Tunnels? - More than the London Underground

 

Home, Sweet Home?

 The first thing you might notice about the Leonardo Plaza Hotel in downtown Jerusalem are the school buses parked in the loading circle outside. Security is tighter than it was before the war, and as usual, the massive lobby is spotless, smelling pleasantly of spa products.

 The next thing you might notice is a small memorial table with candles, photos of the kidnapped and the fallen, Israeli flags and information about Kfar Maimon and Tushiya, communities whose residents have taken up residence at the Leonardo.

 

The hotel is booked to capacity. However, eighty percent of the guests are refugees from the two moshavim, which were hard-hit by Hamas’s savage Oct. 7 attack. The other 20% are the usual array of hotel tourists and guests.

 

Sigal, one of the community organizers lodged at the Leonardo, along with her husband and two children, longs to return home but realizes that right now that’s impossible. Many of the communities’ homes were damaged or destroyed during the attack, and so far, only farmers and security teams have returned.

 

“While it’s nice to stay in a hotel, living in one room is hard for the children,” said Sigal, a holistic therapist by profession. “From the beginning, we all had to deal with shock, and we had to create an emotionally supportive environment for the children. Social workers from Jerusalem’s municipality were brought to us. I tell people to look at the positive—what a privilege to be housed here in Jerusalem!”

 

On the day of the attack, Sigal didn’t know what was happening. There were no sirens. They heard shooting and were warned to go into lockdown. She thought perhaps a terrorist had broken into the village. 

 

Little did she know that approximately 60 terrorists had infiltrated and were deployed in the cemetery of Kfar Maimon. The story might have ended differently if the terrorists hadn’t tried to shoot down an Israeli Air Force helicopter, which was headed elsewhere but instead descended and engaged the terrorists, eventually stopping the attack.

 

At the hotel, a guest rolls a carry-on, an M-16 assault rifle slung over his shoulder. At the bottom of the spiral staircase, the dining room fills up with children on their way to school, sporting colorful backpacks.   

 

Ortal Noah Moalam, CEO of the Leonardo Plaza Jerusalem, gets her first hug of the day from a 9-year-old girl bedecked in a sparkling pink rucksack. She said it is one of many greetings she gets each day from grateful children from the south, who always stop by to say hello.

 

“We receive significant support from the Jerusalem Municipality and the Jerusalem Development Authority,” explained Moalam. “They assigned a representative who arrives at the hotel every morning and assists families with everything they need, from support in all matters, education, planning and implementing recreational activities, psychological services, therapy and more.”

 

She added that in addition to supporting the promotion of the hotels, the Jerusalem Development Authority will help transition Jerusalem hotels back to serving the 5 million tourists expected in 2024 as the tourism industry recovers.

 

Donations poured in, and Moalam stockpiled and distributed them methodically, creating a free “store” for evacuees. “The people from the south were not used to winter in Jerusalem,” recounted Moalam. “They came in short sleeves and had no warm clothing.” Toys came in for the children. She gave them out slowly so as not to deplete the supply before Chanukah.

 

Three months later, the families have established routines and have celebrated life events—working the community into a cohesive family. Men go to war or to work. Women take care of the children.  Some are paid to teach or maintain the nursery schools. Others volunteer in the hotel. One 80-year-old resident said, “I’m old and I can’t do much, but I can read stories to the children.”

 

Rivik Boim is the emergency spokesperson for Kfar Maimon. She was on the team that informed people to lock down on Oct. 7. The mother of seven recently celebrated her son’s wedding at the Leonardo after the venue they had booked was shut down because of the war.  

 

“We had the chuppah here in the lobby, and dinner and dancing downstairs,” she recalls joyfully as she gently rocks her one-month-old granddaughter in the carriage. “She was born to my daughter who is also living at the hotel,” she said. The December wedding was scaled back from 450 to 200 people, as most of the couple’s friends were in the army.

 

 While no one knows exactly how long the evacuees from the north and south will remain in hotels, it is hoped that most will be back in their villages sometime within the first quarter of 2024.”

 

USAID to Stop Funding UNWRA

Former Deputy Administrator of USAID, sheds light on

the urgent necessity to defund UNRWA

(United Nations Relief and Works Agency)

in response to their involvement with Hamas

Hamas Tunnel Under Cemetery

An underground tunnel located under the Bani Suheila cemetery in the heart of Khan Yunis,  the IDF reported on Monday. While inspecting the tunnel, the fighters found explosives and sliding doors and eliminated terrorists who were inside.

Inside the tunnel, the Israeli forces unearthed the office of the eastern Battalion commander from the Khan Yunis Brigade, from where he directed the October 7 attacks, according to the IDF. 

In addition, troops found operation rooms, a battalion combat war room, and bedrooms of senior officials of the Hamas terrorist organization.

At the end of the examination, the tunnel was destroyed by engineering forces.

Does Guterres Really Know What he is Talking About?

 UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres claimed at the weekend that 

the death toll in Gaza is "unprecedented during my time as secretary general."

This statement is false. Guterres has been secretary-general of the UN since 2017 and during that time:

- Tens of thousands, most Christians, killed by Islamists in northern Nigeria

- Tens of thousands killed in Sudan's internal conflicts

- 39,000-49,000 killed in Armenia-Azerbaijan crisis

- 45,000 or more killed in Myanmar's ongoing civil war

- 40,000-50,000 killed in Mexico's ongoing drug war

- Over 80,000 killed in Syria's ongoing civil war

- Over 100,000 killed in the Russia-Ukraine war

- Over 100,000 died in Yemen as a result of ongoing civil war

- 180,000-600,000 died in internal conflict in Ethiopia

Bottom line: Calling the 30,000 deaths in Gaza "unprecedented" is a lie meant to delegitimize Israel's efforts to defend itself.

It is Clear the Palestinians Don't Want a 2 State Solution - They Say So!

 “October 7 Has Shown that Liberating Palestine from the 

River to the Sea Is Realistic and Has Already Begun”,

 so says Khaled Mashal

Hamas in its Own Words

 

“Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it" (Preamble to Hamas Charter). 

The following are examples of hateful rhetoric by Hamas leaders and officials, as well as language from their charter:  

Hamas Leaders and Officials:  

Statements by Hamas officials make clear the terrorist organization’s commitment to destroying Israel and killing Jews and Israelis around the world. 

• Ismail Haniyeh in 2020: He explained that Hamas rejects ceasefire agreements by which, “Gaza would become Singapore,” preferring to remain at war with Israel until a Palestinian state is established from the River to the Sea: “We cannot, in exchange for money or projects, give up Palestine and our weapons. We will not give up the resistance... We will not recognize Israel, Palestine must stretch from the [Jordan] River to the [Mediterranean] Sea.” 
• Hamas official, Hamad Al-Regeb in an April 2023 sermon: He prayed for “annihilation” and “paralysis” of the Jews whom he described as filthy animals: “[Allah] transformed them into filthy, ugly animals like apes and pigs because of the injustice and evil they had brought about.”
• Hamas Political Bureau Chairman Saleh Al-Arouri in an August 2023 interview:  He expressed Hamas’ desire for “total war” with Israel: “Therefore, we are convinced that if a total conflict begins, the airspace and seaports of this entity will be shut down, and they will not be able to live without electricity, water, and communications.” 
• Ahmad Abd Al-Hadi (Hamas representative in Lebanon) in an October 12, 2023 TV show laid out Hamas’ expectation that it would be Israel that would sue for peace and indicated that a ceasefire is part of Hamas’ overall strategy, but said that he was not at liberty to say what exactly Hamas has planned for the next step after a ceasefire.
• Hamas member, Ghazi Hamad on October 24, 2023: “Israel is a country that has no place on our land […] because it constitutes a security, military, and political catastrophe to the Arab and Islamic nation.” (October 24, 2023, LBC TV (Lebanon)). He also vowed to repeat the October 7 attacks “time and again until Israel is annihilated,” and expressing a desire to “sacrifice martyrs” (referring to Gazan civilians) for Hamas’ ideological aim of destroying Israel. 
• In a speech before the International Union of Muslim Scholars in Doha on January 9, 2024, Ismaeel Haniyeh, chairman of Hamas's political bureau, called the October 7 massacre the “advanced [battle] front of the Ummah.” Calling for “financial jihad” (donations to Hamas) and “jihad of the teeth” (physical jihad), he asked the international audience, “Who wishes to invest in building the jihadist generation to liberate Jerusalem and to unite the blood of the Ummah with the blood of the people of Gaza, Jerusalem, and Palestine on the land of Palestine for its liberation and the liberation of Jerusalem?” 

Statements by Hamas officials also make clear the terrorist organization’s disregard for the loss of civilian life not only in Israel but also in Gaza. 

• Hamas senior leader Khaled Mashal stated on October 19, 2023 that he views the current loss of civilian life in Gaza – brought about by Hamas' strategy of using human shields – as essential: “No nation is liberated without sacrifices... In all wars, there are some civilian victims. We are not responsible for them.” 
• Hamas senior leader Ismail Haniyeh, commenting on the loss of civilian life in Gaza on October 26, 2023: “The blood of the women, children and elderly […] we are the ones who need this blood, so it awakens within us the revolutionary spirit.”

Why South Africa?

 With the whole world scratching their heads to understand how South Africa got themselves involved in the case against Israel at the ICJ, now it starts to make sense following a bit of investigative research. 

Bankrupt ANC gets paid by Iran to run propaganda interference against Israel. If South Africa hadn't cooperated with Iran, the Courts would have declared the ANC bankrupt and the Constitution would prohibit them from running for election.

So, they did this deal in an attempt to remain in power and in so doing threatened or risked disinvestment in the country by the US, UK and Europe!

Since the SA government has announced that they stand by Hamas, 1.4 trillion Rand (app $75 bill) in investments have been withdrawn from SA , source Economist Magnus Heystek 😮

About 6 months ago an application was brought by a service provider who was owed about R 120 million by the ANC for the liquidation of the ANC. The application was due to be heard in November 2023.  Earlier last year it had been unable to pay salaries of staff for several months. The ANC was close to bankruptcy. (Sounds familiar? ... like many other SA organisations)

In October 2023, the minister of foreign affairs visited Iran. Soon after this visit:-

1) the government expresses solidarity with the Palestinians in a public display broadcast on TV

2) hosts a Hamas delegation in SA. 

3) launches an urgent application to the ICJ, accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza. Just the preliminary application costs come to R 200 million ($10 mill) for preparation and argument (the final trial will cost about R 1,5 billion.) 

About 3 weeks ago the liquidation application against the ANC was confidentially settled (R100m) and the ANC published a statement that its financial woes are over and it’s ready to fund and fight the 2024 elections.

Get it? It is not rocket science.

Control of Philadelphia Corridor?

 Without control of the Philadelphia corridor on the border

 with Egypt, weapons can continue to enter the Gaza strip 

and terrorists and hostages can escape.

Poverty? What life in Gaza really looks like

 Full article at https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/383618

Journalist Roi Yanovsky, was discharged after 100 days of reserve duty, from the beginning of the war, and published a situation report on his first-hand experience in the Gaza Strip..

First, he points out that while Gaza is considered to be a very backward city, the situation is completely different. "Gaza is seen as a failing area, the 'most crowded in the world' which has been under Israeli 'siege' for years. There is no bigger lie than this. Gaza is a modern, beautiful, and developed city - with large and well-equipped houses, wide boulevards, public areas, a promenade on the beachfront, and parks. It looks much better than any other Arab city, from the river to the sea. It is much more similar to Tel Aviv than to Kfar Qasim or Umm el-Fahm. Of course, it is very far from being 'the most crowded in the world.'"

"If it is considered a besieged city, let me live in a siege - the houses are bursting with products and food from all countries in the Middle East, the latest furniture, advanced electrical appliances, and much more. There are also magnificent mansions that would put Savyon or Kfar Shmariyahu to shame. There is absolutely no shortage of wealth in Gaza. Most of the houses I stayed in were much bigger than the apartment I live in, in Tel Aviv. The phrase 'if only they had a chance for a good life they wouldn't fight Israel' is simply not relevant to Gaza," he added.

For those who think that the citizens of Gaza are different than Hamas, Yanovsky clarifies otherwise. "The most common thing in homes in the Gaza Strip is a map of the Land of Israel - under the heading 'Map of Palestine'. There is no mention of Israel or Israeli communities in general. And it exists in almost every home, in every school, and every public institution. The goal of erasing the State of Israel is neither hidden nor suppressed, it exists almost everywhere. The historical distortion of this map that is taught from age zero (mandatory borders of territories that were never designated for an Arab state at all) is a topic for another discussion that only emphasizes the distorted perception of reality by the residents of Gaza."

"There are ready-made Hamas combat compounds – weapons, tunnels, explosives, launch compounds – all inside residential houses, some of which are also prepared with openings in the walls to pass between buildings. The residents of the Gaza Strip who live in the combat zones know this. They have received countless notices to evacuate, even long before the IDF entered Gaza. The IDF announcements are still found everywhere. Those who decided to stay in the combat zones are either Hamas operatives or people who consciously decided to stay in the areas used by Hamas for combat, each for their own reason," he emphasizes.

Another fact he points out is that "Hamas members hardly ever walk around armed. They are not stupid or cowards. They know they will not be shot if they go in a 'civilian' disguise. They prepare their ammunition ahead of time at the entrances to buildings and arm themselves only moments before they attack. That's why fighting is much more complex than in any other area, and whoever tries to judge from the outside why soldiers shot X or didn't shoot Y, should go into Gaza for a week or two and come back with their own insights."

"The circle that enables Hamas activity is much larger than the tens of thousands of terrorists. Hamas ideology is found in almost every house, in pictures, and propaganda materials. Hamas in Gaza is like Messi in Argentina. Strengthening Hamas at this level requires the active assistance of the local population. There is no way that the residents of the areas where we located rockets and weapons, they did not know that the place was used as a launch pad, where they try to massacre Israelis every day. I find it hard to believe that the parents in the kindergarten where there was a tunnel shaft did not know this. Who chooses to send their children to a kindergarten that is used as a terrorist infrastructure?", he wonders.

Finally, he emphasizes that "Hamas' most powerful weapon is lies and propaganda. This is its fuel. This is how they supported the lie of the "siege" for so many years. This is what is being done now with the photos of the innocent victims and the killing of the 'journalists' who turned out to be terrorist operatives. Gaza is the only place in the world that reports 500 dead half an hour after an explosion. Even in earthquakes and severe disasters, it takes the rescue forces a few days to identify and estimate the number of dead. But the Palestinian Ministry of Health already knows what the damage is a minute after the explosion. It's ridiculous and pathetic that world media cites the numbers as the words of a living God. I would attribute the same level of credibility to this week's reports of 'hunger' in Rafah."

IDF Dogs Celebrate

 

Will Israel Get a Fair Trial at ICJ?

 Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, the founder and president of Shurat Hadin,

to discuss the International Court of Justice hearing set

to take place later this week.

Exposing the lie about Palestinian journalists

(David Collier just published a report on journalists in Gaza. http://tinyurl.com/ye9v9nt4  Some headlines of his article are reproduced here. It makes compelling reading)

 Hamas, NGOs, and key media figures have been spreading an antisemitic conspiracy about Israel killing journalists in Gaza to silence them. Some well-known skewed ‘journalists’ like Alex Crawford at Sky News are consistently posting about journalists being killed. In this post she references 109 journalists dead – simply parroting raw Hamas propaganda

 While Hamas (and activist journos like Crawford) are claiming 109+ have died, the American NGO ‘Committee for Protecting Journalists’ (CPJ) claim it is about 70.

 I took these lies as a challenge and did what I do best; I went looking for the social media accounts of the 107 journalists who had been named (to 4/1/24). I successfully found 100 of them. Today in the report I am publishing the results of what I found.

Working backwards to confirm journalists

It is impossible to overstate how bad the information circulating about these journalists is. It is easy to be dismissive and say that ‘Hamas’ lie, but many people have bought into this fiction, which is why I needed to address it. I focused on the CPJ list because it is given far more credit and legitimacy in the west. Having researched it thoroughly, the CPJ deserve nothing but shame.

What is effectively happening is that Hamas is making up stories in Gaza and using its international anti-Israel network to take the lies viral. Western media figures sympathise with the story of the dead journalists and rush to stand in solidarity with their ‘brave fallen colleagues’. Western NGOs (like the CPJ) take the exaggerated Hamas figure, dust off a few of the more obvious fake ones, and hold up the rest as genuine. That act of ‘professionalism’ earns them airtime with global news outlets such as the BBC. The whole thing is bogus.

Hamas operatives as journalists

Half of the people that the CPJ list as journalists work for Hamas or Islamic Jihad channels. The CPJ admit some do, but either from ignorance or laziness they appear unaware of the others. In any case they still list them all as journalists. This is in direct breach of the CPJ’s own guidelines which says working for terrorist groups (they call them militants) should discount them. The situation is absurd.

Hassuna Salim has his own Telegram Channel. On the morning of 7 October he made 100s of celebratory posts. But he also posted a call from the Islamic Jihad for everyone to rise up, grab their weapon and fight. Calls such as these were the driver for 100s of ‘civilians’ to cross into Israel and rape and murder Israelis.

It is an offensive lie to refer to this person as a journalist. This is what the CPJ are protecting. It is disgraceful.

Because the CPJ did not research properly, the entire CPJ list was full of errors and the report gives dozens of examples. It also means that to the CPJ the subject never became a real person. It is how I know many of those included in the lists are not journalists at all.

By linking to their social media, I could see their images, their connections, and the real-world ‘flavour’ of the account.

For example, Mohamed Ayash made a post in June mourning the loss of his best friend. In July, when he had a baby, he even named the baby after his friend. His best friend’s name was Mohieddin al-Sadoudi – a Hamas terrorist – who died in a training accident.

Time after time I saw brothers, cousins, fathers, and sons of these ‘journalists’ posting images of themselves with weapons, images of Hamas material, or images of dead ‘martyr’ relatives.

Another part of the report shows how many of these people supported terrorist attacks that murdered innocent civilians. In total around 70% did. Which means there are examples of 54 ‘journalists’ who posted multiple celebrations– posted as seven Israelis were slaughtered outside a synagogue in Jerusalem on January 27 2023.

The report runs to 150 pages and includes many examples / issues not covered here. It is full of evidence and there is far too much to cover in a single article. The bottom line is simple; Israel is not targeting journalists. This is just another antisemitic lie going mainstream.

The report is downloadable here.

Not All Media Outlets are Biased.

 It is a refreshing change to watch a media outlet

reporting factually without bias.

Int'l Court of Justice ruling could limit IDF operations

 For full article see http://tinyurl.com/mu5f65y2

Israel will appear next week before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at the Hague to contest South Africa's accusations of war crimes and genocide in the Gaza Strip. Israel is concerned that the ICJ will issue an order that would limit the IDF's activity in the Gaza Strip in the war against Hamas. Following the accusations, Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the IDF and Ministry of Justice held discussions on how to proceed, and last night, in discussions headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, it was decided that Israel would participate in the ICJ hearing, which begins next week.

South Africa filed charges against Israel with the ICJ last week for its alleged indiscriminate use of force, and forcibly expelling residents from their homes. In a detailed complaint, South Africa cites the harm caused to Gaza's residents, including 21,000 killed. The charges refer to reports by the World Health Organization on the dangers of starvation and IDF operations focusing on civilian centers including courts, museums and mosques. South Africa has asked the court to issue an interim order to Israel urgently, ordering it to stop military operations in the Gaza Strip.  [This is a South Arica where there were 27000 murders last year and women's groups are reporting a rape every 26 seconds]

The danger confronting Israel is that the court will issue such an order that will limit its activities in the Gaza Strip in the fight against Hamas. The court does not impose sanctions, but it may turn to the UN Security Council to request enforcement. However, in the UN Security Council, the US has a right of veto, in contrast to its power in the ICJ, where it has one of 15 judges.

To Shoot or Not to Shoot, that is the Question

 No words are necessary.

Happy New Year

 

Public Opinion is Being Manipulated by Hamas

Public Opinion is Being Manipulated by Hamas, 

don't forget to double check and to establish credibility.

A Soldier and His Dog

 What needs to be written, the picture says it all.

What brave warriors these dogs have turned out to be.

Hamas rocket fire slows to almost a standstill

The IDF has brought down Hamas's rocket fire substantially in recent weeks since the attack on Khan Yunis began.

 During the week of December 1-7, Hamas still managed to fire 75 rockets per day, down from hundreds of rockets per day earlier in the war. However, by December 8-14, the number of rockets from Gaza per day had dropped to 23.raeli residents of six Gaza border towns set for return home

From December 15-21, the average number of rockets dropped to 16, with the number remaining relatively steady from December 22-27.

With Hamas having already fired, by some estimates, around 13,000 rockets and in addition Israel has destroyed large numbers of Hamas rockets, rocket launchers, and areas for placing rocket launchers, the terror group has been losing its launching capabilities.

Already in late November, its capability to fire rockets from northern Gaza had dropped by 80%, and now its capabilities to fire rockets from southern Gaza has also dropped, though there is still for the time being a capability in Rafah.