, Hamas will be weak enough that an agreement can be reached with a body or agency (or a combination thereof) that will manage the Strip and maintain law and order. As of now, no body other than the IDF will agree to confront the remnants of Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Moreover, no Palestinian element is currently capable of committing to such an arrangement, even if it were willing to do so. (The Americans, who have spoken about the need for reform in the Palestinian Authority, are aware of this.)

The IDF understands that in Lebanon, unlike in Gaza, it is not possible to destroy most of the enemy’s forces. It is, however, possible to hit Hezbollah extremely hard, as the IDF has already managed to do. The IDF is capable of pushing Hezbollah north of the Litani River and destroying its infrastructure, as well as severely damaging its long-range missile and rocket array.

The undeclared goal in Lebanon is to bring Hezbollah to the point where it no longer poses a strategic threat to Israel and is unable to carry out the horror scenarios that were outlined before the current operation, which included a massive invasion of the Galilee and severe damage to army bases, critical infrastructure, ports, airports, and so on. From this point on, Israel’s test will be whether or not it can prevent Iran from rehabilitating Hezbollah.


NYPost Editorial: Antony Blinken’s Israel letter shows Dems will hurt Jews to win votes
As Israel continues to prosecute its multi-front war against Iran’s proxy armies, the Biden administration has yet again stepped in to hinder the Jewish state and aid Tehran.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin have sent a joint letter demanding the Netanyahu government take “urgent and sustained actions” to ensure humanitarian aid is getting into Gaza — giving Israel 30 days to comply, or else face possible restrictions on arms sales at a crucial moment.

It’s the usual leftist lies, of course.

Israel has been ensuring that aid flows into Gaza while Hamasniks and other Palestinian thugs steal and hoard it; in response to the administration’s latest BS, the Israeli agency that manages aid flows posted images on X proving that aid is getting in.

The letter also claims that Israel’s security requirements on aid entry are too onerous, when in fact they’re simply meant to make sure terrorists or criminals aren’t sneaking in contraband: What’s the problem with providing accurate manifests for the cargo and passport details for the personnel entering the war zone?

Remember, too, that the reason Gaza’s civilians are suffering in the first place is that Hamas uses the entire strip as a giant human shield for its killers and materiel.

And why send the letter now?

Well, the Biden White House has an ugly history of trying to restrain Israel whenever it seems to be winning — largely because Biden foreign policy is fundamentally, and insanely, pro-Iran.

And the past month has been a series of major victories against Hezbollah for the Jewish state, including the death of genocidal bully boy Hassan Nasrallah.

But we suspect the main reason is the customary one with President Biden: He has his eye on short-term political gains.

Not for himself, this time, but for Kamala Harris. (Note that the 30 days are up after the election.)


Sen Cotton says Biden-Harris likely prolonged Gaza war, let aid go to terrorists: 'Betrayed' taxpayers
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., recently sent a letter to the head of the U.S. Agency for International Development, disclosing that some of the $1 billion in American taxpayer money was likely diverted to Hamas.

Cotton’s shocking claim came just weeks after the U.S.-designated terrorist organization, Hamas, executed the 23-year-old American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin in late August.

Cotton slammed the main U.N. relief agency for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, known as the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), for its links to Hamas terrorists.

The senator told Fox News Digital "It has become very clear that not another dime of American taxpayer money should ever go to UNRWA again. All aid to Gaza should be paused immediately."

Last month, Fox News Digital reported that Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon said the scandal-plagued UNRWA has been taken over by Hamas terrorists.

Cotton wrote in his letter to Samantha Power, the administrator of USAID, that he has "grave concerns about the likely misuse of more than one billion dollars in U.S. humanitarian aid sent to Gaza since October 2023. As I predicted would happen from the outset, credible reporting indicates that Hamas terrorists have diverted this aid; indisputable evidence demonstrates that the aid was always at high risk of diversion."

He added that "In all likelihood, the Biden-Harris administration has prolonged the Gaza war, allowed aid to flow to Israel’s enemies, and misused taxpayer funds."

Cotton wrote that last month, USAID "announced approximately $336 million in additional humanitarian funding for Gaza, Judea, and Samaria. On the same day, the United Nations acknowledged that Fateh al-Sharif, a Hamas leader in Lebanon killed in an Israeli airstrike, was employed by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. UNRWA, a major USAID partner before October 7, remains a chief conduit for U.N. humanitarian assistance in Gaza despite extensive evidence of its ties to Hamas."


US's threatening letter to Israel could spell trouble at The Hague
Since Israel’s assurances in March and a subsequent letter in April, which had led to improvements in aid delivery, the amount of assistance entering Gaza has dropped by over 50%, according to the letter. Aid deliveries in September were reportedly the lowest in a year.

The letter could serve as strong circumstantial evidence for Khan’s claim that Israel did arbitrarily block the delivery of humanitarian aid — at least until March 2024. Otherwise, there would have been no need for the assurance letters issued in March and April, as revealed in the letter.

The Americans aren’t disconnected from what’s happening at The Hague and the letter’s leak might alter the opinions of the judges who are set to decide on the prosecutor's request to issue urgent arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant due to allegations of prolonged starvation offenses.

US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the UN Security Council on Wednesday that Israel’s operations in the Gaza Strip proved it doesn’t have a “policy of starvation,” across the enclave and specifically in its northern sector.

“The Government of Israel has said that this is not their policy, that food and other essential supplies will not be cut off, and we will be watching to see that Israel’s actions on the ground match this statement,” she stressed.

French President Emmanuel Macron's words against Israel also bolster the ICC’s French judge — one of the three judges on the pre-trial panel.

Blinken and Austin effectively accuse Israel of allegedly blocking the entry of aid trucks to northern Gaza. Khan is required to prove that this constitutes an "organized policy," and that those against whom warrants are sought acted in line with this policy — to establish a crime against humanity. The leaked letter aids in substantiating this claim, which is often hard to prove as it’s rare to find documents that indicate a criminal plan.

The letter, coupled with the growing international sentiment against Israel, especially amid the war in Lebanon and reports of the blockade on northern Gaza, could expedite the court's decision to issue the warrants.

There has been no substantial change in Israel's policy regarding humanitarian aid to Gaza, according to Israeli officials. They attribute the harsh letter to the U.S. administration's lack of confidence in Israel's intentions. U.S. officials reportedly feared that Israel was planning to starve Gaza, in line with the so-called "General's Plan" proposed by retired IDF Maj. Gen. Giora Eiland, which involves isolating northern Gaza.

Israel has repeatedly announced in recent days it was allowing aid into northern Gaza. According to Israel’s Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), responsible for facilitating aid into Gaza, 50 aid trucks entered the Strip on Wednesday, 12 on Tuesday and 30 on Sunday.


Caroline Glick: US Hezbollah Policy is Based on Complete Fantasy. Here’s How
JNS senior contributing editor Caroline Glick speaks with Middle East Analyst Tony Badran about U.S. policy towards the Lebanese Hezbollah terror organization and Israel amidst the ongoing conflict on Israel's northern border.

Badran explains that Biden’s current policy is based on a completely wrong understanding of what is happening in Lebanon and on a fantasy of a post-Hezbollah Lebanon.

Born and raised in Lebanon, Badran will give an inside understanding of the Lebanese dynamics, what the U.S. is getting so terribly wrong and how only a military solution can lead to victory.




Bassam Tawil: The Biden-Harris Administration's Misguided Policy On The Palestinians
On a number of occasions over the past few months, US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has declared her support for the creation of a Palestinian state next to Israel. Last month, Harris said: "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."

Harris's repeated talk about the need to establish a Palestinian state in the aftermath of the October 7 atrocities against Israelis is the best gift the Iran-backed Hamas terrorist group could have wished for.

Harris seems to ignore that a majority of Palestinians continue to support Hamas and the October 7 atrocities.... Two-thirds of the Palestinians [in a poll conducted by Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) in June] said that the October 7 massacres were "correct."

What is most disturbing about Harris's advocacy for the establishment of an Iranian-controlled Palestinian state is that it is seen by many Palestinians as a reward for the October 7 atrocities.... So, when Harris talks about the need to establish a Palestinian state, she is sending a message to Hamas and other Palestinians that terrorism against Israel pays....

If Harris really cared about the Palestinians, she should be calling on Hamas to surrender; and calling on the Palestinian Authority (PA) stop glorifying terrorists and paying their families monthly salaries, dismantle all terror groups operating in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, stop poisoning the hearts and minds of their people, and recognize Israel's right to exist. Unfortunately, she has done none of the above.

Moreover, the assumption that the PA can be "revitalized" and play a role in a post-war Gaza shows that Harris and the Biden administration are unfortunately clueless.... The poll also found that if presidential elections were held today, Hamas arch-terrorist Yahya Sinwar would receive 41% of the votes, while Abbas would get only 13%. A majority of 84% of the Palestinians want Abbas to resign.
Netanyahu to Macron: UN didnt create Israel, ‘heroic fighters’ did
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday issued a rejoinder to French President Emmanuel Macron’s claim earlier that day that Israel was created by the United Nations.

“A reminder to the French President: It was not a U.N. decision that established the State of Israel but the victory that was achieved in the War of Independence with the blood of our heroic fighters, many of whom were Holocaust survivors, including from the Vichy regime in France,” said the Israeli premier.

“It would also be worthwhile to recall that in recent decades, the U.N. has approved hundreds of antisemitic decisions against the State of Israel, the purpose of which is to deny the one and only Jewish state’s right to exist and its ability to defend itself,” Netanyahu continued.

Earlier in the day, Macron reportedly told a cabinet meeting in Paris that “Mr. Netanyahu must not forget that his country was created by a decision of the U.N.,” referring to U.N. General Assembly Resolution 181, adopted on Nov. 29, 1947, that planned to partition the British Mandate into two states, one Jewish, one Arab.

The resolution gave international backing for the establishment of the State of Israel, which was admitted to the United Nations as a full member on May 11, 1949.

France was one of the 33 countries that voted in favor of the partition plan.

“Therefore, this is not the time to disregard the decisions of the U.N.,” Macron added.

Netanyahu and Macron also spoke by phone on Tuesday, according to Netanyahu’s office.

“The Prime Minister told President Macron that he opposes a unilateral ceasefire, which would not change the security situation in Lebanon and would return the country to its previous state. He emphasized that Israel is operating against the Hezbollah terrorist organization to prevent it from threatening Israel’s citizens on the northern border and to enable them to return to their homes safely,” Netanyahu told the French leader, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.

“Prime Minister Netanyahu clarified that Israel would not agree to any arrangement that does not provide this and which does not stop Hezbollah from rearming and regrouping.

“The Prime Minister also said that he was taken aback at President Macron’s intention to host a conference in Paris on the issue of Lebanon, with participants such as South Africa and Algeria, which are working to deny Israel its fundamental right of self-defense and, in effect, reject its very right to exist,” the statement continued.

Netanyahu earlier this month publicly rebuked Macron in an unusually harsh statement, after Macron called for a partial arms embargo on Israel.

“I have a message for President Macron. Today, Israel is defending itself on seven fronts against the enemies of civilization,” said Netanyahu. “All civilized countries should be standing firmly by Israel’s side. Yet President Macron and some other Western leaders are now calling for an arms embargo against Israel. Shame on them,” he said, adding: “What a disgrace.”


Meloni: Italy imposed full arms embargo on Israel over Gaza ground op
The Italian government blocked all new arms deals with the Jewish state just weeks after Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 massacre, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Tuesday, the local ANSA news agency reported.

“After the start of [Israeli military] operations in Gaza, the government immediately suspended all new export licenses, and all agreements signed after October 7th were not implemented,” the Italian leader stated during a debate at Italy’s Senate ahead of Thursday’s European Council summit.

Meloni told lawmakers that licenses authorized before Oct. 7 are being “analyzed on a case-by-case basis by the competent authority at the foreign ministry.”

“We have blocked everything,” the Italian premier declared, noting that the policies of her government are “much more restrictive than that applied by our partners—France, Germany and the United Kingdom.”

Israeli ground forces entered Gaza on Oct. 27 following a weeks-long air campaign in response to the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in the northwestern Negev, in which Palestinian terrorists murdered some 1,200 people, wounded thousands of others, and abducted 251—97 of whom remain in Gaza.

Among those murdered were three dual Italian-Israeli nationals.

Italy’s rhetoric toward the Jewish state has become increasingly hostile in recent weeks as Israel Defense Forces troops fight Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorists in Southern Lebanon in an attempt to return the approximate 60,000 displaced Israeli civilians to the country’s north.
Reviving U.N. Resolution 1701 Won't Stop Hezbollah's Threat to Israel
U.N. Resolution 1701 is in the news again after a bloody weekend in the ongoing Israel-Hezbollah war. A Hezbollah drone hit an Israel Defense Forces base, killing several soldiers and wounding hundreds more. Meanwhile, the IDF incursion into southern Lebanon, to push Hezbollah out of the positions from which it has fired thousands of missiles into Israel over the past year, has met resistance from the U.N. agency whose job it was to keep Hezbollah at bay for the past 18 years.

Among the intellectual and diplomatic classes, the solution to the clear and present danger from Hezbollah against Israel, and the emptying of a vast area of northern Israel because of Hezbollah's unprovoked attacks against the Jewish state, is reestablishing Resolution 1701. It's as if they simply want to tack on an addendum to the original resolution, "and this time we mean it." But that is a tremendous mistake. There is a reason 1701 failed. It was destined to because U.N. peacekeepers cannot restrain a fanatical group backed by a rogue state bent on destroying another nation.

Some background provides useful context. Resolution 1701 was adopted by the U.N. Security Council in August 2006 to end hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel after a monthlong war that started when the Iran-backed group attacked Israel, killing three soldiers and abducting two more. The resolution called for a full cessation of violence and Hezbollah's disarmament, in exchange for IDF withdrawal from southern Lebanon and the deployment of the Lebanese army along with an enhanced United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). The IDF withdrew, leaving Israel vulnerable to more fighting on its northern front, while the provisions that were meant to keep Israel safe have completely failed.

Hezbollah, needless to say, did not disarm. To the contrary, it has stockpiled a huge arsenal of lethal weapons—including, by some estimates, 150,000 rockets and missiles (including precision missiles)—to wage a war on Iran's behalf against the Jewish state. Israel has successfully destroyed some portions of these rockets and missiles over the past few weeks, but in the past few days we have seen that Hezbollah still has plenty of firepower as well as effective drones.

But Resolution 1701's principal failure was in its establishment of a demilitarized zone between the Litani River and the Lebanon-Israel border. UNIFIL has been completely unable or unwilling to enforce this provision. Hezbollah has fired thousands of missiles at Israel from this area where it is not "allowed" to be. As video footage has shown, Hezbollah has built massive, reinforced tunnel systems and other military outposts and attacked Israel from areas right under UNIFIL's nose, just yards from UNIFIL buildings. Even as I write this, northern and central Israel are being bombarded from launch sites in the should-be-demilitarized zone, sending millions of Israelis into shelters.
JPost Editorial: UNIFIL’s inaction and the West's blind eye
No one expected the 10,500-strong force to actively engage with Hezbollah, but Jerusalem did expect that the force would provide regular, honest accounts of efforts by Hezbollah and its sponsor, Iran, to turn the region into a forward base for an eventual attack on Israel.

UNIFIL failed miserably in even that simple task.

Hezbollah has built fortifications and has transferred weapons to southern Lebanon for years, but in a 2017 report to the UN Security Council, the Irish commander of UNIFIL at the time, Maj.-Gen. Michael Beary declared, “I have no evidence, nor have I been provided with any evidence of weapons transfers into my area of operations. We are extremely active in the area, and if there was a large cache of weapons, we would know about it.”

An incredulous Nikki Haley, then the US ambassador to the UN, said Hezbollah openly bragged about its stockpiled weapons; only the UNIFIL commander remained “blind” to this.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres supported Beary and said the UN could not confirm Israel’s account that Hezbollah was arming itself in southern Lebanon.

What a joke.

What does Guterres think – that the Hezbollah attack tunnels full of equipment and weapons that the IDF is unearthing each day in southern Lebanon were formed as if by magic? That the rockets and missiles stored in scores of homes in the area materialized out of thin air?

The very same Guterres is now rejecting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s appeals to evacuate UNIFIL forces from the combat zone in southern Lebanon and the result of this refusal, Netanyahu said on Monday, is that UNIFIL is serving as a human shield for Hezbollah.

An IDF spokesperson has said that in the last month alone, Hezbollah fired 25 rockets at Israel from positions near UNIFIL posts, including one attack that killed two IDF soldiers.

Given that UNIFIL has done little to prevent Hezbollah from bombarding Israel from southern Lebanon since October 8, and given that it did nothing to report Hezbollah’s massive buildup in the region over the years, the claim by the European foreign ministers that the organization is a force for stability, is utterly baseless.

Furthermore, the accusation that Israel is deliberately targeting UNIFIL personnel is ridiculous. Israel cannot tolerate a situation where Hezbollah terrorists believe they can fire near UNIFIL positions and be immune from an Israeli response. v UNIFIL, to ensure that its personnel are not harmed, should withdraw from southern Lebanon. And top-tier European foreign ministers, to retain credibility with Jerusalem, should direct their condemnations at Hezbollah for brazenly violating the UNSC Resolution 1701 and for putting UNIFIL at risk rather than accusing Israel of defending itself against terrorists.


UNIFIL says Israeli tank fired at peacekeepers watchtower in Lebanon
The UN mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said its peacekeepers at a position near southern Lebanon's Kfar Kela observed an Israeli Merkava tank firing at their watchtower on Wednesday morning.

Two cameras were destroyed, and the tower was damaged, UNIFIL said in its statement.

UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti was interviewed by KAN on Wednesday from Beirut, where he explained why the organization is not evacuating from southern Lebanon, saying that the organization is there "not at the request of the Israeli authorities, but in accordance with the request of the Security Council and the international community. Further statements by the UNIFIL spokesperson

"It is important to maintain the ability to monitor the area so that it is possible to report to New York and the international community," he further told KAN. "And it is important for both sides to have an impartial and unbiased force that can do this. Additionally, it's important these days to provide humanitarian aid to thousands of people who are still stuck in villages in the south of the country."


Palestinian bid to expel Israel from U.N. General Assembly moving forward, sources say
A Palestinian Authority initiative to expel Israel from the United Nations General Assembly is making headway, four sources familiar with the matter told Jewish Insider.

The PA is considering a path used to suspend South Africa from the General Assembly in 1974, by denying the apartheid regime the diplomatic credentials to represent the country. Doing so would bypass the U.N. Security Council, with the motion going to the U.N.’s Credentials Committee, likely in December.

While the U.S. and many European countries are likely to oppose the motion, and Russia may do so as well out of a concern that the same tactic could be used against them, the Palestinians still have an automatic majority in the General Assembly, an Israeli diplomatic source said.

Israel is likely to place severe sanctions on the PA should it pursue such a move, the source added.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), who has been briefed on the matter by U.N. and Israeli officials, warned that there would be significant consequences if the Israelis were kicked out of the body. “If the Palestinians succeed in suspending Israel from the United Nations General Assembly, they may well end up disintegrating the U.S.-Palestinian Authority relationship and triggering a full reevaluation of U.S. participation in and funding of all parts of the United Nations,” Cruz told Jewish Insider.

“Palestinian groups and other enemies of Israel are trying to use the United Nations to accomplish diplomatically what they can’t do militarily, which is weakening Israel so it can be attacked with impunity and eventually destroyed. It is both obscene and staggeringly dangerous for American national security interests,” the Texas senator said.

Reps. Mike Lawler (R-NY) and Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) introduced legislation in August that would cut off funds to any U.N. agency that expels or in any way restricts Israel’s inclusion. The bipartisan pair developed the legislation, which has 35 co-sponsors, amid concerns about anti-Israel activity at the U.N. escalating into action that would exclude the Jewish state from participating in global affairs.

A companion Senate version has not yet been filed.

Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon told JI that “we are experiencing diplomatic terrorism at the U.N. since Oct. 7, with multiple initiatives against Israel. This radical idea is baseless. It proves the Palestinians are not interested in anything constructive, rather they want to destroy all bridges of diplomacy.”

The news comes five months after the U.N. voted to upgrade the Palestinian Authority’s status to that of observer state, granting them the ability to introduce resolutions in the General Assembly.


How the UN Human Rights Council promotes dictatorships over human rights
Last week, the United Nations held elections for seats on the UN’s esteemed Human Rights Council. Member states to this council are supposed to represent the nations which uphold and promote the highest standards of human rights.

But instead of electing the greatest protectors of human rights to the council, Turtle Bay chose to elect some of the world’s most oppressive regimes, including Qatar, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia.

In fact, today, almost two-thirds of the membership of the Human Rights Council are non-democratic nations, such as China, Cuba and Sudan. These use their seats on the council to provide cover for their own widespread human rights abuses.

What’s more is that these human rights abusers cite their election to the world’s top human rights body as a false badge of international legitimacy and as fake proof of their commitment to human rights.

For instance, just after being elected to a second consecutive term last Wednesday, Qatar’s permanent representative to the U.N. lauded his country’s achievement, calling it a reflection of “international appreciation for Qatar’s firm commitment to protecting and promoting human rights at the national and international levels.”

Instead, the truth is the opposite. Qatar tragically exploits migrant workers, oppresses women through its guardianship system which denies them basic rights and is a major supporter of Hamas terrorism.

Based on this, it should be immediately obvious that the council has failed its mission to promote human rights and has rather become a mockery of its core principles.

So how has this happened? How has the top body to protect human rights become the venue for dictatorships to trample them on the world stage? It all comes down to the broken election system.

It is immediately apparent that the election system itself is rigged through its closed slate system where the number of candidates equals the number of open seats. This facilitates human rights abusers gaining council seats through closed-door deals ensuring that they will run unopposed.

This year, there was competition only in the Asian Group where six candidates vied for five available seats. As a result, Saudi Arabia rightfully lost the election. Qatar, however, was still elected from this group, indicating that reforms are needed.


UN Watch: UN High Commissioner: Will you welcome new sanctions on Iran for supplying bombs dropped in Europe?
Hillel Neuer addresses the UN Human Rights Council during the High Commissioner's report on Ukraine.


UN Watch: Head of UNRWA's Teachers Union in Lebanon proclaims his support for resistance after October 7
Fathi al-Sharif UNRWA school principal and head of the Teachers Union proclaims his support for resistance and rejection of neutrality policies to a cheering crowd in front of UNRWA's Director in Lebanon, Dorothee Klaus, on November 8, 2023.


UN Watch: Global condemnation of UN rights official comparing Israel to “Third Reich”
UN rapporteur Francesca Albanese was hit with global condemnation for her antisemitic remarks, including from the Unites States, the WJC, AJC, ADL, CIJA and UN Watch. We now call on all UN member states to speak out against her dehumanizing rhetoric.


WJC slams UN’s Albanese for Holocaust inversion, Israel-Nazi comparisons
The World Jewish Congress slammed UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese on Tuesday for repeatedly engaging in Holocaust inversion by comparing Israel to Nazi Germany.

“The constant statements made by [Albanese] comparing Israel to Nazi Germany are not only deeply offensive, but a gross distortion of history,” the WJC wrote on X/Twitter.

The statement followed a post that Albanese made to the platform on Monday, where she wrote, “Our collective obliviousness to what led, 100 years ago, to the Third Reich's expansionism and the genocide of people not in conformity with the "pure race" is asinine. And it is leading to the commission of yet another genocide, yet another regional war and potentially yet another global one.”

Albanese's history of Holocaust inversion
Albanese has a well-documented history of making comparisons between Israel and Israeli figures to Nazi Germany and Adolph Hitler.

In July, Albanese expressed support on X for a post comparing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler.

“This is precisely what I was thinking today,” the UN rapporteur wrote in reply to a post by UN human rights official Craig Mokhiber, who shared an image on X of Hitler raising his hand while moving through a crowd on top of a photo of Netanyahu amid a crowd of congresspeople.

“This blatant Holocaust inversion and antisemitism weaponizes the tragedy of the Jewish people to demonize Israel,” the WJC added in its Monday statement.


Israel should learn from Ukraine's experience dealing with drones
The grave incident on Sunday, in which a Hezbollah-launched drone penetrated deep into Israel, striking the Golani Brigade training base and killing four soldiers, has once again highlighted the terror group's growing use of such tools and the urgent need to neutralize this escalating threat.

Last week, on Yom Kippur eve, another Hezbollah drone breached Israel's detection and interception systems, crashing into a retirement home in Herzliya, miraculously causing no injuries. The fact that two Hezbollah drones broke through Israeli Air Force defenses within three days raises serious questions and underscores the need to address the gaps that led to these incidents.

The IDF was quick to clarify that despite the severity of the incident and the casualties, overall interception rates remain high. According to IDF data, since the war began, approximately 1,200 drones have been launched toward Israel from all fronts, as part of a total of 23,000 projectiles, including rockets and missiles. Of these, 221 drones struck Israeli territory, while the rest were intercepted at a rate of about 80%.

“We have been preparing for the drone threat for over a decade, and it’s inaccurate to say we weren’t ready. We came in strong, but in defense, there's always room for improvement. We are considering every idea and suggestion," the army emphasized.

If the IDF and Israeli Air Force are genuinely open to exploring all solutions, they could benefit from learning from Ukraine’s extensive operational experience, as it has faced a massive drone threat over the past two and a half years from Iranian-made Russian drones.

Recently, the Ukrainian Air Force released interception data from Russian drone attacks in September. For the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Russian drones were launched every single day—an average of 44 per day—totaling 1,331 drones, of which 1,107 were intercepted, an impressive rate of 83%.

Over time, Ukraine has adapted its response to the drone threat, consistently achieving high interception rates. This is a highly dynamic battlefield, with each side learning and adapting, only for the other to respond in turn. Ukraine has become more adept at countering drone threats, even when facing complex, combined attacks involving drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles.


Hezbollah deputy chief reaffirms Hamas support
Hezbollah’s Deputy Secretary-General Naim Qassem on Tuesday reiterated the organization’s unwavering support for Hamas, inching perilously close to declaring full-scale war against Israel.

Qassem, in his third public address since the elimination of Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah, staunchly rejected calls to separate a ceasefire in Lebanon from the situation in Gaza. This marks a significant shift from his previous stance, which had been interpreted as a softening of Hezbollah’s position.

“We insisted on the demand for a ceasefire in Gaza—and we did not agree to their request to separate Lebanon from Gaza,” Qassem declared, dismissing international pressure to de-escalate the conflict along the Israel-Lebanon border.

He went on to state that, “The longer the war continues, the more displacement there will be from Israeli settlements,” adding that Hezbollah has “restored our capabilities on the ground” despite suffering heavy losses.

In a move that could further inflame regional tensions, Qassem praised Iran’s support for the Palestinian cause, framing it as a source of pride for the Islamic Republic. He accused Israel of targeting civilians while claiming Hezbollah’s attacks were focused solely on military targets.
How the bulky pager fooled Hezbollah
The batteries inside the weaponized pagers that arrived in Lebanon at the start of the year, part of a plot to decimate Hezbollah, had powerfully deceptive features and an Achilles' heel.

The agents who built the pagers designed a battery that concealed a small but potent charge of plastic explosive and a novel detonator that was invisible to X-ray, according to a Lebanese source with first-hand knowledge of the pagers, and teardown photos of the battery pack seen by Reuters.

To overcome the weakness - the absence of a plausible backstory for the bulky new product - they created fake online stores, pages and posts that could deceive Hezbollah due diligence, a Reuters review of web archives shows.

The stealthy design of the pager bomb and the battery’s carefully constructed cover story, both described here for the first time, shed light on the execution of a years-long operation.

A thin, square sheet with six grams of white pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) plastic explosive was squeezed between two rectangular battery cells, according to the Lebanese source and photos.

The remaining space between the battery cells could not be seen in the photos but was occupied by a strip of highly flammable material that acted as the detonator, the source said.

This three-layer sandwich was inserted in a black plastic sleeve, and encapsulated in a metal casing roughly the size of a match box, the photos showed.

The assembly was unusual because it did not rely on a standard miniaturised detonator, typically a metallic cylinder, the source and two bomb experts said. All three spoke on conditions of anonymity.

Without any metal components, the material used to trigger detonation had an edge: like the plastic explosives, it was not detected by X-ray.

Upon receiving the pagers in February, Hezbollah looked for the presence of explosives, two people familiar with the matter said, putting them through airport security scanners to see if they triggered alarms. Nothing suspicious was reported.
EXCLUSIVE NEW DETAILS ABOUT THE PAGERS
The complexity of this construction is essential for one primary reason: without metal components like a standard detonator or wires, the explosive element was utterly undetectable by X-ray. Israel knew that upon receiving the pagers, Hezbollah would likely check them for tampering or explosives, which is precisely what happened. Using airport-style security scanners, Hezbollah did indeed check the pagers, but thanks to Mossad's ingenuity, the explosive was not detected.

Now we get to the really interesting part, which is the lengths the Mossad went to create a cover story for their ruse. The PETN battery pack that Mossad constructed had a label on it: LI-BT783, and this was an issue because that specific battery did not exist. The Mossad started by creating a custom model for the entire pager, AR-924. They approached a renowned Taiwanese brand, Gold Apollo, to add it to their catalog.

Hsu Ching-Kuang, the chairman of Gold Apollo, was approached by a former employee and her new boss named "Tom" to inquire about adding the model. Ching-Kuang said that while he wasn't impressed by the AR-924 when he saw it, he agreed to grant a license under the brand and add photos and a description of the product to his company's website, thus unknowingly establishing the legitimacy of the Mossad's pager.

In September 2023, a website named came online with the AR-924 listed as a product. The site was tied to a Hong Kong-based company, Apollo Systems HK, of which no record exists today. In late 2023, two additional online states came online with the LI-BT783 battery listed in their product list, amongst other legitimate units.

Users in two online forums discussing batteries even made posts about the LI-BT783 and the AR-924, praising its "great performance" and ruggedness for field use. When Hezbollah searched for a new pager, their procurement manager chose the AR-924. The salesperson who brokered the deal offered a "very inexpensive proposition" and continued reducing the price until the Hezbollah manager agreed. In the wake of the explosions, Hezbollah launched an internal probe of what went wrong. However, the senior official leading the investigation, Nabil Kaouk, was himself killed in an Israeli strike just 11 days after the pagers went off. The internal investigation is supposedly still in progress...
Israeli arrested for plot to kill local scientist in exchange for $100K from Iran
A 35-year-old Israeli man was indicted on charges of planning to assassinate Israeli figures on orders from Iran, the Israel Police and State Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday.

Vladimir Verhovsky, from central Israel, was charged with contact with a foreign agent, carrying and transporting a weapon, and conspiracy to commit a terrorist act.

According to the indictment, Verhovsky made contact sometime in August 2024 with an entity operating on behalf of Iranian intelligence services, who portrayed himself as an Israeli citizen living in Canada, calling himself “Eli.”

Verhovsky carried out a series of tasks for “Eli,” despite knowing he was hostile to the State of Israel, in exchange for transfers of between $30 and $200 to a cryptocurrency wallet. The tasks were coordinated in English over the Telegram app.

The tasks included spray-painting graffiti reading “LEHI” in English and Hebrew, and “HITLER=NETANYAHU,” in different locations. He also buried tracking devices behind a bus station and filmed demonstrations in Tel Aviv.

To communicate with “Eli,” Verhovsky purchased a dedicated cell phone, paid for using money he received from “Eli” for that purpose, the indictment said.

In late September, Verhovsky agreed to gather intelligence about a resident of Tel Aviv’s Borla Street, and took photographs of the interior of the resident’s building. He also presented a photograph of the resident to neighbors and asked whether they knew him, and knocked on the resident’s door.

Finally, Verhovsky agreed to kill an Israeli scientist, in exchange for $100,000, the indictment said.

He was dispatched by the Iranian agent to pick up a gun from a bag in a discreet public location, to use in the murder. When he returned from retrieving the weapon, Verhovsky was arrested by security services.


Israel hits Hezbollah ‘strategic weapons’ cache in Beirut
Israel carried out airstrikes in the Beirut area on Wednesday morning after a five-day pause in attacks on the Lebanese capital.

The Israeli Air Force hit targets in the Hezbollah stronghold of Dahiyeh south of Beirut, striking strategic weapons stockpiled in an underground storage facility, according to the military.

Before the strike, the Israel Defense Forces emphasized that many steps were taken to reduce the risk of harm to civilians, including advancing warning to the population in the area.

Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee, head of the Arab Media Branch in the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, tweeted in Arabic before the attack, accompanied by a map.

“New urgent warning to the residents of the southern suburbs, specifically those in the building identified on the map located in Haret Hreik,” he wrote.

“You are near facilities and interests affiliated with Hezbollah, which the Israeli Defense Forces will act against in the near future. For your safety and the safety of your family, you must immediately evacuate this building and the surrounding buildings and move at least 500 meters away.”


USAID package found in Hezbollah weapons cache
Evidence that U.S. aid has found its way to terrorists in Lebanon emerged almost as a footnote in a video of a Hezbollah weapons cache posted to X on Oct. 13. A box marked “USAID” (United States Agency for International Development) appears in the background.

The box, also featuring the logo of the World Food Programme (WFP), a United Nations organization, is not even remarked upon by an Israel Defense Forces officer as he details the weaponry his men found in Southern Lebanon.

Those arms included anti-tank guided missiles, heavy and light machine guns, ammunition and other military gear.

Yona Schiffmiller, director of research at NGO Monitor, a Jerusalem-based watchdog group which has long warned about the dangers of U.S. aid being diverted to terrorists, told JNS that he can’t recall seeing another more concrete example illustrating the danger of sending aid without proper oversight.

“We’ve certainly seen, over the years, a number of instances where USAID and the State Department gave support to organizations that glorified terrorists and promoted violence,” he said. “But there’s obviously a substantive difference between that and actual aid materials winding up in the hands of U.S.-designated terrorist organizations.”

In this instance, Schiffmiller said it appears that the aid first went to a U.N. agency and then was redirected to Hezbollah further downstream.

It points to the need for “very strong U.S. oversight” to ensure the ultimate beneficiaries aren’t affiliated with terrorist organizations, he said.

“It’s not sufficient to just say we’re signing off on a U.N. project,” he added. “The United States needs to know who the ultimate beneficiaries are.”


Commentary Podcast: The Latest Aggression Against Israel
What on earth is with this out-of-nowhere letter from the secretary of state and the secretary of defense threatening the flow of U.S. military aid to Israel in 30 days' time unless Israel loosens its restrictions on aid going to Gaza—most if not all of which is going to keep the dying Hamas alive?
US sends ‘threatening ultimatum’ to Israel over aid in Gaza
Sky News host Sharri Markson discusses the “threatening ultimatum” sent to Israel by the United States on humanitarian aid in Gaza.

“The United States has sent a threatening ultimatum to Israel, demanding it increase humanitarian aid to Gaza within the next 30 days or face weapons cuts,” Ms Markson said.

The Biden administration’s letter to Israel noted ‘Failure to demonstrate a sustained commitment to implementing and maintaining these measures may have implications for US policy’.


UNIFIL have ‘no military effect’ in Lebanon
the Australian’s Foreign Editor Greg Sheridan says the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is having “no military effect”.

Five UN peacekeepers have been injured in an Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanon.

“I think the UN is tremendously at fault here,” Mr Sheridan told Sky News Australia.

“UNIFIL has not stopped Lebanon from firing any one of 9,000 rockets at Israel.

“They’re not doing anything; they’re having no military effect at all.”


‘A new low’: United Nations ‘enabling’ terrorism amid Israel-Lebanon war
Sky News host Sharri Markson says the United Nations has “comprehensively failed” to keep the peace between Lebanon and Israel.

Ms Markson claims Hezbollah has amassed stockpiles of weapons and built tunnels under the watch of UNIFIL.

“It's further evidence that the United Nations simply enables terrorism, instead of protecting nations against its barbarism,” Ms Markson said.

“This is truly a new low – the United Nations watching the build up of terrorism in breach of their own security council resolution and saying nothing – just allowing Israelis to be killed.”


‘Despicable’: IDF spokesperson calls for Iran to be held accountable for ballistic missiles
IDF International Spokesperson LTC Peter Lerner says Iran must be held accountable for the actions of launching 181 ballistic missiles on Israel.

“This is a huge concern for the world,” Mr Lerner said.

“The reality here is one where Iran and their backed proxies have been empowered with strategic weapons on our border … there is a huge concern, they are the destabiliser.”


‘Dangerous time’: The world waits for Israel to launch ‘necessary attack’ on Iran
International security expert Max Abrahms joined Sky News Australia to discuss the ongoing war in the Middle East as Israel continues to fight back against Iran and its proxies.

“This is a very interesting and dangerous time,” he told Sky News host Rita Panahi.

“We’re basically waiting for Israel to carry out its absolutely necessary attack against Iran.”


PragerU: Why Won't Egypt Accept Palestinian Refugees?

“You Should Be ASHAMED!” Mehdi Hasan vs Ex-IDF Jonathan Conricus
Reports are coming in that Israel’s first attack on Lebanon in five days has killed a local mayor in the city of Nabatieh, along with five other civilians. Israel simply says it’s stuck Hezbollah targets. These killings serve as a tragic backdrop to this showdown debate on Piers Morgan Uncensored.

Jonathan Conricus is a former IDF soldier and spokesman who never flees from defending his nation; in the studio or on the battlefield. Mehdi Hasan is a veteran journalist and polemicist, who never holds back on the crimes of Israel.

Today, these two men go head-to-head. Neither of them have respect for the other’s position, which is exactly why Piers believes there’s potential to learn from their contention.

00:00 Teaser
00:39 Piers monologue
01:45 "Where are we with Israel?"
05:00 Conricus: "Israel is defending itself against Iran"
07:45 Hasan: "Everyone knows it is Israel destabilising the region"
12:33 Shaaban al Dalu’s horrific death
15:50 Behaviour of the IDF
21:40 Conricus: "These deaths are the fault of Hamas, not the IDF"
23:10 Hasan: "The UN says this is systematic!"
26:00 How does this end?
27:45 Conricus: "I think we are in for a long battle"
30:10 Israeli soldiers committing rape
35:30 Conricus: "All you stand for is attacking Israel"




Ex-KKK head David Duke endorses US Green Party candidate Jill Stein for president
David Duke, the former leader of the Ku Klux Klan, endorsed Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein, who is Jewish, on his radio show Tuesday.

Duke, long one of the country’s highest-profile white supremacists and antisemites, has repeatedly sought political office while spreading conspiracy theories about Jews. In his endorsement of Stein, he said that she was the candidate with the strongest stance against “Jewish power” because she opposed Israel’s military campaign.

“Although Dr. Stein and I obviously have our differences on important issues, she’s the only candidate who speaks clearly against the war in the Middle East and Ukraine,” Duke said on his radio show. “By opposing Jewish supremacy in Israel and Jewish mass murder in Israel, and the policies of the American government in these insane wars and the Ukrainian war there, she’s actually doing something which is harming this Jewish power.”

Duke is an unlikely supporter of Stein, who in addition to being Jewish is a far-left candidate. Duke, a fixture of the far right, previously endorsed Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020.

On his show, Duke claimed that Trump had since lost his support due to a “full-throated subservience to Israel and to the Jewish lobby in the United States” and “on a global level.”


Amazon invited pro-Palestinian rapper Macklemore to address staff — but allegedly banned pro-Israel talk to Jewish workers
Amazon invited controversial rapper and pro-Palestinian supporter Macklemore to speak at a internal meeting, but allegedly vetoed a talk by a pro-Israel speaker – even as one of its workers continues to be held hostage in Gaza.

Samantha Ettus, a Harvard-educated self-help author who has taken up activism on behalf of Jewish causes since the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre, posted a video on Instagram on Monday accusing Amazon of having a “big giant Jewish problem.”

Ettus accused the e-commerce giant of canceling her Zoom appearance for an unofficial “affinity” group of Jewish employees because her talk was deemed by human resources to be “too controversial.”

In her Insta video, which has since gone viral, Ettus fumed that the e-commerce giant silenced her while inviting Macklemore to conduct an officially sanctioned seminar for the company’s affinity group dedicated to recovering drug addicts.

The “Thrift Shop” singer, who has been outspoken about his alcohol and drug addiction, has been a harsh critic of Israel since its troops went into Gaza to root out the terrorist organization that killed 1,400 people during last year’s cross-border raid.

Hamas also took about 240 hostages, including Alexander “Sasha” Trupanov, an Amazon employee in its Tel Aviv lab. It is not known if Trupanov is among the roughly 100 hostages believed to still be alive.

Last month, the 41-year-old Macklemore staged a benefit concert titled “Palestine Will Live Forever,” where he shouted “F–k America” and denounced Israel for “genocide” against the Palestinians.

His concert was staged just weeks after his seminar for Amazon employees. The Zoom session, which was pre-recorded and vetted by human resources personnel to ensure that it did not veer into geopolitical matters, was approved and allowed to be streamed to company staffers early last month.
British Media Personality Says Israel-Hamas War Should Be Framed as ‘European’ Jews ‘Killing Muslims’
A popular British media personality and leader of an anti-racism organization unleashed a tirade targeting both Israel and Jews on X/Twitter on Sunday.

Bushra Shaikh, a political commentator who has appeared on popular shows such as “Good Morning Britain,” called for the destruction of Israel in her social media posts and suggested the Israel-Hamas war should be reframed by the media as a religiously-motivated slaughter of Muslims by Jews.

“One state solution. Palestine. And send this European problem back to f—king Europe,” Shaikh tweeted.

After a flood of X/Twitter users accused Shaikh of antisemitism for suggesting that Jews be deported from Israel, the pundit doubled-down by making the baseless claim that Israeli Jews “are killing Muslims” in Gaza rather than targeting Hamas terrorists.

“Jews are killing Muslims. Please start saying it correctly,” Shaikh said.

Shaikh, who runs a British so-called “anti-racism” organization called “Run Racism Out,” then asserted that Jews in Israel are of European descent and not connected to the Middle East.

“European Jews changed their names to hide their origins in order to claim supremacy over Palestinian Arab lands. These people are the biggest charlatans on this planet. Bunch of lying scumbags,” Shaikh wrote.

The media personality did not mention that about half of Israeli Jews are Mizrahi — Jews who trace their ethnic origins to the Middle East and North Africa. Meanwhile, 21 percent of Israel’s population identifies as Arab. Conversely, Arab and Muslim countries in the region expelled roughly 900,000 Jews between 1920-1970.

Shaikh’s comments were roundly condemned on X.


Prof. Phyllis Chesler: JVP protesters are living in an alternate world
However, truth is not JVP’s objective. Controlling the narrative is, destroying both Israel and America as a goal. They rely upon the mainstream media to help them garner support by airing photos of Palestinians mourning and burying their dead, and “Pallywood”—doctored footage of children being burned alive in Gaza. At the same time, Israelis are shown mainly as combat-ready soldiers.

JVP was founded by three Jewish women at the University of California, Berkeley, in the mid-1990s. They have not stopped since.

Wearing professionally printed red “Not in our name” and “Stop arming Israel” T-shirts, the mainly white, young and even a bit athletic JVP members raced to their designated spots outside the stock exchange on Monday morning.

So, who is paying for this continuous display of anti-Israel and anti-American hatred?

According to Gerald Steinberg at NGO Monitor, in recent years, these young women have received funds from the Kaphan Foundation ($441,510); the Rockefeller Brothers Fund ($340,000); Quitiplas Foundation ($200,000); Matthew G. Krane Foundation ($198,000); Open Society Policy Center ($150,000); Vivian and Paul Olum Charitable Foundation ($117,500). But let’s not forget the anonymous donor-advised funds provided between 2019-2021 through Schwab Charitable Fund ($654,233); Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund ($260,705); Morgan Stanley Global Impact ($175,600); Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program ($98,650); Tides Foundation ($75,000). On and on, it goes with too many foundations to list.

Jew-hatred is big business, and some Jews are actually profiting from this blood lust.

But why are so many Jewish women involved? Have they been so amorously taken with terrorists that they identify with them? Is this a gesture of appeasement? A death wish? A weird way of rejecting patriarchal Judaism by identifying with an even more patriarchal Islam?

Or, perhaps, it is a way of opting out of the freedoms of Western society or embracing the barbarian lies as a way of “going native,” and finally becoming accepted tribally.

Has Western feminism passed these young women by completely? Are they mindless not only about Jewish survival, including their own, but also about the plight of women under Sharia law? Have they learned nothing about the virtues and importance of Western post-Enlightenment thoughts and values?

I ponder these questions night and day, looking for a way out— way to understand such traitorous, dangerous and suicidal/homicidal behavior.


Four protesters charged over alleged assault of police, horses and attendees outside Melbourne's Land Forces Expo
Four more protesters have been charged with several offences, including animal abuse, as police ramp up their investigation into the disorderly anti-war protests that took place in Melbourne last month.

Melbourne’s CBD endured days of chaos in September when an amalgamation of activist groups converged on the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre to protest the Land Forces Expo, an event where weapons manufacturers from 45 nations showcase and sell the latest defence technology.

Eighty-nine people were charged or fined on the first day of carnage, where it is alleged projectiles including rocks and eggs, as well as horse manure, liquid that smelt of vomit, and liquid irritants were hurled at police, horses and those attending the weapons expo.

Protesters allegedly sprayed the liquid irritant into officers' mouths and noses, while shoving at their horses with plastic crates.

Authorities used batons, pepper spray, and rubber bullets to disperse protesters, who set fire to bins in front of a line of riot police outside the Exhibition Centre.

A month after the unprecedented scenes, police have charged an additional four people, while the Bastion Taskforce continue to investigate the violent acts that took place on September 11.

A man from Carlton North has been charged with six counts of assaulting police as well as abusing an animal.

Detectives allege the 28-year-old splashed a liquid irritant over four police officers, before spraying an officer and horse with the same liquid, as well as throwing horse manure at the officer atop the horse.


'My bad' Dimwitted TikTokker tore down Greek flags at NJ restaurant thinking they were Israeli
It was all Greek to her.

A dimwitted anti-Israel TikTokker filmed herself tearing down flags outside a New Jersey restaurant — not realizing they were Greek, rather than similarly-colored Israeli ones.

“The time I mistakenly thought the flag for Greek was for Israel and took the restaurant’s flag down OMG,” the woman, who goes by “Ambamelia,” titled her video, which has gone viral with more than 3.2 million views on TikTok and millions more on X since being posted Tuesday.

“Look at that s–t,” she says in the footage as she starts ripping down a string of Greek flags hung up outside Efi’s Gyro in Montclair.

“Free Palestine, bitch!” she says loudly, asking confused-looking staff inside: “What you looking at?”

“You know there’s a genocide,” she barks at the cashier inside Efi’s, which bills itself as the “friendliest Greek restaurant in town.”

“I don’t stand for Zionism in Montclair!” she says proudly — while holding up a fistful of ripped-down Greek flags.

Two staff members eventually come out, looking confused and embarrassed for the dimwitted hater — until one gently points out that these white-and-blue flags are for Greece.

“What? Really? Oh I thought it was Israel — my bad,” she says.

“Oh s–t … it looked like Israel.”




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