[IsraelTimes] The former UK Labour leader and independent MP for Islington North, Jeremy Corbyn is set to form a parliamentary alliance with four independent politicians who were elected on pro-Paleostinian platforms. He has called for more MPs to join the group.
The Independent Alliance, including Corbyn along with MPs Shockat Adam, Ayoub Khan, Adnan Hussain, and Iqbal Mohammed, is promising to push for an arms embargo on Israel, according to a statement.
Far-left politician Corbyn was suspended from the Labour Party in 2020 due to remarks he made following an investigation into antisemitism in the party under his leadership.
His successor Starmer has spent the second half of his parliamentary career clearing Labour of the far left’s legacy of extremism and racism, and planting his party’s flag firmly in the electoral center.
The excuse to punish Israel being not that Israel is actually guilty of misbehaving, but because they might be tempted to misbehave in the future. Thus does Sir Keir Starmer display the Jew-hating end state of all socialist governments.
[IsraelTimes] FM Lammy cites risk military equipment might be used to commit violations of international law in Gaza; Israel says move sends ‘wrong’ message to Hamas, insists military is lawful
Britannia said Monday it would immediately suspend dozens of arms export licenses with Israel because there is a risk the equipment might be used to commit serious violations of international humanitarian law, drawing rebuke from Israeli officials.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the decision to suspend 30 of 350 arms licenses did not amount to a blanket ban or an arms embargo, but only involved items with concerns over their use during the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas ..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,... in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... "It is with regret that I inform the House (of Commons, the lower house of parliament) today the assessment I have received leaves me unable to conclude anything other than that for certain UK arms exports to Israel, there does exist a clear risk that they might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law," Lammy said.
"The UK continues to support Israel’s right to self-defense in accordance with international law," he added.
Soon after the Labour Party won an election in July, Lammy said he would update a review on arms sales to Israel to ensure these complied with international law.
Unlike the United States, Britannia’s government does not give arms directly to Israel, but rather issues licenses for companies to sell weapons, with input from lawyers on whether they comply with international law.
The decision was formally made by Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, with Lammy’s backing.
Responding to the announcement, Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Israel was "disappointed" with recent decisions made by the UK government relating to the war in Gaza.
"Israel is a state of law that operates in accordance with international law and has an independent and respected judicial system," Katz said in a statement. "We expect ally nations like Britannia to recognize that every day, and especially mere days after the execution of six Israeli hostages by Hamas terrorists."
Katz added that "a step like the one taken now by Britannia sends a problematic message to the Hamas terrorist organization and its handlers in Iran," but that he hoped the relationship between Israel and the UK could remain strong in the future.
British exports amount to less than one percent of the total arms Israel receives, and Lammy told parliament the suspension would not have a material impact on Israel’s security.
The export licenses pertain to components for Israel’s aerial systems, including fighter jets, helicopters, and drones. It does not pertain to the F-35 program, which is a multinational project that pools parts before disbursing them to participating countries, including Israel.
Lammy’s Labour party instituted a review of the licenses after they returned to power in July, and Lammy has visited Israel twice since assuming office.
British officials have not said that Israel is violating humanitarian law, but believe there is a serious risk, according to the two-month assessment.
The suspension could be lifted in the future if the UK assesses that the risk of violations has diminished.
Britannia’s center-left Labour government has repeatedly called for a ceasefire in the Gaza war, and for the speeding up of aid deliveries into Gaza, since taking power on July 5.
It has followed the same approach to the conflict as the previous Conservative government, with Lammy and other ministers at pains to demand Hamas release the hostages seized in its October 7 massacre as part of any ceasefire.
Some commentators have suggested, however, that Labour, led by Keir Starmer — a former human rights ...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty... lawyer — may take a tougher long-term stance toward Israel and how it conducts its military operations.
Last week, the UK foreign ministry said it was "deeply" concerned by an Israeli military operation in the West Bank, urging it to "exercise restraint" and adhere to international law.
Israel responded to the Hamas October attack with a military offensive aimed at destroying the terror group in Gaza and freeing the hostages. Over the weekend the IDF recovered the bodies of six hostages who were executed by Hamas as troops closed in on their location.
#3
The same UK that sold RR Jet engines to the USSR after WW-II. These were copied and put into the MIG-15 which killed lots of US airmen in the Korean War. They have kind of always been a Kilby like ally. Oh and in the Vietnam war... Hanoi was always full of their ships bringing in weapons to kill Americans. (spit)
#4
All the smart people running Britain knew that Communism was the inevitable future of humanity, so they worked on guiding the decline. The government and the professional classes were riddled with fellow travellers and traitors.
And now they’re guiding the decline to colonizing Islam instead of creeping Communism.
[IsraelTimes] High-security court tries in absentia religious leader Muhammed Ashraf Jalali and Saad Hussain Rizvi, head of hardline TLP party
Two Pak men stood trial in absentia Monday at a high-security court in the Netherlands over alleged attempts to incite the murder of far-right and anti-Islam Dutch leader Geert Wilders.
Dutch prosecutors have charged 56-year-old religious leader Muhammed Ashraf Jalali for calling on his followers to kill Wilders and promising they would be "rewarded in the afterlife."
Another man, Saad Hussain Rizvi, leader of the Tehrik-e-Labbaik Pakistain (TLP) party, is suspected of urging followers to kill Wilders after Pak cricketer Khalid Latif was sentenced for incitement to murder him.
"This case has had a huge impact on me and my family," said Wilders, dressed in a dark suit, white shirt, and maroon tie.
"I’m asking this court to send a strong signal... that calling a fatwa in this country is unacceptable," he added.
The trial took place at a highly secure courthouse near Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport.
Neither of the men is believed to be in the country, and Pakistain has no extradition agreement with the Netherlands. Prosecutors said in a statement that requests they sent to Pak authorities seeking legal assistance to serve subpoenas on the two men were not executed.
Dutch authorities asked Islamabad for legal assistance to question the suspects and demand they appear in court.
However,
there's no worse danger than telling a mother her baby is ugly... no treaty exists with Pakistain for mutual legal assistance. Neither man had legal representation present.
’DEATH THREATS’
In September last year, judges sentenced Latif to 12 years behind bars for incitement to murder Wilders after the firebrand ...firebrands are noted more for audio volume and the quantity of spittle generated than for any actual logic in their arguments... politician sought to arrange a competition for cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.
Wilders canceled the cartoon contest after protests broke out in Pakistain and he was inundated with death threats. He has been under 24-hour state protection since 2004.
The planned competition "caused a lot of unrest within the Moslem community. He (Wilders) received hundreds if not thousands of death threats," said the judge, who asked not to be identified.
In the Netherlands, the plan to stage the contest was widely criticized as needlessly antagonizing Moslems.
But the call to kill Wilders appeared to resonate, as a Pak man was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2019 for plotting his liquidation in the wake of the canceled contest.
Wilders said in court he had planned the contest because "it’s unacceptable that you are not allowed freedom of speech... in countries where it is permitted by law."
"For the past 20 years I have been robbed of my freedom because of what I think, say, write, and do," said Wilders.
"Fatwas are the worst of all. They never go away. I still receive death threats on a daily basis," added the politician.
Wilders told judges of the impact of the threats on his life, that has been lived under intense security since 2004. Two armed military police sat in court throughout the brief trial.
"Every day you get up and leave for work in armored cars, often with sirens on, and you are always aware somewhere in the back of your mind that this could be your last day," Wilders told the court.
"I’m 60 now, I haven’t been free since I was 40," he added.
The public prosecutor called for Jalali to receive 14 years in prison. Six years were requested against Rizvi with a verdict expected on September 9.
"The aim of the suspect (Jalali) was to kill Wilders. He (Jalali) had great influence in Pakistain," alleged the prosecutor, who asked to remain anonymous.
"Unfortunately we see politicians being more and more threatened because of what they say and think."
The hardline TLP religious group is known for its massive street protests over blasphemy ...the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence to a deity, or sacred objects, or toward something considered sacred or inviolable. Some religions consider it to be a crime. In Pakistain you can commit blasphemy by looking cross-eyed at a Koran... allegations that can paralyze cities for days.
It brought tens of thousands of people to the streets after Gay Paree-based satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo ...Pix/Hebdo2.pngA lefty French satirical magazine, home of what may well be the majority if the active testicles left in Europe... republished cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed in 2020.
[Rudaw] Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudan ...a Moslem country located in the Horn of Africa. It is noted for its affinity for rule by ex- or current generals, its holy men, and for the oppression of the native Afro population by its Arab conquerors. South Sudan, populated mostly by the natives, split off from Sudan proper, which left North and South Darfur to be oppressed by the guys with turbans... i reiterated that the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (ISIS) no longer poses a threat to the country, in a meeting in Baghdad on Sunday with the commander of the US-led international coalition.
"[T]he remnants of ISIS no longer pose a threat to the Iraqi state, as they have become isolated groups hiding in remote areas to avoid capture," Sudani’s office cited the premier as saying during the meeting with coalition commander US Major General Kevin C. Leahy and US Ambassador to Baghdad Alina Romanowski.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on Saturday that at least 15 suspected ISIS members were killed in a joint military operation by the US military and Iraqi security forces in western Iraq.
"ISIS remains a threat to the region, our allies, as well as our homeland," CENTCOM said in a statement.
At least seven US troops were maimed, including five maimed, during the operation, the News Agency that Dare Not be Named has reported citing a US defense official on the condition of anonymity.
The coalition’s future role in Iraq, cooperation in training Iraqi security forces, and intelligence collaboration were also highlighted in the meeting between Sudani and the US officials, according to Sudani’s statement.
"The meeting focused on the progress of the technical dialogue between both sides about ending the Coalition's mission in Iraq and transitioning to a framework of bilateral relations between Iraq and Coalition member states," the statement added.
The Iraqi government has expressed anger over US retaliatory strikes on pro-Iran, Iraqi paramilitary groups. The US strikes have been in response to hundreds of rockets and dronezaps since October, targeting US installations and troops in Iraq, Syria, and Jordan.
In January, Sudani presided over the first meeting of the US-Iraq Higher Military Commission (HMC) to discuss the future of the coalition’s mission in Iraq.
While Baghdad has maintained that the commission aims to conclude the presence of the coalition forces in the country, Washington has described the step only as a "transition" in the coalition’s role.
Following a meeting between Iraqi and US defense officials in Washington in late July, the two sides said in a joint statement that they have reached an understanding on how to usher in a new phase of security ties, which includes "cooperation through liaison officers, training, and traditional security cooperation programs."
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An important story — note that this is dated August 6, 2024. We had reports that the nine were accused — now we know the rest of the story.
—tw at 6:35 pm ET
[FDD] United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini announced the dismissal of nine of the agency’s employees for their potential involvement in the Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel on October 7. In a statement on August 5, Lazzarini explained that findings from an investigation by the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), the UN’s internal oversight body, provided sufficient grounds to terminate the contracts of the individuals suspected of participating in the atrocities. “In the case of these remaining nine staff members, I have decided that they cannot work for UNRWA,” Lazzarini said. Some of the nine employees were already included among both the 12 staff members terminated and the seven placed on administrative leave over the allegations, Juliette Touma, communications director for UNRWA, later clarified.
However, Lazzarini refrained from assigning guilt to the dismissed employees, stating that the evidence, “if authenticated and corroborated – could indicate that the UNRWA staff members may have been involved in the attacks of 7 October.” The same investigation concluded that there was insufficient evidence to support allegations against 10 other UNRWA staff members accused of being involved in the October 7 atrocities carried out by Hamas terrorists in southern Israel.
In response, Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, condemned the OIOS investigation as “a disgrace.” Erdan pointed out that the agency only probed 19 UNRWA employees, even though Israel had supplied the United Nations with “detailed information” regarding over 100 employees whom Erdan asserted were affiliated with Hamas.
HUNDREDS OF UNRWA PERSONNEL INVOLVED IN HAMAS ACTIVITIES.
On February 22, the Israeli newspaper Ma’ariv reported on an intelligence analysis presented to Israel’s war cabinet, which revealed that among the 12,000 employees of UNRWA in Gaza, 440 are actively involved in Hamas’s military operations. The report noted that around 2,000 more employees are supporters of Hamas but do not engage in its terrorist activities, while approximately 7,000 UNRWA employees have close relatives who are members of Hamas.
The United Nations does not classify Hamas as a terrorist organization. “Hamas is not a terrorist group for us … It’s a political movement,” Martin Griffiths, the UN’s under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, stated on February 14.
[AlJazeera] The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has accused the Israeli government of “buying ads on Google to block users from giving donations” to the agency.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said in a post on X that Israel’s attempts to defame the agency both harm its reputation and put the lives of its staff at risk.
As if either is possible.
“These deliberate efforts to spread misinformation should stop + be investigated,” Lazzarini wrote on Saturday, calling for more regulations for companies, including social media platforms, to combat disinformation and hate speech.
#1
Why does israel even have to pay? Google should be blocking UNRWA because it gives money to hamas
Google had no problem censoring to oblivion the good scientists and doctors warning that the mRNA gene-vaccines for covid were unsafe and wouldn’t work, and they were right
Google demonised them like byram bridle, and hid them off the search results
Google censored and hid the vax injured like maddie de garay
Howcome google cant censor hamas supporters? Money from Qatar buying in?
[ALLISRAEL] UNRWA-USA Chief Mara Kronenfeld sharply criticized an Israeli ad campaign seeking to defund the agency by highlighting the involvement of several of its workers in anti-Israel activism and outright terrorism.
For years, the State of Israel has maintained that UNRWA, the United Nations agency officially tasked with managing Palestinian refugees from the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, has been promoting hatred and violence against the Jewish state.
In its recent advertisement, “UNRWA Educating Terrorists Since 1949,” Israel held the controversial UN agency directly responsible for extremism and terrorism against Israel and Jews.
The advertisement highlights the significant number of anti-Israel individuals and terrorists who received their education through the UNRWA-led system in the Gaza Strip and Judea and Samaria (West Bank).
Israel's ad campaign seeks to defund UNRWA, arguing that the organization contributes to the problem rather than facilitating a solution to the ongoing Middle East conflict.
However, UNRWA-USA Chief Mara Kronenfeld slammed Israel's campaign.
“There is an incredibly powerful campaign to dismantle UNRWA,” Kronenfeld stated. “I want the public to know what’s happening and the insidious nature of it, especially at a time when civilian lives are under attack in Gaza,” she added.
Kronenfeld, who heads a seven-person staff in the United States, claimed that Israel is running a misinformation campaign against UNRWA. However, in August, the UN admitted that some UNRWA employees likely participated in the Oct. 7 Hamas invasion and attack on Israel.
“For nine people, the evidence was sufficient to conclude that they may have been involved in the seventh of October attacks,” UN representative Farhan Haq stated.
In January, the United States, Japan and several European nations temporarily suspended financial aid to UNRWA after Israel provided evidence that some UNRWA officials participated in the Oct. 7 attack.
Earlier this year, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant revealed the names of 12 UNRWA workers who took part in the Oct. 7 atrocities. Furthermore, Israeli intelligence has estimated that at least 12% of UNRWA’s 13,000 employees in Gaza have affiliations with Hamas and other terrorist organizations.
Following pressure from the United States and other Western nations, the UN claimed it would investigate the problematic ties between its UNRWA agency and the terrorist organization Hamas.
However, in April, a presumably independent panel stated: “Israel made public claims that a significant number of UNRWA employees are members of terrorist organisations. However, Israel has yet to provide supporting evidence of this.”
The purpose of the highly politicized report was to restore humanitarian aid to UNRWA, a goal largely realized as the U.S. and other Western nations resumed financial aid to UNRWA soon after.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry quickly blasted the report for ignoring the strong ties between Hamas and UNRWA.
"Hamas has infiltrated UNRWA so deeply that it is no longer possible to determine where UNRWA ends and where Hamas begins. More than 2,135 UNRWA workers are members of either Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), while one-fifth of UNRWA school administrators are Hamas members," the Israeli ministry stated.
#1
0nce, in almost another lifetime, I was asked to take a position in Gaza which would have had me working directly with UNRWA. The person I was to replace met me and warned, "You will be working with a corrupt organization." I declined the offer. However, I have followed with interest the ups and downs (mostly downs) of UNRWA, and I believe it is as corrupt today as it was long ago when I turned down a job in Gaza.
[IsraelTimes] After PM rejects even 42-day IDF withdrawal from Gaza-Egypt border as part of hostage-ceasefire agreement, Lapid charges he wants war forever, will never make a deal
Netanyahu declared that Israel’s war goals are "to destroy Hamas, to bring back all of our hostages, to ensure that Gaza will no longer present a threat to Israel, and to safely return the residents of the northern border," and asserted that "three of those war goals go through one place: the Philadelphi Corridor. That is Hamas’s pipeline for oxygen and rearmament."
Defending himself against charges of blocking a hostage deal on Monday evening, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu argued forcefully for what he said was the "strategic imperative" to keep Israeli troops stationed along the so-called Philadelphia Corridor along Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... ’s border with Egypt.
Speaking with news hounds during a rare presser in Jerusalem, Netanyahu insisted that the 14-kilometer (8.7 miles) strip of land is essential for Israel to achieve its war aims.
Were the IDF to withdraw even for the 42-day first phase of a deal, in an effort to secure the release of numerous living hostages, it would never be able to return, he claimed, and thus Hamas ..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,... would be able to rearm, revive, and carry out many more October 7 massacres.
He rejected the assertion that the six hostages murdered by Hamas in Gaza last week were killed because his terms had prevented a deal. "We didn’t manage to extricate them. We were very close. It’s terrible," he said. "But it didn’t happen because of that decision [on the Philadelphi Corridor.] It happened, first, because they (Hamas) don’t want a deal," he said. "I look for every means... to get them home," he said of the hostages.
The Hostages’ Families Forum vowed to step up the "struggle to return the hostages" and accused the prime minister of "criminal negligence."
HAMAS’S ’OXYGEN’ SUPPLY
Early in his prepared remarks, Netanyahu declared that Israel’s war goals are "to destroy Hamas, to bring back all of our hostages, to ensure that Gaza will no longer present a threat to Israel, and to safely return the residents of the northern border," and asserted that "three of those war goals go through one place: the Philadelphi Corridor. That is Hamas’s pipeline for oxygen and rearmament."
Projecting a map of Israel and Gaza on the wall behind him, Netanyahu noted that following the 2005 Disengagement, Israel controlled all of Gaza’s borders except the one with Egypt, and it was through that border uthat weapons reached the Strip.
"The axis of evil needs the Philadelphi Axis," he declared, referring to Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... and its proxies, making the argument that this was the precise reason Israel "must control it" and "make permanent the fact that we are there."
The "significance and importance" of Israeli control of Philadelphi, he said, was "to ensure that we don’t have another October 7 and another October 7 and another October 7, as Hamas has promised to carry out."
Criticizing Egypt for failing to secure the border, Netanyahu insisted he had called on then-prime minister Ariel Sharon to retain control of the corridor two decades ago ahead of the 2005 disengagement from Gaza.
He added that he had later fought against Hamas’ military build-up over the course of several governments but was stymied by a lack of international and domestic legitimacy to retake Gaza.
Netanyahu has come under immense criticism domestically for allegedly blocking a deal with his insistence since July on continued Israeli control of the Philadelphi Corridor and central Gaza’s Netzarim Corridor, which divides the north of the Strip from its south.
In July, Netanyahu added several "nonnegotiable" demands to Israel’s May 27 hostage deal proposal, including for Israeli control over both corridors.
The Netzarim and Philadelphi corridors were not specified as locations where Israeli troops would be allowed to remain, according to the text of the Israeli proposal from May, which has been published in full by The Times of Israel.
That was then. Subsequently the situation has evolved. Among other things, Hamas has killed more Israeli soldiers and more hostages, the last six by bullets in the back of the head a few days ago.
According to Channel 12, Netanyahu last week indicated to Defense Minister Yoav Gallant during a security cabinet meeting that he was prioritizing keeping Israeli troops in the Philadelphi Corridor over saving the lives of the remaining hostages in Gaza.
Are those Bibi’s actual words, or just the defence minister’s prejudiced interpretation of his intention?
On Monday night, the prime minister dismissed the argument that the IDF would be able to return to Philadelphi after the first phase of the proposed ceasefire deal, comparing it to past promises that Israel could and would return to Leb ...an Iranian satrapy currently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers... and Gaza if there were any attacks from those newly evacuated territories.
"If we do leave [the Philadelphi Corridor], we may not return for 42 years, because we did leave and we didn’t return for 20 years," he said, calling an Israeli presence on the border "a diplomatic, strategic imperative."
"It’s a question of massive diplomatic pressure that will be applied to us by the entire world: If we leave, we will not return," he said. "This corridor is different from all the other places — it is central, it determines all of our future."
Despite massive pressure to withdraw from the corridor and end the war, such a withdrawal would "not bring back the hostages" but would have the "opposite" effect, he argued, also claiming that leaving the Philadelphi Corridor could enable Hamas to spirit the hostages to Iran or Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of... , overground, during that 42-day first phase.
AN APOLOGY AND A CALL FOR UNITY
While he fiercely defended his positions, dismissing both domestic and international criticism that he was responsible for blocking a hostage deal, Netanyahu did apologize to the families of the six Israeli captives recently found dead in a Hamas tunnel.
"I told the families, and I am repeating it here tonight — I ask for your forgiveness that we did not succeed in bringing them back alive. We were close, but we didn’t succeed," he said — naming the victims and vowing that Hamas would "pay a very heavy price" for their deaths.
As protesters gathered outside his homes in Jerusalem and Caesarea, capping off a day of demonstrations and a national strike organized by the Histadrut Labor Federation, Netanyahu insisted that in order to prevail in the existential war against Iran and its axis, "we must stand united as one person against a cruel enemy that wants to destroy all of us, all of us without any exceptions."
"We agreed to the formula that President Biden presented on May 31," he continued. "We agreed to what they called the ’final bridging proposal’ on August 16. Hamas rejected the first. Hamas is rejecting the second."
THE DAY AFTER
Answering questions from news hounds, Netanyahu insisted that Israel must maintain security control of the border crossings on the "day after" Hamas and for the foreseeable future.
"When the day comes" and another body or organization can deal with this "under a permanent arrangement," he said, that would be fine with him. But "right now," Israel needs to be there to prevent more massacres, abductions and existential threats. Even though "we are very close to dismantling Hamas," he claimed, Israel still had to tackle and find an alternative to the terror group’s civilian control.
Turning to the terms of the ceasefire deal, Netanyahu said nobody is more committed to freeing the hostages than he is.
"Nobody should preach to me about this," he said. "The formula I agreed to talks about a first stage of 42 days — after which we can go back to fighting, of course, if a solution is not found in negotiations. It’s our decision, I insisted on it. And if a decision is made for the long-term, and a permanent arrangement is found in the Strip where someone else can take care of the security mission and protect the borders, go ahead. I currently don’t see it on the horizon."
Asked why, if the Philadelphi Corridor is so important, he agreed to a withdrawal from Gaza in May, when the IDF had still not even taken full control of the border, he replied indirectly that he is willing to reduce forces on the Egypt-Gaza border because there is no need for troops "every meter."
"We need to be at several locations, connected, at a certain distance from one another, with the ability to patrol along the entire road," he said, arguing that Israel cannot rely on sensors or others to guard the border.
POLITICAL INFIGHTING
Netanyahu also lamented what he described as "voices in the cabinet, ministers in the government" who urged leaving the Philadelphi Corridor "even though we had already decided not to leave" — a thinly veiled allusion to Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
Such dissent was the reason why a cabinet vote backing his position on the matter was necessary, Netanyahu claimed, insisting that he is "flexible in the places where I can be flexible" but that on the issue of the Gaza-Egypt border, "we all must insist."
Asked about the disunity between him and Gallant, Netanyahu said that the relationship can continue "so long as there is trust," but stressed that all ministers must be bound by cabinet decisions. "That is what is being tested now."
Answering a question about leaks from security officials attacking cabinet decisions, Netanyahu said that "the one who makes decisions is the government, and the army and other security agencies are required to follow those decisions. I don’t see another option."
AN END TO THE WAR
Asked what would define the end of the war, he replied that this would be "when Hamas no longer rules Gaza."
Just as was the case when the Allies defeated Nazi Germany, this would require a military and a political victory, he said, and "we’re well on the way to achieving both."
Told about Biden indicating earlier Monday that Netanyahu is not doing enough to secure a deal, the prime minister replied: "I don’t believe that President Biden really said that."
Ouch.
Speaking for a few minutes in English, Netanyahu denounced calls for Israel to make concessions after Hamas "murderers executed six of our hostages."
"They shot them in the back of the head...and now, after this, we’re asked to show seriousness? We’re asked to make concessions? What message does this send Hamas? It says kill more hostages, murder more hostages, you’ll get more concessions," Netanyahu stated.
"The pressure internationally must be directed at these killers, at Hamas, not at Israel. We say yes, they say no all the time. But they also murdered these people. And now we need maximal pressure on Hamas.
"I don’t believe that either President Biden or anyone serious about achieving peace and achieving their release would seriously ask Israel, Israel, to make these concessions," he argued. "We’ve already made them. Hamas has to make the concessions."
[IsraelTimes] Documents found by the IDF in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... have revealed the painstaking training of Hamas ..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... faceless myrmidons for combat in the terrorist organization’s tunnel network, as well as more details about its fortification, The New York Times
...which still proudly claims Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... reports, citing the documents, which included a handbook written in 2019.
The manual instructed faceless myrmidons on how to hide and locate tunnel entrances, as well as navigate them quickly.
"While moving in the dark inside the tunnel, the fighter needs night-vision goggles equipped with infrared," the report quotes the document, written in Arabic, as stating.
The instructions added that in order to deliver maximum damage in battle with Israeli soldiers, weapons should be fired on automatic, while held at shoulder height.
"This type of shooting is effective because the tunnel is narrow, so the shots are aimed at the kill zones in the upper part of the human body," the manual said.
Another document found by the IDF showed that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar approved blast doors to be installed in the tunnel network to protect it from Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s and ground assaults, the report said.
The majority of the $225,000 for the project was dedicated to fortifying tunnels in northern Gaza and Khan Younis, both of which have been hotspots of fighting between the IDF and Hamas, the report says.
Another document seen by the publication was a letter written by Sinwar to the organization’s since-eliminated military commander, Muhammad Deif, detailing the expense and intricacies of creating the tunnels.
A military spokesperson tells the paper that IDF soldiers found details in the tunnels that were consistent with the instructions and information found in the documents.
Yeah, Bibi should definitely give in to their hostage threats. NOT. FJB. Sinwar Humanitarianism™
[IsraelTimes] The Hamas ..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... terror group hints that it murdered the six hostages whose bodies were recovered by the IDF from a tunnel in southern Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... ’s Rafah over the weekend.
In a statement, the front man for the military wing of Hamas says that following Israel’s successful hostage rescue in Nuseirat in June, new protocols were given to Death Eaters guarding the abductees if Israeli troops were approaching them.
"We say to everyone clearly that after the Nuseirat incident, new instructions were issued to the mujahideen assigned to guard the prisoners regarding dealing with them if the occupation army approached their place of detention," Hudhaifa Kahlout — known by the nom de guerre Abu Obeida — says.
Is that a hint, or is he just really happy to say it?
Hamas is believed by Israel to have given standing orders to operatives who are holding hostages, to kill the captives if they think Israeli forces are nearing.
The six hostages recovered over the weekend — Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Ori Danino, Alex Lobanov, Carmel Gat, and Almog Sarusi — were killed just days before troops found them, according to autopsies and the IDF.
"Netanyahu’s insistence on liberating the prisoners through military pressure instead of concluding a deal will mean that they will return to their families inside coffins and their families will have to choose whether they are dead or alive," Abu Obeida adds.
At the beginning of the war, Abu Obeida threatened to execute Israeli hostages and release footage of the killings.
Alongside the announcement, Hamas releases a propaganda illustration depicting an Israeli hostage being held captive and a terrorist holding a handgun behind them.
The image is accompanied by a caption in Hebrew and Arabic, reading: “Military pressure = death and failure. Exchange deal = Freedom and life.”
[IsraelTimes] Union boss says he’ll respect ruling, but doesn’t regret move; MKs urge class action suit; some activists protest against strike demanding truce-hostage deal, saying it aids Hamas
A court ordered strikers back to work Monday afternoon, cutting short a labor action aimed at pressuring the government to seal a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... as thousands protested for an agreement nationwide.
Interesting: thousands, not hundreds of thousands. Grom said yesterday that the news stories were off by at least an order of magnitude…
Tel Aviv’s labor court ruled that the Histadrut labor federation had until 2:30 p.m. to wrap up a general strike that had shut down government offices and limited access to clinics, banks, public transportation and other services.
The verdict marked a major win for the government, which had sought to shut down the move by the country’s largest union, called a day earlier as Israelis seethed over the discovery of the bodies of six hostages killed by their captors in Gaza — whom many believed could have been saved by a deal that would put a halt to the war in Gaza after nearly a year.
No doubt a deal would have, had Hamas any interest whatsoever in bargaining in good faith. But they are still determined to make Israel surrender without giving anything up, so there it is. To believe that forcing Bibi to make a deal would result in getting the hostages back alive is somewhere between imbecilic and fighting for the enemy.
The state and the Tikva Forum, a group of hostage families that has largely backed the government’s prioritization of military action over concessions as means to win the release of hostages, had petitioned the court for an injunction against the Histadrut move, arguing that the strike was politically motivated and unrelated to workers’ rights, and thus illegal.
The court accepted their arguments, rejecting the Histadrut’s stance that the government’s failure to secure a deal was damaging the economy.
Histadrut head Arnon Bar-David said he would respect the ruling, but stressed that "the solidarity strike was an important move and I stand behind it."
He maintained that the strike had not been championed by only a single political camp, claiming the wide appeal of mass demonstrations Monday had cut across political lines.
"Hundreds of thousands of citizens voted with their feet," he said. "We proved that with regard to the fate of the hostages there is no right or left, only life or death."
Still claiming numbers not otherwise supported by the evidence…
The labor federation, ordered to respond by noon to petitions by the state and the Tikva Forum, agreed to end the strike at 6 p.m., but the court forced it to finish earlier.
Right-wing politicians in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government had argued that the union was playing into Hamas ..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,... ’s hands by pressuring the country to agree to a deal, incentivizing the group to kill more hostages.
"We won’t allow the Israeli economy to be harmed, serving the interests of [Hamas chief Yahya] Sinwar," said Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who had ordered the state to petition the court for an injunction.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir also welcomed the ruling "to stop the Histadrut’s political strike," as did MK Gideon Sa’ar, head of the hawkish New Hope opposition party, who said the strike "harms the Histadrut itself."
Bar-David, whose union represents public sector workers including teachers and sanitation workers, had declared the strike after meeting with hostage families Sunday afternoon. University presidents and the Israel Business Forum, which represents some 200 of the country’s largest companies, joined the strike, as did several large municipalities, including Tel Aviv. The latter strikes are unaffected by the court’s ruling.
The strike came as thousands erupted into the streets to protest the government’s inability to clinch a hostage release deal, with demonstrators blocking intersections around the country throughout Monday morning, including some of the country’s busiest thoroughfares in the center of Tel Aviv.
Following Bar-David’s announcement, Smotrich accused him of "representing the interests of Hamas" when he should be supporting the country’s economy in wartime. The state prosecutor, ordered by Smotrich, said in a brief to the court that a strike "to influence the sovereign’s decision, in issues not directly related to work conditions, is forbidden."
Coalition politicians urged suing Bar-David and the Histadrut for damages caused by the strike, and right-wing activists protested against it in Jerusalem and outside Bar David’s home in Kiryat Ono, in central Israel.
Members of the right-wing Gvura Forum (Heroism Forum) of bereaved families temporarily blocked the entrance to the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem on Monday in a counter-protest against the Histadrut strike. Protesters accused the Histadrut of giving "a prize to Hamas" and "encouraging terror" by shutting down the economy.
Ben Gvir, the head of Otzma Yehudit, told the demonstrators the party is "using our power in the government to prevent a reckless deal."
"With Hamas you need to speak only between gunsights," he added.
Earlier, several activists from the krazed killer Noam faction protested Monday morning outside Bar-David’s home in Kiryat Ono, accusing him of helping Hamas.
The Histadrut is Israel’s largest and oldest labor federation, representing some 725,000 people — the majority of organized workers in the country.
At a mass protest in Tel Aviv Sunday night to call for a hostage deal, Bar-David said he had concluded "now is the time" to use his power to shut down the economy, due to the government’s "abandonment" of the country’s security, economy and hostages.
#1
Histadrut used to be the largest employer in Israel + a roof organization of trade unions protecting the rights of workers. And then evil Bibi came and turned Israel into a market economy.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,...
...the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence to a deity, or sacred objects, or toward something considered sacred or inviolable. Some religions consider it to be a crime. In Pakistain you can commit blasphemy by looking cross-eyed at a Koran...
...a Moslem country located in the Horn of Africa. It is noted for its affinity for rule by ex- or current generals, its holy men, and for the oppression of the native Afro population by its Arab conquerors. South Sudan, populated mostly by the natives, split off from Sudan proper, which left North and South Darfur to be oppressed by the guys with turbans...
..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,...
..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,...
..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...
