Tag Archives: Ceasefire

Confirming What We Already Knew

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On Saturday, Ed Morrissey at Hot Air posted an article about some recent Hamas documents captured by Israel in the war against Hamas.

The article reports.

German magazine Bild reports on a Hamas strategy document captured in Gaza that comes from the poisoned pen and mind of Yahya Sinwar himself. The document, if authentic, lays out the full hostaging strategy Hamas planned to employ in this war. It will come as no surprise to anyone at this point — outside the White House, anyway — that Sinwar has no interest in cease-fires or a two-state solution.

His real interests? Psychological torture and the annihilation of Israel, with his own survival somewhere in between. This comes from a Google translation of the original German:

Now a previously unknown document from Hamas’ military intelligence service shows how the terrorists are manipulating the international community, torturing the hostage families and seeking to rearm. And also that they are just as indifferent to a quick end to the war as they are to the suffering of Palestinian civilians.

▶︎ The document in which Hamas sets out its negotiating strategy was found on a computer that is said to belong to the terrorist leader Yahya Sinwar (61). He is said to have personally approved the content. The letter dates from spring 2024 and is available exclusively to BILD. … 

What is particularly perfidious is that Hamas is abusing the kidnapped hostages to improve its negotiating position. The document states frankly:

“Continue to exert psychological pressure on the families of the prisoners, both now and during the first phase (of the ceasefire, ed.) , so that public pressure on the enemy government increases.”

The recent protests in Israel illustrate the possible success of Sinwar’s plan. Unless the country unites behind Prime Minister Netanyahu, it is quite possible that the war will drag on unnecessarily and significantly weaken Israel. Obviously that is what Sinwar wants. Unfortunately,  America, knowingly or unknowingly, has helped Sinwar in this effort.

A change in personnel in Washington is the solution to the unrest in the Middle East. America needs to elect a President and a Congress that will support Israel in its battle against the forces of terrorism. The Biden administration’s desire to make a deal with Iran has destabilized the Middle East and undone the work of the Abraham Accords. If Americans want peace in the Middle East, they need to consider the move toward war in the Biden administration versus the move toward peace in the Trump administration.

The Deal Offered

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On June 1st, Red State posted an article about the peace proposal offered to Israel by President Biden.

These are the details:

Let me provide a little context. Israel has evacuated almost all of Rafah. They have also secured the Egyptian border region and seized the center of the city. There is nothing left to do but clear out the tunnel complexes and finish off Hamas as a military and governing authority. 

With that as the backdrop, Biden is still demanding a “complete ceasefire” and the removal of Israeli forces from Gaza. That would be “phase one” of this stupid proposal, which would allow Hamas to regroup and rearm. What would Israel get in return? The release of “some hostages” and some dead bodies of those murdered by the terrorist group. 

Then there’s “phase two,” which would be a “permanent ceasefire” and an “exchange” for the release of the remaining “living hostages.” Yes, the Biden administration is glossing over the fact that Hamas has executed hostages. Still, the worst part of that line is that Israel would be expected to exchange terrorists who murdered or attempted to murder Israelis even to get those still alive back. 

Of course, “phase three” would be the rest of us paying to rebuild schools that taught Gazan children how to commit terrorist attacks while shouting how much they hate Jews. Isn’t your government great?

Let’s be honest. We all know why Biden put that explainer out minutes before Shabbat took effect (meaning many Israelis wouldn’t see the news). He wanted to try to paint Israel into a corner and force them to accept terrible terms that would ensure Hamas’ continued rule.

The article includes a screenshot of Israel’s response:

I believe that Hamas crossed a line on October 7th. Hamas may be able to manipulate world opinion to some degree, but Israel remembers October 7th and still awaits the return of the hostages. To release terrorists in exchange for hostages (or the dead bodies of hostages) and allow Hamas to regroup would be folly. Most sensible people realize that. To return Gaza to the control of those who support Hamas would only pave the way for another October 7th style attack. My prayer is that Prime Minister Netanyahu will stand strong to preserve the safety of Israel.

Has Anyone Noticed?

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On Tuesday, WXXI News posted an article about pro-Palestine protests at the University of Rochester. The protesters have set up a camp at the University. The students are calling for a cease fire in Gaza.

This is a screenshot of the picture from the article:

Notice that the tents are all the same. Who paid for the tents? Did the students just coincidentally happen to shop at the same store and all buy the same tent?

The article notes:

UPDATE: The encampment at the University of Rochester has relocated to the Eastman Quadrangle out front of Rush Rhees Library.

In recent social media and other online posts the student activists claim to have won concessions from UR to academically divest from Israel. Such action might address things like study abroad or research partnerships. However, in a statement Thursday, a university spokesperson disputed those claims, writing:

“University of Rochester leaders need to provide clarification on the details of a meeting yesterday between student protesters and University administrators regarding protester demands. The students were demanding (1) a cease-fire call and (2) divestment from Israeli institutions. University administrators in fact made no commitment to either demand, but in particular made no commitment regarding a University divestment from any academic programs or ties with Israel, as is being inaccurately reported on some social media channels. University administrators made clear that neither demand was on the table. There has not and will not be any commitments about future academic divestment of University programs in Israel.”

…By midday about 25 students were present, studying for classes on laptops, bringing cases of water bottles, and stringing up signs and banners like: “UR complicit in genocide,” and “We demand a ceasefire now.” There’s the occasional sound of a drum, sometimes music.

Most students declined to be interviewed, except Palestinian student Omar Darwesh who said the protest is a moral obligation.

“Today actually marks the 200th day of this genocide, and we’re here to say no more,” said Darwesh, a senior studying sciences and public health. His family is from the West Bank.

Why is what Israel is doing a genocide when Hamas is still holding innocent civilians as hostages and killed hundreds of innocent civilians on October 7th? Gaza was an autonomous area under its own government previous to October 7th. That was the equivalent of a two-state solution. We see how that worked out. Why would we do it again?

This Is NOT A Good Thing

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On Sunday, Breitbart posted the following headline:

After U.S. Pressure, IDF Leaves Southern Gaza; Hamas Declares Victory

It is not good under any circumstances to encourage terrorists, and unfortunately recent acts and statements by the American government have done just that. This is the equivalent to feeding your friends to the alligator in the hopes that by the time it gets to you it won’t be hungry. News flash–terrorists are always hungry for more terror.

The article reports:

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced Sunday that it had withdrawn its forces from southern Gaza, following a demand from U.S. President Joe Biden last week for an “immediate ceasefire.” Hamas declared victory on the news.

The decision, coming on the day Israelis marked six months since the October 7 attack, came as a surprise, and as Israeli negotiators flew to Cairo for hostage negotiations. Hamas has demanded a ceasefire before any new deal.

The IDF will leave one brigade in Gaza, whose role will be to allow Israeli troops access to return as necessary. It will also carry out targeted operations, such as the successful raid at Shifa Hospital last month.

Note that the hostages are still being held. There are also questions as to whether or not the hostages have been or will be moved to Iran. I am not optimistic that any hostages that are still alive will ever be free. I also suspect that Hamas has no intention of letting us know how many hostages are alive and can be returned.

The article also notes:

As Breitbart News reported, Biden demanded an “immediate ceasefire” in response to the accidental killing of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers last Tuesday, when an IDF drone team mistook them for Hamas terrorists.

The incident was Hamas’s greatest success in the war: there is evidence that the terrorists deliberately confused the IDF about the vehicles. Hamas uses human shields and civilian casualties as part of its asymmetric war strategy.

Biden’s demand came after the U.S. had already allowed the United Nations Security Council to pass a resolution that separated a ceasefire from a deal to return the remaining 130 or so Israeli hostages, adopting Hamas’s core demand.

Unfortunately, terrorists are not stupid, and some of our government officials are very vulnerable to propaganda coming out of the Middle East.

The Cease-Fire Ended When Hamas Violated It

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Israel used to have a policy of not negotiating with terrorists. As much as the hostages pulled at our heartstrings, that was a wise policy and might have been useful here.

On December 1st, CBN News reported the following:

Rockets fired by Hamas triggered the end to a week-long pause in the Gaza fighting in the early hours of Friday morning. The war restarted after Israel accused the terror group of violating the truce agreement.

After Hamas began firing rockets into southern Israel, the Israel Defense Forces resumed bombing in Gaza City. The renewed fighting now puts the release of the remaining hostages on hold. During the halt in the fighting more than 100 hostages were freed.

On Thursday, 10 more Israeli hostages were released. Israel had wanted all the women and children to be set free, yet with the resumption of the fighting and the breakdown in negotiations, the fate of nearly 140 hostages remaining in captivity is unknown.

The article notes:

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Blinken Israel’s goals for the war.

“I told him: ‘This is the same Hamas. This is the same Hamas that carried out the terrible massacre on October 7, the same Hamas that tries to murder us everywhere.’ I told him: ‘We swore, and I swore, to eliminate Hamas. Nothing will stop us.’  We will continue this war until we achieve the three goals: to release all our abductees, to eliminate Hamas completely, and to ensure that Gaza will never again face such a threat.”

Blinken repeated the Biden administration’s message that there should be fewer civilian deaths and displacement in operations in southern Gaza than was experienced in northern Gaza. Meanwhile, Israel’s Channel 12 is reporting Blinken gave Israel “weeks” to finish the job of destroying Hamas.

“In my meetings today with the Prime Minister and senior Israeli officials, I made clear that before Israel resumes major military operations, it must put in place humanitarian, civilian protection plans that minimize further casualties of innocent Palestinians,” Blinken stated.

Israel was not the one that started this. The allies in World War II didn’t hesitate to destroy the Nazis, Israel should not hesitate to destroy Hamas.

There Are Some Things To Remember When Viewing The Truce In Afghanistan

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Hot Air (and many other places on the Internet) are reporting today that America has signed a peace treaty with the Taliban in Afghanistan.

The article notes:

The United States is set to sign a peace deal Saturday with the Taliban, its adversary in Afghanistan’s 18-year war. The deal marks a major turning point in a conflict marred by years of both military and diplomatic stalemate.

One provision of the agreement is the full withdrawal of American troops that is “heavily conditions based,” according to two U.S. officials who have been briefed on the deal. The officials declined to elaborate on what exactly those conditions are. They spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to discuss the deal publicly.

The article concludes:

This is something I was venting my frustrations about on Twitter yesterday. While I would be very pleasantly surprised to be proven wrong, I can’t believe that the promises of the Taliban are worth anything. Also, even if they were being sincere, they don’t control all of the fighters in their country, so their ability to maintain a ceasefire is dubious at best.

I realize I’ve preached this line to all of you in the past, but I’ve not seen anything to sway my opinion much. The Taliban is just waiting for us to leave. If they have to wait another 14 months or another 14 years, they will. They’re very good at waiting for invading armies to grow frustrated and go home. They’ve been doing it forever. And as soon as we’re gone, they will tear now the new government and return to being a primitive, seventh century nation just as they’ve always been. At this point, we should probably just face up to that reality, use this deal as a ticket to pull our troops out and leave them to their own devices.

There are some things to remember when considering the war in Afghanistan. We made two major mistakes in that war that essentially cost us the moral high ground. Because we did not have the courage to face the problem of pedophilia in the country or to eliminate the poppy crop. Both would have been very difficult, but both would have had a positive impact on the blatant corruption in the country. Unless we were willing to overwhelm the population and stay long enough to change the culture, we were not going to be victorious there.

We also need to remember two of the basic concepts found in Islam–hudna and taqiyya. Reliance of the Traveller, which is a classical manual of fiqh for the Shafi’i school of Islamic jurisprudence, states the following:

If the Muslims are weak, a truce may be made for ten years if necessary, for the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him Peace) made a truce with Quraysh for that long, as it related by Abu Dawud. It is not permissible to stipulate longer than that, save by means of new truces, each of which does not exceed ten years.

The purpose of a truce (hudna) was to give the Muslims time to stockpile weapons and become stronger.

In Islamic law, an obligation to lie exists if it is the only way to achieve an obligatory goal in Islam. Al-Taqiyya is based on a concept in Quaran 3:28 and 16:106. It is also found in the hadith,  the embodiment of the sunnah, the words and actions of the prophet and his family the Ahl al-Bayt (The Twelve Imams and the prophet’s daughter, Fatimah).

We are leaving Afghanistan. Under present conditions, that is a good thing. However, to believe that this will mean that Afghanistan will no longer be a disjointed terrorist state is naive. Afghanistan has never really experienced freedom under a central government. It is naive to believe that we can superimpose a central government that espouses individual freedom over what is currently there. We need to learn the lessons of the American revolution–unless the people are willing to fight for their freedom and respect the Laws of Nature and the Laws of Nature’s God, they will never be free.

Note: the information in this article about the principles of Islam are taken from Stephen Coughlin’s book Catastrophic Failure. It is recommended reading for anyone who wants to understand the Muslim plan for worldwide Sharia Law.

 

We Need A New State Department

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Anyone can make a mistake, but some people take it to a whole new level. On March 2nd, The Washington Examiner reported that the State Department had set up a hotline to take calls about cease-fire violations in Syria. That in itself is not a bad idea. However, they used volunteers with limited abilities in Arabic languages.

The article reports:

“In order to help monitor the cessation of hostilities in Syria, we did set up an information hotline that was staffed 24/7, where violations could be reported I think via a number of different apps,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Wednesday.

“There were some language issues among some of the volunteers,” he added. “And granted, these again are State Department employees who are doing this in addition to their usual jobs.”

“We are aware that there were some language issues, as you note, and we’re working to correct those, obviously, because it’s important that we have Arabic speakers who are able to field incoming calls,” Toner said.

Toner was asked whether proficiency in Arabic was a requirement for volunteering to work the hotline.

“It was, just but, you know, given the time limits on setting this up, probably some of the language skills weren’t properly vetted,” he said.

“Agreed, we should have people … agree,” Toner said when pressed further. “So, we’re working to address that.”

Shouldn’t the State Department have a good idea which of its employees are fluent in Arabic? If the language issue was a concern, could they have borrowed people from other government agencies who were fluent in Arabic? This sounds like a total lack of common sense.