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.