Difference between revisions of "Swords of Iron: sources II"

Notes part I (Jan 7 - Feb 7)

Report: Hamas found with advanced Chinese-made arms. Israel National News Jan 7, 2024, 9:29 PM INN

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Netanyahu approves: Former Israeli Chief Justice to preside over hearing in Hague. Israel National News Jan 7, 2024, 6:33 PM INN

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During Judea and Samaria visit. IDF Chief of Staff: 'We will be at war all year ' Israel National News Jan 7, 2024, 9:47 PM INN

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IDF confirms: IAF base damaged by Hezbollah missile strike. Israel National News Jan 7, 2024, 7:59 PM INN

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This is how Hamas trains children in terror camps. During an interview with Meet the Press, Israeli President reveals documents detailing plans for Hamas summer camps. Israel National News Jan 7, 2024, 7:23 PM INN

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Watch: Weapons and tunnel shaft found under home of Jihad commander. Israel National News Jan 7, 2024, 8:30 PM INN

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This is how Hamas trains children in terror camps. During an interview with Meet the Press, Israeli President reveals documents detailing plans for Hamas summer camps. Israel National News Jan 7, 2024, 7:25 PM INN

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Children, women and the elderly: Hamas observers who pass info to Sinwar. By Amir Bohbot. Published: January 7, 2024 14:03 Updated: January 7, 2024 14:26 ([1] A boy wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh takes par in a demonstration in solidarity with Palestinian children in Gaza Strip, Istanbul, Turkey, December 23, 2023. photo credit: REUTERS/DILARA SENKAYA)

Sinwar has a massive network of people who seem like innocent civilians but are actually passing information to him. The planner of the October 7 massacre uses children in his network.

Khan Yunis has been visited recently by IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Col. Herzi Halevi and Shin Bet Chief Ronen Bar, with intentions of helping to concentrate the military's efforts in the Gaza Strip. They are hoping to help forge the path to finding the hideouts of the Hamas military leadership, who are using hostages as their "human shields."

One of the challenges the forces face in the Gaza Strip is a branched system of tunnels. The tunnels and shafts are used for several purposes, including logistics (food, water, medicine, etc.), ventilation, electricity, and the entry and exit of activists and senior officials from area to area during battle. The deeper they went, the greater the passage of the activists in the tunnels... JPost

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Three arrested in Ramallah on suspicion of terrorist attack in Binyamin - report. The Jerusalem Post Staff 01/07/2024 11:54 PM JPost

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Budapest Square temporarily renamed to honor Oct. 7 victims. The Jerusalem Post Staff 01/07/2024 11:39 PM JPost

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Israel intends to show 'October 7 horror film' at ICJ hearing. The Jerusalem Post Staff 01/07/2024 10:16 PM JPost

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Police serve hot coffee to anti-Israel protesters in Toronto Jewish area; sparked outrage. Anti-Israel protesters blocked bridge in Toronto’s Jewish neighborhood, protesting Israel’s attack on Gaza; local police provided coffee. Or Yisraeli Jan 7, 2024, 11:09 PM ...Member of the Canadian Parliament, Marco Mendicino, posted on X that “police intentions just contribute to the problem. Good intentions aside, police serving coffee and food to protestors will just embolden more deliberate obstruction of traffic, undermine public safety, and add to local frustrations.” “Laws exist to prevent this. They need to be enforced!” INN

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Iran executes 'Khamenei adviser' for spying for Israel, report says. Mohsen Saravani, 24, implicated by Tehran in gathering classified information via government agents and relaying it to a Mossad agent; suspect told court confession to espionage made under torture.

Itamar Eichner | published: Jan 7, 2024 | 22:31

law student and purported adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was executed in Zahedan prison in southeastern Iran last month for allegedly spying for Israel, London-based opposition news network Iran International reported on Monday. YNet

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Australia bans Nazi salute and public display of terror group symbols. Attorney general says legislation sends clear message there was no place in Australia for those who glorify the Holocaust or terrorist acts. Reuters | published: Jan 7, 2024 | 23:09

Laws banning the Nazi salute and the display or sale of symbols associated with terror groups came into effect in Australia on Monday as the government responds to a rise in antisemitic incidents following the Israel-Gaza war. YNet

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Training for the battle on October 7th, a book by Hitler and a tunnel: what the IDF fighters found in Shuja'iyya. During an activity by the fighters of the Yiftach Brigade in Shuja'iyya, the fighters raided the infrastructure of the Islamic Jihad • Among other things: they located and destroyed an underground tunnel route of the organization, and found a bunch of pamphlets and "battle instructions" for the Seventh of October. Lilach Shoval, 7/1/2024, 7:28 p.m., updated 7/1/2024, 10:30 p.m. ILH

IDF commando brigade uncovers PIJ tools of terror in northern Gaza. By Jerusalem Post Staff. Published: January 7, 2024.

The combat fighters of the Yiftah Brigade raided terrorist infrastructures in the Shejaia area with the aim of locating and destroying tunnel shafts belonging to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organization. The raid was done in cooperation with the tanks, intelligence, and combat engineering corps.

During the raid in the eastern part of the Shejaia area, they uncovered a shaft leading to a larger tunnel route and a missile launcher. The soldiers found numerous weapons, PIJ training booklets, a blueprint of the of the October 7 attack, and a book by Hitler.

([2] A book by Hitler is discovered in the house of Ahmed Samarah. credit: IDF Spokesperson Unit).. JPost

Joe Truzman @JoeTruzman: The IDF found some interesting items in Shuja'iya: A rocket, small arms, grenades and Hitler. [3] [4] [5] [6] 1:06 PM · Jan 7, 2024. on X

Aviva Klompas @AvivaKlompas: Found in the home of Ahmad Samara, an Islamic Jihad commander. 1:47 PM · Jan 7, 2024 [7] [8] [9] [10] on X

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'Israel is fighting an axis, we arent' going to give up.'

'Iran is building up military power around Israel in order to use it,' Defense Min. Gallant tells the Wall Street Journal.

Israel National News Jan 8, 2024, 9:29 AM INN

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IDF eliminates 10 terrorists attempting to launch rockets. Israel National News Jan 8, 2024, 8:46 AM INN

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Hamas is using North Korean-made weapons in Gaza, South Korea confirms.

South Korea's intelligence agency confirms report indicating Hamas used North Korean-made F-7 grenade launcher; image shows fuse bearing Korean letters

Ynetnews | published: Jan 8, 2024 01:21 YNet

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IDF says it carried out 30 strikes on Hamas targets amid fierce fighting in south Gaza. Blinken heading to Israel on next leg of Mideast tour * Dozens protest outside Knesset, call for new election * IAF hits Hezbollah compound * Ground op toll at 176. (Jan 8, 2024) TOI

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IDF: Al Jazeera journalists were killed in car with drone-operating terror operative. By Emanuel Fabian and Agencies. [Jan 8, 2024] Hamza Wael Dahdouh, son of Al Jazeera’s Gaza correspondent Wael Al-Dahdouh, and Mustafa Thuria died in a strike in Rafah; Al Jazeera accuses Israel ... TOI

Pro-Palestinian protesters vandalize US war cemetery in Los Angeles - report. The Jerusalem Post Staff 01/08/2024 04:57 AM JPost

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Lebanon rejects Israeli proposal to place German troops on border - report. By Maariv Online 01/08/2024 11:05 AM JPost

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Israeli security forces arrest 17 terror suspects in overnight West Bank raids. The Jerusalem Post Staff 01/08/2024 01:00 PM JPost

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House hit from anti-tank missile in northern Israel. The Jerusalem Post Staff 01/08/2024 04:40 PM JPost

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US's Blinken, EU's Borrell discuss Gaza conflict in Saudi Arabia. By Reuters 01/08/2024 04:48 PM JPost

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Palestinian Islamic Jihad released video of hostage Elad Katzir. The Jerusalem Post Staff 01/08/2024 05:26 PM JPost

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Largest weapons-production facility yet found.

In tunnel 30-meters deep under Bureij, soldiers find facility used for the manufacturing of long-range rockets, explosives and accuracy enhancers for Hamas's mortar shells, light weapons and UAVs.

Israel National News Jan 8, 2024, 8:02 PM INN

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A Jewish baby turns 1 year old in Hamas captivity. Gary Willig Jan 8, 2024, 5:58 PM INN

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IDF kills Hamas rocket chief in Syria. By Yonah Jeremy Bob 01/08/2024 07:40 PM JPost

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Israeli strike kills a Hezbollah commander in Lebanon. By Laila Bassam and Maya Gebeily January 8, 2024

Summary Over 130 Hezbollah fighters killed in 3 months of hostilities Tawil played leading role in southern operations, source says. Highest ranking Hezbollah commander killed so far -source. Killed along with another Hezbollah fighter in strike. BEIRUT, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Israel killed a top Hezbollah commander in a strike in south Lebanon on Monday, sources familiar with the group's operations said, inflicting a heavy blow after three months of hostilities at the Lebanese-Israeli frontier. Wissam Tawil was a commander of Hezbollah's elite Radwan forces and the most senior Hezbollah officer killed so far in the conflict, a senior source in Lebanon said, adding he played a leading role in directing its operations in the south. Reuters

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Featured

EXPOSED: Gaza Photojournalists Shared Call to Infiltrate Israel on Oct. 7. HonestReporting Staff January 8, 2024 6:00 pm A Gaza photojournalist working for international media called on residents of the coastal enclave to cross the border into Israel on October 7, after Hamas terrorists had breached it, an HonestReporting investigation has found.

Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa, a freelancer who has been working for Reuters, made the comments while excitedly displaying footage of Hamas atrocities on an Instagram Live hosted in Gaza by another photojournalist, Ashraf Amra.

Amra has been working for AP, Reuters and APA Images, as well as for Turkish agency Anadolu. The investigation also found Amra had been honored with kisses by Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on two previous occasions.

The revelation casts doubt on the journalistic impartiality of the two freelance photojournalists and the vetting procedures of media outlets that have relied on their work.

The following information was compiled based on a probe of Amra’s and Abu Mostafa’s social media accounts. We also looked at articles and visuals published online and checked image databases of relevant media outlets.

“Whoever Can Go – Go” On October 7, Amra hosted an Instagram Live from Khan Younis to provide updates following Hamas’ deadly cross-border assault on Israel, in which 1,200 people were killed and some 240 taken hostage.

During the broadcast, Amra willingly let a thrilled Abu Mostafa, who had just returned from Israeli territory, display the brutal acts that he had captured on his phone at the breached border area.

Amra can be seen laughing and smiling while Abu Mostafa presented footage of the lynching... HonestReporting

Report: Photojournalists called on Gazans to join massacre. A photojournalist who lives in the Gaza Strip and worked for several international news organizations called on residents of Gaza to storm the border with Israel after Hamas terrorists launched their attack on the morning of October 7, an investigation by Honest Reporting has found. Israel National News Jan 8, 2024, 7:18 PM INN

Gazan photographers joined in October 7 lynching, raiding of Israelis - report. By Jerusalem Post Staff. Published: January 8, 2024 22:42. Updated: January 9, 2024 15:50 ([11] Palestinians take control of an Israeli tank after crossing the border fence with Israel from Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, October 7, 2023 - photo credit: Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90) An Instagram Live feed showed multiple Gaza-based photojournalists boasting about their participation in the infiltration of Israel. ...Ashraf Amra and fellow photojournalist Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa recorded a video laughing at the lynching of an IDF soldier pulled from a tank on October 7 - footage they captured on the scene. JPost

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‘New year, new plans,’ says Mehdi Hasan, announcing ‘MSNBC’ departure The British-American host has been one of Israel’s most vociferous critics on cable television. (January 8, 2024 / JNS) The cable-TV news network MSNBC canceled “The Medi Hasan Show” in November in the early months of Israel’s war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. As of Sunday, the popular program host has decided to step away from the station.

He announced his plans in a video, saying: “Tonight is not just my final episode of the ‘Mehdi Hasan Show,’ it’s my last day with MSNBC. Yes, I’ve decided to leave.”

The now-former MSNBC contributor has long been a harsh critic of Israel. He has called non-Muslims “animals.” [12].

“You cannot kill your way to victory over a foreign, occupied people,” Hasan wrote on Nov. 9. “My ‘Mehdi Hasan Show’ commentary on how Israel’s killing of innocents in Gaza only strengthens Hamas and its recruiting efforts—as America discovered the hard way in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

“Ever since 9/11, we have just taken it for granted that certain countries can send drones or bombs into foreign sovereign countries, across national borders, to kill people they’ve decided, without an arrest or trial, are guilty of crimes,” Hasan wrote on Jan. 2. “But most other countries can’t do this.”

StopAntisemitism wrote that “Qatari mouthpiece and anti-Israel propaganda machine Mehdi Hasan leaves MSNBC after the network dumps his show.”

Hasan previously worked as an anchor for Al Jazeera and as a podcaster at the left-wing website The Intercept. JNS

MSNBC cancels Mehdi Hasan's show in major shakeup of its weekend lineup: Far-left host has criticized Israel's war on Hamas and once compared non-Muslims to 'animals' and homosexuals to 'pedophiles'. By Alice Wright For Dailymail.Com 21:49 30 Nov 2023, updated 22:51 30 Nov 2023

MSNBC has cancelled far-left presenter Mehdi Hasan's show as part of a wider shake-up of its weekend lineup Hasan will remain with the network as an on-camera analyst and fill-in host It comes after Hasan's strong on-air criticism of Israel provoked backlash online Daily Mail

Jon Levine @LevineJonathan: MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan has compared non-Muslims to "animals" and homosexuals to "pedophiles" and "sexual deviants".

Hard to imagine MSNBC allowing someone on television who said similar things about a different religion — let alone giving them a show! Last edited Nov 27, 2023 on X

Liberal MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan history of controversial rhetoric in spotlight amid hostile coverage of Israel. Hasan previously apologized for recently resurfaced remarks. By Brian Flood , Joseph A. Wulfsohn Fox News. Published November 28, 2023 6:00pm EST

MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan has been one of the strongest critics of Israel in the mainstream media during the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, but it's nothing new for the hard-left anchor who has never been shy about offering strident commentary.

During the conflict, he has consistently voiced hostility toward Israel, which he has long opposed as an "illegal[sic]" occupying[sic] power of Palestinians.

While with The Intercept, he frequently blistered the country, blaming it for the rise of Hamas in the first place and defending the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against its critics...

Mehdi Hasan on 9/11

MSNBC host Mehdi Hasans problematic commentary continues to haunt him as he contributes to his network's coverage of the Israel-Hamas war. (MSNBC)

(MSNBC host commemorates 'another 9/11' the US government 'helped produce' in Chile Nearly 3,000 people lost their lives in the September 11 terror attacks By Lindsay Kornick Fox News Published September 11, 2023 7:12pm EDT [13])

Inflammatory remarks he made in 2009 before becoming an MSNBC personality began circulating online again, when he compared non-Muslims to "animals" and linked homosexuals to "pedophiles" and "sexual deviants." New York Post reporter Jon Levine said it's "hard to imagine MSNBC allowing someone on television who said similar things about a different religion."

"We know that keeping the moral high ground is key. Once we lose the moral high ground, we are no different from the rest of the non-Muslims, from the rest of those human beings who live their lives as animals, bending any rule to fulfill any desire," Hasan said in one of the unearthed clips.

In 2019, Hasan apologized for those comments, calling them "dumb offensive ranty stuff" and admitted that he said "extreme-sounding things" as a young man...

But his controversial comments didn't end there. In 2021, Hasan rushed to defend Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., who suggested the U.S. and Israel were just as guilty of "war crimes[sic]" as terrorist groups like Hamas and the Taliban.

"Look, Americans get very upset when our nation is accused of war crimes, but I'm sorry to break this to you, our nation has done some pretty awful things abroad, and we have to be able to talk about them," Hasan wrote at the time.

(MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan lashes out after being fact-checked on Twitter for his statements on racial crime stats Hasan began the ordeal by criticizing Bill Maher for his comments about crime in Chicago By Alexander Hall, Fox News, May 1, 2023. [14])

During the 2019 uproar over Omar's antisemitic rhetoric, Hasan downplayed the controversy, saying the Democratic lawmaker "maybe unwittingly echoed tropes" but directed most of his ire at then-President Trump and Republicans as well as the media's coverage of her comments.

"She hasn’t said anything about Jews. She has not said one word about Jews," Hasan argued, then an MSNBC guest. "She talked about supporters of Israel insisting that politicians in the U.S. should show allegiance to Israel and that’s kind of undeniable. I mean, that’s been reported on for years… A lot of the good-faith criticism is based on kind of misreporting of what she’s said and done."

He also compared past Israeli airstrikes against Hamas in Gaza to Russia bombing Ukraine in March 2022 in the early weeks of the ongoing European war.

It's not just his commentary on Israel and Islam that has raised eyebrows. His own journalistic credibility was drawn into question earlier this year when he was accused of plagiarizing a piece arguing in favor of parents spanking their children.

(Israeli senior adviser Mark Regev then scolded Mehdi Hasan for not informing views that Hamas controls the Gaza Health Ministry, which has been putting out statistics related to how many people have been killed during the war. MSNBC screenshot)

Hasan, who worked at Al Jazeera before joining MSNBC, recently held a combative interview with Israeli advisor Mark Regev. On November 16, prior to Israel and Hamas reaching a deal to free some of the hostages kidnapped by Hamas terrorists, Hasan accused Israel of turning down a similar deal.

"Sorry, Mehdi, that’s just disinformation. There was not a real option for a deal before the grand operation. It was looked at seriously but Hamas put nothing on the table that could be worked with and so that’s just not correct to say there was an option," Regev said before noting that a deal could still be worked out because military pressure was "making Hamas understand" they need to release hostages.

Regev then scolded Hasan for not informing viewers that Hamas controls the Gaza Health Ministry, which has been putting out statistics related to how many people have been killed during the war.

"You have to say the ‘Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry," Regev said before Hasan shot back, "You can say that, I don’t have to say what you ask me to say."

"Please, tell the viewers the truth, that information is provided by Hamas," Regev said.

Hasan also accused the Israeli government of k... children and of spreading propaganda and false information during the tense exchange.

Hasan has condemned the brutality of the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7 and scolded opponents of Israel who downplay or ignore the group's atrocities from that day, writing on X last month, "Too many people on this hellsite and elsewhere have weirdly & cruelly decided that opposing Israel’s war in Gaza requires them to try & deny the sheer scale of Hamas brutality on Oct 7th. It doesn’t."

Hasan did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Fox News' David Rutz contributed to this report. Fox News

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Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News. Monday, January 08, 2024: Militant to civilian ratio in Lebanon and Syria proves people are lying about Gaza.

This morning an Israeli airstrike eliminated a major Hezbollah figure, Wissam al-Tawil, with another militant in southern Lebanon.

In Lebanon and Syria, terror groups do not try to hide when their members become "martyrs" from Israeli airstrikes.

So what is the tally of terrorists versus civilians killed since October 7 north of Israel's border?

Including today, 155 members of Lebanese armed groups have been killed, along with 23 civilians. That's 87% militants. This is despite that in Lebanon, as with Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah hides rockets in civilian areas, using people as human shields.

In Syria, 80 militants have been killed, along with 5 civilians. That's 94% militants.

These numbers indicate Israel's care in avoiding civilian casualties. And when they are unavoidable, that is because the enemy is using the civilians to protect themselves. EoZ

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Christian students march in solidarity with Israel. By Maayan Jaffe-Hoffman Published: January 8, 2024

([15] Christian students march for Israel in Washington, D.C. on January 7, 2024 - photo credit: Passages).

"The Israel-Hamas war has given us... tremendous moral clarity," said Robert Nicholson, president of the Philos Project and co-founder of Passages. Around 300 Christian students marched toward the US Capitol on January 7 in a show of solidarity with the State of Israel and to pray for the safe return of Israeli hostages from the hands of Hamas. JPost

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IDF foils stabbing attack near Ramallah, terrorist killed. By Jerusalem Post Staff 01/09/2024 01:59 PM JPost

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Suspected shooting reported in northern Israeli shopping mall, one injured and one dead. By Jerusalem Post Staff 01/09/2024 03:23 PM JPost

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Air France to resume flights to Israel from Jan 24 with 3 weekly trips. By Reuters 01/09/2024 03:39 PM JPost

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ICJ claim against Israel is absurd, Hungarian FM tells Israel Katz. By Jerusalem Post Staff 01/09/2024 04:47 PM JPost

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IDF withdraws thousands of soldiers from Gaza's north - report. By Jerusalem Post Staff 01/09/2024 05:17 PM JPost

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In Gaza, IDF to intensify op in south, ‘change tactics’ in north, Gallant says. Akiva Von Koningsveld (January 9, 2024 / JNS) JNS

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Palestinian prisoners released in hostage deal return to Israeli schools. By Jerusalem Post Staff 01/09/2024 06:06 PM JPost

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Israel to allow UN delegation to visit northern Gaza Strip - report. By Jerusalem Post Staff 01/09/2024 06:46 PM JPost

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Blinken in Tel Aviv, IDF mothers protest US interference in war. David Isaac (January 9, 2024 / JNS) JNS

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Blinken in Israel amid push to wind down war against Hamas. (January 9, 2024 / JNS) JNS

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Hostage’s brother: Red Cross worker told family to care more about Gaza. (January 9, 2024 / JNS) JNS

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Police arrest anti-Israel agitators as Biden arrives at Dallas airport. (January 9, 2024 / JNS) JNS

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Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News. Tuesday, January 09, 2024: PA government declares budget "emergency," will prioritize paying terrorists.

The official Palestinian Authority Wafa news agency reports that the council of government ministers decided to act as if they are in a state of emergency, and to prepare budgets and government activities for 2024 accordingly.

What does that mean?

They will "manage the available financial resources in accordance with the emergency situation, to ensure that the government fulfills its obligations towards employees in the West Bank, Gaza, and Jerusalem, as well as to prisoners and families of martyrs, according to available funds."

Yes, paying terrorists is a higher priority than providing basic governmental services.

The decision was announced at the end of the weekly Monday council meeting.

A couple of things to note. One is that the Council cannot actually declare a state of emergency - that is up to Mahmoud Abbas, like pretty much everything else.

Two is that, supposedly, the budget to pay "prisoners and families of martyrs" is supposed to be from the PLO, not the general government budget, and the PA has told the West that none of their aid dollars goes towards that fund. This announcement appears to contradict that assertion, and the ministers are saying that the PA is responsible for that budget.

Which means they were lying all along. EoZ

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East Jerusalem girl, 14, arrested for plan to carry out a terror attack and die. Police find signed farewell letter in capital’s Old City, track down author, who admits wanting to carry out assault; father was killed carrying out West Bank attack last year. By TOI Staff 9 Jan 2024, 7:12 pm TOI

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The moving gesture of the Czech cyclist - who fell in love with Israel.

Lukas Klement, a non-Jewish Czech, came to visit Israel...he felt a strong connection to the country • To mark 100 days since the abductees were held captive in Gaza, Klement went on an intense ride in the bitter cold - in the hope that awareness will be raised around the world about the harsh reality • "During the difficult times , I will think about the abductees who are there in such difficult conditions," he told N12.

Ben Goldfriend | N12| 13.01.24

In the snow, and in a cold of minus 3 degrees, today (Saturday) Lukash Clement, a 28-year-old Czech cyclist, went on a 24-hour "ride" for the release of the Israeli hostages who have been held captive by Hamas in Gaza for 100 days. Clement is expected to draw the inscription "100" on the map next to the Star of David.

"It's not going to be easy. It's probably going to be very cold, but my body is able to withstand it, especially when my head helps it. And this is what will happen this time: in the difficult moments, I will think about the abductees who are there in such difficult conditions and their families who are so Suffering from a hundred days of darkness," Clement told N12. Mako

Rabbi Shmuel Reichman @ShmuelReichman: A Very Touching Gesture! 🇮🇱💙

To express his support for Israel, Lukas Klement, a competitive cyclist from the Czech Republic, used a mapping app to craft a massive Magen Dovid right in the heart of Europe.

He pedaled around 3,000 kilometers to create this touching expression of love and support for the Jewish People.

Thank you Lukas!

[16] We know that we're not alone.

We have Hashem; and we have each other.

But whenever it seems like the world is against us, just remember:

There are millions of people around the world who genuinely love us; who support us; and who are brave enough to stand up to evil, no matter the cost.

The Jewish spirit will never break! 12:29 PM · Nov 9, 2023 on X

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Besides Islamic states, almost no one supports South Africa's "genocide" case. January 9, 2024. Al Jazeera lists the countries which have officially backed the South African case before the ICJ claiming Israel is engaged in "genocide."

It starts with the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC). And then it lists three countries - Malaysia, Jordan and Turkey - which all happen to be members of the OIC themselves. (If those countries calling out their support separately is significant, then one must wonder why the other 54 members of the OIC have not.)

The only other country that publicly backs the case is Bolivia, which has a pretty poor human rights record itself. EoZ

Trick is to put, push a non-lslamic face in front. (Preferably non-white, to recycle a hint at the libel of "Whiteness" - dedpite Israeli reality of multi-color - multi-ethnic). A well orchestrated Islamic bigotry stunt. at EoZ

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BBC apologises for reporting a Hamas claim about IDF ‘summary executions’. BBC radio news bulletins reported Hamas’ allegation on Christmas Eve but the corporation has subsequently said sufficient efforts were not made to corroborate the claim. By JN Reporter, January 9, 2024, 9:26 pm JewishNews

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Kansas legislature passes resolution supporting Israel's right to self-defense. In first official act of 2024, Kansas State Legislature passes resolution supporting Israel, rejecting antisemitism. Israel National News Jan 10, 2024, 12:34 PM [17]

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In first official act of 2024, Kansas State Legislature passes resolution supporting Israel, rejecting antisemitism. Weapons under kids' bed, tunnel shaft near preschool. Israel National News Jan 10, 2024, 12:11 PM INN

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Live: Thousands pray at Western Wall for hostages' return. Israel National News Jan 10, 2024, 4:00 PM INN

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IDF maps home of terrorist who killed Israeli Arab. Israel National News Jan 10, 2024, 1:36 PM IMN

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'You're not welcome here.' Blinken 'welcomed' in Ramallah by protesters. Israel National News Jan 10, 2024, 1:45 PM INN

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Israel strikes 150 Gaza terror targets as fighting continues in Khan Yunis. Over 15 underground tunnel shafts uncovered in Al Maghazi • Dozens of terrorist killed in Khan Yunis • IDF soldier slain in Gaza. (January 10, 2024 / JNS) JNS

Israel Unearths More of a Subterranean Fortress Under Gaza. The Israeli military has been surprised by the extent, depth and quality of the tunnel network beneath Gaza.

([18] The interior of a large tunnel. A soldier is in the background holding a light).

By Adam Goldman, Ronen Bergman, Patrick Kingsley and Gal Koplewitz. Reporting from Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and Washington. Jan. 16, 2024. Updated 10:00 a.m. ET

One tunnel in Gaza was wide enough for a top Hamas official to drive a car inside. Another stretched nearly three football fields long and was hidden beneath a hospital. Under the house of a senior Hamas commander, the Israeli military found a spiral staircase leading to a tunnel approximately seven stories deep.

These details and new information about the tunnels, some made public by the Israeli military and documented by video and photographs, underscore why the tunnels were considered a major threat to the Israeli military in Gaza even before the war started.

But Israeli officials and soldiers who have since been in the tunnels — as well as current and former American officials with experience in the region — say the scope, depth and quality of the tunnels built by Hamas have astonished them. Even some of the machinery that Hamas used to build the tunnels, observed in captured videos, has surprised the Israeli military.

The Israeli military now believes there are far more tunnels under Gaza.

In December, the network was assessed to be an estimated 250 miles. Senior Israeli defense officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, are currently estimating the network is between 350 and 450 miles — extraordinary figures for a territory that at its longest point is only 25 miles. Two of the officials also assessed there are close to 5,700 separate shafts leading down to the tunnels.

The numbers could not be independently verified, and there are varying estimates by Israeli officials for the increased scope of the tunnel network, based on different intelligence. But the immense efforts of Hamas to militarize the enclave are not in dispute; nor are the intelligence failures of the Israeli military in underestimating the extent and importance of the network to Hamas’s survival.

In a meeting in January 2023, a top Israeli military official said the tunnels would not even be a factor in any future war with Hamas because of Israel’s military strength, according to a transcript of the discussion reviewed by The New York Times.

“Hamas has used the time and resources over the last 15 years to turn Gaza into a fortress,” said Aaron Greenstone, a former C.I.A. officer who has worked extensively in the Middle East.

For the Israeli military, the tunnels are a subterranean nightmare and the core of Hamas’s ability to survive. Every strategic goal of Israel in Gaza is now linked to wiping out the tunnels.

“If you want to destroy the leadership and arsenal of Hamas, you have to destroy the tunnels,” said Daphné Richemond-Barak, a tunnel warfare expert at Reichman University in Israel. “It’s become connected to every part of the military missions.”

Hamas has invested heavily in the tunnels since it does not have the resources or numbers to fight the Israeli military in a conventional war. The group uses the tunnels as military bases and arsenals, and relies on them to move its forces undetected and protect its top commanders.

One 2022 document showed Hamas budgeted $1 million on the tunnel doors, underground workshops and other expenses in Khan Younis.

Israeli intelligence officials recently assessed that there were about 100 miles of tunnels just under Khan Younis, southern Gaza’s largest city, where Israeli forces are now in heavy fighting. Yahya Sinwar, the military leader of Hamas in Gaza, had a home in Khan Younis.

In addition, a 2015 report indicated that Hamas had spent more than $3 million on tunnels throughout the Gaza Strip, including many built under civilian infrastructure and sensitive locations such as schools and hospitals, the Israeli military said.

The Israeli military said it had found two types of tunnels: ones used by commanders and others used by operatives. The commander tunnels are deeper and more comfortable, allowing for longer stays and use of ceramic tiles. The other tunnels are more spartan and often shallower.

An Israeli official said the military might have spent a year locating a single tunnel, but now the ground campaign has provided a trove of information about Gaza’s underground network.

The Israeli military has examined computers used by Hamas operatives in charge of tunnel construction to find the underground passageways, a senior Israeli official said. Some documents captured in the war are also proving vital. The Israeli military has found lists of the families that “hosted” the tunnel entrances in their private homes.

In one case, Israeli soldiers located a map of tunnels in Beit Hanoun, a city in northern Gaza, and used it to find and destroy tunnels. Even with this battlefield intelligence, the fighting in Gaza around the tunnels has been grueling. The Israeli military reports that nearly 190 soldiers have been killed and about 240 seriously wounded since the ground campaign started. But the military has not disclosed the number of dead and wounded in connection with the tunnel warfare.

Two Israeli military officials assessed that there are close to 5,700 separate shafts leading down to the tunnels.Credit...Tamir Kalifa for The New York Times One soldier, speaking on the condition of anonymity for safety reasons, said he oversaw the destruction of about 50 tunnels in Beit Hanoun. All of them were booby-trapped, he said. The soldier, an officer in the combat engineers, said his unit had found bombs hidden in walls and a massive explosive device that was hard-wired to be remotely activated.

The soldier, who was a reservist and has since been discharged, said the device had been made in a factory and had a serial number on it. If it had gone off, the bomb would have killed anybody in the tunnel and directly outside it, he said.

Hamas released a video in November showing how it lured a group of five Israeli soldiers to a tunnel entrance in Beit Hanoun and then used a roadside bomb to kill the soldiers.

Ms. Richemond-Barak said Hamas had imported the tactic from Syrian rebels who killed dozens of government troops in a tunnel attack in 2014 in Aleppo.

On Jan. 8, Israeli soldiers took journalists to see three tunnel shafts in central Gaza — one inside a one-story farm building on the outskirts of Bureij, the second inside a civilian steelworks on the edge of Maghazi and a third inside a shed near the steelworks.

The shaft in the steelworks was the deepest and most sophisticated. It descended roughly 30 yards and was fitted with some kind of elevator. The soldiers said it was used to transport munitions parts that were molded in the steelworks. A bucket of shells or rocket heads lay nearby. The soldiers said the shells were based on a template of a yellow U.S.-made mortar shell inscribed with the words “20 mm mortar shell; Lot 1-2008.”

The soldiers did not allow journalists into the shaft, citing the risk of explosions, but said Hamas would carry the munitions parts into the tunnel to transport them to another part of the tunnel network, where they would be fitted with explosives.

The tunnel was said to lead to a nearby shed made from corrugated iron. The journalists were escorted to that shed, where they saw 10 large rockets that were roughly three yards long and painted olive green. The rockets were contained in long oblong cages, possibly used to transport them.

The soldiers said the rockets had a range of roughly 60 miles. A shaft in the floor led underground, but it was unclear where the shaft led to, or how deep it was. It appeared shallower than the first shaft.

The logo of the Qassam brigades, the military wing of Hamas, was stuck to a wall.

Later, the Israeli Army published photos and video of the shafts and other nearby facilities. A Times photographer documented the military infrastructure, too.

The soldiers also took journalists to see a third tunnel shaft in a one-story farm building in Bureij, roughly a mile to the north, surrounded by farmland. They said the shaft had been hidden behind a locked door, which had been blown off its hinges. The journalists were again not allowed to enter the tunnel.

Outside, roughly 100 yards away, military bulldozers appeared to have unearthed part of the tunnel leading from the farm building. It was roughly five yards below the surface, arched in shape and wide enough for one person to pass comfortably.

Hamas has improved its ability to conceal the tunnels, but the senior official said the Israeli military had figured out one of the group’s operating models. The official called it the “triangle.” Whenever the Israeli military finds a school, a hospital or a mosque, soldiers know they can expect to locate an underground tunnel system beneath them, the official said.

Destroying the tunnels is not an easy task, the official said. They need to be mapped, checked for hostages and not just damaged but made irreparable. Recent attempts to demolish the tunnels by flooding them with seawater have failed.

The official estimated it could take years to disable the tunnel system. NYTimes

Gaza tunnels stretch at least 350 miles, far longer than past estimate – report.

Gaza tunnels stretch at least 350 miles, far longer than past estimate – report. Senior Israeli defense officials tell NY Times there are some 5,700 separate shafts leading to Hamas's underground network under the Strip, which is only 140 square miles. By TOI Staff. 16 January 2024, 7:34 pm TOI

Hamas tunnels' scale and sophistication 'shock' American and Israeli experts. Israel uncovers 450 miles-long underground fortresses in Gaza.

i24NEWS January 16, 2024 at 11:57 AM latest revision January 16, 2024 at 11:59 AM. ([19] Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (C) inside a Hamas tunnel in GazaIsrael Defense Forces) i24

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Israeli UN envoy: ‘How morally bankrupt has this body become?’ “There are no morals here, only bias and hypocrisy,” Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan told a General Assembly meeting on the Israel-Hamas war. Mike Wagenheim Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan speaking at “Hear Our Voices: Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in the Oct. 7 Hamas Attack,” on Dec. 4, 2023. Photo by Shahar Azran.Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan speaking at “Hear Our Voices: Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in the Oct. 7 Hamas Attack,” on Dec. 4, 2023. Photo by Shahar Azran.

(January 10, 2024 / JNS) Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan ripped the U.N. General Assembly during a Tuesday morning meeting, while holding up a cake with the face of Kfir Bibas, who will turn one year old in the coming days. Bibas, along with his family, was taken hostage by Hamas during their massacre on Oct. 7. JNS

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PA ambulance crew found with stolen United Hatzalah equipment. Following foiled terrorist attack in Binyamin region, Palestinian Authority ambulance crew found to possess stolen United Hatzalah vests, helmets, and other equipment.

Israel National News, Jan 10, 2024, 5:18 PM (GMT+2) [20] INN

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25 terrorists treated in Israeli hospitals. Israel National News Jan 10, 2024, 9:34 PM INN

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Chief of Staff: 'After Gaza - we'll know what to do in Lebanon'. Israel National News Jan 10, 2024, 10:39 PM INN

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'Israel has no intention of occupying Gaza'.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu clarifies in video statement: Israel is fighting Hamas terrorists, not the Palestinian population, and we are doing so in full compliance with international law. Israel National News Jan 10, 2024, 11:29 PM INN

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IDF: Journalists killed in Gaza were terrorist combatants. Israel National News Jan 10, 2024, 9:05 PM ..."Mustafa Thuria, identified in a document found by IDF troops in Gaza, was a member of Hamas' Gaza City Brigade, serving as Squad Deputy Commander in the al-Qadisiyyah Battalion. "Hamza Wael al-Dahdouh, is an Islamic Jihad terrorist, and was involved in the organization’s terrorist activities. Documents found by IDF troops in the Gaza Strip reveal his role in the Islamic Jihad's electronic engineering unit and his previous role as a deputy commander in the Zeitun Battalion's Rocket Arraym" the IDF spokesperson's unit's statement concluded. INN

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Israel Launches ‘Oct. 7’ Website Documenting Hamas War Crimes. By Hana Levi Julian - 1 Shevat 5784 – January 10, 2024

Destroyed vehicles on the side of the road outside of the Israeli town of Sderot after Hamas terrorists stormed the border fence nearby, October 7, 2023. The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) National Public Diplomacy Directorate is launching an international website to show the world some of Hamas’s crimes against humanity, with photos and video clips from the October 7th massacre scenes.

It was launched ahead of Thursday’s opening of the hearing on the petition by South Africa to be held against Israel at the International Court of Justice in the Hague.

The site was developed in conjunction with the IDF Spokesperson and joins a series of public diplomacy measures for the international community, which the various policy bodies have been working on during the Swords of Iron War.

The name of the site in English is: “Oct. 7 2023, Hamas Massacre: Documentation of Crimes Against Humanity” [21].

All the photos from the various murder scenes have been blurred in order to safeguard the privacy of the victims.

The site is intended for international users only and cannot be viewed from computers in the State of Israel.

“As part of our comprehensive and intensive public diplomacy efforts, the Prime Minister’s Office, via the National Public Diplomacy Directorate and in conjunction with the IDF Spokesperson, is launching a site that will commemorate and recall the terrible atrocities that were carried out against the citizens of Israel on the black Saturday of October 7,” said Moshik Aviv, head of Israel’s National Public Diplomacy Directorate.

We will continue to act so that the citizens of the world will be unable to remain indifferent to the terrible massacre that we experienced.

This is an important public diplomacy and diplomatic tool that presents severe crimes against humanity. Tomorrow we will appear before the court in The Hague; this site will assist the State of Israel in its mission of reminding the world that we are the victim of the unprecedented terrorist event that we experienced.” JewishPress

Israel posts Hamas atrocities on new site, blocked from Israel Site launched ahead of IJC hearing South African claims Israel commits genocide; hard-to-watch content collected from terrorists own body cameras and CCTV footage previously presented to limited audiences due to the cruelty seen person Itamar Eichner | published: 01.10.24 | 11:18 YNet

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Child executed and beheaded: chilling evidence of Hamas crimes in heart of Hague case. Shooting, stabbing, choking, beheading and burning: hours before Israel presents its defense at The Hague, new harrowing testimonies of Hamas' monstrosities come to light; discretion is advised. Ariela Ayalon | published January 10, 2024: 15:19

As Israel prepares for the hearings that will begin Thursday at the International Court in The Hague following South Africa's petition against the Jewish state, 2,000 miles away, the National Center of Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv, popularly known as Abu Kabir after the adjacent penitentiary, continues to document more hard evidence of Hamas terrorists' murderous crimes.

Israel posts Hamas atrocities on new site, blocked from Israel. In an old building in South Tel Aviv, too narrow to contain the bodies and horrors, bones and imaging tell of the murder methods of Hamas's elite Nukhba terrorists, with unprecedented cruelty in the history of the State of Israel.

([22] Bodies of October 7 victims at the National Center of Forensic Medicine. Photo: Eli Dasa)

Some of the images and details below are highly disturbing and readers are advised to exercise discretion. We see value in bringing these images to the public's attention at a time when Israel is forced to defend itself in The Hague.

The disturbing documentation includes images of a girl who was shot in the head at point-blank range and then beheaded. Another imaging revealed how terrorists set a person on fire after stabbing, shooting and running him over.

Another horrifying still depicts a group of people with their hands tied with plastic zip ties, then shot while trying to shield their heads with their hands. If there were no zip ties within reach, the terrorists would bind their victims with electric cables ripped from home appliances. Gunshot marks were visible on the exposed hands of the victims, sometimes elderly people.

([23] Body of October 7 victim bound with electric cables, at the National Center of Forensic Medicine. Photo: Avigail Uzi)

“It's pure evil,” says the institute’s director Dr. Hen Kugel, whose 30 years of experience in forensics haven’t prepared him for what came on October 7.

“I already witnessed every possible murder method – shooting, stabbing, strangulation, you name it. But this kind of abuse, as the one seen on this young man’s body, I couldn’t even imagine something like that. This is not just ensuring the job is done; it's pure evil intended to obliterate every trace of that person.” Evidence from the killing grounds continues to pour in, albeit in smaller volumes at first. Last month, the institute received 143 plastic bags containing bone fragments. “The professional challenge for the institute's staff is to identify the person solely through these remains. Efforts to identify the victims continue all the time, albeit with less intensity. We clear debris and find bones. We cling to every crumb, splinter and bone that allows for deciphering,” Dr. Kugel says.

([24] Dr. Hen Kugel. Photo: Avigail Uzi)

Leading the forensic laboratory specializing in identification through bone fragments is forensic anthropologist Michal Peer. She has faced an overwhelming amount of evidence, handling most of it solo with occasional assistance from volunteers.

The Abu Kabir facility, under the Health Ministry's jurisdiction, has suffered from prolonged budgetary starvation, despite being the sole national entity authorized to provide forensic medical services. 'How can I sit by as my people are being murdered?' “I’m the (sole) anthropologist at the National Center of Forensic Medicine,” says Peer. "I made Aliyah from the U.S. as a student five years ago to complete my doctoral work here." She is now assisted by Prof. Tal Simon, also a forensic anthropologist, born in Israel and who developed her extensive career in the U.S. "My connection with Israel has been intermittent. I made Aliyah in 1984 directly to Kibbutz Yahel in the Arava, and in 1987, I went to the U.S. to complete my doctorate."

([25] Prof. Tal Simon and Dr. Michal Peer. Photo: Avigail Uzi)

Since then, she has gained significant experience in identifying bones and matching them to a person's anatomical profile, volunteering to help in national disasters across the globe. "I’ve been to Sri Lanka, Kosovo, Bosnia, Guatemala and other places. When I heard what happened here on that terrible Saturday, I came to volunteer at the institute. I said to myself, how can I sit by in Virginia as my people are being murdered?" Due to her commitments to the university, she flew back to complete a semester for her students, and in mid-December, she returned again to volunteer at the institute.

The anthropological laboratory, like the other departments of the institute, is situated in two small rooms in an old building that hardly honors the sacred work done within it. While speaking with Peer, she is asked to open a bag and determine whether the contents are human or animal bones. For her, this is standard practice.

([26] Body of October 7 victim at the National Center of Forensic Medicine. Photo: Avigail Uzi)

"The first identification station that a bone goes through after I take it out of the white bag is on my worktable. I measure it and assess whether it's from a male or female, estimate the age and height in order to construct the biological profile that matches the missing person," explains Peer. A single bone can provide extensive information, including types of diseases. "The bone, or a fragment of it, tells us if it belonged to someone who suffered from a certain type of cancer, osteoporosis, whether it was damaged due to an injury, and more,” she adds. A fresh bone can produce a sample that is then sent to a laboratory for DNA identification. "However, a significant portion of the bones that have arrived and continue to arrive at our facility were burnt at temperatures of 700 degrees Celsius, destroying all organic matter and eliminating any possibility of identification," she says. Despite these challenges, the identification effort continues vigorously. "In every bag of bones, I look for evidence. For example, determining which part of the body it belongs to can indicate identification. It's not as straightforward as it sounds because sometimes, in bags with human bones, I also find animal bones," she adds.

([27] Zip ties and ropes used by Hamas terrorists to tie up their victims on October 7. Photo: Avigail Uzi)

Since the October 7 massacre, the forensic anthropology laboratory has identified 12 bones. While this may not seem like much, it means the world to each family whose loved one was identified. The work at the institute is conducted on a total of four operating tables. "This is very problematic and causes significant delays in our work," Dr. Kugel describes painfully, "The conditions at the institute do not allow us to meet the high Israeli standards, and there is a desperate disproportion between the level of knowledge and the quality of the building." The institute, housed in a 100-year-old building, is in dire need of additional funding and staffing. Its head, Dr. Hen Kugel, a pathologist with an international reputation, has been sounding the alarm for years on longstanding budgetary constraints. And yet, despite all this, working under pressure and against the clock, the institute's team has set a global record by identifying 99.5% of the missing persons. In his office, Dr. Kugel reveals rare documentation of war crimes committed by Hamas terrorists. "From this charred pile, we managed to identify long bones and skull bones, three left foot bones, and two right ones, leading to the scientific conclusion that these belonged to three different people who were bound together, shot at point-blank range and then set on fire,” Dr. Kugel said. With every testimony, the extent of the evil and viciousness becomes increasingly apparent. One of the most disturbing images is a photo of a 12-year-old girl's body, shot in the head from point-blank range and decapitated by terrorists.

([28] Body of a 12-year-old girl, shot in the head from point-blank range and decapitated by terrorists).

As part of his job, Dr. Kugel is also forced to watch numerous videos of the terrorists' atrocities. He is a member of a panel that managed to declare the death of missing persons in the absence of a body, based on assessments that also rely on watching these videos. "One of the videos that shocked me the most was of a Tanzanian student who worked on one of the kibbutzim near the border. He was seen on security cameras talking to his killers. He was probably begging for his life, but they dragged him outside from the dairy barn, plunged a huge knife into his chest that came out his back, and then shot him. When I first encountered this atrocity, I remember asking myself, ‘what do they have against him? Can't they see he's not Israeli? Do they have some previous conflict with him? Why did they murder him, and with such cruelty?’" wonders Dr. Kugel. "It's about hate, deep wickedness, humiliation. I've seen many murder cases, but who ties up people together, shoots them all and then sets them on fire? What kind of despicable murderer would do all of this? It's pure evil." The photos and descriptions, which have been largely withheld to spare the public, are set to play a crucial role in Israel's defense at the International Court in The Hague. In response to cynical accusations of war crimes, Israel is compelled to reveal the extent of Hamas' atrocities and the terrorists' war crimes. These include the murder and desecration of bodies long after their victims were rendered defenseless.

From bird's-eye view: before-after images of leveled Gaza neighborhoods facing Israeli border towns.

Nahal Oz and Kfar Aza faced anti-tank fire from Shijaiyah, Netiv HaAsara endured sniper fire, now after IDF ops, only ruins stand. Ynet News YNet

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To understand how stupid the Hague sentence is, it is enough to ask one simple question. You don't need to be a law professor to dismiss the stupid lawsuit against Israel, it's enough to answer one simple question to understand who the real murderers are here by Yoav Heller, Wednesday 5th in Shvat, 5784. (01-10-2024)

The hearing at the International Court of Justice in The Hague is a moral censure that will haunt the free world for many years to come. As someone who has studied the Holocaust for many years (which by definition is genocide in its most extreme form), I have no words to describe my astonishment that a trial is being held against Israel and not against Sinwar and Hamas - the real murderers of the nation.

Definition

When the Jewish lawyer Raphael Lemkin established the definition adopted by the United Nations for genocide, his intention was to create a situation in which the world would know how to recognize genocide and intervene immediately against the government that commits it. Genocide, according to Lemkin, is an attempt by a government to destroy a national, ethnic, cultural group or religious.

You don't need to be a law professor to make the stupid claim against Israel. It is enough to ask one simple question: Has there ever been a case since the 20th century when a government committed genocide and the other side could have taken action to stop it? The answer is an unequivocal no. The Armenians were powerless to stop the massacre committed by the Turks. If the Jews in Europe had "surrendered" to the Nazis, it would not have stopped the Holocaust. No matter what the Tutsis did, the Hutus would massacre them in Rwanda. There are of course other examples, but the point is understood.

Now let's put this question to the test in today's Israeli-Gaza case. Not only is Israel defending itself against the attempt to murder its own people, which was carried out on October 7 (we'll get to that shortly), but Hamas can immediately stop the war and the terrible suffering. He can turn in all his leaders and release all the abductees - and here the war is over.

But the truth is that Hamas decided to commit a double genocide. Both of the Israelis - and of the Gazans. On October 7 there was an attempted genocide. In contrast to Israel, which is fighting a defensive war in which, to our great regret, it also harms the uninvolved without a choice - Hamas intended to commit genocide. to destroy all Israelis. Only the strength of the Israeli security forces prevented him from doing so.

And instead of the whole world demanding that the leaders of Hamas hand themselves over to an international court and release all the abductees, it gave the Hamas leadership legitimacy to kill its own people. When Musa Abu Marzouk, one of the leaders of Hamas, was asked why they do not allow the Gazans to go down into the tunnels, he said that "the tunnels are for us fighters, they are refugees and not our responsibility."

So my Israeli brothers and sisters raise their heads. These are difficult and challenging days in all respects, but our war in Gaza is one of the most just since World War II. We must not be silent until we release all the abductees and make sure that the murderers of the people from Hamas are not in power in Gaza, forever.

And to the citizens of the free world and the moderate citizens of the Middle East, whether they support us or not, we say: we are also waging your war, because murderers of nations like Hamas do not stop at Israel's borders. (Dr. Yoav Heller is the chairman of the "Fourth Quarter" movement). MakorRishon

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South Africa is not the one that is really behind the lawsuit in The Hague. Israel's arrival at the tribunal in The Hague to defend its position and the IDF soldiers will rob it of attention and energies, as an arena in itself, at a time when its overall campaign is just around the corner. At the same time as the legal hearing, Israel will have to act against its real generator and through levers of economic pressure to make it clear to her that if it [system] wants to live - to stop the harassment. By Moshe Elad, 29 in Tevet 5784 (10/01/2024 17:22)

([29] Demonstration of support for Hamas in The Hague. Photo: AFP)

The International Court of Justice in The Hague is scheduled to convene this weekend for a preliminary meeting, during which South Africa's claims against the State of Israel will be heard ahead of the "Great Debate", in which Israel will be accused of (so-called) genocide during the "Iron Swords" war.

In order to write the complaint and in an attempt to consolidate the claims into a picture of terror that presents Israel as cruel, the Palestinian Authority provided the South Africans with a trove of numerical data regarding what has been going on in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the campaign. ..

The question arises, what does South Africa - which is about 4,000 km away from the region - have to do with the accusations against Israel? In response to the claims made against it regarding its puzzling intervention, SA claims externally that it has a right to stand within what is known in international law as Erga Omnes ("in front of everyone" ), which means that each of the countries that have signed the Convention for the Prevention of Genocide has the right to complain about any other country that is suspected of it.

This reasoning sounds innocent, but it is far from the truth. The person who initiated and encouraged the filing of the complaint is precisely the Palestinian Authority led by Abu Mazen. For decades, the Palestinian Authority has been systematically trying to hurt Israel within the framework of international law, either by making various claims (and not one - outlandish) or by appealing to various tribunals and institutions demanding to investigate Israel or impose sanctions on it, but without much success. More than once Abu Mazen was even reprimanded by Israel and warned that if the Palestinian Authority continues to complain and harass, the benefits to PA officials will be stopped. Abu Mazen was therefore forced to decide between receiving a VIP certificate and filing complaints - and of course he chose his comfort and the comfort of his people's lives.

In the shadow of its creeping disintegration process, it seems that in recent years the Palestinian Authority's actions against Israel have mainly amounted to bullying and harassment, after its terrorist method failed to lead to a real strategic threat to Israel's existence. The informational and media channel, in which the Palestinian Authority has invested enormous resources of time, a lot of money and a battery of experts and commentators, in the hope that they will cause the world to push Israel into a corner, lied and died after the death of Saib Erekat. Therefore, the two significant tools in its toolbox against Israel are not More effective.

But now the PA tried a new trick: she turned to her friend SA so that she would take care of filing the complaint at the International Court of Justice, so that she would take her chestnuts out of the fire. The South Africans were hung up on a precedent from 2019, in which the Gambia sued Myanmar at the International Court of Justice in The Hague for crimes against humanity committed on its territory, and a case from 2023 in which Canada complained against Syria for abusing its residents. Before the preliminary meeting, South Africa increased and ordered the members of its diplomatic staff in Israel to return to their country, and it seems that her conduct reminds us that the voice is the voice of the SA but the hands are the hands of the PA.

([30] A pro-Palestinian protester waves the PLO flag in front of the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Photo: AFP)

In Israel they raised an eyebrow. Not only because the extensive and fruitful trade between the two countries is threatened here, but because Israel feels an unusual favor from the Africans. According to foreign sources, in the 1970s Israel helped the SA in obtaining a nuclear capability and in the 1980s helped it in its war in Namibia. Also, in 1987, while South Africa was boycotted by the world, Israel was among the few countries that maintained relations with it and was one of the last to support in sanctions against the African country. And despite all this, SA is now ready to lie on the fence for the Palestinians of Hamas and forget everything that Israel has worked for.

For the first time, Israel will be forced to appear in court with legal guns to remove one by one the idle claims, and by the way defend its international legal position on the issue of the threat of arrests against IDF soldiers and its commanders. Israel will of course reject the claim of (so-called) genocide and describe it as a modern blood libel, when faced with It will present the events of the October 7 massacre as one of the heinous crimes committed by the Palestinians against humanity and highlight the horrors - including infants, the elderly, the disabled, the sick, and innocent Holocaust survivors who were kidnapped, slaughtered and burned alive. "How will you call these acts," Israel will claim, " If you called what Israel did in Gaza genocide?"

Although in its war with Hamas Israel holds the first moral justification as a country that desires life, while making the most efforts to reduce harm to the civilian population, it is not at all certain that this will stand up to the biased tribunal from the start. It is still too early to determine how the preliminary procedure will develop for a discussion that may last for many years, but it is already clear that even the most difficult result that will be obtained from Israel's point of view will not come close to the threshold that the Palestinian Authority has always wished for - and that is for the Zionist entity to cease to exist. Harsh reprimands and sanctions on Israel from the panel of judges will be considered a "poor man's consolation" and will turn out to be only tactical and momentary satisfaction compared to the wet dream.

Despite this, and given that the fighting in Gaza may flare up into a multi-arena war, Israel will no longer be able to sit idly by in the face of the bullying of the Palestinians on the international level as another arena that is depriving it of attention and energy. Israel must now act against the PA as the main perpetrator of this show trial, and make it clear to it that it will no longer be able to hold both ends of the stick. The warnings to the PA officials not to continue to complain and bully have already borne fruit in the past and must be repeated as aggressive and unequivocal levers of pressure. Threats such as the cancellation of the tax exemption, the cessation of large transfers of funds to the Authority's coffers, collection of debts in the hundreds of millions and a host of discounts and exemptions - will take their toll.

At the end of the day, Abu Mazen and his successors know very well that the depleted and anemic body they are heading will not fall apart because of the actions of the IDF and Dovdvan in Area A, but only when the flow of funds and cooperation with Israel is stopped.

[Dr. Moshe Elad is a colonel in the reserves, a lecturer at the Galilee Academic College, former adviser to the Ministry of Defense for Arab affairs, head of security coordination in the territories and governor of the Jenin and Bethlehem governorates in the Civil Administration]. MakorRishon

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Iran Uses October 7 Pogrom to Ramp Up Influence Operations in U.S.

Mnar Adley (top), Shabbir Rizvi (bottom left), and Abbas Muntaqim play featured roles in Iranian efforts to promote Muslim hostility towards Israel and the United States. By Romany Shaker, January 10, 2024

The Islamic Republic of Iran, a clerical regime facing intense challenges from its own citizens intent on freeing themselves from the yoke of Islamist oppression, is taking full advantage of the war in Gaza in its campaign to promote its Islamist agenda in the United States.

By promoting journalists who portray Hamas as a “resistance” or “liberation” group and Israel’s response to the October 7 massacre as an act of “genocide,” the Iranian regime has discouraged progressives in the West from aligning with the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protest movement that seeks to remove the theocrats in Tehran from power. In addition to distracting Western progressives from Tehran’s crimes, the regime has helped fuel a growing wave of antisemitism in American society that serves to disrupt and divide the Americans during a time of international crisis.

A key element of this strategy is to provide Islamists and their far-leftist allies in the United States with ample airtime on Press TV, an English-language news outlet controlled by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), a bureaucracy notorious for promoting anti-Western propaganda among Muslim audiences living in Europe and North America.

By disseminating propaganda that aligns with the regime’s agenda, Press TV isolates its viewers in the West from the mainstream culture of the societies in which they reside.

Lawdan Bazargan

The IRIB has a monopoly over radio and television broadcasts in Iran and operates several channels, including English (Press TV), Spanish (Hispan TV), and Arabic (Al-Alam), Saeed Ghasseminejad, a senior Iran and financial economics advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), told Focus on Western Islamism (FWI). “Over the years, around 15 percent of the IRIB’s budget has been allocated to its foreign broadcasting,” he noted.

Lawdan Bazargan, an Iranian-American human rights activist and founder of the Alliance Against Islamic Regime of Iran Apologists (AAIRIA), said that Iran spends “millions of dollars every year to spread its hateful propaganda against the U.S. and Israel around the world.”

Iran’s Press TV appears to target Western viewers, particularly Muslims, with the intent of isolating them from their societies and undermining their faith in democratic rules. “By disseminating propaganda that aligns with the regime’s agenda, Press TV isolates its viewers in the West from the mainstream culture of the societies in which they reside,” the Iranian-American human rights activist stressed. “This isolation can foster a sense of ideological separation and distance, undermining the multicultural and diverse fabric that Western democracies aim to cultivate.”

Press TV is one of the Iran-linked news sites taken down by the U.S. government in June 2021 for spreading disinformation. The channel currently maintains 321,000 followers on X, formerly known as Twitter. The Iranian propaganda arm also has affiliated accounts, Palestine Highlights (20K followers on X and 16K followers on Facebook) and Palestine Declassified (12.5K followers), created with the purported goal of offering “an in-depth look at the Palestine issue.”

“Press TV is highly influential,” Bazargan said, highlighting that this influence is particularly notable among ordinary Muslims residing in the U.S. who take pride in Iran and its “resistance” to the U.S. imperialism.

Experts also believe that Iran’s foreign influence campaign is conducted under the guise of media operations. “IRIB’s foreign-language channels offer the Tehran regime a path to create a network of operatives and fellow travelers in the West and around the globe under the umbrella of media operation,” Ghasseminejad said.

Since Hamas’s October 7, 2023 rampage, Press TV hosted several journalists and activists who portrayed the Iranian Palestinian Islamist proxy’s genocidal violence as an act of “liberation” and parroted the clerical regime’s vibrant anti-U.S. narrative.

Iran’s Press TV promotes the rantings of Minneapolis-based American Palestinian journalist Mnar Adley, founder of MintPress News. On October 25, 2023, the Minneapolis-based American Palestinian journalist Mnar Adley, founder and editor-in-chief of MintPress News (MPN), appeared on Press TV and ignored Hamas’s massacre while attributing “the root cause” of the current crisis to the support provided by the U.S. and UK to Israel.

The pro-Iran apologist, who applauded Hamas’s October 7 massacre of Israelis, also vigorously defended the Iranian Islamist proxy by promoting the preposterous assertion that Israeli civilians “were actually shot at by Israeli military and police, and not by Hamas.” She further justified the massacre, saying “so, far from being unprovoked then, as the media claim, this current wave of violence was made all but inevitable.”

Adley’s MPN, founded in 2012, portrays Iran-backed Islamist proxies as “resistance” groups. No surprise that the Lebanese Iran-aligned Al Mayadeen English website defended MPN as “resistance media” in a September 5, 2023 article by American Syrian investigative journalist Hekmat Aboukhater, who himself celebrated Hamas’s attacks.

Moreover, Adley is a staunch advocate of Iran. She unabashedly described Iran in an online conversation as “a true friend of the world to those who are directly targeted by the U.S. imperialism.”

Another apologist for Iran, hosted by Press TV, is Shabbir Rizvi. “If I see someone sitting at a table with a Zionist, I’m looking at two Zionists,” Rizvi, who was presented as “a Chicago-based political analyst focusing on U.S. internal security and foreign policy,” said in an October 25, 2023 interview. He also portrayed Hamas as a “resistance” group which “has a right to exist” and labeled the U.S. as “a bad actor.”

Like Adley, Rizvi celebrated Hamas’s rampage. Rizvi, whose allegiance to the clerical regime is unambiguous, also wished that Hamas’s “liberation operation” would be a lesson to Saudi Arabia amid ongoing U.S.-brokered negotiations between the Gulf country and Israel to establish formal ties. Rizvi is a contributor to both Press TV and the Lebanese Iran-aligned Al Mayadeen English website. In his writings, he fiercely defends Iran and its Islamist proxies in Gaza and Lebanon. He recently celebrated “the titanic rise of ‘Axis of Resistance,’ (sic) in 2023” highlighting how the evolving of Iran’s Islamist proxies is “bad news” for the U.S. and Israel.

And yet another American promoted by Press TV is Abbas Muntaqim, an Oakland, California-based pro-Iran Islamist activist. “The Zionist regime has no historical or legal reason to exist,” Muntaqim told Press TV on October 18, 2023.

Just like Adley and Rizvi, Muntaqim celebrated Hamas’s October 7 “historic” attacks, saying they “would not be possible without the help and support of the Islamic Republic of Iran.” “He also wrote, “The Palestinian mujahideen are fighting for Islam and their homeland.”

The pro-Iran Islamist activist also argued on October 19, 2023, that the unity of Muslims — Sunnis and Shiites — is paving the way for the end of “Western imperialism.”

The appearance of U.S.-based journalists and activists on Press TV may seem inconspicuous, yet it shows how Iran conducts a media influence operation targeting Muslims in the West and extremists on both the far-left and far-right in the U.S. While the extent of recruitment of operatives in the U.S. is unclear, but it is undeniable that Iran is ramping up its campaign to shape domestic discourse in the U.S., specifically around its Islamist proxies, and sow divisions. To avoid being caught off guard, Washington should proactively counter Iran’s influence which promotes its Islamist agenda and remain vigilant regarding potential covert operatives.

Romany Shaker is a research analyst monitoring global jihadi and terrorist groups. Islamism news

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UN Security Council demands end to Houthi attacks. Elad Benari Jan 11, 2024, 12:59 AM INN

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Report: Khamenei personally involved in Houthi attacks Israel National News Jan 11, 2024, 2:15 AM INN

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South Africa acting as Hamas’s legal arm, Israel says after ICJ hearing. Pretoria demanded that the ICJ order an immediate end to IDF operations in Gaza • Israeli FM calls proceedings "the greatest show of hypocrisy in history." (January 11, 2024 / JNS) JNS

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IDF exposes massive tunnel in Khan Yunis where hostages were held. (January 11, 2024 / JNS) JNS

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Report raises questions about Qatar’s knowledge of Oct. 7 attack. Doha had a lot to gain from the Hamas assault on southern Israel, Western intelligence officers say.

(January 11, 2024 / JNS) Western intelligence officials interviewed by Politico in recent weeks say that Qatar, a longtime patron of Hamas in Gaza, may have had prior knowledge of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

“We’re still looking into it,” a top intelligence official from a major European country told the U.S. news site when asked if Doha had advanced information about the mass assault. The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the issue, added that there was “smoke,” but no smoking gun. JNS

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ISIS-influenced terrorists planning Jerusalem attacks arrested. The pair planned to plant improvised explosive devices aimed at security forces, and other acts of terror. (January 11, 2024 / JNS) Israeli security forces last month arrested two Palestinians planning Islamic State-inspired terror attacks in Jerusalem, the Israel Police and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) cleared for publication on Thursday morning. JNS

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IDF intelligence: Hamas spent ‘tens of millions’ on Gaza terror tunnels. "We will never let the world forget the hostages being held by Hamas since Oct. 7," the IDF spokesman said.

(January 11, 2024 / JNS) Hamas spent tens of millions of dollars, which was intended for the Gaza Strip, building underground terrorist infrastructure, the Israel Defense Forces said on Thursday evening, citing intelligence findings. JNS

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Iran utilizes Turkey as a support hub for Yemeni proxy the Houthi rebels. January 11, 2024 Iran utilizes Turkey as a support hub for

The US Treasury’s decision to sanction a Turkish company for financing arms transactions to Yemen’s Houthi rebels on behalf of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force is not surprising. Numerous similar shell companies, established in Turkey by Iranian proxies, have been operating without consequences under the oversight of the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Indeed, Al Aman Kargo İthalat İhracat ve Nakliyat Limited Şirketi, an export, import and transportation firm that was sanctioned by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on December 28, 2023, was established just three months after the Erdogan government suppressed the country’s most extensive investigation into the Quds Force network in Turkey.

According to trade registry records, Al Aman was founded on May 5, 2014 by a Syrian national named M. Amin Balid, residing in Aleppo, with 2 million Turkish lira in capital. Its office was located in Istanbul’s conservative Fatih district. The incorporation bylaws indicate that its primary business focus was logistics and transportation services Nordicmonitor

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Iran arrests 35 people in relation to deadly Kerman attacks - Tasnim. By Reuters 01/11/2024 10:11 AM JPost

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Two wounded by stones thrown at passenger bus. By Jerusalem Post Staff 01/11/2024 07:21 PM JPost

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Cyprus chamber sees significant impact from Houthis on shipping. By Reuters 01/11/2024 03:35 PM JPost

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Iran seizes American oil tanker in Gulf of Oman. By Jerusalem Post Staff, Reuters 01/11/2024 04:12 PM JPost

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Seven wounded by Hezbollah rocket fire in Kiryat Shmona - municipality. By Jerusalem Post Staff 01/11/2024 05:18 PM JPost

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Yemen's Houthis leader: Any US attack would not go without a response. By Reuters 01/11/2024 05:31 PM JPost

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‘Hypocritical’ South Africa backing ‘monsters’ bent on actual genocide, Netanyahu charges. 11 Jan 2024, 6:33 pm

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accuses South Africa of “representing monsters” and “accusing Israel of genocide while it is fighting genocide,” saying its case at the Hague is evidence of a “world turned upside down.”

“A terror organization carries out the worst crime against the Jewish people since the Holocaust, and now comes along someone to defend them in the name of the Holocaust,” he says in a video statement. “What chutzpah.”

“South Africa’s hypocrisy cries out from the heavens,” he adds. “Where were you South Africa when millions of people were killed or displaced from their homes in Syria and Yemen, and by whom? By Hamas’s partners.”

Netanyahu defiantly says Israel will “continue battling terrorists… until total victory.”

“We will continue to reject the lies, we will continue to protect our just right to defend ourselves and ensure our future,” he says. TOI

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Montreal man charged with inciting hatred against Jewish community after RCMP investigation.

Joe Lofaro. Updated Jan. 11, 2024 3:46 p.m. EST Published Jan. 11, 2024 2:43 p.m. EST

A Montreal man has been charged with inciting hatred toward an identifiable group after allegedly making anti-Jewish statements on social media.

Houssem Hammami, 37, faces one count of public incitement of hatred, according to a charge sheet filed with the court on Wednesday. The alleged offence happened between Oct. 14 and Nov. 1, 2023, according to the court document, which alleges the accused's actions "is likely to result in a breach of the peace." Montreal.ctvnews

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Toronto Police Service.

MEDIA CENTRE. Corporate Communications responds to all Media Requests and produces News Releases, Factsheets, Feature Stories and Videos as well as maintains tps.ca

News Release. Toronto Man arrested for Public Incitement of Hatred for displaying terrorist flag, Chief Myron Demkiw provides update on reported hate crimes in Toronto, January 2024

Unit: Office of the Chief. Case #: 2024-49032

Published: Thursday, January 11, 2024, 9:51 AM. A 41-year-old Toronto man has been arrested and charged with Public Incitement of Hatred after a large demonstration on Sunday, January, 7, 2024, in the downtown area.

On Sunday, Maged Sameh Hilal Al Khalaf, 41, of Toronto, was arrested and charged after he allegedly marched in the Queen Street West and Bay Street area waving a flag of an organization listed as a terrorist group by Public Safety Canada.

Al Khalaf is scheduled to appear at the Ontario Court of Justice, 10 Armoury Street, on Tuesday, February 23, 2024, at 2 p.m. Tps.ca

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StopAntisemitism @StopAntisemites: Outrageous! PS261, a school in Brooklyn NY, erases Israel from a map of the Middle East and replaces it with “Palestine”.

Teacher Rita Lahoud gives PreK to 5th grade students lessons in the Arab Culture Arts program, funded by Qatar Foundation International.

NYC students deserve better than this! 3:19 PM · Jan 11, 2024 on X

Israel Labeled 'Palestine' in Map Hung in Brooklyn Elementary School. Thursday, January 11, 2024 3:48 PM | By Matis Glenn (QFI) A teacher at a Brooklyn elementary school displayed a map of the middle east which referred to Israel as “Palestine” for several years, sources familiar with the situation told Hamodia.

Rita Lahoud, a Palestinian-American teacher at P.S. 261, hung the map in her classroom, where she teaches a class as part of the school’s Arab Culture Arts Program.

The map, entitled “Arab World,” features countries across the middle east and Africa, including the disputed territory of Western Sahara. Palestine is not recognized as a nation by the United Nations or the United States.

After news of the map came out and the school faced backlash, Principal Erica Davis instructed Lahoud to remove the display, the sources said.

The Arab Culture Arts program is funded by Qatar Foundation International (QFI), the American branch of the Qatar Foundation, an organization controlled by the Qatari ruling family, the New York Post reported.

The school has not released a response to the incident, and has instructed the office to tell members of the media, including Hamodia, that all inquiries should be sent to the Department of Education’s email address.

In a now-deleted post to social media, QFI proudly posted a picture of the map, captioning it with the message: “We love seeing Arabic classroom decorations!”

The Free Press reports that DOE Spokesman Nathaniel Styer said that “this is a map of countries that speak Arabic,” when asked about why Israel is referred to as Palestine.

However, Arabic is spoken by around 20% of Israel’s population; far more than the 2% of Somalians who speak Arabic fluently or who are racially Arab – yet Somalia, a predominantly Muslim country, is featured on the map.

When asked if the map was still on display after the October 7 massacre, Styer reportedly said “Why would it not be?”

The Post reports that QFI has donated over $1 million to the Department of Education between 2019 and 2022.

P.S. 261’s mission statement, featured prominently on the homepage of its website reads: “To create a school community that promotes cross-cultural relationships that value diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice across staff, families, and students.”

At the time of writing, Lahoud’s profile on QFI’s website has been removed, though the page appears on an internet search. Donald Trump Defies Judge, Gives Courtroom Hamodia

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Rashida Tlaib's Embarrassing Tweet About Houthi Airstrikes Gets Slapped With a Fact Check. ([31] AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Matt Vespa, January 11, 2024 10:30 PM

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) is in mourning right now. We blew up a bunch of terrorists who were harassing international shipping routes in the Red Sea. For weeks, Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen were firing ballistic missiles at U.S. warships. TownHall

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‘Impoverished, broken and in pain’: Thousands at Western Wall mass prayer for hostages. With 100 days of captivity fast approaching for abductees, crowds seek their salvation through God. By Canaan Lidor 11 Jan 2024, 4:52 pm TOI

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Fetterman Gives Us Another 'Based' Take on Israel. Rebecca Downs, January 11, 2024 12:45 PM

Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) is trending once more over social media, as he continues to stand by Israel. As Jonathan Feldstein addressed in a column posted Thursday morning, South Africa is bringing genocide charges against Israel in the International Court of Justice (ICJ). That's right, even after Hamas perpetrated a terrorist attack against Israel on October 7, South Africa, which doesn't have such a stellar record itself, is bringing charges against not the aggressor, but the victim. The Democratic senator, in his signature hoodie and shorts, had something to say about that.

On Wednesday, Fetterman was one of several senators who spoke at a luncheon that the Orthodox Union hosted on Capitol Hill. "Who are we, who are they really fighting," he posed. "It's a group of cowards, they hide in tunnels, they hide behind civilians, they attack, kill, and mutilate children," Fetterman went on to remind, sharing the brutal realities that Hamas terrorists have inflicted. "Stop talking about proportion on that," the senator went on to insist, "they shot their best shot on October 7, and they would have taken more lives if they could do that, but they couldn't do it."

Speaking directly about South Africa, Fetterman then addressed how "now we're talking about genocide, and now South Africa now is bringing up that kind of trial. Maybe South Africa maybe ought to sit this one out when they're talking about genocide," he said to applause. "Sit it out," he repeated with a gesture.

A report from Jewish Insider [32] on the event had more on Fetterman's remarks:

“Maybe South Africa ought to sit this one out,” Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) said at a luncheon on Capitol Hill hosted by the Orthodox Union on Wednesday, adding that it’s “appalling” to accuse Israel of genocide “given the history there.”

Israel has the “ability to actually do that, if they wanted to, but they’re there to eliminate Hamas,” Fetterman continued. “Hamas hides behind civilians… If Hamas decided to stand up on a real battlefield, they’d be incinerated in 15 minutes.”

South Africa doesn't just have a history of human rights abuses when it comes to apartheid, but also now is known for the targeting of white farmers while the government looks the other way, a problem former President Barack Obama was accused of ignoring.

Just days after the October 7 attack, Kurt mentioned South Africa in a column of his:

...But if you want to see what is coming down the road, look across the ocean. In South Africa, which had a chance for reconciliation, the leftists in power who share their beliefs with the Hamas and criminal-excusing left in the West (including prominent members of the Democrat Party), are encouraging a bloody pogrom against the remaining “settlers” – most of whom had families settle there 150 or more years ago. Remember that to our domestic enemies, we patriots here in America are “settlers” or “colonizers” – regardless of color, since they reserve a special hatred for normal people who are not white. They want this mass rape and murder to happen here to us as repayment for some kind of corruption of blood. Of course, needless to say, with us gone they can rule unencumbered by our resistance.

The Jewish Insider report highlighted remarks from other senators at the bipartisan event, including Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Ben Cardin (D-MD), and Marco Rubio (R-FL). Also in attendance were Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC), Katie Britt (R-AL), Susan Collins (R-ME), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Tim Scott (R-SC), and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN).

In response to what has shown to be his unwavering support for Israel, social media users are even continuing to offer that they were wrong to be so critical of Fetterman. Some even said they prefer him to his Republican opponent from the November 22 election, Dr. Mehmet Oz.

Others, like Donald Trump Jr., have pointed to Fetterman being "based," even more so than Senate Republicans.

Fetterman has taken common-sense approaches not just on supporting Israel and condemning antisemitism as well as pro-Hamas narratives, but also expressing concern with "pinko" Harvard, China buying land in the United States, and the crisis at the southern border. TownHall

Today’s Most Effective Conservative Senator Speaks Out Again. R. Spencer, Jan 12, 2024

The most courageous and effective conservative voice in the Senate today spoke out again on Wednesday, this time to denounce South Africa’s farcical “genocide” case against Israel at the International Court of Justice. I’m speaking of course, about Sen. John Fetterman (D-What in the World Is Going On?).

Fetterman initially made a name for himself for being barely coherent (if that) and preferring hoodies and gym shorts to suits to the extent that the Senate briefly relaxed its dress code to accommodate him. At that time, even the fact that Fetterman was in the Senate at all seemed like a cruel joke, another expression of the political elites’ contempt for the American people.

The man could barely speak and reportedly could not even understand words spoken to him. His presence in the Senate appeared to demonstrate that the left would put up a department store mannequin as a candidate because the man who was actually holding the office was not the one who was really running things any more than Old Joe Biden is really exercising the responsibilities of the presidency.

And then something happened. After a hospital stay, Fetterman began to speak clearly and coherently, and most strikingly of all, conservatively. Suddenly this man who had never uttered a word that dissented in the slightest degree from his party’s talking points was sounding notes that made him appear to be not just another far-left socialist corruptocrat but a clear-eyed, thoughtful American patriot with the best interests of his constituents and the American people as a whole at heart.

What happened? Did Fetterman, while he was in the hospital, come under the care of a Dr. Frankenstein who laid him down on the table and gave him a new brain, say, Ronald Reagan’s, or at very least John F. Kennedy’s? No one knows, but whatever has happened, it would be a tremendous boon to the nation if every Democrat senator had whatever procedure Fetterman may have had. And no one again knows how long it will last, but for the moment, Fetterman is articulating the case for patriotism and common sense more effectively than any of his Republican colleagues.

On Wednesday, he excoriated South Africa for its hypocrisy in claiming that Israel’s military, which has been called “the most moral army in the history of warfare,” was guilty of genocide, while in South Africa itself, a major political leader led a crowd in singing “Kill the Boer,” and numerous white farmers have indeed been killed.

"Who are they really fighting?,” the New Fetterman asked, referring to Israel’s fight against Palestinian jihadis in Gaza. “It’s a group of cowards. They hide in tunnels, they hide behind civilians, they attack, kill, and mutilate children, women. And they do that. Stop talking about proportion on that. They shot their best shot on October 7th, and they would have taken more lives if they could do that."

Regarding South Africa, he added, Maybe South Africa ought to sit this one out when they’re talking about criticizing the behavior of another nation. Sit out!" There were glimpses of the old Fetterman there in the broken sentences and shaky syntax, but the substance of his remarks was clear, and his point was sound.

Related: Did Fetterman's Stroke Turn Him Into A Moderate Republican?

For years, we have seen patriots turn and join the left — just think of Jonah Goldberg or Matt Drudge or so very many others — and people have often wondered why this only ever seems to go in one direction. John Fetterman is now a singular figure in the modern history of the United States, as the only leftist ever to wake up and start talking sense. What on earth has gotten into him remains a mystery, but we can only hope that it will get into other leftist senators as well.

The whole situation is reminiscent of a time during the Civil War when Abraham Lincoln began to receive complaints about the drinking habits of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant. Lincoln replied that he would like to know what brand of whiskey Grant favored so that he could send a bottle to every general in the Union army.

At this point, that’s exactly how patriots feel about John Fetterman: whatever he’s having, we’ll have one, too. PJMedia

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IDF reveals Hezbollah's lies. Hezbollah published a photo of an individual who was killed in an Israeli strike with the Hezbollah logo. Then it deleted it and published one without the logo. Jan 11, 2024 Israel National News INN

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Iran-backed militias in Iraq: if Yemen is attacked, we will hit an American base. By Maariv Online, Jerusalem Post Staff 01/12/2024 12:37 AM JPost

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US and UK carry out strikes against Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen. By Oren Liebermann, Haley Britzky, Natasha Bertrand, Kevin Liptak, Alex Marquardt, MJ Lee and Jennifer Hansler, CNN. Updated 8:36 PM EST, Thu January 11, 2024

The US and UK militaries launched strikes against multiple Houthi targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen on Thursday, marking a significant response after the Biden administration and its allies warned that the Iran-backed militant group would bear the consequences of repeated drone and missile attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

President Joe Biden said he ordered the strikes “in direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea.”

“Today, at my direction, U.S. military forces—together with the United Kingdom and with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands—successfully conducted strikes against a number of targets in Yemen used by Houthi rebels to endanger freedom of navigation in one of the world’s most vital waterways,” the president said in a statement released by the White House. CNN

US-UK coalition strike Iran-backed Houthi targets in Yemen after spate of ship attacks in Red Sea. Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi militants have stepped up attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea in recent weeks. By Bradford Betz, Fox News. Published January 11, 2024 6:34pm EST ([33] [34])

The United States and Britain carried out a series of air strikes on military locations belonging to Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen early Friday in response to the militant group's ongoing attacks on vessels traveling through the Red Sea.

Fox News is told there were attacks on more than a dozen Houthi targets by air, surface, and subsurface platforms. The attacks were carried out with support from Australia, the Netherlands, Bahrain, and Canada. A U.S. defense official says the U.K. contributed aircraft.

President Biden said he'd authorized the strikes "in direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea—including the use of anti-ship ballistic missiles for the first time in history."

These Houthi attacks, Biden said, have endangered U.S. personnel and its allies and have threatened freedom of navigation.

"These targeted strikes are a clear message that the United States and our partners will not tolerate attacks on our personnel or allow hostile actors to imperil freedom of navigation in one of the world’s most critical commercial routes," the president said.

"I will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and the free flow of international commerce as necessary."

Yemeni Coast Guard boats

The strikes came shortly after the White House called a lid on President Biden's engagements for the evening as he was not expected to discuss the matter publicly. It also follows news that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had not notified the president or other officials of his whereabouts for several days while he was in the ICU at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

A joint statement from the governments of Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand, Southers Korea, and others said in a joint statement that the strikes "were intended to disrupt and degrade the capabilities the Houthis use to threaten global trade and the lives of international mariners in one of the world's most critical waterways."

In anticipation of the attack, Houthi forces transported some weapons and equipment and fortified others, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a U.S. defense official. Local reports indicated Houthi militants were evacuating the Red Sea city of Hodeidah.

The group's leader, Abdel-Malek al-Houthi vowed in a televised speech earlier Thursday that any U.S. attack on Yemen's Houthis would not go without a response. He said any such response would be bigger than the recent strike in which its drones and missiles targeted a U.S. ship in the Red Sea.

"Any American attack will not remain without a response. The response will be greater than the attack that was carried out with twenty drones and a number of missiles," he said.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak briefed his cabinet of ministers late Thursday on the imminent military intervention.

British media also reported that other political figures, including the leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party, Keir Starmer, as well as the speaker of the House of Commons, had been briefed by the government.

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby called on the Houthis earlier Thursday to "stop these attacks," saying that the terrorist group would "bear the consequences for any failure to do so."

The joint strike came after Iranian forces seized an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman early Thursday morning. The seized vessel was in transit to Turkey when the Iranian naval forces boarded and seized the vessel, Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters.

"The key for military action in Yemen is to respond in a way that does not lead to a never-ending tit-for-tat. That has been the administration’s approach in Syria and Iraq, and it has failed," said Richard Goldberg, a Senior Adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a former National Security Council official told Fox News Digital in a statement.

"The president needs to fundamentally change the calculus for Iran and its proxies. Has President Biden ordered the Houthis to be re-listed as a foreign terrorist organization? President Biden ordered the $10 billion for Iran to be frozen? Will any IRGC targets in Yemen, or Iran's intelligence cargo ship be targeted? These are all relevant questions that help inform what the policy is and whether deterrence will actually be restored."

Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi militants have stepped up attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea in recent weeks in protest against Israel's war in Gaza. Various shipping lines have suspended operations, instead taking the longer journey around Africa.

Fourteen countries, including the U.S., issued a joint statement last week saying: "The Houthis will bear the responsibility for the consequences should they continue to threaten lives, the global economy, or the free flow of commerce in the region's critical waterways."

The U.S. military said the Houthis earlier on Thursday had staged their 27th attack on shipping since Nov. 19, firing an anti-ship ballistic missile into international shipping lanes in the Gulf of Aden.

Earlier this week, U.S. and British naval forces shot down drones and missiles fired by the Houthis toward the southern Red Sea after the Royal Navy warship HMS Diamond was attacked.

The Houthis, who seized much of Yemen in a civil war, have vowed to attack ships linked to Israel or bound for Israeli ports. However, many of the targeted ships have had no links to Israel. Fox News

Many British and American warplanes in Yemeni airspace - report. By Maariv Online, Jerusalem Post Staff 01/12/2024 01:23 AM JPost

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Jewish students sue Harvard University over campus antisemitism. Elad Benari Jan 12, 2024, 5:20 AM INN

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Belgium: Police stop bus over 'terrorist' conversation Israel National News Jan 12, 2024, 6:48 AM INN

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IDF eliminates commanders in Hamas' Nukhba Force. Israel National News Jan 12, 2024, 8:57 AM INN

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Testimony from Rafah: 'Hamas trim their beards and steal everything'. Or Yisraeli Jan 12, 2024, 9:47 AM INN

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Australia says it provided personnel support for US, UK strikes in Yemen. By Reuters 01/12/2024 05:42 AM JPost

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Lebanon's Hezbollah condemns US-Britain strike on Houthis in Yemen. By Jerusalem Post Staff 01/12/2024 08:11 AM JPost

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Live: Israel in Hague hearing: 'Hamas tortured, burned, raped and abducted - Israel justified in actions'. Following South Africa's charges against IDF, Israel's team, led by Prof. Malcolm Shaw, will refute these claims and prove Hamas' crimes that sparked the Gaza war. Yael Ciechanover, Nadav Eyal, The Hague | published:Jan 12, 2024 04:23 YNet

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'Hamas tortured children, burned babies'.

At the International Court of Justice, Israel responds to South Africa's accusations of 'genocide' in Gaza, explains Gaza war is direct result of October 7 massacre. Israel National News Jan 12, 2024, 12:27 PM INN

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Israel says found evidence of Hamas military activity in every Gaza hospital.

As the session at The Hague restarted Galit Raguan, acting director of the international justice division at Israel’s justice ministry, took the floor. She attributed the high civilian toll in Gaza to Hamas. She stated that more than 23,000 people have died in Israeli attacks since October 7, noting that "Urban warfare will always result in civilian harm." According to Raguan, these deaths, while unfortunate, may be a lawful consequence of targeting military objectives and do not equate to genocide. She further explained that Hamas exacerbates civilian casualties by operating within civilian areas, including schools and hospitals. She further argued that the IDF has so far found evidence of Hamas military activity in every single hospital in the Gaza Strip, and has done so in surgical special forces operations rather than indiscriminately bombing medical facilities as claimed by the Palestinians. (Ynetnews) YNet

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Israel Defends Itself Against the "Genocide" Blood Libel. Yair Amar, JFeed Staff | 12.01.24 ...The defense has focused on the importance of words such as genocide not being infinitely elastic and certainly not an adjective for the intensity of fighting in war, on Israel defending itself against a barbaric and unprovoked attack, and the fact that Israel has taken many steps to ensure the safety and well-being of Palestinian civilians.

They also argued that the fact that some soldiers or MKs make reckless or extreme statements matters only if the soldiers act on those impulses, in which case the Israeli legal system can handle it, or if the MKs have an influence on actual war policy, which they do not. JFeed

The Israeli team in The Hague: "Hamas is causing people to die, thousands of missiles fell in Gaza."

Israel presented its claims in the hearing against it at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. A team of lawyers presented the claims of Israel's defense and sought to attack the gaps in the accusations presented by South Africa • Representatives of abducted families are at the hearing, Dr. Becker - "Many of them were tortured, executed. The petitioners presented an extremely distorted legal picture" • Prof. Shaw: Minister Eliyahu? "Not one of the decision-makers", the MKs' statements? "Randomities" • Dr. Gil-ad Noam: "The applicant tried to mislead the court."

Yuval Arel, N12. Updated: 12.01.2024, 14:13 The hearing of South Africa's claim against Israel, in which it accuses it of genocide in Gaza, was held today (Friday) at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. This morning, Israel is responding to the harsh claims and accusations voiced by the South African representatives through a senior and experienced team of legal experts, led by Prof. Malcolm Shaw - a world-renowned British expert on international law, and experienced in representation at the High Court of Justice. The following will also argue on behalf of the Israeli legal team: Dr. Tal Becker, Dr. Galit Rajvan, Dr. Omri Sander, Dr. Christopher Striker and Dr. Gil-Ad Noam.

The hearing at the court - minute by minute.

14:13 - The hearing in The Hague is over: Israel asked to remove South Africa's claim from the agenda and reject the request for a cease-fire order.

13:56 - Dr. Gil-ad Noam: defining the case as genocide "will weaken the treaty".

The last speaker on behalf of the Israeli delegation, Dr. Gil-ad Noam, summarizes the arguments of the speakers and holds that South Africa "tried to mislead the court." Dr. Noam, who serves as the deputy attorney general advising the government on international law, added And said: "Israel's commitment to the rule of law has remained the same despite the challenges we face

We stand before them as a country.  We are committed to all the conditions that appear in our Declaration of Independence - which specifically speak of UN laws, which must be complied with."

"Trying to define this case as genocide, not only is it not based on the law, but it also has negative consequences that are above and beyond the case before us. In the end, if we grant the applicant's request, it will not strengthen the Genocide Convention, but a weakening. The same tools adopted by the international community in order to prevent shocking incidents like the Holocaust, and subject it to a terrorist organization that has no respect for the law, an enemy that hides behind citizens - after all, anything like that has nothing to do with the convention, especially when a country is trying to defend itself against terrorist organizations ".

Dr. Christopher Striker, an Australian expert on international law who claims on behalf of the Israeli delegation: "The suffering and damage of any conflict is not in itself a form of activity that shows intent to commit genocide. This interim order is therefore not within the scope of the court's authority, but beyond anything done in order to maintain the rights and activities within the framework of the treaty, but they want to stop the entire fighting."

Dr. Stiker described a hypothetical scenario in which such a discussion would have been held during World War II, and would have required the Allies to surrender. Consider whether the allied forces really committed genocide. Interim orders must have limitations. Can an interim order require a country to change its government? Or vote in a certain way in the general assembly? The answer must be - no. The state must have the reasonable right to defend itself."

He also added: "An organization recognized as a terrorist organization by the world is committing atrocities against another country, and now a third country is asking this court for an interim order that prevents the country from responding, but does not prevent the terrorists' side from acting. These orders will help the other side and encourage the execution of additional terrorist acts ".

13:13 - Dr. Omri Sander, the fourth speaker on behalf of the Israeli delegation began to deliver his remarks

Dr. Sander listed and detailed the humanitarian aid that Israel provides to the Gaza population. "This is the daily work of many people in Israel, from many authorities, which is designed to ensure that things do happen on the ground, while they and their family members themselves are under continuous attack. The thought that there is a lack of humanitarian aid, or that we do not allow aid to be transferred to Gaza - this should not be said lightly."

In her words, Dr. Rejuan will address three key points: the first of which is Hamas's military strategy, the second is Israel's efforts to reduce harm to civilians during the fighting, and the third is Israel's attempt to "mitigate the humanitarian difficulty in Gaza despite the difficulties that Hamas is raising".

Dr. Rejuan demonstrated through photos Hamas's use of civilian infrastructure - including hospitals and UN buildings - as terrorist and weapons bases. "In the current conflict, many civilian deaths are directly caused by Hamas. Trapped houses explode and kill, exploding alleys lead to the destruction of houses around them, and more than 2,000 rockets accidentally fired by Hamas fell in Gaza and caused destruction."

"Yesterday, South Africa stated that Israel gave a day's warning to civilians in the northern Gaza Strip to evacuate. In fact, the IDF asked civilians to evacuate to the southern Gaza Strip for three weeks until it launched the ground offensive. Three weeks that provided Hamas with advance knowledge of the places where the IDF would operate. The applicant (South Africa) distorts this fact - this distortion is at best a lack of familiarity with the events, and at worst - a desire to sew their story into a pre-prepared narrative."

12:03 - Prof. Shaw: "Soldiers may have violated some of the laws of war, but these offenses will be discussed in the serious and robust legal system of the State of Israel."

Prof. Shaw continued to argue before the judges of the tribunal and addressed, among other things, the arguments of the petitioners regarding the statements of the members of the government and pointed out that they are random and do not reflect Israeli policy. "Regarding this case, there are only a few random statements here that help us determine whether or not Israel has the intention to completely or partially destroy the Palestinian people (...) Israeli soldiers may have violated some of the laws of war, but these offenses will be tried in the serious justice system and the strength of the State of Israel."

"It must be examined whether certain statements made there are consistent with the policies and decisions that were made," added Prof. Shaw, referring to the statement of Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu, who said that one of the options is to drop an atomic bomb on Gaza. "Let's look at some of the quotes that were presented that are not in line with the government's policy and at best are misleading. Let's take for example the words of the Minister of Heritage who is not included in the decision-making process and the policy of the war. His words were immediately condemned by the members of the War Cabinet, as well as by other ministers and even by the Prime Minister".

He also noted that the IDF makes considerable efforts to prevent the killing of civilians and encountered the fact that "the terrorists use civilians as human shields".

11:34 - The second speaker on behalf of Israel, Prof. Malcolm Shaw, began to argue before the judges of the court

"First of all, I would like to talk about the matter of the context. The context is the one that creates the framework when we talk about this petition," Prof. Shaw began his words. "South Africa, in its petition, uses the word 'context' many times. In particular, it states that it is important to include the word 'genocide' in the broad sense of Israel's behavior against the Palestinians during the 75 years of the apartheid regime. If we are not talking about the exaggeration, why Only 75? Why aren't we talking about 1922, when the Commonwealth of Nations declared the right of the State of Israel to exist, or in the Balfour Declaration, before that? And perhaps also the entry of the Israeli tribes into the Land of Israel 3,500 years ago?"

"After all, the immediate context for the genocide at the hands of South Africa is on October 7, when Hamas terrorists raided the borders of the recognized state of Israel and committed unknown atrocities," he emphasized. "These events are the ones that really constitute the context that South Africa should have talked about, if it is talking about genocide, in such a situation."

11:33 - Dr. Becker: "We don't want to harm the civilian population, we don't want to uproot it. May the two nations live in peace."

The new property tax in the BIM - "the neighborhood has an improvement potential that has not yet been realized."

"The legal goals in Gaza were undoubtedly stated by the Prime Minister, the Minister of Defense and all members of the Cabinet," added the first spokesman on behalf of Israel. "As the Prime Minister said this week, Israel is fighting the terrorism of Hamas and not the civilian population. Israel wants to ensure that Gaza is no longer used as a place from which missiles can be sent, and does not wish to displace its residents. It wants to create a better future, for both Israelis and Palestinians, when both nations They will be able to live in peace, they will prosper and flourish, and the Palestinians will have the power to govern themselves, but not the ability to threaten Israel."

"If there is a threat to this vision, if there is a humanitarian threat to the citizens of Gaza, this is mainly due to the fact that they live under the regime of an organization, an organization that engages in genocide and does not care about their well-being. That organization, Hamas, and its supporters, wish to deny Israel and the Palestinians the ability to develop A shared future of peace, coexistence and prosperity. Israel is in a defensive war against Hamas, not against the Palestinian citizens, to ensure that they do not succeed in their mission. Under these circumstances, the accusation is so false and so untrue towards Israel."

11:22 - Israel's representative at the debate: "South Africa has close ties with Hamas."

"If there is room for an interim order, this interim order should be against South Africa," added Dr. Tal Becker. "South Africa is known to have close ties with Hamas, despite the fact that many countries recognize Hamas as a terrorist organization. These relations continued without interruption even after the horrors of October 7. South Africa is very happy about its ties and brags about ties with senior Hamas officials. To deceive a senior Hamas delegation that visited South Africa for a solidarity meeting a few weeks after the massacre. South Africa is thus essentially reneging on its commitment to the Convention. It is now being asked to meet its obligations, to put an end to its rhetoric regarding the delegitimization of the existence of the State of Israel."

11:10 - Dr. Becker notes in his words that families of abductees are present in the courtroom: "About 240 people were kidnapped, including people with disabilities, Holocaust survivors, families, women and children. Some of them were executed, many of them were tortured, sexually assaulted and are being starved to death in captivity. The representatives of the families of the abductees are here with us in court today, and we acknowledge their presence and the great suffering they are experiencing." In the courtroom are Ayala Yahami Luzon, sister of Ohad Yahami, who was kidnapped from his home in Nir Oz, and Danny Miren, the father of Omri who was kidnapped from Nahal Oz.

"This is the largest mass murder of Jews in one day since the Holocaust. We are not doing this because these acts, as cruel and sadistic as they are, release Israel from its obligation to obey the law while protecting its citizens. There is no doubt about this. We do this because it is not possible to understand the fighting in Gaza without understanding the nature of the threat that the State of Israel is facing."

Dr. Becker presented the photos of the abductees who were held and are still being held by the terrorist organization Hamas. Are the images of these people that are now appearing on the screens, are these people not entitled to protection? Hamas is not a party to this process. The petitioners, according to her request, are trying to deny Israel the basic right to defend itself, and not just to allow Hamas not to be guilty of murder."

11:00 - 15:00 The judges entered and sat down in the hearing room - Israel will present its arguments, permission to speak was given to Dr. Tal Becker: "Given the history of the Jewish people, and its founding text, it is not surprising that Israel was among the first countries to ratify the Third Nuside without any reservation, and she incorporated the articles of the convention into legislation in the State of Israel.

For some people the slogan 'never again' is just a slogan, for Israel it is a moral imperative."

"Today, they try to use the term genocide in the context of the conduct of the State of Israel in a war that it did not start, and which it did not want," added Dr. Becker. "A war in which Israel is defending itself from Hamas, from the Islamic Jihad and from terrorist organizations More, whose brutality knows no bounds. As in any war, the suffering of the Palestinians in this war is extremely difficult, it is heartbreaking (...) The petitioners, unfortunately, presented an extremely distorted legal picture. Their whole case depends on some kind of collection of manipulative description of the current actions."

10:45 - The parties enter the hearing room, outside the court - pro-Palestinian demonstrations.

10:30 - In this morning's debate, Israel is expected to focus on issues that were omitted from the claims presented yesterday, mainly - the October 7 massacre and the kidnapping of approximately 240 Israeli citizens who were held by Hamas terrorists for approximately 100 days. During the debate, Israel will present evidence of the brutal acts and claim that the fighting in Gaza is a response to the terrorist acts of Hamas.

On top of that, Israel will refer to its efforts to avoid harming Gazan citizens as much as possible, in contrast to the terrorist organization's use of the civilian population as a human shield. These arguments are important from a legal point of view, because if the South Africans attribute to Israel an intention to commit genocide, the Israeli defense will argue the opposite: in Israel, they make an effort to avoid civilians.

After yesterday the South Africans anchored their claims in the statements of leaders and government members... Israel will claim that these statements are not translated into decisions made on the ground. Globes

Yaari Cohen @YaariCohen: Dr. Tal Becker, @IsraelMFA's brilliant Legal Adviser gave a searing speech at the ICJ yesterday, here is the full speech as requested:

Madame President, Distinguished Members of the Court,

It is an honor to appear before you again on behalf of the State of Israel.

1.The State of Israel is singularly aware of why the Genocide Convention, which has been invoked in these proceedings, was adopted. Seared in our collective memory is the systematic murder of six million Jews as part of a pre-meditated and heinous program for their total annihilation.

2.Given the Jewish people’s history, it is not surprising that Israel was among the first States to ratify the Genocide Convention, without reservation, and to incorporate its provisions in its domestic legislation. For some, the promise of “Never Again” for all peoples is a slogan; for Israel, it is the highest moral obligation.

3.Raphael Lemkin, a Polish Jew who witnessed the unspeakable horrors of the Holocaust, is credited with coining the term Genocide. He helped the world recognize that the existing legal lexicon was simply inadequate to capture the devasting evil that the Nazi Holocaust unleashed.

4.The Applicant has now sought to invoke this term in the context of Israel’s conduct in a war it did not start and did not want. A war in which Israel is defending itself against Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and other terrorist organizations whose brutality knows no bounds.

5.The civilian suffering in this war, like in all wars, is tragic. It is heartbreaking. The harsh realities of the current hostilities are made especially agonizing for civilians given Hamas’s reprehensible strategy of seeking to maximize civilian harm to both Israelis and Palestinians, even as Israel seeks to minimize it.

6.But, as this Court has already made clear, the Genocide Convention was not designed to address the brutal impact of intensive hostilities on the civilian population, even when the use of force raises “very serious issues of international law” and involves “enormous suffering” and “continuing loss of life”. The Convention was set apart to address a malevolent crime of the most exceptional severity.

7.We live at a time when words are cheap. In an age of social media and identity politics, the temptation to reach for the most outrageous term, to vilify and demonize, has become for many irresistible. But if there is one place where words should still matter, where truth should still matter, it is surely a court of law.

8.The Applicant has regrettably put before the Court a profoundly distorted factual and legal picture. The entirety of its case hinges on a deliberately curated, decontextualized, and manipulative description of the reality of current hostilities.

9.South Africa purports to come to this Court in the lofty position of a guardian of the interest of humanity. But in delegitimizing Israel’s 75-year existence in its opening presentation, that broad commitment to humanity rang hollow. And in its sweeping counter-factual description of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it seemed to erase both Jewish history and any Palestinian agency or responsibility. Indeed, the Application delegitimization of Israel since its very establishment in 1948 in its submissions, sounded barely distinguishable from Hamas’s own rejectionist rhetoric.

10.It is unsurprising, therefore, that in the Applicant’s telling, both Hamas’s responsibility for the situation in Gaza, and the very humanity of its Israeli victims are removed from view.

11.The attempt to weaponize the term genocide against Israel in the present context, does more than tell the Court a grossly distorted story, and it does more than empty the word of its unique force and special meaning. It subverts the object and purpose of the Convention itself – with ramifications for all States seeking to defend themselves against those who demonstrate total disdain for life and for the law.

Madame President, Members of the Court,

12.On Saturday, October 7, a Jewish religious holiday, thousands of Hamas and other militants breached Israel’s sovereign territory by sea, land, and air, invading over twenty Israeli communities, bases and the site of a music festival. What proceeded, under the cover of thousands of rockets fired indiscriminately into Israel, was the wholesale massacre, mutilation, rape and abduction of as many citizens as the terrorists could find before Israel’s security forces repelled them. Openly displaying elation, they tortured children in front of their parents, and parents in front of their children, burned people, including infants, alive, and systematically raped and mutilated scores of women, men and children. All told, some 1,200 people were butchered that day, more than 5,500 maimed, and some 240 hostages abducted, including infants, entire families, persons with disabilities and Holocaust survivors, some of whom have since been executed; many of whom have been tortured, sexually abused and starved in captivity. Representatives of the hostages’ families are in this Court room today and we acknowledge their presence and their boundless suffering.

13.We know of the brutality of October 7 not only from the harrowing testimonies of the survivors, the unmistakable proof of carnage and sadism left behind, and the forensic evidence taken at the scene. We know it because the assailants proudly filmed and broadcast their barbarism.

14.The events of that day are all but ignored in the Applicant’s submissions. But we are compelled to share with the Court some fraction of its horror - the largest calculated mass murder of Jews in a single day since the Holocaust.

15.We do so not because these acts - however sadistic and systematic - release Israel of its obligations to uphold the law as it defends its citizens and territory. That is unquestionable. We do so rather because it is impossible to understand the armed conflict in Gaza, without appreciating the nature of the threat Israel is facing, and the brutality and lawlessness of the armed force confronting it.

16. In the Volume of materials submitted to Members of the Court access has been provided to a portion of the raw footage for separate screening. But I am obliged to put before the Court today some small fragment of the scenes of unfathomable cruelty that took place in hundreds of locations on that horrible day.

17.Johnny Siman Tov, a wheat farmer, and his wife Tamar, an activist for women’s rights, lived in Kibbutz Nir Oz. When the rocket fire started, they hid in the safe room with their 4 year-old son, Omer, and their 6 year-old twins, Arbel and Shachar. During their rampage, Hamas militants set fire to their house. Johnny texted his sister Ranae “They’re here. They’re burning us. We’re suffocating”. The whole family was burned alive, to ashes, making DNA identification especially difficult.

18.A survivor of the Nova music festival massacre testified to police to witnessing a Hamas militant brutally raping a young woman, as another militant cut off her breast and toyed with it. A second militant then raped her again, shooting her in the head while still inside her.

19.In one video recorded by a home surveillance system, a Hamas militant throws a grenade into a safe room where a father and his two sons have rushed to hide. The father is killed; the two sons are injured and bleeding as a militant pulls them into the living room. One child can be heard screaming to his brother, “Why am I alive? I can’t see anything. They’re going to kill us”. The militant casually opens the fridge, takes out a bottle and drinks.

20.And then there is this [Screen Clip 1]: [In yet another recording, a Hamas militant called Mahmoud, is heard excitedly calling his parents from Kibbutz Mefalsim. “Open my Whatsapp” he says “Look how many I killed with my own hands. Your son killed Jews!”. “I’m talking to you from a Jewish woman’s phone. I killed her and I killed her husband. I killed ten with my own hands!”. “Dad, ten with my own hands” he shouts with palpable joy. “Mom, your son is hero”, he says].

21.As stated, none of these atrocities absolve Israel of its obligations under the law. But they do enable the Court to appreciate three core aspects of the present proceedings, which the Applicant has obscured from view.

22.First, that if there have been acts that may be characterized as genocidal, then they have been perpetrated against Israel. If there is a concern about the obligations of States under the Genocide Convention, then it is in relation to their responsibilities to act against Hamas’s proudly declared agenda of annihilation, which is not a secret, and is not in doubt.

23.The annihilationist language of Hamas’s Charter is repeated regularly by its leaders, with the goal, in the words of one member Hamas’s political bureau, of the “cleansing of Palestine of the filth of the Jews”. It is expressed no less chillingly in the words of senior Hamas member, Ghazi Hamad, to Lebanese Television on October 24th, 2023 who refers to the October 7th attacks, what Hamas calls the Al Aqsa Flood, as follows: [Screen clip 2] [“The Al Aqsa Flood”, he says “is just the first time, and there will be a second, a third and a fourth”]. In the continuation of this interview, Hamad is asked: “Does that mean the annihilation of Israel”. “Yes, of course.” he answers. “The existence of Israel is illogical”; and then says “Nobody should blame us for the things we do. On October 7, October 10, October 1,000,0000 – everything we do is justified”. Given that on October 7, before any military response by Israel, South Africa issued an official statement blaming Israel for the “recent conflagration”, - essentially blaming Israel for the murder of its own citizens - one wonders whether the Applicant agrees.

24.Second, it is in response to the slaughter of October 7 – which Hamas openly vows to repeat - and to the ongoing attacks against it from Gaza, that Israel has the inherent right to take all legitimate measures to defend its citizens and secure the release of the hostages. This right is also not in doubt. It has been acknowledged by States across the world.

25.Astonishingly, the Court has been requested to indicate a provisional measure calling on Israel to suspend its military operations. But this amounts to an attempt to deny Israel its ability to meet its legal obligations to the defense of its citizens, to the hostages, and to over 110,000 internally displaced Israelis unable to safely return to their homes.

26.The Applicant in its submissions to the Court makes almost no mention of the ongoing humanitarian suffering of Israel’s citizens at the hands of Hamas, and treats the hostages still held in captivity, as barely afterthought. But is there a reason these people [on your screen] are unworthy of protection? [Show slide - 3]

27.Hamas is not party to these proceedings. The Applicant, by its request, seeks to thwart Israel’s inherent right to defend itself – to let Hamas not just get away with its murder, literally, but render Israel defenseless as Hamas continues to commit it.

28.Yesterday, Counsel for the Applicant made the astonishing claim that Israel was denied this right, and as a matter of fact should not be able to protect itself from Hamas’ attacks. But allow me to draw attention to these words written by Professor Lowe: “The source of the attack, whether a state or non-state actor, is irrelevant to the existence of the right” to self-defense. “Force may be used to avert a threat because no-one, and no state, is obliged by law passively to suffer the delivery of an attack”. Israel agrees with these words, as I suspect would any sovereign State.

29.If the claim of the Applicant now is that in the armed conflict between Israel and Hamas, Israel must be denied the ability to defend its citizens – then the absurd upshot of South Africa’s argument is this: Under the guise of the allegation against Israel of genocide, this Court is asked to call for an end to operations against the ongoing attacks of an organization that pursues an actual genocidal agenda. An organization that has violated every past ceasefire and used it to rearm and plan new atrocities. An organization that declares its unequivocal resolve to advance its genocidal plans. That is an unconscionable request, and it is respectfully submitted that it cannot stand.

30.Third, the Court is informed of the events of October 7 because, if there are any Provisional Measures that should appropriately be indicated here, they are indeed with respect to South Africa itself.

31.It is a matter of public record, that South Africa enjoys close relations with Hamas, despite its formal recognition as a terrorist organization by numerous States across the world. These relations have continued unabated even after the October 7 atrocities. South Africa has long hosted and celebrated its ties with Hamas figures, including a senior Hamas delegation that – incredibly – visited the country for a “solidarity gathering” just weeks after the massacre.

32.In justifying instituting these proceedings, South Africa makes much of its obligations under the Genocide Convention. It seems fitting, then, that it be instructed to comply with those obligations itself; to end its own language of de-legitimization of Israel’s existence; end its support for Hamas; and to use its influence with this organization so that Hamas permanently ends its campaign of genocidal terror and releases the hostages.

Madame President, Members of the Court,

33.The hostilities between Israel and Hamas have exacted a terrible toll on both Israelis and Palestinians. But any genuine effort to understand the cause of this toll must take account of the horrendous reality created by Hamas within the Gaza Strip.

34.When Israel withdrew all its soldiers and civilians from Gaza in 2005 it left a coastal area with the potential to become a political and economic success story. Hamas’s violent take-over in 2007 changed all that. Over the past 16 years of its rule, Hamas has smuggled countless weapons into Gaza, and has diverted billions in international aid, not to build schools, hospitals or shelters to protect its population from the dangers of the attacks it launched against Israel over many years, but rather to turn massive swathes of the civilian infrastructure into perhaps the most sophisticated terrorist stronghold in the history of urban warfare.

35.Remarkably, counsel for South Africa described the suffering in Gaza as “unparalleled and unprecedented”, as if they are unaware of the utter devastation wrought in wars that have raged just in recent years around the world. Sadly, the civilian suffering in warfare is not unique to Gaza. What is actually “unparalleled and unprecedented” is the degree to which Hamas has entrenched itself within the civilian population, and made Palestinian civilian suffering an integral part of its strategy.

36.Hamas has systematically and unlawfully embedded its military operations, militants and assets throughout Gaza within and beneath densely populated civilian areas. It has built an extensive warren of underground tunnels for its leaders and fighters several hundred miles in length throughout the Strip, with thousands of access points and terrorist hubs located in homes, mosques, UN facilities, schools and perhaps most shockingly hospitals.

37.This is not an occasional tactic. It is an integrated, preplanned, extensive and abhorrent method of warfare. Purposely and methodically murdering civilians. Firing rockets indiscriminately. Systematically using civilians, sensitive sites and civilian objects as shields. Stealing and hoarding humanitarian supplies - allowing those under its control to suffer, so that it can fuel its fighters and terrorist campaign.

38.The appalling suffering of civilians – both Israeli and Palestinian – is first and foremost the result of this despicable strategy; the horrible cost of Hamas not only failing to protect its civilians but actively sacrificing them for its own propaganda and military benefit. And if Hamas abandons this strategy, releases the hostages and lays down its arms, the hostilities and suffering would end.

Madame President, Members of the Court,

39.There are many distortions in the Applicant’s submission to the Court, but as shall be demonstrated by Counsel, there is one that overshadows them all. In the Applicant’s telling, it is almost as if there is no intensive armed conflict taking place between two parties at all, no grave threat to Israel and its citizens, only an Israeli assault against Gaza.

40.The Court is told of widespread damage to buildings, but it is not told, for example, how many thousands of these buildings were destroyed because they were booby trapped by Hamas, how many became legitimate targets because of the strategy of using civilian objects and protected sites for military purposes, how many buildings were struck by over 2000 indiscriminate terrorist rockets that misfired and landed in Gaza itself.

41.The Court is told of over 23,000 casualties, as the Applicant repeats, as many have, unverified statistics provided by Hamas itself – hardly a reliable source. Every civilian casualty in this conflict is a human tragedy that demands our compassion. But the Court is not told how many thousands of casualties are in fact militants, how many were killed by Hamas fire, how many were civilians taking direct part in hostilities, and just how many are the tragic result of legitimate and proportionate use of force against military targets.

42.And the Court is also told of the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, but it is not told of Hamas’s practice of stealing and hoarding aid, it is not told of the extensive Israeli efforts to mitigate civilian harm, of the humanitarian initiatives being undertaken to enable the flow of supplies and provide medical attention to the wounded.

43.The Applicant purports to describe the reality in Gaza. But it is as if Hamas, and its total contempt for civilian life, just do not exist as a direct cause of that reality. Hamas is widely estimated to have over 30,000 fighters and is known to bring minors no older than 15 or 16 into its ranks. They are coming for us. But, in South Africa’s telling, they have all but disappeared. There are no explosives in mosques and schools and children’s bedrooms, no ambulances used to transport fighters, no tunnels and terrorist hubs under sensitive sites, no fighters dressed as civilians, no commandeering of aid trucks, no firing from civilian homes, UN facilities and even safe zones. There is only Israel acting in Gaza.

44.The Applicant is essentially asking the Court to substitute the lens of armed conflict between a State and a lawless terrorist organization, with the lens of a so-called genocide of a State against a civilian population. But it is not offering the Court a lens, it is offering it a blindfold.

Madame President, Members of the Court

43.The nightmarish environment created by Hamas has been concealed by the Applicant, but it is the environment in which Israel is compelled to operate. Israel is committed, as it must be, to comply with the law, but it does so in the face of Hamas’s utter contempt for the law. It is committed, as it must be, to demonstrate humanity, but it does so in the face of Hamas’s utter inhumanity

44.As will be presented by Counsel, these commitments are a matter of express government policy, military directives and procedures. They are also an expression of Israel’s core values. And, as shall also be shown, they are matched by genuine measures on the ground to mitigate civilian harm under the unprecedented and excruciating conditions of warfare created by Hamas.

45.It is plainly inconceivable – under the terms set by this very Court - that a State conducting itself in this way may be said to be engaged in Genocide, not even prima facie.

46.The key component of genocide - the intention to destroy a people in whole or in part - is totally lacking. What Israel seeks by operating in Gaza is not to destroy a people, but to protect a people, its people, who are under attack on multiple fronts, and to do so in accordance with the law, even as it faces a heartless enemy determined to use that very commitment against it.

47.As will be detailed by Counsel, Israel’s lawful aims in Gaza have been clearly and repeatedly articulated by its Prime Minister, its Defense Minister, and all members of the War Cabinet. As the Prime Minister reiterated yet again just this week “Israel is fighting Hamas terrorists, not the civilian population”.

48.Israel aims to ensure that Gaza can never again be used as a launch pad for terrorism. As the Prime Minister reaffirmed, Israel seeks neither to permanently occupy Gaza or to displace its civilian population. It wants to create a better future for Israelis and Palestinians alike, where both can live in peace, thrive and prosper, and where the Palestinian people have all the power to govern themselves, but not the capacity to threaten Israel.

49.If there is a threat to that vision - if there is a humanitarian threat to the Palestinian civilians of Gaza - it stems primarily from the fact that they have lived under the control of a genocidal terrorist organization that has total disregard for their life and well-being. That organization, Hamas, and its sponsors, seek to deny Israel, Palestinians, and Arab States across the region, the ability to advance a common future of peace, co-existence, security, and prosperity. Israel is in a war of defense against Hamas - not against the Palestinian people - to ensure that they do not succeed.

50.In these circumstances, there can hardly be a charge more false or more malevolent than the allegation against Israel of genocide.

51.The Applicant has, regrettably, engaged in a transparent attempt to abuse the Convention’s compulsory jurisdiction mechanism, and in particular the Provisional Measures phase of proceedings, to bring under the purview of the Court matters over which, in truth, it lacks jurisdiction.

52.Madame President, Members of the Court, the Genocide Convention was a solemn promise made to the Jewish people, to all peoples, of “Never Again”. The Applicant invites the Court to betray that promise. If the term genocide can be so diminished in the way it advocates, if Provisional Measures can be triggered in the way it suggests, the Convention becomes an aggressor’s charter. It will reward, indeed encourage, the terrorists who hide behind civilians, at the expense of the States seeking to defend against them.

53.To maintain the integrity of the Genocide Convention, to maintain its promise, and the Court’s own role as its guardian, it is respectfully submitted that this Application and Request should be dismissed for what they are – a libel, designed to deny Israel the right to defend itself according to the law from the unprecedented terrorist onslaught it continues to face, and to free the 136 hostages Hamas still holds.

54.I thank you for your kind attention. May I ask, Madame President, that you call Professor Shaw to the podium. Jan 13, 2024 on X

_______

The International Court Of "Injustice" Begins Its Blood Libel Trial Against Israel. by Alan M. Dershowitz. January 12, 2024 at 5:00 am

-What is the International Court of Justice? It is not international, because it excludes judges from certain countries. It is not a real court, because the judges are selected by their countries and many of them simply follow the instructions of those who appointed them. And it has never done justice, because it has long been biased against Israel. It is the United Nations court, and that tells you all you need to know about it.

-The United Nations has become the megaphone of bigotry and anti-Semitism.... Both the United Nations and its court are shams.

-It is the Hamas charter that calls for genocide against the Jews of Israel, and it is South Africa that is harboring Hamas terrorists and defending its murders and rapes. It should be Hamas that is on trial for attempted genocide and South Africa that is on trial for complicity with Hamas. Instead, the nation-state of the Jewish people is being accused of a blood libel, despite going to great lengths to avoid civilian casualties in its legitimate efforts to destroy Hamas.

-The evidence is indisputable that Hamas has committed numerous war crimes.

-Were the International Court of Justice to falsely conclude that Israel was guilty of genocide, it would destroy whatever remaining credibility that court might have. If that were to happen, the United States and some other nations should and probably would leave the court: it would not deserve the legitimacy afforded by membership of any decent country.

What is the International Court of Justice? It is not international, because it excludes judges from certain countries. It is not a real court, because the judges are selected by their countries and many of them simply follow the instructions of those who appointed them. And it has never done justice, because it has long been biased against Israel. The United Nations has become the megaphone of bigotry and anti-Semitism. Both the United Nations and its court are shams.

The blood libel accusation against Israel has now begun in The Hague. The failed nation of South Africa has brought genocide charges against Israel in the International Court of Justice.

What is the International Court of Justice? It is not international, because it excludes judges from certain countries. It is not a real court, because the judges are selected by their countries and many of them simply follow the instructions of those who appointed them. And it has never done justice, because it has long been biased against Israel. It is the United Nations court, and that tells you all you need to know about it. The United Nations has become the megaphone of bigotry and anti-Semitism. As an Israeli diplomat once put it, if Algeria introduced a resolution that the earth is flat and that Israel flattened it, it would win 120 to 27 with 32 abstentions. And you can name the countries in each of the groups before any evidence is presented.

Both the United Nations and its court are shams, especially when it comes to Israel. The facts are clear: Israel has not committed genocide nor has it violated international law as it defended itself from Hamas barbarity. It is the Hamas charter that calls for genocide against the Jews of Israel, and it is South Africa that is harboring Hamas terrorists and defending its murders and rapes. It should be Hamas that is on trial for attempted genocide and South Africa that is on trial for complicity with Hamas. Instead, the nation-state of the Jewish people is being accused of a blood libel, despite going to great lengths to avoid civilian casualties in its legitimate efforts to destroy Hamas.

There have been too many civilian casualties in Gaza, although no one has any idea how many of the dead and wounded were actually civilians, as distinguished from terrorists and those who assist them. The civilian casualties are the fault of Hamas, first for starting the war by murdering Israeli civilians, and second by hiding their military assets among civilians in an effort to use them as human shields. Hamas apparently even shot at its own citizens to keep them from fleeing to southern Gaza for safety as the Israelis had urged them to.

The evidence is indisputable that Hamas has committed numerous war crimes. First, it attacked Israeli civilians attending a music festival and living in peace. Second, it ordered its terrorists to rape and sexually assault its victims, thus weaponizing sexual assault during wartime. Third, it has fired thousands of rockets at Israeli civilian targets. Fourth, it has built tunnels with exits near Israeli civilian areas, whose purpose it is to murder and kidnap civilians. Fifth, it has deliberately placed its rocket launchers and command centers in civilian areas, in order to induce Israel to cause collateral damage among civilians. Sixth, it has used children and even babies as human shields to prevent Israel from rescuing its hostages. Seventh, it has taken over hospitals, schools, mosques and other civilian resources and turned them into military assets. Eighth, it has recruited 13- and 14-year-old boys and girls to become terrorists. Ninth, it has coerced women into becoming suicide bombers targeting Israeli civilians. Tenth, it arranged for civilian workers from Gaza to get jobs in Israel in order to provide them information they used to murder Israeli civilians.

Hamas has praised South Africa for doing its dirty work and bringing the blood libel claim against Israel. Since the death of Nelson Mandela, South Africa has gone downhill as a nation. It has become a corrupt kleptocracy with spiraling crime rates and massive inequality. Both white and black South Africans are leaving the failed nation in droves. In order to divert attention from its failures toward its own people, it has done what so many anti-Semites have done over the years: it has used Israel and the Jews as scapegoats to deflect attention away from its own failures.

The crime of genocide requires an intent to destroy an entire people, based on ethnicity, race or religion. It also requires actions, calculated to achieve that goal. Israel has done exactly the opposite in relation to the Arabs and Muslims of Gaza. It ended the occupation in 2005, leaving behind farming equipment and other material resources that could have been used to turn Gaza into Singapore on the Mediterranean. It has provided medical services to Gazans in need of Israel's exceptional resources. It has provided employment for thousands of Gazans with good pay. The end result is that the population of the Gaza Strip has increased dramatically over the years during which Israel has been accused of genocide. These are not the indicia of genocide. What Israel has done has been based on one consideration alone: namely the need to protect its own civilians from efforts by Hamas to conduct genocide against its Jewish civilians.

The very term "genocide" was coined to describe the Nazi's largely successful effort to end the entire Jewish presence in Europe, by the use of gas chambers, shooting pits and other industrial mechanisms of mass murder. To turn that important word into a weapon against the descendants of the Jews who survived the Nazi genocide is to distort history, morality and basic decency.

Were the International Court of Justice to falsely conclude that Israel was guilty of genocide, it would destroy whatever remaining credibility that court might have. If that were to happen, the United States and some other nations should and probably would leave the court: it would not deserve the legitimacy afforded by membership of any decent country. Gatestoneinstitute

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Pro-Palestinian protesters call for intifada outside of The Hague. By Jerusalem Post Stadf 01/12/2024 JPost

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Kremlin condemns US, British strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen. The Kremlin on Friday condemned overnight U.S. and British military strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen and said they were "illegitimate" under international law. "We condemn them," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "You know that a (UN) resolution was adopted, we abstained, and the countries that carried out the strike attempted to provide an international legal basis for their actions. "This attempt was unsuccessful, because the adopted resolution does not provide any right to carry out strikes, and, accordingly, from the point of view of international law, they are illegitimate." (Reuters). YNet

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Terrorist infiltration to Adora: One wounded, 3 terrorists killed. Terrorists opened fire at an IDF patrol in the area, and the forces engaged in pursuit and eliminated 3 terrorists; Emergency services treated one wounded on the scene Ynetnews | Jan 12, 2024 updated:14:32 YNet

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When Terrorists Talk, They Listen - WSJ. Memri, the Middle East Media Research Institute, fights Hamas by telling the world what its leaders are saying. By Elliot Kaufman Jan. 12, 2024 4:27 pm ET

Wonder Land: Political opposition has become a learned reflex. But the fact it kicked in mere hours after Hamas’s civilian slaughter on Oct. 7—the assertion that somehow Israel drove Hamas to do it—deserves examination. Images: Zuma Press/AFP/Getty Images Composite: Mark Kelly

Yigal Carmon is one of the few Israelis who can claim to have predicted this war. His Aug. 31 article “Signs of Possible War in September-October” cited provocations by Hezbollah, escalating violence in the West Bank and threats from Hamas as evidence of regional coordination for something big. “Israel will likely be compelled to undertake a large-scale response,” he wrote, “even at the cost of an all-out war.”

Some details were off, but Mr. Carmon says anyone paying attention would have seen the writing on the wall. “They said it all. They said everything,” Mr. Carmon, a former Israeli intelligence officer and counterterrorism adviser to two prime ministers, says in a phone interview from Jerusalem. As president and a co-founder of Memri, the Middle East Media Research Institute, he had publicized Hamas’s videos advertising its drills for an invasion of Israel, as well as its claims that total war was coming. WSJ

'Wall Street Journal' Weekend Interview With MEMRI President And Executive Director – Excerpts January 19, 2024 Special Announcements No. 1438

The "Weekend Interview" in the January 12, 2024 issue of The Wall Street Journal was with MEMRI President Yigal Carmon and MEMRI Executive Director Dr. Steven Stalinsky. The interviewer was Elliot Kaufman. Below are excerpts:

Yigal Carmon is one of the few Israelis who can claim to have predicted this war. His Aug. 31 article "Signs of Possible War in September-October" cited provocations by Hezbollah, escalating violence in the West Bank and threats from Hamas as evidence of regional coordination for something big. "Israel will likely be compelled to undertake a large-scale response," he wrote, "even at the cost of an all-out war."

Some details were off, but Mr. Carmon says anyone paying attention would have seen the writing on the wall. "They said it all. They said everything," Mr. Carmon, a former Israeli intelligence officer and counterterrorism adviser to two prime ministers, says in a phone interview from Jerusalem. As president and a co-founder of Memri, the Middle East Media Research Institute, he had publicized Hamas's videos advertising its drills for an invasion of Israel, as well as its claims that total war was coming.

But Hamas is always threatening war, and most of the time it comes to naught. "If they publish it many times, then you can ignore it?" he asks in response to the point. "I say just the opposite. If they publish it many times, it suggests they mean it and you cannot ignore it. You must take it seriously." [35] Memri

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While Palestinian Authority Says Israel Murders Palestinian 'Children' Without Provocation, Fatah Military Wing Praises These 'Children' As Martyrs For Their Attempted Terror Attacks In West Bank During Which They Were Killed By Israel. January 18, 2024 Palestinians | Special Dispatch No. 11083

Palestinian Authority (PA) media are continuing to portray Palestinian terrorists killed while carrying out terror activity against Israel as innocent youths murdered without provocation by Israel. Palestinian news reports about the deaths of these "youths" omit mention of the fact that they were members of terrorist groups killed during terror activity.

The most recent example of this is the January 12, 2024 incident in which three operatives belonging to Fatah, the PA ruling party, infiltrated the Israeli settlement of Adora, west of Hebron, with the aim of carrying out a terror attack. The three men were killed by Israeli forces before they were able to harm any civilians.

According to the official PA media outlet Wafa, the three – Ismail Abu Jahisha, Ouday Abu Jahisha, and Muhammad Abu Jahish, from Idna, near Hebron – were merely "two children and a teenage boy [who] ascended to Heaven [as martyrs] after being shot by the occupation forces." The Wafa report completely omitted the fact that they were killed while attempting to carry out a terrorist attack.

In contrast to the PA media version of events, Fatah published an announcement praising the "heroic martyrs" and the attempted attack by the Fatah military wing, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, and even claimed responsibility for the attack and identified the three as its operatives.

Moreover, around the time of this attempted attack in Adora, Telegram channels affiliated with Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades published posters calling for attacks against Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The posters were taken from a Hamas incitement campaign focusing on the West Bank – that is, it appears that these Telegram accounts were presenting this attempted attack as part of a larger move, i.e. expanding the scope of its "Al-Aqsa Flood" campaign to the West Bank by attacking Israeli settlements there, as Hamas had attacked Israeli communities in southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Memri

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CAIR Condemns Biden Airstrikes on Yemen Houthis: ‘Illegally’ Endangering (sic) Lives. Jan 12, 2024 Breitbart

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The Greatest Islamophobia Hoax in America Exposed. The ‘Islamophobic’ shooter of three ‘Palestinians’ in Vermont actually supported Hamas. January 12, 2024 by Daniel Greenfield.

When three Arab Muslim students were shot and wounded in Burlington, Vermont, politicians and the media immediately hyped it as the ‘Islamophobic Crime of the Century’.

President Biden issued a statement declaring that “there is absolutely no place for violence or hate in America.” Vice President Kamala Harris’ statement bemoaned that “far too many people live with the fear that they could be targeted and attacked based on their beliefs or who they are”. The three Muslim men identified as ‘Palestinian’, two of them were wearing keffiyehs and Kamala, like many other leftists, was implying that the shooter was ‘anti-Palestinian’.

“The idea that three young men walking down the street get shot, perhaps because of no other reason than they are Palestinian, is unspeakable,” Sen. Bernie Sanders said. ”But I gotta tell you, this is not just a local phenomenon, this is happening all over the country.”

Then he blasted Israel.

“I’m heartbroken by yesterday’s senseless shooting of three Palestinian-American students visiting Burlington. We do not tolerate hate or Islamophobia in Vermont,” Sen Peter Welch tweeted.

“I do want to be clear that there is no question this was a hateful act,” Sarah George, the local State’s Attorney, claimed without evidence.

“In this charged moment, no one can look at this incident and not suspect that it may have been a hate-motivated crime,” Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad argued.

Anti-Israel groups convened a rally calling for the destruction of Israel.

“I stand here to stand with oppressed people who now fear for their lives just walking down the street here in Burlington,” Vermont Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman told the hateful mob.

A speaker at the hate rally with the antisemitic University of Vermont affiliate of Students for Justice in Palestine blamed the shootings on Jews, calling them the “shameless monsters who enabled this” and denouncing “a crime of unspeakable r... hatred, a crime borne out of white supremacy[sic].”

All of these claims, along with many others around the shootings, were based on lies.

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee falsely claimed that “a man shouted and harassed the victims, then proceeded to shoot them. We have reason to believe this shooting occurred because the victims are Arab.”

In reality, they had been shot by a local resident outside his house who did not say a word.

The three Muslim men were returning home from a party on Saturday night when James J. Eaton, a local resident with a history of mental instability, stumbled out of a white clapboard house on the residential street and without a word fired four shots at the three men.

Eaton had been described as “that hippie guy” and “progressive”, an organic farmer who had posted a meme with a definition of “Amerika” that called it “the worst sense of the United States, ie imperialism, corruption and the global exportation of American culture.”

He appeared to be a Biden supporter

Media outlets, anti-Israel activists and politicians attributed the shootings to the Hamas war. Everyone from Biden and Kamala on down emphasized the “Palestinian” identities of those shot and implied that Eaton had attacked them because he was opposed to the ‘Palestinian’ cause.

In reality, Eaton supported Hamas.

On December 6, Seven Days, a local news outlet known for breaking stories about local politics, revealed that Eaton had tweeted, “the notion that Hamas is ‘evil’ for defending their state from occupation is absurd. They are owed a state. Pay up.”

Responding to an article about a proposed ceasefire, he wrote, “What if someone occupied your country? Wouldn’t you fight them?”

Local politicians were aware of this which is why in December a Burlington City Council resolution from Councilman Ali Dieng, an African Muslim immigrant currently running for mayor, trying to tie the shootings to an attack on Israel failed, and so did a resolution pushing the false claim that the students had been targeted because of their identity.

The latest Islamophobia hoax had fallen apart in Vermont, but still lingered nationally.

Media outlets which had rushed to spread the false claims never retracted or modified them. After a month of pushing the lie that the shootings were a response to Israel’s campaign against Hamas or to the ‘Muslim’ or ‘Palestinian’ identities of the three men, the new information was not reported, acknowledged or in any way addressed by politicians and media reporters.

NBC News, which had run an entire ‘live blog’ about the shootings, pushing anti-Israel and Islamophobia narratives, did not provide an update that would have contradicted its narrative.

Even in December, NBC News still continued running articles falsely linking the shootings to the Hamas war and attacking Israel. A Dec 5 article quoted one of the men shot as spreading anti-Israel propaganda and claiming that “this is happening to Palestinians across the country and, more importantly, in Gaza. We’re mad at the system that’s allowing not three of us to be injured but thousands and thousands and millions of us to be displaced and injured and killed.”

PBS ran a similar article in December quoting an uncle of one of the men as contending that “even in this country, even in this town — that many of the risks that exist for my nephew and his friends in Palestine exist for them here.”

This torrent of anti-Israel and pro-terrorist propaganda was based on absolutely nothing.

There was never a single shred of evidence that the men had been targeted. And the only basis for this claim that was ever cited was that two of the men were wearing ‘keffiyehs’ and speaking English and Arabic when they were shot. This entirely circumstantial information was amplified with feverish claims and rushed statements by elected officials, prosecutors and police.

The reality that has emerged is that Eaton was mentally unstable, left-leaning, opposed to America and supportive of Islamic terrorists. He was neither Jewish nor pro-Israel.

He had actually publicly stated his support for Hamas.

Eaton could not have known that the three Muslim men were going to walk past the house where he was living and it’s implausible that he would have had the time to plan such an attack.

The Muslim men were walking down the middle of a small narrow residential street with no street lights at night and Eaton would not have had enough time to realize the men passing by were Muslims, grab a gun, run out and shoot them. That’s even assuming that he had spent the whole evening by the window watching for incoming Muslims in an 87% white Vermont city.

Most likely, Eaton, suffering from an episode, stumbled out and opened fire.

Shooting four rounds at three men suggests this was not a planned mass shooting. He might have just as easily shot at anybody on the street or at nobody except the voices in his head. According to his mother and an ex-girlfriend, he had a history of violence and mental illness.

All of this was well known, yet the media instead chose to push a false anti-Israel narrative.

The Burlington shootings were far from the first Islamophobia hoax to gain a national platform.

The killings of four Muslim men in Albuquerque were initially billed as Islamophobia. Biden even issued a statement declaring that “my administration stands strongly with the Muslim community” and warned that “these hateful attacks have no place in America.” The attacks were Islamophobic, but the perpetrator was a Sunni Muslim Afghan refugee who hated Shiites.

Hasan Minhaj, the Netflix Muslim comedian, was recently exposed as having made up the stories of discrimination that he had built his high-profile career around. During the campaign against Hamas, CAIR promoted a false claim that a Muslim man had been hit by a Jewish driver shouting “Kill all Palestinians,”and “Long live Israel”. Before Biden and other elected officials could issue statements, the actual perpetrator turned out to be the victim’s own brother.

And then there was the rash of Hijab snatching hate crime hoaxes across the country which included Yasmin Seweid, an 18-year-old college student in NYC, falsely claiming that three Trump supporters had tried to tear off her hijab while shouting, “take that rag off your head”.

The Burlington shootings were similar to a different category of hate crime hoaxes in which a crime did occur, but the motive was misattributed to ‘Islamophobia’. One was the rape and murder of Nabra Hassanen: a 17-year-old Muslim girl in Virginia by a low-IQ illegal alien MS-13 member from El Salvador after a fight with her friends. Another was a parking dispute in Chapel Hill that had nothing to do with Islam and where the shooter was a Rachel Maddow fan.

(As in Burlington, leftists and Muslims seem to shoot far more Muslims than conservatives do.)

Despite the facts of the cases, sustained pressure by Islamist groups led the authorities to brand these crimes as being ‘Islamophobic’ which then allowed groups, many of them with terror ties, to claim that any criticism of Islam or Islamic terrorism would get Muslims killed.

The Burlington shootings were blatantly exploited to attack Israel and promote terrorism.

Vigils in front of City Hall and at Brown University called for the destruction of the Jewish State.

One of the men, Hisham Awartani, told the hateful mob at Brown that his shooting “did not happen in a vacuum” but that he was only “one casualty in a much wider conflict” and “had I been shot in the West Bank” and “the medical services which saved my life here would have likely been withheld by the Israeli army.”

While the Burlington story has fallen apart, like the previous ‘Islamophobic’ hoaxes the damage was already done. The larger purpose of Islamophobia hoaxes, like that of Islamic terrorism, is to reframe the perpetrators as the victims and to justify Islamic violence against non-Muslims.

That is why the truth matters. Islamophobia lies kill, the truth exposes the killers. FPM

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US optimistic Yemen strikes degraded Houthi capabilities. 01.12.24. The Pentagon on Friday appeared to be cautiously optimistic that Iran-backed Houthis will be unable to replicate the type of complex attacks they recently carried out in the Red Sea, as a senior Pentagon official disclosed that overnight strikes hit nearly 30 locations in Yemen. U.S. and British warplanes, ships and a submarine launched strikes across Yemen in retaliation against Houthi forces for months of attacks on Red Sea shipping that the Iran-backed fighters cast as a response to the war in Gaza. U.S. Lieutenant General Douglas Sims, the director of the Joint Staff, told reporters that 28 locations had been hit, using more than 150 munitions. YNet

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Danish police say 7 arrested in December over foiled terror plot ‘linked to Hamas’. Copenhagen prosecutor apparently backs up comments by Netanyahu, who accused Gaza-based terror group of involvement in plot against Jewish or Israeli targets. By AFP 12 Jan 2024, 5:17 pm TOI

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Red Crescent official says Gazans receive medicine, care. Gazans continue to receive medicine and medical care, the Palestinian Red Crescent said in a post on X on Saturday. "Mobile units reach those unable to get to hospitals," the health organization said adding that 4,800 people have been receiving regular treatment and vital medications, amid reports that hostages would also receive medicine if Gazan have better medical care. (Ynet). 01.13.24 YNet

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Prime Minister of Israel @IsraeliPM: In the murder tunnels of Gaza, our forces have found copies of Hitler's Mein Kampf. In a home in Gaza, they found a child's tablet with a picture of Hitler as the screensaver. Jan 13, 2024 In X

Netanyahu on 100 days of war: We will fight until ‘total victory’. The Israeli premier also addressed the ICJ proceedings against Israel, calling them "a moral low point in the history of nations."

(January 14, 2024 / JNS) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday night marked 100 days of Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip by reiterating his vow to continue fighting until the Palestinian terror group is defeated.

“Today, we mark 100 days of the war, 100 days since the terrible day on which our citizens were massacred and taken hostage. We are continuing the war until the end—until total victory, until we achieve all of our goals: eliminating Hamas, returning all of our hostages and ensuring that Gaza will never again constitute a threat to Israel,” said Netanyahu.

The premier then pivoted to the proceedings at The Hague, where South Africa has launched a case in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) accusing Israel of genocide. Pretoria has also demanded an immediate end to the Israel Defense Forces’ operation against Hamas.

“The hypocritical onslaught at The Hague against the state of the Jews that arose from the ashes of the Holocaust, at the behest of those who came to perpetrate another Holocaust against the Jews—is a moral low point in the history of nations,” said Netanyahu.

“In the murder tunnels of Gaza, our forces have found copies of Hitler’s Mein Kampf. In a home in Gaza, they found a child’s tablet with a picture of Hitler as the screensaver. Not for nothing did German Chancellor [Olaf] Scholz, after viewing the atrocities of the Oct. 7 massacre, say: ‘Hamas are the new Nazis,'” added the prime minister.

“The State of Israel, the IDF and our security services are fighting a moral and just war that is without parallel, against the Hamas monsters, the new Nazis. This international campaign of denigration will not weaken either our hand or our determination to fight until the end, because something has changed in the history of our people,” he continued.

“The antisemitism is the same antisemitism, but the status of the Jewish people has fundamentally changed. Because today we have a state. Today we have defense forces and heroic soldiers to protect our people. What happened on Oct. 7 will not happen again. This is our mission. This is our obligation,” said Netanyahu.

“Citizens of Israel, we are on the path to victory. We will not stop until we achieve victory. I know that there are those who doubt this—I am not among them. I hear your call and know that you, citizens of Israel, are not among them either. We are doing this together to the end. I believe in our people, in our soldiers and commanders, and I believe that after the massacre of Oct. 7, we will not compromise on anything less than total victory.

“I say this, on your behalf, to every world leader who I speak with—we will not compromise, and we will not stop. We are continuing until victory; we have no other choice,” he concluded. JNS

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Houthi official to Al Jazeera: no injuries in latest US strike in Yemen, vows 'strong and effective response'. An official of Yemen's Houthi group Ansarullah said on Saturday that there were no injuries in U.S. latest strike against Houthi forces in Sanaa, and vowed a "strong and effective" response. "There were no injuries, no material nor human losses," Nasruldeen Amer told Al Jazeera. (Reuters). 01.13.24 YNet

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Gaza rockets target border area communities. 01.13.24 YNet

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The IDF reveals for the first time documentation of the elimination of terrorists using a drone. The terrorists barricaded themselves in the building, the fighters activated the aircraft - and attacked. [36] N12 | 01/12/24 Mako

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IDF strikes Hezbollah posts in southern Lebanon after attacks along border. By Emanuel Fabian. Families of Gaza hostages to begin 24 hours of events to mark 100 days of captivity. By TOI Staff Rallies to be held nationwide, around the world * Israel said planning military op to take control of Gaza-Egypt border * IDF: ‘Significant attack’ foiled at West Bank settlement. 13 Jan 2024 TOI

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Houthis release video of simulated assault on Israeli village that includes hostage-taking. 13 Jan 2024 Yemen’s Houthis release a video simulating an assault by the Iran-backed rebel group on an Israeli community, similar to the Hamas-led atrocities of October 7.

In the clip, Houthi commandos enter a building after storming the fake village, with one of them shooting a poster of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as they do so.

Inside are a pair of men dressed in ultra-Orthodox garb, whom the Houthis take hostage before eventually blowing up the mockup. TOI

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Mossad and Shin Bet: This is how Hamas plans attacks around the world. Orders from the organization leadership, acquisition of UAVs and use of criminal elements: This is how Hamas terrorist organization senior operatives advanced attacks against innocents around the world. Israel National News, Jan 13, 2024, 7:29 PM (GMT+2)

The Hamas terrorist organization is working to advance attacks against targets in the Middle East, Africa and Europe under the command of senior organization leaders, the Prime Minister's Office, Mossad, and ISA (Shin Bet) announced.

On 14 December 2023, the Danish and German security and enforcement authorities announced the widespread arrest of suspects in Europe who are now the subject of judicial proceedings.

In a continuing intelligence effort, considerable information has been uncovered that proves how the Hamas terrorist organization has acted to expand its violent activity abroad in order to attack innocents around the world.

Thanks to combined inter-organizational forces in Israel and abroad, a comprehensive and in-depth picture of Hamas's terrorist activities has been revealed, including details of areas of action, targets for attacks and those involved in implementing the activity – from Hamas commanders in Lebanon to the last attackers in the operational infrastructure, as well as information on the intention to attack the Israeli Embassy in Sweden, the acquisition of UAVs and the use of elements from criminal organizations in Europe.

"Hamas draws inspiration from the terrorist activity of the Iranian regime, and like it, aspires to attack Israeli, Jewish and Western targets at any price," the statement emphasized.

"The Mossad, the ISA and the IDF, in conjunction with the international security and enforcement bodies, will continue their efforts to thwart the terrorist intentions of Hamas and all terrorist organizations, and to settle accounts with them everywhere in the world, on behalf of the security of the State of Israel and the Jewish people." INN

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IDF hits dozens of ready-to-use rocket launchers. Israel National News Jan 13, 2024, 5:50 PM INN

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IAF strikes Hezbollah terror targets in Lebanon. Israel National News Jan 13, 2024, 6:45 PM INN

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Israel plans to take control of Philadelphi Route. Israel National News Jan 13, 2024, 8:17 PM INN

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Protestors chant 'Yemen Yemen, make us proud, turn another ship around' as 200,000 march through London and Met Police move in to make arrests - with Just Stop Oil there too. By Arthur Parashar and Eirian Jane Prosser and Jon Brady.

Published: 03:43 est, 13 january 2024 | updated: 20:52 est, 13 january 2024 ...Iran-backed Houthi rebels, whose slogan includes 'death to Israel' and 'curse the Jews', have targeted commercial ships passing through the Red Sea in a show of solidarity with Palestine.

Some protesters appeared to agree with the actions, chanting: 'Yemen, Yemen, make us proud, turn another ship around' as they marched through the capital.

Others waved Palestine flags, chanted 'Free Free Palestine' and lit flares as they marched from Queen Victoria Street towards Parliament Square, calling for a ceasefire in war-torn Gaza.. Daily Mail

habibi @habibi_uk:

That's Hamas operative Adnan Hmidan on the right, heading up today's hate march in London.

Hamas is surely very grateful to all who came today. The protest was reassuringly nasty and ugly.

All the shouting for their Houthi friends was an especially welcome new touch. habibi @habibi_uk Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood have deep support networks in the UK. That's where one finds Adnan Hmidan.

And that's why Labour should beware: Hmidan is a party member, trying to push an Israeli out of his Labour job. Read on to learn more. 1/11 tmThe JC 1:58 PM · Jan 13, 2024 on X

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Arsen Ostrovsky 🎗️ @Ostrov_A: “We must normalize massacres as a status quo,” says Mohammed El-Kurd at a London rally today, on eve of 100 days since the Hamas massacre of Oct 7th.

Hey @metpoliceuk, might you advise if you will take any action?

@JamesCleverly, surely this is unacceptable? Eitan Fischberger @EFischberger Is it me, or did Mohammed el-Kurd just say "we must normalize massacres as a status quo," and then @5Pillarsuk tried to obscure that with the subtitles? Embedded video 3:54 PM · Jan 13, 2024 on X

Emily Schrader - אמילי שריידר امیلی شریدر @emilykschrader: Mohammed El Kurd at the pro-terror rally in London today:

“We must normalize massacres as the status quo”. [37] Jan 13, 2024 on X

((noa tishby))) @noatishby: Today, Palestinian activist Mohammed El-Kurd (@m7mdkurd) spoke at an anti-Israel rally and said, “we must normalize massacres as the status quo.” He’d like to see more massacres of Jews. He spoke at @Harvard, @Princeton, @MIT, @DukeU?, and many other colleges. #CancelElKurd. Jan 13, 2024 On X

Demand for an international arrest warrant against a pro-Palestinian activist.

By Nissan Tzur, 15.01.24.

Demand for an international arrest warrant against a pro-Palestinian activist After calling in a public speech in London to "normalize massacres" against Jews, the "Betsalmo" organization demands that an international arrest warrant be issued against Muhammad el-Kurd: "This is about letting the blood of the entire Jewish people."

The inciting speech of Muhammad El-Kurd, who called during an anti-Israel rally to "normalize the massacres as the status quo", led the leaders of the "Betsalmo" organization to demand the issuance of an international arrest warrant against him.

In a letter sent to Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai and Deputy State Attorney Attorney Alon Altman, "Betsalmo" CEO Shay Glick requests an international arrest warrant be issued against El-Kurd on the grounds that he "unleashed the blood of the Jewish people in the entire world."

In the letter, Glick claims that al-Kurd is a resident of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in Jerusalem, and urges the commissioner and the deputy legal advisor to demand that the British authorities extradite him. "Last Saturday, a pro-Hamas event took place outside London. One of the speakers, Muhammad El Kurd, a resident of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood which is adjacent to both the Ministry of Justice and the commissioner's office, gave a speech in which he said, among other things, 'Our day will come, and we must normalize a massacre (of Jews) as the status quo.' I implore you to see this Personally. This is about allowing the blood of the entire people in Israel and the Jewish people in the entire world. The man is currently staying in London, but is a resident of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in Jerusalem."

"I call on you today to issue an international arrest warrant against him, contact the London police to arrest him and extradite him to Israel immediately. Of course in Israel to throw him in prison for many years. This inciting video has reached millions of people. Every moment that this man is released is the release of the blood of the entire Jewish people On your shoulders rests the right and the duty to restore respect and security to the Jewish people, by putting this villain behind bars," wrote Glick.

The London police announced that following videos from the anti-Israel rally that took place last Saturday in London, in which el-Kurd was seen calling for "normalizing massacres as the status quo", they opened an investigation against him. El-Kurd himself denied saying this, but videos from the event clearly show him saying the inciting words. INN

Mohammed El-Kurd - GRAP (Genocidal radical Racist Arab-Palestinian) just follows footstep of their first leader: Amin al-Husseini in 1920 (21 years before he met Hitler) 'Idhbah al Yahud". 100+ years. Nothing has changed. The call to massacre Jews and bloodthirsty Arab-Muslim masses cheer. at EoZ

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UN Watch @UNWatch: BREAKING: 🇺🇸 Democratic Party Congressman Josh Gottheimer, Ranking Member of National Security Agency & Cyber Subcommittee, says the U.N. must investigate UNRWA Telegram channel of 3,000 teachers replete with celebrations of the Hamas October 7th massacre. [38] Rep Josh Gottheimer @RepJoshG It’s unacceptable that @UNRWA teachers celebrated Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attacks.

Hamas murdered, raped, & burned alive more than 1,200 people, and took more than 200 hostages.

The UN needs to investigate this. [39] 2:42 PM · Jan 13, 2024 on X

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Hamas sacrifices Gaza children, and UNRWA is complicit - opinion.

By Debbie Mohnblatt/The Media Line . Published: January 13, 2024.

From jihadist indoctrination in their education system to using them as human shields, Hamas’ abuse of Gaza’s children runs rampant.

The Israel-Hamas war has revealed many instances of Hamas’ misconduct toward Gaza’s children. On several occasions during its ground operation in Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has found Hamas’ military equipment hidden in schools, entrance hatches to Hamas tunnels under baby cribs, and rocket launchers placed in areas that children frequent. Various reports have also been published addressing the anti-Israel and antisemitic indoctrination and hate taught to Gaza’s children in their education system.

The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, oversees a big part of Gaza’s education system, and its teaching curriculum and the behavior of its staff since Oct. 7 have shown that incitement against Jews and Israel is a large part of their activities.

UN Watch, a Geneva-based organization that monitors the UN, published a report on Wednesday exposing how Hamas’ Oct. 7 atrocities were extensively celebrated in a 3000-member Telegram group composed of UNRWA’s staff. In November, an Israeli organization called IMPACT-SE also published an extensive report detailing the connection between education received in UNRWA schools in the Gaza Strip and the Oct. 7 massacres carried out by Hamas.

Dina Rovner, Legal Advisor at UN Watch, told The Media Line that this is a long-standing issue. She explained that since 2015, UN Watch has exposed more than 150 UNRWA staff Facebook pages that incite antisemitism and jihadi terrorism. “We have always maintained that the Facebook posts are just a symptom of a much more systemic problem—the fact that UNRWA hires antisemitic and terror-supporting staff in the first place,” said Rovner.

“These are not just a few bad apples as UNRWA likes to claim,” she continued, noting that the Telegram group “shows that when UNRWA teachers think nobody is watching them, they openly promote Hamas terrorism, glorify the terrorists as ‘martyrs’ and ‘heroes,’ and believe this is a wonderful path for Palestinian children to follow,” she added.. JPost

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Boston's First Muslim City Councilor Cavorts with Extremists at Islamist Gala. by Dexter Van Zile. Focus on Western Islamism January 22, 2024 Tania Fernandes Anderson, a "progressive" Boston City Councilor who described the October 7 massacre, rape, and kidnapping of 1,200 Israeli civilians as a "military operation," shared the podium with two radical imams at a fundraising gala held on the 100th day after the massacre. The gala took place at the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center, a mosque with extensive ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, on Saturday, January 13, 2023. It was held on behalf of the Praise Allah Mosque led by Imam Abdullah Faaruuq, a well-known extremist with a long history of promoting Islamist radicalism and anti-Americanism.

Siraj Wahhaj, an Islamist imam who allowed Omar Abdel-Rahman, the "Blind Sheikh" who masterminded the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, to speak at his New York City mosque before the attack, also played a prominent role at the Boston gala, which was attended by several dozen supporters... MEForum _____

100 days after Oct. 7 attack, freed hostage, 13, leads NYC rally for those still held. 'I came all the way here to ask the whole world to help us bring back all the hostages,' Hila Rotem Shoshani tells demonstrators, describing her time in captivity as 'hell'. By Luke Tress, 13 January 2024

New York Jewish Week via JTA — An Israeli child who was freed from Hamas captivity and relatives of those still held hostage addressed a crowd of thousands outside the United Nations at a rally marking 100 days since the terror group’s October 7 invasion of Israel.

The rally featured Israeli and American flags and the singing of Israel’s national anthem, “Hatikvah.” Speeches mentioned Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza. But most speakers — including New York Governor Kathy Hochul and US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer — focused their remarks on the plight of the hostages.

Hila Rotem Shoshani, 13, who was taken hostage from Kibbutz Be’eri, implored the crowd to keep pushing for the hostages’ release. Shoshani was taken captive along with her mother and a friend, and was released in an exchange deal in late November that saw more than 100 hostages go free. Organizers said her speech was the first by a former Israeli captive in the US.

“Life as a hostage in Gaza is not life, it is hell. I came all the way here to ask the whole world to help us bring back all of the hostages,” she said. “We can’t leave them there. Their families are waiting for them. Bring them home, please.”

In addition to carrying flags, attendees wore stickers saying, “Today is day 100,” and pins showing photos of the captives. Signs in Hebrew said, “100 days of hell,” and in English, “Let my people go.” At the start of the rally, participants held a moment of silence for the hostages for 100 seconds.

Volunteers in Midtown East’s Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza sold sweatshirts and beanies that said “Bring them home” to raise money for the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, one of the central groups advocating for the captives and an organizer of the rally. Organizers estimated that the demonstration drew 2,500 people.

Demonstrators gather for a rally calling for the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip, outside of United Nations headquarters in New York City, on December 12, 2024. (Arie Leib Abrams/Flash90) Yair Moses, whose father, Gadi Moses, 79, is held hostage, described his anguish, saying he had been unable to eat or sleep since his father was taken. His voice broke at times during his speech.

“There are other elderly men there, like my father. No one knows if they will be able to recover from this, physically or mentally,” Moses said. “There are young women there. We have already heard witness accounts that tell of the horrors they have gone through and are still going through.”

He added, “Time is running out, and the longer they stay there the greater the risk to their lives.”

The demonstration was held in place of weekly Friday morning gatherings outside the home of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on behalf of the hostages. The rally kicked off a series of events in support of the hostages that will be held throughout the city over the weekend.

From Friday afternoon through Saturday night, an hourglass installation will sit in Times Square symbolizing that “time is running out” — a replica of a display in Tel Aviv.

On Sunday morning, the 100th day since October 7, a “100 Days March” will take place in Central Park. Activists have been holding weekly Sunday running sessions in the park, part of a campaign in New York and other cities dubbed “Run For Their Lives.” Participants in the events will hold photos of the hostages and wear yellow ribbons, a symbol of the captives. The New York run will begin at Central Park West and 90th Street.

Also on Sunday, a separate event lasting most of the day in Washington Square Park will feature musicians playing songs at a yellow piano open to the public in honor of Alon Ohel, a 22-year-old pianist who is being held hostage.

In addition to Hochul and Schumer, a range of public officials, rabbis and Jewish organizational leaders from across the city attended Friday’s rally. The event was co-sponsored by a wide array of US Jewish groups.

Hochul said she had been devastated during a visit to Kfar Aza, one of the communities hardest hit in Hamas’s attack, shortly after October 7, when Palestinian terrorists from Gaza killed some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and kidnapped around 240. She voiced support for Israel’s campaign against Hamas and decried the lack of attention to hostages in the public sphere.

“Why are not people across this world demanding the freedom of these hostages?” Hochul asked. “Where is the outrage? Where’s the daily coverage of the suffering of the hostages and their families?”

She continued, “I want them brought home now and I want the rest of the world to start saying the same thing because it is barbaric and inhumane to hold them one day longer.”

Demonstrators gather for a rally calling for the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip, outside of United Nations headquarters in New York City, on December 12, 2024. (Arie Leib Abrams/Flash90) The crowd was composed largely of American Jews and included delegations from local Jewish high schools. Some attendees cried and embraced during the speeches. Jewish-Israeli singer Shimon Smith performed the song “Nigmar” (Hebrew for “It’s over”) by Israeli star Idan Amedi, the “Fauda” singer and actor who was badly injured in combat in Gaza this week. Amedi rose to prominence in 2010 with the song “Warrior’s Pain,” about a combat soldier struggling with PTSD.

Ellen Muss and Laura Green attended the rally holding milk cartons with images of the Hamas captives, part of an awareness campaign recalling efforts to locate missing persons. Muss’ carton bore the image of Kfir Bibas, the redheaded baby taken by Hamas who remains held in Gaza and who has become a symbol of the captives.

“We felt a very strong attachment to the hostages and it’s just keeping the awareness alive for everybody that it’s almost 100 days,” Muss said. She was in Israel several weeks ago and visited “Hostages Square” in Tel Aviv, an installation in support of the captives next to the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, where she met the sister of hostage Omri Miran and showed her photos of the milk carton campaign in New York.

“She was so touched to know that we’re still thinking about them,” Muss said. “This could have been you, your sister, your grandmother, and that’s what we have to tell people.” TOI

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Families of Hamas Hostages Hold 24-Hour Rally to Protest 100 Days of Captivity. 'It’s time to bring them back. Now!' said the father of one American hostage. 'They are starving. They are dying'. Published 01/13/24 07:49 PM ET| Zachary Rogers. Thousands have poured into the central plaza across from Israel’s Defense Ministry on Saturday, according to the Associated Press. Protesters there are calling the area “Hostages Square” and say they are planning to stay all night.

[40] The Messenger

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Memorial ceremony at the Western Wall commemorates the victims who fell between October 7 and the present day. Israel National News, Jan 14, 2024, 8:00 PM

([41] Lighting candles in memory of the murdered, at the Western Wall).

On the 100th day since the tragic massacre, the Western Wall marked the lighting of 100,000 memorial candles. These candles were lit throughout this challenging period by bereaved families and Western Wall worshippers in memory of the victims who fell from Simchat Torah (October 7th) to the present day.

On Sunday, a powerful ceremony of lighting memorial candles took place with the families of the abducted and bereaved, who came specifically for prayer at the Western Wall and to light memorial candles for the souls of those who were murdered and fell in the "Swords of Iron" war.

Over the past 100 days, numerous moving prayer ceremonies took place, uniting families of the bereaved, families of the hostages, wounded individuals, soldiers and reservists, family members, Magen David Adom volunteers, ZAKA volunteers, police officers, firefighters and rescue personnel, and the general public, who came to the Western Wall for prayer and solace.

A full 100,000 memorial candles were lit in the Western Wall Plaza at a dedicated memorial candle structure, initiated by the "Klal Yisrael - Together We Will Win" association which came especially with the families on Sunday to mark this day with a special prayer.

The memorial candles are replaced daily by the Western Wall Heritage Foundation's orderlies. Many times, at the Western Wall, one encounters a chilling and emotional scene where families of the murdered and fallen search for the names of their loved ones among the hundreds of names listed on the board, which unfortunately keeps being updated, and they light candles in pain and longing for the elevation of their souls. INN

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Israel estimates: South Africa lawsuit to be rejected. Interim order from International Court of Justice may still demand Israel halt fighting in Gaza, report says. Israel National News, Jan 14, 2024, 5:09 PM INN

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'On the good side of history' - Thousands rally for Israel in central London Uzi Baruch, London. Jan 14, 2024, 6:38 PM INN

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‘We Will Never Stop Working’ to Free Them: Biden Marks 100 Days of Captivity for Hamas Hostages. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Israel this week to continue to negotiate release of those still being held in Gaza. By Zachary Leeman, Jan 14, 2024 President Joe Biden on Sunday marked the "milestone" of 100 days of the Israel-Hamas war and 100 days of captivity for hostages still being held by Hamas inside Gaza.

As many as six Americans are being held hostage, the president noted.

"Today, we mark a devastating and tragic milestone — 100 days of captivity for the more than 100 innocent people, including as many as six Americans, who are still held being hostage by Hamas in Gaza," he wrote in a statement. "For 100 days, they have existed in fear for their lives, not knowing what tomorrow will bring." The Messenger

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Search is "still ongoing" for two U.S. Navy sailors missing off Somalia, John Kirby say. Face the Nation. Jan 14, 2024. [...] Margaret Brennan: ...Houthis there say the motivation here is they're trying to get back at Israel's allies. That's a justification they're using for attacking some of these ships, does the US assess that these coalition strikes will deter the Houthis who are now bracing for a retaliation and an open-ended conflict?

John Kirby: I think it'd be pollyannaish for us to think that there couldn't or may not be some kind of retaliatory strike by the Houthis, we're watching this very closely, we have taken the requisite necessary precautions in the region, to make sure we're ready for that, should occur. These strikes were meant to disrupt and degrade their ability to conduct these strikes, and so we think we had good effect on that. We're still assessing the battle damage, assessment of these strikes, so we think we had a good effect. We'll see what happens. The Houthis have a choice to make here now Margaret, and the right choice is to stop these reckless attacks. And no matter what they say, this is not about "punishing" Israel, I mean, one of the ships they took a shot at yesterday was a Panamanian flag that was taken Russian oil, had nothing to do with Israel...

[42] on YouTube

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The Washington Post published (Jan 9) an investigation about "settlers who shot a boy" - but it turns out that it was a Hamas terrorist. Moran T 𓂆 موران ت @MoranT555: "It's definitely a Hamas terrorist, but why not degrade the fake "settler violence" if possible.." [43] 1:07 AM · Jan 14, 2024. (Obada Saed Abu Srur) [44] Rotter

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Afternoon prayers help soldier spot terrorist. A terrorist with an RPG tried to ambush IDF forces, but did not count on one soldier standing to the side to pray. Israel National News, Jan 14, 2024, 1:22 PM (GMT+2)

Malkiel Ben-Yosef, who fought in Gaza, related today how afternoon prayers helped him find a terrorist setting up an ambush for his division.

“At the entrance to Bureij, during our last sortie, we had several delays before being allowed to enter the city. We had to stop for a full day, until eventually the last approvals were given. We entered the city, but had to stop in the middle of our march.”

“We were the last platoon in the line, and I saw that sunset was approaching and had not yet recited the afternoon prayers. Our force stopped and I told myself that this would be the last chance to do so. I stood up to pray, facing Jerusalem, and as I prayed, I saw an open area opposite me where engineering vehicles had already passed through. Approximately 10 to 15 meters from me, I saw something metal rising out of the sand.” INN

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Former member of terrorist org. included in South African delegation to ICJ. By Jerusalem Post Staff. Published: January 14, 2024 00:48 ([45] Shawan Jabarin, director of Al-Haq. (photo credit: Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Ministry)Enlarge Image Shawan Jabarin, director of Al-Haq.

Photo credit: Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Ministry)

Jabarin's past includes convictions for his involvement with the PFLP and multiple prison sentences.

Shawan Jabarin, the general director of Al-Haq, a Palestinian “human rights” organization, was observed as part of the South African delegation at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) last week. Jabarin, a former senior member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) – designated as a terrorist organization by Israel and around 30 Western countries – has a contentious history.

Jabarin's past includes convictions for his involvement with the PFLP and multiple prison sentences. The Israeli Supreme Court, in a 2007 ruling, described him as playing dual roles in both a non-governmental organization and a terrorist group. The Israeli Supreme Court described Jabarin as “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” in light of these dual roles, such as reportedly recruiting PFLP members into Al-Haq, a Palestinian NGO known for promoting the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. JPost

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2,000 projectiles fired from Lebanon, some 30 from Syria.

The war in numbers: 9,000 Hamas members killed, 11,000+ rockets fired into Israel.

After 100 days of war, IDF data says dozens of Hamas commanders slain, 30,000 targets struck in Gaza; more than 170 terrorists in Lebanon killed, over 750 Hezbollah posts hit. By Emanuel Fabian 14 January 2024, 10:08 pm

The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday published a large data set with information on its operations in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and Lebanon, from the number of terror operatives killed to the number of sites struck, as the country marked 100 days of war against Palestinian terror group Hamas.

According to the data, more than 9,000 Hamas operatives and members of other terror groups have been killed by the IDF in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the war, in addition to some 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7, when gunmen rampaged through southern communities massacring some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting over 240 to Gaza.

The Hamas-run health ministry has said ... though the figure cannot be independently verified and is believed to include both civilians and Hamas members killed in Gaza, including as a consequence of terror groups’ own rocket misfires.

The IDF’s data said the military has killed two Hamas brigade commanders as well as 19 battalion commanders and other senior officials with an equivalent rank. More than 50 Hamas company commanders and operatives with a similar rank have also been killed, according to the data.

In Lebanon, the IDF said it has killed more than 170 terror operatives, mostly members of the Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Some 30,000 targets have been struck in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the war, including more than 3,400 that were discovered as Hamas sites during the fighting. In Lebanon, some 750 Hezbollah positions have been hit, according to the IDF’s data.

Since the beginning of the war, some 9,000 projectiles fired from Gaza crossed the border into Israel, alongside 2,000 from Lebanon, and around 30 from Syria. These figures do not include rockets — said by Israel to be at least in the hundreds — launched by Gazan terror groups that misfired and landed in the Strip.

The IDF said the Military Intelligence Directorate’s Unit 504 has interrogated some 2,300 Palestinian suspects in the Gaza Strip, some of whom were arrested and brought to Israel for further questioning.

A total of 7,653 trucks ferrying humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip have been inspected by Israeli authorities at the Nitzana and Kerem Shalom crossings. The IDF said the trucks have carried a total of 137,920 tons of aid.

The IDF has also made 79,000 phone calls, dropped 7.2 million leaflets, and sent 13.7 million texts and 15 million recorded calls to Palestinians in Gaza with evacuation warnings.

Since October 7, in the West Bank, the IDF said troops have arrested more than 2,650 wanted Palestinians, including more than 1,300 affiliated with Hamas. It said 40 brigade-level raids have been carried out, and 14 homes of Palestinians accused of terrorism have been demolished.

According to the IDF’s data, a total of 295,000 reservists have been called up since the beginning of the war. Of them, around 45,000 are serving despite receiving an exemption from reserve duty.

The IDF said the nearly 300,000 reservists have been on duty for an average of 61 days.

Men make up 81 percent of the reservists, with the other 19% women. 115,000 of the reservists are fathers, and some 3,000 are mothers. Half of the reservists are between the ages of 20-29, with 31% being between the ages of 30-39. Another 13% are aged 40-49, 5% aged 50-59, and 1% aged 60-69.

A total of 522 soldiers, reservists and local security officers have been killed and another 2,536 have been wounded since October 7. Of them, 188 were killed and 1,113 were wounded during the ground offensive in Gaza, the latest being Sgt. First Class (res.) Andu’alem Kabeda, 21, who was killed fighting in the southern part of the enclave Saturday.

Kabeda was from the southern town of Kiryat Gat and served in the Combat Engineering Corps’ 603rd Battalion.

The IDF also listed 19 soldiers killed due to friendly fire in Gaza, and another 36 by accidents during the war, including car crashes and military-related incidents. TOI

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Hezbollah missiles hit moshav home, killing mother and son. Five IDF soldiers were wounded and three terrorists were killed in an exchange of fire during an infiltration attempt overnight Saturday. (January 14, 2024 / JNS) Mira Ayalon, 76, and her son Barak Ayalon, 48, were killed as they ate breakfast by two anti-tank missiles fired from Lebanon on Sunday. Her husband, 74, is suffering from anxiety.

The Hezbollah terrorist organization took responsibility for the attack on the home in Moshav Yuval in the Upper Galilee. Barak Ayalon was a member of the community’s civilian emergency response team. JNS

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Sign of life from three Israeli hostages in fresh Hamas propaganda clip. Clip shows Noa Argamani, Yossi Sharabi and Itay Svirsky in terror group's latest psychological warfare move; time of recording is unclear; Hamas' spokesperson reaffirms negotiations before cease-fire 'meaningless' Ynet | published: 01.14.24 | 16:24 YNet

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Egypt furious over Israeli claims its blocking aid from reaching Gaza. Cairo outraged after Israel claimes in World Court responsible for insufficient entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza; Egypt formes crisis management team, considers joining (so-called) 'genocide' petition. ...Since Israel presented its case at the tribunal, Egyptian and Arab media have repeatedly quoted the Israeli defense team's lawyer, Christopher Staker, who stated on Friday that "access to the Gaza Strip from Egypt is under Egyptian control, and Israel is not legally obligated to allow access to Gaza from its territory." Lior Ben Ari | published: 01.14.24 | 15:28 YNet

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Israeli soccer player arrested in Turkey after dedicating goal to hostages. Israeli forward Sagi Jehezkel scores for Antalyaspor against Trabzonspor, flashing ‘100 days’ marking on his bandage; under fan and media pressure, team removes social media posts, club president says player’s contract will be terminated Ynet | published: 01.14.24 |15:59 YNet

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Biden’s Iran containment strategy failing as Islamic regime gets closer to nuclear weapon: experts. By Ronny Reyes Published Jan. 14, 2024, 2:08 p.m. ET President Biden’s strategy of containing and de-escalating Iran’s state-sponsored terrorism is failing as fears grow over Tehran inching closer to obtaining nuclear power, experts warn.

Gabriel Noronha, a former US Department State adviser on Iran, said Sunday that Biden’s gamble to “bribe” Iran to halt its nuclear advancements through economic pressures and oil sanctions has flopped. NY Post

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Palestinian car breaks IDF roadblock, terrorists shoot at soldiers. By Jerusalem Post Staff 01/14/2024 04:31 PM JPost

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Israel hands Red Cross list of medicines to transfer to hostages - report. By Jerusalem Post Staff 01/14/2024 09:58 PM JPost

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UK police arrest six pro-Palestinian activists in alleged stock exchange plot. By Reuters 01/14/2024 09:32 PM JPost

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Islamic State attack kills three soldiers in west Iraq - military reports. By Reuters 01/14/2024 10:35 PM JPost

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Qatar emir: killing, displacing Palestinians cannot be accepted. By Reuters 01/14/2024 10:42 PM JPost

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Pro-Israel protesters flood European capitals’ streets to urge freeing Hamas hostages. Thousands of activists in London chant ‘Bring them home,’ cycle through Regents Park to draw attention to abductees amid tight security; marches also held in Paris, Berlin. By AFP and TOI Staff 14 Jan 2024, 8:54 pm . ([46] Pro-Israeli supporters wave Israeli and pre-revolution Iranian flags as they gather for a demonstration in Trafalgar Square in central London on January 14, 2024. (HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP) TOI

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In meeting with Herzog, Czech president reiterates solidarity with Israel in face of Hamas terrorism. By Lazar Berman Jan 14, 2024, 12:19 pm Czech President Petr Pavel meets with President Isaac Herzog, telling him, “We stand in solidarity with your right to fight terrorism.” Pavel also expresses concern over the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

He will meet later with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, war cabinet minister Benny Gantz, and other senior officials.

Pavel is also slated to meet families of hostages taken by Hamas. After his Israel visit, Pavel will head to Qatar, where he will meet the emir and prime minister. TOI

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Students in Haifa: Hitler did not get to it - so we will burn you now. The Rector of the University of Haifa, Professor Gur Alroey, said that the university administration received screenshots of students' posts and correspondence, including shocking support for the Hamas massacre on October 7 • Alroey immediately suspended those students, but the university administration overturned his decision on the grounds that his actions were done without authority and a trial should be held and discussion between the university and students. Yishai Fridman | 8 Shevat 5784 (01/15/24) | 17:35

The chairman of the student union in Haifa, Elad Asis, gave a harsh speech of rebuke yesterday (Sunday) in which he accused the administration of the University of Haifa of turning its back on and even betraying the abductees. Essis claimed that the administration of the University of Haifa canceled the suspension of inciting students who supported the massacre of Hamas on the 7 to October and thus harmed the families of the abductees.

Assis's words are strengthened in light of a Zoom call obtained by Channel 14 in which the rector of the University of Haifa, Professor Gur Alroey, makes very harsh statements against Israeli Arab students who supported the atrocities committed by the terrorist organization Hamas on October 7.

Prof. Alroey, the rector of the university, was the one who immediately suspended a number of students in Haifa already on October 8 after he saw that the statements and phrases said by those students constituted explicit support for the actions of Hamas.

However, the university management decided to cancel the rector's decision on the grounds that his actions were done without authority and a trial and discussion should be conducted between the university and the students who are represented today by lawyers. Therefore, their suspension was lifted and their case is currently being discussed by the disciplinary committee.

Professor Alroey told in a Zoom call that he had together with senior officials in the Israeli academy why he decided to suspend those students. From his words it appears that anti-Semitic students who support the massacre perpetrated by the terrorist organization Hamas study at the University of Haifa.

"We are starting to receive photos from social networks and also from WhatsApp photos of statements by students who upload photos and support Hamas and their actions," said Alroey and emphasized: "We do not support the Palestinian people or the Palestinian flag, but support the atrocity of Hamas." Alroey gave an example of an unimaginable statement by a student, who said 'Hitler did not have time to burn you in the Holocaust and we are burning you now'.

Another case was that a student at the University of Haifa said that October 7th is Palestinian Independence Day and that they will be burned at the stake every year. Prof. Alroey claimed that such extreme cases should not reach the disciplinary committee but should be immediately removed.

"I don't think there is any reason to invite a student to the rector's office and start explaining to him why it is forbidden to say that 'it's a shame that Hitler didn't burn Jews' or 'that this is the greatest day in the history of Palestine and now it's our independence day and we will be burned in the coming years,'" he said, "we won't see I need to invite a student to the rector's office and start explaining to him and educating him and giving him a history lesson." Now14

Haifa U. 'betrayed' hostages, says student union chairman. The student union chairman accused the Haifa University administration of hypocrisy for organizing a solidarity rally after reversing the suspension of terror-supporting students.

(January 16, 2024 / JNS) The chairman of the University of Haifa Student Union on Sunday harshly criticized the school’s administration, accusing it of betraying the student body and the hostages being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Speaking at a solidarity rally for the hostages, Elad Asis said, “How much hypocrisy is needed to organize a solidarity rally like this with the families of the abductees only one week after you brought back here terrorist supporters. You returned the students that supported the human animals that kidnapped those for whom you organized the rally. I’m embarrassed.”

“And I say to you that the absolute majority of the student community at the university—Jews, Muslims, Christians, Druze—we’re all embarrassed to be part of Haifa University at this time. What you did betrayed us, the student public, but worse than that, it’s a betrayal of them. It’s a betrayal of the hostages,” he continued.

Haifa University rector professor Gur Alroey suspended eight Arab students at the start of the month for expressing support on social media for the Oct. 7 massacre.

A week later his decision was overturned by the administration, which argued that Alroey made his decision without proper authority and that first a discussion should take place between the university and the students, Channel 14 reported.

The eight students were among hundreds of Haifa University students, mainly Arabs, brought up on disciplinary hearings for social media posts in support of the Hamas attack.

Most of the students are being represented by Adalah, which describes itself as "an independent human rights organization and legal center," but which watchdog group NGO Monitor has documented as engaging in numerous anti-Israel legal activities.

In an undated Zoom call posted by Channel 14, professor Alroey tells officials from Israeli academia why he suspended the students.

"We are starting to receive from social networks and from WhatsApp images of statements by students who upload photos [and] support Hamas and their actions," he says.

"[We're not talking about] support for the Palestinian people or the Palestinian flag, but support for the shocking actions of Hamas," he adds, giving an example of one student who wrote, "Hitler did not have time to burn you in the Holocaust, and so we are burning you now." JNS

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Centcom intercepts Houthi missile launched at US warship in Red Sea. 01.15.24 | 00:21 The United States Army's Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that a fighter jet intercepted an anti-ship cruise missile Sunday that was launched from an area of ​​Yemen controlled by the Houthi rebels and aimed at the U.S. Navy's battleship USS Laboon that was sailing in the southern Red Sea. CENTCOM said there were no casualties or damage from the attack. (Reuters) YNet

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IDF forces destroyed two houses of Hamas operatives in the West Bank at night. By Walla! 01/15/2024 06:46 AM JPost

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Hamas says Germany defends Israel at ICJ due to ‘so-called (sic) Holocaust’. By Benjamin Weinthal. Published: January 15, 2024 22:30

([47] Mohammad Nazzal speaks to Reuters in an interview in Cairo December 5, 2003. Nazzal said that Hamas will consider a ceasefire with Israel only after Israel does the same - photo credit: REUTERS/Aladin Abdel Naby AN/FMS)

Nazzal said that Germany is being strong-armed into intervening on Israel’s behalf at the UN court in The Hague.

Mohammad Nazzal, a member of the Hamas political bureau, declared Friday on the Qatar-owned Al-Jazeera network that Germany is defending Israel at the International Court of Justice because of the "so-called Holocaust." ... The Hamas terrorist said that Germany is paying an “unacceptable price” for its complex about the Shoah. He added that this is “unparalleled extortion.” After Nazzal denied the first Holocaust, he said Jews today are perpetrating a "new..." ...

Al-Jazeera has published reports on its Arabic and English language outlets denying the Holocaust.

Al Jazeera engages in "incitement" Shloma Karhi, the communications minister, told Israel’s Army Radio in October about Al Jazeera "This is a station that incites, this is a station that films troops in assembly areas (outside Gaza) ... that incites against the citizens of Israel - a propaganda mouthpiece.”

The Mossad told public broadcaster Kan in October that it advocates a ban on Al Jazeera because the outlet showed sensitive movements of Israeli forces along the Gaza Strip border.

Yigal Carmon, the former counter-terrorism advisor to Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir and Yitzhak Rabin, wrote Wednesday on the website of the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), "Qatar has two TV channels that are serving Hamas in time of war: Al Jazeera and Al-Araby. To the shame of Israel's reckless and failing government, these Goebbels-like channels are broadcasting from Israel. War was declared by Hamas commander in Gaza, Muhammad Deif, on these two channels on the morning of Saturday, October 7. Since then, both channels have been acting as megaphones for Hamas's military, operational, and propaganda messages." JPost

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Anti-Israel protesters target NYC cancer hospital for ‘complicity in genocide[sic]’ as terrified Jewish resident says ‘I thought I was in Germany in 1939’. By Haley Brown and David Propper Published Jan. 15, 2024 Updated Jan. 16, 2024, 7:35 a.m. ET Thousands of anti-Israel protesters descended on Manhattan to demand a cease-fire in Gaza on Monday, with some even targeting a respected hospital for cancer patients over its alleged “complicity in genocide.”

The protesters shouted “Shame!” at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center while patients received treatment on the Upper East Side before targeting a Starbucks and a McDonald’s restaurant they reportedly accused of making “meals for g....” NYPost

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Sagiv Jehezkel will return to Israel from Turkey later today – Foreign Ministry. By Lazar Berman Jan 15, 2024, 11:36 am

([48] Israeli soccer player Sagiv Jehezkel displays a message of solidarity with hostages held in Gaza while celebrating a goal for Turkish club Antalyaspor on January 14, 2024. - Antalyaspor/X; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Israeli soccer player Sagiv Jehezkel will return to Israel today from Turkey, the Foreign Ministry announces.

According to the announcement, the Foreign Ministry worked “with all relevant authorities in Turkey in order to bring about the speedy release” of the soccer player who was held for questioning yesterday.

“Turkey has become a dark dictatorship, which works against humanitarian values and the values of sports,” says Foreign Minister Israel Katz. “Anyone who arrests a soccer player over an act of identification with 136 hostages who have been held for over 100 days in the hands of a murderous terror organization represents a culture of murder and hatred.” TOI

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Eli Kowaz @elikowaz on X: Another Israeli soccer player in Turkey, Eden Kartsev, is being investigated for posting a Instagram story about the hostages held by Hamas terrorists in Gaza. Jan 15, 2024 on X

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UPDATE: CTV Quietly Deletes Antisemitic Blood Libel, Claiming Israel Is Committing “Mass Murder (sic) Of Palestinian Children”. By Mike Fegelman January 15, 2024 HonestReporting.ca

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Swastika spray-painted near Holocaust memorial in Philadelphia, police say. Authorities are investigating the vandalism, which comes amid a surge in antisemitic incidents nationwide.

—

Jan. 15, 2024, 8:53 AM EST By Elizabeth Chuck and Joe Kottke. A swastika was discovered on a wall near Philadelphia's Holocaust memorial Sunday, police said.

The antisemitic image was spray-painted on a building adjacent to the Horwitz-Wasserman Holocaust Memorial Plaza, according to Philadelphia police, who said they immediately launched an investigation NBC

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Ben Gvir calls for Israelis to boycott Turkey, calls Erdogan a 'full-on Nazi'. By Michael Bachner Jan 15, 2024, 11:41 am National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, an ultranationalist politician, charges that “Turkey acts toward Israeli players, and toward anything with a scent of Israeliness, with Nazism.”

“Erdogan is a full-on Nazi,” he says. “I call on Israelis not to travel to Turkey, not to buy any Turkish products and not to financially support them. The State of Israel and Israeli citizens must not act with forgiveness toward Turkey. We won’t let ourselves be trampled on.” TOI

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Khan Yunis: IDF strikes truck smuggling Hamas weapons. Israel National News Jan 15, 2024, 8:37 AM INN

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IDF operates in Shechem: 9 terrorists arrested at al-Najah University. Israel National News Jan 15, 2024, 11:03 AM INN

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Monday, January 15, 2024. Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News: The UN no longer parrots Hamas' obviously false "women and children killed" claims. For months, the UN OCHA unit faithfully reported Hamas' statistics saying that 70% of Gaza's deaths were women and children. This is from their January 2 report... EoZ

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A combined attack in Ra'anana: a woman was murdered and at least 20 people were injured. He stabbed a driver, stole her car - and started a rampage in the city: a 70-year-old woman was murdered and many other citizens were injured, 5 of them in a serious condition • After an extensive manhunt, 2 terrorists were arrested from the Hebron area • Among the injured: boys and children who finished the school day, a boy is sedated and ventilated in a serious condition • A student said: "We saw the terrorist with a knife next to us" • The mayor asked the students not to leave the schools at this time. N12 writers |N12 | Published 13:46 15.01.24 | Updated 15:15 15.01.24.

A combined attack in Ra'anana: a woman in her 70s was murdered and at least 20 other people were injured, 5 of them seriously, after a terrorist launched a stabbing and trampling spree on Haroshet, Weizman and Azoza streets in the city. MDA teams treated the wounded and evacuated them to the hospitals, large police forces arrived at the scene and began a hunt for the terrorists - 2 Hebron residents were arrested near one of the scenes. Among the injured: a man about 34 years old and a boy about 16 years old in serious condition with injuries to the head and limbs, 8 injured in moderate condition and another 3 in a minor condition. One of the terrorists was captured with a fake identity card, it is estimated that the terrorists were staying in the housing unit of the area. The police arrested the employer of the two terrorists.

The Shin Bet informed that the terrorists, Ahmed and Muhammad Zidat, are illegal residents aged 25 and 44 respectively, residents of Bani Naim or Yatir. K. The investigation of the attack continues" Mako

Four children, teens moderately wounded in Ra’anana attack brought to Schneider hospital. By Renee Ghert-Zand. Jan 15, 2024 Four children and teenagers wounded in the Ra’anana car ramming attacks have been brought to Schneider Children’s Medical Center in moderate condition and are undergoing evaluation in the emergency room.

The hospital is expecting more teens and children to be transferred from Beilinson Hospital, where they were initially taken.

TOI

79-year-old Edna Bluestein was murdered in an attack in Ra'anana. The terrorists went to work in the city "to murder Jews because of the war". New details. Or Ravid. Jan 15, 2023 21:23 ... The two terrorists, relatives who were prevented from entering Israel, arrived in Ra'anana three days ago with fake identity cards. In their investigation they said: "When the war in Gaza started, my cousin and I decided to carry out an attack and become martyrs. We arrived in Ra'anana three days ago by bus from Hebron. At first we wanted to stab Jews, then we decided to run over as many Jews as possible... Mako

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The terrorist bragged to his friends: "I killed 20 people, all for the sake of Allah". The two terrorists from the deadly attack in Ra'anana were banned from entering Israel, and when they were caught in the last year, they were released because they were only trying to provide a living for the family. Immediately after the attack, the terrorists bragged to their friends: "We have taken revenge, Allah Akbar" Kippa news 01/15/24 20:16, 5 Shvat, 5784. Kipa

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Yemen's Houthis say they will target US ships By Reuters. 01/15/2024 07:30 PM JPost

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Defense Minister Gallant: Only military pressure will secure release of hostages. By Reuters 01/15/2024 08:06 PM JPost

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Zechariah Shar'abi | זכריה | زكريا @ZechariahSharab: The #Houthis on the coast of #Yemen performing the Nazi salute as they yell "curse the #Jews" They attacked a US owned container ship with ballistic missiles earlier today in the Red Sea. Jan 15, 2024 on X

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Israel says it fears for lives of two hostages after latest Hamas propaganda video. IDF rejects terror group’s claim Itay Svirsky and another captive were killed when the military targeted a building where they were being held; Noa Argamani believed to be alive. Jan 15, 2024 11:42pm TOI

Israel denounces Hamas propaganda video as psychological terror. The building where hostages Yossi Sharabi and Itai Svirsky were held was not attacked by Israel, IDF Spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said. (January 15, 2024 / JNS) JNS

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Outright Jew-hatred and support for terrorists on display during ‘March for Gaza’ in Washington. From Hamas and Al-Qaeda flags to references to the Rothschilds and Nazis, ralliers went well beyond just “from the river to the sea.” Andrew Bernard (January 15, 2024 / JNS) Speakers at a “March for Gaza” in Washington on Jan. 13 promised that Israel would cease to exist and, to the cheers of thousands of attendees, accused U.S. President Joe Biden of supporting genocide against Palestinians.

Osama Abuirshaid, executive director of American Muslims for Palestine and the final speaker of the nearly four-hour event, promised that Palestine would be “victorious” and accused Biden of fueling Jew-hatred by supporting Israel.

...The march, which ran about three hours and 45 minutes in Freedom Plaza, a couple of blocks southeast of the White House, drew tens of thousands of participants. Nine organizations, including Abuirshaid’s, under the umbrella of the American Muslim Taskforce for Palestine co-sponsored the rally, which the Council on American-Islamic Relations claimed drew 400,000 people... While the Palestinian flag was the most common banner on display, other signs were also ubiquitous, including “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” (The crowd chanted that slogan frequently.)

Even more blatantly genocidal messages were chanted and displayed conspicuously at the event. One attendee, his face fully concealed by a keffiyeh, walked through the crowd waving the green banner of Hamas, greeted with cheers, including by a family with small children.

Another attendee waved a Palestinian flag with the face of Abu Obeida, the masked spokesman of Hamas.

At least one black jihadist flag, most frequently associated with the U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization Al-Qaeda, was also visible in the crowd.

Over several hours, only a few unblemished American flags could be seen, as most were covered in fake blood. The flags of American antagonists, including the Islamic Republic of Iran, Cuba and Russia, were also visible.

Among the more obviously anti-Jewish signs was one carried by a woman in a niqab (a full face veil) that stated “Khaybar, Khaybar, oh Jews,” a reference to the Muslim prophet’s conquest of Jewish tribes in the seventh century, which Islamic extremists invoke frequently. (The full phrase about Khaybar, which is in the northwestern Arabian peninsula, ends with “the army of Muhammad will return.”)... Early in the day, a protester confronted a man holding a sign that said “Children die for Rothschild, Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan” with Stars of David and swastikas. As JNS observed, he told the man to put the sign away, as it could be construed as antisemitic.... JNS

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Hamas fights with a patchwork of weapons built by Iran, China, Russia and North Korea Iranian sniper rifles.

By Michael Biesecker, Associated Press January 15, 2024, 9:44 AM ABC

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South Africa's False Charges of Israeli "Genocide". Max Boot, January 15, 2024. Israelis struggle to understand how their country could be accused of carrying out genocide in a war they did not start. If any party to the conflict is guilty of attempted genocide, it is Hamas. This terrorist organization, which is explicitly dedicated to the destruction of the Jewish state, has carried out war crimes, including the murder of Israeli civilians, the kidnapping of more than 200 Israelis (including old people and young children), and the widespread use of rape and sexual violence against Israeli girls and women.

There is no denying that Israeli forces have inflicted large-scale death and destruction in Gaza. This is a great tragedy for the people of Gaza, but primary blame must lie with Hamas, because it launched an unprovoked attack on Israel and uses civilians as human shields, in violation of the laws of war.

But there is no evidence that Israelis have engaged in a deliberate campaign to "destroy, in whole or in part," the Palestinian people - which is what "genocide" means in international law. If Israel, with all the firepower at its disposal, had been trying to commit mass murder, the death toll would have been higher by orders of magnitude.

Far from trying to deliberately slaughter Palestinian civilians, Israeli forces have made extensive efforts to notify them in advance of military operations and urge them to move out of the line of fire. Israeli forces ordered "humanitarian pauses" to facilitate relief efforts and created a "humanitarian corridor" for evacuations from northern to southern Gaza.

Israel has also facilitated the entry of more than 8,000 trucks carrying more than 145,000 tons of food to Gaza since the start of the war, some of which Hamas has seized for itself. These are clearly not the actions of a nation bent on exterminating the Palestinian people. Washington Post

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IDF says troops hit several suspects in firefight with apparent drug smugglers from Egypt. By Emanuel Fabian 16 Jan 2024, 12:05 am TOI

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Iran’s IRGC claims missile strike targeted Mossad ‘espionage headquarters’ in Iraqi Kurdistan. By Reuters and TOI Staff 16 Jan 2024, 12:45 am TOI

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Prime Minister's Office: 'Accusations of incitement are laughably false'. Prime Minister Netanyahu's office released a statement defending a Prime Minister against South Africa's accusations of incitement to (supposedly) genocide. Israel National News, Jan 16, 2024, 2:19 PM (GMT+2)

The Prime Minister's Office responded Tuesday morning to one of the accusations filed by South Africa stating that Israeli officials incite genocide by mentioning the biblical Amalek.

“Among the absurd accusations hurled at Israel in the Hague was the claim that the October 7th massacre was followed by a statement by Prime Minister Netanyahu inciting genocide by quoting the verse, ‘Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you were coming out of Egypt’ (Deuteronomy 25:17). This accusation is laughably false, and displays deep historical ignorance,” the statement read. INN

Netanyahu says accusations of genocide show historic ignorance. Prime Minister says South Africa's use of his quote from Deuteronomy 25 is absurd; says similar quote appears in Holocaust memorial in the Hague and is not evidence of a call for the annihilation of the Palestinians. Moran Azulay | 01.16.24: 06:30 YNet

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The Genocide Charge Against Israel Is a Moral Obscenity. Bret Stephens, Jan. 16, 2024 The U.S. and Britain killed a staggering number of German and Japanese civilians on the path to defeating the regimes that had started World War II - often known as the Good War. Events such as the bombings of Dresden or Tokyo, to say nothing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, were far more indiscriminate than anything Israel stands accused of doing. But no serious person holds Franklin Roosevelt to be on a moral par with Adolf Hitler. What the Allies did were acts of war in the service of a lasting peace, not genocide in the service of a fanatical aim.

Reasonable people can argue that Israel has been excessive in its use of force, or deficient in its concern for Palestinian civilians. I disagree. But how curious that the discussion has turned to genocide because it's the behavior of the Jewish state that's in question. And how telling that the accusation is the same one that rabid bigots have been making for years: that the Jews are the real Nazis - guilty of humanity's worst crimes and deserving of its worst punishments.

A verdict against Israel at the International Court of Justice would signal that another international institution has adopted the moral outlook of antisemites. NYT

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Iran strikes targets near US consulate in Iraq, killing prominent local businessman. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard has taken responsibility for the strikes, which a U.S. State Department spokesperson called "reckless." By Qassim Abdul-zahra and Salar Salim | Associated Press • Published January 16, 2024.

Four civilians were killed and six injured after missiles hit an upscale area near the consulate in Irbil, the seat of Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region, according to the security council of the Kurdish regional government. NBCdfw

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U.S. military says it seized Iranian weapons bound for Yemen's Houthis on Jan 11. U.S. Central Command said in a statement on Tuesday that it had seized Iranian advanced conventional weapons bound for Yemen's Houthis on Jan. 11. It was the first seizure of "lethal Iranian-supplied advanced conventional weapons" to the Houthis since Houthi attacks against merchant ships began in November, the statement added. (Reuters) 01.16.24: 07:33 YNet

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Gaza terrorists launch largest rocket barrage at Israel in weeks. Charles Bybelezer (January 16, 2024 / JNS) JNS

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Watch: Hero's welcome for soldier seriously hurt in war. Israel National News Jan 16, 2024, 8:17 PM INN

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Finland donates 1 million Euro to MDA to save lives. Israel National News Jan 16, 2024, 4:23 PM INN

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Islamic Jihad commander reveals How terrorists received military training in Iran. Israel National News Jan 16, 2024, 9:19 PM INN

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Terror tunnel connecting north, south Gaza destroyed. Tunnel used to transfer terrorists from north to south Gaza located underneath the Salah al-Din Road and crossed under Wadi Gaza. Israel National News Jan 16, 2024, 8:44 PM INN

Hamas tunnels 100s of miles longer than thought with 5,000 entry points. Akiva Van Koningsveld (January 16, 2024 / JNS) JNS

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Germany considering sending tank ammunition to Israel. By Reuters 01/16/2024 08:53 PM JPost

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'Scum of the Earth': Former NHL Player Blasts Pro-Palestinian Protesters for Demonstrating in Front of Cancer Hospital.

[49]

Warner Todd Huston, 16 Jan 2024. Former NHL defenseman Colby Cohen flamed pro-Palestinian protesters who were creating a disturbance outside a cancer hospital in New York City, according to reports.

The disruptors were picketing outside Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center on Monday, attacking the hospital as a “complicit institution” and alleging that they were part of a (so-called) “genocide [sic]” against so-called Palestinians, Fox News reported. Breitbart

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Iraq files complaint against Iran at UN Security Council over Iranian 'aggression'- statement. By Reuters 01/17/2024 01:13 AM JPost

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US carries out additional strikes against Houthis in Yemen. By Natasha Bertrand, Oren Liebermann and Haley Britzky, CNN Updated 2:14 PM EST, Tue January 16, 2024 CNN

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'He pulled out a knife, stabbed her, continued to rape her a bit more, and then he let her go.' Raz Cohen, who survived the Nova Music Festival massacre on October 7, became a key witness of Hamas' sexual violence and says he had been inundated with hateful messages online since he shared his testimony with the media.

Nir (Shoko) Cohen | published: 01.16.24 | 17:23

Raz Cohen, a survivor of the Nova Music Festival massacre on October 7, has become a key witness to the horrific acts committed by Hamas terrorists. His detailed account includes witnessing the rape of a young woman by the attackers. His testimony about these atrocities has been reported in various media outlets, including The New York Times.

In an interview with Ynet on Monday, Cohen detailed what he saw on October 7 and how he has been recovering mentally since.

"About 40 minutes after we hid in a bush, a white van arrived, from which 4-5 terrorists pulled out and captured a girl," he said. "I don't know if they pulled her out of the van or stopped the van near the girl and grabbed her, I didn't see that. I was inside a large bush, looking through the leaves and branches, and I saw what I saw. I didn't see the details of what they did, but when you see rape, you understand it's rape. When they pull down her pants halfway and 4 men form a semi-circle around her, holding her still while one makes raping motions, you know what you're seeing.

"That was about the entire event; it lasted almost a minute. At some point, he pulled out a knife, stabbed her, and I saw she wasn't moving anymore, she was actually a corpse, she had been murdered. He continued to rape her a bit more, and then he let her go." Cohen recalled that while he and his friend were hiding in the bushes alongside other revelers from the party, they had a couple of close calls with terrorists, while others hiding right beside them were not as lucky. "Another couple immediately came down from the direction of the van from where they were and went downstream. I was hiding in a bush in a stream. The couple went down to the stream and passed by us, by the bush, followed by a terrorist. The terrorist called the rest of the terrorists who raped the girl to help him catch this couple. And that's it, and from there it escalated, after they went after them.

"By the way, they passed by the bush so they dragged a few guys who were with us in the bush, because they were afraid they saw us. I also came out of the bush but my friend Shoham who was with me told me, 'Wait, don't come out of the bush' and the guys who came out of the bush, they caught them too. At least I didn't see it, but I heard the screams and I haven't seen them since they came out of the bush."

Cohen said that many of the terrorists did not appear to be Hamas fighters, but rather regular Gazan civilians, some armed with axes and knives.

"And that's it, and we hid in the bush for 9 hours bush with terrorists around us. These terrorists were not from the Nukhba unit [Hamas' elite force]. They were Gazans, civilians, with knives, axes, I don't think they had firearms, but there were many terrorists around us who did have firearms," he said. "There was a lot of shooting toward the bush because I think they were shooting at suspicious places, just randomly spraying at places where they thought they would hit someone hiding in the bush, because they didn't scan bush by bush and that's our luck that for 9 hours we were in the bush and no one physically entered the bush. "By the way, I think they didn't enter the bush because there was just one moment when the terrorists who caught the guys who saw they came out of our bush, they came back and stood outside the bush. They looked at the bush. They hesitated whether to enter or not. I'm looking him in the eye while I'm lying on the ground and I'm looking him in the eye and he's looking back at me, but he doesn't recognize that he's looking at a person because I'm trying to disguise myself. But in the end, he decided not to enter but what I understood from his look was that he told himself, 'I won't bother with the bush when I can walk 100-200 meters and catch other people, it will be easier for me than to catch people in a bush.'"

Cohen said that he had been inundated with hateful messages online since he shared his testimony with the media. "I've received endless antisemitic comments. Many messages on Instagram and calls from abroad in which people called me a liar. But I don't respond to them; there won’t be an end to it. No matter what, we are Jewish, they'll hate us no matter what we say."

Meanwhile, Cohen says that he also received positive responses "from Americans and people from all over the world," but wondered, "Why are we being criticized for telling about the rapes? Is it because there’s no documentation, so it means it didn’t happen?"

Cohen says he struggled mentally since escaping the massacre. "The last three months feel like we’re still living on October 7," he says. "The fact that I survived the attack, just the fact that I'm here and can talk about it, means that I've made progress in treating myself. But as long as the country is in this situation and we’re still in a never-ending nightmare, it doesn't feel like 100 days have passed since then." He says that in the first month of the war, he was given psychological treatments but has returned to normal life. "I was in a retreat in Cyprus and in various therapeutic institutions in Israel. In the first week, I was overwhelmed by the situation I was in, but after a month, I think I realized, 'Okay, you went through this, let's move on.'"

From a perspective of 100 days to the war, can you grasp the moment when you survived?

"In the first two weeks, I’d tell you that it’s a story about making the right calls, but now I can say it all comes from above. Someone decided that I must carry on, that I have another role to play here.” “It's a little deeper than that, and it's a longer conversation to have because, ultimately, I did make the right decisions to survive, but I could’ve also made the wrong ones, and it's a matter of a split second between deciding to hide in a bush or to keep running." YNet

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Brazilian Desiree Rugani: Presenting Israel's truth in Portuguese. Yoni Kempinski Jan 16, 2024, 8:36 PM INN

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Hostages Yossi Sharabi and Itai Svirsky were murdered in Hamas captivity, family told. The hardest news of all: Some 102 days after Hamas attack, the families of two hostages seen in the psychological terror video were informed that they are dead and their bodies are in the hands of Hamas. Yael Ciechanover, Matan Tzuri | published: 01.16.24 | 15:39 YNet

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HonestReporting · Jan 16, 2024 @HonestReporting · Replying to @HonestReporting: When @CNN's @amanpour compared Israel to Hezbollah regarding possible breaches of UN Resolution 1701 she ignored the key context. on X

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StopAntisemitism @StopAntisemites: UPDATE: a map omitting Israel as a nation used by teacher Rita Lahoud at PS261 has been removed, per a letter by New York Public School Community School District 15 Superintendent Rafael Alvarez.

It is unclear if Lahoud has been terminated.

Thoughts on Alvarez's letter?.. Jan 16, 2024 on X

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Iranian TV Show Celebrates Car Ramming Attack In Ra’anana, In Which An Elderly Israeli Woman Was Murdered And Schoolchildren Were Injured: ‘They Were Flattened Like Asphalt, Some Of Them Had To Be Scraped Off The Road With A Spatula. January 16, 2024.

Iranian TV host Mohammad Tadi celebrated a car-ramming attack in the city of Ra’anana on his January 15, 2024, show on Channel 2 (Iran). He said that news of the attack in which an Israeli elderly woman was murdered, and several schoolchildren were severely injured, was “very happy.” Tadi stated that victims had to be scraped off the road “with a spatula.” Earlier on the show, Tadi celebrated news of a Yemeni-Houthi attack on an American vessel using sophisticated weapons.

Mohammed Tadi: “At the start of our show, I have two happy news items for you to enjoy. A wonderful operation was carried out in the Gulf of Aden. They took an American vessel… pay attention, it was an American [ship]. It was not a cargo ship heading to Israel. It was not Israeli, it belonged to the US. They officially announced that it was an anti-ship ballistic missile, a highly sophisticated [piece of] technology, as confirmed by CENTCOM, attacked the American vessel. Who do you think did this? The Yemeni champions. They also took responsibility very nicely. Memri

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The Persian Jewess @persianjewess: Pro-Hamas student groups @Columbia are petitioning to have #Israeli professor @ShaiDavidai fired.

His crime? Openly advocating for the return of 134 hostages and condemning #HamasRapists and the student groups who support them.

Sadly, he’s not the first professor to be targeted by pro-terrorist student groups who want to silence #Jewish voices.

Despite the firing of both @Upenn’s Liz McGill and @Harvard’s Claudine Gay, universities continue to blatantly disregard the virulent Jew Hate that is sweeping their campuses.

Stay strong, Shai. The students need you now more than ever. 💙

1. AmYisraelChai
2. IStandWithIsrael
3. BringThemHomeNow

Quote: Shai Davidai @ShaiDavidai · Jan 16: The pro-terror organizations at @Columbia are getting scared.

In an effort to silence me, they are now petitioning that I be "removed from teaching and contact with students."

A message to my students: don't worry. Next Tuesday I *will* be in class.

We will not be silenced.

Last edited 10:39 PM · Jan 16, 2024 on X

what I reproduce will be as close to the quality of my previous effort.

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Kamel Amin Thaabet @K_AminThaabet: The Amanpour playbook:

-Shine a bright spotlight on the fringe of Israeli extremism.

-Regard the sadly mainstream phenomenon of Palestinian extremism, if at all, through softly lit gauze. Jan 16, 2024 on X

Yishai Fleisher يشاي ישי פליישר  @YishaiFleisher: Thanks @CNN for letting me voice my perspective. However, there is nothing "extreme" in wanting to destroy #Hamas and working to distance supporters of the #October7massacre. Most Israelis stand with these basic security demands. Jan 17, 2024. on X

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Violent Pro-Palestine Demonstrations Are Not a Bug. They’re a feature of a dangerous new politics By Eitan Fischberger, January 17, 2024.

Anarchic, pro-Palestinian rallies have continued to intensify across the United States ever since Oct. 7, when Hamas massacred 1,200 people and took another 240 hostage. These nationwide protests, marked by highly disruptive tactics, have raised critical questions about the nature of protest, the boundaries of dissent, and the willingness of Western governments to assert and protect basic social values. When one delves deeper into the protesters’ driving ideology, it becomes clear that mass disruption is not a byproduct of their agenda, but the agenda itself.

These groups’ tactics have included blocking roads to international airports on New Year’s Day; endangering passenger planes by launching balloons over the runways; blocking highways that delayed the delivery of organ transplants to hospitals; illegally occupying a House office building near the U.S. Capitol; vandalizing stores supposedly complicit in Israel’s “genocide” of Gaza; disrupting the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and Christmas tree lighting ceremonies in major cities; and storming the World Trade Center, defacing public monuments, targeting a cancer hospital, and attacking the White House gates while screaming “Allahu akbar” and “intifada revolution.”

What drives these protesters to such extremes, and convinces them to opt for such woefully misguided methods that—by disrupting the lives of ordinary people—appear to be counterproductive to their cause?

At the forefront of these demonstrations are various Islamic organizations often linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, as well as fringe Jewish anti-Zionist groups championing progressive causes such as climate justice and women’s rights. These groups find common ground in an ideology, ostensibly influenced by works of the French Martinican psychiatrist and post-colonial writer Frantz Fanon, that sees “liberation” and “decolonization” as a global revolutionary struggle and perceives their disruptive actions as a vital component of it. They believe that by obstructing crucial social services and public spaces, they effectively challenge superstructures deemed oppressive. This worldview is predicated on the notion that any inconvenience caused to innocent individuals is justified in the pursuit of societal transformation; their obstructive protest methods aren’t a defect, but a requirement of this worldview.

Individuals, after all, matter little in the struggle of global class and sectarian warfare. In the protesters’ eyes, “Palestine” is a stand-in, a representation of every ostensible victim class across the world fighting for their liberation from oppression. Their “solidarity” transcends geographical boundaries, making any random cause and the Palestinian cause inseparable in their eyes.

That’s why, as Seattle-based Palestinian American journalist Tariq Ra’ouf so eloquently put it when his cohorts blocked Seattle’s northbound I-5 last week: “We are going to inconvenience every single person who doesn’t give a fuck [about Gaza] until they give a fuck. That’s how this goes.”

This entire worldview was epitomized in a November 2023 statement released by the Samidoun Prisoner Solidarity Network, a proxy of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and leading protest organizer, which read:

'The power of the US-led imperial core is declining but it continues its desperate stranglehold on capitalism. Gaza is a focal point of this stranglehold and the testing ground for a completely new tactic of extermination … It is increasingly clear that this tactic will not stay contained to Gaza. From Kashmir to Korea, fascist states like India and the US are already laying the groundwork to replicate this tactic. It is clearer every day that we are facing a coordinated effort to normalize not just the genocide[sic] of the Palestinians but the genocide of any and all people who resist the US-led imperialist world order.'

Similarly, at a 300,000-person, pro-Palestinian march in Washington, D.C., in November, organizers highlighted purported similarities between Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and police treatment of Black Americans. They blathered about imperial powers, and stressed the importance of connecting with other global liberation struggles, like the Haitian and Algerian revolutions, to enhance the “collective fight for liberation.” It’s also why, in the wake of U.S. strikes against the Houthi terror group that’s been terrorizing Middle Eastern waterways for months, protesters in New York City chanted “from the river to the sea, Yemen will be free.”

Amid the rising chaos and fervor of these protests, which have been allowed to routinely disrupt life in America’s major cities for over three months now, it’s essential to consider their broader impact on the American social and political fabric. These events are not just isolated demonstrations; nor are they simply responses to the realities of Israel’s conflict with Gaza. They’re also symptomatic of a deeper shift in protest culture in the United States.

According to the Crowd Counting Consortium, between Oct. 7 and Nov. 28 there were 1,869 pro-Palestinian protests in the U.S. involving hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people collectively. These protests have included civil disobedience, vandalism, and violent assaults, resulting in 1,600 arrests during that time period (the number is undoubtedly hundreds, if not thousands higher by January 2024). Young people are disproportionately represented in these protests, which is unsurprising since American universities have been key vectors for indoctrinating Americans into third-world sectarianism and the valorization of its violence.

Remarkably, many of these demonstrators, and the organizations that pay them and routinely bail them out, are also being supported by wealthy nonprofits such as the People’s Forum, and taxpayers (to the tune of $9 million in NYC). The highly politicized intersections of identity politics, wealthy domestic and foreign funders, and government backing certainly helps explain why these demonstrations have been allowed to continue, month after month, despite open calls for genocide and the destruction of public and private property, and the disruption they inflict on the lives of ordinary citizens.

Despite the volume of pro-Hamas protests—or maybe because of it—84% of Americans continue to support Israel over the terror group. Predictably, there’s also been a mounting backlash to the disruption inflicted by the protesters. “They antagonized people so much that they frightened people, to the point that they were not hearing what they were protesting about,” said Fernando Romero, president of Hispanics in Politics, after protesters interrupted a Jan. 5 event in Las Vegas where Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., was speaking and had to be escorted out a back door. In a viral video posted online on Jan. 8, a Black New Yorker was seen exiting his van and shoving protesters blocking traffic in New York City, yelling, “You can’t do that! It’s against the law! I have a daughter in Brooklyn … I have to get home!”

The trajectory of anti-Israel protests across America suggests a deeper, more unsettling trend. Far from a legitimate expression of opposition, they’ve morphed into a troubling display of ideological extremism and physical violence cloaked in the guise of social justice and backed by wealthy domestic radicals and by foreign states like Qatar, the primary global sponsor of the Muslim Brotherhood. The reckless tolerance of this continuing level of radicalism and disruption does a profound disservice to the principles of democracy and civil discourse. Whatever one believes the rights and wrongs of the Israeli-Arab conflict to be, allowing violent demonstrators calling for genocide and supporting terror organizations like Hamas and the Houthis to own the streets of Western democracies sends a very dangerous message—one that threatens the fabric of a society built on liberal values and legitimate dissent. TabletMag

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Jewish mom, daughter say they were attacked by ‘violent’ anti-Israel protesters, called a ‘Naz. b—h’ as she takes Adams to task for not doing enough. By Alyssa Guzman, New York Post, January 17, 2024.

A Jewish mother said she and her daughter were “violently” attacked by anti-Israel protesters who called her a “Na.. b–h” on Manhattan’s Upper East Side this week — and called on Mayor Eric Adams to get a handle on the demonstrations.

The 43-year-old mom, who asked to remain anonymous, said she was dropping off groceries at her apartment after returning from upstate on Monday when she and her daughter were surrounded by protesters.

“When I came back, she [her daughter] was in the middle of this chaos,” the mother told The Post Tuesday.

The Upper East Sider said when she took out her phone to start recording the chaos after checking in on her daughter, she was told she was a “Nazi b—h,” to which her daughter said, “We’re Jewish.”

“When they heard we were Jewish … they all came around my car and started screaming, ‘You murderous Jews,’ ‘Death to all you Jewish bast###s,’ and [were] banging on my car,” she said in a phone interview.

The protesters also put stickers on her car and wouldn’t allow her to move her vehicle, all while chanting, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and “Death to America,” among other things, she said.

“Those protesters are calling for violence, they’re calling for violence here in New York,” she said. “They are absolutely not calling for any kind cease-fire.

“They’re getting more and more dangerous and more and more violent.”

After being called a “Naz. b–ch,” the mother got into the car, where her daughter already was. The crowd of protesters began to swarm their vehicle, attacking it and screaming at them. A male protester even threw an apple at their windshield so hard, it nearly cracked it….

Despite Adams’ words, the Upper East Side mom said people she’s talked to have nothing good to say about how the mayor is handling the protests, which happen weekly throughout the boroughs. NY Post

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Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News, Wednesday, January 17, 2024:

The Lancet casualty methodology helps prove that Gaza deaths have been greatly exaggerated over the past month In early December, The Lancet published a peer-reviewed study that sought to prove that the Gaza Ministry of Health casualty counts were largely accurate.

Their methodology was to compare the number of deaths per thousand reported by the Gaza Ministry of Health with the number of deaths per thousand of UNRWA employees, which were counted independently by UNRWA and not the Hamas ministry.

They found that the two death rates were roughly the same (actually, UNRWA's was higher), indicating that the health ministry was not exaggerating the total number of deaths.

[50]

The methodology is flawed. It makes an assumption that everyone in Gaza has an equal chance of being killed, meaning that Israel is killing people randomly and indiscriminately. This is not only a false assumption, but an antisemitic one.

Indeed, one reason UNRWA workers could have been killed at a higher rate is because none of them are children - and more than half of them are males of fighting age. About two thirds of the first 101 killed were men, a higher percentage than the percentage of male employees at UNRWA (about 54% across UNRWA, not sure about Gaza itself.) Chances are that at least some of the UNRWA casualties were also legal combatants, either actively participating or acting as "spotters" or other support.

But there's another problem with this. If the Lancet methodology is correct, then it should be correct for every month of the war, not just the first month.

But over the past month, from December 15 to January 15, Hamas claims 5200 people were killed - 2.4 per thousand. But only 15 UNRWA employees were killed in that same timeframe - only 1.1 per thousand! (I'm assuming 13,500 UNRWA employees and 2.2 million total population of Gaza, which seems to be The Lancet's numbers.)

Using the Lancet's own methodology, even assuming the false assumption that UNRWA employees represent the entire population of Gaza rather than only adults and primarily males, the number of deaths claimed by Hamas is over double what their methodology would predict!

That's thousands of false Gaza deaths - using the methodology of this peer-reviewed paper.

Even if we accept that the Gaza health ministry had accurate information for the first month of the war, logic indicates that as Gaza infrastructure has deteriorated, the reliability of their figures has gone down as well. As we showed earlier, even the UN no longer parrots the Hamas claims that 70% of the deaths are women and children. There is no reason to believe the ministry of health figures over the past two months given that we know their "70% women and children" number is pure propaganda.

Which strongly indicates that Hamas is mandating how many deaths to claim, and the relationship with reality is increasingly tenuous as the war goes on and as Hamas sees its figures accepted as truth worldwide.

Beyond that, would the Lancet even consider publishing a paper using the exact same methodology for the time period of December 15-January 15 as I've shown here? I highly doubt it. Which shows how even "peer reviewed" papers can be biased, even when their numbers are accurate - the researchers and editors are looking only to publish papers that confirm their biases, and they won't even bother to look at anything that shows that disproves their biases.

But if any doctors and statisticians want to take this data and submit it to this formerly prestigious journal - data that thoroughly rebuts the first paper - it would be instructive to see whether they are honest enough to publish it.

(If you are wondering, the data for November 10-December 15 shows a 2.5/1000 death rate for UNRWA employees and 3.5/1000 for Hamas figures of Gaza' general population - also a significant difference, but not as striking as the most recent month.) EoZ

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Iraq recalls ambassador, summons Iran’s chargé d’affaires over strikes in Irbil. By Salar Salim And Omar Albam Updated 7:57 PM EST, January 16, 2024 AP

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Iraq Protests Iranian Attacks On Erbil, Plans Legal Action | Iran International Jan 16, 2024 — Iraq has summoned the Iranian charge d'affaires in Baghdad over the attacks in several areas of Erbil on Monday. IranIntl

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Iraqi Kurdish PM cancels meeting with Iran minister in protest over attack. Jan 17, 2024 — Iraqi Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani cancelled a meeting with Iran's foreign minister at the World Economic Forum at Davos ... Reuters

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Revealed: Hostage was ‘sold’ to Islamic Jihad during Gaza captivity. Startling details emerge of Ada Sagi’s 54 days in the hands of Hamas. By Jenni Frazer January 17, 2024, 4:56 pm New details of what had happened to one of the Gaza hostages, Ada Sagi, emerged during an interview with her London-based son, Noam, at the St John’s Wood audience event on Monday evening. The 75-year-old Arabic and Hebrew teacher had been “sold” to another group, Islamic Jihad, and was kept in a civilian apartment belonging to a lawyer, before finally being released after 54 days in captivity. JewishNews

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Hamas to take 1,000 boxes of medicine for every one going to hostages. Some of the captives held in Gaza are in dire need of medical treatment.

(January 17, 2024 / JNS) Medicines destined for Israeli hostages, but most of which will end up serving the Hamas terrorist organization, entered the Gaza Strip from Egypt, Ynet reported on Wednesday night. JNS

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GMC urged to suspend GP leader of UK Islamist group. Dr Abdul Wahid, UK chair of Hizb ut-Tahrir, remains an NHS doctor in Harrow despite the group now being banned in the UK. By Michelle Rosenberg, January 17, 2024, 3:42 pm JewishNews

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Senate rejects Sanders' anti-Israel resolution. Elad Benari Jan 17, 2024, 3:10 AM INN

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Hostages shown on Bild newspaper's building. German Bild newspaper with another gesture calling for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza. Nitsan Keidar Jan 17, 2024, 3:37 AM INN

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Prominent West Bank terror leader eliminated in IDF airstrike. Army says Amed Abdullah Abu-Shalal and 2 other members of terrorist cell planning imminent large-scale attack killed in drone strike on their car; 2 reservists killed in action in northern Gaza. Ynetnews | 01.17.24 01:21 YNet

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Hamas propaganda? Wikipedia's shocking anti-Israel bias. Yitz Goldberg. Arutz Sheva found that the Arabic version of the online encyclopedia displays a PLO flag and banner calling to stop the 'genocide.' Arabic versions of articles are biased, with some presenting unconfirmed reports or even blatant lies as facts. Jan 17, 2024, 7:00 PM INN

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IDF takes out Hezbollah terrorists who fired barrage at Israel's North. By Jerusalem Post Staff 01/17/2024 08:07 PM JPost

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Sweden summons Iranian chargé d’affaires over detained citizens. By Reuters 01/17/2024 08:47 PM [51]

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Aid has enters Gaza Strip, Qataris report By Guy Ulsrer 01/17/2024 11:16 PM [52]

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The Arab League strongly condemn the Iranian attack on the Iraqi city of Erbil. By Maariv Online 01/17/2024 11:24 PM JPost

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US Senate Democrats weigh conditions on Israel aid, Schumer says. By Reuters 01/17/2024 10:37 PM JPost

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Medicine for Israeli hostages entered Gaza. It is believed the medicine will be transferred to the Israeli hostages on Thursday.

Israel National News Jan 17, 2024, 11:42 PM INN

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Yemen's Houthis target US ship in Gulf of Aden with missiles -statement By Reuters

01/17/2024 11:45 PM JPost

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US Condemns Iranian Strikes On Pakistan, Iraq, Syria.

Jan 17, 2024.

We've seen Iran violate the sovereign borders of three of its neighbors in just the past couple of days," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters NDTV

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Toronto Star’s Shree Paradkar Accuses Israel Of Killing Palestinian “Journalists” In “Unprecedented Numbers” – Ignoring Their Role In Terrorism. By Mike Fegelman January 17, 2024 HonestReporting.ca

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Palantir convenes high-level gathering in Davos to support Israeli hostages.

Families of hostages urged attendees to do whatever they can to push for the freedom of captives in Gaza. Matthew Kassel, January 17, 2024.

The software giant Palantir hosted a high-level gathering on Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, with family members of Israeli hostages held in Gaza as well as freed Israeli captives, who described their experiences in searing detail and urged attendees to show support for the remaining abductees.

In a series of emotional speeches to a packed room at Palantir’s pavilion on the promenade in Davos, the audience, which included a number of top tech and business leaders, heard a range of accounts from Israelis affected by the violence. JewishInsider

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House Republicans ask UNRWA chief for answers about aid theft. Andrew Bernard (January 17, 2024 / JNS) Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs Committee are seeking testimony from the head of the U.N. Palestinian aid agency, as the Hamas terrorist group is accused of stealing U.N. aid shipped into Gaza.

A Jan. 15 letter organized by Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.) requests that Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, testify before the committee about whether UNRWA has aided Hamas. JNS

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Redesignating Houthis, Biden admin hopes terror group will become ‘constructive actor’. Andrew Bernard January 17, 2024 / JNS) The United States plans to re-designate the Yemen-based Houthi militant group as a terrorist organization following its repeated attacks on Red Sea shipping that have wreaked havoc on international trade, Jake Sullivan, the U.S. national security advisor, said on Wednesday. JNS

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North Korea's longstanding secret alliance with Hamas. The hermit communist state has a long been supplying weapons and training to Israel's adversaries in order to prop up its faltering economy. Itamar Eichner | published: 01.17.24 | 03:03 YNet

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CNN airs Oct. 7 clip from Nir Oz showing 'evidence of beheadings' by Hamas. January 18, 2024, 12:00 am CNN airs footage from Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, saying it shows a terrorist “sawing at the necks of dead Israelis, evidence of beheadings.”

The US network says an unnamed Israeli source provided the CCTV footage from Kibbutz Nir Oz, which is censored and edited to highlight the use of the knife.

WARNING: GRAPHIC FOOTAGE.

[Elad Simchayoff @Elad_Si: ⚠️ Disturbing Content ⚠️ Footage obtained by @CNN shows a Hamas terrorist attempting to behead two Israeli victims in kibbutz Nir Oz. A quarter of the 400 kibbutz residents were either murdered or abducted on October 7. 2:14 PM · Jan 17, 2024 TOI

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Father of fallen soldier: Terrorist decapitated my son, tried to sell head for $10,000. David Tahar, whose son Adir was killed on Oct. 7, says captured terrorists revealed details enabling retrieval of missing head from Gaza; CNN shows separate decapitation video. By TOI Staff, Jan 18, 2024, 11:40 am ([53] Undated photo of IDF Cpl. Adir Tahar, 19, who died fighting Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023. IDF).

A terrorist from the Gaza Strip decapitated an IDF soldier killed in fighting on October 7 and later tried to sell his head for $10,000, the soldier’s bereaved father revealed, adding that “by a miracle” it was eventually found by the army and returned to Israel for burial.

David Tahar revealed the mutilation of his son Cpl. Adir Tahar, 19, in an interview with Channel 14 on Wednesday.

Adir, stationed on a base near the Gaza border, was killed with other members of his Golani Brigade unit as they fought back against Hamas terrorists on October 7 during the terror group’s devastating assault on Israel that killed over 1,200 people.

David described his son as a “smart boy, talented and very modest.” On October 7, as some 3,000 Hamas-led terrorists burst into southern Israel from the Gaza Strip, Adir was among a group of 18 soldiers who went out to face what they knew were hundreds of terrorists, David said.

Adir was killed by a rocket-propelled grenade and three more grenades that were thrown at him.

The terrorists then cut off his son’s head and took it to Gaza, David said. Adir’s body was identified from his identity tags, DNA testing, and personal items in his pockets.

([54] Screen capture from video of David Tahar, whose son Adir was killed fighting Hamas terrorists, during an interview with Channel 14, January 17, 2024. Channel 14. Used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

David discovered the mutilation minutes before Adir was due to be buried. The soldier’s remains were brought for interment at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem. David said he insisted he wanted to see his son’s body though IDF officials warned him it would be better if he didn’t look.

“A father needs to know everything about his children,” he explained to Channel 14.

Half an hour before the burial ceremony, when just he and his nephew were alone with the coffin, David opened it to look at his son.

“I understood exactly what I was burying,” David said. “I knew I was burying a boy without the essential part.”

David said that for two months he tried everything he could to find out where his son’s head was.

“It wasn’t easy, it wasn’t simple,” he said and recalled watching dozens of hours of videos from the Hamas massacres that were posted to social media. Eventually, he found a video showing his son’s body without his head.

Then, in December “a miracle” happened, he said.

Two terrorists who were captured by Israeli forces and interrogated by the Shin Bet security service revealed that one of them had tried to sell an IDF soldier’s head for $10,000 and gave details on where it could be found.

“That is just insane barbarism,” David said.

Orders were given for an elite unit, backed up by tanks, to enter a central Gaza location where they found the head in a bag inside a freezer in an ice cream store.

The severed head had also apparently been further abused, David said.

It was returned to Israel. DNA and dental records showed that it was Adir’s head and it was later buried.

Despite the terrible circumstances, David said it gave him peace of mind that Adir’s head was returned.

The Tahar family, from the Gilo neighborhood in Jerusalem, is now working to establish a neighborhood support center for endangered youth in honor of Adir. There is also a Torah scroll being written in his memory.

‘Sawing at the necks’

The revelation about Tahar’s mutilation came as CNN aired footage from October 7 that it said showed a terrorist “sawing at the necks of dead Israelis, evidence of beheadings.”

The US network said an unnamed Israeli source provided the CCTV footage from Kibbutz Nir Oz, which is censored and edited to highlight the use of the knife.

CNN anchor Jake Tapper showed the clip in his show “The Lead.”

“Evidence of beheadings, cementing an Israeli view that Hamas is now akin to jihadi groups like al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (ISIS),” reporter Matthew Chance said in the CNN piece.

WARNING: GRAPHIC FOOTAGE ([55]) The revelation about the abuse of Adir Tahar’s body and the CNN video add to mounting evidence of the widespread atrocities committed on October 7.

During the Hamas-led assault, terrorists overran communities and military posts, slaughtering those they found. Entire families were murdered as they huddled together in their homes. Women were gang-raped and then murdered. One eyewitness described to the Sunday Times seeing a woman defend herself against terrorists who were trying to gang-rape her at an outdoor music festival where 360 people were massacred. The attackers instead beheaded her with a shovel.

The terrorists also abducted more than 240 people who were taken as hostages to Gaza, where 132 are believed to remain in captivity.

In response to the attack, Israel launched a military campaign to destroy Hamas, remove it from power, and free the hostages.

Israel has repeatedly said that the atrocities committed by Hamas show that it is a terror group on par with Islamic State and must be eradicated. TOI

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Freed hostage recounts torture of women in Gaza’s terror tunnels – Washington Post. Jerusalem Post Staff, January 18, 2024.

([56] Agam Almog-Goldstein. Photo credit: according to Article 27 A of the Copyright Law)

In an interview for international media, Agam Goldstein-Almog discussed Hamas's psychological torture, starvation, and her encounter with other female hostages in the tunnels beneath Gaza.

As soon as Agam Goldstein-Almog (17) was abducted from Kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7 in Gaza, she was forced to put on a headscarf and a long dress, commanded to look at the ground, was forced to recite Islamic prayer, and her abductors gave her a name from the Quran, Salsabil, the Washington Post reported on Monday.

In an interview with international media, Agam described the horror she experienced for nearly two months as a hostage inside Gaza while speaking from a kibbutz in central Israel that has largely become a temporary refuge for displaced Israeli civilians.

In the interview, Agam addressed the female hostages still in Gaza. She asked, “Have you eaten enough today? Are you together, or have they separated you? Has he harmed you again? Has he asked you, again, if you’re married, if he could set you up with someone from Gaza? Has he entered your shower again, stripped the pajamas that he gave you, touched the would [sic] from the bullet that he shot, that really hurt you? But his control hurt more.”

Agam was taken to the Hamas tunnels underneath Gaza, to apartments and a school that was also a rocket launching site. Her captors allowed her to shower five times in the 51 days she was in Gaza, the Washington Post reported.

Some hostages had been kept alone in small rooms with their captors. They told Agam and her mother that they had been sexually assaulted “with great difficulty and tears.”… JPost

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UN: No indication Hamas was building elaborate tunnel system. Mike Wagenheim. Despite the presence of a Hamas terror tunnel system in the Gaza Strip now thought to be larger in scale than the London Underground, the United Nations insists it had no idea the tunnels were being built. (January 18, 2024 / JNS) JNS

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Banner hung in Iran: ‘We stand with Israel’. The show of support was unfurled on a bridge in Tehran at night. (January 18, 2024 / JNS) A banner reading, “We stand with Israel” and expressing support for an Iranian dissident activist who recently visited the Jewish state was hung in Tehran on Wednesday, the London-based Persian-language Iran International television station reports. JNS

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Gallant: Unless Hamas is destroyed, we will not be able to live in Israel. Akiva Van Koningsveld (January 18, 2024 / JNS) JNS

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Bibas family marks Kfir’s first birthday in Hamas captivity. “They are being used as human shields and bargaining chips. The entire world must put pressure on Hamas using all existing means for their release." Amelie Botbol (January 18, 2024 / JNS) JNS

Israeli Pres. marks youngest hostage's birthday. Israel National News Jan 18, 2024, 12:02 PM INN

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Tank fire and aerial assistance: IDF releases footage from raid on Khan Yunis compound. IDF troops conducted a targeted raid on 'Martyrs Outpost,' Givati Brigade operating in the southernmost area of Khan Yunis. Israel National News, Jan 18, 2024, 1:26 PM INN

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Freed hostage to international leaders: They are held underground, terrified & wounded Unprecedented: Around 150 of the most senior CEOs in the global economy participate in a meeting with Hamas hostage survivors. Israel National News, Jan 18, 2024, 12:53 PM An unprecedented event took place Thursday, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the Families Headquarters reported. INN

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IDF kills 60 terrorists in Gaza as ground op pushes south. IDF completes destruction of Hamas's Central Camp Brigade's weapon production infrastructure. Joshua Marks

(January 18, 2024 / JNS) Israeli forces killed 60 terrorists in the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, including 40 in the southern Hamas stronghold of Khan Yunis, the Israel Defense Forces reported on Thursday morning. JNS

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IDF troops locate belongings likely owned by Israeli hostages. IDF forces operating in Khan Younis found on Thursday several items likely owned by Israeli hostages. Meanwhile, the military told American news network NBC that forces have been operating in Gaza cemeteries in an attempt to locate bodies of Israeli captives. (Ynet) 01.18.24 YNet

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Qatar says it is 'likely' medicines reached hostages, but difficult to confirm. The spokesman for Qatar's Foreign Ministry said Thursday evening that it is "probable" that the medicines that were transferred Wednesday night to the Gaza Strip for the hostages held captive by Hamas did reach them, as agreed upon in the deal brokered by the Emirate together with France. However, in an interview with CNN, the ministry's spokesman, Majed Al-Ansari, emphasized that due to the communication difficulties in the Strip in recent days, it is difficult for Qatar to confirm this. (Ynet) 01.18.24 YNet

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Israel Must Change Its Military Strategy. Episode 7 of Israel Update: In this in-depth special, Mike and Gadi discuss the current strategy employed by the IDF, and what should be happening instead.

By Gadi Taub and Michael Doran, January 18, 2024. Israel Update.

In this in-depth special, Gadi spoke with MK Amit Halevi who sits on the Knesset’s National Security Committee. The current strategy employed by the IDF, Halevi says, will not lead to victory. It will only drag Israel into a never ending guerilla war of attrition.

If Israel is to win this war, it must begin to think in terms of control: it must take control of the border between Egypt and Gaza to stop arms smuggling; it must distribute the humanitarian aid itself, to disrupt Hamas’s system of patronage; it must exclude diesel fuel from all aid packages, because fuel is what keeps the underground tunnel system alive; it must divide the Gaza strip into five areas and control movement between them; and finally, it must extract a price in land - the only price that counts in the eyes of Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. TabletMag

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Outrage as Foreign Office sexual violence adviser backs claim that Israel lied about rapes. Foreign Office sexual violence adviser signed petition denying abuse of Jews.

By Hannah Gillott & Jane Prinsley

January 18, 2024 11:04 The JC

UK Foreign Office worker signs petition denying sexual violence on October 7. By Yuval Barnea, January 20, 2024.

([57] People visit the site of the Nova music festival massacre, in Re'im, near the Israeli-Gaza border, December 31, 2023 - photo credit: Yonatan Sindel/Flash90).

A former British civil servant has claimed that training courses at King's College London have been indoctrinating civil servants into having anti-Israel views.

A British civil servant has sparked outrage after she signed a petition that described the sexual violence perpetrated by Hamas [58] on October 7 as "propaganda" ..., according to the Jewish Chronicle.

The Gender and Equalities Department worker signed a petition that alleged that the New York Times article, which confirmed the testimony of the victims of sexual violence on October 7, cited “no evidence.” Dimpy Sanganee has what's been described as an "instrumental" role in tackling violence against women and girls particularly in fighting against female genital mutilation.

Following the JC's claims, the petition that she had signed disappeared from the website Change.org. The petition was originally posted by the Egyptian feminist group SpeakUp.

([59] People attend the 'We Stand With Israel' rally to express solidarity with the country on the 100 day anniversary since the October 7 attack by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Trafalgar Square in London, Britain, January 14, 2024. (credit: Reuters/Belinda Jiao).

A Foreign Office spokesperson told the JC that they would be investigating the incident saying, "We have a zero-tolerance approach to antisemitism. Allegations of discrimination of any kind are taken very seriously and will be fully investigated. The UK Government remains resolute in its support of Israel after the worst terrorist attack in its history."

Indoctrination of government workers?

This has fed into recent claims that the UK's Foreign Office workers have been receiving anti-Israel indoctrination at university courses meant to help educate them about counter-terrorism.

This claim was most recently made by Anna Stanley in the Fathom Journal a former civil servant who received such training at Kings College London (KCL) where she alleges she was taught that "Condemning terrorism is to endorse the power of the strong over the weak."

This was part of a series of what she claims are anti-Israel beliefs which are taught to the civil servants. She claims that Israel was the main example used to refer to when considering the question of whether a state can commit terrorism.

"Condemning terrorism is to endorse the power of the strong over the weak," this is another phrase Stanley claims was placed on one of the slides, she claims these inherently set up civil servants to have an anti-Israel bias.

She also claimed that one lecturer wished to see the suppression of Douglas Murray and Joe Rogan, saying "Concluding his talk, the lecturer told a room full of government professionals, ‘So, society needs to find other ways to suppress them.’" JPost

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Herzog: ‘No Israelis in their right mind’ are thinking about peace process right now. Speaking in Davos, president says Israelis are worried about their basic safety in wake of October 7, have lost trust over the years as Palestinians glorify terror. By Lazar Berman 18 Jan 2024, 2:03 pm TOI

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Hamas Leader Abroad Khaled Mashal: We Reject the Two-State Solution; October 7 Has Shown that Liberating Palestine from the River to the Sea Is Realistic and Has Already Begun.

January 18, 2024.

In a three-part interview with Kuwaiti podcaster Amar Taki, posted during the second week of January 2024, Khaled Mashal, the leader of Hamas abroad rejected the two-state solution. He said that there is a consensus among Palestinians that they will not give up their rights to Palestine from the Mediterranean River to the Mediterranean Sea. Mashal said that October 7 has renewed this dream and hope and shown that it is a realistic idea, not merely a dream. He stated that taking control of the Gaza Strip following the 2006 elections was necessary in order to build up the resistance, its weapons production, and tunnels, without any hindrance from the Palestinian Authority. Memri

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Gaza War Diary: 18 January 2024. By Naomi Ragen.

An article written by Dr. Michael Milstein and published today on Ynet English gives an in-depth analysis of how Israeli sympathy for the “poor Gazans” has taken an irreversible 180 degree turn. While before October 7, many Israelis and their political leaders believed that “the majority of Palestinians in Gaza are different from Hamas, which controls them through fear and oppression, and share a universal human longing for a good life…” leading to the “assumption that by improving their situation it would be possible to ensure security, stability and even bend the ideological fervor of Hamas.”

These beliefs were shattered on October 7. “Not only did the Gazan public not protest against Hamas following the attack, but thousands took an active part – publicly and without fear – in the massacres, kidnappings, rapes and lootings, including the theft of bodies as a sort of ‘appreciating asset,’ and of course participated in the victory celebrations that included abuse of the kidnapped and the bodies.”

Released hostages have added to this picture with their experiences at being tortured by women and children while held prisoner. Moreover, the discoveries made by IDF soldiers of the widespread weaponry, tunnel entrances, and hate material found in the average Gazan home, have been a factor in enlightening even the most resistant to reality.

Recently, the head of a soldier decapitated on October 7 was found by the IDF in a refrigerator in Gaza. According to the testimony of a Hamas prisoner, the head had been offered by Gazans for sale for $10,000. The IDF returned it to Israel for burial.

The Israel Democracy Institute found in a survey conducted last month, that 40% of Israelis believed that the harm to the population in Gaza should have a limited bearing on Israel’s decisions and a similar percentage say it should have no bearing at all. Palestinian surveys conducted at the same time found that 72% to 75% of the Palestinians support the October 7 massacre, and about 70% support the armed struggle as the main means of confronting Israel.”

Let there be no mistake: this is a war between Israel and the Gazans. All of them. It is a war between Israel and the Palestinians, excluding Israeli Arabs. We shouldn’t be feeding them, employing them, minimizing harm to them, or providing them with electricity or shelter. Just as the average Berliner was a Nazi, the average Gazan and West Bank Palestinian, is Hamas-ISIS. They want us dead.

What we have to do then, is dispose of our illusions that anything we do can affect change in their morality, prejudice, savagery, and genocidal dreams. What we need to do is create a buffer zone between us and never, ever allow them to pass over it…. NaomiRagen

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David Collier: claims that Israel is targeting journalists are 'unsupportable fiction'. By Aaron Poris/The Media Line Published: January 19, 2024 05:45. Even as an expert finds that many "journalists" killed in Gaza were terrorists, a Palestinian Journalists Syndicate spokesperson claims Israel fabricated reports that Hamas targeted civilians. JPost

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'Haaretz' presents: The lie of the expropriation in 1948. Hanin Majadli gets a free platform in Ha'aretz to slander Israel with false stories through a ridiculously blatant distortion of history. Here is her last sermon.

Hanan Amiur 23.01.24 |

[60] In the photo: the "dispossessed" and "robbed" city of Sakhenin. Why wasn't it actually deleted? (Photo: Wikipedia)

At the end of last week, Hanin Majadli published a eloquent article in Haaretz about her excitement and joy in view of the debate against Israel in The Hague.

So far so good. Haaretz is allowed to serve as a propaganda mouthpiece for Israel's enemies and to act against Israel on the propaganda front. What's new.

The problem starts with lies. Thus from Majadli: "In 1948, Israel conquered Palestinians, expelled Palestinians, operated a systematic system of dispossession, denial and erasure of Palestinians, looted their property and assets".

Majadli basically returns to the classical Nakba claim of the Palestinians regarding the events of the War of Liberation, according to which Israel has comprehensively expelled, dispossessed and erased the Palestinians and their property and assets.

This is a lie.

The book 'The Birth of the Refugee Problem' written by the historian Benny Morris about the war, and which describes the events in it in the most detailed manner, right at the level of each village and each town and their fate, describes a completely different situation.

According to Morris's research, Israel did not expel, dispossess and destroy Palestinians and their property in the war, but waged a war and returned fire.

The villages that were destroyed and in which the Palestinian property was wiped out were only villages that took an active part in the fighting against Israel, served as gang bases and hostile army forces, formed fighting positions against the IDF forces or the neighboring Jewish settlements, or from which enemy forces came out to lay ambushes and block vital traffic routes. Their destruction was a legitimate military move to neutralize the enemy's military infrastructure.

More than that - villages that did not participate in the fighting against Israel during the war, or even fought but surrendered at some point, were not harmed at all and are still standing and thriving to this very day.

Did they ask themselves Hanin Majadli and the editors of Haaretz why they were not destroyed, dispossessed or wiped out, and despite this, settlements and cities such as Iksal, Daburiyya, Majd al-Krum, Deir Hahna, Arraba, in fact every established Arab village in the north, are still standing and thriving to this day  ? Or how did it happen that Abu Gush near Jerusalem was not hurt?

Very simple. Either they did not participate in the fighting, or they surrendered to the IDF in an official way.

If there is a "systematic system" here, as claimed by Majadli and the Haaretz editors who found her lie worthy of publication, then this is the systematic system of distorting history and blaming Israel for every propaganda claim of the enemy.

But history, what to do, has been recorded. And it exposes Majadli and Haaretz, not Israel. Presspectiva

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European Parliament ties Gaza ceasefire to dismantling Hamas. A truce must also be conditioned on the release of the 130-plus hostages still held captive, lawmakers said. The Hemicycle of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, during a plenary session, Feb. 5, 2014. Source: Wikimedia Commons.The Hemicycle of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, during a plenary session, Feb. 5, 2014. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

(January 19, 2024 / JNS) The European Parliament on Thursday called for a “permanent ceasefire” in Israel’s war against Hamas, but said a possible truce must be conditioned on the terror group’s dismantlement and the release of the 130-plus hostages still held captive in the Gaza Strip.

Resolution C9-0068, adopted with 312 votes in favor, 131 against and 72 abstentions, calls for “a permanent ceasefire and to restart efforts towards a political solution provided that all hostages are immediately and unconditionally released and the terrorist organization Hamas is dismantled.” JNS

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EU adopts Hamas sanction regime - senior official. The European Union on Friday adopted a dedicated sanctions regime targeting Palestinian terror group Hamas, a high-ranking EU official said, adding that the first measures would target six people involved in the financing of Hamas. "What we are doing now - it has been done today and I think it will be announced in the coming hours - (is that) we have adopted a dedicated regime for Hamas. We have listed six people" the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said. (Reuters) 01.19.24 YNet

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Islamic Jihad psychological warfare leader killed. Wael Abu-Fanounah, who was responsible for publishing videos of the Islamic Jihad’s rocket attacks against Israel, as well as the creation and distribution of documentation of the Israeli hostages, killed in Gaza. Israel National News Jan 19, 2024, 9:50 AM INN

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Israel downs drone launched from Lebanon near Acre. By Jerusalem Post Staff 01/19/2024 01:42 PM JPost

IDF downs UAV off coast of northern Israel. As the war continues, IDF forces continue to advance through southern and central Gaza as terrorists continue launching rockets at the Jewish state from Lebanon and Gaza. Israel National News Jan 19, 2024, 1:47 PM INN

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IDF raids Hamas training installation.

The 7th Brigade Battle Team raided an installation that served as a training camp for the Khan Yunis Brigade and was a meeting place for senior Hamas figures.

Israel National News Jan 19, 2024, 3:46 PM INN

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The protest against the cease-fire is expanding: a mass rally will be held in front of the Government Kiryat. Thousands of reservists from the right and the left are calling on the political echelon not to withdraw reserve forces from Gaza until Hamas is resolved: "We are stuck in the same concepts that led to October 7th." Yishai Almakais, 9 Shvat, 5784. (19/01/2024 07:30) The heavy barrage that was fired on Tuesday at Nativat and Sderot is generating stormy reactions. The firing of the dozens of missiles took place less than a day after the 36th Division left Gaza, from those areas in the center of the Gaza Strip from which the IDF forces left. As a result, the government ministers demanded the immediate convening of the political-security cabinet, to discuss the continuation of the war in the Gaza Strip and how to manage it.

But not only the ministers were outraged by the barrage of rockets towards the Otef [envelope] settlements, the Israeli public was also outraged by it. In recent days, three protest camps have been set up - in Jerusalem, in Tel Aviv and in the Nova festival complex near the Re'im parking lot, calling on the heads of state and the army not to stop fighting until the victory and defeat of Hamas.

The encampment in the south that was established on Wednesday is led by Otaf resident Yishai Sepaz. "The political cabinet is withdrawing the reserve forces from the Gaza Strip before the mission is completed," Sepaz resented. "We are not ready to return home until decisive. We are not ready to return home with MMD and live in our home in fear. We cannot return residents to the north of the Gaza Strip after we lost friends there who were killed in order to protect the land." MakorRishon

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IDF intercepts 'suspicious target' in Lebanon. By Jerusalem Post Staff 01/19/2024 07:16 PM JPost

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IDF raids Hamas training installation. Israel National News Jan 19, 2024, 3:46 PM INN

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Courage and bravery: These are the 193 soldiers who heroically fell in the war. These are the 193 soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice fighting terror. Israel National News. Published: Oct 27, 2023, 4:06 PM (GMT+3) Updated: Jan 19, 2024, 6:57 AM INN

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Hamas Delegation Visits Moscow In Second Meeting With Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Since October 7. January 22, 2024 Russia | Special Dispatch No. 11084

[...]

On January 19, 2024, a Hamas delegation, led by Hamas international relations Moussa Abu Marzouq, visited Moscow, in the organization's second visit to Russia since its October 7 attack on Israel. The delegation met with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, who is also Putin's special envoy to the Middle East. Memri

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Biden says Netanyahu might not oppose 'types' of two-state solutions for Palestinians. By Reuters, January 20, 2024.

Biden said Netanyahu was not opposed to all two-state solutions, and there were a number of types possible, noting that some United Nations members do not have military forces. JPost

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'Nothing further from truth,’ Erdan says of UN claim to be unaware of Hamas tunnels. “The digging was not secretive,” the Israeli U.N. ambassador said, adding that the United Nations “became an accomplice to Hamas’s crimes.” Mike Wafenheim. (January 19, 2024 / JNS) JNS

Rockets sirens and hostile aircraft intrusion alerts sound across the northern border.

By Jerusalem Post Staff 01/20/2024 12:11 PM JPost

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IRGC officers, including Syria intel chief, killed in Damascus strike blamed on Israel. Revolutionary Guards' deputy intel chief in Syria also among the dead; security source says multi-story building entirely flattened by 'precision-targeted Israeli missiles'. By Agencies and TOI Staff. January 20, 2024 An alleged Israeli strike on Damascus killed the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ intelligence chief for Syria and his deputy as well as two other Guards members on Saturday, Iranian media said.

“The Revolutionary Guards’ Syria intel chief, his deputy and two other Guards members were martyred in the attack on Syria by Israel,” Iran’s Mehr news agency said, quoting an informed but unnamed source.

Local reports in Syria said that at least five people were killed in the strike.

An official with an Iran-backed group in the Middle East told The Associated Press that the building was used by Revolutionary Guard officials, adding that the “Israeli missiles” destroyed the whole building.

Syrian state media also blamed the strike on “an Israeli aggression.”

A security source, part of a network of groups close to Syria’s government and its major ally Iran, said the multi-story building was used by Iranian advisers supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government, and that it was entirely flattened by “precision-targeted Israeli missiles.”

There was no confirmation from Israel, which rarely comments on alleged strikes in Syria.

A spokesman for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad said that no members of the terror group were wounded in the strike, following reports that some were at the bombed-out building. Unsourced Hebrew and Arabic media reports had initially said that PIJ deputy Akram al-Ajouri had also been killed in the strike.

The strike was carried out in the Mazzeh neighborhood, a high-security zone that is home to the United Nations’ headquarters and embassies.

A grocer near the scene of the strike said he heard five consecutive explosions at about 10:15 a.m., adding that he later witnessed the bodies of a man and a woman being taken away as well as three wounded people.

“The shop shook. I stayed inside for few seconds then went out and saw the smoke billowing from behind the mosque,” said the man, who asked that his name not be used for security reasons.

The alleged Israeli strike came days after Iran fired missiles at what it said were Israeli “spy headquarters” in an upscale neighborhood near the sprawling US Consulate compound in Erbil, the seat of Iraq’s northern semi-autonomous Kurdish region.

Last month, senior IRGC officer Brig. Gen. Razi Mousavi was killed in an alleged Israeli airstrike in Damascus, drawing Iranian threats of retaliatory action.

Recent weeks have seen several alleged sorties carried out against sites in Syria as part of Israel’s ongoing efforts to prevent Iran from supplying arms to its proxy Hezbollah, which has stepped up attacks on northern Israel over the past several months amid the ongoing war in Gaza.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told his American counterpart Lloyd Austin on Thursday night that Israel was nearing a decision point on Lebanon and the conflict with Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Lebanese officials said Thursday that Hezbollah had rebuffed Washington’s initial proposal for stopping clashes with Israel, including pulling its fighters further from the border, but remained open to US diplomacy to avoid a ruinous war.

Gallant’s comments followed similar remarks by IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi earlier this week, who said a war in the north in the coming months was becoming more likely.

Since October 8, a day after the deadly Hamas attacks on southern Israel, Hezbollah has engaged in cross-border fire on a near-daily basis, launching rockets, drones and missiles at northern Israel in a campaign it says is in support of Hamas.

The attacks forced most residents several kilometers from the border to evacuate. Israel has responded with its own regular strikes on Hezbollah targets, and has warned it will not be able to tolerate the terrorists’ continued presence on the border.

The Iran-backed terror group Hamas launched a massive onslaught on October 7, killing approximately 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapping 240, mostly civilians, amid horrendous acts of brutality and sexual assault.

In response, Israel vowed to eliminate Hamas, launching a wide-scale military campaign in Gaza aimed at destroying the group’s military and governance capabilities.

Iran, which supports Hamas both financially and militarily, has hailed the devastating October 7 attacks as a “success” but denied any direct involvement. TOI

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After strike in Damascus, Israel said to target Iranian official in Lebanon. Saudi press says target of Israeli drone strike is member of IRGC Quds force responsible for Hamas-Iran ties on electronic warfare and air defenses as well as providing intelligence assistance. Einav Halabi | 01.20.24 YNet

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IDF strikes in Lebanon following fire towards Israel. Israel National News Jan 20, 2024, 6:29 PM INN

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Hezbollah announced the death of another terrorist from the organization's ranks, Ali Muhammad Hardajj, also known as Abbas, from the town of Al-Bazouriya in southern Lebanon. According to the terrorist organization's statement, he died "as a martyr[sic]...." Since the beginning of the war, Hezbollah has reported the deaths of 163 operatives. (Lior Ben Ari) 01.20.24 YNet

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Iran, Hezbollah help direct Houthi attacks. Reuters 01.20.24 YNet

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U.S. Forces targeted in Iraq. American forces stationed at the American base Ein al-Assad in Iraq were hit in an attack that reportedly included more than 20 missiles. This was confirmed by an official American source, who spoke on condition of anonymity about initial assessments at the base. According to the source, the base was attacked with ballistic missiles, but it is also possible that rockets were involved. Iraqi sources told the Arabic network "Sky News" that "this is the largest attack in terms of the number of missiles since the beginning of the attacks." (Lior Ben Ari) YNet

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Campus antisemitism: Additional universities under scrutiny by DoE. Andrew Lapin, JTA Jan 20, 2024, 7:19 PM INN

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IDF: There is no school or mosque without weapons in Gaza. Israel National News Jan 20, 2024, 6:02 PM 'There is no area without a tunnel shaft, no school or mosque without weapons,' IDF reports on operations of 55th Brigade in Khan Yunis.

Guided by precise intelligence, the forces conducted a targeted raid on terror infrastructure where dozens of rocket launchers, explosive devices and intelligence documents were located. The rocket launchers were dismantled.

In the past few days, the 55th Brigade’s forces have been operating against the Eastern Khan Yunis Battalion.

During the operation, the forces engaged the enemy, and eliminated a terrorist squad in close-quarters combat. The forces scanned a central Hamas combat zone, neutralized an underground route, dismantled tunnel shafts, located and neutralized observation posts.

The IDF emphasized, "There is no area without a tunnel shaft, no school or mosque without weapons."

In the operation, a soldier of the 71st Battalion, was killed in action. Three IDF soldiers were injured. INN

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Riots and gunfire follow mosque sermon A call to conquer Jewish farms on Friday was followed by a large, orderly attack over Shabbat and gunfire towards IDF. forces. Israel National News, Jan 20, 2024, 8:20 PM (GMT+2)

Approximately 100 rioters from the Palestinian Authority towns of Dayr Dibwan and Ramun attacked a Jewish shepherd near the Alon Highway on Shabbat (Saturday) afternoon with rocks and clubs.

The rioters arrived in an orderly convoy and began to pelt the shepherd with rocks and attempted to hit him with clubs. The shepherd suffered a head injury and was taken by MDA medics for hospital care.

IDF forces that were called to the scene were fired on from the nearby Palestinian Authority towns, but were able to repel the rioters and arrested one of the residents of Dayr Dibwan. A few minutes after the incident began, left-wing activists arrived at the scene and attempted to interfere with the Israeli forces’ operations.

In a search of the mobile phone of the rioter who was arrested, several incriminating videos were found, including a video of himself at the beginning of the incident holding a stone and throwing it towards the shepherd in the valley below him, and another video of him shooting a sniper rifle from one of the hills in the area.

During the afternoon prayers on Friday, one of the imams of the central mosque in Ramun delivered a sermon in which he incited against Jewish farms in the area as stealing land from the town and called to conquer them as a sign of identification with the mujahedeen (jihadists) fighting in Gaza.

Immediately following the sermon, lengthy volleys of gunfire were heard in the town, causing several alerts to Israeli forces nearby. Residents of the farms commented that on Friday, they realized that due to the sermon, there would be an attack of some sort on one of the farms but did not believe it would be on the scale that occurred.

The attack that took place over Shabbat comes on the background of several similar attacks over the last few months, all targeting shepherds in the Binyamin region. The most serious of them happened 2 months ago near the town of Rimonim, where five rioters attacked two shepherds and seriously injured one of them with an ax. The shepherd was taken to hospital care unconscious, and needed to undergo extensive rehabilitation. The prosecution elected to free the attackers and did not file an indictment against them, due to the police refusal to interrogate the shepherds on suspicion of attacking the rioters. INN

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CNN: Netanyahu not ruling out Palestinian state. CNN reports on Biden-Netanyahu phone call, PM Netanyahu's office issues unusual Shabbat statement. Hezki Baruch, Jan 20, 2024, 6:17 PM (GMT+2). Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US President Joe Biden in a Friday phone conversation that he is not ruling out the creation of a Palestinian state, CNN reported Saturday morning.

Netanyahu also told the US President that his statements at a press conference held earlier this week "were not meant to foreclose that outcome in any form," a person familiar with the conversation told CNN. CNN noted that Biden also told reporters on Friday that, given the right solution, he believed Netanyahu would agree to a two-state solution.

Speaking to reporters, Biden said, "I’ll let you know when I get him to agree."

In a rare statement made on Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath, Netanyahu's office said, "In his conversation with President Biden, Prime Minister Netanyahu reiterated his policy that after Hamas is destroyed Israel must retain security control over Gaza to ensure that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel, a requirement that contradicts the demand for Palestinian sovereignty." INN

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Workshops for the production of munitions for about 800 rockets were uncovered and destroyed. Fighting in Zeitoun - IDF forces uncovered and destroyed long-range launchers and workshops for the production of weapons. By Noam Amir, 10 Shvat 5784. (01/20/2024 18:16) ... During the searches, the fighters located and destroyed dozens of machines for the production of rockets and weapons: lathes, machines for the production of rocket fuel, warheads, launch pits and explosives. The machines were destroyed and the means of warfare were confiscated. From the amount of chemical substances and equipment confiscated, more than 800 rockets can be produced. Makor Rishon

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U.S. personnel wounded in missile attack on Iraq airbase by Iranian-backed rebels. By Faris Tanyos

January 20, 2024 / 6:18 PM EST / CBS News

Several U.S. personnel were injured in a missile attack Saturday night by Iranian-backed rebels on Al-Asad Airbase in Iraq, the Pentagon said.

At about 6:30 p.m. local time, multiple ballistic missiles and rockets were fired by Iranian-backed militants from western Iraq, U.S. Central Command said in a statement posted on social media.

The base's air defense systems intercepted "most of the missiles," but "others impacted the base," CENTCOM reported. CBS News

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Hamas chief Haniyeh: Gaza donations are ‘financial jihad’. "This is the battle for Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and not the battle of the Palestinian people, or Gaza, or the people in Gaza," said Hamas politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh. (January 21, 2024 / MEMRI) Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in a speech aired by Al Jazeera on Jan. 9 called on global Islamic scholars to “build on” the “victory” of Oct. 7, 2023, by supporting the “resistance” in their home countries.

Speaking at a conference of the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS) in Doha, Qatar, Haniyeh said that donations to the Gaza Strip were not humanitarian aid but “financial jihad,” adding, “the time has come for the jihad of the swords.” JNS

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Netanyahu: Israel rejects Hamas’s terms of surrender. In exchange for the release of the hostages, Hamas demands an end to the war and the release of terrorists captured on Oct. 7. (January 21, 2024 / JNS) JNS

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IDF finds Khan Yunis tunnel where hostages were held. Joshua Marks (January 21, 2024 / JNS) JNS

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Israel eyeing January deadline for diplomatic solution with Hezbollah. White House envoy Amos Hochstein has been conducting shuttle diplomacy between Jerusalem and Beirut. Charles Bybelezer (January 21, 2024 / JNS) JNS

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Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh met with Turkey's FM on Saturday. A Hamas delegation led by leader Ismail Haniyeh met with the Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Saturday.

By Jerusalem Post Staff 01/21/2024 04:46 PM JPost

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EU to discuss 'consequences' for Israel rejecting Palestinian state.

By Jerusalem Post Staff 01/21/2024 08:05 PM JPost

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Iranian soldier opens fire on army base, killing five.

By Jerusalem Post Staff 01/21/2024 09:53 PM JPost

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BESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 2,257, January 21, 2024

“Everyone in Gaza including UN staff knows about the dual use of these facilities.” – Journalist Jan Franke

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: UN agencies, government aid programs and NGOs have consistently and willfully aided and abetted Hamas as it built its vast terror infrastructure in the Gaza Strip. They diverted aid money to Hamas to fund its terrorist activities, provided propaganda and disinformation support to Hamas in its efforts to tarnish and discredit Israel, and indoctrinated Gazan schoolchildren to hate Jews. Systematic documentation of the roles played by UN and government officials, as well as NGOs operating under the vast framework of international humanitarian aid, in enabling and cooperating with Hamas, both tacitly and actively, is vital to prevent a repetition of this abdication of responsibility and accountability.

Detailed documentation of the brutal Hamas mass slaughter of October 7, 2023, which included rape, torture and other heinous crimes, is essential in preserving the historical record, particularly in an era dominated by social media propaganda and disinformation. Documentation has begun through Israeli frameworks, both governmental and private, and also by journalists, including at The New York Times. In addition, Steven Spielberg’s Shoah Foundation is conducting a project to document the “unspeakable brutality.”

In parallel, there is discussion of a special tribunal under the Israeli court system for trials of the perpetrators, particularly Hamas leaders who surrender or are taken alive. As in the trials of Nazi war criminals, including Adolf Eichmann, the testimonies of survivors will inform future generations in the face of campaigns working to erase and deny the atrocities.

A third layer is also required: the systematic documentation of the complicity of Hamas enablers and allies. This category includes numerous UN agencies and officials operating in Gaza, governmental aid organizations and diplomats, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) claiming to promote human rights and humanitarian aid. Evidence of their involvement and behavior – specifically with respect to the large-scale theft (“diversion”) of aid for construction of the massive terror infrastructure beneath Gaza and tens of thousands of lethal rockets – is available in numerous photographs and videos from the IDF. This and other information needs to be consolidated and systematically organized and made available in different forms to the general public... BESA

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Breaking: Red alerts sound on the northern border.

By Jerusalem Post Staff 01/22/2024 12:07 AM JPost

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Germany temporarily waives residence permit requirement for Israelis. By Reuters. 01/22/2024 03:27 PM JPost

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Iran to transfer hundreds of millions of dollars to Hamas and PIJ, report says. Iran is set to immediately transfer hundreds of millions of dollars to Hamas, Iran International, a Saudi-funded outlet linked to the Iranian opposition, reported on Monday. According to the report, part of the funds reached Hamas in the first week of the war to maintain its operations. Iran International has learned that in recent months, amid the war, the Iranian parliament is expected to allocate additional hundreds of millions of dollars to the budget of the Quds Force, the powerful extraterritorial unit of the Islamic Republic's Revolutionary Guards Corps, intended for immediate transfer to its proxy forces in Gaza – Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. (Itamar Eichner). 01.22.24 | 14:22 YNet

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Denial of Hamas' October 7 massacre spreads in US. 'False[sic] flag attack': Washington Post reports that US groups saying Israel staged attack to justify 'genocide[sic]' in Gaza grow on social media despite ample proof of Hamas' atrocities Ynet | published: 01.22.24 07:29 ...extreme news websites like Electronic Intifada and GrayZone, where it was written that most Israeli victims were killed by operations carried out by the IDF, and not Hamas. ... YNet

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Anti-Israel protesters target Schumer Shabbat dinner with daughter. "They heard about the "militaristic" Friday night song Jews sing: Eshet Chayil," wrote David May, of Foundation for Defense of Democracies..

(January 22, 2024 / JNS) Amanda Yee goes by “Radio Free Amanda” on X, where she has nearly 85,000 followers and self-identifies as a “journalist and editor.”

On Saturday, she posted that she and colleagues received “a tip” on Friday that U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) “would be having Shabbat dinner with his daughter at her apartment.”

“So we picketed outside of her building to let Chuck know: Ceasefire now! Free Palestine,” Yee wrote...

The antisemitic protesters chanted “From the river to the sea” ....

Her post drew extensive criticism.

“Stalking and harassing a Jewish man during Shabbat dinner with his daughter in the name of ‘freeing Palestine’ is just another example of Jew-haters that claim anti-Zionism isn’t antisemitism proving themselves wrong,” wrote Hen Mazzig, a pro-Israel activist with more than 190,000 followers.

“Let’s do the reverse thought-experiment,” wrote historian and professor Sara Yael Hirschhorn. “A church dinner, a Ramadan iftar, a Diwali feast—is it appropriate to picket the sacred and private ritual meal of another faith, or only of Jews? And surely spoiling Schumer’s Shabbat will solve the Israel-Palestine conflict.”

David May, research manager and a senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, suggested, “They heard about the militaristic Friday night song Jews sing: Eshet Chayil” (the song “Woman of Valor”).

“They found out where a Jewish senator was going to be spending time with his family on the Jewish day of rest, so they just couldn’t resist gathering in support of the terrorists who are holding 130 Israeli hostages at gunpoint in the tunnels of Gaza,” added Joel Petlin, superintendent of the Kiryas Joel School District. JNS

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5 Arab states propose Saudi recognizes Israel for Palestinian state, report says. Five Arab states are working on an initiative for a post-war Gaza which would pave the way for a Palestinian state in exchange for Saudi recognition of Israel and normalization between the countries, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing Arab sources. The proposal, reportedly submitted to Israel through the U.S., is the first joint Arab plan to end the Gaza war and establish a two-state solution. Saudi Arabia, one of the five countries involved in the initiative, is offering to normalize relations with Israel in exchange for creating a path to a Palestinian state. According to Saudi and Egyptian sources, the proposal is still in being drawn up but has so far been met with refusal by the Israeli government, with the establishment of a Palestinian state being the main sticking point. (Ynet). 01.22.24 | 14:18 YNet

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IDF blasts Israeli radio into Gaza tunnels in bid to soothe hostages. Families of hostages held by Hamas hope kidnapped Israelis will be able to hear prerecorded messages from loved ones over Army Radio. By Reuters 22 Jan 2024, 10:39 pm TOI

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Three Attacked in Central London ‘For Being Jewish’ by Gang of Arabic-Speaking Men, Victims Claim Police Failed to Come to Their Aid.

Kurt Zindulka, 22 Jan 2024.

Three people were attacked after enjoying a night out in London’s West End “for being Jewish” by a gang of Arabic-speaking men in the early hours of Sunday morning, while the police took nearly a half-hour to come to the scene despite repeated calls from the victims.

A group of around 20 men, who were “swearing in Arabic”, allegedly attacked a group of three Jewish friends in Leicester Square in central London after they heard the friends “speaking Hebrew” while on their way to a nightclub.

One of the victims, a 28-year-old woman named Tehilla, told The Telegraph: “They heard us talking and said, ‘are you Jewish?’… I said ‘yes, I’m Jewish,’ and then they started chanting ‘Free Palestine’, and f— Jews, all this kind of swearing at us.”

“So we just tried not to get into trouble, to walk away, but they started following us and then all of a sudden, it started with like two or three guys, and all of a sudden, they called all their friends and 15 to 20 guys started attacking us physically.” Breitbart

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'Attacks on Hezbollah to persist until north safe'. Gallant vows to continue attacks on Hezbollah residents' safe return home DM thanks French counterpart for commitment to changing security situation in southern Lebanon and pushing Hezbollah forces away from the border. Itamar Eichner, Lior Ben Ari. 01.22.24:14:56 YNet

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Saudi-Israeli normalization still possible, White House says.

The United States still believes normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel is still possible despite the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told a news briefing Monday evening. (Reuters). 01.22.24 | 13:07 YNet

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Elon Musk: 'Sometimes I think, ‘Am I Jewish?’' X (Twitter) Chairman addresses first major Jewish conference to Auschwitz since 10/07.

Evyatar Moshe, Krakow, Jan 22, 2024, 9:04 PM (GMT+2) (Elon Musk [61] Yoav Dudkevitch)

The European Jewish Association, representing hundreds of communities across the continent, held a Symposium in Krakow where senior political figures from 25 European countries, and X (formerly Twitter) Chairman Elon Musk met to discuss and find solutions to the astronomical rises in antisemitism affecting Europe since October 7th Hamas murderous terror attacks, before taking part in a visit and remembrance service to Auschwitz on Tuesday.

“With rates of antisemitism in Europe at levels unseen since WW2, doing nothing is not an option,” said EJA Chairman Rabbi Menachem Margolin, “never again is really now, and it is why today we inaugurated the European Leader’s Forum for Combatting Antisemitism, headed up by The 10th President of the State of Israel, Reuven Rivlin, and including former prominent European Heads of States: Sebastian Kurz, Manuel Valls, Matteo Renzi, Petar Stoyanov, Andrej Babiš, Prokopios Pavlopoulos, Borut Pahor, Milo Đukanović, and Stefan Lofven, to focus minds at the very top of every European government, to tighten legislation against hate speech, and to work with universities – hotbeds of hate against Jews and Israel, as well as football clubs and sporting institutions.

Rabbi Margolin outlined the priorities: Creating or tightening existing legislation covering hate speech using the IHRA definition as a benchmark, working with deans and rectors at universities to stop the rabid antisemitism and antizionism on campuses, and lastly engaging with top-flight football clubs and other sporting institutions to work towards antisemitism free spaces at their fixtures.

Earlier in the day, Rabbi Margolin escorted Elon Musk, who was accompanied by Daily Wire owner Ben Shapiro, on a tour of Auschwitz, before Mr Musk and Shapiro had a dialogue on stage

In an on-stage conversation with Rabbi Margolin, the X Chairman remarked about the visit: "I’m still absorbing the magnitude of the tragedy that I witnessed at Auschwitz. I think it’ll take a few days to set in."

Regarding antisemitism, he stated: "In the circles that I move I see almost no antisemitism. Two-thirds of my friends are Jewish. I went to a Hebrew preschool in South Africa. I went to Israel when I was thirteen. Visited Masada. I’ve checked the boxes on a lot of things. Sometimes I think, ‘Am I Jewish?’ I’m Jewish by association, aspirationally Jewish. I never hear about it at dinner conversations; it’s an absurdity in my friend circles. But looking at the pro-Hamas rallies that have taken place at almost every city in the West, it’s blown my mind. Including at elite college campuses. You’re supposed to be enlightened on those campuses, not fostering hate. I went to UPenn and thought, this is unbelievable."

He added: "We need to stop with this idea that the weaker party is always correct. Just because you’re oppressed doesn’t mean you’re good. We have to get rid of the rule that if you’re weaker you’re automatically good. It makes no sense. It often makes sense, but if that weaker group wants to kill you - then they’re bad. I think we need to return to a focus on merit. It shouldn’t matter what race you are, what gender, or what beliefs you have. It should matter how good you are at your job. What matters is, how good is your work. That’s it. Diversity, equity, and inclusion all sound like nice words but what it really means is discrimination on the basis of race, sex, etc., rather than merit, and is therefore fundamentally antisemitic."

The 10th President of the State of Israel and the founder of the Leaders' Forum on behalf of EJA, Reuven (Ruvi) Rivlin stated: "The ongoing campaign against anti-Semitism and racism is not a matter for Jews alone, but first and foremost for the entire free world. The lessons of the Holocaust teach that the decay of any society begins with expressions of hatred towards Jews that quickly spread from there to the other communities in society until its complete destruction. The heavy price of anti-Semitism is paid by the general society In Europe, which advocates the values of tolerance and human dignity.

"During this period, while Israel is fighting Hamas after the terrible massacre it carried out on 7/10, Europe is flooded with a huge number of manifestations of anti-Semitism and racism - on campuses, in the media, in the streets, and in politics. This is a test hour. European leaders, past and present, require historical evidence and a determined response.

Israeli Minister for Diaspora Affairs and Combatting Antisemitism Amichai Chikli dedicated his speech to Holocaust historian Alex Danzig from kibbutz Nir Oz who was kidnapped on October 7 and still captive in Gaza with more than 130 people and emphasized: "Some believed that antisemitism would vanish after the Holocaust but after à short respite it is still here. We are witnessing à moral collapse, for example in US universities like Harvard. The Jewish people have not encountered such an obsessive hatred since the thirties, especially against the sole Jewish state, Israel. I can assure you that we will never give up! “Am Israel Chai” is not only a slogan but our life mission.”

Former Prime Minister of France Manuel Valls stated: “Hamas are not freedom fighters but want annihilation of Jews. We must fight them. We must deconstruct the words, with South Africa speaking of genocide, apartheid... Behind this, We find Iran and Turkey. For à man from the left, it's à challenge. We have to be with Israel the sole democratic country in the region It is not only a problem for Jews but for all people with Western values. We are all Jews.”

Sebastian Kurz, former Chancellor of Austria stated: “The security of Israel is for Austria is a doctrine. It is important that we all combat antisemitism and fight for the security of Israel and peace.”

Former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi stated: “After the October 7 massacre we have to continue the battle for civilization. The real enemy of Palestinians is Hamas. With Hamas, we cannot achieve the desire for peace.”

Stefan Löfven, former Prime Minister of Sweden and President of the Party of European Socialists (PES): “Remembrance is a key issue. In surveys, Antisemitism is relatively small, but we have people coming here from the Middle East who have brought the hate with them. We need to address this…but also be able to criticize Israel when it is justified.”

The Symposium was addressed by Dani Dayan, Yad Vashem Chairman, who challenged world leaders, stating: “When world leaders come to Yad Vashem and utter the words, "Never Again,” I find myself questioning their sincerity. Do they really mean "Never Again"? I have a litmus test to gauge this. If a leader's government or institution has an implementable action plan to combat antisemitism, an implemented plan, then their proclamation of "Never Again" expresses deep commitment. This is our shared ethical responsibility; this is your ethical responsibility to the victims of the Holocaust and to Jews worldwide, to yourselves and to your societies”.

Throughout the day, members of the European Leaders Forum, senior politicians from across the continent, and representatives from the United Nations and European Council, who all took part in panels on effective political and legislative solutions in fighting antisemitism.

Miguel Ángel Moratinos, United Nations Under-Secretary-General, High Representative of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) stated: "Our task today is to find ways to eradicate Antisemitism. People sometimes don’t know what the UN is doing in fighting Antisemitism. I can assure you that the UN is trying to find a more efficient method to fight Antisemitism… Antisemitism is a global concern It is a global threat.”

Seán Ó Fearghaíl, President of Parliament, House of Representatives of Ireland: “Today I admit that Jews in Ireland are concerned about anti-Israel demos. We support a two-state solution. We have empathy with the underdog but this doesn't mean we support calls for the destruction of Israel. We consider Hamas a terrorist organization that needs to be put to an end.”

Before these panels, the symposium heard from Jewish Community Presidents Leaders, and University students on what life has been like since October 7th.

Joel Mergui, Chair of EJA Jewish Leader's Board and President of Consistoire of Paris: “I couldn't imagine that 79 years after the Holocaust we had to live through what happened on October 7 and the first anniversary of Kfir Bibas in captivity. Today we experience antisemitism, antizionism, and the rise of radical Islam. We need to be vigilant in facing radical Islam worldwide. Today the question is how to convince the Muslim world living in our countries to condemn terror. Inciting to hatred must stop”.

Estrella Bengio, President of the Jewish Community of Madrid: “We have always needed special protection in the synagogues, and we have had to normalize that. October 7th just worsened everything. Since October 7 Jewish students have felt very bad. We say never again but we see it is happening again!”

Rabbi Avi Lazarus, CEO of Federation of Synagogues, United Kingdom: “Conversations such as how much longer do we have in the UK are conversations we never imagined we would have, - and are now commonplace. there are now no-go areas in London, such as in East London where there are Palestinian flags on every lamppost. If anyone tries to take them down, they will be attacked. “

Noa Levy, Student at Queen Mary University of London: “The situation in the UK is very complicated. My university did not withdraw an invitation for a pro-Palestinian speaker who denied the October 7th atrocities. I cannot walk freely on my campus, I cannot show my Star of David, and the university is not doing enough to ensure my safety. The leadership in the UK needs to enforce the IHRA definition de facto. The definition has been approved since 2020 at my university, but it is not enforced.”

Bianka Sieredzinska, a Student at the University of Groningen in The Netherlands: “The situation for Jewish students is terrible! it is scary to walk in the street. just recently stones were thrown at students at a Kristallnacht memorial. The police took 40 minutes to arrive, demonstrating their lack of seriousness and care for Anti-Semitism.“

At a Gala Dinner in the evening - where a table for the hostages still held in captivity by Hamas was laid - the Parents of Aner Shapira will be honored. Aner saved lives by throwing back 7 grenades at the terrorists before an 8th blew up in his hands at the Supernova Concert.

The head of the Catalonia Police Department is this year’s recipient of the EJA’s King David Award for his efforts in safeguarding Jewish Communities in the Spanish Region, and holocaust survivor Gidon Lev gave a moving and inspiring speech to dinner guests. INN

'I’m Jewish by association,' Elon Musk says at Auschwitz.

Controversial tech billionaire lays wreath at former Nazi death camp, says social media would have made Holocaust impossible to hide. Itamar Eichner, Krakow | 01.22.24:18:22

Tech billionaire Elon Musk visited the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp on Monday for the first time as his social media platform X (formerly Twitter) is facing accusations of allowing the spread of antisemitic content.

“It’s deeply sad and tragic [that] humans could do this to other humans,” Musk told a conference of the European Jewish Association (EJA), which he attended after his visit to the former Nazi death camp. ([62] Elon Musk visits Auschwitz. Photo: Yoav Dudkevitch/European Jewish Association). Musk visited Auschwitz, carrying his 3-year-old son X Æ A-Xii on his shoulders, accompanied by Rabbi Menachem Margolin, an influential leader of European Jewry, conservative Jewish-American pundit Ben Shapiro and Holocaust survivor Gideon Lev..

"Musk laid a wreath at the wall of death and took part in a short memorial ceremony and service by the Birkenau memorial," an EJA spokesman said. During the event, Margolin presented Musk with a sculpture made by an artist from the fragments of a rocket fired at a kindergarten in southern Israel’s Kibbutz Be'eri - a symbol of the phrase "Never Again" - and displayed fictional tweets written by Jews to stop their extermination by the Nazis. "If we had Twitter in 1939, how many lives would it have saved?" Margolin pondered. Musk responded that if social networks had existed during the Holocaust, "it would have been impossible to hide."

Musk said that the Nazis initially focused on muzzling the media and blocking the spread of information. He highlighted the significance of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech.

Musk pointed out that immigrants to the U.S. often came from places lacking this freedom, where speaking out could lead to death. The First Amendment, he emphasized, ensures that everyone can express themselves without fear of imprisonment or death. The controversial billionaire, who visited Israel in November in an apparent attempt to shake off accusations of antisemitism, shared his experiences, "I watched many videos. It was amazing to see. The most shocking was witnessing the murder of defenseless children and women. There was no mercy, quite the opposite. The source of the indoctrination they underwent needs addressing. No one should be happy after killing children." Musk presented a dog tag he was wearing, calling for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza, which he received during his visit to Israel, stating he would continue to carry it until their release. Musk expressed his astonishment at the anti-Israel protests in the U.S. and Europe after the Gaza war. He was particularly struck by the large-scale pro-Hamas rallies in major Western cities, including prestigious universities like Harvard, Yale, and Penn. Musk found it hard to believe, especially since these places are expected to be centers of enlightenment. He viewed the unrest in cities and on campuses as a significant wake-up call, underlining its shock value for enlightened individuals and respectable cultures. ([63] Photo: Yoav Dudkevitch/European Jewish Association).

Musk stressed the importance of discarding the belief that the weaker side is always justified, pointing out the flawed nature of such a viewpoint. He argued for moral clarity, asserting that intentions to harm, regardless of a group's size, categorize them as evil. He emphasized judging groups and individuals by moral standards, rather than simply viewing them through a lens of oppressor versus oppressed, and highlighted that targeting innocent people is unequivocally evil.

Shortly before his visit to Israel, Musk sparked controversy by supporting an X user who claimed that the Jewish communities promote hatred against whites, and responding, "You have said the actual truth." He later apologized for the tweet, admitting it was "the worst and most stupid I ever wrote," but did not delete it as he had done with other controversial tweets in the past. In recent months, Musk launched an unprecedented attack against the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), one of the most prominent and longstanding Jewish organizations worldwide. The ADL had claimed that antisemitism on X soared by 919% following the Gaza war. Companies such as Apple, Disney, IBM and Warner Bros. Discovery decided to freeze their advertising on X by the end of 2023 after their ads were displayed alongside antisemitic and pro-Nazi content. TikTok has more antisemitism “The circles that I move, I see almost no antisemitism,” Musk said in his defense, adding that he attended a Jewish school as a child in South Africa. “Two-thirds of my friends are Jewish. I’m Jewish by association, aspirationally Jewish. I never hear about it at dinner conversations; it’s an absurdity in my friend circles. But looking at the pro-Hamas rallies that have taken place at almost every city in the West, it’s blown my mind.”

Musk described his name as distinctly Jewish, even “super-Jewish”, recalling a visit to Israel and Masada at the age of 13. He said he would often contemplate his Jewish identity, concluding that he aspires to be Jewish.

Additionally, he sought to protect X's image, which has turned into a breeding ground for false allegations against Israel since the outset of the Gaza war. He acknowledged the presence of antisemitism on the platform, albeit less than on others like TikTok, but admitted that completely eliminating it is an unrealistic expectation. At the conference, the European Leaders Forum for Combating Anti-Semitism was launched, led by former Israeli president Reuven Rivlin. The forum includes former European heads of state: ex-Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz, former French prime minister Manuel Valls, former Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi, former Bulgarian president Petar Stoyanov, among others. The forum aims to strengthen legislation against hate speech, collaborate with universities known for harboring anti-Jewish and anti-Israel sentiments and work with soccer clubs and sports institutions. Rabbi Margolin outlined the forum's priorities: creating or tightening existing legislation covering hate speech using the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism as a standard, working with deans and rectors at universities to combat antisemitism and anti-Zionism on campuses, and engaging with top-tier soccer clubs and other sports institutions to promote antisemitism-free environments in their venues. YNet

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Elon Musk: Diversity-based hiring is antisemitic. The tech billionaire visited the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp and later doubled down on his comments on diversity, equity and inclusion. By Claudia Chiappa , January 22, 2024 8:14 PM CET ... "The indoctrination of hate into kids in Gaza has to stop,” Musk said. “I understand the need to invade Gaza, and unfortunately some innocent people will die, there's no way around it, but the most important thing to ensure is that afterwards the indoctrination … stops.” Politico.eu

Elon Musk after a visit to Auschwitz: The education of the children of Gaza in hatred must stop. This is the supreme task. I understand the need to invade Gaza, and unfortunately, how many innocent people will die, there is no way around it. The most important thing is to ensure that afterwards, the custom in Children are taught as soon as they can understand language, that their goal is to kill Israelis; If you're told that from the time you're a toddler, you're like, I'm going to believe it, and it's got to stop. 01.22.24 Rotter

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Watch: IDF destroys Hamas training facility Israel National News Jan 22, 2024, 9:15 PM INN

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Hamas says Oct 7 attacks a ‘necessary step’ but admits ‘faults’. 01.22.24 StraitsTimes

Hamas Says Its Terrorists Upheld 'Islamic Values' During Murderous Attack on Israel. Simon Kent, Breitbart, January 22, 2024. Breitbart

Hamas 1st big admission Oct 7 [on] Israel attack (TimesNow clip). [64] 01.22.24. They had 107 days to prepare a propaganda leaflet of 16 pages.. at EoZ

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Iran regime media faked photo with rabbi to justify killing - analysis. By Seth J. Frantzman Published: January 22, 2024.

The report Iran then created fake images of the victim with a rabbi to justify his killing appears to illustrate Iran’s regime lurching into antisemitic conspiracy theories.

Iranian pro-government Tasnim News created a fake image of a Kurdish businessman with a rabbi, to justify killing the businessman. The image, posted to social media, began in Farsi media in pro-government Iranian circles and then was also posted on Tasnim’s English language site on Sunday.

The image shows Peshraw Dizayee, a businessman targeted last week in Erbil. Iran used missiles to murder a businessman and members of his family in northern Iraq’s Kurdistan region...

Iran then used an image of the Russian Rabbi Berel Lazar, and added a cut-out of Dizayee into the photo, creating a fake photo of the two meeting. Media in the Kurdistan region and people around the world have expressed outrage about Iran’s regime murdering the businessman, targeting his family and then altering the image. Iran’s Press TV also created fake images by adding Dizayee into photos. JPost

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Israel said to offer two-month pause in Gaza fighting for staged release of hostages. By TOI Staff, Jan 23, 2024. Report says proposal does not heed demand by Hamas to end war but appears to go further than past Israeli offers, including significant reduction in IDF ops once fighting resumes. TOI

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21 IDF soldiers killed in deadliest day since start of Gaza combat. They died in the collapse of two buildings due to an explosion • Netanyahu: "I wish to strengthen the dear families of our heroic warriors who fell on the battlefield." Joshua Marks.

(January 23, 2024 / JNS) Twenty-one soldiers were killed in central Gaza on Monday when two buildings collapsed due to a blast, Israel Defense Forces Spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said on Tuesday morning.

It was the deadliest day since the start of the military campaign against Hamas in Gaza on Oct. 27. JNS

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'Don't cry, live,' the last request from a fallen soldier. Master Sergeant Elkana Vizel was 24 when he was killed in Gaza in a tragic explosion that took 20 others and wounded more; Ynetnews has chosen to post his last letter to his family, in full Elkana Vizel | 01.23.24 updated:09:09. YNet

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Courage and bravery: These are the 221 soldiers who heroically fell in the war. These are the 221 soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice fighting terror.

Israel National News. Published: Oct 27, 2023, 4:06 PM (GMT+3) Updated: Jan 23, 2024, 4:28 PM INN

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Hezbollah fires 12 rockets at Meron air-traffic control base. The attack, the second on the base this month, caused slight damage but the air force's detection capabilities remain unimpaired.

(January 23, 2024 / JNS) The Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah on Tuesday launched a barrage of missiles at an Israeli Air Force air traffic control base on Mount Meron in the Upper Galilee. JNS

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US State Department warns of Jew-hatred emerging from Asia. "There's been an increase in the People’s Republic of China’s state media and online discourse of antisemitic tropes that Jews control the United States," an official said.

(January 23, 2024 / JNS) A U.S. State Department official warned that China is increasingly promoting antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories in the wake of Hamas’s Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in Israel. ...Since Oct. 7, U.S. lawmakers have expressed concern that Chinese-owned media outlets and social-media platforms, including TikTok, have promoted anti-Israel and even pro-Hamas propaganda. JNS

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US State Department warns of Jew-hatred emerging from Asia.

"There's been an increase in the People’s Republic of China’s state media and online discourse of antisemitic tropes that Jews control the United States," an official said. (January 23, 2024 / JNS). A U.S. State Department official warned that China is increasingly promoting antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories in the wake of Hamas’s Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in Israel. ...Since Oct. 7, U.S. lawmakers have expressed concern that Chinese-owned media outlets and social-media platforms, including TikTok, have promoted anti-Israel and even pro-Hamas propaganda. JNS

The Islamic Fascist Republic has been creeping its antisemitic poison into China which never had a history of [Antisemitic] hate.

Connecing the dots. Iranian Islamic Republic poison infecting Chinese... a new hate front.

Ever wondered why TikTok - algorithm is a new major player in modern 'Der Sturmer'...

[65]

'Iran Joins Middle East Propaganda War on China's TikTok. Newsweek, 23 oct 2023. By Aadil Brar, China News Reporter. Iran has used the short video app Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, to spread propaganda about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, while Chinese state media outlets have shared the Iranian propaganda, spread via Douyin, to promote a pro-Hamas and pro-Iran narrative. Far from the conflict between Israel and Hamas, a battle for the hearts and minds of China's 1.4 billion people is being waged on Chinese social media platforms, where both the Iranian and Israeli embassies are active players..'

[66]

US State Department warns of Jew-hatred emerging from Asia.

"There's been an increase in the People’s Republic of China’s state media and online discourse of antisemitic tropes that Jews control the United States," an official said. (January 23, 2024 / JNS). 'A U.S. State Department official warned that China is increasingly promoting antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories in the wake of Hamas’s Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in Israel. ...Since Oct. 7, U.S. lawmakers have expressed concern that Chinese-owned media outlets and social-media platforms, including TikTok, have promoted anti-Israel and even pro-Hamas propaganda.' at Eoz

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Qatari poll: Only 5% of MENA Arabs oppose Oct. 7 massacre. Around two-thirds said the Hamas terror attacks in southern Israel were a "legitimate resistance operation." Akiva Van Koningsveld.

([67] Israeli soldiers remove corpses in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, near the Gaza border, Oct. 10, 2023. Photo by Chaim Goldberg/Flash90).

(January 24, 2024 / JNS) Arabs across the Middle East and North Africa overwhelmingly view Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre, which left over 1,200 people dead in Israel and saw 240 others kidnapped to Gaza, as “legitimate (so-called) resistance,” according to a new survey of 16 nations throughout the region conducted earlier this month.

The Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies, a think tank funded by Qatar, polled some 8,000 Arabs in Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, Yemen and the Palestinian Authority-controlled areas in Judea and Samaria between Dec. 12, 2023 and Jan. 5, 2024.

The Doha-based institute claimed the surveyed individuals represented more than 95% of the Arab population in the region.

Around two-thirds said the Oct. 7 terror attacks in southern Israel were a “legitimate resistance operation”; 19% said that the massacre was a “somewhat flawed but legitimate resistance operation.”

Only 5% denounced Hamas’s war crimes as an “illegitimate operation,” while 3% said that it was a “legitimate resistance operation that involved heinous (unacceptable) or even criminal acts.”

The massacre received the highest support in Libya, Jordan, Tunisia, Morocco and among Palestinians, with a staggering 0% of Judea and Samaria residents agreeing that the atrocities of Oct. 7, which also included beheadings, rape and other sexual offenses, were illegitimate.

(Ofir Gendelman @ofirgendelman: According to a @dohainstitute poll that asked people in various Arab countries what do they think about Hamas' massacre, in which more than 1200 Israelis were murdered, 0% of Palestinians in the PA (yes, 0%) thought it was illegitimate. Source: [dohainstitute.org/en/Lists/ACRPS] [68] [69] Jan 23, 2024).

Approximately 35% of Arabs believe that the primary reason for Hamas's murder spree was “the ongoing Israeli occupation [sic] of Palestinian land [sic].” A quarter attributed it primarily to “defending al-Aqsa Mosque [in Jerusalem’s Old City] against [sic] attacks,” according to the new study.

Most Arabs said they disapproved of recognizing the State of Israel, with 89% saying they would support rejecting or revoking such a move, up from 84% in 2022. Meanwhile, support for the recognition of the Jewish state was the highest in Sudan (14%), Lebanon (8%) and Morocco (7%).

Just over half of the respondents said they considered the United States to be the biggest threat to the security and stability of the region, followed by Israel (26%) and the Islamic Republic of Iran (7%). [...] The Qatari poll confirmed previous studies showing that Palestinian Arabs overwhelmingly support the wholesale murder of Jewish men, women and children by Islamist terrorists.

A poll published last month by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research found that nearly three in four Palestinians believe that Hamas was “correct” in launching the Oct. 7 attacks.

When asked to rate their satisfaction with various Palestinian actors, Hamas took the lead among the respondents with 72% satisfaction, followed by Hamas chief in Gaza Yahya Sinwar (69%) and the Islamist terror group’s “political” leader, Ismail Haniyeh (51%).

According to the PSR, more than half believe that Hamas is “the most deserving of representing and leading the Palestinian people today.”

(Eitan Fischberger @EFischberger: BREAKING: New Palestinian public opinion poll released by PCPSR — the first since October 7th. Main findings: 🔸72% support the 10/7 massacre 🔸Support for Hamas triples in West Bank (82% supported the massacre). 🔸Support for "armed struggle" rises ten pts to +60%. [70] [71] Dec 13, 2023)

A separate poll released just weeks earlier found that slightly more than three in four Palestinians have a positive view of Hamas in the wake of its most recent terrorist attacks against civilians in Israel.

The Arab World for Research and Development survey found that 48.2% of respondents characterize Hamas’s role as “very positive,” while 27.8% view Hamas as “somewhat positive.” Almost 80% regard the role of Hamas’s Al-Qassam Brigades “military” wing as positive.

When asked whether they supported or opposed Hamas’s actions, 59.3% of the Palestinians surveyed said they “extremely” supported the attacks and 15.7% said they “somewhat” supported the bloodbath.

Almost all (98%) of the respondents said the slaughter made them feel “prouder of their identity as Palestinians.” JNS

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Poll: 80% of American voters support Israel; 20% support Hamas. Joel B Pollak, 1/23/2024

A new Harvard-Harris poll suggests that 80% of American voters support Israel in the current war in Gaza, while 20% support the Hamas terrorist organization.

The poll was conducted January 17-19 among 2,346 registered voters. A margin of error was not available. Breitbart

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UK officials probe Iran generals' antisemitic talks to students. Published 23 January 2024. By Ed Homas Videos of antisemitic speeches by Iranian generals, given to UK students, are being investigated by the Charity Commission. The regulator is also looking at footage of "death to Israel" chants at an Islamic charity's UK premises.

Verified by the BBC, two of the videos show talks by members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. One described an apocalyptic war on Jews.

The group that promoted the online talks said it respects all communities.

The footage - which also includes a denial of the Holocaust - adds to growing concerns from some MPs that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is attempting to radicalise UK Muslims. Security services have also warned it is inciting violence and plotting to kidnap or kill people on British soil. BBC

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US carries out airstrikes on Iranian-backed militias in Iraq. By Oren Liebermann, Haley Britzky and Natasha Bertrand, CNN. The US carried out airstrikes in Iraq targeting facilities used by Iranian-backed militias in the country on Tuesday following repeated attacks on US forces, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced in a statement.

The strikes targeted three facilities used by Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah and other Tehran-affiliated groups in Iraq.

Austin said in the statement that the strikes “are in direct response to a series of escalatory attacks against US and coalition personnel in Iraq and Syria” by Iranian-backed militia groups. Updated 11:54 AM EST, Wed January 24, 2024 CNN

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210 Congress members denounce South Africa’s genocide charge. "We vigorously denounce South Africa’s deeply hostile stance towards Israel and thoroughly reject its charge of genocide," the congress members wrote. David Isaac. (January 24, 2024 / JNS) Two hundred and ten members of the U.S. Congress sent an open letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday condemning South Africa for filing "a grossly unfounded case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ)." "South Africa’s accusation of genocide against Israel exposes how far Israel’s enemies will go in their attempts to demonize the Jewish state," the signatories wrote. The letter notes that while South Africa barely acknowledged the Hamas terrorists "who gleefully massacred, mutilated, raped, and kidnapped innocent civilians" on Oct. 7, it made "grossly unfounded and defamatory charges against Israel on the world stage." Calling it an abuse of the judicial process to delegitimize Israel, the letter goes on to state that to charge the Jewish state with genocide is "particularly cynical given that the term ‘genocide’ was coined following the murder of six million Jews in the Holocaust." .. JNS

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British Foreign Secretary to visit Israel, push for Gaza ceasefire. Elad Benari Jan 24, 2024, 4:17 AM INN

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IDF eliminates spotter preparing to attack forces. Israel National News Jan 24, 2024, 9:26 AM INN

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Helping Israeli farmers: Israeli and North American Jews help Israeli farmers. Israel National News Jan 24, 2024, 10:22 AM INN

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PA TV Libel: Bible teaches that only Jews are human - all others not human, PA TV broadcasts father of a terrorist. [PA's Antisemitism & Demonization]. Feb 7, 2024 .

‘We ask Allah to send people like Hitler, Nebuchadnezzar and Pharaoh’.

Palestinian Authority Antisemitism is both vicious and fundamental to PA ideology. The PA’s demonization of Jews, Israel, Jewish sources and traditions, has a very sinister purpose: It is the basis for Palestinian hatred and justifies murder. Put simply, once the PA leadership convinces Palestinians that the Jewish/Israeli evil is innate to Jewish nature and endangers Palestinians and all humanity, Palestinians feel justified and even righteous about hating and killing Jews and even praying for Allah to bring another Holocaust.

Official Palestinian TV recently broadcast one of the PA's hate libels about Jews and Judaism, spewed forth by the father of terrorist. After complaining about his terrorist son’s home being destroyed, he.. repeated additional libels that echo PA/Fatah Antisemitism ... “Their biblical belief is that God created non-human beings in the form of humans. Only they are human, only Jews are human; the rest of humanity is not human..." [Official PA TV, Jan. 24, 2024]. [...] PA TV taught that Hitler and Nebuchadnezzar were Allah’s punishment of the Jews:

"(Quran): ‘Proceed throughout the earth and observe how was the end of those who denied.’ The occupation (i.e., Israeli) government hasn't learned from history, from (Allah’s punishments for) the corruption of the Children of Israel the first and second time. It hasn't learned. They [The Jews] didn't learn from what Nebuchadnezzar did to them (destroyed the First Temple). They didn't learn from what Titus the great Roman leader, did to them (destroyed the Second Temple). They didn't learn from what Hitler did to them, and the kings of Europe, and Spain - they didn't learn." [Masoud Rayyaan, lecturer on Islamic Shari'a at Al-Quds Open University,Official PA TV, Oct. 19, 2018. Palwatch

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Gaza children protest against Hamas. A day earlier, Gazans demonstrated in Rafah, cursing terrorist strongman Yahye Sinwar. ([72] Several dozen Palestinians demonstrate in Deir al-Balah, the central Gaza, calling on Hamas to free all Israeli captives and end the war so they can return to their homes, Jan. 24, 2024. Photo by Majdi Fathi/TPS). Pesach Benson (January 24, 2024 / JNS) JNS

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IDF finds, destroys Hamas tunnel in central Gaza located 1.5 km from Israel border. By Emanuel Fabian 24 Jan 2024, 6:06 pm [73] ...It was later destroyed by combat engineers... TOI

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US Navy intercepts missiles in Red Sea while escorting Maersk ships -Maersk. By Reuters 01/24/2024 05:48 PM JPost

Early reports suggest US strikes on Houthi targets were effective -White House. Initial reports indicate that U.S. strikes on Houthi targets had effective results, White House spokesperson John Kirby said on Wednesday. The U.S. military carried out more strikes in Yemen early on Wednesday, destroying two Houthi anti-ship missiles that were aimed at the Red Sea and were preparing to launch, the U.S. military said in a statement. (Reuters) 01.24.24 12:25 YNet

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Houthis fire three missiles toward US-flagged container in Gulf of Aden -US military. By Reuters 01/24/2024 07:35 PM JPost

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Dershowitz: Israel erred in submitting to ICJ jurisdiction. Ahead of ruling on South Africa's petition against Israel, jurist tells Ynet, 'It is not a real court' and 'reflects foreign policy, not rule of law'; 'I personally would ignore any decision that comes down' Nir (Shoko) Cohen |01.24.24 | 07:34 YNet

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From Cindy Crawford to Connie Britton: Stars against antisemitism. Ynet | 01.24.24 08:36 YNet

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Antisemitism quadruples in France, spikes in UK after October 7. French Interior Ministry data shows1,676 antisemitic incidents in 2023 up from 436 the previous year; Daily Mail reports London Police data records hundreds of antisemitic incidents across the country. Ynetnews, AFP | published:01.25.24 05:00 France is home to Europe’s largest Jewish community and the largest number of Muslims on the continent, although no precise figures are available as the country’s census does not include religious identity...

The Daily Mail described two recent antisemitic incidents in London, including a graffiti calling Jews “e#il” being sprayed in a local skate park, and security camera footage showing a man throwing the hats off of Jewish men arriving to pray at a synagogue in Hackney... YNet

Hackney (borough in London) is where a large community of Arabs, Muslims live close to Haredi Jews who are not Zionists at EoZ

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The final solution according to Hamas. by Lt. Col. (res.) Dr. Shaul Bartal, January 24, 2024.

([74]

Sayyid Qutb inscription).

BSA, No. 2,258, January 24, 2024.

Summary: The terrorists of Hamas and Islamic Jihad made sure to commemorate their entry into the Otef [envelope] kibbutzim, among other things, through inscriptions such as the Al-Qassam Brigades or the Quds. But there is another inscription found in some of the houses that specifically commemorates Sayyid Qutb. This commemoration is not accidental and originates from the declared anti-Semitic worldview of Sayyid Qutb as expressed in the main article in the book "Our War at the Jews" which he wrote in the early 1950s. Hamas adopted in its charter classic anti-Semitic motifs such as the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Adopting the ideology of Sayyid Qutb in relation to the Jews means an aspiration to destroy them, similar to the Nazis. The Holocaust is seen as a "punishment" that Allah gave to the Jews due to their [supposed] sins, and now it is the turn of His Muslim servants to continue the destruction of the Jewish people. This is the essence of the concept of Islamic anti-Semitism prevalent among supporters of Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood and is not related to the establishment of the State of Israel but to a cosmic concept of an eternal struggle between the Jews as representatives of Satan and the Muslims as representatives of divine truth. The war between Israel and Hamas is not a national war for the liberation of land but a religious war similar to the religious wars in Europe in the Middle Ages.

The war against Hamas that began on October 7, 2023 revealed a disturbing truth. This is not a national war where the goal is to liberate territory from foreign rule, otherwise Hamas would try to hold on to the territory they occupied and make acceptable national demands. The evil and cruelty demonstrated by Hamas operatives - rape of women, murder of babies, beheadings, burning people alive - can be explained by the totality of evil. In hindsight, Hamas realized that taking pride in these actions harmed the organization's image, and began to claim, like Saleh Al-Arouri, the organization's deputy head, that the massacre was carried out by Gaza residents who came after the organization's fighters and looted the kibbutzim, and that Hamas fighters only fired at armed forces. The existing evidence, videos and photos present a different reality. The last to burn Jews alive were the Nazis. So you have to go back in time to understand how this can be explained?

In July 1937, a booklet of about thirty pages was published that was probably written by the Mufti, Haj Muhammad Amin Al-Husseini and dealt with Islam and the Jews. The text, as defined by the German researcher Matthias Kuntzel is the basis of Islamic anti-Semitism. The text contains a detailed description of all the negative references to Jews from the Koran and the Hadith, and it also accuses the Jews of killing the .. Muhammad with a piece of poisoned mutton. Muhammad admittedly took a bite of the poisoned meat And it did not lead to his immediate death, but some of the poison seeped in, and according to the hadith cited in the booklet, this led to his death. The booklet turns specific events from the time of the .. Muhammad in the Arabian Peninsula into a systematic anti-Semitic teaching according to which the Jews are the [supposed] "enemies" [sic] of Allah and the servants (sic) of Satan and therefore the believers have an obligation to destroy them. In the concluding words of the mufti : "The Muslims should know that Allah, may He be exalted, did not reveal in His book ...."

In the first issue of Al-Qassam (bulletin) published in April 2007 (an official issue of the Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, the military arm of the Hamas organization) they paid tribute to Mufti Haj Muhammad Amin Al-Husseini, the father of the Palestinian struggle against the Jews. The article mentioned the mufti's part in the Rashid Ali Al kilani (Gaylani) rebellion in Iraq in 1941. They did not mention the mufti's part in Farhud, but they did mention his great hostility to Jews. The Farhud that broke out on June 1-2, 1941 in Baghdad, is one of the most recognized pogroms that happened in the Arab world. In this pogrom, between 180 and 1,000 Jews were murdered over thirty hours. The descriptions of the pogrom are largely reminiscent of the descriptions of the victims of October 7, 2023. Jewish children were slaughtered and women were raped in front of their family members. [1] Iraqi Jews were not murdered because they were "Zionists" or lived in "occupied territory". They were murdered because they were Jews and according to the ideology preached by the mufti who was in Iraq near the time of the pogrom - their punishment is death. The writer Eli Amir, a Baghdad native who experienced the Farhud could state that the October 7th massacre was strikingly similar to that of the Farhud.

After the Rashid Ali Al-Kilani [Gaylani] rebellion, the mufti fled to Germany and was a personal friend of Heinrich Himmler, the Gestapo commander and the German Minister of the Interior who contributed greatly to the implementation of the Final Solution, as well as Alfred Rosenberg, the founder of the Institute for the Study of the Jewish Problem in Frankfurt. His historic meeting with Hitler was widely documented in the German propaganda channels. After the war, the mufti surrendered himself to France and although Yugoslavia declared him a war criminal due to his crimes in the Balkans, in which Muslims who served under the Wehrmacht took part, he managed to escape and arrived in Cairo. In 1946, when the branch of the Muslim Brotherhood was established in Mandatory Palestine, the mufti was appointed, even though he was in exile at the time, to head it. As mentioned, Hamas developed out of the Muslim Brotherhood.

However, the person who perfected the hatred of the Jews and the justification of their murder is Sayyid Qutb, whose name was mentioned among the other names in the destroyed houses of Be'eri. Sayyid Qutb (1906-1966) was one of the leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt in the fifties and sixties until his hanging in 1966. In his penned book, Our War at the Jews, Qutb explained the dynamics of the extermination of the Jews. "The stories of their corruption [sic] are repeated, as are their humiliations and deportations. Every time the Israelites returned to corrupt the land, they received their punishment and the tradition (Sunnah) emphatically states, 'However, if you return to your ways, we will also return.' The Jews indeed went back to corrupt practices, that's why Allah handed over the rule over them to the Muslims and they expelled the Jews from the entire Arabian Peninsula... Then they went back to corruption.. This was the case until modern times, when Hitler ruled over them. Here today returned once more to do the evil [sic] in the establishment of Israel, which brought suffering and disasters to the Arabs, the owners of the land, therefore Allah will punish them with the most terrible punishment of all, fulfilling Allah's unequivocal promise..."

Per Qutb... therefore the extermination of the Jews is not only a matter of a national struggle for one or another piece of land but almost a divine commandment. Abdullah Yusuf Azzam also followed this spirit in his book Al-Saratan Al-Ahmar - The Red Cancer. Azzam, also from the Muslim Brotherhood, born in Silat al-Harithiya in the Jenin governorate, incorporated in his books the Protocols of the Elders of Zion and saw the Jews as an eternal enemy of the Muslims wherever they are. Later in the 1980s, Azzam, together with Osama Bin Laden, founded the al-Qaeda organization and participated in the war in Afghanistan. Azzam was eliminated on November 24, 1989. Even Sheikh Yousef Al-Qaradawi, who died about a year ago, defined the Jews as part of the enemies of the Islamic order and devoted an honorable chapter to them in his book. The view of the J.. as the servants of [supposedly] Satan and evil in the world is an anti-Semitic view that has become widespread in various publications of the Muslim Brotherhood since the 1950s. This concept was also expressed in the Hamas charter published in August 1988.

"The Islamic resistance movement calls on the Arab and Islamic peoples to act seriously and persistently to prevent the execution of this terrifying plan, and to warn the masses of the danger arising from exiting the circle of conflict with Zionism. Because today it is Palestine and tomorrow it is another country or countries, because the Zionist plan has no boundaries. After Palestine, [the Zionists] aim to spread from the Nile to the Euphrates, and after they have eaten the area they have reached, they will aim for further expansion, and so on. Their plan is [reflected] "in the Protocols of the Elders of Zion", and there is no [such as their behavior] in the present to testify to our word." (section 32).

Absurdly, a movement that sees the Nazi war criminal Haj Muhammad Amin al-Husseini as the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine, accuses the Jews of [supposed] "Nazism" in its creed. "There is no escape from concentrating all the forces and efforts to confront this malicious Tatar Nazi invasion. Otherwise homelands will be lost, the inhabitants will be displaced, corruption will take hold on the face of the earth and all religious values ​​will be destroyed. Everyone must know that he is responsible before Allah." (section 32).

It can be said that the Hamas organization today advocates the implementation of the final solution which includes the extermination of the Jewish people. Thus, for example, in an official publication of the Hamas organization (Al-Qassam issue, August 2007), Hamas commemorates Kamal Kahil, as a soldier known as "Jazaar al Yahud" (Slaughterer of the Jews). As a resident of the Gaza Strip, he was originally one of the heads of Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam, the military arm of Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Kahil carried out a series of terrorist attacks. In the columns dedicated to his memory, it was noted that he contributed a lot to the terrorist attacks in the nineties (years of cautious optimism due to the Oslo Accords) until his death in 1995. This is an official expression of the Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades and it was not for nothing that they chose to emphasize that he slaughtered the Jews and not the Israelis or the Zionists. As mentioned, this is just one example out of many. The massacres of October 7th are not a work accident of the Hamas organization but part of a regular cycle of genocide that the Hamas organization has been advocating since its foundation. It was not for nothing that the Hamas terrorists immortalized the name of Sayyid Qutb on the burned houses of Be'eri. After all, their war is with the Jews.

[1] - [75] Besa

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U.S. sanctions Iraqi airline backing terror Fly Baghdad transports fighters, ballistic missiles, rockets, grenades and automatic rifles as well as sacks full of dollars, to IRGC members, pro-Iran militias in Syria and Lebanon.

Daniel Edelson, New York | published: 01.24.24 | 09:44

The U.S. announced it was sanctioning airlines who had been supporting terror groups, including Fly Baghdad, Iraq's premier carrier, and its CEO Basheer Abdulkadhim Alwan al-Shabbani YNet

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Major South African banks provide platform to fund Hamas. Ohad Merlin, Jerusalem Post, January 24, 2024.

Research conducted by The Jerusalem Post staff and several sources uncovered what appears to be a network of several South African organizations and straw man companies deeply involved with funding Hamas activities through the Al-Quds Foundation, an international group sanctioned by the US and outlawed by Israel, using accounts registered in major local South African banks: Standard Bank, Nedbank, and Absa.

The global Al-Quds Foundation The Al-Quds International Foundation (a.k.a. Al-Quds International Institute or QII) was established in Beirut in 2001 by Hamas members to raise funds for the terror organization through the guise of charity. According to the US Department of Treasury, the Hamas leadership runs all of the foundation’s affairs through Hamas members who serve on the board and other administrative committees, while all documents, plans, budgets, and projects are drafted by Hamas officials. Additionally, several senior Hamas officials, including Specially Designated Global Terrorists Mousa Abu Marzook and Osama Hamdan, served on Al-Quds’ Board of Trustees.

The foundation is part of the extensive network of Muslim Brotherhood affiliated organizations and was chaired until recently by sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, the most prominent Islamic scholar of the Sunni world in the past decades, who was also aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood axis, and who was made notorious in the West for his infamous fatwa (an Islamic legal ruling) endorsing, and commending suicide bombings... JPost

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Israel building 1km buffer along Gaza border.

US officials have condemned Israel's effort to clear everything within a kilometer of the Gaza border, saying that it is an indication of an attempt to displace Palestinians and seize Gazan land permanently.

Israel National News Jan 25, 2024, 11:54 AM INN

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Jordan: New shawarma restaurant named after massacre. New Jordanian restaurant is named after the October 7 massacre perpetrated by Hamas against Israeli civilians. Israel National News Jan 25, 2024, 8:34 AM ...Jordanian media reported that the restaurant's name is "an expression of appreciation of the Palestinian goals." INN

(Jordan Is Palestinian :: Middle East Quarterly. by Mudar Zahran Middle East Quarterly Winter 2012, pp. 3-12 [...] Abdullah's Apartheid Policies

The majority Palestinian population of Jordan bridles at the advantages and benefits bestowed on the minority Bedouins. Advancement in the civil service, as well as in the military, is almost entirely a Bedouin prerogative with the added insult that Palestinians pay the lion's share of the country's taxes... in a 2007 report, written in cooperation with several Jordanian government bodies, the London-based Oxford Business Group stated that at least two thirds of Jordan's population were of Palestinian origin.. MEForum)

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Israel Defense Forces taking control in heart of Khan Yunis. Akiva Van Koningsveld (January 25, 2024 / JNS) JNS

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More evidence that the Palestinians literally make up casualty statistics.

January 25, 2024.

The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics is keeping its own tally of deaths in Gaza that they claim comes from the Gaza ministry of health and the UN.

As of today, they are claiming that there have been 25,700 total deaths, of which 12,345 have been children and 7500 women. That would mean that 77% of those killed were women and children, far higher than the 70% that Hamas claims.

Here's the problem: the Hamas health ministry has not issued any statistics on the number of women and children killed for [76] over a month. The last time they did, on December 11, they claimed an already absurd 70% were women and children.

And here is irrefutable proof that these numbers ar ecompletely made up.

As of [77] December 11, Hamas claimed that there were 5,153 women and 7,729 children killed out of a total of 18,205 deaths. [78] [79]

As of January 16, the PCBS - claiming to be using figures from the same source - said that there were 12,345 children and 7,100 women killed out of 24,100.

[80][81]

That means that during those 36 days, there were 5,895 new total "martyrs" - but 6,563 additional women and children killed.

Yes, they are claiming that there were 668 more women and children killed than there were total deaths. Truly miraculous!

Not only that, as of January 16, the PCBS claims that some 81% of all deaths were women and children, which is far higher than the total percentage of women and children in Gaza (I [82] estimate it is 73%.) Any terrorists killed are just accidental, apparently.

It's all made up.

The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics brags how professional and accurate it is. But these numbers are completely fictional (isn't the number of children being 12345 a little odd?)

If they really are getting these numbers from the Hamas authorities, then Hamas is obviously lying. If Hamas hasn't updated its women and children numbers since December as the UN says, then the PCBS is obviously lying.

In truth, both are. As [83] we've shown, Hamas statistics sometimes also counted more women and children than total deaths. We see here that the "professional" PCBS happily posts numbers that simply don't add up.

And the world media apparently doesn't have a single employee with a spreadsheet that can notice that the Palestinian authorities are proven to be liars. EoZ

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How Hamas Manipulates Gaza Fatality Numbers: Examining the Male Undercount and Other Problems. by Gabriel Epstein, Jan 25, 2024 In this Policy Note, Gabriel Epstein tracks Gaza fatality reporting since the war began to reveal how Hamas statistics are inconsistent, imprecise, and systematically manipulated to downplay the number of men and militants killed. [84] Washington Institute

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DC Jews gather to express ‘appreciation, frustration’ to Qatar, demand it ‘crack a whip on Hamas’. Andrew Bernard. (January 25, 2024 / JNS) JNS

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Georgia Senate passes bill to define antisemitism. The U.S. state of Georgia's Senate passed a bill on Thursday to define antisemitism in state law, putting the measure on track for final passage, with Republicans uniting in support of Israel’s war on Hamas and some Democrats splitting over fears of suppressing support for Palestinians. A House vote to agree with changes to the bill could come later Thursday, sending it to Gov. Brian Kemp for his signature or veto. (Associated Press). 01.25.24 14:33 YNet

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South Dakota House passes bill using part of IHRA definition of Jew-hatred. (January 25, 2024 / JNS) The South Dakota state House passed HB 1076, which uses some of the language from the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism but not its contemporary examples, by a vote of 53-14 earlier this week.

The bill heads next to the state Senate.

One of several contemporary examples of Jew-hatred that is part of the IHRA definition but which the South Dakota House did not adopt is, “denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.”

“This bill is entirely about conduct,” said Fred Deutsch (R), a state representative. “This bill doesn’t limit a person or organization’s First Amendment right.”

“Hate in any form is wrong,” said state representative Mike Stevens (R), who opposed the bill in committee before voting for it. “My Christian values do not allow me to hate.. JNS

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State Department releases report on a century-plus of Kremlin antisemitism. The report is “a nasty present” to Russian President Vladamir Putin, says a Jewish American expert on Soviet and contemporary left antisemitism, publicized on the anniversary of the Red Army’s liberation of Auschwitz. Mike Wagenheim.

(January 29, 2024 / JNS) It likely wasn’t a coincidence that the U.S. State Department published a report on Russian antisemitism [[85]] directly ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Jan. 27. JNS

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GWU professor facing discrimination complaints resigns, heads to Qatar Lara Sheehi will now teach. psychopathology at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies. (January 25, 2024 / JNS) The Israel education nonprofit StandWithUs filed a Title VI complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights against Lara Sheehi, an assistant professor of psychology at George Washington University, after she was accused of targeting Jewish students.

The result? Sheehi has left the country and accepted a new teaching position in Qatar.

Class members accused her of discrimination—of “singling out and targeting Jewish and Israel students for adverse treatment because of their identity,” according to StandWithUs. The educator has also made her anti-Israel views known with profanity-laden social-media writings JNS

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The Real Genocides the World Ignores The Algemeiner

Thursday, January 25TH | 16 Shevat 5784 By Shoshana Bryen. JNS.org – “Genocide” is a word that should never be used lightly.

According to legal scholars Amichai Cohen and Yuval Shany, the definition of genocide is “well settled” and “commonly agreed.” There is a consensus that “genocide involves killing members of a national or ethnic group, causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group and inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the group’s physical destruction in whole or in part.”

Despite the baseless accusations against Israel at the International Court of Justice, this is not happening in Gaza. Nonetheless, the ICJ blood libel is an object lesson in how the international anti-Israel mob works. Slandering Israel and Jews is a time-honored method of diverting attention from the depredations of others. It also erases the victims of these crimes without so much as a crocodile tear.

Here are some examples of such depredations:

Darfur, Sudan: In 2007, then-U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell described the situation in Darfur as genocide. The U.N. estimates that by 2016, 300,000 people had been killed and there was credible evidence that the Sudanese government used chemical weapons against the local population. Since Feb. 2023, government-sponsored militias have killed an estimated 400,000 people through starvation and disease. Mass rape has also occurred. More than 2.5 million people have been internally displaced and over 200,000 have fled to Chad.

Rwanda: From April-July 1994, an estimated 800,000 people—one-tenth of the entire population—were killed and much of the remaining population displaced.

Bosnia: In 1992, more than 200,000 Muslim civilians were systematically murdered and two million became refugees at the hands of the Serbs. Rape was a systematic part of these atrocities.

Cambodia: From 1975-1979, 25% of the population died from starvation, overwork and execution under the Khmer Rouge.

East Timor: During a 24-year occupation by Indonesia that ended in 1999, more than 20% of the population was massacred and 80% of structures in the country were incinerated.

Guatemala: From 1978-1983, government forces carried out massacres and civilian executions of an estimated 200,000 people. There were at least 40,000 “disappearances.” The Maya population constituted 83% of the identified victims. The event is known as the Maya Genocide.

Armenia: From 1915-1916, between 664,000 and 1.2 million Armenians were killed by Turkey, either in mass executions and individual killings or from the brutality and deprivation of forced deportations.

Add to that the horrific death counts that may or may not meet the precise definition of genocide. Approximately 500,000 Syrians, mostly Sunni Muslims, have been killed by dictator Bashar Assad’s regime, including through the use of chemical weapons. More than 11 million Syrians have become either internal or external refugees.

Nearly 400,000 have been killed in Yemen. The International Rescue Committee estimates that 5.4 million Congolese have been killed in a war that continues today, with Christians being disproportionately targeted. As of 2023, 187,000-210,000 are estimated to have been killed in Iraq and 236,000 in Afghanistan.

China gets special mention.

The country’s 1958 “Great Leap Forward” destroyed the agricultural system, causing a famine in which 27 million people starved to death. This was not directed at a specific ethnic group, so it may not qualify as genocide; but in 2021, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called China’s treatment of its Turkic Muslim Uyghur population a genocide.

Findings by Genocide Watch bear him out:

Since 2017, between 800,000-2,000,000 million Uyghurs have been held in Xinjiang’s concentration prisons, commonly referred to as “reeducation camps.” Uyghurs are forced to participate in [Chinese Communist Party] indoctrination programs in which detainees are forced to abandon their Muslim faith and culture. The CCP forbids use of the Uyghur language and imposes Mandarin Chinese within these camps. Inside camps, CCP officials subject Uyghurs to physical beatings, sexual assault and gang rapes of women.

Despite all this, the international community prefers to focus on defaming Israel for daring to conduct a legitimate war of self-defense launched only after Hamas raped, tortured, mutilated and burned to death 1,200 Israelis and carried off 240 more as hostages.

One of the most powerful denunciations of this campaign of slander came from a country that actually committed a genocide: Germany.

German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said in a statement last week, “In light of German history and the crimes against humanity of the Shoah, the German government is particularly committed to the [U.N.] Genocide Convention.” For this reason, he said, “We stand firmly against a political instrumentalization” of the Convention.

Acknowledging divergent views in the international community on Israel’s military operations, he nonetheless asserted, “The German government decisively and expressly rejects the accusation of genocide brought against Israel before the International Court of Justice. The accusation has no basis in fact.” Algemeiner

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CNN.com - Transcripts. Erin Burnett Outfront.

Trump Testifies For 3 Minutes And Is Rebuked By Judge; CNN Gains Rare Access To Ukraine Frontline Command Center; Trump Threatens To Bar Haley Donors, Haley Digs In; China's Usually Strict Censors Ignoring Rising Antisemitism Online. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired January 25, 2024 - 19:00   ET

ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next: [...] HILL: Tonight, a troubling trend. Antisemitism surging on Chinese social media since the deadly October 7 Hamas attack, terror attack on Israel.

The Internet in China is, of course, heavily censored. Posts critical of President Xi Jinping and the communist party are usually removed swiftly.

So, why then would doctored photos of Israeli flags combined with swastikas as you can see, there, be allowed to remain. Well, some experts believe that is no accident. In fact, they suspect that China is exploiting the hateful content to hurt the United States.

Will Ripley is OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As Israel-Hamas War rages, a battleground of opinions on Chinas tightly controlled social media, a surge of online hate very anti-Israel, and in many cases anti-Semitic. The Israeli embassy in Beijing says.

Matt Trusch is a Jewish American businessman living in China with thousands of followers on social media.

MATT TRUSCH, JEWISH-AMERICAN BUSINESSMAN IN CHINA: For centuries, China has been the biggest friend of the Jews and until recently, that's now all changed.

RIPLEY: CNN uncovered a hornet's nest of hateful content surging after October 7th, criticizing Israel's military response in Gaza to the Hamas terror attacks. Some remain untouched by China's usually heavy-handed online censors.

TRUSCH: For a person like me, a Westerner to post on China's TikTok, highly censored TikTok, I have to be very, very careful and yet these hype -- these Chinese bloggers, these hate bloggers seemed to have free rein.

RIPLEY: Some online users combining the Israeli flag and Nazi symbols posted by netizens, the German embassy in China says the images are, quote, degrading to human dignity and calls the posters ignorant idiots, or shameless bastards.

Some people buying Israeli flags on Taobao, China's online shopping platform. Just to step on them and post the pictures online.

Even the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum, a long time symbol of Chinese Jewish history facing a flood of social media comments demanding its demolition.

Adding fuel to the online firestorms, some state media outlets accusing Israel of committing war crimes. Beijing has not condemned Hamas, but has called for Israel to stop its, quote, collective punishment in Gaza.

Experts even suggesting China may be using anti-Jewish hate as a weapon against Washington, Israel's biggest backer.

YAQUI WANG, RESEARCH DIRECTOR FOR CHINA, HONG KONG AND TAIWAN FREEDOM HOUSE: It helps facilitate the Chinese government's foreign policy agenda, which ultimately is to see that U.S. as enemy trying to undermine China.

RIPLEY: She says recent statements by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi suggested an ulterior motive.

WANG YI, CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTER: Well, we have always firmly defended the legitimate rights and interests of Arab and Muslim countries.

RIPLEY: A deliberate diplomatic strategy influencing how Chinese citizens perceive the Israel-Hamas conflict. (END VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY (on camera): If there's one thing we know about Chinese social media, it is very tightly controlled, even material that is deemed marginally sensitive to the Chinese communist party often gets censored. So the relative lack of censorship around this antisemitic hate filled content does raise questions tonight about whether this behavior is being at least tacitly approved by the Chinese government. And this of course, raising concerns, Erica, amongst the Jewish community in China that this is now a new reality. They have to confront.

HILL: Great reporting, Will. Appreciate it. Thank you. CNN Transcript.

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Almost 40% of buildings within planned Gaza buffer zone said demolished. 25 Jan 2024, 8:00 am

Israel has razed nearly 40 percent of the 2,824 buildings in Gaza located within a kilometer of the border, according to a Hebrew University study cited by The Wall Street Journal.

The demolition moves appear to be part of a plan to build a kilometer-wide (0.6-mile) buffer zone inside the Strip.

Near Khan Younis in southern Gaza, where the border zone is most densely populated, some 67% of buildings have been destroyed, according to the study by Prof. Adi Ben Nun, who analyzed satellite data to arrive at the figures.

Current and former officials tell the Journal that some structures within the planned zone, which will vary in width depending on various factors, may be left in place. TOI

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Israel Builds Buffer Zone Along Gaza Border, Risking New Rift With U.S. Soldiers have been creating a no man’s land just inside the enclave.

([86] A picture taken in southern Israel near the border with the Gaza Strip in December. A picture taken in southern Israel near the border with the Gaza Strip in December. Jack Guez/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images).

By Dov Lieber, David S. Cloud and Anat Peled. Updated Jan. 25, 2024 8:14 am ET

TEL AVIV—Beginning last November, an Israeli soldier and members of his reserve unit worked day after day in a northern section of the Gaza Strip to create a wasteland.

Their orders were to clear a 1-kilometer-wide area along the border, the soldier said, as part of an Israeli plan to construct a security zone just inside Gaza—to which Palestinians would be barred entry. WSJ

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"They betrayed us and they will be punished for it": the writer David Grossman tells about his thoughts following 7.10 and sings for the first time The writer and bereaved father recorded a lullaby for Kfir Bibas, the kidnapped baby. Jonathan Rieger | The main edition | Published 23:37 25.01.24 | Updated 09:01 26.01.24

We are used to reading David Grossman - his books and texts have long since become properties of the Iron Sheep in Israel. But hearing him sing - we haven't had that yet. When the acclaimed author was asked to write a letter to one-year-old Kafir Bibs, who is still being held hostage in Gaza, he decided to dedicate to him an old lullaby, which he used to sing to his children - and perform it himself - for the first time in his life.

"I like to sing, but alone," says Grossman... Mako

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Gallant: Hamas collapsing into its own tunnels in Gaza. “In the past day and a half, we have over 100 captives, some of them who came up from underground," said the Israeli defense minister. (January 26, 2024 / JNS) Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Thursday that more than 100 Hamas terrorists had been caught in the previous 36 hours, as the IDF pushes forward in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza. JNS

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Rocket debris detected in the area of Margaliot. By Jerusalem Post Staff. Published: January 26, 2024 09:53 JPost

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Israel says WHO ‘colluding’ with Hamas by ignoring ‘terrorist use’ of Gaza hospitals. World health body’s chief breaks down describing ‘hellish’ conditions in Gaza, as Israel points to evidence of repeated Hamas use of civilian infrastructure for military purposes. By TOI Sraff and Agencies. January 26, 2024. Israel on Thursday accused the World Health Organization of collusion with Hamas by ignoring Israeli evidence of the “terrorist use” of hospitals in the Gaza Strip, during a session when the global health body’s chief described conditions in the coastal enclave as “hellish.”

Israeli ambassador Meirav Eilon Shahar told the WHO’s executive board that there could not be health care in the Palestinian territory when Hamas “embeds itself in hospitals and uses human shields.”

In “every single hospital that the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) searched in Gaza, it found evidence of Hamas’ military use,” she said. "These are undeniable facts that WHO chooses to ignore time and time again. This is not incompetence; it is collusion." TOI

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U.S. halts UNRWA funding over staffers’ involvement with Oct. 7 terror attacks. The decision comes after the U.N. agency terminated 12 employees. By Gabby Deutch, January 26, 2024 JewishInsider

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US maintains genocide allegations against Israel are unfounded, after ICJ ruling. By Jacob Magid, 26 Jan 2024,

“We continue to believe that allegations of genocide are unfounded and note the court did not make a finding about genocide or call for a ceasefire in its ruling and that it called for the unconditional, immediate release of all hostages being held by Hamas,” a US State Department spokesperson tells The Times of Israel. "The court’s ruling is consistent with our view that Israel has the right to take action to ensure the terrorist attacks of October 7 cannot be repeated, in accordance with international law," the spokesperson adds. TOI

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Seth Frantzman @sfrantzman: Israel's Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant in the wake of the ICJ news: "The State of Israel does not need to be lectured on morality in order to distinguish between terrorists and the civilian population in Gaza. The International Court of Justice in The Hague went above and beyond, when it granted South Africa's antisemitic request to discuss the claim of genocide in Gaza, and now refuses to reject the petition outright. Those who seek justice, will not find it on the leather chairs of the court chambers in The Hague - they will find it in the Hamas tunnels in Gaza, where 136 hostages are held, and where those who murdered our children are hiding."

He went on to say : "Those who seek justice, will not find it in the operational plans found in the pockets of Nukhba terrorists, who were instructed to ‘drink the blood of the Jews’. They will find it in the ‘Spirit of The IDF,’ a document that outlines the values and conduct of our moral and professional soldiers. The State of Israel will never forget October 7th. The IDF and security agencies will continue operating to dismantle the military and governing capabilities of the Hamas terrorist organization, and to return the hostages to their homes. I have full confidence in the commanders and soldiers of the IDF and the forces serving in our security agencies." 8:48 AM · Jan 26, 2024 on X

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Israel survived the display of hypocrisy at the International Court of Justice. Analysis: South Africa has failed to implement the objective of its appeal to the ICJ, making the court order Israel to carry out interim decisions in Gaza it does as part of routine. Dr. Matan Gutman | 01.26.24:13:29 YNet

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Opinion | Why justice wasn't done at the Internatioal Court of Justice Opinion| A top U.N. court's ruling on Israel and Gaza is a perversion of justice.

By Ruth Marcus, Associate editor | January 26, 2024 at 4:41 p.m. EST

Somewhere, Raphael Lemkin is weeping.

Lemkin was a Polish Jew who escaped the Holocaust, coined the term "genocide" and campaigned for the United Nations to declare genocide a crime punishable under international law. On the 50th anniversary of the genocide convention in 2001, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan called Lemkin "an inspiring example of moral engagement."

The same cannot be said of Annan’s institution. In a complaint to the International Court of Justice, the United Nations’ main judicial body, South Africa accused Israel of acts that are "genocidal[sic] in character" in waging war in Gaza — and, grotesquely, quoted Lemkin in support of its charges. "Israel, its officials and/or agents, have acted with the intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza," South Africa claimed.

On Friday, the ICJ issued a preliminary ruling against Israel. It could have been far worse: The order stopped short of instructing Israel to immediately cease military operations in Gaza, as South Africa had sought. But the court found, in the anodyne language of international law, that "at least some of the acts and omissions alleged … to have been committed by Israel in Gaza appear to be capable of falling within the provisions of the Convention."

This is a gross misreading of genocide; indeed, it is a perversion of the term. It would be appalling applied against any state, but it is especially offensive wielded against Israel — a country that was forged in the ashes of the worst genocide in human history, that was one of the early signatories to the genocide convention and that is now responding to the greatest slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust.

If there is a party guilty of genocidal intent and acts in this war, it is Hamas — although, because it is not a state, the terrorist group cannot be brought before the ICJ. Hamas speaks in its founding charter of "the Jews' usurpation" of the land and "our struggle against the Jews.” It proclaims that "the day of Judgment will not come about until Muslims fight Jews and kill them."

Hamas is committed to the destruction of Israel and would repeat the atrocities of Oct. 7 if permitted. "Israel is a country that has no place on our land," senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamid told a Lebanese TV station after the attack. "We must teach Israel a lesson, and we will do this again and again. The Al-Aqsa Flood is just the first time, and there will be a second, a third, a fourth." Who has genocidal intent here?

None of this is to defend the entirety of Israel’s actions before or after Oct. 7. I am a proud Jew and Zionist, but I am also no supporter of the Israeli government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his ... allies. Israel’s relentless expansion of settlements in the West Bank and mistreatment of Palestinians are indefensible and counterproductive.

As to the current war, Hamas is doubly at fault, yet that does not leave Israel blameless. First, Hamas is responsible for the barbaric attack; Israel was amply justified in responding to prevent future slaughter. Second, Hamas is responsible for the terrible scope of civilian casualties, having deliberately embedded itself within the civilian population in Gaza. Keep in mind: None of this — none — would be happening were it not for Hamas.

Story continues below advertisement Still, Israel is left in a terrible predicament as it seeks to hobble, if not destroy, Hamas and recover the hostages, whose seizure and captivity itself constitute a war crime. When attacks can be expected to cause civilian casualties, the law of war requires that they be proportionate to the military objective; there is a duty to take all feasible precautions to minimize harm to noncombatants. Given the ferocity and scope of the attack, Israel has the right and duty to defend itself.

But it is fair to question, as the Biden administration has, whether the Israeli response has gone too far — whether the collateral damage is disproportionate, given the effective impossibility of eradicating Hamas, and, at the very least, whether Israel is doing itself a disservice in the court of public opinion.

All of this is a far cry, however, from deeming Israel’s actions genocidal. Let’s go to the text of the genocide convention, which requires both acts and intent. The acts include killing members of a "national, ethnical, racial or religious group"; causing them "serious bodily or mental harm"; and "deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part." Those acts must be accompanied by intent: "to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group."

Is that Israel’s aim here? Killing civilians serves the interests of Hamas and undermines those of Israel. Israel has taken extraordinary steps to prevent civilian casualties and otherwise mitigate the suffering of innocents. To argue those have not been enough — or even that Israel’s conduct violated international humanitarian law — is not to conclude that the actions are genocidal. If Hamas magically disappeared tomorrow, if Israel found its safety somehow assured, it would have no interest, none, in causing any harm to the civilian population.

The court’s opinion conveniently ignores this. You would not know from reading it that Hamas locates its operations within the civilian population, precisely to use civilians as human shields and to maximize casualties. The order focuses instead on a few statements by Israeli officials in the immediate aftermath of Oct. 7 that were inadvisable but fall far short of demonstrating genocidal intent — for example, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s statement, “We are fighting human animals.”

The sole dissenter, Justice Julia Sebutinde of Uganda, said South Africa hadn’t come close to proving its case. She noted Israel’s "restricted and targeted attacks of legitimate military targets in Gaza," its "mitigation of civilian harm by warning them through leaflets, radio messages and telephone calls of impending attacks," and its "facilitation of humanitarian assistance."

Story continues below advertisement The problematic Israeli statements, she said, were yanked out of context or misinterpreted, while the "official war policy of the Israeli Government, as presented to the Court, contains no indicators of a genocidal intent." Somehow, the majority couldn’t manage to say the same.

The most searing statement of all came from Israel’s representative to the court, Aharon Barak, a former Israeli Supreme Court justice who survived the Holocaust as a boy in Lithuania and emerged to be a champion of human rights in Israel. “Genocide is more than just a word for me; it represents calculated destruction and human behavior at its very worst,” Barak wrote. “It is the gravest possible accusation and is deeply intertwined with my personal life experience.”

Barak, invoking Lemkin, convincingly demonstrated how the court’s approach served to “dilute the concept of genocide” and was at odds with the high standards for proving intent applied in other, far more compelling cases. For example, he noted, the ICJ concluded that, except for the 1995 massacre of Muslims in Srebrenica, “the widespread and serious atrocities committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina were not carried out with the specific intent to destroy, in part, the Bosnian Muslim group.”

Story continues below advertisement In comparison to the “scant evidence” of genocidal intent by Israel relied on here, he noted, the ICJ, investigating Myanmar’s treatment of the Muslim Rohingya, engaged in “meticulous collection of evidence over two years, which included 400 interviews with victims and eyewitnesses, analysis of satellite imagery, photographs and videos, the cross-checking of information against credible secondary information, expert interviews and raw data” before concluding that there was “plausible” proof of intent.

What accounts for the different treatment of Israel? I can’t help but think it is the same one that necessitated the existence of a Jewish state to begin with. WashingtonPost

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Special Reports - On Neo-Nazi Podcast Episode Hosts Discuss Declining Military Enlistment, Praise Houthis For Supporting Gaza - 01/26/24 Memri

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Lebanon says Hezbollah utilized new anti-tank missile against Israel. The Iran-backed Lebanese terror organization releases clip allegedly showing its new rocket hitting an IDF outpost in northern Israel; military denies attack. Yoav Zitun, Lior Ben Ari | 01.26.24: 09:41 YNet

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Sirens sound in northern Israel Rocket sirens sounded in northern Israeli communities late Friday. (Ynet) 01.26.24: 15:56 YnEt

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IDF strikes Hezbollah infrastructure in Lebanon, terror group reports 4 dead. IDF fighter jets struck two Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit reported late Friday. According to reports released by the terror organization, at least four of its members were eliminated in the strikes. As a result, the military reported several rocket launches toward Israel were observed from Lebanon. (Yoav Zitun, Ynet). 01.26.24:16:34 YNet

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IDF fires at Lebanon in response to shelling on Mount Hermon By Jerusalem Post Staff. January 26, 2024. JPost

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Israel to attend summit to reach 'breakthrough' in Hamas negotiations. European conference including representatives from Israel, the US, Egypt, and Qatar is aimed at finding a framework to further lagging hostage release deal with Hamas; 'there’s still no point from which to begin talks,' sources say.

Itamar Eichner | 01.26.24: 16:44 YNet

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France, Germany, UK condemn Iran's launch of Soraya satellite. By Reuters 01/26/2024 JPost

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Houthis say they attacked British oil tanker in Gulf of Aden, causing fire. By Reuters 26 Jan 2024 TOI

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Sky News apologizes after presenter compares voluntary Gaza migration to Holocaust. Sky News issues apology after its presenter outrageously compared MK Danon's suggestion of voluntary migration of Gazans to the treatment of Jews in the Holocaust.

Israel National News, Jan 26, 2024.

Sky News issued an apology on Friday after one of its hosts compared the idea of voluntary migration by Gazans to the treatment of Jewish people during the Holocaust.

The outrageous comparison came as Sky News anchor Belle Donati interviewed MK Danny Danon (Likud) following the International Court of Justice (ICJ) verdict in South Africa’s case... Danon blasted Donati’s assertion that he was suggesting the ethnic cleansing of Gaza and said, "I will not allow it. Ethnic cleansing, that’s a word you used. If you read my article, I spoke about voluntary immigration."

"Let me remind you. You spoke about ethnic cleansing, I spoke about voluntary immigration. I think anyone in the world who voluntarily wants to move to another country should be eligible to do that," he added.

Donati then said, "The sort of voluntary relocation of many Jewish people during the Holocaust, I imagine, is not voluntary relocation."

Danon replied, "Shame on you for that comparison. That is a shameful antisemitic equation. I will not allow you to speak about the Holocaust and compare [it] to what’s happening today. This is pure antisemitism what you just said, comparing the Holocaust to what’s happening today in Gaza."... INN

Aviva Klompas @AvivaKlompas: Sky News issues an apology over the insanely stupid statement made on air by the interviewer.

“Sky News would like to apologize unreservedly for the comparison and to Mr. Danon personally for making the comparison”. Quote: Aviva Klompas @AvivaKlompas · Jan 26 WHAT?!?

This @SkyNews reports claimed that during the Holocaust Jews had "voluntary relocation."

A disgusting distortion of history and shameful insult to the millions of Jews who were forced from their homes and sent to death camps. Jan 26, 2024 on X

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Hamas in a panic: published documentation of 3 kidnapped female soldiers.

Sryugim news, 26.01.24 | 4:33 p.m 10 responses

After its partner South Africa failed to stop the fighting in the Strip, Hamas publishes another psychological warfare video in which 3 kidnapped female soldiers are filmed. After the failure of the effort to stop the war through the Hague Tribunal, Hamas continues to try to bring the war to a halt through psychological warfare and publishes another propaganda video, in which 3 female soldiers are seen kidnapped by the organization. Srugim

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UK says it has ‘considerable concerns’ about ICJ ruling, rejects genocide acusation.

By AFP, 27 January 2024

The British government says it had “considerable concerns” about a ruling by the United Nation’s top court that Israel should do everything it can to prevent any acts of genocide in Gaza. TOI

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IDF says 'large number' of Hamas gunmen killed in Khan Younis; rockets on north, Sderot. Canada joins US in pausing UNRWA funding amid probe into allegations some staff involved on Oct. 7 - Biden speaks to Egypt’s al-Sissi, Qatari emir on war, efforts to free hostages. By TOI Staff. 27 Jan 2024 TOI

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Antitank missile strikes Israeli home. The missile did significant damage to the building targeted but no one was wounded. Israel National News

Jan 27, 2024, 8:58 PM. An antitank missile fired from Lebanon on Friday evening struck a house in the town of Avivim. Serious damage was done to the house but no one was wounded in the incident. INN

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'The residents of Gaza want to overthrow Hamas'. New footage shows Gazans evacuating through humanitarian corridor, chanting, 'The people want to overthrow Hamas.' Israel National News Jan 27, 2024, 6:01 PM INN

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IDF forces eliminate terror cells in Khan Yunis. Israel National News Jan 27, 2024, 6:08 PM INN

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IDF forces raid home of Hamas leader's associate. Israel National News Jan 27, 2024, 6:14 PM INN

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Netanyahu: We will eliminate the new Nazis.

PM Netanyahu speaks during press conference, displays copy of 'Mein Kampf' found in home of Gaza civilians. 'This is what they teach their children.' Israel National News Jan 27, 2024, 10:08 PM INN

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UNRWA's funding woes deepen as countries react to staff involvement in October 7 massacre.

Following US, UK, Italy, Canada and others suspending UNRWA funding, agency fired employees linked to Hamas attack, asserting, 'any involved in terror will face consequences'; FM Katz demands immediate dismissal of UNRWA leadership independent inquiry into 'UNRWA-Hamas Gaza activities'.

Itamar Eichner, Einav Halabi, News Agencies | published: 01.27.24 YNet

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Germany becomes latest EU member state to pull funding from UNRWA. 27 Jan 2024, 11:04 pm Germany announces that it is suspending funding to UNRWA over allegations of staff involvement in the October 7 terror onslaught in southern Israel. It is the latest of several European Union countries to pull funding after Italy, the Netherlands and Finland announced that they were doing the same TOI

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Israeli team said to arrive in Paris for hostage deal talks; IDF hits Hezbollah targets. Guterres urges donors to reconsider UNRWA funding halt, says 9 staffers involved in Oct. 7 fired, 1 is dead * Activists block Gaza crossing for 5th day: 'No aid until hostages are home'. By TOI Staff 28 Jan 2024, 5:06 am TOI

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Intensive battles in the area of Khan Yunis continue. Israel National News Jan 28, 2024, 9:25 AM INN

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Rocket strikes in north and south continue. Israel National News Jan 28, 2024, 2:01 PM INN

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France is latest to suspend UNRWA funding amid ‘exceptionally serious’ Oct. 7 allegations By AFP and TOI Staff 28 Jan 2024, 3:27 pm. TOI

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Reserve officer: Every luxury villa in Gaza has UNRWA equipment

• Many comments on the segment on Friday with the experiences of a reserve officer in Gaza. This morning, while reporting on UNRWA, here are a few more:

Speaking of UNRWA, there is an amazing phenomenon in Gaza.

You enter luxury homes. Luxury villas and apartments equipped with my equipment will not exist in 50 years, and yet you find use of UNRWA equipment in them. In the kitchen, bags of flour from UNRWA and in the children's room from the organization's school notebooks. It exists in every house in the Strip. In other words, *all* residents of the Gaza Strip used the organization every day, not necessarily because they had to, but because they got used to it. Getting close and relying on this organization has become a comfortable thing.

And by the way other things I learned.. for some reason I didn't write.

• When you are there you suddenly realize that it is a country for all intents and purposes. with the strength and power of a country. Infrastructure, money, space. This is not a city. It's a real country of 2 million people. A country that decided to invest a lot of resources as a country in terrorism and fighting. You can see the infrastructural state power in the eyes everywhere.

• ⁠The use of the term refugee is so cynical there. There are refugees there with luxury apartments (I saw the passports with my eyes) and understand there that this is a kind of use of a title emptied of its real content, like the title of Sir or Duke in Great Britain.

• ⁠The citizen on the edge learned to deal with the electricity problem in the Strip. The fact that a few hours of electricity are officially provided per day is not necessarily felt by everyone. The absolute majority of houses and shops have generators, batteries or solar panels on the houses. That is, the story of putting in the gasoline that activates the generator is the critical story and therefore the insistence on it.

From Amit Segal, 01.28.24 [87] Rotter

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Bedouin fallen soldier's family: 'Not one Arab MK has visited' Israel National News Jan 28, 2024, 12:44 PM INN

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Report: Only 20% of Hamas tunnels destroyed Israel National News Jan 28, 2024, 9:49 AM INN

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Indigenous Coalition for Israel opening embassy in Jerusalem. (January 28, 2024 / JNS) A group of indigenous leaders from around the world is opening an embassy in Jerusalem to recognize Jews as indigenous to Israel and counter rising antisemitism in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 massacre. JNS

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PA spox says Ramallah prepared to hand over power to Hamas. Akiva Van Koningsveld (January 28, 2024 / JNS) JNS

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Jordan includes Oct 7 attack in its educational system, phrasing it as so-called "resistance." Indoctrination of kids into Jihad glorification.

"October 7’ added to Jordan’s school curriculum." Roya News, January 28, 2024 [88]:

The National Center for Curriculum Development has added the events of October 7, 2023, to the “Civic Education” textbook for tenth-grade students in Jordan. “...the Palestinian resistance movement in the Gaza Strip to storm the Israeli border surrounding the Strip on October 7, 2023, capturing settlers[sic] and Israeli soldiers..." at EoZ

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Yoni Ben Menachem @yonibmen IDF spokesman in Arabic Avihai Adrei publishes documents from Gaza: swastikas are sprayed in various places in the Gaza Strip. Jan 28, 2024. [89] On X

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Three US troops killed, up to 34 injured in Jordan drone strike linked to Iran. By Phil Stewart, Steve Holland and Idrees Ali, January 28, 2024. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella organization of hardline Iran-backed militant groups, claimed attacks on three bases, including one on the Jordan-Syria border. Reuters

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Statement from President Joe Biden on Attack on U.S. Service Members in Northeastern Jordan Near the Syria Border.

BRIEFING ROOM STATEMENTS AND RELEASES Today, America’s heart is heavy. Last night, three U.S. service members were killed—and many wounded—during an unmanned aerial drone attack on our forces stationed in northeast Jordan near the Syria border. While we are still gathering the facts of this attack, we know it was carried out by radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq.. Whitehouse.gov

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IDF in ‘intensive training’ at Lebanon border. Troops are preparing for a possible war with Hezbollah. Joshua Marks (January 28, 2024 / JNS) JNS

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Biden vows to avenge killing of three US troops in Iran-backed strike. The American soldiers were stationed in northeast Jordan near the border with Syria.

(January 28, 2024 / JNS) U.S. President Joe Biden vowed on Sunday to avenge the killing of three American soldiers in an Iran-backed strike in northeast Jordan.

“America’s heart is heavy. Last night, three U.S. service members were killed—and many wounded—during an unmanned aerial drone attack on our forces stationed in northeast Jordan near the Syria border,” Biden said in a statement.

“While we are still gathering the facts of this attack, we know it was carried out by radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq,” he continued. “These service members embodied the very best of our nation: Unwavering in their bravery. Unflinching in their duty. Unbending in their commitment to our country—risking their own safety for the safety of their fellow Americans, and our allies and partners with whom we stand in the fight against terrorism. It is a fight we will not cease …

“And have no doubt—we will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner our choosing,” added the president.

Earlier on Sunday, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella term for Iranian-backed radical Shi’ite militias, claimed several drone attacks against U.S. troops in the region, including ones targeting al-Tanf and Rukban, located at the border triangle shared by Syria, Iraq and Jordan.

In a post on X, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) called on the White House to strike “targets of significance” inside Iran in response to the attack and “as deterrence against future aggression.”

“The only thing the Iranian regime understands is force. Until they pay a price with their infrastructure and their personnel, the attacks on U.S. troops will continue,” Graham tweeted.

“Hit Iran now. Hit them hard,” he added.

Sunday’s incident marked the first time that U.S. troops have been killed in increasingly frequent attacks in the Middle East since Hamas ignited a war against Israel with the Oct. 7 massacre of 1,200 people.

Pro-Iranian militias have targeted American bases in Syria and Iraq well over 100 times since then, according to U.S. sources, injuring scores of troops.

In response, the U.S. military has repeatedly conducted airstrikes targeting Iranian-aligned terror assets in Iraq and Syria.

“These strikes are intended to hold accountable those elements directly responsible for attacks on coalition forces… and degrade their ability to continue attacks. We will always protect our forces,” said CENTCOM Commander Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla last month.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin previously stressed that Washington “does not seek conflict and has no intention nor desire to engage in further hostilities, but these Iranian-backed attacks against U.S. forces are unacceptable and must stop.”

He went on to state that “Iran wants to hide its hand and deny its role in these attacks against our forces. We will not let them. If attacks by Iran’s proxies against U.S. forces continue, we will not hesitate to take further necessary measures to protect our people.”

The U.S. has also launched a multinational force to counter the maritime threat posed by Iran-backed Houthi terrorists in Yemen. JNS

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Israel can limit the ICJ’s potential damage. Israel must immediately end its acceptance of the ICJ's jurisdiction with respect to the Genocide Convention. Eugene Kontorovich (January 28, 2024 / Israel Hayom)

Israelis on Friday displayed what is called Jewish joy—they celebrated that the pogromniks only broke the windows, but did not kill anyone. The good news was the International Court of Justice did not effectively order us to wait to be tortured and murdered, by demanding a halt to the Gaza War. That is certainly good—but only in the twisted world where the ICJ is putting Israel, not Hamas, on trial for the absolutely absurd charge of genocide.

Otherwise, the decision was horrible. The court accepted South Africa’s argument that it has jurisdiction and that Israel could possibly be proven to be committing genocide. The case is not over and will go on for years. In the meantime, the court has made clear that it considers itself to have authority to review and superintend every aspect of Israel’s war for survival—and demands monthly reports. No other country receives such treatment, and it is designed to make the military constantly look over its soldiers’ shoulders.

The ICJ is not an independent body—it is an organ of the United Nations. Its justices serve a renewable nine-year term, further undermining their independence. The judges are elected by the General Assembly and Security Council, and their positions largely track the foreign policy of their home countries. Thus while we might get lucky sometimes, over the long run, the policy of the court will reflect the policy of the United Nations.

The General Assembly’s obsessive condemnation of the Jewish state is well known—Israel would never agree to have its fate determined by them. But agreeing to the jurisdiction of the court indirectly does the same thing. In Israel it is thought unacceptable to have judges appointed by democratically elected politicians decide the meaning of ordinary laws. Yet we have agreed to have judges elected by dictatorial regimes decide the basic question of whether we can exist—whether we can defend ourselves.

It does not have to be this way: The ICJ does not automatically have jurisdiction over countries—they must specifically agree, typically by agreeing that The Hague can decide a specific dispute or questions under a specific treaty. In this case, Israel signed the Genocide Convention, which provides that “disputes between the…parties” about the treaty can be decided by the ICJ. But that does not mean cases like this, where a totally unrelated state has brought a purely political complaint in a matter it has no relation to. The court should not have accepted jurisdiction, and by doing so it effectively claimed for itself power to supervise the conduct of wars around the world, so long as some country claims genocide is involved.

Israel did not have to agree to the ICJ jurisdiction to be a member of the Genocide Convention, and in retrospect, doing so was a major mistake. Countries are allowed to opt out of ICJ jurisdiction in various treaties, and very commonly do so. Indeed, 16 countries have opted out of the Genocide Convention minus the ICJ jurisdiction—including the world’s largest democracies, the United States and India. Even the world’s biggest superpowers did not trust the ICJ to hear cases involving the use of force in an apolitical way. JNS

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The U.N.’s War on Israel. The Editorial Board. Jan. 26, 2024 5:51 pm ET

What a day for the United Nations. Its International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued a preliminary ruling Friday in South Africa’s case against Israel that managed to be both outrageous and meaningless. At the same time, its special forever-refugee agency for the Palestinians, Unrwa, had to fire staff accused of involvement in Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre. Our global moral beacon in action.

The ICJ tribunal indulged South Africa’s genocide libel by going ahead with a trial and trashing Israel for self-defense against Hamas. But the justices rejected Pretoria’s request to order Israel to stop the war. The court instead instructed Israel to prevent acts of genocide, punish incitement and facilitate aid to civilians—which Jerusalem is already doing. Israel will have to report back in a month, and the court could take years to decide on the merits.

As law professor Eugene Kontorovich writes, “That’s Jewish joy—they defamed us, treated us like no other democracy, undermined our right to self-defense, put the victim on trial—but it could have been worse!” All true, and an order to halt the war while Hamas holds territory and 136 hostages would have put Israel in a tight spot.

The U.N.’s credibility is also on trial, especially through Unrwa, whose reports the court relied on. After Israel brought evidence that 12 Unrwa employees participated in the Oct. 7 attack, the U.S. State Department announced on Friday a pause in funding to the U.N.’s Palestinian refugee agency pending investigation.

A new U.N. Watch report, to be released and discussed in Congress on Tuesday, shows “how a Telegram group of 3,000 UNRWA teachers in Gaza celebrated the October 7th Hamas massacre.” The message group’s administrators, identified by name and Unrwa contract number, are seen praising Hamas’s “holy warriors” and praying for them to murder Israelis: “O God, tear them apart,” “kill them one by one,” “leave none of them behind,” “execute the first settler on live broadcast.” One urged that Gazans stay in place to help Hamas... Gaza will never be a peaceful refuge as long as its friends at the U.N. keep using it for anti-Israel purposes. Unrwa as it currently works doesn’t deserve U.S. support. WSJ

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Sa'ar says he’ll start work on filing genocide case against Iran at International Court of Justice. By Jeremy Sharon. 28 Jan 2024, 2:58 pm Cabinet minister Gideon Sa’ar says he will begin working on having Israel file a case against Iran in the International Court of Justice on genocide charges, pointing out that Iranian leaders have called for Israel’s destruction and that Iran gives strong backing to Hamas and other Gaza terror groups that carried out the October 7 atrocities.

Numerous experts in international law have said that the massacres and other crimes carried out by Hamas on October 7 likely constitute a genocidal act since they appear to have been aimed at destroying “in whole or in part” a national group, in this case Israelis.

“There are public statements by senior Iranian officials in favor of destroying Israel,” Sa’ar tells the Kan public broadcaster.

“Iran finances, arms, and trains all the jihadi terrorists organizations including Hamas and Islamic Jihad which carried out October 7, so in my opinion there is an abundance of evidence which can be submitted to the court in the Hague,” adds Sa’ar, a former justice minister.

He notes that he has spoken with National Security Council head Tzachi Hanegbi on the issue and says that he intends to ensure that such a suit is filed against Iran.

“Israel is a small and persecuted nation that is fighting for its life and at the same time is fighting on the international stage for its right to self defense. It is a nation that is truly at risk of genocide given that there are enemies around it that declaredly want to destroy it,” he says TOI

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Gallant: ‘Terrorists in Gaza surrender and give sensitive information on Hamas.' Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant spoke to reserve soldiers in the 11th Brigade: 'We will not end this war with points; only with a knockout' Kobi Finkler, Jan 28, 2024, 7:24 PM

On Sunday, Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant visited the 11th Brigade together with senior IDF commanders. Gallant spoke with soldiers and commanders who recently left the Gaza strip, and was briefed on the brigade's operations in Shejaia, in the western area of Gaza City and in central areas of Gaza.

Gallant said to the combat soldiers, “I have been following the brigade’s operations since the start of the war. Thanks to what you have done and continue to do, these days we are conducting a negotiation process for the release of hostages. The terrorists who enjoy luxury cars, planes and hotels, are trying to harden their positions. Yet the [terrorists] who are in the field are very aware of what is actually happening – hundreds of terrorists surrender, thousands of terrorists are killed, weapon warehouses are being destroyed. Terrorists are surrendering – above and below the ground. This is happening as a result of your actions, of you and your friends.”

"This war cannot be ended with ‘points gained,’ it can only end with a 'knockout.' We must eliminate Hamas. If we want to live in this region, every terrorist within a radius of hundreds of kilometers from the State of Israel, must know that there is only one possible result following the type of attack that was committed - and in this case it is the elimination of Hamas’ military and governing capabilities.

”As long as there are hostages still held in the Gaza strip, we have no right to stop looking for the women, the children, the soldiers who are there – we have to go all the way. And military action does not necessarily result in an operational outcome, but also in the fact that at the end there are those who are ready to talk to us. This is the difference between the situations years ago and the situation now – during negotiations we brought 110 hostages to Israeli territory, because the other side needed peace, they needed us to stop killing him, that the 11th Brigade and others stop harming them. We will intensify the [military] pressure and continue our efforts – it's already happening now," the Defense Minister added. INN

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'Fu*k Israel,' 'state of murder(sic):' John Cusack's antisemitic tweets against Israel. John Cusack's 'X' feed is filled with fabricated blood libels and antisemitic conspiracy theories – from comparing the Jewish people to racist (supposed) 'white supremacy' and to denying Hamas massacre. Daniel Edelson, New York | published: 01.28.24 | 20:03 YNet

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Senior Hamas Official Sami Abu Zuhri: We Will Purify Gaza, Return To Our Land; The Killing Of American Soldiers In Jordan Is A Clear Message And The U.S Had Better Understand It Before It Is Too Late. Jan 28, 2024.

1. 10843 | 01:28

Source: Al-Jazeera Network (Qatar) Sami Abu Zuhri, head of the political department of Hamas abroad said on a January 28, 2024 show on Al-Jazeera Network (Qatar)... Memri

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Two anti-tank missiles fired at northern Israel, Hezbollah claims responsibility. Two anti-tank missiles fired towards Shomera and Sasa in northern Israel. IDF fires back. Israel National News, Jan 29, 2024, 12:46 AM Two anti-tank missiles were fired shortly before midnight on Sunday night towards Shomera and Sasa in northern Israel. There were no reports of injuries or damages. The IDF retaliated with artillery fire at the sources of the shooting. INN

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Arab countries barely donate to UNRWA, and attack the West for giving millions After at least 9 countries announced that they were suspending funding to the agency following information that some of its employees participated in the massacre on October 7, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan attacked the move, even though UNRWA's list of the 10 largest donors includes only one Arab country

Lior Ben Ari | published: 01.28.24 | 16:12 YNet

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UNRWA school councilor abducted woman, social worker handed out ammunition, report. Intelligence provided by Israel to U.S. details crimes committed by at least a dozen employees of UN organization in Gaza resulting in suspension of funds. Ynet | published: 01.29.24 00:54 YNet

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Japan pauses funding to UNRWA Elad Benari Jan 29, 2024, 5:12 AM Japan is "extremely concerned about the alleged involvement of UNRWA staff members in the terror attack on Israel" and has been "strongly urging UNRWA to conduct the investigation in a prompt and complete manner", the foreign ministry said in a statement quoted by Reuters. Japan is the sixth biggest donor to the agency, according to the UNRWA's 2022 data, noted the news agency. INN

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Iran: We executed four people spying for the Mossad. Four people suspected of working for Israel, plotting to bomb Defense Min. site, have been executed, Iran says. Israel National News, Jan 29, 2024. INN

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IDF takes out terrorists in central, northern Gaza. Israel National News Jan 29, 2024, 9:12 AM INN

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Sirens blare in Rosh Hanikra on Israel-Lebanon border. 01.29.24 03:02 YNet

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Troops foil attempted West Bank stabbing attack.

IDF troops foiled a suspected Palestinian terror attack on Sunday near the West Bank settlement of Tekoa. The suspect approached soldiers attempting to stab them when he was shot. (Elisha Ben Kimon). 01.29.24. 03:48 YNet

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Attempted stabbing attack in Gush Etzion. Terrorist reported neutralized following attempted stabbing attack in Tekoa. Israel National News, Jan 29, 2024, 10:40 AM INN

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At least one hurt in suspected terror attack in Haifa. At least one person was seriously hurt in a suspected terror attack in Haifa on Sunday. According to initial reports, he was attacked by a man yielding an ax. (Lior El Hai) 01.29.24. 04:11 YNet

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Man armed with axe nears IDF soldier in Haifa. Man, 20, seriously injured after being hit by vehicle near Navy base in Haifa. Police are investigating. Israel National News, Jan 29, 2024, 11:01 AM INN

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Romania suspends payments to UNRWA By Reuters. 01/29/2024 01:28 PM JPost

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Two killed in alleged Israeli strike near Damascus. The attack hit a site used by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. (January 29, 2024 / JNS) ...Syrian state media later reported that "a number of Iranian advisers" were killed in the strike. JNS

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Israeli forces carry out counterterrorism ops. in West Bank camps. By Jerusalem Post Staff 01/29/2024 10:17 AM JPost

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Terror tunnel found under Khan Younis cemetery. Ynet | 01.29.24 YNet

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Muslim man attacks London Jewish supermarket   Itamar Eichner| 01.29.24 ...The suspect, said by police to be 34, was dressed in traditional Muslim garb. According to eyewitnesses, he began to speak out against the war in Gaza. He was taken into custody “on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon, criminal damage and racially-aggravated affray,” according to police. At one point he pulled out a knife and "jabbed" at the staff and customers and tried to stab two Jewish employees from the store who confronted him and stopped him using a shopping cart, a broom and a scooter. After a struggle, they managed to take control of the suspect, and policemen who were called to the scene handcuffed him and transferred him for questioning. YNet _

TERROR IN GOLDERS GREEN: Muslim Man With Knife Threatens People At Kosher Supermarket While Screaming About Palestine [VIDEO]

January 29, 2024 9:30 am [90]

It was a frightening few minutes in the Golders Green area of Northwest London on Monday, when a Muslim man brandished a knife at patrons and staff of Kay’s Kosher Supermarket. Eyewitnesses report that the individual, who has not been named, entered the supermarket and began shouting statements about Palestine before revealing a knife.

Video footage below shows that people attempted to keep him out of the store using a shopping cart.

Shomrim responded quickly, but the man had fled into an apartment located directly across from the supermarket. Witnesses described a rapid change of attire, suggesting an attempt to disguise his identity. However, the suspect’s effort to evade capture was short-lived.

A coordinated effort between the Metropolitan Police and members of Shomrim, led to the successful detainment of the suspect. The police, upon securing the suspect, conducted a thorough search of his apartment. During the search, officers recovered the knife believed to be used in the incident.

The suspect is currently in custody, facing charges related to the incident... YWN

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Report: Egypt asks the Houthis to attack only Israeli ships. The request published in "Al-Araby Al-Jadeed" comes after a serious injury to the Egyptian economy due to a decrease in the passage of ships in the Suez Canal • In Egypt they emphasize that the war has already given its signals on the Egyptian economy - not only in the issue of the Suez Canal, but also in the export of gas

Dean Shmuel Elmas | Globes |Published 12:11 29.01.24

The Houthi blockade of ships in the Red Sea is beginning to affect the revenues of the Suez Canal, which accounts for about 2% of Egypt's GDP. As a result, Cairo appealed to the Houthi rebels to focus their attacks only on Israeli ships. This is reported today (Monday) "Al-Arabi al-Jadeed". Globes

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Rocket fire on Tel Aviv for 1st time in over a month. The Code Red sirens sounded at close to 5 p.m. in communities including: Tel Aviv, Holon, Bat Yam, Nes Ziona, Beer Ya'akov, Lod and Ramla Ynet | 01.29.24 10:16. [91] YNet

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IDF spokesman says troops have killed more than 2,000 Hamas gunmen in Khan Younis. Jan 29, 2024, 8:53 pm ...In Khan Younis, “more than 2,000 Hamas operatives have been killed above and below ground” since troops began operating in the south of the Strip last month, he says, including hundreds over the past week. TOI

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Israeli intel shows 10% of UNRWA workers in Gaza have ties to terror groups — report. By TOI Staff. Wall Street Journal says document alleges around 1,200 Gaza employees of UN agency for Palestinian refugees have connections to either Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad. TOI

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Israel accuses 190 UN staff of being 'hardened' militants. By Dan Williams and Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber, January 29, 2024.

Summary -Multiple donors have cut funds to UNRWA after accusations. -Israel says 190 agency staff belong to militant groups. -Some staff took part in Oct. 7 rampage - intelligence dossier. JERUSALEM/GENEVA, Jan 29 (Reuters) - An Israeli intelligence dossier that prompted a cascade of countries to halt funds for a U.N. Palestinian aid agency includes allegations that some staff took part in abductions and killings during the Oct. 7 raid that sparked the Gaza war. The six-page dossier, seen by Reuters, alleges that some 190 UNRWA employees, including teachers, have doubled as Hamas or Islamic Jihad militants. It has names and pictures for 11 Reuters

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129 trucks cross into Gaza through Kerem Shalom. Israel National News Jan 29, 2024, 10:34 PM INN

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Hamas rejects hostage release deal.

Hamas announces it is rejecting the deal which would see the remaining hostages released, together with phased pauses in the fighting and aid deliveries to Gaza, along with the release of prisoners.

Israel National News Jan 29, 2024, 11:22 PM INN

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UNRWA exists to help fight the war to eradicate Israel. The revelation of ties between the U.N. aid agency and Hamas is a small part of the problem. The real issue is the purpose of the institution, which has always been to perpetuate the conflict. Jonathan S. Tobin.

(January 29, 2024 / JNS) Let’s not get caught up in the details of the controversy [92] that made headlines this past weekend about the fact that 12 employees of UNRWA—the U.N. refugee agency dedicated to assisting the Palestinians—took part in the Hamas pogroms in southern Israel on Oct. 7. The New York Times [93] broke the story, and many of the governments that are the principal funders of UNRWA, including the United States, which is the largest donor giving $422 million to it in 2023, have since expressed various levels of concern or outrage.

No one who knows anything about UNRWA can pretend to be surprised by what happened. The notion put forward by some of its apologists that the people who took part in the terror attacks are just a tiny minority of its 13,000 employees is not to be taken seriously. As The Wall Street Journal [94] subsequently reported, it is estimated that approximately 10% of UNRWA employees are either active members or have ties to Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

For years, it has been well known that UNRWA facilities, including schools and other places that are supposed to be devoted to charitable purposes, have been used by Hamas to store weapons or otherwise assist terrorists. Its education [95] programs are as bad as those run by Hamas or the Palestinian Authority when it comes to indoctrinating young Palestinians in hatred for Israel and the Jews. UNRWA’s creation in 1949, coupled with its actions and the infrastructure it has built up since then, is dedicated to perpetuating the conflict with Israel. Forget philanthropy or—as every other refugee agency in the world focuses on—resettling those displaced by war in some safe place where they can make a new start in life.

That said, the notion that anything is shocking about the fact that a few of the UNRWA staff were caught taking part in the Oct. 7 attacks, including direct participation in kidnapping and mass murder, is a joke.

Sadly, so is most of the discussion about holding UNRWA accountable.

An unaccountable U.N. agency

Much to the dismay of Israel-haters like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), the Biden administration announced that it was suspending funding of UNRWA. But when the details are drilled down, it turns out that the United States is continuing to pay the money it already pledged but will only put a pause on sending cash for new projects. The same is true for Germany and Canada, as well as some other donor nations. The government of the Netherlands has suspended all funding but other countries, like Ireland, Spain and Turkey, are refusing to take any actions to hold UNRWA accountable.

If the past is any indication of the future, even those who have spoken out about this, like the United States, will eventually, even if quietly, resume full funding of UNRWA. As part of his policies that attempted to hold Palestinians and their enablers accountable for their support for terrorism and rejection of peace, former President Donald Trump cut all ties with and funding for UNRWA in 2018. Unfortunately, among the first actions when Joe Biden took office in 2021, he reversed that move and restored funding. Biden and his foreign-policy team are steadfast supporters of the United Nations and everything it does, regardless of the fact that it has long been a cesspool of antisemitism.

Even those administration officials who have been the most outspoken in reaffirming Israel’s right to self-defense—like John Kirby, the communications director for the National Security Council, who has also denounced Hamas and supported the goal of its elimination—also defended UNRWA. According to Kirby, UNRWA does “amazing work” saving lives. Incredibly, he even gave it credit for wanting to investigate the problem.

The reason for this is that UNRWA has made itself indispensable to the business of caring for Palestinians in Gaza. It is, as it has been for the last 75 years, the primary conduit of assistance to a population that has been made dependent on the international community for all services, including employment. As such, it can and does present itself to the world as the embodiment of philanthropy, providing sustenance to an enormous number of people in need.

That is why any effort to investigate its activities and penalize it for its close ties to terrorists is always derailed by invoking its good works and the notion that if it were shut down, millions would starve.

So, even when UNRWA is caught red-handed storing rockets to be fired at Israel or even having its staff actively taking part in the largest mass slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust, the odds that its parent organization or the various nations that have spent billions of their citizens’ taxpayer dollars on funding it will do anything other than slap it on the wrist are negligible.

As with the rest of his policies that ignored the advice of the foreign-policy establishment and the “experts,” Trump had it right on UNRWA. The only theoretical hope for there to be peace between Israel and the Palestinians must start with the abolition of institutions that not only provide assistance and employment to terrorists but have as their purpose the perpetuation of a futile quest to destroy the one Jewish state on the planet. UNRWA must not merely be defunded. It must be abolished.

A world full of refugees.

The very fact of its existence is a function of the way the international community has acted to prevent a resolution of the conflict.

When UNRWA was created by the United Nations in 1949, the plight of refugees was among the world’s most pressing problems. Up to 60 million people were displaced in Europe during and immediately after the Second World War.

That included those Jews who had survived the Holocaust seeking to go to Israel or the West, as well as millions of others who had been uprooted for one reason or another. Among them were ethnic Germans who were thrown out of their homes throughout Eastern Europe, including traditionally German regions like East Prussia. As Europe adjusted to new borders largely imposed by the demands of the Soviet Union, many people were forcibly evicted and told to move to places where their ethnicity would be welcomed. Any who resisted were not supported by the international community. They were violently repressed, imprisoned and forgotten.

Nor was Europe the only region where there was a refugee crisis. When Britain abandoned its rule of India, the subcontinent was partitioned into two separate nations—largely, Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan. The drawing of those lines on the map created 14 million people who found themselves on the wrong side of the new borders and became refugees. More than 1 million people died in the ethnic and religious violence there as massive populations scrambled to find new homes.

Arab and Jewish refugees.

Coming around the same time as the catastrophe caused by the partition of India was the refugee problem caused by Britain’s leaving another of its former possessions: the Mandate for Palestine. The United Nations voted to partition Palestine into two states: one for the Jews and one for the Arabs with Jerusalem being an international enclave. While the Jews accepted the partition scheme, the Arabs did not. The leaders of the Palestinian Arabs—like the pro-Nazi Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin Al-Husseini—declared war on the Jews. Neighboring Arab nations supported them and invaded the newborn State of Israel on its first day of existence in May 1948.

The Arab war to destroy Israel not only failed; the fighting led hundreds of thousands of Arabs in the former Mandate to flee. A small minority were forced out by Israelis during bitter fighting in some areas. But most of them left out of fear of what would happen to them if they fell under the rule of Jews (and with the expectation that they would take over all the land once the Jews were “thrown into the sea”). That was mostly the product of projection since in many instances Jews captured by their foes were massacred. But it was also the result of propaganda from the Arab side in the fighting in which they sought to demonize their enemies and strengthen the will of the Palestinian Arabs to fight.

During the same period as approximately 700,000 Arabs became refugees, some 800,000 Jews either fled or were forced to flee their homes in the Arab and Muslim world where they had lived for centuries. The very different disposition of those two populations says all anyone needs to know about the next 75 years of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

The Jewish refugees were resettled in a massive philanthropic project funded by Jews around the world. Most of those refugees went to Israel, where they faced hardships in what was then a very poor and embattled country. Today, their descendants make up about half the Jewish population and have contributed enormously to its defense and flourishing as a modern state. Others found new homes in the United States and other parts of the world.

Unlike every other refugee population, the Palestinian Arabs were not resettled. They were kept in camps throughout the Middle East with the largest concentration in Gaza, which was controlled by Egypt from 1949 to 1967. They were prevented from finding new homes in Arab and Muslim countries, where they spoke the language and shared a common culture. Nor were they enabled to go elsewhere to make new lives.

Instead, they were kept in place to wait for the day when they could “go home” to their former villages in what was now Israel. Their leaders and the rest of the Arab world opposed their resettlement, doing all they could to prevent it.

And the agency that enabled this policy to continue for generations was none other than UNRWA.

It’s important to understand that at the time when all these refugee problems arose, the United Nations created two refugee agencies. One, UNRWA, deals only with the Palestinians. The other, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (or UNHCR) has the responsibility for all of the other refugees in the world.

The UNHCR has its flaws, but its job is to help the refugees by giving them not just immediate aid in surviving being displaced by wars and other disasters but also assistance in resettling in places where it will be safe for them. Their goal is to ensure that their problems are resolved and that their children will make new lives rather than continue to live in camps.

By contrast, the UNRWA exists solely to ensure that Palestinian refugees are never resettled. That’s why almost all of the people who are called Palestinian refugees are the descendants of the people who fled the war the Arab world started in 1948. Several generations have been born in the camps but, contrary to the way other populations are treated, all are given the same status as those who were the original 1948 refugees.

Of all the tens of millions of refugees of the 1940s, the only ones whose descendants have not been resettled are the Palestinians. A humane and rational policy would have led to their being absorbed into other populations. But that’s not UNRWA’s job. It operates the ultimate welfare state in which generations are kept dependent on charity. Worse than that, its programs and policies all encourage the Palestinians to go on believing that someday Israel will cease to exist, and then they can return to where their grandparents and great-grandparents lived three-quarters of a century ago. Though it pretends to be a humanitarian force, it encourages its charges to look forward to the day when Hamas’s genocidal objective—the mass murder of Israel’s 7 million Jews—will be achieved.

Therefore, it’s little surprise that UNRWA is riddled with supporters of Hamas and that among its staff are people who take part in terrorist atrocities. And that much of the aid it receives from the world goes to help Hamas continue to function. UNRWA allows the very people its donors think are helping to be used as human shields in a cynical hopeless war.

So, let’s not waste much time arguing about the details of UNRWA’s complicity in Oct. 7 or other acts of terror. The only discussion that needs to be held is one about its abolition and replacement by a genuine refugee agency. The world needs one that can give Palestinians new homes rather than keep them in misery awaiting another Holocaust for the Jews that they’ve been led to believe will magically solve their problems. JNS

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Vivian Bercovici: Israel is the true victim of genocidal intent. National Post, Jan 29, 2024.

Watching American Justice Joan Donoghue read the decision of the International Court of Justice, live at 2 p.m. Israel time on Friday afternoon, was surreal.

Everything about this legal proceeding is grotesque and represents a perversion of ethics and law that is beyond difficult to process. South Africa, a signatory to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide — as is Israel — brought this application to the court with the support of some rather nefarious international actors. There has been a significant uptick in activity and contact between South Africa and the Islamic Republic of Iran of late, either a coincidence or reflecting an enhanced alignment of values between the two countries. Iran, of course, is the head of the proverbial Islamist snake, openly fomenting antisemitism globally and responsible for significant acts of violence targeting Jewish civilians.

The moral inversion of all pertinent circumstances giving rise to the Israeli military action in Gaza was of secondary importance in the ICJ hearing, presided over by Justice Donoghue, the court’s chair, and with an unprecedented panel of 17 judges.

Hamas invaded Israel on Saturday Oct. 7, shortly after 6 a.m. on a quiet holiday. The stated intent of Hamas, before, during and after the well-documented savagery unleashed on that day and into the following night, was, is and remains to obliterate the state of Israel and annihilate every Jewish person living in its borders. Hamas’ hatred of Israel and Jews is so primal that any person it encountered on this particular mission was marked for murder. If the odd non-Jew got in their way they were not spared, either. It seems that the crime of merely consorting with Jews is enough to justify murder, to Hamas.

Hamas leaders and supporters worldwide have gloated over the suffering inflicted and stated their unequivocal aspiration to repeat the genocide of Oct. 7, repeatedly. All Jews, ultimately, must be murdered, according to Hamas doctrine. This will facilitate the liberation of Jerusalem and establishment of a global caliphate.

Hamas is also closely allied with and supported by Iran, which boldly proclaims its genocidal intentions with respect to Israel, constantly. Its regional proxies, Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis, bolster its position and claims.

That the victim of true genocidal conduct and policy — Israel — should be put in the dock at the ICJ and charged with perpetrating the crime perpetrated against it by Hamas, is more macabre, almost, than the events of Oct. 7 themselves. National Post

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The instructions to Hamas: a document found in the Sinwar tunnel was revealed.

Hani Edri, 29.01.24 | 9:02 p.m A secret document was discovered by IDF forces in a terrorist tunnel where Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was hiding. The document reveals detailed instructions on how to influence the morale of the people and increase psychological terror.

Among the instructions written there, it was said: increase the distribution of photos and videos of the abductees due to the psychological pressure they create, do everything to increase the pressure on Galant, continue the line that Netanyahu is responsible for what happened, damage the Israeli narrative as if the ground operation serves the return of the abductees. Srugim

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Leading military expert: " Israel has implemented more measures to prevent civilian casualties in urban warfare than any other military in history." January 30, 2024. John Spencer is recognized as one of the world's leading experts on urban warfare. One of his books, "Understanding Urban Warfare," is considered a leading source on the topic. He is the chair of Urban Warfare Studies with the Modern War Institute, United States Military Academy. He served twenty-five years in the U.S. Army as an infantry soldier and is a highly decorated combat veteran. Spencer is the host of the Urban Warfare Project podcast, in which he interviews fellow industry experts. EoZ

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UNRWA Exposed: Examining the Agency’s Mission and Failures. 118th Congress (2023-2024) - House Committee Meeting - Overview - Committee: House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee: House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Accountability. Related Items: Data will display when it becomes available. Date: 01/30/2024 (2:00 PM Local Time) Location: HVC-210 Capitol, Washington, D.C. Congress UNRWA Exposed: (FDD - PDF)

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3 terrorists eliminated by Israeli special forces inside a hospital in Jenin Matthias Inbar, January 30, 2024. [96] i24

Security forces kill three terrorists in Jenin hospital raid. Forces describe operation as surgical targeting the three only, to foil imminent attack planned inside Israel, mimicking Hamas October 7 massacre; troops enter facility disguised as medical teams, Palestinian women. Elisha Ben Kimon, Einav Halabi | published: 01.30.24 00:41 YNet

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Israeli officials believe Hamas response to proposed Hostage deal by Wednesday Israeli officials said they believed the Hamas response to the proposed hostage deal would be given as early as Wednesday, despite reports that the terror group rejects the terms. (Itamar Eichner). 01.30.24 09:07 YNet

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Watch: Israeli reporter films missile launch while in Gaza. Israel National News Jan 30, 2024, 9:52 PM INN

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Islamic Jihad Spokesman: 'Return of hostages only with PIJ approval'. Dalit Halevi Jan 30, 2024, 8:44 PM INN

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Houthis: 'We are prepared for long-term conflict with US, UK'. By Jerusalem Post Staff 01/30/2024 04:52 PM JPost

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IDF denies troops entered Khan Yunis's al-Amal Hospital. By Jerusalem Post Staff 01/30/2024 06:00 PM JPost

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IDF strikes Hezbollah operational headquarters in Lebanon. By Jerusalem Post Staff 01/30/2024 07:14 PM JPost

_____ Hamas Official Ali Baraka On Hizbullah TV: We Can Repeat October 7 Many Times; The Mujahideen Stormed The Gaza Envelope And Tomorrow They Will Storm The Galilee, Israel From Wherever They Can. February 5, 2024 Palestinians | Special Dispatch No. 11118.

Hamas official Ali Baraka said on a January 30, 2024 show on Al-Manar TV. [Lebanon-Hizbullah] that Palestinians can repeat the "Al-Aqsa Storm" on October 7, many times. He said that the mujahideen stormed the Gaza Envelope on October 7, and "tomorrow" they will storm the Galilee, and he added that they will storm into Israel "from wherever they can." Baraka said that October 7 has "turned the tables," Israel did not expect a ground assault, and once the mujahideen, stormed into it, it started to collapse. He said: "we can defeat them. the world has changed." Memri

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‘UNRWA’s transition from inciting to taking part in terror was not surprising’. Whenever the agency "was confronted with its very own terror involvement, it either denied it or tried to cover it up,” NGO Monitor official says.

Amelie Botbol. (January 31, 2024 / JNS) The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) has come under fire following revelations of the involvement of at least 12 employees in the Oct. 7 Hamas onslaught on the northwestern Negev.

“Sadly, this is not surprising,” said Anne Herzberg, legal adviser at the Jerusalem-based NGO Monitor organization, who has consistently raised the alarm about the body. “We’ve known for years that UNRWA allows Hamas to use its facilities to store weapons. Rocket attacks are launched from UNRWA facilities and UNRWA’s textbooks feature vicious antisemitic content and incitement to violence,” Herzberg told JNS. JNS

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Missouri Rep. Cori Bush under federal criminal investigation. A member of the so-called anti-Israel “Squad,” the scrutiny is associated with the misuse of security funds. Andrew Barnard (January 31, 2024 / JNS) JNS

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Amid ceasefire chatter, IDF kills dozens of terrorists across Gaza. Ten Islamic Jihad operatives apprehended in school • Three soldiers slain. Joshua Marks. (January 31, 2024 / JNS) JNS

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Report: Israel transferred around 100 bodies to Gaza. Israel National News Jan 31, 2024, 9:37 AM INN

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Delaware: School district to compensate antisemitism victim. Andrew Lapin, JTA Jan 31, 2024, 12:18 PM INN

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Report: Israel transferred around 100 bodies to Gaza. Israel National News Jan 31, 2024, 9:37 AM INN

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Gaza Resident: 'Sinwar is eating meat, we're eating lead'. Israel National News Jan 31, 2024, 11:58 AM INN

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US Congressman introduces bill to disband UNRWA.

'UNRWA has indoctrinated Palestinian children to hate all Jews,' Florida Rep. Brian Mast says.

Israel National News Jan 31, 2024, 2:38 PM INN

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New footage reveals additional details on terrorist elimination in Jenin hospital. Al Jazeera publishes new footage of operation which saw three Hamas terrorists eliminated in a Jenin hospital. Israel National News, Jan 31, 2024. INN

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Khan Yunis: IDF forces take aim at Islamic Jihad. Israel National News Jan 31, 2024, 12:51 PM INN

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(Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories)

COGAT official: 'UNRWA is a problem, doesn't offer solutions'. Israel National News Jan 31, 2024, 11:58 AM INN

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IDF troops arrest 14 suspects in West Bank. By Jerusalem Post Staff. 01/31/2024, 12:07 PM JPost

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IDF strikes Hezbollah military compounds in southern Lebanon. By Jerusalem Post Staff 01/31/2024 04:19 PM JPost

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Three killed in targeted IDF strike on jeep in Gaza's Rafah - report. By Jerusalem Post Staff 01/31/2024 04:22 PM JPost

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'Making every effort': Netanyahu meets with Gaza hostages' families. By Jerusalem Post Staff 01/31/2024 05:44 PM JPost

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“Israeli researcher to British Parliament members: ‘The Palestinian Authority is involved in terror’” [Yisrael Hayom]

“A special report by the Israeli research institute PMW (Palestinian Media Watch), which presents evidence of the Palestinian Authority (PA) Security Forces’ deep involvement in terror, was presented at the British Parliament last night, Wednesday [Jan. 31, 2024]. PMW Founder and Director Itamar Marcus met with Parliament members and British lords and conveyed the disturbing findings to them. Palwatch

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Members of Russian rock band arrested in Thailand en route to Israel. By Jerusalem Post Staff 01/31/2024 07:19 PM JPost

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US military targets Houthi anti-drone missile over Yemen. By Reuters 01/31/2024 08:22 PM JPost

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Footage from the battlefield: Wounded soldiers evacuated by air from heart of Gaza Israel National News Jan 31, 2024, 8:36 PM INN

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White House advisor Sullivan and Israel's Dermer meet in Washington. By Reuters 01/31/2024 08:47 PM JPost

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Yemen's Houthis say they targeted US merchant vessel. By Reuters. 01/31/2024 10:23 PM JPost

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IDF names fourth soldier who fell in Gaza battles on Wednesday. By Jerusalem Post Staff 01/31/2024 06:36 PM JPost

IDF says reservist commando officer killed in Gaza, raising ground op toll to 224. US State Department weighs recognizing Palestinian state * Israeli official to NBC: Strong indications that hostage deal will progress * Explosive device found near Israeli embassy in Sweden. TOI

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Netanyahu: UNRWA gave ICJ false information against Israel. By Tovah Lazaroff Published: January 31, 2024. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the United Nations Relief and Works Agency of providing false information against Israel to the International Court of Justice at The Hague during a conversation he held with a delegation of visiting ambassadors on Wednesday night. JPost

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Billionaire Harvard donor Ken Griffin says elite colleges produce ‘whiny snowflakes,’ stops donations. By Lexi Lonas 01/31/24 10:52 AM ET

Billionaire Harvard University donor Ken Griffin said Tuesday he has stopped financially supporting the university, accusing elite institutions of creating “whiny snowflakes” instead of focusing on education.

Griffin, the founder of Citadel and worth more than $30 billion, has contributed some $500 million to Harvard in his lifetime.

At the MFA Network Miami conference, he told CNBC in an interview he has stopped the donations but would “like that to change.”

“And I’ve made that clear to members of the corporate board. But until Harvard makes it very clear that they’re going to resume their role as educating young American men and women to be leaders, to be problem solvers, to take on difficult issues — I’m not interested in supporting the institution,” Griffin said.

He went further to chastise all elite universities, saying they create “whiny snowflakes” and raised concerns they are “going to maintain being lost in the wilderness of microaggressions, a DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] agenda that seems to have no real end game.”

Griffin previously said he would not hire any Harvard student who signed the infamous open letter at the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war that blamed Israel solely for the Oct. 7 attack.

In the interview, he condemned antisemitism and expressed his displeasure with former Harvard President Claudine Gay for her answer at the December House Education Committee hearing on whether calls for genocide against Jewish people would be considered harassment.

“This is a simple answer: ‘You can ask my lawyers, but I’m going to tell you as the president of fill-in-the-blank university, there is no tolerance for calls to genocide on my campus,’” Griffin said.

... Griffin is far from the first donor to cut ties. The Hill

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Sensationalized news that didn’t happen: Stolen organs from dead bodies. A battlefield is not the place to attempt to expand the transplant donor pool and professionals in the field have never suggested it. I should know; I am one. Jan 31, 2024, 4:12 PM

...Like many people around the world, especially health care workers, I am devastated by the loss of innocent civilian lives, in this conflict and others. But seemingly in wanting to keep the narrative alive that there is moral equivalence between what Hamas has done and how Israel has responded, we now hear from the same sources that Israel is stealing body parts from people who have long been dead, including allegedly exhuming dead bodies from gravesites as a source of organs for transplantation. Never mind, I suppose, that the organs would be unusable, if something this outlandish were tried.

Under the best of circumstances in a controlled hospital environment, procuring viable organs for transplant is complicated, a primary reason being that there is a long waiting list. A battlefield is not the place to attempt to expand the donor pool and has never been suggested as such by transplant professionals.

But let’s not let the medical facts get in the way of tantalizing propaganda. Until now, no similar credible accusations have ever been made against Israel, a country where transplant has been performed for decades carefully and responsibly without a hint of any unethical practices. TOI

Thursday, February 01, 2024 Yes, it really is impossible to transplant organs from dead bodies...

At the Times of Israel, David weill, a doctor who specializes in organ transplants, sets the record straight: I have spent over three decades in the transplant field, most recently directing the Lung Transplant Program at Stanford University. I find these accusations alarming, though wholly unsubstantiated. We in the transplant community take illegal organ trafficking extremely seriously.... Will this slow down the blood libels? Of course not.

Facts are strictly optional nowadays. And even in mainstream media, only the facts that support the viewpoint of the writer or reporter are allowed to be mentioned.. EoZ

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Mia Regev to the UN ambassadors: "The terrorists tore my clothes". The delegation, which came to visit Israel, met with the two brothers who were released from Hamas captivity • Mia described to them how Hamas terrorists mistreated her: "They told me that if the IDF tried to save me, they would shoot me" • Ambassador Erdan addressed the ambassadors: "Hamas wants us to leave The country is in fear, a ceasefire - unacceptable". N12 | Published 31.01.24

The delegation of UN ambassadors, led by Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan, opened their visit to Israel today (Wednesday) with a meeting with Mia and Iti Regev, the brothers who were kidnapped from the party in Ra'im and released from Hamas captivity after more than 50 days. In the conversation, Mia described the difficult moments she experienced: "The terrorists tore my clothes, they mocked and laughed at me."

Mako

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After Using The Fighting In Gaza To Justify Attacks On U.S. Forces In Iraq And Syria, Iran And Its Proxies Temporarily Suspend Operations Due To Fear Of Large-Scale U.S. Response. Jan 31, 2024. Memri

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Three Pro-Palestinian Rallies In Berlin Feature Chants For Israel's Elimination, Antisemitic Speeches; Organizing Body, 'Samidoun,' Is Banned. January 31, 2024 Palestinians | Special Dispatch No. 11108

Following the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, protests erupted on German streets. Some contained explicit antisemitic rhetoric and calls to annihilate the Jewish state. The "Samidoun – Palestine Prisoner Solidarity Network," the foreign arm of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), led numerous rallies and vigils throughout Germany, riding a wave of increasing support for the Palestinian cause. Following the seemingly unrestricted Samidoun activities in Germany, Germany's interior minister, Nancy Faeser, imposed a nationwide ban on the organization and its activities at the beginning of November. Samidoun operates in Germany mostly under the umbrella of the outlawed "Hirak e.V." and "Hirak – Palestinian Youth Mobilization – Youth Movement Germany." Both have an extensive base of followers.

Just hours after learning of Hamas's October 7 attacks in Israel, members of Samidoun distributed sweets to people in Berlin's majority Arab district, Neukölln, which has a large Palestinian Arab population, to celebrate the killing of Jews. This was followed by weekly public gatherings which continue until today. Protected by the "Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution" (Verfassungsschutz), the battle cry, "From The River To The Sea, Palestine Will Be Free," a mainstay of pro-Palestinian marches, and the wearing of the black-and-white keffiyeh, or scarf, which is now associated with Palestinian Arabs, are ubiquitous at these gatherings and marches... Memri

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Tlaib, Cori Bush vote to allow Oct. 7 attackers into US. The two “Squad” members were the lone votes against the “No Immigration Benefits for Hamas Terrorists Act.” David Swindle (February 1, 2024 / JNS) JNS

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Tory minister who wears stab vest after arson attack, and death threats from Islamic extremists, to stand down at general election.

Thursday 1 February 2024.

[97]

A Government minister who has been subjected to death threats from Islamic extremists and an arson attack on his constituency office, will stand down at the general election.

Justice minister Mike Freer said that “by the skin of my teeth I avoided being murdered” by Ali Harbi Ali, who went on to kill Southend West MP Sir David Amess.

“There comes a point when the threats to your personal safety become too much,” he said in an interview.

Mr Freer, who has served as the MP for London’s Finchley and Golders Green seat since 2010, said it was time to “say enough” as he could no longer put his family through the anxiety for his safety.

In a letter to his local Conservative association, he wrote that it “will be an enormous wrench to step down”, but that the attacks “have weighed heavily on me and my husband, Angelo”.

Mr Freer's burnt out constituency office after it was subject to an arson attack

The MP and his staff have decided to wear stab vests when attending scheduled public events in his constituency after learning that Ali had watched his Finchley office before going on to knife Sir David to death during a constituency surgery in 2021.

Mr Freer said: “I was very lucky that actually on the day I was due to be in Finchley, I happened to change my plans and came into Whitehall.

“Otherwise who knows whether I would have been attacked or survived an attack. He said he came to Finchley to attack me.”

He said MPs tend to try to “make light” of threats, but that it remained at the back of his mind that he could have been killed.

Mr Freer said he had also received threats from the group Muslims Against Crusades “about coming to stab me” and found “mock Molotov cocktails on the office steps”.

The arson attack on his north London constituency office in December was “the final straw,” he said.

Mr Freer, who has pro-Israel views and represents a heavily Jewish constituency, said “I don’t think we can divorce” antisemitism from the intimidation. Talk TV

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Hamas terrorists 'purposeful obliterated women's faces'. Reader discretion is advised: Shari Mendes, one of the reservists who handled the bodies of women massacred in the October 7 atrocities described systematic genital mutilation of women, 'it will take time until the victims speak' Ynet | published:02.01.24 06:13. Warning: The article contains descriptions that are difficult to read, and are not recommended for everyone. This article will revolve around the hundreds of bodies that were piled on top of each other, their desecration to the point that it was difficult to properly prepare them for burial, the systematic way in which Hamas struck without hesitation or mercy, anyone in its path, and the booby-trapped bodies that arrived in the camp where the work to identify the dead was underway. .. YNet

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Biden signs order to sanction four 'settlers'. Yitz Goldberg Feb 1, 2024, 7:50 PM INN

'Disgrace to free world's values'. Yesha Council Chairman decries US sanctions. Israel National News Feb 1, 2024, 10:56 PM INN

US sanctions four Israelis it accuses of ‘extremist settler violence’. Mike Wagenheim (February 1, 2024 / JNS) ...Biden is also scheduled on Thursday to visit Michigan, a swing state and home to a significant contingent of Arab Americans who are frustrated with his handling of the war. The metropolitan Detroit area—the district of progressive Democrat Rep. Rashida Tlaib—has the country’s largest Arabic-speaking population, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of Census Bureau data... JNS

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Go and fight in Palestine’: Relatives of Turkey hostages angered over attacker’s supposed pro-Gaza protest. By TOI Staff and AFP Feb 1, 2024, 10:52 pm

TOI

Turkish hostages freed by police while assailant in bathroom. By AFP Feb 1, 2024, 11:27 pm

A local official says Turkish police freed a group of hostages taken by a pro-Palestinian gunman at a plant near Istanbul owned by US consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble. TOI

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"We are a human shield": the investigation of a terrorist reveals more of Hamas' working method. Investigations by Unit 504 in the Intelligence Division reveal the terrorist organization's cynical exploitation of the civilians in the Gaza Strip • "When the soldiers entered, the terrorists sat among the civilians they forced into the hospital," the terrorists told the investigation. Lilach Shoval, 1/1/2024, 11:26, updated 1/1/2024, [...] "If you don't like it, I'll put the explosive between you and your wife." This is how the Islamic Jihad terrorist tells the investigation about a case in which Hamas threatened a citizen after placing an explosive near his house... When a Hamas terrorist placed an explosive device near the door of a civilian's house, Muhammad Darwish Amara, an operative in the Islamic Jihad recalls, emwhen the resident came to the terrorist and asked him why he did it, because if the bomb explodes, 'me and the children will blow up,' in response, the terrorist threatened him to put the charge between him and his wife. ILH

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Second Burgertory blaze accused faces court. Emily Woods, February 1, 2024.

A second man has faced court accused of setting fire to a Melbourne burger shop, leading to a violent clash between Israel and Palestine supporters. Habib Musa was charged with arson over a fire at Burgertory restaurant in Caulfield on November 10, which allegedly caused $450,000 of damage, court documents reveal. The 27-year-old is also charged with theft for allegedly stealing a gold 2010 Mercedes Sedan, worth $10,000, on the same day…. His case will be joined with his alleged co-accused, Wayle Mana, who remains in custody after a court hearing on Thursday when he refused to appear due to a severe leg injury…. The Burgertory shop’s owner claimed the fire was a hate crime, which he said was linked to his involvement in a pro-Palestine rally. Two groups of about 200 people clashed near a synagogue and the Burgertory store, hours after the owner made the claim. Victoria Police said there was no evidence the blaze was racially or politically motivated. Australian Associated Press

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Bennett on CNN: 'If Bin Laden was in hospital you’d go and kill him'. Former Prime Minister Bennett spoke to CNN and was asked about the special operation in a Jenin hospital to eliminate three terrorists. Israel National News, Feb 2, 2024, 11:54 AM (GMT+2)

Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett was interviewed by CNN and discussed the raid by undercover Yamam special forces to eliminate three terrorists inside a hospital in Jenin.

The interviewer asked Bennett if he was comfortable with such tactics of killing terrorists inside a hospital, to which he responded: "The real question is, am I comfortable with terrorists using hospitals as their haven, because we're fighting terrorists who have no red lines, do not abide by any law, and we're held to double standards. Hamas does whatever it wants and uses children and families as human shields, and then when we have to go target those very terrorists who are using the hospital for refuge, then we're accused."

Regarding the claim that at least one of the terrorists was indeed being treated at the hospital, the former Prime Minister said that to the best of his knowledge, the terrorists were using the hospital as a refuge, not because they were being treated. "We have to look at every incident, but by in large, what we've seen in Gaza and the 'West Bank', in very big numbers is Hamas using hospitals, schools, and kindergartens as a refuge, that's the real problem," he added.

Bennett noted that "the operation was pretty impressive; sending soldiers who have to disguise themselves as terrorists and abducting terrorists, that's what were going to do, we have to defend ourselves."

When the interviewer again pushed on the question regarding one of the terrorists being a patient at the hospital, Bennett responded: "If Osama Bin Laden was in the hospital and his thumb was injured, do you go in and kill him? The answer is yes."

Bennett spoke about President Biden's executive order to level sanctions against Israelis who were accused of "settler violence," calling it unnecessary. "In Israel, we prosecute any violence, any criminal activity, we don't need any external help to do it. And I have to say, what's called 'violence of settlers' is marginal. We're talking about a 50% decrease this year in that violence, and to begin with, it's not big numbers, we're taking care of it. I think it's inflated to create some false symmetry between the Palestinian violence and the settler violence. We are on top of it, we don't need any foreign assistance to prosecute that sort of thing," he stated. INN

'If bin Laden was in hospital you would go and kill him'. Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett defends the IDF operation in the Jenin hospital during which three terrorists were assassinated. By Shirit Avitan Cohen. Published on 02-02-2024 13:24 Last modified: 02-02-2024 14:06. Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett defended in an interview with CNN this week the IDF operation in the Jenin hospital during which three terrorists were assassinated. ILH

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IDF troops raid Hamas bank vaults in Gaza. Israel National News Feb 2, 2024, 1:36 PM INN

IDF says troops fighting gunmen all across Strip, raided underground Hamas bank vault. By TOI Staff February 2, 2024. Revolutionary Guards adviser killed in alleged Israeli strike in Syria * Rocket fire on towns near Lebanon border * Israeli official: ’50/50′ if new Gaza hostage deal will materialize. TOI

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Iranian report: IRGC commander killed in 'Israeli strike' in Syria. Opposition sources opposed to the Assad regime have claimed that the headquarters of Iranian forces in the Sayyidah Zaynab area was targeted in an attack, as Iran claim Israel launched the aerial assault, killing an IRGC commander in the process. Lior Ben Ari | updated: 02.02.24 04:51 YNet

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Report: Saudis seek largely declarative steps on Palestinian state to forge Israel ties. Officials say Riyadh will suffice with a mere commitment to eventual establishment of a state, amid its fears that the window to land security guarantees from the US is closing. By Reuters and TOI Staff 2 Feb 2024, 9:52 pm TOI

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CENTCOM Statement on U.S. Strikes in Iraq and Syria. USCENTCOM. Feb. 2, 2024 Release Number 20240202 – 01 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE.

TAMPA, Fla. - At 4:00 p.m. (EST) Feb. 02, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted airstrikes in Iraq and Syria against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force and affiliated militia groups. U.S. military forces struck more than 85 targets, with numerous aircraft to include long-range bombers flown from United States. The airstrikes employed more than 125 precision munitions. The facilities that were struck included command and control operations centers, intelligence centers, rockets, missiles, unmanned aerial vehicle storage, and logistics and munition supply chain facilities of militia groups and their IRGC sponsors who facilitated attacks against U.S. and Coalition forces. Centcom

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Imams and politicians in the Michigan city side with Hamas against Israel and Iran against the U.S. By Steven Stalinsky Feb. 2, 2024 3:24 pm ET Dearborn, Mich.

Thousands march in support of Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran. Protesters, many with kaffiyehs covering their faces, shout “Intifada, intifada,” “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” and “America is a terrorist state.” Local imams give fiery antisemitic sermons. This isn’t the Middle East. It’s the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, Mich.

Almost immediately after Oct. 7, and long before Israel began its ground offensive in Gaza, people were celebrating the horrific events of that day in pro-Hamas rallies and marches throughout Dearborn. A local headline describing an Oct. 10 event at the Ford Performing Arts Center read “Michigan rally cheers Hamas attack.” Imam Imran Salha of Dearborn’s Islamic Center of Detroit told the crowd that Israel’s past actions have put “fire in our hearts that will burn that state”—Israel— “until its demise.” In May 2023, Mr. Salha had urged his congregation to say “amen” in agreement with his prayer that Allah “eradicate from existence” the “sick, disgusting Zionist regime.” In October 2022, according to the Washington Free Beacon, his organization received $150,000 in funding from the Homeland Security Department’s nonprofit security grants program.

At another rally, held Oct. 14 in front of the Henry Ford Centennial Library, Imam Usama Abdulghani also didn’t hide his support for Hamas’s terrorist actions. The American-born, Iranian-educated Shiite Islamic scholar called Oct. 7 “one of the days of God” and a “miracle come true.” He described the attackers as “honorable.” He said they were “lions” defending “the entire nation of Muhammad the messenger.”... WSJ

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Beatings with clubs and shooting: this is how Hamas prevents civilians from reaching humanitarian aid. Hamas terrorists were photographed using severe violence, and even shooting in the air, to prevent Gaza citizens from reaching the humanitarian aid entering the Strip • "Only the tip of the iceberg for the corruption and cruelty of Hamas," said IDF spokesman in Arabic. Sapir Lipkin | N12 | 02.03.24

In an unusual document revealed .. by the IDF Spokesman in Arabic, Lt. Col. Avichai Adreei, it can be seen how Hamas terrorists use violence and prevent in every way the citizens of Gaza from receiving the humanitarian aid that enters the Gaza Strip as well as evacuating from the combat zones where the IDF forces are operating.

[98]

In the videos taken in recent weeks in Khan Yunis, armed men, apparently Hamas terrorists, are seen preventing the citizens of Gaza from receiving some of the humanitarian aid that arrived in the Al-Amal hospital area. They beat the civilians waiting to receive aid with clubs, shoot in the air to deter them. Moreover, they were recorded blocking the way of civilians trying to evacuate westward, towards the "humanitarian zones". Mako

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Hamas moves to reassert power in Gaza City areas from which Israeli forces withdrew. By Agencies and TOI Staff, February 3, 2024. Palestinians say Gaza-ruling terror group has begun deploying police officers and set up makeshift offices to distribute salary payments, leading to fresh Israeli action. TOI

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IDF discovers tunnel route with underground elevator. IDF's 5th Brigade, IAF, and Yahalom Unit destroy tunnel shaft leading to a hideout room containing underground elevator.

Israel National News, Feb 3, 2024. INN

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Hamas delaying response to prisoner swap offer. Israel National News Feb 3, 2024, 7:27 PM INN

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Three missiles from Lebanon land in northern Israel. Israel National News Feb 3, 2024, 6:37 PM INN

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IDF artillery pounds southern Lebanon towns, report says. The IDF attacked the town Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon and conducted artillery fire toward the towns of Alma al-Shaab and Dahaira, Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese channel Al-Manar reported Saturday afternoon. Meanwhile, Lebanese network Al-Mayadeen, which is also associated with the Shi’ite terrorist organization, reported attacks in A-Naqoura. (Lior Ben-Ari). 02.03.24 YNet

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"Wake up!": Gaza is shocked - who distributed a newspaper calling for a rebellion in Hamas? In Gaza, they claim that the IDF distributed a "newspaper" called "The Reality", and calls on the residents to wake up: "The future is in your hands, they have harmed your honor and your family." The newspaper is accompanied by an Israeli number that they can contact via Telegram.

([99]

The newspaper scattered in the Gaza Strip calls for an uprising - Photo: Arab Social Networks)

Maariv online, 03/02/2024

Trying to cause an uprising against Hamas?: Today (Saturday) a picture was published on social media with a "fictitious" newspaper called: "The Reality". In the newspaper, in Gaza they claim that the IDF dispersed, various headlines were written and even a cartoon, in which you can see residents running on the ground with a white flag, and below the ground - someone in the ground, protected.

The newspaper wrote: "They killed your children, they insulted your dignity and left your families in the desert, neglected, while they hide and are protected in tunnels. They beat and tortured you, they burned the people's money for military weapons and ammunition - and you are still silent?", Referring to the deputy chairman of the political bureau of Hamas, Musa Abu Marzouk, it is written: "According to Abu Marzouk, these tunnels are meant to protect their fighters from the planes, while the people govern themselves." The newspaper even called for an uprising: "Wake up friends!! Your future is in your hands." It also reads, "In this newspaper you read the truth and nothing else." In addition, there is a link to Telegram and an Israeli number that they can contact. We will remind you that at the end of last month, unusual documentation of Gazans in the Gaza Strip was published on the Arab networks, in which they They are protesting against the terrorist organization Hamas and demanding the return of the abductees to Israel so that the war can stop. This, after a report published in the Wall Street Journal, the overwhelming majority of Palestinians consider Israel responsible for the destruction of the Gaza Strip, but criticism of the terrorist organization Hamas is beginning to take shape. Maariv

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10 myths about UNRWA you may have mistakenly believed - opinion.

By Adi Schwartz, David M. Weinberg. Published: February 3, 2024.

UNRWA is rotten to its core. It validates and perpetuates the Palestinian war against Israel instead of helping to solve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. It is an obstacle to peace.

This week’s revelation about the complicity of personnel working for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in the Hamas October 7 attack on Israel is not surprising. Not to anybody who has tracked the nefariousness of this organization over recent decades.

Nor is it a surprise that over the past three months IDF troops have found Hamas weaponry in, and terror attack tunnels beneath, nearly every UNRWA institution in Gaza – schools, clinics, hospitals, and more.

No, there is no surprise here. UNRWA is rotten to its core. It validates and perpetuates the Palestinian war against Israel instead of helping to solve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. It is an obstacle to peace.

Despite this, Western leaders almost certainly will restore and even increase their funding of UNRWA soon enough – because they mistakenly view the organization as an irreplaceable, indispensable humanitarian tool.

Alas, nothing could be farther from the truth. Here are ten myths about UNRWA that must be busted.

Myth 1: UNRWA is a UN organization.

Well, technically it is, but in fact, UNRWA is a Palestinian outfit with Palestinian employees and Palestinian objectives. Of its 13,000 employees in Gaza, 99% are Palestinian, alongside a tiny number of international employees who cover for Palestinian corruption and Islamic radicalism. It is a Palestinian boondoggle.

Since most Palestinians in Gaza support Hamas, it stands to reason that many if not the majority of UNRWA employees are Hamas supporters too. According to Israeli intelligence, a full 10% of UNRWA Gaza staff are identifiable Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad activists; hundreds of others openly celebrated the October 7 rapes and murders; and 190 UNRWA employees are “hardened militants” – fighters and killers with unmistakable terrorist records.

This is far more than "a few bad apples in the basket," as some champions for UNRWA said this week.

Myth 2: UNRWA is a relief organization for Palestinians.

This has not been true for many years. UNRWA provides little food or humanitarian aid. The vast majority of its budget is devoted to Palestinian schools and hospitals, which is an anomaly without precedent anywhere else in the world.

There is no other UN organization that covers health and education costs for almost an entire population – in place of its local government. UNRWA runs the relevant institutions and pays the bills throughout Gaza, instead of Hamas having to provide health, education, and welfare for its own constituents. Hamas relies on UNRWA and its Western donors to operate core provinces of Gazan government, leaving Hamas scot-free to build terror attack tunnels and camp out in underground military bunkers for war against Israel.

Myth 3: UNRWA is a neutral organization.

No, it is not. UNRWA is a political outfit that shapes the story of Palestinian victimhood, preserves and prolongs Palestinian refugeehood, and educates towards perpetual war with Israel including Palestinian dreams of destroying Israel through refugee “return.” UNRWA is the most deleterious driver of a narrative of Israeli criminality, for 75 years now and running.

In particular, UNRWA keeps conflict with Israel alive by granting fictitious refugee status to an ever-inflating number of Palestinians – 20 times beyond the scope of real refugee levels – while refusing to permanently resettle even one single refugee.

Myth 4: UNRWA is a moderating and calming force.

Even though international wags (and even parts of the Israeli defense establishment) have made this claim for years, it simply holds no water. UNRWA is deeply impregnated and dominated by Hamas, and it certainly was of no taming or tempering effect before, after, or on October 7. Everybody can do without the make-believe soothing brainwaves of UNRWA.

Watchdog organizations tirelessly have documented the hate taught in UNRWA classrooms. Palestinian children learn that Jews are liars and fraudsters and that Jews spread corruption which will lead to their annihilation. Terrorists are glorified as role models. Lessons that incite violence are taught across all grades and subjects, including in math and science classes. Inevitably, the systematic teaching of hatred and violence within the UNRWA school system is Palestinian terror against Israel.

Myth 5: Palestinians in Gaza truly need global funding for their most basic needs.

From what the IDF has discovered in Gaza over the past three months it does not seem that Gazans are exceptionally needy or helpless.

The Hamas government in Gaza appears to be perfectly capable of undertaking big, sophisticated, and expensive projects ranging from underground tunnel and bunker networks that rival London’s underground system, to industrial weapons factories built to the best engineering standards, to well-organized commando units with top-notch intelligence capabilities and crafty attack planning skills.

Palestinians in Gaza do not suffer from underfunding, sub-par education, or deprivation of skilled labor, but from self-inflicted wounds that stem from a distortion of priorities. For decades they have prioritized warfare against Israel over building their own society in a healthy way. They need Western guidance (pressure) in reordering their priorities, not necessarily more cash or other aid.

Myth 6: Palestinians in Gaza need UNRWA to keep them alive.

This is not true according to Palestinians themselves. Even as some Western funders of UNRWA have suspended donations to UNRWA in recent days, the main concern expressed by Palestinians relates to a possible denouement in global recognition of their cause. They are much more distressed about the political blow to their status as privileged victims than they are about the money.

There are hundreds of social media posts and other testimonies indicating this; that Gazans see UNRWA far less as a critical provider of social services and emergency aid and much more as the vital validator of Palestinian identity in their never-ending war with Israel.

Myth 7: Without an immediate restoration of full UNRWA funding, Palestinians in Gaza will starve.

There is no “dire crisis” in access to food and water in Gaza. Nobody there is on the “verge of starvation.” Hundreds of trucks with goods and fuels enter Gaza every day despite the war, based on donations from Arab and (still) Western countries. Hamas demonstrably confiscates millions of dollars worth of such supplies for its army and favored elites, about which UNRWA has done nothing. But a steady flow of goods into Gaza continues, even if UNRWA’s pockets are a bit less padded.

Myth 8: UNRWA is the most efficient way to deliver assistance to Palestinians.

No, it certainly is not, and not just because UNRWA lets Hamas run off with lots of goods. There are far more efficient, less corrupt, and less grossly political aid agencies, some of which already are present in Gaza (and the West Bank), that can be mobilized to replace UNRWA. This includes USAID, UNICEF, and the World Food Programme. They could all do the work without succumbing to Palestinian legerdemain.

Myth 9: UNRWA can be fixed.

UNRWA needs more than an “urgent audit,” as the EU reluctantly mumbled this week, and much more than “enhanced due diligence and other oversight mechanisms,” as one unfriendly-to-Israel congressman grudgingly called for.

UNRWA needs to be abolished so that Gaza’s transition away from aid and toward economic development, and away from genocidal fantasies and toward peace building can begin quickly. It is certainly true that the current division of labor – UNRWA services above ground, Hamas terror operations below ground and from within UNRWA facilities – cannot continue.

This requires different international actors that can develop productive industry and jobs in Gaza, and that can lead the construction and operation of civilian services. International funding may still be necessary, but it should be administered by foreign governments directly and by different organizations that are subject to continuous oversight and rigorous accountability.

Myth 10: Wartime is not the right time to shutter UNRWA.

Now is the perfect time to do so. As Israel liberates Gaza from Hamas, the international community can unshackle Palestinians from UNRWA. At the same time Israel can unchain itself from destructive dependency on UNRWA and its problematic Israeli counterpart, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories – COGAT.

Then the rebuilding of Gaza can advance, free from rank corruption, destructive indoctrination, the coddling of terrorism, and overall moral rot that for too long has contaminated international aid politics for Palestinians. JPost

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Iraq summons US charge d'affaires in protest over airstrikes -state media. By Reuters. 02/03/2024 1:20 PM JPost

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Turkey's intelligence head met Hamas chief Haniyeh - TRT. By Reuters. 02/03/2024 7:26 PM JPost

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Harvard to host Palestinian prof who blamed Israel for Oct. 7, called attacks ‘normal human struggle.

Chris Pandolfo, February 3, 2024.

Harvard University has invited a controversial Palestinian professor to speak who justified the October 7 Hamas terror attack on Israel as a “normal human struggle for freedom.”

Dr. Dalal Saeb Iriqat, a columnist and associated professor at Arab American University Palestine, is scheduled to speak at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs on March 7 for a seminar series called “Middle East Dialogues.”

The Belfer Center website describes the “Middle East Dialogues” seminars as “a series of frank, open, and probing encounters with vital and varied perspectives on the current conflict, its causes, and the prospects for peace and progress in the region.”

Iriqat is a controversial figure who has made statements downplaying the Hamas attack on Israel and blaming the Israeli government for the bloodshed on October 7, when 1,200 people were killed after Hamas terrorists infiltrated the country.

“Today is just a normal struggle 4 #Freedom,” Iriqat posted on X on Oct. 7, as Israelis near the border with Gaza cowered in their homes while terrorists went door-to-door butchering people.

In the face of criticism for her post, Iriqat doubled down and blamed Israel for the attacks the next day.

“We will never forgive the Israeli right wing extreme government for making us take their children and elderly as hostages,” she posted on X.

“The Israeli public need to realize that their own government had caused all this bloodshed and they remain the ones responsible for this escalation and losses of civilian lives.”… Fox News

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US forces destroy an anti-ship cruise missile in Yemen. By Reuters. 02/04/2024 6:00 AM JPost

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US says it will make additional strikes against Iran-backed groups. By Reuters 02/04/2024 4:26 PM JPost

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French FM to visit Israel, hostage families, Palestinian territories. By Jerusalem Post Staff 02/04/2024 7:53 PM JPost

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Israel to bring in 65,000 foreign workers to replace Palestinians. By Reuters. 02/04/2024 9:12 PM JPost

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Mock Israeli towns, IDF bases: Troops raid Hamas compound used to train for Oct. 7. Givati soldiers find rocket depot, tunnel leading to underground network in Khan Younis HQ; IDF identifies terror operatives hiding in civilian shelters in southern Gaza. By Emanuel Fabian. 4 Feb 2024, 10:04 pm TOI

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Jewish student beaten by pro-Palestinian student in Berlin over conflict. By Tzvi Joffre. Published: February 4, 2024.

The Jewish student was evacuated to the hospital while suffering from fractures on his face... The victim, Lahav Shapira, 30, was hospitalized and underwent surgery for non-life-threatening injuries to his face. He is the grandson of Israeli athletics coach Amitzur Shapira, who was murdered by Palestinian terrorists in the Munich Olympics terror attack in 1972... The student suspected of beating up the Jewish student was located by police at his home in Schöneberg. During a court-ordered search of his home, emergency services confiscated evidence, including the student's smartphone. JPost

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Behind the False Campaign on Settler Violence. On Saturday, left-wing organizations reported that armed settlers stole a herd of goats from local Bedouins. Only on Saturday night, was the full story revealed. In truth it was actually the Bedouin who stole the goats and a Jewish farmer who called the IDF and Israeli Police to chase after them to get his goats back.

Amichai Shilo, 25 Shvat 5784. 02/04/2024.

Zohar Sabah, the owner of a farm in the Jordan Valley, is the latest victim of the false campaign on settler violence. On Saturday, Sabah encountered dozens of Bedouin Arabs who cornered him as he shepherded his flock. Sabah gathered his goats and retreated to his farm where he realized several goats were missing.

Being a responsible citizen, Sabah called the police and the IDF, who together searched for the missing goats. Ultimately, they found them in an illegally constructed dwelling near Uja al-Fooqa. Upon inspection, it was clear that identification tags in the goats’ ears had been torn out. Throughout the efforts by the police, dozens of Bedouins threw stones at the officers, prompting them to respond with warning shots in the air. One Bedouin Arab was also arrested in connection with the theft.

During the incident several left-wing Israeli anarchists were on scene, and they documented the incident on behalf of the Bedouin. These left-wing activists then sent reports back to their organizations, which rushed to issue press releases accusing dozens of settlers of stealing goats with the IDF’s support.

For example, on X, the extremist left-wing organization “Seeing the Occupation with our Eyes" [Mistaklim] called out Minister Betzalel Smotrich for dismissing the campaign on settler violence as false. They also tagged the International Criminal Court in the Hague, the White House, and U.S. President Joe Biden in their tweet.

Only on Saturday night, after the end of the Jewish Sabbath, several Jewish residents began to tell their side of the story, which exposed the left-wing reports as fake news. Yet again, an alleged incident of settler violence was exposed as wrongly blaming Jewish pioneers for IDF and police activities. Also, as in several other cases documented by Hakol HaYehudi, Jewish pioneers were again accused of violence even though they were the victims (!).

([100] The false campaign against Jewish ‘settlers')

Recently Channel 12 journalist Amit Segal exposed the falsehoods in the UN data on "settler violence.” Notably the list is compiled jointly by the UN and the European Union with the support of Israeli and foreign leftist organizations.

Segal highlighted that many of the incidents listed as "settler violence" are actually terror attacks carried out by Arabs. Others involve cases where the IDF opened fire at rioting Arabs, and 30% of the incidents actually occurred in Jerusalem, and contained no violence. In many cases, the incident report merely describes visits by Jews and tourists to the Temple Mount, which is somehow classified as ‘settler violence.’

The ‘Settler Violence Libel,’ reminiscent of the infamous ‘Doctor’s Libel’ in Soviet Russia, is the latest blood libel spread by the UN against Israel. It relies on similar methods to previous anti-Semitic accusations with most of the reported incidents coming from unreliable information from the Palestinian Authority and radical leftist organizations funded by the European Union.

At Hakol HaYehudi, we also recently investigated a false report by the International Women’s Peace Service (IWPS), which accused Israel of killing Palestinian children. Our investigation revealed that IWPS sends female BDS activists to Samaria every year for a few months to report to the world on "Israeli apartheid."

In one instance, the group traveled to Shechem to supposedly clean the graves of Palestinian “martyrs." They posted a picture of a grave that they claimed belonged to a “Palestinian child killed by the IDF.” A quick Google search with the child’s name revealed that he was actually killed in an internal dispute between crime families in Shechem. The Palestinian Authority even arrested several suspects in his murder, yet in the end released them.

Unfortunately, while the IWPS reports are so outlandish that few believe them, the false, anti-Semitic campaign on ‘settler violence’ has received support not only among the Biden administration abroad, but also from within Israel’s own security establishment. Hakol H.

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Hamas wish list of prisoners includes terror masterminds of Second Intifada Terror group expeced to demand the freeing of planners of suicide bombings at Hebrew University, Park Hotel, Sbarro restaurant as part of potential truce and hostage release deal. By TOI Staff. 5 Feb 2024, 1:31 am TOI

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Senate legislation targets Palestinian education, schools teaching hate. The bill would require the U.S. Secretary of State to submit regular reports on the curriculum and materials being taught.

(February 5, 2024 / JNS) Sens. John Kennedy (R-La.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) have proposed a new law in response to reports that educators for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) had taught bigotry to their students.

Titled “The Peace and Tolerance in Palestinian Education Act,” the legislation introduced on Jan. 31 would oblige the U.S. Secretary of State to provide regular reports to Congress about what Palestinian students are learning.

Reports would include reviews of whether the curriculum encourages violence; an analysis of the Palestinian Authority’s efforts to reform the curriculum; determinations if any taxpayer dollars are funding materials taught; and summaries of diplomatic efforts in these areas.

“The Palestinian people suffer because of Hamas and its radical ideology,” said Kennedy before describing how the bill “would ensure that not a single U.S. taxpayer dollar goes to schools that teach young children the same hate that inspired the Oct. 7 attacks against Israel.”

Kennedy had previously put forward the bill in 2021. JNS

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'War cannot end before we kill Hamas' leaders'.

PM tells Likud faction meeting that Israel is pursuing 'total victory' against Hamas, war will take 'months, not years.'

Israel National News Feb 5, 2024, 5:05 PM INN

Netanyahu: 'Defeating Hamas will take months not years'. By Jerusalem Post Staff 02/05/2024 06:02 PM JPost

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IDF raids Khan Yunis base where Hamas terrorists trained for Oct. 7 Israeli forces located the office of the brother of Yahya Sinwar. IDF Givati Brigade forces during a targeted raid on the headquarters of Hamas's Yhan Yunis Brigade in southern Gaza, Feb. 4, 2024. Credit: IDF.IDF Givati Brigade forces during a targeted raid on the headquarters of Hamas's Yhan Yunis Brigade in southern Gaza, Feb. 4, 2024. Credit: IDF.

(February 5, 2024 / JNS) JNS

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BBC fires staffer over numerous antisemitic posts.

BBC lets go of staffer who called Jews “Nazi apartheid parasites” and posted Holocaust denial. Gary Willig, Israel National News, Feb 5, 2024, 6:16 PM (GMT+2)

A senior BBC employee has been fired after branding Jewish people “Nazis” and white people “parasites” in a string of social media posts.

Dawn Queva, who was a scheduling coordinator at BBC Three, had made posts on her Facebook page calling Jewish people “Nazi apartheid parasites” who funded a “holohoax.”

Her posts also repeatedly attacked white people, calling them a “virus” and “mutant invader species.”

Queva was let go by the BBC yesterday (Sunday).

“The individual concerned is no longer employed by the BBC,” a BBC spokesperson told the Telegraph.

Queva’s posts, which included claims that the UK is “bigoted” and “genocidal” and called white Europeans are “melanin-recessive parasites,” were made under the name of Dawn Las Quevas-Allen on Facebook, but it has the same profile picture as her regular profile, and Deadline magazine reported that her identity has been confirmed.

In one post, she wrote, “The Zionist genocidal land squatting so called Jew’ irrespective of the fact that The UKKK and Amerikkka gave away land they had no god given right to a people who have no god given right to.”

In another post, she claimed that Jewish people are not descended from the ancient Israelites and Judeans, but are a “synagogue of Sa#an[sic] cabal calling themselves “JeWISH.”

Queva also wrote that that the Rothschild family “funded their own holohoax[sic]”, and another that Israel is attempting to “forcibly permanently sterilize black women without their knowledge or consent.”

The BBC has been heavily scrutinized over its coverage of the Hamas massacre of October 7 and the subsequent war between Israel and Hamas.

In November, the BBC published an apology after falsely claiming that IDF troops were targeting medical teams in battles in and around the Shifa Hospital in Gaza.

Before that, the BBC falsely accused Israel of being responsible for an explosion at a hospital in Gaza, which the IDF proved was caused by an Islamic Jihad rocket.

The network later acknowledged that “it was false to speculate” on the explosion.

Last month,BBC host Gary Lineker came under fire from MPs and Jewish leaders after retweeting a call for Israel to be banned from international soccer games. INN

BBC staffer who called Jewish people 'Nazis,' 'parasites' fired. New York Post, February 5, 2024 NYPost

Senior BBC worker who called Jews an 'invader species' is finally sacked - as workers say it is a 'grim' and 'frightening' time to be Jewish at the corporation.

By Claire Duffin, Nicole Lampert And Meike Leonard For The Daily Mail00:11 05 Feb 2024, updated 09:26 05 Feb 2024 Dawn Queva, 55, described the Holocaust as a 'holohoax' in anti-semitic posts A senior BBC employee has been fired after sharing 'horrific' anti-Semitic social media posts. It comes as workers say it is a 'grim' and 'frightening' time to be Jewish at the BBC. Daily Mail

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IDF strikes at Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon. By Jerusalem Post Staff 02/05/2024 07:08 AM JPost

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33 suspects arrested throughout West Bank overnight. By Jerusalem Post Staff 02/05/2024 11:36 AM JPost

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Knife attack on Border Police officers thwarted, terrorist shot By Jerusalem Post Staff 02/05/2024 12:45 PM JPost

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Rambam Medical Center targeted in suspected cyber incident. By Jerusalem Post Staff. 02/05/2024 04:48 PM JPost

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UN chief appoints independent review group to assess UNRWA. By Reuters. 02/05/2024 05:34 PM JPost

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Ilan Pappé makes up a new lie to justify Arab massacres of Jews as far back as 1929. Elder of Ziyon, February 5, 2024:

Ilan Pappé is a fraudulent historian who has been found to falsify sources [101] numerous times [102] to twist history to fit his anti-Zionist ideology. In a Zoom symposium for intellectuals, most of whom are Palestinians, Pappé said that Zionism, since its inception, has been working to eliminate the Palestinian people and their cause and not to coexist with them... What seems to have happened is that there has been an attempt by Israel haters to say that "history didn't begin on October 7." But if you look at the history of who has killed whom first between Arabs and Jews in Palestine, the Arabs win that contest hands down - murdering Jews in Safed in 1834, murdering Jews [103] in Palestine in 1920, 1921 and especially 1929.

As a fake historian, Pappé must show that the murderous 1929 rampage of Arabs against Jews in Hebron, Jerusalem, Motza and Safed were justified, just as he attempts to justify October 7. So he makes up a new accusation, that the righteous Arab rapists were not engaging in ethnic cleansing but responding to one.

This is an accusation that Pappé himself has apparently never made before, even though this is his main area of supposed expertise…. EoZ

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Demonstration held outside UNRWA headquarters in Jerusalem By ILH Staff Published on 02-09-2024 11:06 Last modified: 02-09-2024 11:06

Deputy mayor of Jerusalem Aryeh King demands 'Hamas, UNRWA be kicked out' of city | Photo: Oren Ben Hakoon.

Hundreds of Jerusalem residents attended Monday a demonstration in front of the UNRWA headquarters in Jerusalem calling for the closure of the organization's headquarters. ILH

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Montana Tucker dons yellow ribbon at Grammys to advocate for hostages. Anti-Israel demonstrators sought to disrupt the event but failed to block attendees from the red carpet.

(February 5, 2024 / JNS) It’s been done before: Entertainers wear all kinds of clothing and other accouterments at awards shows to highlight a particular cause.

On Sunday at the Grammy Awards ceremony, actor/singer and social-media influencer Montana Tucker affixed a large yellow ribbon to her dress, covering much of her torso. In white letters across the top, it read: “Bring Them Home.” JNS

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Hamas makes bombs from medical supplies. It's a striking example of how Hamas exploits civilian resources for terrorism: a comprehensive manual provides detailed illustrations for use of Hydrogen Peroxide, a substance used in hospitals, in explosive and rocket propellant production.

Einav Halabi | published: 02.05.24 | 00:08. [104] ...The manual consists of materials written in English, Arabic, and another language, likely Norwegian, outlining the distillation process of H202 for the production of explosives. These documents contain intricate schematics for constructing distillation equipment, as well as instructions on assembling homemade rockets and explosive charges. YNet

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First publication: Haniyeh's relatives are hospitalized in Soroka Hospital. At the height of the war, the relatives of the Hamas leader receive life-saving treatment at the hospital in Be'er Sheva. One of his nieces, who lives in Tel Sheva in the Negev, gave birth during the last few days - and the baby was born prematurely and is hospitalized in intensive care in incubator. Almog Boker| February 5, 2024 | 20:01 13 TV

Do you hear the court in The Hague? The family of the leader of Hamas receives life-saving treatment in a hospital in Israel! Listen to this story: the whole difference between Israeli humanity and the cruelty of Hamas: While the leader of Hamas is holding 136 hostages, and after celebrating the massacre in Otef, the family of Ismail Haniyeh is receiving life-saving treatment in a hospital in Israel. His sister's grandson, who was born in the last few days in Israel, is hospitalized in incubator in intensive care

February 5, 2024, at 13:09. On Telegram

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Hamas monster told hostage Emily Hand, nine, 'I'll kill you with this knife', her father reveals as he demands Israel DESTROYS the terror group 'otherwise all the lives lost were pointless'. By Chris Jewers 03:01 EST 05 Feb 2024 , updated 05:28 EST 05 Feb 2024 Daily Mail

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Report: About 60% of humanitarian aid goes to Hamas.

Srugim news, 02.05.24 | 10:43 p.m.

A crazy figure: military officials claim this evening that about 60% of the aid that entered Gaza - was captured by Hamas. In response, several ministers recommended stopping the aid until a mechanism was established to oversee it. Military officials who spoke in closed discussions with political officials claim that about 60% of the aid that enters the Gaza Strip goes to Hamas. In Rafah, which has not yet been occupied by the IDF, Hamas controls the entire amount of humanitarian aid that enters the city, Yehuda Schlesinger announced in Israel Hayom. Srugim

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Exclusive: Egyptian officials warn peace to be suspended if Palestinians flow to Sinai. According to one source, the Egyptian message was that "if even one Palestinian refugee crosses over – the peace agreement will be nullified." According to the source, no country would agree to absorb such a large number of Palestinian refugees, and they would become "a permanent Egyptian problem." By Yoav Limor Published on 02-05-2024 08:52 Last modified: 02-05-2024 11:31. ILH

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IDF forces progress towards Rafah as they continue to pursue Sinwar. Intelligence suggests that senior leader of Hamas is preoccupied with his own survival and no longer commands the terrorist organization in Gaza. (February 5, 2024 / JNS) The Israel Defense Forces’ operation against Hamas in Khan Yunis is “progressing and achieving its goals,” and troops will soon push further south to Rafah, the terror group’s last remaining stronghold in the Gaza Strip, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant signaled on Monday. JNS

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The numbers, the maps and the challenges: the situation picture of the fighting in Gaza. After military control was achieved in the northern Gaza Strip, the IDF expects that Khan Yunis will also be defeated in the near future • 50% of Hamas terrorists have been killed or injured and 18 out of 24 Hamas battalions in the Gaza Strip have been disbanded • However, according to reports, about 80% of Hamas tunnels have not been destroyed , and the most senior members of the organization are still alive • The buffer zone in the Gaza Strip is still under construction, and about 40% of the buildings in the Gaza Strip have been significantly damaged • Data 12 with the current picture of the situation Tomer Almagor | Data N12| N12 | Published 12:23 05.02.24 Mako

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Foundation to Combat Antisemitism buys 30-second Super Bowl ad. The organization’s founder, Patriots owner Robert Kraft, also sponsored a “Teen Act-athon” to help develop social-media campaigns that counter hate. (February 5, 2024 / JNS) The man who helped Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. write the “I Have a Dream” speech will appear in a Super Bowl commercial from the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism (FCAS). JNS

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Hamas religious scholars: Jewish men, women, children - everyone is fair game. IDF releases booklet of religious rulings found by troops in Khan Younis which justifies attacks on all Israelis, unequivocally contradicting narrative terror group itself seeks to promote it doesn't harm non-combatants. [105] [106] Einav Halabi | published: 02.05.24 | 16:33 YNet

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Outrage after IDF holds drill simulating settlers kidnapping Palestinians. Footage shows soldiers in vests labeled ‘enemy force,’ simulating settlers abducting Palestinian after terror attack; Ben-Gvir calls drill 'blood libel'; settler leaders call for dismissal 'whoever wrote such a drill at this time' Elisha Ben Kimon, Yoav Zitun | published: 02.05.24 | 18:46 YNet

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France seeking ‘verifiable proof’ that medicines reached hostages in Gaza. By Lazar Berman and Agencies. 6 Feb 2024, 1:30 AM As French FM Stephane Sejourne visits, official says Paris working with Qatar to get evidence the medications were delivered as promised in deal with Hamas. TOI

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Biden threatens to veto House's Israel aid bill. The Biden administration opposes the legislation due to the fact that it supports a broader bill which provides assistance to both Ukraine and Israel while providing new funds for border security. Israel National News, Feb 6, 2024, 2:15 AM INN

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Gallant: Sinwar turned from the head of Hamas into a fugitive terrorist. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in statement on the war in the Gaza Strip: 3 of 4 Hamas battalions in Khan Yunis have been disbanded and the fourth will be disbanded very soon. Israel National News, Feb 6, 2024, 3:14 AM. INN

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Central Council President warns of ‘no-go areas for Jews. [“Zentralratspräsident warnt vor »No-go-Areas für Juden«] Spiegel, February 6, 2024.

...However, a companion of Shapira told "Zeit Online" that there had been no argument between the two men. Accordingly, the fellow student recognized Shapira in a bar and followed him when she and Shapira left the bar. On the street, the later attacker asked Shapira about his commitment to Jewish students at the university and then struck.  Der Spiegel

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Over 100 arrested at Pennsylvania state capitol protest calling to divest from Israel. Local police says demonstration. objecting to US state’s investment in Israeli bonds was unauthorized, leading to the arrests. By Mark Scolforo 6 Feb 2024, 6:53 am TOI

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Of all people? Israel haters should clear the name of the UN terror agency.

The UNRWA aid organization employs 13,000 people in Gaza alone - including Palestinians with terrorist connections

By: BJÖRN STRITZEL February 6, 2024 - 8:50 p.m

And this is supposed to be an independent audit?

The Palestinian aid agency UNRWA is facing a problem: several of its employees took part in the Hamas-led pogrom in October in which 1,200 Israelis were murdered. Important donor countries, including Germany, then announced that they would not approve the next payment to UNRWA until the incidents had been clarified.

UNRWA Director Philippe Lazzarini then announced two investigations: one by the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services, which is already underway. There should also be a second, external review of UNRWA - these reviewers have now been announced by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Among them are tough Israel haters who the terror authorities apparently want to clear their names of!

Israel enemies as independent auditors? The auditors appointed by the UN are, on the one hand, the Norwegian Christian Michelsen Institute (CMI) .

The institute's website celebrates South Africa's lawsuit against Israel over alleged genocide at the International Criminal Court: By bringing Israel before the International Court of Justice "with the aim of putting an end to the ongoing massacres in Gaza," South Africa is "posing the moral question the superiority of the West” and “expose its double standards”.

However, the actual massacre - carried out by Hamas and other terrorist groups on October 7th - is not worth criticizing for the CMI.

The Danish Institute for Human Rights is also part of the external review group - and this institute also applauds South Africa's lawsuit against Israel: "The International Court of Justice offers a legal opportunity to act here and not just see how genocide may be committed," comments one of them Researchers on Israeli military operations.

The Swedish Raoul Wallenberg Institute is named as the third member of the review group: It recently stood out with an event with the anti-Semitic conspiracy theorist Richard Falk, who, among other things, accused Israel of a “holocaust” against the Palestinians. An accusation that trivializes the mass murder of six million Jews.

The investigation is being led by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna. On January 14, Colonna thanked UNRWA chief Lazzarini on X (formerly Twitter) and assured him of “once again full support” for his work, which is more important than ever.

Two weeks later, Lazzarini came under public pressure because Israeli authorities identified 12 UNRWA employees involved in the Hamas pogrom - and hundreds with ties to Hamas.

According to BILD information, the UNRWA boss had already contacted representatives of Western governments and expressed fears that the aid agency could come under criticism.

The work of the review group is now scheduled to begin on February 14 and be completed at the end of April, said UN General Guterres. The Foreign Office had stated that they wanted to wait for the audit report and then decide whether further money would be paid to UNRWA.

In the last financial year, the Palestinian aid organization received a total of 206.5 million euros in German tax money, of which 130.5 million euros came from the Foreign Office. 83 million euros of the total went to Gaza.

EU should set up its own testing group

The anti-Israel bias of the auditors leaves reasonable doubts as to whether they are really qualified to scrutinize UNRWA, says Daniel Schwammenthal, director of the AJC Transatlantic Institute in Brussels. “I therefore support the European Commission’s demand that these serious allegations be investigated by EU-appointed, independent external experts,” Schwammenthal told BILD. US experts should also be included in the investigation, since the US is ultimately the largest donor. “This is the only way to restore some level of trust that Western funds intended to support needy Palestinians will not be misused to pay the salaries of terrorists.” Bild

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"Kicked me in the face": the grandson of one of the murdered in the Munich massacre was attacked in Germany

The police said that the incident started with a conflict between two students of the Free University in Berlin The mother of the Israeli who was attacked: an Arab man "suddenly began to attack him very severely. He shouted at him: 'Why are you posting pictures of kidnapped people?'"

27 in Shvat 5784. (02/06/2024 19:04)

Police in Berlin arrested a 23-year-old man who allegedly attacked and seriously injured a Jewish student in a bar on Friday. The Jewish student and his family say the attack was a hate crime. His life is not in danger. MakorRishon   _____

IDF fighter jet eliminates October 7th terrorist. IDF troops are continuing to operate in western Khan Yunis and conduct targeted raids in the northern and central Gaza Strip. Israel National News, Feb 6, 2024, 10:03 AM INN

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Two soldiers injured in Hezbollah rocket attack. Israel National News Feb 6, 2024, 12:23 PM INN

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Shooting attack in north: 'Bullets landed mere centimeters from my daughter'. Terrorists opened fire at a home in Kibbutz Meirav and fled. Security forces are in pursuit. Israel National News Feb 6, 2024, 1:21 PM INN

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Iranian pair suspected of working for Guard Corps deported over alleged plot to kill Swedish Jews – report. By AFP 6 Jan 2024, 2:56 pm

STOCKHOLM — Swedish radio reports that an Iranian couple, believed to be working for Iranian intelligence, was deported after being suspected in a plot to kill Swedish Jews. TOI

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Palestinian opens fire at military post near Nablus, is shot by troops - reports. 6 Jan 2024, 2:33 pm TOI

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Netanyahu orders IDF to find UNRWA alternatives by end of week. Joshua Marks. (February 6, 2024 / JNS) JNS

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IDF troops find UN vest, machine gun in search of Khan Younis home. By Emanuel Fabian, 6 Feb 2024, 4:00 pm

The IDF says the Egoz commando unit discovered a home in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis where, in one room, troops found a United Nations vest and in another a machine gun. TOI

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Javier Milei, Landing in Israel, Pledges To Move Argentine Embassy to Jerusalem. ‘It is no wonder that you chose to come to Israel right away to support us in the just struggle for the defense of the Jewish people against the murderers of Hamas’, Israel’s foreign minister tells the new leader of Argentina.

[107] AP/Leo Correa Argentina's president, Javier Milei, touches the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray, at Jerusalem's Old City, Tuesday. AP/Leo Correa

Maggie Hroncich, Tuesday, February 6, 2024. In a show of solidarity with Israel, Argentina's new president, Javier Milei, is in Israel on Tuesday, after choosing it as the site of his first presidential bilateral trip. NY Sun

Argentinian Pres. lights candle at Kotel for victims. Israel National News Feb 6, 2024, 6:29 PM INN

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Prime Minister Netanyahu demands IDF inquiry on simulation of settler kidnapping. Israel National News Feb 6, 2024, 5:49 PM INN

The soldiers who participated in the kidnapping exercise: "cooperation with the blood libel against the residents of Judea-Samaria". Soldiers in the 9221 Battalion that participated in an exercise simulating a scenario in which settlers kidnapped a Palestinian child, sent a letter to the Chief of Staff in which they protested its very existence and demanded that he depose those responsible in the Central Command. By Shilo Freid 27 in Shvat 5784 (02/06/2024 17:36) Makor Rishon

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Fifth of hostages in Hamas captivity are believed to be dead - report.

In the report, anonymous Israeli military officials said 32 confirmed deceased hostages have been informed of their loved ones' fate. i24News. February 06, 2024 at 10:12 AM latest revision February 06, 2024 at 11:23 AM i24News

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Security heads meet senior PA official in Tel Aviv. Israel National News. Feb 6, 2024, 10:25 PM INN

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Major Egyptian newspaper: Maybe Hitler wasn't such a bad guy after all. Feb 6, 2024.

Al Ahram is Egypt's highest circulation newspaper with a circulation of over a million copies daily. It is majority owned by the Egyptian government and is considered the newspaper of record for Egypt EoZ

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Israeli Arabs and Druze Fighting For Israel-Stories like these undermine all the lies about Israel as an “apartheid state.” Hugh Fitzgerald, February 6, 2024 | FPM

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This is the head of the IRGC Quds Force, and this is his strategy. Analysis: Although without charisma and public image of his predecessor Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force chief Qaani maintains tight hold on proxies to maintain tension but not cross the line and cause war. Smadar Perry | 02.06.24:15:20 YNet

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After outrage, IDF chief apologizes for drill simulating settler kidnapping attack. By Emanuel Fabian, February 6, 2024, 8:59 PM TOI

Central Command head apologizes for exercise where soldiers treated settlers as enemies. Major General Yehuda Fuchs says it was a 'mistake' for IDF exercise to simulate kidnapping of Arab by Jewish settlers. Israel National News. Feb 6, 2024, 9:13 PM INN

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Hamas, responding on hostage deal, demands an end to the war – a non-starter for Israel. By Jacob Magid, February 6, 2024, 11:43 PM TOI

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While Hamas leader is deciding on hostage deal, his niece gave birth in Israeli hospital. The baby was born prematurely at Soroka Hospital, where doctors are fighting for his life; several of Ismail Haniyeh's sisters have Israeli citizenship after marrying Bedouins; His daughter, granddaughter and brother-in-law also came from Gaza to receive medical treatment in Israel Ynet | published: 02.06.24 | 01:45 YNet

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Jew-hating Palestinian migrant busted for pummeling NY homeowner, swiping pro-Israel flag: cops. By Reuven Fenton and Carl Campanile. Published Feb. 6, 2024, 2:35 p.m. ET. ...Hewlett is a “very quiet” neighborhood where “nothing ever happens”, adding, “I don’t know what he was doing in our neighborhood, targeting our Jewish members.”

“I know he’s facing a couple of felonies, but this was his choice,” Binyaminov said.

Nassau County authorities were outraged.

Bechir Lehbeib, 26, allegedly stole the flag — which declared “In This Home We Stand with Israel” from a porch of a home in Hewlett on Sunday... NY Post

Illegal Palestinian Migrant Arrested for Anti-Jewish Hate Crime in New York.

Simon Kent, 7 Feb 2024.

A self-described Palestinian migrant was charged with assault and robbery as a hate crime for allegedly ripping a Long Island man’s Israeli flag from his porch and then beating him up in front of his neighbors.

Bechir Lehbeib, 26, allegedly stole the flag — which declared “In This Home We Stand with Israel — from Aleksandr Binyaminov’s porch, cops said.

“When I grabbed the flag away from him, he was saying ‘I’m from Palestine, you Jews are killing Palestinians,'” Binyaminov recalled for NBC News New York.

Lehbeib walked away from Binyaminov and made an obscene gesture on video. The accused had walked several houses away when Binyaminov caught up to him on his child’s bicycle. Breitbart

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Antisemitic poster of skunk with Star of David plastered across Columbia University: ‘Villainizes Jewish and Israeli students’. By Aneeta Bhole. Published Feb. 6, 2024, 6:55 p.m. ET. NY Post

Antisemitic skunk flyers posted at Columbia University.

Antisemitism watchdogs say flyers comparing Israelis to skunks reminiscent of Nazi dehumanization of Jews

Gary Willig, Feb 7, 2024, 8:07 AM (GMT+2)

Antisemitic flyers showing a skunk emblazoned with the Israeli flag have been posted on the campus of Columbia University in New York, the New York Post reported.

The flyers read: “Beware! Skunk on Campus. Brought to you in collaboration by Columbia University and the IDF."

The Anti-Defamation League for New York and New Jersey wrote on X (formerly Twitter), "We are appalled to see a flier on@Columbia's campus comparing Israel and Israelis to skunks. This does nothing to further peace. It only villainizes Jewish and Israeli students on campus and fosters an increasingly hostile environment. The Columbia administration should call out this rhetoric immediately."

Director of programming and strategy at the End Jew Hatred organization Michelle Ahdoot told the Post, “That skunk poster evokes classic antisemitic tropes that are instantly familiar to anyone who has seen Nazi propaganda."

The antisemitic poster was first reported by Assistant Professor at Columbia’s Business School Shai Davidai, who wrote, "This poster seen today on campus depicts all Israelis as skunks. If any other group was depicted as animals, the school would have already called the @FBI to investigate. What's next? All Jews are vermin? @Columbia University - What the f- are you waiting for?"

A university spokesperson told the Post that the flyers were “abhorrent and antisemitic” and that a report was filed in line with Columbia's anti-discrimination policies.

Last week, Israeli firearms model Orin Julie and fashion model Natali Dadon were accosted at the University of Columbia by one of the central figures of the anti-Israel protests on campus.

Protesters yelled out to the models as Julie walked by with an Israeli flag..

Dadon shouted back “If you care about the children in Gaza, you should be protesting against Hamas! They are the ones killing them! You are brainwashed, you’re blind!”

In December, Columbia University's administration shut down a pro-Palestinian Arab student group's planned discussion that aimed to justify Hamas' October 7 massacre of Israeli civilians.

Columbia University announced in November it was suspending the pro-Palestinian Arab groups Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace through the end of the fall term, cutting off the groups’ University funding and eligibility to hold on-campus events. INN

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IDF deputy commander killed in Gaza fighting. By Jerusalem Post Staff 02/06/2024 07:44 PM JPost

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MEMRI TV COMPILATION – Dearborn And Detroit Imams And Protests Prior To And Following October 7 Hamas Attack: Dearborn Is 'A City Of Resistance,' President Biden Is 'A Cancer In Our Country'; October 7 Is 'One Of The Days Of God'; 'Dismantl[e] The Terrorist Racist[sic] State Of Israel'; 'Start Normalizing Jihad'; 'Warmest Congratulations To Our Very Special Leader Imam [Iranian Supreme Leader Ali] Khamenei' For October 7 Attack; The J... 'Control People's Resources Through Tricks And Deception' February 6, 2024 United States | Special Dispatch No. 11121

Since October 7, 2023, when Hamas invaded southern Israel, murdered over 1,200 people, and took nearly 250 hostage, the MEMRI research team that monitors imams' sermons in mosques in the U.S. as well as speeches and statements by U.S. Muslim leaders and organizations has been finding, and exposing, some very disturbing content emanating from the state of Michigan – particularly from Dearborn and Detroit.

These sermons and statements reflect the sentiment we have found in our broader monitoring of U.S. Sunni and Shi'ite imams from major mosques and leading organizations, as well as by individuals affiliated with universities. They include antisemitic and pro-Hamas statements, expressions of support for the October 7 attacks and calls for further violence, denial of the atrocities perpetrated by Hamas, and anti-Israel and anti-U.S. statements.

It is notable that in our extensive monitoring of sermons and statements from this region, or indeed from across the U.S., our researchers have not found a single sermon denouncing Hamas or the October 7 attacks.

[108] Memri

Notes part II (Feb 7 - Mar 7)

Israel carried out air strike in Homs area.

Syrian media report explosions in the Homs area as a result of an air strike which was blamed on Israel.

Elad Benari, Israel National News. Feb 7, 2024, 12:06 AM INN

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France pays homage to victims of Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack in Israel. President Emmanuel Macron describes Hamas attack as 'barbarism fed by antisemitism', and vows not to give in to 'rampant and uninhibited antisemitism' News agencies | 02.07.24 | 07:50

France is paying tribute Wednesday to French victims of Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack, in a national ceremony led by President Emmanuel Macron four months after the massacre in Israel in which some 1,300 people were murdered, and around 250 abducted.

In a solemn address in the courtyard of the majestic Invalides Memorial building in Paris, Macron described the October 7 attack as "barbarism... which is fed by antisemitism" and vowed not to give in to "rampant and uninhibited anti-Semitism".

Macron also reiterated France's commitment to fight "every day" for the "liberation" of the three French nationals still presumed hostages in Gaza. "Their empty chairs are here," he said, referring to the 42 vacant chairs at the ceremony. Photographs of the victims were displayed in the Invalides’ monumental courtyard in central Paris. The Republican Guard’s orchestra played the “Kaddish” by French composer Maurice Ravel, written in 1914 based on a traditional Hebrew melody.

Yashay Dan, a relative of French-Israeli hostage Ofer Kalderon, said he hopes the ceremony “can resonate all around the world, not only in France.”

“I think from this perspective that France is showing a great gesture by being with those that have suffered an enormous blow,” he told The Associated Press.

Ayla Yahalomi Luzon, sister of French-Israeli hostage Ohad Yahalomi, said: “We don’t need people to hope for us. I have hope. We need help. Ohad is a French citizen and I ask France to make all efforts to release him and everyone.” Data from the Interior Ministry and the Jewish Community Protection Service watchdog showed that 1,676 antisemitic acts were reported in 2023, compared to 436 the previous year. YNet

"Biggest Anti-Semitic Massacre Of Our Century": Macron On Hamas' October 7 Attack

French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday described the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel as the "biggest anti-Semitic massacre of our century" as he hosted a ceremony paying tribute to the French victims. He described the attack by the Palestinian Hamas group as "barbarism... which is fed by anti-Semitism and propagates it", vowing also not to give in to "rampant and uninhibited anti-Semitism".

The ceremony at the Invalides memorial complex in Paris paid tribute to the 42 French citizens killed in the attack on Israel by Hamas and the three others still missing, believed to be held hostage. NDTV

Macron compared Hamas to ISIS: "remembers the Bataclan attack". Lee Abramovich, N12, 7 Feb 2024, 14:44 Mako

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4 months of war in Gaza: targets, triumphs and the road ahead. IDF forces go deep into Gaza with plan crafted in just 2 weeks, reaching areas untouched since before 2005 disengagement, hitting marks with lower costs than before; however, eliminating senior Hamas officials and rescuing hostages remains top priority.

Yoav Zitun | published: 02.07.24 | 07:37

The IDF on Wednesday marked four months since the beginning of the war against Hamas, and three and a half months since the beginning of ground operations in the Gaza Strip, which included a pause of nearly 10 days as part of a temporary cease-fire for the release of hostages. YNet

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Exclusive: Giant tunnel under UNRWA headquarters discovered, PM tells Blinken in meeting The Israeli leader showed the US diplomat proof of the misuse of the UNRWA headquarters' underground premises for terrorist tunneling purposes. By Ariel Kahana. Published on 02-07-2024 16:17 Last modified: 02-07-2024 16:32 ILH

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Lebanese Daily 'Al-Akhbar': Egyptian Regime Profiteering From Gaza War And Gazans' Suffering – Imposing High Taxes And Taking Bribes At Gaza Border Crossings. February 7, 2024 Egypt, Lebanon, Palestinians | Special Dispatch No. 11122

In a February 6, 2024 report, the pro-Hizbullah Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar claims that, since the start of the war in Gaza, the Egyptian regime has been exploiting the Gazan's distress to impose high taxes on goods entering Gaza and to charge exorbitant fees and take bribes for allowing Gazans to cross the border into Egypt. The article also states that, throughout the war, "food factories belonging to the Egyptian army worked intensively" to manufacture products that were sent to Gaza as humanitarian aid on behalf of various countries, chief of them Qatar. The factories sold these products for much more than their global market price. The article states further that the Abna Sina' company, which has a monopoly on transporting goods to the Rafah crossing and into Gaza, and is connected to Mahmoud Abd Al-Fattah Al-Sisi, the son of the Egyptian president, charges thousands of dollars for every aid truck that enters the Strip. Furthermore, the Hala travel agency, which belongs to Egypt's General Intelligence Service, charges high prices for taking wounded Gazans into Egypt for treatment, which has compelled many Gazan families to sell property in order to pay for this.

The report states that, in response to its claims, the Egyptian authorities explained that the high fees were meant to prevent the immigration of Gazans to Egypt and to thwart "plans aimed at eliminating the Palestinian cause." Memri

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Sheryl Sandberg fronts documentary about Hamas terrorists' sex crimes on October 7. Ex-Meta exec completes 'Screams Before Silence,' revealing terrorist atrocities in Israel via interviews with survivors, freed hostages, police officers and first responders Ynet | 02.07.24: 08:01 YNet

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Cardona demurs on ‘From the river to the sea,’ says Ed Dept fighting Jew-hatred. The U.S. education secretary told reporters on Tuesday that the department is taking an “all hands on deck” approach to tackling antisemitism. Andrew Bernard. (February 7, 2024 / JNS) The U.S. Department of Education has taken an “all hands on deck” approach to combating Jew-hatred in the wake of Hamas’s Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in southern Israel, Miguel Cardona, the education secretary, said at a Tuesday press briefing. JNS

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Israeli official says some Hamas demands cannot be met - report By Reuters. February 7, 2024 14:14. A senior Israeli official has said some demands made by Hamas for a hostage deal can not be met, Channel 13 reported on Wednesday. JPost

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IDF reveals tunnel in Khan Younis used by top Hamas brass and later to hold hostages. By TOI Sraff. 7 February 2024. Major underground passage had holding cell, resting area; army says troops killed dozens of gunmen in city over past day * Hamas offers ceasefire in three phases, seeks end to war. TOI

IDF reveals Gaza tunnel, previously used by Hamas officials, with cell for hostages Military says 12 captives held in subterranean passage at various times; army says troops killed dozens of operatives in south Gaza city over past day; ground op toll reaches 227. By Emanuel Fabian, 7 February 2024, 3:31 pm TOI

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Army says it struck building used by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon village. By Emanuel Fabian, 7 Feb 2024, 3:06 pm INN

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PM: Absolute victory within reach; surrender to Hamas demands would bring disaster. Netanyahu downplays disagreements in cabinet over 'day after' plans, says he is trying to recruit regional players to help with future civil governance, vows UNRWA will be replaced. By Sam Sokol. 7 Feb 2024, 10:24 pm Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected Hamas’s “delusional” conditions for a new hostage deal on Wednesday, arguing that only military pressure will secure the release of the Israelis being held captive in the Gaza Strip.

Speaking with reporters during a press conference in Jerusalem, Netanyahu insisted that he had made no specific promises regarding the release of Palestinian security prisoners with blood on their hands, or any ratio for Palestinian prisoners to be freed in return for hostages in a potential deal, declaring that Israel “has not committed to anything.”.. Calling the military’s accomplishments in the offensive against Hamas “unprecedented,” Netanyahu said that 20,000 Hamas fighters are dead or injured — more than half the Hamas fighting force, with 18 of its 24 battalions no longer functional.

Israel’s “valiant fighters” have “proved that everything they told us was impossible was possible… and more,” he added, taking aim at “experts,” TV commentators and those in the international community who predicted that the ground offensive would fail.

The premier said that after Khan Younis, “the main Hamas stronghold,” the IDF is readying to fight next in Rafah. TOI

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West praises campaign art director whose cartoons feature blood libel Images show Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shoveling skulls, Israel’s flag made to look like a Nazi one, big noses and allusions to genocide.

(February 7, 2024 / JNS) Cornel West, the left-wing progressive firebrand and independent 2024 U.S. presidential candidate, has defended Dwayne Booth, an art director contributing to his campaign whose work has generated outrage. JNS

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Abdullah Hassan - Canary Mission

Overview. Abdullah Hassan has denied Hamas war crimes, trivialized the Holocaust, engaged in activism with white nationalists and promoted anti-Israel activists online.

Hassan was identified as the owner of the anti-Israel social media account “Stop Zionist Hate” on Twitter when he spoke in an anti-Israel Twitter Spaces panel. His voice matched several videos from his since-deleted Rumble account.

Hassan was also identified as the owner of the account from a piece of metadata left on the Stop Zionist Hate website.

In December 2023, Hassan launched the anti-Israel Twitter account “Tru Wire,” which publishes anti-Israel news stories.

Also in December 2023, Hassan launched another anti-Israel website called “Raven Mission.” The Raven Mission website makes accusations against pro-Israel individuals like “perpetuating debunked claims of rape” by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023.

Stop Zionist Hate and its affiliated websites and social media were all created in the wake of a series of Hamas terror atrocities and war crimes against Israeli civilians, including mass murder, torture, rape, beheadings and kidnappings. Hamas executed the attacks on October 7, 2023, where they murdered over 1,200 Israelis, kidnapped hundreds and wounded thousands. Israel retaliated with a war called “Swords of Iron.”

As of February 2024, Hassan’s LinkedIn profile said he had been pursuing a law degree at George Washington University School of Law (GW Law) since 2022. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics from Stony Brook University (Stony Brook) in 2021.

As of the same date, Hassan’s LinkedIn said he was the founder of “Vendlix.” Hassan also interned as a “Financial Crimes Department Intern” in New York for the Suffolk County District Attorney from June to August 2023.

Also as of February 2024, Hassan’s LinkedIn said he was located in Arlington, Virginia. CanaryMission

Watchdog group exposes the founder of three antisemitic websites. Abdullah Hassan, an ally of neo-Nazis, created Stop Zionist Hate, Raven Mission and Tru Wire.

(February 7, 2024 / JNS) Research by Canary Mission has revealed the man behind a group of websites and social-media accounts spreading antisemitic conspiracy theories and misinformation. JNS

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Reports: Two Hezbollah operatives killed in apparent drone strike on their vehicle in south Lebanon. February 8, 2024, 5:25 pm TOI

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Be’eri resident had been presumed dead after his wife Ayelet told her daughter he had been killed, before being murdered herself, but his body was never found. By TOI Staff. Be’eri resident had been presumed dead after his wife Ayelet told her daughter he had been killed, before being murdered herself, but his body was never found. TOI

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Blinken leaves Middle East without hostage deal, says Hamas proposal has 'absolute non-starters'. Israel dismissed Hamas' proposal as 'delusional'. By Anders Hagstrom Fox News. Published February 8, 2024 6:48am EST

Secretary of State Antony Blinken departed the Middle East after the U.S. and Israel spiked the latest hostage deal proposed by Hamas on Thursday.

Blinken spent the better part of the past week negotiating with Israel, Egypt, Qatar and Hamas over a potential hostage release deal. The proposal sent over by Hamas late on Tuesday contained items that Israel and the U.S. deemed unrealistic, and Blinken is now departing with little progress being made.

"Clearly there are things that Hamas sent back that are absolute non-starters," Blinken acknowledged on Wednesday. "But, at the same time, we see space to continue to pursue an agreement. And these things are always negotiations. It’s not flipping a light switch. It’s not ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ There’s invariably back and forth." Fox News

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DOUBLE STANDARD: Blinken Demands Israel Ensure Gazans Aren’t “Dehumanized,” Won’t Ask Same Of Hamas. February 8, 2024 YWN

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Blinken should know PA just as bad as Hamas rule in Gaza - opinion By Itamar Marcus. Published: February 8, 2024.

Before anyone should talk about giving additional jurisdiction to the poisonous PA, Israel needs to see a fundamental and extended detoxification of Palestinians.

Yesterday, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken declared, "Israelis were dehumanized in the most horrific way on October 7." (JPost)

Blinken's statement demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of what happened on October 7 and calls into question whether he can effectively mediate a solution since he doesn't understand the problem. Palestinians did not dehumanize Israelis on October 7.

The Palestinian Authority has been dehumanizing Jews and Israelis since the launching of the Oslo process. What happened on October 7 was the Palestinian population led by Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Fatah, implementing what they believe Jews and Israelis deserve after 28 years of their leaders dehumanizing Jews. Just three months before the Oct. 7 atrocities, the most important Palestinian religious figure, Mahmoud Al-Habbash, Mahmoud Abbas' advisor on religious affairs and the PA Supreme Shari'ah Judge, warned Palestinians about the danger of Jews whom he defined as people who "have left the path of humanity and followed Satanity. Satanity is an exit from humanity … Satan does not have to be in the form of a demon, hidden; he can also be in your form, but he is Satan. In the form of man, but he is Satan." [Official PA TV, July 7, 2023] Satan in Islam is the source of all evil in the world. Fighting and killing the Sa#an-Jew is not only an act of self-defense for Palestinians but is making the world a safer place.

In an earlier sermon, that same Abbas advisor said J... on the Temple Mount are "grazing herds of humanoids, people or creatures that Allah created in the form of humans… those whom Allah has cursed and with whom He became angry and made of them apes and pigs." [Quran 5:60] He therefore urged Muslims to visit the Al-Aqsa Mosque so that it does not remain "the prey of humanoids." [Official PA TV, Sept. 30, 2022]

Three times in the first half of 2023, official PA TV broadcast the opinions of Palestinian researcher Muhammad Al-Yahya, who explained: " are by nature arrogant, do not accept the other… The Europeans hated them and wanted to get rid of them, so the European countries ... had the idea of establishing a Jewish state for the Jews … Their thinking is based on ... the Protocols of the Elders of Zion … there is a sentence that they are fulfilling that has caused them to be hated by all peoples … The pure Jew has the outlook that he is of the people chosen by God." [Official PA TV, Returning, Jan. 17, 2023 and Feb. 27, 2023, May 14, 2023]

On October 17, Palestinian political commentator Kamal Zakarneh explained on PA TV that Western nations support Israel because "Europe and America – succeeded in getting rid of the Jews, whom they themselves view as human waste, and they threw them out into Palestine... They don't want [a weak Israel which will cause] reverse migration now and their [Jews'] return to Europe again." [Official PA TV, Oct. 24, 2023]

The PA leadership has made it clear that dehumanizing Jews is not just a technical categorization but is something to be acted upon. The PA leaders present the murderers of the dehumanized Jews as Palestinian role models and heroes. After the murderers of Lucy Dee and her two daughters, Maia and Rina, were tracked down and killed by Israeli forces in May 2023, the Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh posted the pictures of the murderers on his Facebook page and honored them: "Glory and eternity to our righteous Martyrs."

When Palestinian murderers Maher and Karim Younes were released from prison last January after 40 years in jail, Mahmoud Abbas had a video made of him calling them on the phone to say: "You and Karim are prominent figures among this Palestinian people. We are proud of you … You are models of this nation, models of this people. You are icons of the Palestinian people…" [Fatah Commission of Information and Culture, Facebook page, Jan. 19, 2023] When the two top leaders of the Palestinian Authority are defining murderers of Jews as Palestinian "models and icons" deserving of "glory and eternity," dehumanization was already complete and being acted on.

October 7 results of years of Palestinian indoctrination

October 7 did not happen in a vacuum and was not the initial act of dehumanization. It has been years of successful PA indoctrination of the Palestinians that had already dehumanized Jews in Palestinian perception, which made Palestinians believe that October 7 was proper moral behavior. Palestinians trusted that they were merely acting in self-defense on behalf of all humanity against the dangers and suffering caused by "Sa#an-Jews," "humanoid-J..," who are "human waste."

At a press conference to release Palestinian Media Watch's report on Palestinian schoolbooks in the US Senate in 2007, then-Senator Hillary Clinton said Palestinians were "profoundly poisoning the minds of these children." What happened 16 years later, on October 7, were the actions of the poisoned generation.

Sec. Blinken and the United States must understand that if they are seeking a solution, it cannot be achieved by merely treating the actions of October 7 as a one-time horrific isolated event and by replacing Hamas's rule of Gaza with the rule of the PA. It is the PA that poisoned a generation of Palestinians that created the support for Hamas.

Before anyone should talk about giving additional jurisdiction to the poisonous PA, Israel needs to see a fundamental and extended detoxification of Palestinians. This process will take years and possibly decades. Only then can Israel consider extending jurisdiction to the PA, and only then will there be a population with which Israel can start a peace process. JPost

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Several thousand rallying in Jerusalem, calling on government to continue the war in Gaza. 8 Feb 2024, 8:33 pm TOI

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AbuAliEnglish @AbuAliEnglishB1: Abd A-Salam #Haniyeh, the son of Ismail Haniyeh, arrived yesterday to watch games between #Jordan and South Korea in the Asia Cup. He left the #Gaza Strip on September 18, prior to the events of October 7th. Feb 8, 2024 on X

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Jerusalem considering Arafat-style exile for Sinwar, Deif. The directors of Hamas's Oct. 7 massacre would leave Gaza in exchange for the release of all hostages and a new government. (February 8, 2024 / JNS) Israeli leaders are considering the idea of exiling Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar in exchange for the release of all hostages held by the terrorist group and an end to its governance of the territory. JNS

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Four months after Oct. 7, rebuilding of Kibbutz Be’eri begins. Workers started clearing the ruins of houses destroyed during the Hamas attack, which saw more than 100 residents murdered. (February 8, 2024 / JNS) JNS

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Israel to cut raids, checkpoints in West Bank ahead of Ramadan - report At a covert meeting with the PA, Israeli security officials also promised some relief to the West Bank struggling economy.

i24NEWS February 08, 2024 at 03:51 AM i24

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Gallant revealed an envelope of cash Sinwar received from Iran: "Celebrating while the people of Gaza suffer".

During a tour he conducted at one of the bases of the Intelligence Division in the center of the country, the Minister of Defense presented an envelope containing $20,000 in cash: "Sinwar takes care of himself first of all, he became a fugitive terrorist"... [109] Nir Dvori | N12| Published 16:58 08.02.24.

"Out of millions of dollars - one million goes to Sinwar, out of tens of millions he pockets what he needs. Take for example this envelope that is specially intended for him and his family - cash, twenty thousand dollars," the defense minister revealed.

Gallant also emphasized during his tour of the unit for collecting documents and technical loot: "Sinwar has turned from the leader of a terrorist organization into a fugitive terrorist. The information that Hamas has kept for itself directs the IDF fighters to the most sensitive places in the Gaza Strip."..

According to Gallant, "The forces are coming out and join the goals according to Hamas itself. We learn more, very very interesting things here, one of them is the peripheral of the Iranian money flow to Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Clear evidence of amounts transferred, when they arrived and to which hands".. Mako

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33 pro-Palestinian protesters arrested for blocking streets in Chicago. By Jerusalem Post Staff 02/08/2024 04:05 AM JPost

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US CENTCOM conducted strikes against Houthi cruise missiles. By Reuters 02/08/2024 01:33 PM JPost

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Irish women's basketball team refuses to shake Israeli team's hands. By Jerusalem Post Staff 02/08/2024 05:45 PM JPost

(With Ireland’s Sinn Féin on the rise, support for Israel hits new low post-Oct. 7. Once fellow fighters against British colonialism, Ireland and the Jewish state are seeing relations sink even after the Hamas atrocities - and they could yet worsen. By Robert Philpot 16 December 2023, 3:19 pm TOI)

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Aid to Israel was taken hostage by Ukraine. Joe Biden and Mitch McConnell’s insistence that the Jewish state would get nothing unless Ukraine got far more killed the remains of the bipartisan pro-Israel consensus. Jonathan S. Tobin (February 8, 2024 / JNS) Whether you considered it high drama or low comedy, the dysfunctional nature of both Congress and the White House was never better illustrated. In the last week, bitter debates about the crisis at America’s southern border, in addition to efforts to provide more aid to Ukraine and Israel, were somehow all pushed together in one unholy mess that unraveled on the floors of the U.S. House and Senate. JNS

Senate votes to advance foreign aid package with assistance for Ukraine and Israel. By Clare Foran, Lauren Fox, Ted Barrett and Morgan Rimmer, CNN Updated 2:05 PM EST, Thu February 8, 2024. ...The bill includes $60 billion to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia, $14.1 billion in security assistance for Israel, $9.2 billion in humanitarian assistance and $4.8 billion to support regional partners in the Indo-Pacific region, among other provisions, according to the Senate Appropriations Committee. CNN

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Biden: Response in Gaza Strip ‘over the top’. Charles Bybelezer. (February 9, 2024 / JNS) ...On Wednesday, Biden had used the phrase “over the top” in reference to Hamas’s counteroffer to a U.S.-backed framework proposal for a ceasefire-for-hostages deal between Israel and the Palestinian terror group...

The White House declined to elaborate on or clarify the American leader’s remarks.

The comments come as the Democratic president is under intensifying domestic pressure to compel Jerusalem to end the fighting ahead of the November election in the U.S. JNS

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‘Falafel King’ donates 25,000 portions to Israeli soldiers. "By being united and by offering selfless love we will win,” Be’er Ya’akov restaurateur Shimon Biton says. Etgar Lefkovits. Shimon Biton feeds IDF soldiers at an army base. Photo: Courtesy,Shimon Biton feeds IDF soldiers at an army base. Photo: Courtesy,

(February 9, 2024 / Be’er Ya’akov / JNS) In this season of national volunteerism, he has been dubbed the “King of Falafel.”

A falafel restaurant in Be’er Ya’akov, a city south of Tel Aviv, is making waves after donating 25,000 portions of Israel’s national snack to Israel Defense Forces soldiers fighting in the war against Hamas. JNS

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US conducts more strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen. By Reuters. 02/09/2024 03:43 AM JPost

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Closing the circle: IDF eliminates terror cell which planned attack. IDF troops eliminated a terrorist cell that planted explosive devices near the troops in western Khan Yunis. Israel National News Feb 9, 2024, 11:55 AM INN

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Rocket launchers found near kindergarten and mosque.

Rocket launchers near a kindergarten and an underground tunnel route beneath a civilian water station. [110] Israel National News Feb 9, 2024, 2:35 PM INN

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Netanyahu orders to prepare for ‘intense operations’ in Rafah. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed the IDF and security forces Friday to present plans to the War Cabinet for the evacuation of the Gazan population from Rafah and the elimination of Hamas battalions in the area, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement. “It’s impossible to achieve the war goals which include dismantling Hamas while leaving four of its battalions in Rafah. However, it’s clear that intense operations in Rafah must come with the evacuation of the population from combat zones,” the statement read. (Itamar Eichner) 02.09.24 YNet

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Rockets fired from Lebanon to Israel, IDF strikes launch sites

By Jerusalem Staff 02/09/2024 06:25 PM JPost

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Northern residents demand the IDF protects them from within Lebanon. Mayors of northern towns demand IDF serve as buffer between Israel and Hezbollah amid American-French efforts towards settlement. 02.09.24 YNet

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Conduct in Gaza ‘over the top’ Biden says amid Israel tensions By Tovah Lazaroff Published: February 9, 2024. ..."Israelis were dehumanized most horrifically on October 7th," Blinken said, but then he added a caveat. "The hostages have been dehumanized every day since. But that cannot be a license to dehumanize others," Blinken stated JPost

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PM says IDF must operate in Rafah, but will let civilians evacuate first. By Emanuel Fabian, TOI Staff and AP. 9 February, 2024. TOI

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Prague, Budapest holding up EU move to sanction violent Israeli settlers — sources. By Reuters. 9 February, 2024. A photo of Palestinians bound and stripped after being apprehended by IDF soldiers and settlers in the central West Bank village of Wadi al-Seeq on October 12, 2023. (Used in accordance with clause 27a of the Copyright Law) A photo of Palestinians bound and stripped after being apprehended by IDF soldiers and settlers in the central West Bank village of Wadi al-Seeq on October 12, 2023. (Used in accordance with clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

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An EU effort to impose sanctions on Israeli settlers attacking Palestinians in the West Bank has stalled due to objections from Hungary and the Czech Republic, diplomats say.

The two staunch allies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made clear in an EU committee on Thursday they were not ready to let the proposal go forward for now, say four diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity about internal EU deliberations.

Some say a compromise may be found later to let the measures proceed, possibly after more EU sanctions on Hamas. TOI

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The @Guardian lies to spin IDF soldiers as monsters - but they show that the @IDF remains the most moral army in the world. Friday, February 09, 2024. The Guardian really wanted to write a story about IDF abuses resulting in gratuitous civilian deaths. They interviewed many IDF soldiers who spoke under the condition of anonymity because they aren't supposed to speak to the press. 

While the British newspaper tries to spin their statements as proving Israel's wartime practices are awful, when you read what they actually say, they prove yet again that the IDF is the most moral army in history - and it is The Guardian' reporting that is immoral... EoZ

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Meta reviewing use of word ‘Zionist’ amid Israel-Hamas war. By AFP 9 February, 2024.

Meta confirms it is assessing when the word “Zionist” should be deemed hate speech as online antisemitism escalates amid the Israel-Hamas war.

The tech titan behind Facebook and Instagram confirms a Washington Post report that it is thinking of expanding its hate speech ban to include more uses of the term, particularly when it appears to be an ill-spirited substitute for “Jews” or “Israelis.”

“Given the increase in polarized public discourse due to events in the Middle East, we believe it’s important to assess our guidance for reviewing posts that use the term Zionist,” a Meta spokesperson says in response to an AFP query. TOI

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Feb. 9: After Moody’s downgrade, PM says credit rating will rise again once Israel wins war. White House says directive doesn’t have new standards but follows congressional pressure to condition Israel aid. By Jacob Magid. and TOI Staff. TOI

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'Jew List’ published by Australian pro-Palestinian activists forces families into hiding. By Danielle Greyman-kennard. Published: February 9, 2024 19:22. Updated: February 9, 2024 20:04.

Included in the list of "Zionists" were anti-Zionist Jews and pictures of children.

A collection of pro-Palestinian activists collected and published the names, photos, and social media accounts of 600 people from the creative industry whom they deem "Zionist," according to multiple media reports from Friday and a statement from the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies.

The spreadsheet listed numerous Australian Jews, many of whom were vocally critical of Israel, according to the Jewish Chronicle. In addition, many of the listed parties had never publicly supported Israel but had called for journalists who published antisemitic content to be reprimanded. JPost

i24news International Diaspora Affairs. 'Zionists are para#itic upon progressive spaces': Pro-Palestinian activists in Australia make a list of 600 Jewish academics, creatives. 'Every single person in this leaked chat is a Zionist, even if they sat by in silent complicity while others conspired'. i24

Philip Podolsky. i24NEWS Digital Journalist. February 09, 2024 at 02:52 PM

Pro-Palestinian activists in Australia made public the names and personal details of some 600 Jewish artists and intellectuals, a local outlet revealed. The names were taken from a private WhatsApp group with the aim of stigmatizing, castigating and hounding Jews out of public life for their perceived links with Israel, even those who have never spoken out in its defense. i24

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Revealed: Iran is recruiting British Muslims to spy on Jews and dissidents of the Tehran regime to gather information that may be used to carry out attacks on UK soil. By Natalie Lisbona and Abul Taher 22:02 09 Feb 2024, updated 02:59 10 Feb 2024 Daily Mail

Daily Mail: Iran recruits British spies to target Jews and regime opponents. The British publication disclosed that IRGC sought to enlist British Muslims visiting Iran and Iraq for intelligence-gathering operations, which included keeping tabs on Jewish communities and synagogues. ynet correspondents | 02.10.24 ...Professor Anthony Glees, a terrorism expert, said: "This is a serious threat that needs to be addressed. IRGC is behind Hamas and the Houthis, and it is also running these spying networks here. British Iranians need to be very careful when they go back to Iran." Iran is not solely focused on the UK for its espionage activities. Recent revelations in Swedish media indicate that an Iranian pair, who were operatives for the Ayatollah regime's intelligence agency, had plotted to murder Jews in Sweden. It was reported that following their arrest and the unmasking of their scheme, they were expelled from Sweden and sent back to Iran. YNet

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Bedouin indicted for joining Hamas, attempting to return to Israel. Abu Ghanima, who had crossed over into Gaza in 2016 and joined the Hamas terror group, was detained by IDF troops in December. By i24NEWS and ILH Staff Published on 02-09-2024 12:20 Last modified: 02-09-2024 13:40 ILH

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Welcome to the grinder: How IDF is burrowing deeper into Khan Younis. Hamas has retreated to what used to be a pivotal stronghold, now largely reduced to rubble, with its leaders possibly unaware of the devastation caused; however, IDF officers caution that victory isn't guaranteed yet.

Avi Issacharoff | published: 03:50 YNet

Hamas warns of ‘tens of thousands’ of casualties if IDF enters Rafah, holds US responsible. By TOI Staff. February 10, 2024. IDF pushes ahead with Khan Younis offensive, carries out airstrikes across Gaza * Hamas says 110 people killed in overnight strikes * Hezbollah’s Nasrallah meets Iranian FM. TOI

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Europe's most pro-Zionist club? Meet Werder Bremen. From creating banners of support to making phone calls to politicians, from advocating for the return of the hostages to combating antisemitism, Werder Bremen and its fan groups are at the forefront of the uncommon show of support for Israel in the soccer world. Zeev Avrahami | 02.10.24

When people, never mind a nation, go through extensive trauma, their path to healing goes through positive reinforcement from those who care for them. It could be a hug, a kind word, knowing someone is there to support them in case they falter. Post October 7, many of those comforting words and deeds were withheld from Israel. If anything, many parts of the world have turned her back on Israel entirely, or made do with Lukewarm receptions. YNet

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Haniyeh's son at the game in Qatar, this is how he shows solidarity": the cover of the newspaper scattered in Gaza. According to reports from the Gaza Strip, the IDF has recently distributed flyers from the newspaper "Reality" - with a sting to the children of a senior Hamas official. For his enjoyment in a football game - when he is very far from the war zone.

Sapir Lipkin | N12 | Published 10.02.24

[111]

It is reported in Gaza that today (Saturday) the IDF distributed leaflets from the newspaper "The Reality" again, with a large photo of Haniyeh's son watching the Asian Cup in the middle of the war emblazoned on the cover, and another of his sons is depicted in a smaller one. "This is how the Haniyeh family shows solidarity with the residents Gaza - Ma'az bought jewelry, and Abad al-Salam at a game in Qatar."

Abd Salam Haniyeh, the son of Ismail Haniyeh, who serves as the chairman of the Sports Council in the Gaza Strip, was allegedly recorded last Wednesday watching the Asian Cup in Qatar. In the shadow of the war, the documentation that spread on the networks in the Arab world caused an uproar and criticism against the Hamas official and his son.

"I wonder who encouraged Ismail Haniyeh's son? Qatar, which gave his father portfolios worth billions of dollars, palaces, hotels, luxury cars, resorts and companies, or Iran, which gave them weapons, criminal gangs, murder, drugs, looting and theft," wrote one of the surfers . "Indeed, the choice to support this game, while Gaza is being bombed and burned, and Haniya's sons are clapping and cheering for the Islamist terrorist team," he added. Mako

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WATCH: Three launches from Lebanon cross Israeli border, IDF strikes back. By Jerusalem Post Staff 02/10/2024 05:58 PM JPost

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Al-Arabiya newspaper: Drone attack in Lebanon kills three Hamas members.

There are varying reports in the media regarding the outcome of a drone attack in Lebanon. Some outlets suggest it was an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate a Hamas leader, while others report the death of a Hezbollah member. Al-Arabiya has reported that the three individuals who were killed were members of Hamas. (Lior Ben Ari). 02.10.24 YNet

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Senior Hamas operatives eliminated near Rafah. Israel National News Feb 10, 2024, 6:23 PM INN

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Visegrád 24 @visegrad24: Hamas member says that for Islamists like her, fighting for Palestine isn’t the end goal.

The end goal is to spread Islam across the world. From Chelle. Feb 10, 2024 On X

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Top Biden aide tells US-Arab leaders he has no confidence in Israeli government. In recorded meeting in Dearborn, deputy NSA Jon Finer also says administration finds some Israeli leaders 'somewhat abhorrent'; constituency is key to Biden's reelection hopes. By TOI Staff, 10 February 2024, 2:53 pm Top Biden aide tells US-Arab leaders he has no confidence in Israeli government In this image taken from video, Muslim community leaders from several swing states pledge to withdraw support for US President Joe Biden on December 2, 2023, at a conference in Dearborn, Michigan, citing his refusal to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. (#AbandonBiden via AP). A top White House official said he does not have “any confidence” in the current Israeli government, specifically regarding its readiness to take “meaningful steps” toward the creation of a Palestinian state, The New York Times reported Friday, citing a recording from a meeting between the official and Arab American leaders in Dearborn, Michigan.

US Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer reportedly made the comments Thursday during a visit to the city, which has a large Arab-American population. He visited alongside other Biden administration officials, including ex-UN ambassador Samantha Power, to plead the president’s case before a constituency that is crucial for his 2024 reelection bid, but has been outraged by his support for Israel during its war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

According to the report, Finer told attendees at the meeting about the Biden administration’s efforts to end the war in Gaza, and to establish formal diplomatic relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, which, he said, is a crucial step toward Palestinian statehood and would demand all parties to compromise.

“We will have to do things for Saudi Arabia that will be very unpopular in this country and in our Congress,” Finer was quoted as saying. “Will Israel be willing to do the hard thing that’s going to be required of them, which is meaningful steps for the Palestinians on the question of two states? I don’t know if the answer to that is yes. I do not have any confidence in this current government of Israel.”..

Gallant was referring to Palestinian terrorists behind the October 7 massacres in Israel and not all residents of Gaza, but his quote has been widely used as ostensible proof of Israeli dehumanization of the Gaza population.

“Out of a desire to sort of focus on solving the problem and not engaging in a rhetorical back-and-forth with people who, in many cases, I think we all find somewhat abhorrent, we did not sufficiently indicate that we totally rejected and disagreed with those sorts of sentiments,” Finer said.

He also expressed regret at the “missteps” the Biden administration has made handling the war, particularly with regard to a perceived lack of concern about the civilian casualties as it refused to back calls for a ceasefire.

“We are very well aware that we have missteps in the course of responding to this crisis since October 7,” Finer said.

“We have left a very damaging impression based on what has been a wholly inadequate public accounting for how much the president, the administration and the country values the lives of Palestinians. And that began, frankly, pretty early in the conflict,” he added.

Most explicitly, he expressed remorse that a Biden statement marking 100 days of war did not mention Palestinians killed in Gaza.

[Top Biden aide tells US-Arab leaders he has no confidence in Israeli government Naim Kayed of American Muslims for Palestine-Philadelphia holds an anti-Biden flag purchased on site during an anti-Israel demonstration at Montgomery County College, where US President Joe Biden was to speak, January 5, 2024.]

“It did not in any way address the loss of Palestinian life during the course of the first 100 days of the conflict,” Finer said, according to the Times. “There is no excuse for that. It should not have happened. I believe it will not happen again. But we know that there was a lot of damage done.”

Finer declined The New York Times’ request for comment.

The Associated Press later reported that a White House National Security Council spokeswoman had confirmed the reported comments’ veracity, but sought to downplay them, saying that “the President and Mr. Finer were reflecting on concerns we have had for some time and will continue to have as the Israeli operation proceeds, about the loss of Palestinian lives in this conflict and the need to reduce civilian harm.”

The comments reported in the Times come as the White House has stepped up public criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s resistance to the prospect of Palestinian statehood, and his prosecution of the war, which Biden said Thursday was “over the top.”

War was triggered by Hamas’s brutal October 7 onslaught, in which thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel to kill nearly 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and taking 253 hostages.

Israel’s ensuing campaign in the Gaza Strip has claimed the lives of over 27,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-ruled health ministry, whose figures cannot be independently verified, and do not distinguish between civilians and combatants, of whom the Israel Defense Forces claim to have killed upward of 10,000. An additional 1,000 Hamas terrorists were killed inside Israel on October 7.

Among those present at the Thursday meeting were Osama Siblani, publisher of the Dearborn-based Arab American News, one of whose previous meetings with Biden administration representatives was slammed by the Anti-Defamation League due to the publisher’s remark at an October rally that Hamas “is not a terrorist organization.”

Finer also reportedly met with Abdullah Hammoud, the mayor of Dearborn, who, in a November rally, articulated Arab Americans’ growing disenchantment with Biden ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

“If American democracy depends on our current president being reelected, then why is being bedfellows with the terrorist Netanyahu, worth sacrificing American democracy?” Hammoud was quoted by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), a Washington-based think tank.

Hammoud has recently found himself at odds with MEMRI after a senior figure from the think tank published a Wall Street Journal op-ed dubbing Dearborn America’s “jihad capital,” which led the mayor to beef up security in the Michigan city, and elicited condemnation from President Biden.

Michigan is a battleground state in the 2024 US presidential election in November. Biden won it in 2020 with a margin of under 3 percent. Arab Americans make up some 2 percent of Michigan’s population.

Dearborn, which has America’s highest per-capita population of Arab Americans, is represented on Capitol Hill by Rep. Rashida Tlaib, the first Palestinian-American elected to Congress, who has fronted progressive Democratic calls for a ceasefire. TOI

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Directly beneath UNRWA’s Gaza headquarters, IDF uncovers top secret Hamas data center. Subterranean facility for terror group’s intelligence needs, beneath UN complex in upscale Rimal neighborhood, discovered after interrogations of Palestinian prisoners By Emanuel Fabian, 10 February, 2024, 7:59 PM

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Beneath the Gaza Strip headquarters of the controversial United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, known commonly as UNRWA, the Hamas terror group hid one of its most significant assets, the Israeli military has revealed.

The subterranean data center — complete with an electrical room, industrial battery power banks and living quarters for Hamas terrorists operating the computer servers — was built precisely under the location where Israel would not consider looking initially, let alone target in an airstrike.

The revelation of the server farm comes amid other accusations of UNRWA collusion with the Gaza-ruling terror group and the entanglement of the UN body that provides welfare and humanitarian services for Palestinian refugees from the 1948 and 1967 wars and their descendants.

Israel last month accused 12 staff with the UN Palestinian refugee agency of taking part in the October 7 massacre by Hamas-led terrorists, who killed 1,200 people and took 253 hostages in the murderous rampage.

Since the allegations became public late last month, UNRWA has seen many of its top donor countries announce funding freezes, leading to concerns that the agency could stop operating in Gaza and elsewhere in the Middle East within weeks.

But the IDF’s recent discovery of the Hamas data center while UNRWA is under increased scrutiny appears to be merely a coincidence.

([112] Col. Benny Aharon walks into UNRWA’s headquarters in Gaza City, February 8, 2024. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)

UNRWA’s Gaza headquarters is located in Gaza City’s upscale Rimal neighborhood, an area that the IDF had previously operated in, dismantled the local Hamas battalion and withdrawn its troops from.

At the time of the initial ground offensive in Gaza City, the military had not found or known much about the Hamas data center. But new intelligence, primarily emerging from the Shin Bet interrogations of captured terrorists, helped pinpoint where to dig.

“The IDF was here previously, the first time was to destroy the enemy, but when we were here the last time we collected a lot of intelligence documents and findings, a lot of prisoners, and thanks to this we reached here. Now we carried out a targeted operation to take this capability away,” said the commander of the 401st Armored Brigade, Col. Benny Aharon, while giving a media tour of the tunnel and UN complex on Thursday.

“We had a basis of information, but not enough to be able to dig down 20 meters and find it, we needed a bit more. There’s information we get from prisoners we capture, from computers we find, from documents, maps,” he said.

The IDF in recent weeks has returned to carry out smaller operations in the northern Gaza Strip, after largely destroying Hamas’s fighting capabilities during the early stages of the ground offensive.

([113] A soldier of the Yahalom unit stands outside a tunnel leading to a Hamas data center, uncovered by the IDF in Gaza City, February 8, 2024. Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)

Col. Nissim Hazan, a senior officer in the 401st Brigade, said the IDF can now carry out raids with much smaller numbers of forces, for operations “that require much more research and much more time, and a lot more patience.”

There is still a risk to these raids, with Aharon noting that two soldiers under his command had been killed during their operation to reach the Hamas data center — Maj. (res.) Yitzhar Hofman, a commander in the Israeli Air Force’s elite Shaldag unit and Maj. David Shakuri, the deputy commander of the Combat Engineering Corps’ 601st Battalion — both by sniper fire.

Hazan, who is tasked with coordinating the brigade’s underground operations, said the main entrance to the tunnel was located under a UNRWA school in the area. However, it had been blocked off by Hamas by the time troops arrived. Instead, combat engineers dug down around eight meters to find the shallowest part of the underground passage.

A muddy and humid labyrinth to the data center

Journalists, accompanied by troops of the elite Yahalom combat engineering unit, the Shaldag unit and Hazan, entered the tunnel passage that had been uncovered. Due to the humidity, with all of Hamas’s air filtration systems disabled, we were advised to remove our bulletproof vests before embarking on the journey to the data center.

([114] A soldier stands in a Hamas tunnel underneath a UNRWA school in Gaza City, February 8, 2024. Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel).

The first stretch of the 700-meter-long tunnel, a few dozen meters with Hamas’s hallmark concrete arches and a floor of sand, was relatively unremarkable, similar to hundreds of kilometers of underground passages the terror group has built across the Gaza Strip.

The passage had several other branching paths, but to keep the reporters on track and not get lost, soldiers had placed neon glowsticks on the floors.

The route we followed led to a small hole, which after climbing through, revealed a large hallway with flooring, wall tiles, air conditioning and lighting fixtures.

The hallway was plastered with posters bearing the logo of Hamas’s military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, some with operational security instructions for the terrorists managing the data center.

In this part of the tunnel, according to Hazan, Hamas IT and intelligence staff would supervise and manage the data center.

([115] Office chairs are stored in a room in a Hamas tunnel, underneath a UNRWA school in Gaza City, February 8, 2024. Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)

Along the hallway, there were several rooms, including a kitchenette, a meeting room with office chairs, two bathrooms and living quarters with several mattresses.

Also in the hallway, troops found several small mobility scooters, thought to have been used by Hamas to traverse through the tunnel’s facilities with ease.

“Above us is a UNRWA kids’ school,” Hazan said, as we explored the rooms in the main hallway. “This is years of work, with a lot of determination and resources.”

From the main hallway, a 300-meter passage led to the data center and nearby electrical room.

“We are now crossing a main road in Rimal, below several high-rise towers,” Hazan said.

([116] A flooded tunnel leading to a Hamas data center, uncovered by the IDF in Gaza City, February 8, 2024. Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel).

Parts of the tunnel, due to the combat engineers’ operations, did not have the usual concrete ceiling, exposing the fragile sand.

“Keep your head down and don’t touch the ceiling,” a Shaldag officer told us, as we crawled through the section, making sure not to cause the tunnel to collapse on our heads.

Also as a result of the combat engineers digging to reach the tunnel, rainwater had flooded in, causing knee-deep puddles in some areas, which we waded through to reach the data center.

After the flooded sections of the tunnel, a slippery incline led to the first main facility in the tunnel, the electrical room.

([117] An electrical room serving an underground Hamas data center, beneath the UNRWA headquarters, uncovered by the IDF in Gaza City, February 8, 2024. Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)

The room, with several electrical closets, power inverters and dozens of off-grid industrial batteries, was now covered in a thick layer of mud.

Part of the room’s dropped ceiling was falling apart, where the combat engineers had dug down 20 meters from the courtyard of the UNRWA complex, adjacent to one of the main buildings.

A few more dozen meters of tunnel from the electrical room led to the heart of the facility, Hamas’s data center.

There were about half a dozen rows of server cabinets, each with racks of computers for Hamas’s operations.

([118] A subterranean Hamas data center underneath UNRWA’s headquarters in Gaza City, February 8, 2024. Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel).

“We are now at the heart of the secret… under the main UNRWA building. Here is where Hamas kept its intelligence servers,” Hazan said. He said that “to destroy it, totally, so that Hamas cannot use this intelligence supremacy again, you need boots on the ground.”

IDF officials believe Hamas used the server farm for intelligence gathering, data processing and communications. Hard drives and some of the computers were taken to Israel to be investigated by intelligence authorities before the tunnel system was demolished in a large explosion.

Hazan said the IDF knows of several more “strategic” Hamas tunnels in Gaza, that they will reach in time.

“We have time, months ahead of us in the war, and one by one we will dismantle them and take away what the enemy is trying to hide, and it hides it in a very sophisticated and cynical way,” he said.

([119] Col. Nissim Hazan speaks to reporters from a Hamas data center, beneath the UNRWA headquarters, uncovered by the IDF in Gaza City, February 8, 2024. Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)

UNRWA’s Gaza headquarters

After leaving the tunnel back through the way we entered, we boarded an armored personnel carrier to take us to the UNRWA headquarters, as walking there aboveground was too exposed to potential Hamas snipers.

The headquarters appeared to be largely intact, unlike many of the surrounding buildings that had been pummeled by Israeli strikes.

Passing through the main gate, reading UNRWA HQ GAZA, and a nearby building with similar text in English and Arabic and bearing the UN logo, we reached the courtyard from which the combat engineers dug down into the electrical room.

([120] Troops of the Yahalom combat engineering unit lower a camera into a tunnel shaft they dug in the courtyard of UNRWA’s Gaza headquarters, to reach a Hamas underground electrical room, February 8, 2024. Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel).

At the UNRWA headquarters, Aharon said his forces found several caches of weapons belonging to Hamas when they raided and battled Hamas gunmen for the complex, although it was after the UN staff had evacuated.

“Grenades, rockets, launchers, explosives, a large amount of weapons that would put any Hamas company to shame,” he said.

The IDF also said that in some of the offices of UNRWA officials, troops found equipment and documents that indicated “that the same offices were also used by Hamas terrorists.”

“There is no doubt that UNRWA staff knew that [Hamas] was digging a massive tunnel beneath them,” Aharon said. “There’s a perimeter wall, a gate, cameras, at the gate they log who comes in and out. Whoever worked at UNRWA knew very well who was coming in, and who they were covering for.”

([121] Weapons recovered by IDF troops in the UNRWA headquarters, in a photo published by the IDF on February 10, 2024. Israel Defense Forces).

“UNRWA provides cover for Hamas, UNRWA knows exactly what is happening underground, and UNRWA uses its budget to fund some of Hamas’s military capabilities, this is for certain,” he said.

At the main building in the UN complex, Aharon led the reporters to UNRWA’s server room, which he said sits directly above the underground Hamas data center, where the reporters had been a short while earlier.

“Some of the cables connect down,” he said, showing a line of cables running down to and into the floor, as we stood above the Hamas data center.

The IDF said the electrical cables leading from the UN building to the tunnel were providing power to the Hamas infrastructure belowground.

([122] Col. Benny Aharon shows reporters UNRWA’s server room at its headquarters in Gaza City, February 8, 2024. Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel).

The UNRWA server room, unlike the Hamas one, appeared to be mostly empty. One server cabinet was placed outside the room, but it had been stripped of all the computers.

“They cleared out all the computers, all the DVRs (digital video recorder for surveillance cameras), cut [most of] the cables, this is the behavior of someone who has something to hide,” Aharon said.

“Someone who works at UNRWA, who is supposed to care for human rights, to care for the welfare of the population in Gaza, shouldn’t rush to disconnect all the DVRs, the cameras, cut all the wires and take all the computers. These are the actions of someone who knew the army was coming and wanted to hide the evidence,” he said.

([123]. Cables running from a UNRWA server room to a Hamas data center underground in Gaza City, February 8, 2024. Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel).

Hazan said that Hamas “didn’t randomly select this area. It knows that during peacetime and in previous wars [Israel] didn’t have the legitimacy to strike a UNRWA building and collapse it on the tunnel.”

In addition to the allegations of its collusion with Hamas, Israel has also long accused UNRWA of perpetuating the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by extending refugee status to millions of descendants of Palestinians who fled or were forced out of homes in today’s Israel at the time of the establishment of the Jewish state in 1948, rather than limiting such status only to the original refugees, as is the norm with most refugee populations worldwide.

([124]. An IDF infographic released February 10, 2024, showing the route of the Hamas tunnel found under UNRWA’s Gaza headquarters. (Israel Defense Forces).

“We were shocked to the depths of our souls, that an organization that is meant to be caring for human rights, is cooperating in such a clear and brutal way, without any fears, with a terror group like Hamas,” Aharon said.

UNRWA did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In a tweet following the publication, the agency’s head Philippe Lazzarini denied any knowledge of the Hamas data center. TOI

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'Take responsibility and resign today!'

Israel’s Ambassador to the UN fires back after UNRWA Commissioner-General claims the UN agency “did not know” there were Hamas terrorist tunnels under its Gaza headquarters. Israel National News Feb 11, 2024, 2:59 AM INN

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Khan Yunis: IDF providing medical equipment to hospital. Israel National News Feb 10, 2024, 11:05 PM INN

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IDF forces thwart terror attack on Jewish community. Three terrorists attempt to infiltrate Makuk Farm, are arrested by IDF forces. Israel National News Feb 10, 2024, 11:23 PM. INN

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Families of Israeli hostages to lodge ICC complaint against Hamas heads. Exclusive: Hostage families' reps to file official complaint in The Hague against Hamas for kidnappings and torture, seeking arrest warrants for its leaders; Dutch Jews to rally in support. Yael Ciechanover | 02.10.24 ...The accusations being filed include kidnappings, enforced disappearances, sexual violence, torture and more. The filing aims to secure arrest warrants against Hamas leaders to increase pressure for the hostages' release. YNet

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IDF 'deepens' attack on Hamas, killed about 100 terrorists in Khan Younis in last few weeks. In the last few weeks, the Givati Division's combat team intesified the damage to the Western Khan Younis Battalion and strengthened its operational grip on the area according to the IDF Spokesperson. He further described that the forces attack from the air and on the ground in densely populated areas full of enemies, and have eliminated about 100 terrorists in skirmishes, firing tank shells, sniper ambushes and airstrikes in about a month. In one of attacks, the IDF identified three terrorists leaving a Hamas member's home, loading a suspicious package onto a motorcycle. The IDF directed an airstrike that eliminated them. Shortly thereafter, there was a secondary explosions from the scene, indicating that the suspects were carrying explosives. (Yoav Zitun) 02.11.24 : 06:02 YNet

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Palestinian released in hostage deal arrested trying to infiltrate Israel. Border Police forces arrested Friday a 21-year-old Palestinian released in a hostage deal who tried to infiltrate Israel from east Jerusalem using an ID that wasn’t hers. She was later taken for further questioning. (Elisha Ben Kimon). 02.11.24 : 06:35 YNet

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Israel purchases Super Bowl ads to draw attention to plight of 136 hostages. Diaspora Affairs Ministry and the Public Diplomacy Directorate hope to reach tens of millions of Americans with videos, radio commercials, and billboards drawing attention to the plight of the hostages during the Super Bowl. Israel National News, Feb 11, 2024, 12:50 PM (GMT+2) INN

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Watch: IAF strikes terrorists who fired missile at soldiers.

In central Gaza, IDF soldiers direct aircraft to strike terrorists who fired anti-tank missile at them. Israel National News, Feb 11, 2024, 9:26 AM INN

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Northern resident accused of sending intelligence to Hamas. Resident of Ein Mahil in northern Israel arrested for sending intelligence on security site to Hamas so that it would be attacked, working to recruit Israeli Arabs to Hamas. Israel National News, Feb 11, 2024, 10:18 AM.

On January 1, Ein Mahil resident Rami Habibullah, 43, was arrested on suspicion of contacting operatives from the Hamas terrorist organization with the intention of providing intelligence to them following the outbreak of the war on October 7.... A second suspect, Khaled Saleh, 35, is accused of joining Habibullah in his efforts to commit terrorism. INN

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Egypt tells Hamas it has two weeks to reach hostage deal before IDF moves into Rafah – WSJ. By Lazar Berman 11 February, 2024. 2:14 pm TOI

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Jerusalem and Gush Etzion: Two attempted stabbing attacks within an hour. Ohevya Sharabi Feb 11, 2024, 9:29 PM INN

Israeli injured in Jerusalem stabbing attack The suspected assailant was reportedly "neutralized." (February 11, 2024 / JNS) One Israeli was lightly injured in an attempted Palestinian stabbing attack at one of the entrances to Jerusalem’s Old City on Sunday night, medical officials said. JNS

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20 terrorists arrested inside Gaza hospital. Israeli forces captured a group of terrorists hiding in the al-Amal hospital without needing to open fire. Israel National News Feb 11, 2024, 10:53 PM INN

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Disagreements over Gaza war reportedly driving Biden towards ‘breach’ with Israel. Biden's frustration with Netanyahu has led White House aides to suggest that the president ramp up public criticism of the Jewish state. Aliva Van Koningsveld (February 11, 2024 / JNS) Disagreements over the war against Hamas are driving United States President Joe Biden towards a “breach” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom he believes can no longer be “influenced even in private,” The Washington Post reported on Sunday, citing insiders in Washington. JNS

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He's a journalist by day, senior Hamas anti-tank missile system developer by night On a laptop found by IDF soldiers in northern Gaza belonging to a 'journalist' of the Qatar-based news network Al Jazeera, photos and intelligence materials were found linking him to the terrorist organization. Einav Halabi | 02.11.24: 17:14. During an operation at one of Hamas' bases in the northern Gaza Strip, a laptop belonging to a journalist for the Qatari Al-Jazeera network, Muhammad Washah, was found to contain photos and intelligence materials linking him to Hamas, IDF spokesman in Arabic, Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee, announced Sunday evening [125] [126] YNet

MK at Al Jazeera offices: 'Time to shut them down' Hezki Baruch Feb 11, 2024, 11:38 PM MK Tzvi Sukkot visits the offices of Al Jazeera in Israel after IDF revealed that one of its journalists was a Hamas terrorist. INN

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'This Week' Transcript 2-11-24: PM Netanyahu, Sen. Coons & Gov. Kemp This is a rush transcript of "This Week" airing Sunday, February 11. By ABC News February 10, 2024, 1:39 PM [...] KARL: That was President Biden on Thursday night with his sharpest criticism yet of Israel's military response in Gaza. I am joined now by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Mr. Prime Minister, let me ask you right away, what -- what's your response to President Biden saying that your response in Gaza has been "over the top?" BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Well, I appreciate President Biden's support for Israel since the beginning of the war. I don't know exactly what he meant by that, but put yourself in Israel's shoes. We were attacked. unprovoked attack, murderous attack, on October 7th, the worst attack on Jewish people since the Holocaust. And let me tell you, I think we've responded in a way that goes after the terrorists and tries to minimize the civilian population in which the terrorists embed themselves and use them as human shields. We drop thousands of fliers. We phone Palestinians in their homes. We ask them to leave. We give them safe corridors and safe zones. So I think we're -- we're doing the right thing, and let me tell you one other thing. We're going to win this thing. Victory is within reach. KARL: But you've had more than 28,000 people killed, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza. You have had hundreds of thousands that have been forced from their homes. You have a lack of water, a lack of food. Don't you feel a moral obligation to do more, to do something to protect what is seen as -- to stop what is seen as a catastrophe? NETANYAHU: I think that any civilian loss, any civilian casualty is a tragedy, and it's a tragedy that is forced upon us by Hamas. But let me tell you something. I'd be cautious with the Hamas statistics. And I can tell you that, according to these urban warfare experts and other commentators, we've brought down the civilian-to-terrorist casualties, the ratio, down below 1-1, which is considerably less than in any other theater of similar warfare. And we're going to do more. We're going to provide... KARL: Wait a minute. Wait a minute. You're saying it's only been one civilian that's been killed for one Hamas terrorist, in Gaza? NETANYAHU: Yes. That's exactly what I'm saying. Yes. We have killed -- we've killed and wounded over 20,000 Hamas terrorists, out of that about 12,000 -- 12,000 fighters. And we're doing everything we can to minimize civilian casualties and continue to do so. But one thing we're not going to do is we're not going to let Hamas emerge victorious. And if we leave, it will be a tremendous victory for the Iran terror axis. It's bad for everyone. KARL: Yeah, you've directed the Israeli Defense Forces to evacuate Rafah in advance of this ground invasion. Where are those people supposed to go? This is 1.4 million people, many of whom have fled northern Gaza. I mean, they're living in tents. Where are these people supposed to go? NETANYAHU: Well, Rafah is a -- is a very small percentage of Gaza, and I think it's about 10 percent, or 15 percent. KARL: I mean, the estimates from there... NETANYAHU: ... the area north of Gaza, that has already been cleared... KARL: Well, there's an estimate of 1.4 million people in that area right now. And as the -- as the German foreign minister said, they can't... (CROSSTALK) KARL: ... they can't just disappear. Where are they supposed to go? NETANYAHU: No, well, the areas that we've cleared, north of Rafah, plenty of areas there, but we are working out a detailed plan to do so. And that's what we've done up to now. We're not -- we're not cavalier about this. This is part of our war effort, to get civilians out of harm's way. It's part of Hamas's effort to keep them in harm's way. But we've so far succeeded, and we're going to succeed again. Those who say that under no circumstances should we enter Rafah are basically saying, lose the war. Keep Hamas there. And Hamas has promised to do the October 7th massacre over and over and over again. KARL: But the Biden administration says it will be a disaster if you go into Rafah in this way. And it's not just the Biden administration. It's your -- it's your allies in the region. I mean, we've heard from the Egyptian foreign minister that it would be a disaster -- disastrous consequences. The UAE is warning of exasperating the catastrophe, the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. I mean, aren't you -- is any of this giving you second thought about going in and doing this? NETANYAHU: The answer is, Jon, they don't have to give me second thoughts about taking care of the civilian population, along with the provision of the necessary humanitarian aid. We’ve been doing it and I’ve been directing it systematically. Victory is within reach. And that has to be understood, and victory will be the best thing that will happen, not only for Israel, but for the Palestinians themselves. I can't see a future for the Palestinians or for peace in the Middle East if Hamas is victorious. KARL: You've defined victory, and you said the war will not end until Hamas is completely eliminated. How are you going to know when that is? How do you know when Hamas is completely eliminated? NETANYAHU: When you eliminate their organized fighting formations, and as I’ve said, we've taken 18 out of their 24 terrorist battalions out of commission. You're mopping up the remaining individual terrorists, and when they release the hostages, of course, and ensure that Hamas -- that Gaza is no longer a threat to Israel. You don't have to kill every last terrorist. You don't have to kill every last ISIS terrorist, but you make sure that ISIS was finished as a military force. You have to dismantle. Hamas is a military -- a military force that controls territory. We're well within reach, and we shouldn't stop. KARL: Well, you can kill them as a military force, but how do you kill the idea of a resistance as long as there is occupation? At the end of this process, after this is done, after you've eliminated the military threat, doesn't there need to be a Palestinian state? NETANYAHU: Everybody who talks about a two-state solution -- well, I ask, what do you mean by that? Should the Palestinians have an army? Should they have -- can they sign a military pact with Iran? Can they import rockets from North Korea and other deadly weapons? Should they continue to educate their children for terrorism and annihilation? Of course, I say, of course, not. And the substance of all we said in a future peace agreement, which everybody agrees is far off, I think the Palestinians should have the powers to govern themselves, but none of the power should threaten Israel. And the most important power that has to remain in Israel's hands is overriding security control in the area west of the Jordan. That includes Gaza. Otherwise, history has shown terrorism comes back, and we don't want terrorism to come back. KARL: I want to ask you about the hostages. Relatives of the hostages have written a letter to your cabinet saying, quote, "The families request to immediately meet with the members of the cabinet and hear if it is still committed to the release of the abductees or whether the power to run negotiations should be transferred to a party that sees itself as committed to saving their lives." So, let me understand your priorities. What is the higher priority at this moment? Totally eliminating Hamas or saving the lives of those hostages and getting them freed? NETANYAHU: They're not mutually exclusive. The reason we succeeded in getting 110 hostages out, that's half the hostages, is because we applied military pressure. Not because we stopped applying it, but because we applied it. Look, I think the families of the hostages are in a terrible bind. I mean, it's -- it’s just -- it tears your heart out to listen to them and to think about what their relatives are going through. I'm committed to getting them out. We'll make every effort. It requires pressure, and pressure has worked, and pressure will work again. KARL: How many of the 132 hostages do you think are still alive? NETANYAHU: I think enough to warrant the kind of efforts that we're doing, and we're going to try to do our best to get all of those who are alive back, and frankly, also the bodies of the dead, but I won't go into that right now. I'm not sure that anybody can put themselves in the position of the families, but neither can the families put themselves in the position of the decision-makers. These are two separate things. They reach our heart. They reach my heart, but I’m also responsible for the safety and the security of the people of Israel and to make sure that these terrorist outrages, and these kidnappings do not happen again. KARL: Finally, before you go, I’m sure you saw this week the special counsel here in the United States described President Biden as an elderly man with a poor memory. You've known Joe Biden for decades, and you've dealt with him a lot over the course of this conflict. What's your -- what’s your assessment of him? NETANYAHU: Well, Jon, I have had more than a dozen phone conversations, extended phone conversations with President Biden. He also came on a visit to Israel during wartime which is an historic first, and I found him very clear and very focused. We managed to agree on the war aims and many things. Sometimes we have disagreements, but they weren't borne of a lack of understanding on his part or on my part. So that's what I can tell you. So, I haven't seen that. KARL: All right, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Thank you for joining us here on "This Week." NETANYAHU: Thank you. Thank you, Jon. ABC News

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Niyak Ghorbani (نیاک) @GhorbaniiNiyak: Installation of the Israeli flag in Iran - Tehran!

The pain of the people of Israel and Iran is the same, that's also fighting terrorism!

1. IraniansStandWithIsrael
2. MaximumSupport

@PahlaviReza @netanyahu Feb 11, 2024. [127] on X

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"You Moron" ["Ya Ahbal"]: Yosef Haddad confronted a "Haaretz" employee in the foreign media. Yosef Haddad probably never imagined that he would be interviewed by the foreign media and hear an employee of the "Haaretz" newspaper claiming that israel's only goal in the war is to destroy the palestinian people: "nothing but genocide[sic]" • Haddad did not remain indifferent, he explained why he was wrong and attacked live : "oh my god!" • watch.

• 2 Adar I, 5784. • 12.02.24 • 10:29 "Ya Ahbal": Yosef Haddad confronted a "Haaretz" employee in the foreign media

The Israeli advocacy activist Yosef Haddad is often interviewed by foreign media for the sake of explaining Israel, but he never imagined that another Israeli would be on the air and he would claim that Israel wants to destroy [sic] the palestinian people. "This is what happened when I was an Israeli Arab and found myself in a confrontation in the foreign media with Jonathan Pollak," shared Haddad, "an anarchist who lives among us and works for Haaretz newspaper. while he defames the state of Israel and speaks like the last of the hamas terrorists."

Pollak, who went on air, is a political-social activist who belongs to the radical left, one of the founders of "anarchists against fences" and in 2021 he was even convicted of obstructing a police officer while performing his duty and was sentenced to a month in prison. "I think we must not fall for Israeli propaganda," said the Haaretz employee and claimed: "the sole purpose of this war, simply put, is to destroy [sic] the palestinian people. in some places, over 70 percent of the buildings were damaged, and what i Israel is doing in the gaza strip is nothing but g...e".

Haddad could not hear these delusional claims, and replied: "of the 26,000-27,000 Palestinians who were killed as a result of the Hamas invasion of Israel, there are over 10,000 terrorists from the terrorist organization Hamas-daesh [Hamas-ISIS] who were killed. why is this relevant and why is this number important? because it speaks of the relationship, and the relationship it is that every terrorist that Israel has eliminated - there are only two apparently innocent palestinians who were killed." Haddad asked: "why is this important?", and immediately explained.

"Because the average international ratio is one to 10 and we are talking about all this when the conditions of the war are unfair. now, he is talking about the destruction of 70% of the buildings in Gaza, perhaps Jonathan should tell everyone that all these buildings lead to terror tunnels from which Hamas cowardly rises and launches missiles towards idf. if we don't put pressure on Hamas along the way and eliminate and destroy this terrorist organization, what you saw on October 7 will be much worse in the future."

"Because if Hamas is not destroyed, they will remain the authority in the Gaza strip," Haddad explained, "their principles are to continue attacking Israel and they have already said that to the world. They themselves have said that they want to do October 7 again and again and again." Finally he attacked the radical left activist again: "but what Jonathan doesn't tell you is that he is a free man because he actually lives in a Democratic country."

"Because if Yonatan were to speak like this, in the way he speaks about his country, if he were to speak like this in Gaza against Hamas - he would be in prison at best, or underground or hanging in a Gaza square at worst," Haddad reminded, "this is the hypocrisy of man this". Finally, he said to the interviewer: "And by the way, when he talks about all the buildings that the Israeli army attacks, the army hits them because they endanger Israel," and addressed the message to Pollak: "and they also endanger you, moron!" [يا أهبل] [128] Now14

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Israeli troops free two hostages from captivity. Fernando Simon Marman (60) and Louis Har (70), kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak on October 7, freed in joint IDF, Israel Security Agency and Israel Police operation in Rafah.

Israel National News Feb 12, 2024, 4:36 AM ...Both were kidnapped by Hamas terrorists from Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak on October 7, together with Louis’ partner Clara Merman, his sister Gabriela Leimberg and her daughter Mia Leimberg, who were freed during the hostage release deal with Hamas in November.

They are both in good medical condition, and were transferred for medical examination at the Sheba Tel Hashomer hospital.

Sheba Hospital said, "This morning, two Israeli hostages who were freed by our forces from the Gaza Strip arrived at the Sheba Medical Center. After an initial medical examination, the condition of the two was determined to be good and they are now staying in a designated compound."

IDF Spokesperson Daniel Hagari provided additional details about the operation, noting that the two hostages were held by Hamas in Rafah. The operation was led by the Shin Bet's Special Operations Command and was carried out by IDF soldiers and the Shin Bet's operational unit.

Hagari also said that the IDF and the Shin Bet have been working on the operation for an extended period of time, but until now the conditions were not ripe to carry it out.

The forces arrived at the destination secretly around 1:00 in the morning, and carried out a very complex operation on a building complex, on the second floor where the hostages were kept. When the forces arrived at the building, they broke into the building, where three terrorists were guarding the hostages.

The forces stormed into the building in using explosives, entered the building and pulled the two hostages out. A gun battle developed at the scene, while the Air Force attacked in the area and fire was also opened from nearby buildings.

One IDF soldier was lightly injured in the operation, but beyond that - there were no injuries to the Israeli forces. INN

The family that was kidnapped together from their safe room is whole again. On October 7, five family members were kidnapped from the safe room of their home in Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak: Gabriela Leimberg and her daughter Mia returned to Israel from captivity in the hostage deal together with Clara Marman; Now, Clara's brother, Fernando, and her partner, Louis, have also returned. Yael Ciechanover | 02.12.24 :01:12 YNet

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Rescued hostages were starved, not given medication. Families of the two hostages recently rescued from Gaza claim their loved ones suffered from malnutrition and unhygienic conditions, and were not given medications that Hamas had pledged to transfer to them. Israel National News, Feb 12, 2024 INN

Rescued hostages say they were held by a family in Rafah and 'we were hungry'. Fernando Marman and Louis Har cooked for the family that held them captive, but lived mostly on pita bread and white cheese and returned having lost much of their body weight; they had not seen sunlight during the 129 days since their abduction; they told their kidnappers they were Argentinian and talked about soccer with them Adir Yanko, Yael Ciechanover, Yoav Zitun | published: 02.12.24 07:00 YNet

Netanyahu congratulates Yamam forces who liberated hostages. By Jerusalem Post Staff. Published: February 12, 2024 17:15 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated the Yamam troops who participated in the rescue operation of the two hostages on Monday on the "perfection" of their operation.

"This is one of the most successful rescue operations in the history of the State of Israel - you eliminated the kidnappers, the terrorists, you made your way back to Israel unscathed - a perfect operation, a perfect execution," he said. JPost

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White House welcomes freedom for two Israeli hostages in Gaza. By Reuters. 02/12/2024 08:29 PM JPost

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Two IDF soldiers killed in southern Gaza Strip, bringing ground op death toll to 229. Palestinian medics say 15 killed in airstrike in central Gaza’s Deir Al-Balah overnight; Hamas decries hostage rescue operation in Rafah as continuation of a ‘genocidal[sic] war’. By Emanuel Fabian and Renee Ghert-Zand 12 Feb 2024, 1:05 pm TOI

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Jerusalem denies entry to UN official who blamed Israel for Oct. 7. "The time for Jewish silence is past," said FM Israel Katz, who called for the dismissal of U.N. Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese.

(February 12, 2024 / JNS) Israel will bar Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur on the “occupied Palestinian territories,” from entering the Jewish state, including Judea and Samaria.

Albanese blamed the slaughter of Jews by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7 on Israeli...

Responding to French President Emmanuel Macron’s comment at a ceremony on Wednesday honoring the 42 French Israelis murdered on Oct. 7, where he referred to the Hamas invasion as “the greatest antisemitic massacre of our century,” Albanese tweeted:

“The ‘greatest anti-Semitic massacre of our century’? No, Mr. @EmmanuelMacron... Katz on Sunday rebuked Albanese for her comments, calling them “deeply troubling” and demanded her dismissal.

“I call on Secretary-General Guterres to fire @FranceskAlbs immediately. The time of Jewish silence in the face of such misrepresentations has passed. We must stand strong and vocal against such narratives,” Katz tweeted.

Albanese has frequently courted controversy among Israel supporters for singling out Israel for blame in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. She has made frequent comparisons between Israel and Nazi Germany.

When JNS asked Albanese in December whether Hamas was justified in invading Israel and killing Israeli security personnel, she said, “Why is this so unbelievable? You seem to be puzzled by this. What is the right to resist?”... JNS

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Shocking: a swastika at the Hebrew University.

A bathroom stall on the Mount Scopus campus was vandalized and a swastika was painted on it with the inscription "Stop the [supposed] murder of the people in Gaza". The university deleted the inscription. Liran kogahinoff, February 12, 2024

[129]

Unknown people vandalized a bathroom stall on the Mount Scopus campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem today (Monday) and painted a swastika on it along with the inscription "Stop the genocide in Gaza", the university has copied the inscription. The male and female students' association announced that it has appealed to the university's administration with a demand to open the security cameras, identify the perpetrators and deal with the incident immediately.

At the beginning of the war, Professor Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian... a senior lecturer at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, signed and published a petition in which she claimed that Israel was committing ... in Gaza. In the letter sent by the president and rector of the university to Shalhoub-Kivorkian, it is stated that her words about Israel [supposedly].committing war crimes are incitement and they can be prosecuted, and they even regret that she is part of the university community. Kan

What is it with some Arab Nazis unable to draw their swastika correctly? This style has been made by Arabs before, in the area.

Swastika graffitied on Hebrew University campus, along with 'stop the genocide in Gaza' "The matter was dealt with immediately and the writing was erased upon discovery," Hebrew University says

i24NEWS [February 12, 2024 at 09:08 AM latest revision February 12, 2024 [130]. at EoZ

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The American NBC network published today (Monday) from five well-informed sources that US President Joe Biden "belittles Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu", but did not change his country's policy towards Israel as a result. According to the report, the American president "vented steam of anger" in his private conversations, some of them with donors to his presidential election campaign, and lamented his inability to convince Israel to change its military tactics in Gaza, when he cited the prime minister as the main obstacle. He contemptuously described Netanyahu as a leader he has known for decades and called him "that brat", "an a#shole". 02/12/2024. Rotter

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Biden: 'US working on Gaza truce of at least six weeks' Elad Benari Feb 12, 2024, 11:45 PM INN

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Israeli delegation, with Mossad head, to leave for Cairo on Tuesday for hostage talks By Jerusalem Post Staff 02/12/2024 11:39 PM JPost

Talks on hostage deal. Netanyahu approves delegation for talks in Cairo. Israel National News Feb 13, 2024, 12:17 AM INN

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Bassam Tawil: 'Why Doesn't Hamas Go to Hell and Hide There?': Other Voices from Gaza February 12, 2024

One can understand why Al-Jazeera and Arab media journalists are so anti-Israel that they do not want to provide a platform to any Palestinian to criticize Hamas. Yet, one cannot understand why the foreign media is turning a blind eye to the critical voices coming out from the Gaza Strip and Palestinians and Arabs living outside the Hamas-ruled coastal enclave.

Why? These journalists are busy searching for stories that reflect badly only on Israel.

"Anyone who questioned Hamas's motives or objectives has been painted as a cowardly collaborator. To demand better living conditions or more political liberties was akin to treason.... Others are reluctant to speak out against Hamas for fear of seeming disloyal or pro-Israel. If people outside of Gaza find it difficult to question the forced conformity, imagine how much more challenging it is for many inside the coastal enclave." — Ahmed Fouad Al-Khatib, X (Twitter), January 6, 2024.

"You're either going to govern and develop the place, or you're going to be a resistance group, but you can't do both at the same time.... Hamas could have made different choices that would have opened new political pathways for Palestinian unity and the development of Gaza. Instead, they chose to hold their people hostage and divert materials and resources into a futile armed resistance project that has set Palestinians back by decades." — Ahmed Fouad Al-Khatib, X, February 4, 2024.

"Those who don't have to live with the consequences of Hamas's "resistance" are understandably the group's most fervent supporters and excusers (weirdly especially in London). Leave it to lousy beneficiaries of Western privilege to defend a terror group that oppresses its own people and uses them as cannon fodder in its suicidal adventures... Never forget that over 30,000 Gazans would still be alive today if Hamas kept its fighters at home on October 7. The pro-Palestine movement deserves better 'allies' and 'supporters' than overt & covert Hamas enthusiasts." — Ahmed Fouad Al-Khatib, X, February 2, 2024.

"Anti-Hamas = Zionist. Call for coexistence = Zionist. Condemn Hamas = Zionist. Both sides' lives matter = Zionist. Sympathize with Israeli hostages = Zionist. How many definitions are there for Zionist? .... I forgot the most important one: Peace supporter = Zionist." — Hamza, X, February 5, 2024.

[Palestinian writer Majdi Abd Al-Wahhab] called on the international community and the Arab world to act to eliminate all the Palestinian organizations and stop their military and civilian activity, "so that the Palestinians will be rid of them and their harm and can start blazing a new, straight path for themselves, far from destruction, killing and devastation."

"The destruction caused by Hamas to Gaza will not end even if Israel's war on Gaza does stop. The destruction will continue, as is evident from the 'glorious' history of our [Palestinian] organizations." — Majdi Abd Al-Wahhab, Elaph, January 9, 2024. Gatestoneinstitute

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US Seizes Cargo Plane Iran Illegally Sold To Venezuela. Feb 12, 2024

The US government has seized a Boeing 747 cargo plane, previously owned by an airline linked to Iran’s IRGC, which was grounded in Argentina in June 2022 on suspicion of illegal activities.

The Justice Department said Monday that the US-built plane had been brought to Florida and would be disposed of.

"The Justice Department is committed to ensuring that the full force of U.S. laws deny hostile state actors the means to engage in malign activities that threaten our national security," Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen, the head of the department's national security division, said in a statement.

Argentina grounded the 747 plane after its unannounced arrival from Mexico to an airport in Buenos Aires on June 8, 2022. The plane originally belonged to Iran’s Mahan airline affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) and sanctioned by the US for transporting arms to Syria and supporting terrorism.

The plane had arrived in Argentina with a crew of 19 people, including five Iranians, some with clear ties to the IRGC. Venezuela’s Conviasa national carier had bought or leased the plane from Mahan airlines in early 2022 and christened it ‘Louisa Caceres Arismendi.’

The United States accused the captain of the plane, Gholamreza Ghasemi of being an Revolutionary Guard office. Ghasemi claimed that he was a instructor, teaching the Venezuelan crew how to operate the 747.

Gerardo Milman, an Argentine lawmaker, told Iran International in June 2022 that Iranians aboard the Venezuelan plane planned “attacks on human targets.” Milman also alleged that Captain Ghasemi was a senior official of Qods (Quds) force. IranIntl

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AJC poll: Three-quarters of US Jews feel less safe after Oct. 7. "The explosion of antisemitism since Oct. 7 demands that we take collective action now," said Ted Deutch, CEO of the American Jewish Committee. Andrew Bernard. (February 13, 2024 / JNS) JNS

American Jewish Committee @AJCGlobal: The results are in: the overwhelming majority of American Jews think that antisemitism is a problem in the U.S., according to AJC’s latest State of Antisemitism in America 2023 Report.

When 93% of a community tells you that something is a problem, believe them. Slide 1 of 3 - Carousel [131] [132] [133]. From ajc.org Feb 13, 2024 AJC

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New testimony from Hamas hostages: "The terrorist entered the shower with the abductee while pointing a gun at her head." Walla! News Staff

Last updated: 13.2.2024 / 8:31

The difficult testimony that she was kidnapped was given by 18-year-old Agam Goldstein-Almog, who was released from Hamas captivity after 51 days, and is presented in a new film dealing with sexual crimes committed by Hamas since October 7. In an interview about her film to CNN, creator Sheryl Sandberg said: "It is impossible for a girl to be forced to go through such horrors."

New evidence about sexual crimes committed by Hamas in kidnappings in Gaza was revealed in an interview yesterday (Monday) with the CNN network, in which the Jewish-American billionaire Sheryl Sandberg was interviewed, who talked about her film dealing with this issue, and which was produced in cooperation with Castina Communications. The testimony of that abductee was given by 18-year-old Agam Goldstein-Almog, an abductee who was released after 51 days in captivity.

According to the same testimony, the terrorist entered the shower while the captive was taking a shower, and began performing indecent acts on her while pointing a gun at her head. "She told me she just didn't stop crying, and he didn't stop doing what he was doing to her. And he enjoyed it."

New evidence about sexual crimes committed by Hamas in kidnappings in Gaza was revealed in an interview yesterday (Monday) with the CNN network, in which the Jewish-American billionaire Sheryl Sandberg was interviewed, who talked about her film dealing with this issue, and which was produced in cooperation with Castina Communications. The testimony of that abductee was given by 18-year-old Agam Goldstein-Almog, an abductee who was released after 51 days in captivity... Walla

Released Gaza hostage breaks silence on Hamas sexual violence in Sheryl Sandberg doc. By Joanie Margulies. Published: February 13, 2024 20:15 Updated: February 13, 2024 22:15. ... Goldstein-Almog was only 17 years old when she was brutally kidnapped by Hamas terrorists, and taken from her home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza. She watched as her father and older sister were both brutally murdered by the intruders, before she was rounded up and taken into Gaza with her mother and two younger brothers.

In an exclusive interview for the documentary, the young survivor told of horrific stories of other captives being sexually violated while in captivity.

"He entered the shower [where she was] and pointed a gun at her head and started kissing her, and she started crying... he took off all her clothes and touched her all over the body," Goldstein-Almog told of her fellow captive.

"He asked her to touch his member in all kinds of ways and touched her [genital area] as well. She told me she just didn’t stop crying and he didn’t stop doing what he was doing to her. And he enjoys it," she said. "And all this time, his gun was against her head." JPost

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Israeli delegation in Cairo for hostage talks. "Don't return until everyone is back—the living and dead. The eyes of 134 families are on you," group representing hostages tells Mossad head David Barnea. Joshua Marks. (February 13, 2024 / JNS) JNS

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Watch IDF strike terrorists transfering explosives. Forces identify terrorists attempting to mix among civilians in Khan Younis; troops kill 10 terrorists in northern Gaza and strike cell preparing to attack soldiers with anti-tank missile fire. Yoav Zitun. 02.13.24 YNet

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Terrorist in custody after attempted West Bank ramming attack. A terrorist attempted to runover troops on the West Bank on Tuesday and was captured after a chase and taken into custody. In his car, the soldiers found a knife. No injuries were reported among the force. (Yoave Zitun, Elisha Ben Kimon). 02.13.24 : 03:04 YNet

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Two injured in missile strike on Kiryat Shmona. Israel National News Feb 13, 2024, 11:44 AM INN

Two badly hurt in Hezbollah fire. YNet

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IDF fighter jets strike Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. Israel National News Feb 13, 2024, 11:47 AM INN

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Elhanan Groner @elchangr: This is how the "settler violence" libel works: this morning Sigal Shukron and Adi Cohen from the extreme leftist organization "Looking the occupation in the eye" came to the entrances of Jericho and harassed a Jewish shepherd. The R' of the settlement arrived (within the jurisdiction of the settlement). They filmed a calm conversation with him and the anarchist Guy Hirschfeld is already putting up a post that is on the way to sanctions... [134] Feb 13, 2024 on X

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Belgian minister confirms Hamas operates in Belgium.

The Belgian Justice Minister has confirmed that Hamas is allowed to operate in Belgium under the guise of organizations that do not directly expose its involvement.

Israel National News Feb 13, 2024, 12:50 PM INN

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Italian police, protesters clash over state broadcaster RAI's Gaza stance. Italian police and demonstrators clashed in the southern city of Naples on Tuesday in front of the offices of state broadcaster RAI following a protest over the company's coverage of the conflict in Gaza. The protesters accused RAI management of supporting Israel and ignoring the plight of Palestinians trapped in Gaza. The protest was called after RAI distanced itself from an appeal made by rapper Ghali to "stop the genocide" during the closing night of the hugely popular song festival Sanremo at the weekend, which is watched by most households in Italy. Ghali did not mention Israel or Gaza by name. In an angry response to the Italian-Tunisian rapper, the Israeli ambassador to Rome wrote on the X social media platform that the festival had been "exploited to spread hatred and provocation in a superficial and irresponsible way". Appearing on RAI the following day, Ghali said he had made calls for peace throughout his career. "People feel that they (risk) losing something if they support peace." (Reuters). 02.13.24 13:54 YNet

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Yahya Sinwar seen carrying briefcase, surrounded by his children in tunnel under Khan Younis. IDF released video recorded on security camera inside strategic Hamas terror tunnel which soldiers entered in recent days which shows Sinwar, his wife, and three children moving under the Gazan city. Ynet | 02.13.24 updated:14:29 YNet

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Al-Jazeera reporter Ismail Abu Omar The "journalist" who documented the massacre on October 7 - was injured and lost his leg. Ismail Abu Omar from Al-Jazeera, who broadcast from Nir Oz on Black Sabbath, was injured in an IDF attack in North Rafah • The [pro-]Qatari channel admitted that he was employed by them • Yesterday the government approved the draft "Al-Jazeera Law" - to prevent its broadcasts in Israel. Sapir Lipkin| N12 | Published 18:45 13.02.24

Closing the circle: Al-Jazeera "journalist" Ismail Abu Omar, who documented the murderous massacre carried out by Hamas terrorists on October 7 and broadcast the horrors from Nir Oz, was injured today (Tuesday) in an IDF drone attack in northern Rafah - according to According to Palestinian reports.

Al-Jazeera admitted that Ismail Abu Omar and the photographer Ahmed Matar, who were injured in the attack, are employed by the Qatari channel - but ignored the fact that it enthusiastically broadcast on Black Sabbath, while the residents of the Otef [Envelope] were subjected to a brutal attack.

In the photos published by the Palestinians, Abu Omar is seen lying in the European Hospital in Khan Yunis, after apparently losing one of his legs when he was hit while riding his motorcycle.

[135]

Al-Jazeera reporter Ismail Abu Amr The reporter at the hospital Yesterday, the members of the government approved in a telephone poll the draft of the "Al Jazeera Law" - which prevents the broadcasts of a foreign body that is declared to be harmful to the security of the state. The bill would allow the closure of Al Jazeera's offices in Israel.

The IDF spokesman in Arabic, Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee , on Sunday revealed a recording of an Al-Jazeera reporter using a weapon - and accused him of fulfilling a senior role in Hamas. In the post he published on his X account. He wrote: "In the morning a 'journalist' on the Al-Jazeera network and in the evening a terrorist in Hamas!"

Later in the post, Adraee  explained that during an IDF operation a few weeks ago, a laptop belonging to journalist Muhammad Samir Mohamed WaShah, born in 1986 in al-Burij, was found at a Hamas base in the northern Gaza Strip.

"From the findings on the computer, it appears that in addition to his role as a 'journalist', Mohamed is also a senior Hamas military operative in the anti-tank missile system," added Adraee . He also wrote that "at the end of 2022, Mohamed moved to work in the research and development of aerial weapons for the terrorist organization." Mako

YosephHaddad:

Al Jazeera journalist Ismail Abu Omar went in on October 7th together with Hamas terrorists to document the massacre in Nir Oz, he celebrated there and blessed and brought up shocking documents of abuse of Israeli bodies. 130 days after that the IDF bombed him and now he is badly injured without a leg and less smiling and happy... Feb 13, 2024. On Instagram

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Pompeo in Israel: Most Americans are with you in war. Israel has a duty to do its best to ensure that nothing like the Oct. 7 massacres ever happens again, the visiting former secretary of state said. Etgar Lefkovits.

(February 13, 2024 / Kibbutz Re'im / JNS) The vast majority of Americans stand with Israel in the war against Hamas, and the military response against the Islamist terrorist group has been both “perfectly appropriate” and necessary, former U.S. Secretary of State and CIA Director Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday. JNS

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Report: Qatar cease-fire negotiations will last at least 2 days. Qatari channel Al-Araby reported that the round of negotiations regarding the cease-fire in Gaza, which started today in Cairo, will last two or three day, according to an Egyptian source. However, the Israeli delegation is already making its way back to Israel. (Lior Ben Ari). 02.13.24, 13:58. YNet

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Israel arrests senior Hamas official in West Bank operation. By Jerusalem Post Staff 02/13/2024 03:50 PM. JPost

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After the disclosure of the documentation, in Israel it is estimated: Sinwar is still out of touch. Anger in Gaza after the publication of Yahya Sinwar's documentation from the tunnel: "We are thrown into the garbage and they live in good conditions underground" • Israel has newer documents, which may be published later • According to what is known, Sinwar did not contact the mediators • American officials: "There is no breakthrough In the talks in Cairo, the release of the freedmen is the main problem" • In Israel they estimate: the threat of the invasion of Rafah brings the deal closer. Nir Devori | Ohad Hemo | Dana Weiss| N12 | Published 23:30 13.02.24 Mako

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20,000 foreign workers expected to arrive in Israel to replace Palestinian workers. Israel is anticipating a significant influx of foreign workers, aiming to address labor shortages and expedite construction projects

i24NEWS February 13, 2024 at 02:23 PM latest revision February 13, 2024 at 02:44 PM i24

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WARMINGTON: Pro-Hamas supporters surrounding Jewish hospital a hate crime

Author of the article: Joe Warmington Published Feb 13, 2024 . When you have a female Jewish doctor’s car surrounded by Pro-Hamas protesters shouting “intifada,” while blocking people at an iconic hospital with Jewish roots, it’s no longer a protest but a hate crime. TorontoSun

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Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News. Tuesday, February 13, 2024. Biden parrots Hamas casualty numbers. In the press conference with Jordan's King Abdullah on Monday, President Biden said, The past four months, as the war has raged, the Palestinian people have also suffered unimaginable pain and loss. Too many — too many of the over 27,000 Palestinians killed in this conflict have been innocent civilians and children, including thousands of children. And hundreds of thousands have no access to food, water, or other basic services. Unlike most media, he didn't add "according to Gaza authorities" or "according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health."

But that is where the number comes from.

The Gaza Ministry of Health lies. One example was mentioned in the New York Times today [136]: 'One of the videos [137] released by Israel showed troops rushing into the hospital and appearing to find explosives, weapons and the hostage room. In the other, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, chief spokesman for the Israeli military, showed off guns, explosives and other weapons that he said were found in the basement of the hospital.

The video included footage of a piece of paper taped to a wall in the hospital’s basement. Admiral Hagari said the paper — a grid with Arabic words and numbers within each square — could be a schedule for guarding hostages “where every terrorist writes his name.”

The Gazan health ministry said it was nothing more than a work schedule. But the calendar begins on Oct. 7, the day of the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, and an Arabic title written at the top uses the militants’ name for the assault: “Al Aqsa Flood Battle, 7/10/2023.” ' [138]

So even the NYT knows that the ministry makes things up to support Hamas' narrative.

Biden, who showed skepticism early in the war about the accuracy of the casualty numbers, now accepts them uncritically.

I don't know the real number of casualties. It is still many thousands of people, and probably thousands of civilians. But the numbers being given every day by the Hamas authorities, certainly since mid-November, appear to me to be exaggerated by about 100%. Israel reduced the number of bunker buster strikes on tunnels as troops are on the ground and able to target terror assets in a more accurate fashion. The areas they are working are mostly civilian-free.

But Hamas loses nothing by lying. They know that their numbers are now accepted with little pushback.

Even by the President of the United States.

There are some jihadists with very wide smiles today. EoZ

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Media worries about terrorists who died in Israeli hostage rescue. Two hostages were rescued from Hamas, but all the media cares about is protecting Hamas. Daniel Greenfield. (February 13, 2024 / JNS). [139] JNS

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UN 'will not be party' to Rafah evacuation ... By AFP and TOI Staff 13 February, 2024, 1:40 am

The United Nations "will not be party" to any forced displacement of Palestinians currently living in Rafah, the spokesman for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Monday, saying there was nowhere safe in Gaza for them to go.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the military to prepare for an offensive in the southern Gaza city, Hamas’s last stronghold in Gaza, where the UN says roughly 1.4 million Palestinians are sheltering after fleeing fighting in other areas of the territory.

Netanyahu pledged to provide "safe passage" for civilians out of Rafah, in an interview with ABC News released over the weekend — without specifying where the large number of people massed near the border with Egypt would go. Washington has urged Israel to come up with a "credible" plan to protect civilians in the city before launching the offensive... [...] Israel is preparing for the Rafah offensive, a crucial goal in the war as it serves as a smuggling haven for the enclave’s terror groups, even as efforts toward a truce and a potential hostage deal are ongoing.

An agreement would see respite following four months of war in Gaza triggered by Hamas’s October 7 massacre in southern Israel, when terrorists slaughtered some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped 253 hostages to Gaza while committing brutal atrocities.

In response, Israel launched an extensive military campaign aimed at eliminating the terrorist organization and returning the hostages.

The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says the Palestinian death toll in the Strip since the start of the war has reached ... people.

The figures cannot be independently verified, and are believed to include both civilians and Hamas members killed in Gaza, including as a consequence of terror groups’ own rocket misfires. The IDF says it has killed over 10,000 operatives in Gaza, in addition to some 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7. TOI

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Protest in Jerusalem to demand removal of UNRWA headquarters. A demonstration, headed by Deputy Mayor Arieh KIng, will take place on Wednesday in the French Hill neighborhood in Jerusalem to demand the eviction of UNRWA headquarters from the neighborhood. Israel National News, Feb 14, 2024. A demonstration will take place on Wednesday in the French Hill neighborhood in Jerusalem to demand the immediate eviction of the “UNRWA-Gaza” headquarters from the neighborhood... INN

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Kann news @kann_news: The barrage on the city of Safed: girls in a kindergarten were recorded lying on the floor during the alarm with their hands on their heads. (Orly Alkalai) [140]. Feb 14, 2024 On X

IDF jets complete extensive strike in Lebanon. Among the targets struck were military compounds, operational control rooms, and terror infrastructure used by Hezbollah terrorists. Israel National News. Published: Feb 14, 2024, 1:51 PM (GMT+2) Updated: 4:57 PM INN

IDF says sites of elite Radwan force among Hezbollah targets struck in southern Lebanon. After heavy Hezbollah rocket barrage kills woman and injures eight others in northern Israel's Safed, military launches extensive retaliation in Lebanon, killing at least 4. Yossi Yehoshua | 02.14.24 | updated:10:10 YNet

Gantz: 'Strong response to deadly Tzfat attack will come soon'. National Unity party chairman reacts to death of Israeli in Hezbollah missile barrage on north. Israel National News. Published: Feb 14, 2024, 4:55 PM "It is important that we be clear - the party responsible for the shooting from Lebanon is not only Hezbollah or the terrorist elements that carry it out, but also the government of Lebanon and the state of Lebanon which allows the shooting from its territory and there is no target or military infrastructure in the area of the north and Lebanon that is not in our sights. "Also in the future and in whatever arrangement there is, whoever endangers us will be dealt with operationally. We are not ready to return to the reality of October 6, neither in the south nor in the north," Gantz said. At least 10 missiles were fired in the barrage on Tzfat and northern Israel this morning. INN

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US says its forces launch strike on missile in Houthi-controlled part of Yemen. By Reuters. 02/14/2024 03:25 PM JPost

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Israeli hostage families seek justice with war crimes complaint against Hamas. By Jeremy Diamond, Nadeen Ebrahim and Mick Krever, CNN Updated 11:54 AM EST, Wed February 14, 2024.

About 100 family members of Israeli hostages, including two former hostages, arrived in the Dutch city of The Hague on Wednesday to file a legal complaint against Hamas at the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The complaint, spearheaded by the Hostage and Missing Families Forum (HMFF), calls for the ICC to prosecute Hamas’s leaders for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity over the killing, kidnapping and sexual violence carried out during the October 7 terrorist attack. CNN

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IDF reveals: Photo of Al Jazeera 'journalist' on October 7th. Al Jazeera news network reported that their journalist Ismail Abu Omar was injured in Gaza. The IDF revealed that he is a deputy company commander in Hamas' Eastern Battalion of Khan Yunis. Israel National News, Feb 14, 2024. [141]. The Al Jazeera news network reported on Tuesday that one of their journalists was injured during an IDF strike in the southern Gaza Strip.

On Wednesday, the IDF revealed that Ismail Abu Omar, the journalist that the Al Jazeera news network reported about, is a deputy company commander in Hamas' Eastern Battalion of Khan Yunis.

According to the IDF, Abu Omar even filmed himself in Kibbutz Nir Oz during the October 7th massacre and published it on social media platforms.

The IDF published a photo depicting Abu Omar participating in the massacre.

On Sunday, the IDF’s Arabic language spokesman, Avichay Adraee, revealed that the IDF had found the laptop of Muhammad Washah, a journalist for Al Jazeera in a Hamas base in northern Gaza.

The IDF claims that Washah served as a senior commander in Hamas’s antitank missile system, and moved to the research and development department of its air force at the end of 2022. INN

Israel Defense Forces @IDF Ismail Abu Omar holds two roles. According to @AlJazeera he’s a journalist. According to common sense, he’s a terrorist.

How do we know this? Abu Omar is a deputy company commander in Hamas’ Eastern Battalion of Khan Yunis who filmed himself in Kibbutz Nir Oz during the October 7 massacre. Feb 14, 2024 On X

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Israel approves use of Musk's Starlink for Gaza medical facilities. Previously the Israeli communication announced intentions to sever ties with Starlink due to concerns regarding its potential use by Hamas. i24News. February 14, 2024 at 03:11 PM latest revision February 14, 2024 at 03:17 PM i24

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Indiana man who converted to Islam charged with threatening to kill pro-Israel US officials. "I am going to kill every Jew in Fort Wayne and there is nothing you can do about it," he wrote, with another message stating "I am going to shoot every pro-israel [sic] US government official in the head." Kate Davisourt, Feb 14, 2024. [142] The PM

Indiana man arrested for antisemitic threats. Jeffrey Stevens is accused of threatening to murder Jews and pro-Israel government officials after Oct. 7. David Swindle.

(February 15, 2024 / JNS) Jeffrey Stevens, 41, allegedly sent messages to the CIA and to the Fort Wayne Police Department, in Indiana, threatening to murder Jews and pro-Israel government officials.

According to a complaint, filed on Feb. 12 with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana to apply for an arrest warrent, Stevens operated Facebook pages under the names “Jeffrey Stevens,” “Zayed Stevens” and the “Ishmael Report.”

On Sept. 28, someone wrote to the CIA from an IP address registered to Stevens and his partner, saying, “I am a journalist covering the Middle East with very strong connections throughout the West Bank, specifically in Jenin and Nablus, and I am starting to make reliable connections throughout Syria and Lebanon.

“I would like to be involved with anything not exactly Israel but Netanyahu’s far-right government that will only cause problems for the U.S.,” the writer continued. “I will make a lot of noise with or without you.”

On Oct. 8, the day after Hamas’s terror attack on Israel, someone posted to the CIA website from the same IP address: “I have very strong Palestinian, Hezbollah and Iranian contacts. You people had better wake up. If the U.S. strikes Palestinian resistance, you will be destroyed. I cannot wait until CIA operatives start getting eliminated. I am going to laugh.”

An email address bearing Stevens’s name and from the IP address registered at his residence, wrote to the CIA again on Nov. 17. “I am going to shoot every pro-israel [sic] US government official in the head, and there is nothing you can do about it because you are the pathetic CIA,” the person wrote. “I am going to kill all of you.”

Three days later, according to the complaint, the Zayed Stevens account on Facebook sent a message to the police department in Fort Wayne, Ind. “I am going to kill every Jew in ft. [sic] Wayne, and there is nothing you can do about it.” The message used several racist terms, per the complaint.

On Dec. 10, Stevens apparently became even bolder. He wrote again to the CIA, this time leaving his email address and phone number. “People will remember me. I am going to be the pro-Palestinian who finally had enough that i [sic] started eliminating CIA operatives,” he wrote. “I am going to make sure that every CIA member who is pro-Israel is eliminated. I am so confident that I will give you my phone number, and there is nothing you can do about it because you are a botch [sic].”

Law enforcement evidently did something about it.

Stevens admitted to investigators that he had written the messages to the CIA and Indiana police department, the complaint says. “Stevens also said that he has a drinking problem and that he does things when he is drunk, like the above post and message.”

Lisa Monaco, the U.S. deputy attorney general, told ABC News in December that there have been “more than 1,800” threats and tips related to the Oct. 7 attacks and the ensuing war, and more than 100 related criminal investigations are open... JNS

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Soros network gave paid fellowship to head of anti-Israel center propping up terrorism. Gabe Kaminsky, February 14, 2024.

The philanthropy network steering the wealth of Democratic megadonor George Soros awarded a paid fellowship to the leader of a law school’s anti-Israel office facing a Senate investigation for promoting terrorist sympathizers, records show.

Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans this month requested Rutgers University by Feb. 20 turn over funding and budget information on its Center for Security, Race and Rights, which the lawmakers accused of spreading “vile antisemitic propaganda,” while its advisory board included Adeel Mangi, a judicial nominee for the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Rutgers Law professor Sahar Aziz, who directs the center, pocketed $143,000 from the Soros-backed Open Society Foundations network for its equality fellowship to advance “racial justice,” according to disclosures on the grantmaker’s Washington Examiner

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Inquiry into 'death to Israel' chants at Islamic centre. By Ed Thomas Special correspondent 14 February 2024

The chants were heard at an event at the Kanoon Towhid Islamic Centre in west London.

The Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry after footage of "death to Israel" chants at an Islamic centre was revealed by the BBC.

The charity regulator said it was investigating "serious concerns over the misuse of charity premises".

Trustees of the Al-Tawheed (TUCF) Charitable Trust told the Commission they were not in office at the time.

The commission said antisemitic chants were heard at the event.

In January, the BBC verified videos obtained by Kasra Aarabi, director of IRGC research at the US-based campaign group United Against Nuclear Iran, from inside the Kanoon Towhid Islamic centre in west London, commemorating Iran's top military commander Gen Qasem Soleimani. He had been killed in a US air strike in 2020.

Chants of "death to Israel" were heard at the event, but it is not known who was saying them... BBC

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Hamas recruiter tells CBS News that Israel's actions in Gaza are fueling a West Bank recruiting boom. By Debora Patta, Agnes Reau. February 14, 2024 / 1:09 PM EST / CBS News

Jenin, West Bank — After more than four months of war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and despite mounting international pressure to limit the devastating impact on Palestinian civilians, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel's goal remains the same — to destroy Hamas.

But in the other Palestinian territory, the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the seemingly endless war in Gaza is having exactly the opposite effect: It is fuelling Palestinian rage, and that rage is finding a receptive home in thousands of young Palestinians who are increasingly disenchanted, and increasingly defiant.

There's been mounting anecdotal evidence that the steadily rising death toll and grim humanitarian conditions in Gaza is eroding support for Hamas in the decimated enclave. But in the West Bank, the number of people who tell pollsters they support the U.S.- and Israeli-designated terror organization has soared from 12% to 42% since Hamas launched its Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

A masked Hamas commander who agreed to speak with CBS News at an undisclosed location in the West Bank was proud to confirm that he's a wanted man. Calling himself Abu Abed, he said he joined Hamas nine years ago, when he was just 16. Almost half of his time since then was spent in an Israeli jail, but now he works as a recruiter for Hamas.

(CNS News correspondent Debora Patta interviews a Hamas recruiter who identified himself as Abu Abed, in Jenin, Israeli-occupied West Bank, in mid-February 2024).

We asked him if his job had become easier, with more recruits signing on in the West Bank since Hamas launched its brutal terror attack.

"For sure," he said, grinning. "All the Palestinian people are standing by Hamas."

The world recoiled in horror at the savagery of the Oct. 7 attack, when women, children and the elderly were slaughtered in their homes and taken hostage, but Abu Abed described it chillingly as a legitimate act of resistance.

"We see death every single day," he said. "Israel lost, what, 1,000 or 2,000 people killed? That's nothing."

He parroted Hamas' lies that no civilians were killed in the attack, and showed no remorse either for the more than 28,000[sic] Palestinians who've been killed in Gaza — by Hamas officials' own count — as the Israeli military retaliates for his group's actions.

We asked him directly if there was any regret for the suffering of Palestinian civilians, as Hamas surely knew Israel would respond harshly to the unprecedented attack.

"We are not pleased with that, but this is the path of the armed struggle," he said. CBS

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Tlaib ‘present,’ as House votes unanimously to condemn Hamas for rape. "Rep. Tlaib isn't content to 'All Lives Matter' the mass rape of Jewish women by Hamas. She has actually appropriated the atrocities perpetrated against Jews," wrote Batya Ungar-Sargon, Newsweek's opinion editor. Menachem Wecker.

(February 14, 2024 / JNS) The U.S. House of Representatives voted unanimously, 418-0, to condemn Hamas terrorists for rape and sexual violence on Oct. 7.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), a progressive member of the “Squad” who has a long history of antisemitic comments, voted “present,” as the House passed H.Res.966 on Wednesday.

“On Oct. 7, Hamas terrorists attacked Israel, mercilessly killing 1,200 people; raping, mutilating, burning and assaulting their victims to inflict physical and psychological pain, unleashing trauma that continues to plague a grieving Israel,” stated Rep. Lois Frankel (D-Fla.), who introduced the resolution.

“The brutality was planned and calculated,” Frankel added. “Sadly, Hamas’s savagery has been met with a shrug—and even denial—from many corners of the world. Our resolution loudly and clearly condemns all rape and forms of sexual violence as weapons of war, including those acts committed by Hamas terrorists on and since Oct. 7.”

Frankel introduced the resolution, which received 200 co-sponsors from both sides of the aisle, with Reps. Mario Díaz-Balart (R-Fla.), Kathy Manning (D-N.C.) and Jen Kiggans (R-Va.).

The resolution condemns all rape and sexual violence “as weapons of war,” including those Hamas committed on and after Oct. 7; calls on all countries to criminalize rape and sexual assault and hold both state and non-state armed groups accountable for such attacks; and tells international groups to “unequivocally condemn the barbaric murder, rape, sexual assault and kidnapping by Hamas and other terrorists on and since Oct. 7 and hold accountable all perpetrators.”

It also reaffirms the U.S. government’s “support for independent, impartial investigations of rape and sexual violence committed by Hamas on and since Oct. 7” and “reaffirms its commitment to supporting survivors of rape and sexual violence, including those brutalized on and since Oct. 7.”

Díaz-Balart, the Florida Republican, stated that Congress “stands in strong, bipartisan solidarity with the victims of terrorism and sexual violence” and called Hamas’s atrocities “shocking in their depravity.”

“I’m heartbroken, outraged and devastated for the victims and survivors,” stated Manning, the North Carolina Democrat. “I’m proud that a bipartisan majority of representatives voted to pass this important resolution.”

Kiggans, the Virginia Republican, stated that Hamas’s sexual violence on Oct. 7 is “shocking and truly horrifying,” and said “as a woman serving in Congress, I believe it is my duty to use my voice to condemn such sickening violence.”

“Today’s strong bipartisan vote sends a clear message that the United States stands against the despicable acts committed by Hamas terrorists against women and girls in Israel,” Kiggans added.

Accountability for perpetrators

“The international community’s utter failure to adequately condemn and address Hamas’s use of sexual and gender-based violence as a weapon of war on and since Oct. 7 is not merely disappointing—it is a dereliction of duty for all who claim to stand for human rights and humanity,” stated Ted Deutch, CEO of the American Jewish Committee.

“The world cannot turn a blind eye to this brutality and such atrocities,” Deutch added. “The whole of Congress needs to make clear that the United States is united in demanding accountability for the perpetrators of these heinous crimes.”

The AJC also noted that Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Deb Fisher (R-Neb.) introduced a similar resolution, S.Res.505.

Tlaib, who voted “present” rather than to condemn Hamas terrorists for rape and sexual violence, explained her vote on social media. “We all have a responsibility to denounce sexual violence in all forms, regardless of who is responsible,” she wrote. “War crimes cannot justify more war crimes. This resolution falls well short of also acknowledging the sexual abuse of Palestinians.”

In her post, Tlaib not only adopted an “all lives matter” approach to the mass rape of Jewish women, according to Batya Ungar-Sargon, the opinion editor of Newsweek. “She has actually appropriated the atrocities perpetrated against Jews in an attempt to reverse the truth to fit the woke narrative in which Jews are perpetrators and Palestinians victims,” Ungar-Sargon wrote. JNS

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Jewish Man Stabbed Six Times During Antisemitic Assault in Paris. by Ben Cohen, Feb 14, 2024.

Police in Paris have arrested a man over the stabbing of a Jewish man on Monday night by a former friend of the victim who is said to have become "obsessed" with Jews.

According to an eyewitness, the 35-year-old victim, who has not been named, was walking with his partner in the 14th arrondissement of the French capital when they were confronted by the assailant, who was armed with a knife. The assailant was reported to have uttered antisemitic invective before stabbing the man in the back six times. Algemeiner

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Calls for probe into judge who let women who wore parachute images at pro-Palestine march walk free as it emerges he liked post branding Israel 'terrorist' By Frankie Elliott 17:14 EST 14 Feb 2024 , updated 03:07 EST 15 Feb 2024. Tanweer Ikram is facing calls to be investigated for a conflict of interest Liked post by barrister who previously promoted October 7 conspiracy theories Daily Mail

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Biden shielding Palestinians in US from deportation, New York Times reports. By Reuters Published: February 14, 2024 23:48

US President Joe Biden is using executive authority to shield thousands of Palestinians in the US from deportation for the next 18 months, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing a memo.

Some 6,000 Palestinians are eligible for the reprieve under an immigration program called Deferred Enforced Departure, the newspaper reported. Biden cited the danger to civilians in Gaza for taking the step, it added. JPost

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US, Mideast allies promoting plan to establish Palestinian state, report says. The Biden administration, in partnership with Middle Eastern allies, is advancing a long-term peace plan between Israel and the Palestinians that includes a defined timeline for the establishment of a Palestinian state, The Washington Post reported on Thursday. According to the newspaper, the urgency of these efforts is directly related to ongoing negotiations to cease hostilities in the Gaza Strip and secure the release of hostages, and the plan could be announced in the coming weeks. (Ynet) 02.15.24 YNet

Biden quickly advancing plan for Palestinian state. Biden administration and several Arab countries are advancing a plan to declare a Palestinian state after the war in Gaza ends timetable expected to be announced within weeks. Israel National News Feb 15, 2024, 9:33 AM INN

Report: US, Arab announcement on peace framework, Palestinian state could come in weeks. Ministers angrily reject reports of US peace plan * International pressure mounts against Israeli op in Rafah * Lebanon says 11 civilians, 4 Hezbollah men killed in Israeli strikes. TOI

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News flash - Thursday February 15, 2024, 10:10. IDF spokesman: 12 wanted persons were arrested in Judea and Samaria; 6 lathes were taken out of use. Amir Bohbot

(Overnight, Thursday), the IDF, Shin Bet, and MGB forces arrested 12 wanted persons throughout Judea and Samaria, and disabled six lathes for the production of weapons in the village of Beitonia in the Binyamin Brigade. In the city of Ramallah, the forces confiscated equipment from two printing houses that printed incendiary materials for Hamas. In the village Illar, in the Menashe division, the forces arrested four wanted persons, located weapons and confiscated terrorist funds. In the city of Nablus, in the Samaria division, they located weapons and ready-to-use explosives. Walla

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IDF: Credible intelligence that hostages were held in Nasser Hospital. IDF carrying out 'precise operation' in Gaza's Nasser Hospital, following intelligence that hostages were held there. 'Terrorists likely hiding behind injured civilians there, right now,' spokesman Daniel Hagari says. Israel National News, Feb 15, 2024 INN

IDF apprehends multiple suspects in Nasser Hospital.

'Goal of the operation is to reach Hamas terrorist operatives, including those suspected of involvement in the October 7th massacre,' IDF emphasizes. Israel National News, Feb 15, 2024, 1:28 PM INN

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Iran's cyber blitz on Israel, US packs limited punch, Google study reveals. Google's cybersecurity firm Mandiant says Iran, Hamas cyber activities reviewed over 6 months confirm Tehran's minimal interest in supporting Hamas in Gaza war. Ynetnews | published: 02.15.24, 04:42 YNet

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IDF confirms elimination of senior Hezbollah commander and deputy. The operation resulted in the death of Ali Muhammad al-Debes, identified as a senior commander within Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force.

i24NEWS February 15, 2024 at 09:04 AM latest revision February 15, 2024 at 09:15 AM. ...According to the IDF, al-Debes was a key figure within the Radwan Force and had played a significant role in orchestrating various attacks against Israel. Notably, he was identified as one of the masterminds behind the bombing attack at Megiddo Junction in northern Israel in March 2023, as well as being involved in other hostile activities against Israel amid the ongoing conflict. i24

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CIA director met Netanyahu, Mossad head in secret visit to Israel - report. By Jerusalem Post Staff 02/15/2024 04:38 PM JPost

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Hamas rejects Israeli proposal to release 1,500 inmates for hostages - report. By Jerusalem Post Staff. Published: February 15, 2024 JPost

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Hostages' bodies held in Khan Younis hospital, IDF says. Terrorist admitted during interrogation that Hamas operatives operated out of the Nasser hospital and said that 'Hamas uses hospitals as places for terrorism,' IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari revealed; 'The hospital held hostages and the bodies of hostages' Roi Rubinstein, Yoav Zitun | published: 02.15.24, 18:21. YNet

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Kibbutz Nir Oz: Hostage Yair Yaakov was murdered by Hamas. Kibbutz announces one of its residents who was kidnapped on October 7, 59-year-old Yair Yaakov, was murdered that day. His partner and 2 kidnapped children were released during hostage deal in November.

Israel National News, Feb 15, 2024. INN

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Hamas uses civilians as human shields, Gazan journalist states. By Jerusalem Post Staff Published: February 15, 2024.

Saftawi says it's the first time in a decade that he's been able to speak on this publicly.

Gaza-based journalist Jehad Saftawi said on Tuesday that the Hamas terrorist organization indeed uses civilians as human shields in the war against Israel.

"Hamas terrorists used my family and hundreds of our neighbors as human shields. Hamas continues to hold the people of Gaza captive," Saftawi posted on X. "There should be no reconstruction of my family's home while a stockpile of weapons lies underneath.

"Goals rather than causes are what is behind Hamas's masterminds' wars. The case for removing Hamas is not to fuel escalation but to prevent it, which is why they should never be allowed to retake control of Gaza," he continued to say. Saftawi then admitted that it was the first time in more than 10 years that he's "been able to speak about this publicly," stating that it's "a cry for realignment for our Palestinian society as well as an appeal to the international community."

In a piece he wrote for Time magazine, the Palestinian journalist began by saying that the terrorist organization "built tunnels beneath my family's home in Gaza. Now it lies in ruin." He also states that it's been seven years since he escaped Gaza, and later fled to the United States. JPost

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Israel says South Africa’s latest appeal to ICJ an attempt ‘to protect ally Hamas’. Jerusalem castigates Pretoria’s new bid to halt IDF offensive against terror group, says country is cynically abusing the Genocide Convention. By Jeremy Sharon. 15 Feb 2024, 11:19 pm TOI

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Matisyahu Says Politically-Motivated Workers May Be Getting Shows Canceled Two of Matisyahu's recent concerts got canceled ... and he's theorizing the cancelations might've been caused by some workers making a political statement against Israel. February 15, 2024. TMZ

Matisyahu: My shows in New Mexico and Arizona were cancelled for political reasons. Popular Jewish singer says his planned shows were cancelled not for security reasons, as was claimed, but because staff were unwilling to work due to his pro-Israel stance. Tucson venue says his show is still on. Israel National News, Feb 16, 2024

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Lakewood Church Shooter in Hijab Praised Hamas and Osama bin Laden. "Don't worry my MUSLIMS brothers I am pass the threat phase. I'm in planning mode."

February 15, 2024 by Daniel Greenfield .

“Don’t worry my MUSLIMS brothers I am pass the threat phase. I’m in planning mode.”

A mentally unstable leftist shot 3 Muslims in Burlington, VT and every political figure, including Biden and Kamala, and the entire media falsely claimed it was “Islamophobia” and “anti-Palestinianism” until it turned out that the shooter supported Hamas.

A mentally unstable woman walks into a pro-Israel church with a rifle that says “Palestine” on it after appearing in a hijab and there’s uncomfortable fidgeting. The police claimed that she had “antisemitic writings”, they neglected to mention the overt support for Islamic terrorism.

Moreno’s Telegram posts indicate she began planning the attack at least a month prior to the shooting and initially considered targeting a pro-Israel rally. “I call on all Muslim college people invite me to the next pro-Israel rally I will have two surprises in support of PALESTINE,” she wrote in a January 3, 2024, post.

In another January 3, 2024, post, Moreno wrote, “ALLAH is willing, I will …. Jews to send my message to Walli Carranza. Don’t worry my MUSLIMS brothers I am pass the threat phase. I’m in planning mode. Please don’t message me private trying to stop me.”

Moreno, who expressed admiration for Osama bin Laden, whom she referred to as “uncle,” made several posts in which she expressed a desire to kill Jews and wage jihad. “I always knew I had a purpose to do for Islam and Christianity. We must all come together Christians need the heart that they had back in the day back in the revivals of the old age. But this time to kill all Jews. #warjihad #mywarjihad,” she posted on December 23, 2023.

She also shared content from Resistance News Network (RNN), a radical anti-Zionist English-language Telegram channel that promotes violence against Israel. RNN’s posts include the explicit promotion of U.S. State Department-designated foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs) such as Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), as well as many images of individuals with guns and the depiction of rockets being fired at Israel. RNN also provides English translations of communiques from Hamas’ Al Qassam Brigades and the Iranian-funded Hezbollah terrorist group.

In addition to sharing content from RNN, Moreno also shared terrorists’ commentary in her own Telegram channel. Among them: Hamas, Hezbollah, Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), Ansar Allah (The Houthis) and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

Now there’s every reason to believe that Genesse Moreno was nuts. The entire family situation is a bottomless well of crazy in which seemingly two schizophrenics married each other and the whole thing went up in flames. Moreno’s mother-in-law had been married to a Latino guy who cheated on her and she became a counselor and apparently a ‘rabbi’ living in France to recover from the trauma. Moreno’s husband was a sex offender. The mother-in-law was in a custody dispute with Moreno.

None of that changes the fact that she chose to align with Islamic terrorists, to discuss Allah and to pose in a hijab.

While Muslim terrorism is often blamed on mental illness, some Muslim terrorists really are crazy. So what? Hitler was out of his mind toward the end of the war. Insanity doesn’t change the reality of what happened even if it’s a limited legal defense in court.

Genesse Moreno seems to have hooked up with Islamic terrorist supporters and shared her hatred for Jews. Did they encourage her and lead her down the path? Quite possibly. It’s not as if some ISIS or Hamas supporter on Telegram is going to offer aspiring terrorists a psych exam.

And as long as Islamic terrorism is a viable proposition, it’s going to attract fans and adherents, even if some are nuts, but if Moreno had picked a target where there weren’t a bunch of armed men in attendance, the whole thing could have been another Pulse massacre horror instead of an incident that no one wants to talk about. FPM

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UN Relief Chief: Hamas is not a terrorist group for us.

Israeli officials blast UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, who claimed in TV interview that Hamas is a "political movement" and not a terrorist group. Elad Benari, Feb 16, 2024, 12:13 AM ...Martin Griffiths, spoke to Sky News on Wednesday... INN

Top UN official branded ‘pathetic,’ a ‘collaborator of Hamas’ for saying group is not a terrorist organization. By Melissa Koenig. Published Feb. 16, 2024, 3:14 p.m. ET NY Post

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Netanyahu in message to US: We reject international dictates on Palestinian state. After speaking to Biden, Netanyahu responds to reports that the administration is planning to establish a Palestinian state: Israel will continue to oppose the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state. Elad Benari. Feb 16, 2024, 1:29 AM INN

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2 dead, 4 wounded in terror shooting in southern Israel. 2 killed and 4 wounded in terror attack in Masmiya junction near Gedera; the shooter has been neutralized. Ynet | published: 02.16.24 06:19

Two people were murdered on Friday and four others were moderately to severely. injured in a terror shooting attack on a bus station at the Masmiya junction near Gedera. A civilian who was at the scene neutralized the terrorist. Magen David Adom paramedics evacuated the casualties to Kaplan Hospital in Rehovot and Assuta Hospital in Ashdod. Police Commissioner Yaakov Shabtai and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir are present at the scene. YNet

Yeshiva student named as first victim of southern Israel terrorist shooting. Yishai Gartner, 23, from Modi'in Illit shot dead by terrorist - Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem described as having appearance of 'Islamic State member'; another victim remains unidentified; 4 wounded, including 16-year-old in critical condition Elisha Ben Kimon, Liran Tamari | published: 02.16.24 11:01 YNet

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Satellite photos show Egypt building a wall near Gaza Strip as Israeli offensive on Rafah looms. Egypt is building a wall and is leveling land near its border with the Gaza Strip ahead of a planned Israeli offensive targeting the border city of Rafah.

By Jon Gambrell Associated Press February 16, 2024, 5:23 AM ET ABC News

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20 Oct. 7 terrorists arrested at Nasser Hospital. Dozens of terrorists arrested, mortar shells grenades and other weapons found during operation at Khan Yunis hospital used by Hamas for terrorist activity. Israel National News, Feb 16, 2024. INN

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Simon Wiesenthal Center: 'Fire UN rapporteur who said Oct. 7 not antisemitic' Israel National News Feb 16, 2024, 12:25 PM INN

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US sanctions against Houthis over Red Sea attacks take effect. By Reuters 02/16/2024 05:26 PM JPost

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Israeli and German Presidents meet in Berlin Israel National News Feb 16, 2024, 2:52 PM INN

Herzog, Qatari PM meet in secret to discuss release of Gaza hostages - report. By Jerusalem Post Staff 02/16/2024 06:31 PM JPost

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More than 30 of UNRWA’s employees actively participated in October 7. By Jerusalem Post Staff. February 16, 2024. Gallant told reporters that Israel has intelligence that more than 30 of the organization’s employees actively participated in the murder spree, assisting in the kidnapping of civilians and soldiers.

He presented data, according to which 12% of the 13,000 UNRWA employees are connected to terrorist organizations in Gaza, and 1,468 of the employees are even active in them.

Gallant presented a video to the reporters taken by security cameras at the Erez crossing on October 7, in which you can see how the medics of the Palestinian “Red Crescent” helped to evacuate a wounded Nukhba terrorist. [143] JPost

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In Gaza they prepared a Knafeh in honor of the attack. "The Innocent Citizens" [144] 02/16/2024. On Telegram

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Footage shows UNRWA employee kidnapping body on October 7. CCTV recordings show UNRWA relief worker Faisal Ali Mussalem Al Naami abducting body into his pickup truck with the help of a Hamas terrorist. Ynet | 02.17.24

Defense Minister Yoav Galant revealed on Friday details on 12 UNRWA employees who participated in Hamas’ massacre on October 7. New footage recently uncovered shows one of the relief workers – 45-year-old Faisal Ali Mussalem Al Naami — abducting a body from Kibbutz Be’eri.

([145] Footage of Ali Mussalem Al Naami abducting body on October 7. [146])

The footage was released in The Washington Post after Gallant presented a photo of the incident during his statement. Naami – a UNRWA relief worker who was in fact a Hamas terrorist - was seen collecting the body into a vehicle together with an armed terrorist and driving away from the scene. Ynet chose not to publish the footage due to its graphic nature.

The body was abducted at 09:30 a.m., at the entrance to the kibbutz - where the bodies of three men who were shot dead were lying outside their car. Naami and the armed terrorist spread a blanket in the back of the off-road vehicle they arrived with and put one of the bodies inside.

They are then seen rummaging through items scattered on the street, looting a cell phone and a hat - and driving away, less than three minutes after arriving. It’s unclear why they didn’t abduct other bodies, or if the body they are seen taking in the footage was taken into the Gaza Strip. The Washington Post noted the footage provides a fuller picture than Gallant’s brief description, according to which Naami "was involved in the abduction of an IDF soldier from Be’eri." Israel also accused Naami of belonging to the Hamas’s Nusayrat battalion.

(Presentation - Erez Crossing, on the morning of October 7, where you can see how the medics of the "Palestinian Red Crescent" are carrying a wounded terrorist in Noh'ba.)

The news outlet wrote it was able to identify Naami last month by using Israeli classified documents, and "The Post found images of Naami online and then used facial recognition software to find a likely match for him in footage from Oct. 7. The Post found other indications pointing to Naami as the individual in the footage.” The report also noted that the footage shows a Nissan Terrano II vehicle matching the model of the car with which Naami was seen on his social media posts. Gallant said Friday that Israel has information based on military intelligence indicating that over 30 UNRWA workers actively participated in the massacre and assisted in the abduction of Israeli residents and soldiers. Sinwar's ex-cellmate: 'The massacre he planned gave Israel all the reasons to break the rules'. YNet

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IDF identifies reservist as second victim of Friday's terrorist shooting. The IDF reported Saturday evening that Sergeant First Class (res.) Ori Yaish, 27, from Modi'in, a 16th Brigade soldier, was killed in the terrorist shooting attack in southern Israel the day before. (Ynetnews) 02.17.24. YNet

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Teen injured in terror attack not out of danger. The 16-year-old yeshiva student injured in a terror attack in southern Israel is in very serious condition, still in danger of his life, hospital says. Israel National News, Feb 17, 2024, 11:06 PM INN

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IDF arrests 100 suspects in Khan Younis operation. The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit reported Saturday that troops operating in Khan Younis arrested 100 terror suspects in the Nasser Hospital located in the city. “Furthermore in Khan Yunis, IDF troops conducted targeted raids on numerous terrorist targets where they located weapons including grenades, explosive devices, and AK-47 rifles,” the military said in a statement. (Ynet) 02.17.24 YNet

IDF: 100 terror suspects apprehended in Nasser Hospital. IDF activity in central Gaza, Khan Yunis, and Nasser Hospital continues; at least 100 terror suspects arrested thus far in Nasser Hospital. Israel National News, Feb 17, 2024. INN

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IDF says it struck Hezbollah rocket launching post and another site in southern Lebanon. By Emanuel Fabian. 17 Feb 2024. ...it also shelled an area near Hamoul with artillery, to “remove a threat.” TOI

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Hostages rescued in Rafah call on Netanyahu to push for deal. By Jerusalem Post Staff 02/17/2024 07:43 PM JPost

Netanyahu: If Hamas drops ‘delusional demands’ hostage deal can progress. By Tovah Lazaroff. 02/17/2024 08:00 PM JPost

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In under 30 minutes: Terrorist who fired rocket towards Ashkelon killed. Israel National News Feb 17, 2024, 6:42 PM INN

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Qatar Prime Minister: Stopping the war should not be a precondition for the release of hostages.

Mohammed al-Thani spoke at the security conference and referred to the difficulties in the negotiations - and publicly criticized Hamas • At the same time he made it clear: time is not working in our favor, there was good progress but in the last few days we did not progress as we wanted • According to him, "If we succeed in obtaining good conditions in the coming days - I believe we can see an agreement in the near future."

N12 | Published 19:27 17.02.24. Mako

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US signals veto in Security Council Gaza vote as Egypt braces for IDF Rafah operation. Washington says Algerian resolution could jeopardize ‘sensitive’ temporary truce talks; Gal Hirsch: Hamas using displaced Palestinians in south Gaza as ‘human shields’. 18 Feb 2024 TOI

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Rebuffing Biden, full cabinet rejects Palestinian state recognition as ‘prize for terror’. By Joshua Davidovich and TOI Staff Entire government backs declaration against ‘international diktats’ * PA, Hamas to hold unity talks next week * US threatens to veto Security Council resolution on Gaza ceasefire. 18 Feb 2024. TOI

Govt. unanimously rejects imposition of PA state. Cabinet uninanimously approves declaration brought by PM Netanyahu rejecting foreign attempts to impose a Palestinian state in the aftermath of October 7. Israel National News Feb 18, 2024, 1:11 PM INN

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J’lem rejects World Court’s authority in second anti-Israel case. Unlike the recent [so-called] "genocide case," Israel decided that the court has no jurisdiction to sit in judgment on Israel's presence in Judea and Samaria. David Isaac.

(February 18, 2024 / JNS) Israel has decided not to send a representative to the International Court of Justice in The Hague, aka the “World Court,” for a hearing on Monday regarding the legality of Israel’s “occupation” of Judea and Samaria, commonly known as the West Bank.

The decision was made late last week by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Israel Katz, Justice Minister Yariv Levin and National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi. Also at the meeting was British law professor Malcolm Shaw, who represented Israel in the genocide case. JNS

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Nasser Hospital: IDF locates medications meant for hostages Israel National News Feb 18, 2024, 7:56 PM INN

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Watch: Gazans swarm aid trucks under Hamas gunfire in Gaza City Footage shows large crowds of Gazans swarming incoming humanitarian aid trucks, and fleeing shortly afterward amid sounds of gunfire Hadar Adi | published:02.18.24 | 17:30 YNet

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US readies new weapons shipment to Israel; embassy says no human rights concerns. Assessment says ‘Israel takes effective action’ to prevent human rights violations; Biden’s continued support for Israel draws increased criticism. By TOI Staff 18 Feb 2024. The Biden administration is preparing to send a new weapons shipment to Israel that would add to its arsenal even as the US seeks to rein in the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip and pushes for a pause in the fighting, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday, citing current and former US officials. TOI

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'I urge you to press Qatar to press Hamas'. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses Conference of Presidents of the Major American Jewish Organizations: I hope we can achieve a deal soon, but deal or no deal, we have to finish the job. Israel National News Feb 18, 2024, 11:35 PM INN

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The "journalist" who documented the massacre was flown to Qatar without Israel's knowledge

Ismail Abu Omar from Al-Jazeera, who broadcast from Nir Oz on Black Sabbath, was injured last week in an IDF attack in the north of Rafah and lost his leg • The pro-Qatari channel reported that he was evacuated on a Qatari plane • In Israel they did not know that Abu Amr left for Qatar through the Rafah crossing

Sapir Lipkin | N12| Published 22:48 18.02.24

Al-Jazeera "journalist" Ismail Abu Omar, who documented the murderous massacre by Hamas terrorists on October 7 and broadcast the horrors from Nir Oz, lost his leg in an attack in Rafah last week. This evening (Sunday) the television channel where he is employed reported that Abu Omar, accused by Israel of involvement in terrorism, arrived in Doha to receive medical treatment.

According to the Qatar channel, he was evacuated by a Qatari evacuation plane. In Israel they did not know that Abu Omar, who left for Qatar through the Rafah crossing - crossed from the Gaza Strip into Egyptian territory, the crossing is not compatible with the security authorities.

Last week, the IDF spokesman in Arabic, Lt. Col. Avichai Adree revealed that Abu Omar also served as the deputy commander of a company belonging to the East Khan Yunis Battalion in Hamas.

Al-Jazeera admitted that Ismail Abu Omar and the photographer Ahmed Matar who were injured in the attack, are employed by the pro-Qatari channel - but ignored the fact that it enthusiastically broadcast on Black Sabbath, while the residents of the Otef were subjected to a brutal attack. Last week, the members of the government approved in a telephone poll the draft of the "Al Jazeera Law" - which prevents the broadcasts of a foreign body that is declared to harm the security of the state. The bill would allow the closure of Al Jazeera's offices in Israel. Mako

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Pro-Palestinian activists assault bystander filming Australia rally.

During pro-Palestinian rally attended by few hundred protesters, 2 activists assault bystander passing through the area and filming event; police yet to detain attackers. Hod Bass, Tobias Siegal | 02.18.24, 12:42. Two men wearing keffiyehs attacked the man; while local police were on scene to help him, they apparently have not apprehended the attackers. [147] YNet

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Anastasia Gorbenko: "I had tears in my eyes from the excitement".

The newly minted world runner-up, who won the first ever medal for Israel and dedicated it to a childhood friend who was kidnapped in Gaza - specifically at the championships held in Qatar, in an interview right after the win: "It's exciting to be here with the flag 'on their heads'" • On the boos after leaving the pool: I tried to ignore it" • And for the future: "I hope this is not my last medal"

Ben Goldfriend | N12 | Published 23:20 18.02.24 

Not for the first time in her career, Anastasia Gorbenko broke a record. But this time it's a historic and particularly honorable record: the first medal ever at the World Swimming Championships, including breaking an Israeli record, when she won a silver medal at the World Swimming Championships held in Qatar. In the first interview after the swim, she tells about the close fight in the final, the shrill boos immediately after leaving the pool and the excitement of standing on the podium.

"It's a great honor to do it on Qatar soil for the country," begins the 20-year-old Gorbenko about an hour after receiving the medal for the honorable second place in the 400 meter medley. "I hope I am not the last to do this and that I will open the door for those who come. I am happy that I am showing the world that a small country like Israel can win a medal at the World Championships. I can say that during the massage I sang a song to myself to be calm. During the massage I saw that I was making good progress And that the British woman who swam next to me would be my challenge. Obviously I wanted to win, but you don't always get everything. After this week, it's a huge achievement."

([148] Gorbenko immediately at the end of the anointing Photo : Simona Castervillari, Swimming Association)

Right after the anointing, you received harsh "boo" calls in the interview, did that hurt you?

"I can say that there were many readings during the week. I swim with earplugs and headphones so I didn't hear. After the swim, which I was nervous about because I knew I could do something special, I was shocked by everything. I was shocked by the achievement, by the pain in my body. But the truth is that I didn't hear because it was A lot of noise. The interviewer loves me and told me not to listen to the insults, just look him in the eyes and ignore him, and that's what I did."

How did you feel when you realized you won the medal?

"I had tears in my eyes from the excitement, from the realization that this busy week, with the ups and downs, is over. Only later did I hear about the boos, but the competitors who were with me on the podium hugged me and lifted me up. It's exciting to do this moment in Qatar. I train with a lot of high-quality swimmers And I probably expect myself to be at the highest levels in the world. I dedicate the medal to Matan Angrest from Bialik, a 21-year-old .. who was kidnapped on October 7, who was in my class and is now kidnapped in Gaza."

([149] Gorbenko is happy Photo : Sport 5)

Are you glad you did it in Qatar?

"First of all, it's exciting to be here with our flag. I probably wanted to win the gold, but at least I was able to improve the Israeli record and I'm proud of myself for not giving up until the end. I'm happy that I did it "on their heads". I'm very satisfied with what I did and I hope To continue my good form for the future."... Mako

Israeli swimmer brushes off heckling in Qatar after finishing 2nd in 400m race. Anastasia Gorbenko dedicates medal to childhood friend who is among Gaza hostages; Qatari media, pro-Palestinian groups slam presence of Israelis at competition. By Agencies and TOI Staff 19 Feb 2024, 12:44 am TOI

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Jonathan Schanzer @JSchanzer: Hamas fighter killed. Hamas fighter had a swastika tattoo. Feb 18, 2024 On x

Yoseph Haddad @YosephHaddad A Hamas terrorist with a swastika tattoo... this proves how much of a terrorist organization they are the new Nazis! Feb 19, 2024 [150] On X [151]

Tirza Shorr @ShorrTirza: Israeli journalist Yair Altman quotes medical Commander Dr. Hen Ditman: "As a medical team we come across emotionally complex situations. What are your feelings of taking care of a terrorist who murdered children, raped women and has a swastika tattooed on his arm?" Feb 18, 2024 On X

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Gantz: Israel will launch Rafah offensive if hostages not returned by Ramadan. War cabinet minister says ‘to those saying the price is too high, Hamas has a choice — they can surrender’; warns Israel is ready ‘to wage a war in Lebanon’ as well By Sam Sokol 18 Feb 2024, 7:31 pm TOI

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Isaac Herzog @Isaac_Herzog: Just yesterday I presented to the world at the Munich Security Conference a book found in Gaza that praises and glorifies Hitler's ideology and the terrible Holocaust. Our soldiers are fighting a brutal terrorist organization whose clear goal is the destruction of the Jewish state, while advocating the suppression of other religions and communities ... and continuing to brutally hold captive 134 kidnapped babies, women and men.

And yet, unfortunately, there are leaders who accuse and brutally compare the nation-state of the Jewish people to Hitler's horrible actions. I strongly condemn these accusations and the immoral distortion of history, and call on all world leaders to join and unequivocally condemn such statements. Feb 18, 2024 On X

Israel declares Brazil’s Lula persona non grata for comparing Gaza war to Holocaust. Reprimanding ambassador at Yad Vashem, foreign minister says president will have to apologize before being welcomed to Israel. By Lazar Berman 19 February 2024, 2:07 pm TOI

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Netanyahu urges pressure on Qatar for hostage release. Hamas is dependent on the emirate financially, the prime minister said. Etgar Lefkovits.

(February 19, 2024 / JNS) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday urged the international community to increase pressure on Qatar to bring about the release of the remaining hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza. JNS

Qatar criticizes Israel's Netanyahu over pressure on Hamas to release hostages By Reuters. 02/19/2024 02:11 PM JPost

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IDF finds video of Bibas family from 1st days of war.

The Bibas family, Yarden, Shiri, and their 4-year and 9-month-old sons Ariel and Kfir were kidnapped on October 7. Kfir, the youngest hostage, turned 1 in captivity. [152] Israel National News Feb 19, 2024, 4:11 PM INN

The IDF located a video in which members of the Bibas family were seen alive in the first days of the war. The video was found in the last few days in the south of the Gaza Strip • The assessment: The video was taken in the first days of the war • The length of the video and the details in it are not yet clear • Bibas family: Hamas - the sole responsible for the safety of Shiri, Ariel and Kfir. Nir Dvori | N12|Published 15:59 19.02.24. Mako

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Malcolm Hoenlein: 'Qatar spreading anti-Israel hate across America'. Malcolm Hoenlein explains how Qatar funds institutions and acquires businesses to advance its anti-Israel, anti-American agenda.

Yoni Kempinski Feb 19, 2024, 4:37 PM.

Malcolm Hoenlein, the Vice Chairman Emeritus of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, in an expansive interview, told Arutz Sheva-Israel National News about Qatar's role in spreading hatred of the Jewish state.

"I believe we have to be very direct with Qatar. Although the United States says 'Look they're playing a key role in the hostage negotiations' and other issues, but at the same time they sponsor Al Jazeera, which is spreading almost Nazi-like images of Israel and hostility toward Israel on a daily basis. It's a constant diet that feeds the street throughout the Arab world that watch it," says Hoenlein.

He adds: "They also are responsible for funding anti-Israel activities on campus in America. We traced so far $13 billion that Qatar has poured into American universities. And part of that is that they get to name the faculty, get scholarship packages, they have a direct influence. There's a direct correlation between funding to universities and increased antisemitism."

According to Hoenlein none of the foreign funding was reported or made public. "Universities didn't report it, the American government didn't require them, they should have."

Hoenlein reveals that the Qatari influence on education does not begin with higher education. "We found it in high schools. In a New York City high school, there's a huge map of the Middle East - no Israel, it's just Palestine. When I spoke to the superintendent, he said 'What do you mean, it's been there for ten years.' I said, 'Ten years you taught this?' He said 'Well it is an Arab cultural thing which the Qatari Fund pays for.'" INN

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Israeli Arab arrested for meeting Hamas number 2. Resident of Bedouin town of Hura in the south charged with meeting Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri in Turkey, facilitating transfer of tens of thousands of shekels to Hamas in Gaza Israel National News Feb 19, 2024, 3:31 PM INN

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Mohamed Hadid: Netanyahu kills more children a day than (sic. Mohamed:) Hitler’s Auschwitz. By Michael Starr Published: February 19, 2024. Mohamed Hadid ... distorts the Holocaust, and rewrites Jewish history.

According to the Auschwitz-Birkenau museum, around 232,000 Jewish and non-Jewish children were deported to the death camp from 1942 to October 1944. About 700 were born in the camp, and more than 700 were liberated in 1945. This would mean about 230 children were killed each day at the camp. According to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, about 10,000 minors have died in the war from October 7 until January 8, which would be approximately 107 killed per day... This is not the first time that Hadid has made comparisons between the Holocaust and Israel’s war against Hamas. On December 17 he compared blindfolded and stripped suspected terrorists to naked Jews prior to their execution during the Holocaust. JPost

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Toronto man arrested for antisemitic threats against students and families. By Michael Starr. Published: February 19, 2024 11:14

A Canadian man was arrested for making antisemitic threats against students and families near a school, the Toronto Police announced on Friday.

Mark Encarnacion, 23, was arrested on Thursday and charged with uttering threats and causing a disturbance. The suspect is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice on March 26.

The suspect is alleged to have walked in the area of a Bathurst Street and Wilson Area school on January 24 and “made several antisemitic threats towards students and families.” JPost

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Biden gambles with Israeli security Opinion: Biden and his colleagues are first and foremost politicians, not strategists, with the primary objective of getting reelected; to that end, they are willing to pay in Israeli security currency. Dr. Avigdor Haselkorn | published:05:43 YNet

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Israel ישראל 🇮🇱 on X: Last time we checked @CNN was supposed to be a news outlet. Why then are they creating animated propaganda films on Instagram about Palestinian children in Gaza while completely disregarding the experience of Israeli children terrorized by Hamas? Any comment @CNN? Feb 19, 2024 On X

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Yemen's Houthis say ship attacked in Gulf of Aden may sink. Yemen's Houthi rebels said on Monday they had attacked the Rubymar cargo vessel in the Gulf of Aden which was at risk of sinking, raising the stakes in their campaign to disrupt global shipping in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza war. The Iran-aligned Houthis have made repeated drone and missile strikes since November in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait. U.S. and British forces have responded with multiple strikes on Houthi facilities but have so far failed to halt the attacks. (Reuters). 02.19.24 | 15:42 YNet

Houthis have classified US, UK as 'hostile countries to Yemen'. The Qatari newspaper Al-ArabyAl-Jadeed reported that the Houthi rebels from Yemen have decided to classify the US and Britain as "hostile countries to Yemen." According to the political council of the Houthis, the classification relies on the "classification law" announced by the Houthis on Tuesday, which classifies countries, entities and people who are hostile to Yemen. The US and Britain, according to the report, were classified at level A-3 as "supporting, protecting and sponsoring the Zionist entity and participating in the genocide committed by Israel." In the meantime, the Al-Mayadeen network, which is affiliated with Hezbollah, reported on an American-British attack in the area of ​​Al-Kadan in the Hodeidah province of Yemen. (Lior Ben Ari) 02.19.24 | 17:06 YNet

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Watch: IDF releases footage of Bibas family in Gaza. Video shows Shiri and her 4-year-old son Ariel and 9-month-old son Kfir in southern Gaza days after the massacre. Their current condition is unknown. Israel National News, Feb 19, 2024, 6:15 PM INN

To put pressure on the countries of the world - and on Hamas: behind the decision to publish the video of the Bibas family. In Israel, they debated whether to publish the documentation of the songs of Biebs and her children in Khan Yunis, but they did so in light of the family's request. Leverage pressure on the international community. Nir Dvori | Yaron Avraham | Ohad Hemo | The main edition | Published 22:41 19.02.24 . [153] In the dramatic video released this evening (Monday) by an IDF spokesman, the members of the Bibas family are recorded in the first hour after they were kidnapped on October 7. In it, mother Shiri Bibas is seen shielding her two sons Kfir and Ariel in the Hamas outpost east of Khan Yunis, after which the three are forcibly taken to a car, Surrounded by many terrorists, and disappear. Since then it is not known what happened to the mother and her two small children.

In Israel, many efforts were made to shed light on the fate of the abductees, including the Biebs family, but when the video was received, they debated whether to publish it, due to the expectations it creates in the public. Still, it was decided to publish the video in light of the family's request.

At the basis of the decision whether to publish it are the great fear and concern for the condition of the three. In the video, you see how the terrorists coldly cover Biebs' songs with a cloth and how she and her two sons slowly disappear from the camera footage. Beyond that, there is no information about their condition.

With the release of the video, the IDF admitted, once again, that there is concern for their safety, and yet, the release of the video is important. In Israel, they hope that the documentation will echo their situation in the world and will serve as a lever of pressure on the international community that may lead Hamas to release the hostages as part of a deal.

The documentation is the result of the intelligence effort to reach every camera and every computer in order to track down the members of the Biebs family and try in some way to make moves that will bring the abductees home. And although it is known that the video recorded from several security cameras was taken from server farms, getting to any documentation or relevant information is a difficult and complicated process.

The security system does not have enough information on exactly where the family members were kept after they disappeared from the cameras, and it is not at all certain how much intelligence value the photos have 4 months after they were taken. All of this joins the claim of the organization that kidnapped Biebs and the children's songs, al-Mujahideen Brigades - a terrorist organization subordinate to Hamas - which claims that the connection with the Bibas family has been severed. Mako

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Wave of hostile aircraft intrusion alerts sound in northern border. By Jerusalem Post Staff. 02/19/2024 18:41 JPost

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Hezbollah dug a network of tunnels in Lebanon that is more dangerous than Hamas'.' French report cites military sources who served in Lebanon, who say Hezbollah used quiet on the border to construct hundreds of kilometers of complex underground systems for infiltration and defensive purposes Tamar Sebok, Paris | 02.19.24:16:10

An investigative report in the French newspaper Libération claimed Sunday that Hezbollah has been digging hundreds of kilometers of underground tunnels in Lebanon for over 30 years, some of them reaching depths of 40 meters to 80 meters, using North Korean technology. The report noted that the tunnels are more complex and dangerous than those in Gaza, and the explosion of some of the tunnels could cause earthquakes or landslides. YNet

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Netanyahu: Israel will maintain full security control over Gaza Strip, West Bank. By Jerusalem Post Staff 02/19/2024 07:25 PM JPost

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US proposes cease-fire, opposes Rafah op in UN Security Council. Washington sends a message: U.S. submits draft resolution calling for temporary cease-fire between Israel and Hamas ahead of Ramadan; Israel worries this will limit its operational freedom and the ability to protect itself without a buffer zone. Reuters, Moran Azulay, Shimon Shiffer | 02.19.24: 17:52 YNet

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Explosive device thrown at Israeli car in West Bank, one wounded. By Jerusalem Post Staff 02/19/2024 07:42 PM JPost

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Senior Hezbollah official: 'Every point in Israel within Hezbollah's missile range'. By Jerusalem Post Staff 02/19/2024 10:15 PM JPost

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PA used $280 million sent by Israel to pay terrorists. Under the PA's "pay for slay" policy, Ramallah disburses monthly salaries to terrorists and their families. By JC Reporter. February 19, 2024 The JC

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Exclusive: IAEA chief says Iran's nuclear enrichment activity remains high. By Julia Payne, February 19, 2024. Reuters

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The deliberate lies in the Washington Post. The Washington Post published an article profiling seven journalists killed in Gaza. The research below suggests it was a deliberate attempt to deceive.

The Washington Post report

The Washington Post report covers the deaths of ‘journalists’ in Gaza. Using the list of names provided by ‘the Committee to Protect Journalists’ (CPJ), the Post describes the Gazan journalists as brave heroes who paid the ultimate price just for trying to tell the world the truth.

The article implied that not only was Israeli deliberately killing journalists, but that Israel also targeted some journalist’s families to make sure there would be no witnesses.

In many ways the piece is typical of the junk that much of western media is producing; a transparent attempt to delegitimise Israel by twisting facts and removing context. The end result is little more than a pro-Hamas propaganda item.

The Washington Post deception

But sometimes, in the rush to demonise Israel, journalists try to be too clever – and in this case, the Washington Post article can be used to hang those that put it together. We need just three pieces of evidence to do it.

The first is the list of the seven journalists that the Washington Post chose to profile:

Mosab Ashour, died Oct 22 (green) Belal Jadallah, died Nov 19 – (green) Roshdi Saraj, died Oct 22 -(green) Majd Arandas, died Nov 1 – (red) Montaser al sawaf, died Dec 1 – (green) Samer Abu Daqqa, died Dec 15 – (green) Ayat Khadoura, died Nov 20 – (green) Don’t worry, the colour coding will be explained later.

The second piece of evidence is the source the Washington Post chose to use. The WP used the CPJ list, even promoting the Hamas driven fiction that this is the worst war for journalists in history: [154]

The final piece of evidence is the method used to put the seven profiles together. From the descriptions provided we know that the Washington Post had clearly searched the social media pages of those journalists that they profiled: [155]

These three facts are the only things needed to prove that this report is a massive and deliberate deception.

The 78 dead Palestinian journalists

Had the Washington Post just told the tale of seven fallen journalists, I would not be writing this. War is a terrible thing, people die, and families are destroyed. There is no doubt that in this conflict, a small number of actual journalists have been killed.

But the Washington Post did not just leave it with their seven examples. They used the chosen seven to piggyback on the CPJ claim that 78 Palestinian journalists have been killed.

The WP even ran with this quote which implies Journalists are ‘bearing the brunt’ of the Israeli response to October 7: [156]

These are just lies put out by Sherif Mansour, the CPJ’s Egyptian born coordinator (on a related note, Ellen Francis, the key journalist behind the WP article is from Lebanon).

But this all avoids the most basic and burning question. How did the Washington Post decide on which seven journalists (from the 78) it wanted to profile? And it is the answer to that question that exposes the deliberate misrepresentation of facts.

My own research

I probably know as much if not more about the journalists who have been killed than anyone else in the west. For my own research I searched for and found the social media accounts of 93% of them. This allowed me to check the veracity of the claim they were working journalists. A month ago I published a 200 page report detailing the findings – which show quite clearly that the claim of targeted journalists is nothing but a Hamas propaganda exercise.

I have a large excel file which helped put together the full picture. Each journalist is listed along with what I found attached to their name. To help organise the list, I colour coded them. For example, ‘grey’ indicated they had died at home – not in the field. And ‘orange’ meant they were employees of Hamas or Islamic Jihad.

There were also those who got an ‘all-clear’. When I highlighted the name in ‘green’ it meant I could see a fair amount about them, but found nothing definitive that incriminated them. ‘Red’ indicated that the social media account was found, but was private – so I had to set them aside.

Six of the seven chosen by the Washington Post were highlighted green in my file (all clear). One was red (private account). The odds of this having been a random selection make it almost impossible. So whoever chose them must have seen a completely different story from the one the WP told.

A statistical starting point – the terrorist workers

The Washington Post picked seven journalists to profile, and successfully avoided picking any of those who work directly for agencies of Hamas or Islamic Jihad. My research showed that 50% of those listed were directly employed by these proscribed terrorist groups. This means that picking seven in a row who did not work for terrorist outlets would be similar* to correctly calling a tossed coin seven times. The odds of this happening can be calculated.

The odds of the Washington Post doing this by chance are worse than 1/128*.

(* there is a small mathematical error here. On each successful ocassion, the WP is reducing the number of ‘clean’ journalists that can still be picked, and therefore increasing the likelihood they will pick someone who worked for Hamas or Islamic Jihad. In other words, the precise odds are worse than the simplistic 1/128 calculated above).

As an example, the WP article lists Hassouneh Salim as a hero (one of the dead journalists to be mourned) but does not create a profile of him: [157]

On the morning of Oct 7 Hasouneh Salim was distributing the Islamic Jihad call to to arms (translation of post from Salim’s Telegram channel). [158]

In its choice of seven to profile the Washington Post successfully avoided every single one of these (50%) people who were acting on behalf of the terrorist groups.

Taking it further

The method the WP used to research the article makes the full picture even worse. We know that the Washington Post searched the social media posts of those they profiled. Yet from my own research of the dead journalists listed by the CPJ, 79% promoted and celebrated terrorism and the death of innocent civilians.

For example these four ‘journalists’ all openly celebrated the murder of civilians: [159]

And all four are included in the Washington Post list of ‘heroes’: [160]

Washington post heroes support terrorism

But none of these four were profiled. In fact, there are many other ‘journalists’ held up as heroes by the Washington Post who have openly celebrated deadly terrorist attacks:

Mohammad Jarghoun Ibrahim Mohammad Lafi Mohammad al-Salhi Assaad Shamlakh Mohammed Sobh Saeed al-Taweel Husam Mubarak Issam Bhar Mohammad Balousha Khalil Abu Aathra Saed al-Halabi Yasser Abu Namous Yahya Abu Manih Ahmed al-Qara Yaacoub al-Barsh Mohamed Mouin Ayyash Abdullah Darwish Adham Hassouna Ola Atallah Assem Kamal Moussa Haneen Kashtan Abdallah Alwan Mohamed Khalifeh Mohamed Khaireddine 79% of the names in the CPJ list publicly supported the murder of civilians. Yet somehow the Washington Post successfully avoided all of these as well.

This means that in a random selection – to pick that first journalist to profile – the Washington Post were 79% likely to pick a journalist who had published extremist comments. Except they missed, and picked a journalist who hadn’t. And then they did it seven times in a row.

This is beyond all reasonable statistical probability.

Other probabilities There are other probabilities included in this exercise. Approximately 20% of those listed were not journalists (they even included a builder), and some were clearly family of key terrorists. For example, Ahmed Shehab was included in the WP list:

Yet he was killed alongside his uncle – Abd Al Rahman Shehab – who was Islamic Jihad royalty: [161]

In choosing the seven journalists to profile, the Washington Post article successfully missed them all.

The Washington Post scam

We can therefore dismiss the possibility that the seven profiles were chosen at random. This means that someone carefully selected which ones to profile. In doing so – they must have found many unsuitable candidates because of their ties to terrorism or visible extremism. They cannot reference a journalist’s Facebook page if it is full of the glorification of those who slaughter Jews.

To find their lucky seven, whoever put this report together must have realised that many of the names included in the CPJ list work for terrorist groups or publicly support terrorist violence against civilians. Yet they still chose to go ahead and present a completely fictional tale – falsely presenting them all as heroes and the seven chosen profiles as if they were fairly representative of the whole.

The Washington Post article

does not mention that many (50%) of the journalists work for Hamas / Islamic Jihad does not mention that 75%+ of the journalists openly supported the slaughter of Israeli civilians does not mention that many of the journalists (20%+) were not journalists at all And yet this must have been known (or heavily suspected) by whoever did the Washington Post research.

Right to reply

An email was sent to the three journalists (Ellen Francis, Artur Galocha and Joe Snell) attached to the report:

My questions:

Did the CPJ do all the legwork here – did you basically just run an advert for them. How did you fail to see that many of the journalists either work for terrorist organisations or support the slaughter of civilians Given you must have seen the to research the article, how on earth have you ended up suggesting 80+ journalists have been killed? I received no response at all to the questions.

The Washinton Post motto reads ‘democracy dies in darkness’. They are right, democracy does die in darkness – and they are some of those helping to kill it. David Collier

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The IDF orders the residents of Al Zeytun and Al Turkman neighborhoods in Gaza City to leave their homes for the humanitarian area of ​​Al Mawasi. Tuesday 11th of Adar 1 5784. 10:20 20.02.24 Rotter

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NY billboard calls on Qatari Queen Mother for release of hostages. By Jerusalem Post Staff. Published: February 20, 2024.

ItsInYourHands is an “informal coalition of Christian leaders and organizations” that work to aid the families of the hostages held by Hamas, a spokesperson told The New York Post. ... A billboard displayed in Times Square called on the mother of the Emir of Qatar, Moza bint Nasser, to partake in the release of hostages being held in Hamas captivity this week, The New York Post reported on Saturday.

The image on the billboard was of 1-year-old Israeli hostage Kfir Bibas, alongside a picture of bint Nasser with large text reading, "It's in your hands. Release the hostages." JPost

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Sinwar has escaped from Gaza to Egypt, according to Saudi report. Saudi news site Elaph cites unnamed Israeli security sources who claim that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar used the extensive tunnel system running between Gaza and the Sinai Peninsula to flee the Israeli manhunt and that he took some Israeli hostages with him; These reports have not been verified, leading some to believe it's psychological warfare. Lior Ben Ari, Yoav Zitun | 02.20.24: 04:57 YNet

Report: Hamas leaders may have escaped to Egypt. Israeli officials are increasingly concerned that Hamas leaders have successfully fled to Egypt, taking hostages with them. Israel National News Feb 20, 2024, 8:59 AM JPost

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Among the detainees at Khan Yunis Hospital: terrorists who held hostages until recently.

The IDF has so far arrested 200 terrorist operatives at Nasser Hospital, and the activity there still continues • Among the captured terrorists, there are also those who are very close to the top of Hamas • They are being interrogated in Israel, and it is hoped that they will provide information that will help trace the location of hostages • At the same time: a report of extensive activity in the neighborhood Zaytun in Gaza, the IDF spokesman called on the residents to evacuate Nir Dvori | N12 | Published 09:47 20.02.24

The army has not yet completed the operation at the Nasser Hospital, and is continuing its activity there to locate findings that may provide intelligence on the whereabouts of the abductees. So far, the IDF has arrested about 200 operatives - some of them Nukhba terrorists. Last night (Monday) we published that among those arrested, there were also terrorists who held hostages.

In the main edition we published that those detainees held the hostages until very recently. They are in Israel and are being interrogated at this time to try and shed light on the fate of the abductees. Among the detainees - also some who are very close to the Hamas leadership. These captives may be able to provide information that will help in the hunt for senior Hamas officials, led by the head of the military wing, Yahya Sinwar.

([162] Activity of IDF forces in the area of ​​the "Nasser" hospital - photo: IDF spokesman).

At the same time, the action in Khan Yunis continues. The IDF continues to exhaust the area, and they have not yet set a date for the end of the operation in the area. The forces are carrying out raids, locating more sites, mainly underground. The IDF states that they have "more work to do, and eliminate more terrorists." And yet, the IDF emphasizes that the Khan Yunis Brigade itself was literally disbanded in terms of its ability to function.

Yesterday, the IDF informed that the fighters of the Egoz unit of the commando formation continue intense fighting in the west of Khan Yunis. According to the IDF, the forces raided a building in the area of ​​the Nasser Hospital for intelligence purposes. During the raid, a terrorist opened fire at them and threw a grenade and a shootout ensued, during which the fighters fired a matador shot and finally killed the terrorist.

Extensive activity in the Zeytun neighborhood in Gaza, the IDF spokesman called on the residents to evacuate IDF Spokesman in Arabic Lt. Col. Avichai Adree issued an urgent appeal to all residents of the Zeytun and Turkman neighborhoods in the Gaza Strip: "For your safety, we invite you to move immediately through Salah Al-Din Street to the humanitarian area in Al-Mawasi." Indeed, since the evening hours yesterday, the Palestinians have been reporting non-stop attacks by the IDF in the Zeytun neighborhood of Gaza City.

([163] The activity of the forces of the 36th Division in the Zeyton neighborhood . photo: IDF spokesman).

Zeytoun is the largest neighborhood in Gaza City and extends from the city center to the south. The attacks since yesterday evening included, according to the Palestinians, artillery fire, attacks from helicopters, attacks from fighter planes and in the last few hours also the advance of tanks and other tools. According to the Palestinians, exchanges of fire can be heard in the south and east of the Zeytun neighborhood. Mako

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Hamas’s Haniyeh heads to Cairo as IDF tells residents of 2 Gaza City areas to evacuate. By TOI Sraff. Soldier injured in Khan Younis battle dies of wounds, bringing military ground op toll to 236 * Likud minister says Rafah offensive would endanger hostages. 20 Feb 2024. TOI

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Star of David on Amy Winehouse statue covered with Palestinian flag, London police open probe. 20 Feb 2024 TOI

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EXCLUSIVE: Seattle-area bar association apologizes after publishing screed calling for genocide of Jews. By Ari Hoffman, Feb 20, 2024. “The agency did not respond when asked how Abudiab could represent the best interests of any Jewish or Israeli lawyer in the Washington State Bar after calling for their deaths and the genocide of their people.” The King County Bar Association Board of Trustees apologized after printing an article from one of its members and former director, Dua Abudiab, entitled From The River To The Sea, a phrase that calls for the destruction of Israel and the ethnic cleansing of its residents. The PM

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IDF says 12,000 Hamas fighters killed in Gaza war, double the terror group's claim. Military announces air force has carried out over 31,000 strikes since October 7, including more than 1,000 in Lebanon and dozens in West bank. By Emanuel Fabian and TOI Staff 20 Feb, 2024, 1:29 am TOI

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France says its Red Sea warships intercepted, destroyed drones launched from Yemen. By Reuters. 20 Feb 2024, 3:59 pm

French warships in the Red Sea intercepted and destroyed two drones in attacks coming from Yemen, the French defense ministry says. TOI

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Despicable Messages': Harvard Investigating Faculty, Staff, Students for Sharing Antisemitic Cartoon. Abigail Anthony, February 20, 2024. National Review

Harvard facing fresh antisemitism scandal as faculty group shares cartoon full of ‘offensive tropes’. By Melissa Koenig Published Feb. 20, 2024, 8:04 a.m. ET

Harvard has been caught in yet another antisemitism scandal after a faculty group posted an old cartoon filled with “offensive tropes” depicting a Jewish person hanging a black and an Arab man. NY Post

Harvard faculty group under fire for sharing antisemitic cartoon. Harvard Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine under investigation for sharing cartoon depicting Jews as puppetmasters hanging Arabs and African Americans from nooses. Gary Willig, Feb 20, 2024, 4:17 PM (GMT+2) INN

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US military drone shot down near Yemen, US officials say. A U.S. military Mq-9 drone was shot down near Yemen by Iran-backed militants, two U.S. officials said on Tuesday, the second time such a shoot down has taken place in recent months during a near daily tit-for-tat between the group and U.S. forces. (Reuters). 02.20.24 : 12:56 YNet

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440 UNWRA workers are active members in Hamas military wing.

9,500 of the 12,000 UNWRA employees have direct ties to Hamas – some are terrorists participating in active fighting against Israel. Israel National News, Feb 20, 2024, 10:21 PM (GMT+2)

Security data published this evening (Tuesday) ON Kan News show the profound and close relationship between Hamas and UNRWA, the United Nations Palestinian Refugee Organization, which Israel is trying to expel from Gaza.

The data shows that out of approximately 12,000 UNRWA employees in Gaza, 440 are terrorists participating in active fighting against Israel.

About 2,000 more are registered Hamas operatives, but not members of the military wing. Another 7,000 UNRWA employees have a first-degree relative who is a Hamas terrorist.

All in all, close to 9,500 out of 12,000 UNWRA employees, are connected to the terrorist organization, i.e. four out of five UNWRA employees have ties to Hamas.

Last week, IDF forces located Iranian technological devices, that apparently originated in China, at the Hamas headquarters under the UNRWA building in the Rimal neighborhood in the Gaza Strip.

According to the report, the findings are being analyzed by the IDF and Shin Bet, and they are using them to devise quality intelligence products.

About a week ago, the IDF revealed that they had found many servers and drives located under the UNWRA headquarters that served Hamas and showed the connection between the two organizations. Now, the recent findings prove a direct connection to Iran.

A server farm and other technologies, including databases, were destroyed during the military operation, and 120 terrorists were eliminated. The fighters raided the organization's offices, following preliminary intelligence information from the Shin Bet and a tunnel previously found under the headquarters of UNWRA.

This all happened when the soldiers reached the shaft through a tunnel located near a UNWRA school. INN

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"The United Nations Kidnapped My Son": The body of Yonatan Samerano was kidnapped by a social worker of UNRWA. Netali Shemtov and Almog Boker. 02/20/2024. The late Yonatan [Jonathan] Samerano was kidnapped from the party in Re'im. Almost two months after the Shabbat-events in October, his family was informed that he had been murdered and that his body was being held in Gaza. Yonatan's mother, Ayelet, revealed during an interview with the "Washington Post" that Yonatan's body was kidnapped by an UNRWA social worker. Ayelet was interviewed by News 13 and told about the shocking discovery: "The license plate of the vehicle in which my son was kidnapped is a UNWRA license plate, and the person who kidnapped him is a UN social worker. 13TV

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Again wielding veto, US strikes down UN ceasefire resolution. “Demanding an immediate, unconditional ceasefire without an agreement requiring Hamas to release the hostages will not bring about a durable peace,” the U.S. envoy said. Mike Wagenheim. (February 20, 2024 / JNS) The United States again used its veto power at the U.N. Security Council to thwart a call for the imposition of a ceasefire on Israel. JNS

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London High Court rejects petition to suspend British arms exports to Israel. By AFP. 20 Feb 2024, 11:51 pm. The London High Court rejected a petition to suspend British arms exports to Israel, the lawyers for the plaintiffs say TOI

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IDF constructing new east-west road in Gaza Strip as part of plan for day after war – WSJ.

20 Feb 2024, 11:41 pm

The IDF is constructing a new road across central Gaza as part of its plan to maintain security control over the Palestinian enclave at the end of the war against Hamas, The Wall Street Journal reports.

According to the report, the new gravel road is being expanded upon some five miles from the Israeli border and stretches from east to west, as the army already has control over the Strip’s north-south roads. TOI

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The horrors were revealed. Rape and Executions: The Horrifying Report on October 7. According to the report of the Union of Assistance Centers for Victims and Victims of Sexual Assault, the crimes were committed in four arenas: at the Nuva party, in settlements and kibbutzim, in IDF bases and in the captivity of Hamas in Gaza

Vered Pelman. 23:24 | February 20, 2024.

More than four months after October 7, the Union of Aid Centers for Victims and Victims of Sexual Assault published this morning (Wednesday) the first report of its kind, summarizing all the findings regarding the sexual assaults on that day and in the captivity of Hamas. From the report submitted to the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict that visited Israel about two weeks ago, it appears that the crimes were committed in four arenas: at the Nova party, in settlements and kibbutzim, in IDF bases and in the captivity of Hamas in Gaza.

The findings emerged from open information published in the media and confidential information and inquiries received by the union. The information revealed systematic patterns of group sexual abuse, when in localities and kibbutzim the crimes were sometimes committed in front of relatives and friends. The acts targeted both women and men and the victims were executed during or after the rape. The findings also revealed: mutilation of genitals and weapons inserted into the bodies of the victims. The acts, the report claims, were intended to intensify the suffering and the impact on the victims and their environment.

Dr. Carmit Keller Halamish and Noga Berger, the authors of the report, added: "The brutal practices used on the Seventh of October, such as cutting off intimate parts of girls, women and men, shooting and burying weapons in genitals, were intended to corrupt and hurt in a sadistic and horrifying manner. The manner in which the injuries were carried out and the actions that accompanied them were intended to intensify the impact on the victims themselves and their environment, which was unable to prevent the injury. These days, when the scar in our hearts refuses to heal, and the souls of our living sisters and brothers cry out to us from the ground, a large part of those we thought were partners and partners turn to silence and denial of the atrocities. We call on you to make your voice heard, and not to let the cry of these victims evaporate."

Since Saturday, October 7, the police have been collecting the evidence of the serious sex crimes committed by Hamas terrorists. Senior Master Sergeant Scout Tzioni Levy, who investigates sexual offenses in Unit 105, which investigates the hard evidence, told Maya Rachlin in an interview that "we have evidence from the field, we have findings of bodies that were sexually desecrated, genital mutilation - men and women." Deputy Superintendent Avi Rosh, head of the Investigations Section at Unit 105 in Lahab 433, added in an interview this evening on Hakan Network B that "there is first-person evidence and clear documentation of harm to men and women in the lower part of their bodies, and there is no doubt that there was a pattern of operation by the Hamas terrorists for sexual harm."

Also from testimonies that reached KAN-News about two months ago, the difficult picture emerges. Raz Cohen, who spent time with his friends at the Nova party in Ra'i, testified: "Five terrorists got out of a white Savannah vehicle and pulled someone out. They stood in a semi-circle around her, grabbing her by force so she wouldn't move. I saw them start pulling her everywhere, stripping her. He raped her. I couldn't hear her, I think they blocked her mouth. I look and see that the girl is no longer moving, but the terrorist still continues to rape her. It was impossible to help her. I couldn't do anything. I wish I had a weapon and I could help," he said Cohen.

Dan and Gad Liberzon from Kiryat Motzkin also spent time together at a party in Ra'i. At one point, Dan fled to another place and Gad was left to hide behind a bush. What he heard left him no room for doubt about the horror that took place a few meters away from him. "We ran and hid. While I'm hiding, I hear everything that's happening around me. I hear shouts in Arabic and hear girls speaking in English and begging: 'Save, no, please,'" he said. "It sounded like they were being raped. They were crying and screaming, voices of girls crying endlessly. I heard the voices of the men screaming, and I heard the girls screaming for a long time. Begging and crying, it was horrible and terrible."

An investigation by the "New York Times" from December, based on the testimonies of eyewitnesses, medical teams and soldiers who removed the bodies, indicates a repeated pattern of rape, injury and mutilation of the bodies. All the witnesses described the grave conditions of the bodies - severed genitals, severed heads and injuries and brutal mutilation of the lower body parts.

An Islamic Jihad terrorist captured in Gaza admitted during interrogation that he participated in the October 7 massacre, and that his squad committed horrific sex crimes and then murdered the victim. This was revealed close to the investigation by "The Times" in the evening news Kan 11. The terrorist gave details that could be used to identify the victim - details that will not be published due to the sensitivity and respect of the victim.

Aviva Segel, who was abducted from her home in Gaza City and returned to Israel, testified for the first time about the abuse in captivity, at the first conference of the lobby for the abductees in the Knesset in January. She said: "I saw that one of the girls shut down and was quiet and that it wasn't her. This terrorist touched her. He didn't even let me hug her after it happened. It's terrible. When she told me I told her I was sorry but it was hard for me to hear it. It was really hard for me ". Kan

Hamas terrorists 'systematically and intentionally' committed sexual violence during Oct. 7 attack: report. The report concluded that Hamas in some cases tied up victims and made their families watch. February 21, 2024 By Peter Aitken , Yonat Friling Fox News Fox News

Hamas terrorists ‘systematically and intentionally’ committed sexual violence during Oct. 7 attack: report

February 21, 2024

The Association of Rape Crisis Centers of Israel (ARCCI) released a comprehensive report detailing the sexual crimes committed “systematically and intentionally” during the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023.

“The information and testimonies we provide clarify beyond any doubt what occurred, but significant parts of the story are still ahead of us,” Orit Sulitzeanu, executive director of the ARRCI, wrote in the opening remarks of the “Silent Cry” report. The ARCCI is an umbrella organization of Israel’s regional rape crisis centers.

“Since sexual assault typically involves delayed disclosure, especially during wartime, the picture presented in the report is still preliminary,” Sulitzeanu warned. “In the months and years to come, depending on the choices of the survivors, we may be able to bring a fuller story of the sexual assaults on Oct. 7 and thereafter to the fore.”

The report found that the Hamas attack included violent rape – often involving threats with weapons – and that many of those rapes occurred collectively, with collaboration among the perpetrators and sometimes conducted in front of witnesses, including family members.

([164] 'I will be haunted forever': Israel's horrific video of Hamas atrocities leaves viewers shocked and sickened)

The rapists would sometimes engage in what the report called “sadistic practices,” which included binding and tying up the victims, mutilating genital organs – including severed breasts – and using weapons as part of the rape.

The report cited a New York Times interview with four Nova festival rescue workers who described finding women’s bodies with spread legs, without underwear and with hands bound behind their backs.

These “sadistic practices” aimed to increase the victim’s humiliation, and in many cases the rapists would subsequently kill the victims.

([165] United Nations slammed for silence over Hamas rapes, mutilation and murder of Israeli women, critics say)

The attacks occurred wherever Hamas found women: Investigators found violated bodies of female soldiers at the Shura military base, at the various kibbutzes where Hamas attacked civilians, at the Nova music festival and in some cases during “captivity.”

“From the testimonies and information provided, it emerges that the sexual assaults committed in the Oct. 7 attack and thereafter were carried out systematically and deliberately,” the report concluded.

The report stressed the difficulty in obtaining evidence and testimony, noting that the process already proves difficult enough in times of peace and therefore faces even greater stumbling blocks in times of war.

“Various pieces of information were collected from official sources, publications in local and international press, interviews with ‘first responders’ in different areas, as well as information that arrived at the [Association] from professionals and confidential calls,” the report stated, adding that it did not include information from social media or “unverified sources.”

Weiss Maudi, who last year became the first Israeli representative to serve as a senior adviser to the president of the 77th Session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, said last year that U.N. bodies, particularly U.N. Women, simply refused to acknowledge that atrocities were committed against Israeli women – and young girls – despite much of it filmed by Hamas, and other Palestinian terrorists from Gaza, themselves. The search for evidence therefore received little help from outside bodies and entities.

However, the report also concluded – perhaps for the first time – that sexual assaults occurred against children and men, but stressed that “information about this phenomenon is relatively scarce at this stage and focuses on body mutilation.”

“The limited exposure of sexual assaults on men, even in comparison to the limited exposure of sexual assaults in war, is considered characteristic of the phenomenon,” the report said. “Generally, men suffer from compound shame when disclosing sexual assaults, which are perceived as deeply humiliating and an attack on masculinity.”

“It is reasonable to assume that male survivors in this case will have more difficulty seeking help,” the report added. wfin

Many victims' bodies found mutilated and bound, some discovered deliberately booby-trapped' First of its kind, report sheds light on the extent and brutality of sexual violence perpetrated by Hamas terrorists on October 7 Ynetnews | published:02.21.24 | 23:00 Many rape incidents occurred collectively, with collaboration among the perpetrating terrorists. In some cases, rape was conducted in front of an audience, such as partners, family, or friends, to increase the pain and humiliation for all present,” reads the first official report of the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel regarding the Hamas attack on October 7. "Some Hamas members pursued victims who escaped the massacre, dragging them by their hair with screams. The majority of victims were subsequently killed during or after the sexual assault." ... The report's findings indicate that the Hamas attack included violent rapes, carried out under the threat of weapons, with some incidents specifically targeting injured women. "Several testimonies, interviews, and additional sources indicate the use of sadistic practices by Hamas terrorists, aimed at intensifying the humiliation and fear of sexual abuse," it further stated. "Many victims' bodies were found mutilated and bound, with sexual organs brutally attacked, and in some cases, weapons were inserted into them. Some bodies were discovered deliberately booby-trapped. It is essential to note that the report details only information from identified sources permitted for publication, while analysis includes additional confidential information that cannot be disclosed publicly."... "Many cases involve heinous attacks on women and girls, including a case of hiding a knife in a genital organ,” the report reads. “Additional information was received by the ARCCI but cannot be disclosed due to privacy concerns.”... This report, the first official study since October 7, aggregates testimonies and provides conclusions, demonstrating that the incidents were not anomalies or isolated occurrences but rather part of a deliberate and systematic strategy of extremely cruel sexual abuse, establishing an initial evidentiary basis for the widespread perpetration of sexual crimes...

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Interior Minister grants residency to 7/10 hero. Israel National News Feb 21, 2024, 2:37 PM INN

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Report: Brazil Pres. considering clarifying Hitler remarks. Israel National News Feb 21, 2024, 4:05 PM INN

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Knesset overwhelmingly rejects imposing PA state. Majority of opposition MKs join coalition in supporting govt. statement rejecting foreign attempts to declare a Palestinian state while the war continues. Israel National News Feb 21, 2024, 3:24 PM INN

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Document reveals: Hamas head promised Hezbollah would join 7/10 attack. Yahya Sinwar was certain that Hezbollah would begin attack on northern Israel parallel to October 7 massacre in southern Israel, documents found in Khan Yunis show. Israel National News Feb 21, 2024, 2:51 PM INN

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Terrorist who launched mortars at Israel eliminated. Israel National News Feb 21, 2024, 7:32 PM oNN

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IDF destroys tunnel used by senior Hamas officials. Israel National News Feb 21, 2024, 5:51 PM INN

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The number of terrorists who have been eliminated since the beginning of the war: the figure according to a senior Hamas official. This morning the official was quoted in a relatively rare reference by the terrorist organization to the number of terrorists who have been eliminated since October 7. He admitted that thousands were killed but despite this, he stated that Hamas is ready for a long war in Rafah. Shay Levi | Mako | Published 12:18 19.02.24 . For the first time since the October 7 massacre, the terrorist organization Hamas admits that it suffered thousands of deaths in the war in the Gaza Strip. A senior official of the organization, who lives in Qatar, told the "Reuters" news agency anonymously that "the organization estimates that they lost 6,000 fighters during the four-month conflict." This is when IDF data shows that around 12,000 terrorists have been eliminated in the Gaza Strip so far.

There is no way to verify the death toll that Hamas claims for the first time. But this figure also shows the aggressive war that Israel is waging in Gaza. The Ministry of Health in Gaza, which is run by Hamas, claims 28,985 Palestinians killed in the war. It is estimated that this figure includes thousands of dead terrorists as well as hundreds of Gazan civilians, who were killed as a result of failed rocket launches by Hamas and other terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip. In Israel, it is estimated that over 1,100 launches were unsuccessful and the rockets fell within the Gaza Strip or exploded upon launch, killing the operators and civilians.

The IDF, much of whose activity is documented by various means of observation, reported that it killed almost 12,000 terrorists in Gaza, in addition to about 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7. The number of terrorists killed does not indicate "victory", but it provides information about The intensity of the fighting and the aggressiveness of the IDF in the ground maneuver. The IDF continues to systematically dismantle the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas, the main targets of the war.

The preparations for Rafah and what is expected for the continuation of the fighting? The anonymous Hamas official claimed that the organization can still fight and "are ready for a long war in Rafah". In practice, Hamas' terrorist squads are still fighting and there are battalions that have not yet been disbanded. However, Hamas is having difficulty attacking IDF forces in Gaza, every day they are losing many assets and the launches have also been reduced dramatically, thanks to the successes of the ground maneuver. Mako

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Hezbollah chief orders cellphone blackout amid IDF precision strikes. Hassan Nasrallah assumes Israel knows of his whereabouts, and says it has penetrated phone networks, including landlines, and even Internet networks and using them to carry out assassinations. Smadar Perry |YNet, 02.21.24: 07:34

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Wycombe Karima Foundation investigated for 'anti-Semitism'. 21st February, 2024. An investigation has been launched into a High Wycombe charity accused of posting anti-Semitic videos online and describing the October 7 attack in Israel as "inspirational". BucksFreePress UK

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UK and Jordan air drop aid to hospital in northern Gaza. Britain and Jordan have air-dropped four tons of aid including medicines, fuel and food to Tal Al-Hawa Hospital in northern Gaza, Britain's Foreign Office said on Wednesday. The UK-funded aid was delivered by the Jordanian Air Force. (Reuters). YNet, 02.21.24, 13:39

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Gaza group calls on Hamas to end the war and save what is left of the Strip. "Free Gaza," an opposition group that has grown in support since the war broke out, issued a call to the leaders of the Hamas asking for an end to the war. "Save us, climb down from your demands. Save what is left of us after the ...," the group said. "We have no planes to protect us, no shelters, tunnels or hotels in Qatar and Turkey as you have. This is your responsibility." Einav Halabi). YNet, 02.21.24, 16:32

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Hamas terrorists embedded in Rafah, U.S. vetoes anti-Israel U.N. Security Council resolution. Feb. 21, 2024. 10,000 Hamas terrorists are embedded among civilians in Rafah – the last Hamas stronghold in Gaza – despicably using Palestinians as human shields. On Tuesday, February 21, White House spokesperson John Kirby reaffirmed America’s support for Israel as it fights to destroy the terrorists in the southern city along the Egyptian border.

"We understand that their Hamas leadership, in fact full Hamas units are now operating in Rafah, mixing among the civilians, trying to find refuge there. That's classic Hamas conduct and that's inexcusable and Israel has a right to go after them," Kirby said. [166]

Israel believes the Israel Defense Force (IDF) has killed 12,000 of Hamas’ estimated 30,000 fighters, with thousands more seriously wounded and unable to fight.

"We still have a long way to go," IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said Tuesday as the military continues its fight to eliminate the threat from Hamas and free the hostages.

He added that Israel is fighting "a long and just war. … We act like human beings and, unlike our enemy, maintain our humanity. We must be careful not to use force where it is not required, to distinguish between a terrorist and those who are not."

U.S. vetoes anti-Israel U.N. Security Council resolution

The United States of America (U.S.A.) vetoed an anti-Israel resolution at the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday (February 20), which demanded an immediate ceasefire.

The White House reiterated its position that a ceasefire now would leave Hamas armed, in power, and ready to fulfill its promise to carry out another October 7.

"We still don’t believe that this is the right time for a general ceasefire that leaves Hamas in control and alleviates any responsibility for them to release the hostages," John Kirby said on behalf of President Joe Biden. [167]

In response to the U.S. veto of a United Nations Security Council resolution aiming to impose a ceasefire on Israel, the American-Israel Public Affairs Council (AIPAC) released this statement on Tuesday, February 21:

"We commend the Biden administration for vetoing the anti-Israel Security Council resolution introduced by Algeria, a close ally of Putin.

"The pervasive and systemic anti-Israel biases throughout the UN system make it the wrong venue to adjudicate these complex issues.

"America must continue to stand with our ally Israel in its campaign to drive Hamas from power, ensure Hamas can never fulfill its vow to repeat October 7, and free the hostages." Citynewsokc

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Islamic Jihad releases footage of bombing in Samaria. The footage shows the explosive attack on a Jewish vehicle that was traveling from Homesh to Shavei Shomron. One individual was wounded in the attack.

Israel National News Feb 21, 2024, 9:58 PM INN

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Over Rafah operation: UK to consider suspending arms exports to Israel. Israel National News Feb 21, 2024, 11:44 PM INN

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IDF kills three terrorists, calls in airstrike during Jenin op. Forty additional suspects were arrested across Judea and Samaria. (February 21, 2024 / JNS) Israeli forces killed three Palestinian terrorists during operations overnight Tuesday in Jenin, located in northern Samaria.

During the raid, an Israeli Air Force craft attacked terrorists who had opened fire on the ground forces. Troops also confiscated weapons and uncovered explosives planted under roads...

Israeli forces detained 26 more suspects in operations across Judea and Samaria, including five members of a Hamas student cell in Hebron.

Soldiers also confiscated 10,000 shekels ($2,800) during the operations.

Since Oct. 7, the security forces have arrested more than 3,200 Palestinian terrorism suspects throughout Judea and Samaria, of whom over 1,350 are affiliated with Hamas.

IDF data shows a dramatic rise in terrorist attacks in Judea and Samaria in 2023 compared to the previous year, with shootings reaching their highest level since the Second Intifada of 2000-05.

Over last year, there were 608 explosives, ramming, shooting and stabbing attacks, versus 170 in 2022, representing a 350% increase.

The 300 shooting attacks are the most since the bloody Palestinian terror wave of the early 2000s.

More than 50 of the 2023 shooting attacks emanated from the terrorist hotspot of Jenin, where the IDF undertook a major operation to root out terrorist infrastructure. The July 3-5 incursion was dubbed “Operation Home and Garden.”

The violence has continued to escalate in the months since Hamas started the current war with its murderous rampage across the northwestern Negev on Oct. 7. A total of 41 Israeli airstrikes have been carried out in Judea and Samaria since the start of the war, as well as more than 200 counterterror operations in Palestinian-run areas. JNS

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Once again, ‘CNN’ gives an antisemite a propaganda platform. Just because the United Nations isn’t interested in objectivity and impartiality doesn’t mean CNN should follow suit. David M. Litman. (February 22, 2024 / CAMERA) Her history is so replete with antisemitic rhetoric that multiple governments have condemned her. She doesn’t believe Israel has a right to self-defense. She has legitimized Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre by claiming that Palestinians “are actually forced to resort to armed struggle.” Just over a week ago, she even claimed that the Oct. 7 attack—the deadliest mass murder of Jews since the Holocaust—was not antisemitic.

Yet, bewilderingly, CNN once again decided to amplify this antisemite’s horrific allegations against the Jewish state, notwithstanding they lacked any supporting evidence, and without mentioning her extraordinary bias on the subject. The network did so in an article dated Feb. 20, titled, “UN experts demand investigation into claims Israeli forces killed, raped and sexually assaulted Palestinian women and girls,” authored by Richard Roth, Kareem El Damanhoury and Richard Allen Greene.

That person is the United Nations’ Francesca Albanese, the U.N. Special Rapporteur notorious for her unhinged bias against Israel and the Jewish people. On Feb. 19, she issued a statement—alongside several other U.N. “experts”—claiming alarm over “credible allegations” of “human rights violations to which Palestinian women and girls continue to be subjected in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.” One of the other “experts” is Reem Alsalem, a Jordanian Palestinian who, as has been pointed out, has not only failed to condemn Hamas’s use of sexual violence, but actively assisted Albanese in trying to cast doubt on the story by claiming governments have not “appl[ied] the usual standards of discernment and credibility evaluation.”

A full review of Albanese’s background of extreme bias and antisemitism is beyond the scope of this article, and in any event has been repeatedly documented elsewhere. For present purposes, it’s sufficient to note that her history of anti-Israel bias and antisemitism is so severe and pervasive that it has repeatedly elicited strong state condemnations, a rarity in the diplomatic world. Just two weeks ago, she was strongly criticized by the French Foreign Ministry for denying the antisemitism behind the Oct. 7 massacre. A U.S. ambassador similarly condemned Albanese, remarking, “Francesca Albanese has a history of using antisemitic tropes.” Notably, the U.S. ambassador’s condemnation also quoted a previous condemnation of Albanese for her claim that the “Jewish lobby” has “subjugated” the United States.

This background is so notable because it has a direct bearing on the credibility of the allegations. The statement in question refers only to unsourced “reports,” with no accompanying details beyond the vague allegations of abuse. No names or any other useful identifying information are provided, whether for the victims, the perpetrators, or even the parties who have made the “reports.” Similarly, there are no dates or locations given with any reasonable specificity to even begin to scrutinize the veracity of the allegations. JNS

Anger at UN over exposure of its UNRWA crimes in Oct 7 atrocities and protests against UN for its long silence on sexual crimes by Arab-Palestinians on that day (and on), notorious anti-Israel Francesca Albanese at UN decided to go on a "counter offensive" by pushing libels on IDF. Francesca Albanese -- 'her history is so replete with antisemitic rhetoric that multiple governments have condemned her. She doesn’t believe Israel has a right to self-defense, she has legitimized Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre, she is assisted by Reem Alsalem, a Jordanian Palestinian who, has not only failed to condemn Hamas’s use of sexual violence, but actively assisted Albanese in trying to cast doubt on the horrific crimes at EoZ

(Francesca Albanese once again proves how utterly unsuitable she is as UN Special Rapporteur. January 27, 2023 EoZ. UN Rapporteur Francesca Albanese again says that Jews do not deserve human rights. April 17, 2023 Eoz Debunking Francesca Albanese's Defense of Hamas Terrorists (Daled Amos). November 21, 2023. EoZ)

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Eurovision considering disqualifying Israel's song for being 'too political'. The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation is holding a dialogue with the EBC regarding the song titled 'October Rain,' which was chosen to represent Israel in the competition. Israel National News, Feb 21, 2024, 5:03 PM (GMT+2) INN

Foreign Minister Katz: "Our right to sing about what we went through"; The EBU: "An opportunity will be given to replace the song" Following ynet's announcement that they are considering disqualifying the song "October Rain", which is expected to represent Israel at Eurovision, the European Broadcasting Union tells ynet that if the song does not meet the criteria - the corporation can submit another song in its place. The corporation here, however, had already informed the creators of the competing song that it would not represent Israel. Culture Minister Zohar called on the EBU to withdraw, and Foreign Minister Katz announced: "Strengthens the corporation for its decision not to change the selection" Ran Boker 02.21.24: 10:33 ...At the same time, Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar responded to the revelation, saying that "the intention of the European Broadcasting Union to disqualify the Israeli song for Eurovision is scandalous. Israel's song, which will be performed by Eden Golan, is a moving song that expresses the feelings of the people and the country these days, and is not political. We all hope that Eurovision will remain a musical and cultural event and not a political arena - where the participating countries can bring their uniqueness and nationalism to the stage through music. I call on the European Broadcasting Union to continue to act in a professional and neutral manner, and not let politics influence art." YNet

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UK and Jordan air drop aid to hospital in northern Gaza. Britain and Jordan have air-dropped four tons of aid including medicines, fuel and food to Tal Al-Hawa Hospital in northern Gaza, Britain's Foreign Office said on Wednesday. The UK-funded aid was delivered by the Jordanian Air Force. (Reuters)

YNet, 02.21.24, 13:39

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Gaza group calls on Hamas to end the war and save what is left of the Strip. "Free Gaza," an opposition group that has grown in support since the war broke out, issued a call to the leaders of the Hamas asking for an end to the war. "Save us, climb down from your demands. Save what is left of us after the ...," the group said. "We have no planes to protect us, no shelters, tunnels or hotels in Qatar and Turkey as you have. This is your responsibility." Einav Halabi). YNet, 02.21.24, 16:32

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Hamas terrorists embedded in Rafah, U.S. vetoes anti-Israel U.N. Security Council resolution. Feb. 21, 2024. 10,000 Hamas terrorists are embedded among civilians in Rafah – the last Hamas stronghold in Gaza – despicably using Palestinians as human shields. On Tuesday, February 21, White House spokesperson John Kirby reaffirmed America’s support for Israel as it fights to destroy the terrorists in the southern city along the Egyptian border.

"We understand that their Hamas leadership, in fact full Hamas units are now operating in Rafah, mixing among the civilians, trying to find refuge there. That's classic Hamas conduct and that's inexcusable and Israel has a right to go after them," Kirby said. [168]

Israel believes the Israel Defense Force (IDF) has killed 12,000 of Hamas’ estimated 30,000 fighters, with thousands more seriously wounded and unable to fight.

"We still have a long way to go," IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said Tuesday as the military continues its fight to eliminate the threat from Hamas and free the hostages.

He added that Israel is fighting "a long and just war. … We act like human beings and, unlike our enemy, maintain our humanity. We must be careful not to use force where it is not required, to distinguish between a terrorist and those who are not."

U.S. vetoes anti-Israel U.N. Security Council resolution

The United States of America (U.S.A.) vetoed an anti-Israel resolution at the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday (February 20), which demanded an immediate ceasefire.

The White House reiterated its position that a ceasefire now would leave Hamas armed, in power, and ready to fulfill its promise to carry out another October 7.

"We still don’t believe that this is the right time for a general ceasefire that leaves Hamas in control and alleviates any responsibility for them to release the hostages," John Kirby said on behalf of President Joe Biden. [169]

In response to the U.S. veto of a United Nations Security Council resolution aiming to impose a ceasefire on Israel, the American-Israel Public Affairs Council (AIPAC) released this statement on Tuesday, February 21:

"We commend the Biden administration for vetoing the anti-Israel Security Council resolution introduced by Algeria, a close ally of Putin.

"The pervasive and systemic anti-Israel biases throughout the UN system make it the wrong venue to adjudicate these complex issues.

"America must continue to stand with our ally Israel in its campaign to drive Hamas from power, ensure Hamas can never fulfill its vow to repeat October 7, and free the hostages." Citynewsokc

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Reuters Distances Itself From Photographer for “Unacceptable” Behavior Caught on Oct. 7 Video.

The Reuters wire service is distancing itself from a freelance photographer after a pro-Israel journalism watchdog organization found an Instagram video of the photographer on October 7 appearing to urge Gazans to cross over into Israel. Ira Stoll, February 21, 2024. The media monitoring group HonestReporting published what it said was a video of the photographer, Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa, saying in Arabic, “Advice, whoever can go – go. It is a one-time event that will not happen again.”

Asked about the video, a Reuters spokesperson said, “We consider unacceptable the behavior in the video of Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa.” The news organization clarified, “Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa is not a Reuters journalist. He is a photographer from whom we occasionally acquired images in October and November 2023 and we have not used his photos since.”

Reuters said it was “committed to delivering unbiased and reliable news.”

On social media and on its own website, HonestReporting has been critical of Reuters. “Does Reuters have no shame?” the group asked in a February 7 post on X, highlighting the agency’s use of an image by Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa in a photo gallery marking four months since the war began.

The New York Times published an image credited to Reuters and Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa as part of its 2023 “year in pictures” supplement. The image, apparently taken from the Israeli side of the Gaza border, was captioned, “Gazan border, Oct. 7. Palestinians used earth-moving equipment to breach the border fence between Gaza and Israel. Hamas gunmen surged into Israel by land, sea and air in a surprise attack that prompted a full-blown war.”

Media executives have been pushing back hard against any claims that any of their journalists on October 7 were participating in the Hamas attack rather than documenting it.

A New York Times Company senior vice President and deputy general counsel, David McCraw, wrote to the Israeli foreign ministry on November 12 to say that “the accusation that anyone associated with The Times had advance knowledge of the attack or was embedded with Hamas terrorists at any time is simply false.” McCraw’s letter said, “by adopting and perpetuating unsupported accusations of criminal behavior against journalists, you not only endanger them but undermine the journalistic work that the world depends on to understand the realities of the war.”

Reuters also said it was “deeply concerned” about “baseless speculation” and “damaging accusations,” “incendiary insinuations” and “inflammatory claims” with “no evidence” that it said “posed grave risks to journalists in the region, including those working for Reuters.”

“It is the job of journalists to document important news as it unfolds and to provide a first-hand account of events on the ground. This is the essential role of a free press in war zones, and we remain fully committed to providing this coverage both from Israel and Gaza as the conflict continues,” the Reuters statement said. Algemeiner

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UK minister apologizes for ‘unacceptable’ defacement of Israeli’s birth certificate.

“While we establish the facts, our commercial partner has suspended some staff,” wrote James Cleverly. “We will not tolerate antisemitism.” Georgia L. Gilholy (February 22, 2024 / JNS) U.K. Home Secretary James Cleverly apologized on Wednesday to the family of a baby whose birth certificate came back with “Israel” crossed out under “place of birth.” JNS

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Terror shooting attack near Jerusalem: 1 dead, 10 wounded, and 3 terrorists neutralized. MDA paramedics arrived at the scene on highway Route 1, between Jerusalem and Ma'ale Adumim, where Palestinian gunmen opened fire on a traffic jam.

Matthias Inbar, Ariel Oseran, Guy Azriel. February 22, 2024 at 12:44 AM latest revision February 22, 2024 at 01:18 PM [...] After 1 dead and eight wounded near Jerusalem: Hamas hails 'heroic operation' The terrorist organization Hamas called the attack "a natural response," and praised the "heroic operation." i24

Israeli killed in terror attack, IDF downs Houthi missile over Red Sea. Israel's Arrow system intercepts Houthi missile launched toward Eilat • Failing to find hostages in Khan Yunis, IDF sets sights on Rafah. By Jerusalem Post Staff JPost

Israeli killed, eight wounded in terror shooting near Ma’ale Adumim. Two of the victims were in critical condition • Israeli forces neutralized three Palestinian terrorists. Charles Bybelezer. (February 22, 2024 / JNS) JNS

Shin Bet reveals: These are the terrorists responsible for shooting attack. Palestinian Authority Arab brothers from Bethlehem worked together in terror attack and were eliminated; third terrorist from Bethlehem was neutralized, Shin Bet says. Israel National New, Feb 22, 2024, 9:37 AM (GMT+2) INN

Footage from Maaleh Adumim shooting attack. Police release footage showing an officer neutralizing one of the terrorists who opened fire on commuters on the road between Jerusalem and Maaleh Adumim, murdering one and wounding others. Israel National News Feb 22, 2024, 7:21 PM INN

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Israeli home damaged in anti-tank missile strike from Lebanon. By Jerusalem Post Staff 02/22/2024 08:53 AM JPost

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Israeli checkpoints to limit east Jerusalem Palestinians' crossing after terror attack. By Jerusalem Post Staff 02/22/2024 11:16 AM JPost

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Israeli First Lady: 'We felt betrayed by human rights orgs' silence'. Israel National News Feb 22, 2024, 5:13 PM INN

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Live Updates: Hezbollah missiles expert killed in Israeli strike. IDF forces continue to advance through southern and central Gaza and terrorists continue launching rockets at the Jewish state from Lebanon and Gaza as war enters 20th week. Israel National News. Published: Feb 18, 2024, 3:47 PM (GMT+2) Updated: Feb 22, 2024, 8:54 PM INN

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Rape, sexual abuse, and pedophilia: How Hamas leader Sinwar ruled the yard. By 103FM Via Maariv Online Published: February, 2024.

Yahya Sinwar and his brother Muhammed have been accused of several acts of sexual assault, rape, and even, pedophilia, by Hamas members locked up with them.

Baruch Yedid, head of the Arab affairs desk for Channel 14, on Wednesday revealed more details on 103FM in the Erel Segal program about the news about sexual scandals attributed to the Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, among other things when he was in Israeli prison.

According to Yedid, "Since 2005, Muhammad Sinwar has been the Khan Yunis Brigade Commander and a member of the military leadership. He is also the one who, according to documents from the IDF spokesperson, dug the giant tunnel that was recently discovered, and keeps several skeletons in his closet."

"He was released from the PA prison in 2000," continued Yedid "There are questions about how he got out of there."

"Yahya was released in 2011 in the Shalit deal. When Yahya was still in prison, the heads of the military and the leadership of the prisoners turned to him and told him that his younger brother was involved in a series of acts of pedophilia and sexual harassment of boys, including Hamas operatives."

"Some of the incidents, according to them, happened when Muhammad was in a Palestinian prison, and some when he was already a senior member of Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The response they get from Yahya, and this is confirmed by both Israeli and Palestinian officials, is that he throws them out, and forbids them to investigate anything outside of what he authorized them to investigate."

"Then he says 'Families of people I destroyed are behind the rumors.'"

Yedid continued, saying, "In the Ofer prison in the early 2000s, two Hamas men raped a boy, also a Palestinian prisoner, Yahya again forbade investigating the issue, preferring that a comprehensive investigation not be opened because his brother was still at large and Sinwar feared that this would lead to an investigation that would reveal his brother as well."

"How did this become known, among other things, to the Israeli intelligence organizations?"

The source of the rumors Samir Kuntar, the same one who murdered the Haran family in 1979, who was released in 2008 and was eventually killed in Syria in 2015, was the source of the information.

Kuntar told Israeli officials on several occasions that Sinwar forbids investigating these matters, and expressed concern that these acts are increasing in prison, according to Yedid.

"Because Sinwar is one of the prisoners' leaders, he forbids them to interrogate his brother and tells the Israeli authorities about the pedophilia and rape committed by his brother Muhammad.

Yedid added, "When Yahya was still in prison, the members of the military branch once again informed him that his brother Mohammed was a collaborator for the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency)."

"This was already known to the Shin Bet, it forbade investigating because he says that if a background investigation is opened on the brother, this would also be revealed. So far this is only from Israeli sources."

"There is also information coming from Palestinian sources, there are quite a few in Ramallah who follow Hamas in Gaza. There are two intelligence files in Ramallah, one talks about sexual abuse done by the older brother Yahya, among other things from prisoners who were released and gave evidence to the Palestinian authorities."

"One of them says that in 1997 or 1998, when Sinwar was detained in Ashkelon prison, he kept silicon accessories and toys in his cell, with which he also sexually harassed. Ashkelon prison in those times only had male prisoners."

"When he was released in October 2011, within a month he married Samar, then 31 years old from a religious family. He said in an interview that his sisters brought him Samar, and around the marriage ceremony there were several testimonies about the marriage."

In conclusion, the journalist emphasized, "There are claims by Hamas members that their names were not included in the list of those released by Shalit, only because Muhammad Sinwar did not want them to be outside because of sexual scandals." JPost

Aviva Klompas @AvivaKlompas: In a surprise to nobody, Sinwar is a sexual sadist (on top of being a psycopath who takes pleasure from murdering and torturing).

Sinwar and his brother have been accused of several acts of sexual assault, rape, and even, pedophilia, by Hamas members locked up with them.. Feb 22, 2024 On X

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Sorry Eurovision, it's hard to sing about other things when Israelis were slaughtered. It is possible to brush off the Eurovision Song Contest outrage as trivial. After all, it allegedly seems to be just a song competition taking place under a very bright spotlight. But that would be a classic Israeli mistake, akin to allowing pro-Palestinian advocates to take over universities and fester cancerous cells against us. Therefore, the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC) is currently facing a significant test that risks, as dramatic as it sounds, Israel’s prestige. Raz Shecknik, 02.22.24 YNet

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Maryland legislators push to remove CAIR leader from hate-crimes panel. A Muslim leader in Maryland faced a barrage of questions about her anti-Israel, anti-Jewish social-media postings after the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks by Hamas in a move to challenge her place on the state’s hate-crimes commission.

Maryland legislators push to remove CAIR leader from hate-crimes panel. A Muslim leader in Maryland faced a barrage of questions about her anti-Israel, anti-Jewish social-media postings after the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks by Hamas in a move to challenge her place on the state’s hate-crimes commission. (February 22, 2024 / JNS) On Tuesday, at a Maryland House Judiciary Committee hearing, delegate Lauren Arikan asked Zainab Chaudry, director of the state’s chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR): “You stated, ‘That moment when you become what you hated the most’ in reference to Israel, comparing it to Nazi Germany. Have you retracted those statements?”

Delegate Chris Tomlinson also asked, “Have you apologized for any of this language in the last three months?”

In addition to her comparison to World War II, Chaudry had referred to Hamas as “Palestinian freedom fighters” and Oct. 7 as “the uprising in Palestine.” JNS

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New York officials tour Gaza border areas devastated on Oct. 7. A delegation of officials from New York State and City on Wednesday visited Israeli agricultural communities near the Gaza Strip that suffered the brunt of the Hamas onslaught on Oct. 7. Etgar Lefkovits. ([170] New York state and city officials visit Kibbutz Kfar Aza, Feb. 21, 2024. Photo: Courtesy of JCRC). (February 22, 2024 / Kibbutz Kfar Aza / JNS) The Americans underlined their strong support for Israel, saying it was shared by a majority of their countrymen.

The three-day solidarity trip, which included State Assembly and City Council members, comes on the background of a surge in global antisemitism, including in the United States.

“The continued trauma being felt by the Israeli people after Oct. 7 and the unexpected devastation in terms of the human cost as well as the psychological-emotional impact underscores that it will take a long time to do physical and emotional rebuilding,” New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli told JNS.

“What is not surprising is the resilience of Israel—a nation born out of struggle. Despite all the divisions you have here, a resolve to get through this and past this is very strong,” he said.

To bear witness

As the delegation made its way to Israel’s “Ground Zero” at this once lush border-area farming community, the devastation was still apparent despite the time that had passed, the change of seasons, the winter rains and the now green grass and spring flowers. JNS

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UN Representative to the Palestinians Claims Israelis Are ‘Colonialists’ with ‘Fake Identities’. By Jack Elbaum, Feb 22, 2024. The United Nations’ Special Rapporteur to the Occupied Palestinian Territories referred to Israelis as “colonialists” who have “fake identities” while quoting another Twitter/X account on Wednesday, raising questions about the impartiality of the international body.

Francesca Albanese responded to a long post by Alon Mizrahi, a far-left activist, arguing that the reason many Western nations support Israel is that they are colonial projects. Algemeiner

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Netanyahu presents: The plan for 'the day after Hamas'. Prime Minister Netanyahu brings before the Cabinet his proposal for the "day after" Hamas, which includes the shutting down of UNRWA and a complete demilitarization of Gaza. Hezki Baruch, Feb 23, 2024, 1:56 AM (GMT+2). Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday evening brought his proposal for the "day after" Hamas for the approval of the Political-Security Cabinet.

"The Prime Minister's document of principles reflects broad public acceptance of the goals of the war and of the civilian alternative to Hamas rule in the Gaza Strip," the Prime Minister’s Office said.

The principles of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan for the day after Hamas:

In the immediate time frame: The IDF will continue the war until its goals are achieved: The destruction of the military capabilities and governmental infrastructure of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, the return of the hostages and the prevention of a threat from the Gaza Strip for a lengthy period of time.

In the interim period:

On the security level - Israel will maintain operational freedom of activity in the entire Gaza Strip, without a time limit, for the purpose of preventing the renewal of terrorism and thwarting threats from Gaza.

The security zone established in the Gaza Strip, in the area bordering Israel, will exist as long as there is a security need for it.

Israel will maintain a "southern closure" on the Gaza-Egypt border in order to prevent the re-intensification of terrorist elements in the Gaza Strip. The "southern closure" will operate, as much as possible, in cooperation with Egypt and with the assistance of the US, and will be based on measures to prevent smuggling from Egypt both underground and above ground, including at the Rafah crossing.

Israel will have security control over the entire area west of Jordan, including in the envelope of Gaza, to prevent the strengthening of terrorist elements in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip and to thwart threats against Israel.

There will be a complete demilitarization in the Gaza Strip of any military capacity, beyond what is required for the needs of maintaining public order. The responsibility for realizing this goal and overseeing its existence in the foreseeable future is given to Israel.

On the civil level - as much as possible, the civil administration and responsibility for public order in the Gaza Strip will be based on local officials with administrative experience. These local entities will not be identified with countries or entities that support terrorism and will not receive payment from them.

A comprehensive de-radicalization program will be promoted in all religious, educational and welfare institutions in the Gaza Strip, as much as possible with the involvement and assistance of Arab countries which have experience in promoting de-radicalization in their territory.

Israel will work to shut down UNRWA, whose operatives were involved in the October 7 massacre, and whose schools educated to terrorism and the destruction of Israel. Israel will work to end UNRWA's activities in the Gaza Strip and replace it with responsible international aid agencies.

The rehabilitation of the Strip will only be possible after the demilitarization is completed and the de-radicalization process begins. The rehabilitation programs will be financed and led by countries that are acceptable to Israel.

In the long term:

Israel outright rejects international dictates regarding a permanent settlement with the Palestinian Arabs. Such an arrangement will be reached only through direct negotiations between the parties, without preconditions.

Israel will continue to oppose the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state. Such recognition in the wake of the October 7 massacre would give a huge unprecedented reward to terrorism and prevent any future peace settlement. INN

Netanyahu's 'day after' Hamas plan emphasizes security control. Charles Bybelezer. (February 23, 2024 / JNS) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday night formally presented for the first time his “day after” Hamas plan, which reiterates his oft-stated goal of completely eradicating the Palestinian terror group and emphasizes ongoing Israeli security control west of the Jordan River, including in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip. JNS

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IDF eliminates Jenin terrorist in precise airstrike. Yasser Hanoun believed to be en route to carry out terror attack after opening fire on Israeli towns in recent weeks Yoav Zitun, Elisha Ben Kimon, Einav Halabi | published: 02.23.24, 02:15 YNet

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WATCH: Terrorist throws grenade at IDF troops, quickly gunned down. By Jerusalem Post Staff. February 23, 2024 JPost

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Israeli team en route to Paris for 'tough' hostage talks as Sinwar reemerges. After hopeful talks in Cairo with Hamas, Israeli officials warn against false hopes for swift hostage deal; Washington urges pre-Ramadan agreement; ministers insist: return all hostages or none. Itamar Eichner, Yael Ciechanover, Eitan Glikman | 02.23.24, 07:26 YNet

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Hezbollah says it launched two drones toward Kiryat Shmona, fall reported in nearby town. By Jerusalem Post Staff 02/23/2024 10:52 AM JPost

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Solicitor who called Jewish journalist a ‘Zionist pig’ is struck off. Immigration and employment specialist Farrukh Husain, who also made offensive posts about Simon Myerson KC, argued his X/Twitter account was personal By Beatrice Sayers. February 23, 2024, 4:09 pm

A solicitor was struck off on Friday for posting antisemitic abuse online last September about prominent Jewish social media users.

Farrukh Najeeb Husain did not attend the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal hearing at which he was permanently barred. JewishNews

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NYT journalist accused of participating in October 7 attacks wins award among the winners of the George Polk.

By Jerusalem Post Staff, February 22, 2024.

Among the winners of the George Polk Awards is a journalist from The New York Times who is accused of being a member of Hamas and taking part in the October 7 massacre in Israel.

The journalist, named Yousef Masoud, has been accused by NGO Honest Reporting of being present at the October 7 massacre. He was awarded along with another freelance Times photojournalist named Samar Abu Elouf.

Honest Reporting, a media watchdog, highlighted his accreditation to a photo provided to the Associated Press, with the caption, “Palestinians wave their national flag and celebrate by a destroyed Israeli tank at the Gaza Strip fence east of Khan Younis southern Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. The militant Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip carried out an unprecedented, multi-front attack on Israel at daybreak Saturday, firing thousands of rockets as dozens of Hamas fighters infiltrated the heavily fortified border in several locations by air, land, and sea and catching the country off-guard on a major holiday.”

The picture shows a man waving a Palestinian flag atop an Israeli tank. The accusation was part of an investigative report from November showing that journalists from leading news outlets, including The New York Times, AP, Reuters, and CNN, joined Hamas terrorists from the Gaza Strip on October 7 to document the events with their cameras.

The organization, which works to expose anti-Israel bias in the foreign press, raised heavy ethical questions in the investigation regarding the presence of those photographers alongside Hamas terrorists…. JPost

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Qatar’s regime under fire for training Hamas terrorists: 'Qatar is Hamas and Hamas is Qatar'. By Benjamin Weintha. Published: February 23, 2024 . US expert urges ‘designation of Qatar as state sponsor of terrorism.’ A shocking new report by the Middle East Media Research Institute revealed that Qatar’s authoritarian state trained Hamas operatives at the country’s police college as recently as 2023.

According to the early February MEMRI report, “Qatar – which is known for supporting Hamas, financing its military activity and sheltering its leaders, and for extending media support to Hamas by means of its Al-Jazeera channel – also trained, in its Police College in Al-Rayyan, officers from Hamas' Interior and National Security Ministry, which is part of Hamas' governing authorities in the Gaza Strip.”

An IDF spokesperson told the Post that “The IDF does not comment about issues with Qatar and other foreign states. It is a very sensitive issue.” The IDF referred the Post to the foreign ministry.

A foreign ministry spokesman told the Post “We won’t comment regarding the MEMRI report.”

Qatar is currently functioning as a mediator in an effort to secure the release of the over 130 hostages held by Hamas in Qatar. Israeli officials and MKs have been largely reluctant to comment on the Qatari regime’s role in funneling over $2 billion into Hamas’ coffers over the last ten years due to the hostage release talks.

Officer Nasrallah receives a certificate of appreciation from the Undersecretary of Hamas' Interior Ministry General Nasser Maslah (ruc.edu.ps, March 13, 2023) (credit: MEMRI)Enlarge Image Officer Nasrallah receives a certificate of appreciation from the Undersecretary of Hamas' Interior Ministry General Nasser Maslah (ruc.edu.ps, March 13, 2023) (credit: MEMRI) Training Hamas in Qatar The training of Hamas operatives in Qatar took place long after Hamas was designated a foreign terrorist organization by the US and the European Union.

MEMRI wrote “Hamas officers were routinely sent to train at this college, which recently produced its sixth class of graduates, and were received with great honor upon their return to the Gaza Strip”

Rich Goldberg, a member of the National Security Council during the Trump administration, told the Jerusalem Post ”This is certainly further evidence to support a designation of Qatar as a state sponsor of terrorism.” Goldberg testified in Congress in late October about Qatar’s alleged role in sponsoring Islamist terrorism.

Yigal Carmon, the president and founder of MEMRI, told the Post that "Qatar is Hamas and Hamas is Qatar.”

Hamas Political Bureau head Isma'il Haniya, who celebrated the October 7 massacre of 1,200 people in southern Israel and lives in Qatar, frequently met with the Hamas officers and praised them with certificates of appreciation.

Haniya said that the Qatar police college played a "significant role" in strengthening the police of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. He thanked Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Aal Thani for his work on behalf of Palestine.

A Hamas Interior Ministry spokesman thanked Qatar for helping the ministry "to develop its personnel and give them unique skills and expertise."

MEMRI disclosed that "Cadet Ahmad Jamil Nasrallah from the Gaza Strip, who was sent to the Qatar Police College by the Interior and National Security Ministry, received the highest grade among the cadets sent to the college by Arab countries. This morning [February 2, 2023].” Qatar’s Emir congratulated Nasrallah.

Hamas’ Interior Ministry sent “several students of the Ribat University College (which trains members of Hamas' security apparatuses) every year to acquire such a degree at the Qatar Police College,” noted MEMRI.

Jerusalem Deputy Mayor, Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, told the Post that “Qatar hosts Hamas leaders and facilitates its financing. We know Hamas was trained by the Islamic republic of Iran and so this new revelation about Qatar is hardly surprising. The free world should show zero tolerance for terrorist funders and sympathizers. Today its Hamas and tomorrow it will be home grown Jihadi terrorism in the West.”

MEMRI first located and translated the jaw-dropping reports about the Qatar-Hamas alliance in training Hamas operatives. According to the Hamas website, on February 7, 2023:"Today… brother Isma'il Haniya, the head of Hamas' political bureau, honored Officer Ahmad Nasrallah from the Gaza Strip, who had been sent by the Interior and National Security Ministry to [attend] the Qatar Police College.”

MEMRI posted a photograph of Undersecretary of Hamas' Interior Ministry,General Nasser Maslah, presenting a certificate of appreciation to officer Nasrallah from March, 2023.

Hamas’ Interior Ministry also sent Muhammad Abu Rizq to the Qatar Police College. He graduated in 2022.Accofrding to the Hamas website, “The Honorable Emir Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Aal Thani honored cadet Abu Rizq at the graduation ceremony of the Qatar Police College's fourth graduating class.”

MEMRI wrote Hamas Interior Ministry spokesman Iyad Al-Buzom tweeted that day: "We congratulate the cadet Muhammad Ahmad Abu Rizq, of the Gaza Interior Ministry, for achieving the highest grade among the cadets sent to the Qatar Police College by the Arab countries, and for being honored by the Qatari Emir… We thank the Qatari Interior Ministry for giving our cadets the opportunity to attend the Qatar Police College, which helps the Gaza Interior Ministry develop its personnel and give them unique skills and expertise.”

Hamas’ website reported on January 15, 2022 that "Hamas Political Bureau Head Isma'il Haniya honored Officer Muhammad Ahmad Muhammad Abu Rizq, from the Gaza Strip.” MEMRI showed a photograph of Haniya presenting Abu Rizq with a certificate of appreciation.

In 2021, Haniya met with a group of Gazan cadets attending the Qatar Police College. Hamas’ outlet Al-Risalah reported that Haniya praised the cadets' "excellent performance" and "warmly thanked His Excellency, the Honorable Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Aal Thani, the Emir of the sister-country Qatar, as well as his government and the honorable and generous Qatari people, for [the efforts they] invest in serving our [Palestinian] homeland, our people and the Palestinian cause in international forums."

Haniya also congratulated Officer Husam Abu Shamala, a graduate of the Qatari program.

MEMRI also revealed that, in February, 2021, Husam Fathi Abu Shamala returned to Khan Younis as a graduate of the police college after spending five years in Qatar.

It is unclear how many Hamas operatives Qatar trained. Multiple Post press queries to Qatar’s embassies in Washington and London went unanswered.

Qatar is facing intense anger from a growing number of US lawmakers for its financial aid to Hamas and its reported espionage operation targeting opponents of Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.

The AP and Fox News Digital reported that Qatar’s regime hired former CIA officer, Kevin Chalker, and his company, Global Risk Advisors, to spy on Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) ,and Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla), as well as former California Republican Congressman Ed Royce.,

In January, Qatar denied on its X account, formerly known as Twitter, the allegation that it hired Chalker’s firm to discredit US elected officials as part of a vast surveillance operation titled “Project ENDGAME.”

Chalker’s lawyer, Kevin Carroll, told Fox News "Mr. Chalker has a long-standing record of service to the United States and any allegations of wrongdoing—much less defamatory allegations of criminal wrongdoing—by him or GRA are just false.”

When the Post asked Carroll and Chalker if GRA or Chalker played a role in training Hamas operatives in Qatar, Carroll and Chalker refused to comment. Numerous Post press queries were sent to GRA, Carroll and Qrypt, Chalker’s new company.

The Post also asked Chalker if he and GRA view Hamas as a terrorist organization. Chalker declined to comment.

Protests have unfolded against Qatar’s embassy in Washington and its hotel in Beverly Hills, the Maybourne, due to the Gulf Country’s financial support for Hamas and its failure to secure the freedom of the remaining hostages.

Rabbi Pini Dunner, from The Beverly Hills Synagogue, along with the organization, Rabbis United, are slated to protest on Monday against “Qatar-funded Hamas terrorism” in front of Qatar’s consulate in Beverly Hills.. The organizers are also demanding “the release of the hostages.” Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, is slated to speak at the 12:45 PM rally.

Qatar has lashed out at American Jews and Congressional representatives who demonstrated in front of their Washington embassy calling for Doha to pressure Hamas to release the hostages. JPost

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'Absolutely necessary’ to meet with Israeli officials, says UNRWA review head. The former French foreign minister leading the review aims to report back on UNRWA’s neutrality, but critics are calling the investigation a “farce.” Mike Wagenheim. (February 23, 3024 / JNS) Critics have called the review group a “farce” and a “desperate scheme” to save UNRWA, which is under dire financial pressure following the suspension of aid by 16 countries. The suspension came following allegations that a dozen UNRWA employees participated in Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre. Subsequent reporting has suggested that about 10% of UNRWA’s staff has ties to Palestinian terror. JNS

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No ‘sustainable ceasefire’ in Gaza without release of hostages, US envoy says. Mike Wagenheim. (February 23, 3024 / JNS) “The pace of hostage talks can be frustrating,” said the U.S. deputy ambassador to the United Nations. “Negotiations at such high stakes do not always yield immediate results.” JNS

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Hamas rockets must stop before two-state solution, 13 Dems in Congress say. (February 23, 3024 / JNS) JNS

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IDF company commander falls in Gaza battle. By Jerusalem Post Staff. Published: February 24, 2024 19:05 JPost

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Footage from Khan Yunis: Terrorist eliminated on rooftop. Israel National News Feb 24, 2024, 7:21 PM INN

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Foreign Min.: 'Since 7/10 massacre, UN has cooperated with Hamas'. Israel National News Feb 24, 2024, 6:30 PM INN

FM Katz: 'Since Oct. 7, the UN has been cooperating with Hamas and ignoring its crimes' Foreign Minister Israel Katz commented on the OHCHR's demand to impose an arms embargo on Israel, "since the October 7 massacre, the UN has been cooperating with Hamas terrorists and trying to undermine Israel's right to defend itself and its citizens. Ignoring the war crimes, sex crimes and crimes against humanity of Hamas will remain a stain that can not be erased on the UN and Secretary-General Antonio Guterres personally." (Itamar Eichner). 02.24.24 YNet

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Antitank cell eliminated in IDF airstrike. Israel National News Feb 24, 2024, 6:46 PM INN

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Weapons found in UNRWA bags. Israel National News Feb 24, 2024, 7:09 PM The 7th Brigade Combat Team is continuing to fight in western Khan Yunis and is intensifying the operations in the area. In an operation on a number of buildings that Hamas had converted into a fighting compound, the soldiers located mortar bombs and cartridges inside UNRWA bags. In addition, AK-47s, bullets, grenades, explosives, drones, RPG launchers and means of communication were located and confiscated. [171] INN

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Lebanon: Terror cell eliminated entering military structure. Israel National News Feb 24, 2024, 7:42 PM INN

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IDF announces death of soldier killed in north Gaza, raising ground op toll to 238. By Emanuel Fabian 24 Feb 2024, 7:03 pm TOI

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10 terrorists for every 1 hostage: All the details of the proposed prisoner swap. Israel National News Feb 24, 2024, 9:10 PM INN

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New poll of US voters finds overwhelming support for Israel over Hamas in Gaza war. 67% of survey respondents say there should only be a ceasefire if all hostages are freed and the Gaza-ruling terror group is removed from power — Israel’s key aims in the war. By TOI Staff. 24 Jan 2024, 6:11 am A new Harvard CAPS-Harris poll published this week of over 2,300 registered US voters found overwhelming support for Israel over Hamas in the ongoing war, triggered by the terror group’s October 7 murderous rampage.

In the poll, 83 percent of respondents said October 7 was a terror attack, while 17% said it was not. Broken down by age group, 94% of respondents aged over 65 said the attack — in which some 1,200 people were killed and 253 were taken hostage — was terrorism, while 74% of those aged 18-24 said the same.

In addition, 74% of respondents said Hamas’s attack was genocidal and 75% of all respondents said the assault could not be justified by Palestinian grievances. These answers varied widely by age group, with younger Americans less favorable to Israel. Some 54% of respondents aged 18-24 said the attacks were not justified, compared to 78% among participants aged 45-54, 87% of those aged 54-65, and 92% of those aged over 65.

Eighty percent of all respondents also said they support Israel more over Hamas, including 57% among those aged 18-24, about 70% for those aged 25-44, 80% of 45-54 year olds, 90% of those 54-65, and 93% of those over 65.

Most respondents, 69%, said Israel was trying to avoid civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip, and 66% said Israel was just trying to defend itself. Some 34% said they believe Israel was “committing genocide” in Gaza and not acting in self-defense, a figure that jumped to 57% between those aged 18-24 and 50% among the 25-34 years-old bracket.

Some 74% of total respondents also said Hamas would like to commit genocide against Jews in Israel.

Overall, 67% of respondents said a ceasefire should only happen if the hostages are released and Hamas is removed from power in Gaza — Israel’s key aims in the war. TOI

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‘Disgrace’: US House speaker slams Biden’s policy on ‘settlements’. "The Jewish people have a historic and legal right to live in the land of Israel including in Judea and Samaria—the biblical heartland," said Mike Johnson.

(February 25, 2024 / JNS) U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Saturday slammed as an “absolute disgrace” the Biden administration’s decision to reverse the “Pompeo doctrine,” which held that Jewish homes in Judea and Samaria were not necessarily illegal.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday that Israel’s approval of 3,000 new housing units in Judea—announced after one Israeli was killed and six wounded in a Palestinian terrorist attack near Jerusalem—was “inconsistent with international law.”

“The Jewish people have a historic and legal right to live in the land of Israel including in Judea and Samaria—the biblical heartland,” tweeted Johnson. “It is an absolute disgrace the Biden administration would issue this decision, especially as Israel fights terrorists on multiple fronts that seek Israel’s destruction and as more than 130 hostages remain in Gaza.

“The Biden administration must stop undermining Israel and facilitating efforts to delegitimize Israel. It is misguided and unconscionable.”

Blinken’s declaration upended the Trump administration’s “Pompeo doctrine,” which held that “the establishment of Israeli civilian settlements in the West Bank is not per se inconsistent with international law.”

During a trip to Buenos Aires, Blinken said Washington was “disappointed” in the approval of the new housing units, adding: “It’s been long-standing U.S. policy, under Republican and Democratic administrations alike, that new settlements are counterproductive to reaching an enduring peace. They’re also inconsistent with international law.

“Our administration maintains a firm opposition to settlement expansion, and in our judgment, this only weakens—it doesn’t strengthen—Israel’s security.”

Then-U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in 2019 that the Trump administration was reversing an Obama administration policy of describing Israeli “settlements” as inherently illegal under international law.

“The legal conclusions relating to individual settlements must depend on an assessment of specific facts and circumstances on the ground,” Pompeo said at the time.

John Kirby, White House national security communications adviser, said that Blinken’s statement was a return to a consistent U.S. position on the housing units.

“This isn’t about the previous administration,” he said. “We are simply reaffirming the fundamental conclusion that these settlements are inconsistent with international law.

“That is a position that’s been consistent over a range of Republican and Democratic administrations,” Kirby added. “If there’s an administration that [has been] inconsistent, it was the previous one.”

In response, Pompeo condemned the move, saying, “Judea and Samaria are rightful parts of the Jewish homeland, and Israelis have a right to live there.

“President Biden’s decision to overturn our policy and call Israeli ‘settlements’ illegal will not further the cause of peace. It rewards Hamas for its brutal attacks on Oct. 7 and punishes Israel instead. These Israeli communities are not standing in the way of peace; militant Palestinian terrorism is.”

The Trump administration policy “simply recognized reality: Judea and Samaria are the homeland of the Jewish people,” said Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) on Saturday.

“It’s shameful that the Biden administration reversed this and rewarded terrorists—all to help Biden’s poll numbers in Michigan,” he added, referring to the battleground state in November’s upcoming U.S. presidential election.

Adding their voices to those criticizing the Biden administration’s position were Rep. Carlos A. Gimenez (R-Fla.), who tweeted on Saturday that “Judea & Samaria is Israel. Period,” and Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), who backed comments by former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman regarding the legality of Israeli communities in the region.

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On Thursday, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced that the Defense Ministry body which authorizes construction in Judea and Samaria would convene to approve plans for 2,350 new housing units in Ma’ale Adumim, 694 units in Efrat and 300 units in Kedar.

The move came hours after three Palestinian terrorists murdered Matan Elmaleh, 26, and wounded six others in a shooting attack on the Route 1 highway.

Smotrich, who is also a minister in the Defense Ministry, said that the appropriate response to the attack was to build more Jewish homes across the Green Line.

“May every terrorist planning to harm us know that lifting a finger against Israeli citizens will be met with a death blow and destruction, in addition to the deepening of our eternal grip on the entire Land of Israel,” said Smotrich. JNS

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Terrorists caught among civilians evacuating Khan Yunis. Israeli forces continued ground and aerial operations across the Gaza Strip • Three additional soldiers slain. (February 25, 2024 / JNS) Israeli troops captured terrorists who tried to hide among civilians being evacuated from combat zones in western Khan Yunis, the military said on Sunday morning. Also over the past 24 hours in the former Hamas stronghold in southern Gaza, Israeli forces killed several terrorists and confiscated weapons. JNS

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Gallant: If Gaza war pauses, we will escalate fire against Hezbollah. By Jerusalem Post Staff 02/25/2024 08:36 PM JPost

PM: Israel ‘weeks away from victory’ once IDF begins Rafah op. Plans for the IDF offensive in Hamas's last stronghold in the Gaza Strip will be reviewed by the political echelon on Sunday.

(February 25, 2024 / JNS) Once the Israel Defense Forces launches its military operation in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, it will be “weeks away from total victory,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told CBS News on Sunday.

Plans for the IDF offensive in Rafah, Hamas’s last stronghold in the Gaza Strip, will be reviewed by the political echelon on Sunday, the premier said in an interview with CBS‘s “Face the Nation.”

The potential hostages-for-ceasefire deal under discussion in Doha won’t stop the IDF from operating in the city, Netanyahu added.

“If we have a deal, it will be delayed somewhat, but it [the Battle of Rafah] will happen. If we don’t have a deal, we’ll do it anyway,” he stated.

Earlier on Sunday, Netanyahu announced he would “convene the Cabinet to approve the operational plans for action in Rafah, including the evacuation of the civilian population.

“Only a combination of military pressure and firm negotiations will lead to the release of our hostages, the elimination of Hamas and the achievement of all the war’s objectives,” he added.

According to Israel, there are four Hamas battalions positioned in Rafah, the population of which has swelled to some 1.5 million, more than half of Gaza’s total of 2.3 million, after the IDF directed civilians to a humanitarian zone there when the war began in October.

“We very much want to achieve another [hostage] release and we are prepared to go far, but we are not prepared to pay any price, certainly not the delusional prices that Hamas is demanding of us, the meaning of which is the defeat of the State of Israel,” said Netanyahu last week.

He added that those calling for Israel to forgo an operation in Rafah were effectively urging the IDF to surrender to Hamas.

“I speak with world leaders every day. I tell them decisively: Israel will fight until we achieve total victory. And indeed, this includes action in Rafah, of course after we allow the civilians found in the combat zones to evacuate to safe areas,” said Netanyahu.

“Whoever wants to prevent us from operating in Rafah is telling us in effect to lose the war. I will not allow this. … We will not surrender to any pressure. We will not surrender, because we are a people of heroes. We will not surrender because we are a people that desires life. We will not surrender because we must—must—defeat the evil,” he added.

The comments came after U.S. President Joe Biden demanded a temporary ceasefire to secure the release of hostages in Gaza, claiming that a deal “has to” go through before Israel launches a military operation in Rafah.

In a call on Thursday with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Lloyd Austin, the U.S. secretary of defense, raised “the need for a credible plan to ensure the safety of and support for the more than one million people sheltering in Rafah before any military operations proceed there.”

The call came after a Pentagon spokeswoman said that the U.S. Defense Department was unaware of any plans being presented to Washington regarding how Israel would protect Palestinian civilians in Rafah during a ground operation.

Earlier this month, Netanyahu attempted to assuage the concerns of Jerusalem’s allies, highlighting plans for the safe passage of Palestinians “so they can leave” Rafah.

To this end, the premier ordered the security establishment to submit to the Cabinet a combined plan to evacuate civilians and target Hamas’s remaining battalions.

“We have worked out a detailed plan to do so. And that’s what we have done up to now,” explained Netanyahu. “We are not cavalier about this. This is part of our war effort, to get civilians out of harm’s way. It’s part of Hamas’s effort to keep them in harm’s way. But we’ve so far succeeded and we are going to succeed again.” JNS

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Netanyahu demands: Send high-profile prisoners to Qatar in hostage deal - report. By Jerusalem Post Staff 02/25/2024 08:13 PM JPost

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Jewish Agency gathers 200 leaders to discuss rebuilding Gaza border towns. By Michael Starr. 02/25/2024 07:33 PM JPost

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Fury as Ministry of Justice hosts guest speaker whose now-deleted social media posts told Jews 'to get in the queue behind Muslims'. By Elena Salvoni 08:12 EST 25 Feb 2024 , updated 08:16 EST 25 Feb 2024 Shreen Mahmood spoke at event run by the department's Muslim staff network The Ministry of Justice has been blasted for hosting a guest speaker who said in now-deleted social media posts that 'Jews need to get in the queue behind Muslims', in response to concerns about anti-Semitism... Daily Mail

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Houthi official offers to trade stolen British ship for aid to Gaza. By Jerusalem Post Staff 02/25/2024 07:14 PM JPost

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12 suspects arrested by Israeli security forces in Judea and Samaria. By Jerusalem Post Staff. 02/25/2024 01:17 PM JPost

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Gallant: We will increase strikes on Hezbollah, even if there’s a ceasefire in Gaza. By TOI Staff. PM: When IDF enters Rafah, we’ll be weeks from total victory * Shas’s Deri says ‘good chance’ hostage deal will happen * Man self-immolates outside Israeli embassy in Washington. 25 February, 2024. TOI

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Aaron Bushnell, The hypocrite Discussion. I'll try to make this as little rule breaking as possible.

Aaron Bushnell (The USAF member who lit himself on fire) was an active participant in Acab, Multiple anarchy subs. Which were all echo chambers of people who thought like him (Mass censorship led to the echo chamber effect). He disregarded the deaths of 3 service members and said "Police are domestic, Military is the international police" meanwhile he was active duty airforce.

He stated multiple times throughout his account that he hates the military and its service men/women because of "American imperialism" all the while he was an active participant in whatever "American imperialism" he saw. (brayden120, Feb.26.24). Reddit

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Economy Minister Barkat met with Saudi commerce minister in Abu Dhabi - Report. By Jerusalem Post Staff. 02/26/2024 08:17 AM JPost

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David's Sling intercepts suspicious target in North. By Jerusalem Post Staff. 02/26/2024 09:31 AM JPost

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Israeli UN envoy calls for Guterres resignation over UNRWA role in Oct. 7 massacre. Gilad Erdan says the UN has yet to condemn the massacre committed by Hamas or unite to support Israel, failing to understand its responsibility to combat terror globally. Itamar Eichner | published: 02.26.24, 11:07 YNet

Erdan: 'UN chief sees others' flaws, is blind to his own'. Israel National News Feb 26, 2024, 6:18 PM INN.

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IDF presents plan for evacuation of Rafah, gets approval for aid to south Gaza. Prime Minister’s Office does not provide details of proposal presented to war cabinet, says humanitarian supplies will be provided ‘in a way that will prevent looting’. By TOI Staff and Agencies Today, 11:04 am TOI

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Watch rocket near-miss of bus carrying Golan Heights school kids. Ninth grader traveling on the bus says there was smoke and fire on both sides of the road, says she had never seen such a strike; Hezbollah claims barrage is in response to Israeli attack on Baalbek and targeting of senior commander in south Lebanon. Yair Kraus, Yoav Zitun, Lior Ben Ari | 02.26.24: 12:33 YNet

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Hezbollah fires barrage of 60 rockets at Golan Heights after IDF strike deep in Lebanon. Police chief blames ‘group not linked to hostage families’ for Tel Aviv protest clash * Entire PA government submits resignation * Israel kills 2 Hezbollah members deep in Lebanon. 26 February, 2024. TOI

IDF says it hit additional sites in Lebanon after rocket fire. Emanuel Fabian, 26 February, 2024, 8:06 pm. TOI

Senior Hezbollah commander killed in airstrike. Hassan Hossein Salami, the Hezbollah terrorist responsible for the Hajir region, eliminated in a strike in southern Lebanon. Israel National News Feb 26, 2024, 7:23 PM INN

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Hostage families plan a 4-day march from Gaza border to Jerusalem. By Jerusalem Post Staff. 02/26/2024 11:30 AM JPost

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Haifa resident sentenced to eight months in prison for inciting terrorism. By Jerusalem Post Staff. 02/26/2024 01:32 PM JPost

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Israeli delegation heads to Qatar for Hamas hostage deal talks. By Reuters, Tovah Lazaroff. 02/26/2024 02:28 PM JPost

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Tunnel went under hospital, university. 10-kilometer long tunnel from northern to southern Gaza uncovered by the IDF.

Israel National News Feb 26, 2024, 5:14 PM INN

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Arab couple indicted for stabbing 12-year-old girl. Man lured Jewish minor to Haifa apartment where his partner stabbed her. Israel National News, Feb 26, 2024, 2:34 PM. ...The defendants, Shadi Abu Mayala, a 25-year-old resident of Jerusalem, and Manar Zayed, a 19-year-old resident of Lod, were charged with aggravated assault and kidnapping for the purpose of aggravated assault. During her interrogation, Zeid testified that her partner is a Hamas supporter and a Jew-hater "who was interested in murdering a Jewish girl, and therefore enticed the complainant to come to the apartment in Haifa." INN

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Mohammed El-Kurd laments not being allowed to hijack planes in protest. By Jerusalem Post Staff. Published: February 27, 2024 05:02 Updated: February 27, 2024 15:27.

Last month, El-Kurd called on pro-Palestinian supporters to 'Normalize the massacres as the status quo' at a rally in London.

Palestinian activist Mohammed El-Kurd likened hijacking planes and other extreme acts of violence to more peaceful forms of protest, and complained that none of them were acceptable on a post on X, late Monday night.

"You can’t protest peacefully. You can’t boycott. You can’t hunger strike. You can’t hijack planes. You can’t block traffic. You can’t throw Molotovs. You can’t self-immolate. You can’t heckle politicians. You can’t march. You can’t riot. You can’t dissent. You just can’t be," he said in the post. JPost

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Hamas policeman was killed in clashes with civilians in Rafah. Palestinian media reported that a Hamas policeman was shot dead in violent clashes with civilians in West Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. The clashes reportedly broke out following a demonstration held near the Kuwaiti hospital in the city, where the protestors waved banners with a call to Hamas "to not steal the humanitarian aid and stop the war." Amin Abid, a Gazan activist, wrote on Facebook that "Fatah youths who help people in Gaza were kidnapped and interrogated by Hamas members. This requires the movement to take a firm position." (Einav Halabi). 02.27.24 : 11:54 YNet

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Biden: To survive, Israel must take opportunity for peace, security with Palestinians. Singling out Ben Gvir, president warns ‘incredibly conservative government’ will cost Israel global support; Netanyahu pushes back, says ‘we have significant successes’ By TOI Staff and Agencies. 17 Feb, 2024, 6:48 pm. ...The US president, who stressed that he is a Zionist, said the “only way Israel ultimately survives… here’s the deal, they also have to… take advantage of an opportunity to have peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians who are being used as pawns by Hamas.” TOI

PM responds to Biden: 'My efforts to curb pressure to end war are working'. Netanyahu responds to US President's claims in interview that right-wing makeup of Israel's government is eroding international support for the Jewish state. Israel National News Feb 27, 2024, 8:23 PM INN

U.S.-Israel Relations. Netanyahu counters Biden: Most Americans support Israel. Biden said that the Jewish state's "incredibly conservative government" risked losing it international support.

(February 28, 2024 / JNS) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday night hit back at U.S. President Joe Biden for claiming that the Jewish state’s “incredibly conservative government” risked losing it international support.

“Since the start of the war, I have been leading a diplomatic campaign to block pressure designed to end the war prematurely and to secure strong support for Israel,” said Netanyahu in a video message.

“We have had considerable success. Today, a Harvard-Harris poll was published which shows that 82% of the American public supports Israel, meaning that four out of five U.S. citizens support Israel and not Hamas,” he continued.

“This will help us continue the campaign until total victory,” added the premier.

Speaking with Seth Meyer on NBC’s “Late Night on Monday,” Biden noted that the Israel Defense Forces campaign against Hamas in Gaza has so far “had the overwhelming support of the vast majority of nations.”

However, “if it keeps this up without [changing]—this incredibly conservative government they have, and [National Security Minister Itamar] Ben-Gvir and others, most—I’ve known every major foreign policy leader in Israel since Golda Meir—they’re going to lose support from around the world. And that is not in Israel’s interest,” said Biden.. JNS

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The IDF confirms: an anti-aircraft missile hit the air control area in Miron. For the first time after 10 days: rockets were launched into Ashkelon, parts of an interceptor hit a vehicle. 27.02.24 Mako

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A video saying Jews (as if do) eat Christian children's blood, and sells their flesh, doesn't violate X/Twitter policies. February 27, 2024. EoZ

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30-40 missiles fired in barrage on northern Israel. Israel National News Feb 27, 2024, 4:50 PM INN

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Watch: Rocket lands on road in north; car drives on Israel National News. Feb 27, 2024, 6:31 PM INN

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Report: Hezbollah to stop shelling Israel during ceasefire. Israel National News Feb 27, 2024, 7:12 PM INN

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Gallant: 'Hamas, Iran want Ramadan to be phase 2 of 10/7'.

Defense Minister warns Hamas seeks to turn Muslim holy months 'into the second phase of their plan that began on October 7,' with the support of Hezbollah and Iran. Israel National News. Feb 27, 2024, 7:21 PM INN

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A synagogue courtyard was set on fire in Tunisia.

The fire erupted in the courtyard of a synagogue in Sfax, which burned 12 palm trees and damaged windows, local media report; there are no Jews living in the city. Itamar Eichner | 02.27.24: 11:05 YNet

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More than half of the Palestinian journalists killed in the Gaza Strip during Operation Iron Swords were affiliated with terrorist organizations (Full version). Published: 27/02/2024.

([173] Full document in PDF format) Introduction. The government media office of Hamas in the Gaza Strip reported that as of February 18, 2024, 131 Palestinian journalists had been killed in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the war (October 7, 2023). The Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center’s comprehensive examination of the 131 names revealed that approximately 60% were operatives in or affiliated with the terrorist organizations, Fatah or the Palestinian Authority. Hamas alleges that Israel deliberately attacks journalists to “hide the truth” and prevent the disclosure of events in the Gaza Strip during the war. Osama Hamdan, a senior Hamas member, claimed that attacks on press personnel covering the war were “terrorism” which could not hide Israel’s “crimes” (Palinfo, December 16, 2023). The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, which operates in Ramallah and represents journalists in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip, reported that one of the cases to be submitted to the International Criminal Court in The Hague (ICC) dealt with attacks on Palestinian journalists during the war. A march organized by the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate in Ramallah in which symbolic "coffins" are carried (al-Quds al-Arabi, November 7, 2023). A march organized by the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate in Ramallah in which symbolic “coffins” are carried (al-Quds al-Arabi, November 7, 2023). The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) also strongly condemned the [alleged] attacks on journalists and members of the media (PIJ media information bureau Telegram channel, January 7, 2024). In a previous announcement, it claimed the [alleged] attacks on journalists were intended to hide from the world the “crimes” committed by the IDF forces and to murder eyewitnesses who document the “Palestinian genocide” in Gaza (PIJ media information bureau Telegram channel, December 15, 2023). On December 18, 2023, a press conference was held by a number of prominent journalists in the northern Gaza Strip in the wake of the destruction caused by IDF attacks. They said that despite the pain caused by the deaths of many of their colleagues, they would continue covering the events. The same trend is reflected in Palestinian cartoons which claim that media personnel reveal the “truth"... Terrorism-info

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Everyone Knows What You Mean When You Say ‘Zionist’. by Seth Mandel, Feb 27, 2024. Sometimes you really can explain a complex problem in one brief sentence. Today’s New York Times carries a story on the resignation of another co-chair of another Harvard task force on anti-Semitism—the latest in a series of debacles for the university. But in mentioning the origins of the current task force, the Times gives us a pretty good idea of why Harvard has been such a disaster on this issue: “Alan M. Garber, who took over as Harvard’s interim president, created two new task forces, one on antisemitism and one on anti-Muslim and anti-Arab bias.”

Ah. It has apparently become a strict law of nature that you may not address anti-Semitism without doing so apologetically and without Islamophobia getting a cut of the action. Seemingly every statement by a politician or a school administrator decrying anti-Semitism must be all-lives-mattered into the ground before anyone hits “send.”

In fact, if you listen closely, you will usually only hear “anti-Semitism” spoken as part of a new word the political class has cooked up: antisemitismandislamophobia. Of course, says the official after a campus quad rings out with the mellifluous harmony of genocidal taunts against Jewish students, I deplore all expressions of antisemitismandislamophobia.

The Harvard-specific background of the story is also worth highlighting. Past president Claudine Gay appointed a task force on anti-Semitism and then promptly sabotaged it. Her successor appears to be doing the same. The most recent co-chair to step down from the commission is Raffaella Sadun, a Harvard business professor. She was made co-chair in part to balance out co-chair Derek Penslar, who has downplayed the level of anti-Semitism at Harvard and has been dismissive of its victims. Sadun was the co-chair who wanted the task force to succeed. So it’s no surprise she’s the one who stepped down... Commentary

02/27 Links Pt2: Everyone Knows What You Mean When You Say ‘Zionist’; Jewish conspiracy myths are an attack on democracy; Liberated from Dhimmitude.. Feb 27, 2024. EoZ

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Airman who set self on fire grew up on religious compound, had anarchist past. By Emily Davies, February 27, 2024. Less than two weeks before Aaron Bushnell walked toward the gates of the Israeli Embassy on Sunday, he and a friend talked by phone about their shared identities as anarchists and what kinds of risks and sacrifices were needed to be effective... [174]

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Duckie🎗️ @spaced_out_duck: Aaron Bushnell’s radical ideology completely dehumanized the people of Israel, asserting that genocide woukd ve justified. Meanwhile, he accused others of being brainwashed. 1:13 AM · Feb 28, 2024 On X

Ella Travels (Ella Kenan).@EllaTravelsLove: This is what Aaron Bushnell, the U.S. soldier who burned himself alive in front of the Israeli embassy in D.C. had to say on reddit. Doesn't look like a call for peace, maybe a genocide. [175] Feb 28, 2024 On X

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Swords_of_Iron. Live updates: Missile hits Meron air traffic control base. IDF forces continue to advance through southern and central Gaza and terrorists continue launching rockets at the Jewish state from Lebanon and Gaza as war enters 21st week. Israel National News Published: Feb 25, 2024, 10:22 AM (GMT+2) Updated: Feb 28, 2024, 12:16 AM INN

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Michigan Hamas Supporters Got Biden a Slightly Higher ‘Uncommitted’ Vote Than Obama. Feb 28, 2024 3:00 PM. By Daniel Green Greenfield

10% of Michigan Democrats had voted “uncommitted” when Obama was running for reelection.

After weeks of pressure campaigns and threats, Michigan Hamas supporters got their tantrum in with 13% or 100,000 voting “uncommitted” (these numbers may go up as more votes are counted or ‘found’) in the Democratic Party primary to protest Israel’s war against Hamas terrorists who had murdered over 1,000 Israelis.

With 240,000 Muslims in Michigan, they only mobilized 1 in 2 Muslims in the state to interfere in the Democratic primary. The only place with a significant showing of “uncommitted” voters was America’s Jihad Capital, Dearborn.

What does “uncommitted” really mean though?

The media dishonestly compares the uncommitted vote numbers to 2020 and 2016, but neither of those are accurate barometers because none of them involved a virtually unchallenged unpopular incumbent running for a second term.

For a fair comparison, let’s look to 2012.

In the 2012 primary, 10.69% voted “uncommitted” in the Democratic primary. [176]

The “incredible, historic” uncommitted protest vote by Hamas supporters in Michigan is only a few percent above the numbers that Obama got in 2012. Most of those were not Hamas supporters, but people dissatisfied with the incumbent. That is once again and even more so the case in 2024.

Hamas supporters want to take credit for Biden’s historic unpopularity. Unlike the murders, rapes and kidnappings, not to mention gaslighting, that’s one thing they can’t take credit for. FPM

Biden wins Michigan primary, defeats anti-Israel ‘uncommitted’ campaign. The U.S. president has bigger worries than the Arab-American vote, experts told JNS. Andrew Bernard. (February 28, 2024 / JNS) The “uncommitted” campaign aimed to demonstrate the power of Arab, Muslim and progressive voters in the key swing state. But election watchers told JNS that its 13.2% showing may have achieved the opposite when compared to former president Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection effort when there were about 10.7% “uncommitted” votes in Michigan.

“After a big campaign, ‘uncommitted’ got about two-and-a-half more percentage points than they did with no campaign against Barack Obama,” said Mark Mellman, president of Democratic Majority for Israel and a longtime political strategist. "I would say that is, for them, a pretty disappointing showing,” Mellman told JNS... JNS

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Investigation explodes myth that Israel targets journalists. Media reports claiming vast numbers of journalists have died in the Gaza conflict are based on nothing more than Hamas propaganda, report reveals. David Isaac. February 28, 2024

Despite Israel’s herculean efforts to avoid killing noncombatants in the Gaza Strip, a new wrinkle has been added to media charges of indiscriminate Israeli killing—a kind of blood libel within a blood libel—namely that Israel is also targeting journalists.

During its war with Hamas, Israel has eliminated nearly 100, if the numbers are to be believed. This would be astonishing as it surpasses the number of journalists killed in World War II and the Vietnam War.

In fact, according to U.K.-based journalist David Collier, the actual number is more like 15.

Collier, the author of a 200-page report titled, “The Journalists of Gaza: A Modern-Day Antisemitic Conspiracy Theory Promoted by Mainstream Media,” finds that the lists relied on by the press are nothing more than Hamas propaganda. “This report shows that the claim Israel has been targeting journalists to silence them is an unsupportable and disgraceful fiction,” he writes. ([177]) There are two lists of dead journalists. One is from the Gaza Media Office, i.e. Hamas. The second is put out by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a New York-based NGO. What Collier discovered is that the lists are essentially the same. The CPJ list is basically a whitewash of the terror group’s list. JNS

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‘Enough is Enough’: Petition to Replace UNRWA Gets More Than 130,000 Signatures avatar by Jack Elbaum, February 28, 2024 1:07

Geneva-based monitor group UN Watch has collected more than 130,000 signatures in support of replacing UNRWA — the UN agency responsible for Palestinian refugees — after it was exposed to have extensive connections to Palestinian terrorists.

The petition was announced at a UN Watch conference which aimed to “address the humanitarian situation in Gaza and formulate a plan for a future beyond UNRWA,” which the planners described as “a failed agency.”

The petition notes that, over the past few months, it has been reported that at least 12 UNRWA employees took part in Hamas’s October 7 terrorist attacks, about 1,200 UNRWA members have terrorist connections, thousands of UNRWA teachers are part of a Telegram channel that celebrated Hamas’s attack, and Hamas built a large tunnel under the UNRWA headquarters.

“Since its creation in 1949, the agency has brainwashed Gazans into believing that their home is not Gaza, but rather on the other side of the fence, in Israel,” the petition says, referencing the fact UNRWA counts Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank as refugees even though they are living in land they consider to be Palestine.

“Enough is enough,” the petition concluded, “It’s time to stop the perverse logic of an agency that perpetuates war. It’s time to replace UNRWA.”

The show of popular opposition to UNRWA comes as a growing number of countries — more than a dozen so far — have pulled funding from the UN agency amid its many scandals. Algemeiner

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IDF strikes Hezbollah weapons manufacturing site. Israel National News Feb 28, 2024, 12:21 PM INN

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Humanitarian aid - and fuel - air-dropped into Gaza. Israel National News Feb 28, 2024, 1:15 PM [178]

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Senior IDF official: 'Settler violence just a handful of incidents'. Hezki Baruch Feb 28, 2024, 3:47 PM [179]

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UC Berkeley: Jewish students forced to evacuate through tunnel by violent mob. Hundreds of violent anti-Israel protestors disrupt event run by Jewist student groups, break door and windows, forcing evacuation of attendees through underground tunnel. Gary Willig, Feb 28, 2024, 4:19 PM [180]

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British MPs fear for safety over Gaza war. Over 10 British politicians tell Reuters they fear for their safety due to the intimidation and threats coming from anti-Israel protestors. Gary Willig Feb 28, 2024, 5:06 PM [181]

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AP, Reuters sued by Nova victims' families. News agencies are responsible for their reporters, photographers who were present since the first moments of the Hamas massacre on October 7, documenting and participating in the atrocities, the filing claims Lital Dobrovitzky | 02/28/2024:11:30 ... The lawsuit named four freelance photographers whose work AP purchased and released including Hassan Eslaiah, Yousef Masoud, Ali Mahmud, and Hatem Ali. Mahmud documented the abduction of Shani Louk's body and its display to Gazans as it was driven in the city. Eslaiah, a freelance photographer who also works for CNN, crossed into Israel, took photos of a burning Israeli tank, and then photographed Palestinian infiltrators entering Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Screenshots from Eslaiah’s now-removed X account show him documenting himself holding a grenade and standing in front of an Israeli tank. He did not wear a press vest or a helmet, and the Arabic caption of his tweet read: “Live from inside the Gaza Strip settlements." Masoud, who also works for The New York Times, was there as well. Ali Mahmud and Hatem Ali photographed the abduction of Israelis into Gaza, including octogenarian Yafa Adar. YNet

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Zionists are not welcomed'– UC Santa Barbara Multicultural Center displays litany of deranged anti-Semitic posters. campusreform, 02/28/2024. By Emma Arns. The University of California Santa Barbara’s MultiCultural Center (MCC) was recently photographed adorned with anti-Zionist signs, including targeted threats against a Jewish student leader.

“In case we aren’t clear, let’s spell it out,” read an MCC Instagram caption from earlier this week alongside a photo of the center’s entrance doors, which featured a sign saying “Zionists not welcome,” as seen on a story related by We Are Tov and Community News on Instagram.

The Instagram update also shows additional posters in the MCC, such as “When people are occupied, Resistance is justified,” “Zionists get 0 bitches,” and “Zionists are not welcomed! Stay away from our kitchen too... CampusReform

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Hamas chief Haniyeh calls on Arabs to storm al-Aqsa on Ramadan. By Jerusalem Post Staff. Published: February 28, 2024 12:51 Updated: February 28, 2024 12:55. Hamas terror chief Ismail Haniyeh made a televised statement on Wednesday calling on barricades at al-Aqsa Mosque at the start of Ramadan and Hamas's "flexible" stance on hostage negotiations JPost

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Escalation? Suspicious aerial target shot down near Haifa. Israel National News Feb 29, 2024, 1:07 PM INN

Rockets shot down near Haifa, Damascus struck. Strike comes hours after two Hezbollah operatives were killed in an attack on the Sayeda Zainab neighborhood in the Syrian capital; Pro-Hezbollah news outlet says car traveling in al-Qusayr near the Lebanon-Syria border also targeted. Lior Ben Ari| 02.29.24, 05:13 YNet

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Dozens dead in Gaza after stampede over humanitarian aid, IDF reports. Army says crowds swarm aid trucks to loot supplies west of Gaza City, with Palestinian gunmen opening fire during violent clashes, most casualties crushed to death; Hamas threatens to halt hostage deal talks. Yoav Zitun, Einav Halabi, Reuters | 02.29.24:07:33 YNet

Dozens of Gazans trampled during aid distribution. Gaza residents crowd around aid trucks, pushing and trampling to reach aid supplies, and threatening IDF soldiers. Israel National News Feb 29, 2024, 1:52 PM INN

Palestinians claim 'massacre' at aid distribution point but IDF probe shows stampede caused over 100 deaths. Army says crowds swarm aid trucks to loot supplies west of Gaza City, with Palestinian gunmen opening fire during violent clashes, most casualties crushed to death; Hamas threatens to halt hostage deal talks. Yoav Zitun, Einav Halabi, Reuters | 02.29.24, 07:33 YNet Israel's army released videos of Palestinians looting aid trucks in Gaza, as well as the deadly stampedes that resulted from the chaos. i24NEWS English, Feb 29, 2024. [182]

IDF Posts Video Of Gazan Stampede After Hamas Liars Claim "Massacre". February 29, 2024, 8:01 am [183].

A violent Gazan mob spiraled out of control on Thursday morning when humanitarian aid trucks entered the northern Gaza Strip, as Gazans looted the supplies and threatened IDF soldiers and nearby armed Palestinians opened fire at the crowd. The violent incident led to a stampede that caused dozens of fatalities from the pressure of the crowd and the trucks that rammed into the crowd.

The Hamas “Health Ministry” blamed the incident on the IDF, calling it a “massacre” caused by an IDF strike.

In response, the IDF published footage of the stampede, stating: “Aerial footage of the operation to introduce humanitarian aid to the northern Gaza Strip, showing how the Palestinian crowd attacked the trucks and as a result dozens were killed from overcrowding and trampling.”

The IDF spokesperson elaborated that an initial investigation of the incident showed:

1. On Thursday, at 4 a.m., thousands of Palestinians attacked 30 aid trucks passing through the IDF coastal checkpoint in the Netzer Corridor. 2. As a result of the stampede dozens of Palestinians were killed. Some of them were killed after being run over by the trucks. 3. Others were killed by the gunfire of armed Palestinians near the displaced persons’ shelter in Rimal. 4. Dozens of Palestinians who attacked the last truck in the convoy ran toward an IDF tank and soldiers at the checkpoint. Sensing danger, the commander of the force fired into the air and at the feet of the Palestinians who approached. 5. The investigation continues but the IDF emphasizes that most of those killed were those run over and rammed by the trucks.

Hamas, claiming that 104 Gazans were killed and 760 were injured, threatened to halt the negotiations for the release of the hostages.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir responded to the incident by stating: “We must provide total support to our heroic soldiers in Gaza, who acted appropriately against a Gazan mob that tried to harm them. It was proven today that the transfer of humanitarian aid to Gaza is not only madness while our hostages are being held in the Strip in substandard conditions but also endangers the IDF soldiers. This is another clear reason why we must stop transferring this aid, which in fact aids in harming IDF soldiers and provides oxygen to Hamas.” YWN White House: Trampling incident shows need for more aid. US says it is looking into incident where Gazans swarmed aid trucks, leading to mass trampling and accusations of a massacre by the IDF, says it proves need to expand humanitarian aid. Israel National News, Feb 29, 2024, 5:21 PM. INN

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IDF jets struck Hezbollah targets following morning rocket fire. By Jerusalem Post Staff 02/29/2024 11:55 AM JPost

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Israel incorporates 650 acres of West Bank land for Ma'ale Adumim. By Reuters 02/29/2024 02:09 PM JPost

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Israel says still reviewing access to Al Aqsa over Ramadan. By Reuters 02/29/2024 03:27 PM JPost

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Commands, tunnels, and combat equipment inside incubators: this is how the hospitals in the Gaza Strip became terrorist nests. The Shifa Hospital was used as a Hamas operations center and the bodies of two hostages were found on its premises. In the Rantisi Hospital, the IDF revealed a room for the hostages, the Indonesian Hospital was used as a staging point for the Noh'ba forces, and 200 terrorists were arrested in the Nasser Hospital • IDF activity in the Gaza Strip revealed the systematic way in which Hamas terrorists used the hospitals • Data 12 with the updated picture of the situation Tomer Almagor | Data N12 | N12 | Published 12:23 05.02.24 | Updated 14:29 29.02.24. 29.2.24: The hospitals in the Gaza Strip that have become terrorist nests. In the last few days, IDF forces ended the operation at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, the largest hospital in the southern Gaza Strip. The fighters waged fighting in the area of the hospital, arrested about 200 Hamas operatives and found many weapons in the hospital. Nasser Hospital is not alone - Hamas Systematically uses the hospitals in the Gaza Strip as strongholds of terror, assuming that the IDF will hesitate to operate near them and cynically exploiting international law. IDF revealed a consistent pattern of operation: alongside the inpatient wards that exist in every hospital, Hamas places warehouses to store weapons. In the underground floors of the hospitals, alongside the usual offices, there are Hamas control rooms and a connection to a network of tunnels. Senior Hamas officials usually stay in hospitals, sometimes even in intensive care rooms, disguised as hospitalized patients or medical staff.

Shifa Hospital

In November, IDF forces took over the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip, located in Gaza City. The hospital buildings were used as an operations headquarters for the Gaza Brigade of Hamas, and many weapons were found in the hospital, mainly in the MRI building and the heart department. Charges and technological equipment were found in the physiotherapy department and in another building. IDF forces found evidence that Israeli hostages stayed or passed through the hospital. IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari announced that the late Corporal Noa Marciano, who was abducted to Gaza on October 7, was murdered in Shifa, and also the body of the abductee, the late Yehudit Weiss Found in the hospital area. Underneath the hospital, the route of a terrorist tunnel with a length of about 55 meters and a depth of about 10 meters was located. In addition, a van with weapons was found in the hospital, which was intended to participate in the October 7 massacre.

[184]

Rantisi Hospital

In the children's hospital complex in the north of the Gaza Strip, a regional headquarters was found from where senior Hamas officials managed the fighting effort, and which served as a hiding place for them. Inside the hospital, the IDF located a large arsenal, including weapons, including RPGs, grenades and combat vests. Also, 3 shafts were uncovered in the hospital, alongside a strategic and branching tunnel system that was located and destroyed underneath. After control of the area was achieved, the IDF spokesman presented a motorcycle that was in the basement of the hospital and was used by Hamas terrorists on October 7 to transport hostages to the hospital compound. The IDF claimed that evidence was found of the presence of hostages in the hospital area, including a room where they were staying. [185]

Indonesian Hospital

IDF forces raided the hospital in Beit Lahia at the end of December, and uncovered significant terrorist infrastructure. A vehicle that belonged to the family of the late Samer Talalka, who was kidnapped to Gaza, was found in the hospital complex. RPG remains and blood stains of another abductee were found in the vehicle. Hamas commanders used the hospital buildings as a meeting place to conduct the fighting in the northern Gaza Strip. Also, the Noachba terrorists were observed in the hospital area, and it was used as a rallying point and preparation point for the terrorists' activities against the IDF forces. A network of tunnels was located under the hospital that contained weapons, and was intended to be used as an escape tunnel for Hamas operatives.

Kamal Adwan Hospital

In the last decade, the hospital was used by Hamas during an emergency. The investigation of the hospital manager, who was recruited to Hamas at the rank equivalent to lieutenant colonel, reveals that 16 employees at the hospital were Hamas military operatives, and that a kidnapped soldier was brought there. The terrorist organization had offices in the hospital, and during the war the hospital was even used as a staging point for raids and ambushes by the IDF forces. In his investigation, the hospital director revealed the cynical use that Hamas terrorists make of the hospital: "Hamas hides in hospitals because it believes that a hospital is a safe place. They will not be harmed if they are inside a hospital." The IDF forces captured the hospital after fighting in which they killed several terrorists, and more than 70 armed terrorists who left it were taken for questioning. During the searches of the hospital buildings, many weapons were discovered, including rifles, RPGs, explosives, intelligence material and equipment of Noah's forces. B. In their investigation, hospital employees admitted that weapons were hidden, among other things, in the baby ward inside incubators, which are supposed to be used to treat premature babies. [186] [187]

Nasser Hospital

Last week, the activities of the forces of the 98th Division and the 13th Fleet in the area of the hospital ended. About 200 terrorists were arrested in the operation and many weapons were found. In addition, in the hospital, sealed unused medicines were found with the names of Israeli hostages on them.

[188]

The takeover of the hospital came after several days of prolonged combat in which Hamas terrorists fired at IDF forces from inside the hospital. The fighters surrounded the hospital and killed dozens of terrorists in short-range encounters, sniper ambushes and airstrikes on anti-tank squads.

Al-Quds Hospital

IDF forces occupied the hospital in Gaza City after intense fighting, during which the late Captain Shlomo Ben Nun, deputy commander of a company in the 202nd Battalion, fell. The paratroopers eliminated terrorists operating in and around the hospital, uncovering many weapons. Mako

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2 murdered in shooting attack in Binyamin. Deadly shooting attack carried at gas station at entrance to Eli in Binyamin, the same location where 4 people were murdered in another shooting attack last year.

Israel National News Feb 29, 2024, 5:27 PM INN

Report: Gunman who killed 2 in Eli terror shooting a PA police officer from Qalandiya. By TOI STAFF. 29 Feb, 2024, 6:44 pm. TOI

Oriya Hartom, 16, murdered in Eli shooting Israel National News Feb 29, 2024, 9:50 PM INN

ZAKA, MDA, police volunteer murdered in Eli shooting. Yitzhak Zeiger, 57, murdered by terrorist at entrance to Eli, remembered as a volunteer medic who worked to ensure all Jews had proper burials. Israel National News Feb 29, 2024, 8:47 PM INN

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Report: UN Is Starving Palestinians to Save Terror-linked UNRWA.

By Joel B Pollak, 29 February 2024

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has reportedly told other UN agencies to reject funding and tasks that ordinarily would fall to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which has been linked to Palestinian terror.

As Breitbart News has reported, many donor countries suspended donations to UNRWA after more than a dozen of its employees were found to have participated in the Hamas terror attack of October 7. In addition, UNRWA has been faulted over the years for indoctrinating Palestinian children to hate Israel and Jews, and the very existence of the agency perpetuates the idea that Palestinian “refugees” — several generations later — will return to a destroyed Israel.

Israel has said that it sees no future for UNRWA in a post-Hamas Gaza. It is encouraging other UN agencies, which are not infested with terrorists or suffused with terrorist ideology, to perform the functions that UNRWA performs in Gaza.

The UN is trying to resist that idea, according to an investigative report by Colum Lynch at DevEx.com:

Secretary-General António Guterres has urged the heads of the United Nations’ principal relief agencies, including the World Food Programme and UNICEF, to rebuff appeals by Israel and the United States to undertake work currently carried out by the world body’s beleaguered Palestinian refugee agency.

The outreach pits Guterres against the Biden administration, which is mounting a campaign to persuade the U.N.’s main relief organizations to take over some of the functions of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, or UNRWA, the decades-old Palestinian aid agency that Israel has accused of complicity in Hamas’ crimes, reflecting concerns that its financial future is endangered.

Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, a watchdog organization that monitors the UN and its institutions. raised the issue Thursday:

Israel has said that it is capable of delivering “unlimited” amounts of aid to Gaza, but that UNRWA is failing to distribute it properly to civilians in Gaza, and that much of it is being hijacked by Hamas terrorists or by armed gangs. Breitbart

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Aaron Bushnell, Who Burned Himself Alive, Cheered Murder of U.S. Soldiers. “I work for the air force and would also have no right to complain about violent resistance”. February 29, 2024 by Daniel Greenfield. When Aaron Bushnell, an Antifa member and Air Force Airman, set himself on fire in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington D.C., Hamas supporters in this country made him into a martyr.

Cornel West praised Bushnell’s “extraordinary courage and commitment”, Roger Waters celebrated him as an “All-American Hero” and the media emphasized his military role.

In reality, Aaron Bushnell was a member of radical anarchist groups on social media, he wanted to leave the Air Force and cheered the killings of members of the U.S. military.

When three black Army soldiers were murdered in an Iranian-backed Islamic terror attack back in January, Aaron Bushnell posted it to the Antifa ACAB (All Cops are Bastards) Reddit group with a mocking “OhNoAnyway.jpg” meme.

“The cops are the domestic military and the military is the international police. They are bad for the exact same reasons,” Aaron Bushnell posted in the ensuing debate. FPM

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Say from now on [conclude]: the new Nazis. What distinguishes the Palestinians from Hamas, and sometimes also from the Palestinian Authority, and the original Nazis? The German Nazis succeeded in carrying out their "Final Solution". Their successors did not succeed. Nadav Shargai. 2/29/2024. ILH

No need to apologize: Hamas are indeed the New Nazis.

The PalestiNazis, if we are to put this in a nutshell, aspire to complete what the Nazis failed to do – the destruction of the Jewish people. The time has come for us to finally take them seriously and simply believe them, that they fully intend to do what they say. As now, it is not only their words that speak for themselves, but their actions too. By Nadav Shragai Published on 03-03-2024.

No need to apologize: Hamas are indeed the New Nazis Palestinian rioters burn a Star of David with Swastika in Samaria | Screenshot: Social media

"Hitler" – the preacher Massoud Rian once informed his audience – "was sent by Allah to punish the Jews for their bad behavior... and the Jews well and truly deserve their punishment." Rian delivered his inflammatory filth as part of the "enlightened" Jewish-Arab struggle against the demolition of the illegal construction site of Khan al-Ahmar, not far from the location of the fatal terrorist attack perpetrated by three PalestiNazis near the town of Ma'ale Adumim just last week. His "illuminating" words were broadcast live on Palestinian TV.

Hitler (of cursed memory) has a number of advocates among the Palestinians. And not only among Hamas. The Chairman of the Palestinian Authority (PA), Mahmoud Abbas, a renowned Holocaust denier, even at his ripe old age (and just one month prior to the October 7 massacre) never tires of explaining that "Hitler killed Jews because of their financial dealings and not because they were Jews." The former head of Palestinian Intelligence and current advisor to Mahmoud Abbas on security issues, Tawfik Tirawi, is convinced that "Hitler was not morally rotten, but was merely an adventurer."

The Palestinian media have also paid respect to the Nazi leader: the PA's official radio channel broadcast a quiz show on Hitler's life and works. The Palestinian Authority's official daily newspaper, Al-Hayat al-Jadida, published a crossword puzzle to test readers' knowledge of the process of extermination of the Jews: "Who was the head of the Gestapo and the minister of the interior of the German Reich who worked to destroy the Jews?" (The answer: Himmler). In a list of best sellers compiled by Al-Hayat al-Jadida, Hitler's infamous book "Mein Kampf" – which was recently found in pride of place alongside Mickey Mouse dolls in a children's bedroom in Gaza – was ranked in 6th place. In the town of Beit Ummar near Hebron, a Nazi party flag was proudly flown from one of the houses; swastikas can regularly be seen daubed on concrete barriers across Judea & Samaria; and Palestinians from the town of Beita, south of Nablus, set fire to a large Magen David with a swastika inside it outside the nearby Jewish settlement of Evyatar in Samaria.

Palestinian Media Watch, which documents this Palestinian fixation, has listed a number of Palestinians who have adopted Hitler as a first name: Hitler Salah, Hitler abu-Alrub, Hitler Mahmoud abu-Labdah. Zayzafona, a journal for children and youth published under the auspices of the PLO, published a story about a dream of a Palestinian girl, in which she met Hitler and talked with him, referring to him as "An eminent personality, whose contribution to mankind was the murder of the Jews."

And when these are the dreams of young girls in the Palestinian Authority, then we can hardly be surprised that only a few years later the product is young women such as Ahed Tamimi, the beloved poster girl of the West's progressive and radical left, who has unashamedly promised us: "We will slaughter you, and then you will say that what Hitler did to you was nothing than a mere joke. We will drink your blood."

Hitler and Husseini's grandchildren The recent antisemitic movie of the Egyptian director, Mohamed Nassef, entitled "A Century and Six Years," creates an imaginary meeting between the grandsons of Hitler and his partner, the founding father of the modern Palestinian movement, the Mufti Hajj Amin Al-Husseini. Nassef's movie – just like the book titled "The End of the Jews", written by Mahmoud az-Zahar, one of the founders of Hamas (which was also recently uncovered in Gaza) – in essence legitimizes the idea of the destruction of the Jewish people and the State of Israel.

The movie's protagonist, Sheikh Hareth, meets with Hitler's grandson and implores him to continue with his grandfather's plan, so that "Palestine should be liberated and made Judenrein." This is precisely how some leaders of Arab states and Palestinians (there is considerable documentation of this) spoke in 1948 when they decided to storm the nascent State of Israel with the clear objective of wiping both the state and its Jewish residents off the map.

Readers might now be asking themselves, why should we get to know all this dirt and filthy rhetoric? The simple but genuine answer is that this is no mere rhetoric but is indeed a practical plan – these are the operational instructions.

Only one decent Egyptian researcher, Hussein Aboubakr Mansour, who lives in the USA, has dared to level criticism at Nassef, who won an award at the Alsharqiyah International Film Festival in Oman for the movie. "Entire societies are still bogged down in one of the worst pathological illusions ever of Europe," Mansour diagnoses (Haaretz, February 6, 2024),

At this stage readers might now be asking themselves, why should we get to know all this dirt and filthy rhetoric? The simple but genuine answer is that this is no mere rhetoric but is indeed a practical plan, these are the operational instructions. The October 7 massacre is the product of that same poisoned tree, whose roots are firmly entrenched in the soil of Palestinian hatred. It is essential for us to be familiar with them, that we should be fully aware of just who is currently sitting on the other side of the negotiating table for the release of the Israeli hostages, for a ceasefire, or a 'revitalized Palestinian Authority'. It is imperative that we know precisely with whom we are dealing here.

The PalestiNazis, if we are to put this in a nutshell, aspire to complete what the Nazis failed to do – the destruction of the Jewish people. The founder of the Palestinian movement, Hajj Amin Al-Husseini, met with Hitler in 1941 and placed himself at the service of the Nazis and their program for a "Final Solution". It is no coincidence that today, there are Palestinians who adhere to the Nazi ideology and who feed off it. There is a good reason why Hamas borrowed parts from "Mein Kampf" and integrated them in its charter.

Believe them!

The Nazis compared us to vermin. Radical Islam relates to us as "the offspring of monkeys and pigs." Both of these convey a deep sense of impurity and abomination that must be eliminated. This is no theory – it is a completely practical agenda! The time has come for us to finally take them seriously and simply believe them, that they fully intend to do what they say. As of now, it is not only their words that speak for themselves, but their actions too: Burning Jews alive.. ILH

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Biased PBS pushing terrorist Hamas propaganda, again.

PBS News hour, Feb. 29, 2024

Former Al Jazeera (Al jihadzeera) journalist, Nick Schifrin aired an Al Jazeera clip about the deaths of stampede as crowd storms aid trucks. Then a short clip of the IDF in which it clarifies it did not fire at people who were trying to get aid, but fired [at those] when facing a danger.

Yet, minutes latet, Geoff Bennett, had interviewed Jeremy Konyndyk, Jeff outright began in stating, as a matter of fact, that Israel (supposedly) "fired on the people" attempting to get aid.

He then quoted Amna Nawaz's citing "Gaza health ministry" about the toll, Jeff stated that the "Gaza health ministry" as "widely reliable," omitting that it is actually by Hamas, who, of course has always been using civilians. The only side in interest of maximizing fatalities. 

PS: 1. The toll, if it is even accurate, includes terrorists, theiir hepers and civilians. Bibi Netanyahu said that it is 1 per 1. 2. Palestinian gunmen did open fire too today. 3. The IDF also replied to I. Tyab of CBS that it was only a small group who were fired upon, and after being warned not to approach them. 4. The IDF fire came AFTER the stampede began. at JewishRefugees

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Suspect in deadly shooting at dentist's office in El Cajon arrested; 2 victims remain hospitalized.

Friday, March 1, 2024 12:07PM

EL CAJON, Calif. (KABC) -- A man is dead and two other people are hurt after a shooting at a dentist's office in El Cajon Thursday.

The incident happened just before 4:30 p.m. in the 400 block of North Magnolia Avenue, according to the El Cajon Police Department.

The suspect fled after the shooting in a white U-haul truck with an Arizona license plate but police were able to track down the vehicle to the Balboa Park area.

The suspect, later identified as 29-year-old Mohammed Abdulkareem, was taken into custody shortly after 10 p.m.

Two of the victims, a man in his 40s and a woman in her 20s, were taken to the hospital in stable condition, according to authorities.

Investigators have not released any details on a motive for the shooting. ABC7

Horror: Orthodox Jewish Dentist Shot And Killed In San Diego By Disguntled Muslim Patient March 1, 2024 A 29-year-old man, Mohammed Abdulkareem, was arrested after shooting and killing an Orthodox Jewish dentist, Dr. Benjamin Harouni, at his practice in El Cajon, California, near San Diego.

According to police, Abdulkareem was a disgruntled patient and had rented a U-Haul pickup truck just an hour before the shooting.

The shooting occurred at Smile Plus Dentistry & Orthodontics on North Magnolia Avenue, where Abdulkareem allegedly opened fire with a handgun, killing one person and injuring a receptionist, Yareli Carrillo, 28, and a man in his 40s.

Abdulkareem was arrested just after 10pm on Thursday, and the firearm used in the shooting was recovered. The victim who died was found inside the office as the shooting was still ongoing and was taken outside by officers, where they attempted to perform lifesaving measures. YWN

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Army fired 'few warning shots' at mob; no strike toward convoy. US seeks probe of Gaza aid stampede; IDF ‘tried to disperse mob’ that ambushed trucks. IDF shares drone footage showing tanks retreating as crowds of Palestinians swelled around convoy; Biden discusses deadly incident with leaders of Egypt, Qatar; France slams Israel. By Emanuel Fabian and Agencies. 1 Mar, 2024, 1:03 am TOI

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Chief of Staff at scene of Eli attack: A greater disaster was averted. IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi meets Aviad Gizbar who neutralized the terrorist in Eli, and praises his courageous actions. Israel National News, Mar 1, 2024, 3:46 AM INN

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Dramatic arrest brought information about Hamas. Israel National News, Mar 1, 2024, 4:23 AM INN

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Terrorists with explosives eliminated from air. Israel National News Mar 1, 2024, 9:25 AM INN

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USAID watchdog scurtinizing funds transfered to charity with Hamas ties Internal probe into USAID grant to Michigan-based terror-tied charity underway; senior House Foreign Affairs Committee member says 'opening of the investigation indicates that USAID is concerned; something smells very rotten' Daniel Edelson, New York | published: 09:58 YNet

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Dozens of terrorists hiding in Khan Yunis school arrested. 7th Brigade combat team finds ammunition magazines, RPG missiles, explosives, Kalashnikov rifles, uniforms and Hamas military equipment in terrorists’ houses during battles in Khan Yunis. Israel National News, Mar 1, 2024, 1:23 PM INN

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Israel FM Katz calls out Erdogan's hypocrisy over his treatment of Kurds in Turkey. By Jerusalem Post Staff, 03/01/2024.  JPost

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Ten mortars fired at IDF base in northern Israel. Israel National News, Mar 1, 2024, 6:48 AM INN

IDF strikes Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure, rockets fall in Israel's north. By Jerusalem Post Staff, 03/01/2024  JPost

Washington blocks UNSC from blaming Israel for deaths during aid delivery. Mike Wagenheim. (March 1, 2024 / JNS) JNS

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Palestinian factions meeting in Moscow agree to continue push for unity -RIA. By Reuters. Published: March 1, 2024 12:56 JPost

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How an Israeli Attempt to Coordinate Gaza Aid Went Horribly Wrong. Israel’s military had avoided overseeing humanitarian deliveries until this week. By Margherita Stancati, Chao Deng and Abeer Ayyoub. Updated March 1, 2024 3:53 pm ET

In the cold, pitch-black hours before dawn Thursday, thousands of hungry people were drawn to Gaza City’s Mediterranean coastal road by rumors of trucks carrying food. Wartime aid deliveries had been targets for looters and hit by Israeli fire, yet the throngs came anyway.

The convoy headed their way was rare: Some 30 trucks whose progress was being overseen by Israel’s military. For months, Israel had sought to avoid involvement in supplying Gazans with aid as it fought Hamas, but Gaza City had become so lawless and food deliveries so perilous, that the military last Sunday began organizing humanitarian operations to northern Gaza. WSJ

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The evidence to the “massacre” that the @NYTimes believes Elder of Ziyon, March 1, 2024. ...As usual, it shows skepticism for anything the IDF says and implicit trust in whatever Gaza "witnesses" say...But another video, from propaganda channel Al Jazeera, is described without any skepticism... [Husam Abu Safiya] also accused the IDF of unleashing dogs in the hospital to attack doctors and patients, “They unleashed dogs on us to maul us.”

Strange that no one else has reported seeing dogs, that the IDF uses to sniff out explosives and Hamas operatives, roaming wild and attacking doctors and patients in Gazan hospitals, though reporters have been crawling all over those hospitals and not a single case of IDF dogs attacking medical personnel or patients has been reported. Could it be that Dr. Husam Abu Safiya is lying?

And only on Wednesday, he claimed that there was no electricity in the hospital and it was out of service. Yet photo and videos of the hospital treating the injured Thursday showed the lights on and it was obviously open, if chaotic.

The photos and videos that were posted by the hospital staff itself clearly shows that the lights were on on Thursday. Either the electricity miraculously came on a day later — presumably in the midst of all this chaos, electricians were called in and power was restored or, more likely, it was never off to begin with.

This hospital director is employed by and paid by Hamas. He will say what Hamas wants him to say. And the Western media knows this. They choose to report on only the accusations that sound credible, because they want to use him for stories like this one.

Abu Safiya is an employee of Hamas. He will say exactly as commanded by the terror group.. He wants, after all, not only to be paid, but even more, to stay alive. He dare not cross Hamas. And of course, he may also be a true believer, prepared to lie for the sake of the cause, that cause being the destruction of the Jewish state and its replacement by a twenty-third Arab one... EoZ Not just fighting are turned by Pallywood into fake massacres, but flowery al jihadzeera converts a stampede tragedy into a fake one too - as other bigots use its propaganda cheerfully dancing on blood. at EoZ

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'You continue to … elide' blame of Hamas, State Dept scolds Palestinian reporter. "Remember it was Hamas that launched this war in the first place," Matthew Miller chided Said Arika. (March 1, 2024 / JNS) During the U.S. State Department press briefing on Thursday, things got a little heated, as they often do, between the Foggy Bottom spokesman Matthew Miller and Said Arikat, Washington bureau chief for the Jerusalem-based newspaper Al-Quds.

As is his wont, Arikat pressed Miller with questions that repeatedly attacked the Jewish state.

“Hold on,” Miller said after Arikat interrupted him at one point. “Said, if you listened to what I said a moment ago,” he said seconds later. Moments later, he added, “Hold on, hold on. Said, please don’t interrupt me.” Later on, Miller told Arikat, “I don’t think you’re listening to what I said.”

Arikat persisted with his line of questioning: “Why is it so difficult for this government to say we condemn the killing of children, Palestinian women and children?” he asked.

That earned him a reproach from Miller.

“Whenever you ask me these questions, I do think you continue to kind of just elide over the fact that Hamas bears a great deal of responsibility for putting those children in harm’s way,” the State Department spokesman said.

“Remember, it was Hamas that launched this war in the first place with an attack on Israel that killed men, women and children, and that Hamas—that hid and continues to hide behind children as human shields,” Miller added.

Arikat kept making statements and asking questions.

“Yet I have not heard the word ‘condemn.’ I mean, this war began way before Oct. 7,” the Palestinian reporter said. “I mean, in fact, the reason that this administration was so strong on pursuing a Middle East peace and so on is because the war has been going on for decades before and so on.”

Miller again pushed back.

“Hold on,” he said. “Nothing that happened before Oct. 7 justifies what Hamas did on that day. And it is—and it is what Hamas did on that day that led to the outbreak of this war and led to the suffering of so many innocent Palestinians.”

“I just feel it’s important to correct that fact,” Miller said.

When Miller sought to work the rest of the room, Arikat asked for one last question and got his request. “Do you suspect that Mr. Netanyahu perhaps authorized this raid to scuttle the negotiations?” he asked. “Do you have any suspicions?”

“There is no evidence of that that I have seen, Said,” Miller said. JNS

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UK's Sunak: Galloway win, rise in antisemitism 'beyond alarming'. Rise in extremism and antisemitic hate in UK 'beyond alarming,' says Sundak after far-left conspiracy theorist George Galloway wins parliamentary seat.

i24NEWS. March 01, 2024 at 01:30 PM. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak gave a speech on Friday warning against a growing threat to democracy following the election to parliament of extremist antisemite George Galloway.

"In recent weeks and months, we have seen a shocking increase in extremist disruption and criminality. What started as protests on our streets have descended into intimidation, threats and planned acts of violence," he said in a speech made outside 10 Downing Street.

Jewish children fearful to wear their school uniform lest it reveals their identity. Muslim women abused in the street for the actions of a terrorist group they have no connection with.

Now, our democracy itself is a target. Council meetings and local events have been stormed. MPs do not feel safe in their homes. Longstanding parliamentary conventions have been upended because of safety concerns.

And it’s beyond alarming that last night, the Rochdale byelection returned a candidate that dismisses the horror of what happened on 7 October, who glorifies Hezbollah and is endorsed by Nick Griffin, the racist former leader of the BNP.

Yes, you can march and protest with passion. You can demand the protection of civilian life. But no, you cannot call for violent jihad. There is no context in which it can be acceptable to beam antisemitic tropes on to Big Ben in the middle of a vote on Israel, Gaza. And there can be no cause that you can use to justify the support of a prescribed terrorist group like Hamas. i24

Sunak speaks out against Islamist extremism and intimidating protests on steps of Downing Street. Jonathan Sacerdoti, Mar 1, 2024. UK’s Rishi Sunak warns against ‘poison’ of extremism in rare Downing Street speech British prime minister gets out the lectern after divisive Rochdale by-election and chaotic scenes in the House of Commons. On YouTube

UK’s Rishi Sunak warns against ‘poison’ of extremism in rare Downing Street speech. British prime minister gets out the lectern after divisive Rochdale by-election and chaotic scenes in the House of Commons. [Sunak's address comes after chaotic scenes in the British parliament in recent weeks, as well as the testy Rochdale by-election.] March 1, 2024. BY Matt Honeycombe-Foster London — Rishi Sunak used a hastily arranged address outside No.10 Downing Street Friday night to warn that British democracy faces “intimidation, threats and planned acts of violence” — and took a swipe at Britain’s newly elected pro-Palestinian MP George Galloway.

In a speech calling for more tolerance in politics after weeks of heightened tensions, Sunak said he feared that Britain’s “great achievement” — a multi-ethnic, multi-faith democracy — was now being “deliberately undermined” by both Islamists and the far right. Politico

Rishi Sunak claims 'the Rochdale by-election was beyond alarming' after controversial MP wins seat. Mar 1, 2024. GBN

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Michael Oren to BBC News America: Israeli soldiers are riskubg their lives bringing aid to Gazans, they are being fired upon. Michael Oren on BBC's "World News America" Aired on March 1, 2024

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US carries out first airdrop of aid into Gaza, officials say. The U.S. military on Saturday carried out its first airdrop of humanitarian aid into Gaza, two U.S. officials said. The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the airdrop was carried out using three C-130 planes. One of the officials said more than 35,000 meals were airdropped. The White House has said the airdrops will be a sustained effort, and that Israel was supportive of the airdrops. Other countries including France, Egypt and Jordan have carried out airdrops of aid into Gaza. (Reuters). | 03.02.24. YNet

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From Syria to Lebanon-Israel border: the pro-Iranian militia fighting alongside Hezbollah. Israeli airstrike in Lebanon kills 3 members of Imam Hussein Division; Iran-affiliated militia formed by Qasem Soleimani for battling ISIS numbers 6,000 fighters from across Middle East. Lior Ben Ari | 03.02.24 YNet

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Hostage negotiations to resume in Cairo, without Israeli delegation. Egyptian sources say talks not effected by death of Palestinians in rush of aid truck last week; Israeli official says unless Hamas provides names of hostages still living, Israel will not attend. Itamar Eichner, Liran Tamari, Agencies | 03.02.24 YNet

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IDF reveals: Operations in compound associated with Yahya Sinwar. Israel National News Mar 2, 2024, 6:29 PM INN

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IDF eliminates terrorists in series of airstrikes. Israel National News Mar 2, 2024, 6:39 PM INN

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Jew stabbed after entering Arab city near Hebron. Jew in moderate condition after Palestinian Authority Arab stabs him in ad-Dhahiriya. Israel National News Mar 2, 2024, 6:44 PM INN

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Hezbollah terrorists driving in Lebanon eliminated. Israel National News Mar 2, 2024, 7:16 PM INN

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Sirens sound near Beersheba following rocket fire from Gaza. 2 Mar, 2024 TOI

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Senior US official says Israel has agreed to six-week ceasefire deal, waiting on Hamas. 2 Mar, 2024 TOI

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Thousands taking part in ‘unity march’ calling for hostage deal enter Jerusalem. By TOI Staff, Michael Horovitz And Ricky Ben-david. Thousands taking part in ‘unity march’ calling for hostage deal enter Jerusalem US drops aid into Gaza for the first time * IDF commandos raid compound used by Sinwar * Trump up five points on Biden in new poll * Gantz said heading to DC, irking Netanyahu. 2 Mar, 2024. TOI

Families of Gaza hostages set to reach Jerusalem on final day of march. By Jerusalem Post Staff. 03/02/2024 03:44 PM JPost

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Israeli fighter jets carry out extensive airstrikes east of Khan Yunis, Palestinians report. Israeli fighter jets carried out extensive airstrikes in the area of the town of Al-Qarara, east of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestinian media reported late on Saturday. (Einav Halabi). 03.02.24. YNet

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Sirens sound in Kibbutz Kissufim near Gaza border. 03.02.24 YNet

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US military says conducted strike against Houthi missile from Yemen. By Reuters, March 2, 2024 ... against an Iranian-backed Houthi surface-to-air missile that was preparing to launch from Yemen. JPost

Hamas to respond to prisoner exchange proposal 'in coming hours,' report says. Hamas will respond to a prisoner exchange deal framework proposed by mediators "in the coming hours," Saudi network Al Arabiya reported late on Saturday. According to the report, a delegation on behalf of the terror group will hold meetings with mediators in Egypt and work on preparing a list of hostages expected to be released. (Lior Ben-Ari). 03.02.24 YNet

US official on hostage deal: Ball is in Hamas' court. Israel National News Mar 2, 2024, 11:11 PM INN

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Lt. Col. (R) Peter Lerner @LTCPeterLerner:

1. Hamas supporters logic 101

BBC: 11 motionless people identified adjacent to the convoy and near tanks. ALSO BBC: Eye witness said that most of the victims were a result of being run over by the trucks. Hamas “health ministry”: More than 100 people killed by IDF in flour massacre. UN: We’ve seen bullet wounds in Shifa (no numbers cited) Media: More than 100 killed by IDF in convoy. IDF: We first fired warning shots in the air, and then opened fire towards those that ignored the warnings and proceeded towards the forces, initial review suggests a handful were wounded or perhaps perished in the tragedy.

1. TruthMatters.

Mar 2, 2024. On X

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Antisemitic teens terrorizing Jewish teacher with Hitler jabs, death threats as NYC school refuses to discipline them: ‘I live in fear’: lawsuit. By Susan Edelman, March 2, 2024.

A Brooklyn high school has become a haven for Hitler-loving hooligans who terrorize Jewish teachers and classmates, The Post has learned.

On Oct. 26, just three weeks after the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre of 1,200 Israelis, 40 to 50 teens marched through Origins HS in Sheepshead Bay waving a Palestinian flag and chanting “Death to Israel!” and “Kill the Jews!” staffers said.

The hateful procession was shocking even for Origins, a school rife with bias and bullying, insiders told The Post.

“I live in fear of going to work every day,” said global history teacher Danielle Kaminsky.

According to interviews with multiple staffers, and a Jewish student’s safety transfer request, recent hate incidents include:

A student painted a mustache on his face to look like Hitler, and banged on classroom doors. When someone opened, he clicked his heels and raised his arm in the Nazi gesture, security footage shows. Three swastikas in one week were drawn on teachers’ walls and other objects, a manager found. A 10th-grader told Kaminsky, 33, who is Jewish, “I wish you were killed.” Another student called her “a dirty Jew” and said he wished Hitler could have “hit more Jews,” including her. Students pasted drawings of the Palestinian flag and notes saying “Free Palestine” on Kaminsky’s classroom door. One scribbled note that said simply, “Die.” The teen tormentors have so far faced no serious discipline under interim acting principal Dara Kammerman, who has done little beyond contacting parents in an effort to practice “restorative justice,” staffers said.

“She is perpetuating an antisemitic environment and a school of hate,” said Michael Beaudry, campus manager of the Sheepshead Bay building that houses Origins and three other schools. “The students continue these behaviors because they know there won’t be any consequences.”

In response, the city Department of Education said it will launch a probe: “There is currently no evidence that these claims are true, but we are investigating the claims.”

In a disturbing instance in late January, a group of boys came into Kaminsky’s classroom at the end of the day, and cornered her, laughing, she said.

“Miss Kaminsky, do you love Hitler?” one asked.

“I was so taken aback,” she said. “I did not respond, and they all gave the heil Hitler sign.”

Frightened, Kaminsky quickly left her classroom…. ([189] This student allegedly sported a Hitler mustache and went door-to-door giving a Nazi salute.) ([190] "Free Palestine” notes stuck to history teacher Kaminsky’s classroom door.) ... About 40% of Origins students are Muslim. DOE stats list 22% as Asian, 22% Black, 17% Hispanic and 32% white. The school has many students in families from Middle Eastern nations such as Yemen, Egypt, and Palestine who identify as white, along with those from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in Central Asia... One teen said he would have sex with a dead Jewish woman... NY Post

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Grenade at Times Square: Police blocked from scene by anti-Israel protestors. After Uber driver finds grenade in his back seat, protestors staging anti-Israel march block bomb squad from reaching scene to cordon off and dispose of the grenade. Gary Willig. Mar 3, 2024, 7:26 AM INN

Grenade left in Uber as anti-Israel protesters march through NYC — as NYPD struggled to reach device: source. By Joe Marino, Tina Moore and Matthew Sedacca. Published March 2, 2024 Updated March 2, 2024, 7:03 p.m. ET. NY Post

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A Hamas-supporting terrorist stabbed a Hasidic youngman 8 times; His condition is difficult. An unusual terrorist incident in the ultra-orthodox streets of Zurich, the largest city in European Switzerland: a Hamas-supporting terrorist attacked a Hasidic priest in the city street and stabbed him eight times in his body parts. The Jew is taken to the hospital when his condition is serious (Orthodox) | Kikar Ha Shabbat. 22 Adar A | 02.03.24

([191] The arena in Switzerland).

An unusual event, apparently with a nationalist background, in the ultra-orthodox streets of the city of Zurich in the European country of Switzerland. This evening (Saturday night) a Hamas-supporting terrorist stabbed a Hassidic woman on Selnaustrasse in the city. According to testimonies, the terrorist shouted "Death to the Jews", before attacking the Hasidic Jew with a knife, who was seriously injured and taken to a local hospital. Kikar

Antisemitism in Switzerland: Haredi man stabbed in Zurich. Haredi in his 50s stabbed in city of Zurich, suffers serious injuries. Local reports say the assailant, a 15-year-old teen, yelled "death to the Jews" during the attack. Israel National News. Published: Mar 3, 2024, 3:12 AM (GMT+2) INN

ANTISEMITIC ATTACK: Muslim Shouting “Death To Jews!” Stabs Orthodox Jew In Switzerland. March 2, 2024, 7:15 pm YWN

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19,000 Israeli kids physically or mentally injured since Oct. 7. A new report shows the devastating impact of the war on the children of the Jewish state. Israeli children in their Sderot classroom on their first day of school since the Oct. 7 massacre, March 3, 2024. Photo by Liron Moldovan/Flash90.Israeli children in their Sderot classroom on their first day of school since the Oct. 7 massacre, March 3, 2024. Photo by Liron Moldovan/Flash90.

(March 3, 2024 / JNS) An alarming new report demonstrates the devastating impact of the Hamas-led terrorist attack of Oct. 7 and the ensuing war in Gaza on the children of Israel, including nearly 20,000 physically and mentally injured in hostilities.

From Oct. 7 to Feb. 28, the National Insurance Institute recognized 19,407 children as physically or mentally injured, according to the data published by the Child Safety Council on Sunday. About 37% of them (7,257 children) are under the age of 6.

Other notable data points published include 84% of parents responding to a national survey saying that their children aged 2-12 were in emotional distress, 64% reported fear and 62% reported anxiety... JNS

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Palestinian Islamic Jihad calls for Ramadan to be 'month of terror’ - analysis. By Seth J. Frantzman Published: March 3, 2024 10:28 Updated: March 3, 2024 18:48. The PIJ comments are also linked to those made by Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who has called for escalation during Ramadan JPost

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'This Week' Transcript 3-3-24: Sen. Chris Murphy,

KARL: I want to ask you about the airdrops, because there's been some in the humanitarian aid community who have questioned them. Oxfam put out a statement just -- just recently, saying "Oxfam does not support U.S. airdrops to Gaza, which would mostly serve" -- again, the Oxfam statement says -- "to relieve the guilty consciences of senior U.S. officials whose policies are contributing to the ongoing .. and the risk of famine in Gaza."

ANDRES: Yeah, this is probably written by somebody that doesn't have -- who has a lot of time on his hands. Listen, we need to bring food into Gaza any way we can. If the airdrops are happening, Jordan began -- the king of Jordan has been in some of those drops. They were doing it to bring food to their hospital. It's great that then they increased to four planes, seven planes, so the countries join, more massive. Then the U.S. follows suit.

We should be bringing it by the sea, maritime. We should be putting boats in front of Gaza. I hope it's going to happen soon, where we can be bringing hundreds of thousands, if not millions of meals.

Why are we doing the air? Why are people doing, thinking about coming by -- by the sea? Because the political situation is not allowing to bring safely enough trucks. Therefore we need to be bold. I don't think we need to be criticizing that Jordan, America are doing airdrops. If anything, we should be applauding any initiative that brings food into Gaza. ABC

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Hamas: No hostage deal without permanent ceasefire - report Staff, 3/3/2024.

In a significant development amid ongoing negotiations, Hamas, the terrorist group governing the Gaza Strip, has said that it will not agree to the release of hostages without Israel committing to a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

Citing a source within Hamas, CNN reported that the group is adamant about the cessation of hostilities as a prerequisite for any deal regarding the release of hostages.

According to the Hamas source, apart from the demand for a fixed truce, two other key points of contention preventing an agreement from being reached include the withdrawal of Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) troops from Gaza and the allowance for civilians to return to the northern Gaza Strip.

Additionally, Hamas has insisted on the provision of aid to both the southern and northern parts of the Gaza Strip before agreeing to any deal. i24

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Israel insists Hamas give names of live hostages before joining talks. Einav Halabi, Agencies. 03.03.24: 01:55 YNet

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Houthi leader aspires to be like Hezbollah's Nasrallah. In the current war, Iran proxy's leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi presents himself as the protector of Gaza, imitating mannerism and speech of Hassan Nasrallah. Lior Ben Ari | 03.03.24| 06:57 YNet

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Israel, US come to heads over sanctioning of Hamas charities, report. U.S. unconvinced charitable organizations funnel funds to terror group rather than answering needs of civilians while Washington and Jerusalem attempt to cut economic lifeline to Hamas Ynet | 03.03.24| 05:46 YNet

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US envoy due in Beirut to continue de-escalation talks in conflict with Israel. (Reuters). 03.03.24 | 15:20 YNet

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US VP Harris demands Israeli government do more to boost aid into Gaza, calls for cease-fire. (Reuters). 03.03.24 | 16:12 YNet

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Prominent Hamas recruiter eliminated in central Gaza drone strike, IDF says. A prominent Hamas recruiter was eliminated in an Israeli drone strike in the central Gaza Strip, the IDF reported Sunday night. According to a statement, Mahmoud Mohamed Abd Khaz was responsible for recruiting new operatives for Hamas, particularly for the Zeitoun Brigades in Gaza City, as well as fundraising for the terrorist group’s activities. (Yoav Zitun). 03.03.24 | 16:34 YNet

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Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News. Sunday, March 03, 2024. Journalists know Hamas lies about casualty figures. They don't care.

The New York Times has a large feature article about the victims in Gaza - just like they seem to have every week.

Lives Ended in Gaza Since the war started, more than 30,000 people have been killed during Israel’s bombardment and invasion. Here are some of their stories.

Yes, the "newspaper of record" is now saying, as fact, that 30,000 people have been killed.

Their source? Hamas!

The thing is that reporters and editors know damned well that Hamas is lying about Gaza casualties.

Look at their reporting for alleged mass casualty events in Gaza since October.

After the Al Ahli hospital fiasco they admitted that there was no way 471 people were killed. The NYT reported a week later, "The death toll, initially put at 500 by Hamas and then lowered to 471, is believed by Western intelligence agencies to be considerably lower — but no number has been verified. The hospital itself was not directly struck; whatever caused the explosion actually hit the hospital courtyard, where people had gathered for safety, and a handful of parked cars."

Hamas claimed the October 13 Salah-al-Deen road explosion, also falsely blamed on Israel, killed 70 people but respected news media did not parrot those figures; some counted about 12.

They all know Hamas lies about numbers. But they never report any doubts about them, even when they themselves show they aren't buying it in their reporting.

The fact is that in the past there were independent sources in Gaza (like PCHR and the UN-OCHA) that could do their own counts and keep Hamas honest. Today there is nobody. So Hamas lies with impunity, since they see that the media doesn't publicly doubt those accusations the way they do with Israeli statements. The "118" that Hamas claimed were killed by the IDF last Thursday during thee aid truck stampede includes absurd claims by the Gaza health ministry like there are still bodies being found at the scene two days later. (It isn't like they were hidden under rubble.)

This is a major media fail, happening in real time, in front of our eyes. And sometime in 2025 some researcher will spend the time to count all the deaths and discover that these are all lies, but it will be too late.

It already is. EoZ

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8,000 plaintiffs file lawsuit in District of Columbia demanding permanent defunding of UNRWA. “UNRWA is a disaster for both Israel and the Palestinians. In fact, the Palestinians deserve a lot better than UNRWA.” Amelie Botbol. (March 3, 2024 / JNS) More than 8,000 plaintiffs, including 1,500 dual American-Israeli citizens and 6,500 Israelis, have filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia demanding permanent defunding of the United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). The plaintiffs are represented by attorneys Robert J. Tolchin in Brooklyn and Nitsana Darshan-Leitner in Tel Aviv. JNS

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BBC News – obsessive, biased- and unaccountable. Mar 3, 2024. On Friday (1 March), BBC News published the latest findings from their ‘fact-checking’. flagship ‘BBC Verify’ – looking at the 100+ deaths that occurred during the chaos surrounding the aid convoy in Gaza.

BBC launched BBC Verify last year – a unit comprising of 60 journalists to help fact-check, verify video, and counter disinformation. Intended to be a gold standard in the age of fake news, BBC Verify has just ended up being another obsessive anti-Israel propaganda outfit.

While BBC Verify do not actually come to any conclusions over the aid convoy deaths, the piece is heavily slanted to blame the Israeli army for the deaths.

This latest ‘fact checking’ story rested heavily on one key eyewitness – a Palestinian journalist called Mahmoud Awadeyah. This is what he told the BBC:

Mahmoud Awadeyah eyewitness [192]

This eyewitness account provides the backdrop for BBC Verify to imply that ‘Israel did it’. BBC News then rely on one other witness – the interim hospital manager at al-Awda hospital, to drive home the claim.

But there is a larger problem. BBC Verify don’t actually verify anything here. They just take these people at their word and publish these statements without question.

Anyone who follows my work knows that I always check Journalists where I can. Research has shown that 50% of the journos in Gaza appear to work directly for Hamas or Islamic Jihad. Who exactly is Mahmoud Awadeyah that the BBC relied on to create their BBC Verify headline?

The BBC’s source – Mahmoud (Al) Awadeyah Mahmoud Al Awadeyah posted an account on his FB from the scene. He has an IG account as well and uses both Awadia and Al Awadia on his social media.

He works for Al Quds Today and the Tasnim News Agency. Tasnim is an Iranian news agency set up and controlled by the IRGC.

[193]

Perhaps the pro-IRGC affiliation explains why his likes on the ‘X’ platform include a post about Hamas honouring the IRGC commander Qasem Soleimani.

But the problem goes way beyond liking posts. On 27 January 2023, as seven Israelis lay dead following a terror attack outside of a synagogue – Awadeyah posted these celebrations on Facebook:

[194] [195]

In summer of 2023 Awadeyah stood in front of a mural that celebrated the murder of 82-year-old Inga Avramyan who was killed by an Islamic Jihad rocket when it hit her apartment in Rehovot. Awadeyah celebrated the killing, and promised more:

[196]

His timelines across social media are full of pro-terrorist imagery and support for violence:

There were also several posts on his FB that mourned for ‘Abu Hadi’ or Khalil Al Bahtini – a leader of the milItary wing of Islamic Jihad. Al Bahtini was killed in a targeted strike by Israel in May 2023:

[197]

And here they are together in this photo, with Awadeyah posting about how close they were:

[198]

This is the BBC’s key source for the BBC Verify article.

How can the BBC possibly consider this man’s evidence as reliable? He dances when Jewish civilians are murdered, and sits and breaks bread with the leaders of proscribed terrorist groups. Is there a sane person alive who believes this terrorist supporter would not lie for his cause?

Did nobody at ‘BBC Verify’ bother to look at his social media account?

The answer of course is no, of course they didn’t. BBC Verify consists of amateurish hacks, who have a supremacist attitude, and who don’t even bother to do the most basic of checks. This is not journalism – it is activism – driven by a bunch of privileged nobodies with limited intelligence and grossly inflated egos. Angry? You bet I am. The BBC anti-Israel drumbeat helps to spread antisemitism and it is all funded by the taxpayer. This is absolutely disgraceful.

But then this is just what BBC News do all the time.

Tuesday 27 Feb – the ‘special’ day of coverage On Tuesday 27 February, BBC News ran live coverage so Gazans could ‘share their daily lives’ with the world. It turned out to be another day of relentless anti-Israel propaganda dutifully funded by the British taxpayer.

Have no doubt, the BBC has mobilised against Israel and are using almost every dirty trick in the book to demonise the Jewish state. There is no attempt at balance, there is no quality to the output, and there is no truth in the final picture. BBC News coverage of the war is akin to a civil service version of Electronic Intifada.

Still don’t believe me? Just carry on reading.

Almost every day the BBC front page news covers an aspect of the war in an attempt to demonise Israel. The piece is always on the front page – and invariably negative. A simple browse through the BBC headlines captured in the wayback machine easily highlights this.

On 27 February the BBC decided to run a whole day with updates from Gazans telling everyone about the lives they are leading now. For example, one of the first out of the block at 7:40am was Dr Haya Hijazi. We are told she is living in a tent and the headline tells us she starts each day with a search for clean water:BBC lies Haya Hijazi

[199]

Except this does not seem to be true. Haya Hijazi is a social media propagandist who runs constant campaigns for donations. She is quite successful and has 576,000 followers on Instagram. It is impossible to know how much money she receives, but her IG is full of videos of herself handing out produce. She clearly has no shortage herself. In fact, just before she told BBC she needed to ‘search for water’, she was busy filming herself handing out cash. This post from her own Instagram account on Monday:

[200] Video Player. 00:00.00:44

Not your average Gazan then.

And so it went on. The first entry of the day was from Yahya Hussen – who used to live in the exclusive Al-Zahra neighbourhood. The next was from Samira Noorallah who used to live in a house ‘of 300 square meters’. These are not your average Gazans either. Then came this one – a ‘journalist’ called Aseel Mousa:

[201]

In simply referring to Mousa as a journalist, the BBC neglect to inform readers that Aseel Mousa writes for hate magazines like Electronic Intifada. She openly saluted Oct 7 on her X account. This is a celebratory post from Mousa on January 27 2023 at 19:07 – as seven Israelis were slaughtered in a terrorist attack:

[202]

These are the people BBC is giving voice to. Does nobody check anything? Or do they just not care?

BBC News and subtle brainwashing A BBC News headline the following day was more subtle. It was about Biden’s primary victory in Michigan

[203]

This is the problem with bias – it often works like a magician’s assistant – most people look the wrong way, and if they do catch on, they end up down a rabbit hole arguing over semantics. But the real bias is not contained in the words – it is contained in the intent, design and process – it is institutional.

This is no surprise because the BBC’s pool of journalists is turning into a sewer full of anti-Zionist and/or woke activists. The journalist behind last Wednesday’s piece on Biden is Brandon Denon. Before taking up this position with the BBC he was the ‘Racial Justice and Equity Reporter‘ at the Indianapolis Star. He is married to Daliyah Assil (Dalyah Shaheera Drenon on FB), a ‘Syrian Palestinian’.

[204]

Assil’s family is active, and her sister Reem Assil has the ‘honour’ of having her own page on the Canary Mission website. She is listed for her glorification of terrorism and her pro BDS activities:

[205]

No, Brandon is not responsible for the pro-terrorist sympathies of his sister-in-law, or the ‘free Palestine’ posts of his wife. But anyone who thinks that a racial justice and equity reporter who is married into a Palestinian Syrian activist family is going to write impartial articles about Israel is simply deluded. But this is the reality of the BBC employee pool these days – more fit for Novara media or the Canary, than the British public service broadcaster.

And the BBC anti-Israel propaganda coverage is relentless. It is not just a few skewed headlines or dodgy journalists – it is as if the BBC turned its entire arsenal on the Jewish state.

More on BBC Unverified Take a recent BBC Verify video featuring journalist Merlyn Thomas on the events in Nasser Hospital in Gaza.

The piece is all speculation, and Thomas does not actually verify anything at all in this ‘BBC Verify’ video. Worse still, she pushes statements such as “Doctors say a number of people there have been killed by Israeli snipers in recent days” – which is surely exactly the type of unverified propaganda rubbish that BBC Verify was created to address.

[206]

This is the result of nothing more than a few obsessives at the BBC finding another excuse to demonise Israel. Check Thomas’ social media. It is all one way traffic.

There are plenty of such examples from BBC Verify. Jake Horton & Daniele Palumbo looked at work taking place in Egypt near the Gaza border. Their speculation relied on an anonymous conspiratorial suggestion from an ‘aid worker’, and a quote from Andreas Krieg ‘an academic at KCL’. Andreas Krieg literally worked with the Qatari military (Qatar hosts key elements of the Hamas leadership). How can BBC Verify not mention this in an article related to Israel?

And Andreas Krieg seems to be a BBC Verify favourite – as Merlyn Thomas and co used him again just a few days ago when they tried to support Hamas claims over the numbers of civilian dead (BBC Verify’s attempts to pretend they can address this in the middle of a conflict just underlines how amateurish this all is).

But the bottom line is this: BBC Verify only engage in verifying things that try to undermine Israeli actions and statements. Could you imagine them addressing the fake narrative of the Gazan journalists? They never would – nor do they ever address anything that undermines the Palestinian propaganda campaign.

It is ALL one way traffic. That’s the bias.

BBC News – the unaccountable elite And they know there is nothing we can do. The BBC is untouchable and the BBC Journalists truly believe they are of a superior breed.

To test the ground, I recently raised three official complaints with the BBC. Important note: I didn’t complain about bias because that can lead to an argument of subjectivity. I researched and found three items produced by the BBC that contained serious ethical failings.

The first was a fake news article put together with the help of a terrorist supporter in Gaza. The second was an article that didn’t bother to do background research into the Hamas ties of the victims. The third was an article in which the BBC’s Gazan based journalist appears to interview his own wife as if she were a random stranger. I submitted complaints against all three. In all three cases I had to wait several weeks before receiving the same dismissive response.

[207]

They do not care – and we cannot touch them. I did refer the three cases to OFCOM as instructed in those BBC emails – but I am not hopeful there either. The BBC Journalists are unaccountable. The more I dig into the BBC’s institutional hatred of Israel, the more I come to the obvious conclusion that no fair minded person should be helping to fund them. They all help to spread antisemitism. David Collier

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Itamar Marcus | Mar 3, 2024 Hospital forced to cut 20% because PA won’t pay 65 million shekels debt Yet, PA anxious to pay 65 million shekels in salaries to terrorist prisoners A Palestinian hospital in Bethlehem has Palwatch

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Majority killed by stampede in Gaza aid convoy catastrophe, IDF probe finds. By Danielle Greyman-Kennard. Published: March 3, 2024. "Our initial review has confirmed that no strike was carried out by the IDF towards the aid convoy,” the IDF published in a statement.

The IDF confirmed on Sunday morning that it had completed its review and found that no drone strike had occurred during an incident last week where Palestinians were trampled to death while attempting to charge an aid convoy.

“The IDF has concluded an initial review of the unfortunate incident where Gazan civilians were trampled to death and injured as they charged to the aid convoy. Our initial review has confirmed that no strike was carried out by the IDF towards the aid convoy,” the IDF published in a statement. JPost

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Israel to try new ways to deliver aid after deadly stampede. Options include maintaining IDF control of the convoys and trucks entering the Strip from the north. (March 4, 2024 / JNS) JNS

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Statistically Impossible: A Critical Analysis of Hamas’s Women and Children Casualty Figures. by Tom Simpson, Lewi Stone and Gregory Rose. Mar 3, 2024. Rate of death in Gaza halved in 2024 as compared to 2023. Even by the MoH’s own dubious figures, the rate of death in Gaza appears to have slowed markedly in recent months. This correlates with a decline in the reported ratio of women and children killed. The aforementioned 21,978 total dead figure for 2023 implies that, on average, 259 Gazans died every day between 7 October and 31 December. As of 3 March, the comparable 2024 figure declined to 136. So even by Hamas’s own statistics, there has been a decline of almost 50 per cent in the rate of death.

The proportion of women and children casualties recorded in hospitals has also declined by about a third, from 60 per cent in 2023 down to 42 per cent of the deaths recorded in 2024 – a far cry from the BBC’s proclaimed 70 per cent. As mentioned, when considering this 42 per cent figure one should bear in mind that women and children make up 75 per cent of Gaza’s population. And while the hospital registered deaths figures still ultimately come from Hamas, they are at least less obviously absurd than the ‘media sources’ and total death counts.

It is likely that reductions in casualty counts reflect the IDF’s increasing reliance on ground force attacks, rather than airstrikes, as well as reticence on the part of its forces to engage Hamas terrorists that have fled into hospitals and other areas of concentrated civilian populations. These Hamas tactics – embedding among the civilian population to achieve a ‘human shield’ strategy – have resulted in the very real and very tragic deaths of an unknown number of women and children. The same Hamas war criminals who have engineered these tragic deaths are also behind the absurd and fabricated propaganda statistics so widely cited by the western media. FathomJournal

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IDF nabs 80 terror suspects trying to escape with civilians in Khan Yunis. IAF kills Gaza Hamas recruiter in airstrike • PIJ rocket squad eliminated less than 30 minutes after firing on Kibbutz Be’eri and Kibbutz Hatzerim. Joshua Marks. (March 4, 2024 / JNS) JNS

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IDF, Police, Shin Bet prepare for Ramadan tensions. By Jerusalem Post Staff. 03/04/2024 09:21 AM JPost

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Palestinian Islamic Jihad calls for Ramadan to be 'month of terror’ - analysis. By Seth J. Frantzman Published: March 3, 2024 10:28 Updated: March 3, 2024 18:48. The PIJ comments are also linked to those made by Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who has called for escalation during Ramadan JPost

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Israelis rescued after trying to enter Nablus without IDF approval. By Jerusalem Post Staff. 03/04/2024 09:44 AM JPost

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DM Yoav Gallant meets with US CENTCOM commander By Jerusalem Post Staff. 03/04/2024 01:18 PM JPost

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IDF marrests 13 wanted men in West Bank, border police officer injured. The IDF, Border Police and Shin Bet soldiers arrested 13 wanted persons throughout the West Bank and in the Bekaa Valley overnight Monday. In an operation that lasted about six hours in Al-Amari, the forces arrested two wanted persons, interrogated many suspects and confiscated incendiary materials of Hamas. During the operation, violence developed, during which suspects threw stones and Molotov cocktails at the soldiers, who responded by firing and detected a hit. As part of the exchange of fire in the area, a border police soldier was slightly injured in the leg and was taken to a hospital for medical treatment. (Yoav Zitun). 03.04.24 YNet

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1 dead, at least 9 injured in Hezbollah missile attack. The dead and wounded, all foreign workers employed in agriculture in the north; wounded evacuated by chopper to hospitals in north and central Israel; IDF says responding with fire at source of missile launches. Yair Kraus | published: 05:12 YNet

Antitank fire leaves one dead, at least 7 injured. Foreign worker killed, at least seven others injured, after antitank missiles are fired at northern Israel. Israel National News Mar 4, 2024, 2:24 PM INN

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"Because of this meeting it was worth flying there": it was in the US that Ariel managed to close a circle with the family of the officer who saved his life - and fell.

Yogev Carmel | N12| Posted 08:16 03/04/24

Ariel Ein-Gal was with his friends on a rallying evening at Zikim Beach when the Hamas attack began on October 7 • Now, a few months after he managed to survive in a rough way, when he hid with his friends in the nearby base, he tells about the significant change that took place in his life after he was saved • The interviews in the foreign media, the confrontation The storm with the Palestinians and the shocking encounter with Dor, the cousin of the late Lieutenant Yanai Kaminka who led the battle at the Zikim base. [...] And among all these during his stay there he was also invited to appear in a video of the YouTube channel Jubilee which specializes in producing meetings between representatives of two sides to the conflict. There he encountered an unexpected verbal ambush. "I heard a lot of lies there that simply stem from psycho disinformation. They really have no idea what's going on. For them, for example, everything that happens in Gaza also happens to the Arabs in Israel," he says. "I was like the bad guy there, the one who came to fight with the Palestinians. That wasn't the plan. But that's how it is when you put four Americans in front of you, with no real connection to Palestine, who just talked nonsense all the time. They brought people who are Americans for everything, but their grandfather was born in Ramallah. Or that at the age of ten he would go to visit his grandfather in Nablus, something like that." [...] Ein Gal came to that photo shoot day seemingly as an ordinary Israeli. When he revealed to his fellow panelists that he was not just an Israeli but one of the victims of October 7th, those who experienced the events of that day first hand, not only did he not receive empathy or special interest, but also a real turn of the back. "You expect it to be a dramatic moment. And then suddenly one of these Palestinians looks at me and says tell me, aren't you ashamed to celebrate that there's a prison next to you? You see, that's what he tells me to my face. This is his reaction when I told him what I went through on the 7 in October". [208] "After I did this episode of Jubilee, which received several million views, I received thousands of curses on my Instagram and Facebook. That's where all the idiots who deny October 7th went," Ein Gal adds. Mako

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Mohamed Hadid: We will hunt down ‘Zionist (sic) criminals’ like Biden for court. By Michael Starr. Published: March 4, 2024. [Diaspora, Anti-Semitism] ...Real estate mogul Mohamed Hadid lashed out at US President Joe Biden on Sunday for his relations with Israel during the October 7 War... JPost

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Houthis taunt Rishi Sunak over George Galloway election as they make demands of UK. WATCH: Rishi Sunak responds to Houthis attacks on vessels in the Red Sea GB News. By Georgina Cutler Published: 04/03/2024 - 11:33 GBN

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Terror cell planning ISIS-style attacks caught with 100 explosive devices.

Terror cell planning ISIS-style attacks caught with 100 explosive devices, Shin Bet says Four-member West Bank cell planned to use the bombs for attacks on IDF troops; members tell interrogators they learned how to make devices from online videos and instructions from Islamic State operatives. Yoav Zitun, Itamar Eichner | 03.04.24: 09:04 YNet

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IDF spokesperson: UNRWA staff recordings prove Hamas treated young women ‘like animals’. By Emanuel Fabian. IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari in an evening press conference says that despite the “difficult content,” the military chose to release the audio recordings of UNRWA staff who participated in the October 7 onslaught, to “remind and not forget.”

“The massacre committed by Hamas on October 7 is the most documented massacre in history. Hamas terrorists filmed their own cruelty. As time goes by, more and more testimonies are revealed, more intelligence every day,” he says.

“You can hear how the terrorists entered Israeli territory, participated in the massacre, and terror, and captured ‘sabaya.'”

He explains that in one of the recordings, a Hamas terrorist, who worked as a teacher at a UNRWA school in Deir al-Balah, tells his friend that he captured a sabaya, a term used by Islamic State jihadists that means sex slave.

“Sabaya” is a term in Islam that describes women and children as the property of a Muslim man. It also means slave and handmaiden. The most difficult use of "sabaya" was by ISIS terrorists, who called the captured Yazidi women this, Hagari says.

“In the conversation, the terrorist on the other side of the line describes a woman as a noble mare,” he says.

“On October 7, Hamas treated young women with cruelty and brutality, kidnapped them from their homes, and treated them like animals,” Hagari continues.

“How they refer to the hostages as ‘sabaya’ and a ‘noble mare’ keeps us awake at night, and requires the world to shout, as it did for the Yazidi women,” he says.

Hagari adds that, via the testimonies from hostages who were released from Gaza, “we learn about the dangers the hostages are exposed to, especially the women and children.” TOI

IDF Spokesman: 'Hamas treated Israeli women like animals'. Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari describes recording of UNRWA teacher who took part in October 7 massacre in which a female hostage was described as a 'horse' and as property. Israel National News, Mar 4, 2024. INN

Joe Truzman @JoeTruzman: Infographic published by the IDF detailing the UNRWA employees who took part in the Hamas-led terrorist attack on October 7. [209]. Mar 4, 2024 On X

UNRWA teachers took part in Oct. 7 massacre. IDF publishes recordings of 2 UNRWA teachers who served as Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists who participated in the massacre, 1 of whom claimed to have kidnapped a Jewish woman. Israel National News Mar 4, 2024, 8:19 PM. According to intelligence indications, over 450 Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists in the Gaza Strip have been determined to also be employed by UNRWA... INN

Report: Over 450 UNRWA Teachers Participated in Oct. 7 Massacre. By Hana Levi Julian - 25 Adar I 5784 – March 4, 2024.

([210] Photo Credit: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

Descriptions of UNWRA workers who took part in the October 7 massacre.

I’m inside, I’m inside with the Jews,” and “We have female hostages, I captured one” — just a few words, but with the impact of thousands of tons of explosives.

Israeli intelligence revealed Monday night (March 4) that more than 450 terrorists belonging to terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip, mainly Hamas, were — and in some cases still are — also employed by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) tasked with providing humanitarian aid and educational services to the Palestinian Authority and Gaza populations.

The IDF has revealed two recordings incriminating two UNRWA teachers who took part in the October 7 massacre.

The first recording is of a terrorist working as an Arabic teacher at an UNRWA school in ‘Deir al-Balah’ describing his entry into Israeli territory and stating that he is holding female Israeli hostages.

“We have female captives (sabaya). I caught one,” an UNRWA “teacher” says. “We entered. I saw… They shot them in the eyes. I saw two, me and another guy from our group… Wow, what they did. Listen, they did actions for liberation Inshallah (Allah willing).”

The second recording features an additional terrorist who is also an elementary school teacher at an UNRWA school in Khan Yunis, telling his family he is inside Israeli territory.

“I’m inside, I’m inside with the Jews. Wait for me on the street… on Tamran Street.”

The speakers in both recorded conversations sound exhilarated, joyous, proud of their actions.

Terror organizations in the Gaza Strip routinely exploit international aid organizations for terror purposes and in the case of UNRWA, the organization has been enmeshed with Hamas for decades, adopting its genocidal aspirations of annihilating its Israeli neighbors into its school curricula. JewishPress

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New UN report finds evidence of rampant Oct 7 rapes; Israel: UN tried to hush it up Gantz arrives at White House to meet Biden officials, Harris * IDF releases recordings of UNRWA staff accused of joining Oct. 7 attack * Ben Gvir calls for end to hostage talks TOI

UN report on Hamas atrocities confirms sexual violence took place on October 7. UN envoy on sexual violence Pramila Patten to release full report on Hamas' sexual violence based on evidence from her Israel visit to gather testimonies; Israeli ambassador Erdan slams international body for silence on terror group's sex crimes. Itamar Eichner | 03.04.24: 13:12

A UN report on Hamas’ sexual violence on October 7 presents mainly circumstantial evidence proving Hamas terrorists committed sexual crimes during their attack against Israel including cases of rape, gang rape, sexual assault, genital mutilation, nudity and binding of bodies, among others...

Patten was mandated to gather evidence and information about sexual crimes committed by Hamas terrorists in southern Israeli communities on October 7. She led a delegation of 10 experts in the fields of law and medicine and also visited the Palestinian Authority. The report issued by Patten and her team confirms evidence of sexual violence taking place during the terror group’s October 7 attack. Additionally, the report confirms that female hostages held by Hamas in Gaza were subjected to sexual violence, and there are concerns these crimes are ongoing. However, the report notes that, due to time constraints and the team's professional capacity, it is currently unable to attribute all of the incidents in the attack to Hamas, given the possibility that some were carried out by Islamic Jihad terrorists or Gazan civilians who infiltrated Israel following the initial attack.

The report’s findings indicate sexual assaults were committed during the attack itself, including circumstantial evidence of rape, sexual assault, shooting at naked and bound women at the Nova Music Festival and the rape of two women on Route 232, as well as genital mutilation on bodies in the area..

Due to time constraints, the team failed to corroborate testimonies about rape in Kibbutz Nahal Oz. Additionally, the report highlights that Patten's team struggled to verify numerous cases of murder in Kibbutz Be’eri due to the large number of testimonies. Meanwhile, the report addresses Patten's visit to Ramallah, clarifying that the purpose of the visit wasn’t to investigate or verify cases of sexual assault. However, the report's authors noted that trusted Palestinian officials spoke of problematic patterns in the conduct of Israeli security forces, especially regarding searches at checkpoints, arrests and raids. Regarding the report's recommendations, the team called on Hamas to release Israeli hostages immediately and unconditionally, urged parties to bring suspects to trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC), recommended that Israel cooperate with the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), advocated for safeguarding the privacy of witnesses and survivors, called for a humanitarian cease-fire and recommended making sure women's voices are heard.

Patten's team, who acknowledged the Israeli authorities’ cooperation, conducted 36 in-depth interviews and reviewed 5,000 photos and 50 hours of video footage. Israel will receive Patten’s full report later in March and state representatives will have a week to respond.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's report, to be published in early April, will include parts of Patten's report of the visit to Israel as well as outputs from the UN committee on sexual violence. Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan criticized the silence of UN women's organizations during a special council at the UN General Assembly on the issue of the U.S. Veto imposed by the Security Council on a proposal by Algeria for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and presented testimonies of Israeli women detailing Hamas’ sexual violence on October 7.

"The silence in the face of Hamas' sexual violence turns International Women's Day into a sick joke," Erdan said. "As we speak, Israeli women are being raped and abused by Hamas. Where is the UN's voice?" Erdan added, "In the past five months, there hasn't been even one single discussion here dedicated to the wellbeing of the hostages. Not one debate focused on the sexual violence perpetrated by Hamas. Not a single UN panel on rape against Israeli women. You should be ashamed of your silence.” "In her report, Patten will outline that during Hamas' attack, rape, gang rape, necrophilia, sexual violence and forced defilement were carried out. The report will also highlight that Hamas terrorists sexually abused female hostages and that such acts are likely still ongoing. Will this wake you up? Will it change your priorities?" Erdan said. Ynet News. YNet

UN finally recognizes that Israeli women were raped, sexually attacked by Hamas terrorists. Israel's fm complained UNSG Guterres has yet to 'declare Hamas a terrorist organization and impose sanctions on its supporters'. By Ruth Marks Eglash Fox News. Published March 4, 2024 4:06pm EST FoxNews

PBS NewsHour live episode, March 4, 2024. [...] Bennett: Separately the UN released today a report about sexual violence on October 7th. What did it say? Schifrin: Yea, this report is horrific. It concluded that there is clear and convincing information that sexual violence, including rape, sexualized torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment has been commited againat hostages, and that echoes of course what Israel has been saying happened by Hamas militants on Oct the 7th in Israel. But the report also concludes this, that there are, quote, reasonable grounds to believe that such violence may be ongoing to those hostages in Gaza right now. Israel certainly believes that to be the case, and Israeli officials believe that that maybe one of the reasons why Hamas is resisting releasing some of the hostage.On YouTube The issues hindering Gaza cease-fire negotiations between Israel and Hamas Mar 4, 2024 6:45 PM EST. PBS

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IDF delivers humanitarian aid to evacuated Gazans amid Khan Younis operations. Some 8,500 civilians evacuated to shelters from Hamad neighborhood, receiving food for Ramadan; Commandos target terror facilities, killing terrorists and arresting 85 of them, some involved in October 7 massacre. Yoav Zitun | 03.04.24: 11:49 YNet

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IDF arrests dozens of terrorists during Hamad City operation. Many of the Hamas terrorists were caught while attempting to blend in with civilian evacuees • IDF forces distribute food to Gazan civilians ahead of Ramadan. Joshua Marks. (March 5, 2024 / JNS) The Israel Defense Forces pressed forward with the “Crown of the West” operation in Khan Yunis over the past day, targeting the Qatari-funded Hamad City residential complex in the northwestern part of the city.

Dozens of Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives were arrested, some of them while attempting to evacuate together with civilians, according to the IDF. Israeli forces raided terrorist infrastructure inside the compound and confiscated weapons.

The Hamad City operation began with a massive wave of strikes overnight Saturday, with the Israeli Air Force and IDF artillery forces hitting 50 targets within six minutes.

Following the strikes, the IDF established a humanitarian corridor, allowing residents to leave the combat zone. Around 8,500 residents of the housing development were evacuated on Sunday. Israeli forces captured 85 terror suspects attempting to hide among the civilian population, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists who participated in the Oct. 7 massacre.

Soldiers distributed food to the evacuating residents for the upcoming Muslim holiday of Ramadan, including blessings from the IDF.

Also after the airstrikes, 98th Division troops raided the complex to target terror forces entrenched there, while troops from the Givati ​​Brigade and the 7th Armored Brigade surrounded the neighborhood.

Doha financed the construction of the $145 million, 3,000-apartment development, inaugurated in 2016. Called Hamad City, it is named after the former emir of the Arab Gulf state, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, and is located north of Khan Yunis and below the city of Deir al-Balah.

Hamas terror chief Ismail Haniya, who lives in Doha under the protection of the Qataris, described the 2016 opening as “a historic moment.”

Five Israeli air strikes had already destroyed part of the prestige complex in December of last year.

In Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza, an IAF jet eliminated a terrorist drone squad.

The IAF is continuing to carry out precision strikes against Hamas targets throughout the coastal enclave, hitting over 50 targets in the past 24 hours, including launch posts, weapons storage facilities, tunnel shafts, and additional military infrastructure. JNS

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Palestinian Authority, Key to Biden’s Mideast Peace Plan, Commits To Pay $97M a Year to Hamas. Andrew Tobin, March 4, 2024. As President Joe Biden pushes to empower the Palestinian Authority in the name of Middle East peace, the PA has committed tens of millions of dollars for terrorists who were killed or captured while carrying out Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel and the resulting war.

Since Oct. 7, the PA has doubled down on its longstanding "pay for slay" policy, which gives salaries and benefits to Palestinians imprisoned for involvement in violence against Israel and to the families of those killed in "the revolution" against the Jewish state. The policy does not distinguish between terrorists and civilians. But based on Israel Defense Forces estimates of enemy casualties and prisoners, the PA has put itself on the hook for more than $97 million in such payments for more than 13,000 Hamas terrorists in the year following Oct. 7 Free Beacon

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Hamas urges Palestinians to attack Jews during "holy month" of Ramadan. Monday, March 04, 2024. From the Washington Post [211]: Hamas is calling on Palestinians in Israel and the West Bank to rise up against Israel during the upcoming Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan, speaking to reporters in Beirut on Monday, said Palestinians should “make every moment of Ramadan a confrontation.” ... In 2020, the Hamas Al Qassam Brigades website published a list of 40 terror attacks that they proudly mounted during Ramadan in years past. These include:

The double suicide bombings on Ben Yehuda Street in 2001, killing 11. The Haifa Bus 16 suicide attack, killing 15. The Kiryat Menachem bus bombing in 2002, killing 15. The 2004 Carmel Market bombing, killing 4. The Hadera Market bombing in 2005, killing 7. 4 killed in a shooting attack in Kiryat Arba, 2010. August 20, 2011, one killed Beersheva during a barrage of 70 rockets from Gaza.

Hamas would claim that there is no contradiction - attacking Jewish civilians is also a time honored part of Ramadan.

As the Christian Science Monitor reported back in 2003, in an article that would not be written today:

'For Islamic militants, Ramadan allows them not only to reaffirm their religious observance but to strengthen their political ideological convictions as well. "Ramadan is a month of commitment and renewal to their faith and also to their cause, whether by military or nonmilitary jihad," says Prof. Nizar Hamzeh, a specialist on political Islam at the American University of Beirut. "It is a month of martyrdom and commitment to one's Islamic ideology." '

Throughout Islamic history, Ramadan has been seen as a time of victory for Muslim armies - and a period when those who are martyred have a greater assurance of a place in paradise. This is why one rarely sees Muslims condemning Hamas for their Ramadan attacks on innocents. Jihad is a part of Ramadan, too, just not the part that they mention in English. EoZ

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What Everyone Needs to Know About Hamas’ Lie About Gaza Aid Stampede. Gaza. March 4, 2024

On February 29, dozens of Palestinians were reportedly killed as thousands overran humanitarian aid trucks entering Gaza City in the northern Gaza Strip. In a separate incident nearby, there were up to 10 Palestinian casualties when a group of Gazans approached Israeli soldiers, who were securing the aid deliveries at the border crossing between Gaza and Israel.

Here’s what to know about the situation in the northern Gaza Strip, Hamas’ lies, and Israel’s humanitarian aid efforts.

How did the Gaza stampede for aid unfold?

At 4:40 a.m., a convoy of some 38 trucks carrying humanitarian aid arrived along the coast of Gaza City to deliver aid to Palestinians in northern Gaza.

According to the Israel Defense Forces [212], as the Gazan civilian truck drivers carrying humanitarian aid entered northern Gaza, residents overran the trucks and looted the supplies being delivered. As a result of the pushing, trampling, and being run over by the trucks as the drivers attempted to escape, tragically, dozens of Gazans were killed and injured. The IDF was not involved.

"At some point, the trucks were overwhelmed and the people driving the trucks, which were Gazan civilian drivers, plowed into the crowds of people, ultimately killing, as my understanding is, tens of people. I don't have anything more specific to that. It is unfolding," Israeli government spokesman Avi Hyman said.

Aerial surveillance of the humanitarian operation [213] that was released by the IDF shows how thousands of people swarmed the trucks, causing the stampede, trampling, and deaths.

“The Israel Defense Forces operates according to the rules of engagement and international law. No IDF strike was conducted toward the aid convoy,” said IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari.

How were Israeli soldiers involved?

In a separate incident at a different location on the Gaza border, IDF soldiers secured a humanitarian convoy to prevent Hamas from stealing aid. When a group of Gazans moved toward the soldiers, warning shots were fired. When this didn’t deter them, the IDF fired at those posing a threat.

"The truckloads went into the north, then there was the stampede, and then afterwards, there was the event against our forces. That’s how things transpired this morning,” Israeli spokesperson Hyman said during a briefing to reporters.

According to an initial probe by the Israel Defense Forces, feeling threatened, the soldiers fired warning shots in the air and shot at the legs of those getting closer to the forces. The probe found that Israeli gunfire caused fewer than 10 casualties out of the hundreds that were allegedly hurt and killed on Thursday.

The IDF has coordinated several aid deliveries to northern Gaza in recent days without incident. It has launched a full investigation to prevent future incidents like this.

On March 3, [214] IDF spokesman Hagari followed up on the Feb. 29 incident, stating that the "initial review has confirmed that no strike was carried out by the IDF towards the aid convoy."

“The majority of Palestinians were killed or injured as a result of the stampede,” Hagari said.

Unlike its terror group adversaries, who purposely target civilian populations, Israel adheres to the laws of war in its military operations in Gaza, following principles such as necessity, distinction, proportionality [215], and taking precautions to protect civilians. Israel makes efforts to target combatants and military objectives while minimizing harm to civilians, provides advance warnings before certain operations, and coordinates humanitarian assistance for Gaza's civilian population.

What is Hamas lying about?

The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza was quick to blame Israel for opening fire at Palestinians gathering around the aid trucks and the Palestinian deaths.

The Hamas-run agency has claimed over 100 were killed and hundreds more wounded. However, the numbers from the Gaza Health Ministry do not differentiate between civilians and terrorists.

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is controlled by the Fatah-run Palestinian Authority, called the incident a “massacre.”

Debunking 5 Social Media Myths on the Israel-Hamas War It is also important to note that Hamas has been quick to blame Israel for the tragic deaths of innocent Palestinians previously, with media outlets also buying into these lies. [216]

In October, Hamas officials spread a vicious lie and claimed that hundreds of Palestinians were killed by an Israeli strike on Gaza’s Al-Ahli Arab Hospital. [217]. However, evidence emerged that it was, in fact, an errant rocket fired by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group that led to the casualties at the hospital.

What do we know about humanitarian aid in Gaza?

On October 18, [218] Israel agreed to allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza from Egypt, to mitigate a major humanitarian crisis in Gaza and save innocent Palestinian lives.

Since October 21, Israel has facilitated the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. In mid-December, Israel reopened the Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and the southern Gaza Strip to allow more aid into the territory.

To help alleviate the humanitarian situation in northern Gaza, Israel, for the first time, opened the Karni crossing to facilitate more aid delivery into Gaza. These aid convoys began delivery in northern Gaza recently for the first time since the war began. A convoy of 30 trucks carrying food made its way to the northern Gaza Strip on February 28. Close to 90 trucks were transferred to the northern Gaza Strip since the beginning of the week.

Since the beginning of the war [219], 267,970 tons of humanitarian aid have been delivered by 14,545 trucks.

Israel does not impose limits on the amount of aid entering Gaza. All aid entering Gaza undergoes Israeli security screening at either Nitzana or Kerem Shalom Crossings. From there, aid is sent to the Gaza Strip.

Gaza City and the rest of northern Gaza were the first targets of Israel’s ground operation against Hamas following the October 7 Hamas terror attacks in Israel that killed over 1,200 people and saw 253 taken hostage. The northern half of the Gaza Strip had seen over 1 million residents evacuate south and has largely been isolated since the war began. While Israel has completed major military operations in northern Gaza, thousands of terrorists purportedly are still present in the area [220] as IDF forces continue to carry out targeted operations there. AJC

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The Jewish Chronicle @JewishChron: Hitler had ‘obvious reasons’ for the Holocaust says Palestinian official From thejc.com [221] 5:39 AM · Mar 4, 2024 On X

Hitler had ‘obvious reasons’ for the Holocaust says Palestinian official. Yasser Abu Sido, an official in the Palestinian Authority made the remarks on Egyptian TV. By JC Reporter. March 4, 2024. [...] Yasser Abu Sido, an official in P.A. chief Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction, told Egyptian TV on February 23... The JC

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IDF seals gigantic terror tunnel used by Sinwar's brother. IDF destroys largest terror tunnel discovered in northern Gaza, in which Muhammad Sinwar, brother of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, was filmed driving. Israel National News, Mar 5, 2024, 11:09 AM. [Hamas terror tunnels, Swords of Iron] INN

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Fighter jet intercepts UAV that crosses from Syria into Golan. By Jerusalem Post Staff 03/05/2024 07:33 AM JPost

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IDF destroys home of accomplice involved in a terror attack in Huwara By Jerusalem Post Staff 03/05/2024 08:06 AM JPost

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Condemnations, 'balancing' Hamas sex crimes, Israel - UN crisis grows. Officials say UN Sec. Gen Antonio Guterres's animosity toward Israel permeates entire organization with anti-Israeli resolutions or condemnations made on a daily basis. person Itamar Eichner | 03.05.24: 06:26 YNet

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The claims in Hamas that the negotiations have ended - and the denials in Israel and Egypt. A senior member of the terrorist organization said that the talks in Cairo ended without a breakthrough, in Israel and Egypt it was announced: "The talks are continuing". KAN11. Shimon Migan, Amichai Stein 07:05 | March 05, 2024.

The negotiations for the hostage deal and the continuation of the fighting in Gaza: The Reuters news agency reported today (Tuesday) that Hamas claimed that the talks in Cairo ended without a breakthrough. In response to this, Israel and Egypt contradicted the statements of the terrorist organization, and announced: "Negotiation talks in Cairo continue."

In the meantime, officials in the American government told news here that "a cease-fire that is not part of a deal means a victory for terrorism" as reported today on the program This Morning in Kan, Network B. Kan

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As rockets fly at north, Gallant says Israel nearing military option against Hezbollah At least one projectile hits Kiryat Shmona. * IDF trying out sending aid straight to north Gaza via second crossing * Gantz said struggling to bring Americans around on Rafah. 5 Mar, 2024. TOI

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Anti-Israel protestors accost AOC outside theater, demand she accuse Israel of (so-called) genocide. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez harassed by protesters outside movie theater demanding she call Israel's war against Hamas a genocide[sic] despite her anti-Israel record. Gary Willig, Mar 5, 2024, 4:00 PM (GMT+2) INN

Andy Ngô 🏳️‍🌈 @MrAndyNgo: Brooklyn — Leftist congresswoman @AOC was confronted and chased out of a cinema by leftist protesters who want her to more strongly condemn Israel. Ocasio-Cortez had previously advocated for protest tactics that make targets "uncomfortable." From Oliya Scootercaster 🛴 Mar 5, 2024 On X

Apparently AOC isn't anti-Israel enough for the two crazy Pallyweid [Pally Weid] demanding she just "says" the G word. at EoZ

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FBI Issues Alert for Iranian Agent Accused of Plotting Assassinations. March 5, 2024 The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is seeking Majid Dastjani Farahani, a 41-year-old Iranian national and intelligence agent, accused of orchestrating assassination plots against US officials.

"Majid Dastjani Farahani, an Iranian intelligence officer, is wanted for questioning in connection with the recruitment of individuals for various operations in the United States, to include lethal targeting of current and former United States Government officials as revenge for the killing of IRGC-QF Commander Qasem Soleimani," it said in a report on March 5.

Soleimani was killed in 2020 in Baghdad by an American airstrike.

He was commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC) Quds Force – an expeditionary force Iran uses for military actions across the region.

The FBI released Farahani's picture and details, accusing him of plotting to murder former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Brian Hook, a former U.S. special envoy to Iran.

American officials believe both individuals are on the Islamic Republic's target list and are currently under permanent FBI protection.

The FBI said Farahani frequently travels between Iran and Venezuela and speaks English, Spanish, and French in addition to Persian.

According to their report, Farahani recruited individuals to surveil religious institutions, businesses, and other facilities in the United States.

The agency suspects Farahani's activities were carried out on behalf of the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence. IranWire

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Imshin @imshin: Sweet treats in wartime Gaza: Baking the popular soft honey biscuits still known in Gaza by their Israeli name - duvshaniyot. Price: 1 shekel ($0.28) for a biscuit. Mahmoud Zuaiter posted this on his TikTok account yesterday.

1. TheGazaYouDontSee

[222] 9:10 AM · Mar 5, 2024 On X

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Indian workers come for work despite danger. Hadar Gil-Ad. 03.05.24. 11:51. They come despite danger because there's no work in India': Friends of slain Indian laborer undeterred by Hezbollah attack. At least 7 foreign laborers working in Israeli fields were injured after the latest Hezbollah missile strike, but the foreign workers are determined to continue due to the lack of opportunities in India while mourning their friend who did not survive the attack; 'He wanted to work as much as possible and send money to his family,' said a close friend. YNet

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Biden: Hostage deal in Hamas's hands; we’ll know in a couple of days if it'll happen. Israel will agree to 6-week ceasefire if Hamas releases sick, wounded, elderly and female hostages, US says, adding that truce would be used to 'secure more enduring arrangements'. By Jacob Magid. 06 Mar, 2024, 1:25 am TOI

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Trump breaks silence on Israel's military campaign in Gaza: 'Finish the problem'.

The former president has largely avoided weighing in on Gaza as President Joe Biden has faced criticism from within the Democratic coalition over his support for Israel. March 5, 2024, 5:02 PM EST.

By Vaughn Hillyard and Allan Smith PALM BEACH, Fla. — Former President Donald Trump declared Tuesday that Israel must “finish the problem” in its war against Hamas, his most definitive position on the conflict since the terror group killed 1,200 Israelis and took more than 200 hostages on Oct. 7.

“You’ve got to finish the problem,” Trump said on Fox News on Tuesday when asked about the war. “You had a horrible invasion that took place that would have never happened if I was president.”

When asked on the program whether he supported a cease-fire in Gaza, Trump demurred, avoiding an explicit position on Israel’s military effort that has now also left ... people dead in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The likely 2024 Republican nominee has not provided his own position on U.S. or Israel's strategy throughout the five months of the war.

Though a stalwart defender of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration during his presidency, Trump has also attempted to strike an anti-war posture on the campaign trail in the last year, attempting to contrast himself from President Joe Biden and his remaining Republican rival, Nikki Haley.

“Frankly, they got soft,” Trump said on Tuesday about the Biden administration, claiming that the aggression by foreign adversaries would not have happened if he were still president.

“That should never have happened. Likewise, Russia would never have attacked Ukraine," he said... NBC

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IDF soldier killed, 5 seriously hurt while battling Hamas fighters in southern Gaza. Ground op toll rises to 247 * Gantz meets British PM while in London for talks. Ground op toll rises to 247 * Gantz meets British PM while in London for talks. TOI

IDF says Master Sgt. David Sasoon killed in Gaza. The 21-year old soldier served in the IDF's Oketz canine unit and was killed in a battle in the Hemed quarter of Khan Younis; 12 others were hurt in the fight, five of them suffering serious wounds 03.06.24:15:03

Master Sgt. David Sasson, 21, was killed when an explosive device detonated during a battle in southern Gaza, the IDF said on Wednesday. Sasson was a soldier in the Oketz canine unit of the military; he was from Ginot Hadar, a small community in central Israel. His death brings the total IDF casualties since the ground offensive in Gaza began to 247. YNet

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Canada intends to announce the renewal of UNRWA funding. By Jerusalem Post Staff 03/06/2024 10:44 AM JPost

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Construction of thousands of housing units approved in West Bank. By Jerusalem Post Staff 03/06/2024 01:24 PM JPost

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EU working on creating maritime. humanitarian corridor to support people in Gaza. By Reuters 03/06/2024 01:25 PM JPost

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UN Special Rapporteur 'unaware' of rocket attacks on Israel. By Danielle Greyman-Kennard, Tzvi Joffree Published: March 6, 2024 01:00 Updated: March 6, 2024 11:06. Reem Alsalem, who claimed to not have seen enough evidence to prove Hamas committed atrocities on Oct. 7, coauthored a report accusing the IDF of [supposed] "rape".. ...Don’t you see the reports?” Shem-Ur asked. “Don’t you see the missiles coming from the north by Hezbollah and from the south by Hamas?”

“At this point, I have not seen that, no,” Alsalem confirmed.

On the same day as the interview, over 30 rockets were fired from Lebanon toward Kiryat Shmona on Tuesday evening, with 17 rockets falling in open areas and 13 intercepted by air defenses, according to the municipality. On Monday, one person was killed, and 7 others wounded after a Hezbollah anti-tank missile hit the area in which they were farming in Margaliot. The wounded parties had all been Thai workers.

Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the rocket barrage, saying it was conducted in response to Israeli strikes on Hula earlier in the day.

Alsalem’s official involvement in the Israel-Hamas war Alsalem co-authored a February report with Francesca Albanese accusing... Asked where she got her information for this report in an interview with Channel 13's "Hazinor," she said the “reasonably credible information” had come from sources she could not cite and Euro-Med.

Euro-Med is reportedly run by anti-Israel conspiracist Richard Falk, who claimed that Israel was responsible for the Boston Marathon bombing.

Alsalem also claimed that she had not seen sufficient evidence to accept that rapes occurred on October 7... JPost

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Mosab Hassan Yousef @MosabHasanYOSEF: Rafah is a ticking bomb Hamas and the worldwide "Free Palestine Movement" are in desperate need of sacrificing thousands of Gaza civilians for their mutual cause.

In a disgusting partnership, Hamas uses civilians as human shields then the Pro Palestine fanatics exploit the tragedy to spread hate and chaos.

The most logical thing to do in this ugly situation is to evacuate the most vulnerable civilians into Egypt temporarily until Israel secures the release of the remaining hostages and captures the terrorist leaders in the final Hamas stronghold. Mar 6, 2024 On X

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US forces shoot down, destroy missiles from Houthi areas, Centcom says. By Reuters. 03/06/2024 01:55 AM JPost

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Israeli delegation heads to Cairo for cease-fire, hostage talks, report. Negotiations have reached a dangerous turning point that threatens the possibility of reaching a final agreement, Hamas source tells pro-Hezbollah media outlet and reiterates that Hamas does not back down from demand for war to end, IDF to leave Gaza. Einav Halabi, i24NEWS | published:13:09 YNet

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Biden administration skeptical whether Hamas even wants a deal. After it vetoed three resolutions in the UN Security Council calling for a cease-fire in Gaza, the US presents its own resolution for a cease-fire, including the release of Israeli hostages; Hamas objects to the American proposal - and Israel understands the U.S. is tired of vetoing Itamar Eichner, Alexandra Lukash, Nir (Shoko) Cohen | published:10:05 YNet

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UKMTO receives report of vessel being hailed by entity saying it was the Yemeni navy. By Reuters 03/06/2024 05:05 AM JPost

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How the Gaza Ministry of Health Fakes Casualty Numbers. The evidence is in their own poorly fabricated figures. By Abraham Wyner, March 06, 2024 Here’s the problem with this data: The numbers are not real. That much is obvious to anyone who understands how naturally occurring numbers work. The casualties are not overwhelmingly women and children, and the majority may be Hamas fighters.

If Hamas’ numbers are faked or fraudulent in some way, there may be evidence in the numbers themselves that can demonstrate it. While there is not much data available, there is a little, and it is enough: From Oct. 26 until Nov. 10, 2023, the Gaza Health Ministry released daily casualty figures that include both a total number and a specific number of women and children.

The first place to look is the reported “total” number of deaths. The graph of total deaths by date is increasing with almost metronomical linearity, as the graph in Figure 1 reveals. [223]

The graph reveals an extremely regular increase in casualties over the period. Data aggregated by the author and provided by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), based on Gaza MoH figures. The graph reveals an extremely regular increase in casualties over the period. Data aggregated by the author and provided by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), based on Gaza MoH figures. This regularity is almost surely not real. One would expect quite a bit of variation day to day. In fact, the daily reported casualty count over this period averages 270 plus or minus about 15%. This is strikingly little variation. There should be days with twice the average or more and others with half or less. Perhaps what is happening is the Gaza ministry is releasing fake daily numbers that vary too little because they do not have a clear understanding of the behavior of naturally occurring numbers. Unfortunately, verified control data is not available to formally test this conclusion, but the details of the daily counts render the numbers suspicious.

Similarly, we should see variation in the number of child casualties that tracks the variation in the number of women... Tablet

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Don’t Fall for Hamas’ Numbers Game | American Enterprise Institute – AEI - Op-Ed: Don’t Fall for Hamas’ Numbers Game. By Danielle Pletka.

National Review, March 06, 2024

Lloyd Austin’s recent gullibility about Hamas casualty figures lays bare the terrorist group’s goal: to use lies and propaganda to turn the world against Israel.

At a press conference in the early days of the Israel–Hamas conflict, President Joe Biden was asked about casualty numbers coming out of Gaza. He responded that he had “no confidence in the number that the Palestinians are using.” The next day, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby was asked the same question, and in turn explained, “We all know that the Gazan Ministry of Health is just a front for Hamas. It’s a — it’s run by Hamas, a terrorist organization. I’ve said it myself up here: We can’t take anything coming out of Hamas, including the so-called Ministry of Health, at face value.”

Fast forward to February 29, when Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin had no such qualms, parroting before Congress Hamas’s claim that “over 25,000” women and children have perished in Gaza. A few short hours later, the Pentagon walked back the secretary’s claim. Why? Because nobody has any idea — any honest idea — how many Gazans have died in the war that began with Hamas’s October 7 attack.

The only sources of data about casualties in Gaza are Hamas-controlled organizations. And despite a demonstrable record of manipulation designed to exaggerate the deaths of women and children (and minimize the numbers of men — the targets of Israeli military action), these numbers have become the data of record, used without qualification by the United Nations, its specialized agencies, the media, and, pace Joe Biden, one of the U.S. government’s highest officials.

As early as October, after false claims that 471 were killed by an alleged Israeli attack on al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, Hamas’s credibility should have been shot. The “attack” turned out to be a misfired missile launched by Palestinian Islamic Jihad that damaged an area adjacent to the hospital, and most experts concluded that deaths totaled half that number or even fewer. But doubts about Hamas’s honesty soon dissipated, and much of the press returned to an uncritical repetition of Palestinian statistics.

There can be little doubt that many thousands of Palestinians in Gaza have perished. The IDF says [224] that 12,000 Hamas terrorists have been killed — and presumably most, if not all, of these casualties are men. As a proportional matter, if 12,000 men have been killed, it is possible that roughly the same number of women (who are approximately 50 percent of the Gazan population), and almost as many children under 18 (47 percent of the overall population), have also died.

On the other hand, this is not the bombing of Dresden or the carpet-bombing of Vietnam. House-to-house fighting is generally aimed at minimizing civilian casualties, and the IDF has until recently conducted much of its campaign with air support for troops on the ground. Thus, we should assume that a proportional death toll in Gaza of men, women, and children is unlikely. However, Hamas’s penchant for co-locating their operations with mosques, schools, and hospitals means higher risks for Palestinians who are young, elderly, or infirm.

A detailed [225] Washington Institute for Near East Policy study of the reporting on casualties in the Israel–Hamas war reveals numerous discrepancies: For example, on October 19, Hamas officials reported that a total of 3,785 Gazans had died since the war’s inception, 307 more than the day before. Hamas also reported that for that same 24-hour period (October 18–19), 671 children had died. In other words, more children “died” than deaths reported overall. Ditto the statistics about the percentages of women and children killed. On October 18, per Hamas, 25 percent of total deaths for the war were children. One day later, that percentage magically [226] jumped from 25 to 40 percent of total deaths. The math doesn’t add up.

Examples abound: A week later, according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health, the death toll for October 26–27 stood at 481 Gazans total; but also per the ministry, 626 women and children died in that same two-day period. Two days later, Hamas announced that 328 women and children had been killed in a 24-hour period, even though the health-ministry data showed that only 302 Gazans in total had died. Notably, in this 24-hour period (like many others), no men were reported to have died — only women and children. On November 7, per the data, only four men died. In other words, on days when hundreds of Gazans allegedly lost their lives, none of them were men.

In the fog of war, it is not surprising that death tolls are incorrect. Only about half of Gaza’s hospitals are functioning, movement within the Strip is challenging, and burials are happening without notification to any health authorities. As of November 7, the Hamas Ministry of Health stopped reporting deaths, ceding that task to the Government Media Office. The media office, in turn, freely admitted that it was deriving at least half of its own numbers from unreliable public media reports. The cumulative problems of unreliable Hamas reporting, battlefield uncertainty, the media’s lack of information, and, additionally, media bias suggest that the numbers of fatalities and casualties emanating from Gaza as “authoritative” have been increasingly untethered to reality.

Despite the mathematically impossible claims and doubts about accuracy that have eroded the credibility of Hamas reporting, these are the numbers that the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) began using at the outset of the conflict and still uses today. Only in December 2023 did UNOCHA warn that it could not defend the numbers because of the use of “unknown methodology” by Hamas sources. UNOCHA also removed [227] any mention of fatality subtotals from its reports at that time. And after January 11, the office stopped claiming that 70 percent of Gazan deaths were women and children.

But if Gaza’s Ministry of Health and Government Media Office numbers are inaccurate, and if UNOCHA gets the only information it has from those two Hamas sources, what is the real state of play in Gaza? How many have been killed? How many injured? How many are men? Women? Children? The sad but simple answer is that no one knows. The Israelis have said that they believe there has been a high number of combatant deaths and additional collateral casualties, largely because Hamas is so deeply embedded in civilian areas — both to use civilians as human shields to protect its fighters and to exploit and fan international sympathy over the civilian death toll. But even they do not know definite numbers.

Notwithstanding the White House’s own skepticism, and repeatedly demonstrated lies, exaggerations, and manipulation of casualty figures by Hamas, many parts of the U.S. government regularly rely on Hamas data. The taxpayer-funded Voice of America cites Gaza Ministry of Health numbers in its reporting on the war and Hamas. A U.S. Agency for International Development fact sheet echoed the Hamas/U.N. numbers. And an early survey by the Huffington Post [228] checked on how much play the Hamas statistics were getting, finding a dozen instances where the State Department relied on Hamas for data.

Ironically, Hamas’s questionable numbers underscore a narrative that Israel has been slow to emphasize: If Hamas is correct that the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza have killed 30,000 or so people, and if Israel is correct that, as of late February, the number of Hamas terrorists killed is around 12,000, the civilian-to-combatant ratio (an important measure of collateral damage in war) is in the range of 1.5:1 — in other words, 1.5 civilian deaths for every combatant death. And while there is some disagreement within the scholarly community over the question of what is a “normal” ratio — with some suspect [229] research (echoed by the United Nations) suggesting it can be as high as 9:1 — there are few recent conflicts where the ratio has been so low as it is in Gaza.

But that’s not the story the media, many in the U.S. government, or the United Nations wants to tell. Israel’s critics are hoping that the steady repetition of Hamas claims will soon become a de facto part of the historical record, and that Hamas’s fabrications will lead to Israel’s punishment, certainly in the court of public opinion and, if Hamas and its supporters have their way, at the United Nations, at the hands of European governments, and in the United States. Israel’s aid, arms supplies, and international legitimacy rest on the support of its friends abroad. And slowly but surely, Hamas’s narrative — though built on a foundation of lies — is taking hold. AEI

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Houthis' Al-masirah TV says US, Britain target Yemen's Hodeidah airport By Reuters 03/06/2024 09:09 PM JPost

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Iran should immediately release the seized tanker Advantage Sweet, State Dept says. By Reuters 03/06/2024 09:10 PM JPost

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Eylon Levy: 'Deradicalization in Gaza in needed for a pathway to peace'. By Jerusalem Post Staff 03/06/2024 04:05 PM JPost

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Qatar pledges additional $25 mln funding to UNRWA - statement. By Reuters 03/06/2024 05:00 PM JPost

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IAF jets strike Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. By Jerusalem Post Staff 03/06/2024 05:36 PM JPost

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US will continue to hold Houthis accountable after deadly Red Sea attack - state dept. By Reuters 03/06/2024 08:34 PM JPost

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US brands latest Israeli settlement approvals as illegal. 06 Mar, 2024. TOI

Germany calls on Israel to withdraw West Bank settlements approvals. By Reuters 03/06/2024 08:39 PM JPost

Saudi Arabia slams Israel for trying to ‘Judaize’ West Bank with thousands of new settlement homes. By Jacob Magid 06 Mar, 2024, 10:42 pm TOI

Is Arabization OK now? Arab racism, Arab supremacy decries - see the language: "Saudi Arabia slams Israel for trying to ‘Judaize’ West Bank with thousands of new settlement homes." Note: Arabization, wherher in the Middle East or parts of Africa was always racist. With or without slavery. _ Getting Out: Historical Perspectives on Leaving Iraq. (2011). United States: University of Pennsylvania Press, Incorporated, p. 122: ... racist Arabization programs, and boundary manipulations followed in Kirkuk and in other “disputed territories,” that is, where local Kurdish majorities live amid Arab and other minorities... Saddam's genocidal atrocities in 1987 and 1988. [230] _ Multiculturalism and Minority Rights in the Arab World. (2014). United Kingdom: OUP Oxford, p. 235: ... racist Arabization programs, inducing southern Shi'ite Arab settlers into Kirkuk, expelling large numbers of Kurds and Turkomen, and attempting the coercive assimilation of the Chamchamal (to Sulaimania) Al-Zab (attached to Al-Hawija) ... [231] _

Cole, J. (2015). The New Arabs: How the Millennial Generation is Changing the Middle East. United States: Simon & Schuster, p.233: Gaddafi... racist Arabization projects, attempting to empower Arabic-speaking groups. He supported one faction in the long civil war in Chad... Darfur region, backing expansion of the power of Arabic-speaking tribes and training fighters for the Janjaweed militia. [232] _ Darfur: The Color of Genocide Sudan Tribune, Mar 31, 2005 — Although observable racial traits play a role in Darfur, if the non-Arab population submitted to complete Arabization they would have more of a chance to be accepted than African Americans have in the United States. [233] At JewishRefugees [234]

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IDF announces name of fallen soldier. By Jerusalem Post Staff 03/06/2024 08:43 PM JPost

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Watch: 100-year-old evacuee who met Hitler returns home. Israel National News Mar 6, 2024, 6:52 PM INN

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Hamas terrorist responsible for rocket fire killed. Israel National News Mar 6, 2024, 7:41 PM INN

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14-year-old resident of Kafr 'Aqab in north Jerusalem. Stabbed a 64-year-old religious man waiting on a bus stop.

Stabbing victim: I felt a blow, I turned around and saw the knife. Zvi Tal, 64, from Ramat Shlomo, recounted the stabbing attack from his bed at Hadassah Mount Scopus Hospital: "At first I didn't even realize it was a knife." Israel National News Mar 6, 2024, 5:35 PM ... The terrorist who stabbed Tal is a 14-year-old resident of Kafr 'Aqab in north Jerusalem. He was located shortly after the attack a few hundred meters away and was arrested. Jerusalem District police detained another 14-year-old suspect from Kafr 'Aqab for interrogation. Even though the terrorist carried out the attack on his own, the police are examining his possible connection and involvement with the terrorist. INN

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The New Hamas Times. The New York Times simply cannot help themselves. Every time they write about Israel/Hamas/Gaza/Palestine they get it all wrong.

Phyllis Chesler, Mar 6, 2024

Their anti-Israel bias and their pro-Hamas bias is malicious. It also constitutes incitement to genocide since so many Westerners swear by what they read here.

I–and many others–have documented this pernicious bias hundreds of times and it has made no difference. The Times just digs its heels even harder. Why do I even bother? I just can’t help myself.

Someone has to speak truth to power. One must stand up to say that the Emperor is oh-so-very naked. As Edmund Burke said: “All that is necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good men (and women) to do nothing.”

Let’s look at the language the Times uses. The piece, by Farnaz Fassihi and Isabel Kershner, is titled, “Signs of Sexual Abuse in Several Locations in Hamas Attack.” “Signs?” Only “signs?” In “several locations?” Not in the south of Israel? Not at a music festival? Not as strategized and funded by Iran and launched by Hamas?

Online, the Times changed the title to “U.N. Team Finds Grounds to Support Reports of Sexual Violence in Hamas Attack.” Of course, they also discuss “reports of abuse of Palestinians in Israeli detention.” Of course.

Here’s their language in a previous piece based on Gazan Health Ministry statistics.

On February 29th, 2024, the Times titled their article: “As Hungry Gazans Crowd in an Aid Convoy, a Crush of Bodies, Israeli Gunshots and a Deadly Toll.” The authors, Hiba Yazbek and Aaron Boxerman write:

“The Gazan Health Ministry said in a statement that Israeli forces had killed more than 100 people and injured 700 others in a ‘massacre’, as they waited for food from the convoy. The latest bloodshed came as Gaza’s health officials reported that the death toll from the war had risen above 30,000, a grim milestone that intensified pressure on Israel to end its military offensive.”

They do not write that Hamas “claims” that this number is accurate or that there are “signs” or “grounds” for believing these figures.

Why do they refuse to understand who Hamas officials really are–yes, including the Health Ministry? They are terrorists, not resistance fighters. Even President Biden “told reporters that he had ‘no confidence’ in how Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip has calculated the mounting death toll. NER

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Fresh Evidence That UNWRA Isn't Helping Anyone—Not Even the Palestinians. Aviva Klompas, Mar 05, 2024. The notion that a different set of rules applies to only one people in the world is absurd. But that's how UNRWA keeps its mission alive, its 30,000 workers on the job, and its billions of dollars flowing in from foreign governments.

To sustain the system, UNRWA also moved beyond the "humanitarian aid" business and into the education business. It operates hundreds of schools in Gaza and around the Arab world with curricula and textbooks that incite the next generation by dehumanizing Jews, denying Israel's right to exist, and depicting all of the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea as Palestine.

UNRWA also turned a blind eye (or worse) to the terrorism perpetrated by the Hamas government in Gaza.

Over the past few months, the world has learned that a number of UNRWA employees participated in Hamas' Oct. 7 terror attack. These included a social worker who carried a murdered Israeli's body into his car and drove the dead man into Gaza. And now the IDF released recordings of an UNRWA teacher saying he had captured an Israeli woman on October 7 as a "sabaya," a Jihadi term for sex slave.

The IDF has also produced evidence that Hamas' network of terror tunnels includes an elaborate command center built right underneath UNRWA's Gaza headquarters.

UNRWA officials claimed they weren't aware, but Western nations are skeptical. The United States and Germany, among others, have begun halting payments to the organization.

Now it's time to take the next step.

Other humanitarian aid groups, forward-looking Arab nations, or even the UN High Commissioner for Refugees could step in to oversee the provision of aid to Palestinians with an eye toward enabling a more peaceful and prosperous future.

UNRWA has failed the people it's supposed to help. It's incited and protected terrorists. And now it's lost the trust of its funders. After 75 years, it's clear the agency will never play a role in ending Palestinian suffering—and even clearer that it needs to go.

Aviva Klompas is the former director of speechwriting at the Israeli Mission to the United Nations and co-founder of Boundless Israel, a nonprofit organization that partners with community leaders in the U.S. to support Israel education and combat hatred of Jews. Newsweek

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Notes part III (Mar 7 - Apr 7)

Hopes reportedly fading to set up lull in Gaza fighting before start of Ramadan. Officials tell NY Times that negotiations are stuck on Hamas demands for a permanent ceasefire, full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Strip... By TOI Staff And Jacob Magid. Mar 7, 2024. 8:24 am TOI

Report: US quietly approved more than 100 arms sales to Israel since October 7. By TOI Staff and Reuters. Congressional approval not required as each sale fell below threshold; Biden said to mull barring US weapons from being used in Rafah op as some lawmakers urge conditioning aid. Mar 7, 2024. 11:26 am TOI

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Shin Bet chief orders probe into October 7 failures. Following steps by the IDF and state comptroller, Ronen Bar orders his intelligence agency to inspect shortcomings before and during Hamas's deadly attack, Ynet has learned. Yossi Yehoshua | 03.07.24:04:39 YNet

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Ex-Mossad chief Pardo: If terror group like Hamas exists, will maintain threat. By Yonah Jeremy Bob. March 7, 2024 JPost

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IDF conducts operations across Khan Yunis, targets terrorists and infrastructure. By Jerusalem Post Staff March 7, 2024 JPost

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Report: Israel set deadline for agreement with Lebanon. Chana Roberts Mar 7, 2024, 10:29 AM INN

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North Korea practices Hamas-style assault. Israel National News Mar 7, 2024, 11:34 AM INN

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The untold story of Sinwar: the competition - who kills more Jews.

Already about 30 years ago: this is how Sinwar planned the invasion and the massacre.

Mar 7, 2024.

In the United States, they may try to pressure Hamas even more through Egypt and Qatar, and are debating whether to order the government in Doha to expel Hamas representatives from the country if they fail to convince the organization's senior officials in the Gaza Strip to release the abductees. This is what veteran commentator David Ignatius reported today (Thursday) in the "Washington Post".

"This is the real devil, the new Nazi," Kobi said at the beginning of the conversation. "Yahia Sinwar, whom I first met in 1989 when I interrogated him in the case of two kidnapped Israelis. He was associated with Ahmed Yassin in consulting, when he was his protégé and served as both his assistant and adviser, and also as the commander of the forces that murdered so-called collaborators. He also served as Hamas' education commissioner. For example, he provided them with plastic knives and rubber knives so that they could compete among themselves as to who kills more Jews. Later, Sinwar provided them with guns to practice with, and then trained them with explosive belts."

Micha Kobi, a former Shin Bet investigator who over the course of his career accumulated many hours in front of many murderers, revealed on 103FM a shocking detail: "He told me during the investigation that he was going to establish a unit that would enter the territories of Israel"

"Sinwar, from a very young age he was a fan of Ahmed Yassin. He visited the mosque almost every day, where he studied all the sermons and the Koran as Ahmed Yassin explained to him, that all the Jews should be eliminated. They sat together with several other so-called sages from Hamas, and wrote the Hamas charter. The first section talks about the destruction of the Jewish state. He was around 28, single, I asked him why he didn't get married, he told me 'My mother is Hamas, my father is Hamas, my wife is Hamas, everyone is Hamas.' I have over 150 hours of Sinwar.

We are grinding water, he is simply trying to cause a conflict between the families and the government, and such and such personalities, etc.

This man stabs us with every word he utters, he is a liar, a crook. This is how Hamas behaves , there were never any promises made by Hamas that were kept. And if there were they were always changed.

It is clear that there is a rift between Hamas abroad and Hamas domestically, it has been almost forever, Yahya Sinwar sees himself as the commander of the military and civilian forces in the Gaza Strip. 

Sinwar is not interested in any negotiations. He knows he is going to be the martyr. In his opinion, he has already succeeded, he carried out his plan as best as possible for him. He is considered the hero of Hamas, the hero of Islam and the hero of the people of Gaza, many of whom were swept away after him," he added. 

Kobi also stated that "he sees the October 7th as a victory, according to his opinion. He does not see it as a massacre Hamas under his authority denies that there was a massacre. His plan is survival - he thinks and is convinced that he will be able to subdue the State of Israel retreat to the borders of October-7th and then he will return to rebuild Hamas in the Gaza Strip. This is the trend and this is the ambition, at the same time he is convinced that the State of Israel will persecute him and it is better for him to be a martyr than to flee to Egypt or leave with consent to Qatar.

We do not yet know for sure how many are around him, It is likely that there are several dozen abductees around him. At the same time, he is looking for survivors, that is why he does not want any negotiations, he has no interest in negotiations. This is the reason for the quarrel between him and Haniyeh and Sha'al, they hold meetings, take sentences out of their mouths that supposedly have So and so are abducted and you can make a deal of 40 for 400 - they don't know how many abductees exist..."

"He was interested in the [terror] prisoners in the past, if we had withdrawn, he would have been interested in making a deal to release all the prisoners, but it really doesn't interest him at the moment. He will give up everything in exchange for survival and pushing Israel to its October-7th border. I do not believe that the State of Israel, despite international pressure, no matter from which direction, we should not stop the war with Hamas until the destruction of Hamas's capabilities, both military and civilian.

He [Sinwar].married after he was released [2011] and got a name of a pedophile, he wanted to erase this issue, he married someone by force in Gaza and had a son with her, who is now 8 years old. The children seen in the tunnel could be one of his children, one of his brother's children, there were also two women there.

Sinwar is imbued with an abysmal hatred for Jews, and he wants to carry out, he was not ashamed to give me a version during the interrogation that he was going to form a unit that would enter the territories of Israel and destroy settlements "If he hadn't been sentenced to life imprisonment, he would have carried out his plot even then, but he was sentenced to four life sentences, following which he was released in the [2011 Gilad] Shalit deal. I knew that if he was released, this man would carry out his plot, and fulfill his promise to establish the Nukhba," he added . 

At the end of his words, he emphasized that "Hamas has been resurrected at least three times that I know of. They re-establish each time, and if indeed we withdraw and there is no military pressure, he will form a new Hamas that will be much more brutal and extreme than now, he believes in this, he believes that the Jews must be exterminated now. We found Hitler's Mein Kampf at his house, from where they took the [Hamas] principles." Maariv

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Biden to announce U.S. port in Gaza for aid. President to make announcement during State of the Union address later on Thursday; temporary port would increase delivery of humanitarian aid with security coordination with Israel, administration officials say Agencies | 03.07.24. 13:28 Ynet

Biden expected to announce new Gaza port for aid. Israel National News Mar 7, 2024, 9:22 PM INN

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Report: Haniyeh accepted ceasefire, Sinwar rejected it. Israel National News Mar 7, 2024, 5:53 PM INN

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1. NOVA:

Israeli UN Mission Holds Screening of Film #NOVA. Israel National News Mar 7, 2024, 9:10 PM IMN

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Why Is Israel Stopping Aid Going Into Gaza? (It Isn’t). Rachel O'Donoghue March 7, 2024 An “investigative journalist” set out to uncover the whereabouts of humanitarian aid that Palestinians in Gaza so desperately need. Instead of reporting facts, CNN’s Nima Elbagir, once again, pushed an incorrect, particularly one-sided narrative. HonestReporting

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Al-Jazeera TV Airs Video By Gaza Influencer ‘Abod’ Criticizing American Humanitarian Aid: The Aid Dropped By The ‘Great Satan’ And Our Number-One Enemy Was ‘Paltry,’ 'Humiliating,' March 7, 2024.

Al-Jazeera Network [Qatar] aired a video by Gaza influencer “Abod,” on March 7, 2024 that criticized American humanitarian aid to Gaza. He said that America was the “Great Satan” and the number-one enemy of the Palestinian cause. Abod said that the aid was “paltry” and “humiliating.” He added that even Satan would be shocked by the small quantities of aid. Al-Jazeera regularly airs posts by “Abod.”..

“Ultimately, after five months have passed – we are entering the sixth – America felt pangs of conscience, so it sent some paltry aid, in a manner that is humiliating to people who were saved from a brutal attack. They dropped the aid from their airplanes in very small quantities. People, even Satan is shocked by what they did. Goodbye, brothers.” Memri

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UK proposal would crack down on extremism over war in Gaza. Mar 7, 2024 6:40 PM EDT By — Malcolm Brabant. By — Trille Villemann

In Britain, the government is planning new legislation to punish extremists responsible for rising tensions because of the war in Gaza. As special correspondent Malcolm Brabant tells us, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is concerned that both Jewish and Muslim communities are being targeted and that social cohesion is under threat.

Geoff Bennett: In Britain, the government there is planning new legislation to punish extremists responsible for rising tensions over the war in Gaza.

As special correspondent Malcolm Brabant tells us, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is concerned that both Jewish and Muslim communities are being targeted and that social cohesion is under threat.

Malcolm Brabant: Support for the Palestinian cause in the city of Brighton is particularly vocal, and Protestors wore black to mourn for Gaza and show disdain for Rishi Sunak's urgent speech to the nation last Friday.

Rishi Sunak, British Prime Minister: In recent weeks and months, we have seen a shocking increase in extremist disruption and criminality. What started as protests on our streets has descended into intimidation, threats and planned acts of violence.

Malcolm Brabant: The Brighton demonstration was peaceful, but organizer Russell Craddock didn't like the scrutiny of our camera.

Russell Craddock, Palestinian Solidarity Campaign: Who are you filming for?

Malcolm Brabant: American television.

Russell Craddock: Oh. I'm not giving you permission to film.

Malcolm Brabant: I have permission to film because this is an open space.

Russell Craddock: Does someone want to stand in front of him?

Malcolm Brabant: Freedom to film in public places is a longstanding British tradition, but national values, including tolerance, are under strain. [...] Malcolm Brabant: Across the square, Jewish residents stood guard around a memorial to victims of the Hamas terrorist attack on Southern Israel on October the 7th.

Adam Ma’anit, Jewish Community Leader: The day after the October 7 massacres, on October 8, they had a demonstration in the center of the city, and they had a speaker who praised the October 7 massacre and said that it was a day of celebration. That's who these people are.

Malcolm Brabant: Adam Ma'anit's 18-year-old cousin, Maayan, was murdered on October the 7. Her father was kidnapped and remains a hostage.

Adam Ma’anit: You speak to any Jew in the country, many of them will be experiencing heightened sense of insecurity and fear from weekly protests, people shouting at them when they exit their synagogues, people harassing them on social media. I mean, social media is a sewer right now.

Malcolm Brabant: On the other side of town, former dancer Lee Whitaker carried a bundle ...

Lee Whitaker, Pro-Palestinian Protestor: You can see what extremists we are. And that is just Rishi Sunak. He's making trouble. It's actually our protests are protests of love. The big thousands of us marching in London, I have never seen any trouble. There's such a wonderful feeling of camaraderie. [...] Malcolm Brabant: But an angry and chaotic debate in Parliament about Gaza last month raised fears about intimidation.

House Speaker Lindsay Hoyle: Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Parliament Speaker, United Kingdom: I am very, very concerned about the security of all members.

Protestor: From the river to the sea!

Protestor: Palestine will be free!

Malcolm Brabant: This chant is at the center of government concerns... It was projected onto Parliament's clock tower as members were arguing about the war.

Rishi Sunak: M.P.s do not feel safe in their homes. There is no context in which it can be acceptable to beam antisemitic tropes onto Big Ben in the middle of a vote on Israel-Gaza.

Jonathan Hall K.C. , Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation: No, I don't think it was just politicking. He was effectively drawing attention to what he and I think also the official opposition regard as something of real significance, and if not urgency.

Malcolm Brabant: Jonathan Hall monitors extremism as part of his role reviewing Britain's terrorism laws.

Jonathan Hall K.C. : I haven't seen such open hostility towards categories of individuals as I have since the 7th of October. That willingness, almost a brazenness to go out on the streets and to be really vile and horrible and invite hatred and in some circumstances violence against people by category is something that we haven't really seen.

Malcolm Brabant: In Brighton, demonstration organizer Russell Craddock gave his verdict on Rishi Sunak's plans to crack down on extremism.

Russell Craddock: We won't be intimidated by Sunak. We won't be intimidated by the Met. We won't be intimidated by so-called claims of violent antisemitism.

Malcolm Brabant: But this was Russell Craddock the day after the Hamas terrorist attack.

Russell Craddock: So, amazingly, incredibly, most of the Hamas fighters paraglided their way.

(Cheering)

Jonathan Hall K.C. : Someone who glorifies a terrorist organization and is reckless, so takes the risk that someone will be encouraged to support that organization, does commit an offense.

Malcolm Brabant: The Kaddish, traditional Jewish prayer of mourning, next to a memorial that has frequently been vandalized.

Across town, white flags for the Palestinian dead, and that chant, which local police say can warrant arrest in aggravating circumstances.

Protestor: From the river to the sea!

Protestors: Palestine will be free!

Malcolm Brabant: We approached the man with the megaphone.

From American TV. Can I ask you a question please?

Protestor: Go ahead.

Malcolm Brabant: Can you just explain to me… (Crosstalk)

Protestor: Don't — don't.. (Crosstalk)

Malcolm Brabant: No, I'm allowed to do this because this is a public…

Protestor: No, you're not allowed to take photo of me.

Malcolm Brabant: Yes, I am. I'm — it's a public space.

Protestor: We're here to support people that have been massacred and murdered, children and babies, and you're here sticking (INAUDIBLE) in people's faces.

Malcolm Brabant: No.

Protestor: Don't you think that's disgraceful?

Malcolm Brabant: No, I don't. I'm just merely asking a question. (Crosstalk)

Protestor: No, you're not.

Malcolm Brabant: Yes, I am.

Protestor: You came and picked on this man.

Malcolm Brabant: Because he was actually chanting.

Protestors: Palestine! Free, free, Palestine!

Protestor: From the river to the sea!

Malcolm Brabant: The police ushered us away because, here, asking questions risks a breach of the peace. [235] PBS NewsHour

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'Stomach-churning’ Jew-hatred at Tufts. The university in the Boston area said it was disappointed by and rejected a student government vote to divest from Israel. (March 7, 2024 / JNS) [...] “Jewish students were spat on and subjected to stomach churning antisemitic taunts and jeering from their peers, such as ‘Go back to Israel, we don’t want you here!’ ‘You stink’ and ‘Israel controls the ..,’” he added. The Anti-Defamation League office serving Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Vermont posted on social media that it is “appalled by reports of vile antisemitism” at Tufts, which it said “must immediately investigate these allegations and take concrete steps to address the antisemitic hostility on campus that has only escalated in the wake of Oct. 7.” The Coalition for Palestinian Liberation at Tufts, which supported the resolution... JNS

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IDF soldier killed, 12 wounded in Khan Yunis ambush. Israeli troops continue raids in Qatari-funded housing development. Joshua Marks. (March 7, 2024 / JNS) Oketz canine unit member Staff Sgt. David Sasson, 21, who was killed in action in the southern Gaza Strip on March 6, 2024. Credit: IDF. The death of Oketz canine unit member Staff Sgt. David Sasson, 21, from Ganot Hadar, near Netanya, brings the number of slain soldiers since the start of the Gaza ground incursion on Oct. 27 to 247, and the total number of soldiers killed in action on all fronts since the start of the war on Oct. 7 to 587.. JNS

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Cheered for Sinwar and ended the evening at the hospital after a confrontation with Maccabi fans. Dor Azrad, 27 Adar 5784. 03.07.24. Anti-Semitism on Greek soil: Maccabi Tel Aviv fans who came to Piraeus to support their team in the match against Olympiakos in the Round of 16 of the Conference League encountered a man of Iraqi origin who, according to evidence, cheered for terrorist leader Yahya Sinwar, waved the PLO flag and attacked Israel. The handful of fans from Israel attacked him back and that man sent to the hospital ..

Unfortunately, even tonight the Israeli fans encountered ugly and outrageous anti-Semitism when, according to records on social networks, the yellow fans encountered a local anti-Israeli person of Iraqi origin who began taunting them and ended the evening in the hospital. Now14

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US threatens fresh resolution against Iran at IAEA over nuclear ‘stonewalling’. By Reuters, 7 March 2024, 3:45 pm. The United States is threatening future action against Iran at the UN nuclear watchdog if Tehran keeps “stonewalling” the watchdog by denying it the cooperation and answers it seeks on issues including long-unexplained uranium traces.

At a quarterly meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s TOI

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Biden at State of the Union: 'We will not rest until all the hostages are home'. Biden officially announces mission to establish temporary pier that can receive large shipments of humanitarian aid to Gaza. Israel National News Mar 8, 2024, 5:42 AM [...] Some of the lawmakers who attended the speech wore the yellow ribbon in a show of solidarity with the hostage being held by Hamas in Gaza... On the situation in Gaza, Biden noted the crisis started when Hamas launched its attack on Israel on October 7. Turning to the families of hostages who are still being held in Gaza, some of whom were present in the chamber, he said, “I pledge to all the families that we will not rest until we bring all of your loved ones home.” “Hamas could end this conflict today by releasing the hostages, laying down arms, and surrendering those responsible for October 7th,” said Biden, who stressed that Israel has the right to go after Hamas but also “has an added burden” since Hamas hides behind civilians... INN

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'Hamas aims to tarnish Israel's image globally during Ramadan'. Senior Israeli official denies reports of divisions within Hamas leadership, says hostage talks merely window dressing to buy time and weaponize Gazans' plight as humanitarian conditions worsen. Itamar Eichner, Yael Ciechanover | published:03.07.24 | 13:35

Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar is delaying the approval of a second hostage deal, demanding greater concessions from Israel, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing senior sources familiar with the discussions.

According to the report, Ismail Haniyeh, the terrorist organization's leader abroad, disagrees with Sinwar's stance and is ready to accept a six-week truce to alleviate the suffering of Gaza residents and to negotiate a permanent cease-fire and an IDF withdrawal from Gaza.

A senior Israeli official refuted the report on disagreements between Sinwar and Haniyeh. "There's no division," he emphasized. "Hamas leaders both in and outside Gaza have decided to amplify the suffering of the Palestinian people. They're aware that a hostage deal would lead to a cease-fire and a significant influx of humanitarian aid - food, medicine and supplies that would greatly improve conditions in Gaza - and they don't want this. They prefer to echo the suffering of the Palestinian people."

The source added, "they aim to manipulate and, instead of seeking a deal and peace during Ramadan, they want to tarnish Israel's image and prolong suffering in Gaza. They prefer escalation, bloodshed, and their people's suffering over the massive influx of humanitarian aid, cease-fire and a hostage deal. There's no division. They speak with one voice - all complicit in this agenda."

The source further said that the negotiations for a hostage deal are currently on ice and "cannot continue as Hamas hasn't provided a clear response, and it's evident they don't want a deal. It's all for show."

Senior U.S. officials have also commented on the stalled negotiations, placing the blame on Hamas. "Hamas rejects the deal because it refuses to release sick and elderly hostages," one official said, adding that the responsibility for completing the deal lies with the terrorist organization. Earlier on Thursday, a Hamas delegation left negotiation talks in Cairo without reaching any agreement. Although this round of negotiations ended, it may resume in the coming days.

Sources told Al Jazeera that the talks in Egypt concluded, but another source informed the Egyptian channel Al Qahera News that the Hamas delegation would leave Cairo for consultations, "but negotiations are expected to renew at the beginning of next week" - in an effort to secure a cease-fire agreement before the onset of Ramadan, expected to start on Monday. YNet

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Editor's Notes: 'There is no famine in Gaza' - comment By Zvika Klein. Published: March 8, 2024 07:35

The United Nations said in February that more than a quarter of Gaza’s 2.3 million people were “estimated to be facing catastrophic levels of deprivation and starvation.”

World media has been focusing in the past week on what it called the “Hunger” in Gaza.

Biden administration officials told Minister Benny Gantz in Washington on Monday that the “food shortage crisis” impacting Palestinians in Gaza is “intolerable,” and improving the distribution of humanitarian aid in the region will be a primary focus during their discussions. [...] “The food shortage and use of the word ‘hunger’ have been exaggerated,” a senior Israeli defense official told me on Thursday during a briefing. “There is no hunger in Gaza,” he said, explaining that most of the food that Israel has been sending into the Strip has “immediately been taken by Hamas terrorists, who then sell some of the supplies for ten times more than what it’s worth.”

How severe is the food shortage in Gaza? He said that “every family has enough food to survive. Are they eating five meals a day? The answer is no. We have been supplying them with aid as well as the US, but unfortunately, it wasn’t distributed to the citizens themselves.”

A former senior Israeli defense official who I spoke to on condition of anonymity has also said that “there is no food shortage in Gaza; there are those who are hungry since Hamas has taken all of the food and they don’t have enough money to pay Hamas on the black market.”

According to this former official, the food does not reach those who need it most since Hamas controls approximately 70-80% of the area. What happens is that Israel and foreign countries bring food and aid into Gaza. Then gangs take the supplies at gunpoint, and a significant portion of the population is left unable to afford necessities.

“THE SITUATION in Gaza is akin to hunger in New York, where homeless people suffer not from a lack of food but from a lack of money to purchase it,” he explained.

While it’s not accurate to say there is a famine in Gaza, there are indeed hungry individuals struggling because they can’t afford food. Even if Gaza were to be inundated with food supplies, hunger would persist because the issue at its core is not about availability but access and affordability.

“This condition reinforces their narrative, portraying hunger as a consequence of external forces and legitimizing their control,” he explained.

Changing this narrative is challenging, especially now that food shipments have increased. He said that during this past week, Israel has sent 50% more trucks with supplies into Gaza, compared to the daily amount that entered before the war – with about 150 trucks entering during a specific day this week. Previously, food also came through Egypt or via the Rafah crossing. Despite an increase in supply, with around 150 trucks entering midweek instead of the usual 100, the “problem” persists.

After crossing the border, trucks often fall prey to criminal gangs and Hamas, who hijack these supplies for sale on the black market. This action deprives people in desperate need of food, particularly those without the financial means or physical strength to secure it.

Furthermore, according to this former official, Hamas actively works against the distribution of food, attempting to shoot down food drops from the United States, Jordan, and the UAE. The presence of shoulder-fired missiles adds to the difficulty, as it becomes increasingly challenging to deliver aid accurately from a very high altitude, sometimes resulting in supplies being swept kilometers off course or into the sea.

THE MOTIVE behind targeting food aid is clear: to demonstrate a lack of food and, by extension, an ongoing state of hunger. This tactic aims to suggest that any resolution in Gaza that diminishes Hamas’s power – including peace – is undesirable. From their perspective, any solution that might improve conditions in the embattled enclave without their involvement signals the end of their rule. Thus, the humanitarian crisis continues, driven not by a genuine concern for the population’s well-being but by fear and their desire to maintain control.

“We should have categorized this war as the Israel-Iran War or even the West-vs-Iran war,” a third senior defense official who spoke to The Jerusalem Post said on Thursday, explaining that this war and all of its fronts are all related to Iran. He mentioned Hamas, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and other terrorist groups funded and influenced by the Islamic republic.

In addition, he explained that Israel has been acting against and eliminating Iranian proxies around the world. Though the Jewish state has seen many successes in this area, he said he was disappointed that Western countries, such as the US, UK and others, haven’t been doing the same.

“The Americans should also be actively eliminating Hamas proxies because it is in their interest,” the official said. “Unfortunately, and although we have tried to convince them to do so, they haven’t yet understood the importance – not only from an Israeli perspective, but actually from their own.”

Hamas controls an enormous amount of food and aid. If it had allowed the citizens of Gaza to have access to this aid, the situation would have been very different – but they don’t care about their citizens but want them to starve because it helps them create their false narrative.

We cannot fall into such a narrative, and we need to tell the world the truth. This may be the only way for the citizens of Gaza, who are deprived of food, to receive what they rightfully deserve. JPost

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Friday Sermon By Florida Imam Dr. Fadi Kablawi: Oh Allah, Make This Ramadan A Blessed Month Of Victory; By Allah, We Will Seize, Enjoy, Live In The Jewish Settlements; We Will Inherit The Land, Homes, Property Of The Jews. March 8, 2024.

Florida imam Dr. Fadi Yousef Kablawi asked in a March 8, 2024 Friday sermon at Masjid As Sunnah An Nabawiyyah North Miami, which was streamed live on the mosque’s Facebook page, that Allah make the coming Ramadan a “blessed month of victory.” He quoted a verse from the Quran according to which the Muslims will seize, enjoy, and live in the settlements of the Jews. Kablawi then quoted another verse from the Quran according to which Allah will cause the Muslims to inherit the land, homes, and property of the Jews. He said that the “Nazi Zionists” and their Zionist supporters in Washington are worse than Hitler and that there is no difference between the Republicans and Democrats, who are both led by Satan. Kablawi supplicated to Allah to support the people of Gaza who are waging Jihad and to “bring annihilation upon the accursed Zionists... Memri

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US says Hamas holding up 6-week ceasefire by refusing to release vulnerable hostages. Biden officials insist deal still possible amid deadlock, reveal truce would let civilians return to north Gaza; add there’s no hard deadline but want[s] agreement before Ramadan. By Jacob Magid. 7 Mar 2024, 11:05 pm

Senior Biden administration officials on Thursday accused Hamas of holding up a six-week ceasefire deal with Israel by refusing to release the sick, elderly and female hostages that it’s holding in Gaza.

“There could be at least a six-week ceasefire today if Hamas would agree to release a defined category of vulnerable hostages, including women, the elderly, the sick and the wounded,” said one of the officials, who all briefed reporters on condition of anonymity. “The onus right now is on Hamas.”

“The fundamental element on [Hamas’s] side is releasing the sick, the elderly and the woman. That is right now the holdup,” a second official added.

While there have been reports that Hamas has walked away from the talks in Cairo after they apparently hit a wall, the US officials insisted that a deal is still possible and that they’re still working to reach one. “We see this as the path to get the hostages home,” one of them said.

Offering new details on the deal being negotiated, the senior Biden administration officials briefing reporters said the ceasefire would start with a six-week-long first stage and be structured in a manner in which two more stages could be subsequently added. TOI

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Fact Check: Biden Cites Hamas Death Statistics in SOTU.

Joel B. Pollak, 7 Mar 2024.

CLAIM: President Joe Biden said: “More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed. Most of whom are not Hamas.”

VERDICT: MISLEADING. The death figure Biden cited comes from Hamas and does not exclude terrorists killed. Breitbart

Biden parrots Hamas propaganda in State of the Union speech. March 8, 2024:

During President Biden’s State of the Union address last night, lhe said: 'This war has taken a greater toll on innocent civilians than all previous wars in Gaza combined. More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed, most of whom are not Hamas.'

Biden just confirmed and validated the biggest Hamas lie about the war. There is no source for the “30,000” number besides Hamas. None whatsoever. And we know [236] Hamas lied about the death tolls of various specific events during the war, especially those that were blamed on Israel but were actually done by terrorists.

Abraham Wyner, Professor of Statistics and Data Science at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, wrote an article [237] in Tablet this week that showed how unlikely the casualty figures from the Gaza health ministry are from a statistical viewpoint, looking at the first weeks of the war when the ministry broke down the alleged women and children casualties.

'On the days with many women casualties there should be large numbers of children casualties, and on the days when just a few women are reported to have been killed, just a few children should be reported. This relationship can be measured and quantified by the R-square (R2 ) statistic that measures how correlated the daily casualty count for women is with the daily casualty count for children. If the numbers were real, we would expect R2 to be substantively larger than 0, tending closer to 1.0. But R2 is .017 which is statistically and substantively not different from 0. The daily number of children reported to have been killed is totally unrelated to the number of women reported. The R2 is .017 and the relationship is statistically and substantively insignificant.'

[238]

This lack of correlation is the second circumstantial piece of evidence suggesting the numbers are not real. But there is more. The daily number of women casualties should be highly correlated with the number of non-women and non-children (i.e., men) reported. Again, this is expected because of the nature of battle. The ebbs and flows of the bombings and attacks by Israel should cause the daily count to move together. But that is not what the data show. Not only is there not a positive correlation, there is a strong negative correlation, which makes no sense at all and establishes the third piece of evidence that the numbers are not real.

[239]

 ...Another red flag... is that if 70% of the casualties are women and children and 25% of the population is adult male, then either Israel is not successfully eliminating Hamas fighters or adult male casualty counts are extremely low. This by itself strongly suggests that the numbers are at a minimum grossly inaccurate and quite probably outright faked. 

Biden's speech was vetted by layers of staffers. Not one of them had a problem with Biden's statement. This shows how insidious propaganda is. 

Biden has validated Hamas lies.  Newspapers will no longer feel compelled to add "according to Hamas' health ministry" when they quote statistics - the President of the United States accepts them as true, so who will argue?

The speech was a huge win for Hamas. And the sad part is that no one is overly concerned about that fact that the leader of the free world accepts and parrots the words of a terrorist organization. EoZ

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While Gazans Throw US Aid in Trash, Biden Builds Pier to Bring Them More. If only Biden had spent as much time helping the people of East Palestine as he did helping the 'Palestinians. March 7, 2024 by Daniel Greenfield

The media is saturated with Hamas propaganda falsely claiming that Gazans are “starving to death”.

The reality is that there’s food as can be seen in social media videos Gazans post. Prices are higher, but no one is starving to death.

There’s so much food that they’re throwing away the airdropped food we and others send to them.

But Biden will use the State of the Union address to announce that the U.S. will launch an “emergency mission” to build a pier that will be used to deliver aid by water.

It will take “a number of weeks” to get the temporary pier built and running, one of the officials briefing reporters said, adding that the US hopes that the port will turn into “a commercially operated facility over time.”