The outcry of an Israeli woman, a peace activist

The letter below is from a friend, a peace activist who for many years headed MASHAV, the Israeli development agency, and was involved many UN agencies in the international arena dealing with human rights and specifically human rights. She feels betrayed and ignored by former "friends".

This is an abridged version and i can send the full letter on request.

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For more than 25 years, I was a true militant of peace, creating dialogue between Israeli and Palestinian women, believing strongly in peace-education and in building bridges between communities! What a terrible wake-up I had!!! How could I be so naïve? Peace???   With whom??? With Hamas ??? -  A terrorist group that doesn’t value the lives of its own brothers, maintaining them as refugees for more than 75 years for political purposes; taking the billions of dollars provided by the EU, US and other generous donors, to buy weapons and to build underground tunnels, instead of investing in education, health and economy, and using civilians as human shields, and then accusing Israel of the killing of innocent people in Gaza.  

For the information then of those who prefer to ignore the truth: Israel is apparently the only country in the world to have liberated territories, gained during a defensive war, for the purposes of achieving peace.   And what has it received in return?  Years of more and more terrorist attacks against innocent civilians!...

Wake up, dear world!  Can’t you see the reality? How dare you judge us when you ignore true facts and rely on lies and false information? Why don’t you take the time to check the information you get before sharing fake news, and before rushing to join demonstrations against Israel, adding your voice to all those antisemites who were just waiting for the “right” moment to express their hate against the Jews and against Israel, with slogans such as “Free Palestine from the river to the sea”.

I furthermore wonder how the UN which is responsible for the “Child Rights Manifesto”, signed by most of its Member countries in 1989, does not take a minimal initiative with the International Red Cross organization to protect the rights of dozens of children who were so taken as hostages; and who are being held in despicable conditions? How can the UN not act for their immediate release?  And where is the Red Cross??

The world must realize the magnitude of the tragedy we are facing, and must understand that this war is a matter of good vs evil, civilization vs. barbarism…  For us, the Jews, this is a second Holocaust, and it must be recognized as such.  

Where are my own rights, and the rights of my children and grandchildren, to live a normal life?  I realize though and with much sadness that I am asking a stupid question!!  Who really cares??

This is a question of moral compass, and choosing not to unequivocally condemn the inhumane crimes committed by Hamas on that tragic day of 7 October is not OK.

Today, I have decided to stop trying to explain to some of my colleagues from women’s organizations, regionally and internationally, from the human rights’ associations around the globe, and from colleagues from UN WOMEN and UN specialized agencies with whom I have cooperated for decades, contributing to the empowerment and well-being of women in the developing world, that silence on their part cannot be an option.  I had expected them to stand-up in full solidarity with the women in Israel.  I had expected them to take a very clear stance against terror… I had expected them to call for the immediate release of the hostages…  I know, all of them consider rape in a war zone as a crime, but that seemingly is only as long as the victims are not Jews!

I had expected the UNWOMEN to comprehend the enormity of the tragedy, to recognize the fact that what happened on the 7 of October was a mass feminicide, since women were violently raped, tortured, humiliated before being savagely murdered.

UNWOMEN your silence regarding the war crimes committed by Hamas against Israeli women is UNFORGIVABLE!  Your organization will go down in the history books sitting idly by…

Furthermore, I just heard that the UN has appointed Iran’s Ambassador to chair the Human Rights Council!  To laugh or to cry??

 We have no choice but to defend ourselves from a murderous terror organization, and its allies, that seek the annihilation of the Jewish people and the destruction of Israel.   Nobody can convincingly deny that this is their final objective.   So, what do you expect us to do?  To let them exterminate us? However, we will win! We will win because we have no other alternative if we want to survive as a nation.   As Golda Meir once said, “we will win because we have no other place to go”.

We need to make sure that the civilized world will prevail in the war against evil and terror.  For our struggle is also the struggle of democratic and civilized societies.

Yesterday, I heard with horror and immense pain that my friend and colleague, Vivian Silver, was declared dead after her remains were found at her home in Kibbutz Be’eri, among the tortured innocent victims of October 7 massacre.  Vivian, a lifelong feminist, a fearless leader who has devoted her entire life to the cause of peace and to Arab-Jewish partnership, who was one of the founders of the Israeli movement Women Wage Peace!  

Another friend and colleague of mine who had been kidnapped from her house by Hamas, together with her grandchildren, is Dr. Shoshan Haran, a woman who, through her humanitarian organization “Fair Planet” has dedicated her career to the wellbeing of the poorest of the poor in Africa, ensuring food security and helping local women farmers to overcome their hardships. Shoshan’s husband, her brother and sister-in law, have been found murdered in kibbutz Be’eri.

My soul and my heart are broken…

However, despite my hard “wake-up” from many years of naivety and blindness, during which I did not want to believe that there exists an incredible hypocrisy, a lack of integrity and a double standard when the issue involved is about Israel and the Jews, I refuse to lose my humanity - even in the grip of the trauma caused by the Hamas horrendous carnage…  And so, I will continue my own battle for women’s rights and social justice, whenever and wherever it is necessary.  This engagement is due to the support and sympathy I personally received during this dark period from true friends, whom I salute for their courage and humanity. Their solidarity is particularly appreciated in this time of adversity, where the global waves of antisemitism that we are watching play out on social media can make Jews feel alone.

Reports of Palestinians Torturing Israeli Mothers and Childen Emerge

Despite the attempts of Hamas and its PR flaks to show a humanitarian face to the terror group, and to portray Palestinian civilians as victims, the truth is coming out as the returned captives tell their harrowing stories. It is becoming clear that the local residents were part and parcel of the brutalizing, beating and torture by the Palestinians of other kids.

At first it was just hints, as elderly returnees swatted away the hands of Hamas handlers “helping them” from jeeps and ambulances, or Israeli teenagers dismissing with disgust attempts to induce them to wave as if bidding farewell to a kind host.

 But now the horror stories are being reported of torture, mental and physical, to which Israelis were subjected. Eitan Yahalomi, 12, was according to his aunt, in an interview to French television, subjected to unending blows from Palestinian civilians as he was snatched and taken on a motorbike to Gaza captivity. That was just the beginning. Eitan was forced to watch, again and again, films of his neighbors being slaughtered and dismembered on October 7. He was threatened at gunpoint if he cried or made sounds.

 Other children were kept in total isolation for 12 or 13 days. They were covered with lice and received no treatment. Mothers were separated from their children and told their daughters were gone. Despite assurances that mothers would not be separated from children, Raia was just taken away just before her daughter was released.

Thomas Hand, father of 9-year-old Emily, says the little girl thought she had been held hostage for a year and now cries herself to sleep. “The most shocking, disturbing part of meeting her was she was just whispering, you couldn’t hear her. I had to put my ear on her lips. She’d been conditioned not to make any noise.” “Last night she cried until her face was red and blotchy, she couldn’t stop. She didn’t want any comfort, I guess she’s forgotten how to be comforted. She went under the covers of the bed, the quilt, covered herself up and quietly cried.” When she met her older sister, she was unable to show emotion.

Meanwhile, Israel is up in arms at the refusal of Hamas to deliver as promised the red-haired Bibas children, Ofir 4 years and Kfir 10 months old, and their mother Shiri. Hamas reported that these hostages had been handed over to other Palestinians and that they could not located them.

 

There is also the case of 84 year old Alma Avraham, returned to Israel in near-death condition, with a very weak pulse and body temperature of just 24 degrees Celsius (75 degrees Celsius), denied essential medication, and refused visits by the Red Cross, which apparently is unwilling to demand basic humanitarian rights to Israelis. They even refused to pass on essential medications to the prisoners. Today there is reported to be slight improvement in Alma’s condition, although her life remains in danger.

Gaza Most Densely Populated Area - Not Really.

 The Gaza Strip is frequently referred to as one of the most densely populated areas in the world. According to the CIA, it has a population of 2,098,389 in an area of 139 square miles (slightly more than twice the size of Washington, D.C.), which would be a density of 15,096 people per square mile, which is less than the density of the city of Tel Aviv (21,793/sq. mi.). If you compare Gaza to a country, then it would rank fifth but is not even close to the top two ­­– Macau (56,247) and Monaco (51,167).

 
Gaza City is the 63rd most densely populated urban area in the world at 42,059 per square mile. This is far below Bnei Brak in Israel (76,000 per square mile). A more apt comparison is Manhattan, which is 23 square miles compared to Gaza City’s 17. Its population density is more than 70,000 per square mile.
 
Sources: World Population Review.

First All Female Tank Crew Saves Many Israelis

 

These Israeli women took out dozens of terrorists 
and saved an entire Kibbutz on October 7th.

Hamas Attempts To Ignite Judea And Samaria

• Since October 7, 2023, when the war in the Gaza Strip began, Hamas has been working to ignite Judea and Samaria to open another front that will engage Israel’s security forces, part of the concept the “unity of the arenas” which Hamas and the “axis of resistance” developed earlier. Senior Hamas terrorists, led by Saleh al-‘Arouri, deputy chairman of the Hamas political bureau and in charge of Judea and Samaria for Hamas, are again urging the residents of Judea, Samaria, east Jerusalem and Israeli Arabs to join the campaign, attack settlers, clash with Israeli security forces and carry out attacks, including inside Israeli territory. They called on the operatives of the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) security apparatus to use their weapons to carry out terrorist attacks against Israel.
• As part of the campaign to encourage the activity of the residents of Judea and Samaria, calls to the Palestinian public to carry out terrorist attacks are published on Hamas-affiliated social networks and channels, led by the Islamic Bloc (Hamas’ student faction at the universities in Judea and Samaria). Hamas also officially declared “days of rage,” mainly on Fridays, when the public was asked to demonstrate and clash with Israeli security forces.
• Not wanting to open another front and to foil Hamas’ plans, immediately after the war began, the Israeli security forces increased their counterterrorism activities in Judea, Samaria and east Jerusalem. Their actions are directed primarily against the Hamas terrorist infrastructure and its leadership. So far, the security forces have arrested about 1,850 wanted persons, about 1,100 of them Hamas operatives.
• The PA also understood the danger and the possibility it would lose control. Therefore, as soon as the war began, Mahmoud Abbas instructed the Palestinian security forces to increase their activity in the Palestinian cities, warning that otherwise the situation could become chaotic. He also ordered them to prevent any protest against him personally, and to use force to stop Hamas supporters from demonstrating.
• In practice, the public’s response to Hamas’ calls has been limited

For full analysis by The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center go to https://tinyurl.com/4356shsd

$13b. in hidden foreign funds linked to 300% antisemitism rise in US universities

An in-depth study uncovers the corrosive impact of undocumented funding from authoritarian regimes on academic freedom.

By ZVIKA KLEIN NOVEMBER 23, 2023 12:07 https://tinyurl.com/ypdbs6tt  

 Approximately $13 billion in undisclosed foreign funds, a substantial portion from authoritarian regimes, has been linked to a staggering 300% rise in antisemitism at US universities, according to a new study, “The Corruption of the American Mind,” which has brought to light this deeply troubling trend.

The meticulous research, spearheaded by the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP) and conducted by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), has found that over 100 American colleges and universities failed to report these significant contributions, in direct violation of legal requirements.

“Institutions of higher education...received billions of dollars from foreign donors that were not reported to the US Department of Education as required,” the study highlights, shedding light on a severe lack of transparency.

The implications of these undisclosed funds are profound and far-reaching, the study reports. “Institutions receiving such undocumented money, campuses receiving undocumented funds, exhibited approximately twice as many campaigns to silence academics as those that did not...From 2015-2020 institutions that accepted money from Middle Eastern donors had on average 300% more antisemitic incidents than those institutions that did not”.

This alarming statistic underlines the corrosive influence of such funding on the academic freedom and social environment of universities.

Free speech 'under siege'

Delving deeper, the study utilized a wide array of data sources, including the FBI’s crime database and the Anti-Defamation League, to conduct a multifaceted analysis of the situation. The findings paint a picture of an academic landscape where free speech and democratic norms are “under siege,” and antisemitic sentiments are alarmingly on the rise.

The influx of undisclosed funds has not only led to a doubling of campaigns against free speech, but also significantly heightened the exposure of students to antisemitic and anti-Zionist rhetoric. The study notes, “Increased campaigns to punish scholars for their speech were associated with increased levels of such campaigns from both the Left and the Right.”

Furthermore, a national survey of college students as part of the study revealed that those attending universities with undocumented funding reported experiencing more antisemitism, adding a personal dimension to the statistical findings. This direct impact on the educational environment raises serious concerns about the influence of foreign funds on the values and experiences at the heart of American higher education.

Leading the list of countries providing the highest levels of undocumented funding is Qatar, contributing an astonishing $2.7 billion. This is followed by England, China, Saudi Arabia, Bermuda, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Switzerland, India, Germany, and the United Arab Emirates. These contributions, particularly from countries with differing values and political agendas, have raised significant concerns about the influence of foreign funds on academic freedom and democratic values.

Burning Fields in Gaza

Cross posted from Grandma's Army 

My family has had quite a long history with the Gaza Strip. My husband and I joined a newly formed moshav in the Negev, seven kms. from Gaza in 1960, where my four children grew up. My oldest son, who is a farmer, and his four married children, plus his youngest unmarried daughter, still live there with their growing families

In 1949, Arab terrorists, known as Fedayeen were trained and equipped by Egyptian Intelligence to engage in hostile action on the border, and infiltrate Israel - to commit acts of sabotage and murder. The Fedayeen operated mainly from bases in Jordan, so that Jordan would bear the brunt of Israel’s retaliation, which inevitably followed. The terrorist attacks violated the armistice agreement provision that prohibited the initiation of hostilities by paramilitary forces – nevertheless, it was Israel that was condemned by the UN Security Council for its counter-attacks!

 Since then, terrorism from Gaza has “rocketed”. We have experienced it all: suicide bombers, kidnapping, mortar bombs, rockets, well over 100 tunnels dug out in order to infiltrate into Israel.

Death and destruction has become the way of life for young Gazans who are taught to hate and destroy – as they did when Gush Katif was given to them with all the greenhouses intact.

 In 2018, rioters began a series of mass protests at the borders. This was the first Hamas supported invasion attempt, with rioters throwing firebombs, blazing kites, and shooting at IDF soldiers. Thousands of acres of cultivated farmland, nature reserves, and forests were burnt – up to a distance of 40 kms. from the Gaza border.  The green landscapes in the fields worked by the Israeli settlements and villages on the Gaza borders had been turned to black and scorched earth.

A few girls from my moshav decided to change this grim scenario and to introduce some colour into the burnt territories. They felt that, by organizing a fashion show they would increase public awareness to the terrible damage being caused by the many fires, which were burning up the crops, nature reserves, trees, etc. in the Gaza periphery.

 

To show  that, in spite of the hate and destruction which emanates from Gaza, life in Israel goes on. To show that the people of Gaza cannot break our spirit - to instil some light and colour into the black landscape. They recruited a few friends who were willing to be photographed and procured the services of a stylist. The venue they chose was in the fields of kibbutz Be’eri which had been burned a few hours previously. They said that when they arrived the fields were still burning.

Hamas Plays Numbers Game, it's Psychological Warfare.

 

• The Palestinian Ministry of Health (PMH) in Gaza is tightly controlled and operated by Hamas, a barbaric radical Islamic terror organization whose charter calls for the mass murder of Jews. Any report by the ministry, by definition, is a Hamas report.

 

• The PMH reports on Palestinian casualties with attribution exclusively to IDF strikes. Reports of Hamas fighters’ casualties are noticeably absent. In short time since the outbreak of the war, neither the Hamas leadership nor the Palestinian Ministry of Health reported a single casualty among Hamas forces.

 

• No one questioned how PMH reported 30,000 Palestinians wounded when the total number of hospital beds in all medical facilities in Gaza, including UNRWA clinics, did not exceed 3,000. So, where exactly are all the 30,000 wounded? According to PMH reports, there are already more than 13,000 Palestinians dead. If that casualty number is accurate, where were they buried?

 

• Due to the zero reliability of Hamas and its strategic manipulations, we offer an alternative analysis to help determine an objective measure of casualties in Gaza. It starts from a number of dead and wounded which is about half of the number reported by Hamas, although it is possible, and even with high certainty, to assume an even lower number.

 

• At least half of the number of dead and wounded are probably Hamas members, whether armed terrorists, whose identity is disguised as civilians by Hamas, or members of the Hamas establishment. A significant number of the “children” reported as killed or wounded are young people aged 13-18, who were in Hamas facilities or even took an active part in the fighting. (Israeli Minister Ron Dermer, in an interview with Sky News, reported 3,000 Hamas members killed.)

 

• From the remaining number, a significant number of Palestinian dead and injured resulting from nearly 1,000 failed rocket launches that landed short must be subtracted, such as the one that fell on the al-Ahali hospital. From the remainder one must subtract all the Palestinians who fled northern Gaza for the safe zone in the south and who were killed by Hamas.

 

• The small balance of casualties is indeed comprised of unarmed civilians who were regretfully and unintentionally killed by IDF attacks. But compared to every other war in the last hundred years, the collateral damage caused by IDF is low compared to other Western military campaigns, particularly by the UK or U.S. military

 

• This relatively small civilian collateral damage is the result of Israel’s strict adherence to the international laws of war and the utmost efforts made by the IDF to convince the Gaza civilian population to evacuate battle zones while opening humanitarian corridors and securing safe civilian passage.

Hamas numbers are always inflated, that is the nature of the Hamas propaganda.

Hamas Weapons Galore in Shifa Hospital

IDF exposes the countless Hamas weapons

IDF troops have uncovered in the Shifa Hospital's MRI building 

The Picture Tells the Tale

 

Voices from the Arab Press – Al Ittihad Nov 2

The plight of Palestinians remains a convenient tool used by the Muslim Brotherhood for inciting unrest among Arab populations against their governments, as well as intellectual and media voices that may dare to expose the falsehoods of these subversive projects. They are at the forefront of these opportunists. The relationship between society and its leaders is under fire, thanks to the cunning and destructive tactics of the Brotherhood.

This diabolical scheme is designed to erode trust between leaders and their people in a desperate attempt to sow chaos. The ultimate goal? To pave the way for the Brotherhood to seize power and manipulate the political landscape to their advantage. But do they care about the stability and unity of our countries? They made their intentions clear during the so-called Arab Spring when they shamelessly colluded with foreign powers to wreak havoc.

In their thirst for power, they were even willing to form alliances with the devil himself! The current crisis in Gaza, much like other crises in our region, has once again exposed the glaring contradictions of the Brotherhood. It’s dismaying to see them resort to the same old rhetoric in every crisis, unapologetic about their blatant contradictions. For them, what is said under cover of night is erased in the light of day.

Take, for instance, one of their key figures and mouthpieces in a Gulf country who openly supports Hizbullah—a group responsible for the deaths of countless innocent Arabs. He continues to incite Gulf and Arab youth toward futile terrorist projects. At the same time, he boasts of his own children who are studying in prestigious universities of the West, in Canada and America. But he doesn’t bat an eye at pushing other people’s children into the depths of chaos and violence.

This is just the tip of the iceberg of the contradictions and lies of those who jump at every opportunity to distract their societies from real challenges, such as development, education, the economy, and global competitiveness. It’s time for the Brotherhood to wake up and take responsibility for their actions. They cannot continue to hide behind empty words and false promises while their societies suffer.

The people of the region deserve leaders who are dedicated to progress, not those who thrive on chaos and conflict. It’s time to put an end to the destructive cycle of hypocrisy and lies and work toward a brighter future for all. This crisis in Gaza should serve as a wake-up call for the region to come together and address the pressing issues facing us rather than falling prey to the divisive manipulations of the Brotherhood and their affiliates.

We owe it to ourselves and future generations to break free from the chains of distraction and focus on the real challenges at hand. —

For the full article read here.

A bird of prey who helped locate bodies in an unknown area has died

 The eagle A47, thanks to which several bodies were located in the surrounding settlements, died and was buried together with thousands of turkeys. At the same time, a fundraising campaign was held to continue the birds of prey project live, in which the nest where A47 hatched is also documented

Ait Nitzi, who helped locate missing bodies from the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7 , has died. The eagle, nicknamed A47, was buried together with turkeys that died during the war in an undisclosed area.

Thanks to tracking the location of birds of prey in the surrounding settlements, at least four bodies were found near the Bari and Kisofim forests last month. The inspection conducted by the Nature and Parks Authority personnel was conducted following a request from the intelligence units and the Ethan unit, who asked to help them locate the landmarks of the raptors broadcast in the surrounding area.

Ohad Hatzofa, a bird of prey ecologist at the Nature and Parks Authority, wrote about the birds of prey that found bodies: "The 'star' of the Nature and Parks Authority is a white-tailed eagle, born in 2022 in the breeding nucleus of 'Forishim Naf,' which was tamed and released in the Hula reserve last November. The other is A yellow hawk eagle A47 that randomly helped the military forces, and is born in a nest photographed on online cameras." The Nature and Gardens Authority said that the cause of death is unknown

No Fuel for Hospitals in Gaza? Really?

Fuel is available for the hospitals but it is being diverted 

to Hamas for loading their missiles to strike Israel.

 

The Facts of the War in Gaza

 After the 'Black Saturday' and one month of fighting, here are the numbers that tell the story of Israel's war against Hamas so far

One month ago, on October 7th at 6:29 in the morning, the terrorist organisation Hamas launched a combined attack on Israel. Sirens sounded in all the Gaza border communities, southern Israel, and its centre. Thousands of terrorists crossed the border, infiltrating from the air, the sea and on the ground. 

They had one primary goal: to murder Israelis. They also abused people, raped women, and kidnapped everyone they could — men, women, children, babies, and elderly people. They burned houses with families tied together inside, brutally tortured innocent civilians, and beheaded children, babies and soldiers. 

On that morning, Israel was shocked by the attack, and immediately declared war with Hamas — “Swords of Iron.” Hundreds of thousands of reservists left everything, on that morning of "Black Shabbat" (Black Saturday), on the holiday of Simchat Torah  — the last of the High Holidays — and went to the fight. 

• 1,400 people were murdered in the opening days of the war, including 314 soldiers who died in combat

• 34 soldiers have since died during the ground operation inside Gaza that began on October 27

• The families of 241 hostages have been informed that their loved ones are kidnapped in Gaza, including 33 children under age 18. 10 of them are toddlers under the age of 5 

• 7,075 people have been wounded during the war

• 20 children under the age 18 became orphans after losing both of their parents, and 96 children lost one parent. 18 young people between the ages of 18 to 25 have lost both parents in the war

• More than 9,200 rockets have been launched into Israel. There were more than 900 misfires landing in Gaza, and more than 400 directs hits have been counted on Israeli territory 

• More than 30 communities were infiltrated (full control has since been regained)

• Since the beginning of the war, more than 500,000 Israeli residents have been displaced from their homes

• IDF has attacked more than 2,950 targets in Gaza since the ground operation began, and more than 13,000 targets since the war began

• More than 1,350 wanted terror suspects have been arrested in the West Bank since the war began, at least 850 of whom are affiliated with the Hamas terror organisation

• More than 16,000 helmets and 5,000 protective vests were supplied to the troops inside Gaza in 10 days

The Truth behind Number of Gazan Casualties Reported in the International Media

 

 Kobi Michael 06/11/2023

After only a few days of sympathy on the part of the international media and the international community regarding the disaster that befell the State of Israel on October 7, the trend reversed. The international media then began to focus on the Palestinian victims in the Gaza Strip, while international leaders and public figures began a campaign of condemnation against Israel to the point of accusing it of genocide and calling for a ceasefire, without at all referring to the reasons behind this war and Hamas’s murderous atrocities.

The international media and many in the international community rely on the reports of the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip, which is run by Hamas, and is entirely subject to its authority and supervision. Referring to Hamas as a reliable source, even though it is a murderous and barbaric terrorist organization, indicates the depth of bias and hatred toward Israel and strong antisemitic roots.

There is no war in which there is no collateral damage and injury to unarmed civilians. However, there is no war in modern history in which the collateral damage is as limited as in this war. What helps reduce it is Israel's adherence to international law and the laws of armed conflict, as well as the supreme effort it makes to reduce this damage by issuing early warnings to the population and urging people to move south, while opening humanitarian corridors and safe traffic routes.

Hamas’s reliability is questionable and problematic, not only on the basis of past experience but in general as well. It is thus necessary to start from the assumption that the numbers of casualties reported are much higher than the real number. In addition, it is important to emphasize that a large number of victims are not innocent citizens but Hamas operatives who work in civilian clothes and assimilate into the population. Their identity is hidden or disguised even after they have been injured or killed, and they are included in the number of civilian casualties. Moreover, a significant percentage of the victims are the result of failed rocket fire by Hamas and Islamic Jihad, such as the incident at al-Ahli Hospital. There are also executions of civilians who seek to flee south and are shot by Hamas.

The numbers reported regarding children who were harmed are also far-fetched and exaggerated. Here we are dealing with a distortion related to both the international definitions regarding children (up to the age of 17 or 18, every young person is considered a child) and the fact that Hamas trains children for murderous terrorism from preschool age. Hamas recruits young children in their teens and uses them as terrorists. Many of the casualties reported as children are active Hamas terrorists.

In addition, many of those unarmed or uninvolved civilians who were killed as a direct result of IDF activity were killed because Hamas used them as human shields inside civilian buildings and infrastructure such as mosques, schools, clinics, and UNWRA facilities, which were all turned into military installations and rocket launch sites. This serves to present the victimhood narrative to the international media and the international community. Hamas not only does not seek to prevent harm to Palestinian civilians; it also acts with the intention of deliberately sacrificing its people for propaganda and media efforts.

One more word about the distorted discourse on proportionality, which is rooted in a disturbing ignorance about the nature of this war and seeks to place responsibility and blame on Israel for the lack of proportionality – as if there could be between the number of casualties on the Palestinian side and the Israeli side.

Ignoring the effort Israel makes by using human and material capital to develop systems that protect its population and save lives, while Hamas robs its people of international and Israeli aid, and invests all its human and material capital to develop means of killing and operates them from within the civilian population while using its population as human shields, is the most distorted point of view that the international media and the international community can present as a basis for blaming Israel and promoting the narrative of Palestinian victimhood. When death, a defining value in the eyes of Hamas and its ilk, succeeds in overshadowing the value of life as a defining value of sane civilizations, there is unquestionably cause for concern.

These are precisely the messages that must be presented firmly to the international media and the international community.

 

REVISITING GAZA

Cross posted from Grandma's Army  

Jews and their Israelite ancestors had lived in Gaza since Biblical times. An historic Jewish community existed in Gaza City prior to its expulsion by the British, for safety reasons (after many had been massacred), during the infamous 1929 riots by the city’s Arabs.  Land for the village of Kfar Darom (in the Gaza Strip) was purchased in the 1930’s and settled in 1946. It was evacuated following an Egyptian siege in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

In1968, Yigal Allon presented an initiative for the founding of two paramilitary settlements in the centre of the Gaza Strip. He viewed the breaking of the continuity between the northern and southern Arab settlements as vital to Israel's security in the area - which had been captured the previous year in the 1967 Six-Day War.

In 1970, Kfar Darom was re-established as the first of many Israeli villages in the area. Allon's idea was ultimately designed with five key areas slated for Israeli presence along the length of the Gaza Strip. After the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty, and the dismantling of Yamit south of Rafah, the fourth and third strips were united into one bloc - that would become known as Gush Katif (literally translated as “Harvest Bloc”).

On May 29^th, 1977,  the first Gazan Jewish village in modern times, Nezer Hazani, was formally established amid the sand dunes of the Gaza Strip - when a military outpost was transformed into a civilian community. On the day of the opening ceremony, the then Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin, Head of the Labour Party, announced:

"This is a great day for the State of Israel and Jewish settlement. It is a day that symbolizes the strengthening of our presence in this area which, since the Six Day War, has become an integral part of the state and its security”.

Throughout the 1980’s, new communities - mostly agricultural cooperatives (moshavs)  were established among the barren sand dunes. The sum of exports from the greenhouses which were owned by 200 farmers, came to $200,000,000 per year and made up 15% of the agricultural exports of the State of Israel. The combined assets in the Gush were estimated at $23 billion! It was the first time in the world that successful farming was accomplished on former sand dunes.

During the first Intifada (1987-1990), which broke out in nearby Gaza, the residents of Gush Katif were on the forefront of the violence. Since the beginning of the al-Aqsa Intifada (2000), Gush settlements were the targets of thousands of violent attacks by Palestinian militants. More than 6,000 mortar bombs and Qassam rockets were launched from Gaza. Most of the ground attacks were infiltrations and shootings. There were also attempts to infiltrate by sea. 42 residents of Gush Katif were killed by Arab terror (before Hamas) and countless others wounded.

The unilateral withdrawal of Israel in 2005 from Gaza - comprising 22 thriving communities - for the sake of “peace”, created the largest terrorist base in the world. It was led by the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO), graduates of terrorist camps in Yemen, Iraq, Sudan, Syria, Lebanon and Tunisia.

When Israel left Gaza, Hamas was elected the new governing party. The founding document of Hamas calls for the destruction of Israel and the murder of Jews. As long as this remains the guiding document for  the Palestinian leadership, the dream of peace remains an illusion.

UNRWA's Role for the Palestinians Must End

 After the war in Gaza is over, UNRWA cannot and must not be part of any solution for the Gazans (and those in Judea and Samaria)

The entire world has witnessed a pogrom that had been rehearsed for decades in the UNRWA schools. The systematic UNRWA call for violence had been witnessed and ignored by the IDF for a generation.  

As a result of the war in Syria, the UNRWA refugee camps in Syria have disintegrated. Hamas, with the backing of Qatar, recruited followers in these camps to fight alongside the Sunnis who were fighting against President Assad’s camp, Assad did not forget this and obliterated what remained of the UNRWA refugee camps in Syria. 

The IDF has entered the largest UNRWA camp in Gaza- Jabalia – where we witness the destruction of that UNRWA facility while a new Arab refugee situation in the south of Gaza is now festering. 

Against the wishes of Hamas, UNRWA staff moved to the south of Gaza together with the new flow of refugees and they are providing aid for the new refugees. This could be a new beginning of a focus on reforms in the Palestinian education curriculum which was UNRWA’s Achilles heel. 

That UNRWA curriculum was directly responsible for the barbarous pogroms that took place in Southern Israel and the aftermath of disaster in Gaza. For decades the UNRWA curriculum has groomed generations of Palestinian Arabs of all ages to murder Jews, delegitimize the State of Israel and strengthened the demand for the “Right of Return by force of arms.

The gruesome horrific scenes from the atrocities which were perpetrated on Simchat Torah – October 7- were committed by the UNRWA Gaza camps against civilian men, women, children and babies, witnessed by whole world, were the direct product of UNRWA’s indoctrination of genocide in their schools run by Hamas, 

The obvious conclusion must be either that UNRWA goes through a comprehensive policy change to overhaul its schools or hands over the responsibility of the Palestinian refugees who are no longer 1948 refugees but 2023 refugees to another organization to be agreed.

The entire UNRWA school system must now break from the sanctification of the Right of Return while providing aid for the new refugees to rehabilitate in the places where they are now residing.

If UNRWA will not take it upon itself this mission, the new warming of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia should join forces in the rehabilitation of Gaza, while transferring the responsibility over Gaza from Qatar to Saudi Arabia. 

Hamas is not alone in promoting the armed rebellion of the UNRWA refugee camps. The PA is a huge advocate of violent incitement against Israel in the refugee camps of Judea and Samaria.

With this understanding it is imperative that Gaza’s rehabilitation must include also a comprehensive fundamental change the UNRWA school curriculum that indoctrinates total war against Israel. It is this curriculum is to blame for the suffering now facing by Jews and Arabs  

 At this point in time, more than 60 major nations and 33 international relief agencies pour $1,6 billion into UNRWA, with 58% allocated to UNRWA “education”- with no constraints. 

At a time when UNRWA schools in Judea, Samaria, Jerusalem and Gaza have been operating as virtual arsenals, with UNRWA donors looking the other way, the open checkbook for UNRWA must end