Wednesday, November 20, 2024

11/20 Links Pt1: US vetoes UNSC ceasefire resolution; Senate Democrats Launch Campaign To Kneecap Jewish State; Reservist KIA in Gaza is 800th IDF war casualty

From Ian:

Another Report from Human Rights Watch: Ignore Hamas, Blame Israel
On November 14, Human Rights Watch released a report titled “Hopeless, Starving, and Besieged,” which accuses Israel of numerous war crimes in Gaza.

The report is based primarily on interviews with 39 Gaza residents, along with analysis of photographs, satellite imagery, and evacuation orders the IDF published on social media.

Of course the war has caused tremendous suffering for Gaza. While fighting against Hamas in a densely urban setting makes this largely inevitable, Israel should not be immune from scrutiny as to whether it has done enough to respect the rights of Gaza civilians. So investigation and analysis of Israel’s conduct is certainly in order.

However, as we’ve unfortunately become accustomed to from Human Rights Watch, this report is biased against Israel at every turn.

Standard of Perfection
Humanitarian law is extraordinarily demanding in the protections it affords civilians — so much so, that no army has ever succeeded at upholding humanitarian law completely. In fact, most do a terrible job. A reasonable question might be to ask how Israel’s humanitarian score compares with other Western nations in their own recent conflicts. But Human Rights Watch holds Israel to a standard of complete perfection — any time Israel falls the slightest bit short of what they believe humanitarian law requires, no matter how impossible the situation, this report immediately accuses Israel of a war crime.

For example, in declaring most evacuations of civilians illegal, the report says, “failure to ensure the security and the guarantee of protections of displaced persons as they fled and in the places to which they were displaced would still render the displacement unlawful.”

In other words, the IDF told civilians to leave a residential area where it was planning to operate against Hamas missiles and tunnels, where they would be in enormous danger should they remain.

But even though evacuation was clearly a good idea and would make them much, much safer, since Israel couldn’t guarantee that they would be completely safe while traveling and at their destination, Human Rights Watch says the evacuation was a war crime.

But how can anywhere in Gaza be completely safe, with Hamas popping up all over? This demand that Israel ensure complete safety for evacuees is impossible, and that would be the case for any other army as well.

The report even criticizes Israel for this: “The evacuation orders also failed to take into account the needs of people with disabilities, many of whom are unable to leave without assistance.”

Of course it would be best if Gaza residents had plenty of time to leave in an organized fashion, with special consideration for those with disabilities. But rockets were raining down on Israel’s cities, with hostages languishing in captivity and Israeli soldiers in danger of attack by Hamas as they wait. Human Rights Watch makes it sound as if Palestinian civilians are the only ones whose rights need to be considered. They’re not.
It Is Time for Qatar to Choose a Side: The United States or Terror Groups
For the sake of peace and stability in the Middle East, it is vital that the United States drastically change its relations with Qatar. Qatar has long played a double game, seeking good relations with the United States while maintaining ties — if not support — for its adversaries. That pattern appears to be repeating itself again, with competing reports about whether the leadership of the terrorist group Hamas will continue to be welcome to live in Doha.

It is vital that the United States convince Qatar to play it straight, and cut off political and financial support for Hamas while increasing accountability.

Earlier this month, Biden administration officials claimed that Qatar was evicting Hamas from the country. But, just days later, the Qatari Foreign Ministry strongly denied those reports. Instead, Qatar said it was suspending its role as a mediator in hostage and ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas.

Yet, an Arab diplomat told The Times of Israel that last week senior Hamas officials left Qatar for Turkey, a NATO ally that also risks running afoul of Washington if it provides safe harbor to terrorists.

Amid this confusion, it is not clear what exactly is taking place: has Qatar actually expelled Hamas’ leadership, but is denying it to save face publicly? Would Doha welcome these officials back if they agree to negotiate? Which Hamas members, if any, still reside in Qatar?

Whatever is happening behind the scenes, the ambiguity of the current situation is representative of Qatar’s broader strategy to play all sides and keep everyone guessing regarding its loyalties and interests. Thus, while it hosts, and helps pay for, the largest US military base in the Middle East at al Udeid, Qatar has also provided a haven and financial support to radical groups, terrorist organizations, and American adversaries such as the Taliban, Hamas, and the Muslim Brotherhood, while maintaining good relations with Iran.

Doha portrays its refusal to choose sides as a strategic asset, not only for itself but for others as well. For example, Qatari officials have claimed that allowing Hamas officials to reside on its territory is a selfless investment in diplomacy. Qatari Defense Minister Khalid bin Mohammed al-Attiyah explained that Hamas officials would remain in Doha “not because we want Hamas to stay in Qatar, but because we want to facilitate the negotiations with the parties through the organization’s office.”

Yet, there is good reason to be skeptical of these claims of Qatari neutrality and magnanimity.


Casting lone ‘no’ vote, US vetoes UN Security Council ceasefire resolution
The United States vetoed a U.N. Nations Security Council resolution calling for an Israel-Hamas ceasefire on Wednesday morning, citing its failure to condition a halt in hostilities directly to the release of the hostages, whom Hamas continues to hold in the Gaza Strip.

“We could not support an unconditional ceasefire that failed to release the hostages,” Robert Wood, deputy U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told the council.

Wood accused Hamas—and not Israel—of blocking a negotiated ceasefire and cited Israel’s reference for a temporary ceasefire and a phased release of hostages.

Washington cast the lone vote against the measure among the 15-member body. It is one of five permanent members of the council that has veto power.

The E10, a group of the council’s 10 elected members, put the resolution forward at Algeria’s urging. The North African country is the Security Council’s de facto representative for the Palestinians and the Arab and Muslim world.

Amar Bendjama, Algeria’s envoy to the global body, called it a “sad day” for the council and claimed that the Jewish state has “impunity in this chamber.”

The vetoed resolution demanded an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire, as well as the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages who remain in Gaza.

It rejected “any effort to starve Palestinians” and demanded immediate access to basic services and humanitarian assistance for civilians in Gaza. It also called for aid to enter the Strip at scale and be delivered, including to “civilians in besieged north Gaza.”

Wednesday marked the 12th time that the Security Council has voted on a resolution about the Israel-Hamas war. Only four have been adopted. None of the prior 11 appears to have had a substantive effect on halting hostilities or securing the release of hostages or delivery of aid.

Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, told reporters ahead of Wednesday’s vote that the resolution “is nothing short of a betrayal.”

“It betrays the 101 innocent hostages still held by Hamas, their grieving families and the very principles the United Nations claims to defend,” he told journalists.

It is “not a resolution for peace. It is a resolution for appeasement” that abandons the hostages and validates and rewards terrorism, he added.


How Israel and Lebanon can stop the slaughter Another ceasefire is bound to fail
This consensus around the indeterminate and obsolete Security Council resolution tells, in short, the entire story of the failure to resolve this conflict. If there is one thread running through nearly every diplomatic effort of the last eight decades, it is a firm commitment to the idea that any party that launches a war against Israel and is then defeated is entitled to a restoration of the conditions it violently rejected when launching the war.

This unspoken normative commitment explains the iterations of final status plans presented to the Palestinian leadership after its rejection of statehood at Camp David and subsequent suicide bombing campaign of the early 2000s. It explains the insistence on pre-1967 armistice lines as the only legal basis for Israel’s border after 1967. It explains the curious exception to that norm regarding the refusal to recognise even the pre-1967 part of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. And it explains the cruel human experiment known as UNRWA, a refugee agency that, unlike any other refugee agency, exists not to rehabilitate refugees but rather to keep them in a permanent state of immiseration to maintain an irredentist claim against another country.

Such a norm has not featured in the post-war mediation of any other conflict, not before 1945 and not since. No one has ever seriously suggested creating a kind of sportsman’s mulligan as an international diplomatic norm for other conflicts for this very reason. It’s not hard to see why this might be the case. If the international community extended a line of insurance to other aggressors, which promised that launching wars could bring gains with victory but no losses with defeat, there would be a lot more wars.

But what’s even more notable than the warped consensus around 1701 is the absence of any mention of making peace between the two neighbouring states. Nowhere is the establishment of normal diplomatic relations between Lebanon and Israel even mentioned as a long-term goal.

One might argue that peace right now is not realistic, and that may be true. But that is equally true about an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank or the establishment of a Palestinian state or the redivision of Jerusalem — and yet these are always mentioned as long-term goals by European governments.

Why shouldn’t a peace treaty be the clearly stated goal? Normal diplomatic relations would resolve any existing border disputes. After all, the ones still extant are tiny and largely invented pretexts for maintaining Hezbollah’s arsenal.

Just before the US election, France hosted an “International Conference in Support of Lebanon’s People and Sovereignty”, where $1 billion in aid was pledged and where French President Macron claimed Israel was “sowing barbarism”. If there was any suggestion that Lebanon’s situation might have been improved by not firing rockets into Israel for the past 11 months, the participants were too polite to mention it. Nor was there any reckoning with Lebanon’s decision to cultivate an alternative armed force, larger than its own military, implicated in atrocities in Syria, and answerable to the Islamic Republic of Iran. The insistence of global actors, most notably the host country itself, on protecting Hezbollah and securing for it advantageous ceasefire arrangements in previous wars in 1996 and 2006 also went unmentioned.

And no one mentioned peace. Normal diplomatic relations between Lebanon and Israel wouldn’t mean that Lebanon agrees with everything Israel does. This is already the case for France as well as most of its allies. For that matter, it is also the case for Egypt and Jordan. It would just mean that there is an agreed border, a possibility for minimal economic cooperation, and a commitment to resolve disputes by negotiation. Good for Israel, to be sure. But even better for Lebanon.

True, no one could seriously believe that this path will be adopted. But the reticence to even raise the topic of peace is in many ways revealing. Most obviously, it sends the wrong message and incentivises the wrong behaviours — as well as violates any normal diplomatic practice regarding other international disputes. But it also mirrors the manner in which the contemporary Western cordon sanitaire around racism has an elaborate permission structure exempting hatred of Jews. Once again, all that’s required is to frame one’s dislike as a kind of grievance against Israel — rather than as pathological hatred of a highly imperfect state that is fighting a complex seven-front war it did not seek.
Sa’ar: Israel must be free to act against Hezbollah truce violations
Israel must continue to be able to deter Hezbollah, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar stressed on Wednesday, speaking amid efforts to reach a ceasefire with Iran’s Lebanese terrorist proxy.

“We need to keep the freedom to act if there will be violations. And we will have to act in time, before the problem will grow,” the minister told a gathering of nearly 100 foreign ambassadors in Jerusalem, the Times of Israel reported.

A deal to end more than a year of fighting on the northern border must be durable, Sa’ar said, saying Jerusalem “would like to reach an agreement that will stand the test of time.”

He added that a ceasefire would be an “opportunity” for Lebanon to regain its sovereignty after the Israeli military severely degraded the Iranian-backed group in recent months. He called for the Lebanese Armed Forces to be strengthened and urged the international community to invest more in the economically devastated country, which is drowning in debt following years of mismanagement and corruption.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz also emphasized on Wednesday the necessity for Jerusalem to be able to act against any Hezbollah threats that may arise after a ceasefire deal is implemented.

“The condition for any political settlement in Lebanon is the preservation of the intelligence capability and the preservation of the [IDF’s] right to act and protect the citizens of Israel from Hezbollah,” Katz said.

Meanwhile, U.S. special envoy Amos Hochstein remained in Beirut for a second day on Wednesday to discuss “technical details” of an American ceasefire proposal with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who heads the Hezbollah-allied Amal movement.

President Joe Biden’s point man in the Land of the Cedars announced he would travel to Israel on Wednesday night, speaking after he made “additional progress” in a second meeting with Berri.

Hochstein was scheduled to meet with Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer shortly after his arrival, followed by a tête-à-tête with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the following day.

“The meeting today built on the meeting yesterday, and made additional progress,” Hochstein said. “So I will travel from here in a couple hours to Israel to try to bring this to a close if we can.”


Hezbollah threatens new attacks on Tel Aviv
Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem on Wednesday threatened to keep up its attacks on Tel Aviv in response to Saturday’s targeted killing in Beirut of the organization’s propaganda chief Mohammad Afif by Israel.

“Israel has attacked the heart of Beirut, so it must expect the response to take place in the center of Tel Aviv. They must pay the price,” Qassem said, according to a translation by L’Orient Today.

Earlier on Wednesday, Hezbollah’s propaganda office published a visual that referenced Monday night’s attack on Ramat Gan, a suburb of Tel Aviv, that wounded five people. “8:45 p.m.: Tel Aviv under fire,” it reads in Arabic and Hebrew, with images of the damage caused by the rocket.

Qassem stated in his speech, “The resistance [Hezbollah] is fighting to eliminate the enemy and prevent the perpetuation of its occupation, and we have been exceptional in this sense.” He added, “The resistance can maintain this pace for a long time. Israel cannot defeat us.

“The occupation [Israel] believed it could achieve through an agreement what it failed to secure on the battlefield, but that is impossible,” said Qassem of the ongoing ceasefire negotiations led by the United States.

The terrorist leader vowed to “continue our efforts on the ground, whether the negotiations succeed or not.

“We are confronting a savage enemy, and we will remain on the ground, no matter the cost, as we will also increase the cost for the enemy. We are facing Israeli human monsters supported by American human monsters,” threatened Qassem.
Israel’s deputy FM: Trump ‘uniquely positioned’ to stabilize Middle East
President-elect Donald Trump and his new administration are “uniquely positioned” to stabilize the Middle East, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel said on Wednesday.

“President Trump has strategically surrounded himself with a team of seasoned leaders who possess a deep understanding of the Middle East’s complex dynamics and the grave threats Israel faces from its enemies,” Haskel told JNS. “Supported by this powerhouse team, President Trump is uniquely positioned to stabilize the region and secure a better, more prosperous future—one that serves not only the safety and security of Israel, but also the strategic interests of the United States and democracies worldwide,” she added.

The partnership between Israel and the United States is built on a foundation of shared values, democratic principles and mutual interests, said Haskel.

“Together, we face numerous challenges, but we also have incredible opportunities to foster peace and stability in the region.”

Trump’s nominees include Sen. Marco Rubio, a staunch friend of the Jewish state known for his muscular foreign policy; Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, a pastor who and devout supporter of Israel; Rep. Elise Stefanik, who rose to national and international prominence for her grilling of Ivy Leagues presidents over antisemitism on U.S. campuses; Pete Hegseth, an American TV anchor and former Army National Guard officer who is a strong critic of Iran; and American Jewish real estate investor and Israel supporter Steve Witkoff.

Trump’s son in law Jared Kushner, who spearheaded the landmark 2020 Abraham Accords, certain to be a pillar of Trump’s Middle East policy as he works to reach a peace deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia, is expected to serve as an external adviser to the administration.

“The cabinet appointments are a cause for great cheer and they will be very good both for Israel and the United States,” Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli told JNS.

Chikli went on to say that he expects “huge changes” for the Middle East and beyond under the new administration, citing the “moral clarity, vision and true friendship” with Israel of the nominees.

The minister, who is charged with combating antisemitism, noted that the appointment of Stefanik as ambassador to the United Nations was “bad news” for organizations such as the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine in the Near East (UNRWA).


Senate Democrats Launch Eleventh-Hour Campaign To Kneecap Jewish State
In the Biden-Harris administration’s eleventh hour, Senate Democrats are launching a campaign against the Jewish state aimed at drumming up support for blocking arms sales to Israel.

Led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.), the congressional offensive consists of three Senate disapproval resolutions that call for an immediate pause in American arms sales to Israel and accuse the United States of supporting mass war crimes in the Gaza Strip. Sanders—along with Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D., Md.), Jeff Merkley (D., Ore.), Peter Welch (D., Vt.), and other top Democrats—held a press conference on Tuesday touting the measures. Around the same time, anti-Israel protesters stormed a Senate office building, demanding lawmakers back the measures.

The Arms Control Export Act, which governs foreign arms sales, does give Congress a mechanism to block sales if both the House and Senate pass disapproval resolutions. But Sanders's resolutions, even if passed by the Senate’s razor-thin Democratic majority, would not block any pending arms sales to Israel, as the deadline to do so has passed.

Still, the resolutions—which are set for a full Senate vote on Wednesday—show that the Democratic Party's left wing remains eager to fight Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as President Joe Biden shuffles out of office. Jeremy Ben-Ami, CEO of the left-wing anti-Israel group J Street, penned a Substack post endorsing the resolutions and warning Senate Democrats that their "further electoral ambitions" could be threatened if they oppose the measures.

"It's not just history that will hold Senators to account, those with further electoral ambitions will have to answer to voters in years to come whether they demonstrated the backbone to stand up and call out this horrific situation," he wrote. "History will not be kind to those who step back when the moment demands a clear and powerful statement of disapproval of how this war has been conducted and of horror at the death, destruction, and humanitarian disaster that has been created."

There's some evidence that the Biden-Harris administration agrees. Amid the Senate campaign, the administration has also ratcheted up pressure on Israel, sanctioning Israeli Jews on Monday for alleged human rights crimes in the West Bank and awarding another $230 million in taxpayer funds to the Palestinians. The administration is reportedly drafting a United Nations resolution meant to undermine Israel's presence in the West Bank.


Sanders resolution vote set to test Senate Democrats’ divisions on Israel
The Senate is set to vote on Wednesday on three resolutions led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) that would block transfers of tank rounds, mortars and bomb guidance kits to Israel, votes that will be a key test of the depth of division among Senate Democrats on U.S. support for Israel.

Going into Wednesday’s vote, it remains unclear how many senators will support one or more of the three resolutions — seven Democrats have told Jewish Insider they’re likely to oppose all of them while another seven have said they’re planning to support some or all. Eighteen said this week that they’re undecided or declined to preview their vote.

The Biden administration is lobbying against the resolutions. “We strongly oppose this resolution and we have made our position clear to interested senators,” a National Security Council spokesperson told JI on Tuesday night.

Sanders declined to speculate at a Tuesday press conference on how much support the resolutions would receive.

“It is time to tell the Netanyahu government that they cannot use US taxpayer dollars and American weapons in violation of U.S. and international law and in violation of our moral values,” Sanders said during the press conference. “It is also time to make clear to [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu he cannot continue to undermine U.S. foreign policy goals.”

Sanders and his allies decided to force votes on just three of the six resolutions he initially introduced. These resolutions are “privileged,” meaning that Senate leadership is unable to block the votes.

“These are the three that I think most members can get their arms around and see as having an immediate impact in destroying the lives of people in Gaza,” Sanders said. “They’re very specific and I think that they are, frankly, resolutions that will probably attract the most support.”


Congress to vote on bipartisan bill to revoke non-profit status for groups supporting terror
The House is set to vote this week on legislation that would make it easier for the federal government to remove the tax-exempt statuses of nonprofits that provide support to terrorist groups. But the legislation has become politically controversial amid accusations from progressive groups and Democratic lawmakers that it would enable arbitrary crackdowns by the incoming Trump administration.

The initial version of the bill, which was sponsored by Reps. David Kustoff (R-TN) and Brad Schneider (D-IL), passed the House overwhelmingly in April, by a vote of 382-11. In the intervening seven months it has become the subject of controversy and has not moved forward in the Senate.

A new version of the bill was brought up for a House vote last week under procedures requiring a two-thirds margin of support, and failed with a 256-145 vote. The legislation will be brought up again for a simple-majority vote this week and will likely pass.

The bill would streamline the procedures for revoking the nonprofit status of charities accused of providing financial or material support to U.S.-designated terrorist organizations. Under current law, the issue must be adjudicated at trial, and the law has rarely been invoked. Under the new legislation, the secretary of the Treasury would be able to make such determinations unilaterally, potentially without publicly releasing underlying evidence.

Targeted charities would have 90 days to file a court challenge before losing their tax exemptions.

The legislation comes in response to growing concerns — especially after Oct. 7 — that U.S.-based anti-Israel charities and nonprofits are providing support and potentially funding for Hamas and other terrorist groups in Gaza and the Middle East. A staffer for the Palestine Chronicle, a U.S.-registered nonprofit, was also found to have been holding hostages in his home in Gaza.
Elise Stefanik vows to take on ‘den of antisemitism’ and ‘apologist for Iran’ at the UN
United Nations ambassador-designate Elise Stefanik issued a blistering and stunning rebuke of the organization where she is set to serve as an emissary, denouncing the UN in a Tuesday speech as a “den of antisemitism” that she intends to confront.

Stefanik (R-NY), 40, the outgoing House GOP conference chair, foreshadowed forthcoming battles at the UN when she takes charge as ambassador and rattled off some of its offices and commissions she will target, during an address at an Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET).

“We know that the UN is a den of antisemitism,” she said at the EMET’s annual dinner where she was honored with the Rays of Light in the Darkness Award.

“Ever since and even before the barbaric terrorist attacks [from] Hamas on Oct. 7, the UN has continuously betrayed Israel and betrayed America, acting as an apologist for Iran and their terrorist proxies.”

Stefanik ticked off examples of the UN’s betrayal such as UN Women deleting a post condemning Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs spouting data from Hamas’ Ministry of Health, and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees, which had Hamas staff.

Last week, President-elect Donald Trump announced Stefanik as his pick to serve as US ambassador to the UN. Since then, Stetfanik has kept somewhat of a light public profile as she hunkers down and prepares to ascend to that role.


UN Watch: Channel 11 to Hillel Neuer: “You wake up every morning with a mad passion to do this work!”

UN Watch: Hillel Neuer on NewsNation: "Lebanon has been occupied by the Islamic regime of Iran"
Hillel Neuer appeared on NewsNation with Adrienne Bankert to discuss Israel's objectives in Lebanon against the terrorist organization Hezbollah, and to express hope for an independent Lebanon to emerge free from the Islamic regime of Iran's control.




Extremist Anti-Israel United Nations Official Francesca Albanese Spreads Nonsensical Claims On CityNews Interview
A November 8 CityNews segment entitled “United Nations Special Rapporteur slams Canada over response to Gaza war,” featured an interview with United Nations Special Rapporteur on Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese, one of the most outspoken and notoriously extreme anti-Israel actors in all of international politics.

During the brief segment, Albanese not only spread falsehoods about Israel and the nature of its defensive actions in Gaza, but she also directly attacked the people of Canada and suggested that Canadians are somehow to blame for these imagined crimes.

Albanese called herself the “chronicler of a genocide” and alleged that “Canadians [are] part of this unlawful endeavour.” She accused Israel of “slaughtering … kids,” “starving the Palestinian people,” “level[ing] all universities,” and “destroy[ing] … health infrastructure” in Gaza. Somehow even more pointedly, she also baselessly asserted that Israel’s “aim is to get Palestinian land” via “sacrifice[ing]” the lives of Palestinians, and that Israel’s actions are “not self-defence.” She claimed that Canada “has a clear legal obligation to intervene” and prevent Israel from protecting its citizens, and that its failure to do so thus far is “a stain on all of us.”

Outlandish Claims Went Unchallenged
Despite the interviewer trying to push back against Albanese’s false narrative by raising the alternate viewpoint, Albanese spewed off so many outlandish claims so quickly that the limited time of the interview left most of them unaddressed – posing a risk that some viewers may have left oblivious to how credible a source this individual is and/or how demonstrably false her claims are.

Despite her very formal title and affiliation with the United Nations, Albanese is by no means a respectable, serious, or objective figure when it comes to the subject matter in question. For years, she has used her role to vocally push extremist anti-Israel viewpoints and grant them undue legitimacy. Just last month, a comprehensive and publicly-available report by the non-governmental organization UN Watch thoroughly chronicled her extensive history of outrageous behavior and statements.

Some of the highlights include her openly encouraging Hamas to attack Israel, questioning Israeli sexual abuse survivors and denying Hamas’ atrocities against hostages, participating in Iranian regime propaganda events, spreading falsehoods about well-documented facts, peddling traditional antisemitic conspiracy theories, and lamenting the death of Hamas leader and arch-terrorist Yahya Sinwar. On the very day of October 7, 2023, as the Hamas invasion and massacre was actively taking place and while the rest of the world watched in shock and horror at one of the most barbaric and sadistic incidents of mass murder, cruelty, and atrocity in history, Albanese’s immediate in-the-moment comment was to justify the attacks.


Israeli strikes in Iraq could be ‘imminent,’ US reportedly warns
The United States has informed Baghdad that Israeli strikes in Iraq are “imminent” if the Iraqi government fails to stop Iranian-backed militias from attacking the Jewish state, Arab media reported on Wednesday.

The U.S. told Iraq it has exhausted “all means of pressure” on Jerusalem and has urged Baghdad to take swift action to prevent these attacks, the reports by Al-Hadath and other Saudi-owned news outlets claimed.

On Monday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar called on the United Nations Security Council to take “immediate action” against the Iranian-backed militias in Iraq launching drones and missiles at the Jewish state.

In a letter sent to the Security Council president for November, British Ambassador Barbara Woodward, Sa’ar expressed “grave concern over the significant increase in the frequency and the intensity of attacks on Israel conducted by the Iranian-backed militias” since September.

He warned that the ongoing attacks “have the potential to further drag the region in a very dangerous escalation while posing a significant threat to international peace and security,” noting that Jerusalem’s right to self-defense against threats from Iraq is enshrined in the U.N. Charter.

Israel has already warned the Iraqi government that unless it reins in the militias, it faces Israeli strikes on its territory, the Saudi website Elaph reported earlier this month. Unnamed officials told the news outlet that satellites were monitoring the movement of ballistic missiles and related equipment from Iran to Iraq, which could be used in an attack on Israel.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani dismissed Sa’ar’s letter as a “pretext and argument to attack Iraq” and to “expand the war in the region,” speaking in a statement on Tuesday. His office claimed that Baghdad has refused to enter into the regional conflict with the Jewish state while “seeking to provide relief to the Palestinian and Lebanese people.”

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an Iranian-backed amalgamation of terrorist groups, on Wednesday claimed responsibility for an attempted drone attack on a “military target” in Israel’s north on Tuesday night.

The IDF confirmed that it shot down a drone that was fired at the Jewish state “from the east,” a phrase the army uses to refer to Iraq. The drone was shot down before entering Israeli airspace, the Air Force said.
Seth Frantzman: Hezbollah fires rockets six miles from Israel, targeting UNIFIL posts
Hezbollah fired rockets on November 19 that hit and damaged a UNIFIL post, the IDF said yesterday.

This took place from locations that are only around six miles north of the Israeli border. One of the rockets was fired from the area of Maaliyeh in southern Lebanon. This is an area around a mile east of the beaches south of Tyre. In normal times it would be near areas where people might be spending a holiday. However, Hezbollah has turned these areas into sites to threaten Israel.

The attacks on November 19 that threatened UNIFIL posts illustrate how close Hezbollah continues to operate to Israel’s northern border. This means any ceasefire would likely leave Hezbollah operating just several miles north of the border unless a mechanism is found to get Hezbollah to leave and confirm it has moved away.

The IDF noted on November 19 that there were several attacks on UNIFIL posts. “At 09:50 this morning (Tuesday), Hezbollah fired a rocket that hit a UNIFIL post in the Ramyeh area in southern Lebanon.” The rockets fired from Maaliyeh appeared to target an area in Lebanon.

This means Hezbollah was firing rockets from an area around six miles north of the Israeli border toward other places in Lebanon. The rockets were fired toward a UNIFIL post, the IDF said. Pro-Iranian Al-Mayadeen media has said the IDF is operating in the area of Chamaa, which was targeted by the rockets.

Rockets hit a UN post in Lebanon
The other attack included rocket fire from the area of Dayr Aaames. The rockets crossed into Israel but also hit a UN post in Lebanon near the border with Israel. Once again the rocket fire took place only around six miles from the border. It is in the hills near Qana and Kafra. It is due north of Ayta ash Shab which is a Lebanese border village that overlooks the Israeli community of Shtula. Hezbollah has often operated in Ayta ash Shab.

What the two incidents tell us is that Hezbollah is willing to target or harm UNIFIL posts. It also illustrates how close Hezbollah continues to operate near the border. Hezbollah uses rocket launchers that usually can fire up to 24 or more rockets at a time. These launchers are not very large and they can be easily moved, for instance in the back of a truck.

That means any civilian-looking truck could carry rockets from place to place. The rocket launchers are often concealed in areas such as under trees and near bushes, or places in a small hole in the ground or behind a wall. This enables Hezbollah terrorists to easily come to a site and fire the launchers. In many cases the IDF has found launchers in southern Lebanon that are full of rockets, primed and ready to be fired. This likely shows that Hezbollah loads the launchers in many places and then leaves them in place for days or months, ready to use at a moment’s notice.


As north nears a deal, UNIFIL’s failures cry out for overhaul
The 10,150-strong UN Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has been about as effective in stabilizing southern Lebanon – the goal of its original 1978 mandate – as the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA) has been in resolving the Palestinian refugee issue.

In other words: useless.
But while October 7 served as the catalyst for Israel to finally cut ties with UNRWA, there is no talk in the emerging arrangement that US envoy Amos Hochstein is putting together to end the fighting in the North and Lebanon to do away with UNIFIL.

This likely reflects a belief that the force still has some kind of constructive role to play in the region, though what that role might be remains unclear.

Not only has UNIFIL failed in its role of monitoring Hezbollah activity in southern Lebanon, but during the current fighting it has – on more than one occasion – served to shield Hezbollah. According to IDF forces, UNIFIL has at times even interfered in their attempts to clear the border area of Hezbollah fighters.

In addition, UNIFIL seems comically unable to blame Hezbollah for anything. On Tuesday, in a communiqué announcing that UNIFIL peacekeepers and facilities were targeted in three different incidents, it stated that one attack was caused by a rocket “fired most likely by non-state actors in Lebanon,” while another incident involved “an armed person” who directly fired at the patrol.

An inability to name Hezbollah highlights the problem: a fear of the terrorist organization that paralyzes the peacekeepers. If UNIFIL cannot even identify Hezbollah as the organization that shot at its own troops, then how can it be trusted to prevent Hezbollah from rearming or reestablishing its presence in southern Lebanon? This was, after all, a key mandate under UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the Second Lebanon War.

If UNIFIL is to have any role under the agreement that is now being hammered out with Lebanon, then it will need to be overhauled – its mandate redefined and its makeup reconstituted. How this is to be done, and what shape this will take, is reportedly one of the issues that still has to be worked out in the Hochstein plan.


Reservist KIA in Gaza is 800th IDF war casualty
Sgt. 1st Class (res.) Roi Sasson was killed in action in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, the Israel Defense Forces announced on Wednesday.

Sasson, 21, was from the Jerusalem suburb of Mevaseret and served with the 90th “Nahshon” Battalion of the Kfir Brigade. He was Israel’s 800th military fatality since the start of the war on Oct. 7, 2023, and the 379th soldier killed in Gaza since the start of the ground operation there on Oct. 27, 2023.

A senior officer in the battalion was seriously wounded in the same incident, which occurred in the Beit Lahiya area.

On Wednesday night, the IDF announced that Sgt. 1st Class (res.) Eitan Ben Ami, 22, from Jerusalem, fell in combat in Southern Lebanon. He was a member of the Commando Brigade’s Maglan Reservist Unit.

In addition to the military casualties, Chief Inspector Arnon Zamora, a member of the Israel Border Police’s Yamam National Counter-Terrorism Unit, was fatally wounded during a hostage rescue mission in Gaza in June, and civilian defense contractor Liron Yitzhak was mortally wounded there in May.


Israeli scholar, 71, killed in Lebanon
Israel Defense Forces Maj. (res.) Ze’ev Erlich, 71, a renowned scholar of the Land of Israel, was killed by Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon, the Binyamin Regional Council announced on Wednesday evening.

“Jabo Erlich, 71, a reservist, joined IDF forces operating in Southern Lebanon. He was a prominent researcher in the field of research into the Land of Israel and its settlement,” the council confirmed in a statement.

Erlich, from the community of Ofra in the Binyamin region of central Samaria, is the oldest member of the IDF to be killed in the war that was initiated by Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 invasion of the northwestern Negev.

According to Israel’s Kan News public broadcaster, Erlich entered the Land of the Cedars as a civilian alongside IDF soldiers. The report said he was killed when terrorists opened fire at him at an archeological site.

The Hezbollah terror attack was said to have taken place at a historic fortress roughly four miles from the Jewish state’s northern border. According to Channel 12‘s Amit Segal, who grew up with Erlich in Ofra, he was shot at the Shrine of the Prophet Shimon in the village of Shama.

Though Erlich was not active in reserve service, the IDF’s Personnel Directorate reportedly decided to recognize him as a fallen soldier. The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit did not immediately confirm the report to JNS.

“We are shocked by Jabo’s departure,” said Binyamin Regional Council head Israel Ganz, describing Erlich as “a man whose name was a symbol for knowledge and love of the land” and one of the founders of Ofra.

The Yesha Council, which represents the interests of the some 500,000 Israelis living in Judea and Samaria, eulogized the slain researcher as “one of the pillars of the settlement and the forefathers of the study of geography, archeology and Jewish history in Judea and Samaria.

“For many years, he volunteered and greatly assisted soldier in various sectors with recognizing the villages and sites,” it added. “We share in the great sorrow of his family, students and the entire Ofra family.”


Triggernometry: Military Expert Debunks Gaza "Genocide" - Nick Freitas
Green Beret Combat Veteran, Nick Freitas joined us on the show. Full interview will be out soon.




Mark Levin Show: Caroline Glick: The Left-Wing In Israel Is Trying To Oust Netanyahu Before Trump Takes Office
Caroline Glick calls in to explain that the left wing in Israel is trying to oust PM Benjamin Netanyahu before President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January. They’ll stop at nothing to stop Netanyahu from achieving total victory over its enemies.




The detrimental impact of the Albanese Government’s policies on Israel and the Australian Jewish Community
The Albanese government’s recent policy shifts concerning Israel have left many within the Australian Jewish community deeply concerned about the direction of Australian foreign policy. Under the Albanese administration, Australia has distanced itself from its longstanding, bipartisan support for Israel, potentially endangering Australia’s relationship with one of its most important allies in the Middle East. These decisions have been detrimental not only to Israel but also to the Australian Jewish community, who are now faced with increasing levels of discrimination and animosity as a result of these policies.

Penny Wong’s recent vote at the UN to recognise Palestinian sovereignty represents a dramatic shift in Australia’s foreign policy, marking a break from its support for Israel under previous Labor governments. This decision, which aligns Australia with the broader international majority, is seen as detrimental to the Jewish community in Australia. By backing Palestinian sovereignty over contested territories, the Albanese government not only risks alienating its Jewish constituents but also strengthens the narrative of delegitimizing Israel’s right to exist, potentially fueling antisemitism and divisiveness within Australian society.

Another key decision that has drawn widespread criticism was the Albanese government’s move to reverse Australia’s recognition of West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, a position taken by the previous Morrison government. This shift away from supporting Israel’s sovereignty over its capital emboldens critics of Israel and ignores the historical and cultural connections between the Jewish people and Jerusalem. The decision was widely regarded as a political concession to anti-Israel factions within the international community, undermining Israel’s right to exist within secure and recognised borders.

This policy change also aligns with the broader trend of anti-Israel rhetoric gaining traction in Australian politics. Under Albanese, the Labor government has aligned itself more closely with the United Nations’ hostile resolutions against Israel. Such actions, while presented as a desire for peace and a two-state solution, ultimately serve to delegitimize the Jewish state and provide cover for the increasing normalization of antisemitism. The Australian Jewish community, already facing a rise in hate speech and incidents of antisemitic violence, now finds itself caught in the crossfire of these diplomatic shifts.

The shift in policy is particularly damaging as it sends a signal that Israel’s right to defend itself is less important than appeasing political and diplomatic pressures from nations with authoritarian regimes that oppose Israel’s existence. As Israel faces existential threats from groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, Australian support should be unwavering in its commitment to Israel’s security and right to self-determination. The Albanese government’s actions undermine this solidarity, offering moral support to those who seek to delegitimize the Jewish state.

Moreover, the Australian Jewish community, which has always been a vibrant and integral part of Australian society, is now witnessing an uptick in anti-Israel protests, often accompanied by antisemitic rhetoric. These protests have not only endangered the safety of Jewish Australians but have also led to increased social divisions. As antisemitism continues to rise globally, Australian Jews are left to wonder if their government still has their best interests at heart.
Penny Wong’s UN vote on Palestinian sovereignty went against advice from diplomats
Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s decision to support a UN resolution recognising Palestinian sovereignty went against the recommendation and submission from Australia’s mission to the United Nations, Sky News host Sharri Markson reveals.

“Our diplomats over at the UN recommended that Australia should ... abstain from this resolution and not support it, in keeping with Australia’s position over the past decade,” she said.

“But Penny Wong overruled them, making effectively a captain’s call.

“I also understand this decision didn’t go to either Cabinet or the National Security Committee of Cabinet.”


Penny Wong receives backlash over UN vote on Palestinian sovereignty
Labor powerbroker Graham Richardson has revealed multiple cabinet ministers were not happy with Foreign Minister Penny Wong's decision to vote for a UN resolution recognising Palestine's sovereignty.

Sky News Australia host Sharri Markson broke the news that the Foreign Minister directly contravened advice given to the government from its Mission to the United Nations.

Mr Richardson, a former minister in the Hawke and Keating governments, said he spoke to ministers who were disappointed with the move and argued it should have been put to the full cabinet.

“I have a feeling you’d get a different decision out of the cabinet if it was properly debated,” he said.


'Utter disgrace': Andrew Bolt blasts Media Watch host over report on Amsterdam violence
Sky News host Andrew Bolt has blasted Media Watch host Paul Barry after he blamed Jewish soccer fans for the violence seen in Amsterdam two weeks ago.

Mr Bolt said the ABC should “die of shame” after the Media Watch episode.

“What an utter disgrace, Media Watch host Paul Barry can't be allowed to get away with this.

“Barry – like many in the media left around the world, are now rewriting this history.

“The ABC claims Jews were guilty of provocations, rampaging through Amsterdam – how very sick.”




PreOccupiedTerritory: You Fool. You Can’t Claim To Be Pro-Israel While Supporting Israel! by Jeremy Ben-Ami, Director, J-Street (satire)
I cannot believe I have to explain this again. You seem never to learn. So once more: protestations that you favor the Jewish State mean nothing while you also, clearly, support the continued security, prosperity, and sovereignty of the Jewish state. That you fail to grasp this simple principle defies comprehension.

This serves as a perfect, once might say textbook, case, of the simple, common understanding of a matter failing to capture the necessary nuanced truth. To the uninitiated, perhaps uneducated, observer, “pro-Israel” status correlates with support for Israeli defense systems, such as the Iron Dome and related anti-missile technology. Or with shielding Israel from unfair, disproportionate treatment in international fora such as the UN Security Council and Human Rights Council.

That view betrays the observer as uninitiated and uneducated. Those who have studied the matter in depth, and have conducted deep discussions across a broader spectrum, have formed a more nuanced position that insists on replacing some, or perhaps all, of the support for Israeli security and sovereignty, with support for limits on Israeli security and sovereignty. Too much Israeli security and sovereignty will prejudice the outcome of the conflict in favor of Israeli security and sovereignty, and that would be bad for nuance!

My European colleagues taught me that. So sophisticated. I love getting invited to their cocktail parties. That’s how you know you’ve found truth.
NDP MP jeered for comparing pro-Palestinian watermelon pin to a Remembrance Day poppy
The NDP’s Heather McPherson was met with a wall of jeers in the House of Commons on Monday after comparing her watermelon pin to a Remembrance Day poppy.

McPherson, the MP for Edmonton-Strathcona, is one of the most vocally anti-Israel members of the House of Commons, and had just delivered a statement during question period accusing Israel of genocide before Speaker Greg Fergus cited her watermelon pin as a potential violation of House rules.

“I would encourage and remind all members to be careful with what they wear in the House to ensure that it would not be considered a prop,” Fergus said on Monday.

The watermelon slice has been adopted by the anti-Israel movement as representative of the Palestinian flag because it has the same colour scheme; black, red and green.

McPherson later rose on a point of order to say she was “deeply concerned” with her pin being characterized as a prop.

“I stand here proudly wearing a pin that shows that I stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people, and members within this place are wearing pins for various reasons,” she said.

“One of my colleagues is proudly wearing the moose hide pin to show his support for causes that are important. People wear poppies within the House. I have many times worn a flag for Ukraine-Canadian — ” McPherson added, before being overwhelmed by heckling.

After the hubbub had died down, she would blame the Conservatives, and accuse them of imposing on her parliamentary privilege.




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This blog may be a labor of love for me, but it takes a lot of effort, time and money. For 20 years and 40,000 articles I have been providing accurate, original news that would have remained unnoticed. I've written hundreds of scoops and sometimes my reporting ends up making a real difference. I appreciate any donations you can give to keep this blog going.

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