Tuesday, November 05, 2024

11/05 Links Pt1:Why Does the U.S. Put Up with the U.N.’s Antisemitism?; Netanyahu offering millions for safe return of hostages; Netanyahu fires Gallant, replaced by FM Katz

From Ian:

Why Does the U.S. Put Up with the U.N.’s Antisemitism?
Meanwhile, the U.N. stands idle as Iran breaches the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, brutalizes its own population, and finances and arms Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthi terrorists now dominating Yemen who have been terrorizing shippers in the Red Sea. Iranian proxies have taken over Gaza, Lebanon, and Yemen, turning all into staging grounds to launch attacks on Iranian-designated targets. Iran stands at the threshold of a nuclear weapon that may be used to fulfill its threat to “wipe Israel off the map.”

Yet it is Israel, not Iran, that the U.N. urged to practice restraint after Iran’s unprecedented missile attacks in April. Likewise, the call to end “tit-for-tat violence” conveniently came after Iran’s October missile attack but before Israel’s response.

The global body’s passivity has largely been mirrored in the Biden-Harris administration’s non-policy on Iran. Desperate to entice the Islamic Republic to return to President Obama’s failed nuclear agreement, the U.S. loosened sanctions and excused Iran’s steps toward a nuclear weapon. The administration cracked down on several terror-finance networks in the wake of October 7, but the president and his staff seem alarmingly indifferent to Iran’s nuclear advances. Indeed, they seem more intent on preventing Israel from attacking Iranian nuclear sites. Nor has the United States encouraged European members of the Iran nuclear deal to implement the so-called snapback that would restore U.N. sanctions on Tehran.

As if that were not sufficient, the U.N. has also been instrumental in facilitating the global lawfare of the increasingly authoritarian and corrupt Palestinian Authority to bypass a negotiated solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and renege on promises to recognize Israel’s right to live in peace and security. Palestinian leaders in the West Bank and Gaza have rejected peace proposals and frameworks that would have resulted in statehood, yet it is Israel that is characterized as intransigent by the Security Council and General Assembly.

The blatant bias against Israel in Turtle Bay can only be chalked up to one thing. Yet, in the face of this virulent antisemitism, the present administration has been almost supine. Early on, the Biden-Harris administration reversed the prior administration’s decision to end funding for UNRWA and fought for a waiver of U.S. law to resume funding for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) even though it had granted full membership to the Palestinians. (U.S. law bars funding to the U.N. or any U.N. specialized agency if it grants the Palestine Liberation Organization the same standing as member states.)

In May, a resolution elevating Palestinian representation in the General Assembly passed 143–9 — a clear sign that the United States declined to fully use its influence to oppose the effort. In September, the U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly passed a resolution demanding that Israel end its “unlawful” presence in the West Bank. A rumored effort to suspend Israel’s membership in the U.N. General Assembly may be next, unless U.S. officials up their efforts to stem the tide of hate sweeping through that body.

The United States is sending billions annually to the United Nations. The question must be asked: Why does the Biden administration fail to exercise its leverage effectively to fight the U.N.’s institutional antisemitism? We have the tools but choose not to use them.
Lawmaker behind UNRWA Ban: "Our Goal Is Not to Stop the Humanitarian Aid"
Last week, Knesset members voted 92 to 10 to prohibit UNRWA from operating in Israeli territory, and 87-9 to bar state authorities from having any contact with the agency. "There are internationally recognized organizations that deal with humanitarian aid in all conflict zones. UNRWA was an anomaly. It doesn't exist in any other conflict zone that there's a specific organization just for one group," said Likud MK Dan Illouz, a co-sponsor of the second bill.

"We've seen that what happens when such an organization gets built is that it ends up being an organization that has the perspective of one group, the Palestinian perspective. It gets embedded with groups like Hamas and extremist groups from that society and becomes a problem."

"Our goal is not to stop the humanitarian aid. Our goal is for it to go through channels that are not pro-terror, pro-Hamas, but rather through channels like the World Food Program."

The Prime Minister's Office said Israel is prepared to work with international partners, both in the 90 days before the legislation takes effect and afterward, to ensure that humanitarian aid would still reach Gazan civilians. "UNRWA workers involved in terrorist activities against Israel must be held accountable. Since avoiding a humanitarian crisis is also essential, sustained humanitarian aid must remain available in Gaza now and in the future."

Likud MK Boaz Bismuth, the sponsor of the first bill, said, "I can guarantee that there will not be a vacuum....The important international actors are aware of the fact that you need to work urgently to find a replacement for UNRWA." Concerns can be handled, he asserted, calling on Israel's allies and neighbors to pitch in on replacing UNRWA. "Our interest is that as soon as possible there will be a prosperous Gaza ruled by a non-corrupt and especially non-terror government."
What the U.S. Should and Should Not Do in the Middle East
Blocking dangers to American interests in the Middle East is desirable and feasible. The country that now threatens American interests is the Islamic Republic of Iran. It is conducting an active campaign to achieve dominance in the region by unseating governments friendly to the U.S. and evicting American forces from the Middle East.

If the Islamic Republic should acquire nuclear weapons, as it is actively seeking to do, its capacity to harm America's friends and interests would expand dramatically. The most important task for American Middle East policy is, therefore, to prevent that from happening.

Blocking an Iranian bomb will require, at the least, mounting a credible threat to use force if Iran takes the final steps in building working nuclear weapons, and attacking the Islamic Republic's nuclear facilities if that threat does not achieve its aim. American ground troops would not be needed; naval and air power would suffice.

For decades, successive American administrations pursued a political settlement between Israel and the Palestinians living in Gaza and the West Bank. These efforts all failed for the same reasons that American democracy-promotion efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq came to nothing: the political, cultural, and institutional bases for a Palestinian state willing to live peacefully beside Israel have never existed, and the U.S. cannot create them.

Absent the Palestinians becoming what they have thus far never been - a genuine partner for peace - the American government should waste no more time on what has come, over the years, to be called the peace process. The U.S. has more urgent Middle Eastern business that can, and must, be successfully concluded, with Iran.


Seth Mandel: Bill Clinton in Winter
On Sept. 13, 1993, President Bill Clinton put on a tie decorated with golden trumpets for the ceremony he was about to host, in which Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat would sign preliminary Israeli-Palestinian peace accords. The trumpets were intended, according to his advisers, to evoke the biblical shofars blown by the Israelites to bring down the walls of Jericho.

It is safe to say that Clinton saw himself as a world-historical figure on that day.

By the time his second term ended, it was all in tatters. Arafat had chosen to turn down the establishment of a Palestinian state and instead launch a terror war that would bury the dream of Palestinian self-determination even deeper in the sand.

As far as momentous historical processes are concerned, there may never have been one more transparent than the Clinton-era pursuit of Israeli-Palestinian peace—it was a very public undertaking that coincided with the advent of 24-hour TV news and alternative media. For posterity, Clinton himself recently reconfirmed the record while campaigning in Michigan for Kamala Harris. “The only time Yasser Arafat didn’t tell me the truth was when he promised he was going to accept the peace deal that we had worked out which would have given the Palestinians a state on 96% of the West Bank and 4% of Israel and … a capital in East Jerusalem and two of the four quadrants of the old city of Jerusalem, confirmed by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and his cabinet, and [the Palestinians] said no.”

I don’t know how much the Harris campaign appreciated the honesty. Clinton was not telling Democratic rallygoers what they wanted to hear. He was even heckled when he got choked up.

Was Clinton emotional because he was mourning his own personal legacy? Surely that is part of it, but only part. He was also in mourning for his own party—not because that party is electorally dead, in fact it may be one day away from retaining the White House despite the unpopularity of the Democratic president. But the party that would broker Israeli-Palestinian peace is well and truly gone.
The Israel Guys: America’s INSANE Ultimatum to Israel
In the midst of US Elections and Iran threatening to Obliterate Israel, Joe Biden just issued an INSANE ultimatum to Israel. The US is threatening to cut all military aid to Israel if they do not adhere to this one thing in Gaza. We are living in some truly wild times!


At rally, Trump calls Chicago shooting of Orthodox Jewish man ‘horrendous situation’
In one of his final campaign stops before Election Day on Nov. 5, former President Donald Trump called out the shooting of a Jewish man in Chicago as an example of the Biden-Harris administration’s border policies.

Speaking at a Monday rally in Raleigh, N.C., the Republican presidential nominee called the Oct. 26 shooting a “horrendous situation.”

“An illegal alien from North Africa, who Kamala let into our country with her horrendous, open border—just a dangerous, horrendous situation—traveled to a Jewish neighborhood in Chicago and tried to execute a Jewish man on the street, shooting him in the back as he walked to synagogue,” Trump said, referring to Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. “He then opened fire on police and paramedics, shooting an ambulance before police returned fire and ended his rampage fairly quickly.”

Chicago prosecutors have charged Sidi Mohamed Abdallahi, 22, with 16 felonies, including terrorism and hate-crime counts after police discovered evidence that he had deliberately set out to attack Jews. A Mauritanian national, Abdallahi entered the country illegally and was apprehended by the Border Patrol near San Diego in 2023 and was released inside the United States.

At a press conference on Oct. 31, local officials declined to describe Abdallahi’s current immigration status before the charges were presented in court.

Abdallahi allegedly shot the 39-year-old Jewish man while he was walking to synagogue on Shabbat. Local police who arrived at the scene wounded Abdallahi during a two-and-a-half-minute gun battle.

Chicago-area officials faced intense criticism from the local Jewish community after Mayor Brandon Johnson’s initial statement about the incident did not mention that the victim was Jewish.

Neither U.S. President Joe Biden nor Harris has issued a statement about the attack. Harris’s husband, Doug Emhoff, who is Jewish, alluded to the shooting in an Oct. 28 speech in Pittsburgh.
Tech billionaire and ‘lifelong Dem’ Mark Pincus has seen too much: ‘I am voting for Trump’
Video game billionaire and “lifelong” Democrat Mark Pincus declared on Sunday he’s pulling the lever for Donald Trump after seeing “too much” over the past year.

Pincus, who founded video game behemoth Zynga, threw his support behind the GOP nominee over Vice President Kamala Harris even though he previously donated a cool $1 million to President Biden’s re-election campaign.

“I am voting for Trump,” he wrote on social media. “I have been a lifelong Dem, supporting the past 4 presidential campaigns at $1m each … This past year I have seen too much.”

Pincus listed the US’ declining relationship with Israel, exploding antisemitism nationwide, and the ongoing war against free speech as reasons he wants the 45th president back in the White House.

“Israel is America’s most loyal ally and the only Democracy in the Middle East. It is fighting Iran on 7 fronts and yet it can no longer trust the US,” argued Pincus, who is Jewish.

Reportedly worth north of $1 billion, Pincus was one of a growing number of Dem megadonors to encourage Biden to drop out of the race, the Financial Times reported over the summer.

He told the outlet he would’ve preferred Democrats to host an open convention to pick their nominee.

But after Biden dropped out, prominent Dems were quick to rally around Harris.

Pincus, 58, helped start Zynga in 2007, naming it after his dog Zinga. The software development company is best known for launching FarmVille a couple years later.
Trump is spending time with critics of Israel. His Jewish supporters aren’t concerned.
Last month, Harris was interrupted during a Wisconsin campaign stop by a student who accused Israel of genocide. Her team ejected the man from the event, but after he left, she said, “What he’s talking about, it’s real.” Under heavy criticism, a spokesperson clarified that Harris was not agreeing with the protester’s comments.

The episode fueled an ongoing narrative of Harris as siding with Israel critics when she speaks to them. The trend came into its fullest expression in August when the Uncommitted movement of pro-Palestinian advocates said Harris was considering an arms embargo on Israel, a measure the group supports. The Harris campaign clarified that she did not support an embargo and had only said she would continue to speak with the movement.

Conservative media seizes eagerly on Harris’s associations with some of the most vocal Democratic critics of Israel in Congress, including Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar and Pennsylvania Rep. Summer Lee. Meanwhile, CNN unearthed 2018 video of Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’ running mate, praising a local Imam known for amplifying antisemitic comments.

Some observers, watching Trump court the Arab-American vote, perceived a double standard: “Trump is visiting Dearborn, Michigan. Had Harris done this, I’m sure the pro-Trump Israel advocates would condemn it loudly,” tweeted Corey Walker, a correspondent for the Algemeiner, a right-leaning Jewish publication.

When asked about a double standard, Rich Goldberg, who served as a national security official under Trump, said he had a better gut feeling about the former president.

“A lot of pundits like to talk about the ‘kishkes test’ — typically it’s a test of which candidate feels Israel and the Jewish community in their kishkes,” he said in a text.

“I think we have a very different kind of kishkes test this cycle — a question of which candidate turns your own kishkes upside down when you think about their views and policies on Israel and pro-Hamas activism in our country. Israel is at war,” he said. “Jews are under attack. This isn’t hypothetical anymore, it’s real and it matters. And I think that’s driving unprecedented numbers of Jewish voters to Trump.”


Ilhan Omar’s pro-Israel Muslim opponent makes her ‘final argument’ to flip seat red
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) has represented Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District since 2019, a district that has been represented by Democrats since 1963. Her Republican opponent, Dalia Al-Aqidi, is hoping to change that.

Omar’s tenure has been embroiled in controversy over her comments about Jewish people and Israel, especially in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack in which 1,200 innocent people lost their lives and over 200 others were taken hostage. Al-Aqidi is a pro-Israel Sunni Muslim hoping to bridge the divide between the 5th District’s large Islamic population and its Jewish constituents.

With the urban district “in the heart of Minnesota” receiving a D+29.7 grade from Cook Political Report, Al-Aqidi spoke to the Washington Examiner to discuss why she believes Republicans and Democrats alike should vote for her instead of the “Squad” member on Tuesday.

‘Ground zero for Jew hatred’
The most stark difference between the two candidates is their stance on Israel. Al-Aqidi argued that Omar’s rhetoric on the Jewish nation “has turned our district to ground zero for Jew hatred.”

Al-Aqidi pointed to a number of comments Omar has made before and after Oct. 7 that she believes crossed the line. For example, Omar was accused of “blood libel” by the Anti-Defamation League after labeling Jewish students who support Israel as “pro-genocide” in April.

She called Omar a “demagogue” for pushing the trope of wealthy Jews using money to buy political influence after the congresswoman tweeted, “It’s all about the Benjamins, baby,” in 2019 in reference to pro-Israel lobbying groups. Omar apologized for this comment after receiving pushback from both sides of the aisle.

“She was insinuating that Jews and their money control the world,” Al-Aqidi said.

Omar similarly tweeted that “Israel has hypnotized the world” in 2012 following an Israeli operation against Hamas terrorists. She deleted the post and called her wording “unfortunate” after it resurfaced years later.


Netanyahu: We Are Dismantling Terrorist Armies on Our Borders
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday:
"We are dismantling the axis of evil that we face, with calculated blows. No longer will terrorist armies be on our borders."
"Hamas will no longer rule in Gaza and Hizbullah will not sit on our northern border, at positions a few meters from our border, from which it could invade. This will not happen anymore." "We are also severing Iran's weapons pipelines to Hizbullah."
"In Lebanon...the agreements, documents, proposals and numbers - 1701, 1559 - with all due respect, are not the main point."
"The main point is our ability and determination to enforce security, thwart attacks against us, and act against the arming of our enemies, as necessary, and despite any pressure and constraints."
"Regarding Iran, we struck its soft underbelly. The haughty words of the Iranian regime's leaders cannot cover up the fact that in Iran today, Israel has greater freedom of action than ever before. We can go anywhere that we need to in Iran."


Netanyahu fires Gallant, foreign minister Israel Katz to be appointed in his place
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Tuesday that he fired Yoav Gallant as defense minister and named Israel Katz, the Israeli foreign minister, as the new head of the Defense Ministry.

The announcement came hours before polls started closing in the United States on Election Day—one of the most dominant international news stories during a U.S. presidential election. Netanyahu stated that Gideon Sa’ar, minister without portfolio, would replace Katz as Jerusalem’s top diplomat.

“In the midst of war, more than ever, complete trust is required between the prime minister and the defense minister,” Netanyahu stated. “Unfortunately, even though such trust was present during the first months of the military campaign, and we had a very productive cooperation, during the past several months this trust between myself and the defense minister has begun to crack.”

Gallant and Netanyahu “had substantial disagreements on the management of the military campaign, disagreements which were accompanied by public statements and actions that contravened the decisions of the government and the security cabinet,” the Israeli premier stated.

“I have made multiple attempts to resolve these disagreements, but they became increasingly wider,” Netanyahu said. “They were also brought to the knowledge of the public in an inappropriate manner, and what is even worse, they have reached the knowledge of the enemy; our enemies have taken great delight in these disagreements and have derived much benefit from them.”

Netanyahu said that Katz “has proven his abilities and has made a contribution to national security as minister of foreign affairs, minister of finance, minister of intelligence for five years and, equally important, as a long-standing member of the state security cabinet.”

“Israel Katz brings to the table an impressive combination of rich experience and executive capabilities,” Netanyahu said. “He is known as a man of action who combines responsibility with reserved decisiveness, all important qualities for driving a military campaign.”

Netanyahu added that naming Katz and Sa’ar to fill new roles “will reinforce the government and the security cabinet, transforming them into bodies that work cooperatively and harmoniously for the security of the State of Israel, for the citizens of Israel and for our victory.”


Netanyahu offering millions for safe return of hostages
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has presented a new proposal that would see Jerusalem pay “several million dollars” for each hostage, in exchange for safe passage abroad for the captors and their families, Channel 12 reported on Monday.

Netanyahu previewed this type of proposal in a statement following the killing of Hamas terror leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza on Oct. 16.

“To the Hamas terrorists, I say—your leaders are fleeing and will be eliminated. I call on anyone holding our hostages: Lay down your weapons and return our hostages, and we will allow you to leave and live. At the same time, I say that anyone who harms our hostages will pay with his life, and we will settle accounts with him,” added the premier.

The plan was reportedly discussed in Sunday’s meeting with the government’s point man on the hostage issue, Gal Hirsch.


Blinken: Hamas rejects Egyptian ceasefire proposal
The Hamas terrorist group in Gaza has rejected an Egyptian proposal for a short-term ceasefire in exchange for the release of four Israeli hostages, according to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Speaking with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty on Monday, Blinken said, “Hamas has once again refused to release even a limited number of hostages to secure a ceasefire and relief for the people of Gaza,” according to a State Department readout of the call.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi had put forward a 12-day proposal at the end of October that would have started with a 48-hour ceasefire followed by Hamas releasing four captives over the next 10 days, two Arab diplomats told The Times of Israel on Monday.

The abductees would have fallen under the humanitarian category, which includes women, the elderly and the sick.

In exchange, Jerusalem was to have released around 100 Palestinian terrorists from Israeli jails.

Over the 12-day period, Israel and Hamas were to have held indirect talks on extending the ceasefire.


Biden-Harris Admin Sued for Obstructing Probe Into Embattled Iran Envoy Rob Malley
A watchdog group is suing the Biden-Harris administration for obstructing its probe into the State Department's suspension of embattled Iran envoy Robert Malley, who remains the subject of an FBI investigation into his alleged mishandling of classified information, the Washington Free Beacon has learned.

The Center to Advance Security in America (CASA) sued the State Department late last week for reams of internal communications related to Malley, his 2023 suspension, and any subsequent discussions regarding the nature of information he may have compromised, according to a copy of the lawsuit obtained by the Free Beacon.

The State Department has blocked CASA's investigation for nearly seven months, ignoring a series of Freedom of Information Act requests aimed at unearthing details about the circumstances surrounding Malley's suspension and subsequent efforts to hide his misdeeds from Congress.

Nearly a year and a half after the agency stripped Malley of his security clearance and placed him on unpaid leave, lawmakers and the public still know little about the charges leveled against him. The State Department has repeatedly ignored congressional investigations into the matter and is now preventing outside organizations like CASA from obtaining relevant internal records.

Though Malley has been out of government since 2023, several of his protégés, including Pentagon staffer Ariane Tabatabai, remain in high-level positions. Tabatabai was outed last year as a member of a secretive Iran-controlled propaganda group known as the Iran Experts Initiative. A separate watchdog group, America First Legal, sued the Biden administration last month for obstructing a probe into Tabatabai's activities at the Pentagon, the Free Beacon reported.

CASA's April 2024 FOIA instructed the State Department to hand over all records related to Malley's "clearance," "suspension," "unpaid leave," "serious security concerns," and "handling of protected information."

Media reports since then suggest Malley may have moved classified information onto his personal email, where it could have leaked into public view. Congress, as well as CASA, are pursuing similar angles, suspecting that a series of internal State Department documents that appeared in the Iranian state-controlled press last year could be related to Malley's mishandling of sensitive documents.

In August 2023, shortly after Malley's suspension became public, the Tehran Times published reports containing "sensitive but unclassified" State Department documents, including one that outlined the reasons Malley had his security clearance revoked. A month later, the state-controlled outlet published audio of Brett McGurk, the National Security Council coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, privately discussing "national security options towards Iran."

CASA, in its request to the State Department, requested all internal communications related to the Tehran Times, hoping to identify the source of the leaks. The agency has not produced those documents.
Sinwar's Death Is Just the Beginning of Israel's Necessary Moves in the War
As the U.S. has confirmed more than once, Hamas, till now, has rejected all compromise proposals presented to it by the mediators or by President Joe Biden for an agreement on the hostages and ending the fighting in Gaza. Hamas has demanded guarantees to maintaining its rule over Gaza and a total and immediate withdrawal of Israeli troops. Basically, Hamas's intention was to come back another day and pursue its aims.

After Oct. 7, 2023, Israel's military campaign in Gaza, as well as in the north, is being conducted according to a structured strategic plan. Its goal is to significantly improve Israel's long-term security, while, in the shortest possible time frame, safely returning the hostages as well as the residents both in the Western Negev and in the North to their homes. A no less important goal is the restoration of Israeli deterrence against Iran and its proxies, as well as reinforcing its standing in the region.

Without arrangements acceptable to Israel with regard to the postwar situation in Gaza, the war will continue. Instead of reacting to proposals raised by others, Israel will put forward its own ideas. These would probably include, in addition to holding the strategically important Philadelphi and Netzarim corridors, creating a security zone on the eastern and northern sides of Gaza, and ensuring intelligence and, if necessary, military freedom of action in Gaza, similar to Judea and Samaria.
Future Security Arrangements Must Ensure that Lebanese Territory Is No Longer Used to Threaten Israel
One year ago, Hizbullah started what has morphed into the third Lebanon war with Israel, exposing the international failure to implement security arrangements mandated after their second war in 2006. UN Security Council Resolution 1701 ably diagnosed the main reasons for the outbreak of the second Lebanon war: Hizbullah's possession of military weapons outside the government's control, and its deployment of forces in southern Lebanon along the border with Israel.

1701 wisely called on Beirut to extend its sovereignty via the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), supported by UNIFIL, and to establish a zone south of the Litani River that was free of any nongovernmental armed forces. Yet none of these requirements was fulfilled.

Disarmament of militias was never seriously addressed. Instead, Lebanese officials essentially endorsed Hizbullah's right to bear arms. The Lebanese government and LAF actively colluded with Hizbullah in violating 1701, systematically obstructing UNIFIL access to Hizbullah military sites including cross-border tunnels, firing ranges, and missile launch sites.

To end the current Lebanon war and prevent the outbreak of a fourth one, the international community must provide better security arrangements, especially an effective implementation mechanism that helps the Lebanese government establish a monopoly on arms within its borders.

Specifically, future security arrangements must ensure that Lebanese territory is no longer used to threaten Israel - whether by Hizbullah, other Iranian proxies, Palestinian groups, or jihadists. The goal is to safeguard both Israel and Lebanon's security and sovereignty.

The core of Lebanon's future security architecture should begin with its government assuming sovereign responsibility over its territory. Given Beirut's long-running weakness, however, additional layers are necessary. Realistically, the prospects for a significantly stronger Security Council resolution are slim. Hence, a non-UN path may be required.

The U.S., Israel, and like-minded countries could create their own mechanism independent of the UN to compensate for the shortfalls in the current arrangement, on issues ranging from oversight to monitoring to coercive sanctions. Israel could provide intelligence to focus their efforts - and even military enforcement should all else fail.

To set all this in motion, aid to Lebanon's economy and reconstruction, as well as arms, funds, and training support to the LAF, must be conditioned on meeting clear benchmarks. Any Lebanese actors closely colluding with Hizbullah should be designated as terrorist elements and dealt with accordingly.
UNIFIL Peacekeeping Force Is Ineffective in Its Current Format
There are now 10,000 UNIFIL soldiers from 50 countries, supported by an annual budget exceeding $500 million. In recent years, it has become unmistakably clear that UNIFIL was not fulfilling its primary mandate - overseeing the prohibition of Hizbullah's military presence in southern Lebanon. Hizbullah operatives were able to travel south without any impediment, where they then prevented UNIFIL from accessing the areas they had taken over, using these locations to amass weapons to attack Israel in a future war.

In light of UNIFIL's failure to prevent Hizbullah from establishing an extensive presence and building its military strength in southern Lebanon, some in Israel have argued that the international force is ineffective and that the government should push to end its mandate or at least scale it back since it does not fulfill its purpose. They contend that UNIFIL's presence is even a burden on Israel, given that it restricts the IDF's freedom of operation, particularly during wartime.

The exposure of Hizbullah's extensive and deep presence and its operational readiness for war in the area south of the Litani River - a flagrant violation of UN Resolution 1701 - strongly underscores UNIFIL's inability to fulfill its mandate. It will not be able to continue operating in its current format "the day after" the war between Israel and Hizbullah. Media reports indicate that Israel seeks substantive revisions to UNIFIL's mandate.

Any ceasefire agreement to end the war must include the changes necessary to create an improved security reality along the border while also preserving Israel's freedom of operation if it becomes apparent that Resolution 1701 is not being enforced.
U.S. Plan Envisions Israeli "Hot Pursuit" Capacity Against Threats from Lebanon\
At the base of the American proposal for de-escalation in Lebanon sits UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which brought about a ceasefire following the Second Lebanon War in 2006. "The whole aim of the proposal is implementing Resolution 1701; in other words, 1701 is the common denominator of the proposal," said international law expert and former Israeli ambassador to Canada Alan Baker.

"1701 already exists and it just needs strengthening and encouragement. This arrangement is there to give a possibility for the resolution to be implemented properly in the way it was originally intended."

The resolution sought to guarantee the security of Israel's northern communities by removing all armed groups in southern Lebanon except the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and an international peacekeeping force (UNIFIL), but the resolution was never truly enforced. Baker explained that "You can't just get rid of UNIFIL, because it is set up by the UN Security Council and they will never get rid of it, so limiting UNIFIL is the best option."

A side-letter agreement between Israel and the U.S. expands on Israel's "hot pursuit" capacity, which was not initially codified in UNSCR 1701. Under the agreement, Israel would be allowed to respond "with the greatest urgency" to threats emanating from the border area. Israel would further be allowed to carry out strikes against developing threats throughout Lebanon, including storage or production of long-range missiles in northern Lebanon. However, such action would require prior consultation with the U.S.

According to Baker, "What has been added is Israel's right to act if the requirements of 1701 are violated, in coordination and support with the United States and other elements involved in monitoring the implementation. This is very significant for Israel's security."
‘This is a war of survival’: John Spencer on what the world is misunderstanding about the Israel-Hamas war
John Spencer, chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute, co-director of the Urban Warfare Project, and host of the Urban Warfare Project podcast, discusses Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas, including the unique challenges presented by the extensive tunnel network in Gaza and its unprecedented and misunderstood efforts to minimize civilian harm.


Senators warn of impending action if UN halts Israel’s participation in General Assembly
Eleven senators sent a letter to Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, warning of various actions should a Palestinian effort move forward to remove Israel from the U.N. General Assembly.

“Israel is America’s closest ally in the Middle East, a geopolitically critical region,” the senators wrote on Monday. “The effort to diplomatically isolate Israel is aimed at ultimately destroying the Jewish state, which is both obscene and antithetical to American national security interests.”

Signatories included Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.) Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.).

The senators wrote that following a suspension of Israel, “we will move to limit American participation and funding across the U.N., including U.N. Programmes, Funds, and Other Entities and Bodies, as well as its Specialized Agencies and Related Organizations, both those in which the PLO participates and generally.”

The letter also warned of consequences for the Palestinians should such an effort succeed, such as reduced cooperation with the Palestinian Authority; ending assistance in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip; closing Palestinian-related offices in the U.S. government; and “broadly curtailing diplomatic, economic and security engagements between American and Palestinian officials.”


UN peace exhibit features slogan calling for Israel to be wiped off the map: 'Shameful'
A Global Peace Flag exhibit at the United Nations New York City headquarters features a slogan that many Israelis regard as an explicit call to wipe Israel off the map.

The picture shows a map of Israel, resembling a watermelon, without any West Bank or Gaza partition. In the top right-hand corner is the Palestinian flag.

The left side of the map contains the phrase "From the River to the Sea" and the right side contains the phrase, "Will be Free." It is an obvious nod to the phrase, "From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will be Free."

Supporters of Palestinians maintain that the phrase is merely a slogan to represent the Palestinian struggle against the State of Israel, which they see as an occupying force.

Israelis, meanwhile, regard the phrase as an explicit call to genocide, a call for Israel to be wiped off the map completely.


Francesca Albanese will ‘spread poison’ at British universities, say Jewish leaders
Jewish leaders have have voiced their concerns over next week’s speaking tour of British universities by a United Nations official who claimed America had been “subjugated by the Jewish lobby”.

During her term as the UN’s special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese has compared Israel to Nazi Germany and told delegates to a Hamas-linked conference they had the “right to resist” occupation.

The Italian academic is now set to deliver a series of talks at LSE, Soas and Queen Mary University of London on the “genocide in Gaza” and its relationship with international law.

The Board of Deputies said it was “deeply worrying” that she had been invited to “spread her poison” on British university campuses.

“Francesca Albanese has a long history of deeply problematic statements, including describing America as ‘subjugated by the Jewish lobby’,” they said.

“She also uses Holocaust comparisons in a manner that is deeply offensive to most Jews. Grotesquely, she has also argued that antisemitism was not a factor in the October 7 massacre.”

In February of this year, Albanese replied to French President Emmanuel Macron to say the victims of October 7 were killed “in response to Israel’s oppression” rather than their Jewish identity.

The Union of Jewish Students said Albanese’s presence at London universities underscores the “increasingly belligerent environment” on British campuses.

“Ms Albanese’s role as UN Rapporteur has been marked by positions and statements perceived as antisemitic, including justifying the recent October 7 atrocities, Holocaust inversion, and endorsing conspiracy theories around the so-called ‘Jewish lobby’,” they said.

“We urge universities to consider the impact of hosting Ms Albanese and the message it sends to Jewish students and allies who are deeply affected by these statements. UJS’ welfare hotline continues to be open 24/7 for any Jewish students worried or affected.”


IDF heightens state of alert in anticipation of Iranian response
The IDF has heightened its state of alert and readiness in anticipation of a possible Iranian response to the recent Israeli strike, military sources said on Monday.

This increased vigilance includes daily situational assessments across all branches and divisions of the IDF General Staff, including the Home Front Command.

Intelligence gathering efforts have been intensified through various methods involving the entire intelligence community. At the same time, the Israeli air force remains on high alert, focusing on its control and air defense systems.

“The presence of hundreds of American soldiers in Israel operating the THAAD missile defense system underscores the close cooperation between the IDF and US forces stationed here,” a military official noted.

Deputy Chief of Staff Maj.-Gen. Amir Baram has also strengthened cooperative ties with his counterparts at US CENTCOM headquarters to prepare for various scenarios.

IDF sources emphasized, “Despite various reports in foreign media, there is no confirmed information about the exact timing of a response.”

They further assessed that Iran is still considering its options for retaliation and evaluating the scale of their response.


Laying Siege to Israel's Enemy Isn't a War Crime
18 years ago Gaza became de facto an independent state. It had clear borders, a stable central regime, an independent foreign policy and its own army. On Oct. 7, 2023, the state of Gaza launched a murderous war against the state of Israel. Militarily, the IDF achieved an impressive victory in Gaza. From the civilian aspect, however, Hamas is winning. It is maintaining its political control because it is still distributing the supplies in Gaza.

As a result, Hamas is seen as a government that takes care of the citizens. It gets rich from the supplies, which it receives for nothing but sells for an exorbitant price. With the considerable funds it accumulated, it pays the people loyal to it and recruits more combatants to replace those who were killed.

We must now think of another strategy that can create real pressure on the other side. The only solution which can achieve that lies in taking territory. Honor and land are seen as the sole values that guide Arab leaders. That's why I proposed occupying northern Gaza.

The argument that occupying territory in war is a forbidden move, and is even a war crime, is totally groundless. The most common and legitimate act in war is occupying territory. In Israel's campaign in Rafah, the IDF moved the maximum number of civilians to another area and the number of civilian casualties was small. We should carry out the exact same campaign in the north of Gaza. First, the civilians must be evacuated, and then we must act against the terrorists who remain there.

The most effective and economic way (in terms of casualties) to operate is by laying a siege, not by assault. Siege is an acceptable, approved military tactic by international law. There is no component in this proposal that is in violation of humanitarian international law.
US Soldier Injured During Biden's Failed Gaza Pier Operation Has Died
A U.S. Army soldier died last week after suffering non-combat injuries earlier this year while supporting President Joe Biden’s humanitarian pier off the coast of Gaza, the military announced Monday.

Sergeant Quandarius Davon Stanley, 23, sustained critical injuries in May while working on the U.S.-built pier, which Biden said would support the flow of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. Stanley recently retired from the military due to the injuries and was undergoing treatment at a long-term care facility before his death on Oct. 31.

"Stanley was an instrumental and well respected first line leader in the 7th Transportation Brigade Expeditionary (TBX), especially during the mission to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza," Colonel John Gray said.

Two other service members sustained minor injuries during the pier’s operation and have since returned to duty, the Times of Israel reported.

The Pentagon dismantled the $230 million Gaza pier in July after just three weeks of operation. The corridor helped the U.S. military deliver 137 trucks of aid into the war-torn region, but several of the trucks were intercepted before they could reach the civilian population.

Aid groups criticized the project as ineffective and wasteful. Its 20-day operation was plagued by rough weather and security problems that drastically limited the amount of aid entering Gaza.


Biden, Harris owe apology to family of US soldier who died as part of Gaza pier mission, US rep says
U.S. President Joe Biden and Kamala Harris should apologize to the family of Sgt. Quandarius Davon Stanley, 23, who died from injuries he sustained on the floating pier in Gaza, Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) stated on Monday.

“The only reason this ridiculous pier happened was so Biden and Harris could have a political talking point at the State of the Union to pander to the progressive left about Gaza,” Waltz wrote.

The inspector general of the U.S. Agency for International Development said that the White House was warned that weather conditions were “too rough, but the White House overrode the military and proceeded anyway. Shameful,” Waltz added. “This soldier’s death should never have happened. Biden and Harris owe his family an apology. The House should investigate.”

The U.S. military announced on Monday—the day before Election Day—that Stanley died on Oct. 31 from the injuries he sustained in a non-combat incident on May 23.

“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Sgt. Quandarius Davon Stanley, a recently retired motor transport operator previously assigned to the 7th Transportation Brigade Expeditionary, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va.,” Capt. Shkeila Milford-Glover, a spokeswoman for the 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command, told JNS.

“Stanley was injured while supporting the mission that delivered humanitarian aid to Gaza in May 2024 and was receiving treatment in a long-term care medical center,” Milford-Glover added.
Though battered, Hamas still able to function in central Gaza, says tank commander
Hamas, though significantly weakened, is still able to initiate attacks in central Gaza, a senior officer in the 14th Reserve Armored Brigade told The Times of Israel days after completing an operation in the Bureij refugee camp there.

“In general, their motivation is high to act and try to create victory images, and to create achievements,” said Lt. Col. Dori, the brigade’s operations officer. The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit only allowed the publication of his first name.

In the area where he was operating, Hamas gunmen “are still working as a system and trying to carry out attacks,” Dori said, but generally avoid direct confrontation with troops.

The 14th Brigade was deployed to the Netzarim corridor in central Gaza in late August, and began a weeklong operation in Bureij in early October. The IDF announced the end of the operation on October 11 and the brigade has now left the Strip.

According to the IDF, the brigade attacked a compound in Bureij that was a school before the war. Hamas was using it as a staging point for attacks on IDF troops. “In the area of ​​the school,” said the IDF, “the forces located terrorists who fired anti-tank missiles from the windows of the classrooms and also located weapons and ammunition.”

Dori, 47, said attacks like the anti-tank fire point to a functioning Hamas chain of command, at least in Bureij.

“Let’s do some reverse engineering,” he said. “There was a squad that received instructions, ostensibly from someone higher up. The weapons apparently moved from place to place. There is someone organizing this force. This shows some ability to carry things out, but we don’t see it in large numbers.”
New info revealed on incident in which five Egoz soldiers were killed in Lebanon
New information was disclosed in testimonies of commanders and soldiers on Tuesday on the incident in which the five Egoz soldiers were killed in early October in southern Lebanon.

Testimonies collected in conversations with fighters and commanders revealed that troops on the ground debated whether to enter the building with covering fire to rule out the presence of terrorists or to enter stealthily to avoid exposing the force.

It was ultimately decided to enter stealthily based on the assessment that it was abandoned and did not contain terrorists. The decision to enter the building was made based on intelligence.

When the forces entered the three-story building, one of the soldiers saw a terrorist sleeping in the corner of the room.

The soldier shot at the terrorist and, according to the field investigation, killed him. From that moment, an exchange of fire erupted inside and outside the building, during which it became clear that one soldier was inside the building, raising serious concerns that he was either alive and being held captive, had been killed, or was abducted.

During the fighting, the troops had to shoot at the building and even considered throwing grenades at the terrorists, but they didn’t know if the soldier was alive or not.

During those long minutes, the soldiers called out to the fighter, but he didn’t respond.

At a certain point, a senior commander on the ground decided to open fire on the building to kill the terrorists.

The investigation further revealed that additional soldiers and commanders arrived at the area of the building to assist in the fighting and evacuation of the wounded.

During the exchanges of fire and rescue attempts, part of the command chain was killed and wounded.
Bassam Tawil: Lebanon: Massive 'Underground Combat Sites'
"Hezbollah's model is the same as the North Korean model: tunnels in which hundreds of combatants, fully equipped, can pass stealthily and rapidly underground. In our opinion, Hezbollah's 'Land of the Tunnels' project is much larger than the Hamas 'metro' project in the Gaza Strip." — Alma Research and Education Center, July 2021.

These tunnels facilitate the movement of heavy equipment, missiles and fighters, and even allow missiles to be launched from within.

Built beneath the border between Lebanon and Syria, these tunnels allow Hezbollah's smuggling unit and the Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard's Quds Force to transport ammunition, supplies and fighters under the border.

Many of these tunnels are located beneath civilian infrastructure and populated areas, using civilians as human shields for their activities.

Some of the houses in Lebanon were destroyed by Hezbollah's own rockets and explosives after they were targeted by the IDF. "The explosions are caused by Hezbollah's own weapons. In other words, Hezbollah's tunnels are being used to blow up Lebanon. Hezbollah is displacing, starving and robbing the Lebanese." — Mohammed Al-Obaid, Arab social media user, X, October 31, 2024.

Hezbollah and Hamas bear full responsibility for the death of thousands of Lebanese, Palestinians and Israelis since the October 7, 2023 massacres in which Hamas murdered 1,200 Israelis. The two terrorist groups started the war, at the behest of their patrons in Iran, with the intention of killing a large number of Israelis and eliminating Israel. The vast network of tunnels they built in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip are an indication of the terrorist groups' determination to pursue their Jihad (holy war) against Israel, notwithstanding the risks to the Lebanese and Palestinian people living under their rule.

Even if Hezbollah says it will withdraw to north of the Litani River, the tunnels enable it easily to violate that pledge, with no one above ground the wiser. Hezbollah, moreover, never abided by UNSC Resolution 1701 to stop building tunnels and stockpiling weapons in south Lebanon.

The current war in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip must not end without the destruction of all the tunnels and the total defeat of Hezbollah and Hamas. Those who are pushing for an immediate ceasefire are only empowering Iran and its terror proxies, paving the way for another October 7-style massacre. The defeat of Hezbollah and Hamas will benefit not only the Israelis, but the Lebanese and Palestinians, as well.


IDF troops unearth a 70-meter-long underground space in southern Lebanon
IDF troops unearthed a 70-meter-long underground infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah in southern Lebanon the military said on Tuesday.

Within the subterranean space, soldiers found a room and weapons for a lengthy stay.

"We entered a military camp in a thicketed and fortified terrain in the center of a wadi," a Battalion chief of the 646th Brigade said.

He added that the company had found "deep inside in the terrain, a very, very deep underground infrastructure with ammunition, basically, an ammunition storage facility that was concealed in the thicketed terrain."

"They essentially created a bunker inside the terrain, carved inside a stone."

An additional raid unearthed another underground terror infrastructure that had room for prolonged stay and supplies.

The IDF added that after unearthing the infrastructure, they were destroyed, and the weapons were confiscated.

Troops demolished dozens of Hezbollah military structures and eliminated terrorists via aircraft fire.

Operations based on intelligence information
The military noted that troops had carried out targeted operations in various southern Lebanese villages based on precise intelligence information.

Later on Tuesday, the IDF said that as of 3:00 p.m., some 40 rockets had been fired by Hezbollah into Israel.
Hezbollah infiltrators killed by IDF hailed from Asian countries
Several Hezbollah terrorists killed by Israeli forces after infiltrating into the country from Southern Lebanon were later found to be citizens of two unnamed Asian countries, Israel’s Army Radio reported on Tuesday.

They were brought to Lebanon by Hezbollah after the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, for this specific purpose, as it was believed they would be less conspicuous, according to the report.

Israel’s aerial and ground attacks over the past year in Southern Lebanon have been aimed at removing the Iranian-backed terror army’s ability to conduct an Oct. 7-style mass murder attack in northern Israel.

The Israeli ground operation that began on Oct. 1 is specifically targeting Hezbollah’s Radwan Force, which has been responsible for ongoing threats to Israeli civilian communities in northern Israel. The Radwan Force’s Galilee invasion plan served as the blueprint for the Hamas death squads which led the Oct. 7 attack on the western Negev.
IDF launches new bout of raids on Hezbollah in Syrian border town
Israeli Air Force fighter jets launched renewed air raids on Hezbollah targets in the Syrian town of Al-Qusayr, near the border with Lebanon, on Tuesday, attacking munitions depots used by the terrorist group.

“Hezbollah’s Munitions Unit is responsible for storing weapons inside Lebanon and has recently expanded its activities into the area of Al-Qusayr, near the Syria-Lebanon border,” the military confirmed on X.

“This is another example of Hezbollah creating infrastructure for the transfer of weapons from Syria to Lebanon through border crossings,” added the IDF. “Hezbollah, with help from the Syrian regime, endangers the safety of civilians by establishing its infrastructure in civilian areas.”

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a London-based war monitor affiliated with Syria’s opposition, said seven “violent explosions” were reported as a result of the Israeli strikes, which targeted warehouses in the industrial city of “Al-Qusayr and buildings on the outskirts Al-Qusayr in the Homs countryside near the Syrian-Lebanese border.”

The organization said it received “initial information about casualties.”


More than 60 PFLP terrorists arrested in Judea and Samaria
More than 60 members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) were arrested during a recent counter-terror operation in Judea and Samaria, the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and Israel Defense Forces announced in a joint statement on Tuesday.

Local district heads and ground-level operatives were detained, along with university students active in PFLP cells, according to the statement.

Among those detained were leaders of the PFLP-affiliated Union of Women’s Committees, including Abla Sa’adat, wife of the organization’s secretary general, Ahmed Sa’adat, who has been imprisoned since 2006, and Tahrir Badran Jaber, a PFLP activist from Ramallah.

The IDF noted that the Union of Women’s Committees was designated as a terrorist organization in 2021 due to its ties to the PFLP.

According to Tuesday’s statement, the PFLP promotes terrorist attacks against Israel and was working to rebuild its infrastructure in the area.

As part of the counter-terror operation, the homes of PFLP operatives were searched, activists were questioned and interrogated and offices and business used by the PFLP were closed.

Additionally, actions were also taken against PFLP in Lebanon, according to the ISA and IDF, including the killing of senior PFLP terrorist Najal Abd al-Aal and additional terrorists on Sept. 30.

“The PFLP is a murderous and extremist terrorist organization responsible for numerous significant attacks in recent years,” according to the statement. “The organization operates throughout Judea and Samaria as well as in other arenas, aiming to advance terror activities against Israel.”


German Arms Exports to Israel Up Sharply
Contrary to reports that Germany has imposed an arms embargo on Israel, data from the German Foreign Ministry show that since the beginning of August, Germany has approved defense exports to Israel worth $102 million.
Poland's New Envoy to Israel Rejects Gaza Genocide Claims
Maciej Hunia, Poland's chief of mission in Israel, said in an interview Wednesday, "The entire democratic world should - must - support Israel in its fight against terrorists."

Hunia, a former top intelligence official, also rejects accusations that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

"Genocide is a crime committed with willingness to commit it," he said. "I'm absolutely sure that the Israeli army is not planning out operations which are going to kill innocent people."




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