The German News Agency quoted the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs as saying that a French diplomat died from wounds he sustained during an Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip.

The ministry said in a statement yesterday, Saturday, that the official took refuge with two other colleagues and family members at the home of one of his colleagues at the French consulate in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, near the border with Egypt.

The statement said that the house was subjected to an Israeli bombing last Wednesday, which resulted in the diplomat being injured and about 10 people killed.

The ministry said that the official - who had been "working for France" since 2002 - was later killed, adding that "France condemns the bombing of a residential building that led to the deaths of many other civilians."

It continued, "We call on the Israeli authorities to fully clarify the circumstances of this bombing as soon as possible."

Israel began a war on the Gaza Strip that left more than 18,000 dead - most of them children and women - and tens of thousands wounded, following the Al-Aqsa Flood operation on October 7 last year.

Source: Al Jazeera + German News Agency

A citizen was injured today, Sunday, as a result of a settler attack in Khirbet Al Farisiya in the northern Jordan Valley.

Human rights activist Arif Daraghmeh reported that citizen Barakat Ali Zuhdi was injured as a result of an assault with a sharp object by settlers.

In turn, the official responsible for the Jordan Valley file in Tubas Governorate, Moataz Bisharat, said that the settlers raided the pastures in the Ghazal Spring area in Al-Farisiya, and attacked the shepherds, which led to the injury of the citizen Zuhdi, and the attack also led to the death of a number of sheep.

The Prisoners and Ex-Detainees Affairs Authority reported on Sunday that female prisoners at Damoun Prison, especially those arrested from the Gaza Strip, face very difficult detention conditions and are subject to severe punishments that have increased daily since October 7.

The Commission reported, through its lawyer, that the occupation forces launched a massive arrest campaign in the West Bank, Jerusalem, the 1948 territories, and Gaza, against our female prisoners, and all of them were subjected to torture and abuse from the moment of arrest until entering the prison, whether by beating and cursing, or strip searches, in addition to isolation and deprivation of the most basic rights.

One of the female prisoners said, “An old woman (80 years old) from Gaza arrived at the department a few days ago, walking on a crutch and without a cover on her head. Her body and clothes were full of blood and she did not know anything. It seemed that she was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.”

The Commission indicated that all the female prisoners of the Gaza Strip had their clothes taken and replaced with summer clothes, and they were subjected to many beatings and assaults, in addition to non-stop insults. Some of them remained for 7 days outdoors in the rain and in the cold, and all the female prisoners of the Gaza Strip arrived in the prison in a deplorable health, physical and psychological conditions. 

It pointed out that one of Gaza's prisoners, a mother, said, "When she was arrested, she was accompanied by her four young children. She did not know what to do with them. There was a man from Gaza close to her. She gave him her children, not knowing who he was, and left them without knowing their fate."

The Commission confirmed that the testimonies mentioned express a very small part of what we were able to reach, and what is hidden is greater, as the prison administration deliberately isolates the female prisoners in Gaza from the rest of the female prisoners, and from the outside world completely, in order to continue committing its crimes without accountability or oversight.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said on Sunday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “cannot continue in office,” calling for elections during the war that has been ongoing in the Gaza Strip for more than two months.

This is the first call from a senior Israeli official to hold elections during the war, as previous calls were limited to calling for elections after the war.

Lapid said, in an interview with the “Ynet” website affiliated with the “Yedioth Ahronoth” newspaper: “Netanyahu cannot continue as prime minister,” and that “elections can be held during the war.”

Netanyahu insists on continuing the war, hoping to end Hamas’ continued rule of Gaza since the summer of 2007, and to eliminate the military capabilities of the movement, which asserts that it resists the Israeli occupation and defends the Palestinians.

Expectations are rising within Israel that anticipated post-war investigations into the military and intelligence failure against the Hamas movement will spell the end of Netanyahu’s political career.

For about a year, Netanyahu has headed a coalition government described in the Hebrew media as “the most extreme right-wing government in the history of Israel.”

Regarding his opinion about the news of a possible new truce agreement that includes a prisoner exchange deal, Lapid, the former prime minister, responded that “a new proposal must be presented to the table.” “Once the card is on the table, it will trigger action, even if it is not accepted.”

He added: “I made it clear to the Prime Minister that the opposition would provide support, even in exchange for painful prices in a deal (regarding) kidnapped persons.”

Netanyahu had not commented on Lapid’s statements, but he repeatedly tried to hold the army and intelligence services responsible for the failures. This sparked sharp criticism even within his own government.

The Israeli government is facing increasing pressure to reach a new prisoner exchange agreement with Hamas, in light of a series of demonstrations that began on the evening of December 15 in Tel Aviv and other cities.

The demonstrations began after the Israeli army announced that it had “accidentally” killed three Israeli prisoners in the Shujaiya neighborhood, east of Gaza City, in the middle of this month, while they were raising the white flag and calling for help in Hebrew.

According to Hebrew media, about 132 prisoners remain in Gaza.

In response to “daily Israeli attacks against the Palestinian people and their sanctities,” on October 7, Hamas launched the “Al-Aqsa Flood” attack against Israeli settlements and military bases around Gaza.

Hamas killed about 1,200 Israelis, wounded about 5,431, and captured about 239, exchanging dozens of them, during a humanitarian truce that lasted 7 days until December 1, with Israel, which holds more than 7,800 Palestinians in its prisons.

Source: Sama News

Today, Sunday, settlers attacked citizens’ homes with stones and burned 3 livestock barracks in the Arab Al-Malihat community, west of Jericho.

According to local sources, dozens of settlers attacked the homes of citizens in the Arab Mleihat community on Al-Marajat Road, west of Jericho, threw stones at them, and set fire to sheep barracks belonging to the citizen, Atta Suleiman Mleihat.

The World Health Organization confirmed on Sunday that the emergency department at the Shifa Medical Complex in the Gaza Strip had turned into a "bloodbath" and needed "rehabilitation" after it was severely damaged by the Israeli bombing.

The occupation has continued its air, land and sea bombardment of the Gaza Strip for 72 days, resulting in the death of about 19,000 citizens and the injury of more than 52,000 others, 70% of whom are women and children, an infinite toll.

The organization explained that a team from it and other United Nations agencies was able yesterday to deliver medical supplies to the Al-Shifa Complex, located in the west of Gaza City (north), which is the largest hospital in the Strip.

It pointed out that "tens of thousands of displaced people" took refuge in this complex, which "lacks" water and food.

It added, "The team (that visited the complex) described the emergency services as a 'bloodbath', with hundreds of injured patients inside and new patients arriving every minute," noting that trauma patients are receiving treatment on the ground and that "measures to relieve pain are very limited." And it's not even available."

The organization reported that the medical complex is working at its minimum capacity with a very limited medical team, and that “serious patients were transferred to the Arab National Hospital (Baptist) to undergo surgical operations.”

The organization's statement quoted the team that visited Al-Shifa as saying that the hospital also needs a "rehabilitation" process, stressing that only 30 patients are able to undergo dialysis.

The entire health infrastructure in the Gaza Strip was severely damaged as a result of the bombing and ground operations carried out by the occupation army since the seventh of last October.

The World Health Organization said it is ready to reinforce the Al-Shifa Complex “in the coming weeks” so that it can resume its basic services.

It explained, "Up to 20 operating rooms can be activated in the hospital, as well as post-operative care services, if it is provided with fuel, oxygen, medicines, food, and water," noting at the same time the need for employees.

The National Arab “Baptist” Hospital is the only one that is “partially operating” at the present time in the entire northern Gaza Strip, with only three hospitals operating on a limited basis: Al-Shifa, Al-Awda, and Al-Sahaba. Before the war, there were 24 hospitals in this area.

35 Palestinians were killed and dozens injured, today, Sunday, during the bombing of several homes by occupation warplanes in the town of Jabalia, north of the Gaza Strip.

Local sources reported that civil defense and ambulance crews recovered 24 martyrs and at least 90 wounded, as a result of the occupation aircraft destroying a house for the Shihab family in Jabalia, and dozens are still under the rubble.

Also, 11 citizens were killed and dozens were injured in an Israeli bombing that targeted a house for the Khalla family in the town of Jabalia.

The occupation warplanes targeted a house in Deir al-Balah camp in the middle of the Gaza Strip, killing about 12 citizens and wounding dozens, the majority of whom were displaced.

To the south, the occupation artillery fired an unexploded shell into the courtyard of Nasser Hospital in the city of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, wounding at least two young men.

The occupation boats also bombed several areas north of the city of Khan Yunis and its western coast.

The Government of Japan decided to provide new aid to the Palestinian people, worth $64,025,500, through international organizations and Japanese non-governmental organizations, in response to the deteriorating humanitarian conditions, especially in the Gaza Strip.

The Japanese government explained, in a statement issued by its representative office in Palestine, today, Sunday, that this new package includes several areas of projects that will be implemented by relevant international organizations and Japanese non-governmental organizations.

She pointed out that the package includes urgent humanitarian assistance for food security, water and sanitation, health care, education, and mine action, through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), the World Food Program (WFP), the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the International Federation. of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the United Nations Mine Action Service, and the Japan Platform (JPF), a coalition of Japanese NGOs.

Part of the package will also be allocated to reproductive health and women's protection through the United Nations Population Fund, UN Women, and the International Planned Parenthood Federation.

The statement confirmed that part of the aid package will be allocated to facilitating the movement of people and goods across borders, through the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and the Quartet office, as well as supporting the agricultural sector and its value chain through the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization. and agriculture for the United Nations.

The government media office in Gaza announced on Sunday that the number of journalists killed by the Israeli occupation army during its war on the Strip had risen to 92 since last October 7.

The media office said, in a statement, “Journalists Rami Badir and Asim Kamal Moussa were killed during the past two days in Israeli raids on the Gaza Strip,” without details regarding the circumstances of their deaths.

He added, "This brings the number of killed journalists at the hands of the Israeli army during its war on the Gaza Strip to 92 journalists."

The office also continued, "By assassinating journalists, the occupation is trying to obscure the Palestinian narrative and attempt to obscure the truth, but it has failed miserably in breaking the will of our great Palestinian people."

Egypt informs Israel of its objection to carrying out air strikes near the Philadelphia axis.

According to the source, Israel fears the presence of tunnels in the Palestinian area east of Rafah, which is considered an extension of the Philadelphia axis, while Cairo has clarified more than once that the border area is devoid of any tunnels linking the Strip and Sinai.

Egypt informed the Israeli side of its reservations against the backdrop of the Israeli Air Force carrying out several strikes near the Philadelphia axis separating Egypt and the Gaza Strip, especially since the axis is subject to a bilateral agreement that requires obtaining prior permission from the other party before carrying out any military actions in the region.

The Israeli occupation forces arrested at least 20 citizens from the West Bank from yesterday evening until Sunday morning.

The arrest operations were distributed in the governorates of: Hebron, Bethlehem, Nablus, Ramallah, and Tulkarm, which witnessed a major aggression, and this was accompanied by the rise of martyrs, in addition to the arrests and widespread sabotage operations that affected the Nour Shams camp, specifically the infrastructure.

The occupation forces continue to carry out massive incursions into several areas, accompanied by field executions, widespread arrest and torture campaigns, severe beatings, field investigations, and threats against detainees and their families, in addition to widespread sabotage and destruction of citizens’ homes.

It is noteworthy that the total number of arrests after October 7 reached about 4,540, and this total includes those who were arrested from homes, through military checkpoints, those who were forced to surrender themselves under pressure, and those who were held hostage.

Note that the ongoing and escalating arrest campaigns in an unprecedented manner come within the framework of the comprehensive aggression against our people and the ongoing genocide in Gaza, after October 7, which targeted all groups in an unprecedented manner.

There does not seem to be an end in sight for the war on the Gaza Strip due to internal Israeli considerations and the resistance’s insistence on continuing the fighting until God decrees something that was already in effect. 

Internal considerations in Israel are summed up in Netanyahu’s awareness that his political life ends with the end of the war, and begins with criminal files awaiting him in the courts and committees investigating his role in the negligence that occurred on 10/7, and his belief that achieving a victory, any victory, in this war may mitigate his bad political end. 

His political history gives him some credit in his record, as he spent the longest period as prime minister in the history of Israel, and no one expected his political career to end in this way. Therefore, Netanyahu will continue, in a demagogic manner, to raise his expectations from the war, and to resort to playing the string that the extreme right wants to hear, because he believes that this right is his only lifeboat in this turbulent sea, and that he can convince him that he is the most qualified to continue running the government in Israel to implement the Presbyterian plan to establish Jewish Kingdom.

The Council of War and its aftermath
As for Minister of Defense, Joab Galant, he is unable to digest or “swallow” the cruel insult to which the invincible army was subjected, which shook the foundations of the Israelis’ sense of security in their homes and in their state, the aim of which was said to be to create a safe national home for the Jews, especially after the Nazi Holocaust. Galant, who will also have to stand before the investigation committees and be held accountable for the negligence that led to the disaster that befell the Israelis on 10/7, is trying through this war to restore the morale of the army, which was damaged to the core, and to achieve any form of victory that improves its situation after the war. It reduces the burden of the price he will pay as a result of this negligence.

Gantz, the war council trinity, is trying to play the role of "Mr. Security" and feels euphoric whenever he looks at the public opinion polls that indicate that he won by more than double or double the seats he has today in the Israeli Knesset and promises that he and no one else will be the next prime minister. This is taking into account the signs of cracks that have begun to appear in his alliance with Gideon Sa'ar, who seems to have enjoyed sitting in the government with Netanyahu and is seeking to separate his "Tikvah Hadashah" party from the coalition he established with Gantz's party, and return to the Likud House in which he grew up.

Together, these factors make thinking about searching for an end to this ugly, dirty war seem to be on the horizon, and that preferring the subjective considerations of those in charge of it is stronger than the humanitarian considerations, whether the mass murder and barbaric destruction in the Gaza Strip or the deaths and injuries of many Israeli soldiers, and, more or less, my day is in a battle that could have been prevented a long time ago if Israel had abandoned the lust for expansion and regional expansion and accepted the recognition of the right of the Palestinians to live freely in an independent Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel and on the basis of the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, which is still on the table and can still be formed. 

As a basis for an acceptable settlement of the conflict, especially since it is the only political initiative that enjoys the consensus of all Arab countries, as well as the Islamic countries that are members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, including Iran.

Fighting to win one of the two good deeds
As for the resistance in the Gaza Strip, all indications suggest that the resistance did what it did on 10/7 and it expected the violent Israeli response, perhaps not with the violence that occurred, and it prepared for a long-term battle and prepared its men to fight and withstand this war from a ideological jihadist standpoint seeking victory. One of the two good deeds is victory or martyrdom, and it sees each of them as a gain, not a loss. It is not expected to surrender or retreat as Israel thought.

In the face of this intransigence on the part of Israel, which sees Hamas remaining on stage as a defeat that Israel cannot accept, even if it kills thousands of Hamas supporters, or condemns to death tens of thousands of unarmed civilians, because its war leaders are governed by the aforementioned considerations. Its adherence to the idea of eliminating Hamas puts it in the face of a long war with no end in sight, and the Islamic resistance’s insistence on victory or martyrdom in return coincides with the path that Israel has entered, which is walking on a path from which there is no return.

The third party that does not exist!
In the face of this situation, a third party must intervene forcefully to separate the roosters who have bloodied each other, and none of them shows any intention or desire to stop fighting.

Unfortunately, such a third party does not exist on the international scene because of the way the major Western countries, led by America and Germany, dealt with the war on the Gaza Strip. In addition to the Jewish influence and control over their policies on the one hand, and their sympathy with the Jews for common religious considerations and historical responsibility, as is the case with Germany, these countries see this war as a continuation of the war against political Islam for some of them, and against Islam and Muslims in general for others, and believe That it is possible for Israel to wage a proxy war on behalf of these countries against Islam, especially after Israeli propaganda succeeded in the first days of the war in drawing a stereotypical image of Hamas that placed it within an ISIS framework and found those eager to pick it up and believe it.

These facts will cause the region to revolve in a vicious circle of bloody violence, the results of which cannot be predicted, while acknowledging one fact proven by this war, which is that Israel is not the safest region in the world for Jews, but perhaps the most dangerous for them, and that the negative impact of the expansionist ambitions of extremist Jewish groups Whether religious or national, its violations of the human, political and religious rights of the Palestinians, its desecration of their sanctities, the plundering of their lands and property, its refusal to acknowledge the national rights of the Palestinian people, and the Palestinians’ response to this aggression have become a real existential threat to the security, stability and survival of Israel.
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The revealing truth about the Biden administration's relationship with the Netanyahu government is that it "uses the most flexible degrees of persuasion, and tries with all force to avoid doing or saying anything that Israel or AIPAC could consider as a type of political pressure."

Information confirms that the visit of Jake Sullivan, the US National Security Advisor who was sent in a hurry by Biden to avoid any personal or political dispute between Biden and Netanyahu, ended with Washington acquiescing to the Israeli vision in the form and manner of Tel Aviv’s management of the battle in Gaza, and accepting the timetable set by the presidency. Israeli staff to end operations.

It was also learned that any political vision for the project “the day after” the fall of Hamas in Gaza is “vague and not agreed upon,” and that Sullivan heard several categorical no’s in Tel Aviv:

1- There is no immediate ceasefire now.

2- There is no explicit pledge not to harm civilians in northern or southern Gaza.

3- There is no desire or intention on the part of the Netanyahu administration to begin any secret or public dialogue with the Palestinian Authority led by President Mahmoud Abbas, and this is explained by the Israeli army’s continued conduct of specific operations in the cities of the West Bank, with the army and security continuing to pledge full support for “the settlers’ right to defend themselves and their property.” 

4- The Netanyahu government’s unwillingness now and its complete avoidance of committing to any specific political vision to find a negotiating path that leads in any way to giving any independent authority to the Palestinians to manage their affairs in Gaza or the West Bank.

As for the phrase “two-state solution,” it is considered one of the phrases that is prohibited from being used with any pillar of the current ruling coalition in Israel.

The revealing truth about the Biden administration’s relationship with the Netanyahu government is that it uses the most flexible levels of persuasion, and tries with all force to avoid doing or saying anything that Israel or AIPAC could consider as a type of political pressure.

Why did Sullivan come?

What ideas did Jake Sullivan carry in his backpack? Why did he come in the first place?

Sullivan's political mind comes from the famous Yale University School, influenced by the centrist thought of the Democratic Party.

Since studying law, the man possesses a political-legal vision that has qualified him in the difficult art of negotiation on thorny issues that require “strategic patience.”

This has appeared since the man worked as an advisor in the Biden administration, and a member of the initial negotiating stages of the first nuclear agreement with Iran during the Obama administration.

The man gained Obama's trust and even served as Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor to Vice President Joe Biden at the time. Before that, he served as Director of Policy Planning at the State Department, and the man has held his position since the first day of the Biden administration.

Sullivan came to the region after Secretary of State Anthony Blinken complained to President Biden that he, the minister, had reached a difficult point in the stubborn dialogue with the Netanyahu government, and that at the same time he heard harsh words from the Arab-Islamic ministerial delegation.

Blinken added that the interests of the United States with its allies in the region are going through a very critical stage due to the extreme frustration that these allies are suffering due to unconditional support for Israel, while Washington neglects to exert any pressure to stop brutal military operations against civilians.

This vision was supported by several reports from Washington's ambassadors in several capitals, and reports from the Middle East departments of US intelligence warning of popular anger in the Arab and Islamic worlds, and the extent of the political embarrassment that this caused to many of the region's rulers who face popular pressure to take harsh decisions against relations with Israel and show... Official anger at American support for Israel.

The assessment of the American position, based on all of the above, amounted to the necessity of trying to soften the American position and avoid making the disagreement with Israeli behavior appear as a conflict that might lead to confrontation.

Blinken's advice to his boss was that there are two behaviors that should be avoided at the same time:

First: The difference in visions between Washington and Tel Aviv has emerged as a conflict that requires American pressure on Israel, which is fighting to defend the interests and security of the Hebrew state. Therefore, any current or future American behavior should not be interpreted as an abandonment of unconditional support. For Israel.

Second: It is necessary to find a formula that reduces the anger and frustration that could affect the historical relations of the countries of the region, officially or popularly.

Hence, the Biden administration must appear to be seeking to save the situation through a ceasefire, exchange of hostages, provision of humanitarian aid, and finding an acceptable political and security path for the Palestinian file.

Biden was afraid that he would lose the Jewish vote if he failed to unconditionally support Israel, and it seems that the man will pay the price for this support with his presidency and Washington’s political reputation.

Biden is worried about the elections

Perhaps the most dangerous of the warnings given to Biden was the emphasis on a double statement that says, “Continuing unconditional support, and stopping or reducing it to satisfy allies, will in both cases have negative effects on the president’s electoral battle.”

These perceptions stated that “the president’s next speech to the Senate and the House of Representatives (the union speech) at the beginning of next year must contain a success for the American role in supporting the Israeli people and their efforts to save the deteriorating situation in Gaza.”

Hence, it was important for the president, who is facing difficulties in 6 major states, to obtain basic support in Michigan, where the volume of the Arab and Islamic voice plays an essential role.

Indications indicate that the Arab-Islamic voice in Michigan will not naturally be with the Biden administration.

Michigan is known as traditionally deeply Democratic because of the strength of its labor unions, which defend labor interests in this influential industrial region.

Therefore, Jake Sullivan was assigned to travel urgently to perform a difficult mission that seeks to:

1- Agreeing on an imminent timetable, not later than next January, for a ceasefire.

2- Responding to the complaint of the Arab-Islamic demand by increasing the volume and flow of humanitarian aid, fuel and medicines to Gaza.

3- Focus Israeli firepower on Hamas forces and their leadership and stay away as much as possible from any civilian targets, whether intentionally or by random fire.

4- Not to fire again on civilians who were displaced more than 3 times from north to south and have now settled in the city of Rafah.

5- Trying to reach an initial map with the Israelis for a political dialogue about the shape of the future of the Palestinians’ relationship with Israel.

Sullivan is required to save the government of Israel from itself, and to reorganize the tactics of the Israeli Defense Forces, to speed up the resolution of matters so that presidential candidate Joe Biden does not pay the price for them.

What is needed is to save Netanyahu

The US State Department suggested to Sullivan the continuation of attempts to reach a new truce that would alleviate the blow of popular and official reactions in the world until the picture almost became very damaging after Washington’s veto in the Security Council and international support in the recent General Assembly vote until Washington and Tel Aviv seemed alone in a negative way.

In short, Sullivan is required to save the government of Israel from itself, and to reorganize the tactics of the Israeli Defense Forces, to speed up the resolution of matters so that presidential candidate Joe Biden does not pay the price for them.

Hence the timid American suggestion that Netanyahu should reconstitute his government because the current hard-line coalition makes it difficult for any calm that could lead to a settlement.

The American assessment has reached that if this coalition continues, Israel’s loss of political goals is certain, and that the possibilities of expanding the scope of the war, whether internally by the residents of the West Bank and the residents of the Green Line or externally through the Houthis, the Popular Mobilization Forces, and the party, is something that Washington is striving to achieve with all force. She avoids him, especially as she suffers from the failure of the Ukrainian forces to achieve any progress against the Russian army.

In short, the Biden administration cannot afford to pay the bill for two failures at the same time, one in Ukraine and the other in Gaza!

What did Sullivan succeed in and what did he fail in his visit?

1- Sullivan succeeded in convincing the Council of Ministers to increase the volume of humanitarian aid through the Rafah crossing, and the first new batch was 16 trailers of Saudi aid that came through the previous batch of aid via the air and sea bridge.

2- The man succeeded in convincing the Chief of Staff to carry out specific operations against Hamas instead of falling into the ambush of urban warfare that led to a major loss 4 days ago.

3- The man failed to stop the following:

A- Supporting the arming of settlers.

B- Changing the ruling coalition.

C- Commitment to an imminent timetable for a ceasefire.

The evil formula of Compromise was to replace ground operations as soon as possible with a type of specific liquidation and assassination operations against the Hamas leadership, similar to what the Israeli army is carrying out in some cities in the West Bank.

So, there are no indications of an immediate settlement or cessation, but rather the continuation of the previous in a different form.

So, an American green light for the continuation of the above, but with less apparent brutality.

The frightening thing is that Netanyahu is dealing with Biden as if the crisis is Biden's crisis and not a crisis of his government and his political future.

Biden was afraid that he would lose the Jewish vote if he failed to unconditionally support Israel, and it seems that the man will pay the price for this support with his presidency and Washington’s political reputation.

Ravit Hackett

The results of opinion polls published by the Palestinian Center for Research, indicating broad Palestinian support for the October 7 attack, coupled with denial of the “massacres” carried out by the “saboteurs” and their accomplices, can only lead to anger and despair. At the same time, we cannot and are forbidden to deny the strengthening of the power of the Israeli Kahanism once again. There are, more and more, people who are talking about solutions, such as "transfer", and sometimes even the annihilation of people, as legitimate and realistic options that are also desirable and can be talked about.

The great helplessness, the national humiliation, the great damage to personal security, and also dealing with complex and painful issues such as the issue of the kidnapped - all of these are difficult compounds to deal with psychologically, and can even be too heavy. The disastrous solution to this intolerable situation, embraced by many Israelis, is the adolescent withdrawal from faith in Kahanistic ideas, which is always interpreted as “understanding the culture of the region.”

The war came at a time when Israel was ruled by an extremist and unreasonable government, elected by many votes after years of severe extremism. Despite this, the government's shameful performance last year, the storm of the constitutional coup, and, essentially, the poor performance of the Kahanist representatives in power, all led to a certain weakness in the Kahanist trend, in preparation for returning it to the margins once again. However, the violent massacre carried out by Hamas, and the war that came after it, took Kahanism once again out of the zone of failure, and removed from it its clear failure.

Kahanism raises a very clear question mark in a field of many questions. It gives a false sense of strength in a state of weakness that is exceptional in terms of its strength, and disguises itself as renewed and clear good news in a situation where clarity prevails. In addition, it disguises itself in a practical way: the (impossible) euphoria of hiding the conflict, despite the difficult costs, is transformed into a plan to hide all of the Palestinians. This is without completely addressing the deep moral problems, and the damage that cannot be prevented as a result of the encounter between reality and divination, which is always accompanied by a very great failure. It is completely unrealistic.

Benjamin Netanyahu diagnoses well this strengthening spirit in Israeli society, and understands the need to ride on the Kahani tiger for his own survival - and this time he does it during the war, after the disaster. The campaign to reject the participation of the Palestinian Authority in any solution for the future of the Gaza Strip, after the dismantling of “Hamas” - and more than that, the public and almost initiated confrontation with Israel’s only friend in the world today, the United States, are the first signs of the gifts that Netanyahu will give to the extreme right during the war, the same extreme right that Netanyahu is completely attached to today. President Joe Biden understands this, and this issue is his main criticism when he talks about Israel in general, and about Netanyahu in particular.

The strengthening of the far-right's power will not guarantee anything but painful polarization - in light of fundamental differences in the field of morality and the great damage that will be caused to "democratic" values - a major threat to Israel, no less than the threat of "Hamas" or Hezbollah.

Strengthening the power of the extreme right will ensure the presence of a large and determined mass force that opposes any political solution proposed to Israel from abroad, and it could be the only alternative to the continued flow of blood. The strengthening of the far-right's power will attract more extremist forces to the regional table.

There is no connection between steadfastness in the face of barbaric killing, and teenage and savage fantasies. By the way, the relationship is inverse. The extreme right is weakening Israel, and its strengthening is only evidence of its weakness.

24 citizens were killed and dozens were injured today, Sunday, during the bombing by occupation warplanes of a house in the town of Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip.

Local sources reported that civil defense and ambulance crews recovered 24 dead and at least 90 wounded, as a result of the occupation aircraft destroying a house for the Shihab family in Jabalia, and dozens are still under the rubble.

The occupation warplanes targeted a house in Deir al-Balah camp in the middle of the Gaza Strip, killing about 12 citizens and wounding dozens, the majority of whom were displaced.

To the south, the occupation artillery fired an unexploded shell into the courtyard of Nasser Hospital in the city of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, wounding at least two young men.

The occupation boats also bombed several areas north of the city of Khan Yunis and its western coast.

Two Palestinians from Tulkarm in the occupied West Bank were shot dead by Israeli forces on Sunday, and a third from Jenin died from injuries sustained a few days ago, the Palestinian health ministry said.

On Saturday, three Palestinians, including a teenager, were killed by Israeli gunfire in separate incidents in the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

A 20-year-old died of his wounds after being shot in the abdomen by Israeli forces in the town of Beit Ummar, the ministry said in a statement.

A 25-year-old was killed in the city of Tulkarm and a 16-year-old was killed in the town of Deir Ammar, Ramallah, the ministry added.

The UN Special Rapporteur on Palestine, Francesca Albanese, confirmed yesterday, Saturday, that Israel's settlement of the Palestinian territories it has occupied since 1967 constitutes a war crime, demanding that the International Criminal Court issue arrest warrants against those responsible for illegal settlement.

This came in a blog post by Albanese, on her account on the X platform, commenting on the news that a coalition of illegal settlement organizations, which enjoys generous support from the Israeli government, is organizing a practical preparatory conference for settlement in Gaza.

She stressed that "settlement of the occupied territories is the Israeli state's policy since 1967, which means that the resettlement of Israeli civilians in confiscated Palestinian lands (a war crime) and the mass forced displacement of Palestinians (a crime against humanity)."

She expressed her hope that arrest warrants would be issued against the perpetrators of these ongoing crimes.

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron and his German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock, stressed the “urgent need” to achieve a “permanent ceasefire” in Gaza.

The two ministers wrote in a joint article published by the Sunday Times that “a very large number of civilians were killed” in this war, and urged Israel to end its military operation against Hamas quickly, but also “permanently.”

They wrote, according to what was reported by Agence France-Presse: “We must do everything we can to pave the way for a permanent ceasefire that leads to lasting peace. The sooner this comes, the better. The need is urgent.”

However, the two ministers also pointed out that they “do not believe that calling now for a general and immediate ceasefire, with the hope that it will somehow become permanent, is the way forward.”

They added that this “ignores why Israel has to defend itself: Hamas has brutally attacked Israel, and continues to fire rockets to kill Israeli citizens every day.” Hamas must lay down its weapons.”

On Tuesday evening, the United Nations General Assembly voted, by an overwhelming majority, on a non-binding resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. But Britain abstained from voting.

Israel faces increasing pressure from its allies regarding its war in Gaza. The United States (its main supporter) criticized what it described as “indiscriminate bombing” that leads to civilian casualties.

The Palestinian Minister of Health called for an international investigation into reports that the Israeli army buried wounded people alive in the yard of Kamal Adwan Hospital, north of Gaza.

Minister Mai Alkaila said, in a press statement, that “information and testimonies from citizens and medical and media teams indicate that the occupation buried citizens alive in the hospital courtyard, and that some of them were seen alive before they were besieged by the occupation.”

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also called for “an immediate international investigation into the reports that the occupation committed heinous and horrific crimes in the courtyard of Kamal Adwan Hospital.”

Earlier today, the Islamic Jihad movement said that the Israeli army’s bulldozing of the tents of the displaced around Kamal Adwan Hospital in the Gaza Strip and the mutilation of the bodies of the dead is “a heinous crime and inhuman and inhuman behavior, and reveals an unprecedented level of criminality and terrorism.”

The movement added, in a statement, that what was revealed in media reports “is part of the crime and holocaust to which our people in Gaza are subjected amid the intentional media blackout and cut off communications.” This crime will not discourage our people from resisting, and these policies will not succeed in killing the spirit of resistance.”

The Hamas movement held the administration of US President Joe Biden responsible, along with Israel, for the “crime” of Kamal Adwan Hospital.

Hamas said in a statement: “Reports received and witness testimonies from inside Kamal Adwan Hospital confirm that the occupation army committed a horrific massacre inside... This crime and other horrific crimes committed by the criminal army throughout the Gaza Strip are war crimes and crimes against humanity.” ».

The movement added: “We hold the administration of President Biden responsible for these massacres, and the international community and the United Nations responsible for failing to provide the minimum protection for our people, and leaving them vulnerable to the crimes of this fascist entity that kills hundreds of our people daily.”

The Israeli army stormed Kamal Adwan Hospital last week after several days of siege, prompting the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, to call for the hospital to be protected.

The World Health Organization said last Tuesday that only 11 hospitals out of 36 in the Gaza Strip were partially operating, including one in the north of the Strip and 10 in the south.

The Qatari Al Jazeera network decided to refer the case of the assassination of its photographer at the hands of the occupation forces in the Gaza Strip, Samer Abu Daqqa (45 years old), to the International Criminal Court “urgently.”

The network said in a statement that it had formed “a group that includes a team affiliated with it and legal experts to prepare the Abu Daqqa assassination file to submit to the criminal court.”

It explained, "The legal file will include repeated attacks on network crews working in the Palestinian territories."

On Friday, Abu Daqqa died as a result of his injury in an Israeli bombing that targeted his place and the channel’s crew covering the events, in addition to the martyrdom of 3 members of the Civil Defense, and the reporter, Wael Al-Dahdouh, was injured by shrapnel, in the city of Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip.

61% of American voters support a ceasefire in Gaza, while only 14% of lawmakers in Congress support it. Is the Jewish lobby supporting Israel still as powerful and influential as it was before?

No.. This is what is revealed in a report by the American website Responsible Statecraft that sheds light on the growing division within the corridors of American politics, and how some explain this division.

From the first moment of the beginning of the Israeli aggression on Gaza, Joe Biden declared his absolute support for Israel, and promoted its misleading narrative regarding the war in Gaza. The American President’s complete adoption of the Israeli narrative reached the point of questioning the numbers of martyrs from the barbaric bombing of the Gaza Strip. But with the passage of time, the tone of the American discourse towards the Israeli aggression began to change noticeably, without changing the level of military and logistical support, which indicates that the disagreement between the two allies is not related to the declared goals of the aggression, but rather to the method of implementing them, most likely. But in any case, and through the development of events, the differences between Tel Aviv and Washington escalated and emerged from closed rooms into the open.

Supporting Israel is the “path of least resistance”

A senior Democratic lawmaker recently said that it is easier to support Israeli government policy, in many cases at the expense of Palestinians, because pro-Israel lobbyists have a relatively more influential presence on Capitol Hill.

Lawmaker Jim Himes (D-Conn), the ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, said in a meeting with constituents on October 23 that “the Palestinians have very legitimate claims” and “have been subjected to brutal injustice.” But he added that pro-Israel groups — including J Street and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee — automatically make many members of Congress pro-Israel simply because it is “the path of least resistance.”

Although polls show that most Americans consider themselves supportive of Israel, their support is by no means unconditional when it comes to how the Israelis wage what they claim is a “war against Hamas in Gaza.”

More than two months after the Israeli army’s aggression, supported by the United States and the West, on the Gaza Strip with the aim of eliminating Hamas, it is still unable to liberate the prisoners or achieve any form of military victory to cover up its ongoing defeat since Operation “Al-Aqsa Flood” on July 7. October.

“Al-Aqsa Flood” is the name given by the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement “Hamas” to its comprehensive military operation against the occupation army, which has imposed a stifling siege on the Gaza Strip for 17 years. At exactly six o'clock in the morning local time in Palestine that day, Hamas launched a Palestinian invasion of the cover settlements adjacent to the besieged Gaza Strip, where fighters from the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades stormed the towns adjacent to the Strip, after they penetrated the iron wall and crushed the Gaza Division of the occupation army, in There was air cover from thousands of rockets fired from Gaza towards Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and the cities of the south.

Amid the state of panic and shock that gripped the Israelis, the spread of video clips and pictures of tanks and armored vehicles belonging to the occupation army, either burned or under the control of Palestinian resistance, the capture of dozens of occupation army soldiers and settlers, and complete Palestinian control over settlements, the occupying state declared that it was “in a state of war.” For the first time since the October War of 1973, it is an acknowledgment that the Palestinian resistance attack is a military attack.

61% of voters want a ceasefire

A recent study of potential American voters found that 61% support the call for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, where weeks of intense bombing by Israeli occupation forces have caused nearly 19,000 people to live, the overwhelming majority of whom are children and women, in addition to widespread destruction that has caused It affected most of the Gaza Strip. But despite this broad support, only 14% of members of the US House of Representatives declared their public support for the ceasefire.

But pro-Israel groups make significant campaign contributions, frequently visit members of Congress, and lobby for support for Israeli government activities, say critics who spoke to Responsible Statecraft.

Rep. Himes held a virtual meeting to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with constituents on October 23, led by the Connecticut chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. According to a recording of the event obtained by Responsible Statecraft, when asked about his tendency to begin his statements with support for Israel, Himes gave several answers, one of which addressed the near-constant presence of pro-Israel lobbyists.

“In this office I receive six to eight visits a week from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which is a somewhat pro-Israel right-wing group, and J Street, which is a pro-Israel left-wing group,” Himes said. “I have not received any visits from a Palestinian group, although I do receive Visits over 15 years.

“Again, I'm not criticizing anyone, I'm just stating the facts as they appear. So I think the path of least resistance for a tremendous number of members of Congress is to reflect the way you care about it. And the reason I want to talk more about that is because, as “You know, the Palestinians have very legitimate demands, and at times they have been subjected to brutal injustice, and yet there is no one to tell their story.”

Himes pointed to the influence of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in explaining lopsided support for Israel in Congress: “The committee has been doing this for sixty years. They come and they sit in offices, and they say, you know, ‘Here are three things we would really like you to consider doing, would you? You're going to do it?" And I'm not saying the committee is good or bad, I'm just saying that I know what's effective in presenting it to members of Congress, and frankly what breaks my heart is that there's no Palestinian group that comes along and says: Let's tell you what our aspirations are, let's tell you some stories. "Let us tell you what the settlers are doing outside Ramallah."

The influence of the Jewish lobby declined

“I'm curious to know what he means by 'path of least resistance,'" Lara Friedman, president of the Middle East Peace Foundation, told Reponsible Statecraft. "Does he mean that this is the path that rewards me in terms of campaign support, or on the other hand, how do I avoid the consequences?" Another potential negative like someone giving massive support to my primary opponent?”

Rep. Himes did not receive much financial support from pro-Israel groups. However, last year saw the largest campaign spending by pro-Israel donors of any congressional session in the past 30 years.

Amid this wave of money, the largest contributor to Himes' campaign committee in 2022 was the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, and the group has recently clashed publicly with several critics in Congress, ranging from Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) to Rep. Thomas Massie (Republican from Kentucky).

Next year, groups affiliated with the committee are expected to spend more than $100 million on primaries in an attempt to oust Democratic lawmakers they see as not sufficiently supportive of Israel or vocal about Palestinian rights.

The impact of campaign spending is well known among Congressional insiders. “Any member of Congress knows that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee is indirectly tied to large sums of campaign spending if you agree with them, and large sums of money against you if you don't agree with them,” said former Rep. Brian Byrd (D-Wash.). He added: "When key votes are cast, the question on the House floor, alarmingly, is often not what is the right thing to do for the United States of America? But how will this committee achieve that goal?"

During the October 23 meeting, Rep. Himes explained his reasons for not supporting calls for a permanent ceasefire. “Unless someone can convince me that there is an alternative mechanism to bring those who committed this grave crime against Israel...to justice, I will not do it,” Haymes said, referring to the October 7 Hamas attacks.

Haymes said: “My theme was twofold, which is that we will support Israel in the face of this disgusting attack, and secondly, that we need to ensure that the Israeli response is moderate, that they adhere to the laws of armed conflict, and that Israel abandons its rhetoric of leveling Gaza to the ground and the siege, and that "Everything is being done right from a human point of view."

Himes, who served eight terms in Congress, attended Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to a joint session of Congress in 2015, where he criticized President Obama's diplomacy with Iran and received a standing ovation. But Himes had harsh words for the controversial leader during the founding meeting on October 23.

“This problem will not end until there is a two-state solution,” he said. “It is very unfortunate that the current Israeli prime minister is doing almost everything in his power to make that impossible. Of course, this is part of the reason why anger has risen to the levels it was before the Hamas attacks in October 7.”

More than two months later, members of Congress have increasingly expressed concern about Israel's bombing of Gaza, and President Biden has called Israel's bombing campaign "indiscriminate," positions that appear to have become more acceptable weeks after the call in which Himes referred to pro-Israel positions as "indiscriminate." Path of least resistance.”

The conclusion here is that the American Jewish lobby supporting Israel is still able to influence the positions of many members of Congress, but it has become clear that this influence is no longer as strong as it was before.

Source: Arabic Post

White House officials fear that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will not be able to lead Gaza after the war, even as President Biden continues to revitalize and support the Palestinian Authority's control. This came according to a report by the British newspaper The Telegraph on Saturday evening.

Sources familiar with the talks told the Sunday Telegraph that the issue dominated round-the-clock discussions at the White House, where senior officials spent weeks feverishly formulating proposals on how to manage Gaza.

The newspaper added: “The special American pressure to get Israel to end its attack early in the new year not only highlighted Joe Biden’s desire to end the war, but also highlighted his thoughts about what comes next and revealed a disagreement between Washington and Israel, as The two allies disagree over how to manage the Strip after the cessation of hostilities with Hamas.

It pointed out that senior officials were losing sleep as they worked to develop plans that might be acceptable to all parties concerned, and they stressed that for any party to succeed, it must have the support of the Palestinians, Israel, and their Arab neighbors - a major obstacle that must be overcome given the rampant corruption in the Palestinian Authority and its growing popularity. For Hamas in the West Bank.

It noted that concerns are growing about President Abbas, 88, head of the Palestinian Authority, who has now completed 18 years of his four-year elected term.

It stated: “White House officials are not explicitly saying that Abbas cannot remain in office, but national security sources indicated that behind the scenes the United States is facing the “biological reality” of the situation, and one former official said that the administration is likely to “build our relationship and interactions.” With potential replacements.

“If your goal is stability and security, it's always a bad idea to bet on an 88-year-old smoker,” said Dr. Michael Rubin, a former Pentagon official and fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

It pointed out that one of the alternative names circulating is Muhammad Dahlan, the former leader of Fatah in Gaza, who has been living in the Emirates for the past decade.

According to the newspaper, Mr. Dahlan is powerful, well-connected and particularly influential in the UAE - a major regional mediator - where he works as a close advisor to the powerful ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, and is said to have played a key role behind the scenes in the Abraham Accords, and this makes him more palatable to Israel, as his role in the Oslo Peace Accords.

In a rare interview with The Economist in late October, Mr. Dahlan dismissed rumors that he had been nominated to be the next leader of the Palestinian Authority.

Salam Fayyad, former prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, is said to be the favorite of some Egyptian and American officials to lead a new government in Gaza.

Focus on the “strong man”

Dr. Rubin says that while Fayyad enjoys “popularity” in the West, “I think the focus behind the scenes will be on a strong man...and here comes the role of someone like Mohammed Dahlan,” pointing to the broad regional support that Dahlan enjoys and his strong relationships with American intelligence officials.

A former senior national security official declined to reveal potential alternatives to Abbas, citing the sensitivities involved, and stressed that Washington did not want to suggest that “the United States will choose this leader.”

“What is likely happening behind the scenes is that American officials are asking very difficult questions” about what comes next, he said.

American discussions on the future of Gaza seem to accept that one or several regional powers will play the role of guarantor of the Palestinian Authority.

Two security sources said that Jordan, Egypt and the UAE will be decisive countries in this regard, while “important talks” are also taking place with Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

One or more countries could be invited to act “as an agent to ensure peace and take responsibility” for rebuilding Gaza, one source added.

According to the Telegraph, the Biden administration's post-war planning, in addition to managing Gaza, consists of two other components: reconstruction and security. The White House hopes to obtain support from the international community, especially wealthy Arab neighbors, to pay for the rebuilding of schools, hospitals and other critical infrastructure and security remain one of the most intractable issues.

Most Arab countries are reluctant to provide their own forces, and Biden has ruled out deploying American soldiers on the ground.

In the words of Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, he said: “Under what circumstances would any of us want to go and be seen as the enemy and be seen as having come to clean up Israel’s mess?”

International presence

However, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi proposed establishing a demilitarized Palestinian state, guaranteed by an international presence, “whether NATO forces, United Nations forces, or Arab or American forces.”

Sisi's proposal reportedly received some attention from the White House, with one senior official indicating that Hamas's status would be a major factor in the final decision.

The idea of a UN peacekeeping force is unlikely to gain support from Israel, which has long felt that the international body is biased against it.

Israeli politicians, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, refrained from discussing options for the next day in Gaza, insisting that the entire country focus on the war effort.

But discussions about the future have entered public discourse, with many influential newspapers publishing articles on the need to look to the future.

Yedioth Ahronoth, one of the largest Israeli newspapers, said that it supports the American plan to “hand over the keys” to Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE in cooperation with the “revitalized” Palestinian Authority.

The Israeli Walla news website quoted US administration officials as saying that Israel has shown greater willingness than in the past to discuss plans for the future of Gaza.

However, senior Israeli officials have publicly expressed doubts about the Palestinian Authority's participation, while Washington has questioned Israel's proposal to create a "buffer zone" within Gaza's borders.

Anthony Blinken, the top US diplomat, put it another way and said during a recent visit to Tel Aviv: “We have no illusions that this will be easy.”

But he said that “the alternative – more terrorist attacks, more violence, more suffering of innocent people – is unacceptable.”

Source: Sama News

BY JAMIE DETTMER

Part of the logic of the war on Hamas is to ensure the permanent safety of kibbutzim in southern Israel — and now Israelis who’ve been evacuated from near the Lebanese border are demanding the same. Noncompliance is in the tradition of Israeli-U.S. relations 

The message coming from Israel’s leaders remains unwavering and uncompromising. Come what may, they’re determined to smash Hamas for good, so it can never again carry out a pogrom like it did on October 7. And for all the mounting pressure from Western allies to curtail its military operation that’s so far led to the elimination of about half of Hamas’ midlevel commanders in Gaza, Israel is bent on pressing forward, searching the suspected hiding places of the militant group’s upper echelon.

According to three officials in Tel Aviv who spoke to POLITICO on condition of anonymity, the administration of United States President Joe Biden has now given Israel until the end of the year to wrap up its war on Hamas — a deadline that was underlined by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on a visit to Israel this week. But Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer told a security forum on Thursday that the administration is not imposing a hard deadline on Israel to end its military operation in Gaza. However, when Israeli officials outlined their plans to the top U.S. diplomat, stating that fighting in southern Gaza would last several months, reportedly Blinken tersely retorted, “You don’t have that much credit.” But Israeli leaders are prepared to incur an overdraft. They’ve defied the U.S. in the past and several times already since the attacks. They will now undoubtedly continue to do so — the question is just how far this noncompliance will go. 

A senior Israeli official who POLITICO spoke to, and was granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive topic, pulled back the curtain on Israel’s defiance to date. “They advised us not to go into Gaza, but we did,” he said.“We went into Gaza because that was the only way we could destroy Hamas and free our hostages. They told us, don’t go into the terror tunnels. But if we don’t go into the terror tunnels, there’s no way we can destroy Hamas. They told us not to go into the hospitals despite them being used by Hamas as command and control centers, but we went into those hospitals, and we did what we needed to do. And we’ll do what we need to do to reach decisive victory,” he added.Noncompliance is in the tradition of Israeli-U.S. relations.Back in 2007, Israel’s then-Prime Minister Ehud Olmert disregarded his counterpart, President George W. Bush, after the White House shunned his request to target a suspected Syrian nuclear plant. Bush convened his national security team to discuss mounting an airstrike or a covert special forces raid, but his intelligence and military advisers were reluctant. Olmert then went ahead anyway, ordering an airstrike on the suspected reactor.

Code-named “Outside the Box,” this operation was in line with the so-called Begin Doctrine, which former Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin first spoke of in 1981. The doctrine simply states Israeli policy to mount preemptive attacks so as to halt a potential enemy’s capability to possess weapons of mass destruction, and to “defend the citizens of Israel in good time and with all the means at our disposal.”

Olmert recently told POLITICO that, at the time, Bush was furious with him. Beforehand, he had “told me, ‘I am against you acting in Syria; I will not act in Syria, and I urge you not to do it.’ And I said, ‘Mr. President, with all due respect to you, I will decide what’s good for Israeli security, OK?’ This is Israel’s attitude now when it comes to Hamas: no compromises. Israeli leaders aren’t prepared to gamble on October 7 happening again; they’re going to make sure it never can. And if that upsets allies, so be it. But an even greater test of Israeli-American relations may be in the offing as well. 

Back in 2007, Israel’s then-Prime Minister Ehud Olmert disregarded his counterpart, President George W. Bush, after the White House shunned his request to target a suspected Syrian nuclear plant. 

U.S. officials have worked tirelessly to try and ensure the war in Gaza doesn’t spill over to Lebanon, broadening a conflict that would guarantee inflaming the whole region. To that end, Washington dispatched two aircraft carrier groups to the eastern Mediterranean to deter Iran and its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah from attacking Israel. And Biden publicly warned outside actors — taken to mean Iran and Hezbollah — not to get involved.In large part, that all seemed to work, and Hezbollah and Iran haven’t opened a full second front. “A broader regional conflict has been deterred,” Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said last month.

But that could be about to change — and not because Hezbollah might initiate a full-scale confrontation but because Israel might decide to do so, seizing the moment to secure its northern border and ensure a pogrom can’t be visited on communities there.

Back in October, Mark Regev — an adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — told Britain’s Spectator TV his country was ready for Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite militant group that he labeled a twin of Hamas. However, he gave no indication that Israel was contemplating targeting the group.“Hezbollah could try to escalate the situation, so my message is clear: If we were caught by surprise by Hamas on Saturday morning, we are not going to be caught by surprise from the north. We are ready, we are prepared. We don’t want a war in the north but if they force one upon us, as I was saying, we are ready and we will win decisively in the north too,” he said.Now contrast those remarks with comments made by Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Wednesday to a group of mayors and municipal leaders from evacuated northern communities, located within just 10 kilometers of the Lebanese border. 

U.S. officials have worked tirelessly to try and ensure the war in Gaza doesn’t spill over to Lebanon, broadening a conflict that would guarantee inflaming the whole region

Gallant intimated the Israeli government wants to soon turn its attention north, and focus on driving Hezbollah back from the Lebanese border. He said the government wouldn’t encourage some 80,000 evacuated residents to return to their homes before Hezbollah is driven back beyond the Litani River.During the meeting, Gallant said they hoped this could be achieved through diplomatic means, otherwise Israel will “act with all the means at its disposal.”The southern stretch of the Litani River runs parallel to the Israel-Lebanon border, 18 miles to its north. And under the terms of the U.N. resolution 1701, which brought the 2006 Lebanon war to a close, Israel agreed to withdraw all its forces from southern Lebanon, and Hezbollah was required to maintain no military presence south of the river.But Hezbollah hasn’t kept up its end of the U.N.-brokered bargain, over the years entrenching itself in southern Lebanon, in positions overlooking Israel’s border communities. And it has used these positions to launch rocket and missile strikes that have intensified dramatically since the October 7 attacks — part of its effort to demonstrate solidarity with Hamas, short of waging a full-scale war. Gallant has long been a hawk when it comes to Hezbollah, and Israeli press reports in October suggested he and some military commanders had pressed Netanyahu and the security Cabinet to agree a preemptive strike on Lebanon. Netanyahu, however, was cool on the idea — partly because of entreaties from U.S. officials, who fear Iran would be drawn in, upending the entire region. But Gallant’s remarks this week were explicit, and Netanyahu is coming under increasing pressure from evacuated families and northern politicians to explain the difference between them and the communities in southern Israel. 

Part of the logic of the war on Hamas is to ensure the permanent safety of the kibbutzim in southern Israel, so that families can return to take up their lives. And likewise, the 80,000 Israelis who have been evacuated from near the Lebanese border are now demanding the same safety — or they won’t go back.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli War Council Minister Benny Gantz, and even opposition leader Yair Lapid urged the US administration not to speak publicly about the two-state solution.

This came according to what Israeli and American officials reported to the Times of Israel newspaper, on Saturday.

The newspaper quoted an American official (which it did not name), saying that the message did not come only from Netanyahu, as the resonance of his messages has become limited because Washington is convinced that he is engaged in a “politically motivated campaign” in this regard.

Israeli officials said other members of the war cabinet, including Gantz and opposition leader Lapid, "expressed their discomfort with the Biden administration's renewed rhetoric regarding the need for a two-state solution since the outbreak of the war."

A majority of young Americans said they believe Israel should “be ended and given to Hamas,” according to a shocking poll.

The survey, conducted THIS WEEK by Harvard-Harris polling, found 51% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 24 said they believed the long-term answer to the Israel-Palestinian conflict was for “Israel to be ended and given to Hamas and the Palestinians.”

Only 32% said they believed in a two-state solution, and just 17% said other Arab states should be asked to absorb Palestinian populations.

The figure was in stark contrast to other age groups, which all dramatically preferred a two-state solution. Just 4% of Americans 65 and over said they felt Israel should be ended.

“These individuals siding with evil over democracy should be a wake-up call,” Sen. 

Roger Marshall (R-Kansas) told The Post. “Ideological rot among young Americans, driven by woke values and victim culture, has gotten so bad they’ve convinced themselves to sympathize with actual terrorists who hate America,”

In an “unusual and clear” message from Saudi Arabia, which Tel Aviv considered to be addressed to it, Riyadh confirmed that it wants the Palestinian Authority to assume power there in the Gaza Strip and believes it is capable of doing so.

The i24News website stated that while the battles continue in the Gaza Strip, attention is turning to the “next day” after the war, and in light of this, Saudi Arabia sent an “unusual and clear” message that the Kingdom wants the Palestinian Authority to assume power there.

The website indicated that Riyadh “believes that it (the authority) is capable of doing so.” Through this message, Riyadh indicates to Israel that they are closely monitoring everything that is happening and expect it to take action.

Yesterday, Friday, the Saudi Foreign Minister, Faisal bin Farhan, made a public statement, in a manner that we had not seen before since the beginning of the war in Gaza, and conveyed in a firm voice the Kingdom’s position regarding future control of the Strip. He said during a press conference: “The Palestinian Authority is capable of managing Gaza. Everyone knows its ability and strength to manage the West Bank, and it did a wonderful job despite the challenges,” according to the Israeli website.

He added: "There is no justification for not calling for a ceasefire in Gaza," adding, "If there is a path to a Palestinian state, the Palestinian Authority is more than capable of providing it with the necessary powers."

In light of the statements made by the Saudi Foreign Minister, a Saudi official close to the Royal Palace told N12 on Saturday and confirmed that “Saudi Arabia and the United States are pressing for the Palestinian Authority to take control in terms of sovereignty and security in Gaza after the war. Saudi Arabia is open to dialogue but is committed to the two states solution.” 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that military pressure is necessary to return "the detainees and win the war," amid diplomatic efforts to complete a new exchange deal.

Netanyahu indicated in a joint press conference with Defense Minister Yoav Galant and Defense Council Minister Benny Gantz that they are determined to "continue fighting until the elimination of Hamas and the return of our kidnapped."

Netanyahu explained that he informed the Israeli negotiators that the army’s pressure helps efforts to recover the “hostages,” and stressed that he will not stop the war and will not withdraw Israeli forces from Gaza, as Hamas demands, before achieving the goals of the war and returning the detainees.

When asked about the prisoner release negotiations, Netanyahu said that they do not discuss negotiations in public, but pointed out that they conduct the negotiations in the language of blood and fire.

While Gantz, member of war Cabinet, indicated that they will do everything to free their prisoners from Gaza.

The press conference coincided with demonstrations by Israeli families of prisoners in Gaza, during which they demanded an end to the war and negotiations to release their sons.

Al Jazeera's correspondent reported that thousands of demonstrators in "Hostages Square" began heading to the main entrance of the Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv to stage a sit-in there.

Netanyahu's statements contradict what the Israeli Broadcasting Authority had reported that Tel Aviv is considering submitting a new proposal to release its prisoners held by the resistance in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli Radio reported that this approach by the Netanyahu government came in the wake of the incident of the killing of 3 captured soldiers by Israeli fire in the Shujaiya neighborhood in Gaza.

Israeli Channel 12 also reported that the War Command Council will discuss at its meeting on Saturday a new exchange deal with the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).

The channel quoted a political official as saying, "The upcoming negotiations will be more complex."

Prisoner exchange negotiations

In this context, the American website Axios reported, citing informed sources, that the Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani met with Mossad Director David Barnea on Friday evening in the Norwegian capital, Oslo, and they discussed resuming talks to ensure the release of detainees and prisoners held by the Hamas movement in Gaza.

The website also said that the director of the CIA and the head of Egyptian intelligence were briefed on the details of the meeting, as they are partners in trying to renew negotiations.

Reuters said that Barnea returned to Israel early on Saturday morning to provide a statement to Netanyahu.

According to Reuters, which quoted Egyptian sources, during their contacts with the mediators, Israeli officials appear more open to reaching a new ceasefire agreement and the release of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of Israeli prisoners in Gaza.

According to Egyptian sources, Israeli officials appeared to have changed their minds on some points they had previously rejected, but the two sides did not go into further details.

In a related context, the former commander of the Golani Brigade, Moshe Kaplinsky, said, “The return of the kidnapped people is only possible through a deal and not through military pressure.”

The Hamas movement has confirmed on more than one occasion its refusal to discuss any prisoner exchange deal without a complete ceasefire and cessation of aggression.

In the Battle of Al-Aqsa Flood, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas movement, managed to capture 239 Israelis, most of them soldiers, and exchanged civilians for Palestinian prisoners, including children and women, during the humanitarian truce.

An Israeli prisoner who was released from the Gaza Strip said that the rest of the detainees face “a real danger as the war continues,” explaining that “the fighting in Gaza will not lead to the abductees returning alive.”

This came during a press conference in Tel Aviv, reported by Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, held by former prisoners in Gaza and families of current detainees in the Strip, following the Israeli army’s announcement that it had killed 3 of them “by mistake” in the Shujaiya area, east of Gaza.

Yesterday, Friday, the Israeli army announced that its forces “mistakenly” killed three detainees held by the “Hamas” movement, during the battles in the Shujaiya area in Gaza, while the “Al-Qassam Brigades” considered, on Saturday, that Israel was “gambling with the lives of its captured soldiers, of whom it deliberately executed three of them on Friday.” saying that this comes as part of a "desperate attempt to get rid of the burden of the file."

Raz Ben-Ami was released by Hamas as part of a prisoner exchange deal, while her husband, Ohad, is still detained. She criticized the "negativity" of the Israeli War Council in dealing with the detainees' file, saying: "I pleaded with the Council of Ministers and said that the fighting might harm the kidnapped."

She added: "Unfortunately, we were right. The kidnapped are in real danger. Every minute is crucial, and the military operation will not lead to the kidnapped returning alive."

She continued: "I beg you to provide outlines for their return now. The detainees in Gaza face a real danger to their lives."

For her part, Ruby Chen, the mother of Itay, who is detained in Gaza, criticized "the Israeli government's negligence and refusal to meet the detainees' families."

“I arrived yesterday from the United States with other families of American detainees, and we met there with President (Joe) Biden, the US Secretary of State, and other senior officials,” Chen said.

She added: "In Israel, we cannot even talk to the war government, and in the United States we met with senior officials presenting proposals, and our government is waiting... We have become like a game of Russian roulette in the hands of the Israeli government."

In turn, Danny Elgert, Itzik's brother, who is still detained in Gaza, threatened that the families of the prisoners "will pursue the Israeli government if it does not respond to our demands."

He added: "If no change occurs, our sit-in will be moved in front of the Ministry of Defense in the Kirya area in Tel Aviv. We will stand and wait for them. They will try to evade so as not to look us in the eye, but we will wait for them until we get a deal initiated by Israel."

On Friday evening, hundreds of families of Israeli detainees in Gaza demonstrated in front of the General Staff building in Tel Aviv, demanding that their government conclude a new deal with the Palestinian factions to return their prisoners.

The "Al-Qassam Brigades" and "Al-Quds Brigades", the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, previously announced the killing of a number of Israeli prisoners in their custody as a result of the Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip since last October 7.

Friedland: Biden is the only person in the world capable of influencing Israel and removing Netanyahu from power (Reuters)

Columnist for the British newspaper The Guardian, Jonathan Friedland, says that there is only one way out of the Gaza war, and that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is obstructing it, so US President Joe Biden must force Netanyahu to step down from power.

Friedland explained that Netanyahu opposes the only viable path forward, which is the two-state solution, and is now working only in his personal interest, and the American president must save Israel from its current prime minister.

The writer pointed out that Biden's relationship with Israel is very deep, and he has demonstrated this on many occasions and in the current crisis, adding that he must perform one last act of service to Israel, a task that he can uniquely carry out by expelling Netanyahu from power and doing everything in his power to ensure that he does not return. .

Friedland said that Netanyahu believes that standing up to Washington makes him win over Israeli voters, and that the only acceptable options for the Gaza Strip are rule by a coalition of Arab countries - which do not want that and will certainly reject it without Palestinian participation - or re-occupying it. One of the two options is not applicable, and the other is unacceptable.

Friedland went on to say that the essence of the issue is that Israel is currently led by a man who is fighting only for himself, and Biden has the ability to influence events in Israel, and he may be the only person in the world who can save Israel from Netanyahu, and “he must do it.” 

Source: Guardian + Al Jazeera

French MP Thomas Portes said that more than 4,000 French people are involved with the Israeli army, which is committing war crimes in the Gaza Strip.

Portes referred to a survey conducted by the "Europe 1" network, which revealed that 4,185 soldiers of French nationality are currently mobilized in the Israeli army on the front in Gaza.

He said - in a post on the "X website" that this is the largest contingent after the United States, and given the war crimes committed by the Israeli army in both Gaza and the West Bank, it is unacceptable for French citizens to participate.

He called on his country's government to condemn this participation in war crimes as firmly as possible, and also asked the Minister of Justice to bring persons of French nationality (including dual nationalities) convicted of war crimes to French justice.

While the United Nations warns of the dangers of genocide in which more than 17,000 Palestinians were killed (the number reached more than 18,700), the participation of French citizens insults France, according to Representative Portes.

According to a report by Al Jazeera Net, official statistics for Israeli companies and law firms specializing in issuing foreign passports for Israelis indicate that more than a million Israeli Jews have dual citizenship and a foreign passport alongside the Israeli one.

In addition to half a million Israelis who hold European nationalities, there are nearly half a million other Israelis who hold additional foreign nationalities, half of whom are from the United States of America.

Source: Al Jazeera + social networking sites