Genocide? Really?

 

The Oslo effect

The enormous demonstrations in Israel against PM Benjamin Netanyahu bolstered by the hijacked hostage family demonstrations, might be giving people outside the country the impression that the public is generally against Netanyahu because of his conduct of the war and that his days in office are therefore numbered.

It is clear that Israelis are being increasingly maddened by grief and horror over the unconscionable fate of the hostages trapped in the hell holes of Gaza.

However, the demonstrators’ demand for an immediate ceasefire deal to release the hostages poses a direct threat to Israel’s security and indeed existence — precisely the outcome that Hamas intended through its diabolical manipulation of the hostages’ plight.

The demonstrators are backed by assorted military and intelligence types in an attempt to lever Netanyahu out of office by creating division and demoralisation while Israel is fighting for its life. What Netanyahu’s opponents fail to grasp is that, even if the prime minister is as opportunist as he is portrayed, his conduct of the war has overwhelming public backing.

The majority of Israelis insist that Hamas be defeated once and for all. After the October 7 terrorist attacks and atrocities in southern Jewish communities, they demanded that Israel should never again be content with repeatedly inflicting “serious blows” on Hamas only for it to resume its murder offensives within a few months.

Of course, everyone desperately wants the hostages brought back home. But the idea that the ceasefire deal would achieve this is sheer fantasy. Only a few of them would be released in the first phase. Hamas would then use the ceasefire to regroup and rearm, spinning out the continuing negotiation farce to keep the rest of the hostages trapped and thus retain control of the Gaza Strip.

It would only ever release all the hostages (if at all) with Israel’s total surrender. That’s what those calling for an immediate ceasefire deal are actually promoting.

The only way to save the hostages is through military pressure. That’s one reason why it’s imperative for Israel to retain control of the Philadelphi corridor, the area of Gaza that borders Egypt. The importance of this corridor cannot be exaggerated. Israel’s capture of it has uncovered deep below its surface an extensive infrastructure of giant tunnels into Egypt, the principal route through which Hamas imported its rocket launchers, vehicles and ammunition.

The vast majority of the military and security officials who belong to the authoritative Israel Defence and Security Forum are adamant that Israel must not cede control of the corridor. The forum’s chairman, Brig. Gen. Amir Avivi, said that tens of thousands of rockets and thousands of Nukhbah terrorists were waiting inside Sinai to go into Gaza through Philadelphi.

Even if Israel made only a short retreat, these troops and equipment could be brought in within a week. Egypt has made billions from the smuggling trade into Gaza and wants to continue.

Moreover, said Avivi,” only 30 out of more than 100 hostages are slated to be released in the first phase of a deal in return for 1200 Palestinian terrorists in Israeli jails.” The country is aware of the price of freeing Palestinian terrorists including Sinwar, in the case of the Shalit deal

Despite the thousands on the streets, most Israelis in an opinion poll show that 79 per cent agreed that Israel needed to control Philadelphi permanently to prevent weapons smuggling from Egypt to Gaza.

However, those who aren’t blinded by a pathological hatred of Netanyahu can see that he is holding off intense American pressure to pull out of Philadelphi, just as they can also see that America itself bears a significant measure of responsibility for the hostages’ fate.

The Biden administration forced Israel to proceed in Gaza far more slowly than the IDF judged necessary to defeat Hamas and thus save the hostages. For three months the administration stopped Israel from entering Rafah — below which the six hostages were murdered. If Israel had been free to proceed at its own pace, those six captives and many others might have been saved.

The left, pushing the anti-government protests, will almost certainly discover that, for the second time, it has made a terrible strategic error. The first such error was the 1993 Oslo Accords, which gave the Palestinians political power and status — with the Americans even training their police —on the assumption that they intended to live in peace alongside Israel.

This was a victory of fantasy over reality. The eventual result was more than 1,000 Israelis murdered in the five-year intifada from 2000 to 2005.

The effect of the Oslo nightmare has created the public’s revulsion and anger that these same types of people have been doing the work of Hamas for it by promoting Israel’s surrender.

 

85000 military items removed from Lebanon

 The massive amount of munitions recovered from Lebanon

Terror Attacks in Israel 2024

 Source IDSF https://www.warinisrael.org/ 

Attacks on Israel by Air 2024

Source IDSF https://www.warinisrael.org/ 

 

Trump Threats Don't Move Hamas.

 

The Hamas terror organization is demanding that it be guaranteed a role in governing the Gaza Strip even after the current war with Israel, according to a report by Israel’s national broadcaster, Kan.

An Egyptian official cited by the report said that Hamas is insisting that any potential deal, including the release of Israeli hostages, also feature a provision enshrining the terror group’s right to a role in the post-war Gaza regime. Hamas is already attempting to reconstruct itself, thus it still has plans for the destruction of Israel

Israel has hitherto insisted that the terror group be completely dismantled prior to the end of the war. Not only has Israel refused proposals to enable Hamas to retain a role in governing Gaza after the war, but it has also rejected suggestions that the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) ruling Fatah party assume control over the Gaza Strip. The PA charter still aims for the destruction of the State of Israel

While President-elect Donald Trump has pressured Hamas to reach a deal with Israel to release the remaining 100 hostages – including his repeated threat that there will be “hell to pay” if the captives are not freed by inauguration day later this month – his remarks have had only a marginal influence on Hamas, the official said.

The Egyptian source cited in the report added that another barrier to an agreement is Israel’s hesitation in accepting a ceasefire that would mark the end of the war.

Without Israel agreeing to conclude the war and a post-war role for Hamas in Gaza, the terror group is unlikely to even reach an agreement in hostage talks, the official said.

On the basis of these comments , a hostage deal does not seem likely.

Status of Ceasefire Agreement in Lebanon

 In accordance with the ceasefire agreement of 27th November, the IDF has withdrawn its forces from an area in south western Lebanon, around the town of Naqoura, which is close to the Israeli border.

• Following the IDF withdrawal, the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) deployed to the town and its surroundings, in coordination with UNIFIL.
• According to the LAF, “The deployment occurred simultaneously with the Israeli enemy’s withdrawal from the town.”
• The LAF says they will begin working to remove any unexploded ordinances left from battles between the IDF and Hezbollah.
• In parallel, US Envoy Amos Hochstein arrived in Beirut yesterday to meet Lebanese officials and attend a meeting of the international monitoring committee overseeing Lebanon's ceasefire.
• The US Envoy met with the Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri.
• Following the meeting with Speaker Berri, Hochstein said, the “IDF has begun withdrawing from Naqoura in southern Lebanon, and will withdraw from all Lebanese territory. Implementing the agreement in southern Lebanon is not easy, but we are committed to supporting the Lebanese Army.”
• Hochstein also met with Lebanese Army Commander General Joseph Aoun, alongside the head of the ceasefire monitoring committee, US General Jasper Jeffers.
• Their discussion focused on the mechanism for implementing the ceasefire agreement. Hochstein said that Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon would continue until the IDF is completely out of the country.

The IDF’s redeployment is part of the ceasefire agreement signed at the end of November.

• This is considered the most significant withdrawal by the IDF since the start of the ceasefire agreement.
• This is partly due to the topography of the landscape, as Naqoura is located on a mountain ridge just above the Israeli coastal communities of Rosh Hanikra and Kibbutz Rosh Hanikra.
• Naqoura also has symbolic significance as the headquarters of UNIFIL is based there.      
• Just last week the IDF exposed extensive military infrastructure that Hezbollah had embedded inside Naqoura. An IDF commander was quoted in the Israeli media saying, “When we scoured the village, we found unbelievable quantities of arms. There were warehouses, lookout points and military equipment in virtually every home.”
• The IDF withdrawal marked the third area that Israeli troops have withdrawn from since the ceasefire came into effect.
• Since the ceasefire began, as part of its operations to dismantle Hezbollah, Israel has continued to launch daily airstrikes, carry out detonations and bulldozing operations on buildings across southern Lebanon, and advance into areas it did not reach during the fighting. Israel is carrying out these manoeuvres as part of their understanding reached with the US that allows the IDF to continue to remove Hezbollah’s military infrastructure from southern Lebanon.      
• With just three weeks remaining until the January 26^th deadline for it to have fully withdrawn from the country, the IDF is still holding positions in about 60 areas of Lebanon,.
• While it says it is in line with and enforcing the agreement, Lebanese and Hezbollah officials have accused Israel of ongoing violations of the deal.

• The mechanism in place for monitoring the ceasefire agreement is led by US Army General Jasper Jeffers. He is supposed to receive reports from Israel regarding Hezbollah’s violations and pass them onto the LAF to handle. Israel has been dissatisfied with the slow pace of LAF’s responsiveness.
• 
  
• So far Israel has presented dozens of violations:
• Most significantly, there are still areas that Hezbollah has not withdrawn from as promised.
• The LAF has not deployed on the ground on the scale stipulated by the agreement.
• Hezbollah has been relocating weapons from the south to areas north of the Litani River and has continued to rebuild and regroup.
• 
  
• Earlier this week defence minister Katz said, “Israel wants to implement the agreement in Lebanon and will continue to enforce it fully and uncompromisingly to ensure the safe return of the residents of the north to their homes. But the first condition for agreement’s existence is a complete withdrawal by the Hezbollah terrorist organisation to beyond the Litani, the complete disarming and the removal of terrorist infrastructure in the sector by the Lebanese Armed Forces—and this has not yet happened. If this condition is not met, there will be no agreement, and Israel will be obliged to act forcefully to ensure the safe return of northern residents to their homes. We won’t allow the emergence of a new threat to the northern communities and to the citizens of the State of Israel.”

The original 60 day period for redeployment is due to end on January 26^th but Israel is exploring the possibility of extending this period, possibly by an additional 30 days. This will allow the IDF to continue clearing the area and give more time for the LAF to adequately redeploy to the area.           

• Whilst Israel is concerned over the response by the Biden administration, President elect Trump is expected to be more flexible on the timetable of Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon.
• Defence Minister Katz has instructed the IDF to prepare offensive operational plans if the ceasefire collapses at the end of the first phase.  It is understood that the plans are in place and the IDF has prepared a bank of targets.
• There remains concern that when Israel does withdraw, Hezbollah will once again move back south.   
• The Israeli government has set March 1st as a target date for the displaced residents of the north to return home.