LLX News

The US obsession with a two-state solution clearly goes against the will of the Israeli public, and certainly does not mesh with what the Palestinians want.

US Senator Chuck Schumer believes the Palestinian people “want what any other people want: peace, security and prosperity.”

Clearly, however, the Palestinians do not want peace. They themselves acknowledge that they do not “want what any other people want.” Instead, they want terrorism and the annihilation of the Jewish state.

Multiple polls have shown that the majority of Palestinian civilians support Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre and the idea of a Palestinian state in the 1948 borders, meaning the destruction of Israel.

A new survey by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR), released on Wednesday, shows that a vast majority of Palestinians in Gaza (71%) support Hamas’s decision to carry out the Oct. 7 massacre, compared to 57% in December.

The poll also shows a rise in Palestinian support for the terrorist Marwan Barghouti if he were to run in elections against Hamas terrorist leader Ismail Haniyeh. Were Haniyeh to run against Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinians would prefer Haniyeh.

cont’d…

https://www.israeltoday.co.il/read/who-wants-a-two-state-solution-not-israelis-or-palestinians/?mc_cid=1be783bd4a&mc_eid=90fbf7be68

A former Israeli national security adviser tells JNS that Hamas’s attack could be part of multi-staged plan devised by Tehran leadership.

By: Yaakov Lappin – Israel Today; israeltoday.co.il

Israel needs to be prepared for the possibility of conducting high-intensity strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon and on Iran’s nuclear program simultaneously, a former senior Israeli defense official told JNS in recent days.

Brig. Gen. (res.) Professor Jacob Nagel, former acting national security adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and ex-head of Israel’s National Security Council, is currently a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a professor at the Technion‒Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa. Nagel raised the possibility of a multi-staged Iranian strategy to go nuclear, involving regional proxies keeping Israel and the world distracted with conflicts.

Iran may have activated a “weapon of mass distraction” in order to make progress on building weapons of mass destruction, its nuclear program,” said Nagel. The possibility of a long-term Iranian plan—with a secret timetable and multiple stages—must be taken seriously, he said.

The first stage of such a plan begins with the mass-murder attack launched on Oct. 7 against southern Israel by Hamas in Gaza, which, even though it likely occurred without prior coordination with Iran on its timing, still serves Iran’s interests and could not have happened without Iranian support for Hamas.

cont’d…

Senate Majority Leader seeks to clarify remarks against the Israeli government which caused a firestorm: The US cannot dictate the outcome of an election.

By: Elad Benari – Israel National News; israelnationalnews.com

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on Thursday sought to clarify his remarks against the Israeli government which caused a firestorm.

“The US cannot dictate the outcome of an election. That is for the Israeli public to decide,” he wrote in a post on social media.

“As a democracy, Israel has the right to choose its own leaders. But the important thing is that Israelis are given a choice. There needs to be a fresh debate about the future,” he added.

Earlier, Schumer gave a speech in which he called for new elections to be held in Israel, saying that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “has lost his way.” He further called the Prime Minister an “obstacle to peace.”

“The Netanyahu coalition no longer fits the needs of Israel,” he said. “The Israeli people are being stifled right now by a governing vision that is stuck in the past.”

The Likud Party strongly condemned Schumer’s speech, saying, “Israel is not a banana republic but an independent and proud democracy that elected Prime Minister Netanyahu. Prime Minister Netanyahu leads a determined policy that is supported by a huge majority of the people.”

cont’d…

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/386773

“We expect our friends to act to overthrow the terror regime of Hamas and not the elected government in Israel,” said the official.

By: Israel Today Staff; israeltoday.co.il

A “very senior” Israeli official on Tuesday slammed a US intelligence report that claimed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government “may be in jeopardy,” amid ongoing criticism by the Biden administration over Jerusalem’s prosecution of the war against Hamas.

“Those who elect the prime minister of Israel are the citizens of Israel and no one else,” according to a statement issued to the media on behalf of the official.

“Israel is not a protectorate of the US but rather an independent and democratic country whose citizens are the ones who elect the government. We expect our friends to act to overthrow the terror regime of Hamas and not the elected government in Israel,” added the official.

The statement followed Monday’s publication of the “2024 Annual Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community,” which outlined Washington’s expectation that large demonstrations will force Netanyahu’s resignation and bring about the replacement of his right-wing government with a “more moderate” coalition.

cont’d…

https://www.israeltoday.co.il/read/israeli-official-biden-seeking-to-oust-netanyahu/?mc_cid=377bbeb8cd&mc_eid=90fbf7be68

Defeat must not be an option, because it could mean the end of the State of Israel. And what would that say about God?

By: Aviel Schneider – Israel Today; israeltoday.co.il

No other nation represents and defends God’s existence and glory like the chosen people in the Holy Land. So I say: Israel and God need each other. Israel is an instrument of God on this earth because Israel’s existence in the Promised Land confirms God’s existence. Defeating Israel, in the minds of our enemies, also means defeating the God of Israel. Therefore, if Israel loses this war, God loses with it. Of course, such a statement makes no sense to people who have nothing to do with God, faith and the Bible. Many of you might also disagree with me – and that’s okay.

Which god is greater?

With every dead Israeli, the Palestinian terrorists shouted “Allah hu Akhbar.” Most videos from the October 7 massacres are accompanied by the constant war cry of “Allah is greatest.” Over the last four months, I have seen endless clips taken by Hamas terrorists with their GoPro cameras. Their God, their Allah is greater than the God of Israel, they think, and that is why Muslims loudly proclaim “Allah hu Akhbar” at the sight of every Jewish corpse.

Isn’t that a victory cry? Isn’t this a call to war against the God of Israel? It was not the image of God that was taken away from us in these four months, but the image of being Israel (the people of Israel) that was torn away from us. We are no longer the same people. We are no longer the same Israelis. The national ethos that has defined us in our eyes is dissolving. Everything we imagined went up in flames before our eyes. Terms such as “superpower,” “security,” “deterrence strategy” or “invincible”–terms that we rested on–have disappeared. And these are not just my private feelings, but a summary of the emotional situation around me.

cont’d…

https://www.israeltoday.co.il/read/if-israel-loses-god-loses/?mc_cid=113d864168&mc_eid=90fbf7be68

“We are witnessing a massive ramp-up in Hamas disinformation in its 11th hour, directly wired into its supporters in the United States.”

By: Israel Kasnett – Israel Today; israeltoday.co.il

US President Joe Biden reaffirmed his commitment to bring Israeli hostages home in his State of the Union address Thursday, spending 90 seconds supporting Israel and blaming Hamas for the atrocities it committed on Oct. 7 as well as for the war that followed.

“Israel has a right to go after Hamas,” Biden said.

But he devoted a significant part of the Middle East section of the speech to the Palestinians.

He spent double the time, approximately 180 seconds, focusing on Palestinians “under bombardment” or experiencing “displacement,” and the need for a two-state solution.

He glaringly failed to mention the hundreds of thousands of Israelis under bombardment and the tens of thousands who have been displaced as a result of ongoing Hamas and Hezbollah attacks.

Biden also announced that the US military would establish a “temporary pier” off the coast of Gaza to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid.

“The White House is truly flailing,” said Richard Goldberg, senior adviser at the Washington, DC-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

“We can’t secure our own border, but we can build a port in Gaza. Our military can’t be used to actually defend the United States, restore deterrence against our enemies, enforce sanctions, or rescue American hostages—but it can be put to work building a port in Gaza,” he continued.

cont’d…

https://www.israeltoday.co.il/read/israel-destroying-hamas-amid-international-fury-and-skepticism/

Hashem will call every creature to account for everything unknown, be it good or bad. The sum of the matter, when all is said and done: Revere Hashem and observe His commandments! For this applies to all mankind. (Ecclesiastes 12:14)

Israel 365 News; israel365news.com

here is “clear and convincing” evidence that terrorists committed sexual violence, including rape, against hostages in Gaza, and there are “reasonable grounds” to conclude that terrorists raped and gang raped Israeli women in multiple locations on Oct. 7, according to a United Nations report released on Monday.

“With respect to hostages, the mission team found clear and convincing information that some have been subjected to various forms of conflict-related sexual violence including rape and sexualized torture and sexualized cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment,” according to the report, “and it also has reasonable grounds to believe that such violence may be ongoing.”

“At the Nova music festival and its surroundings, there are reasonable grounds to believe that multiple incidents of sexual violence took place with victims being subjected to rape and/or gang rape, and then killed or killed while being raped,” the report stated. It added that there are also “reasonable grounds” to think that sexual violence, including rape, occurred on Road 232, on which people fled from the festival, and at Kibbutz Re’im, where they sought shelter.

“Reasonable grounds to believe” is the “primary standard of proof” used in the report, it stated. It added that “clear and convincing” refers to “evidence rises above ‘reasonable grounds to believe’ yet falls below ‘beyond a reasonable doubt.’” Nowhere in the report does it state that any of the detailed violence is true “beyond a reasonable doubt.”

cont’d…

https://israel365news.com/387320/un-report-convincing-proof-of-sexual-crimes-against-hostages-proof-reasonable-of-oct-7-rapes/

The fundamental differences in our identities are deeply embedded in cultural values, taught to children from generation to generation.

According to the mantras of peace activists, the way to end wars – and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in particular – is by recognizing that the people on the other side are “just like us.” Students in university peace studies programs are taught that conflicts end by bringing individuals from opposing sides together, to discover shared values and overcome stereotypes about “the other.” Based on this seemingly indisputable truth, millions of dollars are provided every year for women’s reconciliation dialogues, summer peace camps, and similar frameworks. 

The articles of faith are also passionately repeated by Western diplomats. Speaking to the Israeli public on Feb. 7, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken declared that most people in Gaza “are just like our families … The overwhelming majority of the people in Gaza had nothing to do with Oct. 7. Their mothers and fathers want to earn a decent living, send their kids to school and have a normal life … We cannot, we must not lose sight of our common humanity.”

But is this belief reflected in reality? Is Palestinian society “just like” Israeli society, or is this a comforting but very dangerous illusion?

Large crowds in Gaza turned out to cheer the terrorists returning from their heinous spree of torture, murder, rape and kidnapping. 

He then noted the immense investment Hamas has made in constructing these tunnels, which he believes may have cost the organization up to a billion dollars over fifteen years.

By: Jerusalem Post Staff; jpost.com

Chair of urban warfare studies at West Point, John Spencer, published an in-depth analysis of Hamas’s unprecedented sub-terranean tunnel network, and the measures taken by the IDF to effectively neutralize it, based on his two visits to Israel, which he shared on X on Friday.

He started his analysis by noting that  the utilization of tunnels in warfare is not a novel concept, with historical examples dating back to biblical times and extending to modern conflicts such as the ongoing war in Ukraine.

However, he then highlighted the distinctive nature of the tunnels used by Hamas, saying its one of the two key pillars in Hamas’s strategy, along with time.

Before the outbreak of hostilities, the presence and extent of Hamas’s tunnel networks were believed to be well-documented, Spencer said.

cont’d…

https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-789820?utm_source=jpost.app.apple&utm_medium=share

The annual Israel Allies Foundation Chairman’s Conference will call to dismantle UNRWA.

By: Etgar Lefkovits – Israel Today; israeltoday.co.il

A group of more than 20 parliamentarians from around the world will gather in Jerusalem this weekend, in the largest political solidarity mission to Israel since the Oct. 7 massacre.

The Christian lawmakers will add their voices to calls to dismantle UNRWA over its ties to Hamas terrorism and speak out against Iran as the chief origin of regional terrorism, and are expected to voice opposition to the creation of a Palestinian state.

The three-day Israel Allies Foundation Chairman’s Conference, which will get underway Sunday, will include a visit to a hard-hit agricultural community near the Gaza Strip, a tour of the biblical heartland, a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and briefings with government ministers and the heads of the Knesset’s Christian Allies Caucus.

cont’d…