tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-189323882024-03-18T23:49:20.984-05:00BarkGrowlBitePublished by an old curmudgeon who came to America in 1936 as a refugee from Nazi Germany and proudly served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He is a former law enforcement officer and a retired professor of criminal justice who, in 1970, founded the Texas Narcotic Officers Association. BarkGrowlBite refuses to be politically correct.
(Copyrighted articles are reproduced in accordance with the copyright laws of the U.S. Code, Title 17, Section 107.) BarkGrowlBitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830589594331819236noreply@blogger.comBlogger31894125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18932388.post-53630002866810634342024-03-18T23:48:00.000-05:002024-03-18T23:48:49.232-05:00TRUMP'S BIG MOUTH IS THE GIFT THAT KEEPS GIVING ..... TO JOE BIDEN<p>By Howie Katz</p><p> </p><h1 style="margin-bottom: 30px;"></h1><div class="single-view-container" itemscope="true" itemtype="http://schema.org/Article"><span class="hide" itemprop="publisher" itemscope="true" itemtype="http://schema.org/Organization"></span><div><div id="single-gif-container"><div itemprop="image" itemscope="true" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject"><div class="Gif" style="height: 512.25px; width: 683px;"><img alt="Foot In Mouth GIF - Foot In Mouth Trump GIFs" height="512.25" src="https://media1.tenor.com/m/o4IW1n2MMrYAAAAC/foot-in-mouth-trump.gif" style="max-width: 683px;" width="683" /></div></div></div></div></div><div class="gif-details-container"><div class="gif-actions"><div class="extra-controls"><div class="QualityToggle"> </div></div></div></div><p> </p><p>All the polls have Trump beating Biden. But that could change if Trump keeps sticking his foot in his big mouth. Some of the things he's said recently are fodder for the Biden campaign.</p><p>Here are some examples.</p><p>Trump invited Putin to attack the NATO members who did not pay their bills. <br /></p><p>Trump said he was going to cut Social Security and Medicare. After Biden trounced on him for saying that, Trump tried to clean it up by saying he meant he was going to cut the waste in those programs.</p><p>Trump said there was going to be a "bloodbath" if he lost the election. He tried to clean that up by saying that under Biden foreign imports would devastate America's auto industry.<br /></p><p>Trump keeps right on defending and praising the January 6 Capitol insurrectionists as patriots. He said that if elected, he would pardon all those convicted. That would include those who physically assaulted the capitol police officers.<br /></p><p>Those are just four examples. If he keeps running his big mouth off as he's prone to do, those poll numbers could turn around and we would end up with Kamala Harris as president.</p><p><img alt="The Next President Campaign GIF - The Next President Campaign Election GIFs" height="384.0160642570281" src="https://media1.tenor.com/m/M6ZFDez-I_gAAAAC/the-next-president-campaign.gif" style="max-width: 683px;" width="683" /> If Trump keeps running his big mouth off. <br /></p><div class="gif-details-container"><div class="gif-actions"><div class="extra-controls"><div class="QualityToggle"> </div></div></div></div><p></p>BarkGrowlBitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830589594331819236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18932388.post-55514066462025880762024-03-18T23:30:00.001-05:002024-03-18T23:30:31.853-05:00THIS AIN'T A GONNA GIT TRUMP ANY JEWISH VOTES ..... JEWS VOTE FOR DEMOCRATS BECAUSE THEY ARE LIBERALS AND THEY ARE ANTI-ISRAEL BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT LIBERALS ARE<h1><span style="font-size: small;">Trump says Jewish people who vote for Democrats 'HATE their religion
and hate Israel' - and that Biden and Schumer are being critical to win
votes of liberals supporting Palestine</span></h1><h1><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">Trump was asked why Biden and Schumer <a class="class" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13197629/senator-chuck-schumer-israel-netanyahu-gaza-war.html#:~:text=Democratic%20Senator%20Chuck%20Schumer%20calls,Daily%20Mail%20Online" style="color: black;" target="_self">have been so hostile to Netanyahu. </a></span><a class="class" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13197629/senator-chuck-schumer-israel-netanyahu-gaza-war.html#:~:text=Democratic%20Senator%20Chuck%20Schumer%20calls,Daily%20Mail%20Online" style="color: black;" target="_self"><span style="font-size: small;">'I actually think they hate Israel,' said Trump.</span></a></span></h1><h1><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></h1><h1><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">By <a class="author" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/profile-473/stephen-lepore.html">Stephen M. Lepore </a></span></span></h1><h1><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></h1><h1><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">Daily Mail</span></span></h1><h1><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">Mar 18, 2024</span></span></h1><h1><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></h1><h1><img alt="Former President Donald Trump accused Jewish Americans who vote for Democrats of hating Israel and 'their religion' in a radio interview with former White House staffer Sebastian Gorka" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="471" id="i-8df57f916a285ccf" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/19/00/82619739-13212299-image-a-15_1710808973657.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </h1> <p class="imageCaption"><b>Former President Donald Trump
accused Jewish Americans who vote for Democrats of hating Israel and
'their religion' in a radio interview with former White House staffer
Sebastian Gorka</b></p><p class="imageCaption"><b> </b></p><div class="adHolder column-content cleared"><div id="para_top" style="margin: 0 auto; width: 638px;"></div></div> <p></p>
<p class="mol-para-with-font">Former President <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/donald_trump/index.html" id="mol-8974fd90-e589-11ee-9f65-d77a208aed62" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Donald Trump</a></span>
accused Jewish Americans who vote for Democrats of hating Israel and
'their religion' in a radio interview with former White House staffer
Sebastian Gorka.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Trump was asked by Gorka why the Democrats - specifically President Joe Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer - <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a class="class" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13197629/senator-chuck-schumer-israel-netanyahu-gaza-war.html#:~:text=Democratic%20Senator%20Chuck%20Schumer%20calls,Daily%20Mail%20Online" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">were so hostile to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu</a></span>.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'I actually think they hate Israel,' answered Trump, <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a class="class" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12623597/Trump-Netanyahu-Israel-Gaza-intelligence-failure.html" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">who has himself criticized Netanyahu for a lack of preparation</a></span> for the October 7 Hamas terror attack. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Trump - whose daughter Ivanka is Jewish - then went further in his line of attack toward Jewish Democrats. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'Any
Jewish person that votes for Democrats hates their religion,' he said.
'They hate everything about Israel, and they should be ashamed of
themselves because Israel will be destroyed.' </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Following the remarks, the White House issued a statement condemning Donald Trump's 'vile and unhinged antisemitic rhetoric.'</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">White
House spokesperson Andrew Bates told Mediaite: 'President Biden has put
his foot down when it comes to vile and unhinged Antisemitic rhetoric. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'As
Antisemitic crimes and acts of hate have increased across the world –
among them the deadliest attack committed against the Jewish people
since the Holocaust – leaders have an obligation to call hate what it is
and bring Americans together against it. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'There
is no justification for spreading toxic, false stereotypes that
threaten fellow citizens. None. Like President Biden said, he was moved
to run for President when he saw Neo Nazis chanting ‘the same
Antisemitic bile that was heard in Germany in the 1930s’ in
Charlottesville.' </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">A <a class="class" href="https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2021/05/11/u-s-jews-political-views/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Pew Research Center</a> study in 2021 said that seven in ten Jewish voters are Democrats. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">The former president - who counted among his accomplishments during his term the moving of the American embassy in Israel to <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/israel/index.html" id="mol-89e17b00-e589-11ee-9f65-d77a208aed62" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Jerusalem</a></span>
and the Abraham Accords normalizing trade between the Jewish state and
several Gulf nations - sees these Democrats as cowering against
pro-Palestinian sentiment.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'Don't forget, when you see those Palestinian marches - even I am amazed at how many people are in those marches,' Trump said. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'And
guys like Schumer see that, and to him it's votes. I think it's votes
more than anything else, because he was always pro-Israel. He's very
anti-Israel now.' </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Schumer, the highest ranking Jewish official in the U.S., called for new leadership and elections in <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/israel-hamas-conflict/index.html" id="mol-a41de860-e218-11ee-9e63-470a12d1a5de" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Israel</a></span> in a stunning rebuke of Prime Minister <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/benjamin-netanyahu/index.html" id="mol-a3cf5330-e218-11ee-9e63-470a12d1a5de" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Benjamin Netanyahu</a></span>. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">The <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/us-senate/index.html" id="mol-a4192d70-e218-11ee-9e63-470a12d1a5de" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Senate</a></span> Majority leader says Netanyahu has 'lost his way' and has now become an 'obstacle to peace' five months after the October 7 <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a class="class" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/hamas/index.html" id="mol-a3ea2e30-e218-11ee-9e63-470a12d1a5de" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Hamas</a></span> attacks and the start of the war in <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a class="class" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/palestine/index.html" id="mol-a41b2940-e218-11ee-9e63-470a12d1a5de" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Gaza</a></span>.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">In
an extraordinary 45-minute speech on the Senate floor Thursday, the
longtime defender of Israel said Netanyahu has put himself in a
coalition of 'far-right extremists' and is more interested in his own
political survival than a solution.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">The <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a class="class" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/white-house/index.html" id="mol-379eaa00-e220-11ee-ab70-1b5916aa24fd" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">White House</a></span>
said Schumer had informed it of his comments in advance and it
'respected his right' to make them. It expressed 'no approval or
disapproval'.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Republicans slammed Schumer's stance as
'grotesque' and Israel said it was 'unhelpful' while it was 'at war
against a genocidal terror organization.' </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Schumer said: 'As a democracy, Israel has the right to <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13197629/senator-chuck-schumer-israel-netanyahu-gaza-war.html" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">choose its own leaders</a></span>, and we should let the chips fall where they may.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'But
the important thing is that Israelis are given a choice. There needs to
be a fresh debate about the future of Israel after Oct. 7.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'In my opinion, that is best accomplished by holding an election.'</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">The Senate's Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, quickly came to Netanyahu's defense in remarks just after Schumer. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'It
is grotesque. and hypocritical for Americans who hyperventilate about
foreign interference in our own democracy to call for the removal of the
democratically elected leader of Israel. This is unprecedented.'
McConnell said. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Israel's Ambassador
to the U.S., Michael Herzog, said: 'Israel is a sovereign democracy. It
is unhelpful, all the more so as Israel is at war against the genocidal
terror organization Hamas, to comment on the domestic political scene of
a democratic ally. It is counterproductive to our common goals.' </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">White House National Security Council
spokesman John Kirby said: 'We did have advance notice he was going to
deliver those remarks.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'We fully
respect his right to make those remarks. This was not about approval of
disapproval in any away but he did give us a heads up. Leader Schumer
feels strongly. We're going to let him to speak to his thought process.'</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Schumer's harsh criticism follows moves from President <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a class="class" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/joe-biden/index.html" id="mol-1f6142d0-e221-11ee-ab70-1b5916aa24fd" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Joe Biden</a></span> and <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a class="class" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/democrats/index.html" id="mol-1f6142d1-e221-11ee-ab70-1b5916aa24fd" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Democrats</a></span> to ramp up the pressure on Netanyahu to protect Palestinian civilians as he carries on his offensive.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">The Biden administration has also called for a temporary ceasefire to <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9587697/Antony-Blinken-says-hes-seen-no-evidence-Hamas-operating-Gaza-building-used-AP.html" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">get aid to Palestinians and to allow the release of hostages captured by Hamas</a></span>. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Netanyahu has vowed to <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9596097/Biden-tells-Netanyahu-expects-significant-escalation-TODAY-path-ceasefire-Gaza.html" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">carry on fighting</a></span> until Hamas has been destroyed.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">But Democrats have started to question his motives, sparking Schumer to deliver some of the most scathing criticism to date. <br /></p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Schumer added: 'He (Netanyahu) has been
too willing to tolerate the civilian toll in Gaza. Israel cannot survive
if it becomes a pariah.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'As a lifelong
supporter of Israel, it has become clear to me: The Netanyahu coalition
no longer fits the needs of Israel after October 7.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'The
world has changed — radically — since then, and the Israeli people are
being stifled right now by a governing vision that is stuck in the
past.' </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Schumer said the only solution is 'a demilitarized Palestinian state <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9609859/Antony-Blinken-says-two-state-solution-path-ensuring-Israels-future.html" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">living side by side with Israel in equal measures of peace, security, prosperity and dignity</a></span>.' </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Netanyahu
has rejected the idea of two-state solution because he believes it will
allow a Hamas to maintain its presence and threaten the future of
Israel.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Schumer's comments sparked an immediate reaction from Republicans who called his speech 'inappropriate and offensive'.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'The
last thing Israel needs is the 'foreign election interference' that
Democrats so often decry here,' Republican Senator Tom Cotton said.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font"> 'Besides, the main elections that worry
Chuck Schumer aren't Israel's but our elections, because the rampant
anti-Semitism that the Democratic Party has allowed to fester in its
ranks is massively unpopular with the pro-Israel American public'. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">White
House National Security spokesman John Kirby said he would let Schumer
'speak to his comments' when asked about the speech.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'We're
gonna stay focused on making sure that Israel has what it needs to
defend itself while doing everything that they can to avoid civilian
casualties, Kirby added.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'We're still
focused, laser focused, on trying to get a temporary ceasefire in place
so that we can get the hostages out and get more aid and that's where
our head is right now.'</p><p class="mol-para-with-font"> </p><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to destroy Hamas following the terrorist group's October 7 atrocity in Israel" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="357" id="i-9b47a528d27a54e7" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/14/16/82471749-13197629-image-a-28_1710433068925.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div><div> <span></span> <div></div></div></div><p class="imageCaption"><b>Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to destroy Hamas following the terrorist group's October 7 atrocity in Israel </b></p><p class="imageCaption"><b> </b></p></div><p class="mol-para-with-font">Schumer
and other leading Democrats, including Biden, face intense criticism
from within their party, over Washington's unconditional support for
Israel, given the impact on Palestinian civilians of Israel's assault on
Gaza.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">The war erupted after Hamas <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12616459/Israel-Hamas-war-threatens-engulf-Middle-East-projectiles-fired-Syria-salvoes-exchanged-Lebanons-Hezbollah-airstrikes-hit-land-exit-Gaza-Egypt.html" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">killed 1,200 people in an October 7 terrorist attack on Israel and took 253 hostages back to Gaza</a></span>.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Schumer also criticized Palestinians who support Hamas, and said Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas should also step aside.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'For
there to be any hope of peace in the future, Abbas must step down and
be replaced by a new generation of Palestinian leaders who will work
towards attaining peace with a Jewish State,' Schumer said.</p><h1><a class="class" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13197629/senator-chuck-schumer-israel-netanyahu-gaza-war.html#:~:text=Democratic%20Senator%20Chuck%20Schumer%20calls,Daily%20Mail%20Online" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self"></a></h1>BarkGrowlBitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830589594331819236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18932388.post-1759541460933695362024-03-18T15:16:00.000-05:002024-03-18T15:16:44.187-05:00NOT TO WORRY JOE, BECAUSE TRUMP'S BIG MOUTH IS A GIFT THAT KEEPS GIVING FOR YOU<h1><span style="font-size: small;">'Angry and anxious' President Biden 'shouts and swears' at aides
after being told his poll numbers have gone down over handling of
Israel-Hamas conflict</span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">President's allies blame poor communication and conflicting advice from staff </span></span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">By <a class="author" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/profile-473/stephen-lepore.html">Stephen M. Lepore</a></span></span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Daily Mail</span></span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> Mar 18, 2024</span></span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></h1><h1><img alt="Insiders claim that President Joe Biden has been privately 'seething' over his disastrous polling numbers to his staff and is 'angry and anxious' about his 2024 re-election efforts" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="422" id="i-2801d7aad3dab235" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/18/05/82585121-13208635-image-a-41_1710739748271.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </h1> <p class="imageCaption"><b>Insiders claim that President Joe
Biden has been privately 'seething' over his disastrous polling numbers
to his staff and is 'angry and anxious' about his 2024 re-election
efforts</b></p><p class="imageCaption"><b> </b></p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Insiders claim that President Joe Biden has been privately 'seething' over <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a class="class" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13191905/Biden-gets-no-poll-bump-feisty-State-Union-address-approval-rating-sinks-new-time-low.html" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">his disastrous polling numbers</a></span> to his staff and is 'angry and anxious' about his 2024 re-election efforts. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">The story comes after <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a class="class" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/joe-biden/index.html" id="mol-7bf635b0-e13a-11ee-abba-5b6dab166bdf" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Biden</a></span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> did
not get the typical polling bump after his State of the Union address
last week – and his approval now sits at a new low of 37.4 percent.</span></p><p class="mol-para-with-font"><span style="font-size: 16px;">However,
reports of the president's rage date back to January, when aides had
told him his polling numbers had dipped in the key swing states of
Michigan and Georgia due to his handling of Israel's war on Hamas,
though he still believed he'd done the right thing.</span></p><p class="mol-para-with-font"><span style="font-size: 16px;">'He began to shout and swear,' <a class="class" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/biden-anger-rcna143729" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">NBC</a> reports, citing a story that interviewed 20 lawmakers, present and past administration officials and Biden allies. </span></p><p class="mol-para-with-font"><span style="font-size: 16px;">'President
Biden makes national security decisions based on the country's national
security needs alone — no other factor,' White House Spokesman Andrew
Bates said in response.</span></p><p class="mol-para-with-font"><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span></p><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="Post-State of the Union polling shows that President Joe Biden did not get a boost in the hypothetical general election matchup with Donald Trump after his 'fiery' speech" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="381" id="i-48cbe0c2c8ce0dd2" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/13/14/82419207-13191905-image-a-1_1710340088036.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div> <div><div> <span></span> <div></div></div></div><p class="imageCaption"><b>Post-State
of the Union polling shows that President Joe Biden did not get a boost
in the hypothetical general election matchup with Donald Trump after
his 'fiery' speech</b></p><p class="imageCaption"><b> </b></p><p class="mol-para-with-font"><span style="font-size: 16px;">However,
allies claim Biden's frustrations are intensifying, as he's questioning
travel choices and the seeming inability to communicate his agenda to
the American people. </span></p><p class="mol-para-with-font">His weak
approval rating is well below the last three presidents who failed to
win a second term: George H.W. Bush (39 percent), Jimmy Carter (43
percent) and his November opponent, Donald Trump (48 percent).</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Biden,
81, is allegedly unhappy with those who are described as wanting to
'minimize the chances of a flub' and says he's cocooned and wants to <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6960269/Biden-takes-fight-directly-Trump-White-House-campaign-launch.html" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">take his case to the public and antagonize Trump</a></span>. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">The president's temper toward staff <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a class="class" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12282865/Dont-f-ing-bulls-Biden-fumes-staff-rants-fueled-expletives-White-House.html" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">has been detailed in the past</a></span>, often yelling at staff and shouting obscenities. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'He's probably a little mad at himself for not being more forceful with the staff,' one Biden <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/white-house/index.html" id="mol-5be7af40-e4e8-11ee-ac89-9ffb3fb3b128" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">White House</a></span> insider claimed, adding that he often gets conflicting advice on how to handle the perception that he's too old to do the job.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Many
questioned by NBC agreed that Biden needed to just be clearer about
what he's done for the country in his first term, citing clean energy
projects, high-tech manufacture and infrastructure. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'There's a real story to tell,' said Biden supporter and ex-Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'It's
a winning message and it's about jobs, prosperity and evolution. If
that message can be communicated, I think the American people will
respond.' </p><p class="mol-para-with-font"> </p><p class="mol-para-with-font"> <img alt="Biden, 81, was passionate throughout his State of the Union and took several hit at his 'predecessor' and Republicans in the chamber. But his age was still on display as he coughed, mumbled and stumbled over some parts of his speech" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="423" id="i-697b65c2315a7a82" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/13/14/82419253-13191905-image-a-8_1710340270909.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> <br /></p><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"><b>The story comes after Biden did
not get the typical polling bump after his State of the Union address
last week – and his approval now sits at a new low of 37.4 percent</b></div><div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"><b> </b></div></div></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="His weak approval rating is well below the last three presidents who failed to win a second term: George H.W. Bush (39 percent), Jimmy Carter (43 percent) and his November opponent, Donald Trump (48 percent)" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="423" id="i-7d10d41c310dca79" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/18/05/82585125-13208635-image-a-43_1710739758822.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <p class="imageCaption"><b>His weak approval rating is well
below the last three presidents who failed to win a second term: George
H.W. Bush (39 percent), Jimmy Carter (43 percent) and his November
opponent, Donald Trump (48 percent)</b></p><p class="imageCaption"><b> </b></p></div><p class="mol-para-with-font">However, some <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/democrats/index.html" id="mol-5bdc64a0-e4e8-11ee-ac89-9ffb3fb3b128" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Democrats</a></span> like <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/washington-state/index.html" id="mol-5be73a10-e4e8-11ee-ac89-9ffb3fb3b128" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Washington State</a></span> Congressman Adam Smith are losing patience.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'Biden stood up in front of the whole world and said, 'I'm ready. I'm the guy who can take down Donald Trump,' he said. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'So,
he goddamn well better do it. We don't have time for him to be worried
about whether or not people are saying things right or the poll numbers
are where they should be. I want focused energy and not defensive
anger.'</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">However, campaign chairwoman Jen O'Malley Dillon <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8850745/Joe-Bidens-campaign-manager-says-poll-numbers-favoring-Democrat-inflated.html" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">remains confident that once Trump is the clear opponent, Biden can beat him again.</a></span></p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'We
know that he lost in 2020,' she said. 'In order to win, he's got to
expand his base of voters to find new people to be with him. And that is
not something he's shown that he's really focused on.'</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Biden and former President <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/donald_trump/index.html" id="mol-7bf17ac0-e13a-11ee-abba-5b6dab166bdf" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Donald Trump</a></span>
both reached the number of delegates needed for their respective
parties for the nomination in 2024 in Tuesday's primary elections.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">This
means there will be a rematch between the two geriatrics in November
despite the majority of Americans saying they don't want that.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font"><a class="class" href="https://news.yahoo.com/yahoo-newsyougov-poll-no-state-of-the-union-bump-for-biden-190451496.html?utm_medium=email&utm_source=ncl_amplify&utm_campaign=240313-yougov_poll_no_state_of_the_union_bump_for_biden&utm_content=ncl-trHayy5g6N&_nlid=trHayy5g6N&_nhids=0kPcMAN" rel="nofollow" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">A Yahoo News/YouGov survey</a> conducted the few days after Biden's speech to a joint session of <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a class="class" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/us-congress/index.html" id="mol-7c0243a0-e13a-11ee-abba-5b6dab166bdf" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Congress</a></span> on Thursday shows the current president's chances against Trump actually diminished following his fiery remarks.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font"> </p><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"><p class="imageCaption">
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<img alt="President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol, Thursday, March 7, 2024, in Washington. Seated at left is Vice President Kamala Harris and at right is House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. (Shawn Thew/Pool via AP)" class="Image" height="399" src="https://dims.apnews.com/dims4/default/b544ff7/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5360x3574+0+0/resize/599x399!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.apnews.com%2Fc2%2Fb5%2Feeea27f04100805fb185a0352d15%2Fap24068134454927.jpg" width="599" /> </picture><br /></p></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div><div> <span></span> <div></div></div></div><p class="imageCaption"><b>Biden,
81, was passionate throughout his State of the Union and took several
hit at his 'predecessor' and Republicans in the chamber. But his age was
still on display as he coughed, mumbled and stumbled over some parts of
his speech</b></p><p class="imageCaption"><b> </b></p></div><p class="mol-para-with-font">Before the speech, Trump was up 45 percent to 44 percent against Biden in the poll <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8164871/Joe-Biden-takes-massive-25-point-lead-against-Donald-Trump-battleground-counties-Poll.html" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">taken in late January</a></span>.
While the latest taken March 8-11 is still within the polling margin of
error and equates to a statistical tie, Trump is now at 46 percent to
Biden's 44 percent in a hypothetical general election matchup.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">The same poll <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9698549/Bidens-approval-rating-dropped-SIX-POINTS-April-inflation-fears-sweeping-economy.html" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">shows Biden's approval rating dipped from 40 percent to 39 percent pre and post speech.</a></span> His disapproval went from 56 percent to 55 percent.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">But <a class="class" href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/biden-approval-rating/" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">a FiveThirtyEight average</a> shows the number of Americans who approve of Biden's job as president has dipped to a new all-time low of 37.4 percent.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font"><a class="class" href="https://harrisx.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/HarrisX-Overnight-Poll-State-of-the-Union-3.11.2024.pdf?utm_medium=email&utm_source=ncl_amplify&utm_campaign=240313-yougov_poll_no_state_of_the_union_bump_for_biden&utm_content=ncl-cj8MCeCThe&_nlid=cj8MCeCThe&_nhids=0kPcMAN" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">A post-State of the Union Harris X poll</a>
puts Biden's approval at a flat 37 percent and disapproval at 58
percent. But among those in that survey who did watch the State of the
Union, 13 percent more approved of Biden's job as president compared to
those who did not tune-in.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">In previous
years, State of the Union addresses were a way for presidents to try and
appeal to everyone – and oftentimes there was a polling bump associated
with the remarks.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">For example, Trump's approval jumped a few percent after his 2019 address in February of that year.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Before his State of the Union his approval was sitting around 37 percent, <a class="class" href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/203198/presidential-approval-ratings-donald-trump.aspx#:~:text=Americans'%20approval%20of%20the%20job,during%20his%20presidency%20was%2041%25." rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">according to Gallup polling</a>. But after the remarks the same polling showed the then-president jumped to 44 percent.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font"> </p><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="Another poll taken after Biden's remarks to a joint session of Congress shows the president's approval rating at a new low of 37 percent" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="381" id="i-5a909e19ed68fb2d" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/13/14/82419195-13191905-image-a-7_1710340104950.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div> <div><div> <span></span> <div></div></div></div><p class="imageCaption"><b>Another
poll taken after Biden's remarks to a joint session of Congress shows
the president's approval rating at a new low of 37 percent</b></p><p class="imageCaption"><b> </b></p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Overall, Biden's last address of his first
term wasn't exactly the reset the White House was hoping for amid low
approval and increased criticism over the president's age and fitness
for office.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Fifty-one percent of those
who watched the State of the Union say Biden seemed 81, according to the
YouGov poll. Another 24 percent say he seemed 'older' than they
expected. Only 17 percent say he came off 'not as old.'</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Most polling over the last year <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10932647/Poll-finds-64-Americans-DONT-want-Biden-run-office-2024-55-say-no-Trump.html" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">shows Americans don't want Biden and Trump, 77, as the two options in the 2024 presidential election.</a></span></p><p class="mol-para-with-font">But
after Tuesday's primary elections in Georgia, Mississippi and
Washington state, that's exactly the general election ballot Americans
will be presented with come November.</p><p></p>BarkGrowlBitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830589594331819236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18932388.post-20740272997123083262024-03-18T13:41:00.000-05:002024-03-18T13:41:46.958-05:00IDF TROOPS KILLED THE HEAD OF THE OPERATIONS DIRECTORATE OF HAMAS' INTERNAL SECURITY INSIDE AL-SHIFA HOSPITAL<h1 class="jeg_post_title"><span style="font-size: small;">IDF eliminates Hamas internal security commander</span></h1>
<h2 class="jeg_post_subtitle"><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">According to an IDF statement,
Faiq Mabhouh was hiding in a compound at Al-Shifa hospital, from which he operated
and advanced terrorist activity. </span></h2><h2 class="jeg_post_subtitle"><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"> </span></h2>
<div class="jeg_meta_author">
<span class="meta_text">By </span>
<a href="https://www.israelhayom.com/writer/lilach-shoval/">
Lilach Shoval
</a>
<a href="https://www.israelhayom.com/writer/shahar-klaiman/">
and Shachar
Kleiman </a></div><div class="jeg_meta_author"> </div><div class="jeg_meta_author">Israel Hayom</div><div class="jeg_meta_author">Mar 18, 2024</div><div class="jeg_meta_author"> </div><div class="jeg_meta_author"> </div><div class="jeg_meta_author"><a href="https://www.israelhayom.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/evil.webp"><img alt="IDF eliminates Hamas internal security commander" class="attachment-jnews-750x375 size-jnews-750x375 wp-post-image lazyautosizes lazyloaded" data-expand="700" data-sizes="auto" data-src="https://www.israelhayom.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/evil-750x375.webp" data-srcset="https://www.israelhayom.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/evil-750x375.webp 750w, https://www.israelhayom.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/evil-360x180.webp 360w" height="375" src="https://www.israelhayom.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/evil-750x375.webp" title="Faiq Mabhouh" width="750" /></a> <br /></div><div class="jeg_meta_author"><b><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Faiq Mabhouh.</span> <br /></b></div><div class="jeg_meta_author"><b><span data-preserver-spaces="true"> </span></b></div><div class="jeg_meta_author"><span data-preserver-spaces="true"> </span></div><div class="jeg_meta_author"><span data-preserver-spaces="true">The IDF eliminated overnight Monday the head of the Operations Directorate of Hamas' Internal Security, Faiq Mabhouh.</span></div><div class="jeg_meta_author"><span data-preserver-spaces="true"> </span></div><div class="jeg_meta_author"><span data-preserver-spaces="true">The military was conducting an
anti-terrorism operation at Al-Shifa hospital following intelligence
about the presence of Hamas terrorists there. </span></div><div class="jeg_meta_author"><span data-preserver-spaces="true"> </span></div><div class="jeg_meta_author"><span data-preserver-spaces="true">According to an IDF statement,
Mabhouh was hiding in a compound at Shifa, from which he operated and
advanced terrorist activity. </span></div><div class="jeg_meta_author"><div class="jeg_ad jeg_ad_article jnews_content_inline_2_ads "><div class="ads-wrapper align-center "><div class="ads_code"></div></div></div>
<p><span data-preserver-spaces="true">He was in charge, among other
things, of coordinating the Hamas mechanisms in the Gaza Strip. In the
adjacent room to where he was killed, multiple weapons were found.</span></p>
<p><span data-preserver-spaces="true">During the raid, Staff Sgt. Matan Vinogradov was killed. </span></p>
<p><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Mabhouh's brother, Mahmoud, who
was chief of logistics and weapons procurement for Hamas, was
assassinated in Dubai in 2010, reportedly by the </span>Mossad<span data-preserver-spaces="true">. </span></p></div>BarkGrowlBitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830589594331819236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18932388.post-48451354144045456942024-03-18T12:49:00.000-05:002024-03-18T12:49:30.742-05:00THE PLEASURES OF UNREASONING HATE ARE ENDEMIC TO THE SPECIES<h1 class="article-headline ">
<span style="font-size: small;">Explaining the young antisemites </span></h1>
<h2 class="article-underline"><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">
Young Americans believe the social contract has been violated and they blame the Elders of Zion. </span></h2><h2 class="article-underline"><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"> </span></h2><h2 class="article-underline"><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">By </span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">Benjamin Kerstein </span></span></h2><h2 class="article-underline"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></h2><h2 class="article-underline"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">JNS</span></span></h2><h2 class="article-underline"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">Mar 18, 2024</span></span></h2><h2 class="article-underline"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></h2><h2 class="article-underline"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><img alt="" class="attachment-medium_large size-medium_large wp-post-image" height="432" src="https://arabcenterdc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Young-Americans-Protest-Gaza-Biden-768x432.jpg" width="768" /><span style="font-size: small;">Anti-Israel students rally at Columbia University</span></h2><h2 class="article-underline"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></h2><p class="wp-block-paragraph">Much has been made of recent polls that
show disturbing levels of antisemitism among young Americans. It is easy
to put this down to “progressivism,” “wokeism” or other ideologies
inculcated in students by the professoriate regime. There is no doubt a
great deal of truth to this, but there must be a reason the
professoriate’s virulent systemic antisemitism has found a receptive
audience.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The claim that economic factors drive
antisemitism is almost a cliché. Whether it was the late 19th-century
financial crises in France and the Austro-Hungarian Empire or the
hyperinflation of Weimar Germany, scholars have often pointed to
economic deprivation as the source of antisemitic violence.</p><p class="wp-block-paragraph">Obviously, this is an inadequate
explanation for antisemitism as a whole. There are religious,
ideological, political, psychological, even civilizational motivations
as well. Nonetheless, it is impossible to dismiss the economic factor in
this particular case.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">It is telling that youth antisemitism is
largely a phenomenon of the middle and upper-middle classes. In my
experience, with some deplorable exceptions, the working class does not
particularly care about the Jews one way or the other. When I was
growing up in a working-class Irish American neighborhood, we had no
problems with antisemitism whatsoever. In fact, <em>all</em> of the antisemitism I have experienced in my life has been from middle-class white people, Muslims or people of color.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">To ascertain whether middle-class
antisemitism has an economic cause, we must ask: What are the economic
discontents of that class?</p><p class="wp-block-paragraph">They are not difficult to find. As
children, most middle-class Americans unknowingly signed a social
contract that made enormous demands but promised substantial rewards. It
stipulated, more or less, that if you work hard and follow the rules,
you will be able to get into a “good” college or university. Then, you
will receive a degree that will ensure you a “good job,” material plenty
and a prosperous future for your children.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The efforts this bargain required were
substantial. From the ninth grade on, middle-class Americans were told
that they had to dedicate every waking moment to their eventual college
applications or ruin their lives. So, they crammed for tests, labored in
advanced placement classes, took on a multitude of extracurricular
activities, expended themselves on athletic endeavors for which most had
little talent, and sat through hours of tutoring for the SATs. They
sacrificed their adolescence, in effect, for the sake of a big payoff at
the end.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Then, if they did succeed in getting into a
prestigious institution, they had to find a way to pay for it. Thanks
to a wholly corrupt higher-education industry, the money was waiting for
them in the form of massive debt. This debt was to be paid off by the
substantial income the applicant would receive from the “good job” they
were sure to acquire after graduation.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">This system never really worked. For most,
the sacrifice simply wasn’t worth it. The middle-class graduates ended
up with mediocre jobs and it took them years to pay off their debts.
They discovered that their children had to run the entire monstrous
gamut all over again. Nonetheless, they did manage to maintain something
like a middle-class lifestyle.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In 2008, however, the contract was voided.
The global economy that undergirded the contract almost completely
collapsed and the youngest generation of the American middle class
crawled out of the wreckage into a world of unaffordable housing,
stagnant wages, the gig economy and perennial membership in the
precariat. On top of that, there was the filthy lucre they owed to the
professoriate regime that had promised them so much and delivered
nothing.</p><p class="wp-block-paragraph">In a 2019 <em>Buzzfeed</em> <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/annehelenpetersen/millennials-burnout-generation-debt-work">essay</a>,
Anne Helen Petersen wrote of the Millennial generation, “Our parents—a
mix of young boomers and old Gen-Xers—reared us during an age of
relative economic and political stability. As with previous generations,
there was an expectation that the next one would be better off—both in
terms of health and finances—than the one that had come before. But as
millennials enter into middle adulthood, that prognosis has been proven
false.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Financially speaking, most of us lag far
behind where our parents were when they were our age,” she noted. “We
have far less saved, far less equity, far less stability and far, far
more student debt. … We’ve got venture capital, but we’ve also got the
2008 financial crisis, the middle-class decline and the 1% rise, and the
steady decay of unions and stable, full-time employment.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Combined with the glittering and quite
unattainable promises of reality television, social media and celebrity
culture, this cannot but foster a zeitgeist characterized, above all, by
resentment.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">As early as 1996, Chuck Palahniuk captured this brilliantly in his novel <em>Fight Club</em>,
in which the psychotic protagonist declares, “We’ve all been raised on
television to believe that one day we’d all be millionaires, and movie
gods, and rock stars. But we won’t. And we’re slowly learning that fact.
And we’re very, very pissed off.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In short, a generation of young Americans
believe that they held up their end of the bargain but the other side
did not. They did everything they were told to do and expected to
receive what they had been promised. Instead, in 2008, the barons of
commerce stole it away from them.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">People deal with situations like this in
different ways. They turn to opioids, messianic religious and political
movements, New Age gobbledygook, or transient hobbies and enthusiasms.
Some simply disappear into video games and internet chat rooms. Others,
however, turn to hatred. They start looking for someone to blame.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Like so many times in the past, there is
an easy target waiting for them. It is not difficult to shift from
blaming an amorphous, omnipotent, avaricious and filthy rich plutocracy
for ruining your life to blaming the Jews for ruining your life. Such a
plutocracy, after all, is what the Jews have always been accused of
being.</p><p class="wp-block-paragraph">Having gone down this particular rabbit
hole, one has centuries of antisemitic archetypes to work with. The
possibilities of the Elders of Zion are infinite. For many, this is not
merely desirable, it is intoxicating. It is the opiate of the remains of
the middle class.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">To be clear, none of this absolves young
antisemites. We all have a moral responsibility to stand against the
barbarians, however difficult our circumstances might be. A poor man can
be as evil as a rich man if he chooses and his poverty is no defense.
Nonetheless, some of the systemic economic problems that have led to
this impasse can be addressed and perhaps it might do some good.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Economic reforms will not, of course,
solve the problem of antisemitism itself. People become antisemites for
innumerable reasons, some due to environment and indoctrination, others
because of neurotic or sadistic impulses they refuse to control. The
pleasures of unreasoning hate are, unfortunately, endemic to the
species.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">However, all of this is a matter for
non-Jewish America to consider. For the Jews, a simple truth remains:
However real some of his discontents may be, we have no obligation to
pity the antisemite. He no doubt possesses more than enough pity for
himself.</p><p></p>BarkGrowlBitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830589594331819236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18932388.post-1524896952167230712024-03-18T12:12:00.000-05:002024-03-18T12:12:11.606-05:00IT IS NOW CLEAR THAT SCHUMER HAS NO MORAL COMPASS<h1 class="article-headline ">
<span style="font-size: small;">Chuck Schumer helps make the world safe for Hamas </span></h1>
<h2 class="article-underline"><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">
The American-led world order has never been more at risk. </span></h2><h2 class="article-underline"><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"> </span></h2><h2 class="article-underline"><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">By </span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">Eric R. Levine</span></span></h2><h2 class="article-underline"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></h2><h2 class="article-underline"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">JNS</span></span></h2><h2 class="article-underline"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">Mar 18, 2024 </span></span><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"> </span></h2><p></p><p> </p>
<div class="col-main | flow page-content overflow-hidden | font-base text-400"><img alt="Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) leads President Biden as he arrives to the Capitol for a luncheon with Senate Democrats to discuss an infrastructure plan on Wednesday, July 14, 2021." height="360" src="https://i0.wp.com/thehill.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/bidenjoe_schumercharles_071421gn_lead.jpg?w=2000&ssl=1" width="640" /><span class="image-credit"><b> </b></span></div><div class="col-main | flow page-content overflow-hidden | font-base text-400"><span class="image-credit"><b>Biden cued the big Jew</b></span></div><div class="col-main | flow page-content overflow-hidden | font-base text-400"><span class="image-credit"><b> </b></span></div><div class="col-main | flow page-content overflow-hidden | font-base text-400"><p class="wp-block-paragraph">To appease the antisemitic left-wing of
the Democratic Party, President Joe Biden is putting more and more
distance between the United States and Israel as the Jewish state fights
for its national survival against Hamas.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Yet while Biden woos the Arab/Muslim vote
in Dearborn, Michigan, he is alienating the Jewish community and other
Americans of goodwill who support Israel. It is not lost on the Biden
campaign that the president’s increasing hostility towards our closest
ally in the Middle East could come back to haunt him in swing states
like Pennsylvania, which have substantial Jewish communities.</p><p class="wp-block-paragraph">What is Biden to do? Cue the big Jew: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Putting his personal political power above
principle, Schumer took it upon himself to explain to his fellow
American Jews that it is Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who
is to blame for the war in Gaza:</p>
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">
<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><i>As a lifelong supporter of Israel, it has
become clear to me: The Netanyahu coalition no longer fits the needs of
Israel after Oct. 7. The world has changed radically since then, and the
Israeli people are being stifled right now by a governing vision that
is stuck in the past. … Five months into this conflict, it is clear that
Israelis need to take stock of the situation and ask: must we change
course? … At this critical juncture, I believe a new election is the
only way to allow for a healthy and open decision-making process about
the future of Israel at a time when so many Israelis have lost their
confidence in the vision and direction of their government.</i></p>
</blockquote>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Netanyahu is the democratically elected
prime minister of Israel; as such, it is up to Israel alone to decide
when to hold elections and whether to replace him. Just as the U.S. will
not tolerate any foreign interference in our elections, American
interference in the elections of another democracy is simply
unacceptable. When the war is over, Israelis will have ample opportunity
to pass judgment on Netanyahu, his coalition and their responsibility
for Oct. 7. Until then, Israel deserves America’s unwavering support,
not politically motivated propaganda.</p><p class="wp-block-paragraph">Schumer must know that Netanyahu and his
government’s policy on the war in Gaza has overwhelming support from
across Israel’s political spectrum. There is virtual unanimity that
Israel must enter Rafah and completely destroy Hamas. That is going to
happen no matter who is prime minister. Biden and Schumer’s
finger-wagging will make no difference.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">One irony of Schumer’s unfortunate
statement is that Netanyahu is perhaps the greatest peacemaker in
Israel’s history. He made the Abraham Accords possible and was on the
cusp of making peace with Saudi Arabia. There were even reports that
Israel was close to normalizing relations with Indonesia—the most
populous Muslim country in the world.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">These are not the achievements of a
“governing vision that is stuck in the past.” It is a vision that is
laying the groundwork for a peaceful and prosperous Middle East.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">It is Biden and Schumer who are stuck in
the past. The days of handwringing and mourning the deaths of Jews while
decrying their legitimate efforts to defend themselves are over. If
Biden and Schumer cannot give their full-throated support to Israel’s
right to defend its citizens in the wake of such a heinous attack, they
should at least get out of the way.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Schumer’s perfidy is not unprecedented.
When former President Barack Obama chose to ram the Iran nuclear deal
down the throats of the American people, Schumer waited until he knew
Obama had the Senate votes the president needed before Schumer
fecklessly came out against it. It is possible that Schumer could have
prevented the disastrous deal, but we will never know because he didn’t
lift a finger to stop it.</p><p class="wp-block-paragraph">It is now clear that Chuck Schumer is no
lifelong supporter of Israel. He is a lifelong supporter of Chuck
Schumer. He has no moral compass.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">As U.S. allies in the region study
Schumer’s betrayal of Israel, they will no doubt be further convinced
that America is an unreliable and untrustworthy ally. To them, the
catastrophic surrender in Afghanistan will no longer seem like a fluke,
but part of a pattern of American retreat. If the retreat continues, our
Middle Eastern allies will drift out of our sphere of influence and
look to make accommodations with Iran, Russia and China. Indeed, that
process has already begun.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Schumer is right that “the world has
changed radically” since the Oct. 7 attack. America has become weaker;
the world has become more dangerous; and the American-led world order
has never been more at risk.</p><span class="image-credit"><b></b></span></div>BarkGrowlBitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830589594331819236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18932388.post-74148674256787906842024-03-18T11:41:00.000-05:002024-03-18T11:41:01.894-05:00GAVIN NEWSOM TURNING CHICKEN<p>By Bob Walsh</p><p><br /></p><p><img alt="Gavin Newsom." class="featured-image__img wp-image-31243589" data-modal-image="31243589" height="496" src="https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/2033128352.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=744" width="744" /> </p><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><div dir="ltr">Gavin Newsom was supposed to
give his State of the State speech today. He chickened out and stalled
off until some unspecified time in the future.</div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><div dir="ltr">He
put a lot of his political capital behind Proposition 1 on the March
ballot. This was an attempt to spend a few billion dollars to improve
mental health care in the formerly great state of California. He pimped
it big time, and the organize opposition was scant and comparatively
poorly funded.</div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><div dir="ltr">Despite all
that they are still counting the ballots and the outcome is too close to
call. He really wants to have a win to wave at the speech. A
combination of that, a much larger than admitted budget deficit and his
favored, poorly named High Speed Rail project sucking up more and more
and more money and promising less and less and less in return is putting
a serious wet blanket over his desperate attempts to replace Joe Biden
on the Democrat-Socialist ticket this year. </div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><div dir="ltr">It
is hard to be taken seriously, even against a senile old liar, if the
only thing you truly have going for you is a really good haircut. <br /></div>BarkGrowlBitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830589594331819236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18932388.post-27930876199473407902024-03-17T23:54:00.002-05:002024-03-18T00:03:52.490-05:00A HOSPITAL SEQUESTERING TERRORISTS IS FAIR GAME<div class="taboola" data-taboolaposition="beforeArticle" id="taboola-top-carousel-thumbnails"></div>
<h1><span style="font-size: small;">IDF announces new operation is underway at Gaza's
Al-Shifa hospital - as they launch night raid on 'Hamas command center'
inside building</span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Israeli Troops are carrying out a 'precise operation' following
intelligence that senior Hamas officials were using Gaza 's largest
hospital as a command centre. The patients and medics were not told to evacuate but pathways were cleared for civilians, according to reports </span></span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">By <a class="author" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=&authornamef=Matt+Strudwick">Matt Strudwick</a> </span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"> </span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">Daily Mail</span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">Mar 17, 2024</span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"> </span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"> </span><img alt="Israel Launches Operation In Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital, Says 'Used By Senior Hamas Terrorists' Israel Launches Operation In Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital, Says 'Used By Senior Hamas Terrorists'" src="https://feeds.abplive.com/onecms/images/uploaded-images/2024/03/18/97ff8953f8b890675339877bc552b3f21710734552853177_original.jpg?impolicy=abp_cdn&imwidth=720" title="Israel Launches Operation In Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital, Says 'Used By Senior Hamas Terrorists'" /><span style="font-size: small;">Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza </span></h1><br /><p class="mol-para-with-font">The <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a class="class" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/israel-hamas-conflict/index.html" id="mol-60912b30-e4c9-11ee-a5b0-27e17881c5bd" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Israel</a></span> Defence Forces announced an operation is underway at <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a class="class" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/palestine/index.html" id="mol-608f0850-e4c9-11ee-a5b0-27e17881c5bd" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Gaza</a></span>'s largest hospital on Monday morning local time. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Troops are carrying out a 'precise operation' following intelligence that senior <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/hamas/index.html" id="mol-606debc0-e4c9-11ee-a5b0-27e17881c5bd" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Hamas</a></span>
officials were using the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City as a command
centre to plan and carry out terror attacks, the IDF said in a
statement. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Loud bangs caused the sky
to light up in unverified video footage posted on social media with one
person claiming the area was 'under siege' and a 'complete mess' in what
was described as an '<span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/israel/index.html" id="mol-24cd4370-e4cb-11ee-a5b0-27e17881c5bd" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Israeli</a></span> bombardment'. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari stated that the
operation was targeting limited areas within the hospital complex based
on 'concrete intelligence that demanded immediate action'. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'Our
targeted mission isn't just an operational necessity; it's a global
imperative,' he said in video footage posted on the IDF's X page. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font"> </p><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari stated that the operation at the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza was targeting limited areas within the hospital complex" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="351" id="i-67129633ebf32a64" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/18/01/82580809-13208325-image-a-76_1710727055580.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div> <p class="imageCaption"><b>IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari
stated that the operation at the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza was targeting
limited areas within the hospital complex</b></p><p class="imageCaption"><b> </b> <br /></p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'Our war is against Hamas, not against the
people of Gaza. We seek no harm to the civilians that Hamas is hiding
behind' Hagari said. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Adding: 'We call
upon all Hamas terrorists hiding in hospitals, surrender immediately.
Medical facilities should never be exploited for terror. Hamas must be
held accountable.'</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">IDF doctors and
Arabic speakers accompanied security forces on the operation to help
communicate with patients and staff, the Times of Israel reported. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">The patients and medics were not told to evacuate but pathways were cleared for civilians, the outlet reported. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">The
Israeli army said 'the IDF will continue the humanitarian effort and
provide food, water and additional supplies to the patients and
civilians in the complex' once the mission is complete. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">The hospital became the focus of the Israel-Hamas war in November as Israel <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/galleries/article-12680519/Israel-says-Hamas-set-main-base-beneath-Gaza-City-Hospital.html" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">closed in on what it says is a façade for a Hamas stronghold - claims the hospital and Hamas denied</a></span>.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font"> </p><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="The hospital became the focus of the Israel-Hamas war in November when the IDF said it found tunnels it claimed were used by Hamas" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="423" id="i-b7ff82e89d3ab5e7" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/18/01/82580811-13208325-image-a-77_1710727058674.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <p class="imageCaption"><b>The hospital became the focus of
the Israel-Hamas war in November when the IDF said it found tunnels it
claimed were used by Hamas</b></p><p class="imageCaption"><b> </b></p></div><p class="mol-para-with-font">Israeli troops, some wearing face masks and firing guns in the air, stormed the hospital that month.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">They claimed to have found a tunnel shaft during the raid which they said was <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12759535/Israels-Defence-Forces-discover-entrances-Hamas-tunnels-booby-trapped-vehicle-Gazas-Al-Shifa-hospital-hours-finding-body-one-hostage-taken-October-7-attacks.html" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">used by Hamas terrorists</a></span>.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">The
IDF released a video it said showed a tunnel entrance in an outdoor
area of Al-Shifa hospital, two days after Israeli troops entered its
grounds to <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/galleries/article-12743275/IDF-reach-gates-Gaza-hospital-hiding-Hamas-HQ.html" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">hunt for a Hamas command centre they say</a></span> is beneath the medical facility.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">During the raid, Israel <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a class="class" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12855797/Bodies-two-Israeli-hostages-recovered-Gaza-Woman-kidnapped-Nova-festival-asked-father-look-dogs-final-phonecall-IDF-soldier.html" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">said
its troops found the bodies of two hostages - Yehudit Weiss, 64, and
Israeli soldier Noa Marciano, 19 - from a building adjacent to the
hospital.</a></span></p><p class="mol-para-with-font"></p><p class="mol-para-with-font"> </p><p></p>BarkGrowlBitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830589594331819236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18932388.post-8402133825499645882024-03-17T23:20:00.001-05:002024-03-18T00:07:39.399-05:00ISRAEL'S PRIORITY SHOULD BE THE COMPLETE DESTRUCTION OF HAMAS AND NOT THE WELLFARE OF THE GAZANS WHO SUPPORT THE TERRORISTS AND CELEBRATED THE OCTOBER 7 ATROCITIES<h1><span style="font-size: small;">Netanyahu says Israel won't accept Gaza peace deal that leaves it
'weak' and vows to allow civilians crammed into Rafah to leave before
launching new offensive on Hamas in another blow to ceasefire hopes</span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">By <a class="author" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/profile-361/miriam-kuepper.html">Miriam Kuepper</a></span></span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Daily Mail</span></span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Mar 17, 2024</span></span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></h1><p><a data-featherlight="image" href="https://static.timesofisrael.com/www/uploads/2024/03/bibisc.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img alt="Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers an address by video to an AIPAC conference, March 12, 2024 (GPO screenshot)" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" height="375" src="https://static.timesofisrael.com/www/uploads/2024/03/bibisc-640x400.jpg" title="Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers an address by video to an AIPAC conference, March 12, 2024 (GPO screenshot)" width="600" /></a> </p><p><b>Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel won't accept a Gaza peace deal
that leaves his country 'weak' and 'unable to defend itself' against
hostile neighbours</b></p><p><b> </b></p><div class="adHolder column-content cleared"><div id="para_top" style="margin: 0px auto; width: 638px;"></div></div> <p></p>
<p class="mol-para-with-font"><span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a class="class" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/benjamin-netanyahu/index.html" id="mol-7f8313d0-e499-11ee-9923-2d31d02e44dd" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Benjamin Netanyahu</a></span> has said <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/israel-hamas-conflict/index.html" id="mol-7fd8ade0-e499-11ee-9923-2d31d02e44dd" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Israel</a></span> won't accept a <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/palestine/index.html" id="mol-7fd4dd50-e499-11ee-9923-2d31d02e44dd" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Gaza</a></span> peace deal that leaves his country 'weak' and 'unable to defend itself' against hostile neighbours.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">The <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/israel/index.html" id="mol-69530e60-e4d2-11ee-b7c0-977958691137" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Israeli</a></span>
Prime Minister said a potential agreement like that would 'set peace
backwards and not forward' during a joint press appearance with <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a class="class" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/angela_merkel/index.html" id="mol-7f9451e0-e499-11ee-9923-2d31d02e44dd" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">German Chancellor</a></span> Olaf Scholz in Jerusalem.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">He also reiterated that 'Israel has to have the necessary security responsibility' in Gaza.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">This comes as Netanyahu vowed that civilians crammed into Rafah will be allowed to leave before Israel launches a new offensive on <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/hamas/index.html" id="mol-7f95d880-e499-11ee-9923-2d31d02e44dd" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Hamas</a></span> in another blow to ceasefire hopes.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">His
comments, alongside visiting Scholz, follow international fears over
the fate of the roughly 1.5 million people who have sought refuge in
Rafah, most of them displaced from Gaza's war.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font"> </p><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="Smoke and explosions rise inside the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Sunday, Sunday, March 17" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="423" id="i-8b178d2063575b65" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/17/19/82570935-13207491-image-a-3_1710705349601.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <p class="imageCaption"><b>Smoke and explosions rise inside the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Sunday, Sunday, March 17</b></p>
<a data-featherlight="image" href="https://static.timesofisrael.com/www/uploads/2024/03/IMG-20240317-WA0019.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img alt="German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, left, shakes hands with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during a press conference in Jerusalem, March 17, 2024. (GPO)" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" height="375" src="https://static.timesofisrael.com/www/uploads/2024/03/IMG-20240317-WA0019-640x400.jpg" title="German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, left, shakes hands with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during a press conference in Jerusalem, March 17, 2024. (GPO)" width="600" /></a><p class="imageCaption"><b>Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu (right), and the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz shake
hands after a joint press conference following their meeting in
Jerusalem on March 17</b></p></div><p class="imageCaption"><b> </b></p><p class="mol-para-with-font">The office of the right-wing premier,
whose security and war cabinets were to discuss the latest international
efforts towards a truce deal, had on Friday said he approved the
military's plan for an operation in Rafah as well as 'the evacuation of
the population'.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'Our goal in
eliminating the remaining terrorist battalions in Rafah goes
hand-in-hand with enabling the civilian population to leave Rafah. It's
not something that we will do while keeping the population locked in
place,' Netanyahu said at a press appearance with Scholz.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">As others have done, Scholz raised the question: 'How should more than 1.5 million people be protected? Where should they go?'</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">The United States - which provides Israel
with billions of dollars in military assistance - has said it wants a
'clear and implementable plan' to ensure civilians are 'out of harm's
way'.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Before meeting Scholz, Netanyahu
told a cabinet meeting that 'no amount of international pressure will
stop us from realising all the goals of the war', and that to do this,
'we will also operate in Rafah'.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Israel
has repeatedly threatened a ground offensive against Hamas in Rafah,
where people shelter in tents crammed up against the Egyptian border.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">UN
World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged
against a military operation there, 'in the name of humanity'.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Tedros said 'this humanitarian catastrophe must not be allowed to worsen'.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Netanyahu
leads a coalition of religious and ultra-nationalist parties. His
failure to bring home the hostages taken by Hamas militants during their
attack which started the war has led to mounting protests within his
country as well as domestic calls for early elections.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Hamas's
unprecedented attack from Gaza on October 7 resulted in about 1,160
deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of
official figures.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Vowing to destroy
Hamas, Israel has carried out a relentless bombardment and ground
offensive which has killed at least 31,645 people in Gaza, most of them
women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run
Palestinian territory.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font"> </p><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="Palestinians, including children, collect remaining belongings from the rubble of destroyed houses after Israeli attacks on the house belonging to the Sabit family as Israeli attacks continue on Gaza Strip on March 17" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="423" id="i-b2f55b4d0032fc38" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/17/19/82570905-13207491-image-a-9_1710705439063.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <p class="imageCaption"><b>Palestinians, including children,
collect remaining belongings from the rubble of destroyed houses after
Israeli attacks on the house belonging to the Sabit family as Israeli
attacks continue on Gaza Strip on March 17</b></p></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="Smoke rise over the Gaza Strip after an Israel bombardment as seen from a position on the Israeli side of the border on March 17" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="423" id="i-460ad457cff30f96" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/17/19/82570923-13207491-image-a-10_1710705441598.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <p class="imageCaption"><b>Smoke rise over the Gaza Strip after an Israel bombardment as seen from a position on the Israeli side of the border on March 17</b></p></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="An Israeli soldier on top a tank on the border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, Sunday, Sunday, March 17" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="423" id="i-babeab8cbe484bb2" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/17/19/82570941-13207491-image-a-11_1710705444059.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <p class="imageCaption"><b>An Israeli soldier on top a tank on the border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, Sunday, Sunday, March 17</b></p><p class="imageCaption"><b> </b></p></div><p class="mol-para-with-font">International envoys were planning to meet in Qatar soon to revive stalled talks for a ceasefire and hostage release deal.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Palestinian
militants seized about 250 Israeli and foreign hostages during the
October 7 attack. Dozens were released during a week-long truce in
November, and Israel believes about 130 remain in Gaza including 32
presumed dead.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">A Hamas proposal calls
for an Israeli withdrawal from 'all cities and populated areas' in Gaza
during a six-week truce and for more humanitarian aid, according to an
official from the Palestinian group.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Israel plans to attend the talks, with
cabinet members due to 'decide on the mandate' of their delegation
before its departure, Netanyahu's office said, without giving a date for
when they would leave.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">In Jerusalem,
Scholz called for 'a hostage deal with a longer-lasting ceasefire', and
appealed for a 'negotiated two-state solution' to the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'Terror cannot be defeated with military means alone,' Scholz said.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Netanyahu
has drawn condemnation from the United Nations and defied the United
States by rejecting calls for a Palestinian state.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">The
Israeli prime minister said on Sunday that he would not accept a peace
deal that weakens Israel and leaves it unable to defend itself against
hostile neighbours.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Netanyahu also reiterated his position that 'Israel has to have the necessary security responsibility' in Gaza.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">There
was no letup in the fighting, and at least 92 people were killed over
the previous 24 hours, the health ministry said on Sunday.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">The dead included 12 members of the same family whose house was hit in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Palestinian
girl Leen Thabit, retrieving a white dress from under the rubble of
their flattened house, cried as she said her cousin was killed in the
strike.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'She's dead. Only her dress is left,' Thabit said. 'What do they want from us?'</p><p class="mol-para-with-font"> </p><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="People walk past destroyed buildings in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, on March 15" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="423" id="i-6654db50b24a807d" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/17/20/82533917-13207491-People_walk_past_destroyed_buildings_in_Khan_Younis_southern_Gaz-a-12_1710705700834.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <p class="imageCaption"><b>People walk past destroyed buildings in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, on March 15 </b></p></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="Smoke billows from the area of an Israeli air strike on the southern Lebanese village of Marwahin near the border with Israel on March 16" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="423" id="i-c59fc586d362b12a" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/17/20/82571085-13207491-image-a-13_1710705733987.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <p class="imageCaption"><b>Smoke billows from the area of an
Israeli air strike on the southern Lebanese village of Marwahin near
the border with Israel on March 16</b></p></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="A view of the area after Israeli attack over an apartment building in Deir al-Balah, Gaza on March 16" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="423" id="i-aeb5c08681be8c9b" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/17/20/82571087-13207491-image-a-14_1710705736314.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <p class="imageCaption"><b>A view of the area after Israeli attack over an apartment building in Deir al-Balah, Gaza on March 16</b></p><p class="imageCaption"><b> </b></p></div><p class="mol-para-with-font">Shelling
and clashes were reported in south Gaza's main city of Khan Yunis as
well as elsewhere, and the Israeli army said its forces had killed
'approximately 18 terrorists' in central Gaza since Saturday.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">More
than five months of war and an Israeli siege have led to dire
humanitarian conditions in Gaza, where the United Nations has repeatedly
warned of looming famine for the coastal territory's 2.4 million
people.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Humanitarians have cited
Israeli restrictions as among the obstacles they face in reaching the
needy. Israel has blamed shortages on the Palestinian side, specifically
a lack of capacity to distribute aid once it gets in.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Facing difficulty on the ground, donors have turned to the air and sea.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">A
second ship was due to depart from Cyprus along a new maritime corridor
to bring food and relief goods, officials of the Mediterranean nation
said.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Jordan on Sunday announced the
latest aid airdrop over northern Gaza together with aircraft from the
United States, Egypt and Germany - which announced Saturday it had
parachuted aid into Gaza for the first time.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">In Rafah, the situation has only grown worse, said medical staff at a clinic run by Palestinian volunteers.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Samar
Gregea, a physician herself uprooted from Gaza City in the north, said
medicine is in short supply, and 'all children' are suffering from
malnutrition, with a spike in hepatitis A cases.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'Children require foods high in sugars, like dates, which are currently unavailable,' Gregea said.</p><p></p>BarkGrowlBitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830589594331819236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18932388.post-82088174351469948002024-03-17T22:51:00.000-05:002024-03-17T22:51:10.264-05:00IF ALL THE PRO-HAMAS JOURNALISTS WERE TO BE FIRED, THERE WOULD HARDLY BE ANYONE LEFT IN THE MEDIA<h1><span style="font-size: small;">The BBC is urged to suspend two journalists in row over pro-Hamas and anti-Israel social media posts</span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></h1><p class="author-section byline-plain">By <a class="author" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=&authornamef=Mary+O+Connor">Mary O Connor</a> and <a class="author" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=&authornamef=Natalie+Lisbona">Natalie Lisbona</a></p><p class="author-section byline-plain"> </p><p class="author-section byline-plain">Daily Mail</p><p class="author-section byline-plain">Mar 17, 2024</p><p class="author-section byline-plain"> </p><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"><div class="splitLeft"><div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic"> <img alt="Marie-Jose Al Azzi described Israel as a 'terrorist apartheid state' in a post from 2018 that has since been deleted" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" height="359" id="i-17cfd7e09531c1e7" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/18/01/82578649-13208169-Marie_Jose_Al_Azzi_described_Israel_as_a_terrorist_apartheid_sta-m-33_1710724049603.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="306" /><img alt="Soha Ibrahim 'liked' a post on October 7 which celebrated 'the first of the martyrs of the operation'" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" height="359" id="i-b053878f3a8ceba3" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/18/01/82578653-13208169-image-a-34_1710724055985.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="306" /> </div> </div></div><div class="splitRight"><div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic"><b>Marie-Jose
Al Azzi (left) described Israel as a 'terrorist apartheid state' in a
post from 2018 that has since been deleted and Soha Ibrahim (right)
'liked' a post on October 7 which celebrated 'the first of the martyrs
of the operation'</b></div><div class="image-wrap fff-pic"><b> </b></div><div class="image-wrap fff-pic"><p class="mol-para-with-font">The <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/bbc/index.html" id="mol-845c8880-e4be-11ee-928c-f7429c0e3c42" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">BBC</a></span> is facing calls to suspend two journalists who shared anti‑<span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/israel-hamas-conflict/index.html" id="mol-8467d320-e4be-11ee-928c-f7429c0e3c42" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Israel</a></span> posts or 'liked' videos celebrating the October 7 <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/hamas/index.html" id="mol-841b39c0-e4be-11ee-928c-f7429c0e3c42" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Hamas</a></span> terrorist attacks on social media.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Last night, Nicola Richards, <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/conservatives/index.html" id="mol-8462ca10-e4be-11ee-928c-f7429c0e3c42" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Tory</a></span>
MP for West Bromwich East and an officer for Conservative Friends of
Israel, called for the Corporation to suspend the BBC Arabic journalists
while it investigates.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Soha Ibrahim and Marie-Jose Al Azzi were credited with reporting on a BBC story which carried claims <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/israel/index.html" id="mol-8464ecf0-e4be-11ee-928c-f7429c0e3c42" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Israeli</a></span> soldiers beat and humiliated Palestinian medics during a hospital raid in <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/palestine/index.html" id="mol-846477c0-e4be-11ee-928c-f7429c0e3c42" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Gaza</a></span> last month.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">The BBC's report last week led to international condemnation of Israel, with <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/dominic-raab/index.html" id="mol-84154650-e4be-11ee-928c-f7429c0e3c42" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Foreign Secretary</a></span> Lord Cameron calling for 'answers from the Israelis'.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font"> </p><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="In a statement, the BBC said: 'We do not comment on individual staff matters, however, if we find breaches we take the appropriate action' (File image)" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="423" id="i-f9f7ab0f1c6617cf" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/18/00/82578655-13208169-image-a-17_1710722150655.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div> <p class="imageCaption"><b>In a statement, the BBC said: 'We
do not comment on individual staff matters, however, if we find
breaches we take the appropriate action' </b></p><p class="imageCaption"><b> </b></p><p class="imageCaption">On the day of the Hamas attacks on October 7, Ms Ibrahim 'liked' videos of people in Lebanon and <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a class="class" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/tunisia/index.html" id="mol-84664c80-e4be-11ee-928c-f7429c0e3c42" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Tunisia</a></span> dancing and waving Palestinian flags, and Egyptian football fans chanting 'we sacrifice our souls, our blood for Palestine'. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">London-based Ms Ibrahim, who has worked
for the BBC for 12 years, also 'liked' a post on October 7 which
celebrated 'the first of the martyrs of the operation', it was revealed
in The Mail on Sunday yesterday. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Meanwhile
Ms Al Azzi, who has worked at the BBC since 2019 and is based in
Lebanon, described Israel as a 'terrorist apartheid state' in a post
from 2018 that has since been deleted, according to anti-Semitism
researchers.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Ms Richards told the Mail:
'The BBC have got a responsibility not just in the UK, but around the
world. People rely on them for impartial news.'</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Antisemitism
tsar John Mann said: 'Any journalist who likes anything that is overtly
racist is clearly not credible. I am sure they will want to investigate
these allegations thoroughly.'</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">In a
statement, the BBC said: 'We do not comment on individual staff matters,
however, if we find breaches we take the appropriate action.'</p></div></div></div></div><p></p>BarkGrowlBitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830589594331819236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18932388.post-26689931149871322642024-03-17T16:50:00.000-05:002024-03-17T16:50:17.016-05:00HEZBOLLAH TERRORIST CAUGHT CROSSING THE BORDER NEAR EL PASO<h1><span style="font-size: small;">'Jihadist' Lebanese migrant is caught crossing into Texas and tells
Border Patrol 'he was going to try and make a BOMB' - as Biden's border
crisis spirals towards catastrophe</span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Basel Bassel Ebbadi, 22, admitted that he trained with Hezbollah for seven years before taking on a role guarding weapons locations for another four years</span></span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">By <a class="author" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=&authornamef=Laura+Parnaby+For+Dailymail.Com">Laura Parnaby</a> </span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"> </span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">Daily Mail</span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">Mar 17, 2024</span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"> </span></h1><h1><img alt="Basel Bassel Ebbadi, 22, admitted he was a member of Hezbollah when he was intercepted by agents at the southwest Texas border with Mexico on March 9" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="357" id="i-46735f2670aa32fd" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/17/19/82570301-13207339-image-a-15_1710704010283.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </h1> <p class="imageCaption"><b>Basel Bassel Ebbadi, 22, admitted
he was a member of Hezbollah when he was intercepted by agents at the
southwest Texas border with Mexico on March 9</b></p><p class="imageCaption"><b> </b></p><p class="mol-para-with-font">A Lebanese migrant who was caught illegally crossing the border near El Paso said <span style="font-size: 16px;">he was 'going to try to make a bomb,' according to official records. </span></p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Basel Bassel Ebbadi, 22, also admitted he was a member of Hezbollah when he was intercepted by agents at the southwest <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a class="class" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/texas/index.html" id="mol-79706790-e48f-11ee-a471-9b8a49de189e" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Texas</a></span> border with <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a class="class" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/mexico/index.html" id="mol-43eac660-e48f-11ee-a471-9b8a49de189e" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Mexico</a></span> on March 9.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">He
was asked what he was doing in the US while in custody, to which he
responded: 'I'm going to try to make a bomb' and he was on the way to
New York. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Ebbadi said he trained with Hezbollah for
seven years before taking on a role guarding weapons locations for
another four years, according to ICE records seen by the <span class="class"><a class="class" href="https://nypost.com/2024/03/17/us-news/illegal-migrant-from-lebanon-admitted-terror-ties/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">New York Post</a></span>. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">It comes as a <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a class="class" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13137699/America-migrant-crime-wave-border-crisis-Laken-Riley-murder-illegal-immigration.html" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">'migrant crime wave' </a></span>sweeps the country thanks to hundreds of thousands of people illegally crossing the border each month, as <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a class="class" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13180157/Abbott-eagle-pass-shelby-migrants-border-national-guard.html" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">tensions rise</a></span> between Texan officials and the Biden administration over how to police it. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font"> </p><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="His arrest comes as a 'migrant crime wave' sweeps the country thanks to hundreds of thousands of people illegally crossing the border each month" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="357" id="i-fe506ff09edd1fdf" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/17/19/82569861-13207339-image-a-1_1710703060641.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <p class="imageCaption"><b>His arrest comes as a 'migrant
crime wave' sweeps the country thanks to hundreds of thousands of people
illegally crossing the border each month</b></p></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="In an aerial view, immigrants pass through coils of razor wire while crossing the US-Mexico border on March 13" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="357" id="i-9b6f6d9d09ab8eeb" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/17/19/82569857-13207339-image-a-2_1710703064964.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div> <p class="imageCaption"><b>In an aerial view, immigrants pass through coils of razor wire while crossing the US-Mexico border on March 13</b></p><p class="imageCaption"><b> </b></p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Ebbadi said his training focused on
'jihad' and killing people 'that was not Muslim' - but he fled the
country because he 'didn't want to kill people.'</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'Once you're in, you can never get out,' he added, according to the ICE papers. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">The
Lebanese national came to the US without any documentation. He said he
lost his papers while he was being robbed at knifepoint in Costa Rica. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">He also admitted to relaying a fake date of birth and name to officials.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font"> </p><div class="mol-img-group floatRHS"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic"> <img alt="Ebbadi said his training focused on 'jihad' and killing people 'that was not Muslim'" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" height="332" id="i-80d35c9094ba337e" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/17/19/82570303-13207339-image-a-17_1710704036184.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="306" /> </div> </div> <p class="imageCaption"><b>Ebbadi said his training focused on 'jihad' and killing people 'that was not Muslim' </b></p><p class="imageCaption"><b> </b></p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Ebbadi was detained in isolation at the El
Paso Hardened Facility before he was interviewed by the Tactical
Terrorism Response Team. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">He was marked for deportation from the US, but it's unclear which country he would be taken to. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Hezbollah is a Lebanese Shia Islamist militant political party recognized by the West as a terror group. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Members of the group<span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span><span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a class="class" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13016249/Three-soldiers-killed-jordan-air-strike.html" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">killed three American troops</a></span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> in Jordan late January in a drone attack. </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">At least 34 people were also injured in the strike. </span></p><p class="mol-para-with-font">The
wave of migrants arriving at the southern border has continued
throughout most of President Joe Biden's tenure. It has led to <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a class="class" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13152975/More-8MILLION-asylum-seekers-soon-live-167-increase-five-years-Bidens-lax-policies-continue-allow-flood-migrants-southern-border.html" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">millions of migrants pouring into the country</a></span> and straining cities. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">America
is expected to be grappling with more than 8 million asylum seekers and
migrants who will have crossed over the southern border by September.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">The
staggering figure represents a 167 percent surge in five years and
underscores the challenges faced by what is both an underfunded and
antiquated immigration system.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font"> </p><div class="moduleFull mol-video"><div class="item"> <div class="vjs-video-container vjs-fixed vjs-span-two-col news" id="v-5610240438330768598"> </div> </div> </div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="The US' immigrations system appears to be struggling to cope with the rapid numbers of migrants flowing across the border, which reached an all-time high of 302,000 monthly crossings in December" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="357" id="i-98cc69462c0a3404" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/17/19/82569847-13207339-image-a-4_1710703083572.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <p class="imageCaption"><b>The US' immigrations system
appears to be struggling to cope with the rapid numbers of migrants
flowing across the border, which reached an all-time high of 302,000
monthly crossings in December</b></p></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="In an aerial view, immigrants wade through the Rio Grande as they cross the US-Mexico border to request asylum on March 13" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="357" id="i-83cc689d5c00f796" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/17/19/82569845-13207339-image-a-5_1710703086382.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <p class="imageCaption"><b>In an aerial view, immigrants wade through the Rio Grande as they cross the US-Mexico border to request asylum on March 13</b></p></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="America is expected to be grappling with more than 8 million asylum seekers and migrants who will have crossed over the southern border by September" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="357" id="i-ae3fa03bc652bc1f" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/17/19/82569851-13207339-image-a-19_1710704286809.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <p class="imageCaption"><b>America is expected to be
grappling with more than 8 million asylum seekers and migrants who will
have crossed over the southern border by September</b></p><p class="imageCaption"><b> </b></p></div><p class="mol-para-with-font">Most
of the 8 million are now free to roam US streets, including 2 million
'high-priority' cases of career criminals seeking asylum.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">The
system appears to be struggling to cope with the rapid numbers of
migrants flowing across the border, which reached an all-time high of
302,000 monthly crossings in December.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">The
backlog has left millions of migrants who are currently residing in the
U.S., unsure of whether they will be permitted to stay or simply be
deported.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Migrants <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a class="class" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13128307/migrant-border-crisis-charity-non-profit.html" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">who cross the border may often be forced to wait several years</a></span> for a decision to be made in their applications. In the meantime, they have been released to American streets.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Recent
data suggests the backlog has only swelled during President Joe Biden's
term in part reflecting the difficulties his administration has faced
in addressing the unprecedented influx of migrants, mainly from Central
and South America.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">At the end of fiscal
year 2023 on September 30, more than 6 million people were recorded on
what officials term the 'non-detained docket.'</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Government
projections, as communicated in Homeland Security documents sent to
Congress, suggest the number will have risen to 8 million by October 1.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">The
number includes people who have been ordered to be deported or who are
still awaiting their final decisions in their asylum or immigration
cases.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">The majority are not being held in limited available detention space and instead are free to roam.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Overall last year, some 2,045,838 people illegally crossed the southern border into the US, according to CBP figures.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">These
figures are expected to swell this year - while the northern border
with Canada is also experiencing an unprecedented crisis.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Illegal crossings from Canada into the US surged 500 percent to 10,021 last year compared with 2022.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font"> </p><div class="moduleFull mol-video"><div class="item"> <div class="vjs-video-container vjs-fixed vjs-span-two-col news" id="v-5719887165990944583"> </div> </div> </div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="Overall last year, some 2,045,838 people illegally crossed the southern border into the US, according to CBP figures" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="357" id="i-eb5fa6190db656e0" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/17/20/82569841-13207339-image-a-2_1710707271783.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <p class="imageCaption"><b>Overall last year, some 2,045,838 people illegally crossed the southern border into the US, according to CBP figures</b></p></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group mol-hidden-caption"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="560" id="i-d904578896fe4aba" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/17/20/81996405-13207339-image-a-1_1710707174806.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div><p class="mol-para-with-font"><b><span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a class="class" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13155765/biden-illegal-migrant-flying-program-national-security-vulnerability.html" target="_self">Tensions have been rising for months</a></span>
between state and federal authorities amid a surge in recorded illegal
crossings which reached an all-time high of 301,983 in December.</b></p><p class="mol-para-with-font"><b> </b></p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Immigration
has become a flashpoint of the upcoming election, with both Biden and
Trump conducting competing visits to the border on the same day.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Last
month Texas troopers began arresting migrants crossing the border for
criminal trespass before they could surrender to US Border Patrol agents
and seek asylum.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">The White House has
asked the Supreme Court to overturn an injunction preventing it removing
razor wire on the banks of the Rio Grande that is a 'risk to human
life'.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">The DOJ has said the blockade of
Shelby Park has left its view of the border there 'limited to a narrow
sliver from a single surveillance camera located outside of the newly
fenced area'.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">It also claims that State
authorities have denied Border Patrol access to a boat ramp and a
staging area previously used to inspect apprehended migrants.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'Border
Patrol agents in a vehicle towing a boat to launch on the boat ramp
requested access to Shelby Park, but the Texas National Guard refused to
permit them to access the area,' they wrote in the latest filing.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'Border Patrol agents likewise requested access to the staging area and Texas National Guard refused.'</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">A
spokesperson for the Texas Military Department told ABC News the move
was intended 'to restrict access to organizations that perpetuate
illegal immigrant crossings in the park and greater Eagle Pass area.'</p></div><p></p>BarkGrowlBitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830589594331819236noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18932388.post-5253179487392962862024-03-17T16:49:00.000-05:002024-03-17T16:49:36.065-05:00THERE WAS THIS HUMONGOUS BLAZE, BUT THE FIREFIGHTERS WERE ABLE TO SAVED MY BELOVED CAR. OH, I ALMOST FORGOT, AND THEY SAVED JILL AND MY CAT TOO ..... QUICK, SOMEONE CALL THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. BIDEN'S PANTS ARE ON FIRE!<p><b>Lyin' Biden strikes again! </b><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Joe Biden retells story of house fire he claims almost killed Jill,
his cat and destroyed his Corvette for the SEVENTH time...even though
blaze was far smaller</b></span></p><p><span class="mol-style-bold">President Joe Biden, 81, </span>claimed the fire department once 'saved my wife, saved my cat,
and saved my Corvette' while fighting a fire at his Delaware home
following a lightning strike. But Biden's home suffered a 'small fire that was contained to
the kitchen', according to reports and firefighters got it under control
in just 20 minutes<span class="mol-style-bold"> </span></p><p><span class="mol-style-bold"> </span></p><p>By <a class="author" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/profile-676/index.html">Kamal Sultan </a><span class="mol-style-bold"> </span></p><p><span class="mol-style-bold"> </span></p><p><span class="mol-style-bold">Daily Mail</span></p><p><span class="mol-style-bold">Mar 16, 2024</span></p><p><span class="mol-style-bold"> </span></p><div class="main-photo">
<img alt="Illustration by Alexander Hunter for The Washington Times (published May 12, 2023)" height="621" src="https://twt-thumbs.washtimes.com/media/image/2023/05/12/230513-hunter_s878x621.jpg?8a57a48184efa5b138c302289a4efe6811a782e9" title="Illustration by Alexander Hunter for The Washington Times (published May 12, 2023)" width="878" />
</div>
<h2 class="article-headline"><a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/cartoons/campaign-2012/unfit-run-bath-let-alone-country/" title="Unfit to run a bath, let alone a country ..."><br /></a></h2>
<p class="mol-para-with-font"><span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/joe-biden/index.html" id="mol-7fcaa930-e39e-11ee-8b4b-27ec7c69ffa3" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Joe Biden</a></span> has <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a class="class" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11305287/Biden-says-lost-couple-firefighters-2004-kitchen-fire-Delaware-home.html" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">repeated an exaggerated story</a></span>
about how a house fire in 2004 almost killed his wife Jill, their cat
and destroyed his Corvette - even though the blaze was far smaller. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">The president, 81, shared the claim as he was campaigning in <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/michigan/index.html" id="mol-7ff42a30-e39e-11ee-8b4b-27ec7c69ffa3" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Michigan</a></span> on Thursday for the upcoming presidential election. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">He told a crowd the fire department once 'saved my wife, saved my cat, and saved my Corvette' while fighting a blaze at his <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/delaware/index.html" id="mol-7ff318c0-e39e-11ee-8b4b-27ec7c69ffa3" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Delaware</a></span> home following a lightning strike.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">But Biden's home suffered a 'small fire
that was contained to the kitchen', according to reports at the time and
firefighters managed to get it under control in just 20 minutes.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">He has now told the exaggerated tale at least seven times as president, <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a class="class" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12431209/Hawaii-fires-Joe-Biden-tour-joke-damage-deaths.html" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">including in August after the devastating Hawaii wildfires</a></span> which killed 101 people.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font"> </p><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="The president, 81, has told the tale at least seven times as president including in August after the devastating Hawaii wildfires which killed 101 people" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="427" id="i-cf7e12fb4493b431" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/16/14/82541205-13204555-image-a-28_1710598987616.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div> <p class="imageCaption"><b>The president, 81, has repeated an
exaggerated story about how a house fire he suffered in 2004 almost
killed his wife Jill, their cat and destroyed his Corvette even though
the blaze was far smaller. He has told the
tale at least seven times as president including in August after the
devastating Hawaii wildfires which killed 101 people</b></p><p class="imageCaption"><b> </b></p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Biden repeated the exaggerated story to a small group of people in Michigan during his campaign trail. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">He
sparked controversy after he told it during a visit to Hawaii in August
when the state suffered the deadliest wildfire recorded in US history. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'I don't want to compare difficulties but we have a little sense, Jill and I, of what it's like to lose a home,' Biden said. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'Years
ago, now 15 years ago, while I was in Washington doing Meet The Press,
it was a sunny Sunday and lightning struck at home on a little lake
outside our home - not a lake, a pond.' </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">He said the spark went through the wires and into the heating ducts, and into the kitchen.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'To make a long story short, I almost lost my wife, my 67 Corvette, and my cat.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'But all kidding aside - I watched the firefighters, the way they responded.'</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">It is an anecdote that Biden often tells at times of tragedy and he made similar comments to Hurricane Idalia victims in August.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">While
in March, at a conference for firefighters, he said: 'Lightning struck
in a pond behind my house, went up underneath the conduit, and caught
the — caught fire underneath the floorboards of my house. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'It was during the summer. Air conditioning was on. Smoke that thick all three stories.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'My fire company was there to go in and save my wife, get her out; the cat; and my ’67 Corvette.' </p><p class="mol-para-with-font"> </p><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="Biden sparked controversy after he told it during a visit to Hawaii in August after the state suffered the deadliest wildfire recorded in US history" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="425" id="i-d64da38228a31a2a" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/16/14/74581125-13204555-Joe_and_Jill_Biden_are_seen_on_Monday_departing_Maui_after_visit-a-31_1710599061985.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <p class="imageCaption"><b>Biden sparked controversy after
he told it during a visit to Hawaii in August after the state suffered
the deadliest wildfire recorded in US history </b></p></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="While in October 2021, he made the bizarre claim that they almost lost a couple of firefighters in the kitchen fire. Pictured: Biden speaking during a visit to the Philadelphia Fire Department in December" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="410" id="i-865babce998571cf" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/16/14/82540823-13204555-image-a-33_1710599072654.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <p class="imageCaption"><b>While in October 2021, he made
the bizarre claim that they almost lost a couple of firefighters in the
kitchen fire. Pictured: Biden speaking during a visit to the
Philadelphia Fire Department in December </b></p><p class="imageCaption"><b> </b></p></div><p class="mol-para-with-font">But in October 2021, he made the bizarre claim that they almost lost a couple of firefighters in the kitchen fire. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'We
almost lost a couple firefighters, they tell me, because the kitchen
floor was — the — burning between beams in the house, in addition to
almost collapsed into the basement,' he said at a summit on fire
prevention. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">In November 2021, he told
an infrastructure event: 'I know, having had a house burn down with my
wife in it — she got out safely, God willing — that having a significant
portion of it burn, I can tell: 10 minutes makes a hell of a
difference.' </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">However the accounts of Cranston Heights Fire Company Chief George Lamborn are much less dramatic. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'Luckily, we got it pretty early,' he said at the time. 'The fire was under control in 20 minutes.'</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Firefighters arrived to heavy smoke but were able to keep the flames contained to the kitchen.</p>BarkGrowlBitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830589594331819236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18932388.post-88268166993141946792024-03-17T15:58:00.000-05:002024-03-17T15:58:47.380-05:00BEHEAD THE HAMAS TERRORISTS AND THEIR CIVILIAN ACCOMPLICES ... THEN MUTILATE THEIR BODIES<h1 class="jeg_post_title"><span style="font-size: small;">How should Israel bring Oct. 7 terrorists to justice?</span></h1>
<h2 class="jeg_post_subtitle"><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">Mass criminal trials could
overwhelm Israel's already sluggish courts. An ad hoc war crimes
tribunal established under the current government could lack
credibility. Freeing the suspects as part of a deal to release hostages
held in Gaza would trouble many traumatized Israelis.</span></h2><h2 class="jeg_post_subtitle"><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"> </span></h2>
<div class="jeg_meta_author">
<a href="https://www.israelhayom.com/writer/ap/">AP
</a>
<a href="https://www.israelhayom.com/writer/ilh-staff/">
and Israel Hayom </a></div><div class="jeg_meta_author">Mar 17, 2024</div><div class="jeg_meta_author"> </div><div class="jeg_meta_author"> </div><div class="tdm-inline-image-wrap "><img alt="The Trial of Adolf Eichmann Photo" class="tdm-image td-fix-index" height="742" src="https://remember.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/eich1-JerusalemTrial-gigapixel-low_res-scale-2_00x-974x742.jpg.webp" width="974" /></div><p><b>Adolf Eichmann in the
Jerusalem courtroom where he was tried and convicted of war crimes
committed during World War II. He was hanged on June 1, 1962.<br /></b></p><p><b> </b></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hamas' unprecedented and brutal attack
on southern Israel on Oct. 7 has prompted a legal predicament: How does a
country scarred by the deadliest attack in its history bring the
perpetrators to justice?</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Israel has arrested hundreds of
terrorists from Gaza for taking part in the massacre that sparked its
war with Hamas. It is grappling with how to prosecute suspects and offer
closure to victims' families.</span></p><p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">None of the available legal options seem to fit.</span></p><div class="jeg_ad jeg_ad_article jnews_content_inline_2_ads "><div class="ads-wrapper align-center "><div class="ads_code"></div></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mass criminal trials could overwhelm
Israel's already sluggish courts. An ad hoc war crimes tribunal
established under the current government could lack credibility. Freeing
the suspects as part of a deal to release hostages held in Gaza would
trouble many traumatized Israelis.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"They slaughtered, raped, looted and
were caught red-handed," said Yuval Kaplinsky, a former senior official
in the Justice Ministry. "There is no silver bullet here for how to try
them."</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the Oct. 7 attack, thousands of
Palestinians crossed the border from Gaza into Israel, breaking down the
country's defenses and rampaging through sleepy communities. They
killed entire families, hunted down revelers at an outdoor music
festival and committed sexual violence.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hamas took roughly 250 hostages, including women, children and seniors, and is still holding 134 of them.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Israel's criminal courts are distinct from the military courts and are widely seen as independent of political influence.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But Barak Medina, a law professor at
Jerusalem's Hebrew University, said trying the hundreds of suspects
there would overwhelm the backlogged system and could take years.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Israel's public defenders' office has
said it will not provide a state-funded attorney for the suspects,
seeing Israeli lawyers also scarred by Hamas' attack as unsuitable and
unwilling to do so.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">According to Israel's public broadcaster </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kan</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">,
the office has suggested foreign lawyers be enlisted, like in Israel's
1961 criminal trial of Adolf Eichmann, one of Nazi Germany's main
organizers of the Holocaust.</span></p><p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Some experts have
pointed to that trial as a possible precedent because it was high
profile, dealt with a traumatic event and challenged Israel's existing
legal framework. In publicly airing the Nazis' heinous crimes, the trial
offered some catharsis for Holocaust survivors.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Eichmann, who was captured by Mossad
agents in Argentina, was represented by a German lawyer and was found
guilty of crimes against humanity, crimes against the Jewish people and
war crimes. He was executed in 1962, the only time Israel has carried
out a death sentence.</span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">A similarly public
trial for Hamas' crimes might offer Israelis some sense of justice. But
Eichmann's trial focused on just one defendant.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kaplinsky, the former Justice
Ministry official, said the narratives presented at criminal trials
could also work against Israel by providing fodder for its opponents.</span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">For example, if
prosecutors fail to include rape charges in any indictment because the
evidence they have doesn't meet the legal threshold, that could fuel
arguments about whether sexual violence occurred at all. Defense
attorneys might use friendly fire shootings to whip up suspicions about
the death toll from the attack.</span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kaplinsky
presented a plan to a Knesset committee that suggests creating a
tribunal that takes the events of Oct. 7 as established fact. The
tribunal would not call witnesses but would be based on documents from
Israel's security forces as well as the suspects' interrogations.
Suspects would fund their own defense.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It was not clear if his plan was being considered.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Dahlia Scheindlin, a political
analyst who wrote a book about Israel's democracy, said any tribunal
created under Israel's current far-Right government would be politically
tainted.</span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">"It will look like the laws are tailored according to the political whim of the current government," she said.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Medina, the law professor, said it
appeared the state was holding off on making any decisions on how to try
the suspects because it was expecting them to be released as part of a
deal to free hostages.</span></p>BarkGrowlBitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830589594331819236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18932388.post-89047356279762585682024-03-17T15:00:00.000-05:002024-03-17T15:00:42.573-05:00ISLAMIC PREACHER FIRED AT JEWISH CHILDREN IN HEBRON<h1 class="title"><span style="font-size: small;">Terrorist imam shot dead while firing at Hebron Jewish community</span></h1><div class="subtitle"><p>The
terrorist, well-known as a Hamas activist, had targeted two Jewish
children, according to Religious Zionism Party MK and Hebron resident
Orit Strook.</p><p> </p></div><p> <span class="meta-author"> By David Isaac </span></p><p><span class="meta-author"> </span></p><p><span class="meta-date"><time class="published" datetime="' . get_the_time( 'Y-m-d\TH:i:sO' ) . '">Israel Today <br /></time></span></p><p><span class="meta-date"><time class="published" datetime="' . get_the_time( 'Y-m-d\TH:i:sO' ) . '">Mar 17, 2024</time></span></p><p></p><p> </p><div class="elementor-element elementor-element-ccb1ec1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-theme-post-featured-image elementor-widget-image" data-element_type="widget" data-id="ccb1ec1" data-widget_type="theme-post-featured-image.default">
<div class="elementor-widget-container">
<img alt="" class="attachment-large size-large wp-image-2269394" height="510" src="https://yeshivaworld.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/def31db0-e3b3-11ee-88f4-7bb97195.jpg" width="800" /> </div>
</div><p><b>Sheikh
Mahmoud Nofal, the imam of the Al-Qassem Mosque in Hebron carries out a
shooting attack from within the Hebron cemetery – and is eliminated by
IDF forces.</b></p><p><b> </b></p><p>Israeli forces killed a Hebron imam on Saturday after he opened fire on the city’s Jewish neighborhood with an automatic rifle.</p><p>No Israeli casualties were reported.</p><p><strong>Mahmoud Nofal</strong> was captured on video as he fired toward the city’s Jewish neighborhood from a cemetery in the Abu Sanina neighborhood.</p><p>IDF forces reacted quickly, neutralizing the terrorist and carrying out an extensive search to ensure he had acted alone.</p><p><strong>Maj. Israel</strong>, company commander of the Israel Defense
Forces’ 92nd Brigade, said that around noon on Saturday his forces had
responded after hearing a burst of gunfire. His forces flanked the
terrorist from the left and right and neutralized him.</p><p>“We understood afterwards that only one terrorist was involved. Thank God no one was hurt,” he said.</p><p>The terrorist had served as imam of Hebron’s Al-Qassam Mosque, and was a known Hamas activist.</p><p>According to Religious Zionism Party Knesset member <strong>Orit Strook</strong>, a resident of the Hebron, Nofal was not shooting randomly.</p><p>“This
damned terrorist…did not fire ‘against the settlement in Hebron.’ He
shot from point-blank range at two children, who walked innocently on
the only street allowed for Jewish movement in Hebron.</p><p>“I will
bring my neighbor’s soccer ball—a 5th grade student—to the Cabinet
meeting tomorrow,” she said. “The ball took a bullet instead of the boy,
who was saved by God’s grace.”</p><p>Israeli National Security Minister <strong>Itamar Ben-Gvir</strong>
of the Otzma Yehudit Party called on the Prime Minister to embrace his
policy of putting “as many barriers and restrictions as possible on the
residents of the PA.”</p><p>The shooting proved once more that Israelis’
right to life takes priority over Palestinian Authority residents’
freedom of movement, he said.</p><p>“Whoever wakes up in the morning and
all he thinks about is how to murder as many Jews as possible should
not be given freedom of movement and allowed to carry out his plan,” he
said.</p><p>On Thursday, a terrorist killed Israeli soldier <strong><a href="https://www.jns.org/israeli-wounded-in-stabbing-attack-in-negev/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Uri Moyal</a></strong> at a gas station near Beit Kama in the northern Negev.</p><p>The terrorist, <strong>Fadi Abu Latif</strong>,
22, was born in the Gaza Strip and lived there till the age of 18. He
was granted Israeli citizenship in 2019 after getting married and was a
resident of the Bedouin city of Rahat.</p>BarkGrowlBitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830589594331819236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18932388.post-40117171054477449312024-03-17T14:25:00.000-05:002024-03-17T14:25:02.076-05:00OBAMA HAD ISRAEL-HATER JEREMIAH WRIGHT AS HIS MENTOR, SCHUMER HAS RACHEL TIMONER<h1 class="article-headline ">
<span style="font-size: small;">Schumer’s ‘rabbi’ is an anti-Israel activist </span></h1>
<h2 class="article-underline"><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">
Rachel Timoner is a J Street activist affiliated with anti-Israel groups. </span></h2><h2 class="article-underline"><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"> </span></h2><h2 class="article-underline"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.jns.org/writers/daniel-greenfield/" title="Daniel Greenfield">By Daniel Greenfield</a></span></span></h2><h2 class="article-underline"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></h2><h2 class="article-underline"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">JNS</span></span></h2><h2 class="article-underline"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">Mar 17, 2024 </span></span></h2><h2 class="article-underline"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></h2><h2 class="article-underline"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></h2><h2 class="article-underline"><img alt="Rabbi Rachel Timoner at Congregation Beth Elohim. " class="css-1m50asq" src="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2023/07/06/multimedia/06adams-jewish-fvhp/06adams-jewish-fvhp-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale" /><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="css-jevhma e13ogyst0"> </span></span></h2><h2 class="article-underline"><span style="font-size: small;">Rabbi Rachel Timoner, senior rabbi at the leftist Congregation Beth Elohim in Brooklyn</span></h2><h2 class="article-underline"><br /></h2><p class="wp-block-paragraph">The media decided to defend <a href="https://www.jns.org/netanyahu-israeli-right-hamas-abbas-the-four-obstacles-to-peace-schumer-says/">Sen. Schumer</a>’s
attack on Israel and call to spare Hamas and create a terrorist state
by rushing out his “rabbi,” Rachel Timoner, to claim that “he said what
most of us think” and “what the overwhelming majority of American Jews
are saying to each other.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The first part of that is probably true.</p><p class="wp-block-paragraph">Rachel Timoner is an activist with such
anti-Israel groups as J Street and T’ruah and co-founded the New York
Jewish Agenda leftist organization alongside Sharon Kleinbaum, who faced
an exodus from her “temple” after <a href="https://www.frontpagemag.com/rabbi-who-said-kaddish-for-hamas-threatens-to-boycott-israeli-government/">saying Kaddish</a> for Hamas terrorists, with a mission of fighting the city’s Orthodox Jews.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The latter isn’t because these anti-Israel extremists don’t represent Jews. They represent only the Jew-hating far left.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Bringing out Timoner, the clergywoman of
the leftist congregation Schumer attends, doesn’t help him. It reveals
how bad he really is.</p><p class="wp-block-paragraph">Let’s take a look at what Rachel Timoner has been up to.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Timoner took part in a recent anti-Israel
“ceasefire” rally while whining that “continued war and Israeli
occupation of Gaza will be an unmitigated disaster.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">She signed on to a letter by the T’ruah
anti-Israel hate group which claimed that “there is no military
solution” and demanded that Biden “ensure that Israel does not invade
Rafah” and finish off Hamas.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In the past, Timoner had signed on to a T’ruah/J Street letter defending BDS.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Timoner, the author of op-eds such as
“Fellow Dykes: We Must Be Both Pro-Israel And Pro-Palestine,” tries to
have it both ways, but she picked her side.</p><p class="wp-block-paragraph">The side of those who murder Jews.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">We know what Timoner is. Now what does tell us about what <a href="https://www.jns.org/large-backlash-to-schumer-calling-netanyahu-peace-obstacle/">Schumer</a> is?</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Schumer has attended Timoner’s synagogue
near his home in Park Slope, Brooklyn for at least a decade. Timoner
officiated his daughter’s wedding, blessed his three grandchildren and
buried his father.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">This is what Schumer embraced as his guiding spiritual light.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">A mere few weeks after the Hamas
atrocities, Timoner was already scolding Israel in a sermon, warning
that “killing thousands of Palestinian civilians will not bring back the
Israeli civilians.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">She repeated the same message in a <em>New York Times</em> op-ed.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">T’ruah summed up Timoner’s remarks at one
anti-Israel rally as, “American Jews must tell our govt. we oppose this
war and want an end to the occupation and a real political solution for
Palestinians and Israelis.”</p><p class="wp-block-paragraph">That’s the message <a href="https://www.jns.org/israeli-officials-slam-schumers-undermining-speech-on-netanyahu/">Sen. Schumer</a> took to the Senate. It’s not the message of American Jews, but of their leftist and Islamist enemies. <br /></p>BarkGrowlBitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830589594331819236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18932388.post-36272723144183627642024-03-17T13:06:00.000-05:002024-03-17T13:06:00.972-05:00NETANYAHU MAKES IT CLEAR THAT 'IF WE STOP THE FIGHTING NOW IT MEANS THAT ISRAEL HAS LOST THE WAR, AND WE WILL NOT ALLOW THAT'<h1 class="article-headline ">
<span style="font-size: small;">Netanyahu: Israel will not cave to demands Hamas survive </span></h1>
<h2 class="article-underline"><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">
The PM called out the international community's moral blindness, asking, "Is your memory so short?" </span></h2><h2 class="article-underline"><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"> </span></h2>
<div class="article-byline color-primary">
By <a href="https://www.jns.org/writers/charles-bybelezer/" title="Charles Bybelezer">Charles Bybelezer</a></div><div class="article-byline color-primary"> </div><div class="article-byline color-primary">JNS</div><div class="article-byline color-primary">Mar 17, 2024
</div><p></p><p> </p><p><a data-featherlight="image" href="https://static.timesofisrael.com/www/uploads/2024/03/bibisc.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img alt="Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers an address by video to an AIPAC conference, March 12, 2024 (GPO screenshot)" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" height="375" src="https://static.timesofisrael.com/www/uploads/2024/03/bibisc-640x400.jpg" title="Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers an address by video to an AIPAC conference, March 12, 2024 (GPO screenshot)" width="600" /></a> </p><p><b>Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the international community “Instead of pressuring Israel, which is fighting a just war against a
cruel enemy, direct your pressure against Hamas and its patron—Iran.”</b></p><p><b> </b></p><p class="wp-block-paragraph">Israel will continue to fight until the
Hamas terrorist group is defeated in the Gaza Strip, despite efforts to
force Jerusalem to end the war immediately, Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu vowed at the start of Sunday’s Cabinet meeting.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“It is no secret that international
pressure against us is increasing. There are those trying to stop the
war now, before all of its goals are achieved,” began the premier. “They
do this by making false accusations against the IDF, against the
Israeli government and against the prime minister of Israel. They do
this by trying to bring about elections in the midst of the war.</p><p class="wp-block-paragraph">“So, let’s be clear,” continued Netanyahu,
“if we stop the fighting now it means that Israel has lost the war, and
we will not allow that. That is why we must not give in to these
pressures, and we will not do so.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The comments come amid growing tensions with the <a href="https://www.jns.org/netanyahu-hits-back-at-biden-ive-got-my-own-red-line/">Biden administration</a> and after Israeli officials across the political spectrum hit out at U.S. Senate Majority Leader <a href="https://www.jns.org/israeli-officials-slam-schumers-undermining-speech-on-netanyahu/">Chuck Schumer</a>
(D-N.Y.), who implied that Netanyahu was the main obstacle to a
“healthy and open decision-making process” concerning the future of the
Jewish state.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In a speech on the Senate floor Thursday that <a href="https://www.jns.org/netanyahu-israeli-right-hamas-abbas-the-four-obstacles-to-peace-schumer-says/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Schumer</a> described as a “major address” on a possible <a href="https://www.jns.org/over-half-of-israelis-oppose-pal-state-for-saudi-ties/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">two-state solution</a>,
the Jewish senator labeled some of Netanyahu’s senior Cabinet members
as “bigots” and “extremists” and called for an early election in Israel.
He suggested that Washington should condition or cut off military aid
to Jerusalem unless a new government is formed.</p><p class="wp-block-paragraph">Also last week, a “very senior” <a href="https://www.jns.org/israeli-official-biden-seeking-to-oust-netanyahu/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Israeli official</a> slammed a U.S. intelligence report that claimed Netanyahu’s government “may be in jeopardy,” amid ongoing <a href="https://www.jns.org/on-hot-mic-biden-says-netanyahu-needs-come-to-jesus-meeting/">criticism</a> by Washington over Jerusalem’s prosecution of the war.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Those who elect the prime minister of
Israel are the citizens of Israel and no one else,” said the official.
“Israel is not a protectorate of the U.S. 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,” he added.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Netanyahu said on Sunday that such
external developments serve to “strengthen our determination to keep
fighting until the end—until the absolute victory. No international
pressure will stop us from realizing all the goals of the war: The
elimination of Hamas, the release of all our hostages and ensuring that
Gaza no longer poses a threat against Israel.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">To achieve this, he stressed, the IDF will conquer Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“This is the only way to destroy the rest
of Hamas’s murderous battalions, and this is the only way to apply the
military pressure necessary to release all our abductees,” said the
premier, who on Friday approved the <a href="https://www.jns.org/netanyahu-approves-military-plans-for-rafah-operation/">IDF’s plans</a> in Rafah, including the evacuation of Gazan civilians.</p><p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Those who say that the operation in Rafah
will not happen are the same ones who said that we would not enter
Gaza, that we would not operate in <a href="https://www.jns.org/shifa-hospital-was-hamas-command-center-us-confirms/">Shifa Hospital</a>
[a medical center in Gaza City that doubled as a Hamas command center],
that we would not operate in Khan Yunis and that we would not resume
fighting after the ceasefire [in November in which more than 100
hostages were freed].</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“And that’s why I repeat: ‘We will act in Rafah. It will take a few weeks, and it will happen,'” the prime minister said.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Netanyahu then called out what he deems the world’s moral blindness.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“To our friends in the international
community: Is your memory so short? So quickly did you forget October 7,
the most horrible massacre committed against Jews since the Holocaust?
So quickly are you ready to deny Israel the right to defend itself
against the monsters of Hamas? Did you lose your moral conscience so
quickly?</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Instead of pressuring Israel, which is
fighting a just war against a cruel enemy, direct your pressure against
Hamas and its patron—Iran. They are the ones who pose a danger to the
region and the entire world,” said Netanyahu.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“In any case, will confront all these
pressures, and with God’s help, we will continue to fight together until
complete victory,” he said.</p>BarkGrowlBitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830589594331819236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18932388.post-5410334254107542102024-03-17T12:25:00.000-05:002024-03-17T12:25:04.275-05:0072 VIRGINS WAITING FOR NO. 3 TO BE DUG UP FROM UNDERNEATH THE RUBBLE<h1 class="article-headline ">
<span style="font-size: small;">Hamas No. 3 Marwan Issa killed in Israeli strike—report </span></h1>
<h2 class="article-underline"><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">
Palestinian sources back up Jerusalem's assessment that the terror leader was slain in Gaza. </span></h2><h2 class="article-underline"><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"> </span></h2>
<div class="article-byline color-primary">
By <a href="https://www.jns.org/writers/joshua-marks/" title="Joshua Marks">Joshua Marks</a></div><div class="article-byline color-primary"> </div><div class="article-byline color-primary">JNS</div><div class="article-byline color-primary">Mar 17, 2024</div><div class="article-byline color-primary"> </div><div class="article-byline color-primary"><span class="" contenteditable="false" disabled=""></span><div class="ImageCaption"><span class="" contenteditable="false" disabled=""> </span></div><div class="ImageCaption"><section class="sc-189fa0a-0 dSVUgp" data-component="image-block"><div class="sc-83607862-1 ijYvQn" data-testid="hero-image"><img alt="BBC (Clockwise top left: Marwan Issa; Khaled Meshaal; Mahmoud Zahar; Yehiya Sinwar; Ismail Haniyeh; Mohammed Deif)" class="sc-83607862-0 jvrVsN" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/A5C3/production/_131453424_6splitcomposite.jpg.webp" /><span class="sc-83607862-2 jPBxZH"> </span></div><div class="sc-83607862-1 ijYvQn" data-testid="hero-image"><span class="sc-83607862-2 jPBxZH"></span><span class="sc-8978ac5f-0 crzbWB"><b>Hamas top leaders clockwise top left: Marwan Issa; Khaled Meshaal; Mahmoud Zahar; Yehiya Sinwar; Ismail Haniyeh; Mohammed Deif. Hamas co-founder Issa was killed in an Israeli airstrike on March 9.</b></span></div><div class="sc-83607862-1 ijYvQn" data-testid="hero-image"><span class="sc-8978ac5f-0 crzbWB"><b> </b></span></div><div class="sc-83607862-1 ijYvQn" data-testid="hero-image"><p class="wp-block-paragraph">Marwan Issa was killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting the Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip on March 9, <em>Kan News</em> reported on Sunday, citing Palestinian sources.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The sources disclosed that privately,
Hamas has confirmed Issa’s death, adding that the Hamas co-founder and
deputy head of its “military” wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades,
was hiding in a tunnel when he was killed. His body is still buried
underneath the rubble.</p><p class="wp-block-paragraph">Razi Abu Tomeh, commander of Hamas’s Central Camp Brigade, also died in the strike, according to the <em>Kan</em> report.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Earlier, security officials told
government ministers at Friday’s Security Cabinet meeting that signs
indicate that the targeted killing attempt succeeded.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The Israel Defense Forces on March 11
aired footage of a nighttime aerial strike on the Nuseirat refugee camp
in the central Gaza Strip, saying that there was not enough information
to confirm that Issa was hit in the attack.</p><p class="wp-block-paragraph">A report on Saturday said that Issa was
only wounded. According to Palestinian sources in Gaza cited by
London-based, Saudi-owned pan-Arab newspaper <em>Asharq Al</em>–<em>Awsat</em>, the terrorist “was injured, but his condition is currently unknown.” They added that “the whole situation is complicated.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed
the news of Issa’s likely death following the Security Cabinet meeting,
saying that it is “a great achievement for Israel” and that “they
[Hamas leaders] will all die, we will reach them all.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The third-ranking official in Hamas, <a href="https://www.jns.org/the-target-marwan-issa-hamass-strategic-brain/">Issa</a>
is the most senior leader of the Gaza-based terrorist group targeted
since Hamas started the war with its invasion of the northwestern Negev
on Oct. 7.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Jerusalem has vowed to kill all of the organization’s senior leaders. In late November, <a href="https://www.jns.org/netanyahu-mossad-ordered-to-kill-hamas-leaders-wherever-they-are/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Netanyahu </a>revealed that he had instructed the Mossad to kill Hamas leaders anywhere in the world.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">An <a href="https://www.jns.org/israeli-drone-kills-hamas-deputy-chief-al-arouri-in-beirut/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Israeli airstrike</a> in Beirut in early January killed Saleh <a href="https://www.jns.org/israel-palestinianconflict/hamas/23/8/27/313650/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">al-Arouri</a>, the commander of Hamas operations in Judea and Samaria and deputy politburo chief under chairman <a href="https://www.jns.org/netanyahu-hostage-release-talks-taking-place-right-now/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Ismail Haniyeh</a>.</p><p class="wp-block-paragraph">In a cryptic video message posted to his X
social media channel on March 11, Netanyahu hinted at Issa’s
assassination, referencing the killing of al-Arouri, the fourth-ranked
member of Hamas.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“We are on the way to absolute victory. On
the way to this victory, we already eliminated No. 4 in Hamas. 3, 2 and
1 on the way. Everyone is mortal, we will reach everyone,” he tweeted.</p><p class="wp-block-paragraph">Other terrorist<a href="https://www.jns.org/the-six-top-hamas-leaders-in-israels-sights/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"> leaders</a> in
Israel’s sights include Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip and the
mastermind of the Oct. 7 attacks, Yahya Sinwar, along with his younger
brother Mohammed, commander of Hamas’s Khan Yunis Brigade; Haniyeh, who
is based in Doha, Qatar; Mohammed Deif, head of Hamas’s “military” wing;
and Zaher Jabarin, one of the longest-serving members of Hamas, who
served as al-Arouri’s deputy and is the group’s key financier.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><a href="https://www.jns.org/us-not-given-advanced-notice-of-al-arouri-assassination/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Mossad</a> director David Barnea in early January threatened to target any terrorists who participated in the Oct. 7 murders.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Let every Arab mother know that if her son took part in the [Oct. 7] massacre—he signed his own death warrant,” said Barnea.</p><span class="sc-8978ac5f-0 crzbWB"></span></div></section><span class="" contenteditable="false" disabled=""></span></div></div><p></p>BarkGrowlBitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830589594331819236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18932388.post-73694620606807141402024-03-17T11:35:00.000-05:002024-03-17T11:35:18.928-05:00SOMETHING FISHY GOING ON HERE<p>By Bob Walsh</p><p> </p><p><img alt="" src="https://www.latinotimes.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Frietas-678x381.jpg" title="Frietas" /> <br /></p><p><b>Ron Freitas (Laughing at the taxpayers - ed.) <br /></b></p><p><b> </b><br /></p><div dir="ltr">Ron Freitas is the fairly newish ( 15 months in) District
Attorney of San Joaquin County. His election campaign spokesman was
Lee Neves / Cross-Currents LLC. They do a lot of that sort of work in
northern California so that was no big surprise. After he got elected
he hired the firm to do communications for the District Attorney's
office. (I thought that sort of thing was usually done in house.) The
contract specified payment of up to $7,000 per month. It didn't have to
go out for competitive bidding because it is, relatively speaking,
chump change.</div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><div dir="ltr">However the
county actually paid Neves $270,000 over eight months. This is roughly
three times the amount that had been disclosed by the county and a hell
of a lot more than $7,000 per month. </div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><div dir="ltr">It
seems that the county paid Neves the full $7,000 per month. The county
also paid about $220,000 for two public information campaigns for the
DA's office. One was to tell people Fentanyl is bad. The other was
to tell people that illegal fireworks are bad. The information received
by the local newspaper, THE RECORD, does not include exactly what these
information campaigns consisted of. Freitas has said that he will NOT
comment on the matter. </div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><div dir="ltr">The
pay scale for the civil service DA public information officer is
between $72k and $88k per year including benefits. Most of the payments
to Neves for the Fentanyl program came from a gang and drug suppression
account. Payments for the fireworks campaign came from a restorative
justice fund.</div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div>It is not clear how much the two campaigns actually cost Neves to produce. <br /><div class="mh-social-top">
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</div></div><p></p>BarkGrowlBitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830589594331819236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18932388.post-32230360997488434982024-03-16T14:42:00.000-05:002024-03-16T14:42:49.182-05:00HOW ISRAEL GOT CAUGHT OFF GUARD ON OCTOBER 7<h1 class="jeg_post_title"><span style="font-size: small;">The road to Oct. 7: How Hamas got the intelligence it needed</span></h1>
<h2 class="jeg_post_subtitle"><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">Israel Hayom reveals new
information on why Israel was caught off guard by the scope and quality
of the information the terrorists had in planning the atrocities.</span></h2><h2 class="jeg_post_subtitle"><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"> </span></h2><h2 class="jeg_post_subtitle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="meta_text">By </span></span></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.israelhayom.com/writer/itay-ilnai/">Itay Ilnai </a></span></span></h2><h2 class="jeg_post_subtitle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></h2><h2 class="jeg_post_subtitle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">Israel Hayom</span></span></h2><h2 class="jeg_post_subtitle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">Mar 16, 2024</span></span></h2><h2 class="jeg_post_subtitle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></h2><br /><h2 class="jeg_post_subtitle"><img alt="Palestinians wave their national flag and celebrate by a destroyed Israeli tank at the Gaza Strip fence east of Khan Younis southern Saturday, October 7, 2023" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="423" id="i-661b40584a7381e8" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/07/12/76274533-12604829-image-a-40_1696677524252.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </h2> <p class="imageCaption"><b>Palestinians wave their national
flag and celebrate by a destroyed Israeli tank at the Gaza Strip fence
east of Khan Younis southern Saturday, October 7, 2023</b></p><p class="imageCaption"><b> </b></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In recent years, the IDF, Mossad, and
Shin Bet have begun to notice an increased awareness by Hamas in
everything related to the field of intelligence gathering. As time
passed, it seemed that the terror organization, which has always sought
to obtain as much information as possible about Israel, was striving to
shift into higher gear in this area in a dramatic way.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Israeli intelligence community
has been closely monitoring elements in Hamas' central intelligence
body, the "Military Intelligence Department" – Modatz, as it is referred
to in Israel – who went abroad for meetings, including in Turkey, where
they linked up with contacts from Iran and Hezbollah. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">These provided them with knowledge,
equipment, and training in the areas of surveillance, eavesdropping, and
cyber, in what was supposed to significantly upgrade Hamas' relatively
outdated intelligence-gathering capabilities.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For a moment, it seemed that the
small and not very sophisticated intelligence department of the terror
organization was trying to imitate its main rival on the other side of
the border – the large and advanced IDF Intelligence Directorate.</span></p><div class="jeg_ad jeg_ad_article jnews_content_inline_2_ads "><div class="ads-wrapper align-center "><div class="ads_code"></div></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The entity responsible in the army
for studying the enemy's intelligence capabilities is the Information
Security Unit, operating within the Military Intelligence Directorate.
The unit's personnel, led by Lt. Col. G., felt they had a relatively
good grip on Hamas' intelligence buildup processes and were well
familiar with them. In intelligence lingo, this is called "holding" –
identifying the other side's movements, cells, and intentions, and
closely monitoring them.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Over the past two years, Israel has also
carried out several operational activities, some abroad, to disrupt
Hamas' intelligence efforts. Most of these operations are still
classified, and there is great doubt as to whether they will ever be
publicly disclosed. However, these thwarting maneuvers, as pinpointed as
they may have been, at most only slightly delayed Hamas' military
wing's intelligence personnel in Gaza; they certainly did not stop them
completely. Only after IDF forces invaded the Gaza Strip and got access
to the Hamas intelligence offices, the server farms Hamas established
underground, and the computers connected to them, would the true extent
of Hamas' intelligence gathering capabilities be revealed. What was
uncovered there left Israeli intelligence personnel aghast.</span></p><p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">In recent weeks,
then, the intelligence community in Israel is beginning to understand
that they "held" only the tip of the iceberg when it came to Hamas. Only
in retrospect does it become clear that for over two years, Hamas'
Modatz, with chilling efficiency and with the tailwind of Iran, had
written the intelligence chapter of Hamas' grand operational plan: The
October 7 offensive.</span></p>
<h4 class="fi-aic_280"><strong>Only the tip of the iceberg</strong></h4>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One of the most alarming examples of
"underestimating" Hamas relates to the organization's ability to hack
into internet-connected cameras inside Israel. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the Information Security Unit of
Military Intelligence, they had known for some time that Hamas personnel
in Gaza were searching the internet in Israel for IP addresses
associated with cameras. Hamas hackers connected to these IP addresses,
hoping that whoever installed the camera did not change the
manufacturer's original password. </span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">In other cases,
the hackers managed to circumvent the cameras' security mechanisms and
take over. After breaching them, Hamas personnel could view
uninterrupted footage from the cameras, mostly civilian and private
ones, broadcasting directly to them from towns, roads, and even homes
within Israel. Hamas' eyes were wide open.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Naturally, Hamas focused primarily on the Gaza border towns. After Oct</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> 7
it was revealed, in the most horrific way, just how densely the
kibbutzim near the Gaza border were riddled with cameras monitoring,
among other things, the Seam Zone area, the perimeter fence, security
facilities, and sensitive areas within the kibbutzim – precisely the
areas of greatest interest to the enemy. It now turns out that before
October 7, Hamas had access to dozens of these cameras, some of which
even served its personnel during the fighting in the communities in the
days that followed.</span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">In Israel, as
mentioned, they knew that Hamas had the ability to hack into internet
cameras, but only after entering Gaza were the immense proportions of
this intelligence project exposed. The military now admits that while
the camera issue was identified in advance, it was not addressed
properly.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Another area where Hamas'
capabilities were only revealed in hindsight is cyber warfare. In recent
years, the IDF has identified numerous attempts by Modatz elements to
hack into soldiers' cell phones through "honeytrap" operations. The
modus operandi is well-known: An attractive "girl" makes contact with a
soldier on social media, and as their relationship progresses, her
requests intensify. For example, she might ask the soldier to film
himself, extract details about his military role, or request that he
download a particular chat app that later turns out to be malware. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As stated, the Information Security
Unit identified extensive Hamas efforts toward phone hacking and even
exposed this to the public from time to time as part of media campaigns
aimed at raising awareness among soldiers. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Recently, the corps even produced a
polished three-minute video starring actor Tzachi Halevi, which was sent
to all IDF reserve personnel. The video, which presents such a
"honeytrap" operation in a Hollywood-esque, fast-paced manner, ends with
the words: "Remember, the enemy is always watching."</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span></p><p><a data-featherlight="image" href="https://static.timesofisrael.com/www/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-29-145135.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="wp-image-3166052 size-large" height="400" src="https://static.timesofisrael.com/www/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-29-145135-640x400.jpg" width="640" /></a>
<b> </b></p><p><b>Hamas terrorists are pictured training to attack Israel in a mock kibbutz built in Gaza <br /></b></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The IDF not only identified Hamas'
attempts to hack soldiers' phones but also some of the means that
enabled it. One was an extensive cyber team that built malicious code
implanted in fake apps, enabling phone intrusion. The military worked to
eliminate this team's capabilities and succeeded. However, here too, it
was only after entering Gaza and seizing Hamas' servers in the tunnels
that it became clear this was merely the tip of the iceberg.</span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The military now
understands that there were Hamas attempts that went undetected in real
time and that despite the organization's relatively limited cyber
capabilities, the intelligence information Hamas extracted from the
phones it did manage to breach served it well on October 7. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Seizing Hamas' servers does much more
than that. It provides Israeli intelligence personnel with an intimate
glimpse into the operating methods, training processes, force buildup,
and correspondence between senior officials not just in Modatz but in
all of Hamas' units. This glimpse also illustrates how the IDF was
caught off guard when it came to Hamas' intelligence and how it
misinterpreted the group's intentions.</span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">A senior employee
at a civilian cyber security company that has been monitoring Hamas for
years claims that a close examination of the videos the IDF released
from Hamas' server farms in Gaza shows that some of the equipment in
these farms came from Israel, where a large second-hand server equipment
market has been flourishing for years.</span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">According to the
source, "Hamas' cyber capabilities are limited. It was relatively easy
for them to take over soldiers' cell phones and obtain tactical, rather
than strategic, information, as well as to infiltrate internet cameras
like those in the kibbutzim around the Gaza periphery. You don't need to
be a skilled hacker to achieve these feats. However, Hamas failed to
carry out significant cyber breaches of critical civilian infrastructure
in Israel. In this respect, they don't have a game-changing weapon. It
seems the Gazans' cyber capabilities are limited, especially compared to
Iran."</span></p>
<h4 class="fi-aic_280"><strong>"Not Russia or China"</strong></h4>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">And this, it seems, is precisely the
point. While most of Mosatz's collection methods may be relatively
primitive or rely on open-source information, this does not make them
any less effective. Thus, while Israeli intelligence focused on Iran and
Hezbollah, Hamas managed to collect vast amounts of valuable
intelligence almost unimpeded.</span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">"The perception in
Israel was that terror organizations are not Russia or China," argues
Dr. Netanel Flamer, a senior lecturer in the Department of Middle
Eastern Studies at Bar-Ilan University, whose book on Hamas'
intelligence war against Israel is set to be published soon by Cambridge
University Press. "The view was that they didn't have serious
intelligence bodies and could at most 'raise binoculars' and observe
from afar.</span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">"This is a huge
mistake, which I've been trying to explain in my research over the
years. Hamas has high-quality intelligence entities, but the
intelligence threat was not sufficiently internalized in Israel's
security apparatuses. October 7 put these things on the table."</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hamas' intelligence success on that
terrible day stands in stark contrast to the blindness that plagued
Israel's intelligence community.</span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;"> "It's not easy to
say this, but they did a much better job than us," sums up Lt. Col.
(res.) Dr. Eyal Pinko, an expert on intelligence, cyber, and national
security.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The one responsible for this
intelligence checkmate was, as mentioned, Hamas' "Military Intelligence
Department (Modatz)" a body that included 2,100 operatives (very small
compared to Israel's intelligence apparatus) on the eve of the war. They
were engaged in five main areas: Observation, cyber, signals (SIGINT),
open source (OSINT), and agent handling (HUMINT). The department's
expertise lies in collecting a vast number of seemingly peripheral
pieces of information, assembling them layer upon layer, and thus
building a broad and in-depth intelligence picture. Modatz even
"dressed" this intelligence picture onto intelligence aids – maps,
aerial photographs, manuals, and operational orders – that reached Hamas
forces on the ground. Such intelligence aids have been found in
abundance since October 7.</span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">These days, the
IDF Military Intelligence is working to reverse-engineer all these aids
and understand the source of each piece of information Hamas collected.
The emerging understanding is that most of the aids are based on about
ten layers of information, most of which came from open sources. The IDF
also has come to terms with the fact that the ability to control the
dissemination of this open information – some of which is public and
appears in a simple internet search – is nearly impossible.</span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">"You take the
aerial photograph of Reim Base from Google Earth, send a Gaza worker
employed in Israel to report how many soldiers are there in the Seam
Zone, and on to that you can add more information based on how social
media posts shared by the IDF troops on TikTok," explains Dr. Pinko.
"There is systematic, organized work here that also manages to fuse all
the information into a single intelligence picture that is efficiently
conveyed to the field. Hamas has an excellent intelligence gathering
apparatus, unfortunately."</span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">"The intelligence
of a terror organization works differently than a state's intelligence,"
Dr. Flamer adds. "What may seem like trivial, unimportant information
to you can be highly valuable to Hamas. Take, for example, the See and
Fire system ( remote-controlled weapon stations deployed on the Gaza
border), a system that Israel has been showcasing since 2009,
emphasizing its importance in our array. And then the first thing Hamas
does on October 7 is to drop explosive charges from drones on the
systems and disable them.</span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">"The problem is
that information that is on the fringes of secrecy for us is valuable
intelligence for the enemy. Hamas mostly does unintelligent,
unsophisticated intelligence, not Unit 8200-level – but good enough for
Hamas' needs. That's how a terror organization operates. They make
'delicacies' out of every tiny piece of information and draw
micro-tactical lessons. When you put all these pieces together, you get
October 7."</span></p>
<h4 class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Collection of "positive" intelligence</strong></span></h4>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">You can go back all the way to the
Hamas charter published in August 1988 to see there is a reference to
the great importance of understanding the Israeli enemy. However, in its
early days, Hamas invested less energy in collecting intelligence on
Israel, focusing mainly on "negative intelligence" – that which tries to
prevent the enemy from penetrating its ranks. "This was the core
mission instilled by founder Sheikh Yassin," says Dr. Michael Milshtein,
a senior researcher at Tel Aviv and Reichman Universities and a former
senior Military Intelligence official. "Yassin argued that if there is
anything that would bring down Hamas, it would be collaborators and
information leaks."</span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Faithful to their
founder's spirit, already in the 1980s, members of Hamas' military wing
established the "Al-Majd" apparatus, of which Yahya Sinwar was a
prominent figure. It was primarily intended to thwart Israeli espionage.
Sinwar would eventually end up in an Israeli prison for his role in
this organization, after being convicted of collaborator assassinations –
a practice the "Al-Majd" apparatus carried out extensively and
brutally."</span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">While Hamas'
negative intelligence remained centralized and controlled by the
organization's senior ranks, it initially left "positive intelligence" –
gathering information on the enemy – solely to field operatives. "In
Hamas' early years, intelligence collection ahead of an attack was done
on a cell basis," says Dr. Flamer. </span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">"Cell members
would conduct observations themselves, collect open-source intelligence,
and then carry out the attack. There was no central body managing the
intelligence."</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Israel's withdrawal from Gaza and
Hamas' takeover of the Strip in 2007 allowed Hamas to build up strength
in various fields, including intelligence. Thus, in addition to
establishing territorial battalions and brigades, Hamas' military wing
also set up staff bodies, among them the "Military Intelligence
Department," which grew and developed over the years.</span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">"Hamas' military
intelligence is a multi-dimensional body responsible for what several
separate bodies do in Israel," says Dr. Milstein. "In Hamas, everything
is rolled into one – intelligence collection, agent recruitment,
information security, and deception and cognitive warfare affairs."</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One of the founders of the
Intelligence Department, and its head at least since 2010, is Mohammed
Hamis Debabekh. Debabekh, who was involved in planning the attack on the
"Etzion" military pre-military academy in 2002, is considered one of
the central figures in Hamas' military wing. </span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">In 2010, he was
arrested in Cairo on his way back from a meeting in Damascus, after
Egyptian authorities suspected he was trying to smuggle sophisticated
communications equipment into the Strip. According to reports from that
period, following Debabekh's arrest, Gilad Schalit, then held captive in
Gaza, was moved to a new hiding place. Debabekh, it seems, was one of
the few people in the world who knew exactly where the abducted soldier
was hidden.</span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Debabekh himself
was released from Egyptian prison shortly after, following heavy
pressure exerted by Hamas on Egypt. He continued serving as head of
Hamas' Intelligence Department until 2022 when he was appointed to
oversee international relations in the group's political bureau. Another
senior figure in Hamas' intelligence apparatus was Wael Issa, the
brother of Marwan Issa, the deputy chief of the military wing, who
headed the counter-espionage division. Debabekh was assassinated in an
airstrike during the current war, and Wael Issa was killed during
Operation Guardian of the Walls. Marwan Issa was also likely killed this
week just recently, and IDF officials are working to make a conclusive
determination.</span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The fact that
Hamas' intelligence chiefs – Sinwar, Debabekh, Issa – were considered
very senior in the organization and close to the leadership could attest
to the great importance Hamas placed on intelligence. Israel has not
disclosed who replaced Debabekh as head of the Intelligence Department,
but </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Israel Hayom</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">
has learned that the dominant figure in Hamas' intelligence apparatus
ahead of October 7 was Ayman Nofal, who also enjoyed great prestige and
appreciation within Hamas.</span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Nofal, considered
close to Military Wing leader Mohammed Deif and who also served as
commander of Hamas' military wing's central Strip brigade, was arrested
in Egypt in 2008 after being accused of planning attacks inside Egyptian
territory. He became the most senior and famous Palestinian held in
Egyptian prison. He escaped custody during the turmoil of the "Arab
Spring," earning him a national hero's aura, and made his way back to
his home in the Strip, where he was greeted by thousands of cheering
Gazans.</span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Nofal advanced to more senior positions in the military wing. In a rare interview he gave to </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Al Jazeera</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">
in May 2023, he spoke about his role in formulating Hamas' "unity of
fronts and theaters" strategy and the central part he took in the joint
"operations room" of all terror groups in the Strip. Nofal, it seems,
was also a key figure in planning the October 7 offensive: According to a
report in the newspaper </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Al-Sharq Al-Awsat</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">,
he was one of only five people in Hamas' leadership who made the
decision to launch the attack (alongside Deif, Sinwar, his brother
Mohammed Sinwar, and Hamas political bureau member Rawhi Mushtaha).</span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Nofal, too, was
assassinated a few days after the start of the current war, in an
airstrike on the Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza. In an IDF
Spokesperson's statement describing his elimination, he was identified
as the "commander of the Central Brigade in Hamas' military wing," with
no mention of his intelligence role. Shadi Barud, the deputy head of
Hamas' Intelligence Department, was eliminated a few days later.</span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">In recent years,
the Israeli Air Force has repeatedly struck buildings identified as
"Hamas' Central Military Intelligence Headquarters." This happened in
November 2018 (just days after the botched operation of an IDF elite
unit in Khan Younis, in which Lt. Col. Mahmoud Khair al-Din was killed),
during Operation Guardian of the Walls in 2021, and again this
November, when Hamas' "Military Intelligence Office" was bombed by a
Paratroopers Brigade force.</span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">As can be seen, when given the
approval and opportunity, Israel's security establishment knew how to
thwart Hamas' intelligence chiefs and inflict personnel and
infrastructure damage. However, tragically, these moves were carried out
with significant delay. The best example of this seems to be the
extensive observation array Hamas set up along the Strip's border.</span></p>
<h4 class="fi-aic_280"><strong>"Around the contact line"</strong></h4>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Another elimination that took place
during the current war was that of Abd al-Aziz Rantisi, who was in
charge of Modatz's observation array. He was killed in an airstrike on
the command center where Hamas collected field observation data from
Israel.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The observation array is undoubtedly
one of the most developed capabilities within Hamas' Military
Intelligence Department. "Most of Hamas' visual collection is done
around the contact line," says Guy Aviad, a researcher of the
organization and author of the book "Lexicon of Hamas Movement."</span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">"After the 2014
Protective Edge operation, they paved a road parallel to the border
axis. They set up quite a few positions and observation towers along it
that can observe beyond the fence. The best example of this is in the
Jewish community of Netiv HaAsara. Towers were built there right next to
the border wall." Hamas also deployed observation posts on tall
buildings in the Strip from which there is a direct line of sight into
Israeli territory.</span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Sources in Netiv
HaAsara say that this week, in real-time, they alerted the IDF that the
observation towers adjacent to the moshav were intended for intelligence
gathering, but nothing was done. The position was eventually destroyed
by the IDF only after many long weeks and immediately rebuilt. It is
reasonable to assume that observations conducted from it assisted Hamas
in infiltrating Netiv HaAsara on October 7, including by means of
paragliding. </span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">"When you are on
24/7 alert, with a good enough observation array, with advanced
binoculars, observation towers, and camouflaged positions, and you're
constantly watching the fence – you know very well when a battalion is
being replaced and what the routine of the security force is," says
Aviad. "In the drills, Hamas conducted ahead of the attack, you can see
the terrain analysis they did on the Israeli side, including the yellow
gates in the kibbutzim, and so on." Hamas' observation array also
managed to capture quite a few senior Israeli officials on camera. One
of them was then-IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz, who was filmed touring
the border fence in 2014. </span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The IDF was well
aware of Hamas' observation capabilities. In fact, the army was so
familiar with this array that it was very wary of it. As we revealed
here two weeks ago, when information about Hamas terrorists in the Gaza
Strip activating SIM cards reached Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi on the
night of October 7, he ordered them to act without Hamas detecting IDF
activity, so as not to burn intelligence sources. "The perception in the
military is that the IDF's level of infiltration is so high that Hamas
can identify any unusual movement in the area," a military source
explained then. "Even a tank standing in the wrong place arouses
suspicion."</span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The IDF, as
mentioned, had information on the locations of many of Hamas' cameras
observing the border, cameras that could identify any movement of IDF
forces along the contact line. The IDF even had contingency plans to
destroy these cameras, which sat in a drawer awaiting the right timing.
According to a military source, these orders would have been executed
the moment a decision was made in Israel to have the IDF enter Gaza or
undertake any other significant proactive move. Of course, no such
decision was made, and the cameras were only destroyed after October
7. </span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hamas' observation
array was not limited to binoculars or cameras. In recent years, the
organization has developed a UAV industry capable of hovering over the
Strip and providing oblique footage of the Israeli heartland. From
there, it soon started developing these aerial photographs and printing
them on sheets, just as the IDF did.</span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The body that
assisted in developing these UAVs is the "Engineering Bureau," a project
headed by Saleh al-Arouri, deputy head of Hamas' political bureau, who
was also assassinated during the war in Beirut. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">From his base in Lebanon, and
previously in Istanbul and Qatar, al-Arouri ran the apparatus
responsible for developing Hamas' technological capabilities, with
assistance from the Iranian regime. "The Engineering Bureau received aid
from Iran over the years," says a former senior security official,
"procuring equipment, information, training grounds, ammunition, and
more." </span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">One of the
Authority's goals was to recruit Muslim scientists from around the world
to work on improving Hamas' technologies. One of them was Mohammed
Az-Zawari, who operated from Tunisia, where he spearheaded Hamas' effort
to produce a "UAV corps primarily intended for intelligence gathering.
Az-Zawari, by the way, also developed unmanned sea drones meant to
attack Israel's gas infrastructure. He was assassinated in 2016,
according to foreign reports, by the Mossad. </span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Another capability
Hamas had ahead of October 7 relates to signals intelligence, or
"SIGINT." The IDF and Shin Bet were well aware that Modatz regularly
listened in on open IDF communications networks, especially in the
training and instruction areas of the Western Negev, just a few
kilometers from the Strip. </span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">It is reasonable
that one of the places Hamas listened closely to was Tze'elim Base,
given its status as the largest training center for the ground forces,
where, among other things, the ground maneuver currently underway in
Gaza was rehearsed. Once again, the technology at Hamas' disposal was
not overly sophisticated – essentially frequency scanners effective for a
few dozen kilometers that could pick up IDF communications channels. In
training and exercises, the IDF mostly uses unencrypted communications,
alongside many eager ears listening to those frequencies. In the Gaza
Division, on the other hand, the forces used encrypted communications
means and landline phones, which presumably prevented Hamas from
listening in. </span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hamas also
attempted to acquire additional SIGINT capabilities to monitor the
aerial picture over Gaza and identify the locations of Israeli Air Force
planes in the vicinity.</span></p>
<h4><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b>"Deep technological understanding"</b></span></h4>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Back to the cyber field. In 2021,
after the Guardian of the Walls operation, Hamas published a video that
was described as a tribute to Juma'a al-Tahla, who headed Hamas' cyber
apparatus and was assassinated in an operation that eliminated all of
Hamas' senior technological operatives. The video shows a Hamas cell,
equipped with computers, positioning themselves in the Gaza Strip area,
facing Kibbutz Mefalsim. They appeared to remotely infiltrate the
kibbutz's power grid and shut it down.</span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The video shows
the lights seemingly going out in Mefalsim as a result. According to
Moshe Kaplan, the security chief of Mefalsim, the electricity in the
kibbutz never went out, and it was merely Hamas' psychological warfare.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hamas may not have actually succeeded
in hacking Mefalsim's power grid, but in the video, it does display a
slide showing the names of the kibbutz's main power distribution hubs.
Two sources familiar with the kibbutz's power grid say that the
information on the slide is accurate and could not have come to Hamas
from open sources. In other words – while Hamas failed to disrupt the
kibbutz's power supply, it did manage to obtain sensitive information on
it. According to a source at the Israel Electric Company, the slide
could have been obtained through a cyber breach or an "inside job,"
meaning individuals within the company or one of its subcontractors
leaked materials to Hamas.</span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Indeed, Hamas also
has agent-handling capabilities. In recent years, several cases have
been reported in which the Shin Bet arrested Israeli citizens who were
handled by Hamas, some exploiting the opportunity to enter and exit the
Gaza Strip, where they have family members. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">These individuals were sometimes
equipped with SIM cards and photography equipment and were asked to pass
intelligence information about IDF facilities from within Israel to
Hamas. The prevailing assumption is that some of the thousands of Gazan
workers who entered Israel daily before October 7 were also engaged in
gathering intelligence from the Israeli communities where they were
employed.</span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hamas'
intelligence gathering also serves it now, in its battle against IDF
forces maneuvering in Gaza: One area in which Hamas excels is gathering
technological intelligence, studying Israeli combat means, and trying to
identify weaknesses. For example, instruction manuals have been found
in Gaza explaining how to fire an RPG missile against the "Windbreaker"
tank defense system, and in 2017, an instruction manual detailing the
technical capabilities of the Namer, the main armored vehicle used by
IDF forces in maneuvers, was printed in Gaza. "There is a very deep
technological understanding here of how our defense systems work, and
how the other side makes them ineffective," says Dr. Eyal Pinko. "We see
long-term collection efforts of IDF ammunition that was forgotten,
stolen, and more. Some of these things go to Iran, where they do reverse
engineering."</span></p>
<h4 class="fi-aic_280"><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">"A culture of secrecy"</span></strong></h4>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Another area in which Hamas' military
intelligence shows impressive capabilities is "OSINT," intelligence
from open sources. Dr. Flamer, for example, presents a booklet seized in
Gaza as early as 2007, with the emblem of Hamas' "Military Intelligence
Department" embossed on the cover.</span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The booklet,
revealed here for the first time, contains a weekly intelligence report
that translates and summarizes hundreds of articles published that week
in the Israeli media. The report refers to military information, such as
the pace of equipping IDF brigades with defense systems and delays in
building the fence on the Egyptian border, as well as extensive
information on the political system in Israel, recruitment data in high
schools, information on the public mood surrounding the struggle to
return Gilad Schalit (who was then in captivity), and even a sexual
harassment case involving a well-known rabbi.</span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">"Hamas invests a
lot of resources in reading articles," Flamer sums up. "From morning
till night, they sit on every bit that moves in the open media, from
mainstream channels to esoteric websites. They spend all day translating
what we publish, making situation assessments, and issuing organized
reports."</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But the truth is, you don't have to
go too far to get open information about the IDF. It's enough to go to
TikTok. A prime example of this was received when IDF forces raided the
Shifa Hospital in the center of Gaza City, and there they found on one
of the computers a video of the soldier Ori Megidish, who had been
abducted to Gaza from the Nahal Oz outpost and since been rescued.</span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The video, it
appears, reached Hamas through social media, and it wasn't the only one.
Uploading videos to TikTok from within army bases, and even from the
command posts of the bases in the Gaza Strip area, seems to have become a
trend that the IDF has stopped trying to fight. In fact, until October
7, the Nahal Oz command post had an official TikTok account, and it
wasn't the only command post in the area to do so.</span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the IDF, there
are those who admit that the army's ability to keep its secrets has
become much more complex in recent years. "The issue of secrecy and the
culture of secrecy in the IDF has seen better days than these," says a
source familiar with the matter. The issue of the culture of secrecy and
its preservation was also included in the series of investigations that
the IDF began a few weeks ago, on the orders of Chief of Staff Halevi.</span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The systematic
study of Israeli society and politics, as well as Hamas' deep insight
into the military, undoubtedly made it easier for Hamas to carry out the
brilliant deception maneuver that "lulled" the IDF and the political
echelon in the lead-up to October 7 – a maneuver in which Hamas'
military intelligence personnel were undoubtedly involved.</span></p>
<p class="fi-aic_280"><span style="font-weight: 400;">"For the weaker
player in an asymmetric conflict, deception is a very important tool,"
explains Dr. Flamer. "Hamas, as the militarily weaker force in the
conflict with Israel, understood this from relatively early stages of
its operations."</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">According to Flamer, despite its
weakness compared to Israel's intelligence superiority, on October 7,
Hamas managed to bridge the gap through a calculated and meticulously
planned operation. "The attack clearly demonstrates the importance of
awareness among intelligence agencies and decision-makers of the fact
that on the other side, there are thinking people acting cunningly, and
that the possibility that they are misleading us is a reasonable
possibility that must be taken into account in intelligence assessments
and decisions made as a result," he says. "All the more so when history
shows that the other player uses it well for its purposes."</span></p><p></p>BarkGrowlBitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830589594331819236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18932388.post-85538215138209798902024-03-16T12:48:00.001-05:002024-03-16T22:48:43.132-05:00SENATOR MARSHA BLACKBURN: 'ISRAEL IS A SOVEREIGN DEMOCRACY AND IT IS NOT FOR SCHUMER TO DECIDE THEIR LEADER. IT'S TIME HE STOP PANDERING TO THE WOKE MOB'<h1 class="article-headline"><span style="font-size: small;">Immediate backlash to Schumer saying Netanyahu is an ‘obstacle’ to peace </span></h1><h1 class="article-headline"></h1>
<h2 class="article-underline"><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">
The Jewish New York senator even drew gentle criticism from a fellow Democrat. </span></h2><h2 class="article-underline"><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"> </span></h2>
<div class="article-byline color-primary">
By <a href="https://www.jns.org/writers/melissa-langsam-braunstein/" title="Melissa Langsam Braunstein">Melissa Langsam Braunstein</a></div><div class="article-byline color-primary"> </div><div class="article-byline color-primary">JNS</div><div class="article-byline color-primary">Mar 14, 2024</div><div class="article-byline color-primary"> </div><div class="article-byline color-primary"> </div><div class="article-byline color-primary"><img alt="Chuck Schumer Crying GIF - Chuck Schumer Crying Cry GIFs" height="384.1875" src="https://media1.tenor.com/m/fyLESaxzzy0AAAAd/chuck-schumer-crying.gif" style="max-width: 683px;" width="683" /> <br /></div><div class="article-byline color-primary"> </div><div class="article-byline color-primary"><p class="wp-block-paragraph">Republican lawmakers and even at least one Democrat in Congress pushed back against <a href="https://www.jns.org/netanyahu-israeli-right-hamas-abbas-the-four-obstacles-to-peace-schumer-says/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">remarks</a>
on Thursday in which Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.)
called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “an obstacle for peace”
and called for new Israeli elections.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The Jewish senator drew intense criticism from colleagues across the aisle and even a gentle reproach from his own party.</p><p class="wp-block-paragraph">“It is highly inappropriate and simply wrong for Senator Schumer to be calling for new elections in Israel,” <a href="https://twitter.com/SpeakerJohnson/status/1768337209726308577" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">stated</a>
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.). “We need to stand strong
with Israel, but the White House and Senate Democrats are seemingly
standing with and supporting Iran and its proxies instead.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), chairman of the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee who is retiring at the end of this
term, released a softer reproach.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Earlier today, Senate Majority Leader
Schumer gave an impassioned address on the Senate floor outlining his
vision for peace in the Middle East. As a Jewish American whose family
came to America in 1902 from Lithuania to escape pogroms, I, too, have a
deep and personal connection to Israel’s security and survival,” Cardin
<a href="https://www.foreign.senate.gov/press/dem/release/chair-cardin-renews-calls-for-two-state-solution-and-humanitarian-aid-to-gaza-following-leader-schumer-address-on-middle-east-peace" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">stated</a>.</p><p class="wp-block-paragraph">“I’d like to thank Leader Schumer for
framing the challenges before us in such historic perspective,” he said.
“I encourage every American to listen to this speech as it outlines a
blueprint for what’s necessary in fostering peace between Israelis and
Palestinians.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Israel has long been a beacon of
democracy in the Middle East, and it’s imperative that we trust in the
resilience and wisdom of its citizens at the ballot box and beyond,” the
Maryland Democrat added. “As allies and friends, we must support the
Israeli people in their efforts to shape their own destiny and chart the
course of their post-war nation.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><b>‘You’ve done a lot of damage’</b></p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Other colleagues were considerably less reserved in their responses.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Speaking from the Senate floor, Sen.
Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said he was “dumbfounded” by Schumer’s speech,
which he called “earth-shatteringly bad.”</p><p class="wp-block-paragraph">Graham said he initially thought the
remarks were a joke, calling Schumer’s comments “a departure in a very
serious way about how the United States interacts with its allies.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“I think it’s done enormous damage to very
delicate negotiations,” the senator said. “This is not something any of
us should be saying, calling on a government to be toppled basically by
its own people.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“I’m disappointed. You’ve done a lot of damage, my friend, and you need to fix this,” Graham told Schumer.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“In the last 24 hours, Joe Biden and Biden
officials have given Iran a $10 billion sanctions waiver, sanctioned
Israeli Jews and said that Israel’s top priority should be aiding
Gazans,” <a href="https://www.cruz.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/sen-cruz-response-to-schumers-israel-comments" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">stated</a>
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). “Now Democrat leader Schumer is calling for
the overthrow of Israel’s government while Israel is fighting
potentially existential wars, doing unbelievable damage to Israel’s
security and the U.S.-Israel relationship.”</p><p class="wp-block-paragraph"> </p><p class="wp-block-paragraph"><img alt="Cruz is demanding information about the company's 'purpose' in deleting the information in support of BLM on its website" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="423" id="i-911f190b9f1f6faf" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/11/01/18/77095321-12698929-image-a-14_1698863621162.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </p> <b>Texas Senator Ted Cruz called the Democratic behavior "staggeringly deranged and
damaging" to Israel.<br /></b></div><div class="article-byline color-primary"><b> </b></div><div class="article-byline color-primary"><p class="wp-block-paragraph">“I am proud to call Benjamin Netanyahu a
friend but that is irrelevant to just how staggeringly deranged and
damaging all of this Democrat behavior is,” Cruz added. “Like any
country, let alone any ally, Israel has a right to choose its own
government and its top priority should be defending its citizens. It is
unbelievable that these basic facts have to be explained, but
apparently, Democrats have forgotten them.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><b>‘Foreign election interference’</b></p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Chuck Schumer’s demand for new Israeli
elections is inappropriate and offensive. Israel is a close ally and a
healthy, vibrant democracy. The last thing Israel needs is the ‘foreign
election interference’ that Democrats so often decry here,” <a href="https://www.cotton.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cotton-schumers-israeli-election-interference-is-inappropriate-offensive#:~:text=%E2%80%9CChuck%20Schumer's%20demand%20for%20new,Democrats%20so%20often%20decry%20here." rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">stated</a> Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.).</p><p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Besides, the main elections that worry
Chuck Schumer aren’t Israel’s but our elections, because the rampant
antisemitism that the Democratic Party has allowed to fester in its
ranks is massively unpopular with the pro-Israel American public,” the
Arkansas Republican added. “Chuck Schumer should remove the log in his
own party’s eye before he whines about the speck in Israel’s eye.” (The
latter refers to a verse in the New Testament.)</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Instead of meddling in Israeli sovereign
elections, Chuck Schumer should follow House Republicans’ lead in
supporting our most precious ally in their darkest hour,” <a href="https://stefanik.house.gov/2024/3/stefanik-statement-on-schumer-calling-for-new-elections-in-israel" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">stated</a> Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), chair of the House Republican Conference.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Chuck Schumer’s disgusting comments
undermine Israel, are a boon to the Iranian regime, and is nothing short
of turning our backs on Israel,” Stefanik added. “House Republicans
will continue to stand strongly with our most precious ally Israel.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Chuck Schumer’s comments regarding Israel
are offensive to our most important ally in the Middle East. Israel is a
sovereign democracy and it is not for Schumer to decide their leader,” <a href="https://twitter.com/MarshaBlackburn/status/1768324005960777729">stated</a> Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.). “It’s time he stop pandering to the woke mob.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) wrote that Schumer “is out of line.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“He should not be undermining our closest
ally and the only democracy in the Middle East in the wake of a brutal
terror attack,” Cornyn <a href="https://twitter.com/JohnCornyn/status/1768326229835354183">wrote</a>. “This is a blatant attempt to appease extremists in his party to the detriment of our relationship with Israel.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><b>‘Decide for themselves’</b></p><p class="wp-block-paragraph">“It’s completely inappropriate for Senator
Schumer to undermine the leadership of Israel during a time of war.
They are one of our closest allies, and the Israeli people are the only
ones who get to decide when it’s time for a new leader,” <a href="https://twitter.com/SenTedBuddNC/status/1768369398849458431">stated</a> Sen. Ted Budd (R-N.C.).</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Chuck Schumer should be more concerned about his own political coalition which is increasingly Pro-Hamas,” Budd added.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, <a href="https://www.foreign.senate.gov/press/rep/release/risch-on-schumers-israel-comments" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">said</a> “we should not attempt to dictate domestic politics of other countries.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“They will rightfully resent our efforts
to do so. People in the United States are upset when foreign governments
wade into our domestic politics and interfere in our elections, and the
Biden administration has warned allies against it,” Risch stated. “The
people of Israel are entitled to and should decide for themselves what
they want their government and their future to look like.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Outrageous for Chuck Schumer to attack
the democratically-elected leadership of a close ally from the Senate
floor. Democrats have harsher treatment for Israel than for Iran and
Hamas. Let that sink in,” <a href="https://twitter.com/SteveScalise/status/1768312540822708311" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">stated</a> House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.). “We must stand with Israel as they defend themselves against these terrorists.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Chuck Schumer calling for the U.S. to meddle in Israel’s elections is unprecedented and very dangerous,” <a href="https://twitter.com/HouseGOP/status/1768314335825154531" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">stated</a>
Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), the House majority whip. “If he wanted to
focus on elections overseas maybe he should have called for an election
in Gaza instead.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Emmer noted that there haven’t been
elections in the Gaza Strip since Hamas took over in 2006. “I think
Israelis would agree that Hamas is the ‘obstacle to peace,’” he said.
Democrats have a problem, he added, “but it’s not with Netanyahu. It’s
with the anti-Israel members of their own party that have taken over the
woke left.”</p><p class="wp-block-paragraph">On Friday, former U.S. vice president Mike Pence <a href="https://twitter.com/mike_pence/status/1768603438558908692">wrote</a>
that Schumer’s “attack on the Israeli government is an outrage and
undermines the relationship between America and Israel at the worst
possible time.” </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“The prime minister of the democratic
State of Israel is chosen by the citizens of Israel; not the Majority
Leader of U.S. Senate. Israel is an independent nation with the
sovereign right to choose its own leaders,” Pence added. “The very least
she is entitled to expect, especially in time of war, is that we stand
with her government, and not work to undermine, let alone overthrow
it.”</p></div><p></p>BarkGrowlBitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830589594331819236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18932388.post-40170751762912812652024-03-16T10:59:00.001-05:002024-03-16T10:59:53.643-05:00FURTHER ON STAGG HIGH<p>By Bob Walsh</p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 18px;"><img alt="" src="https://www.readomania.com/upload/media/caf3fcf9650c5ff0e0fd24d5701b66e5.png" style="height: 358px; width: 499px;" /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></p><div dir="ltr">The local constabulary now know the identity of the
second miscreant who went into the river. They have not released his
name. He is still missing (or possibly, but not likely to be, hiding
from his own family as well as the cops).</div><div dir="ltr"><br /></div><div dir="ltr">Maybe
I am just an insensitive old fart but I have a hard time getting too
worked up about somebody who jumps into a river fully clothed while
fleeing the cops from a minor league fist-fight at a high school. He
may be in line for an honorable mention for a Darwin Award.</div><p></p>BarkGrowlBitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830589594331819236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18932388.post-43078646313998367932024-03-15T23:51:00.005-05:002024-03-16T00:15:40.278-05:00'GENOCIDE JOE' FEARS BOYCITT OF WHITE HOUSE EID AL-FITR CELEBRATION <h1><span style="font-size: small;">White House set to scale down ceremony for end of Ramadan amid
Arab-American anger over Joe Biden's support for Israel and fears of a
boycott by prominent Muslims</span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Eid al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan</span></span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">By Emily Goodin</span></span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Daily Mail</span></span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Mar 15, 2024</span></span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></h1>
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<div class="featured-caption"><b>President Biden celebrates Eid al-Fitr with Muslim community members at the White House, May 2, 2022 </b></div></article></div></div></div></div><p class="imageCaption"><br /></p><p class="mol-para-with-font">The <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/white-house/index.html" id="mol-489c2b80-e305-11ee-adad-9bfdd23079b9" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">White House</a></span> is preparing to host a much smaller ceremony for <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ramadan/index.html" id="mol-489e9c80-e305-11ee-adad-9bfdd23079b9" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Ramadan</a></span> amid Arab-American anger at <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/joe-biden/index.html" id="mol-48411330-e305-11ee-adad-9bfdd23079b9" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Joe Biden</a></span> and fears the event would be boycotted by prominent Muslims.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Traditionally,
the president hosts hundreds of Muslim leaders from around the country
for an Eid al-Fitr celebration, which marks the end of Ramadan, the
holiest month of the Muslim calendar.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">But
the White House has discussed limiting invitations this year to a
smaller group of administration officials and ambassadors from
Muslim-majority nations, officials told <a class="class" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/15/ramadan-reception-biden-gaza-00147330" rel="nofollow" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Politico</a>.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">The administration has been struggling with ongoing frustration within
Arab American and Muslim communities over President Biden's handling of
the war in the Middle East. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Outside the White House bubble, President Biden has been heckled
repeatedly at various events by pro-Palestinian protesters who refer to
him as 'Genocide Joe.' </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">White House officials have held meetings with various Muslim groups to hear their concerns and that outreach will continue. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'The White House is actively engaging with the community and we have been ... since October 7th,' White House press secretary <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/karine-jean-pierre/index.html" id="mol-48466a60-e305-11ee-adad-9bfdd23079b9" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Karine Jean-Pierre</a></span> said on Friday.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">But some Muslim leaders told the news outlet there was no appetite to celebrate Eid al-Fitr with the president.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'I'm
not sure how they're going to be able to do this this year. A lot of
people are just not going to go,' said a Muslim leader who has attended
past Ramadan receptions hosted by Biden, adding that many would find it
difficult to celebrate 'with the president they deem responsible, or
partially responsible, for what's happening.'</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Salam
al-Marayati, the president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, said
there was 'no appetite' among the community to attend.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font"> </p><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="Biden has been targeted by protesters unhappy with his handling of the Israel-Hamas war" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="423" id="i-be91fc9f050d9328" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/15/20/82526015-13202953-image-a-10_1710534912322.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <p class="imageCaption"><b>Biden has been targeted by protesters unhappy with his handling of the Israel-Hamas war </b></p></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="Protesters in Los Angeles voice their anger at the administration's policies" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="423" id="i-6f5d08364d7f41fe" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/15/20/82525965-13202953-image-a-11_1710534921017.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div> <p class="imageCaption"><b>Protesters in Los Angeles voice their anger at the administration's policies</b></p><p class="imageCaption"><b> </b></p><p class="mol-para-with-font">The Biden a<span style="font-size: 16px;">dministration
faces growing pressure at home and abroad to do more to rein in Israel
and to help the suffering Palestinian population.</span></p><p class="mol-para-with-font"><span style="font-size: 16px;">The president has been a frequent target of demonstrators </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">as demonstrators heckle him for standing with Israel and Prime Minster </span><span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/benjamin-netanyahu/index.html" id="mol-8dd912c0-d7da-11ee-9d8a-850b313a7cfb" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Benjamin Netanyahu</a></span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> as they pursue their war in Gaza after the October 7th terrorist attacks organized by </span><span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/hamas/index.html" id="mol-8de017a0-d7da-11ee-9d8a-850b313a7cfb" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Hamas</a></span><span style="font-size: 16px;">.</span></p><p class="mol-para-with-font">The White House is trying to counter the protesters.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">The
president's campaign and security teams are making Biden's events
smaller, keeping exact details from the media until the last minute, and
avoiding college campuses, according to <a class="class" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/joe-biden/biden-aides-shield-president-pro-palestinian-protests-rcna141251" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">NBC</a> News.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">College students are among the most vocal protesters. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Polls show young voters in particular are unhappy with President Biden's handling of the war. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Amid
the unhappiness, Biden and his advisers have made several trips to
Michigan. That state is home to the largest Arab American population in
the nation. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">But Biden was in Michigan
on Thursday. And he didn't visit Dearborn, which has a high
concentration of Palestinian voters, instead being further north in
Saginaw.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Biden's team kept the location of his stop close as it tried to minimize the chances of protests.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">There were still protests in Saginaw on Thursday.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Activists
from the 'Abandon Biden' movement held a news conference in the town's
center, urging Biden to support a permanent cease-fire in the
Israel-Hamas war. He has called for a temporary one in order to get the
hostages out and aid to starving Palestinians. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font"> </p><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="President Joe Biden was in Michigan in Thursday but did not meet with any Muslim groups" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="419" id="i-ed7e8257f1b981f8" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/15/20/82527655-13202953-image-a-12_1710535256053.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <p class="imageCaption"><b>President Joe Biden was in Michigan in Thursday but did not meet with any Muslim groups</b></p></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="Protesters lined the route for Biden's State of the Union address last month" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="422" id="i-756927b793c986b3" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/15/20/82526027-13202953-image-a-13_1710535259756.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <p class="imageCaption"><b>Protesters lined the route for Biden's State of the Union address </b></p><p class="imageCaption"><b> </b></p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Biden has another goal in Michigan: wooing
his own Democrats. During the primary in that state, 13% voted
'uncommitted' instead of for the president, citing his handling of the
war.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">That added up to more than 100,000
voters across the state, raising concerns about Biden's general
election prospects after he beat former President Donald Trump by
154,000 votes in Michigan in 2020. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">While
Biden made several stops around Saginaw on Thursday, senior White House
officials held private meetings with Arab American and Muslim community
leaders in Chicago, which has a large Palestinian American population.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">But
more than 40 Muslim, Palestinian and Arab American leaders and groups
there refused those meetings, citing the US's continued funding of
Israel's war on Gaza. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">In a letter to
the White House, the leaders said there was 'no point' in additional
meetings when they had already made clear their demand for a permanent
ceasefire. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'We believe another meeting
would only act to whitewash months of White House inaction followed by
meek handouts. We are interested in serious action,' they wrote in the
letter. <br /></p></div><p></p>BarkGrowlBitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830589594331819236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18932388.post-63005133525911819642024-03-15T23:26:00.000-05:002024-03-15T23:26:28.690-05:00THE PICTURES OF SMALL CHILDREN DON'T ALTER THE FACT THAT THEIR PARENTS CELEBRATED THE OCTOBER 7 ATROCITIES<h1><span style="font-size: small;">First aid ship carrying food to Gaza arrives from Cyprus as Hamas proposes new six-week truce with Israel</span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The 'Open Arms' ship is said to be carrying 200 tonnes of food for Palestinians </span></span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">By <a class="author" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=&authornamef=Jamie+Shapiro">Jamie Shapiro</a></span></span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Daily Mail</span></span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Mar 15, 2024</span></span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></h1><h1><img alt="The 'Open Arms' is the first to come in to Gaza and it is said to be carrying 200 tonnes of food" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="423" id="i-564341ccd3825ae9" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/15/20/82527407-13202977-image-a-1_1710534651032.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </h1> <p class="imageCaption"><b>The 'Open Arms' is the first to come in to Gaza and it is said to be carrying 200 tonnes of food</b></p><h1><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <br /></span></span></h1><p class="mol-para-with-font">The first aid ship plying a new maritime corridor from Cyprus began unloading its cargo of desperately needed food in <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/palestine/index.html" id="mol-8b053fb0-e306-11ee-a87f-0f51783b493f" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Gaza</a></span> today as <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/hamas/index.html" id="mol-8abc4fd0-e306-11ee-a87f-0f51783b493f" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Hamas</a></span> proposed a new six-week truce in the war.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font"><span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/the_open/index.html" id="mol-b28bd5a0-e30e-11ee-99b5-cdf96d3f50dc" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">The Open</a></span>
Arms set sail from Cyprus on Tuesday, towing a barge that the Spanish
charity operating it says is loaded with 200 tonnes of food for Gazans
threatened with famine after more than five months of war.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'World
Central Kitchen is unloading the barge connected now to the jetty,'
said Linda Roth, a spokesperson for the US charity that is working with
Open Arms.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">The <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/israel/index.html" id="mol-8b05b4e0-e306-11ee-a87f-0f51783b493f" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Israeli</a></span>
military said it had deployed troops to 'secure the area' around the
jetty. The 'vessel underwent a comprehensive security inspection,' it
added.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">The Gaza Health Ministry said Israeli fire had earlier killed 20 people waiting to receive aid. <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a class="class" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/israel-hamas-conflict/index.html" id="mol-8b09faa0-e306-11ee-a87f-0f51783b493f" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Israel</a></span> blamed 'armed Palestinians' it said had opened fire on civilians.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font"> </p><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="Over five months of war has left Palestinians in desperate need of food aid" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="423" id="i-3a4343a1423a104e" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/15/20/82527403-13202977-image-a-2_1710534659493.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <p class="imageCaption"><b>Over five months of war has left Palestinians in desperate need of food aid </b></p></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="Palestinians in Rafah, Gaza, queue to receive food distributed by aid organizations" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="423" id="i-2d321938f2d6878a" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/15/20/82527405-13202977-image-a-12_1710534727791.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div> <p class="imageCaption"><b>Palestinians in Rafah, Gaza, queue to receive food distributed by aid organizations</b></p><p class="imageCaption"><b> </b></p><p class="mol-para-with-font">The ministry said at least 149 people had been killed in the past 24 hours.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Witnesses
reported air strikes and fighting in the southern Gaza Strip's main
city Khan Yunis as well as areas of the north where humanitarian
conditions have been particularly dire.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">As
Muslim worshippers marked the first Friday of the fasting month of
Ramadan, thousands attended prayers in the revered Al-Aqsa mosque
compound in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, amid a heavy Israeli
security presence and restrictions on entry.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'It's
the first year I see so many forces (police), and their eyes, their
look... Two years ago I could argue with them, but now... they're giving
us no chance', said Amjad Ghalib, a 44-year-old carpenter.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">In southern Gaza's Rafah, the last major
population centre yet to be subjected to a ground assault, AFPTV footage
showed worshippers praying by the rubble of a destroyed mosque.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">The
office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday he
had approved the military's plan for an operation in Rafah, where most
of the Gaza Strip's population has sought refuge, without providing
details or a timeline.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">US President Joe
Biden, who has supported Israel during the war, has said an invasion of
Rafah would be a 'red line' without credible civilian protection plans
in place.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">US Secretary of State Antony
Blinken said Washington had not seen any plans for a Rafah operation,
but reiterated that it wanted a 'clear and implementable plan' to ensure
civilians are 'out of harm's way'.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">In
negotiations aimed at securing a new truce and hostage deal, Hamas has
put forward a new proposal for a six-week ceasefire and the exchange of
several dozen Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, an official
from the militant group told AFP.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Hamas
would want this to lead to 'a complete (Israeli) withdrawal from the
Gaza Strip and a permanent ceasefire', the official added.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">The
proposal would involve the release of some 42 hostages, who would be
exchanged for Palestinian prisoners at a ratio of between 20 and 50
prisoners per hostage, the official said, down from a previous proposal
of roughly 100 to one.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font"> </p><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="Reports say that Palestinians have taken to eating leaves and animal food in desperation" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="423" id="i-94a91b55641867e3" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/15/20/82527401-13202977-image-a-11_1710534711335.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <p class="imageCaption"><b>Reports say that Palestinians have taken to eating leaves and animal food in desperation</b></p></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="Some aid that comes into Gaza doesn't make it to the people as the vehicles are destroyed" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="423" id="i-deaf297a30e3d6ef" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/15/20/82527395-13202977-image-a-3_1710534676400.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <p class="imageCaption"><b>Some aid that comes into Gaza doesn't make it to the people as the vehicles are destroyed</b></p></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="Pressure is mounting on Israel to provide more aid to the starving Palestinians" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="423" id="i-86492da11544a6f3" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/15/20/82527385-13202977-image-a-5_1710534683556.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <p class="imageCaption"><b>Pressure is mounting on Israel to provide more aid to the starving Palestinians </b></p></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="200 tonnes of food may sound like a lot but there are over two million people living in Gaza" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="423" id="i-d25c2c7a65479cb5" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/15/20/82527393-13202977-image-a-4_1710534680416.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <p class="imageCaption"><b>200 tonnes of food may sound like a lot but there are over two million people living in Gaza</b></p></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="Without the help of aid charities there would be even less food entering Gaza" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="423" id="i-ab8a2fcc80e5a00b" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/15/20/82527379-13202977-image-a-6_1710534689980.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <p class="imageCaption"><b>Without the help of aid charities there would be even less food entering Gaza </b></p></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="There is often rushes to get the food as it arrives leading to alleged killings by the IDF" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="423" id="i-aa0c25cc223417eb" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/15/20/82527389-13202977-image-a-8_1710534696393.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <p class="imageCaption"><b>There is often rushes to get the food as it arrives leading to alleged killings by the IDF</b></p></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="The fasting month of Ramadan has begun but here, in the daylight, desperation overrides" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="423" id="i-690c2e17f4f1590c" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/15/20/82527383-13202977-image-a-7_1710534693357.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <p class="imageCaption"><b>The fasting month of Ramadan has begun but here, in the daylight, desperation overrides </b></p></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="Desperate Palestinian parents are unable to feed their children as the war rages on" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="423" id="i-6c75611750e4957f" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/15/20/82527397-13202977-image-a-9_1710534700270.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <p class="imageCaption"><b>Desperate Palestinian parents are unable to feed their children as the war rages on</b></p></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="Over 31,000 Palestinians have now died in the conflict with the rest suffering starvation" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="423" id="i-cd0c69e512ddc3a7" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/15/20/82527387-13202977-image-a-10_1710534703251.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <p class="imageCaption"><b>Over 31,000 Palestinians have now died in the conflict with the rest suffering starvation </b></p><p class="imageCaption"><b> </b></p></div><p class="mol-para-with-font">Palestinian
militants seized about 250 Israeli and foreign hostages during the
Hamas attack of October 7, dozens of whom were released during a
week-long truce in November. Israel believes about 130 captives remain
in Gaza including 32 presumed dead.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Israel
said it was sending a delegation to Qatar for a new round of
negotiations, a day after Netanyahu accused Hamas of 'clinging to
unacceptable demands'.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Secretary of
State Antony Blinken said the United States was working 'intensively'
with its fellow mediators Egypt and Qatar 'to bridge the remaining
gaps'.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">The United States, which
provides Israel with billions of dollars in military assistance, has
grown increasingly critical of Netanyahu over his handling of the war.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font"> </p><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="It isn't only food that Gaza is short of, it is other necessities such as water and medicine" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="423" id="i-138b18e38779dab7" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/15/20/82527409-13202977-image-a-13_1710534738327.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <p class="imageCaption"><b>It isn't only food that Gaza is short of, it is other necessities such as water and medicine</b></p></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="Restrictions and violence in the conflict are two reasons Gaza is extremely low on food" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="901" id="i-500938a00c75e7" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/15/20/82527419-13202977-image-a-15_1710534759842.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <p class="imageCaption"><b>Restrictions and violence in the conflict are two reasons Gaza is extremely low on food</b></p></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="Palestinians carry and fill up the water bottles amid the clean water and food crisis" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="423" id="i-6bf808e3df5f1246" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/15/20/82527411-13202977-image-a-14_1710534756569.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <p class="imageCaption"><b>Palestinians carry and fill up the water bottles amid the clean water and food crisis</b></p><p class="imageCaption"><b> </b></p></div><p class="mol-para-with-font">US
Senate leader Chuck Schumer called for a snap Israeli election,
describing Netanyahu as one of several 'major obstacles' to peace in a
speech praised by Biden.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'I think he expressed serious concern shared not only by him, but by many Americans,' the president said.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party retorted that Israel was 'not a banana republic but an independent and proud democracy'.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">The
United Nations has repeatedly warned of looming famine, with only a
fraction of the supplies needed to sustain Gaza's 2.4 million people
being let in.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">With fewer aid trucks entering by road, efforts have multiplied to get relief in by air and sea.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font"> </p><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="World Central Kitchen is a charity that cooks meals for those affected by disasters in the world" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="423" id="i-f5b3af2f998ab272" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/15/20/82527503-13202977-image-a-22_1710534884705.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <p class="imageCaption"><b>World Central Kitchen is a charity that cooks meals for those affected by disasters in the world</b></p></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="Without organisations such as World Central Kitchen, the crisis would be even worse" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="423" id="i-3e88abf4beff122e" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/15/20/82527505-13202977-image-a-24_1710534890160.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <p class="imageCaption"><b>Without organisations such as World Central Kitchen, the crisis would be even worse</b></p></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="It is World Central Kitchen's 200 tonnes of food on the 'Open Arms' boat" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="423" id="i-810d56e1e8386f1b" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/15/20/82527499-13202977-image-a-23_1710534888534.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <p class="imageCaption"><b>It is World Central Kitchen's 200 tonnes of food on the 'Open Arms' boat </b></p><p class="imageCaption"><b> </b></p></div><p class="mol-para-with-font">Cyprus,
the nearest European Union member country to Gaza, has said a second,
bigger vessel is being readied for the fledgling maritime air corridor
after the Open Arms completes its mission.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'God willing, they will bring food for the children, that's all we ask for', displaced Gazan Abu Issa Ibrahim Filfil told AFPTV.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Hamas's
October 7 attack resulted in about 1,160 deaths in Israel, mostly
civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Israel's
retaliatory campaign against Hamas has killed at least 31,490 people in
Gaza, most of them women and children, according to the health
ministry.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">The ministry said Israeli
troops opened fire from 'tanks and helicopters' as Palestinians gathered
at a roundabout in Gaza City on Thursday, killing 20 people and
wounding dozens.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Mohammed Ghurab,
director of emergency services at a local hospital, told AFP there were
'direct shots by the occupation forces' on people waiting for a food
truck.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font"> </p><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="Trucks are often used to deliver aid, however can only carry a limited amount of food" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="423" id="i-7d70ae3e341c7117" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/15/20/82527373-13202977-image-a-16_1710534775545.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <p class="imageCaption"><b>Trucks are often used to deliver aid, however can only carry a limited amount of food</b></p></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="There is also the danger of trucks creating violence as has been seen before by the IDF" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="423" id="i-ffdafe5400ea0fd" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/15/20/82527375-13202977-image-a-17_1710534785272.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <p class="imageCaption"><b>There is also the danger of trucks creating violence as has been seen before by the IDF</b></p></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="The IDF, seen here a the boarder, have surrounded the ship as it docked on the shore" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="423" id="i-36eca43e900733fa" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/15/20/82527371-13202977-image-a-18_1710534799482.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <p class="imageCaption"><b>The IDF, seen here a the boarder, have surrounded the ship as it docked on the shore</b></p></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="The IDF blame Hamas and the desperation of Palestinians for violence when it comes to aid" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="423" id="i-45c843e5e77868b1" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/15/20/82527361-13202977-image-a-19_1710534804837.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <p class="imageCaption"><b>The IDF blame Hamas and the desperation of Palestinians for violence when it comes to aid</b></p></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="Ramadan has begun and Palestinians are praying wherever they can amidst the destruction" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="423" id="i-132822290c2ea3ab" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/15/20/82527247-13202977-image-a-21_1710534816273.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <p class="imageCaption"><b>Ramadan has begun and Palestinians are praying wherever they can amidst the destruction</b></p></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="Palestinians have had to deal with fasting for the last five months before Ramadan even began" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="423" id="i-84fe23f27d9c75ee" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/15/20/82527249-13202977-image-a-20_1710534813842.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <p class="imageCaption"><b>Palestinians have had to deal with fasting for the last five months before Ramadan even began</b></p><p class="imageCaption"><b> </b></p></div><p class="mol-para-with-font">The
Israeli military denied it had fired on the crowd. 'Armed Palestinians
opened fire while Gazan civilians were awaiting the arrival of the aid
convoy,' and then 'continued to shoot as the crowd of Gazans began
looting the trucks', an army statement said.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said: 'People should not have to die while trying to keep their families alive.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'Distributing aid in Gaza should be done in a safe, dignified and predictable manner.'</p><p></p>BarkGrowlBitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830589594331819236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18932388.post-3982035275268483192024-03-15T18:29:00.000-05:002024-03-15T18:29:43.602-05:00TWO HALF-WITS, BIDEN AND SCHUMER, DON'T ADD UP TO A WHOLE-WIT<h1><span style="font-size: small;">President Biden praises Chuck Schumer's 'good speech' calling for
elections to replace Netanyahu saying it expressed 'serious concern':
President reveals senator gave the White House a heads up before
inflammatory remarks</span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></h1><h1><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">By <a class="author" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=&authornamef=Nikki+Schwab,+Senior+U.S.+Political+Reporter">Nikki Schwab</a> and <a class="author" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/profile-474/wills-robinson.html">Wills Robinson </a></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"></span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></h1><h1><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">Daily Mail</span></span></h1><h1><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">Mar 15, 2024</span></span></h1><h1><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></h1><p class="imageCaption"><img alt="President Joe Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer speak to reporters as they depart the Senate Democrat policy luncheon at the Capitol on March 2." class="Image" height="586" src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/c71d3d6/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x1998+0+0/resize/880x586!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2023%2F03%2F02%2Fgettyimages-1247636094-edit_custom-09c8f3f157b6257a57baac7f52f014ff31608123.jpg" width="880" /> <b>President Joe Biden on Friday
praised Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's controversial Senate
floor speech in which the Democratic leader called for new elections in
Israel to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu </b></p><p class="imageCaption"><br /></p><p class="mol-para-with-font">President <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/joe-biden/index.html" id="mol-b7d86900-e2e7-11ee-be1f-0f1d26b72fdf" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Joe Biden</a></span> on Friday praised <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/us-senate/index.html" id="mol-b7fc1da0-e2e7-11ee-be1f-0f1d26b72fdf" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Senate</a></span> Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's controversial Senate floor speech in which the New York Democrat called for new elections in <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/israel-hamas-conflict/index.html" id="mol-b7ffc720-e2e7-11ee-be1f-0f1d26b72fdf" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Israel</a></span> to replace Prime Minister <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a class="" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/benjamin-netanyahu/index.html" id="mol-b7c3f6a0-e2e7-11ee-be1f-0f1d26b72fdf" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Benjamin Netanyahu</a></span>. <br /></p><p class="mol-para-with-font">On
Thursday, Schumer said Netanyahu had 'lost his way' and had become an
'obstacle to peace' due to putting together a coalition of 'far-right
extremists' to lead the <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/israel/index.html" id="mol-b7fdcb50-e2e7-11ee-be1f-0f1d26b72fdf" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Israeli</a></span> government in its war against <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/hamas/index.html" id="mol-b7d13d10-e2e7-11ee-be1f-0f1d26b72fdf" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Hamas</a></span> after the October 7 terror attacks.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">That war has led to an escalating death toll of Palestinian civilians in <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/palestine/index.html" id="mol-b7fda440-e2e7-11ee-be1f-0f1d26b72fdf" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Gaza</a></span>,
leading to a global outcry for a ceasefire, including on the Democratic
left, who have voted 'uncommitted' in Democratic primaries to send
Biden a message. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'Sen. Schumer contacted my staff - my senior
staffer - that he was going to make that speech. And I'm not going to
elaborate on the speech,' Biden told reporters Friday as he met with
Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar in the Oval Office. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'He made a good speech, and I think he expressed serious concern shared not only by him, but by many Americans,' Biden added. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font"> </p><p class="mol-para-with-font"><img alt="On Thursday, Schumer said Netanyahu had 'lost his way' and had become an 'obstacle to peace' due to putting together a coalition of 'far-right extremists' to lead the Israeli government in its war against Hamas after the October 7 terror attacks" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="422" id="i-e8ecd4fd6457f42b" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/15/16/82516817-13202177-image-a-1_1710519705051.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </p> <p class="imageCaption"><b>On Thursday, Schumer said Netanyahu had 'lost his way' and had become an
'obstacle to peace' due to putting together a coalition of 'far-right
extremists' to lead the Israeli government in its war against Hamas
after the October 7 terror attacks</b></p><p class="imageCaption"><b> </b></p><p class="mol-para-with-font">An earlier statement from the <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/white-house/index.html" id="mol-b7fedcc0-e2e7-11ee-be1f-0f1d26b72fdf" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">White House</a></span> said
that Schumer alerted the president that he planned to make the speech
and the administration expressed 'no approval or disapproval' of it.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">During
the Friday afternoon briefing, both National Security Council
spokesperson John Kirby and White House press secretary Karine
Jean-Pierre couldn't exactly define what Biden meant was 'good.' </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'The
president spoke about the passion in which Leader Schumer made that
speech and the president said that he knows those remarks resonate with
many Americans out there,' Kirby said. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">When
another reporter asked if the president meant that the substance of the
speech was good or the 'passion' of the speech was good, Kirby
answered, 'I'll leave it at the president's comments.'</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Later, Jean-Pierre wouldn't say if Biden had spoken to Schumer since he made his address. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Both Israel and Republican allies in Congress slammed Schumer's words. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Israel called Schumer's speech 'unhelpful' while the country was 'at war against a genocidal terror organization.' </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">The top Senate Republican, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, called Schumer's speech 'grotesque.'</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'It
is grotesque and hypocritical for Americans who hyperventilate about
foreign interference in our own democracy to call for the removal of the
democratically elected leader of Israel,' McConnell said. 'This is
unprecedented.' </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Israel's Ambassador
to the U.S., Michael Herzog, said: 'Israel is a sovereign democracy. It
is unhelpful, all the more so as Israel is at war against the genocidal
terror organization Hamas, to comment on the domestic political scene of
a democratic ally. It is counterproductive to our common goals.' </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Schumer's harsh criticism follows moves from President <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a class="" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/joe-biden/index.html" id="mol-1f6142d0-e221-11ee-ab70-1b5916aa24fd" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Joe Biden</a></span> and <span data-track-module="internal-body-link"><a class="" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/democrats/index.html" id="mol-1f6142d1-e221-11ee-ab70-1b5916aa24fd" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_self">Democrats</a></span> to ramp up the pressure on Netanyahu to protect Palestinian civilians as he carries on his offensive.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font"> </p><div class="moduleFull mol-video"><div class="item"> <div class="vjs-video-container vjs-fixed vjs-span-two-col news" id="v-1936892348809524961"> </div> </div> </div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <div class="mol-img" style="position: relative;"> <div class="image-wrap fff-pic" style="cursor: pointer;"> <img alt="Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to destroy Hamas following the terrorist group's October 7 atrocity in Israel" class="blkBorder img-share b-loaded" data-gallery-handler-attached="true" height="357" id="i-b307aac7306ba975" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/03/15/16/82471749-13202177-Benjamin_Netanyahu_has_vowed_to_destroy_Hamas_following_the_terr-a-3_1710519797832.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;" width="634" /> </div></div></div><div class="artSplitter mol-img-group"> <p class="imageCaption"><b>Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to destroy Hamas following the terrorist group's October 7 atrocity in Israel </b></p><p class="imageCaption"><b> </b></p></div><p class="mol-para-with-font">The
Biden administration has also called for a temporary ceasefire to get
aid to Palestinians and to allow the release of hostages captured by
Hamas. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Netanyahu has vowed to carry on fighting until Hamas has been destroyed.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">But Democrats have started to question his motives, sparking Schumer to deliver some of the most scathing criticism to date. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Schumer
added: 'He (Netanyahu) has been too willing to tolerate the civilian
toll in Gaza. Israel cannot survive if it becomes a pariah.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'As
a lifelong supporter of Israel, it has become clear to me: The
Netanyahu coalition no longer fits the needs of Israel after October 7.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'The
world has changed — radically — since then, and the Israeli people are
being stifled right now by a governing vision that is stuck in the
past.' </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Schumer said the only solution
is 'a demilitarized Palestinian state living side by side with Israel in
equal measures of peace, security, prosperity and dignity.' </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Netanyahu
has rejected the idea of two-state solution because he believes it will
allow a Hamas to maintain its presence and threaten the future of
Israel.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">Schumer's comments sparked an immediate reaction from Republicans who called his speech 'inappropriate and offensive'.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'The
last thing Israel needs is the "foreign election interference" that
Democrats so often decry here,' Republican Sen. Tom Cotton said. </p><p class="mol-para-with-font">'Besides,
the main elections that worry Chuck Schumer aren't Israel's but our
elections, because the rampant anti-Semitism that the Democratic Party
has allowed to fester in its ranks is massively unpopular with the
pro-Israel American public.' </p><p></p>BarkGrowlBitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830589594331819236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18932388.post-17145695694594519452024-03-15T15:48:00.000-05:002024-03-15T15:48:40.889-05:00I'LL BET THAT THE PALESTINIANS AND BIDEN ARE CALLING SMOTRICH A SON OF A BITCH<h1 class="jeg_post_title"><span style="font-size: small;">Revealed: Smotrich's plan to hurt PA economy following US sanctions</span></h1>
<h2 class="jeg_post_subtitle"><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">Israel Hayom has learned that
Smotrich won't renew waiver that protects Israeli banks from lawsuits
over ties with PA, which could force them to end all transactions.</span></h2><h2 class="jeg_post_subtitle"><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"> </span></h2><h2 class="jeg_post_subtitle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="meta_text">By </span></span></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.israelhayom.com/writer/ariel-kahana/">Ariel Kahana </a></span></span></h2><h2 class="jeg_post_subtitle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></h2><h2 class="jeg_post_subtitle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">Israel Hayom</span></span></h2><h2 class="jeg_post_subtitle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">Mar 15, 2024</span></span></h2><h2 class="jeg_post_subtitle"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <span><br /></span></span></span></h2><p></p><p> </p><p><span class="date"></span>
</p>
<div class="media"><a data-featherlight="image" href="https://static.timesofisrael.com/www/uploads/2023/01/F230108YS65.jpg" rel="lightbox"><img alt="Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich holds a press conference with bereaved families at the Finance Ministry in Jerusalem, January 8, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" height="375" src="https://static.timesofisrael.com/www/uploads/2023/01/F230108YS65-640x400.jpg" title="Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich holds a press conference with bereaved families at the Finance Ministry in Jerusalem, January 8, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)" width="600" /></a><div class="caption"><b>Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich</b></div><div class="caption"><b> </b></div><div class="caption"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is
threatening to paralyze the Palestinian Authority's economy in response
to the Biden administration's actions against Israeli residents and
outposts in Judea and Samaria.</span></div><div class="caption"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><em> </em></span></div><div class="caption"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><em>Israel Hayom</em> has learned
that Smotrich is refusing to renew signing a document that provides the
PA immunity from lawsuits filed involving Israel's</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Discount Bank and Bank Hapoalim, which have financial ties with Palestinian entities. </span></div><div class="caption">
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Without this protection, the Israeli
banks are expected to cut ties with Palestinian banks out of fear of
being exposed to lawsuits for transferring funds to terror groups. Since
the Palestinian Authority's economy relies on ties with Israel, this
would mean an immediate freeze on economic activity in the PA.</span></p><div class="jeg_ad jeg_ad_article jnews_content_inline_2_ads "><div class="ads-wrapper align-center "><div class="ads_code"></div></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Smotrich's threat comes in response
to the sanctions imposed by the US on seven Israeli settlers, which has
resulted in banks freezing their accounts.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The US has strict laws against money
laundering used for terror, and a special authority conducts
international campaigns against bodies that provide financial assistance
to terror groups. Since the Palestinian Authority and its financial
institutions are suspected by the US of being involved in terror, the US
itself avoids direct contact with them to avoid violating the law.
However, politically, the existence of the PA is very important to the
administration for stability purposes in the region, so it has refrained
from taking legal action against it.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Discount Bank and Bank Hapoalim have
been asking the governments for years to cut ties with the Palestinian
Authority due to the fear of being sued. To accommodate them, Israel has
established a government correspondence company back in 2018. However,
this company has also sought to sever ties with the PA and therefore has
not been able to replace the Israeli banks in transacting with the PA.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As a band-aid solution, the
government has been issuing on an annual basis a waiver of protection
for the banks, signed by the finance minister. This arrangement has been
in place for many years and was supposed to be renewed in two weeks.
Now, following the administration's actions against the settlements,
Smotrich is unwilling to sign the renewal of the waiver.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Smotrich's associates say that the
Palestinian Authority poses risks to Israeli banks, and he is no longer
willing to be the one providing protection for that. The minister
expects that just as the Americans do not make claims against Israeli
banks over ties with the PA, they will clarify that they have no
objection to releasing the frozen funds of the seven Israelis.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> <br /></span></p>
<div class="FIOnDemandWrapper" id="FIOnDemandWrapper_fiInstance_99712_0_3660176910090994" style="height: 0px; overflow: hidden;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="apd_static_banner "><span style="font-weight: 400;">Smotrich's
associates say that the Palestinian Authority poses risks to Israeli
banks, and he is no longer willing to be the one providing protection
for that. The minister expects that just as the Americans do not make
claims against Israeli banks over ties with the PA, they will clarify
that they have no objection to releasing the frozen funds of the seven
Israelis.</span></div></div></div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Smotrich has a long history of
clashes with the US administration on financial issues. Recently, he
forced the administration to back down when he refused to transfer tax
funds that Israel allegedly collects on the PA's behalf to PA personnel
in Gaza. The Americans, in turn, are boycotting the minister, so there
are no communication channels between the sides.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The implication of Smotrich's move is,
as stated, an immediate freeze on significant parts of economic activity
in the PA. This is because the currency traded there is the shekel.
Additionally, most Palestinian exports and imports go through Israeli
ports. Moreover, the tax funds that Israel collects and will now freeze
constitute an important part of Ramallah's tax revenues.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> <br /></span></p><span style="font-weight: 400;"></span></div></div>BarkGrowlBitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04830589594331819236noreply@blogger.com0