Tuesday, 20 November 2012


IsraPundit


The Pro-hamas Media  

Laura: The Crescent News Network strikes again, reporting from the hamas perspective. I happened to come across Crescent News Network coverage from Gaza this morning. The anchor mentioned an article by Ariel Sharon’s son in which he justifiably blamed the population of Gaza for electing hamas. So when asked about it, the reporter on the ground in Gaza, speaking for the “palestinians” responded that the people there don’t agree (no kidding) and believe they have the right to “defend” themselves. Yes, and the Germans under nazi rule believed they were “defending” themselves too. The “palestinians” are about as innocent as those Germans during nazi rule. These are people who ween their children from birth on genocidal Jew-hatred and who celebrate and pass out candy whenever Jews are murdered.  But we are supposed to see them as innocent victims who have no responsibility whatsoever for their own situation. So no surprise that you get this type of coverage from that network.

 

The Israel-Hamas War and the Suicide Strategy  

One of the most important things to understand about how the Middle East works is what I’ll call the suicide strategy. It can be described as follows:
I will start a war that I cannot win in order to create a situation where the other side wrecks my infrastructure and kills my people. Then I will lose militarily but win the battle. How? By the following means:
    –I’ll kill some people on the other side and do some damage to it. Since they are weaker and less brave than I am they will give up. The longer the war, the more likely they are to look for a way out even if that involves many concessions on their part. Using terrorism against their civilians reinforces this tactic.
    (Read more…)
 

Israelis can now sue the PA for damages in Israeli courts  

The Jerusalem District Court, in a landmark decision 10 years in the making, ruled on Sunday that the Palestinian Authority can be sued in Israeli court for damages suffered by an Israeli Arab tortured and kidnapped by their security forces on suspicion of spying for Israel.
The case will not only enable Arab victims of PA intimidation to find justice, but will allow terror victims to sue the PA for compensation.
According to a report by The Times of Israel, the case was brought in 2002 by a man who was suspected by the PA of being an informant for Israel. In 1999, the man was kidnapped twice – once in Israeli-controlled Hebron and once in Jerusalem outside the school in which he taught. PA security forces allegedly tortured Rajoub during questioning, even firing a gun next to his head in a mock execution.
(Read more…)
 

WJC ANALYSIS – Gaza: Iran’s proxy war against Israel  

The current round of hostilities between Israel and the Hamas government in Gaza is rooted in an internal struggle within Hamas. The organization is embroiled in a leadership struggle pitting the Iranian-backed Ismail Haniyeh against the Qatar and Egypt-supported Khaleed Mashal and his deputy Musa Abu Marzuq.
Signs of the internal conflict were already visible during the visit of the emir of Qatar in Gaza, where he delivered a clear message: should Hamas cease its terror operations and rocket offensive against Israel and engage in reconstruction, it would receive US$ 400 billion from the Qatari government. At the same time, Qatar attempted to convince the Hamas leadership in Gaza to forgo its ambition to serve as the organization’s official global leadership.
(Read more…)
 

From the Office of Israel Public Diplomacy  

Talking Points for Operation “Pillar of Defense”
19.11.2012 06:00
1. We would prefer to achieve the objectives of the operation without a ground offensive, but if the only way to protect the citizens of Israel is through a ground offensive then we will do so.
2. Last night the IDF continued its strikes and tens of thousands of reserve troops are prepared to launch a wide ground offensive.
3. The operation has attained significant achievements – Hamas and the other terror organizations in the Gaza Strip have been hit hard:
(Read more…)
 

Rand Paul and Israel  

Last week, I wrote about the potential impact that the growing influence of Kentucky Senator Rand Paul will have on the ability of Republicans to portray themselves as a solidly pro-Israel party. Senator Paul has written to respond to that piece. My response follows.
——————————————-
    Jonathan S. Tobin’s Nov. 9 column, “Will Rand Paul Hijack the Pro-Israel GOP?” makes some wildly speculative assumptions about me, my positions concerning our ally, Israel, and the Republican Party’s future. Since Mr. Tobin took it upon himself to image some of my positions, I thought it best to set the record straight by stating what they actually are.

    Israel is a strong and important ally of the United States, and we share many mutual security interests. I believe we should stand by our ally, but where I think sometimes American commentators get confused is that I do not think Israel should be dictated to by the United States. I think that has happened too often, and it has been to the detriment of Israel. Too often we have coerced Israel into trading land for peace, or other false bargains. When President Obama stood before the world in 2011 to demand that Israel act against her own strategic interest, I denounced this as unnecessary meddling. As I wrote in May of that year: “For President Obama to stand up today and insist that Israel should once again give up land, security and sovereignty for the possibility of peace shows an arrogance that is unmatched even in our rich history of foreign policy.”
    (Read more…)
 

Obama pressuring Israel not to invade  

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report November 18, 2012, 11:36 PM (GMT+02:00)
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman conferred urgently Sunday night, Nov. 18 – Day 5 of the Gaza offensive – on how to respond to US President Barack Obama’s insistent demand that they delay a major IDF ground operation in the Gaza Strip.
DEBKAfile’s sources disclose that when Obama spoke to Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi Friday, Nov. 16 – after receiving an update from Netanyahu – he gave him a 48-hour window for talking Hamas around to a ceasefire.
Not only has the Egyptian president failed in this task, his bid made matters worse: Hamas understood the US president was leaning hard on Israel to refrain from sending troops into the Gaza Strip and took advantage of the respite to redouble its missile barrage on a dozen Israeli locations in the last three days, including Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
(Read more…)
 

McCain: Without Iron Dome, Israel would be in Gaza  

McCain is absolutely right on this point. Notice how all senators connect the fighting now with the need for a renewed peace process. That means forcing Israel to make unacceptable concessions. No one considers that an Israeli victory in Gaza resulting in the neutering of Hamas is a better option than a useless “peace process”.
US diplomats comment on Gaza op, support Israel’s right to defend itself, but stress need for negotiations: ‘No one wants ground war’
Yitzhak Benhorin, YNET
The Iron Dome anti-missile system has successfully intercepted most of the rockets fired at Israel since the beginning of Operation Pillar of Defense. The Interception rate was a source of pride for man US politicians, seeing as the United States contributed an estimated $300 million for the development of the system.
According to Israeli sources, the IDF aims to activate 13 Iron Dome batteries.
Republican senator John McCain said in an interview with CBS that “If it hadn’t been for Iron Dome, the Israelis would be in Gaza right now,” referring to a ground invasion into the Gaza Strip.
(Read more…)
 

Palestinians: Israel demands 15-year lull, Morsi guarantee  

According to reports in Cairo, Israel put forward six key demands for ceasefire, threatened ground offensive in Gaza if no response within 48 to 72 hours
Elior Levy, YNET
Some Hamas figures have declared that the ceasefire negotiations have failed, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the cessation of rocket fire on Israel is a prerequisite for starting talks, but Palestinian sources who are familiar with Cairo’s efforts to broker a truce said it was too soon to announce that the talks have collapsed.
On Sunday senior Fatah official Nabil Sha’ath arrived in the Egyptian capital and met with Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mashaal. Sha’ath said Mashaal informed him that the negotiations have entered a serious stage but expressed doubt that an agreement would be reached anytime soon due to Israel’s demands and its refusal to accept demands put forward by Hamas and the other Palestinian terror organizations.
(Read more…)
 

The Status Quo is unsustainable. Retake Gaza  

This is a brilliant article and must be read. Greenfield argues we must fight to win and not to buy a few years of relative peace. Ted Belman
What are Israel’s options – what are the realities that it faces in
this proxy war?
From Daniel Greenfield, INN
Seven years ago the Israeli government decided to forcibly evict the
8000 Jewish residents of Gaza and withdraw all bases and forces from
the area. The experts, some with the government and some with the
media, assured everyone that it would be for the best and that
withdrawal would actually improve the security situation in the
country.
(Read more…)
 


Ted Belman
Jerusalem, Israel

Posted by Britannia Radio at 08:22