Life in an Islamic state under Hamas rule sounds like a dream! - by Elder of Ziyon

Officially calling the state “Islamic” or not is a distinction without a difference. And that is the only difference between Peter Beinart and Hamas’ stated vision of the future of the borders of British Mandate Palestine.

Elder of Ziyon..
12 July '20..









I tweeted last night:

I think I figured out what being a "progressive" Jew means.

Peter Beinart "progressed" from supporting Yasser Arafat's vision of a "solution" into adopting Hamas' vision.

— Elder of Ziyon 🇮🇱 (@elderofziyon) July 12, 2020

This was not entirely facetious.

In 2017, Hamas famously took out the blatantly antisemitic language in its manifesto that was supposed-to-but-not-really replace their original Hamas charter.

Hamas affirms that its conflict is with the Zionist project not with the Jews because of their religion. Hamas does not wage a struggle against the Jews because they are Jewish but wages a struggle against the Zionists who occupy Palestine. …

Hamas rejects the persecution of any human being or the undermining of his or her rights on nationalist, religious or sectarian grounds. Hamas is of the view that the Jewish problem, anti-Semitism and the persecution of the Jews are phenomena fundamentally linked to European history and not to the history of the Arabs and the Muslims or to their heritage.

See? Hamas doesn’t say it wants to persecute Jews in its one state solution.

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Wow! Reuters’ World Refugee Day story from Gaza is a masterpiece of propaganda without technically lying - by Elder of Ziyon

For World Refugee Day, Reuters decided to use its platform to create anti-Israel propaganda with highly selective facts that conveniently are all exactly the same as the narrative that Hamas and the PLO tells the world. Reuters can point to the story and swear there is nothing incorrect, but there is a huge difference between being not lying and being accurate. This story is not even close to accurate.

Elder of Ziyon..
23 June '20..

Reuters published a story ahead of World Refugee Day last Friday about Palestinian “refugees” in Gaza.

It is a typical mainstream news story – meaning it is an outrageous story that makes no attempt to put any context around the anti-Israel points it wants to make.

On the United Nations’ World Refugee Day on Saturday, Marwan Kuwaik, a 70-year-old Palestinian in Gaza, will be focused on trying to eke out a living by selling snack food on the street.

In Gaza, Kuwaik earns about 30 shekels ($8.50) a day selling lupin beans from his bicycle. He is among 1.4 million Palestinians U.N.-registered refugees in the impoverished and crowded enclave, whose economy has suffered from years of Israeli and Egyptian blockades.

Because Hamas and other terror groups have used Gaza as a literal launching pad for rockets and other terror attacks. Reuters doesn’t mention this.

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The Gaza They Don't Want You to See - by Bassam Tawil

How can Hamas and its supporters around the world continue to complain about poverty and misery when new shopping malls and supermarkets filled with clothes, and various types of luxury goods are being opened every few weeks in the Gaza Strip?

Bassam Tawil..
Gatestone Institute..
10 June '20..

The Palestinian terror group Hamas has warned Palestinians in the Gaza Strip not to publish photos from the Gaza Strip on social media platforms.

In a June 9 statement, the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Interior claimed that "Israeli intelligence agencies have been asking residents of the Gaza Strip -- through social media -- to use their mobile phones to take pictures of various places in the Gaza Strip."

Hamas warned Palestinians against complying with the alleged Israeli request and claimed that Israel was using social media accounts to "recruit collaborators and obtain information."

Hamas added that its security forces were monitoring Israeli and Palestinian social media accounts and would take "legal measures" against Palestinians who interacted with the purported Israeli intelligence agencies.

Is Hamas actually worried that the Israeli security authorities would use the photos to "recruit" informants or that Palestinians might take pictures of its tunnels and rockets? Not exactly.

Hamas is worried that the photos and videos taken by Palestinians would reveal to the world a different reality of the situation in the Gaza Strip -- a reality that runs contrary to all the stories and images of "poverty," "misery" and "suffering" of Palestinians there.

What Hamas seeks to conceal from the world are the shopping malls, supermarkets, fancy restaurants, sleek coffee shops and modern clothing stores that have sprung up in the Gaza Strip in recent years.

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Who Would've Thought? Despite Coronavirus, Jihad Against Israel Continues. by Khaled Abu Toameh

For these leaders, a peace plan presented by a US president and Israel defining itself as a Jewish state are more dangerous than a disease that is claiming the lives of tens of thousands of people worldwide. Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are again paying the price of failed leaders who care more about fighting Israel than saving the lives of patients and medical teams. 

Khaled Abu Toameh..
Gatestone Institute..
31 March '20..

As the world is busy pursuing the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, the Iranian-backed Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) groups in the Gaza Strip have found the time to remind everyone that they remain committed to pursuing the fight against Israel.

While many international media outlets and human rights organizations, including the United Nations, are warning of a "catastrophe" in the Gaza Strip after the discovery of nine coronavirus cases there, Hamas and PIJ -- the two dominant groups that have been ruling the Gaza Strip since 2007 -- seem to care less about the safety and health of their people.

For these groups, the "struggle" against Israel is manifestly more important than the fight against the immediate threat of a pandemic.

On March 27, a rocket was fired from the Gaza Strip toward the Israeli city of Sderot. The rocket, which fell in an open area, did not cause any casualties or property damage. This was the first rocket attack on Israel since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. Since the beginning of this year and until early March, the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have fired several rockets at Israel.

It remains unclear why the Palestinians chose to fire a rocket at an Israeli city at a time when Israel is busy trying to prevent the spread of coronavirus. It is also unclear why any Palestinian would think of launching a rocket toward an Israeli city at a time when Israel and the Palestinian Authority are working together to combat the disease.

Although no group has claimed responsibility for the March 27 rocket attack on Sderot, there is no way that it could have taken place without the knowledge or approval of Hamas or PIJ. The rocket attacks against Israel appear aimed at distracting attention from the failure of Hamas and PIJ to provide their hospitals with medical equipment and medicines to curb the spread of the disease. In the past decade, the two groups have invested millions of dollars in amassing weapons and building tunnels to infiltrate Israel and kill or kidnap Jews.

There is another reason why the rocket was fired from Gaza toward Sderot in Israel: to remind Palestinians, Israelis and the rest of the world that the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic has zero impact on the ideology and plans of extremist Muslim groups.

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Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.com. If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work. 

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Actually, forget gas masks and ventilators - Hamas suffering from a shortage of martyrs - by Elder of Ziyon

Pity poor Hamas who needs to scrape the bottom of the barrel to find new "martyrs" to praise.

Elder of Ziyon..
30 March '20..

The current pandemic has reduced the number of terror attacks and riots in Israel and the territories to nearly zero. In fact, today is "Land Day," a major event that is usually marked with mass anti-Israel rallies, and this year the Palestinians can do virtually nothing.

Hamas, which is built on a culture of glorifying death and "martyrs," has very little to talk about without physical attacks. So its top story on the Al Qassam Brigades website is about the "martyrdom" of someone who just died of injuries from a car accident four years ago.

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Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.com. If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work. 

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Elections, Gaza and the Corbynization of the Democratic party - by Caroline Glick

The Israeli public cannot influence the outcome of the US elections. But on Monday, it will determine how Israel will respond to aggression against it – whether that aggression emanates from Gaza or from Washington.

Caroline Glick..
Israel Hayom..
28 February '20..
Link: https://www.israelhayom.com/opinions/gaza-elections-and-the-corbynization-of-the-democratic-party/



The hundred rockets and missiles that Gazan terrorists launched into Israel this week served as yet another reminder that we have an account to manage with Gaza.

"Manage," not "settle," because we lack the opportunity to settle our score with Gaza. There is not today, and for the foreseeable future, there will not be any regime in Gaza that will agree to set aside its war with Israel and leave us alone.

Gaza, like Judea and Samaria, is a long-term problem that requires management, not resolution. To understand what needs to be done, we have to focus on the two sides of the problem.

First, Gaza is a military problem. To successfully and permanently quell the security threat Gaza poses to Israel, the IDF requires the capacity to operate freely in Gaza – as it does in Judea and Samaria. Israel built its capacity to operate throughout Judea and Samaria during Operation Defensive Shield in 2002.

In 1995, Israel signed the Interim Agreement with the PLO. The deal set out the basis for the transfer of authorities and powers to the Palestinian Authority in Judea and Samaria.

The PLO agreed to combat terrorism in all the areas transferred to its authority. Area A, which encompasses the Palestinian cities in Judea and Samaria was an area under full Palestinian security and civilian authority. In Area B, which includes the Palestinian villages, the PLO received full civil authority and police authorities, while Israel retained what was referred to as "overriding security authority," or, in plain English, the authority to conduct counterterrorism operations at will.

Area C encompasses the rest of Judea and Samaria, including all Israeli military installations, Israeli cities, towns and villages and Jordan Valley. There the PLO received limited civil authority and no military authority.

From 1996, when the PLO set up shop in Judea and Samaria until Operation Defensive Shield in 2002, the PLO transformed Area A into one large terrorist infrastructure. The suicide bombers that massacred Israeli civilians on a near-daily basis from 2000 through 2002 were trained and equipped in the bomb factories and terror bases in Area A.

Following a month in which 130 Israelis were slaughtered in suicide bombings and shootings, including 30 in the Seder massacre at the Park Hotel in Netanya, in April 2002, the government ordered the IDF to destroy the terrorist infrastructure in Judea and Samaria.

The implication was clear. The strategic goal of the operation was to militarily transform Area A, where the PLO had a free hand to behave like the Taliban, into Area B, where the IDF was capable of breaking up terror cells before they got up and running.

As Long as Israeli Children have “Rocket Days” - by Shoshana Bryen

As long as Israeli children are forced to take “rocket days,” Israel, not PIJ should be making the rules.

Shoshana Bryen..
Jewish Policy Center..
26 February '20..
Link: https://www.jewishpolicycenter.org/2020/02/26/rocket-days-in-israel/

Some of us have snow days; Israeli children have “rocket days” – if you need an explanation, you haven’t been paying attention. Children in southern Israel had a rocket day Monday, which was fortuitous because a Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) rocket slammed into a kindergarten playground. It was only one of dozens launched from Gaza this week.

The fact that the rockets are PIJ, not Hamas, is, in fact, an important point.

While Hamas’s main enemy is the Palestinian Authority (PA), with which it fought a bloody and brutal war, the State of Israel provides a physical barrier between the two. But PIJ is in Gaza and it has become increasingly unhappy with what it perceives to be Hamas’s “softness.” In December, the Israeli Security Cabinet was considering a long-term truce with Hamas. Israel-Hamas Truce talks, brokered by Egypt, have been a staple rumor for years, but this one gained traction in 2020 after PIJ commander Baha Abu al-Ata was assassinated.

Israel holds Hamas responsible for whatever happens in Gaza – which is appropriate – but it is also true that Hamas has never actually governed Gaza; it doesn’t know how and doesn’t want to. The goal for Hamas was to build an asymmetric force to challenge Israel. It tried tunneling under the border fence, rioting at the fence, shooting hundreds of rockets over the fence at Israel. With kites – and an “incendiary falcon” – in 2018, Hamas burned over 7,400 acres of land, an area equal to half of Manhattan. Tire burning produced an ecological catastrophe because tires have carcinogens that are released when they burn. (It isn’t clear whether Hamas considered the health effects on the Palestinian civilians who breathe the same air as Israeli civilians.) The kite fires burned cultivated fields and nature preserves and killed thousands of animals.

It was never going to destroy the State of Israel and it wasn’t designed to. For Hamas, the trick has been to use enough violence to get the world’s attention and to create an Israeli response – preferably one that results in a fair number of civilian casualties, which will bring the UN, the EU, Human Rights Watch, etc. down on Israel – but not enough violence that Israel really punishes It.

For Israel, the goal was to use enough retaliatory force to restore status quo ante, but not enough to cause Hamas to collapse. If Hamas collapses, Israel will have to step in and consider reoccupying Gaza – its worst nightmare.

There was a sort of equilibrium; a sort of slow-motion train wreck – especially for the civilians on both sides.

The intention of PIJ is to upset the equilibrium. Israel expects Hamas to control PIJ but thus far, it doesn’t seem able.

Surprised That Palestinian Leaders Sabotage Palestinians' Interests? - by Abu Khaled Toameh

The next time anyone talks about the harsh conditions in the Gaza Strip, the world needs to realize that those who are trying to block aid to their people are the Palestinian leaders.

Abu Khaled Toameh..
Gatestone Institute..
03 December '19..

As Israel continues to study ways of improving the living conditions of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the leaders of the Palestinian Authority (PA) continue to sabotage the interests of their own people.

These leaders are opposed to the construction of a new hospital in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. They are also opposed to an Israeli initiative to construct an artificial port off the coast of the Gaza Strip. The PA, in other words, is opposed to any move aimed at alleviating the suffering of its people.

Why? Because the PA hates its rivals in Hamas to the point that it is prepared to punish the Palestinians by imposing economic sanctions on the Gaza Strip. These include cutting off payments to thousands of public employees and needy families.

Another reason: the PA is strongly opposed to any plan in which Israel and the US are involved to help the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip. As far as the PA is concerned, anything good coming from Israel or the US is actually bad, simply part of a larger "conspiracy" against the Palestinians.

The new field hospital in the Gaza Strip is currently being built with the help of Friendship, a US NGO, as well as partial funding from Qatar. The hospital, which is being constructed near the Gaza-Israel border, will provide medical services to thousands of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The construction of the hospital is believed to be in the result of ceasefire understandings reached between Israel and Hamas earlier this year under the auspices of Egypt and the United Nations.

The PA, however, has come out against the construction of the new hospital. Some of its leaders claim that it is part of an Israeli-US "conspiracy" to have the Palestinians pass President Donald J. Trump's yet-to-be-announced plan for peace in the Middle East, also known as the Deal of the Century. Needless to say, the PA is not offering any alternative to the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, who are desperate for decent medical care.

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Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.com. If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work. 

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Hamas Is Patient - Not Deterred - by Dr. Aaron Lerner

It would be a terrible mistake to interpret the decision by Hamas not to participate so far in the current round of fighting as an indication that they are somehow shifting from "guns" to "butter".

Dr. Aaron Lerner..
IMRA Weekly Commentary..
14 November '19..
Link: https://www.imra.org.il/story.php?id=73598

Hamas wants to pick the time and place for conflict with Israel.

This is a matter of patience rather deterrence.

Under quiet for quiet (Q4Q) Hamas has a free hand to devote a major portion of its resources to prepare for the conflict. They continue to fabricate and smuggle in rockets, armed drones and much more in ever increasing quantities and ever improved versions. Their army has implemented an ongoing training program including large scale exercises.

It would be a terrible mistake to interpret the decision by Hamas not to participate so far in the current round of fighting as an indication that they are somehow shifting from "guns" to "butter".
________________________________________
IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis
Since 1992 providing news and analysis on the Middle East with a focus on Arab-Israeli relations
Website: www.imra.org.il

Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.com. If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work. 

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The Differences between Hamas and Islamic Jihad in this Latest Gaza Conflagration - by Prof. Hillel Frisch

Unlike Islamic Jihad, both Hamas and Israel have an interest in keeping the present round of hostilities short. The question is whether in the fog of battle, the two sides will succeed in achieving their mutual goal.

Prof. Hillel Frisch..
BESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 1,342..
13 November '19..
Link: https://besacenter.org/perspectives-papers/gaza-hamas-islamic-jihad/

The latest conflagration, which erupted within hours of the killing of Islamic Jihad senior commander Biha Abu Ata, underscores the crucial differences between Hamas, Gaza’s ultimate ruler, and Islamic Jihad – the second strongest force in the Strip.

Most important are the two terror groups’ divergent strategic objectives, at least since the summer 2014 confrontation between Hamas and Israel – the longest and fiercest round of hostilities over Gaza to date.

While Hamas views the use of violence as a means for increasing the volume of trade with Israel and securing the inflow of Qatari money, both of which enhance the welfare of its hard core and the Gaza population at large, Islamic Jihad seeks fully-fledged confrontation as part of an Iranian strategy to deflect attention from its Syrian military buildup and regional expansion.

These strategic goals reflect the differences in the political and organizational makeup of the two terror groups. A Sunni mass-based organization that is clearly identified with the wider Muslim Brotherhood movement, Hamas operates like fish in water in a society that is almost exclusively Sunni, with most of its members being truly devout. If there are any Gazan Shiites, they maintain their beliefs and rituals strictly to themselves.

In devising its strategy, Hamas must take into consideration this popular base, which at the very least comprises the 50,000 men and women whose salaries depend on Hamas’s retention of control of Gaza. Hamas is also consistently the major force in the institutions of higher learning, labor organizations and other social organizations.

There is a world of difference in this regard between Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which is known for its strong links to Iran and which has no popular base. Though valued for its sacrifices, most Gazans suspect its members as being Shiites in disguise. A form of love-hate relationship thus prevails between the general population and Islamic Jihad, a disposition that has become more pronounced as the conflicts between Shiites and Sunnis in Syria, Iraq and Yemen intensified.

Once Again: Friday night rocket barrages from Gaza - by Arnold Roth

Spokesthugs for Hamas are quoted tonight saying the Israeli airstrikes that followed shortly after the Gazan rocket barrages are a “dangerous escalation” and that the “Zionist enemy bears responsibility for its consequences and ramifications.”

Arnold/Frimet Roth..
This Ongoing War..
19 November '19..

As the Sabbath ends here in Jerusalem, we - like many of the families living around us - go as soon as we can to our Internet devices to see what we didn't hear about during the past 25 hours. And it turns out to have been an especially violent weekend.

Palestinian terror groups in the Gaza Strip fired 10 rockets into Israel in two separate barrages on Friday night, the army said... Warning sirens had gone off in the town of Sderot and in other Israeli communities along the Gaza border as many families were eating Friday night Shabbat dinner... One projectile slammed into a house in the town of Sderot, while the Iron Dome system intercepted eight and the tenth fell in open ground. The army responded several hours later with strikes on several terror targets in Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.
Palestinian media reported that several airstrikes targeted training sites and outposts affiliated with Hamas and other groups. The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said three men sustained moderate or serious shrapnel wounds from one of the airstrikes.
In the early hours of Saturday, sirens again sounded in Sderot and the village of Ibim. The IDF later attributed the sirens to “non-rocket fire” from Gaza into Israel.
During the earlier barrage, a 65-year-old woman was lightly hurt when she fell while running toward a shelter, medics said. Five people were treated for anxiety.
The attack was one of the largest in recent months...
The rocket barrages came a day after a rocket fired from Gaza landed in an open field. There were no reports of injuries or damage in Thursday’s attack. ["Rocket fired from Gaza hits home in Sderot as Iron Dome intercepts 8 others", Times of Israel, November 1, 2019]

Deploying the Iron Dome anti-missile system is expensive, as the news media here frequently remind us. As a general matter, the system rapidly informs its operators if a specific Israel-bound attack is on a trajectory likely to cause damage or injury. Then and (usually) only then, the IDF shoots to intercept.

There were eight intercepts on Friday night.

Here's how a crash-landing Gazan rocket, fired off in the general direction of anything Israeli, looks when it strikes your home.

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Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.com. If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work. 

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The only real way to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza - by Martin Sherman

In light of the repeated failure of all that has been tried, there seems little point in persisting with similar measures unless, of course, one believes that at some unspecified time, the Palestinian Arabs of Gaza will, for some unspecified reason and by some unspecified process, morph into something they have not been for more than 100 years. But what if such an unlikely metamorphosis fails to materialize? What then?

Martin Sherman..
JNS.org..
25 October '19..

… “Arafat was sober, businesslike, almost in awe of the scale of the problems that he faces in turning this impoverished strip of land into the paradise that many of his people expect will come from self-rule.” — Los Angeles Times, On Yasser Arafat’s return to Gaza following the signing of the Oslo Accords, July 2, 1994

“We predicted some years ago that Gaza would fast become unlivable on a host of indicators and that deadline is actually approaching even faster than we predicted — from health access, to energy to water.” — Robert Piper, Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations Development Coordination, The Times of Israel, July 11, 2017

“We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them.” — An aphorism attributed to Albert Einstein

More than a quarter-century has passed since Israel first permitted the arch-terrorist, Yasser Arafat, access to the Gaza Strip in July 1994. He entered the coastal enclave in jubilant triumph to the cheers of thousands, who lined the streets and squares to welcome him. The mood of euphoria reflected the naive optimism of the time, which, as some more sober souls warned, soon proved tragically unfounded.

Of course, it was a euphoria (read “myopia”) that wasn’t confined to the Gazan side of the border. For example, the Israeli foreign minister, Shimon Peres, widely considered the driving force behind the Oslo Process, was quoted at the time as expressing satisfaction with Arafat’s performance as a peace partner. According to Peres: “The test is in the doing and as things have been done until now, things are going beautifully. … Until now it must be said that of all the Palestinian leaders, Arafat … delivered the goods.”

Sadly, but not entirely unexpectedly—at least, for those who opposed the Oslo process—life for the average Gazan has been in a steep downward spiral, particularly after the 2005 unilateral evacuation of the Strip by Israel.

In many ways, Gaza has become the ultimate indictment of the two-state, land-for-peace prescription. After all, after more than two-and-half decades, despite almost unanimous international support and massive financial aid, the attempt to foist self-governance on Gaza has failed dismally.

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Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.com. If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work. 

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Another Gaza healthcare story the BBC chooses to ignore - by Hadar Sela

Apparently the BBC is not interested in stories relating to healthcare in the Gaza Strip if they cannot be used to promote the inaccurate view that (as also claimed by Hamas) that the system’s many problems are primarily attributable to Israel’s counter-terrorism measures and the roles of Hamas and the Palestinian Authority in creating and exacerbating the crisis cannot be airbrushed from the story.

Hadar Sela..
BBC Watch..
24 October '19..

In early August we noted that work had begun on a sixteen-department field hospital near the Erez Crossing at the north of the Gaza Strip and that the Palestinian Authority was objecting to the project.

“Although BBC audiences are told plenty about the dire state of medical services in the Gaza Strip, they rarely hear about the PA actions which exacerbate that situation such as the longstanding insufficient supply of medications. Whether or not they will be informed of this latest own goal from the Palestinian Authority remains to be seen.”

Despite the fact that the BBC has a staffed office in the Gaza Strip, audiences have indeed heard nothing about the new hospital or the Palestinian Authority’s specious claim that the field hospital was “part of a plan to separate the West Bank from the Gaza Strip”.

Since then the PA’s official media has managed to come up with even more bizarre claims – as reported by PMW.

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Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.com. If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work. 

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There Should Be No Surprise in What Iran's Friends Are Doing in Gaza - by Khaled Abu Toameh

In other words, Islamic Jihad's promise is one of unending toxicity: to go on poisoning the hearts and minds of generation after generation of Palestinians – as well as to continue investing millions of dollars in building tunnels and amassing weapons to ensure that the fight against Israel continues forever.

Khaled Abu Toameh..
Gatestone Institute..
07 October '19..

As Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations pursue their efforts to spare the two million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip another war with Israel, the Islamic Jihad organization is promising its people more suffering, violence and bloodshed. The terrorist organization is also promising to continue the fight until it achieves its goal of annihilating Israel.

The Iranian-funded Islamic Jihad's latest pledges came as the organization, the second largest group in the Gaza Strip after Hamas, celebrated this week the 32nd anniversary of its founding.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians participated in a major Islamic Jihad rally in Gaza City under the banner "Our Jihad [holy war] – The Promise Will Soon Be Fulfilled." The promise, of course, refers to Islamic Jihad's pledge to "liberate Palestine, from the [Mediterranean] Sea to the [Jordan] River – a well-known euphemism for the destruction of Israel.

Particularly disturbing is that a large number of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, an enclave often described as suffering from a high percentage of poverty and unemployment, continue to support Islamic Jihad, one of the organizations there that has done nothing to improve the living conditions of its people. Their hatred for Israel seems to be stronger than any wish to better their situation by revolting against failed Palestinian leaders and groups.

Islamic Jihad has, since its establishment, brought on Palestinians in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip nothing but misery, destruction and death.

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Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.com. If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work. 

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Surprise? Palestinians Steal Electricity, Then Blame Israel - by Bassam Tawil

The controversy surrounding the unpaid electricity debts is yet another example of the Palestinians' unceasing search for ways to blame Israel for self-inflicted miseries. Instead of assuming responsibility for the electricity theft and unpaid bills and taking punitive measures against the offenders, the Palestinians are doing what they do best: trying their utmost to convince the world that it is all Israel's fault.

Bassam Tawil..
Gatestone Institute..
01 October '19..

For a long time now, many Palestinians have refused to pay their bills to the Arab-owned Jerusalem District Electricity Company (JDEC).

Many other Palestinians, taking a more direct line of theft, have been stealing electrical power from their company, a crime punishable by fines and/or incarceration in any country that respects law and order. The thieves do so by directly hooking to the power line ("cable hooking") or tampering with electric meters.

The JDEC purchases electricity from the Israel Electric Corporation (IEC), the largest supplier of electrical power in Israel. However, because of the electricity theft and widespread non-payment of electrical bills, the JDEC has not been able to pay its debts to the Israeli supplier, IEC.

On September 22, the IEC announced that it has begun cutting power supply to some Palestinian villages and cities in the West Bank to put pressure on the Palestinians to pay their debt of 1.7 billion shekels (about $483 million). The IEC has been trying for years to collect the debt, which over the years has continued to grow. While there has been sporadic payment of some of this debt, the Palestinian Authority (PA) has not forwarded any money to the Israeli company since January 2019, when Israel cut by about half the money it transfers to the Palestinians because of the salaries the PA pays to families of terrorists.

While the Palestinians openly admit that their company loses millions of dollars each year because of the non-payment and electricity theft, they are at the same time claiming to the world that Israel is imposing "collective punishment" on them by cutting the power supply. The Palestinians, in short, are asking the international community to condemn Israel for daring to demand that they pay their debts for the electricity they purchase from the IEC.

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Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.com. If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work. 

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How Hamas Leaders Continue Fooling Palestinians - by Bassam Tawil

The problem... is when your father is a senior terrorist leader who devotes himself to inciting against Israel and Jews and encouraging other young Palestinians to sacrifice their lives in the war against Israel. Hamad, like the rest of the Hamas leaders, would never send his own son to attack soldiers at the border with Israel.

Bassam Tawil..
Gatestone Institute..
25 September '19..

The leaders of Hamas, the Palestinian terror group ruling the Gaza Strip since 2007, seem to have hearts of stone regarding the suffering of the people living under their regime.

These leaders have no problem sending Palestinians to risk their lives near the border with Israel, while they and their families enjoy a comfortable life. More than 250 Palestinians have been killed and thousands injured in clashes with the Israel Defense Forces since the beginning of the Hamas-sponsored weekly protests near the Gaza-Israel border in March 2018.

While the protests are continuing and more Palestinians continue to put their lives at risk at the behest of the Hamas leadership, the terror group's senior officials are busy throwing lavish parties for their family members and upgrading their personal treasuries. It is as if the Hamas leaders were telling their people: Sacrifice yourself for the cause of destroying Israel and killing Jews so that we and our families can continue to live it up.

The latest example of this exploitation of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip surfaced in the form of a video of the birthday celebration of 20-year-old Mohammed, son of senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad.

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Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.com. If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work. 

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Question: Who’s responsible for denying Hadar Goldin a ‘decent burial?’ - by Jonathan S.Tobin

The family of a slain Israeli soldier is outraged that Hamas continues to hold their son’s body hostage. But whose fault is it that the terror group has gotten away with this crime?

Jonathan S. Tobin..
JNS.org..
02 August '19..

Five years ago, Hadar Goldin, a 23-year-old Israeli soldier, was killed during “Operation Protective Edge.” The purpose of that campaign was to silence the barrage of Hamas rockets and missiles from Gaza into Israel, as well as to prevent the terrorist group from using tunnels for kidnapping and murder raids. At the cost of more than 2,000 Palestinians killed, the vast majority of whom were terrorists, and 73 Israelis (67 Israel Defense Force soldiers and six civilians) slain, as well as many thousands of wounded on both sides and devastating damage inside the Gaza Strip, a temporary halt to Hamas’s atrocities was achieved.

But for Goldin’s family, the nightmare continues. The question is whose fault is it that their boy’s body continues to be held hostage by Hamas? The answer to that question speaks volumes about the international hypocrisy concerning Palestinian terrorism and intransigence. It also speaks to the terrible dilemma that Israel faces as it attempts to quarantine the Hamas terrorist state in Gaza without unduly harming civilians or launching another war that may not achieve more than what happened in 2014.

After U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced a ceasefire, Hamas gunmen ignored the call for a cessation of hostilities and attacked an Israeli patrol led by Lt. Hadar Goldin on Aug 1, 2014. He was killed and his body was spirited away by the terrorists.

Along with the body of Shaul Oron, another Israeli soldier killed a few days earlier, and two living Israeli citizens (one an Ethiopian immigrant and the other a Bedouin), Hamas continues to hold Goldin’s corpse hostage.

That this is a gross violation of international law, as well as of common decency, is of little concern to a group like Hamas, which uses civilians as human shields, and schools and hospitals as places to hide their fighters and munitions.

But the dilemma facing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is what can or should he do to gain their release.

(Continue to Full Column)

Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.com. If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work. 

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What Would It Really Take to Solve the Gaza Problem - by Victor Rosenthal

It’s doubtful that there would be many votes for this idea in the UN, if it were put to a vote. But there are probably two groups of people that would love it: Israelis, especially those that live in the southern part of the country – and Gazans.

Victor Rosenthal..
Abu Yehuda..
13 June '19..
Link: http://abuyehuda.com/2019/06/what-it-would-take-to-really-solve-the-gaza-problem/

A Hamas-related “military unit” called “Sons of al-Zawari” has been responsible for launching countless incendiary and explosive kites and balloons across the border into Israel for more than a year. Recently they even threatened to fill the condoms they use for balloons (apparently they are made of strong latex, so they are less likely to break prematurely) with a payload of some kind of poisonous or carcinogenic material.

Mohammed al-Zawari, in case you are interested, was a Tunisian engineer who developed drones for Hamas; he was assassinated in 2016, probably by the Mossad.

Although it is not so newsworthy outside of Israel, Arabs from Gaza continue to start fires and try to kill people in southern Israel with these devices. Israel responds in various ways, like reducing the size of the area in the Mediterranean in which Gazans are allowed to fish (really). They have also “attacked” the groups launching the devices with drones – but news reports never say that any of their members are killed, so I presume they fire low-yield weapons near, but not directly at, the terrorists.

The “disturbances” at the border fence wax and wane, but they never stop. Every once in a while someone is shot trying to harm Israeli soldiers on the other side, or planting explosives to create a breach in the fence that would allow a large number of terrorists to cross over and attack local civilians. Israel is building a massive barrier, both above and below the ground, to protect local communities against attacks via tunnels dug under the fence, and from shooting – in a recent case, a man was killed when his car was hit by an anti-tank rocket fired from Gaza. This barrier will cost billions, but will not stop the balloons or kites, nor will it prevent rocket attacks as we experienced this May. Recently, Israeli officials said that Hamas has already replenished its stock of rockets after the recent violence.

In a sense, Hamas is already engaged in chemical and biological warfare against Israel. The border demonstrations often involve burning tires, with the smoke darkening the skies over Israeli communities, some of which are only a few hundred meters from the fence. Even more seriously, for years, raw sewage from Gaza has been dumped in the sea and into streams that flow in southern Israel. Garbage is dumped and burned near the border. The Hamas government has received much assistance from international donors to solve its pollution problems, including the World Bank financing a large treatment plant in northern Gaza, which, due to a lack of electricity and other problems, never became operational.

Of course the population of Gaza suffers far more than that of Israel from the air and water pollution. But Hamas has always allocated available resources primarily to its war effort, following the First Principle of Palestinism,™ which is that it’s always preferable to hurt Jews than to help Arabs (although, to be fair, they have built luxurious residences for their leaders).

Clarity: Hamas and Islamic Jihad are Terrorist Organizations and Should be Treated as Such - by Guy Millière

"Firing 600 rockets at civilian targets in a neighboring country is an act of war... and as such it grants the nation-state [Israel] the authority under the international law of armed conflict not just to disable the specific military assets used to carry it out but to destroy those who carried it out... It's time for the world community to stop imposing these double standards on Israel, and start doing what international law requires: holding Hamas responsible for the devastation that results from Israel's legal, necessary, and proper responses to its provocations. Only then will Hamas know that if it sows the wind, it could truly reap the whirlwind..." — David French, National Review, May 6, 2019.

Guy Millière..
Gatestone Institute..
21 May '19..

On May 5 and 6, 700 rockets were fired from Gaza into Israeli territory in less than 48 hours. It was the most intensive rocket offensive on Israel to date. Four people were killed: three Israelis and one Palestinian Arab worker. One of the Israelis was hit in his car by an anti-tank missile. The Israeli military retaliated and resumed targeted killings. One was to a Hamas member, Hamed al-Khoudary, considered responsible for the transfer of Iranian funds to the armed factions in Gaza. On May 6, a spokesman from Islamic Jihad and Hamas announced a ceasefire and said they had got "what they wanted".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a short statement: "We struck a powerful blow against Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The campaign is not finished, and it will require patience and careful judgment. We're prepared for its continuation".

Various Israeli politicians, including members of the parties negotiating to be in the new governing coalition Netanyahu is building, said that the reprisals had been insufficient.

"The ceasefire, in the circumstances it was reached under, has no gains for Israel", noted Likud MK Gideon Saar. "The time between each round of violent attacks against Israel and its citizens is shrinking, and terror organizations in Gaza are strengthening. The fighting hasn't been ended, just pushed off."

Television interviews broadcast by the Israeli news channels show that the population of the south of the country is upset and would apparently like more drastic action.

The Israeli left accused Netanyahu of sparing Hamas in order to keep Palestinians divided, weaken the Palestinian Authority (PA) and prevent the resumption of talks that could lead to the creation of a "Palestinian state". Yoram Yuval, a professor at the University of Haifa, wrote in the daily Yedioth Aharonoth that Netanyahu was keen to continue, "claiming that there is no one on the Palestinian side to talk to, thereby avoiding any peace arrangement that would require the return of territories and the evacuation of settlements".

These accusations are without merit.

(Continue to Full Article)

Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.com. If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work. 

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Gaza and the Israeli Left. Repeated mistakes and lessons not learned. - by Meir Indor

According to the Left's plan, IDF soldiers will enter Gaza to clean out the tunnels, bunkers, homes and secret weapons stashes and then hand the Palestinian Authority a spotless Gaza Strip. The IDF will then withdraw.

Meir Indor..
Israel Hayom..
06 May '19..
Link: https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/05/06/weve-already-seen-this-movie/

What is behind the “diplomatic arrangement plan” for the Gaza Strip, which the Left has been peddling? As a rule of thumb, its mouthpieces avoid getting into detail; they know the public, mainly the mothers of soldiers, won’t like their plan once they learn what it entails.

Behind the term “arrangement” is their plan to reconquer Gaza and transfer it to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. If all goes according to the Left’s design, the IDF will enter Gaza in a ground operation; soldiers and tanks, with air cover, will clean out the tunnels, bunkers, homes and secret weapons stashes and hand Abbas a spotless Gaza Strip. The IDF will then withdraw, to be replaced by the PA’s security forces from Ramallah.

We’ve already been in this movie. Following the disengagement from Gaza we transferred the territory to Abbas and the PA’s security apparatus. Two years later, the heads of these security services found themselves being hurled off of buildings to their deaths. Hamas seized control. Who will prevent another Hamas coup, once the IDF leaves upon concluding this Left-driven operation? After all, Hamas is stronger, better trained and more organized than the PA. How can the PA be inserted into a territory it can’t seize on its own? But – so goes the argument – the PA is still functioning in Judea and Samaria.

We cannot compare Gaza to Judea and Samaria, where the PA is buttressed on the ground by the IDF and Shin Bet security agency. So who will protect the PA in Gaza?