The Link Between Hamas And The United Nations

On Thursday, PJ Media reported the following:

The United Nations frenziedly condemned a new Israel Defense Forces (IDF) strike as one of Israel’s “dramatic violations of international humanitarian law.” The problem is that the UN workers killed were also Hamas terrorists.

The UN and many other organizations and governments love to emphasize that the IDF strikes schools and “aid workers.” What they are not telling you is that Hamas jihadis have long used schools and other “civilian” buildings in Gaza as terrorist bases and that the “aid workers” almost always turn out to be active terrorists. That appears to be the case once again with the IDF strike this week, where at least three UNRWA “workers” killed were Hamas jihadis.

UNRWA is absolutely infested with Hamas operatives, according to international human rights lawyer Hillel Neuer. As JihadWatch has noted, terrorists specifically place military targets in humanitarian zones so that, if IDF strikes, they can immediately condemn Israel. So whenever the UN starts wailing that the IDF causelessly killed their humanitarian workers while they were operating a school or shelter, always fact-check that claim. It will almost certainly turn out to be false.

According to the state of Israel, which is a more reliable source on these topics than is the Hamas-loving UN, so far the confirmed casualties in the precision strike are terrorists — including at least three UNRWA “workers.”

As long as Hamas is using human shields, there will be ‘civilian’ casualties. However, a lot of these ‘civilians’ support Hamas. Private homes have tunnel entrances; Hamas members work for so-called humanitarian organizations to bring ‘aid’ into Gaza. It doesn’t seem to matter to those providing the aid that the money and supplies are used to strengthen Hamas and build more tunnels.

The United Nations began with a dream of world peace. Instead of working toward that dream, they have become a hotbed of corruption and and a supporter of terrorists and terrorism. It’s time to kick the United Nations out of New York City and turn their building into luxury apartments!

Words Matter

The news on Sunday morning reported that the bodies of six of the hostages taken by Hamas had been recovered by the Israeli Defense Forces. Much of the mainstream media reported that the hostages had died–not that they had been murdered by Hamas.

Breitbart posted an article on Sunday about the misleading reports.

Breitbart reported:

Mainstream media outlets, including CNN, NBC, and USA Today, are facing intense backlash for what have been called misleading and “vile” headlines about the brutal murder of six hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

On Sunday, IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari announced the hostages had been cruelly murdered by Hamas as Israeli soldiers closed in on their location, possibly based on intelligence provided by a hostage rescued last week.

The six hostages, whose bodies were found Saturday in a tunnel underneath Gaza — including American Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin — were discovered in Rafah, the same city that Vice President Kamala Harris had told Israel not to enter.

But mainstream media outlets, including CNN, NBC, and USA Today, covering the recovery of the bodies, sparked outrage by initially reporting that one of the victims had “died” rather than had been “murdered.” 

The cause of the hostages’ death was not clear for about 90 minutes after Hersh Goldberg-Polin was first revealed to be among the victims, which is why some outlets may have been reluctant to use the word “murder.” Mainstream media headlines currently reflect reports by Israeli authorities that the hostages were murdered. However, screen grabs of the initial headlines continued to spark outrage after reports emerged on Sunday that Hamas terrorists had shot each of the six hostages in the head before Israeli soldiers could rescue them.

The war that Israel is fighting against Hamas is as much of a public relations war as it is a kinetic war. Some Israelis who want the hostages released (assuming they are alive) are protesting to pressure Prime Minister Netanyahu into a peace deal which would leave Hamas in power and pave the way for another October 7th attack. Those protests are totally playing into the hands of Hamas as are the calls for a cease-fire from some western countries. You don’t make peace with terrorists unless you want more terrorism. Israelis used to know that. I am disappointed in the Israeli leaders who are using the hostages to try to topple the Netanyahu government. You don’t do that when your country is fighting for its survival–you put personal ambitions aside temporarily at least.

Just for the record, the hostages were murdered to avoid Israel celebrating their release. That illustrates the nature of Hamas.

The article concludes:

Though some headlines have since been corrected, the damage had already been done. Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris both affirmed the hostages were brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists.

 

Risking Americans’ Safety

On Thursday, Hot Air posted an article about one impact of our open southern border–we have no idea of who is in our country and why they are here.

The article reports:

This is turning into an unpleasant pattern that continues to repeat despite assurances from Joe Biden and Kamala Harris that they have the situation under control. Last month, border agents caught three Palestinians whose names appear on the terror watchlist coming over the southern border into California. On Monday, CBP found another one, this time in New Mexico. Omar Shehada turned out to be a doozy. He’s from the West Bank and he landed on the watchlist because he had already been convicted of terror attacks involving “explosives and firearms.” (Probably against Israel.) And now he has crossed the world and very nearly entered our country undetected. Are we honestly expected to believe that he was the only one?

The article concludes:

We are unable to get any background information on these people. It’s something of a miracle that we were able to flag these last four. You can’t simply send an email to Hamas Headquarters or the Palestinian Authority and expect them to tell you what all of their militants have been up to. We run into the same situation with Venezuela and many other nations that are plagued with terror issues. This leaves us unable to vet them properly even when we do manage to catch them coming over the border.

These Hamas terrorists can keep tabs on the international news just like anyone else. They clearly know that the United States is somewhat divided at the moment and they have supporters out there on college campuses. It probably wouldn’t be all that hard for them to find some financial and logistical support for their plans right here among our own people. But just make sure that somebody hands a voter registration form to Omar Shehada. I’m sure he’s just the sort of person that the Democrats want showing up at the polls in November.

We are inviting a terrorist attack.

Are Lawsuits The Answer?

On Tuesday, The New York Post reported that Almog Meir Jan, 22, a hostage taken by Hamas on October 7th, is suing a US non-profit which employed his Hamas operative captor as a war correspondent. Good for him.

The article reports:

The organization runs a pro-Palestinian news website and had frequently published the work of Abdullah Aljamal, a Gaza-based journalist and former spokesman for the terrorist organization. He began writing articles for the website in May 2019, according to court filings.

“It is indisputable that defendants provided Hamas operative Aljamal, whose connections to Hamas were publicly known, with a US-based and taxpayer subsidized platform to publish Hamas propaganda and to pass the material off as independent journalism,” the lawsuit says.

Jan was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7 last year while he attended the Nova Music Festival. He was held hostage for 246 days, along with Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 41, at Aljamal family’s home in Nuseirat, according to the Israeli Defense Forces.

Jan claimed he was “abused and mistreated” by his captors, according to legal papers.

Aljamal, who wrote articles for the website lamenting the evils of war and had also worked as a spokesman for the Hamas Ministry of Labor, continued to have his work published by the Palestine Chronicle until just before the June 8 rescue operation.

He and his family were killed during the raid, according to reports.

The article concludes:

Two board members of the non-profit are also named as defendants in the lawsuit. Ramzy Baroud, editor-in-chief of the Palestine Chronicle, is also a non-resident scholar at the University of California Santa Barbara’s Orfalea Center for Global and International Studies and a Senior Research fellow at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA).

CIGA hosted a conference in 2021 that was sponsored in part by Hamas and is directed by Sami Al-Arian, who has been convicted of terrorism-related crimes and deported from the US.

John Harvey, who describes himself as a Buddhist priest and is also on the board of the group, is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit. He incorporated the People Media Company in 1999, according to public records.

It is time to examine the role that some nonprofit organizations are playing in supporting terrorism, illegal immigration, and other activities not conducive to law and order.

Are We Getting Ready To Redo The “Summer of Love”?

On Monday, The New York Post posted an article about a recent riot in Manhattan.

The article reports:

A mob of anti-Israel protesters chanted “Long live the Intifada” during a depraved celebration Monday night outside a downtown Manhattan exhibit that memorializes the murder and rape victims of the Oct. 7 Nova Music Festival, where 364 people were killed by Hamas terrorists.

The deranged pro-terror crowd lit flares and waved a flag associated with the Iran-backed Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah in front of the Nova Music Festival Exhibition on Wall Street during what was billed by organizers as a “citywide day of rage for Gaza,” according to video from the scene.

The protesters also yelled “Israel go to hell” and clashed with police during the gathering that drew swift backlash from Israel supporters.

The demonstration, organized by pro-Palestinian group Within Our Lifetime, began in Union Square, where some protesters unfurled a “Long live October 7th” banner, according to social media footage.

The article notes:

One of the exhibit’s organizers, music mogul Scooter Braun, condemned the demonstration in front of the venue late Monday in a social media post.

“I don’t understand why protesting a memorial for innocent music lovers who were raped and butchered and kidnapped helps,” he said in an Instagram Story. “Go see the @novaexhibition and see the truth instead of standing outside listening to yourself.”

Others offered sharper words for the protesters.

“How utterly evil do you have to be to protest outside a site that memorializes the 1,200 victims of October 7?” former speechwriter for the Israeli government Aviva Klompas tweeted.

“Tonight’s vicious targeting of the exhibition is not pro-peace. It is repulsive and vile,” added Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine in a post on X. “I condemn it in the strongest possible terms.”

I think it’s time to realize that demonstrators such as these are not pro-Palestinian–they are anti-Israel and anti-Semitic. We need to remember that some of the Palestinians who committed the atrocities on October 7th were people the Israelis had given jobs to and helped in other ways. The mentality of the Palestinians to think that raping and killing unarmed civilians at a music festival is acceptable is beyond my understanding. That kind of thinking is truly incompatible with a civilized society. I really think we should relocate everyone who thinks killing and raping innocent civilians is okay to a remote island somewhere and let them create their own society. Good luck.

Good News From Israel

On June 8, The Jerusalem Post reported the following:

The IDF released the following statement on Saturday:

“It has been cleared for publication that in a complex operation by the IDF, Shin Bet, and the Yamam unit of the Israel police four Israeli hostages were rescued this morning (Saturday). The hostages, Noa Argamani (25), Almog Meir (21), Andrey Kozlov (27), and Shlomi Ziv (40), were kidnapped by Hamas to the Gaza Strip from the ‘Nova’ party on October 7th.

The hostages were rescued by Shin Bet and Yamam fighters from two different locations in an operation in the heart of Nuseirat.

Their medical condition is stable, and they have been transferred for further medical examinations at the ‘Sheba’ Medical Center in Tel HaShomer.

Security forces will continue to make every effort to bring back the hostages.”

Later, in a televised statement, IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari  spoke on the heroic operation, saying:

“The IDF and Yamam infiltrated two facilities while under fire by Hamas terrorists. A Yamam soldier was seriously injured in the operation and has just reached the hospital. We pray for his well-being.

…When asked by KAN 11 if there were other hostages with them, “We cannot answer this intelligence questions about other hostages. We must be careful with information security. This operation could have ended very differently.”

It is wonderful news that these four hostages were rescued. It also reassures us that at least some of the remaining hostages held are still alive. Israel needs to keep fighting to free the hostages and to free Gaza from the tyrannical grip of Hamas.

 

The Antisemitism Of The Biden Administration

On May 11, Scott Johnson at Power Line Blog posted an article about another move by the Biden administration to hinder Israel’s efforts to defeat Hamas.

The article reports:

In February President Biden promulgated National Security Memorandum 20. NSM-20 directs the State Department to “obtain certain credible and reliable written assurances from foreign governments receiving [U.S.] defense articles and, as appropriate, defense services” that they will abide by U.S. and international law. NSM-20 also requires the Departments of State and Defense to report to Congress within 90 days on the extent to which these governments and services are abiding by their assurances.

NSM-20 purports to impose a generally applicable requirement. However, it is obviously aimed, Biden style, at Israel’s heart — as Senator James Risch accurately pointed out in a brief statement posted yesterday.

This is that statement:

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today released the following statement on the Biden Administration’s National Security Memorandum 20 (NSM-20) report on Israel:

“In keeping with nearly four years of failed foreign policy, the Biden Administration is trying to have it both ways. Today, the administration has given Israel a politically damaging assessment while publicly announcing it is withholding a select set of precision weapons. The administration is attempting to placate voters on the far left at the expense of a close ally in the midst of its justified war with Hamas terrorists.

“NSM-20 is aimed squarely at Israel in the near-term, but the additional highly-politicized reporting requirements will eventually be aimed at other American allies and partners across the globe, further impeding the delivery of security assistance and undermining our ability to deter China and Russia.”

Background:

On February 8, the Biden Administration issued NSM-20, which undermines Israeli operations against Hamas in Gaza by affording Israel’s critics the opportunity to falsely claim Israel is committing war crimes.

NSM-20 threatens to cut off aid unless Israel meets arbitrary deadlines for providing “assurances” regarding international humanitarian law as well as vague facilitation of humanitarian assistance.

On April 30, Risch sent a letter with House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul to the Biden Administration urging for the repeal of NSM-20.

The article concludes:

Speaking of assessments, I assess that the report constitutes another friendly Biden stab in Israel’s back by the Biden administration. I would juxtapose the report with the judgment of John Spencer, the West Point modern urban warfare expert:

In their criticism, Israel’s opponents are erasing a remarkable, historic new standard Israel has set. In my long career studying and advising on urban warfare for the U.S. military, I’ve never known an army to take such measures [as the IDF has] to attend to the enemy’s civilian population, especially while simultaneously combating the enemy in the very same buildings. In fact, by my analysis, Israel has implemented more precautions to prevent civilian harm than any military in history—above and beyond what international law requires and more than the U.S. did in its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The international community, and increasingly the United States, barely acknowledges these measures while repeatedly excoriating the IDF for not doing enough to protect civilians—even as it confronts a ruthless terror organization holding its citizens hostage. Instead, the U.S. and its allies should be studying how they can apply the IDF’s tactics for protecting civilians, despite the fact that these militaries would almost certainly be extremely reluctant to employ these techniques because of how it would disadvantage them in any fight with an urban terrorist army like Hamas.

Spencer is the voice of sanity. Interested readers can hear him at length in Sam Harris’s May 7 podcast with him.

Please follow the link above to read the entire article. We are treating the people who have sworn to destroy us (Iran and Hamas) better than the people who would defend us (Israel).

Lest We Forget

On Friday, Breitbart posted an article about the five Americans who are still being held hostage by Hamas. These are the names of the five Americans–Keith Siegel, 65, Sagui Dekel-Chen, 35, Omer Neutra, 22, Edan Alexander, 20, and Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23.

The article includes a brief biography of each:

The last time Goldberg-Polin’s parents saw him, was on October 6, the night before Hamas’ attack on Israel, right before he left to go camping with a friend, Aner Shapira.

His mother, Rachel Goldberg, last heard from her son the next morning, receiving two texts from him. In one, he told his parents that he loved them. The other text message said: “I’m sorry.”

…Keith Siegel and his wife Aviva Siegel, 62, were taken hostage by Palestinian civilians from their home in the kibbutz of Kfar Aza. After being driven to Gaza in their own vehicle, the couple was then sold to Hamas terrorists.

Aviva Siegel was later released during a truce in November 2023 and has since spoken out about her time in captivity.

…The son of Connecticut-born Jonathan Dekel-Chen, Sagui Dekel-Chen lived on the Nir Oz kibbutz with his wife, Avital, and their children. Sagui’s parents also live on the same kibbutz.

In an interview with the Times of Israel, Sagui’s father explained that his son and others had sounded the alarm in their kibbutz after seeing “heavily armed and precisely organized” Hamas terrorists going through their community.

…Edan Alexander was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, and grew up in Tenafly, New Jersey. After graduating from high school, he went on to join the Golani Brigade’s 51st Battalion.

At the time of Hamas’ attack, he had been stationed near the Gaza Strip, and a little after 6:30 a.m., he had informed his mom, Yael Alexander that he was safe.

However, around 7:00 a.m., she was not able to reach her son and a week later the family discovered Edan was among those taken hostage by Hamas.

…At the time of Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7, Omer Neutra had been serving as a tank commander near Gaza.

After graduating from high school in New York City, Omer went to Israel and enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces.

He went there for the right reasons, you know, he felt that he wanted to protect, and he’s not the kind of guy that was looking for a war,” Omer’s mom, Orna Neutra explained.

The last time Omer’s parents heard from him was the day before Hamas’ attack.

Let’s not forget who started the war in Gaza and the barbarism of the attack on Israel.

When The World Is Upside Down

The recent pro-Palestine protests on American college campuses were a disgrace. The students were not only overlooking the fact that there are still Americans held hostage by Hamas, but many of the homosexual students who were part of the protests have no idea how they would be treated in a Sharia Law compliant country. Ignorance is bliss, but it is not always safe or healthy.

On Saturday, Front Page Magazine posted an article about some of the Biden administration’s actions in response to the protests (some of which definitely overstepped the boundaries of peaceful protest). The subject of blocking Jewish students from attending class does not seem to be covered in the Biden administration’s response to the protests.

The article reports:

After weeks of bias intimidation by Hamas supporters aimed at Jewish students and faculty, including Khymani James, an encampment leader who had talked to Columbia University officials about killing Jews, the Biden administration’s Department of Education, with the inevitability of a rigged slot machine in Reno, is launching a “civil rights investigation” into the university for “extreme anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab, and Islamophobic harassment”.

The complaint comes from ‘Palestine Legal’, the same group providing advice to the encampment protesters.

It complains that “Columbia has reinforced the hostile anti-Palestinian environment, including by suspending Students for Justice in Palestine — a student organization that advocates for Palestinian human rights — for engaging in speech activity supporting Palestinian rights”

What sort of “speech activity” did Columbia University’s SJP chapter engage in?

After Oct 7, Students for Justice in Palestine hailed the Hamas rape of girls, murder of babies and kidnapping of children as a “historic win for the Palestinian resistance”.

The national organization which has 200 chapters on campuses across North America put out a ‘toolkit’ which explained that the Jewish victims were “not civilians” and could be freely targeted.

Its poster for a ‘Day of Resistance’ featured an image of the paraglider that Hamas terrorists had used to massacre and rape young Israelis at a music festival.

Columbia University’s Students for Justice in Palestine celebrated the “unprecedented historic moment for the Palestinians of Gaza” and asserted their “full solidarity with the Palestinian resistance”. It was also a signatory to the “victory or martyrdom” statement signed by the national organization.

The article concludes:

The Department of Education refuses to protect Jewish students from Hamas supporters, but rushes to protect Hamas supporters from Jewish students.

This is much more reminiscent of Germany in the 1930’s than the values of most  Americans. Remember that Germany began enacting anti-Semitic laws in 1933, followed by the Nuremberg Laws in 1935. In March 1933, Dachau, the first concentration camp opened. The anti-Semitic actions of the German government also spawned Kristallnacht in 1938. I do not want to see America go down that path.

This Is NOT A Good Thing

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.

Supporting Israel Publicly While Undermining Israel Privately

On Monday, Breitbart posted an article about the Biden administration’s efforts to undermine the Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the middle of the war on Hamas.

The article reports>

U.S. President Joe Biden is reportedly attempting to force the “collapse” of the Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the middle of a war against Hamas terrorists in Gaza and a potential war against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Biden has been increasingly hostile to Netanyahu in his public remarks, recently saying that Netanyahu is “hurting” Israel more than he is helping it through his conduct of the war. (Netanyahu fired back, saying that Biden was “wrong.”)

Now, New York Magazine reports that the Biden Administration is actively looking for ways to force Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition, which has been remarkably unified, to fall apart, which would bring about early elections. It reported (original emphasis):

One Israeli expert frequently consulted by American officials says, “I have been asked by a serious administration figure what it is that will force the Netanyahu coalition to collapse. They were interested in the mechanics, what can we demand which will collapse his coalition.”

In the event the new American position over Netanyahu remained unclear, Vice-President Kamala Harris left no doubts in a Friday interview with CBS News, which asked “Are the Israelis at risk of losing U.S. aid if this continues?” Harris replied: “I think it’s important for us to distinguish or at least not conflate the Israeli government with the Israeli people.”

In other words: Israelis, we’re with you. Netanyahu, be gone.

I don’t understand how anyone can want a cease=fire and an end to the war after October 7. Israel did nothing to provoke that attack, yet Israel is being criticized for retaliating. That is simply upside down.

Another Reason Not To Trust Much Of Middle East Reporting

On Monday, The Washington Free Beacon posted an article about an Al Jazeera journalist secretly worked for Hamas.

The article reports:

Adraee (IDF spokesman Avichay Adraee) said the IDF found the journalist’s laptop inside a Hamas camp in the northern Gaza Strip. “A laptop belonging to someone named Muhammed Samir Muhammed Wishah, born in 1986 from Bureij, was seized,” Adraee said. “It is clear from the documents that Muhammed Wishah is a prominent commander in the anti-tank missile units in the military wing of Hamas.” 

Adraee said the IDF found the journalist’s laptop inside a Hamas camp in the northern Gaza Strip. “A laptop belonging to someone named Muhammed Samir Muhammed Wishah, born in 1986 from Bureij, was seized,” Adraee said. “It is clear from the documents that Muhammed Wishah is a prominent commander in the anti-tank missile units in the military wing of Hamas.” 

The article concludes:

The IDF, calling out the Qatari state-owned news network, reposted Adraee’s post and wrote, “Hey @AlJazeera, we thought your journalists were supposed to give unbiased reports on situations, not actively participate in creating them on the front lines as Hamas terrorists.”

In January, IDF spokesman Brig. Gen. Daniel Hagari revealed evidence showing that two Gazan journalists killed by the IDF belonged to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, another terrorist organization.

I had not realized that AlJazeera was Qatari owned. This is one more reason to question the role of Qatar as mediators in negotiations about the Israeli hostages. It is amazing what the IDF is discovering as they dismantle Hamas in Gaza.

Things That Stand In The Way Of Freeing The Israeli Hostages

On Tuesday, Ed Morrissey at Hot Air posted an article about another planned terrorist attack on Israel that was stopped because of good intelligence and military action.

The article reports:

Perhaps Hamas has not received the memo. Using hospitals as cover and human-shield strategies while plotting terrorist attacks no longer works, at least according to the IDF and Shin Bet. Acting on intelligence that Hamas’ leadership abroad had coordinated weapons distribution from a cell embedded in a Jenin hospital, the IDF conducted a raid and killed its leader and two other operatives.

Hamas had planned to run another October 7-style massacre out of the West Bank using the Ibn Sina hospital as its command center, Israel claims:

According to the Jerusalem Post:

According to a joint statement by the IDF, Israel Police’s YAMAM counterterrorism forces, and the Shin Bet, Hamas terrorist Mohammad Jalamna was killed during the operation, along with two fellow terrorists who hid alongside him at the hospital.

27-year-old Jalamna, a resident of the Jenin refugee camp, held direct communications with Hamas leadership abroad. According to the statement, he was responsible for transferring weaponry and ammunition to Hamas terrorists across the West Bank for shooting attacks targeting Israelis. …

Furthermore, Jalamna used the Jenin hospital as a secret base of operations as he was planning an infiltration attack akin to and inspired by the October 7 massacre, it added.

At some point, we have to admit that the only solution to terrorism is to kill all of the terrorists.

The Times of Israel reported:

“This is not another round, not another exchange of strikes, not another operation – a complete victory,” he tells the Bnei David military academy in Eli. “Nothing less than that. I am committed to it, our fighters are committed to it, and the absolute majority of the people are committed to it. We will not settle for less than total victory.”

Turning to reports of a hostage deal, Netanyahu says that Israel “will not end this war with less than the achievement of all its goals. This means the elimination of Hamas, the return of all our hostages, and the promise that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel.”

“We will not remove the IDF from the Gaza Strip and we will not release thousands of terrorists,” he pledges. “None of this will happen. What will happen? Absolute victory!”

Most Israelis understand that they live in a dangerous neighborhood. They need to let the Netanyahu government finish what Hamas started on October 7.

Let’s Leave The United Nations And Ask It To Leave New York City

Today, Fox News reported that Israel has shared information with the Biden administration on staffers for United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) who were involved in the October 7 attacks on Israel.

The article reports:

The dossier specifically alleges that 12 employees who worked with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) aided in different capacities. 

According to the dossier, seven UN staffers crossed into Israel on Oct. 7 while other were accused of “participating in a terror activity” or coordinating vehicle movements.

The document says two joined Hamas terrorists in raiding an Israeli kibbutz and directly participated in violence, another two staffers kidnapped an Israeli woman, holding her hostage in their personal home; and, another UN staffer doled out ammunition to the Hamas terrorists.

I have previously posted pictures of a Palestinian kindergarten class (article here) showing the students dressed in combat gear preparing to invade Israel and drive the Jews into the sea. Schools and camps in Gaza are funded by UNRWA. This is what they are teaching the children.

The article notes:

The dossier specifies the UN workers involved, providing their photos and a description of their roles at the agency. 

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the individuals who were alleged to have been involved in the attack are no longer employed. 

“Of the 12 people implicated, nine were immediately identified and terminated by the Commissioner-General of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini; one is confirmed dead, and the identity of the two others is being clarified,” said Guterres.

Would they still be employed if the information had not been shared?

Israel Needs To Finish What Hamas Started

On Thursday, Townhall posted an article about the ongoing fighting in the Gaza Strip.

The article reports:

Speaking to his country and the world Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a choice to Iranian backed terrorist organization Hamas: Surrender or die. 

“We will continue the war until the end. Until the elimination of Hamas – until victory. Those who think we will stop are not connected to reality. All Hamas terrorists, from the first to the last, are mortal. They have only two options: surrender or die,” Netanyahu said. 

The article notes:

Meanwhile, Israel has offered Hamas a temporary pause in the fighting in exchange for another hostage release. That deal has been rejected by the terrorist organization, which continues to hold 150 people – including Americans – hostage in the Gaza Strip. 

Notice that it has been a while since the mainstream media has talked about the hostages. Possibly because talking about people who have been held hostage for more than two months goes against the mainstream narrative that Hamas is simply a group of oppressed people.

If Israel wants to survive as a nation, it needs to eliminate Hamas and Hezbollah (and stop Iran from funding both terror groups). Unfortunately, the Biden administration is so desperate for an Iranian nuclear deal, they will not support a total Israeli victory. Look for the attitude of the Biden administration toward Israel to begin to change gradually in the very near future.

Sad News From Israel

On December 22nd, The New York Post reported the following:

An elderly American Israeli with deep ties to New York has become the first US citizen confirmed to have died while being held hostage by Hamas terrorists, it was announced Friday.

Gadi Haggai, 73, was murdered by the terrorists who are still thought to be holding his 70-year-old wife, Judi Weinstein, according to the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum representing the families.

“Gadi was a man full of humor who knew how to make those around him laugh,” the families group told the Times of Israel.

“A musician at heart, a gifted flautist, he played in the IDF Orchestra and was involved with music his whole life.”

Kibbutz Nir Oz also said Friday the Israeli Defense Forces informed Haggai’s family that he had been murdered.

His body is still in the Palestinian territory.

The article concludes:

According to Israel’s official tally, 129 people are still in captivity in the Gaza Strip.

Of those, 22 are dead, the Israeli government says.

The forum said that between five and 10 of the hostages hold US citizenship. The US Embassy had no immediate comment.

Israel needs to finish what Hamas started.

Troubling News About The Red Cross

The Red Cross was founded by Clara Barton on May 21, 1881. Most of us have believed that the organization was a politically neutral group working for the protection of prisoners and helping victims of war. I guess that is no longer the case.

On Friday (updated Saturday), The Jerusalem Post posted an article about a recent meeting with Red Cross representatives in Israel.

The article reports:

Families of Israelis being held hostage by Hamas were reprimanded by representatives of the Red Cross in a meeting earlier this week, with the Red Cross telling one family they need to “think about the Palestinian side,” KAN reported on Thursday night.

Roni and Simona, the parents of Doron Steinbrecher who was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists from Kfar Azza on October 7, were invited to a meeting with the Red Cross earlier this week.

Doron needs a medication she takes daily and her parents thought that the Red Cross was finally willing to transfer the medication to her, but instead they were sat down and reprimanded by representatives of the Red Cross.

“Think about the Palestinian side,” the representatives of the Red Cross told Simona, according to KAN. “It’s hard for the Palestinians, they’re being bombed.” 

Did it occur to this representative that the reason the Palestinians were being bombed was that they attacked Israel on October 7 and took hostages? Would it occur to this representative to think about the hostages or the brutality of the attack on Israel? I suspect it is very hard for the hostages also.

The article concludes:

Dr. Nadav Davidovitz, who treated Elma after her release, said “We were in meetings with the Red Cross and asked them to make every effort to bring the medications to her, because some hostages are just dying. From a medical and nursing standpoint, what we witnessed is unlawful neglect.”

The Jerusalem Institute of Justice recently sent a letter to the ICRC pointing out that it had made several social media posts about the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, but not a single one about the plight of the hostages and other Israeli victims from the October 7 massacre.

About three weeks after the attack, 1,200 lawyers across the world signed a letter written by the Israeli human rights group Shurat HaDin, condemning the Red Cross for not doing enough to help the hostages. The attorneys accused the organization of repeating the mistakes of indifference and inaction that it admitted to having made during the Holocaust.

A Question That Needs To Be Asked

On Monday, The New York Post posted the following headline:

How many aid groups knew Hamas was hiding in a hospital and lied about it?

The article reports:

Hamas used Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital as a base of terror operations. That’s the obvious conclusion following Sunday’s discovery of a large terror tunnel under the hospital along with videos of Hamas bringing Israeli hostages inside.

Now comes an important question for Congress: Which US-funded international organizations knew the truth about al-Shifa and helped Hamas conceal its war crimes?

The Israel Defense Forces this weekend discovered a tunnel beneath al-Shifa Hospital that extends 10 meters down and 55 meters across — leading to what might be a booby-trapped door. Special units that specialize in handling explosives have been summoned to break through to the next section.

Meanwhile, Israel also released security footage showing two hostages brought through al-Shifa by Hamas terrorists following the Oct. 7 massacre as hospital workers looked on — suggesting a widespread conspiracy to conceal both the presence of hostages at al-Shifa and Hamas’ terror infrastructure within the compound.

The article notes:

Within days of the Hamas massacre, Fabrizio Carboni, the Middle East regional director for the International Committee of the Red Cross, began spreading Hamas disinformation — telling international media that Gaza “hospitals risk turning into morgues.”

When Carboni said this, he may have already known that hospitals in Gaza were used as terror bases and hostages were being stashed under those hospitals.

…In its 2022 annual report, the ICRC says it received $689 million from the United States last year — roughly one-third of contributions received from all countries combined. That’s a lot of taxpayer money sent to an organization that may have betrayed its most fundamental duty to uphold the Geneva Conventions by covering up Hamas war crimes and abandoning Israeli hostages.

The article concludes:

The ICRC and WHO have strong lobbies in Washington that will fight to protect their flow of taxpayer money. If, as expected, the State Department does nothing to hold these groups accountable, Congress — which holds their purse strings — should intervene. The first step: Investigate. The next: Put a pause on US funding until leadership changes and reforms guarantee that complicity in terrorist war crimes will never happen again.

How much American taxpayer money paid for Hamas headquarters?

After The Damage Has Been Done…

On Wednesday, Breitbart reported the following:

The UK state broadcaster issued an apology on Wednesday after incorrectly reporting Israeli soldiers were targeting “medical teams as well as Arab speakers” while clearing Hamas terrorists out of a Gaza hospital.

The BBC said its report on the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) taking on Hamas terrorists inside a hospital “fell below our usual editorial standards” after the newsreader stated attacks were targeting medics and Arabic speakers.

According to the Guardian:

Hiram Johnson (1866-1945) – a Progressive Republican senator in California. His actual quote, ‘The first casualty, when war comes, is truth’, was said during World War 1. He died on Aug. 6, 1945, the day the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima.

The Breitbart article continues:

The Board of Deputies said they were “absolutely appalled” that the BBC had misreported that the IDF was taking medical teams and Arabic speakers into the hospital to help patients there so catastrophically. “At best”, they said, the misreading of the situation showed a “staggering lack of care” which made a mockery of the BBC’s “oft-stated dedication to professionalism and impartiality”, behind which the Corporation has hidden in the past month to justify not calling the Hamas attack on Israel a terrorist act. The BBC was also criticised for the error by the Israeli Embassy in London.

…The broadcaster issued an apology on Wednesday, and said on air:

And now, an apology from the BBC. BBC News as it covered initial reports that Israeli forces had entered Gaza’s main hospital, we said that medical teams and Arab speakers were being targeted. This was incorrect and misquoted a Reuters report. We should have said IDF forces included medical teams and Arabic speakers for this operation. So we apologise for this error, which fell below our usual editorial standards. The correct version of events was broadcast minutes later.

How many of the people who heard the initial report will hear the apology? This is the sort of sloppy (or biased) reporting that helps terrorists justify their actions (yes, I know there is no justification for terrorism, but in their own minds, the terrorists regard what they are doing as their ticket to paradise).

In general, the media has forgotten the horrors of October 7th and replaced them with criticism of Israel defending its people.

What The Israeli Defense Forces Are Discovering

On Monday, The Times of Israel posted an article showing what the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have found at the Hamas headquarters under Gaza City’s Rantisi Hospital, which treats children. The headquarters was purposely placed there so that if the IDF were to attack the hospital, they would be accused of war crimes. Never mind the war crime of placing your command center under a children’s hospital.

The article reports:

IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says the Navy’s elite Shayetet 13 commando unit and the 401st Armored Brigade have raided Gaza City’s Rantisi Hospital, which treats children, and that Hamas operatives were holed up there. He says he has just returned from the hospital, having filmed there, and that the IDF has evidence indicating that hostages were held there.

“Underneath the hospital, in the basement, we found a Hamas command and control center, suicide-bomb vests, grenades, AK-47 assault rifles, explosive devices, RPGs, and other weapons, computers, money, etc,” Hagari says, in an English-language press conference.

“We also found signs that indicate that Hamas held hostages here,” he says, adding that “this is currently under our investigation,” but that the IDF has intelligence to verify it.

“Additionally, we found evidence that Hamas terrorists came back from the massacre [in southern Israel] on October 7 to this hospital, among others, after butchering Israelis in their homes,” he says.

The Spokesman also noted the IDF’s efforts to protect the civilians in Gaza:

Hagari says the IDF has been working to enable the safe evacuation of patients from Rantisi over the last week, as well as from other hospitals in northern Gaza.

“Israel helped the hospital managers evacuate the Gaza patients to a safer hospital,” he says, adding that the IDF has been informed that “the last 18 patients in the Rantisi Hospital had safely evacuated to a safer hospital.

“This is because our war is against Hamas, not against the people in Gaza. Especially not the sick, the women, or the children,” he says.

“Our war is against Hamas who uses them as human shields,” Hagari adds.

Unfortunately many residents of Gaza support what Hamas is doing.

They Are Here Already

As the White House focuses on the ‘problem of Islamophobia,’ they might want to look at some of the Islamic groups that have been quite openly practicing anti-Semitism in America for years.

On November 8, Real Clear Investigations posted an article about the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a group connected to the Muslim Brotherhood (see article here for further information) that has been operating in America since 1994. CAIR was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation Trial, where the Holy Land Foundation was accused of funneling money to terrorists. If you can find the exhibits from that trial, they include “An Explanatory Memorandum on the General Strategic Goal for the Group in America.”  (the group is the Muslim Brotherhood). Look at the list of unindicted co-conspirators, then look at some of the organizations on our colleges. After you compare those two things, the anti-Semitism we are seeing on our college campuses makes sense.

The article at Real Clear Investigations reports:

After Hamas massacred 1,400 men, women and children in Israel last month, FBI Director Christopher Wray warned that the terror group “and its allies” could inspire attacks on Americans “here on our own soil.” He also told the Senate that the FBI is conducting “multiple, ongoing investigations” into people affiliated with the U.S.-designated terrorist group.

What Wray didn’t say is that the FBI has been investigating Hamas’ biggest ally in America for the past 30 years – without seeking any charges. Launched in 1994 as a secret front organization to support Hamas, according to declassified FBI wiretap transcripts and FBI testimony, the Council on American-Islamic Relations has, in the decades since, become an accepted member of Washington’s lobbying community. The New York Times and other influential newspapers routinely describe CAIR as a “Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization.”

Although it has not repudiated its support for Hamas – which is committed to the destruction of Israel and the Jewish people – CAIR was enlisted by the Biden administration in May to take part in a White House initiative to fight antisemitism.

On Oct. 7, the day Hamas terrorists butchered 1,400 Jews, including 33 Americans – raping many and abducting some 240 others to Gaza from southern Israel – CAIR’s national executive director, Nihad Awad, delivered an anti-Israel message in Arabic which seemed to justify what Hamas did. Translated into English, it read: “All Arab peoples must go out on Sunday, Oct. 8 – and every day – in demonstrations in support of the Palestinians and in rejection of normalization with the occupier and the apartheid regime [Israel].”

Please follow the link to read the entire article. I am beginning to wonder if we have anyone in our government who represents the interests of the American people.

You Get More Of What You Subsidize And Less Of What You Don’t Fund

On Tuesday, The Gatestone Institute posted an article about the European funding of Hamas.

Here are some of the highlights of the article:

    • Israel had not even buried its dead from the horrifying jihadist pogrom that Hamas terrorists unleashed on Israeli civilians in south Israel — beheading babies, burning them alive, torturing, raping, kidnapping, murdering — before the European Union decided to reward the terrorists by tripling its assistance to Gaza.
    • “The Commission will immediately increase the current humanitarian aid envelope foreseen for Gaza by 50 million euros,” European Commission President Ursula van der Leyen said. “This will bring the total to over 75 million euros. We will continue our close cooperation with the UN and its agencies to ensure that this aid reaches those in need in the Gaza strip.”
    • Oh really? How? The terrorist group Hamas, a proxy of Iran, the “worst state sponsor of terrorism,” is wholly in control of Gaza and will take what shows up and dribble it out slowly to a chosen few, mainly in their military. The idea that any of it will reach the million displaced souls who were urged by the Israelis to flee to southern Gaza to save their lives is charming, but woefully starry-eyed. Food and water — if that is really what is in the uninspected trucks, rather than weapons — will go to the Hamas foot soldiers to make sure they stay fit and loyal.
    • “Hamas are trying to prevent people leaving northern Gaza. And that is the point… Of course we want to minimize Palestinian casualties. We want to minimize Israeli casualties. We want everybody to respect civilians. But the real clear distinction is Israel are trying to get civilians out of danger; Hamas are trying to put civilians into danger, and that is a fundamental difference between the two.” — UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, October 15, 2023.
    • Sadly, massive injustices were done by the international media which, without checking, wrongly blamed Israel for firing at a hospital in Gaza, supposedly killing hundreds. Video evidence and a voice recording revealed that the real cause of the explosion at the hospital was a rocket, launched toward Israel by Palestinian Islamic Jihad, that landed in the hospital parking lot. The media, it seems, could not wait to stick it to the Jews.

The European Commission will be working with the UN to make sure that the aid reaches only those in need in the Gaza Strip. Really, how? When it was suggested that the aid be stopped because of the terrorist attack on Israel, the Commission claimed, “The suspension of the payments – punishing all the Palestinian people – would have damaged the EU interests in the region and would have only further emboldened terrorists.”

Common sense is obviously on vacation.

The Cost Of Unarmed Citizens

On Saturday, The American Thinker posted an article about some of the events in Israel on October 7.

The article notes:

On October 7, the day Hamas attacked Israel, Inbal Rabin-Lieberman, a 25-year-old security coordinator at the Kibbutz Nir Am settlement located near the Gaza Strip, saved lives because she had a gun.  After the kibbutz came under attack, Inbal hurriedly opened the armory and distributed guns to the twelve-member security team.

She caught the Hamas murderers unawares because they were not expecting to meet armed resistance.  Lieberman killed five terrorists while the others gunned down twenty-five before the Israeli Defense Force arrived.  Because of her actions, Nir-Am was the only settlement bordering the Gaza Strip that did not suffer Israeli casualties during Hama’s attack.

The number of Israelis killed in the terrorist attack is over 1,400.  How many of those deaths could have been averted had more Israelis owned guns? Israel has draconian gun-control laws, worse than those in New York City.  Only three percent (3%) of Israeli citizens own guns (compared to about thirty-two percent (32%) of U.S. citizens). 

The NY Daily News reports that less than one percent (about 0.5%) of New York City residents have legal handguns.  Jews comprise approximately nine percent (9%) of New York City’s population, the largest Jewish community in the world outside of Israel. 

An attack on America similar to what happened in Israel should be unthinkable, but is it? We have no idea how many terrorists have come through our porous border and what their intentions are. It would be a good idea at this point to have all Americans trained in how to use weapons and having weapons in their homes. Obviously there are some restrictions on that–mentally ill, people convicted of violent offenses, etc., but we need to have an instant, well-trained militia that can be called into action in case of an armed terrorist attack.

The New Face Of War

A website called “Partially Politics” posted an article on July 7th about a new weapon Israel has been using against terrorists.

The article reports:

In a massive step forward into a new world of future warfare, Israel has become the first nation to use AI (artificial intelligence) drones in battle against Hamas terrorists. With no human input after mission orders have been set, a drone swarm team has been utilized to seek out targets. The drones link together and use artificial intelligence to map out geography and locate targets, making mission decisions on their own. The drone swarm continues the mission until completion, even if some of the drones are destroyed in the process. A human operator sends out mission details as the machines gather information data to move forward from satellites, air vehicles, ground troops and other recon drones.

Unit 8200 of the Israeli Defense Force Intelligence Corps has developed and implemented the new technology. Algorithms by the IDF use signal data, geographical information and human intelligence together to build a framework of how to execute the desired mission. Artificial Intelligence and supercomputers locate targets and plan strikes to remove any strategic forces that could give opposing forces any advantage, while machine learning technology improves the capabilities of the system itself through action.

The article concludes:

Israel isn’t the only country getting involved in the new technological advances. The United States, Britain, Russia and China have all been developing artificial intelligence technologies designed for autonomous warfare. Concerns around the world here are that there is a vast potential for a new arms race. But that idea has been a reality in motion since the dawn of the potential for the technology was created. Whether you like it or not, that is the truth of the matter. This is only the beginning of what the future of modern warfare is going to look like. And whoever has the best technology will be the most secure. The idea of peace through strength comes to mind here. And the United States and its allies should be investing heavily on creating the best possible technology to protect our freedoms and to help stand for our way of life.

In a recent interview, retired U.S. Navy officer and author Jocko Willink said while talking to artificial intelligence podcaster Lex Fridman that he approved of the new technology despite some human concern around the world. Jocko said, “… if they could make a machine that could do more surgical attacks on enemy individuals, would I be for it? Yes, I would be for it”.

If you are interested in hearing the full interview, check out the new podcast. It is one of the best talks on autonomous war technology, leadership and human nature of recent times.

Although I am glad to see Israel gaining more ways to defend itself, I don’t think this is good news.