The IDF Current Goals

 

Brigadier General (Res.) Amir Avivi says the IDF must put pressure on the terror organization to release the hostages

The IDF is consistently pursuing three main goals, according to Brigadier General (Res.) Amir Avivi of IDSF, the Israel Defense and Security Forum

He told a local News channel  that :-

the first goal is improving the defense of the towns along the Gaza Strip.

“We have to bring back people to the kibbutzim that are really close to the border,” he said. “In order to do that, we need to push Hamas west toward the sea and secure the area.”

The second goal is to put pressure on the terror organization to release the hostages

“It’s crystal clear that Hamas is not pressured enough. They need to be pressured more in order to bring them to the point where they are willing to do a hostage deal—without Israel needing to give up its goals of war, without giving up the mission of eradicating Hamas,” Avivi said.

Finally, the third goal is to destroy Hamas’s rule in Gaza. To that end, the government  have announced that more troops are being called to battle.

 

Israel is an Apartheid State?

(With thanks to Ben Herskowitz)

 

“People debate Israel like it’s just a concept."

 (Thanks to AP Hamilton)

“People debate Israel like it’s just a concept."

As if it’s something you read about in a book or watch on Netflix.

You hear it in universities, in the media, on podcasts hosted by people who’ve never lived a day in this region or ever faced a single siren or buried a friend in uniform.

You hear it all: 

“Proportional response.” “Occupation.” “Ceasefire now.” “Colonial state.” “Resistance.”         “War hungry.” “Aggressor.” “Genocide.” 

They say it so easily. The words roll off their tongues like a case study, something theoretical.

But in reality, none of it is a story. None of it is a show. And none of it is theory. 

It’s human. It’s raw. It’s real. It’s painful. It’s horrific. 

This war isn’t being fought by politicians or polished debaters. It’s being fought by real people.

By 19-year-olds. By fathers. By women who were supposed to be planning weddings, not funerals. By people who didn’t sign up to be warriors — but were thrown into it.

In Israel, you don’t have the luxury of debating it. You can’t say, “It’s their war, not mine” — because it is yours. 

And that’s the thing about Israel — it’s small. So small that when a soldier falls, it’s never just a headline. It’s a friend. A neighbor. A cousin.

A community is left to grieve.

You go to a shiva, and half the town is there because everyone knew him.

He was at your kid’s bar mitzvah. He sat behind you in synagogue. He coached soccer on Sundays.

And while that pain is raw and fresh, people around the world go right back to their “debates.”

Debating whether their grief is valid. Whether their defense is justified. Whether their survival is acceptable.

Do you know what it’s like to live like this?

To send a young son off in uniform and not know if you’ll ever see him again?

To pack a husband’s gear and pretend you’re strong for the kids, even though your hands are shaking?

To watch a daughter put on body armor and disappear into the battlefield?

Do you know what it’s like to count the minutes during the day and pray through the night?

To stare at your phone, dreading every unknown number — wondering if this is the call that will change your life?

To open the door and see officers standing there with news you never wanted to hear, but secretly expected?

Do you know what it’s like to bury someone who still had plans?

Still had dreams? Still had their whole life ahead of them?

While you debate, these people mourn.

While you argue over maps and talking points, they’re holding funerals and wiping tears off their kids’ faces.

You talk about justice. They talk about survival. You talk about occupation. They’re just trying to make it to tomorrow. They’re not out for revenge. They just want to live. To see their families again. To come home.

And yet, they’re called monsters. Murderers. Oppressors.

As if they chose this. As if they asked for it. No one in Israel wants war. They want to work.

To raise their children. To build lives.

But when rockets fly and murderers cross the border, they don’t get to debate.

They have to fight. Because no one else will do it for them.

So you can keep your conversations about “balance” and “dialogue.”

But just know: while you’re talking, they’re bleeding.

While you’re analyzing, they’re breaking the news to mothers.

While you’re shouting “morality,” they’re holding funerals for kids who never got to be anything but soldiers.

This isn’t politics. This isn’t theories. This is Israel.

And this is what it means to survive there.”

 

Palestinian Leaders Play Musical Chairs To Dupe Western Donors

 The appointment of al-Sheikh needs to be seen in the context of Abbas's effort to dupe the international community into believing that he is serious about reforming the PA and sharing power. Abbas's main goal is to rid himself of the image of an autocrat and present himself as a reformist and democrat, so that Western donors will continue to pour money on him – foolishly with no conditions.

 Those who think that al-Sheikh would be different from Abbas are clueless. Al-Sheikh, a vteran member of Abbas's ruling Fatah faction, is an exact replica of his boss. Abbas and he share the same positions on almost every issue related to Israel. Both have always used harsh rhetoric to condemn and vilify Israel, especially in the international arena.

 Al-Sheikh may not represent the old guard in the Palestinian leadership, but his statements and positions reflect those of Abbas and the old guard. The Palestinians need real reforms that will end the corruption in PA institutions and remove corrupt and incompetent officials. The last thing they need is a new game of musical chairs designed to deceive both the Palestinians and the international community.

 For full report by Khaled Abu Tomeh see https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21577/palestinians-hussein-al-sheikh-musical-chairs

Yemini Attacks UNHRC in Support of Israel

Luai Ahmed, a Muslim and native of Yemen, arrived in Geneva to figuratively spit in the face of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk. And he did it out of outrage—on behalf of Israel.

Here’s an excerpt from Ahmed’s speech (translated from the official UN transcript), which left an unforgettable impression on Palestinian advocates but was conveniently ignored by the global media:

*“I address the UN, the Arab League, and everyone who has been waving the Palestinian flag since October 7: where is the flag of Yemen? Where is the flag of my country, where half a million people have died in the past 10 years?

The greatest famine and humanitarian crisis of modern history—why does no one care when half a million Arabs die in Yemen?

What about Sudan? In less than two years, more than 150,000 people have been killed there. Where is the Sudanese flag?

What about Syria? Half a million people have been slaughtered. Where is the Syrian flag?

Mr. High Commissioner, why is it that when Arabs kill millions of Arabs, the world doesn’t even blink? Where is the outrage? Where are the protests?

Mr. High Commissioner, may I ask why, in your latest report (the Global Human Rights Situation report published on February 24, 2025), Israel is mentioned 188 times, yet the Islamic Republic of Iran is not mentioned even once?

How can you speak about this conflict while ignoring the side that armed, trained, and financed its proxies—Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis—who have launched thousands of attacks on Israel?

Why do you fail to mention that the Houthis in Yemen spent millions of dollars firing rockets at Israel instead of feeding my starving people?

Mr. High Commissioner, why is Qatar sitting here as a respected member of the Human Rights Council while it hosts Hamas leaders in luxury hotels and pampers them like honored guests?

What is your answer? Your answer is… silence.”*

➤ Luai Ahmed was born in 1993 in Sana’a, the capital of Yemen.

He recalls that as a child, he attended a mosque where, at the end of every prayer, the congregation would chant: “May Allah destroy Israel, kill the Jews, and make the Zionists orphans.”

Later, he moved to Sweden—a country that, to put it mildly, is not particularly friendly toward Israel. But it was there, he says, that his eyes were opened.

Luai became a columnist for the Swedish newspaper Bulletin and, in 2021, published his book “The Paradoxical Journey of a Refugee: From Sharia to the Rainbow,” where he explored modern antisemitism.

On October 7, 2023, he wrote a heartfelt post that gained him 190,000 new followers overnight. A month later, he traveled to Israel in a show of solidarity. And from there, he headed straight to Geneva—to take the fight for truth to the UN Human Rights Council.

Can the Idan Family Realistically Return Home?

(as reported by Forest Rain Marcia)

The Hamas invaders filmed their atrocities, broadcasting their glee as they tortured, burned, and slaughtered. The footage from the Idan home is something I will carry with me forever. Watching Gali Idan, in the worst moment of her life, gave me an awe-inspiring lesson in what courage looks like.

 

Tzachi Idan had been taken hostage to Gaza, on On February 27, 2025, Hamas returned his body as part of a ceasefire deal. Tzachi was laid to rest in Kibbutz Einat, next to his daughter, Maayan.

 

18 year old Maayan was shot in the head, in front of her parents, her then 11 year old sister Yael and 19 year old brother Shahar. Terrorists were in their home and none of them knew what would happen next. The Red Alert siren blared repeatedly, warning of incoming rockets.

 

Gali, a ferocious lioness, tried to protect the lives of her children. Tzachi, his hands soaked with Maayan’s blood, trying to be a stalwart backbone for his family. The children, trying to understand what they are seeing. Shahar quietly asking his mother: Is it over? Is it over?

 

Try to put yourself in their place when the protest movement is pushing for an end to the war,

They say that Hamas will return the hostages if we do what they want, which HAS ALWAYS BEEN to leave them in control of the Gaza Strip and not control the borders. As if they won't follow through with their promise to repeat October 7th over and over until they achieve their goal of turning Israel into Palestine.

AS IF they have any incentive to return the hostages. They know that keeping the hostages is the best way to blackmail us, the best way to ensure that we allow them to continue to live.

AS IF it is possible to sign international guarantees not to attack Hamas again and then break those guarantees.

AS IF giving Hamas what they want after they invaded, tortured, slaughtered, and took hostages is not the best incentive to do the same thing again and again – and to do so all over the world where Jews have fewer protections than we do in Israel.

Worst of all, the people pushing for the end of the war, while claiming that this will save the hostages, are completely ignoring the reality of bereaved and traumatized people who need to be able to return to their homes in safety.

The Idan family is just one example. How can anyone look into the eyes of their children and tell them that would be ok to let Hamas remain their neighbors?

 

Iran Is Playing for Time in the U.S. Nuclear Talks

 For full article see https://www.meforum.org/mef-online/iran-is-playing-for-time-in-the-u-s-nuclear-talks

 The U.S. and Iran have kicked off nuclear talks in Oman, with Iran playing its usual game of strategic patience.

 Why it matters: Contrary to some of the more overheated commentary of recent months, the Iranian regional project has not been destroyed, or even conclusively defeated. Rather, it has been weakened, significantly.

• In light of this, Iran's strategy is clear: keep discussions tightly focused on nuclear issues, dodging any mention of its missile program or regional meddling. 

What's next: Iran's game plan is simple—either secure a deal similar to Obama’s Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) or drag out talks to dodge sanctions and military threats. 

• Iran’s strategy of proxy warfare, which had brought it unprecedented power and influence across the region, has suffered a number of very telling blows since October 2023. 

Some thoughts: The stakes couldn't be higher for U.S. foreign policy.

• Iran is banking on the U.S.'s eagerness for a deal, exploiting it to rebuild its strength while its adversaries watch warily. 

• Whether or not the regime manages to build them up again to their former capacity will be decided in Washington, and in Oman, in the coming months.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Ismail Baqaei said on Sunday that Iran would refuse to discuss anything other than the nuclear programme in the talks. Tehran, Baqaei said, ‘will not have any talks with the American side on any other issue.’

One of the major criticisms of the 2015 nuclear deal (known as the JCPOA) negotiated by Barack Obama’s administration was that it failed to address other aspects of Iran’s drive for regional hegemony. Specifically, the Iranian ballistic missile program and Tehran’s support for an array of proxy political-military organisations across the Middle East were left out of the discussion. The result was that the JCPOA removed sanctions on Iran, enabling it to ratchet up its campaign of subversion across the region, and to test-fire more than 30 nuclear-capable ballistic missiles over the past decade.

Trump pulled the US out of the agreement in 2018, declaring he could negotiate a ‘better’ deal. Iran, meanwhile, is determined to ensure that the current negotiations maintain a similar narrow focus to those a decade ago.

With this narrow focus ensured, the Iranian regime will then seek one of two outcomes. It wants either a renewed nuclear agreement which, in its essentials, resembles the JCPOA, or a drawn-out negotiating process which leads nowhere but enables Iran to avoid further sanctions and the possibility of US or Israeli military action against its nuclear programme.

If the Iranian regime constitutes the most powerful anti-Western and Islamist force in the Middle East, and if it has been damaged and now needs time to recover, why are its enemies granting it what it needs? Why – when the regime is vulnerable, its economy in tatters, its regional proxies on the ropes, its standing among its own people at an all time low – are its enemies giving it the time it needs to emerge from its current low point?

Iranians themselves are watching carefully, and with concern. The basic structures of the Iranian power arrangement in the region remains intact, if enfeebled. Whether or not the regime manages to build them up again to their former capacity will be decided in Washington, and in Oman, in the coming months.