Friday, August 01, 2025

08/01 Links Pt1: How the West handed Hamas a win and killed the ceasefire; Jenin, Gaza, and the ‘Suffocating Fog of Self-Deception’; Witkoff, Huckabee visit GHF for 100 millionth meal

From Ian:

How the West handed Hamas a win and killed the ceasefire
Hamas concluded, very reasonably, that it was getting for free what it nearly paid for with ten hostages, and it scuppered the entire negotiating process. By July 22, it raised new and unrealistic demands on issues that had already been agreed on in talks (for example on the ratio of prisoners to hostages that would be released and on where the IDF buffer zones would be during the 60 days of ceasefire), and the talks fell apart.

And the hostages stayed in the tunnels.

And the deaths in Gaza continued.

It was a stunning diplomatic failure, that then got lost in the media storm surrounding hunger in Gaza. By July 25, four days after the statement and two days after talks broke down, major media outlets were publishing pictures of emaciated children, in nearly all cases children ill with other conditions, and Israel was being blamed for creating a famine in Gaza, all while UN agencies were refusing to distribute the hundreds of trucks of aid which Israel had already cleared into Gaza and refusing to cooperate with the non-Hamas affiliated Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

Under mounting international pressure, Israel began to airdrop aid into Gaza. It also greed to humanitarian pauses in some areas and to open more passages into the Strip for a stepped-up aid delivery, including to organisations that Israel has long suspected collaborate with Hamas or look the other way as Hamas profits from their supplies.

In less than a week, Hamas went from agreeing to release ten out of the twenty living hostages it still holds in tunnels under Gaza for nearly two years in order to get a 60-day ceasefire and a surge of supplies into Gaza – to getting an effective ceasefire and even more supplies without having to give up even one of its human bargaining chips.

We can express revulsion at Hamas’ cruelty all we want, and there is no doubt it is justified, but Hamas behaved perfectly rationally. Western diplomacy had intervened, demanded negotiations where negotiations were already happening, and handed Hamas for free the very benefits it almost gave up some, but far from all, of the hostages it had abducted, to obtain.

Without a doubt, Lammy and the other Foreign Ministers, who are under a tremendous amount of pressure domestically from self-appointed guardians of humanity and righteousness to do something to punish Israel, thought they were taking a brave stand for the weak against the strong and endeavouring to save both peoples from the ravages of war. But all they accomplished was a tactical gain for the terrorist group that launched the war, and an indefinite extension of the war itself, the plight of the hostages, and the suffering of all sides.

The Starmer team was insulted when its declaration this week that it would recognise a Palestinian state was criticised as a reward for Hamas terror. But that was an abstract and symbolic prize, albeit one conditioned in the most absurd of manners which incentivised all the worst possible behaviours on all sides.

In this case, already a week before the recognition declaration, Starmer and Lammy together with their ostensibly well-intentioned allies gave Hamas a direct win, removing its last incentive to release the men it grabbed from their homes on a Saturday morning nearly two years ago after murdering their friends and family in front of them.

What’s even worse than that is that they seemed genuinely surprised at how Hamas reacted to the very obvious incentives their diplomacy created. What’s worse even than that is that no one back home seemed to care.
Seth Mandel: Jenin, Gaza, and the ‘Suffocating Fog of Self-Deception’
We have seen in the U.S. over the past few weeks a similar trend, though it was supercharged by false images intended to prove that Israel had a policy of systematic starvation in Gaza and newspapers that printed outright lies alongside those photos. The intent was to peel away Israel supporters abroad by hoping they’d be too proud (or too dishonest) to simply admit they got it wrong. That should sound familiar.

Another, similar, detail of the propaganda campaign: Some of it was designed to drive a wedge between Jews and Christians. A columnist for the Evening Standard accused Israel of “the willful burning of several church buildings,” and then really went off the rails: “Many young Muslims in Palestine are the children of Anglican Christians, educated at St George’s Jerusalem, who felt that their parents’ mild faith was not enough to fight the oppressor.”

Again, sound familiar?

Finally, there were the revelations that Palestinian terrorists in Jenin were using human shields and routinely violating the laws of war by using civilians as bait. How do we know? At some point they simply admitted it. According to one Palestinian bombmaker who spoke to an Egyptian outlet:

⁠“We had more than 50 houses booby-trapped around the [Jenin] camp. We chose old and empty buildings and the houses of men who were wanted by Israel because we knew the soldiers would search for them… We cut off lengths of mains water pipes and packed them with explosives and nails. Then we placed them about four meters apart throughout the houses — in cupboards, under sinks, in sofas… the women went out to tell the soldiers that we had run out of bullets and were leaving. The women alerted the fighters as the soldiers reached the booby-trapped area.”

A Palestinian commander, speaking to Arab press, was more succinct: “Believe me, there are children stationed in the houses with explosive belts at their sides.”

The UN played a loud role in spreading misinformation and then quietly backed off once it became clear they had been lied to. In fact, as per usual, every claim of Israeli crimes turned out to be projection on the part of the Palestinians and their supporters.

The question is what lessons we have learned from the “Jenin Massacre” debacle. The answer appears to be: none. Now as then, media fed propagandistic and wildly imaginative tales of Jewish perfidy to the world in the service of an actual band of war criminals and intentional child-killers. Now as then, some on the political right were ensnared in an information operation from sources that they would normally mistrust. Now as then, a wedge was driven in between Jews and Christians with lurid tales of gleeful Jewish church-burners. Now as then, the atmosphere was waterlogged with one-way propaganda to the extent that even savvy media consumers denounced Israel.

Zooming out, we also learn something else: that despite the rise of the internet and the supposed democratization of information, the Western public stewed in a bubble. As Krauthammer so perfectly described it back in 2002:

“This is what it must have been like living in the false consciousness of Soviet communism, where everyone had to publicly and constantly pretend to believe the official lies, all the while knowing they were lies. This is what it must have been like living in the 1930s, as the necessities of appeasement created a gradual inversion of right and wrong — the Czechs, for example, pilloried by official opinion in Britain and France for selfishly standing in the way of peace at Munich.”

He concluded:
“Churchill’s great gift to civilization was not just that he rallied good against evil but also that he pierced a suffocating fog of self-deception by speaking truth to lies. Where is the Churchill of today, the official of any government, prepared to tell the United Nations that its frantic hunt for a phantom massacre by Jews — while ignoring massacre after massacre of Jews — is grotesque and perverse?”

Where indeed.
John Spencer: What are Israel’s choices in Gaza? The insanity of double standards and ignorance
The double standards applied against Israel
Worse, some of these arguments are completely disconnected from the political and military realities on the ground.

Here are just some of the double standards, though not all, because there are many more, reserved only for Israel when it comes to what a nation can or cannot do in war, and how wars are assessed:
A neighboring country refusing to allow civilians to evacuate combat areas, thus forcing Israel to fight Hamas while it uses its entire population and infrastructure as a human shield. This is a double standard with no historical comparison.
Measuring legal adherence to the laws of war by citing daily casualty counts from the enemy force, which is an internationally designated terrorist organization. Many also use other data points, often manipulated or misapplied, to make faulty comparisons to dissimilar conflicts. The purpose is to politically and socially delegitimize Israel’s goals. This is also known as effects-based condemnation. In this framework, no matter what Israel does to prevent civilian harm, or what Hamas does to increase it, only the effects, often reported through manipulated or false data, are judged. This is not how war is assessed for any other nation. This is not how the laws of war apply to any other military. It is a double standard.·
Demanding a postwar day-after plan before the enemy military and government are defeated. The idea that an attacking military must present a plan for replacement governance before the opposing force has been defeated through force or surrender is a double standard. Victory and defeat must come first. Replacement comes after, not before.
Providing humanitarian aid to the enemy’s population during wartime, while battles are ongoing, while the enemy still controls territory, continues to launch attacks, and holds hostages. Israel has done this out of moral responsibility and to balance military objectives with humanitarian imperatives. However, the argument that this is a legal requirement is a double standard.
Dictating which legal tools a nation may use to fight an enemy. For example, criticizing the use of large-diameter munitions in an urban area, such as a 2,000-pound bomb, even when the enemy is embedded in dense urban terrain and operating from fortified underground tunnels that require deep penetration. This is a lawful and necessary capability in many conflicts. Yet when Israel uses it, it is singled out. That is a double standard.
Claiming that there can be no population displacement or border change during or after an armed conflict. The idea that a terrorist army directed by the government of Hamas can cross a sovereign border, invade a country, commit atrocities, take hundreds of hostages, and that in the war that follows there must be no voluntary or temporary displacement of civilians, or any change to border control or security arrangements, is a double standard. The laws of war prohibit forced displacement, not temporary or voluntary displacement during wartime.
Not allowing civilians the option to escape the war. Preventing civilians who want to leave Gaza from doing so is an unprecedented double standard. It affects both Israel and the people of Gaza.
Tying a nation’s legitimate war goals to an unrelated political issue. Despite the clear context of this war, the attacked country is pressured to make concessions to a separate political entity that has rejected international mediation. Forcing Israel to link the war in Gaza, which it did not start, to the broader political effort of creating a Palestinian state with a different governing group, the Palestinian Authority, is a double standard. How Israel can achieve its goals in the Gaza Strip If even a few of these double standards were removed from the conversation, it becomes clear that there are multiple ways Israel could have, and still can, achieve its goals in Gaza:
Move all civilians out of harm’s way. Temporarily displace civilians from combat areas. All civilians who want to leave should be allowed to leave.
Destroy Hamas’s will to continue the war through force, using continued and coordinated military operations. Hamas can absolutely be defeated by military means.
Hamas surrenders. Through a combination of military and political pressure, what remains of Hamas’s leadership, both political and military, agrees to end the war, return all hostages, disarm, and relinquish control over the Gaza Strip.

Once Hamas is defeated, Israel and others begin post-conflict operations. These may include establishing secure zones or bubbles of Palestinian-led governance. This could involve localized authorities or the creation of a new centralized leadership. The post-war phase should also involve reconciliation, disarmament, demilitarization, and deradicalization programs.


As Europe and Canada Plan To Recognize Palestinian State, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas Release Videos of Israeli Hostages: 'Starved, Tortured, and Abused'
The Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist groups on Thursday released videos of Israeli hostages Rom Braslavski and Evyantar David—both frail after 664 days in captivity—as Canada, the United Kingdom, and France have announced plans to recognize Palestinian statehood.

Braslavski, a 21-year-old kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023, from the Nova music festival where he was working as a security guard, appeared extremely weak and pale in the six-minute video, the Times of Israel reported. The PIJ, an ally of Hamas, said the footage was filmed days before it and Hamas cut off all contact with mediators, leaving Braslavski's fate unknown.

"They broke my child, I want him home, now!" Braslavski's mother told Ynet. "I know how he was beaten. I know that Rom does not cry, and if he is crying, it is because he was tortured. Look at him, he is thin, skin and bone, crying. All his bones are visible."

Hamas on Friday followed suit in releasing a video of 24-year-old hostage Evyatar David, another Israeli who was kidnapped from the Nova music festival during the October 7 attack.

The video shows David "looking almost like a skeleton," wrote X user @VividProwess. "This is what real starvation looks like. The hostages are starved, tortured, and abused. Where is the world's outrage for the hostages? Their silence is deafening."

The chilling footage came a day after Canada joined France and the United Kingdom in backing Palestinian statehood. President Donald Trump and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu have condemned the endorsement, with Trump saying the recognition amounts to "rewarding" Palestinian terrorists.

The PIJ in April also issued a video of Braslavski, in which he appeared very ill. In that video, Braslavski said he was going through "hell" and appealed directly to Trump and Netanyahu to secure his release, the New York Post reported.
Hamas publishes sign of life video of hostage Evyatar David
Hamas published a video of hostage Evyatar David on Friday evening.

The David family has not approved the publication of the content at this time.

This is the second hostage video Gazan terror groups have released in 24 hours. Palestinian Islamic Jihad released a video of hostage Rom Braslavski on Thursday.

His sister, Yaelah, responded to the video on Instagram.

"Anyone who saw the video now knows the severity and the physical condition Evyatar is in, which felt like a million punches to my heart," she wrote. “Please do not share images from the video until my family and I decide to release it.”

Former hostage Omer Wenkert said that the video proved what the hostages' conditions were like.

“When I was with Evyatar in captivity, for 250 days underground—I saw the video, and now you all know: that’s what the tunnels we lived in looked like.”

“You all saw how he looks, the hunger, his physical condition. Hamas is starving people, not Israel. While I lost 37 kilograms, I didn’t see my captors lose a single kilo. Hamas is stealing the supplies.”

“Now is the time to bring the hostages back—that is the imperative of the moment. I want to see even one photo of a Hamas terrorist who looks like Evyatar.”

Released former hostage Romi Gonen shared on Instagram, "For everyone, Friday is a day of family, but for Evyatar and the other 49 kidnapped people, it is another day of hell in Gaza. The photos that came out today of Eviatar only prove to us what condition they are in there."

She added: "Why hasn't Evyatar come back to hug Yaela yet? Why am I here and Rom Braslavski is not? How can we breathe when we are here and they are still there? They don't have time, we have to bring everyone home."

Who is Evyatar David?
David was abducted from the Nova Music Festival in Re’im, southern Israel, when he was 22 years old. He reportedly stayed behind with his friend, Guy Gilboa-Dalal, to help rescue injured people.

David's last sign of life was in a February Hamas propaganda video with Gilboa-Dalal. The two were forced to watch from a van as other hostages were released from Gaza.


Mike Pompeo: Trump can fix the UN’s Gaza failure and end Hamas’s stranglehold on aid
Enough. The UN may be failing, but there is no one better to fix it than President Trump. Here’s how:
First, call out the UN’s failure clearly and publicly. Every time a UN truck is looted, every time aid goes missing, every time a convoy vanishes into Hamas hands, the international community turns a blind eye. That ends with President Trump. The UN’s reliance on the so-called "blue police," a Hamas front group, isn’t neutral. It’s enabling terror.

Second, use our leverage. The United States is the UN’s biggest funder. We don’t need to ask, we need to demand. Not one more dollar without conditions. Require full cooperation with groups like GHF who are actually delivering aid and demand independently verified results. If the UN won’t work with the only group getting food into Gaza at scale, then they’ve forfeited their credibility and the American taxpayers shouldn’t fund failure.

Third, reward results. GHF isn’t part of the old, bloated system and that’s why it’s working. It bypasses Hamas, it delivers at scale, it’s lean, disciplined, and driven by mission, not politics. That’s what effectiveness looks like in a war zone. We should be scaling this model so it can actually succeed, not allowing the UN and Hamas to gang up on it just as it is yielding results.

President Trump has always understood something Washington forgets: bureaucracy doesn’t solve crises, bold leadership does. The system in Gaza is broken. GHF is fixing it. But they can’t do it alone. They need backup. And the United States, under President Trump’s leadership, can give it to them.

This is a test of resolve. Hamas thrives when the world tolerates failure. The UN has shown it won’t change unless forced. Trump knows how to force change. Now is the time to act.

Feeding starving people shouldn’t be political. But failing to do so is a choice. Let’s make the right one.


David Harsanyi: Europe’s preening appeasers will recognize a fantasy — not ‘Palestine’
French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced this week that their countries would unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state.

The first problem with that is “Palestine” is a fictional place. There never was any such thing.

And diplomatic recognition of it no more changes this reality than if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to recognize the archipelago of Islamic banlieues on the outskirts of Paris as an independent nation.

But what exactly are Britain and France recognizing?

Mahmoud Abbas, the dictator of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, is now 89 years old. What do Macron and Starmer think will happen when he finally dies?

The best-case scenario, I suppose, is for another corrupt strongman to take over an independent “Palestine.”

Will these Western European leaders back an autocracy?

What happens when a civil war breaks out? Because the prospects are quite high.

Since the Oslo Accords, the Palestinian Authority has relied heavily on Israel’s security apparatus to stay in power. It would almost certainly implode without it.

The French and Brits should recall that the first thing Gazans did when handed a protostate in 2005 was to destroy over 3,000 greenhouses and modern farming systems that American Jews had purchased for $14 million and handed them, gratis.

The second thing they did, though, was put Hamas in charge.

So, will France and Britain support open elections in this new nation?

What if Hamas, or some other iteration of that organization, wins those elections? Will France and Britain recognize such a state?

“Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people,” Macron claimed during a visit to Ramallah with Abbas in 2023.

This is Western elitist twaddle: The unpleasant truth is that Islamists far better represent the people than the “moderate” Fatah party, which is propped up with billions of Western dollars and Israeli assistance.
UK’s Palestine recognition plan is legally incoherent
When the war in the former Yugoslavia began, the European Community established a committee of legal experts to advise on recognition of new states. This committee said a state is “a community which consists of a territory and population subject to an organised political authority [and] characterised by sovereignty”; the existence or disappearance of states is “a question of fact”; and recognition should merely declare that this fact exists. In the former Yugoslavia, as in Gaza today, the humanitarian suffering was enormous and and serious allegations of international crimes were made.

In 2006, James Crawford, the leading expert on the international law of statehood, concluded that, even if one could imagine the international community deciding to treat a new state as existing “notwithstanding the facts”, such a possibility could not apply to Palestine then.

Until two days ago, the British Government had not supported the notion of that recognition of statehood “notwithstanding the facts”. It has now changed position with a statement that makes little legal or political sense.

To begin with, the territory of Palestine is not defined. Past British governments criticised the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) for rejecting offers of less than 100% of the West Bank and Gaza. To say now that Palestine is a state holding all of that territory would vindicate those who said no to peace then. If they were right then, why not try again? Cash in the 100% and demand more seems a sensible strategy.

Effective government, or “organised political authority”, is another factual prerequisite of statehood. The British statement says it wants Hamas out and welcomes improvements by the Palestinian Authority (PA), but it does not identify any single authority as the effective government of the state of Palestine.

If the reason for the new approach is the right of self-determination of Palestinian people, which the International Court of Justice has indisputably recognised, how can the Government justify its recent change of policy on Western Sahara? This territory has been under Moroccan occupation since 1974 and the Sarahawi people are entitled to self-determination, yet the UK Government last month chose to support what is, in effect, Morocco’s annexation plan.

Perhaps the most perverse aspect of the Government’s statement involves the conditions for recognition. Conditional recognition of statehood is not new. But conditions have normally been applied to the entity aspiring to statehood — for instance, by requiring it to renounce the use of force or protect minorities.


KEIR STARMER EXCLUSIVE: Our stance encouraged Arab states to call for Hamas to disarm
I’ve always said we will recognise a Palestinian state as a contribution to a proper peace process, at the moment of maximum impact for the two-state solution. It’s clear that with this solution under threat like never before, that moment has arrived.

That’s why I have announced our intention to recognise Palestine in September, unless Israel takes substantive steps to urgently alleviate the terrible humanitarian situation in Gaza, and commit to a long-term sustainable peace, reviving the prospect of a Two State Solution.

We will make an assessment ahead of the UN General Assembly on how far the parties have met the steps we set out – and of course that includes the terrorists of Hamas. No one side will have a veto on recognition through their actions or inactions.

This is a big decision – but it is one we take in good faith. And I want to be very clear that ultimately, the Two State Solution can only advance if it represents a defeat for Hamas, who must accept they have no future.

Our stance on this has helped to encourage others in the region to come out strongly too. Countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt are calling for Hamas to release the hostages, disarm and get out of the way once and for all.

Hamas are pariahs to everyone. The faster they vacate the stage, the faster peace will come.

While this work goes on in the region, I know the past two years have been incredibly difficult for the community here at home.

The attacks of 7th October – the darkest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust – have been followed by a horrendous rise in antisemitism.

So, I want to say to Jewish News readers that we stand with you, more than ever.

Our approach to antisemitism can be summed up in two words: zero tolerance – and it is backed by real action. We’re proud to support the Community Security Trust – even though it is abhorrent that their work is necessary. And we back the police in every action they take to protect the Jewish community and ensure that you can live your lives in the UK, free from intimidation and fear.

We work towards that outcome every single day.
The backroom politics behind Keir Starmer’s decision to recognize ‘Palestine’
Over the last fortnight, the noise from this crowd has swelled against the background of viral images of hungry children in Gaza, buoyed further by polls showing that more than half of British voters oppose Israel’s “aggression” and that nearly half want the creation of a Palestinian state. Growing numbers of cabinet ministers pushed Starmer to announce British recognition, with one of them inadvertently acknowledging the emptiness of the gesture by telling The Guardian, “We say that recognizing Palestinian statehood is a really important symbol that you can only do once. But if not now, then when?”

As more than 100 Labour members of parliament signed a cross-party letter to Starmer urging the same, media coverage of the issue depicted the premier as an outlier morphing into an outcast, struggling to impose his view that “Palestine” should only be granted recognition as part of a peace process with Israel. With the scent of rebellion in the air, one Labour Parliament member told Politico that Starmer was “all words—no action, no further sanctions.” Another claimed, presciently as it turned out, “I don’t think people will settle for anything less than recognition now.”

Outside of Labour, Starmer faces a threat from the “Green Left” coalition of Islamists and Socialists, most immediately through the Independent Alliance, a parliamentary grouping formed by Corbyn following his expulsion from Labour. Alongside Corbyn are five other independent MPs, all elected last year and all of them Muslim, whose platforms centered on the war in the Gaza Strip and alleged Islamophobia inside the Labour Party. The grouping is now focused on becoming a new far-left political party, having been joined by Zarah Sultana, originally elected as a Labour MP, whose antisemitism-inflected barbs against Israel are widely covered in British media outlets.

According to the Times, the new formation “has the potential to do real damage to Labour.”

Why? “The Corbyn pitch is simple—the ‘mass redistribution of wealth and power’ and an end to the ‘genocide’ in Gaza,” the paper argued. “For those on the left disenchanted with Starmer after the compromise of a hugely challenging first year in power, it may prove to be irresistible.”

Nigel Farage, the roguish leader of the right-wing populist Reform Party, certainly hopes so; if a far-left party is “able to organize sufficiently and field large numbers of candidates, it will help us enormously,” he said.

The notion that Israel’s fate should be held hostage to the domestic fissures within other countries is offensive on its face, and is another good reason to dismiss the mudslide of Palestinian state recognition as performative nonsense that will never sway Israel nor feed a single child in Gaza. If it has any importance at all, that lies in what it tells us about the influence on British politics, and perhaps the domestic politics of those other countries that have opted to reward Hamas by recognizing a Palestinian state, of Hamas apologists.

Yet in the case of Britain, there is an additional, historical consideration. The 1917 Balfour Declaration supporting the establishment of a Jewish “national homeland” in what was then Mandatory Palestine—one of the greatest and most consequential moves in British diplomatic history—is now seen by many as an additional mark of shame on Britain’s imperial legacy. In many ways, Starmer’s move is compensation for that document, which is held up by Hamas supporters as “Exhibit A” in what they present as the Zionist “colonization” of Palestine. The apologia surrounding a decision more than a century old feeds the notion that Israel is an illegitimate state, the reward given to Jewish colonizers by a devious, manipulative empire run from London.

The irony here is that, for all the opprobrium that Starmer has understandably attracted from supporters of Israel, he remains a bulwark against the more extreme positions advocated by members of his cabinet and backbench Labour parliamentarians, such as expelling the Israeli ambassador and imposing sanctions against the Jewish state. Israeli diplomacy and Israel’s advocates abroad must therefore confront the same strategic dilemma: should they try to influence Europe, which has long seemed like a losing battle, or should they concentrate efforts on keeping the United States on board?

How that is resolved will impact Israel’s global standing for the coming decade, at least.
UK government to hostage families: we’ll still recognise Palestinian state if Hamas keeps your relatives
The British Government has made it clear to the UK family members of those who remain hostage in Gaza that the country’s recognition of a Palestinian state will not depend on the release of their loved ones.

At a meeting held at the Foreign Office last night, four British families of those taken hostage by Hamas on 7 October, met with senior officials who informed them that the government’s policy had changed, Jewish News understands.

In a statement released on Friday by Adam Rose and Adam Wagner KC, the lawyers representing the hostage families said that “Successive governments have made clear to the families that the UK will not become directly involved in negotiations between Israel and Hamas, for various reasons which have frustrated the families, but they have accepted.

“This all changed this week, when the Prime Minister announced that the UK would recognise a state of Palestine contingent (amongst other things) on there not being a ceasefire deal by the end of September. The families have been encouraged by knowing that the UK has until now sought to apply pressure on all parties – Israel and Hamas – to get the hostages out. The intention of this policy appears to be to put pressure on the Israelis only to reach a deal.”

This week’s announcement by Keir Starmer that the British government would unilaterally recognise a Palestinian state in September unless Israel took a series of steps – including signing a ceasefire deal – has been widely criticised for what appeared to be significant ambiguity regarding whether Hamas would also need to fulfil certain requirements for such recognition to be enacted.

The lawyers said that concerns had already been raised in the aftermath of Keir Starmer’s statement this week “that that the structure of the British ‘offer’ would disincentivise Hamas from agreeing a deal. Why would Hamas agree to a ceasefire if it knew that to do so would make British recognition of Palestine less likely?


UKLFI: Natasha Hausdorff responds to the UK's promise to recognise "Palestine" as a state on GB News.
Patrick Christys interviews Natasha Hausdorff, international lawyer and UKLFI Charitable Trust Legal Director, on GB News about the UK Prime Minister's proposal to recognise "Palestine", contrary to settled principles of international law.


UKLFI: Daniel Berke discusses UK proposal to recognise a Palestinian State on TalkTV

France halts program relocating Gazans after admitting Palestinian who said, ‘kill all the Jews’
France suspended a program to relocate Gaza refugees on Friday pending an investigation into how the country admitted a Palestinian woman, who made social media posts about wanting to “kill all the Jews.”

Jean-Noël Barrot, France’s foreign minister, told Franceinfo radio in an interview on Friday that “no evacuation of any kind will take place until we have drawn the consequences of this investigation.”

“All those who entered France will be subject to a new check following the flaws in the security screening,” Barrot said, adding that the offender “has no place in France” and would be deported.

French officials have not identified the woman, but unconfirmed screenshots of a now-deleted social media account show Nour Atalla, 25, of Gaza, re-posting a video of Adolf Hitler with the caption “kill the Jews everywhere. I don’t want a Jewish lineage on this earth. You must kill them before they kill you.”

Atalla had reportedly been accepted to Sciences Po Lille university but has now been expelled.

France has accepted about 600 Gazans into the country since Oct. 7 in a program that focuses on taking in teachers and students from the coastal enclave.


Witkoff, Huckabee visit aid distribution site in Gaza Strip
A delegation led by President Donald Trump’s Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Ambassador Mike Huckabee went into Gaza on Friday to inspect humanitarian aid efforts at the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) aid distribution site in Rafah, the U.S. envoy announced.

“This morning I joined @SEPeaceMissions Steve Witkoff for a visit to Gaza to learn the truth about @GHFUpdates aid sites,” Huckabee posted on X. “We received briefings from @IDF and spoke to folks on the ground. GHF delivers more than one million meals a day, an incredible feat! (286 kB)”

In another post, Huckabee wrote, “Went into Gaza today & observed humanitarian food program by US launched GHF. Hamas hates GHF b/c it gets food to ppl w/o it being looted by Hamas. Over 100 MILLION meals served in 2 months. (493 kB).”

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation released a statement on the Gaza by the American delegation, which said the visitors observed food aid being distributed to civilians at a GHF secure distribution site.

“President Trump understands the stakes in Gaza and that feeding civilians, not Hamas, must be the priority,” said GHF spokesperson Chapin Fay. “Today he sent his envoy to serve as his eyes and ears on the ground, reflecting his deep concern and commitment to doing what’s right. We were honored to brief his delegation, share our operations and demonstrate the impact of delivering 100 million meals to those who need them most.”

Meanwhile, the IDF announced that troops from the Kfir Infantry Brigade, operating under the 36th Armored Division, are active in southern Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip.

In recent weeks, the forces have been working to strengthen operational control along the Magen Oz Corridor, which runs through Khan Yunis and divides the city into eastern and western sections.
Huckabee, Witkoff make URGENT trip to Gaza, accuse Hamas of stealing aid
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee joins the ‘Brian Kilmeade Show’ to discuss conditions in Gaza following his visit to the region alongside Middle East Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.


GHF reaches milestone of 100 million meals delivered
The U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation announced on Friday that it had reached a milestone of delivering 100 million total meals to Palestinians in Gaza since beginning operations roughly two months ago.

“Gaza is one of the most complex operating environments in the world, and we are very proud of the incredible work our dedicated team has accomplished while operating in a very dangerous and active war zone,” said Rev. Johnnie Moore, executive chairman of GHF.

“However, the milestone is bittersweet given the continued shortage of aid coming into Gaza from other humanitarian groups who either lack the ability to safely deliver it or the willingness to work with those who can,” he said.

John Acree, interim executive director of GHF, stated that, as the organization continues on its mission to feed the people of Gaza, this milestone “should serve as a call to action for other humanitarian groups, including the U.N., to step up and collaborate with us so that there is more aid for more people.”

“Together we can end the cycle of chaos and looting and ensure there is enough aid for all who need it, wherever they live in Gaza,” Acree stated.


Caroline Glick Pulls Back the Curtain on the U.N.’s Unrealistic Call for a Two-State Solution
Caroline Glick International Affairs Advisor to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, comments on the distribution of aid in Gaza and the U.N. confab on the two-state solution that the U.S. and Israel boycotted.


Israeli journalist DISMANTLES Palestinian propaganda with proof on the ground (Amotz Eyal)
Former Director of the Israeli Government Press Office, Danny Seaman, takes us into the complex dynamics of Israel's ongoing struggle against media bias. Seaman discusses the historical significance of Tisha B'Av, Israel's long history in the region, and the ongoing political pressures from Europe regarding the legitimacy of Israel's right to exist. He addresses the problematic narratives around the Gaza situation, exposing the false accusations of Israel's involvement in war crimes and terrorism.

Joining Danny this week is Amotz Eyal, founder and CEO of Tazpit Press Service, an Israeli news agency specializing in investigative journalism. Amotz shares his insights into the challenges of reporting from conflict zones, shedding light on how the international media often distorts or overlooks critical truths. They discuss how a lack of accurate journalism exacerbates the misinformation surrounding Israel and the Middle East, focusing on a specific instance of the alleged church burning in Samaria that was widely misreported.

This episode is a must-watch for those who want to uncover the truth behind the headlines and gain a deeper understanding of the media's role in shaping the global narrative around Israel. Danny and Amotz emphasize the importance of critical media consumption and provide compelling arguments against the relentless smear campaigns that seek to delegitimize Israel’s existence.

Topics covered:
Tisha B'Av and its historical significance
Media bias and the distortion of facts in coverage of Israel
The church burning story in Samaria: Fact vs. fiction
The role of news agencies in shaping international perceptions
Investigative journalism in Israel and Gaza

Chapters
00:00 The Power of Music in Education
02:51 Historical Reflections on Jewish Exile
06:10 The Modern Struggle for Israel's Legitimacy
09:02 The Role of Journalism in Conflict
12:14 Investigative Journalism: Uncovering the Truth
15:00 The Challenges of Reporting from Gaza
17:51 The Impact of Misinformation
21:11 The Importance of Source Verification
23:59 The Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza
26:48 The Role of Hamas in Food Distribution
30:08 The Future of Journalism in Conflict Zones


Haviv Rettig Gur on Gaza Hunger
For almost two years, we’ve seen Western media and international organizations falsely report mass starvation in Gaza. But in the past few days it has become apparent that there is a serious and growing hunger crisis in Gaza.

Many questions emerge. How severe is the hunger crisis? Is enough aid going into Gaza? Is this a problem solely at the distribution sites? How might Hamas be using the humanitarian collapse to their advantage?

To break down these questions, Rafaela Siewert is joined by Haviv Rettig Gur, the Free Press Middle East analyst and host of the Ask Haviv Anything podcast.




Israel doing everything to limit Gaza civilian casualties: Son of Hamas' founder | CUOMO
Mosab Hassan Yousef, known as the Green Prince and son of a Hamas founder who later worked with Israeli intelligence, joins NewsNation to weigh in on Democrats distancing themselves from Israel. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is pushing a vote to block military aid, arguing Americans shouldn't fund a government “starving kids on purpose.” But most of that aid is spent on U.S.-made weapons. So, is this the right move — or just the wrong time?




‘Outrageous’: Recognition of Palestine would ‘effectively reward Hamas' for October 7 attacks
Strategic Analysis Australia Director Peter Jennings says the recognition of a Palestinian state would “reward Hamas” for the October 7 attacks.

“There is no viable Palestinian state that could be recognised right now,” Mr Jennings told Sky News host Steve Price.

“That’s because in Gaza it’s controlled by Hamas, and the West Bank is controlled by the Palestinian Authority.

“It’s outrageous that otherwise sensible Western democracies are proposing to effectively reward Hamas for their attack on October 7, 2023, against Israel; that’s what this outcome has produced.”


‘Visual propaganda’: Controversial photo of a Gazan child sparks outrage
Sky News host Rowan Dean says the photo of a child with underlying health conditions in Gaza is akin to “visual propaganda,” practiced by Nazis.

“It was the Nazis who perfected the art of visual propaganda. But the communists, the fascists, socialists, and indeed all sorts of regimes rely on propaganda to sway public opinion to their cause,” Mr Dean said.

“But now, alas, and this week proved it, we have entered a very dangerous world, where news outlets are happy to show photographs that are presented in a way every bit as phony and as sinister as the forgery of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion and for what seems to me to be the very same purposes.

“A week ago today, the New York Times, once but certainly no longer one of the most respected newspapers in the world, published this image on its front page of a child with a caption that said the boy had been born healthy before suffering malnutrition in Gaza.”


Triggernometry: I Look Like A Jew Get Me Out Of Here - Francis Foster



Anti-Israel NYC Councilwoman, dozens of protesters swarm Schumer, Gillibrand’s NYC offices to ‘let Gaza live’
Anti-Israel New York City Councilwoman Tiffany Caban was arrested along with several other protesters as scores of screaming demonstrators descended on the Manhattan offices of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand Friday, sources told The Post.

Caban joined roughly 200 pro-Palestinian activists from Jewish Voices for Peace who began occupying the Midtown office building at around 12:20 p.m., donning T-shirts with “let Gaza live” emblazoned across them.

Several protesters could be seen being zip tied and led away as NYPD cops forced them out of the building, footage shot by Fox News showed.

It wasn’t immediately clear how many arrests were made.

Banging empty pots and pans, which the protesters said signified the lack of food available to Palestinians, the crowd stormed the building demanding Schumer and Gillibrand do more to beef up aid to Gaza.

“We are calling on them to let aid in, to stop the bombing and allow aid into the Palestinian people of Gaza right now,” Jay Saper, a spokesperson for the group, told The Post.

“This starvation crisis in Gaza is at a tipping point, and so we have to raise our voices.”

After being forcibly removed from the building, a smaller group of around 30 protesters continued to demonstrate outside at around 2 p.m., chanting “Let Gaza live!”

Saper said the group was “outraged” at the New York Senators’ vote Wednesday against Senator Bernie Sanders resolutions, which called on the US to restrict arms and explosive sales to Israel.

Both resolutions overwhelmingly failed in the Senate 27-70 and 24-73 for assault rifles and bombs, respectively.

“These Senators refuse to take that action to save lives and our Jewish tradition teaches us that life is precious, so that’s why we’re calling on them to block arms to Israel so that the people of Gaza can live,” Saper said.




Buy EoZ's books  on Amazon!

"He's an Anti-Zionist Too!" cartoon book (December 2024)

PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism (February 2022)

    
 

 



AddToAny

Printfriendly

EoZTV Podcast

Podcast URL

Subscribe in podnovaSubscribe with FeedlyAdd to netvibes
addtomyyahoo4Subscribe with SubToMe

search eoz

comments

Speaking

Speaking

translate

E-Book

For $18 donation








Sample Text

EoZ's Most Popular Posts in recent years

Search2

Hasbys!

Hasbys!

2019 Nobel Peace Prize nominee

Elder of Ziyon - حـكـيـم صـهـيـون



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.

Donate!

Donate to fight for Israel!

Monthly subscription:
Payment options


One time donation:

Follow EoZ on Twitter!

Interesting Blogs

Show All

Blog Archive

Copyright © Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News | Powered by Blogger
Blogger Templates