Israel Update: December 8 (day 429)
Situational Update
The situation in Syria continues to unfold rapidly, but as of late last night, according to YNet and multiple sources: Syria rebel forces entered Damascus early on Sunday and announced the Assad regime over after 54 years of rule by the same family. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad boarded a plane and left Damascus for an unknown destination on Sunday, two senior army officers told Reuters, and his plane was said to have disappeared from the radar and may have crashed.
As it relates to Israel, the IDF deployed additional ground and air forces on the border with Syria. The unconfirmed reports say that Israeli forces pushed into the buffer zone in the Quneitra area, and launched artillery shelling in the area
Israel’s Channel 12 reported Friday that the Israeli Air Force had recently hit Syrian strategic weapons stores, including caches of chemical weapons, fearing they could fall into the hands of the jihadists.
The IDF & Shin Bet successfully eliminated several senior Hamas terrorists over the past few days:
Majdi Akilan, deputy commander of Hamas' Shati Battalion, was eliminated. Akilan played a key role in the Kibbutz Nahal Oz massacre and led attacks against IDF forces in northern and central Gaza.
Mamdoh Mahana, a senior Hamas tunnel network operative, was eliminated. Mahana participated in the Nahal Oz raid, oversaw tunnel planning, and trained underground operatives.
Ahmed Suidan, a company commander in the Shati Battalion, was eliminated. Suidan was involved in the kidnapping of Israeli civilians and their transfer to Gaza on October 7.
Nidal Al-Najar, the head of Hamas' Aerial Unit in Gaza City and head of Hamas' Aerial Defense Unit in Gaza. Al-Najar was one of the masterminds of the aerial infiltration into Israel on October 7th.
The Numbers
Casualties
1,803 Israelis have been killed including 809 IDF soldiers since October 7th (+1 since Wednesday)
Capt. Avraham Ben Pinchas, 24, a platoon commander in the 401st Armored Brigade's 46th Battalion, from Harasha in the West Bank, was killed Saturday by a Hamas-fired anti-tank missile during an operation in Rafah, southern Gaza.
The South: 381 IDF soldiers during the ground operation in Gaza have been killed (+1 since Wednesday)
The North: 127 Israelis (80 IDF soldiers) have been killed during the war in Northern Israel (no change since Wednesday)
Additional Information (according to the IDF):
2,470 (+7 since Wednesday) IDF soldiers have been injured during ground combat in Gaza, including at least 468 (no change since Wednesday) who have been severely injured.
5,452 (+8 since Wednesday) IDF soldiers have been injured since the beginning of the war, including at least 797 (no change since Wednesday) who have been severely injured.
According to unverified figures from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry, 44,580 (+78 since Wednesday) people have been killed in Gaza, and 105,739 (+285 since Wednesday) have been injured during the war.
On October 7th, Ohad Hemo with Channel 12 Israel News – the country’s largest news network, a leading expert on Palestinian and Arab affairs, mentioned an estimate from Hamas: around 80% of those killed in Gaza are members of the organization and their families.”
The article goes on to say: “In an N12 article that came out this morning, Hemo also pointed out that since the elimination of key leader Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’s top echelon has gone underground and fled Iran and Lebanon, with some relocating to Turkey and Qatar – with the hope that Israel will not strike them there.
Read this well documented piece from Tablet published in March: How the Gaza Ministry of Health Fakes Casualty Numbers
The Associated Press, an outlet with a demonstrated anti-Israel bias, conducted an analysis of alleged Gaza death tolls released by the Hamas-controlled "Gaza Health Ministry." The analysis found that "9,940 of the dead – 29% of its April 30 total – were not listed in the data" and that "an additional 1,699 records in the ministry’s April data were incomplete and 22 were duplicates."
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs publishes official details on every civilian and IDF casualty.
Hostages
Video of Matan Zangauker, 24, who was abducted with his partner Ilana Gritzewsky, 30, from their Kibbutz Nir Oz home, was released on Saturday by Hamas (Ilana was released on November 30 as part of a hostage deal after enduring 55 days in captivity). Matan’s family has authorized the release of this video. Bring Them Home Now
There are currently 96 hostages taken on 10/7 currently in captivity in Gaza
7 hostages are Americans: Meet the Seven American Hostages Still Held By Hamas
On October 7th, a total of 261 Israelis were taken hostage.
During the ceasefire deal in November, 112 hostages were released.
145 hostages in total have been released or rescued
The bodies of 38 hostages have been recovered, including 3 mistakenly killed by the military as they tried to escape their captors.
8 hostages have been rescued by troops alive
This leaves 100 hostages still theoretically in Gaza
At least 34 confirmed bodies are currently being held in Gaza
30-50 hostages are assumed to be dead and held in captivity
Thus, at most, 50-70 living hostages could still be in Gaza.
Hamas is also holding 2 Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of 2 IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.
Watch
Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon addresses the UN, reading from a Palestinian textbook funded by the UN for 10-year-old children. The textbook glorifies a mass terror attack in which 38 civilians, including 13 children, were killed, referring to the terrorist as a “hero etched in glory. He says, “The so-called ‘righteous nations’ criticizing Israel funded this propaganda.”
Response to Amnesty International
On December 5th, Amnesty International published a ridiculous report in which it literally redefined the legal term of genocide and used it to conclude that Israel is committing their new interpretation of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. You can find the self-published report here. I am posting several thoughtful responses below.
How Amnesty International Became a Joke by Arsen Ostrovsky and John Spencer in Newsweek
This charge, no less than a modern-day blood libel, is just the latest attack in Amnesty's longstanding campaign of lawfare against and vilification of the State of Israel, having previously accused the Jewish state of the equally unfounded charge of apartheid.
The crime of genocide, coined in 1944 by the Polish-Jewish jurist Raphael Lemkin to describe the systematic extermination of Jews by the Nazis, is one of the most serious accusations that can be leveled in international law. To accuse Israel of "genocide" in Gaza is a grotesque and egregious subversion and weaponization of the very term itself.
…genocide is very clearly defined under Article II of the Genocide Convention of 1948, to mean "acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group."
The intent of the operation in Gaza following October 7 is to eliminate Hamas by destroying its military and governing capabilities and to rescue the hostages. These are both entirely legitimate military objectives under the laws of armed conflict.
Notwithstanding the complex challenge of operating in such difficult environment, the IDF has gone to extraordinary lengths, not seen in modern warfare, to abide by the principles of International humanitarian law and avoid harm to civilians in Gaza. This has included implementing historic measures to prevent civilian harm, such as advanced alerts to provide early warning and temporary evacuations, daily pauses of fighting, distributing maps to civilians, using precision weapons, as well are facilitating daily provision of aid.
…to demonstrate just how utterly ludicrous Amnesty's accusation of genocide is, one only needs to see that, according to the CIA World Factbook, the population in Gaza has actually increased 2 percent in the last year.
Amnesty has resorted to manufacturing its own definition of genocide. Amnesty claims that the universally established and the sole accepted legal definition as outlined in the Genocide Convention of 1948 which requires the existence of intent is an "overly cramped interpretation of international jurisprudence and one that would effectively preclude a finding of genocide in the context of an armed conflict."
…even Amnesty's own Israel office has totally rejected Amnesty International's report, saying it was a "predetermined conclusion" based on "biased" and "artificial" analysis of the situation in Gaza and "motivated by a desire to support a popular narrative among Amnesty International's target audience."
The Propaganda War on Israel Never Stops: Amnesty International lends its once-good name to the genocide lie. By the WSJ Editorial Board
Amnesty poses as a fair-minded critic of Israeli policies, but it tipped its hand in its 2022 report that tried to claim “this system of apartheid originated with the creation of Israel in May 1948.” That’s well before any “occupation,” but it reflects the ideological obsession that treats the Jewish state’s existence, in any borders, as a crime.
The case law at the International Court of Justice requires a finding that “intent to destroy the group, in whole or in part, must be the only reasonable inference which can be drawn from the pattern of conduct.” Amnesty says that’s too high a bar and looks at the “broader picture” and “context.”
By context it means apartheid and all its previous slanders of Israel. What about Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre, which was genocidal in character? Here’s the report’s opening line: “On 7 October 2023, Israel embarked on a military offensive on the occupied Gaza Strip (Gaza) of unprecedented magnitude, scale and duration.”
While Amnesty uses the casualty figures of the “Gaza-based Ministry of Health,” aka Hamas, it never mentions that Israel says 17,000 dead Hamas fighters are among them.
The report essentially blesses Hamas’s strategy of using human shields. It suggests Israel has no right to attack in civilian areas even if Hamas is using them, just as it wouldn’t if some enemy soldiers had gone home on leave.
Amnesty even criticizes Israel for evacuating civilians from active war zones. This, too, becomes evidence of “genocidal intent” because it displaces the civilians. But Amnesty also criticizes Israel as genocidal in cases where it didn’t evacuate civilians. The game is to twist international law until Israel—or the U.S.—has no way to fight against terrorists.
Mark Goldfeder, Director, National Jewish Advocacy Center, posts on X a long thread worth reading, but here are some key points he makes:
in Bosnia v. Serbia (2007), the ICJ held that genocidal intent must be the only plausible inference drawn from a pattern of conduct.
The court reaffirmed this high bar in Croatia v. Serbia (2015), stating that such intent must be “fully conclusive.”
Under this standard, no reasonable observer could argue that Israel’s military actions—directed against Hamas, a terrorist organization explicitly dedicated to Israel’s destruction—constitute genocide.
What is genocide then, according to Amnesty? Essentially: Trust us, 'we know it when we see it."
To understand what genocide actually looks like, take a look at Darfur. In the early 2000s the Sudanese government armed Arab militias to ethnically cleanse all African groups in the region through a campaign of mass murder, rape and persecution based on the victims’ race. Even in that case, the United Nations hesitated to formally declare the campaign genocidal- because they said there might have been other motives.
…under UN jurisprudence, incitement to genocide cannot be “a mere vague or indirect suggestion” and to pretend that Israeli officials are calling for a genocide by cribbing sentences, ignoring facts, and selectively including outlying (and widely condemned) comments by people who do not have decision-making authority, that are clearly against official policy and bear no resemblance to what is actually factually happening on the ground- is nothing short of ludicrous
Amnesty International’s report does not just distort facts; it weaponizes the language of international law in a way that undermines its credibility. In doing so, it cheapens the real horrors of genocide and places the fundamental right of self-defense in jeopardy.
[WATCH] Another day, another blood libel against the Jewish state.
What’s new but certainly not surprising is that Amnesty International, a lavishly well-funded organization – one that has long been viciously anti-Israel – has published a report accusing Israelis of genocide in Gaza. What evidence do they have? They don’t need evidence. Why bother when they knew from the get-go what their verdict would be. To discuss the Amnesty report, host Cliff May is joined by FDD’s David Adesnik — he’s also a Syria expert and offers his take on the fascinating and really complicated developments unfolding there.
Antisemitism
How to ‘Make Your Campus Palestinian’: At the largest gathering for Palestine in the U.S., college students are taught how to take the anti-Israel movement to the next level. Olivia Reingold was there. In The Free Press
It’s the day after Thanksgiving, but about 50 American college students are not with their families, or watching football, or trying to snag a Black Friday deal. They’re packed into a conference room in the Chicago suburb of Tinley Park, trying to figure out how they’d handle an Israeli official visiting their campus.
This exercise, called “Crisis Room,” was part of the programming for college students at the 17th Annual Convention for Palestine—the largest gathering of its kind in the U.S., which was attended by thousands last weekend. The event is hosted by American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), a nonprofit currently facing a House probe over allegations it has “substantial ties to Hamas.” The purpose of the conference, which attracts Palestine supporters from all over the country, is to “galvanize their base,” according to Jon Schanzer, who specializes in Iran-backed terrorism at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
There is evidence that AMP has been helping drive the anti-Israel movement consuming college campuses of late, Schanzer told me. Indeed, the group’s executive director, Osama Abuirshaid, was spotted speaking to student activists last spring at both Columbia and George Washington universities.
The convention’s programming for college kids is called “Campus Activism Track,” and included sessions on the following:
“Make Your Campus Palestinian,” which taught how to “amplify the voices of Palestinian students and communities” on college campuses.
A “Know Your Rights” session featured Rifqa Falaneh, a fellow at Palestine Legal who specializes in defending student protesters. Falaneh previously headed DePaul’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine
“Bringing Activism to Professionalism,” in which students heard speakers describe “how they integrated Palestinian activism into their craft.”
Meanwhile, in a plenary session entitled “Criminalizing Palestine Solidarity: The Age of the New McCarthyism,” Falaneh thanked the young activists in the crowd for their role in pushing the pro-Palestine movement forward.
Falaneh added that since this past January, her firm Palestine Legal had received more than 900 requests for legal support “related to campus suppression.”
Strategic Deception: Unmasking the Fake Profiles Network Spreading Al Jazeera’s Antisemitic Propaganda by the Combat Antisemitism Movement
A new study published by the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) and Cyabra social media analytics firm offers a detailed look at the key role a vast network of bots and fake profiles play in amplifying AJ+ propaganda, which fuels rising online antisemitism globally.
To gain a comprehensive understanding of the strategies used to spread AJ+ content, Cyabra conducted an in-depth investigation over a two-month period, from September 17 to November 17, to track bots and fake profiles that interact with AJ+’s official accounts on X and promote its TikTok posts.
The study’s main findings follow:
32% of the profiles engaging with AJ+’s official X accounts were identified as fake, revealing a calculated strategy to artificially boost the platform’s visibility through coordinated inauthentic activity. These profiles consistently disseminated divisive narratives, with a strong emphasis on anti-Israel propaganda, aligning closely with the themes promoted by AJ+’s accounts.
Fake profiles were instrumental in redirecting traffic from X to AJ+’s TikTok account, often sharing identical messages and links to orchestrate cross-platform engagement. This deliberate manipulation focused on promoting specific AJ+ TikTok videos tied to highly contentious anti-U.S. and anti-Israel narratives, amplifying their visibility and shaping key public discussions.
The evidence suggests not only a clear intent to exploit social media algorithms but also represent a direct violation of X’s policies on inauthentic behavior, which are designed to prevent the misuse of the platform for spreading propaganda and deceptive practices. By leveraging fake accounts to manipulate discourse and amplify inflammatory content, AJ+ undermines platform integrity and transparency, contravening guidelines meant to ensure authentic and equitable engagement.
Over a two-month analysis period, 3,223 profiles on X were tracked that actively disseminated content related to AJ+. Among the profiles analyzed, 24% (a total of 784 accounts) were identified as fake. These inauthentic profiles produced 1,677 posts and comments, with 80% being original posts and 20% classified as comments. This substantial output underscores the pivotal role fake profiles play in amplifying AJ+ narratives.
33% of the fake profiles were created in 2024, reflecting a recent and intentional effort to bolster the campaign with new accounts tailored for immediate use.
Link to the Full Report: Deep Fakes
What We Are Reading: Syria
In Syria, shocking rebel surge derails a diplomatic gambit, by David Ignatius in The Washington Post
Before last week’s explosive resurgence of Syria’s civil war, the Biden administration and Arab allies were quietly exploring a deal with Damascus to block Iranian delivery of weapons to the militant group Hezbollah, in exchange for a relaxation of U.S. sanctions, according to a source familiar with the negotiations.
The moderate Arab countries had been urging Syria to move away from Iran in the wake of Hezbollah’s defeat by Israeli operations in Lebanon. They hoped that President Bashar al-Assad was tiring of Tehran’s tutelage and was ready to make a break if Washington would reduce its sanctions, which block the international assets of Assad and other officials and restrict investment and trading with the country. But now that Assad is facing a renewed opposition threat, it appears that he needs the Iranians more than ever.
A Syrian agreement to prevent arms shipments to Hezbollah in Lebanon would have reinforced the U.S.-brokered ceasefire reached last week between the group and Israel. Starved of Iranian weapons, Hezbollah would pose much less threat to Israel — or to the Lebanese Armed Forces that are now deploying in south Lebanon and trying to reestablish the nation’s sovereignty.
The resurgence of the Syrian opposition seems to have surprised everyone in the region, most of all Assad. Arab sources believe that at the time the rebels surged south, Assad was traveling to Moscow to talk with President Vladimir Putin about the possible deal to trade the arms embargo for relief from U.S. sanctions.
The first proposal floated to Assad by Arab mediators was that he expel Hezbollah from Syria entirely, according to a knowledgeable Arab source. Assad is said to have balked at that, so intermediaries instead requested Syrian help in blocking Iranian weapons, the source said. American and Arab sources didn’t describe details of how the United States might ease Syria sanctions, most of which were imposed in 2011 when Assad began brutally suppressing an uprising against his regime during the ill-fated Arab Spring.
The Assad regime had seemed to be recovering its balance over the past several years. But that stability was fragile, dependent on Russia, Iran and Hezbollah’s military muscle. Those props didn’t stop the rebels from seizing Aleppo, and Assad now faces a bloody assault to recapture the city. It’s sadly characteristic of the Middle East that as soon as one war ends, another starts.
Link: In Syria, shocking rebel surge derails a diplomatic gambit
Rebel advances in Syria spell danger for Russia’s Middle Eastern ambitions, by Hanna Notte and Rachel Schreiber in The Financial Times
The lightning offensive by Syrian rebels now adds to Russia’s regional woes. Syria had been Russia’s success story. By intervening in the civil war in 2015, Vladimir Putin saved Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, cultivating the image of a loyal ally. The capture of Aleppo by the Syrian regime in late 2016 was pivotal, paving the way for Russia to launch the Astana process with Iran and Turkey. Since 2017, that process has dictated the trajectory of the conflict, facilitating the emergence of a precarious equilibrium among internal and external actors carving up the country.
It is true that the post-October 7 dynamics have yielded benefits to Russia by diverting western attention and resources from Ukraine to the Middle East. But they have brought considerable risks to a thinly-stretched Russia, too. Iran is weaker today than it was a year ago; Israel’s campaign against Hizbollah helped to establish conditions favourable to the Aleppo offensive; and Turkey, Russia’s partner in the Astana process, sensed an opening to settle unfinished business in Syria.
So far, Russia’s regional setbacks are primarily tactical and of limited consequence for its Ukraine campaign. Whether they turn into strategic headaches will depend on the battlefield dynamics in Syria, on Israel’s appetite for further taking on Iran, and on the incoming Trump administration in the US.
Russia is now scrambling to thwart further rebel advances without having to send reinforcements to Syria. It may well succeed in protecting its influence. But should Israel or the US ratchet up the pressure on Iran, Russia’s ability to shield its partner will be limited.
Link: Rebel advances in Syria spell danger for Russia’s Middle Eastern ambitions
The Syrian Rebels’ Lessons for Washington, by Walter Russell Mead in The Wall Street Journal
The collapse of Mr. Assad’s poorly trained army of sullen conscripts humiliated the regime. The loss of Aleppo has wounded it. Before civil war wrecked the Syrian economy, Aleppo was the country’s commercial capital. It’s where Mr. Assad kicked the rebels to the curb in four years of bitter warfare starting in 2012. The regime’s 2016 victory in Aleppo signaled to the world that Mr. Assad was here to stay.
Now a loose coalition of rebel groups has retaken the city as Mr. Assad’s demoralized forces flee in disorder. Russian and Syrian war planes are strafing rebel-held territory and supply lines, but the rebels continue to advance. While nobody knows how this ends, there are important lessons here for policymakers around the world.
There are two other lessons that Washington needs to take in. The first is that Israel is an excellent ally, and the U.S. benefits when we support it. Overall, the Biden administration has given Israel the weapons it needed to prevail in Gaza and Lebanon. As a result, a weakened Iran is ready to offer more concessions to both Israel and the U.S. than it was a year ago. The superiority of American weaponry over Russian gear has been convincingly demonstrated. All this was accomplished without the loss of American lives and without American boots on the ground. Even greater support would likely have brought more good results, as a genuinely coordinated Israeli-American diplomatic strategy for the region could have done more to solidify the Middle East security structure both Washington and Jerusalem want.
As the fall of Aleppo reminds us, Russia’s far-flung network of bases and relationships is vulnerable. A strategically alert and forward-thinking American war strategy would activate local allies against Russian interests worldwide, forcing Mr. Putin either to divert resources from Ukraine to defend his global network or to accept the loss of Russian influence and the revenues it brings.
This isn’t a slam dunk. The rebel groups in Syria have some unsavory roots and are pitted against the Syrian Kurds that the U.S. supports. But this is where diplomacy comes in. Building a strong anti-Assad Syrian coalition would pressure Russia, weaken Iran and resolve some prickly issues in U.S.-Turkish relations.
Russia is weak in Syria, and the U.S. and its allies are, if we choose to be, strong. To get better peace terms for Ukraine, and to restore the balance of power worldwide, Washington should tighten the screws on Mr. Putin in Syria.
What We Are Reading
The Lebanon Ceasefire: Managing Israeli Public Expectations and U.S. Coordination, by David Makovsky with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy
In the lead-up to the new ceasefire with Hezbollah, the Israeli public—impressed by their military’s achievements in Lebanon over the past two months—had high expectations for the terms their leaders would ultimately negotiate. After all, Israel had decapitated much of Hezbollah’s top leadership, eliminated a large part of its arsenal, and destroyed tunnels near border villages that were intended to be used for an attack on northern Israel.
During the current war, northern Israeli mayors—who represent many of the estimated 60,000 citizens displaced from their homes since October 2023—repeatedly urged the government to establish a depopulated buffer zone in southern Lebanon. Without such a buffer, they argued, Hezbollah fighters would continue embedding themselves within the Lebanese border population and launching short-range antitank weapons at nearby Israeli towns. The mayors warned that under such conditions, northern residents would be unwilling to return home.
Central to the ceasefire is an enforcement mechanism to adjudicate compliance. The United States plans to aid in enforcement by chairing a panel that reviews complaints. Specifically, Washington could leverage its advanced intelligence capabilities to ascertain if there has been a violation and/or insist that the LAF address the problem. Israel is hopeful that U.S. involvement could make the difference. Moreover, Congress is likely to condition any new funding for LAF on the seriousness of its compliance.
Yet U.S. oversight of the compliance mechanism will face scrutiny. Critics may question whether this process could slow Israel’s response, limit its freedom of action, and even make the United States culpable for perceived failures. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is likely focused on this potential friction because of the political controversy surrounding the ceasefire within Israel. More Israelis are now critiquing the mindset that had prevailed in their country since 2006, which was to turn a blind eye to violations in order to preserve the fragile quiet that Resolution 1701 created. In Israel, the phrase “we became addicted to calm” is commonly used to advocate a more preventive or preemptive stance on threats before they become catastrophic. This issue is particularly acute now, when both sides are mutually testing the ceasefire during its opening phase. For instance, when Hezbollah recently fired two mortars at an Israeli military base on Mount Dov, adjacent to the Golan Heights, Israel responded with attacks on thirty targets in Lebanon.
Thus, as Hezbollah probes to see what it can get away with during the ceasefire, the United States and Israel must develop a shared approach to defining major violations and addressing them, in part to avoid bilateral friction. Israel will usually prefer a stronger military response to deter Hezbollah and set the “rules of the game,” while Washington and Paris may believe that too strong a reaction could lead back to war. Earlier today, for example, U.S. ambassador Jacob Lew cautioned Israel not to equate small infractions with major violations.
Bilateral cooperation between Israel and the United States could take different forms, but a shared approach is essential for effective implementation. As noted above, reaching an agreed definition of “ceasefire violation,” is paramount. This would enable close cooperation between the Israel Defense Forces Northern Command, Jeffers’ team in Beirut, and U.S. Central Command in identifying threats and sharing intelligence that goes beyond southern Lebanon, given Hezbollah’s desire to rebuild itself through Iranian arms transfers via Syria and other activities. Additionally, U.S.-Israel cooperation on public messaging will be critical as Iranian and Hezbollah media outlets try to downplay the group’s likely violations. Washington demonstrated the importance of sharing declassified intelligence to help shape public narratives after Israel was wrongfully accused of bombing a Gaza hospital just after October 7. This template should be considered if similar situations arise in Lebanon. Finally, if European and Gulf states offer new support to the LAF at an upcoming donor conference, the United States should encourage them to link this assistance to LAF compliance with the ceasefire’s terms, as Congress is likely to require.
To ensure the agreement’s success, the United States and Israel must have a shared understanding of the ceasefire’s terms and how to act if it is violated. This is key to strengthening the credibility of the enforcement mechanism and ensuring that all parties have learned from the failures of Resolution 1701.
Link: The Lebanon Ceasefire: Managing Israeli Public Expectations and U.S. Coordination
Beware the Qataris, by Douglas Murray with The Spectator
For two decades now Qatar has been one of the leading supporters, funders and hosts of the proscribed terrorist group Hamas. They have transferred billions of dollars to Hamas, and the Emir and his family continue to host the group’s leadership in luxury hotels and apartments in Doha.
Qatar certainly has that. Over recent years they have used it to pollute some of our first- and second-tier institutions, such as King’s College London. In the US they have been even more munificent. There is no coincidence in the fact that almost every American university that has played host to pro-Hamas protests over the past 14 months is also the recipient of wads of bribes from Qatar’s slush-fund.
And it isn’t as though any of this is far from the palace. The Emir’s family are intensely tied up with the terrorism. On the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar this year, the current Emir’s mother – the gruesome Sheikha Moza – mourned and praised Sinwar. Her reaction to the killing of the mastermind of the 7 October massacres was to say: ‘The name Yahya means the one who lives. They thought him dead, but he lives on. He will live on and they will be gone.’ She accompanied this post – written in English– with a verse from the Quran: ‘Never think of those martyred in the cause of Allah as dead. In fact, they are alive by their Lord, well provided for.’
Also worth noting is that the Qataris are the founders, funders and propagandists behind the terrorist-employing channel Al Jazeera. Its reporters, ‘journalists’ and others from Qatar’s propaganda networks have also spent recent weeks mourning the death of Hamas’s leaders. The network’s leaders and anchors praised Sinwar as ‘a role model’ and ‘a peerless leader’. But that may be because so many of Al Jazeera’s ‘journalists’ are themselves terrorists.
And just for good measure, one of Al Jazeera’s contributors was recently found to be writing articles about the plight of Gazans while holding three Israeli hostages in his own home where they were tortured. Al Jazeera is not just another television station. It is a propaganda network which employs terrorists to spread lies around the planet.
But western countries – including this one – find it very hard to turn down that Qatari cash. Just last week the Oxford Union played host to a debate in which Arab students screamed support for terrorism and again lamented the death of terrorist leaders. Interestingly enough, the Oxford Union has been the beneficiary of a highly lucrative deal with the Qataris.
What to do about all this? Well, the US has a military base in Qatar which they should move to the Emirates as fast as possible. Leave the Qataris to whichever winds of the region decide to blow over them. And as for their royal family? From Sheikha Moza down they should become pariahs. Sanction them, prevent them from travelling, seize their assets. Let them continue with their slave state and their terror-sponsoring. But not with our blessing. The stench that followed Yahya Sinwar should follow the Qataris around on their trips to boutiques in London, Paris and other western capitals. Not all the perfumes of Arabia – or stores in Knightsbridge – should be able to sweeten their bloody little hand.
Link: Beware the Qataris
Sources: JINSA, FDD, IDF, AIPAC, The Paul Singer Foundation, The Institute for National Security Studies, the Alma Research and Education Center, Yediot, Jerusalem Post, IDF Casualty Count, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Institute for the Study of War, and the Times of Israel