Our Friday News Analysis | What the World Reads Now!

A 16-foot replica of a Mark 84 2,000-pound bomb at Old Palace Yard on 30th July 2024 in London, United Kingdom. (Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images)

By KRISTINA JOVANOVSKI
The Medialine
Trusted Mideast News
31 July 2024

In the UK, the government has withdrawn its opposition to the arrest warrant request for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the International Criminal Court (ICC)—supporters of that decision hope that London will now focus on stopping arms sales to his country.

The new British government, led by the Labour Party, won a landslide victory in the UK’s July 4 election, announced last week that it was no longer questioning whether the ICC had jurisdiction to issue warrants, requested by the court’s prosecutor, for Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, over the conduct of fighting in Gaza.

Rajiv Sinha, a Green party candidate in the UK election for London and Westminster, told The Media Line that he was surprised but pleased by the British government’s decision.

“International law is a deeply subjective concept that tends to work for some countries and works against others,” said Sinha, the director of Hindus for Human Rights UK.

He wanted the government to go a step further now and ban arms sales to Israel, which he had earlier thought had no chance of happening.

               “If you asked me that just a week ago, I would have [said] zero chance of that happening. But with those rumblings and the UK government’s recent stance on the ICC ruling, I can’t help but be slightly more optimistic.”

Labour MP Diane Abbott wrote on X, the platform formally known as Twitter, on Monday that the UK should stop selling arms to Israel, stating that “it is illegal and it is morally repugnant.”

Also on Monday, The Guardian reported that lawyer Philippe Sands, who worked for the Palestinian Authority at the International Court of Justice, said that the UK should stop weapons sales to Israel to comply with the court’s July opinion that member states should not give “aid or assistance” to support Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territories.

In response to a question in parliament on whether the UK would stop all weapons sales to Israel earlier this month, Foreign Secretary David Lammy said he would “consider the issues about offensive weapons in Gaza.”

However, he ruled out a “blanket ban” on arms sales to Israel. “Israel, as a country, is surrounded by people who would see its destruction. The Houthis are attacking it… [and] missiles firing from Hezbollah, [as well as] the desire of Hamas to wipe Israel off the map,” he stated.

Brian Finucane, a senior adviser with the Crisis Group think tank, wrote on X that the US government would “take notice” if the UK stopped arms sales based on concerns regarding modern laws on armed conflict.

Chris Newton, a former advisor on defense policy to the Conservative party, told The Media Line that he opposed the British government’s decision on the ICC prosecutor’s warrants requests. He noted that the previous Conservative government under Rishi Sunak and the U.S. argued that the court does not have jurisdiction.

Israel is not a signatory to the Rome Statute that established the ICC and not a court member.

               “Questions regarding the ICC’s jurisdiction and potential overreach are fundamental, and I think it’s important that the UK is involved in getting the ICC to clarify its remit,” Newton wrote in a message to The Media Line.

Newton believes the British government’s move, along with its resumption of funding for the UNRWA, will harm relations with Israel.

“The UK’s involvement in any challenge would have added some extra weight. There is also the question of what will happen if the warrant application is successful,” he stated. “I suspect there will be difficult months ahead for UK-Israeli relations.”

Soon after the ICC prosecutor requested the arrest warrants, then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said there was no moral equivalence between Israel and Hamas, and warrants would not make a difference in ceasing fighting, delivering aid, or freeing hostages.

ISRAELI LAWMAKER DEFENDS ANAL RAPE OF PALESTINIAN CAPTIVES

Eight reservists have been accused of sodomizing a prisoner with a broomstick.

Israelis demonstrated outside the Sde Teman military base near Beersheba against the detention of military reservists suspected of abusing a Palestinian detainee on July 29, 2024. © Menahem Kahana/AFP

Edited by Abraham A. van Kempen

HomeWorld News
31 Jul, 2024 17:22

Information obtained by Haaretz shows that the Gazan detainee suffered from

a ruptured bowel,
a severe injury to his anus,
lung damage,
and broken ribs.
He was taken to a hospital for an operation.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) arrested eight reservists on Monday as part of a probe into alleged torture of a Palestinian captive, prompting rioters, including several lawmakers, to break into a military base demanding their release. One argued that nothing was off-limits when it came to dealing with Hamas.

Ten soldiers were initially caught up in the investigation. Two were released early on Wednesday, while eight were ordered to remain in custody through Sunday. According to the IDF, they have been accused of aggravated sodomy, causing bodily harm, abuse, and conduct unbecoming of a soldier.

The arrest of the reservists on Monday interrupted a meeting of the Knesset Finance Committee, as an MP of the ruling Likud party, Hanoch Milwidsky, tried to walk out in protest.

               “To insert a stick in a person’s rectum, is that legitimate?” asked Ahmad Tibi, an Israeli-Arab lawmaker.

               “Yes!” Milwidsky shouted back.

               “If he is a Nukhba, everything is legitimate to do! Everything!”

Nukhba is a particular unit of the al-Qassam Brigades, the militant arm of Hamas. Israel vowed to destroy the Palestinian group after last year’s deadly October 7 attack.

While some lawmakers exchanged heated words, others joined nationalist groups that stormed the Sde Teiman military base and prison near Beersheba, where the ten suspects were held. Sde Teiman has served as a camp for Palestinians taken prisoner in Gaza.

When the military police tried to relocate the suspects to Beit Lid, a base near Netanya, the rioters followed. “Hands off the reservists,” tweeted National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.

However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for calm and condemned the protesters who stormed the bases.

               “Breaking into a military base and disturbing the order there is severe behavior that is unacceptable in any way,” said Lieutenant-General Herzi Halevi, head of the General Staff. “We are in the midst of a war, and actions of this type endanger the state's security.”

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned that “the law applies to anyone — nobody may trespass into IDF bases or violate the laws of the state of Israel.”

The riots forced the IDF to redeploy three battalions “to guard the Beit Lid base not from an enemy but from angry Israeli citizens,” the Jerusalem Post noted in an editorial on Wednesday, noting that these forces had “much more pressing things to do in Gaza, in Judea and Samaria, and along the northern border against a real enemy.”

Israel has insisted that captive Palestinians are being treated by international law. However, UN agencies and human rights groups have raised alarms about reports of abuses. Allegations of severe abuse at Sde Teiman – including the anal rape of prisoners – first surfaced in a CNN report in May.

What is the Side of the Story that is Not Yet Decisive? Edited by Abraham A. van Kempen.

IRAN’S LEADER ORDERS RETALIATORY STRIKE ON ISRAEL, NYT REPORTS

Iran’s leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has ordered a direct strike on Israel in retaliation for what it said was the assassination of Hamas’ top leader while in Tehran, the New York Times reported.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Photographer: Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images

By Ramsey Al-Rikabi

Bloomberg News
31 July 2024

The New York Times reported that Khamenei gave the order at an emergency meeting of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council on Wednesday morning, citing three Iranian officials it didn’t identify.

A strike risks further tilting the region toward a broader conflict if carried out. In April, Iran and Israel exchanged direct fire for the first time, but in a calibrated measure that avoided escalation.

The threat comes after Iran and Hamas said Israel assassinated the group’s political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in an airstrike in Iran’s capital. Israel has not confirmed nor denied involvement.

_________________________

GUEST EDITORIAL | What’s the Method to the Israeli Madness?

TWO ASSASSINATIONS AND A TRANSFORMED WAR

Israel just took out Hamas and Hezbollah leaders deep inside enemy territory. Now, Iran is threatening to retaliate. What comes next?

Iranians brandish Palestinian flags and portraits of late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh during his funeral procession in Tehran on 1 August 2024. (Photo by AFP via Getty Images)

By Jonathan Schanzer

Free Press
1 August 2024

The past 48 hours have been the most dramatic and consequential of any since Hamas’s war against Israel began on October 7, 2023. More than that, they could reverse the momentum of this war, which, until now, has been dictated by the Islamic Republic of Iran and its proxies.

Let’s review the news:

On July 30, as the sun began to set in Beirut, Israel launched a precision air strike on Fuad Shukr, a senior Hezbollah military commander. The strike took place in the Dahiyeh neighborhood, which is Hezbollah’s stronghold in the city. Shukr was wanted for decades by U.S. authorities for his role in the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine Corps barracks in Beirut that killed 241 U.S. military personnel. But the proximate reason for this hit was Hezbollah’s Saturday rocket attack in northern Israel, which killed 12 Druze children on a soccer field. Milad Bidi, an adviser to the Iranian regime’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, was also killed in Israel’s strike.

Less than ten hours later, more dramatic news came out of Tehran: Israel eliminated Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, making him the highest-ranking Hamas official to be killed since the war began. Most significant was how and where he was hit. Haniyeh was taken out of his Tehran apartment in the middle of the night. Yesterday, veteran Israeli journalist Ehud Yaari reported the missile that felled Haniyeh was not launched from the air. According to a New York Times report, Mossad smuggled a bomb into Haniyeh’s home months ago, only to detonate it remotely when the time was right.

These were by far the most high-profile of Israel’s strikes on Iranian-backed terror groups and their leadership since October 7. But these are not the only ones.

Earlier this month, on July 13, the IDF struck Mohammed Deif, Hamas’s top military commander. Deif met his end in an air strike in Mouasi—an area along the Gaza coast—where he attempted to blend in with Palestinians seeking refuge from the destructive war that he directed. Deif is credited for transforming Hamas from a tactical annoyance into a terror group that has pushed the Middle East to the brink of a regional war.

What’s the Method to the Israeli Madness?

By Abraham A. van Kempen

2 August 2024 

1. Is the world witnessing another Israeli maneuver: shooting both of its feet until there are no more feet left?
2. Is Israel forging a lasting peace effort preceded by total victory, their impossible quest “all Hamas must die?”
3. What if Israel, in cahoots with the West, intends to detonate regional terror to smoke the Iranian mullahs out of their holes in Qom – ala Muammar Gaddafi, Sadam Hussein, Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, and others – to incite a regime change (and renegotiate the price of oil).

A ceasefire propounded by Mr. Netanyahu in Washington, DC, is not imminent.

_________________________

OPINION | THE REAL REASON ISRAEL IS ASSASSINATING HAMAS AND HEZBOLLAH LEADERS AND WHY IT WON’T STOP THE RESISTANCE

Israel’s assassination of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders doesn’t aim to weaken the resistance. Its real motive is to restore the image of military and intelligence superiority in the eyes of the Israeli public.

Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian meets with Ismail Haniyeh, the chairman of the Hamas political bureau, who traveled to Iran to participate in the swearing-in ceremony of the 14th Term of the Presidency on 30 July 2024. (Photo: Iranian Presidency Office/APA images)

By Abdaljawad Omar

Mondoweiss
31 July 2024

“Israel’s assassination of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders doesn’t aim to weaken the resistance. Its real motive is to restore the image of

military and intelligence superiority
in the eyes of the Israeli public.”

On the night of July 30, Israel escalated its military operations, targeting its adversaries across multiple fronts, including Lebanon, Iran, and Palestine. The Israeli government claimed a significant success with the assassination of a Hezbollah commander in the densely populated neighborhood of southern Beirut. Simultaneously, Israel launched a bold strike in the heart of Tehran, killing Ismail Haniyeh, the current politburo chief of Hamas.

After ten months of slowly but steadily losing the escalation dominance it had maintained for decades, Israel is now attempting to reclaim the initiative and reestablish the upper hand by targeting both Beirut and Tehran in under 24 hours.

Israel’s actions are not merely about projecting strength; they are also designed to increase pressure on the axis of resistance. The strategic objective here is to fracture the unity of this coalition by leveraging its military capabilities to flirt with the prospect of an all-out war — an outcome that neither Israel nor Hezbollah, and by extension Iran, genuinely desire. This calculated brinkmanship aims to unsettle the adversaries, forcing them to reconsider their unified stance, possibly leading to concessions in Israel’s favor.

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ANALYSIS | ISRAEL'S ASSASSINATION POLICY ONLY MAKES HAMAS, HEZBOLLAH, AND IRAN MORE DETERMINED

The assassinations of Ismail Haniyeh and Fuad Shukr in Tehran and Beirut demonstrate Israel's capabilities. Still, the doctrine of targeted killing has become an end in itself rather than a way to achieve actual strategic goals.

People hold up the Palestinian flag and a portrait of Ismail Haniyeh during a rally at Tehran University on Tuesday. Credit: AFP

By Yossi Melman

Haaretz | Israel News
31 July 2024

In a matter of hours, Israeli intelligence and military proved its tactical and operational capabilities twice over. On Tuesday evening, an airstrike using a precision-guided missile on a building in Beirut's Dahiyeh neighborhood – a Hezbollah stronghold – killed Fuad Shukr, a woman, and two children. Shukr was a top Hezbollah commander wanted by both the U.S. and Israel; the latter had tried to assassinate him several times over the years.

• Assassinations in Iran and Lebanon push the Mideast to the edge of a regional war.
  
• Who was Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas political leader assassinated in Tehran?
  

Seven hours later, in an even more daring operation attributed to Israel, if foreign reports are accurate, another precision-guided missile killed Ismail Haniyeh, the leader-in-exile of Hamas. His residence in Tehran was struck at 2 A.M., killing him and his bodyguard. When the war in Gaza began in October, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Mossad Director David Barnea promised that they would kill Hamas leaders wherever they were.

From the perspective of most Israelis – right and left, coalition and opposition, as well as the defense establishment – both were terrorist leaders who deserved death.

A partially destroyed building after an Israeli military strike in Beirut, Tuesday. Credit: AFP

The only difference between the two operations is that while Israel proudly claimed responsibility for the hit on Shukr, it has maintained silence on the killing of Haniyeh, who lost his sons and other relatives in the war in Gaza.

Some Israelis, not least Netanyahu's right-wing government and its supporters, argue that the two hits are part of a necessary process of restoring Israel's deterrence and self-confidence, shattered by the surprise Hamas attack on October 7 that saw hundreds of men, women and children massacred and 260 hostages kidnapped.

To be sure, the morale of the depressed public, grappling daily with a terrible war that has no end in sight, maybe boosted temporarily. It is also evident that Israeli intelligence – both the Mossad spy agency and Military Intelligence – have penetrated both Hezbollah in Lebanon and Iranian defenses, and not for the first time.

TV screens, most of them announcing the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, in Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday. Credit: Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters

Agents and Israeli pilots have conducted similar operations in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Sudan, and Iran. According to foreign reports, in the past, the Mossad operatives were Israeli nationals. However, based on these reports, for over a decade, mercenaries from foreign nations have been recruited and paid handsomely for some of the missions to lower the risks.

The strikes on Haniyeh and Shukr are not a game-changer. In the past, Israel used targeted killings of Palestinian terrorists or Iranian nuclear scientists as a last resort and as part of a broader strategy. Assassinations were meant to serve meaningful diplomatic aims. But since the beginning of the war, which has dragged on for ten months, it seems that the doctrine of targeted killing has become an end in itself.

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh claps during Masoud Pezeshkian's swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday at the Iranian parliament in Tehran. Credit: Vahid Salemi/AP Photo

Lacking any coherent plan for ending the war while vowing that it will continue for years to come, the Netanyahu government is driven only by vengeance and is enamored with targeted killings. Hezbollah and Iran have promised to retaliate, and the ping-pong game of action and reaction by all parties is likely to continue.

Iran's pride has been dealt a particularly harsh blow, as its sovereignty was violated a day after the swearing-in of a new president, Masoud Pezeshkian. Haniyeh was visiting Tehran for the inauguration ceremony and to discuss the future of Hamas and the war in Gaza with Iran's leaders.

On Wednesday, a man walks past the Iranian and Palestinian flags in Palestine Square in Tehran. Credit: AFP

Meanwhile, Israel is in deep crisis. Its society is divided as never before. Radical right-wing zealots are turning the violent methods they've used on Palestinians against liberal Israeli protesters, the judiciary, and the media. The economy is in tatters. Many Israelis, especially the young, are considering leaving and resettling abroad. They see no hope in the future. Israel may find itself on the brink of a civil war.

The two killings will only make Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran more stubborn and determined.

In 2008, a joint Mossad-CIA operation in Damascus killed Imad Mughniyeh, Hezbollah's "defense minister," with a car bomb. Israel said it would be difficult for Hezbollah to recover that after his death. Nevertheless, the group emerged even more robust and sooner than expected. Terrorists and their leaders are replaceable.

A poster showing the late Hezbollah military commander Imad Mughniyeh, left, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, center, and the late Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani near a damaged building hit by an Israeli strike, Wednesday. Credit: Hussein Malla/AP Photo

If Israel had wise leaders who think outside the box, it could use the killings as leverage to reach an overall settlement and bring some measure of tranquility to the tormented Israeli public. But the Netanyahu government, with its zealous, racist, and messianic ministers, talk about a "total victory" that they know all too well is not achievable.

The risk of a regional war is becoming more acute. A cease-fire and end to hostilities, as well as the release of the hostages, are more distant. The fear is that the gradual escalation we have witnessed in the past several months may spiral out of control.

IRAN SAYS HANIYEH ASSASSINATION 'COWARDLY,' AS WORLD REACTS WITH SHOCK TO HIS DEATH

After Hamas' political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in the heart of Iran, condemnations quickly flowed from foreign ministries and government spokespeople, calling it a 'dangerous escalation.' While the U.S. refrained from condemning or celebrating, they vowed to protect Israel from attacks

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Doha, February. Credit: - - AFP

By Allison Kaplan Sommer

News Agencies
Haaretz | Israel News
31 July 2024

Reaction to the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran poured in from around the world after the news of his death broke Wednesday morning, beginning with harsh condemnations from Hamas officials, allies, and sympathizers.

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said 'avenging Haniyeh' is ‘Tehran's duty' and claimed that the assassination provided grounds for 'harsh punishment' for Israel.

A spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry, Nasser Kanaani, declared that the killing of Ismail Haniyeh would "strengthen the deep and unbreakable bond between the Islamic Republic of Iran" and the Palestinians, according to the country’s state news agency.

Newly inaugurated Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran will make "the terrorist occupiers regret their cowardly act" and said that Iran "will defend its territorial integrity and dignity."

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian meets with Palestinian group Hamas' top leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran on Tuesday. Credit: Iran's Presidency / Reuters

Russia's foreign ministry called on "all parties to exercise restraint" and "refrain from steps that could trigger" regional war. Russia's deputy foreign minister, Mikhail Bogdanov, declared the act "an unacceptable political murder, and it will lead to further escalation of tensions."

Qatar "strongly condemned" the assassination, Qatar's foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday, calling it a "dangerous escalation."

The prime minister of Qatar suggested that the killing of Haniyeh could jeopardize cease-fire and hostage release talks.

               "Political assassinations and continued targeting of civilians in Gaza, while talks continue, leads us to ask, how can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on the other side?" Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani wrote on X.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a statement offering "condolences to the Palestinian people who have given hundreds of thousands of martyrs like Haniyeh to live in peace in their homeland, under the roof of their state" and saying, "It has been revealed once again that the Netanyahu government has no intention of achieving peace.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the assassination "aims to break Palestinians' will" but that "Zionist barbarism will not reach its goals."

The attack, the statement continued, "aims to spread the war in Gaza to a regional level. If the international community does not take action to stop Israel, our region will face much greater conflicts."

China "firmly opposes and condemns the assassination," the Chinese foreign ministry said on Wednesday, and said "the incident could lead to further regional instability."

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Credit: Reuters

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas also reacted swiftly and negatively, saying in a statement to the WAFA news agency that it was a "cowardly act" and a "dangerous development."

Hamas officials were predictably defiant. "This assassination by the Israeli occupation of Brother Haniyeh is a grave escalation that aims to break the will of Hamas and the will of our people and achieve fake goals," said Sami Abu Zuhri, a senior Hamas official vowing that "this escalation will fail to achieve its objectives" because "Hamas is a concept and an institution and not persons" and that he was "confident of victory."

Hamas ally Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, head of Yemen's Houthi Supreme Revolutionary Committee, called the targeting of Haniyeh "a heinous terrorist crime and a flagrant violation of laws and ideal values."

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. Credit: AP

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday the United States was not involved in or made aware of the assassination.

               "This is something we were not aware of or involved in. It's tough to speculate," Blinken said in an interview with Channel News Asia during a visit to Singapore when asked what impact it could have.

Before any official U.S. government statement on the assassination, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was asked about the news by reporters traveling with him on a trip to the Philippines. According to the Washington Post, Austin said:

               "I don't think war is inevitable. I maintain that. I think there's always room and opportunities for diplomacy," and that "we're going to do everything we can to ensure that we keep things from turning into a broader conflict throughout the region."

Other political figures expressed worry over the ramifications of the assassination.

Areepen Uttarasin, a Thai politician who negotiated with Hamas for the release of his country's hostages in Gaza, said the act was "solemn" and that "assassinating the Hamas leader will make negotiations and de-escalation more difficult," predicting that the situation "will become more violent and the situation will worsen, it will not improve."

Opponents of the Iranian regime and its proxies were celebratory. Canadian member of parliament Goldie Ghamari, an Iranian expatriate and opponent of its regime, tweeted "good riddance to Hamas garbage" and thanked Israel.

Breaking: Ismail Haniyeh is dead

The terrorist Islamic Regime in Iran just confirmed this through its #IRGCterrorists propaganda network, Press TV.

Good riddance to terrorist Hamas Garbage

Thank you Israel. ????✌️#kotlet pic.twitter.com/0goii4HBeo

— Goldie Ghamari, MPP | گلسا قمری (@gghamari) July 31, 2024

Although Israel has not claimed responsibility for the assassination, several Israeli ministers quickly took to X to celebrate the news, including Diaspora Minister Amichai Chickli, who posted a video of Haniyeh with the caption: "Careful what you wish for."

Careful What You Wish For pic.twitter.com/HkHjlF4Mzj

— עמיחי שיקלי - Amichai Chikli (@AmichaiChikli) July 31, 2024

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi posted a Bible verse on X, "So may all your enemies perish, Lord," and later deleted the post.

Outspoken pro-Israel U.S. congressman Richie Torres reacted on X, saying Haniyeh has "been brought to justice. Permanently. A special place in hell is reserved for him."

NETANYAHU’S SPEECH PROVED IT’S TIME FOR THE U.S. TO STOP ENABLING HIM

The Israeli prime minister is terrible news for both Israelis and Palestinians, and no partner for Americans.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint meeting of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on July 24. Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images

By Arash Azizi

Forward Independent Non-Profit
24 July 2024

If you want to know why so many ordinary people feel cynical about politicians, go no further than Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Wednesday address to the U.S. Congress, the fourth in his lifetime. It was a rambling repetition of his familiar themes, particularly that of Israel and the U.S. standing as allies in a clash between civilization and barbarism — and Iran representing a moral threat to both as their “most radical, most murderous enemy.”

It might have been persuasive if Netanyahu’s long years of warning about the “Iranian threat” had been accompanied by actual achievements. Instead, during his long reign, Iran has become a nuclear-threshold state, and its Axis of Resistance has expanded its reach and capabilities.

Hence, cynicism. Political leadership isn’t just about setting goals; it’s about realizing them. And Netanyahu’s Wednesday appearance was just more talk—and more evidence that the U.S. is, after almost ten months of war, no closer to encouraging real change in the Middle East and too caught up in its culture wars to do so.

Netanyahu is a savvy politician; he is good at making it sound as if his region is on the brink of peace. In his speech, he called for a so-called “Abraham Alliance” of Israel and Arab countries in the area — all of whom suffer from Tehran-backed terrorism — to fight Iran and its proxies. It’s a lofty goal that should resonate: Many across the American political spectrum would welcome the possibility of a grand Middle Eastern alliance that counters Iran’s support for anti-Western militias and helps “keep American boots off the ground,” as Netanyahu promised.

Except it’s increasingly clear that no one believes him.

OPINION | First reactions: What Netanyahu said (and didn’t say) about the U.S. and Israel — and what it all means

It’s no longer just peace activists, pro-Palestinian demonstrators, and Israeli leftists who are protesting Netanyahu. In the lead-up to the speech, several leading security officials from all sides of Israeli politics, including a former Mossad director, a former IDF chief, and a former defense minister, condemned him as nothing less than an “existential threat to the State of Israel.”

On Tuesday, the House’s highest-ranking Jewish member, Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler, called Netanyahu.

               “the worst leader in Jewish history since the Maccabean king who invited Romans into Jerusalem over 2100 years ago.”

Nadler also condemned the invitation of Bibi as “a cynical stunt” and as “the next step in a long line of manipulative bad-faith efforts by Republicans to further politicize the U.S.-Israel relationship for partisan gain.”

Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, who boycotted the speech after meeting with hostage family members, had an even more scorching assessment:

               “Benjamin Netanyahu’s presentation in the House Chamber today was by far the worst presentation of any foreign dignitary invited and honored to address the Congress of the United States.”

Recent polls show that only 30% of American Jews view Netanyahu favorably. So, given how clear it is that Netanyahu’s words were bound to ring hollow, why was he extended the rare honor of addressing a joint meeting of the Houses of Congress?

One answer: Republicans like Netanyahu’s shenanigans because he’s excellent at cynically invoking cultural politics here. (He tried to claim bipartisanship, thanking Trump and Biden for their support for Israel, but it’s obvious where his loyalties lie.) In his speech, he offered no ideas — beyond that of the vague, aspirational “Abrahamic Alliance” — on how actually to counter Iran. But he did find time to praise a fraternal society at the University of North Carolina and condemn the “Gays for Gaza” campus protesters, leaning onto the common prejudices of the American right.

OPINION | Netanyahu is exploiting Trump’s attempted assassination to target left-wing dissenters in Israel

Netanyahu also served Republican interests during his last congressional address in 2015, which he used to attack then-President Barack Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran. The result was a worsening of the mire in the Middle East after the U.S. exited that deal under Trump, at least partly due to pressure from Netanyahu. After that exit, Iran went from enriching uranium under 3.67%, the limit imposed by the 2015 accords to keep it a long way away from a nuclear weapon, to being only weeks away from developing one.

Netanyahu’s speech Wednesday will likely stall progress rather than advance it. His long years of empowering Hamas to destabilize the leadership of the Palestinian Authority, his undermining of Israel’s domestic cohesion by weakening its justice system, and his aversion to a two-state solution are primarily responsible for the disastrous situation in which Israelis and Palestinians now find themselves.

And yet to hear him speak today, the only true villain here is Iran — a viewpoint that, if supported by the American government, will make the achievement of peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict more distant, not less.

An Israeli leader who wanted to reduce Iran’s room to maneuver could start with signing a ceasefire and hostage release deal; Netanyahu’s refusal to even mention the possibility of doing so was condemned widely, including by hostage families who are visiting D.C. to protest. (Six of those family members were arrested at the Capitol on Wednesday.)

And, to take just one of his proposed regional partners, Saudi Arabia has made it clear that it will only make peace with Israel if the decades-long occupation of Palestinian territories is ended. How could a new “Abrahamic Alliance” be achieved with a man who, before Congress, pretended that the idea of a new Palestinian state wasn’t even on the table?

These silly little partisan games don’t help the Israeli-American alliance or peace in the Middle East. They are the definition of putting personal egos ahead of grand national goals for both countries.

American politicians need to stop enabling this man and realize what most Israelis have learned long ago: there is no future for peace and stability in the region with him in charge.

OPINION | As Netanyahu speaks to Congress, it’s never been more critical — or lonely — to be a liberal Zionist

ISRAEL’S EXISTENCE IN DANGER – TRUMP

The former US president has claimed that Israel could cease to exist if he is not re-elected.

© Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

Edited by Abraham A. van Kempen

HomeWorld News
31 Jul, 2024 14:21

Donald Trump has urged American Jews to vote for him in the November election, warning that if they fail to do so, Israel could be destroyed by its enemies.

The former US president and Republican nominee for the 2024 election spoke at a fundraiser on Sunday in a New Jersey municipality with a sizable Jewish population.

He claimed that the Democrats hate Israel and “largely hate” the Jewish people.

               “We have to win this election. We need the Jewish people to vote for Trump. If you don’t have Jewish people voting for Republicans… you’re not going to have Israel for very long,” stated Trump.

The presidential hopeful also pledged to help Israel win its war against Hamas if elected. Trump reiterated his claim that the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, which triggered the war in Gaza, would not have happened had he still been in office.

According to surveys by the Pew Research Center, a Washington-based think tank, a majority of US Jews have consistently voted for the Democratic Party. However, state-funded Voice of America noted in May that an increasing number have backed the Republicans in recent elections. The Pittsburg Jewish Chronicle cited a survey of New York voters in February showing that 53% of Jewish voters intended to vote for Donald Trump in November.

The relationship between the Biden administration and the Israeli government has soured in recent months amid the Jewish state’s offensive in Gaza. US President Joe Biden has warned the Israeli leadership against an all-out assault in the densely populated city of Rafah and said it would be a ‘red line.’ “If they [Israel] go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons,” he stated.

In late April, the Biden administration paused a shipment of munitions that officials expected Israel to use in Rafah.

In April, Trump took a dig at Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war.

               “Biden has lost control of the Israel situation… Any Jewish person who votes for a Democrat or votes for Biden should have their head examined,” he said.

The Jewish State launched its offensive in the Gazan city in early May amid widespread international condemnation.

According to the American foreign policy think tank, the Council on Foreign Relations, Israel has been the largest recipient of US economic and military aid since its founding in 1948, receiving about $310 billion (adjusted for inflation) in total assistance.

In April, Biden signed into law a $95 billion foreign funding bill that included military aid to Israel.

SDE TEIMAN, DOCTOR WHO SAW ABUSED GAZAN DETAINEE: 'I COULDN'T BELIEVE AN ISRAELI PRISON GUARD COULD DO SUCH A THING'

Prof. Yoel Donchin, a doctor at Sde Teiman who saw the Gazan detainee after nine Israeli reservists allegedly abused him, expressed shock at the man's condition. 'I was certain this was revenge by the Nukhba against the Nukhba,' he said, referring to the elite Hamas unit.

Israeli protesters attempting to break into Sde Teiman detention center on Monday. Credit: Eliyahu Hershkovitz

By Hagar Shezaf, Bar Peleg, Ran Shimoni

Haaretz | Israel News
30July 2024

A doctor at the army detention facility at Sde Teiman said that after seeing the Gazan detainee who allegedly suffered severe sexual abuse at the hands of reservists, he "couldn't believe an Israeli prison guard could do such a thing."

               "I was certain this was revenge by the Nukhba against the Nukhba," added the doctor, Prof. Yoel Donchin, referring to Hamas' elite unit that carried out many of the atrocities in southern Israel on October 7.

• We warned about Sde Teiman. The torture there has backing from high-up
  
• Storming Sde Teiman, far-right MKs try to inject chaos into the Israeli army
• Israel's top court to state: Explain why Sde Teiman doesn't operate according to the law
  

The military police arrested nine reservists on Monday on suspicion of sodomizing the prisoner. On Tuesday, they were brought to the military court at the Beid Lid base for a bail hearing. The court rejected requests by Haaretz and other media outlets to enter the courtroom.

Protesters outside the courthouse where a discussion on the nine arrested reservists is being conducted at Beit Lid IDF base on Tuesday. Credit: Tomer Appelbaum

Information obtained by Haaretz shows that the Gazan detainee suffered from

a ruptured bowel,
a severe injury to his anus,
lung damage,
and broken ribs.
He was taken to a hospital for an operation.

"If the state and Knesset members think there's no limit to how much you can abuse prisoners, they should kill them themselves, like the Nazis did, or close the hospitals," Donchin said, adding, "If they maintain a hospital only for the sake of defending ourselves at [the International Criminal Court at] the Hague, that's no good."

He added that the hospital staff is working hard despite being "attacked from all sides. But my duty is to the patients."

The nine reservists detained Monday afternoon included one with the rank of major – the commander of Force 100, the unit tasked with guarding the detainees at Sde Teiman.

MK Limor Son Har-Melech of Otzma Yehudit at the protest in Sde Teiman on Monday. Credit: Eliyahu Hershkovitz

Following their arrest, protesters, including Knesset members, broke into the base and remained there for quite some time. After they left, they demonstrated outside the base. MK Limor Son Har-Melech (Otzma Yehudit) accused the military advocate general, who ordered the arrests, of being a "criminal."

               "The people of Israel are fighting outside enemies while enemies are trying to eat away at it from within," she said.

The police entered the base only long after the protesters broke in. "There were police near the base, but they entered the base to help arrest the demonstrators only about an hour after the break-in, when the protesters had already left," a soldier at the base said on Tuesday. "There was no security force to deal with them, and no senior officer was managing the incident."

After their arrest, the reservists were taken to Beit Lid. There, too, protesters broke into the base, eventually left, and demonstrated outside it. They initially entered the military court despite soldiers' efforts to block them, then left it and mobbed the base's jail. They called the soldiers outside the prison "traitors" and lit a bonfire.

Border Police officers were present at the site but didn't arrest anybody. A call was issued over the base's public address system for officers to come to the confrontation scene. IDF Chief of Staff Herzl Halevi finally arrived at the base at 11 P.M. and was greeted by protesters yelling that he should resign.

BUILDING THE BRIDGE! | A WAY TO GET TO KNOW THE OTHER AND ONE ANOTHER

Making a Difference – The Means, Methods, and Mechanism for Many to Move Mountains

Photo Credit: Abraham A. van Kempen, our home away from home on the Dead Sea

By Abraham A. van Kempen

Senior Editor
Updated 19 January 2024

Those who commit to 'healing our broken humanity' build intercultural bridges to learn to know and understand one another and others. Readers who thumb through the Building the Bridge (BTB) pages are not mindless sheep following other mindless sheep. They THINK. They want to be at the forefront of making a difference. They're in search of the bigger picture to expand their horizons. They don't need BTB or anyone else to confirm their biases.

Making a Difference – The Means, Methods, and Mechanism for Many to Move Mountains

Accurate knowledge promotes understanding, dispels prejudice, and awakens the desire to learn more. Words have an extraordinary power to bring people together, divide them, forge bonds of friendship, or provoke hostility. Modern technology offers unprecedented possibilities for good, fostering harmony and reconciliation. Yet its misuse can do untold harm, leading to misunderstanding, prejudice, and conflict.

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