Our New Neighbours?

 If these are to be our new neighbours, 

then at least we have a common language!!

Terror Finance at the US State Department and USAID

MEF research finds that the Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development have provided hundreds of millions of dollars to organizations involved with designated terrorist organizations.

Executive Summary

• The Middle East Forum’s multi-year study of USAID and State Department spending has uncovered $164 million of approved grants to radical organizations, with at least $122 million going to groups aligned with designated terrorists and their supporters. Billions more of federal monies has been given to leading American aid charities which have consistently failed to vet their terror-tied local partners, and show little interest in improving their practices, to the apparent indifference of the federal government.

• Millions of federal dollars have been handed by USAID to organizations directly in Gaza controlled by Hamas, with government officials even visiting Gaza terror proxies’ offices and launching joint programs.

• USAID beneficiaries have called for their lands to be “cleansed” from the “impurity of the Jews,” among dozens of other chilling examples. USAID staff attend the offices of charities which seemingly operate on behalf of senior Hamas leaders, while staff of multiple multi-million dollar USAID beneficiary charities openly praise and encourage violence against Jews.

• State Department money has been handed to radical domestic groups such as the Tides Foundation, which members of Congress have accused of funding pro-Hamas, anti-Jewish violence in college campuses across America.

• Easily manipulated and complicit fellow travelers, including major aid organizations such as World Vision and Catholic Relief Services, as well as advocacy organizations such as InterAction, serve as important vehicles, sometimes knowingly, for terror-tied Islamists, both in the United States and abroad. These charities are dependent on federal funding, receiving billions of taxpayers’ dollars.

• Federal funding subsidizes efforts by domestic Islamists involved with Hamas, Jamaat-e-Islami and the Turkish regime, to abrogate rules and scrutiny in the United States intended to tackle the threat of terror finance.

• Records of federal funding, particularly through USAID, are obfuscated by deficient disclosure practices, deleted data, and deliberate attempts to evade transparency, with millions of dollars given to anonymous beneficiaries in terrorism-stricken areas of the globe.

• Over the past year, USAID’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) has served as a lone voice of internal concern over USAID’s funding systems, warning about the failure of current procedures to identify awardees’ links to violent extremism, obfuscation by foreign NGOs and UN agencies, and the clear risk of abuse of the vetting and funding systems by “armed groups.” Should USAID be merged into the State Department, as current reports indicate will happen, it is vital that the observations and analysis of the USAID OIG are not lost.

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Permission to Publicize

(Written by a friend yearning for some truth in the agenda driven media of today)

The words of the title reverberate in our minds since the beginning of this long war. They gave us the creeps when they open the news and everybody’s tension went up. A bit like reciting the words in our Yom Kippur prayers “who by water, who by fire”… who is it now, how many, do I know any of the names? Even if we don’t know any of the soldiers killed in action our hearts contract, as if all of them were our own sons. We care for each and every one, because we cherish life and we mourn with their families and friends. Let’s hope that there will be no more victims.

Listening to the news has been my habit for years. The radio has been on most of the time, mainly since I live alone. It helps to have someone talking, even if it is in the background. Sometimes the programs are interesting, not only news, but stories of events and experiences of people all over the world. However, in recent years it has become nerve racking and difficult.

Some say that the general news outlets are one sided, manipulative and depressing. Others are sometimes aggressive, but then try to give a more optimistic picture of the developments. Who to listen to?

Talking to my son has become very challenging. If I open the conversation: “have you heard about….” He stops me immediately. “Don’t tell me – I don’t need to know everything!” Where are the interesting and informing talks we used to have? He is adamant not to be inundated by depressing and often faulty news. His argument is that if it is really important, it will get to me somehow. That’s all he needs. He has found for himself some outlets and contacts he agrees to listen to, mainly since they look at the situation from a more refined and trustworthy aspect, allowing faith in a better future.

In the past couple of weeks, since some kind of shaky ceasefire has brought more quiet, the news has changed, not always for the better. On one hand, we all are happy about every hostage being released, but the news again work on our nerves. We really do not need to know every detail and be emotionally challenged all the time. On the other hand, reports and opinions that disunite and split the population have surfaced again and bring back the ugly atmosphere that existed before the war.

Can our country heal from all our afflictions?

 

Hebrew Uni offers full scholarship to freed hostages

By JNS January 27^th 2025

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem is offering full scholarships in any field of study to all released hostages, the school announced on Sunday.

The university is offering full scholarships for a three-year academic degree—covering both bachelor’s and master’s programs—to all captives freed from Gaza, along with a dedicated fund to ensure children who were held hostage can access higher education in the future.

A bachelor’s degree in Israel normally requires three years of full-time study.

The initiative includes personalized academic guidance, psychological support, and career counseling, aiming to provide a foundation for their recovery and reintegration.

The program is designed to serve as a cornerstone for these individuals’ return to normalcy, equipping them with the tools to achieve their personal and professional aspirations.

“We are committed to standing by all who experienced the horrors of October 7 and the prolonged captivity under Hamas. It is our responsibility to support them in every way possible,” said Professor Tamir Sheafer, rector of the Hebrew University.

“We aim to help them rebuild a hopeful future and provide a solid anchor in their long rehabilitation journey. As Israel’s leading academic institution, we believe in the transformative power of higher education and its potential to drive personal and societal change. This initiative reflects our deep ethical and social commitment,” Sheafer said.

 

Hostages report spending months in tunnels without human contact

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News Jan 27th

A number of hostages who have been released report having been confined for months in underground tunnels with no human contact, an Israeli general reported on Monday.

Although many of the freed captives appeared cheerful and energetic upon their release, Eitan Gonen, father of Romi Gonen, cautioned that this was not a sign that Hamas treated the hostages well.

Eitan Gonen told Walla, “The smiles aren’t a reflection of the conditions they endured; they’re expressions of the hostages’ joy at being freed from the Nazis. If you were rescued from hell and someone extended their hand to you, wouldn’t you smile?”

Some of the hostages were held in underground tunnels with no daylight and were deprived of human contact, sometimes for as long as eight months.

“Some of them were alone the entire time. Those who were together fared better,” said Colonel Dr. Avi Banov, deputy chief of the Israeli military’s medical corps, during an online press briefing.

Under the current hostage release deal, seven women were freed in exchange for 290 Palestinian prisoners.

Many of the hostages have experienced “mild starvation” after being fed extremely meager rations of only rice or bread for over a year.

Just prior to their release, Hamas allowed them to shower and provided additional food.

According to reports, Hamas gave soon-to-be-released hostages extra food and stimulants to create the illusion that they were well-treated.

Several of the hostages suffered serious injuries sustained on October 7th and did not receive adequate medical treatment during their captivity.

Emily Damari lost three fingers after being shot in the hand on October 7th, and Daniella Gilboa has a bullet lodged in her leg, which will be surgically removed now that she has been released.

Some of the hostages were able to hear news about the war on the radio, along with messages from their families.

Eitan Gonen described the effect hearing such messages had on his daughter, Romi.

“Even if only 10% of the interviews reached the hostages’ ears, it was enough to give them strength,” he said. “It gave her a lot of strength, energy, and great hope.”

 

METAMORPHOSIS IN THE MIDDLE EAST

 Cross posted from Grandma's Army

After Hamas carried out its horrific October 7, 2023 massacre by invading Israel, murdering hundreds of people and kidnapping individuals from various countries, Israel reached a breaking point. This barbaric act of terrorism led to ground-breaking developments

For decades, the Middle East has been plagued by violence and instability, but Israel's response marked a significant turning point, dramatically transforming the region.

Israel, in its counteroffensive against Hamas, targeted and significantly diminished the terrorist group's military capabilities crippling its ability to function effectively. The Iranian regime, a staunch supporter of Hamas, was activating other proxies, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen, to attack Israel. In an unprecedented move, Iran also launched ballistic missiles from Iranian soil into Israel, thereby escalating the conflict.

Israel's broader objective appears to be, not merely to respond to isolated acts of terrorism, but to dismantle the infrastructure of terror. With a vision of ultimately fostering peace, harmony, security and prosperity throughout the region, Israel expanded its military operations beyond Hamas. It launched targeted strikes against Hezbollah, significantly weakening its military capabilities, and extended its efforts to Syria, striking Iranian military bases, weapons-supply chains and oil refineries. These decisive actions underscored Israel's commitment to reshaping the Middle East into a region free of the grip of terror.

One of the most extraordinary developments spurred by Israel's actions was the unexpected collapse of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria. Within a week of launching an offensive last month, armed rebel groups achieved what for decades had seemed impossible: the conquest of key cities and the end of Assad's reign. This monumental shift, dealt a devastating blow to Iran's regional ambitions. It disrupted decades of Iran's poisonous dominance in the region.

Thanks to Israel's strategic and calculated actions, Iran's regime, which had survived Western sanctions and interventions since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, now faces unprecedented challenges.

So long as Iran's regime remains in power, brutalizing its people and making plans for global expansion, there can be no chance for peace. With the regime's collapse, its proxies would be starved of funding and weaponry, paving the way for a more peaceful Middle East. The final step needs to be demolishing Iran's nuclear program and empowering the Iranian people to achieve freedom.

Israel's contributions to global peace and the fight against terrorism are unparalleled. This tiny nation has accomplished what any larger powers have failed to do: confronting evil, dismantling terror networks, and advocating for freedom and security. The world owes Israel a debt of gratitude for the terrible price it has paid, and still paying, and for its unwavering courage and commitment to these ideals.

It is high time for Western nations to align with Israel, offer their full support, and take the necessary steps to ensure a safer, more secure future for all.

Some Sign of Change in Text Books in Saudi Arabia

 The recent IMPACT-se report examined the textbooks of the 2023-24 academic school year in Saudi Arabia to identify curricular changes. It pays particular attention to content highlighted in IMPACT-se’s study of the Saudi curriculum from previous years. The analysis includes a comprehensive review of 371 textbooks from the Saudi Arabian national curriculum, published between 2019 and 2024.

This allows for an evaluation of both the latest curriculum developments and the evolution of educational content over the past five years. The study focuses on subjects of the Humanities, namely Arabic language, Islamic and Social Studies, Life and Family Skills, Critical Thinking, Geography, History, and Literature. The contents of the textbooks are analyzed according to UNESCO-based standards of peace and tolerance.

Negative portrayals of infidels and polytheists have been toned down and decreased in number, as well as the depictions of various practices of Shi’a and Sufism to be heretical. In continuing with trends highlighted in previous IMPACT-se reports, all problematic examples promoting jihad and martyrdom have been removed or altered. Considerable improvements in regards to gender have been made, though textbooks maintain a traditional approach to gender roles in society and at home. Significant amounts of homophobic content have been removed. However, cross-dressing is still prohibited. The curriculum reveals Saudi Arabia’s dedication to the Palestinian cause. Portrayals of Israel and Zionism have progressed further. Students no longer learn content which defined Zionism as a “racist” European movement that aims to expel Palestinians, or that Zionism’s “fundamental goal” is to expand its borders and take over Arab lands, oil wells and Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem. Nonetheless, Israel is still not recognized on maps, but in some instances the name ‘Palestine’ which featured across the entirety of Israeli territory, has been systematically removed. The Holocaust is absent from the curriculum, and Israel is still referred to as “the Israeli occupation” or “Israeli occupiers” in the context of the 1948 War. Several problematic examples still appear in some textbooks. 

Talk TV and GB News have broken the back of left-wing media dominance

 One can only hope that the trend referred to in the article below will continue.

Peter Baum, January 19, 2025

I first became aware of how excellent – the ‘extreme left’ were in organized protest when I first became active on social media. I challenged a rabid anti-Semite with facts that debunked the mythology he was spewing about Israel and the Palestinians and within minutes I was bombarded with a barrage of reply posts from his followers ranging from hostile to disgracefully racist. Out of curiosity I chose two other anti – Israeli accounts, challenged them similarly and was met with exactly the same offensive bombardment. Whether on social media, county councils, Trade Unions or University campuses, the far left are exceptionally well organized more importantly, well – funded as we shall verify.

While the silent majority spend their free time watching soaps on TV, attending sporting events, wining and dining or do it yourself tasks domestically, those far-left activists are getting themselves voted on to a committee or sub-committee of local government, charitable organizations, colleges, medical or welfare groups and collectives with the intent of gaining power and influence. They are able to achieve these objectives simply as a result of the inertia of the silent majority.

In the last three decades we have witnessed how mainstream media, the church, academia, Trades Unions, local and government departments have become breeding grounds for those with a far-left political ideology. The BBC being the highest profile publicly funded institution that has evolved into the subservient stooge of all those opposed to conservative and Judeo-Christian values. 

In the USA as in the UK the left – wing media dominated the viewing audience population for decades but very recently the tide has turned. The viewers for MSNBC, ABC and CNN have dramatically decreased to the point where investment analysts are questioning their ability to survive financially as advertising revenues shrink and are on a downward trajectory. 

In the UK two right of center media channels, Talk TV and GB News have broken the back of left-wing media dominance the latter drastically so as it vies for second place for news viewers. The under twenty-five age group are focused on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok or Twitter now X, and this too has seen an output metamorphosis from left to right with the ownership of Elon Musk. And Facebook too, understanding where its financial and political wellbeing is best served has followed the same left to right trajectory. Unfortunately, Wikipedia has now become the outlet for turning fact into fiction, truth into mythology and revisionism. It is losing and will continue to lose credibility but suffice it to say that much damage has already been done.

In my world the most telling factor has been the curtailment of the vicious left- wing posters – not cancelled but certainly regulated. Thus, in the media and certainly with the election of Donald Trump, Canada and a number of EU countries may well be leaning to the right and the signs for conservatives or right of center ideologues are promising. But it is in the streets where the challenge has yet to expose itself. Let me elaborate a little.

Immediately following the atrocities committed on October 7, global protests were organized in all major cities, in support of the Palestinians. This paradox is no longer bizarre, it is the normal popular response the left has identified as their cause celebre. Anti-Zionism, really antisemitism has become normalized and is the most important issue that unites the left. Damn the 6 million black Africans killed in the DRC, these last 20 years ; damn the 600,000 Syrians or 250,000 Yemenis slaughtered by Asad and the Houthis; damn the genocide committed on black African non-Muslims by Islamists in the Sahel; damn the Uighurs, Rohingyas or the tens of thousands of Kurds butchered by the megalomaniac Erdogan of Turkey – only the Palestinians matter.

And the Palestinians matter because the Jews are the opposition. When Syrians under Assad slaughtered thousands of Palestinians who joined the Syrian opposition, there was no outrage. Similarly, when Jordan and Pakistan killed thousands of Palestinians in Black September there was no outrage. When Iraqi opposition and Kuwait helped by the USA killed and ethnically cleansed thousands of Palestinians for their support of Saddam, there was no outrage. Only the Jews, Israelis or Zionists create the conditions for outrage and protests.

Now, here’s the rub. These ‘spontaneous’ protests were similar to those Orwell scribed in Animal Farm. Not only were they exceptionally well organized, but banners, placards, terrorist memorabilia, camping equipment – tents, heating food requirements etc. were all readily available and in abundance. The protests were exceptionally well planned and clearly had been funded by those waiting for the very moment when all hell could be let loose on the pro- Israel block. The progressive ‘as a Jew Jews’ were radiantly orgasmic. You know the type – those who believe they have an intellectual or moral superiority and contempt for Jews who support Israel by prefacing every post or sentence they make with ‘Aa s Jew’. To continue with the Orwellian theme, they are the pigs (now that is a paradox) and those they hold in contempt, the donkeys.

The story to any media outlet worth their salt was not to just comment on the disgusting antisemitic and far left attendees but to delve further into which individuals, organizations and groups are funding the protests. It will be interesting to see if, after the ceasefire agreement, the protests will continue and my guess is that the law of economic returns will kick in and they will gradually become less popular.

I did have one bit of fun with the agitators by posting to my growing band of social media followers, knowing they would poke the far-left mob, that the banners and placards they were using were manufactured by a Jewish company and all proceeds going to Israel. Hell, hath no fury than a scorned Jew hater.

Please follow Blitz on Google News Channel

An Obscene Spectacle

 

Melanie Phillips Jan 19    Hamas terrorists “hold back” the Gazan mob menacing Israeli hostage Doron Steinbrecher at the moment of her release To all those in the west who have perpetrated the lie of Israeli genocide in Gaza for the past 15 months: look at the pictures of the mob surrounding the three Israel women hostages who were freed today, and see thousands of Gazans who are well-fed, well-groomed and well-dressed. What do you have to say now about the murderous libel you have perpetrated against the Israeli victims of these people, the lie that the Israelis were deliberately starving them, that they were the victims of Israeli-induced famine, that the Jews were behaving like Nazis? Do you have a scintilla of shame or regret about what you have done in spreading this foul incitement? Do you even understand what you saw today? Or are you too busy cheering on instead the pictures of those “pro-Palestinian” hate-marchers in London yesterday, dozens of whom were arrested by the police because they were absolutely determined to harass and terrorise British Jews at their synagogue Sabbath services nearby? Look at that horrifying footage of those Gaza mobs, those enormous potential lynch mobs jeering and threatening the three Israeli women as they were handed over to the Red Cross — the same mobs who abused the live hostages and desecrated the bodies of the murdered ones when they were all dragged into Gaza after the October 7 massacre; look at that footage and then tell us all again that the vast majority of Palestinian Arabs in Gaza are innocent civilians and victims of the Israelis. Listen to those mobs chanting ecstatically for the murder of Jews in a willed repetition of the slaughter of Jews by Islam’s founder Mohammed in 7th century Khybar; then watch Sky News report this as a “celebration,” and then begin to understand the depravity of the western media that’s sanitised this barbarism for 15 months and demonised its victims. Look at the thousands who have emerged in Hamas uniform and armed to the teeth, vowing to carry out more and more October 7 massacres until every Jew is dead and Israel is destroyed — Hamas murder squads loudly declaring that they will use the ceasefire to regroup, rearm and attack Israel; and then listen to the politicians hailing this development as the beginning of peace. Look with breaking heart at the poignant joy and indescribable relief from suffering of the families reunited with their newly freed girls — how can this be anything other than a source not just of joy but also shuddering horror at what they have endured and at who knows what scars they will bear for the rest of their lives; and a source also of the most profound agony over the vast majority of the Israeli captives, both alive and dead, who remain incarcerated as pawns of these Palestinian Arab psychopaths, and who will now be used to eke out further unbearable distress among the hostages and their families, and to extort and manipulate the Israelis into ensuring that Hamas survive, regroup and resume the business of genocide. All you who have connived at this obscenity, including the members of the Biden administration and the incoming Trump administration — yes, even though it was indeed Donald Trump whose arrival on the scene forced Hamas/Qatar to yield up this limited number of hostages but at a terrible price that no civilised nation should have expected any victimised people to pay, including enabling its genocidal enemy to regroup and re-emerge as a force for evil in a way that threatens to render worthless the supreme sacrifice made by all those Israeli heroes who have fallen in battle — you who are all falling over yourselves to take credit for the release of the hostages today, know this: that the spectacle of these innocents having to run the gauntlet of genocidal menace after 15 months in hell, this hostage negotiation that was more akin to a mafia-style hit-job forcing Israel under unimaginable pressure to release dozens of men who have slaughtered Israeli Jews over the years, who left hundreds of families permanently bereaved and shattered and are now being released to do it all again — you have produced a sickening theatre of sadism and cruelty on the eve of Trump’s inauguration, which casts a baleful shadow over the new and transformative era that tomorrow’s dawn will supposedly bring. Let’s hope the Trump administration speedily redeems itself by helping Israel now rid the world once and for all of this evil. Because the Jewish people will never forget nor forgive what you have done.

The Hostage Deal Blackmail

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.    

Never Ask ....